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PAROCHIAL  SERMONS, 


JOHN   HENRY  NEWMAN,   B.D. 

VICA.a    OF    SX.     MARY     THE     VIRGIN'S,     OXFORD,     AND     FELLOW     OF     ORIEL     COLIlEaa. 


SIX     VOLUMES,     LONDON     EDITION, 

IN    TWO    VOLU  MES. 
VOL.    I. 


NEW-YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    CO.,    200,    BROADWAY. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
GEORGE  S.  APPLETON,  148,  CHESTNUT-STREET. 

M  DCCC  XLIII. 


ii%^(ii  /I 


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CONTENTS 


TO   THE    FIRST    VOLUME   OF    THE    LONDON    EDITION. 


SERMON  I. 

HOLINESS    XECESSARY    FOR    FUTURE    BLESSEDNESS. 
Hebrews  xii.  14. 

PAGE 

HoltnesB,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord      ....       3 
SERMON   II. 

THE    IMMORTALITY    OF    THE    SOUL. 

Matt.  xvi.  26. 

What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul  ?      -  -  •  -       12 

SERMON  III. 

KNOWLEDGE    OF    GOd's    WILL    WITHOUT    OBEDIENCE. 

John  xiii.  17. 
If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them  -  -  .       I'J 

SERMON  IV. 

SECRET    FAULTS. 
Psalm  xlx.  12. 

Who  can  underatand  his  errors  ?     Cleanse  Thou  me  from  secret  faults     .       27 

SERMON  V. 

SELF-DENIAL    THE    TEST    OP    RELIGIOUS    EARNESTNESS. 

Romans  xiii.  11. 

Now  it  is  high  time  to  awake  out  of  sleep      .....       36 

SERMON  VI. 

THE    SPIRITUAL    MIND. 

1  Cor.  iv.  20. 
The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  word,  but  in  power     ....       45 

*  The  American  Tublishers  have  thought  proper  to  retain  the  order  of  the  Sermons  ai 
hey  arc  contained  in  the  London  Edition,  which  was  printed  in  six  volumes. 


IV  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  VII. 

SINS    OF   IGNORANCE    AND   WKAKNES3. 
Hebrews  x.  22. 
Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our 
hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with 
pure  water  .......--       51 

SERMON  VIII. 
god's  commandments  not  grievous. 
1  John  v.  3. 
This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  his  commandments ;  and  his  com- 
mandments  are  not  grievous     .......       59 

SERMON   IX. 

THE    RELIGIOUS    USE    OF    EXCITED    FEELINGS. 
Luke  viii.  38,  39. 
The  man  out  of  whom  the  Devils  were  departed,  besought   him  that  he 
might  be  with  Him  ;  but  Jesus  sent  him  away,  saying.  Return  to  thine 
own  house,  and  show  how  great  things  God  hath  done  unto  thee         -       68 

SERMON  X. 

PROFESSION    WITHOUT    PRACTICE. 
Luke  xii.  1. 
When  there  were  gathered  together  an  innumerable  multitude  of  people, 
insomuch  that  they  trode  one  upon  another.  He  began  to  say  unto  His 
disciples  first  of  all.  Beware  ye  of  the  leaven  of  the   Pharisees  which 
is  hypocrisy  --.......       75 

SERMON    XI. 

PROFESSION    WITHOUT    HYPOCRISY. 

Galatia.ns  iii.  27. 

As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ     -       83 

SERMON  XII. 

PROFESSION    WITHOUT    OSTENTATION. 

Matthew  v.   14. 

Ye  are  the  hght  of  the  world.     A  city  that  is  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid       90 

SERMON   XIII. 

PROMISING    WITHOUT    DOING. 

Matthew  xxi.  28—30. 
A  certain  man  had  two  sons ;  and  he  came  to  the  firit,  and  said.  Son,  go 
work  to-day  in  my  vineyard.     He  answered  and  said,  I  will  not  :  but 


CONTENTS.  V 

afterwards  he  repented  and  went.      And  he  came  to  the  second,  and 
aaid  Hkewise.     And  he  answered  and  said,  I  go,  Sir,  and  went  not     -       98 

SERxMON  XIV. 

RELIGIOUS    EMOTION. 
Mark  xIt.  31. 
But  he  spake  the  more  vehemently,  If  I  should  die  with  Thee,  I  will  not 
deny  tliee  in  any  wise  .-.--...       104 

SERMON  XV. 

RELIGIOUS    FAITH    RATIONAL. 

Romans  iv.  20,  21. 
He  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God  through  unbeUef ;  but  was  strong 
in  faith,  giving  glory  to  God  ;  and  being  fully  persuaded  that  what  He 
had  promised  He  was  able  also  to  perform  -  -  -  -       112 

SERMON    XVI. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MYSTERIES. 
JoHX  iii.  9. 


How  can  these  things  be  ?  .......       119 

SERMON  XVII. 

THE    SELF-WISE    INQUIRER. 

1  CoR.  iii.  18,  19. 

Let  no  man  deceive  himself.  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  wise 
in  this  world,  let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be  wise.  For  the 
wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God.  For  it  is  written,  He 
taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness       .....       126 

SERMON  XVIII. 

OBEDIENCE    THE    REMEDY    FOR    RELIGIOUS    PERPLEXITY. 

FsALM  xxxvii.  34. 

Wait  on  the  Lord,  and  keep  his  way,  and  He  sheill  exalt  tlice  to  inherit 
the  land 134 

SERMON  XIX. 

TIMES    OF    PRIVATE    PRAYER. 

Matthew  vi.  6. 

Thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut 
thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father  which 
6e«tb  in  secret  shall  reward  thee  openly      -  -  -  -  .143 


VI  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XX. 

FORMS    OF    PRIVATE    PRAYER. 

Luke  xi.  1. 
Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples       -  -  .151 

SERMON  XXI. 

THE    RESURRECTION    OF    THE    BODY. 
Luke  xx.  37,  38. 
Now  that  the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush,  when  he 
calleth  the  Lord   tlic  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God   of    Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob.     For  He  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  hving  ; 
for  all  live  unto  Ilun       -  .  -  .  .  .  .  .     1 59 

SERMON  XXII. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    WITNESSES. 

Acts  x.|40,  4L 
Him  God  raised  up  the  third  day,  and  showed  Him  openly ;  not  to  all  the 
people,  but  unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us  who  did  eat 
and  drink  with  Him  after  He  rose  from  the  dead    -  -  -  -     165 

SERMON  XXIII. 

CIIRISTIAN    REVERENCE. 

Psalm  ii.  11. 

Serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with  trembling  .  .  .172 

SERMON  XXIV. 

THE    RELIGI0:>^    OF    THE    DAY. 

Hkbrkws  xii.28,  29. 
Let  UB  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve  God  acceptably,  with  reverence 
and  godly  fear.      For  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire  -  .  .     180 

SERMON    XXV. 

SCRIPTURE    A    RECORD    OF    HUMAN    SORROW. 
John  v.  2,  3. 
There  is  at  Jerusalem  by  the  shcepmarkct  a  pool,  which  is  called  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  Bethesda,  having  five  porclies.      In  these  lay  a  great 
multitude  of  impotent  folk,  of  blind,  luilt,  withered,  waiting  for  the 
moving  of  tlie  water     -  .  -  .  .  .  .  -      189 

SERMON  XXVI. 

CHRISTIAN     MAMIOOD. 
1  CoR.  xiii.  11. 
When  1  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I  thought 
as  a  child  ;  but  wiieu  I  became  a  man  I  put  away  childish  things       ■      196 


CONTENTS 

TO   THB   SECOND  VOLUME   OF    THE    LONDON    EDlTlOIf. 


SERMON   I. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  ANDREW  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE    world's    benefactors. 
John  i.  40. 
-One  of  the  two  which  lieard  John  speak,  and  followed  him,  was  Andrew, 
Simon  Peter's  brother     ........     209 

SERMON   II. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  THOMAS  THE  APOSTLE. 
FAITH    WITHOUT    SIGHT. 
John  xx.  29. 
Thomas,  because  Thou  hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  believed ;  blessed   are 
they  that  have  not  setn,  and  yet  have  believed      .  -  .  .215 

SERMON    III. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVITY  OF  OUR  LORD. 

THE    INCARNATION. 

John  i.   14. 

The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us       -  .  .  .     223 

SERMON    IV. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  STEPHEN  THE  MARTYR. 

MARTYRDOJI. 

Heb.  xi.  37. 

They  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,   were  tempted,  were  slain 
with  the  sword 231 

SERMON  Y. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST. 

LOVE    OF    RELATIONS    AND    FRIENDS. 

1  John  iv.  7. 

Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,  for  love  is  of  God  .  -  -     237 


Vlll  CONTENTS, 

SERMON    VI. 

THS  FEAST  OF  THE  HOLY  I.WNOCEyTS. 
THE    MIND    OF    LITTLE     CHILDREN. 
Matt,  xviii.  3. 
Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children,  yc  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven    .-.-.-.      243 

SERMON  VII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
CEREJIONIES    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Matt.    iii.   15. 
Suffer  it  to  be  so  now ;  for  thus  it  becomctli  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness      247 

SERMON  VIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  EPIPHANY. 
THE    GLORY    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 

Isaiah  Ix.  1. 
Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is  corne,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee   253 

SERMON    IX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL. 
VIEWED    IN    REFERENCE    TO    HIS    OFFICE. 

1  CoR.  XV.  9,  10. 
I  am  the  least  of  the  Apostles,  that  am  not  meet  to  be  called  an  Apostle, 
because  I  persecuted  the  Church  of  God.  But  by  the  grace  of  God 
I  am  what  I  am  :  and  His  grace  which  was  bestowed  upon  me  was  not 
in  vain  ;  but  I  laboured  more  abundantly  than  they  all ;  yet  not  I,  but 
the  grace  of  God  which  was  with  me  .....      262 

SERMON  X. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY. 

SECRESY    AND    SUDDENNESS    OF    DIVINE    VISITATIONS. 

LuKK  xviii.  20. 

The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation  ....      269 

SERMON    XI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHIAS  THE  APOSTLE. 
DIVINE    DECREES. 

Rev.  iii.  11. 
Hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  tliy  crown         .  .      27S 


CONTENTS.  IX 

SERMON  XII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  AyNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY. 

THE    REVERENCE    DUE     TO    HER. 

Luke  i.  48. 

From  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed  -  -  -     281 

SERMON   XIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  OUR  LORD. 

CHRIST,    A    QUICKENING    SPIRIT. 

Luke  xxiv.  5,  6. 
Why  seek  ye  the  Living  among  the  dead  ?     He  is  not  here,  but  is  risen     288 

SERMON    XIV. 

,      MONDAY  IN  EASTER  WEEK. 
SAVING    KNOWLEDGE. 
1  John  ii.  3. 
Hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His  commandments     295 

SERMON  XV. 

TUESDAY  IN  EASTER  WEEK. 

SELF-CONTEMPLATION. 

Hebrews  xii.  2. 

Looking  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith    -  -  .     302. 

SERMON   XVI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MARK  THE  EVANGELIST. 

RELIGIOUS    COWARDICE. 

Hebrews  xii.  12. 

Lift  up  the  hands  which  hang  down,  and  the  feeble  knees  ...     309 

SERMON  XVII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES  THE   APOSTLES. 

THE    GOSPEL    WITNESSES. 

2  Cor.  xiii.  L 

In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall  every  word  be  established        313 

SERMON  XVIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ASCENSION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
MYSTERIES    IN    RELIGION. 
Romans  viii.  34. 
It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea,  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  who  also  makcth  intercession  for  us  -  -  -     327 


X  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XIX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  PENTECOST. 
THE    INDWELLING    SPIKIT. 
Romans  viii.   9. 
Ye  arc  not  in  tlic  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwell  in  you         .........     333 

SERMON  XX. 

MONDAY  IN  WHITSUN  WEEK. 
THE    KINGDOM    OF    THE    SAINTS. 
Dan.  ii.  35. 
The  stone  that  smote  the  Image  became  a  great  Mountain,  and  filled  the 
whole  eartli  .  ........      342 

SERMON  XXI. 

L  TUESDAY  IN  WHITSUN  WEEK. 
THE     KINGDOM    OF   THE    SAINTS. 
Dan.  ii.  35. 
The  stone  that  smote  the  Image  became  a  great  Mountain,  and  filled  tlio 
whole  earth 349 

SERMON  XXII. 

TRINITY  SUNDAY. 

THE    GOSPEL,   A   TRUST   COMMITTED    TO    US. 

1  Tim.  vi.  20,  21. 

0  Timothy,  keep  that  wliicli  is  committed  to  Thy  trust,  avoiding  profane 
and  vain  babblings,  and  oppositions  of  science  falsely  bo  called;  which 
Bomo  professing,  have  erred  concerning  the  Faith  ...      356 

SERMON  XXIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  BARNABAS  THE  APOSTLE. 

TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR. 

Acts  xi.  24. 

He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  tlie  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  faith      -  -     367 

SERMON  XXIV. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVITY  OF  ST.  JOHN  BAPTIST. 

REKUKING    SIN. 

Mark  vi.  18. 

John  had  said  imto  Herod,  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  have  thy  brother's  wife     377 

SERMON  XXV. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PETER  THE  APOSTLE, 
THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY. 

Luke  vii.  28. 

1  say  unto  you.  Among  those  tl);it  arc  bom  of  women  there  is  not  a 
greater  prophet  than  Jolin  tlie  l{a])li8t :  but  he  that  is  least  in  the  king, 
dom  of  God  is  greater  than  iic  .....  .      382 


CONTENTS.  XI 

SERMON    XXVI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JAMES  THE  APOSTLE. 
HUMAN    RESPONSIBILITY. 
Matt.  xx.  23. 
To  Bit  on  My  right  hand  and  on  My  left,  is  not  mine  to  give  ;  but  it  shall 
be  given  to  tlicm  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  My  Father    -  -  -      39 1 

SERMON    XXVII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW  THE  APOSTLE. 

GUILELESSNESS. 

John  i.  47. 

Jesus  sawNathanacl  coming  to  Him,  and  saith  of  him.  Behold  an  Israel. 

ite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile  ......     402 

SERMON  XXVIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHEW  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE    DANGER    OF    RICHES. 

Luke  vi.  24. 
Wo  unto  you  that  are  rich!   for  ye  have  received  your  consolation         .      407 

SERMON  XXIX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MICHAEL  AND  ALL  AXGELS. 

THE    POWERS    OF    NATURE. 

Psalm  civ,  4. 

Who  maketh  His  Angels  spirits,  His  Ministers  a  flaming  fire       -  .416 

SERMON  XXX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  LUKE  THE  EVANGELIST. 

THE    DANGER    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 

ExoD.  xxxi.  6. 

In  the  hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted,  I  have  put  wisdom       .  -     422 

SERMON  XXXI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE  THE  APOSTLES. 

CHRISTIAN    ZEAL. 

John  ii.  17. 

Th«  zeal  of  Thine  House  hath  eaten  Me  up 429 

SERMON    XXXII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ALL  SAINTS. 
USE    OF  saints'    DAYS. 

Acts  i.  8. 
Ye  shall  be  Witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jorusalcm,  and  in  all  Judca,  and 
in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth     .  -  -     437 


CONTENTS 


TO   THE     THIRD   VJLUME    OF    THK    LO>{EON   EDITION- 


SERMON     I, 

ABRAHAM    A>'D    LOT. 
Gfn.  xiii.  10,  11. 
Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  beheld   all  the  plain  of  Jordan,  that  it  was 
well  watered  every  where,  before  the  Lord  destroyed  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah, even  as  the  garden  of  tlie  Lord,  like  the  land  of  Egypt,   as 
thou  comest  unto  Zoar.      Then  Lot  chose  him  all  the  plain  of  Jordan      449' 

SERMON   II. 
WILFULNESS    OF    ISRAEL    US'    REJECTING    SAMUEL. 
Ps.  xlvi.  10. 
Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God  :  I  will  be  exalted  among  the  heathen, 
I  will  be  exalted  in  the  earth   ....---      457 

SERMON    III. 

SAUL. 

Hos.  xiii.  11. 

I  gave  thee  a  king  in  Mine  anger,  and  took  him  away  in  My  wrath       -      465- 

SERMON    IV. 

EARLY    YEARS   OF    DAVID. 
Samuel  xvi.  18. 
Behold,  I  have  seen  a  son  of  Jesse  the  Beth-lehemitc,  that  is  cunning  in 
playing,  and  a  mighty  valiant  man,  and  a  man  of  war,  and  prudent  in 
matters,  and  a  comely  person,  and  the  Lord  is  with  him  -  -      474 

SERMON  V. 

JEROBOAM. 
1  Kings  xiii.  2. 
He  cried  against  the  altar  in  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  said,  O  altar, 
altar,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Behold,  a  child  shall  be  born  unto  the  house 
of  David,  Josiah  by  name;  and  u[)on  thee  shall  he  offer  the  priests  of 
the  high  places  that  bum  incense  upon  thee,  and  men's  bones  shall  b« 
burnt  upon  thee   ..--.....     483 


CONTENTS.  Xm 

SERMON  VI. 

FAITH    AND    OBEDIENCE. 

Matt.  xix.  17. 
If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments  -  .  -     493 

SERMON  VII. 

CHRISTIAN    REPENTANCE. 

Luke  xv.  18,  19. 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  thee,  and  am   no  more 
worthy  to  be  callad  thy  son ;  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants        500 

SERMON  VIII. 

CONTRACTED    VIEWS    IN   RELIGION. 

Luke  xv.  28. 
Lo,  these  many  years  do  I  serve  thee,  neither  transgressed  I  at  any  time 
thy  commandment ;  and  yet  thou  never  gavest  me  a  kid,  that  I  might 
make  merry  with  my  friends    ..----.      507 

SERMON    IX. 

A    PARTICULAR    PROVIDENCE    AS    REVEALED    IN    THE    GOSPEL. 

Gen.  xvi.  13. 

Thou  God  seest  me  ........      514 

SERMON   X. 

TEARS    OF    CHRIST    AT    THE    GRAVE    OF    LAZARUS. 
John  xi.  34—36. 
Jesus  said.  Where  have  ye  laid  him  ?      They  say  unto  Him,   Lord  come 
and  see.     Jesus  wept.     Then  said  the  Jews,  Behold,  how  he  loved  him    522 

SERMON    XI. 

BODILY    SUFFERI.VG. 
Col.  i.  24. 
I  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh 
for  His  body's  sake   which  is  the  Church     -  -  .  -  .      529 

SERMON  XII. 

THE    HUMILIATION    OF    THE     ETi:i>NAL    SON. 

Hei.  v.  7,  8. 
Who,  in  the  days  of  His  flcsli,  wlicn  he  had  offered  up  prayers  and  supphca. 
tions  with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  tiiat  was  able  to  save  Him 
from  death,  and  was  heard  in  that  He  feared  ;  though  He  were  a  Son, 
yet  learned  He  obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suffered        -  -     539 


XIV  C O  >IT  E  N  T  S  . 

SERMON  XIII. 

JEWISH    ZEAL,    A    PATTERN    TO    CHRISTIANS. 
Judges  v.  31. 
So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish,  O  Lord  ;  but  let  tiiem  that  love  Ilim  be 
as  the  siui  when  he  goctii  forth  in  his  might.      And  the  land  had  rest 
forty  years  ......---      549 

SERMON   XIV. 

SUBMISSION    TO    CHURCH    AUTHORITY. 

Prov.  iv.  24—27. 
Put  away  from  thee  a  froward  mouth,  and  perverse  lips  put  far  from  thee. 
Let  thine  eyes  look  right  on,  and  l«t  thine  eye-lids  look  straight  before 
thee.      Ponder  the  path  of  thy  feet,  and  let  all  thy  ways  be  established. 
Turn  not  to  tlic  right  hand  nor  to  the  left ;  remove  thy  foot  from  evil      559 

SERMON    XV. 

.   CONTEST  BETWEEN  TRUTH  AND  FALSEHOOD  IN  THE  CHURCH. 

Matt.  xiii.  47,  48. 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net,  that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and 
gathered  of  every  kind;  which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore 
and  sat  down,  and  gatliered  the  good  into  vessels,  but  cast  the  bad  away      568 

SERMON  XVI. 

THE    CHURCH    VISIBLE    AND    INVISIBLE. 

2  Tim.  ii.  20. 
In  a  great  house  there  are  not  only  vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver,  but  also 
of  wood  and  of  earth  ;  and  some  to  honour,  and  some  to  dishonour    -      576 

SERMON    XVII. 

THE    VISIBLE    CHURCH    AN    ENCOURAGEMENT    TO    FAITH. 
Heb.  xii.  1. 
"Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of 
witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily 
beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us     -      586 

SERMON  XVIII. 

THE    GIFT    OF    THE     SPIRIT. 

2  CoR.  iii.  18. 
We  all  with  open  face,  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  arc 
changed  into"  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord 596 

SERMON    XIX. 

REGENERATING    BAPTISM. 

1  Con.  xii.  13. 

By  one  Spirit  arc  \vc  all  bajjtizcd  into  one  body  ....     606 


CONTENTS.  XV 

SERMON   XX. 

INFANT    BAPTISM. 

Matt,  xviii.  5. 
Whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  iu  I\Iy  name,  receivetli  Me       -      615 

SERMON  XXL 

THE    DAILY    SERVICE. 

Heb.x.25. 

Not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some 
is,  but  exhorting  one  another  ;  and  so  much  the  more,  as  ye  see  the  day 
approaching  .......  .  -      623 

SERMON  XXII. 

THE    GOOD    PART    OF    MARY. 
Luke  x.  41,42. 
Martha,  Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things ;  but 
one  thing  is  needful :   and  Mary  hatli  chosen  that  good  part,   which 
shall  not  be  taken  away  from  her      ......      633 

SERMON  XXIII. 

RELIGIOUS    WORSHIP    THE    REMEDY    FOR    EXCITEMENTS. 

James  v.  13. 

Is  any  among  you  afflicted  ?  let  him  pray.    Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms  643 

SERMON  XXIV. 

INTERCESSION. 
Eph.  vii.  18. 
Praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and  watch, 
ing  thereunto  with  all  perseverance  and  supplication  for  all  saints       -      651 

SERMON    XXV. 

THE    INTERMEDIATE    STATE. 
Rev.  vi.  11. 

And  wliite  robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of  them ;  and  it  was  said 
unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until  their  fellow- 
servants  also,  and  their  brethren,  that  should  bo  killed  as  they  were, 
should  be  fulfilled 661 


PAROCHIAL     SERMONS 


VOL.   I. 
OF    THE    LONDON     EDITION. 


Vol.  I.-l 


SERMONS,   &c. 


SERMON    I. 


HOLINESS  NECESSARY  FOR  FUTURE  BLESSEDNESS. 


Hebrews  xii-  14. 

"  Holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord." 

In  this  text  it  has  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Spirit  to  convey  a  chief 
truth  of  rehgion  in  a  few  words  It  is  this  circumstance  which  makes 
it  especially  impressive  :  for  'he  truth  itself  is  declared  in  one  form  or 
other  in  every  part  of  Scriivure.  It  is  told  us  again  and  again,  that  to 
make  sinful  creatures  boly  was  the  great  end  which  our  Lord  had  in 
view  in  taking  upon  1^^"^  our  nature,  and  thus  none  but  the  holy  will  be 
accepted  for  His  •^^ii^e  at  the  last  day.  The  whole  history  of  redemp- 
tion, the  cove-i3''»t  of  mercy  in  all  its  parts  and  provisions,  attest  the 
necessity  a  holiness  in  order  to  salvation ;  as  indeed  even  our  natural 
conscience  bears  witness  also.  But  in  the  text  what  is  elsewhere  im- 
plied in  Jiistory,  and  enjoined  by  precept,  is  stated  doctrinally,  as  a  mo- 
mentovs  and  necessary  fact,  the  result  of  some  awful  irreversible  law  in 
the  mature  of  things,  and  the  inscrutable  determination  of  the  Di\'ine 
Will. 

Now  some  one  may  ask,  "  Why  is  it  that  holiness  is  a  necessary 
qualification  for  our  being  received  into  heaven  ?  why  is  it  that  the  Bible 
enjoins  upon  us  so  strictly  to  love,  fear,  and  obey  God,  to  be  just,  honest, 
meek,  pure  in  heart,  forgiving,  heavenly-minded,  s^lfrdenying,  humble, 
and  resigned  ?  Man  is  confessedly  weak  and  corrupt ;  why  then  is  he 
enjoined  to  be  so  religious,  so  unearthly  ?  why  is  he  required  (in  the 
strong  language  of  Scripture)  to  become  "  a  new  creature  ?     Since  he 


4  HOLINESS   NECESSARY  FOR  [Serm. 

is  by  nature  what  ho  is,  woukl  it  not  bo  an  act  of  greater  mercy  in  God 
to  save  him  aUogether  without  this  holiness,  which  it  is  so  difficult,  yet 
(as  it  appears)  so  necessary  for  him  to  possess  ? " 

Now  we  have  no  right  to  ask  this  question.  Surely  it  is  quite  enough 
for  a  sinner  to  know,  that  a  way  has  been  opened  through  God's  grace 
for  his  salvation,  without  being  informed  why  that  way,  and  not  another 
way  was  chosen  by  Divine  Wisdom.  Eternal  life  is  "  the  gift  of 
God. "  Undoubtedly  He  may  prescribe  the  terms  on  Avhich  He  will 
give  it ;  and  if  He  has  determined  holiness  to  be  the  way  of  life,  it  is 
enough ;  it  is  not  for  us  to  inquire  Avhy  He  has  so  determined. 

Yet  the  question  may  be  asked  reverently,  and  with  a  view  to  enlarge 
our  insight  into  t)ur  own  condition  and  prospects  ;  and  in  that  case  the 
attempt  to  answer  it  will  be  profitable,  if  it  be  made  soberly.  I  proceed, 
therefore,  to  state  one  of  the  reasons  assigned  in  Scripture,  why  present 
holiness  is  necessary,  as  the  text  declares  to  us,  for  future  happiness. 

To  be  holy  is,  in  our  Church's  words,  to  have  "  the  true  circumcision 
of  the  Spirit ; "  that  is,  to  be  separate  from  sin,  to  hate  the  works  of  the 
w^orld,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil ;  to  take  pleasure  in  keeping  God's  comr 
mandments  ;  to  do  things  as  He  would  have  us  do  them  ;  to  live  habit- 
ually as  in  the  sight  of  the  world  to  come,  as  if  we  had  broken  the  ties 
of  this  life,  and  were  dead  already.  Why  cannot  we  be  saved  without 
possessing  such  a  frame  and  temper  of  miud  ? 

I  answer  as  follows:  That,  even  supposing  a  man  of  unholy  life  were 
suffered  to  enter  Heaven,  he  wmild  not  ht  happy  {here  ;  so  that  it  would 
be  no  mercy  to  permit  him  to  enter. 

We  are  apt  to  deceive  ourselves,  and  to  comid&r  Heaven  a  place  like 
this  earth ;  I  mean,  a  place  where  every  one  miy  -hoose  and  take  his 
own  pleasure.  We  see  that  in  this  world,  active  laen  have  their  own 
enjoyments,  and  domestic  men  have  theirs ;  men  of  litetattre  of  science 
of  political  talent,  have  their  respective  pursuits  and  pleasnrts.  Hence 
we  are  led  to  act  as  if  it  will  be  the  same  in  another  world.  The  only 
difference  we  put  between  this  world  and  the  next,  is  that  here,  /as  we 
knovr  well),  men  are  not  always  sure,  but  there,  we  suppose  they  w'il  he 
altvaps  sure,  of  obtaining  what  they  seek  after.  And  accordingly  we 
conclude,  that  any  man,  whatever  his  habits,  tastes,  or  manner  of  life  if 
one*  admitted  into  Heaven,  would  be  happy  there.  Not  that  we  alto- 
gether deny,  that  some  preparation  is  necessary  for  the  next  world  ;  but 
we  do  not  estimate  its  real  extent  and  importance.  We  tliink  we  can 
reconcile  ourselves  to  God  when  we  will ;  as  if  nothing  were  required 
in  the  case  of  men  in  general,  but  some  temporary  attention,  more  than 
ordinary,  to  our  religious  duties, — some  strictness,  during  our  last  sick- 
ness, to  the  services  of  the  Church,  as  men  of  business  arrange  their 


I.]  FUTURE   BLESSEDNESS.  6 

letters  and  papers  on  taking  a  journey  or  balancing  an  account.  But  an 
opinion  like  this,  though  commonly  acted  on,  is  refuted  as  soon  as  put 
into  words.  For  Heaven,  it  is  plain  from  Scripture,  is  not  a  place 
where  many  different  and  discordant  pursuits  can  be  carried  on  at  once, 
as  is  the  case  in  this  world.  Here  every  man  can  do  his  own  pleasure, 
but  there  he  must  do  God's  pleasure.  It  would  be  presumption  to  at- 
tempt to  determine  the  employments  of  that  eternal  life  which  good  men 
are  to  pass  in  God's  presence,  or  to  deny  that  that  state  which  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  mind  conceived,  may  comprise  an  infinite 
variety  of  pursuits  and  occupations.  Still  so  far  we  are  distinctly  told, 
that  that  future  life  will  be  spent  in  God's  presence,  in  a  sense  which  does 
not  apply  to  our  present  life ;  so  that  it  may  be  best  described  as  an  end- 
less and  uninterrupted  worship  of  the  Eternal  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit. 
"  They  serve  him  day  and  night  in  His  temple,  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne  shall  dwell  among  them  ....  The  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains 
of  water.  "  Again,  "The  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the 
moon  to  shine  in  it,  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is 
the  light  thereof.  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk 
in  the  light  of  it,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  and 
honour  into  it. "  *  These  passages  from  St.  John  are  sufficient  to  re- 
mind us  of  many  others. 

Heaven,  then,  is  not  like  this  world ;  I  will  say  what  it  is  much  more 
like, — a  church.  For  in  a  place  of  public  worship  no  language  of  this 
world  is  heard  ;  there  are  no  schemes  brought  forward  for  temporal  ob- 
jects, great  or  small ;  no  information  how  to  strengthen  our  worldly  in- 
terests, extend  our  influence,  or  establish  our  credit.  These  things  in- 
deed may  be  right  in  their  way,  so  that  we  do  not  set  our  hearts  upon 
them ;  still,  (I  repeat,)  it  is  certain  that  we  hear  nothing  of  them  in  a 
church.  Here  we  hear  solely  and  entirely  of  God.  We  praise  Him, 
worship  Him,  sing  to  Him,  thank  Him,  confess  to  Him,  give  ourselves 
up  to  Him,  and  ask  His  blessing.  And  therefore,  a  church  is  like  Hea- 
ven ;  viz.,  because  both  in  the  one  and  the  other,  there  is  one  single 
sovereign  subject — religion — brought  before  us. 

Supposing,  then,  instead  of  it  being  said  that  no  irreligious  man  could 
serve  and  love  God  in  Heaven,  (or  see  Him,  as  the  text  expresses  it,) 
we  were  told  that  no  irreligious  man  could  worship,  or  spiritually  see 
Him  in  church ;  should  we  not  at  once  perceive  the  meaning  of  the  doc- 
trine ■?  viz.  that,  were  a  man  to  come  hither,  who  had  suffered  his  mind 
to  grow  up  in  its  own  way,  as  nature  or  chance  determined,  without  any 

*  Rev.  vii.  15,  17;  xxi.  23,  24. 


6  HOLINESS  NECESSARY   FOR  [Sbrm. 

deliberate  habitual  effort  after  truth  and  purity,  he  Avould  find  no  real 
pleasure  here,  but  would  soon  get  weary  of  the  place  ;  because,  in  this 
house  of  God,  he  would  hear  only  of  that  one  subject  which  he  cared 
little  or  nothing  about,  and  nothing  at  all  of  those  things  which  excited 
his  hopes  and  fears,  his  sympathies  and  energies.  If,  then,  a  man  with- 
out religion  (supposing  it  possible)  were  admitted  into  Heaven,  doubt- 
less he  would  sustain  a  great  disappointment.  Before,  indeed,  he  fan- 
cied that  he  could  be  happy  there  ;  but  when  he  arrived  there,  he  would 
find  no  discourse  but  that  which  he  had  shunned  on  earth,  no  pursuits 
but  those  he  had  disliked  or  despised,  nothing  which  bound  him  to  aught 
else  in  the  universe,  and  made  him  feel  at  home,  nothing  which  he  could 
enter  into  and  rest  upon.  He  woidd  perceive  himself  to  be  an  isolated 
being,  cut  away  by  Supreme  Power  from  those  objects  which  were  still 
entwined  around  his  heart.  Nay,  he  would  be  in  the  presence  of  that 
Supreme  Power,  whom  he  never  on  earth  could  bring  himself  steadily 
to  think  upon,  and  whom  now  he  regarded  only  as  the  destroyer  of  all 
that  was  precious  and  dear  to  him.  Ah  !  he  could  not  hear  the  face  of 
the  Living  God  ;  the  Holy  God  would  be  no  object  of  joy  to  him.  "  Let 
liG  alone  !  What  have  we  to  do  with  thee  1  "  is  the  sole  thought  and  de- 
sire of  unclean  souls,  even  while  they  acknowledge  His  majesty.  None 
but  the  holy  can  look  upon  the  Holy  One  ;  without  holiness  no  man  can 
endure  to  see  the  Lord. 

When,  then,  we  think  to  take  part  in  the  joys  of  heaven  without  holi- 
ness, we  are  as  inconsiderate  as  if  we  supposed  we  could  take  an  inter- 
est in  the  worship  of  Christians  here  below  without  possessing  it  in  our 
measure.  A  careless,  a  sensual,  an  unbelieving  mind,  a  mind  destitute 
of  the  love  and  fear  of  God,  with  narrow  views  and  earthly  aims,  a  low 
standard  of  duty,  and  a  benighted  conscience,  a  mind  contented  with  it- 
self, and  unresigned  to  God's  will,  would  not  feel  pleasure,  at  the  last 
day,  at  the  words,  "  Enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord, "  more  than  it  does 
now  at  the  words,  "  Let  us  pray.  "  Nay,  much  less,  because,  while  we 
ar3  in  a  church,  we  may  turn  our  thoughts  to  other  subjects,  and  contrive 
to  forget  that  God  is  looking  on  us ;  but  that  will  not  be  possible  in 
Heaven. 

We  see,  then,  that  holiness,  or  inward  separation  from  the  world,  is 
necessary  to  our  admission  into  Heaven,  because  Heaven  is  not  Heaven, 
is  not  a  place  of  happiness  except  to  the  holy.  There  are  bodily  indis- 
positions which  aflect  the  taste,  so  that  the  sweetest  flavours  become 
ungrateful  to  the  palate  ;  and  indispositions  which  impair  the  sight,  ting- 
ing the  fair  face  of  nature  with  some  sickly  hue.  In  like  manner, 
there  is  a  moral  malady  which  disorders  the  inward  sight  and  taste  ; 
and  no  man  labouring  under  it  is  in  a  condition  to  enjoy  what  Scripture 


I.]  FUTURE  BLESSEDNESS.  7 

calls  "the  fulness  of  joy  in  God's  presence,  and  pleasures  at  His  right 
hand  for  evermore." 

Nay,  I  will  venture  to  say  more  than  this  ; — it  is  fearful,  but  it  is  right 
to  say  it ; — that  if  we  wished  to  hnagine  a  punishment  for  an  unholy,  re- 
probate soul,  we  perhaps  could  not  fancy  a  greater  than  to  summon  it  to 
Heaven.  Heaven  would  be  hell  to  an  irreligious  man.  We  know  how 
unhappy  we  are  apt  to  feel  at  present,  when  alone  in  the  midst  of  stran- 
gers, or  of  men  of  different  tastes  and  habits  from  ourselves.  How  mis- 
erable, for  example,  would  it  be  to  have  to  live  in  a  foreign  land,  among 
a  people  whose  faces  we  never  saw  before,  and  whose  language  we 
could  not  learn.  And  this  is  but  a  faint  illustration  of  the  loneliness  of 
a  man  of  earthly  dispositions  and  tastes,  thrust  into  the  society  of  saints 
and  angels.  How  forlorn  would  he  wander  through  the  courts  of  Hea- 
ven ;  He  would  find  no  one  like  himself;  he  would  see  in  every  direc- 
tion the  marks  of  God's  holiness,  and  these  would  make  him  shudder. 
He  would  feel  himself  always  in  his  presence.  He  could  no  longer 
turn  his  thoughts  another  way,  as  he  does  now,  when  conscience  re- 
proaches liim.  He  would  know  that  the  Eternal  Eye  was  ever  upon 
him  ;  and  that  Eye  of  holiness,  which  is  joy  and  life  to  holy  creatures, 
would  seem  to  him  an  eye  of  wrath  and  punishment.  God  cannot 
change  his  nature.  Holy  He  must  ever  be.  But  while  he  is  holy,  no 
unholy  soul  can  be  happy  in  Heaven.  Fire  does  not  inflame  iron,  but 
it  inflames  straw.  It  would  cease  to  be  fire  if  it  did  not.  And  so  Hea- 
ven itself  would  be  fire  to  those,  wlro  would  fain  escape  across  the  great 
gulf  from  the  torments  of  Hell.  The  finger  of  Lazarus  would  but  in- 
crease their  thirst.  The  very  "  Heaven  that  is  over  their  head,"  will 
be  "  brass  "  to  them. 

And  now  I  have  partly  explained  why  it  is  that  holiness  is  prescribed 
to  us  as  the  condition  on  our  part  for  our  admission  into  Heaven.  It 
seems  to  be  necessary  from  the  very  nature  of  things.  We  do  not  see 
how  it  could  be  otherwise. — Now  then  I  will  mention  two  important 
truths  which  seem  to  follow  from  what  has  been  said. 

1.  If  a  certain  character  of  mind,  a  certain  state  of  the  heart  and  af- 
fections, be  necessary  for  entering  Heaven,  our  actions  \\'\\\  avail  for  our 
salvation,  chiefly  as  they  tend  to  produce  or  evidence  this  frame  of  mind. 
Good  works  (as  they  are  called)  are  required,  not  as  if  they  had  any 
thing  of  merit  in  the'm,  not  as  if  they  could  of  themselves  turn  away  God's 
anger  for  our  sins,  or  purchase  Heaven  for  us,  but  because  they  are  the 
means,  under  God's  grace,  of  strengthening  and  showing  forth  that  holy 
principle  which  God  implants  in  the  heart,  and  without  which,  (as  the 
text  tells  us,)  we  cannot  see  Him.  The  more  numerous  are  our  acts  of 
charity,  self-denial,  and  forbearance,  of  course  the  more  will  our  minds 


8  HOLINESS  NECESSARY  FOR  [Serm. 

be  schooled  into  a  charitable,  self-denying,  and  forbearing  temper. 
The  more  frequent  are  our  prayers,  the  more  humble,  patient,  and  reli- 
gious are  our  daily  deeds,  this  communion  v/ith  God,  these  holy  works, 
will  be  the  means  of  making  our  hearts  holy,  and  of  preparing  us  for 
the  future  presence  of  God.  Outward  acts,  done  on  principle,  create 
.inward  habits.  I  repeat,  the  separate  acts  of  obedience  to  the  will  of 
God,  good  works  as  they  are  called,  are  of  service  to  us,  as  gradually 
severing  us  from  this  world  of  sense,  and  impressing  our  hearts  with  a 
heavenly  character. 

It  is  plain,  then,  what  v.-orks  are  tiot  of  service  to  our  salvation  ; — all 
those  which  eithei-  have  no  effect  upon  the  heart  to  change  it,  or  Avhich 
have  a  bad  effect.  What  then  must  be  said  of  those  who  think  it  an 
easy  thing  to  please  God,  and  to  recommend  themselves  to  Him  ;  who 
do  a  few  scanty  services,  call  these  the  walk  of  faith,  and  are  satisfied 
with  them  ?  Such  men,  it  is  too  evident,  instead  of  being  themselves 
profited  by  their  acts,  such  as  they  are,  of  benevolence,  honesty,  or 
justice,  may  be  (I  might  even  say)  injured  by  them.  For  these  very 
acts,  even  though  good  in  themselves,  are  made  to  foster  in  these  per- 
sons a  bad  spirit,  a  corrupt  state  of  heart,  viz.  self-love,  self-conceit,  self- 
reliance,  instead  of  tending  to  turn  them  from  this  world  to  the  Father 
of  spirits.  In  like  manner  the  mere  outward  acts  of  coming  to  church, 
and  saying  prayers,  which  are,  of  course,  duties  imperative  upon  all  of 
us,  are  really  serviceable  to  those  only  who  do  Jhem  in  a  heavenward 
spirit.  Because  such  men  only  use  these  good  deeds  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  heart;  whereas  even  the  most  exact  outward  devotion  avails 
not  a  man,  if  it  does  not  improve  it. 

2.  But  observe  what  follows  from  this.  If  holiness  be  not  merely 
the  doing  a  certain  number  of  good  actions,  but  is  an  inward  character 
which  follows,  under  God's  grace,  from  doing  them,  how  far  distant 
from  that  holiness  are  the  multitude  of  men.  They  are  not  yet  even 
obedient  in  outward  deeds,  which  is  the  first  step  towards  possessing 
it.  They  have  even  to  learn  to  practise  good  works,  as  the  means  of 
changing  their  hearts,  which  is  the  end.  It  follows  at  once,  even  though 
Scripture  did  not  plainly  tell  us  so,  that  no  one  is  able  to  prepare  him- 
self for  heaven,  that  is,  make  himself  holy,  in  a  short  time  ; — at  least 
we  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  ;  and  this,  viewed  merely  as  a  deduc- 
tion of  the  reason,  is  a  serious  thought.  Yet,  alas  !  as  there  are  per- 
sons who  think  to  be  saved  by  a  few  scanty  performances,  so  there 
are  others  who  suppose  they  may  be  saved  all  at  once  by  a  sudden 
and  easily  acquired  faith.  Most  men  who  are  living  in  lieglect  of  God, 
silence  their  consciences,  when  troublesome,  with  the  promise  of  re- 
penting some  future  day.     How  often  are  they  thus  led  on  till  death 


I.]  FUTURE  BLESSEDNESS.  9 

surprises  them  !  But  we  will  suppose  tliey  do  begin  to  repent  when 
that  future  day  comes.  Nay,  we  will  even  suppose  that  Almighty  God 
were  to  forgive  them,  and  to  admit  them  in  His  holy  heaven.  Well, 
but  is  nothing  more  requisite  ?  are  they  in  a  fit  state  to  do  Him  szriicc 
in  heaven  ?  is  not  this  the  very  point  I  have  been  so  insisting  on,  that 
they  are  not  in  a  fit  state  1  has  it  not  been  shown  that,  even  if  admitted 
there  without  a  change  of  heart,  they  would  find  no  pleasure  in  heaven? 
and  is  a  change  of  heart  wrought  in  a  day  ?  Which  of  our  tastes  or 
likings  can  we  change  at  our  will  in  a  moment?  Not  the  most  super- 
ficial. Can  we  then  at  a  word  change  the  whole  frame  and  character 
of  our  minds?  Is  not  holiness  the  result  of  many  patient,  repeated 
eftbrts  after  obedience,  gradually  working  on  us,  and  first  modifying 
and  then  changing  our  hearts  ?  We  dare  not,  of  course,  set  bounds,  to 
God's  mercy  and  power  in  cases  of  repentance  late  in  life,  even  where 
Hie  has  revealed  to  us  the  general  rule  of  His  moral  governance  ;  yet, 
surely  it  is  our  duty  ever  to  keep  steadily  before  us,  and  act  upon,  those 
general  truths  which  His  Holy  Word  has  declared.  His  Holy  Word 
in  various  ways  warns  us,  that,  as  no  one  will  find  happiness  in  hea- 
ven, who  is  not  holy,  so  no  one  can  learn  to  be  so,  in  a  short  time,  and 
when  he  will.  It  implies  it  in  the  text,  which  names  a  qualification, 
which  we  know  in  matter  of  fact  does  ordinarily  take  time  to  gain. 
It  propounds  it  clearly,  though  in  figure,  in  the  parable  of  the  wedding 
garment,  in  which  inward  sanctification  is  made  a  condition  distinct 
from  our  acceptance  of  the  profi'er  of  mercy,  and  not  negligently  to  be 
passed  over  in  our  thoughts  as  if  a  necessary  consequence  of  it ;  and 
in  that  of  the  ten  virgins,  which  shows  us  that  we  must  meet  the  bride- 
groom with  the  oil  of  holiness,  and  that  it  takes  time  to  procure  it. 
And  it  solemnly  assures  us  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  that  it  is  possible  so 
to  presume  on  Divine  grace,  as  to  let  slip  the  accepted  time,  and  be 
sealed  even  before  the  end  of  life  to  a  reprobate  mind.* 

I  wish  to  speak  to  you,  my  brethren,  not  as  if  aliens  from  God's 
mercies,  but  as  partakers  of  His  gracious  covenant  in  Christ ;  and  for 
this  reason  in  especial  peril,  since  those  only  can  incur  the  sin  of  making 
void  his  covenant,  who  have  the  privilege  of  it.  Yet  neither  on  the 
other  hand  do  I  speak  to  you  as  wilful  and  obstinate  sinners,  exposed 
to  the  imminent  risk  of  forfeiting,  or  the  chance  of  having  forfeited,  your 
hope  of  heaven.  But  I  fear  there  are  those,  who,  if  they  dealt  faith- 
fully with  their  consciences,  would  be  obliged  to  own  that  they  had  not 
made  the  service  of  God  their  first  and  great  concern  ;  that  their  obedi- 
ence, so  to  call  it,  has  been  a  matter  of  course,  in  which  the  heart  has 

*  Heb.  vi.  4—6  ;  x.  26—29.  vid.  also  2  Pet.  ii.  20.  22. 


10  HOLINESS  NECESSARY  FOR  [Serm. 

had  no  part ;  that  they  have  acted  uprightly  in  worldly  matters  chiefly 
for  the  sake  of  their  worldly  interest.  I  fear  there  are  those,  who, 
whatever  be  their  sense  of  religion,  yet  have  such  misgivings  about 
themselves,  as  lead  them  to  make  resolve  to  obey  God  more  exactly 
some  future  day,  such  misgivings  as  convict  them  of  sin,  though  not 
enough  to  bring  before  them  its  heinousness  or  its  peril.  Such  men 
are  trifling  with  the  appointed  season  of  mercy.  To  obtain  the  gift  of 
holiness  is  the  work  of  a  life.  No  man  will  ever  be  perfect  here,  so 
sinful  is  our  nature.  Thus,  in  putting  ofl"  the  day  of  repentance,  these 
men  are  reserving  for  a  few  chance  years,  when  strength  and  vigour 
are  gone,  that  work  for  which  a  xcliole  life  would  not  be  enough. 
That  work  is  great  and  arduous  beyond  expression.  There  is  much 
of  sin  remaining  even  in  the  best  of  men,  and  "  if  the  righteous  scarcely 
be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear?"*  Their 
doom  may  be  fixed  any  moment ;  and  though  this  thought  should  not 
make  a  man  despair  to-day,  yet  it  should  ever  make  him  tremble  for 
to-morrow. 

Perhaps,  however,  others  may  say : — "  We  know  something  of  the 
power  of  religion — we  love  it  in  a  measure — we  have  many  right 
thoughts — we  come  to  church  to  pray  ;  this  is  a  proof  that  Ave  are  pre- 
pared for  heaven  : — we  are  safe,  and  what  has  been  said  does  not  apply 
to  us."  But  be  not  you,  my  brethren,  in  the  number  of  these.  One 
principal  test  of  our  being  true  servants  of  God  is  our  wishing  to  serve 
Him  better ;  and  be  quite  sure  that  a  man  who  is  contented  with  his 
own  proficiency  in  Christian  holiness,  is  at  best  in  a  dark  state,  or  rather 
in  great  peril.  If  we  are  really  imbued  with  the  grace  of  holiness,  we 
shall  abhor  sin  as  something  base,  irrational,  and  polluting.  Many 
men,  it  is  true,  are  contented  with  partial  and  indistinct  viev/s  of  reli- 
gion, and  mixed  motives.  Be  you  content  with  nothing  short  of  per- 
fection ;  exert  yourselves  day  by  day  to  grow  in  knowledge  and  grace  ; 
that,  if  so  be,  you  may  at  length  attain  to  the  presence  of  Almighty 
God. 

Lastly ;  while  we  thus  labour  to  mould  our  hearts  after  the  pattern 
of  the  holiness  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  it  is  our  comfort  to  know,  what 
I  have  already  implied,  that  we  are  not  left  to  ourselves,  but  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  graciously  present  with  us,  and  enables  us  to  triumph 
over,  and  to  change  our  own  minds.  It  is  a  comfort  and  encourage- 
ment, while  it  is  an  anxious  and  awful  thing,  to  know  that  God  works 
in  and  through  us.f  We  are  the  instruments,  but  we  ,are  only  the  in- 
struments, of  our  own  salvation.     Let  no  one  say  that  I  discourage  him, 

*  1  Pet.  iv.  18.  +  1  Phil.  ii.  12,  13. 


I.]  FUTURE  BLESSEDNESS.  11 

and  propose  to  him  a  task  beyond  his  strength.  All  of  us  have  the 
gifts  of  grace  pledged  to  us  from  our  youth  up.  We  know  this  well ; 
but  we  do  not  use  our  privilege.  We  form  mean  ideas  of  the  difficulty 
of  our  duties,  and  in  consequence  never  enter  into  the  greatness  of  the 
gifts  given  us  to  meet  it.  Then  afterwards,  if  perchance  we  gain  a 
deeper  insight  into  the  work  we  have  to  do,  we  think  God  a  hard 
master,  who  commands  much  from  a  sinful  race.  Narrow,  indeed,  is 
the  way  of  life,  but  infinite  is  His  love  and  power  who  is  with  the 
Church,  in  Christ's  place,  to  guide  us  along  it. 


SERMON   II. 


THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL. 


Matthew  xvi.  26. 

"  What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul  ?" 

I  SUPPOSE  there  is  no  tolerably-informed  Christian  but  considers  he 
has  a  correct  notion  of  the  difference  between  our  religion  and  the 
paganism  wliich  it  supplanted.  Every  one,  if  asked  what  it  is  we  have 
gained  by  the  Gospel,  will  promptly  answer,  that  we  ha^^g  gained  the 
knowledge  of  our  immortality,  of  our  having  souls  which  w^ll  live  for 
ever  ;  that  the  heathen  did  not  know  this,  but  that  Christ  taught  it,  and 
that  His  disciples  know  it.  Every  one  will  say,  and  say  truly,  that  this 
was  the  great  and  solemn  doctrine  which  gave  the  Gospel  a  claim  to  be 
heard  when  first  preached,  which  arrested  the  thoughtless  multitudes, 
who  were  busied  in  the  pleasm-es  and  pursuits  of  this  life,  awed  them 
with  the  vision  of  the  life  to  come,  and  sobered  them  till  they  turned  to 
God  with  a  true  heart.  It  will  be  said,  and  said  truly,  that  this  doctrine 
of  a  future  life  was  the  doctrine  which  broke  the  power  and  the  fascina- 
tion of  paganism.  The  poor  benighted  heathen  were  engaged  in  all 
the  frivolities  and  absurdities  of  a  false  ritual,  which  had  obscured  the 
light  of  nature.  They  knew  God,  but  they  forsook  Him  for  the  inven- 
tions of  men  ;  they  made  protectors  and  guardians  for  themselves  ;  and 
had  "  gods  many  and  lords  many."*  They  had  their  profane  worship, 
their  gaudy  processions,  their  indulgent  creed,  their  easy  observances, 
their  sensual  festivities,  their  childish  extravagances,  such  as  might 
suitably  be  the  religion  of  beings  who  were  to  live  for  seventy  or  eighty 
years,  and  then  die  once  for  all,  never  to  live  again.  "  Let  us  eat  and 
drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die,"  Avas  their  doctrine  and  their  rule  of  life. 
"  To-morrow  we  die  ;" — this  the  Holy  Apostles  admitted.  They  taught 
so  far  as  the  heathen  ;  "  To-morrow  we  die  ;"  but  then  they  added, 
"  And  after  death  the  judgment ;'' — ^judgment  upon  the  eternal  soul, 

*  1  Cor.  viii.  5. 


II.]  THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL.  13 

wliich  lives  in  spite  of  the  death  of  the  body.  And  this  was  the  truth, 
which  awakened  men  to  the  necessity  of  having  a  better  and  deeper 
rcUgion  than  that  which  had  spread  over  the  earth,  Avhen  Christ  came, — 
Avhich  so  wrought  upon  them  that  they  left  that  old  false  worship  of 
theirs,  and  it  fell.  Yes  !  though  throned  in  all  the  power  of  the  world, 
;i  sight  such  as  eye  had  never  before  seen,  though  supported  by  the 
great  and  the  many,  the  magnificence  of  kings  and  the  stubbornness  of 
people,  it  fell.  Its  ruins  remain  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth; 
the  shattered  works  of  its  great  upholder,  that  fierce  enemy  of  God,  the 
Pagan  Roman  Empire.  Those  ruins  are  found  even  among  ourselves, 
and  show  how  marvellously  great  was  its  power,  and  therefore  how 
nuich  more  powerful  was  that  which  broke  its  power  ;  and  this  was 
the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  So  entire  is  the  revolution 
which  is  produced  among  men,  wherever  this  high  truth  is  really  re- 
ceived. 

I  have  said  that  every  one  of  us  is  able  fluently  to  speak  of  this  doc- 
trine, and  is  aware  that  the  kjiowledge  of  it  forms  the  fundamental 
difference  between  our  state  and  that  of  the  heathen.  And  yet,  in  spite 
of  our  being  able  to  speak  about  it  and  our  "form  of  knowledge,"*  (as 
St.  Paul  terms  it,)  there  seems  scarcely  room  to  doubt,  that  the  greater 
number  of  those  who  are  called  Christians  in  no  true  sense  realize  it  in 
their  own  minds  at  all.  Indeed  it  is  a  very  difficult  thing  to  bring  home 
to  us  ;  and  to  feel  that  we  have  souls  ;  and  there  cannot  be  a  more  fatal 
mistake  than  to  suppose  we  see  what  the  doctrine  means,  as  soon  as  we 
can  use  the  words  which  signify  it.  So  great  a  thing  is  it  to  under- 
stand that  we  have  souls,  that  the  knowing  it,  taken  in  connexion  with 
its  results,  is  all  one  with  being  serious,  i.  e.  truly  religious.  To  discern 
our  immortality  is  necessarily  connected  with  fear  and  trembling  and 
repentance,  in  the  case  of  every  Christian.  Who  is  there  but  would 
be  sobered  by  an  actual  sight  of  the  flames  of  hell  fire  and  the  souls 
therein  hopelessly  enclosed  ?  Would  not  all  his  thoughts  be  drawn  to 
that  awful  sight,  so  that  he  would  stand  still  gazing  fixedly  upon  it  and 
forgetting  every  thing  else  ;  seeing  nothing  else,  hearing  nothing,  en- 
grossed with  the  contemplation  of  it ;  and  when  the  sight  was  with- 
drawn, still  having  it  fixed  in  his  memory,  so  that  he  would  be  hence- 
forth dead  to  the  pleasures  and  employments  of  this  world,  considered 
in  themselves,  thinking  of  them  only  in  their  reference  to  that  fearful 
vision  1  This  would  be  the  overpowering  eflect  of  such  a  disclosure, 
whether  it  actually  led  a  man  to  repentance  or  not.  And  thus  absorbed 
in  the  thought  of  the  life  to  come  are  they  who  really  and  heartily  re- 

»  Roiii.  ii.  20. 


14  THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL.  [Serm. 

ceive  the  words  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles.  Yet  to  this  state  of  mind, 
and  therefore  to  this  true  knowledge,  the  multitude,  of  men  called 
Christian  are  certainly  strangers ;  a  thick  veil  is  drawn  over  their  eyes ; 
and  in  spite  of  their  being  able  to  talk  of  the  doctrine,  they  are  as  if 
they  never  had  heard  of  it.  They  go  on  just  as  the  heathen  did  of 
old  :  they  eat,  they  drink  ;  or  they  amuse  themselves  in  vanities,  and 
live  in  the  world,  without  fear  and  without  sorrow,  just  as  if  God  had 
not  declared  that  their  conduct  in  this  life  would  decide  their  destiny  in 
the  next ;  just  as  if  they  either  had  no  souls,  or  had  nothing  or  little  to 
do  with  the  saving  of  them,  which  was  the  creed  of  the  heathen. 

Now  let  us  consider  what  it  is  to  bring  home  to  ourselves  that  we 
have  souls,  and  in  what  the  especial  difficulty  of  it  lies ;  for  this  may 
be  of  use  to  us  in  our  attempt  to  realize  that  awful  truth. 

We  are  from  our  birth  apparently  dependent  on  things  about  us.  We 
see  and  feel  that  we  could  not  live  or  go  forward  without  the  aid  of 
man.  To  a  child  this  world  is  everything  :  he  seems  to  himself  a  part 
of  this  world, — a  part  of  this  world,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  a  branch 
is  part  of  a  tree  ;  he  has  little  notion  of  his  own  separate  and  indepen- 
dent existence  ;  that  is,  he  has  no  just  idea  he  has  a  soul.  And  if  he 
goes  through  life  Avith  his  notions  unchanged,  he  has  no  just  notion, 
even  to  the  end  of  life,  that  he  has  a  soul.  He  views  himself  merely 
in  his  connexion  with  this  world,  which  is  his  all ;  he  looks  to  this 
world  for  his  good,  as  to  an  idol ;  and  when  he  tries  to  look  beyond ' 
this  life,  he  is  able  to  discern  nothing  in  prospect,  because  be  has  no 
idea  of  any  thing,  nor  can  fancy  any  thing,  hut  this  life.  And  if  he  is 
obliged  to  fancy  something,  he  fancies  this  life  over  again;  just  as  the 
heathen,  when  they  reflected  on  those  traditions  of  another  life,  which 
were  floating  among  them,  could  but  fancy  the  happiness  of  the  blessed 
to  consist  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  sun,  and  the  sky,  and  the  earth,  as 
before,  only  as  if  these  were  to  be  more  splendid  than  they  are  now. 

To  understand  that  we  have  souls,  is  to  feel  our  separation  from 
things  visible,  our  independence  of  them,  our  distinct  existence  in  our- 
selves, our  individuality,  our  power  of  acting  for  ourselves  this  way  or 
that  way,  our  accountablencss  for  what  we  do.  These  are  the  great 
truths  which  lie  wrapped  up  indeed  even  in  a  child's  mind,  and  which 
God's  grace  can  unfold  there  in  spite  of  the  influence  of  the  external 
world  ;  but  at  first  this  outward  world  prevails.  We  look  off  from  self 
to  the  things  around  us,  and  forget  ourselves  in  them.  Such  is  our 
state, — a  depending  for  support  on  the  reeds  which  are  no  stay,  and 
overlooking  our  real  strength, — at  the  time  when  God  begins  His  pro- 
cess of  reclaiming  us  to  a  truer  view  of  our  place  in  His  great  system 
of  providence.     And  when  He  visits  us,  then  in  a  little  while  there  is 


II.]  THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL.  15 

a  stirring  within  us.  The  unprofitableness  and  feebleness  of  the  things 
of  this  world  are  forced  upon  our  minds  ;  they  promise  but  cannot  per- 
form, they  disappoint  us.  Or,  if  they  do  perform  what  they  promise, 
still,  (so  it  is,)  they  do  not  satisfy  us.  We  still  crave  for  something, 
\vc  do  not  well  know  what ;  but  we  are  sure  it  is  something  which 
the  world  has  not  given  us.  And  then  its  changes  are  so  many,  so 
sadden,  so  silent,  so  continual.  It  never  leaves  changing  ;  it  goes  on 
io  change,  till  we  are  quite  sick  at  heart : — then  it  is  that  our  reliance 
on  it  is  broken.  It  is  plain  we  cannot  continue  to  depend  upon  it,  un- 
less we  keep  pace  with  it,  and  go  on  changing  too  ;  but  this  we  cannot 
do.  We  feel  that,  while  it  changes,  we  are  one  and  the  same  ;.  and 
thus,  under  God's  blessing,  we  come  to  have  some  glimpse  of  the  mean- 
inc:  of  our  independence  of  things  temporal,  and  our  immortality.  And 
should  it  so  happen  that  misfortunes  come  upon  us,  (as  they  often  do,) 
then  still  more  are  we  led  to  understand  the  nothingness  of  this  world ; 
then  still  more  are  we  led  to  distrust  it,  and  are  weaned  from  the  love 
of  it,  till  at  length  it  floats  before  our  eyes  merely  as  some  idle  veil, 
which,  notwithstanding  its  many  tints,  cannot  hide  the  view  of  what  is 
beyond  it ; — and  we  begin,  by  degrees,  to  perceive  that  there  are  but 
two  beings  in  the  whole  universe,  our  own  soul,  and  the  God  who 
made  it. 

Sublime,  unlooked-for  doctrine,  yet  most  true  !  To  every  one  of  us 
there  are  but  two  beings  in  the  whole  world,  himself  and  God ;  for,  as 
to  this  outward  scene,  its  pleasures  and  pursuits,  its  honours  and  cares, 
its  contrivances,  its  personages,  its  kingdoms,  its  multitude  of  busy 
slaves,  what  are  they  to  us  ?  nothing — no  more  than  a  show  : — "  The 
world  passeth  away  and  the  lust  thereof."  And  as  to  those  others 
nearer  to  us,  who  are  not  to  be  classed  with  the  vain  world,  I  mean 
our  friends  and  relations,  whom  we  are  right  in  loving,  these,  too,  after 
all,  are  nothing  to  us  here.  They  cannot  really  help  or  profit  us  ;  we 
see  them,  and  they  act  upon  us,  only  (as  it  were)  at  a  distance,  through 
the  medium  of  sense  ;  they  cannot  get  at  our  souls  ;  they  cannot  enter 
into  our  thoughts,  or  really  be  companions  to  us.  In  the  next  world  it 
will,  through  God's  mercy,  be  otherwise  :  but  here  we  enjoy,  not  their 
presence,  b]^t  the  anticipation  of  what  one  day  shall  be  ;  so  that,  after 
all,  they  vanish  before  the  clear  vision  we  have,  first,  of  our  own  ex- 
istence, next,  of  the  presence  of  the  great  God  in  us,  and  over  us,  as 
•i  #  our  Governor  and  Judge,  who  dwells  in  us  by  our  conscience,  which  is 
His  representative. 

And  now  consider  what  a  revolution  will  take  place  in  the  mind  that 
is  not  utterly  reprobate,  in  proportion  as  it  realizes  this  relation  between 
itself  and  the  most  high  God.  We  never  in  this  life  can  fully  under- 
stand what  is  meant  by  our  living  for  ever,  but  we  can  understand 


16  THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL.  [Serm. 

what  is  meant  by  this  world's  not  living  for  ever,  by  its  dying  never  to 
rise  again.  And  learning  this,  we  learn  that  we  owe  it  no  service,  no 
allegiance  ;  it  has  no  claim  over  us,  and  can  do  us  no  material  good 
nor  harm.  On  the  other  hand,  the  law  of  God  written  on  our  hearts 
bids  us  serve  Ilim,  and  partly  tells  us  how  to  serve  Him,  and  Scripture 
completes  the  precepts  which  nature  began.  And  both  Scripture  and 
conscience  tell  us  we  are  answerable  for  what  Ave  do,  and  that  God  is 
a  righteous  Judge  ;  and,  above  all,  our  Saviour,  as  our  visible  Lord 
God,  takes  the  place  of  the  world  as  the  Only-begotten  of  the  Father, 
having  shown  Himself  openly,  that  we  may  not  say  that  God  is  hidden. 
And  thus  a  man  is  drawn  forward  by  all  manner  of  powerful  influences 
to  turn  from  things  temporal  to  things  eternal,  to  deny  himself,  to  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  Christ.  For  there  are  Christ's  awful  threats 
and  warnings  to  make  him  serious,  His  precepts  to  attract  and  elevate 
him.  His  promises  to  cheer  him,  His  gracious  deeds  and  sufferings  to 
humble  him  to  the  dust,  and  to  bind  his  heart  once  and  for  ever  in 
gratitude  to  Him  who  is  so  surpassing  in  mercy.  All  these  things  act 
upon  him  ;  and,  as  truly  as  St.  Matthew  rose  from  the  receipt  of 
custom  when  Christ  called,  heedless  what  bystanders  would  say  of 
him,  so  they  who,  through  grace,  obey  the  secret  voice  of  God,  move 
onward  contrary  to  the  world's  way,  and  careless  what  mankind  may 
say  of  them,  as  understanding  that,  they  have  souls,  which  is  the  one 
thing  they  have  to  care  about. 

I  am  v.'cll  aware  that  there  are  indiscreet  teachers  gone  forth  into 
the  world,  who  use  language  such  as  I  have  used,  but  mean  something 
very  different.  Such  are  they  who  deny  the  grace  of  baptism,  and 
think  that  a  man  is  converted  to  God  all  at  once.  But  I  have  no  need 
now  to  mention  the  difference  between  their  teaching  and  that  of 
Scripture.  Whatever  their  peculiar  errors  are,  so  far  as  they  say  thai 
wc  are  by  nature  blind  and  sinful,  and  must,  through  God's  grace  and 
our  own  endeavours,  learn  that  we  have  souls  and  rise  to  a  new  life, 
severing  ourselves  from  the  world  that  is,  and  walking  by  faith  in  what 
is  unseen  and  future,  so  far  they  say  true,  for  they  speak  the  words  of 
Scripture  ;  which  says,  "  Awake  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light.  See  then  that  ye  walk  circum- 
spectly, not  as  fools,  but  as  wise,  redeeming  the  time,  because  the  days 
are  evil ;  wherefore  be  ye  not  unwise,  but  understanding  what  the  will 
of  the  Lord  is."* 

Let  us,  then,  seriously   question  ourselves,  and  beg  of  God  grace  to 

do  so  honestly,  whether  we  are  loosened  from  the  world  ;  or  whether, 

living  as  dependent  on  it,  and  not  on  the  Eternal  Author  of  our  being, 

we  are  in  fact  taking  our  portion  with  this  perishing  outward  scene,  and 

»Eph.  V.  14—17. 


:n.]  THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL.  17 

ignorant  of  our  having  souls.  I  know  very  well  that  such  thoughts  are 
distasteful  to  the  minds  of  men  in  general.  Doubtless  many  a  one  there 
is,  who,  on  hearing  doctrines  such  as  I  have  been  insisting  on,  says  in 
his  heart,  that  religion  is  thus  made  gloomy  and  repulsive  ;  that  he 
would  attend  to  a  teacher  who  spoke  in  a  less  severe  way ;  and  that 
in  fact  Christianity  was  not  intended  to  be  a  dark  burdensome  law,  but 
a  religion  of  cheerfulness  and  joy.  This  is  what  young  people  think, 
though  they  do  not  express  it  in  this  argumentative  form.  They  view 
a  strict  life  as  something  offensive  and  hateful ;  th^y  turn  from  the 
notion  of  it.  And  then,  as  they  get  older  and  see  more  of  the  world, 
they  learn  to  defend  their  opinion,  and  express  it  more  or  less  in  the 
■way  in  which  I  have  just  put  it.  They  hate  and  oppose  the  truth,  as 
it  were  upon  principle  ;  and  the  more  they  are  told  that  they  have  souls, 
the  more  resolved  they  are  to  live  as  if  they  had  not  souls.  But  let  us 
take  it  as  a  clear  point  from  the  first,  and  not  to  be  disputed,  that  religion 
must  ever  be  difficult  to  those  who  neglect  it.  All  things  that  we  have 
to  learn  are  difficult  at  first ;  and  our  duties  to  God,  and  to  man  for  His 
sake,  are  peculiarly  difficult,  because  they  call  upon  us  to  take  up  a 
new  life,  and  quit  the  love  of  this  world  for  the  next.  It  cannot  be 
avoided  ;  we  must  fear  and  be  in  sorrow,  before  we  can  rejoice.  The 
Gospel  must  be  a  burden  before  it  comforts  and  brings  us  peace.  No 
one  can  have  his  heart  cut  away  from  the  natural  objects  of  its  love, 
■without  pain  during  the  process  and  throbbings  afterwards.  This  is 
plain  from  the  nature  of  the  case  ;  and,  however  true  it  be,  that  this  or 
that  teacher  may  be  harsh  and  repulsive,  yet  he  cannot  materially  alter 
things.  Religion  is  in  itself  at  first  a  weariness  to  the  worldly  mind, 
and  it  requires  an  efibrt  and  a  self-denial  in  every  one  who  honestly 
determines  to  be  religious. 

But  there  are  other  persons  who  are  far  more  hopeful  than  those  I 
have  been  speaking  of,  who,  when  they  hear  repentance  and  newness 
of  life  urged  on  them,  are  frightened  at  the  thought  of  the  greatness  of 
the  work  ;  they  are  disheartened  at  being  told  to  do  so  much.  Now 
let  it  be  well  understood,  that  to  realize  our  own  individual  accountable- 
ness  and  immortality,  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  is  not  required 
of  them  all  at  once.  I  never  said  a  person  was  not  in  a  hopeful  way 
who  did  not  thus  fully  discern  the  world's  vanity  and  the  worth  of  his 
soul.  But  a  man  is  truly  in  a  very  desperate  way,  who  does  not  wish, 
who  does  not  try,  to  discern  and  feel  all  this.  I  want  a  man  on  the 
one  hand  to  confess  his  immortality  with  his  lips,  and  on  the  other,  to 
live  as  if  he  tried  to  understand  his  own  words,  and  then  he  is  in  the 
way  of  salvation ;  he  is  in  the  way  towards  heaven,  even  though  he 
iias  not  yet  fully  emancipated  himsslf  from  the  fetters  of  this  world. 
Vol.  I.— 2 


18  THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE   SOUL.  [Skrm.  II. 

Indeed  none  of  us  (of  course)  are  entirely  loosened  from  this  world. 
"We  all  use  words,  in  speaking  of  our  duties,  higher  and  fuller  than  we 
really  understand.  No  one  entirely  realizey  what  is  meant  by  his 
having  a  uoul ;  even  the  best  of  men  are  but  in  a  state  ofprogress  towards 
the  simple  truth ;  and  the  most  weak  and  ignorant  of  those  who  seek 
after  it  cannot  but  be  in  progress.  And  therefore  no  one  need  be 
alurmed  at  hearing  that  he  has  much  to  do  before  he  arrives  at  a  right 
vie  v.-  of  his  own  condition  in  God's  sight,  i.  e.  at  faith  ;  for  we  all  have 
much  to  do,  and  the  great  point  is,  are  we  willing  to  do  it  1 

Oh  that  there  were  such  a  heart  in  us,  to  put  aside  this  visible  world, 
to  desire  to  look  at  it  as  a  mere  screen  between  us  and  God,  and  think 
of  Him  who  has  entered  in  beyond  the  veil,  and  who  is  watching  us, 
trying  us,  yes,  and  blessing,  and  influencing,  and  encouraging,  us 
towards  good,  day  by  day  !  Yet,  alas,  how  do  we  sufier  the  mere 
varying  circumstances  of  every  day  to  sway  us  !  How  difficult  it  is  to 
remain  firm  and  in  one  mind  under  the  seductions  or  terrors  of  the 
world !  We  feel  variously  according  to  the  place,  time,  and  people 
we  are  with.  We  are  serious  on  Sunday,  and  we  sin  deliberately  on 
Monday.  We  rise  in  the  morning  with  remorse  at  our  oflences  and 
resolutions  of  amendment,  yet  before  night  we  have  transgressed  again. 
The  mere  change  of  society  puts  us  into  a  new  frame  of  mind  ;  nor  do 
we  sufficiently  imderstand  this  great  weakness  of  ours,  or  seek  for 
strength  where  alone  it  can  be  found,  in  the  Unchangeable  God.  What 
will  be  our  thoughts  in  that  day,  when  at  length  this  outward  world 
drops  aM^ay  altogether,  and  we  find  ourselves  where  we  ever  have 
been,  in  His  presence,  with  Christ  standing  at  His  right  hand ! 

On  the  contrary,  what  a  blessed  discovery  is  it  to  those  who  make 
it,  that  this  world  is  but  vanity  and  without  substance  ;  and  that  really 
they  are  ever  in  their  Saviour's  presence.  This  is  a  thought  which  it 
is  scarcely  right  to  enlarge  upon  in  a  mixed  congregation,  where  there 
may  be  some  who  have  not  given  their  hearts  to  God  ;  for  why  should 
the  privileges  of  the  true  Christian  be  disclosed  to  mankind  at  large, 
and  sacred  subjects,  which  are  his  peculiar  treasure,  be  made  common 
to  the  careless  liver?  He  knows  his  blessedness,  and  needs  not 
another  to  tell  it  him.  He  knows  in  whom  he  has  believed  ;  and  in 
the  hour  of  danger  or  trouble  he  knows  what  is  meant  by  that  peace, 
which  Christ  did  not  explain  when  He  gave  it  to  His  Apostles,  but 
merely  said  it  was  not  as  the  world  could  give. 

"  Thou  Avilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is   stayed  on 
Thee,  because  he  trusteth  in  Thee.     Trust  ye  in  the  Lord  for  ever, 
for  in  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everlasting  strength."* 
*  Is:'.i;'.h  xxvi.  3,  4. 


SERMON    III. 


KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD'S  WILL  WITHOUT  OBEDIENCE. 


John  xiii.  17. 
"  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  yc  if  ye  do  thera." 

There  never  was  a  people  or  an  age  to  which  these  words  could  be  more 
suitably  addressed  than  to  this  country  at  this  itime ;  because  we  know 
more  of  the  way  to  serve  God,  of  our  duties,  our  privileges,  and  our  re- 
ward, than  any  other  people  hitherto,  as  far  as  we  have  the  means  of 
judging.  To  us  then  especially  our  Saviour  says,  "  If  ye  know  these 
things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them.  " 

Now,  doubtless,  many  of  us  think  we  know  this  very  well.  It  seems  a 
very  trite  thing  to  say,  that  it  is  nothing  to  Icnow  what  is  right,  unless 
we  do  it ;  an  old  subject  about  which  nothing  new  can  be  said.  When 
we  read  such  passages  in  Scripture,  we  pass  over  them  as  admitting  them 
without  dispute  ;  and  thus  we  contrive  practically  to  forget  them. 
Knowledge  is  nothing  compared  with  doing ;  but  the  hnowing  that 
knowledge  is  nothing,  we  make  to  be  something,  we  make  it  count,  and 
thus  we  cheat  ourselves. 

This  we  do  in  parallel  cases  also.  Many  a  man  instead  of  learning 
humility  in  practice,  confesses  himself  a  poor  sinner,  and  next  prides 
himself  upon  the  confession  ;  he  ascribes  the  glory  of  his  redemption  to 
God,  and  then  becomes  in  a  manner  proud  that  he  is  redeemed.  He  is 
proud  of  his  so-called  humility. 

Doubtless  Christ  spoke  no  words  in  vain.  The  Eternal  Wisdom  of 
God  did  not  utter  His  voice  that  we  might  at  once  catch  up  His  words 
in  an  irreverent  manner,  think  we  understand  them  at  a  glance,  and  pass 
them  over.  But  his  word  endureth  for  ever  ;  it  has  a  depth  of  meaning- 
suited  to  all  times  and  places,  and  hardly  and  painfully  to  be  understood 
in  any.  They,  who  think  they  enter  into  it  easily,  may  be  quite  sure 
they  do  not  enter  into  it  at  all. 

Now  then  let  us  try,  by  His  grace,  to  make  the  text  a'jliving  word  to 
the  benefit  of  our  souls.  Our  Lord  says,  "If  ye  know,  happy  are  yc, 
if  ye  do. "     Let  us  consider  howrwe  commonly  read  Scripture. 


20  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD'S  WILL  [Serm. 

We  read  a  passage  in  the  Gospels,  for  instance,  a  parable  perhaps,  or 
the  account  of  a  miracle ;  or  we  read  a  chapter  in  the  prophets,  or  a 
psalm.  Who  is  not  struck  with  the  beauty  of  Avhat  he  reads  1  1  do  not 
wish  to  speak  of  those  who  read  the  Bible  only  now  and  then,  and  who 
will  in  consequence  generally  find  its  sacred  pages  dull  and  uninterest- 
ing ;  but  of  those  who  study  it.  Who  of  such  persons  does  not  see  the 
beauty  of  it  ?  for  instance,  take  the  passage  which  introduces  the  text. 
Christ  had  been  washing  His  disciples'  feet.  He  did  so  at  a  season  of 
great  mental  suffering  ;  it  was  just  before  He  was  seized  by  His  enemies 
to  be  put  to  death.  The  traitor,  His  familiar  friend,  was  in  the  room. 
All  of  his  disciples,  even  the  most  devoted  of  them,  loved  Him  much  less 
than  they  thought  they  did.  In  a  little  while  they  were  all  to  fonsake 
Him  and  flee.  This  He  foresaw ;  yet  he  calmly  washed  their  feet,  and 
then  He  told  them  that  He  did  so  by  way  of  an  example  ;  that  they 
should  be  full  of  lowly  services  one  to  the  other,  as  He  to  them ;  that 
he  among  them  was  in  fact  the  highest  who  put  himself  the  lowest. 
This  he  had  said  before  ;  and  his  disciples  must  have  recollected  it. 
Perhaps  they  might  wonder  in  their  secret  hearts  wJiy  He  repeated  the 
lesson  ;  they  might  say  to  themselves,  "  We  have  heard  this  before." 
They  might  be  surprised  that  His  significant  action,  His  washing  their 
feet,  issued  in  nothing  else  than  a  precept  already  delivered,  the  com- 
mand to  be  humble.  At  the  same  time  they  would  not  be  able  to  deny, 
or  rather  they  would  deeply  feel,  the  beauty  of  His  action.  Nay,  as 
loving  H  m  (after  all,)  above  all  things,  and  reverencing  Him  as  their 
Lord  and  Teacher,  they  would  feel  an  admiration  and  awe  of  Him  ;  but 
their  minds  would  not  rest  sufficiently  on  the  practical  direction  of  the 
instruction  vouchsafed  to  them.  They  knew  the  truth,  and  they  ad- 
mired it ;  they  did  not  observe  what  it  was  they  lacked.  Such  may  bo 
considered  their  frame  of  mind  ;  and  hence  the  force  of  the  text,  deliv- 
ered primarily  against  .ludas  Iscariot,  who  knew  and  sinned  deliberately 
against  the  truth ;  secondarily,  referring  to  all  the  Apostles,  and  St. 
Peter  chiefly,  who  promised  to  be  faithful,  but  failed  under  the  trial ; 
lastly,  to  us  all, — all  of  us  here  assembled,  who  hear  the  word  of  life 
continually,  know  it,  admire  it,  do  all  but  obey  it. 

Is  it  not  so  1  is  not  Scripture  altogether  pleasant  except  in  its  strict- 
ness ?  do  not  we  try  to  persuade  ourselves,  that  to  feel  religiously,  to 
confess  our  love  of  religion,  and  to  be  able  to  talk  of  religion,  will  stand 
in  the  place  of  careful  obedience,  of  that  self-denial  which  is  the  very 
substance  of  true  practical  religion  ?  Alas  !  that  religion  which  is  so 
dehghtful  as  a  vision,  should  be  so  distasteful  as  a  reality.  Yet  so  it  is, 
whether  we  are  aware  of  the  fact  or  not. 

1.  The  multitude  of  persons  even  who  profess  religion  arc  in  this  state 


III.]  WITHOUT  OBEDIENCE.  21 

of  mind.     We  will  take  the  case  of  those  who  are  in  better  circum- 
stances  than  the  mass  of  the  community.     They  are  well  educated  and 
taught ;  they  have  few  distresses  in  life,  or  are  able  to  get  over  them 
by  the  variety  of  their  occupations,  by  the  spirits  which  attend  good 
health,  or  at  least  by  the  lapse  of  time.     They  go  on  respectably  and 
happily,  with  the  same  general  tastes  and  habits  which  they  would  have 
had  if  the  Gospel  had  not  been  given  them.     They  have  an  eye  to  what 
the  world  thinks  of  them  ;  are  charitable  when  it  is  expected.     They 
are  polished  in  their  manners,  kind  from  natural  disposition  or  a  feeling 
of  propriety.     Thus  their  religion  is  based  upon  self  and  the  world,  a 
mere  civilization  of  the  mind  ;  the  same  (I  say,)  as  it  would  have  been 
in  the  main,  (taking  the  state  of  society  as  they  find  it,)  even  supposing 
Christianity  were  not  the  rehgion  of  the  land.     But  it  is  ;  and  let  us  go 
on  to  ask,  how  do  they  in  consequence  feel  towards  it  ?     They  accept 
it,  they  add  it  to  what  they  are,  they  ingraft  it  upon  the  selfish  and 
Avorldly  habits  of  an  unrenewed  heart.     They  have  been  taught  to 
revere  it,  and  to  believe  it  to  come  from  God  ;  so  they  admire  it,  and 
accept  it  as  a  rule  of  life,  so  far  forth  as  it  agrees  with  the  carnal  princi- 
ples which  govern  them.     So  far  as  it  does  not  agree,  they  are  bhnd  to 
its  excellence  and  its  claims.     They  overlook  or  explain  away  its  pre- 
cepts.    They  in  no  sense  obey  because  it  commands.     They  do  right 
where  they  would  have  done  right  had  it  not  commanded ;  however, 
they  speak  well  of  it,  and  think  they  understand  it.     Sometimes,  if  I 
may  continue  -the  description,  they  adopt  it  into  a  certain  refined  ele- 
gance of  sentiments  and  manners,  and  then  their  religion  is  all  that  is 
graceful,  fastidious,  and  luxurious.     They  love  religious  poetry  and  elo- 
quent  preaching.     They  desire   to    have   their   feelings   roused   and 
soothed,  and  to  secure  a  variety  and  reUef  of  that  eternal  subject  which 
is  unchangeable.     They  tire  of  its  simphcity,  and  perhaps  seek  to  keep 
up  their  interest  in  it  by  means  of  religious  narratives,  fictitious  or  embel- 
lished, or  of  news  from  foreign  countries,  or  of  the  history  of  the  pros- 
pects or  successes  of  the  Gospel ;  thus  perverting  what  is  in  itself  good 
and  innocent.     This  is  their  state  of  mind  at  best ;  for  more  commonly 
they  think  it  enough  merely  to  show  some  sHght  regard  to  the  subject  of 
religion  ;  to  attend  its  services  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  then  only  once, 
and  coldly  to  express  an  approbation  of  it.     But  of  course  every  descrip- 
tion of  such  persons  can  be  but  general ;  for  the  shades  of  character  are 
.so  varied  and  blended  in  individuals,  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  give  an 
accurate  picture,  and  often  very  estimable  persons  and  truly  good  Chris- 
tians are  partly  infected  with  this  bad  and  earthly  spirit. 

2.  Take  again  another  description  of  them.     They  have  perhaps 
turned  their  attention  to  the  means  of  promoting  the  happiness  of  their 


22  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD'S  WILL  [Seem. 

fellow-creatures,  and  have  formed  a  system  of  morality  and  religion  of 
their  own ;  then  they  come  to  Scripture.  They  arc  much  struck  with 
the  high  tone  of  its  precepts,  and  the  beauty  of  its  teaching.  ■  It  is  true, 
they  find  many  things  in  it  which  they  do  not  understand  or  do  not 
approve;  many  things  they  would  not  have  said  themselves.  But  they 
pass  these  by ;  they  fancy  that  these  do  not  apply  to  the  present  day, 
(which  is  an  easy  way  of  removing  any  thing  we  do  not  like,)  and 
on  the  irhole  they  receive  the  Bible,  and  they  think  it  highly  serviceable 
for  the  lower  classes.  Therefore,  they  recommend  it,  and  support  the 
institutions  which  are  the  channels  of  teaching  it.  But  as  to  their  own 
case,  it  never  comes  into  their  minds  to  apply  its  precepts  seriously  to 
themselves ;  they  know  them  already,  they  consider.  They  know  them 
and  that  is  enough ;  but  as  for  doi?ig  them,  by  which  I  mean,  going 
forward  to  obey  them  with  an  unaffected  earnestness  and  an  honest 
faith  acting  upon  them,  receiving  them  as  they  are,  and  not  as  their 
own  previously  formed  opinions  would  have  them  be,  they  have  nothing 
of  this  right  spirit.  They  do  not  comtemplate  such  a  mode  of  acting. 
To  recommend  and  affect  a  moral  and  decent  conduct,  (on  whatever 
principles,)  seems  to  them  to  be  enough.  The  spread  of  knowledge 
bringing  in  its  train  a  selfish  temperance,  a  selfish  peaceableness,  a 
selfish  benevolence,  the  morality  of  expedience,  this  satisfies  them. 
They  care  for  none  of  the  truths  of  Scripture,  on  the  ground  of  their 
being  in  Scripture ;  these  scarcely  become  more  valuable  in  their  eyes  for 
being  there  v.ritten.  They  do  not  obey  because  they  are  told  to  obey, 
on  faith ;  and  the  need  of  this  divine  principle  of  conduct  they  do  not 
comprehend.  Why  will  it  not  answer  (they  seem  to  say,)  to  make 
men  good  in  one  way  as  well  as  another  ?  ♦'  Abana  and  Pharpar,  rivers 
of  Damascus,  are  they  not  better  than  all  the  waters  of  Israel  ?"  as  if 
all  the  knowledge  and  the  training  that  books  ever  gave  had  power  to 
unloose  one  sinner  from  the  bonds  of  Satan,  or  to  effect  more  than  an 
outward  reformation,  an  appearance  oi  obedience;  as' if  it  were  not  a 
far  different  principle,  a  principle  independent  of  knowledge,  above  it 
and  before  it,  which  leads  to  real  obedience,  that  principle  of  divine 
faith,  given  from  above,  which  has  life  in  itself,  and  has  power  really  to 
use  knowledge  to  the  soul's  welfare;  in  the  hand  of  which  knowledge 
is  (as  it  were)  the  torch  lighting  us  on  our  way,  but  not  teaching  or 
strengthening  us  to  walk. 

3.  Or  take  another  view  of  the  subject.  Is  it  not  one  of  the  most 
common  excuses  made  by  the  poor  for  being  irreligious,  that  they  have 
had  no  education  ?  as  if  to  know  nuich  was  a  necessary  step  for  right 
practice.  Again,  they  are  apt  to  think  it  enough  to  know  and  to  talk 
of  religion,  to  make  a  man  religious.     Why  have  you  come  hither 


III.]  WITHOUT  OBEDIENCE.  23 

to-day,  my  brethen  ? — not  as  a  matter  of  course,  I  will  hope ;  not  merely 
because  friends  or  superiors  told  you  to  come.  I  will  suppose  you  have 
come  to  church  as  a  religious  act ;  but  beware  of  supposing  that  all  is 
done^and  over  by  the  act  of  coming.  It  is  not  enough  to  be  presen 
here  ;  though  many  men  act  as  if  they  forgot  they  must  attend  to  what 
is  going  on,  as  well  as  come.  It  is  not  enough  to  listen  to  what  is 
preached ;  though  many  think  they  have  gone  a  great  way  when  they 
do  this.  You  must  pray;  now  this  is  very  hard  in  itself  to  any  one 
who  tries  (and  this  is  the  reason  why  so  many  men  prefer  the  sermon 
to  the  prayers,  because  the  former  is  merely  the  getting  knowledge,  and 
the  latter  is  to  do  a  deed  of  obedience) :  you  must  pray ;  and  this  I 
say  is  very  difficult,  because  our  thoughts  so  are  apt  to  wander.  But 
even  this  is  not  all ; — you  must,  as  you  pray,  really  intend  to  try  to 
practice  what  you  pray  for.  When  you  say,  "Lead  us  not  into  tempta- 
tion," you  must  in  good  earnest  mean  to  avoid  in  your  daily  conduct 
those  temptations  which  you  have  already  suffered  from.  When  you 
say,  "  Deliver  us  from  evil,"  you  must  mean  to  struggle  against  that 
evil  in  your  hearts,  which  you  are  conscious  of,  and  which  you  pray  to 
be  forgiven.  This  is  difficult ;  still  more  is  behind.  You  must  actually 
carry  your  good  intentions  into  effect  dui'iug  the  week,  and  in  truth  and 
reality  war  against  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  And  any  one 
here  present  who  falls  short  of  this,  that  is,  who  thinks  it  enough  to 
come  to  church  to  learn  God's  will,  but  does  not  bear  in  mind  to  do  it 
in  his  daily  conduct,  be  he  high  or  be  he  low,  know  he  mysteries  and  all 
knowledge,  or  be  he  unlettered  and  busily  occupied  in  active  life,  he  is  a 
fool  in  His  sight,  who  maketh  the  wisdom  of  this  world  foolishness. 
Surely  he  is  but  a  trifler,  as  substituting  a  formal  outward  service  for  the 
religion  of  the  heart;  and  he  reverses  our  Lord's  words  in  the  text,  "  be- 
cause he  knows  these  things,  most  unhappy  is  he,  because  he  does  them 
not." 

But  some  one  may  say,  "  It  is  so  very  difficult  to  serve  God,  it  is  so 
much  against  my  own  mind,  such  an  effort,  such  a  strain  upon  my 
strength  to  bear  Christ's  yoke,  I  must  give  it  over,  or  I  must  delay  it  at 
least.  Can  nothing  be  taken  instead  1  I  acknowledge  His  law  to  be 
most  holy  and  true,  and  the  accounts  I  read  about  good  men  are  most 
delightful.  I  v/ish  I  were  like  them  with  all  my  heart ;  and  for  a  little 
while  I  feel  in  a  mind  to  set  about  imitating  them.  I  have  begun 
several  times,  I  have  had  seasons  of  repentance,  and  set  rules  to  myself; 
but  for  some  reason  or  other  I  fell  back  after  a  while,  and  was  even 
worse  than  before.  I  know,  but  I  cannot  do.  ^O  wretched  ^man  that 
lam!" 

Now  to  such  a  one  I  say.  You  are  in  a  much  more  promising  state 


24  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD'S  WILL  [Serm. 

than  if  you  were  contented  with  yourself,  and  thought  that  knowledge 
was  every  thing,  which  is  the  grievous  bhndness  which  I  have  hitherto 
been  speaking  of;  that  is,  you  are  in  a  better  state,  if  you  do  not  feel 
too  much  comfort  or  confidence  in  your  confession.  For  this  is  the 
fault  of  many  men ;  they  make  such  an  acknowledgement  as  I  have 
described  a  substitute  for  real  repentance;  or  allow  themselves,  after 
making  it,  to  put  off'  repentance,  as  if  they  could  be  suffered  to  give  a 
Avord  of  promise  which  did  not  become  due  (so  to  say)  for  many  days. 
You  are,  I  admit,  in  a  better  state  than  if  you  were  satisfied  with  your- 
self, but  you  are  not  in  a  safe  state.  If  you  were  now  to  die,  you  would 
have  no  hope  of  salvation :  no  hope,  that  is,  if  your  own  showing  be 
true,  for  I  am  taking  your  own  words.  Go  before  God's  judgment-seat, 
and  there  plead  that  you  know  the  Truth  and  have  not  done  it.  This 
is  what  you  frankly  own  ; — how  will  it  there  be  taken  ?  "  Out  of  thine 
own  mouth  will  I  judge  thee,"  says  our  Judge  Himself,  and  who  shall  re- 
verse His  judgment  ?  Therefore  such  a  one  must  make  the  confession 
with  great  and  real  terror  and  shame,  if  it  is  to  be  considered  a  promising 
sign  in  him ;  else  it  is  mere  hardness  of  heart.  For  instance  :  I  have 
heard  persons  say  lightly,  (every  one  must  have  heard  them,)  that  they 
own  it  would  be  a  wretched  thing  indeed  for  them  or  their  companions 
to  be  taken  off'  suddenly.  The  young  are  especially  apt  to  say  this ; 
that  is,  before  they  have  come  to  an  age  to  be  callous,  or  have  formed 
excuses  to  overcome  the  natural  true  sense  of  their  conscience.  They 
say  they  hope  some  day  to  repent.  This  is  their  own  Avitness  against 
themselves,  like  that  bad  prophet  at  Bethel  who  was  constrained  with 
his  own  mouth  to  utter  God's  judgments  while  he  sat  at  his  sinful  meat. 
But  let  not  such  a  one  think  that  he  will  receive  any  thing  of  the^Lord : 
he  does  not  speak  in  faith. 

When,  then,  a  man  complains  of  his  hardness  of  heart  or  weakness 
of  purpose,  let  him  see  to  it  whether  this  complaint  is  more  than  a  mere 
pretence  to  quiet  his  conscience,  which  is  frightened  at  his  putting  off" 
repentance :  or,  again,  more  than  a  mere  idle  word,  said  half  in  jest  and 
half  in  compunction.  But,  should  he  be  earnest  in  his  complaint,  then 
let  him  consider  he  has  no  need  to  complain.  Every  thing  is  plain  and 
easy  to  the  earnest ;  it  is  the  double-minded  who  find  difficulties.  If 
you  hate  your  own  corruption  in  sincerity  and  truth,  if  you  are  really 
pierced  to  the  heart  that  you  do  not  do  what  you  know  you  should  do, 
if  you  would  love  God  if  you  could,  then  the  Gospel  speaks  to  you  words 
of  peace  and  hope.  It  is  a  very  different  thing  indolently  to  say,  "I 
would  I  Avere  a  different  man,"  and  to  close  With  God's  offer  to  make 
you  different  Avhcn  it  is  put  before  you.  Here  is  the  test  between 
earnestness  and  insincerity.     You  say  you  wish  to  be  a  different  man; 


III.]  WITHOUT  OBEDIENCE.  26 

Christ  takes  you  at  your  word,  so  to  say ;  He  offers  to  make  you  differ- 
ent. He  says,  "  I  will  take  away  from  you  the  heart  of  stone,  the  love 
of  this  world  and  its  pleasures,  if  you  will  submit  to  My  discipline." 
Here  a  man  draws  back.  No  ;  he  cannot  bear  to  lose  the  love  of  the 
world,  to  part  with  "his  present  desires  and  tastes;  he  cannot  consent  to 
be  changed.  After  all  he  is  well  satisfied  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart  to 
remain  as  he  is,  only  he  wants  his  conscience  taken  out  of  the  way. 
Did  Christ  offer  to  do  this  for  him,  if  He  would  but  make  bitter  sweet, 
and  sweet  bitter,  darkness  light  and  light  darkness,  then  he  would  hail 
the  glad  tidings  of  peace  ; — till  then  he  needs  Him  not. 

But  if  a  man  is  in  earnest  in  wishing  to  get  at  the  depths  of  his  own 
heart,  to  expel  the  evil,  to  purify  the  good,  and  to  gain  power  over  him- 
self, so  as  to  do  as  well  as  know  the  Truth,  what  is  the  difficulty  ?— a 
matter  of  time  indeed,  but  not  of  uncertainty  is  the  recovery  of  such  a 
man.  So  simple  is  the  rule  which  he  must  follow,  and  so  trite,  that  at 
first  he  will  be  surprised  to  hear  it.  God  does  great  things  by  plain 
methods;  and  men  start  from  them  through  pride,  because  they  are 
plain.  This  was  the  conduct  of  Naaman  the  Syrian.  Christ  says, 
'•  Watch  and  pray ;"  herein  lies  our  cure.  To  watch  and  to  pray  are 
surely  in  our  power,  and  by  these  means  we  are  certain  of  getting 
strength.  You  feel  your  Aveakness  ;  you  fear  to  be  overcome  by  temp- 
tation :  then  keep  out  of  the  way  of  it.  This  is  watching.  Avoid 
society  which  is  likely  to  mislead  you ;  flee  from  the  very  shadow  of 
evil ;  you  cannot  be  too  careful ;  better  be  a  little  too  strict  than  a 
little  too  easy, — it  is  the  safer  side.  Abstain  from  reading  books  which 
are  dangerous  to  you.  Turn  from  bad  thoughts  when  they  arise,  set 
about  some  business,  begin  conversing  with  some  friend,  or  say  to 
yourself  the  Lord's  Prayer  with  seriousness  and  reverence.  When  you 
are  urged  by  temptation,  whether  it  be  by  the  threats  of  the  world, 
false  shame,  self-interest,  provoking  conduct  on  the  part  of  another,  or 
the  world's  sinful  pleasures,  urged  to  be  cowardly,  or  covetous,  or  unfor- 
giving, or  sensual,  shut  your  eyes  and  think  of  Christ's  precious  blood- 
hcdding.  Do  not  dare  to  say  3-0U  cannot  help  sinning ;  a  httle  attention 
.1  these  points  will  go  far,  (through  God's  grace,)  to  keep  you  in  the 
right  way.  And  again,  pray  as  well  as  watch.  You  must  know  that 
\  ou  can  do  nothing  of  yourself;  your  past  experience  has  taught  you 
tliis;  therefore  look  to  God  for  the  will  and  the  power;  a.sk  Him 
earnestly  in  His  Son's  name ;  seek  His  holy  ordinances.  Is  not  this 
in  your  power;  Have  you  not  power  at  least  over  the  limbs  of  your 
body,  so  as  to  attend  the  means  of  grace  constantly?  Have  you 
literally  not  the  power  to  come  hither;  to  observe  the  Fasts  and  Festi- 
vals  of  the  Church ;  to  come  to  His  Holy  Altar  and  receive  the  Bread 


26  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD'S  WILL.  [Serm.  IIL 

of  Life?  Get  yourself,  at  least,  to  do  this;  to  put  out  the  hand,  to  take 
His  gracious  Body  and  Blood ;  this  is  no  arduous  work ; — and  you  say 
you  really  wish  to  gain  the  blessings  He  offers.  What  would  you  have 
more  than  a  free  gift,  vouchsafed  "  v/ithout  money  and  without  price?" 
So,  make  no  more  excuses ;  murmur  not  about  ^our  own  bad  heart, 
your  knowing  and  resolving,  and  not  doing.     Here  is  your  remedy. 

Well  were  it  if  men  could  be  persuaded  to  be  in  earnest;  but  few  are 
thus  minded.  The  many  go  on  with  a  double  aim,  trying  to  serve 
both  God  and  mammon.  Few  can  get  themselves  to  do  what  is  right, 
because  God  tells  them;  they  have  another  aim;  they  desire  to  please 
self  or  men.  When  they  can  obey  God  without  offending  the  bad 
Master  that  rules  them,  then,  and  then  only,  they  obey.  Thus  religion, 
instead  of  being  the  first  thing  in  their  estimation,  is  but  the  second. 
They  differ,  indeed,  one  from  another  what  to  put  foremost :  one  man 
loves  to  be  at  ease,  another  to  be  busy,  another  to  enjoy  domestic  com- 
fort: but  they  agree  in  converting  the  Truth  of  God,  which  they 
know  to  be  Truth,  into  a  mere  instrument  of  secular  aims ;  not  discard- 
ing the  truth  but  degrading  it. 

When  He,  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  comes  to  shake  terribly  the  earth,  what 
number  will  He  find  of  the  remnant  of  the  true  Israel  ?  We  hve  in  an 
educated  age.  The  false  gloss  of  a  mere  worldly  refinement  makes  us 
decent  and  amiable.  We  all  know  and  profess.  We  think  ourselves 
wise ;  we  flatter  each  other ;  we  make  excuses  for  ourselves  when  we 
are  conscious  we  sin,  and  thus  we  gradually  lose  the  consciousness  that 
we  are  sinning.  We  think  our  own  times  superior  to  all  others. 
"Thou  blind  Pharisee!"  This  was  the  fatal  charge  brought  by  our 
blessed  Lord  against  the  falsely  enlightened  teachers  of  His  own  day. 
As  we  desire  to  enter  into  life,  may  we  come  to  Christ  continually  for 
the  two  foundations  of  true  Christian  faith, — humbleness  of  mind  and 


SERMON    IV. 


SECRET  FAULTS. 


PsALJi  xix.  12. 
"  Wlio  can  understand  his  errors  ?     Cleanse  Thou  me  from  secret  faults." 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  multitudes  called  Christian  go  through  life 
with  no  effort  to  obtain  a  correct  knowledge  of  themselves.  They  are 
contented  with  general  and  vague  impressions  concerning  their  real 
state ;  and  if  they  have  more  than  this,  it  is  merely  such  accidental 
information  about  themselves  as  the  events  of  life  force  upon  them. 
But  exact,  systematic  knowledge  they  have  none,  and  do  not  aim 
at  it. 

When  I  say  this  is  strange,  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  to  know 
ourselves  is  easy ;  it  is  very  difiicult  to  know  ourselves  even  in  part, 
and  so  far  ignorance  of  ourselves  is  not  a  strange  thing.  But  its 
strangeness  consists  in  this,  viz.,  that  men  should  profess  to  receive  and 
act  upon  the  great  Christian  doctrines,  while  they  are  thus  ignorant  of 
themselves,  considering  that  self-knowledge  is  a  necessary  condition 
for  understanding  them.  Thus  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  all  those 
who  neglect  the  duty  of  habitual  self-examination  are  using  words  with- 
out meaning.  The  doctrines  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  a  neio 
hirth  from  sin,  cannot  be  understood  without  some  right  knowledge  of 
the  nature  of  sin,  that  is,  of  our  own  heart.  We  may,  indeed,  assent 
to  a  form  of  words  which  declares  those  doctrines  ;  but  if  such  a  mere 
assent,  however  sincere,  is  the  same  as  a  real  holding  of  them,  and  be- 
lief in  them,  then  it  is  equally  possible  to  believe  in  a  proposition  the 
terms  of  which  belong  to  some  foreign  language,  which  is  obviously 
absurd.  Yet  nothing  is  more  common  than  for  men  to  think  that  be- 
cause they  are  familiar  with  words,  they  understand  the  ideas  they 
stand  for.  Educated  persons  despise  this  fault  in  illiterate  men  who 
use  hard  words  as  if  they  comprehended  them.  Yet  they  themselves, 
as  well  as  others,  fall  into  the  same  error  in  a  more  subtle  form,  when 
they  think  they  understand  terms  used  in  morals  and  religion,  because 
such  are  common  words,  and  have  been  used  by  them  all  their  lives. 

Now  (I  repeat)  unless  we  have  some  just  idea  of  our  hearts  and  of 


^ 


28  SECRET  FAULTS.  [Serm. 

sin,  we  can  have  no  right  idea  of  a  Moral  Governor,  a  Saviour,  or  a 
Sanctificr,  that  is,  in  professing  to  bcheve  in  Them,  we  shall  be  using 
2^/  words  without  attaching  distinct  meaning  to  them.     Thus  self-know- 

u    >^^  ledge  is  at  the  root  of  all  real  religious  knowledge  ;  and  it  is  in  vain, — 

worse  than  vain,  it  is  a  deceit  and  a  mischief,  to  think  to  understand 
the  Christian  doctrines  as  a  matter  of  course,  merely  by  being  taught 
by  books,  or  by  attending  sermons,  or  by  any  outward  means,  however 
excellent,  taken  by  themselves.  For  it  is  in  proportion  as  we  search 
our  hearts  and  understand  our  own  nature,  that  we  understand  what  is 
meant  by  an  Infinite  Governor  and  Judge  ;  in  proportion  as  we  com- 
prehend the  nature  of  disobedience  and  our  actual  sinfulness,  that  we 
feel  what  is  the  blessing  of  the  removal  of  sin,  redemption,  pardon, 
sanctification,  which  otherwise  are  mere  words.  God  speaks  to  us 
primarily  in  our  hearts.  Self-knowledge  is  the  key  to  the  precepts  and 
doctrines  of  Scripture.  The  very  utmost  any  outward  notices  of  reh- 
gion  can  do,  is  to  startle  us  and  make  us  turn  inward  and  search  our 
hearts  ;  and  then,  when  we  have  experienced  what  it  is  to  read  our- 
selves, we  shall  profit  by  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  and  the  Bible. 

Of  course  self-knowledge  admits  of  degrees.  No  one,  perhaps,  is 
entirely  ignorant  of  himself:  and  even  the  most  advanced  Christian 
knows  himself  only  "  in  part."  However,  most  men  are  contented  with 
a  slight  acquaintance  Avith  their  hearts,  and  therefore  a  superficial  faith. 
This  is  the  point  which  it  is  my  purpose  to  insist  upon.  Men  are  satis- 
fied to  have  numberless  secret  faults.  They  do  not  think  about  them, 
either  as  sins  or  as  obstacles  to  strength  of  faith,  and  five  on  as  if  they 
had  nothing  to  learn. 

Now  let  us  consider  attentively  the  strong  presumption  that  exists, 
that  we  all  have  serious  secret  faults ;  a  fact  which,  I  believe,  all  are 
ready  to  confess  in  general  terms,  though  few  like  calmly  and  practi- 
cally to  dwell  upon  it ;  as  I  now  wish  to  do. 

1.  Now  the  most  ready  method  of  convincing  ourselves  of  the  exist- 
ence in  us  of  faults  unknown  to  ourselves,  is  to  consider  how  plainly  we 
see  the  secret  faults  of  others.  At  first  sight  there  is  of  course  no  rea- 
son for  supposing  that  we  differ  materially  from  those  around  us ;  and 
if  we  see  sins  in  them  which  they  do  not  see,  it  is  a  presumption  that 
they  have  their  own  discoveries  about  ourselves,  which  it  would  surprise 
us  to  hear.  For  instance  :  how  apt  is  an  angry  man  to  fancy  that  he 
has  the  command  of  himself!  The  very  charge  of  being  angry,  if 
brought  against  him,  will  anger  him  more  ;  and  in  the  height  of  his 
discomposure,  he  will  profess  hhnself  able  to  reason  and  judge  with 
clearness  and  impartiality.  Now,  it  may  be  his  turn  another  day,  for 
what  we  know,  to  witness  the  same  failing  in  us ;  or,  if  we  are  not 


IV.]  SECRET  FAULTS.  29 

naturally  inclined  to  violent  passion,  still  at  least  we  may  be  subject  to 
other  sins,  equally  unknown  to  ourselves,  and  equally  known  to  him  as 
his  anger  was  to  us.  For  example  :  there  are  persons  who  act  mainly 
iVoni  self-interest  at  times  when  they  conceive  they  are  doing  generous 
or  virtuous  actions ;  they  give  freely,  or  put  themselves  to  trouble,  and 
aic  praised  by  the  world,  and  by  themselves,  as  if  acting  on  high  prin- 
ci|)lo  ;  whereas,  close  observers  can  detect  desire  of  gain,  love  of  ap- 
plause, shame,  or  the  mere  satisfaction  of  being  busy  and  active,  as  the 
principal  cause  of  their  good  deeds.  This  may  be  our  condition  as  well 
as  that  of  others  ;  or,  if  it  be  not,  still  a  similar  infirmity,  the  bondage 
of  some  other  sin  or  sins,  which  others  see,  and  we  do  not. 

But,  say  there  is  no  human  being  sees  sin  in  us,  of  which  we  are  not 
aware  ourselves,  (though  this  is  a  bold  supposition  to  make,)  yet  why 
.sliould  man's  accidental  knowledge  of  us  limit  the  extent  of  our  imper- 
fections ?  Should  all  the  world  speak  well  of  us,  and  good  men  hail  us 
us  brothers,  after  all  there  is  a  Judge  who  trieth  the  hearts  and  the  reins. 
H(!  knows  our  real  state  ;  have  we  earnestly  besought  Him  to  teach 
us  the  knowledge  of  our  own  hearts  ?  If  we  have  not,  that  very  omis- 
sion is  a  presumption  against  us.  Though  our  praise  were  throughout 
the  Church,  we  may  be  sure  He  sees  sins  without  number  in  us,  sins 
deep  and  heinous,  of  which  we  have  no  idea.  If  man  sees  so  much 
evil  in  human  nature,  what  must  God  see,?  "  If  our  heart  condemn  us, 
God  is  greater  than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all  things."  Not  acts  alone 
of  sin  does  He  set  down  against  us  daily,  of  which  we  know  nothing, 
but  the  thoughts  of  the  heart  too.  The  stirrings  of  pride,  vanity,  covet- 
ousncss,  impurity,  discontent,  resentment,  these  succeed  each  other 
through  the  day  in  momentary  emotions,  and  are  known  to  Him.  We 
know  them  not ;  but  hov/  much  does  it  concern  us  to  know  them  ! 

2.  This  consideration  is  suggested  by  the  first  view  of  the  subject. 
Now  reflect  upon  the  actual  disclosures  of  our  hidden  weakness,  which 
accidents  occasion.  Peter  followed  Christ  boldly,  and  suspected  not 
liis  own  heart,  till  it  betrayed  him  in  the  hour  of  temptation,  and  led  him 
to  deny  his  Lord.  David  lived  years  of  happy  obedience  while  he  was 
ill  private  life.  What  calm,  clear-sighted  faith  is  manifested  in  his  an- 
swer to  Savd  about  Goliath : — "  The  Lord  that  delivered  me  out  of  the 
paw  of  the  lion,  and  out  of  the  paw  of  the  bear.  He  will  dehver  me  out 
of  the  hand  of  this  Phihstine."*  Nay,  not  only  in  retired  Hfe,  in  severe 
trial,  under  ill  usage  from  Saul,  he  continued  faithful  to  his  God  ;  years 
and  years  did  he  go  on,  fortifying  his  heart,  and  learning  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  ;  yet  power  and  wealth  weakened  his  faith,  and  for  a  season  over- 

*  1  Sam.  xvii.  37. 


30  SECRET  FAULTS.  [Skrm. 

came  him.  There  was  a  time  when  a  prophet  could  retort  upon  him, 
"  Thou  art  the  man"*  whom  thou  condemnest.  He  had  kept  his  prin- 
ciples in  words,  but  lost  them  in  his  heart.  Hezekiah  is  another  instance 
of  a  religious  man  bearing  trouble  well,  but  for  a  season  falling  back 
under  the  temptation  of  prosperity ;  and  that,  after  extraordinary  mer- 
cies had  been  vouchsafed  to  him.-j-  And  if  these  things  be  so  in  the 
case  of  the  favoured  saints  of  God,  what  (may  we  suppose)  is  our  own 
real  spiritual  state  in  His  sight  1  It  is  a  serious  thought.  The  warning 
to  be  deduced  from  it  is  this : — Never  to  think  we  have  a  due  know- 
ledge of  ourselves  till  we  have  been  exposed  to  various  kinds  of  tempta- 
tions, and  tried  on  every  side.  Integrity  on  one  side  of  our  character  is 
no  voucher  for  integrity  on  another.  We  cannot  tell  how  we  should  act 
if  brought  under  temptations  different  from  those  which  we  have  hitherto 
experienced.  This  thought  should  keep  us  humble.  We  are  sinners, 
but  we  do  not  know  how  great.     He  alone  knows  who  died  for  our  sins. 

3.  Thus  much  we  cannot  but  allow ;  that  we  do  not  know  ourselves 
in  those  respects  in  which  we  have  not  been  tried.  But  farther  than 
this  ;  What  if  we  do  not  know  ourselves  even  where  we  have  been 
tried,  and  found  faithful  ?  It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  which  has 
been  often  observed,  that  if  we  look  to  some  of  the  most  eminent  saints 
of  Scripture,  we  shall  find  their  recorded  errors  to  have  occurred  in  those 
parts  of  their  duty  in  which  each  had  had  most  trial,  and  generally 
showed  obedience  most  perfect.  Faithful  Abraham  through  want  of 
faith  denied  his  wife.  Moses,  the  meekest  of  men,  was  excluded  from 
the  land  of  promise  for  a  passionate  word.  The  wisdom  of  Solomon 
was  seduced  to  bow  down  to  idols.  Barnabas,  again,  the  son  of  conso. 
lation,  had  a  sharp  contention  with  St.  Paul.  If  then  men,  who  knew 
themselves  better  than  we  doubtless  know  ourselves,  had  so  much  of 
hidden  infirmity  about  them,  even  in  those  parts  of  their  character 
which  were  most  free  from  blame,  what  are  we  to  think  of  ourselves  ? 
and  if  our  very  virtues  be  so  defiled  with  imperfection,  what  must  be  the 
unknown  multiplied  circumstances  of  evil  which  aggravate  the  guilt  of 
our  sins  ?     This  is  a  third  presumption  against  us. 

4.  Think  of  this  too.  No  one  begins  to  examine  himself,  and  to  pray 
to  know  himself,  (with  David  in  the  text,)  but  he  finds  within  him  an 
abundance  of  faults  which  before  were  either  entirely  or  almost  entirely 
unknown  to  him.  That  this  is  so,  we  learn  from  the  written  lives  of 
good  men,  and  our  own  experience  of  others.  And  hence  it  is  that  the 
best  men  are  ever  the  most  humble ;  for,  having  a  higher  standard  of 
excellence  in  their  minds  than  others  have,  and  knowing  themselves 

»  2  Sam.  xii.  7.  t  2  Kinjrs  xx.  12-19. 


IV.]  SECRET  FAULTS.  31 

better,  tkey  see  somewhat  of  the  breadth  and  depth  of  their  own  sinful 
nature,  and  are  shocked  and  frightened  at  themselves.  The  generahty 
of  men  cannot  understand  this ;  and  if  at  times  the  habitual  self-con- 
demnation of  religious  men  breaks  out  into  words,  they 'think  it  arises 
from  affectation,  or  from  a  strange  distempered  state  of  mind,  or  from 
accidental  melancholy  and  disquiet.  Whereas,  the  confession  of  a  good 
man  against  himself,  is  really  a  witness  against  all  thoughtless  persons 
who  hear  it,  and  a  call  on  them  to  examine  their  own  hearts.  Doubt- 
less the  more  we  examine  ourselves,  the  more  imperfect  and  ignorant 
we  shall  find  ourselves  to  be. 

5.  But  let  a  man  persevere  in  prayer  and  watchfulness  to  the  day  of 
his  death,  yet  he  will  never  get  to  the  bottom  of  his  heart.  Though  he 
know  more  and  more  of  himself  as  he  becomes  more  conscientious  and 
earnest,  still  the  full  manifestation  of  the  secrets  there  lodged,  is  re- 
served for  another  world.  And  at  the  last  day  who  can  tell  the  affright 
and  horror  of  a  man  who  lived  to  himself  on  earth,  indulging  his  own 
evil  will,  following  his  own  chance  notions  of  truth  and  falsehood,  shun- 
ning the  cross  and  the  reproach  of  Christ,  when  his  eyes  are  at  length 
opened  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  all  his  innumerable  sins,  his  ha- 
bitual neglect  of  God,  his  abuse  of  his  talents,  his  misapplication  and 
waste  of  time,  and  the  original  unexplored  sinfylness  of  his  nature  are 
brought  clearly  and  fully  to  his  view  1  Nay,  even  to  the  true  servants 
of  Christ,  the  prospect  is  awful.  "The  righteous,"  we  are  told,  "will 
scarcely  be  saved."*  Then  will  the  good  man  undergo  the  full  sight  of 
his  sins,  which  on  earth  he  was  labouring  to  obtain,  and  partly  succeeded 
in  obtaining,  though  life  was  not  long  enough  to  learn  and  subdue  them 
all.  Doubtless  we  must  all  endure  that  fierce  and  terrifying  vision  of 
our  real  selves,  that  last  fiery  trial  of  the  soulf  before  its  acceptance,  a 
spiritual  agony  and  second  death  to  all  who  are  not  then  supported  by 
the  strength  of  Him  who  died  to  bring  them  safe  through  it,  and  in 
whom  on  earth  they  have  behevcd  ? 

My  brethren,  I  appeal  to  your  reason  whether  these  presumptions  arc 
not  in  their  substance  fair  and  just.  And  if  so,  next  I  appeal  to  your 
consciences,  whether  they  are  new  to  you  ;  for  if  you  have  not  even 
thought  about  your  real  state,  nor  even  know  how  little  you  know  of 
yourselves,  how  can  you  in  good  earnest  be  purifying  yourselves  for  the 
next  world,  or  be  walking  in  the  narrow  way  ? 

And  yet  how  many  are  the  chances  that  a  number  of  those  who  now 
hear  me  have  no  sufficient  knowledge  of  themselves,  or  sense  of  their 

*  1  ret.  iv.  18.  t  1  Cor.  iii.  13. 


32  SECRET  FAULTS.  [Serm. 

ignorance,  and  are  in  peril  of  their  souls  !  Christ's  ministers  cannot  tell 
who  are,  and  who  are  not,  the  true  elect ;  but  when  the  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  knowing  yourselves  aright  are  considered,  it  becomes  a  most 
serious  and  imuicdiatc  question  for  each  of  you  to  entertain,  whether  or 
not  he  is  living  a  hfe  of  self-deceit,  and  thinking  far  more  comfortably 
of  his  spiritual  state  than  he  has  any  right  to  do.  For  call  to  mind  the 
impediments  that  are  in  the  way  of  your  knowing  yourselves,  or  feel- 
ing your  ignorance,  and  then  judge. 

1.  First  of  all,  self  knowledge  does  not  come  as  a  matter  of  course; 
it  implies  an  effort  and  a  work.  As  well  may  we  suppose,  that  the 
knowledge  of  the  languages  comes  by  nature,  as  that  acquaintance  with 
our  own  heart  is  natural.  Now  the  very  effort  of  steadily  reflecting,  is 
itself  painful  to  many  men  ;  not  to  speak  of  the  difficulty  of  reflecting 
correctly.  To  ask  ourselves  why  we  do  this  or  that,  to  take  account  of 
the  principles  which  govern  us,  and  see  whether  we  act  for  conscience' 
sake  or  from  some  lower  inducement,  is  painful.  We  are  busy  in  the 
world,  and  what  leisure  time  wc  have  we  readily  devote  to  a  less  severe 
and  wearisome  employment. 

2.  And  then  comes  in  our  self-love.  We  hope  the  best ;  this  saves 
us  the  trouble  of  examining.  Self-love  answers  for  our  safety.  We 
think  it  sufficient  caution  to  allow  for  certain  possible  unknown  faults  at 
the  utmost,  and  to  take  them  into  the  reckoning  when  we  balance  our 
account  with  our  conscience  :  whereas,  if  the  truth  were  known  to  us, 
we  should  find  we  had  nothing  but  debts,  and  those  greater  than  we  can 
conceive,  and  ever  increasing. 

3.  And  this  favourable  judgment  of  ourselves  will  especially  prevail, 
if  we  have  the  misfortune  to  have  uninterrupted  health  and  high  spirits, 
and  domestic  comfort.  Health  of  body  and  mind  is  a  great  blessing, 
if  we  can  bear  it ;  but  unless  chastened  by  watchings  and  fastings,*  it 
will  commonly  seduce  a  man  into  the  notion  that  he  is  much^better  than 
he  really  is.  Resistance  to  our  acting  rightly,  Avhethcr  it  proceeds  from 
within  or  without,  tries  our  principle  ;  but  when  things  go  smootlily, 
and  we  have  but  to  wish,  and  we  can  perform,  we  cannot  tell  how  far 
we  do  or  do  not  act  from  a  sense  of  duty.  When  a  man's  spirits  are 
high,  he  is  i)lcased  with  every  thing  ;  and  with  himself  especially.  He 
can  act  with  vigour  and  promptness,  and  he  mistakes  this  mere  consti- 
tutional energy  for  strength  of  faitii.  He  is  cheerful  and  contented  ; 
and  he  mistakes  this  for  Christian  peace.  And,  if  happy  in  his  family, 
he  mistakes  mere  natural  affection  for  Christian  benevolence,  and  the 
confirmed  temper  of  Christian  love.     In  short,  he  is  in  a  dream,  from 

«  2  Cor.  li.  27. 


IV.]  SECRET  FAULTS.  33 

which  nothing  could  have  saved  him  except  deep  humihty,  and  nothing 
will  ordinarily  rescue  him  except  sharp  affliction. 

Other  accidental  circumstances  are  frequently  causes  of  a  similar 
self-deceit.  While  we  remain  in  retirement  from  the  world,  we  do  not 
know  ourselves  ;  or  after  any  great  mercy  or  trial,  which  has  affected 
us  much,  and  given  a  temporary  strong  impulse  to  our  obedience ;  or 
when  we  are  in  keen  pursuit  of  some  good  object,  which  excites  the 
mind,  and  for  a  time  deadens  it  to  temptation.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, we  are  ready  to  think  far  too  well  of  ourselves.  The  world  is 
away  ;  or,  at  least,  we  are  insensible  to  its  seductions  ;  and  we  mistake 
our  merely  temporary  tranquillity,  or  our  over- wrought  fervour  of  mind, 
on  the  one  hand  for  Christian  peace,  on  the  other  for  Christian  zeal. 

4.  Next  we  must  consider  the  force  of  habit.  Conscience  at  first 
warns  us  ao-ainst  sin  ;  but  if  we  disregard  it,  it  soon  ceases  to  upbraid 
urf  ;  and  thus  sins,  once  known,  in  time  become  secret  sjns.  It  seems 
then,  (and  it  is  a  startling  reflection,)  that  the  more  guilty  we  are,  the 
less  we  know  it  ;  for  the  oftener  we  sin,  the  less  we  are  distressed  at  it. 
1  think  many  of  us  may,  on  reflection,  recollect  instances,  in  our  expe- 
rience of  ourselves,  of  our  gradually  forgetting  things  to  be  wrong  which 
once  shocked  us.  Such  is  the  force  of  habit.  By  it  (for  instance)  men 
contrive  to  allow  themselves  in  various  kinds  of  dishonesty.  They  bring 
themselves  to  affirm  what  is  untrue,  or  what  they  are  not  sure  is  true,  in 
the  course  of  business.  They  overreach  and  cheat ;  and,  still  more  are 
they  likely  to  fall  into  low  and  selfish  ways  without  their  observing  it,, 
and  all  the  while  to  continue  careful  in  their  attendance  on  the  Christian 
ordinances,  and  bear  about  them  a  form  of  religion.  Or,  again,  they 
will  live  in  self-indulgent  habits  ;  eat  and  drink  more  than  is  right ;  dis- 
play a  needless  pomp  and  splendour  in  their  domestic  arrangements, 
without  any  misgiving  ;  much  less  do  they  think  of  simplicity  of  man- 
ners and  abstinence  as  Christian  duties.  Now  we  cannot  suppose  they 
always  thought  their  present  mode  of  living  to  be  justifiable,  for  others 
are  still  struck  with  its  impropriety ;  and  what  others  now  feel,  doubt- 
less they  once  felt  themselves.  But  such  is  the  force  of  habit.  So 
again,  to  take  as  a  third  instance,  the  duty  of  stated  private  prayer ;  at 
first  it  is  omitted  with  compunction,  but  soon  with  indifference.  But  it 
is  not  the  less  a  sin  because  we  do  not  feel  it  to  be  such.  Habit  has 
made  it  a  secret  sin. 

5.  To  the  force  of  habit  must  be  added  that  of  custom.  Every  age 
has  its  own  wrong  ways  ;  and  these  have  such  influence,  that  even  good 
men,  from  living  in  the  world,  are  unconsciously  misled  by  them.  At 
one  time  a  fierce  persecuting  hatred  of  those  who  erred  in  Christian 
doctrine  has  prevailed  ;  at  another,  an  odious  over-estimation  of  wealth 

Vol.  I.— 3 


34  SECRET   FAULTS.  [Serm. 

and  the  means  of  wealth ;  at  another,  an  irreligious  veneration  of  the 
mere  intellectual  powers  ;  at  another,  a  laxity  of  morals ;  at  another, 
disregard  of  the  forms  and  discipline  of  the  Church.  The  most  religious 
men,  unless  they  are  especially  watchful,  will  feel  the  sway  of  the  fash- 
ion of  their  age ;  and  suffer  from  it,  as  Lot  in  wicked  Sodom,  though 
unconsciously.  Yet  their  ignorance  of  the  mischief  does  not  change 
the  nature  of  their  sin  ; — sin  it  still  is,  only  custom  makes  it  secret  sin. 
6.  Now  what  is  our  chief  guide  amid  the  evil  and  seducing  customs 
of  the  world  ? — obviously,  the  Bible.  "  The  world  passeth  away,  but 
the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever."*  How  much  extended,  then, 
and  strengthened,  necessarily  must  be  this  secret  dominion  of  sin  over 
us,  when  we  consider  how  little  we  read  the  Scripture  !  Our  conscience 
gets  corrupted, — true  ;  but  the  words  of  truth,  though  effaced  from  our 
minds,  remain  in  Scripture,  bright  in  their  eternal  youth  and  purity. 
Yet,  we  do  not  study  Scripture  to  stir  up  and  refresh  our  minds.  Ask 
3^ourselves,  my  brethren,  what  do  you  know  of  the  Bible  ?  Is  there  any 
one  part  of  it  you  have  read  carefully,  and  as  a  whole  ?  One  of  the 
Gospels,  for  instance  1  Do  you  know  very  much  more  of  your  Sa- 
viour's  works  and  words  than  you  have  heard  read  in  church  ?  Have 
you  compared  His  precepts,  or  St.  Paul's,  or  any  other  Apostle's,  with 
your  own  daily  conduct,  and  prayed  and  endeavoured  to  act  upon  them  1 
If  you  have,  so  far  is  well ;  go  on  to  do  so.  If  you  have  not,  it  is  plain 
you  do  not  possess,  for  you  have  not  sought  to  possess,  an  adequate  no- 
tion of  that  perfect  Christian  character  which  it  is  your  duty  to  aim  at, 
nor  an  adequate  notion  of  your  actual  sinful  state  ;  you  are  in  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  "  come  not  to  the  light,  lest  their  deeds  should  be  re- 
proved." 

These  remarks  may  serve  to  impress  upon  us  the  difficulty  of  know- 
ing ourselves  aright,  and  the  consequent  danger  to  which  we  are  ex- 
posed, of  speaking  peace  to  our  souls,  when  there  is  no  peace. 

Many  things  are  against  us  ;  this  is  plain.  Yet  is  not  our  future 
prize  wortli  a  struggle  ?  Is  it  not  worth  present  discomfort  and  pain, 
to  accomplish  an  escape  from  the  fire  that  never  shall  be  quenched  ? 
Can  we  endure  the  thought  of  going  down  to  the  grave  with  a  load  of 
sins  on  our  head  unknown  and  unrepented  of  ?  Can  we  content  our- 
selves with  such  an  unreal  faith  in  Christ,  as  in  no  sufficient  measure 
includes  self-abasement,  or  thankfulness,  or  the  desire  or  effort  to  be 
holy  ?  for  how  can  we  feel  our  need  of  His  help,  or  our  dependence  on 
Him,  or  our  debt  to  Him,  or  the  nature  of  His  gift  to  us,  unless  we  know 

*  Isaiah  xl.  8.     1  Pet.  i.  24,  25.     IJohn  ii.  17. 


