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LIBEAPY
I . PRINCETON, N. J.
No. Case, V"f£y- No. Shelf, w.ti. 4. No. Book,- £&
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SERMONS
DIFFERENT SUBJECTS,
DELIVERED
IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA,
BY
REV. EDWARD NORRIS KIRK, A. M.,
LATE PASTOR OP THE FOURTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ALBANY, N. Y.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY SAMUEL HANSON COX, D. D.
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge, and in all judgment." Phil. i. 9.
SECOND EDITION REVISED.
NEW YORK:
FOR SALE BY
GOULD, NEWMAN & SAXTON
PHILADELPHIA.— HENRY PERKINS.
BOSTON.— IVES & DENNET.
1840.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840,
By WILLIAM A. THOMPSON,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern
District of New York.
STEREOTYPED BY
RANCIS F. RIPLEY,
NEW YORK.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The Author of the following Sermons has specially requested the publishers to state, that " an application for a set of discourses in man- uscript was positively refused ; from an aver- sion to appearing, in present circumstances, as an author. The Sermons now published, were already public property ; and the only agency, whether benevolent or indifferent, which the author has exercised in the matter, was, to furnish a worthy but indigent fellow-Christian some facilities for collecting the pamphlets, especially those published abroad."
CONTENTS.
Page
Introduction. — By Samuel Hanson Cox, D. D., Brooklyn, N. Y., 7
SERMON I. Agreement with God. — Preached in Surrey Chapel, London, 27
SERMON II.
Man's Natural Enmity to God. — Published in London in the " Pulpit," 45
/ SERMON III. Obligations of Young Men. — Preached in be- half of the British and Foreign Young Men's Society. Published in London, 65
SERMON IY.
Jesus the Great Missionary. — Preached in Boston, at the ordination of Rev. Samuel Wol- cott, as Missionary to Syria, 93
SERMON V.
The Christian Ministry. — Preached at Chest- nut College, near London, 127
l*
VI CONTENTS.
SERMON VI.
The Nature and Influence of Maternal Associations. — Preached in Surrey Chapel, London, 155
SERMON VII.
Sermon to Children. — Preached in Surrey- Chapel, London, 181
SERMON VIII.
Practical love to Christ. — Preached hi Isl- ington Chapel, London, 199
SERMON IX.
Temperance and Religion. — Preached in Lock- fields Chapel, Walworth London, 217
SERMON X. The Traffic in Alcohol. — Preached in Albany, 255
SERMON XI.
Valedictory Sermon. — Preached in Albany, . 297 Addresses to Promote the Revival of Re- ligion.— Delivered in Surrey Chapel, London.
ADDRESS 1 329
ADDRESS II 341
ADDRESS III 353
ADDRESS IV .363
PHIHCBTC
INTRODUCTION.
BY SAMUEL HANSON COX, D. D. BROOKLYN, N. Y. (Second Edition Enlarged.)
These sermons have all been published before. One of them, the tenth in the series, was the valedictory of the Author to the people of his former charge, before leaving the country, three years since. Another, the third, was delivered and published in Boston, last Autumn, on an oc- casion solemn and interesting, the Ordination of a Mis- sionary. And one other, the ninth, was published in Albany some years since. The others were all published in London, where they were delivered to listening crowds, who were not willing that they should be enjoyed only in the hearing, or realized alone in the delivery. Hence, in different ways, they procured their publication. And hence it is that many a pious family here and there in the metropolis and other parts of Great Britain, retain, as precious relics, and justly valued mementos, of a beloved American preacher of the gospel, a copy, and collect- ively thousands of copies, of the sermons of our esteemed countryman.
We are not surprised if among ourselves should be the demand or the desire for their appearance in the com- bined and convenient form of a volume. Their Author has many friends, in the cities and neighborhoods of his native country, to whom such a counsellor would be a comforter, such a companion a constant and salutary
8 INTRODUCTION.
friend. And yet it is only an act of justice to our Author, to make the community acquainted with the motives, and the proximate causes, that have induced the present pub- lication. This the more, that his present distinguished career as a preacher, might otherwise prejudice or per- vert the estimate of the community.
Its present appearance, truth to say, is the result of a peculiar development of benevolence. The proceeds of the publication are to be devoted to an object, which enlightened Christianity will approve, and which the heart at least of every minister of the Lord Jesus Christ — and of some more especially than others — cannot regard without the deepest sympathy. Our Author yields his volume, that its proceeds may assist indigent students in their course preparatory to the ministry.
And may we here insert a plea in behalf of hundreds, it may be, who are laboring up the hill, with patience, perseverance, and penury ; the noblemen of grace and of nature too, but not of fortune, or titles, or rank ; whose object, ingenuously pursued, shows excellence of no common kind ; and yet who are estimated as they de- serve, by very few of their cotemporaries. Possibly, to a mind like that of our Author, the reality might have been imagined, even if not identified in any recent instance. We have all seen such instances, and the public ought not to be wholly ignorant of their existence.
To such petitioners, what ordinary hardness could conclude a refusal ? A Christian, and a minister of Christ, should not be made of sterner stuff, than refined humanity in other spheres of life. Nor is our statement a mere hypothesis for illustration. O ! it is, in its basis, history, veritable and real, as hundreds of affecting in- stances attest. And what, to a mind of delicate and no- ble texture, and at the same time saturated with the influ- ences of grace, what might melt one sooner, into a
INTRODUCTION. 9
generous and practical sympathy, than to behold or con- template such a spectacle ! A brother in the Lord a
young brother — a devoted and self-denied disciple — a candidate for the ministry: one that has felt want and dreaded to feel it more ; that has toiled by night and day ; that has shrunk from no labor, mental or manual ; that has endured privation, without repining, for the constrain- ing love of Jesus, and for the encouraging hope of preaching him ; that has done all this, and done it for years — done this, and more, and more, in a catalogue that might be lengthened, with items of truth, more wonderful than those of fancy or romance ! A youth, of principles too ethereal to be appreciated in this intractable world, aspiring devoutly towards an office which inspiration hath defined as a good work, and worthy of the best de- sire of the human bosom ; such an one, applying his mind to its mighty and appropriate labors of prepara- tion, with vigils, fastings, and exposures ; — and all this, augmented by the utter destitution of necessary pecuni- ary means! O what obstacles, cumulative, unbearable, and wrong ! May it not be sin to them, in the day of judgment, who know these things of the noble young servants of the Church, and roll in wealth and luxury, and profess religion, and have hope towards God through the gospel, and yet — do nothing to assist those prin- cipled aspirants, those devoted candidates, those studi- ous spiritual cadets, who are in process of training for official trust and duty in the high places of the field ; and who deserve well of Christians, of mankind, and of all posterity ! The assiduities and trials, consequent or con- comitant, in their curriculum of preliminary study, are quite enough, in all human reasonableness, without break- ing their courage against mountains interposed,
And poverty's unconquerable bar.
10 INTRODUCTION.
There are several reasons why such examples are not appreciated by the public. The first is ignorance ; or, what is much the same, an utter absence of reflection on the facts of the case. Another is the allied consequence of the former — a disparagement of the value of sound learning in the ministry, or a contempt of the manner in which alone it can be acquired. The time, the toil, the trial, and the cost, the severe and the necessary process of qualification, who knows, that has no experience in such conflicts ? Again, the circuity and remoteness of the path, the indirectness of the promise ! A preacher in the field, if wise and zealous and eloquent, is felt and loved. But who sympathizes with the student ? who considers the means that were plied to prepare the preacher ? the difficulties through which he rose to emi- nence ; and the necessity of recruiting the service, by a process as long, as pains-taking, as costly, as that which enables the accomplished preacher to grace the pulpit with manly and masterly displays of the truth? The preacher himself considers them ; and almost none be- side ! Here, then, is the secret of our volume's appear- ance. Our Author virtually says to his young brethren, " If it can assist you, behold, it is at your service." This, it strikes us, may have been mainly the process, by which his mind arrived at the conclusion, to give these sermons to the public, in their present form. And surely his countrymen, in their candor and their piety, will gener- ously estimate the deed. We know they will ; nor do we anticipate the cynic who shall constitute the exception. The request, we doubt not, was on their part modest and retiring ! But he could see and feel its force instantane- ously ; and we commend his decision. May the present writer be pardoned, if this seems too ideal, or inappro- priate, or imaginary ! But he has witnessed and compas- sionated, especially within the last seven years, and con-
INTRODUCTION. H
tinually to this time, too many facts in proof, to doubt the correctness of the delineation. Perhaps others may im- peach it for exactly opposite reasons ; that it seems not ideal, not inapposite, not imaginary. To either class he would say, The moral of it, is the whole of it. If Mr. Kirk feels for these young men, let others copy his ex- ample. If he assists them, reader, Go thou, and do like- wise. Our object in this connection is not so much to ex- plain the issuing of the sermons, as to record a plea, where it may be profitably felt, in behalf of those, whom it would make good men better sympathetically to con- sider, and devoutly to estimate in relation to the cause of Christ ; and practically to befriend, in their too often cheerless and uncomforted career of studious toil, as candidates for the noblest office in the sublunary gift of God, our Savior.
From this digression, if it is one, we recover, with no intention of apology for what we do not recall, or regret, or perpetrate without design. In the mean time, the courteous reader, and especially the candid one — a more excellent and a less common character — will fully under- stand, and probably approve, the conduct of our Author. It seems plain that he did, what he ought, in the circum- stances ; nor do we anticipate, for him or others, one re- gret that these sermons are extant, in American types and a compact volume, as the consequence.
It is not our purpose, however, to deal in commenda- tion, surely not in panegyric. The sermons speak for themselves. The people of this country, who care to read, can appreciate them too. The reputation of our Author is neither recent nor ambiguous. Nor is his praise confined to any one class of the Churches. Chris- tians of all denominations crowd to hear him, and will read to love him more. If in either, or in both relations, he can do them good, it is the glorious recompense that
12 INTRODUCTION.
satisfies the prayer of his heart. If God shall deign t© use his efforts and his ministry, to this end, it is gratifi cation and benediction, whether the mode of it be in the pulpit or through the press. If Paul converted thousands, by his preaching, through the blessing of God, he has with the same mighty aid saved millions more by his writings ; and by these, he, being- dead, yet speaketh, and will speak, and bless mankind, till the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised, incorruptible.
No analysis of these sermons, or comparison, or even anticipation, of their qualities, seems here appropriate. They were partly occasional ; partly and more, the ordi- nary specimens of the Author's ministry. A notice of a more general sort, and an admonitory reflection or two may suit the proper nature of this Introduction. A ves- tibule need not be of the same material, with the interior of the temple, to which it conducts us. It may be in keeping, and in propriety, as well as service, if less polished, or finished, or valuable ; to say nothing of its proportions, its coloring, or its taste. If this volume is to pass the ordeal of criticism, if it is to be tried in the crucibles of the schools or the parties, if it is to be tor- tured by malignity, or stung by envy, or probed by heart- less impudence, we have only to say that it will have friends as well as foes ; that there are Reviews, Christian in fact, as well as in pretension ; and that if abused and evil entreated, it will only seem to join the goodly fellow- ship of prophets and apostles, and to be partaker of their sufferings and their honors, because it is one spirit with them, and with their common and glorious Master. We submit, in order, the following remarks : 1. We Americans ought to value this publication for national reasons. It is a native production. Its Author is our own countryman. He has been appreciated abroad, and deserves to be cherished at home. We have too
INTRODUCTION. 13
little national feeling of this refined and proper sort. We are too servile to what is foreign, as if nothing good could come from ourselves. Is this noble or ignoble, worthy or base, helpful or injurious ?
What was once said, by the indignant muse of Pope, to the theatre-going populace of London, on occasion of introducing Addison's great tragedy of Cato, and in his admired prologue to that celebrated production, we might be allowed to say, with some venturous accommodations in this place, to the literary and religious public of our own country :
Our taste precariously subsists too long
On coarse translation or imported song.
Dare to have sense yourselves ! Assert the age ; —
Be justly warmed with your own native page.
Such works alone should suit our eye or ear, As Paul himself might choose to see or hear. And purer far, if plainer, strong in truth, Our pulpit speaks to listening age and youth.
Conviction ponders well its thoughts and words, And converts show how God the cause regards. Be Christian truth our ornament and crown, Our best nobility, our just renown !
In wealth like these, America, excel, And show the world the art of dying well. Not here the church is propp'd upon the state ; Much more the church sustains the nation great.
With greater blessedness, 'tis hers to give ; While, as she prospers, other interests live. And O ! may righteousness exalt our fame, And give to all a Christian freeman's name !
Be this our nation's prayer, " Thy kingdom come ;" Be God our monarch, this Religion's home ! — While every virtue flourishes confess'd, Our country's made, by grace and truth, the best !
2
14 INTRODUCTION.
We have not changed or tortured the original, for more than one fourth of this metrical impromptu ; and as to the whole of it, we have only to say, that the sentiments may be commended or approved, by Americans, without hold- ing their judgment responsible for the versification — for which, in truth, we nothing comparatively care. In this connection, the sentiment is all. Our literature will never rise even to its proper level, till we appreciate it wisely ourselves ; till we know how to assert the prerogatives of men, to think, and then to write, without affectation, ser- vility, or insincerity, aiming at usefulness and truth. Our very defects ought to stimulate our achievements ; as they show the ample opportunity that invites success. Our literature is yet in its infancy, our reputation in abeyance. But our theological contributions are very far from pecu- liarly or disproportionately few and inconsiderable. Our Edwards has illustrated our literary and ecclesiastical character in two hemispheres. Our Davies, and our Dwight, and our Mason, and our Griffin, are only a few other specimen stars of numerous constellations that spangle our western firmament, where they shone, so dis- tinguished, as the angels of the churches and the glory of Christ. And though the first name in this series is justly viewed as peerless and incomparable, as the one that " dwells at the top of metaphysical Niphates, and has pitched his tabernacle in the eye of day ;" yet, without at all disparaging so much eminence, and conceding the mighty sweep of his posthumous influence and his solid renown, present and prospective, on all the metaphysics, and on all the demonstrations of theological philosophy, in our schools, our pulpits, and our very parlors, we aver, that we have many practical agents, less brilliant, it may be, rather than less useful, that move in a sphere more noiseless and less envied, but not less excellent, and who are preparing probably for a plaudit and a premium from
INTRODUCTION. 15
the Holy Judge Eternal, which will be second to that of few, who more conspicuously figure in the almost apothe- osis of human blandishment, or who may radiate brightest in the almost Pantheon of the admiration of posterity.
Every worthy contribution to the theological or devo- tional literature of a country, helps its influence abroad, as well as proportionately augments its excellence at home. The whole nation has an interest in it. It is something done for mankind. It is an example of what is, and a de- monstration of what might be, and an incentive to what shall be, which may well provoke and assist the achieve- ments of others. Besides, it tends to promote that interest in our national home, while it at the same time illumines and enriches it, without which patriotism, if it be a pas- sion, is not a principle, and religion, if it be a reality, is not a symmetry. Pride is not patriotism, even if it be na- tional. Nor is patriotism itself a virtue, unless it be the offspring of some more generic principle of moral excel- lence ; unless it be associated with all the other sisters of the family of virtue. Now, there are just two declarations of the King of the Universe and the Lord of Destinies, which wise men will consider as immoveably at the very founda- tions at once of patriotism and national safety ; which statesmen and politicians often superficially avoid ; and which God, in his providential dealings even with our own dear selves, chooses never to forget, or violate, or in- termit. We will state them, and endeavor briefly to show their probable relation to this volume. The first is — Righteousness exalteth a nation ; but sin is a re- proach to any people. Need we here insist that the presence of the former is the absence of the latter ; and that the predominance of that which reproachcth, is the proportional diminution of that which exalteth? or that nothing can truly supersede the dishonor, except that only which constitutes the exaltation ? or that it were folly and
16 INTRODUCTION.
impiety to hope for exaltation, in any other than a way of righteousness ; and that neither arrogance, nor conceit, nor proud imaginings, will avail, to dissolve or subdue our reproach, in the absence of that alone which heaven has ordained as the method of the divine protection? Hence the second declaration — For, saith the prophet addressing God, the nation and kingdom that will
NOT SERVE THEE SHALL PERISH ; YEA, THOSE NATIONS SHALL BE UTTERLY WASTED.
Solemn words ! How they speak to the mind of re- flection and the soul of wisdom ! Here, O our country, our own dear country, our precious and spacious Ameri- ca, our young and venturous, our vast and wonderful, our highly-favored and dearly-beloved, world of the Great Occident, here, O our aspiring and noble country, is writ- ten the sentence of thy destiny — thy glory, if obedient, thy desolation, if perverse ! Here are the pivots on which turns inevitably the signal of thy weal or thy wo ; and all other or adverse things shall be as nothing in their stabil- ity and their prevalence.
Now, we minister to the national welfare, when we give to the mass of the popular mind, the moral leaven that promotes its righteousness, and so assists its exaltation. We do the state some service. We promote correct sen- timent, we increase piety, we encourage prayer. And we say, with a great man now at home, we trust, in heaven,* "I have more confidence in one praying pauper, than in forty fighting generals, with no prayer. God alone can protect us."
2. In reference to a volume of sermons, while we should not patronize every thing, we should encourage a due proportion of sound and popular reading of the re- ligious kind. Sermons indeed are not very marketable.
* The late Dr. Mason.
INTRODUCTION. 17
They are often not vendible, but only, as we say, a drug and a surfeit. Their very name is a soporific, and no one thinks of valuing them as other books are valued. But should this be so, Christians? May not even sermons be entertaining, as well as useful? Ought not the parlor library to be enriched, and even the centre-table to be adorned, with them ? Besides, sermons mark and iden- tify the age. Our posterity will talk of our revivals, our cast and grade of piety, our times, our learning, our preachers, and our Christians. Why not preserve a few specimens, and send a few missives, that may tell them, what something better than laudable curiosity might lead them to desire and to learn, of the generations of their ancestors ?
3. This is too much a hearing age, and not enough proportionately a reading and cogitative one in religion.
There is a class of devout religionists among our- selves, who are characterized by their feelings mainly, rather than their intelligence. They want none of your head religion — none of your prosing doctrinal preach- ing— none of your preachers that are so learned — none of your discussions in the pulpit — none of your controver- sies— nothing to make men think. — All they want in reli- gion is feeling. Engagedness is all. They test every thing by zeal and feel. They go for heart religion. This * suits the age !' There is no sense in reading and studying so much. They would set us all to praying, feeling, acting, and converting sinners ; but not to thinking, apprehend- ing, comprehending, studying what the Scripture says and what the Scripture means, not to reading, or medita- tion, and least of all to excel in knowledge unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding in the things of God. Theirs is a religion of sensation, and as unfit to en- dure affliction, to deserve confidence, to authorize depend- ence, and to stand the test of martyrdom, as it is to teach
2*
18 INTRODUCTION.
dogmatical theology to an amphitheatre of philosophers
or, as steam is unfit to control the helm of the Great
Western, or the British Queen, in her mystic way, which science alone can guide, across the ocean.
To such, if they could suffer the monition of a friend, we would say, not zeal, but wisdom is profitable to direct. Knowledge is power, and feeling without it is not good. Our feelings have an important place in religion ; as steam has in navigation. Our feelings, however, were not given to govern us, but to be governed by us ; they are to be our servants, not our masters ; and never man was good, or useful, or great, who did not assert and maintain that noble mastery. Look at Hannibal, look at Edwards,
look at Washington, look at Napoleon, look at Paul
and look — instar omnium — at ONE — of his own class alone, who at Pilate's bar answered him nothing!
Those who have studied character, and understood it, will respond to these sentiments. We may be only grat- ifying our own natural inclinations, only serving our- selves, when we flame — and rage — and rush on — in reli- gion, without reverence or consideration, and condemn sobriety and sense in our despised superiors. Now, one cure — and a good one — for this holy obstreperousness, is to feed the mind with truth — to study the Scriptures — to read sermons — and in all, or above all, to think? O this neglected function of our existence ? this most dig- nifying faculty of our nature, when rightly cultivated and proportionately used ; this most degrading accompani- ment, when abused, or neglected, or superseded by the mere animalism of feeling ! That class of hearers, that exemplify the stony ground in the parable, are there de- scribed, by our Lord, as full of feeling, promptitude, de- cision, ignorance, and spurious affections. He heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself; and therefore is it that his religion soon
INTRODUCTION. 19
evanishes. He dureth for a while — by and by he is offended. And thus is he contradistinguished from the good ground hearer ; who heareth the word and under-
STANDETH it; WHO ALSO BEARETH FRUIT, and bHngeth
forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.
Feeling is a kind of half-way house, in which the sin- ner loves to loiter, for entertainment, between objects of sense, which affect animals, and objects of faith, which affect angels. He abjures the grossness of external ob- jects as influential of his way ; but he clings to internal affections as their substitute ; instead of apprehending, by faith in the true sayings of God, the things that are unseen and eternal. Internal sensation is no more faith, than external objects that affect our organs of sense. The appropriate design of the ministry is godly edifying, which is in faith. Hence, says the apostle to Timothy, so do. And with this design, in all things, ought private Christians devoutly to concur, for its uniform promotion. Other edifying may not be godly, even if it be agreeable. And he who simply trusts his feelings, and cares not for the difference, is pronounced by inspiration to be insane. Prov. xxviii. 26. Heb. v. 14. He cares not for the gos- pel, for salvation, or even for God himself.
We desire that these sermons may not only be sold, but read — pondered — digested — improved. This imports a cast of character whose auguries are hopeful. It is the clean and the useful animals in the law, that ruminate ; not the unclean, the carnivorous, the savage ; oxen and sheep ; not wolves, hyenas, dogs, or swine. Hence these are types of cogitative worshippers ; of them that feed on the truth ; who live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; who relish the truth, and digest it, and grow thereby — grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Suppose these ten sermons were read systematically —
20 INTRODUCTION.
regularly — thoughtfully — with memory exercised — with application — with definite desire to obey the Master — to be converted to God, if yet we are alienate from him ; or, to be advanced in holiness, if we have genuinely be- gun our journey: suppose this, my youthful reader, espe- cially, in your case. One, every Lord's day, well read, would bring you through the series, nearly, in two months. And if, like the noble Bereans, you should receive the word with all readiness of mind, and search the Scrip- tures daily, whether these things are so, and especially if you should join sincere prayer to the exercise, for the blessing of God to crown its process with salvation, what good immense should certainly ensue ! On these condi- tions, what a blessing should this volume be, in the circle of every family it could enter ! It would resemble the ark of the Lord in the household- of Obed-edom, where the Lord, for its sake, blessed his house and all that pertained unto him.
We venture another remark.
4. The directions given to the unconverted, in these sermons, appear to exemplify the rare merit of correct and scriptural, appropriate and convincing, excellent and prosperous ! We may not assert that these qualities are exhibited in perfection, but that they are here in happy illustrations and examples — and that they are far too rare, even in the ministrations of eminence.
The absence of these qualities, with the faults that appear in place of them, often constitutes the cardinal defect, in sermons otherwise distinguished and incom- parable. These preachers can distinguish well between a sinner and a saint ; they can define a Christian, depic- ture him in his various changes and relations of life, with his trials, his privileges, and his prospects, and commend him to the desire and the imitation of all hearers. So also of a sinner in contrast. They can well describe what he
INTRODUCTION. 21
is, how he feels, his state, his motives, his false refuges, his criminality, his destiny, his apprehensions, his ago- nies ! But there is something more to be done — and this is frequently omitted, or never thoroughly despatched and perfected, perhaps in the preaching of a lifetime. It is —
To SHOW A SINNER HOW HE MAY BECOME A SAINT : and
then, with suitable appliances of truth, to persuade men, and to pray them, as though God did beseech them by us, saying, in a way of wisdom and appropriateness, Be ye
RECONCILED TO GOD.
We aver that the grand defect of many an excellent sermon, is the absence of the proper directions to the sinner and the ungodly man. And we would enforce the sentiment that it is a fault, which criticism has been slow to arraign, and which reviews have not known how to censure. The philosophy of the preacher can ordinarily account for it. There is some error in his comprehen- sion of the gospel. He makes mistakes not only, but practically honors them too, as the pivots and centres of orthodoxy. Hence he glories in his mistakes, and would become a martyr for their maintenance. Some of these are to him, each as the star of Bethlehem, shining on his way ; or as the kebla* of his pilgrimage, as a Chris- tian and a preacher. If, as a lark of the morning, he would soar toward heaven, he soon ceases to aspire. His swift pinions are arrested in their flight. They stop sud- denly, because they are not so strong as the tether that holds him back, and to the limit of which he has too soon arrived.
* Kebla, among the eastern nations, signifies the point of the heavens toward which they directed their worship. The Jews did it toward the Temple at Jerusalem ; the Mohammedans toward Mecca ; the Sabians toward the meridian, and the Magians toward the rising sun. 1 Kings viii. 44, 48. Daniel vi. 10. Ps. v. 7, xxviii. 2. Jonah ii. 4. For the pro- per Kebla of Christians, see Heb. xii. 2.
22 INTRODUCTION,
If he is not clear in his views as to the objective mani- festations, which he is to radiate on the way of the sinner, and lavish in his path before him, wonder not should he prove equally at fault, in the point and the persuasion of his subjective applications, urging the sinner to walk in it. If he cannot commend to him the love of Christ, not in the abstract, or in the ambiguity of a scarcely intelligible argument, but in the bold relief of effective testimony, saying, " He died for you, and that because he loved you ; therefore hear and your soul shall live,'''' it will be no miracle, if, in his after urgencies, he should ply him with a weak and misty and fruitless, although it may be with a loud-sounding and pompous, exhortation, to repent and believe the gospel. If his ideas of the influ- ence of the Spirit are technically wrong or greatly vague and dim, he will be sure to preach in a way palpably and badly different, from the way of the Spirit as demon- strated in his own oracles : and the difference will be seen by some, while it is felt by all. If his views of depravity are darkling and false, one way or the other ; if he be- lieves so much about it, as to impair the moral agency of its subject, or so little about it, as to excuse, reduce, or slight the awful malady of his state ; how poor, effete, or awry, will be his ministrations ! If he refer, awkwardly or in confusion, to the passive relations of the sinner, where God refers to his active ones ; if his statements are not spiritual or moral, but mechanical and material- izing rather ; if he unskilfully counteracts, where he ought only to subserve, the influences of the Spirit ; or, makes in any way, natively, the wrong, instead of the right, impression ; or, if he truly knows not how to direct the sinner, in reply to the Great Question, What must I do to be saved ? there will be a proportionate failure, in reference to the great end of preaching ! conversions will be few and sickly ; as the shaking of an olive tree,
INTRODUCTION. 23
perhaps ; two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof saith the Lord God of Israel ; instead of hundreds and thousands, covering the whole tree, richly rewarding the toil, and crowning the hopes, of cultivation.
Now, we almost claim for our preacher, that he is, in these relations, a happy example of what ought to be ; we do not say or mean, a faultless paragon : but one whom the Spirit has taught to do the work of the Spirit ; who speaks with a simplicity and a directness, that well approximates our beau ideal of the demonstrations that ought to be made, in matter, in manner, in method, and in effect ! And let a heaven-sped success be the commen- tary and the attestation of our sentiment. It is said of Paul and Barnabas at Iconium, that they went both to- gether into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. There are great men in our times, who so speak that nobody believes. They may amuse, enter- tain, and even in a sort convince ; but where is the " great multitude" of converts ! The sovereignty of God, re- member, is excellent in working, as well as wonderful in counsel; and is not exactly responsible for those, and their doings, who are plainly unskilful in the word of righteousness — and yet, who would rather confess almost any other thing, that the fact which others know, just as well, when they ingeniously and vainly strive to con- ceal it.
The criterion of the preaching, which in our mind's eye is the standard of all proper aims, we thus define — What the words of Scripture, purely interpreted, clearly articulated, correctly understood, solemnly delivered, and powerfully urged ; the effect, which all this natively tends to produce, on the minds of the auditory, is that, in coin- cidence with which, and in it alone, may be identified
24 INTRODUCTION.
what deserves the name of good preaching, in proportion to its similitude to such a scriptural standard.
In these remarks, we have not lost our object, if the reader shall keep his mind awake to the specimens of their reference, as he peruses them in the present volume. Nor will it be less, but rather more to the point, that the specimens are incidental, popular, informal, and inter- spersed throughout.
5. Our last remark shall respect the value, in this day of the great fecundity of the press, of religion. and truth constantly mingled in all our ephemeral literature. The great ideas of religion and truth, that may be safely called fundamental, are mainly the following, in the order as we arrange them :
The Being of God.
The accountableness of man as his creature.
The Christian revelation.
The immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body.
The sinful and lost estate of the total species.
The mediation and offices of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The work of the Spirit.
Personal piety, initial, progressive, and complete.
Glorification.
Eternal confirmation and beatitude. And who can doubt the reasonableness of not forget- ting these ten incomparable things ! Well, every readable and sound sermon is a valuable contribution to their perpetuity, as well as their diffusion. And what if the belief in God were erased from the moral consciousness of the community? All related truths would perish from the earth ; as would rush the planets into ruin, if the sun were plucked from his immoveable centre or annihilated there. There could remain nothing in this fatherless world, and nothing in the future, to attract our desires or
INTRODUCTION. 25
attach us to existence. But — I say the rest in the better language of a great preacher, who as a writer is more distinguished, especially now that he speaks to mortals only in his published works.*
"The idea of the Supreme Being has this peculiar property ; that, as it admits of no substitute, so, from the first moment it is formed, it is capable of continual growth and enlargement. God himself is immutable ; but our conception of his character is continually receiving fresh accessions, is continually growing more extended and re- fulgent, by having transferred to it new elements of beauty and goodness ; by attracting to itself, as a centre, what- ever bears the impress of dignity, order, or happiness. It borrows splendor from all that is fair, subordinates to itself all that is great, and sits enthroned on the riches of the universe."
We think our publication will subserve an end at once so great and so good ; and our hope is also that ends allied, though inferior, may be coincidently answered. With this, we commend it to the benediction of God, that he would use it to his own glory and the good of souls ; while we commit it humbly to the good pleasure of his glorious providence. And may these introductory re- flections, written — it may be — too venturously, and under stress of time too little, and of urgency too great, to do them better, or adequately to review or correct them, be found at least not impeding, if haply they little assist, the great design, for which we preach, and pray, and live, and were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
I may add, that the author of the sermons has no re- sponsibility or knowledge, in reference to what, in the fraternal spirit, we have so freely written respecting them. For this, he, we know, and the Christian community, we trust, will make all liberal and proper allowance.
* Robert Hall. 3
SERMON I
AGREEMENT WITH GOD,
u Can two tvalk together ■, except they be agreed 7" — Amos iii. 3.
Order is the first law of Heaven's empire. In the material world, God has secured it by absolute power. In the world of mind, his authority has enjoined it. And in the next state of human existence, his omnipo- tent justice will enforce it. In the present world, God has simply enjoined order ; and if we obey not the great laws of moral harmony, we make our own hap- piness impossible.
Let us descend from principles to fact, and see, that if two are not agreed, they cannot walk together. The enjoyments of friendship demand a harmony of senti- ment ; the classifications of political parties, and all effi- cient party movements, whether good or bad, demand it. How can a child be properly trained by two parents, whose views differ on every important point of intellect and moral education 1 What efficiency can there be in that commercial house, whose partners are agreed about no one of the great principles of trade ?
To these statements it might be objected, that Chris- tians and infidels united together in the reformation of the Church and the overthrow of Papacy. They did ;
28 SERMON I.
but it must be remarked, that they walked together, so long as they were agreed in the simple object of rejecting the political assumptions of the Roman pontiff. Their object in this union was, to burst their common fetters ; but no sooner had this been effected, and each resumed his own individuality, than they clashed and separated. While agreed, they walked together, but no longer.
The text is part of a solemn reproof addressed to the Israelites. They thought, that, because they had been taken into covenant with God, and had been careful in observing the ceremonies of the Mosaic ritual, God walked with them, approved of, and blessed them. But the prophet, in the name of Jehovah, here presents this great principal : — ■ You must agree with me, and then I will walk with you ; — the union between us must be a moral union.' He makes a direct appeal to their judgments, and consciences, in this language, and vir- tually demands whether they are willing to accord with him in feeling, and to co-operate with him. If not, he could not approve them. " How can two walk togeth- er, except they be agreed ?"
To us this is a subject of the highest importance on earth. This earthly scene is to pass away, the world and its interests are to perish ; but the soul and its moral affinities, — the soul and its desires, — the soul and its habits formed on earth must abide and survive the wreck of matter. We may well ask ourselves, — • With whom, with what party, are my moral affinities and alliances ? — with whom am I agreed V If we are not agreed with God, we cannot walk in his counsels, nor beneath his smile. I speak to you, children ! and ask you ; — ' Are you agreed with God V Perhaps you do not understand me. I will let a little girl, of whom I
AGREEMENT WI'TH GOD. 29
have heard, explain to you my meaning.* " I speak to you, young man ! now, in the spring-time of life, at a period in which all around is fascinating and deceiving, at a period in which you are about to form associa- tions and connexions for life, and, perhaps, to take your moral position for eternity ; and I urge you, first of all, to agree with God, that God may agree with you.
How mysterious is the indifference, with which men regard God's approbation, or disapprobation! It is manifest that such indifference cannot be the result of serious reflection. It cannot be, that the man, who has closely contemplated his position in the moral universe, his transient existence on earth, and his fearful interest in eternity, has risen from such contemplation, deter- mined to cast aside all concern for the favor of God, to make the least of his cares the care of his welfare be- yond the hour of death. No, it is a mysterious, irra- tional fascination ; it is the fearful consequence and proof of apostacy from God. ' My fellow-men ! it is not reasonable for you, nor for me, to regard with in- difference the question,—' How does God esteem me, and what is my actual position with regard to him 1 Is there moral union and harmony, on which an eternal friendship may be based?' This is the important ques- tion, which I would assist each one to answer in his own case. It is true, that the infinite Being conceals
* She was greatly distressed to find herself a sinner against God. Her pious mother had encouraged and promoted her convictions of sin. But, one morning, she came running into the parlor, smiling with de- light. Her good mother feared that she had become a trifler with serious things, and exclaimed: " Why, my dear! have you grieved away the Spirit of God ?"— " No, my dear mamma ! I have made up with God." She understood exactly what God meant when he says : " Be ye recon- ciled to God."
3*
30 SERMON I.
from us the brightness of his presence, and neither daz- zles the eye of the body, nor overwhelms the feelings of the mind, by presenting himself to our senses in all the symbols of his majesty and glory. Yet there are manifestations of his perfections and of his feelings, so clear, so indubitable, so palpable, that we may readily determine whether ours be a state of enmity, of indif- ference, or of union with our blessed Creator and Sove- reign or not.
The principle by which this investigation may be made, is simple and obvious. You may know as readi- ly your sympathy with, or aversion to, the feelings of an absent person, as of one present, provided he have made expression of his feelings on any one point. And again ; you may as readily test your sympathies, or aversions, on moral subjects as on any other. There is no difficulty in testing your musical taste, and com- paring it with another person's, by ascertaining your feelings on hearing the same piece of music. And. if on every experiment you find, that what pleases one displeases another, you trace it to a diversity of taste. Two persons examine that masterpiece of painting — " the Last supper," by Leonardo. The one admires, the other disapproves ; because one is a man of unculti- vated taste and unpractised eye, and finds no beauty in its faded colors, while the other is capable of appre- ciating its highest beauties. The one is looking for dazzling color, and soon grows fatigued ; the other stands enchanted, and retires with reluctance. Here is evidently no affinity of taste. So it is with landscape. One gazes with delight upon the gentle slope, the ver- dant fields, the retired vale, the winding stream ; every object, by which he is surrounded, presenting to
AGREEMENT WITH GOD. 31
his eye new beauties, and furnishing fresh delight to the mind ; whilst another perceives in all this nothing to attract or charm. Here is evidently a wide differ- ence in taste. And again ; concerning those whom we see not, but whose sentiments live in their works ; we can readily determine whether they and we are agreed, and whether we could, or could not walk to- gether. Some of the hideous images of Egyptian idol- atry are now in our museums. These were once the admiration of thousands as master-works of art. We look at them with disgust. Here is a want of intel- lectual agreement. But we have also some of the matchless specimens of Grecian taste. We admire these, and feel, as we contemplate them, that we should have found the highest intellectual gratification in the society of the men who made, and of the people who admired those figures. But they are more than speci- mens of art ; they were the objects of a blind religious veneration. As we consider them in this light, our ad- miration gives place to disgust and contempt ; and we feel an utter antipathy to the character and sentiments of a people, whose intellectual elevation is but a light, which throws in deeper shade their moral degradation. It is, then, by contemplating some common object, that we test our harmony, or want of harmony, with others on any subject. If you, my hearers ! have taken up the subject of religion with an earnestness in any mea- sure corresponding with its magnitude, then you have discovered the truth of what I am about to state. If any of you have not, I shall entreat a patient attention to my statement and proofs.
My statement is — that
Man, as unconverted, has no moral union with God.
32 SERMON 1.
He sympathizes not with God ; walks not, co-operates not with him. Between God and these, his creatures, there is no common taste, there are no common princi- ples, no common ends, nor plans.
Let us begin our proof of this, by observing God and man, in the exercise of love in its two branches, com- placency, and benevolence. God loves all excellence. He has said in his word, " To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit." Hu- mility, faith, penitence, the spirit of prayer, — these are the features of character in God's sight, of greatest price. But it is not so with the world. Take, then, the two objects ; on the one side, a man of true piety, with no other recommendation ; and on the other, a man with every thing admirable, but destitute of piety. The one is Lazarus at the rich man's gate. Look at him with all the offensiveness of his exterior ; destitute of wealth, of talents, of friends, a cripple, a beggar ; and yet he is a man of piety. His views of sin are as God's views. His sympathies are with God's ; the glory of God is the great object of his love ; he rejoices in his low estate, because God has chosen it for him ; while others are called to glorify God by action, he rejoices, that he can do it by suffering in obscurity and con- tempt. Such a man is dear to God. He may live in a dungeon, or a cave, where you would not deign to visit him ; yet that man is one of God's jewels, watched over by angels, who are eager for the commission, to break the rude shell that encases it, and bear it away to shine in the Savior's crown. Come, look at this object, and ask yourself, — < Is my heart agreed with God's in this case ? Do I love piety wherever I see it ? Do I love it for its own sake ? God does ; and if I do
AGREEMENT WITH GOD. 33
not, then our moral tastes do not harmonize, — we are not agreed. He would pass by thrones and senates to comfort that broken heart, and wipe away one tear from that eye ; Gabriel would fly from the nether spheres to lift the cup to his thirsting lips ; but I would pass by on the other side, and hasten to more conge- nial society. Then I am out of harmony with heaven V Yes, here is a common object of moral contemplation, which can as well determine the state of the heart, as a picture, or landscape, or piece of music, can deter- mine the tastes of two men. And what of your man of taste, polish, science, station, affluence, influence, who lives not for God, loves not, fears not, obeys not, praises not God ? He favors you with his society and his friendship. You not only admire, you delight in him. And, even if he utters a few irreverential expressions concerning religion, and carelessly employs the sacred name of Jehovah, that does not alienate your heart ; him you admire, in his society is your chief delight. God does not admire him, but "is angry with the wicked every day."
The selection of our companions, and the ground of that selection, if we would examine it closely, would perfectly expose to us our character as it is in the eyes of God. If we choose the pious, and say with Israel's sweet singer, " in them is all my delight ;" and if we choose them on account of their religion, so far we have evidence of our reconciliation to God. Says John, " we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." We admit that piety is now, in most cases, associated with much, that is not admirable in itself ; and yet there is true piety on earth.
34 SERMON I,
and enough to test the nature and tendency of our af- fections.
In the exercise, then, of their complacency, men while unconverted, select different objects from God ; in the exercise of their benevolence they choose not as God chooses. God loves all his creatures, because they are capable of happiness, and he loves them, as capable of happiness. But men, generally, make a very narrow circle for the play of their benevolent affections. So far as it is restricted by a want of knowledge of other beings, or by an inability to conceive of and sympathize with the miseries of those whom we have never seen, it is a mark of our finite power, and not of our want of holiness. But so far as it arises from selfish indif- ference to the welfare of others, so far we feel not as God feels. Is there, moreover, a man, in the circle of your acquaintance, who has no share in your sympa- thies ? God loves that man, not because he may be g;ood, or grateful, or obedient, but because he is a man endowed with all the moral and immortal sensibilities and capacities of human nature.
It is often said, that no man can love his enemies. Then no man can dwell with God, no man can wear God's moral image ; for that is one of its striking fea- tures. Suppose a man to have interfered with you in your business, to have stood in the way of your worldly prosperity, or to have slandered you to others ; do you not love him, notwithstanding all this ? God loves him, although he may be still his enemy ; the absence of your love to him, proves that you are not agreed with God.
But we can press this matter still further. God not' only loves his creatures, — all his creatures, even his enemies, — but with an intensity astonishing to the very
AGREEMENT WITH GOD. 35
angels of heaven. And his great desire is for their conversion and eternal salvation. Here are, then, two points of comparison ; those interests of man for which he has the highest regard ; and the degree of his re- gard. To testify the extent and strength of his com- passion for sinners, God gave his own Son ; for, it is said, " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," &c. Not only does he love his ene- mies, but he sacrifices his Son to do them good. Who, then, has a moral union and affinity with him, whose great name is Love ? And for what is this great sacri- fice ? for what the mission of the Spirit ? for what the word of Revelation ? It is all to secure the conversion and everlasting salvation of men. Upon this great work the whole heart of the blessed God is set. But say, if, to some of you, this work does not often appear absolutely contemptible ? Say, if, when amidst the gay lovers of pleasure and votaries of fashion, you would not have felt a revolting of spirit, a cordial contempt for one, who should have commenced talking to you of the great work of salvation by Jesus Christ, of the importance of efforts to turn the attention of this people to the interests of their souls, before it be for ever too late 1 But if you have not felt contempt, have you not a complete indifference ? The heart of every one is on some object, which seems to him great ; it may be pleasure, profit, honor, ease, in some of their forms. But if your supreme desire be not that of extending the cause of Christ, you are not agreed with God ; for upon this one great and glorious plan his heart is su- premely fixed. For that, the Son of God came to sufferings, shame, and death. Your indifference to this vast object, your absorption in the interests of time,
36 SERMON I.
your unwillingness to make sacrifices for the salvation of your own or others' souls, your little, narrow, selfish schemes, prove that you are not agreed with God.
We may test the condition of our affections by an- other object — the law of God. To him it is as dear as the happiness of his creatures and the honor of his own name. If you find in it one command too holy, one requirement too exact, or one precept superfluous, then you esteem it not as God does. I will not now regard all that is implied in an aversion to any one precept of the divine law. We are here simply concerned to see that what God approves, man disapproves. His wisdom, equity, and goodness framed that law in all its strict- ness, purity, and extent. Not a command nor a pro- hibition of it expresses else than his heart approves. Even the tremendous denunciations of it, too, are approved by God. If then its requirements please not, if its threatenings seem too severe to any one ; with such a one God is not agreed.
Another object tests the heart ; the Son of God manifested in human nature. In all the predictions of the patriarchs and prophets ; in all the ancient types of the Mosaic ritual, and the shadowy representations of the former economy ; in the mission of John the forerunner, we can see that Christ, in all ages, has been, as he was announced at his baptism, the only begotten and well beloved Son of God. This was the testimony borne to him on the banks of Jordan by his heavenly Father — " This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased 1" — in whom I am well pleased. I now turn your thoughts to him. I would present him in his humble cradle, in his holy life, in his severe reproofs of sin and unbelief, in the moment when he
AGREEMENT WITH GOD. 37
chilled the zeal of that self-complacent young ruler, who thought himself almost ready for heaven. I pre- sent him hung up on the ignominious Roman gibbet, expiring beneath the contempt of earth and frown of heaven. I present him coming in the clouds to judge the world, and to separate men into two great classes, by a principle, which shall pour contempt on the dis- tinctions that have gratified the pride of the human heart ; I ask you in all this — • What think you of Christ V God says — " I am well pleased." Does your heart respond — l He is to me all in all V God says that he has " raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might and do- minion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet," — " and given him a name, which is above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and that every tongue should confess." Does your heart thus exalt him ? If we have a common heart, or moral sentiment, with Je- hovah, then we must love Christ as he does. When- ever the gospel is faithfully preached, Jesus Christ is manifestly set forth crucified for man's redemption. And under these manifestations, how many are totally indifferent ! Some may have been aroused to a sense of their entire dependence on Christ, of their immediate and pressing need of an interest in his mediation. But how transient was the impression ! Yes, in that solemn hour God presented to you the great medium of reconciliation to himself, showed you where he could meet you without compromising his justice or his truth, held the promise of pardon down from his
4
38 SERMON I.
throne, showed you the covenant of peace, signed and sealed in the blood of the Lamb slain for the redemp- tion of the world ; — in that solemn hour God was near in a sense more real, more important, infinitely more important and delightful than human thought can conceive. Yes, there, my hearer ! — and you remem- ber perhaps the hour — there your soul weighed earth and heaven in the balance of its affections ; there in strong debate you canvassed the claims of sin and holi- ness ; there you were almost persuaded to be a Chris- tian ; and yet — awful thought ! — you there decided that your heart could not choose Christ and renounce its idols.
Here are then objects enough presented for the appli- cation of our principle and of our test. One is Piety ; considered by God as the only lovely object on earth ; piety, considered by the world actually, practically, daily and hourly, when exhibited in life, as either con- temptible, or as not equal in interest to intellect, to wealth, to rank, or other adventitious appendages to man. God loves, God walks with the men of humili- ty, of faith, of prayer, of zeal for his honor and kingdom. God loves them for their piety, for that which distin- guishes them from the world. Men generally either disregard them, or esteem them on account of other qualities and circumstances. We have selected again — the Law of God. When God beholds that, as an expression of his will, as adapted to make the universe of intelligent beings one vast, happy community ; when he beholds its perfect symmetry, its purity, its clear re- presentation of his rights and of his creatures' duties, he must love it. And there are a few men who can say with intelligent sincerity — "the law is holy, and the
AGREEMENT WITH GOD. 39
commandment holy, and just, and good ;" " how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day." But alas ! there are only a few men of that spirit in the human family.
The majority of men treat the whole law of God with such indifference, that they think it not worth their while to search into its precepts, either to know what they are, or whether they comply with them. We have contemplated also the souls of men in their inappreciable worth, to see, on the one hand, how earn- estly God loves them, at how high a price he under- takes their salvation ; and on the other hand, that men generally care little for the mass of mankind, love not their enemies, and care nothing for the undying inter- ests of the soul. Conversion, pardon, sanctincation, resurrection, justification at the bar of God; — these are matters of moonshine with the busy, the gay, the learn- ed, the wise, the mighty world. The last of its con- cerns is for the promotion of vital, soul-transforming, soul-saving religion ; the smallest of its sacrifices are for it ; the least degree of its sympathies is with him, who weeps over man's apostacy, who prays for the ex- ercise of God's recovering grace, and for the mighty energies of the Holy Spirit.
The last object we presented was — the Bright, the Morning Star— the Sun of Righteousness, who has arisen on the world with healing in his beams, — the meek, the spotless Lamb of God, who bore the sins of erring man upon his guiltless soul. We have heard the voice of the Highest saying — " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;" and, "What think ye of Christ ?" We have heard the world saying, — * We may want to fly to him in a dying hour ; but, un-
40 SERMON I.
til forced to do it, we wish not to take his yoke upon us ; we have seen neither form nor comeliness in him, that we should desire him.'
And, my fellow-mortal ! is it you, whose heart, whose conduct, with so stern an emphasis, have thus replied ? Then I must carry the subject one step further, and ask you, How « can two walk together, except they be agreed ?" If it is determined in your own mind that you are not agreed with God, how then can he confer upon you any of the blessings of his children ? He may command his sun to shine and his rain to descend upon you ; for that he does to the evil and unthankful. But does that satisfy you ? Can you live with the crea- ture deprived of the Creator ? If God but gives you the bounties of his providence, are you satisfied to live without him, without his love, without the peculiar blessings which he confers on his children. But he cannot confer these blessings on those, who have nei- ther obeyed his law, nor become reconciled to him through the gospel. It would bring reproach upon his character as moral Governor ; for that character he must sustain as well as that of Father. You make it impossible to be blessed. How can God delight in you 1 What shall he delight in ? Your external advantages'? They have been possessed by some of the darkest and vilest beings, that ever bore the name of man. Shall he delight in your intellect, your science, your accom- plishments ? Have you more than Satan had on the morning of his rebellion? But they could not bribe nor dazzle the perfect eye of Eternal Purity and Jus- tice. God delights in the men, who, where they have disobeyed his law, honor it by all the amends in their power ; — repentance for their sin, and the acceptance
AGREEMENT WITH GOD. 41
of a gratuitous pardon through Jesus Christ. God de- lights in them, whose hearts harmonize in sympathy with his, concerning the great scheme of recovering this lost race to allegiance, and holiness, and heaven. God delights in those, whose delight is in his Son. Hear how the apostle Paul, whom God loved, expresses himself concerning the law of God : — I delight in the law of God after the inward man, although I find a constant rebellion in part of my nature against it. He perpetually took the side of the law against himself. Hear the adorations of the heavenly host in whom God delights :
" Worthy the Lamb that died, they cry, To be exalted thus."
Now if your heart has, in all these points, no sym- pathy with God, how can he delight in you? How can he take you to heaven? The righteous are taken there in order to make their communion with God more in- timate, perfect, and beatific. But communion of soul, to be intimate and delightful, must be intelligent and cordial on those points, which both parties deem of the highest moment. But if you have no such fellowship with God here, what will you do in heaven? If you have found no delight in the imperfect communion which prayer affords, what will you do in heaven ? It seems to me, my fellow men ! you pronounce the ver- dict on your own souls. Without a change of heart, there is no advantage in your going to heaven. If you go there, it will not be to have communion with God and with his Christ. A heaven without God,— a hea- ven without the Savior ! God will gather around him- self the faithful spirits, who have contended for his honor and interests in the various parts of his king-
4*
42 S E R M O N I.
dom. But what will you do among them ? Will you bring the history of your anxiety for worldly good, your toils and cares for earthly interests, to entertain the sons of light, the valiant champions of truth and holiness ? God will gather them that have been faith- ful to his cause, that they may co-operate with him in still greater plans. But what will you do there, who have never sympathized with God's cause on earth 1 How "can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Then there is no fellowship with God, no co-operation with him, no rapturous enjoyment of his presence, his character, his plans, his service.
Heaven is constantly thought of, under the vague impression of a happy spot. But think of a circle of friends, pure, refined, intelligent, enjoying exquisite de- light in each other's society. Imagine one of utterly uncongenial taste and habits, longing to be admitted to that circle, under the impression that merely being there would make him happy. You know he is in error; but not in as great an error as they are in, who think of heaven as a happy place, and are anxious to get there, but have no anxiety for immediate and perfect preparation for it. No ; if you are not agreed with God, he will not bring you to " his presence," where is " fulness of joy," nor to " his right hand/"' where are " pleasures for evermore." If not agreed with God, you cannot dwell for ever with those who are. No ; if you are not now walking with God, we are prepar- ing for an endless separation. You may occupy the same place in the house of God with his children ; you may perform the same external duties ; no human eye may be able to discover a difference between you and them ; and yet, being unreconciled to God, as time
AGREEMENT WITH GOD. 43
rolls onward, and as eternity approaches, you are di- verging further and further from them. The thought is solemn. Life is solemn, inasmuch as it is the seed- time of eternity ; its threshold, its type, its model. To- day we may take you by the hand ; to-day we may lead you to the foot of the cross ; to-day we may weep over you, and express to you our strong anxieties ; to- morrow you may die, and we may never, never, never again meet. Pilgrim to eternity ! if your heart is not right with God, you are going to an eternal distance from him and his saints. And are you willing to be eternally separated from God and the good ? Suppose you were called to-day to bid an everlasting farewell to your pious relatives and friends, to Christ and his Church ; would it be without a sigh ? And yet it may be so.
I know this is a theme on which few occupy their thoughts. But it remains in all its truth and awful im- portance, that, under the dispensation of mercy admin- istered by the Son of God, men are taking their posi- tions for eternity. There are two contending interests in the universe. Hell and its legions are ranged on the one side — God and his angels on the other. By phy- sical force, the controversy might soon be ended. But this is the department where God's greatest glory is seen in the enlistment of moral force alone. Oh what a theatre of sublime interest is earth, where every thing is yet undecided, but rapidly settling for eternity ! The inhabitants of heaven are immutably ranged under the banner of the Prince of light. Fallen angels and dam- ned spirits look for no reprieve, no change. Dark hate and fell despair are their chains. But man's fate is yet undecided. His destiny is pending, and God is
44 SERMON I.
now persuading ; for moral power consists in persua- sion. And generally, it is a " still small voice," easily stifled, easily unheeded. Hark ! it sounds in thy breast, it comes from thy Father's throne, from thy bleeding friend, from the Spirit of life : — * Wilt thou be agreed with God V
SERMON II
man's natural enmity to god.
" The carnal mind is enmity against God." — Rom. viii. 7.
If we divest this sentiment of its technical form, and express it in the language of common conversation, its dreadful import must strike the most inattentive hearer. The Bible is technical, because it is the Book of heav- enly science, and, like every other book of science, must employ many phrases in a sense peculiar to itself. This has frequently been a theme even of ridicule to the enemies of its doctrines. But a mere verbal con- troversy is always of minor importance. We discover with painful interest, the reality and extent of an oppo- sition, more serious, because it is to the truth of our text. All over the world, and in every period of human his- tory, men have hated, not the fact here stated, but the declaration of that fact. Men are willing, that it shall be true that they hate God, but they are not willing to read it, nor to hear it. There is an almost universal reluctance, to put among the axioms, or the established points of religious belief; the truth, that the human mind is opposed to its Creator and Savior. At present we shall endeavor to convince those, who admit the Bible to be an infallible teacher. We shall allow there-
46 SERMON II.
fore, in these discussions, no other place for reasoning, than to ascertain, whether, or not we understand the written Word. If God says it, we must believe it.
Has God then said, that the human heart is opposed to Him 1 So we understand the text. It is clear that the human heart, in some state, is here said to be, " at enmity against God. " The only remaining question, then, is. whether or not that state is the universal, nat- ural condition of man. It is, in other words, whether or not every unconverted man hates God. We under- stand the text to assert this, because the whole course of the argument in the context consists, in contrasting the two different states of human nature, as renewed and unrenewed. But the argument from the examina- tion of the record, although more conclusive and satis- factory to a student of the Bible than any other, is neither so interesting nor so striking to those who are not inclined to pursue that study. We therefore take up another line of argument, and lead you to positions where this dreadful truth so glares upon the eye, that the understanding must embrace it, despite the revolt- ings and struggles of self-respect and of carnal desire. We readily make, however, this concession to human nature ; — we admit that men generally appear to be sincere, in denying that they hate God.
We meet, then, on the threshold, the apparent oppo- sition to our doctrine, of all human consciousness and experience. We maintain an apparently extravagant truth, in the face, not only of what men believe, but even of what they feel. We appear in the bold posi- tion, of telling men that, concerning themselves, which they know to be false. Ask any number of men this question — ' Do you hate God V The reply, in
man's natural enmity to god. 47
almost every case, will be made with perfect sincerity — 1 No, I love Him.' . And the answer will often be forti- fied with this argument — •' Why should I hate the Being that gives me all my blessings V It is this supposed consciousness, that fortifies men, so securely, against the testimony of God. Now it is important to understand precisely, on the one hand what it is of which men are conscious, and on the other what the text asserts. Few men see in their hearts any thing, like hatred of the character of God ; they see no anger, no rankling, no opposition against Him, in positive ex- ercise. Nor does the text assert, that this hatred is, in all, a present, positive, outbreaking emotion, or disposi- tion. It simply declares, that the attachment to forbid- den objects and pursuits, which characterizes all hearts naturally, involves in itself enmity against God. Our text does not assert, that sinful dispositions have yet ripened to their full malignity, nor that man has yet seen to what lengths they will carry him. It simply, and only declares, that man has committed himself to the ranks and work of rebellion ; that he is, in reality, an enemy of his God, although that enmity may yet be undeveloped in its more terrible forms. It asserts, that man has begun a career, which will, if unchecked, plant him beneath the banner of rebel angels — an eter- nal, uncompromising enemy of heaven's glorious King. To the proof of this awful truth we advance.