IV.]  SECRET  FAULTS.  35 

ourselves  ?  How  can  we  in  any  sense  be  said  to  have  that  "  mind  of 
Christ,"  to  which  the  Apostle  exhorts  us,  if  we  cannot  follow  Him  to  the 
height  above,  or  the  depth  beneath  ;  if  we  do  not  in  some  measure  dis- 
cern the  cause  and  meaning  of  His  sorrows,  but  regard  the  world,  and 
man,  and  the  system  of  Providence,  in  a  light  different  from  that  which 
His  words  and  acts  supply  ?  If  you  receive  revealed  truth  merely 
through  the  eyes  and  ears,  you  believe  words,  not  things  ;  you  deceive 
yourselves.  You  may  conceive  yourselves  sound  in  faith,  but  you  know 
nothing  in  any  true  way.  Obedience  to  God's  commandments,  which 
implies  knowledge  of  sin  and  of  holiness,  and  the  desire  and  endeavour 
to  please  Him,  this  is  the  only  practical  interpreter  of  Scripture  doctrine. 
Without  self-knowledge,  you  have  no  root  in  yourselves  personally; 
you  may  endure  for  a  time,  but  under  affliction  or  persecution  your 
faith  will  not  last.  This  is  why  many  in  this  age,  (and  in  every  age,) 
become  infidels,  heretics,  schismatics,  disloyal  despisers  of  the  Church. 
They  cast  off  the  form  of  truth,  because  it  never  has  been  to  them  more 
than  a  form.  They  endure  not,  because  they  never  have  tasted  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious  ;  and  they  never  have  had  experience  of  his  power 
and  love,  because  they  have  never  known  their  own  weakness  and  need. 
This  may  be  the  future  condition  of  some  of  us,  if  we  harden  our  hearts 
to-day, — apostasy.  Some  day,  even  in  this  world,  we  may  be  found 
openly  among  the  enemies  of  God  and  His  Church. 

But,  even  should  we  be  spared  this  present  shame,  what  will  it  ulti- 
mately profit  a  man  to  profess  without  understanding  1  to  say  he  has 
faith  when  he  has  not  works  ?*  In  that  case  we  shall  remain  in  the 
heavenly  vineyard,  stunted  plants,  without  the  principle  of  growth  in  us, 
barren  ;  and,  in  the  end,  we  shall  be  put  to  shame  before  Christ  and  the 
holy  Angels,  "  as  trees  of  withering  fruits,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by 
the  roots,"  even  though  we  die  in  outward  communion  with  the  Church. 

To  think  of  these  things,  and  to  be  alarmed,  is  the  first  step  towards 
acceptable  obedience  ;  to  be  at  ease,  is  to  be  unsafe.  We  must  know 
what  the  evil  of  sin  is,  hereafter,  if  we  do  not  learn  it  here.  God  give 
us  all  grace  to  choose  the  pain  of  present  repentance  before  the  wrath 
to  come  ? 

*  James  ii.  14. 


SERMON   V. 
SELF-DENIAL  THE  TEST  OF  RELIGIOUS  EAENESTNESS. 


Romans  xiii.  11. 
"  Now  it  is  high  time  to  awake  out  of  sleep." 

By  "  sleep,"  in  this  passage,  St.  Paul  means  a  state  of  insensibility 
to  things  as  they  really  are  in  God's  sight.  When  we  are  asleep,  we 
are  absent  from  this  world's  action,  as  if  we  were  no  longer  concerned 
in  it.  It  goes  on  without  us,  or,  if  our  rest  be  broken,  and  we  have 
some  slight  notion  of  people  and  occurrences  about  us,  if  we  hear  a 
voice  or  a  sentence,  and  sec  a  face,  yet  we  are  unable  to  catch  these 
external  objects  justly  and  truly;  we  make  them  part  of  our  dreams, 
and  pervert  them  till  they  have  scarcely  a  resemblance  to  what  they 
really  are ; — and  such  is  the  state  of  men  as  regards  religious  truth. 
God  is  ever  Almighty  and  All-knowing.  He  is  on  His  throne  in 
Heaven,  trying  the  reins  and  the  hearts ;  and  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  is  on  His  right  hand  ;  and  ten  thousand  Angels  and  Saints 
are  ministering  to  Him,  rapt  in  the  contemplation  of  Him,  or  by  their 
errands  of  mercy  connecting  this  world  with  His  coiu-ts  above  ;  they 
go  to  and  fro,  as  though  upon  the  ladder  which  Jacob  saw.  And  the 
disclosure  of  this  glorious  invisible  world  is  made  to  us  principally  by 
means  of  the  Bible,  partly  by  the  course  of  nature,  partly  by  the  floating 
opinions  of  mankind,  partly  by  the  suggestions  of  the  heart  and  con- 
science ; — and  all  these  means  of  information  concerning  it  are  col- 
lected and  combined  by  the  Holy  Church,  which  heralds  the  news 
forth  to  the  whole  earth,  and  applies  it  with  power  to  individual  minds, 
partly  by  direct  instruction,  partly  by  her  very  form  and  fashion,  which 
witnesses  to  them ;  so  that  the  truths  of  religion  circulate  through  the 
world  almost  as  the  light  of  day,  every  corner  and  recess  having  some 
portion  of  its  blessed  rays.  Such  is  the  state  of  a  Christian  country. 
Meanwhile  how  is  it  with  those  who  dwell  in  it  ?  The  words  of  the 
text  remind  us  of  tlveir  condition.  They  are  asleep.  While  the  Minis- 
ters  of  Clirist  are  using  the  armour  of  light,  and  all  things  speak  of 
Him,  they  "  walk"  not  "becomingly,  as  in  the  dav."  Many  live  alto- 
gether as  though  the  day  shone  not  on  them,  but  the  shadows  still 
endured  ;  and  far  the  greater  part  of  them  are  but  faintly  sensible  of 


Serm.  v.]  religious    earnestness.  37 

the  great  truths  preached  around  them.  They  see  and  hear  as  people 
in  a  dream ;  they  mix  up  the  Holy  Word  of  God  with  their  own  idle 
imaginings  ^  if  startled  for  a  moment,  yet  they  soon  relapse  into  slum- 
ber ;  they  refuse  to  be  awakened,  and  think  their  happiness  consists  in 
continuing  as  they  are. 

Now  I  do  not  for  an  instant  suspect,  my  brethren,  that  you  are  in  the 
sound  slumber  of  sin.  This  is  a  miserable  state,  which  I  should  hope 
was,  on  the  whole,  the  condition  of  few  men,  at  least  in  a  place  like  this. 
But,  allowing  this,  yet  there  is  great  reason  for  fearing  that  very  many 
of  you  are  not  wide  awake  :  that  though  your  dreams  are'disturbed,  yet 
dreams  they  are  ;  and  that  the  view  of  religion  which  you  think  to  be ' 
a  true  one,  is  not  that  vision  of  the  Truth  which  you  would  see  were 
your  eyes  open,  but  such  a  vague,  defective,  extravagant  picture  of  it  as 
a  man  sees  when  he  is  asleep.  At  all  events,  however  this  may  be, 
it'  will  be  useful  (please  God)  if  you  ask  yourselves,  one  by  one,  the 
question,  ^'How  do  I  know  I  am  in  the  right  way  ?  Hoiv  do  I  know  that 
I  have  real  faith,  and  am  not  in  a  dream  V 

The  circumstances  of  these  times  render  it  very  difficult  to  answer 
this  question.  When  the  world  was  against  Christianity  it  was  com- 
paratively easy.  But  (in  one  sense)  the  world  is  now ^br  it.  I  do  not 
mean  there  are  not  turbulent  lawless  men,  who  would  bring  all  things 
into  confusion,  if  the}^  could ;  v/ho  hate  religion,  and  v/ould  overturn 
every  established  institution  which  proceeds  from,  or  is  connected  with 
it.  Doubtless  there  are  very  many  such  ;  but  from  such  men  religion 
has  nothing  to  fear.  The  truth  has  ever  flourished  and  strengthened 
under  persecution.  But  what  we  have  to  fear  is  the  opposite  fact,  that 
all  the  rank,  and  the  station,  and  the  intelligence,  and  the  opulence  of 
the  country  is  professedly  with  religion.  We  have  cause  to  fear  from 
the  very  circumstance  that  the  institutions  of  the  country  are  based 
upon  the  acknowledgment  of  religion  as  true.  Worthy  of  all  honour 
are  they  who  so  based  them  !  Miserable  is  the  guilt  which  lies  upon 
those  who  have  attempted,  and  partly  succeeded,  in  shaking  that  holy 
foundation !  But  it  often  happens  that  our  most  bitter,  are  not  our 
most  dangerous  enemies  ;  on  the  other  hand,  greatest  blessings  are  the 
most  serious  temptations  to  the  unwary.  And  our  danger,  at  present, 
is  this,  that  a  man's  having  a  general  character  for  religion,  reverencing 
the  Gospel  and  professing  it,  and  to  a  certain  point  obeying  it,  so  fully 
promotes  his  temporal  interests,  that  it  is  difficult  for  him  to  make  out 
for  himself  whether  he  really  acts  on  faith,  or  from  a  desire  of  this 
world's  advantages.  It  is  difficult  to  find  tests  which  may  bring  home 
the  truth  to  his  mind,  and  probe  his  heart  after  the  manner  of  Him  who, 
from  His  throne  above,  tries  it  with  an   Almishtv   Wisdom.     It  can 


38  SELF-DENIAL,  THE  TEST  OF  [Serm. 

scarcely  be  denied  that  attention  to  our  religious  duties  is  becoming  a 
fashion  among  largo  portions  of  the  community, — so  large  that,  to  many 
individuals,  these  portions  are  in  fact  the  world.  We  are,  every  now 
and  then,  surprised  to  find  persons  to  be  in  the  observance  of  family 
prayer,  of  reading  Scripture,  or  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  of  whom  we 
should  not  have  expected  beforehand  such  a  profession  of  faith  ;  or  we 
hear  them  avowing  the  high  evangelical  truths  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  countenancing  those  who  maintain  them.  All  this  brings  it 
about,  that  it  is  our  interest  in  this  world  to  profess  to  be  Christ's 
disciples. 

And  further  than  this,  it  is  necessary  to  remark,  that,  in  spite  of  this 
general  profession  of  zeal  for  the  Gospel  among  all  respectable  persons 
at  this  day,  nevertheless  there  is  reason  for  fearing,  that  it  is  not  alto- 
gether the  real  Gospel  that  they  are  zealous  for.  Doubtless  we  have 
cause  to  be  thankful  whenever  we  see  persons  earnest  in  the  various 
ways  I  have  mentioned.  Yet,  somehow,  after  all,  there  is  reason  for 
being  dissatisfied  with  the  character  of  the  religion  of  the  day  ;  dissatis- 
fied, first,  because  oftentimes  these  same  persons  are  very  incon- 
sistent : — often,  for  instance,  talk  irreverently  and  pi'ofanely,  ridicule 
or  slight  things  sacred,  speak  against  the  Holy  Church,  or  against  the 
blessed  Saints  of  early  times,  or  even  against  the  favoured  servants  of 
God,  set  before  us  in  Scripture ; — or  act  with  the  world  and  the  worse 
sort  of  men,  even  when  they  do  not  speak  like  them ;  attend  to  them 
more  than  to  the  Ministers  of  God,  or  are  very  lukewarm,  lax,  and  un- 
scrupulous in  matters  of  conduct,  so  much  so  that  they  seem  hardly  to 
go  by  principle,  but  by  what  is  merely  expedient  and  convenient.  And 
then  again,  putting  aside  our  judgment  of  these  men  as  individuals, 
and  thinking  of  them  as  well  as  we  can,  (which  of  course  it  is  our  duty 
to  do,)  yet,  after  all,  taking  merely  the  multitude  of  them  as  a  symptom 
of  a  state  of  things,  I  own  I  am  suspicious  of  any  religion  that  is  a 
people's  religion,  or  an  age's  religion.  Our  Saviour  says,  "  Narrow  is 
the  way.''  This,  of  course,  must  not  be  interpreted  without  great  cau- 
tion ;  yet  surely  the  whole  tenor  of  the  Inspired  Volume  leads  us  to 
believe  that  His  Truth  will  not  bo  heartily  received  by  the  many,  that 
it  is  against  the  current  of  human  feeling  and  opinion,  and  the  course  of 
the  world,  and  so  far  forth  as  it  is  received  by  a  man,  will  be  opposed  by 
himself,  i.  e.  by  his  old  nature  which  remains  about  him,  next  by  all 
others,  so  far  forth  as  they  have  not  received  it.  "  The  light  shining  in 
darkness"  is  the  token  of  true  religion  ;  and,  though  doubtless  there  are 
seasons  when  a  sudden  enthusiasm  arises  in  favour  of  the  Truth,  (as  in 
the  history  of  St.  John  the  Ba])tist,  in  whose  "  light"  the  Jews  "  were 


v.]  RELIGIOUS  EARNESTNESS  39 

willing  for  a  season  to  rejoice,"*  so  as  even  "  to  be  baptized  of  him, 
confessing  their  sins  ;"f )  yet  such  a  popularity  of  the  Truth  is  but  sudden, 
comes  at  once  and  goes  at  once,  has  no  regular  growth,  no  abiding  stay. 
It  is  error  alone  which  grows  and  is  received  heartily  on  a  large  scale. 
St.  Paul  has  set  up  his  warning  against  our  supposing  Truth  will  ever 
be  heartily  accepted,  whatever  show  there  may  be  of  a  general  pro- 
fession of  it,  in  his  last  Epistle,  where  he  tells  Timothy,  among  other 
sad  prophecies,  that  "  evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax  worse  and 
worse.":]:  Truth,  indeed,  has  that  power  in  it,  that  it  forces  men  to 
profess  it  in  words;  but  when  they  go  on  to  act,  instead  of  obeying  it, 
they  substitute  some  idol  in  the  place  of  it.  On  these  accounts,  when 
there  is  much  talk  of  religion  in  a  country,  and  much  congratulation 
that  there  is  a  general  concern  for  it,  a  cautious  mind  will  feel  anxious 
lest  some  counterfeit  be,  in  fact,  honoured  instead  of  it ;  lest  it  be  the 
dream  of  man,  rather  than'  the  verities  of  God's  word,  which  has  be- 
come popular,  and  lest  the  received  form  have  no  more  truth  in  it  than 
is  just  necessary  to  recommend  it  to  the  reason  and  conscience  ; — lest, 
in  short,  it  be  Satan  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light,  rather  than  the 
Light  itself,  which  is  attracting  followers. 

If,  then,  this  be  a  time,  (which  I  suppose  it  is,)  when  a  general  pro- 
fession of  religion  is  thought  respectable  and  right  in  the  virtuous  and 
orderly  classes  of  the  community,  this  circumstance  should  not  diminish 
your  anxiety  about  your  own  state  before  God,  but  rather  (I  may  say) 
increase  it ;  for  two  reasons,  first,  because  you  are  in  danger  of  doing 
right  from  motives  of  this  world,  next,  because  you  may,  perchance  be 
cheated  of  the  Truth,  by  some  ingenuity  which  the  world  puts,  like 
counterfeit  coin,  in  the  place  of  Truth. 

Some,  indeed,  of  those  who  now  hear  me,  are  in  situations  where  they 
are  almost  shielded  from  the  world's  influence,  whatever  it  is.  There 
are  persons  so  happily  placed  as  to  have  religious  superiors,  who  direct 
them  to  what  is  good  only,  and  who  arc  kind  to  them  as  well  as  pious 
towards  God.  This  is  their  happiness,  and  they  must  thank  God  for 
the  gift ;  but  it  is  their  temptation  too.  At  least  they  are  under  one  of 
the  two  temptations  just  mentioned  ;  good  behaviour  is  in  their  case 
not  only  a  matter  of  duty,  but  of  interest.  If  they  obey  God,  they  gain 
praise  from  men  as  well  as  from  Him ;  so  that  it  is  very  diflicult  for 
them  to  know  whether  they  do  right  for  conscience'  sake,  or  for  the 
world's  sake.  Thus,  whether  in  private  families,  or  in  the  world,  in  all 
the  ranks  of  middle  life,  men  lie  under  a  considerable  danger  at  this  day, 
a  more  than  ordinary  danger,  of  self-deception,  of  being  asleep  while 
they  think  themselves  awake. 

*  John  V.  35.  t  Matt.  iii.  6.  I  2  Tim.  iii.  13. 


40  SELF-DENIAL  THE  TEST  OF  [Serm. 

How  then  shall  we  try  ourselves  I  Can  any  tests  be  named  which 
will  bring  certainty  to  our  minds  on  the  subject  ?  No  indisputable 
tests  can  be  given.  We  cannot  know  for  certain.  We  must  beware 
of  an  impatience  about  knowing  what  our  real  state  is.  St.  Paul 
himself  did  not  know  till  the  last  days  of  his  life,  (as  far  as  we  know,) 
that  he  was  one  of  God's^  elect  who  shall  never  perish.  He  said,  "  I 
know  nothing  by  myself,  yet  am  I  not  hereby  justified,"*  i.  e.  though  I 
am  not  conscious  to  myself  of  neglect  of  duty,  yet  am  I  not  therefore 
confident  of  my  acceptance.  Judge  nothing  before  the  time.  Accor- 
dingly he  says  in  another  place,  "  I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it 
into  subjection  lest,  that  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others, 
I  myself  should  be  a  castaway."f  And  yet  though  this  absolute  cer- 
tainty of  our  election  unto  glory  be  unattainable,  and  the  desire  to 
obtain  it  an  impatience  which  ill  befits  sinners,  nevertheless  a  comforta- 
ble hope,  a  sober  and  subdued  belief  that  God  has  pardoned  and  justified 
us  for  Christ's  sake,  (blessed  be  His  name  !)  is  attainable,  according  to 
St.  John's  words,  "  If  our  heart  condemn  us  not,  then  have  we  confi- 
dence toward  God.":}:  And  the  question  is,  how  are  we  to  attain  to 
this,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed  ?  In  what  does 
it  consist  ? 

Were  we  in  a  heathen  land,  (as  I  said  just  now,)  it  were  easy  to 
answer.  The  very  profession  of  the  Gospel  would  almost  bring  evi- 
dence of  true  faith,  as  far  as  we  could  have  evidence  ;  for  such  pro- 
fession among  Pagans  is  almost  sure  to  involve  persecution.  Hence 
it  is  that  the  Epistles  are  so  full  of  expressions  of  joy  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  in  the  exulting  hope  of  salvation.  Well  might  they  be 
confident  who  had  suffered  for  Christ.  "  Tribulation  worketh  patience, 
and  patience  experience,  and  experience  hope."§  "Henceforth  let  no 
man  trouble  me,  for  I  bear  in  my  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus."|| 
"  Always  bearing  about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  that 
the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our  body/'H  "  Our 
hope  of  you  is  steadfast,  knowing  that  as  ye  are  partakers  of  the 
suffering,  so  shall  ye  be  also  of  the  consolation."**  These  and  such 
like  texts,  belong  to  those  only  who  have  witnessed  for  the  Truth  hke 
the  early  Christians.     They  are  beyond  us. 

This  is  certain ;  yet  since  the  nature  of  Christian  obedience  is  the 
same  in  every  age,  it  still  brings  with  it,  as  it  did  then,  an  evidence 
of  God's  favour.  We  cannot  indeed  make  ourselves  as  sure  of  our 
being  in  the  number  of  God's  true  servants  as  the  early  Christians 

*  1  Cor.  iv.  4.  t  1  Cor.  ix.  27.  t  1  John  iii.  21,  §  Rom.  v.  3,  4. 

11  Gal.  vi.  17.  «i  2  Cor.  iv.  10.         **  2  Cor.  i.  7. 


v.]  RELIGIOUS  EARNESTNESS.  41 

were,  yet  we  may  possess  our  degree  of  certainty,  and  by  the  same 
kind  of  evidence,  the  evidence  of  self-denial.  This  was  the  great 
evidence  which  the  first  disciples  gave,  and  which  we  can  give  stilh 
Reflect  upon  our  Saviour's  plain  declarations,  *'  Whosoever  Avill  come 
after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  Me."* 
"  If  any  man  come  to  Me,  and  hate  not  his  father  and  mother,  and 
Avife,  and  children,  and  brethren  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life 
also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple.  And  whosoever  doth  not  bear  his 
cross  and  come  after  Me,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple."t  '*  If  thy  hand 
offend  thee,  cut  it  off  ...  .  if  thy  foot  offend  thee,  cut  it  off  ...  . 
if  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out  ....  it  is  better  for  thee  to 
enter  into  life  maimed  ....  halt  ....  with  o^eye,  than  to  be 
cast  into  hell.":|: 

Now  without  attempting  to  explain  perfectly  such  passages  as  these, 
Avhich  doubtless  cannot  be  understood  without  a  fulness  of  grace  which 
is  possessed  by  very  few  men,  yet  at  least  w^e  learn  thus  much  from 
tliem,  that  a  rigorous  self-denial  is  a  chief  duty,  nay,  that  it  may  be 
considered  the  test  whether  we  are  Christ's  disciples,  whether  we  are 
living  in  a  mere  dream,  which  we  mistake  for  Christian  faith  and 
obedience,  or  are  really  and  truly  awake,  alive,  living  in  the  day,  on 
our  road  heavenwards.  The  early  Christians  went  through  self- 
denials  in  their  very  profession  of  the  Gospel ;  what  are  our  self- 
denials,  now  that  the  profession  of  the  Gospel  is  not  a  self-denial  I 
In  what  sense  do  we  fulfil  the  words  of  Christ  ?  have  we  any  distinct 
notion  what  is  meant  by  the  words  "taking  up  our  cross?"  in  what 
way  are  we  acting,  in  which  we  should  not  act,  supposing  the  Bible 
and  the  Church  were  unknown  to  this  country,  and  religion,  as 
existing  among  us,  was  merely  a.  fashion  of  this  world?  What  are  we 
doing,  which  we  have  reason  to  trust  is  done  for  Christ's  sake  who 
bought  us  t 

You  know  well  enough  that  works  are  said  to  be  the  fruits  and 
c\  idence  of  faith.  That  faith  is  said  to  be  dead  which  has  them  not. 
N(jw  what  works  have  we  to  show  of  such  a  kind  as  to  give  us  "  con- 
fidence," so  that  we  may  "not  be  ashamed  before  Him  at  His 
coming  ?"§ 

In  answering  this  question  I  observe,  first  of  all,  that,  according  to 
Scripture,  the  self-denial  which  is  the  test  of  our  faith  must  be  daily. 
♦'  If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up 
his  cross  daily,  and  follow  Mc."||     It  is   thus   St.  Luke  records  our 

»  Mark  viii.  34.  t  Luke  xiv.  26,  27.  t  Mark  ix.  43 — 47. 

4  1  JoTin  ii.  28.  y  Luke  ix.  23. 


t 


V 


42  SELF-DENIAL  THE  TEST  OF  [Serm. 

Saviour's  words.  Accordingly,  it  seems  that  Christian  obedience  does 
not  consist  merely  in  a  few  occasional  efforts,  a  few  accidental  good 
deeds,  or  certain  seasons  of  repentance,  prayer,  and  activity ;  a  mis- 
take, which  minds  of  a  certain  class  are  very  apt  to  fall  into.  This  is 
the  kind  of  obedience  which  constitutes  what  the  world  calls  a  great 
man,  i.  e.  a  man  who  has  some  noble  points,  and  every  now  and  then 
acts  heroically,  so  as  to  astonish  and  subdue  the  minds  of  beholders,  but 
who  in  private  life  has  no  abiding  personal  religion,  who  does  not 
regulate  his  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds,  according  to  the  law  of  God. 
Again,  the  word  daili/  implies,  that  the  self-denial  which  is  pleasing  to 

^-^  Christ  consists  in  little  things.  This  is  plain,  for  opportunity  for  great 
self-denials  doog^ot  come  every  day.  Thus  to  take  up  the  cross  of 
Christ  is  no  great  action  done  once  for  all,  it  consists  in  the  continual 
practice  of  small  duties  which  are  distasteful  to  us. 

If,  then,  a  person  asks  how  he  is  to  know  whether  he  is  dreaming  on 
in  the  world's  slumber,  or  is  really  awake  and  alive  unto  God,  let  him 
first  fix  his  mind  upon  some  one  or  other  of  his  besetting  infirmities. 
Every  one  who  is  at  all  in  the  habit  of  examining  himself,  rhust  be 
conscious  of  such  within  him.  Many  men  have  more  than  one,  all  of 
us  have  some  one  or  other ;  and  in  resisting  and  overcoming  such, 
self-denial  has  its  first  employment.  One  man  is  indolent  and  fond  of 
amusement,  another  man  is  passionate  or  ill-tempered,  another  is  vain, 
another  has  little  control  over  his  tongue ;  others  are  weak,  and 
cannot  resist  the  ridicule  of  thoughtless  companions  ;  others  are  tor- 
mented with  bad  passions,  of  which  they  are  ashamed,  yet  are  over- 
come.    Now  let  every  one  consider  what  his  weak  point  is  ;  in  that  is 

l/  his  trial.  His  trial  is  not  in  those  things  which  are  easy  to  him,  but  in 
that  one  thing,  in  those  several  things,  whatever  they  are,  in  which  to 
do  his  duty  is  against  his  nature.  Never  think  yourself  safe  because 
you  do  your  duty  in  ninety-nine  points  ;  it  is  the  hundredth  which  is 
to  be  the  ground  of  your  self-denial,  which  must  evidence,  or  rather 
instance  and  realize  your  faith.  It  is  in  reference  to  this  you  must 
watch  and  pray ;  pray  continually  for  God's  grace  to  help  you,  and 
watch  with  fear  and  trembling  lest  you  fall.  Other  men  may  not 
know  what  these  weak  points  of  your  character  are,  they  may  mistake 
them.  But  you  may  know  them  ;  you  may  know  them  by  their 
guesses  and  hints,  and  your  own  observation,  and  the  light  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  And  oh,  that  you  may  have  strength  to  wrestle  with  them 
and  overcome  them  !  Oh,  that  you  may  have  the  wisdom  to  care 
lotilt  for  the  world's  religion,  or  the  praise  you  get  from  the  world,  and 
your  agreement  with  what  clever  men,  or  powerful  men,  or  many  men, 
make  the  standard  of  religion,  compared  with  the  secret  consciousness 


v.]  RELIGIOUS  EARNESTNESS.  43 

that  you  are  obeying  God  in  little  things  as  well  as  great,  in  the  hun- 
dreth  duty  as  well  as  in  the  ninety-nine  !  Oh,  that  you  may  (as  it 
were)  sweep  the  house  diligently  to  discover  what  you  lack  of  the 
full  measure  of  obedience  !  for  be  quite  sure,  that  this  apparently 
small  defect  will  influence  your  whole  spirit  and  judgment  in  all 
things.  Be  quite  sure  that  your  judgment  of  persons,  and  of  events, 
and  of  actions,  and  of  doctrines,  and  your  spirit  towards  God  and  man, 
your  faith  in  the  high  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  your  knowledge  of  your 
duty,  all  depend  in  a  strange  way  on  this  strict  endeavour  to  observe 
the  whole  law,  on  this  self-denial  in  those  little  things  in  which 
obedience  is  a  self-denial.  Be  not  content  with  a  warmth  of  faith 
carrying  you  over  many  obstacles  even  in  your  obedience,  forcing  you 
past  the  fear  of  men,  and  the  usages  of  society,  and  the  persuasions  of 
interest ;  exult  not  in  your  experience  of  God's  past  mercies,  and  your 
assurance  of  what  he  has  already  done  for  your  soul,  if  you  are  con- 
scious you  have  neglected  the  one  thing  needful,  the  "one  thing" 
which  "  thou  lackest," — daily  self-denial. 

But,  besides  this,  there  are  other  modes  of  self-denial  to  try  your 
faith  and  sincerity,  which  it  may  be  right  just  to  mention.  It  may  so 
happen  that  the  sin  you  are  most  liable  to,  is  not  called  forth  every 
day.  For  instance  :  anger  and  passion  are  irresistible  perhaps  when 
they  come  upon  you,  but  it  is  only  at  times  that  you  are  provoked,  and 
then  you  are  off  your  guard  ;  so  that  the  occasion  is  over,  and  you 
have  failed,  before  you  were  well  aware  of  its  coming.  It  is  right 
then  almost  io  find  out  for  yourself  daily  self-denials  ;  and  this  because 
our  Lord  bids  you  take  up  your  cross  daily,  and  because  it  proves  your 
earnestness,  and  because  by  doing  so  you  strengthen  your  general 
j)ower  of  self-mastery,  and  come  to  have  such  an  habitual  command  of 
\  ourself,  as  will  be  a  defence  ready  prepared  when  the  season  of  temp- 
iation  comes.  Rise  up  then  in  the  morning  with  the  purpose  that 
(please  God)  the  day  shall  not  pass  without  its  self-denial,  with  a  self- 
denial  in  innocent  pleasures  and  tastes,  if  none  occurs  to  mortify 
sin.  Let  your  very  rising  from  your  bed  be  a  self-denial  ;  let  your 
meals  be  self-denials.  Determine  to  yield  to  others  in  things  indif- 
I'erent,  to  go  out  of  your  way  in  small  matters  to  inconvenience  your- 
self, (so  that  no  direct  duty  suffers  by  it,)  rather  than  you  should  not 
meet  with  your  daily  discipline.  This  was  the  Psalmist's  method,  who 
was,  as  it  were,  "punished  all  day  long,  and  chastened  every  morn- 
ing."* It  was  St.  Paul's  method,  who  "  kept  under,"  or  bruised  "  his 
body,  and    brought  it  into   subjection."t     This  is  one  great  end 

*  Psalm  Ixxiii.  14.  t  1  Cor.  ix.  27. 


44  SELF-DENIAL  THE  TEST  OF  [Serm.VI. 

fasting.  A  man  says  to  himsolf,  "  How  am  I  to  know  I  am  in 
earnest?"  I  would  suggest  to  him,  Make  some  sacrifice,  do  some  dis- 
tasteful thing,  which  you  are  not  actually  obliged  to  do,  (so  that  it  be 
lawful,)  to  bring  home  to  your  mind  that  in  fact  you  do  love  your 
Saviour,  that  you  do  hate  sin,  that  you  do  hate  your  sinful  nature, 
that  you  have  put  aside  the  present  world.  Thus  you  will  have  an 
evidence  (to  a  certain  point)  that  you  are  not  using  mere  words.  It  is 
easy  to  make  professions,  easy  to  say  fine  things  in  speech  or  in 
writing,  easy  to  astonish  men  with  truths  which  they  do  not  know, 
and  sentiments  which  rise  above  human  nature.  "  But  thou,  O  ser- 
vant of  God,  flee  these  things,  and  follow  after  righteousness,  god- 
liness, faith,  love,  patience,  meekness.  Let  not  your  words  run  on ; 
force  every  one  of  them  into  action  as  it  goes,  and  thus,  cleansing 
yourself  from  all  pollution  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfect  holiness  in  the 
fear  of  God.  In  dreams  we  sometimes  move  our  arms  to  see  if  we 
are  awake  or  not,  and  so  we  are  awakened.  This  is  the  way  to  keep 
your  heart  awake  also.  Try  yourself  daily  in  little  deeds,  to  prove 
that  your  faith  is  more  than  a  deceit. 

I  am  aware  all  this  is  a  hard  doctrine  ;  hard  to  those  even  who  assent 
to  it,  and  can  describe  it  most  accurately.  There  are  such  imperfec- 
tions, such  inconsistencies  in  the  heart  and  life  of  even  the  better  sort 
of  men,  that  continual  repentance  must  ever  go  hand  in  hand  with  our 
endeavours  to  obey.  ]\Iuch  we  need  the  grace  of  Christ's  blood  to  wash 
us  from  the  guilt  we  daily  incur  ;  much  need  we  the  aid  of  His  promised 
Spirit  !  And  surely  He  will  grant  all  the  riches  of  His  mercy  to  His 
true  servants  ;  but  as  surely  He  will  vouchsafe  to  none  of  us  the  power 
to  believe  in  Him,  and  the  blessedness  of  being  one  with  Him,  who 
are  not  as  earnest  in  obeying  Him  as  if  salvation  depended  on  them- 
selves. 


SERMON    VL 


THE  SPIRITUAL  MIXD. 


1  Cor.  iv.  20.  • 
"  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  word,  but  in  power." 

How  are  we  the  better  for  being  members  of  the  Christian  Church  ? 
This  is  a  question  which  has  ever  claims  on  our  attention  ;  but  it  is 
right  from  time  to  time  to  examine  our  hearts  with  more  than  usual 
care,  to  try  them  by  the  standard  of  that  divinely  enlightened  temper 
in  the  Church,  and  in  the  Saints,  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  called  by 
St.  Paul  "  the  spirit."  I  ask  then,  how  are  we  the  better  for  being 
Christ's  disciples  ?  what  reason  have  we  for  thinking  that  our  lives  are 
very  different  from  what  they  would  have  been  if  we  had  been  hea- 
thens 1  Have  we,  in  the  words  of  the  text,  received  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  word  or  in  power  ?  I  will  make  some  remarks  in  explanation 
of  this  question,  which  may  (through  God's  grace)  eissist  you  in 
answering  it. 

1.  Now  first,  if  we  would  form  a  just  notion  how  far  we  are  influenced 
•  by  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  we  must  evidently  put  aside  every  thing 
which  we  do  merely  in  imitation  of  others,  and  not  from  rehgious 
principle.  Not  that  we  can  actually  separate  our  good  words  and 
works  into  two  classes,  and  say,  what  is  done  from  faith,  and  what  is 
done  only  by  accident,  and  in  a  random-way  ;  but  without  being  able 
to  draw  the  hne,  it  is  quite  evident  that  so  very  much  of  our  apparent 
oliedience  to  God  arises  from  mere  obedience  to  the  world  and  its 
fashions  ;  or  rather,  that  it  is  so  difficult  to  say  what  is  done  in  the 
spirit  of  faith,  as  to  lead  us,  on  reflection,  to  be  very  much  dissatisfied 
with  ourselves,  and  quite  out  of  conceit  with  our  past  hves.  Let  a 
person  merely  reflect  on  the  number  and  variety  of  bad  or  foolish 
thoughts  which  he  suffers,  and  dwells  on  in  private,  which  he  would 
be  ashamed  to  put  into  words,  and  he  will  at  once  see,  how  verv  poor  a 
test  his  outward  demeanour  in  life  is  of  his  real  holiness  in  the  sight  of 
God.  Or  again,  let  him  consider  the  number  of  times  he  has  attended 
pubhc  worship  as  a  matter  of  course  because  others  do,  and  without 
seriousness  of  mind  :  or  the  number  of  times  he  has  found  himself  un- 


46  THE  SPIRITUAL  MIND.  [Serm. 

equal  to  temptations  when  they  came,  which  beforehand  he  and  others 
made  H^ht  of  in  conversation,  blaming  those  perhaps  who  had  been 
overcome  by  them,  and  he  must  own  that  his  outward  conduct  shapes 
itself  unconsciously  to  the  manners  of  those  with  whom  he  lives,  being 
acted  upon  by  external  impulses,  apart  from  any  right  influence  pro- 
ceeding from  the  heart.  Now,  when  I  say  this,  am  I  condemning  all 
that  we  do,  without  thinking  expressly  of  the  duty  of  obedience  at  the 
very  time  we  are  doing  it  ?  Far  from  it ;  a  reUgious  man,  in  proportion 
as  obedience  becomes  more  and  more  easy  to  him,  will  doubtless  do  his 
duty  unconsciously.  It  will  be  natural  to  him  to  obey,  and  therefore  he 
will  do  it  naturally,  i.  e.  without  effort  or  deliberation.  It  is  difficult 
things  which  we  are  obliged  to  think  about  before  doing  them.  When 
we  have  mastered  our  hearts  in  any  matter,  (it  is  true,)  we  no  more 
think  of  the  duty  while  we  obey,  than  we  think  how  to  walk  when  we 
walk,  or  by  what  rules  to  exercise  any  art  which  we  have  thoroughly 
acquired.  Separate  acts  of  faith  aid  us  on  while  we  are  unstable.  As 
we  get  strength,  but  one  extended  act  of  faith  (so  to  call  it)  influences 
us  all  through  the  day,  and  our  whole  day  is  but  one  act  of  obedience 
also.  There  then  is  no  minute  distribution  of  our  faith  among  our 
particular  deeds.  Our  will  runs  parallel  to  God's  will.  This  is  the 
very  privilege  of  confirmed  Christians ;  and  it  is  comparatively  but  a 
sordid  way  of  serving  God,  to  be  thinking  when  we  do  a  deed,  "  if  I  do 
not  do  this,  I  shall  risk  my  salvation  ;  or,  if  I  do  it,  I  have  a  chance  of 
being  saved  ;" — comparatively  a  grovelling  way,  for  it  is  the  best,  the 
only  way  for  sinners  such  as  we  are,  to  begin  to  serve  God.  Still  as 
we  grow  in  grace,  we  throw  away  childish  things  ;  then  we  are  able  to 
stand  upright  like  grown  men,  Avithout  the  props  and  aids  which  our 
infancy  required.  This  is  the  noble  manner  of  serving  God,  to  do 
good  without  thinking  about  it,  without  any  calculation  or  reasoning, 
from  love  of  the  good,  and  hatred  of  the  evil  ; — though  cautiously  and 
with  prayer  and  watching,  yet  so  generously,  that  if  we  were  suddenly 
asked  why  we  so  act,  we  could  only  reply  "  because  it  is  our  way,"  or 
"  because  Christ  so  acted  ;"  so  spontaneously  as  not  to  know  so  much 
that  we  are  doing  right,  as  that  we  are  not  doing  wrong  ;  I  mean,  with 
more  of  instinctive  fear  of  sinning,  than  of  minute  and  careful  appre- 
ciation of  the  degrees  of  our  obedience.  Hence  it  is  that  the  best  men 
are  ever  the  most  hiunblc  ;  as  for  other  reasons,  so  especially  because 
they  are  accustomed  to  be  religious.  They  surprise  others,  but  not 
themselves ;  they  surprise  others  at  their  very  calmness  and  freedom 
from  thought  about  themselves.  This  is  to  have  a  great  mind,  to  have 
within  us  that  princely  heart  of  innocence  of  which  David  speaks. 
Common  men  see  God  at  a  distance;  in  their  attempts  to  be  religious, 


VI.]  THE  SPIRITUAL  MIND.  4T 

they  feebly  guide  themselves  as  by  a  distant  light,  and  are  obliged  to 
calculate  and  search  about  for  the  path.  But  the  long  practised  Chris- 
tian, who,  through  God's  mercy,  has  brought  God's  presence  near  to 
him,  the  elect  of  God,  in  whom  the  Blessed  Spirit  dwells,  he  does  not 
look  out  of  doors  for  the  traces  of  God  ;  he  is  moved  by  God  dwelling 
in  him,  and  needs  not  but  act  on  instinct.  I  do  not  say  there  is  any 
man  altogether  such,  for  this  is  an  angelic  life  ;  but  it  is  the  state  of 
mind  to  which  vigorous  prayer  and  watching  tend. 

How  different  is  this  high  obedience  from  that  random  unawares  way 
of  doing  right,  which  to  so  many  men  seems  to  constitute  a  religious 
life  !  The  excellent  obedience  I  have  been  describing  is  obedience  on 
habit.  Now  the  obedience  I  condemn  as  untrue,  may  be  called 
obedience  on  custom.  The  one  is  of  the  heart,  the  other  of  the  lips  ; 
the  one  is  in  power,  the  other  in  word ;  the  one  cannot  be  acquired 
without  much  and  constant  vigilance,  generally  not  without  much  pain 
and  trouble  ;  the  other  is  the  result  of  a  mere  passive  imitation  of  those 
whom  we  fall  in  with.  Why  need  I  describe  what  every  man's  experi- 
ence bears  witness  to  ?  Why  do  children  learn  their  mother  tongue, 
and  not  a  foreign  language  ?  Do  they  think  about  it  1  Are  they  better 
or  worse  for  acquiring  one  language  and  not  another  ?  Their  character, 
of  course,  is  just  what  it  would  have  been  otherwise.  How  then  are 
we  better  or  worse,  if  we  have  but  in  the  same  passive  way  admitted 
into  our  minds  certain  religious  opinions ;  and  have  but  accustomed 
ourselves  to  the  words  and  actions  of  the  world  around  us  ?  Supposing 
we  had  never  heard  of  the  Gospel,  should  we  not  do  just  what  we  do, 
even  in  a  heathen  country,  were  the  manners  of  the  place,  from  one 
cause  or  another,  as  decent  and  outwardly  religious?  This  is  the  question 
we  have  to  ask  ourselves.  And  if  we  are  conscious  to  ourselves  that 
we  are  not  greatly  concerned  about  the  question  itself,  and  have  no 
fears  worth  mentioning,  of  being  in  the  wrong,  and  no  anxiety  to  find 
what  is  right,  is  it  not  evident  that  we  are  living  to  the  world,  not  to 
God,  and  that  whatever  virtue  we  may  actually  have,  still  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  has  come  to  us  not  in  power,  but  in  word  only  ? 

I  have  now  suggested  one  subject  for  consideration  concerning  our 
reception  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  viz.  to  inquire  whether  we  have 
received  it  more  than  externally  ;  but, 

2.  I  will  go  on  to  affirm  that  we  may  have  received  it  in  a  higher 
sense  than  in  word  merely,  and  yet  in  no  real  sense  in  power;  in  other 
words,  that  our  obedience  may  be  in  some  sort  religious,  and  yet  hardly 
deserve  the  title  of  Christian.  This  may  be  at  first  sight  a  startling 
assertion  It  may  seem  to  some  of  us  as  if  there  were  no  difference 
between  being  rehgious  and  being  Christian ;  and  that  to  insist  on  a 


48  THE  SriRITUAL  MIND.  [Serm, 

(lifTcrcnce  is  to  perplex  people.  But  listen  to  me.  Do  you  not  think  it 
possible  for  men  to  do  their  duty,  i.  e.  be  religious,  in  a  heathen  country  ? 
Doubtless  it  is.  St.  Peter  says,  that  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth 
God  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with  Him*  Now  are  such 
persons,  therefore,  Christians  ?  Certainly  not.  It  would  seem,  then, 
it  is  possible  to  fear  God  and  work  righteousness,  yet  without  being 
Christians  ;  for,  (if  we  would  know  the  truth  of  it,)  to  be  a  Christian  is 
to  do  this,  and  to  do  7nuch  more  than  this.  Here,  then,  is  a  fresh  subject 
for  self-examination.  Is  it  not  the  way  of  men  to  dwell  with  satisfaction 
on  their  good  deeds,  particularly  when,  for  some  reason  or  other,  their 
conscience  smites  them  ?  Or  when  they  are  led  to  the  consideration 
of  death,  then  they  begin  to  turn  in  their  minds  how  they  shall  acquit 
themselves  before  the  judgment-seat.  And  then  it  is  they  feel  a  relief 
in  being  able  to  detect,  in  their  past  lives,  any  deeds  which  may  be 
regarded  in  any  sense  rehgious.  You  may  hear  some  persons  comforting 
themselves  that  they  never  harmed  any  one  ;  and  that  they  have  not 
given  into  an  openly  profligate  and  riotous  life.  Others  are  able  to  say 
more  ;  they  can  speak  of  their  honesty,  their  industry,  or  their  general 
conscientiousness.  We  will  say  they  have  taken  good  care  of  their 
families ;  they  have  never  defrauded  or  deceived  any  one ;  and  they 
have  a  good  name  in  the  world  ;  nay,  they  have  in  one  sense  lived  in 
the  fear  of  God.  I  will  grant  them  this  and  more  ;  yet  possibly  they 
are  not  altogether  Christians  in  their  obedience.  I  will  grant  that  these 
virtuous  and  religious  deeds  are  really  fruits  of  faith,  not  external 
merely,  done  without  thought,  but  proceeding  from  the  heart.  I  will 
grant  they  are  really  praiseworthy,  and,  when  a  man  from  want  of 
opportunity  knows  no  more,  really  acceptable  to  God  ;  yet  they  deter- 
mine nothing  about  his  having  received  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  power. 
Why  ?  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  arc  not  enough.  A  Christian's 
faith  and  obedience  is  built  on  all  this,  but  is  only  built  on  it.  It  is  not 
the  same  as  it.  To  be  Christians,  surely  it  is  not  enough  to  be  that 
which  we  are  enjoined  to  be,  and  must  be,  even  without  Christ ;  not 
enough  to  be  no  better  than  good  heathens ;  not  enough  to  be,  in  some 
slight  measure,  just,  honest,  temperate,  and  religious.  We  must  indeed 
be  jusi,  honest,  temperate,  and  religious,  before  we  can  rise  to  Christian 
graces,  and  to  be  practised  in  justice  and  the  like  virtues  is  the  way,  the 
ordinary  way,  in  which  we  receive  the  fulness  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ; 
and,  doubtless,  any  man  who  despises  those  who  try  to  practise  them, 
(I  mean  conscientious  men,  who  notwithstanding  have  not  yet  clearly 
seen  and  welcomed  the  Gospel  system,) and  slightingly  calls  them  "mere 

♦  Acts  I.  3. 


VII.]  THE  SPIRITUAL  MIND.  49 

moral  men"  in  disparagement,  such  a  man  knows  not  wliat  spirit  he  is 
of,  and  had  best  take  heed  how  he  speaks  against  the  workings  of  the 
inscrutable  Spirit  of  God.  I  am  not  wishing  to  frighten  these  imperfect 
Christians,  but  to  lead  them  on  ;  to  open  their  minds  to  the  greatness 
of  the  work  before  them,  to  dissipate  the  meagre  and  carnal  views  in 
which  the  Gospel  has  come  to  them,  to  warn  them  that  they  must  never 
i)o  contented  wi^h  themselves,  or  stand  still  and  relax  their  efforts,  but 
:  I  !;:;■:  yo  oi\  uiilo  f  erf ecLion  ;  that  till  they  are  much  more  than  they  are 
;.l  proocnt,  they  have  received  the  kingdom  of  God  in  word,  not  in 
power  ;  that  they  are  not  spiritual  men,  and  can  have  no  comfortable 
sense  of  Christ's  presence  in  their  souls  ;  for  to  whom  much  is  given,  of 
i'.im  is  much  required. 

Wiiat  is  it,  then,  tiiat  they  lack?  I  will  read  several  passages  of 
Scripture  which  will  make  it  plain.  St.  Paul  says,  "  If  any  man  be 
i  Fi  Christ  he  is  a  new  creature :  old  things  are  passed  away ;  behold 
all  things  are  become  new."  Again  :  "The  life  which  I  now  live  in 
ihQ.  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and 
gave  Himself  for  me."  "The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us."  "Put 
on,  therefore,  as  the  elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved,  bowels  of  mercies, 
kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  long-suffering,  forbearing 
one  another,  and  forgiving  one  another,  if  any  man  have  a  quarrel 
against  any,  even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also  do  ye  ;  and  above  all 
llicse  things,  put  on  charity,  which  is  the  bond  of  perfectness.  And 
let  the  peace  of  God  rule  in  your  hearts,  to  the  which  also  ye  are 
called  in  one  body,  and  be  ye  thankful.  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell 
in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom."  "God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His 
Son  into  your  hearts."  Lastly,  our  Saviour's  own  memorable  words 
''  If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up 
liis  cross  daily  and  follow  Me."*  Now  it  is  plain  that  this  is  a  very 
(lifterent  mode  of  obedience  from  any  which  natural  reason  and  con- 
science tell  us  of ; — different  not  in  i!s  nature,  but  in  its  excellence  and 
peculiarity.  It  is  much  more  than  honesty,  justice,  and  temperance; 
and  this  is  to  be  a  Christian.  Obser\c  in  what  respect  it  is  different 
from  that  lower  degree  of  religion  which  we  may  possess  without 
(Altering  into  the  mind  of  the  Gospel.  First  of  all  in  its  faith  ;  which 
IS  placed,  not  simply  in  God,  but  in  God  as  manifested  in  Christ, 
according  to  His  own  words,  "Yc  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in 
Me."t  Next,  we  must  adore  Christ  as  our  Lord  and  Master,  and  love 
Mim  as  our  most  gracious  Redeemer.  We  must  have  a  deep  sense  of 
our  guilt,  and  of  the  difficulty  of  securing  Heaven  ;  we  must  live  as  in 

»  2  Cor.  V.  14. 17.     Gal.  ii.  20.    Col.  iii.  li?— 16.    Gal.  iv.  6.     Luke  i.^.  23. 
t  John  xiT.  1. 

Vol.  1—4 


50  THE  SPIRITUAL  MIND.  [Serm. 

His  presence,  daily  pleading  His  cross  and  passion,  thinking  of  His 
holy  commandments,  imitating  His  sinless  pattern,  and  depending  on 
the  gracious  aids  of  His  Spirit ;  that  we  may  really  and  truly  be 
servants  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  in  whose  name  we  were 
baptized.  Further,  we  must,  for  His  sake,  aim  at  a  noble  and  unusual 
strictness  of  life,  perfecting  holiness  in  His  fear,  destroying  our  sins, 
mastering  our  whole  soul,  and  bringing  it  into  captivity  to  His  law, 
denying  ourselves  lawful  things,  in  order  to  do  Him  service,  exercising 
a  profound  humility  and  an  unbounded,  never-failing  love,  giving  away 
much  of  our  substance  in  religious  and  charitable  works,  and  discoun- 
tenancing and  shunning  irrehgious  men.  This  is  to  be  a  Christian  ;  a 
gift  easily  described,  and  in  a  few  words,  but  attainable  only  with  fear 
and  much  trembling  ;  promised  indeed,  and  in  a  measure  accorded  at 
once  to  every  one  who  asks  for  it,  but  not  secured  till  after  many  years, 
and  never  in  this  life  fully  realized.  But  be  sure  of  this,  that  every  one 
of  us,  who  has  had  the  opportunities  of  instruction  and  sufficient  time, 
and  yet  does  not  in  some  good  measure  possess  it,  every  one  who,  when 
death  comes,  has  not  gained  his  portion  of  that  gift  which  it  requires  a 
course  of  years  to  gain,  and  which  he  might  have  gained,  is  in  a  peril 
so  great  and  fearful,  that  I  do  not  hke  to  speak  about  it.  As  to  the 
notion  of  a  partial  and  ordinary  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  honesty, 
industry,  sobriety,  and  kindness,  "  availing"*  him,  it  has  no  Scriptural 
encouragement.  We  must  stand  or  fall  by  another  and  higher  rule. 
We  must  have  become  what  St.  Paul  calls  "  new  creatures  ;"f  that  is, 
we  must  have  lived  and  worshipped  God  as  the  redeemed  of  Jesus 
Christ,  in  all  faith  and  humbleness  of  mind,  in  reverence  for  His  word 
and  ordinances,  in  thankfulness,  in  resignation,  in  mercifulness,  gentle- 
ness, purity,  patience,  and  love. 

Now,  considering  the  obligation  of  obedience  which  lies  upon  us 
Christians,  in  these  two  respects,  first,  as  contrasted  with  a  mere  out- 
ward and  nominal  profession,  and  next  contrasted  with  that  more 
ordinary  obedience  Avhich  is  required  of  those  even  who  have  not  the 
Gospel,  how  evident  is  it,  that  we  are  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God ! 
Let  each  in  his  own  conscience  apply  this  to  himself.  I  will  grant  he 
has  some  real  Christian  principle  in  his  heart  ;  but  I  wish  him  to 
observe  hoic  little  that  is  likely  to  be.  Here  is  a  thought  not  to  keep 
us  from  rejoicing  in  the  Lord  Christ,  but  to  make  us  "  rejoice  with 
trembling,":}:  wait  diligently  on  God,  pray  Him  earnestly  to  teach  us 
more  of  our  duty,  and  to  impress  the  love  of  it  on  our  hearts,  to  enable 
us  to  obey  both  in  that  free  spirit  which  can  act  right  without  reason- 
ing and  calculation,  and  yet  with  the  caution  of  those  who  know  their 

*  Gal.  vi.  15.  t  Gal.  vi.  15.  X  Ps.  ii.  11. 


VII.]  SINS  OF  IGNORANCE   AND  WEAKNESS.  51 

salvation  depends  on  obedience  in  little  things,  from  love  of  the  trutli 
as  manifested  in  Him  who  is  the  Living  Truth  come  upon  earth,  "  the 
Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life."* 

With  others  we  have  no  concern  ;  we  do  not  know  what  their 
opportunities  are.  There  may  be  thousands  in  this  populous  land  who 
never  had  the  means  of  hearing  Christ's  voice  fully,  and  in  whom 
virtues  short  of  evangehcal  will  hereafter  be  accepted  as  the  fruit  of 
faith.  Nor  can  we  know  the  hearts  of  any  men,  or  tell  what  is  the 
degree  in  which  they  have  improved  their  talents.  It  is  enough  to 
keep  to  ourselves.  We  dwell  in  the  full  light  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
full  grace  of  the  Sacraments.  We  ought  to  have  the  holiness  of 
Apostles.  There  is  no  reason  except  our  own  wilful  corruption,  that 
we  are  not  by  this  time  walking  in  the  steps  of  St.  Paul  or  St.  John, 
and  following  them  as  they  followed  Christ.  What  a  thought  is  this ! 
Do  not  cast  it  from  you,  my  brethren,  but  take  it  to  your  homes,  and 
may  God  give  you  grace  to  profit  by  it  ! 


SERMON    VII 


SINS  OF  IGNORANCE  AND  WEAKNESS. 


Hebrews  x.  22. 


"  Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts 
sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water." 

Among  the  reasons  which  may  be  assigned  for  the  observance  of 
prayer  at  stated  times,  there  is  one  which  is  very  obvious,  and  yet 
perhaps  is  not  so  carefully  remembered  and  acted  upon  as  it  should  be. 
I  mean  the  necessity  of  sinners  cleansing  themselves  from  time  to  time 
of  the  ever-accumulating  guilt  which  loads  their  consciences.  We  arc 
ever  sinning  ;  and  though  Christ  has  died  once  for  all  to  release  us 
from  our  penalty,  yet  we  are  not  pardoned  once  for  all,  but  according  as, 
and  whenever  each  of  us  supplicates  for  the  gift.  By  the  prayer  of 
faith  we  appropriate  it ;  but  only  for  the  time,  not  for  ever.  Guilt  is 
again  contracted,  and  nmst  be  again  repented  of  and  washed  away. 
We  cannot  by  one  act  of  faith  establish  ourselves  for  ever  after  in  the 

*  John  xiv.  6. 


52  fc^INS  OF  IGNORANCE  [Serm. 

favour  of  God.  It  is  going  beyond  His  will  to  be  impatient  for  a  final 
acquittal,  when  we  are  bid  ask  only  for  our  daily  bread.  We  are  still 
so  far  in  the  condition  of  the  Israelites ;  and  though  we  do  not  offer 
sacrifice  or  observe  the  literal  washings  of  the  Law,  yet  we  still  require 
the  periodical  renewal  of  those  blessings  which  were  formerly  con- 
veyed in  their  degree  by  the  Mosaic  rites;  and  though  wo  gain  far 
more  excellent  gifts  from  God  than  the  Jews  did,  and  by  more  spiritual 
ordinances,  yet  means  of  approaching  Him  we  still  need,  and  continual 
means  to  keep  us  in  the  justification  in  which  baptism  first  placed  us. 
Of  this  the  text  reminds  us.  It  is  addressed  to  Christians,  to  the 
regenerate ;  yet  so  far  from  their  regeneration  having  cleansed  them 
once  for  all,  they  are  bid  ever  to  sprinkle  the  blood  of  Christ  upon  their 
consciences,  and  renew  (as  it  were)  their  baptism,  and  so  continually 
appear  before  the  presence  of  Almighty  God. 

Let  us  now  endeavour  to  realize  a  truth,  Avhich  few  of  us  will  be 
disposed  to  dispute  as  far  as  words  go. 

1.  First  consider  our  present  condition  as  shown  us  in  Scripture. 
Christ  has  not  changed  this  though  He  has  died ;  it  is  as  it  was  from 
the  beginning, — I  mean  our  actual  state  as  men.  We  have  Adam's 
nature  in  the  same  sense  as  if  redemption  had  not  come  to  the  world. 
It  has  come  to  all  the  world,  but  the  world  is  not  changed  thereby  as  a 
whole, — that  change  is  not  a  work  done  and  over  in  Christ.  We  are 
changed  one  hy  one  ;  the  race  of  man  is  what  it  ever  was,  guilty ; — 
what  it  was  before  Christ  came  ;  with  the  same  evil  passions,  the  same 
slavish  will.  The  history  of  redemption,  if  it  is  to  be  effectual,  must 
begin  from  the  beginning  with  every  individual  of  us,  and  be  carried  on 
through  our  own  life.  It  is  not  a  work  done  ages  before  we  were  born. 
We  cannot  profit  by  the  work  of  a  Saviour,  though  He  be  the  Blessed 
Son  of  God,  so  as  to  be  saved  thereby  without  our  own  working ;  for 
we  arc  moral  agents,  wc  have  a  will  of  our  oAvn,  and  Christ  must  be 
formed  in  us,  and  turn  us  from  darkness  to  light,  if  God's  gracious 
purpose,  fulfilled  upon  the  cross,  is  to  be  in  our  case  more  than  a  name, 
an  al)used,  wasted  privilege.  Thus  the  world,  viewed  as  in  God's 
sight,  can  never  become  wiser  or  more  enlightened  than  it  has  been. 
We  cannot  mount  upon  the  labours  of  our  forefathers.  We  have  the 
.same  nature  that  man  ever  had,  and  we  must  begin  from  the  point  man 
ever  began  from,  and  work  out  our  salvation  in  the  same  slow,  per- 
severing manner. 

(1.)  When  this  is  borne  in  mind,  how  important  the  Jewi.sh  law 
becomes  to  us  Chri.stians !  important  in  itself,  over  and  above  all  refer- 
ences contained  in  it  to  that  Gospel  which  it  introduced.  To  this  day 
it  fulfils  its  original  purpose  of  impressing  upon  man  his  great  guilt  and 
fcet)lencss.     Those  legal  sacrifices  and  purifications  which  arc  now  all 


VII.]  AND  WEAKNESS.  53 

done  away,  are  still  evidence  to  us  of  a  fact  which  the  Gospel  has  not 
annulled, — our  corruption.  Let  no  one  lightly  pass  over  the  Book  of 
Leviticus,  and  say  it  only  contains  the  ceremonial  of  a  national  law. 
Let  no  one  study  it  merely  with  a  critic's  eye,  satisfied  with  connecting 
it  in  a  nicely-arranged  system  with  the  Gospel,  as  though  it  contained 
prophecy  only.  No  ;  it  speaks  to  us.  Are  we  better  than  the  Jews  ? 
is  our  nature  less  unbelieving,  sensual,  or  proud,  than  theirs  1  Surely 
man  is  at  all  times  the  same  being,  as  even  the  philosophers  tcil  us. 
And  if  so,  that  minute  ceremonial  of  the  lL.aw  presents  us  with  a 
picture  of  our  daily  life.  It  impressively  testifies  to  our  continual  sin- 
ning,  by  suggesting  that  an  expiation  is  needful  in  all  the  most  trivial 
circumstances  of  our  conduct ;  and  that  it  is  at  our  peril  if  wc  go  on 
carelessly  and  thoughtlessly,  trusting  to  our  having  been  once  accepted, 
— whether  in  baptism, — or  (as  we  think)  at  a  certain  season  of  repent- 
ance, or  (as  wc  may  fancy)  at  the  very  time  of  the  death  of  Christ,  (as 
if  then  the  whole  race  of  man  were  really  and  at  once  pardoned  and 
exalted,) — or  (worse  still)  if  we  profanely  doubt  that  man  has  ever 
fallen  under  a  curse,  and  trust  idly  in  the  mercy  of  God  without  a  feel- 
ing of  the  true  misery  and  infinite  danger  of  sin. 

Consider  the  ceremony  observed  on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  and 
you  will  see  what  was  the  sinfulness  of  the  Israelites,  and  therefore  of 
all  mankind,  in  God's  sight.  The  High  Priest  was  taken  to  represent 
the  holiest  person  of  the  whole  world.*  The  nation  itself  was  holy 
above  the  rest  of  the  world ;  from  it  a  holy  tribe  was  selected ;  from 
the  holy  tribe,  a  holy  family;  and  from  that  family,  a  holy  person. 
This  was  the  High  Priest,  who  was  thus  set  apart  as  the  choice  speci- 
men of  the  whole  human  race ;  yet  even  he  was  not  allowed,  under 
pain  of  death,  to  approach  even  the  mercy-seat  of  God,  except  once  a 
year ;  nor  then  in  his  splendid  robes,  nor  without  sacrifices  for  the  sins 
of  himself  and  the  people,  the  blood  of  which  he  carried  with  him  into 
the  holy  place. 

Or  consider  the  sacrifices  necessary  according  to  the  Law  for  sins  of 
ignorance  ;f  or  again,  for  the  mere  touching  any  thing  which  the  Law 
pronounced  unclean,  or  for  bodily  disease,:}:  and  hence  learn  how  sinful 
our  ordinary  thoughts  and  deeds  must  be,  represented  to  us  as  they  are, 
by  these  outward  ceremonial  transgressions.  Not  even  their  thanks- 
giving might  the  Israelites  ofier  without  an  offering  of  blood  to  cleanse 
it ;  for  our  corruption  is  not  merely  in  this  act  or  that,  but  in  our  nature. 

(2.)  Next  to  pass  from  the  Jewish  law,  you  will  observe  that  God  tells 
US  expressly  in  the  history  of  the  fall  of  Adam,  what  the  legal  ceremo- 

*  Vide  Scott's  Essays,  p.  166, 
t  Levit.  iv.  t  Lcvit.  v.  2.  6.  xiv.  1—32. 


54  SINS  OF  IGNORANCE  [Serm. 

nies  implied ;  that  it  is  our  very  nature  which  is  sinful.  Herein  is  the 
importance  of  the  doctrine  of  original  sin.  It  is  very  humbling,  and  as 
such  the  only  true  introduction  to  the  preaching  of  the  (Jospel.  Men 
can  without  trouble  be  brought  to  confess  that  they  sin,  i.  e.  that  they 
commit  sins.  They  know  well  enough  they  are  not  perfect;  nay,  that 
they  do  nothing  in  the  best  manner.  But  they  do  not  like  to  be  told 
that  the  race  from  which  they  proceed  is  degenerate.  Even  the  indo- 
lent have  pride  here.  They  think  they  can  do  their  duty,  only  do  not 
choose  to  do  it;  they  like  to  believe,  (though  strangely  indeed,  for  they 
condejim  themselves  while  they  believe  it,)  they  like  to  believe  that 
they  do  not  want  assistance.  A  man  must  be  far  gone  in  degradation, 
and  has  lost  even  that  false  independence  of  mind  which  is  often  a 
substitute  for  real  religion  in  leading  to  exertion,  who,  while  living  in 
sin,  steadily  and  contentedly  holds  the  opinion  that  he  is  born  for  sin. 
And  much  more  do  the  industrious  and  active  dislike  to  have  it  forced 
upon  their  minds,  that,  do  what  they  will,  they  have  the  taint  of  cor- 
ruption about  all  their  doings  and  imaginings.  We  knov/  how  ashamed 
men  are  of  being  low  born,  or  discreditably  connected.  This  is  the 
sort  of  shame  forced  upon  every  son  of  Adam.  "Thy  first  father  hath 
sinned:"'  this  is  the  legend  on  our  forehead  which  even  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  does  no  more  than  blot  out,  leaving  the  mark  of  it.  This  is  our 
shame;  but  I  notice  it  here,  not  so  much  as  a  humbling  thought,  as 
(trusting  you  to  be  in  your  measure  already  humbled)  with  a  view  of 
j)ressing  upon  your  consciences  the  necessity  of  appearing  before  God 
at  stated  seasons,  in  order  to  put  aside  the  continually -renewed  guilt  of 
your  nature.  Who  will  dare  go  on  da}^  after  day  in  neglect  of  earnest 
prayer,  and  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Atonement,  while  each  day 
l)rings  its  own  fearful  burden,  coming  spontaneously  (so  to  say,)  spring- 
ing from  our  very  nature,  but  not  got  rid  of  without  deliberate  and 
direct  acts  of  faith  in  the  Great  Sacrifice  which  has  been  set  forth  for 
its  removal  ? 

(3.)  Further,  look  into  your  own  souls,  my  brethren,  and  see  if  you 
caimot  discern  some  part  of  the  truth  of  the  Scripture  statement,  which 
[  have  been  trying  to  set  before  you.  Recollect  the  bad  thoughts  of 
various  kinds  which  come  into  your  minds  like  darts ;  for  these  will 
be  some  evidence  to  you  of  the  pollution  and  odiousness  of  your  nature. 
True,  they  proceed  from  your  adversary,  the  Devil;  and  the  very  cir- 
cumstance of  your  experiencing  them  is  in  itself  no  proof  of  your 
being  sinful,  for  even  the  Son  of  God,  your  Saviour,  suffered  from  the 
temptation  of  them.  But  you  will  scarcely  deny  that  they  are  received 
by  you  so  freely  and  heartily,  as  to  show  that  Satan  tempts  you  through 
your  nature,  not   against  it.     Again,  let  them  be  ever  so  external  in 


VII.]  AND  WEAKNESS.  65 

their  first  coming,  do  you  not  make  them  your  own?  Do  you  not 
detain  them?  or  do  you  impatiently  and  indignantly  shake  them  off? 
Even  if  you  reject  them,  still  do  they  not  answer  Satan's  purpose  in 
inflaming  your  mind  at  the  instant,  and  so  evidence  that  the  matter  of 
which  it  is  composed  is  corruptible  ?  Do  you  not,  for  instance,  dwell  on 
the  thought  of  wealth  and  splendour  till  you  covet  these  temporal 
blessings  ?  or  do  you  not  sufler  yourselves,  though  for  a  while,  to  be 
envious,  or  discontented,  or  angry,  or  vain,  or  impure,  or  proud  ?  Ah  ! 
who  can  estimate  the  pollution  hence,  of  one  single  day  ;  the  pollution 
of  touching  merely  that  dead  body  of  sin  which  we  put  oft'  indeed  at 
our  baptism,  but  which  is  tied  about  us  while  we  live  here,  and  is  the 
means  of  our  Enemy's  assaults  upon  us  !  The  taint  of  death  is  upon 
us,  and  surely  we  shall  be  stifled  by  the  encompassing  plague,  unless 
Ciod  from  day  to  day  vouchsafes  to  make  us  clean. 

2.  Again,  reflect  on  the  habits  of  sin  which  we  superadded  to  our 
evil  nature  before  we  turned  to  God.  Here  is  another  source  of  con- 
tinual defilement.  Instead  of  checking  the  bad  principles  within  us, 
perhaps  we  indulged  them  for  years  ;  and  they  truly  had  their  fruit  unto 
death.  Then  Adam's  sin  increased,  and  multiplied  itself  within  us ; 
there  was  a  change,  but  it  was  for  the  worse,  not  for  the  better ;  and 
the  new  nature  we  gained,  far  from  being  spiritual,  was  twofold  more 
the  child  of  hell  than  that  with  which  we  Avere  born.  So  when,  at 
length,  we  turned  back  into  a  better  course,  what  a  complicated  work 
lay  before  us,  to  unmake  ourselves !  And  however  long  we  have  la- 
boured at  it,  still  how  much  unconscious,  unavoidable  sin,  the  result  of 
past  transgression,  is  thrown  out  from  our  hearts  day  by  day  in  the 
energy  of  our  thinking  and  acting !  Thus,  through  the  sins  of  our 
youth,  the  power  of  the  flesh  is  exerted  against  us,  as  a  second  creative 
principle  of  evil,  aiding  the  malice  of  the  Devil  ;  Satan  from  without, — 
and  our  hearts  from  within,  not  passive  merely  and  kindled  by  tempta- 
tion, but  devising  evil,  and  speaking  hard  things  against  God  with 
articulate  voice,  whether  we  w  ill  or  not !  Thus  do  past  years  rise  up 
against  us  in  present  offences  ;  gross  inconsistencies  show  themselves 
in  our  character  ;  and  much  need  have  we  continually  to  implore  God 
to  forgive  us  our  past  transgressions,  which  still  live  in  spite  of  our  re- 
pentance, an  act  of  themselves  vigorously  against  our  better  mind, 
feebly  influenced  by  that  younger  principle  of  faith,  by  which  we  fight 
against  them. 

3.  Further,  consider  how  many  sins  are  involved  in  our  obedience, 
I  may  say  from  the  mere  necessity  of  the  case  ;  that  is,  from  not  having 
that  more  vigorous  and  clear-sighted  faith  which  would  enable  us  accu- 
ratelv  to  discern  and  closolv  to  follow  the  way  of  life.     The  case  of 


56  SINS  OF  IGNORANCE  [Skrm. 

the  JcM-3  will  oxcinplily  what  I  mean.  There  were  points  of  God's 
perfect  Law  which  were  not  urged  upon  their  acceptance,  because  it 
was  foreseen  tiiat  they  would  not  be  able  to  receive  them  as  they  really 
should  be  received,  or  to  bring  them  home  practically  to  their  minds, 
and  obey  them  simply  and  truly.  We,  Christians,  with  the  same  evil 
hearts  as  the  Jews  had,  and  most  of  us  as  unformed  in  holy  practice, 
have,  nevertheless,  a  perfect  Law.  We  are  bound  to  take  and  use  all 
the  precepts  of  the  New  Testament,  though  it  stands  to  reason  that 
many  of  them  are,  in  matter  of  fact,  quite  above  the  comprehension  of 
most  of  us.  I  am  speaking  of  the  actual  state  of  the  case,  and  will 
not  go  aside  to  ask  why  or  under  what  circumstances  God  has  been 
pleased  to  change  His  mode  of  deahng  with  man.  But  so  it  is  ;  the 
Minister  of  Christ  has  to  teach  his  sinful  people  a  perfect  obedience, 
and  does  not  know  how  to  set  about  it,  or  how  to  insist  on  any  precept, 
so  as  to  secure  it  from  being  misunderstood  and  misapplied.  He  sees 
men  are  acting  upon  low  motives  and  views,  and  finds  it  impossible  to 
raise  their  minds  all  at  once,  however  clear  his  statements  of  the  Truth. 
He  feels  that  their  good  deeds  might  be  done  in  a  much  better  manner. 
There  are  numberless  small  circumstances  about  their  mode  of  doing 
things  which  offend  him,  as  implying  poverty  of  faith,  superstition,  and 
contracted  carnal  notions.  He  is  obliged  to  leave  them  to  themselves 
with  the  hope  that  they  may  improve  generally,  and  outgrow  their 
present  feebleness  ;  and  is  often  perplexed  whether  to  praise  or  blame 
them.  So  is  it  with  all  of  us.  Ministers  as  well  as  people  ;  it  is  so  with 
the  most  advanced  of  Christians  while  in  the  body,  ar.d  God  sees  it. 
What  a  source  of  continual  defilement  is  here  ;  not  an  omission  merely 
of  what  might  be  added  to  our  obedience,  but  a  cause  of  positive  offence 
in  the  eyes  of  Eternal  purity !  Who  is  not  displeased  v*hen  a  man 
attempts  some  great  work  which  is  above  his  powers  ?  and  is  it  an 
excuse  for  his  miserable  performance  that  the  work  is  above  him  ?  Now 
this  is  our  case  ;  we  are  bound  to  serve  God  with  a  perfect  heart;  an 
exalted  Avork,  a  work  for  which  our  sins  disable  us.  And  when  we 
attempt  it,  necessary  as  is  our  endeavour,  how  miserable  must  it  appear 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Angels!  how  pitiful  our  exhibition  of  ourselves  !  and 
withal,  liow  sinful !  since  did  we  love  God  more  from  the  heart,  and 
had  we  served  Him  from  our  youth  up,  it  would  not  have  been  with  us 
as  it  is.  Thus  our  very  calling,  as  creatures,  and  again  as  elect  children 
of  God,  and  freemen  in  the  Gospel,  is  by  our  sinfulness  made  our 
shame  ;  for  it  puts  us  upon  duties,  and  again  upon  the  use  of  privileges 
which  are  above  us.  We  attempt  great  things  with  the  certainty  of 
failing,  and  yet  the  necessity  of  attempting  ;  and  so  while  we  attempt, 
need  continual  forgiveness  for  the  failure  of  the  attempt.     We  stand 


VII.]  AND  WEAKNESS.  57 

before  God  as  the  Israelites  at  the  passover  of  Hezekiah,  who  desired 
to  serve  God  according  to  the  Law,  but  could  not  do  so  accurately  from 
lack  of  knowledge  ;  and  we  can  but  ofier,  through  our  Great  High 
Priest,  our  sincerity  and  earnestness  instead  of  exact  obedience  as 
Hezekiah  did  for  them.  "  The  good  Lord  pardon  every  one,  thatprc- 
pareth  his  heart  to  seek  God,  the  Lord  God  of  his  fathers,  though  he  be' 
not  cleansed  according  to  the  purification  of  the  sanctuary  ;"*  not  per- 
forming i.  e.  the  full  duties  of  his  calling. 

And  if  such  be  the  deficiencies,  even  of  the  established  Christian, 
in  his  ordinary  state,  how  great  must  be  those  of  the  penitent,  who  has 
but  lately  begun  the  service  of  God  ?  or  of  the  young  who  are  still 
within  the  influence  of  some  unbridled  imagination,  or  some  domineer- 
ing passion !  or  of  the  heavily  depressed  spirit,  whom  Satan  binds  with 
the  bonds  of  bodily  ailment,  or  tosses  to  and  fro  in  the  tumult  of  doubt 
and  indecision !  Alas,  how  is  their  conscience  defiled  with  the 
thoughts,  nay  the  words  of  every  hour !  and  hov,^  inexpressibly  need- 
ful for  them  to  relieve  themselves  of  the  evil  that  weighs  upon  their 
heart,  by  drawing  near  to  God  in  full  assurance  of  faith,  and  washing 
away  their  guilt  in  the  Expiation  which  he  has  appointed ! 

What  I  have  said  is  a  call  upon  you,  my  brethren,  in  the  first  place, 
to  daily  private  prayer.  Next,  it  is  a  call  upon  you  to  join  the  public 
services  of  the  Church,  not  only  once  a  week,  but  whenever  you  have 
the  opportunity  ;  knowing  well  that  your  Redeemer  is  especially  present 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together.  And,  further,  it  is  an  espe- 
cial call  upon  you  to  attend  upon  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
in  which  blessed  ordinance  we  really  and  truly  gain  that  spiritual  life 
which  is  the  object  of  our  daily  prayers.  The  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ  give  power  and  efficacy  to  our  daily  faith  and  repentance.  Take 
this  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  as  the  appointed  means  of  obtaining 
the  great  blessings  you  need.  The  daily  prayers  of  the  Christian  do 
but  spring  from  and  are  referred  back  to,  his  attendance  on  it.  Christ 
died  once,  long  since :  by  communicating  in  His  Sacrament,  you  re- 
new the  Lord's  death ;  you  bring  into  the  midst  of  you  that  Sacrifice 
which  took  away  the  sins  of  the  world :  you  appropriate  the  benefit  of 
it,  while  you  eat  it  under  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine.  These  out- 
ward signs  are  simply  the  means  of  a  hidden  grace.  You  do  not 
expect  to  sustain  your  animal  life  without  food  ;  be  but  as  rational  in 
spiritual  concerns  as  you  are  in  temporal.  Look  upon  the  consecrated 
elements  as  necessary,  under  God's  blessing,  to  your  continual  sanctifi- 
cation  ;  approach  them  as  the  salvation  of  your  souls.     Why  is  it  more 

*  2  Chron.  xxx.  18,  19. 


68  SINS  OF  IGNORANCE.  [Serm. 

strange  that  Cod  should  work  through  means  for  the  health  of  the  soul^ 
than  that  He  should  ordain  them  for  the  preservation  of  bodily  life,  as 
He  certainly  has  done  ?  It  is  unbelief  to  think  it  matters  not  to  your 
spiritual  welfare  whether  you  communicate  or  not.  And  it  is  worse 
than  unbelief  it  is  utter  insensibility  and  obduracy,  not  to  discern  the 
state  of  death  and  corruption,  into  which,  when  left  to  yourselves,  you 
are  continually  falling  back.  Rather  thank  God,  that  whereas  you  are 
.sinners,  instead  of  His  leaving  the  mere  general  promise  of  life  through 
His  Son,  which  is  addressed  to  all  men,  He  has  allowed  you  to  take 
that  promise  to  yourselves  one  by  one,  and  thus  gives  you  a  humble 
hope  that  He  has  chosen  you  out  of  the  world  unto  salvation. 

Lastly,  I  have  all  along  spoken  as  addressing  true  Christians,  who 
are  walking  in  the  narrow  way,  and  have  hope  of  heaven.  But  these 
are  the  "  few."  Are  there  none  here  present  of  the  "  many"  who  walk 
in  the  broad  way,  and  have  upon  their  heads  all  their  sins,  from  their 
baptism  upwards  ?  Rather,  is  it  not  probable  that  there  are  persons  in 
this  congregation,  who,  though  mixed  with  the  people  of  God,  are  really 
unforgiven,  and  if  they  now  died,  would  dis  in  their  sins  ?  First,  let 
those  who  neglect  the  Holy  Communion  ask  themselves  whether  this 
is  not  their  condition  ;  let  them  reflect  whether  among  the  signs  by 
which  it  is  given  us  to  ascertain  our  state,  there  can  be,  to  a  man's 
own  conscience,  a  more  fearful  one  than  to  know  he  is  omitting  what 
is  appointed  as  the  ordinary  means  of  his  salvation.  This  is  a  plain 
test,  about  which  no  one  can  deceive  himself.  But  next,  let  him  have 
recourse  to  a  more  accurate  search  into  his  conscience  ;  and  ask  him- 
self whether  (in  the  words  of  the  text)  he  "  draws  near  to  God  with  a 
true  heart,"  i.  e.  whether  in  spite  of  his  prayers  and  religious  services, 
there  be  not  some  secret,  unresisted  lusts  within  him,  which  make  his 
devotion  a  mockery  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  leave  him  in  his  sins; 
whether  he  be  not  thoughtless,  and  religious  only  as  far  as  his  friends 
make  him  seem  so, — or  light-minded  and  shallow  in  his  religion,  being 
ignorant  of  the  depths  of  his  guilt,  and  resting  presumptuously  in  his 
own  innocence  (as  he  thinks  it)  and  God's  mercy  ; — whether  he  be  not 
.set  upon  gain,  obeying  God  only  so  far  as  His  service  does  not  inter- 
fere with  the  service  of  mammon ; — whether  he  be  not  harsh,  evil- 
tempered, — unforgiving,  unpitiful,  or  high-minded, — self-confident,  and 
secure  ; — or  whether  he  be  not  fond  of  the  fashions  of  this  world,  which 
pass  away,  desirous  of  the  friendship  of  (he  great,  and  of  sharing  in  the 
refinements  of  polished  society  ; — or  whether  he  be  not  given  up  to 
some  engrossing  pursuit,  which  indisposes  him  to  the  thought  of  his 
God  and  Saviour. 

Any  one  deliberate  habit  of  sin   incapacitates  a  man  for  receiving 


VIII.]  GOD'S  COMMANDMENTS  NOT  GRIEVOUS.  59 

gifts  of  the  Gospel.  All  such  states  of  mind  as  these  are  fearful  symp- 
toms of  the  existence  of  some  such  wilful  sin  in  our  hearts  ;  and  in  pro- 
portion as  we  trace  these  symptoms  in  our  conduct,  so  must  we  dread, 
lest  we  be  reprobates. 

Let  us  then  approach  God  all  of  us,  confessing  that  we  do  not  know 
ourselves ;  that  we  are  more  guilty  than  we  can  possibly  understand, 
and  can  but  timidly  hope,  not  confidently  determine,  that  we  have  true 
faith.  Let  us  take  comfort  in  our  being  still  in  a  state  of  grace,  though 
we  have  no  certain  pledge  of  salvation.  Let  us  beg  Him  to  enUghten 
us,  and  comfort  us  ;  to  forgive  us  all  our  sins,  teaching  us  those  we  do 
not  see,  and  enabling  us  to  overcome  them. 


SERMON   VIII. 


GOD'S  COMMANDMENTS  NOT  GRIEVOUS. 


1  John  v.  3. 

"  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  Keep  His  commandments  ;  and  His  command- 
ments are  not  grievous." 

It  must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is  a  very  great  and  arduous  thing 
to  attain  heaven.  "  Many  are  called,  few  are  chosen."  "  Strait  is 
the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way."  "  Many  will  seek  to  enter  in 
and  shall  not  be  able."  "  If  any  man  come  to  Me,  and  hate  not  his 
father  and  mother,  and  wife  and  children,  and  brethren  and  sisters,  yea, 
and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple."*  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  evident  to  any  one,  who  reads  the  New  Testament  with  attention, 
that  Christ  and  His  Apostles  speak  of  a  religious  life  as  something  easy, 
pleasant,  and  comfortable.  Thus,  in  the  words  I  have  taken  for  my 
text : — "  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  His  commandments  ; 
and  His  commandments  are  not  grievous.  In  like  manner  our  Saviour 
says,  "  Come  unto  Me  ....  and  I  will  give  you  rest  ....  My 
yoke  is  easy  and  my  burden  is  light.  "■]■  Solomon  also,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, speaks  in  the  same  way  of  true  wisdom  : — "  Her  ways  are  ways 

*  Matt.  xxii.  14.  vii.  14.  Luke  xiii.  24.  xiv.  26.  t  Matt.  xi.  2S— 30, 


60  GOD'S  COMMANDMENTS  [Serm. 

of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace.  She  is  a  tree  of  life  to 
them  that  lay  hold  upon  her,  and  happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth  her. 
.  .  .  When  thou  liest  down,  thou  shait  not  be  afraid  ;  yea,  thou  shalt 
lie  doAvn,  and  thy  sleep  shall  be  sweet."*  Again,  we  read  in  the  prophet 
Micah  :  "  What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to 
love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ?"f  as  if  it  were  a  little 
and  an  easy  thing  so  to  do. 

Now  I  will  attempt  to  show  lioio  it  is  that  these  apparently  opposite 
declarations  of  Christ  and  His  Prophets  and  Apostles  are  fulfilled  to  us. 
For  it  may  be  objected  by  inconsiderate  persons  that  we  are  (if  I  may 
so  express  it)  hardly  treated ;  being  invited  to  come  to  Christ  and  re- 
ceive His  light  yoke,  promised  an  easy  and  happy  life,  the  joy  of  a  good 
conscience,  the  assurance  of  pardon,  and  the  hope  of  Heaven ;  and 
then,  on  the  other  hand,  when  we  actually  come,  as  it  were,  rudely 
repulsed,  frightened,  reduced  to  despair  by  severe  requisitions  and  evil 
forebodings.  Such  is  the  objection, — not  which  any  Christian  would 
bring  forward  ;  for  we,  my  brethren,  knoAV  too  much  of  the  love  of  our 
Master  and  only  Saviour  in  dying  for  us,  seriously  to  entertain  for  an 
instant  any  such  complaint.  We  have  at  least  faith  enough  for  this, 
(and  it  does  not  require  a  great  deal,)  viz.  to  believe  that  the  Son  of 
God,  Jesus  Christ,  is  not  "  yea  and  nay,  but  in  Him  is  yea.  For  all  the 
promises  of  God  in  Him  are  yea,  and  in  Him  amen,  unto  the  glory  of 
God  by  us.":j:  It  is  for  the  very  reason  that  none  of  us  can  seriously 
put  the  objection,  that  I  allow  myself  to  state  it  strongly ;  to  urge  it 
being  in  a  Christian's  judgment  absurd,  even  more  than  it  would  be 
Avicked.  But  though  none  of  us  really  feel  as  an  objection  to  the  Gos- 
pel, this  difference  of  view  under  which  it  is  presented  to  us,  or  even  as  a 
difficulty,  still  it  may  be  right  (in  order  to  our  edification)  that  we  should 
see  how  these  two  views  of  it  are  reconciled.  We  must  understand  how 
it  is  60/A 'severe  and  indulgent  in  its  commands,  and  both  arduous  and 
easy  in  its  obedience,  in  order  that  we  may  understand  it  at  all. 

"  His  commandments  are  not  grievous,"  says  the  text.  How  is  this  1 
— I  will  give  one  answer  out  of  several  which  might  be  given. 

Now  it  must  be  admitted,  first  of  all,  as  matter  of  fact,  that  they  are 
grievous  to  the  great  mass  of  Christians.  I  have  no  wish  to  disguise  a 
fact  which  we  do  not  need  the  Bible  to  inform  us  of,  but  which  common 
experience  attests.  Doubtless  even  those  common  elementary  duties, 
of  which  the  ])rf)phct  speaks,  «'  doing  justly,  loving  mercy,  and  walking 
humbly  with  our  God,"  are  to  most  men  grievous. 

Accordingly,  men  of  worldly  minds,  finding  the  true  way  of  life 
unpleasant  to  walk  in,  have  attempted  to  find  out  other  and  easier  roads  ; 

•  Prov.  iii.  17—24.  t  Micah.  vi.  8.  X  2  Cor.  i.  19,  20. 


VIII.]  JNOT  GRIEVOUS.  61 

and  have  been  accustomod  to  argue,  that  there  must  be  another  way 
which  suits  them  better  than  that  which  reHgious  men  walk  in,  for  the 
very  reason  that  Scripture  declares  that  Christ's  commandments  are  not 
grievous.  I  mean,  you  will  meet  with  persons  who  say,  "  After  all  it  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  a  strict  religious  life  is  so  necessary  as  is  told  us 
in  church  ;  else  how  should  any  one  be  saved  ?  nay,  and  Christ  assures 
us  His  yoke  is  easy.  Doubtless  we  shall  fare  well  enough,  though  we 
are  not  so  earnest  in  the  observance  of  our  duties  as  we  might  be ;  though 
we  are  not  regular  in  our  attendance  at  public  worship  ;  though  we  do 
not  honour  Christ's  Ministers  and  reverence  His  Church  as  much  as 
some  men  do ;  though  we  do  not  labour  to  know  God's  will,  to  deny 
ourselves,  and  to  live  to  His  glory,  as  entirely  as  the  strict  letter  of 
Scripture  enjoins."  Some  men  have  gone  so  far  as  boldly  to  say,  "  God 
will  not  condemn  a  man  merely  for  taking  a  little  pleasure  ;"  by  which 
they  mean,  leading  an  irreligious  and  profligate  life.  And  many  there 
are  who  virtually  maintain  that  we  may  live  to  the  world,  so  that  we  do 
so  decently,  and  yet  live  to  God  ;  arguing  that  this  world's  blessings  are 
given  us  by  God,  and  therefore  may  lawfully  be  used ; — that  to  use 
lawfully  is  to  use  moderately  and  thankfully  ; — that  it  is  wrong  to  take 
gloomy  views,  and  right  to  be  innocently  cheerful,  and  so  on ;  which  is 
all  very  true  thus  stated,  did  they  not  apply  it  unfairly,  and  call  tiiat  use 
of  the  world  moderate,  and  innocent,  which  the  Apostles  would  call  being 
conformed  to  the  world,  and  serving  mammon  instead  of  God. 

And  thus,  before  showing  you  what  is  meant  by  Christ's  command- 
ments not  being  grievous,  I  have  said  what  is  not  meant  by  it.  It  is  not 
meant  that  Christ  dispenses  with  strict  religious  obedience  ;  the  whole 
language  of  Scripture  is  against  such  a  notion.  "  Whosoever  shall 
break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he 
shall  be  called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven."*  "  Whosoever  shall 
keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all."f 
Whatever  is  meant  by  Christ's  yoke  being  easy,  Christ  does  not  en- 
courage sin.  And  again,  whatever  is  meant,  still  I  repeat,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  most  men  find  it  not  easy.  So  far  must  not  be  disputed.  Now 
ihen  let  us  proceed,  in  spite  of  this  admission,  to  consider  how  He  fulfils 
His  engagements  to  us,  that  His  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness. 

1 .  Now,  supposing  some  superior  promised  you  any  gift  in  a  particular 
way,  and  you  did  not  follow  his  directions,  would  he  have  broken  his 
promise,  or  you  have  voluntarily  excluded  yourselves  from  the  advan- 
tage? Evidently  you  would  have  brought  about  your  own  loss;  you 
might,  indeed,  think  his  offer  not  worth  accepting,  burdened  (as  it  was) 
with  a  condition  annexed  to  it,  still  you  could  in  no  propriety  say  that 

»Matt.  V.  19.  +  James  ii.  10. 


62  GOD'S  COMMANDMENTS  [Serm. 

he  failed  in  his  engagement.  Now  when  Scripture  promises  us  that  his 
commandments  shall  be  easy,  it  couples  the  promise  with  the  injunction 
that  we  should  seek  (iod  early.  "  I  love  them  that  love  Me,  and  those 
that  seek  Me  early  shall  find  Me."*  Again :  "  Remember  now  thy 
Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth."f  These  are  Solomon's  words  ;  and 
if  vou  require  our  Lord's  own  authority,  attend  to  His  direction  about 
the  children  :  "  SufTer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid 
them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God.":}:  Youth  is  the  time  of 
covenant  with  us,  when  He  first  gives  us  His  Spirit ;  first  giving  then^ 
that  we  may  then  forthwith  begin  our  return  of  obedience  to  Him  ;  not 
then  giving  it,  that  we  may  delay  our  thank-offering  for  twenty,  thirty, 
or  fifty  years  !  Now  it  is  obvious  that  obedience  to  God's  command- 
ments is  ever  easy  and  almost  without  effort  to  those  who  begin  to  serve 
Him  from  the  beginning  of  their  days  ;  whereas,  those  who  wait  a 
while,  find  it  grievous  in  proportion  to  their  delay. 

For  consider  how  gently  God  leads  us  on  in  our  early  years,  and  how 
very  gradually  He  opens  upon  us  the  complicated  duties  of  life.  A 
child  at  first  has  hardly  anything  to  do  but  to  obey  his  parents ;  of  God 
he  knows  just  as  much  as  they  are  able  to  tell  him,  and  he  is  not  equal 
to  many  thoughts  either  about  Him  or  about  the  world.  He  is  almost 
passive  in  their  hands  who  gave  him  life ;  and,  though  he  has  those 
latent  instincts  about  good  and  evil,  truth  and  falsehood,  which  all  men 
have,  he  does  not  know  enough,  he  has  not  not  had  experience  enough, 
from  the  contact  of  external  objects,  to  elicit  into  form  and  action  those 
innate  principles  of  conscience,  or  make  himself  conscious  of  the  exist- 
ence of  them. 

And,  while  on  the  one  hand  his  range  of  duty  is  very  confined,  observe 
how  he  is  assisted  in  performing  it.  First,  he  has  no  bad  habits  to 
hinder  the  suggestions  of  his  conscience ;  indolence,  pride,  ill-temper, 
do  not  then  act  as  they  afterwards  act,  when  the  mind  has  accustomed 
itself  to  disobedience,  as  stubborn,  deep-seated  impediments  in  the  way 
of  duty.  To  obey  requires  an  efTort,  of  course  ;  but  an  effort  like  the 
bodily  effort  of  the  child's  rising  from  the  ground  when  he  has  fallen  on 
it  ;  not  the  eflxjrt  of  shaking  ofT  drowsy  sleep ;  not  the  effort  (far 
less)  of  violent  bodily  exertion  in  a  timeof  sickness  and  long  weak- 
ness :  and  the  first  effort  made,  obedience  on  a  second  trial  will 
be  easier  than  before,  till  at  length  it  will  be  easier  to  obey  than 
not  to  obey.  A  good  habit  will  be  formed,  where  otherwise  a  bad  habit 
would  have  been  formed.  Thus  the  child,  we  are  supposing,  would  be- 
gin to  have  a  character ;  no  longer  influenced  by  every  temptation  to 
anger,  discontent,  fear,  and  obstinacy  in  the  same  way  as  before  ;  but 
with  something  of  firm  principle  in  his  heart  to  repel  them  in  a  defensive 

•  Prov.  viii.  17.  t  Ecclcs.  xii.  1.  X  Mark  x.  14. 


VIII.]  NOT  GRIEVOUS.  63 

way,  as  a  shield  repels  darts.  In  the  mean  time  the  circle  of  his  duties 
would  enlarge  ;  and,  though  for  a  time  the  issue  of  his  trial  would  be 
doubtful  to  those  who  (as  the  Angels)  could  see  it,  yet,  should  he,  as  a 
child,  consistently  pursue  this  easy  course  for  a  few  years,  it  may  be, 
his  ultimate  salvation  would  be  actually  secured,  and  might  be  predicted 
by  those  who  could  see  his  heart,  though  he  would  not  know  it  himself. 
Doubtless  new  trials  would  come  on  him  ;  bad  passions,  which  he  had 
not  formed  a  conception  of,  would  assail  him  ;  but  a  soul  thus  born  of 
God,  in  St.  John's  words,  "  sinneth  not,  but  he  that  is  begotten  of  God, 
keepeth  himself,  and  that  wicked  one  toucheth  him  not."*  "  His  seed 
remaineth  in  him,  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."|  And 
.so  he  would  grow  np  to  man's  estate,  his  duties  at  length  attaining  their 
full  range,  and  his  soul  being  completed  in  all  its  parts  for  the  due  per- 
formance of  them.  This  might  be  the  blessed  condition  of  every  one 
of  us,  did  we  but  follow  from  infancy  what  we  know  to  be  right ;  and 
in  Christ's  early  life,  (if  we  may  dare  to  speak  of  Him  in  connexion  with 
ourselves,)  it  was  fulfilled  while  He  increased  day  by  day  sinlessly  in 
wisdom  as  in  stature,  and  in  favour  with  God  and  man.  But  my  present 
object  of  speaking  of  this  gradual  growth  of  holiness  in  the  soul,  is,  (not 
to  show  what  we  might  be,  had  we  the  heart  to  obey  God,)  but  to  show 
how  easy  obedience  would  in  that  case  be  to  us  ;  consisting,  as  it  would, 
in  no  irksome  ceremonies  no  painful  bodily  discipline,  but  in  the  free- 
will offerings  of  the  heart,  of  the  heart  which  had  been  gradually,  and 
by  very  slight  occasional  eflbrts,  trained  to  love  what  God  and  our  con- 
science approve. 

Thus  Christ's  commandments,  viewed  as  He  ei\joins  them  on  us,  are 
not  grievous.  They  would  be  grievous  if  put  upon  us  all  at  once  ;  but 
they  are  not  heaped  on  us,  according  to  His  order  of  dispensing  them, 
which  goes  upon  a  harmonious  and  considerate  plan  ;  by  little  and 
little,  first  one  duty,  then  another,  then  both,  and  so  on.  Moreover, 
they  come  upon  us,  while  the  safeguard  of  virtuous  principle  is  forming 
naturally  and  gradually  in  our  minds  by  our  very  deeds  of  obedience, 
and  is  following  them  as  their  reward.  Now,  if  men  will  not  take  their 
duties  in  Christ's  order,  but  are  determined  to  delay  obedience,  with  the 
intention  of  setting  about  their  duty  some  day  or  other,  and  then  making 
up  for  past  time,  is  it  wonderful  that  they  find  it  grievous  and  difficult  to 
perform?  that  they  are  ovei whelmed  vith  tho  arrears  (so  to  say)  of 
their  great  work,  that  they  are  entangLid  and  stumble  amid  the  intrica- 
cies of  the  Divine  system  which  has  progressively  enlarged  upon  them  ? 
And  is  Christ  under  obligation  to  stop  that  system,  to  recast  His  provi- 
dence, to  take^thesejnen  out  of  their  due  placj  in  the  Church,  to  save 

*  I  John  V.  18.  t  1  John  iii.  9. 


64  GOD'S  COMMANDMENTS  [Serj?. 

them  from  the  wheels  that  are  crushing  them,  and  to  put  them  back 
again  into  some  simple  and  more  childish  state  of  trial,  where  (though 
they  cannot  have  less  to  unlearn)  they,  at  least,  may  for  a  time  have 
less  to  do  ? 

2.  All  this  being  granted,  it  still  may  be  objected,  since  (as  I  have 
allowed)  the  commandments  of  God  are  grievous  to  the  generality  of 
men,  where  is  the  use  of  saying  what  men  ought  to  be,  when  we  know 
what  they  arc  ?  and  how  is  it  fulfilling  a  promise  tliat  His  command- 
ments shall  not  be  grievous,  by  informing  us  that  they  ought  not  to  be  1 
It  is  one  thing  to  say  that  the  Law  is  in  itself  holy,  just,  and  good,  and 
quite  a  different  thing  to  declare  it  is  not  grievous  to  sinful  man. 

In  answering  this  question,  I  fully  admit  that  our  Saviour  spoke  of 
man  as  he  is,  as  a  sinner,  when  He  said  His  yoke  should  be  easy  to  him. 
Certainly  he  came  not  to  call  righteous  men,  but  sinners.  Doubtless 
we  are  in  a  very  diiTerent  state  from  that  of  Adam  before  his  fall  ;  and 
doubtless,  in  spite  of  this,  St.  John  says  that  even  to  fallen  man  His 
com.mandments  arc  not  grievous.  On  the  other  hand  I  grant,  that  if 
man  cannot  obey  God,  obedience  must  be  grievous  ;  and  I  grant  too 
(df  course)  that  man  by  nature  cannot  obey  God.  But  observe,  nothing 
has  here  been  said,  nor  by  St.  John  in  the  text,  of  man  as  by  nature 
born  in  sin  ;  but  of  man  as  a  child  of  grace,  as  Christ's  purchased  pos- 
session, who  goes  before  us  with  His  mercy,  puts  the  blessing  first,  and 
then  adds  the  command  ;  regenerates  us  and  then  bids  us  obey.  Christ 
bids  us  do  nothing  that  we  cannot  do.  He  repairs  the  fault  of  our  na- 
ture, even  before  it  manifests  itself  in  act.  He  cleanses  us  from  origi- 
nal sin,  and  rescues  us  from  the  wrath  of  God  by  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism. He  gives  us  the  gift  of  His  Spirit,  and  then  He  says,  '♦  What 
doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and 
to  walk  humbly  witli  thy  God  ?"  and  is  this  grievous  ? 

When,  then,  men  allege  their  bad  nature  as  an  excuse  for  their  disliTce 
of  God's  commandments,  if,  indeed,  they  are  heathens,  let  them  be 
heard,  and  an  answer  may  be  given  to  them  even  as  such.  But  with 
heathens  we  are  not  now  concerned.  These  men  make  their  complaint 
as  Christians,  and  as  Christians  they  are  most  unreasonable  in  making 
it ;  God  having  provided  a  remedy  for  their  natural  incapacity  in  the 
gift  of  His  Spirit.  Hear  St.  Paul's  words,  "  If  through  the  oficnce  of 
one  many  be  dead,  much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by  grace, 
which  is  by  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  hath  abounded  unto  many  .... 
Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound  ;  that  as  sin  hath 
reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  through  righteousness 
unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."* 

»  Rom.  V.  15—21. 


VIII.]  NOT  GRIEVOUS.  65 

And  there  are  persons,  let  it  never  be  forgotten,  who  have  so  followed 
God's  leading  providence  from  their  youth  up,  that  to  them  His  com- 
mandments not  only  are  not  grievous,  but  never  have  been :  and  that 
there  are  such,  is  the  condemnation  of  all  who  are  not  ^uch.     They 
have  been  brought  up  "  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord  ;"* 
and  they  now  live  in  the  love  and  "  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all 
understanding."!     Such  are  they  whom  our  Saviour  speaks  of,  as  "  just 
persons  which  need  no  repentance.":]:     Not  that  they  will  give  that  ac- 
count of  themselves,  for  they  are  full  well  conscious  in  their  own  hearts 
of  sins  innumerable,  and  habitual  infirmity.     Still,  in  spite  cf  stumblings 
and  falls  in  their  spiritual  course,  they  have  on  the  whole  persevered. 
As  children  they  served  God  on  the  whole  ;  they  disobeyed,  but  they 
recovered  their  lost  ground  ;  they  sought  God  and  were  accepted.     Per- 
haps their  young  faith  gave  way  for  a  time  altogether  ;  still  they  con- 
trived with  keen  repentence,  and  strong  disgust  at  sin,  and  earnest 
prayers,  to  make  up  for  lost  time,  and  keep  pace  with  the  course  of 
God's  providence.     Thus  they  have  walked  with  God,  not  indeed  step 
by  step  with  Him  ;  never  before  Him,  often  loitering,  stumbling,  falling 
to  sleep  ;  yet  in  turn  starting  and  "  making  haste  to  keep  His  command- 
ments," "  running  and  prolonging  not  the  time."     Thus  they  proceed, 
not,  however,  of  themselves,  but  as  upheld  by  His  right  hand,  and  guid- 
ing their  steps  by  His  Word  ;  and  though  they  have  nothing  to  boast  of, 
and  know  their  own  unworthiness,  still  they  are  witnesses  of  Christ  to 
all  men,  as  showing  what  man  can  become,  and  what  all  Christians 
ought  to  be  ;  and  at  the  last  day,  being  found  meet  for  the  inheritance 
of  the  saints  in  light,  they  "  condemn  the  world  "  as   Noah  did,  and  be- 
come  "  heirs  of  the  righteousness  which  is  b}^  faith,"  according  to  the 
saying,  "  this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith."§ 
And  now,  to  what  do  the  remarks  I  have  been  making  tend,  but  to 
this  ? — to  humble  every  one  of  us.     For,  however  faithfully  we  have 
obeyed  God,  and  hov/ever  early  we  began  to  do  so,  surely  we  might  have 
begun  sooner  than  we  did,  and  might  have  served  Him  more  heartily. 
We  cannot  but   be  conscious  of  this.     Individuals  among  us  may  be 
more  or  less  guilty,  as  the  case  may  be ;  but  the  best  and  the  worst 
among  us  here  assembled,  may  v,-ell  unite  themselves  together  so  far  as 
this,  to  confess  they  "  have  erred  and  strayed  from  God's  ways  like  lost 
sheep,"  "  have  followed  too  much  the  devices  and  desires  of  their  own 
hearts,"  have  "  no  health  "  in  themselves  as  being  "  miserable  offen- 
ders."    Some  of  us  may  be  nearer  Heaven,  some  further  from  it ;  some 
may  have  a  good  hope  of  salvation,  and  others,  (God  forbid  !  but  it  may 

*  Eph.  vi.  4.  t  PhU.  iv.  7.  t  Luke  x^-.  §  I  John  v.  4. 

Vol.  L— 6 


66  GOD'S  COMMANDMENTS.  [Serm. 

be,)  others  no  present  hope.  Still  let  us  unite  now  as  one  body  in  con. 
fessing,  (to  the  better  part  of  us  such  confession  will  be  more  welcome,, 
and  to  the  worse  it  is  more  needful,)  in  confessing  ourselves  sinners, 
deserving  God's  anger,  and  having  no  hope  except  "  according  to  His 
promises  declared  imto  mankind  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  He  who 
first  regenerated  us  and  then  gave  his  commandments,  and  then  was 
so  ungratefully  deserted  by  us,  He  again  it  is  that  must  pardon  and 
quicken  us  after  our  accumulated  guilt,  if  we  are  to  be  pardoned.  Let 
us  then  trace  back  in  memory  (as  far  as  we  can)  our  early  years  ;  what 
we  were  when  five  years  old,  when  ten,  when  fifteen,  when  twenty  ! 
what  our  state  would  have  been  as  far  as  we  can  guess  it,  had  God  taken 
us  to  our  account  at  any  age  before  the  present.  I  will  not  ask  how  it 
would  go  with  us,  were  we  now  taken  ;  we  will  suppose  the  best. 

Let  each  of  us  (I  say)  reflect  upon  his  own  most  gross  and  persever- 
ing neglect  of  God  at  various  seasons  of  his  past  life.  How  con- 
siderate He  has  been  to  us !  How  did  He  shield  us  from  temptation ! 
how  did  He  open  His  will  gradually  upon  us,  as  we  might  be  able  to 
bear  it !  *  how  has  He  done  all  things  well,  so  that  the  spiritual  work 
might  go  on  calmly,  safely,  surely !  How  did  he  lead  us  on,  duty  by 
duty,  as  if  step  by  step  upwards,  by  the  easy  rounds  of  that  ladder  whose 
top  reaches  to  Heaven  !  Yet  how  did  we  thrust  ourselves  into  tempta- 
tion !  how  did  we  refuse  to  come  to  Him  that  we  might  have  life  !  how 
did  we  daringly  sin  against  light !  And  what  was  the  consequence  ? 
that  our  work  grew  beyond  our  strength ;  or  rather  that  our  strength 
grew  less  as  our  duties  increased ;  till  at  length  we  gave  up  obedience 
in  despair.  And  yet  then  He  still  tarried  and  was  merciful  unto  us ;  He 
turned  and  looked  upon  us  to  bring  us  into  repentance ;  and  we  for  a 
Avhilc  were  moved.  Yet,  even  then  our  wayward  hearts  could  not  keep 
up  to  their  own  resolves  ;  letting  go  again  the  heat  which  Christ  gave 
them,  as  if  made  of  stone,  and  net  of  living  flesh.  What  could  have 
been  done  more  to  His  vineyard,  that  He  hath  not  done  in  it  ?f  "  O 
my  people  (He  seems  to  say  to  us)  what  have  I  done  unto  thee,  and 
wherein  have  I  wearied  thee  ?  testify  against  me.  I  brought  thee  up 
out  of  the  land  of  Lgypt,  and  redeem  n  thee  out  of  the  house  of  ser- 
vants ;  .  .  .  .  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  justice,  mercy, 
and  humbleness,'  of  mii  d  ?"|  He  hath  showed  us  what  is  good.  He 
has  borne  and  carried  us  in  His  bosom,  "  lest  at  any  time  we  should  dash 
our  foot  against  a  stonc."§  He  shed  His  Holy  Spirit  upon  us  that  we 
might  love  him.  And  "//rw  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  His  com- 
mandments, and  His  commandments  are  not  grievous."      Why,  then, 

•  1  Cor.  X.  13.  t  Isaiah  v.  4. 

t  Micah  Ti.  3—8.  §  Psalm  xci.  12. 


VIII.]  NOT  GRIEVOUS.  67 

have  they  been  grievous  to  us  ?  Why  have  wc  erred  from  His  ways,  and 
hardened  our  hearts  from  His  fear  ?  Why  do  we  this  day  stand 
ashamed,  yea,  even  confounded,  because  we  bear  the  reproach  of  our 
youth  ? 

Let  us  then  turn  to  the  Lord,  while  yet  we  may.  Difficult  it  will 
be,  in  proportion  to  the  distance  we  have  departed  from  Him.  Since 
every  one  might  have  done  more  than  he  has  done,  every  one  has  suf- 
fered losses  he  never  can  make  up.  We  have  made  His  commands 
grievous  to  us  :  we  must  bear  it ;  let  us  not  attempt  to  explain  them 
away  because  they  are  grievous.  Wc  never  can  wash  out  the  stains  of 
sin.  God  may  forgive,  but  the  sin  has  had  its  work,  and  its  memento 
is  set  up  in  the  soul.  God  sees  it  there.  Earnest  obedience  and  prayer 
Avill  gradually  remove  it.  Still,  what  miserable  loss  of  time  is  it  in  our 
brief  life,  to  be  merely  undoing  (as  has  become  necessary)  the  evils 
which  we  have  done,  instead  of  going  on  to  perfection  !  If  by  God's 
grace  we  shall  be  able  in  a  measure  to  sanctify  ourselves  in  spite  of  our 
former  sins,  yet  how  much  more  should  we  have  attained,  had  we  al- 
ways been  engaged  in  His  service  ! 

These  are  bitter  and  humbling  thoughts,  but  they  are  good  thoughts 
if  they  lead  us  to  repentance.  And  this  leads  me  to  one  more  observa- 
tion, with  which  I  conclude. 

If  any  one  who  hears  me  is  at  present  moved  by  what  I  have  said,  and 
feels  the  remorse  and  shame  of  a  bad  conscience,  and  forms  any  sudden 
good  resolution  let  him  take  heed  to  follow  it  up  at  once  by  acting  iqwn 
it.  I  earnestly  beseech  him  so  to  do.  For  this  reason  ; — because  if  he 
does  not,  he  is  beginning  a  habit  of  inattention  and  insensibility.  God 
moves  us  in  order  to  make  the  beginning  of  duty  easy.  If  we  do  not 
attend.  He  ceases  to  move  us.  Any  of  you,  my  brethren,  who  will  not 
take  advantage  of  this  considerate  providence,  if  you  will  not  turn  to 
God  now  with  a  icarm  heart,  you  will  hereafter  be  obhged  to  do  so,  (if 
you  do  so  at  all,)  iciili  a  cold  hearty — which  is  much  harder.  God  keep 
you  from  this  ! 


SERMON   IX. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  USE  OF  EXCITED  FEELINGS. 


Luke  viii.  38,  39. 


"  The  man  out  of  ■svhom  the  devils  were  departed,  besought  Him  that  he  might  be 
with  Him ;  but  Jesus  sent  him  away,  saying,  Return  to  thme  own  house,  and  show- 
how  great  things  God  hath  done  unto  thee." 

It  is  very  natural  in  the  man  whom  our  Lord  had  set  free  from  this 
dreadful  visitation,  to  wish  to  continue  with  Him.  Doubtless  his 
mind  was  transported  with  joy  and  gratitude  ;  whatever  consciousness 
he  might  possess  of  his  real  wretchedness  v/hile  the  devil  tormented 
him,  now,  at  least,  on  recovering  his  reason,  he  would  understand  that 
he  had  been  in  a  very  miserable  state,  and  he  would  feel  all  the  light- 
ness of  spirits  and  activity  of  mind,  which  attend  any  release  from 
suffering  or  constraint.  Under  these  circumstances  he  would  imagine 
himself  to  be  in  a  new  world,  so  to  say ;  he  had  found  deliverance  ;  and 
what  was  more,  a  Deliverer  too,  who  stood  before  him.  And  whether 
from  a  Avish  to  be  ever  in  His  divine  presence  ministering  to  Him,  or 
from  a  fear  lest  Satan  would  return,  nay,  with  seven-fold  power,  did  he 
lose  sight  of  Christ,  or  from  an  undefined  notion  that  all  his  duties  and 
hopes  were  now  changed,  that  his  former  pursuits  were  unworthy  of 
him,  and  that  he  must  follow  up  some  grand  plan  of  action  with  the  new 
ardour  he  felt  glowing  within  him ;  from  one  or  the  other,  or  all  of 
these  feelings  combined,  he  besought  our  Lord  that  he  might  be  with 
Him.  Christ  imposed  this  attendance  as  a  command  on  others ;  He 
bade,  for  instance,  the  young  ruler  follow  Him  ;  but  He  gives  opposite 
commands,  according  to  our  tempers  and  likings;  He  thwarts  us,  that 
He  may  try  our  faith.  In  the  case  before  us  He  suffered  not,  what  at 
other  times  He  had  bidden.  "  Return  to  thine  own  house,"  He  said,  or 
as  it  is  in  St.  Mark's  Gospel,  "Go  home  to  thy  friends,  and  tell  them 
how  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  thee,  and  hath  had  compassion 
on  Ihee."*  He  directed  the  current  of  his  newly  awakened  feelings 
into  another  channel ;  as  if  He  said,  "Lovest  thou  me  ?  this  do;  return 
home  to  your  old  occupations  and  pursuits.     You  did  them  ill  before, 

*  Mark,  V.  19. 


IX.]  EXCITED  FEELINGS.  69 

you  lived  to  the  world  ;  do  them  well  now,  live  to  Me.  Do  your  du- 
ties little  as  well  as  great,  heartily  for  My  sake  ;  go  among  your 
friends ;  show  them  what  God  hath  done  for  thee  ;  be  an  example  to 
them,  and  teach  them."*  And  further,  as  He  said  on  another  occasion. 
Show  thyself  to  the  priest,  and  offer  the  gift  that  Moses  commanded  for 
a  testimony  unto  them  ?"t — show  forth  that  greater  light  and  truer  love 
which  you  now  possess  in  a  conscientious,  consistent  obedience  to  all 
the  ordinances  and  rites  of  your  religion.' 

Now  from  this  account  of  the  restored  demoniac,  his  request,  and  our 
Lord's  denial  of  it,  a  lesson  may  be  drawn  for  the  use  of  those  who, 
having  neglected  religion  in  early  youth,  at  length  begin  to  have  serious 
thoughts,  try  to  repent,  and  wish  to  serve  God  better  than  hitherto, 
though  they  do  not  well  know  how  to  set  about  it.  We  knov/  that  God's 
commandments  are  pleasant  and  "rejoice  the  heart,"  if  we  accept  them  in 
the  order  and  manner  in  which  he  puts  them  upon  us  ;  that  Christ's 
yoke,  as  he  has  promised,  is  (on  the  whole)  very  easy,  if  we  submit  to 
it  betimes  ;  that  the  practice  of  religion  is  full  of  comfort  to  those,  who 
being  first  baptized  with  the  Spirit  of  grace,  receive  thankfully  His  influ- 
ences as  their  minds  open,  inasmuch  as  they  are  gradually  and  almost 
without  sensible  effort  oa  their  part,  imbued  in  all  their  heart,  soul,  and 
strength,  with  that  true  heavenly  life  v/hich  v/ill  last  for  ever. 

But  here  the  question  meets  us,  "  But  what  are  those  to  do  who  have 
neglected  to  remember  their  Creator  in  the  da3's  of  their  youth,  and  so 
have  lost  all  claim  on  Christ's  promise,  that  His  yoke  shall  be  easy,  and 
His  commandments  not  grievous  ?  I  answer,  that  of  course  they  must 
not  be  surprised  if  obedience  is  with  them  a  laborious  up-hill  work  ail 
their  days;  nay,  as  having  been  "once  enlightened,  and  partaken  of 
the  Holy  Ghost"  in  baptism,  they  v/ould  have  no  right  to  complain, 
even  though  "  it  v/ere  impossible  for  them  to  renew  themselves  again 
unto  repentance."  But  God  is  more  merciful  than  this  just  severity  ; 
merciful  not  only  above  our  deservings,  but  even  above  His  own  promi- 
ses. Even  for  those  who  have  neglected  Him  when  young,  He  has 
found  some  sort  of  remedy,  (if  they  will  avail  themsefvcs  of  it,)  of  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  obedience  which  they  have  brought  upon  them- 
selves by  sinning ;  and  what  this  remedy  is,  and  how  it  is  to  be  used, 
I  proceed  to  describe  in  connexion  with  the  account  in  the  text. 

The  help  I  speak  of,  is  the  excited  feeling  with  which  repentance  is 
at  first  attended.  True  it  is,  that  all  the  passionate  emotion,  or  fine 
sensibility,  which  ever  man  displayed,  will  never  by  itself  make  us 
change  our  ways,  and  do  our  duty.     Impassioned  thoughts,  high  aspi- 

*  1  Col.  iii.  17.  t  Matt  viii.  4. 


70  THE  RELIGIOUS  USE  OF  [Serm. 

rations,  sublime  imagiuings,  have  no  strength  in  them.  They  can  no 
more  maiic  a  man  obey  consistently,  than  they  can  move  mountains. 
If  any  man  truly  repent,  it  must  be  in  consequence,  not  of  these,  but 
of  a  settled  conviction  of  his  guilt,  and  a  deliberate  resolution  to  leave 
his  sins  and  serve  God.  Conscience,  and  Reason  in  subjection  to  Con- 
science, these  are  those  powerful  instruments  (under  grace)  which 
change  a  man.  But  you  will  observe,  that  though  Conscience  and 
Reason  lead  us  to  resolve  on  and  attempt  a  new  life,  they  cannot  at 
once  make  us  love  it.  It  is  long  practice  and  habit  which  makes  us 
love  religion  ;  and  in  the  beginning,  obedience,  doubtless,  is  very  griev- 
ous to  habitual  sinners.  Here  then  is  the  use  of  those  earnest,  ardent 
feelings  of  which  I  just  spoke,  and  which  attend  on  the  first  exercise  of 
conscience  and  reason, — to  take  away  from  the  beginnings  of  obedi- 
ence its  grievousncss,  to  give  us  an  impulse  which  may  carry  ue  over 
the  first  obstacles,  and  send  us  on  our  way  rejoicing.  Not  as  if  all 
this  excitement  of  mind  were  to  last,  (which  cannot  be,)  but  it  will  do 
its  office  in  thus  setting  us  off;  and  then  will  leave  us  to  the  more 
sober  and  higher  comfort  resulting  from  that  real  love  for  religion,  which 
obedience  itself  will  have  by  that  time  begun  to  form  in  us,  and  will 
gradually  go  on  to  perfect. 

Now  it  is  well  to  understand  this  fully,  for  it  is  often  mistaken. 
When  sinners  are  led  to  think  seriously,  stronger  feelings  generally  pre. 
cede  or  attend  their  reflections  about  themselves.  Some  book  they 
have  read,  some  conversation  of  a  friend,  some  remarks  they  have 
heard  made  in  church,  or  some  occurrence  or  misfortune,  rouses  them. 
Or,  on  the  other  hand,  if  in  any  more  calm  and  deliberate  manner  they 
have  commenced  their  self-examination,  yet  in  a  little  time  the  very 
view  of  their  manifold  sins,  of  their  guilt,  and  their  heinous  ingratitude 
to  their  God  and  Saviour,  breaking  upon  them,  and  being  new  to  them, 
strikes,  and  astonishes,  and  then  agitates  them.  Here,  then,  let  them 
know  the  intention  of  all  this  excitement  of  mind  in  the  order  of  Divine 
providence.  It  will  not  continue;  it  arises  from  the  novelty  of  the  view 
presented  to  them.  As  they  become  accustomed  to  religious  contem- 
plations, it  will  wear  away.  It  is  not  religion  itself,  though  it  is  acci- 
dentally connected  with  it,  and  may  be  made  a  means  of  leading  them 
into  a  sound  religious  course  of  life.  It  is  graciously  intended  to  be  a 
set-off  in  their  case  against  the  first  distastefidness  and  pain  of  doing 
their  duty ;  it  must  be  used  as  such,  or  it  will  be  of  no  use  at  all,  or 
worse  than  useless.  BIy  brethren,  bear  this  in  mind,  (and  I  may  say 
this  generally,  not  confining  myself  to  the  excitement  which  attends  re- 
pentance only,  but  all  that  natural  emotion  prompting  us  to  do  good, 
which  we  involuntarily  feel  on  various  occasions,)  it  is  given  you  in 


•IX.]  EXCITED  FEELINGS.  71 

•order  that  you  may  find  it  easy  to  obey  at  starting.      Therefore  obey 

jwomptly ;  make  use  of  it  whilst  it  lasts  ;  it  waits  fcr  no  man.  Do  you 
feel  natural  pity  towards  some  case  which  reasonably  demands  your 

•charity  ?  or  the  impulse  of  generosity  in  a  case  where  you  are  called  to 
act  a  manly  self-denying  part  ?  Whatever  the  emotion  may  be,  whether 
these  or  any  other,  do  not  imagine  you  will  always  feel  it.  Whether 
you  avail  yourselves  of  it  or  not,  still  any  how  you  will  feel  less  and  less, 
and,  as  hfe  goes  on,  at  last  will  not  feel  such  sudden  vehement  excite- 

"ment  at  all.  But  this  is  the  difference  between  seizing  or  letting  slip 
these  opportunities ; — if  you  avail  yourselves  of  them  for  acting,  and 
yield  to  the  impulse  so  far  as  conscience  tells  you  to  do,  you  have  made 
a  leap  (so  to  say)  across  a  gulf,  to  which  your  ordinary  strength  is  not 

•equal;  you  will  have  secured  the  beginning  of  obedience,  and  the  fur- 
ther steps  in  the  course  are  (generally  speaking)  far  easier  than  those 
which  first  determine  its  direction.  And  so,  to  return  to  the  case  of 
those  who  feel  any  accidental  remorse  for  their  sins  violently  exerting 
itself  in  their  hearts,  I  say  to  them,    Do  not  loiter  ;  go  home  to  your 

•friends,  and  repent  in  deeds  of  righteousness  and  love  ;  hasten  to  com- 
mit yourselves  to  certain  definite  acts  of  obedience.  Doing  is  at  a  far 
greater  distance  from  intending  to  do  than  you  at  first  sight  imagine.  Join 
them  together  while  you  can  ;  you  will  be  depositing  your  good  feelings 
■into  you  heart  itself  by  thus  making  them  influence  your  conduct  ;  and 
they  will  "spring  up  into  fruit."  This  was  the  conduct  of  the  con- 
science-stricken  Corinthians,  as  described  by  St.  Paul;  who  rejoiced 

-*'not  that  they  were  made  soi-ry,  (not  that  their  feelings  merely  were 
moved,)  but  that  they  sorrowed  to  change  of  mind  .  .  .  For  godly 
sorrow  (he  continues)  worketh  repentance  to  salvation  not  to  be  repent  > 
ed  of;  but  the  sorrow  of  the  world  worketh  death."* 

But  now  let  us  ask  how  do  men  usually  conduct  themselves  in 
matter  of  fact,  when  under  visitings  of  conscience  for  their  past  sinful 
•lives?  They  are  far  from  thus  acting.  They  look  upon  the  turbid 
-zeal  and  feverish  devotion  which  attend  their  repentance,  not  as  in  part 
the  corrupt  offspring  of  their  own  previously  corrupt  state  of  mind,  and 
partly  a  gracious  natural  provision,  only  temporary  to  encourage  them 
to  set  about  their  reformation,  but  as  the  substance  and  real  excellence 
ofrehgion.  They  think  that  to  be  thus  agitated  is  to  be  religious; 
they  indulge  themselves  in  these  warm  feelings  for  their  own  sake, 
resting  in  them  as  if  they  were  then  engaged  in  a  religious  exercise, 
and  boasting  of  them  as  if  they  were  an  evidence  of  their  own  exalted 
«piritual  state  ;  not  using  ihem,  (the  one  only  thing  they  ought  to  do,) 

*  2  Cor.  vii.  9,  10. 


72  THE  RELIGIOUS  USE  OF  [Serm. 

using  them  as  an  incitement  to  deeds  of  love,  mercy,  truth,  meekness, 
hoUness.  After  they  have  indulged  this  luxury  of  feeling  for  some 
time,  the  excitement  of  course  ceases ;  they  do  not  feel  as  they  did 
before.  This  (I  have  said)  might  have  been  anticipated,  but  they  do 
not  understand  it  so.  See  then  their  unsatisfactory  state.  They  have 
lost  an  opportunity  of  overcoming  the  first  difficulties  of  active  obedi- 
ence, and  so  of  fixing  their  conduct  and  character,  which  may  never 
occur  again.  This  is  one  great  misfortune  ;  but  more  than  this,  what 
a  perplexity  they  have  involved  themselves  in !  Their  warmth  of  feel- 
ing is  gradually  dying  away.  Now  they  think  that  in  it  true  religion 
consists;  therefore  they  believe  that  they  are  losing  their  faith,  and 
falling  into  sin  again. 

And  this,  alas,  is  too  often  the  case :  they  do  fall  away,  for  they  have 
no  root  in  themselves.  Having  neglected  to  turn  their  feelings  into 
principles  by  acting  upon  them,  they  have  no  inward  strength  to  over- 
come the  temptation  to  live  as  the  world,  which  continually  assails 
them.  Their  minds  have  been  acted  upon  as  water  by  the  wind,  which 
raises  waves  for  a  time,  then  ceasing,  leaves  the  water  to  subside  into 
its  former  stagnant  state.  The  precious  opportunity  of  improvement 
has  been  lost ;  and  the  latter  end  is  v/orse  with  them  than  the  begin- 
ning."* 

But  let  us  suppose,  that  when  they  first  detect  this  declension  (as  they 
consider  it)  they  arc  alarmed,  and  look  around  for  a  means  of  recover- 
ing themselves.  What  do  they  do  1  Do  they  at  once  begin  those 
practices  of  lowly  obedience  which  alone  can  prove  them  to  be  Christ's 
at  the  last  day  1  Such  as  the  government  of  their  tempers,  the  regu- 
lation of  their  time,  self-denying  charity,  truth-telling  sobriety.  Far 
from  it ;  thoy  despise  this  plain  obedience  to  God  as  a  mere  unenlight- 
ened morality,  as  they  call  it,  and  they  seek  for  potent  stimulants  to 
continue  their  minds  in  that  state  of  excitement  which  they  have  been 
taught  to  consider  the  essence  of  a  religious  life,  and  which  they  can- 
not produce  by  the  means  which  before  excited  them.  They  have  re- 
course to  new  doctrines,  or  follow  strange  teachers,  in  order  that  they 
may  dream  on  in  this  their  artificial  devotion,  and  may  avoid  that  con- 
viction which  is  likely  sooner  or  later  to  burst  upon  them,  that  emotion 
and  passion  are  in  our  power  indeed  to  repress,  but  not  to  excile  ;  that 
there  is  a  limit  to  the  tumults  and  swellings  of  the  heart,  foster  them  as 
we  will  ;  and,  v.hen  that  time  comes,  the  poor,  mis-used  soul  is 
left  exhausted  and  rcsourcelcss.  Instances  are  not  rare  in  the  world  of 
that  fearful,  ullimate  state  of  hard-hcartedness  which  then  succeeds ; 

•  2  Pet.  ii.  20. 


IX.]  OF  EXCITED  FEELINGS.  73 

when  the  miserable  sinner  believes  indeed  as  the  devils  may,  yet  not 
even  with  the  devils'  trembling,  but  sins  on  without  fear. 

Others,  again,  there  are,  who,  when  their  feelings  fall  off  in  strength 
and  fervency,  are  led  to  despond  ;  and  so  are  brought  down  to  a  super- 
stitious piety,  when  they  might  have  been  rejoicing  in  cheerful  obedi- 
ence. These  are  the  better  sort,  who,  having  something  of  true  reli- 
gious  principle  in  their  hearts,  still  are  misled  in  part,  so  far,  that  is,  as 
to  rest  in  their  feelings  as  tests  of  holiness  ;  therefore  they  are  dis- 
tressed and  alarmed  at  their  own  tranquiUity,  which  they  think  a  bad 
sign,  and,  being  dispirited,  lose  time,  others  outstripping  them  in  the 
race. 

And  others  might  be  mentioned  who  are  led  by  this  same  first  eager- 
ness and  zeal  into  a  different  error.  The  restored  sufferer  in  the  text 
wished  to  be  with  Christ.  Now  it  is  plain  all  those  who  indulge  them- 
selves in  the  false  devotion  I  have  been  describing,  may  be  said  to  be 
desirous  of  thus  keeping  themselves  in  Christ's  immediate  sight,  instead 
of  returning  to  their  own  home,  as  He  would  have  them,  that  is,  to  the 
common  duties  of  life  ;  and  they  do  this,  some  from  weakness  of  faith, 
as  if  He  could  not  bless  them,  and  keep  them  in  the  way  of  grace, 
though  they  pursued  their  worldly  callings  ;  others  from  an  ill-directed 
love  of  Him.  But  there  are  others,  I  say,  who  when  they  are  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  religion,  forthwith  despise  their  former  condition  alto- 
gether, as  beneath  them  ;  and  think  that  they  are  nov/  called  to  some 
high  and  singular  office  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  These  mistake  their 
duty,  as  those  already  described  neglect  it ;  they  do  not  waste  their 
time  in  mere  good  thoughts  and  good  words,  as  the  others,  but  they  are 
impetuously  led  on  to  wrong  acts,  and  that  from  the  influence  of  those 
same  strong  emotions  which  they  have  not  learned  to  use  aright  or 
direct  to  their  proper  end.  But  to  speak  of  these  now  at  any  length, 
would  be  beside  my  subject. 

To  conclude  ; — let  m.e  repeat  and  urge  upon  you,  my  brethren,  the 
lesson  which  I  have  deduced  from  the  narrative  of  which  the  text  forms 
part.  Your  Saviour  calls  you  from  infancy  to  serve  Him,  and  has 
arranged  all  things  well,  so  that  his  service  shall  be  perfect  freedom. 
Blessed  above  all  men  are  they  who  heard  His  call  then,  and  served 
Him  day  by  day,  as  their  strength  to  obey  increased.  But,  further,  are 
you  conscious  that  you  have  more  or  less  neglected  this  gracious  oppor- 
tunity, and  suffered  yourselves  to  be  tormented  by  Satan  1  See,  He 
calls  you  a  second  time  ;  He  calls  you  by  your  roused  affections  once 
and  again,  ere  He  leave  you  finally.  He  brings  you  back  for  the  time 
(as  it  were)  to  a  second  youth  by  the  urgent  persuasions  of  excited  fear, 
gratitude,  love,  and  hope.     He  again  places  you  for  an  instant  in  that 


74  RELIGIOUS  USE  OF  EXCITED   FEELINGS.       [Serm.  IX. 

early,  unformed  state  of  nature  when  habit  and  character  Avere  not. 
He  takes  you  out  of  yourselves,  robbing  sin  for  a  season  of  its  in- 
dwellino-  hold  upon  you.  Let  not  those  risitings  pass  away  "  as  the 
morning  cloud  and  the  early  dew."*  Surely,  you  must  still  have  oc- 
casional compunctions  of  conscience  for  your  neglect  of  Him.  Your 
sin  stares  you  in  the  face  ;  your  ingratitude  to  God  affects  you.  Fol 
low  on  to  know  the  Lord,  and  to  secure  His  favour  by  acting  upon  these 
impulses  ;  by  them  He  pleads  with  you,  as  well  as  by  your  conscience  ; 
they  are  the  instruments  of  his  Spirit,  stirring  you  up  to  seek  your  true 
peace.  Nor  be  surprised,  though  you  obey  them,  that  they  die  away  ; 
they  have  done  their  office,  and,  if  they  die,  it  is  but  as  blossom  changes 
into  the  fruit,  which  is  far  better.  They  must  die.  Perhaps  you  will 
have  to  labour  in  darkness  afterwards,  out  of  your  Saviour's  sight,  in 
the  home  of  your  own  thoughts,  surrounded  by  sights  of  this  world,  and 
showing  forth  His  praise  among  those  who  are  cold-hearted.  Still  be 
quite  sure  that  resolute,  consistent  obedience,  though  unattended  with 
high  transport  and  warm  emotion,  is  far  more  acceptable  to  Him  than 
all  those  passionate  longings  to  live  in  His  sight,  which  look  more  like 
religion  to  the  uninstructed.  At  the  very  best  these  latter  are  but  the 
graceful  beginnings  of  obedience,  graceful  and  becoming  in  children, 
but  in  grown  spiritual  men  indecorous,  as  the  sports  of  boyhood  would 
be  in  advanced  years.  Learn  to  live  by  faith,  which  is  a  calm,  deUb- 
erate,  rational  principle,  full  of  peace  and  comfort,  and  sees  Christ,  and 
rejoices  in  Him,  though  sent  away  from  His  presence  to  labour  in  the 
"world.  You  will  have  your  reward.  He  will  "  see  you  again,  and  your 
heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you.f" 

*  Hosca  vi.  4. 

*  John  xvi.  22.  The  foregoing  Sermon  may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  pas- 
sage from  Jeremy  Taylor,  Holy  Living,  iv.  7.  "Do  not  seek  for  dcliciousness  and 
sensible  consolations  in  the  actions  of  religion  ;  but  only  regard  the  duty  and  the 
conscience  of  it.  For,  although  in  the  beginning  of  religion,  most  frequently,  and, 
at  some  other  times,  irregularly,  God  complies  with  our  infirmity,  and  encourages 
our  duty  with  little  overflowings  of  spiritual  joy,  and  sensible  pleasure,  and  delicacies 
in  prayer,  so  as  we  accm  to  feel  some  little  beam  of  Heaven,  and  great  refreshment 
from  the  Spirit  of  consolation  ;  yet  this  is  not  always  safe  for  us  to  have,  neither  safe 
for  us  to  expect  and  look  for;  and  when  we  do,  it  is  apt  to  make  us  cool  in  our  in- 
quiries and  waitings  upon  Christ,  when  we  want  them  :  it  is  a  running  after  Him, 
not  for  the  nnracles,  but  for  the  loaves  ;  not  for  the  wonderful  things  of  God,  and  the 
desires  of  pleasing  him,  but  for  the  pleasure  of  pleasing  ourselves.  And,  as  we  must 
not  judge  our  devotion  to  be  barren  or  unfruitful,  when  wc  want  the  overflowings  of 
joy  running  over,  so  neither  must  we  cease  for  want  of  them.  If  our  spirits  can' 
*rvc  God  choosingly  and  greedily,  out  of  pure  conscience  of  our  duty,  if  is  better  in 
itself,  and  more  iafc  to  us." 


SERMON   X 


PROFESSIOx\  WITHOUT  PRACTICE. 


Luke  lii.  1. 


^'  When  there  were  gathered  together  an  innumerable  multitude  of  people,  insomuch 
that  they  trode  ono  upon  another,  He  began  to  say  unto  His  disciples  first  of  all, 
Beware  yo  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is  hypocrisy." 

Hypocrisy  is  a  serious  word.  We  are  accustomed  to  consider  the 
hypocrite  as  a  hateful,  despicable  character,  and  an  uncommon  one. 
How  is  it,  then,  that  our  Blessed  Lord,  when  surrounded  by  an  innu- 
merable multitude,  began,  first  of  all,  to  warn  His  disciples  against 
hypocrisy,  as  though  they  were  in  especial  danger  of  becoming  like 
those  base  deceivers,  the  Pharisees  ?  Thus  an  instructive  subject  is 
opened  to  our  consideration,  which  I  will  now  pursue. 

I  say,  we  are  accustomed  to  consider  the  hypocrite  as  a  character  of 
excessive  wickedness,  and  of  very  rare  occurrence.  That  hypocrisy  is 
a  great  wickedness,  need  not  be  questioned  ;  but  that  it  is  an  uncommon 
sin,  is  not  true,  as  a  little  examination  will  show  us.  For  what  is  a  hypo- 
crite ?  We  are  apt  to  understand,  by  a  hypocrite,  one  who  makes  a 
•profession  of  religion  for  secret  ends,  without  practising  what  he  pro- 
fesses ;  who  is  malevolent,  covetous,  or  profligate,  while  he  assumes  an 
outward  sanctity  in  his  words  and  conduct ;  and  who  does  so  delibe- 
rately and  without  remorse,  deceiving  others,  and  not  at  all  self-deceived. 
Such  a  man,  truly,  would  be  a  portent,  for  he  seems  to  disbelieve  the  ex- 
istence of  a  God  who  sees  the  heart.  I  will  not  deny  that  in  some  ages, 
nay,  in  all  ages,  a  few  such  men  have  existed.  But  this  is  not  what  our 
Saviour  seems  to  have  meant  by  a  hypocrite,  nor  were  the  Pharisees 
such. 

The  Pharisees,  it  is  true,  said  one  thing  and  did  another  ;  but  they 
were  not  aware  that  they  were  thus  inconsistent ;  they  deceived  them- 
selves as  well  as  others.  Indeed,  it  is  not  in  human  nature  to  deceive 
others  for  any  long  time,  without  in  a  measure  deceiving  ourselves  also. 
And,  in  most  cases,  we  contrive  to  deceive  ourselves  as  much  as  we  de- 
ceive others.  The  Pharisees  boasted  they  were  Abraham's  children,  not 
at  all  understanding,  not  knowing,  what  was  implied  in  the  term.    They 


76  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  PRACTICE.  [Serm. 

■were  not  really  included  under  the  blessing  given  to  Abraham,  and  they 
■wished  the  world  to  believe  they  were  ;  but  then  they  also  themselves 
thought  that  they  were,  or,  at  least,  with  whaterer  misgivings,  they  were, 
on  the  whole,  persuaded  of  it.  They  had  deceived  themselves  as  well 
as  the  world  ;  and  therefore  our  Lord  sets  before  them  the  great  and 
plain  truth,  which,  simple  as  it  was,  they  had  forgotten.  "  If  ye  were 
Abraham's  children,  ye  would  do  the  works  of  Abraham."* 

This  truth,  I  say,  they  had  forgotten  ; — for  doubtless  they  once  knew 
it.  There  was  a  time,  doubtless,  when  in  some  measure  they  knew 
themselves,  and  what  they  were  doing.  When  they  began  (each  of 
them  in  his  turn)  to  deceive  the  people,  they  were  not,  at  the  moment, 
self-deceived.  But  by  degrees  they  forgot, — because  they  did  not  care 
to  retain  it  in  their  knoAvledge, — they  forgot  that  to  be  blessed  like  Abra- 
ham, they  must  be  holy  like  Abraham  ;  that  outward  ceremonies  avail 
nothing  without  inward  purity,  that  their  thoughts  and  motives  must  be 
heavenly.  Part  of  their  duty  they  altogether  ceased  to  know  ;  another 
part  they  might  still  know  indeed,  but  did  not  value  as  they  ought. 
They  became  ignorant  of  their  own  spiritual  condition  ;  it  did  not  come 
home  to  them,  that  they  were  supremely  influenced  by  worldly  objects  ; 
that  zeal  for  God's  service  was  but  a  secondary  principle  in  their  con- 
duct, and  that  they  loved  the  praise  of  men  better  than  God's  praise. 
They  went  on  merely  talking  of  religion,  of  heaven  and  hell,  the  blessed 
and  the  reprobate,  till  their  discourses  became  but  words  of  course  in 
their  mouths,  with  no  true  meaning  attached  to  them  ;  and  they  either 
did  not  read  Holy  Scripture  at  all,  or  read  it  without  earnestness  and 
watchfulness  to  get  at  its  real  sense.  Accordingly,  they  were  scrupu- 
lously careful  of  paying  tythe  even  in  the  least  matters,  of  mint,  anise, 
and  cummin,  while  they  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the  Law,  judg- 
ment, mercy,  and  faith  ;  and  on  this  account  our  Lord  calls  them  "  blind 
guides," — not  bold  impious  deceivers,  who  knew  that  they  were  false 
guides,  but  blind.-f  Again,  they  were  blind,  in  thinking  that,  had  they 
lived  in  their  fathers' days,  they  would  not  have  killed  the  prophets  as 
their  fathers  did.  They  did  not  know  themselves  ;  they  had  unawares 
deceived  themselves  as  well  as  the  people.  Ignorance  of  their  own  igno- 
rance was  their  punishment  and  the  evidence  of  their  sin.  "  If  ye  were 
blind,"  our  Saviour  says  to  them,  if  you  were  simply  blind,  and  conscious 
you  were  so,  and  distressed  at  it,  "  ye  should  have  no  sin  ;  but  now  ye-, 
say.  We  see," — they  did  not  even  know  their  blindness — "  therefor&| 
your  sin  remaineth."i 

*  John  viii.  39.  4  Matt,  xxili.  24.    Luke  xi.  39—52. 

t  John  ix.  40,  41.    Vide  James  i.  22. 


X.]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  PRACTICE.  77 

This  then  is  hypocrisy  ; — not  simply  for  a  man  to  deceive  others, 
knowing  all  the  while  that  he  is  deceiving  them,  but  to  deceive  himself 
and  others  at  the  same  time,  to  aim  at  their  praise  by  a  religious  profes- 
sion without  perceiving  that  he  loves  their  praise  more  than  the  praise  of 
G'od,  and  that  he  is  professing  far  more  than  he  practices.  And  if  this 
be  the  true  Scripture  meaning  of  the  word,  we  have  some  insight  (as  it 
appears)  into  the  reasons  which  induced  our  Divine  Teacher  to  warn 
His  disciples  in  so  marked  a  way  against  hypocrisy.  An  innumerable 
iirullitude  v/as  thronging  Him,  and  His  disciples  were  around  Him. 
l^welve  of  them  had  been  appointed  to  minister  to  Him  as  His  especial 
■  '.ids.  Other  seventy  had  been  sent  out  from  Him  with  miraculous 
s ;  and,  on  their  return,  had  with  triumph  told  of  thsir  own  wonder- 
doings.  All  of  them  had  been  addressed  by  Him  as  the  salt  of  the 
ih,  the  light  of  the  world,  the  children  of  His  kingdom.  They  were 
mediators  between  Him  and  the  people  at  large,  introducing  to  His 
:ice  the  sick  and  heavy-laden.  And  now  they  stood  by  Him,  partak- 
ing in  His  popularity,  perhaps  glorifying  in  their  connection  with  the 
Christ,  and  pleased  to  be  gazed  upon  by  the  impatient  crov/d.  Then  it 
Avas  that,  instead  of  addressing  the  multitude,  He  spoke  first  of  all  to  His 
disciples,  saying,  "  Beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is 
hypocrisy  ;"  as  if  He  had  said,  "What  is  the  chief  sin  of  My  enemies 
and  persecutors  ?  not  that  they  openly  deny  God,  but  that  they  love  a 
profession  of  religion  for  the  sake  of  the  praise  of  men  that  follows  it. 
They  like  to  contrast  themselves  with  other  men ;  they  pride  them- 
selves on  being  a  little  flock,  to  whom  life  is  secured  in  the  midst  of  re- 
])robates ;  they  like  to  stand  and  be  admired,  amid  their  religious  per- 
formances, and  think  to  be  saved,  not  by  their  own  personal  holiness, 
]jut  by  the  faith  of  their  father,  Abraham.  All  this  delusion  may  come 
upon  you  also,  if  you  forget  that  you  are  hereafter  to  be  tried  one  by  one 
at  God's  judgment-seat,  according  to  your  works.  At  present,  indeed, 
yen  are  invested  in  My  greatness,  and  have  the  credit  of  My  teaching 
and  holiness  :  but  '  there  is  nothing  covered  that  shall  not  be  revealed, 
neither  hid,  that  shall  not  be  known,'  at  the  last  day." 

This  warning  against  hypocrisy  becomes  still  more  needful  and  im- 
irii'ssive  from  the  greatness  of  the  Christian  privileges  as  contrasted  with 
Jewish.  The  Pharisees  boasted  they  were  Abraham's  children  ;  yvc 
p.  c  the  infinitely  higher  blessing  which  fellowship  with  Christ  imparts. 
In  our  infancy  we  have  all  been  gifted  with  the  most  awful  and  glorious 
titles,  as  children  of  God,  members  of  Christ,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  We  have  been  honoured  with  the  grant  of  spiritual  influ- 
ences, which  have  overshadowed  and  rested  upon  us,  making  our  very 
and  when  we  came  to  years  of  discretion,  wc 


78  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  PRACTICE.  [Serm.- 

were  admitted  to  the  mystery  of  a  heavenly  communication  of  the  Body 
and  Blood  of  Christ.  What  is  more  likely,  considering  our  perverse 
nature,  than  that  we  should  neglect  the  duties,  while  we  wish  to  retain 
the  privileges  of  our  Christian  profession  ?  Our  Lord  has  sorrowfully 
foretold  in  his  parables  what  was  to  happen  in  His  Church  ;  for  in- 
stance, when  he  compared  it  to  a  net  which  gathered  of  every  kind,  but 
not  inspected  till  the  end,  and  then  emptied  of  its  various  contents,  good 
and  bad.  Till  the  day  of  visitation  the  visible  Church  will  ever  be  full 
of  such  hypocrites  as  I  have  described,  who  live  on  under  her  shadow, 
enjoying  the  name  of  Christian,  and  vainly  fancying  they  will  partake 
its  ultimate  blessedness. 

Perhaps,  however,  it  will  be  granted,  that  there  are  vast  numbers  in 
the  Christian  world  thus  professing  without  adequately  practising  ;  and 
yet  denied  that  such  a  case  is  enough  to  constitute  a  hypocrite  in  the 
Scripture  sense  of  the  v/ord  ;  as  if  a  hypocrite  were  one  who  professes 
himself  to  be  what  he  is  not,  wilJi  some  bad  motive.  It  may  be  urged 
that  the  Pharisees  had  an  end  in  what  they  did,  which  careless  and  for- 
mal Christians  have  not.  But  consider  for  a  moment  what  was  the  mo- 
tive which  urged  the  Pharisees  to  their  hypocrisy ;  surely  that  they 
might  be  seen  of  men,  have  glory  of  men.*  This  is  our  Lord's  own  ac- 
count of  them.  Now  who  will  say  that  the  esteem  and  fear  of  the^ 
world's  judgment,  and  the  expectation  of  worldly  advantages,  do  not  at 
present  most  powerfully  influence  the  generality  of  men  in  their  profes- 
sion of  Christianity  1  so  much  so,  that  it  is  a  hard  matter,  and  is  thought 
a  great  and  noble  act  for  men  who  live  in  the  public  world  to  do  what 
they  believe  to  be  their  duty  to  God  in  a  straightforward  way,  should  the 
opinion  of  society  about  it  happen  to  run  counter  to  them.  Indeed, 
there  hardly  has  been  a  time  since  the  Apostles'  day,  in  which  men  were 
more  likely  than  in  this  age,  to  do  their  good  deeds  to  be  seen  of  men,  to 
lay  out  for  human  praise,  and  therefore  to  shape  their  actions  by  the 
world's  rule  rather  than  God's  will.  We  ought  to  be  very  suspicious, 
every  one  of  us,  of  the  soundness  of  our  faith  and  virtue.  Let  us  con- 
sider whether  we  should  act  as  strictly  as  we  now  do,  were  the  eyes  of 
our  acquaintance  and  neighbours  withdrawn  from  us.  Not  that  a  regard 
to  the  opinion  of  others  is  a  bad  motive  ;  in  subordination  to  the  fear  of 
God's  judgment,  it  is  innocent  and  allowable,  and  in  many  cases  a  duty 
to  admit  it ;  and  the  opportunity  of  doing  so  is  a  gracious  gift  given  from 
God  to  lead  us  forward  in  the  right  way.  But  when  we  prefer  man's  fal- 
lible judgment  to  God's  vmerring  command,  then  it  is  we  arc  wrong, — 
and  in  two  ways  ;  both  because  we  prefer  it,  and  because,  being  fallible* 

*  Matt.  vi.  2, 5. 


X.]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  PRACTICE.  7& 

it  will  mislead  us ;  and  what  I  am  asking  you,  my  brethren,  is,  not 
whether  you  merely  regard  man's  opinion  of  you,  (which  you  ought  to 
do,)  but  whether  you  set  it  before  God's  judgment,  which  you  assuredly 
should  not  do, — and  which  if  you  do,  you  are  like  the  Pharisees,  so  far  as 
to  be  hypocrites,  though  you  may  not  go  so  far  as  they  did  in  their  hol- 
low self-deceiving  ways. 

1.  That  even  decently  conducted  Christians  are  most  extensively  and 
fearfully  ruled  by  the  opinion  of  society  about  them,  instead  of  living  by 
faith  in  the  unseen  God,  is  proved  to  my  mind  by  the  following  circum- 
stance : — that  according  as  their  rank  in  life  makes  men  independent  of 
tlie  judgment  of  others,  so  the  profession  of  regularity  and  strictness  is 
niven  up.  There  are  two  classes  of  men  who  are  withdrav/n  from  the 
jiulgment  of  the  community  ;  those  who  are  above  it,  and  those  who  are 
IvAow  it : — the  poorest  class  of  all,  which  has  no  thought  of  maintaining 
itself  bv  its  own  exertions,  and  has  lost  shame ;  and  what  is  called  (to 
use  a  word  of  this  world)  high  fashionable  society,  by  which  I  mean  not 
the  rich  necessarily,  but  those  among  the  rich  and  noble  who  throw  them- 
selves out  of  the  pale  of  the  community,  break  the  ties  which  attach  them 
to  others,  whether  above  or  below  themselves,  and  then  live  to  themselves 
and  each  other,  their  ordinary  doings  being  unseen  by  the  world  at  large. 
Xow  since  it  happens  that  these  two  ranks,  the  outlaws  (so  to  say)  of 
l)ublic  opinion,  are  (to  speak  generally)  the  most  openly  and  daringly 
profligate  in  their  conduct,  how  much  may  be  thence  inferred  about  the 
influence  of  a  mere  love  of  reputation  in  keeping  us  all  in  the  right 
way  !  It  is  plain,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  the  great  mass  of  men  are 
protected  from  gross  sin  by  the  forms  of  society.  The  received  laws  of 
propriety  and  decency,  the  prospect  of  a  loss  of  character,  stand  as  sen- 
tinels, giving  the  alarm,  long  before  their  Chrislian  principles  have  time 
to  act.  But  among  the  poorest  and  rudest  class,  on  the  contrary,  such 
artificial  safeguards  against  crime  are  unknown  ;  and  (observe  I  say)  it 
is  among  them  and  that  other  class  I  have  mentioned,  that  vice  and 
crime  are  most  frequent.  Are  we,  therefore,  better  than  they  ?  Scarcely. 
Doubtless  their  temptations  are  greater,  which  alone  prevents  our  boast- 
ing over  them  ;  but,  besides,  do  we  not  rather  gain  from  the  sight  of 
their  more  scandalous  sins  a  grave  lesson  and  an  urgent  warning  for  our- 
selves, a  call  on  us  for  honest  self-examination  ?  for  we  are  of  the  same 
nature,  with  like  passions  with  them  ;  we  may  be  better  than  they,  but 
our  mere  seeming  so  is  no  proof  that  we  are.  The  question  is,  whether, 
in  spite  of  our  greater  apparent  virtue,  we  should  not  fall  like  them,  if 
the  restraint  of  society  were  withdrawn  ;  i.  e.  whether  we  are  not  in  the 
main  hypocrites  hke  the  Pharisees,  professing  to  honour  God,  while  we 
honour  him  only  so  far  as  men  require  it  of  us  ? 


so  TROFESSION  WITHOUT  PRACTICE.  [Serm. 

2.  Another  test  of  being  like  or  unlike  the  Pharisees  may  be 
mentioned.  Our  Lord  warns  us  against  hypocrisy  in  three  respects, — 
in  doing  our  alms,  in  praying,  and  in  fasting.  "  When  thou  doest 
thine  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet  before  thee  as  the  hypocrites  do  in 
the  synagogues  and  in  the  streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of 
men  ....  When  thou  prayest  thou  shalt  not  be  as  the  hypocrites 
are,  for  they  love  to  pray  standing  in  the  synagogues  and  in  the  corners 
of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  seen  of  men  ....  When  ye  fast, 
be  not  as  the  hypocrites,  of  a  sad  countenance,  for  they  disfigure  their 
faces  that  they  may  appear  unto  men  to  fast."*  Here  let  us  ask 
ourselves,  first  about  our  alms,  v/hether  we  be  not  like  the  hypocrites. 
Doubtless  some  of  cur  charity  must  be  public,  for  the  very  mentioning 
our  name  encourages  others  to  follow  our  example.  Still  I  ask,  is  much 
of  our  charity  also  private  ?  is  as  much  private  as  is  public  1  I  will 
not  ask  whether  much  more  is  done  in  secret  than  is  dorse  before  men, 
though  this,  if  possible,  ought  to  be  the  case.  But  at  least,  if  we  think 
in  the  first  place  of  our  public  charities,  and  only  in  the  second  of  the 
duty  of  private  alms-giving,  are  we  not  plainly  like  the  hypocritical 
Pharisees  ? 

The  manner  of  our  prayers  will  supply  us  with  a  still  sti'onger  test. 
We  are  here  assembled  in  worship.  It  is  well.  Have  we  really  been 
praying  as  well  as  seeming  to  pray  ?  have  our  minds  been  actively 
employed  in  trying  to  form  in  us  the  difficult  habit  of  prayer  ?  Further, 
are  we  as  regular  in  praying  in  our  closet  to  our  Father  which  is  in 
.secret  as  in  public  I'f  Do  we  feel  any  great  remorse  in  omitting  our 
morning  and  evening  prayers,  in  saying  them  hastily  and  irreverently  ? 
And  yet  should  not  we  feel  excessive  pain  and  shame,  and  rightly,  at 
the  thought  of  having  committed  any  open  impropriety  in  church  1 
Should  we,  for  instance,  be  betrayed  into  laughter  or  other  light  conduct 
during  the  service,  should  not  we  feel  most  acutely  ashamed  of  ourselves, 
and  consider  v.e  had  disgraced  ourselves,  notwithstanding  our  habit  of 
altogether  forgetting  the  next  moment  any  sinful  carelessness  at  prayer 
^Q-Our  closet  1     Is  not  this  to  be  as  the  Pharisees  ? 

Take,  again,  the  case  of  fasting.  Alas  !  most  of  us,  I  fear,  do  not 
think  at  all  of  fasting.  We  do  not  even  let  it  enter  our  thoughts,  nor 
debate  with  ourselves,  whether  or  not  it  be  needful  or  suitable  for  us  to 
fast,  or  in  any  way  mortify  our  flesh.  Well,  this  is  one  neglect  of 
Christ's  words.  But  again,  neither  do  we  disfigure  our  outward  appear- 
ance to  seem  to  fast,  which  the  Pharisees  did.  Here  Ave  seem  to  differ 
from  the  Pharisees.     Yet,  in  truth,  this  very  apparent  difference  is  a 

*  Matt.  vi.  2— IG.  t  Matt.  vi.  6. 


X.]  PROFESSION    WITHOUT  PRACTICE.  81 

singular  confirmation  of  our  real  likeness  to  them.  Austerity  gained 
them  credit ;  it  would  gain  us  none.  It  would  gain  us  little  more  than 
mockery  from  the  world.  The  age  is  changed.  In  Christ's  time  the 
show  of  fasting  made  men  appear  saints  in  the  eyes  of  the  many.  See 
then  what  we  do.  We  keep  up  the  outward  show  of  almsgiving  and 
public  worship,  observances,  which,  (it  so  happens)  the  world  approves. 
We  have  dropped  the  show  of  fasting,  which  (it  so  happens)  the  world 
at  the  present  day  derides.  Are  we  quite  sure  that  if  fasting  were  in 
honour,  we  should  not  begin  to  hold  fasts,  as  the  Pharisees  ?  Thus- we 
seek  the  praise  of  men.  But  in  all  this,  how  are  we,  in  any  good 
measure,  following  God's  guidance  and  promises  ? 

We  see,  then,  how  seasonable  is  our  Lord's  warning  to  us,  His 
(hsciples,  first  of  all,  to  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is 
liypocrisy  :  professing  without  practising.  He  warns  us  against  it  as 
leaven,  as  a  subtle  insinuating  evil  which  will  silently  spread  itself 
throughout  the  whole  character,  if  we  suffer  it.  He  warns  us,  His 
disciples,  lovingly  considerate  for  us,  lest  we  make  ourselves  a  scorn  and 
derision  to  the  profane  multitude,  who  throng  around  to  gaze  curiously, 
or  malevolently,  or  selfishly,  at  His  doings.  They  seek  Him,  not  as 
adoring  Him  for  His  miracles'  sake,  but,  if  so  be,  they  can  obtain  any- 
thing from  Him,  or  can  please  their  natural  tastes  while  they  profess  to 
honour  Him  ;  and  in  time  of  trial  they  desert  Him.  They  make  a. 
gain  of  godliness,  or  a  fashion.  So  He  speaks  not  to  them,  but  to  us, 
His  little  flock.  His  Church,  to  whom  it  has  been  His  Father's  good 
pleasure  to  give  the  kingdom  ;*  and  He  bids  us  take  heed  of  falling  as 
the  Pharisees  did  before  us,  and  like  them  coming  short  of  our  reward. 
He  warns  us  that  the  pretence  of  religion  never  deceives  beyond  a  little 
time  ;  that  sooner  or  later,  "  whatsoever  we  have  spoken  in  darkness 
shall  be  heard  in  the  light,  and  that  which  we  have  spoken  in  the  ear  in 
closets,  shall  be  proclaimed  upon  the  house-tops."  Even  in  this  world 
the  discovery  is  often  made.  A  man  is  brought  into  temptation  of  some 
sort  or  other,  and  having  no  root  in  himself  falls  away,  and  gives  occasion 
to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  to  blaspheme. y  Nay,  this  will  happen  to 
him  without  himself  being  aware  of  it ;  for  though  a  man  begins  to 
deceive  others  before  he  deceives  himself,  yet  he  does  not  deceive  them 
so  long  as  he  deceives  himself.  Their  eyes  are  at  length  opened  to 
him,  while  his  own  continue  closed  to  himself.  The  world  sees  through 
him ;  detects,  and  triumphs  in  detecting,  his  low  motives  and  secular 
plans  and  artifices,  while  he  is  but  very  faintly  sensible  of  them  himself, 
much  less  has  a  notion  that  others  clearly  see  them.     And  thus  he  will 

*  Luke  xii.  32.  t  2  Sam.  xii.  14, 

Vol.  I.— 6 


82  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  PRACTICE.  [Skrm. 

go  on  professing  the  highest  principles  and  feeUngs,  while  bad  men 
scorn  him,  and  insult  true  religion  in  his  person. 

Do  not  think  I  am  speaking  of  one  or  two  men,  when  I  speak  of  the 
scandal  which  a  Christian's  inconsistency  brings  upon  his  cause.  The 
Christian  world,  so  called,  what  is  it  practically,  but  a  witness  for 
Satan  rather  than  a  witness  for  Christ  ?  Rightly  understood,  doubtless 
the  very  disobedience  of  Christians  witnesses  for  Him  who  will  overcome 
whenever  He  is  judged.  But  is  there  any  antecedent  prejudice  against 
religion  so  great  as  that  which  is  occasioned  by  the  lives  of  its 
professors  1  Let  us  ever  remember,  that  all  who  follow  God  with  but 
a  half  heart,  strengthen  the  hands  of  His  enemies,  give  cause  of  exulta- 
tion to  wicked  men,  perplex  inquirers  after  truth,  and  bring  reproach 
upon  their  Saviour's  name.  It  is  a  known  fact,  that  unbelievers 
triumphantly  maintain  that  the  greater  part  of  the  English  people  is  on 
their  side ;  that  the  disobedience  of  professing  Christians  is  a  proof, 
that  (whatever  they  say)  yet  in  their  hearts  they  are  unbelievers  too. 
This  we  ourselves  perhaps  have  heard  said ;  and  said,  not  in  the  heat 
of  argument,  or  as  a  satire,  but  in  sober  earnestness,  from  real  and  full 
persuasion  that  it  was  true;  that  is,  the  men  who  have  cast  ofT  their 
Saviour,  console  themselves  with  the  idea,  that  their  neighbours,  though 
too  timid  or  too  indolent  openly  to  do  so,  yet  in  secret,  or  at  least  in 
their  real  character,  do  the  same.  And  witnessing  this  general  incon- 
sistency, they  despise  them  as  unmanly,  cowardly,  and  slavish,  and 
hate  religion  as  the  origin  of  this  debasement  of  mind.  "  The  people 
who  in  this  country  call  themselves  Christians  (says  one  of  these  men,) 
with  few  exceptions,  are  not  believers  ;  and  every  man  of  sense,  whose 
bigotry  has  not  blinded  him,  must  see  that  persons  who  are  evidently 
devoted  to  worldly  gain,  or  worldly  vanities,  or  luxurious  enjoyments, 
though  still  preserving  a  little  decency,  while  they  pretend  to  believe  the 
infinitely  momentous  doctrines  of  Christanity,  are  performers  in  a 
miserable  farce,  which  is  beneath  contempt."  Such  are  the  words  of 
an  open  enemy  of  Christ ;  as  though  he  felt  he  dared  confess  his 
unbelief,  and  despised  the  mean  hypocrisy  of  those  around  him.  His 
argument,  indeed,  will  not  endure  the  trial  of  God's  judgment  at  the 
last  day,  for  no  one  is  an  unbeliever  but  by  his  own  fault.  But  though 
no  excuse  for  him,  it  is  their  condemnation.  What,  indeed,  will  they 
plead  before  the  Throne  of  God,  when  on  the  revelation  of  all  hidden 
deeds,  this  reviler  of  religion  attributes  his  unbelief  in  a  measure  to  the 
sight  of  their  inconsistent  conduct  ?  When  he  mentions  this  action  or 
that  conversation,  this  violent  or  worldly  conduct,  that  covetous  or 
unjust  transaction,  or  that  self-indulgent  life,  as  partly  the  occasion  of 
his  falling  away  ?     "  Wo  unto  the  world  (it  is  written),  because  of 


XI.]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  HYPOCRISY.  83 

scandals ;  for  it  must  needs  be  that  scandals  come,  but  wo  to  that  man 
hy  whom  the  scandal  cometh  !"*  Wo  unto  the  deceiver  and  self- 
deceived  !  "  His  hope  shall  perish,  his  hope  shall  be  cut  off,  and  his 
trust  shall  be  a  spider's  web :  he  shall  lean  upon  his  house,  but  it  shall 
not  stand;  he  shall  hold  it  fast,  but  it  shall  not  endure."|  God  give 
us  grace  to  flee  from  this  wo  while  we  have  time  !  Let  us  examine 
ourselves  to  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  us;  let  us  aim  at 
obtaining  some  comfortable  assurance  that  we  are  in  the  narrow  way 
that  leads  to  Hfe.  And  let  us  pray  God  to  enlighten  us,  and  to  guide 
us,  and  to  give  us  the  will  to  please  Him,  and  the  power. 


SERMON    XL 


PROFESSION  WITHOUT  HYPOCRISY. 


Galatians  iii.  27. 
"  As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ." 

It  is  surely  most  necessary  to  beware,  as  our  Lord  solemnly  bids  us,  of 
the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is  hypocrisy. ij:  We  may  be  infected 
with  it,  even  though  we  are  not  conscious,  of  our  insincerity ;  for  they 
did  not  know  they  were  hypocrites.  Nor  need  we  have  any  definite 
bad  object  plainly  before  us,  for  they  had  none, — only  the  vague  desire 
to  be  seen  and  honoured  by  the  world,  such  as  may  influence  us.  So 
it  would  seem,  that  there  are  vast  multitudes  of  Pharisaical  hypocrites 
among  baptized  Christians  ;  i.  e.  men  professing  without  practising. 
Nay,  so  far  we  may  be  called  hypocritical,  one  and  all ;  for  no  Chris- 
tian on  earth  altogether  lives  up  to  his  profession. 

But  here  some  one  may  ask,  whether,  in  saying  that  hypocrisy  is 
professing  without  practising,  I  am  not,  in  fact,  overthrowing  all 
external  religion  from  the  foundation,  since  all  creeds,  and  prayers,  and 
ordinances,  go  beyond  the  real  belief  and  frame  of  mind  of  even  the 
best  Christians.  This  is  even  the  ground  which  some  men  actually 
take.     They  say  that  it  is  wrong  to  baptize,  and  call  Cliristians,  those 

»  Matt,  xviii.  7.         t  Job  viii.  13—15.  X  Vide  Sermon  X. 


84  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  HYPOCRISY.  [Serm. 

who  have  not  yet  shown  themselves  to  be  really  such.  "  As  many  as 
are  baptized  into  Christ,  j)iit  on  Christ ;"  so  says  the  text,  and  these 
men  argue  from  it,  that  till  we  have  actually  put  on  Christ,  that  is,  till 
we  have  given  our  heart  to  Christ's  service,  and  in  our  degree  become 
holy  as  He  is  holy,  it  can  do  no  good  to  be  baptized  into  His  name. 
Rather  it  is  a  great  evil,  for  it  is  to  become  hypocrites.  Nay,  really 
humble,  well-intentioned  men,  feel  this  about  themselves.  They  shrink 
from  retaining  the  blessed  titles  and  privileges  which  Christ  gave  them 
in  infancv,  as  being  unworthy  of  them ;  and  they  fear  lest  they  are 
reallv  hypocrites  like  the  Pharisees,  after  all  their  better  thoughts  and 
exertions. 

Now  the  obvious  answer  to  this  mistaken  view  of  religion  is  to  say, 
that,  on  the  showing  of  such  reasoners,  no  one  at  all  ought  to  be  baptized 
in  any  case,  and  called  a  Christian  ;  for  no  one  ads  up  to  his  baptismal 
professions ;  no  one  believes,  worships,  and  obeys  duly,  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  whose  servant  he  is  made  in  baptism.  And  yet 
the  Lord  did  say,  "  Go,  baptize  all  nations ;  clearly  showing  us,  that  a 
man  may  be  a  fit  subject  for  baptism,  though  he  does  not  in  fact 
practise  every  thing  that  he  professes,  and  therefore,  that  any  fears  we 
may  have,  lest  men  should  be  in  some  sense  like  the  Pharisees,  must 
not  keep  us  from  making  them  Christians. 

But  I  shall  treat  the  subject  more  at  length,  in  order  that  we  may 
understand  what  kind  of  disobedience  is  really  hypocrisy,  and  what  is 
not,  lest  timid  consciences  should  be  frightened.  Now  men  profess 
without  feeling  and  doing,  or  are  hypocrites,  in  nothing  so  much  as  in 
their  prayers.  This  is  plain.  Prayer  is  the  most  directly  religious  of 
all  our  duties  ;  and  our  falling  short  of  our  duty,  is,  then,  most  clearly 
displayed.  Therefore  I  will  enlarge  upon  the  case  of  prayer,  to  explain 
what  I  do  not  mean  by  hypocrisy.  We  then  use  the  most  solemn  words, 
either  without  attending  to  what  we  are  saying,  or,  (even  if  we  do 
attend,)  without  worthily  entering  into  its  meaning.  Thus  we  seem  to 
resemide  the  Phari.sces  ;  a  question  in  consequence  arises,  whether,  this 
being  the  case,  we  should  go  on  repeating  prayers  which  evidently  do 
not  suit  us.  The  men  I  just  now  .spoke  of,  affirm  that  we  ought  to  leave 
them  off.  Accordingly,  such  persons  in  their  own  case  first  give  up  the 
Church  prayer-s,  and  take  to  others  which  they  think  will  suit  them 
better.  Next,  when  these  disappoint  them,  they  have  recourse  to  what 
is  called  extempore  prayer ;  and  afterwards  perhaps,  discontented  in 
turn  with  this  mode  of  addressing  Almighty  God,  and  as  unable  to  fix 
their  thoughts  as  they  were  before,  they  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
they  ought  not  to  pray,  except  when  specially  moved  to  prayer  by  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


XL]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  HYPOCRISY.  85 

Now,  in  answer  to  such  a  manner  of  reasoning  and  acting,  I  woul 
maintain  that  no  one  is  to  be  reckoned  a  Pharisee  or  hypocrite  in  his 
prayers  who  tries  not  to  be  one, — who  aims  at  knowing  i.d  correcting 
himself, — and  who  is  accustomed  to  pray,  though  not  perfectly,  yet  not 
indolently  or  in  a  self-satisfied  way ;  however  lamentable  his  actual 
wanderings  of  mind  may  be,  or,  again,  however  poorly  he  enters  into 
the  meaning  of  his  prayers,  even  when  he  attends  to  them. 

1.  First,  take  the  case  of  not  being  attentive  to  the  prayers.  Men, 
it  seems,  are  tempted  to  leave  off  prayers  because  they  cannot  follow 
them,  because  they  find  their  thoughts  wander  when  they  repeat  them. 
I  answer,  that  to  pray  attentively  is  a  habit.  This  must  ever  be  kept 
in  mind.  No  one  begins  with  having  his  heart  thoroughly  in  them ;  but 
by  trying,  he  is  enabled  to  attend  more  and  more,  and  at  length,  after 
many  trials  and  a  long  schooling  of  himself,  to  fix  his  mind  steadily  on 
them.  No  one  (I  repeat)  begins  with  being  attentive.  Novelty  in  prayers 
is  the  cause  of  persons  being  attentive  in  the  outset,  and  novelty  is  out  of 
the  question  in  the  Church  prayers ;  for  we  have  heard  them  from 
childhood,  and  knew  them  by  heart  long  before  we  could  understand 
them.  No  one,  then,  when  he  first  turns  his  thoughts  to  religion,  finds 
it  easy  to  pray  ;  he  is  irregular  in  his  religious  feelings ;  he  prays  more 
earnestly  at  some  times  than  at  others  ;  his  devotional  seasons  come  by 
fits  and  starts  ;  he  cannot  account  for  his  state  of  mind,  or  reckon  upon 
himself;  he  frequently  finds  that  he  is  more  disposed  for  prayer  at  any 
time  and  place  than  those  set  apart  for  the  purpose.  All  this  is  to  be 
expected ;  for  no  habit  is  formed  at  once  ;  and  before  the  flame  of 
religion  in  the  heart  is  purified  and  strengthened  by  long  practise  and 
experience,  of  course  it  will  be  capricious  in  its  motions,  it  will  flare 
about  (so  to  say)  and  flicker,  and  at  times  seem  almost  to  go  out. 

However,  impatient  men  do  not  well  consider  this ;  they  overlook  or 
are  oflended  at  the  necessity  of  humble,  tedious  practice  to  enable  them 
to  pray  attentively,  and  they  account  for  their  coldness  and  wanderings 
of  thought  in  any  way  but  the  true  one.  Sometimes  they  attribute  this 
inequality  in  their  religious  feelings  to  the  arbitrary  coming  and  going  of 
God's  Holy  Spirit ;  a  most  irreverent  and  presumptuous  judgment, 
which  I  should  not  mention,  except  that  men  do  form  it,  and  therefore  it 
is  necessary  to  state  in  order  to  condemn  it.  Again,  sometimes  they 
think  that  they  shall  make  themselves  attentive  all  at  once  by  bringing 
before  their  minds  the  more  sacred  doctrines  of  ■  he  Gospel,  and  thus 
rousing  and  constraining  their  souls.  This  does  for  a  time  ;  but  when 
the  novelty  is  over,  they  find  themselves  relapsing  into  their  former 
inattention,  without  apparently  having  made  any  advance.  And  others 
again,  when  discontented  with  their  wanderings  during  prayer,  lay  the 


86  FROFESSION  WITHOUT  HYPOCRISY-  [Serm. 

fault  on  the  prayers  themselves  as  being  too  long.  This  is  a  common 
excuse,  and  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  it. 

If  any  one  allcfres  tlie  length  of  the  Church  prayers  as  a  reason  for 
his  not  keeping  his  mind  fixed  upon  them,  I  would  beg  him  to  ask  his 
conscience  whether  he  sincerely  believes  this  to  be  at  bottom  the  real 
cause  of  his  inattention  ?  Does  he  think  he  should  attend  better  if  the 
prayers  were  shorter  1  This  is  the  question  he  has  to  consider.  If  he 
answers  that  he  believes  he  should  attend  more  closely  in  that  case,  then 
I  go  on  to  ask,  whether  he  attends  more  closely  (as  it  is,)  to  the  first 
part  of  the  service  than  to  the  last ;  whether  his  mind  is  his  own,  re- 
gularly fixed  on  what  heis  engaged  in,  for  any  time  in  any  part  of  the 
service  ?  Now,  if  he  is  obliged  to  own  that  this  is  not  the  case,  that 
his  thoughts  are  wandering  in  all  parts  of  the  service,  and  that  even 
during  the  Confession,  or  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  come  first,  they  are 
not  his  own,  it  is  quite  clear  that  it  is  not  the  le7igth  of  the  service 
which  is  the  real  cause  of  his  inattention,  but  his  being  deficient  in  the 
habit  of  being  attentive.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  answers  that  he 
can  fix  his  thoughts  for  a  time,  and  during  the  early  part  of  the  service, 
1  would  have  him  reflect  that  even  this  degree  of  attention  was  not 
always  his  own,  that  it  has  been  the  work  of  time  and  practice  ;  and, 
if  by  trying  he  has  got  so  far,  by  trying  he  may  go  on,  and  learn  to 
attend  for  a  still  longer  time,  till  at  length  he  is  able  to  keep  up  his 
attention  through  the  whole  service. 

However,  I  wish  chiefly  to  speak  to  such  as  are  dissatisfied  with 
themselves,  and  despair  of  attending  properly.  Let  a  man  once  set  his 
heart  upon  learning  to  pray,  and  strive  to  learn,  and  no  failures  he  may 
continue  to  make  in  his  manner  of  praying  are  sufficient  to  cast  him 
from  God's  favour.  Let  him  but  persevere,  not  discouraged  at  his  wan- 
derings, not  frightened  into  a  notion  he  is  a  hypocrite,  not  shrinking 
from  the  honourable  titles  which  God  puts  on  him.  Doubtless  he  should 
be  humbled  at  his  own  weakness,  indolence,  and  carelessness ;  and  he 
should  feel  ('ue  cannot  feel  too  much)  the  guilt,  alas  !  which  he  is  ever 
contracting  in  his  prayers  by  the  irreverence  of  his  inattention.  Still 
he  must  not  leave  off"  his  prayers,  but  go  on  looking  towards  Christ  his 
Saviour.  Let  him  but  be  in  earnest,  striving  to  master  his  thoughts, 
and  to  be  serious,  and  all  the  guilt  of  his  incidental  failings  will  be 
washed  away  in  his  Lord's  blood.  Only  let  him  not  be  contented  with 
himself;  only  let  him  not  neglect  to  attempt  to  obey.  What  a  simple 
rule  it  is,  to  try  to  be  attentive  in  order  to  be  so  !  and  yet  it  is  continu- 
ally  overlooked  ;  that  is,  we  do  not  systematically  try,  we  do  not  make 
a  point  of  attempting  and  attempting  over  and  over  again  in  spite  of  bad 
success ;  we  attempt  only  now  and  then,  and  our  best  devotion  is  merely 


XI.J  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  HYPOCRISY.  87 

when  our  hearts  are  excited  by  some  accident  which  may  or  may  not 
happen  again. 

So  much  on  inattention  to  our  prayers,  which,  I  say,  should  not  sur- 
prise or  frighten  us,  which  does  not  prove  us  to  be  hypocrites  unless  we 
acquiesce  in  it ;  or  oblige  us  to  leave  them  off,  but  rather  to  learn  to  at- 
tend to  them. 

2.  I  proceed,  secondly,  to  remark  on  the  difficulty  of  entering  into  the 
meaning  of  them,  when  we  do  attend  to  them. 

Here  a  tender  conscience  will  ask,  "  How  is  it  possible  I  can  rightly 
use  the  solemn  words  which  occur  in  the  prayers  1 "  A  tender  con-' 
science  alone  speaks  thus.  Those  confident  objectors  whom  I  spoke  of 
just  now,  who  maintain  that  set  prayer  is  necessarily  a  mere  formal  ser- 
vice in  the  generality  of  instances,  a  service  in  which  the  heart  has  no 
part,  they  are  silent  here.  They  do  not  feel  this  difficulty,  which  is  the 
real  one  ;  they  use  the  most  serious  and  awful  words  lightly  and  without 
remorse,  as  if  they  really  entered  into  the  meaning  of  what  is,  in  truth, 
beyond  the  intelligence  of  Angels.  But  the  humble  and  contrite  believ- 
er, coming  to  Christ  for  pardon  and  help,  perceives  the  great  strait  he 
is  in,  in  having  to  address  the  God  of  Heaven.  This  perplexity  of  mind 
it  was  which  led  convinced  sinners  in  former  times  to  seek  refuge  in 
beings  short  of  God  ;  not  as  denying  God's  supremacy,  or  shunning 
Him,  but  discerning  the  vast  distance  between  themselves  and  Him,  and 
seeking  some  resting  places  by  the  way,  some  Zoar,  some  little  city  near 
to  flee  unto,*  because  of  the  height  of  God's  mountain,  up  which  the 
way  of  escape  lay.  And  then  gradually  becoming  devoted  to  those 
whom  they  trusted,  Saints,  Angels,  or  good  men  hving,  and  copying 
them,  their  faith  had  a  fall,  and  their  virtue  trailed  upon  the  ground,  for 
want  of  props  to  rear  it  heavenward.  We  Christians,  sinners  though  we 
be  like  other  men,  are  not  allowed  thus  to  debase  our  nature,  or  to  de- 
fraud ourselves  of  God's  mercy  ;  and  though  it  be  very  terrible  to  speak 
as  to  the  living  God,  yet  speak  we  must,  or  die ;  tell  our  sorrows  we  must 
or  there  is  no  hope  ;  for  created  mediators  and  patrons  are  forbidden  us, 
and  to  trust  in  an  arm  of  flesh  is  made  a  sin. 

Therefore  let  a  man  reflect,  whoever  from  tenderness  of  conscience 
shuns  the  Church  as  above  him  (whether  he  shuns  her  services,  or  her 
sacraments.)  that,  awful  as  it  is  to  approach  Christ,  to  speak  to  Him,  to 
"  eat  His  flesh  and  drink  His  blood,"  and  to  live  in  Him,  to  whom  shall  he 
go  ?  See  what  it  comes  to.  Christ  is  the  only  way  of  salvation  open 
to  sinners.  Truly  we  are  children,  and  cannot  suitably  feel  the  words 
which  the  Church  teaches  us,  though  we  say  them  after  her,  nor  feci 

*  Gen.  xix.  20. 


88  PROFESSION    WITHOUT    HYPOCRISY.  [Serm. 

duly  reverent  at  God's  presence !  Yet  let  us  but  know  our  own  ignorance 
and  weakness,  and  we  are  safe.  God  accepts  those  who  thus  come  in 
faith,  bringing  notliing  as  their  oflering,  but  a  confession  of  sin.  And 
this  is  the  highest  excellence  to  which  we  can  attain  ;  to  understand  our 
own  hypocrisy,  insincerity,  and  shallowness  of  mind, — to  own,  while  we 
pray,  that  we  cannot  pray  aright, — to  repent  of  our  rcpcntings, — and 
to  submit  ourselves  wholly  to  His  judgment,  who  could  indeed  be  ex- 
treme with  us,  but  has  already  shown  His  loving-kindness  in  bidding  us 
to  pray.  And,  while  we  thus  conduct  ourselves,  we  must  learn  to  feel 
that  God  knows  all  this  before  we  say  it,  and  far  better  than  we  do. 
He  does  not  need  to  be  informed  of  our  extreme  worthlessness.  We 
must  pray  in  the  spirit  and  the  temper  of  the  extremest  abasement,  but 
we  need  not  search  for  adequate  words  to  express  this,  for  in  truth  no 
words  are  bad  enough  for  our  case.  Some  men  are  dissatisfied  with  the 
confessions  of  sin  we  make  in  Church,  as  not  being  strong  enough  ;  but 
none  can  be  strong  enough ;  let  us  be  satisfied  with  sober  words,  which 
have  been  ever  in  use ;  it  will  be  a  great  thing  if  we  enter  into  them. 
jVo  need  of  searching  for  impassioned  words  to  express  our  repentance, 
Avhen  we  do  not  rightly  enter  even  into  the  most  ordinary  expressions. 

Therefore  when  we  pray,  let  us  not  be  as  the  hypocrites,  making  a 
show ;  nor  use  vain  repetitions  with  the  heathen ;  let  us  compose  our- 
selves, and  kneel  down  quietly  as  to  a  work  far  above  us,  preparing  our 
minds  for  our  ovn  imperfection  in  prayer,  meekly  repeating  the  wonder- 
ful words  of  the  Church  our  Teacher,  and  desiring  with  the  Angels  to 
look  into  them.  When  we  call  God  our  Father  Almighty,  or  own  our- 
selves miserable  offenders,  and  beg  Him  to  spare  us,  let  us  recollect  that, 
though  we  are  using  a  strange  language,  yet  Christ  is  pleading  for  us 
in  the  same  words  with  full  understanding  of  them,  and  availing  power  ; 
and  that,  though  we  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought,  yet 
the  Spirit  itself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with  plaints  unutterable. 
Thus  feeling  God  to  be  around  us  and  in  us,  and  therefore  keeping 
ourselves  still  and  collected,  we  shall  serve  Him  acceptably,  with 
reverence  and  godly  fear ;  and  we  shall  take  back  with  us  to  our  com- 
mon employments  the  assurance  that  He  is  still  gracious  to  us,  in  spite 
of  our  .sins,  not  willing  we  should  perish,  desirous  of  our  perfection,  and 
ready  to  form  us  day  by  day  after  the  fashion  of  that  divine  image  which 
in  baptism  was  outwardly  stamped  upon  us. 

I  have  spoken  only  of  our  prayers,  and  but  referred  to  our  general 
profession  of  Christianity.  It  is  plain,  however,  what  has  been  said 
about  praying,  may  be  applied  to  all  we  do  and  say  as  Christians.  I^ 
is  true  that  we  profess  to  be  saints,  to  be  guided  by  the  highest  principles 
and  to  be  ruled  by  the  Spirit  of  God.     We  have  long  ago  promised  to 


XI.]  R0FE5SI0X  WITHOUT  HYPO  CRISY.  89 

believe  and  obey.  It  is  also  true  that  we  cannot  do  these  things  aright ; 
nay,  even  with  God's  help,  (such  is  our  sinful  weakness),  still  we  fall 
short  of  our  duty.  Nevertheless  we  must  not  cease  to  profess.  We 
must  not  put  oft'  from  us  the  wedding  garment  which  Christ  gave  us  in 
baptism.  We  may  still  rejoice  in  Him  without  being  hypocrites,  that 
is,  if  we  labour  day  by  day  to  make  that  wedding  garment  our  own  ;  to 
fix  it  on  us  and  so  incorporate  it  with  ourselves,  that  death,  which  strips 
us  of  all  things,  may  be  unable  to  tear  it  from  us,  though  as  yet  it  be  in 
great  measure  but  an  outward  garb  covering  our  own  nakedness. 

I  conclude  by  reminding  you,  how  great  God's  mercy  is  in  allowing 
us  to  clothe  ourselves  in  the  glory  of  Christ  from  the  first,  even  before 
we  are  worthy*  of  it.  I  suppose  there  is  nothing  so  distressing  to  a  true 
Christian  as  to  have  to  prove  himself  such  to  others  ;  both  as  being  con- 
scious of  his  own  numberless  failings,  and  from  his  dislike  of  display. 
Now  Christ  has  anticipated  the  difficulties  of  his  modesty.  He  does  not 
allow  such  a  one  to  speak  for  himself;  He  speaks  for  him.  He  intro- 
duces each  of  us  to  his  brethren,  not  as  we.  are  in  ourselves,  fit  to  be 
despised  and  rejected  on  account  of  "the  temptations  which  are  in  our 
flesh,"  but  "  as  messengers  of  God,  even  as  Christ  Jesus."  It  is  our  hap- 
piness that  we  need  bring  nothing  in  proof  of  our  fellowship  with  Chris- 
tians, besides  our  baptism.  This  is  what  a  great  many  persons  do  not 
understand;  they  think  that  none  are  to  be  accounted  fellow-Chris- 
tians but  those  who  evidence  themselves  to  be  such  to  their  fallible  under- 
standings ;  and  hence  they  encourage  others,  who  wish  for  their  praise, 
to  practice  all  kinds  of  display,  as  a  seal  of  their  regeneration.  Who 
can  tell  the  harm  this  does  to  the  true  modesty  of  the  Christian  spirit  ? 
Instead  of  using  the  words  of  the  Church  and  speaking  to  God,  men  are 
led  to  use  their  own  words,  and  make  man  their  judge  and  justifier."!* 
They  think  it  necessary  to  tell  out  their  secret  feelings,  and  to  enlarge 
on  what  God  has  done  to  their  own  souls  in  particular.  And  thus  mak- 
ing themselves  really  answerable  for  all  the  words  they  use,  which  are 
altogether  their  own,  they  do  in  this  case  become  hypocrites ;  they  do 
say  more  than  they  can  in  reality  feel.  Of  course  a  religious  man  will 
naturally,  and  unawares,  out  of  the  very  fullness  of  his  heart,  show  his 
deep  feeling  and  his  conscientiousness  to  his  near  friends  ;  but  when  to 
do  so  is  made  a  matter  of  necessity,  an  object  to  be  aimed  at,  and  is  an 
intentional  act,  then  it  is  that  hypocrisy  must,  more  or  less,  sully  our 
faith.  "  As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on 
Christ;"  this  is  the  Apostle's  decision.  "There  is  neither  Jew  nor 
Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female ; 

*  Matt.  xxii.  8.     Col.  i.  10.  f  1  Cor.  iv.  3—5. 


90  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  HYPOCRISY.  [Serm. 

for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus."  Our  Church  follows  this  rule,  and 
bidding  us  keep  quiet,  speaks  for  us  ;  robes  us  from  head  to  foot  in  the 
garments  of  righteousness,  and  exhorts  us  to  live  henceforth  to  God. 
But  the  disputer  of  this  world  reverses  this  procedure ;  he  strips  off  all  our 
privileges,  bids  us  renounce  our  dependance  on  the  Mother  of  saints,  tells 
us  we  must  each  be  a  Church  to  himself,  and  must  show  himself  to  the 
world  to  be  by  himself  and  in  himself  the  elect  of  God,  in  order  to  prove 
his  right  to  the  privileges  of  a  Christian. 

Far  be  it  from  us  thus  to  fight  against  God's  gracious  purposes  to 
man,  and  to  make  the  weak  brother  perish  for  whom  Christ  died  !'^ 
Let  us  acknowledge  all  to  be  Christians,  who  have  not  by  open  Avord  or 
deed  renounced  their  fellowship  with  us,  and  let  us  try  to  lead  them  on 
into  all  truth.  And  for  ourselves  let  us  endeavour  to  enter  more  and 
more  fully  into  the  meaning  of  our  own  prayers  and  professions  ;  let 
us  humble  ourselves  for  the  very  little  we  do,  and  the  poor  advance  we 
make  ;  let  us  avoid  unnecessary  display  of  religion  ;  let  us  do  our  duty 
in  that  state  of  life  to  which  God  has  called  us.  Thus  proceeding,  wo 
shall,  through  God's  grace,  form  within  us  the  glorious  mind  of  Christ. 
Whether  rich  or  poor,  learned  or  unlearned,  walking  by  this  rule,  we 
shall  become,  at  length,  true  saints,  sons  of  God.  We  shall  be  upright 
and  perfect,  hghts  in  the  world,  the  image  of  Him  who  died  that  we 
might  be  conformed  to  His  likeness. 


SERMON   XII 


PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION. 


Matthew  v.  14. 
•'  Yc  are  the  light  of  the  world.     A  city  that  is  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid. 

Ottr  Saviour  gives  us  a  command,  in  this  passage  of  His  Sermon  ott 
the  Mount,  to  manifest  our  religious  profession  before  all  men.  "  Ye 
are  the  light  of  the  world,"  He  says  to  His  disciples ;  "  A  city  that 
set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle  and  put 
it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick  ;  and  it  giveth  light  unto  all  that 

*1  Cor.  viii.  11. 


XII.]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION.  ^91 

are  in  the  house.  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  Yet 
presently  He  says,  *'  When  thou  doest  alms  .  .  .  when  thou  prayest 
.  .  .  when  ye  fast  .  .  .  appear  not  unto  men  .  .  .  but  unto  thy 
Father  which  is  in  secret."*  How  are  these  commands  to  be  reconciled  1 
how  are  we  at  once  to  profess  ourselves  Christians,  and  yet  hide  our 
Cliristian  words,  deeds,  and  self-denials  ? 

I  will  now  attempt  to  answer  this  question  ;  that  is,  to  explain  how 
we  may  be  witnesses  to  the  world  for  God,  and  yet  without  pretension 
or  affectation,  or  rude  and  indecent  ostentation. 

Now,  first,  much  might  be  said  on  that  mode  of  witnessing  Christ 
1     which  consists  in  conforming  to  His  Church.     He  who  simply  did  what 
1     the  Church  bids  him  do,  (if  he  did  no  more,)  would  witness  a  good  con- 
fession to  the  world,  and  one  which  cannot  be  hid  ;  and  at  the  same 
i;     time,  with  very  little,  if  any,  personal  display.     He  does  only  what  he 
V     is  told  to  do  ;  he  takes  no  responsibility  on  himself.     The  Apostles  and 
;     Martyrs  who  founded  the  Church,   the  Saints   in  all  ages  who  have 
I,     adorned  it,  the  Heads  of  it  now  alive,  all  these  take  from  him  the 
e    weight  of  his  profession,  and  bear  the  blame  (so  to  call  it)  of  seeming 
It    ostentatious.     I  do  not  say,  that  irreligious  men  will  not  call  such  a 
e    one  boastful,  or  austere,  or  a  hypocrite ;  that  is  not  the  question.     The 
question   is,  whether    in    God's  judgment   he  deserves    the   censure ; 
whether  he  is  not  as  Christ  would  have  him,  really  and  truly  (what- 
ever  the  world  may  say)  joining  humility  to  a  bold  outward  profession  ; 
whether  he  is  not,  in  thus  acting,  preaching  Christ  without  hurting  his 
own  pureness,  gentleness,  and  modesty  of  character.     If  indeed  a  man 
stands  forth  on  his  own  ground,  declaring  himself  as  an  individual  a 
witness  for  Christ,  then  indeed  he  is  grieving  and  disturbing  the  calm 
spirit  given  us  by  God.     But  God's  merciful  providence  has  saved  us 
this  temptation,  and    forbidden  us  to  admit  it.     He  bids  us  unite  to- 
gether in  one,  and  to  shelter  our  personal  profession  under  the  authority 
of  the  general  body.     Thus,  while  we  show  ourselves  as  lights  to  the 
world  far  more  efiectively  than  if  we  glimmered  separately  in  the  lone 
wilderness  without  communication,  at  the  same  time  we  do  so  with  far 
greater  secrecy  and  humility.     Therefore  it  is,  that  the  Church  does 
J  1  so  many  things  for  us,  appoints  Fasts  and  Feasts,  times  of  public  prayer, 
Yj   the  order  of  the  sacraments,  the  services  of  devotion  at  marriages  and 
jjj '  deaths,  and  all  accompanied  by  a  fixed  form  of  sound  words ;  in  order, 
jj  ;  (I  say,)  to  remove  from  us  individually  the  burden  of  a  high  profession, 
:y  I  of  implying  great  things  of  ourselves  by  inventing  for  ourselves  solemn 

rl  *  1  Matt.  vi.  2—18. 


92  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION.  [Serm. 

prayers  and  praises, — a  task  far  above  the  generality  of  Christians,  to 
say  the  least,  a  task  which  humble  men  will  shrink  from,  lest  they 
prove  hypocrites,  and  which  will  hurt  those  who  do  undertake  it,  by 
making  them  rude-spirited  and  profane.     I  am  desirous  of  speaking  or 
this  subject  as  a  matter  of  practice  ;  for  I  am  sure,  that  if  we  wish 
really  and  in  fact  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth,  we  shall  do  s;( 
far  more  powerfully  as  ivell  as  purely,  by  keeping   together,  than 
witnessing  one  by  one.     Men  are  to  be  seen  adopting  all  kinds  of  stran^ 
ways  of  giving  glory  (as  they  think)  to  God.     If  they  would  but  follov 
the  Church ;  come  together  in  prayer  on  Sundays  and  Saints'  days 
nay,  every  day  ;  honour  the  rubric  by  keeping  to  it  obediently,  am 
conforming  their  families  to  the  spirit  of  the  Prayer-book,  I  say,  tha 
on  the  whole  they  would  practically  do  vastly  more  good  than  by  tryin;  I 
new  religious  plans,  founding  new  religious  societies,  or  striking  ou 
new  religious  views.     I  put  out  of  account  the  greater  blessing  the; 
might  expect  to  find  in  the  way  of  duty,  which  is  the  first  consideratioE 
2.  One  way  of  professing  without  display  has  been   mentioned  ;- 
obeying  the  Church.     Now  in   the  next  place,  consider  how  great 
profession,  and  yet  a   profession  how  unconscious   and  modest,  aris' 
from  the  mere  ordinary  manner  in  which  any  strict  Christian  live 
Let  this  thought  be  a  satisfaction  to  uneasy  minds  which  fear  lest  the 
are  not  confessing  Christ,  yet  dread  to  display.     Your  life  display 
Christ  without  your  intending  it.     You  cannot  help  it.     Your  woro 
and  deeds  will  show  on  the  long  run  (as  it  is  said,)  where  your  treasur 
is,  and  your  heart.     Out  of  the  abundance  of  your  heart  your  mout 
speaketh  words  "  seasoned  with  salt."     We  sometimes  find  men  wl 
aim  at  doing  their  duty  in  the  common  course  of  life,  suprised  to  ho; 
that  they  are  ridiculed,  and  called  hard  names  by  careless  or  world' 
persons.     This  is  as  it  should  be ;  it  is  as  it  should  be,  that  they  ai 
surprised  at  it.     If  a  private  Christian  sets  out  with  expecting  to  mal 
a  disturbance  in  the  world,  the  fear  is,  lest  he  be  not  so  humble-mindi 
as  he  should  be.     But  those  who  go  on  quietly  in  the  way  of  obedienc 
and  yet  are  detected  by  the  keen  eye  of  the  jealous,  self-condeniniii 
yet  proud  world,  and  who,  on  discovering  their  situation,  first  shrii 
from  it  and  are  distrest,  then  look  to  see  if  they  have  done  aught  wrongl 
and  after  all  are  sorry  for  it,  and  but  slowly  and  very  timidly  (if  at  a 
learn  to  rejoice  in  it,  these  are  Christ's  flock.     These  are  they  \\' 
follow  Him  who  was  meek  and  lowly  of  heart.  His  elect  in  whom  I 
sees  His  own  image  reflected.     Consider  how  such  men  show  for   i 
their  light  in  a  wicked  world,  yet  unconsciously.     Moses  came  dov   I 
from  the  mount,  and  "  wist  not  that  the  skin  of  his  face  shone"  as  o 
who  had  held  intercourse  with  God.     But  "  when  Aaron  and  all  tl 


[I.]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION.  93 

jiildren  of  Israel  saw  Moses,  behold,  the  skin  of  his  face  shone,  and 
ey  were  afraid  to  come  nigh  him."*  Who  can  estimate  the  power  of 
ir  separate  words  spoken  in  season !  How  many  of  them  are  recol- 
.•t(j(l  and  cherished  by  this  person  or  that  which  we  have  forgotten, 
id  bear  fruit !  How  do  our  good  deeds  excite  others  to  rivalry  in  a 
>od  cause,  as  the  Angels  perceive  though  we  do  not !  How  are  men 
inlving  of  us  we  never  heard  of,  or  saw  but  once,  and  in  far  countries 
iknown  !  Let  us  view  this  pleasing  side  of  our  doings,  as  well  as  the 
d  prospect  of  our  evil  communications.  Doubtless,  our  prayers  and 
ms  are  rising  as  a  sweet  sacrifice,  pleasing  to  God  ;f  and  pleasing  to 
ini,  not  as  an  office  of  devotion,  but  of  charity  towards  all  men.  Our 
finesses  and  our  amusements,  our  joys  and  our  sorrows,  our  opinions, 
stcs,  studies,  views  and  principles,  are  drawn  one  way,  heavenward. 
;  we  high  or  low,  in  our  place  we  can  serve,  and  in  consequence  glorify 
1111  who  died  for  us.  "  A  httle  maid,"  who  was  "  brought  away  captive 
t  of  the  land  of  Israel,  and  waited  on  Naaman's  wife," J  pointed  out 
the  great  captain  of  the  host  of  the  king  of  Syria  the  means  of  re- 
vcry  from  his  leprosy,  and  "  his  servants"  spoke  good  words  to  him 
I  iwards,  and  brought  him  back  to  his  reason  when  he  would  have  re- 
ted  the  mode  of  cure  which  the  prophet  prescribed.  This  may  quiet 
palicnt  minds,  and  console  the  over-scrupulous  conscience.  "  Wait 
God  and  be  doing  good,"  and  you  must,  you  cannot  but  be  showing 
ur  light  before  men  as  a  city  on  a  hill. 

o.  Still  it  is  quite  true  that  there  are  circumstances  under  which  a 
uisiian  is  bound  openly  to  express  his  opinion  on  religious  subjects 
(1  matters;  and  this  is  the  real  difficulty;  viz.  how  to  do  so  without 
•|)lay.  As  a  man's  place  in  society  is  here  or  there,  so  it  is  more  or 
s  his  duty  to  speak  his  mind  freely.     We  must  never  countenance 

I  .iiul  error.  Now  the  more  obvious  and  modest  way  of  discounte- 
:;eing  evil  is  by  silence,  and  by  separating  from  it ;  for  example,  we 
■  i)ound  to  keep  aloof  from  deliberate  and  open  sinners.  St.  Paul  ex- 
<^ly  tells  us,  not  to  keep  company,  if  any  man  that  is  called  a  brother 
I',  a  Christian)  be  a  fornicator,  or  covetous,  or  an  idolater,  or  a  railer, 

'  a  ilnmkard,  or  an  extortioner;  with  such  a  one,  no  not  to  eat."§ 

I I  St.  John  gives  us  the  like  advice  with  respect  to  heretics.  "If 
•re  come  any  unto  you,  and  bring  not  this  doctrine,  (i.  e.  the  true 

tiino  of  Christ,)  receive  him  not  into  your  house,  neither  bid  him 
'  I  spead ;  for  he  that  biddeth  him  God  speed,  is  partaker  of  his  evil 
"ls."|j     It  is  plain  that  such  conduct  on  our  part  requires  no  great 

*  E.\od.  xxxiv.  29,  30'.  t  Acts  x.  4.  t  2  Kings  v.  2. 

§lCor.  V.  11.  llSJohnlO,  11. 


94  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION.  [Serm 

display,  for  it  is  but  conforming  to  the  rules  of  the  Church ;  though  it 
is  often  difficult  to  know  on  what  occasions  we  ought  to  adopt  it,  which 
is  another  question. 

A  more  difficult  duty  is  that  of  passing  judgment,  (as  a  Christian  is 
often  bound  to  do,)  on  events  of  the  day  and  public  men.  It  becomes 
his  duty,  in  proportion  as  he  has  station  and  influence  in  the  community, 
in  order  that  he  may  persuade  others  to  think  as  he  does.  Above  all, 
clergymen  are  bound  to  form  and  pronounce  an  opinion.  It  is  some- 
times said,  in  famihar  language,  that  a  clergyman  should  have  nothing 
to  do  with  pohtics.  This  is  true,  if  it  be  meant  that  he  should  not  aim 
at  secular  objects,  should  not  side  with  a  political  party  as  such,  should 
not  be  ambitious  of  popular  applause,  or  the  favour  of  great  men,  should 
not  take  pleasure  and  lose  time  in  business  of  this  world,  should  not  be 
covetous.  But  if  it  means  that  he  should  not  express  an  opinion  and 
exert  an  influence  one  way  rather  than  another,  it  is  plainly  unscriptural. 
Did  not  the  Apostles,  with  all  their  reverence  for  the  temporal  power, 
whether  Jewish  or  Roman,  and  all  their  separation  from  worldly  ambi- 
tion, did  they  not  still  denounce  their  rulers  as  wicked  men,  who  had 
crucified  and  slain  the  Lord's  Christ  ?*  and  would  they  have  been  as  a 
cit].-  on  a  hill  if  they  had  not  done  so  ]  If,  indeed,  this  world's  con- 
cerns could  be  altogether  disjoined  from  those  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
then  indeed  all  Christians,  (laymen  as  well  as  clergy,)  should  abstain 
from  the  thought  of  temporal  affairs,  and  let  the  worthless  world  pass 
down  the  stream  of  events  till  it  perishes ;  but  if  f'as  is  the  case)  what 
happens  in  nations  must  affect  the  cause  of  religion  in  those  nations, 
since  the  Church  may  be  seduced  and  corrupted  by  the  world,  and  in 
the  world  there  are  myriads  of  souls  to  be  converted  and  saved,  and  since 
a  Christian  nation  is  bound  to  become  part  of  the  Church,  therefore  it 
is  our  duty  to  stand  as  a  beacon  on  a  hill,  to  cry  aloud  and  spare  not,  to 
lift  up  our  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and  show  the  people  their  transgressions, 
and  the  house  of  Jacob  their  sins.f  And  all  this  may  be  done  without 
injury  to  our  Christian  gentleness  and  humbleness,  though  it  is  difficult 
to  do  it.  We  need  not  be  angry,  nor  use  contentious  words,  and  yet 
may  firmly  give  our  opinion,  in  proportion  as  we  have  the  means  of 
forming  one,  and  be  zealous  towards  God  in  all  active  good  service,  and 
scrupulously  and  pointedly  keep  aloof  from  the  bad  men  whose  evil 
arts  we  fear. 

Another  and  still  more  difficult  duty  is  that  of  personally  rebuking 
those  we  meet  wth  in  the  intercourse  of  life  who  sin  in  word  or  deed, 
and  testifying  before  them  in  Christ's  name  ;  that  is,  it  is  difficult  at 

•  AcU  ii.  23.  iii.  13—17.  iv.  27.  xiii.  27.  t  Isa.  Iviii.  1. 


:t 


VII.]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION.  95 

once  to  be  unassuming  and  zealous  in  such  cases.     We  know  it  is  a 
plain  and  repeated  precept  of  Christ  to  tell  others  of  their  faults  for 
charity's  sake  ;  but  how  is  this  to  be  done  without  seeming,  nay,  without 
being,  arrogant  and  severe?     There  are  persons  who  are  anxious  to  do 
their  duty  to  the  full,  who  fear  that  they  are  deficient  in  this  particular 
branch  of  it,  and  deficient  from  a  blameable  backwardness,  and  the 
dread  of  giving  offence ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  they  feel  the  painful- 
ness  of  rebuking  another,  and,  (to  use  a  common  word,)  the  awkwardness 
of  it.     Such  persons  must  consider  that,  though  to  rebuke  is  a  duty,  it 
is  not  a  duty  belonging  at  once  to  all  men  ;  and  the  perplexity  which  is 
felt  about  it  often  arises  from  the  very  impropriety  of  attempting  it  in 
the  particular  case.     It  is  improper,  as  a  general  rule,  in  the  young  to 
witness  before  the  old,  otherwise  than  by  their  silence.     Still  more  im- 
proper is  it  in  inferiors  to  rebuke  their    superiors ;    for    instance,  a 
child  his  parent,  of  course  ;  or  a  private  person  his  natural  and  divinely- 
appointed  governor.     When  we  assume  a  character  not  suited  to  us, 
of  course  we  feel  awkward  ;  and  although  we  may  have  done  so  in  hon- 
esty and  zeal  (however  ill-tutored,)  and  so  God  may  in  mercy  accept 
our  service,  still  He,  at  the  same  time,  rebukes  us  by  our  very  feeling  of 
perplexity  and  shame. — As  for  such  as  rudely  blame  another,  and  that 
a  superior,  and  feel  no  pain  at  doing  so,  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  such 
men,  except  to  express  my  earnest  desire  that  they  may  be  led  into  a 
more  Christian  frame  of  mind.     They  do  not  even  feel  the  difficulty  of 
witnessing  for  God  without  display. 

It  is  to  be  considered,  too,  that  to  do  the  part  of  a  witness  for  the 
truth,  to  warn  and  rebuke,  is  not  an  elementary  duty  of  a  Christian. 
I  mean,  that  our  duties  come  in  a  certain  order,  some  before  others,  and 
that  this  is  not  one  of  the  first  of  them.     Our  first  duties  are  to  repent 
and  believe.     It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  for  a  man  who  had  just  be- 
gun to  think  of  religion,  to  set  up  for  "  some  great  one,"  to  assume  he 
was  a  saint  and  a  witness,  and  to  exhort  others  to  turn  to  God.     This  is 
evident.     But  as  time  goes  on,  and  his  religious  character  becomes 
formed,  then,  while  he  goes  on  to  perfection  in  all  his  duties,  he  takes 
upon  himself,  in  the  number  of  these,  to  witness  for  God  by  word  of 
mouth.     It  is  difficult  to  say,  when  a  man  has  leave  openly  to  rebuke 
others  ;  certainly  not  before  he  has  considerable  humility  ;  the  tests  of 
which  may  be  the  absence  of  a  feeling  of  triumph  in  doing  it,  a  con- 
sciousness that  he  is  no  better  by  nature  than  the  person  he  witnesses 
before,  and  that  his  actual  sins  are  such  as  to  deserve  a  severe  rebuke, 
were  they  known  to  the  world  ;  a  love  towards  the  person  reproved,  and 
a  willingness  to  submit  to  deserved  censure  in  his  turn.     In  all  this  I 
am  speaking  of  laymen.     It  is  a  clergyman's  duty  to  rebuke  by  virtue 


96  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION.  [Serm 

of  his  office.  And  then,  after  all,  supposing  it  be  clearly  our  duty  to 
manifest  our  religious  profession  in  tliis  pointed  way  before  an- 
other, in  order  to  do  so  modestly  we  must  do  so  kindly  and 
cheerfully,  as  gently  as  we  can ;  doing  it  as  little  as  we  can  help ; 
not  making  matters  worse  than  they  are,  or  showing  our  whole  Christian 
stature  (or  what  we  think  to  be  such),  when  we  need  but  put  cut  a  hand 
(so  to  say)  or  give  a  glance.  And  above  all,  (as  I  have  already  said,) 
acting  as  if  we  thought,  nay  really  thinking,  that  it  may  be  the  offender's 
turn  some  day  to  rebuke  us ;  not  putting  ourselves  above  him,  feeling 
our  great  imperfections,  and  desirous  he  should  rebuke  us,  should  occa- 
sion require  it,  and  in  prospect  thanking  him ;  acting,  that  is,  in  the 
spirit  in  which  you  warn  a  man  in  walking  against  rugged  ground, 
which  may  cause  him  a  fall,  thinking  him  bound  by  your  friendly  con- 
duct, to  do  the  like  favour  to  you.  As  to  grave  occasions  of  witnessing 
Christ,  they  will  seldom  occur,  except  a  man  thrusts  himself  into  society 
where  he  never  ought  to  have  been,  by  neglecting  the  rule,  "  Come  ye 
out,  and  be  separate ;"  and  then  he  has  scarcely  the  right  to  rebuke, 
having  committed  the  first  fault  himself.  This  is  another  cause  of  our 
perplexity  in  witnessing  Christ  before  the  world.  We  make  friends  of 
the  sinful  in  spite  of  the  rules  of  the  Church,  and  then  they  have  the 
advantage  over  us. 

To  conclude, — The  question  is  often  raised,  whether  a  man  can  do 
his  duty  simply  and  quietly,  without  being  thought  ostentatious  by  the 
world.  It  is  no  great  matter  to  himself  whether  he  is  thought  so  or  not, 
if  he  has  not  provoked  the  opinion.  As  a  general  rule,  I  would  say  the 
Church  itself  is  always  hated  and  calumniated  by  the  world,  as  being  in 
duty  bound  to  make  a  bold  profession.  But,  whether  individual  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  are  so  treated,  depends  on  various  circumstances  in 
the  case  of  each.  There  are  persons,  who,  though  very  strict  and  con- 
scientious Christians,  are  yet  praised  by  the  world.  These  are  such,  as 
having  great  meekness  and  humility,  are  not  so  prominent  in  station  or 
so  practically  connected  with  the  world  as  to  oftend  it.  Men  admire 
religion,  while  they  can  gaze  on  it  as  a  picture.  They  think  it  lovely 
in  books  ;  and  as  long  as  they  can  look  upon  Christians  at  a  distance, 
they  speak  well  of  them.  The  Jews  in  Christ's  time  built  the  sepul- 
chres  of  the  prophets  whom  their  fathers  killed  ;  then  they  themselves 
killed  the  Just  One.  They  "  reverenced"  the  Son  of  God  before  He 
came,  but  when  their  passions  and  interests  were  stirred  by  His  coming, 
then  they  said,  "  This  is  the  Heir,  come,  let  us  kill  Him,  and  the  inheri- 
tance shall  be  ours."*     Thus  Christians  in  active  life,  thwarting  (as 

*  Mark  xii.  7. 


XII.]  PROFESSION  WITHOUT  OSTENTATION.  97 

they  do)  the  pride  and  selfishness  of  the  world,  arc  disliked  by  the  world, 
and  have  "all  manner  of  evil  said  against  them  falsely  for  Christ's 
sake."*  Still,  even  under  these  circumstances,  though  they  must  not 
shrink  from  the  attack  on  a  personal  account,  it  is  still  their  duty  to 
shelter  themselves,  as  far  as  they  can,  under  the  name  and  authority  of 
the  Holy  Church  ;  to  keep  to  its  ordinances  and  rules  ;  and,  if  they  are 
called  to  suffer  for  the  Church,  rather  to  be  drawn  forward  to  the  suffer- 
ing  in  the  common  course  of  duty,  than  boldly  to  take  upon  them  the 
task  of  defending  it.  There  is  no  cowardice  in  this.  Some  men  are 
placed  in  posts  of  danger,  and  to  these  danger  comes  in  the  way  of  duty  ; 
but  others  must  not  intrude  into  their  honourable  office.  Thus  in  the 
first  age  of  the  Gospel,  our  Lord  told  His  followers  to  fly  from  city  to 
city,  when  persecuted  ;  and  even  the  heads  of  the  Church,  in  the  early 
persecutions,  instead  of  exposing  themselves  to  the  fury  of  the  heathen, 
did  their  utmost  to  avoid  it.  We  are  a  suffering  people  from  the  first ; 
but,  while  on  the  one  hand,  we  do  not  defend  ourselves  illegally,  we  do 
not  court  suffering  on  the  other.  We  must  witness  and  glorify  God,  as 
lights  on  a  hill,  through  evil  report  and  good  report ;  but  the  evil  and 
the  good  report  is  not  so  much  of  our  own  making  as  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  our  Christian  profession. 

Who  can  tell  God's  will  concerning  this  tumultuous  world,  or  how  He 
will  dispose  of  it  ?  He  is  tossing  it  hither  and  thither  in  His  fury,  and 
in  its  agitation  He  troubles  His  own  people  also.  Only,  this  we  know 
for  our  comfort.  Our  light  shall  never  go  down  ;  Christ  set  it  upon  a 
hill,  and  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  The  Church  will  witness  on 
to  the  last  for  the  Truth,  chained  indeed  to  this  world,  its  evil  partner, 
but  ever  foretelling  its  ruin,  though  not  believed,  and  in  the  end  pro- 
mised a  far  different  recompense.  For  in  the  end  the  Lord  Omnipotent 
shall  reign,  when  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  shall  come  at  length,  and 
His  wife  shall  make  herself  ready ;  and  to  her  shall  be  granted  "  fine 
linen,  clean  and  white,  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteousness  of  saints."! 
True  and  righteous  are  His  judgments ;  He  shall  cast  death  and  hell 
into  the  lake  of  fire,  and  avenge  His  own  elect  which  cry  day  and  night 
unto  Him ! 

"  Blessed  are  they  which  are  called  unto  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb."  May  all  we  be  in  the  number,  confessing  Christ  in  this  world, 
that  He  may  confess  us  before  His  Father  in  the  last  day ! 

*Matt.  V.  11.  t  Rev.  xix.  6— 8. 


Vol.  L-7 


( 


SERMON    XIII 


PROMISING  WITHOUT  DOING. 


Matthew  xxi.  28 — 30. 

"  A  certain  man  had  two  sons ;  and  he  came  to  the  first,  and  said,  Son,  go  work 
to  day  in  my  vineyard.  He  answered  and  said,  I  will  not ;  but  afterward  he 
repented,  and  went.  And  he  came  to  the  second,  and  said  hkewisc.  And  he 
answered  and  said,  I  go,  Sir ;  and  went  not." 

Our  religious  professions  are  at  a  far  greater  distance  from  our  acting 
upon  them,  than  we  ourselves  are  aware.  We  know  generally  that  it  is 
our  duty  to  serve  God,  and  we  resolve  we  will  do  so  faithfully.  We 
are  sincere  in  thus  generally  desiring  and  purposing  to  be  obedient,  and 
we  think  we  are  in  earnest ;  yet  we  go  away,  and  presently,  without 
any  struggle  of  mind  or  apparent  change  of  purpose,  almost  without 
knowing  ourselves  what  we  do, — we  go  away  and  do  the  very  contrary 
to  the  resolution  we  have  expressed.  This  inconsistency  is  exposed  by 
our  Blessed  Lord  in  the  second  part  of  the  parable  which  I  have  taken 
for  my  text.  You  will  observe,  that  in  the  case  of  the  first  son,  who 
said  he  would  not  go  to  work,  and  yet  did  go,  it  is  said,  "  afterward  he 
repented  ;"  he  underwent  a  positive  change  of  purpose.  But  in  the  case 
of  the  second,  it  is  merely  said,  "  he  answered,  I  go,  Sir ;  and  went 
not ;"  for  here  there  was  no  revolution  of  sentiment,  nothing  deliberate  ; 
he  merely  acted  according  to  his  habitual  frame  of  mind ;  he  did  not 
go  work,  because  it  was  contrary  to  his  general  character  to  work ; 
only  he  did  not  know  this.  He  said,  "  I  go,  Sir,"  sincerely,  from  the 
feeling  of  the  moment ;  but  when  the  words  were  out  of  his  mouth, 
then  they  were  forgotten.  It  was  like  the  wind  blowing  against  a 
stream,  which  seems  for  a  moment  to  change  its  course  in  consequence, 
but  in  fact  flows  down  as  before. 

To  tliis  subject  I  shall  now  call  your  attention,  as  drawn  from  the 
latter  part  of  this  parable,  parsing  over  the  case  of  the  repentant  son, 
which  woidd  form  a  distinct  subject  in  itself.  "  He  answered  and  said, 
I  go,  Sir ;  and  went  not."  We  promise  to  serye  God,  we  do  not  per- 
form ;  and  that,  not  from  deliberate  faithlessness  in  the  particular  case, 
but  because  it  is  our  nature,  our  way  not  to  obey,  and  we  do  not  know 


I 


Serm.  XIII.]  PROMISING  WITHOUT  DOING.  99 

this  ;  we  do  not  know  ourselves,  or  what  we  are  promising. — I  will  give 
several  instances  of  this  kind  of  weakness. 

1.  For  in.stance ;  that  of  mistaking  good  feelings  for  real  religious 
principle.  Consider  how  often  this  takes  place.  It  is  the  case  with  the 
young  necessarily,  who  have  not  been  exposed  to  temptation.  They 
have  (we  will  say)  been  brought  up  religiously,  they  wish  to  be  reli- 
gious, and  so  are  objects  of  our  love  and  interest ;  but  they  think  them- 
selves far  more  religious  than  they  really  are.  They  suppose  they  hate 
sin,  and  understand  the  Truth,  and  can  resist  the  world,  when  they 
hardly  know  the  meaning  of  the  words  they  use.  Again,  how  often 
is  a  man  incited  by  circumstances  to  utter  a  virtuous  wish,  or  propose 
a  generous  or  valiant  deed,  and  perhaps  applauds  himself  for  his  own 
good  feeling,  and  has  no  suspicion  that  he  is  not  able  to  act  upon  it ! 
In  truth,  he  does  not  understand  where  the  real  difficulty  of  his  duty 

'  lies.  He  thinks  that  the  characteristic  of  a  religious  man  is  his  having 
correct  notions.  It  escapes  him  that  there  is  a  great  interval  between 
feeling  and  acting.  He  takes  it  for  granted  he  can  do  what  he  wishes. 
He  knows  he  is  a  free-agent,  and  can  on  the  whole  do  what  he  will  ; 
but  he  is  not  conscious  of  the  load  of  corrupt  nature  and  sinful  habits 
which  hang  upon  his  will,  and  clog  it  in  each  particular  exercise  of  it. 
He  has  borne  these  so  long,  that  he  is  insensible  to  their  existence.  He 
knows  that  in  little  things,  where  passion  and  inclination  are  excluded, 
ho  can  perform  as  soon  as  he  resolves.  Should  he  meet  in  his  walk  two 
paths,  to  the  right  and  left,  he  is  sure  he  can  take  which  he  will  at 
once,  without  any  difficulty ;  and  he  fancies  that  obedience  to  God  is 
not  nmch  more  difficult  than  to  turn  to  the  right  instead  of  the  left. 

2.  One  especial  case  of  this  self-deception  is  seen  in  delaying  repent- 
ance. A  man  says  to  himself,  "  Of  course,  if  the  worst  comes  to  the 
worst,  if  illness  comes,  or  at  least  old  age,  I  can  repent."  I  do  not 
spoak  of  the  dreadful  presumption  of  such  a  mode  of  quieting  conscience, 
( I  hongh  many  persons  reall}'  use  it  who  do  not  speak  the  words  out,  or 
are  aware  that  they  act  upon  it,)  but,  merely,  the  ignorance  it  evidences 
(•oncoming  our  moral  condition,  and  our  power  of  willing  and  doing. 
If  man  can  repent,  why  do  they  not  do  so  at  once  ?  they  answer,  that 
"  they  intend  to  do  so  hereafter ;"  i.  e.  they  do  not  repent  because  they 
can.  Such  is  their  argument ;  whereas,  the  very  fact  that  they  do  not 
now,  should  make  them  suspect  that  there  is  a  greater  difference  between 
intending  and  doing  than  they  know  of. 

So  very  difficult  is  obedience,  so  hardly  won  is  every  step  in  our 
Christian  course,  so  sluggish  and  inert  our  corrupt  nature,  that  I  would 
have  a  man  disbslieve  he  can  do  one  jot  or  tittle  more  than  he  has  al- 
ready done ;  refrain  from  borrowing  aught  on  the  hope  of  the  future, 


100  PROMISING  WITHOUT   DOING.  [Skrm. 

however  good  a  security  for  it  he  seems  to  be  able  to  show  ;  and  never 
take  his  good  fecHngs  and  wishes  in  pledge  for  one  single  untried  deed. 
Nothing  hut  past  acts  are  the  vouchers  for  future.  Past  sacrifices,  past 
labours,  past  victories  over  yourselves, — these,  my  brethren,  are  the 
tokens  of  those  in  store  ;  and  doubtless  of  greater  in  store,  for  the  path 
of  the  just  is  as  the  shining,  growing  light.*  But  trust  nothing  short 
of  these.  "Deeds,  not  words  and  wishes,"  this  must  be  the  watch- 
word of  your  warfare  and  the  ground  of  your  assurance.  But  if  you 
have  done  nothing  firm  and  manly  hitherto,  if  you  are  as  yet  the  cow- 
ard slave  of  Satan,  and  the  poor  creature  of  your  lusts  and  passions, 
never  suppose  you  will  one  day  rouse  yourselves  from  your  indolence. 
Alas  !  there  are  men  who  walk  the  road  to  hell,  always  the  while  look- 
ing back  at  heaven,  and  trembling  as  they  pace  forward  towards  their 
j)lace  of  doom.  They  hasten  on  as  under  a  spell,  shrinking  from  the 
consequences  of  their  own  deliberate  doings.  Such  was  Balaam. 
What  would  he  have  given  if  words  and  feelings  might  have  passed  for 
deeds !  See  how  religious  he  was  so  far  as  profession  goes  !  How  did 
he  revere  God  in  speech !  How  piously  express  a  desire  to  die  the 
death  of  the  righteous  !  Yet  he  died  in  battle  among  God's  enemies ; 
— not  suddenly  overcome  by  temptation,  only  on  the  other  hand,  not 
suddenly  turned  to  God  by  his  good  thoughts  and  fair  purposes.  But 
in  this  respect  the  power  of  sin  difiers  from  any  literal  spell  or  fascina- 
tion, that  we  are,  after  all,  willing  slaves  of  it,  and  shall  answer  for  fol- 
lowing it.  If  "  our  iniquities,  like  the  Avind,  take  us  away,"*  yet  we 
can  help  this. 

Nor  is  it  only  among  beginners  in  religious  obedience  that  there  is 
this  great  interval  between  promising  and  performing.  We  can  never 
answer  how  we  shall  act  under  new  circumstances.  A  very  little  know- 
ledge of  life  and  of  our  own  hearts  will  teach  us  this.  Men  whom  we 
meet  in  the  world  turn  out,  in  the  course  of  their  trial,  so  differently 
from  what  their  former  conduct  promised,  they  view  things  so  differ- 
ently before  they  were  tempted  and  after,  that  we,  who  see  and  wonder 
at  it,  have  abundant  cause  to  look  to  ourselves,  not  to  be  "high- 
minded"  but  to  "  fear."  Even  the  most  matured  saints,  those  Avho  im- 
bibed in  largest  measure  the  power  and  fullness  of  Christ's  Spirit,  and 
worked  righteousness  most  diligently,  in  their  day,  could  they  have  been 
thoroughly  scanned  even  by  man,  would  (I  am  persuaded)  have  ex- 
hibited inconsistencies  such  as  to  surprise  and  shock  their  most  ardent 
disciples.  After  all,  one  good  deed  is  scarcely  the  pledge  of  another, 
though  I  just  now  said  it  was.     The  best  men  are  uncertain  ;  they  are 

»  Prov.  iv.  18.  t  Isaiah  Ixiv.  6. 


XIII.]  PROMISING  WITHOUT  DOING.  101 

great,  and  they  are  little  again  ;  they  stand  firm,  and  then  fall.  Sucli 
is  human  virtue ; — reminding  us  to  call  no  one  master  on  earth,  but  to 
look  up  to  our  sinless  and  perfect  Lord  ;  reminding  us  to  humble  ourselves 
each  within  himself,  and  to  reflect  what  we  must  appear  to  God,  if  even 
to  ourselves  and  each  other  we  seem  so  base  and  worthjess  ;  and  show- 
ing clearly  that  all  who  are  saved,  even  the  least  inconsistent  of  us,  can 
be  saved  only  by  faith,  not  by  works. 

3.  Here  I  am  reminded  of  another  plausible  form  of  the  same  error. 
It  is  a  mistake  concerning  what  is  meant  by  faith.  We  know  Scripture 
tells  us  that  God  accepts  those  who  have  faith  in  Him.  Now  the  ques- 
tion is,  What  is  faith,  and  how  can  a  man  tell  that  he  has  faith  ?  Some 
persons  answer  at  once  and  without  hesitation,  that  "  to  have  faith,  is 
to  feel  oneself  to  be  nothing,  and  God  everything  ;  it  is  to  be  convinced 
of  sin,  to  be  conscious  one  cannot  save  oneself,  and  to  wish  to  be  saved 
by  Christ  our  Lord ;  and  that  it  is,  moreover,  to  have  the  love  of  Him 
warm  in  one's  heart,  and  to  rejoice  in  Him,  to  desire  His  glory,  and  to 
resolve  to  live  to  Him  and  not  to  the  world."  But  I  will  answer,  with 
all  due  seriousness,  as  speaking  on  a  serious  subject,  that  this  is  not  faith. 
^Not  that  it  is  not  necessary  (it  is  very  necessary)  to  be  convinced,  that 
•  we  are  laden  with  infirmity  and  sin,  and  without  health  in  us,  and  to 
look  for  salvation  solely  to  Christ's  blessed  sacrifice  on  the  cross ;  and 
we  may  well  be  thankful  if  we  are  thus  minded  ;  but  that  a  man  may 
feel  all  this  that  I  have  described,  vividly,  and  still  not  yet  possess  one 
particle  of  true  religious  faith.  Why  1  Because  there  is  an  immeas- 
urable distance  between  feeling  right  and  doing  right.  A  man  may 
have  all  these  good  thoughts  and  emotions,  yet,  (if  he  has  not  yet  haz- 
arded them  to  the  experiment  of  practice,)  he  cannot  promise  himself 
that  he  has  any  sound  and  permanent  principle  at  all.  If  he  has  not  yet 
acted  upon  them,  we  have  no  voucher,  barely  on  account  of  them,  to  be- 
lieve that  they  are  any  thing  but  words.  Though  a  man  spoke  like  an 
angel,  I  would  not  believe  him,  on  the  mere  ground  of  his  speaking. 
Nay,  till  he  acts  upon  them,  he  has  not  even  evidence  to  himself,  that 
he  has  true  living  faith.  Dead  faith,  (as  St.  James  says,)  profits  no 
man.  Of  course  ;  the  Devils  have  it.  What,  on  the  other  hand,  is  living 
faith  ?  Do  fervent  thoughts  make  faith  living  ?  St.  James  tells  us 
otherwise.  He  tells  us  works,  deeds  of  obedience,  are  the  life  of  faith. 
"As  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead 
also."*  So  that  those  who  think  they  really  believe,  because  they  have 
in  word  and  thought  surrendered  themselves  to  God,  are  much  too  hasty 
in  their  judgment.     They  have  done  something,  indeed,  but  not  at  all 

*  James  ii.  26, 


1C2  PROMISING  WITHOUT  DOING.  [Serm. 

the  most  difl'icult  part  of  Iheir  duty,  which  is  to  surrender  themselves  to 
God  in  deed  and  act.  They  have  as  yet  done  nothing  to  show  they  will 
not,  after  saying  "  I  go,"  the  next  moment  "  go  not ;"  nothing  to  show 
Ihev  will  not  act  the  part  of  the  self  deceiving  disciple,  who  said, 
"  Though  I  die.with  Thee,  I  will  not  deny  Thee  ;"  yet  straightway  went 
and  denied  Christ  thrice.  As  far  as  we  know  any  thing  of  the  matter, 
justifying  faith  has  no  existence  independent  of  its  particular  definite 
acts.  It  may  be  described  to  be  the  temper  under  which  men  obey  ; 
the  humble  and  earnest  desire  to  please  Christ  which  causes  and  attends 
on  actual  services.  He  who  does  one  little  deed  of  obedience,  whether 
he  denies  himself  some  comfort  to  relieve  the  sick  and  needy,  or  curbs 
his  temper,  or  forgives  an  enemy,  or  asks  forgiveness  for  an  offence 
committed  by  him,  or  resists  the  clamour  or  ridicule  of  the  world,  such  a 
one  (as  far  as  we  are  given  to  judge)  evinces  more  true  faith  than  could 
be  shown  by  the  most  fluent  religious  conversation,  the  most  intimate 
knowledge  of  Scripture  doctrine,  or  the  most  remarkable  agitation  and 
change  of  religious  sentiments.  Yet  how  many  are  there  who  sit  still 
with  folded  hands,*  dreaming,  doing  nothing  at  all,  thinking  they  have 
done  every  thing,  or  need  do  nothing,  when  they  merely  have  had  these 
good  thoughts,  which  will  save  no  one  ! 

My  object  has  been,  as  far  as  a  few  words  can  do  it,  to  lead  you  to 
some  true  notion  of  the  depths  and  deceitfulness  of  the  heart,  which  we 
do  not  really  know.  It  is  easy  to  speak  of  human  nature  as  corrupt  in 
the  general,  to  admit  it  in  the  general,  and  then  get  quit  of  the  subject ; 
as  if,  the  doctrine  being  once  admitted,  there  was  nothing  more  to  be 
done  with  it.  But  in  truth  we  can  have  no  real  apprehension  of  the 
doctrine  of  our  corruption,  till  we  view  the  structure  of  our  minds,  part 
by  part ;  and  dwell  upon  and  draw  out  the  signs  of  our  weakness,  in- 
consistency, and  ungodliness,  which  are  such  as  can  arise  from  nothing 
but  some  strange  original  defect  in  our  moral  nature. 

1.  Now  it  will  be  well  if  such  self-examination  as  I  have  suggested 
leads  us  to  the  habit  of  constant  dependence  upon  the  Unseen  (Jod,  in 
whom  "  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being."  We  are  in  the  dark 
about  ourselves.  When  we  act,  we  are  groping  in  the  dark,  and  may 
meet  with  a  fall  any  moment.  Here  and  there,  perhaps,  we  see  a 
little ; — or,  in  our  attempts  to  influence  and  move  our  minds,  we  are 
making  experiments  (as  it  were)  with  some  delicate  and  dangerous  in- 
strument, which  works,  we  do  not  know  how,  and  may  produce  unex- 
pected and  disastrous  effects.  The  management  of  our  heart  is  quite 
above  us.     Under  these  circumstances  it  becomes  our  comfort  to  look 

*  Prov.  x.xiv.  33. 


XIII.]  PROMISING  WITHOUT  DOING.  103 

up  to  God.  "  Thou,  God,  seest  me  !"  Such  was  the  consolation  of  the 
forlorn  Hagar  in  the  wilderness.  He  knoweth  whereof  we  are  made, 
and  He  alone  can  uphold  us.  He  sees  with  most  appalling  distinctness 
all  our  sins,  all  the  windings  and  recesses  of  evil  within  us ;  yet  it  is 
our  only  comfort  to  know  this,  and  to  trust  Him  for  help  against  our- 
selves. To  those  who  have  a  right  notion  of  their  weakness,  the 
thought  of  their  Almighty  Sanctifier  and  Guide  is  continually  present. 
They  believe  in  the  necessity  of  a  spiritual  influence  to  change  and 
strengthen  them,  not  as  a  mere  abstract  doctrine,  but  as  a  practical  and 
most  consolatory  truth  daily  to  be  fultilled  in  their  warfare  with  sin  and 
Satan. 

2.  And  this  conviction  of  our  excessive  weakness  must  further  lead 
us  to  try  ourselves  continually  in  little  things,  in  order  to  prove  our  own 
earnestness ;  ever  to  be  suspicious  of  ourselves,  and,  not  only  to  refrain 
from  promising  much,  but  actually  to  put  ourselves  to  the  test  to  keep 
ourselves  wakeful.  A  sober  mind  never  enjoys  God's  blessings  to  the 
full ;  it  draws  back  and  refuses  a  portion  to  show  its  command  over 
itself  It  denies  itself  in  trivial  circumstances,  even  if  nothing  is  gained 
by  denying,  but  an  evidence  of  its  own  sincerity.  It  makes  trial  of  its 
own  professions ;  and  if  it  has  been  tempted  to  say  any  thing  noble 
and  great,  or  to  blame  another  for  sloth  or  cowardice,  it  takes  itself  at 
its  word,  and  resolves  to  make  some  sacrifice  (if  possible)  in  little  things, 
as  a  price  for  the  indulgence  of  fine  speaking,  or  as  a  penalty  on  its  cen- 
soriousness.  Much  would  be  gained  if  we  adopted  this  rule,  even  in 
our  professions  of  friendship  and  service  one  towards  another;  and 
never  said  a  thing  which  we  were  not  willing  to  do. 

There  is  only  one  place  where  the  Christian  allows  himself  to  pro- 
fess openly,  and  that  is  in  Church.  Here,  under  the  guidance  of  Apos- 
tles and  Prophets,  he  says  many  things  boldly,  as  speaking  after  them, 
and  as  before  Him  who  searcheth  the  reins.  There  can  be  no  harm  in 
professing  much  directly  to  God,  because,  icJiile  we  speak,  we  know  He 
sees  through  our  professions,  and  takes  them  for  what  they  really  are, 
prayers.  How  much,  for  instance,  do  we  profess  when  we  say  the 
Creed  !  and  in  the  Collects  we  put  on  the  full  character  of  a  Christian. 
We  desire  and  seek  the  best  gifts,  and  declare  our  strong  purpose  to 
serve  God  with  our  whole  hearts.  By  doing  this,  we  remind  ourselves 
of  our  duty  ;  and  withal,  we  humble  ourselves  liv  the  taunt  (so  to  call  it) 
of  putting  upon  our  dwindled  and  unhealthy  forms  those  ample  and 
glorious  garments  which  befit  the  upright  and  full-grown  believer. 

Lastly,  we  see,  from  the  parable,  what  is  the  course  and  character  of 
human  obedience  on  the  whole.  There  are  two  sides  of  it.  I  have 
taken  the  darker  side ;  the  case  of  profession  without  practice,  of  say- 


104  RELIGIOUS  EMOTIONS.  [Serm. 

ing  "  I  go,  Sir,"  and  of  not  going.  But  what  is  the  brighter  side  ? 
Nothing  better  than  to  say,  "  I  go  not,"  and  to  repent  and  go.  The 
more  common  condition  of  men  is,  not  to  know  their  inabiUty  to  serve 
God,  and  readily  to  answer  for  themselves ;  and  so  they  quietly  pass 
through  life,  as  if  they  had  nothing  to  fear.  Their  best  estate,  what  is 
it,  but  to  rise  more  or  less  in  rebellion  against  God,  to  resist  His  com- 
mandments and  ordinances,  and  then  poorly  to  make  up  for  the  mis- 
chief they  have  done,  by  repenting  and  obeying  1  Alas  !  to  be  alive  as 
a  Christian,  is  nothing  better  than  to  struggle  against  sin,  to  disobey  and 
repent.  There  has  been  but  One  among  the  sons  of  men  who  has  said 
and  done  consistently ;  who  said,  "  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God,"  and 
without  delay  or  hindrance  did  it.  He  came  to  show  us  what  human 
nature  might  become,  if  carried  on  to  its  perfection.  Thus  He  teaches 
us  to  think  highly  of  our  nature  as  viewed  in  Him  ;  not  (as  some  do)  to 
speak  evil  of  our  nature  and  exalt  ourselves  personally,  but  while  we  ac- 
knowledge our  own  distance  from  heaven,  to  view  our  nature  as  renewed 
in  Him,  as  glorious  and  wonderful  beyond  our  thoughts.  Thus  He 
teaches  us  to  be  hopeful ;  and  encourages  us  while  conscience  abases  us. 
Angels  seem  little  in  honour  and  dignity,  compared  with  that  nature 
which  the  Eternal  Word  has  purified  by  His  own  union  with  it.  Hence- 
forth, we  dare  aspire  to  enter  into  the  heaven  of  heavens,  and  to  live 
for  ever  in  God's  presence,  because  the  first  fruits  of  our  race  is  already 
there  in  the  Person  of  His  Only-begotten  Son. 


SERMON    XIV. 


RELIGIOUS    EMOTION. 


Mark  xiv.  31. 


"But  he  spake  the  more  vehemently,  If  I  should  die  with  Thee  I  will  not  deny 
Thee  in  any  wise." 

It  is  not  my  intention  lo  make  St.  Peter's  fall  the  direct  subject  of 
our  consideration  to-day,  though  I  have  taken  this  text ;  but  to  suggest 
to  you  an  important  truth,  which  that  fall,  together  with  other  events 
at  the  same  season,  especially  enforces  ;  viz.  that  violent  impulse  is  not 
the  same  as  a  firm  determination, — that  men  may  have  their  religious 


XIV.]  RELIGIOUS   EMOTION.  105 

feelings  roused,  without  being  on  that  account  the  more  likely  to  obey 
God  in  practice,  rather  the  less  likely.  This  important  truth  is  in 
various  ways  brought  before  our  minds  at  the  season  sacred  to  the 
memory  of  Christ's  betrayal  and  death.  The  contrast  displayed  in  the 
Clospels  between  His  behaviour  on  the  one  hand,  as  the  time  of  His 
' Tucifixion  drew  near,  and  that  both  of  His  disciples  and  the  Jewish 
populace  on  the  other,  is  full  of  instruction,  if  we  will  receive  it ;  He 
steadily  fixing  His  face  to  endure  those  sufferings  which  were  the 
atonement  for  our  sins,  yet  without  aught  of  mental  excitement  or  agi- 
tation ;  His  disciples  and  the  Jewish  multitude  first  protesting  their 
devotion  to  Him  in  vehement  language,  then,  the  one  deserting  Him, 
tlie  other  even  clamouring  for  His  crucifixion.  He  entered  Jerusalem 
in  triumph ;  the  multitude  cutting  down  branches  of  palm-trees,  and 
strewing  them  in  the  way,  as  in  honour  of  a  king  and  conqueror.*  He 
had  lately  raised  Lazarus  from  the  dead ;  and  so  great  a  miracle  had 
given  Him  great  temporary  favour  with  the  populace.  Multitudes 
flocked  to  Bethany  to  see  Him  and  Lazarus ;  f  and  when  He  set  out 
for  Jerusalem  where  He  was  to  suffer,  they,  little  thinking  they  would 
soon  cry,  "  Crucify  Him,"  went  out  to  meet  Him  with  palm-branches, 
and  hailing  Him  as  their  Messiah,  led  Him  on  into  the  holy  city.  Here 
was  an  instance  of  a  popular  excitement.  The  next  instance  of  excited 
feehng  is  found  in  that  melancholy  self-confidence  of  St.  Peter,  con- 
tained in  the  text.  When  our  Saviour  foretold  Peter's  trial  and  fall, 
Peter  at  length  "  spake  the  more  vehemently.  If  I  should  die  with  Thee, 
I  will  not  deny  Thee  in  any  wise."  Yet  in  a  little  while  both  the  peo- 
ple and  the  Apostle  abandoned  their  Messiah  ;  the  ardour  of  their  devo- 
tion had  run  its  course. 

Now,  it  may,  perhaps,  appear  as  if  the  circumstance  I  am  pointing 
out,  remarkable  as  it  is,  still  is  one  on  which  it  is  of  little  use  to  dwell, 
\\  hen  addressing  a  mixed  congregation,  on  the  ground  that  most  men 
feel  too  little  about  religion.  And  it  may  be  thence  argued,  that  the  aim 
of  Christian  teaching  rather  should  be  to  rouse  them  from  insensibihty, 
than  to  warn  them  against  excess  of  religious  feeling.  I  answer,  that 
ti>  mistake  mere  transient  emotion,  or  mere  good  thoughts  for  obedience, 
IS  a  far  commoner  deceit  than  at  first  sight  appears.  How  many  a 
man  is  there,  who,  when  his  conscience  upbraids  him  for  neglect  of 
duty,  comforts  himself  with  the  reflection  that  he  has  never  treated  the 
subject  of  religion  with  open  scorn, — that  he  has  from  time  to  time  had 
serious  thoughts, — that  on  certain  solemn  occasions  he  has  been  affected 
and  awed, — that  he  has  at  times  been  moved  to  earnest  prayer  to  God, 

*  Matt.  xxi.  8.     John  xii.  13.  t  John  xii.  1—18. 


106  RELIGIOUS   EMOTION,  [Serm. 

— that  he  has  had  accidentally  some  serious  conversation  with  a  friend  ! 
This,  I  sav,  is  a  case  of  frequent  occurrence  among  men  called  Chris- 
tian. Again,  there  is  a  further  reason  for  insisting  upon  this  subject. 
No  one  (it  is  plain)  can  be  religious  without  having  his  heart  in  his 
religion ;  his  alfcctions  must  be  actively  engaged  in  it ;  and  it  is  the 
aim  of  all  Christian  instruction  to  promote  this.  But  if  so,  doubtless, 
there  is  great  danger  lest  a  perverse  use  should  be  made  of  the  affec- 
tions. In  proportion  as  a  religious  duty  is  difficult,  so  is  it  open  to  abuse. 
For  the  very  reason,  then,  that  I  desire  to  make  you  earnest  in  religion, 
must  I  also  warn  you  against  a  counterfeit  earnestness,  which  often 
misleads  men  from  the  plain  path  of  obedience,  and  which  most  men 
are  apt  to  fall  into  just  on  their  first  awakening  to  a  serious  considera- 
tion of  their  duty.  It  is  not  enough  to  bid  you  serve  Christ  in  faith, 
fear,  love,  and  gratitude ;  care  must  be  taken  that  it  is  the  faith,  fear, 
love,  and  gratitude  of  a  sound  mind.  That  vehement  tumult  of  zeal 
■which  St.  Peter  felt  before  his  trial  failed  him  under  it.  The  open- 
mouthed  admiration  of  the  populace  at  our  Saviour's  miracle  was  sud- 
denly changed  to  blasphemy.  This  may  happen  now  as  then  ;  and  it 
often  happens  in  a  way  distressing  to  the  Christian  teacher.  He  finds 
it  is  far  easier  to  interest  men  in  the  subject  of  religion,  (hard  though 
this  be,)  than  to  rule  the  spirit  which  he  has  excited.  His  hearers,  when 
their  attention  is  gained,  soon  begin  to  think  he  does  not  go  far  enough  ; 
then  they  seek  means  which  he  will  not  supply,  of  encouraging  and 
indulging  their  mere  feelings,  to  the  neglect  of  humble  practical  efforts 
to  serve  God.  After  a  time,  like  the  multitude,  they  suddenly  turn 
round  to  the  world,  abjuring  Christ  altogether,  or  denying  Him  with 
Peter,  or  gradually  sinking  into  a  mere  form  of  obedience,  while  they 
still  think  themselves  true  Christians,  and  secure  of  the  favour  of 
Almighty  God. 

For  these  reasons  I  think  it  is  as  important  to  warn  men  against 
impetuous  feelings  in  religion,  as  to  urge  them  to  give  their  heart  to  it. 
I  proceed,  therefore,  to  explain  more  fully  what  is  the  connexion  between 
strong  emotions  and  sound  Christian  principle,  and  how  tar  they  are 
consistent  with  it. 

Now  that  perfect  state  of  mind,  at  which  we  must  aim,  and  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  imparts,  is  a  deliberate  preference  of  God's  service  to 
every  thing  else,  a  determined  resolution  to  give  up  all  for  Him,  and  a 
love  for  Him,  not  tumultuous  and  passionate,  but  such  a  love  as  a  child 
bears  towards  his  parents,  calm,  full,  reverent,  contemplative,  obedient. 
Here,  however,  it  may  be  objected,  that  this  is  not  always  possible : 
that  we  cannot  help  feeling  emotion  at  times ;  that,  even,  to  take  the 
case  of  parents  and  children,  a  man  is  at  certain  times  thrown  out  of  that 


Xiy.]  RELIGIOUS  EMOTION.  107 

quiet  affection  which  he  bears  towards  his  father  and  mother,  and  is 
agitated  by  various  feehngs ;  again,  that  zeal,  for  instance,  though  a 
Christian  virtue,  is  almost  inseparable  from  ardour  and  passion.  To 
this  I  reply,  that  I  am  not  describing  the  state  of  mind  to  which  any  one 
of  us  has  attained,  when  I  say  it  is  altogether  calm  and  meditative,  but 
that  which  is  the  perfect  state,  that  which  we  should  aim  at.  I  know 
it  is  often  impossible,  for  various  reasons,  to  avoid  being  agitated  and 
excited ;  but  the  question  before  us  is,  whether  we  should  think  much 
of  violent  emotion,  whether  we  should  encourage  it.  Doubtless  it  is  no 
>sin  to  feel  at  times  passionately  on  the  subject  of  religion  ;  it  is  natural 
in  some  men,  and  under  certain  circumstances  it  is  praiseworthy  in 
others.  But  these  arc  accidents.  As  a  general  rule,  the  more  rehgious 
men  become,  the  calmer  they  become ;  and  at  all  times  the  religious 
principle,  viewed  by  itself,  is  calm,  sober,  and  deliberate. 

Let  us  review  some  of  the  accidental  circumstances  I  speak  of. 

1.  The  natural  tempers  of  men  vary  very  much.  Some  men  have 
ardent  imaginations  and  strong  feelings ;  and  adopt,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  a  vehement  mode  of  expressing  themselves.  No  doubt  it  is 
impossible  to  make  all  men  think  and  feel  alike.  Such  men  of  course 
may  possess  deep-rooted  principle.  All  I  would  maintain  is,  that  their 
ardour  does  not  of  itself  make  their  faith  deeper  and  more  genuine  ;  that 
they  must  not  think  themselves  better  than  others  on  account  of  it ; 
that  they  must  beware  of  considering  it  a  proof  of  their  real  earnest- 
ness, instead  of  narrowly  searching  into  their  conduct  for  the  satisfac- 
tory/rwjVs  of  faith. 

2.  Next,  there  are,  besides,  particular  occasions  on  which  excited 
feehng  is  natural,  and  even  commendable ;  but  not  for  its  own  sake, 
but  on  account  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  it  occurs. 
For  instance ;  it  is  natural  for  a  man  to  feel  especial  remorse  at  his 
sins  when  he  first  begins  to  think  of  religion ;  he  ought  to  feel  bitter 
sorrow  and  keen  repentance.  But  all  such  emotion  evidently  is  not 
the  highest  state  of  a  Christian's  mind;  it  is  but  the  first  stirring  of 
grace  in  him.  A  sinner,  indeed,  can  do  no  better ;  but  in  proportion 
as  he  learns  more  of  the  power  of  true  religion,  such  agitation  will  wear 
away.  What  is  this  but  saying,  that  repentance  is  only  the  inchoate 
state  of  a  Christian?  Who  doubts  that  sinners  are  bound  to  repent  and 
turn  to  Cod?  yet  the  Angels  have  no  repentance;  and  who  denies 
their  peacefulness  of  soul  to  be  a  higher  excellence  than  ours  1  The 
woman  who  had  been  a  sinner,  when  she  came  behind  our  Lord  wept 
much,  and  washed  his  feet  with  tears.*     It  was  well  done  in  her ;  she 

*  Luke  vii.  38. 


108  RELIGIOUS  EMOTION.  [Skrm, 

(lid  wliat  slic  coultl ;  and  was  honoured  with  her  Saviour's  praise.  Yet 
it  is  clear  this  was  not  a  permanent  state  of  mind.  It  was  but  the  first 
step  in  rchgion,  and  would  doubtless  wear  away.  It  was  but  the  acci- 
dent of  a  season.  Had  her  faith  no  deeper  root  than  this  emotion,  it 
would  have  soon  come  to  an  end,  as  Peter's  zeal. 

In  like  manner,  whenever  we  fall  into  sin,  (and  how  often  is  this  the 
case !)  the  truer  our  faith  is,  the  more  we  shall  for  the  time  be  distress- 
ed, perhaps  agitated.  No  doubt ;  yet  it  would  be  a  strange  procedure 
to  make  much  of  this  disquietude.  Though  it  is  a  bad  sign  if  we  do 
not  feel  it  according  to  our  mental  temperament,  yet  if  we  do,  what 
then  ?  It  argues  no  high  Christian  excellence  ;  I  repeat  it,  it  is  but  the 
virtue  of  a  very  imperfect  state.  Bad  is  the  best  ot!ering  we  can  offer 
to  God  after  siiming.  On  the  other  hand,  the  more  consistent  our  habit- 
ual obedience,  the  less  we  shall  be  subject  to  such  feelings. 

3.  And  further,  the  accidents  of  hfe  will  occasionally  agitate  us : — 
affliction  and  pain ;  bad  news ;  though  here,  too,  the  Psalmist  describes 
the  higher  excellence  of  mind,  viz.  the  calm  confidence  of  the  believer, 
"who  is  "not  afraid  of  evil  tidings,"  for  "his  heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in 
the  Lord."*  Times  of  persecution  will  agitate  the  mind;  circum- 
stances of  especial  interest  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Church  will  cause 
anxiety  and  fear.  We  see  the  influence  of  some  of  these  causes  in 
various  parts  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles.  Such  emotion,  however,  is  not 
the  essence  of  true  faith,  though  it  accidentally  accompanies  it.  In 
times  of  distress  religious  men  will  speak  more  openly  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  and  lay  bare  their  feelings ;  at  other  times  they  will  conceal 
them.     They  are  neither  better  nor  worse  for  so  doing. 

Now  all  this  may  be  illustrated  from  Scripture.  We  find  the  same 
prayers  offered,  and  the  same  resolutions  expressed  by  good  men,  some- 
times in  a  calm  way,  sometimes  with  more  ardour.  How  quietly  and 
simply  docs  Agur  offer  his  prayer  to  God  !  "  Two  things  have  I  required 
of  Tliee ;  deny  me  them  not  before  I  die.  Remove  far  from  me  vanity 
and  lies ;  give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches ;  feed  me  with  food  con- 
venient for  me."  St.  Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  with  greater  fervency, 
becavise  he  was  in  more  distressing  circumstances,  but  with  not  more 
acceptablencss  on  that  account  in  God's  sight,  says,  "I  have  learned  in 
Avhatsoevcr  state  I  am,  therewith  to  be  content.  I  know  both  how  io 
be  abased,  and  I  know  how  to  abound  ;  "  and  so  he  proceeds.  Again, 
Joshua  says,  simply  but  firmly,  "As  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will 
serve  the  Lord."  St.  Paul  says  as  firmly,  but  with  more  emotion,  when 
his  friends  besought  him  to  keep  away  from  Jerusalem  : — "  What,  mean 

♦  Psalm  cxii.  7 


XIV.]  RELIGIOUS  EMOTION.  109 

ye  to  weep  and  to  break  mine  heart  ?  for  I  am  ready  not  to  be  bound 
only,  but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 
Observe  how  calm  Job  is  in  his  resignation :  "  The  Lord  gave,  and  the 
Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  And  on 
the  other  hand,  how  calmly  that  same  Apostle  expresses  his  assurance 
of  salvation  at  the  close  of  his  life,  who,  during  the  struggle,  was  acci- 
dentally agitated: — "I  am   now  ready  to  be  offered I  have 

kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righte- 
ousness."* 

These  remarks  may  suffice  to  show  the  relation  which  excited  feel- 
ings bear  to  true  religious  principle.  They  are  sometimes  natural, 
sometimes  suitable ;  but  they  are  not  religion  itself.  They  come  and 
go.  They  are  not  to  be  counted  on,  or  encouraged ;  for,  as  in  St. 
Peter's  case,  they  may  supplant  true  faith,  and  lead  to  self-deception. 
They  will  gradually  lose  their  place  within  us  as  our  obedience  becomes 
ronfirmed ; — partly  because  those  men  are  kept  in  perfect  peace,  and 
sheltered  from  all  agitating  feelings,  whose  minds  are  stayed  on  God  ;f 
partly  because  these  feelings  themselves  are  fixed  into  habits  by  the 
power  of  faith,  and  instead  of  cozning  and  going,  and  agitating  the  mind 
from  their  suddenness,  they  are  permanently  retained  so  far  as  there  is 
any  thing  good  in  them,  and  give  a  deeper  colour  and  a  more  energetic 
expression  to  the  Christian  character. 

Now,  it  will  be  observed,  that  in  these  remarks  I  have  taken  for 
granted,  as  not  needing  proof,  that  the  highest  Christian  temper  is  free 
I'Vom  all  vehement  and  tumultuous  feeling.  But,  if  we  wish  some  evi- 
dence of  this,  let  us  turn  to  our  Great  Pattern,  Jesus  Christ,  and  exam- 
ine what  was  the  character  of  that  perfect  holiness  which  He  alone  of 
all  men  ever  displayed. 

And  can  we  find  any  where  such  calmness  and  simplicity  as  marked 
His  devotion  and  His  obedience?  When  does  He  ever  speak  with 
fervour  or  vehemence  ?  Or,  if  there  be  one  or  two  words  of  His  in 
His  mysterious  agony  and  death,  characterized  by  an  energy  which 
we  do  not  comprehend  and  which  sinners  must  silently  adore,  still  how 
conspicuous  and  undeniable  is  His  composure  in  the  general  tenour  of 
His  words  and  conduct !  Consider  the  prayer  He  gave  us ;  and  this  is 
the  more  to  the  purpose,  for  the  very  reason  that  He  has  given  it  as  a 
model  for  our  worship.  How  plain  and  unadorned  is  it  ?  How  few 
are  the  words  of  it !     How  grave  and  solemn  the  petitions !     What  an 

*  Prov.  xxxi.  7,  8.     Phil.  iv.  11,  12.     Josh.  xxiv.  15.     Acts,  xxi.  13,     Job,  i.  xxi. 
2  Tim.  iv.  6-8. 
t  Isaieili  xivi.  3. 


110  RELIGIOUS   EMOTION.  [Serm. 

entire  absence  of  tumult  and  feverish  emotion !  Surely  our  own  feel- 
ings tell  us,  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  To  suppose  it  otherwise  were 
an  irreverence  towards  Him. — At  another  time  when  He  is  said  to 
have  "  rejoiced  in  spirit,"  His  thanksgiving  is  marked  with  the  same 
undisturbed  tranquillity.  "  I  thank  Thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth,  that  Thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent, 
and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes.  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed 
good  in  Thy  sight." — Again,  think  of  His  prayer  in  the  garden.  He 
then  was  in  distress  of  mind  beyond  our  understanding.  Something 
there  was,  we  know  not  what,  which  weighed  heavy  upon  Him.  He 
prayed  He  might  be  spared  the  extreme  bitterness  of  His  trial.  Yet 
how  subdued  and  how  concise  is  His  petition!  "Abba,  Father,  all 
things  are  possible  unto  Thee :  take  away  this  cup  from  Me  ;  never- 
theless, not  what  I  will,  but  what  Thou  wilt."*  And  this  is  but  one 
instance,  though  a  chief  one,  of  that  deep  tranquillity  of  mind,  which 
is  conspicuous  throughout  the  solemn  history  of  the  Atonement.  Read 
John  xiii.,  in  which  He  is  described  as  washing  His  disciples'  feet, 
Peter's  in  particular.  Reflect  upon  His  serious  words  addressed  at 
several  times  to  Judas  who  betrayed  Him  ;  and  His  conduct  when 
seized  by  His  enemies,  when  brought  before  Pilate,  and  lastly,  when 
suffering  on  the  cross.  When  does  He  set  us  an  example  of  passionate 
devotion,  of  enthusiastic  wishes,  or  of  intemperate  words  ? 

Such  is  the  lesson  our  Saviour's  conduct  teaches  us.  Now  let  me 
remind  you,  how  diligently  we  are  taught  the  same  by  our  own  Church. 
Christ  gave  us  a  prayer  to  guide  us  in  praying  to  the  Father ;  and 
upon  this  model  our  own  Liturgy  is  strictly  formed.  You  will  look  in 
vain  in  the  Prayer-book  for  long  or  vehement  Prayers !  for  it  is  but 
upon  occasions  that  agitation  of  mind  is  right,  but  there  is  ever  a  call 
upon  us  for  seriousness,  gravity,  simplicity,  deliberate  trust,  deep-seated 
humility.  Many  persons,  doubtless,  think  the  Church  prayers,  for  this 
very  reason,  cold  and  formal.  They  do  not  discern  their  high  perfec- 
tion, and  they  think  they  could  easily  write  better  prayers.  When 
such  opinions  are  advanced,  it  is  quite  sufficient  to  turn  our  thoughts  to 
our  Saviour's  precept  and  example.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  those 
who  thus  speak,  ought  to  consider  our  Lord's  prayer  defective  ;  and 
sometimes  they  are  profane  enough  to  think  so,  and  to  confess  they 
think  so.  But  I  pass  this  by.  Granting  for  argument's  sake  His  fre- 
cepls  were  intentionally  defective,  as  delivered  before  the  Holy  Ghost 
descended,  yet  what  will  they  say  to  His  example  ?  Can  even  the  full- 
est light  of  the  Gospel  revealed  after  His  resurrection,  bring  us  His  fol- 

»  Luke  X.  21.         Markxiv.  36. 


,r 


XIV.]  RELIGIOUS  EMOTION.  Ill 

lowers  into  the  remotest  resemblance  to  our  blessed  Lord's  holiness  ? 
yet  how  calm  was  He,  who  was  perfect  man,  in  His  own  obedience ! 