We see enough, and we intend to show enough, to convince the world that men need but a change of cir- cumstances, to develope forms and degrees of wicked- ness, which would now be as incredible to them, as was Hazael's predicted depravity to him. See you that statesman, amiable, courteous, generous ? He lives in
48 SERMON II.
perfect amity with all his neighborhood. Ask him. if he is conscious of enmity towards a human being. His sincere response is, — 'Not towards one ; — no, not even to that rival in the career of ambition ;' (who, it must be observed, has never yet crossed his path.) Return to the place of his residence after many years, and hear the village stories of anger, reviling, and finally of the fatal duel between these former friends ; and see the lasting hatred which yet burns even in their off- spring. What has kindled this strange fire in that once peaceful bosom? Where is now the firm con- sciousness, that once induced the frank and earnest disavowel of enmity ? Alas ! a change of situation, and circumstances, changed, not the man, but the exer- cise of his selfishness ; and it was by this change, brought out in forms hitherto unknown to himself, and to others. Fellow man ! thou art ignorant of thyself ; thy heart is an enigma to thee ; God knows it, and God has given His testimony concerning it. Thou art to live through many, — many changes. Thou mayest be confident in thyself ; but He, who knows the end from the beginning, has declared dreadful things con- cerning thee. And time and eternity, with their in- conceivable changes, may yet make thee what if now told thee, would force the exclamation — " What ! is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing ?"
Man is the enemy of God in his selfishness. He be- lieves it not, because he knows not who, or what Goo. is ; or, because he will not compare himself with what he does know of God, to see how he regards Him. And the more fully God unveils His character, His government. His plans, the more decided and the more dreadful will be the enmity, felt and exercised. Let us
ENMITY TO GOD. 49
look a little further into this very consciousness of man, that seems to contradict the words of God, and behold therein the strong confirmation of our doctrine.
I. Man hates the character of God as a Lawgiver. ]f there is any prerogative of His nature, for which Je- hovah will contend with the power of His throne, it is that of making laws for His creatures. And if there be, on the other hand, any strength in man's attach- ments, any firmness in his purposes, any ardor in his pursuits, any determined opposition to that, which in- terferes with the independence of his will, or the ac- complishment of his cherished plans, then is uncon- verted, selfish man an enemy of God the Legislator. It is true, that this rebellion against the Divine govern- ment, this opposition to the Supreme will, does not manifest itself in the same forms, as rebellion against the various kinds of moral government in human society ; and this is one great source of deception. The feelings, which, in the one case, are hidden, in the other are strong and prominent ; not that the hatred and opposi- tion are less real to the Divine government, but that the human government presents itself more obtrusively to its subjects. There are, however, occurrences in every individual's life, which, if properly observed, would echo back a fearful testimony to the truth of the Bible. It is in incidents considered trifling, that man shows his character ; and he, who has accustomed him- self to observe the incidents of human life as reflectors of the human heart, can read, in the passing events of every hour, the indexes of all that constitutes that heart. Reflect on an occcurrence like the following.
There were, in the metropolis of one of the United States, two young men full of glowing health and elas-
5
50 SERMON I I.
tic spirits. They selected, for a drive, the very hour ot a beautiful Sabbath morning, in which the devout had just commenced the worship of their God. They were urging a spirited steed down one of the leading streets, and securing the general attention ; but in the very height, hilarity, and speed of their movement, they were suddenly brought to a mortifying stand by a strong iron chain drawn entirely across the street in front of a church. It need scarcely be said,' that they felt the emotions of indignation and hatred against the chain, and against the authority, that threw it across their path. They had been conscious of no such hatred be- fore ; it was a new emotion, drawn out by new circum- stances. But God himself had thrown another chain across their path, stronger than iron or adamant. He had uttered, with his own awful voice, from Sinai, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." He had interposed his own awful authority to prevent these young men from " doing their own pleasure" on that day. And why, then, did they not feel the same hatred risino: against this obstruction to the gratification ot their desires ? This is a question of great importance ; and though the answer is brief, it is worthy of deep reflection : — Because it was a moral, and not a physical chain — because it made their pleasure wrong, but not impossible — because it consisted, for the present, only in a precept and a threatened penalty. Had Jehovah met them when sallying from their dwellings, — had He laid His mighty hand upon their puny arms, and held them back from their career of sinful pleasure, — had He sounded in their ear his awful threatenings at every step of their progress, — had He shown that, for every moment of pleasure, He would visit upon them ages of
man's natural enmity to god. 51
wrath, — then they might have found, that they hated Jehovah, as they hated that iron chain. But no ; His holy law lay unobtrusive in their neglected Bible ; it troubled them not, it checked them not ; and hence they felt no present opposition to it. Jehovah bade His sun to shine upon them, and was sending the tide of life, in gladdening pulses, through their frames ; and they could exclaim, with entire security, " Why should I hate Him ? He does me nothing but good."
Let the awful truth be repeated ; — man has staked his happiness against the authority of the eternal Law- giver. And it is a fact, to which the world should attend with the profoundest interest, that, just as much as man loves his own happiness, just so strongly must he, if unconverted, sooner or later, hate the legislative rights, character, and acts of Jehovah. This hatred sometimes breaks out on a broad scale, and " the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break His bands asunder, and cast away His cords from us." And there has probably never been the age, or nation, in which the men, who have boldly and urgently asserted the law of God in its length and breadth, have not drawn upon themselves the persecution, either of ridi- cule, of hatred, or of death. Which of the stem prophets was not hated and sought for as a beast of prey, even among the Jews ? Who is the man in this age or nation, that dares to urge the law of God, and its penalty of endless death, on his contemporaries, that will not be called by some one or more of the various consecrated titles of puritan, bigot, and fanatic ? It must be so, as long as the human heart is true to its own con- stitution. If it seeks its own gratification as the end of
52 SERMON II.
its existence, if its whole plan of happiness is based on that, then it must hate that holy law, which enforces upon it an end so different, by an authority so dreadful, and under a penalty so awful.
There are two ways, in which men have always en- deavored to avoid the painful discovery of this truth. The one is, to deny the revealed character of a law so pure, and holy, and difficult, and contradictory to our passions. If a man can fix his foot firmly on that ground, he will of course discover no opposition to the Lawgiver, because he sees no clashing between the will of God and his own will. The other course is, to ad- mit the existence of the law, but on various grounds to deny the execution of the penalty. But here is the strong hold of our argument. We do not say, that man will hate a God, who tells him, that he must not do this or that wrong action, because it is very bad, and if he does, God is so merciful, that He will treat him just as well as He does the obedient angels. We say it is manifest, beyond all contradiction, that if God be such a God as He has declared himself to be, if He means to maintain His own authority, at the expense of His creatures' everlasting well-being because they have set themselves in opposition to His will, and if men hate the torments of the second death, then must they either change their plans and hearts, or hate the character of God the Law-maker. If it be, that there is no everlasting punishment for unbelief, for impeni- tence, for worldliness, for neglect of religion, then we abandon our present argument. But if we understand the record aright, then we challenge the world to deny this proposition, that a great change must take place in the character of the natural man to have him willing,
man's natural enmity to god. 53
nay pleased, to see God threatening, with His everlast- ing wrath, the pursuit of selfish gratification. If there is a cherished object with the human soul, it is to main- tain the independence of the will ; and if men will but read their own hearts aright, they will find this to be the contested point even with their Creator. The struggle is slight, and suspended by frequent intervals. But Jehovah is coming out from His hiding-place to reveal His Supreme authority, armed with His mighty thunders. Will the unsubdued, long-indulged will of man then bow sweetly ? If mercy and love have failed to soften, will Majesty and Terror win the heart ? No, fellow-men ! no. Hear it from God's messengers now, in the land of hope, and in the day of peace. No ; u the carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
We see this truth from another point of view.
II. Man hates the sovereignty of God. God is the Supreme Being ; all things being made by Him and for Him. His right to accomplish his own desires, and to include the free actions of man and all the hu- man powers in His plan, none will deny. Nay, it is evident that He must carry out His plans, even to the sacrifice of every other interest, which may have made itself inconsistent with those plans. — " But what if the plans of a sovereign God require the abandonment of our most beloved objects ? Must we then cordially submit ?" — Yes, you must either love, or hate a sove- reign God. If you love him supremely, your chief happiness will be derived from seeing Him accomplish His sovereign will. If you prefer your own immediate gratification, or apparent temporal interest, to His will, then either His will must be unperformed, or it must
5*
54 SERMON II.
accord with your will, or you must be the enemy of God.
This argument is conclusive to him, who will reflect upon it. But we can look at it in a still more impres- sive lio-ht. Is the human heart strong in its attach- ments 1 Yes, that is its glory. And yet, in the very strength of those attachments, when perverted, the heart will find its sources of rebellion against a sove- reign God. Is there not strength in the attachment of a man to the wife of his bosom, and to their lovely lit- tle first-born son 1 But what if that husband is sud- denly called from the midst of his business, to behold that lovely infant a pallid corpse, and that lovely wife in the agonies of death 1 Would it be strange if he should raise his clasped hands in the frenzy of his an- guish, and exclaim — " O God ! what have these inno- cent ones done, that Thou shouldst thus tear them from earth's bright prospects ? — what have I done, that Thou shouldst rob me of more than life l" Say not, this is exaggerated. There was one, who could say under circumstances somewhat similar — " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." But that man had not " the carnal mind ;" he had learned to value the creature less than the Creator ; he had not looked to the creature, how- ever lovely, however promising, as the source of his highest happiness. Acquiescence in the will of God was the main-spring of his joy ; and hence the loss of beloved objects only furnished an occasion to manifest that resignation. But our text speaks not of that class of minds ; and we are not speaking of them. We speak indeed of the heart that is full of the tenderest senti- ments of kindness, and susceptible of all that is noble,
ENMITY TO GOD. 55
in attachment to objects worthy of its love. We speak of the heart, loving not wrong objects, but such as are right, in undue proportion ; of the heart that clings to any earthly good with all the intensity of its passions. And of this heart we affirm, that, in its present condition, it is liable, every moment, to such an in-breaking of trie hand of God to tear away all it has cherished and adored, that a new emotion of enmity may spring up like a viper, and become under the successive intrusions of a sovereign Providence the master-passion. Do you love any thing, fellow-man ? — is it a human being — is it the good opinions of men — is it the universal idol, wealth, as possessed, or as pursued? Go into thy heart, and know thyself; see if it is not possible for the plans of God so to interfere with thine, that He would appear to thee thine enemy ; and, if He did, wouldst thou then love Him ? Hast thou learned to love thine enemy, thy strong enemy, who mars each favorite scheme, who hurts thy good name, who maims thy body, who takes from thee thy gold ; nay, who makes thee, in the same day, a desolate mourner at the tomb of thy wife and child ?
But from this appeal and the argument couched under it, there is an apparent escape. It is, either that such things will not happen to the individual ; or, if they do, that he will not trace them to the hand of Providence. Upon these replies much might be said to confirm our position. The cases stated are neither imaginary, nor of unfrequent occurrence ; and if they should not occur, it is not the less certain, that the car- nal mind merely tolerates a sovereign God, so long as His plans do not interfere with those it has cherished. And with regard to the others, it is true, that there may
56 SERMON II.
be such an atheistical disregard of the hand of God in the common events of life, that he may not become the object of immediate hatred, because He is not recog- nised as interfering with the individual's happiness. But what if the man should find out, that nothing takes place except by His ordering ? — what if he shoufd discover, that the most common events of life form so many links in the great chain, which binds the pur- poses of God to their issues ? — what if he finds God charging him to see His hand and will in each minut- est occurrence ? Will he love Him ? — No, not if there be strength in human passions ; — no, not if he has not learned to love his enemy ; — no, no ; the man, who hates the insect that annoys him, who hates the robber of his property, the murderer of his child, the tyrant that casts him into prison, must find the same emotion arising towards even the mighty God, whom he sees crushing, in His omnipotent movement, every idol of his soul's affection. It is true, that his conscience will not condemn God, as it condems the fellow-man who injures him ; but the hatred, which is entirely inde- pendent of this faculty, will exist none the less.
We state a third argument.
III. The carnal mind hates the mercy of God. Here we seem to be in even more glaring inconsistency with consciousness than in any former assertion. But men have deceived themselves, in regard to what they really were conscious of on other subjects ; and a closer attention may discover an illusion here. It might be thought, at the first glance, that the very self- ishness, which we charge on man, would make him love a merciful God. We ask attention to facts which
man's natural enmity to god. 57
bear on this subject ; the facts of history, and the facts of consciousness.
If the mercy of God consisted in the mere direct gratification of the wants of men, our position were then false. This vague notion is wonderfully prevalent in the world, but is infinitely removed from the sublime and holy attribute called Mercy in the Scriptures. It we might attempt a Scriptural definition of it in part, we should say, that it is the kindness of God to men introducing the means of bringing them to holiness, forgiveness and heaven. And there is the offensive aspect of all its manifestations ; its powers and riches are all exerted to make man holy, that he may be truly and for ever happy. It was mercy, that bowed the listening ear to Abel's prayer, and smiled propitiously on his sacrifice ; it was grace that taught and inclined him to make the acceptable offering. What was the effect of that display of grace to fallen man ? It kin- dled the passions of hell in the bosom of Cain, and the hatred, which could find no vent toward the God of mercy, fell in murderous stroke upon an innocent bro- ther. That mercy promised to exalt Joseph even above all that his brethren or father had attained. And this it was that excited the murderous purpose of his breth- ren, even to the desperate extent of defeating the very purposes of the Almighty. The Israelites were led out of Egypt in mercy ; but because every thing was not arranged to their wishes, the very plans and achiev- ments and instruments of that mercy perpetually arous- ed their wrath. The prophets were sent in mercy ; but these were stoned and sawn asunder and driven to dwell with wild beasts. At last the Son of God came, the Messenger of mercy. From the cradle to the tomb,
58 SERMON II.
He drew forth the rage and malice of men. His doc- trines, His conduct, His very exertions of merciful power, continually drew upon Him the most bitter and desperate hatred.
What more can be needed, than the narrative of the four Evangelists, to establish the general fact concern- ing the carnal mind, that it hates even the mercy of God ? Look at the history of that eventful period, in which an experiment was made on human nature ; — an experiment to us, not to God, for He knew what was in man. It is true, that we call the men of that day proud, hypocritical, unbelieving Jews and Phari- sees ; but they were men ; they had the same carnal mind which has existed in all ages, and still exists, however varied its form and outward bearing. There lived at that same period Herod and Jesus ; the one was an obscene, blood-thirsty tyrant, a cruel extortion- er,— the other was a pure, mild, and modest philan- thropist. The one filled the land of Israel with the instruments of his extortion, with blood and tears ; — the other was seen in the places of poverty, and a mid the sad children of affliction, wiping the tear from sorrow's eye, and healing its broken heart. The one was toler- ated ; but the other was the object of a relentless perse- cution, which never let down its watchful malignity, until it had heard His death-groans, and seen His life- blood flow beneath its stroke. This was indeed the highest proof that man could give of his hatred to God, even when he displayed nothing but his unmingled mercy ; but it was not the last. The ascended Re- deemer continued the exercise of that goodness, in the communication of the sanctifying Spirit. When the disciples were met to pray for this display of that good-
59
ness, suddenly the Spirit came upon them ; and from that hour began their unparalleled career of beneficent miracles, and of persuasive presentation of the pffers of eternal life. Wherever they went, the presence and pow- er of the Spirit of God were felt. But his reception was the same as that of the Son of God ; cities were filled with tumult and uproar whenever the Divine Spirit alighted, so that the standing title of the apostles was — " the men that have turned the world upside down." The Spirit of- God did not assume a visible form, which could be- come the immediate object of men's hatred ; but he was seen and heard in the acts and words of the apostles. And Paul declares to us, that mobs and stonings, re- vilings, stripes and imprisonment were his rewards, everywhere, for fulfilling God's errand of mercy to his fellow-men.
But we leave the facts of ancient history for those of our own day, and the experience of other men for that, which we cannot doubt, nor deny, as constituting a part of our personal moral history. We assert no- thing here, but propose such inquiries and suggestions as may expose this very hatred of God's mercy, in hearts, which would tremble to admit the awful con- clusion, while they cannot deny the facts from which it is drawn. Some may recollect an opposition to the gracious influences of the Spirit of God in other per- sons, and some an opposition to those influences in themselves. The Savior said, that He had come to divide households and to put a sword between friends. He came to lead men to holiness. But in the accom- plishment of that gracious work, a new and incon- genial element, is brought into the midst of the so- cial and domestic mass ; and, as when a change takes
60 SERMON II.
place in the electrical condition of bodies, the strongest revulsions are sometimes the consequence. The influ- ences qf the grace of God may be sudden, and the decisive changes in the feeling and deportment of indi- viduals often call forth the strong disapprobation of friends. It may be, indeed, that this disapprobation shall attach itself to some of the human imperfection, which mingles with this new form of character ; but after all, its real origin is in the discovery of the direct and merciful influences of the Spirit of God upon the heart. The relations of life are such, that the religious principles of one person may very greatly interfere with the schemes of profit or pleasure formed by an- other ; and these religious principles are the fruits of God's mercy. But the carnal mind, thwarted and checked, feels a hatred of those principles, and thus of the mercy which caused them. This hatred to the religious principles and character of another comes up in a thousand shapes ; but, however it comes, it shows this fact conclusively, that the carnal mind hates the movements of the Divine mercy, as interfering with its plans and pleasures. Whoever feels the risings of contempt, or of opposition towards the strict religious principle, or elevated religious sentiment, manifested by another, shows that he hates the grace of God. But sometimes that grace comes yet nearer, and touches our own hearts, to wake them from their fatal slumbers. The startled conscience begins to take a review of life, under a new light and a new impulse. The past is condemned — the present, is condemned — the future is appalling ; inward, upward, backward, onward, which- ever way its keen glance is turned, the record of guilt and the threat of judgment are beheld. This is painful ;
man's natural enmity to god. 61
but it ought to be felt by every child of Adam, and it ought to be welcomed, provided it lead us to Christ as the Author of pardon and peace. It ought to be wel- comed, for it is the visit of the Spirit of mercy to our guilty bosoms ; it is, in fact, the last effort of mercy for our redemption. That renovated power of conscience is from the blessed Spirit. But how is it treated ? We have reason to fear, that the greater part, who hear the Gospel, dread and detest those very feelings and con- ditions of the mind. Who has not shrunk from the keen pressure of the truth, beneath some faithful Spirit- taught messenger of God ? who has not dreaded the interview of the faithful Christian friend, who, it was known, would urge to repentance and holiness? who has not turned away from his Bible, feeling that it was too dull, too gloomy, too reproving? who has not banished the oft-rising reflections upon the guilt and danger of the present condition of the soul ? who has not run away from himself, and from the secret place of prayer, to join the thoughtless throng ? Now, in all this the heart discloses its opposition to an Infinite mercy that fain would save it, — to that mercy, that paid the debt for the soul, and sends the Holy Spirit to deliver the deluded and unwilling captive. Hearer ! God has no other mercy than a holy mercy ; no other merciful treatment of thee than to make thee holy. If this please thee not, it is because thou hast the carnal mind, which hates God.
This doctrine stands among those fearful and painful truths, the belief of which is most important, because fundamental to all true repentance and faith in the Gospel. God has besought man to become reconciled to Him ; but the appropriateness and tenderness of that
6
62 SERMON II.
entreaty are seen only by him, who recognises himself to be at enmity with God. Every man would fain know how he can secure his immortal happiness ; and yet the greater part shrink from the contemplation and belief of the fact that man needs salvation as a sinner, conversion as an enemy of God and holiness, pardon and reconciliation as a rebel against the Divine govern- ment. " They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" — is a simple truth, but it in- volves some most important considerations. The Sa- vior would by it exhibit the necessity of a distinct and deep impression of our dangerous and painful condition, in order to prepare us to understand and to appreciate the Gospel. The object of this discourse is to describe the fearful feature of this sickness, to induce the per- sonal conviction on the mind — < I am sick, and my malady is sin ; — I am sick, not by misfortune, but by guilty and persevering choice. I love the creature supremely, and consequently must find myself opposed to God sooner or later. It is true I am not at present conscious of any such enmity — but I see it in the future. Changes in my circumstances must soon occur ; and occurring, must show me in perfect and perpetual hos- tility to Jehovah. I have flattered myself to believe that my heart is good ; but I am convinced, that, in the sight of God, nothing can be truly good in that heart which hates Him. I have looked with horror on the wickedness of other men ; but now I see that other men have, while they surpassed me in the degree of wickedness, not differed from me in the nature of their heart. They have been cruel to men, because they had gone so far as to despise the very image of the God whom they hated. I have hated the bitterness
man's natural enmity to god. 63
and cruelty of persecutions on account of religion, but these have been made thus bitter only by the increased degree of that very opposition to God which I indulge in my own heart. Others have given themselves to excessive sensuality, and I have despised them for it ; but now I see that they had only matured that love of created good, which constitutes the leading feature of my own character. My pride is wounded at the discovery ; but it is truth, and I can close my eyes no longer against it. The Bible insists on the necessity of conversion in the case of every human being. Now I see that 1 must be born again. My enmity to God arises from my supreme attachment to the creature- good ; and it can cease only when I cease to entertain the carnal mind. Here is the deliverance I need, and here is my dependence on the risen Savior. It is only by the power of His Spirit that my chains can be broken ; by Him my heart must be changed ; by His sweet power my enmity turned to love.'
But the hearer may fail to receive such convictions from this discourse, because the argument turning upon individual experience, may have failed of resemblance to his personal consciousness. It must then remain with him either to reject the declaration of God, or to look more closely at his own mental exercises, and see if he cannot thereby confirm this truth of the Scriptures.
REMARKS.
1. The supreme love of the creature is a dreadful evil.
This is the precise state of mind indicated by the phrase, " the carnal mind." In many of its forms it appears, to him who looks only on the outward appear- ance, very innocent, and often even amiable. But here we see its real character, and its terrific consequences.
64 SERMON II.
It has these two dreadful issues. First, it makes it im- possible that you can enter heaven. In heaven, they love God supremely ; — you love the creature supreme- ly. In heaven, they have no will, nor plans, inde- pendent of God's; but everything is in sweet, intelligent, cordial submission to His will. " The carnal mind is enmity against God, is not subject to His law, neither indeed can be." Then it cannot enter heaven.
Another consequence of the carnal mind is, that it arrays its possessor against the government, plans, and will of God. There can be no question, as to which party must yield. God's is the strongest arm ; His is the cause of righteousness. The conscience of every creature must pronounce you wrong, and must vindi- cate God in your condemnation. Yes, you must perish remaining in that state of mind. God's potent arm must roll forward the wheels of His providence. If you lay your idols in their path, your idols will be crush- ed ; if you set yourselves in opposition to that mighty movement, you must perish. Then will He "laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh."
2. " Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." " Marvel not that I say unto you, Ye must be born again." The carnal mind must be put away. But where shall one begin ? At the cross of Christ. Renounce the world in thine heart, and cast thyself on Christ.
The conquest of the carnal mind is not the work of a moment ; it is the labor of life. But there must be a moment in which it begins ; that moment should be now. There is a spot of earth, occupying which, you should give yourself for healing into the hands of the great Physician. That spot you occupy now.
SERMON III.
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN.
/ have written unto you, Young Men, because- ye are strong." — 1 John ii. 14.
The venerable writer of this epistle had passed through the five stages of human existence : infancy, childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. Time had now silvered his locks, and given its mellow tints to a character, which, even in his earliest manhood, had secured to him the title of " the beloved disciple." There is, through the whole of this letter, a vein of exquisite simplicity and tenderness. He looked back to the period of youth, and remembered, how critical and im- portant a season it had been to him. By the grace of God, his seed time had been rightly employed, and he was now reaping a golden harvest of serenity, intelli- gence, the confidence of good men, usefulness, and a perfect assurance of eternal blessedness. He had leaned upon the Savior's bosom; he had followed him the most closely in the hour of peril ; and he was now finding, in rich experience, that such was the best pre- paration that a young man could make, for the sober realities of age, and for an approaching eternity. Hence his counsels were turned to young men. " I have written unto you, young men, because, ye are strong."
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66 SERMON III.
His reference is not to the physical, but to the mental vigor of youth. Mental strength is a merciful gift of God. which may be wasted on trifles, or perverted to evil, or used for great and good purposes. It is the power, which God has imparted to form our own character, and to control the character and destinies of others. In reference to the subject before us, we are not called upon to examine the manner, or time, in which this strength is imparted from our beneficent and merciful Creator. It is strength, — human strength, and, of course, derived strength, to which the apostle alludes. The praise and gratitude belong to God who gives it. To man belong the privilege and the respon- sibility of possessing it. Let our attention, then, be directed first to those great objects, which the young should distinctly and constantly propose to themselves, as the glorious achievements, for which, by the energy, the freshness, the enthusiasm of their age, they are so peculiarly qualified. We consider,
I. The noblest objects of youthful desire and pur- suit.
1. Personal improvement. I mean by this, that every young man should aim to become as truly good and excellent as he can be. I speak not now of his becoming great. That we shall consider presently. It is painful to discover, how few of the young men of Christian countries take a sufficiently elevated view of themselves, as endowed with the noblest, though perverted, creature-powers. One looks upon himself in no higher light, than as a mint for the coining of money. If he can learn the great art of accumulating property, he has reached the summit of human excel- lence. Multitudes are satisfied with the mere training
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 67
of their muscular powers in some mechanical art, to the utter neglect of all the mighty powers of intellect, and of all the finer sentiments and aifections of the heart. It is painful to know, that every youth has a depraved heart, and still more so, to observe that so few have any desire to rectify the moral derangement, and to restore to the soul the sweet, harmonious, balanced exercise of its powers. Nay, some have even yielded themselves to the gratification of every de- praved desire and feeling ; restrained only by a regard to their reputation. They look upon the present life, not as probationary and disciplinary, and preparatory to a better ; but as the golden time for the indulgence of all the lower propensities of the mind.
My proposal to the young before me is — that they look upon the immortal mind within, as their noblest possession ; and upon the training of that, under the blessing of God, to piety and virtue, as their most important employment. It is that part of your nature, which places you but little below the angels. It is upon the proper employment of its powers, that your happiness here, and your blessedness hereafter, entirely depend. Your moral condition is a peculiarity in the history of God's empire. Angels, before you, have fal- len from their high estate ; but, unlike you, they have no mediator with God. They have no hope of pardon. Like you, they are perpetually disturbing and distract- ing the delicate harmony of their moral powers. But, unlike you, they are under no dispensation of grace. No. sweet, overwhelming views of the benignity and mercy of their offended Creator shines upon their dreary, despairing souls. While Memory incessantly portrays the scenes of former glory and happiness, the finger of
68 SERMON III.
Hope never points them to eminences of bliss, and per- sonal perfection, which may be attained. To you, young friends ! to you all this pertains. There is a provision in the mercy of God, not only for the pardon of the penitent, but also for the ensuring of success " to them, who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory and honor, and immortality.'' Who, that has once conceived aught of the primitive condition of man, or of angelic purity, does not see, that the world within him has lost its balancing power ? Disorder and discord have usurped the place of order and harmony. God was once the centre of all the social system, and love its attractive power. Then the created soul moved in its own sphere, in harmony with the universe. Then God was its light and its life. But now the centripetal power of love is lost from the soul, and its centrifugal energies are driving the poor wandering star into the "blackness of darkness" eternal. God is no longer its centre. And hence, where once were verdant bloom- ings, the cold and barrenness of polar regions are seen and felt. Where the love of God exists not, there must be confusion, corruption, and death. Where self is the centre of attraction, the primitive order is destroyed, and what should have produced life and blessedness, must result in misery and death.
Who, that knows himself, can refuse the application to himself of these remarks ? Who can say — " I am right ; — I am clean ; — I am prepared without change to stand before the throne of God ; — this delicate machinery has never been disturbed, its balance-wheel never fail- ed ?" Man's moral depravity consists in his perverted affections, and in the voluntary blindness of his con- science, and the feebleness of its directing power. The
OBLIGATIONS OP YOUNG MEN. 69
conscience was given to show us, when and how far our desires and affections may be properly gratified. We are supremely selfish, when all our choices, pur- poses, and actions tend only to our own gratification. We are ungodly, when our affections rest supremely on the creatures of God. Both these conditions of the mind an enlightened conscience would check and re- prove. But where it does not, there it is blind, and voluntarily blind, because God has thrown around us light sufficient to guide our steps. The conscience is feeble, when, with what light we do possess, it cannot restrain the selfish desires, and the idolatrous affec- tions, from controlling the conduct, and forming the character.
This description embraces two great classes. It in- cludes, first, the creature of passion. When he does any thing, it is because he feels a strong impulse to do it ; consequently, that which ought to stand eagle-eyed between the will, and every impulse excited by exter- nal objects, is either blind, or dumb and powerless. It either sees no wrong, or is weary of speaking the lan- guage of remonstrance, or it is no longer the balancing power, determining which impulse shall prevail, and which shall not.
This description includes also the man of earthly affections. He may be benevolent, and just, and true to man, because these are either, to a certain extent constitutional propensities, like hunger and thirst, or are adopted as adapted to promote temporal happiness. He cannot see, that he is selfish ; for he is kind, up- right, and faithful. But he may easily see that he is ungodly ; by which is meant, that his affections em- brace not God. He is just, but not towards the Creator,
70 SERMON III.
whom he thus defrauds of his affections and of all his powers ; affectionate, but not towards God ; grateful, but not to the Man of Calvary, — the God incarnate. This is moral derangement, and it must be rectified. It should be commenced immediately, under the gracious influence of that Spirit, who now comes forth from the mediatorial Prince of Life, to raise and restore ruined man. The affections must embrace God supremely in their wide scope. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength." To him we must be reconciled in Christ, and of him obtain forgiveness. Conscience must become the direc- tor of actions and of volitions, under the guidance of the Spirit and the word of Christ. Those pernicious habits of sensuality, which many have formed, — those habits of self-will, which all have formed, — those habits of speaking and acting from passion, impulse, or desire, regardless of the moral right or wrong, must all be changed. From the pride, which originates in selfish- ness, and is sustained by moral blindness, you must come to a perpetual abiding in that holy and glorious presence which bows to heaven's pavement the tallest angels. From all that groveling absorption in the things of a probationary state, which were meant, not for the perfection of the soul in love, but for its disci- pline in penitence, and humility, and self-government, you must set your affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. In a word, you must undertake the training of a blessed spirit for the society and bliss of those, who " have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.7' We propose,
2. The Work of Philanthropy ; — doing of good to
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 71
the extent of your power. Who is the greatest man that ever lived ? I speak of any that may be, or that was designed, in the Providence of God, to be a model for the race. It is blasphemy to rank, in true moral greatness, — that greatness which is the legitimate ob- ject of human ambition, — any above Jesus of Nazareth. Say not that he is too far removed to be our model. As a man, he was but a man, a perfect man, made in the likeness of sinful flesh ; and the direction to us is, — " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." True greatness, as exhibited by him, is to live, and consecrate the time and powers to higher objects than such as men generally pursue ; and, in the pursuit of those objects, to pass by the indulgence of the desires and feelings, which constitute the happiness of most men. It was a fine specimen of the moral sub- lime, when Jesus sat weary and hungry at the well of Jacob, and said, " My meat is to do the will of him that sent me." It was spoken, in view of the ignorant and perishing souls then flocking to him from the city. It should never have been, for one moment, a question with any human being, whether or not there is, truly, any greater object for which we can live, than that for which he lived. The only point, which it might have seemed presumption to believe, is, that we are permitted to engage in the same lofty enterprise ; that it is not enough for heaven's mercy to call us to pardon, and peace, and the hope of heaven ; but even to the very work, which tasked all the human energies of the Re- deemer, and which illustrated all his Divine perfections. Yes, my young friends ! you are called to become phi- lanthropists. The sound of the trumpet is heard on high, — ' To arms ! To arms !' — but it comes from the
72 SERMON III.
Captain of Salvation, the Prince of Peace. It is to a bloodless field — to contend " not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, and spiritual wick- edness in high places." The rider on the " White Horse" goes not forth alone against the enemies of God and man. The victors, who are yet to walk in the triumphal procession, with palm leaves in their hands, are "the dwellers on the earth f some, doubtless, of them before me. Their weapons are the weapons of light, wielded in the cause of God and humanity. But what are the objects of this moral warfare ? They are — to deliver the prey from the spoiler, to burst open the prison doors, and to proclaim liberty to the cap- tives. You are called to sigh and weep in the spirit of a Howard, — nay, the spirit of Howard's Savior — over the degradation, and wide-spread misery, of a race, which has apostatized from God, in its affections, and its allegiance.
We propose to you to become great men in the sight of God, of angels, and of the good on earth. And, if we have observed aright, it is hastening to this, — that the standard of greatness is undergoing a change ; that to be a great man, in the estimation even of the world, will require, that he, to whom the distinction is awarded, shall exercise the moral and benevolent feel- ings, and not the selfish feelings, as his great impelling power ; that his theatre shall be the scenes of actual wretchedness and moral degradation ; that in his track shall be found the ignorant enlightened, the captive exulting in his freedom, the heart of the orphan glad- dened, the cause of justice and truth established, the glory of God promoted. Oh ! if you desire fame, let it be the fame of leaving the human family better
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 73
and happier than you found it ; if your ear must drink in praise, let it be the blessing of him that was ready to perish ; let your monuments be the rich garden spots of moral beauty and fruitfulness, reclaimed from the waste wilderness. Help to increase the facilities for educating the mind of man— to improve the modes of educating — to spread these facilities, till they have benefited every member of the vast brotherhood of man. Let your party in politics be the great party whose aim is to have all men, under every government and any administration, govern themselves by the laws of God. Let every moral reformation receive from your hand an impulse and a happy guidance, which, but for you, it would never have received. Lift, on these shores of the great ocean of life, more of these moral light- houses, which shall save from temporal and eternal destruction the souls of men. Let a light be kindled, that shall continue to burn when you are dead. If it is the light of truth, others will tend it, and trim it, and feed it. It will continue to burn with increasing strength and clearness, scattering from a wider and yet wider region the midnight darkness ; enlightening and cheering man on his way to eternity, even to the day, when the sun shall be blotted out ; and then it will still burn and mingle its rays with the glories of the celestial city. Young men ! I speak to you, because all this glory may be yours. Yes, under the merciful administration of Jesus Christ, you may become both good and great.
But, if we should succead to stir up any strong de- sires in your minds, let us not leave you deceived by a false inference, that all this is reached by an impulse, a wish, and a resolution. To attain the high character
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74 SERMON III.
of a practical, efficient philanthropist, requires much personal cultivation, much well-digested knowledge and experience ; and that these should be but qualifica- tions, not substitutes, for activity. And, with the greater part, these attainments are to be the reward of efforts almost unaided by man. One child in ten thou- sand is blessed with a happy education. A mother, or, as by a miracle, some competent substitute, has watched over the first developement and expansion of the powers. The understanding has been rightly disciplined and well-informed ; the exuberant feelings have been chas- tened ; the finer sensibilities cultivated; the soul formed to manliness, to piety, and practical wisdom. Oh ! these instances are rare. Most of the good, who have adorned the world, and of the truly great, who have blessed it, have, under heaven's favor, made themselves. They have grappled with the evil habits of youth ; they have struggled against the influence of evil com- panions, and of a depraved public sentiment ; they have feared, and wept, and prayed, and studied under discouragements, which, contemplated in the mass, would have appalled them. All this we know. And yet, with all this in view, we urge you to become good and great men. This will require you to become truly pious men. This is the first element of true greatness ; because it is the only state in which the moral powers are rightly exercised. Sin is the only truly despicable object in the sight of God. And piety is its antagonist and opposite principle. All other greatness only re- moves you the farther from God's esteem, and the respect of angels. It only lifts you higher, that you may sink the deeper in eternal disgrace. Shun that false and phantom-greatness which lures you to eternal
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 75
ruin. He is not a great man, who depends on any thing physical, or any thing external for his greatness. Greatness, is not in reputation, but in character. He is not truly great, who does not meet the obligations, which arise from all his relations, and chiefly those to God. That is not greatness, which will not make one illustrious at the judgment day, and respected in heaven. He is not a great man, who does not enjoy the blessing of God. Moses was truly great. Select one exhibition of it. When the cloud of God's wrath was gathered over the guilty children of Israel, it was not learning, nor military talents, nor political sagacity, that could save them ; it was prayer. This is power, and Moses possessed it. This is greatness, and Moses possessed it. Young men ! become men of prayer. The eternal and wise God changed the name of Jacob to that of Prince of God. Why? Because he had native mental power, or great intellectual acquirements ? No : but because he had power with man, and power to prevail with God in prayer. Ah ! that is the highest style of eloquence, which persuades God. Get it, young men ! in the school of Christ ; get it, as patriots, for your country's sake ; get it, as reformers of a sinful world. It is idle to look or labor for the renovation of the frame-work of society, unless you renovate the hearts of men ; and it is vain to hope for that, without the aid of God's Holy Spirit. And his influences will be sent upon others, in answer to our prayers. Be men of prayer. It is the best attainment of a patriot, and of a philanthropist. And to attempt the radical renovation of society, independently of the agency of God's Spirit. which he has promised to give in answer to prayer, is moral quackery.
76 SERMON III.
To be useful requires a cultivated mind. This consists in two things : — the proper discipline of the mental faculties, and a knowledge of man, of the phy- sical world which surrounds him, and of the God in whom he lives and moves. To be an efficient philan- thropist you must be possessed of a well-cultivated mind. We propose no royal road to this eminence. The men, who have reached it, have toiled and fainted, and again toiled, and again been discouraged. They, that reap in great joy, and bear home their sheaves with shouting from this field, are they, who carried forth their precious seed and scattered it with tears, Yes, the great Philanthropist himself was not exempt from this universal law. Gethsemane and Cal vary lifted their terrific barriers between him and the end of his labors. To be philanthropists you must become stu- dents. No branch of knowledge will be out of place, while some will be more important than others. Neither the time nor the occasion allow an enumeration of those processes of mental discipline, and those branches of knowledge, which you may profitably pursue for this great purpose. It may suffice to say that the intel- lectual faculties which you should train, and the habits which yon should form, are — reflection — attention — arrangement of facts under principles — activity — judg- ment. If I should recommend any books to those who wish to commence, they would be Dr. Abercrombie's two little works on the intellectual and moral faculties.
But, besides mental strength and correct intellectual and moral habits, you must be acquainted with facts and principles.
God is the first great object of knowledge. You are his and in his world. Apostacy from him is man's misery
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. / 7
— reconciliation to him the only happiness. The Bible is, therefore, the first book in a human library ; because, on each of these points, it throws a light which no other can furnish. There never was, in modern days, a great efficient public philanthropist, who achieved much for the moral renovation of mankind, whose prin- ciples were not formed by the Bible.
As you are to operate upon man, you cannot know him too intimately. Your sources of knowledge are the Bible, Observation, Introspection, and History.
Physical science should be one branch of your studies. We recommend a cultivated taste ; — the habit of writing, speaking, and conversing properly and im- pressively. You should obtain right views of the object of our position in this world, and of the true value of time, property, and every other means of influence.
It requires, finally, a well-balanced mind. By which is meant, one that is neither indolent, nor idly active, nor injuriously active ; — one that is neither insensible to the sufferings of man, nor so sensitive as to be un- fitted for action, nor yet driven to act blindly and inju- diciously ; — one that is not wavering on great practical principles, nor yet rash in forming a judgment and obstinate in maintaining it ; but one that looks calmly at a subject on every side, under a solemn sense of re- sponsibility to posterity and to God, and then dares to believe what is true, and to proclaim it on every suit- able occasion ; — one that is willing to hear counsel, to profit by advice, and yet fearless of personal conse- quences, if the cause of truth and human happiness requires sacrifice. We may not now illustrate each of these ; but we may take one, and expand it a little.
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78 SERMON III.
That independence, which you must acquire, in order that you may become an efficient benefactor to your race, has been impressively exhibited by many, who have gone before you in this noble career. That the condition of the human race is improving, on the whole, is evident. There is an advance in parts of the world, in science, and in the arts which make matter subservient to mind, in morals, in religious science, in jurisprudence, and in the international law. For all these advances, we are indebted to the divine mercy. But the instruments, which God was pleased to employ, were men, who had by much cultivation become fitted for their sphere, and then, with singular firmness and independence, moved forward in the work of reform- ation.
Polytheism was the national, the court-religion of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Persia. Some bold spirits must have dared to investigate whether public sentiment was right on this point. And, after investigating, some- thing more was required. There must have been a wise selection of the modes of publishing the truth, and of opposing the popular error. Yes, and there must have been an utter abandonment of the public favor, an exposure even of life, which none but an ele- vated mind will considerately incur, in view of a great object of public welfare. Need I mention, as high on this list, Isaiah, the sublime reprover of idolatry, and all the prophets of the Old Testament, who were stoned, burned, and sawn asunder ? To them and to their firmness are we indebted for our conceptions of the unity of God. and of the infinite majesty and glory of his name.
Judaism was the state-religion which opposed the
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 79
introduction of Christianity. We inherit the latter as our richest legacy ; but it cost other blood besides that of its great Author. Read the lives of its first preachers and professors, for an illustration of that decision and independence, which is demanded of the benefactors of our race. To whom are we indebted for the benefits of the Reformation ; and to what traits in the characters of the Reformers ?
You might find even in the history of physical sci- ence specimens of the same. Such was Copernicus, whose knowledge and boldness called the wrath of the inquisitorial fathers upon him.
We have thus urged you, not merely to become great men, but, — that which needs a more powerful stimu- lus,— to go through the severe process of preparation for it. Were we thus to urge little children, our argu- ment and appeal would fail alike of being understood and felt. And so with men in the maturity of life, fixed in the inflexibility of their intellectual and moral habits. But I have spoken " unto you, young men ! because ye are strong." And it now remains, after this exhi- bition of the great objects, to which your mental strength must be directed, to observe,
II. That Youth is the period of life in which the pursuit of these objects must be commenced.
1. Youth has its peculiar advantages for the form- ation of character. The periods of human life may be variously divided, for various purposes. The body runs through the seasons of helplessness and spright- liness, vigor and decrepitude. The intellect has some- times two periods, generally three. The mind is at first shut up ; it then expands ; and, if neglected, it runs back again to imbecility. But, if rightly treated,
80 SERMON III.
the mind would lift its pinions, with growing strength, until the moral coil is dropped. Except in cases of disease, its vigor would remain unimpaired, if not neg- lected. In respect, therefore, to intellectual improve- ment, youth is the important time of forming those habits, which cannot afterwards be formed, when the active duties of life rush upon man to the extent of a total absorption of time and thought.
But this sentiment is most emphatically true, as we observe the peculiarity of man's moral structure. With regard to character, infancy is the period of mental tor- por. Then comes the season of childhood, when pro- pensities are first developed ; when the imitative power is brought into exercise, but the conscience is feeble, and its discernment of right and wrong exceedingly limited. Now the habits of animal indulgence are formed, without scarcely an understanding that man must live for higher ends. Now the habits of lying, fraud, pilfering, meanness, are formed, with scarcely a whisper from the inward monitor, and with almost no conception of a holy and all-seeing Judge, and a future retribution. Such, as matters of fact, are the disadvan- tages, under which man commences the formation of character ; even at the very period when the lowest propensities have the strongest play, and when his own moral checks are the feeblest. Not that children have no conscience. Not that they are incapable of feeling the generous impulses of gratitude and sympa- thy. But this is emphatically the period, when they must be governed and instructed by others. The plastic hand of education must now do for them what nature has not done, and what they cannot do for them- selves. But we pass from childhood to the third stage
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 81
of man's moral history. Here he appears with his pro- pensities to animal gratification — the strongest mental bias ; his imagination the wildest, and yet most com- manding intellectual faculty. But with all this, he has some experience of the evils of transgression ; the sense of right and wrong has become formed. He is now capable of choosing his gratifications, in view of all the relations he sustains to God and man in time and eternity, of his obligations, and of the consequences to himself and others. The appetites and passions are strong ; but they have not the fearful strength of habit long-matured. Evil examples are powerful. But conscience, as it were new-born, is vigorous and powerful too. Resolution is a power, which has not yet been overcome, and it lives enwrapped in its giant strength within the youthful bosom. The sense of shame is a powerful barrier against vice. The finer feelings of the heart, not yet rendered callous, plead against it. Here is the interesting period of youth. The child was the creature of impulse, of sympathy, of imitation, of stubbornness perhaps, but not of deci- sion. This has exceptions ; yet it is generally true. But now appears the youth on the stage of probation, ushered amid scenes and companions, whose moral bearings he just begins to comprehend. To him the task is committed, to form in a few short years the character of one man for life, and deeply to affect the destinies of a multitude more. That season passes. He goes on from the age of twenty-five to that of thirty years ; and it is generally then determined what character he will bear through life, and in what sphere of moral influence he will move. If he has yielded to sensual desires, to meanness, to fraud, sordid gratifi-
82 SERMON III.
cation ; if he has stooped from the lofty aspirings after holiness and immortal glory from the hands of his Redeemer; he has become weak in the chains of a self-imposed slavery. And every fitful struggle only proves their iron-strength. It was evidently this moral strength to which the Apostle alluded, for he says, — " Ye are strong, and have overcome the wick- ed one." Here was the proof of their strength ; that with the moral energy, imparted by grace, they had overcome the great enemy, in whom is concentrated all moral evil. Young men ! ye are strong to effect this great object committed to man, — the formation of character ; — strong to grapple with the moral and spir- itual foes, that shoot with the arrows of contempt, or the deadlier weapons of flattery ; that decoy where they cannot beat down.
2. Youth is the most favorable season to commence the 'preparation for a life of elevated philanthropy.
Imagine this entire assembly to be aroused by the Spirit of God, in view of the importance of this subject, to an intense desire to commence the formation of those habits, and the acquisition of those attainments, which should fit them to become extensively the benefactors of the world. The desire might burn like an inward fire. But what will it avail yonder aged man ? He may sigh over the mistakes and moral blindness of his youth, over time and faculties wasted, over a life al- most spent, and its greatest object left unaccomplished. It may prostrate his soul in penitence and contrition before God. And he may say, with soul-thrilling elo- quence,— u Young men ! ye, ye are strong : but with me it is too late. Yours is the fire, and fervor, and force ; — yours, the facility for forming new habits,
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 83
which mark you as the favored objects of these appeals. My summer is past, my harvest is ended.' —
Yours, young men ! is more than this ; your very position in society is that of strength. The wicked one is contending for the mastery with the Prince of Peace. -The embattled hosts are on the field. The cruel regi- ments of Infidelity, Intemperance, Gambling, Licen- tiousness, are all, under their great leader, pressing their terrific conquests over human virtue and happiness. But it is with the young men of this generation to de- termine the condition of the war to the end of time. Your individual character and influence could do much. But what could not your united influence ac- complish ? Let the young men desert the standards of Infidelity, Intemperance, Gambling, Profaneness, Sabbath-desecration, and Uncleanness ; and who will lift their banners of blood again, when the old drunk- ards and debauchees, and gospel-despisers have passed away? Yours is the strength to beat down, in the present generation, the enemies of God and man, and to keep them low in, at least the next. Yours it might be to train, under yet better auspices, a still more efficient army for the Prince Immanuel. And although the little band, here collected, cannot do what belongs to the entire body of youth, yet the work must, at some time begin somewhere, that every word, which the Lord hath spoken, may be established.
But, me thinks, I hear the tones of despondency ; — " The speaker forgets his commission ; many, with whom and for whom he came to plead, enjoy but limit- ed opportunities for mental cultivation. But here is a path stricken out, which requires all the time and all the opportunities afforded by a liberal education. He
84 SERMON III.
has surely forgotten the merchant's and mechanic's ap- prentice V — No, young man ! I have spoken thus even unto you ; because, with all the disadvantages of your situation for mental cultivation, yon are strong. And, to strike a decisive blow at your discouragements, I would lay down the broad proposition, that there is no situation or employment, in which it is proper for a young man to be, in which he may not become a good and a great man. You must breathe-in the gospel- principle, that it is neither family, nor property, nor profession, which forms real character, merit, or re- spectability. Look not for honor to your profession, but to your character. With regard to the formation of a religious and moral character, surely you can com- plain of no special disadvantages. It is, then, the in- tellectual part of the training for which you think you have not time and opportunity. I admit that there are four particulars in which the liberally-educated has the advantage.
I. In the amount of time which he can devote to mental improvement. And yet there are some com- pensating circumstances, which you, perhaps, overlook. It is demonstrated beyond dispute from physiological science and observation, that muscular exercise, such as agreeably employs the mind, is indispensable to the best cultivation of the entire man. Some of the first young men of America have utterly disqualified them- selves for usefulness, by a disproportioned exercise of the mind. And besides, if you are truly aroused to take firm hold on this great enterprise of self-improvement, the probability is, that those hours, which you can de- vote to it, will be so much more profitably spent, that
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 85
you will accomplish more real study, than is done by the majority of college-students.
It is not the enrolment on the catalogue of a univer- sity, nor the residence within college- walls, nor the listening to professors' lectures, that makes the man. It depends, at last, on his own efforts, how much he is benefitted. If, with a faithful attention to those interests of your employer with which you are intrusted, and due attention to the particular branch of business which you are learning, there are combined the habits of scru- pulously saving time, of guarding the mind against every thing which interferes with its improvement, of conquering difficulties, of persevering in the midst of discouragements, and of still keeping the eye on a high mark, when all the circumstances in which you are placed are depressing ; you have a moral training for philanthropic effort that is invaluable. You com- plain of the want of time. Where did Benjamin Franklin find it to form in his printing-office the phi- losopher and the statesman ? Had we more Franklins in the shops, we should have more in the senate-cham- ber. The living names of great and good men, who have surmounted the same difficulties, are very numer- ous. Economy of time and system would accomplish for you what might now seem wonders.
Another of your disadvantages is,
2. The want of that collision of mind, which Schools and Colleges afford. This is a real difficulty, and we will not look to you to remove it ; but, I trust, the day is not far distant, when your fellow-citizens will see this subject in a true light, and assist you in the form- ation of such Societies for discussion and composition, as will greatly advance the development of your mental
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86 SERMON III.
powers. And yet, to show you what can be done among yourselves, with a little assistance from others, I refer you to the account of the Gas-Light Company of Glasgow, as stated in the Penny Magazine, vol. xi, p. 60, American edition.
3. You are in want of Professors or Teachers. I can only say now, — bend down, dear youth ! with all the energies of your soul, to intellectual and moral im- provement ; we will hail your advances, and welcome you as brothers. We will do more. I can almost pledge this community to furnish you with lectures, and with courses of instruction. Your evenings may be divided between the public worship of your God, private study, and the public lecture. You shall have higher attractions than the theatre, ball-room, or gambling-house can offer.
4. And the remaining difficulty is the want of books. Is that so? In this community are there youthful minds, panting for knowledge, who cannot reach its precious fountain ; and this, for the want of a little of the property, which God has so liberally bestowed upon us ? No, young friends ! this will not be the case long, after this community shall have learned your necessi- ties. Your cause is strong. It is the plea of want, laid at the heart of patriotism and benevolence. It is not a cry for bread. It is the mind, struggling through the mists of mental night, panting for light, thirsting for the living waters of knowledge. Not many words are needed in presenting your claim before this Chris- tian community. They feel for you, for their country, for posterity, for the honor of their city. It shall not be said, that the claim of an Institution, formed for your in- tellectual and moral improvement, was presented in vain.
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 87
In closing my remarks, I turn again to you, young men ! I have presented but one side of the subject. You are strong not only for good, but also for evil. You are strong constitutionally. But the greater your strength, the more critical your situation. Your vigor is but like steam in navigation, the impelling power ; it is not the helm. If you abandon yourself to blind impulse, remember that life's stream is winding ; re- member, how thickly it is underlaid with rocks and shoals. In coming up the Thames, they do not trust even an experienced master, but must employ a pilot who has studied every inch of the river. And dare you venture on the stream of time, without an enlight- ened conscience for your pilot? If your helm be not vigilantly and strongly commanded by this only skilful, faithful guide, you must inevitably be wrecked. You are strong to undermine the pillars of social order. You may live yet many years, doing the work of death.
There are two parties in morals in this community : on the one side, are engaged the friends of public virtue and true religion ; on the other, the sustainers of vice, of infidelity, of intemperance, and of all forms of evil. Where shall your strength be enlisted ? If with Virtue and Godliness, let it be actively, efficiently employed. Who dares devote the peculiar strength of youth to selfish purposes of any kind ? When you may without extravagance hope to become public benefactors, is it right to bury your powers ? How can you determine, in becoming a lawyer, physician, mechanic, or mer- chant, to live for yourself? Are there not motives sufficiently powerful to induce you to live for the good of your race ? See how it is sunk in ignorance, in op-
88 SERMON III.
pression, in sin. You may help to elevate it. Yes, you may help to purify and elevate the character of this whole empire, and make its influence yet more powerful and beneficial to the entire world.
You live in a day of peculiar promise to the human race. There is a waking up of the human mind from the slumber of ages, and a startling of the human con- science from its long torpor. An intense curiosity and earnest anxiety for the word of God, are now heaving the mass of the pagan mind. The heathen are calling to the sons of Britain and America, to become cordial believers in that gospel, which they so richly enjoy, to enlist as Missionaries, and to herald its joyful tidings to their waiting crowds. They call upon our educated youth, to enlist all their genius and learning in order to illustrate the science of God and salvation. „ They call upon our mechanics, to educate themselves to go forth as the pioneers of the arts, which have flowed in the wake of Christianity. And did one poor fanatic, emerging from his murky cell, once rouse the chivalry of Europe to pour its wealth, its talent, its nobility, its royalty, down upon the infidel Turk, to liberate the holy sepulchre from pollution ? And have not we a nobler order of mind to address and move ? — have not we a holier crusade to commend ? Did kings throw away their sceptres, and grasp the sword to carry war, and devastation, and death, amidst innocent thousands, merely to gratify a sentiment of superstition ? And will not our youth be ready even to forsake their fire- sides, in the holier, nobler work, of bowing the heart of man to the sceptre of Christ ? Look at the minute steps in this great work. The preacher, schoolmaster, physician, farmer, mechanic, must go and lead their
OBLIGATIONS OF YOUNG MEN. 89
\
benighted minds to Christ ; must carry them the press, educate their children, form new habits, and reorganize the structure of domestic society.
Now all this range of thought strikes us with pecu- liar force, when we remember, that there are no impediments to personal improvement, but such as indolence presents. Merit, in every civilized country, affords an acknowledged claim to public confidence, and to extensive influence. To do good requires no genealogical table, no great family-name. Young men ! we know not how to cease our importunity. Will you commence, or pursue with renewed vigor, the course of self-improvement for philanthropic pur- poses ? We want you to become truly strong men, in knowledge, in intellectual power, in moral energy. We want you, not to be the authors of ephemeral excitements in our excitable world, but to impress deeply on the human mind the eternal principles of moral and religious truth. Take the Redeemer of men for your model. Study deeply and prayerfully his character, until you breathe his spirit. Read the biography of good and great men. Take, as a model of judicious perseverance, Granville Sharp. Under what one has called, — " the excitement of mercy," — he was led to protect a slave from Barbadoes, named Jona- than Strong, who was brought to England by his master, and becoming sick, was left to perish in the streets. After he had recovered, under the kind atten- tions of a brother of Sharp, his master claimed him as his slave. This aroused the noble soul, that could feel another's woes as keenly as his own. Sharp im- mediately applied himself to a new study. And if every man, who studies law, would do it as he did,—
8,
90 SERMON III.
to become an able philanthropist, — that profession might exert an influence for good, which cannot be calculated. He examined the principles of the British constitution and law, to see whether they really stood opposed to liberty and the rights of man, or not. The decisions of all the highest courts were against him. Here then he determined to take his stand, with no other weapon than truth. He opposed the ablest and profoundest jurist England ever saw ; and he main- tained that opposition, until he overthrew the influence of authoritative, but unjust opinion, and finally estab- lished the glorious truth, that, by the British constitu- tion, every human being, that treads on British soil, is free. Two long years he spent, not in vaporing, and denouncing, and frothy declamation, but in an intense study of law. He then consulted the most eminent jurists, and wrote several tracts to enlighten the public mind, and prepare the way for his attack. After the case of Strong was decided in favor of the master, three other cases were tried, each one of which opened the way for Sharp to shake the prejudices, which, like spiders, hung their dusty cobweb-folds even in such a king's palace as the mind of Mansfield. This great man at last yielded to Sharp's resistless argument, and came out and settled the principle for ever. Trace this history through, to admire and imitate his motives, his persevering and painful study. Be benefactors of your race ; be deep, profound thinkers. See the array of public sentiment against him ; and see the triumph of principle. Behold its effects now in the West Indies and in America. The first of August stands closely connected, not in time, but as effect to cause, with the efforts of that noble mind.