To  conclude : — Let  us  take  warning  from  St  Peter's  fall.  Let  us 
not  promise  much;  let  us  not  talk  much  of  ourselves;  let  us  not  be 
high-minded,  nor  encourage  ourselves  in  impetuous  bold  language  in 
religion.  Let  us  take  warning,  too,  from  that  fickle  multitude  who 
cried,  first  Hosanna,  then  Crucify.  A  miracle  startled  them,  into  a 
sudden  adoration  of  their  Saviour ; — its  effect  upon  them  soon  died 
away.  And  thus  the  especial  mercies  of  Go  J  somjtimas  excite  us  for  a 
season.  We  feel  Christ  speaking  to  us  through  our  consciences  and 
hearts  ;  and  we  fancy  He  is  assuring  us  we  are  His  true  servants,  when 
He  is  but  caUing  onus  to  receive  Him.  Let  us  not  bo  content  with 
saying  "Lord,  Lord,"  without  "doing  the  things  which  He  says." 
The  husbandman's  son  who  said,  "  I  go,  sir,"  yet  went  not  to  the  vine- 
yard, gained  nothing  by  his  fair  words.  Onj  secret  act  of  self-denial, 
one  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  duty,  is  worth  all  the  more  good  thoughts, 
warm  feelings,  passionate  prayers,  in  which  idle  people  indulge  them- 
selves. It  will  give  us  more  comfort  on  our  death-bid  to  reflect  on  one 
deed  of  selt^-denying  mercy,  purity,  or  humility,  than  to  recollect  the 
shedding  of  many  tears,  and  the  recurrence  of  freqioat  transports,  and 
uuich  spiritual  exultation.  These  laltcr  fceliiigs  come  and  go ;  they 
may  or  may  not  accompany  hearty  obedijnc3 ;  they  are  never  tests 
of  it ;  but  good  actions  are  the  fruits  of  faith,  and  assure  us  that  we  are 
Christ's;  they  comfort  us  as  an  evidence  of  the  Spirit  working  in  us. 
By  them  we  shall  be  judged  at  the  last  day  ;  an  1  t'lough  they  have  no 
worth  in  themselves,  by  reason  of  that  infection  of  sin  which  gives  its 
tharacter  to  every  thing  we  do,  yet  they  will  be  accepted  for  His  sake, 
who  bore  the  agony  in  the  garden  and  suffjre.l  as  a  sinner  on  the  cross. 


SERMON    XV. 


RELIGIOUS  FAITH  RATIONAL. 


Romans  iv.  20,  21. 


"  He  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God  through  unbehcf ;  but  was  strong  in  faith, 
giving  glory  to  God  :  and  being  fully  persuaded  that  what  He  had  promised  He 
was  able  also  to  perform." 

There  are  serious  men  who  are  in  the  habit  of  describing  Christian 
Faith  as  a  feehng  or  a  principle  such  as  ordinary  persons  cannot  enter 
into ;  a  something  strange  and  pecuhar  in  its  very  nature,  different  in 
kind  from  every  thing  that  affects  and  influences  us  in  matters  of  this 
world,  and  not  admitting  any  illustration  from  our  conduct  in  them. 
They  consider  that,  because  it  is  a  spiritual  gift,  and  heavenly  in  its 
origin,  it  is  therefore  altogether  superhuman ;  and  that  to  compare  it  to 
any  of  our  natural  principles  or  feelings,  is  to  think  unworthily  of  it. 
And  thus  they  lead  others,  who  wish  an  excuse  for  their  own  irreligious 
lives,  to  speak  of  Christian  Faith  as  extravagant  and  irrational,  as  if  it 
were  a  mere  fancy  or  feeling,  which  some  persons  had  and  others  had 
not ;  and  which,  accordingly,  could  only,  and  would  necessarily,  be  felt 
by  those  who  were  disposed  that  certain  way.  Now,  that  the  object  on 
which  Faith  fixes  our  thoughts,  that  the  doctrines  of  Scripture  arc  most 
marvellous  and  exceeding  in  glory,  unheard  and  unthought  of  elsewhere, 
is  quite  true;  and  it  is  also  true  that  no  mind  of  man  will  form  itself  to 
a  habit  of  Faith  without  the  preventing  and  assisting  influences  of 
Divine  Grace.  But  it  is  not  at  all  true  that  Faith  itself,  i.  e.  Trust,  is  a 
strange  principle  of  action ;  and  to  say  that  it  is  irrational  is  even  an 
absurdity.  I  mean  such  a  Faith  as  that  of  Abraham,  mentioned  in  the 
text,  which  led  him  to  believe  God's  word  when  opposed  to  his  own 
experience.     And  it  shall  now  be  my  endeavour  to  show  this. 

To  hear  some  men  speak,  (I  mean  men  who  scoff  at  religion,)  it 
might  be  thought  we  never  acted  on  Faith  or  Trust,  except  in  religious 
matters ;  whereas  wc  are  acting  on  trust  every  hour  of  our  lives.  When 
faith  is  said  to  be  a  religious  principle,  it  is  (I  repeat)  the  things  believed, 
not  the  act  of  believing  them,  which  is  peculiar  to  religion.  Let  us 
take  some  examples. 


XV.]  RELIGIOUS   FAITH  RATIONAL.  113 

It  is  obvious  we  trust  our  memory.  We  do  not  now  witness  what 
we  saw  yesterday  ;  yet  we  have  no  doubt  it  took  place  in  the  way  we 
remember.  We  recollect  clearly  the  circumstances  of  morning  and 
afternoon.  Our  confidence  in  our  memory  is  so  strong,  that  a  man 
might  reason  with  us  all  day  long,  without  persuading  us  that  we  slept 
through  the  day,  or  that  we  returned  from  a  long  journey,  when  our 
memory  deposes  otherwise.  Thus  we  have  faith  in  our  memory  ;  yet 
what  is  irrational  here  1 

Again,  even  when  we  use  reasoning,  and  are  convinced  of  any  thing 
by  reasoning,  what  is  it  but  that  we  trust  the  general  soundness  of  our 
reasoning  powers  ?  From  knowing  one  thing  we  think  we  can  be  sure 
about  another,  even  though  we  do  not  see  it.  Who  of  us  would  doubt, 
on  seeing  strong  shadows  on  the'*ground,  that  the  sun  was  shining  out,^ 
though  our  face  happened  to  be  turned  the  other  way  ?  Here  is  faith 
without  sight ;  but  there  is  nothing  against  reason  here,  unless  reason 
can  be  against  itself. 

And  what  I  wish  you  particularly  to  observe,  is,  that  we  continually 

trust  our  memory  and  our  reasoning  powers  in  this   way,  though  they 

often  deceive  us.     This  is  worth  observing,  because  it  is  sometimes  said 

that  we  cannot  be  certain  our  faith  in  religion  is  not  a  mistake.     I  say 

our  memory  and  reason  often  deceive  us  ;  yet  no  one  says  it  is  therefore 

absurd  and  irrational  to  continue  to  trust  them ;   and   for  this  plain 

reason,  because  o«  the  whole  the}-  are  true  and  faithful  witnesses,  because 

it  is  only  at  limes  that  they  mislead  us  ;  so  that  the  chance  is,  that  they 

are  right  in  this  case  or  that,  which  happens  to  be  before  us  ;  and  (again) 

because  in  all  practical  matters  we  are  obliged  to  dwell  upon  not  what 

may  be  possibly,  but  what  is  likely  tohe.     In  matters  of  daily  life,  we 

have  no  time  for  fastidious  and  perverse  fancies  about  the  minute  chances 

of  our  being  deceived.      We   are  obliged  to  act  at  once,  or  we  should 

cease  to  live.     There  is  a  chance  (it  cannot  be  denied)  that  our  food 

to-day  may  be  poisonous, — we  cannot  be  quite  certain, — but  it  looks 

the  same  and  tastes  the  same,  and  we  have  good  friends  round  us  ;  so  we 

do  not  abstain  from  it,  for  ail  this  chance,  though  it  is  real.      This 

necessity  of  acting  promptly  is  our  happiness  in  this  world's  matters  ;  in 

the  concerns  of  a  future  life,  alas  !  we  have  time  for  carnal  and  restless 

thoughts  about  possibilities.     And  this  is  our  trial ;  and  it  will  be  our 

condemnation,  if  with  the  experience  of  the  folly  of  such  idle  fancyings 

about  what  may  be,  in  matters  of  this  life,  we  yet  indulge  them  as 

regards  the  future.      If  it  be  said,  that  we  sometimes  do  distrust  our 

reasoning  powers,  for  instance,  when  they  lead  us  to  some  unexpected 

conclusion,  or  again  our  memory,  when  another's  memory  contradicts 

it,  this  only  shows   that  there  are  things  which  we  should  be  weak  or 

Vol.  i 8 


114  RELIGIOUS  FAIT  RATIONAL.-  [Serm. 

hasty  in  believing  ;  which  is  quite  true.  Doubtless  there  is  such  a  fault 
as  credulity,  or  believing  too  readily  and  too  much,  (and  this,  in  religion, 
we  call  superstition,)  but  this  neither  shows  that  all  trust  is  irrational, 
nor  attain  tliat  trust  is  necessarily  irrational,  which  is  founded  on  what 
is  but  likely  to  be  and  may  be  denied  without  an  actual  absurdity. 
Indeed,  when  we  come  to  examine  the  subject,  it  will  be  found  that, 
strictly  speaking,  we  know  little  more  than  that  we  exist,  and  that  there 
is  an  Unseen  Power  whom  we  are  bound  to  obey.  Beyond  this  we 
must  trust ;  and  first  our  senses,  memory,  and  reasoning  powers ;  then 
other  authorities : — so  that,  in  fact,  almost  all  we  do,  every  day  of  our 
lives,  is  on  trust,  i.  e.  faith. 

But  it  may  be  said,  that  belief  in  these  informants,  our  senses,  and 
the  like,  is  not  what  is  commonly  meftnt  by  faith ; — that  to  trust  our 
senses  and  reason  is  in  fact  nothing  more  than  to  trust  ourselves  ; — and 
though  these  do  sometimes  mislead  us,  yet  they  are  so  continually  about 
us,  and  so  at  command,  that  we  can  use  them  to  correct  each  other  ;  so 
that  on  the  whole  we  gain  from  these  the  truth  of  things  quite  well 
enough  to  act  upon  ; — that  on  the  other  hand  it  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  this  to  trust  another  person  ;  and  that  faith,  in  the  Scripture  sense 
of  the  word,  is  trusting  another,  and  therefore  is  not  proved  to  be  rational 
by  the  foregoing  illustrations. 

Let  us,  then,  understand  faith  in  this  sense  of  reliance  on  the  uvrds 
of  another,  as  opposed  to  trust  in  oneself.  This  is  the  common  meaning 
of  the  word,  I  grant ; — as  when  we  contrast  it  to  sight  and  to  reason  ; 
and  yet  what  I  have  already  said  has  its  use  in  reminding  men  who  are 
eager  for  demonstration  in  matters  of  religion,  that  there  are  difficulties 
in  matters  of  sense  and  reasoning  also.  But  to  proceed  as  I  have  pro- 
posed.— It  is  easy  to  show,  that,  even  considering  faith  as  trust  in 
another,  it  is  no  irrational  or  strange  principle  of  conduct  in  the  concerns 
of  this  life. 

For  when  we  consider  the  subject  attentively,  how  few  things  there 
are  which  we  can  ascertain  for  ourselves  by  our  own  senses  and  reason  ! 
After  all,  what  do  we  know  without  trusting  others  ?  We  know  that 
we  are  in  a  certain  state  of  health,  in  a  certain  place,  have  been  alive 
for  a  certain  number  of  years,  have  certain  principles  and  likings,  have 
certain  persons  around  us,  and  perhaps  have  in  our  lives  travelled  to 
certain  places  at  a  distance.  But  what  do  we  know  more  1  Are  there 
not  towns  (we  will  say)  within  fifty  or  sixty  miles  of  us  which  we  have 
never  seen,  and  which,  nevertheless,  we  fully  believe  to  be,  as  we  have 
heard  them  described  ?  To  extend  our  view ; — we  know  that  land 
stretches  in  every  direction  of  us,  a  certain  number  of  miles,  and  then 
there  is  sea  on  all  sides ;  that  we  arc  in  an  island.     But  who  has  seen 


XV.]  RELIGIOUS  FAITH  RATIONAL.  US 

the  land  all  around  and  has  proved  for  himself  that  the  fact  is  so  1  What, 
then,  convinces  us  of  it  ?  the  report  of  others, — this  trust,  this  faith  in 
testimony,  which,  when  religion  is  concerned,  then,  and  only  then,  the 
proud  and  sinful  would  fain  call  irrational. 

And  what  I  have  instanced  in  one  set  of  facts,  which  we  believe,  is 
equally  true  of  numberless  others,  of  almost  all  which  we  think  we 
know. 

Consider  how  men  in  the  business  of  life,  nay,  all  of  us,  confide,  are 
obliged  to  confide,  in  persons  we  never  saw,  or  know  but  slightly  ;  nay, 
in  their  hand- writings,  which,  for  what  we  know,  may  he  forged,  if  we 
are  to  speculate  and  fancy  what  may  be.  We  act  upon  our  trust  in 
them  implicitly,  because  common  sense  tells  us  that  with  proper 
caution  and  discretion,  faith  in  others  is  perfectly  safe  and  rational. 
Scripture,  then,  only  bids  us  act  in  respect  to  a  future  life,  as  we  are 
every  day  acting  at  present.  Or,  again,  how  certain  we  all  are  (when 
we  think  on  the  subject)  that  we  must  sooner  or  later  die  ?  No  one 
seriously  thinks  he  can  escape  death ;  and  men  dispose  of  their  pro- 
perty and  arrange  their  affairs,  confidently  contemplating,  not  indeed 
the  exact  time  of  their  death,  still  death  as  sooner  or  later  to  befal 
them.  Of  course  they  do  ;  it  would  be  most  irrational  in  them  not  to 
•expect  it.  Yet  observe,  what  'proof  has  any  one  of  us  that  he  shall  die  ? 
because  other  men  die  1  how  does  he  know  that  ?  has  he  seen  them  die  ? 
he  can  know  nothing  of  what  took  place  before  he  was  born,  nor  of 
what  happens  in  other  countries.  How  little,  indeed,  he  knows  about 
it  at  all,  except  that  it  is  a  received  fact,  and  except  that  it  would,  in 
truth,  be  idle  to  doubt  what  mankind  as  a  whole  witness,  though  each 
individual  has  only  his  proportionate  share  in  the  universal  testimony ! 
And,  further,  we  constantly  believe  things  even  against  our  own  judg- 
ment ;  i.  e.  when  we  think  our  informant  likely  to  know  more  about 
the  matter  under  consideration  than  ourselves,  which  is  the  precise 
•case  in  the  question  of  religious  faith.  And  thus  from  reliance  on 
•others  we  acquire  knowledge  of  all  kinds,  and  proceed  to  reason,  judge, 
decide,  act,  form  plans  for  the  future.  And  in  all  this  (I  say)  trust  is 
at  the  bottom  ;  and  this  the  world  calls  prudence  (and  rightlv) ;  and  not 
to  trust,  and  act  upon  trust,  imprudence,  or  (it  may  be)  headstrong 
folly,  or  madness. 

But  it  is  needless  to  proceed  ;  the  world  could  not  go  on  without  it. 
The  most  distressing  event  that  can  happen  to  a  state  is  (we  know)  the 
spreading  of  a  want  of  confidence  between  man  and  man.  Distrust, 
toant  of  faith,  breaks  the  very  bonds  of  human  society.  Now,  then, 
shall  we  account  it  only  rational  for  a  man,  when  he  is  ignorant,  to  beheve 
ills  fellow-man,  nay,  to  yield  to  another's  judgment  as  better  than  his 


116  RELIGIOUS  FAITH   RATIONAL.  [Serm. 

own,  and  vet  think  it  agonist  reason  when  one,  like  Abraham,  gives  ear 
to  the  Word  of  God,  and  sets  the  promise  of  God  above  his  own  short- 
sicrhted  expectation?  Abraham,  it  is  true,  rested  in  hope  beyond  hope, 
in  the  hope  afibrdcd  by  a  Divine  promise  beyond  that  hope  suggested 
bv  nature.  He  had  fancied  he  never  should  have  a  son,  and  God 
promised  him  a  son.  But  might  he  not  well  address  those  self-wise 
persons  who  neglect  to  walk  in  the  steps  of  his  faith,  in  the  language 
of  just  reproof?  "If  we  receive  the  witness  of  7)ien"  (he  might  well 
uro-e  with  the  Apostle,  "the  witness  of  God  is  greater."*  Therefore, 
he  "stao-o-ered  not  at  the  promise  of  God  through  unbelief,  but  was 
strong  in  faith,  giving  glory  to  God,  and  being  fully  persuaded  that 
what  He  had  promised  He  was  able  also  to  perform." 

But  it  may  be  objected ;  "  True,  if  we  knew  for  certain  God  had 
spoken  to  us  as  He  did  to  Abraham,  it  were  then  madness  indeed  in  us 
to  disbelieve  Him ;  but  it  is  not  His  voice  we  hear,  but  inan's  speaking 
in  His  name.  The  Church  tells  us,  that  God  has  revealed  to  man  His 
will ;  and  the  Ministers  of  the  Church  point  to  a  book  which  they  say 
is  holv,  and  contains  the  words  of  God.  How  are  we  to  know  whether 
they  speak  truth  or  not  ?  To  believe  this,  is  it  according  to  reason  or 
against  it  ?" 

This  objection  brings  us  to  a  very  large  and  weighty  question,  though 
I  do  not  think  it  is,  generally  speaking,  a  very  practical  one  ;  viz.  what 
are  our  reasons  for  believing  the  Bible  came  from  God?  If  any  one 
asks  this  in  a  scoffing  way,  he  is  not  to  be  answered  ;  for  he  is  profane, 
and  exposes  himself  to  the  curse  pronounced  by  St.  Paul  upon  the 
haters  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  But  if  a  man  inquires  sincerely,  wishing  to 
find  the  truth,  waiting  on  God  humbly,  yet  perplexed  at  knowing  or 
witnessing  the  deeds  of  scorners  and  daring  blasphemers,  and  at  hear- 
ing their  vain  reasonings,  and  not  knowing  what  to  think  or  sav  about 
them,  let  him  consider  the  following  remarks,  with  which  I  conclude. 

Now,  first,  v/hatever  such  profane  persons  may  say  about  their 
willingness  to  believe,  if  they  could  find  reason, — however  willing  they 
may  profess  themselves  to  admit  that  we  daily  take  things  on  trust, 
and  that  to  act  on  faith  is  in  itself  quite  a  rational  procedure, — though 
they  may  pretend  that  they  do  not  quarrel  with  being  required  to 
believe,  but  say  that  they  do  think  it  hard  that  better  evidence  is  not 
given  them  for  believing  what  they  are  bid  believe  undoubtingly,  the 
divine  authority  of  the  Bible, — in  spite  of  all  this,  depend  upon  it,  (in  a 
very  great  many  cases.)  they  do  murmur  at  being  required  to  believe, 
they  do  dislike  being  bound  to  act  without  seeing,  they  do  prefer  to 

•  1  John  V.  9. 


XV.]  RELIGIOUS  FAITH  RATIONAL.  117 

tru.st  themselves  to  trusting  God,  even  though  it  could  be  plainly  proved 
to  them  that  God  was  in  truth  speaking  to  them.  Did  they  see  God, 
did  He  show  Himself  as  He  will  appear  at  the  last  day,  still  they  would 
be  faithful  to  their  own  miserable  and  wretched  selves,  and  would  be 
practically  disloyal  to  the  authority  of  God.  Their  conduct  shows 
this.  Why  otherwise  do  they  so  frequently  scoff  at  religious  men,  as  if 
timid  and  narrow-minded,  merely  because  they  fear  to  sin  ?  Why  do 
they  ridicule  such  conscientious  persons  as  will  not  swear,  or  jest 
indecorously,  or  live  dissolutely  ?  Clearly,  it  is  their  very  faith  itself 
they  ridicule ;  not  their  believing  on  false  grounds,  but  their  believing 
at  all.  Here  they  show  what  it  is  which  rules  them  within.  They  do 
not  like  the  tie  of  religion  ;  they  do  not  like  dependence.  To  trust 
another,  much  more  to  trust  him  implicitly,  is  to  acknowledge  oneself 
to  be  his  inferior  ;  and  this  man's  proud  nature  cannot  bear  to  do.  He 
is  apt  to  think  it  unmanly,  and  to  be  ashamed  of  it ;  he  promises  him- 
self  liberty  by  breaking  the  chain  (as  he  considers  it)  which  binds  him 
to  his  Maker  and  Redeemer.  You  will  say,  why  then  do  such  men 
trust  each  other  if  they  are  so  proud?  I  answer,  that  they  cannot 
help  it ;  and,  again,  that  while  they  trust,  they  are  trusted  in  turn  ; 
which  puts  them  on  a  sort  of  equality  with  others.  Unless  this  mutual 
dependence  takes  place,  it  is  true,  they  cannot  bear  to  be  bound  to 
trust  another,  to  depend  on  him.  And  this  is  the  reason  that  such  men 
are  so  given  to  cause  tumults  and  rebellions  in  national  afiairs.  They 
set  up  some  image  of  freedom  in  their  minds,  a  freedom  from  the 
shackles  of  dependence,  which  they  think  their  natural  right,  and 
which  they  aim  to  gain  for  themselves  ;  a  liberty,  much  like  that  which 
Satan  aspired  after,  when  he  rebelled  against  God.  So,  let  these  men 
profess  what  they  will,  about  their  not  finding  fault  with  Faith  on  its 
own  account,  they  do  dislike  it.  And  it  is  therefore  very  much  to  our 
purpose  to  accustom  our  minds  to  the  fact,  on  which  I  have  been 
insisting,  that  almost  every  thing  we  do  is  grounded  on  mere  trust  in 
others.  We  are  frojii  our  birth  dependent  creatures,  utterly  dependent  ; 
dependent  immediately  on  man  ;  and  that  visible  dependence  reminds 
us  forcibly  of  our  truer  and  fuller  dependence  upon  God. 

Next,  I  observe,  that  these  unbelieving  men,  who  use  hard  words 
against  Scripture,  condemn  themselves  out  of  their  own  mouth ; — in 
this  way.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  our  obedience  to  God's  will  is 
merely  founded  on  our  belief  in  the  word  of  such  persons  as  tell  us 
Scripture  came  from  God.  We  obey  God  primarily  because  we 
actually  feel  His  presence  in  our  consciences  bidding  us  obey  Him. 
And  this,  I  say,  confutes  these  objectors  on  their  own  ground  ;  because 
the  very  reason  they  give  for  their  unbelief,  is,  that  they  trust  their  own 


118  RELIGIOUS  FAITH  RATIONAL.  [Seru.. 

sight  and  reason,  because  their  own,  more  than  the  words  of  God's 
Ministers.  Now,  let  me  ask,  if  they  trust  their  senses  and  their  reason, 
why  do  they  not  trust  their  conscience  too  ?  Is  not  conscience  their 
own  ?  Their  conscience  is  as  much  a  part  of  themselves  as  their 
reason  is ;  and  it  is  placed  within  them  by  Almighty  God  in  order  to 
balance  the  influence  of  sight  and  reason  ;  and  yet  they  will  not  attend 
to  it;  for  a  plain  reason, — they  love  sin, — they  love  to  be  their  own 
masters,  and  therefore  they  will  not  attend  to  that  secret  whisper  of 
their  hearts,  which  tells  them  they  are  not  their  own  masters,  and  that 
sin  is  hateful  and  ruinous. 

Nothing  shows  this  more  plainly  than  their  conduct,  if  ever  you 
appeal  to  their  conscience  in  favour  of  your  view  of  the  case.  Sup- 
posing they  are  using  profane  language,  murmurings,  or  scoffings  at 
religion  ;  and  supposing  a  man  says  to  them,  "  You  know  in  your 
heart  you  should  not  do  so  ;"  how  will  they  reply  ?  They  immedi- 
ately get  angry  ;  or  they  attempt  to  turn  what  is  said  into  ridicule  ; 
any  thing  will  they  do,  except  answer  by  reasoning.  No ;  their 
boasted  argumentation  then  fails  them.  It  flies  like  a  coward  before 
the  slight  stirring  of  conscience  ;  and  their  passions,  these  are  the 
only  champions  left  for  their  defence.  They  in  effect  say,  "  We  do 
so,  because  we  like  it :"  perhaps  they  even  avow  this  in  so  many 
words.  "  He  feedeth  on  ashes  ;  a  deceived  heart  hath  turned  him 
aside  ;  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  nor  say.  Is  there  not  a  lie  in 
my  right  hand  ?'* 

And  are  such  the  persons  whom  any  Christian  can  in  any  degree 
trust  ?  Surely  faith  in  them  would  be  of  all  conceivable  confidences 
the  most  irrational,  the  most  misplaced.  Can  we  allow  ourselves  to 
be  perplexed  and  frightened  at  the  words  of  those  who  carry  upon 
them  the  tokens  of  their  own  inconsistency,  the  mark  of  Cain? 
Surely  not ;  and  as  that  first  rebel's  mark  was  set  on  him,  "  lest  any 
finding  him  should  kill  him,"  in  like  manner  the'r  presence  but  reminds 
us  thereby  to  view  them  with  love,  though  most  sorrowfully,  and  to 
pray  earnestly,  and  do  our  utmost,  (if  there  is  ought  we  can  do)  that 
they  may  be  spared  the  second  death  ; — to  look  on  them  with  awe,  as 
a  land  cursed  by  God,  the  plain  of  Siddim  or  the  ruins  of  Babel,  but 
which  He,  for  our  Redeemer's  sake,  is  able  to  renew  and  fertilize. 

For  ourselves,  let  us  but  obey  God's  voice  in  our  hearts,  and  I  will 
venture  to  say  wo  shall  have  no  doubts  practically  formidable  aboi  t 
the  truth  of  Scripture.  Find  out  the  man  who  strictly  obeys  the  law 
within  him,  and  yet  is  an  unbeliever  as  regards  the  Bible,  and  then  it 

•  Isa.  xliv.  2a. 


XVI.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MYSTERIES.  119 

will  be  time  enough  to  consider  all  that  variety  of  proof  by  which  the 
truth  of  the  Bible  is  confirmed  to  us.  This  is  no  practical  inquiry  for 
us.  Our  doubts,  if  we  have  any,  will  be  found  to  arise  after  disobe- 
dience ;  it  is  bad  company  or  corrupt  books  which  lead  to  unbelief. 
It  is  sin  which  quenches  the  Holy  Spirit. 

And  if  we  but  obey  God  strictly,  in  time  (through  His  blessing) 
faith  will  become  like  sight ;  we  shall  have  no  more  difficulty  in 
finding  what  will  please  God  than  in  moving  our  limbs,  or  in  under- 
standing the  conversation  of  our  familiar  friends.  This  is  the  blessed- 
ness of  confirmed  obedience.  Let  us  aim  at  attaining  it ;  and  in 
whatever  proportion  we  now  enjoy  it,  praise  and  bless  God  for  His 
unspeakable  gift. 


SERMO  N    XVI. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MYSTERIES. 


John  iii.  9. 
"  How  can  these  things  be  ?" 

There  is  much  instruction  conveyed  in  the  circumstance,  that  the 
Feast  of  the  Holy  Trinity  immediately  succeeds  that  of  Whit  Sunday. 
On  the  latter  Festival  we  commemorate  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  who  is  promised  to  us  as  the  source  of  all  spiritual  knowledge 
and  discernment.  But  lest  we  should  forget  the  nature  of  that  illumi- 
nation which  He  imparts,  Trinity  Sunday  follows  to  tell  us  what  it  is 
not ;  not  a  light  according  to  the  reason,  the  gifts  of  the  intellect ; 
inasmuch  as  the  Gospel  has  its  mysteries,  its  difficulties,  and  secret 
things,  which  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not  remove. 

The  grace  promised  us  is  given,  not  that  we  may  know  more,  but 
that  we  may  do  better.  It  is  given  to  influence,  guide,  and  strengthen 
us  in  performing  our  duty  towards  God  and  man ;  it  is  given  to  us  as 
creatures,  as  sinners,  as  men,  as  immortal  beings,  not  as  mere  rea- 
soners,  disputers,  or  philosophical  inquirers.  It  teaches  us  what  we  are, 
whither  we  are  going,  what  we  must  do,  how  we  must  do  it  ;  it  enables 


120  THE  CHRISTIAN   MYSTERIES.  [Serm. 

us  to  change  our  fallen  nature  from  evil  to  good,  "  to  make  ourselves 
a  new  heart  and  a  now  spirit."  But  it  tells  us  nothing  for  the  sake  of 
telling  it ;  neither  in  His  Holy  Word  nor  through  our  consciences  has 
the  blessed  Spirit  thought  fit  so  to  act.  Not  that  the  desire  of  knowing 
sacred  things  for  the  sake  of  knowing  them  is  wrong.  As  knowledge 
about  earth,  sky,  and  sea,  and  the  wonders  they  contain,  is  in  itself 
valuable,  and  in  its  place  desirable,  so  doubtless  there  is  nothing  sinful 
in  gazing  wistfully  at  the  marvellous  providences  of  God's  moral  gov- 
ernance, and  wishing  to  understand  them.  But  still  God  has  not  given 
us  such  knowledge  in  the  Bible ;  and  therefore  to  look  into  the  Bible 
for  such  knowledge,  or  to  expect  it  in  any  way  from  the  inward  teach- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  a  dangerous  mistake,  and  (it  may  be)  a  sin. 
And  since  men  are  apt  to  prize  knowledge  above  holiness,  therefore  it  is 
most  suitably  provided,  that  Trinity  Sunday  should  succeed  Whit 
Sunday  ;  to  warn  us  that  the  enlightening  vouchsafed  to  us  is  not  an 
understanding  of  "  all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge,"  but  that  love  or 
charity  which  is  "  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law." 

And  in  matter  of  fact  there  have  been  very  grievous  mistakes 
respecting  the  nature  of  Christian  knowledge.  There  have  been  at  all 
times  men  so  ignorant  of  the  object  of  Christ's  coming,  as  to  consider 
mysteries  inconsistent  with  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  They  have 
thought  the  darkness  of  Judaism,  of  which  Scripture  speaks,  to  be  a 
state  of  intellectual  ignorance  ;  and  Christianity  to  be,  what  they  term, 
a  "rational  religion."  And  hence  they  have  argued,  that  no  doctrine 
which  was  mysterious,  i.  e.  too  deep  for  human  reason,  or  inconsistent 
with  their  self-devised  notions,  could  be  contained  in  Scripture  ;  as  if 
it  were  honouring  Christ  to  maintain  that  when  He  said  a  thing,  He 
could  not  have  meant  what  He  said,  because  they  would  not  have  said 
it.  Nicodemus,  though  a  sincere  inquirer,  and  (as  the  event  shows)  a 
true  follower  of  Christ,  yet  at  first  was  startled  at  the  mysteries  of  the 
Gospel.  He  said  to  Christ,  "  How  can  these  things  be  ?"  He  felt  the 
temptation,  and  overcame  it.  But  there  are  others  who  are  altogether 
offended  and  fall  away  on  being  exposed  to  it ;  as  those  mentioned  in 
the  sixth  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  who  went  back  and  walked  no 
more  with  Him. 

The  Feast  of  Trinity  succeeds  Pentecost  ;  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
does  not  remove  mysteries  in  religion.  This  is  our  subject.  Let  us 
enlarge  upon  it. 

1.  Let  us  consider  such  difficulties  of  religion,  as  press  upon  us  inde- 
pendently of  the  Scriptures.  Now  we  shall  find  the  Gospel  has  not 
removed  these  ;  they  remain  as  great  as  before  Christ  came. — How 
excellent  is  this  world !  how  very  good  and  fair  is  the  face  of  nature ! 


XVI.]  THE  CHRISTIAN   MYSTERIES.  121 

how  pleasant  it  is  to  walk  into  the  green  country,  and  to  meditate  in  the 
field  at  the  eventide  !"*  As  wc  look  around,  we  cannot  but  be  persuaded 
that  God  is  most  good,  and  loves  His  creatures  ;  yet  amid  all  the  splen- 
dour we  see  around  us,  and  the  happy  beings,  thousands  and  ten  thou- 
sands, which  live  in  the  air  and  water,  the  question  comes  upon  us, 
"  But  u-hy  is  there  fain  in  the  world  V  We  see  that  the  brutes  prey 
on  each  other,  inflicting  violent,  unnatural  deaths.  Some  of  them, 
too,  are  enemies  of  man,  and  harm  us  when  they  have  an  opportunity. 
And  man  tortures  others  unrelentingly,  nay,  condemns  some  of  them  to 
a  life  of  suffering.  Much  more  do  pain  and  misery  show  themselves 
in  the  history  of  man  ; — the  numberless  diseases  and  casualties  of 
human  life,  and  our  sorrows  of  mind  ; — then,  further,  the  evils  we 
inflict  on  each  other,  our  sins  and  their  awful  consequences.  Now 
why  does  God  permit  so  much  evil  in  His  own  world  ?  This  is  a  diffi- 
culty, I  say,  which  we  feel  at  once,  before  we  open  the  Bible ;  and 
which  we  are  quite  unable  to  solve.  We  open  the  Bible ;  the  fact  is 
acknowledged  there,  but  it  is  not  explained  at  all.  We  are  told  that 
sin  entered  into  the  world  through  the  Devil,  who  tempted  Adam  to 
disobedience ;  so  that  God  created  the  world  good,  though  evil  is  in  it. 
But  why  He  thought  fit  to  suffer  this  we  are  not  told.  We  know  no 
more  on  the  subject  than  we  did  before  opening  the  Bible.  It  was  a 
mystery  before  God  gave  His  revelation,  it  is  as  great  a  mystery  now ; 
and  doubtless  for  this  reason,  because  knowledge  about  it  would  do  us 
no  good,  it  would  merely  satisfy  curiosity.  It  is  not  practical  know- 
ledge. 

2.  Nor,  again,  are  the  difficulties  of  Judaism  removed  by  Christianity. 
The  Jews  were  told,  that  if  they  put  to  death  certain  animals,  they 
should  be  admitted  by  way  of  consequence  into  God's  favour,  which 
their  continual  transgressions  were  ever  forfeiting.  Now  there  was 
something  mysterious  here.  Hoav  should  the  death  of  unoffending  crea- 
tares  make  God  gracious  to  the  Jews?  They  could  not  tell,  of  course. 
All  that  could  be  said  to  the  point  was,  that  in  the  daily  course  of  human 
affairs  the  unofl'cnding  constantly  suffer  instead  of  the  offenders. 
One  man  is  ever  suffering  for  the  fault  of  another.  But  this  ex- 
])erience  did  not  lighten  the  difficulty  of  so  mysterious  a  provision. 
It  was  still  a  m}stery  that  God's  favour  should  depend  on  the  death 
of  brute  animals.  Does  Christianity  solve  this  difficulty  ?  No ; 
it  continues  it.  The  Jewish  sacrifices  indeed  are  done  away,  but 
still  there  remains  One  Great  Sacrifice  for  sin,  infinitely  higher 
and  more  sacred   than    all   other    conceivable  sacrifices.     According 

♦  Gen.  xxiv.  63. 


122  THE  CHRISTIAN  MYSTERIES.  [Skrm. 

to  the  Gospel  message,  Christ  has  voluntarily  suffered,  "  the  just 
for  the  unjust,  to  bring  us  to  God."  Here  is  the  mystery  continued. 
Why  was  this  suflcring  necessary  to  procure  for  us  the  blessings  which 
we  were  in  ourselves  unworthy  of?  We  do  not  know.  We  should  not 
be  better  men  for  knowing  why  God  did  not  pardon  us  without  Christ's 
death  ;  so  He  has  not  told  us.  One  suffers  for  another  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  things  ;  and  under  the  Jewish  Law,  too  ;  and  in  the  Christian 
scheme  ;  and  why  all  this,  is  still  a  mystery. 

Another  difficulty  to  a  thoughtful  Israelite  would  arise  from  consider- 
ing the  state  of  the  heathen  world.  Why  did  not  Almighty  God  bring 
all  nations  into  His  Church,  and  teach  them,  by  direct  revelation,  the 
sin  of  idol  worship  ?  He  would  not  be  able  to  answer.  God  had  chosen 
one  nation.  It  is  true  the  same  principle  of  preferring  one  to  another 
is  seen  in  the  system  of  the  whole  world.  God  gives  men  unequal 
advantages,  comforts,  education,  talents,  health.  Yet  this  docs  not 
satisfy  us,  why  He  has  thought  fit  to  do  so  at  all.  Here,  again,  the 
Gospel  recognises  and  confirms  the  mysterious  fact.  We  are  born  in 
a  Christian  country,  others  are  not ;  we  are  baptized  ;  we  are  educated  ; 
others  are  not.  We  are  favoured  above  others.  But  why  ?  We  cannot 
tell ;  no  more  than  the  Jews  could  tell  why  they  were  favoured  ; — and 
for  this  reason,  because  to  know  it  is  nothing  to  us ;  it  v.ould  not  make 
us  better  men  to  know  it.  It  is  intended  that  we  should  look  to  our- 
selves, and  rather  consider  why  we  have  privileges  given  us,  than  why 
others  have  not  the  same.  Our  Saviour  repels  such  curious  questions 
more  than  once.  "Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do?"*  St.  Peter 
asked  about  St.  John.  Christ  replied,  "  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I 
come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?     Follow  thou  Me ^ 

Thus  the  Gospel  gives  us  no  advantages  in  respect  to  mere  barren 
knowledge,  above  the  Jew,  or  above  the  unenlightened  heathen. 

8.  Nay,  we  may  proceed  to  say,  further  than  this,  that  it  increases 
our  difficulties.  It  is  indeed  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that  the  very 
revelation  that  brings  us  ■practical  andusefid  knowledge  about  our  souls, 
in  the  very  act  of  doing  so,  nay,  (as  it  would  seem)  in  consequence  of 
doing  so,  brings  us  mysterio?.  We  gain  spiritual  light  at  the  price  of 
intellectual  j)crplexity  ;  a  blessed  exchange  doubtless,  (for  which  is  bet- 
ter, to  be  well  and  happy  within  ourselves,  or  to  know  what  is  going  on 
at  the  world's  end  ?)  still  at  the  price  of  perplexity.  For  instance,  how 
infinitely  important  and  blessed  is  the  news  of  eternal  happiness?  but 
we  learn  in  connexion  with  this  joyful  truth,  that  there  is  a  state  of  end- 
less misery  too.     Now,  how  great  a  mystery  is  this !  yet  the  difficulty 

♦John  xxi.21,22. 


XVI]  THE  CHRISTIAN   MYSTERIES.  123 

goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  spiritual  blessing.  It  is  still  more  strikingly 
to  the  point  to  refer  to  the  message  of  mercy  itself.  We  are  saved  by 
the  death  of  Christ ;  but  who  is  Christ  1  Christ  is  the  Very  Son  of 
God,  Begotten  of  God  and  One  with  God  from  everlasting,  God  incar- 
nate. This  is  our  inexpressible  comfort,  and  a  most  sanctifying  truth 
if  we  receive  it  rightly  ;  but  how  stupendous  a  mystery  is  the  incarna- 
tion and  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God  !  Here,  not  merely  do  the  good 
tidings  and  the  mystery  go  together,  as  in  the  revelation  of  eternal  life 
and  eternal  death,  but  the  very  doctrine  which  is  the  mystery,  brings 
the  comfort  also.  Weak,  ignorant,  sinful,  desponding,  sorrowful  man, 
gains  the  knowledge  of  an  infinitely  merciful  Protector,  a  Giver  of  all 
good,  most  powerful,  the  Worker  of  all  righteousness  within  him ;  at 
what  price  1  at  the  price  of  a  mystery.  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  His  glory  ;"  and  he  laid  down  His 
life  for  the  world.  What  rightly  disposed  mind  but  will  gladly  make 
the  exchange,  and  exclaim  in  the  language  of  one  whose  words  are 
almost  sacred  among  us,  "  Let  it  be  counted  folly,  or  frenzy,  or  fury 
whatsoever ;  it  is  our  comfort  and  our  wisdom.  We  care  for  no 
knoidedge  in  the  world  but  this,  that  man  hath  sinned,  and  God  hath 
suffered  ;  that  God  hath  made  Himself  the  Son  of  man  and  that  men 
are  made  the  riglitcousness  of  God."* 

The  same  singular  connexion  between  religious  light  and  comfort, 
and  intellectual  darkness,  is  also  seen  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 
Frail  man  requires  pardon  and  sanctification  ;  can  he  do  otherwise  than 
'gratefully  devote  himself  to,  and  trust  implicitly  in  his*  Redeemer  and 
iis  Sanctifier?  But  if  our  Redeemer  were  not  God,  and  our  Sanctifier 
were  not  God,  how  great  would  have  been  our  danger  of  preferring  crea- 
tures  to  the  Creator  !  What  a  source  of  light,  freedom,  and  comfort  is 
It,  to  know  we  cannot  love  Them  too  much,  or  humble  ourselves  before 
Them  too  reverently,  for  both  Son  and  Spirit  are  separately  God  !  Such 
is  the  ■practical  effect  of  the  doctrine  ;  but  what  a  mystery  also  is  therein 
involved!  What  a  source  of  perplexity  and  darkness  (I  say)  to  the 
reason,  is  the  doctrine  which  immediately  results  from  it !  for  if  Christ 
1)0  by  Himself  God,  and  the  Spirit  be  by  Himself  God,  and  yet  there 
1)0  but  One  God,  here  is  plainly  something  altogether  beyond  our 
comprehension  ;  and,  though,  we  might  have  antecedently  supposed 
there  were  numberless  truths  relating  to  Almighty  God  which  we  could 
neither  know  nor  understand,  yet  certain  as  this  is,  it  does  not  make 
this  mystery  at  all  less  overpowering  when  it  is  revealed. 

And  it  is  important  to  observe,  that  this  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  W" 

♦  Hooker  on  Justification. 


124  THE  CHRISTIAN   MYSTERIES.  [Serm. 

not  proposed  in  Scripture  as  a  mystery.  It  seems  then  that,  as  we  draw 
forth  many  remarkable  facts  concerning  the  natural  world  which  do 
not  lie  on  its  surface,  so  by  meditation  we  detect  in  Revelation  this  re- 
markable principle,  which  is  not  openly  propounded,  that  religions  light 
is  intellectual  darkness.  As  if  our  gracious  Lord  had  said  to  us ; 
"  Scripture  does  not  aim  at  making  mysteries,  but  they  are  as  shadows 
brought  out  by  the  Sun  of  Truth.  When  you  knew  nothing  of  revealed 
light,  you  knew  not  revealed  darkness.  Religious  truth  requires  you 
should  be  told  something,  your  own  imperfect  nature  prevents  your 
knowing  all ;  and  to  know  something,  and  not  all — partial  knowledge, 
— must  of  course  perplex ;  doctrines  imperfectly  revealed  must  be 
mysterious." 

4.  Such  being  the  necessary  mysteriousness  of  Scripture  doctrine, 
how  can  we  best  turn  it  to  account  in  the  contest  we  are  engaged  in 
with  our  evil  hearts  ?  Now  we  are  given  to  see  how  to  do  this  in  part, 
and  as  far  as  we  see,  let  us  be  thankful  for  the  gift.  It  seems  then, 
that  difliculties  in  revelation  are  especially  given  to  prove  the  reality  of 
our  faith.  What  shall  separate  the  insincere  from  the  sincere  follower 
of  Christ  1  When  the  many  own  Christ  with  their  lips,  what  shall  try 
and  discipline  His  true  servant,  and  detect  the  self-deceiver?-  Diffi- 
culties in  revelation  mainly  contribute  to  this  end.  They  are  stumbling- 
blocks  to  proud  and  unhumbled  minds,  and  were  intended  to  be  such- 
Faith  is  unassuming,  modest  thankful,  obedient.  It  receives  with  re- 
verence and  love  whatever  God  gives,  when  convinced  it  is  His  gift. 
But  when  mert  do  not  feel  rightly  their  need  of  His  redeeming  mercy, 
their  lost  condition  and  their  inward  sin,  when,  in  fact,  they  do  not  seek 
Christ  in  good  earnest,  in  order  to  gain  something,  and  do  something,  but 
as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  or  speculation,  or  form,  of  course  these  difficulties 
will  become  great  objections  in  the  way  of  their  receiving  His  word 
simply.  And  I  say  these  difficulties  were  intended  to  be  such  by  Him 
who  "scattcreth  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of  their  hearts."  St. 
Peter  assures  us,  that  that  same  corner-stone  which  is  unto  them  that 
believe  ^^ precious,"  is  "unto  them  which  be  disobedient,  a  stone  of 
stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence,"  "  Whereunto  also  (he  adds)  iheytcere 
appointed."*  And  our  Lord's  conduct  through  His  ministry  is  a  con- 
tinued example  of  this.  He  spoke  in  parables,^  that  they  might  see 
and  hear,  yet  not  understand, — a  righteous  detection  of  insincerity ; 
whereas  the  same  difficulties  and  obscurities,  which  offi^nded  irreligious 
men,  would  but  lead  the  humble  and  meek  to  seek  for  more  light,  for 
information  as  far  as  it  was  to  be  obtained,  and  for  resignation  and  con- 

•  1  Pet.  ii.  7,  8.  t  Vide  Mark  iv.  11—25,  &c. 


XVI,]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MYSTERIES.  125 

tentedness,  where  it  was  not  given.  When  Jesus  said,  ..."  Except 
ye  eat  the  flesh   of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have 

no  life  in  you Many  of   His   disciples    ....    said.    This 

is  a  hard  saying :  who  can  hear  it  ?  .  .  .  and  from  that  time  many 
....  went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  Him  ....  Then  said 
Jesus  unto  the  twelve,  Will  ye  also  go  away  1  Then  Simon  Peter  an- 
swered Him,  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  1  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eter- 
nal life."  Here  is  the  trial  of  faith,  a  difficulty.  Those  "that  believe 
not "  fall  away  ;  the  true  disciples  remain  firm,  for  they  feel  their  eternal 
interests  at  stake,  and  ask  the  very  plain  and  practical,  as  well  as  affec- 
tionate question,  "  To  xchom  shall  we  go,  if  we  leave  Christ  ?"* 

At  another  time  our  Lord  says,  "  I  thank  Thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth,  that  Thou  has  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent, (those  who  trust  reason  rather  than  Scripture  and  conscience,)  and 
hast  revealed  them  unto  babes  (those  who  humbly  walk  by  faith.) 
Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight. "f 

5.  Now  what  do  we  gain  from  thoughts  such  as  these  1  Our  Saviour 
gives  us  the  conclusion,  in  the  words  which  follow  a  passage  just  read 
to  you.  "Therefore  said  I  unto  you, 'that  no  man  can  come  unto  Me, 
except  it  were  given  him  of  my  Father."  Or,  again,  "No  man  can 
come  to  Me,  except  the  Father  which  hath  sent  Me,  draw  him." 
Therefore,  if  we  feel  the  necessity  of  coming  to  Christ,  yet  the  diffi- 
culty, let  us  recollect  that  the  gift  of  coming  is  in  God's  hands,  and 
that  we  must  pray  Him  to  give  it  to  us.  Christ  does  not  merely  tell 
us,  that  we  cannot  come  of  ourselves,  (though  this  he  does  tell  us,)  but 
He  tells  us  also  with  whom  the  power  of  coming  is  lodged,  with  His 
Father,  that  we  may  seek  it  of  Him.  It  is  true,  religion  has  an  austere 
appearance  to  those  who  never  have  tried  it ;  its  doctrines  full  of  mys- 
tery, its  precepts  of  harshness ;  so  that  it  is  uninviting,  offending  differ- 
ent men  in  different  ways,  but  in  some  way  oftending  all.  When  then 
we  feel  within  us  the  risings  of  this  opposition  to  Christ,  proud  aver- 
sion to  His  Gospel,  or  a  low-minded  longing  after  this  world,  let  us 
pray  God  to  draw  us ;  and  though  we  cannot  move  a  step  without 
Him,  at  least  let  us  try  to  move.  He  looks  into  our  hearts,  and  sees 
our  strivings  even  before  we  strive,  and  he  blesses  and  strengthens  even 
our  feebleness.  Let  us  get  rid  of  curious  and  presumptuous  thoughts 
by  going  about  our  business,  whatever  it  is  ;  and  let  us  mock  and  baffle 
the  doubts  which  Satan  whispers  to  us  by  acting  against  them.  No 
matter  whether  we  believe  doubtingly  or  not,  or  know  clearly  or  not, 
so  that  tee  act  upon  our  belief.     The  rest  will  follow  in  time  ;  part  in 

•  John  vi  53-68.  +  Matt.  xi.  25,  26. 


126  THE  SELF-WISE  INQUIRER.  [Serm. 

this  world,  part  in  the  next.  Doubts  may  pain,  but  they  cannot  harm 
unless  we  give  way  to  them  ;  and  that  we  ought  not  to  give  way  our 
conscience  tells  us,  so  that  our  course  is  plain.  And  the  more  we  are 
in  earnest  to  "  work  out  our  salvation,"  the  less  shall  we  care  to  know 
how  those  things  really  are,  which  perplex  us.  At  length  when  our 
hearts  are  in  our  work,  we  shall  be  indisposed  to  take  the  trouble  of 
listening  to  curious  truths,  (if  they  are  but  curious,)  though  we  might 
have  them  explained  to  us.  For  what  says  the  Holy  Scripture  ?  that 
of  speculations  "  there  is  no  end,"  and  they  are  "a  weariness  of  the 
flesh  ;"  but  that  we  must  "  fear  God  and  keep  His  commandments,  for 
this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man."* 


SERMON    XVII. 


THE   SELF-WISE   INQUIRER. 


1  Cor.  iii.  18,  19. 


"  Let  no  man  deceive  himself.  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  wise  in  this 
world,  lot  hira  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be  wise.  For  the  wisdom  of  this  world 
is  foolislmess  with  God.  For  it  is  written,  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  crafti- 
ness." 

Amoxg  the  various  deceptions  against  which  St.  Paul  warns  us,  a  prin- 
cipal one  is  that  of  a  jfa/se  ww(io/n;  as  in  the  text.  The  Corinthians 
prided  themselves  on  their  intellectual  acuteness  and  knowledge  ;  as  if 
any  thing  could  equal  the  excellence  of  Christian  love.  Accordingly 
St.  Paul,  writing  to  them,  says,  "  Let  no  man  deceive  himself.  If  any 
man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  wise  in  this  world,"  (i.  e.  has  the  reputa- 
tion of  wisdom  in  the  world,)  "let  him  become  a  fool,  (what  the  world 
calls  a  fool,)  that  he  may  (really)  be  wise."  "For,"  he  proceeds,  (just 
as  real  wisdom  is  foolishness  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  so  in  turn,)  "  the 
wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God." 

This  warning  of  the  Apostle  against  our  trusting  our  ovm  wisdom,  may 
lead  us,  through  God's  blessing,  to  some  profitable  reflections  to-day. 

The  world's  wisdom  is  said  to  he  foolishness  in  God's  sight ;  and  the 

*  Ecclcs.  xii.  12,  13. 


XVII.]  THE  SELF-WISE  INQUIRER.  127 

end  of  it,  error,  perplexity,  and  then  ruin.  "  He  taketh  the  wise  in 
their  own  craftiness."  Here  is  one  especial  reason  why  professed  in- 
quirers after  Truth  do  not  tind  it.  They  seek  it  in  a  wrong  way,  by  a 
vain  wisdom,  which  leads  them  away  from  the  Truth,  however  it  may 
seem  to  promise  success. 

Let  us  then  inquire,  what  is  this  vain  wisdom,  and  then  we  shall  the 
better  see  how  it  leads  men  astray. 

Now,  when  it  is  said  that  to  trust  our  own  notions  is  a  wrong  thing 
and  a  vain  wisdom,  of  course  this  is  not  meant  of  all  our  own  notions 
\^  hatevcr  ;  for  we  must  trust  our  own  notions  in  one  shape  or  other,  and 
yome  notions  which  we  form  are  right  and  true.  The  question,  there- 
fore, is,  what  is  that  evil  trusting  to  ourselves,  that  sinful  self-confi- 
dence, or  self-conceit,  which  is  called  in  the  text  "  the  wisdom  of  the 
world,"  and  is  a  chief  cause  of  our  going  wrong  in  our  religious  in- 
quries  1 

These  are  the  notions  which  we  may  trust  without  blame  ;  viz.  such 
as  come  to  us  by  way  of  our  Conscience,  for  such  come  from  God.  I 
mean  our  certainty,  that  there  is  a  right  and  a  wrong,  that  some  things 
ought  to  be  done,  and  other  things  not  done  ;  that  we  have  duties,  the 
neglect  of  which  brings  remorse  ;  and,  further,  that  God  is  good,  wise, 
powerful,  and  righteous,  and  that  we  should  try  to  obey  Him.  All 
these  notions,  and  a  multitude  of  others  like  these,  come  by  natural 
conscience,  i.  e.  they  are  impressed  on  all  our  minds  from  our  earliest 
years  without  our  trouble.  They  do  not  proceed  from  the  mere  exer- 
tion of  our  minds,  though  it  is  true  they  are  strengthened  and  formed 
thereby.  They  proceed  from  God,  whether  within  us  or  without  us  ; 
and  though  we  cannot  trust  them  so  implicitly  as  we  can  trust  the 
Bible,  because  the  truths  of  the  Bible  are  actually  preserved  in  writing, 
and  so  cannot  be  lost  or  altered,  still,  as  far  as  we  have  reason  to  think 
them  true,  we  may  rely  in  them,  and  make  much  of  them,  without  in- 
curring the  sin  of  self-confidence.  These  notions  which  we  obtain 
without  our  exertion  will  never  make  us  proud  or  conceited,  because 
they  are  ever  attended  with  a  sense  of  sin  and  guilt,  from  the  remem- 
brance that  we  have  at  times  transgressed  and  injured  them.  To  trust 
them  is  not  the  false  wisdom  of  the  world,  or  foolishness,  because  they 
come  from  the  All-wise  God.  And  fixr  from  leading  a  man  into  error, 
they  will,  if  obeyed,  of  a  certainty  lead  him  to  a  firm  belief  in  Scrip- 
ture ;  in  which  he  will  find  all  those  vague  conjectures  and  imperfect 
notions  about  Truth,  which  his  own  heart  taught  him,  abundantly  sanc- 
tioned, completed,  and  illustrated. 

Such  then  are  the  opinions  and|feelings  of  which  a  man  is  not  proud. 
What  arc  those  of  which  he  is  likely  to  be  proud  ?  those  which  he  ob- 


128  THE  SELF-WISE  INQUIRER.  [Serm. 

tains,  not  by  nature,  but  by  his  own  industry,  ability,  and  research  ; 
those  which  he  possesses  and  others  not.  Every  one  is  in  danger  of 
vakiin<T  himself  for  what  he  does  ;  and  hence  truths  (or  fancied  truths) 
which  a  man  has  obtained  for  himself  after  much  thought  and  labour, 
such  he  is  apt  to  make  much  of,  and  to  rely  upon  ;  and  this  is  the 
source  of  that  vain  wisdom  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks  in  the  text. 

Now  (I  say)  this  confidence  in  our  own  reasoning  powers  not  only 
leads  to  pride,  but  to  ^^foolishness"  also,  and  dcistructive  error,  because 
it  will  oppose  itself  to  Scripture.  A  man  who  fancies  he  can  find  out 
truth  by  himself,  disdains  revelation.  He  who  thinks  he  has  found  it 
out,  is  impatient  of  revelation.  He  fears  it  will  interfere  with  his  own 
imaginary  discoveries  ;  he  is  unwilling  to  consult  it  ;  and  when  it  does 
interfere,  then  he  is  angry.  We  hear  much  of  this  proud  rejection  of 
the  truth  in  the  Epistle  from  which  the  text  is  taken.  The  Jews  felt 
anger,  and  the  Greeks  disdain,  at  the  Christian  doctrine.  "  The  Jews 
required  a  sign,  (according  to  their  preconceived  notions  concerning 
the  Messiah's  coming,)  and  the  Greeks  seek  after  wisdom,  (some  subtle 
train  of  reasoning,)  but  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  unto  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness."*  In  another  place  the 
Apostle  says  of  the  misled  Christians  of  Corinth,  "  Now  ye  are  full"  of 
your  own  notions,  "  now  ye  are  rich,  ye  have  reigned  as  kings  without 
«5;"f  i.  e.  you  have  prided  yourself  on  a  wisdom,  "without,"  separate 
from,  the  truth  of  Apostolic  doctrine.  Confidence,  then,  in  our  own 
reasoning  powers  leads  to  (what  St.  Paul  calls)  foolishness,  by  causing 
in  our  hearts  an  indifference,  or  a  distaste  for  Scripture  information. 

But,  besides  thus  keeping  us  from  the  best  of  guides,  it  also  makes 
us  fools,  because  it  is  a  confidence  in  a  bad  guide.  Our  reasoning 
powers  are  very  weak  in  all  inquiries  into  moral  and  religious  truth. 
Clear-sighted  as  reason  is  on  other  subjects,  and  trust-worthy  as  a  guide, 
still  in  questions  connected  with  our  duty  to  God  and  man  it  is  very 
unskilful  and  equivocating.  After  all,  it  barely  reaches  the  same  great 
truths  which  are  authoritatively  set  forth  by  Conscience  and  by  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  if  it  be  used  in  religious  inquiries  without  reference  to  these 
divinely-sanctioned  informants,  the  probability  is,  it  will  miss  the  Truth 
altogether.  Tiius  the  (so  called)  wise  will  be  taken  in  their  own  crafti- 
ness. All  of  us,  doubtless,  recollect  our  Lord's  words,  which  are  quite 
to  the  purpose  :  "  I  thank  Thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  be- 
cause Thou  hast  hid  those  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  (those  who 
trust  in  their  own  intellectual  powers,)  and  hast  revealed  them  unto 
babes. ^''^  those,  i.  e.  that  act  by  faith,  and  for  conscience-sake. 

♦  1  Cor.  i.  2  2,  23.  f  1  Cor.  iv.  8.  t  Matt.  li.  25. 


XVII.]  THE  SELF-WISE  INQUIRER.  129^ 

The  false  wisdom,  then,  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks  in  the  text,  is  a 
trusting  our  own  powers  for  arriving  at  religious  truth,  instead  of  taking 
what  is  divinely  provided  for  us,  whether  in  nature  or  revelation.  This 
is  the  way  of  the  world.  In  the  world,  Reason  is  set  against  Conscience, 
and  usurps  its  power ;  and  hence  men  become  "  wise  in  their  own 
conceits,"  and  "leaning  to  their  own  understandings,"  "err  from  the 
truth."  Let  us  now  review  some  particulars  of  this  contest  between  our 
instinctive  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  and  our  weak  and  conceited 
reason. 

It  begins  within  us  when  childhood  and  boyhood  are  past,  and  the 
time  comes  for  our  entrance  into  life.  Before  that  time  we  trusted  our 
divinely-enlightened  sense  of  duty  and  our  right  feeling  implicitly  ;  and 
though  (alas  !)  we  continually  transgressed,  and  so  impaired  this  in- 
ward guide,  at  least  we  did  not  question  its  authority.  Then  we  had 
that  original  temper  of  faith,  wrought  in  us  by  baptism,  the  spirit  of  little 
children,  without  which  our  Lord  assures  us,  none  of  us,  young  or  old, 
can  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.* 

But  when  our  minds  became  more  manly,  and  the  world  opened  upon 
us,  then  in  proportion  to  the  intellectual  gifts  with  which  God  had  hon- 
oured us,  came  the  temptation  of  unbelief  and  disobedience.  Then 
came  reason,  led  on  by  passion,  to  war  against  our  better  knowledge. 
We  were  driven  into  the  wilderness,  after  our  Lord's  manner,  by  the 
very  Spirit  given  us,  which  exposed  us  to  the  Devil's  devices,  before  the 
time  or  power  came  of  using  the  gift  in  God's  service.  And  how  many 
of  the  most  highly-endowed  then  fall  away  under  trials  which  the  sin- 
less Son  of  God  withstood  !  He  feels  for  all  who  are  tempted,  having 
Himself  suffered  temptation  ;  yet  what  a  sight  must  He  see,  and  by 
what  great  exercise  of  mercy  must  the  Holy  Jesus  endure,  the  bold  and 
wicked  thoughts  which  often  reign  the  most  triumphantly  in  the  breasts 
of  those  (at  least  for  a  time)  whom  He  has  commissioned  by  the  abun- 
dance of  their  talents  to  be  the  especial  ministers  of  His  will ! 

A  murmuring  against  that  religious  service  which  is  perfect  freedom, 
complaints  that  Christ's  yoke  is  heavy,  a  rebellious  rising  against  the 
authority  of  Conscience,  and  a  proud  arguing  against  the  Truth,  or  at 
least  an  endurance  of  doubt  and  scoffing,  and  a  light,  unmeaning  use 
of  sceptical  arguments  and  assertions  ;  these  are  the  beginnings  of  apos- 
tacy.  Then  come  the  affectation  of  originality,  the  desire  to  appear 
manly  and  independent,  and  the  fear  of  the  ridicule  of  our  acquaint- 
ance, all  combining  to  make  us  first  speak,  and  then  really  think  evil  of 
the  supreme  authority  of  religion.     This  gradual  transgression  of  the 

*  Matt,  xviii.  3. 
Vol.  I.— 9 


130  THE  SELF-WISE   INQUIRER.  [Seem. 

first  commandment  of  the  Law  is  generally  attended  by  a  transgression 
of  the  fifth.  In  our  childhood  we  loved  both  religion  and  our  home  ; 
but  as  we  learn  to  despise  the  voice  of  God,  so  do  we  first  aftect,  and 
then  feel,  an  indifference  towards  the  opinions  of  our  superiors  and 
elders.  Thus  our  minds  become  gradually  hardened  against  the  purest 
pleasures,  both  divine  and  human. 

As  this  progress  in  sin  continues,  our  disobedience  becomes  its  own 
punishment.  In  proportion  as  we  lean  to  our  own  understanding,  we 
are  driven  to  do  so  for  want  of  a  better  guide.  Our  first  true  guide,  the 
light  of  innocence,  is  gradually  withdrawn  from  us  ;  and  nothing  is  left 
for  us  but  to  "grope  and  stumble  in  the  desolate  places,"  by  the  dim, 
uncertain  light  of  reason.  Thus  we  are  taken  in  our  own  craftiness. 
This  is  what  is  sometimes  called  judicial  blindness  ;  such  as  Pharaoh's, 
who,  from  resisting  God's  will,  at  length  did  not  know  the  difference  be- 
tween light  and  darkness. 

Hov/  far  each  individual  proceeds  in  this  bad  course,  depends  on  a  va- 
riety of  causes,  into  the  consideration  of  which  I  need  not  enter.  Some 
are  frightened  at  themselves,  and  turn  back  into  the  right  way  before  it 
is  too  late.  Others  are  checked  ;  and  though  they  do  not  seek  God  with 
all  their  heart,  yet  are  preserved  from  any  strong  and  full  manifestation 
of  the  evil  principles  which  lurk  within  them  ;  and  others  are  kept  in  a 
correct  outward  form  of  religion  by  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
placed.  But  there  are  others,  and  these  many  in  number,  perhaps  in 
all  ranks  of  life,  who  proceed  onward  in  evil ;  and  I  will  go  on  to  de- 
scribe in  part  their  condition — the  condition,  that  is,  of  those  in  whom 
intellectual  power  is  fearfully  unfolded  amid  the  neglect  of  moral  truth. 
The  most  common  case,  of  course,  is  that  of  those  who,  with  their 
principles  thus  unformed,  or  rather  unsettled,  become  engaged,  in  the  or- 
dinary way,  in  the  business  of  life.  Their  first  simplicity  of  character 
went  early.  The  violence  of  passion  followed,  and  was  indulged  ;  and 
it  is  gone,  too,  leaving  (without  their  suspecting  it)  most  baneful  effects 
on  their  mind  ;  just  as  some  diseases  silently  change  the  constitution  of 
the  body.  liastly,  a  vain  reason  has  put  into  disorder  their  notions 
about  moral  propriety  and  duty,  both  as  to  religion  and  the  conduct  of 
life.  It  is  quite  plain  that,  having  nothing  of  that  faith  which  "  over- 
comes the  world,"  they  must  be  overcome  by  it.  Let  it  not  be  sup- 
posed I  am  speaking  of  some  strange  case  which  does  not  concern  us ; 
for  what  we  know,  it  concerns  some  of  us  most  nearly.  The  issue  of 
our  youthful  trial  in  good  and  evil,  probably  has  had  somewhat  of  a  de- 
cided character  one  way  or  the  other  ;  and  we  may  be  quite  sure  that, 
if  it  has  issued  in  evil,  we  shall  not  know  it.  Deadness  to  the  voice  of 
God,  hardness  of  heart,  is  one  of  the  very  symptoms  of  unbelief.    God's 


XVIL]  THE  SELF-WISE  INQUIRER.  131 

judgments,  whether  to  the  world  or  the  individual,  are  not  loudly  spoken. 
The  decree  goes  forth  to  build  or  destroy  ;  Angels  hear  it ;  but  we  go 
on  in  the  way  of  the  world  as  usual,  though  our  souls  may  have  been, 
at  least  for  a  season,  abandoned  by  God.  I  mean,  that  it  is  not  at  all 
unlikely  that,  in  the  case  of  some  of  those  who  now  hear  me,  a  great 
part  of  their  professed  faith  is  a  mere  matter  of  words,  not  ideas  and 
principles  ;  that  what  opinions  they  really  hold  by  any  exertion  of  their 
own  minds,  have  been  reached  by  the  mere  exercise  of  their  intellect, 
the  random  and  accidental  use  of  their  mere  reasoning  powers,  whether 
ihcy  be  strong  or  not,  and  are  not  the  result  of  habitual,  firm  and  pro- 
irrcssive  obedience  to  God,  not  the  knowledge  which  an  honest  and 
aood  heart  imparts.  Our  religious  notions  may  lie  on  the  mere  surface 
of  our  minds,  and  have  no  root  within  them ;  and  (I  say)  from  this  cir- 
cumstance, that  the  indulgence  of  early  passions,  though  forgotten 
now,  and  the  misapplication  of  reason  in  our  youth,  have  left  an  indeh- 
lily  evil  character  upon  our  heart,  a  judicial  hardness  and  blindness. 
Let  us  think  of  this  ;  it  may  be  the  state  of  those  who  have  had  to  en- 
(hu-e  only  ordinary  temptations,  from  the  growth  of  that  reasoning 
faculty  with  which  we  are  all  gifted. 

But  when  that  gift  of  reason  is  something  especial, — clear,  brilliant, 
or  powerful, — then  our  danger  is  increased.  The  first  sin  of  men  of 
superior  understanding  is  to  value  themselves  upon  it,  and  look  down 
upon  others.  They  make  intellect  the  measure  of  praise  and  blame  ; 
and  instead  of  considering  a  common  faith  to  be  the  bond  of  union 
])etween  Christian  and  Christian,  they  dream  of  some  other  fellowship 
(if  civilization,  refinement,  hterature,  science,  or  general  mental  illumi- 
nation, to  unite  gifted  minds  one  with  another.  Having  thus  cast 
down  moral  excellence  from  its  true  station,  and  set  up  the  usurped 
cinpirc  of  mere  reason,  next,  they  place  a  value  upon  all  truths  exactly 
1  n  proportion  to  the  possibility  of  proving  them  by  means  of  that  mere 
reason.  Hence,  moral  and  religious  truths  are  thought  little  of  bv 
them,  because  they  fall  under  the  province  of  Conscience  far  more  than 
of  the  intellect.  Religion  sinks  in  their  estimation  almost  altogether ; 
they  begin  to  think  all  religions  alike ;  and  no  wonder,  for  thev  are 
like  men  who  have  lost  the  faculty  of  discerning  colours,  and  who 
never,  by  any  exercise  of  reason,  can  make  out  the  difference  between 
white  and  black.  The  code  of  morals  they  acknowledge  in  a  measure, 
that  is,  so  far  as  its  dicta  can  be  proved  by  reasoning,  by  an  appeal  to 
sight,  and  to  expedience,  and  without  reference  to  a  natural  sense  of 
right  and  wrong  as  the  sanction  of  them.  Thinking  much  of  intel- 
lectual  advancement,  they  are  much  bent  on  improving  the  world  by 


132  THE  SELF-WISE  INQUIRER.  [Serm^ 

making  all  men  intellectual ;  and  they  labour  to  convince  themselves, 
that  as  men  grow  in  knowledge  they  will  grow  in  virtue. 

As  they  proceed  in  their  course  of  judicial  blindness,  from  undein}alu- 
ing  they  learn  to  despise  or  to  hate  the  authority  of  Conscience.  They 
treat  it  as  a  weakness,  to  which  all  men  indeed  are  subject, — they 
themselves  in  the  number, — especially  in  seasons  of  sickness,  but  of 
which  they  have  cause  to  be  ashamed.  The  notions  of  better  men 
about  an  over-ruling  Providence,  and  the  Divine  will,  designs, 
appointments,  works,  judgments,  they  treat  with  scorn,  as  irrational  y 
especially  if  (as  will  often  be  the  case)  these  notions  are  conveyed  in 
incorrect  language,  with  some  accidental  confusion  or  intellectual 
weakness  of  expression. 

And  all  these  inducements  to  live  by  sight  and  not  by  faith  are 
greatly  increased,  when  men  are  engaged  in  any  pursuit  which  properly 
belongs  to  the  intellect.  Hence  sciences  conversant  with  experiments 
on  the  material  creation,  tend  to  make  men  forget  the  existence  of 
spirit  and  the  Lord  of  spirits. 

I  will  not  pursue  the  course  of  infidelity  into  its  worst  and  grossest 
forms,  but  it  may  be  instructive  before  I  conclude,  to  take  the  case  of 
such  a  man  as  I  have  been  describing,  when  under  the  influence  of 
some  relentings  of  conscience  towards  the  close  of  his  life. 

This  is  a  case  of  no  unfrequent  occurrence ;  that  is,  it  must  fre 
quently  happen  that  the  most  hardened  conscience  is  at  times  visited 
by  sudden  compunctions,  though  generally  they  are  but  momentary^ 
But  it  sometimes  happens,  further  than  this,  that  a  man,  from  one 
cause  or  other,  feels  he  is  not  in  a  safe  state,  and  struggles  with  him 
self,  and  the  struggle  terminates  in  a  manner  which  aflx)rds  a  fresh, 
illustration  of  the  working  of  that  wisdom  of  the  w  orld,  which  in  God' 
sight  is  foolishness. 

How  shall  a  sinner,  who  has  formed  his  character  upon  unbelief,  trust- 
ing sight  and  reason  rather  than  Conscience  and  Scripture,  how  shali 
he  begin  to  repent  ?     What  must  he  do  1     Is  it  possible  he  can  over 
come  himself,  and  new  make  his  heart  in  the  end  of  his  days?     It  is 
possible — not  with  man,  but  with   God,    who  gives  grace  to  all  whoja 
ask  for  it ;    but  in  only  one  way,  in  the  way  of  His  cominandments- 
by  a  slow,  tedious,  toilsome,  self-discipline  ;  slow,  tedious,  and  toilsome^ 
that  is,  to  one  who  has  been  long  hardening  himself  in  a  dislike  of  it,  | 
and   indulging  himself  in  the  rapid  flights  and   easy  victories  of  his 
reason.     There  is  but  one  way  to  heaven ;  the  narrow  way  ;  and  he  who 
sets  about  to  seek  (Jod,  though  in  old  age,  must  begin  at  the  same  door 
as  others.    He  must  retrace  his  way,  and  begin  again  with  the  very  be- 
ginning, as  if  he  were  a  boy.     And  so  proceeding, — labouring,  watching. 


XVII.]  THE   SELF.WISE   INQUIRER,  133 

and  praying, — he  seems  likely,  after  all,  to  make  but  little  progress  during 
the  brief  remnant  of  his  life ;  both  because  the  time  left  to  him  is 
short,  and  because  he  has  to  undo  while  he  does  a  work  ; — he  has  to 
overcome  that  resistance  from  his  old  stout  will  and  hardened  heart, 
which  in  youth  he  did  not  experience. 

Now  it  is  plain  how  humbling  this  is  to  his  pride :  he  wishes  to  be 
saved ;  but  he  cannot  stoop  to  be  a  penitent  all  his  days  ;  to  beg  he  is 
ashamed.  Therefore  he  looks  about  for  other  means  of  finding  a  safe 
hope.  And  one  way  among  others  by  which  he  deceives  himself,  is  the 
idea  that  he  may  gain  religious  knowledge  merely  by  his  reason. 

Thus  it  happens,  that  men  who  have  led  profligate  lives  in  their 
youth,  or  who  have  passed  their  days  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  or  in 
some  other  excitement  of  the  world,  not  unfrequently  settle  down  into 
heresies  in  their  latter  years.  Before,  perhaps,  they  professed  nothing, 
and  suffbred  themselves  to  be  called  Christians  and  members  of  the 
Church ;  but  at  length,  roused  to  inquire  after  truth,  and  forgetting 
that  the  pure  in  heart  alone  can  see  God,  and  therefore  that  they 
must  begin  by  a  moral  reformation,  by  self-denial,  they  inquire  merely 
by  the  way  of  reasoning.  No  wonder  they  err ;  they  cannot  under- 
stand any  part  of  the  Church's  system  whether  of  doctrine  or  discipline  ; 
yet  they  think  themselves  judges ;  and  they  treat  the  most  sacred 
ordinances  and  the  most  solemn  doctrines  with  scorn  and  irreverence. 
Thus  "  the  last  state  of  such  men  is  worse  than  the  first."  In  the 
words  of  the  text,  they  ought  to  have  become  fools,  that  they  might 
have  been  in  the  end  really  wise  ;  but  they  prefer  another  way,  and  are 
taken  in  their  own  craftiness. 

May  we  ever  bear  in  mind  that  the  "  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  begin- 
ning of  wisdom  ;"*  that  obedience  to  our  conscience,  in  all  things, 
great  and  small,  is  the  way  to  know  the  Truth  ;  that  pride  hardens  the 
lieart,  and  sensuality  debases  it,  and  that  all  those  who  live  in  pride 
and  sensual  indulgence,  can  no  more  comprehend  the  ways  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  or  know  the  voice  of  Christ,  than  the  devils  who  believe 
with  a  dead  faith  and  tremble. 

"Blessed  are  they  that  do  His  commandments,  that  they  may  have 
right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the 
city"  .  .  .  where  there  is  "  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon  to 
shine  in  it ;  for  the  glory  of  God  doth  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the 
light  thereof."! 

*  Prov.  i.  7.  t  Rev.  xxi.  23.     xxii.  14. 


SERMON   XVIII. 


OBEDIENCE  THE  REMEDY  FOR  RELIGIOUS 
PERPLEXITY. 


Psalm  xxxvii.  34."] 
"  Wait  on  the  Lord,  and  keep  His  way,  and  He  shall  exalt  thee  to  inherit  the  land." 

The  Psalm  from  which  I  have  taken  my  text,  is  written  with  a  view  of 
encouraging  good  men  who  are  in  perplexity, — and  especially  perplexity 
concerning  God's  designs,  providence,  and  will.  "Fret  not  thyself;" 
this  is  the  lesson  it  inculcates  from  first  to  last.  This  world  is  in  a  state 
of  confusion.  Unworthy  men  prosper,  and  are  looked  on  as  the 
greatest  men  of  the  time.  Truth  and  goodness  are  thrown  into  the 
shade ;  but  wait  patiently, — peace,  be  still ;  in  the  end,  the  better  side 
shall  triumph, — the  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth. 

Doubtless  the  Church  is  in  great  darkness  and  perplexity  under  the 
Christian  dispensation,  as  well  as  under  the  Jewish.  Not  that  Christi- 
anity does  not  explain  to  us  the  most  important  religious  question, — 
which  it  docs  to  our  great  comfort ;  but  that,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  imperfect  beings,  as  we  are,  must  always  be,  on  the  whole,  in 
a  state  of  darkness.  Nay,  the  very  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament 
themseves  bring  with  them  their  own  peculiar  difficulties ;  and,  till  we 
learn  to  quiet  our  minds,  and  to  school  them  into  submission  to  God,  we 
shall  probably  find  more  perplexity  than  information  even  in  what  St. 
Paul  calls  "  the  light  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of  Christ."*  Revelation 
was'  not  given  us  to  satisfy  doubts,  but  to  make  us  better  men  ; 
and  it  is  as  we  become  better  men,  that  it  becomes  light  and  peace  to 
our  souls  ;  though  even  to  the  end  of  our  lives  we  shall  find  difficulties 
both  in  it  and  in  the  world  around  us. 

I  will  make  some  remarks  to-day  on  the  case  of  those  who,  though 
they  are  in  the  whole  honest  inquirers  in  religion,  yet  arc  more  or  less 
in  perplexity  and  anxiety,  and  so  are  discouraged. 

The  use  of  difficulties  to  all  of  us  in  our  trial  in  this  world  is 
obvious.     Our  faith  is  variously  assailed  by  doubts  and    difficulties,  in. 

•  2  Cor.  iv.  4. 


Serm.  XVIII.]  OBEDIENCE  THE  REMEDY,  etc.  135 

order  to  prove  its  sincerity.  If  we  really  love  God  and  His  Son,  we 
shall  go  on  in  spite  of  opposition,  even  though,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Canaanitish  woman.  He  seem  to  repel  us.  If  we  are  not  in  earnest, 
difficulty  makes  us  turn  back.  This  is  one  of  the  ways  in  which  God 
separates  the  corn  from  the  chaff,  gradually  gathering  each,  as  time 
goes  on,  into  its  own  heap,  till  the  end  comes,  when  He  "  will  gather 
the  wheat  into  His  garner,  but  the  chaff  He  will  burn  with  fire 
unquenchable."* 

Now  I  am  aware  that  to  some  persons  it  may  sound  strange  to  speak 
of  difficulties  in  reUgion,  for  they  find  none  at  all.  But  though  it  is 
true,  that  the  earlier  we  begin  to  seek  God  in  earnest,  the  less  of 
difficulty  and  perplexity  we  are  likely  to  endure,  yet  this  ignorance  of 
religious  difficulties  in  a  great  many  cases,  I  fear,  arises  from  ignorance 
of  religion  itself.  When  our  hearts  are  not  in  our  work,  and  we  are 
hut  carried  on  with  the  stream  of  the  world,  continuing  in  the  Church 
because  we  find  ourselves  there,  observing  religious  ordinances  merely 
because  we  are  used  to  them,  and  professing  to  be  Christians  because 
others  do,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  we  should  know  what  it  is  to 
feel  ourselves  wrong,  and  unable  to  get  right, — to  feel  doubt,  anxiety, 
disappointment,  discontent ;  whereas,  when  our  minds  are  awakened, 
and  we  see  that  there  is  a  right  way  and  a  wrong  way,  and  that  we 
have  much  to  learn,  when  we  try  to  gain  religious  knowledge  from 
Scripture,  and  to  apply  it  to  ourselves,  then  from  time  we  are  troubled 
with  doubts  and  misgivings,  and  are  oppressed  with  gloom. 

To  all  those  who  are  perplexed  in  any  way  soever,  who  wish  for  light 
but  cannot  find  it,  one  precept  must  be  given, — obey.  It  is  obedience 
which  brings  a  man  into  the  right  path  ;  it  is  obedience  keeps  him 
there  and  strengthens  him  in  it.  Under  all  circumstances,  whatever 
be  the  cause  of  his  distress, — obey.  In  the  words  of  the  text,  "  Wait 
on  the  Lord,  and  keep  His  way,  and  He  shall  exalt  thee." 

Let  us  apply  this  exhortation  to  the  case  of  those  who  have  but  lately 
taken  up  the  subject  of  religion  at  all.  Every  science  has  its  difficul- 
ties at  first,  why  then  should  the  science  of  living  well  be  without  them. 
When  the  subject  of  rehgion  is  new  to  us,  it  is  strange.  We  have 
heard  truths  all  our  lives  without  feeling  them  duly ;  at  length,  when 
they  affect  us,  we  cannot  believe  them  to  be  the  same  we  have  long 
known.  We  are  thrown  out  of  our  fixed  notions  of  things  ;  an  embar- 
rassment ensues ;  a  general  painful  uncertainty.  We  say,  "  is  the 
Bible  true?  Is  it  possible?"  and  are  distressed  by  evil  doubts,  which 
we  can  hardly  explain  to  ourselves,  much  less  to  others.     No  one  can 

*  Luke  iii.  17. 


^- 


136  OBEDIENCE  THE  REMEDY  [Skrm. 

help  us.  And  the  relative  importance  of  present  objects  is  so  altered 
from  what  it  was,  that  we  can  scarcely  form  any  judgment  upon  them, 
or  when  we  attempt  it,  we  form  a  wrong  judgment.  Our  eyes  do  not 
acconuuodate  themselves  to  the  various  distances  of  the  objects  before 
us,  and  are  dazzled  ;  or  like  the  blind  man  restored  to  sight,  we  "  see 
men  as  trees,  walking."*  Moreover,  our  judgment  of  persons,  as  well 
as  of  things,  is  changed  ;  and,  if  not  every  where  changed,  yet  at  first 
every  where  suspected  by  ourselves.  And  this  general  distrust  of  our- 
selves is  the  greater,  the  longer  we  have  been  already  living  in  inatten- 
tion to  sacred  subjects,  and  the  more  we  now  are  humbled  and  ashamed 
of  ourselves.  And  it  leads  us  to  take  up  with  the  first  religious  guide 
who  offers  himself  to  us,  whatever  be  his  real  fitness  for  the  ofiice. 

To  these  agitations  of  mind  about  what  is  truth  and  what  is  error,  is 
added  an  anxiety  about  ourselves,  which,  however  sincere,  is  apt  to  lead 
us  wrong.  We  do  not  feel,  think,  and  act  as  religiously  as  we  could 
wish ;  and  while  we  are  sorry  for  it,  we  are  also  (perhaps)  somewhat 
surprised  at  it,  and  impatient  at  it, — which  is  natural  but  unreasonable. 
Instead  of  reflecting  that  we  are  just  setting  about  our  recovery  from  a 
most  serious  disease  of  long  standing,  we  conceive  we  ought  to  be  able 
to  trace  the  course  of  our  recovery  by  a  sensible  improvement.  This 
same  impatience  is  seen  in  persons  who  are  recovering  from  bodily  in- 
disposition. They  gain  strength  slowly,  and  are  better  perhaps  for 
some  days,  and  then  worse  again  ;  and  a  slight  relapse  dispirits  them. 
In  the  same  way,  when  we  begin  to  seek  God  in  earnest,  we  are  apt, 
not  only  to  be  humbled,  (which  we  ought  to  be,)  but,  to  be  discouraged 
at  the  slowness  with  which  we  are  able  to  amend,  in  spite  of  all  the 
assistances  of  God's  grace.  Forgetting  that  our  proper  title  at  very 
best  is  that  of  penitent  sinners,  we  seek  to  rise  all  at  once  into  the  bless- 
edness of  the  sons  of  God.  This  impatience  leads  us  to  misuse  the 
purpose  of  self-examination  ;  which  is  principally  intended  to  inform  us 
of  our  sins,  whereas  we  are  disappointed  if  it  does  not  at  once  tell  us  of 
our  improvement.  Doubtless,  in  a  length  of  time  we  shall  be  conscious 
of  improvement  too,  but  the  object  of  ordinary  self-examination  is  to 
find  out  whether  we  are  in  earnest,  and  again,  what  we  have  done  wrong, 
in  order  that  we  may  pray  for  pardon,  and  do  better.  Further,  reading 
in  Scripture  how  exalted  the  thoughts  and  spirit  of  Christians  should 
be,  we  are  apt  to  forget  that  a  Christian  spirit  is  the  growth  of  time ; 
and  that  we  cannot  force  it  upon  our  minds,  however  desirable  and  ne- 
cessary it  may  be  to  possess  it ;  that  by  giving  utterance  to  religious 
sentiments  we  do  not  become  religious,  rather  the  reverse ;  whereas,  if 

*  Mark  viii.  24, 


XVIII.]  FOR  RELIGIOUS  PERPLEXITY.  137 

we  strove  to  obey  God's  will  in  all  things,  we  actually  should  be  gra- 
dually training  our  hearts  into  the  fulness  of  a  Christian  spirit.  But,  not 
understanding  this,  men  are  led  to  speak  much  and  expressly  upon  sa- 
cred subjects,  as  if  it  were  a  duty  to  do  so,  and  in  the  hope  of  its 
making  them  better  ;  and  they  measure  their  advance  in  faith  and  holi- 
ness, not  by  their  power  of  obeying  God  in  practice,  mastering  their 
Avill,  and  becoming  more  exact  in  their  daily  duties,  but  by  the  warmth 
and  energy  of  their  religious  feelings.  And,  when  they  cannot  sustain 
these  to  that  height  which  they  consider  almost  the  characteristic  of  a 
true  Christian,  then  they  are  discouraged,  and  tempted  to  despair. 
Added  to  this,  sometimes  their  old  sins,  reviving  from  the  slumber  into 
\\  hich  they  have  been  cast  for  a  time,  rush  over  their  minds,  and  seem 
prepared  to  take  them  captive.  They  cry  to  God  for  aid,  but  He  seems 
not  to  hear  them,  and  they  know  not  which  way  to  look  for  safety. 

Now  such  persons  must  be  reminded  first  of  all,  of  the  greatness  of 
the  work  which  they  have  undertaken,  viz.  the  sanctification  of  their 
souls.  Those,  indeed,  who  think  this  an  easy  task,  or  (which  comas 
to  the  same  thing)  who  think  that,  though  hard  in  inself,  it  will  be  easy 
to  them,  for  God's  grace  will  take  all  the  toil  of  it  from  them,  such  men 
of  course  must  be  disappointed  on  finding  by  experience  the  force  of 
their  original  evil  nature,  and  the  extreme  slowness  with  which  even  a 
Christian  is  able  to  improve  it.  And  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  this  disap- 
pointment in  some  cases  issues  in  a  belief,  that  it  is  impossible  to  over- 
come our  evil  selves  ;  that  bad  we  are,  bad  we  must  be  ;  that  our  innate 
corruption  lies  like  a  load  in  our  hearts,  and  no  more  admits  of  improve- 
ment  than  a  stone  does  of  life  and  thought ;  and,  in  consequence,  that 
all  wc  have  to  do,  is  to  believe  in  Christ  who  is  to  save  us,  and  to  dwell 
on  the  thoughts  of  His  perfect  work  for  us, — that  this  is  all  we  can  do, 
— and  that  it  is  presumption  as  well  as  folly  to  attempt  more. 

But, what  says  the  text?  "Wait  on  the  Lord  and  keep  his  way." 
And  Isaiah  ?  "They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength  ; 
they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  like  eagles  ;  they  shall  run  and  not  be 
weary  ;  and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint."*  And  St.  Paul  ?  "  I  can 
do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me."f  The  very 
fruit  of  Christ's  passion  was  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  was  to 
enable  us  to  do  what  otherwise  we  could  not  do — to  work  out  our  own  sal- 
rafio/i."| — Yet,  while  we  must  aim  at  this,  and  feel  convinced  of  our 
ability  to  do  it  at  length  through  the  gifts  bestowed  on  us,  we  cannot 
do  it  rightly  without  a  deep  settled  conviction  of  the  exceeding  difficulty 
of  the  work.  That  is,  not  only  shall  we  be  tempted  to  negligence,  but 
to  impatience  also,  and  thence  into  all  kinds  of  unlawful  treatments  of 

»  Isa.  xl.  31.  t  Phil.  iv.  13.  t  Phil.  ii.  1-2. 


138  OBEDIENCE  THE  REMEDY  [Serm. 

the  soul,  if  wc  be  possessed  by  a  notion  that  rcHgious  disciphne  soon  be- 
comes easy  to  the  behever,  and  that  the  heart  is  speedily  changed. 
"  Christ's  yoke  is  easy  :"*  true,  to  those  who  arc  accustomed  to  it,  not  to 
the  unbroken  neck.  "  Wisdom  is  very  unpleasant  to  the  unlearned, 
(says  the  son  of  Sirach,)  he  that  is  without  understanding  will  not  remain 
with  her."  "At  the  first  she  will  walk  with  him  by  crooked  ways,  and 
bring  fear  and  dread  upon  him,  and  torment  him  with  her  discipline, 
until  she  may  trust  his  soul  and  try  him  by  her  laws.  Then  will  she 
return  the  straightway  unto  him,  and  comfort  him,  and^show  him  her 
secrets."f 

Let,  then,  every  beginner  make  up  his  mind  to  suffer  disquiet  and 
perplexity.  He  cannot  complain  that  it  should  be  so  ;  and  though  he 
should  be  deeply  ashamed  of  himself  that  it  is  so,  (for  had  he  followed 
God  from  a  child,  his  condition  would  have  been  far  different,  though, 
then,  perhaps,  not  without  some  perplexities,)  still  he  has  no  cause  to 
be  surprised  or  discouraged.  The  more  he  makes  up  his  mind  manfully 
to  bear  doubt,  struggle  against  it,  and  meekly  to  do  God's  will  all  through 
it,  the  sooner  this  unsettled  state  of  mind  will  cease,  and  order  will  rise 
out  of  confusion.  "  Wait  on  the  Lord,"  this  is  the  rule ;  "  keep  His 
way,"  this  is  the  manner  of  waiting.  Go  about  your  duty  ;  mind  little 
things  as  well  as  great.  Do  not  pause,  and  say,  "  I  am  as  I  was  ;  day 
after  day  passes,  and  still  no  light ;"  go  on.  It  is  very  painful  to  be 
haunted  by  wandering  doubts,  to  have  thoughts  shoot  across  the  mind 
about  the  reality  of  religion  altogether,  or  of  this  or  that  particular  doc- 
trine of  it,  or  about  the  correctness  of  one's  own  faith,  and  the  safety 
of  one's  own  state.  But  it  must  be  right  to  serve  God  ;  we  have  a  voice 
within  us  answering  to  the  injunction  in  the  text,  of  waiting  on  Him, 
and  keeping  His  way.  David  confesses  it.  "  When  Thou  saidst.  Seek 
ye  my  face ;  my  heart  said  unto  Thee,  Thy  face.  Lord,  will  I  seek."f 
And  surely  such  obedient  waiting  upon  Him  will  obtain  his  blessing. 
^^Blessed  are  they  that  keep  His  commandments."  And  besides  this 
express  promise,  even  if  we  had  to  seek  for  a  way  to  understand  His 
perfect  will,  could  we  conceive  one  of  greater  promise  than  that  of 
beginning  with  little  things,  and  so  gradually  making  progress?  In  all 
other  things  is  not  this  the  way  to  perfection  ?  Does  not  a  child  learn 
to  walk  short  distances  at  first?  Who  would  attempt  to  bear  great 
weights  before  he  had  succeeded  with  the  lesser?  It  is  from  God's 
great  goodness  that  our  daily  constant  duty  is  placed  in  the  performance 
of  small  and  comparatively  easy  services.  To  be  dutiful  and  obedient 
in  ordinary  matters,  to  speak  the  truth,  to  be  honest,   to  be  sober,  ta 

»  Matt.  li.  30.  t  EcclcB,  tI.  20.  iv.  17,  18.  I  PBalmxxvii.  8. 


XVIII.J  FOR  RELIGIOUS  PERPLEXITY.  139 

keep  from  sinful  words  and  thoughts,  to  be  kind  and  forgiving, — and  all 
this  for  our  Saviour's  sake, — let  us  attempt  these  duties  first.  They 
even  will  be  difficult,— the  least  of  them  ;  still  they  are  much  easier 
than  the  solution  of  the  doubts  which  harass  us,  and  they  will  by  de- 
grees,  give  us  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  Truth. 

To  take  one  instance,  out  of  many  which  might  be  given :  suppose 
we  have  any  perplexing  indescribable  doubts  about  the  Divine  power  of 
our  Blessed  Lord,  or  concerning  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  ;  well,  let 
us  leave  the  subject,  and  turn  to  God's  will.  If  we  do  this  in  faith  and 
humility,  we  shall  in  time  find  that,  while  we  have  been  obeying  our 
Saviour's  precepts,  and  imitating  His  conduct  in  the  Gospels,  our  diffi- 
culties have  been  removed,  though  it  may  take  time  to  remove  them  ; 
and  though  we  are  not,  during  the  time,  sensible  of  what  is  going  on. 
There  may,  indeed,  be  cases  in  which  they  are  never  removed  entirely, 
— and  in  which  doubtless  some  great  and  good  object  is  secured  by  the 
trial ;  but  we  may  fairly  and  safely  look  out  for  a  more  comfortable 
issue.  And  so  as  regards  all  our  difficulties.  "  Wait  on  the  Lord,  and 
keep  His  way."  His  word  is  sure;  we  may  safely  trust  it.  We  shall 
gain  light  as  to  general  doctrines,  by  embodying  them  in  those  par- 
ticular instances  in  which  they  become  ordinary  duties. 

But  it  too  often  happens,  that  from  one  cause  or  other  men  do  not 
pursue  this  simple  method  of  gradually  extricating  themselves  from 
error. — They  seek  some  new  path  which  promises  to  be  shorter  and 
easier  than  the  lowly  and  the  circuitous  way  of  obedience.  They 
wish  to  arrive  at  the  heights  of  Mount  Zion  without  winding  round  its 
base ;  and  at  first  (it  must  be  confessed)  they  seem  to  make  greater 
progress  than  those  who  are  content  to  wait,  and  work  righteousness. 
Impatient  of  "  sitting  in  darkness,  and  having  no  light,"  and  of  com- 
pleting the  prophet's  picture  of  a  saint  in  trouble,  by  "  fearing  the 
Lord,  and  obeying  the  voice  of  His  servant,"*  they  expect  to  gain 
s|>cedy  peace  and  holiness  by  means  of  new  teachers,  and  by  a  new 
doctrine. 

Many  are  misled  by  confidence  in  themselves.  They  look  back  at 
llie  first  seasons  of  their  repentance  and  conversion,  as  if  the  time  of  their 
greatest  knowledge ;  and  instead  of  considering  that  their  earliest  reli- 
gious notions  were  probably  the  most  confused  and  mixed  with  error,  and 
therefore  endeavouring  to  separate  the  good  from  the  bad,  they  consecrate 
all  they  then  felt  as  a  standard  of  doctrine  to  which  they  are  bound  to  ap- 
peal ;  and  as  to  the  opinions  of  others,  they  think  little  of  it,  for  religion 
being  a  new  subject  to  themselves,  they  are  easily  led  to  think  it  must  be 

•  Isaiah  1.  10. 


I 


140  OBEDIENCE  THE  REMEDY  [Serm. 

a  new  and  untried  subject  to  others  also,  especially,  since  the  best  men 
arc  often  the  least  willing  to  converse,  except  in  private,  on  religious 
subjects,  and  still  more  averse  to  speak  of  them  to  those  who  they  think 
will  not  value  them  rightly- 

But,  leaving  the  mention  of  those  who  err  from  self-confidence,  I 
would  rather  lament  over  such  as  are  led  away  from  the  path  of  plain 
simple  obedience  by  a  compliance  with  the  views  and  wishes  of  those 
around  them.  Such  persons  there  are  all  through  the  Church,  and  ever 
have  been.  Such  perhaps  have  been  many  Christians  in  the  commu- 
nion of  the  Church  of  Rome;  who,  feeling  deeply  the  necessity  of  a 
religious  Hfe,  yet  strive  by  means  different  from  those  which  God  has 
blessed,  to  gain  His  favour.  They  begin  religion  at  the  very  end  of  it, 
and  make  those  observances  and  rules  the  chief  means  of  pleasing  Him, 
which  in  fact  should  be  but  the  spontaneous  acts  of  the  formed  Chris- 
tian temper.  And  others  among  ourselves  are  bound  by  a  similar  yoke 
of  bondage,  though  it  be  more  speciously  disguised,  when  they  subject 
their  minds  to  certain  unscriptural  rules,  and  fancy  they  must  separate 
in  some  self-devised  way  from  the  world,  and  that  they  mast  speak  and 
act  according  to  some  arbitrary  and  novel  form  of  doctrine,  which  they 
try  to  set  before  themselves,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  imbue  their  hearts 
with  that  free,  unconstrained  spirit  of  devotion,  which  lovvly  obedience  in 
ordinary  matters  would  imperceptibly  form  within  them.  How  many 
are  there,  more  or  less  such,  who  love  the  Truth,  and  would  fain  do  God's 
will,  who  yet  are  led  aside,  and  walk  in  bondage,  while  they  are  promised 
superior  light  and  freedom  !  They  desire  to  be  living  members  of  the 
Church,  and  they  anxiously  seek  out  whatever  they  can  admire  in  the 
true  sons  of  the  Church ;  but  the\-  feel  forced  to  measure  every  thing  by 
a  certain  superstitious  standard  which  they  revere, — they  are  frightened 
at  shadows, — and  thus  they  are,  from  time  to  time,  embarrassed  and 
perplexed,  whenever,  that  is,  they  cannot  reconcile  the  conduct  and  lives 
of  those  who  are  really,  and  whom  they  wish  to  believe  eminent  Chris- 
tians, with  that  false  religious  system  which  they  have  adopted. 

Before  concluding,  I  must  notice  one  other  state  of  mind  in  which  the 
precept  of  "waiting  on  God  and  keeping  His  way,"  will  avail,  above  all 
others,  to  lead  right  a  doubting  and  perplexed  mind. 

It  .sometimes  happens,  from  ill  health  or  other  caiise,  that  persons  fall 
into  religious  despondency.  They  fancv  that  they  have  so  abused  God's 
mercy  that  there  is  no  hope  for  them ;  that  once  they  knew  the  Truth, 
but  that  now  it  is  withdrawn  from  them  ;  that  they  have  had  warnings 
which  they  have  neglected,  and  now  they  are  left  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  given  over  to  Satan.  Then,  they  recollect  divers  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, which  speak  of  the  peril  of  falling  away,   and  they  apply  these  to 


XVIII.]  FOR  RELIGIOUS  PERPLEXITY.  141 

their  own  case  Now  I  speak  of  such  instances,  only  so  far  as  they  can 
be  called  ailments  of  the  mind, — for  often  they  must  be  treated  as  ail- 
ments  of  the  body.  As  far  as  they  are  mental,  let  us  observe  how  it  will 
conduce  to  restore  the  quiet  of  the  mind,  to  attend  to  the  humble  ordinary 
duties  of  our  station,  that  walking  in  God's  way,  of  which  the  text 
speaks.  Sometimes,  indeed,  persons  thus  afflicted,  increase  their  disor- 
der by  attempting  to  console  themselves  by  those  elevated  Christian 
doctrines  which  St.  Paul  enlarges  on  ;  and  others  encourage  them  in  it. 
But  St.  Paul's  doctrine  is  not  intended  for  weak  and  unstable  minds.* 
He  says  himself:  "We  speak  wisdom  among  them  that  are  perfect  ;^^ 
not  to  those  who  are  (what  he  calls)  "  babes  in  Christ. "|  In  proportion 
as  we  gain  strength,  we  shall  be  able  to  understand  and  profit  by  the  full 
promises  of  the  Christian  covenant ;  but  those  who  are  confused,  agita- 
ted, restless  in  their  minds,  who  busy  themselves  with  many  thoughts, 
and  are  overwhelmed  with  conflicting  feelings,  such  persons  are,  in  gen- 
eral, made  more  restless  and  more  unhappy,  (as  the  experience  of  sick 
beds  may  show  us,)  by  holding  out  to  them  doctrines  and  assurances 
which  they  cannot  rightly  apprehend.  Now,  not  to  speak  of  that  pecu- 
liar blessing  which  is  promised  to  obedience  to  God's  will,  let  us  observe 
how  well  it  is  calculated,  by  its  natural  effect,  to  soothe  and  calm  the 
mind.  When  we  set  about  to  obey  God,  in  the  ordinary  business  of  daily 
life,  we  are  at  once  interested  by  realities  which  withdraw  our  minds 
from  vagiio  fears  and  uncertain  indefinite  surmises  about  the  future. 
Without  laying  aside  the  thoughts  of  Christ,  (the  contrary,)  still  we  learn 
to  view  Him  in  His  tranquil  providence,  before  we  set  about  contem- 
plating His  greater  works,  and  we  are  saved  from  taking  an  unchristian 
thought  to  morrow,  while  we  are  busied  in  present  services.  Thus  our 
Saviour  gradually  discloses  Himself  to  the  troubled  mind  ;  not  as  He  is 
in  heaven,  as  when  He  struck  down  Saul  to  the  ground,  but  as  He  was 
in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  eating  and  conversing  among  His  brethren,  and 
bidding  us,  in  imitation  of  Him,  think  no  duty  beneath  the  notice  of  those 
who  sincerely  wish  to  please  God. 

Such  afflicted  inquirers,  then,  after  truth,  must  be  exhorted  to  keep  a 
guard  upon  their  feelings,  and  to  control  their  hearts.  They  say  they 
are  terrified  lest  they  should  be  past  hope  ;  and  they  will  not  be  persua- 
ded that  God  is  all-mercifid,  in  spite  of  all  the  Scriptures  say  to  that 
effect.  Well,  then,  I  would  take  them  on  their  own  ground.  Suppos- 
ing their  state  to  be  as  wretched  as  is  conceivable,  can  they  deny  it  is  their 
duty  nnw  to  serve  God  1  Can  they  do  better  than  try  to  serve  Him  ? 
Job  said,  "  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Him."J     They  say 

»  2  Pet.  iii.  16.  1 1  Cor.  ii.  6.  iii.  1.  X  Job  xiii.  15. 


142  OBEDIENCE  THE   REMEDY.  [Serm.  XVIII. 

they  do  not  wish  to  serve  God, — that  they  want  a  heart  to  serve  Him. 
Let  us  grant  (if  they  will  have  it  so,)  that  they  are  most  obdurate  ;  still 
thev  are  alive, — they  must  be  doing  something,  and  can  they  do  ought 
better  than  try  to  quiet  themselves,  and  be  resigned,  and  to  do  right  rather 
than  wrong,  even  though  they  are  persuaded  that  it  does  not  come  from 
their  heart,  and  is  not  acceptable  to  God?  They  say  they  dare  not  ask 
for  God's  grace  to  assist  them.  This  is  doubtless  a  miserable  state ;  still, 
since  they  must  act  in  some  way,  though  they  cannot  do  what  is  really 
good  without  His  grace,  yet,  at  least,  let  them  do  what  seems  like  truth 
and  goodness.  Nay,  though  it  is  shocking  to  set  before  their  minds  such 
a  prospect,  yet  even  were  they  already  in  the  place  of  punishment,  will 
they  not  confess,  it  would  be  the  best  thing  they  could  do,  to  commit  then 
as  little  sin  as  possible  ?  Much  more  then  now,  when  even  if  they  have 
no  hope,  their  heart  at  least  is  not  so  entirely  hardened  as  it  will  be  then. 
It  must  not  be  for  an  instant  supposed  I  am  admitting  the  possibility 
of  a  person  being  rejected  by  God,  who  has  any  such  right  feelings  in 
his  mind.  The  anxiety  of  the  sufferers  I  have  been  describing,  shows 
Ihey  are  still  under  the  influence  of  Divine  grace,  though  they  will  not 
allow  it ;  but  I  say  this,  to  give  another  instance  in  which  a  determina- 
tion to  obey  God's  Avill  strictly  in  ordinary  matters  tends,  through  His 
blessing,  to  calm  and  comfort  the  mind,  and  to  bring  it  out  of  perplex- 
ity into  the  clear  day. 

And  so  in  various  other  cases  which  might  be  recounted.  What- 
ever our  difficulty  be,  this  is  plain.  "  Wait  on  the  Lord,  and  keep  His 
way,  and  He  shall  exalt  thee."  Or  in  our  Saviour's  words  ;  "  He  that 
hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me ; 
and  he  that  loveth  Me,  shall  be  loved  of  My  Father,  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  Myself  to  him."  Whosoever  shall  do  and  teach 
these  least  commandments,  shall  be  called  great  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  "  Whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have 
more  abundance."* 

»  John  xiv.  21.     Matt.  v.  19,  xiii.  12. 


SERMON    XIX. 


TIMES  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER. 


Matthew  vi.  6. 


**Thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  tliou  hast  shut  thy  door, 
pray  to  thy  Father,  which  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father,  which  seeth  in  secret,  shall 
reward  thee  openly." 

Hebe  is  our  Saviour's  own  sanction  and  blessing  vouchsafed  to  private 
prayer,  in  simple,  clear,  and  most  gracious  words.  The  Pharisees 
were  in  the  practice,  when  they  prayed  by  themselves,  of  praying  in 
public,  in  the  corners  of  the  streets  ;  a  strange  inconsistency  according 
to  our  notions,  since  in  our  language  prayer  by  oneself  is  ever  called  pri- 
vate prayer.  Public  private  prayer,  this  was  their  self-contradictory 
practice.  Warning,  then,  His  disciples  against  the  particular  form  of 
hypocrisy  in  which  the  self-conceit  of  human  nature  at  that  day 
showed  itself,  our  Lord  promises  in  the  text  His  Father's  blessing  on 
such  humble  supplications  as  were  really  addressed  to  Him,  and  not 
made  to  gain  the  praise  of  men.  Those  who  seek  the  unseen  God, 
(He  seems  to  say,)  seek  Him  in  their  hearts  and  hidden  thoughts,  not 
in  loud  words,  as  if  He  were  far  off  from  them.  Such  men  would  re- 
tire from  the  world  into  places  where  no  human  eye  saw  them,  there 
to  meet  Him  humbly  and  in  faith,  who  is  "  about  their  path,  and  about 
their  bed,  and  spieth  out  all  their  ways."  And  He,  the  searcher  of 
hearts,  would  reward  them  openly.  Prayers  uttered  in  secret,  accord- 
ing to  God's  will,  are  treasured  up  in  God's  Book  of  Life.  They  seem, 
perhaps,  to  have  sought  an  answer  here,  and  to  have  failed  of  their  ob- 
ject. Their  memory  perishes  even  in  the  mind  of  the  petitioner,  and 
the  world  never  knew  them.  But  God  is  ever  mindful,  and  in  the  last 
day,  when  the  books  are  opened,  they  shall  be  disclosed  and  rewarded 
before  the  whole  world. 

Such  is   Christ's  gracious  promise  in  the  text,  acknowledging   and 

blessing,  according  to  His  own  condescension,  those  devotional  exer- 

i  cises  which  were  a  duty  even  before  Scripture   enjoined  them ;  and 


144  TIMES  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  [Serm, 

changing  into  a  privilege  that  work  of  faith,  which,  though  bidden  by- 
conscience,  and  authorized  by  reason,  yet  before  He  revealed  His 
mercy,  is  laden,  in  every  man's  case  who  attempts  it,  with  guilt,  re- 
morse and  fear.  It  is  the  Christian's  unspeakable  privilege,  and  his 
alone,  that  he  has  at  all  times  free  access  to  the  throne  of  grace  boldly 
through  the  mediation  of  his  Saviour. 

But,  in  what  I  shall  now  say  concerning  prayer,  I  shall  not  consider 
it  as  a  privilege,  but  as  a  duty ;  for  till  we  have  some  experience  of  the 
duties  of  religion,  we  are  incapable  of  entering  duly  into  the  privileges  ; 
and  it  is  too  much  the  fashion  of  the  day  to  view  prayer  chiefly  as  a 
mere  privilege,  such  a  privilege  as  it  is  inconsiderate  indeed  to  neglect, 
but  only  inconsiderate,  not  sinful ;  and  optional  to  use. 

IVow,  we  know  well  enougli  that  we  are  bound  to  be  in  one  sense  in 
prayer  and  meditation  all  the  day  long.  The  question  then  arises,  are 
we  to  pray  in  any  other  way  1  Is  it  enough  to  keep  our  minds  fixed 
upon  God  through  the  day  and  to  commune  with  Him  in  our  hearts,  or 
is  it  necessary,  over  and  above  this  habitual  faith,  to  set  apart  particular 
times  for  the  more  systematic  and  earnest  exercise  of  it  1  Need  we 
pray  at  certain  times  of  the  day  in  a  set  manner?  Public  worship  indeed, 
from  its  very  nature,  requires  places,  times,  and  even  set  forms.  But 
private  prayer  does  not  necessarily  require  set  iitnes,  because  we  have 
no  one  to  consult  but  ourselves,  and  we  are  always  with  ourselves ;  nor 
forms,  for  there  is  no  one  else  whose  thoughts  are  to  keep  pace  with 
ours.  Still,  though  set  times  and  forms  of  prayer  are  not  absolutely 
necessary  in  private  prayer,  yet  they  are  highly  expedient ;  or  rather^ 
times  are  actually  commanded  us  by  our  Lord  in  the  text,  "Thou,  whei 
thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,! 
pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in| 
secret,  shall  reward  thee  openly." 

In  these  words  certain  time  {ot  private  prayer,  over  and  above  thej 
secret  thought  of  God  which  must  ever  be  alive  in  us,  are  clearly  en- 
joined ;  and  the  practice  of  good  men  in  Scripture  gives  us  an  examplel 
in  confirmation  of  the  command.     Even  our  Saviour  had  His  peculiar  | 
seasons  of  communing  with  God.     His  thoughts  indeed  were  one  con- 
tinued sacred  service  offered  up  to  His  Father;  nevertheless  we  read 
of  His  going  up  "into  a  mountain  apart  to  pray,"  and   again,  of  His 
"continuing  all  night  in  prayer  to  God."*     Doubtless,  you  will  recol- 
lect that  solitary  prayer  of  His,  before  His  passion,   thrice  repeated, 
"  that  the  cup  might  pass  from  Him."     St.  Peter  too,  as  in  the  narra- 
tive of  the  conversion  of  Cornelius,  the  Roman  centurion,  in  the  tenth 

•  Matt.  xiv.  23.     Luke  yi.  12. 


XIX.]  TIMES  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  145 

chapter  of  the  Acts,  went  up  upon  the  house-top  to  [pray  about  the 
sixth  hour  ;  then  God  visited  him.  And  Nathaniel  seems  to  have  been 
m  prayer  under  the  tig-tree,  at  the  time  our  Saviour  saw  him,  and 
Phihp  called  him.*  I  might  nmltiply  instances  from  Scripture  of  such 
Israelites  without  guile  ;  which  are  of  couise  applicable  to  us,  because, 
though  they  were  under  a  divine  government  in  many  respects  different 
from  the  Christian,  yet  personal  religion  is  the  same  at  all  times ; 
•'the  just"  in  every  dispensation  "shall  live  by  faith,"  and  whatever 
reasons  there  were  then  for  faith  to  display  and  maintain  itself  by 
stated  praver,  remain  substantially  the  same  now.  Let  two  passages 
•suffice.  The  Psalmist  says,  "  Sev:n  times  a  day  do  I  praise  Thee,  be- 
cause of  thy  righteous  judgments."!  And  Daniel's  practice  is  told  us 
on  a  memorable  occasion  :  "  Now  when  Daniel  knew  that  the  writing 
was  signed,  (the  impious  decree,  forbidding  prayer  to  any  but  king 
Darius  for  thirty  days,)  he  went  into  his  house,  and  his  windows  being 
open  in  his  chamber  toward  Jerusalem,  he  kneeled  upon  his  knees  three 
iim  's  a  day,  and  prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his^God,  as  he  did 
aforetime. ''''j^ 

It  is  plain,  then,  besides  the  devotional  temper  in  which  [we  should 
pass  the  day,  more  solemn  and  direct  acts  of  worship,  nay,  regular  and 
■periodic  I,  are  required  of  us  by  the  precept  of  Christ,  and  His  own 
example,  and  that  of  His  Apostles  and  Prophets  under  both  covenants. 

Now  it  is  necessary  to  insist  upon  this  duty  of  observing  private 
prayer  at  stated  times,  because  amid  the  cares  and  hurry  of  life  men 
are  very  apt  to  neglect  it :  and  it  is  a  much  more  important  !duty  than 
it  is  generally  considered,  even  by  those  who  perform  it. 

The  following  are  two  chief  reasons  for  its  importance. 

1.  It  brings  religious  subjects  before  the  mind  in  regular  course. 
Prayer  through  the  day,  is  indeed  the  characteristic  of  a  Christian  spirit, 
but  we  may  be  sure  that,  in  most  cases,  those  who  do  not  pray  at  stated 
times  in  a  more  solemn  and  direct  manner,  will  never  pray  well  at  other 
times.  We  know  in  the  common  engagements  of  life,  the  importance 
of  collecting  and  arranging  our  thoughts  calmly  and  accurately  before 
proceeding  to  any  important  business,  in  order  to  the  right  performance 
of  it ;  and  so  in  that  one  really  needful  occupation,  the  care  of  our  eter- 
nal interests,  if  we  would  have  our  minds  composed,  our  desires  subdued, 
and  our  tempers  heavenly  through  the  day,  we  must,  before  commencing 
the  day's  employment,  stand  still  awhile  to  look  into  ourselves,  and 
commune  with  our  hearts,  by  way  of  preparing  ourselves  for  the  trials 
I  and  duties  on  which   we  are  entering.     A  like  reason  may  be  assigned 

*  John  i.  48.  t  Pealm  cxix.  1C4.  t  Dan.  vi.  10. 

Vol.  I 10. 


I 


146  TIMES  OF  PRIVATE   PRAYER.  |Serm. 

for  evening  prayer,  viz.  as  affording  us  a  time  of  looking  back  on  the 
past  day,  and  summing  up  (as  it  were)  that  account,  which,  if  we  do 
not  reckon,  at  least  God  has  reckoned,  and  written  down  in  that  book 
which  will  be  produced  at  the  judgment ;  a  time  of  confessing  sin,  and 
of  praying  for  forgiveness,  of  giving  thanks  for  what  we  have  done  well, 
and  for  mercies  received,  of  making  good  resolutions  in  reliance  on  the 
help  of  (iod,  and  of  scaling  up  and  setting  sure  the  day  past,  at  least  as 
a  stepping-stone  of  good  for  the  morrow.  The  precise  times  indeed  of 
private  prayer  are  no  where  commanded  us  in  Scripture ;  the  most 
obvious  are  those  I  have  mentioned,  morning  and  evening.  In  the 
texts  just  now  read  to  you,  you  heard  of  praying  three  times  a  day,  or 
seven  times.  All  this  depends  of  course  on  the  opportunities  of  each 
individu  1.  Some  men  have  not  leisure  for  this ;  but  for  morning  and 
evening  prayer  all  men  can  and  should  n.ake  leisure. 

Stated  times  of  private  prayer,  then,  are  useful  as  impulses  (so  to  say) 
to  the  continuous  devotion  of  the  day.  They  instruct  us  and  engage 
us  in  what  is  ever  our  duty.  It  is  commonly  said,  that  what  is  every 
one's  business  is  practically  no  one's  ;  this  applies  here.  I  repeat  it, 
if  we  leave  religion  as  a  subject  of  thought  for  all  hours  of  the  day 
equally,  it  will  be  thought  of  in  none.  In  all  things  it  is  by  small  be- 
ginnings and  appointed  channels,  that  an  advance  is  made  to  extensive 
works.  Slated  times  of  prayer  put  us  in  that  posture,  (as  I  may  call  it,) 
in  which  we  ought  ever  to  be  ;  they  urge  us  forward  in  a  heavenly  di- 
rection, and  then  the  stream  carries  us  on.  For  the  same  reason  it  is 
expedient,  if  possible,  to  be  solemn  in  the  forms  of  our  private  worship, 
in  order  to  impress  our  minds.  Our  Saviour  kneeled  down,  fell  on  His 
face,  and  prayed,* — so  did  His  Apostles  ;■{"  and  so  did  the  Saints  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Hence  many  persons  are  accustomed  (such  as 
have  the  opportunity)  to  set  apart  a  particular  place  for  their  private 
devotions ;  still  for  the  same  reason,  to  compose  their  mind, — as  Christ 
tells  us  in  the  text,  to  enter  into  our  closet. 

2.  I  now  come  to  the  second  reason  for  stated  private  prayer. 
Besides  iis  tending  to  produce  in  us  lasting  religious  impressions,  which 
I  have  already  enlarged  upon,  it  is  also  a  more  direct  means  of  gaining 
from  God  an  answer  to  our  requests.  He  has  so  sanctioned  it  in  the 
text : — "  Shut  thy  door,  and  pray  to  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret, 
and  He  .shall  reward  thee  openly."  We  do  not  know  how  it  is  that 
prayer  receives  an  answer  from  God  at  all.  It  is  strange,  indeed,  that 
weak  man  should  have  strength  to  move  God ;  but  it  is  our  privilege  to 
know  that  we  can  do  so.     The  whole  system  of  this  world  is  a  history 

•  Matt.  ixvi.  39.     Luke  xxii.  41.  t  Acts  xx.  36.  xxi.  5.    Eph.  iii.  14, 


XIX.]  TIMES   OF  PRIVATE   PRAYER.  147 

of  man's  interfering  with  Divine  decrees;  and  if  we  have  the  melan- 
choly power  of  baffling  His  good-will,  to  our  own  ruin,  (an  awful,  an 
incomprehensible  truth  !)  if  when  He  designs  our  eternal  salvation,  we 
can  yet  annul  our  heavenly  election,  and  accomplish  our  eternal 
destruction,  much  more  have  we  the  power  to  move  Him  (blessed  be 
His  name  !)  when  He,  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  discerns  in  us  the  mind 
of  that  Holy  Spirit,  which  "  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  according 
to  His  will."  And,  as  He  has  thus  promised  an  answer  to  our  poor 
prayers,  so  it  is  not  more  strange  that  prayers  offered  up  at  particular 
times,  and  in  a  particular  way,  should  have  especially  prevailing  power 
with  Him.  And  the  reason  of  it  may  be  as  follows.  It  is  Faith  that 
is  the  appointed  means  of  gaining  all  blessing  from  God.  "  All  things 
arc  possible  to  him  that  believeth."*  Now,  at  stated  times,  when  we 
gather  up  our  thoughts  to  pray,  and  draw  out  our  petitions  in  an  orderly 
and  clear  manner,  the  act  of  faith  is  likely  to  be  stronger  and  more 
earnest ;  then  we  realize  more  perfectly  the  presence  of  that  God 
whom  we  do  not  see,  and  Him  on  whom  once  all  our  sins  were  laid,  who 
bore  the  weight  of  our  infirmities  and  sicknesses  once  for  all,  that  in 
all  our  troubles  we  might  seek  Him,  and  find  grace  in  time  of  need. 
Then  this  world  is  more  out  of  sight,  and  we  more  simply  appropriate 
those  blessings,  which  we  have  but  to  claim  humbly  and  they  are  really 
ours. 

Stated  times  of  prayer,  then,  are  necessary,  first,  as  a  means  of 
making  the  mind  sober,  and  the  general  temper  more  religious ; 
secondly,  as  a  means  of  exercising  earnest  faith,  and  therefore  of  re- 
ceiving a  more  certain  blessing  in  answer,  than  we  should  otherwise 
obtain. 

Other  reasons,  doubtless,  may  be  given ;  but  these  are  enough,  not 
only  as  containing  subject  for  thought  which  may  be  useful  to  us,  but 
besides  are  serving  to  show  how  wise  and  merciful  those  Divine  pro- 
visions really  are,  which  our  vain  minds  are  so  apt  to  question.  .AH 
God's  commands,  indeed,  ought  to  be  received  at  once  upon  faith, 
though  wo  saw  no  reason  for  them.  It  is  no  excuse  for  a  man's  dis- 
obeying them  even  if  he  thinks  he  sees  reasons  against  them  ;  for  God 
knows  better  than  we  do.  But  in  great  condescension  He  has  allowed 
us  to  see  here  and  there  His  reasons  for  what  He  does  and  enjoins  ;  and 
we  should  treasure  up  these  occasional  notices  as  memorials  against  the 
time  of  temptation,  that  when  doubt  and  unbelief  assail  us,  and  we  are 
perplexed  at  His  revealed  word,  we  may  call  to  mind  those  former  in- 
stances in  our  own  experience,  where,  what  at  first  seemed  strange  and 

•  Mark  ix.  23. 


146  TIMES  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  [Sf.um. 

harr).  on'^clcscr  consideration  was  found  to  have  a  wise  end.  Now  the 
dutv  of  observing  slated  times  of  private  prayer  is  one  of  those  conccrn- 
in'T  whicli  we  are  apt  to  entertain  the  unbeheving  thoughts  I  have  been 
describing. 

It  seems  to  us  to  be  a  form,  or  at  least  a  light  matter,  to  observe  or 
omit  •  whereas  in  truth,  such  creatures  are  we,  there  is  the  most  close 
and  remarkable  connexion  between  small  observances  and  the  perma- 
nence  of  our  chief  habits  and  practices.  It  is  easy  to  see  why  it  is 
irksome  ;  because  it  presses  upon  us  and  is  inconvenient.  It  is  a  duty 
which  claims  our  attention  continually,  and  its  irksomeness  leads  our 
hearts  to  rebel ;  and  then  we  proceed  to  search  for  reasons  to  justify 
our  own  dislike  of  it.  Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  be  disciplined 
and  regular  in  our  religion.  It  is  very  easy  to  be  religious  by  fits  and 
starts,  and  to  keep  up  our  feelings  by  artificial  stimulants  ;  but  regularity 
seems  to  trammel  us,  and  we  become  impatient.  This  is  especially 
the  case  with  those  to  whom  the  world  is  as  yet  new,  and  who  can  do 
as  they  please.  Religion  is  the  chief  subject  which  meets  them,  which 
enjoins  regularity  ;  and  they  bear  it  only  so  far  as  they  can  make  it 
look  like  things  of  this  world,  curious  or  changeable  or  exciting.  Satan 
knows  his  advantage  here.  He  perceives  well  enough  that  stated 
private  prayer  is  the  very  emblem  and  safeguard  of  true  devotion  to 
God,  as  impressing  on  us  and  keeping  up  in  us  a  rule  of  conduct.  He 
who  gives  up  regularity  in  prayer  has  lost  a  principal  means  of  remind- 
ing himself  that  spiritual  life  is  obedience  to  a  Lawgiver,  not  a  mire 
feeling  or  a  taste.  Hence  it  is  that  so  many  persons,  especially  in  the 
polished  ranks  of  society,  who  are  out  of  the  way  of  temptation  to  gross 
vice,  1  away  into  a  mere  luxurious  self-indulgent  devotion,  which 
they  take  for  rchgion  ;  they  reject  every  thing  which  implies  self-denial, 
and  regular  prayer  especially.  Hence  it  is  that  others  run  into  all 
kinds  of  enthusiastic  fancies ;  because,  by  giving  up  set  private  prayer 
in  written  forms,  they  have  lost  the  chief  rule  of  their  hearts.  Accord- 
ingly, you  will  hear  them  exclaim  againft  regular  prayer,  (which  is  the 
very  medicine  suited  to  their  disease,)  as  a  formal  service,  and  maintain 
that  times  and  places  and  fixed  words  are  beneath  the  attention  of  a 
.spiritual  Christian.  And  others,  who  arc  exposed  to  the  seductions  of 
sin,  altogether  fall  away  from  th  same  omission.  Bo  sure,  my 
brethren,  whoever,  of  you  is  persuaded  to  disuse  his  morning  and 
evening  prayers,  is  giving  up  the  armour  which  is  to  secure  him  against 
the  wiles  of  the  Devil.  If  you  have  left  oti'  the  observance  of  them, 
you  may  fail  any  day  ; — anJ  yoi  will  fall  without  notice.  For  a  time 
you  will  go  on,  seeming  to  yourselves  to  be  the  same  as  before  ;  but  the 
Israelites  might  as  wlH  hope  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  manna  as  you  of  graces 


XIX.]  TIMES  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  149 

You  pray  God  for  your  daily  bread,   v  ur  bread  day  by  day  ;  and  if 
you  have  not  prayed  for  it  this  morning,  it  will  profit  you  little  that  you 
pj-ayed  for  it  yesterday.      You  did  then  pray  and  you  obtained, — but 
not  a  supply  for  two  days.     When  you  have  given  over  the  practice  of 
stated    prayer,  you    gradually   become   weaker   without    knowing   it. 
Samson  did  not  know  he  had  lost  his  strength  till  the  Philistines  came 
upon  him  ;  you  will   'h    k  yourselves  the  men  you  used  to  be,  till  sud- 
denly your  adversary  will  come   furiously  upon  you,  and  you   will  as 
suddenly  fall.     You  will  be  able  to  make  little  or  no  resistance.     This 
is  the  path  which  leads  to  death.       Men  first  leave  off"  private  prayer  ; 
then   they  neglect   the  due  observance  of  the   Lord's  day   (which  is  a 
stated  service  of  the  same  kind  ;)  then  they  gradually  let  slip  from  their 
minds  the  very  idea  of  obedience  to  a  fixed  eternal  law ;  then  they 
actually  allow  themselves  in  things  which  their  conscience  condemns ; 
then  they  lose  the  direction  of  their  conscience,   which  being  ill  used, 
at  length  refuses  to  direct  them.      A  d  thus,  being  left  by  their  true 
inward  guide,  they  are  obliged  to  take  another  guide,  their  reason,  which 
by  itself  knows  little  or   nothing  about  religion ;  then  this  their  blind 
reason  forms  a  system  of  right  or  wrong  for  them,  as  well  as  it  can, 
flattering  to  their  own  desires,  and  presumptuous  where  it  is  not  actually 
corrupt.     No  wonder  such  a  scheme  contradicts  Scripture,  which  it  is 
soon  found  to  do  ;  not  that  they  are  certain  to  perceive  this  themselves ; 
they  often  do  not  know  it,  and  think    themselves  still  believers  in  the 
Gospel,  while  they  maintain   doctrines  which  the  Gospel  condemns. 
But  sometimes  they  perceive  that  their  system  is  contrary  to  Scripture  ; 
and  then,  instead  of  giving  it  up,  they  give  up  Scripture,  and  profess 
themselves  unbelievers.     Such  is  the  course  of  disobedience,  beginning 
in  (apparently)  slight  omissions,  and  ending  in  open  unbelief;  and  all 
men  who  walk  in  the  broad  way  which  leads  to  destruction  are  but  in 
different  stages  of  it,  one  more  advanced  than  another,  but  all  in  one 
way.     And  I  have  spoken  of  it  here,  in  order  to  remind  you  how  inti- 
mately it  is  connected  with  the  neglect  of  set  private  prayer  ;  whereas, 
he  who  is  strict  in  the   observance  of  morning  and  evening  devotion, 
praying  with  his  heart  as  well  as  his  lips,  can  hardly  go  astray,    for 
■every  morning  and  evening  brings  him  a  monitor  to  draw  him  back  and 
restore  him. 

Beware  then  of  the  subtilly  of  your  Enemy,  who  would  fain  rob  you 
of  your  defence.  Do  not  yield  to  his  bad  reasonings.  Be  on  your 
guard  especially,  when  you  get  into  novel  situations  or  circumstances, 
which  interest  and  delight  you  ;  lest  they  throw  you  out  of  your  regula- 
rity in  prayer.  Any  thing  new  or  unexpected  is  dangerous  to  you. 
"Cfoing  much  into  mixed  society,  and  seeing  many  strange  persons, 


150  TIMES  OF  PRIVATE  TRAYER.  [Sekm.  XIX. 

taking  share  in  any  pleasant  amusements,  reading  interesting  books, 
entering  into  any  new  line  of  life,  forming  some  new  acquaintance,  the 
prospect  of  any  worldly  advantage,  travelling,  all  these  things  and  such 
like,  innocent  as  they  are  in  themselves,  and  capable  of  a  religious  use, 
become  means  of  temptation  if  we  are  not  on  our  guard.  See  that  you 
are  not  unsettled  by  them,  this  is  the  danger  ;  fear  becoming  unsettled. 
Consider  that  stabilit}^  of  mind  is  the  chief  of  virtues,  for  it  is  Faith. 
"  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  Thee, 
because  he  trusteth  in  Thee  ;"*  this  is  the  promise.  But  "  the  wicked 
are  like  the  troubled  sea  when  it  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire 
and  dirt ;  there  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked. "f  Nor  to 
the  wicked  only,  in  our  common  sense  of  the  word,  "  wicked,"  but  to 
none  is  there  rest,  who  in  any  way  leave  their  God,  and  rove  after  the 
goods  of  this  world.  Do  not  indulge  visions  of  earthly  good,  fix  your 
hearts  on  higher  things,  let  your  morning  and  evening  thoughts  be  the 
points  of  rest  for  your  mind's  eye,  and  let  those  thoughts  be  upon  the 
narrow  way,  and  the  blessedness  of  heaven,  and  the  glory  and  power  of 
Christ  your  Saviour.  Thus  will  you  be  kept  from  unseemly  risings  and 
fallings,  and  steadied  in  an  equable  way.  Men  in  general  will  know 
nothing  of  this  ;  they  witness  not  your  private  prayers,  and  they  will 
confuse  you  with  the  multitude  they  fall  in  with.  But  your  friends  and 
acquaintance  will  gain  a  light  and  a  comfort  from  your  example  ;  they 
will  see  your  good  works,  and  be  led  to  trace  them  to  their  true  secret 
source,  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  sought  and  obtained  by  prayer. 
Thus  they  will  glorify  your  heavenly  Father,  and  in  imitation  of  you 
will  seek  llim  ;  and  He  who  seeth  in  secret,  shall  at  length  reward  you 
openl_^  • 

»  Isaiah  xxvi.  3.  t  Isaiah  Ivii.  20,  21. 


SERMON  XX. 


FORMS  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER. 


Luke  xi.  1. 
"  Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples." 

Thkse  words  express  ^he  natural  feelings  of  the  awakened  mind,  per- 
ceiving its  great  need  of  God's  help,  yet  not  understanding  well  what 
its  particular  wants  are,  or  how  thsy  are  to  be  relieved.  The  disciples 
of  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  disciples  of  Christ,  waited  on  their  respec- 
tive Masters  for  instruction  how  to  pray.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  duty 
of  repentance  was  preached  to  the  one,  and  of  faith  to  the  other ;  in 
vain  that  God's  mercies  and  His  judgments  were  set  before  them,  and 
their  own  duties  ;  they  seem  to  have  all  that  was  necessary  for  making 
prayers  for  themselves,  yet  they  could  not  ;  their  hearts  were  full,  but 
they  remained  dumb  ;  they  could  offer  no  petition  except  to  be  taught 
to  pray  ;  they  knevr  the  Truth,  but  they  could  not  use  it.  So  different 
a  thing  is  it  to  be  instructed  in  religion,  and  to  have  so  mastered  it  in 
practice,  that  it  is  altogether  our  own. 

Their  need  has  been  the  need  of  Christians  ever  since.  All  of  us 
in  childhood,  and  most  men  ever  after,  require  direction  how  to  pray ; 
and  hence  the  use  of  Forms  of  fray  er,  which  have  always  obtained  in 
the  Church.  John  larght  his  disciples  ;  Christ  gave  the  Apostles  the 
prayer  which  is  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  Lord's  Prayer ;  and 
after  He  had  ascended  on  high,  the  Holy  Spirit  has  given  us  excellent 
services  of  devotion  by  the  mouth  of  those  blessed  saints,  whom  from 
time  to  time  He  has  raised  up  to  be  overseers  in  the  Church,  In  the 
words  of  St.  Paul,  "  We  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we 
ought  ;"*  but  the  Spirit  helpoth  our  infirmities  ;"  and  that,  not  only  by 
guiding  our  thoughts,  but  by  directing  our  words. 

This,  I  say,  is  the  origin  of  Forms  of  prayer,  of  which  I  mean  to 
speak  to-day ;  viz.  theso  two  undeniable  truths,  first,  that  all  men 
have  the  same  spiritual  wants, — and,  secondly,  that  they  cannot  of 
themselves  express  them. 

Now  it  has  so  happened  that  in  theso  latter  times  self-wise  rcasoners 

*  Rom.  viii.  23. 


152  FORMS  OF  PRIVATE   PRAYER.  [Serm. 

have  arisen  who  have  questioned  the  use  of  Forms  of  prayer,  and  have 
thought  it  hctter  to  pray  out  of  their  own  thoughts  at  random,  using 
words  which  come  into  their  minds  at  the  time  they  pray.  It  may  be 
ri<Tht  then,  that  we  should  have  some  reasons  at  hand  for  our  use  of 
those  Forms,  which  we  have  adopted  because  they  were  handed  down 
to  us.  Not,  as  if  it  Avere  not  quite  a  sufficient  reason  for  using  them, 
thit  we  have  received  them,  and,  (in  St.  Paul's  words,)  that  "neither 
we  nor  the  Churches  of  God  have  known  any  other  custom,"*  and 
that  the  best  of  Christians  have  ever  used  them  ;  for  this  is  an  abun- 
dantly satisfactory  reason  ; — nor  again,  as  if  we  could  hope  by  reasons 
ever  so  good,  to  persuade  those  who  inquire  of  us,  which  most  likely 
we  shall  not  be  able  to  do  ;  for  a  man  is  far  gone  in  extravagance  who 
deliberately  denies  the  use  of  Forms,  and  is  likely  to  find  our  reasons 
as  difficult  to  receive  as  the  practice  we  are  defending  ; — so  that  we 
can  only  say  of  such  men,  as  St.  Paul  speaks  in  the  epistle  just  referred 
to,  "  if  any  man  be  ignorant,  let  him  be  ignorant,"  there  is  no  help  for 
it.  But  it  may  be  useful  to  show  you  how  reasonable  the  practice  is,  in 
order  that  you  yourselves  may  turn  it  to  better  account ;  for  when  we 
know  why  we  do  a  thing,  we  are  likely  (the  same  circumstances  being 
supposed)  to  do  it  more  comfortably  than  when  we  obey  ignorantly. 

Now,  I  suppose  no  one  is  in  any  difficulty  about  the  use  of  Forms  of 
prayer  in  public  worship  ;  for  common  sense  almost  will  tell  us,  that 
when  many  are  to  pray  together  as  one  man,  if  their  thoughts  are  to  go 
together,  they  must  agree  beforehand  what  is  to  be  the  subject  of  their 
prayers,  nay,  what  the  words  of  their  prayers,  if  there  is  to  be  any  cer- 
tainty, composure,  ease,  and  regularity  in  their  united  devotions.  To 
be  present  at  extempore  prayer,  is  to  hear  prayers.  Nay,  it  might  hap- 
pen, or  rather  often  would  happen,  that  wc  did  not  understand  what 
was  said  ;  and  then  the  person  praying  is  scarcely  praying  "  in  a 
tongue  underslanded  of  the  people,"  (as  our  Article  expresses  it ;) 
he  is  rather  interceding  for  the  people,  than  praying  with  them,  and 
leading  their  worship.  In  the  case,  then,  of  public  prayer  the  need  of 
forms  is  evident ;  but  it  is  not  at  first  sight  so  obvious  that  in  private 
prayer  also  we  need  use  written  Forms,  instead  of  praying  extempore 
(as  it  is  called  ;)  so  I  proceed  to  show  the  use  of  them. 

1.  Let  us  bear  in  mind  the  precept  of  the  wise  man.  "  Be  not  rash 
with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  be  hasty  to  utter  any  thing  be- 
fore God  ;  for  God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou  upon  earth ;  therefore  let 
thy  words  be  fcw."f  Prayers  framed  at  the  moment  are  likely  to  be- 
come irreverent.     Let  us  consider  for  a  few  moments  before  wo  pray, 

•  Cor.  xi.  16.  tEccles.v.  2. 


XX.]  FORMS  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  153 

into  whose  presence  wc  are  entering, — the  presence  of  God.  What 
need  havc^we  of  humble,  sober,  and  subdued  thoughts  !  as  becomes 
creatures,  sustained  hourly  by  his  bounty  ; — as  becomes  lost  sinners 
who  have  no  right  to  speak  at  all,  but  must  submit  in  silence  to  Him 
who  is  holy  ; — and  still  more  as  grateful  servants  of  Him  who  bought 
us  from  ruin  at  the  price  of  His  own  blood  ;  meekly  sitting  at  His  feet 
like  Mary  to  learn  and  to  do  His  will,  and  like  the  penitent  at  the  great 
man's  feast,  quietly  adoring  Him,  and  doing  Him  service  without  dis- 
turbance, washing  His  ieet  (as  it  were)  with  our  tears,  and  anointing 
them  with  precious  ointment,  as  having  sinned  much  and  needing  a 
large  forgiveness.  Therefore  to  avoid  the  irreverence  of  many  or  unfit 
words  and  rude  half-religious  thoughts,  it  is  necessary  to  pray  from 
book  or  memory,  and  not  at  random. 

It  may  be  objected,  that  this  reason  for  using  Forms  proves  too  much  ; 
viz.  that  it  wou'd  be  wrong  ever  to  do  without  them  ;  which  is  an  over- 
rigorous  bond  upon  Christian  liberty.  But  I  reply,  that  reverence  in 
our  prayers  will  be  sufficiently  secured,  if  at  our  stated  seasons  for 
prayer  we  make  use  of  Forms.  For  thus  a  tone  and  character  will  be 
imparted  to  our  devotion  throughout  the  day  ;  nay  even  the  very  peti- 
tions and  ejaculations  will  be  supplied,  which  we  need.  And  much 
more  will  our  souls  be  influenced  by  the  power  of  them,  at  the  very 
time  we  are  using  them  ;  so  that,  should  the  occasion  require,  we  shall 
find  ourselves  able  to  go  forward  naturally  and  soberly  into  such  addi- 
tional supplications,  as  are  of  too  particular  or  private  a  nature,  to 
admit  of  being  written  down  in  set  words. 

*2.  In  the  next  place,  forms  of  prayer  are  necessary  to  guard  us 
against  the  irreverence  of  wandering  thoughts.  If  we  pray  without 
set  words  (reader  remembered,)  our  minds  will  stray  from  the  subject ; 
other  thoughts  will  cross  us,  and  we  shall  pursue  them  ;  we  shall  lose 
sight  of  His  presence  whom  we  are  addressing.  This  wandering  of 
mind  is  in  good  measure  prevented,  under  God's  blessing,  by  Forms  of 
prayer.     Thus  a  chief  use  of  them  is  that  o(  firing  the  attention. 

3.  Next,  they  are  useful  in  securing  us  from  the  irreverence  of  ex- 
cited thoughts.  And  here  there  is  room  for  saying  much  ;  for  it  so 
happens  Forms  of  prayer  are  censured  for  the  very  circumstance  about 
them  which  is  their  excellence.  Thev  are  accused  of  impeding  the 
current  of  devotion,  when,  in  fact,  that  (so  called)  current  is  in  itself 
faulty,  and  ought  to  be  checked.  And  those  persons  (as  might  be  ex- 
pected) are  most  eager  in  their  opposition  to  them,  who  require  more 
than  others  the  restraint  of  them.  They  sometimes  throw  their  objec  - 
tion  into  the  following  form,  which  it  may  be  worth  while  to  consider. 
They  say,  "  If  a  man  is  in  earnest,  he  will  soon  find  words  ;  there  is 


154  FORMS    OF  PRIVATE   PRAYER.  [Serm. 

no  need  of  a  sot  Form  of  prayer.  And  if  he  is  not  in  earnest,  a  Form 
can  do  him  no  n  od."  Now  that  a  man  who  is  in  earnest  will  soon 
find  words,  is  true  or  not  true,  according  to  what  is  meant  by  being  in 
earnest.  It  is  true  that  in  certain  times  a  strong  emotion,  grief  or  joy, 
remorse  or  fear,  our  rehgious  feeUngs  outrun  and  leave  behind  them 
any  Form  of  words.  In  such  cases  not  only  is  there  no  need  of  Forms 
of  prayer,  but  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  write  Forms  of  prayer  for 
Christians  agitated  by  such  feelings.  For  each  man  feels  in  his  own 
way, — perhaps  no  two  men  exactly  alike  ; — and  we  can  no  more  write 
down  lioio  men  ought  to  pray  at  such  times,  than  we  can  give  rules 
how  they  should  weep  or  be  merry.  The  better  men  they  are,  of 
course  the  better  they  will  pray  in  such  a  trying  time  ;  but  you  cannot 
make  them  better  ;  they  must  be  left  to  themselves.  And,  though  good 
men  have  before  now  set  down  in  writing  Forms  of  prayer  for  persons 
so  circumstanced,  these  were  doubtless  meant  rather  as  patterns  and 
helps,  or  as  admonitions  and  (if  so  be)  quictings  of  the  agitated  mind, 
than  as  prayers  which  it  was  expected  would  be  used  literally  and  en- 
tirely in  their  detail.  As  a  general  rule,  Forms  of  prayer  should  not 
be  written  in  strong  and  impassioned  language  ;  but  should  be  calm, 
composed,  and  short.  Our  Saviour's  own  prayer  is  our  model  in  this 
respect.  How  few  are  its  petitions  !  how  soberly  expressed  !  how 
reverently  !  and  at  the  same  time  how  deep  are  they,  and  how  com-j 
prehensive  ! — I  readily  grant,  then,  that  there  are  times  when  the  heart] 
outruns  any  written  words  ;  as  the  jailor  cried  out,  "  What  shall  I  daj 
to  be  saved  ?"  Nay,  rather  I  would  maintain  that  set  words  should  not 
attempt  to  imitate  the  impetuous  workings  to  which  all  minds  are  sub-l 
ject  at  times  in  this  world  of  change,  (and  therefore  religious  minds  ii 
the  number,)  lest  one  should  seem  to  encourage  them. 

Still  the  question  is  not  at  all  settled  ;  granting  there  are  times  whei 
a  thankful  or  a  wounded  heart  bursts  through  all  forms  of  prayer,  yet 
these  ;:re  not  frequent.  To  be  excited  is  not  the  ordinary  state  of  the 
mind,  \m\  the  extraordinary,  the  now  and  then  state.  Na)',  more  than 
this,  it  ought  not  to  be  the  common  state  of  the  mind  ;  and  if  we  are  en- 
couraging within  us  this  excitement,  this  unceasing  rush  and  aUernatio»| 
of  feelings,  and  think  that  this,  and  this  only,  is  being  in  earnest  in 
religion,  we  arc  harming  our  minds,  and  (in  one  sense)  I  may  even  saj'-, 
grieving  the  peaceful  Spirit  of  God,  which  would  silently  and  tranquilly 
work  His  Divine  work  in  our  hearts.  This,  then,  is  an  especial  use 
of  Forms  of  prayer,  when  we  are  in  earnest,  as  we  ought  alwa}  s  to  be, 
viz.  to  keep  us  from  irreverent  earnestness,  to  still  emotion,  to  calm  us, 
to  remind  us  what  and  where  we  are,  to  lead  us  to  a  purer  and  sercner 


XX.]  FORMS  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  155 

temper,  and  to  that  deep  unruffled  love  of  God  and  man,  which  is  really 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  and  the  perfection  of  human  nature. 

Then,  again  as  to  the  usefulness  of  Forms  if  we  are  not  in  earnest, 
this  also  is  true  or  not,  as  we  may  take  it.  For  there  are  degrees  of 
earnestness.  Let  us  recollect,  the  power  of  praying,  being  a  habit, 
must  be  acquired,  like  all  other  habits,  by  practice.  In  order  at  length 
to  pray  well,  we  must  begin  by  praying  ill,  since  ill  is  all  we  can  do. 
Is  not  this  plain  ?  Who,  in  the  case  of  any  other  work,  would  wait 
till  he  could  do  it  perfectly,  before  he  tried  it  ?  The  idea  is  absurd. 
^  et  those  who  object  to  Forms  of  prayer  on  the  ground  just  mentioned, 
fall  into  this  strange  error.  If,  indeed,  we  could  pray  and  praise  God 
like  the  Angels,  we  might  have  no  need  of  Forms  of  prayer  ;  but 
Forms  are  to  teach  those  who  pray  poorly  to  pray  better.  They  are 
helps  to  our  devotion,  as  teaching  us  what  to  pray  for,  and  how,  as  St. 
John  and  our  Lord  taught  their  disciples  1  and,  doubtless,  even  the  best 
of  us  prays  but  poorly,  and  7ieeds  the  help  of  them.  However,  the  per- 
sons I  speak  of,  think  that  prayer  is  nothing  else  but  the  bursting  forth 
of  strong  feeling,  not  the  action  of  a  habit,  but  an  emotion,  and,  there- 
fore, of  course  to  such  men  the  very  notion  of  learning  to  pray  seems 
absurd.  But  this  indulgence  of  emotion  is  in  truth  founded  on  a  mis- 
take, as  I  have  already  said. 

4.  Further,  forms  are  useful  to  help  our  memory  and  to  set  before  us 
at  once,  completely,  and  in  order,  what  we  have  to  pray  for.  It  does  not 
follow,  when  the  heart  is  really  full  of  the  thought  of  God,  and  alive  to 
the  reality  of  things  unseen,  that  then  it  is  easiest  to  pray.  Rather, 
the  deeper  insight  we  have  into  His  Majesty  and  our  innumerable 
wants,  the  less  we  shall  be  able  to  draw  out  our  thoughts  into  words. 
The  publican  could  only  say,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner  ;"  this 
was  enough  for  his  acceptance ;  but  to  offer  such  a  scanty  service  was 
not  to  exercise  the  gift  of  prayer,  the  privilege  of  a  ransomed  and  ex- 
alted Son  of  God.  He  whom  Christ  has  illuminated  with  His  grace,  is 
heir  of  all  things.  He  has  an  interest  in  the  world's  multitude  of  mat- 
ters, lie  has  a  boundless  sphere  of  duties  within  and  without  him. 
He  has  a  glorious  prospect  before  him.  The  saints  shall  hereafter 
judge  the  world  ;  and  shall  they  not  here  take  cognizance  of  its  doings  ? 
are  they  not  in  one  sense  counsellors  and  confidential  servants  of  their 
Lord,  intercessors  at  the  throne  of  grace,  the  secret  agents  by  and  for 
j  whom  He  guides  His  high  providence,  and  carries  on  the  nations  to 
I  their  doom  ?  And  in  their  own  persons  is  forgiveness  merely  and  ac- 
'  ceptance  (extreme  blessings  as  these  are)  the  scope  of  their  desires  ?  else 
might  they  be  content  with  the  publican's  prayer.  Are  they  not  rather 
j  bidden  to  go  on  to  perfection,  to  use  the  Spirit  given  them,  to  enlarge 


156  FORMS  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  [Sehm. 

and  purify  their  own  hearts,  and  to  draw  out  the  nature  of  man  into 
the  fulness  of  its  capabiHties  after  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God  1  And 
for  the  thought  of  all  these  objects  at  once  who  is  sufficient  1  Whose 
mind  is  not  overpowered  by  the  view  of  its  own  immense  privilege,  so 
as  eagerly  to  seek  for  words  of  prayer  and  intercession  carefully  com- 
posed according  to  the  number  and  the  nature  of  the  various  petitions 
it  has  to  offer?  so  that  he  who  prays  without  plan,  is  in  fact  losing  a 
great  part  of  the  privilege,  with  which  his  Baptism  has  gifted  him. 

5.  And  lurther,  the  use  of  a  Form  as  a  help  to  the  memory  is  still 
more  obvious,  when  we  take  into  account  the  engagements  of  this 
world  with  which  most  men  are  surrounded.  The  cares  and  businesses 
of  life  press  upon  us  with  a  reality  which  Ave  cannot  overlook.  Shall 
we  trust  the  matters  of  the  next  world  to  the  chance  thoughts  of  our 
own  minds,  which  come  this  moment,  and  go  the  next,  and  may  not  be 
at  hand  when  the  time  of  employing  them  arrives,  like  unreal  vision?, 
having  no  substance  and  no  permanence  ?  This  world  is  Satan's  effica- 
cious Form,  it  is  the  instrument  through  which  he  spreads  out  in  order 
and  attractiveness  his  many  snares  ;  and  these  doubtless  will  engross 
us,  unless  we  also  give  form  to  the  spiritual  objects  towards  which  we 
pray  and  labour.  How  short  are  the  seasons  which  most  men  have  to 
give  to  prayer  !  Before  they  can  collect  their  memories  and  minds, 
their  leisure  is  almost  over,  even  if  they  have  the  power  to  dismiss  the 
thoughts  of  this  world,  which  just  before  engaged  them.  Now  Forms 
of  prayer  do  this  for  them.  They  keep  the  ground  occupied ,  that  Sa- 
tan may  not  encroach  upon  the  seasons  of  devotion.  They  are  a  stand- 
ing memorial,  to  which  we  can  recur  as  to  a  teiujjlc  of  God,  finding 
every  thing  in  order  for  our  worship  as  soon  as  we  go  into  it,  though 
the  time  allotted  us  at  morning  and  evening  be  ever  so  circumscribed. 

6.  And  this  use  of  Forms  in  prayer  becomes  great,  beyond  power 
of  estimating,  in  the  case  of  those  multitudes  of  men,  who,  after  going 
on  well  for  a  while,  fall  into  sin.  If  even  conscientious  men  require 
continual  nidi  to  be  reminded  of  the  next  world,  how  extreme  is  the 
need  of  those  who  try  to  forget  it !  It  cannot  be  denied,  fearful  as  it 
is  to  reflect  upon  it,  that  far  the  greater  number  of  those  who  come  to 
manhood,  for  a  while  (at  least)  desert  the  God  who  has  redeemed 
them  ;  and,  then,  if  in  their  earlier  years  they  have  learned  and  used 
no  prayers  or  psalms  by  which  to  worship  Ilim,  what  is  to  keep  them 
from  blotting  altogether  from  their  minds  the  thought  of  religion  ?  But 
here  it  is  that  the  Forms  of  the  Church  have  ever  served  her  children, 
both  to  restrain  them  in  their  career  of  sin,  and  to  supply  them  with 
ready  utterance  on  their  repentance.  Chance  words  and  phrases  of 
her  services  adhere  to  their  memories,  rising  up  in  moments  of  tempta- 


XX.j  FORMS  OF  PRIVATE  PRAYER.  157 

tion  or  of  trouble,  to  check  or  to  recover  them.  And  hence  it  happens, 
that  in  the  most  irrehgious  companies  a  distinction  is  said  to  be  observa- 
ble between  those  who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  using  our  pubhc 
Forms  in  their  youth,  and  those  whose  rehgious  impressions  have  not 
been  thus  happily  fortified  ;  so  that,  amid  their  most  reckless  mirth,  and 
most  daring  pretence  of  profligacy,  a  sort  of  secret  reverence  has  at- 
tended the  wanderers,  restraining  them  from  that  impiety  and  pro- 
faneness  in  which  the  others  have  tried  to  conceal  from  themselves  the 
guilt  and  peril  of  their  doings. 

And  again  on  their  repentance,  (should  they  be  favoured  with  so 
high  a  grace,)  what  friends  do  they  seem  to  find  amid  their  gloom  in 
the  words  they  learned  in  their  boyhood, — a  kindly  voice,  aiding  them 
to  say  what  they  otherwise  would  not  know  how  to  say,  guiding  and 
composing  their  minds  upon  those  objects  of  faith  which  they  ought  to 
look  to,  but  cannot  find  of  themselves,  and  so  (as  it  were)  interceding 
for  them  with  the  power  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  while  nature  can  but 
groan  and  travail  in  pain  !  Sinners  as  they  are  by  their  own  voluntary 
misdeeds,  and  with  a  prospect  of  punishment  before  them,  enlightened 
by  but  few  and  faint  gleams  of  hope,  what  shall  keep  them  from  fever- 
ish restlessness,  and  all  the  extravagance  of  fear,  what  shall  soothe 
them  into  a  fixed  resigned  waiting  for  their  Judge,  and  such  lowly  efforts 
to  obey  Him,  however  poorly,  as  become  a  penitent,  but  those  words, 
long  buried  in  their  minds,  and  now  rising  again  as  if  with  the  life  of 
their  uncorrupted  boyhood  ?  It  requires  no  great  experience  of  sick 
beds  to  verify  the  truth  of  this  statement.  Blessed,  indeed,  is  the 
power  of  those  formularies,  which  thus  succeed  in  throwing  a  sinner  for 
a  while  out  of  himself,  and  bringing  before  him  the  scenes  of  his  youth, 
his  guardian  friends  now  long  departed,  their  ways  and  their  teaching, 
their  pious  services,  and  their  peaceful  end ;  and  though  all  this  is  an 
excitement,  and  lasts  but  for  a  season,  yet,  if  improved,  it  may  be  con- 
verted into  an  habitual  contemplation  of  persons  and  deeds  which  now 
live  to  God,  though  removed  hence, — if  improved  by  acting  upon  it, 
it  will  become  an  abiding  motive  to  seek  the  world  to  come,  an  abiding 
persuasion,  winning  him  from  the  works  of  darkness,  and  raising  him 
to  the  humble  hope  of  future  acceptance  v/ith  his  Saviour  and  Judge. 

7.  Such  is  the  force  of  association  in  undoing  the  evil  of  past  years, 
and  recalling  us  to  the  innocence  of  children.  Nor  is  this  all  we  may 
gain  from  the  prayers  we  use,  nor  are  penitent  sinners  the  only  persons 
who  can  profit  by  it.  Let  us  recollect  for  how  long  a  period  our  prayers 
have  been  the  standard  Forms  of  devotion  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
we  shall  gain  a  fresh  reason  for  loving  them,  and  a  fresh  source  of  com- 
fort in  using  them.     I  know  different  persons  will  fed  difierently  here. 


168  FORMS   OF  PRIVATE   PRAYER.  [Skrm.  XX. 

according  to  their  different  turn  of  mind ;  yet  surely  there  are  few  of 
us,  if  we  dwelt  on  the  thought,  but  would  feel  it  a  privilege  to  use  (for 
instance,  in  the  Lord's  Prayer)  the  very  petitions  which  Christ  spoke. 
He  gave  the  prayer  and  used  it.  His  Apostles  used  it ;  all  the  Saints 
ever  since  have  used  it.  When  we  use  it  we  seem  to  join  company  with 
them.  Who  does  not  think  himself  brought  nearer  to  any  celebrated 
man  in  history,  by  seeing  his  house,  or  his  furniture,  or  his  handwriting, 
or  the  very  boo  .  i  .a  were  his?  Thus  does  the  Lord's  Prayer  bring 
us  near  to  Christ,  and  to  His  disciples  in  every  age.  No  wonder,  then, 
that  in  past  times  good  men  thought  this  form  of  prayer  so  sacred,  that 
it  seemed  to  them  impossible  to  say  it  too  often,  as  if  some  especial  grace 
went  with  the  use  ov  it.  Nor  can  we  use  it  too  often ;  it  contains  in 
itself  a  sort  of  plea  for  Christ's  hstening  to  us  ;  we  cannot,  so  that  we 
keep  our  thoughts  fixed  on  i's  petitions,  and  use  our  minds  as  well  as  our 
lips  when  we  repeat  it.  And  v/hat  is  true  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  is  in  its 
measure  true  of  most  of  those  prayers  which  our  Church  teaches  us  to 
use.  It  is  true  of  the  Psalms  also,  and  of  the  Creeds ;  all  of  which 
have  become  sacred,  from  the  memory  of  saints  departed  who  have  used 
them,  and  whom  we  hope  one  day  to  meet  in  heaven. 

One  caution  I  give  in  conclusion  as  to  using  these  thoughts.  Be- 
ware lest  your  religion  be  one  of  feeling  merely,  not  of  practice.  Men 
may  speak  in  a  high  imaginative  way  of  the  ancient  Saints  and  the 
Holy  Apostolic  Church,  without  making  the  fervour  or  refinement  of 
their  devotion  bear  upon  their  conduct.  Many  a  man  likes  to  be  re- 
ligious in  graceful  language ;  he  loves  religious  tales  and  hymns,  yet  is 
never  the  better  Christian  for  all  this.  The  works  of  every  day,  these 
are  the  tests  of  our  glorious  contemplations,  w.ijther  or  not  they  shall 
be  available*  to  our  salvation ;  and  he  who  does  one  deed  of  obedience 
for  Christ's  .sake,  let  him  have  no  imagination  and  no  fine  feeling,  is  a 
better  man,  and  returns  to  his  home  justified  rather  than  the  most  elo- 
quent speakar,  and  the  most  sen.^itive  hearer,  of  the  glory  of  the  Gospel, 
if  such  men  do  not  practise  up  to  their  knowltdge. 

*  Gal.  vi.  15. 


SERMON   XXL 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY. 


Luke  xx.  37,  38. 


■"Now  that  the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush,  when  he  calleth  the 
Lord  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob,  For  He 
is  not  a  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  hving  ;  for  all  live  unto  Him." 

These  words  of  our  Saviour  show  us  how  much  more  there  is  in  Scrip- 
ture than  at  first  sight  appears.  God  spoke  to  Moses  in  the  burning 
bush,  and  called  Himself  "  the  God  of  Abraham ;"  and  Christ  tells  us, 
that  in  this  simple  announcement  was  contained  the  promise  that  Abra- 
ham should  rise  again  from  the  dead.  In  truth,  if  we  may  say  it  with 
reverence,  the  All- wise.  All-knowing  God,  cannot  speak  without  mean- 
ing many  things  at  once.  He  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning ;  He 
understands  the  numberless  connexions  and  relations  of  all  things  one 
with  another.  Every  word  of  His  is  full  of  instruction,  looking  many 
ways ;  and  though  it  is  not  often  given  to  us  to  know  these  various  senses, 
and  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  attempt  lightly  to  imagine  them,  yet,  as 
far  as  they  are  told  us,  and  as  far  as  we  may  reasonably  infer  them,  we 
must  thankfully  accept  them.  Look  at  Christ's  words,  and  this  same 
character  of  them  strikes  us  ;  whatever  He  says  is  fruitful  in  meaning, 
and  refers  to  many  things.  It  is  well  to  keep  this  in  mind  when  we 
read  Scripture  ;  for  it  may  hinder  us  from  self-conceif,  t'l  om  studying  it 
in  an  arrogant  critical  temper,  and  from  giving  over  reading  it,  as  if  we 
had  got  from  it  all  that  can  be  learned. 

Now  let  us  consider  in  what  sense  the  text  contains  a  promise  of  a 
resurrection,  and  see  what  instruction  may  be  gained  from  knowing  it. 

When  God  called  Himself  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  He 
implied  that  those  holy  patriarchs  were  still  alive,  though  they  were  no 
more  seen  on  earth.  This  may  seem  evident  at  first  sight ;  but  it  may 
be  asked,  how  the  text  proves  that  their  bodies  would  live ;  for,  if  their 
souls  were  still  living,  that  would  be  enough  to  account  for  their  being 
still  called  in  the  Book  of  Exodus,  servants  of  God.  This  is  the  point 
to  be  considered.     Our  Blessed  Lord  seems  to  tell  us,  that  in  some  sense 


160  THE   RESURRECTION   OF  THE   BODY.  [Serm. 

or  other  Abraham's  hody  might  be  considered  still  alive  as  a  pledge  of 
his  resurrection,  though  it  was  dead  in  the  common  sense  in  which  we 
applv  the  word.  His  announcement  is,  Abraham  shall  rise  from  the 
dead,  because  in  truth,  he  is  still  alive.  He  cannot  in  the  end  be  held 
under  the  power  of  the  grave,  more  than  a  sleeping  man  can  be  kept 
from  waking.  Abraham  is  still  alive  in  the  dust,  though  not  risen 
thence.  He  is  alive  because  all  God's  saints  live  to  Him,  though  they 
seem  to  perish. 

It  may  seem  a  paradox  to  say,  that  our  bodies,  even  whenjdead,  are 
still  alive  ;  but  since  our  Lord  seems  to  countenance  us  in  saying  so, 
I  will  say  it,  though  a  strange  saying,  because  it  has  an  instructive 
meaning.  We  are  apt  to  talk  about  our  bodies  as  if  we  knew  how  or 
what  they  really  were  ;  whereas  we  only  know  what  our  eyes  tell  us. 
They  seem  to  grow,  to  come  to  maturity,  to  decay  ;  but  after  all  we 
know  no  more  about  them  than  meets  our  senses,  and  there  is,  doubt- 
less, much  which  God  sees  in  our  material  frames,  which  we  cannot 
see.  We  have  no  direct  cognizance  of  what  may  be  called  the  substan- 
tive existence  of  the  body,  only  of  its  accidents.  Again,  we  are  apt  to 
speak  of  soul  and  hody,  as  if  we  could  distinguish  between  them,  and 
knew  much  about  them  ;  but  for  the  most  part  we  use  words  without 
meaning.  It  is  useful  indeed  to  make  the  distinction,  and  Scripture 
makes  it ;  but  after  all,  the  Gospel  speaks  of  our  nature,  in  a  religious 
sense,  as  one.  Soul  and  body  make  up  one  man,  which  is  born  once, 
and  never  dies.  Philosophers  of  old  time  thought  the  soul  indeed  might 
live  for  ever,  but  that  the  body  perished  at  death  ;  but  Christ  tells  us 
otherwise  ;  He  tells  us  the  body  will  live  for  ever.  In  the  text.  He 
seems  to  intimate  that  it  never  really  dies ;  that  we  lose  sight  indeed 
of  what  we  are  accustomed  to  see,  but  that  God  still  sees  the  elements 
of  it  which  are  not  exposed  to  our  senses. 

God  graciously  called  Himself  the  God  of  Abraham.  He  did  not 
say  the  God  of  Abraham's  sm',  but  simply  of  Abraham.  He  blest 
Abraham,  and  He  gave  him  eternal  life  ;  not  to  his  soul  only  without 
his  body,  but  to  Abraham  as  one  man.  And  so  He  is  our  God,  and  it 
is  not  given  to  us  to  distinguish  between  what  He  does  for  our  difterent 
natures,  spiritual  and  material.  These  are  mere  words  ;  each  of  us 
may  feel  himself  to  be  one,  and  that  one  being,  in  all  its  substantial 
parts  and  attributes,  will  never  die. 

You  will  see  this  more  clearly  by  considering  what  our  Saviour  says 
about  the  blessed  Sacrament  of  His  Supper.  He  says  He  will  give  us 
His  flesh  to  eat.*     How  is  this  don    ?  we  do  not  know.     He  gives  it 

*  John  vi.51. 


XXL]  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.  161 

under  the  outward  symbols  of  bread  and  wine.  But  in  what  real  sense 
is  the  consecrated  bread  His  body  ?  It  is  not  told  us,  we  may  not  m- 
quire.  We  say  indeed  spiritually,  sacramentally,  in  a  heavenly  way ;  but 
this  is  in  order  to  impress  on  our  minds  religious,  and  not  carnal  notions 
of  it.  All  we  are  concerned  to  know  is,  the  effect  upon  us  of  partaking 
this  blessed  food.  Now  observe  what  he  tells  us  about  that.  "  Except 
ye  eat  the  flash  of  the  Son  of  man  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have  no  life 
in  you.  Whoso  cateth  My  fljsh  and  drinketh  My  blood,  hath  eternal 
life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day."*  Now  there  is  no  dis- 
tinction made  here  between  soul  and  body.  Christ's  blessed  Supper  is 
food  to  us  altogether,  whitever  we  are,  soul,  body,  and  all.  It  is 
the  seed  of  eternal  life  within  us,  the  food  of  immortality,  to  "  preserve 
our  body  and  soul  unto  everlasting  life  "f  The  forbidden  fruit  wrought 
in  Adam  unto  death  ;  but  this  is  the  fruit  which  makes  us  Hve  forjever. 
Bread  sustains  us  in  this  temporal  life  ;  the  consecrated  bread  is  the 
means  oi' eternal  strength  for  soul  and  body.  Who  could  live  this  visible 
life  without  earthly  food  ?  A  nd  in  the  same  general  way  the  Supper 
of  the  Lord  is  the  "  me  ins"  of  our  living  for  ever.  We  have  no  reason 
for  thinking  we  shall  live  for  ever  unless  we  eat  it,  no  more  than  we 
have  reason  to  think  our  temporal  life  will  be  sustained  without  meat 
and  drink.  God  can,  indeed,  sustain  us,  "  not  by  bread  alone  ;"  but 
this  is  His  ordinary  means,  which  His  will  has  made  such.  He  can 
sustain  our  immortality  wilhout  the  Christian  Sacraments,  as  He  sus- 
tained Abraham  and  the  other  saints  of  old  tima  ;  but  under  the  Gospel 
these  are  His  7neaiis;  which  Ha  appointed  at  His  will.  We  eat  the 
sacred  bread,  and  our  bodies  become  sacred  ;  they  are  not  ours  ;  they 
are  Christ's  ;  they  are  instinct  with  that  flesh  which  saw  not  corruption ; 
they  are  inhabited  by  His  Spirit ;  they  become  immortal ;  they  die  but 
to  appearance,  and  for  a  time  ;  they  spring  up  when  their  sleep  is  ended, 
and  reign  with  Him  for  ever. 

The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  doctrine  is  plain.  Among  the 
wise  men  of  the  heathen,  as  I  have  said,  it  was  usual  to  speak  slight- 
ingly and  contemptuously  of  the  mortal  body  ;  they  knew  no  better. 
They  thought  it  scarcely  a  part  of  their  real  selves,  and  fancied  they 
should  be  in  a  better  condition  without  it.     Nay,  Ihey  considered  it  to 

*  John  vi-  53,  54. 

t  "  In  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  there  is  no  vain  ceremony,  no  bare  sign,  no  untrue 
figure  of  a  thing  absent ;  but  as  the  Scripture  says,  .  ,  .  the  communion  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lurd,  in  a  marvellous  incorporation,  which  by  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  ....  is  through  faith  wrought  m  the  souls  of  the  faithful,  whereby 
not  only  their  souls  live  to  eternal  life,  but  they  surely  trust  to  win  their  bodies  a  re- 
surrection to  immortality." — Homily  on  the  Sacrammt,  Part  I. 
Vol.  I.— 11. 


HJ2  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.  [Serm. 

be  the  cause  of  their  sinning  ;  that  the  soul  of  man  was  pure,  and  the 
material  body  was  gross,  and  defiled  the  soul.  We  have  been  taught 
the  truth,  viz.  that  sin  is  a  disease  of  our  minds,  of  ourselves  :  and  that 
all  of  us,  not  body  alone,  hut  soul  and  body,  is  naturally  corrupt,  and 
that  Christ  has  redeemed  and  cleansed  whatever  we  are,  sinful  soul  and 
bodv.  Accordingly  their  chief  hope  in  death  was  the  notion  they  should 
be  rid  of  their  body.  Feeling  they  were  sinful,  and  not  knowing  how, 
they  laid  the  charge  on  their  body  ;  and  knowing  they  were  badly  cir- 
cumstanced here,  they  thought  death  perchance  might  be  a  change  for 
the  better.  Not  that  they  rested  on  the  hope  of  returning  to  a  God  and 
Father,  but  they  thought  to  be  unshackled  from  the  earth,  and  able  to 
do  what  they  would.  It  was  consistent  with  this  slighting  of  their 
earthly  tabernacle,  that  they  burned  the  dead  bodies  of  their  friends, 
not  burying  them  as  we  do,  but  consuming  them  as  a  mere  worthless 
case  of  what  had  been  precious,  and  was  then  an  incumbrance  to  the 
ground.  Far  different  is  the  temper  which  the  glorious  light  of  the 
Gospel  teaches  us.  Our  bodies  shall  rise  again  and  live  for  ever  ;  they 
may  not  be  irreverently  handled.  How  they  will  rise  we  know  not  ; 
but  surely  if  the  word  of  Scripture  be  true,  the  body  from  which  the 
soul  departed  shall  come  to  life.  There  are  some  truths,  addressed 
solely  to  our  faith,  not  to  our  reason  ;  not  to  our  reason,  because  we 
know  so  little  about  "  the  power  of  God,"  (in  our  Saviour's  words,)  that 
we  have  nothing  to  reason  upon.  One  of  these,  for  instance,  is  the 
presence  of  Christ  in  the  Sacrament.  We  know  we  eat  His  Body  and 
Blood  ;  but  it  is  our  wisdom  not  curiously  to  ask  how  or  whence,  not 
to  give  our  thoughts  range,  but  to  take  and  eat  and  profit  thereby. 
This  is  the  secret  of  gaining  the  blessing  promised.  And  so,  as  regards 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  v.c  have  no  means  or  ground  of  argument. 
We  cannot  determine  in  what  exact  sense  our  bodies  will  be  on  the  re- 
surrection the  same  as  they  are  at  present,  but  we  cannot  harm  our- 
selves by  taking  God's  declaration  simply  and  acting  upon  it.  And  it 
is,  as  believing  this  comfortable  truth,  that  the  Christian  Church  put 
aside  that  old  irreverence  of  the  funeral  pile,  and  consecrated  the 
ground  for  the  reception  of  the  saints  that  sleep.  We  deposit  our  de- 
parted friends  calmly  and  thoughtfully,  in  faith  ;  not  ceasing  to  love  or 
remember  that  which  once  lived  among  us,  but  marking  the  place 
where  it  lies,  as  believing  that  God  has  set  His  seal  upon  it,  and  His 
Angels  guard  it.  His  Angels,  surely,  guard  the  bodies  of  His  servants  ; 
3Iichael  the  Archangel,  thinkinj  it  no  unworthy  task  to  preserve  them 
from  the  powers  of  evil.*     Especially  those  like  Moses,  who  fall  "in 

•  Judo  9. 


XXL]  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  BODY.  163 

the  wilderness  of  the  people,"  whose  duty  has  called  them  to  danger 
and  suffering,  and  who  die  a  violent  death,  these,  too,  if  they  have  eaten 
of  that  incorruptible  bread,  are  preserved  safe  till  the  last  day.  There 
are,  who  have  not  the  comfort  of  a  peaceful  burial.  They  die  in  battle, 
or  on  the  sea,  or  in  strange  lands,  or  as  the  early  behevers,  under  the 
hands  of  persecutors.  Horrible  tortures,  or  the  mouths  of  wild  beasts 
have  ere  now  dishonoured  the  sacred  bodies  of  those  who  had  fed  upon 
Christ ;  and  diseases  corrupt  them  still.  This  is  Satan's  work,  the  ex- 
piring efforts  of  his  fury,  after  his  overthrow  by  Christ.  Still,  as  far  as 
we  can,  we  repair  these  insults  of  our  Enemy,  and  tend  honourably  and 
piously  those  tabernacles  in  which  Christ  has  dwelt.  And  in  this  view, 
what  a  venerable  and  tearful  place  Is  a  Church,  in  and  around  which 
the  dead  are  deposited  !  Truly  it  is  chiefly  sacred,  as  being  the  spot 
where  God  has  for  ages  manifested  Himself  to  His  servants";  but  add 
to  this  the  thought,  that  it  is  the  actual  resting-place  of  those  very  ser- 
vants, through  successive  times,  who  still  live  unto  Him.  The  dust 
around  us  will  one  day  become  animate.  We  may  ourselves  be  dead 
■long  before,  and  not  see  it.  We  ourselves  may  elsewhere  be  buried, 
and  should  it  be  our  exceeding  blessedness  to  rise  to  life  eternal,  we 
may  rise  in  other  places,  far  in  the  east  or  west.  But,  as  God's  word 
is  sure,  what  is  sown  is  raised ;  the  earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust 
to  dust,  shall  become  glory  to  glory,  and  life  to  the  hving  God,  and  a 
true  incorruptible  image  of  the  spirit  made  perfect.  Here  the  saints 
sleep,  here  they  shall  rise.  A  great  sight  will  a  Christian  country  then 
be,  if  earth  remains  what  it  is  ;  when  holy  places  pour  out  the  worship- 
pers who  have  for  generations  kept  vigil  therein,  waiting  through  the 
long  night  for  the  bright  coming  of  Christ !  And,  if  this  be  sot  what 
pious  composed  thoughts  should  be  ours  when  we  enter  Churches  !  God 
indeed  is  every  where,  and  His  Angels  go  to  and  fro  ;  yet  can  they  be 
more  worthily  employed  in  their  condescending  care  of  man,  than 
where  good  men  sleep  ?  In  the  service  of  the  Communion  we  magnify 
God  together  with  Angels  and  Archangels,  and  all  the  company  of 
heaven.  Surely  there  is  more  meaning  in  this  than  we  know  of; 
what  a  "  dreadful"  place  would  this  appear  if  our  eyes  were  opened  as 
those  of  Elisha's  servant  !  "  This  is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God, 
and  this  is  the  gate  of  heaven." 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  dead  bodies  of  Christians  are  honourable, 
so  doubtless  are  the  living ;  because  they  have  had  their  blessedness 
when  living,  therefore  have  they  in  their  sleep.  He  who  does  not  hon- 
our his  own  body  as  something  holy  unto  the  Lord,  may  indeed  revere 
the  dead,  but  it  is  then  a  mere  superstition,  not  an  act  of  piety.  To 
Teverence  holy  places  (right  as  it  is)  will  not  profit  a  man  unless  he 


164  THE  RESURRECTION   OF  THE   BODY.  [Serm.  XXI. 

reverences  himself.  Consider  what  it  is  to  be  partaker  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ.  We  pray  God,  in  our  Church's  language,  that  "  our 
sinful  bodies  may  become  clean  through  His  body  ; "  and  we  are  prom- 
ised in  Scripture,  that  our  bodies  shall  be  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
How  should  we  study,  then,  to  cleanse  them  from  all  sin,  that  they  may 
he  true  members  of  Christ !  We  are  told  that  the  peril  of  disease  and 
death  attends  the  unworthy  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Is  this 
wonderful,  considering  the  strange  sin  of  receiving  it  into  a  body  dis- 
graced by  wilful  disobedience  ?  All  that  defiles  it,  intemperance  or 
other  vice,  all  that  is  unbecoming,  all  that  is  disrespectful  to  Him  who 
has  bought  our  bodies  with  a  price,  must  be  put  aside.*  Hear  St. 
Paul's  words,  "  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more  .... 
likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  unto  sin  ...  .  let  not  sin 
therefore  reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts 
thereof."!  "  If  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead 
dwell  in  you,  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken 
your  mortal  bodies  by  His  indwelling  Spirit  ....  If  ye,  through  the 
Spirit,  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live.":}: 

Work  together  with  God,  therefore,  my  brethren,  in  this  work  of 
your  redemption.  While  He  feeds  you,  prepare  for  the  heavenly  feast ; 
"discern  the  Lord's  body"  when  it  is  placed  before  you,  and  suitably 
treasure  it  afterwards.  Lay  up  year  by  year  this  seed  of  life  within 
you,  believing  it  will  one  day  bear  fruit.  "  Believe  that  ye  receive  it, 
and  ye  shall  have  it."||  Glorious,  indeed,  will  be  the  spring  time  of 
the  Resurrection,  when  all  that  seemed  dry  and  withered  will  bud  forth 
and  blossom.  The  glory  of  Lebanon  will  be  given  it,  the  excellency 
of  Carmel  and  Sharon  ;  the  fir  tree  for  the  thorn,  the  myrtle  tree  for 
the  briar ;  and  the  mountains  and  the  hills  shall  break  forth  before  us 
in  singing.  Who  would  miss  being  of  that  company  ?  Wretched  men 
they  will  then  appear,  who  now  for  a  season  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin. 
Wretched,  who  follow  their  own  selfish  will,  instead  of  walking  by  faith, 
who  are  new  idle,  in.stead  of  trying  to  serve  God,  who  are  set  upon 
the  world's  vanities,  or  who  scoff  at  religion,  or  who  allow  then  selves 
in  known  sin,  who  live  in  anger,  or  malice,  or  pride,  or  covetousncss, 
who  do  not  continually  strive  to  become  better  and  hoUer,  who  are 
afraid  to  profc:^s  themselves  Christians  and  take  up  their  cross  and  fol- 
low Christ.  May  the  good  Lord  make  us  all  willing  to  follow  Him  ! 
may  he  rcusj  the  slumb  rers,  and  rais3  ihem  to  a  new  life  here,  that 
they  may  inherit  His  eternal  kingdo:n  hereafter! 

•  1  Cor.  vi.  20.  t  Rom.  vi.  D— 12.  ;  Rom.  viii.  U.         II  Mark  xi.  24. 


i 


SERMON    XXII 


THE  CHRISTIAN  WITNESSES 


Acts  x.  40,  41. 


""  Him  God  raised  up  the  third  day.  and  showed  Him  openly  ;  not  to  all  the  people, 
but  unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us  who  did  eat  and  drink  with 
Him  after  He  rose  from  the  dead." 

It  might  have  been  expected,  that,  on  our  Saviour's  rising  again  from 
the  dead,  He  would  have  shown  Himself  to  very  great  numbers  of  peo- 
ple, and  especially  to  those  who  crucified  Him ;  whereas,  we  know 
from  the  history,  that,  far  from  this  being  the  case.  He  showed  Himself 
only  to  chosen  witnesses,  chiefly  his  immediate  followers  ;  and  St. 
Peter  avows  this  in  the  text.  This  seems  at  first  sight  strange.  We 
are  apt  to  fancy  the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  some  striking  visible  dis- 
play  of  His  glorv,  such  as  God  vouchsafed  from  time  to  time  to  the 
Israehtes  in  Moses'  time  ;  and  considering  it  in  the  light  of  a  public 
triumph,  we  are  led  to  imagine  the  confusion  and  terror  which  would 
have  overwhelmed  His  murderers,  had  He  presented  Himself  alive 
before  them.  Now,  thus  to  reason,  is  to  conceive  Christ's  kingdom  of 
this  world  which  it  is  not ;  and  to  suppose  that  then  Christ  came  to 
judge  the  world,  whereas  that  judgment  will  not  come  till  the  last  day, 
when  in  very  deed  those  wicked  men  shall  "  look  on  Him  whom  they 
have  pierced." 

But  even  without  insisting  upon  the  spiritual  nature  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, M-hich  seems  to  be  the  direct  reason  why  Christ  did  not  show 
Himself  to  all  the  Jews  after  His  resurrection,  other  distinct  reasons 
may  be  given,  instructive  too.  And  one  of  these  I  will  now  set  before 
you. 

This  is  the  question,  "  Why  did  not  our  Saviour  show  Himself  after 
His  resurrection  to  all  the  people  ?  why  only  to  witnesses  chosen  before 
of  God  ? "  and  this  is  my  answer  :  "  Because  this  was  the  most  effectual 
means  of  propagating  His  religion  through  the  world." 


166  THE  CHRISTIAN  WITNESSES.  [Serm, 

After  His  resurrection,  He  said  to  His  disciples,  "  Go,  convert  all 
nations :  "*  this  was  His  especial  charge.  If,  then,  there  are  grounds 
for  thinking  that,  by  showing  Himself  to  a  few  rather  than  to  many, 
He  was  more  surely  advancing  this  great  object,  the  propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  this  is  a  sufficient  reason  for  our  Lord's  having  so  ordained ; 
and  let  us  thankfully  receive  His  dispensation,  as  He  has  given  it. 

1.  Now  consider  what  would  have  been  the  probable  effect  of  a  public 
exhibition  of  His  resurrection.  Let  us  suppose  that  our  Saviour  had 
shown  Himself  as  openly  as  before  He  suffered  ;  preaching  in  the  Tem- 
ple and  in  the  streets  of  the  city  ;  traversing  the  land  with  His  Apostles, 
and  with  multitudes  following  to  see  the  miracles  which  He  did.  What 
would  have  been  the  efiect  of  this  1  Of  course,  what  it  had  already 
been.  His  former  miracles  had  not  effectually  moved  the  body  of  the 
people  ;  and,  doubtless,  this  miracle  too  would  have  left  them  as  it  found 
them,  or  worse  than  before.  They  might  have  been  more  startled  at 
the  time  ;  but  why  should  this  amazement  last  ?  When  the  man  taken 
with  a  palsy  was  suddenly  restored  at  His  word,  the  multitude  were  all 
amazed,  and  glorified  God,  and  were  filled  with  fear,  saying,  "  We  have 
seen  strange  things  to-day  ."f  What  could  they  have  said  and  felt  more 
than  this,  when  "  one  rose  from  the  dead  1 "  In  truth,  this  is  the  way 
of  the  mass  of  mankind  in  all  ages,  to  be  influenced  by  sudden  fears, 
sudden  contrition,  sudden  earnestness,  sudden  resolves,  which  disappear 
as  suddenly.  Nothing  is  done  effectually  through  untrained  human 
nature ;  and  such  is  ever  the  condition  of  the  multitude.  Unstable  as 
water,  it  cannot  excel.  One  day  it  cried  Hosanna ;  the  next,  Cru- 
cify Him.  And  had  our  Lord  appeared  to  them  after  they  had  cruci- 
fied Him,  of  course  they  would  have  shouted  Hosanna  once  more  ;  and 
when  He  had  ascended  out  of  sight,  then  again  they  would  have  perse- 
cuted His  followers.  Besides,  the  miracle  of  the  Resurrection  was  much 
more  exposed  to  the  cavils  of  unbelief  than  others  which  our  Lord  had 
displayed,  than  that,  for  instance,  of  feeding  the  multitudes  in  the  wil- 
derness. Had  our  Lord  appeared  in  public,  yet  few  could  have  touched 
Him,  and  certified  themselves  it  was  He  Himself.  Few,  comparatively, 
in  a  great  multitude  could  so  have  seen  Him  both  before  and  after  His 
death,  as  to  be  adequate  witnesses  of  the  reality  of  the  miracle.  It 
would  have  been  open  to  the  greater  number  of  them  still  to  deny  that 
He  was  risen.  This  is  the  very  feeling  Si.  Matthew  records.  When  He 
appeared  on  a  mountain  in  Galilee  to  His  apostles  and  others,  as  it 
would  seem,  (perhaps  the  five  hundred  brethren  mentioned  by  St. 
Paul,)  "TO7«e  doubled''  whether  it  were  He.     How  could  it  bo  other- 

*  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  t  Luke  v.  2C. 


XXII.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  WITNESSES.  167 

wise  ?  these  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  that  they  really  saw  Him 
who  had  been  crucified,  dead,  and  buried.  Others,  admitting  it  was 
Jesus,  would  have  denied  that  He  ever  died.  Not  having  seen  Him 
dead  on  the  cross,  they  might  have  pretended  He  was  taken  down 
thence  before  Ufe  was  extinct,  and  so  restored.  This  supposition  would 
be  a  sufficient  excuse  to  those  who  wished  not  to  believe.  And  the 
more  ignorant  part  would  fancy  they  had  seen  a  spirit  without  flesh 
and  bones  as  man  has.  They  would  have  resolved  the  miracle  into  a 
magical  allusion,  as  the  Pharisees  had  done  before,  when  they  ascribed 
His  works  to  Beelzebub ;  and  would  have  been  rendered  no  better  or 
more  religious  by  the  sight  of  Him,  than  the  common  people  are  now- 
a-days  by  talcs  of  apparitions  and  witches. 

Surely  so  it  would  have  been  ;  the  chief  priests  would  not  have  been 
moved  at  all  ;  and  the  populace,  however  they  had  been  moved  at  the 
time,  would  not  have  been  lastlingly  moved,  not  practically  moved,  not 
so  moved  as  to  proclaim  to  the  world  what  they  had  heard  and  seen,  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  This  is  the  point  to  be  kept  in  view  :  and  consider 
that  the  very  reason  why  Christ  showed  Himself  at  all  was  in  order  to 
raise  up  witnesses  to  His  resurrection,  ministers  of  His  word,  founders 
of  His  Church,  and  how  in  the  nature  of  things  could  a  populace  ever 
become  such  1 

2.  Now,  on  the  other  hand,  let  us  contemplate  the  means  which  His 
Divine  Wisdom  actually  adopted  with  a  view  of  making  His  resurrec- 
tion subservient  to  the  propagation  of  His  Gospel. — He  showed  himself 
openly,  not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  general  characteristic  of  the  course  of  His  providence 
to  make  the  few  the  channels  of  His  blessings  to  the  many  ;  but  in 
the  instance  we  are  contemplating,  a  few  were  selected  because  only  a 
few  could  (humanly  speaking)  be  made  instruments.  As  I  have 
already  said,  to  be  witnesses  of  His  resurrection  it  was  requisite  to  have 
known  our  Lord  intimately  before  His  death.  This  was  the  case  with 
the  Apostles  ;  but  this  was  not  enough.  It  was  necessary  they  should 
be  certain  it  was  He  Himself,  the  very  same  whom  they  before  knew. 
You  recollect  how  He  urged  them  to  handle  Him,  and  be  sure  that 
they  could  testify  to  His  rising  again.  This  is  intimated  in  the  text 
also  ;  "  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us  who  did  eat  and 
drink  with  Him  after  He  rose  from  the  dead."  Nor  were  they  required 
merely  to  know  Him,  but  the  thought  of  Him  was  to  be  stamped  upon 
their  minds  as  the  one  master  spring  of  their  whole  course  of  life  for 
the  future.  But  men  are  not  easily  wrought  upon  to  be  faithful  advo- 
cates of  any   cause.     Not   only  is   the  multitude  fickle :  but  the  best 


168  THE  CHRISTIAN  WITNESSES.  [Sekm. 

men,  unless  urged,  tutored,  disciplined  to  their  work,  give  way ; 
untrained  noture  has  no  principles. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  our  Lord  gave  His  attention  to  a  few, 
because,  if  the  iew  be  gained,  the  many  follow.  To  those  few  He 
showed  himself  again  and  again.  These  He  restored,  comforted, 
•warned,  inspired.  He  formed  them  unto  HimscH",  that  they  might  show 
forth  His  praise.  This  His  gracious  procedure  is  opened  to  us  in  the 
first  words  of  the  book  of  the  Acts.  "  To  the  Apostles  whom  He  had 
chosen."  "He  showed  Himself  alive  after  His  passion  by  many 
infallible  proofs,  being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the 
things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God."  Consider,  then,  if  we  may 
state  the  alternative  reverently,  which  of  the  two  seems  the  more  likely 
way,  even  according  to  a  human  wisdom,  of  forming  preachers  of 
the  Gospel  to  all  nations, — the  exhibition  of  the  Resurrection  to  the 
Jewish  people  generally,  or  this  intimate  private  certifying  of  it  (o 
a  few  ?  And  remember  that,  as  far  as  we  can  understand,  the  two 
procedures  were  inconsistent  with  each  other  ;  for  that  period  of  pre- 
paratory prayer,  meditation,  and  instruction,  which  the  Apostles  passed 
under  our  Lord's  visible  presence  for  forty  days,  was  to  them  what  it 
could  not  have  been,  had  they  been  following  Him  from  place  to  place 
in  public,  supposing  there  had  been  an  object  in  this,  and  mixing  in  the 
busy  crowds  of  the  world. 

3.  I  have  already  suggested,  what  is  too  obvious  almost  to  insist 
upon,  that  in  making  a  select  few  the  ministers  of  His  mercy  to  man- 
kind at  large,  our  Lord  was  but  acting  according  to  the  general  course  of 
His  providence.  It  is  plain  every  great  change  is  effected  by  the  few, 
not  ^by  the  many ;  by  the  resolute,  undaunted,  zealous  few.  True  it 
is  that  societies  sometimes  fall  to  pieces  by  their  own  corruption, 
which  is  in  one  sense  a  change  without  special  instruments  chosen  or 
or  allowed  by  God  ;  but  this  is  a  dissolution,  not  a  work.  Doubtless, 
much  may  be  undone  by  the  many,  but  nothing  is  done  except  by  those 
who  arc  specially  trained  for  action.  In  the  midst  of  the  famine  Jacob's 
sons  stood  looking  one  upon  another,  but  did  nothing.  One  or  two  men, 
of  small  outward  prctension.s,  but  with  their  hearts  in  their  work,  these  do 
great  things.  These  are  prepared  not  by  sudden  excitement,  or  by 
vague  general  belief  in  the  truth  of  their  cause,  but  by  deeply  impressed, 
often  repeated  instruction;  and  since  it  stands  to  rea.son  that  it  is 
easier  to  teach  a  few  than  a  great  number,  it  is  plain  such  men  always 
will  be  few.  Such  as  these  spread  the  knowledge  of  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion over  the  idolatrous  world.  Well,  they  answered  the  teaching  of 
their  Lord  and  Master.  Their  success  sufficiently  approves  to  us  His 
wisdom  in  showing  Himself  to  them,  not  to  all  the  people. 


XXII.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  WITNESSES.  169 

,  4.  Remember,  too,  this  further  reason  why  the  witnesses  of  the  Re- 
surrection were  few  in  number  ;  viz.  because  they  were  on  the  side  of 
•  Truth.  If  the  witnesses  were  to  be  such  as  really  loved  and  obeyed 
the  Truth,  there  could  not  be  many  chosen.  Christ's  cause  was  the 
cause  of  light  and  religion,  therefore  His  advocates  and  ministers  were 
necessarily  few.  It  is  an  old  proverb,  (which  even  the  heathen  admit- 
ted,) that  "  the  many  are  bad."  Christ  did  not  confide  His  Gospel 
to  the  many ;  had  he  done  so,  we  may  even  say,  that  it  would  have 
been  at  first  sight  a  presumption  against  its  coming  from  God.  What 
was  the  chief  work  of  His  whole  ministry,  but  that  of  choosing  and 
separating  yVoOT  the  multitude  those  who  should  be  fit  recipients  of  His 
Truth  ?  As  He  went  the  round  of  the  country  again  and  again, 
through  Galilee  and  Judea,  He  tried  the  spirits  of  men  the  while  ;  and 
rejecting  the  baser  sort  who  "  honoured  Him  with  their  lips  while  their 
hearts  were  far  from  Him,"  He  specially  chose  twelve.  The  many  He 
put  aside  for  a  while  as  an  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  intending 
to  make  one  last  experiment  on  the  mass  when  the  Spirit  should  come. 
But  His  twelve  He  brought  near  to  Himself  at  once,  and  taught  them. 
Then  He  sifted  them,  and  one  fell  away ;  the  eleven  escaped  as  though 
by  fire.  For  these  eleven  especially  He  rose  again  ;  He  visited  them 
and  taught  them  for  forty  days ;  for  in  them  He  saw  the  fruit  of  the 
"  travail  of  His  soul  and  was  satisfied  ;"  in  them  "  He  saw  His  seed, 
He  prolonged  His  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  prospered  in  His 
hand."  These  were  His  witnesses,  for  they  had  the  love  of  the  Truth 
in  their  hearts.  "  I  have  choseh  you,"  he  says  to  them,  "  and  ordained 
you  that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should 
remain."* 

So  much  then  in  answer  to  the  question,  why  did  not  Christ  show 
Himself  to  the  whole  Jewish  people  after  His  resurrection.  I  ask  in 
reply,  what  would  have  been  the  use  of  it  ?  a  mere  passing  triumph 
over  sinners  whose  judgment  is  reserved  for  the  next  world.  On  the 
other  hand,  such  a  procedure  would  have  interfered  with,  nay,  defeated, 
the  real  object  of  His  rising  again,  the  propagation  of  His  Gospel  through 
the  world  by  means  of  His  own  intimate  friends  and  followers.  And 
further,  this  preference  of  the  few  to  the  many  seems  to  have  been  ne- 
cessary from  the  nature  of  man,  since  all  great  works  are  effected,  not 
by  a  multitude,  but  by  the  deep-seated  resolution  of  a  few ; — nay,  ne- 
cessary too  from  man's  depravity,  for  alas  !  popular  favour  is  hardly  to 
be  expected  for  the  cause  of  Truth  ;  and  our  Lord's  instruments  were 
few,  if  for  no  other  reason,  yet  at  least  for  this,  because  more  were  not 

*  Jo'in  XT.  16. 


170  THE  CHRISTIAN  WITNESSES.  [Serm, 

to  be  found,  because  there  were  but  few  faithful  Israehtes  without  guile 
in  Israel  according  to  the  flesh. 

Now,  let  us  observe  how  much  matter,  both  for  warning  and  comfort, 
is  supplied  by  this  view.  We  learn  from  the  picture  of  the  infant  Church 
what  that  Church  has  been  ever  since,  that  is,  as  far  as  man  can  under- 
stand it.  31any  are  called,  few  are  chosen.  We  learn  to  reflect  on  the 
great  danger  there  is,  lest  we  be  not  in  the  number  of  the  chosen,  and 
are  warned  to  "  watch  and  pray  that  we  enter  not  into  temptation,"  to 
"  work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,"  to  seek  God's  mercy 
in  His  Holy  Church,  and  to  pray  to  Him  ever  that  He  would  "  fulfil  in 
us  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will,"  and  complete  what  He  once  began. 

But,  besides  this,  we  are  comforted  too  ;  we  are  comforted,  as  many 
of  us  as  are  living  humbly  in  the  fear  of  God.  Who  those  secret  ones 
are,  who  in  the  bosom  of  the  visible  Church  live  as  saints  fulfilling  their 
calling,  God  only  knows.  We  are  in  Ihe  dark  about  it.  We  may  indeed 
know  much  about  ourselves,  and  we  may  form  somewhat  of  a  judgment 
about  those  with  whom  we  are  well  acquainted.  But  of  the  general 
body  of  Christians  we  \i;ow  little  or  nothing.  It  is  our  duty  to  consider 
them  as  Christians,  to  take  them  as  we  find  them,  and  to  love  them ; 
and  it  is  no  concern  of  ours  to  debate  about  their  state  in  God's  sight. 
Without  however  entering  into  this  question  concerning  God's  secret 
counsels,  let  us  receive  this  truth  before  us  for  a  practical  purpose ;  that 
is,  I  speak  to  all  who  are  conscious  to  themselves  that  they  wish  and  try 
to  serve  God,  whatever  their  progress  in  religion  be,  and  whether  or  not 
they  dare  apply  to  themselves,  or  in  whatever  degree,  the  title  of  Chri 
tian  in  its  most  sacred  sense.  All  who  obey  the  Truth  are  on  th^ 
side  of  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  will  prevail.  Few  in  number 
but  strong  in  the  Spirit,  despised  by  the  world,  yet  making  wa} 
while  they  suffered,  the  twelve  Apostles  overturned  the  power  of 
darkness,  and  established  the  Christian  Church.  And  let  all  "  who 
love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity"  be  quite  sure,  that  v/eak 
though  they  seem,  and  solitary,  yet  the  "  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than 
men,  and  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men."  The  many  are 
"deceitful,"  and  the  worldly-wise  are  "vain  ;"  but  he  "that  feareth  the 
Lord,  the  same  shall  be  praised."  The  most  excellent  gifts  of  the  in- 
tellect last  but  for  a  season.  Eloquence  and  wit,  shrewdness  and  dex- 
terity, these  plead  a  cause  well  and  propagate  it  quickly,  but  it  dies  with 
them.  It  has  no  root  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  lives  not  out  a  genera- 
tion. It  is  the  consolation  of  the  despised  Truth,  that  its  works  endure. 
Its  words  are  few,  but  they  live.  Abel's  faith  to  this  day  "  yet  speaketh."* 
The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church.      "Fret  not  thy- 

*  Hebrews  xi.  4. 


XXII.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  WITNESSES.  171 

self"  then  "  because  of  evil  doers,  neither  be  thou  envious  against  the 
workers  of  iniquity.  For  they  shall  soon  be  cut  down  like  the  grass, 
and  wither  as  the  green  herb.  Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good  ...  de- 
light thyself  also  in  Him,  an''  He  shall  give  thee  the  desires  of  thy  heart ; 
commit  thy  way  unto  the  L^.  ^,  trust  also  in  Him,  and  He  shall  bring  it 
to  pass  ...  He  shall  bring  forth  thy  righteousness  as  the  light,  and  thy 
judgment  as  the  noon-day  ...  A  little  that  a  righteous  man  hath  is 
better  than  the  riches  of  mamj  wicked.  For  the  arms  of  the  wicked 
shall  be  broken,  but  the  Lord  upholdeth  the  righteous  ...  I  have  seen 
the  wicked  in  great  power,  and  spreading  himself  like  a  green  bay-tree, 
\  ot  he  passed  away,  and,  lo !  he  was  not ;  yea,  I  sought  him,  and  he 
could  not  be  found."*  The  heathen  world  made  much  ado  when  the 
Apostles  preached  the  Resurrection.  They  and  their  associates  were 
sent  out  as  lambs  among  wolves  ;  but  they  prevailed. 

We  too,  though  we  are  not  witnesses  of  Christ's  actual  resurrection* 
are  so  spiritually.  By  a  heart  awake  from  the  dead,  and  by  alTcctions 
set  on  heaven,  we  can  as  truly  and  without  figure  witness  that  Christ 
liveth,  as  they  did.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  wit- 
ness in  himself.  Truth  bears  witness  by  itself  to  its  Divine  Author. 
He  who  obeys  God  conscientiously,  and  lives  holily,  forces  all  about  him 
to  believe  and  tremble  before  the  unseen  power  of  Christ.  To  the  world 
indeed  at  large  he  witnesses  not ;  for  few  can  see  him  near  enough  to  be 
moved  by  his  manner  of  living.  But  to  his  neighbours  he  manifests  the 
Truth  in  proportion  to  their  knowledge  of  him ;  and  some  of  them, 
through  God's  blessing,  catch  the  holy  flame,  cherish  it,  and  in  their 
turn  transmit  it.  And  thus  in  a  dark  world  Truth  still  makes  way  in 
spite  of  the  darkness,  passing  from  hand  to  hand.  And  thus  it  keeps  its 
station  in  high  places,  acknowledged  as  the  creed  of  nations,  the  multi- 
tude of  which  are  ignorant,  the  while,  on  what  it  rests,  how  it  came  there, 
how  it  keeps  its  ground ;  and  despising  it,  think  it  easy  to  dislodge  it. 
But  "  the  Lord  reigneth."  He  is  risen  from  the  dead,  "  His  throne  is 
estabUshed  of  old  ;  He  is  from  everlasting.  The  floods  have  lifted  up 
their  voice,  the  floods  lift  up  their  waves.  The  Lord  on  high  is  mightier 
than  the  noise  of  many  waters,  yea,  than  the  mighty  waves  of  the  sea. 
His  testimonies  are  very  sure  ;  holiness  becometh  His  house  for  ever."t 

Let  these  be  our  thoughts  whenever  the  prevalence  of  error  leads  us 
to  despond.  When  St.  Peter's  disciple,  Ignatius,  was  brought  before  the 
Roman  emperor,  he  called  himself  Theophorus  ;  and  when  the  emperor 
asked  the  feeble  old  man  why  he  so  called  himself,  Ignatius  said  it  was 
because  he  carried  Christ  in  his  breast.     He  witnessed  there  was  but 

*  Psalm  xxxvii.  1 — 6.  16,  17.  35,  36.  t  Psalm  iciii. 


172  CHRISTIAN  REVERENCE.  [Serm. 

One  God,  who  made  heaven,  earth  and  sea,  and  all  that  is  in  them,  and 
One  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  His  Only-begotten  Son,  "  whose  kingdom  (he 
added)  be  my  portion  !"  The  emperor  asked,  "  His  kingdom,  say  you, 
who  was  crucified  under  Pilate  ?"  "  His  (answered  the  Saint)  who 
crucified  my  sin  in  me,  and  who  has  put  all  the  fraud  and  malice  of 
Satan  under  the  feet  of  those  who  carry  Him  in  their  hearts :  as  it  is 
written,  '  I  dwell  in  them  and  walk  in  them.'  " 

Ignatius  was  one  against  many,  as  St.  Peter  had  been  before  him ; 
and  was  put  to  death  as  the  Apostle  had  been : — but  he  handed  on  the 
Truth,  in  his  day.  At  length  we  have  received  it.  Weak  though  we 
be,  and  solitary,  God  forbid  we  should  not  in  our  turn  hand  it  on ;  glo- 
rifying  Him  by  our  lives,  and  in  all  our  words  and  works  witnessing 
Christ's  passion,  death,  and  resurrcciion. 


SERMON    XXIII 


CHRISTIAN  REVERENCE. 


Psalm  ii.  II. 


"  Serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with  trembling." 

Why  did  Christ  show  Himself  to  so  few  witnesses  after  He  rose  from  the 
dead?  Because  He  teas  a  King,  a  King  exalted  upon  God's  "  Holy  hill 
of  Z  n ;"  as  the  Psalm  says  which  contains  the  text.  Kings  do  not 
court  the  multitude,  or  show  themselves  as  a  spectacle  at  the  will  of 
others.  They  are  the  rulers  of  their  people,  and  have  their  state  as  such, 
and  are  reverently  waited  on  by  their  great  men :  and  when  they  show 
theriselves,  they  do  so  out  of  their  condescension.  They  act  by  means 
o'.'  t'leir  servants,  and  must  be  sought  by  those  who  would  gain  favours 
from  them. 

Christ,  in  like  manner,  when  exalted  as  the  Only-begotten  Son  of 
God,  did  not  mix  with  the  Jewish  people,  as  in  the  days  of  His  humilia- 
tion. He  rose  from  the  grave  in  secret,  and  taught  in  secret  forty  days, 
because  "the  government  was  upon  His  shoulder."  He  was  no  longer 
a  servant,  washing  His  disciples'  feet,  and  dependent  on  the  wayward 


XXIII.]  CHRISTIAN  REVERENCE.  173 

will  of  the  multitude.  Ho  was  the  acknowledged  Heir  of  all  things. 
His  throne  was  established  by  a  divine  decree ;  and  those  who  desired 
His  salvation,  were  bound  to  seek  His  face.  Yet  not  even  by  those  who 
sought  was  He  at  once  found.  He  did  not  permit  the  world  to  approach 
Him  rashly,  or  curiously  to  gaze  on  Him.  Those  only  did  he  call  be- 
side Him  who  had  been  His  friends,  who  loved  Him.  Those  only  He 
bade  "ascend  the  hill  of  the  Lord,"  who  had  "clean  hands  and  a  pure 
heart,  who  had  not  worshipped  vanity  nor  sworn  deceitfully."  Tnose 
drew  near,  and  "saw  the  Lord  God  of  Israel/'  and  so  were  fitted  to  bear 
tli(>  news  of  Him  to  the  people  at  large.  He  remained  "in  His  holy 
Temple  ;"  they  from  Him  proclaimed  the  tidings  of  His  resurrection,  and 
oi"  His  mercy.  His  free  pardon  offered  to  all  men,  and  the  promises  of 
irrarc  and  glory  which  His  death  had  procured  for  all  who  believe. 

Thus  arc  we  taught  to  serve  our  risen  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with 

trembling.     Let  us  pursue  the  subject  thus  opened  upon  us. — Christ's 

second  sojourn  on  earth  (after  His  resurrection)  was  in  seen  t.     The 

time  had  been  when  He  "preached  openly  in  the  synagogues,"  and  in 

the  public  ways ;  and  openly  wrought  miracles  such  as  man  never  did. 

Was  there  to  be  no  end  of  His  labours  in  our  behalf?     His  death  •'  fin 

ished  "  them ;  afterwards  He  taught  His  fullowsrs  only.     Who  shall 

complain  of  His  withdrawing  himself  at  last  from  the  world,  when  it  was  of 

His  own  spontaneous  loving-kindness  that  He  ever  showed  Himself  at  ail  1 

Yet  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  even  before  H3  entered  into  His 

'  glory,  Christ  spoke  and  acted  as  a  King.     It  must  not  be  supposed  that, 

,  even  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  He  could  forget  who  He  was,  or  "  behave 

Himself  vmseemly  "  by  any  weak  submission  to  the  will  of  the  J ev/ish 

people.     Even  in  the  lowest  acts  of  His  self-abasemeat,  still  He  showed 

;  His  greatness.     Consider  His  conduct  when  He  washed  St.  Peter'^  fjot, 

.  and  see  if  it  were  not  calculated  (assuredly  it  was)  to  humble,  to  awe, 

j  and  subdue,  the  very  person  to  whom  ho  ministered.      When  he  taught, 

I  warned,  pitied,  prayed  for,  His  ,ignorant  hearers,  H ^  never  allowed  taem 

to  relax  their  reverence  or  to  overlook  His  condescension.      Nay,  hi  did 

not  allow  them  to  praise  Him  aloud,  an  J  publish  His  acts  of  grace  ;  as 

if  what  is  called  popularity  would  bj  a  dishonour  to  His  holy  name,  and 

the  applause  of  men  would  imply  their  right  to  censure.     The  world's 

praise  is  akin  to  contempt.    Our  Lord  delights  in  the  tribute  of  the  secret 

j  heart.     Such  was  His  conduct  in  the  days  of  His  flesh.     Does  i\  not 

jinterpret  His  dealings  with  us  after  His  resurrection?     He  w      was  so 

reserved  in  His  communications  of  Himself,  even  when  He  cinie  to 

jminister,  much  more  would  withdraw  Himself  Ircm  the  eyes  of  men 

jwhen  He  was  exalted  over  all  things. 

I  have  said,  that  even  when  a  servant,  Christ ;  poke  with  the  au.ho  i(y 


174  CHRISTIAN   REVERENCE.  [Serm. 

of  a  king ;  and  have  given  you  some  proof  of  it.  But  it  may  be  well 
to  dwell  upon  this.  Observe  then,  the  difierence  between  His  promises, 
stated  doctrinally  and  generally,  and  His  mode  of  addressing  those  who 
were  actually  before  Him.  While  He  announced  God's  willingness  to 
forgive  all  repentant  sinner-,  in  ri!  alness  of  loving  kindness  and  tender 
mercy,  yet  he  did  not  use  supplication  to  these  persons  or  those,  what- 
ever their  number  or  tlieir  rank  might  be.  He  spoke  as  one  who  knew 
He  had  great  favours  to  confer,  anil  had  n>  ing  to  gain  from  those 
who  received  them.  Far  fr  urging  them  to  accept  His  bounty.  He 
showed  Himself  even  backward  to  confer  it !  inquired  into  their  know- 
ledge and  motives,  and  cautioned  them  against  entering  His  service 
without  counting  the  cost  of  it.  Thus  sometimes  He  even  repelled  men 
from  Him. 

For  instance :  When  there  went  "  great  multitudes  with  Him  .... 
He  turned  and  said  unto  them.  If  any  man  come  to  Me,  and  hate  not 
his  father  and  mother,  and  wife  and  children,  and  brothers  and  sisters, 
yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple."  These  were  not 
the  words  of  one  who  courted  popularity.  He  proceeds ; — "  Which  of 
you  intending  to  build  a  tower,  sitteth  not  down  first,  and  counteth  the 
cost,  -.vhether  he  have  sufficient  to  finish  it  ?  ...  So  likewise,  whoso- 
ever he  be  of  you,  that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  My 
disciple."*  On  the  ^'her  hand,  observe  His  conduct  to  the  powerful 
men,  and  tiie  learned  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  There  are  persons  who 
look  up  to  human  power,  and  who  are  pleased  to  associate  their  names 
with  the  accomplished  and  cultivated  of  thid  world.  Our  Blessed  Lord 
was  as  iii'^exible  towards  these,  as  towards  the  crowds  which  followed 
Him.  They  asked  for  a  sign  ;  He  named  them  "  an  evil  and  adulter- 
ous generation,"  who  refused  to  profit  by  what  they  had  already  re- 
ceived, j  T'.^y  asked  H':  ',  whether  V.-^.  did  not  confess  Himself  to  be 
one  with  God  ;  but  He,  rather  than  tell  such  proud  dl  ;>uters,  seemed 
even  to  abandon  His  own  real  claim,  and  made  His  former  clear  words 
ambiguous.  J  Such  was  the  King  of  Israel  in  the  eyes  both  of  the  mul- 
titude and  of  their  rulers  ;  a  *'  hard  saying,"  a  "  rock  of  ofience  even  to 
the  disobedient,"  who  came  to  Him  "  with  their  lips,  while  their  hearts 
were  far  from  Him."  Continue  this  survey  to  the  case  of  individuals, 
and  it  will  still  appear,  that,  loving  nnd  merciful  as  He  was  most  abun- 
dantly, yet  that  He  showed  both  His  power  :i.A  His  grace  with  reserve, 
even  to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  fickle  many,  or  the  unbelieving  Phari- 
sees. 

One  instance  is  preserved  to  us  of  a  person  addressing  Him,  with  some 

*  Luke  jciv.  25—33.  t  Matt.  xh.  39.  xii.  23—27.  t  Jolui  x.  30—37. 


XXIII]  CHRISTIAN  REVERENCE.  175 

notions,  indeed,  of  His  greatness,  but  in  a  light  and  careless  tone.  The 
narrative  is  instructive  from  the  mixture  of  good  and  bad  which  the 
inquirer's  character  displays.*  He  was  young,  and  wealthy,  and  is 
called  "  a  ruler  ;"  yet  was  anxious  for  Christ's  favour.  So  far  was  well. 
Nay,  he  "came  running,  and  kneeled  to  Him."  And  he  seem  d  to  ad- 
dress Him  in  what  would  generally  be  considered  as  respectful  terms  : 
"Good  Master,"  he  said.  Yet  our  Saviour  saw  in  his  conduct  a  defi- 
ciency ; — "  One  thing  thou  lackest :"  viz.  devo'ion  in  the  true  sense  of 
the  word, — a  giving  himself  up  to  Christ.  This  young  man  seems  to 
have  considered  religion  as  an  easy  work,  and  thought  he  could  live  as 
the  world,  and  yet  serve  God  acceptably.  In  consequence,  we  may 
suppose,  he  had  little  right  notion  of  the  dignity  of  a  Messenger  from 
God.  He  did  not  associate  the  Ministers  of  religion  with  awful  pros- 
pects beyond  the  grave,  in  which  he  was  interested ;  nor  reverence 
them  accordingly,  though  he  was  not  without  some  kind  of  resp  ct 
for  them.  Doubtless  he  thought  ho  was  honouring  our  Lord  when  he 
called  Him  "  Good  Master  ;"  and  would  have  been  surpris3d  to  hear  his 
attachment  to  sacred  subjects  and  appointments  called  in  question. 
Yet  our  Saviour  rejected  such  half  homage,  and  rebuked  what  even 
seemed  piously  offered. — "  Why  callest  thou  Me  good  ?"  He  asked  : 
"There  is  none  good  but  One,  that  is,  God  ;"  as  if  Hs  said, ''  Observes! 
'■  thou  what  words  thou  art  using  as  words  of  course  ?  '  Good  Mister ' — am 
I  accounted  by  thee  as  a  teacher  of  man's  creation,  and  over  whom  man 
has  power,  and  accosted  by  a  form  of  honour,  which  through  length  of 
time,  has  lost  its  meaning ;  or  am  I  acknowledged  to  come  and  have 
authority  from  Him  who  is  the  only  source  of  goodness?"  Nor  did  our 
Lord  relax  His  severity  even  after  this  reproof.  Expressly  as  it  is  told 
us,  "  He  loved  him,"  and  spoke  to  him  therefore  in  great  compassion  and 
mercy,  yet  He  strictly  charged  him  to  sell  all  he  had  and  give  it  away, 
if  he  would  show  he  was  in  earnest,  and  He  sent  him  away  "sorrowfu'." 
You  may  recollect,  too,  our  Lord's  frequent  inquiry  into  th'  fiih 
of  those  who  came  to  Him.  This  arose,  doubtless,  from  the  same  rule, 
— a  regard  to  His  own  Majesty  as  a  King.  "If  thou  canst  beheve,  all 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth."f  He  did  not  work  miracles 
as  a  mere  display  of  power  ;  or  allow  the  world  profanely  to  look  on  as 
at  some  exhibition  of  art.  In  this  respect,  as  in  others,  even  Moses  and 
!  Elias  stand  in  contrast  with  Him.  Moses  wrought  miracles  before 
'  Pharaoh  to  rival  the  magicians  of  Egypt.  Elijah  challenged  the 
prophets  of  Baal  to  bring  down  fire  from  heaven.  The  Son  of  God 
deigned  not  to  exert  His  power  before  Herod,  after  Moses'  pattern  , 

*  Matt.  xix.  16—22.     Mark.  x.  17-2-2.     Luke  xviii.  18—23.         t  Mark  ix.23. 


176  CHRISTIAN   REVERENCE.  [Serm. 

nor  to  be  judged  by  the  multitude  as  Elijah.  He  subdued  the  power  of 
Satan  at  His  own  seasons ;  but  when  the  Devil  tempted  Him  and  de- 
manded a  miracle  in  proof  of  His  Divinity,  He  would  do  none. 

Further,  even  when  an  inquirer  showed  earnestness,  still  He  did  not 
try  to  <min  Him  over  by  smooth  representations  sof  His  doctrine.  He 
declared  indeed,  the  general  characteristic  of  His  doctrine,  "  My  yoke 
is  easy  ;"  but  "He  made  himself  strange,  and  spake  roughly"  to  those 
whom  came  to  Him.  Nicodemus  was  another  ruler  of  the  Jews,  who 
sought  Him,  and  he  professed  his  beUef  in  His  miracles  and  Divine 
mission.  Our  Saviour  answered  in  these  severe  words  ; — "Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God." 

Such  was  our  Saviour's  conduct  even  during  the  period  of  His  minis- 
try ;  much  more  might  we  expect  it  to  be  such,  when  He  was  risen 
from  His  state  of  servitude,  and  such  we  find  it. 

No  man  saw  Him  rise  from  the  grave.  His  Angels  indeed  beheld 
it ;  but  His  earthly  followers  were  away,  and  the  heathen  soldiers  were 
not  worthy.  They  saw,  indeed,  the  great  Angel,  who  rolled  away  the 
stone  from  the  opening  of  the  tomb.  This  was  Christ's  servant ;  but 
Him  they  saw  not.  He  was  on  His  way  to  see  His  own  faithful  and 
mourning  followers.  To  these  He  had  revealed  His  doctrine  during 
His  humiliation,  and  called  them  "  His  Friends."*  First  of  all.  He 
appeared  to  Mary  Magdalene  in  the  garden  itself  where  He  had  been 
buried ;  then  to  the  other  women  who  ministered  unto  Him ;  then  to 
the  two  disciples  travelling  to  Emmaus  ;  then  to  all  the  Apostles  sepa- 
rately ;  besides,  to  Peter  and  to  James,  and  to  Thomas  in  the  presence 
of  them  all.  Yet  not  even  these.  His  friends,  had  free  access  to 
Him.  He  said  to  Mary,  "  Touch  Me  not."  He  came  and  left  them 
according  to  His  own  pleasure.  When  they  saw  Him,  they  felt  an 
awe  which  they  had  not  felt  during  His  ministry.  While  they  doubted 
if  it  were  He,  "  None  of  them,"  St.  John  says,  "  durst  ask  Him,  Who 
art  Thou  ?  beheving  that  it  was  the  Lord."f  However,  as  kings  have 
their  days  of  state,  on  which  they  show  themselves  j)ublicly  to  their 
subjects,  so  our  Lord  appointed  a  meeting  of  His  disciples,  when  they 
might  see  Him.  He  had  determined  this  even  before  His  crucifixion  ; 
and  the  Angels  reminded  them  of  it.  "  He  goeth  before  you  into 
Galilee  :  there  shall  yc  see  Him,  as  he  said  unto  you."J  The  place  of 
meeting  was  a  mountain  ;  the  same  (it  is  supposed)  on  which  He  had 
been  tiansfigured  ;  and  the  number  who  saw  Him  there  was  five 
hundred  at  oecc,  if  we  join  St.  Paul's  account  to  that  in  the  Gospels. 

*  Matt.  xiii.  11.    John  XV.  1').  fJohnxxi.  12,  t  Mark  xvi.  7. 


J 


XXIII.]  CHRISTIAN  REVERENCE,  177 

At  length,  after  forty  days,  He  was  taken  from  them  ;  He  ascended  up, 
*'and  a  cloud  received  Him  out  of  their  sight." 

Are  we  to  feel  less  humble  veneration  for  Him  now,  than  His 
Apostles  then  ?  Though  He  is  our  Saviour,  and  has  removed  all  slavish 
fear  of  death,  and  judgment,  arc  we,  therefore  to  make  light  of  the 
prospect  before  us,  as  if  we  were  sure  of  that  reward  which  He  bids  us 
struggle  for  ?  Assuredly,  we  are  still  to  "  serve  the  Lord  with  fear, 
and  rejoice  with  reverence," — to  "  kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  He  be  angry, 
and  so  we  perish  from  the  right  way,  if  His  wrath  be  kindled,  yea  but  a 
little."  In  a  Christian's  course,  fear  ani  Iovp  mmt  go  together.  And 
this  is  the  lesson  to  be  deduced  from  our  Saviour's  withdrawing  from  the 
world  after  His  resurrection.  He  showed  His  love  for  men  by  dying 
for  them  and  rising  again.  He  maintained  his  honour  and  great  glory 
by  retiring  from  them,  when  His  merciful  purpose  was  attained,  that 
tiiey  might  seek  Him  if  they  would  find  Him.  He  ascended  to  His 
Father  out  of  our  sight.  Sinners  would  be  ill  company  for  the  exalted 
King  of  Saints.  When  we  have  been  duly  prepared  to  see  Him,  we 
shall  be  given  to  approach  Flim. 

In  heaven,  love  will  absorb  fear  ;  but  in  this  world, /ear  and  love  must 
go  together.  No  one  can  love  God  aright  without  fearing  Him  ;  though 
many  fear  Him,  and  yet  do  not  love  Him.  Self-confident  men,  who 
do  not  know  their  own  hearts,  or  the  reasons  they  have  for  being  dissatis- 
fied with  themselves,  do  not  fear  God,  and  they  think  this  bold  freedom 
is  to  love  Him.  Deliberate  sinners  fear  bat  cannot  love  Him.  But 
devotion  to  Him  consists  in  love  and  fear,  as  we  may  understand  from 
our  ordinary  attachment  to  each  other.  No  one  really  loves  another, 
who  does  not  feel  a  certain  reverence  towards  him.  When  friends 
transgress  this  sobriety  of  affection,  they  may  indeed  continue  associ- 
ates for  a  time,  but  they  have  broken  the  bond  of  union.  It  is  mutu- 
al respect  which  makes  friendship  lasting.  So  again,  in  the  feelings  of 
inferiors  towards  superiors.  Fear  must  go  before  love.  Till  he  who 
has  authority  shows  he  has  it  and  can  us:^  it,  his  forbearance  will  not 
be  valued  duly ,  his  kindness  will  look  like  weakness.  We  learn  to 
contemn  what  we  do  not  fear  ;  and  wo  caaaot  love  what  we  contemn. 
So  in  religion  also.  We  cannot  understand  Christ's  mercies  till  we 
understand  His  power.  His  glory,  His  unspeakable  holiness,  and  our 
demerits ;  that  is,  until  we  first  fear  Him.  Not  that  fear  comes  first, 
and  then  love ;  for  the  most  part  they  will  proceed  together.  Fear  is 
allayed  by  the  love  of  Him,  and  our  love  sobered  by  our  fear  of  Him. 
Thus  He  draws  us  on  with  encouraging  voice  amid  the  terrors  of  His 
threatenings.  As  in  the  young  ruler's  case,  He  loves  us,  yet  speaks 
harshly  to  us  that  we  may  learn  to  cherisli  mixed  feelings  towards  Him. 
Vol.  I.— 12 


17S  CHRISTIAN   REVERENCE.  [Serm, 

He  hides  Himself  from  us,  and  yet  calls  us  on,  that  we  may  hear  His 
voice  as  Samuel  did,  and,  believing,  approach  Him  with  trembling. 
This  may  seem  strange  to  those  who  do  not  study  Ihc  Scriptures,  and 
to  those  who  do  not  know  what  it  is  earnestly  to  seek  after  God.  But 
in  proportion  as  the  state  of  mind  is  strange,  so  is  there  in  it,  therefore, 
untold  and  surpassing  pleasure  to  those  who  partake  it.  The  bitter  and 
the  sweet,  strangely  tempered,  thus  leave  upon  the  mind  the  lasting  taste 
of  Divine  Truth,  and  satisfy  it ;  not  so  harsh  as  to  be  loathed  ;  nor  of 
that  insipid  sweetness  which  attends  enthusiastic  feelings,  and  is  weari- 
some when  it  becomes  familiar.  Such  is  the  feeling  of  conscience  too, 
God's  original  gift  ;  how  painful!  yet  who  would  lose  it !  "I  opened  my 
mouth  and  panted,  for  I  longed  for  Thy  commandments."*  This  is 
David's  account  of  it.  Ezekiel  describes  something  of  the  same  feel- 
ing, when  the  Spirit  hfted  him  up  and  took  him  away,  "and  he  went  in 
bitterness,  in  the  heat  of  his  spirit,"  "  the  hand  of  the  Lord"  being  "strong 
upon  him."f 

Now  how  does  this  apply  to  us  here  assembled  ?  Are  we  in  danger 
of  speaking  or  thinking  of  Christ  irreverently  ?  I  do  not  think  we  arc 
in  any  immediate  danger  of  deliberate  profaneness  ;  but  we  are  in  great 
danger  of  this,  viz.  first,  of  allowing  ourselves  to  appear  profane,  and 
secondly,  of  gradually  becoming  irreverent,  while  we  are  pretending  to 
be  so.  Men  do  not  begin  by  intend  vg  to  dishonour  God  ;  but  they  are 
afraid  of  the  ridicule  of  others :  they  are  ashamed  of  appearing  religious ; 
and  thus  arc  led  to  pretend  that  they  are  worse  than  they  really  are. 
They  say  things  which  the  do  not  mean  ;  and,  by  a  miserable  weak- 
ness, allow  actions  and  habits  to  be  imputed  to  them  which  they  dare 
not  really  indulge  in.  Hence  they  affect  a  liberty  of  speech  which  only 
befits  the  companions  of  evil  spirits.  They  lake  God's  name  in  vain, 
to  show  that  ey  can  do  what  evils  do,  and  they  invoke  the  evil  spirit, 
or  speak  familiarly  of  all  that  pertains  (o  him,  and  deal  about  curses 
wantonly,  as  though  they  were  not  firebrands, — as  if  acknowledging 
the  Author  of  Evil  to  be  their  great  master  and  lord.  Yes !  he  is  a 
ma.ster  who  allows  himself  to  be  served  without  tronibling.  It  is  his 
very  art  to  lead  men  to  be  at  ease  with  him,  to  think  lightly  of  him, 
and  to  trifle  with  him.  He  will  submit  to  their  ridicule,  take  (as  it 
were)  their  blows,  and  pretend  to  b  ■  their  slave,  that  he  may  ensnare 
them.  He  has  no  dignity  to  maintain,  and  he  waits  his  time  when  his 
malice  shall  be  gratified.  So  it  has  ever  been  all  over  the  earth.  Among 
all  nations  it  has  been  his  aim  to  make  men  laugh  at  him  ;  going  to  and 

»  Pflalm  ciix.  131.  t  Ezek.  iii.  14. 


XXIII.]  CHRISTIAN  REVERENCE.  179 

fro  upon  the  earth,  and  walking  up  and  down  in  it,  hearing  and  rejoicing 
in  that  Hght  perpetual  talk  about  him,  which  is  his  worship. 

Now,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  this  careless  language  can  be 
continued  without  its  afTecting  a  man's  heart  at  last  ;  and  this  is  the 
second  danger  I  spoke  of.  Through  a  false  shame,  wo  disown  religion 
with  our  hps,  and  next  our  words  affect  our  thoughts.  Men  at  last  be- 
come the  cold  indifferent  profane  characters  they  professed  themselves 
to  be.  They  think  contemptuously  of  God's  Ministers,  Sacraments  and 
Worship  :  they  slight  His  word,  rarely  looking  into  it,  and  never  study- 
ing it.  They  undervalue  all  religious  profession,  and,  judging  of  others 
hy  themselves,  impute  the  conscientious  conduct  they  witness  to  bad 
motives.  Thus  they  are  in  heart  infidels  ;  though  they  may  not  for- 
mally be  such,  and  may  attempt  to  disguise  their  own  unbehef  under 
pretence  of  objecting  to  one  or  other  of  the  doctrines  or  ordinances  of 
religion.  And  should  a  time  of  temptation  come,  when  it  would  be  safe 
to  show  themselves  as  they  really  are,  they  will  (almost  unawares)  throw 
off  their  profession  of  Christianity,  and  join  themselves  to  the  scoffing 
world. 

And  how  must  Christians,  on  the  other  hand,  treat  such  heartless  men  ? 
They  have  our  Lord's  example  to  imitate.  Not  that  they  dare  precisely 
follow  the  conduct  of  him  who  had  no  sin.  They  dare  not  assume  to 
themselves  any  honour  on  their  own  account ;  and  they  are  bound,  es- 
pecially if  they  are  His  Ministers,  to  humble  themselves  as  the  Apostles 
did,  and  "  going  out  to  the  highways  and  hedges,  (as  it  were)  compel"* 
men  to  be  saved.  Yet,  while  they  use  greater  earnestness  of  entreaty 
than  their  Lord,  they  must  not  forget  His  dignity  the  while,  who  sends 
them.  He  manifested  His  love  towards  us,  "  in  deed  and  in  truth,"  and 
we,  His  Ministers,  declare  it  in  word  ;  3'et  for  the  very  reason  that  it  is 
so  abundant,  we  must  in  very  gratitude  learn  reverence  towards  Him. 
We  must  not  take  advantage  (so  to  say)  of  His  goodness ;  or  misuse 
the  powers  committed  to  us.  Never  must  we  solicitously  press  the  truth 
upon  those  who  do  not  profit  by  what  they  already  possess.  It  dishon- 
ours Christ,  while  it  does  the  scorncr  harm,  not  good.  It  is  casting 
pearls  before  swine.  We  must  wait  for  all  opportunities  of  being  useful 
to  men,  but  beware  of  attempting  too  much  at  once.  We  must  impart 
the  Scripture  doctrines,  in  measure  and  season,  as  they  can  bear  them  ; 
I  not  being  eager  to  recount  them  all,  rather,  hiding  them  from  the  world. 
I  Seldom  must  we  engage  in  controversy  or  dispute  ;  for  it  lowers  the 
jsacred  truths  to  make  them  a  subject  for  ordinary  debate.  Common 
jpropriety  suggests  rules  like  thesa  at  once.     Who  would  speak  freely 

*  Luke  xiv.  23, 


180  CHRISTIAN  REVERENCE.  [Serm. 

about  some  revered  friend  in  the  presence  of  those  who  did  not  value 
him  ?  or  who  would  think  he  could  with  a  few  words  overcome  their 
indifterence  towards  him  ?  or  who  would  hastily  dispute  about  him 
when  his  hearers  had  no  desire  to  be  made  love  him  ? 

Rather,  shunning  all  intemperate  words,  let  us  show  our  light  before 
men  by  our  works.  Here  we  must  be  safe.  In  doing  justice,  showing 
mercy,  speaking  the  truth,  resisting  sin,  obeying  the  Church, — in  thus 
glorifying  God,  there  can  be  no  irreverence.  And,  above  all,  let  us 
look  at  home,  check  all  bad  thoughts,  presumptuous  imaginings,  vain 
dosires,  discontented  murmurings,  self-complacent  reflections,  and  so  in 
our  hearts  ever  honour  him  in  secret,  whom  we  reverence  by  open  pro- 
fossijn. 

May  God  guide  us  in  a  dangerous  world,  and  deliver  us  from  evil. 
An  1  may  Hl;  rouse  to  serious  thought,  by  the  power  of  His  Spirit,  all 
who  are  living  in  profaneness  or  unconcern. 


SE  RMON    XXIV, 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  DAY. 


Hebrews  xii.  28,  29. 


'  Let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve  God  acceptably  with  reverence  and 
godly  fear.     For  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire." 

In  every  age  of  Christianity,  since  it  was  first  preached,  there  has  been 
what  may  be  called  a  religion  of  the  world,  which  so  far  imitates  the 
one  true  religion,  as  to  deceive  the  unstable  and  unwary.  The  world 
does  not  oppose  religion  as  such.  I  may  say,  it  never  has  opposed  it. 
In  particular,  it  has,  in  all  ages,  acknowledged  in  one  sense  or  other  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  fastened  on  one  or  other  of  its  characteristics,  and 
professed  to  embody  this  in  its  practice  ;  while  by  neglecting  the  other 
parts  of  the  holy  doctrine,  it  has,  in  fact,  distorted  and  corrupted  even 
that  portion  of  it  which  it  has  exclusively  put  forward,  and  so  has  con- 
trived to  explain  away  the  whole; — for  he  who  cultivates  only  one  pre- 
cept of  the  Gospel  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest,  in  reality  attends  to  no 
part  at  all.      Our  duties  balance  each  other  ;  and  though  we  are  too 


U 


XXIV.]  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  DAY.  181 

sinful  to  perform  them  all  perfectly,  yet  we  may  in  some  measure  be 
performing  them  all,  and  preserving  the  balance  on  the  whole  ;  whereas, 
to  give  ourselves  only  to  this  or  that  commandment  is  to  incline  our 
minds  in  a  wrong  direction,  and  at  length  to  pull  them  down  to  the 
earth,  which  is  the  aim  of  our  adversary,  the  devil. 

It  is  his  aim  to  break  our  strength  ;  to  force  us  down  to  the  earth, — 
to  bind  us  there.  The  world  is  his  instrument  for  this  purpose  ;  but  he 
is  too  wise  to  set  it  in  open  opposition  to  the  Word  of  God.  No !  he 
affects  to  be  a  prophet  like  the  prophets  of  God.  He  calls  his  servants 
also  prophets ;  and  they  mix  with  the  scattered  remnant  of  the  true 
Church,  with  the  solitary  Micaians  who  are  left  upon  the  earth,  and 
speak  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  And  in  one  sense  they  speak  the 
truth  ;  but  it  is  not  the  whole  truth  ;  and  we  know,  even  from  the  com- 
mon experience  of  life,  that  half  the  truth  is  often  the  most  gross  and 
mischievous  of  falsehoods. 

Even  in  the  first  age  of  the  Church,  Avhile  persecution  still  raged,  he 
set  up  a  counter  religion  among  the  philosophers  of  the  day,  partly  like 
Christianity,  but  in  truth  a  bitter  foe  to  it ;  and  it  deceived  and  ship- 
wrecked  the  faith  of  those  who  had  not  the  love  of  God  in  their  hearts. 

Time  went  on,  and  he  devised  a  second  idol  of  the  true  Christ,  and 
it  remained  in  the  temple  of  God  for  many  a  year.  The  age  was  rude 
and  fierce.  Satan  took  the  darker  side  of  the  Gospel ;  its  awful  mys- 
teriousness,  its  fearful  glory,  its  sovereign  inflexible  justice  ;  and  here 
his  picture  of  the  truth  ended,  "  God  is  a  consuming  fire  ;"  so  declares 
the  text,  and  we  know  it.  But  we  know  more,  viz.  that  God  is  love 
also  ;  but  Satan  did  not  add  this  to  his  religion,  which  became  one  of 
fear.  The  religion  of  the  world  was  then  a  fearful  religion.  Supersti- 
tions abounded,  and  cruelties.  The  noble  firmness,  the  graceful  aus- 
terity of  the  true  Christian  were  superseded  by  forbidding  spectres, 
harsh  of  eye,  and  haughty  of  brow  ;  and  these  were  the  patterns  or  the 
tyrants  of  a  beguiled  people. 

What  is  Satan's  device  in  this  day  1  a  far  different  one  ;  but  perhaps 
a  more  pernicious.  I  will  attempt  to  expose  it,  or  rather  to  suggest 
some  remarks  towards  its  being  exposed,  by  those  who  think  it  worth 
while  to  attempt  it ;  for  the  subject  is  too  great  and  to  difficult  for  an 
occasion  such  as  the  present,  and,  after  all,  no  one  can  detect  false- 
hood for  another  ; — every  man  must  do  it  for  himself  ;  we  can  but  help 
each  other. 

What  is  the  world's  religion  now  ?  It  has  taken  the  brighter  side  of 
the  Gospel, — its  tidings  of  comfort,  its  precepts  of  love  ;  all  darker, 
deeper  views  of  man's  condition  and  prospects  being  comparatively  for- 
gotten.    This  is  the  religion  natural  to   a  civilized  age,  and   well  has 


182  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE   DAY.  [Serm. 

Satan  dressed  and  completed  it  into  an  idol  of  the  Truth.  As  the  rea- 
son is  cultivated,  the  taste  formed,  the  affections  and  sentiments  refined, 
a  o-cneral  decency  and  grace  will  of  course  spread  over  the  face  of  so- 
ciety, quite  independently  of  the  influence  of  revelation.  That  beauty 
and  delicacy  of  thought,  which  is  so  attractive  in  books,  extends  to  the 
conduct  of  life,  to  all  we  have,  all  we  do,  all  we  are.  Our  manners  are 
courteous  ;  we  avoid  giving  pain  or  offence  ;  our  words  become  correct ; 
our  relative  duties  are  carefully  performed.  Our  sense  of  propriety 
shows  itself  even  in  our  domestic  arrangements,  in  the  embellishment 
of  our  houses,  in  our  amusements,  and  so  also  in  our  religious  profession- 
Vice  now  becomes  unseemly  and  hideous  to  the  imagination,  or,  as  it 
is  sometimes  familiarly  said,  "  out  of  taste."  Thus  elegance  is  gradu- 
ally made  the  test  and  standard  of  virtue,  which  is  no  longer  thought  to 
possess  intrinsic  claim  on  our  hearts,  or  to  exist  further  than  it  leads  to 
the  quiet  and  comfort  of  others.  Conscience  is  no  longer  recognized 
as  an  independent  arbiter  of  actions,  its  authority  is  explained  away  ; 
partly  it  is  superseded  in  the  minds  of  men  by  the  so-called  moral  sense, 
which  is  regarded  merely  as  the  love  of  the  beautiful ;  partly  by  the 
rule  of  expediency,  which  is  forthwith  substituted  for  it  in  the  details  of 
conduct.  Now  conscience  is  a  stern  gloomy  principle ;  it  tells  us  of 
guilt  and  of  prospective  punishment.  Accordingly,  when  its  terrors 
disappear,  then  disappear  also,  in  the  creed  of  the  day,  those  fearful 
images  of  Divine  wrath  with  which  the  Scriptures  abound.  They  are 
explained  away.  Every  thing  is  bright  and  cheerful.  Religion  is 
pleasant  and  easy  ;  benevolence  is  the  chief  virtue  ;  intolerance,  bigotry, 
excess  of  zeal,  are  the  first  of  sins.  Austerity  is  an  absurdity  ; — even 
firmness  is  looked  on  with  an  unfriendly,  suspicious  eye.  On  the 
other  hand,  all  open  profligacy  is  discountenanced  ;  drunkenness  is  ac- 
counted a  disgrace";  cursing  and^swearing  are  vulgarities.  Moreover, 
to  a  cultivated  mind,  which  recreates  itself  in  the  varieties  of  literature 
and  knowledge,  and  is  interested  in  the  ever-accumulating  discoveries 
of  science,  and  the  ever-fresh  accessions  of  information,  poHtical  or 
otherwise,  from  foreign  countries,  religion  will  commonly  seem  to  be 
dull,  from  want  of  novelty.  Hence  excitements  are  eagerly  sought  out 
and  rewarded.  New  objects  in  religion,  new  systems,  and  plans,  new 
doctrines,  new  preachers,  are  necessary  to  satisfy  that  craving  which 
the  so-called  spread  of  knowledge  has  created.  The  mind  becomes 
morbidly  sensitive  anch  fastidious ;  dissatisfied  with  things  as  they  are, 
desirous  of  a  change  as  such,  as  if  alteration  nmst  of  itself  be  a  relief. 
Now  I  would  have  you  put  Christianity  for  an  instant  out  of  your 
thoughts  ;  and  consider  whether  such  a  state  of  refinement  as  I  have 
attempted  to  describe,  is  not  tliat  to  which  men  might  be  brought,  quite 


XXIV.]  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  DAY.  183 

independent  of  religion,  by  the  mere  influence  of  education  and  civili- 
zation ;  and  then  again,  whether,  nevertheless,  this  mere  refinement  of 
mind  is  not  more  or  less  all  that  is  called  religion  at  this  day.  In  other 
words,  is  it  not  the  case,  that  Satan  has  so  composed  and  dressed  out 
what  is  the  mere  natural  produce  of  the  human  heart  under  certain 
circumstances,  as  to  serve  his  purposes  as  the  counterfeit  of  the  Truth  ? 
I  do  not  at  all  deny  that  this  spirit  of  the  world  uses  words,  and  makes 
professions  which  it  would  not  adopt  except  for  the  suggestions  of  Scrip- 
ture  ;  nor  do  I  deny  that  it  takes  a  general  colouring  from  Christianity, 
so  as  really  to  be  modified  by  it,  nay,  in  a  measure  enlightened  and 
exalted  by  it.  Again,  I  fully  grant  that  many  persons  in  whom  this 
bad  spirit  shows  itself,  are  but  partially  infected  by  it,  and  at  bottom, 
good  Christians,  though  imperfect.  Still,  after  all,  here  is  an  existing 
system,  only  partially  evangelical,  built  upon  worldly  principle,  yet 
pretending  to  be  the  Gospel,  dropping  one  whole  side  of  it,  viz.  its  aus- 
tere character,  and  considering  it  enough  to  be  benevolent,  courteous, 
candid,  correct  in  conduct,  delicate, — though  it  has  no  true  fear  of 
God,  no  fervent  zeal  for  His  honour,  no  deep  hatred  of  sin,  no  horror 
at  the  sight  of  sinners,  no  indignation  and  compassion  at  the  blasphe- 
mies of  heretics,  no  jealous  adherence  to  doctrinal  truth,  no  especial 
sensitiveness  about  the  particular  means  of  gaining  ends,  provided  the 
ends  be  good,  no  loyalty  to  the  Holy  Apostolic  Church,  of  which  the 
Creed  speaks,  no  sense  of  the  authority  of  religion  as  external  to  the 
mind  :  in  a  word,  no  seriousness,  and  therefore  is  neither  hot  nor  cold, 
but  (in  Scripture  language)  luke-u-arm.  Thus  the  present  age  is  the 
very  contrary  to  what  are  commonly  called  the  dark  ages  ;  and  toge- 
ther with  the  faults  of  those  ages  we  have  lost  their  virtues.  I  say  their 
•virtues;  for  even  the  errors  then  prevalent,  a  persecuting  spirit,  for 
'  instance,  fear  of  religious  inquiry,  bigotry,  these  were,  after  all,  but 
perversions  and  excesses  of  real  virtues,  such  as  zeal  and  reverence  ; 
and  we,  instead  of  limiting  and  purifying  them,  have  taken  them  away 
root  and  branch.  Why?  because  we  have  not  acted  from  a  love  of 
the  Truth,  but  from  the  influence  of  the  Age.  The  old  generation  has 
passed,  and  its  character  with  it ;  a  new  order  of  things  has  arisen. 
Human  society  has  a  new  framework,  and  fosters  and  developes  a  new 
character  of  mind ;  and  this  new  character  is  made  by  the  enemy  of 
our  souls,  to  resemble  the  Christian's  obedience  as  near  as  it  may,  its 
.likeness  all  the  time  being  but  accidental.  Meanwhile  the  Holy 
Church  of  God,  as  from  the  beginning,  continues  its  course  heaven- 
•^ward  ;  despised  by  the  world,  yet  influencing  it,  partly  correcting  it, 
partly  restraining  it,  and  in  some  happy  cases  reclaiming  its  victims, 
and  fixing  them  firmly  and  for  ever  within  the  lines  of  the  faithful  host 


1S4  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE   DAY.  Serm. 

militant  here  on  earth,  which  journeys  towards  Ihc  City  of  the  Great 
Kin"-.  God  give  us  grace  to  search  our  hearts,  lest  we  he  blinded  by 
the  deceitfulness  of  sin  !  lest  we  serve  Satan  transformed  into  an  Angel 
of  light,  while  wc  think  we  are  pursuing  true  knov/le(ige  ;  lest,  over- 
looking and  ill-treating  the  elect  of  Christ  here,  we  have  to  ask  that 
awful  question  at  the  last  day,  while  the  truth  is  bursting  upon  us, 
"  Lord,  when  saw  we  Thee  a  stranger  and  a  prisoner  ? "  when  saw  we 
Thy  sacred  Word  and  Servants  despised  and  oppressed,  "  and  did  not 
minister  unto  Thee  ?"* 

Nothing  shows  more  strikingly  the  power  of  the  world's  roligion,  as 
now  described,  than  to  consider  the  very  different  classes  of  men  v/hom 
it  influences.  It  will  be  found  to  extend  its  sway  and  its  teaching  both 
over  the  professedly  religious  and  the  irreligiows. 

1.  Many  religious  men,  rightly  or  not,  have  long  been  expecting  a 
millenium  of  purity  and  peace  for  the  Church.  I  will  not  say,  whether 
or  not  with  reason,  for  good  men  may  well  differ  on  such  a  subject. 
But,  any  how,  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  expected  it,  it  has  b  come 
a  temptation  to  take  up  and  recognise  the  world's  religion  as  already 
delineated.  They  have  more  or  less  identified  their  vision  of  Christ's 
kingdom  with  the  elegance  and  refinement  of  mere  human  civilization  ; 
and  have  hailed  every  evidence  of  improved  decency,  every  whoKsomc 
civil  regulation,  every  beneficent  and  enlightened  act  of  state  policy* 
as  signs  of  their  coming  Lord.  Bent  upon  achieving  their  object,  an 
extensive  and  glorious  diffusion  and  profession  of  the  Gosp'  1,  th  y  have 
been  little  solicitous  about  the  means  employed.  They  have  counte- 
nanced and  acted  with  men  who  openly  professed  unchristian  principle  s. 
They  have  accepted  and  defended  what  they  considered  to  bo  reforma- 
tions and  ameliorations  of  the  existing  state  of  things,  though  injustice 
must  be  perpetrated  in  order  to  effect  them,  or  long-cherished  rules  of 
conduct,  indifferent  perhaps  in  their  origin  but  consecrated  by  long 
usage,  must  be  viola  sd.  They  have  sacrificed  Truth  to  expedience. 
They  have  strangely  imagined  that  bad  men  were  to  be  the  immediate 
instruments  of  the  approaching  advent  of  Christ  ;  and,  (like  the  de- 
luded Jews  not  many  years  since  in  a  foreign  country.)  they  have 
taken,  if  not  for  their  Messiah  (as  they  did,)  at  least  for  their  Elijah,  • 
their  reforming  Baptist,  the  Herald  of  the  Christ,  children  of  this  world, 
and  sons  of  Belial,  ^n  whom  the  anathema  of  the  Apostle  lies  from 
the  beginning,  declaring,  "  If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
let  him  be  Anathema  Maran-atha."-|- 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  form  of  doctrine,  which  I  have  called  the 

*  Matt.  XXV.  44.  t  1  Cor.  xvi.  -2. 


XXIV.]  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  DAY.  185 

religion  of  the  day,  is  especially  adapted  to  please  men  of  sceptical 
minds,  the  opposite  extreme  to  those  just  mentioned,  who  have  never 
been  careful  to  obey  their  conscience,  who  cultivate  the  intellect  with- 
out disciplining  the  heart,  and  who  allow  themselves  to  speculate  freely 
about  what  religion  ought  to  be,  without  going  to  Scripture  to  discover 
what  it  really  is.  Some  persons  of  this  character  almost  consider 
religion  itself  to  be  an  obstacle  in  the  advance  of  our  social  and  politi- 
cal well-being.  But  they  know  human  nature  requires  it ;  therefore 
they  select  the  most  rational  form  of  religion,  (so  they  call  it,)  which 
they  can  devise.  Others  are  far  more  seriously  disposed,  but  are  cor- 
rupted by  bad  example  or  other  cause.  But  they  all  discard  (what  they 
call)  gloomy  views  of  religion  ;  they  all  trust  themselves  more  than 
Ciod's  word,  and  thus  may  be  classed  together  ;  and  are  ready  to  em- 
brace the  pleasant  consoling  religion  natural  to  a  polished  age.  They 
lay  much  stress  on  works  on  Natural  Theology,  and  think  that  all 
religion  is  contained  in  these  ;  whereas,  in  truth,  there  is  no  greater 
fallacy  than  to  suppose  such  works  in  themselves  in  any  true  sense  to 
be  religious  at  all.  Religion,  it  has  been  well  observed,  is  something 
relative  to  us  ;  a  system  of  commands  and  promises  from  God  towards 
us.  But  how  are  we  concerned  with  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  1  or 
with  the  laws  of  the  universe  ?  how  will  they  teach  us  our  duty  ?  how 
will  they  speak  to  sinners  ?  They  do  not  speak  to  sinners  at  all.  They 
were  created  before  Adam  fell.  They  "  declare  the  glory  of  God,"  but 
not  His  will.  They  are  all  perfect,  all  harmonious  ;  but  that  bright- 
ness and  excellence  which  they  exhibit  in  their  own  creation,  and  the 
Divine  benevolence  therein  seen,  are  of  little  moment  to  fallen  man. 
We  see  nothing  there  of  God's  wrath,  of  which  the  conscience  of  a  sin- 
ner loudly  speaks.  So  that  there  cannot  be  a  more  dangerous  (though 
a  common)  device  of  Satan,  than  to  carry  us  off  from  our  own  secret 
thoughts,  to  make  us  forget  our  own  hearts,  which  tell  us  of  a  God  of 
justice  and  holiness,  and  to  fix  our  attention  merely  on  the  God  who 
made  the  heavens  ;  who  is  our  God  indeed,  but  not  God  as  manifested 
to  us  sinners,  but  as  He  shines  forth  to  His  Angels,  and  to  His  elect 
hereafter. 

When  a  man  has  so  far  deceived  himself  as  to  trust  his  destiny  to 
what  the  heavens  tell  him  of  it,  instead  of  consulting  and  obeying  his 
conscience,  what  is  the  consequence  ?  that  at  once  he  misinterprets 
and  perverts  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture.  It  cannot  be  denied  that, 
pleasant  as  religious  observances  are  declared  in  Scripture  to  be  to  the 
holy,  yet  to  men  in  general  they  are  said  to  be  difficult  and  distasteful  ; 
to  all  men  naturally  impossible,  and  by  few  fulfilled  even  with  the 
assistances  of  grace,  on  account  of  their  wilful  corruption.     Religion  is 


186  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  DAY.  [Serm. 

said  to  be  against  nature,  to  be  against  our  original  will,  to  require 
God's  aid  to  make  us  love  and  obey  it,  and  to  be  commonly  refused  and 
opposed  in  spite  of  that  aid.  We  are  expressly  told,  that  "  strait  is  the 
gate  and  narrow  the  way  that  leads  to  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find 
it ;"  that  we  must  "  slrive"  or  struggle  "  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate," 
for  that  "  many  shall  seek  to  enter  in,"  but  that  is  not  enough,  they 
merely  seek  and  do  not  find  it ;  and  further,  that  they  who  do  not 
obtain  everlasting  life,  "  shall  go  into  everlasting  punishment."*  This 
is  the  dark  side  of  religion ;  and  the  men  I  have  been  describing 
cannot  bear  to  think  of  it.  They  shrink  from  it  as  too  terrible.  They 
easily  get  themselves  to  believe  that  those  strong  declarations  of  Scrip- 
ture do  not  belong  to  the  present  day,  or  that  they  are  figurative.  They 
have  no  language  within  their  heart  responding  to  them.  Conscience 
has  been  silenced.  The  only  information  they  have  received  concern- 
ing God  has  been  from  Natural  Theology,  and  that  speaks  only  of 
benevolence  and  harmony ;  so  they  will  not  credit  the  plain  word  of 
Scripture.  They  seize  on  such  parts  of  Scripture  as  seem  to  counte- 
nance their  own  opinions  ;  they  insist  on  its  being  commanded  us  to 
"  rejoice  evermore  ;"  and  they  argue  that  it  is  our  duty  to  solace  our- 
selves here,  (in  moderation  of  course,)  with  the  goods  of  this  life, — that 
we  have  only  to  be  thankful  while  we  use  them, — that  we  need  not 
alarm  ourselves, — that  God  is  a  merciful  God, — that  repentance  is  quite 
sufficient  to  atone  for  our  offences, — that  though  we  have  been  irregu- 
lar in  our  youth,  yet  that  is  a  thing  gone  by, — that  we  forget  it,  and 
therefore  God  forgets  it, — that  the  world  is,  on  the  whole,  very  well  dis- 
posed towards  religion, — that  we  should  avoid  enthusiasm, — that  we 
should  not  be  over-serious, — that  we  should  have  enlarged  views  on  the 
subject  of  human  nature, — and  that  we  should  love  all  men.  This 
indeed  is  the  creed  of  shallow  men,  in  every  age,  who  reason  a  little, 
and  feel  not  at  all,  and  who  think  themselves  enlightened  and  philoso- 
phical. Part  of  what  they  say  is  false,  part  is  true,  but  misapplied ; 
but  why  I  have  noticed  it  here,  is  to  show  how  exactly  it  fits  in  with 
what  I  have  already  described  as  the  peculiar  religion  of  a  civilized 
age ;  it  fits  in  with  it  equally  well  as  does  that  of  the  (so  called)  reli- 
gious world,  which  is  the  opposite  extreme. 

One  further  remark  I  will  make  about  these  professedly  rational 
Christians  ;  who,  be  it  observed,  often  go  on  to  deny  the  mysteries  of 
the  Gospel.  Let  us  take  the  text : — "  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire." 
Now  supposing  these  persons  fell  upon  these  words,  or  heard  them 
urged  as   an   argument   against   their  own  doctrine   of  the  unmixed 

*  Matt.  vii.  14.     Luke  xiii.  24.     Matt.  x.xv.  46, 


XXIV.]  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  DAY.  187 

satisfactory  character  of  our  prospects  in  the  world  to  come,  and  sup- 
posing they  did  not  know  what  part  of  the  Bible  they  occurred  in, 
what  would  they  say  ^  Doubtless  they  would  confidently  say  that  they 
applied  only  to  the  Jews  and  not  to  Christians  ;  that  they  only  described 
the  Divine  Author  of  the  Mosaic  Law  ;*  that  God  formerly  spoke  in 
terrors  to  the  Jews,  because  they  were  a  gross  and  brutish  people,  but 
that  civilization  has  made  us  quite  other  men  ;  that  our  reason,  not  our 
fears,  is  appealed  to,  and  that  the  Gospel  is  love.  And  yet,  in  spite  of 
all  this  argument,  the  text  occurs  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  writ- 
ten by  an  Apostle  of  Christ. 

I  shall  conclude  with  stating  more  fully  what  I  mean  by  the  dark 
side  of  religion ;  and  what  judgment  ought  to  be  passed  on  the  super- 
stitious and  gloomy. 

Here  I  will  not  shrink  from  uttering  my  firm  conviction  that  it  would 
be  a  gain  to  this  country,  were  it  vastly  more  superstitious,  more  bigot- 
ed, more  gloomy,  more  fierce  in  its  religion,  than  at  present  it  shows 
itself  to  be.  Not,  of  course,  that  I  think  the  tempers  of  mind  herein 
implied  desirable,  which  would  be  an  evident  absurdity ;  but  I  think 
them  infinitely  more  desirable  and  more  promising  than  a  heathen  obdu- 
racy,  and  a  cold,  self-sufficient,  self-wise  tranquillity.  Doubtless,  peace 
of  mind,  a  quiet  conscience,  and  a  cheerful  countenance  are  the  gift  of 
the  Gospel,  and  the  sign  of  a  Christian  ;  but  the  same  effects  (or,  rather, 
what  appear  to  be  the  same)  may  arise  from  very  different  causes. 
Jonah  slept  in  the  storm, — so  did  our  Blessed  Lord.  The  one  slept  in 
an  evil  security :  the  Other  in  "the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all 
understanding."  The  two  states  cannot  be  confounded  together,  they 
are  perfectly  distinct ;  and  as  distinct  is  the  calm  of  the  man  of  the 
world  from  that  of  the  Christian.  Now  take  the  case  of  the  sailors  on 
board  the  vessel ;  they  cried  to  Jonah,  "  What  meanest  thou,  O 
sleeper?" — so  the  Apostles  said  to  Christ;  "Lord,  we  perish."  This 
is  the  case  of  the  supestitious  ;  they  go  between  the  false  peace  of  Jonah 
and  the  true  peace  of  Christ  ;  they  are  better  than  the  one,  though  far 
below  the  Other.  Applying  this  to  the  present  religion  of  the  educated 
world,  full  as  it  is  of  security  and  cheerfulness,  and  decorum,  and  benevo- 
lence, I  observe  that  these  appearances  may  arise  either  from  a  great 
deal  of  religion,  or  from  the  absence  of  it ;  they  may  be  the  fruits  of 
lightness  of  mind  and  a  blinded  conscience,  or  of  that  faith  which  has 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  if  this  alternative 
be  proposed,  I  might  almost  leave  it  to  the  common  sense  of  men,  (if 
they  could  get  themselves  to  think  seriously)  to  which  of  the  two  the 

*  Deut.  iv.  24. 


188  THE   RELIGION  OF  THE  DAY.  [Serm. 

temper  of  the  age  is  to  be  referred.  For  myself  I  cannot  doubt,  seeing 
what  I  see  of  the  world,  that  it  arises  from  the  sleep  of  Jonah  ;  and  it 
is  therefore  but  a  dream  of  religion,  far  inferior  in  worth  to  the  well- 
grounded  alarm  of  the  superstitious,  who  are  awakened  and  see  their 
danger,  though  they  do  not  attain  so  far  in  faith  as  to  embrace  the 
remedy  of  it. 