OBLIGATIONS OP YOUNG MEN. 91
Fellow Christians ! I take this occasion to commend to you the interests of the British and Foreign Young men's Society. Its objects are worthy your ardent affection. They are comprehended in the im- provement of youthful hearts and minds. Anticipate what they may be. Perhaps to-night a strong desire for self-improvement is aroused, but, without your aid, aroused in vain. To what nobler object can you de- vote hundreds of pounds than to feed those minds, and train these patriots and philanthropists 1
'
SERMON IV.
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY.
For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke xix. 10.
The meaning of that word — lost, is the separating point, from which diverge the most important senti- ments, that divide the nominally Christain- world. It affects essentially all our religious sentiments, charac- ter, and career. If one sees in it only a nourish of rhetoric, or an oriental exaggeration, then his conscience slumbers ; then his sympathies feel no deep appeal from man's condition and prospects ; and then his heart lies chilled beneath the cold moon-beams of the gospel. To him, that gospel opens, on the one hand, no thrilling scene of spirits fallen, defiled, benighted and accursed ; and, on the other, no enrapturing dis- play of love, of condescension lower than angels had dared to anticipate, of mercy's immeasurable sacrifice, made despite of base ingratitude and of parricidal re- bellion. To him the gospel is a description of good- ness similar to, but no greater than that displayed in the ordinary gifts of Providence.
Such is the theory, and such are the fruits, of the sceptical and semi-sceptical philosophy. Wherever it is accepted, the distinction between man's native pow-
94 SERMON IV.
ers and sensibilities, and his actual character as a sub- ject of God's government, is lost sight of; human nature is admired almost to adoration ; repentance, as that deep emotion which breaks the heart and bruises the spirit, is despised. Thus, whatever other " sacri- fices" are offered to God, among them is not found a " broken heart and a bruised spirit." Thus it acts on the personal piety of the individual, and thus it affects his influence on others. In himself he finds more to admire than to condemn ; when he discovers wrong, he considers it superficial ; no deep and painful sense of spiritual necessity, corresponding with descriptions in the Bible, is felt. Calm self-complacency is, indeed, the very feeling which he seeks to derive from religion. And, if he sees any thing else and opposite in others, it causes only contempt, or pity. He approves not their deep and pungent convictions of guilt and misery, nor comprehends how the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God is needed for his guilt, and the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost for his depravity.
The fundamental error with such is on two points, and respects two aspects of human nature ; — man as the subject of law ; and man in his capacity for a spir- itual life.
Their views of man's guilt and ill-desert are com- paratively slight. They allow him to be satisfied with the contemplation of his own excellence, his intellectual qualities, his social feelings, his moral sensibilities. They hold in abhorrence only certain crimes against civil laws and social order. They excite, and they allow, no deep and heart breaking convictions for spir- itual offences ; they arouse no fears of endless punish- ment. They go to the neglecter of religion, and per-
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 95
suade him to become more attentive to religious truths and duties. They go to the pagan, and urge him to embrace a purer rite, a more rational theology. Their appeals are not made to the conscience, to start it from deep slumbers, and make it echo the thunders of coming judgment. And when they find it awakened, they proclaim to it no peace-speaking sacrifice for sin ; in fact, they censure this very alarm, and attribute it to ignorance and error. Hence, they find nothing in man's prospects to enlist deeply their own solicitude. Hence, they accord not with us in our endeavors to awaken a slumbering world by strong appeals, to make it hear — amid what they call its innocent amusements and occupations — the voice of an insulted Deity, of an outraged Father; of the threatening majesty of Heaven.
Thus we differ from them in our estimate of the ex- tent and purity of the precepts of the divine law. We consider all the world as its guilty violators ; we con- sider all human virtue, in man's unconverted state, as truly sin ; and the more sinful, the more it becomes an object of admiration to its possessor, and an occasion of undervaluing the mediation and propitiatory sacri- fice of the Son of God.
Equally antipathetic are our views of man's spiritual character. Of the dignity of his original character and position, of the noble character of some of the senti- ments of a few, we have as high an estimate as any. But we believe, that the spiritual image of God is effaced from the human soul ; man is fallen, terribly, desperately fallen; the gold has lost its lustre. His virtues are to us the white exteriors, and the gilded ornaments of the sepulchre. His smiles are to us the more painful, as they convince us that he is, or tries to
96 SERMONIV.
be, contented with his state of spiritual poverty, guilt and degradation. In a word, we consider man as alien- ated from God ; intellectually and physically alive, spiritually dead. And, therefore, we cannot content ourselves, by endeavoring to refine and elevate a few of the most highly favored of our race ; we must reach all men. They are all wanderers from the home of the soul — the bosom of God ; and they must all be persuaded to return. The malady of sin lies deeply fixed in the immortal part — the soul ; and, therefore, intellectual elevation and social refinement do not re- move it, and have no tendency to remove it. We re- gard the gospel, applied by God's Spirit, as the sole remedy. Christ is their life ; — Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world ; — Christ, the ever-living intercessor ; — Christ, the medium and fountain of the life-giving Spirit. The world — all the world, high and low, princes and peasants, learned and ignorant, virtuous and vicious, idolaters, infidels, and nominal Christians — must believe in Christ, or "be damned ;" damned at that tribunal where believers shall be pardoned ; damned by the malediction of the Holy One, who appears " in the glory of his Father, taking vengeance on them that obey not the gospel."
From these different estimates of man arise, what should not arise, hostile feelings ; but hence arise also, necessarily, our different courses with regard to man. With our views, we shall never be satisfied, without the most strenuous efforts to bring all mankind to re- pentance and faith in Christ. With their views, they naturally look, with indifference, on the earnestness and self-denial of missionary life, and the success of
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 97
missionary enterprise, so far as the work of the Spirit of God upon the heart is concerned.
It behooves us then to review our premises. The sincere mind is ever ready to ask, — "Am I right?" We are willing to ask and wait candidly for the reply to these questions ; — " How must I regard human na- ture, myself and my fellow men ? — What is my highest duty with respect to my immortal self, and what with respect to my fellow men ?" Nay ; we are not taking up this subject for the first time. We have already decided, and felt, and acted upon it. We, who have embarked in the missionary enterprise, are a small minority of the civilized world, perhaps a minority even of the religious world. We have spent large sums of money, yea squandered wealth, if we are wrong ; we are still doing it, and we are arousing the churches to intenser feeling, and more liberal effort. We desire to consecrate our very selves to this enterprise. Life is rapidly passing away, and we are devoting its best hours and energies to this work. Some of our number have severed every tie of home and nation, and adopted a life of exile and privation ; wisely, if our views of man are truth ; madly and miserably, if they are error. This night, we are assembled to sympathize with an- other, who has ventured his temporal all upon the truth of our sentiments. We together look upon the situation of mankind, apart from the provisions of the gospel, aiu away from its influences, as inconceivable dreadful and desperate. Our souls are moved with deep com- passion, our hearts are oppressed, as we contemplate his present state and his prospects beyond this life. We want to rush to his rescue. Are we riofht, or are we wrong ? Are these emotions excited in view of truth
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98 SERMON IV.
and stern reality, or by a delusion of our own imagina- tions ? Have we yielded to the influence of an unen- lightened education ; or is it in view of facts, that we are impelled and that we act ? We desire truth, and only truth. We desire to see things now, as far as practicable, as we shall see them, when the illusions of time shall have given place to the light of eternity. We have also a desire to vindicate our course to an in- telligent world ; and, if we are right, to become, in our turn, the reprovers of its unbelieving indifference. And we may by divine blessing accomplish one other good, by our meditations on this subject ; — even that of guarding our hearts against the chills of unbelief, and of quickening in them a deeper sympathy, stronger zeal, and holier purposes.
Brethren ! we spend this tender and sacred hour in contemplating, devoutly,
Jesus, the Great Missionary. He is the Judge that ends the strife. He is the "Logos,**' the Truth. All his views were truth, all his sentiments righteousness. There was, even in his finite human nature, no error in theory, no misapprehension of facts, no exaggerated impulse, no passion. He says that he " came to seek and to save that which was lost." That looks to us like calling him, the Great Missionary, the Pattern of all missionaries, the Founder of our mission- ary institutions. We go forth to seek and to save that which is lost ; and we believe, that our views, and our course, are an imitation of his, and an obedience to his last command, — " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
We propose then to examine the meaning of the term M lost," as here employed, by the views, which Jesus
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 99
entertained of men, and by his conduct toward them ;
-By,
I. His estimate of man. What extent of mean- ing did he attach to the term " lost" ?
1. He regarded man as a depraved and apostate spirit. Depraved and apostate are relative terms, refer- ring to a certain standard of perfection and excellence. Man was made for great moral purposes, to conform to a type of perfect excellence, to attain great heights of moral elevation. Such was in fact the original, native tendency of his constitution. And there is his dignity. Now if the Savior considered the present state of man as conformed to that type, then he did not regard him as depraved and apostate. And, happily, we are left to no conjectures here. We have something better too than dry and uncertain etymologies. Whenever we can ascertain what Jesus considered holiness and the spiritual life to be, then we can tell, from our own knowledge of man, what he considered to be his actual state. And yet better ; we may know directly what opinions he had on this subject. His ideas of holiness are seen in his own character and actions ; of which it might be enough here to say, that all men consider them perfect, and yet totally unlike those of any other man. One has well said of him : " To God, as the source of his spiritual life, was his soul ever turned : and this direction of his mind was a matter of indis- pensable necessity to him. It was his meat and his drink to do the will of his Father. Without uniting himself wholly to God, consecrating himself to God unreservedly, feeling himself to be perfectly one with God, he could not have lived, he could not have been at peace in his spirit a single instant. By this
100 SERMON IV.
» a)
means the morality of Jesus became perfectly reli- gious; it was not merely something which flowed from a sense of duty, it was a holy sentiment of the heart." Now whom did Jesus regard as possessing that spiritual life which consists in rising above created good to live in God, to feast on his smile, and breathe the atmosphere of his love ? Was it the poor idolater of the surrounding pagan tribes ? Was it the proud, sanctimonious Pharisee, inwardly full of putrefaction as the grave 7 Was it the infidel, sensual Sadducee, who ridiculed all pretensions to spiritual communion ? Was it the crowd who followed him, not for truth and spiritual aliment, but for bread? Was it the rich young ruler, so amiable, so pure, so sincere, who went away sorrowful when he learned, that God and mam- mon cannot be loved and served together 1 Nay, was it the half-converted Peter, whom he rebuked as fearing, in the spirit of Satan, the sacrifice of self ; or John and James, who then looked, in serving God, for the hon- ors of a temporal kingdom ? Was it, in a word, the being, of whom it is recorded, that Jesus " knew what was in man," and therefore trusted not himself to him ? Oh ! no ; the Son of God walked like a living man anions the tombs ; and the silence of the second death had reigned there for ever, if his own omnipotent voice had not cried — " Lazarus ! come forth."
We have another exhibition of the Savior's views of what constitutes the spiritual life, in his benedictions. " Blessed are the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, the peace-makers, they who hunger and thirst after right- eousness, they who love him more than parents and possessions ; nay, that forsake all things, even life itself, for His sake and the gospel's." Now, can we believe,
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 101
that he considered mankind generally in his day, or, that he considers the men of this, or of any other period, as pure in heart, peace-makers, seeking spiritual good with an eagerness like that of the corporeal appetites ; seeking their rest in God, as the weary body seeks its couch ; longing for God, as the hunted hart pants for the water brook, or as the shipwrecked mariner longs for morning light 1 Can mankind generally say sin- cerely, " My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God ?'' Impossible.
Our Savior again presents the standard of human excellence : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength, and thy neigh- bor as thyself." And did he think that idolaters, the profane, the neglecters of God's service, those who love pleasure more than God, the proud, the covetous, the sensual ; — did he believe, that they were good, when compared with that standard — thou shalt love God supremely and perfectly? Or as the envious, am- bitious, fraudulent, cruel, tyrannical, impure slanderers love others as themselves ? Do they in India, Africa, Europe, America ? Did they in any part or age of the world ? Ask history. It is indeed too generally the record of the powerful. But it shows what all would do, if their circumstances permitted. And have the powerful been good ? Have their lives been examples of piety ? Have their energies been consecrated to the public welfare ? There has been a Cyrus, an Aristides, a Joshua, a St. Louis, an Alfred. But they are the exceptions. The history of kingdoms is a record of wars and their horrors, of frauds and oppressions. What says the social state of mankind ? Let the condi- tion of woman, in all the lands where human nature has
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102 SERMON IV.
acted out its unobstructed tendencies, speak. What is a Turkish wife, an Indian mother, a Hindoo widow ? Come home, then, to the criminal codes, and criminal courts, and criminal establishments of Christian Amer- ica. Leave the poetry of the parlor ; lay down that enchanting book which enraptures you with its visions of human dignity and loveliness ; leave that circle of refinement, where a favored few have separated them- selves from the vulgar, to enjoy a higher intellectual and social life ; and come with me out among the mass of this moving population. Let us go into the lanes and alleys, the alms-houses, the hospitals, the prisons. Shrink not, admirer of human nature ! this is man, godlike man. Do you know, that thousands of the very children of this city are liars, thieves, impure, profane ? And what of the pagan world ? Oh ! let the missionary tell you, who, having gone out to make common interest with the heathen, has examined deeply into his character. Here are nearly five hundred millions ; and yet the portrait in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans remains fearfully accurate. And does this being, man, remain as he was, when, coming pure and perfect from his Creator's hands, he was pro- nounced very good ?
And what commission have diseases and death in this fair world ? Who opened the door, by which they rushed in upon their prey ? Did God make man for this? You must say, "Yes." The Bible says, "by sin. death entered into the world ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Each breath that you draw marks the death of three of your race. The first may be the lovely bride, decked for the altar : the next, the father of a dependent family ; the next,
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 103
the sovereign, who has been the father of his people. No place is so exalted, none so sacred, that disease can- not invade it. No tie is so tender, and so precious, that death will spare it. And when you visit the burial-yard, ask whether or not man is as God made him ! Was he made to be the slave of Satan ; the sport of tempests and the prey of death ? Was he made for poverty and filth, for rags and woe ? Oh ! no ; he is fallen. The race is fallen.
If we want another test, we have it, in the pure wor- ship, which Jesus rendered the Father. Place this by the side of human religions. The greater part of them are bloody, and seem to have preserved the tradition, that, " without shedding of blood, is no remission" of sins. But they are also impure, and thus declare the deep apostacy of man, when his very religions remove him farther from God and holiness. If he makes a Jupiter, he is a monster of lust ; a Mars, he drives his chariot over the dying ; a Mercury, he is chief of rob- bers ; a Juggernaut, he feasts on mangled human limbs. And when a pure revelation is given to him, first in a single nation, he turns backward ever towards idolatry ; and when Christianity is given to the nations, they pervert and pervert it, until, of the two hundred and fifty millions who possess it, one hundred and ninety millions are sunk in superstition, and idolatry little better than paganism itself. The moral condition of France and Spain and Italy, the history of religious persecutions conducted in the name of Jesus Christ, and as the expansion of his spirit, and as obedience to his precepts, appear to us sad confirmations of the truth of our view, that man is lost, because he is a depraved and apostate creature.
104 SERMON IV.
We learn again our Savior's estimate of men, in the direct expression of his views. And here we are at a loss to select ; for the full exhibition of all that is con- tained in the Evangelists, on this point, would be but piling passage on passage. He describes the condition and prospects of man in parables, and in simple historic language, in ways that appear to us impossible to mis- apprehend. If man is an apostate and depraved crea- ture ; then we shall expect to hear that the way to heaven is of difficult attainment, and entered but by few. If man is not an apostate, but an innocent, up- right, pure being ; then he has only to obey his instincts, to cultivate his noble nature, and he is holy and happy. It surely cannot be difficult to decide what Jesus thought on that point. " Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat," while " narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." " If any man will come after me, let him" what ? cultivate his good heart ? — no, " deny himself." And in how many ways does he describe us, as poor, and miserable, and blind, and sick, and weary, burdened, imprisoned, enslaved, dead, exposed to endless destruction ? If not sick, we have no need of him ; if not sinners, he has no message to us ; for « they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." In his conversation with Nico- demus, he says, that we must be regenerated, and that whoever is not, cannot be saved. And mark his em- phatic reason ; " that which is born of the flesh, is flesh." By our natural birth, we inherit only that, which can- not inherit heaven. In the natural birth, there is a terrible entailment of degeneracy ; so that there needs a supernatural birth, a birth of the Spirit. With all
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 105
this in view, it is impossible to believe, that Jesus re- garded man as a refined, noble, elevated being ; as in his present state, the type of perfection. He never says it, he never intimates it. We look in vain for passages in all his addresses, as well as in all the writings of his disciples, to find a language, or a sentiment, like that, which we constantly hear, about the purity, and nobleness, and virtue of individual men.
But, in this connection, we cannot pass by the por- trait of man given in the story of the prodigal son. Its very object was to reprove the self-righteous men, who thought they had done no wrong, and had not wan- dered from their father's house. We cite this here particularly, because the very term whose meaning we seek, is the hinge of the story. Here was one lost to his father. There is something in the word — lost, which falls on our ear like a death-knell. It presents to us the twofold idea contained in this story, and in the two in its context ; that of disappointment to God's affectionate interest for us, and to our own hopes of blessedness. Observe the word lost illustrated here three times. The shepherd has lost his sheep, than which nothing is dearer to him ; the woman, her means of living ; the father, his son. Observe this picture of man ; a wanderer— a wanderer from home, from God, from heaven, and infinite love. The son of a kind and wealthy man feels the temptings of ambitious inde- pendence, and yields to their influence. He leaves the paternal roof, to escape the paternal eye. He gathers all, and goes into a far country, to find his happiness. But it was there that « he began to be in want." It was there that he plunged from one depth to deeper depths of misery. Poor young man ! we pity him ;
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we blame him too. But, alas ! we are speaking of ourselves. This is the portrait of the race. Fellow- men ! we are in that far country ; we are lost to God and to ourselves. Yes, he says it ; — for, behold yon shepherd ! what does he in the wild and desert place, exposing himself to pains and dangers ? Oh ! he comes " to seek and to save that which was lost." Yes, we are lost to God ; — for, behold that aged and injured father, running to meet the wandering boy when yet a great way off; falling on his neck, embracing, kissing him, exclaiming, " This, my son, was dead and is alive again, was lost, and is found f — lost to the angels ; for there is joy in heaven over one repenting sinner. Our noble faculties, our affections are lost to God ; for we neither love, praise, nor serve him ; and in place of preparing to dwell in his blessed family, we force him to pronounce, and execute on us, the fearful sentence of his law. That young man returned ; but not until he was convinced of his guilt and folly, — not until he felt that he was in want. Had any one met him there, and convinced him that he had not wan- dered, then he had never returned. That young man returned ; and heaven is to be re-peopled by these returning, repenting prodigals. And will there be there any eider sons of Adam's family, who have never wandered? We believe not. That man is a depraved and apostate creature, is written on every line of the Savior's biography, and on every syllable of his in- structions. But,
2. He regarded man also as a condemned criminal. According to his saying to Nicodemus, « He that be- lieveth not, is condemned already." This was said, in connection with a comparison of man's moral condition
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 107
with the physical state of the Israelites, who were bitten by the fiery serpents. They, says the Savior, were to be healed, by looking at the uplifted symbol of God's righteous judgments against their sins ; so we, who are dying beneath the righteous anger of God, are to be healed by believing on Him, who was lifted up for us on the accursed tree. But whoever believes not, re- mains in his state of condemnation. This condemna- tion includes two facts — that of transgression, and that of punishment. Jesus did regard men as sinners. Our ideas of sin are superficial and unimpressive ; those of Jesus were deep and awful. He traced each outward sin to the heart, the fountain of spiritual death ; and he detected sin in the heart, where no outward sign was given to man. And he showed, that it were better to lose limb and life, reputation and each dear interest of earth, than to remain a sinner ; for sin is the transgres- sion of the law, of God's holy law. It is a terrible thing to infringe the laws, that control the material world. For, says a French preacher, " though the sea should burst its limits, and cover the earth with a new deluge ; though its furious waves should overturn and sweep away every thing in their passage ; though they should roll down, with their fracas, the rocks rent from the mountains, the uprooted trees, the dead bodies of men and animals, and should make of our globe only a wa- tery waste ; the disorder, thus produced, would not deserve to be named, by the side of that which sin pro- duces. Though the world should totter on its ancient base, and reel from its foundations ; though the stars and their systems should rush into wild disorder, and dash against each other ; and the universe revert to a more frightful chaos than that from which God brought
108 - SERMONIV.
it at the beginning ; this disorder, this overturning of all material things, would not deserve to be compared with the disorder that sin produces." And this, because the one is the disorder of ignoble and perishable matter ; the other is the ruin of mind.
Not only has sin taken possession of the heart of man ; but, without supernatural aid, that possession must be indefinitely permanent. There is no tendency in human depravity towards self-recovery and perfec- tion. In all that we have known of it, its course is ever downward, downward, and for ever downward ! Sin never yet exhausted itself in this world, nor in one heart. Every instance of recovery from its dominion is called by Jesus, the conquest of a strong man armed, by a stronger than he.
And while man is thus a sinner, — a transgressor of law, he is exposed to eternal death. If the warnings and expostulations of Christ do not teach this, then they are to us without meaning. "Wo unto thee, Chorazin ! wo unto thee, Bethsaida ! for it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, at the day of judg- ment, than for you." " And thou, Capernaum ! which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell." " What is a man profited, if he ^hall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?" " There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Dives after death, " in hell, lifted up his eyes, being in torments." The net and fishes, the wise and foolish virgins, the wheat and tares, the separation of the sheep and goats, the treatment of the unfaithful steward, all tell us what he believes con- cerning man's eternal destiny. But nothing that he uttered is more terrible, than the declaration, that he
JESUS, THEGREAT MISSIONARY. 109
himself will say at last to the wicked, "Depart from me, ye cursed ! into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Men may close their ears, and shut their eyes against this ; but it is the word of God. Men may refuse to hear it ; but there it stands a yet unfulfilled prophecy, made, if possible, more certain to us, by the past fulfilment of the others, which surround it. Yes, as certain as was the destruction of Babylon and Tyre, the deluge of water, and the flood of fire on a guilty world ; as certain and as terrible as was the destruction of Jerusalem, will be the utterance and 'exe- cution of those terrific words. And as idle and impo- tent will be the scoffs and self-reasonings of this day, as were those of that day, to arrest the judgments of God. But who can measure their meaning ? " Cursed /" It is terrible to be cursed by a man, a wicked man, with- out cause ; but to be cursed by a Father, by a being who never errs in judgment, — a being who never con- demns unjustly, — a being, who suffered to save us, — a being, who has long expostulated in view of this very judgment, — a being, who commands the elements of the universe to execute his purposes, — a being, who ranks his glorious perfections to flash conviction to the centre of my guilty conscience ! — You say, < this is extrava- gant;' but it is scriptural. You say, i it is cruel ;' but, whether is it cruelty to flatter and deceive and hide im- pending danger, or to expose it fully and earnestly.
Men are to be cursed. What is this curse ? A charge to the universe to dry up each fountain of de- light, and open on my guilty soul its avenging streams. What does this curse ? " It strips the world, external, and internal, of love and sympathy for my poor heart, nature of its charms, earth of its fruit, the heavens of
10
110 SERMON IV.
their blessings, existence of its joys, and dries up the last drop of happiness in the last fold of my heart ; seals up the door of heaven against my spirit, and blots out the star of hope. When this terrific word falls from the lips of the blessed Jesus, it forbids an angel-wing ever to flit by my dear abode ; " it withers up my soul to its root, like that unfortunate tree which the breath of the Lord cursed, and of which an Apostle said, the next day, in astonishment— Lord ! the fig-tree that thou cursedst, is withered away." What must this curse, this banishment be ? No tongue can tell, no imagina- tion now conceive. Christ has warned us, with a so- lemnity, that may well intimidate and arouse. We can conceive of it, as nothing less than eternal banishment, from light and life and hope, to regions " prepared for the devil and his angels," where the soul " shall be en- veloped and penetrated with a misery immense, infinite ; where it shall find nothing more in all beings, but a universal hell ; a hell within, a hell without, a hell in God himself."
" The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" — lost to God, to itself, to heaven, to hope, to purity, peace, and love, — lost for ever ! One Scripture-phrase concentrates the whole truth ; man ufaos, without God. He was made in the image of God, made for him : made holy and perfect, filled with light and pure affection. Then his eye beheld the glory of God. Then he groped not in that darkness, which now surrounds him ; then he pined not beneath the maladies and miseries and mortality, which now afflict him.
I have said, that we have more exalted views of man, than either the sceptic, or semi-sceptic philosophy con-
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. Ill
tain. We have. We believe in his original dignity ; and we have such views of that, that man, in his pre- sent state, is a source of constant distress to us ; and we desire perpetually to be proclaiming in his hearing, the dignity he has lost. We would say perpetually to him, as we should to the degenerate descendant of a noble family, still wearing their name and title, and even imi- tating their lofty bearing ; < Shame, shame on thee ! Thy name, thy palace, thy lordly mien, are all thy re- proach.' We have such exalted views also of the per- fectibility of man, that we cannot endure to see the world, contenting itself with any thing short of the image of God, and of perfect communion with him. Man was a noble being, when God said of him — he is good. But he aspired too high ; he tried to become a centre of light and strength and happiness to himself, and to be independent of God. He withdrew from God's spiritual dominion, and God abandoned his spirit- ual nature to itself, and made him, in his wretchedness, a spectacle to himself and to the universe. The brute creation have fled him, for he has become their enemy; the very earth has felt the blighting curse that lighted on him. He was chased from Eden's happy garden, and the cherub-sentry with naming sword still stands to bar his return. Happy Eden ! scene of our sweet commun- ion with God ; happy Eden ! witness of our dignity and of our blessedness ; thou art lost to us, and we to thee ! My brethren ! we are strong and high believers in the dignity of human nature. No man shall deprive us of this our boasting ; yet, not in human nature as it is, but as it was, and as by grace it may become. As he is, man is lost. And we want to sit down, by the side of every brother of the human race, and weep with
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him for the crown which has fallen from our brow, the home and the heaven which we have lost. We want to undo the deceiving of his pride, and sigh and pray TV-ith him for the recovery of our birth-right.
But are" the heathen, who have not our light, exposed to perdition? A careless world, unwilling to make thorough inquiry into the condition and prospects of other men, complacently wraps itself in the mantle of an imagined charity, and says, 'The mercy of God will never consign them to endless punishment, when they have sincerely done their best according to the light they enjoy.' And there, indeed, we are agreed with the world ; but we are forced to stop there ; for we have too many proofs, that there are but few of them who will have that plea. We find even a part of the church, though unable to hope much for the pa- gan world, yet unwilling to adopt the harsh conclusion^ that these hundreds of millions are rushing blindly to endless ruin ; and preferring to rest in a vague hope that it will not be so, rather than to search the Scrip- tures to ascertain, if God has given us any instruction on the subject, and imposed upon us any responsibility in the matter.
Here we shall fail of time for a solemn topic. The sneers of the world terrify us not in such a matter. The charge of cruelty troubles not our conscience, while we seek not to make their destruction a fact, but to ascertain whether they are really exposed to destruc- tion, in order that we may aid them to escape it. In- deed, if we were not distrustful of our own imperfect motives, we should say that ours is the true charity, which welcomes evidence, though it bring us to the results of distressing sympathy and of self-denying
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 113
labor. We are inclined to suspect the depth of that charity, which, to save its possessor pain, and spare him labor, settles a great principle of the divine gov- ernment, a great future fact, not by examining God's testimony, but by appealing to a mere human sensi- bility. If we consult our sympathies, we say, " The poor pagans will not go to a miserable eternity ; but where they will go we know not.' But when we ask, c What has God asserted on this subject ?" we rise from the answer with heavy hearts. The cry of the perish- ing then swells on our ear — < Come over and help us,' — until we wish for a thousand tongues to proclaim to them the way of life.
An outline of God's testimony is all that we can now present. If we examine their lives, considered in the light of a disciplinary, probationary, or preparatory state, we cannot believe, that they go to heaven. They, as well as we, must be regenerated, and that in this world. But we find them, as in Paul's day, infanti- cides, liars, adulterers, covenant-breakers, bestial, sen- sual, devilish, murderers of mothers. All this seems to us a preparation, not for heaven, but for perdition. We find them too, just what the Canaanites were, whom God in his anger swept from the earth, but surely not into heaven. They are idolaters, if there ever were any; and God declares, that such cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, to believe that they are in the way to heaven, is to regard all the Apostle's anxie- ties and labor for their salvation as unfounded, extrava- gant, and useless. And again ; the Apostle has fully reasoned out the case in two places. In the one, he shows that they sin against their light, as we do against ours. In" the other, this in his ''missionary argument —
10*
}14 SERMON IV.
" For whosover shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they be- lieve in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear, without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? No, my brethren ! it may be natural sympathy, or it may be distrust of God's testimony which says, 'Let the heathen alone V but it is not enlightened piety.
Then we are right in our estimate of man ; then we should not be dazzled by his external appendages, his intellectual and social traits. Then we may say to the higher and lower Deistic philosophies, — c Your boast is vain, when you claim the exclusive admiration of hu- man nature ; for we have higher views than either of you. You would satisfy man with certain social ex- cellencies, certain pagan virtues, certain moral senti- ments, which have little or no reference to God ; but we believe, that man was made to live in God, and to reflect his image to the universe. You are teaching him to aspire to an intellectual millennium ; we are aiming to prepare the world to return to the love of God and a spiritual life. We hold, too, the key that unlocks the deep mystery of man's present condition. A French *^ writer of your school says — " I resemble, O Lord, the night-globe, which in the obscure path where thy finger leads it, reflects from the one side, eternal light, and on the other is plunged in mortal shades." " How abject, how august," says one of another school, "how com- plicate, how wonderful is man !" There is something great in man, an# ■ something abject. To us the mys- tery is solved. Man was great, good, god-like in his powers and in his character ; but he is fallen in char-
'V
JESUS,
acter, and in that fall has dragged down his powers and native sentiments ; leaving, like a volcanic rupture, fragments of an Eden, scattered flowers that live, here an exotic life.
We shall now consider, much more briefly, Jesus as our pattern,
II. In his Treatment of Men.
We see in what light he regarded man ; -and how his holy soul was moved with compassion towards him. We now demand, < What did his compassion lead him to do?' If to make great sacrifices, then his views of man's lost estate must have been very strong ; for al- though it may be love, it is also foolish love, that makes a greater sacrifice and effort for another, than his neces- sities demand. But when a being of infinite intelli- gence makes great sacrifices, — greater than we are capable of estimating ; the evidence is complete, that the misery, threatening, or actually affecting those whom he aids, is equally immeasurable by us.
On the subject of the condescension and sacrifices of the Lord Jesus Christ, the language of the Bible is deep, mystic, suggestive. He had a glory with the Father before the world was, but he left it. « What was that glory ?" — we want to ask — "where, and how did he leave it in becoming a man V The veil of flesh hides it from our sight. He was rich ; when, where, in what ? The clouds and darkness of an infi- nite majesty rest around his person, and hide from fee- ble mortals the spleudors of his primitive empire. But he became poor. He took on him or was invested with flesh. Then he was, before he was flesh ; he was be- fore Abraham ; he was David's root and Lord, before he was his offspring and successor. Mysterious Ian-
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guage ! He took on him, at the very instant when angels were adoring him as the only begotten of the Father, the form of a servant ; and came to be despised and rejected, to hear hisses and taunts and blasphemies, instead of hosannas and hallelujahs. He exchanged heaven's diadem for Judea's thorns, and the robes of light for Pilate's faded and discarded garment ; he for- sook the palace where he was sovereign, for the judg- ment-hall, where he was bound and buffeted, and scourged, and condemned. He left his body-guard of holy and mighty angels, to be at the mercy of wicked and puny mortals who hated him. He was the Lord of the universe, but he was born of one of the lowliest inhabitants of earth's obscurest corner. He was prince of life, but he tasted death for every man. This the Scriptures call his sacrifice for man's salvation. But they make all this the lightest feature of the image of his cross. When they would start our imaginations on the path to his expiatory sufferings, they drop a few phrases, which are not so much intended to instruct as to impress and overwhelm us with godly fear and sym- pathy. " My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death." What made him sorrowful — so sorrowful ? Nothing in all that was external around him there : nothing that the Evangelists mention. Again ; in the garden his bodily frame passes through an unparalleled excitement of agony ; but from no apparent adequate cause. To attribute it to his fear of crucifixion, or to sorrow for his cause and friends, betrays the most en- tire disrespect. Again ; his agonizing cry, " Why hast thou forsaken me ?" leads us to conjecture, that there is something, in what the Son of God endured in our stead and for our salvation, which we may under-
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stand only, when our intellectual powers shall be ex- panded by the light, and our moral powers purified by the love of heaven. And when Jesus said with em- phasis, " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," we understand, that this gift was so costly, and there was in some way such an expenditure and sacrifice, that, it not only showed God's love to man more clearly than all else that he had ever said or done, but also, the immensity of that love. And so, when the Apostle reasons for the encouragement of faith ; " He that spared not his own Son," &c., we un- derstand that this not sparing, and freely giving up, involve something, which we are now incapable of comprehending, but by which God designs to affect our hearts, and form our characters, more powerfully than by all his word or works. If the understanding of any man forbids the flow of emotion, until this veil is re- moved, then his heart will never feel fully, in this life, what Paul felt Avhen he said, " The love of Christ con- straineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead." We were all dead, and he died for the dead ; and in dying, he showed his con- viction of our state of spiritual death.
But we have done with proofs of man's apostate and ruined state. It is to us a fact. The Word of God declares it. But it also declares another fact And on all this gloomy cloud rests this rain-bow truth — " The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Oh ! then, ye scoffing economists ! let us hear no more your severe reproofs of our poor expenditures of property in the missionary cause. Jesus is the mas- ter whom we follow, though at too great a distance ; Jesus is the model we imitate, though very imperfectly.
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Oh ! then, covetous, selfish professors of Christ's gos- pel ! imbibe his spirit, and live and labor and expend for the recovery of the lost. Brethren ! I must rise now from the attitude of defence, and turn and charge on this practical indifference, and on this sceptical philos- ophy, positive guilt. Had the Bible contained its pre- sent amount of wisdom, in relation to some of men's temporal interests, had it determined the great questions of finance, how eagerly would they read it, how cor- dially believe it ! But as a spiritual book, the one class disregard it, and the other look at it as full of exaggera- tions. But they should remember, that this is the only volume in human language, which God has conde- scended to write. And should it not contain deep, high, wondrous things ? Is not this one of its very marks and seals ? The Bible is full of paradoxes ; be- cause it shows us only fragments of truths, the full magnitude and harmony of which we cannot now com- prehend. When God teaches man the dignity of his origin, philosophy denies it, and makes him the birth of chance. When the Bible declares the dignity of man's primeval estate, philosophy denies it, and says that he is as good, and pure, and happy, as when God made him. When God pronounces his fearful sentence against sin, philosophy laughs at it, and says " It is ex- travagant." When God proclaims the immense price of our redemption, she laughs again, and says, " How absurd to make an expiation to himself, and so costly a one for such trivial offences." But God knows two things, which we do not know, and therefore does two things, which we would not do. He knows the de- merit of sin, and therefore threatens it with everlasting punishment. He knows the value of the soul, and
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 119
therefore gives his Son for its redemption. Ye, that despise this rich gift ! ye, that despise us for our efforts to proclaim its story to the world ! let me say to you in God's name — " Ye have a double guilt, and must meet a twofold condemnation. You believe not, and therefore are condemned already. You also rob the world of its hope. Your theories and your practice would leave mankind in a hopeless condition. You dash from the trembling hand of perishing man the lamp of life, the cup of salvation. You shatter in pie- ces the only barque to which poor human nature can commit its hopes for eternity ! What have you proved, fellow-man? At best a negative. You have begun and ended with denying. That there is disorder, wickedness, misery, you cannot deny. That the world is full of it, you cannot deny. And yet you would prevent our going to probe this mortal wound, and administer God's efficacious remedy. If one finds him- self the slave of passion, if his conscience condemns him, if he fears that there possibly may be an hour of retribution, and an eternity of wretchedness just beyond the confines of life — what can you say to this troubled spirit ? You can sneer, but can you console ? You can reason, but can you suppress the instinctive solici- tude for a sure and solid hope of immortal blessedness ? It was an instructive scene, when the dying Hindoo, representing our common humanity, turned to his priest and cried — " Where shall I go when I leave the body?" And the priest replied, in the spirit of your philosophy and in the pride of ignorance — "Into a bird." But when that bird dies, where then? Into a flower." " And where then ?" The priest became weary with answering; but still the soul cried — "And where
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then V* That is the question which must be met — ful- ly, definitely and authoritatively answered. To leave it unsolved, is to mock and deceive the wretched heart of the mourner ; to leave it unsolved, and yet pretend to offer the cure for human misery, is charlatanry the most detestable. To answer it by conjectures, or to meet it with inferences from God's mercy, which every groan and tear falsifies, is fraud of the most injurious kind. To amuse man with theories, but to leave dark- ness on this chief point of all his solicitude, is the glory of anti-scriptural philosophy. Just where man most wants light, it is darkness. And just there the Bible pours the effulgence of eternal day. And not to hail that light, not to spread it, is treason to God's mercy, treason to our sacred trust, treason to man's highest interests.
But, let me turn a moment, in closing, to you, my dear brother ! on this momentous hour of your life, when you have come to receive from Jesus, by the hands of his unworthy servants, the investment of this highest onice confided to man. Let me say to you,
That deep compassion for men should characterize the whole spirit of the missionary, and of missionary work.
Go to the benighted, with as glad a heart as animated the angels, when they were commissioned to announce the glad tidings of Heaven's great mission of love. When your feet shall touch the shores of that distant land, sing in the fulness of your spirit—' Glory to God in the highest., and on earth peace, good will toward man. Be touched, like your High-Priest, with a feel- ing of their infirmities. Dwell, in your thoughts, on their lost estate ; see them, as the great Shepherd did, wandering from the fold ; until your heart bleeds, and
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breaks with pity. This will animate and sustain you amid difficulties. You can bear them for the sake of the miserable, for yours will then be pity tender and sustaining, like that of the patient mother by the couch of her suffering child. This will make you gentle and forbearing and patient, even with a mother's ten- derness, and keep you from crushing the bruised reed, or quenching the faintly-kindled wick. This will speak in heavenly eloquence from your very countenance, and melt the gates of brass in the hard heart of man. This will give you errands to the mercy-seat, and argu- ments before it. This will nerve you to your work, when a relaxing climate would tend to unnerve you. This will be treading in the footsteps of the Great Missionary.
Let me say again—That the example of Christ is the missionary's encouragement. You leave all for those whom you would save ; so did he. You mean to identify yourself with them in every thing but sin, to bear their infirmities and share their sorrows; so did he. You are acting on the great principle, that to save from overflowing evil, the good of the universe must be diffused, not concentrated; so did he. You are going to men, and not waiting for them to come to you ; so did he. You are going to seek and to save that which is lost, according to the measure imparted to you of the Father ; so did he. And you are not only laboring like Christ, but also for him, and with him. He is seeking these very souls. He once did it in person. Now he does it by his Spirit and by his people. But his interest is no less now, than when his sacred feet were traversing the land, which your feet shall traverse, to save the perishing sheep of
u
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Israel's fold. You are going like him to pray in Geth- semane ; but he spares your ascent to Golgotha and the tree. Go, dear brother ! moisten, with your tears for man, the soil, which he moisted when he thought of the lost. Go, assured not only that you are seeking them for Christ, but that he is seeking them by you, and with you. Urge that much, and with much faith in your prayers ; it will prevail for many a blessing.
Let me conclude by saying — That the missionary's great work is to persuade men to believe in Christ. To effect this, he must commend himself to the con- science. Through an awakened conscience, man learns his need of Christ. Go then, dear brother! speak to the sleeping conscience of man. Let not your attention be fixed upon his peculiarities, his spe- cific qualities as an individual man, or his more general features of national character, his theories of philoso- phy and religion ; but meet him as a man, as a lost man ; nay, as one that knows he is lost. If your at- tention is drawn only, or chiefly, to his corporeal miseries, his social degradation, his intellectual priva- tions, you will incur the danger of diverting his and your attention from that, which should arouse your profonnder sympathies, and all his slumbering energies of conscience. You must indeed attempt the meliora- tion of his intellectual and social state ; but guard vigilantly against letting either your or his anxieties and efforts terminate there. When you have to meet him as the philosopher of another school, you may be discouraged at the sincerity and obstinacy, nay perhaps, plausibility with which he can confront you. But when you meet him in the winning strength of a deep sympathy, — you the lost and recovered, him the
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 123
lost and perishing man, — then you are in your strongest attitude, he is in his most defenceless. The mis- sionary must speak, from deep experience, to the consciousness of guilt, often stifled, never annihilated in the impenitent bosom ; to a conscience, often stifled, often cheated, never tranquillized by his vain super- stitions. Speak, my brother ! now in thunder, now in the " still small voice." So God speaks in nature and in grace. Man will understand you, when you whisper to his conscience. Yet you may awaken resistance. The light is painful to them that love darkness. And false philosophy, and false religion, and practical unbelief, will all be resorted to, to shield the conscience. And yet your great work is, to bring home to the soul of each man the conviction that he is lost. Trouble yourself little, and others still less, with theories of human depravity. They may be im- portant. They have their place. But whatever else they do, they do not awaken the conscience. And if I mistake not, more of them have lulled, than have awakened it. The facts of depravity and conscience are two of the ultimate facts, to be taken as theological axioms. God has not proved the existence of either, but simply asserted it. And so may we ; both on his testimony, and on men's very consciousness. And yet, if your brethren entertain themselves with theory- making, or deem their theories important, do not there- fore separate from them ; only be yourself given to the work of saving the lost. Perhaps one of the mightiest elements of ministerial power, is the deep conviction on the soul, of the lost condition of man. It must give fervor and frequency to prayer, and tend greatly to produce conviction in others. Your hearer may be
124 SERMON IV.
proud and powerful in his philosophy, he may be self- complacent in his creed and ceremonies. But whisper to his soul, of seasons of shame and self-reproach and fear, which forebode impending doom ; and he cannot deny, he cannot argue ; for he feels, that he is dealing with truth and with God. In your public addresses, deal with the conscience, and you will imitate the greatest preachers. Study the sermons of Elijah to Ahab, of Nathan to David, of Peter to the thousands at Jerusalem, of Paul to Felix. There you find no flattery of human nature, no general descriptions of virtue, but guilt and condemnation described as per- taining to them all . Feel that man is lost ; that guilt and condemnation and spiritual poverty belong to every child of Adam. Proclaim that, on the house-top, and in the closet. Man may not have thought of it, but when you suggest it, he sees that it is truth. Give him exalted views of human dignity and worth, not as it is, but as it was, and may be. Solve the strange perplexity of every man's experience ; tell him what you know of former conflicts and present conquests ; of noble aspirations after heaven and sordid attach- ments to earth ; of desires to please God and deter- minations to please self. Speak to his love of happiness ; he will understand you. And as you solve the mystery to his astonished soul, as you describe the symptoms of his spiritual malady, as you point him to the balm of Gilead, and the great Physician ; a new life of hope may begin to infuse itself into his soul.
Again I say, your great employment is to bring the individual souls of men to Christ. Be not diverted from this ; be not satisfied short of success in this. If you must do other things, consider them collateral and
JESUS, THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 125
subordinate to this. Your glorious commission is, to seek and save the lost. Be rilled, be fired with the spirit of that commission. May you, and may the church, and all of us who announce the gospel, be more and more filled with that glorious object — the re- storation to immortal spirits of the lost image of God, and guiding the perishing to an almighty Savior. May the Spirit be poured from on high, until the whole church sees and feels tha^ these facts are now of chief importance ; — man is lost, and the Son of God is seek- ing him ; man is lost, and the Son of God is come to save him ; man is lost, and the Church is commissioned to go forth in the might of faith and prayer to his salva- tion. To save the lost ! To-night we talk of it, as children talk of the affairs of empires ; we see through a glass darkly ; our conceptions are low and limited. To save the lost ! Tell us, ye damned spirits ! what it means. Tell us, Son of God ! what it means ;— what stirred thy soul in Godlike compassion to seek the lost. Tell us, ye ransomed and ye faithful spirits who never sinned ! — tell us eternity ! — what is this mighty work of gospel missions. Tell us, O Father ! tell thy churches ; tell thy ministers ; until every slumberer awake, every energy be aroused, and the way of life be pointed out to a perishing race J
11*
SERMON V
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.
" And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" — 2 Timothy ii. 2.
Christian friends !
We are assembled to remind one another of departed worth ; not to burn idolatrous incense to human excel- lence, nor to forget that her brightest beams were only reflected — yea, refracted rays of her Redeemer's glory ; but to encourage and animate each other by recalling those days, when the Spirit descended from on high, to rekindle the fires almost extinguished on the altars of the national Church, and by reviving the memories of those whose names are dear to the universal Church. With the name of the Countess Selina, we associate the idea of every thing exalted in Christian character, of entire consecration to Christ, of the true spirit of Catholicism and enlightened Christian liberality, that discriminates the essentials from the non-essentials of Christianity, and recognises the family likeness amid the vast variety of feature and complexion that indi- vidualizes the members of the household of Christ. We feel ourselves to be standing to day on a broad
128 SERMON V.
basis. Our spirits expand beneath the influence of the associations, which this anniversary revives. We leave the imprisonment of sect, burst its shackles, and tread on the confines of the day of love and light so long desired. We come, Christian friends ! to cherish an Institution dear to the heart of one of God's most distinguished servants. We come to sympathize with her holy desires, to mature her generous plans, and to adapt them to the exigencies of our age, and to the ever-varying developments of Providence. We cele- brate the anniversary of the Countess of Huntingdon's College ; and I feel assured, that however I may fail in the expansion of the topic, I have not erred in choosing, as the theme of your meditations, the impor- tance of learning and piety in the gospel ministry. This sentiment was the corner-stone of the College. The earnest conviction of its truth led to the generous efforts and sacrifices, which founded this Institution.
The Solemn trust of perpetuating the gospel minis- try is committed to the Church. And her responsi- bility in the case appears very grave, when we regard either the good, or the evil, which has been produced respectively by a qualified or an unqualified, by a spir- itual or a worldly ministry. The phases of the Church, in the successive periods of her history, are a faithful reflection of the competency or incompetency, of the intellectual and spiritual excellencies or defects of her pastors. By them the sacramental host has been train- ed for the sacred wars, and led to glorious triumphs ; and by them Zion's citadel has been betrayed. They, who should have been her defence, have ingloriously opened her gates to the enemy, and the sacred place has been trodden by the feet of the profane. It was
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 129
under the guidance of her faithful pastors and evange- lists, that she attained her primitive glory ; and it was under her vain and fanciful doctors, even in the vaunt- ed " primitive Church," that she began to mingle frag- ments of pagan philosophy with her pure creed, and pagan ceremonies with her simple rights. It was again under her learned and scriptural leaders, that she came up from the wilderness of papal superstition, and error, and slavery, into spiritual light, and life, and lib- erty. By her devoted and qualified ministry, she has maintained the successful contest with the various forms of infidelity at home, obliging it even to change its showing, and to shift its ground ; by them she is now maintaining probably the last struggle with pagan- ism ; and by them must she fight that last great battle, in which Christ shall destroy the man of sin by the sword of his mouth. The names and the virtues of a few from the myriads of her glorious leaders are left to the church, as one of the rich gifts of Providence ; and she may safely challenge the world to show the class of men, who have done so much to establish truth and virtue ; while, at the same time, the world may well challenge her, to show a class of greater scourges than the ignorant, the fanatical, the worldly, and selfish ministers of religion have been.
The piety, the peace, the progress of the Church, and the temporal welfare of society, are connected more intimately with the character of the Christian ministry than with any other human cause. Paul understood this connexion. His views of the nature and influence of the embassy of reconciliation were large and profound. No man better understood the importance of the office, and the necessity of thorough
130 SERMON V.
qualification for it. His prophetic warnings show us, how painful were his convictions of the evils that the Church must suffer, of the darkness and confusion that would settle upon her, under teachers who should seek their own glory and not her good, — under teach- ers who knew more of human speculation than of divine revelation. We are not surprised, accordingly, when we find so frequent reference to this important subject, in his letters both to churches and to ministers. One of his chief sources of anxiety evidently was, the exposure of the Church to the bad instructions of incompetent preachers, and to the bad example of unholy pastors. The history of the Church after his decease acquaints us more fully with the grounds of that solicitude. He must die, and his faithful pupils must die ; — the work must pass into other hands. What, then, could he do to secure a succession of com- petent and faithful pastors to the Church ? He could write, and leave on record to the end of time, his views and his exhortations. He has done this ; and in pro- portion as the Church shall feel an interest in the subject, in proportion as she shall give heed to his instructions and warnings, and do what is assigned her for securing a competent ministry ; and in proportion as the existing race of ministers shall feel their re- sponsibility, and rightly comprehend their duty in perpetuating their office ; in that proportion, will the Gospel be faithfully and successfully administered in the world ; and, we may add, it will produce its happy fruits.
But it is time that we leave the threshold of our subject. " The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faith-
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 131
ful men, who shall be able to teach others also." I seize here the two characteristics, of fidelity and com- petency, which the apostle especially designates to his son Timothy, in directing his choice of successors. And from it I conduct your meditations under the two topics of piety and ability to teach, as constituting the qualifications which the Church must both demand in the candidates for her sacred office, and seek instru- mentally to impart and augment in the sons of the prophets. " The same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."
We shall direct our attention, first, to the intel- lectual department of ministerial qualifications, the ability to teach.
FIRST PART.
Our proposition is, that the Church must secure a learned ministry. We do not mean to say that all her ministers must necessarily be men of such attain- ments, as to merit the title of learned. Piety, an intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures, good sense, and an acceptable manner of instructing, may qualify her sons to do much good, to move in spheres less conspicuous, and consequently, in some respects less exposed to the temptations of ambition. Such men may edify the Church, and lead many to a knowledge of the Savior. Their prayers may bring blessings to thousands of their fellow men. All this we believe, and rejoice to believe ; yet it remains true, that the Church is called upon, by the providence of her Lord, to secure a ministry profoundly learned, and dis- ciplined in all the higher range of intellectual exertion. By the learning of the ministry, we mean to describe both knowledge and cultivation ; a knowledge of the
132 SERMON V.
Bible, and of all that can throw light upon its mean- ing;— a knowledge of the various shades of error which have misled men in past ages, and to which they are still exposed;— a knowledge of the human heart, as gained from the study of the Bible, of history, of our contemporaries, and of ourselves ; — a knowledge of the dealings of God with his Church in each period of her history ; — a knowledge of whatever bears upon the interests of man as a subject of God's moral govern- ment ; and a thorough discipline of mind, or the power of using the mental faculties in the highest exercise of which they are capable. We are aware of the evil of an undue dependence on learning. We are aware of the evils which it may do, when separate from piety ; but for that we are not pleading. We know that all the great heresies, which have misled mankind, have been originated by men of great philosophical acuteness, and generally by men of great learning ; that the nation, perhaps, the most profoundly learned, is now the great nursery of infidelity ; and that the schools, which they founded for the promotion of piety and for the propagation of the gospel, are now turned to the subversion of the gospel, and to the establish- ment of philosophy on its ruins.
1. The mere knowledge of what he is to teach, is so varied and so extensive, that a minister must really be learned, to merit the title of a scribe well instructed, and able to bring forth from his storehouse things new and old. If this be doubted by any, let it be asked, what are ministers to teach, and where and how are they to find their message ? They are to teach the substance of what God has revealed in a written volume. But that revelation was made in languages
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 133
now not spoken. It was committed to writing in those languages. Other writings were surreptitiously brought in to share its authority. Now, without entering upon this field of research, to some extent, how is a man of candid and inquiring mind to find assurance that he is proclaiming God's revelation ? It may be said, that many excellent ministers have never attended to this subject. We admit it, and admit that the most of us, who are now in the ministry, feel the defects of our early education in this and other departments. And we so feel them, as to make us desire strongly, that those to whom we commit the office, should enter more solidly and thoroughly into the study of all that is fundamental to the Christian system. We desire to see a stronger and a better race of men succeed us. Sensible of intellectual and spiritual defects, we seek not to shield our pride by limiting our successors to the standard of our attainments. We do not say, that other Christians may not content themselves with the received canon of Sacred Scripture, and with the re- ceived translation ; but we do maintain, that he, who proposes himself as a public champion for the truth of revealed religion, as a public teacher of the revealed will of God, ought to go nearer to the fountain. He ought not to content himself with receiving it at second hand. He is bound for his own sake, for the Church's sake, and from honesty to those whom he opposes, and whose rejection of the Bible he so se- verely condemns, to prove to his own mind by candid and prayerful research, that he has the very word of God ; and to be able to say, not from translation, but from the words of inspiration, what are the doctrines of godliness and of eternal life. If any have not
12
134 SERMON V .
time for this, let them be considered the exceptions, not the models. Let them not decry learning ; and let not the Church itself act so inconsistent a part, as to take advantage of the erudition and research of the men of other days, and then denounce this very erudition and research, as contrary to the nature and design of the evangelical ministry. Let her not forget her indebtedness to her Kennicotts, her Mills, and her Griesbachs ; no, not even to the German neologists, who have so solidly proved the accuracy of the manuscripts from which our own translation is taken. Let us acknowledge the satisfaction that we experience, and the indebtedness that we feel to the men, who, by great learning and great labor, have proved, that the providence of God has so pre- served the Scriptures in many languages and among many nations, before the invention of printing, that not a single important doctrine or sentiment is lost> if we expunge from our translation all the passages in which the manuscripts of highest authority differ from one another. No ; I repeat it ; Providence lays this necessity upon us. It has been by severe study, and pains-taking research, that ancient manuscripts of the different versions of the Old Testament have been found, and compared with the copies in the hands of the Jews. It is by much research and careful comparison, that the various manuscripts of the New Testament have been examined. This fundamental branch of biblical literature, a teacher of the Bible is bound to know, if he can. He ought not to be ignorant of the learned and subtle objections, which have been made to the reception of the Bible as a divine revelation. He ought not to be ignorant
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 135
of the strong and cumulative mass of evidence of its divine origin, which places Christianity on an unassailable rock. And receiving this revelation, he should be able to read it in its native tongue ; for no person, who has read a book of great merit in one language, and then read its translation into another, can fail to have felt that much of its meaning and beauty, of its spirit and power have evaporated in the process of translating. The Hebrew and Greek Scrip- tures ought to become the familiar companions of a gospel minister. There is a sweetness, unction, and power in them, which can be felt, but not translated. The meaning may be expressed -by circumlocution ; and the translation will thus be equally instructive as the original ; but it cannot be equally impressive either on the imagination or on the heart.