Think  of  this,  I  beseech  you,  my  brethren,  and  lay  it  to  heart,  as  far 
as  you  go  wifh  mo,  as  you  will  answer  for  having  heard  it  at  the  last 
day.  I  would  not  willingly  be  harsh  ;  but  knowing  "  that  the  world 
lieth  in  wickedness,"  I  think  it  highly  pi'obable  that  you,  so  far  as  you 
are  in  it,  (as  you  must  bo,  and  we  all  must  be  in  our  degree,)  are,  most 
of  you,  partially  infected  with  its  existing  error,  that  shallowness  of  re- 
ligion, which  is  the  result  of  a  blinded  conscience  ;  and,  therefore,  I 
speak  earnestly  to  you.  Believing  in  the  existence  of  a  general  plague 
in  the  land,  I  judge  that  you  probably  have  your  share  in  the  suffer- 
ings, the  voluntary  suft\  rings,  which  it  is  spreading  among  us.  The 
fear  of  God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom  ;  till  you  see  Him  to  be  a  con- 
suming fire,  and  approach  Him  with  reverence  and  godly  fear,  as  being 
sinners,  you  are  not  even  in  sight  of  the  strait  gate.  I  do  not  wish 
you  to  be  able  to  point  lo  any  particular  time  when  you  renounced  the 
world,  (as  it  is  called,)  and  were  converted  ;  this  is  deceit.  Fear  and 
love  must  go  iogethcr  ;  always  fear,  always  love,  to  your  dying  day. 
Doubtless  ; — still  you  must  know  what  it  is  to  sow  in  tears  here,  if  you 
would  reap  iii  joy  hereafter.  Till  you  know  the  weight  of  your  sins^ 
and  that  not  in  mere  imagination,  but  in  practice,  not  so  as  merely  to 
confess  it  in  a  formal  phrase  of  lamentation,  but  dail}^  and  in  your  heart 
in  secret,  you  cannot  embrace  the  offer  of  mercy  held  out  to  you  in  the 
Gospel,  through  the  death  of  Christ.  Till  you  know  what  it  is  to  fear 
with  the  terrified  sailors  or  the  Apostles,  you  cannot  sleep  with  Christ 
at  your  Heavenly  Father's  foet.  Misi;rable  as  were  the  superstitions 
of  the  dark  ag's,  revolting  as  are  the  tortures  now  in  use  among  the 
heathen  of  the  East,  hotter,  far  better  is  it,  to  torture  the  body  all  one's 
days,  and  to  make  this  life  a  hall  upon  earth,  than  to  remain  in  a  brief 
tranquillity  here,  lill  the  pit  at  length  opens  under  us,  and  awakens  us 
to  an  eternal  fruitless  consciousness  and  remorse.  Think  of  Christ's 
own  words : — "  What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul  ?" 
Again,  He  says,  "  Fear  Him,  who  after  he  hath  killed,  hath  power  to 
cast  into  hell ;  yea,  I  say  unto  you,  fear  Him."  Dare  not  to  think 
you  have  got  to  the  bottom  of  your  hearts  ;  you  do  not  know  what 
evil  lies  there.  How  long  and  earnestly  must  you  pray,  how  many 
years  must  you  pass  in  careful  obedience,  before  you  have  any  right  to 
lay  aside  sorrow,  and  to  rejoice   in   the    Lord  ?     In  one  sense,  indeed, 


XXV.]  SCRIPTURE  A  RECORD  OF  HUMAN  SORROW.  189 

you  may  take  comfort  from  the  first ;  for,  though  you  dare  not  yet 
anticipate  you  are  in  the  number  of  Christ's  true  elect,  yet  from  the 
first  you  know  he  desires  your  salvation,  has  died  for  you,  has  washed 
away  your  sins  by  baptism,  and  will  ever  help  you ;  and  this  thought 
must  cheer  you  while  you  go  on  to  examine  and  review  your  lives,  a-id 
to  turn  to  God  in  self-denial.  But,  at  the  same  time,  you  never  can  bo 
sure  of  salvation  while  you  are  here  ;  and  therefore  you  must  always 
fear  while  you  hope.  Your  knowledge  of  your  sins  increases  with  yuiir 
view  of  God's  mercy  in  Christ.  And  this  is  the  true  Christian  sta-; , 
and  the  nearest  approach  to  Christ's  calm  and  placid  sleep  i:i  the  tftm- 
pest; — not  perfect  joy  and  certainty  in  heaven,  but  a  deep  resigna';on 
to  God's  will,  a  surrender  of  ourselves,  soul  and  body  to  Him;  hopi  g 
indeed,  that  we  shall  be  saved,  but  fixing  our  eyes  more  earnestly  on 
Him  than  on  ourselves  ;  that  is,  acting  for  His  glory,  seeking  to  pi  as  ,* 
Him,  devoting  ourselves  to  Him  in  all  manly  obedience  and  strenuous 
good  works  ;  and,  when  we  do  look  within,  thinking  of  ourselves  with 
a  certain  abhorrence  and  contempt  as  being  sinners,  mortifying  our 
flesh,  scourging  our  appetites,  and  composedly  awaiting  that  time  wh  •>. 
if  we  be  worthy,  we  shall  be  stripped  of  our  present  selves,  and  :;r  w 
made  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 


SERMON   XXV. 


SCRIPTURE  A  RECORD  OF  HUMAN  SORROW. 


John  v.  2,  3. 


"There  is  at  Jerusalem  by  the  sheep  market  a  pool,  which  is  called  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue  Bcthesda,  having  five  porches.  In  these  lay  a  g^reat  multitude  of  impotent 
folk,  of  blind,  halt,  withered,  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water." 

What  a  scene  of  misery  this  pool  of  Bothesda  must  have  presented ! 
of  pain  and  sickness  triumphing  unto  death  ;  the  "blind,  halt,  withered, 
and  impotent,"  persuaded  by  the  hope  of  cure  to  disclose  their  sufferings 
in  the  eye  of  day  in  one  large  company !  This  pool  was  endued,  at 
certain  times,  with  a  wonderful  virtue  by  the  descent  of  an  Angel  into 


i 


190  SCRIPTURE   A  RECORD  [Serm. 

it ;  so  that  its  waters  efTectcd  the  cure  of  the  first  who  stepped  into  it, 
Avhatever  was  his  disease.  However,  I  shall  not  speak  of  this  wonderful 
pool ;  nor  of  our  Saviour's  miracle,  wrought  there  upon  the  man  wha 
had  no  one  to  put  him  in  before  the  rest,  when  the  water  was  troubled, 
and  had  been  for  thirty-eight  years  afflicted  with  his  infirmity.  With- 
out entering  into  these  subjects,  let  us  take  the  text  as  it  stands  in  the 
opening  of  the  chapter  which  contains  it,  and  deduce  a  lesson  from  it. 

There  lay  about  the  pool  "  a  great  multitude  of  impotent  folk,  of 
blind,  halt,  and  withered."     This  is  a  painful  picture,  such  as  we  do 
not  like  to  dwell  upon, — a  picture  of  a  chief  kind  of  human  suffering, 
bodily  disease  ;  one  which  suggests  to  us  and  typifies  all  other  suffering, 
— the  most  obvious  fulfilment  of  that  curse  which  Adam's  fall  brought 
upon  his  decendants.     Now  it  must  strike  every  one,  who  thinks  at  all 
about  it,  that  the  Bible  is  full  of  such  descriptions  of  human  misery. 
We  know  it  also  abounds  in  accounts  of  human  sin  ;  but  not  to  speak 
of  these,  it  abounds  in  accounts  of  human  distress  and  sufferings,  of 
our  miserable  condition,  of  the  vanity,  unprofitableness,  and   trials  of 
life.     The  Bible  begins  with  the  history  of  the  curse  pronounced  on  the 
earth  and  man  ;  it  ends  with  the  book  of  Revelations,   a  portion    of 
Scripture  fearful  for  its  threats,  and  its  prediction  of  judgments  ;  and. 
whether  the  original  curse  on  Adam  be  now  removed  from  the  world  or 
not,  it  is  certain  that  God's  awful  curses,  foretold  by  St.  John,  are  on 
all  sides  of  us.     Surely  in  spite  of  the  peculiar  promises  made  to  the 
Church  in  Christ  our  Saviour,  yet  as  regards  the  world,  the  volume  of 
inspiration  is  still  a  dreary  record,    "  written  within   and  without  with 
lamentations  and  mourning  and  wo."     And,  further,  you  will  observe 
that  it  seems  to  drop  what  might  be  said  in  favour  of  this  life,  and  en- 
larges on  the  unpleasant  side  of  it.     The   history  passes   quickly  from 
the  Garden  of  Eden,  to  dwell  on  the  sufferings  which  followed,  when 
our  first  parents  were  expelled  thence  ;  and  though,  in  matter  of  fact, 
there  are  traces  of  paradise  still  left  among  us,  yet  it  is  evident.  Scrip- 
ture says  little  of  them  in  comparison  of  its  accounts  of  human  misery. 
Little  docs  it  say  concerning  the  innocent  pleasures  of  life  ;  of  those 
temporal  blessings  which  rest  upon  our  worldly  occupations,  and  make 
them  easy  ;  of  the  blessings  which  we  derive  from  "  the  sun  and  moon 
and  the  everlasting  hills,"  from  the  succession   of  the  seasons  and  the 
produce  of  the  earth  ; — little  about  our  recreations  and  our  daily  do- 
mestic comforts  ;    little  about  the  ordinary  occasions  of  festivity  and 
mirth,  which  occur  in  life,  and  nothing  at  all  about  those  various  other 
enjoyments  which  it  would  be  going  too  much  into  detail  to  mention. 
Human  tales  and  poems  are  full  of  pleasant  sights  and  prospects  ; — 
they  make  things  better  than  they  are,  and  pourtray  a  sort  of  imagin- 


XXV.]  OF  HUMAN  SORROW.  191 

ary  perfection  ;  but  Scripture,  (I  repeat)  seems  to  abstain  even  from 
what  might  be  said  in  praise  of  human  life  as  it  is.  We  read,  indeed, 
of  the  feast  made  when  Isaac  was  weaned,  of  Jacob's  marriage,  of  the 
domestic  and  reUgious  festivities  of  Job's  family  ;  but  these  are  excep- 
tions in  the  tenor  of  the  Scripture  history.  "  Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is 
vanity ;"  "  man  is  born  to  trouble :"  these  are  its  customary  lessons. 
^  The  text  is  but  a  specimen  of  the  descriptions  repeated  again  and  again 
throughout  Scripture,  of  human  infirmity  and  misery. 

So  much  is  this  the  case,  that  thoughtless  persons  are  averse  to  the 
Scripture  narrative  for  this  very  reason.  I  do  not  mean  bad  men,  who 
speak  hard  presumptuous  words  against  the  Bible,  and  in  consequence 
expose  themselves  to  the  wrath  of  God  ;  but  I  speak  of  ihoughlless  per- 
sons ;  and  of  these  there  arc  many,  who  consider  the  Bible  a  gloomy 
book,  and  on  that  account  seldom  look  into  it,  saying  that  it  makes 
them  melancholy.  Accordingly  there  have  been  attempts  made  on 
the  other  hand  to  hide  this  austere  character  of  Scripture,  and  make  it 
a  briglit  interesting  picture  of  human  life.  Its  stories  have  before  now 
been  profanely  embellished  in  human  language,  to  suit  the  taste  of 
weak  and  cowardly  minds.  All  this  shows  that  in  the  common  opin- 
ion of  mankind,  the  Bible  does  not  take  a  pleasant  sunshine  view  of 
the  world. 

Now  why  have  I  thus  spoken  of  this  general  character  of  the  sa- 
cred history  I — in  order  to  countenance  those  who  complain  of  it  ? — 
let  it  not  be  imagined  ; — far  from  it.  God  does  nothing  without  some 
wise  and  good  reason,  which  it  becomes  us  devoutly  to  accept  and  use. 
He  has  not  given  us  this  dark  view  of  the  world  without  a  cause.  In 
truth,  this  view  is  the  ultimate  true  view  of  human  life.  But  this  is 
not  all ;  it  is  a  view  which  it  concerns  us  much  to  know.  It  concerns 
us  (I  say)  much  to  be  told  that  this  world  is,  after  all,  in  spite  of  first 
appearances  and  partial  exceptions,  a  dark  world  ;  else  we  shall  be 
obliged  to  learn  it,  (and,  sooner  or  later,  we  must  learn  it,)  by  sad  ex- 
perience ;  whereas,  if  we  are  forewarned,  we  shall  unlearn  false  no- 
tions of  its  excellence,  and  be  saved  the  disappointment  which  follows 
them.  And  therefore  it  is  that  Scripture  omits  even  what  might  be 
said  in  praise  of  this  world's  pleasures  ; — not  denying  their  value,  such 
as  it  is,  or  forbidding  us  to  use  them  religiously,  but  knowing  that  we 
are  sure  to  find  them  out  for  ourselves  without  being  told  of  them,  and 
that  our  danger  is  on  the  side,  not  of  undervaluing,  but  of  overvaluing 
them  ;  whereas,  by  being  told  of  the  world's  vanity,  at  first,  we  shall 
learn,  (what  else  v»-c  should  only  attain  at  last,)  not  indeed  to  be 
gloomy  and  discontented,  but  to  boar  a  sobor  and  calm  heart  under  a 
I     smihng  cheerful  countenance.     This   is    one   chief  reason  of  the  sol- 


I 


192  SCRIPTURE  A  RECORD  [Serm. 

emn  character  of  the  Scripture  history  ;  and  if  we  keep  it  in  view,  so 
far  from  being  offended  and  frightened  away  by  its  notes  of  sorrow, 
because  they  grate  on  the  ear  at  first,  we  shall  steadfastly  listen  to 
them,  and  get  them  by  heart,  as  a  gracious  gift  from  God  sent  to  us, 
as  a  remedy  for  all  dangerous  overflowing  joy  in  present  blessings,  in 
order  to  save  us  far  greater  pain,  (if  we  use  the  lesson  well,)  the  pain 
of  actual  disappointment,  such  as  the  overthrow  of  vainly  cherished  ^ 
hopes  of  lasting  good  upon  earth,  will  certainly  occasion. 

Do  but  consider  what  is  the  consequence  of  ignorance  or  distrust  of 
God's  warning  voice,  and  you  will  see  clearly  how  merciful  He  is,  and 
how  wise  it  is  to  listen  to  Him.     I  will  not  suppose  a  case  of  gross  sin, 
or  of  open  contempt  for  religion  ;  but  let  a  man  have  a  general  be- 
coming reverence  for  the  law  and  Church  of  God,  and  an  unhesitating 
faith  in  his  Saviour  Christ,  yet  suppose   him   so  to  be  taken   with  the 
goods  of  this  world,  as  (without  his  being  aware  of  it)  to  give  his  heart 
to  them.     Let  him  have  many  good  feelings  and  dispositions ;  but  let 
him  love  his  earthly  pursuits,  amusements,  friends,  too  well ; — by  which 
I  mean,  so  well  as  to  forget   that  he  is  bound   to    live   in  the  spirit  of 
Abraham's  faith,  who  gave  up  home,   kindred,  possessions,   all  his  eye 
ever    loved,   at    God's   word, — in  the  spirit  of  St.    Paul's  faith,  who 
♦'  counted  all   things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  his  Lord,"  to  win  whose  favour  "  he  suffered   the   loss  of 
all  things."  How   will   the  world   go  with  a  man  thus  forgetful  of  his 
real   interests  ?     For  a  while  all   will   be  enjoyment ; — if  at  any  time 
weariness  comes,  he  will  be  able  to  change  his  pleasure,  and   the  vari- 
ety will  relieve  him.     His  health  is  good  and  his  spirits  high,  and  easily 
master  and  bear  down  all  the  accidental  troubles  of  life.   So  far  is  well  : 
but,  as  years  roll  on,  by  little  and  little  he  will  discover   that,    after  all, 
he  is  not,  as  he  imagined,  possessed  of  any  real  substantial  good.     He 
will  begin  to  find,  and  be  startled  at  finding,  that  the  things  which  once 
pleased,  please  less  and  less,  or  not  at  all.     He  will  be  unable  to  recall 
those  lively  emotions  in  which  he  once  iudulged  ;  and  he  will   wonder 
why.     Thus,  by  degrees,  the  delightful  visions  which   surrounded   him 
will  fade  away,  and  in  their  stead,  melancholy  forms  will   haunt   him, 
such  as  crowded  round  the  pool   of  Bethesda.     Then   M'ill   be  fulfilled 
the  words  of  the  wise  man.     The  days  will  have  come,    "  when  thou 
shalt  say,  I  have  no  })lcasure  in  them  ;  the  sun  and    the  light  and  the 
moon  and  the  stars  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  clouds  return  after  the 
rain  ;  then  they  who  look  out  of  the   window   shall    be  darkened,  the 
doors  shall  be  shut  in  the  streets,  all  the  daughters  of  music    shall  be 
brought  low,  fears  shall  be  in  the  way,  and  desire   shall  fail."*     Then 

*Eccles.  xii.  1 — 5. 


XXV.]  OF  HUMAN   SORROW.  IflS 

a  man  will  begin  to  be  restless  and  discontented,  for  he  does  not  know 
how  to  amuse  himself.  Before,  he  was  cheerful  only  from  the  natural 
flow  of  his  spirits,  and  when  such  cheerfulness  is  lost  with  increasing 
years,  he  becomes  evil-natured.  He  has  made  no  effort  to  change  his 
heart, — to  raise,  strengthen,  and  purify  his  faith, — to  subdue  his  bad 
passions  and  tempers.  Now  their  day  is  come  ;  they  have  sprang  up 
and  begin  to  domineer.  When  he  was  in  health,  he  thought  about  his 
farm,  or  his  merchandise,  and  lived  to  himself ;  he  laid  out  his  strength 
on  the  world,  and  the  world  is  nothing  to  him,  as  a  worthless  bargain 
(so  to  say,)  seeing  it  is  nothing  worth  to  one  who  cannot  take  pleasure 
in  it.  He  had  no  habitual  thought  of  God  in  the  former  time,  however 
he  might  have  a  general  reverence  for  His  name  ;  and  now  he  dreads 
Him,  or,  (if  the  truth  must  be  said)  even  begins  to  hate  the  thought  of 
Him.  Where  shall  he  look  for  succour  ?  Perhaps,  moreover,  he  is  a 
burden  to  those  around  him  ;  they  care  not  for  him, — he  is  in  their 
way.  And  so  he  will  lie  year  after  year,  by  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  by 
the  waters  of  health,  with  no  one  helping  him  ; — unable  to  advance 
himself  towards  a  cure,  in  consequence  of  his  long  habits  of  sin,  and 
others  passing  him  by,  perhaps  unable  to  help  one  who  obstinately  re- 
fuses to  be  comforted.  Thus  he  has  at  length  full  personal,  painful 
experience  that  this  world  is  really  vanity  or  worse,  and  all  this  because 
he  would  not  believe  it  from  Scripture. 

Now  should  the  above  description  appear  overcharged,  should  it  be 
said  that  it  supposes  a  man  to  be  possessed  of  more  of  the  pleasures  of 
life  than  most  men  have,  and  of  keener  feelings, — should  it  be  said 
that  most  men  have  little  to  enjoy,  and  that  most  of  those  who  have 
much,  go  on  in  an  ordinary  tranquil  way,  and  take  and  lose  things 
without  much  thought,  not  pleased  much  in  their  vigorous  days,  and 
not  caring  much  about  the  change  when  the  world  deserts  them, — 
then  I  must  proceed  to  a  more  solemn  consideration  still,  on  which  I 
do  not  like  to  dwell,  but  would  rather  leave  it  for  your  own  private 
reflection  upon  it.  There  is  a  story  in  the  Gospels  of  a  man  who  was 
taken  out  of  this  life  before  he  had  turned  his  thoughts  heaven-ward, 
and  in  another  world  he  lift  up  his  eyes  being  in  torments.  Be  quite 
sure  that  every  one  of  us,  even  the  poorest  and  the  most  dull  and  insen- 
sible, is  far  more  attached  to  this  world  than  he  can  possibly  imagine. 
We  get  used  to  the  things  about  us,  and  forget  they  are  necessary  for 
our  comfort.  Every  one,  when  taken  out  of  this  world,  would  miss  a 
great  deal  that  he  was  used  to  depend  on,  and  would  in  consequence 
be  in  great  discomfort  and  sorrow  in  his  new  abode,  as  a  stranger  in  an 
unknown  place ;  every  one,  that  is,  who  had  not,  while  on  earth,  made 
God  his  Father  and  Protector, — that  Great  God  who  alone  will  there 

Vol.  I.— 13 


194  SCRIPTURE  A  RECORD  [Serm. 

be  found.  We  do  not,  then,  mend  the  matter  at  all  in  supposing  a  man 
not  to  find  out  the  world's  vanity  here;  for,  even  should  the  world 
remain  his  faitliful  friend,  and  please  him  with  its  goods,  to  his  dying 
day  still  that  world'  will  be  burnt  up  at  the  day  of  his  resurrection ; 
and  even  had  he  little  of  its  comforts  here,  that  little  he  will  then  miss. 
Then  all  men,  small  and  great,  will  know  it  to  be  vanity,  and  feel  their 
infinite  loss  if  they  have  trusted  it,  when  all  the  dead  stand  before  God. 

Let  this  suffice  on  the  use  we  must  make  of  the  solemn  view  which 
the  Scripture  takes  of  this  life.  Those  disclosures  are  intended  to  save 
us  pain,  by  preventing  us  enjoying  the  world  unreservedly  ;  that  we 
may  use  it  as  not  abusing  it. 

Nor  let  it  seem  as  if  this  view  of  life  must  make  a  man  melancholy 
and  gloomy.  There  are,  it  is  true,  men  of  ill-constituted  minds,  whom 
it  has  driven  out  of  the  world ;  but,  rightly  understood,  it  has  no  such 
tendency.  The  great  rule  of  our  conduct  is  to  take  things  as  they 
come.  He  who  goes  out  of  his  way  as  shrinking  from  the  varieties  of 
human  life  which  meet  him,  has  weak  faith,  or  a  strangely  perverted 
conscience, — he  wants  elevation  of  mind.  The  true  Christian  rejoices 
in  those  earthly  things  which  give  joy,  but  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  care 
for  them  when  they  go.  For  no  blessings  does  he  care  much,  except 
those  which  are  immortal,  knowing  that  he  shall  receive  all  such  again 
in  the  world  to  come.  But  the  least  and  the  most  fleeting,  he  is  too 
religious  to  contemn,  considering  them  God's  gift ;  and  the  least  andj 
most  fleeting,  thus  received,  yield  a  purer  and  deeper,  though  a  less! 
tumultuous  joy.  And  if  he  at  times  refrains,  it  is  lest  he  should 
encroach  upon  God's  bounty,  or  lest  by  a  constant  use  of  it  he  should 
forget  how  to  do  without  it. 

Our  Saviour  gives  us  a  pattern  which  vre  are  bound  to  follow.  He 
was  a  far  greater  than  John  the  Baptist,  yet  he  came,  not  with  St. 
John's  outward  austerity, — condemning  the  display  of  strictness  or 
gloominess,  that  we,  His  followers,  might  fast  the  more  in  private,  and 
be  the  more  austere  in  our  secret  hearts.  True  it  is,  that  such  self- 
command,  composure,  and  inward  faith,  are  not  learned  in  a  day  ;  but 
if  they  were,  why  should  this  life  be  given  us  1  It  is  given  us  as  a 
very  preparation  time  for  obtaining  them.  Only  look  upon  the  world 
in  this  light ; — its  sights  of  sorrows  are  to  calm  you,  and  its  pleasant 
sights  to  try  you.  There  is  a  bravery  in  thus  going  straight-forward, 
shrinking  from  no  duty  little  or  great,  passing  from  high  to  low,  from 
pleasure  to  pain,  and  making  your  principles  strong  without  their 
becoming  formal.  Learn  to  be  as  the  angel,  who  could  descend  among 
the  miseries  of  Bethesda,  without  losing  his  heavenly  purity  or  his  per- 
fect happiness.     Gain  healing  from  troubled  waters.     Make  up  your 


XXV.]  OF  HUMAN  SORROW.  195 

mind  to  the  prospect  of  sustaining  a  certain  measure  of  pain  and  trouble 
in  your  passage  through  Hfe ;  by  the  blessing  of  God  this  will  prepare 
you  for  it, — it  will  make  you  thoughtful  and  resigned  without  inter- 
fering with  your  cheerfulness.  It  will  connect  you  in  your  own 
thoughts  with  the  Saints  of  Scripture,  whose  lot  it  was  to  be  patterns  of 
patient  endurance  ;  and  this  association  brings  to  the  mind  a  peculiar 
consolation.  View  yourselves  and  all  Christians  as  humbly  following 
the  steps  of  Jacob  whose  days  were  few  and  evil ;  and  David,  who  in 
his  best  estate  was  as  a  shadow  that  dcclineth,  and  was  withered  like 
grass  ;  and  Elijah  who  despised  soft  raiment  and  sumptuous  fare  :  and 
forlorn  Daniel  who  led  an  Angel's  life  :  and  be  light-hearted  and  con- 
tented, because  you  are  thus  called  to  be  a  member  of  Christ's  pilgrim 
Church.  Realize  the  paradox  of  making  merry  and  rejoicing  in  the 
world  because  it  is  not  yours.  And  if  you  are  hard  to  be  affected,  (as 
many  men  are,)  and  think  too  little  about  the  changes  of  life,  going  on 
in  a  dull  way  without  hope  or  fear,  feeling,  neither  your  need  nor  the 
excellence  of  religion  ;  then,  again,  meditate  on  the  mournful  histories 
recorded  in  Scripture,  in  order  that  your  hearts  may  be  opened  thereby 
and  roused.  Read  the  Gospels  in  particular  ;  you  there  find  accounts 
of  sick  and  afflicted  persons  in  every  page  as  mementos.  Above  all, 
you  there  read  of  Christ's  sufferings,  which  I  am  not  now  called  upon  to 
speak  of ;  but  the  thought  of  which  is  far  more  than  enough  to  make 
the  world,  bright  as  it  may  be,  look  dark  and  miserable  in  itself  to  all 
true  believers,  even  if  the  record  oithem  were  the  only  sorrowful  part  of 
the  whole  Bible. 

And  now  I  conclude,  bidding  you  think  much  of  the  Scripture  history 
in  the  light  in  which  I  have  put  it, — that  you  may  not  hereafter  find 
that  you  have  missed  one  great  benefit  which  it  was  graciously  intended 
to  convey. 


SERMO  N    XXVI. 


CHRISTIAN  MANHOOD. 


1  Cor.  xiii.  11. 


•'  When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a- 
child  ;  but  when  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things." 

When  our  Lord  was  going  to  leave  the  world  and  return  to  His  Father^ 
He  called  His  disciples  orphans  ;  children,  as  it  were,  whom  he  had  beea 
rearing,  who  were  still  unable  to  direct  themselves,  and  were  soon 
to  lose  their  Protector ;  but  He  said,  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless 
orphans,  I  will  come  to  you  ;"*  meaning  to  say.  He  would  come  again 
to  them  in  the  power  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  who  should  be  their  present 
all-sufficient  Guide,  though  He  Himself  was  away.  And  we  know, 
from  the  sacred  history,  that  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came,  they  ceased 
to  be  the  defenceless  children  they  had  been  before.  He  breathed 
into  them  a  divine  life,  and  gifted  them  with  spiritual  manhood,  or 
-perfection,  as  it  is  called  in  Scripture.  From  that  time  forth,  they  put 
away  childish  things  ;  they  spake,  they  understood,  they  thought,  as 
those  who  had  been  taught  to  govern  themselves ;  and  who,  having 
"  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  knew  all  things." 

That  such  a  change  was  wrought  in  the  Apostles,  according  to 
Christ's  promise,  is  evident  from  comparing  their  conduct  hrfore  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  on  them,  and  after. 
I  need  not  enlarge  on  their  wonderful  firmness  and  zeal  in  their  Mas- 
ter's cause  afterwards.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  plain  from  the  Gospels, 
that  before  the  Holy  Ghost  came  down,  that  is,  while  Christ  was  still 
with  them,  they  were  as  helpless  and  ignorant  as  children  ;  had  no 
clear  notion  what  they  ought  to  seek  after,  and  how,  and  were  carried 
astray  by  their  accidental  feelings  and  their  long-cherished  prejudices. 
"What  was  it  but  to  act  the  child,  to  ask  how  many  times  a  fellow- 
Christian  should  offend  against  us,  and  we  forgive  him,  as  St.  Peter 
did  ?  or  to  ask  to  see  the  Father,  with  St.  Philip  1  or  to  propose  to| 

*  John  xiv.  IS. 


Sehm.  XXVI.]  CHRISTIAN   MANHOOD.  197 

build  tabernacles  on  the  mount,  as  if  they  were  not  to  return  to  the 
troubles  of  the  world  1  or  to  dispute  who  should  be  the  greatest?"*  or 
to  look  for  Christ's  restoring  at  that  time  the  temporal  kingdom  to 
Israel  ?f  Natural  as  such  views  were  in  the  case  of  half-instructed 
Jews,  they  were  evidently  unworthy  those  whom  Christ  had  made  His, 
that  He  might  "  present  them  perfect "  before  the  throne  of  God. 

Yet  the  first  disciples  of  Christ  at  least  put  off  their  vanities  once  for 
all,  when  the  Spirit  came  upon  them  ;  but  as  to  ourselves,  the  Spirit 
has  long  since  been  poured  upon  us,  even  from  our  earliest  years ;  yet 
it  is  a  serious  question,  whether  multitudes  of  us,  even  of  those  among 
us  who  make  a  profession  of  religion,  are  even  so  far  advanced  in  a 
knowledge  of  the  Truth  as  the  Apostles  were  before  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost. It  may  be  a  profitable  employment  to-  day  to  consider  this  ques- 
tion, as  suggested  by  the  text, — to  inquire  how  far  we  have  proceeded 
in  putting  off  such  childish  things  as  are  inconsistent  with  a  manly 
honest  profession  of  the  G  ospel. 

Now,  observe,  I  am  not  inquiring  whether  we  are  plainly  living  in 
sin,  in  wilful  disobedience ;  nor  even  whether  we  are  yielding  through 
thoughtlessness  to  sinful  practices  and  habits.  The  condition  of  those 
who  act  against  their  conscience,  or  who  act  without  conscience,  that 
is,  lightly  and  carelessly,  is  far  indes  d  from  bearing  any  resemblance 
to  that  of  the  Apostles  in  the  years  of  their  early  discipleship.  I  am 
supposing  you,  my  brethren,  to  be  on  the  whole  followers  of  Christ,  to 
profess  to  obey  Him  ;  and  I  address  you  as  those  who  seem  to  them- 
selves  to  have  a  fair  hope  of  salvation.  I  am  directing  your  attention, 
not  to  your  sins,  not  to  those  faults  and  failings  which  you  know  to  be 
such,  and  are  trying  to  conquer,  as  being  confessedly  evil  in  themselves, 
but  to  such  of  your  views,  wishes,  and  tastes,  as  resemble  those  which 
the  Apostles  cherished,  true  believers  as  they  were,  before  they  attained 
their  manhood  in  the  Gospel  :  and  I  ask,  how  far  you  have  dismissed 
these  from  your  minds  as  vain  and  trilling  ;  that  is,  how  far  you  have 
made  what  St.  Paul  in  the  text  seems  to  consider  the  first  step  in  the 
true  spiritual  course  of  a  Christian,  on  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  has  de- 
scended. 

1.  For  example,  Let  us  consider  our  love  of  the  pleasures  of  life.  I 
am  willing  to  allow  there  is  an  innocent  love  of  the  world,  innocent  in 
itself.  God  made  the  world,  and  has  sanctioned  the  general  form  of 
human  society,  and  has  given  us  abundant  pleasures  fn  it ;  I  do  not 
say  lasting  pleasures,  but  still,  while  they  last,  really  pleasures.  It  is 
natural  that  the  young  should  look  with   hope  to  the  prospect  before 

*  Matt.  xvii.  4  ;  xviii.  21 ;  xx.  20.     John  xiv.  8,  t  Acts  i.  6 


198  CHRISTIAN  MANHOOD.  [Serm. 

them.  They  cannot  help  forming  schemes  what  they  will  do  when 
they  come  into  active  life,  or  what  they  should  wish  to  be  had  they 
their  choice.  They  indulge  themselves  in  fancyings  about  the  future, 
which  they  know  at  the  time  cannot  come  true.  At  other  times  they 
contine  themselves  to  what  is  possible  ;  and  then  their  hearts  burn,, 
while  (]\ey  dream  of  quiet  happiness,  domestic  comfort,  independence^ 
Or,  witli  bolder  views,  they  push  forward  their  fortunes  into  public  life, 
and  indulge  ambitious  hopes.  They  fancy  themselves  rising  in  the 
world,  distinguished,  courted,  admired;  securing  influence  over  others,, 
and  rewarded  with  high  station.  James  and  John  had  such  a  dream 
when  they  besought  Christ  that  they  might  sit  at  His  side  in  the  most 
honourable  places  in  His  kingdom. 

Now  such  dreams  can  hardly  be  called  sinful  in  themselves,  and 
without  reference  to  the  particular  case  ;  for  the  gifts  of  wealth,  power, 
and  influence,  and  much  more  of  domestic  comfort,  come  from  God, 
and  may  be  religiously  improved.  But,  though  not  directly  censurable, 
they  are  childish;  childish  either  in  themselves,  or  at  least  when 
cherished  and  indulged  ;  childish  in  a  Christian,  who  has  infinitely 
higher  views  to  engross  his  mind  ;  and,  as  being  childish,  excusable 
only  in  the  young.  They  are  an  offence  when  retained  as  life  goes 
on  ;  but  in  the  young  we  may  regard  them  after  the  pattern  of  our 
Saviour's  judgment  upon  the  young  man  who  was  rich  and  noble.  He 
is  said  to  have  "loved  him;"  pitying  (that  is)  and  not  harshly  de-- 
nouncing  the  anticipations  which  he  had  formed  of  happiness  from 
wealth  and  power,  yet  withal  not  concealing  from  him  the  sacrifice  of 
all  these  which  he  must  make,  "  if  he  would  be  perfect,"  that  is,  a 
man,  and  not  a  mere  child  in  the  Gospel. 

2.  But  there  are  other  childish  views  and  habits  besides,  which  must 
be  put  off,  while  we  take  on  ourselves  the  full  profession  of  a  Christian  r 
and  these,  not  so  free  from  intrinsic  guilt  as  those  which  have  been 
already  noticed  ; — such  as  the  love  of  display,  greediness  of  the  world's, 
praise,  and  the  love  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life.  These,  though 
wrong  tempers  of  mind,  still  I  do  not  now  call  by  their  hardest  names, 
because  I  would  lead  persons,  if  I  could,  rather  to  turn  away  from  them 
as  unworthy  a  Christian,  with  a  sort  of  contempt,  out-growing  them  as 
they  grow  in  grace,  and  laying  them'aside  as  a  matter  of  course,  while 
they  are  gradually  learning  to  "  set  their  affections  on  things  above, 
not  on  things  ort  the  earth." 

Children  have  evil  tempers  and  idle  ways  which  we  do  not  deign  to 
speak  seriously  of.  Not  that  we,  in  anv  degree,  approve  them  or  en- 
dure them  on  their  own  account ;  nay,  we  punish  some  of  them  ;  but 
we  bear  them  in  children,  and  look  for  their  disappearing  as  the  mind 


XXVI.]  CHRISTIAN  MANHOOD.  190 

becomes  more  mature.  And  so  in  religious  matters  there  are  many 
habits  and  views,  which  we  bear  with  in  the  unformed  Christian,  but 
which  we  account  disgraceful  and  contemptible  should  they  survive 
that  time  when  a  man's  character  may  be  supposed  to  be  settled.  Love 
of  display  is  one  of  these  ;  whether  we  are  vain  of  our  abilities,  or  our 
acquirements,  or  our  wealth,  or  our  personal  appearance  ;  whether  we 
discover  our  weakness  in  talking  much,  or  love  of  managing,  or  again 
in  love  of  dress.  Vanity,  indeed,  and  conceit  are  always  disagreeable, 
for  the  reason  that  they  interfere  with  the  comfort  of  other  persons,  and 
vex  them  ;  but  I  am  here  observing,  that  they  are  in  themselves  odious, 
when  discerned  in  those  who  enjoy  the  full  privileges  of  the  Church,  and 
are  by  profession  men  in  Christ  Jesus,  odious  from  their  inconsistency 
with  Christian  faith  and  earnestness. 

And  so  with  respect  to  the  love  of  worldly  comforts  and  luxuries, 
(which,  unhappily,  often  grows  upon  us  rather  than  disappears  from  our 
character,)  whether  or  not  it  be  natural  in  youth,  at  least,  it  is  (if  I 
may  so  say)  shocking  in  those  who  profess  to  be  "  perfect,"  if  we  would 
estimate  things  aright  ;  and  this  from  its  great  incongruity  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel.  Is  it  not  something  beyond  measure  strange  and 
monstrous,  (if  we  could  train  our  hearts  to  possess  a  right  judgment  in 
all  things,)  to  profess  that  our  treasure  is  not  here,  but  in  heaven  with 
Him  who  is  ascended  thither,  and  to  own  that  we  have  a  cross  to  bear 
after  Him,  who  first  suffered  before  He  triumphed  ;  and  yet  to  set  our- 
selves deliberately  to  study  our  own  comfort  as  some  great  and  suffi- 
cient end,  to  go  much  out  of  our  way  to  promote  it,  to  sacrifice  any 
thing  considerable  to  guard  it,  and  to  be  downcast  at  the  prospect  of 
the  loss  of  it  ?  Is  it  possible  for  a  true  son  of  the  Church  militant, 
while  "  the  ark,  and  Israel,  and  Judah  abide  in  tents,"  and  "  the  ser- 
vants of  his  Lord  are  encamped  in  the  open  field,"  to  "  eat  and  drink" 
securely,  to  wrap  himself  in  the  furniture  of  wealth,  to  feed  his  eyes 
with  "  the  pride  of  life,"  and  complete  for  himself  the  measure  of 
this  world's  elegances  1 

Again,  all  timidity,  irresolution,  fear  of  ridicule,  weakness  of  purpose, 
such  as  the  Apostles  showed  when  they  deserted  Christ,  and  Peter  espe- 
cially when  he  denied  Him,  are  to  be  numbered  among  the  tempers  of 
mind  which  are  childish  as  well  as  sinful ;  which  we  must  learn  to 
despise, — to  be  ashamed  at  ourselves  if  we  are  influenced  by  them,  and, 
instead  of  thinking  the  conquest  of  them  a  great  thing,  to  account  it 
as  one  of  the  very  first  steps  towards  being  but  an  ordinary  true  be- 
liever ;  just  as  the  Apostles,  in  spite  of  their  former  discipleship,  only 
commenced  (surely)  their  Christian  course  at  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
and  then  took  to  themselves  a  good   measure  of  faith,  boldness,  zeal, 


200  CHRISTIAN   MANHOOD.  [Sbrm. 

and  self-masterv,  not  as  some  great  proficiency  and  as  a  boast,  but  as 
the  very  condition  of  their  being  Christians  at  all,  as  the  elements  of 
spiritual  life,  as  a  mere  outfitting,  and  a  small  attainment  indeed  in  that 
extended  course  of  sanctification  through  which  the  Blessed  Spirit  is 
willing  to  lead  every  Christian. 

Now  in  this  last  remark  I  have  given  a  chief  reason  for  dwelling  on 
the  subject  before  us.  It  is  very  common  foj^  Christians  to  make  much 
of  what  are  but  petty  services  ;  first  to  place  the  very  substance  of  re- 
ligious obedience  in  a  few  meagre  observances,  or  particular  moral  pre- 
cepts which  are  easily  complied  with,  and  which  they  think  fit  to  call 
giving  up  the  world  ;  and  then  to  make  a  great  vaunting,  about  their 
having  done  what,  in  truth,  every  one  who  is  not  a  mere  child  in  Christ 
ought  to  be  able  to  do,  to  congratulate  themselves  upon  their  success, 
ostentatiously  to  return  thanks  for  it,  to  condemn  others  who  do  not 
happen  to  move  exactly  along  the  very  same  line  of  minute  practices  in 
detail  which  they  have  adopted,  and  in  consequence  to  forget  that,  after 
all,  by  such  poor  obedience,  right  though  it  be,  still  they  have  not  ap- 
proached even  to  a  distant  view  of  that  point  in  their  Christian  course, 
at  which  they  may  consider  themselves,  in  St.  Paul's  words,  to  have 
"  attained"  a  sure  hope  of  salvation  ; — just  as  little  children,  when  they 
first  have  strength  to  move  their  hmbs,  triumph  in  every  exertion  of 
their  newly-acquired  power,  as  in  some  great  victory.  To  put  off  idle 
hopes  of  earthly  good,  to  be  sick  of  flattery  and  the  world's  praise,  to 
see  the  emptiness  of  temporal  greatness,  and  to  be  watchful  against 
self-indulgence ;  these  are  but  the  beginnings  of  religion,  these  are  but 
the  preparation  of  heart,  which  religious  earnestness  implies ;  without 
a  good  share  of  them,  how  can  a  Christian  move  a  step  ?  How  could 
Abraham,  when  called  of  God,  have  even  set  out  from  his  native  place, 
unless  he  had  left  off  to  think  much  of  this  world,  and  cared  not  for  its 
ridicule  ?  Surely  these  attainments  are  but  our  first  manly  robe,  show- 
ing that  childhood  is  gone  ;  and,  if  we  feel  the  love  and  fear  of  the 
world  still  active  within  our  hearts,  deeply  must  we  be  humbled,  yes, 
and  alarmed  ;  and  humbled  even  though  but  the  traces  remain  of  former 
weaknesses.  But  even  if  otherwise,  what  thank  have  we  ?  Sec  what  the 
Apostles  were,  by  way  of  contrast,  and  then  you  will  see  what  is  the 
true  life  of  the  Spirit,  the  substance  and  full  fruit  of  holiness.  To  love 
our  ^brethren  with  a  resolution  which  no  obstacles  can  overcome,  so  as 
almost  to  consent  to  an  anathema  on  ourselves,  if  so  be  we  may  save 
those  who  hate  us, — to  labour  in  God's  cause  against  hope,  and  in  the 
midst  of  sufierings, — to  read  the  events  of  life,  as  they  occur,  by  the 
interpretation  which  Scripture  gives  them,  and  that,  not  as  if  the  lan- 
guage were  strange  to  us,  but  to  do  it  promptly, — to  perform  all  our 


XXVI.]  CHRISTIAN  MANHOOD.  201 

relative  daily  duties  most  watchfully, — to  check  every  evil  thought, 
and  bring  the  whole  mind  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  Christ, — to  be 
patient,  cheerful,  forgiving,  meek,  honest,  and  true, — to  persevere  in 
this  good  work  till  death,  making  fresh  and  fresh  advances  towards  per- 
fection,— and  after  all,  even  to  the  end,  to  confess  ourselves  unprofitable 
servants,  nay,  to  feel  ourselves  corrupt  and  sinful  creatures,  who  (with 
all  our  proficiency)  would  still  be  lost  unless  God  bestow  on  us  His 
mercy  in  Christ ; — these  are  some  of  the  difficult  realities  of  religious 
obedience,  which  we  must  pursue,  and  which  the  Apostles  in  high  mea- 
sure attained,  and  which,  we  may  well  bless  God's  holy  name,  if  He 
enables  us  to  make  our  own. 

Let  us  then  take  it  for  granted,  as  a  truth  which  cannot  be  gainsaid, 
that  to  break  with  the  world,  and  make  religion  our  first  concern,  is, 
only  to  cease  to  be  children ;  and,  again,  that  in  consequence,  those 
Christians  who  have  come  to  mature  years,  and  yet  do  not  even  so  much 
as  this,  are  "  in  the  presence  of  the  Angels  of  God,"  an  odious  and  un- 
natural spectacle,  a  mockery  of  Christianity.  I  do  not  say  what  such 
men  are  in  God's  sight,  and  what  are  their  prospects  for  the  next  world  ; 
for  that  is  a  fearful  thought, — and  we  ought  to  be  influenced  by  motives 
far  higher  than  that  mere  slavish  dread  of  future  punishment  to  which 
such  a  consideration  would  lead  us. 

But  here  some  one  may  ask,  whether  I  am  not  speaking  severely  in 
urging  so  many  sacrifices  at  the  beginning  of  true  Christian  obedience. 
In  conclusion,  then,  I  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  I  have  not  said  a 
word  against  the  moderate  and  thankful  enjoyment  of  this  life's  goods, 
when  they  actually  come  in  our  way  ;  but  against  the  wishing  earnestly 
for  them,  seeking  them,  and  preferring  them  to  God's  righteousness, 
which  is  commonly  done.  Further,  I  am  not  excluding  from  the  com- 
pany of  Christians  all  who  cannot  at  once  make  up  their  minds  thus 
vigorously  to  regret  the  world,  when  its  goods  are  dangerous,  inexpedi- 
ent, or  unsuitable ;  but  excluding  them  from  the  company  of  mature 
manly  Christians.  Doubtless  our  Lord  deals  gently  with  us.  He  has 
put  his  two  Sacraments  apart  from  each  other.  Baptism  first  admits 
us  to  His  favour  ;  His  Holy  Supper  brings  us  among  His  perfect  ones. 
He  has  put  from  fourteen  to  twenty  years  between  them,  that  we  may 
have  time  to  count  the  cost,  and  make  our  decision  calmly.  Only  there 
iraust  be  no  standing  still, — there  cannot  be ;  time  goes  slowlv,  yet 
|3urely  from  birth  to  the  age  of  manhood,  in  like  manner,  our  minds, 
jthough  slowly  formed  to  love  Christ,  must  still  be  forming.  It  is  when 
naen  are  mature  in  years,  and  yet  are  "children  in  understanding,"  then 
:ney  are  intolerable,  because  they  have  exceeded  their  season,  and  are 
jMit  of  place.     Then  it  is  that  ambitious  thoughts,  trifling  pursuits  and 


202  CHRISTIAN  MANHOOD.  [Serm, 

amusements,  passionate  wishes  and  keen  hopes,  and  the  love  of  display, 
are  directly  sinful  because  they  are  by  that  time  deliberate  sins.  While 
thev  were  children,  "  they  spake  as  children,  understood,  thought  as 
children  ;"  but  when  they  became  men,  "  it  was  high  time  to  awake  out 
of  sleep,"  and  "put  away  childish  things."  And  if  they  have  continued 
children  instead  of  "  having  their  senses  exercised  to  discriminate  be- 
tween the  excellent  and  the  base,"  alas,  what  deep  repentance  must 
be  theirs  before  they  know  what  true  peace  is  ! — what  self-reproach 
and  sharp  self-discipline,  before  their  eyes  can  be  opened  to  see  effec- 
tually those  truths  which  are  "  spiritually  discerned  !" 

So  much  on  the  case  of  those  who  neglect  to  grow  betimes  into  the 
hope  of  their  calling.  As  to  the  young  themselves,  it  is  plain  that 
nothing  I  have  said  can  give  encouragement  to  them  to  acquiesce  in  their 
present  incomplete  devotion  of  themselves  to  God,  because  it  will  be  as 
much  as  they  can  do,  even  with  their  best  efforts,  to  make  their  growth 
of  wisdom  and  of  stature  keep  pace  with  each  other.  And  if  there  be 
any  one  who,  as  thinking  the  enjoyments  of  youth  must  soon  be  relin- 
quished, deliberately  resolves  to  make  the  most  of  them  before  the 
duties  of  manhood  come  upon  him,  such  a  one,  in  doing  so,  is  render- 
ing it  impossible  for  him  to  give  them  up,  when  he  is  called  to  do  sc 
As  for  those  who  allow  themselves  in  what,  even  in  youth,  is  clearly 
sinful, — the  deliberate  neglect  of  prayer,  profaneness,  riotous  living,  or 
other  immorality, — the  case  of  such  persons  has  not  even  entered  intoi 
my  mind,  when  I  spoke  of  youthful  thoughtlessness.  They,  of  course, 
have  no  "  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  of  God." 

But  if  there  be  those  among  us,  and  such  there  well  may  be,  who, 
like  the  young  ruler,  "  worshipping  Christ,"  and  "  loved"  by  Him,  and 
obeying  His  commandments  from  their  youth  up,  yet  cannot  but  be 
"  sorrowful"  at  the  thought  of  giving  up  their  pleasant  visions,  their 
childish  idolatries,  and  their  bright  hopes  of  earthly  happiness,  such  I 
bid  be  of  good  cheer,  and  take  courage.  What  is  it  your  Saviour  re- 
quires of  you,  more  than  will  also  be  exacted  from  you  by  that  hard  and 
evil  master,  who  desires  your  ruin  ?  Christ  bids  you  give  up  the  world  ; 
but  will  not,  at  any  rate,  the  world  soon  give  up  you  ?  Can  you  keep 
it,  by  being  its  slave  ?  Will  not  he,  whose  creature  of  temptation  it  is, 
the  prince  of  the  world,  take  it  from  you,  whatever  he  at  present  pro- 
mises ?  What  does  your  Lord  require  of  you,  but  to  look  at  all  things 
as  they  really  are,  to  account  them  merely  as  His  instruments,  and  to 
believe  that  good  is  good  because  He  wills  it,  that  he  can  bless  as  easily 
by  hard  stone  as  by  bread,  in  the  desert  as  in  the  fruitful  field,  if  we 
have  faith  in  Him  who  gives  us  the  true  bread  from  heaven  ?  Daniel, 
and  his  friends  were  princes  of  the  royal  house  of  David  ;  they  wo"© 


XXVI.]  CHRISTIAN  MANHOOD.  20» 

"children  well-favoured,  and  skilful  in  all  wisdom,  cunning  in  know- 
ledge, and  understanding  science  ;"*  yet  they  had  faith  to  refuse  even 
the  literal  meat  and  drink  given  them,  because  it  was  an  idol's  sacrifice, 
and  God  sustained  them  without  it.  For  ten  days  of  trial  they  lived 
on  pulse  and  water  ;  yet  "  at  the  end,"  says  the  sacred  record,  "  their 
countenances  appeared  fairer  and  fatter  in  flesh  than  all  the  children 
which  did  eat  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat."  Doubt  not,  then.  His 
power  to  bring  you  through  any  difficulties,  who  gives  you  the  command 
to  encounter  them.  He  has  showed  yon  the  way ;  He  gave  up  the 
home  of  His  mother  Mary  to  "  be  about  His  father's  business,"  and  now 
He  but  bids  you  take  up  after  Him  the  cross  which  He  bore  for  you,  and 
"fill  up  what  is  wanting  of  His  afflictions  in  your  flesh."  Be  not  afraid, 
— it  is  but  a  pang  now  and  then,  and  a  struggle  ;  a  covenant  with  your 
eyes,  and  a  fasting  in  the  wilderness,  some  calm  habitual  watchfulness, 
and  the  hearty  effort  to  obey,  and  all  will  be  well.  Be  not  afraid.  He 
is  most  gracious,  and  will  bring  you  on  by  little  and  little.  He  does  not 
show  you  whither  He  is  leading  you ;  you  might  be  frightened  did  you 
see  the  whole  prospect  at  once.  Sufficient  for  the  day  is  its  own  evil. 
Follow  His  plan ;  look  not  on  anxiously ;  look  down  at  your  present 
footing  "  lest  it  be  turned  out  of  the  way,"  but  speculate  not  about  the 
future :  I  can  well  believe  that  you  have  hopes  now,  which  you  cannot 
give  up,  and  even  which  support  you  in  your  present  course.  Be  it  so ; 
whether  they  will  be  fulfilled,  or  not,  is  in  His  hand.  He  may  be  pleas- 
ed to  grant  the  desires  of  your  heart ;  if  so,  thank  Him  for  His  mercy ; 
only  be  sure,  that  all  will  be  for  your  highest  good,  and  "  as  thy  days, 
so  shall  thy  strength  be.  There  is  none  like  unto  the  God  of  Jeshurun, 
who  rideth  upon  the  heaven  in  thy  help,  and  in  His  excellency  on  the 
sky.  The  Eternal  God  is  thy  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlast- 
ing arms."f  He  knows  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning ,' 
and  when  we  outgrow  our  childhood,  we  but  approach,  however  feebly, 
to  His  likeness,  who  has  no  youth  nor  age,  who  has  no  passions,  no 
hopes,  nor  fears,  but  who  loves  truth,  purity,  and  mercy,  and  who  is 
supremely  blessed,  because  He  is  supremely  holy. 

Lastly,  while  we  thus  think  of  Him,  let  us  not  forget  to  be  up  and 
doing.  Let  us  beware  of  indulging  a  mere  barren  faith  and  love, 
which  dreams  instead  of  working,  and  is  fastidious  when  it  should  be 
hardy.  This  is  only  spiritual  childhood  in  another  form ; — for  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  Author  of  active  good  works,  and  leads  us  to  the  obser- 
vance of  all  lowly  deeds  of  ordinary  obedience  as  the  most  pleasing 
sacrifice  to  God. 

Daniel  i.  4.  t  Deut.  xxiiii.  25—27. 


PAROCHIAL     SERMONS. 


VOL.    II. 

OF    THE    LONDON    EDITION. 

FOR    THE    FESTIVALS     OF    THE    CHURCH, 


"Well  to  celebrate  these  Religious  and  Sacred  Days,  is  to  spend  the  flower  of  our  time  happily. 
They  are  the  splendour  and  outward  dignity  of  our  religion,  forcible  witnesses  of  ancient  Truth, 
provocations  to  the  exercises  of  all  piety,  shadows  of  our  endless  felicity  in  heaven,  on  earth 
everlasting  records  and  memorials  ;  wherein  they  wliich  cannot  be  drawn  to  hearken  unto  that 
we  teach,  may,  only  by  looking  upon  that  we  do  in  a  manner  read  whatsoever  we  believe.''— 
Hooker,  Eccles.  Pol.  v.  71. 


ADVE  RTISEMENT. 

Some  explanation  may  be  necessary  by  way  of  introducing  the  Reader 
to  the  Sermons  contained  in  this  Vohmie.  It  has  been  the  writer's 
practice  upon  Festivals,  in  the  course  of  the  Morning  Service  appointed 
for  each,  to  read  a  short  Lecture  upon  a  subject  connected  with  the 
day.  When  he  applied  himself  to  prepare  these  Lectures  for  the  press, 
he  found  that  some  of  them  required  re-writing,  and  others  enlarging  ; 
while  those  which  belonged  to  the  Sunday  Festivals  necessarily  varied 
in  length  and  style  from  such  as  had  been  read  on  Week-days.  The 
consequence  has  been,  that  what  was  originally  a  series  abrupt  and  in- 
complete in  point  of  composition,  is  now  wanting  also  in  uniformity  of 
character,  without,  in  many  cases,  becoming  exempt  from  its  first  defect. 
Moreover,  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Lectures  were  written, 
have  occasioned,  in  some  places,  a  particularity  of  remark,  which  could 
hardly  have  been  ventured  on  in  a  large  and  mixed  congregation,  and 
elsewhere  a  line  of  thought  more  abstruse  or  argumentative  than  is 
commonly  advisable  in  Parochial  teaching. 

This  is  said,  only  as  an  apology  for  the  particular  form  and  cast  of 
the  Volume.  As  for  the  matter  itself,  did  the  writer  ask  any  indulgence 
for  it,  he  would  incur  the  inconsistency  of  implying  that  it  ought  not  to 
have  been  given  to  the  world.  Yet  he  may  be  allowed  to  entreat,  in 
respect  both  of  this  and  of  his  former  Volume,  that  if  there  are  persons 
who  at  first  reading  feel  apprehensive  that  some  of  his  statements  are  of 
hurtful  tendency,  they  would  deal  more  fairly  with  themselves  than  to 
begin  with  a  critical,  instead  of  a  practical  consideration  of  them  ;  and, 
that,  before  they  allow  themselves  to  fear  for  others,  they  would  con- 
sider whether  the  statements  in  question  have  had  any  bad  effect  on 
their  own  minds.  This  he  says,  not  as  forgetful  that  the  true  standard 
and  test  of  religious  teaching  are,  not  its  apparent  effects  one  way  or 


208  ADVERTISEMENT 

the  other,  but  the  rule  of  Scripture  and  Antiquity  ;  but,  anticipating  that 
objections  will  be  brought  rather  from  the  supposed  consequences  of 
his  doctrine,  than  its  want  of  authority,  he  is  desirous  that  these  conse- 
quences should  be  fairly  proved  before  they  are  imputed.  On  the  other 
hand,  should  any  reader  be  led  to  suppose  that  any  thing  has  been  said 
by  way  of  paradox  or  for  novelty's  sake,  let  him  first  of  all  inquire, 
whether  the  points  objected  to  do  not  rather  form  part  of  a  whole, — of 
one  integral  view  of  doctrine,  which  has  ever  been  considered  to  descend 
in  an  unbroken  line  from  the  first  ages  of  the  Gospel,  and  which,  far 
from  being  the  mere  food  of  idle  and  ingenious  intellects,  has  before  now 
influenced  Christians  to  suffer  and  to  lose  their  all  in  maintenance 
of  it. 

He  ventures  further  to  hope,  that  he  may  not  unnecessarily  be  sup- 
posed, in  any  part  of  his  Volumes,  to  be  hazarding  remarks  on  opinions 
or  practices  existing  within  the  Church.  There  arc  for  the  most  part 
objects  enough  external  to  it,  which  answer  to  them,  and  far  more 
legitimately  ;  and  if  there  is  suflScient  reason  for  noticing  the  mistakes 
in  question,  on  account  of  the  existing  insensibility  of  Society  to  the 
real  moral  differences  between  the  Sectarian  and  the  High  Apostolical 
temper,  he  conceives  that  they  should  not  find  a  shelter  in  the  mere 
accident,  that  they  are  not  altogether  without  advocates  among  our- 
selves. 

In  conclusion,  he  must  express  his  great  obligations,  in  the  matter 
of  these  Volumes,  to  the  unconscious  assistance  of  a  Friend,  with  whom 
he  is  in  habits  of  familiarity,  and  whose  stray  observations  he  has  plea- 
sure in  detecting  in  them.  He  makes  this  acknowledgment  in  case  any 
coincidences  of  remark  should  be  hereafter  traceable  between  them  and 
any  future  publication  of  the  Author  of  the  Christian  Year. 


SERMON    I. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  ANDREW  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS. 

John  i.  40, 

One  of  the  two  which  heard  John  speak,  and  followed  him,  was  Andrcv/,  Simon 
Peter's  brother. 

With  this  Festival  v/e  begin  our  year, — thus  ushering  in,  with  a  few- 
weeks  of  preparation,  the  day  of  Christ's  Nativity.  St.  Andrew,  whom 
we  now  commemorate,  has  been  placed  first  oj  the  Apostles,  because 
(as  far  as  Scripture  informs  us)  he  was  the  first  among  them  who 
found  the  Messiah,  and  sought  to  be  His  disciple.  The  circumstances 
which  preceded  his  call  are  related  in  the  passage  of  the  Gospel  from 
which  the  text  is  taken.  We  are  there  informed  that  it  was  John  the 
Baptist  who  pointed  out  to  him  his  Saviour.  It  was  fitting  that  the 
forerunner  of  Christ  should  be  the  instrument  of  leading  to  Him  the 
first-fruits  of  his  Apostles. 

St.  Andrew,  who  was  already  one  of  St.  John'^5  disciples,  was  at- 
tending on  his  master  with  another,  when,  as  it  happened,  Jesus  passed 
by.  The  Baptist,  who  had  from  the  first  declared  his  ov/n  subordinate 
place  in  the  dispensation  v/hich  was  thou  opening,  took  this  occasion  of 
pointing  out  to  his  two  disciples  Him  in  whom  it  centered.  He  said, 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God ;  this  is  He  of  v.-hom  I  spake,  whom  the 
Father  has  chosen  and  sent,  the  true  sacrificial  Lamb,  by  whose  suffer- 
ings the  sins  of  the  world  will  be  e?cpiated."  On  hearing  this,  the  tv/o 
disciples  (Andrew,  I  say,  being  one  of  them)  straightway  left  John  and 
followed  Christ.  He  turned  round  and  aisked  them,  "  What  seek  ye  ?" 
They  expressed  their  desire  to  bo  allowed  to  wait  upon  his  teaching  ; 
and  He  suffered  them  to  accompany  Him  home,  and  to  pass  that  day 
v/ith  Him.  What  He  said  to  them  is  not  told  us ;  but  St.  Andrew  re- 
ceived such  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the  Baptist's  words,  that  in 
consequence  he  went  after  his  own  brother  to  tell  him  what  he  had 
found.  "  He  first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto  him, 
We  have  found  the  Messias  ....  and  he  brought  him  to  Jesus." 
Vol.  L— 14 


210  ST.  ANDREW.  [Skrm. 

St.  John  the  Evfiiigelist,  who  has  been  guided  to  preserve  various  no- 
tices concerning  the  separate  Apostles,  which  are  not  contained  in  the 
three  first  Gospels,  speaks  of  Andrew  in  two  other  places,  and  intro- 
duces him  under  circumstances  which  show  that,  little  as  is  known  of 
this  Apostle  now,  he  was,  in  fact,  very  high  in  the  favour  and  confi- 
dence of  his  Lord.  In  his  twelfth  chapter  he  describes  Andrew  as 
bringing  to  Christ  certain  Greeks  who  came  up  to  Jerusalem  to  wor- 
ship, and  who  were  desirous  of  seeing  Him.  And,  what  is  remarkable, 
these  strangers  had  first  applied  to  St.  Philip,  who,  though  an  Apostle 
himself,  instead  of  taking  upon  him  to  introduce  them,  had  recourse  to 
his  fellow-townsman,  St.  Andrew,  as  if,  whether  from  age  or  intimacy 
Avith  Christ,  a  more  suitable  channel  for  furthering  their  petition. 
'  Philip  Cometh,  and  telleth  Andrew  ;  and  again,  Andrew  and  Philip 
tell  Jesus." 

These  two  Apostles  are  also  mentioned  together  in  the  sixth  chapter 
of  the  same  Gospel,  at  the  consultation  which  preceded  the  miracle  of 
the  loaves  and  fishes  ;  and  there  again  Andrew  is  engaged,  as  before,  in 
the  office  of  introducing  strangers  to  Christ.  "  There  is  a  lad  here," 
he  says  to  his  Lord,  a  lad  who,  perhaps,  had  not  courage  to  come  for- 
ward of  himself,  "which  hath  five  barley  loaves  and  two  small  fishes." 

The  information  afforded  by  these  passages,  of  St.  Andrew's  especial ' 
acceptableness  to  Christ  among  the  Apostles,  is  confirmed  by  the  only 
place  in  the  other  Gospels,  besides  the  catalogue,  in  which  his  name 
occurs.  After  our  Lord  had  predicted  the  ruin  of  the  Temple,  "  Peter, 
James,  John,  and  Andrew  asked  Him  privately,  Tell  us,  when  shall 
these  things  be  ?"*  and  it  was  to  these  four  that  our  Saviour  revealed 
the  signs  of  His  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world.  Here  St.  An- 
drew is  represented  as  in  the  especial  confidence  of  Christ  ;  and  asso- 
ciated too  with  those  Apostles  whom  He  is  known  to  have  selected  from 
the  Twelve,  on  various  occasions,  by  tokens  of  his  peculiar  favour. 

Little  is  known  of  St.  Andrew  in  addition  to  these  inspired  notices  of 
him.  He  is  said  to  have  preached  the  Gospel  in  Scythia  ;  and  he  was 
at  length  martyred  in  Achaia.  His  death  was  by  crucifixion  ;  that 
kind  of  cross  being  used,  according  to  the  tradition,  v.hich  still  goes  by 
his  name. 

Yet,  little  as  Scripture  tells  us  concerning  him,  it  aflbrds  us  enough 
for  a  lesson,  and  that  an  important  one.  These  are  the  facts  before  us. 
St.  Andrew  was  the  first  convert  among  the  Apostles  ;  he  was  espe- 
cially in  our  Lord's  confidence  ;  thrice  is  he  described  as  introducing 
others  to  Him  ;  lastly,  he  is  little  known  in  history,  while  the  place  of 

*  Mark.  xiii.  3. 


I.]  THE   WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  211 

dignity  and  the  name  of  highest  renown  have  been  allotted  to  his 
brother  Simon,  whom  he  was  the  means  of  bringing  to  the  knowledge 
of  his  Saviour. 

Our  lesson,  then,  is  this  :  that  those  men  are  not  necessarily  the 
most  useful  men  in  their  generation,  nor  the  most  favoured  by  God,  who 
make  the  most  noise  in  the  world,  and  who  seem  to  be  principals  in  the 
great  changes  and  events  recorded  in  history ;  on  the  contrary,  that 
even  when  we  are  able  to  point  to  a  certain  number  of  men  as  the  real 
instruments  of  any  great  blessings  vouchsafed  to  mankind,  our  relative 
estimate  of  them,  one  with  another,  is  often  very  erroneous  :  so  that,  on 
the  Avhole,  if  we  would  trace  truly  the  hand  of  God  in  human  affairs, 
and  pursue  His  bounty  as  displayed  in  the  world  to  its  original  sources, 
we  must  unlearn  our  admiration  of  the  powerful  and  distinguished,  our 
reliance  on  the  opinion  of  society,  our  respect  for  the  decisions  of  the 
learned  or  the  multitude,  and  turn  our  eyes  to  private  life,  watching  in 
all  we  read  or  witness  for  the  true  signs  of  God's  presence,  the  graces  of 
personal  holiness  manifested  in  His  elect ;  which,  weak  as  they  may 
seem  to  mankind,  are  mighty  through  God,  and  liave  an  influence  upon 
the  course  of  His  Providence,  and  bring  about  great  events  in  the  world 
at  large,  when  the  wisdom  and  strength  of  the  natural  man  are  of  no 
avail. 

Now,  first,  observe  the  operation  of  this  law  of  God's  government,  in 
respect  to  the  introduction  of  those  temporal  blessings  which  are  of  the 
first  importance  in  securing  our  well-being  and  comfort  in  the  present 
life.  For  example,  who  was  the  first  cultivator  of  corn  ?  who  first  tamed 
and  domesticated  the  animals  whose  strength  we  use,  and  whom  we 
make  our  lood  ?  Or  who  first  discovered  the  medicinal  herbs  which, 
from  the  earliest  times,  have  been  our  resource  against  disease  ?  If  it 
was  mortal  man,  who  thus  looked  through  the  vegetable  and  animal 
worlds,  and  discriminated  between  the  useful  and  the  worthless,  his 
name  is  unknown  to  the  millions  whom  he  has  benefitted.  It  is  notori- 
ous, that  those  who  first  suggest  the  most  happy  inventions,  and  open  a 
way  to  the  secret  stores  of  nature, — those  who  weary  themselves  in  the 
search  after  Truth,  strike  out  momentous  principles  of  action,  painfully 
force  upon  their  contemporaries  the  adoption  of  beneficial  measures,  or, 
again,  are  the  original  cause  of  the  chief  events  in  national  history,  are 
commonly  supplanted,  as  regards  celebrity  and  reward,  by  inferior  men. 
Their  works  are  not  called  after  them  ;  nor  the  arts  and  systems  which 
they  have  given  the  world.  Their  schools  are  usurped  by  strangers,  and 
their  maxims  of  wisdom  circulate  among  the  children  of  their  people, 
forming,  perhaps,  a  nation's  character,  but  not  embalming  in  their  own. 
immortality  the  names  of  their  original  authors. 


212  ST.  ANDREW.  [Skrm. 

Sucli  is  the  history  of  the  social  and  political  world  ;  and  the  rule  dis- 
cernible  in  it  is  still  more  clearly  established  in  the  world  of  morals  and 
religion.  Who  taught  the  Doctors  and  Saints  of  the  Church,  who,  in 
their  day,  or  in  after  times,  have  been  the  most  illustrious  expounders  of 
the  precepts  of  right  and  wrong,  and,  by  word  and  deed,  are  the  guides 
of  our  conduct  ?  Did  Almighty  Wisdom  speak  to  them  through  the 
operation  of  their  own  minds,  or  rather,  did  it  not  subject  them  to  in- 
structors unknown  to  fame,  wiser  perhaps  even  than  themselves.  An- 
drew follov/ed  John  the  Baptist,  while  Simon  remained  at  his  nets. 
Andrew  first  recognised  the  Messiah  among  the  inhabitants  of  despised 
Nazareth  ;  and  he  brought  his  brother  to  Him.  Yet  to  Andrew  Christ 
spake  no  word  of  commendation,  which  has  been  allowed  to  continue 
on  record  ;  whereas  to  Simon,  even  on  his  first  coming,  He  gave  the 
honourable  name  by  which  he  is  now  designated,  and  afterwards  put 
him  forward  as  the  typical  foundation  of  His  Church.  Nothing  indeed 
can  hence  be  inferred,  one  way  or  the  other,  concerning  the  relative  ex- 
cellence of  the  two  brothers  ;  so  far  only  appears,  that,  in  the  providen- 
tial course  of  events,  the  one  was  the  secret  beginner,  and  the  other  the 
public  instrument  of  a  great  divine  work.  St.  Paul,  again,  was  hon- 
oured with  the  distinction  of  a  miraculous  conversion,  and  was  called 
to  be  tlie  chief  agent  of  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  among  the  hea- 
then ;  yet  to  Ananias,  an  otherwise  unknown  saint,  dwelling  at  Damas- 
cus, was  committed  the  high  office  of  conveying  the  gifts  of  pardon  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

Providence  thus  acts  daily.  The  early  life  of  all  men  is  private ;  it 
is  as  children,  generally,  that  their  characters  are  formed  to  good  or 
evil ;  and  those  who  form  them  to  good,  their  truest  and  chief  benefac- 
tors, are  unknown  to  the  world.  It  has  been  remarked,  that  some  of 
the  most  eminent  Christians  have  been  blessed  v.'itli  religious  mothers, 
and  have  in  after  life  referred  their  own  graces  to  the  instrumentality 
of  their  teaching.  Augustine  has  preserved  to  the  Church  the  history 
of  his  mother  Monica ;  but  in  the  case  of  others,  even  the  name  is  de- 
nied to  us  of  our  great  benefactress,  whosoever  she  was, — and  sometimes, 
doubtless,  the  circumstance  of  her  service  altogether. 

When  wc  look  at  the  history  of  inspiration,  the  same  rule  still  holds. 
Consider  the  Old  Testament,  which  "  makes  us  wise  unto  salvation.'' 
How  great  a  part  of  it  is  written  by  authors  unknown  !  The  book  of  | 
Judges,  the  Second  of  Samuel,  the  books  of  Kings,  Chronicles,  Esther, 
and  Job,  and  great  part  of  the  book  of  Psalms.  The  last  instance  is 
the  most  remarkable  of  these.  "  Profitable"  beyond  words  as  is  the  in- 1 
struction  conveyed  to  us  in  every  page  of  Scripture,  yet  the  Psalms 
have  been  the  most  directly  and  visibly  useful  part  of  the  whole  volume,! 


I,]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS,  213 

having  been  the  prayer-book  of  the  Church  ever  since  they  were  writ- 
ten ;  and  have  done  more,  (as  far  as  wc  dare  judge,)  to  prepare  souls 
for  heaven,  than  any  of  the  inspired  books,  except  the  Gospels.  Yet, 
the  authors  of  a  large  portion  of  them  are  altogether  unknown.  And  so 
with  the  Liturgies,  which  have  been  the  possession  of  the  Christian 
Church  from  the  beginning ;  who  were  those  matured  and  exalted 
Saints  who  left  them  to  us  1  Nay,  in  the  whole  system  of  our  worship, 
who  are  the  authors  of  each  decorous  provision  and  each  edifying  cus- 
tom ?  Who  found  out  the  musical  tunes,  in  Avhich  our  praises  are 
offered  up  to  God,  and  in  which  resides  so  wondrous  a  persuasion  "  to 
worship  and  fall  down,  and  kneel  before  the  Lord  our  Maker  ?"  Who 
were  those  religious  men,  our  spiritual  fathers  in  the  "  Catholic  faith," 
who  raised  of  old  time  the  excellent  fabrics  all  over  the  country,  in 
which  we  worship,  though  with  less  of  grateful  reverence  for  their 
memory  than  we  might  piously  express  ?  Of  these  greatest  men  in 
every  age,  there  "is  no  memorial  :"  they  "  are  perished  as  though  they 
had  never  been,  and  become  as  though  they  had  never  been  born." 

Now  I  know  that  reflections  of  this  kind  are  apt  to  sadden  and  vex 
us  ;  and  such  of  us  particularly  as  are  gifted  with  ardent  and  enthusi- 
astic minds,  with  a  generous  love  of  what  is  great  and  good,  and  a 
noble  hatred  of  injustice.  These  men  find  it  difficult  to  reconcile 
themselves  to  the  notion  that  the  triumph  of  the  Truth  in  all  its  forms, 
is  postponed  to  the  next  world.  They  would  fain  anticipate  the  coming 
of  the  righteous  Judge  ;  nay,  perhaps  they  arc  somewhat  too  favourably 
disposed  towards  the  present  world,  to  acquiesce  without  resistance  in  a 
doctrine  which  testifies  to  the  corruption  of  its  decisions,  and  the  worth- 
lessness  of  its  honours.  But  that  it  is  a  truth,  has  already  been  showed 
almost  as  matter  of  fact,  putting  the  evidence  of  Scripture  out  of 
consideration  ;  and  if  it  be  such,  it  is  our  wisdom,  as  it  will  become  our 
privilege,  to  accustom  our  minds  to  it,  and  to  receive  it,  not  in  word 
merely,  but  in  seriousness. 

Why  indeed  should  we  shrink  from  this  gracious  law  of  God's  present 
providence  in  our  own  case,  or  in  the  case  of  those  we  love,  when  our 
subjection  to  it  does  but  associate  us  with  the  best  and  noblest  of  our 
race,  and  with  beings  of  nature  and  condition  superior  to  our  own  ? 
Andrew  is  scarcely  known,  except  by  name  ;  while  Peter  has  ever  held 
the  place  of  honour  all  over  the  Church  ;  yet  Andrew  brought  Peter  to 
Christ.  And  are  not  the  Blessed  Angels  unknown  to  the  world  ?  and 
is  not  God  Himself,  the  Author  of  all  good,  hid  from  mankind  at  large, 
partially  manifested  and  poorly  glorified,  in  a  few  scattered  servants 
here  and  there  ?  and  His  Spirit,  do  we  know  whence  It  cometh,  and 
whither  It  goeth  1  and  though  He  has  taught  men  whatever  there  has 


214  ST.  ANDREW.  [Serm. 

been  of  wisdom  among  them  from  the  beginning,  yet  when  He  came 
on  earth  in  visible  form,  even  then  it  was  said  of  Him,  "The  world 
knew  Him  not."  His  marvellous  providence  works  beneath  a  veil, 
which  speaks  but  an  untrue  language ;  and  to  see  Him  who  is  the  Truth 
and  the  Life,  we  must  stoop  underneath  it,  and  so  in  our  turn  hide  our- 
selves from  the  world.  They  who  present  themselves  at  kings'  courts, 
pass  on  to  the  inner  chambers,  where  the  gaze  of  the  rude  multitude 
cannot  pierce ;  and  we,  if  we  would  see  the  King  of  kings  in  His  glory, 
must  be  content  to  disappear  from  the  things  that  are  seen.  Hid  arc 
the  saints  of  God ;  if  they  are  known  to  men,  it  is  accidentally,  in 
their  temporal  offices,  as  holding  some  high  earthly  station,  or  eflecting 
some  mere  civil  work,  not  as  saints.  St.  Peter  has  a  place  in  history, 
far  more  as  a  chief  instrument  of  a  strange  revolution  in  human  affairs, 
than  in  his  true  character,  as  a  self-denying  follower  of  his  Lord,  to 
whom  truths  were  revealed  which  flesh  and  blood  could  not  discern. 

How  poor-spirited  are  we,  and  what  dishonour  we  put  upon  the  capa- 
bilities and  the  true  excellence  of  our  nature,  when  we  subject  it  to  the 
judgment  and  disposal  of  all  its  baser  specimens,  to  the  rude  and  igno- 
rant praise,  and  poor  recompensing  of  carnal  and  transgressing  man ! 
How  shall  the  flesh  be  at  all  a  judge  of  the  spirit  ?  or  the  sinner  of  God'.s 
elect  1  Are  we  to  look  downwards,  not  upwards  1  Shall  we  basely 
acknowledge  the  right  of  the  Many  who  tread  the  broad  way,  to  be  the 
judge  of  holiness,  which  comes  from  God,  and  appeals  to  Him  ?  And 
does  not  the  eye  of  faith  discern  witnesses  of  our  conduct,  ever  present, 
and  far  worthier  of  our  respect,  than  even  a  world  of  the  ungodly  ?  Is 
man  the  noblest  being  in  the  creation  ?  Surely  we,  as  well  as  our  Divine 
Lord,  are  "seen  of  Angels  ;"  nay,  and  ministered  unto  by  them,  much 
as  they  excel  us  in  .strength  !  St.  Paul  plainly  tells  us,  that  it  is  God's 
purpose  that  "  His  manifold  wisdom  should  be  known  to  the  heavenly 
principalities  and  powers,  through  the  Church.'"*  When  we  are  made 
Christians,  we  are  baptized  "  into  that  within  the  veil,"  we  are  brought 
near  to  an  innumerable  company  of  Angels ;  and  resembling  them  in 
their  hidden  condition,  share  their  sympathy  and  their  services.  There- 
fore, the  same  Apostle  exhorts  Timothy  to  persevere  in  obedience,  not 
only  by  the  thought  of  God,  but  by  that  of  the  Angels ;  and  surely 
we  ought  to  cultivate  the  habitual  feeling,  that  ihey  see  us  in  our  most 
private  deeds,  and  most  carefully  guarded  solitudes. 

It  is  more  than  enough  for  a  sinful  mortal  to  be  made  a  fellow -worker 
and  fellow-worshipper  with  the  Blessed  Spirits,  and  the  servant  and  the 
son  of  God  Most  High.     Rather  let  us  try  to  realize  our  privilege,  and 

•  Eph.  ill.  10. 


11.]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  215 

withal  humble  ourselves  at  our  want  of  faith.  We  are  the  elect  of 
God,  and  have  entrance  "through  the  gates  into  the"  heavenly  "City," 
while  we  "do  His  commandments,"*  following  Christ  as  Andrew  did, 
when  pointed  out  to  us  by  His  preachers  and  ministers.  To  those  who 
thus  "  follow  on  to  know  Him,  He  manifests  Himself,  while  He  is  hid 
from  the  world.  They  are  near  Him,  as  His  confidential  servants,  and 
are  the  real  agents  in  the  various  providences  which  occur  in  the  his- 
tory of  nations,  though  overlooked  by  their  annalists  and  sages.  They 
bring  before  Him  the  temporal  wants  of  men,  witnessing  His  marvellous 
doings  with  the  barley  loaves  and  fishes  ;  the}',  too,  lead  strangers  be- 
fore Him  for  His  favourable  notice,  and  tor  His  teaching.  And,  when 
He  brings  trouble  and  distress  upon  a  sinful  people,  they  have  truest 
knowledge  of  His  will  and  can  best  interpret  His  works ;  for  they  had 
hved  in  contemplation  and  prayer,  and  while  others  praise  the  goodly 
i^oncs  and  buildings  of  the  external  Temple,  have  heard  from  Him  in 
secret,  how  the  end  shall  be.  Thus  they  live  ;  and  when  they  die,  the 
world  knows  nothing  of  its  loss,  and  soon  lets  slip  what  it  might  have 
retained  of  their  history ;  but  the  Church  of  Christ  does  what  she  can, 
gathering  together  their  relics,  and  honouring  their  name,  even  when 
fheir  works  cannot  be  found.  But  those  works  have  followed  them  ; 
and,  at  the  appearing  of  their  Lord  in  judgment,  will  be  at  length 
displayed  before  all  the  world,  and  for  His  merits  eternally  rewarded  in 
His  heavenly  kingdom. 


SERMON    II. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  THOMAS  THE  APOSTLE. 
FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT. 


John  xx.  29. 
(Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  bchevcd  :  blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed. 

St.  Thomas  is  the  Apostle  who  doubted  of  our  Lord's  resurrection. 
This  want  of  faith  has  given  him  a  .sort  of  character  in  the  minds  of 
most  people,  which  is  referred  to  in  the  Collect  for  the  day.  Yet  we 
must  not  suppose  that  he  differed  greatly  from  the  other  Apostles.    They 

*  Rev.  xxii.  14. 


216  ST.  THOMAS.  [Serm.. 

all,  more  or  less,  mistrusted  Christ's  promises  when  they  saw  Him  led 
away  to  be  crucified.  When  He  was  buried,  their  hopes  were  buried 
with  Him  ;  and  when  the  news  was  brought  them,  that  He  was  risen 
again,  they  all  disbelieved  it.  On  His  appearing  to  them,  He  "  upbraid- 
ed them  with  their  unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart."*  But,  as  St.  Thomas 
was  not  present  at  this  time,  and  only  heard  from  his  fellow  Apostles 
that  they  had  seen  the  Lord,  his  time  of  perplexity  and  darkness  lasted 
longer  than  theirs.  At  the  news  of  this  great  miracle,  he  expressed  his 
determination  not  to  believe  unless  he  himself  saw  Christ,  and  was 
allowed  to  touch  Him.  And  thus  by  an  apparently  accidental  circum- 
stance, Thomas  is  singled  out  from  his  brethren,  wiio  at  first  disbelieved 
as  well  as  he,  as  if  an  especial  instance  of  unbelief.  None  of  them 
believed  till  they  saw  Christ,  except  St.  John,  and  he  too  hesitated  at 
first.  Thomas  was  convinced  latest,  because  he  saw  Christ  latest.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  certain  that,  though  he  disbelieved  the  good  news 
of  Christ's  resurrection  at  first,  he  was  no  cold-hearted  follower  of  his 
Lord,  as  appears  from  his  conduct  on  a  previous  occasion,  when  he 
expressed  a  desire  to  share  danger,  and  to  suffer  with  Him.  When 
Christ  was  setting  out  for  Judaea  to  raise  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  the 
disciples  said,  "  Master,  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone  Thee,  and 
goest  Thou  thither  again  r'f  When  He  remained  in  His  intention, 
Thomas  said  to  the  rest,  "  Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die  with  Him." 
This  journey  ended,  as  His  Apostles  had  foreboded,  in  their  Lord's 
death  ;  they  indeed  escaped,  but  it  was  at  the  instance  of  Thomas  that 
they  hazarded  their  lives  with  Him. 

St.  Thomas  then  loved  his  Master,  as  became  an  Apostle,  and  was 
devoted  to  His  service  ;  but  when  he  saw  Him  crucified,  his  faith  failed 
for  a  season  with  that  of  the  rest.  At  the  same  time  we  need  not  deny 
that  his  especial  doubts  of  Christ's  resurrection  were  not  altogether 
owing  to  circumstances,  but  in  a  measure  arose  from  some  faulty  state 
of  mind.  St.  John's  narrative  itself,  and  our  Saviour's  speech  to  him, 
convey  an  impression  that  he  was  more  to  blame  than  the  rest.  His 
standing  out  alone,  not  against  one  witness  only,  but  against  his  ten 
fellow-disciples,  besides  Mary  Magdalene  and  the  other  women,  is  evi- 
dence of  this  ;  and  his  very  strong  words,  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  His 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of  the 
nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe.":}:  And  it  is 
observable,  that  little  as  we  know  of  St.  Thomas,  yet  the  one  remain- 
ing recorded  speech  of  his  (before  Christ's  crucifixion,)  intimates  some- 
thing of  the  same  doubting,  perplexed  state  of  mind.    When  Christ  said 

»  Mark  xvi.  14.  t    John  xi.  8.  J  John  xx.  25.. 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  21T 

He  was  going  to  His  Father,  and  by  a  way  which  they  all  knew, 
Thomas  interposed  with  an  argument :  "  Lord,  we  know  not  whither 
Thou  goest,  and  how  can  we  know  the  way  ?"*  that  is,  we  do  not  see 
heaven,  or  the  God  of  heaven,  how  can  we  know  the  way  thither  ?  He 
seems  to  have  required  some  sensible  insight  into  the  unseen  state,  some 
infallible  sign  from  heaven,  a  ladder  of  Angels  like  Jacob's,  which 
would  remove  anxiety  by  showing  him  the  end  of  the  journey  at  the 
time  he  set  out.  Some  such  secret  craving  after  certainty  beset  him. 
And  a  like  desire  rose  within  him  on  the  news  of  Christ's  resurrection. 
Being  weak  in  faith,  he  suspended  his  judgment,  and  seemed  resolved 
not  to  believe  any  thing,  till  he  was  told  every  thing.  Accordingly, 
when  our  Saviour  appeared  to  him,  eight  days  after  his  appearance  to 
the  rest,  while  He  allowed  Thomas  his  wish,  and  satisfied  his  senses 
that  He  was  really  alive,  He  accompanied  the  permission  with  a  rebuke, 
and  intimated  that  by  yielding  to  his  weakness,  he  was  withdrawing 
what  was  a  real  blessedness.  "  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold 
my  hands,  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side,  and 
be  not  faithless  but  believing.  And  Thomas  answered  and  said  unto 
him.  My  Lord  and  my  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  because 
thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not 
seen  and  yet  have  believed. "f 

However,  after  all,  we  are  not  so  much  concerned  with  considera- 
tions respecting  the  natural  disposition  and  temper  of  the  Blessed  Apos- 
tle, whom  we  to-day  commemorate,  as  with  the  particular  circumstance 
m  which  his  name  occurs,  and  with  our  Saviour's  comment  upon  it. 
All  His  disciples  minister  to  Him ;  and,  as  in  other  ways,  so  also  in 
giving  occasion  for  the  words  of  grace  which  proceed  from  His  mouth. 
They  minister  to  Him  even  in  their  weaknesses,  which  are  often  brought 
to  light  in  Scripture,  not  hidden  as  Christian  friends  would  hide  in 
piety,  that  so  He  may  convert  them  into  instruction  and  comfort  for  His 
Church.  Thus  Martha's  over-earnestness  in  household  duties  has 
drawn  from  Him  a  sanction  for  a  life  of  contemplation  and  prayer  ; 
and  so,  in  the  history  before  us,  the  over-caution  of  St.  Thomas  has 
gained  for  us  His  promise  of  especial  blessing  on  those  who  believe 
without  having  seen.  I  proceed  to  make  some  remarks  on  the  nature 
I   of  this  believing  temper,  and  why  it  is  blessed. 

I       It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe,   that  what  our  Saviour  says  to 

I  Thomas  so  clearly  and   impressively.  He  has  implied,  in  one  way  or 

I  other,  all  through  His  ministry  ;  the  blessedness  of  a  mind  that  believes 

readily.     His  demand  and  trial  of  faith  in  the  case  of  those  who  came 

*  John  xiv.  5.  t  1  John  xx.  27-29. 


218  •  ST.  THOMAS.  [Serm. 

for  His  miraculous  aid,  His  praise  of  it  were  found,  His  sorrow  where 
it  was  wanting,  His  warnings  against  hardness  of  heart ;  all  are  evi. 
dence  of  this.  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith, 
no  not  in  Israel."  "  Daughter,  be  of  good  comfort,  thy  faith  hath 
made  thee  whole."  "  Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee,  go  in  peace."  "  An 
evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign."  "  O  fools;  and 
slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken."*  These 
will  remind  us  of  a  multitude  of  similar  passages  in  especial  praise  of 
faith.  St.  Paul  pursues  the  same  line  of  doctrine  begun  by  his  Lord. 
In  three  Epistles  he  sets  before  us  the  peculiar  place  it  holds  among  the 
evidences  of  a  religious  mind  ;  and  each  time  refers  to  a  passage  in  the 
Prophets,  in  order  to  show  that  he  was  bringing  in  no  new  doctrine, 
but  only  teaching  that  which  had  been  promulged  from  the  beginning. 
In  consequence,  in  our  ordinary  language  we  speak  of  religion  being 
built  upon  faith,  not  upon  reason  :  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  as  common 
for  those  who  scoff  at  religion  to  object  this  very  doctrine  against  us» 
as  if,  in  so  saying,  we  had  almost  admitted  that  Christianity  was  not 
true.     Let  us  then  consider  how  the  case  stands. 

Every  religious  mind,  under  every  dispensation  of  Providence,  will 
be  in  the  habit  of  looking  out  of  and  beyond  self,  as  regards  all  matters 
connected  with  its  highest  good.  For  a  man  of  religious  mind  is  he 
who  attends  to  the  rule  of  conscience,  which  is  born  with  him,  which 
he  did  not  make  for  himself,  and  to  which  he  feels  bound  in  duty  to 
submit.  And  conscience  immediately  directs  his  thoughts  to  some 
Being  exterior  to  himself,  who  gave  it,  and  who  evidently  is  superior  to 
him  ;  for  a  law  implies  a  lawgiver,  and  a  command  implies  a  superior. 
Thus  a  man  is  at  once  thrown  out  of  himself,  by  the  very  Voice  which 
speaks  within  him ;  and  while  he  rules  his  heart  and  conduct  by  his 
inward  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  not  by  the  maxims  of  the  external 
world,  yet  that  inward  sense  does  not  allow  him  to  rest  in  itself,  but 
sends  him  forth  again  from  home  to  seek  abroad  for  Him  who  has  put 
His  VVord  in  him.  He  looks  forth  into  the  world  to  seek  Him  who  is 
not  of  the  world,  to  find  behind  the  shadows  and  deceits  of  this  shifting 
scene  of  time  and  sense.  Him  whose  Word  is  eternal,  and  whose 
Presence  is  spiritual.  He  looks  out  of  himself  for  that  Living  Word  to 
which  he  may  attril)ute  what  has  echoed  in  his  heart ;  and  being  sure 
that  it  is  to  be  found  somewhere,  he  is  predisposed  to  find  it,  and  often 
thinks  he  has  found  it  when  he  has  not.  Hence,  if  truth  is  not  at  hand 
he  is  apt  to  mistake  error  for  truth,  to  consider  as  the  presence,  and 
especial  work  of  God  what  is  not  so  ;  and  thinking  any  thing  preferable 

*  Matt.viii.  10;  i.T.  22.     Luke  vii.  50.    Matt.xii.39.     Luke  xxiv.  25. 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  219 

to  scepticism,  he  becomes  ('what  is  sometimes  imputed  to  him  by  way 
of  reproach,)  superstitious.  This  you  may  suppose,  is  the  state  of  the 
hetter  sort  of  persons  in  a  heathen  country.  They  are  not  vouchsafed 
the  truer  tokens  of  God's  power  and  will,  which  we  possess  ;  so  they 
fancy  where  they  cannot  find,  and  having  consciences  more  acute  than 
their  reasoning  powers,  they  pervert  and  misuse  even  those  indications 
of  God  which  are  provided  for  them  in  nature.  This  is  one  cause  of 
the  false  divinities  of  pagan  worship,  which  are  tokens  of  guilt  in  the 
worshipper,  not  (as  we  trust)  when  they  could  know  no  better,  but  when 
we  have  turned  from  the  light,  not  liking  "  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledge."  And  if  this  is  the  course  of  a  religious  mind,  even  when 
it  is  not  blessed  with  the  news  of  divine  truth,  much  more  will  it  wel- 
come and  gladly  commit  itself  to  the  hand  of  God,  when  allowed  to 
discern  it  in  the  Gospel.  Such  is  faith  as  it  exists  in  the  multitude  of 
those  who  beheve,  arising  from  their  sense  of  the  presence  of  God,  origi- 
nally certified  to  them  by  the  inward  voice  of  conscience. 

On  the  other  hand,  such  persons  as  prefer  this  world  to  the  leadings 
of  God's  Spirit  within  them,  soon  lose  their  perception  of  the  latter,  and 
lean  upon  the  world  as  a  god.  Having  no  presentiment  of  any  Invisible 
Guide,  who  has  a  claim  to  be  followed  in  matters  of  conduct,  they  con- 
sider nothing  to  have  a  substance  but  what  meets  their  senses,  are  con- 
tented with  this,  and  draw  their  rules  of  life  from  it.  They  truly  are  in 
no  danger  of  being  superstitious  or  credulous  ;  for  they  feel  no  antece- 
dent desire  or  persuasion  that  God  may  have  made  a  revelation  of  Him- 
self in  the  world  ;  and  when  they  hear  of  events  supernatural,  they 
come  to  the  examination  of  them  as  calmly  and  dispassionately  as  if 
they  were  judges  in  a  court  of  law,  or  inquiring  into  points  of  science. 
They  acknowledge  no  especial  interest  in  the  question  proposed  to  them  ; 
and  they  find  if  no  effort  to  use  their  intellect  upon  it  as  truly,  as  if  it 
were  some  external  instrument  which  could  not  be  swayed.  Here  then 
we  see  two  opposite  characters  of  mind,  the  one  credulous  (as  it  would 
be  commonly  called,)  the  latter  candid,  well-judging,  and  sagacious  ; 
and  it  is  clear  that  the  former  of  the  two  is  the  religious  temper  rather 
than  the  latter.  In  this  way  then,  if  in  no  other,  faith  and  reason  are 
opposed ;  and  to  believe  much  is  more  blessed  than  to  believe  little. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Every  one  who  tries  to  do  God's  will,  is  sure  to 
find  he  cannot  do  it  perfectly.  He  will  feel  himself  to  be  full  of  imper- 
fection  and  sin  ;  and  the  more  he  succeeds  in  regulating  his  heart,  the 
more  he  will  discern  its  original  bitterness  and  guilt.  Here  is  an  addi- 
tional cause  of  a  religious  man's  looking  out  of  himself.  He  knows  the 
evil  of  his  nature,  and  forebodes  God's  wrath  as  its  consequence,  and 
when  he  looks  around  him,  he  sees  it  reflected  from  within  upon  the 


220  ST.  THOMAS.  [Serm. 

face  of  the  world.  He  fears ;  and,  in  consequence,  seeks  about  for 
some  means  of  propitiating  his  Maker,  for  some  token,  if  so  be,  of  God's 
relenting.  He  cannot  stay  at  home;  he  cannot  rest  in  himself ;  he 
wanders  about  from  very  anxiety ;  he  needs  some  one  to  speak  peace 
to  his  soul.  Should  a  man  come  to  him  professing  to  be  a  messenger 
from  heaven,  he  is  at  once  arrested  and  listens  ;  and,  whether  such  pro- 
fession be  actually  true  or  false,  yet  his  first  desire  is  that  it  may  be 
true.  Those,  on  the  contrary,  who  are  without  this  sense  of  sin,  can 
bear  the  first  news  of  God's  having  spoken  to  man,  without  being 
startled.  They  can  patiently  wait  till  the  body  of  evidence  is  brought 
out  before  them,  and  then  receive  or  reject  as  reason  may  determine  for 
them. 

Further  still,  let  us  suppose  two  persons  of  strong  mind,  not  easily 
excitable,  sound  judging  and  cautious  ;  and  let  them  be  equally  en- 
dowed in  these  respects.  Now  there  is  an  additional  reason  why,  of 
these  two,  he  who  is  religious  will  believe  more  and  reason  less  than  the 
irreligious  ;  that  is,  if  a  man's  acting  upon  a  message  is  the  measure  of 
liis  believing  it,  as  the  common  sense  of  the  world  will  determine.  For 
in  any  matter  so  momentous  and  practical  as  the  welfare  of  the  .soul,  a 
wise  man  will  not  wait  for  the  fullest  evidence,  before  he  acts  ;  and  will 
show  his  caution,  not  in  remaining  uninfluenced  by  the  existing  report 
of  a  divine  message,  but  by  obeying  it  though  it  might  be  more  clearly 
attested.  If  it  is  but  slightly  probable  that  rejection  of  the  Gospel  will 
involve  his  eternal  ruin,  it  is  safest  and  wisest  to  act  as  if  it  were  cer- 
tain. On  the  other  hand,  when  a  man  does  not  make  the  truth  of 
Christianity  a  practical  concern,  but  a  mere  matter  of  philosophical  or 
historical  research,  he  will  feel  himself  at  leisure,  (and  reasonably  on  his 
own  grounds,)  to  find  fault  with  the  evidence.  When  we  inquire  into 
a  point  of  history,  or  investigate  an  opinion  in  science,  we  do  demand 
decisive  evidence ;  we  consider  it  allowable  to  wait  till  we  obtain  it,  to- 
remain  undecided,  in  a  word  to  be  sceptical.  If  religion  be  not  a  practical 
matter,  it  is  right  and  philosophical  in  us  to  be  sceptics.  Assuredly  higher 
and  fuller  evidence  of  its  truth  might  be  given  us;  and,  after  all,  there 
are  a  num!)er  of  deep  questions  concerning  the  laws  of  nature,  the  con- 
stitution of  the  human  mind,  and  the  like,  which  must  be  solved  before 
we  can  feci  perfectly  satisfied.  And  those  whose  hearts  are  not  "ten- 
der,"* as  Scripture  expresses  it,  that  is,  who  have  not  a  vivid  per- 
ception of  the  Divine  Voice  within  them,  and  of  the  necessity  of  His 
existence  from  whom  it  issues,  do  not  feel  Christianity  as  a  practical 
matter,  and  let  it  pass  accordingly.     They  are  accustomed  to  say  that 

*  2  Kings  xxii.  19. 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  321 

death  will  soon  come  upon  them  and  solve  the  great  secret  for  them 
without  their  trouble,  that  is,  they  wait  for  sight ;  not  understanding,  or 
being  able  to  be  made  to  comprehend,  that  their  solving  this  great 
problem  without  sight  is  the  very  end  and  business  of  their  mortal  life  : 
according  to  St.  Paul's  decision  that  faith  is  "  the  substance,"  or  the 
realizing,  "  of  things  hoped  for,"  "  the  evidence,"  or  the  making 
trial  of,  the  acting  on  the  belief  of  "  things  not  seen."*  What  the 
Apostle  says  of  Abraham  is  a  description  of  all  true  faith  ;  it  goes  out 
not  knowing  wliiilicr  it  goes.  It  does  not  crave  or  bargain  to  see  the 
end  of  the  journey  ;  it  does  not  argue  with  St.  Thomas,  in  the  days  of 
his  ignorance,  "  we  know  not  whither,  and  how  we  can  knovv^  the  way?" 
it  is  persuaded  that  it  has  quite  enough  light  to  walk  by,  far  more  than 
sinful  man  has  a  right  to  expect,  if  it  sees  one  step  in  advance  ;  and  it 
leaves  all  knowledge  of  the  country  over  which  it  is  journeying,  to  Him 
who  calls  it  on. 

And  this  blessed  temper  of  mind,  which  influences  religious  men  in 
the  greater  matter  of  choosing  or  rejecting  the  Gospel,   extends  itself 
also  into  their  reception  of  it  in  all  its  parts.     As  faith  is  content  with 
but  a  little  light  to  begin  its  journey  by,  and  makes   it  much  by  acting 
upon  it,  so  also  it  reads,  as  it  were,  by  twilight,  the  message  of  truth  in 
its  various  details.     It  does   not  stipulate  that    the  text  of  Scripture 
should  admit  of  rigid  and  laboured  proofs  of  its  doctrines ;  it  has  the 
practical  wisdom  to  consider  that  the  word  of  G  od   must  have  mainly 
one  and  one  only  sense,  and  to  try,  as  well  as  may  be,  to  find  out  what 
that  sense  is,  whether  the  evidence  of  it  be  great  or  little,  and  not  to 
quarrel  with  it  if  it  is  not  overpowering.     It  keeps   steadily   in  view 
that  Christ  speaks  in  Scripture,  and  receives  His  words   as  if  it  heard 
them,  as  if  some  superior  and  friend  spoke  them,  one  whom  it  wished 
to  please  ;  not  as  if  it  were  engaged  upon  the   dead  letter  of  a  docu- 
ment, which  admitted  of  rude  handling,  of  criticism  and  exception.    It 
looks  otr  from  self  to  Christ ;  and   instead   of  seeking  impatiently  for 
some  personal  assurance,  is  set  on  obedience,  saying,  "  Here  am  I,  send 
me."     And  in  like   manner  towards  every  institution  of  Christ,  His 
Church,  His  Sacraments,  and  His  Ministers,  it   acts  not  as  a  disputer 
of  this  world,  but  as  the  disciple  of  Him  who  appointed  them.     Lastly, 
it  rests  contented  with  the  revelation  made  it ;  it  has  "  found  the  ]Mes- 
sias,"  and  that  is  enough.     The  very  principle  of  its  former  restlessness 
now  keeps  it  from  wandering.   When  "  the  Son  of  God  is  come,  and  hath 
given  us  an  understanding  to  know  the  hue  God,"  v.avering,  fcarful- 
ness,  superstitious  trust  in  <he  creature,  pursuit  of  novelties,  are  signs, 
not  of  faith,  but  of  unbelief  f 

*  Heb.  xi.  1.  t  Vide  Cant.  iii.  1-  4. 


222  ST.  THOMAS.  [Serm.  U. 

Much  might  be  added  in  conckision  by  way  of  applying  what  has- 
been  said  to  the  temper  of  our  own  day,  in  which  men  around  us  are 
apt  ahnost  to  make  it  a  boast  that  "  theirs  is  a  rational  religion." 
Doubtless,  this  happens  to  be  the  case ;  but  it  is  no  necessary  mark  of 
a  true  religion  that  it  is  rational  in  the  common  sense  of  the  word  ;  nor 
is  it  any  credit  to  a  man  to  have  resolved  only  to  take  up  with  what  he 
considers  rational.  The  true  religion  is  partly  altogether  above  reason, 
as  in  its  Mysteries  ;  and  so  again,  it  might  have  been  introduced  into 
the  world  without  that  array  of  Evidences,  as  they  are  called,  which 
our  reason  is  able  and  delights  to  draw  out ;  yet  it  would  not  on  that 
account  have  been  less  true.  As  far  as  it  is  above  reason,  as  far  as  it 
has  extended  into  any  countries  without  sufficient  proof  of  its  divinity, 
so  far  it  cannot  bo  called  rational.  Indeed,  that  it  is  at  all  level  to  the 
reason,  is  rather  a  privilege  granted  by  Almighty  God,  than  a  point 
which  may  be  insisted  on  by  man ;  and  unless  received  as  an  unmer- 
ited boon,  may  become  hurtful  to  us.  If  this  remark  be  in  any  meas- 
ure true,  we  know  what  to  think  of  arguing  against  the  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel  on  the  ground  of  their  being  irrational,  or  of  attempting  to 
refute  the  creed  of  others  by  ridiculing  articles  of  it  as  unaccountable 
and  absurd,  or  of  thinking  that  the  superstitious  have  advanced  a  step 
towards  the  truth  when  they  have  plunged  into  infidelity,  or  of  account- 
ing it  wrong  to  educate  children  in  the  Catholic  faith,  lest  they  should 
not  have  the  opportunity  of  choosing  for  themselves  in  maturer  years. 
Dismissing  such  thoughts  from  the  mind,  let  us  rather  be  content  with 
the  words  of  the  Apostle.  "  The  preaching  of  the  cross,"  he  says,  "  is 
to  them  that  perish,  foolishness  ;  but  unto  us  which  are  saved  it  is  the 
power  of  God.  For  it  is  written,  I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise, 
and  will  bring  to  nought  the  understanding  of  the  prudent.  Where  is 
the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe  1  where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  ? 
Hath  not  God  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  this  world  ?  For  after  that 
in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world  by  wisdom  know  not  God,  it  pleased 
God,  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  to  save  them  that  believe."* 

t  1  Cor.  i.  18—21. 


SERMON   III. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVrFY  OF  OUR  LORD. 
THE  IXCARXATIOX. 


John  i.  14. 
The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us. 

Thus  does  the  favoured  Apostle  and  Evangelist  announce  to  us  that 
Sacred  Mystery,  which  we  this  day  especially  commemorate,  the  in- 
carnation of  the  Eternal  Word.  Thus  briefly  and  simply  does  he  speak, 
as  if  fearing  he  should  fail  in  fitting  reverence.  If  any  there  was  who 
might  seem  to  have  permission  to  indulge  in  words  on  this  subject,  it 
was  the  beloved  disciple,  who  had  heard,  and  seen,  and  looked  upon, 
and  handled  the  Word  of  Life  ;  yet,  in  proportion  to  the  height  of  his 
privilege,  was  his  discernment  of  the  infinite  distance  betAveen  him  acd 
his  Creator.  Such  too  was  the  temper  of  the  Holy  Angels,  when  the 
Father  "  brought  in  the  First-begotten  into  the  world  :"*  they  straight- 
way worshipped  Him.  And  such  was  the  feeling  of  awe  and  love 
mingled  together,  which  remained  for  a  while  in  the  Church  after  An- 
gels had  announced  His  coming,  and  Evangelists  had  recorded  His 
sojourn  here  and  His  departure  ;  "  there  was  silence  as  it  were  for  half 
an  hour."!  Around  the  Church,  indeed,  the  voices  of  blasphemy  were 
heard,  even  as  when  He  hung  on  the  cross ;  but  in  the  Church  there 
was  light  and  peace,  fear,  joy,  and  holy  meditation.  Lawless  doubl- 
ings, importunate  inquirings,  confident  reasonings  were  not.  A 
heartfelt  adoration,  a  practical  devotion  to  the  Ever-blessed  Son,  pre- 
cluded difficulties  in  faith,  and  sheltered  the  Church  from  the  necessity 
of  speaking. 

He  who  had  seen  the  Lord  Jesus  with  a  pure  mind,  attending  him 
from  the  lake  of  Gennesareth  to  Calvary,  and  from  the  Sepulchre  to 
Mount  Olivet,  where  He  left  this  scene  of  His  humiliation  ;  he  who 
had  been  put  in  charge  with  His  Virgin  Mother,  and  heard  from  her 
what  she  alone  could  tell  of  the  Mystery  to  which  she  had  ministered ; 

*  Hcb.  i.  6.  t  Rev.  viii.  1. 


224  CHRISTMAS   DAY.  [Serm.  II. 

and  they  who  had  heard  it  from  his  mouth,  and  those  again  whom  these 
have  tau^rht,  the  first  generations  of  the  Church  needed  no  explicit 
declarations  concerning  His  Sacred  Person.  Sight  and  hearing  super- 
seded the  multitude  of  words ;  faith  dispensed  with  the  aid  of  length- 
ened Creeds  and  Confessions.  There  was  silence.  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh  ;"  "  I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  His  only  Son  our  Lord  ;"  sen- 
tences such  as  these  conveyed  every  thing,  yet  were  officious  in  no- 
thing. But  when  the  light  of  His  advent  faded,  and  love  waxed  cold, 
then  there  was  an  opening  for  objection  and  discussion,  and  a  difficulty 
in  answering.  Then  misconceptions  had  to  be  explained,  doubts  al- 
layed, questions  set  at  rest,  innovators  silenced.  Christians  were  forced 
to  speak  against  their  will,  lest  heretics  should  speak  instead  of  them. 

Such  is  the  difference  between  our  ovvn  state  and  that  of  the  early 
Church,  which  the  present  Festival  especially  brings  to  mind.  In  the 
New  Testament  we  find  the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  announced, 
clearly  indeed,  but  with  a  reverent  brevity.  "  The  Word  w^as  made 
flesh."  "  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh."  "  God  was  in  Christ.'' 
*'  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  the  mighty  God."  "  Christ,  over  all,  God, 
blessed  for  ever."  "  My  Lord  and  my  God."  "  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  ending,  the  Almighty."  "  The  Son  of 
God,  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  His  Per- 
son."* But  we  are  obliged  to  speak  more  at  length  in  the  Creeds  and 
in  our  teaching,  to  meet  the  perverse  ingenuity  of  those  who,  when  the 
Apostles  were  removed,  could  with  impunity  insult  and  misinterpret 
the  letter  of  their  writings. 

Nay,  further,  so  circum.stanced  are  we,  as  to  be  obliged  not  only 
thus  to  guard  the  Truth,  but  even  to  give  the  reason  of  our  guarding 
it.  For  they  who  would  steal  away  the  Lord  from  us,  not  content  with 
forcing  us  to  measures  of  protection,  even  go  on  to  bring  us  to  account 
for  adopting  them  ;  and  demand  that  we  should  put  aside  whatever 
stands  between  them  and  their  heretical  purposes.  Therefore  it  is 
necessary  to  state  clearly,  as  I  have  already  done,  why  the  Church  has 
lengthened  her  statements  of  Christian  doctrine.  Another  reason  of 
these  statements  is  as  follows  :  time  having  proceeded,  and  the  true 
traditions  of  our  Lord's  ministry  being  lost  to  us,  the  Object  of  our 
faith  is  but  faintly  reflected  on  our  minds,  compared  with  the  vivid 
picture  v/hich  His  presence  impressed  upon  the  early  Christians.  True 
is  it  the  Gospels  will  do  very  much  by  way  of  realizing  for  us  the 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  if  studied  in  faith  and  love.     But  the 

*  1  Tim.  iii.  IG.  2  Coi-.  v.  10.  Isai.  i.-c.  6.  Eom.  ix.  5.  John  xx.  28.  Rev.  i. 
8,     H'--b.  i.  2,  .3. 


III.]  THE  INCARNATION.  225 

Creeds  are  an  additional  help  this  way.  The  declarations  made  in 
them,  the  distinctions,  cautions,  and  the  like,  supported  and  illuminated 
by  Scripture,  draw  down,  as  it  were,  from  heaven,  the  image  of  Him 
who  is  on  God's  right  hand,  preserve  us  from  an  indolent  use  of  words 
without  apprehending  tliem,  and  rouse  in  us  those  mingled  feelings  of 
fear  and  confidence,  aftection  and  devotion  towards  Him,  which  are 
implied  in  the  belief  of  a  personal  advent  of  God  in  our  nature,  and 
which  were  originally  derived  to  the  Church  from  the  very  siglv  of 
Him. 

And  we  may  say  further  still,  these  statements,  such,  for  instance, 
as  occur  in  the  Te  Dcum  and  Athanasian  Creed,  are  especially  suit- 
able in  divine  worship,  inasmuch  as  they  kindle  and  elevate  the  reli- 
gious affections.  They  are  hymns  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  ;  they 
give  glory  to  God  as  revealed  in  the  Gospel,  just  as  David's  Psalms 
magnify  His  Attributes  as  displayed  in  nature,  His  wonderful  works  in 
the  creation  of  the  world,  and  His  mercies  towards  the  house  of  Israel. 
With  these  objects,  then,  it  may  be  useful,  on  to-day's  Festival,  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation. 

The  Word  was  from  the  beginning,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 
Before  all  worlds  were  created,  while  as  yet  time  was  not.  He  was  in 
existence,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Eternal  Father,  God  from  God,  and 
Light  from  Light,  supremely  blessed  in  knowing  and  being  known  of 
Him,  and  receiving  all  divine  perfections  from  Him,  yet  ever  One 
with  Him  who  begat  Him.  As  it  is  said  in  the  opening  of  the  Gospel ; 
"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God."  If  we  may  dare  conjecture,  He  is  called  the 
Word  of  God,  as  mediating  between  the  Father  and  all  creatures ; 
bringing  them  into  being,  fashioning  them,  giving  the  world  its  laws, 
imparting  reason  and  conscience  to  creatures  of  a  higher  order,  and 
revealing  to  them  in  due  season  the  knowledge  of  God's  will.  And  to 
us  Christians  He  is  especially  the  Word  in  that  great  Mystery  com- 
memoratcd  to-day,  whereby  He  became  flesh,  and  redeemed  us  from  a 
world  of  sin. 

He,  indeed,  when  man  fell,  might  have  remained  in  the  glory  which 
He  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was.  But  that  unsearchable 
Love,  which  showed  itself  in  our  original  creation,  rested  not  content 
with  a  frustrated  work,  but  brought  Him  down  again  from  His  Father's 
I  bosom  to  do  His  will,  and  repair  the  evil  which  sin  had  caused.  And 
•  with  a  wonderful  condescension  He  came,  not  as  before  in  power,  but 
in  weakness,  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  in  the  likeness  of  that  fallen 
;  creature  whom  He  purposed  to  restore.  So  He  humbled  Himself; 
suffering  all  the  infirmities  of  our  nature  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh, 
Vol.  I.— 15 


226  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Serm. 

all  but  a  sinner, — pure  from  all  sin,  yet  subjected  to  all  temptation, — 
and  at  length  becoming  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the. 
cross. 

I  have  said  that  \\hen  the  Only-begotten  Son  stooped  to  take  upon 
Him  our  nature,  He  had  no  fellowship  with  sin.  It  was  impossible 
that  He  should.  Therefore,  since  our  nature  was  corrupt  since  Adam's 
fail,  He  did  not  come  in  the  way  of  nature,  He  did  not  clothe  Himself 
in  that  corrupt  flesh  which  Adam's  race  inherits.  He  came  by  mira- 
cle, so  as  to  take  on  Him  our  imperfection  without  having  any  share  in 
our  sinfulness.  He  was  not  born  as  other  men  are;  for  "  that  which 
is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh."* 

All  Adam's  children  are  children  of  wrath  ;  so  our  Lord  came  as 
the  Son  of  Man,  but  not  the  son  of  sinful  Adam.  He  had  no  earthly 
father  ;  He  abhorred  to  have  one.  The  thought  may  not  be  suffered 
that  He  should  have  been  the  son  of  shame  and  guilt.  He  came  by  a 
new  and  living  way  ;  not,  indeed,  formed  out  of  the  ground,  as  Adam 
was  at  the  first,  lest  he  should  miss  the  participation  of  our  nature,  but 
selecting  and  purifying  unto  Himself  a  tabernacle  out  of  that  which 
existed.  As  in  the  beginning,  woman  v.as  formed  out  of  man  by  Al- 
mighty power,  so  now,  by  a  like  mystery,  but  a  reverse  order,  the  new 
Adam  was  fashioned  from  the  woman.  He  was,  as  had  been  foretold, 
the  immaculate  "  seed  of  the  woman,"  deriving  His  manhood  from  the 
substance  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  as  it  is  expressed  in  the  articles  of  the 
Creed, — "conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary." 

Thus  the  Son  of  God  became  the  Son  of  Man ;  mortal,  but  not  a 
sinner ;  heir  of  our  infirmities,  not  of  our  guiltiness  ;  the  offspring  of 
the  old  race,  yet  "  the  beginning  of  the"  new  "creation  of  God." 
Mary,  His  mother,  was  a  sinner  as  others,  and  born  of  sinners  ;  but 
she  was  set  apart,  "  as  a  garden  inclosed,  a  spring  shut  up,  a  fountain 
sealed,"  to  yield  a  created  nature  to  Him  who  was  her  Creator.  Thus 
He  came  into  this  world,  not  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  but  born  into  it, 
born  of  a  woman ;  He,  the  Son  of  Mary,  and  she  (if  it  may  be  said), 
the  Mother  of  God.  Thus  He  came,  selecting  and  setting  apart  for 
Himself  the  elements  of  body  and  soul  ;  then,  uniting  them  to  Himself 
from  their  first  origin  of  existence,  pervading  them,  hallowing  them  by 
His  own  Divinity,  spiritualizing  them,  and  filling  them  with  light  and^ 
purity,  the  while  they  continued  to  be  human,  and  for  a  time  mortal 
and  exposed  to  infirmity.  And,  as  they  grew  from  day  to  day  in  their 
holy  union.  His  Eternal  Essence  still  was  one  wiih  them,  exalting 
them,  acting  in  them,  manifesting  Itself  through  them,  so  that  He  was 

*  John  iii.  6. 


III.]  THE  IXCARXATIOX.  227 

truly  God  and  Man,  One  Person, — as  we  are  soul  and  body,  yet  one 
man,  so  truly  God  and  man  are  not  two,  but  One  Christ.  Thus  did 
the  Son  of  God  enter  this  mortal  world  ;  and  when  He  had  reached 
man's  estate,  He  began  His  ministry,  preached  the  Gospel,  chose  His 
Apostles,  suffered  on  the  cross,  died,  and  was  buried,  rose  again  and 
ascended  on  high,  there  to  reign  till  the  day  when  He  comes  again  to 
judge  the  world.  This  is  the  All-gracious  JMystery  of  the  Incarnation, 
good  to  look  into,  good  to  adore  ;  according  to  the  saying  in  the  text, 
— "  the  Word  was  made  flesh, — and  dwelt  among  us." 

The  brief  account  thus  given  of  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Incar- 
nation of  the  Eternal  Word,  may  be  made  more  distinct  by  referring 
to  some  of  those  modes  mentioned  in  Scripture,  in  which  God  has  at 
tlivers  times  condescended  to  manifest  Himself  in  His  creatures,  which 
come  short  of  it. 

1.  God  was  in  the  Prophets,  but  not  as  He  was  in  Christ.  The  di- 
vine authority,  and  in  one  sense,  name,  may  be  given  to  His  Ministers, 
considered  as  His  representatives.  Moses  says  to  the  Israelites,  "  Your 
murmurings  are  not  against  us,  but  against  the  Lord."  And  St.  Paul, 
"  He  therefore  that  despiseth,  despiseth  not  man,  but  God."*  In  this 
sense.  Rulers  and  Judges  are  sometimes  called  gods,  as  our  Lord  Him- 
self says. 

And  further,  the  Prophets  were  inspired.  Thus  John  the  Baptist  is 
said  to  have  been  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  from  his  mother's  womb. 
Zacharias  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  prophesied.  In  like 
manner  the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  the  Apostles  at  Pentecost  and  at  other 
times ;  and  so  wonderfully  gifted  was  St.  Paul,  that  "  from  his  body  were 
brought  unto  the  sick  handkerchiefs  or  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed 
from  them,  and  the  evil  spirits  went  of  out  them."!  Now  the  character- 
istic of  this  miraculous  inspiration  was,  that  the  presence  of  God  came 
and  went.  Thus  v/e  read  in  the  aforementioned  and  similar  narratives, 
of  the  Prophet  or  Apostle  being  filled  with  the  Spirit  on  a  particular  occa- 
sion ;  as  again  of  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  departing  from  Saul,"  and  an 
evil  spirit  troubling  him.  Thus  this  divine  inspiration  was  so  far  parallel 
to  demonical  possession.  We  find  in  the  Gospels  the  devil  speaking 
with  the  voice  of  his  victim,  so  that  the  tormentor  and  the  tormented 
could  not  be  distinguished  from  each  other.  They  seemed  to  be  one 
and  the  same,  though  they  were  not ;  as  appeared  when  Christ  and 
j  His  Apostles  cast  the  devil  out.  And  so  again  the  Jewish  Temple  was 
j  in  one  sense  inhabited  by  the  presence  of  God,  which  came  down  upon 

*  Exod.  xvi.  8.         1  Thess.  iv.  8.  t  Acts  x\x.  12. 


228  CHRISTMAS    DAY.  [Serm. 

it  at  Solomon's  praver.  This  was  a  type  of  our  Lord's  manhood  dwelt 
in  by  the'Word  of  God  as  a  Temple  ;  still  with  this  essential  difference, 
that  the  Jewish  Temple  was  perishable,  and  again  the  Divine  Presence 
mi'^ht  recede  from  it.  There  was  no  real  unity  between  the  one  and 
the  other ;  they  were  separable.  But  Christ  says  to  the  Jews  of  His 
own  bodv,  "  Destroy  this  Temple  and  I  will  raise  it  in  three  days ;"  im- 
jilying  in  these  words,  such  a  unity  between  the  Godhead  and  the  man- 
hood, that  there  could  be  no  real  separation,  no  dissolution.  Even  when 
His  body  was  dead,  the  Divine  Nature  was  one  with  it ;  in  like  manner 
it  was  one  with  His  soul  in  paradise.  Soul  and  body  were  really  one 
with  the  Eternal  Word, — not  one  in  name  only, — one  never  to  be  divi- 
ded. Therefore  Scripture  says  that  He  rose  again  "  according  to  the 
Spirit  of  holiness ;"  and  "  that  it  was  not  possible  that  He  should  be 
holden  of  death."* 

2.  Again,  the  Gospel  teaches  us  another  mode  in  which  man  may  be 
said  to  be  united  with  Almighty  God.  It  is  the  peculiar  blessedness  of 
the  Christian,  as  St.  Peter  tells  us,  to  be  "partaker  of  the  Divine  Na- 
ture."! ^^^  believe,  and  have  joy  in  believing,  that  the  grace  of  Christ 
rencAvs  our  carnal  souls,  repairing  the  effects  of  Adam's  fall.  Where 
Adam  brought  in  impurity  and  unbelief,  the  power  of  God  infuses  faith 
and  holiness.  Thus  we  have  God's  perfections  communicated  to  us 
anew,  and,  as  being  under  immediate  heavenly  influences,  are  said  to 
be  one  with  God.  And  further,  we  are  assured  of  some  real  though  mys- 
tical fellowship  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  in  order  to  this  :  so 
that  both  by  a  real  presence  in  the  soul,  and  by  the  fruits  of  grace,  God 
is  one  with  every  believer,  as  in  a  consecrated  Temple.  But  still,  inex- 
pressible as  is  this  gift  of  Divine  Mercy,  it  were  blasphemy  not  to  say 
that  the  in-dwelling  of  the  Father  in  the  Son  is  infinitely  above  this,  being 
quite  diflerent  in  kind  ;  for  He  is  not  merely  of  a  divine  nature,  divine  by 
participation  of  holiness  and  perfection,  but  Life  and  Holiness  itself, 
such  as  the  Father  is, — the  Co-eternal  Son  incarnate,  God  clothed  with 
our  nature,  the  Word  made  flesh. 

3.  And  lastly,  we  read  in  the  Patriarchal  History  of  various  appear- 
ances of  Angels  so  remarkable  that  we  can  scarcely  hesitate  to  suppose 
them  to  be  gracious  visions  of  the  Eternal  Son.  For  instance ;  it  is 
said  that  "  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto"  Moses  "  in  a  flame  of 
fire  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush  ;"  yet  presently  this  supernatural  Pre- 
sence is  called  "  the  Lord,"  and  afterwards  reveals  His  name  to  Moses, 
as  "  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob."  On  the  other  hand  St. 
Stephen  speaks  of  Him  as  "the  Angel  which  appeared  to  Moses  in  the 

*  Rom.  i.  4.     Acts  ii.  24.  t  2  Pet.  i.  4. 


III.]  THE  IXCARXATIOX.  229 

bush."  Again,  ho  savs  soon  after,  that  Moses  was  "in  the  Church  in 
the  wilderness  with  the  Angel  which  spake  to  him  in  mount  Sina ;"  yet 
in  the  book  of  Exodus  we  read,  "  Moses  went  up  unto  God,  and  the 
Lord  called  unto  him  out  of  the  mountain  ;"  "  God  spake  all  these  words 
saying  ;"*  and  the  like.  Now,  assuming,  as  we  seem  to  have  reason 
to  assume,  that  the  Son  of  God  is  herein  revealed  to  us,  as  graciously 
ministering  to  the  Patriarchs,  Moses,  and  others,  in  angelic  form,  the 
question  arises,  what  was  the  nature  of  this  appearance  1  We  are  not 
informed,  nor  may  we  venture  to  determine  ;  still,  any  hov-^,  the  Angel 
M'as  but  the  temporary  outward  form  which  the  Eternal  Word  assumed, 
whether  it  was  of  a  material  nature,  or  a  vision.  Whether  or  no  it  was 
really  an  Angel,  or  but  an  appearance  existing  only  for  the  immediate 
purpose  ;  yet,  any  how,  we  could  not  with  propriety  say  that  our  Lord 
"  took  upon  Him  the  nature  of  Angels." 

Now  these  instances  of  the  indwelling  of  Almighty  God  in  a  created 
substance,  which  I  have  given  by  v/ay  of  contrast  to  that  infinitely 
higher  and  mysterious  union  which  is  called  the  Incarnation,  actually 
supply  the  senses  in  which  heretics  at  various  times  have  perverted  our 
holy  and  comfortable  doctrine,  and  which  have  obliged  us  to  have  re- 
course to  Creeds  and  Confessions.  Rejecting  the  teaching  of  the 
Church,  and  dealing  rudely  with  the  Word  of  God,  they  have  ventured 
to  deny  that  "  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,"  pretending  He 
merely  showed  Himself  as  a  vision  or  phantom  ; — or  they  have  said 
that  the  Son  of  God  merely  dwelt  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  as  the 
Shechinah  in  the  Temple,  having  no  real  union  with  the  Son  of  Mary 
(as  if  there  were  two  distinct  Beings,  the  Word  and  Jesus,  even  as  the 
blessed  Spirit  is  distinct  from  a  man's  soul;) — or  that  Christ  was  called 
God  for  His  great  spiritual  perfections,  and  that  He  gradually  attained 
them  by  long  practice.  All  these  are  words  not  to  be  uttered,  except 
to  show  what  the  true  doctrine  is,  and  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Church  concerning  it.  For  instance,  the  Athanasian 
Creed  confesses  that  Christ  is  "  God  of  the  substance  of  the  Father, 
begotten  before  the  worlds,  perfect  God,"  lest  we  should  consider  His 
Divine  Nature,  like  ours,  as  merely  a  nature  resembling  God's  holi- 
ness ;  that  He  is  "  Man  of  the  substance  of  His  Mother,  born  in  the 
world,  perfect  man,"  lest  we  should  think  of  Him  as  "  not  come  in  the 
flesh,"  a  mere  Angelic  vision  ;  and  "  that  although  He  be  God  and 
man,  yet  He  is  not  two,  but  One  Christ,"  lest  we  should  fancy  that  the 
Word  of  God  entered  into  Him  and  then  departed,  as  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  Prophets. 

*  Exod.  iii.  2.      Acts  vii.  3c— 3P.     Excd.  xix.  ?.  xx.  1, 


230  CHRISTMAS   DAY.  [Serm. 

Such  arc  the  terms  in  which  we  are  constrained  to  speak  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  by  the  craftiness  of  His  enemies  and  our  own  infir- 
mity ;  nnd  we  intrcat  His  leave  to  do  so.  We  intreat  His  leave,  not 
as  if  forgetting  that  a  reverent  silence  is  best  on  so  sacred  a  subject ; 
but,  when  evil  men  and  seducers  abound  on  every  side,  and  our  own 
apprehensions  of  the  Truth  are  dull,  using  zealous  David's  argument, 
"Is  there  not  a  cause"  for  words?  We  intreat  His  leave,  and  we 
humbly  pray  that  what  was  first  our  defence  against  pride  and  indo- 
lence may  become  an  outlet  of  devotion,  a  service  of  worship.  Nay, 
we  surely  trust  that  He  will  accept  mercifully  what  wc  offer  in  faith, 
"  doing  what  we  can  ;"  though  the  ointment  of  spikenard  which  wo 
pour  out  is  nothing  to  that  true  Divine  Glory  which  manifested  itself 
in  Him,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  singled  Him  out  from  other  men,  and 
the  Father's  voice  acknowledged  Him  as  His  dearly  beloved  Son. 
Surely  He  will  mercifully  accept  it,  if  faith  offers  what  the  intellect 
provides  ;  if  love  kindles  the  sacrifice,  zeal  fans  it,  and  reverence  guards 
it.  He  will  illuminate  our  earthly  words  from  His  own  Divine  Holi- 
ness, till  they  become  saving  truths  to  the  souls  which  trust  in  Him. 
He  who  turned  water  into  wine,  and  (did  He  so  choose)  could  make 
bread  of  the  hard  stone,  will  sustain  us  for  a  brief  season  on  this  mortal 
fare.  And  we  the  while  receiving  it,  will  never  so  forget  its  imperfec- 
tion, as  not  to  look  out  constantly  for  the  True  Beatific  Vision ;  never 
60  perversely  remember  it,  as  to  reject  what  is  necessary  for  our 
present  need.  The  time  will  come,  if  we  be  found  worthy,  when  we, 
Avho  now  see  in  a  glass  darkly,  shall  see  our  Lord  and  Saviour  face  to 
face  ;  shall  behold  His  countenance  beaming  with  the  fulness  of  Divine 
perfections,  and  bearing  its  own  witness  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God. 
We  shall  see  Him  as  He  is. 

Let  us  then  according  to  the  light  given  us,  praise  and  bless  Him  in 
the  Church  below,  whom  Angels  in  heaven  see  and  adore.  Let  us 
bless  Him  for  His  surpassing  loving-kindness  in  taking  upon  Him  our 
infirmities  to  redeem  us,  when  He  dwelt  in  the  innermost  love  of  the 
Everlasting  Father,  in  the  glory  which  He  had  v.ith  Him  before  the 
world  was.  He  came  in  lowliness  and  want ;  born  amid  the  tumults 
of  a  mixed  and  busy  multitude,  cast  aside  into  the  outhouse  of  a 
crowded  inn,  laid  to  His  first  rest  among  the  brute  cattle.  He  grew 
up,  as  if  the  native  of  a  despised  city,  and  was  bred  to  a  humble  craft. 
He  bore  to  live  in  a  world  that  slighted  Him,  for  he  lived  in  it,  in  order 
in  due  time  to  die  for  it.  He  came,  as  the  appointed  Priest,  to  offer 
sacrifice  for  those  who  took  no  part  in  the  act  of  worship  ;  He  came  to 
offer  up  for  sinners  that  precious  blood  which  was  meritorious  by  virtue 
of  His  Divine  Anointing.     He  died,  to  rise  again  the  third  day,  the 


IV.]  MARTYRDOM  231 

Sun  of  Righteousness,  fully  displaying  that  splendour  which  hadhith- 
erto  been  concealed  by  the  morning  clouds.  He  rose  again,  to  ascend 
to  the  right  hand  of  God,  there  to  plead  His  sacred  wounds  in  token  of 
our  forgiveness,  to  rule  and  guide  His  ransomed  people,  and  from  His 
pierced  side  to  pour  forth  His  choicest  blessings  upon  them.  He 
ascended,  thence  to  descend  again  in  due  season  to  judge  the  world 
which  he  has  redeemed. — Great  is  our  Lord,  and  great  is  His  power, 
Jesus  the  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man.  Ten  thousand  times  more 
dazzling  bright  than  the  highest  Archangel,  is  our  Lord  and  Christ. 
"By  birth  the  Only-begotten  and  Express  Image  of  God  ;  and  in  taking 
our  flesh,  not  sullied  thereby,  but  raising  human  nature  with  Him,  as 
He  rose  from  the  lowly  manger  to  the  right  hand  of  power, — raising 
iiuman  nature,  for  ?»Lan  has  redeemed  us,  Man  is  set  above  all  creatures, 
as  one  M'ith  the  Creator,  Man  shall  judge  man  at  the  last  day.  So 
honoured  is  this  earth,  that  no  stranger  shall  judge  us,  but  He  who  is  our 
fellow,  who  will  sustain  our  interests,  and  has  full  sympathy  in  all  our 
imperfections.  He  who  loved  us,  even  to  die  for  us,  is  graciously  ap- 
pointed to  assign  the  final  measurement  and  price  upon  His  own  work. 
I  He  who  best  knows  by  infirmity  to  take  the  part  of  the  infirm,  He  who 
I  would  fain  reap  the  full  fruit  of  His  passion,  He  will  separate  the  wheat 
from  the  chaff,  so  that  not  a  grain  shall  fall  to  the  ground.  He  who 
has  given  us  to  share  His  own  spiritual  nature.  He  from  whom  we  have 
drawn  the  life's  blood  of  our  souls.  He  our  brother  will  decide  about  his 
brethren.  In  that  His  second  coming,  may  He  in  His  grace  and  loving 
^pity  remember  us,  who  is  our  only  hope,  our  only  salvation ! 


SERMON    IV 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  STEPHEN,   THE  MARTYR. 
MARTYRDOM. 


Hebrews  xi.  37. 

They  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were  slain  with 
the  sword. 

St.  Stephex,  who  was  one  of  the  seven  Deacons,  is  called  the  Proto- 
martyr,  as  having  first  suffered  death  in  the  cause  of  the  Gospel.  Let 
me  take  the  opportunity  of  his  festival  to  make  some  remarks  upon 
-martyrdom  generally. 


232  ST.   STEPHEN.  [Serm.. 

The  word  Martyr  properly  means  "  a  witness,"  but  is  used  to  denote 
exclusively  one  who  has  suffered  death  for  the  Christian  faith.  Those 
who  have  witnessed  for  Christ  without  suffering  death,  are  called  CoU' 
fessors  ;  a  title  Avhich  the  early  Martyrs  often  made  their  own,  before 
their  last  solemn  confession  unto  death,  or  Martyrdom.  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  and  most  glorious  of  Martyrs,  as  having 
"  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession  ;"*  but  Ave  do  not 
call  Him  a  Martyr,  as  being  much  more  than  a  Martyr.  True  it  is, 
He  died  for  the  Truth  ;  but  that  was  not  the  chief  purpose  of  His  death. 
He  died  to  save  us  sinners  from  the  wrath  of  God.  He  was  not  only  a 
Martyr  ;  He  was  an  Atoning  Sacrifice. 

He  is  the  supreme  object  of  our  love,  gratitude,  and  reverence.  Next 
to  Him  we  honour  the  noble  army  of  Martyrs ;  not  indeed  comparing 
them  with  Him,  "  who  is  above  all,  God  blessed  for  ever,"  or  as  if  they 
in  suffering  had  any  part  in  the  work  of  reconciliation,  but  because  they 
have  approached  most  closely  to  His  pattern  of  all  His  servants.  They 
have  shed  their  blood  for  the  Church,  fulfilling  the  text,  "  He  laid  down 
His  life  for  us,  and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren  "| 
They  have  followed  His  steps,  and  claim  our  grateful  remembrance. 
Had  St.  Stephen  shrunk  from  the  trial  put  upon  him,  and  recanted  to 
save  his  life,  no  one  can  estimate  the  consequences  of  such  a  defection. 
Perhaps  (humanly  speaking)  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  would  have  been 
lost ;  the  Church  might  have  perished ;  and,  though  Christ  had  died 
for  the  world,  the  world  might  not  have  received  the  knowledge  or  the 
benefits  of  His  death  The  channels  of  grace  might  have  been  de- 
stroyed, the  Sacraments  withdrawn  from  the  feeble  and  corrupt  race 
which  has  such  need  of  them. 

Now  it  may  be  said,  that  many  men  suffer  pain,  as  great  as  Martyr- 
dom, from  disease,  and  in  other  ways :  again,  that  it  does  not  follow 
that  those  who  happened  to  be  martyred  were  always  the  most  useful 
and  active  defenders  of  the  faith  ;  and  therefore,  that  in  honouring  the 
Blartyrs,  we  are  honouring  with  especial  honour  those  to  whom  indeed 
•we  may  be  peculiarly  indebted,  (as  in  the  case  of  Apostle.s,)  but  never- 
theless who  may  have  been  but  ordinary  men,  who  happened  to  stand 
in  the  most  exposed  place,  in  the  way  of  persecution,  and  were  slain  as 
if  by  chance,  because  the  sword  met  them  first.  But  this,  it  is  plain, 
would  be  a  strange  way  of  reasoning  in  any  parallel  case.  We  are 
grateful  to  those  who  have  done  us  favours,  rather  than  to  those  who 
might  or  would,  if  it  had  so  happened.  We  have  no  concern  with  the 
question,  whether  the  Martyrs  were  the  best  of  men  or  not,  or  whether 

♦  ITim.  vi.  13.  t  IJolmiii.  IG. 


IV.]  MARTYRDOM.  233 

others  would  have  been  Martyrs  too,  had  it  been  allowed  them.  We 
are  grateful  to  those  who  were  .such,  from  the  plain  matter  of  fact  that 
they  were  such,  that  they  did  go  through  much  suffering,  in  order  that 
the  world  might  gain  an  inestimable  bcnctit,  the  light  of  the  Gospel. 

But,  in  trirth,  if  we  could  view  the  matter  considerately,  we  should 
find  that  (as  far  as  human  judgment  can  decide  on  such  a  point)  the 
^lartyrs  of  the  primitive  times  were,  as  such,  men  of  a  very  elevated 
laith  ;  not  only  our  benefactors,  but  far  our  superiors.  The  utmost  to 
which  any  such  objection  as  that  I  have  stated  goes,  is  this  :  to  show 
that  others  who  were  not  martyred,  might  be  equal  to  them,  (St.  Philip 
the  Deacon,  for  instance,  equal  to  his  associate  St.  Stephen,)  not  that 
those  who  were  martyred  were  not  men  eminently  gifted  with  the  Spirit 
of  Christ.     For  let  us  consider  what  it  was  then  to  be  a  Martyr. 

First,  it  was  to  be  a  voluntary  sufferer.  Men,  perhaps,  suffer  in  vari- 
ous diseases  more  than  the  Martyrs  did,  but  they  cannot  help  them- 
selves. Again,  it  has  frequently  happened  that  men  have  been  perse- 
cuted for  their  religion  without  having  expected  it,  or  being  able  to  avert 
it.  These  in  one  sense  indeed  are  Martyrs ;  and  we  naturally  think 
affectionately  of  those  v.ho  have  suffered  in  our  cause,  whether  volun- 
tarily or  not.  But  this  was  not  the  case  with  the  primitive  Martyrs. 
They  knew  beforehand  clearly  enough  the  consequences  of  preaching 
the  Gospel ;  they  had  frequent  warnings  brought  home  to  them  of  the 
sufferings  in  store  for  them,  if  they  persevered  in  their  labours  of 
brotherly  love.  Their  Lord  and  Master  had  suffered  before  them  ;  and, 
besides  suffering  Himself,  had  expressly /orc/o/fZ  ^Ae/r  sufferings :  "If 
they  have  persecuted  Me,  they  will  also  persecute  you."*  They  were 
repeatedly  warned  and  strictly  charged  by  the  chief  priests  and  rulers, 
not  to  preach  in  Christ's  name.  They  had  experience  of  lesser  pun- 
ishments from  their  adversaries  in  earnest  of  the  greater  ;  and  at  length 
they  saw  their  brethren,  one  by  one,  slain  for  persevering  in  their  faith- 
fulness to  Christ.  Yet  they  continued  to  keep  the  faith,  though  they 
might  be  victims  of  their  obedience  any  day. 

All  this  must  be  considered  when  we  speak  of  their  sufferings.  They 
lived  under  a  continual  trial,  a  daily  exercise  of  faith,  which  we,  living 
in  peaceable  times,  can  scarcely  understand.  Christ  had  said  to  His 
Apostles,  "  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you,  that  he  might  sift  you  as 
wheat."-]-  Consider  what  is  meant  by  sifting,  which  is  a  continued 
agitation,  a  shaking  about  to  separate  the  mass  of  corn  into  two  parts. 
Such  was  the  early  di.scipline  inflicted  on  the  Church.  No  mere  sudden 
stroke  came  upon  it ;   but  it  was  solicited  day  by  day,  in  all   its  mem- 

*  John  XV.  20.  t  Luke  xxii.  .*^1  - 


234  ST.    STEPHEN.  [Serm. 

bers,  bv  every  argument  of  hope  and  fear,  by  threats  and  inducements, 
to  desert  Christ.  This  was  the  lot  of  the  Martyrs.  Death,  their  final 
suffering,  was  but  the  consummation  of  a  life  of  anticipated  death. 
Consider  how  distressing  anxiety  is  ;  how  irritating  and  wearing  it  is  to 
be  in  constant  excitement,  with  the  duty  of  maintaining  calmness  and 
steadiness  in  the  midst  of  it ;  and  how  especially  inviting  any  prospect 
of*  tranquillity  would  appear  in  such  circumstances  ;  and  then  we  shall 
have  some  notion  of  a  Christian's  condition,  under  a  persecuting  hea- 
then government.  I  put  aside  for  the  present  the  peculiar  reproach 
and  contempt  which  was  the  lot  of  the  primitive  Church,  and  their  ac- 
tual privations.  Let  us  merely  consider  them  as  harassed,  shaken  as 
wheat  in  a  sieve.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  stoutest  hearts  are 
in  danger  of  failing.  They  could  steel  themselves  against  certain  defi- 
nite sufferings,  or  prepare  themselves  to  meet  one  expected  crisis  ;  but 
they  yield  to  the  incessant  annoyance  which  the  apprehension  of  per- 
secution, and  the  importunity  of  friends  inflict  on  them.  They  sigh  for 
peace  ;  they  gradually  come  to  believe  that  the  world  is  not  so  wrong 
as  some  men  say  it  is,  and  that  it  is  possible  to  be  over-strict  and  over- 
nice.  They  learn  to  temporize  and  be  double-minded.  First  one  falls, 
then  another ;  and  such  instances  come  as  an  additional  argument  for 
concession  to  those  that  remain  firm  as  yet,  who  of  course  feel  dispir- 
ited, lonely,  and  begin  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  their  own  judgment; 
■while,  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  have  fallen  in  self-defence  become 
their  tempters.  Thus  the  Church  is  sifted,  the  cowardly  falling  oflf,  the 
faithful  continuing  firm,  though  in  dejection  and  perplexity.  Among 
these  latter  arc  the  Martyrs ;  not  accidental  victims,  taken  at  random, 
but  the  picked  and  choice  ones,  the  elect  remnant,  a  sacrifice  well- 
pleasing  to  God,  because  a  costly  gift,  the  finest  wheat-flour  of  the 
Church  :  men  who  have  been  warned  what  to  expect  from  their  profes- 
sion, and  h.ave  had  many  opportunities  of  relinquishing  it,  but  have 
"  borne  and  had  patience,  and  for  Christ's  name  sake  have  laboured 
and  have  not  fainted."*  Such  was  St.  Stephen,  not  entrapped  into  a 
confession  and  slain  (as  it  were)  in  ambuscade,  but  boldly  confronting 
his  persecutors,  and,  in  spite  of  circumstances  that  foreboded  death, 
awaiting  their  fury.  And  if  Martyrdom  in  early  times  was  not  the 
chance  and  unexpected  death  of  those  who  happened  to  profess  the 
Christian  fiiith,  much  less  is  it  to  be  compared  to  the  sufferings  of  dis- 
ease, be  they  greater  or  not.  No  one  is  maintaining  that  the  mere  un- 
dergoing pain  is  a  great  thing.  A  man  cannot  help  himself  when  in 
pain  ;   he  cannot  escape   from  it,  be  he  as  desirous  to  do  so  as  he  may. 

•  licv.  ii.  3. 


rf.]  MARTYRDOM.  235 

The  devils  bear  pain,  against  their  will.  But  to  be  a  JMartyr,  is  to  feel 
the  storm  coming,  and  willingly  to  endure  it  at  the  call  of  duty,  for 
Christ's  sake,  and  for  the  good  of  the  brethren  ;  and  this  is  a  kind  of 
firmness  which  we  have  no  means  of  displaying  at  the  present  day, 
though  our  deficiency  in  it  may  be,  and  is  continually  evidenced,  as 
often  as  we  yield  (which  is  not  seldom)  to  inferior  and  ordinary  temp- 
tations. 

2.  But,  in  the  next  place,  the  suffering  itself  of  Martyrdom  was  in 
some   respects  peculiar.     It  was  a  death,  cruel  in  itself,  publicly  in- 
tiicted  ;  and,  heightened  by  the  fierce  exultation  of  a  malevolent  popu- 
lace.    When  we  are  in  pain,  we  can  lie  in  peace  by  ourselves.     We 
receive  the  sympathy  and  kind  services  of  those  about  us  ;  and  if  we 
like  it,  we  can  retire  altogether  from  the  siglit  of  others,  and  suficr  with- 
out a  witness  to  interrupt  us.     But  the  sufierings  of  Martyrdom  were 
for  the  most  part  public,  attended  with  evefy  circumstance  of  ignominy 
and  popular  triumph,  as  well  as  with  torture.     Criminals  indeed  are  put 
to  death  without  kindly  thoughts  from  bystanders ;  still,  for  the  most 
part,  even  criminals  receive  commiseration  and  a  sort  of  respect.     But 
the  early  Christians  had  to  endure  "  the  shame"  after  their  Master's 
pattern.     They  had  to  die  in  the  midst  of  enemies  who  reviled  them, 
and,  in  mockery,  bid  them  (as  in  Christ's  case)  come  down  from  the 
cross.     They  were  supported  on  no  easy  couch,  soothed  by  no  attentive 
friends ;  and  considering  how  much  the  depressing  power  of  pain  de- 
,  pends  on  the  imagination,  this  circumstance  alone  at  once  separates 
their  sufferings  widely  from  all  instances  of  pain  in  disease.     The  un- 
!  seen  God  alone  was  their  Comforter,  and  this  invests  the  scene  of  their 
I  suffering  with   supernatural   majesty,  and  awes  us  when  we  think  of 
!  them.     "  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
I  will  fear  no  evil ;  for  Thou  art  with  me."*    A  Martyrdom  is  a  season 
of  God's  especial  power  in  the  eye  of  faith,  as  great  as  if  a  miracle  were 
visibly  wrought.     It  is  a  fellowship  of  Christ's  sufferings,  a  commemo- 
ration of  His  death,  a  representation  filling  up  in  figure,  "  that  which  is 
I  behind  of  His  afllictions,  for  His  body's  sake,  which  is  the  Church."f 
And  thus,  being  an  august  solemnity  in  itself,  and  a  kind  of  Sacrament, 
a  baptism  of  blood,  it  worthily  finishes  that  long  searching  trial  which  I 
have  already  described  as  being  its  usual  forerunner  in  primitive  times. 
I  have  spoken  only  of  the  early  Martyrs,  because  this  Festival  leads 
[  me  to  do  so ;  and,  besides,  because,  though  tliere  have  been  Martyrs 
j  among  us  since,  yet,  from  the  time  that  Kings  have  become  nursing 
I  fathers  to  the  Church,  the  history  of  Confessors  and  Martyrs  is  so  im- 
I  plicated  with  state  affairs,  that  their  conduct  is  not  so  easily  separable 


*  Psalm  xxiii.  4.  t  Col.  i.  24. 


236  ST.  STEPHEN.  [Serm.  IV, 

hy  us  from  tlie  world  around  them,  nor  are  wo  given  to  know  them  so 
clearly  :  though  this  difficulty  of  discerning  them  should  invest  their 
memory  with  peculiar  interest  when  we  do  discern  them,  and  their  con- 
nection with  civil  matters,  far  from  diminishing  the  high  spiritual  ex- 
cellence of  such  true  sons  of  the  Church,  in  some  respects  even  in- 
creases it. 

To  conclude. — It  is  useful  to  reflect  on  subjects  such  as  that  I  have 
now  laid  before  you,  in  order  to  humble  ourselves.     "  We  have  not  re- 
,    sisted  unto  blood,  striving  against  sin."*     What  are  our  petty  suffer- 
/     ings  which  we  make  so  much  of,  to  their  pains  and  sorrows,  who  lost 
/       their  friends,  and  then  their  own  hvcs  for  Christ's  sake  ;  who  were  as- 
1       saulted  by  all  kind  of  temptations,  the  sopliistry  of  Antichrist,  the  blan- 
dishments of  the  world,  the  terrors  of  the  sword,  the  weariness  of  sus- 
pense, and  yet  fainted  not  ?     How  far  above  ours  are  both  their  afflic- 
tions, and  their  consolations  under  them  !     Now,  I  know  that  such  re- 
flections are  at  once,  and  with  far  deeper  reason,  raised  by  the  thought 
of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  himself;  but  commonly.  His  transcendent 
holiness  and  depth  of  wo  do  not  immediately  affect  us,  from  the  very 
greatness  of  them.     We  sum  them  up  in  a  few  words,  and  speak  with- 
out imdcrstanding.     On  the  other  hand,  wc  rise  somewhat  towards  the 
comprehension  of  them,  when  we  make  use  of  that  heavenly  ladder  by 
which  His  Saints  have  made  their  way  towards  Him.     By  contem- 
plating the  lowest  of  His  true  servants,  and  seeing  how  far  any  one  of 
them  surpasses  ourselves,  we  learn  to  shrink  before  His  ineflable  purity, 
who  is  infinitely  holier  than  the  holiest  of  His  creatures ;  and  to  con- 
fess ourselves  with  a  sincere  mind  to  be  unworthy  of  the  least  of  all  His 
mercies.     Thus  His  Martyrs  lead  us  to  Himself,  the  Chief  of  Martyrs 
and  the  King  of  Saints. 
f^'    May  (iod  give  us  grace  to  receive  these  thoughts  into  our  hearts,  and 
^     to  display  the  fruit  of  them  in  our  conduct !     What  arc  we  but  sinful 
dust  and  ashes,  grovellers  who  are  creeping  on  to  Heaven,  not  with  any 
noble  sacrifice  for  Christ's  cause,  but  without  pain,  without  trouble,  in 
the  midst  of  worldly  blessings  !     Well ;  but  He  can  save  in  the  hum- 
blest paths  of  life,  and  in  the  most  tranquil  times.     There  is  enough 
for  us  to  do,  far  more  than  we  fulfil,  in  our  own  ordinary  course.     Let 
us  strive  to  be  more  humble,  faithful,  merciful,  meek,  self  denying  than 
Ave  are.     Let  us  "crucify  the  flesh  with  the  affections  and  lusts."f 
This,  to  be  sure,  is  sorry  Martyrdom ;  yet  Cod  accepts  it  for  His  Son's 
sake.     Notwithstanding,  after  all,  if  wc  get  to  Heaven,  surely  we  shall 
be  the  lowest  of  the  Saints  there  assembled  ;  and  if  all  are  unprofitable 
;_servants,  we  verily  shall  be  the  most  unprofitable  of  all. 

*  Hrb.  x\\.  4.  t  Gal.  V.  21. 


i 


SERMON    V, 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST. 
LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS. 


1  John  iv.  7. 
Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,  for  love  is  of  God. 

St.  Johx  the  Apostle  and  Evangelist  is  chiefly  and  most  familiarly 
known  to  us  as  "  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved."  He  was  one  of  the 
three  or  four  who  always  attended  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  had  the  privi- 
lege of  the  most  intimate  intercourse  with  Hipa ;  and,  more  favoured 
than  Peter,  James,  and  Andrew,  he  was  His  bosom  friend,  as  we  com- 
monly  express  ourselves.  At  the  solemn  supper  before  Christ  suffered, 
he  took  his  place  next  Him,  and  leaned  on  His  breast.  As  the  other 
three  communicated  between  the  multitude  and  Christ,  so  St.  John 
communicated  between  Christ  and  them.  At  the  Last  Supper,  Peter 
dared  not  ask  Jesus  a  question  himself,  but  bade  John  put  it  to  Him, 
who  it  was  that  should  betray  Him.  Thus  St.  John  was  the  private 
and  intimate  friend  of  Christ.  Again,  it  was  to  St.  John  that  our  Lord 
committed  His  Mother,  when  He  was  dying  on  the  cross ;  it  was  to 
St.  John  that  He  revealed  in  vision  after  His  departure  the  fortunes  of 
His  Church. 

Much  might  be  said  on  this  remarkable  circumstance.  I  say  remark- 
ble,  because  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  Son  of  God  Most  High 
could  not  have  loved  one  man  more  than  another  ;  or  again,  if  so,  that 
He  would  not  have  had  only  one  friend,  but,  as  being  All-holy,  He 
would  have  loved  all  men  more  or  less,  in  proportion  to  their  holiness. 
Yet  we  find  our  Saviour  had  a  private  friend ;  and  this  shows  us,  first 
how  entirely  He  was  a  man,  as  much  as  any  of  us,  in  His  wants  and 
feelings ;  and  next,  that  there  is  nothing  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel,  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  fulness  of  Christian  love,  in  hav- 
ing our  affections  directed  in  an  especial  way  towards  certain  objects, 
towards  those  whom  the  circumstances  of  our  past  life,  or  some  peculi- 
arities of  character,  have  endeared  to  us. 

There  have  been  men  before  now  who  have  supposed  Christian  love 


238  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST.  [Serm, 

was  so  diffusive  as  not  to  admit  of  concentration  upon  individuals ;  sa 
that  we  ouwlit  to  love  all  men  equally.  And  many  there  are,  who, 
without  brino-ing  forward  any  theory,  yet  consider  practically  that  the 
love  of  many  is  something  superior  to  the  love  of  one  or  two  ;  and 
neglect  the  charities  of  private  life,  while  busy  in  the  schemes  of  an 
expansive  benevolence,  or  of  effecting  a  general  union  and  conciliation 
amon.o-  Christians.  Now  I  shall  here  maintain,  in  opposition  to  sucli 
notions  of  Christian  love,  and  with  our  Saviour's  pattern  before  me» 
that  the  best  preparation  for  loving  the  world  at  large,  and  loving  it 
duly  and  wisely,  is  to  cultivate  an  intimate  friendship  and  affection 
towards  those  who  are  immediately  about  us. 

It  has  been  the  plan  of  Divine  Providence  to  ground  what  is  good 
and  true  in  religion  and  morals,  on  the  basis  of  our  good  natural  feel- 
ings. What  we  are  towards  our  earthly  friends  in  the  instincts  and 
wishes  of  our  infancy,  such  we  are  to  become  at  length  towards  God 
and  man  in  the  extended  field  of  our  duties  as  accountable  beings. 
To  honour  our  parents. is  the  first  step  towards  honouring  God  ;  to  love 
our  brethren  according  to  the  flesh,  the  first  step  towards  considering 
all  men  our  brethren.  Hence  our  Lord  says,  we  must  become  as  little 
children,  if  we  would  be  saved  ;  we  must  become  in  His  Church,  as 
men,  what  we  were  once  in  the  small  circle  of  our  youthful  homes. — 
Consider  how  many  other  virtues  are  grafted  upon  natural  feelings. 
"What  is  Christian  high-mindedness,  generous  self-denial,  contempt  of 
Vrcallh,  endurance  of  suffering,  and  earnest  striving  after  perfection, 
but  an  improvement  and  transformation,  under  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  of  that  natural  character  of  mind  which  we  call  romantic? 
On  the  other  hand,  what  is  the  instinctive  hatred  and  abomination  of 
sin,  (which  confirmed  Christians  possess,)  their  dissatisfaction  with 
themselves,  their  general  refinement,  discrimination,  and  caution,  but 
an  improvement,  under  the  same  Spirit,  of  their  natural  sensitiveness 
and  delicacy,  fear  of  pain,  and  sense  of  shame  1  They  have  been  chas- 
tised into  self-government,  by  a  fitting  discipline,  and  now  associate  an 
acute  sense  of  discomfort  and  annoyance  with  the  notion  of  sinning. 
And  so  of  the  love  of  our  fellow  Christians  and  of  the  world  at  large,  it 
is  the  love  of  kindred  and  friends  in  a  fresh  shape ;  which  has  this  use, 
if  it  had  no  other,  that  it  is  the  natural  branch  on  which  a  spiritual  fruit 
is  grafted. 

But  again,  the  love  of  our  private  friends  is  the  only  preparatory 
exercise  for  the  love  of  others.  The  love  of  God  is  not  the  same  thing 
as  the  love  of  our  parents,  tiiough  parallel  to  it ;  but  the  love  of  man- 
kind in  general  should  be  in  the  main  the  same  habit  as  the  love  of  our 
friends,  only  exercised  towards  different  objects.     The  great  difficulty 


v.]  LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS.  239 

in  our  religious  duties  is  their  extent.  Tiiis  frightens  and  perplexes 
men, — naturally ;  those  especially,  who  have  neglected  religion  for  a 
Avhile,  and  on  whom  its  obligations  disclose  themselves  all  at  once. 
This,  for  example,  is  the  great  misery  of  leaving  repentance  till  a  man 
is  in  weakness  or  sickness ;  he  does  not  know  how  to  set  about  it.  Now 
God's  merciful  Providence  has  in  the  natural  course  of  things  narrowed 
for  us  at  first  this  large  field  of  duty ;  He  has  given  us  a  clue.  We 
arc  to  begin  with  loving  our  friends  about  us,  and  gradually  to  enlarge 
the  circle  of  our  affections,  till  it  reaches  all  Christians,  and  then  all 
men.  Besides,  it  is  obviously  impossible  to  love  all  men  in  any  strict 
and  true  sense.  AVhat  is  meant  by  loving  all  men,  is,  to  feel  well- 
disposed  towards  all  men.  to  bo  ready  to  assist  them,  and  to  act  towards 
those  who  come  in  our  way,  as  if  we  loved  them.  We  cannot  love 
those  about  whom  we  know  nothing  ;  except  indeed  we  view  them  in 
Christ,  as  the  objects  of  His  atonement,  that  is,  rather  in  faith  than  in 
love.  And  love,  besides,  is  a  habit,  and  cannot  be  attained  without 
actual  i:)ractice,  which  on  so  large  a  scale  is  impossible.  We  see  then 
how  absurd  it  is,  when  writers  (as  is  the  manner  of  some  who  slight 
the  Gospel,)  talk  magnificently  about  loving  the  whole  human  race 
with  a  comprehensive  affection,  of  being  the  friends  of  all  mankind, 
and  the  like.  Such  vaunting  professions,  what  do  they  come  to  ?  that 
such  men  have  certain  benevolent  feelings  towards  the  world, — feelings 
and  nothing  more  ; — nothing  more  than  unstable  feelings,  the  mere 
offspring  of  an  indulged  imagination,  which  exist  only  when  their 
minds  are  wrought  upon,  and  are  sure  to  fail  them  in  the  hour  of  need. 
This  is  not  to  love  men,  it  is  but  to  talk  about  love. — The  real  love  of 
man  must  depend  on  practice,  and  therefore,  must  begin  by  exercising 
itself  on  our  friends  around  us,  otherwise  it  will  have  no  existence. 
By  trying  to  love  our  relations  and  friends,  by  submitting  to  their 
wishes,  though  contrary  to  our  own,  by  bearing  with  their  infirmities, 
by  overcoming  their  occasional  waywardness  by  kindness,  by  dwelling 
on  their  excellences,  and  trying  to  copy  them,  thus  it  is  that  we  form 
in  our  hearts  that  root  of  charity,  which,  though  small  at  first,  may, 
like  the  mustard  seed,  at  last  even  overshadow  the  earth.  The  vain 
talkers  about  philanthropy,  just  spoken  of,  usually  show  the  emptiness 
of  their  profession,  by  being  morose  and  cruel  in  the  private  relations 
of  life,  which  they  seem  to  account  as  subjects  beneath  their  notice. 
Far  different  indeed,  far  different,  (unless  it  be  a  sort  of  irreverence  to 
contrast  such  dreamers  with  the  great  Apostle,  whose  memory  we  are 
i  to-day  celebrating,)  utterly  the  reverse  of  this  fictitious  benevolence 
j  was  his  elevated  and  enlightened  sympathy  for  all  men.  We  know 
I  he  is  celebrated  for  his  declarations  about  Christian  love.     "  Beloved, 


240  ST.  JOHN  THE   EVANGELIST.  [Serm. 

let  us  love  one  another,  for  love  is  of  God.  If  we  love  one  another, 
God  dwellcth  in  us,  and  His  love  is  perfected  in  us.  God  is  love,  and 
he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dvvelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him."*  Now  did 
he  begin  with  some  vast  effort  at  loving  on  a  large  scale  1  Nay,  he 
had  the  unspeakable  privilege  of  being  the  friend  of  Christ.  Thus  he 
was  taught  to  love  others ;  first  his  affection  was  concentrated,  then  it 
was  expanded.  Next  he  had  the  solemn  and  comfortable  charge  of 
tending  our  Lord's  Mother,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  after  His  departure. 
Do  we  not  here  discern  the  secret  sources  of  his  especial  love  of  the 
brethren  1  Could  he,  who  first  was  favoured  with  his  Saviour's  affec- 
tion, then  trusted  with  a  son's  office  towards  His  Mother,  could  he  be 
other  than  a  memorial  and  pattern  (as  far  as  man  can  be,)  of  love, 
deep,  contemplative,  fervent,  unruffled,  unbounded  ? 

Further,  that  love  of  friends  and  relations,  which  nature  prescribes, 
is  also  of  use  to  the  Christian,  in  giving  form  and  direction  to  his  love 
of  mankind  at  large,  and  making  it  intelligent  and  discriminating.  A 
man,  who  would  fain  begin  by  a  general  love  of  all  men,  necessarily 
puts  them  all  on  a  level,  and,  instead  of  being  cautious,  prudent,  and 
sympathizing  in  his  benevolence,  is  hasty  and  rude  ;  does  harm,  per- 
haps when  he  means  to  do  good,  discourages  the  virtuous  and  well- 
meaning,  and  wounds  the  feelings  of  the  gentle.  Men  of  ambitious 
and  ardent  minds,  for  example,  desirous  of  doing  good  on  a  large  scale, 
are  especially  exposed  to  the  temptation  of  sacrificing  individual  to 
general  good  in  their  plans  of  charity.  Ill-instructed  men,  who  have 
strong  abstract  notions  about  the  necessity  of  showing  generosity  and 
candour  towards  opponents,  often  forget  to  take  any  thought  of  those 
who  are  associated  with  themselves  ;  and  commence  their  (so  called) 
liberal  treatment  of  their  enemies  by  an  unkind  desertion  of  their 
friends.  This  can  hardly  be  the  case,  when  men  cultivate  the  private 
charities,  as  an  introduction  to  more  enlarged  ones.  By  laying  a  foun- 
dation of  social  amiableness,  we  insensibly  learn  to  observe  a  due  har- 
mony and  order  in  our  charity ;  we  learn  that  all  men  are  not  on  a 
level ;  that  the  interests  of  truth  and  holiness  must  be  religiously  ob- 
served ;  and  that  the  Church  has  claims  on  us  before  the  world.  We 
can  easily  afford  to  be  liberal  on  a  large  scale,  when  we  have  no  affec- 
tions to  stand  in  the  way.  Those  who  have  not  accustomed  themselves 
to  love  their  neighbors  whom  they  have  seen,  will  have  nothing  to  lose 
or  gain,  nothing  to  grieve  at  or  rejoice  in,  in  their  larger  plans  of  bene- 
volence. They  will  take  no  interest  in  them  for  their  own  sake  ;  rather, 
they  will  engage  in  them,  because  expedience  demands,  or  credit  is 

*  1  John  iv.  7.  12.  16. 


y.]  LOVE   OF  RELATIONS   AND   FRIENDS.  241 

gained,  or  an  excuse  found  for  being  busy.  Hence  too  we  discern 
how  it  is,  that  private  virtue  is  the  only  sure  foundation  of  public  vir- 
tue ;  and  that  no  national  good  is  to  be  expected,  (though  it  may  now 
and  then  accrue,)  from  men  who  have  not  the  fear  of  God  before  their 
eyes. 

I  have  hitherto  considered  the  cultivation  of  domestic  affections  as 
"the  source  of  more  extended  Christian  love.  Did  time  permit,  I  might 
now  go  on  to  show,  besides,  that  they  involve  a  real  and  difficult  exer- 
cise of  it.  Nothing  is  more  likely  to  engender  selfish  habits,  (which  is 
the  direct  opposite  and  negation  of  charity,)  than  independence  in  our 
v/orldly  circumstances.  Men  who  have  no  tie  on  them,  who  have  no 
calls  on  their  daily  sympathy  and  tenderness,  who  have  no  one's  com- 
fort to  consult,  who  can  move  about  as  they  please,  and  indulge  the 
love  of  variety  and  the  restless  humours  which  are  so  congenial  to  the 
minds  of  most  men,  are  very  unfavourably  situated  for  obtaining  that 
heavenly  gift,  which  is  described  in  our  Liturgy,  as  being  "  the  very- 
bond  of  peace  and  of  all  virtues."  On  the  other  hand  I  cannot  fancy 
any  state  of  life  more  favourable  for  the  exercise  of  high  Christian 
principle,  and  the  matured  and  refined  Christian  spirit,  (that  is,  where 
the  parties  really  seek  to  do  their  duty,)  than  that  of  persons  who  differ 
in  tastes  and  general  character,  being  obliged  by  circumstances  to  live 
together,  and  mutually  to  accommodate  to  each  other  their  respective 
wishes  and  pursuits. — And  this  is  one  among  the  many  providential 
benefits  (to  those  who  will  receive  them)  arising  out  of  the  Holy  Es- 
tate  of  Matrimony  ;  which  not  only  calls  out  the  tenderest  and  gent- 
lest feelings  of  our  nature,  but,  where  persons  do  their  duty,  must  be 
in  various  ways  more  or  less  a  state  of  self-denial. 

Or,  again,  I  might  go  on  to  consider  the  private  charities,  which 
have  been  my  subject,  not  only  as  the  sources  and  as  the  discipline  of 
Christian  love,  but  further  as  the  perfection  of  it  ;  which  they  are  in 
some  cases.  The  Ancients  thought  so  much  of  friendship,  that  they 
made  it  a  virtue.  In  a  Christian  view,  it  is  not  quite  this ;  but  it  is 
often  accidentally  a  special  test  of  our  virtue.  For  consider  ; — let  us  say 
that  this  man,  and  that,  not  bound  by  any  very  necessary  tie,  find  their 
greatest  pleasure  in  living  together ;  say,  that  this  continues  for  years, 
and  that  they  love  each  other's  society  the  more,  the  longer  they  enjoy 
it.  Now  observe  what  is  implied  in  this.  Young  people,  indeed,  rea- 
dily love  each  other,  for  they  are  cheerful  and  innocent ;  more  easily 
yield  to  each  other,  and  are  full  of  hope ; — types,  as  Christ  says,  of 
His  true  converts.  But  this  happiness  does  not  last ;  their  tastes 
change.  Again,  grown  persons  go  on  for  years  as  friends  ;  but  these 
■do  not  live  together ;  and  if  any  accident  throws  them  into  familiarity 

Vol.  I.— 16 


242  ST.  JOHN  THE   EVANGELIST.  [Serm.  V. 

for  a  while,  they  find  it  difficult  to  restrain  their  tempers  and  keep  on 
terms,  and  discover  that  they  are  best  friends  at  a  distance.  But  what 
is  it  that  can  bind  two  friends  together  in  intimate  converse  for  a  course 
of  years,  but  the  participation  in  something  that  is  Unchangeable  and 
essentially  Good,  and  what  is  this  but  religion  ?  Religious  tastes  alone 
are  unalterable.  The  Saints  of  God  continue  in  one  way,  while  the 
fashions  of  the  world  change  ;  and  a  faithful,  indestructible  friendship 
may  thus  be  a  test  of  the  parties  so  loving  each  other,  having  the  love 
of  God  seated  deep  in  their  hearts.  Not  an  infallible  test  certainly; 
for  they  may  have  dispositions  remarkably  the  same,  or  some  ingross- 
ino-  object  of  this  world,  literary  or  other  ;  they  may  be  removed  from 
the  temptation  to  change,  or  they  may  have  a  natural  sobriety  of  tem- 
per which  remains  contented  wherever  it  finds  itself.  However,  under 
certain  circumstances,  it  is  a  lively  token  of  the  presence  of  divine 
grace  in  them ;  and  it  is  always  a  sort  of  symbol  of  it,  for  there  is 
at  first  sight  something  of  the  nature  of  virtue  in  the  very  notion  of 
constancy,  dislike  of  change  being  not  only  the  characteristic  of  a 
virtuous  mind,  but  in  some  sense  a  virtue  itself. 

And  now  I  have  suggested  to  you  a  subject  of  thought  for  to-day's 
Festival, — and  surely  a  very  practical  subject,  when  we  consider  how 
large  a  portion  of  our  duties  lies  at  home.  Should  God  call  upon  us 
to  preach  to  the  world,  surely  we  must  obey  His  call ;  but  at  present, 
let  us  do  what  lies  before  us.  Little  children  let  us  love  one  another. 
Let  us  be  meek  and  gentle  ;  let  us  think  before  we  speak ;  let  us  try  to 
improve  our  talents  in  private  life  ;  let  us  do  good,  not  hoping  for  a  re- 
turn, and  avoiding  all  display  before  men.  Well  may  I  so  exhort  you 
at  this  season,  when  we  have  so  lately  partaken  together  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  which  binds  us  to  mutual  love,  and  gives  us  strength  to 
practice  it.  Let  us  not  forget  the  promise  we  then  made,  or  the  grace 
we  then  received.  We  are  not  our  own  ;  we  are  bought  with  the  blood 
of  Christ ;  we  are  consecrated  to  be  temples  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  an 
unutterable  privilege,  which  is  weighty  enough  to  sink  us  with  shame 
at  our  own  unworthiness,  did  it  not  the  while  strengthen  us  by  the  aid 
itself  imparts,  to  bear  its  extreme  costliness.  May  we  live  worthy  of 
our  calling,  and  realize  in  our  own  persons  the  Church's  prayers  and 
professions  for  us  ! 


SERMON    VI. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  HOLY  INNOCENTS. 
THE  MIND  OF  LITTLE  CHILDREN. 


Matthew  xviii.  3. 

Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven. 

The  longer  we  live  in  the  world,  and  the  further  removed  we  are  from 
the  feehngs  and  remembrances  of  childhood,  (and  especially  if  remov- 
ed  from  the  sight  of  children,)  (he  more  reason  we  have  to  recollect 
our  Lord's  impressive  action  and  word,  when  He  called  a  little  child 
unto  Him,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  His  disciples,  and  said,  "  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  Whosoever,  there- 
fore, shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  greatest  in 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  And  in  order  to  remind  us  of  this  our  Sa- 
viour's  judgment,  the  Church,  like  a  careful  teacher,  calls  us  back 
year  by  year  upon  this  day  from  the  bustle  and  fever  of  the  world. 
She  takes  advantage  of  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents  recorded  in  St. 
Matthew's  gospel,  to  bring  before  us  a  truth  which  else  we  might  think 
little  of;  to  sober  our  wishes  and  hopes  of  this  world,  our  high  ambi- 
tious  thoughts,  or  our  anxious  fears,  jealousies,  and  cares,  by  the  pic- 
ture of  the  purity,  peace,  and  contentment  which  are  the  characteris- 
tics of  little  children. 

And,  independently  of  the  benefit  thus  accruing  to  us,  it  is  surely 
right  and  meet  thus  to  celebrate  the  death  of  the  Holy  Innocents ;  for 
it  was  a  blessed  one.  To  be  brought  near  to  Christ,  and  to  suffer  for 
Christ,  is  surely  an  unspeakable  privilege  ;  to  suffer  any  how,  even 
unconsciously.  The  little  children  whom  He  took  up  in  His  arms, 
were  not  conscious  of  His  loving  condescension ;  but  was  it  no  privilege 
when  He  blessed  them  ?  Surely  this  massacre  had  in  it  the  nature  of 
a  Sacrament ;  it  was  a  pledge  of  the  love  of  the  Son  of  God  towards 
those  who  were  encompassed  by  it.     All  who  came  near  Him,  more 


244  HOLY  INNOCENTS.  [Skrm. 

or  less  suflTored  by  approaching  Him,  just  as  if  earthly  pain  and  trouble 
went  out  of  Ilim,  as  some  precious  virtue  for  the  good  of  their  souls; — 
and  these  infants  in  the  number.  Surely  His  very  presence  was  a 
Sacrament ;  every  motion,  look,  and  word  of  His  conveying  grace  to 
those  who  would  receive  it ;  and  much  more  was  fellowship  with  Him. 
And  hence  in  ancient  times  such  barbarous  murders  or  Martyrdoms 
were  considered  as  a  kind  of  baptism,  a  baptism  of  blood,  with  a  sacra- 
mental charm  in  it  which  stood  in  the  place  of  the  appointed  Laver  of 
regeneration.  Let  us  then  take  these  little  children  as  in  some  sense 
Martyrs,  and  see  what  instruction  we  may  gain  from  the  pattern  of 
their  innocence. 

There  is  very  great  danger  of  our  becoming  cold-hearted,  as  life 
goes  on;  afflictions  which  happen  to  us,  cares,  disappointments,  all  tend 
to  blunt  our  affections  and  make  our  feelings  callous.  That  necessary 
self-discipline,  too,  which  St.  Paul  enjoins  Timothy  to  practise,  tends 
the  same  way.  And,  again,  the  pursuit  of  wealth  especially  ;  and 
much  more,  if  men  so  far  openly  transgress  the  word  of  Almighty 
God,  as  to  yield  to  the  temptations  of  sensuality.  The  glutton  and 
the  drunkard  brutalize  their  minds,  as  is  evident.  And  then  further,  we 
are  often  smit  with  the  notion  of  our  having  become  greater  and  more 
considerable  persons  than  we  were.  If  we  are  prosperous,  for  instance, 
in  worldly  matters,  if  we  rise  in  the  scale  of  (what  is  called)  society, 
if  we  gain  a  name,  if  we  change  our  state  by  marriage,  or  in  any 
other  way  so  as  to  create  a  secret  envy  in  the  minds  of  our  companions, 
in  all  these  cases  we  shall  be  exposed  to  the  temptation  of  pride.  The 
deference  paid  to  wealth  or  talent  commonly  makes  the  possessor  arti- 
ficial,  and  difficult  to  reach  :  glossing  over  his  mind  with  a  spurious 
refinemont,  which  deadens  feeling  and  heartiness.  Now,  after  all, 
there  is  in  most  men's  minds  a  secret  instinct  of  reverence  and  affection 
towards  the  days  of  their  childhood.  They  cannot  help  sighing  with 
regret  and  tenderness  when  they  think  of  it ;  and  it  is  graciously  done 
by  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  to  avail  Himself  (so  to  say)  of  this  principle 
of  our  nature,  and,  as  He  employs  all  that  belongs  to  it,  so  to  turn  this 
also  to  the  real  health  of  the  soul.  And  it  is  dutifully  done  on  the  part 
of  the  Church  to  follow  the  intimation  given  her  by  her  Redeemer,  and 
to  hallow  one  day  every  year,  as  if  for  the  contemplation  of  His  word 
and  deed. 

If  we  wish  to  affect  a  person,  and  (if  so  be)  humble  him,  what  can 
we  do  better  than  appeal  to  the  memory  of  times  past,  and  above  all  to 
his  childhood  ?  Then  it  was  that  he  came  out  of  the  hands  of  God, 
with  all  lessons  and  thoughts  of  Heaven  freshly  marked  upon  hira. 
Who  can  tell  how  (iod  makes  the  soul,  or  how  He  new-makes  it  ?  We 
know  not.     We  kii«»w  that,  besides  His  part  in  the  work,  it  comes  into 


VI.]  THE  MIND  OF  LITTLE  CHILDREN.  245 

the  world  with  the  taint  of  sin  upon  it ;  and  that  even  regeneration, 
which  removes  the  curse,  docs  not  extirpate  the  root  of  evil.     Whether 
it  is  created  in  Heaven  or  hell,  how  Adam's  sin  is  breathed  into  it, 
together  with  the  breath  of  life,  and  how  the  Spirit  dwells  in  it,  who 
shall  inform  us  1     But  this  we  know  full  well, — we  know  it  from  our 
own  recollection  of  ourselves,  and  our  experience  of  children, — that 
there  is  in  the  infant  soul,  in  the  first  years  of  its  regenerate  state,  a 
discernment  of  the  unseen  world  in  the  things  that  are  seen,  a  realiza- 
tion of  what  is  Sovereign  and  Adorable,  and  an  incredulity  and  igno- 
rance about  what  is  transient  and  changeable,  which  mark  it  as  the  fit 
emblem  of  the  matured  Christian,  when  weaned  from  things  temporal, 
and  living  in  the  intimate  conviction  of  the  Divine  Presence.     I  do 
not  mean  of  course  that  a  child  has  any  formed  principle  in  its  heart, 
any  habits  of  obedience,  any  true  discrimination  between  the  visible 
and  the  unseen,  such  as  God  promises  to  reward,  for  Christ's  sake,  in 
those  who  come  to  years  of  discretion.     Never  must  we  forget  that,  in 
spite  of  his  new  birth,  evil  is  within  him,  though  in  its  seed  only  ; — but 
he  has  this  one  great  gift,  that  he  seems  to  have  lately  come  from  God's 
presence,  and  not  to  understand  the  language  of  this  visible  scene,  or 
how  it  is  a  temptation,  how  it  is  a  veil  interposing  itself  between  the 
soul  and  God.     The  smiplicity  of  a  child's  ways  and  notions,  his  ready 
belief  of  everything  he  is  told,  his  artless  love,  his  frank  confidence, 
his  confession  of  helplessness,  his  ignorance  of  evil,  his  inability  to 
conceal  his  thoughts,    his  contentment,    his  prompt  forgetfulness   of 
trouble,  his  admiring  without  coveting  ;  and  above  all,  his  reverential 
spirit,  looking  at  all  things  about  him  as  wonderful,  as  tokens  and  types 
of  the  One  Invisible,  are  all  evidence  of  his  being  lately  (as  it  were)  a 
visitant  in  a  higher  state  of  things.     I  would  only  have  a  person  reflect 
on  the  earnestness  and  awe  with  which  a  child  listens  to  any  descrip- 
tion or  tale  ;  or  again,  his  freedom  from  that  spirit  of  proud  indepen- 
dence, which  discovers  itself  in  the  soul  as  time  goes  on.     And  though, 
doubtless,  children  are  generally  of  a  weak  and  irritable  nature,  and 
all  are  not  equally  amiable,  yet  their  passions  go  and  are  over  like  a 
shower ;  not  interfering  with  the  lesson  we  may  gain  to  our  own  profit 
from  their  ready  faith  and  guilelessness. 

The  distinctness  with  which  the  conscience  of  a  child  tells  him  the 
difference  between  right  and  wrong  should  also  be  mentioned.  As 
persons  advance  in  life,  and  yield  to  the  temptations  which  come  upon 
them,  they  lose  this  original  endowment,  and  are  obliged  to  grope  about 
by  the  mere  reason.  If  they  debate  whether  they  should  act  in  this 
way  or  that,  and  there  are  many  considerations  of  duty  and  interest 
involved  in  the  decision,  they  feel  altogether  perplexed.     Really  and 


246  HOLY   INNOCENTS.  [Skrm. 

truly,  not  from  self-deception,  but  really  they  do  not  know  how  they 
ouf  lit  to  act  ;  and  they  are  obliged  to  draw  out  arguments,  and  take  a 
great  deal  of  pains  to  come  to  a  conclusion.  And  all  this,  in  many 
cases  at  least,  because  they  have  lost  through  sinning  a  guide  which 
they  originally  had  from  God.  Hence  it  is  that  St.  John,  in  the  Epistle 
for  the  day,  speaks  of  Christ's  undcfiled  servants  as  "  following  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth."  They  have  the  minds  of  children,  and 
are  able  by  the  light  within  them  to  decide  questions  of  duty  at  once, 
undisturbed  by  the  perplexity  of  discordant  arguments. 

In  what  has  already  been  said,  it  has  been  implied  how  striking  a 
pattern  a  child's  mind  gives  us  of  what  may  be  called  a  church  temper. 
Christ  has  so  willed  it,  that  we  should  get  at  the  Truth,  not  by  ingenious 
speculations,  reasonings,  or  investigations  of  our  own,-  but  by  teaching. 
The  Holy  Church  has  been  set  up  from  the  beginning  as  a  solemn  re- 
ligious fact,  so  to  call  it, — as  a  picture,  a  revelation  of  the  next  world — 
as  itself  the  Christian  Dispensation,  and  so  in  one  sense  the  witness  of 
its  own  divinity,  as  is  the  Natural  World.  Now,  those  who  in  the  first 
place  receive  her  words,  have  the  minds  of  children  who  do  not  reason, 
but  obey,  their  mother  ;  and  those  who  from  the  first  refuse,  as  clearly 
fall  short  of  children  in  that  they  trust  their  own  powers  for  truth, 
rather  than  informants  which  are  external  to  them. 

In  conclusion,  I  shall  but  remind  you  of  the  difference,  on  the  other 
hand,  between  the  state  of  a  child  and  that  of  a  matured  Christian  ; 
though  this  difference  is  almost  too  obvious  to  be  noticed.  St.  John 
says,  "  He  that  doeth  righteousness  is  righteous,  even  as  He  is  righteous ;" 
and  again,  "  Every  one  that  doeth  righteousness  is  born  of  Him.''* 
Now  it  is  plain  a  child's  innocence  has  no  share  in  this  higher  blessed- 
ness. He  is  but  a  type  of  what  is  at  length  to  be  fulfilled  in  him. 
The  chief  beauty  of  his  mind  is  on  its  mere  surface  ;  and  when  as 
time  goes  on,  he  attempts  to  act,  (as  is  his  duty  to  do,)  instantly  it  dis- 
appears.  It  is  only  while  he  is  still,  that  he  is  like  a  tranquil  water,  re- 
flecting Heaven.  Therefore  we  must  not  lament  that  our  youthful 
days  are  gone,  or  sigh  over  the  remembrances  of  pure  pleasures  and 
contemplations  which  we  cannot  recall  ;  rather  what  we  were  when 
children,  is  a  blessed  intimation,  given  for  our  comfort,  of  what  God 
will  make  us,  if  we  surrender  our  hearts  to  the  guidance  of  His  Holy 
Spirit, — a  prophecy  of  good  to  come, — a  foretaste  of  what  will  be  ful. 
filled  in  heaven.  And  thus  it  is  that  a  child  is  a  pledge  of  immortality ; 
for  he  bears  upon  him  in  figure  those  high  and  eternal  excellences  in 
which  the  joy  of  heaven  consists ;   and  which  would  not  be  thus  sha- 

•  1  John  iii.  7.     ii.  29. 


VII.]  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  jI^HRIST.  247 

dowed  forth  by  the  All -gracious  Creator,  were  they  not  one  day  to  be 
reahzed.  Accordingly,  our  Church,  for  the  Epistle  for  this  Festival, 
selects  St.  John's  description  of  the  Saints  in  glory. 

As  then  we  would  one  day  reign  with  them,  let  us  in  this  world  learn 
the  mind  of  little  children,  as  the  same  Apostle  describes  it :  "  My 
little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed 
and  in  truth.  Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,  for  love  is  of  God,  and 
every  one  that  loveth,  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth  God.  He  that 
loveth  not,  knoweth  not  God,  for  God  is  love."* 


SERMON    VII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


Matt.  iii.  15. 

Suffer  it  to  be  so  now ;  for  thus  it  bccomcth  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness. 

When  our  Lord  came  to  John  to  be  baptized,  He  gave  this  reason  for 
it,  "  Thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness ;"  which  seems  to 
mean, — "  it  is  becoming  in  Me,  the  expected  Christ,  to  conform  in  all 
respects  to  all  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Judaism,  to  every  thing 
hitherto  accounted  sacred  and  binding."  Hence  it  was  that  He  came 
to  be  baptized,  to  show  that  it  was  not  His  intention  in  any  way  to 
dishonour  the  Established  Religion,  but  to  fulfil  it  even  in  those  parts  of 
it  (such  as  Baptism)  which  were  later  than  the  time  of  Moses ;  and 
especially  to  acknowledge  thereby  the  mission  of  John  the  Baptist,  His 
forerunner.  And  those  ordinances  which  Moses  himself  was  commis- 
sioned to  appoint,  had  still  greater  claim  to  be  respected  and  observed. 
It  was  on  this  account  that  He  was  circumcised,  as  we  this  day  com- 
memorate ;  in  order,  that  is,  to  show  that  he  did  not  renounce  the  reli- 

*  1  John  iii.  18.     iv.  7,  8. 


248  THE  CIRCUMCISION   OF  CHRIST.  [Serm. 

gion  of  Abraham,  to  whom  God  gave   circumcision,  or  of  Moses,  by      | 
whom  it  was  embodied  in  the  Jewish  Law. 

We  have  other  instances  in  our  Lord's  history,  besides  those  of  His 
circumcision  and  baptism,  to  show  the  reverence  with  which  He 
regarded  the  religion  whicli  he  came  to  fulfil.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  Him 
as  "  born  of  a  woman,  born  under  the  Law,"*  and  it  was  His  custom  to 
observe  that  Law,  like  any  other  Jew.  For  instance,  He  went  up  to 
the  feasts  at  Jerusalem  ;  He  sent  the  persons  He  had  cured  to  the 
priests,  to  offer  the  sin-offering  commanded  by  Moses  ;  He  paid  the 
Temple-tax  ;  and  again,  He  attended  as  "  a  custom"  the  worship  of  the 
synagogue,  though  this  had  been  introduced  in  an  age  long  after 
Moses  ;  and  He  even  bade  the  multitudes  obey  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees in  all  lawful  things,  as  those  who  sat  in  Moses'  place. f 

Such  was  our  Saviour's  dutiful  attention  to  the  religious  system 
under  which  he  was  born ;  and  that,  not  only  so  far  as  it  was  directly 
divine,  but  further,  where  it  was  the  ordinance  of  uninspired  though 
pious  men,  where  it  was  but  founded  on  ecclesiastical  authority.     His 

Apostles  followed  His   pattern ;  and  this   is   still   more  remarkable : 

because  after  the  Holy  Spirit  had  descended,  at  first  sight  it  would  have 
appeared  that  all  the  Jewish  Ordinances  ought  at  once  to  cease.  But 
this  was  far  from  being  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles.  They  taught 
indeed  that  the  Jewish  rites  were  no  longer  of  any  use  in  obtaining 
God's  favour ;  that  Christ's  death  was  now  set  forth  as  the  full  and 
sufficient  Atonement  for  sin,  by  that  Infinite  Mercy  who  had  hitherto 
appointed  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices  as  in  some  sort  means  of  propi- 
tiation ;  and,  besides,  that  every  convert  who  turned  from  Christ  back 
to  Moses,  or  who  imposed  the  Jewish  rites  upon  his  brethren  as  neces- 
sary to  salvation,  was  grieviously  erring  against  the  Truth.  But  they 
neither  abandoned  the  Jewish  rites  themselves,  nor  obliged  any  others 
to  do  so  who  were  used  to  them.  Custom  was  quite  a  sufficient  rea- 
son for  retaining  them  ;  every  Christian  was  to  remain  in  the  state  in 
which  he  was  called  ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  Jew,  the  practice  of  them 
did  not  necessarily  interfere  with  a  true  and  full  trust  in  the  Atonement 
which  Christ  had  offered  for  sin. 

St.  Paul,  we  know,  was  the  most  strenuous  opposer  of  those  who 
would  oblige  the  Gentiles  to  become  Jews,  as  a  previous  step  to  their 
becoming  Christians.  Yet,  decisive  as  he  is  against  all  attempts  to 
force  the  Gentiles  under  the  rites  of  Law,  he  never  bids  the  Jews 
renounce  them,  rather  he  would  have  them  retain  them  ;  leaving  it  for 
a  fresh  generation,  who  had  not  been   born  under  them,  to  discontinue 

»  Gal.  iv.  4.  t  Matt,  xxiii.  2,  3. 


VII.]  CEREMONIES   OF  THE  CHURCH.  249 

them ;  so  that  the  use  of  them  might  gradually  die  away.  Nay,  ho 
himself  circumcised  Timothy,  when  he  chose  him  for  his  associate  ;  in 
order  that  no  otfence  might  be  given  to  the  Jews.*  And  how  freely 
he  adhered  to  the  Law  in  his  own  person,  we  learn  from  the  same  in- 
spired history  ;  for  instance,  we  hear  of  his  shaving  his  head,  as  having 
been  under  a  vow,f  according  to  the  Jewish  custom. 

Now  from  this  obedience  to  the  Jewish  Law,  enjoined  and  displayed 
by  our  Blessed  Lord  and  His  Apostles,  we  learn  the  great  importance 
of  retaining  those  religious  forms  to  which  we  are  accustomed,  even 
though  they  are  in  themselves  indiflerent,  or  not  of  divine  origin  ;  and, 
as  this  is  a  truth  which  is  not  well  understood  by  the  world  at  large,  it 
it  may  be  of  use  to  make  some  observations  upon  it. 

We  sometimes  meet  with  men,  who  ask  why  we  observe  these  or 
those  ceremonies  or  practices  ;  why,  for  example,  we  use  Forms  of 
prayer  so  cautiously  and  strictly,  or  why  we  persist  in  kneeling  at  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ?  why  in  bowing  at  the  name  of  Jesus? 
or  why  in  celebrating  the  public  worship  of  God  only  in  consecrated 
places  ?  why  we  lay  such  stress  upon  these  things  ?  These  and  many 
such  questions  may  be  asked,  and  all  with  this  argument  ;  "  They  are 
indifferent  matters,  we  do  not  read  of  them  in  the  Bible.'' 

Now  the  direct  answer  to  this  objection  is,  that  the  Bible  was  never 
intended  to  enjoin  us  these  things,  but  matters  of  faith;  and  that 
though  it  happens  to  mention  our  practical  duties,  and  some  points  of 
form  and  discipline,  still,  that  it  does  not  set  about  telling  us  what  to 
do,  but  chiefly  what  to  believe  ;  and  that  there  are  many  duties  and 
many  crimes  which  are  not  mentioned  in  Scripture,  and  which  we 
must  find  out  by  our  own  understanding,  enlightened  by  God's  Holy 
Spirit.  For  instance,  there  is  no  prohibition  of  suicide,  duellings 
gaming,  in  Scripture ;  yet  we  know  them  to  be  great  sins  ;  and  it 
would  be  no  excuse  in  a  man  to  say  that  he  does  not  find  them  for- 
bidden in  Scripture,  because  he  may  discover  God's  will  in  this  matter 
independently  of  Scripture.  And  in  like  manner  various  matters  of" 
form  and  discipline  are  binding,  though  Scripture  says  nothing  about 
them  ;  for  we  learn  the  duty  in  another  way.  No  matter  how  we 
learn  God's  will,  whether  from  Scripture  or  Antiquity,  or  what  St. 
Paul  calls  "  Nature,"  so  that  we  can  be  sure  it  is  His  will.  Matters 
of  faith  mdeed  He  reveals  to  us  by  inspiration,  because  they  are  super- 
natural ;  but  matters  of  moral  duty,  through  our  own  conscience  and 
divinely  guided  reason  ;  and  matters  of  form,  by  tradition  and  long 
usage,  which  bind  us  to  the  observance  of  them,  though  they  are  not 

•  Acts  ivi.  1 — 3.  t  Acts  xviii.  IB. 


250  THE  CIRCUMCISION   OF  CHRIST.  [Skrm. 

enjoined  in  Scriplurc.  This,  I  say,  is  the  proper  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion,  *'  Why  do  you  observe  rites  and  forms  which  are  not  enjoined  in 
Scripture?"  though,  to  speak  the  truth,  our  chief  ordinances  are  to  be 
found  there,  as  the  Sacraments,  Pubhc  Worship,  the  Observance  of  the 
Lord's  day,  Ordination,  Marriage,  and  the  hke.  But  I  shall  make 
another  answer,  which  is  suggested  by  the  event  commemorated  this 
day,  our  Lord's  conforming  to  the  Jewish  Law  in  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision ;  and  my  answer  is  this. 

Scripture  tells  us  what  to  believe,  and  what  to  aim  at  and  maintain, 
but  it  does  not  tell  us  how  to  do  it ;  and  as  we  cannot  do  it  at  all 
unless  we  do  it  in  this  manner  or  that,  we  must  add  something  to 
what  Scripture  tells  us.  For  example,  Scripture  tells  us  to  meet  to- 
gether for  prayer,  and  has  connected  the  grant  of  the  Christian  bless- 
ings on  God's  part,  with  the  observance  of  union  on  ours  ;  but  since  it 
does  not  tell  us  the  times  and  places  of  prayer,  the  Church  must  com- 
plete  that  which  Scripture  has  but  enjoined  generally.  Our  Lord  has 
instituted  two  Sacraments,  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  but  has 
not  told  us,  except  generally,  with  what  forms  we  are  to  administer 
them.  Yet  we  cannot  administer  them  without  some  sort  of  prayers  ; 
whether  we  use  always  the  same,  or  not  the  same,  or  unpremeditated 
prayers.  And  so  with  many  other  solemn  acts,  such  as  Ordination,  or 
Marriage,  or  Burial  of  the  dead,  it  is  evidently  pious,  and  becomes 
Christians  to  perform  them  decently  and  in  faith  ;  yet  how  is  this  to 
be  done,  unless  the  Church  sanctions  Forms  of  doing  it  ? 

The  Bible  then  may  be  said  to  give  us  the  spirit  of  religion  ;  but  the 
Church  must  provide  the  body  in  which  that  spirit  is  to  be  lodged. 
Religion  must  be  realized  in  particular  acts,  in  order  to  its  continuing 
alive.  Religionists,  for  example,  who  give  up  the  Church  rites,  are 
forced  to  recall  the  strict  Judaical  Sabbath.  There  is  no  such  thing 
as  abstract  religion.  W'hen  persons  attempt  to  worship  in  this  (what 
they  call)  more  spiritual  manner,  they  end,  in  fact,  in  not  worshipping 
at  all.  This  frequently  happens.  Every  one  may  know  it  from  his 
own  experience  of  himself.  Youths,  for  instance,  (and  perhaps  those 
who  should  know  better  than  they,)  sometimes  argue  with  themselves, 
*' What  is  the  need  of  praying  statedly  morning  and  evening?  why 
use  a  form  of  words  ?  why  kneel  1  why  cannot  I  pray  in  bed,  or  walk- 
ing, or  dressing  ?"  they  end  in  not  praying  at  all.  Again,  what  will 
the  devotion  of  the  country  people  be,  if  we  strip  religion  of  its  external 
symbols,  and  bid  them  seek  out  and  gaze  upon  the  Invisible  ?  Scrip- 
ture gives  the  spirit,  and  the  Church  the  body,  to  our  worship ;  and  we 
may  as  well  expect  that  the  spirits  of  men  niight  be  seen  by  us  without 
the  intervention  of  their  bodies,  as  suppose  that  the  Object  of  faith  can 


IJ 


VII.]  CEREMONIES   OF  THE  CHURCH.  261 

be  realized  in  a  world  of  sense  and  excitement  without  the  instrumen- 
tality of  an  outward  form  to  arrest  and  fix  attention,  to  stimulate  the 
careless  and  to  encourage  the  desponding.  But  observe  what  follows ; 
— who  would  say  our  bodies  are  not  part  of  ourselves  ?  We  may  apply 
the  illustration  ;  for  in  like  manner  the  forms  of  devotion  are  parts  of 
devotion  ?  Who  can  in  practice  separate  his  view  of  body  and  spirit  ? 
for  example,  what  a  friend  would  he  be  to  us  who  should  treat  us  ill, 
or  deny  us  food,  or  imprison  us ;  and  say,  after  all,  that  it  was  our 
body  he  ill-treated,  and  not  our  soul  .'  Even  so,  no  one  can  really 
respect  rehgion,  and  insult  its  form.  Granting  that  the  forms  are  not 
immediately  from  God,  still  long  use  has  made  them  divine  to  us  ;  for 
the  spirit  of  religion  has  so  penetrated  and  quickened  them,  that  to 
destroy  them  is  in  respect  to  the  multitude  of  men  to  unsettle  and  dis- 
lodge the  religious  principle  itself.  In  most  minds  usage  has  so  identi- 
fied them  with  the  notion  of  religion,  that  the  one  cannot  be  extirpated 
without  the  other.  Their  faith  will  not  bear  transplanting.  Till  we 
have  given  some  attention  to  the  peculiarities  of  human  nature,  whether 
from  watching  our  own  hearts,  or  from  experience  of  hfe,  we  can 
scarcely  form  a  correct  estimate  how  intimately  great  and  Uttle  matters 
are  connected  together  in  all  cases  ;  how  the  circumstances  and  acci- 
dents (as  they  might  seem)  of  our  habits  are  almost  conditions  of  those 
habits  themselves.  How  common  it  is  for  men  to  have  seasons  of 
seriousness,  how  exact  is  their  devotion  during  them,  how  suddenly 
they  come  to  an  end,  how  completely  all  traces  of  them  vanish,  yet 
how  comparatively  trifling  is  the  case  of  the  relapse,  a  change  of  place, 
or  occupation,  or  a  day's  interruption  of  regularity  in  their  religious 
course  ?  Consider  the  sudden  changes  in  opinion  and  profession,  reli- 
gious or  secular,  which  occur  in  life,  the  proverbial  fickleness  of  the 
1  multitude,  the  influence  of  watchwords  and  badges  upon  the  fortunes 
i  of  political  parties,  the  surprising  falls  which  sometimes  overtake  well- 
j  meaning  and  really  respectable  men,  the  inconsistencies  of  even  the 
I  holiest  and  most  perfect,  and  you  will  have  some  insight  into  the 
danger  of  practising  on  the  externals  of  faith  and  devotion.  Precious 
doctrines  are  strung,  like  jewels,  upon  slender  threads. 

Our  Saviour  and  His  Apostles  sanction  these  remarks,  in  their  treat- 
ment  of  those  Jewish  ceremonies,  which  have  led  me  to  make  them. 
St.  Paul  calls  them  weak  and  unprofitable,  weak  and  beggarly  ele- 
ments.* So  they  were  in  themselves,  but  to  those  who  were  used  to 
ithem,  they  were  an  edifying  and  living  service.  Else  why  did  the 
Apostles  observe  them  ?     Why  did  they  recommend  them  to  the  Jews 

«   Ilebr.  vii.  18.     Gal.  iv.  9. 


262  THE  CIRCUMCISION   OF  CHRIST.  [Serw. 

whom  they  converted  ?  Were  they  merely  consulting  for  the  prejui. 
dices  of  a  reprobate  nation  ?  The  Jewish  rites  were  to  disappear  ;  yet 
no  one  was  bid  forcibly  separate  himself  from  what  he  had  long  used 
lest  he  lost  his  sense  of  religion  also.  Much  more  will  this  hold  good 
with  forms  such  as  ours,  which,  so  far  from  being  abrogated  by  the 
Apostles  were  introduced  by  them  or  their  immediate  successors  ;  and^ 
which,  besides  the  influence  they  exert  over  us  from  long  usage,  are 
many  of  them  witnescss  and  types  of  precious  gospel  truths  ;  nay,  much 
more,  possess  a  sacramental  nature,  and  are  adapted  and  reasonably 
accounted  to  convey  a  gift,  even  where  they  are  not  formally  sacra- 
ments by  Christ's  institutions.  Who,  for  instance  could  be  hard- 
hearted and  perverse  enough  to  ridicule  the  notion  that  a  father's  bless- 
ing may  profit  his  children,  even  though  Christ  and  His  Apostles  have 
not  in  so  many  words  declared  it. 

Much  might  be  said  on  this  subject,  which  is  a  very  important  one* 
In  these  times  especially,  we  should  be  on  our  guard  against  those,  who 
hope  by  inducing  us  to  lay  aside  our  forms,  at  length  to  make  us  lay 
aside  our  Christian  hope  altogether.  This  is  why  the  Church  itself  is 
attacked,  because  it  is  the  living  form,  the  visible  body  of  religion  ;  and 
shrewd  men  know  that  when  it  goes,  religion  will  go  too.  This  is  why 
they  rail  at  so  many  usages  as  superstitious ;  or  propose  alterations  and 
changes,  a  measure  especially  calculated  to  shake  the  faith  of  the  mul- 
titude. Recollect  then,  that  things  indiflerent  in  themselves,  become 
important  to  us  when  we  are  used  to  them.  The  services  and  ordi- 
nances of  the  Church  are  the  outward  form  in  which  religion  has  been 
for  ages  represented  to  the  world,  and  has  ever  been  known  to  us. 
Places  consecrated  to  God's  honour,  clergy  carefully  set  apart  for  His 
service,  the  Lord's-day  piously  observed,  the  public  forms  of  prayer,  the 
decencies  of  worship,  these  things  viewed  as  a  whole  are  sacred  rela- 
tively to  us,  even  if  they  were  not,  as  they  are,  divinely  sanctioned. 
Rites,  which  the  Church  has  appointed,  and  with  reason,  for  the 
Church's  authority  is  from  Christ,  being  long  used,  cannot  be  disused 
without  harm  to  our  souls.  Confirmation,  for  instance,  may  be  argued 
against  and  undervalued  ;  but  surely  no  one  in  the  common  run  of 
men  wilfully  resists  the  Ordinance,  but  will  thereby  be  visibly  a  worse 
Christian  than  he  otherwise  would  have  been.  He  will  find  (or  rather 
others  will  find  for  him,  for  he  will  scarcely  know  it  himself,)  that  he 
has  declined  in  faith,  humility,  devotional  feeling,  reverence  and  so- 
briety. And  so  in  the  case  of  all  other  forms,  even  the  least  binding  in 
themselves,  it  continually  linppcns  that  a  speculative  improvement  is  a 
practical  folly,  and  the  wise  are  taken  in  their  own  craftiness. 

Therefore,  when  profane  persons  scofi'  at  our  forms,  let  us  argue  with 


VIII.]  THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  253 

ourselves,  thus;  and  it  is  an  argument  which  all  men,  learned  or  un- 
learned, can  enter  into.  "  These  forms,  even  were  they  of  mere  human 
origin,  (which  learned  men  say  is  not  the  case,  but  even  if  they  were,) 
are  as  least  of  as  spiritual  and  edifying  a  character  as  the  rites  of 
Judaism.  Yet  Christ  and  His  Apostles  did  not  even  suffer  these  latter 
to  be  irreverently  treated  or  suddenly  discarded.  Much  less  may  we 
suffer  it  in  the  case  of  our  own  ;  lest  stripping  off  from  us  the  badges 
of  our  profession,  we  forget  there  is  a  faith  for  us  to  maintain,  and  a 
world  of  sinners  to  be  eschewed." 


SERMON    VIII 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  EPIPHANY. 
THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


Isaiah  Ix.  1. 

Arise,  shine,  for  thy  hght  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee. 

Our  Saviour  said  to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  "  The  hour  cometh,  when 
ye  shall  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the 
Father."*  And  upon  to-day's  Festival  I  may  say  to  you  in  His  words 
on  another  occasion,  "  This  day  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears." 
This  day  we  commemorate  the  opening  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, the  extension  of  the  Church  of  God  through  all  lands,  whereas, 
before  Christ's  coming,  it  had  been  confined  to  one  nation  only.  This 
dissemination  of  the  Truth  throughout  the  world  had  been  the  subject 
of  prophecy,  "  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,  and  let  them  stretch  forth 
the  curtains  of  thine  habitations.  Spare  not,  lengthen  thy  cords,  and 
strengthen  thy  stakes.  For  thou  shalt  break  forth  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left ;  and  thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  Gentiles,  and  make  the 

•  Jo'in  iv.  21. 


I 


254  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Serm, 

desolate  cities  to  be  inhabited."*  In  these  words  the  Church  is 
addressed  as  Catholic  ;  wliich  is  the  distinguishing  title  of  the  Christian 
Church,  as  contrasted  with  the  Jewish.  The  Christian  Church  is  so 
constituted  as  to  be  able  to  spread  itself  out  in  its  separate  branches 
into  all  regions  of  the  earth  ;  so  that  in  every  nation  there  may  be 
found  a  representative  and  an  oflshoot  of  the  sacred  and  gifted  Society, 
set  up  once  for  all  by  our  Lord  after  His  resurrection. 

This  characteristic  blessing  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  its  Catholic 
nature,  is  a  frequent  subject  of  rejoicing  with  St.  Paul,  who  was  the 
chief  instrument  of  its  propagation.  In  one  Epistle  he  speaks  of  Gen- 
tiles  being  "  fellow-heirs  "  with  the  Jews,  "  and  of  the  same  body,  and 
partakers  of  His  promise  in  Christ  by  the  Gospel."  In  another  he  en- 
larges on  the  "  mystery  now  made  manifest  to  the  saints,  viz.  Christ 
among  the  Gentiles,  the  hope  of  glory,  "f 

The  day  on  which  we  commemorate  this  gracious  appointment  of 
God's  Providence  is  called  the  Epiphany,  or  bright  manifestation  of 
Christ  to  the  Gentiles ;  being  the  day  on  which  the  wise-men  came 
from  the  East  under  guidance  of  a  star,  to  worship  Him,  and  thus  be- 
came the  first-fruits  of  the  heathen  world.  The  name  is  explained  by 
the  words  of  the  text,  which  occur  in  one  of  the  lessons  selected  for  to- 
day's service,  and  in  which  the  Church  is  addressed.  "  Arise,  shine  : 
for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.  For 
behold  the  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  people ; 
but  the  Lord  shall  rise  upon  thee,  and  His  glory  shall  be  seen  upon 
thee,  and  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  Kings  to  the  bright- 
ness  of  thy  rising.  .  .  .  Thy  people  also  shall  be  all  righteous,  they 
shall  inherit  the  land  for  ever,  the  branch  of  My  planting,  the  work  of 
My  hands,  that  I  may  be  glorified.":]: 

That  this  and  other  similar  prophecies  had  their  measure  of  fulfilment 
when  Christ  came,  we  all  know ;  when  His  Church  built  upon  the 
Apostles  and  Prophets,  wonderfully  branched  out  lYom  Jerusalem  as  a 
centre  into  the  heathen  world  round  about,  and  gathering  into  it  men 
of  all  ranks,  languages,  and  characters,  moulded  them  upon  one  pattern, 
the  pattern  of  their  Saviour,  in  truth,  and  righteousness.  Thus  the 
prophecies  concerning  the  Church  were  fulfilled  at  that  time  in  two 
respects,  as  regards  its  sanctity  and  its  Catholicity. 

It  is  often  asked,  have  these  prophecies  had  then  and  since  their  per- 
fect accomplishment  ?  Or  are  we  to  expect  a  more  complete  Christian- 
izing of  the  world  than  has  hitherto  been  vouchsafed  it  ?  And  it  is  usual 
at  the  present  day  to  acquiesce  in  the  latter  alternative,  as  if  the  inspired 
predictions  certainly  meant  more  than  has  yet  been  realized. 

»  Ib.  liv.  2,  3.  t  Eph.  iii.  6.     Col.  i.  26,  27.  \  Is.  Ix.  1-3.  21. 


VIII.]  THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  255 

Now  so  much  I  think  is  plain  on  the  face  of  them,  that  the  Gospel  is 
to  be  preached  in  all  lands  before  the  end  comes  :  "This  gospel  of  the 
kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations; 
and  then  shall  the  end  come."*  Whether  it  has  been  thus  preached  is 
a  question  of  fact,  which  must  be  determined,  not  from  the  prophecy, 
but  from  history  ;  and  there  we  may  leave  it.  But  as  to  the  other  expecta- 
tion, that  a  time  of  greater  purity  is  in  store  for  the  Church,  that  is  not 
easily  to  be  granted.  The  very  words  of  Christ  just  quoted,  so  far  from 
speaking  of  the  gospel  as  tending  to  the  conversion  of  the  world  at 
large,  when  preached  in  it,  describe  it  only  as  a  witness  unto  all  the 
Gentiles,  as  if  the  many  would  not  obey  it.  And  this  intimation  runs 
parallel  to  St.  Paul's  account  of  the  Jewish  Church  as  realizing  faith 
and  obedience  only  in  a  residue  out  of  the  whole  people  ;  and  is  further 
illustrated  by  St.  John's  language  in  the  Apocalypse,  who  speaks  of 
"  the  redeemed  from  among  men,"  being  but  a  remnant,  "  the  first  fruits 
unto  God  and  to  the  Lamb."f 

However,  I  will  readily  allow  that  at  first  we  shall  feel  a  reluctance 
in  submitting  to  this  opinion,  with  such  passages  before  us  as  that  which 
occurs  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Isaiah's  prophecy,  where  it  is  promised, 
"  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  My  holy  mountain  :  for  the  earth 
shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 
I  say  it  is  natural,  with  such  texts  in  the  memory,  to  look  out  for  what  is 
commonly  called  a  Millennium.  It  may  be  instructive  then  upon  this 
day  to  make  some  remarks  in  explanation  of  the  state  and  prospects  of 
the  Christian  Church  in  this  respect. 

Now  the  system  of  this  world  depends,  in  a  way  unknown  to  us,  both 
on  God's  Providence  and  on  human  agency.  Every  event,  every 
course  of  action,  has  two  faces ;  it  is  divine  and  perfect,  and  it  belongs 
to  man,  and  is  marked  with  his  sin.  I  observe  next,  that  it  is  a  pecu- 
liarity of  Holy  Scripture  to  represent  the  world  on  its  providential  side  ; 
ascribing  all  that  happens  in  it  to  Him  Vvho  rules  and  directs  it,  as  it 
moves  along,  tracing  events  to  His  sole  agency,  or  viewing  them  only 
so  far  forth  as  he  acts  in  them.  Thus  He  is  said  to  harden  Pharaoh's 
heart,  and  to  hinder  the  Jews  from  believing  in  Christ ;  wherein  is 
signified  His  absolute  sovereignty  over  all  human  affairs  and  courses. 
As  common  is  it  for  Scripture  to  consider  Dispensations,  not  in  their 
actual  state,  but  as  His  agency  would  mould  them,  and  so  far  as  it 
really  does  succeed  in  realizing  them.  For  instance  ;  "  God,  who  is 
rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us,  even  when  we, 

*  Matt.  xxiv.  14,  t  Rom.  li.  5.  Rev.  xiv.  4. 


256  THE  EPIPHANY.  [s«rm. 

were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ."*  This  is 
said  as  if  the  Ephesians  had  no  traces  left  in  their  hearts  of  Adam's  sin 
and  spiritual  death.  As  it  is  said  afterwards,  "  Ye  were  sometimes 
darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord."t 

In  other  words.  Scripture  more  commonly  speaks  of  the  divine  design 
and  suhstantial  work,  than  of  the  measure  of  fulfilment  which  it  receives 
at  this  time  or  that ;  as  St.  Paul  expresses,  when  he  says  that  the 
Ephesians  were  chosen,  that  they  "should  he  holy  and  unblameable  be- 
fore Him  in  love."  Or  it  speaks  of  the  profession  of  the  Christian  ;  as 
when  he  says,  "as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  in  Christ,  have 
put  on  Christ;" — or  of  the  tendency  of  the  Divine  gift  in  a  long  period 
of  time,  and  of  its  ullimate  fruits ;  as  in  the  words,  "Christ  loved  the 
Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it,  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it 
Avith  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word,  that  He  might  present  to  Him- 
self  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing, 
but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish,":}:  in  which  Baptism  and 
final  salvation  are  viewed  as  if  indissolubly  connected.  This  rule  of 
Scripture  interpretation  admits  of  very  extensive  application,  and  I  pro- 
ceed to  illustrate  it. 

The  principle  under  consideration  is  this ;  that,  whereas  God  is  one, 
and  His  will  one,  and  His  purpose  one,  and  His  work  one,  whereas  all  he 
is  and  does  is  absolutely  perfect  and  complete,  independent  of  time  and 
place,  and  sovereign  over  creation,  whether  inanimate  or  moral,  yet  that 
in  His  actual  deahngs  with  this  world,  that  is,  in  all  in  which  wc  see 
His  Providence,  in  that  man  is  imperfect,  and  has  a  will  of  his  own,  and 
lives  in  time,  and  is  moved  by  circumstances.  He  seems  to  work  by  a 
process,  by  means  and  ends,  by  steps,  by  victories  hardly  gained,  and 
failures  repaired,  and  sacrifices  ventured.  Thus  it  is  only  when  we 
view  His  dispensations  at  a  distance,  as  the  Angels  do,  that  we  see  their 
harmony  and  their  unity  ;  whereas  Scripture,  anticipating  the  end  from 
the  beginning,  places  at  their  very  head  and  first  point  of  origination 
all  that  belongs  to  them  respectively  in  their  fulness. 

We  find  some  exemplification  of  this  principle  in  the  call  of  Abra- 
ham. In  every  age  of  tlic  world  it  has  held  good  that  the  just  shall 
live  by  faith;  yet  it  was  determined  in  the  deep  councils  of  God, 
that  for  a  while  this  truth  should  be  partially  obscured,  as  far  as  His 
revelations  went ;  that  man  should  live  by  sight,  miracles  and  worldly 
ordinances  taking  the  place  of  silent  providences  and  spiritual  services. 
In  the  later  times  of  the  Jewish  Law  the  original  doctrine  was  brought 
to  light,  and  when  the  Divine  object  of  faith  was  born  into  the  world,  it 

«  1  Eph.  ii.  4,  5.  tEph.  v.  8.  t  Eph.  i.  4.    Gal.iii.  27.     Eph.v.25— 27. 


VIII.]  THE   GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  257 

was  authoritatively  set  forth  by  His  Apostles  as  the  basis  of  all  accept- 
able worship.  But  observe,  it  had  been  already  anticipated  in  the  in- 
stance of  Abraham  ;  the  evangelical  covenant,  which  was  not  to  be 
preached  till  near  two  thousand  years  afterwards,  was  revealed  and 
transacted  in  his  person.  "  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted 
unto  Him  for  righteousness."  "  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  My  day ; 
and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad."*  Nay,  in  the  commanded  sacrifice  of 
His  Beloved  Son,  was  shadowed  out  the  true  Lamb  which  God  had 
provided  for  a  burnt -offering.  Thus  in  the  call  of  the  Patriarch,  in 
whose  Seed  all  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed,  the  great  out- 
lines of  the  Gospel  were  anticipated  ;  in  that  he  was  called  in  uncircum- 
cision,  he  was  justified  by  faith,  he  trusted  in  God's  power  to  raise  the 
dead,  he  looked  forward  to  the  day  of  Christ,  and  he  was  vouchsafed  a 
vision  of  the  Atoning  Sacrifice  on  Calvary. 

We  call  these  notices  prophecy,  popidarly  speaking,  and  doubtless 
such  they  are  to  us,  and  to  be  received  and  used  thankfully  ;  but  more 
properly  perhaps,  they  are  merely  instances  of  the  harmonious  movement 
of  God's  word  and  deed,  his  sealing  up  events  from  the  first.  His  in- 
troducing them  once  and  for  all,  though  they  are  but  gradually  unfolded 
to  our  limited  faculties,  and  in  this  transitory  scene.  It  would  seem 
that  at  the  time  when  Abraham  was  called,  both  the  course  of  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation,  and  the  coming  of  Christ,  were  (so  to  say)  realized  ;  so 
as  in  one  sense,  to  be  actually  done  and  over.  Hence,  in  one  passage, 
Christ  is  called  "  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;"  in 
another,  it  is  said,  that  "  Levi  paid  tithes"  to  Melchizedek,  "  in  Abra- 
ham."f 

Similar  remarks  might  be  made  on  the  call  and  reign  of  David,  and 
the  building  of  the  second  Temple.:]: 

*  Rom  iv.  3.     John  viii.  56.  t  Rev.  xiii.  8.     Heb.  vii.  9. 

t  In  the  instance  of  the  first  [Temple]  there  clearly  is  not  the  same  combination 

of  the  Mystical  sense  with  tlie  Temporal.     The  prediction  joined  with  the  building 

of  Solomon's  Temple  is  of  a  simple  kind ;  perhaps  it  relates  purely  and  solely  to 

the  proper  Temple  itself.     But  the  second  Temple  rises  with  a  different  structure  of 

prophecy  upon  it.     Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malaehi,  iiave  each  delivered  some  syvn- 

bolical  prediction,  connected  with  it,  or  with  its  priesthood  and  worship.     Why  this 

dift'erence  in  the  two  cases  ?     I  thmk  the  answer  is  clear ;  it  is  a  difference  obviously 

relating  to  the  nearer  connexion  which  the  second  Temple  has   with  the   Gospel. 

Wlien  God  gave  them  their  first  Temple,  it  was  doomed  to  fall,  and  rise  again,  under 

I    and  during  their  first  economy.     The  elder  prophecy,  therefore,  was  directed  to  the 

j   proper  history  of  the  first  Temple.     But  when  he  gave  them  their  second  Temple, 

Christianity  was  then  nearer  in  view ;  through  that  second  edifice  laj'  the  Gospel 

prospect.     Its  restoration,  therefore,  was  marked  by  a  kind  of  prophecy,  which  had 

its  vision  towards  the  Gospel." — Davison  o.\  Prophecy,  Discourse  vi.  part  4. 

(       Vol.  L— 17 


258  THE   EPIPHANY.  [Serm. 

In  like  manner  the  Christian  Church  had  in  the  day  of  its  nativity 
all  that  fulness  of  holiness  and  peace  named  upon  it,  and  sealed  up  to  it, 
which  beseemed  it,  viewed  as  God's  design,  viewed  in  its  essence,  as  ifc 
is  realized  at  all  times  and  under  whatever  circumstances,  viewed  as 
God's  work  without  man's  co-operation,  viewed  as  God's  Avork  in  its 
tendency,  and  in  its  ultimate  blessedness  ;  so  that  the  titles  given  it 
upon  earth  are  a  picture  of  what  it  will  be  absolutely  in  heaven.  This- 
might  also  be  instanced  in  the  case  of  the  Jewish  Church,  as  in  Jere- 
miah's description  ;  "  I  remember  thee,  the  kindness  of  thy  youth,  the 
love  of  thine  espousals,  when  thou  wentest  after  me  in  the  wilderness, 
in  a  land  that  was  not  sown.  Israel  was  holiness  unto  the  Lord,  and 
the  first-fruits  of  His  increase.''*  As  to  the  Christian  Church,  one 
passage  descriptive  of  its  blessedness  from  its  first  founding  has  already 
been  cited  ;  to  which  I  add  the  following  by  way  of  specimen  :  "  The 
Gentiles  shall  see  thy  righteousness,  and  all  kings  thy  glory  ;  and  thou 
shalt  be  called  by  a  new  name,  which  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  shall  name. 
Thou  shalt  also  be  a  crown  of  glory  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  a  royal 
diadem  in  the  hand  of  thy  God  ....  As  the  bridegroom  rejoiceth 
over  the  bride,  so  shall  thy  God  rejoice  over  thee."  The  mountains 
shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed  ;  but  My  kindness  shall  not  depart 
from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the 
Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee.  All  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the 
Lord,  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  Children."  "  Behold,  I  have 
graven  thee  upon  the  palms  of  my   hands ;   thy  walls  are  continually 

before  me Lift  up  thine  eyes  round  about,  and  behold  ;  all 

these  gather  themselves  together,  and  come  to  thee.  As  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord,  thou  shalt  surely  clothe  thee  with  them  all,  as  with  an  orna- 
ment, and  bind  them  on  thee  as  a  bride  doeth."  "  Violence  shall  no 
more  be  heard  in  thy  land,  wasting  nor  destruction  within  thy  borders; 
but  thou  shalt  call  thy  walls  salvation,  and  thy  gates  praise. "f  In 
these  passages,  which  in  their  context  certainly  refer  to  the  time  of 
Christ's  coming,  an  universality  and  a  purity  are  promised  to  the  Church, 
which  have  their  fulfilment  only  in  the  course  of  its  history  from  first 
to  last,  as  foreshortened  and  viewed  as  one  whole. 

Consider,  again,  the  representations  given  us  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 
First,  it  is  called  the  "  Kingdom  of  Heaven,''  though  on  earth.  Again, 
in  the  Angels'  hymn,  it  is  proclaimed  "on  earth  peace,"  in  accordance 
with  the  prophetic  description  of  the  Messiah  as  "  the  Prince  of  Peace  ;" 
though  He  Himself,  speaking  of  the  earthly,  not  the  divine  side  of  His 
dispensation,  said.  He  came  "  not  to  send  peace  on  earth,  but  a  sword.":!: 

»Jer.ii.2,  3.      t  Isa.  lxii.2,  3.5;  liv.  10. 13;  xlix.  IG.  13  ;  1.x.  18.        I  Matt.  x.  34. 


VIII.]  THE   GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  259 

Further,  consider  Gabriel's  announcement  to  the  Virgin  concerning 
her  Son  and  Lord  ;  "  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of 
the  Highest  ;  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  Him  the  throne  of  His 
father  David ;  and  He  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever, 
and  of  His  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  Or,  as  the  same  Saviour 
had  baen  foretold  by  Ezekiel ;  "  I  will  set  up  one  Shepherd  over  them, 
and  He  shall  feed  them  ....  I  will  make  with  them  a  covenant  of 
peace,  and  will  cause  the  evil  beasts  to  cease  out  of  the  land  ;  and  they 
shall  dwell  safely  in  the  wilderness,  and  sleep  in  the  woods.  And  I 
will  make  them  and  the  places  round  about  My  hill,  a  blessing ;  and  I 
will  cause  the  shower  to  come  down  in  his  season ;  there  shall  be 
showers  of  blessing  ;"*  It  is  observable  that  in  the  two  passages  last 
cited,  the  Christian  Church  is  considered  as  merely  the  continuation  of 
the  Jewish,  as  if  the  Gospel  existed  in  its  germ  even  under  the  Law. 

Now  it  is  undeniable,  and  so  blessed  a  truth  that  one  would  not  wish 
at  all  to  question  it,  that  when  Christ  first  came.  His  followers  were  in 
a  state  of  spiritual  purity,  far  above  any  thing  which  we  witness  in  the 
Church  at  this  day.  That  glory  with  which  her  face  shone,  as  Moses 
of  old  time,  from  communion  with  her  Saviour  on  the  holy  Mount,  is 
the  earnest  of  what  will  one  day  be  perfected  ;  it  is  a  token  held  out 
to  us  of  a  dark  age,  that  His  promise  stands  sure,  and  admits  of  accom- 
plishment. They  continued  "  in  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  prais- 
ing God,  and  having  favour  with  all  the  people."  Here  was  a  pledge 
of  eternal  blessedness,  the  same  in  kind  as  a  child's  innocence  is  a  fore- 
shadowing of  a  holy  immortality  ;  and  the  baptismal  robe,  of  the  fine 
linen,  clean  and  white,  which  is  the  righteousness  of  saints  ; — a  pledge 
like  the  typical  promises  made  to  David,  Solomon,  Cyrus,  or  Joshua 
the  high-priest.  Yet  at  the  same  time  the  corruptions  in  the  early- 
Church,  Galatian  misbelief,  and  Corinthian  excess,  show  too  clearly 
that  her  early  glories  were  not  more  than  a  pledge,  except  in  the  case 
of  individuals,  a  pledge  of  God's  purpose,  a  witness  of  man's  depravity. 

The  same  interpretation  will  apply  to  the  Scripture  account  of  the 
Elect  People  of  God,  which  is  but  the  Church  of  Christ  under  another 
name.  On  them,  upon  their  election,  are  bestowed,  as  on  a  body,  the 
gifts  of  justification,  holiness,  and  final  salvation.  The  perfections  of 
Christ  are  shed  around  them  ;  His  image  is  reflected  from  them  ;  so 
that  they  receive  His  Name,  as  being  in  Him,  and  beloved  of  God  in 
the  Beloved.  Thus  in  their  election  are  sealed  up,  to  be  unrolled  and 
enjoyed  in  due  season,  the  successive  privileges  of  the  heirs  of  light. 
In  God's  purpose — according  to  His  grace — in  the  tendency  and  ulti- 

*  Luke  i.  32,  33.     Ezck.  .Txxiv.  23.  25,  26. 


I 


260  THE   EPIPHANY.  [Serm. 

mate  effects  of  Ilis  dispensation — to  be  called  and  chosen  is  to  be 
saved.  "  Whom  He  did  foreknow,  He  also  did  predestinate  ;  whom 
He  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called ;  whom  He  called,  them  He 
also  justified  ;  whom  He  justified,  them  He  also  glorified."*  Observe, 
the  whole  scheme  is  spoken  of  as  of  a  thing  past ;  for  in  His  deep 
counsel  He  contemplated  from  everlasting  the  one  entire  work,  and 
having  decreed  it,  it  is  but  a  matter  of  time,  of  sooner  or  later,  when 
it  will  be  realized.  As  the  Lamb  was  slain  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  so  also  were  His  redeemed  gathered  in  from  the  first 
according  to  His  foreknowledge ;  and  it  is  not  more  inconsistent  Avith 
the  solemn  announcement  of  the  text  just  cited,  that  some  once  elected 
should  fall  awa}^,  (as  we  know  they  do,)  than  that  an  event  should  be 
spoken  of  in  it  as  past  and  perfect,  which  is  incomplete  and  future. 
All  accidents  are  excluded,  when  He  speaks ;  the  present  and  the  to 
come,  delays  and  failures,  vanish  before  the  thought  of  His  perfect 
work.  And  hence  it  happens  that  the  word  "  elect "  in  Scripture  has 
two  senses,  standing  both  for  those  who  are  called  in  order  to  salva- 
tion, and  for  those,  who  at  the  last  day,  shall  be  the  actually  resulting 
fruit  of  that  holy  call.  For  God's  Providence  moves  by  great  and 
comprehensive  laws  ;  and  His  word  is  the  mirror  of  His  designs,  not  of 
man's  partial  success  in  thwarting  His  gracious  will. 

The  Church  then,  considered  as  one  army  militant,  proceeding  for- 
ward from  the  house  of  bondage  to  Canaan,  gains  the  victory,  and 
accomplishes  what  is  predicted  of  her,  though  many  soldiers  fall  in  the 
battle.  While,  however,  they  remain  within  her  lines,  they  are  in- 
cluded in  her  blessedness  so  far  as  to  be  partakers  of  the  gifts  flowing 
from  election.  And  hence  it  is  that  so  much  stress  is  to  be  laid  upon 
the  duty  of  united  worship  ;  for  thus  the  multitude  of  believers  coming 
together,  claim  as  one  man  the  grace  which  is  poured  out  upon  the 
one  undivided  body  of  Christ  mystical.  "  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  His  name.  He  is  in  the  midst  of  them;"  nay 
rather,  blessed  be  His  name !  Pie  is  so  one  with  them,  that  they  are 
not  their  own,  lose  for  the  time  their  earth-stains,  are  radiant  in  His 
infinite  holiness,  and  have  the  promise  of  His  eternal  favour.  Viewed 
as  one,  the  Church  is  still  His  image  as  at  the  first,  pure  and  spotless, 
His  spouse  all-glorious  within,  the  Mother  of  Saints  ;  according  to  the 
Scripture,  "  My  dove.  My  undcfiled  is  but  one  ;  she  is  the  only  one  of 
her  mother,  she  is  the  elect  one  of  her  that  bare  her  ....  Thou  art  all 
fair.  My  love ;  there  is  no  spot  in  thee."f 

And  what  is  true  of  the  Church  as  a  whole,  is  represented  in  Scrip- 

*  Rom.  viii.  29,  30.  t  Cant.  vi.  9  ;  iv.  7. 


I 


VIII.]  THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  261 

ture  as  belonging  also  in  some  sense  to  each  individual  in  it.  I  mean, 
that  as  the  Christian  body  was  set  up  in  the  image  of  Christ,  which  is 
gradually  and  in  due  season  to  be  realized  within  it,  so  in  like  manner, 
each  of  us,  when  made  a  Christian,  is  entrusted  with  gifts  which  centre 
in  eternal  salvation.  St.  Peter  says,  we  are  "  saved  "  through  baptism  ; 
St.  Paul,  that  we  are  "  saved  according  to  God's  mercy  by  the  v/ashing 
of  regeneration ;"  our  Lord  joins  together  water  and  the  Spirit ;  St. 
Paul  connects  baptism  with  putting  on  Christ ;  and  in  another  place 
with  being  "  sanctified  and  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God."*  To  the  same  purport  are  our  Lord's 
words :  "  He  that  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  Him  that  sent 
Me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is 
passed  from  death  unto  life."-]- 

These  remarks  have  been  made  with  a  view  of  showing  the  true 
sense  in  which  we  must  receive,  on  the  one  hand,  the  prophetic  descrip- 
tions of  the  Christian  Church  ;  on  the  other,  the  grant  of  its  privileges, 
and  of  those  of  its  separate  members.  Nothing  is  more  counter  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel  than  to  hunger  after  signs  and  wonders  ;  and  the 
rule  of  Scripture  interpretation  now  given,  is  especially  adapted  to  wean 
us  from  such  wandering  of  heart.  It  is  our  duty,  rather  it  is  our  bless- 
edness, to  walk  by  faith  ;  therefore,  we  will  take  the  promises  (with 
God's  help)  in  faith  ?  we  will  believe  they  are  fulfilled,  and  enjoy  the 
fruit  of  them  before  we  see  it.  We  will  fully  acknowledge,  as  being 
firmly  persuaded,  that  His  word  cannot  return  unto  Him  void ;  that  it 
has  its  mission,  and  must  prosper  so  far  as  substantially  to  accomplish 
it.  We  will  adore  the  Blessed  Spirit,  as  coming  and  going  as  He  list- 
eth,  and  doing  wonders  daily  which  the  world  knows  not  of.  We  will 
consider  Baptism  and  the  other  Christian  Ordinances,  effectual  signs 
of  grace,  not  forms  and  shadows,  though  men  abuse  and  profane  them ; 
and  particularly,  as  regards  our  immediate  subject,  we  Avill  unlearn,  as 
sober  and  serious  men,  the  expectation  of  any  public  displays  of  God's 
glory  in  the  edification  of  His  Church,  seeing  she  is  all-glorious  within, 
in  that  inward  shrine,  made  up  of  faithful  hearts,  and  inhabited  by  the 
Spirit  of  grace.  We  will  put  off,  so  be  it,  all  secular,  all  political  views 
of  the  victories  of  His  kingdom.  While  labouring  to  unite  its  frag- 
ments, which  the  malice  of  Satan  has  scattered  to  and  fro,  to  recover 
what  is  cast  away,  to  purify  what  is  corrupted,  to  strengthen  what  is 
weak,  to  make  it  in  all  its  parts  what  Christ  would  have  it,  a  Church 

*  1  Peter  iii.  21.     Tit.  lii.  5.    John  iii.  5.     Gal.iii.27.     1  Cor.  vi.  11. 
t  John  V.  24. 


262  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL  [Serm. 

Militant,  still  (please  God)  we  will  not  reckon  on  any  visible  fruit  of 
our  labour.  We  will  be  content  to  believe  our  cause  triumphant,  when 
we  see  it  apparently  defeated.  We  will  silently  hear  the  insults  of  the 
enemies  of  Christ,  and  resign  ourselves  meekly  to  the  shame  and  suffer- 
ing which  the  errors  of  His  followers  bring  upon  us.  We  will  endure 
offences  which  the  early  Saints  would  have  marvelled  at,  and  Martyrs 
would  have  died  to  redress.  We  will  work  with  zeal,  but  as  to  the 
Lord  and  not  to  men ;  recollecting  that  even  Apostles  saw  the  sins  of 
the  Churches  they  planted  ;  that  St.  Paul  predicted  that  "  evil  men 
and  seducers  would  wax  worse  and  worse ;"  and  that  St.  John  seems 
even  to  consider  extraordinary  unbelief  as  the  very  sign  of  the  times  of 
the  Gospel,  as  if  the  light  increased  the  darkness  of  those  who  hated  it. 
"  Little  children,  it  is  the  last  time ;  and  as  ye  have  heard  that  Anti- 
christ shall  come,  even  now  are  there  many  Antichrists,  whereby  we 
know  that  it  is  the  last  time."* 

Therefore  we  will  seek  within  for  the  Epiphany  of  Christ.  We  Avill 
look  towards  his  Holy  Altar,  and  approach  it  for  the  fire  of  love  and 
purity  which  there  burns.  We  will  find  comfort  in  the  illumination 
which  Baptism  gives.  We  will  rest  and  be  satisfied  in  His  ordinances 
and  in  His  word.  We  will  bless  and  praise  His  name,  whenever  he 
vouchsafes  to  display  His  glory  to  us  in  the  chance-meeting  of  any  of 
His  Saints,  and  we  will  ever  pray  Him  to  manifest  it  in  our  own  souls. 


SERMON   IX. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

HIS  CONVERSION  VIEWED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS 
OFFICE. 


1  Cor.  XV.  9,  10. 


I  am  the  least  of  the  Apostles,  that  am  not  meet  to  be  called  an  Apostle,  because  I 
persecuted  tiie  Church  of  Cod.  IJut  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am :  and 
His  grace  which  was  bestowed  upon  me  was  not  in  vain ;  but  I  laboured  more 
abundantly  than  they  all  :  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  which  was  with  me. 

To  DAY  we  commemorate,  not  the  whole  History  of  St.  Paul,  nor  his 
Martyrdom,  but  his  wonderful  Conversion.     Every  season  of  his  life  is 

*  2  Tim.  iii.  13.     1  John  ii.  18. 


IX.]  VIEWED   IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  OFFICE.  263 

full  of  wonders,  and  admits  of  a  separate  commemoration  ;  which  in- 
deed we  do  make,  whenever  we  read  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  or  his 
Epistles.  On  this  his  day,  however,  that  event  is  selected  for  remem- 
brance, which  was  the  beginning  of  his  wonderful  course  ;  and  we 
may  profitably  pursue  (please  God)  the  train  of  thought  thus  opened 
for  us. 

We  cannot  well  forget  the  manner  of  his  conversion.  He  was  jour- 
neying to  Damascus  with  authority  from  the  chief  priests  to  seize  the 
Christians,  and  bring  them  to  Jerusalem.  He  had  sided  with  the  per- 
secuting party  from  their  first  act  of  violence,  the  martyrdom  of  St. 
Stephen ;  and  he  continued  foremost  in  a  bad  cause,  with  blind  rage 
endeavouring  to  defeat  what  really  was  the  work  of  Divine  power  and 
wisdom.  In  the  midst  of  his  fury,  he  was  struck  down  by  miracle,  and 
converted  to  the  faith  he  persecuted.  Observe  the  circumstances  of 
the  case.  When  the  blood  of  Stephen  was  shed,  Saul,  then  a  young 
man,  was  standing  by,  "  consenting  unto  his  death,"  and  "  kept  the 
raiment  of  them  that  slew  him."*  Two  speeches  are  recorded  of  the 
Martyr  in  his  last  moments  ;  one,  in  which  he  prayed  that  God  would 
pardon  his  murderers, — the  other  his  witness,  that  he  saw  the  heavens 
opened,  and  Jesus  on  God's  right  hand.  His  prayer  was  wonderfully 
answered.  Stephen  saw  his  Saviour  ;  the  next  vision  of  that  Saviour 
to  mortal  man  was  vouchsafed  to  the  very  young  man,  even  Saul,  who 
shared  in  his  murder  and  his  intercession. 

Strange,  indeed,  it  was  ;  and  what  would  have  been  St.  Stephen's 
thoughts  could  he  have  known  it  !  The  prayers  of  righteous  men 
avail  much.  The  first  Martyr  had  power  with  God  to  raise  up  the 
greatest  Apostle.  Such  was  the  honour  put  upon  the  first  fruits  of 
those  sufferings,  upon  which  the  Church  was  entering.  Thus  from  the 
beginning  the  blood  of  the  Martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  Church.  Ste- 
phen, one  man,  was  put  to  death  for  saying  tiiat  the  Jewish  people 
were  to  have  exclusive  privileges  no  longer  ;  but  from  his  very  grave 
j-ose  the  favoured  instrument  by  whom  the  thousands  and  ten  thousands 
of  the  Gentiles  were  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth  ! 

1.  Herein  then,  first,  is  St.  Paul's  conversion  memorable  ;  that  it 
'Was  a  triumph  over  the  enemy.  When  Almighty  God  would  convert 
the  world,  opening  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles,  who  was  the  cho- 
sen preacher  of  His  mercy  ?  Not  one  of  Christ's  first  followers.  To 
show  His  power,  He  put  forth  his  hand  into  the  very  midst  of  the  per- 
secutors of  His  Son,  and  seized  upon  the  most  strenuous  among  them. 
The  prayer  of  a  dying  man  is  the  token  and  occasion  of  his  triumph 

♦  Acts  xxii.  20. 


264  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL  [Serm.. 

which  He  had  reserved  for  Himself.  His  strength  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness.  As  of  old,  He  broke  the  yoke  of  His  people's  burden,  the 
staff  of  their  shoulder,  the  rod  of  their  oppressor.*  Saul  made  fu- 
riously for  Damascus,  but  the  Lord  Almighty  "  knew  his  abode,  and  his 
going  out  and  coming  in,  and  his  rage  against  Him  ;"  and  "  because 
his  rage  against  Him,  and  his  tumult  came  up  before  Him,"  therefore 
as  in  Sennacherib's  case,  though  in  a  far  different  way.  He  "  put  His 
hook  in  his  nose,  and  His  bridle  in  his  lips,  and  turned  him  back  by  the 
way  by  which  he  came."f  "He  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  and 
powers,  and  made  a  show  of  them  openly,"|j:  triumphing  over  the  ser- 
pent's head  while  his  heel  was  wounded.  Saul,  the  persecutor  was 
converted,  and  preached  Christ  in  the  synagogues. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  St.  Paul's  conversion  may  be  considered  as  a 
suitable  introduction  to  the  office  he  was  called  to  execute  in  God's 
providence.  I  have  said  it  was  a  triumph  over  the  enemies  of  Christ  ; 
but  it  was  also  an  expressive  emblem  of  the  nature  of  God's  general, 
dealings  with  the  race  of  man.  What  are  we  all  but  rebels  against 
Gcd,  and  enemies  of  the  Truth  ?  what  were  the  Gentiles  in  particular 
at  that  time,  but  "alienated"  from  Him,  "and  enemies  in  their  mind 
by  wicked  works  ?"§  Who  then  could  so  appropriately  fulfil  the  pur- 
pose of  Him  who  came  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  as  one  who  es- 
teemed himself  the  least  of  the  Apostles,  that  was  not  meet  to  be 
called  an  Apostle,  because  he  had  persecuted  the  Church  of  God  1 
When  Almighty  God  in  His  infinite  mercy  purposed  to  form  a  people  to 
Himself  out  of  the  heathen,  as  vessels  for  glory,  first  He  chose  the  in- 
strument of  this  His  purpose,  as  a  brand  from  the  burning  to  be  a  type 
of  the  rest.  There  is  a  parallel  to  this  order  of  Providence  in  the  Old 
Testament.  The  Jews  were  bid  to  look  unto  the  rock  whence  they 
were  he\vn.||  Who  was  the  especial  patriarch  of  thsir  nation  ? — Jacob. 
Abraham  himself,  indeed,  had  been  called  and  blessed  by  God's  mere 
grace.  Yet  Abraham  had  remarkable  faith.  Jacob,  hov/ever,  the  im- 
mediate and  peculiar  Patriarch  of  the  Jewish  race,  is  represented  in 
the  character  of  a  sinner,  pardoned  and  reclaimed  by  Divine  mercy,  a 
wanderer  exalted  to  be  the  father  of  a  great  nation.  Now  I  am  not 
venturing  to  describe  him  as  he  really  was,  but  as  he  is  represented  to 
us  ;  not  personally,  but  in  that  particular  point  of  view  in  which  the 
sacred  history  has  placed  him  ;  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  he  is  typi- 
cally,  or  in  the  way  of  doctrine.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  marks  of 
his  character  and  fortunes  in  the  hislonj,  designedly  (as  it  would  seem) 

^  *  Im.  ix.  4.     t  Isa.  xxxvii.2?,  29.     X  Col.  ii.  15.     §  Col.  i.  21.     ||  Isa.  li.  1. 


IX.]  VIEWED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  OFFICE.  265 

recorded  to  humble  Jewish  pride.  He  makes  his  own  confession,  as  St. 
Paul  afterwards  ;  "  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  Thy  mercies."* 
Every  year  too  the  Israelites  were  bid  bring  their  offering,  and  avow 
before  God,  that  "  a  Syrian  ready  to  perish  was  their  father. "f  Such 
as  was  the  father,  such  (it  was  reasonable  to  suppose)  would  be  the 
descendants.  None  would  be  "  greater  than  their  father  Jacob,":]:  for 
whose  sake  the  nation  was  blest. 

In  like  manner  St.  Paul  is,  in  one  way  of  viewing  the  Dispensation, 
the  spiritual  father  of  the  Gentiles  ;  and  in  the  history  of  his  sin  and  its 
most  gracious  forgiveness,  he  exemplifies  far  more  than  his  brother 
Apostles  his  own  Gospel ;  that  we  are  all  guilty  before  God,  and  can 
be  saved  only  by  His  free  bounty.  In  his  own  words,  "  for  this  cause 
obtained  he  mercy,  that  in  him  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all 
long-suffering  for  a  pattern  to  them  which  should  hereafter  believe  on 
Him  to  life  everlasting. "§ 

3.  And,  in  the  next  place,  St.  Paul's  previous  course  of  life  rendered 
him,  perhaps,  after  his  conversion,  more  fit  an  instrument  of  God's  pur- 
poses towards  the  Gentiles,  as  well  as  a  more  striking  specimen  of 
it.  Here  it  is  necessary  to  speak  with  caution.  We  know  that,  what- 
ever were  St.  Paul's  successes  in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel,  they 
were  in  their  source  and  nature  not  his,  but  through  "the  grace  of  God 
which  was  with  him."  Still,  God  makes  use  of  human  means,  and  it  is 
allowable  to  inquire  reverently  what  these  were,  and  why  St.  Paul  was 
employed  to  convert  the  Heathen  world  rather  than  St.  James  the  Less, 
or  St.  John.  Doubtless  his  intellectual  endowments  and  acquirements 
were  among  the  circumstances  which  fitted  him  for  his  office.  Yet, 
may  it  not  be  supposed  that  there  was  something  in  his  previous  re- 
ligious history,  which  especially  disciplined  him  to  be  "  all  things  to  all 
men  ?"  Nothing  is  so  difficult  as  to  enter  into  the  characters  and  feel- 
ings of  men  who  have  been  brought  up  under  a  system  of  religion  dif- 
ferent fi-om  our  own  ;  and  to  discern  how  they  may  be  most  forcibly 
and  profitably  addressed,  in  order  to  win  them  over  to  the  reception  of 
Divine  truths,  of  which  they  are  at  present  ignorant.  Now  St.  Paul  had 
had  experience  in  his  own  case,  of  a  state  of  mind  very  different  from 
that  which  belonged  to  him  as  an  Apostle.  Though  he  had  never  been 
polluted  with  Heathen  immorality  and  profaneness,  he  had  entertained 
views  and  sentiments  very  far  from  Christian  ;  and  had  experienced  a 
conversion  to  which  the  other  Apostles  (as  far  as  we  know)  were  stran- 
gers. I  am  far  indeed  from  meaning  that  there  is  aught  favourable  to 
j  a  man's  after  religion  in  an  actual  unsettling  of  principle,  in  lapsing  into 

*  Gen.  xxxii.  10.         t  Dcut.  xxvi.  5.         |  John  iv.  12.         ^  1  Tim.  i.  16. 


266  THE   CONVERSION  OF    ST.  PAUL  [Serm. 

infidelity,  and  then  returning  again  to  religious  belief.  This  was  not 
St.  Paul's  case  ;  he  underwent  no  radical  change  of  religious  principle. 
Much  less  would  I  give  countenance  to  the  notion,  that  a  previous  im- 
moral life  is  other  than  a  grievous  permanent  hindrance  and  a  curse  to 
a  man,  after  he  has  turned  to  God.  Such  considerations,  however,  are 
out  of  place,  in  speaking  of  St.  Paul.  What  I  mean  is,  that  his  awful 
rashness  and  blindness,  his  self-confident,  headstrong,  cruel  rage,  against 
the  worshippers  of  the  true  Messiah,  then  his  strange  conversion,  then 
the  length  of  time  that  elapsed  before  his  solemn  ordination,  during 
which  he  was  left  to  meditate  in  private  on  all  that  had  happened,  and 
to  anticipate  the  future ;  all  this  constituted  a  peculiar  preparation  for 
the  office  of  preaching  to  a  lost  world,  dead  in  sin.  It  gave  him  an  ex- 
tended insight,  on  the  one  hand,  into  the  ways  and  designs  of  Provi- 
dence, and,  on  the  other  hand,  into  the  workings  of  sin  in  the  human 
heart,  and  the  various  modes  of  thinking  to  which  the  mind  may  be 
trained.  It  taught  him  not  to  despair  of  the  worst  sinners,  to  be  sharp- 
sighted  in  detecting  the  sparks  of  faith,  amid  corrupt  habits  of  life,  and 
to  enter  into  the  various  temptations  to  which  human  nature  is  exposed. 
It  wrought  in  him  a  profound  humility,  which  disposed  him  (if  we  may 
say  so)  to  bear  meekly  the  abundance  of  the  revelations  given  him ; 
and  it  imparted  to  him  a  practical  wisdom  how  to  apply  them  to  the  con- 
version of  others,  so  as  to  be  weak  with  the  weak,  and  strong  with  the 
strong,  to  bear  their  burdens,  to  instruct  and  encourage  them,  to 
"  strengthen  his  brethren,"  to  rejoice  and  weep  with  them,  in  a  word,  to 
be  an  earthly  Paraclete,  the  comforter,  help,  and  guide  of  his  brethren. 
It  gave  him  to  know  in  some  good  measure  the  hearts  of  men  ;  an  at- 
tribute (in  its  fulness)  belonging  to  God  alone,  and  possessed  by  Him 
in  union  with  perfect  purity  from  all  sin ;  but  which  in  us  can  scarcely 
€xist  without  our  own  melancholy  experience,  in  some  degree,  of  moral 
evil  in  ourselves,  since  the  innocent  (it  is  their  privilege)  have  not  eaten 
of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

4.  Lastly,  to  guard  against  misconception  of  these  last  remarks,  I 
must  speak  distinctly  on  a  part  of  the  subject  only  touched  upon  hith- 
erto, viz.  on  St.  Paul's  spiritual  state  before  his  conversion.  For,  in 
spite  of  what  has  been  said  by  way  of  caution,  perhaps  I  may  still  be 
supposed  to  warrant  the  maxim  sometimes  maintained,  that  the  greater 
sinner  makes  the  greater  saint. 

Now,  observe,  I  do  not  allege  that  St.  Paul's  previous  sins  made  him 
a  more  spiritual  Christian  afterwards,  but  rendered  him  morejitiedfora 
-particular  jmrpose  in  God's  providence, — more  fitted,  when  converted, 
to  reclaim  others  ;  just  as  a  knowledge  of  languages  (whether  divinely 
or  humanly  acquired)  fits  a  man  for  the  ofiice  of  missionary,  without 


IX.]  VIEWED   IX  REFERENCE  TO  HIS   OFFICE.  267 

tending  in  any  degree  to  make  him  a  better  man.  I  merely  say,  that  if 
we  take  two  men  equally  advanced  in  faith  and  holiness,  that  one  of 
the  two  would  preach  to  a  variety  of  men  with  the  greater  success,  who 
had  the  greater  experience  in  his  own  religious  history  of  temptation, 
the  war  of  flesh  and  spirit,  sin,  and  victory  over  sin  ;  though,  at  the 
same  time,  at  first  sight  it  is  of  course  unlikely  that  he  who  had  experi- 
enced all  these  changes  of  mind  should  be  equal  in  faith  and  obedience 
to  the  other  who  had  served  God  from  a  child. 

But,  in  the  next  place,  let  us  observe,  how  very  far  St.  Paul's  conver- 
sion  is,  in  matter  of  fact,  from  holding  out  any  encouragement  to  those 
who  live  in  sin,  or  any  self-satisfaction,  to  those  who  have  lived  in  it ; 
as  if  their  present  or  former  disobedience  could  be  a  gain  to  them. 

Why  was  mercy  shown  to  Saul  the  persecutor  ?  he  himself  gives  us 
the  reason,  which  we  may  safely  make  use  of.  "  I  obtained  mercy,  be- 
cause I  did  it  ignorantly  in  unbelief."*  And  why  was  he  "  enabled"  to 
preach  the  Gospel  1  "  Becaue  Christ  counted  him  faithful."  We  have 
here  the  reason  more  clearly  stated  even  than  in  Abraham's  case,  who 
"\vas  honoured  with  special  Divine  revelations,  and  promised  a  name  on 
the  earth,  because  God  "  knew  him  that  he  would  command  his  chil- 
dren  and  his  household  after  him,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to  do 
justice  and  judgment. "f  Saul  was  ever  faithful,  according  to  his  no- 
tion of  "  the  way  of  the  Lord."  Doubtless  he  sinned  deeply  and  griev- 
ously in  persecuting  the  followers  of  Christ.  Had  he  known  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  he  never  would  have  done  so  ;  he  would  have  recognized 
Jesus  to  be  the  promised  Saviour,  as  Simeon  and  Anna  had,  from  the 
first.  But  he  was  bred  up  in  a  human  school,  and  paid  more  attention 
to  the  writings  of  men  than  to  the  word  of  God.  Still,  observe,  he  dif- 
fered from  other  enemies  of  Christ  in  this,  that  he  kept  a  clear  con- 
science, and  habitually  obeyed  God  according  to  his  knowledge.  God 
speaks  to  us  in  two  ways,  in  our  hearts  and  in  his  word.  The  latter  and 
clearer  of  these  informants  St.  Paul  knew  little  of;  the  former  he  could 
not  but  know  in  his  measure,  (for  it  was  within  him,)  and  he  obeyed  it. 
That  inward  voice  was  but  feeble,  mixed  up  and  obscured  with  human 
feelings  and  human  traditions  ;  so  that  what  his  conscience  told  him  to 
do,  was  but  partially  true,  and  in  part  was  wrong.  Yet  still,  believing  it 
to  speak  God's  v{i\\,  he  deferred  to  it,  acting  as  he  did  afterwards  when 
he  "  was  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision,"  which  informed  him 
Jesus  was  the  Christ.:]:  Hear  his  own  account  of  himself: — "I  have 
Jived  in  all  good  conscience  before  God  until  this  day."  "  After  the 
most  straitest  sect  of  our  religion,  I  lived  a  Pharisee."     "  Touching  the 

♦  1  Tim.  i.  12.  13.  t  Gen.  iviii.  19.  t  Acts  .txvi.  19. 


268  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL.  [Serm. 

righteousness  which  is  in  the  Law,  blameless,"*  Here  is  no  ease,  no 
self-indulgent  habits,  no  wilful  sin  against  the  light, — nay,  I  will  say  no 
pride.  Tliat  is,  though  he  was  doubtless  influenced  by  much  sinful 
self-confidence,  in  his  violent  and  bigoted  hatred  of  the  Christians,  and 
though  (as  well  as  even  the  best  of  us)  he  was  doubtless  liable  to  the 
occasional  temptations  and  defilements  of  pride,  yet,  taking  pride  to 
mean  open  rebeUion  against  God,  warring  against  God's  authority,  set- 
ting up  reason  against  God,  this  he  had  not.  He  "  verily  thought  within 
himself  that  he  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus 
of  JVazareth."  Turn  to  the  case  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  who  remained 
unconverted,  and  you  will  see  the  difference  between  them  and  him. 
Think  of  the  hypocritical  Pharisees,  who  professed  to  be  saints,  and 
were  sinners  ;  "  full  of  extortion,  excess,  and  uncleanness  ;"f  believing 
Jesus  to  be  the  Christ,  but  not  confessing  Him,  as  "  loving  the  praise  of 
men  more  than  the  praise  of  God."t  St.  Paul  himself  gives  us  an  ac- 
count of  them  in  the  second  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Can 
it  be  made  to  apply  to  his  own  previous  state  ?  Was  the  name  of  God 
blasphemed  among  the  Gentiles  through  him  ?  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Gentile  reasoners  sought  a  vain  wisdom,  ||  These  were  they  who  de- 
spised religion  and  practical  morality  as  common  matters,  unworthy  the 
occupation  of  a  refined  and  cultivated  intellect.  "  Some  mocked,  others 
said,  We  will  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter.  "§  They  prided  them- 
selves on  being  above  vulgar  prejudices, — in  being  indifferent  to  the 
traditions  afloat  in  the  world  about  another  life, — in  regarding  all  re- 
ligions as  equally  true  and  equally  false.  Such  a  hard,  vain-glorious 
temper  our  Lord  solemnly  condemns,  when  he  says  to  the  Church  at 
Laodicea,  "  I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot." 

The  Pharisees,  then,  were  breakers  of  the  Law  ;  the  Gentile  reason- 
ers and  statesmen  were  infidels.  Both  were  proud,  both  despised  the 
voice  of  conscience.  We  see,  then,  from  this  review,  the  kind  of  sin 
which  God  pities  and  pardons.  All  sin,  indeed,  when  repented  of.  He 
will  put  away  ;  but  pride  hardens  the  heart  against  repentance,  and  sen- 
suality debases  it  to  a  brutal  nature.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  quenched  by 
open  transgressions  of  conscience  and  contempt  of  His  authority.  But, 
when  men  err  in  ignorance,  following  closely  their  own  notions  of  right 
and  wrong,  Ihough  these  notions  are  mistaken, — great  as  is  their  sin,  if 
they  might  have  possessed  themselves  of  truer  notions, — (and  very  great 
as  was  St.  Paid's  sin,  because  he  certainly  might  have  learned  from  tlie 
Old  Testament  far  clearer  and  diviner  doctrine  than  the  tradition  of  the 

*  Acts  xxiii.  1,  xxvi. .") ;  Phil.  iii.  6.  f  Matt,  xxiii.  25.  27. 

t  Juhn  xii.  43.  ||  1  Cor.  i.  22.  §  Acts  xvii.  32. 


X.]  PURIFICATION  OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN.  269 

Pharisees,)  yet  such  men  are  not  left  by  the  God  of  all  grace.  God 
leads  them  on  to  the  light,  in  spite  of  their  errors  in  faith,  if  they  con- 
tinue strictly  to  obey  what  they  believe  to  be  His  will.  And,  to  declare 
this  comfortable  truth  to  us,  St.  Paul  was  thus  carried  on  by  the  Provi- 
dence of  God,  and  brought  into  the  light  by  miracle  ;  that  we  may  learn, 
by  a  memorable  instance  of  His  grace,  wliat  He  ever  does,  though  He 
does  not  in  ordinary  cases  thus  declare  it  openly  to  the  world. 

Who  has  not  felt  a  fear  lest  he  be  wandering  from  the  true  doctrine 
of  Christ  ?  Let  him  cherish  and  obey  the  holy  light  of  conscience 
within  him,  as  Saul  did  ;  let  him  carefully  study  the  Scriptiires,  as  Saul 
did  not  ;  and  the  God  who  had  mercy  even  on  the  persecutor  of  His 
saints,  will  assuredly  shed  His  grace  upon  him,  and  bring  him  into  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 


SERMON   X. 


THE  FEAST    OF  THE  PURIFICATION   OF    THE   BLESSED 
VIRGIN  MARY. 

SECRECY  AND   SUDDENNESS   OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS. 


Luke  xviii.  20. 
Tlie  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation. 

We  commemorate  on  this  day  the  Presentation  of  Christ  in  the  Teml 
pie,  according  to  the  injunction  of  the  .Mosaic  Law,  as  laid  down  in  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Exodus  and  the  twelfth  of  Leviticus. 
When  the  Israelites  were  brought  out  of  Egypt,  the  first-born  of  the 
Egyptians  (as  we  all  know)  were  visited  by  death,  "  from  the  first-born 
of  Pharaoh  that  sat  on  his  throne,  unto  the  first-born  of  the  captive  that 
was  in  the  dungeon  ;  and  all  the  first-born  of  cattle."*  Accordingly, 
in  thankful  remembrance  of  this  destruction,  and  their  own  deliverance, 
j  every  male  among  the  Israelites,  who  was  the  first-born  of  his  mother, 
I  was  dedicated  to  God ;  likewise,  every  first-born  of  cattle.  |  Afterwards, 

»  Exod.  xii.  29. 


270  PURIFICATION   OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN.  [Serm, 

the  Lcvitcs  were  taken,  as  God's  peculiar  possession,  instead  of  the  first- 
born :*  but  still  the  first-born  were  solemnly  brought  to  the  Temple  at  a, 
certain  time  from  their  birth,  presented  to  God,  and  then  redeemed  or 
bouo-ht  otf  at  a  certain  price.  At  the  same  time  certain  sacrifices  were 
ortered  for  the  mother,  in  order  to  her  purification  after  child-birth  ;  and 
therefore  to-day's  Feast,  in  memory  of  Christ's  Presentation  in  the 
Temple,  is  commonly  called  the  Purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

Our  Saviour  was  born  without  sin.  His  Mother,  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  need  have  made  no  offering,  as  requiring  no  purification.  On 
the  contrary,  it  was  that  very  birth  of  the  Son  of  God  which  sanctified 
the  whole  race  of  woman,  and  turned  her  curse  into  a  blessing.  Never- 
theless, as  Christ  Himself  was  minded  to  "  fulfil  all  righteousness,"  to 
obey  all  the  ordinances  of  the  covenant  under  which  He  was  born,  so 
in  like  manner  his  Mother  Mary  submitted  to  the  Law,  in  order  to  do 
it  reverence. 