2. The minister must be learned, for the defence of the truths of revelation against the learned. We sup- pose him now to be prepared to instruct the sincere followers of Christ from his stores of biblical science — his rich, and varied, and well-arranged knowledge of the contents of the Bible. But Providence throws another class of objectors in his path. These appeal to history and science, to prove the falsity of Christianity as a pretended gift of God. They frame imposing pro- positions and arguments in philosophical form. These, again, are seducing the minds of the learned and re- flecting among his hearers, by subtle errors apparently founded on the very word of God. And they come forward with their improved versions, and new transla- tions, and shrewd expositions, assailing the very foun- dations of the Christian's hope. And what shall this captain in the Lord's army do ? Shall he turn pale,
136 SERMON V.
and say, l I know I am right, but I do not fight with the carnal weapons of human reason and science V So did not Paul on Mars' Hill ; so did he not with the Corinthian philosophers, who scoffed at the doctrine of a resurrection. So did not the early bishops of the Church, when Novatius and the Gnostics, when Pela- gius and Arius lifted their deadly weapons against the gospel. So did not the great leaders of the Reforma- tion. To him, who seriously fears, that God will not bless the employment of learning and of cultivated mind to defend the truths revealed in his word, I think it would be sufficient to cite the fact, that, if great errors have sprung from men of great learning, it is by the learned, and by the learned alone, that those strong defences of the truth have been formed, which, by in- structing the pastors of the churches, and guarding them from subtle and plausible error, have, through them, guarded, and guided, and strengthened the Church of God herself. We refer to the writings of Augustine against Pelagius, to the apologies of the Fathers, and to the galaxy of powerful minds, who, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, so enriched our English theological literature.
We enforce our position, by presenting an additional consideration from the arrangements of Providence.
3. The great variety of minds, to which a minister is to preach, creates the necessity for a great variety of mental furniture and discipline. We have seem him a student of truth ; now we see him a student of sacred eloquence, or of the mode of presenting truth ; for it is one thing to know, and another to teach. The capa- city for knowledge, and the attainment of knowledge, will not, of themselves, give that aptness to teach, which
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 137
Paul says, should distinguish a bishop. ■ We are sure, that with a reflecting mind, we should have no differ- ence on this subject, except as to degrees. For what- ever prejudices may have arisen justly against wrong modes of instructing in eloquence, there can be no doubt, that some degree of instruction in it is important. This must be admitted fully, the instant that you admit, that no man ought to preach the gospel, who cannot speak his maternal language without violating the most commonly understood rules of grammar, or without the employment of such rude and vulgar terms, as shock every person of true refinement. In such a case you admit the whole of pur principle. You might even be opposed, in the abstract, to human learning in the min- istry, and especially to the study of eloquence ; but you admit here, the importance of instruction in grammar and propriety of utterance, which are two of the essen- tial elements of eloquence. The difference between us, then, can only be this ; that you want two of the lower branches of the sacred art, — we want to have the whole range of its power consecrated to the service of God in the salvation of souls ; you are willing to have the un- systematic instruction of social intercourse, and the accidental cultivation of ordinary observation, — we de- sire the regular, efficient instruction which will secure its end most surely and most speedily.
The office of the pulpit is threefold — instruction, conviction, and persuasion.
And shall it be said, that in every school save that
of Christ, none should presume to be teachers but those
who are well taught ; that every science, save that ot
the very Being himself who made all science, requires
instructers thoroughly prepared ; and that this sublim-
12*
138 SERMON V .
est, deepest, richest, most important of all, may be taught to the world by the most superficial and indolent? No, none would maintain that ; none would assert, that it is possible for any one to present the scheme of truth, re- vealed in the Scriptures, in all its dimensions, in all its internal harmony of parts, and all its exterior harmony with man's nature and state, and with the visible part of creation, without much careful and well-directed study of the Scriptures themselves. The question, really dividing us, might be, whether or not the study of any thing beyond the limits of the Bible itself were necessary. To resolve this, we must revert again to the fact, that this revelation is made in two languages foreign to us ; and besides that, is couched under the peculiarities of foreign customs, geography, proverbs, poetry, imagery, institutions, on which information is to be sought for from other sources, and from new channels of information, which the providence of God is continually opening to the diligent students of his word. To take advantage of these, and to bring out of his treasure new things, the teacher of divine truth must be something more than simply a student of the Bible. And again; the Bible contains a system of moral philosophy to be applied to all the details of life, to all the complicated rights, interests, employments and relations of mankind. And shall one, entirely ignorant of those relations, employments, and interests, pretend to guide the conscience of the world ? Shall men, learned in the history of mankind, in the works of God, in the principles of moral government, be taught by those who appear ridiculous in every attempt to illustrate God's word from his works? Or will it be said, that all that rich source of illustration is to be ex-
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 139
eluded from the instructions of the pulpit ? Has Paley's Natural Theology, have Chalmers' Astronomical Ser- mons, been of no use to the Church? We plead for learning in the ministry.
Such learning as comprehends a wide, profound, and harmonious view of revealed truths, such as sees the connexion of those truths with all the great temporal interests of man, and with all the profoundest subjects of human research. We want instruction not only for the ignorant and the devout, but also for the learned and the indifferent. We desire to see men attracted by the sublimity and simplicity of the gospel fairly pre- sented, to listen to the statement of its claims upon their hearts.
But the word of God is given also for conviction. Here we advance to a higher function of the ministry. Instruction contemplates men as willing learners ; but convictions refers to a hostile attitude. The minister is to break in upon the agreeable slumbers of conscience, and arouse her to the painful task of reproach and con- demnation. A Nathan is to sound in royal ears, " Thou art the man f — a John to stand in high places, and say, " It is not lawful for thee." Sin is to be rebuked, not in the style of the Satirists, simply reproving one or another form of outward vice, but nations are to be called upon to repent, like Nineveh ; the deep depravity of the heart is to be exposed, the fearful position of man as a rebel is to be demonstrated, the mad career of the world is to be stopped, the voice of its mirth is to be hushed, and one profound and universal sentiment of self-condemnation and fear is to seize the human family. And this is to be effected through the gospel-ministry. But that ministry must be occupied by bolder men, and
140 SERMON V .
abler men, and holier men than we are. And not only the pulpit, but the mighty energies of the press are to be called into action, to make the world sensible of its true condition, and of its need of the gospel. The false views of human character, and of life, contained in the current literature and philosophy of the day, are to be proved false ; the veil thrown over the eyes of con- science is to be torn away, and thunder-peals are to be constantly sounding in her sleeping ears. God has promised it, and the day is hastening. But first in the rank of the means of accomplishing it, is the elevation of the standard of ministerial qualifications. The grasp of the Church must be bolder, her aim higher. She must have Augustines and Chrysostoms, whose elo- quent and holy appeals can reach the highest minds, and, reaching, can disturb and convince of sin ; Pauls, who can plead before those whom talent or station ex- alts above the reach of ordinary minds, and, pleading, can make them tremble before God ; sacred orators who have comprehended the logic of revelation, and can apply it to bring the whole guilty race, high and low, learned and ignorant, self-condemned before God. Another function of the ministry is persuasion. The power of persuasion depends on many natural qualifi- cations, but much more on their proper cultivation. This may, perhaps, seem to some a bold proposition, as applied to the regeneration of the human heart ; for it is easy to take such a view of the efficiency of divine power, and to entertain so jealous a regard for its sa- cred prerogative, as to make it even blasphemous to speak of the power of human persuasion, as having any tendency to renew the soul in holiness ; or to speak of the training of the schools, as in any degree calculated
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 141
to augment the success of a minister in winning souls to Christ. To all this sentiment, however much we respect the piety that originates, we cannot the less deprecate the ignorance that encourages it, and the ten- dency which it has to limit the usefulness of the gospel ministry. We must content ourselves here with deny- ing its truth and justness, rather than with proving its falseness. It appears to us self-evident, that God has established a connection between the imparted energies of his quickening Spirit, and a certain adaptedness in the instrument, just as truly as between the quickening energies of his physical power, and the more or less skilful employment of agricultural implements. And to deny this, is to declare, that the most slovenly and disgusting manner in a preacher, the most harsh and grating pronunciation, the most absurd jumbling of figures of rhetoric, the most ridiculous miscalling of men and things, is as fit an instrument for converting souls, as the eloquence of Whitefield. Oh ! no ; we need not defend this position, that the art of persuasion is one of the great instruments appointed of God for the conversion of the world, — an art for which we have the faculties by birth, which require to be developed by culture, and which are capable of an indefinite de- gree of cultivation.
This holy art of teaching, convincing, persuading, demands habits of severe study and discipline. The work of the ministry is pre-eminently an intellectual work, requiring the highest efforts of mind, and giving scope to all its faculties. And we are persuaded, that many, who entered it with a wrong estimate of the im- portance of preparatory study, have since found their mistake, when it was too late to provide a remedy. In-
142 SERMON V.
tellectual discouragement, and dull monotony, in his work, is now the painful lot of many a pastor who spends a week of active employment, but not in such a preparation for the pulpit as enlarges, and liberalizes, and refreshes his own mind. He sees every subject in the same light from week to week, turns over his Bible, and finds everywhere the same texts suggesting to his mind the same trains of thought, and the very same phrases. He has refused to acquaint himself with the varied stores of knowledge that God placed within his reach ; he has neglected to discipline and develope the higher and richer faculties of his mind ; and now he reaps the bitter fruits of his ignorance, or of his sincere but misguided zeal for God's honor. And I will not venture to say, how much affinity I think there is, be- tween intellectual and spiritual dulness and monotony.
But in all this we have spoken only of pastors, be- cause it was concerning them that we have imagined that we should have to contend with the greatest amount of avowed or secret opposition to a learned ministry. Now we apprehend no such objections in reference to translations of the Scriptures for the heath- en ; and to the writers of commentories and works of divinity for the Church and for her pastors.
There is a fourth consideration to enforce our views.
4. The pastor is to superintend important, extended, and complicated interests, which require both solid learning and sound discipline of mind.
The spiritual interests of individuals, with all the variety of their characters, attainments, and circumstan- ces, and their complicated and delicate cases of con- science ; the spiritual interests of families, of the young; the care of his own Church, the general interests of
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 143
education, the general interests of the Church ; a know- ledge of the actual position of his fellow men, and of the bearing of the literature and political movements of the day upon the interests of Christ's kingdom ; a thorough acquaintance with the increasingly important efforts of the Church to extend the gospel to distant nations, with the relations of these efforts to their institu- tions and to the vairous civil governments ; the forma- tion of a sound literature to supersede the corrupt influence of that which impiety and scepticism have generated ; — these are among the duties which God in his providence assigns to the gospel-minister. For, if he has them not in charge, no one has ; and, if he has, then we strenuously maintain, that he cannot know too much of man as he has been, and of man as he is ; of the history of the world, and of the history of Chris- tianity ; of the history of his country, of its political condition, its literature, and its institutions.
But we have proposed a more distinct reference to the objections, which may be made to these views. It may be said, that they promote pride and dependence on man. We reply, not necessarily. An ignorant man, raised to a station of influence, is in much greater danger of pride, than a man of learning. Ignorance is no security against pride ; nor are learning and piety incompatible, as has been shown in numberless instan- ces. And as to dependence upon human power, was there ever a case in which there was more danger than in that of Paul ? His gifts and endowments were of the first order, and the Church was in danger of pla- cing undue confidence in them ; yet the Head of the Church conferred them on him.
It may be said, that Paid declared that he re-
144 SERMONV.
nounced all dependence on huw,an learning and elo- quence. The same kind of distinction must be made here, as in the cases of fasting, prayer, and alms-giving. When our Savior commands us not to pray in public to be seen of men, he means not to prevent public prayer, but to correct its abuse. Paul employed true philosophy and true eloquence, in opposition to the vain systems and the showy declamation, which were the boast of the Grecian schools of his day. Surely he would never have objected to the employment of the simple and manly eloquence of Demosthenes in preach- ing the gospel ; surely he would not have required of that orator, if he had lived in Paul's day, had been converted and brought to preach the gospel, to employ in the pulpit less good sense, less knowledge of the hu- man heart, than he had used in the forum. Paul de- termined to know nothing but a crucified Savior as the theme of his sermons, and not to speak in the enticing words of man's wisdom ; but he, nevertheless, availed himself of his profound knowledge of the Jewish law, and of the human heart ; of his acquaintance with the great principles of natural theology, with heathen poets and heathen philosophers, to reach the consciences and hearts of his hearers.
It may further be said, that human learning has no tendency to convert the soul. This is, at last, the im- portant objection ; an objection which, perhaps, often recurs to the sincere friend of ministerial learninor.
c
The work of conversion seems so exclusively the pre- rogative of the Holy Spirit, that no possible connexion can be seen between it and the study of the classics, of mathematics, and of philosophy. Perhaps, too, our theological students themselves often lose sight of this
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 145
connexion ; and just so far their studies benefit their minds at the expense of their hearts.
Let us ask ourselves, whether in this case we do not exaggerate the truth ? It is true, that God converts the soul; but does he do it by means, or without means ? and, if by means, does he make use of human faculties, and of human language, or not ? If he makes use of human language, then we should say, from the analogy of all his works, that the more perfectly lan- guage is employed, the more calculated is it to secure the end. I appeal to the common sense of the objecting Christian, on two of the simplest elements of eloquence. Perspicuity is one. Now, suppose that a very pious preacher speaks of the love of Christ, but utters him- self so obscurely as not to make himself understood ; and another, of equal piety, explains this great subject clearly ; which is most likely to be employed of God for converting men ? Might not the one as well speak in the Hebrew language ? And here we reply to the very plausible objection,—" of what use can the mathe- matics be to the theological student ?" Perhaps of lit- tle or none, in their application ; but their study seems to promote exactly what we now have referred to, pre- cision of thought, and perspicuity of language. Again, suppose a man to speak of the wrath of God in a dull and sleepy manner ; and another to thunder in the ears of the careless, as we may suppose Baxter and Alleine to have done ; is it not evident, that the Holy Spirit may be expected to reach the heart more effectually by the one, than by the other? And yet, although the professor of eloquence cannot give a soul, he can teach the soul to utter its sentiments in the most impressive way. He can teach his pupil to put away the unnat-
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ural and unoratorical habits that he may have con- tracted.
On this important topic, we carry you back to the apostolic college. Our blessed Redeemer opened a kind of peripatetic, or itinerant theological school. And never did men possess such a teacher, and never were such advances made, as under that instruction. This is evident, when we compare their sentiments, as expressed in their letters, with those for which Christ so often rebuked them in the beginning of their studies. But if learning was not necessary, why not send them out as soon as they were called ? Why must they be three years at school, under such a teacher, equivalent to ten times as many years under others ? It may be said, — " they were to be witnesses of his life and works ; they were to be disciplined in piety." All true ; and yet equally true is it, that they were all this time rapid- ly learning. And yet, even that was not sufficient ; they had not learning enough, when leaving the school of Christ ; and the Holy Ghost himself, by miraculous power, must complete their instruction, and place them, in some respects, among the most learned ; that is, by at once imparting the knowledge of ten or fourteen languages. It may be said, too, that Christ did not teach philosophy, nor pay any attention to intellectual discipline. And yet it is well worthy of notice, that the distinguished apostle, who was selected to preach to phi- losophers and courtiers, was taken from the schools.
But to refute this objection by fact, let us look at modern times, and ask, what class of learned men have been more blessed in their ministry than Doddridge, and Watts, and Whitefield, and Wesley, of England ; Edwards, and Bellamy, and Dvvight of America ?
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 147
Who has filled higher places of usefulness than the learned Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, and Knox ? < Bun- yan,' it may be said, ' is an exception ;' no, he is a con- firmation, for he had what many cannot now acquire but in part, even by the severest study. If all unedu- cated men can write a Pilgrim's Progress, our argument loses much of its power. The same may be said of Fuller. It was the solid learning and mental disci- pline of those men and not their ignorance, that God employed for the good of his Church ; and we are im- pressed by the fact, that the peculiar dealings of God with men. who were to accomplish extraordinary good, secured uncommon discipline, both of mind and heart. So it was with Moses, with the forerunner, and even with our Lord ; so with Daniel, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. They were taken to high places of the universe, from whence they could catch glorious views of God and his plans. Oh that our theological schools may be like their sacred retreats, whence, by profound and tranquil reflection, by earnest prayer, by special inter- course with God, by large and lofty views of their com- mission, our future ministers may be prepared for going forth to move, to teach, to bless, and save the world ! The necessity of such institutions was felt under the Old Testament, and led to forming the schools of the prophets. They were early revived under the New Testament, perhaps in Alexandria, soon after the death of the apostles. They are now the hope of the Church, and must become more and more the object of her pray- ers and affections. We have said, perhaps, too much upon the necessity of learning ; not too much abso- lutely, but so much as to expose ourselves to the dan- ger of appearing to estimate it above piety.
148 SERMON V.
But this brings us to our
SECOND PART.
We maintain with equal earnestness that the Church must secure a pious ministry. " The same commit thou to faithful men/' says Paul to Timothy, men faithful to God and to his Church ; faithful to their trust and to the souls of men. And this faithfulness demands for its first and its last element — piety. A learned ministry, without piety, is even a greater curse than an ignorant one. To prove that every minister ought to be a converted man, — nay, a man of uncommon piety, as much in moral stature above his brethren, as Saul was in physical proportions above his ; — to prove that a minister must be a man of true piety, is to prove that our bodies need life, that without his soul, man is but a corpse ; that without the sun, the world is in darkness and misery. The men, who assume the sacred office without a renewed heart, are utterly unacquainted, both with the nature of its duties, and with its awful responsibilities. We know that God may have converted many souls by the preaching of unconverted men ; but his gracious overruling of human depravity should never be abused by man, to encourage himself in sin.
But there is no room for reasoning on the subject. He, that believes in the reality and universal necessity of conversion, must acknowledge, that ministers are included in that all ; and must admit its importance above all to the minister. Every branch. of his duties, every issue of his ministry, bears prominent on its front the urgent necessity of great piety. Whether we consider him as coming from God to man, or as
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 149
turning from man in his infatuation, and man in his feebleness, to supplicate God in his behalf; — whether we consider the nature of the subjects he is to teach as pre-eminently matters of experience, or the power of example ; — whether we look at time and its trials, or at the judgment and its eternal issues ; — we see every thing urging upon the ministers of Christ piety, eminent piety, a close resemblance to their Master, the intimacy of holy communion with him, the power of a holy sympathy with him, and the efficiency of prevail- ing intercession with the Father.
The ambassador of Christ goes forth, from the me- diatorial throne, chosen^ qualified, commissioned, to a world, ignorant of God, of his grace, and of his wrath, blind alike to his holy law and to his scheme of mercy, blinded and deluded by a subtle spirit. He is to plead and remonstrate against that world's rebel- lion ; but how shall he do it sincerely and successfully if his heart sympathizes not with the government of Jehovah ? How absurd as well as hypocritical is the eloquence of a man, who has never laid down his own rebellious weapons, never yet even acknowledged his own rebellion, and yet pretends with tears and solemn entreaties to persuade his fellow men to repent ! The more eloquent and the more pathetic he is, the more absurd ; and every convert under such preaching is but a witness against his own impenitence. The man, who proclaims to this wicked world the offer of par- don, must deeply feel the evil of its rebellion, must earnestly sympathize with the holy government of God ; sin must be the burden of his own soul ; he must fear that wrath which he announces in words of terror to others ; for, perhaps, there is no infidelity so per-
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150 SERMON V.
fectly effective, as that which is concealed under solemn and pompous words about the wrath of God, where the preacher's soul is not moved at the time in view of that terrific reality. It accustoms men to feel, that it is a trifle ; while they escape the reproach of their own conscience by appearing to acknowledge its reality. Yes, I may say, that it is one of the grand impediments to the progress of religion, that so many, professing to be its ministers, have accustomed the people to be as much unaffected by it, as they are themselves. They perpetuate the dreadful pestilence of religious insensibility by mere contagion ; and under them grows up the form of godliness without its power. God deliver us from heartless ministers ! The man who means to awaken the conscience of this slumber- ing world must know much of the holiness and the terrors of God's law, and have awful views of his ma- jesty ; he must have studied with his heart in Geth- semane and on Calvary ; he must know the meaning of that exclamation, " If these things be done in the green tree, what shall be done dry !"
He, who would meet the inquiring soul and lead it to Christ, must know the way by experience. Here the power of the heart is peculiarly employed by the Spirit of God. He, who would talk profitably of re- pentance, must talk of it experimentally. He, who would lead the young convert in the first steps of his Christian walk, must talk like an old traveller of a road, that he knows by having traversed it ; he must meet with something like parental sympathy, the fears, the joys, the hopes, the doubts, of the babe in Christ. He, who would be a leader to the Church of Christ, must be an example of all he teaches ; he must not
THE CHISTIAN MINISTRY. 151
say, Go to the cross for pardon,' hut, 'Come to the cross.' He must know the snares of Satan, that he may point them to others ; and he must learn them from his own heart. He must be taught of God to teach God's word. He must know the trials peculiar to Christians in order to sympathize with his flock ; and when called to the common trials of life, he must show how to sustain them. How powerful were the appeals of Paul to the Church when he could say, " Follow us as we follow Christ !"
The providence of God is evidently preparing the Church for a wider and more important field of action, than she has occupied since the apostolic days ; and none, save men of an apostolic spirit, will be prepared to guide her in the arduous conflict and the mighty work that lies before her.
And if this aspect of the ministry presents the neces- sity of piety, how much more so does the other in which we behold the minister going from men to God, to intercede in their behalf. It is well said by a French divine, " More than half a minister's work must be accomplished in his closet : it is an affair between him and his God." Each Christian must be a man of prayer ; but chiefly he, who undertakes to negotiate between God and man, in the matter of salvation. The life of, all our services, the power of our appeals, the light of our instructions, the efficacy of our consolations, the savor of our example, — all depend upon the degree of our communion with God. We are bound to live in view of both worlds, to cherish the sentiments of heaven, while we live on earth ; we are like ambas- sadors to a rebel province, who by constant corres- pondence with the sovereign and his loyal courtiers,
152 SERMON V.
preserve ourselves from contracting the spirit of rebel- lion, while we deeply sympathize with the wretched condition of our rebel fellow-subjects. And where does the pastor tread more closely in the steps of the Great High Priest than when, with the names of his people on his heart, he is before the sprinkled mercy- seat ? The Church ought to look with much anxiety to this point ; that her ministers be men of prayer, of eminent prayerful ness. The promise concerning the days of her prosperity is — "1 have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem ! which shall never hold their peace, day nor night." The divine direction hence is — "Ye, that make mention of the Lord" — the Lord's remembrancers — "keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."
But 1 must close this too protracted exercise, by bringing the subject to this practical conclusion : — that the Church has a most important part to act in securing both the learning and the piety of her min- istry. As to the first, she is to sustain her theological colleges, and demand of them an efficient course of in- tellectual training. As to the second, let her distinctly see that it is that alone which makes learning valuable, and that, in past ages, Satan has perpetually gained an advantage, by making her go into one extreme or the other ; — that of having learning without piety, or piety without learning. And let her chiefly see what part she has to act in securing the piety of her ministers.
We may specify several distinct duties ; — and first, prayer for unconverted youth. In America, we are made to feel the necessity of this, and are taught by Providence to pray the Lord of the harvest that he
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 153
would send forth laborers into the harvest. We have not ministers enough to meet our spiritual wants, and the wants of the Missionary societies. Driven, there- fore, to look to God in behalf of our unconverted and educated youth, we have set apart days of prayer for this object. And the Lord has signally answered our requests. Let British Churches remember, that there are not ministers enough to supply the tenth part of the world with pastoral instructions. But let them chiefly remember that we are deficient not in numbers only, but also in ministerial graces. We must give the Lord no rest, until his ministers love one another more, are less given to sects and more to souls ; until they come to greater simplicity and activity, and power and efficiency.
We suggest also special prayer for theological col- leges. We urge the importance of exalting the stand- ard of piety before yormg Christians, by the example of the Church, showing those, who are to preach the gospel, how to live for Christ. Every day that the candidate for the ministry passes under your roof, every time he sits at your board, he is receiving impressions which may affect his ministry. He learns from your remarks on ministers and sermons, what the Church expects of both.
Christian friends ! who revere the memory of her whom the Head of the Church raised up in a time of spiritual death and darkness, to encourage and even guide his faithful ministers ; remember this college, — her Benjamin, — the child of her right hand. It needs your pecuniary aid ; with that aid, it may take its proper position amid the kindred institutions, that are doing so much to raise the qualifications of the sacred ministry. It was liberally, nobly endowed. Every thing which
154 SERMON V.
that heart devised was planned on a broad scale. And yet a college is not the result of the labors of one hand. It is enough for one to found it ; posterity, who are to reap its rich advantages, must mature and perfect it. To accomplish all that she designed, to finish what she began, requires a spirit of equal liberality with her own. Who has her spirit ? who counts the cause of Christ all his care, as she did ? who is prepared to tread in her path of self-denial and faith ? Who sympathizes with her zeal for God and the Church? Come, brethren ! come to our help ; come, I would say, to her help, and enable the directors of the college to execute their admirable plans.
But important as these plans are, they respect chiefly the elevation of the standard of learning and intellectual discipline ; for the other and higher benefits, they look beyond their plans to the sovereign grace of God, to Jesus, the Head of his Church, with whom is the residue of the Spirit. And to-day they commission me to appeal to your hearts in behalf of the college, the directors, the pupils, the teachers. Their desire is, that the Holy Spirit may be the great teacher here ; that Jesus would abide with them by that Spirit, that he would teach them the preciousnessof his gospel, and how to preach it.
Christians ! pray much for this school, that here may be trained the sons of thunder and the sons of consola- tion. The Church should look with deep solicitude to these schools of the prophets ; for a perishing world seems to cast towards them an imploring look; the perishing heathen are crying as of old — " Come over and help us." And they ask for spiritual men, men of prayer, of faith, of zeal ; men, in a word, whom God shall call, commission, and bless.
Brethren, pray for the College.
SERMON "VI.
THE NATURE AND INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS.
" And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them. But when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the king- dom of God." — Luke xviii. 15, 16.
The prince of darkness has fearfully extended his empire over the whole human family ; and the Son of* God, the Prince of peace, has come to " destroy the works of the devil," to open the prison-door to the cap- tive, and let the prisoner go free. He has come, with the voice of authority, to command the prisoner to escape from bondage, and, with the voice of tender invi- tation, to entreat him to leave his vassalage, and disown his allegiance to Satan. And there are two remarka- ble features in all his commands and invitations; the one is, that they regard all classes of men, without re- spect to any of the distinctions, that pertain to the pre- sent and temporary forms of society ; and the other feature is. that they extend to human nature in every age of its existence, from its earliest stages and its first developments. This feature, the disciples of Christ did not, at first, understand ; they supposed, that the king-
156 SERMON VI.
dom, which our Lord had come to establish, was of such a nature, that it required the full maturity of the understanding to appreciate its advantages, and to enter upon the discharge of its duties. Hence, (as you may suppose his group principally to have consisted of mothers,) when mothers, obeying that maternal instinct, which often is more wise than the sound deductions of philosophy, (sound in the eyes of those who make them,) — that maternal instinct which felt for the little ones, felt their helplessness and their want, and had learned the power and goodness of the great Redeemer, — when they drew nigh, and presented their infants to him, to come within the blessed sphere of his benignity and mercy, the disciples interposed, rejected the infants and rebuked the mothers. But Jesus said, Suffer these little ones to come to me ; let no man forbid them ; the king- dom, that I am establishing, reaches even to the infan- tile state of human existence ; little children, too, are to be the objects of my grace and of my redeeming power : " Suffer little children to come unto me."
The first duty, that devolves upon those who have the care of human beings, is of course physical ; it per- tains to the animal, the material part of human nature, because that is first developed. The next development is unquestionably moral ; the child begins to feel, before he manifests much understanding. It is unquestiona- ble, that the conscience is developed much earlier, than they, whose observation has not been specifically di- rected to this point, are prepared to believe. It is cer- tain that the heart is very early developed ; and God seems, in the very manner of the development of the faculties of human nature at successive periods, to indi- cate the kind of care, the kind of instruction, and the
MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 157
kind of influence, which should be brought to bear upon human nature. Last of all seems to come the higher range of the intellectual powers.
The first duty, touching the character and interest of man as a moral being, is to bring him under the moral government of Jesus Christ. The first duty with the mind of man is to make him understand and feel his want and his guilt as a sinner. The first and most important lesson, that a mother can convey to the heart and the understanding of her child, is, that he is the degenerate shoot of a degenerate vine, and that in Christ alone is his help. His little mind should begin to un- derstand first the story of redeeming and incarnate love — the history of Him who became an infant, and then the " Man of sorrows," and then the bleeding Vic- tim, and then the living Intercessor and the omnipotent King, to raise us from our ruin ; and the first attrac- tions of the little heart, beyond the father and the mother that begat and that nurture, should be to the great Ben- efactor, that has come to redeem. l Suffer your little ones to come to me,' said Jesus : from them that are indifferent, and from them that have objections to them, he seems to turn to mothers, and say, l Bring your little ones to me.'
The first duty to man, as an immortal being and the subject of God's moral government, is to induce him, just as rapidly as his affections and will are developed, to break the bands that bind him to the kingdom of darkness, and to bring him, an intelligent and a volun- tary subject, into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus, to teach him to love, to teach him to obey, to teach him to serve his " God manifest in the flesh." And it is an interesting object of investigation, to see what full pro-
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158 SERMON VI.
vision God has made for the reclaiming of man from his apostacy, the introduction and the conservation of man in " the kingdom of his dear Son" — and that, from the earliest period of his existence.
There is something very wonderful in the family- constitution ; there is something in it. which even the Church herself has not fully understood, but which many indications in Providence show that she is going to understand more fully. There is more power in the family constitution, there is more moral power in a mother, than the world has begun to conceive, than even Christian mothers have yet begun fully to appre- hend. And, as they advance in faith on God's promi- ses,— as they rise in strength of a holy confidence, that seizes the promise of an unchanging God, — as they become intelligent in those great purposes of his moral government, which pertain to us, and which are essen- tial to direct us in the right discharge of duty, — we have no question that the moral power of the mother will rise ; and just as far as we get away from Pagan- ism, and all its degradation of the female sex, just as far as we get away from the foolish and romantic ideas of woman, that prevailed in the days of chivalry,— just so far shall we come into the clear and glorious light of Christianity, and woman will be, what God meant she should be in his hand, the regenerator of the human race.
There is a peculiarity in the maternal feeling, that no man, who feels himself identified with the interests of the human race, can observe without himself feeling the deepest interest. There is something in a mother's love, that cannot have been unintended ; there is a rea- son for that peculiar delicacy and tenderness— for even
MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 159
that tenderness of tone, which toe cannot imitate ; there is a meaning in the fact, that the musical scale of a mother's voice is pitched differently from ours. It is one of God's great instruments, for fitting her to reach man in those periods of his existence, when every thing is tender in his body and in his soul.
There is an affinity between the feelings of a mother and a child, that does not exist in kind or degree be- tween the father and the child, indicating a peculiarity in the duty and a peculiarity in the responsibility. I may say, in passing, (because I deem it of importance,) that perhaps there will become, for a time, extravagant, and exaggerated, and unharmonious, and unauthorized views of the duty of mothers, and that fathers will for- get their peculiar station, — for it is one of great pecu- liarity, and it is one of equal responsibility different in kind. I wish not to encourage any exaggerated view ; I wish not to roll more burdens upon the tender sex. than God has placed ; but my specific duty will lead me peculiarly to speak, and alone to speak, of maternal duty.
There is something in the entire helplessness of hu- man nature, in the entire dependence of human nature, — there is something in the imitative propensities of chil- dren,— there is something in that perfect confidence, that characterizes children, — which fits them to come so fully, so entirely, under the kind and powerful in- fluence of the enlightened and sanctified maternal heart ; and the noblest object on the footstool of God is a Christian mother, moulding human nature in the first stages of its earthly and of its immortal existence. Oh ! that I might have light from God, to help even mothers this day to estimate their high calling and their holy commission.
160 SERMON VI.
No fruit of sin has been more fatal, than the misun- derstanding of female duty and female character. One of the striking characteristics of all heathen lands is the condition of woman. When the Brahmin priest was reproached by the missionary, because he saw a woman dragging her entire length from the point of the com- mencement of her dreadful pilgrimage to the temple — (it lay entirely through a large tract covered with mud, and she was dragging her body through the filth) — "There !" said the missionary, "that is one of the fruits of your system !" " Well, what is that ?" replied the Brahmin ; " it is only a woman !" That tells the char- acteristic feature of their dark and debasing system ; " it is only a woman !" And what means the Turkish harem, where woman is but the animal ? What means it ? — The light of Christianity has not shone. What is the present moral and social condition of France — France, that made the desperate experiment of rejecting Christianity ? It is a fact, that even the French lan- guage itself is destitute of the sweet word Home, and all its sacred, tender associations. I rejoice to say that God is doing great things for France ; but I speak of it now as a nation in the whole, a nation of mighty intel- lect, a nation of immense intellectual power and pro- gress,— but a nation, that, as a nation, has not a domes- tic life ; and woman is not known in France (not known in France as a nation) as she is in England and in the colonies and the countries that have sprung from Eng- land. And I rejoice to say, that French writers are beginning to tell their nation the truth — 'Until you estimate woman and the marriage contract, and the marriage relation and the maternal relation differently, it is in vain that you essay the changes of political gov-
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ernment ; we must have a change at the fireside, and we must begin to have a sacred home.'
But although it is evident, that the nations which speak the English language are in advance of the rest of the world on this momentous subject, we have no reason for boasting ; and it will but injure us to reflect upon that fact, if we do not besides reflect upon the fact that we are very, very far below the light we have, and very far from discharging our duties. I speak even of the higher classes of female mind ; I speak even of our Christian mothers ; and I say it with the profound re- spect that I feel in my heart for the mothers in Israel — that even they have much, very much to learn — much, very much to attain.
I wish, in this stage of the subject, to direct your at- tention to a very remarkable prophecy — remarkable, as being the closing up of the wonderful series of prophe- cies in the ancient Testament. It is in the book of Malachi, the last chapter, and the closing verses : —
" Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord : and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
I understand that prophecy to involve two points. The first is, that Christianity (the primary meaning of the prophecy referring of course to its introduction, and the secondary meaning to its expansion and more complete influence on the human race) — that the first influence of the introduction, and the chief influence of the spreading, of Christianity in the world is to restore parental affection. You recollect, that Paul has said, that one of the characteristics of the heathen
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162 SERMON VI.
is, that they are " without natural affection f and you recollect, that when our missionaries went to the Sand- wich Islands, they found them rapidly undergoing depopulation by " infanticide, and mothers would dig the graves of their own infants yet living, bury them, throw the earth upon them, spread the mat over them, and (while the child was perhaps yet struggling) eat their meal in self-complacency." That is the stern picture of man without the Bible, and that, in greater or less degrees, pervades all Pagan countries and every country, just in proportion as the gospel of the Son of God fails of effect ; and the first meaning of this pro- phecy I understand to be the restoration of parental love. And the second I take to be the proper inclina- tion of parental love. For now the grand evil in Christian countries is, not that parents do not love their children, but that their love is often the ruin of their children. Misguided parental love now charac- terizes nominal Christendom. The great care of the greater part of parents is for the earthly welfare of their children ; but when the Spirit of God shall come, as predicted in Malachi, parents will begin to feel that their children are immortal, and that they are to train them for glory and immortality, and not for honor — the bubble that bursts in the hand of him that seizes it, — and not for the pampering of the flesh, — and not for the attainment of a station, from which death can cast them down to perdition, but for the attainment of those seats of glory, from which he shall never be cast out that once has possession by grace. The restoration of parental affection, and the guidance of parental affec- tion, are to characterize the advancing march of Chris- tianity through our sinful, wretched world.
MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 163
In every age of Christianity there have undoubtedly been individual parents, that have understood (to a remarkable degree, compared with those around them) their parental duties. We mean not to say, that there are not now in the churches a great many mothers, that have a very wide, comprehensive, active view of pa- rental duty ; we mean not to say, that there are not now in the churches women, who, if their character and their maternal history and their domestic life could be held out to the world, might be a model to the world. We speak not of these blessed exceptions, we speak of the general fact ; and all the remarks which we make upon the subject, must be understood in their general accuracy and general bearing. But we be- lieve that a day is dawning, like the day prophesied by Malachi. And one of the first fruits, perhaps, of the wide awakening of the consciences of mothers and the hearts of mothers has been the formation of Ma- ternal Associations.
Association ! The world is just beginning to under- stand its power, in some of the highest interests of man. And I confess that it was not without surprise, coming from a country, in which these associations for mothers are rapidly spreading, and coming from a Church, in the bosom of which I have witnessed from year to year their blessed influence — it was not without surprise, that I found intelligent and devoted Christian mothers here, with strong and even insuperable objections to the existence of Maternal Associations. I therefore come with this embarrassment ; I come as an American, acquainted with American institutions and American society, and unacquainted comparatively with English institutions and English society, and therefore I may
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not speak wisely ; but you will understand what I say to be spoken with that degree of light that I possess, and for that alone can I be responsible. My impression is that mothers ought to associate ; under what cir- cumstances, and by what principles to be regulated, must be left to the wisdom of those that are in the par- ticular locality, judging of local circumstances and of local habits ; but I know not why the great and glo- rious principle of combined strength and combined counsel, when two are stronger than one, should not be brought to bear upon the general duty of mothers. I can conceive of but one general objection ; and that is, that mothers may feel that their duties are dis- charged by being members of, or going to, the Maternal Association ; whereas that would be an utter perver- sion, for the design is to fit mothers for the duties of home by mutual counsel and mutual encouragement.
My commission is to recommend to you, this day, the formation and the universal adoption (under what- ever modifications you may find best) of Maternal Associations. And as your patience will allow me. I will dwell in confirmation of this position upon the ar- guments, that are most prominent before my own mind.
1. The first consideration that I urge is, the tendency of Maternal Associations to promote maternal education.
There may be an appearance of the want of sufficient respect, there may be an appearance of invidious com- parison, when I say that mothers need to be educated. But I think that there is not this want of respect ; for I think that I should say it even to my own mother, — 'Are there not many things, that might have been rectified in my education, if you had had the light that a kind God is beginning to pour upon the great subject
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of maternal duty?' — and I should expect, from that good sense and that piety which, I know, characterize her, to hear her say, < Yes, my son ! every day that I live I am discovering my faults, my own neglects, my own want of a sense of maternal responsibility, my own want of a deep and solemn consideration of the importance of education ; willingly would I go back, with the light I now have, and rear my family again.'
There are unquestionably two classes of mothers in society ; and therefore there is great propriety in the establishment of two kinds, or, at least two branches, of Maternal Associations. There are those, who are competent to be to each other mutual instructors ; and there are those, who, from the want of advantages of instruction, had better be subjected to the guidance of those, to whom God has given more light. I say, then, l let there be the Mutual Instruction Maternal Association, and the Maternal Association in which one is instructed and the other a learner.' And oh ! if there be an angel-visit of mercy on this earth, it is for the enlightened Christian mother to go to the habita- tion of her poor and uninstructed sister, and teach her how to bear her burden, how to train her family. If God has given her light and given her love, let her go, as she has " freely received," and "freely give" it to the needy. It is worth more than the money and the clothing and the bread, though the money and the clothing and the bread should come with it.
I need not convince this assembly of the importance of the moral influence of a mother ; I may dwell upon it for a moment, only to produce a deeper sense of that which we already know. It is unquestionable, that the hopes of human society and the hopes of the
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Church of God are to be found in the character, in the views, and in the conduct of mothers. Though it is taking up the very lowest department of this subject, yet I will state one single fact on the civil bearings of Maternal Associations. I suppose, that, if you could trace the history of every criminal, that stands at the bar of your courts of justice in this great metropolis, (where there is so much good and so much evil,) you would find, that nearly every poor criminal there went through as regular an education, as any physician or lawyer in your land ; and I suppose, that you would find, that they had been trained, when children, as regularly by their mothers for the prison and the gibbet, as in our schools children are trained for the important duties of life. When I pass through your streets, and see the places where the polluting and fiery poison is sold, and see the mothers with the little infants at their breasts going into those nurseries of crime, those hot-beds of poverty and pollution, those gateways of death and hell, my heart bleeds within me. A mother, instead of the milk from her breast to nourish, and the " milk" of heavenly truth for the im- mortal mind of her child, pouring into its little system the fiery poison of hell ! Bear with me ; and, if I thought that there were a vender of the dreadful poison here, I could not but turn aside from the theme com- mitted to me, to plead one moment with him ; — so cruel does it seem to me, for men to sell that which they know is to ruin body and soul, and to hand out the fiery glass to a mother to give it to her little child. Oh ! is there no way of inducing these wicked men to quit their dreadful employ ? It is all in vain that we establish prisons, that we carry out the penitentiary
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system ; we shall only have to do it, so long as the mothers are training their children as they are. We must have some improvement in the domestic edu- cation of the poor, if we want an improvement in our seats of crime and of poverty. And there is moral power enough in the Church to accomplish it. I know that sometimes there are difficulties ; but I have seen these difficulties conquered. I have seen the perse- vering visits of one Christian lady conquer the obdurate heart of a most hardened drunkard, and at last make her sit down a willing learner at the feet of her bene- factor ; and I have seen the change in the order of the little cottage, the cleanliness of the children, the im- proved dress, the orderly habits, the regular attendance at the sanctuary, the improved disposition and conduct of the little children, all coming from the fact that one Christian mother, who knew the duty of a mother, and the importance of a mother, had gone to this poor woman, and waited on her " in the bowels of com- passion" that belong to Christ and to his people, until she had persuaded her to do her duty as a mother.
I dwell on this one branch of the subject — the civil influence alone, that I may on that rest your conviction of all the higher results, that are to come from the right guiding of a mother's mind, and the right guiding of human character between the ages of two years and twelve or fifteen, which is the peculiar sphere of the mother's influence. I wish to " magnify the office" of the mother ; and I think the whole tendency of these Maternal Associations is to bring it out, and hold it out to the view of mothers and of the world, in all its magnitude and importance. Napoleon Buonaparte was a man of shrewd observation, and he once said to
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Madam Campan — " The old systems of education are worth nothing ; what is wanted for the proper training of young persons in France ?" With keen discern- ment and great truth she replied in one word — " Mothers." This word struck the emperor ; and the thought grew upon him. " Behold, then," said he, " an entire system of education ! you must make mothers, that know how to train their children."
The influence of Rousseau, with all his infidelity, has been in some respects good on France. His object unquestionably in one of his works was to give citizens to the nation ; and he commenced with mothers. " The mother's milk," said he, " should be the milk of liberty." He resorted to the mothers, because he wanted to bring back mankind to truth, simplicity, and noble sentiments based on benevolence ; and all that was good, — for there was some good, and it is growing still, — all that was good in the terrible French revolution, it appears to me, can be traced to the influence of his writings, almost the only pure stream that did flow in those times. But he failed, in trusting too little to the im- portance of the character of the mother, and having no sense of the necessity of training children for heaven.
Man was born for the atmosphere of love ; and when we tear the little child from its mother, and send it to a stranger, and to the stern teaching of a stranger, no one can tell how he feels his loss, and how his little heart sighs for his home, and for the smile of his mother, which was the sun of his home. Virtue is not so much taught to children as infused into them ; and infused into them at their first stage. Pestalozzi, the great Swiss instructor, has traced what may be (it appears to me that it probably is, but, whether it is or
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not, it suggests an important principle) the first dis- covery of the principles of moral government in the intercourse of the child and his mother. (By the first idea of moral government I mean this — I have a will of my own, but there is a will exterior to mine and above mine, and that will has a right to limit mine.) He supposed a little child to begin to move his arm, and, as is natural, to find pleasure in the freedom of the movement, to find his delight in that motion to a certain length ; but he supposes him to meet, in trying one day to make this movement, the obstruction of a table — and perhaps it is the first idea he gets of exter- nal existence ; then he supposes, that the mother comes in, checks the child, and forbids him to do something that he wishes to do ; the child begins to discover the difference between the involuntary table, the mere mass of matter that physically obstructed his move- ment, and the interposition of a will that interrupted him, and he supposes the first idea that there is a will out of us and above us to come thus ; and then con- science wakes up with the feeling, < I ought to submit to that will .' And the great secret of family-training is, to teach the child that he is to bow his will to the will that governs in the family ; and then the great secret of religious training is, to teach him to bow his will to the will of God, and to say, " Thy will be done :" and, if he were brought to this on earth, he would come to stand in heaven among those shining ranks, whose entire feeling is, " Thy will be done." And how pe- culiarly is the mother fitted to exert this kind of influ- ence on the mind of her child, because she can temper the sternness of that rigid will, that does not bend to the child's desire, with all the sweetness of love, and
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appeal to all the child's sense of dependence and of obli- gation to make it acceptable ! The eloquence of a mother's lips must first persuado tho child to virtue.
The first impressions, that should be made upon man's angelic mind, unquestionably are such as we trust will flourish in heaven ; and God has committed to mothers the work of teaching their children, to pre- fer honor to fortune, to succor distress, to love their fellows, to raise their hearts to God. I have been much struck with a remark made by a French writer. Of sixty-nine monarch s, who have worn the French crown, (he says,) only three have loved the people, and all those three were reared by their mothers with- out the intervention of pedagogues. A. Bossuet edu- cated the tyrant Louis XIV. ; his mother did not train him. St. Louis was trained by Blanche ; Louis XII. was trained by Maria of Cleves ; and Henri IV. was trained by Jane of Albret ; and these were really the fathers of their people." " Good professors can make good scholars" says this author ; " but good mothers alone can make good men."
The incidental effect of our Maternal Associations is to elicit attention and talent to the great subject of ma- ternal duty, and to draw forth those great lessons of wisdom, that mothers need to learn in order to fit them to fulfil it.
2. I will present a second consideration : the tenden- cy of mothers associating together, as mothers, to confer on their duties and their difficulties, is to quicken the sense of their responsibility.
As " iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." There is something in the social principle, when consecrated to the great work of
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personal holiness, on which the blessing of God seems peculiarly to rest. Hence there is so much said in the Bible of the value of social prayer ; hence it is said, " Exhort one another daily." And I think it an advan- tage to have system in this. It is an advantage for mothers to meet periodically, and to have regular sea- sons for exhorting each other in each other's duties, and for increasing in each other's minds the sense of those duties. A periodical revival of this impression must, with the blessing of God, be very useful.
3. I come now to a third consideration — the tendency of such associations to increase family and maternal religion.
On this subject I speak chiefly from the testimony of mothers. I have seen extracts from many letters writ- ten by mothers, and I have the testimony of mothers in my own church, that they have found that every meet- ing of the Maternal Association sent them home to their closets, humbled under a sense of their deficiencies, and casting themselves more fully on covenant grace to aid them in the discharge of maternal duty.
One influence is found in the fact, that they have led to the collection of the best writings calculated to im- press a mother's heart, and the bringing them together to hear them read ; and it is unquestionable, as a gene- ral principle, that a thing read in a large company is altogether more impressive than that read alone. When the best writings of the best heads and the best hearts are brought before a collected assembly of mothers, I think that the influence must be happy, in elevating the standard of maternal piety, and having the mothers go back to the domestic circle to elevate the standard of maternal religion. I know the fact, that, when an in-
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dividual mother has received a special blessing from God in answer to prayer, when an individual mother has found her endeavors owned and blessed of God, and when she has gone to the meeting to tell it — each mother has said, « Then I must get nearer to God my- self, and wait more faithfully upon him, and he will give me, too, the blessing which he has given to my sister."
4. I urge a fourth consideration in recommendation of Maternal Associations ; they tend to facilitate the discharge of maternal duties.
In the first place, they increase the information of mothers. And I will just run over a little catalogue of their duties, on which they need information. The mother's art is the most difficult perhaps in this world. She has to train the body through the most delicate and exposed period of its existence ; she has to carry it through the period, when particular diseases invade it ; she has to attend to the physical development of the entire man, in beauty, in strength, in healthfulness. And then at the same time she has to rear the intellect and the heart — to judge of a thousand difficult questions of conscience, that are rising up almost every day in her sphere. It is a difficult art, I say ; and, like every other art, we must have mothers more and more edu- cated in it, to carry on human nature to its highest possible degree of attainment and perfection. If an apprentice must be sent, for a certain term of years, to learn the simple trade of making a watch, or a shoe, or a hat, what shall we say of her, that undertakes to mould the mind of immortal man, to prepare it to be steadfast amid the trials of life, and then to pass to the spheres of endless glory ? Well might angels wish to take the place of a mother, when they see how much is
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to be done in forming the future character of the man, in those years, when he lies a helpless infant on his mother's lap. I speak from the testimony of missionary mothers ; and I delight to recommend it to those, that feel for their missionary sisters in this land. It is now becoming extensively introduced in missionary stations. I was present at a meeting of the Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions, in America, when this question was agitated for many hours ; and it was ex- ceedingly difficult to know what to do ; a missionary carries his children with Tiim, or they are born in the country where he has gone, and they are cut off entirely from Christian privileges ; if they go outside the boun- daries of their home, they are exposed to the most de- structive influences ; what was the missionary to do ? The question came back to us with the most heart-rend- ing anxieties of Christian mothers and Christian fathers, and it seemed as if we must call them back — as if it were too much to ask them, not only to sacrifice their earthly comforts, but to lay their children's souls (as it were) upon the altar ; for it seemed as though they could not guard them. But the manner, in which some of the missionary ladies have written upon the subject, is beginning to cheer our hearts. We begin to think, that what they want is, to make a more complete society of Christian mothers, and to train their children under its influence ; and, if it is difficult, God will hear their prayers and give them peculiar help. Missionary mothers are rejoicing now in the formation of these As- sociations, which bring as it were the entire power of the mothers of the station to bear upon the duty of each individual mother in the church.
But I was speaking of the points, on which mothers 15*
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need instruction, and on which these Maternal Associa- tions furnish it. They need to understand the subject of health of course ; they need to understand the whole subject of the physical development of man. For man's body is a wonderful organ. Just see what his hand alone can be taught to accomplish — what he can do as a painter, what he can do as a musician, what he can do as a writer ; — the thousand uses to which the human hand can be brought, how much power their lies hid in this machine, and how much skill is demanded prop- erly to begin, and by and by to intrust to other hands the full, developing of the physical power of man. Then she needs for his intellectual education another class of information ; and then another for his religious education ; and still another for the formation of his moral habits, and rightly to interest him in his own proper department of education. No more difficult subject can be found than man in his infancy. Mater- nal Associations tend to facilitate the discharge of ma- ternal duties by throwing increased light upon this diffi- cult subject.
And they do it by fortifying the determination of mothers. The great struggle in a mother's heart is be- tween her tenderness, that cannot bear to behold the sufferings of her child, much less to inflict them, and at the same time the duty faithfully to restrain and reprove her child ; and, perhaps, there is not a mother, who will not find her determination more fortified, when, meet- ing her sisters, they have compared their own cases, and seen the limits to which duty carried others when refusing to inflict pain, and the limits to which duty carried them when inflicting it.
They tend likewise to facilitate the discharge of ma-
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ternal duties by encouraging mothers. And here I wish to meet an objection, which seems to imply, that, if a lady joins a Maternal Association, she has peculiar need of being instructed. I look at the subject just in the other light ; I would say, if the kind providence of God has given to any mother peculiar light on this sub- ject, peculiar strength and peculiar faith, she is the very person to go to her sisters and given them the benefit of the light God has given her, and give them the benefit of the faith and confidence which inspire her own soul. Here is the very sphere for her benevolence and her talent.
5. And I close my arguments in favor of Maternal Associations, by presenting the fact, that they lead to concerted prayer for children.
I well remember to have heard it remarked, long before Maternal Associations were instituted, that, in a particular church in the State of New York, a number of fathers set apart an evening in the week to meet and pray for their children ; and the remark was made to me fifteen years ago, that every child of those families was converted to God ; there was not one left out. Oh ! it must be good for mothers to meet together and talk of the value of the souls of their children. It must be good for mothers to meet together, and talk of the guilt and danger of their children, and together talk over the precious promises that encourage them, and together bow them before the mercy-seat, and plead, (those " two or three gathered together,") that God would convert their children's souls. I need not dwell upon such an argument. It is certainly good for you to pray alone for your children ; and it is certainly good for you to get your sister to pray also for your
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children. It is good to have regular periodical prayer for your children, as well as to have constant family- prayer.
And thus I close my advocacy for Maternal Associ- ations. 1 have expounded to you the honest con- victions and the warm feelings of my own heart in respect to these important Associations ; but (as I re- marked before) I am unable to judge particularly of the duty of others, because it is a recent institution, and may need to be greatly modified in its introduction to different states of society.
Let me close with a word more particularly ad- dressed to mothers.
Mothers ! give your children every advantage — every advantage that truth can give, — every advantage that a holy example can give, — every advantage that much pleading the promises of God can give. Yon feel for the diseases of the body of your child ; you are speedy in sending for the physician, when the body is diseased; oh ! feel for that immortal disease of sin, and send for the great Physician. And, if he comes not at the first knock, knock again ; for he says " it shall be opened ;" ask again, for he says that " it shall be given you;" seek again, for he says that "ye shall find." Oh ! seek salvation for your children. Seek that they may be converted early ; for if you want testimonies, there are enough of us that can give a painful testi- mony, that it is too late to be converted at twenty and at twenty-one. Not that we may not — not that we are not — for some of us reached even that period ; but what we mean is this — it is too late for many im- portant purposes. It is so late that it gives, to the end of life, fearful struggles with the habits of the heart.
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It is too late, because there is so much left unlearned, that we should have learned if we had been pious in our early youth ; we should have gone so much deeper into the counsels of God, if we had come early to Christ, and, like Timothy, learned the Scriptures on our mother's lap, and followed the finger of a mother's love as it pointed to the Savior. Oh ! pray that your sons may not grow up in sin ; pray that they may be converted in their earliest years ; labqr that they may be converted in their earlier years. Pray that your daughters, from the first development of their moral faculties, their moral being, may learn to love their God and Savior, and be trained for usefulness here and glory hereafter. Your responsibility is great ; for the evils of society are to be rectified in the young. Mothers ! with you, who can harm them, who can train them, rests this responsibility; and may God's blessed Spirit impress it on your hearts, and lead you to seek light and grace at the fountain from which they come.
Mothers ! bring up your little ones to Jesus. Bring them by faith ; and if Satan seems to stand and re- buke, if a wicked and unbelieving world, by its ex- ample and its influence and its maxims, seems to rebuke, still bring your little ones to Christ ; still press even to his feet, and never bear your mother's burdens alone, but roll them upon a breast that beats in sym- pathy with yours ; roll them upon the heart, and roll them upon the arms of the blessed Redeemer. Bring them to Jesus as their Savior. Bring them to Jesus as their Sovereign, and teach their wills to bow to his will. Bring them to Jesus as their pattern. It is said of a Grecian mother, that, when Alexander the Great was
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passing in the crowd, with his tall helmet and waving plumes, she raised up her child above her head, and said to him, " Look there ! that is Alexander the Great, and you must be another." We only point to the heathen mother, to teach you to take a high example ; take the example of Jesus, and teach your child his blessed history, and say, " There, my child ! be like Jesus ; tread in the footsteps of Jesus."
I see before me some dear little children. Next Sun- day afternoon I hope to address a whole sermon to children, and to tell them how much we, ministers, love them, how much we, ministers, long to see them Christians ; I hope then to say something to them, that the God of grace may bless to their little hearts ; but I am unwilling that they should go away this morning without a word. Dear little children ! look at me, look at me as your friend ; look at me as a minister of Christ sent by the blessed Jesus to teach you. I want you to love Christ ; for I have seen dear little children that loved Christ ; I have seen dear little children, that wept because they had wicked hearts ; I have seen dear little children, that loved to speak of the blessed Savior, who came and died for them. Are you such a child ? Do you repent for sin ? Do you know how wicked a heart you have ? Do you know how God is displeased even with the sins of children ? do you know that you need the Holy Spirit to make you holy, and that you need the blood of Jesus to save you? Dear little children ! have you read the story of the Savior's sufferings ? Do you remember how they whipped him, and how the blood ran down his body as they scourged him ? Have you read how he went out into the garden, and wept and prayed and lay upon
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the ground in an agony? Have you never thought of it all ? It was because he loved your little souls, that he bore it. You know he never sent little children away from him ; he always took them in his arms and blessed them; and you may be sure, that, when he prayed in that garden, he did not forget you. And when they nailed him to the cross, and put upon his head the cruel crown of thorns, and the blood ran down, dear children ! he was dying for you. If he had not died, you must have gone to hell ; but he died, that you might be taken into heaven at last. Will you love him ? Will you give him your hearts now ? I seem to see him going from seat to seat, and he stops at the little children ; many great men would pass you by, but Jesus Christ will not. He seems to stand at the door of little children's hearts, and to say, " Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if any" little children " open the door, I will come in" to be their Savior. Will you open your hearts to him. dear little children? Will you say, < Come, blessed Savior ! and I will be thine obedient child ; I will love thee, I will serve thee, and then, when I die, and my body is laid in the cold grave, I hope that my soul will rise with holy angels to love and praise and pray !'
SERMON VII.
CHILDREN URGED TO HEARKEN TO INSTRUC- TION, AND TO FEAR THE LORD.
* Come, ye children ! hearken unto me ; I will teach you the fear of the Lord" — Psalm xxxiv. 11.
You know, when a minister preaches, he divides his sermon into different parts ; sometimes we call them, heads of the sermon ; and there are some that under- stand it so well, that they have their pencil and paper and take down each one of the heads. Now I want you to recollect them, whether you write them down or not ; because your teacher, or your parents, will ask you what the heads of the sermon were. I want every child to understand now, what the heads of the sermon mean ; they are the different points about which the minister makes his remarks.
Now I am going to give you two general heads in this sermon, and then, under each one of these general heads, several smaller particular heads.
I. I am going to tell you, in the first place, several reasons why children should pay great attention to ser- mons. " Come, ye children, hearken unto me."
I shall give you four reasons why every child ought to listen very attentively to the preacher ; now, under-
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stand that you must recollect these heads — these four reasons that 1 give.
1. The first is this : if children do not pay great at- tention to the sermon, they cannot learn. Children come to church to learn, just as they go to Sabbath- school to learn ; but you cannot learn what the minis- ter teaches you, if you do not attend to it. If there are two children in a class at school, that are going to study a lesson in geography — and if one of them, all the time that he ought to be studying, is looking about, is talking to some other child, is reading some other book, or is thinking about something else besides the lesson in geography, which they have to learn — and if the other child attends to the geography, reads the lesson over, thinks of it, or, when the teacher is making any explanation, listens to every thing which the teacher says — you know which of those children will be prepared to recite the lesson in geography when the time comes. Just so in a sermon : that child that fixes his or her eye upon the minister, that child that attends to the minister, is the child that will learn the precious truths which the minister teaches ; but the child that is looking about, that is talking about any thing, or that is thinking about something else, cannot learn any thing that is taught in the pulpit. I have been quite accustomed to preach and to talk a great deal to the children in my church, and I have some very dear children there that I love a great deal ; and I love them, because they have paid so much attention to what I have preached to them from the pulpit, and what I have said to them in the meetings where I have addressed them. There was one little girl whom I will tell you about, to show you what kind of hearers
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we want among children. I have noticed her, as she sat always in her father's seat in the church, remark- ably fixing her eyes on me as soon as I rose up in the pulpit to begin the exercises ; but I did not know so much about her, till one day, when I was sick and confined to my chamber, her father called to see me, and began to talk about his dear little Mary, that was about nine or ten years of age. Said he, " Have you ever noticed how my little girl sits in church ?" I said that I had not particularly noticed any thing but this, that I used to love to turn to that side of the church, because, if any one is preaching, he loves to see every person's eye on him, and, whenever I looked, this little girl's bright eyes were always fixed on me. But her father told me more about her. He said, that from the time I rose in the pulpit, she never turned her head one moment away from me, except some- times when I said any thing that touched her heart very much, she would turn round to her mother, and say, " Is not that sweet ?" and that was the only time when she would turn away from the preacher. But here was what struck me with great force about this little girl, one so young: it was the custom of this fa- ther, every Sabbath afternoon, after the second service, to go home and get all his children around him, and begin to talk over the sermon of the morning, and then the sermon of the afternoon ; they found the text, and each one read it, and then the father would begin to tell what he recollected of the sermon, and then the mother repeated what she recollected and that he had omitted ; and the father assured me, that sometimes they forgot one of the heads of the sermon, one of the divisions, and they would turn to little Mary, and she
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would recollect it. I was quite surprised ; but I have learned more about little children since then, and I find that they can be very profitable hearers of sermons ; and ever since that time it has encouraged me a great deal, even when 1 am preaching to grown people, to talk especially to children, because I find that dear little children can understand me ; and that is all a minister wants, for the people to understand him, and think about what he says.
2. Now, children ! I have given you one reason why you should pay attention to sermons, and that is, that, if you do not, you cannot learn ; and the second reason is, that yon cannot be made good but by learn- ing. You will find a text written in the New Testa- ment, that "faith cometh by hearing;" that is, it is when people hear the Bible read, and hear the sermon which explains the Bible, that they get faith in God, that they get to believe his truth, and then they feel its power upon their hearts. Recollect, dear children I that it is not hearing words that will make you good ; I have known a little child, that would sit and look right at a person that was telling a story, and, if you were to go immediately afterwards and ask him what he had heard, he could tell you almost nothing about it ; and why? because, though his eyes were fixed upon the person that was speaking, his thoughts were going upon some other subject. And I am afraid now, that there are a great many children in this church, and even some of those that are looking right at me, that do not hear me rightly. I am afraid that they do not hear me talking, or know what I am saying. Who is that child, which is that child, that is not understanding what I am saying ? I want that child
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to think and know. It will do him no good to come to church, it will do him no good to go to Sabbath- school or any other school, if his mind is inattentive to what is said. You must understand the meaning of what is said ; and if there is any thing, the meaning of which you do not understand, you ought then to try and recollect as much about it as you can, and ask your parents, or ask your teacher, afterwards to explain it to you. And more than that, dear children ! when you hear sermons, you must listen just as if it was God himself that was speaking, because he sends us. We come from God to you ; we have a message from God to you. How very kind it is of the great God, that he will stoop from heaven and send a message to little children ! But he does it ; and where is that little child that dare be careless while we are delivering God's message? Children! you ought to listen to sermons as for your life ; you ought to believe all that is said, as coming from God, and your hearts ought to feel it, and then you ought to go away from the church to obey it.
3. Now I have given you two reasons why you should attend to sermons — in order that you may learn, and in order that you may be good ; and the third rea- son is -this — because ministers love you. Dear chil- dren ! we love you ; we love you very much. We love you, because you have immortal souls, that will live when your bodies are dead ; and because you are going to the judgment seat of Christ, and going to eternity, to heaven or to hell ; and it is, that you may not go to hell, — it is, that you may not live in sin against God, — it is, that you may not keep those wicked hearts that offend God,— it is, that you may come to that blessed
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Savior, who, when on earth, laid his hands on children and blessed them, — it is, that you may believe the gos- pel with your whole hearts, and die in peace and love and fellowship with Christ, that we come to preach to you. We have prayed for you, dear children ! we have felt for yon ; we feel for you now ; we love you ; and if we love you, will you not love us ? and if you love us, will you not listen to us ? It is a great deal easier to preach to grown-up people, than it is to little chil- dren,— so many of you are restless and making a noise, and it is so much harder to explain things to you than to grown-up people ; and yet we are willing to do it. Oh ! it is very ungrateful in a little child, not to pay great attention to what we say, when we come here and try to teach you. And an ungrateful child never grows up to be a good man or woman. An ungrateful heart is one of the things of which God most complains. Every little child ought to be very grateful to his Sab- bath school teacher, who comes so regularly, and sacri- fices so many comforts for you ; you ought to be very grateful to these teachers, to love them, and to pay them great attention. And so with the minister, who loves you, and feels for your souls, and prays to God on your behalf, and comes to instruct you, and tries to lead you to the Lamb of God, who has taken away your sins ; you ought to love him, and you ought to listen to him. 4. And now I will give you a fourth reason why you should listen to the preacher, listen with your mind, and attend with your mind, as well as with your ear and eye ; it is because God himself speaks. I have already said, that God speaks through his ministers; but I want you now to treat it as a distinct reason. If the great God should come down here, as he did upon
INSTRUCTION OF CHILDREN. 187
the top of Mount Sinai, in a cloud, and with lightnings and thunder and the sound of a trumpet, — if this house should tremble, and the ceiling should open, and the glory of the eternal King should appear, and the voice of God should sound out, — all the children would lis- ten. Well, children ! it is just as really that eternal God, whom the angels adore, who is now speaking. He makes use of us ; but he will bring you into judg- ment at the last day for every sermon that you have heard ; and if you do not listen to them, if you reject them, then God will bring you into judgment for neg- lecting him and rejecting his message.
Now, children ! do you all understand this first head, that children ought to pay great attention to the preach- er ? I have given you four reasons for it. The first is, that if you do not pay attention, you cannot learn ; and where is that child, that is willing to be stupid and ignorant — especially not to learn God's great and pre- cious truth ? The second is, that, if you do not pay great attention, with your eye, with your ear, with your hearts, you cannot be made good. The third is, be- cause ministers love you. And the fourth is, because God himself speaks to you by us. That you will see, when you come to read the rest of the verse : and that is the next part of our subject.
« Come, ye children ! hearken unto me." Well, what shall I teach you, when you listen ? I suppose now, that the greater part of these dear children will listen to me, for the rest of my sermon ; I suppose that they have made up their minds to listen very attentively and very solemnly ; and if so, try to feel what I say, and pray that the Holy Spirit of God may help you to re- member it and obey it.
188 SERMON VII.
II. " Come, ye children ! hearken unto me; I will
TEACH YOU THE FEAR OF THE LORD." I Want tO
teach you, dear children, to fear God.
Why ought you to fear God ? I am going to give you three reasons for that.
1. The first reason why we ought to fear God is, be- cause he is so great. " Come, ye children ! hearken unto me ;" I am now your minister, and I am your dear friend : come, listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the s:reat God. When I was a little boy, this thought used often to come into my mind — 'How -is it possible that God never had a beginning?' Many and many a time I tried to carry my thoughts back before the world was, before the angels were — backward, backward into eternity — and thought, < How is it possible that God never had a beginning ?' — and then to carry my mind onward and onward, after we are dead, and after those that shall come next are dead, the next generation dead, the world burnt up, the judgment day passed, all of us in eternity, onward and onward and onward for ever — and yet God will never cease to be. Oh ! what a great and awful Being is God ! He existed from eternity, he exists to eternity ; he exists in himself ; no other being keeps him in existence ; he is God. He fills all im- mensity, all worlds, all the universe ; he sustains the planets, for he made them ; he made the sun, he made the moon, he made the distant worlds, perhaps millions and millions of them : he made this world, he keeps it in being ; he made the beasts and the trees, the birds, and the fishes of the sea, all men and all children, and holds them in his hand. What a great God is he, that takes care of all this congregation ! — what a mighty God ! Well, this God, so great in power, who made the
INSTRUCTION OF CHILDREN. 189
heavens and the earth, who bnilt the everlasting moun- tains, and made the sea, — this God, whom the angels fear. — this great God, who. cast down the rebel angels into hell, sent a deluge upon this wicked world and drowned all its inhabitants,— this great God, who sent the fire of his wrath upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and burnt them up, because of their sins, — this great God, who cast Pharoah and all the Egyptian army into the Red Sea — this great God, who thunders in the heavens, and can make the earth quake from pole to pole — this great God, children ! you ought to " fear." He is able to lift you up, and he is able to cast you down. He is able to cast all the wicked into hell, and he is able there " to destroy both soul and body for ever." Would you be afraid of a lion in your path, that could destroy you ? God made the ferocious lion ; and if God is " angry with the wicked," his anger is infinitely more terrible than the anger of any creature that he has made. Dear children ! if we fear the creatures that God has made, how much more ought we to be afraid of the anger of the great and powerful God ! " Come, ye children ! hearken unto me ; I will teach you the fear of the Lord." You ought to fear the power and the anger of the great God.
2. There is another reason why you should fear him, and this is the second I am about to mention ; it is be- cause God is so holy. God is holy, dear children ! and he knows your hearts, he knows your thoughts, he knows all your words, and he hates every sin. He hates your sins very much. He requires you to " be holy, as he is holy." This holy God will punish iniquity. There is a day coming, when he will bring us all up before his judgment-seat ; and there is not a child, that
190 SERMON VII.
I am speaking to this afternoon, that will not have to stand at the judgment-seat of the orreat God. Children ! think of this holy God, who will bring you into judg- ment ; think of your wicked hearts, and your wicked lives, and all your wicked words, that God will bring out at that great and terrible day. You will have to stand there ; none of us can escape ; death and the grave will not hold us, for, when the archangel's trum- pet shall blow, we shall all come out of our graves and go and stand before God. We, then, who have sinned against him, we who have provoked him to wrath, ought to fear his anger. Hence it is said, that all who are round about him shall " fear before him." You must approach him with reverence, with repentance, and with sincerity. And then understand, dear chil- dren ! (as I preached this morning, and I repeat it to those who were not here,) that the only way to come to a holy God is to come through his dear Son. You must come through Jesus Christ. Your sins are great, and call for the anger of God, and, unless you approach him through his dear Son, Jesus Christ, you must per- ish. I have known some dear little children, (I have known many of them, for I have seen a great many children that I think loved God,) and I have seen them greatly troubled about their sins ; I have seen them so troubled, that for days, and sometimes for weeks, they could hardly sleep in quiet, for every night when they were going to bed the thought came to them, < Oh ! if I should die to-night ! Oh ! if God should take me away in my sins !' I used to be afraid of dying, when I was a boy ; and I wonder now that God did not cut me off then, so wicked a boy as I was ; and many of you, dear children ! ought to fear too, for you have been very
INSTRUCTION OP CHILDREN. 191
wicked. I remember, that once I was playing with some other little boys by the side of a great river, and I carelessly ran over the edge of the bank and fell into the river ; but it was low tide ; if it had been high tide, I should certainly have been drowned ; suppose I had, then I should have gone to hell, for I was a wicked boy, as I fear many of you are. Oh ! what a mercy it was that God did not let me drown then, and did not let me die in my sins ! And so it is with you ; and you ought to be afraid of this holy God ; you ought to be afraid to sleep, while your sins are unpardoned and your hearts are unconverted, because God is so holy that he cannot bear to look upon sin, even in the heart and in the life of a child. And how are you ever going to dwell in the holy heaven of God, and with his holy angels, dear children ! unless your hearts become holy? You must become holy, the Spirit of Christ must make you holy, or you cannot dwell with God. Therefore you ought to be very much afraid, lest God should give you up to your wicked heart, and lest God should take away his Holy Spirit from you, and then you would never become holy, and never dwell in his presence.
3. Now I am going to mention a third reason, be- sides God's being so great and so holy ; and it is, because God is able to do what he will with you, both in this life and the next. All the children that hear me, if they live, will grow up to be men and women. Children ! who can take care of you in this life ? Your fathers and mothers, (you whose parents God has spared,) — your fathers and mothers can do much for you ; your friends can do much for you ; but there is a great deal that they cannot do for you. They cannot make you happy; they cannot make other
192 SERMON VII.
people respect you ; they cannot make you succeed in any thing you undertake in this world ; all true happiness must come from God, and the respect of men must come because God gives it to us ; and all success in life must come from God ; all real good must come from God. Now, dear children ! God can do what he pleases with you. He can let you grow up wicked ; he can leave you to temptation, leave you to bad com- pany, leave you to disgrace. I have known the chil- dren of pious parents grow up so wicked, that the parents have had to turn them from their doors; I have known them to fall into the temptations of the devil and into the company of wicked boys, and to be led on from one sin to another, till they became so wicked and so hardened, that their parents could not bear them under their roof. It is true, as far as we are able to trace, that the greater part of the children that are trained up in Sabbath-schools, grow up re- spectable in this life, though I am afraid very many of them go down to hell, because they will not believe on Christ in their hearts. But, dear children ! God can leave you to temptation, to bad company, to dis- grace and sorrow; he can take away your parents, he can take away your friends, he can give you up to a hard heart, and then, after a life of wickedness, he can leave you to die in despair. I have seen persons die in despair ; and I pray to God, that none of you, dear children, may live in wickedness and at last die in despair and without hope in God. Children ! be afraid of God, because he can bring sorrow, woe, penury, in this life, despair in your dying hours, and everlasting destruction in the life to come.
"Children! hearken unto me;" you must be afraid
INSTRUCTION OF CHILDREN. 193
of displeasing God ; you must have great reverence for God. When you read the Bible, you must fear God, because he is a great and a holy God ; when you go into your little room apart to pray, you must fear God : when you go to the Sabbath-school you must fear God ; when you come into the sanctuary, where God is worshipped, you must fear God ; you must neither talk and laugh with one another, nor let light and trifling thoughts come into your minds, but you must feel that the place is holy. Come, children ! learn to fear God. I was delighted this afternoon, to hear so many children's voices joining in the solemn songs of Zion ; that is sweet ; but Oh ! how much sweeter the thought would be, if I could believe that every child here feared God, that every child here was hum- bled in the presence of God, sorrowful for having sinned against him, and that every child here desired, more than any thing else, that God would take away his anger and remove his displeasure from them ! Children ! fear God, so as to repent of sin ; fear God, so as to obey him ; fear God, so that when you go in secret, you will not dare to sin. Children, when they get alone, are not afraid to sin, because they are not afraid of God ; they are afraid to sin before their parents, they are afraid to say a wicked word before their father, because he will chastise them, but, when they get alone, they are not afraid of doing it. " Thou God seest me," every child should say — " Thou God seest me" in the darkness, as well as in the light ; « Thou God seest me" when I am alone, as well as when I am with my parents. When you get with wicked children, you should fear him ; when you hear them swear, when they hand you wicked in-
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194 SERMON VII.
decent books or pictures, tear God, my children ! The boy that has the fear of God, may grow up to live to God's glory in this world, and to dwell with him in his glory in the next. I have no hope of the boy that has not the fear of God ; if he should do well in this life (as men say) he would perish for ever in the next.
Now I am about to finish the sermon : but I want first to point you, for one or two minutes, to the cases of three or four individuals, that feared God in their youth.
You recollect little Samuel. You have read his history. Little Samuel was in the temple night and day, always waiting upon God, always fearing and serving God. Samuel, you see, got to be one of the greatest prophets in Israel ; he anointed Saul, and after- wards David, to be king of Israel.
You recollect the case of Joseph. When Potiphar's wife tempted him to sin, Joseph feared God. and refused to sin ; and God honored him, and saved him, and set him on high, and made him a blessing to his family and to the whole land of Egypt.
But I want to tell you particularly of a person, ol whom you may not have heard so much ; all the chil- dren in America have heard much of him, because he lived there, and he was a very great and good man. I mean George Washington — one of the greatest men, I think, in some respects that has lived in modern days ; and I admire him, because, when he was a little boy, I see the reason why he was sure to become a great man.. I will tell you two things about George Wash- ington, when he was a little boy, that were sure se- curity that he would become what he was. George Washington would rather die than tell a lie, he would
INSTRUCTION OF CHILDREN. 195
rather suffer any thing than violate the truth ; and one of the dreadful crimes of children is, that they lie, that they deceive, though God knows it and writes every lie and every deception in his book. This boy feared to lie; and I will give you two instances of it.
His father had imported from Europe a beautiful cherry-tree, and had planted it in his garden, and watched it every day with great interest to see it grow. He had bought for his son George a hatchet to play with. One day George was in the garden with his little hatchet, and without much thought of what he was doing, he came to this beautiful tree, and cut the bark almost round in several places — for you know boys are fond of using edged tools in that way. His father, taking his walk in the garden, found the tree cut in this way, and he saw it must die. He was very much grieved, and he saw at once who must have done it ; but he said nothing, till he met George ; he did not send for him, but waited till he met him. And the first time he met him, he said, " George ! some one has destroyed my favorite tree ; do you know who has done it?" The little boy, instead of blushing and turning away, instead of making excuses, instead of telling a falsehood, looked right up in his father's face, and said, " My father ! I have done it." Tears in- stantly rolled down his father's cheek; he laid his right hand upon his boy's head ; said he, " George ! I would rather lose every tree in my garden, than that you should tell a lie ; I like to see the manliness of your heart, that you should at once confess, < I have done it.' "
His mother head a little dun colt, a foal that had never been broken in. One morning before breakfast
196 SERMON VII.
several of George's companions came to see him., and they happened to go out together into the meadow where the colt was. George proposed that one of them should get upon the colt, and ride ; but none of them would venture. He was a fearless boy himself, and he got a bridle, (or rather a bit of rope,) fastened it to the horse's neck, and then mounted it. But the colt was so restless, and sprang about so much, that at last it dashed itself to the earth, burst, a blood vessel, and died almost in a moment. The boys all went to breakfast, and Mrs. Washington endeavored to amuse them and make them happy ; but she saw that they were not happy ; she saw that there was something to make them sad. At last said she, "Have you seen my favorite colt?" All the boys blushed in confusion and distress. Said she — " What is the matter ? has any thing happened to my colt?" Her little son George looked right in her face ; said he, ct Mother, I have killed your colt ?" His mother was grieved of course ; but her remarks to him were very much like those, that his father made.
Now I will tell you one other thing about him, to show in what way I think it was evident that he would become a great man. He was about to go to sea as a midshipman ; every thing was arranged, — the vessel lay out opposite his father's house, the little boat had come on shore to take him off, — and his whole heart was bent on going. After his trunk had been carried down to the boat, he went to bid his mother farewell, and he saw the tear bursting from her eye. However she said nothing to him ; but he saw that his mother would be so distressed if he went, and perhaps never be happy again. He just turned round to the servant,
PRACTICAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 201
Do you shrink from that low and filthy apartment, from that emaciated and disgusting frame, because your senses are trained to refinement? do you pass by on the other side from the bed of contagion ? So Jesus says, " I was sick, and ye did not visit me." You are mis- taken, friends ! that is a bed of state, and Heaven's prince lies there disguised by all that filth and poverty — all his ministering spirits are hovering around that spot. It is a glorious place, in which a poor sinner may minister to his Sovereign. Do you say that we have imagined an extreme case. Oh, no, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least, ye have done it unto me." l Yes ; but there is another case of debasement, which surely contradicts your assertion.' What is it ? 1 It is that of the man who has outraged all the ties of society, trampled its laws under his feet, made himself the enemy of his race, and cast himself beyond the pale of sympathy ; and now lies enchained and endungeoned for his crimes. Surely Christ has no fellowship with him.' Stop, my hearers ! read the record again ; " I was in prison, and ye did not come unto me." When, Lord ! and where ? < There, in that lowest and least of Adam's apostate children.' But we have not finished the application of the principle — there is a still further debasement of humanity. It is a woman, who, having sacrificed her modesty, purity, refinement and tender- ness, has become an outcast from society. Does the Son of God regard her thus too ? Go ask the Phari- sees, who saw him associating with the worst of men and women, as their Teacher and Savior, and even re- ceiving, with the most condescending kindness, Mary's expressions of gratitude. They can testify that he loved the worst, and the vilest, with the same tender affection
202 SERMON VIII.
which he felt towards the more upright and respectable. He associated with them, taught them, encouraged their reformation, prayed, and died for them, as for others. Are your doubts removed now ; and can you now take up this proposition as truth ? Then I answer a very natural inquiry, Why is it so ?
1. Because Christ's compassion for our race is so strong and impartial. It is so strong ; therefore, no man can sink helow it, so long as Justice permits Mercy to be exercised in his behalf. It is impartial ; and therefore it regards the Christian family as a great race of apostates. The grand distinction, that constitutes us sinners, is so much greater than that which can possi- bly separate one sinner from another, — except grace work in us a difference, — that to Christ's compassion it is nothing. He loves human nature, as such, and as fallen ; not as holy, nor love!/. And it is of the nature of sympathy to identify its possessor with its object j thus it is with the mother ; her first-bam is as the apple of her eye. Thus Christ feels towards all, — for he died for all as dead.
2. There is another reason. It is a better test of our compassion and benevolence than if we helped Christ in person. He desires that one principle of action in us shall be, good will to man. Therefore, although he considers all our good will and kindness to men as shown to himself, yet he prefers that we shall consider it in part as done to them, and that we shall sympathize with him in this pure love of human nature, which pursues it to the extremities of its folly, and the abysses of its degradation.
3. There is a third reason. It is thus a strong test of our love to him personally. He is now in disguise.
PRACTICAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 203
If you can join a party only when it is triumphant, you betray a want of real and strong attachment to their principles; if you can acknowledge Christ, only when he appears in external splendor, that he will despise. The test now applied to the whole human family is this : — will you make common cause with Christ when his cause is despised and persecuted ? — will you labor, weep, pray, suffer, expend, or die for human nature in its lowest state, partly for its sake, and chiefly for his ?
Another point is suggested by the subject and object of our meeting. I am addressing a community, to whom applications are made continually for the gift of their property for the benefit of other people. Now, is this right ? Some say, l No.' I must answer, that it is right ; it is blessed in those who apply ; it is merciful in God to afford us the opportunities of charity. It is blessed to us in the fulfilment of God's precious promi- ses to the liberal soul.
But let us take a closer view of this point. Why are we not called upon to give all that we are to give, and then rest for a time, and prepare ourselves for another onset upon our sympathies and purses? I will tell you, my brethren, of this flourishing com- mercial city ! many reasons why it is not best. And the first is —
1. Your prosperity would be your ruin. It would encrust your hearts over with selfishness. It would tend to degrade your Christian character. The very fact, that such a question is entertained, betrays a state of mind full of danger to a Christian. You cer- tainly take a very low view of God's design in giving you property, if you love money for its own sake ; if you love it for the sake of promoting your own grati-
204 SERMON VIII.
fications ; — if you count not yourself a steward of God's property, and accountable to him for it all ; — then the more you have the worse. Let me suggest another consideration.
2. God is lifting this world from sin and degradation by human instruments. He has himself spared no expense in the work, not even his own Son ; and we are most graciously permitted to participate in it. This is the proper view to take of these calls for money, perpetually returning. If it is not to promote some branch of the great enterprise which lies on the heart of infinite love, and taxes the resources of Heaven's King, then do not contribute. Benevolence is the law of his empire ; but what is benevolence ? — to grow weary of doing good — to wish to have all the good in one form — to do it one time, and then live in selfish- ness ? Away with such views, my brethren ! If they have occupied your minds, banish them. Let your benevolence to man be like the morning visits of the sun. It never exclaims, c What ! has this besting earth returned, with its swarms of begging creatures, taxing my treasures of light and warmth V Give, my brethren ! like the sun ; give, like him who made the sun, and appointed it the emblem of his perpetual and munificent goodness. This is, probably, the wealthiest city in the world. Its merchants are princes. They ought to be first in the princely work of benevolence. There is magnificence of expendi- ture, there ought to be munificence in charity. What moral sublimity would pertain to London, if we could look upon its mighty commerce, and believe that it was all consecrated to the promotion of Christ's king- dom, and the removal of human misery ! Your palaces
PRACTICAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 205
would be more splendid, if they did not cast their daily- shadows on so many wretched, — most wretched crea- tures. It is impossible for a mind, properly humanized, to look at the marks of grandeur and luxury here accumulated, without the recollection of the contracted condition of thousands of your citizens. It should be the earnest prayer of every lover of the human species, that London may speedily become the model for the world's beneficence, the great instructor of mankind in the true and most proper uses of money.
I must now explain, more specifically, the objects, plans, and claims of the London Female Mission. Woman is the object of its holy enterprise ; her con- dition has excited our compassion, and her welfare is the goal of our pursuits ; and we now solicit your kind attention to those views of her state which have enlisted our hearts in this enterprise of mercy. Chris- tianity has elevated her, and greatly blessed her. But we indulge a delusion in selecting some instances of female excellence, which are merely the demonstration of its benign power, while we overlook the myriads, who are yet without the sphere of its direct influence ; it is unfortunate that we so often rest with complacency in contemplating what Christianity has done, and may do, — when these results are but the first fruits of a harvest,— instead of investigating the melancholy condition of those, whose future elevation may yet add gloriously to its triumphs. We exhort, then, our fellow-Christians to behold the lovely and elevated character of the mothers and daughters in Israel, — tt remember that the contrast between them and their Pagan ancestry is the effect of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We exhort them to turn from these hundreds,
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206 SERMON VIII.
and behold the thousands who are untaught, unrefined, and unsanctified. That ignorance can give place to knowledge ; those hearts are capable of the highest degrees of refinement ; those Magdalenes can yet be- come the most humble and grateful worshippers at the Savior's feet, and sing the loudest, sweetest song in heaven. We propose not, in this statement, to present the reflection of the whole living picture of female degradation. If we shall succeed in directing the at- tention of philanthropists to the subject in any greater degree ; if we can induce a more earnest examination into the condition of this important part of the great social system ; then our first object is gained. We ask attention, then, to the present condition of the female sex in Christian countries, and more especially in this great metropolis.
Mothers. We deem the maternal relation to be one of the most important in society. The human character, both intellectual and moral — nay, the entire man, physical, intellectual, moral, and social— is ex- quisitely flexible at a certain period of his life. This period is spent in closer contact with the mother than with any other being. Her influence is, consequently, the most powerful in forming the character of the future man. If you would trace the crimes and wretchedness of any one generation to their most im- mediate source, you would find them in the influence of mothers, in the power of example and precept, in the neglect of restraint, discipline, and cultivation. We believe, from our observation, and from the testi- mony of God, that the human heart is depraved ; that it is utterly deranged. But we also believe, that the means of its recovery are granted to man. At the
PRACTICAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 207
most important period of his life, however, he is igno- rant of his condition, and of the means of his improve- ment. He has no conception of the nature of his own beinof. Another must realize it for him ; he has no estimate of the mighty issues that are suspended upon the dispositions which he indulges, and the objects he pursues. Another must see all this for him ; and, if he did feel it, he knows not by what means his character can be rightly formed. All this another must know for him. Now, what affects us in the matter is, that there are thousands who have the name, and oc- cupy the station, of mothers, to whom this difficult and important trust is committed, biit who are utterly unqualified for it. They may not be deficient in natural affection, and in the qualifications that regard the lower wants of humanity ; but it is no exaggeration to say, that for all the higher purposes of training the human mind they are utterly unqualified. We find widely spread the fatal defects in mothers. They are insensible to the solemn nature and responsibilities of the maternal relation, exceedingly ignorant of the du- ties connected with that relation, and yet more ignorant of the mode of discharging them. Another object of our attention is,
The Young Female. There is a large number of our sex, who regard females of a certain class in no other light than as the instruments of gratifying their basest desires. The basilisk eyes of lust are fixed on female innocence and purity, all unguarded as it is by experience, and unsuspicious of the first steps of seduction. And no sacrifice of veracity and honor, of time, expense, and effort, is considered too costly to secure the victim. The domestic arrangements of the
208 SERMON VIII.
metropolis require annually thousands of young fe- males to forsake their friends, their parents, and their accustomed moral restraints; and we are quite con- fident that hundreds of them come up, like a great holocaust, to be offered on the polluted shrines of lust ! Not more truly horrible, nor so fatal, is the march of the deluded worshippers to Juggernaut's festivals. These facts have arrested our attention. And we be- lieve the Church will yet feel, that something must be done to guard the innocent and unsuspecting, and to stay the work of death.
But we find something still more terrific ; — there is a system and organization. Seduction has become a trade, conducted with regularity, and with business- tact. Hundreds of trained and veteran pimps are now in the field. They circulate through the country, they are in the high places, and in the humble sections of the me- tropolis. Their hearts are like steel, and their con- sciences like the covering of Leviathan. Their plots are devised and their schemes laid with the skill of long experience. Stimulated by the love of money, reckless of the interests that are to be sacrificed at every successful issue of their hellish plots, — nay, proud of that success — they are now at work. Yea, while we are now deliberating, some infernal hand is spreading the toils. The victim is almost sure to fall. But who is it ? Oh ! it is the daughter of a pious widow, whom poverty compels to send away her last earthly comfort. It is a link in the sweet circle of an affectionate family. But the hour of their chastisement has come. Their peace, their honor, their hearts, are to feel the lightning's shock ; the blast of death strikes one of their loveliest plants.
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Fellow-Christians ! we can stand by and behold this no longer; something must be done for these two classes of females— the criminal, and the exposed. And the first thing; we believe, is to secure the attention of Christians to the actual condition of society in Chris- tian countries, and particularly in our large cities. It is impossible to direct the energies of philanthropy to any object, until the relative importance of that object is felt. The evil to be removed must be contemplated in the detail and in the mass, and we must expect to find at first much incredulity on the subject. Thus it was with respect to the destitution of Bibles, and the extent of intemperance in America. When the first investigations were made, the results were incredible to those, who had become acquainted merely with some isolated case, and rested in vague conjectures concern- ing the actual extent of these evils. The results of examination were indeed appalling ; and, at first, the statement of them was received with great incredulity; we are not, therefore, surprised to find that, when the first investigations were made in New- York on the sub- ject of female prostitution, the publication created quite a commotion. The political journals took up the sub- ject with violence to defend the reputation of the city, and to repel the " base aspersions." An exposure was made of the capital embarked in furnishing and rent- ing of houses in the most sumptuous style, of the number of houses inhabited by abandoned females, of the number of married men who patronized them, of the number of annual seductions, and of the untimely deaths, and (which baffles the powers of numbers) the anguish and despair of these victims of criminal passion. The statements were denied and ridiculed
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210 SERMON VIII.
by the wicked, and doubted by the good. Nor have we any means now of establishing their correctness, except the character and ability of the persons em- ployed in gaining the information, together with the analogous results in other branches of benevolent operation. We are, accordingly, not surprised to find the statistics of prostitution in London the subject of controversy, nor shall we be surprised to find the num- bers already given rather below than beyond the reality.
It is time for the philanthropic portions of the com- munity to direct their sympathetic attention toward those two classes of young females — the criminal and the exposed. It seems to be the glory of our age, that no branch of human misery and depravity — however tortuous its windings, however obscure its sources — shall be left unexplored. Organization, union, effort, for reaching degraded humanity, however situated — for removing its burdens, for lifting it to the enjoyment of the blessings of redemption — is the grand principle of the Church. And God grant that it may never be abandoned until Satan has abandoned his throne on earth ; but that there may be more union, more wis- dom, humility, zeal, and energy. We are quite con- fident then that this form of human degradation and misery will not be overlooked. The evil is too great to be any longer disregarded. While the cry of the heathen, of the drunkard and his family, of the orphan, of the prisoner, of the ignorant, is coming up to the ears of Christian sympathy, Oh ! let a place be found in this miserable group for the immortals, who seem to be, by their circumstances, shut out from the light of the Gospel almost as effectually as the heathen.
PRACTICAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 211
Nay, if we were not moved by compassion for the wretched victims of the great destroyer, there are con- siderations sufficient, connected with our own welfare, to secure our earnest attention to this subject. If we regard not their anguish— their bitter recollection of days of innocence — their shame and remorse — their awful forebodings ; — if the numbers who are drinking these bitter waters, — if the tender age of many of them, — the former loveliness of others— do not effect us ; or, rather, if our consciences will permit us to pass by on the other side, and say, « Be ye reclaimed, be ye saved" — let us, at least, consider their influence on that society, of which we form a part, and in whose welfare we have so deep an interest. These miserable beino-s become, in their turns, the corruptors of others. All the power of female fascination is enlisted against so- ciety—many of them, in fact, turn upon our sex with a spirit of desperate revenge. Such was declared, in court, to have been the feeling and purpose of an un- fortunate girl who was murdered in New- York last winter. Let us, then, recollect that our sons, our brothers — the young men of promise in our land— are not proof against the influence of those whose subtlety and skill has been so graphically noticed by Solomon : and let us remember, that these houses, in the midst of our dwellings, are "the chambers of death and the gates to hell" — that our strong ones are enticed thither, where they are lost to society, and often to heaven.
But, while we have thus dwelt at some length upon one department of our labors, perhaps we may have conveyed the impression, that that is the most import- ant department in our estimation. But this is not the case. All the children of the poor are embraced in our
212 SERMON VIII.
plans. We aim to secure the formation of their char- acter at home — to make that sacred place (as God in- tended it should be) the school in which man shall learn his most valuable lessons. We aim, in a word, to make the great social system more perfect, — as Christianity is designed ultimately to make it, — by establishing a more perfect harmony between the mem- bers of the body ; the one that has abundant honor and comfort having some line of communication, by which it may learn the wants and sufferings of the other, and thus sympathizing with it and imparting to it. This practical benevolence is just what God has so fully en- joined upon us in the Old Testament, and more im- pressively commended and commanded in the New. The Church is looking and praying for the great day of Millennial light and glory ; but she looks for it in vain without that action which God has enjoined upon her. And that work is to be done in the detail. We raise large sums of money, and send abroad our mis- sionaries in companies of five and ten, but those mis- sioneries must at last come down to minute and specific labor, or they accomplish nothing. So must we here. And are objects around us too abundant? We pro- pose, as the end of our labors, to diminish the tempt- ations to profligacy in the case of both sexes ; to de- fend the innocent and unsuspecting ; to expose the snares of the destroyers ; to spread the knowledge of the gospel among those who will not come to its reg- ular ministrations; to diminish the amount of public crime and mendicity, and to advance the general in- formation of human minds. In a word, we hope to be the honored, though unworthy, instruments, in God's hands, of banishing much actual misery, of preventing
PRACTICAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 213
still more, and of pointing, successfully, many a perish- ing soul to the Lamb of God. Yes ; we indulge the hope of meeting, when the toils of life are ended : many, very many, whom God will give us as the seals of our labors, rejoicing in his immortal glory. We aspire even to the issue of seeing immortal spirits res- cued from ruin, and obtaining the bliss of heaven for others, and the rewards of grace for ourselves. For we believe that the hand of the Lord is in this enter- prise.
Brethren ! the Church has too long rested in a gene- ral acknowledgment of this enormous evil ; she has too long doubted the mercy and the promises of God. We must no longer stand by and see Satan's ravages ; be- hold all the wreck of the dearest human interests, and yet do nothing. If there is malice towards man in hell, there must be love on earth ; if there is activity there, then there must be energy here. Nay ; if human agents are doin^ the work of darkness, then human agents must oppose them with the weapons' of light. If there is organization here for destruction, then we must meet it with organization for defence and deliverance. Our work is improvement, prevention, cure. All are feasi- ble with God's approbation and blessing. Having given this general exposition of the objects of the Society, you will allow me to state the several branches of its operation.
I. The Instruction of Mothers. To effect this a ma- tron is selected, of the requisite qualifications for gain- ing easy access to families, for adapting herself to their circumstances, and for instructing and counselling. It will be her object, first, to find a sufficient number of mothers who are willing to receive instruction, and to
214 SERMON VIII.
form them into sections for the sake of convenience, then to enlist some benevolent and experienced person, of her own sex, to take the particular charge of a sec- tion. After forming several such sections, she will make a uniform system for the whole, so far as is ne- cessary, and superintend and direct the whole enterprise of these maternal meetings. In these meetings the ob- ligations, the duties, and the encouragements of mothers, will be explained and enforced. Children will then be made the subjects of special prayer ; but more of the details of the plan will be communicated by the Com- mittee, than we can properly introduce here. One sub- ject, however, of especial importance we may add in this connection. Poor and ignorant mothers must be taught the nature and extent of their children's danger. There must be excited in them a more lively abhor- rence of the first step towards ruin, and they must be made acquainted with the snares of the wicked. They must teach and warn their daughters. They have a peculiar commission from God to do it, and the dis- charge of that trust must be urged upon them.
II. Young Females. We propose to begin with the most ignorant, to aim at improving their mental con- dition, guarding them from dangers, and to labor for their eternal salvation.
III. Young Children. We do not wish to interfere with the systems of public charitable instruction ; but there is a wide field of usefulness left unoccupied, after they have done all that they undertake. If other In- stitutions are accomplishing all that is necessary, we shall then be able to direct our energies to the other de- partments ; but we are sure that, after all which has been done to secure the religious education of poor chil-
PRACTICAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 215
dren, the field is yet white, very wide, and inviting a multitude of laborers.
IV. Females of Bad Character. Where prevention comes too late, we attempt a cure. There are hundreds of these wretched beings who can yet be persuaded to return to the paths of virtue. The society has employed another matron, devoted entirely to this department. Her duty is to visit them ; to converse with them ; to distribute such tracts as are adapted to excite their fears, and to encourage them to abandon their destructive ways. Besides those, it has become evident that there are numbers who need no exhortation ; they want di- rection. They are as weary as galley slaves of their horrible bondage, but their circumstances chain them. They know not how to change, nor where to go. They would fain return to their friends, but the door is closed against them there. They would return to society, but society despises them. There is, then, a most import- ant part for Christian kindness to act. We may inter- cede delicately with friends, and we may have, in future, the same cheering success which has crowned our past efforts. The hearts of anxious parents have been relieved, their prayers answered, the dead has been brought to life, the lost has been found. This should be the great object of solicitude — to have them restored to the friendship and guardianship of their own kindred. But, where this is impracticable, — as, in too many cases, they have no friend, no parent, no home, — we must resort to the established method of forming asylums, with but one important modification, — the re- striction of the size of each asylum, — not allowing more than twenty or thirty to live together.
Such are the objects of this Society, and such its pro-
216 SERMON VIII.
posed plan of usefulness. Its limited means have ne- cessarily limited its action. But every stage of its infant history is marked with the encouraging impress of Di- vine goodness. We solicit the aid of the Church of God, of the friends of mankind, of all who desire the welfare of their fellow creatures. Surely the Savior meant to embrace these very classes in his memorable description of the judgment. Surely he will recognise our efforts in this behalf, when we make them with reference to his glory.
SERMON IX.
THE TEMPERANCE REFORMATION CONNECTED WITH THE PROGRESS OF RELIGION.
" The voice of him that crieth in the loilderness, ' Pre- pare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highioay for our God /' Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken ^."—Isaiah xl. 3—5.
It has been announced, that the subject of discourse, this evening, would be the connection between the Temperance-reformation and the revival of Religion. I venture to expand the idea a little beyond the notice, and say, that it is the connection between the Tem- perance-reformation and the Millennium.
Isaiah, in the striking and beautiful passage which has been quoted, spoke of John the Baptist. Our au- thority for this assertion is the direct declaration of the Spirit of God ; the record is contained in Matthew, the third chapter, the first three verses — "In those days
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218 SERMON IX.
came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ' Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' For this is he, that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, c The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' " He spoke of this eminent man, under the figure of the herald that was accustomed to precede the great monarchs of the East, when passing through the desert — as in the celebrated journey of the queen Semiramis, when a rond was made through the vast deserts of Western Asia ; the mountains were levelled, and the valleys were exalted, and the roads too circuitous were made more direct, and the rough places were reduced to smoothness, that the sovereign might pass with ease, and in suitable pomp and dignity. Under this beautiful imagery, de- signing alone the moral movement of the Messiah, and the moral preparation for his advent, and his reception in the hearts of men, — under this beautiful imagery is described the coming of the Son of God to reign, not in temporal power, not over man in his political rela- tions and interests, but over man in his moral relations, man in his affections, man in his moral, spiritual and eternal interests.
There is something peculiarly striking in comparing this figurative language with the early preaching of the herald of our Redeemer. " Prepare ye the way ;" the Messiah is to come like one of those oriental monarchs in their visits to Palestine or to Egypt, — is to come over a vast desert, — and, when he comes, he will find mountains and valleys and crooked places and rough places impeding his march ; all ye people ! attend ; your Sovereign is about to descend from
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 219
heaven, and march athwart this wilderness, and come to bring redemption to his people ; " Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a high- way for onr God ; every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain ;' and when this preparatory work is accom- plished, " the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Now turn to the preach- ing of John the Baptist. " In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent." In the fore-front of his mission — the first word of his sermon to a guilty world — is, " Re- pent." And what is the meaning of repentance? A change of mind. About what ? About your life, about your maxims and principles of action, about the objects of your heart's affection, about your pursuits, about your personal character and your personal conduct, about your business, your traffic, your social inter- course,— every thing that pertains to your life : go home, and, under the solemn inspection of the eye of God, read your heart, and read your life, and bring your business beneath the light of his holy law, and see whether they will stand the presence of the Son of man, who is coming to emancipate the human soul; " repent — repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And then, whatever individual man, or what- ever particular class of men presented themselves to the Baptist, he directly " laid the axe at the root of" their sin, and called upon them not to plead the cus- toms of society, not to plead their belief that they had been right, not to plead the fact that their fathers had done so before them, but to change their minds and
220 SERMON IX.
change their practices, and thus prepare for the coming of their King. " Repent ! repent !" — he called upon them to " repent," to humble themselves, to deny them- selves, to reform themselves, and thus prepare for the blessings of the new dispensation.
There is something very remarkable in the prophe- cies of the Old Testament. We learn the general principle to which I refer, from the practice of the New Testament writers themselves ; it is, that almost all the great prophecies in the Old Testament have more than a single meaning, and refer to more than one event. And it is evident, that this coming of the Son of God referred not merely to his coming in the flesh, not merely to the first outpouring of his Spirit, but to those great and glorious things predicted in other parts of the prophecies concerning days that are yet to come, and that either we, or our posterity, (per- haps not very far distant,) are yet to see. Who can doubt it, with this Bible in his hand, that there is to be a vast moral renovation ? who can doubt it, that the arm of tyranny is to be broken ? who can doubt it, that every chain of slavery is to cease to clank upon the creature made in the image of his God? who can doubt it, that the Savior and Deliverer of mankind will make this world the theatre of his triumphs, and here, where Satan had reigned, the Messiah will set up his throne and gather his laurels and triumph over his enemies?
But if that day is to come, when " the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord," when " Holi- ness to the Lord" shall be written " upon the bells of the horses" and the vessels of our culinary establish- ments, evidently there must be vast changes. Whether
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 221
it is this generation, whether it is your children, whether it is the generation after that or not, whoever it be, they will be a " repenting" generation. They will not plead custom, they will not plead that their fathers did so, and that good men do so still ; there will be vast changes of views, and vast changes of feeling, and vast changes of practice ; and there will be the voice of one crying in the wilderness, " Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a high- way for our God."
My object, this evening, is to describe one of the mightiest obstructions to the influence of the gospel and the Spirit of God in this world. My object, this evening, is to describe one of the master-machinations of the prince of darkness and the enemy of man. My object, this night, is to describe one of the most fertile sources of the temporal wretchedness and immortal ruin of man,, that Satan has let loose on this sin-pol- luted and cursed world. My object, to-night, is to show you that which must get out of the way, that that the Messiah may come and reign in peace, in purity, in righteousness and mercy, over this wretched earth.
With the Jews, it was not drunkenness, but religious error ; it was pride of heart, it was superstitious attach- ment to forms and ceremonies, to which the Baptist alluded. With us, it is worldliness of heart, formality in religion, unbelief of the declarations and promises of God, and prayerlessness in the Church. These are our heart-sins, which must be repented of, that Christ may come in greater power and greater glory to reign in the Church, and that 'salvation may come out of Zion" to reign in the world. But these are heart-sins ; there is,
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222 SERMON IX.
besides these, a lofty and rugged mountain which must be levelled. The habit of drinking intoxicating liquors, and, of course, with it, the entire system and machinery of making and vending them, is one of the grand im- pediments to the coming of the Messiah.
I lay down three propositions to be established in the course of my remarks.
I. The first is this; — The habit of using intoxica- ting liquors as a beverage is one grand obstacle to the revival of pure religion and the coming of the expected Millennium.
I enter first on explanation.
I speak of these substances as beverages — as common drinks taken by men in health, not by sick men. I interfere not with the province of the physician ; I must say, that we have a point to debate with them : but now I interfere not with them, nor with their prescriptions. I speak of these substances taken as beverages by men in health, for the avowed purpose of their stimulating effect — for personal gratification — under the plea of nourishment— and for the sake of social, convivial en- joyment. The idea of taking every day a medicine is too preposterous to be argued against. We are speak- ing of them now simply as drinks, as beverages taken by men in health.
I include them all — the whole range of ardent spirit and of fermented liquors, wine and beer and cider, with all that is called ardent spirit; — I include them alb Their identity is established, in every way that the subject admits. No man doubts, that the use of ardent spirit is in the way way of the progress of the gospel of Jesus Christ ; but a distinction has been made, and it is against that distinction I now direct my attack. If
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 223
truth is with me, believe me ; if not, let it pass, as the opinion of an individual, or of many individuals, not established by argument.
I repeat it, that under this proposition I include all that can intoxicate, used as a beverage. My proposi- tion is that no man has a right to use intoxicating be- verages ; he may have a right to use intoxicating medi- cines, but not to drink them for his pleasure, and under the absurd notion of nourishment and for the purposes of convivial enjoyment.
The identity of all these substances, I remark, is established in every way that the subject admits. We go first to the chemist. We ask him, what is the in- toxicating principle in ardent spirits ? He goes into a minute analysis : he separates that from them which intoxicates, and which alone intoxicates ; he says it is alcohol — a substance discovered in the ninth century ; he says it is alcohol, modified as it may be. We go to the physiologist, and we ask him what he thinks of its effects upon the constitution of man ? He says, that, when it goes into the human system, it may go in con- nection with sugar, with wine, with various coloring matters, with many other substances, and that all that goes in with it undergoes the healthful natural process of digestion, but that alcohol works its way pure and separate out of the stomach into the blood-vessels, and from the blood-vessels into other vessels, burning and scorching its way along the whole line of life, until the laboring struggling system throws it out at some one of its great operations. < This is alcohol,' says the phy- siologist. We turn back to the chemist ; we ask him, 'Is there any difference between alcohol in ardent spirits, and alcohol in wine or beer or cider ?' He says,
224 SERMON IX.
i No,' ' Why ? where is your proof?' Mr. Brande says — " I have tried whether it is the heat in distillation that makes the alcohol, and I have proved that it is not ; for I got alcohol out of wine without subjecting it to the heat of distillation : I got alcohol out of beer and out of cider, not by heat ; and I find that alcohol is the result of the second process of certain decaying vegeta- ble and animal substances rushing to putrefaction ;" and if man would let them go, and not stay them by any process, in a little while the substance would be a mass of putrefaction ; but man has learned to stop it, and apply it to purposes, for which the God of nature never meant it to be applied. When a man finds, that, by laying fire upon the skin, the skin is burned, although fire is a creature of God, he gathers from the fact a great law — that God intended that he should not put fire upon his skin ; and when a man finds, that, if he puts alcohol into his stomach, it burns the stomach, and burns the brain, and burns the soul, he gets at a great law of God — that he should not put alcohol into his stomach. It is one of the most absurd arguments — ' that it is a " good" creature of God.'
I wish to nail the great principles of this argument firmly on your judgment and conscience ; but I have not time to dwell upon them. So much, therefore, for the examination by the chemist and the physiologist. The question about alcohol in the abstract is of little avail to us ; we do not want to know what it is, where it is, or where it is not found ; but when we find it thus affecting the delicate frame of man, and (above all) rising up into the brain, and going into the soul, and blighting and desolating its energies and paralyzing its sweetest affections, then it becomes appropriate to intro-
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 225
duce the discussion of it into the solemn debates, the solemn instructions, the solemn exhortations of the pulpit.
We have already said, that all these substances have the same effect. Man can be made drunk on ardent spirit, on wine, on beer, on cider. Therefore they are all intoxicating substances. And, in fine, as I have re- marked, the intoxicating principle in each is the same thing ; the only difference is in the degree and amount of intoxicating substance contained in each. We find that this dreadful substance, when introduced into the human frame, remains undigested ; we find it coursing through the system, to paralyze its energies, to pollute the heart, to destroy the conscience, to ripen for crime, to enervate every noble faculty, to repress every aspira- tion of the soul after happiness, holiness, and immortal glory. We say, that this is the tendency of all these substances — of all ; we say, that the characteristics of alcohol are unique in all, and we challenge the denial of it. The difference in effect is a difference of decree, not of kind, When Noah took the fermented juice of the grape and became drunk, he was as really drunk as the beer-drinker and the gin-drinker in your streets. When Lot drank the fermented juice of the grape, he became drunk and committed incest, as men now be- come drunk on gin, brandy and rum, and commit in- cest. It is the same thing, and it is absurd to draw a line of distinction. When Alexander the Great became drunk and killed his friend, and when he became drunk and died, a sot, and a beast, it was on wine ; and it is just as bad to get drunk, and murder drunk, and die drunk, on wine, as it is on beer and spirit. When Korah, Dathan and Abiram, got drunk on intoxicating
226 SERMON IX.
fluid, they put the unhallowed hand to the altar of God and perished in their sins ; and God made from it a law, that the priests, when they went to minister at his altar, should never pollute themselves with it. The voice sounds from all Asia— 'It is alcohol, that is making all the natives drunk.' - It is alcohol in Europe, it is alcohol in Africa, it is alcohol in America, it is al- cohol in the islands of the sea — alcohol ! alcohol ! the minister of hell, that has come to blight and curse this lovely earth, and this already-oppressed family of man. It is against alcohol, not in place, not as a chemical substance, not as God means it shall be used, (for he has a purpose in it,) but alcohol as a beverage, alcohol handed round the table, alcohol drunk to promote health, alcohol drunk to promote the flow of social feeling — against that we point our admonition, against that we lift our remonstrance, and that we say must get out of the way, — this " mountain" must come down, that Messiah may come and reign.
I have now simply explained myself on this propo- sition. I offer a few remarks to prove it more directly. I repeat the proposition ; — The habit of using intoxi- cating liquors as a beverage is one great obstacle to the revival of pure religion and the coming of the expected Millennium.
I begin on the very lowest ground of proof — that, if they do not hurt, they do no good. It is a waste of the money, that ought to buy Bibles for the heathen and bread for the poor. They are of no use. I am as happy in drinking cold water, as the wine-drinker in drinking wine. I have tried both sides, and I would not exchange feelings with him. He has abandoned the cold water, that was the drink of our first father.
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(for there was neither brewery nor distillery in Eden,) and he has got now into the sparkling circle, where the gaiety is delusive; but if he would only come back to that which was the drink of Adam in Paradise, he would find, that God had made cold water as the bev- erage of man, and that cold water was most consistent with physical health, with intellectual energy, with moral purity, with domestic affection, with religious sensibility. These beverages are all useless.
Then they are worse. I will not stand, this night, to say how much a man must drink in order to be drank. I wish to be most distinctly understood in my statements on this subject ; I say, that the tendency of one drop is just as much as a drop can do ; and when you put two drops into the system, it is twice as much : and when four drops, it is four times as much ; and when five drops, it is five times as much ; and I know not the line where you begin to see the effects. I speak of the tendency of these drinks ; it is on the tendency that I fasten my argument ; the tendency of them always is to produce the demoralizing effects, that you witness on a broader scale when they are taken in larger quantities. And here I state the fact, which first convinced my own mind. When I first heard Dr. Hewitt deliver a lecture, on ardent spirit alone, it seemed to me the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of, and therefore I am prepared to expect that others may think it very absurd to-night ; it seemed to me the most Quixotic undertaking 1 had ever heard of, and a feeling of independence arose in my mind, and I said — " What ! is this man coming to take my brandy and water from me ? I will never give it up." It was a resolution formed hastily and ignorantly. Blessed
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be God for the firmness and wisdom to overcome that wicked resolution ! The light has broken in upon my mind slowly, and I am therefore prepared to expect that many may think me ridiculous now ; but my mission, to-night, is, as a man, to speak the truth with- out hesitation, —not to dogmatize, but to leave every one to answer in this matter before his conscience and before his God. You will excuse me if I speak strongly, for I feel strongly ; you will excuse me, if I speak firmly, for I think I see the truth like a sun- beam. Now the first thing, which convinced me that 1 must come out from the moderate system, to that which has been familiarly denominated the tee-total system, was this — that in the United States of America, there is no security whatever, (buy your wine where you will.) that you are not drinking ardent spirits dis- guised. And I venture to say. the probabilities are three or four to one even in Great Britain, that your wines are composed of rum, or gin, or brandy, of the worst kind. The man that sits down with his friend, to quaff the substance which he calls wine, may have to say what I heard a minister say the day before yes- terday— " Oh ! this is very vile stuff." Yes, so it may be ; and so it is ; we have analyzed champaign in our country, and we have found it sugar of lead diluted and disguised. Think of a man sitting down with his friend to quaff sugar of lead— one of the most poison- ous substances ! I say, that the tendency of the whole family of them is destructive and injurious, al- though one may so limit himself as not to reach the degree perceptible to his own mind.
And I affirm further, that their moderate use forms, in every case of immoderate use, the first stage. I had
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 229
occasion, last evening, to introduce an illustration of this on the platform ; I simply now state the abstract principle. No man ever becomes a drunkard, but by- beginning to drink moderately ; and as long as the world continues to drink moderately, the world will be full of drunkards ; and until the world ceases to drink moderately, the world will not be delivered from the evils that flow from intemperance. The moderate use of these substances will perpetuate the immoderate.
I refer now, further to establish my proposition, to the testimony of the Scriptures — the testimony of the Bible with regard to the effect of intoxicating sub- stances on man as a moral and religious being. I will not now go over the large class of texts, that do most distinctly reprobate " wine" and " strong drink" in the Bible ; I shall come to them in the course of my argu- ment. I speak at present of the examples it sets before us ; as in the case of Lot, where his incest, his awful and abominable crime with his own daughters, is traced directly up to the use of wine. And it is strange, that the first thing that the Bible tells us about winej the first picture of it, that is painted upon its canvass, is drunken Noah ; and the next is drunken Lot ; as if it would tell the world—" There is the beginning of the dreadful chapter of drinking!" The Bible says, that "whoredom and wine take away the heart;" it puts it with whoredom. " Take away the heart !" That which " takes away the heart" is a hindrance to the revival of religion and the introduction of the Mil- lennium.
Take the testimony of judges ; take the testimony of jailors, who have had close intercourse with pris- oners and examined their history. They tell us, that,
230 SERMON IX.
every where, three-fourths of the crimes committed are traced back to the use of these substances, — perverting, blinding, benumbing the conscience, — hindering that sensibility from its exercise which inclines man to good, and strengthening that sensibility in its exercise which inclines man to evil.
So much for my first proposition. The habit of using intoxicating liquors as a beverage is one grand obstacle to the revival of pure religion and the coming of the expected Millennium.
II. My second proposition is — That the total cessa- tion from the said use is in accordance ivith the Bible. No man need be afraid of going against the Bible by giving up the use of these beverages.
1. In the first place, total abstinence is recommended by Scripture principles. When the apostle says, " It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak :" "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth ;" he simply brings forward this great principle. Even if it were true that our Savior made intoxicating drinks, even if it were true that he used them, or that he gave them to others, — yet, in the face of that, Paul says there may come a state of things, in which it would be my duty to give up wine, and I tvoidd do it then ; if wine " make my brother to offend," I will give it up, I will abandon it. This is the great principle of benevolence. And I ask, if we have not come into those circumstances now, when, with the fabricated wine of our modern communities, we can get nothing but ardent spirits diluted and disguised, and when we cannot get the beer-bottle and the gin-bottle out of the hand of the
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 231
poor drunkard, unless we will sweep away all these substances together ; — I ask, whether we have not come to that very juncture in human affairs, when the apos- tle Paul would say, " I will give up these beverages, I will sign the Temperance-pledge, and I will give the poor drunkard the force of my example, that he may follow me and may get away from the source of his wretchedness."
If all men would act upon these principles, the world would get rid of drunkenness at once. If any one stands up on a temperance platform to descant on the evils of intoxicating liquors, and, in order to quench his own thirst, lifts the wine glass to his lips, I apprehend that his own conscience will condemn him, and the common sense of the world will hiss him from the stage. There is something in man that ad- mires consistency ; and it is impossible for a man, who avows himself a drinker of intoxicating liquors on a moderate scale, to make any effectual appeal to those that are getting drunk upon ardent spirits.
2. I take the Scripture examples, that show it is in accordance with Scripture totally to abstain. I take the example of the Nazarites, that were to be a pecu- liarly pure and select and favored class of men ; and one of the indispensable injunctions to them was, that they should never touch strong drink ; — of that Sam- son, who was to be the strongest man in Israel, and, . therefore, was not to be a drinker of intoxicating li- quors. I take the case of Daniel and his companions ; and I dwell upon it with much interest in this view. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ordered that certain men should be brought before him, " children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skilful
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SERMON IX.
in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and under- standing science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans." These were to be selected from the children of Israel then in captivity ; and the king in his kindness, and according to the light he possessed, " appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank : so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were, of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names ; for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar ; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach ; and to Mishael, of Meshach ; and to Aza- riah, of Abed-nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank ; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he' might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs ; and the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, — <■ I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink ; for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort ? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king ;' " — he was one of those believers in the nutritious and healthful effects of wine : — " Then said Daniel toMelzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azaria, — c Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days ; and let them give u3 pulse to eat, and water to drink j— (" water" said this wise man, " water to drink,)"— then
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 233
let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat : and as thou seest, deal with thy servants/' So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh, than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar- took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom." It will be very safe to follow Daniel's example — physically and morally safe. It will be very safe also to follow the example of the Rechabites, that were a Temperance-Society for so many ages in the midst of the surrounding drunkenness of Israel. It will be very safe to follow the example of Timothy, who was so much addicted (so entirely addicted) to the use of cold water as a beverage, that, when he became sick and needed wine as a medicine, the apos- tle had to recommend it to him, and actually to enjoin it upon him to take it. Timothy, then, was a cold- water-drinker.
3. I take Scripture precepts upon the subject. I will mention only two, and pass rapidly on. " Look not upon the wine, when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." " Wine is a mocker;" and if God tells man to put himself under the influence of " a mocker," then we under- stand not the meaning of Holy Scripture, which was given to " make us wise unto salvation."
III. I pass on to my third and last proposition — That the total cessation from the use of intoxicating
234 SERMON IX.
liquors as a beverage is necessary for the universal spread of the gospel.
And I establish this proposition, first, by the actual effects of these substances, and of abstinence from them. And I wish you to look minutely into this point.
Look at this effect. In the city of London there is a large number of persons, that occasionally may feel inclined to go to church ; but one of them is a mother, and she has not a garment with which a woman of proper feeling can bear to appear in a public assembly. And why not? Because her husband has used up all their substance at the gin-shop. If that husband would cease to drink intoxicating liquor — if he were not made indolent by it and prodigal by it, and did not waste just so much of his daily earnings — he could buy the proper dress for his wife and his children, and. then that wife and those children could go to church in proper character. I have no doubt that there are hundreds of such cases ; and just so long as the use of these beverages exists, there will be a large portion of the poorer classes actually kept out of the church, and out of gospel-institutions, for the want of proper clothing.
I ask you to look at another fact. A large number of men are now unwilling to go to church, and indif- ferent about it, because they are continually stupified, and their religious sensibilities deadened, by the use of these intoxicating liquors. And as long as they continue to use them it will be so ; but as soon as that spell is taken off, conscience will awake, and the solemn striving of the Spirit of God with their souls will make them feel that the sanctuary is the place for them, and they must go to the sanctuary.
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Look, I ask you, further still. There are hundreds who come to our churches, whom the use of ardent spirits entirely unfits to hear the gospel. It is not the eye fixed upon the minister, it is not the ear listen- ing to the minister, it is the awakened heart receiving the message of the minister, that the minister wants; and I will ven' nre to say, that every drop of intoxicating liquor take : has a tendency when taken, (I will not say to what ^xtent the drop may go, but that it has a tendency) to interfere with the profitable hearing of the gospel. And I go further, and say, that the congrega- tion, who should see the minister in the pulpit sit down and drink two glasses of wine, would hardly stay to hear him p reach. And why? They would feel that there was something like unhallowed fire about him. And yet they are willing enough to have their minister go down from the pulpit, and drink his wine in private. My friends ! I believe that the world is nearer right than the world believes, and that, if we could get at the secret consciences of men, they would be with us on this subject. We know, that if the declaration of Jesus Christ is true, there is a class of men who are the "stony ground" and the " way-side" hearers ; and of all hearers, surely the drinkers and the tipplers of intoxicating liquors are the persons. We venture to say, that if the principles of our Society could universally prevail, one of the chief temptations to thousands to stay away from the sanctuary — the enjoyments of the ale-house on the Sabbath — would be withdrawn ; and when that plea- sure is withdrawn, they would come soberly and so- lemnly to the house of God.
There is another consideration. When the use of these substances ceases, there will be fewer temptations
236 SERMON IX.
to backsliding in the church. Very early, in the history of the church over which God made me pastor, we in- troduced the Temperance reformation, and applied it to every person seeking for admission ; and the effect has been, that that church has been less cursed with drunken members and doubtful members, (doubtful as to their sobriety,) than most of the churches with which I have been acquainted. We have sent. a circular on this sub- ject to the ministers of the United States, and the re- turns are most frightful — that a large class of the trou- blesome cases have arisen from drunkenness, and that there is an immense temptation to backsliding in the instance of those, that are all their days walking on the borders of intoxication. Is it not dangerous to be stand- ing upon the frontier line of the enemy every day ? is it not dangerous to " look upon the wine when it is red. when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright," because " at the last it may bite like a ser- pent and sting like an adder ?"
I believe, in the bottom of my heart, although I may not be able to prove it to others, that if these substances were swept from our churches, the solemn and lervent spirit of prayer would increase at once. I believe that it is a grand represser of prayer. I believe that the man who has taken three or four glasses of wine at his dinner, feels very unlike one going to prayer, and very unlike one going to weep at the foot of the cross.
I believe that if abstinence from intoxicating liquors prevailed and spread, there would be more money and more self-denial brought to the work of God in the world. We were told last night, that, in four counties in Wales, where the cause of Temperance has spread most gloriously in the last year, their donations to the
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 237
cause of Jesus Christ have increased in this one year by six hundred pounds. They have saved it, and their hearts are made more liberal ; and this money is cheer- fully consecrated to spread the knowledge of Christ through the world.
I believe, that ministers will physically have more strength, almost the very day that they commence abandoning these substances. And the time is coming, when ministerial strength will be taxed more and more. The churches are giving us more and more to do, and the world is demanding more and more at our hands. We want strong, iron constitutions now in the pulpit. It is my firm belief, that every time a minister puts the intoxicating glass to his lips, he impairs his strength, irritates the delicate nervous system, and so far unfits himself for his labors. It is the testimony of ministers that have tried both sides of the question, that their voices have become stronger, and that they feel alto- gether less exhaustion after preaching, when they go simply to the draught of cold water, if they need any quenching of their thirst after their arduous labors in the pulpit. It is the testimony of men of every class and every age. But I bring up one instance in particu- lar. In the state prison of Auburn in the State of New York, there are about eight hundred prisoners annually; the rigid principle adopted there is, that every prisoner, from the moment he enters, is debarred the use of in- toxicating liquor and of tobacco. The criminals have formerly generally indulged largely in both these sub- stances. What, now, is the worst effect on these eight hundred prisoners, who are thus suddenly broken oft* from these indulgences?— (that is the great fear of the world,— breaking off suddenly ; but what is the worst
238 SERMON IX.
effect on them?) It is the testimony of the keeper (a most sensible man), and of the chaplain (a most pious man), that, in some few cases, the men are pale debili- tated, and surfer loss of appetite for a week or two, (that is the worst effect,) but that, after the second week, they all have a healthy bloom upon their cheeks, they become more healthy, and no man has been known to die from it. The testimony of the keeper and the chaplain is, that every man has risen in physical health and strength and cheerfulness from it. And we say that there will be a vast increase of ministerial strength, when this doctrine shall become prevalent.
You will allow me now to refer to one of the most important documents, which has been published in the United States of America on this subject. Before read- ing it, however, I beg to mention one single fact from the report of the New British and Foreign Temperance Society ; during the last year, out of 19,878 signatures, 2637 were from reclaimed drunkards, of whom 479 have been deemed by pastors worthy of admission to church fellowship. In the past year alone, 479 ! And here is the infidelity of our doctrine ! here is our infidel Temperance Society ! (as we have heard the objection wafted across the Atlantic.) Infidelity ! to bring men under the power of the gospel, and prepared to hear the gospel, and to sit down to celebrate the dying love of Christ !
Now let me turn to my own land, and tell of the effects of Temperance reformation.
" In one town in Massachusetts, a Temperance dis- course was delivered near the close of 1827. Numbers renounced the use of ardent spirits, and conducted all their business without it. Many were anxious to form
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a Temperance Society : but some among the aged and influential thought, that they could not do without a little, and no society was formed, till the young men, impatient at the delay of their fathers, called a meeting, and formed a society among themselves. They resolved to have stated meetings, collect information, and spread it through the town ; and at the first meeting many were solemn ; and at the second, anxious for their sal- vation ; a prayer was offered and the Holy Spirit de- scended upon them; the anxiety increased — became general and extended through the town — and more than two hundred, it is believed, have passed from death unto life. Ten of those young men are now preparing for the gospel ministry; and, should their lives be spared, and their talents consecrated to the Re- deemer, they may be instrumental in preparing many for an < exceeding and eternal weight of glory ;' and, could we trace the influence of that single Temperance Society, in all its various connections, bearings and consequences, upon the temporal and eternal interests of men, the vision would be transporting. And when the committee saw these societies rising, and extending their benign influences not merely over one but a thou- sand towns, and promising to extend them through the whole land and to all future ages, they could not but ' thank God and take courage.' "
The opinion of the Committee of the New- York State Society is supported by such facts as the follow- ing:—A distinguished gentleman from that State writes — " The great and good work of the Lord goes on in the midst of us ; and the Temperance-movement, like John the Baptist, prepares the way of the Lord. One might follow in the wake of this movement, and say,
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< The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' " Another gen- tleman, from another part of the State, writes — "In this country, it is notorious that those towns which have been the most active in the Temperance-cause, have been the most blessed by the Holy Spirit. In all the towns in this county, there have been revivals ; and, as a general remark, it may be said, that, in every town, those neighborhoods, which have done most in the promotion of Temperance, have been most blessed
in religious matters. In C , the Spirit has seemed
to follow the Temperance-effort from neighborhood to neighborhood ; and so in other places. In short, so manifest is the connection between Temperance and revivals of religion in this country, that we no more expect the latter where the former does not exist, than we expect snow in summer. This, of course, is a general remark. There are, undoubtedly exceptions."
I read next the statement of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States —that large and respectable body to which I have the honor to belong, composed of about two thousand ministers. They say —
" It is now a well-established fact, that the common use of strong drink, however moderate, has been a fatal, soul-destroying barrier against the influence of the gospel. Consequently, wherever total abstinence is practised, a powerful instrument of resisting the Holy Spirit is removed ; and a new avenue of access to the hearts of men opened to the power of truth. Thus, in numerous instances and in various places, during the past year, the Temperance-reformation has been a harbinger preparing the way of the Lord ; and the banishment of that liquid poiso?i, which kills both
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soul and body, has made way for the immediate en- trance of the Spirit and the word, the glorious train of the Redeemer. But, a great work is still to be affected in the Church. The sons of Levi must be purged. The accursed thing must be removed from the camp of the Lord. While professing Christians continue to exhibit the baleful example of tasting the drunkard's poison, or, by a sacrilegious traffic, to make it their em- ployment to degrade and destroy their fellow-men, those who love the Lord must not keep silence, but must lift up their warning voice, and use all lawful efforts to remove this withering reproach from the house of God."
And thus commissioned by my brethren and fathers in Israel, I do, in the strength of God and in the love of Christ and of his Church and of the souls of mem u lift up," to-night, my " warning voice." However feebly, it speaks the truth ; and God is in and with his truth.
I will read but one more document — " A gentleman from Tennessee writes, that the formation of a Temp- erance-Society in his vicinity was followed by such a revival of religion, as in those parts was never before known ; that in numerous other places where Temp- erance-Societies were formed, they were followed by the same glorious results ; and that, in a compass of about three miles, as the result apparently of the Temperance-reformation, more than three hundred persons were hopefully added to the Lord. And so generally has it been followed by such results, that it is spoken of in various countries, and even on opposite sides of the globe, as l John the Baptist,' preparing the way of the Lord. Whether the reason of this can be
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242 SERMON IX.
philosophically and satisfactorily explained or not, the fact is settled, that intoxicating liquor tends from be- ginning to end to increase human wickedness, and also to render that wickedness permanent. The men, there- fore, who make it, and the men, who furnish it to be used as a drink, are, by their whole influence in doing this, increasing the vices and augmenting the woes of mankind. And though some of them profess to be friends to Temperance, and to wish to have it prevail and become universal, they are taking the very course for ever to prevent it."
This is the testimony from the other side of the water.
I now go on with my argument ; and I proceed to state that the effects of total abstinence now are re- sembling the promised effects of the Millennium. What is the Millennium? It is to produce order. Go into that family, that, a year ago, was under the influence of a drunken father — go into that family, now a totally- abstaining family, and see how order and peace have begun to prevail. Peace — " peace on earth !" Look at peace restored in that family ; look at peace restored in that neighborhood ; see the dove, that has come to that family and to that neighborhood with the olive- branch of peace in its mouth. It will not be by mira- cle, that the reign of order and of peace will come in ; it will be by the simple operation of ordinary causes ; and here is one of those grand causes — the prevalence of the Temperance-reformation.
Love will more abound; for these intoxicating sub- stances render the heart more and more callous and more and more selfish. God has declared, that " there shall be none to hurt or destroy in all his holy mount;"
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and I ask, if on " his holy mount" there will be a brewery or a distillery? No — no — no! You never saw a brewery that did not curse the neighborhood in which it was built ; you never saw a distillery that did not blight the land over which it rolled its fumes ; and if that prediction is to come true, and if nothing shall hurt and nothing destroy in the holy mount of God, then there will be no fabrication of these intoxicating poisons.
The very movement of the Temperance-reformation collaterally aids the revival of religion. Look at its effect in bringing to view personal responsibility for personal actions and personal influence. It is doing just the very thing that John the Baptist did— mak- ing every individual feel his individual responsibility. Every Temperance-address to the maker or the vender, every Temperance-address to the drinker, of intoxicat- ing liquors, calls him to look at the question again, Am I doing any hurt in the world ? It makes men see, that that question, " Am I my brother's keeper ?" is a wicked question ; you are " your brother's keeper ;" and the more powerfully the Temperance-question moves on in the world, the more does it bring men to act under the solemn personal influence of the feeling of personal responsibility.
It brings lessons of self-denial. It is hard for a man, that has been living in luxury on the profits of these substances, to go and close his distillery, and close his brewery, and close his ale-house ; it is hard, but it is right — it is right — it is RIGHT. It is lovely. We have begun to see it done ; we have quenched the fires of nearly two thousand distilleries in our own States — not by force, not by legislative enactment, — but by the
244 SERMON IX.
power of conscience. And I want to know, whether these distillers, that went and put out their fires and sold their vessels for old copper, were or were not better members of society for it, and better prepared for help- ing onward the work of God ? Let this glorious cause move on ; let all the publicans of London begin to tremble, as they see the blood of souls staining their bands ; let all those, that live by the profits of this practice, begin to weigh the question solemnly, and then determine to deny themselves for the good of their fellow-men ; that is one of the very preparations for the glorious introduction of this gospel of self-denial.
It creates sympathy for the most degraded. Tem- perate men have learned to love the drunkard. There is many a man that gives up drinking simply from this consideration. And I Avish you to understand, that I am not, perhaps, expressing to-night the sentiments of the greater part of the Temperance-Societies in Great Britain ; I give up all these substances, because I think them all poisonous ; my brethren do not, and it is benevolent in them to give up drinking them, as they do ; it would be murder in me to give a man what I believe to be poison — it is benevolence In them not to give it. When a man banishes these liquors from his table, his guest may be forming that very day the critical habit ; or that very day he may be a recovered drunkard. I know that he subjects himself to all the pain of appearing niggardly and inhospitable and un- kind : but it is noble to dare to do right, it is noble to bear sneers, it is godlike to love the poor drunkard, so that you say, < This right hand shall go off rather than contribute one movement towards pushing the drunkard to destruction ; I come out and rid my hands
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from the whole, I come out and separate myself from the whole machinery of drunkenness, I do it for my brother's sake !' When I was a little boy, the drunkard was my sport ; I joined with my companions in de- riding him along the streets ; now I have learned to feel that the drunkard is my brother ; and those filthy rags that cover him, and that filthy mouth that utters obscenity intolerable, do not repel the man that has determined to hazard all to save a brother. This is still my brother ; and he may yet be washed and re- newed and saved, and shine in the presence of God — an angel for ever.
You will bear with me perhaps still further, while I state this great point in confirmation of my argu- ment; we must send Christianity to the Pagan, but it must be a purified Christianity — it must not be a wine-drinking Christianity. When the colonists went to the United States of America, (which were the colo- nies originally,) they found there the Indian ; what have they done to the Indian ? they have almost exter- minated the tribes ; how ? the sword has done something, but strong drink has done the work : and, if you want now to see a degraded being on earth, go to the once lord of the forest. You have heard of that elevated bearing, that showed him free as the air he breathed, and as the leopard of the woods, or the mountain-goat ; now what is he ? he is the most perfect beast in the shape of a man, that can be found upon earth ; that is now the Indian lurking near American habitations, the habitations of Christian and civilized men. Why ? He is drunk from morning to night, if he can get intoxi- cating liquor. Was the Indian a drunkard, when we went there ? No, no ; when the Englishman landed
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246 SERMON IX.
there, the Indian knew none of the curse of intoxication. But he has learned it ; and I am afraid that God has yet a controversy with my beloved nation for that sin, as well as for some others. Oh ! is this the way to lift up a nation — to carry them these polluting substances ? I would that every Missionary were a drinker of nothing but cold water. Why, one of the grand difficulties that our Missionaries now meet with, is the presence of our commercial men and our sailors at the stations j they say, ' There is a specimen of what you want to make us ; you want to make us like those drunkards f and they have laughed at the Missionary ; and well may they. « That is Christianity P Well, the Mission- ary says, l But these are drunkards !' l What makes them drunkards ?' ' Strong drink.' ' Well, is that the line of demarcation in your country? have all Chris- tians given it up ? ' Oh ! no ; strong drink is made by Christians, and drunk by Christians ; it is in the Church that this strong drink lies.' That is what the Missionary has to tell the Pagan in fidelity and in truth ; and, as long as he does it, here lies a powerful restrainer of the influence of our Missionary exertions. Which of two Missionaries would you rather have go to the heathen — a man that tells them to drink cold water, or one that tells them to drink moderately intoxicating liquors?
You will bear with me in the last argument on this proposition — the little that can be pleaded on the other side. What is it?
One man says, I have to take it as a medicine. Now mark ; every such person is on our side, and he ought to be a tee-totaller. Every physican that prescribes it as a medicine is with us, and every patient that takes
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it as a medicine is with us — because it cannot be a medicine and a beverage too ; it is one or the other. We contend that it is a medicine, we contend that it is a poison, fit to be given to sick persons under careful and proper prescriptions ; we deny that it is proper to take as a beverage. All these, I say, are with us ; be- cause the idea of telling people to drink a little diluted arsenic every day because a physician prescribes it to the sick is presposterous. So I once said, after arguing on the deck of a steam-boat with a gentleman upon this subject, for about half an hour, in the presence of a crowd of passengers that gathered around us. He ap- peared to be affected, because I had pressed his con- science with the truth ; " My dear sir," said he, « it is cruel in you." " What is cruel in me ?" " Why thus to press me, when my physician has told- me that I must drink it or die." " My dear sir ! why did not you tell me at the beginning of the argument, you were an invalid ? and why have you been, for this half an hour, endeavoring to persuade all these people around you to take your medicine ?n I do not wish to destroy that plea, and this is not the place nor the time to treat of it ; but I do wish this distinction to be made, that every person, who advocates its use as a medicine, gives up its use as a beverage ; or else it would present this strange anomaly, that the only medicine in the whole materia medica to be so used is alcohol. It is not so with mix vomica, it is not so with coculus indictis, it is not so with laudanum, it is not so with opium; it is only so with alcohol. We venture to say, that, when that point comes to be reflected upon closely, it will be abandoned.
Appetite can be pleaded. Interest can be pleaded.
248 SERMON IX.
The rules of hospitality can be pleaded. And so can the Scriptures, inasmuch as on this important subject the Bible seems to recommend the use of wine. Now I will, as briefly as I can, present my views on that difficult and delicate point.
I will say (to begin) that, if I can find that my bless- ed Redeemer made and gave intoxicating drink, I drop my strong argument : I simply then say, that I find that I am better without it, and 1 cannot tell but what other' people are better with it ; I give up the Tem- perance cause, because I advocate it on the belief that intoxicating drink (or alcohol rather,) is a poison, and I do not believe Jesus Christ ever made poison to give to a man in health. I state this, in order to show my profound reverence for the authority of my Savior, and to dissociate myself entirely from the infidel spirit and the infidel man that would say, — ' I will maintain my Temperance, let the Bible go where it will.' I have no part nor lot with him.
Now I say that it is a question of interpretation, a question as to the meaning of language. When Jesus Christ is said to have made " wine" for the feast at Cana, the question is, what does that word ivine mean ? I want to get light on that fact. I find that there are two kinds of wine mentioned in the Bible, because I find that the Bible in other places reprobates the use of wine in the most unqualified language. Do you believe, that Jesus Christ sat at table and made for a company of people that, which the Holy Ghost has denominated " a mocker V Do you believe, that the divine Savior said, "Look not upon the wine," and yet "I will make it for you" — make that which " at the last will bite like a serpent and sting like an adder ?" I say it is evident,
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 249
that in the Bible two kinds of wine are mentioned. Well, then, in this case which kind was it? Here I get light. I go and examine the nature of acoholic wine ; I find it always the same ; I find it to be just that kind of substance described in the Bible, " sparkling in the cup," and I find it "biting like a serpent, and stinging like an adder," and leading on to whoredom, and with whoredom " taking away the heart" of man ; I find it treating men just as it did Noah, just as it did Lot, just as it did Korah, Dathan and Abiram ; I find all its effects, just as described by the prophets in their solemn reproofs of Israel. Then, I say, I am inclined to believe a priori that Jesus Christ never made it ; and when I find, that there were two kinds of wine in use among the Jews, I rest in the conviction that he made that which was not intoxicating, and that in the Lord's sup- per he gave the fruit of the vine, and not the putrifying substance that is now called wine— that he gave the pure juice of the grape. 1 ask a person how he recon- ciles the Bible, if he supposes there was but one kind of wine ; our view of it takes the passages that reprobate wine to speak of wine that intoxicates ; and the passages that sanction wine to speak of the wine that does not in- toxicate. And I will mention here, (as I have known it to throw light on some minds,) that you will remem- ber, in the case of the chief butler in the prison relating his dream to Joseph, he says that he squeezed out the juice of the grape into Pharaoh's cup. There you see was the juice of the grape immediately drunk ; and I find it a very pleasant drink. We thus find the Scrip- tures harmonize with nature, with chemistry, with phy- siology, with fact ; you do not : you cannot reconcile the thinsr, and we cannot reconcile the thing.
250 SERMON IX.
And then, further, I say that none of you, I believe, would like to have your children grow up in the same habit ; or I believe that you would feel safer in having your children give it up, and you would wish, that, though you may use them, the next generation might leave them off, and you feel that the world would be better.
T make, in closing, one or two inferences from my subject.
And I say that the venders and manufacturers of in- toxicating liquors ought to take the subject into most solemn consideration. They ought to be able to call, if they have truth on their side, — and I wish they would do this, I wish that they would call — Anti-Temperance meetings. I wish that they would have their strong men. and their strong ministers and their strong speakers come out and enlighten us. We had a glorious meet- ing last night ; we had a meeting full of soul, full of heart, full of earnestness, and full of eloquence ; it was a blessed meeting, and for one I felt — ' God approves it;' for one I felt as if we that promoted it were receiving the thanks of humanity. I ask them to get up such a meeting, and bring forward their strong arguments and show that they are right. All I hear is in secret ; I see a sneer or a laugh ; I am met at this table and at that table with a jeer and a joke, and a passing jest thrown out here and there. I wish if there is not truth on our side, that we might be stopped. If we have exaggerated views, they must all come down — for nothing but truth will live and triumph. But after all that, I say that, as I think, every man engaged in the manufacture of in- toxicating liquor as a beverage, every man engaged in preparing it or offering it for sale, to tempt the public
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 251
appetite and to tempt the poor drunkard, ought to stop, and ask whether this is not one of the "mountains" that must come down, whether this is not one of the " crooked places" that must be made straight, one of the " rough places" that must be made plain, that the Son of God may come in his gospel and in his Spirit. I ask the calm and candid consideration of those, that are engaged in the manufacture or the traffic. They will bear with me, as a man ; T speak in much love to them, and to society, which I believe they are injuring. No matter how kind your intention, no matter how kind your feel- ing, I believe you are stabbing society in its dearest in- terests. If I am wrong, do not believe me ; but if I am right, do not be offended, because I speak it in love : I speak it as one that must stand at the bar of God, and hear again what I say from this place of authority and of instruction ; I say, you are helping to make the drunkards of London and the drunkards of England — you, and none but you are making drunkards. You say, — { they make themselves :' I know they do ; but you had better go deeply into that solemn question of moral phylosophy, whether the man, that knowingly contributes to the ruin of another, even by that other's fault, will not be held guilty at the bar of God. Of the man, that had an ox which was known to gore, and let the ox go loose for his pleasure or profit, God said, — ' let him answer even to his life for the life of any that may be killed.' The man, that had a flat roof, an ori- ental roof, without any battlement, God held accounta- ble for any who fell hence, because he had neglected to put up a parapet, and the blood was required at his door. Take care you are not found accessary to drunkard-making in a guilty sense.
252 SERMON IX.
I ask you to look at this fact ; your success is the ruin of the public and of families. Every bottle and every glass you send out goes on a mission of misery and of death. The drunkard is on the outer circle of the vast whirlpool, and you are tempting him carelessly to float along, and each succeeding circle turns shorter and shorter, and you just turn away when the poor creature with one ineffectual struggle sinks to rise no more. Oh ! it is a dreadful trade, to be making drunk- ards. It is a dreadful thing, to sell out the large mass in pipes and hogsheads and barrels, that, you knoiv, goes forth like scorching streams of lava through the community. You know that it will curse that poor family ; you know that it will make that man prodigal of his property, and careless of the wants of his children and his wife ; you know that it will produce poverty and disease and misery, and death and hell to men. Perhaps this bottle will not, but that bottle may ; per- haps this pipe will not, but that pipe may. It is certain that somebody is doing the work of death. Six hun- dred thousand drunkards in England ! who makes them? who sustains them? Nobody? Does nobody make money out of these six hundred thousand drunk- ards ? These six hundred thousand rob their families, rob themselves, rob the public (for they become paupers): who gets the money ? See if it is not in your hands.
My brother ! I do not charge you ; I only ask you to look at the matter. I ask you to go home and pray over your trade. But how will you frame your prayer ? Will you ask God to send you more customers and more drunkards to your brew-house or to your shop ? why, then you ask to have more of his creatures ruined in body and in soul ! Oh ! a distillery, or a spirit-
TEMPERANCE AND RELIGION. 253
cellar, is a dreadful place in which to hold a prayer- meeting. I should think a man could hardly ask God to bless such a trade. I should like to see how he would pray over it. Would he say — ' O Lord ! do not let this bottle do any harm ; counteract the poisonous and soul-hardening effects of this alcohol ; I do not want to hurt any one, I only want to get the profit of tempting them to their ruin ; I do not want to do the harm that this must do in the natural course of things V Dare he speak so to his Maker ?
Let me state one other fact ; there are widows pray- ing against you ; there are widows in this city lodging a suit in Heaven's chancery against you. They are weak ; you may not be afraid of them. But God hears them ; and when the wife says, " May God restrain the arm, that is taking away my husband !" — and when the widow sometimes says, in the agony of her soul, " God blight the arm, that administers that poison !" — oh ! it may be heard, it may be heard. I would not stand with you ; I would not live, ministering out the poison to my fellow-men.
I say (to close the whole) to the vender, to the traffick- er, to the manufacturer : — You may ruin one soul by it : one man may die a drunkard, by that which you make and that which you sell — one man, one immortal soul, just one! And as God has said no drunkard shall enter the kingdom of heaven, what will be your gain if you make one ? — if that one at the judgment day shall lift up his voice, and say, "You, you were the author of my guilt, my wretchedness, my damna- tion ?"
My hearers ! I close ; but my heart — my heart feels for man. My heart prays, that God would incline his 22
256 SERMON X.
ment of other crimes, they still hold out the severest of all their penalties against this : — " Thou shalt not kill."
If this is a command of God, binding us all to avoid a certain course of action, all are bound to understand its meaning and extent ; and it must be the solemn duty of every interpreter of the divine law to explain it faithfully. I shall resort to two sources of explana- tion. One is the statute book of God's moral kingdom, the other is the criminal law of civilized nations, the result of the combined wisdom and maturest reflections of successive ages.
We will first consult the laws of men, and carry out their principles to their legitimate results, considering them as sound expositors of the divine law. For, it is a very interesting observation, that the wisdom and mercy of God's laws have been discovered by the very necessities of society, just as far as it advances in the attainment of happiness.
The first thing we find, is the division of murder into two degrees. The difference between them ap- pears to be this. It is murder in the first degree to kill another intentionally — in the second degree, to kill un- intentionally. And the second degree is deemed to in- fer guilt, just in proportion as there is manifested a selfish indifference to human life.
We notice again, that the length of time between doing the act which causes death and the death itself, does not alter the criminality, provided the testimony of medical men will only show that the act was the cause of the death.
We notice again, that a distinction is made between two classes of murderers, without any difference in
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 257
their guilt or punishment. They are principals and accessories. A principal does the fatal deed. An ac- cessory makes, or gives, or sells the fatal instrument, or in some way, knowingly sustains the principal. With regard to the second degree of murder, they de- fine it an act which produces death under circum- stances manifesting not intention to kill, but a wicked recklessness of human life. — For example : the suffer- ing a beast to run at large, when it is known to be mad, or in any way dangerous. You will notice that it is, the suffering the beast to run at large. But if a man should turn out such a beast, suppose a lion or a tiger, whether for sport or profit, and it takes away life ; this is pronounced murder in the second degree.
We may cite one or two cases from law-reports, to illustrate what is meant by homicide. A son, who cruelly and unnaturally exposed his sick father to the open air in inclement weather, whereby his death was occasioned, was held to be guilty of murder. And so was a woman, who caused the death of her child, by leaving it in an orchard, scantily covered with leaves, whereby it perished. This is, then, the decision of human justice ; that, to constitute murder, it is not re- quisite either to use a deadly weapon, or to show any other feelings than those of selfish indifference to human life.
And we may notice once more, what our laws say about the instrument by which death is caused. They say it is murder, whether it be by sword, fire, fire-arms, drowning, beating, or poison. You will notice, they say — poison. And then our courts depend on physi- cians to tell them what are poisons. And here I must stop a moment to inquire, whether or not it can be more
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256 SERMON X .
ment of other crimes, they still hold out the severest of all their penalties against this : — " Thou shalt not kill?
If this is a command of God, binding us all to avoid a certain course of action, all are bound to understand its meaning and extent; and it must be the solemn duty of every interpreter of the divine law to explain it faithfully. I shall resort to two sources of explana- tion. One is the statute book of God's moral kingdom, the other is the criminal law of civilized nations, the result of the combined wisdom and maturest reflections of successive ages.
We will first consult the laws of men, and carry out their principles to their legitimate results, considering them as sound expositors of the divine law. For, it is a very interesting observation, that the wisdom and mercy of God's laws have been discovered by the very necessities of society, just as far as it advances in the attainment of happiness.
The first thing we find, is the division of murder into two degrees. The difference between them ap- pears to be this. It is murder in the first degree to kill another intentionally — in the second degree, to kill un- intentionally. And the second degree is deemed to in- fer guilt, just in proportion as there is manifested a selfish indifference to human life.
We notice again, that the length of time between doinsr the act which causes death and the death itself, does not alter the criminality, provided ther testimony of medical men will only show that the act was the cause of the death.
We notice again, that a distinction is made between two classes of murderers, without any difference in
INTOXICATING LIQ.UORS. 257
their guilt or punishment. They are principals and accessories. A principal does the fatal deed. An ac- cessory makes, or gives, or sells the fatal instrument, or in some way, knowingly sustains the principal. With regard to the second degree of murder, they de- fine it an act which produces death under circum- stances manifesting not intention to kill, but a wicked recklessness of human life. — For example : the suffer- ing a beast to run at large, when it is known to be mad, or in any way dangerous. You will notice that it is, the suffering the beast to run at large. But if a man should turn out such a beast, suppose a lion or a tiger, whether for sport or profit, and it takes away life ; this is pronounced murder in the second degree.
We may cite one or two cases from law-reports, to illustrate what is meant by homicide. A son, who cruelly and unnaturally exposed his sick father to the open air in inclement weather, whereby his death was occasioned, was held to be guilty of murder. And so was a woman, who caused the death of her child, by leaving it in an orchard, scantily covered with leaves, whereby it perished. This is, then, the decision of human justice ; that, to constitute murder, it is not re- quisite either to use a deadly weapon, or to show any other feelings than those of selfish indifference to human life.
And we may notice once more, what our laws say about the instrument by which death is caused. They say it is murder, whether it be by sword, fire, fire-arms, drowning, beating, or poison. You will notice, they say — poison. And then our courts depend on physi- cians to tell them what are poisons. And here I must stop a moment to inquire, whether or not it can be more
22*
258 SERMON X .
wicked to kill by one poison than by another? Does it make any difference to the interests of society, whether you murder by arsenic, or by alcohol, if both be poisons? Does it make any difference to the law of God, to an enlightened conscience, to the agonized wife or parent, to the poor suicide who has rushed to the bar of his God, unbidden and unforgiven ? Yqs, my hearers ! it does make a difference. And you shall yet see on which side the difference lies. But I have only anti- cipated so much, in order to show that human laws are not consistent with themselves— that murder by one poison is punished with the most ignominious death, while murder by another is sustained by the very same code. And another of its imperfections, which indeed is intrinsic, is this — that it has tried in vain, to punish self-murder. The ignominious exposure of the corpse was a punishment which alighted alone on the broken- hearted, innocent survivors. God, however, can punish suicide. And there is, my hearers ! another law by which, and another tribunal at which, all men must be judged. I have referred to human laws, merely be- cause, as far as they go, they illustrate the divine. But, as has been remarked, they do not carry their own prin- ciple far enough, and hence are inconsistent with them- selves. Not that I can discover in the Bible any other principles on this subject, than those now described. But it is evident, that, as the Psalmist says — " Thy commandments are exceeding broad." There is an extent of application, which is not known in human jurisprudence. It is said, for instance — " If a man hate his brother, he is a murderer." Here is murder de- tected, condemned and punished, when found only in the heart, without an overt act. I admit that human
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 259
tribunals can never judge thus. But our Judge will. When our Savior explained the Mosaic law he re- marked—" It has been said, thou shalt not kill, but I say unto you, whosoever shall say to his brother, thou fool ! is in danger of hell-fire." Here, in explaining the sixth commandment, he ranks the mere expression of contempt as, in God's sight, tantamount, in guilt, to murder. Even under the Mosaic law, it did not require any direct act which caused death, to constitute murder. It was then just as it is now ; if a man had an ox that was known to push with his horn, and he killed a man ; both the ox and his owner were held responsible, and both were sacrificed. Or, if he built a house,— as their roofs were flat and places of much resort in that warm climate, — if he neglected to put up a parapet on the outer and inner wall,— and by that neglect a man should fall over and be killed, the blood was upon that house. We see, then, the following principles embraced in this law : —
1. Certain things are means of life and happiness, when used in a certain way. For instance, you may employ fire-arms to destroy beasts of prey, poisons as medicines, alcohol in manufactures, &c.
2. These articles may be made instruments of misery and death, by being used in certain other ways. Fire- arms may be used to take away the life of an unoffend- ing fellow creature. Arsenic, or alcohol, may be taken into the human system in such quantities as to destroy life. The latter has indeed been called " a good crea- ture of God." So is fire ; but is that any reason why you should kindle it in the middle of your floor, or upon your bed? God made every thing to be put in its right place, but as we shall presently see, he never
260 SERMON X.
made alcohol for the human stomach, nor the human stomach for alcohol.
3. To use them thus on our own persons, or rather to abuse them, is suicide.
4. To give them gratuitously, or to sell them to another to be thus abused, is murder.
To illustrate ;— if you sell a deadly weapon to a man when you know his intention thus to abuse it, if men can prove that you know it, they will convict you of murder, as an accessory. And, as God can prove it, he will certainly hold you guilty.
5. Human and divine laws admit but one excuse or plea. That is — involuntary, or unavoidable ignorance ; when you could not know the use to be made, or had no reason to suspect such use ; or if you could not know the tendency of the article to produce death when so used. For if you had, and yet should sell or give, it would betray that very recklessness of life, after which the law searches.
I would now pass from this discussion of abstract principles, to consider the following proposition.
To use alcohol as an ordinary drink, is suicide. To make, give, or sell it to be so used, is murder by the statutes of Heaven ; and ought, in consistency, to be, by the laws of human governments. It was some time, after the reformation commenced, before its friends would call the "moderate" use of alcohol, immoral. They were yet more cautious in pronouncing the traffic an immorality. But there is now no hesitation on the part of those who have thoroughly examined the sub- ject.
We will first introduce some comparisons that have been made.
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 261
{; The time will come, when reflecting men will no more think of making and vending- ardent spirits, or of erecting and renting grog-shops as a means of gain, than they would now think of poisoning a well, from which a neighbor obtains water for his family, or of arming a maniac to destroy his own life, or the lives of others."— Chancellor Walworth.
" Can it be right for me to derive my living from that which is spreading disease, and poverty, and premature death throughout my neighborhood ) Would it be right for me to derive my living from selling poison, or from propagating plague or leprosy around me ?"
•• Can it be right for me to derive my living from that, which is debasing the minds, ruining the souls, destroying for ever the happiness of the domestic circle, filling the land with women and children in a condition far more deplorable than that of widows and orphans ; which is the cause of nine-tenths of all the crimes which are perpetrated in society, and brings upon it nine-tenths of all the pauperism which exists : which accomplishes all these at once, and which does it with- out ceasing ?- Do you say you are not responsible for the acts of your neighbor 1 Is this clearly so ? Is not he who navigates a slave-ship a pirate T— Rev. R. F. Wayland, a Baptist.
We will now introduce some of the epithets that have been used.
- It cannot be denied, that distillers, venders, and pur- chasers of ardent spirits are accessories to the crimes of drunkenness. It is an unhallowed traffic,
AND LIKE THAT IN HUMAN BLOOD, SHOULD RECEIVE THE REPROBATION OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD."
Circular Letter of the Nora Scotia Baptist Association,
262 SERMON X.
" Who made the 300,000 drunkards that now defile and disgrace our country ? Who caused the death ot the 30,000 sots who have died in the United States within the past year ? Where does this responsibility rest? It must be somewhere. It can be nowhere else than upon the dealer in ardent spirits. I am deeply convinced that the evils of intemperance can never cease, till the virtuous in society shall unite in pro- nouncing the man, who attempts to accumulate wealth, by dealing out poison and death to his neighbor, as infamous? — Rev. Mr. Pierpo?it, Unitarian.
" I consider the man who deals in ardent spirits, a pirate on the rights of community." — Gerrit Smith.
We will now introduce a few of the assertions that have been made.
" To make or sell ardent spirits for common use, is as wicked as to make or sell poisons for the same pur- pose. It being admitted that the use of this article is destructive to health, reputation, and property, (and the proof on this point is overwhelming,) it follows conclusively, that those who make it, sin with a high hand against God and their fellow men. The blood of murdered souls and bodies will be required at their hands? — Judge Dagget, of Conn.
" This question we fearlessly submit to reason and to conscience. Is it not morally wrong ? Is it not an offence against sound morality and true piety ? We fear that all, engaged in this traffic, will be held ame- nable at the tribunal of the great day, not only as par- takers of other people's sins, in directly furnishing them with the means of committing the sin of intem- perance, but as responsible too, along with them, for those deeds of iniquity committed while under the
INTOXICATING LIQ.UORS. 263
influence of the intoxicating draught." — Glasgow paper.
'•'• The traffic in ardent spirits as a drink, is an im- morality, and ought to be viewed as such throughout the world." — Synod of Alb any ', and Gen. Associations of Conn., Mass., and Maine.
" The evil effects of ardent spirits are not exhibited alone on those who drink. The very traffic stands unrivalled for its hardening and debasing influence on those engaged in its operations." — John L. Chand- ler, M. D.
" No one can doubt that the traffic in ardent spirits is productive of immorality." — Rev. D. Skinner, Uni- versalist.
" I challenge any man who understands the nature of ardent spirits, and yet, for the sake of gain, con- tinues to be engaged in the traffic, to show that he is not involved in the guilt of murder." — Dr. Beechery Presbyterian.
" They who keep these fountains of pollution and crime open, are sharers, to no small extent, in the guilt which flows from them. They command the gateway of that mighty flood, which is spreading desolation through the land ; and are chargeable with all the present and everlasting consequences, no less than the infatuated victim who throws himself upon the bosom of the burning torrent, and is borne by it into the gulf of woe." — Dr. Spring, Presbyterian.
"No proposition seems to me susceptible of more satisfactory demonstration than this ; that, in the pre- sent state of information on this subject, no man can think to act on Christian principles, or do a patriot's duty to his country, and at the same time make or
264 SERMON X .
sell the instrument of intoxication." — Rev. H. Ware, Unitarian.
Such are the comparisons, epithets, and assertions by which leading men of various professions, and va- rious religious denominations have expressed their views of this traffic. One or two of them have done more, as you perceive, than call it immoral. They have shown wherein the immorality consists. Yes, they have asserted the very doctrine of this discourse. And now to the proof of that doctrine ; which is — that to use alcohol as an ordinary drink is suicide ; to make, give, or sell it to be so used, is murder by the statutes of Heaven, and ought to be, in consistency, by the laws of human governments. The validity of the proof depends upon the truth and justice of those prin- ciples, which we have found in the laws of civilized countries, and in the Bible. To them we must, there- fore, refer. It has been stated that, in a case of murder, three things are inquired after. 1. Was the person killed ? 2. Was it by an overt act of another ? 3. Was it done with feelings of malice, revenge, or by an un- dervaluing of human life 7 And the feelings of the murderer determine whether it is murder in the first or second degree. Another inquiry may arise. Is he principal, or accessory? If he directly administered the poison, in the case of death by poison, he is prin- cipal. If he sold it to a second person, knowing that he meant to sell it to a third, to be used in a way that injured life ; then he is an accessory before the fact. And the only point further needed to prove our propo- sition, is — whether alcohol taken into the stomach is a poison. On this point, whenever there is any doubt in a court, they send for medical men. These are the
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 265
witnesses, I shall presently subpoena, after you have listened for a few moments to the vender's pleas. I say nothing now about the suicidal guilt of drinking alco- hol ; because it will be involved in the other principle, if that be established.
Pleas of the alcohol seller:
1. If I should kill a man by arsenic, it would be murder ; but I sell alcohol.
I grant, that this plea will now acquit you at the bar of an unenlightened conscience, of an uninformed public sentiment, and in the criminal courts of human governments. But, from what part of God's statute will you draw the ground of such a plea? In which chapter is it written, — • you shall not kill by arsenic, but you may by alcohol ?' When inquisition is made for blood ; when a precious human life has been de- stroyed ; can that righteous lawgiver admit such a distinction?
2. But I deny that it is a poison like arsenic. Then let us call in the medical men. We be^in with Dr. Rush. He declared, that it was a poison, which brought on eighteen or twenty of the most painful, formidable, and fatal diseases. Go to all the books on Materia Medica. Look at the index, for the word alcohol, and you will be referred to the class of narcotic vegetable poisons, and find it ranked, for its effects on the human body, with henbane, deadly nightshade, and hemlock: and considered as exerting on the human frame an in- fluence similar to the continued action of the plague, typhus fever, and small-pox. While they thus con- sider alcohol a poison, when taken into the stomach, they trace its deadly march, and watch its effects on the vital organs. It is carried by the blood to every
23
266 SERMON X.
one, and each is deranged by its touch. They have extensively signed the declaration in this country and in Great Britain, that it is the constant source of dis- ease and death. Many of them assure us, that the Cholera gathers half its virulence from the poisonous effects of alcohol " I have no doubt,''* says an eminent physician, " that one half of the men, who die of fevers every year, might recover, had it not been for the use of spirituous liquor. No one but a physician knows, how powerfully all inflammatory diseases are increased even by what is called temperate drinking; or how fatally the best remedies in the world are counteracted by the same cause. I have seen men who were never intoxicated, prostrated twenty days with a fever, who, but for the use of ardent spirits, probably would not have been confined to the house for a day." Dr. Hosack has remarked that one in ten of the Quakers lives to eighty years, while the average of human life is such that only one in forty lives to that age. This he traces to their total abstinence from the use of dis- tilled liquors. Thus it is manifest, that the use of ardent spirits takes an average of fourteen years from every human life. A physician in this State, from his own observation and accurate calculation, ascertained the difference between the life of the sober and the drunken to be about thirty years. Can it then be over- rating, when the number destroyed by alcohol in the United States is computed to be 50,000 annually ? And can any vender of ardent spirits plead before an intel- ligent community, or at the bar of God — £ I am not selling poison V But he continues his apologies.
3. ' You surely cannot call it murder, when a man may drink this poison for fifty years and not die.-
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 267
This plea we have anticipated, by showing that the length of time between the act which caused death, and the death itself, does not alter its criminality, provided medical men will testify that the act caused the death. And although it may screen you at an earthly tribunal, it surely cannot at that bar where infinite justice pre- sides. If some men do drink and live fifty years, others lose thirty years of life. These United States lose yearly from thirty thousand to fifty thousand lives by you and your colleagues in the work of death. Who is respon- sible for these, if you are not ? He replies again :
4. < I have no unkind or malicious feelings towards any of my customers!! There is in history a famous case parallel to this. When Jesus of Nazareth stood before Pilate, the Roman governor reverenced him ; he was convinced of his innocence ; he indulged none but the kindest feelings towards him. And when at last he signed the death warrant, he took water, before the peo- ple, and washed his hands. Did he wash from his soul the stain of murder ? I apprehend that we shall give a unanimous verdict in that case. There is another : — Judas Iscariot seems never to have entertained any malice prepense towards his Master. And when he saw the unanticipated result of his treachery, he was so astounded and overwhelmed with a sense of guilt, that life was intolerable. Another case : —The highwayman who stopped Rowland Hill in his carriage, had no ma- lice, as is evident from the sequel ; and was even a tender hearted man, driven by the wants of his family to this desperate course. Suppose he had murdered Mr. Hill ; would he have been guilty ? If so ; then let us draw a parallel. The vender of alcohol has no un- kind feelings towards the victims, who die beneath the
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scorching fires of the still. Neither had Pilate, nor Judas, nor the highwayman in the cases alluded to. The vender only wants to obtain money. So did Ju- das and the highw ay man. Pilate only wanted to save his credit. The vender would even be rejoiced to ob- tain his ends without the fatal results. For venders are men, possessed of conscience and sensibility. They can feel distressed at another's woe. And their busi- ness is to them a source of much distress, whenever they do trace it to its results. It would, this hour, lighten up the corroding burden from ten thousand dis- tressed minds in this country ; it would create a jubilee, if it could be ascertained and proclaimed abroad, that all which has been said about alcohol is false, and should be contradicted by the same intelligent, upright, competent, influential men, who have expressed their views on this subject. So would Pilate have rejoiced to have saved his honor and his victim. So would Herod Antipas have delighted to save John the Baptist, and at the same time his credit with those who sat about him. Judas and the highwayman wanted only money, not the destruction of life. See, then, your common criminality, and the righteous principle on which you will together be condemned, — the principle, which we have found in our statutes, and which will be found in the statute books of Heaven. You, and Herod, and Pilate, and Judas, and the highwayman, cause death simply by caring more for your own honor or paltry gain, than for the life of a fellow being. Murder ', oc- casioned by recklessness of human life, will be your crime, no matter what your feelings may be.
Let us hear him again :
5. < If I do not sell, others will.1 Carry that plea
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before the bar of your fellow mortal. Tell him that there are a great many murderers ; and if you did not commit murder, some one else would. Oh ! shame on the degeneracy of man ! — degeneracy of heart and stu- pidity of understanding, that he can for one moment ease a laboring conscience with so shallow a plea.
6. ' If respectable men leave it, bad men ivill take it up? Then the ministers of the gospel Ir d better become managers of our theatres and keepe is of gambling houses. Our governor had better take all the murder- ing and highway robbing into his own hands, to have it done respectably, and to keep worse men from it. How much consolation it must administer to that wretched wife, who sits shivering at midnight over the dying embers, to think that her husband is drinking at the store of a pious deacon, who has prayed over his barrels and bottles and measures ! How it mitigates the horror and the guilt of his awful death, to reflect that it was done by a respectable man ; and that he had a license from the civil authorities to do it ! Oh ! mock not the bleeding heart with such an apology. Oh ! venture not to the judgment seat with such a plea ! To this it has been replied, since the first delivery of this discourse. < The law does not forbid the sale of ardent spirits, while it does forbid murder.1 This is an evasion, not an answer. We have not asserted that human laws made this traffic murder, but that it is in- trinsically so, and will be so construed by the law of God, and that your plea, — that you wanted it done re- spectably,— will appear infinitely foolish at the bar of God.
Now, there is one plea which will be valid, if you can sustain it. It is, — that you were necessarily ignorant
270 SERMON X .
of the nature and tendency of alcohol when used as an ordinary drink. You must not only be ignorant, but necessarily so. If mere ignorance were a sufficient excuse, then men have only to remain ignorant of what is right and what is wrong ; and every thing they do is innocent, however destructive of the interests and hap- piness of others. This excuse has been long ago swept away by every criminal court. And it is only when ignorance is un ivoidable, that a person may do a wrong action without guilt. Let it then be understood, that whatever may have been the case in former days, the venders of alcohol can no longer plead necessary ignor- ance. For they may know the true nature and neces- sary effects of alcohol on the human system.
It was often said, — l Why, very good men drank and sold ardent spirits ; were they all suicides and mur- derers?1 This is a fair question, and should be fairly answered. The morality, or immorality, of any action is always the same in itself considered. Right and wrong: are eternal and immutable distinctions. The moment in which two intelligent beings exist, there also exist natural relations between therm And out of these spring, naturally and necessarily, duties and obligations; and whenever to the natural are added artificial rela- tions, out of these spring new duties and obligations. Every action they then perform is either right or wrong, conformed or not conformed to a natural, eternal, un- changeable standard. This standard is not the result even of the Divine will, nor an object on which even Omnipotence can exert itself. Much less do right and wrong depend on the fickle opinions of men, on human legislation, public sentiments, or the customs of society. The very holiness of God is conformity to this standard ;
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it is not, first making a thing- right, and then being eon- formed. But God is holy in loving and choosing what is right. Every custom is then eternally right or wrong. That is — it was always wrong for men to be shortening their lives by drinking a poison ; just as wrong as it is now. It was always as wrong to capture the natives of Africa and sell them in a foreign country as it is now. It is no more really piracy, now that civilized nations have thus denominated it, than it was then. But the degree of personal guilt does depend on the degree of light which an individual, who sincerely de- sires to know what is right and what is wrong may obtain. If the nature and essential effects of alcohol could not be known by our fathers, as they are known by us, then they were not so guilty. No one can be- lieve that it was any thing else than murder in an in- habitant of India to kill her child ; and yet no one can believe that she is as guilty, as a mother in Albany who should do the same thing. But, should we confer a favor on these heathen mothers by permitting them to remain in darkness ? or is it philanthropy and duty to go and pour the light of God's eternal law upon their practices, and tell them distinctly, that it is murder? Will their civil and domestic condition be injured or improved by such a mission and such preaching? 'Why,' they reply, 'our mothers were many of them very good, and they did so. Were they guilty of mur- der ?' The only true reply is, and must be — they com- mitted murder, as they committed all the other crimes for which God condemns them. But the degree of their guilt depended on the knowledge they could have that it was wrong.
To return, then, from our digression, I repeat ; — to
272 SERMON X .
sell alcohol as a drink, is now murder in the sight of God, without any mitigation ; and that, for two reasons : because alcohol kills, and because this may be known to be its natural effect. If any are ignorant, their ig- norance is voluntary. They love the darkness more than the light, and they will not come to the light lest their deeds be reproved. Nor would I make so tre- mendous a charge against the traffickers without proof. You will not require me to give an extended proof, that alcohol is a poison and an enemy of human life. I speak of that substance which Segalas, an eminent French physiologist introduced into the vein of a dog, and he instantly dropped down dead. I speak of that substance, of which, if the speaker should drink that tumbler full, he would probably in ten minutes gasp in the agonies of death. You know the substance : it is poison — sheer, unnutritive, fiery poison. This is the first fact on which this awful charge is founded. The second is — that the distiller, the wholesale merchant, the grocer, the tavern-keeper, may know its nature and effect. If that is true, O my fellow-citizens ! tremble. For, He cometh, He cometh to the judgment. And when inquisition is made for blood, if you cannot fly behind this last refuge of involuntary ignorance, your case is hopeless. Let us, then, see how the matter stands. Every drinker and vender of alcohol in this city may know that it kills — from two sources : —
1. From physicians, who declares that this is its natural and necessary effect, as truly as it is of fire to consume ; that it is no more adapted to do man good than henbane is. Now, suppose the man who dropped down and died just after leaving a grocery, had been last at yours. A coroner's jury pronounce it death
INTOXICATING LiaUORS. 273
caused by intoxication. You are arraigned for mur- der ; one of those physicians who has already pro- nounced alcohol a poison, is subpoenaed as a witness. He is ordered to examine the corpse. He comes into court and says, — < The death was manifestly caused by the alcohol that he had just drunk.' The court then ask ; < Is alcohol a poison ?' l It has always been so ranked by medical chemists. I have analyzed it, and I pronounce it a poison.' Other witnesses are called in to show that you administered that poison. I ask then, on what principle will an honest jury hesi- tate and refuse to pronounce you guilty ; when the court shall have instructed them that you might have known the nature of the article and its natural effects, from the immense number and variety of the publi- cations, sermons and addresses which repeat the testi- mony of the physician ? From this city alone millions are issued every year. This is precisely one of that class of cases in which the testimony of the physician turns the scale in the decisions of the jury, even where life and death are at issue. But these very men now tell you, that you are dealing out poison. Will God then hold you guiltless, even if man approve your course ?
But there is still another source of knowledge, which leaves you yet more inexcusable : — it is, your own ob- servation, confirmed by that of men of every class. Not as in the former case, the tracing internally its fiery track over one tissue of the body after another, and from one channel of life to another; but its visible, external effects ; effects so manifest, any child eight years old can trace them to their cause; effects to which you can get testimony until no house could hold
274 SERMON X .
the statements which might be written. Ask your little child, as he sees your neighbor, a stout, strong man, reeling out of your store, l What ails that man V 1 Why, father ! he is drunk ; you gave him something from that decanter, and that makes him stagger so.' Never were cause and effect more manifestly connected. Its first visible influence is on the muscles. And if the man were a giant, this serpent would coil around him, and wrap his iron sinews in its fiery embrace until, from very infantile weakness, his head would be too heavy for the muscles of the neck, the hands too weighty for the muscles of the arm, the body too heavy for the knees ; and then they bend, and reel and stag- ger, until he presses to the earth, just as closely as a log.
This is but the beginning of the work of death. I hope I shall not exaggerate in any thing. In a case where the truth is so awful, it would be both foolish and sinful to state any thing but facts to produce the deepest impression.
The next thing which you cannot fail to observe is, that the brain is strongly and injuriously affected. The brain is the most delicate and mysterious part of the human body : its state may generally be known by the state of the mind. Look then at the attack you have made on this vital organ. If your customer be De- mosthenes, whose eloquence, one hour before, has made a continent tremble ; look at him now as your poison begins to seize the brain. See his drivelling; mark his eye. — Its lightning-flash is gone. Hear his speech ; blasphemous, obscene, idiotic ! Oh ! where is his mind ? Ask not — the poison of Arabia is maddening his brain. But I cannot, now, follow the history of
INTOXICATING LIQ.UORS. 275
those signals, which nature, tortured, scorched and mad- dened in every vital organ, successively holds out. The eye, the color of the face, its muscles, the nose, the tremb- ling hand, plead eloquently, that you would stop your victorious attack on every citadel of life. The loss of ap- petite,—indigestion, — soon proclaims that another vital organ, — the liver, — is yielding to the universal con- queror whom you have sent to wage this unrelenting warfare.
Our city and New- York taught us some impressive lessons on this subject, during the prevalence of the cholera. One in sixty of our alcohol-drinking popu- lation died ; while only one in twenty- five hundred of the members of our temperance-societies died by it. In New- York, it is said, that of the six hundred taken to Park Hospital, scarcely any died who had drank no ardent spirits for two years. It was remarked by an intelligent observer, that if it had not been for the sale and use of ardent spirits, there would not have been cholera enough to suspend business for a single day.
Did you ever see a case of delirium tremens ? — Did you not think then that alcohol was a poison ? Did you hear the scream, the maniac-scream? — did you see the poor wretch trying to drive away the devils with which his distracted fancy was filling the air ? — did you see him try to wipe off the filthy snakes which he saw crawling all over his body ? Did you not think then that alcohol was a poison? In the year 1833, Mr. Hogan tells us, that in our jail alone, from the rum sold in this city, there were at least one hundred cases of delirium tremens. The only death there in the year, was that of a woman by this horrid disease.
It has been observed by our judges, police magis-
276 SERMON X.
trates and jailers, that scarcely a case of murder occurs in this country, but under the influence of alcohol. You probably read the account of that father, who after spending the evening in a scene of groveling dis- sipation and frantic not, was transformed into an in- furiated demon ; went home ; found his wife and chil- dren in bed ; took the axe and knocked them all in the head, like so many brutes; then cut his own throat, and madly hurried to tell his Judge, that for a paltry pittance, his neighbor gave him the bowl of madness, that turned his brain, and he rushed to murder, to death, to hell. Do I exaggerate ? God forbid. Only go to the files of newspapers in our city for ten years, and. if you cannot learn that alcohol is a poison, then you must either plead idiocy, or stand convicted of voluntary ignorance.
Where would you find alcohol if he were a real per- son ? Is there a scene of rioting, profaneness, debauch- ery— is there a place of sinful amusement, a place where the mind is exhibited in its utmost depravity, in which its influence is not predominant? Is there a hovel of wretchedness and want, in which you may not point to the badges of misery ; and say, ' These are the natural fruits of this tree V It poisons the mind as well as the body. The horrid murders recently committed on the Baltimore rail-road can be traced en- tirely to the influence of the whiskey drank by the la- borers in immense quantities. After the laborers there became accustomed to the frequent use of it from the hands of the contractors, they became indolent, and at pay-day were cut down in their wages. They vowed revenge, and such a scene of turbulence and blood as was enacted on the Baltimore and Washington rail-
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 277
road, has been seldom seen in this country. The ter- rified inhabitants were seen flying from their houses in utter dismay. And it seems as if God permitted this occurrence in order to punish those contractors, and to lift the light so high and glaring on this point, that none could any longer sin ignorantly.
Alcohol is poison. No fact in human science is established by evidence of a more certain kind, and of greater variety, than this — that alcohol is a poison. Its general properties and its hidden effects on the body are attested by hundreds of scientific men. Its external, obvious effects, are attested by the senses of millions. These effects are not rare and occasional, but regular and necessary. The drunkard's woes and premature death are entirely unnatural, and the direct and legiti- mate result of drinking a poison. Where is, then, the ground of an apology to any one in this country who has eyes or ears — that he was ignorant of the nature and effects of ardent spirits ? We see none. Let us then repeat the doctrine of our discourse : — ■
To use alcohol as an ordinary drink, is suicide. To make, give, or sell it to be so used, is murder, by Heaven's law, even if that law be interpreted by the principles adopted in human legislation.
But the crime of the spirit- vender has yet another aggravation. It not only is murder, but is, in all its bearings, the most cruel form of murder ever yet de- vised by Satanic cunning and malice. It is different from any form of murder which highwaymen or pirates ever adopt. Contrast a death by alcohol with one caused by a pistol-shot.
Mark —
1. The protracted bodily suffering. You boast that 34
278 SERMON X .
your customers live a great while. Yes, but how do they live ? Hours, months, years in protracted disease that first preys on one delicate fibre, and then on another. Who hath woes ? The drinker of your slow poison.
A pistol-shot drives through the heart, and one or two convulsive struggles finish the sufferings of earth.
2. There are protracted shame, fear, convictions, and struggles. You say, — ' My customers are free agents. I do not force them to drink.' Yes, they are free, and that makes your species of murder so cruel. Give it to a swine, and he is not called to render ac- count for the sin of drunkenness, or any crimes result- ing from it. But you give it to a man ; a free account- able being. His relations to God and to society are various and complicated. He is a subject of God's moral government, an object of redeeming mercy's tenderest regard. He is a son, brother, citizen, friend, father. Every glass, that you hand out, vibrates along the most delicate chord, jars in harsh discord amid some of the sweetest music of life, disturbs its most im- portant harmonies, and runs in its influence farther, in extent and duration, than you have yet conceived. If a robber had pierced a man through with a sword, he might be for weeks writhing in bodily pain ; but his mind would not be agonized with shame. He is wil- ling that his friends should come and see him. The victims of your cruelty, all the way down through the long, slow process of death, lose the cheerful openness of virtue. They burn with shame as with an inward fire. The society of the good used to make them happy ; but now it renders them wretched. The gradual loss of character comes, in the detail, like the
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daily sting of a scorpion. Where the smile of appro- bation and the salutation of respect were once re- ceived, the cold indifference of neglect, or the more rough-edged sneer of contempt, cuts across every sen- sibility of the man whom you are so slowly mur- dering.
I have spoken of the drunkard's fears. They are peculiar to himself, the peculiar product of your slow poison. I know his first launch is into the outer circle of the maelstrom. The day smiles sweetly, the waters play harmlessly around his little bark. It is easy to float. It requires no oar, no helm. There is motion without effort or care. The circle sweeps with so large a diameter, it seems like a straight line. But ah ! the delusion ! It is the curve of death. Each successive sweep is swifter and in a diminished circle. But at first it lulls to a sweet feeling of security. This gen- erally continues, until it is too late to put back the frail bark ; and, as it drives over the first inward declivities on the edge of the awful tunnel, then begin to break upon the ear a terrific roar of the mighty waters rush- ing through their subterranean outlet. Can you tell, dealer in poison ! — can you tell what images of terror, what unearthly sounds of horror are racking the soul of your customer while you are quietly resting on your pillow? Remember, that it is the angelic nature of man rushing to ruin. Oh ! these are, — these must be terrors, that baffle description. Remember, that, as he looks down the yawning abyss, and hears without the roaring of a thousand thunders, within he is goaded • with the last appeals of a guilt-oppressd conscience. It will not suffer the suicidal plunge until it has once more asserted the rights of God, and told the terrors of
280 SERMON X.
a coming judgment. Remember, that thirty thousand every year are swallowed in this vortex. See how thickly they cover the dark waters. See the security and hilarity of the nearest circle. Hear the blas- phemies and babblings that rise above the roar of waves. But, Oh ! look on the inner circles. See the sons of promise there. See how richly some of their barks are freighted with the happiness of others. Mark how they are now starting from their dreams. Listen to the cry of despair ; mark the fitful, convulsive, un- availing struggles as they try to press from destruction. O the struggles, the deadly struggles of a man, who feels himself really becoming a drunkard, and that in view of all it involves ! Venders and makers of alco- hol ! you murder slowly. So do the North American savages. They do not aim to secure death alone. They lengthen life, where instant death would be mercy. They put off the day and hour of actual death, to fill up the interval with torments. You do the same, not intentionally, but as actually and as fatally to the wretched victims as if it were so.
And again, —
3. It sends men to a certain and eternal hell. If infidelity says, 'That is harsh and presumptuous/ 1 place my feet on the pedestal of truth, the word of God, " No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God." Al- cohol, I say from the Bible, fits men for hell, slowly^ but surely, and then leaves it not to any other agent, but carries them to the verge of the precipice, and, to crown all its career of cruelty and murder, plunges them into a burning eternal damnation. I mean, — the alcohol- vender does. And between this fact and sheer infidelity, there is no middle ground of belief. You
INTOXICATI N"G - LIQUORS. 281
may close your eyes and ears against it ; but it is true as the word of God.
But this species of murder has yet a wider reach of cruelty. Other kinds may distress a large circle of re- spectable friends. Bat they strike one painful blow, and leave the soothing hand of time to heal the wound. This lashes and pierces with scorpion-sting, for months and years, and adds continually another and a keener point, to keep innocent hearts bleeding. I allude to the painful and protracted anxiety of friends, when the doubtful point begins to be agitated — ' is he becoming a drunkard V None, but they who feel it, can tell how that agitation turns every sweet fountain of earthly en- joyment into wormwood and gall. I allude to the anxiety, which is started again in their minds, when one experiment after another is ingeniously made to keep the self-destroyer from the place of murder, and from the allurements of the alcohol-vender. For it is upon your place of traffic that they now look with as much horror, as you would upon the spot where the wife of your bosom was murdered. Decorate them as you please. These are the associations with which the place of your daily business is connected in the minds of those who love your customers. I might charge you still farther in summing up before a jury entertaining the common sentiments of justice and humanity. The disgrace of numerous friends, the wretchedness of un- pitied, unrelieved poverty, the destruction of kindly feelings, — all mark the success of your business. Un- der your influence, the father loses the character of counsellor, supporter, companion, patriarch, priest, and becomes the tormentor, the burden, the curse of those he has sworn to love and bless. He exerts but one
24*
282 SERMON X.
kind of influence steadily on his children ; and that is, to train them to sin and misery.
But I stop. The detail need be carried no farther. If the traffic in alcohol is murder, and that of the most cruel kind : we may and ought to inquire, Who will be found to partake of its guilt, remotely or directly ?
WHO IS GUILTY?
If the Temperance societies should at once perfectly accomplish the objects of their efforts, there would be saved to this nation, millions of dollars annually; thirty thousand lives would be saved and added to the strength and the happiness of this nation ; and wretchedness whose amount cannot be measured, would be prevented. If they entirely fail during this year, then the river of burning lava will roll on its hery course. On its scorch- ing bosom will still be seen, writhing in protracted ago- nies, three hundred thousand human beings made for holiness and happiness. Thirty or forty thousand will plunge into endless miseiy this year; and a larger number in the next. And as these murdered souls rise to the bar of God, he will make inquisition for blood. On whose hands will it be found? Remember the principle of criminal law taken from the law of God. If an ox was known to be dangerous, and by being turned loose, destroyed life, the owner, so exposing the life of others, was made to answer for it with his own. Let us go then to the fountain-head. Whence flows the river of death ? Does it come, like the beautiful Hudson, from fountains which God has made ? No ; the little rivulets which swell its tide, are made by man. God never made a distillery. And he never made al- cohol, but in the process of vegetable destruction. It is the product of the process of fermentation. It is found
INTOXICATING LIQ.UORS. 283
naturally in the vessels of no living, healthful plant or animal. And when artificially introduced there, it proves its origin. Begotten by the process of death, it tends directly and powerfully to death. Why do not the owners of distilleries close them ? Because the love of money is stronger in them than shame, humanity, or conscience. Yea, they will grasp it, though they know it to be the price of tears and blood, though it be wrung from the hard earnings of the poor, and is the last de- pendence of a famishing family ; provided it comes to them through second hands, and they see not the misery they cause. Let us go along this river of death, and see the various agencies which have a guilty connec- tion with it.
1. The Distiller, Importer, and Vender. They keep this fountain full, and open the channels through which it may flow. Every maker and vender must admit that drunkenness is a horrible evil. But how much drunk- enness is there throughout these states ? A gentleman in this state, has caused a thorough investigation to be made lately in three counties in a section of this state, which ranks high for morality. With a population of about 49.000, there are upwards of 21,000 who drink, - moderately," and about 1900 drunkards ; i. e. nearly one half are tipplers, or occasional drinkers, and one in 26 is a drunkard. Apply that proportion to the whole Union, and we have 500,000 drunkards. Is this vice horrible in one man — what is it when accumulated and multiplied in half a million ? And who perpetrates this guilt and wretchedness ? Could it exist if you would all abandon your business, and other men have too much humanity and conscience to enter it ?
But the maker replies : ' I do not force any one to drink ;
284 SERMON X .
I make it, and if men choose to kill themselves with it, I am no more responsible, than if I manufactured cor- rosive sublimate, and men chose to drink it.' Here I believe is, at last, the most satisfactory reasoning to the manufacturer's mind. But it is only one of the speci- mens of sophistry by which men quiet a disturbed con- science, without doing themselves the justice to reflect upon it soberly, as in the sight of their final Judge. They make alcohol as a beverage; they make it, knowing that it will be drank, and knowing that the appetite for it is the life of their business. They make it to be drank, just as truly as ever men make pistols for the destruction of life, or counterfeit money for cir- culation. If they make it for the arts ; why not make it in the form of pure alcohol, in which it is needed in the arts ; why color it for the eye and drug it for the taste ? The plea is insincere. If there be in the manu- facturer's heart a prayer, which never was framed into words, it is, — l Let men get an increasing appetite for ardent spirits ; this I desire just as earnestly as I desire the comfort and respectability of myself and family.' And he doubtless often feels secure, because he sells to venders and not to drinkers. Just as secure is he from the piercing eye of Justice, and from her dreadful sen- tence, as is the maker of counterfeit money. He never cheats any person. He sells to men who know the nature of the article. If they choose to injure the com- munity, he, poor innocent man, cannot help it. He is merely making an honest livelihood by selling printed paper, which is one of God's good creatures. This apology has often satisfied the wholesale vender. But the difference is, — that you deal out death by the hogs- head, your neighbor by the gill. Your beams are laid
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 285
in blood three stories high, his but one. The apology of the retailer we have sufficiently examined. We see, then, a flood of burning lava rolling down over a lovely country, laying every thing waste before it. The dis- tillery is the volcano, tended by the respectable distiller. The wholesale vender digs the larger channels, and the retailer carries it home over the lovely little garden spots where bloomed the sweetest plants of domestic happi- ness, and into the sanctuary of the living God, and around the very altars devoted to holiness. Yea, they have carried it up into the sacred desk ; and even there, the mighty have fallen. Who furnished it to the man, who, in this ward, last year, knocked another in the head and killed him? Who furnished it to the Captain of the Rothsay Castle, when he madly drove his steam- boat on the shoals, and destroyed two hundred precious lives ? < Oh !' exclaimed a man, who had made much money in the traffic, as he looked around from his store upon the once thrifty farmers, who had been brought to ruin by trading with him, — l Oh !' it is a horrible bu- siness.' I stand and look at a distillery ; at the hogs- head rolling into a wholesale store ; at the barrel, the jug, taken in by the retailer. I ask the physician ; — ' What is the nature of that substance, and its effects if men drink it V I ask the police magistrate, the judge, the man of observation, the wife. One clear loud voice answers ; ' Poison — poison — the deadliest, crudest poi- son.' It kills both body and soul, and creates all around it an atmosphere of death. Look at that decorated bar- room. Its gilding is the mask of the assassin. Look at that smiling bar-tender. Can he be so ignorant as not to know what a train of evils he is setting in motion? Has he not read, nor observed ? He has laughed at the
286 SERMON X.
temperance society. Has he prepared to answer his final Judge?
Do I address a manufacturer, or vender, to-night? Have I invaded your rights 1 Oh ! no, you are the invader. And this is but a feeble attempt to throw a wall of defence around the rights and happiness of com- munity. Do I appear to you harsh ? No. It cannot be ; for it is not in my heart. Believing fully the doctrine of this discourse, I must feel moral disappro- bation. But with it I feel anxiety and distress in pros- pect of your final account and retribution. Facts are stubborn things. And I am stating but a few of an innumerable class, and those, in a manner too feeble fully to exhibit the wrong that you are doing, and the miseries that you are inflicting. The poor unfortunate wretch, who bought your spirits, and committed murder under their influence, lies in prison, waiting the day of execution. But you are upheld and shielded by the law to make more murderers. O that day — that dreadful day, when even-handed justice will apportion different- ly from the awardings of imperfect man ! There re- main for you but two alternatives. Go on and meet your Judge. We will use no other force against you than persuasion. Resist that ; die a rum-vender, and meet your customers at the bar of God. Or, repent and renounce your sin ; make all the reparation to God and man in your power, and apply to the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness.
Another class share in this guilt.
2. Those who license the traffic. It is, surely, but a plain inference of common sense, that licensing this traffic in the present state of things, is licensing all the crime which results from it. In other words, our mu-
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 287
nicipal officers and commissioners of excise license men to commit murder by poison ; to dishonor God and de- stroy man. What is the effect on the vender o£ every license you dispense ? It shields his conscience from the perception of his guilt. It stands in the way of that holy, searching, murder-forbidding law of God, which would drive him to despair or repentance. Rum- venders want generally no better shield against the law of God, than the license which they have received from a civil officer, and for which they have paid. It pre- vents public sentiment, however powerful, from reaching them. Why, they say, < These are fanatics, that would interfere with our lawful business.' Yes, you make it lawful for them to continue and multiply the murder- ous traffic. The license stands right in the way of one of the noblest reformations of the age ; one which, most deeply of all, involves the best interests of our country. Would you believe that you were doing right , even if appointed for that purpose by the governor, to license piracy, counterfeiting, or murder by arsenic ? If not, where is the moral right of licensing murder by alco- hol ? " Thou shalt not kill," neither as principal, nor as accessory. You say, — < I am appointed to execute the law.' You ought not to accept an office which requires you to do a moral wrong. But the law does not require you to license a single individual. The law restrains you from doing it, unless you have evi- dence that the public good demands it in every indi- vidual case. If the licensing officer is under oath, and if he is required to obtain under oath, the declaration that the public good demands every rum-selling estab- lishment which is licensed, then I fearlessly assert that there is not only murder, but what God will consider
288 SERMON X .
perjury somewhere ; when, in a city like Albany, in every twelfth house rum is sold for the public good. Is the multitude of rookeries in our city, which contain a jug, bottle, and glass, where nothing but rum is sold, really licensed by men who have sworn only to consult the public accommodation in such licenses? Did I believe that our licensing officers were ignorant, I would appeal on a different ground. But they are not. They are men of sense and observation. And I am unable to account for their conduct in this matter, but by sup- posing that they dare not offend the many who are interested in the traffic. And if this be really so, I exhort them as honest men to resign their office. I say, as honest men. The public appoint them as guardians of the public welfare. But when a strong band of mur- derers rises up and threatens vengeance, they dare not meet them. Give us commanders that dare defend us. I would no more dare to license a man to sell ardent spirits in this city, than I would dare to be an accessory in any other way, to every crime committed under its influence. Those who do it, with their present light, violate the sixth commandment.
Intimately connected with this, is the guilt of — 3. Legislators. It is not out of my province, per- haps, now to remind this respected class of our citizens, that their station gives them influence, for the uses and practical results of which, God holds them responsible. They must pass another and purer ordeal than public sentiment. We have no complaint to make of past legislation on this subject. It was manifestly designed for the public good ; and has already outrun public sentiment. On the licensing officers rests the heaviest portion of this guilt. Men of very bad character are
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 289
engaged in the traffic, contrary to law. Minors and apprentices are permitted to buy and drink without the consent of guardians, contrary to law. Bad conduct is permitted in these drinking places, notwithstanding the law has required recognisance and securities for keep- ing an orderly house. This the legislator has honestly tried to prevent. He has tried to prevent the common tippling in groceries, by requiring the vender to swear, that he keeps a tavern expressly for the accommodation of travellers. Nor should it be forgotten, that the existing laws were made in days of such darkness, that the best men did not hesitate to engage in the traffic.
But a day of light has come. It is not boasting to say it — we have light on this subject, which imposes new duties on all classes. It is chemical light, phy- siological light, moral light. By its clear shining, we are enabled to see one portion of the community prey- ing upon the wealth, and health, and life of the other. We now see the injustice of raising a revenue from a business, which makes the non- vending part of com- munity pay, in the form of street begging, poor and criminal tax, more than twice the revenue without any pecuniary profit, but with incalculable moral loss. We now see, that in the very requirement of recognisances for good conduct, lies the admission of such a natural fraternity between the traffic and bad conduct, that they must require of him, what is required of no other mer- chant, that he does not, in the pursuit of his lawful business, allow that unlawful conduct which directly results from it. We see by the light of this day, that legislation of a more decisive character is required. It
is, TO MAKE THE TRAFFIC A CRIME BY LAW.
And why cannot the traffic in certain specified forms
25
290 SERMON X.
of alcohol to be drank on the premises be made a penal offence ? Because, it is said, so many respectable men would consider it an unconstitutional abridgment of their privileges of drinking in taverns and stores, that it would be intolerably offensive to one part, and cun- ningly evaded by the other. If this reasoning be valid , a Legislature had better never use any portion of its in- fluence to put down crime. If rum-selling be a crime, (and upon the truth of that position is based all the legitimacy of my conclusions and the propriety of my appeals,) then the legislators, as the constituted moral barrier between the state and those destructive vices which lay desolate its social blessings, are bound to lay their strongest hand on this crime. And so long as they do not, they are, in the eye of pure morality, ac- cessories to the murders and other crimes involved essentially in the traffic. Where is the moral difference between such a course and the suppression of lotteries ? They were once protected by law. But by the same power you have crushed them, and they can now live only by skulking and hanging out false signs. Look at your power. Stretch out your wand over the land like Moses, and the plague will be stayed ; the foun- tains of blood dried up.
In view of these truths, let me ask, what is the duty of the Church ? Where should she be found on this subject ? Her place is in the fore-front of every moral reformation. IN either indolence nor cowardice befits her high vocation. The temperance-reformation is a holy enterprise. It was commenced under the influ- ence of the Bible, and its holy philanthropy, after the world had abandoned the hope of reform. It began in the Church. Devoted men of God gave it the first im-
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 291
pulse. They discovered the grandest principle which ever rewarded the toil of philosophers — that total absti- nence would rid the world of its direst curse, its dead- liest plague, whose ravages were yearly widening. It was begun in prayer ; and I have been surprised that Christians could doubt the propriety of praying in the public meetings connected with this subject. Cease to associate prayer with it, let it swing off to the low grounds of expediency and political economy, and the cause inevitably runs down. We owe all our success to the smiles of God. Still and perpetually let the Church seek their continuance. The Church is bound by all her vows and professions, by her covenant obli- gations, by her duty to man and to the cause of virtue, to sustain every society which seeks to reform the com- munity by proper means. There are several ways by which she may act, in her appropriate sphere, in ac- complishing this work.
1. By preaching. It is the duty of her ministers, to exhibit this subject in the light of the Bible and eternity. If it involved a mere question of political economy, affecting the national industry and wealth ; if it were a merely medical question of the healthful- ness or unhealthfulness of a certain substance, then it would not come specifically within the scope of the gospel preacher. But if the traffic in intoxicating li- quors, and their use as a beverage, are sins, and enor- mous sins ; if the souls of men are destroyed by this traffic ; if its success and extension is the overthrow of religion ; if the millennium cannot come while it flourishes ; then must the ministers of Christ sound the notes of alarm. They must give a clear and solemn exhibition of the guilt and the everlasting con-
292 SERMON X.
sequences connected with these practices. In fact, I see not how we may expect the discontinuance of a traffic in which so many are interested, unless the public mind is led to contemplate it strongly in its everlasting consequences to drinkers and venders.
I know that we often hear remarks about going too fast for public sentiment. And I would, that there were as much time as we have now occupied to discuss that point in this connection. There is a plausible, ex- tensive and mischief-working-error concerning it. Let me ask a question: — Should ministers in preaching, follow public sentiment, keep pace with it, or lead and reform it? If a minister tells the people what they knew before, he may refresh their memories ; but he cannot instruct them as a scribe who brings forth " things new and old." If he tells the people, that those things are wrong, which they knew to be wrong before he told them ; he will not offend them indeed, nor incur the charge of fanaticism. But will he do them any good ? If public sentiment is ignorant, who is to en- lighten it ? If it is wrong, who is to rectify it ? Is it not the very business of the prophets of the Lord, the teachers of morality and religion? Must they not show the people, that many things which they received from their fathers, and which are now fashionable and much admired, are nevertheless wicked ? Or must they always wait until the people find out from some other source what is right, and what wrong ? So did not Enoch, nor Lot, nor Jeremiah, nor John, nor our Re- deemer. Public sentiment was altogether wrong on many important points in morals ; yes, and it was de- fended on those very points by reference to the Bible, but our Savior plainly instructed and solemnly rebuked
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 293
them. To be sure, it did not much increase his popu- larity. Nor could it, in the nature of the case. To oppose what is popular, must be unpopular. But his satisfaction was found in purifying the moral atmos- phere, and in saving millions then unborn from error, sin, and eternal ruin. If these principles be correct, we shall benefit you and the cause of temperance but little, if our discourses, snail-paced and cowardly, creep up only as high as public sentiment has reached. It is our duty to gaze into eternity, and borrow the light of that day, when the pleadings of custom and appetite and interest will not be heard ; but truth — clear, simple, eternal truth — will try every man's work and character, and fix his destiny. And if any reproaches must come on any class of men for advocating truth, let the leaders receive the first charge.
The Church must sustain it by —
2. Her practice. Theory, however correct, will not move the world, if those who advocate it contradict it by their practice. If the traffic is murder, how can church members continue to buy and sell it ? I only ask the conscience of the Church, and the common sense of the world. If the Church is the light of the world, what kind of light does that member hold out who sells alcohol ? The light of an ignis fata us, that shines to decoy and destroy. The point is settled, that so long as religion is respected, the world will not rise above the Church in morals. One professor of religion, who is consistent in other respects, by continuing to vend this poison, may quiet the conscience and harden the heart of fifty others in a city like this, and be an effectual shield to guard them from the truth. " Nei- 25*
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ther be partaker of other men's sins." The Church is bound —
3. To purify herself. Is it a murderous traffic ; or is it immoral even on any other ground ? then how can any Christian church admit to its bosom and welcome as a faithful, obedient disciple of Jesus Christ, one who continues in it ? As a pastor, I could not welcome such a person to our communion and Christian fellowship. This has been viewed as very high and untenable ground. I cannot see, one inch below it, a footing for consistency ; I shall be thankful, if it be there, to find it. If there be a vender in the bosom of your church, labor with him in love, pray for him, weep over him ; but O ! leave him not until he has abandoned the cruel, guilty traffic. If he does not, see where he will stand in the judgment day. Jesus Christ will arraign a poor trembling culprit, and say to him, « I was sick and in prison and hungry ; and your crime is, that you neither visited nor fed me." Lord, when ? he inquires. " In that poor creature, and that. Depart therefore accursed, into everlasting fire." Then he will turn to this ven- der, and say, " Come, blessed of my Father ; for I was sick and you visited, hungry and you fed me." When? he inquires. Jesus points to the same as before. What will the condemned wretch think of justice, when he recognises in those very beings those whom this church member had made drunkards ; whose drunkenness caused their sickness, imprisonment, and hunger? The crime of one was, he had not attended to them after they were sick and hungry. But the virtue of the other was, that he not only had not regarded their wretchedness after it existed, but was the grand volun-
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 295
tary, selfish author of it all, in the midst of light and rebukes ! Oh ! tell it not in Gath, that such are the hopes of Christians !
' Vender of alcohol — go home, and write upon every vessel containing this substance, " Thou shalt not kill." And may the finger of God write on your heart — " No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
SERMON XI.
VALEDICTORY SERMON.
" I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth?— Z John 4.
John was a venerable Christian Pastor ; and when we use his language as expressive of our feelings, we do it with an humbling consciousness of un worthiness. Yet I think that I can adopt this language with much sincerity, concerning a church, over which I have watched, and wept, and prayed. The end of a pastor's labors and desires is, to lead his flock to walk in the truth. Desiring to condense my ministry, as it were, into one closing discourse, I adopt this sentence, with the hope that it will be brought afresh to your memo- ry, whenever you think of me, — " 7" have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth?
TO WALK IN TRUTH.
It is a beautiful idea. Pilate once asked, " What is truth ?" Had he waited for an answer, he might have heard it sublimely said, " I am Truth !" Oh ! had he, for a moment, laid aside the judge and become the child, his dark and wandering soul might have seen the dawning of a new and eternal day. What is truth?
298 SERMON XI.
Things as they are, things as God apprehends them, facts, eternal realities. — Where is truth ? It used to be written all over the heavens. The earth was a rich volume, inscribed with truth on its ever varying pages. The heart of man was instinct with truth. But the heavens are now covered with sackcloth. The eye of love no longer reads the mystic characters written on every wonderful and beautiful object. The heart of man is perverted. He has come to hate the light and the truth. His philosophy, which can do nothing more than classify known facts, and conjecture unknown ex- istence, can never teach him. God must teach him in plain, unequivocal language. God must teach him authoritatively ; because the truth is often unwelcome. God must identify his instructions with signs and won- ders. Once this was not necessary. Then the heart of man was true to the voice of God. It then needed no stupendous miracle to say to man — this is your Father and your God : hear him. But now the mes- sage must come from him, accompanied by strong and indisputable credentials. Where is truth ? In Jesus ; — " I am the way, and the truth, and the life." It is in Jesus and his word. " Art thou a king then ?" asked Pilate. " To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth? " No man hath seen God," said this great witness, " at any time ;" no philosopher, no son of science, no student of the stars, no deep observer of man. These have boasted of light, but they have groped in darkness. They have not seen God. His character, and his government, and his purposes, they have not discovered. O ! my children ! if I were leaving you to the cold instructions of philosophy and science, my
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heart would sink within me. I should not expect to meet you forgiven, sanctified, glorified, in the land of spirits. But ye have heard the voice of the only be- gotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. And his word is quick and powerful. You have heard it in your grave of sin ; it has quickened you into life spirit- ual, and will raise you by a second resurrection, to life eternal.
Let me explain the text. John was the honored in- strument of converting many from the error of their ways. He thus became their spiritual instructor. In this relation, he uses the language of these epistles, and calls them, children ; some of them, perhaps, his seniors in age. There were two classes of error to which he saw them exposed ; — the errors of religion and those of irreligion ; the one consisting in the perversions of the Scriptures, and the other in an utter disregard of them as untrue or unimportant. The world has its errors, and the Church has hers. The holy and benevolent anxiety of this patriarch was, that his children should shun them both, and walk in the truth ; that their minds should be enlightened, their hearts animated, and their steps directed by the truth. In his absence, in his ban- ishment, nothing could cheer his heart but to hear this concerning them. They must walk in truth.
Is the Bible unkindly severe? is it unjust, and does it aim to make us unsocial, when it says. " The whole world lieth in wickedness ;" — " the friendship of the world is enmity with God ?" — meaning by the world, the uncontroverted. Is it unkind and unjust when it cautions Christians against their influence, because they are deceived and deluded ? " The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not." But
300 SERMON XI.
have not Christians escaped beyond the circle of that influence ? Not so long as they are social beings, with an imperfect character, surrounded by unbelieving friends. The world is in error, deep, practical, de- structive error. With some it is an error of theory. With all it is an error of the heart. It is painful to see
them walking in the deceitf'ulness of their own imagin- es o
ings, to be amused, to be cheered and flattered, until they awake amid the disappointments of another world. The Church must see that the world is in darkness and error, and must show them their path. And it is the more needful to caution you on this point, because the most dangerous errors of worldly men are not put in the form of distinct propositions ; but they come in- sidiously and powerfully instilled into your very heart, through every channel of social feeling. — The errors of the world come commended and palliated by the fascinations of wealth, rank, talent, refinement, station and friendship. You do not hear them proclaim, there is no God, no heaven, no hell ; but it is proclaimed in every plan, every sentence, every tone, every step. I wish to be understood : there is a powerful and insidi- ous influence from the world, which will induce you to walk by sight, and not by faith, unless greatly watch- ful. I will mention some of their errors.
I. They are in fatal error on the subject of Happi- ness.
No reference is here made to their theories ; but I speak of those practical views which control their hearts and conduct. This point admits of illustration.
1. They seek the transient gratifications of a day, because they esteem them more important than their everlasting welfare in an immortal state. Show me
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two men who act as if they had immortal souls one hour after they have left the worship of God ; and I will show you ten who act as if man's interest were concentrated here. They do not walk in truth. For it is true that we are immortal— it is true that the in- terests of time are as a feather in the scale against the vast interests of our ever-enduring son Is. It is true, that present happiness is a cheap sacrifice if its abandon- ment be connected with the blessings of eternity. Yes, the world, the intelligent world, the learned, the mighty, the high, the low, the bond and free, despise the crown, the harp, the song, the society, the joy of heaven, be- cause the pursuit of them would interfere with some fleeting, selfish duty. It is true, that the world shrink from the pain, the shame of a day ; but they rush into the shame and agony of eternal damnation. — Here is error and delusion, just as ruinous as avowed infidelity. It is sympathy with these errors, and falling in with this current, that cause the distressing backslidings in the Church. It is error which you can scarcely com- bat with reason; for none defend it. But this only makes it the more dangerous. To walk in truth, is to walk on earth in the light of heaven, to be directed through time's darkness by the beams of eternal day.
2. Another mistake about Happiness is— They know not in what it consists.
Happiness is found in the favor of God— misery in his frown. The world deny it. They seek happi- ness in the smiles of popular favor. They chase the approbation of erring man, and turn away from the smile of God. They dread the contempt, and the wrath of man. But they have no fear of God's indignation, no dread of his contempt. This is not truth, my
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fellow-men ! This is not regarding things as they are. And one hour of bliss under the smile of God before his throne, or of agony beneath his executed curse3 would give a demonstration such as words cannot furnish. There is a luxury in the tears of penitence ; there is peace and joy in believing. Sometimes it is a foretaste of heaven to be in a social circle of pray- ing friends. But the world knows nothing, practically believes nothing, of this. My sorrow will be, when I hear that my children come under this influence ; my joy will be enlarged when I hear that they walk in truth ; that they are not looking for happiness where the world seek it ; for I shall know, that, if they do, they are sowing the wind, and must reap the whirlwind. Truth, and truth alone, will endure the test of time. For a season, it may seem to the superficial observer that the world is right ; but the magic spell must be broken ; the frost-work must melt away.
3. The ivorld overrate Happiness.
There is something more important than present happiness. It is character — not reputation, but char- acter ; and there is no excellence of character but holi- ness. Believe it ; — it is more important that you be holy, than that you be happy ; or rather, since holiness ensures happiness, I would say, — it is more important that you deny yourself, in order to obtain perfect holi- ness, than that you have any degree of present happi- ness. It is not according to truth, to live in such a contracted sphere of selfish desires and grovelling motives as actuate a wordly heart. Man was made for virtue and benevolence. He is placed and preserved here to train himself for heaven, under the sweet in- fluences of the gospel and grace of Jesus Christ.
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II. Another error of the world is} — They underrate excellence.
Their admiration is carried away with superficial and even unholy traits of character in man. But the glorious excellence of God — the transcendent loveli- ness of Jesus Christ, they do not value ; and where some faint reflection of the beams of that loveliness is seen in the regenerated, they do not admire it. But here is truth. God is amiable and glorious — the vision of Jesus' charms is ravishing. Were you out of this dark, smoky, sin-blinded world, were you among the sons of light, the tall hierarchies of heaven, had you wings to soar and mount on high, you would realize it. But the world walketh in a vain show.
III. They adopt false 'principles.
I will select but one of these for illustration ; what is popular is right — what is unpopular is wrong. — It is a doctrine, which would for ever confirm the empire of the arch deceiver over mankind. It is the doctrine, by which Luther was met, and by which he was ranked an ultraist. It met Jesus Christ in his labors as a re- former. He was ahead of public sentiment. His doc- trine was unpopular, therefore it was wrong ; its pro- mulgation agitated the community and drew down the indignation of the great conductors of public senti- ment ; therefore it was wrong. This is not truth, and may the Church never walk in it.
There are errors in the Church too ; I do not mean those fundamental heresies which sap the very vital principle of religion : but I refer to errors which seri- ously retard the progress of personal piety, and enervate the arm of her power. There may yet come in among you those who will bring damnable heresies. But as
304 SERMON XI.
I do not see from what quarter the attack will arise, nor in what form the enemy will come, that must be com- mitted to the Great Shepherd.
The practical errors of the Church to which I refer, are —
1. Extravagant views of human depravity and inability.
By these, man has been turned into a machine, and his responsibility virtually denied, and his sense of obli- gation paralyzed. On this subject it may suffice now to say, that the Bible and human consciousness corres- pond. The Bible exhibits man as deeply depraved, and yet as totally inexcusable for his past and present wickedness, and fully responsible to do his duty im- mediately and for ever. To this the consciousness and the observation of mankind respond. The heart of man is depraved. There is no question of its deep depravity. But the depravity of his heart has not taken away his power to do what God now requires of him ; else the foundations of responsibility are de- stroyed, and man would only have to do wrong to make it impossible that he should be any longer under obligations to do right. In the language of the Pres- byterian Confession of Faith : " God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature, deter- mined to good or evil." And to fortify this senti- ment, their well-chosen proof-text is the address of Joshua to the Israelites — " I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing ; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." The fall perverted, but did not destroy the free agency of man ;
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 305
perverted the use of his powers in action, but did not destroy the existence of those powers which distinguish man as a subject of moral government, from animals, and which lie at the foundation of all obligation.
It is a truth, then, which you must hold, if you would vindicate the justice of Jehovah's government, that he exacts of his creatures that which they have the native powers to perform, while there is such an utter, certain, and desperate aversion of disposition and will to it, as to make the interference and con- stant agency of the Holy Spirit indispensable. Thus is the justice of God vindicated, while the pride and self-sufficiency of man are brought low, and the Church brought to feel the need of the Spirit's agency.
2. The Church entertain extravagant views of the sovereignty of God.
There is a strong inclination to refer the religious interests of man to God, in a way which would appear to them perfectly absurd, if applied to the common affairs of life. It is true in the spiritual world, that Paul may plant and Apollos water, but God must give the increase. But it is equally true in the natural world. Now the error we speak of, is — to omit the most earnest and skilful employment of means adapted to the end, in the salvation of the soul, because we depend on God for success. So did not Paul, the unwearied missionary. The error is, — to rest satisfied when the Church is cold, and sinners are going care- lessly to perdition ; and to attribute it to the sovereignty and the purposes of God. That is practical heresy, which makes the Church weak in her opposition to the prince of darkness. This error shows itself in the manner of directing sinners. They are often told, 26*
306 SERMON XI.
not to do what God requires them to do, but to do something else in order to obtain the power to do what God requires. It is supposed that the sinner has power to pray acceptably without the Spirit, to plead without faith, without repentance, with a proud, selfish, unsub- dued heart, and to plead successfully for the Holy Spirit ; but that he has no power to repent. This, my brethren ! is neither rational nor scriptural. So did not Paul, nor Peter. Point me to the place where they urged an inquiring sinner to pray in impenitence and unbelief for grace to enable him to repent ; where did they not press the mind directly to the cross, and urge the rebel child to fly with penitential sorrow to his father's feet to obtain forgiveness—
" And I consent you take it for your text, — Your only one, — till sides and benches fail."
This error has still another pernicious form. It is in making men very zealous about the Spirit's agency j but not warning them, nor rousing their hearts to the exercise of frequent and fervent prayer. Now it is true, that we are dependent on the Spirit for spiritual life. It is true, that the moral waste around us will never bud and blossom as the rose, unless the " south wind" blow upon it. But it is just as true, that the mere belief of that, neither honors nor obtains the in- fluences of the Holy Spirit. It is prayer, secret and social, fervent, faithful and frequent, that must obtain them for self and others. To say nothing of secret prayer, how often ought the Church to be assembled in her public and social character to pray for the Holy Spirit, in order to put becoming honor upon his blessed office ? Let the eight days' prayer-meeting of the apos-
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ties give us some general direction, if not definite model. Prayer, sincere, humble and fervent, honors the person and office of the Eternal Spirit.
3. The duty of the Church concerning the improve- ment of public morals.
The Church of Christ and her ministers are bound to be the leaders of public opinion in all questions of morality. I admit that Christians and ministers have the entire right of examining every proposed improve- ment in public morals, and likewise the means of affecting that improvement. That is, they are account- able to God, and not to man, for their conclusions on these points ; and it is not fair uniformly to make these opinions tests of their piety or their infidelity. But with these concessions, I would distinctly assert that the business, the duty, of the Church and her ministry is, to rectify a false and depraved public sentiment. It is the business of the ministry to take for granted, that a world lying in darkness and wickedness has a wrong standard of morality, that the popular customs and maxims of society stand in direct hostility to the law and will of God, then to point out to the world how and wherein it is thus wrong, and to urge it, by all the tremendous sanctions of God's word, to abandon sin, and seek forgiveness. So Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel and Ezekiel understood their commissions. So did John the Baptist. So did Jesus Christ and each of his apostles.
Strange that it should be a question, whether or not we should oppose actual and popular sins just as fast as they are discovered ! Why, every motive of love to God and benevolence to man urges it. And yet a large number of pious men tremble, when we agitate a wicked
308 SERMON XI.
world, by urging it to abandon some fashionable and deep-rooted sins. To me it is passing strange, for in- stance that it should be thought fanatical or inexpe- dient in us, to declare the system of domestic slavery, as sanctioned by lav/ and carried out in practice in our southern States, to be a high crime against God and man. Sometimes they tell us that it is of no use to agitate it in the North ; we should go to the South. Then, we reply, our action at best is harmless. But again they tell us, that it will rend the Union. My brethren ! I wish I had the time now to examine this point with you by the Bible, and in the light of the great day of accounts, I have no fear, that Jesus Christ will then reproach me for proclaiming it a crime to treat immortal mind as the property of man, a mere machine to work for the pecuniary benefit of another. If there is not blood staining our nation in this mat- ter, and if it is not the duty of Christian ministers to call the nation to repent and put away the sin. then I must confess that I have mistaken the whole design and commission of God's ambassadors. But I shall have occasion again to refer to the subject of ministerial prudence; — a very important qualifica- tion in its place, but a very hurtful one when unduly exercised.
It would now remain to describe to you the truths to be believed and practised. But for this I refer you to the Confession* read this day in your presence, and to all my past ministry. I have endeavored to give you a comprehensive, distinct, and minute view of the
* Referring to the confession subscribed by the members admitted on that day.
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 309
truths revealed for your salvation. I have consciously withheld no portion from you. The character, the government, the providence, the purposes of God — the divine and human character, the work, and the offices of Jesus Christ — the personality and offices of the Spirit of God — the apostacy, total degeneracy and ruin of man — his absolute dependence on the grace of God — his exposure to eternal wrath — his duty, immediate and indispensable, to repent— the vast responsibility of Christians — the promises attached to the commands — the glorious privileges and prospects of the children of God, have been explained and urged with all the power received from heaven. And now, dear brethren ! it remains for' you to walk in these truths, by know- ing and believing them as living realities, by feeling their transcendent importance, by governing your con- duct thereby, by obeying them yourselves, and by spreading the knowledge and influence of them among others.
The importance of it is seen in a thousand considera- tions. God had great and especial ends to accomplish in this peculiar revelation. He gave you this truth that you might walk in it ; for on this depends your personal holiness — your happiness — your usefulness.
These are powerful considerations. But I wish to urge and to expand two others : — The peculiar mercies of God to this church, which powerfully augment the obligations of its members to do his will ; and the con- firmation which he has given in its progress, of certain great principles.
We may say of this church, as Balaam said of Israel, when its tents lay spread far and wide along the valley beneath him, " What hath God wrought ? according
310 SERMON XI.
to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel — what hath God wrought V
I have felt my soul, my being, identified with this church. More than eight years have rolled away since I saw the first little band cluster together in the name and strength of the God of Israel, to raise another ban- ner to his glory. To have said much about it before the present time, would virtually have been to speak of myself. But that period is past. Since the purpose has been fixed to leave you for a time — perhaps for ever — a new feeling has come over my heart. I feel as if I could stand aside with a more chastened affection and more impartial eye to behold the wonders and riches of Divine mercy. Of the fifty-five who laid the first foundation stone of this spiritual structure, only twenty-eight are now among us. Of the two hundred and thirty-two who constituted the church at the close of the first year, and saw that dark, distressing period, when nothing but the naked hand of Christ held us up among the roaring waters, only one hundred and eleven are now with us. They recollect, they can never for- get those days. It was "one day known to the Lord, not day nor night ; but it came to pass, that at evening time it was light." To-night I take with you a re- view of that period. To those, who now constitute this church, my message is — behold what the Lord hath wrought ! It is befitting this solemn and trying occasion to recount, like Israel of old, the mercies of God, that you may praise his name, — that you may understand more definitely the history of the principles of this association, with which you have become so inti- mately connected,^that you may feel your obligations.
It is usual on such occasions for the pastor to speak
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 311
of his own labors. I cannot do it. If I tell all that is in my heart, 1 shall fall upon my knees and cry, — " De- liver me from blood guiltiness." I shall supplicate for- giveness of the church — I shall weep at the feet of sinners, and ask them to forgive my selfishness, and my unfaithfulness and cruelty to their souls. By the grace of God something has been done ; but grace and power were given that have not been always im- proved.
But this I pass over, to make mention of the wonder- ful acts of Him who has established with his people an unchanging covenant. " O give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon his name ; make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name ; let the heart of them that seek the Lord, re- joice. Seek the Lord and his strength ; seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done ; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth ; O ye seed of Abraham, his servant ! ye chil- dren of Jacob, his chosen !" To illustrate his good- ness, let us place the beginning and the end of the period of eight years together. On the 16th of Novem- ber, 1828, I preached the first sermon to a company collected in the consistory room, kindly offered to us by the officers of the North Dutch Church ; who have thus imposed a debt, which we would cheerfully repay in the same currency if an opportunity occurred, as we have endeavored to repay it in thankfulness and bene- dictions.
There were then two views taken of the enterprise. On the one side, both the friends and the enemies of God said it was an unholy enterprise, unwise and un-
312 SERMON XI.
called for ; I was charged with fanaticism and boyish indiscretion. It was said by the sagacious, " What do these men build ? behold, if a fox go up on their walls they will fall down." When this building was com- menced, some ridiculed ; obstructions met us in the usual financial arrangements, suspicions were set afloat concerning the safety of crediting any one connected even indirectly with the enterprise. When the first indications of the special presence of God's Spirit were experienced, we were branded with the severest ep- ithets, and the ears of God's children were open to the falsehoods of the wicked. Then understood I the meaning of the Psalmist, and the feelings of the blessed Savior in some measure : " My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword; who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words."
Now, God forbid that I should refer to the past in a spirit of revenge, or of boasting. I should loathe myself if I could ever indulge such feelings, but especially on such an occasion. God knows my heart towards this whole community, and towards those who were once my bitterest enemies. I do not boast ; but I say, that on the one side were these views and feelings, and pre- dictions; on the other, with much human imperfection, we certainly had for our leading principles and feel- ings— a determination to sustain the plain, honest ex- hibition of the truths of the gospel, without consulting unconverted men, whether they were pleased or dis- pleased— and an unwavering confidence that God would bless us if we served him !
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 313
There were many considerations which induced me to remain here. Low and selfish motives were at- tributed. My friends ! (I say it to the glory of God,) I had as much confidence when I met in the first prayer- meeting with twenty persons, that God would greatly bless us, as I have now that he has blessed us. Do not call it presumption, for I knew that I was sur- rounded by a praying band. Among many other considerations which induced me to remain and bear the peltings of the pitiless storm, was the fact, as stated then to me, that a number of Christians were engaged in prayer from sun-set to sun-rise, that I might not be permitted to leave the city. That turned the scale ; I could not desert such spirits ; and I knew God would bless them. I saw it, I felt it ; and I feel now as if I could go gladly to attack the spirits in the pit, if God sent me, surrounded by such hearts. And, more than this, this enterprise and my unworthy name were on the lips of hundreds of God's praying people, from this city to Buffalo. An eminent saint, who preached over a wide circuit, was in the habit of encouraging the churches to bear our cause to the mercy-seat con- tinually. I consider this church as a monument inscribed with the evidences of the power of prayer, and the faithfulness of Jacob's God. The enemy said u By whom shall Jacob arise ? for he is small." We replied — 'In God is our trust ; we will make our boast in the Lord.'
Now let us see how the Lord hath dealt with us. Truly he hath encouraged the hearts of them that be- lieved, and he hath silenced the enemy and avenger. I preached from Nov. 1828, to Feb. 1829, at which time the church was organized. And it seemed as if
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314 SERMON XI.
the Lord would try our faith, by suspending the mani- festation of his favor, until as a distinct, organized and consecrated church, we sat down for the first time, to celebrate the death of Christ. I shall never forget that day. After its toils were over, I was sent for. late at night, to see a trembling soul who had that day been brought to see her guilt and danger. That was the first fruit of a glorious harvest. An inquiry meeting was appointed ; and to my surprise, upwards of sixty were present. From that day to this, we have not passed the year without some special outpouring of the Spirit of God.
It would animate the hearts of other Christians to hear a description of the exercises of many who have been converted. Never can I forget that beloved apart- ment of this building, where I have met the inquirers, and where 1 have seen them consecrate themselves to God and the Lamb. Oh ! what changes in individual character ; in families, — nay, in neighborhoods, hath God's blessed Spirit wrought ! Within this period, there have been united to this church, by letter and on confession 1012 members, making an average of 125 each year. The Sabbath School has contained 1500 pupils.
We have contributed moneys which 1 can trace as follows : Domestic Missions, $853 ; Tract Society, .$823 ; Colonization, $215 ; Bible Society, $170 ; City objects, $1220; Sabbath SchooL, $700; Theological Education, $4964 ; Foreign Misssions, $4900. Total, $13,843— an average of $1730 per annum. We in- curred immediately on our organization a heavy debt, which is now, by our own exertions and the aid of friends, nearly extinguished.
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 315
Forty-six of our brethren and sisters have changed their connection with the earthly for one with the heavenly church. How glorious it has been to see them turn to the Lord, and seriously address them- selves to preparation for death, and then to witness the reality of the change, and its importance tested and de- monstrated in the honest hour of the soul's approach to the judgment-seat. To see the law-condemned sinner repent, the rebel return and obtain forgiveness ; to fol- low the soul through its successive stages of heavenly improvement and refinement ; and then to stand on the verge of the river of death, to wade in and support the departing spirit until it catches a view of the celestial glory, to hear it shout, to see it just touching the bliss- ful shore — this is a minister's salary. Mine has been paid. "Behold, what hath God wrought? If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say, when men rose up against us ; then they had swal- lowed us up quickly when their wrath was kindled against us ; then the water had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul ;. then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." " Ye are my witnesses," saitli the Lord. We are, mighty God ! Thou hast glorified thy mercy and thy truth in the midst of us. There is yet another aspect of God's dealings with us.
He has kindly chastened us. We have not been exempt from the common experience of troublesome members, backsliders, general coldness and utter apos- tacies. But in looking back on the rapid advance of this enterprise, the wonder is that in such a sudden
316 SERMON XI.
forming into one mass, of so many people, of such va- rious habits, temperament and education, that more difficulties have not occurred. It is wonderful that self-will, the last of all the human passions to be sub- dued, the great nuisance of every moral government, has not shown itself more strongly and more vexatious- ly here. It would have done so, but the hand of the Lord has been with us. He tempered the fire that was consuming our dross. We bless him that he has af- flicted us, and so afflicted us. And now we may look back on those days of rebuke and say — "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing ; then said they among the Gentiles, the Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing pre- cious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
In addition to this view of God's mercies to the church, I would impress obligation, by showing that God has in a particular manner confirmed, in the midst of us, certain great principles.
1. The power of prayer.
The foundation-stone of this enterprise was laid emphatically in prayer ; the duty of prayer has been enjoined and urged incessantly. Meetings for prayer have been multiplied to a degree, in the estimation of many, extravagant. Now it is not fair to presume, that there has been any more sincere prayer here in pro- portion, than with other Christians. But it is fair to suppose, that there has been as much in proportion, and
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 317
consequently that there has been in fact more real prayer than in most societies around us. We have as- sembled in the early morning for months. We have met, for long periods, at 10 o'clock every morning to pray directly for the conversion of the impenitent. We have believed in the transcendent importance of the conver- sion of men. We have prayed for it. We have witness- ed it in hundreds of joyful instances. All our history is such a demonstration of the efficacy of prayer, that, if I had never had any other proof, I should feel an over- whelming sense of obligation to pray without ceasing.
2. God loill bless the faithful exertions of his people. When we speak of faithfulness, it is only relative.
It has been found here, that whenever we employed certain instrumentalities with earnestness, they were blessed. Whenever the church has consecrated special seasons to prayer, and to exertions to awaken in the community a sense of the importance of personal reli- gion ; they have never failed of success.
3. That to feel for others, and to give of oar pro- perty for their good, is blessed.
We commenced with a love to the cause of evangel- izing the world. In debt as a church, poor as indi- viduals, we have never yet failed to do our proportion, not of what ought to be done, but of what has been done in this great cause. There were times when the faith of some of our brethren staggered on this point; it seemed to them presumptuous to be sending away hundreds of dollars to others, when a heavy burden hung upon our own wheels. But we have never failed. For the last six years we have supported a foreign mis- sionary ; and during the current year we have raised by subscription nearly $300 more. But we have lost
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318 SERMON XI,
nothing. The monthly concert of prayer has been to us a delightful season. In watering others, we have ever been watered ourselves. And when at length we struggled to roll off* our heavy debt, God helped us. He inclined the hearts of our young men to step promptly forward ; and he raised up for us kind friends in the community.
4. The duty of the Church to take a high stand in the reformations which benevolent men are urging forward.
We have been met. as before remarked, with the sen- timent in various forms — that the Church and her min- isters must not go in advance of public sentiment. The pledge to abstain from ardent spirits was thought by many to be a very good thing : but it was not discreet to introduce the subject into the pulpit, and to urge it forward. We believed not so. Nay more ; we believed that it was our duty as a church to admit no one to our communion who would not enter into this stipulation. We wanted no Christians, who could stand aside and look with indifference upon this noble effort of philan- thropy and piety. We have never had occasion to re- gret it, but much reason to rejoice in it. God has blessed it. Many reformed inebriates have entered this church, and to my knowledge there is no case of re- lapse. The walls of this building have resounded for successive months with the pleas of the eloquent friends of temperance ; and many a heart has been gladdened, as the father, husband, and son have come forward and pledged themselves to the abandonment of the destruc- tive drink. The plea for the Sabbath, and the plea for the seventh commandment, have been urged here. And I rejoice that on this platform has been urged the
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 319
claim of the enslaved. I have heard of the danger of exposing the building and the audience to molestation. I have heard of something worse, — the odium attached to the cause of liberty. But we have gloried to bear that odium. We rejoice that God enabled us to erect one of the buildings in this city where the cry of the oppressed and down-trodden could be echoed in the ear of Christian sympathy. We feel assured that it is right. We bless God for the assurance which his providence affords us, that it is right for his church to be the pioneer of moral reformations. The right of opinion is a na- tural right ; the right of expressing opinion is another, conferred by the author of the human constitution ; and both sacredly guaranteed by the bond of our politi- cal union. And I know nothing more alarming in modern politics, than the attempt to brow-beat free American citizens in the peaceful maintenance of eter- nal truths, and to persecute them for the candid, manly, and courteous expression of those sentiments. We have a right to try to convince the north and south. Ministers have a right from God, and a commission and a warrant from the American constitution, to expose the sins and dangers involved in the system of oppres- sion legalized and practised among us. I am ashamed to hear it said, that there are places in America, where you cannot candidly and temperately discuss great questions of public duty and safety.
5. The propriety, policy, and importance of plain, direct, pungent preaching.
Here I make no contrasts. Hearing no preaching out of this place, I am unable to form a judgment con- cerning the various styles adopted in this city. But I know, that when I preached to another congregation,
320 SERMON XI.
they turned me from them because I preached too di- rectly and pungently. I never could hear any other objection on the most careful inquiry. On that point I was entreated to change. But on that point this church took its stand from the commencement, and determined to welcome the most direct and pungent preaching that was according to the word of God. Now for the im- portance of it ; it is to us most manifest that God has connected the conversion of hundreds with that as an indispensable means. As to the policy of it; it was said — t Why men will desert your churches.' God has shown us that it is not so. And more than that, T am the living witness to the fact, that the churches in this city will now bear a degree of directness and pungency that would once have been thought intolerable. I am told that I have altered. I say, that public sentiment has altered. One of the most convincing proofs of it to me is, that I am ashamed now to preach those very ser- mons which made the disturbance in the Second Church because they are too tame and pointless.
And now, dear friends ! having shown what God hath wrought for and by this society, you will permit me to speak more directly of God's mercies to me as your Pastor. No man can tell what I have passed through in this city. My entrance here was flattering ; my re- ception, every thing I could ask as a man and a minis- ter. So long as Foreign Missions was my topic, all went well. But when I turned to show the amiable and moral and respected of this community, that they were more guilty than the heathen, and were going to a deeper condemnation, they rose in might against me. I had never known an enemy before, since my conver- sion. I had never been slandered. But now a new
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 321
scene awaited me in this goodly city. I was reviled ; my sermons and sentiments were misrepresented ; friends grew cold and enemies multiplied. For a stripling this was new, and, you may be sure, well nigh overwhelming. My heart overflowed with love to all. I could not see why any should persecute me. But oh ! it was a blessed school. I would not part with the lessons there learned for all the enjoyments of an undisturbed prosperity. Yet for three years I walked the streets of this city, feeling as if, by God's command, I was an intruder here. I have felt as if the very houses frowned upon me. Cheerfully would I have fled and hid myself like Elijah in a cave : but the very style of the opposition showed clearly, that the controversy was with God and his word, not with the lips of clay which uttered it.
But I turn from that, to speak of the hearts which cherished, and the hands which upheld me, in those trying days. Brethren ! sisters ! I thus publicly thank you. You gave not only a cup of cold water to a dis- ciple when it was a reproach to you, you shared his sorrows, you shielded his reputation with your own, you would have shared the last earthly comfort with him ; you would have died with him for Christ. You wept for me, you carried my burdens, you prayed for me. I know it. And my heart thanks you ; my soul clings to you. But chiefly I recognise the goodness of God in it, in whose hands are all hearts. I thank the members of the church for their forbearance and sym- pathy and respect, and the many proofs of their love. Nothing but love has made you bear with my very imperfect discharge of the duties that I owed you. God hath wrought in you this heart of kindness. My
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highest thanks are due to him. I thank God, this night, before you all, for his provident care of me. I have not been prevented by sickness from preaching, so many as twelve Sabbaths for nearly nine years. Since commencing to form this church I have preached to you about one thousand sermons. I have assisted other churches in sustaining more than thirty protract- ed meetings. I have delivered ninety addresses on Temperance ; more than a hundred addresses on For- eign Missions ; many on Slavery ; many for objects in our city; for the Tract, Bible, Education, and other societies ; attended and addressed the various societies in three anniversaries at New- York, one at Cincinnati, one at Lexington, Ky., one at Boston, one at Troy. I have performed a tour through many principal cities in this state and into Canada, on the subject of Common School Education.
With the fullest sense of my un worthiness to labor in so glorious a cause, do 1, this night, render thanks to God for bestowing upon me the ability and dispo- sition to perform these labors. Brethren ! I have be- come a fool in glorying ; but God is my witness, I do it for his glory. I dare not refrain. I have been a child of Providence. David could not hold his tongue from uttering the mercies of God after his great de- liverances.
And now, brethren ! I am about to say — Farewell ! I leave you, not because I do not love you. My heart grows closer to you every day. This church appears to me more interesting, and more important than ever. I go, because I believe I ought to go. Europe is dear to my heart ; but America is dearer. And I know that if permitted, I shall hail its shores again with de-
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 323
light. I go to gather light from the experience of ages, to see man in other climates, and under other institu- tions. My soul pants for knowledge, human and divine. But I would not indulge the desire, could not that knowledge, when acquired, be employed for greater usefulness. Be assured, it is not for myself. Whatever I am now, or may be hereafter, is my country's and my God's. I consecrate it to the Church of Christ and to the human race.
Brethren ! what mean ye to weep and break my heart? If there be pleasure in the prospect of seeing many wonders, of witnessing the splendid trophies of human genius, of indulging the powerful desires of curiosity, I have felt little of it ; and less and less as the time of our separation has approached. The recol- lections of the past, the evidences of your ardent and unbought love, the anticipation of your painful feel- ings, when an accustomed voice, which your own kindness has made you love to hear, shall be heard no more, — these considerations have occupied my mind supremely. The question, — 'How shall I accomplish the most good for this beloved people during the brief period of our intercourse,' — has weighed heavily on my heart. And now the end of this anxiety is reached, and I am called to perform the last act of religious service in this endeared sanctuary. Oh ! it is with a heavy heart that I say to such friends — farewell ! Deeply shall your names, your countenances be en- graven on this memory. I shall carry a catalogue of them with me, and spread it before that mercy-seat, at which we have so often met. My children ! my brothers ! my fathers ! walk in the truth. God has been with you, is with you, has promised still to be
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with you. Look at all the way in which he has led you. Ebenezers line the path of your history. Each once speaks to your heart — 'be of good courage, for our God is an unchanging God.'
Brethren in the eldership ! called to watch over this flock with me, a double responsibility will now corne upon you. I can no longer share that superintendence. But it is not among the least of God's mercies, that the recent meetings which we have held, the enlargement of your numbers, and the plan of operations adopted, give such promise of benefits to the church. Be reg- ular, be punctual in your sessional meetings. Go to this afflicted people ; watch over them; for the tempter will now have peculiar power over many, by making a readier excuse for deserting the ordinances and the house of God. Watch over every wheel in our moral machinery. See that none of them stop, see that each is kept in repair, and is moving in its place. I com- mend to you the Sabbath-Schools, the Bible-Classes, the Young Men's Association, the Maternal Associa- tion, the Converts' Class, the Prayer-Meeting, the Tract- Distribution, the Benevolent Societies. See that this people hear the claims of each during every year. Do not let them hug their purses, and close their ear to the cry of the perishing. Call the attention of this people to the great moral reformations of our day. Enlist their hearts for the drunkard, the slave, the unwary youth who walks amid the snares of the licentious, the Sabbath-profaner. Point this people to the times and seasons and ways, when they can labor with special promise of success for the conversion of sinners.
Fathers ! mothers ! love the souls of your children. Much, much remains to be done for them, that has not
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 325
been done. There is a degree and kind of prayer, of anxiety, of skill, of perseverance, which yon have not yet adopted. I entreat every mother of young children to join the Maternal Association and love it, for it must benefit you, if your heart is right.
Young men ! be strong in the Lord. Cherish the association which you have formed. Cherish this church. Bear it on your strong shoulders, and inspire it with your own constitutional vigor.
Young women ! the modern development of God's providences has opened to you new, wide and appro- priate spheres of great usefulness ; enter and walk in them.
Aged fathers and mothers in Israel ! I rejoice that you have almost reached your crown. Be faithful unto death.
Dear children ! you are very dear to me. It is your conversion I have sought, and now most earnestly de- sire. Turn now to the Lord. Give your hearts to him and serve him.
Dear converts ! next to the impenitent, there is no class of our church and congregation from whom I so reluctantly separate. I know that others can watch over you and teach you. But ye have not many fathers. " I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
To the members of the church generally, let me re- commend a chastened, Christian love to this church. 1 mean not with party-spirit, nor sectarian zeal. But, because your responsibilities are concentrated here, here exert yourselves in building up the knowledge of Christ. Love other Christians, other sects. Look more at the great points of resemblance, than at the minor
326 SERMON XI.
points of difference. Cherish the spirit of harmony with one another. Let no root of bitterness spring up, no schism. Abhor the talebearer and backbiter, the curse of every community, peculiarly oi a church. And now, let me express to you my fear of the ad- vantage, which the adversary will take of my depart- ure. Your thoughts and conversations concerning a man may lead even your hearts from God. " When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up," said an ancient saint. This is from the Lord ; whether I am right or wrong in this step. He directs it to you. See his hand, and kiss the rod. Yield your personal preferences concerning him who succeeds. Finally, brethren ! pray for me.
Once more, unconverted hearers ! let your friend and brother turn to you. You have honored my ministry. I thank you for it. But my master — how have you treated him? And his message,— how have you treated that ? Oh ! must I, your friend and brother, be a swift witness against you? Life and death, good and evil, blessings and cursings have been set before you in the name of the Lord. But here I leave you unreconciled to God. May I linger yet a moment around you ; may I yet persuade you, by all the claims of God, by all the terrors of his curse, by all the price paid for your redemption, by all the yearnings of a brother's heart, to form the great decision by which you cross the dividing line between life and death ; to exercise that repentance by which you can honestly come to Christ, that faith by which you can partake of the fulness of his salvation. Come, come, I entreat you. With a lingering step, I turn from you. Will you come ?
VALEDICTORY SERMON. 327
Citizens of Albany ! farewell ! Have I wronged you, have I misled? or have I been as a prophet of the Lord in the midst of you ? Speak ; for I am now seal- ing the first section of my ministry, perhaps the last among you. I have stood on yon heights and looked over your dwellings, and my anxious thoughts have dwelt upon your spiritual interests ; my fervent prayers have arisen for you and your children. I have been willing to labor for the general good, just as much as for this individual association. If any have injured me, I would that they knew how fully they are for- given. If I have injured any, I would that they knew how sincerely I implore forgiveness. Many of you have kindly appreciated my desires for your welfare, whatever you have thought of the imperfect manner employed to promote it. You are kind, and your kind- ness will be remembered.
Members of sister churches ! God bless you, and make you grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember your absent brother.
Unconverted fellow-citizens ! hear the last word of a parting friend ; make Christ your Savior, and Heaven your prize. " Ye must be born again." Turn, then, quickly to the Lord, and your souls shall live.
Again, dear friends t fareivell— farewell !
ADDRESSES,
TO PROMOTE THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION;
Delivered in Surrey Chapel, London.
The following addresses were delivered by Mr. Kirk at a meeting in Surrey Chapel, so well known as the scene of the labors of the Rev. Rowland Hill. This meeting, or rather, series of meetings, was designed to make the experiment, whether these means, so much blessed in Amer- ica, were adapted only to transatlantic minds, or not. The issues were delightful ; multitudes of ministers, in the metropolis, and through the country, were encouraged to "prove the Lord" in the same manner; and they found, too, that his special blessing was awaiting their special labors and prayers.
These addresses were taken down by a stenographer, and published, together with several sermons ; in fact, all the exercises of the week were published in a neat little book, entitled, " The Church Awakened ;" and
had a wide circulation.
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ADDRESS I.
Rev. James Sherman, pastor of the Church, having made some very impressive remarks, Mr. Kirk arose and addressed the assembly : —
My Beloved Christian Friends !
I suppose that few, who have at all reflected upon the subject, will be disposed to deny, that, immediately after death, (unless the mind be overwhelmed with the suddenness, and the awful nature, of the objects which present themselves to our view,) the mind will wake up with astonishment — astonishment that we could have been living so far from God, and astonishment that we continued so long to view every thing through a false medium. You can take the smallest coin, and, by bringing it near to the eye, can conceal the sun from your view. Small as is the object, its nearness to the eye prevents you from beholding one of greater magnitude at a distance. Here, then, is the delusion : — "The things which are seen are temporal ;" but still they are" seen, and the sight of them prevents us from seeing those which are eternal. God has, therefore, brought in a new principle, which is faith. This looks not at the things which are seen, but at those which are unseen ; not to things which are temporal, but to those which are eternal ; and it presents these unseen and eternal objects to our view, not as if regarded through an inverted telescope, but clothed in all their
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grandeur and magnitude, and as if constantly before us and around us.
You have heard of our meetings for the revival of religion in America ; and I now want to explain to you one of the principles on which they are conducted, that you may be able to judge for yourselves.
When we commenced our protracted meetings for a revival of religion, some ridiculed us. But God gave us strength to persevere. It is a fact which none can dispute,- that every minister of Christ may learn some- thing by coming in close contact with the minds of his people. It is a grand mistake to wait at home, and expect that our people will come to us ; we must go out in quest of them, and ascertain definitely what is their state of mind, and what impressions our sermons pro- duce. We stay at home and study theology in our closets, till, by abstract meditation, we reach a point intellectually far beyond the reach of our people. We learn the meaning of technical words and terms, about which our people know comparatively nothing. We think that they know them ; but in this we often labor under a great mistake. To us, these words are talis- mans, calling up deep emotions ; to them they are cold and unmeaning. There are men, for instance, who, throughout the whole week, have been doing nothing but counting pounds, shillings, and pence. They are in no way prepared either to listen to, or understand, their minister on the Sabbath. They attend, perhaps, in the morning, but have not yet had time to disengage themselves from the world, and to be prepared for sym- pathy with the things of a spiritual world. The same parties attend in the afternoon, a little better prepared. And why ? Because we have been striking upon their
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 333
flinty hearts all the morning, holding up Christ to their view, and saying, " Come here, and look !" On the very same principle, onr evening-meetings have been best of all ; the people's hearts becoming all the while better prepared for the reception of the truth. I found this so strongly the case in my own congre- gation, that I determined that Monday should not roll its oblivious wave over the impressions of the Sabbath. " God," said I, " has given us one Sabbath,---one day for meeting ; but why should Ave not have two V We tried it, and my hopes were realized. The impres- sions of the Sabbath were revived and deepened in the morning, still more in the afternoon, and most of all at night. By the aid of some ministers, we held the attention of the people continually to the truth ; and we were willing to go on to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday ; or, if God gave us strength, till we were called upon to lay our feeble bodies in the dust, if it were best.
To render this principle more obvious, let me suppose a case. I want to sell a house, and the price I fix upon it is £5000. The price I have fixed upon is large, but not more than its real value. The person, to whom I have offered it for sale, knows nothing of its value, having never seen it, but he has a very clear idea of the value of £5000. I give him a description of it. but he still refuses to purchase. I take him and show him the house, leading him first into this apartment and then into that ; pointing out to him first this embellish-' ment and then that ; directing, at the same time, his attention to fertile lands upon which it is situated, and the beautiful views by which it is surrounded ; and I find, by watching his countenance, that the £5000 are
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rapidly sinking in his estimation, and that his desire to possess the house is becoming stronger and stronger, until at last he determines to buy it.
Just so it is with the sinner. You are not to expect him to buy the truth, without some effort on your part to impress upon him a conviction of its intrinsic value. If you want to do the sinner good, take him all around the pit of hell ; let him see the flames of that fire which is never quenched ; let him hear the shrieks and groans of those condemned criminals, who are for ever shut up in the regions of darkness and despair ; and when he has seen this, say, — l Immortal man ! we want to get you out of that state of torpor in which you have so long lain. It is not for the sake merely of terrifying you, but to lead you to see things as you will, one day, see them in the light of another world.' Take him- all around the battlements of Zion, the holy city, the city of our God ; let him tell her towers ; let him mark her bulwarks ; let him consider her palaces ; let him hear the celestial music which warbles upon the tongues of the heavenly choir ; and then say, — ' Consider, immor- tal man ! at what a price all this has been purchased — the price of the Savior's blood ; and let the world, which has so long engrossed your thoughts and affections, and so long dazzled you with the false glare of its splendor, go, and go for ever.' Take him all around the cross of Christ ; show him the dignity of the mighty Sufferer ; let him see those expiring throes at which all nature was convulsed.
The truth is God's instrument of conversion ; but the truth, to be effective, must be closely, solemnly, and continuously the object of thought. We see the mind of an individual serious on Sunday, less so on
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 335
Monday, and still less so on Tuesday. The impres- sions of truth, like the waves of a retiring tide, are every day more and more feeble. Say to him, then, — < We want you to see these things on Monday as you saw them on Sunday ; and we think that if you saw that lovely face, and those bleeding hands, which were stretched upon the cross, you would be led to feel the awfulness of your condition, and the necessity of your immediately escaping with your life. We want not, by this, to make the truth more perfect, but to cause you to feel more of its power ; and if Sunday is not sufficient for this purpose, let us have Monday, and Tuesday, yea, the whole week, rather than suffer the things that are temporal to stand in the way of those that are eternal.' This is what I call, the Philosophy of Revivals ; this is the principle on which our pro- tracted meetings have been held in America — the prin- ciple of constantly holding the minds of the people fixed on the truth. The foolish ostrich, when pursued, buries his head in the sand, and supposes that his body is concealed. So unconverted sinners fly from the pursuit of truth, and endeavor to conceal themselves in a crowd of worldly enjoyments and pursuits. If we would be faithful to our trust, we must go forth and drag them from their hiding place, and throw around them the blaze of truth with so dazzling a splendor that they shall be unable to withstand it.
Oh ! I have felt in this sacred place, this morning, so much of the preciousness of Jesus to my soul, and my heart has so panted with new desires to serve him. that no language could give adequate utterance to my feelings. God has opened to my view such a desire for his glory as for a long time I have not felt. And
336 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
many, I presume, can testify the same. I think thut the Spirit of God is beginning to move on the hearts of his people in this place ; and my reasons for think- ing so are two. First, — There has been a little in- crease in the spirit of prayer ; and secondly, — God has granted an answer to these prayers in the manifestation of his presence. If a little prayer will bring down such joy into the hearts of his people, what are we to expect when he comes down in the plenitude of his influence, in answer to the united and fervent prayers of his people !
I remarked, last night, on the coming of the Spirit ; and, I believe that we are living in the days predicted in the third chapter and the first and second verses of the prophecies of Malachi ; — " Behold, I will send my Messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me ; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in : behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming ? and who shall stand when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver ; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteous- ness." I may remark, here, that some of these prophe- cies have a double, or even a threefold signification ; and that this particular prophecy has had its fulfilment in the person of John the Baptist, as also at the day of Pentecost. But our blessed Lord has told us, that -the kingdom of God cometh not with observation ;" and we believe that the kingdom of God will come without observation into your hearts and into mine j and we
THE REVIVAL OP RELIGION. 337
further believe that the messengers, whom the Lord now sends to prepare the way before him, are his faith- ful ministers, deeply and anxiously concerned to extend the boundaries of the Redeemer's kingdom. It is now fulfilled in the preachers of the gospel, — in my dear brother, the pastor of this church, clothed with the spirit and with the power of John the Baptist, and de- sirous of recovering the backsliding hearts of his peo- ple to holiness and peace.
I have no time now to speak on this subject ; but I found a dear brother in a different part of the country, whose heart God has affected in the same way ; and I trust there are many on whose minds the Spirit of God has begun to work. " Behold, 1 will send my Messen- ger before me," &c. That is just what we want. " Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who shall abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth ?" Oh ! this is a solemn, a serious time, when God's servants come to search the hearts of his people. I ask every individual present, — ' My brother ! my sister in Christ ! do you feel that the Spirit of God, through the instrumentality of his ministers, is removing your past sins from your bur- dened consciences? is causing you to put away the idols from your hearts, and to make an unreserved surrender of yourself to his service V Oh ! this is the work of the Spirit of God. No power, save the al- mighty energies of the Spirit, could ever produce such a glorious effect.
Let us, dear brethren ! remark the peculiarity of the
dispensation under which we live. God has required
great importunity on our part as a prerequisite to the
bestowment of the blessing ; and he has left on record 29
338 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
many illustrious examples of successful importunity in prayer. One is the case of Jacob, who wrestled with the angel till the break of day, and when remonstrated with, said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." From this importunity on this occasion, and from the prevalence of his prayer, his name was changed to Israel, which virtually signifies, a man of power with God. The men, who were made the honored instruments of giving freedom to the slaves, might be said to be men of power, having had power with their sovereign and with their country ; but Jacob, afterwards called Israel, stands pre-eminently entitled to this appellation, for it is said by Jehovah himself, " Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel ; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." He takes hold of the con- descending covenant-promises, and determines to keep God to his word, and by his importunity, he prevails.
A minister once said — l I have often been struck with the beauty and force of the following illustration ; — " There are two kinds of prayers to be seen among pro- fessing Christians, which may be illustrated thus ; — A kind and affectionate mother has left her children in an adjoining room to amuse themselves with play. By and by, hearing one of them cry, she starts up and listens at the door, but finds by the well-known tones of their voices, that it is only pretence. She resumes her seat ; but shortly hearing notes of real distress again proceeding from the apartment, she exclaims, 1 My child ! my child /' and rushes at once to its as- sistance." ' So it is in the Church. Some men stand up to pray ; but when God listens, he finds that they are only mocking him in their prayers. By and by he
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 339
hears another cry ; he listens again, and finds that it proceeds from one of his broken-hearted children; and, true to his promise, — "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee," — he rushes at once to his aid. If there is a broken-hearted child in this as- sembly, this morning, let him take encouragement from this representation of God's regard for his dear chil- dren. " Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
I have been led to these remarks, dear brethren ! with the view of showing the value and importance of importunity in prayer. It is a wise and a benevolent arrangement on the part of Jehovah, that the enjoy- ment of the blessings we seek should be connected with importunate prayer.
One reason for requiring this importunity is, that the Church is often asking for blessings which she is in no way prepared to receive,
A second reason for this importunity is, that the Church is often unwilling to do something, which God requires to be done in order to the attainment of the blessing. The Church is praying for the Spirit, but is not doing, in other respects, what God has required. The farmer ploughs his field, and then casts in his seed, and waits for the growth and maturity of the crop. Oh ! there is much to be learned by Christians in the art of doing good. Whilst you are waiting, for the Spirit, and praying for the Spirit, you must be seek- ing for opportunities of casting in the seed of the word.
A third reason, and the last that we shall mention, is, that the more you pray for the blessing that you need, the greater will be your desire for it. The more you hold converse with God, pleading for the salvation of im-
34.0 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE, &C.
mortal souls, the more impressively will you see their value, and the more intense will be your desires for their conversion. Have you come with this desire this morning ? Is it your concern that the Spirit of God should be poured out upon the hearts of poor sinners ? Learn a lesson from the husbandman. Go forth, Chris- tians ! plough up the fallow ground of your immediate neighborhoods : tell sinners of their delusion, guilt, and danger ; and bring them here to listen to the word. O ! sons and daughters of Israel ! pray for the dews of heaven to descend upon the Church, for the south wind to blow upon the garden of the Lord, that it may be fruitful, and filled with the plants of life
ADDRESS II.
Dear Christian Friends !
I believe that we are just as accountable for a spiritual famine, as we are for a famine of daily bread occurring by our neglect. If, in the latter case, we had omitted to do all, nay, if we had neglected to do any part of that, which God had appointed by us to do, we should have been so far guilty ; so far the authors of our own destitution. And I believe, that it is just as awful a perversion in the Church as it would be in the world, for men to allege the sovereignty of God as a reason for disconnecting the end with the appointed means. If a farmer were to say, l I have no power to produce grain or any other crop in my fields ; this must be the work of God ; he must send the showers from heaven ; he must scatter abroad the genial rays of the sun : he must cause the early and the latter rain to descend ; he must protect the seed when cast into the ground, and the tender blade when it first appears ; he must watch over it and ripen it to maturity ; or a single grain will never grow :' — if he should say this, we should at once reply, — ' All very true ; this is a position which none will dispute.' But, if the farmer should therefore say, — l If God has decreed that barley
342 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
shall grow in this field, and that wheat shall grow in that, grow it will, and there is no need for my labor, and anxiety, and toil ;' and, if he should act on this principle, and neither plough the ground, nor sow the seed, and the land should be filled with famine, — the folly and the wickedness would rest with the man. The kingdom of God would go on ; there would be no interference with the harmony of his plans or his pur- poses ; but the people, having neglected the appointed means of safety, would die. It is surprising how men have reasoned the sovereignity of God out of the nat- ural, and confined it to the spiritual world.
A famine of bread and of water, my dear Christian friends ! is an awful thing; but what is this to a famine of the word of God ? A man, with a large family, who lived in the midst of one of those spiritual dearths, where the word has no power, where there is no sol- emn exhibition of the truth, no weeping minister, no hearts bleeding with compassion for poor sinners, went to one of the deacons, and said, — " I can endure this no longer ; the minister does not wield the sword of the Spirit in power ; the weapons of the spiritual warfare do not prove themselves mighty through God to the pulling down of Satan's strong holds. I see souls dying around me daily ; my own family are growing up in sin for want of the power of the Spirit of God on their hearts ; we must have a revival of religion." The old deacon listened with great attention ; and then looking very calm and placid, said, " My dear brother ! we shall have a revival, if God has decreed that we shall have it ; but if it be man's revival, it will do no good." The young man replied, " My dear father ! no man is more
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 343
diligent in his worldly business than you are, and yet no man believes more firmly in the divine decrees. Now I want to know whether you stop your plough- man ; or whether you refuse to put your money into the bank, on this principle ? If God refuses to bless your exertions you will have no crop ; and if he should withhold his care of your money, the bank will be no place of security. In this mode of reasoning, therefore, you have been betraying the worldliness and wicked- ness of your heart. You dare not trust the power nor the goodness of God in reference to temporal good, where your own diligence can secure it ; but in refer- ence to the concerns of immortal souls, you shelter yourself behind the decrees of God, and you wickedly refuse to employ the means which he has directed in his word. In the natural world the sovereignty of God is no bar to your exertions ; but in the spiritual world it must be an extinguisher upon every effort."
That God saves the soul is true ; and that the de- crees of God are absolute, eternal, and immutable, we do not deny. His decrees cover every thing; they reach from the movements of those vast orbs, which roll through the regions of immensity, to the disposal of the minutest particle of matter. His decrees extend to the movement of my hand at this moment. There is not a spoke in the smallest wheel of the immense machinery but was seen by God from all eternity. There is nothing done without God. You plough up your ground, and you put your wheat in the field, un- der the surveillance of the God of heaven. His decrees, I repeat, extend to every thing ; and I believe this as firmly as any man in existence can believe it. I speak
344 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
not, then, against the decrees of God ; but against that wicked inference which is drawn from them, that man is not a responsible and accountable agent. I bless God, that I never yet was able to quiet my conscience with such theology. Woe upon the preaching which suffers sinners to go down to hell, soothed with the idea that they are irresponsible beings. We, saints or sin- ners, are not straitened in God. The idea that man is not responsible for his want of holiness, is cherished by the indolent, and cold, and selfish, in the Church. I repeat it, I am not straitened in God. I believe, in ref- erence to the inhabitants of London, in reference to the congregation now assembled in Surrey chapel, that God is more willing to give us spiritual blessings than tem- poral. God thinks infinitely more of his spiritual gar- den, the Church, than he does of the fields of the hus- bandman, or of the crops on the hills. " If ye being evil," says God, " know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" You did not give your child, whom you dearly love, a stone when he asked you for bread ; nor a scorpion when he asked you for fish. You gave him what he asked. " How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him V This one doctrine, then, rolls the whole guilt of neglecting per- ishing sinners upon the Church. The Church has not asked for the holy Ghost as she ought. I have touched upon this topic this morning to bring down the awful guilt upon my own soul, and to do the same with you. I would fain expand this important subject ; but it has already been keeping me too long from the topic on
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 345
which I am anxious to dwell. It is presented to us in Mich. vi. 2 :
" Hear ye, 0 mountains ! the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth ! for the Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel."
" The Lord hath a controversy with his people." And do you ask me. with whom? He has a contro- versy with me ; and he has a controversy with every one of his ministers who is not willing to labor, and, if necessary, to die for souls. I feel painfully that God has a controversy with me. I have no right to look upon dying souls, standing at the open mouth of the pit of hell, with such feelings of heart as I do. God has a controversy with his ministers. Where are we to look for that bleeding compassion of heart which seeks out sinners, weeps over them, and beseeches and entreats them to fly to Christ ? And you, my Christian friends ! God has a controversy with you. And I am come to plead this controversy, and to have it settled. A solemn question is asked in the prophecies of Amos, — " Can two walk together except they be agreed ?" Oh ! if God be not with us this morning, and if we are not agreed with him, we shall be talking to no purpose ; our words will be without power. But if God be with us, we shall hear him saying, " Fear not, thou worm Jacob ! behold ! I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument, thou shalt thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff." He can give such power to our lips that we shall make London tremble. Oh ! when the heralds of the God of Israel go before his face, he will smite " the oaks of
346 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
Bashan ;" and " all the high mountains" and " the hills that are lifted up" shall be brought low ; " and the lofti^ ness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." But it is a dreadful thing to have an unsettled controversy with God ; for two can- not walk together except they be agreed.
My Christian friends ! I am anxious to have this controversy settled ; and I have come this morning, I say, to plead the Lord's cause ; I commence with you, covenant-people of God ! and I beseech you never to look up to us as gods ; never to suppose that we can do God's work without you ; never to imagine that any success will attend our exertions without your prayers : for, if you do, God will utterly confound us before your face. Oh ! brethren ! idolize not man ; idolize none of God's ministers ; but get down into the dust and honor God. By our meetings in this place we aim to make a movement in the Church, and in the world, at which hell shall tremble. And our plan is simple : prayer to God for the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the manifestation of the truth to every man's conscience. It is vital piety, and not a great machinery, that we need for this contest. We must not go forth with Saul's, heavy and cumbrous armor, but with the sling and pebbles, by which the Goliaths of iniquity are to be smitten to the ground. And do you think that this can be done ? It can ; but you must first settle your con- troversy with God.
In the majority of those meetings which have been held in America for the revival of religion, the first mark of the descent of the Holy Ghost was, the people
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 347
of God confessing their sins, bewailing their unfaithful- ness, and suing for pardon. And, the moment when the people of God became humbled in the dust, and the ministers came forward personally and confessed their sins, sinners began to awake, and to cry for mercy. They said, "It is time that we awake ; for if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear V And it will be just so with you. If you deeply feel what a dreadful thing sin against God is, you will be humbled, and be led to sue for pardon ; and it is just in proportion as you. Christians, or we, ministers, get this feeling, that we shall know how to talk to other men upon the awful depravity and wickedness of their hearts. But, till this controversy with God is settled, we can do no more than open our mouths in a faint whisper for him. The Church gets into captivity now, just as the Church of old did : and at such seasons we cannot sing one of the songs of the Lord in a strange land; we cannot open our mouths for God. Oh the dreadfulness of an unsettled controversy !
Every Christian with an unsettled controversy is an Achan in the camp. And what a dreadful character is this ! The whole camp of Israel must be impeded in their march from this one man havinsf taken the Babylonish garment and the wedge of gold, which was part of the accursed spoil. There may be an Achan here this morning; one who, from practices indulged in secret, or from a careless disregard of prayer or other known duties, is now staying the descent of the Spirit upon this congregation, and impeding the march of God's Israel to triumph. Oh ! my brethren ! take care,
348 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
take care, I beseech you, that you be not placed in this awful position ; that you be not Achans in God's camp ; that you have not coveted the Babylonish garment and the wedge of gold, or hid them in your tents ; that you are not hugging to your bosom, at this moment, that which God has pronounced accursed. Oh ! say, in all the sincerity of your hearts, — " Search me, O God! and know my heart ; try me, and know my thoughts f tell me what is this controversy which thou hast with me, and let it now be settled. If it be a right arm, cut it off ; if it be a right eye, pluck it out ; if it be the world that is dear to me, mortify me to it ; or, if it be prayer that is neglected, stir me up in that duty. Lord ! what is this controversy with me? What wedge of gold, what Babylonish garment lies hidden here, that thou canst not bless me? Let me die rather than be an Achan to impede the march of thine Israel.
Brethren ! a revival of religion is a personal matter. As 1 remarked yesterday, « The kingdom of God Com- eth not with observation." If you settle this contro- versy, however, and if you are earnest in prayer, the Lord will come with power into your hearts. I know not how you may have backslidden from God; I know not what may have been your besetting sins ; I know not in the discharge of what duties you may have been deficient : that is a personal matter — it rests between God and your own soul ; but this I do know, that you must be humbled over your backslidings, re- pent of your sins, and return to the discharge of your duties, before this controversy between God and you can be settled. If this controversy should be with me, and if my cold heart should prevent the descent of
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 349
the Ftoly Ghost, I pray God it may be settled. Oh ! brethren ! let there be deep searchings of heart.
But what is this controversy which God has with his people ? I might here ran over a list of a thousand things, and thereby show you the backsliding of heart and life to which the people of God are sometimes led; but I shall confine myself, this morning, to one point alone. It is said in the New Testament, " When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith in the earth ?" We tell it to the city of London, we tell it to Britain, we tell it to all the world, that the Son of Man is about to come on the earth ; not, as the Millenarians teach, to assume a temporal authority, or to establish a per- sonal reign ; but in the power of his Spirit, to take pos- session of the hearts of thousands, and we hope millions of our fellow-men ; and we take shame to ourselves that his coming has been so long delayed for want of our fervent and united prayers. But suppose he does come ; have you faith ? Will you be ready to receive him? If not, God has a controversy with you ; for you are bound to have faith, which is nothing more than confidence in God, and believing what he says, and yet you dishonor him by your unbelief.
I take the case of the parent as an illustration of what I mean. God says to that father, and to that mother, — < That child of yours is hanging over the pit of hell, and, unless you take care, will soon be writh- ing in the agony of eternal torments.' And yet you will not believe him. You bow the knee at the family- altar, and you pour out your words ; but there is no agonizing or wrestling with God for your child. 1 suppose the child to be exceedingly ill. Your anxiety
30
350 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
now is all alive. You examine his pulse; you observe the painful symptoms of disease ; and you send with great haste for the physician. And why? Because you have faith in the disease ; faith in the danger of the child; and faith in the skill of the plujsiclan. Oh ! what anxiety, what use of the appointed means of recovery, is visible here ! You sit up whole nights, watching by the bed of your darling child ; you wait with an intenseness of desire for the hour when the physician will return ; and if he delays but a few mo- ments behind the appointed time, your feelings rise almost to agony. And why is it that you feel and act thus ? Because you believe.
Make the application of this, my dear brethren ! Dq> you believe that your child is an enemy to the great God? Do you believe that the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint? Do you believe that without the appointed remedy he must die, and die eternally ? And have you sent for the great Physician? and are you listening at the door, or watching his countenance, to see if you can discover any hope of recovery ? Oh ! there is balm in Gilead ; there is a physician there ; and yet for want of faith your child is not healed. Go, like the Syrophoenician woman to our Lord, and say, " My daughter, my daughter, is sore vexed with a devil. Lord ! help me." Is there a man here who says that this is extravagant ? I tell that man that he gives the lie to the whole Bible. I believe in the warning and burning truths of the Bible ; and I delight to present them to my hearers, because I know that we all need to be aroused. Just take that one example, dear brethren ! — the example of unbelief presented in
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 351
your indifference about the souls of your children ; and begin to plead with God in earnest, and to give him no rest until he shall come and heal.
I would not thus expand this subject, but I want to lead you to settle your controversy with God. Why am I so cold, so indifferent about the salvation of souls, so unlike the Son of God ? Why are the children of a king so lean ? Why this want of spiritual health 1 Why this coldness in prayer, this sluggishness in duty, this backwardness in doing God's work? Oh! my brother! my sister! settle your personal controversy with God ; and let Christ have delight in coming to his garden and eating his pleasant fruit. - Come to the altar of God now, and plead down the blessing. If you all settle your controversy with God ; if you all become reconciled with his dear Son ; if you all obtain the witness of God's Spirit with your spirit, what a blessed meeting this will have been ! If we have been up to the mount, and have held converse with our Father, then our faces will shine as did the face of Moses, the beauty of which we shall be unable to con- ceal from the world.
But suppose God should favor us with a revival of religion, what will be its effect upon the world? I will tell you. A minister once said.—" The Church of God is like a column of air. When the air becomes rarified it rises up, and other air from around rushes in to sup- ply its place." Just so is it with the Church. The moment the Church of God rises in spiritual warmth toward heaven, it rises, and rises, as a cloud, and it carries others along with it. The warm air has ascended ; and the dense atmosphere has rushed to
352 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE, &C.
supply its place. Christians having been aroused to a sense of their responsibilities and privileges, sinners flock around, witnessing the effect which has been pro- duced. Are there any such present this morning 7 Sinners ! God has a controversy with you. Oh ! I beseech you, I beseech you, as though God did beseech by me, — I beseech you in Christ's stead, — as though the blessed Jesus stood where I now stand, — 1 beseech you, " Be ye reconciled to God !" O sinners ! delay not one moment ; " tarry not in all the plain ;" go to God at once by Jesus Christ.
ADDRESS III.
Christian Friends !
It is a very interesting sight, as your beloved pastor has remarked, to see at this hour of the day, and that, too, on one of the busiest days of the week, so many persons assembled together for the purpose of prayer ; and it brings no small responsibility upon him who has undertaken to guide the minds of this assembly. I feel no hesitation, my beloved brethren ! in holding up to you, and all my fellow-Christians, this one subject — the desirableness there is that the eternal Spirit, the almighty Agent of conversion and sanctification, pro- ceeding from the Father and the Son, should come into every heart in this assembly ; and the desirable- ness there is that this eternal Spirit should come down, in his quickening and sanctifying influences, upon all our churches. I am impressed with the importance, and with the solemn duty, of urging upon this congre- gation the necessity of prayer for the Holy Ghost to descend upon them, upon every church of Christ, and upon the whole race of man.
Our subject, then, is the desirableness of pray cr for the outpouring of the Spirit.
Prayer includes two sentiments — the heart's deep feeling of its necessities, and an assured confidence that
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God will give the blessings sought. The first of these is spiritual desire, the second is faith.
Let holy desires be enkindled in our hearts. You have heard that, when the disciples met to wait for the promise of the Father, they were all of one accord. Their minds were set upon some great object; they were in expectation of some great event, some mighty resting of the Spirit of God upon the souls of his people. Hence they went as humble suppliants, and waited on God till the blessing came.
A respected brother of a different denomination, (Mr. Stevenson,) has said that we are all agreed about some- thing. I bless God that we are ; and when we get to heaven we shall be agreed about every thing. We shall be of one accord. There is one great subject that would make one vast prayer-meeting of the whole Church of God, and that one subject is the necessity and the desirableness of the descent of the Holy Ghost, and there is none but needs to be baptized with the Holy Ghost ; and my humble endeavor is now, under the blessing of God, to increase the sense of that want in the hearts of all his people. May we now enjoy the sense of his presence !
We want the Holy Ghost; and if there is desire enough, and faith enough, we shall receive the Holy Ghost. But what will be the influence of the Spirit of God upon our hearts when he does come ? I will not run over all the wide field, but will select here and there a few solitary proofs of his presence.
And, First, If the Spirit of God descend upon this assembly, we shall find what has been the cause of his absence.
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 355
Blessed be God, we have felt the power of the Spirit at the meeting just held in Mr. Sherman's house, and we desire him to visit us again. When he comes, it is not to convince us of general truths, but of that which concerns us personally. He tells us what is the cause of his absence ; he points out the particular sins of which we have been guilty ; he reveals the nature and causes of our backsliding from God ; he stamps an in- dividuality upon our particular failings and short- comings ; he holds up the glass to our eyes, and makes us look at ourselves as we really are.
Religion, we know, is a personal matter ; and when the Spirit of God is come, the " family of the house of David shall mourn apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart ; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart ; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart ; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart." Such is the work of the Spirit of God. He comes to take us apart, to show us individually the deformity of our backslidings, to lead us to mourn over them apart, and to constrain us to plead anew for sanctifying grace. This personal influence we need that we may see our individual sins. Oh that he may show us why we were so dead, why our hearts did not break under the power of his word ; why we could be content to live at such a distance from him ; why we were satisfied when doing so little for his cause ! No individual man can tell you, but the Holy Ghost can. He can whisper to your con- science, and show you where the evil lies. Pray for him to come, then, and show you why you are so cold.
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why you have no more delight in the service of Jesus Christ, no more devotedness to him. Pray for him to come upon you as the Spirit of life. Pray for him to come and convince the world of sin, and the Church of her backslidings from God. The Church is in cap- tivity, and she must be made to break the yoke of her thraldom, and stand forth, in the eyes of the world, invested with that glorious freedom to which she is entitled, by virtue of the union that she sustains to her great Head.
Secondly, If the Spirit of God descends upon this assembly, he will shed abroad the love of Christ in your hearts.
How sweet is the love of Christ ! How desirable to have the love of Christ "shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us !" To be like Christ, to love Christ; this is heaven begun. And we have heaven in our souls, and the enjoyment of heaven in prospect, just in proportion as we have love to Christ, and likeness to his image. But we want more love to Christ, and we must have more likeness to Christ. And how is this to be obtained ? No sermon can do it ; even prayer itself will not do it ; but prayer will do it by bringing down the Spirit. Let us, then, put ourselves in a prayerful and waiting posture for the coming of the Holy Ghost !
" I will spread the sail, Blow thou the breeze, and waft me to my home."
If God calls men to be the partakers of his grace, and if the love of Christ is shed abroad in their hearts, they will be willing to wear out in his service. The
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 357
love of Christ constrains them. They are willing to do any thing for Christ so long as he gives them strength.
We want more of this love. We must not be so selfish in our religious feelings. We must have the Spirit of God as a spirit of compassion to perishing sinners. If we saw the actual condition of sinners, their deep depravity and guilt, their hideous deformity in the sight of God, we should not be able to rest by day or by night. We want the Holy Ghost to show us their actual condition ; to show us how hateful they are in God's sight ; and to show us upon what a fearful precipice they stand. No man can show us ; nothing but the Spirit of God can do this. But when he begins to exhibit the awful danger of sinners, and the certainty of their destruction, the Church is aroused from her stupor, and puts up her prayers, and combines her efforts on their behalf. How tenderly did the Apostle Paul feel, when he said, " My con- science beareth me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart; for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh !" How earnest, how intense, was his desire for the salvation of his brethren ! And such is the effect of the love of Christ wherever it is pos- sessed. It is a love that works ; it is a love that warms ; it is a love that instructs ; it is a love that beseeches ; it is a love that prays for, that bleeds for, and that dies for poor sinners, if called to it by the providence of God. If this love for Christ dwelt in the hearts of professing Christians as it ought ; if it
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existed in our churches to the extent we have reason to believe that it should ; how differently would they act ! Oh ! if we possessed this love, there is not a street in London, there is not an alley, nor a lane, in which the voice of tearful and warning expostu- lation would not be heard. We should seek out sinners, we should weep over them ; we should warn them, and '• compel them to come in." Oh ! there is too little sympathy with the compassion of Christ in our churches ; they are lukewarm, they are lifeless and dead. Zion is at ease ; and you, her members, 'are willing to go home to your lovely families, to your well-furnished houses, to your cheerful fire-sides, and to your well-spread tables, and see your neigh- bors going to hell, without so much as an effort to effect their escape. When I say you, I mean myself. O this insensible heart ! how little does it weep over sinners ! how little does it bleed for their woes ! And is it better with you 1 Oh ! to have the compassionate mind that was in Christ ! The want of this makes us feel our want of the Holy Ghost.
Thirdly, If the Holy Ghost should come as we desire and have prayed for, I will tell you how he will come, — Sinners will flock to your sanctuaries until you have not sufficient room to hold them.
How different is the preaching of ministers in a time of revival ! The world hears of the change, and comes to listen to them. The world says, — « This is the kind of preaching that will do us good.' Yes ; and they are better judges of this matter than some of you may be ready to think. I have heard men, during a time of revival, who, by the strength of
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 359
their language, and frequency of their appeals, have so galled and offended the impenitent, that they have gone out, condemning the preachers, and saying that they would never come again ; but these same per- sons have been found in attendance on the next sermon. Whether they love or hate the preaching, they will come to hear it ; and God will humble their hearts, make them bow down to truth, and bring them to himself. The apostle Paul said, — " Brethren ! pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified;" and we, his uninspired successors, say, — : pray for us, that we may be faithful to our trust, and successful in our work.' We cannot do without your prayers. The arduous nature of our work, and the opposition we have to encounter, demand your prayers. Pray for your min- ister, brethren ! and pray for us, that we may have the Holy Ghost in our hearts ; and shed a"broad the spirit of prayer.
The melancholy termination of every revival has been caused by the withdrawal of divine influence, and that by the sins of the Church. The efforts at first were great, and great good was effected. But in a short time there was lukewarmness of heart, and they settled down again upon their lees. I hope that there will be such a revival of religion here as will continue to the end of time. We do not want periodical revivals ; but we want a revival for this year, for the next, and for all the periods of future time, to continue till the blast of the archangel's tmmp is heard. To secure this we want the Spirit of God as a spirit of prayer. Like Jacob, who wrestled with
360 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE
the angel, " till the morning light," we must say, — " I will not let thee go except thou bless me." And this must be not the transient impulse of the heart merely, but one continued and persevering deter- mination. If a revival should be granted, and we should then turn aside, the blame and the sin would rest with ourselves.
There is often much in a revival of religion that no eye can see. Some poor, but consistent, mother in Is- rael, perhaps, has great power with God in her closet. The state of those around her affects her heart, and she retires to her closet and pours out her heart in prayer. She prays for her minister ; and she makes him power- ful by the prevalency of her prayers. The world sees his power of persuasion, and his increased earnestness and success in his work, but they know not all the links of the golden chain. Ye aged mothers in Israel ! we look to you for your prayers. Forget us not when you retire to your closets. Pray that our hands may be strengthened by the Almighty God of Jacob.
I have one more reason to offer, to show the desira- bleness of our praying for the outpouring of the Spirit, and that is :
That, if the Spirit shall descend in answer to our prayers, there will be a great awakening of sinners to a sense of their danger.
In the midst of some of our revivals in America, it is astonishing what effects have been produced. Convic- tions, of the most astonishing kind, have been brought under our notice. When the Spirit of God has moved upon the hearts of a community in answer to prayer, a single passage of Scripture, or a single warning or ex-
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 361
hortation delivered at some former period, has come with overwhelming power to the minds of the impeni- tent. I remember a remarkable instance, which may- serve to illustrate my meaning. The young man re- lated this story to me himself. His father and mother were going to a protracted meeting for a revival of re- ligion in the neighborhood, and they desired him to accompany them. He had no desire for such meetings, and determined not to go. His parents then went, and left him at home ; but you may be sure that they did not neglect to pray for him. After they were gone he began to feel uneasy, and wished that he had accom- panied them. He determined, however, to drive away the thought, and tried to amuse himself, taking up first one thing and then another. He still felt a dreadful chasm. He then thought that he heard a voice saying to him, « Come, and let us reason together," &c. He tried to get rid of it, but in vain. The voice seemed to say,— < It is thy God who says it ; if you have any thing to say, answer your God ; come. Is it not rea- sonable that you should love him?' He again tried to get rid of it, and went into another part of the house for the purpose, but, " Come, let us reason together," <kc, still sounded in his ears, and so continued to fol- low him, that he at last cast himself on his knees, and cried out,—' My God, I have no reason ; I am a most unreasonable sinner.' He arose from his knees, went to the protracted meeting, and placed himself beside his father and mother, to whom he related what had oc- curred. This was the beginning of the work of the Spirit on his soul, which resulted in his conversion. Many such things as this may occur among you, if 31
362 ADDRESSES TO PROMOTE, &C.
the Spirit of God should now come in answer to our prayers. If not, we may abandon our meetings and return to our worldly avocation ; or rather humble our- selves and wait upon the Lord until he come. Impeni- tent sinner ! we want the Spirit for you, to convince you of your danger, and to lead you to fly to Jesus Christ as the sinner's friend. Oh ! let us, my dear brethren ! pray for the spirit ; and let us determine to give God no rest until " the day-spring from on high hath visited us."
ADDRESS IV.
EXTRACT FROM AN ADDRESS ON THE EFFORTS OF THE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE HEATHEN.
I may here remark, that the accounts of those dear Baptist brethren — Fuller, Ryland, Carey, and others — as to the destitution of the East, laid the foundation of missions in America. It is strange to find, however, that the spark which had thus been blown, should have been so long in kindling among us. About the year 1810, there was a little band of men — four, I believe in number — among whom was the future husband of Har- riet Newell, as also, Gordon Hall; — names with which I have no doubt you are all acquainted. These young men read the accounts forwarded to them from time to time ; they heard of the prevalence of infanticide in the different parts of the globe ; they beheld the iron sceptre of paganism swayed over the souls of millions of their fellow-immortals, and they wept ; for the feel- ings, which brought the Son of God from heaven to earth, had taken possession of their breasts. Though they loved their country, their homes, their literature, cheir civil and religious privileges ; yet, following the example of him who, " though he was rich, yet for our
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sakes became poor/' they were found ready to abandon all. and to become as poor as their Master, if thereby their fellow-creatures might be made rich.
I love to look back to the origin of modern missions, and to trace the progress they have made ; because I now find that infidels are beginning to look upon them with respect. We have given to a whole nation lan- guage and literature ; improvements in the arts of civi- lized life ; civil and religious privileges ; and a code of laws based upon those of Britain and America. In- fidels ascribe this to the advance of philosophy ; but far from this is the fact, for it had its origin in that love to Christ which existed in the bosoms of a few pious young men. Influenced by love to souls, they were accustomed to pour out their hearts in prayer at the back of a hay-stack, which was near to the college; and there called down a missionary spirit from heaven, which has proved the glory of our country.
It is always pleasing to trace the simplicity of God's plans in the execution of his own work. He chooses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty, the foolish to confound the wise, and the things that are not to put to naught the things that are. Philoso- phers have said, " Extend the arts and sciences, pro- mote commerce, establish colleges, and send out learned men.*' We waited for years for these philosophic men to act, but we waited in vain. They have not that love for Jesus in their hearts, which would lead them to eat the bread of sorrow with the poor heathen, for the sake of elevating them to the enjoyment of the great and glorious privileges of the Gospel of Christ. No ! God has wrought this by simpler means. He influen-
OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANS. 365
ces the hearts of a few young men with love to him, and the Spirit of Jesus sanctifies their prayers and efforts to the accomplishment of this great end.
At the time these young men first met to consult and pray over the sta*te of the heathen, there was no man in our country who would then advocate the cause of missions. A man who would then have given a hun- dred dollars to the cause of Christ would have been blazoned from one end of the land to the other ; but there are now those who give their thousands without its eliciting more than a passing remark. The contrast in this, and in other respects, is exceedingly great When these young men had debated the matter among themselves, they consulted some of the aged ministers in the neighborhood upon the subject, but they obtained no light. At last they thought of going before a body of Congregational ministers in a neighboring state, who were about to assemble at their annual convention, and agreed to lay before them the whole of their feelings and deliberations upon the subject, and to abide by their decision. These fathers of the Church were as- tonished at the glow of their zeal ; but after much deliberation and prayer, what was the result 1 Why, that, whilst they did not question the zeal or the devo- tedness of the parties, it was not possible for the whole of the American churches, at that time, to support four men. This was the state of feeling on the subject of missions in America, in 1810 ; and yet now, blessed be God ! we have at least three hundred missionaries em- ployed ; and I know one church that provides for its minister and supports a missionary. But what next did these parties do to whom these young men had ap-
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plied for advice ? Why, they sent them to England to try to raise the necessary funds there ; but, blessed be God ! the English laughed at them, and sent them back, telling them to try the churches in their own country, and not degrade them by saying that they were unable to support four isolated missionaries. They returned and tried the churches, and there found more piety and zeal than they had been led to expect. Last year, as is generally known, was a year of great depression to America : and yet there was no flagging in the missionary spirit. This I consider as a redeem- ing fact in favor of America, and nothing has more cheered my heart, during an absence of eighteen months from that country, than to know that they have been able to meet the demands which were against them, without the slightest decrease in the missionary treas- ure. One society only in America, and that the one established by these young men, annually expends fifty thousand dollars in the cause of the heathen. We have now stations at Siam, at Constantinople, at Bom- bay, at Calcutta, in China, in the Sandwich Islands, and at sundry other places; and have in connection with the Society 300 missionaries, of whom 150 are ordained ministers. Every time that we receive ac- counts from the Isles of the Pacific, we find that they are improving in their civil and political condition, and that such is their eagerness to receive our tracts and books, that it is impossible to print them fast enough. Well may we say, " What has God wrought V To such an extent did infanticide exist at the time when we commenced our operations there, that it was cal- culated that the whole of these islands would have
OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANS. 367
been depopulated in the course of thirty years. In- stead of this, they are now, not only rapidly increasing in civilization, but as steadily advancing in numbers. Here is a striking illustration of the value of money expended in the missionary cause. Blessed be God for teaching this people this lesson !