This  then  is  the  event  in  our  Saviour's  infancy,  which  we  this  day 
celebrate  ;  His  presentation  in  the  Temple,  when  His  Virgin  Mother 
was  ceremonially  purified.  It  was  made  memorable  at  the  time  by  the 
hymns  and  praises  of  Simeon  and  Anna,  to  whom  He  was  then  revealed. 
And  there  were  others,  besides  these,  who  had  been  "  looking  for  re- 
demption in  Jerusalem,"  who  were  also  vouchsafed  a  sight  of  the  Infant 
Saviour.  But  the  chief  importance  of  this  event  consists  in  its  being  a 
fulfilment  of  prophecy.  Malachi  had  announced  the  Lord's  visitation 
of  His  Temple  in  these  words,  "  The  Lord  whom  ye  seek  shall  suddenly 
come  to  His  Temple  ;"t  words  which,  though  variously  fulfilled  during 
His  Ministry,  had  their  first  accomplishment  in  the  humble  ceremony 
commemorated  on  this  day.  And,  when  we  consider  the  grandeur  of 
the  prediction,  and  how  unostentatious  this  accomplishment  was,  we  are 
led  to  muse  upon  God's  ways,  and  to  draw  useful  lessons  for  ourselves. 
This  is  the  refiection  which  I  propose  to  make  upon  the  subject  of  this 
Festival. 

I  say,  we  arc  to-day  reminded  of  the  noiseless  course  of  God's  provi- 
dence, His  tranquil  accomplishment,  in  the  course  of  nature,  of  great 
events  long  designed  ;  and  again,  the  suddenness  and  stillness  of  His 
visitations.  Consider  what  the  occurrence  in  question  consists  in.  A 
little  child  is  brought  to  the  Temple,  as  all  first-born  children  were 
brought.  There  is  nothing  here  uncommon  or  striking,  so  far.  His 
parents  are  with  him,  poor  people,  bringing  the  offering  of  pigeons  or 
doves,  for  the  purification  of  the  mother.  They  are  met  in  the  Temple 
by  an  old  man,  who  takes  the  child  in  his  arms,  offers  a  thanksgiving  to 

'  Numb    iii.  12,  13.  t  Mai.  iii.  1. 


X.]  SECRECY  OF  DIVIXE  VISITATIONS.  271 

God,  and  blesses  the  parents  ;  and  next  are  joined  by  a  woman  of  a 
great  age,  a  widow  of  eighty. four  years,  who  had  exceeded  the  time  of 
useful  service,  and  seemed  to  be  but  a  fit  prey  for  death.  She  gives 
thanks  also,  and  speaks  concerning  the  child  to  other  persons  who  are 
present.     Then  all  retire. 

Now,  there  is  evidently  nothing  great  or  impressive  in  this  :  nothing 
to  excite  the  feelings,  or  interest  the  imagination.  We  know  what  the 
world  thinks  of  such  a  group  as  I  have  described.  The  weak  and  help- 
less, whether  from  age  or  infancy,  it  looks  upon  negligently  and  passes  ' 
by.  Yet  all  this  that  happened  was  really  the  solemn  fulfilment  of  an 
ancient  and  emphatic  prophecy.  The  infant  in  arms  was  the  Saviour 
of  the  world,  the  rightful  heir,  come  in  disguise  of  a  stranger  to  visit 
His  own  house.  The  Scripture  had  said,  "  The  Lord  whom  you  seek, 
shall  suddenly  come  to  his  Temple,  but  who  may  abide  the  day  of  his 
coming,  and  who  mav  stand  when  he  appeareth  1 "  He  had  now  taken 
possession.  And  further,  the  old  man,  who  took  the  child  in  his  arms, 
had  upon  him  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  had  been  promised  the  blessed 
sight  of  his  Lord  before  his  death,  came  into  the  Temple  by  heavenly 
guidance,  and  now  had  within  him  thoughts  unutterable,  of  joy,  thank- 
fulness, and  hope,  strangely  mixed  with  awe,  fear,  painful  wonder,  and 
"  bitterness  of  spirit."  Anna  too,  the  woman  of  fourscore  and  four 
years,  was  a  prophetess  ;  and  the  bystanders,  to  whom  she  spoke,  were 
the  true  Israel,  who  were  looking  out  in  faith  for  the  predicted  redemp- 
tion of  mankind,  those  who  (in  the  words  of  the  prophecy,)  "sought" 
and  in  prospect  "  delighted"  in  the  "  Messenger"  of  God's  covenant  of 
mercy.  "  The  glory  of  this  latter  House  shall  be  greater  than  of  the 
former,"*  was  the  announcement  of  another  prophecy.  Behold  the 
glory  ;  a  little  child  and  his  parents,  two  aged  persons,  and  a  congre- 
gation without  name  or  memorial.  "  The  Kingdom  of  God  cometh  not 
with  observation." 

Such  has  ever  been  the  manner  of  His  visitations,  in  the  destruction 
of  His  enemies  as  well  as  in  the  deliverance  of  His  own  people  ; — silent, 
sudden,  unforeseen,  as  regards  the  world,  though  predicted  in  the  face 
of  all  men,  and  in  their  measure  comprehended  and  waited  for  by  His 
true  Church.  Such  a  visitation  was  the  flood ;  Noah,  a  preacher  of 
righteousness,  but  the  multitude  of  sinners  judicially  blinded.  "They 
did  eat,  they  drank,  they  married  wives,  they  were  given  in  marriage, 
until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  Ark,  and  the  flood  came  and 
destroyed  them  all."  Such  was  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
"Likewise  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Lot  ;  they  did  eat;  they  drank, 

*  Hagg.  ii.  9. 


272  PURIFICATION   OF  THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN.  [Serm. 

they  bought,  they  sold,  they  planted,  they  builded ;  but  the  same  day 
that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom,  it  rained  lire  and  brimstone  from  Heaven, 
and  destroyed  them  all  ;"*  Agai  n,  "  The  horse  of  Pharaoh  went  in  with 
his  chariots  and  with  his  horsemen  into  the  sea;  and  the  Lord  brought 
again  the  waters  of  the  sea  upon  them."-|-  The  overthrow  of  Sennacherib 
was  also  silent  and  sudden,  when  his  vast  army  least  expected  it ;  "  The 
Angel  of  the  Lord  went  forth,  and  smote  in  the  camp  of  the  Assyrians 
a  hundred  fourscore  and  five  thousand.":}:  Belshazzar  and  Babylon 
•were  surprised  in  the  midst  of  the  king's  great  feast  to  his  thousand 
lords.  While  Nebuchadnezzar  boasted,  his  reason  was  suddenly  taken 
from  him.  While  the  multitude  shouted  with  impious  flattery  at 
Herod's  speech,  then  "  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  smote  him,  because  he 
gave  not  God  the  glory. "§  Whether  we  take  the  first  or  the  final  judg- 
ment upon  Jerusalem,  both  visitations  were  foretold  as  sudden.  Of  the 
former,  Isaiah  had  declared  it  should  come  '■''Suddenly,  at  an  instant  ;"|| 
of  the  latter,  Malachi,  "  The  Lord  whom  ye  seek  shall  suddenly  come 
to  his  Temple."  And  such  too  will  be  His  final  visitation  of  the  whole 
earth  :  men  will  be  at  their  work  in  the  city  and  in  the  field,  and  it  will 
overtake  them  like  a  thunder-cloud.  "Two  women  shall  be  grinding 
together  ;  the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left.  Two  men  shall 
be  in  the  field  ;  the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left. "IT 

And  it  is  impossible  that  it  should  be  otherwise,  in  spite  of  warnings 
ever  so  clear,  considering  how  the  world  goes  on  in  every  age.  Men, 
who  are  plunged  in  the  pursuits  of  active  life,  are  no  judges  of  its 
course  and  tendency  on  the  whole.  They  confuse  great  events  with 
little,  and  measure  the  importance  of  objects  as  in  perspective  by  the 
mere  standard  of  nearness  or  remoteness.  It  is  only  at  a  distance 
that  one  can  take  in  the  outlines  and  features  of  a  whole  country.  It 
is  but  holy  Daniel,  solitary  among  princes,  or  Elijah  the  recluse  of 
Mount  Carmel,  who  can  withstand  Baal,  or  forecast  the  time  of  God's 
providences  among  the  nations.  To  the  multitude  all  things  continue 
to  the  end,  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation.  The 
business  of  state  afiairs,  the  movements  of  society,  the  course  of  nature, 
proceed  as  ever,  till  the  moment  of  Christ's  coming.  "The  sun  M-as 
risen  upon  the  earth,"  bright  as  usual,  on  that  very  day  of  wrath  in 
which  Sodom  was  destroyed.  Men  cannot  believe  their  own  time  is 
an  especially  wicked  lime  ;  for,  with  Scripture  unstudied  and  hearts  un- 
trained in  holiness,  they  have  no  standard  to  compare  it  with.  They 
take  warning  from  no  troubles,  or  perplexities  ;    which  rather  carry 

»  LuKe  xvii.  27-29.         t  Exod.  xv.  19.  X  Is.  xxxvii.  36. 

§  Acts.  xii.  23.  II  Is.  XXX.  13.  IT  Lulie  xvii.  35,  3G. 


X.J  SECRECY  OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS.  273 

-them  away  to  search  out  the  earthly  causes  of  them,  and  the  possible 
remedies.  They  consider  them  as  conditions  of  this  world,  necessary 
results  of  this  or  that  state  of  society.  When  the  power  of  Assyria  be- 
came great,  (we  might  suppose)  the  Jews  had  a  plain  call  to  repentance. 
Far  from  it ;  they  were  led  to  set  power  against  power,  they  took  refuge 
against  Assyria  in  Egypt  their  old  enemy.  Probably  they  reasoned 
themselves  into  what  they  considered  a  temperate,  enlightened,  cheerful 
■view  of  national  affairs ;  perhaps  they  might  consider  the  growth  of 
Assyria  as  an  advantage  rather  than  otherwise,  as  balancing  the  power 
of  Egypt,  and  so  tending  to  their  own  security.  Certain  it  is,  we  find 
them  connecting  themselves  first  with  one  kingdom,  and  then  with  the 
other,  as  men  who  could  read  (as  they  thought)  "the  signs  of  the  times," 
and  made  some  pretences  to  political  wisdom.  Thus  the  world  pro- 
ceeds till  wrath  comes  upon  it  and  there  is  no  escape.  "  To-morrow, ' 
they  say,  '*  Shall  be  as  this  day,  and  much  more  abundant."* 

And  in  the  midst  of  this  their  revel,  whether  of  sensual  pleasure,  or 
of  ambition,  or  of  covetousness,  or  of  pride  and  self-esteem,  the  decree 
goes  forth  to  destroy.  The  decree  goes  forth  in  secret ;  Angels  hear 
it,  and  the  favoured  few  on  earth ;  but  no  public  event  takes  place  to 
give  the  world  warning.  The  earth  was  doomed  to  the  flood  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  before  the  "  decree  brought  forth,"f  or  men 
heard  of  it.  The  waters  of  Babylon  had  been  turned,  and  the  con- 
queror was  marching  into  the  city,  when  Belshazzar  made  his  great 
feast.  Pride  infatuates  man,  and  self-indulgence  and  luxury  work 
their  way  unseen, — like  some  smouldering  fire,  which  for  a  while  leaves 
the  outward  form  of  things  unaltered.  At  length  the  decayed  mass 
cannot  hold  together,  and  breaks  by  its  own  weight,  or  on  some  slight 
and  accidental  external  violence.  As  the  Prophet  says  ;  "  This  iniquity 
shall  be  to  your  as  a  breach  ready  to  fall,  swelling  out  (or  bulging)  in  a 
high  wall,  whose  breaking  cometh  suddenly  at  an  instant.'^  The  same 
inward  corruption  of  a  nation  seems  to  be  meant  in  our  Lord's  words, 
when  He  says  of  Jerusalem ;  "  Wheresoever  the  carcass  is,  there  will 
the  eagles  be  gathered  together.":}: 

Thoughts,  such  as  the  foregoing,  are  profitable  at  all  times ;  for  in 
overy  age  the  world  is  profane  and  blind,  and  God  hides  His  Providence, 
yet  carries  it  forward.  But  they  arc  peculiarly  apposite  now,  in  pro- 
portion as  the  present  day  bears  upon  it  more  marks  than  usual  of  pride 
and  judicial  blindness.  Whether  Christ  is  at  our  doors  or  not,  but 
a  few  men  in  England  may  have  grace  enough  safely  to  conjecture 
but  that  He  is  calling  upon  us  all  to  prepare  as  for  His  coming,  is  most 

♦  Is.  Ivi.  12.         t  Zcpli.  ii.  2.        t  Matt.  xxir.  28. 
Vol.  I.— 18 


274  PURIFICATION   OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN.  [Skrm. 

evident  to  those  who  have  reUgious  eyes  and  cars.  Let  us  then  turn 
this  Festival  to  account,  by  taking  it  as  the  Memorial-day  of  His  visita- 
tions. Let  us  from  the  events  it  celebrates,  lay  up  deep  in  our  hearts 
the  recollection,  how  mysteriously  little  things  are  iu  this  world  con- 
nected with  great,  how  single  moments,  improved  or  wasted,  are  the 
salvation  or  ruin  of  all-important  interests.  Let  us  bear  the  thought 
upon  us,  when  we  come  to  worship  in  God's  House,  that  any  such  sea- 
son of  service  may,  for  what  we  know,  be  wonderlully  connected  with 
some  ancient  purpose  of  His,  announced  before  we  were  born,  and  have 
its  determinate  bearing  on  our  eternal  welfare ;  let  us  fear  to  miss  the 
Saviour,  while  Simeon  and  Anna  find  Him.  lict  us  remember  that 
He  was  not  manifested  again  in  the  Temple,  except  once,  for  thirt)^ 
years,  while  a  whole  generation,  who  were  alive  at  His  first  visitation, 
died  off'  in  the  interval.  Let  us  carry  this  thought  into  our  daily  con- 
duct ;  considering  that,  for  what  we  know,  our  hope  of  salvation  may 
in  the  event  materially  depend  on  our  avoiding  this  or  that  momentary 
sin.  And  further,  from  the  occurrences  of  this  day,  let  us  take  comfort, 
when  we  despond  about  the  state  of  the  Church.  Perhaps  we  see  not 
God's  tokens  ;  we  see"  neither  prophet  nor  teacher  remaining  to  His 
people  ;  darkness  falls  over  the  earth,  and  no  protesting  voice  is  heard. 
Yet,  granting  things  to  be  at  the  very  worst,  yet  when  Christ  was  pre- 
sented in  the  Temple,  the  age  knew  as  little  of  it,  as  it  knows  of  His 
Providence  now.  Rather,  the  worse  our  condition  is,  the  nearer  to  us 
is  the  Advent  of  our  Deliverer.  Even  though  He  is  silent,  doubt  not 
that  His  army  is  on  the  march  towards  us.  He  is  coming  through  the 
sky,  and  has  even  now  His  camp  upon  the  outskirts  of  our  own  world. 
Nay,  though  He  still  for  a  while  keep  His  scat  at  His  Father's  right 
hand,  yet  surely  He  sees  all  that  is  going  on,  and  waits  and  will  not 
fail  His  hour  of  vengeance.  Shall  He  not  hear  His  own  elect,  when 
they  cry  day  and  night  to  Him?  His  services  of  prayer  and  praise 
continue,  and  are  scorned  by  the  multitude.  Day  by  day,  Festival  by 
Festival,  Fast  after  Fast,  Season  by  Season,  they  continue  according  to 
His  ordinance  and  are  scorned.  But  the  greater  His  delay,  the  heavier 
will  be  His  vengeance,  and  the  more  complete  the  deliverance  of  His 
people. 

JMay  the  good  Lord  save  His  Church,  in  this  her  hour  of  peril ;  when. 
Satan  seeks  to  sap  and  corrupt  where  he  dare  not  openly  assault  !  May 
He  raise  up  instruments  of  His  grace,  "  not  ignorant"  of  the  devices 
of  the  Evil  One,  with  seeming  eyes,  and  strong  hearts,  and  vigorous 
arms  to  defend  the  treasure  of  the  faith  once  committed  to  the  Saints,, 
and  to  rouse  and  alarm  their  slumbering  brethren !  "  For  Sion's  sake 
will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  and  for  Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  rest,  until 


XI.]  DIVINE   DECREES.  275 

the  righteousness  thereof  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  the  salvation  thereof 
as  a  lamp  that  burneth  ....  Ye  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord,  keep 
not  silence,  and  give  him  no  rest,  till  he  establish,  and  till  He  make 
Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth  ....  Go  through,  go  through  the  gates  ; 
prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  people,  cast  up,  cast  up  the  highway,  gather 
out  the  stones,  lift  up  the  standard  for  the  people."*  Thus  does  Al- 
mighty God  address  His  "  watchmen  on  the  walls  of  Jerusalem ;"  and 
to  the  Church  herself  He  says,  to  our  great  comfort:  "  No  weapon  that 
is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper,  and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise 
against  thee  in  judgment,  thou  shalt  condemn.  This  is  the  heritage  of 
the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and  their  righteousness  is  of  Me,  saith  the 
Lord."t 


SERMON    XI 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHIAS,  THE  APOSTLE. 
DIVINE  DECREES. 


Rev.  iii.  11. 
Hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown. 

This  is  the  only  Saint's-day  which  is  to  be  celebrated  with  mingled 
feelings  of  joy  and  pain.  It  records  the  fall,  as  well  as  the  election  of 
an  Apostle.  St.  Matthias  was  chosen  in  the  place  of  the  traitor  Judas. 
In  the  history  of  the  latter  we  have  the  warning  recorded  in  very  deed 
which  our  Lord  in  the  next  gives  us  in  word,  "  Hold  that  fast  which 
thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown."  And  doubtless  many  were 
the  warnings  such  as  this,  addressed  by  our  Lord  to  the  wretched  man 
who  in  the  end  betrayed  him.  Not  only  did  He  call  him  to  reflection 
and  repentance  bv  the  hints  which  He  let  drop  concerning  Him  during 
tlie  Last  Supper,  but  in  the  discourses  previous  to  it.  He  may  be  supposed 
to  have  intended  a  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  His  apostate  dis- 
ciple.    "  Watch  ye,  therefore,"  He  said,  "  lest  coming  suddenly,  He 

•  Isa.  Ixii.  1.6,  7.  10.  jlsa.  Hv.  17. 


276  ST.  MATTHIAS.  [Serm. 

find  you  sleeping." — I  called  Judas  just  now  wretched;  for  we  must  not 
speak  of  sinners  according  to  the  falsely-charitable  way  of  some,  styling 
them  iinforlunale  instead  of  wicked,  lest  we  thus  learn  to  excuse  sin  in 
ourselves.  He  was  doubtless  inexcusable,  as  we  shall  be,  if  we  follow 
his  pattern  ;  and  he  must  be  viewed,  not  Avith  pity,  but  with  fear 
and  awe. 

The  reflection  which  rises  in  the  mind  on  a  consideration  of  the 
election  of  St.  Matthias,  is  this ;  how  easily  God  may  effect  His  pur- 
poses without  us,  and  put  others  in  our  place,  if  we  are  disobedient  to 
Him.  It  often  happens  that  those  who  have  long  been  in  His  favour 
grow  secure  and  presuming.  They  think  their  salvation  certain,  and 
their  service  necessary  to  Him  who  has  graciously  accepted  it.  They 
consider  themselves  as  personally  bound  up  with  His  purposes  of  mercy 
manifested  in  the  Church  ;  and  so  marked  out,  that,  if  they  could  fall, 
His  word  would  fail.  They  come  to  think  they  have  some  peculiar 
title  or  interest  in  His  promises,  over  and  above  other  men,  (however 
derived,  it  matters  not,  whether  from  His  eternal  decree,  or  on  the  other 
hand  from  their  own  especial  holiness  and  obedience,)  but  practically 
such  an  interest,  that  the  very  supposition  that  they  can  possibly  fall 
offends  them.  Now  this  feeling  of  self-importance  is  repressed  all 
through  the  Scriptures,  and  especially  by  the  events  we  commemorate 
to-day.     Let  us  consider  this  subject. 

Eliphaz  the  Temanite  thus  answers  .Tob,  who  in  his  distress  showed 
infirmity,  and  grew  impatient  of  God's  correction.  "  Can  a  man  be 
profitable  unto  God,  as  he  that  is  wise  may  be  profitable  unto  himself? 
Is  it  any  pleasure  to  the  Almighty,  that  thou  art  righteous  ?  or  is  it  gain 
to  Him,  that  thou  makest  thy  ways  perfect  ?"*  And  the  course  of  His 
providence  as  recorded  in  Scripture,  will  show  us,  that,  in  dealing  with 
us  His  rational  creatures.  He  goes  by  no  unconditional  rule,  which 
makes  us  absolutely  His  from  the  first ;  but,  as  He  is  "  no  respecter  of 
persons,"  so  on  the  other  hand  righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  basis 
of  His  throne  ;  and  that  whoso  rebels,  whether  Archangel  or  Apostle, 
at  once  forfeits  His  favour  ;  and  this,  even  for  the  sake  of  those  who  do 
not  rebel. 

Not  long  before  the  fall  and  treachery  of  Judas,  Christ  pronounced  a 
blessing,  as  it  seemed,  upon  all  the  twelve  Apostles,  the  traitor  included. 
"  Ye  which  have  followed  Me,  in  the  regeneration,  when  the  Son  of 
Man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  His  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve 
thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."f  Who  would  not  have 
thought  from  this  promise,  taken  by  itself,  and  without  reference  to  the 

*  Job  xxii.  2,  3.  t  Matt.  xix.  28. 


XI.]  DIVINE   DECREES.  277 

Eternal  Rule  of  God's  government,  which  is  always  understood,  even 
when  not  formally  enunciated,  that  Judas  was  sure  of  eternal  life  ?  It 
is  true  our  Saviour  added,  as  if  with  an  allusion  to  him,  "  many  that 
are  first  shall  be  last ;"  yet  He  said  nothing  to  undeceive  such  as  might 
refuse  to  consult  and  apply  the  fundamental  law  of  His  impartial  Provi- 
dence. All  His  twelve  Apostles  seemed  from  the  letter  of  His  words,  to 
be  predestined  to  life  ;  nevertheless,  in  a  few  months,  Matthias  held  the 
throne  and  crown  of  one  of  them.  And  there  is  something  remarkable 
in  the  circumstance  itself,  that  our  Lord  should  have  made  up  their 
number  to  a  full  twelve,  after  one  had  fallen  ;  and,  perhaps,  there  may 
be  contained  in  it  some  symbolical  allusion  to  the  scope  of  His  decrees, 
which  we  cannot  altogether  enter  into.  Surely,  had  He  willed  it, 
eleven  would  have  accomplished  His  purpose  as  well  as  twelve.  Why, 
when  one  had  fallen,  should  He  accurately  fill  up  the  perfect  number  ? 
Yet,  not  only  in  the  case  of  the  Apostles,  but  in  that  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel  also,  if  He  rejects  one.  He  divides  another  into  two.*  Why  is 
this,  but  to  show  us,  as  it  would  appear,  that  in  this  election  of  us.  He 
does  not  look  at  u^  as  mere  individuals,  but  as  a  body,  as  a  certain  defi- 
nite whole,  of  which  the  parts  may  alter  in  the  process  of  disengaging 
it  from  this  sinful  world, — with  reference  to  some  glorious  and  harmo- 
nious design  beyond  us,  who  are  the  immediate  objects  of  His  bounty, 
and  shall  be  the  fruit  of  His  love,  if  we  are  faithful?  Why,  but  to  show 
us,  that  He  could  even  find  other  Apostles  to  suffer  for  Him, — and  much, 
more,  servants  to  fill  His  lower  thrones,  should  we  be  wanting,  and 
transgress  His  strict  and  holy  law  ? 

This  is  but  one  instance  out  of  many,  in  the  revealed  history  of  His 
moral  government.  He  was  on  the  point  of  exemplifying  the  same 
Rule  in  the  case  of  the  Israelites,  when  Moses  staved  His  hand.  God 
purposed  to  consume  them,  when  they  rebelled,  and  instead  to  make  of 
Moses'  seed  a  great  nation.  This  happened  twice. f  The  second  time, 
God  declared  what  was  His  end  in  view  in  fulfilling  which  the  Israel- 
ites were  but  his  instruments.  "  I  have  pardoned  according  to  thy 
word  ;  but  as  truly  as  I  live,  all  the  earth  shall  be  fdled  with  the  glory 
oftheLoj-d."  Again,  on  the  former  occasion,  He  gave  the  Rule  of 
His  dealings  with  them.  Moses  wished  for  the  sake  of  his  people  to 
be  himself  excluded  from  the  land  of  promise;  "If  thou  wilt  forgive 
their  sin  ; — and  if  not,  blot  me,  I  pray  Thee,  out  of  Thy  book  which 
I  Thou  hast  written.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  WJiosoever  hath 
sinned  against  Me,  him  will  I  blot  out  of  My  book."     So  clearly  has  he 

»  Rev.  vii.  t  Exod.  xxxii    32,  33.     Numb.  xiv.  20,  21. 


278  ST.  MATTHIAS. 


[Serm. 


shown  us  from  the  beginning,  that  His  own  glory  is  the  End,  and  jus- 
tice the  essential  Rule  of  His  Providence. 

Again,  Saul  has  chosen  and  thought  himself  secure.  His  conduct 
evinced  the  self-will  of  an  independent  monarch,  instead  of  one  who 
felt  himself  to  be  a  mere  instrument  of  God's  purposes,  a  minister  of 
his  glory,  under  the  obligation  of  a  law  of  right  and  wrong,  and  strong 
only  as  wielded  by  Him  who  formed  him.  So,  when  he  sinned,  Samu 
el  said  to  him,  "  Thou  hast  done  foolishly,  thou  hast  not  kept  the  com- 
mandment  of  the  Lord  thy  God.  ...  for  now  xcould  the  Lord  have 
established  thy  kingdom  upon  Israel  for  ever.  But  now  thy  kingdom 
shall  not  continue ;  the  Lord  hath  sought  him  a  man  after  his  own 
heart."*  And  again,  "  The  Lord  hath  rent  the  kingdom  of  Israel  from 
thee  this  day,  and  hath  given  it  to  a  neighbour  of  thine,  that  is  better 
than  thou."f 

In  like  manner,  Christ  also,  convicting  the  Jews  out  of  their  own 
mouth  ;  "He  will  miserably  destroy  those  wicked  men,  and  will  let 
out  His  vineyard  unto  other  husbandmen,  which  shall  render  Him  the 
fruits  in  their  seasons.  ":|:  Consider  how  striking  an  instance  the  Jews 
formed  when  the  Gospel  was  offered  them,  of  the  general  Rule  which 
I  am  pointing  out.  They  were  rejected.  How  hard  they  thought  it, 
St.  Paul's  Epistles  show.  They  did  not  shrink  from  declaring,  that  if 
Jesus  were  the  Christ,  and  the  Gentiles  made  equal  with  them,  God's 
promise  was  broken  ;  and  you  may  imagine  how  forcibly  they  might 
have  pleaded  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  seemed  irre- 
versibly to  assign  honour  and  power  (not  to  say  temporal  honour  and 
power,)  to  the  Israelites  byname.  Alas!  they  did  not  seek  out  and 
use  the  one  clue  given  them  for  their  religious  course,  amid  all  the 
mysteries  both  of  Scripture  and  the  world, — the  one  solemn  Rule  of 
God's  dealings  with  His  creatures.  They  did  not  listen  for  that  small 
still  voice,  running  under  all  His  dispensations,  most  clear  to  those  who 
would  listen,  amid  all  the  intricacies  of  His  Providence  and  His  prom- 
ises. Impressed  though  it  be  upon  the  heart  by  nature,  and  ever  in- 
sisted on  in  Revelation,  as  the  basis  on  which  God  has  established  all 
his  decrees,  it  was  to  them  a  hard  saying.  St.  Paul  retorts  it  on  their 
consciences,  when  they  complained.  "  God  (he  says)  will  render 
to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds.  To  them  who  by  patient 
continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for  glory  and  honour  and  immor- 
tality, eternal  life ;  but  unto  them  that  are  contentious,  and  do 
not  obey  the  Truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation  and 
wrath  ; — tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul   of  man  that  doeth 

*  1  Sam.  xiii   13,  14.  t  1  Sam.  iv.  28.  f  Matt.  xzi.  41. 


XI.]  DIVINE  DECREES.  279 

evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the  Gentile  ;  but  glory,  honour,  and 
peace,  to  every  man  that  worketh  good,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to 
the  Gentile.     For  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God."* 

Such  was  the  unchangeable  Rule  of  God's  government,  as  it  is  pro- 
pounded by  St.  Paul  in  explanation  of  the  Jewish  election,  and  signifi- 
cantly prefixed  to  his  discourse  upon  the  Christian.  Such  as  was  the 
Mosaic,  such  also  is  the  Gospel  Covenant,  made  without  respect  of  per- 
sons ;  rich,  indeed,  in  privilege  and  promise  far  above  the  Elder  Dis- 
pensation, but  bearing  on  its  front  the  same  original  avowal  of  impar- 
tial retribution, — "  peace  to  every  man  that  worketh  good,"  "  wrath  to 
the  disobedient ;"  predestining  to  glory,  characters  not  persons,  pledg- 
ing the  gift  of  perseverance  not  to  individuals,  but  to  a  body  of  which 
the  separate  members  might  change.  This  is  the  doctrine  set  before 
us  by  that  Apostle,  to  whom  was  revealed  in  an  extraordinary  way  the 
nature  of  the  Christian  Covenant,  its  peculiar  blessedness,  gifts  and 
promises.  The  New  Covenant  was,  so  far,  not  unlike  the  Old,  as  some 
reasoners  in  these  days  would  maintain. 

We  are  vouchsafed  a  further  witness  to  it,  in  the  favoured  Evange- 
list, who  finally  closed  and  perfected  the  volume  of  God's  revelations, 
after  the  death  of  his  brethren.  "  Behold  I  come  quickly,  and  My  re- 
ward is  with  Me,  to  give  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be  .  .  . 
Blessed  are  they  that  do  His  commandments,  that  they  may  have  right 
to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city."f 

And  a  third  witness  that  the  Christian  Election  is  like  the  Jewish, 
conditional,  is  our  Lord's  own  declaration,  which  He  left  behind  Him 
with  His  Apostl OS  when  He  was  leaving  the  world,  as  recorded  by  the 
same  Evangelist.  "  If  a  man  abide  not  in  3Ie,"  He  said,  "  he  is  cast 
forth  as  a  branch,  and  is  withered  ;  and  men  gather  them,  and  cast 
them  into  the  fire,  and  they  are  burned."  And,  lest  restless  and  reluc- 
tant minds  should  shelter  their  opposition  to  this  solemn  declaration 
under  some  supposed  obscurity  in  the  expression  of  ''  abiding  in  Him," 
and  say  that  none  abide  in  Him,  but  the  predestined.  He  adds,  for  the 
removal  of  all  doubt,  "  (f  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in 
my  love.":j: 

Lastly,  in  order  to  complete  the  solemn  promulgation  of  His  eternal 
Rule,  He  exemplified  it,  while  he  spoke  it,  in  the  instanc3  of  an  Apos- 
tle. He  knew  whom  Fie  had  chosen ;  that  they  were  "  not  all  clean," 
that  "  one  of  them  was  a  devil  ;"  yet  He  chose  all  twelve,  as  if  to 
show  that  souls  chosen  for  eternal  life  might  fall  away.  Thus,  in  the 
case  of  the  Apostles  themselves,  in  the  very  foundation  of  His  Church, 

*  Rom.  ii.  6—11.         t  Rev.  x.xii.  12,  14.         t  John  xv.  16. 


280  ST.  MATTHIAS.  [Serm.  XI'.. 

He  laid  deep  the  serious  and  merciful  warning,  if  we  have  wisdom  to  lay  it 
to  heart ;  "  Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear  ;"  for,  if  God  spared  not  Apos- 
tles, neither  will  He  spare  thee  ! 

What  solemn  overpowering  thoughts  must  have  crowded  on  St.  Mat- 
thias, when  he  received  the  greetings  of  the  eleven  Apostles,  and  took 
his  seat  among  them  as  their  brother  !  His  very  election  was  a  witness 
against  himself,  if  he  did  not  fulfil  it.  And  such  surely  will  ours  be  in. 
our  degree.  AVe  take  the  place  of  others  who  have  gone  before,  as 
Matthias  did ;  we  are  "  baptized  for  the  dead,"  filling  up  the  ranks  of 
soldiers,  some  of  whom,  indeed,  have  fought  a  good  fight,  but  many  of 
whom  in  every  age  have  made  void  their  calling.  Many  are  called, 
few  are  chosen.  The  monuments  of  sin  and  unbelief  arc  set  up  around 
us.  The  casting  away  of  the  Jews  was  the  reconciling  of  the  Gentiles. 
The  fall  of  one  nation  is  the  conversion  of  another.  The  Church  loses 
old  branches,  and  gains  new.  God  works  according  to  His  own  inscru- 
table pleasure  ;  He  has  left  the  East,  and  manifested  Himself  West- 
ward. Thus  the  Christian  of  every  age  is  but  the  successor  of  the  lost  and: 
of  the  dead.  How  long  we  of  this  country  shall  be  put  in  trust  with  the 
Gospel,  we  know  not ;  but  while  we  have  the  privilege,  assuredly  we 
do  but  stand  in  the  place  of  Christians  who  have  either  utterly  fallen 
away  or  are  so  corrupted,  as  scarcely  to  let  their  light  shine  before 
men.  We  are  at  present  witnesses  of  the  Truth  ;  and  our  very  glory 
is  our  warning.  By  the  superstitions,  the  profanities,  the  indifference, 
the  unbelief  of  the  world  called  Christian,  we  are  called  upon  to  be 
lowly-minded  while,  we  preach  aloud,  and  to  tremble  while  we  rejoice. 
Let  us  then,  as  a  Church  and  as  individuals,  one  and  all,  look  to  Him 
who  alone  can  keep  us  from  falling.  Let  us  with  single  heart  look  up 
to  Christ  our  Saviour,  and  put  ourselves  into  His  hands,  from  whom  all 
our  strength  and  wisdom  is  derived.  Let  us  avoid  the  beginnings  of 
temptation  ;  let  us  watch  and  pray  lest  we  enter  into  it.  Avoiding  all 
speculations  which  are  above  us,  let  us  follow  what  tends  to  edifying. 
Let  us  receive  into  our  hearts  the  great  truth,  that  we  who  have  been 
freely  accepted  and  sanctified  as  members  of  Christ,  shall  hereafter  be 
judged  by  our  works,  done  in  and  through  Him  ;  that  the  Sacraments 
unite  us  to  Him,  and  that  faith  makes  the  Sacraments  open  their 
hidden  virtue,  and  flow  forth  in  pardon  and  grace.  Beyond  this 
we  may  not  inquire.  How  it  is  one  man  perseveres  and  another 
fall.«,  what  are  the  exact  limits  and  character  of  our  natural  corruption, 
— these  are  over-subtle  questions ;  while  we  know  for  certain,  that 
though  we  can  do  nothing  of  ourselves,  yet  that  salvation  is  in  our  own 
power,  for  however  deep  and  far-spreading  is  the  root  of  evil  in  us^ 
God's  grace  will  be  sufficient  for  our  need. 


SERMON     XII 


THE  FEAST  OF   THE   ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED 
VIRGIN  MARY. 

THE  REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HER. 


Luke  i.  48. 
From  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed. 

To-day  we  celebrate  the  Annunciation  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  when  the 
Angel  Gabriel  was  sent  to  tell  her  that  she  was  to  be  the  Mother  of  our 
Lord,  and  when  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  her,  and  overshadowed  her 
with  the  power  of  the  Highest.     In  that  great  event  was  fulfilled  her 
anticipation  as  expressed  in  the  text.     All  generations  have  called  her 
blessed.*     The  Angel  began  the  salutation  ;  he  said,  "  Hail,  thou  that 
art  highly-favoured ;  the  Lord  is  with   thee ;  blessedf  art  thou  among 
women."     Again  he  said,  "  Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast  found  favour 
with  God ;  and  behold,  thou   shalt  conceive  in   thy  womb,  and  bring 
forth  a  Son,  and  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus.     He   shall  be   great,  and 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest."     Her  cousin  Elizabeth  was  the 
next  to  greet  her  with  her  appropriate  title.     Though  she   was  filled 
\  with  the  Holy  Ghost  at  the  time  she  spake,  yet,  far  from  thinking  her- 
self by  such  a  gift  equalled  to  Mary,  she  was  thereby  moved  to  use  the 
lowlier  and  more  reverent  language.    "  She  spake  out  with  a  loud  voice, 
I  and  said.  Blessed  art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy 
womb.     And  whence  is  this  to  me,  that  the  mother  of  my  Lord  should 
I  come  to  me  ?"....  Then  she  repeated,  "  Blessed  is  she  that  believed; 
i  for  there  shall   be  a  performance  of  those  things  which  were  told  her 
1  from  the  Lord."     Then  it  was  that  Mary  gave  utterance  to  her  feelings 
j  in  the  Hymn  which  wc  read  in  the  Evening  Service.     How  many  and 
complicated  must  they  have  been  !     In  her  was  now  to  be  fulfilled  that 
promise  which  the  world  had  been  looking  out  for  during  thousands  of 


282  ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN.  [Serm. 

years.  The  Seed  of  the  woman,  announced  to  guilty  Eve,  after  so 
long  delay,  was  at  length  appearing  upon  earth,  and  was  to  be  born  of 
her.  In  her  the  destinies  of  the  world  were  to  be  reversed,  and  the 
serpent's  head  bruised.  On  her  was  bestowed  the  greatest  honour  ever 
put  upon  any  individual  of  our  fallen  race.  God  was  taking  upon  Him  her 
flesh,  and  humbling  Himself  to  be  called  her  oflspring  ; — such  is  the  deep 
mystery  !  She  of  course  would  feel  her  own  inexpressible  unworthiness  ; 
and  again,  her  humble  lot,  her  ignorance,  her  weakness  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world.  And  she  had  moreover,  we  may  well  suppose,  that  purity  and 
innocence  of  heart,  that  bright  vision  of  faith,  that  confiding  trust  in 
her  God,  which  raised  all  these  feelings  to  an  intensity  which  we,  ordi- 
nary mortals,  cannot  understand.  fVe  cannot  understand  them  ;  we 
repeat  her  hymn  day  after  day, — yet  consider  for  an  instant  in  how 
different  a  mode  we  say  it  from  that  in  which  she  at  the  first  uttered  it. 
We  even  hurry  it  over,  and  do  not  think  of  the  meaning  of  those  words 
which  came  from  the  most  highly  favoured,  awfully  gifted  of  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath 
rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour.  For  He  hath  regarded  the  low  estate  of 
His  hand-maiden  :  for  behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call 
me  blessed.  For  He  that  is  mighty  hath  done  to  me  great  things  ;  and 
holy  is  His  name.  And  His  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  Him  from 
generation  to  generation." 

Now  let  us  consider  in  what  respects  the  Virgin  Mary  is  Blessed ;  a 
title  first  given  her  by  the  Angel,  and  next  by  the  Church  in  all  ages 
since  to  this  day. 

1.  I  observe,  that  in  her  the  curse  pronounced  on  Eve,  was  changed  to 
a  blessing.  Eve  was  doomed  to  bear  children  in  sorrow ;  but  now  this 
very  dispensation,  in  which  the  token  of  Divine  anger  was  conveyed, 
was  made  the  means  by  which  salvation  came  into  the  world.  Christ 
might  have  descended  from  heaven,  as  He  went,  and  as  He  will  come 
again.  He  might  have  taken  on  Him  a  body  from  the  ground,  as  Ad- 
am was  taken  ;  or  been  formed,  like  Eve,  in  some  other  divinely  devis- 
ed way.  But,  far  from  this,  God  sent  forth  His  Son  (as  St.  Paul  says,) 
"  made  of  a  woman."  For  it  has  been  His  gracious  purpose  to  turn  all 
that  is  ours  from  evil  to  good.  Had  He  so  pleased,  He  might  have 
found,  Avhen  we  sinned,  other  beings  to  do  Him  service,  casting  us  into 
hell  ;  but  He  purposed  to  save  and  to  change  us.  And  in  like  manner 
all  that  belongs  to  us,  our  reason,  our  affections,  our  pursuits,  our  rela- 
tions in  life.  He  needs  nothing  put  aside  in  His  disciples,  but  all  sancti- 
fied. Therefore,  instead  of  sending  His  Son  from  heaven,  He  sent 
Him  forth  as  the  Son  of  Mary,  to  show  that  all  our  sorrow  and  all  our 
corruption  can   be    blessed  and  changed  by  Him.     The  very  punish- 


XII. ]  THE  REVERENCE   DUE   TO  HER.  283 

ment  of  the   fall,  the   very  taint  of  birth-sin,  admits  of  a  cure  by  the 
coming  of  Christ. 

2.  But  there  is  another  portion  of  the  original  punishment  of  wo- 
man, which  may  be  considered  as  repealed  when  Christ  came.  It  was 
said  to  the  woman,  "  Thy  husband  shall  rule  over  thee  ;"  a  sentence 
Avhich  has  been  strikingly  fulfilled.  Man  has  strength  to  conquer 
the  thorns  and  thistles  which  the  earth  is  cursed  with,  but  the  same 
strength  has  ever  proved  the  fulfilment  of  the  punishment  awarded  to 
the  woman.  Look  abroad  through  the  Heathen  world,  and  see  how 
the  weaker  half  of  mankind  has  every  where  been  tyrannized  over 
and  debased  by  the  strong  arm  of  force.  Consider  all  those  eastern 
nations,  which  have  never  at  any  time  reverenced  it,  but  have  heartless- 
ly made  it  the  slave  of  every  bad  and  cruel  purpose.  Thus  the  serpent 
has  triumphed, — making  the  man  still  degrade  himself  by  her  who  ori- 
ginally tempted  him,  and  her,  who  then  tempted,  now  suffer  from  him 
who  was  seduced.  Nay,  even  under  the  light  of  revelation,  the  punish- 
ment on  the  woman  was  not  removed  at  once.  Still,  (in  the  words  of 
the  curse,)  her  husband  ruled  over  her.  The  very  practice  of  polygamy 
and  divorce,  which  was  suffered  under  the  patriarchal  and  Jewish  dis- 
pensations, proves  it. 

But  when  Christ  came  as  the  seed  of  the  woman,  He  vindicated  the 
rights  and  honour  of  His  Mother.  Not  that  the  distinction  of  ranks  is 
destroyed  under  the  Gospel  ;  the  woman  is  still  made  inferior  to  the 
man,  as  he  to  Christ  ;  but  the  slavery  is  done  away  with.  St.  Peter 
bids  the  husband  "  give  honour  unto  the  wife,  because  the  weaker,  i  n 
that  both  are  heirs  of  the  grace  of  life."*  And  St.  Pciul,  while  enjoin- 
ing subjection  upon  her,  speaks  of  the  especial  blessedness  vouchsafed 
her  in  being  the  appointed  entrance  of  the  Saviour  into  the  world. 
"Adam  was  first  formed,  then  Eve  ;  and  Adam  was  not  deceived,  but 
the  woman  being  deceived  was  in  the  transgression."  But,  "  notwith- 
standing, she  shall  be  saved  through  the  Child-bearing,"  f  that  is,  through 
the  birth  of  Christ  from  Mary,  which  was  a  blessing,  as  upon  all  man- 
kind, so  peculiarly  upon  the  woman.  Accordingly,  from  that  time. 
Marriage  has  not  only  been  restored  to  its  original  dignity,  but  even 
gifted  with  a  spiritual  privilege,  as  the  outward  symbol  of  the  heavenly 
union  subsisting  betwixt  Christ  and  His  Church. 

Thus  has  the  Blessed  Virgin,  in  bearing  our  Lord,  taken  off  or  light- 
ened the  peculiar  disgrace  which  the  woman  inherited  for  seducing 
Adam,  sanctifying  the  one  part  of  it,  repealing  the  other. 

3.  But  further,  she  is  doubtless  to  be  accounted  blessed  and  favoured 

«  1  Pet.  iii.  7.  t  1  Tim.  ii.  15. 


284  ANNUNCIATION   OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN;  [Serm. 

in  herself,  as  well  as  in  the  benefits  she  has  done  us.  Who  can  esti- 
mate the  holiness  and  perfection  of  her,  who  was  chosen  to  be  the 
Mother  of  Christ  ?  If  to  liim  that  hath,  more  is  given,  and  holiness 
and  divine  favour  go  together,  (and  this  we  are  expressly  told,)  what 
must  have  been  the  transcendent  purity  of  her,  whom  the  Creator 
Spirit  condescended  to  overshadow  with  His  miraculous  presence  l 
What  must  have  been  her  gifts,  who  was  chosen  to  be  the  only  near 
earthly  relative  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  only  one  whom  He  was  bound 
by  nature  to  revere  and  look  up  to  ;  the  one  appointed  to  train  and 
educate  Him,  to  instruct  Him  day  by  day,  as  He  grew  in  wisdom  and 
in  stature  ?  This  contemplation  runs  to  a  higher  subject,  did  we  dare 
follow  it  ;  for  what,  think  you,  was  the  sanctified  state  of  that  hu- 
man nature,  of  which  God  formed  His  sinless  Son  ;  knowing,  as  we 
do,  "  that  what  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh  ;"  and  that  "none  can  bring 
a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?"* 

Now,  after  dwelling  on  thoughts  such  as  these  when  we  turn  back 
again  to  the  Gospels,  I  think  every  one  must  feel  some  surprise,  that 
we  are  not  told  more  about  the  Blessed  Virgin,  than  we  find  there. 
After  the  circumstances  of  Christ's  birth  and  infancy,  we  hear  little  of 
her.  Little  is  said  in  praise  of  her.  She  is  mentioned  as  attending 
Christ  to  the  cross,  and  there  committed  by  Him  to  St.  John's  keeping  ; 
and  she  is  mentioned  as  continuing  with  the  Apostles  in  prayer  after 
His  ascension  ;  and  then  we  hear  no  more  of  her.  But  here  again  in 
this  silence  we  find  instruction,  as  much  as  in  the  mention  of  her. 

1.  It  suggests  to  us  that  Scripture  was  written,  not  to  exalt  this  or 
that  particular  Saint,  but  to  give  glory  to  Almighty  God.  There  have 
been  thousands  of  holy  souls  in  the  times  of  which  the  Bible  history 
treats,  whom  we  know  notliing  of,  because  their  lives  did  not  fall  upon 
the  line  of  God's  public  dealings  with  man.  In  Scripture  we  read,  not 
of  all  the  good  men  who  ever  were,  only  of  a  few,  viz.  those  in  whom 
God's  name  was  especially  honoured.  Doubtless  there  have  been  many 
widows  in  Israel,  serving  God  in  fastings  and  prayers,  like  Anna ;  but 
she  only  is  mentioned  in  Scripture,  as  being  in  a  situation  to  glorify 
the  Lord  Jesus.  She  spoke  of  the  Infant  Saviour  "  to  all  them  that 
looked  for  redemption  in  Jerusalem."  Nay,  for  what  we  know,  faith 
like  Abraham's  and  zeal  like  David's  have  burned  in  the  breasts  of 
thousands  whose  names  have  no  memorial ;  because  (I  say,)  Scripture 
is  written  to  show  us  the  course  of  God's  great  and  marvellous  Provi- 
dence, and  we  hear  of  those  Saints  only  who  were  the  instruments  of 
His  purposes,  as   eitiicr  introducing  or  preaching  His  Son.     Christ's 

*  1  Jolin  iii.  G.     Job  xiv.  4. 


XII.]  THE  REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HER.  285 

favoured  apostle  was  St.  John,  His  personal  friend  ;  yet  how  little  do 
we  know  of  St.  John  compared  with  St.  Paul ; — and  why  1  because 
St.  Paul  was  the  more  illustrious  propagator  and  dispenser  of  His 
Truth.  As  St.  Paul  himself  said,  that  he  "  knew  no  man  after  the 
flesh,  '*  so  His  Saviour,  with  somewhat  a  similar  meaning,  has  hid  from 
us  the  knowledge  of  His  more  sacred  and  familiar  feelings.  His  feelings 
towards  His  Mother  and  His  friend.  These  were  not  to  be  exposed, 
as  unfit  for  the  world  to  know, — as  dangerous,  because  not  admitting  of 
being  known,  without  a  risk  lest  the  honour  which  those  Saints  received 
through  grace,  should  eclipse  in  our  minds  the  honour  of  Him  who  hon- 
oured them.  Had  the  Blessed  Mary  been  more  fully  disclosed  to  us  in 
the  heavenly  beauty  and  sweetness  of  the  spirit  within  her,  true,  she 
"would  have  been  honoured,  her  gifts  would  have  been  clearly  seen  ;  but, 
at  the  same  time,  the  Giver  would  have  been  somewhat  less  contem- 
plated, because  no  design  or  work  of  His  would  have  been  disclosed  in 
her  history.  She  would  have  seemingly  been  introduced  for  her  sake, 
not  for  His  sake.  When  a  Saint  is  seen  working  towards  an  end 
appointed  by  God,  we  see  him  to  be  a  mere  instrument,  a  servant  though 
a  favoured  one ;  and,  though  we  admire  him,  yet,  after  all,  we  glorify 
God  in  him.  We  pass  on  from  him  to  the  work  to  which  he  ministers. 
But,  when  any  one  is  introduced,  full  of  gifts,  yet  without  visible  and 
immediate  subserviency  to  God's  designs,  such  a  one  seems  revealed 
for  his  own  sake.  We  should  rest,  perchance,  in  the  thought  of  him, 
and  think  of  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator.  Thus  it  is  a  danger- 
ous thing,  it  is  too  high  a  privilege,  for  sinners  like  ourselves,  to  know 
the  best  and  innermost  thoughts  of  God's  servants.  We  cannot  bear 
to  see  such  men  in  their  own  place,  in  the  retirement  of  private  life, 
and  the  calmness  of  hope  and  joy.  The  higher  their  gifts,  the  less 
fitted  they  are  for  being  seen.  Even  St.  John  the  Apostle,  was  twice 
tempted  to  fall  down  in  worship  before  an  Angel  who  showed  him  the 
things  to  come.  And,  if  he  who  had  seen  the  Son  of  God  was  thus 
overcome  by  the  creature,  how  is  it  possible  we  could  bear  to  gaze 
upon  the  creature's  holiness  in  its  fulness,  especially  as  we  should  be 
more  able  to  enter  into  it,  and  estimate  it,  than  to  comprehend  the 
i  nfinite  perfections  of  the  Eternal  Godhead  ?  Therefore,  many  truths 
are,  like  the  "  things  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered,"!  "  sealed  up  " 
from  us.  In  particular,  it  is  in  mercy  to  us  that  so  little  is  revealed 
about  the  Blessed  Virgin,  in  mercy  to  our  weakness,  though  of  her  there 
are  "  many  things  to  say,"  yet  they  arc  "  hard  to  be  uttered,  seeing  wc 
are  dull  of  hearing. "J 

*  2  Cor.  V.  IG.  t  Rev.  x.  4.  t  Heb.  v.  H. 


286  ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN.  [Skrm. 

2.  But,  further,  the  more  we  consider  who  St.  Mary  was,  the  more 
dangerous  will  such  knowledge  of  her  appear  to  be.  Other  saints  are 
but  influenced  or  inspired  by  Christ,  and  made  partakers  of  Him  mysti- 
callv.  But,  as  to  St.  Mary,  Christ  derived  His  manhood  from  her,  and 
so  had  an  especial  unity  of  nature  with  her ;  and  this  wondrous  rela- 
tionship between  God  and  man,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  for  us  to  dwell 
nmch  upon  without  some  perversion  of  feeling.  For,  truly,  she  is 
raised  above  the  condition  of  sinful  beings,  though  by  nature  a  sinner  ; 
she  is  brought  near  to  God,  yet  is  but  a  creature  ;  and  seems  to  lack 
her  fitting  place  in  our  limited  understandings,  neither  too  high  nor  too. 
low.  We  cannot  combine  in  our  thought  of  her,  all  we  should  ascribe 
with  all  we  should  withhold.  Hence,  following  the  example  of  Scrip- 
ture,  we  had  better  only  think  of  her  with  and  for  her  Son,  never  sepa- 
rating her  from  Him,  but,  using  her  name  as  a  memorial  of  His  great 
condescension  in  stooping  from  heaven,  and  "  not  abhorring  the  Vir- 
gin's womb."  And  this  is  the  rule  of  our  own  Church,  which  has  set 
apart  only  such  Festivals  in  honour  of  the  Blessed  Mary,  as  may  also 
be  Festivals  in  honour  of  our  Lord ;  the  Purification  commemorating 
His  presentation  in  the  Temple,  and  the  Annunciation  commemorating 
His  incarnation.  And,  with  this  caution,  the  thought  of  her  may  be 
made  most  profitable  to  our  faith  ;  for,  nothing  is  so  calculated  to  im- 
press on  our  minds  that  Christ  is  really  partaker  of  our  nature,  and  in 
all  respects  man,  save  sin  only,  as  to  associate  Him  with  the  thought  of 
her,  by  whose  ministration  He  became  our  brother. 

To  conclude.  Observe  the  lesson  which  we  gain  for  ourselves  from 
the  history  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  that  the  highest  graces  of  the  soul 
may  be  matured  in  private,  and  without  those  fierce  trials  to  which  the 
many  are  exposed  in  order  to  their  sanctification.  So  hard  are  our  hearts, 
that  affliction,  pain,  and  anxiety  are  sent  to  humble  us,  and  dispose  us 
towards  a  true  faith  in  the  heavenly  word,  when  preached  to  us.  Yet, 
it  is  only  our  extreme  obstinacy  of  unbeHef  which  renders  this  chastise- 
ment necessary.  The  aids  which  God  gives  under  the  Gospel  Cove- 
nant, have  power  to  renew  and  purify  our  hearts,  without  uncommon 
providences  to  discipline  us  into  receiving  them.  God  gives  His  Holy 
Spirit  to  us  silently  ;  and  the  silent  duties  of  every  day,  (it  may  be 
humbly  hoped,)  are  blest  to  the  sufficient  sanctification  of  thousands, 
whom  the  world  knows  not  of.  The  Blessed  Virgin  is  a  memorial  of 
this  ;  and  it  is  consoling  as  well  as  instructive  to  know  it.  When  we 
quench  the  grace  of  Baptism,  then  it  is  that  we  need  severe  trials  to 
restore  us.  This  is  the  case  of  the  multitude,  whose  best  estate  is  that 
of  chastisement,  repentance,  supplication,  and  absolution,  again  and 
again.     But,   there  are  those,  who   go  on  in  a  calm  and  unswerving 


XII.]  THE   REVERENCE   DUE  TO  HER.  287 

course,  learning  day  by  day  to  love  Him  who  has  redeemed  them,  and 
overcoming  the  sin  of  their  nature  by  His  heavenly  grace,  as  the  various 
temptations  to  evil  successively  present  themselves.  And,  of  these 
undefiled  followers  of  the  Lamb,  the  Blessed  Mary  is  the  chief.  Strong 
in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  His  might,  she  "  staggered  not  at  the 
promise  of  God  through  unbelief;"  she  believed  when  Zacharias  doubted 
— with  a  faith  like  Abraham's  she  believed,  and  was  blessed  for  her 
belief,  and  had  the  performance  of  those  things  which  were  told  to  her 
by  the  Lord.  And  when  sorrow  came  upon  her  afterwards,  it  was  but 
the  blessed  participation  of  her  Son's  sacred  sorrows,  not  the  sorrow  of 
those  who  suffer  for  their  sins. 

If  we,  through  God's  unspeakable  gift,  have  in  any  measure  followed 
Mary's  innocence  in  our  youth,  so  far  let  us  bless  Him  who  enabled  us. 
Bui  so  far  as  we  are  conscious  of  having  departed  from  Him,  let  us 
bewail  our  miserable  guilt.  Let  us  acknowledge  from  the  heart  that  no 
punishment  is  too  severe  for  us,  no  chastisement  should  be  unwelcome, 
(though  it  is  a  sore  thing  to  learn  to  welcome  pain,)  if  it  tend  to  burn 
away  the  corruption  which  has  propagated  itself  within  us.  Let  us 
count  all  things  as  gain,  which  God  sends  to  cleanse  away  the  marks 
of  sin  and  shame  which  are  upon  our  foreheads.  The  day  will  come 
at  length,  when  our  Lord  and  Saviour  will  unveil  that  Sacred  Counte- 
nance to  the  whole  world,  which  no  sinner  ever  yet  could  see  and  live. 
Then  will  the  world  be  forced  to  look  upon  Him,  whom  they  pierced 
with  their  unrepented  wickedness  ;  "  all  faces  will  gather  blackness."* 
Then  they  will  discern,  what  they  do  not  now  believe,  the  utter  defor- 
mity of  sin  ;  while  the  Saints  of  the  Lord,  who  seemed  on  earth  to  bear 
but  the  countenance  of  common  men,  will  wake  up  one  by  one  after 
His  likeness,  and  be  fearful  to  look  upon.  And  then  will  be  fulfilled  the 
promise  pledged  to  the  Church  on  the  IMount  of  Transfiguration.  It 
will  be  "  good  "  to  be  with  those  whose  tabernacles  might  have  been  a 
snare  to  us  on  earth,  had  we  been  allowed  to  build  them.  We  shall  see 
our  Lord,  and  His  blessed  Mother,  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  and  all 
those  righteous  men  whom  we  now  read  of  in  history,  and  long  to  know. 
Then  we  shall  be  taught  in  those  Mysteries  which  are  now  above  us. 
In  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and 
it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  ,  but  we  know  that,  when  He 
shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is  :  and 
every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  Him,  purificth  himself,  even  as  He  is 
pure."t 

*  Joel  ii.  6. 

t  1  John  iii.  2.  3      On  the  subject  of  this  Sermon,  tnde  Bishop  Bull's  Sermon  on 
Luke  i.  48,  49. 


SERMON    XIII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
CHRIST  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT. 


LuKK  xxiv.  5, 


Why  seek  ye  the  Living  among  the  dead  ?     He  is  not  here,  but  is  risen. 

Such  is  the  triumphant  question  with  which  the  Holy  Angels  put  to 
flight  the  sadness  of  the  women  on  the  morning  of  Christ's  resurrection. 
"  O  ye  of  little  faith,"  less  faith  than  love,  more  dutiful  than  under- 
standing, why  come  ye  to  anoint  His  Body  on  the  third  day  ?  Why 
seek  ye  the  Living  Saviour  in  the  tomb?  The  time  of  sorrow  is  run 
out ;  victory  has  come,  according  to  His  word,  and  ye  recollect  it  not. 
"He  is  not  here,  but  is  risen  !" 

These  were  deeds  done  and  words  spoken  eighteen  hundred  years 
since  ;  so  long  ago,  that  in  the  world's  thought  they  are  as  though  they 
never  had  been  ;  yet  they  hold  good  to  this  day.  Christ  is  to  us  now, 
just  what  He  was  in  all  His  glorious  Attributes  on  the  morning  of  the 
Resurrection ;  and  we  are  blessed  in  knowing  it,  even  more  than  the 
women  to  whom  the  Angels  spoke,  according  to  His  own  assurance, 
"Blessed  arc  they  that  have  rot  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

On  this  highest  of  Festivals,  I  will  attempt  to  set  before  you  one  out 
of  the  many  comfortable  subjects  of  reflection  which  it  suggests. 

1.  First,  then,  observe  how  Christ's  resurrection  harmonizes  with  the 
history  of  His  birth.  David  had  foretold  that  His  "soul  should  not  be 
left  in  hell,"  (that  is,  the  unseen  state,)  neither  should  "  the  Holy  One 
of  God  see  corruption."  And  with  a  reference  to  this  prophecy,  St. 
Peter  says,  that  it  "  was  not  possible  that  He  should  be  holden  of  death;"* 
as  if  there  were  some  hidden  inherent  vigour  in  Him,  which  secured  His 
Manhood  from  dissolution.  The  greatest  infliction  of  pain  and  violence 
could  only  destroy  its  powers  for  a  season  ;  but  nothing  could  make  it 
decay.     "  Thou  wilt  not  suffer  Thy  Holy  One  to  see  corruption ;"  so 

*  Ps.  ivi.  10.     Acts  ii.  24.  27.  tIi  Ifior. 


serm.  XIII.]  ciirasT,  a  quickening  spirit.  289 

says  the  Scripture,  and  elsewhere  calls  Him  the  Holy  child  Jesus."* 
These  expressions  carry  our  minds  back  to  the  Angels'  announcement 
of  His  birth,  in  which  His  incorruptible  and  immortal  nature  is  implied. 
"That  Holy  Thing"  which  was  born  of  Mary,  was  "the  Son,"  not  of 
man,  but  "of  God."  Others  have  all  been  born  in  sin,  "after  Adam's 
own  likeness,  in  his  image,"!  ^°<^'  being  born  in  sin,  they  are  heirs  to 
corruption.  "By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death,"  and 
all  its  consequences,  "by  sin."  Not  one  human  being  comes  into 
existence  without  God's  discerning  evidences  of  sin  attendant  on  his 
birth.  But  when  the  Word  of  Life  was  manifested  in  our  flesh,  the 
Holy  Ghost  displayed  that  creative  hand,  by  which,  in  the  beginning, 
Eve  was  formed :  and  the  Holy  Child,  thus  conceived  by  the  Power  of 
the  Highest,  was  (as  the  history  shows,)  immortal  even  in  His  mortal 
nature,  clear  from  all  infection  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  so  far  as  to  be  sin- 
less and  incorruptible.  Therefore,  though  he  was  liable  to  death,  "  it 
was  impossible  He  should  be  hoJden ''  of  it.  Death  might  overpower, 
but  it  could  not  keep  possession;  "it  had  no  dominion  over  Him." J 
He  was,  in  the  words  of  the  text,  "  ihe  Living  among  the  dead.'' 

And  hence  His  rising  from  the  dead  may  de  said  to  have  evinced  His 
divine  original.  He  was  "  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power, 
according  to  the  Spirit  of  Holiness,"  that  is,  His  essential  Godhead,  "  by 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead."§  He  had  been  condemned  as  a  blas- 
phemer by  the  Jewish  Rulers,  "  because  He  made  himself  the  Son  of 
God  ;"  and  He  was  brought  to  the  death  of  the  Cross,  not  only  as  a 
punishment,  but  as  a  practical  refutation  of  His  claim.  He  was  chal- 
lenged by  His  enemies  on  this  score  ;  "  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come 
down  from  the  Cross."  Thus  His  crucifixion  was  as  though  a  trial,  a 
new  experiment  on  the  part  of  Satan,  who  had  before  tempted  Him, 
whether  He  was  like  other  men,  or  the  Son  of  God.  Observe  the  event. 
He  was  obedient  unto  death,  fulfilling  the  Law  of  that  disinherited  na- 
ture which  He  had  assumed ;  and  in  order,  by  undergoing  it,  to  atone 
for  our  sins.  So  far  was  permitted  by  God's  "determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  ;"  but  there  the  triumph  of  His  enemies,  so  to  account  it, 
ended  ;  ended,  with  what  was  necessary  for  our  redemption.  He  said, 
"It  is  finished;"  for  His  humiliation  was  at  its  lowest  depth  when  He 
expired.  Immediately  some  incipient  tokens  showed  themselves,  that 
the  real  victory  was  with  Him  ;  first,  the  earthquake  and  other  wonders 
in  heaven  and  earth.  These  even  were  enough  to  justify  His  claim  in 
the  judgment  of  the  heathen  Centurion  ;  who  said  at  once,  "  Truly  this 
was  the  Son  of  God."     Then  followed  His  descent  into  hell,  and  triumph 

•  Acts  iv.  27.  To»  iyiof.         t  Gen.  v.  3.        t  Rom.  vi.  9.  §  Rom.  i.  4. 

Vol.  I 19 


290  EASTER-DAY.  [Serm. 

in  the  unseen  world,  whatever  that  was.  Lastly,  that  glorious  deed  of 
Power  on  the  tiiird  morning  which  we  now  conniiemorate.  The  dead 
arose.  The  grave  could  not  detain  Him  who  "  had  life  in  Himself." 
He  rose  as  a  man  awakes  in  the  morning,  when  sleep  flies  from  him  as 
a  thino-  of  course.  Corruption  had  no  power  over  that  Sacred  Body,  the 
fruit  of  an  immaculate  conception.  The  bonds  of  death  were  broken 
as  "  "reen  withs,"  witnessing  by  their  feebleness  that  He  was  the  Son 
of  God. 

Such  is  the  connexion  between  Christ's  birth  and  resurrection  ;  and 
more  than  this  might  be  ventured  concerning  His  incorrupt  nature, 
were  it  not  better  to  avoid  all  risk  of  trespassing  upon  that  reverence 
with  which  we  are  bound  to  regard  it.  Something  might  be  said  con- 
cerninff  His  personal  appearance,  which  seems  to  have  borne  the  marks 
of  one  who  was  not  tainted  with  birth-sin.  Men  could  scarce  keep 
from  worshipping  Him.  When  the  Pharisees  sent  to  seize  Him,  all  the 
officers,  on  His  merely  acknowledging  Himself  to  be  Him  whom  they 
sought,  fell  backwards  from  His  presence  to  the  ground.  They  were 
scared  as  brutes  are  said  to  be  by  the  voice  of  man.  Thus,  being 
created  in  God's  image,  He  was  the  second  Adam  ;  and  much  more 
than  Adam  in  His  secret  nature,  which  beamed  through  His  tabernacle 
of  flesh  with  awful  purity  and  brightness,  even  in  the  days  of  His  humi- 
liation. "  The  first  man  was  of  the  earth,  earthy ;  the  second  man 
Avas  the  Lord  from  Heaven."* 

2.  And  if  such  was  His  visible  Majesty,  while  He  yet  was  subject 
to  temptation,  infirmity,  and  pain,  much  more  abundant  was  the  mani- 
festation of  His  Godhead,  when  He  was  risen  from  the  dead.  Then 
the  Divine  Essence  streamed  forth  (so  to  say)  on  every  side,  and  envi- 
roned His  Manhood,  as  in  a  cloud  of  glory.  So  transfigured  was  His 
Sacred  Body,  that  He,  who  had  deigned  to  be  born  of  a  woman,  and 
to  hang  upon  the  Cross,  had  subtle  virtue  in  Him,  like  a  spirit,  to  pass 
through  the  closed  doors  to  His  assembled  followers  ;  while,  by  conde- 
scending to  the  trial  of  their  senses,  He  showed  that  it  was  no  mere 
spirit,  but  He  Himself,  as  before,  with  wounded  hands  and  pierced  side, 
who  spoke  to  them.  He  manifested  Himself  to  them,  in  this  His 
exalted  state,  that  they  might  be  His  witnesses  to  the  people ;  wit 
nesses  of  those  separate  truths  which  man's  reason  cannot  combine,  that 
He  had  a  real  human  body,  that  it  was  partaker  in  the  properties  of 
His  soul,  and  that  it  was  inhabited  by  the  Eternal  Word.  They 
handled  Him, — they  saw  Him  come  and  go,  when  the  doors  were 
shut, — they  felt,  what  they  could  not  see,  but  could  witness  even  unto 

*  1  Cor.  XV.  47. 


XIII.]  CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  291 

death,  that  He  was  "  their  Lord  and  their  God  ;" — a  triple  evidence, 
first,  of  His  Atonement,  next  of  their  own  Resurrection  unto  glory, 
lastly,  of  His  Divine  Power  to  conduct  them  safely  to  it.  Thus  mani- 
fested as  perfect  God  and  perfect  man,  in  the  fulness  of  His  sove- 
reignty, and  the  immortality  of  His  holiness.  He  ascended  up  on  high 
to  take  possession  of  His  kingdom.  There  He  remains  till  the  last 
day,  "  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Fa- 
ther, the  Prince  of  Peace."* 

3.  He  ascended  into  heaven,  that  He  might  plead  our  cause  with 
the  Father ;  as  it  is  said,  "  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
us."t  Yet  we  must  not  suppose,  that  in  leaving  us  He  closed  the 
gracious  economy  of  His  Incarnation,  and  withdrew  the  ministration  of 
His  incorruptible  Manhood  from  His  work  of  loving  mercy  towards  us. 
"  The  Holy  One  of  God  "  was  ordained,  not  only  to  die  for  us,  but  also 
to  be  "  the  beginning"  of  a  new  "creation  "  unto  holiness,  in  our  sin- 
ful race  ;  to  re-fashion  soul  and  body  after  His  own  likeness,  that  they 
might  be  "  raised  up  together,  and  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in 
Christ  Jesus."  Blessed  for  ever  be  His  Holy  Name  !  before  He  went 
away.  He  remembered  our  necessity,  and  completed  His  work,  be- 
queathing to  us  a  special  mode  of  approaching  Him,  Holy  Mystery 
in  which  we  receive,  (we  know  not  bow,)  the  virtue  of  that  Heavenly 
Body,  which  is  the  life  of  all  that  believe.  This  is  the  blessed  Sacra- 
ment of  the  Eucharist,  in  Avhich  "  Christ  is  evidently  set  forth  crucified 
among  us ;"  that  we,  feasting  upon  the  Sacrifice,  may  be  "  partakers 
of  the  Divine  Nature."  Let  us  give  heed  lest  we  be  in  the  number  of 
those,  who  "  discern  not  the  Lord's  Body,"  and  the  "  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises,"  which  are  made  to  those  who  partake  it.  And 
since  there  is  some  danger  of  this,  I  will  here  make  some  brief  remarks 
concerning  this  great  gift  ;  and  pray  God  that  our  words  and  thoughts 
may  accord  to  its  unspeakable  sacredness. 

Christ  says,  "  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given 
also  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself;"  and  afterwards  He  says, 
"  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  five  also."|  It  would  seem  then,  that  as 
Adam  is  the  author  of  death  to  the  whole  race  of  men,  so  is  Christ  the 
Origin  of  immortality.  When  Adam  ate  the  forbidden  fruit,  it  was  as 
a  poison  spreading  through  his  whole  nature,  soul  and  body  ;  and 
thence  through  every  one  of  his  descendants.  It  was  said  to  him, 
when  he  was  placed  in  the  garden,  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof, 
thou  shalt  surely  die ;"  and  we  are  told  expressly,  "  in  Adam  all  die." 
We  all  are  born  heirs  to  that  infection  of  nature  which  followed  upon 

*  Isai.  ix.  6.  t  Hcb.  vii.  25.  I  John  v.  26.  xlv.  19. 


292  EASTER-DAY.  [Ser-v. 

His  Aill.  But  we  arc  also  told,  "As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive  ;"  and  the  same  Law  of  God's  Providence  is 
maintained  in  both  cases.  Adam  spreads  poison  ;  Christ  diffuses  life 
eternal.  Christ  communicates  life  to  us,  one  by  one,  by  means  of  that 
holy  and  incorrupt  nature  which  He  assumed  for  our  redemption  ; 
how,  we  know  not,  still,  though  by  an  unseen,  surely  by  a  real  com- 
munication of  Himself.  Therefore  St.  Paul  says,  that  "  the  last 
Adam  was  made"  not  merely  "a  living  soul,"  but  "a  quickening"  or 
life-giving  "  Spirit,"  as  being  "  the  Lord  from  Heaven."*  Again,  in 
his  own  gracious  words,  He  is  "  the  Bread  of  life.''  "The  Bread  of 
God  is  He  which  cometh  down  from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto  the 
world ;"  or,  as  He  says  more  plainly,  "  I  am  the  Bread  which 
came  down  from  Heaven  ;"  "  I  am  that  Bread  of  life  ;"  "  I  am 
the  living  Bread  which  came  down  from  heaven  ;  if  any  man  eat 
of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  for  ever,  and  the  Bread  that  I  will  give  is 
My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world."  And  again,  still 
more  clearly,  "  Whoso  eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinkcth  My  blood,  hath 
eternal  life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.""j"  Why  should 
this  communion  with  Him  be  thought  incredible,  mysterious  and  sacred 
as  it  is,  when  we  know  from  the  Gospels  how  marvellously  He  wrought, 
in  the  days  of  His  humiliation,  towards  those  who  approached  Him  ? 
We  are  told  on  one  occasion  ;  "  The  whole  mullitude  sought  to  touch 
Him  ;  for  there  went  virtue  out  of  Him,  and  healed  them  all."  Again, 
Avhen  the  woman,  with  the  issue  of  blood,  touched  Him,  He  "  imme- 
diately knew  that  virtue  had  gone  out  of  Him.":}:  Such  grace  Avas 
invisible,  known  only  by  the  cure  it  cfTccted,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
woman.  Let  us  not  doubt,  though  we  do  not  sensibly  approach  Him, 
that  He  can  still  give  us  the  virtue  of  His  purity  and  incorruption,  as 
He  has  promised,  and  in  a  more  heavenly  and  spiritual  manner,  than 
♦'  in  the  days  of  His  flesh  ;"  in  a  way,  which  does  not  remove  the 
mere  ailments  of  this  temporal  state,  but  sows  the  seed  of  eternal  life 
in  body  and  soul.  Let  us  not  deny  Him  the  glory  of  His  life-giving 
holiness,  that  diffusive  grace  which  is  the  renovation  of  our  whole 
race,  a  spirit  quick  and  powerful  and  piercing,  so  as  to  leaven  the 
whole  mass  of  human  corruption,  and  make  it  live.  He  is  the  first 
fruits  of  the  Resurrection  ;  we  follow  Him  each  in  his  own  order,  as 
we  are  hallowed  by  His  inward  presence.  And  in  this  sense  among 
others,  Christ,  in  the  Scripture  phrase,  is  "formed  in  us  ;"  that  is,  the 
communication  is  made  to  us  of  His  new  nature,  which  sanctifies  the 
soul,  and   makes  the  body  immortal.      In   like  manner  we  pray  in  the 

»  Gen.  ii.  17.     1  Cor.  xv.  22.  A',.  47.  t  John  vi.  33—54. 

t  Luke  VI.  19.     Mark  v.  30.      Vide  Kno.x  on  the  Eucharist.     Remains,  vol.  ii. 


XIII.]  CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  293 

Service  of  the  Communion,  that  •'  our  sinful  bodies  may  be  made 
clean  by  His  bod}-,  and  our  souls  washed  through  His  most  precious 
blood  ;  and  that  we  may  evermore  dwell  in  Him,  and  He  in  us."* 

Such  then  is  our  risen  Saviour  in  Himself  and  towards  us  : — con- 
ceived by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  holy  from  the  womb  ;  dying,  but  abhorring 
corruption  ;  rising  again  the  third  day  by  His  own  inherent  life  ;  exalted 
as  the  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man,  to  raise  us  after  Him  ;  and  filling  us 
incomprehensibly  with  His  immortal  nature,  till  we  become  like  Him, 
filling  us  with  a  spiritual  life  which  may  expel  the  poison  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge,  and  restore  us  to  God.  How  wonderful  a  work  of  grace  ! 
Strange  it  was  that  Adam  should  be  our  death ;  but  stranger  still,  and 
very  gracious,  that  God  himself  should  be  our  life,  by  moans  of  that 
human  tabernacle  which  He  has  taken  on  Himself. 

O  blessed  day  of  the  Resurrection,  which  of  old  time  was  called  the 
Queen  of  Festivals,  and  raised  among  Christians  an  anxious,  nav  con- 
tentious diligence  duly  to  honour  it !  Blessed  day,  once  only  passed  in 
sorrow,  when  the  Lord  actually  rose,  and  the  Disciples  believed  not ; 
but  ever  since  a  day  of  joy  to  the  faith  and  love  of  the  Church  !  In 
ancient  times  Christians  all  over  the  world  began  it  with  a  morning 
salutation.  Each  man  said  to  his  neighbour,  "  Christ  is  risen,"  and  his 
neighbour  answered  him ;  "  Christ  is  risen  indeed,  and  hath  appeared 
unto  Simon."  Even  to  Simon,  the  coward  disciple  who  denied  Him 
thrice,  Christ  is  risen  ;  even  to  us,  who  long  ago  vowed  to  obey  Him, 
and  have  yet  so  often  denied  Him  before  men,  so  often  taken  part  with 
sin,  and  followed  the  world,  when  Christ  called  us  another  way. — 
"  Christ  is  risen  indeed,  and  hath  appeared  to  Simon  !"  to  Simon  Peter, 
the  favoured  Apostle,  on  whom  the  Church  is  built,  Christ  has  appeared. 
He  has  appeared  to  His  Holy  Church  first  of  all,  and  in  the  Church 
He  dispenses  blessings,  such  as  the  world  knows  not  of.  Blessed  are 
they  if  they  knew  their  blessedness,  who  are  allowed,  as  we  are,  week 
after  week,  and  Festival  after  Festival,  to  seek  and  find  in  that  Holy 
Church  the  Saviour  of  their  souls  !  Blessed  are  they  beyond  language 
or  thought,  to  whom  it  is  vouchsafed  to  receive  those  tokens  of  His 
love,  which  cannot  otherwise  be  gained  by  man,  the  pledges  and  means 
of  His  special  presence,  in  the  Sacrament  of  His  Supper:  who  are  al- 
lowed to  eat  and  drink  the  food  of  immortality,  and  receive  life  from 
the  bleeding  side  of  the  Son  of  God  !  Alas  !  by  what  strange  coldness 
of  heart,  or  perverse  superstition  is  it,  that  any  one  called  Christian, 
keeps  away  from  that  heavenly  ordinance  ?  Is  it  not  very  grievous  that 
there  should  be  any  one  who  fears  to  share  in  the  greatest  conceivable 

*  Vide  note  at  tlie  end  of  this  [second  Vol.  Eng.  Ed.]  volume. 


294  EASTER-DAY.  [Serm. 

blessing  which  could  come  upon  sinful  men?  What  in  truth  is  that 
fear,  but  unbelief,  a  slavish,  sin-loving  obstinacy,  if  it  leads  a  man  to  go 
year  after  year  without  the  spiritual  sustenance  which  God  has  pro- 
vided for  him  ?  Is  it  wonderful  that,  as  time  goes  on,  he  should  learn 
deliberately  to  doubt  of  the  grace  therein  given  1  that  he  should  no 
longer  look  upon  the  Lord's  Supper  as  a  heavenly  feast,  or  the  Lord's 
Minister  who  consecrates  it,  as  a  chosen  vessel,  or  that  Holy  Church  in 
which  he  ministers  as  a  Divine  Ordinance,  to  be  cherished  as  the  part- 
ing legacy  of  Christ  to  a  sinful  world  ?  Is  it  wonderful  that  seeing  he 
sees  not,  and  hearing  he  hears  not ;  and  that,  lightly  regarding  all  the 
gifts  of  Christ,  he  feels  no  reverence  for  the  treasure-house  wherein 
they  are  stored  ? 

But  we,  who  trust  that  so  far  we  are  doing  God's  will  inasmuch  as 
we  are  keeping  to  those  ordinances  and  rules,  which  His  Son  has  left 
us,  we  may  humbly  rejoice  in  this  day,  with  a  joy  the  world  cannot 
take  away,  any  more  than  it  can  understand.  Truly,  in  this  time  of 
rebuke  and  blasphemy,  we  cannot  but  be  sober  and  subdued  in  our  re- 
joicing ;  yet  our  peace  and  joy  may  be  deeper  and  fuller  even  for  that 
very  seriousness.  For  nothing  can  harm  those  who  bear  Christ  w  ithin 
them.  Trial  or  temptation,  time  of  tribulation,  time  of  wealth,  pain, 
bereavement,  anxiety,  sorrow,  the  insults  of  the  enemy,  the  loss  of 
worldly  goods,  nothing  can  "  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."*  This  the  Apostle  told  us  long  since  ; 
but  we,  in  this  age  of  the  world,  over  and  above  his  word  have  the  ex- 
perience of  many  centuries  for  our  comfort.  We  have  his  own  history 
to  show  us  how  Christ  within  us  is  stronger  than  the  world  around  us, 
and  will  prevail.  We  have  the  history  of  all  his  fellow-sufTcrers,  of  all 
the  Confessors  and  Martyrs  of  early  times,  and  since,  to  show  us  that 
Christ's  arm  "  is  not  shortened,  that  it  cannot  save  ;"  that  faith  and 
love  have  a  real  abiding  place  on  earth  ;  that,  come  what  will.  His 
grace  is  sufficient  for  His  Church,  and  His  strength  made  perfect  in 
weakness  ;  that,  '«  even  to  old  age,  and  to  hoar  hairs.  He  will  carry  and 
deliver  "  her  ;  that,  in  whatever  time  the  powers  of  evil  give  challenge, 
Martyrs  and  Saints  will  start  forth  again,  and  rise  from  the  dead,  as 
plentiful  as  though  they  had  never  been  before,  even  "  the  souls  of 
them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of 
God,  and  which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image,  neither 
had  received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands."t 

Meantime,  while  Satan  only  threatens,  let  us  possess  our  hearts  in 
patience  ;  try  to  keep  quiet  ;  aim  at  obeying  God,  in  all  things,  little 

*  Rorn.  viii.  39.  f  Rev.  xx.  4. 


XIV.J  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE,  295 

as  well  as  great ;  do  the  duties  of  our  calling  which  lie  before  us,  day 
by  day ;  and  "  take  no  thought  for  the  morrow,  for  sufficient  unto  the 
day  is  the  evil  thereof."* 


SERMON    XIV. 


MONDAY   IN   EASTER    WEEK. 
SAVING  KNOWLEDGE. 


1  John  ii.  3. 
Hereby  do  we  know  that  we  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His  commandments. 

To  know  God  and  Christ,  in  Scripture  language,  seems  to  mean,  to  live 
under  the  conviction  of  His  presence,  who  is  to  our  bodily  eyes  unseen. 
It  is,  in  fact,  to  have  faith,  according  to  St.  Paul's  account  of  faith,  as 
the  substance  and  evidence  of  what  is  invisible.  It  is  faith,  but  not 
faith  such  as  a  Heathen  might  have,  but  Gospel  faith ;  for  only  in  the 
Gospel  has  God  so  revealed  Himself,  as  to  allow  of  that  kind  of  faith 
which  may  be  called,  in  a  special  manner,  knowledge.  The  faith  of 
Heathens  was  blind  ;  it  was  more  or  less  a  moving  forward  in  the  dark- 
ness with  hand  and  foot  ; — therefore  the  Apostle  sa^s,  "  if  haply  they 
might  feel  after  Him."f  But  the  Gospel  is  a  manifestation,  and  there- 
fore addressed  to  the  eyes  of  our  mind.  Faith  is  the  same  principle  as 
before,  but  with  the  opportunity  of  acting  through  a  more  certain  and 
satisfactory  sense.  We  recognize  objects  by  the  eye  at  once  ;  but  not 
by  the  touch.  We  know  them  when  we  sec  them,  but  scarcely  till 
then.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  New  Tastament  says  so  much  on  the  sub- 
ject of  spiritual  knowledge.  For  instance,  St.  Paul  pra5's  that  the  Ephc- 
sians  may  receive  "  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ,  the  eyes  of  their  understanding  being  enlightened  ; " 
and  he  says,  that  the  Colossians  had  "  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is 
renewed  in  knowledge,  after  the  image  of  Him  that  created  him."  St. 
Peter,  in  like  manner,  addresses  his  brethren  with  the  salutation  of 

*  Matt.  vi.  34.  t     Acts  xAii.  27. 


296  EASTER  MONDAY.  [Serm. 

"Graco  and  peace,  through  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  Jesus  our 
Lord  ;"  according  to  the  declaration  of  our  Lord  Himself,  "This  is  life 
eternal,  to  know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou 
hast  sent."*  Not  of  course  as  if  Christian  faith  had  not  still  abundant 
exercise  for  the  other  senses  (so  to  call  them)  of  the  soul  ;  but  that  the 
eye  is  its  peculiar  sense,  by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  the  faith  of 
Heathens,  nay,  I  may  add,  of  Jews. 

It  is  plain  what  is  the  Object  of  spiritual  sight  wliich  is  vouchsafed 
us  in  the  Gospel, — "  God  manifest  in  the  Flesh."  He  who  was  before 
unseen  has  shown  himself  in  Christ ;  not  merely  displayed  His  glory, 
as  (for  instance)  in  what  is  called  a  providence,  or  visitation,  or  in  mi- 
racles, or  in  the  actions  and  character  of  inspired  men,  but  really  He 
Himself  has  come  upon  earth,  and  has  been  seen  of  men  in  human 
form.  In  the  same  kind  of  sense,  in  which  we  should  say  we  saw  a 
servant  of  His,  Apostle  or  prophet,  though  we  could  not  see  his  soul, 
so  man  has  seen  the  Invisible  God  ;  and  we  have  the  history  of  His  so- 
journ among  His  creatures  in  the  Gospels. 

To  know  God  is  life  eternal,  and  to  believe  in  the  Gospel  manifesta- 
tion of  Him  is  to  know  Him  ;  but  how  are  we  to  "  know  that  we  know 
Him  1  How  are  we  to  be  sure  that  we  are  not  mistaking  some 
dream  of  our  own  for  the  true  and  clear  Vision  ?  How  can  we  tell 
we  are  not  like  gazers  upon  a  distant  prospect  through  a  misty  atmos- 
phere, who  mistake  one  object  for  another  1  The  text  answers  us  clear- 
ly and  intelligibly  ;  though  some  Christians  have  recourse  to  other 
proofs  of  it,  or  will  not  have  patience  to  ask  themselves  the  question. 
They  say  they  are  quite  certain  that  they  have  true  faith ;  for  faith 
carries  with  it  its  own  evidence,  and  admits  of  no  mistaking,  the  true 
spiritual  conviction  being  unlike  all  others.  On  the  other  hand,  St. 
John  says,  "  Hereby  do  we  know  that  we  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His 
commandments."     Obedience  is  the  test  of  Faith. 

Thus  the  whole  duty  and  work  of  a  Christian  is  made  up  of  these 
two  parts,  Faith  and  Obedience  ;  "  looking  unto  Jesus,"  the  Divine 
Object  as  well  as  Author  of  our  faith,  and  acting  acccording  to  His 
will.  Not  as  if  a  certain  frame  of  mind,  certain  notions,  atlcctions, 
feelings,  and  states,  were  not  a  necessary  condition  of  a  saving  state  ; 
but  so  it  is,  the  Apostle  does  not  insist  upon  it,  as  if  it  were  sure  to  fol- 
low, if  our  hearts  do  but  grow  into  these  two  chief  contemplations, 
the  view  of  God  in  Christ,  and  the  diligent  aim  to  obey  Him  in  our 
conduct. 

I  conceive  that  we  are  in  danger,  in  this  day,  of  insisting  on  neither 

»  Epli.i.  17,  18.     Col.  iii.  10.     2Pet.  i.  2.     John  ivii.  3. 


XIV.]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  297 

of  these  as  we  ought ;  regarding  all  true  and  careful  consideration  of 
the  Object  as  of  faith,  as  barren  orthodoxy,  technical  subtlety,  and  the 
like,  and  all  due  earnestness  about  good  works  as  a  mere  cold  and  for- 
mal morality  ;  and,  instead,  making  religion,  or  rather  (for  this  is  the 
point)  making  the  test  of  our  being  religious,  to  consist  in  our  having 
what  is  called  a  spiritual  state  of  heart,  to  the  comparative  neglect  of 
the  Object  from  which  it  must  arise,  and  the  works  in  which  it  should 
issue.  At  this  season,  when  we  are  especially  engaged  in  considering 
the  full  triumph  and  manifestation  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  when  He 
was  "  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  by  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead,"  it  may  be  appropriate  to  make  some  remarks  on  an 
error,  which  goes  far  to  deprive  us  of  the  benefit  of  His  condescen- 
eion. 

St.  John  speaks  of  knowing  Christ  and  of  keeping  His  command- 
ments, as  the  two  great  departments  of  religious  duty  and  blessedness. 
To  know  Christ  is,  (as  I  have  said,)  to  discern  the  Father  of  all,  as 
manifested  through  His  Only-begotten  Son  Incarnate.  In  the  natural 
world  we  have  glimpses,  frequent  and  startling,  of  His  glorious  Attri- 
butes ;  of  His  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  of  His  holiness.  His  fear- 
ful judgments.  His  long  remembrance  of  evil.  His  long-sufiering  to- 
wards sinners,  and  His  strange  encompassing  mercy,  when  we  least 
looked  for  it.  But  to  us  mortals,  who  live  for  a  day,  and  see  but  an 
arm's  length,  such  disclosures  are  like  reflections  of  a  prospect  in  a 
broken  mirror ;  they  do  not  enable  us  in  any  comfortable  sense  to  know 
God.  They  are  such  as  faith  may  use  indeed,  but  hardly  enjoy.  This 
then  was  one  among  the  benefits  of  Christ's  coming,  that  the  Invisible 
God  was  then  revealed  in  the  form  and  history  of  man,  revealed  in 
those  respects  in  which  sinners  most  required  to  know  Him,  and  nature 
epoke  least  distinctly,  as  a  Holy,  yet  Merciful  Governor  of  His  crea- 
tures.  And  thus  the  Gospels,  which  contain  the  memorials  of  this  won- 
derful grace,  are  our  principal  treasures.  They  may  be  called  the  text 
of  the  Revelation  ;  and  the  Epistles,  especially  St.  Paul's,  are  as  com- 
ments upon  it,  unfolding  and  illustrating  it  in  its  various  parts,  raising 
history  into  doctrine,  ordinances  into  sacraments,  detached  words  or  ac- 
tions into  principles,  and  thus  every  where  dutifully  preaching  His 
Person,  work,  and  will.  St.  John  is  both  Prophet  and  Evangelist,  re- 
cording and  commenting  on  the  Ministry  of  his  Lord.  Still,  in  every 
case.  He  is  the  chief  Prophet  of  the  Church,  and  His  Apostles  do  but 
explain  His  words  and  actions  ;  according  to  His  own  account  of  the 
guidance  promised  to  them,  that  it  should  "glorify"  Him.  The  like 
service  is  ministered  to  Him  by  the  Creeds  and  doctrinal  expositions  of 
the  early  Church,  which  we  retain  in  our  Services.     They  speak  of  no 


298  EASTER  MONDAY.  [Serm^ 

ideal  being,  such  as  the  imagination  alone  contemplates,  but  of  the 
very  Son  of  God,  whose  life  is  recorded  in  the  Gospels.  Thus  every 
part  of  the  Dispensation  tends  to  the  manifestation  of  Him  who  is  its 
centre. 

Turning  from  Him  to  ourselves,  we  find  a  short  rule  given  us,  "  If 
ye  love  Me,  keep  My  commandments."  "  He  that  saith  he  abidcth  in 
Him,  ought  himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked."  "  If  ye  then 
be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ 
sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God."*  This  is  all  that  is  put  ur^n  us, 
difficult  indeed  to  perform,  but  easy  to  understand  ;  all  that  is  put  upon 
us, — and  for  this  plain  reason,  because  Christ  has  done  every  thing 
else.  He  has  freely  chosen  us,  died  for  us,  regenerated  us,  and  now 
ever  liveth  for  us  ;  what  remains  1  Simply  that  we  should  do  as  he  has- 
done  to  us,  showing  forth  His  glory  by  good  works.  Thus  a  correct,  or 
(as  we  commonly  call  it,)  an  orthodox  faith  and  an  obedient  life,  is  the 
whole  duty  of  man.  And  so  most  surely,  it  has  ever  been  accounted. 
Look  into  the  records  of  the  early  Church,  or  into  the  writings  of  our 
own  revered  Bishops  and  Teachers,  and  see  whether  this  is  not  the  sum 
total  of  religion,  according  to  the  symbols  of  it  in  which  children 
are  catechized,  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. 

However,  it  is  objected  that  such  a  view  of  religious  duty  encoura- 
ges self-deception  ;  that  a  man  who  does  no  more  than  believe  aright^ 
and  keep  God's  commandments,  is  what  is  called  a  formalist  ?  that  his 
heart  is  not  interested  in  the  matter,  his  affections  remain  unrcncAved  ;. 
and  that  till  a  change  takes  place  there,  all  the  faith  and  all  the  obedi- 
ence which  mind  can  conceive,  are  but  external,  and  avail  nothing ; 
that  to  his  heart  therefore  we  must  make  our  ap|)eal,  that  we  must  bid 
him  search  himself,  examine  his  motives,  look  narrowly  lest  he  rest  up- 
on himself,  and  be  sure  that  his  feelings  and  thoughts  are  spiritual  be- 
fore he  takes  to  himself  any  comfort.  The  merits  of  this  view  of  re- 
ligion shall  be  considered  hereafter  :  at  present,  let  us  take  it  merely  in 
the  light  of  an  objection  to  what  has  been  already  slated.  I  ask  then 
in  reply,  how  is  a  man  to  know  that  his  motives  and  afiections  are  right 
except  by  tlioir  fruits  1  Can  they  possibly  be  their  own  evidence  ? 
Are  they  like  colours,  which  a  man  knows  at  once  without  test  or  cal- 
culation ?  Is  not  every  feeling  and  opinion,  of  one  colour  or  another, 
fair  or  unpleasant,  in  each  man's  own  judgment,  according  to  the  cen- 
tre light  which  is  set  up  in  his  soul?  Is  not  the  light  that  is  in  a  man 
sometimes  even  darkness,  sometimes  twilight,  and  sometimes  of  this. 

*  John  xiv.  15.     1   John  ii.  C.     Col.  iii.  1. 


XIV.]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  299 

hue  or  that,  tinging  every  part  of  himself  with  its  own  peculiarity  ? 
How  then  is  it  possible  that  a  man  can  duly  examine  his  feelings  and 
aflections  by  the  light  within  him  ?  how  can  he  accurately  decide  up- 
on their  character  whether,  Christian  ov  not  1  It  is  necessary  then 
that  he  go  out  of  himself  in  order  to  assay  and  ascertain  the  nature  of 
the  principles  which  govern  him  ;  that  is,  he  must  have  recourse  to  his 
works,  and  compare  thom  with  Scripture,  as  the  only  evidence  to  him- 
self, whether  or  not  his  heart  is  perfect  with  God.  It  seems  there- 
fore, that  the  proposed  inquiry  into  the  workings  of  a  man's  mind 
means  nothing  at  all,  comes  to  no  issue,  leaves  us  where  it  found  us ; 
unless  we  adopt  the  notion,  (which  is  seldom  however  openly  maintain- 
ed,) that  religious  faith  is  its  own  evidence. 

On  the  other  hand,  deeds  of  obedience  are  an  intelligible  evidence, 
nay,  the  sole  evidence  possible,  and,  on  the  whole,  a  satisfactory  evi- 
dence of  the  reality  of  our  faith.  I  do  not  say,  that  this  or  that  good 
work  tells  any  thing  ;  but  a  course  of  obedience  says  much.  Various 
deeds  done  in  different  departments  of  duty,  support  and  attest  each 
other.  Did  a  man  act  merely  a  bold  and  firm  part,  he  would  have  cause 
to  say  to  himself,  "  perhaps  all  this  is  mere  pride  and  obstinacy."  Were 
he  merely  yielding  and  forgiving, — he  might  be  indulging  a  natural 
indolence  of  mind.  Were  he  merely  industrious, — this  might  consist 
with  ill-temper,  or  selfishness.  Did  he  merely  fulfil  the  duties  of  his 
temporal  calling, — he  would  have  no  proof  that  he  had  given  his  heart 
to  God  at  all.  Were  he  merely  regular  at  Church  and  Holy  Commu- 
nion,— many  a  man  is  such  who  has  a  lax  conscience,  who  is  not  scru- 
pulously fair-dealing,  or  is  censorious,  or  niggardly.  Is  he  what  is 
called  a  domestic  character,  amiable,  affectionate,  fond  of  his  family  ? 
let  him  beware  lest  he  put  wife  and  children  in  the  place  of  God  who 
gave  them.  Is  he  only  temperate,  sober,  chaste,  correct  in  his  lan- 
guage ?  it  may  arise  from  mere  dullness  and  insensibility,  or  may  consist 
with  spiritual  pride.  Is  h )  cheerful  and  obliging  ?  it  may  arise  from 
youthful  spirits  and  ignorance  of  the  world.  Does  he  choose  his  friends 
by  a  strictly  orthodox  rule?  he  may  be  harsh  and  uncharitable;  or,  is 
he  zealous  and  serviceable  in  defending  the  Truth  ?  still  he  may  be  una- 
ble to  condescend  to  men  of  low  estate,  to  rejoice  with  those  who 
rejoice,  and  to  weep  with  those  who  weep.  No  one  is  without  some 
good  quality  or  other ;  Balaam  '.  ad  a  scruple  about  misrepresenting 
God's  message,  Saul  was  brave,  Joab  was  loyal,  the  Bethel  Prophet 
reverenced  God's  servants,  the  witch  of  Endor  was  hospitable  ;  and 
therefore,  of  course,  no  one  good  deed  or  disposition  is  the  criterion  of 
a  spiritual  mind.  Still,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  one  of  its  charac- 
teristics which  has  not  its  appropriate  outward  evidence  ;    and,  in  pro- 


300  EASTER  MONDAY.  [Serm. 

proportion  as  tliesc  external  acts  arc  multiplied  and  varied,  so  does  the 
evidence  of  it  become  stronger  and  more  consoling.  General  consci- 
entiousness is  the  only  assurance  we  can  have  of  possessing  it ;  and  at 
this  we  must  aim,  determining  to  obey  God  consistently,  with  a  jealous 
carefulness  about  all  things,  little  and  great.  This  is,  in  Scripture 
language,  to  "serve  God  with  a  perfect  heart ;"  as  you  will  see  at  once, 
if  you  compare  the  respective  reformations  of  Jehu  and  Josiah.  As 
far  then  as  a  man  has  reason  to  hope  that  he  is  consistent,  so  far  may  he 
humbly  trust  that  he  has  true  faith.  To  be  consistent,  to  "  walk  in  all 
the  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless,"  is  his  one  business  ;  still,  all 
along  looking  reverently  towards  the  Great  Objects  of  faith,  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  Three  Persons,  One  God,  and  the  Son 
incarnate,  for  our  salvation.  Certainly  he  will  have  enough  to  direct 
his  course  by,  with  God  in  his  eye,  and  his  work  in  his  hand,  though  he 
forbear  curious  experiments  about  his  sensations  and  emotions  ;  and,  if 
it  be  objected  that  an  evidence  from  works  is  but  a  cold  comfort,  as 
being  at  best  but  faint  and  partial,  I  reply,  that  after  all,  it  is  more  than 
sinners  have  a  right  to  ask, — that  if  it  be  little  at  first,  it  grows  with  our 
growth  in  grace, — and,  moreover,  that  such  an  evidence,  more  than  any 
other  other,  throws  us  in  faith  upon  the  loving-kindness  and  meritorious 
sufferings  of  our  Saviour.  Surely,  even  our  best  doings  have  that  taint 
of  sinfulness  pervading  them,  which  will  remind  us  ever,  while  we  re- 
gard them,  where  our  True  Hope  is  lodged.  Men  are  satisfied  with 
themselves,  not  when  they  attempt,  but  when  they  neglect  the  details  of 
duty.  Disobedience  blinds  the  conscience  ;  obedience  makes  it  keen- 
sighted  and  sensitive.  The  more  we  do,  the  more  we  shall  trust  in 
Christ ;  and,  that  surely  is  no  morose  doctrine,  which,  after  giving  us 
whatever  evidence  of  our  safety  can  be  given,  leads  us  to  soothe  our 
selfish  restlessness,  and  forget  our  fears  in  the  vision  of  the  Incarnate 
Son  of  God. 

Lastly,  it  may  be  objected,  that,  since  many  deeds  of  obedience  arc 
themselves  acts  of  the  mind,  to  do  them  well  we  must  necessarily  ex- 
amine our  feelings  ;  that  we  cannot  pray,  for  instance,  without  reflect- 
ing on  ourselves  as  we  use  the  words  of  prayer,  and  keeping  our  thoughts 
upon  God  ;  that  we  cannot  repress  anger  or  impatience,  or  cherish 
loving  and  forgiving  thoughts,  without  searching  and  watching  ourselves. 
But  such  an  argument  rests  on  a  misconception  of  what  I  have  been 
saying.  All  I  would  maintain  is,  that  our  duty  lies  in  acts, — acts 
of  course  of  every  kind,  acts  of  the  mind,  as  well  as  of  the  tongue,  or 
of  the  hand  ;  but  any  liow  it  lies  mainly  in  acts  ;  it  does  not  directly 
lie  in  moods  or  feelings.  He  who  aims  at  praying  well,  loving  sin- 
cerely, disputing  meekly,  as  the  respective  duties  occur,  is  wise  and 


XIV.]  SAVING   KNOWLEDGE.  301 

religious  ;  but  he  who  aims  vaguely  and  generally  at  being  in  a 
spiritual  frame  of  mind,  is  entangled  in  a  deceit  of  words  which  gain  a 
meaning  only  by  being  made  mischievous.  Let  us  do  our  duty  as  it 
presents  itself ;  this  is  the  secret  of  true  faith  and  peace.  We  have 
power  over  our  deeds,  under  God's  grace  ;  we  have  no  direct  power 
over  our  habits.  Let  us  but  secure  our  actions,  as  God  would  have 
them,  and  our  habits  will  follow.  Suppose  a  religious  man,  for  instance, 
in  the  society  of  strangers  ;  he  takes  things  as  they  come,  discourses 
naturally,  gives  his  opinion  soberly,  and  does  good  according  to  each 
opportunity  of  good.  His  heart  is  in  his  work,  and  his  thoughts  rest 
without  effort  on  his  God  and  Saviour.  This  is  the  way  of  a  Christian  ; 
he  leaves  it  to  the  ill-instructed  to  endeavour  after  a  (so  called)  spiritual 
frame  of  mind  amid  the  bustle  of  life,  which  has  no  existence  except 
in  attempt  and  profession.  True  spiritual-mindedness  is  unseen  by 
man,  like  the  soul  itself,  of  which  it  is  a  quality  ;  and  as  the  soul  is 
known  by  its  operations,  so  it  is  known  by  its  fruits. 

I  will  add  too  that  the  office  of  self-examination  lies  rather  in  detect- 
ing  what  is  bad  in  us  than  in  ascertaining  what  is  good.  No  harm  can 
follow  from  contemplating  our  sins,  so  that  we  keep  Christ  before  us, 
and  attempt  to  overcome  them  ;  such  a  review  of  self,  will  but  lead  to 
repentance  and  faith.  And  while  it  does  this,  it  will  undoubtedly  be 
moulding  our  hearts  into  a  higher  and  more  heavenly  state ;  but  still 
indirectly, — just  as  the  mean  is  attained  in  action  or  art,  not  by  di- 
rectly contemplating  and  aiming  at  it,  but  negatively,  by  avoiding 
extremes. 

To  conclude,  the  essence  of  Faith  is  to  look  out  of  ourselves  ;  now, 
consider  what  manner  of  a  believer  he  is,  who  imprisons  himself  in  his 
own  thoughts,  and  rests  on  the  workings  of  his  own  mind,  and  thinks  of 
his  Saviour  as  an  idea  of  his  imagination,  instead  of  putting  self  aside, 
and  living  upon  Him  who  speaks  in  the  Gospels. 

So  much  then,  by  way  of  suggestion,  upon  the  view  of  Religious 
Faith,  which  has  ever  been  received  in  the  Church  Catholic,  and  which, 
doubtless,  is  saving.  To-morrow,  I  propose  to  speak  more  particularly 
of  that  other  system,  to  which  these  latter  times  have  given  birth. 


SE  RMO  N    XV 


TUESDAY  JN  EASTER  WEEK. 
SELF-CONTEMPLATION. 


Hebrews  xii.  2. 
Looking  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith. 

Surely  it  is  our  duty  ever  to  look  off  ourselves,  and  to  look  unto  Jesus  ; 
that  is,  to  shun  the  contemplation  of  our  own  feelings,  emotions,  frame, 
and  state  of  mind,  as  if  it  were  the  main  business  of  religion,  and  to 
leave  these  mainly  to  be  secured  in  their  fruits.  Some  remarks  were 
made  yesterday  upon  this  "  more  excellent  "  and  Scriptural  way  of  con- 
ducting ourselves,  as  it  has  ever  been  received  in  the  Church  ;  now  let 
us  consider  the  merits  of  the  rule  for  holy  living,  which  the  fashion  of 
this  day  would  substitute  for  it. 

Instead  of  looking  off  to  Jesus,  and  thinking  little  of  ourselves,  it  is 
at  present  thought  necessary  among  the  mixed  multitude  of  religionists, 
to  examine  the  heart,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  whether  it  is  in  a 
spiritual  state  or  no.  A  spiritual  frame  of  mind  is  considered  to  be  one 
in  which  the  heinousness  of  sin  is  perceived,  our  utter  worthlessness, 
the  impossibility  of  our  saving  ourselves,  the  necessity  of  some  Saviour, 
the  sufficiency  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  that  Saviour,  the  un- 
bounded riches  of  His  love,  the  excellence  and  glory  of  His  work  of 
Atonement,  the  freencss  and  fulness  of  His  grace,  the  high  privilege  of 
communion  with  Him  in  prayer,  and  the  desirableness  of  walking  with 
Him  in  all  holy  and  loving  obedience  ;  all  of  them  solemn  truths,  too 
solemn  to  be  lightly  mentioned,  but  our  hearty  reception  of  which  is 
scarcely  ascertainable  by  a  direct  inspection  of  our  feelings.  Moreover, 
if  one  doctrine  must  be  selected  above  the  rest  as  containing  the  essence 
of  the  truths,  wliich  (according  to  this  system,)  are  thus  vividly  under- 
stood by  the  spiritual  Christian,  it  is  that  of  the  necessity  of  renounc- 
ing our  own  righteousness  for  the  righteousness  provided  by  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  ;  which  is  considered,  not  as  an  elementary  and  simple 
principle,  (as  it  really  is,)  but  as  rarely  and  hardly  acknowledged  by 


Serm.  XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATION.  303 

any  man,  especially  repugnant  to  a  certain  (so-called)  pride  of  heart, 
which  is  supposed  to  run  through  the  whole  race  of  Adam,  and  to  lead 
every  man  instinctively  to  insist  even  before  God  on  the  proper  merits 
of  his  good  deeds  ;  so  that,  to  trust  in  Christ,  is  not  merely  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  (as  all  good  in  our  souls  is,)  but,  is  the  especial  and  criti- 
cal event  which  marks  a  man,  as  issuing  from  darkness,  and  sealed  unto 
the  privileges  and  inheritance  of  the  sons  of  God.  In  other  words,  the 
doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith,  is  accounted  to  be  the  one  cardinal 
point  of  the  Gospel  ;  and  it  is  in  vain  to  admit  it  readily  as  a  clear 
Scripture  truth  (which  it  is,)  and  to  attempt  to  go  on  unto  perfection  :  the 
very  wish  to  pass  forward  is  interpreted  into  a  wish  to  pass  over  it,  and 
the  test  of  believing  it  at  all,  is  in  fact  to  insist  upon  no  doctrine  but  it. 
And  this  peculiar  mode  of  inculcating  that  great  doctrine  of  the  Gos- 
pel, is  a  proof,  (if  that  were  wanting,)  that  the  persons  who  adopt  it  aVe 
not  solicitous  even  about  it  on  its  own  score  merely,  considered  as  (what 
is  called)  a  dogma,  but  as  ascertaining  and  securing  (as  they  hope)  a 
certain  state  of  heart.  For,  not  content  with  the  simple  admission  of 
it  on  the  part  of  another,  they  proceed  to  divide  faith  into  its  kinds, 
living  and  dead,  and  to  urge  against  him,  that  the  Truth  may  be  held 
in  a  carnal  and  unrenewed  mind,  and  that  men  may  speak  without  real 
feelings  and  convictions.  Thus  it  is  clear  they  do  not  contend  for  the 
•doctrine  of  Justification  as  a  truth  external  to  the  mind,  or  article  of 
faith,  any  more  than  for  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  On  the  other 
hand,  since  they  use  this  same  language  about  dead  and  living  faith, 
Jiowever  exemplary  the  life  and  conduct  be  of  the  individual  under  their 
review,  they  as  plainly  show  that  neither  are  the  fruits  of  righteousness 
in  their  system  an  evidence  of  spiritual-mindedness,  but  that  a  something 
is  to  be  sought  for  in  the  frame  of  mind  itself.  All  this  is  not  stated 
at  present  by  way  of  objection,  but  in  order  to  settle  accurately  what 
they  mean  to  maintain.  So  now  we  have  the  two  views  of  doctrine 
clearly  before  us  : — the  ancient  and  universal  teaching  of  the  Church, 
insisting  on  the  Objects  and  fruits  of  faith,  and  considering  the  spiritual 
character  of  that  faith  itself  sufficiently  secured,  if  these  are  as  they 
should  be  ;  and  the  method,  now  in  esteem,  attempting  instead  to  secure 
directly  and  primarily  that  "  mind  of  the  Spirit,"  which  may  savingly 
receive  the  truths,  and  fulfil  the  obedience  of  the  Gospel.  That  such 
a  spiritual  temper  is  indispensable,  is  agreed  on  all  hands.  The  simple 
question  is,  whether  it  is  formed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  immediately  acting 
upon  our  minds,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  by  our  own  particular  acts, 
(whether  of  faith  or  obedience,)  prompted,  guided,  and  prospered  by 
Him  ;  whether  it  is  ascertainable  otherwise  than  by  its  fruits  ;  whether 
such  frames  of  mind  as  are  directly  ascertainable  and  profess  to  be 


I 


304  EASTER  TUESDAY,  [Sers:v 

spiritual,  are  not  rather  a  delusion,  a  mere  excitement,  capricious  feel* 
ino-,  fanatic  fancy,  and  the  like. — So  much  then  by  way  of  explanation. 
1.  Now,  in  the  first  place,  this  modern  system  certainly  does  dis- 
parao'e  the  revealed  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  however  its  more  moderate 
advocates  may  shrink  from  admitting  it.     Considering  a  certain  state 
of  heart  to  be  the  main  thing  to  be  aimed  at,  they  avowedly  make  the 
Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  the  definite  Creed  of  the  Church,  second  in  their 
teaching  and  profession.     They  will  defend  themselves  indeed  from  the 
appearance  of  undervaluing  it,  by  maintaining,  that  the  existence  of 
right  religious  affections  is  a  security  for  sound  views  of  doctrine.    And 
this  is  abstractedly  true  ; — but  not  true  in  the  use  they  make  of  it  :  for 
they  unhappily  conceive  that  they  can  ascertain  in   each  other   the 
presence  of  these  affections,  and  when  they  find  men  possessed  of  them, 
(as  they  conceive,)  yet  not  altogether  orthodox  in  their  belief,  then  they 
relax  a  little,  and  argue  that  an  admission  of  (what  they  call)  the  strict 
and  technical  niceties  of  doctrine,  whether  about  the  Consubstantiality 
of  the  Son  or  the  Hypostatic  Union,  is  scarcely  part  of  the  definition 
of  a  spiritual  believer.     In  order  to  support  this  position,  they  lay  it 
down  as  self-evident,  that  the  main  purpose  of  revealed  doctrine  is  to 
affect  the  heart, — that  that  which  does  not  seem  to  affect  it,  does  not 
affect  it, — that  what  does  not  affect  it  is  unnecessary, — and  that  the  cir- 
cumstance that  this  or  that  person's  heart  seems  rightly  affected,  is  a 
sufficient  warrant  that  such  Articles  as  he  may  happen  to  reject,  may  be 
universally  rejected,  or  at  least  are  only  accidentally  important.     Such 
principles,  when  once  become  familiar  to  the  mind,  induce  a  certain  dis- 
proportionate attention  to  the  doctrines  connected  with  the  work  of 
Christ,  in  comparison  of  those  which  relate  to  His  Person,  from  their 
more  immediately  interesting  and  exciting  character  ;  and  carry  on  the 
more  speculative  and  philosophical  class  to  view  the  doctrines  of  Atone- 
ment  and  Sanctification  as  the  essence  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  advocate 
them  in  the  place  of  those  "  Heavenly  Things  "  altogether,  which,  as 
theologically  expressed,  they  have  already  assailed  ;  and  of  which  they 
now  openly  complain  as  mysteries  for  bondsmen,  not  Gospel  consolations. 
The  last  and  most  miserable  stage  of  this  false  wisdom,  is  to  deny  that 
in  matters  of  doctrine  there  is  any  one  sense  of  Scripture  such,  that  it 
is  true  and  all  others  false  ;  to  make  the  Gospel  of  Truth  (so  far)  a  reve- 
lation of  words  and  a  dead  letter  ;  to  consider  that  inspiration  speaks 
merely  of  divine  operations,  not  of  Persons  ;  and  that  that  is  truth  to 
each,  which  each  man  thinks  to  be  true,  so  that  one  man  may  say  that 
Christ  is  God,  another  deny  His  pre-existence,  yet  each  have  received 
the  Truth  according  to  the  peculiar  constitution  of  his  own  mind,  the 
Scripture  doctrine  having  no  real  independent  substantive  meaning. 


XV.]  SELF-COXTEMPLATIOX  305 

Thus  the  system  under  consideration  tends  legitimately  to  obliterate  the 
great  Objects  brought  to  light  in  the  Gospel,  and  to  darken  what  I  called 
yesterday  the  eye  of  faith  ;  to  throw  us  back  into  the  vagueness  of 
Heathenism,  when  men  only  felt  after  the  Divine  Presence  ;  and  thus 
to  frustrate  the  design  of  Christ's  incarnation  so  far  as  it  is  a  manifesta- 
tion of  the  Unseen  Creator. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  necessity  of  obedience  in  order  to  salvation 
does  not  suffer  less  from  the  upholders  of  this  modern  system  than  the 
articles  of  the  Creed.  They  argue,  and  truly,  that  if  faith  is  living, 
works  must  follow ;  but  mistaking  a  following  in  order  of  conception 
for  a  following  in  order  of  time,  they  conclude  that  faith  ever  comes 
first,  and  works  afterwards  ;  and  therefore,  that  faith  must  first  be  se- 
cured, and  that  by  some  means  in  which  works  have  no  share.  Thus, 
instead  of  viewing  works  as  the  concomitant  development  and  evidence, 
and  instrumental  cause,  as  well  as  the  subsequent  result  of  faith,  they 
lay  all  the  stress  upon  the  direct  creation,  in  their  minds,  of  faith  and 
spiritual-mindedness,  which  they  consider  to  consist  in  certain  emotions 
and  desires,  because  they  can  form  abstractedly  no  better  or  truer  notion 
of  those  qualities.  Then,  instead  of  being  "  careful  to  maintain  good 
works,"  they  proceed  to  take  it  for  granted,  that  since  they  have  attained 
faith,  (as  they  consider,)  works  will  follow  without  their  trouble  as  a 
matter  of  course.  Thus  the  wise  are  taken  in  their  own  craftiness  ; 
they  attempt  to  reason,  and  are  overcome  by  sophisms.  Had  they  kept 
to  the  Inspired  Record,  instead  of  reasoning,  their  way  would  have  been 
clear  ;  and,  considering  the  serious  exhortations  to  keeping  God's  com- 
mandments, with  which  all  Scripture  abounds,  from  Genesis  to  the 
Apocalypse,  is  it  not  a  very  grave  question,  which  the  most  charitable 
among  Churchmen  must  put  to  himself,  whether  these  random  ex- 
pounders of  the  Blessed  Gospel  are  not  risking  a  participation  in  the 
wo  denounced  against  those  who  preach  any  other  doctrine  besides  that 
dehvered  unto  us,  or  who  "  take  away  from  the  words  of  the  Book"  of 
revealed  Truth  ? 

3.  But  still  more  evidently  do  they  fall  into  this  last  imputation,  when 
we  consider  how  they  are  obliged  to  treat  the  Sacred  Volume  altogether, 
in  order  to  support  the  system  they  have  adopted.  Is  it  too  much  to 
say  that,  instead  of  attempting  to  harmonize  Scripture  with  Scripture, 
much  less  referring  to  Antiquity  to  enable  them  to  do  so,  thev  either 
drop  altogether,  or  explain  awa} ,  whole  portions  of  the  Bible,  and  those 
most  sacred  ones  ?  How  does  the  authority  of  the  Psalms  stand  with 
their  opinions,  except  at  best  by  a  forced  figurative  interpretation  1 
And  our  Lord's  discourses  in  the  Gospels,  especially  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  are  they  not  virtually  considered  as  chiefly  important  to  the  per- 

VoL.  I.— 20 


306  EASTER   TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

sons  immediately  addressed,  and  of  inferior  instructivcness  to  us  now 
that  the  Spirit  (as  it  is  profanely  said)  is  come  ?  In  short,  is  not  the 
rich  and  varied  Revelation  of  our  merciful  Lord  practically  reduced  to 
a  few  chapters  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  whether  rightly  (as  they  maintain) 
or  (as  we  would  say)  perversely  understood  ?  If  then  the  Romanists 
have  added  to  the  word  of  God,  is  it  not  undeniable  that  there  is  a  school 
of  religionists  among  us  who  have  taken  from  it  ? 

4.  I  would  remark,  that  the  immediate  tendency  of  these  opinions  is 
to  undervalue  ordinances  as  well  as  doctrines.  The  same  argument  evi- 
dently applies  ;  for,  if  the  renewed  state  of  heart  is  (as  it  is  supposed) 
attained,  what  matter  whether  Sacraments  have  or  have  not  been  ad- 
ministered 1  The  notion  of  invisible  grace  and  invisible  privileges  is, 
on  this  supposition,  altogether  superseded  ;  that  of  communion  with 
Christ  is  limited  to  the  mere  exercise  of  the  afTections  in  prayer  and 
meditation,  to  sensible  effects ;  and  he  who  considers  he  has  already 
gained  this  one  essential  gift  of  grace  (as  he  calls  it,)  may  plausibly  in- 
quire, after  the  fashion  of  the  day,  why  he  need  wait  upon  ordinances 
which  he  has  anticipated  in  his  religious  attainments, — which  are 
means  to  an  end,  which  he  has  not  to  seek,  even  if  they  be  not  outward 
forms  altogether, — and  whether  Christ  will  not  accept  at  the  last  day 
all  who  believe,  without  inquiring  if  they  were  members  of  the  Church, 
or  were  confirmed,  or  were  baptized,  or  received  the  blessing  of  mere 
men  who  are  "  earthen  vessels." 

5.  The  foregoing  remarks  go  to  show  the  utterly  unevangelical  cha- 
racter of  the  system  in  question  ;  unevangelic  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  whether  by  the  Gospel  be  meant  the  inspired  document  of  it,  or 
the  doctrines  brought  to  light  through  it,  or  the  Sacramental  Institu- 
tions which  are  the  gift  of  it,  or  the  theology  which  interprets  it,  or  the 
Covenant  which  is  the  basis  of  it.  A  few  words  shall  now  be  added,  to 
show  the  inherent  mischief  of  the  system  as  such  ;  v.hich  I  conceive  to 
lie  in  its  necessarily  involving  a  continual  self-contemplation  and  refer- 
ence to  self  in  all  departments  of  conduct.  He  who  aims  at  attaining 
sound  doctrine  or  right  practice,  more  or  less  looks  out  of  himself; 
whereas,  in  labouring  after  a  certain  frame  of  mind,  there  is  an  habitual 
reflex  action  of  the  mind  upon  itself.  That  this  is  really  involved  in 
the  modern  system,  is  evident  from  the  very  doctrine  principally  insisted 
on  by  it ;  for,  as  if  it  were  not  enough  for  a  man  to  look  up  simply  to 
Christ  for  salvation,  it  is  declared  to  be  necessary  that  he  should  be 
able  to  recognize  this  in  himself,  that  he  should  define  his  own  state  of 
mind,  confess  he  is  justified  by  faith  alone,  and  explain  what  is  meant 
by  that  confession.  Now,  the  truest  obedience  is  indisputably  that 
which  is  done  from  love  of  God,  without  narrov/ly  measuring    the 


XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATIOX.  307 

magnitude  or  nature  of  the  sacrifice  involved  in  it.  He  who  has 
learned  to  give  names  to  his  thoughts  and  deeds,  to  appraise  them  as  if 
for  the  market,  to  attach  to  each  its  due  measure  of  commendation  or 
usefulness,  will  soon  involuntarily  corrupt  his  motives  by  pride  or  self- 
ishness. A  sort  of  self-approbation  will  insinuate  itself  into  his  mind  ; 
so  subtle  as  not  at  once  to  be  recognised  by  himself, — an  habitual  quiet 
self-esteem,  leading  him  to  prefer  his  own  views  to  those  of  others,  and 
a  secret,  if  not  avowed  persuasion,  that  he  is  in  a  ditierent  state  from 
the  generality  of  those  around  him.  This  is  an  incidental,  though  of 
course  not  a  necessary  evil  of  religious  journals  ;  nay,  of  such  compo- 
sitions as  Ministerial  duties  involve.  They  lead  those  who  write  them, 
in  some  respect  or  other,  to  a  contemplation  of  self.  Moreover,  as  to 
religious  journals  useful  as  they  often  are,  at  the  same  time,  I  believe 
persons  find  great  difiiculty,  while  recording  their  feelings,  in  banishing 
the  thought  that  one  day  these  good  feelings  will  be  known  to  the  world, 
and  are  thus  insensibly  led  to  modify  and  prepare  their  language  as  if 
for  a  representation.  Seldom  indeed  is  any  one  in  the  practice  of  con- 
templating his  better  thoughts  or  doings,  without  proceeding  to  display 
them  to  others ;  and  hence  it  is,  that  it  is  so  easy  to  discover  a  con- 
ceited man.  When  this  is  encouraged  in  the  sacred  province  of  re- 
ligion, it  produces  a  certain  unnatural  solemnity  of  manner,  arising 
from  a  wish  to  be,  nay,  to  appear  spiritual ;  which  is  at  once  very  pain- 
ful to  beholders,  and  surely  quite  at  variance  with  our  Saviour's  rule  of 
anointing  our  head  and  washing  our  face,  even  when  we  are  most  self- 
abased  in  heart.  Another  mischief  arising  from  this  self-contempla- 
tion is  the  peculiar  kind  of  selfishness  (if  I  may  use  so  harsh  a  term) 
which  it  will  be  found  to  foster.  They  who  make  self  instead  of  their 
Maker  the  great  object  of  their  contemplation,  will  naturally  exalt 
themselves.  Without  denying  that  the  glory  of  God  is  the  great  end 
to  which  all  things  are  to  be  referred,  they  will  be  led  to  connect  indis- 
.  solubly  His  glory  with  their  own  certainty  of  salvation  ;  and  this  partly 
accounts  for  its  being  so  common  to  find  rigid  prcdestinarian  views  and 
the  exclusive  maintenance  of  justification  by  Faith  in  the  same  persons. 
And  for  the  same  reason,  the  Scripture  doctrines  relative  to  the  Church 
and  its  offices  will  be  unpalatable  to  such  religionists  ;  no  one  thing  be- 
ing so  irreconcileable  with  another,  as  the  system  which  makes  a  man's 
thoughts  centre  in  himself,  with  that  which  directs  them  to  a  fountain 
of  grace  and  truth,  on  which  God  has  made  him  dependent. 

And  as  self-confidence  and  spiritual  pride  are  the  legitimate  results 
of  these  opinions  in  one  set  of  persons,  so  in  another  thev  lead  to  a 
feverish  anxiety  about  their  religious  state  and  prospects,  and  fears  lest 
they  are  under  the  reprobation  of  their  All-merciful  Saviour.     It  need 


3C8  EASTER  TUESDAY.  [Serm.  XV. 

scarcely  be  said  Ihat  a  contemplation  of  self  is  a  frequent  attendant^ 
and  a  frequent  precursor  of  a  deranged  state  of  the  mental  powers. 

To  conclude. — It  must  not  be  supposed  from  the  foregoing  remarks, 
that  I  am  imputing  all  the  consequences  enumerated  to  every  one  who 
holds  the  main  doctrine  from  which  they  legitimately  Ibllow.  flVIany 
men  zealously  maintain  jjrinciples  which  they  never  follow  out  in  their 
own  minds,  or  after  a  time  silently  discard,  except  as  far  as  words  go  ; 
but  which  are  sure  to  receive  a  full  development  in  the  history  of  any 
school  or  party  of  men  which  adopts  them.  Considered  thus,  as  the 
characteristics  of  a  school,  the  principles  in  question  are  doubtless  anti- 
christian ;  for  they  destroy  all  positive  doctrine,  all  ordinances,  all 
good  works,  they  foster  pride,  invite  hypocrisy,  discourage  the  weak, 
and  deceive  most  fatally,  while  they  profess  to  be  the  especial  antidotes 
to  self-deception.  We  have  seen  these  effects  of  them  two  centuries 
since  in  the  history  of  the  English  Branch  of  the  Church  ;  for  what  we 
know,  a  more  fearful  triumph  is  still  in  store  for  them.  But,  however 
that  may  be,  let  not  the  watchmen  of  Jerusalem  fail  to  give  timely 
Avarning  of  the  approaching  enemy,  or  to  acquit  themselves  of  all  cow- 
ardice or  compliance  as  regards  it.  Let  them  prefer  the  Old  Com- 
mandment, as  it  has  been  from  the  beginning,  to  any  novelties  of  man  ; 
recollecting  Christ's  words,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth,  and  keepeth 

s  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his  shame."* 

*  Rev.  xvi.  15. 


SERMON    XV  I. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MARK,  THE  EVANGELIST 
RELIGIOUS  COWARDICE. 


Hebrews  xii.  12. 
Lift  up  the  hands  which  hang  down,  and  the  feeble  knees. 

The  chief  points  of  St.  Mark's  history  are  these  : — first,  that  he  was 
-sister's-son  to  Barnabas,  and  taken  with  him  and  St.  Paul  on  their  first 
apostolical  journey  ;  next,  that  after  a  short  time  he  deserted  them,  and 
returned  to  Jerusalem  ;  next,  that  after  an  interval,  he  was  St.  Peter's 
assistant  at  Rome,  and  composed  his  Gospel  there  principally  from  the 
accounts  which  he  received  from  that  Apostle  ;  lastly,  that  he  was  sent 
by  him  to  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  where  he  founded  one  of  the  strictest 
and  most  powerful  churches  of  the  primitive  times. 

The  points  of  contrast  in  his  history  are  as  follows  : — that  first  he 
abandoned  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  as  soon  as  danger  appeared;  after- 
wards, he  proved  himself,  not  merely  an  ordinary  Christian,  but  a  most 
resolute  and  exact  servant  of  God,  founding,  and  ruling  that  strictest 
Church  of  Alexandria. 

And  the  7nfans  of  this  change  were,  as  it  appears,  the  influence  of 
St.  Peter,  a  fit  restorer  of  a  timid  and  backsliding  disciple. 

The  enamrageinent  which  we  derive  from  these  circumstances  in  St. 
Mark's  history,  is,  that  the  feeblest  among  us  may  through  God's  grace 
become  strong.  And  the  icarmng  to  be  drawn  from  it  is,  to  distrust 
ourselves ;  and  again,  not  to  despise  weak  brethren,  or  to  despair  of 
them,  but  to  bear  their  burdens  and  help  them  forward,  if  so  be  we 
may  restore  thorn.  Now,  let  us  attentively  consider  the  subject  thus 
brought  before  us. 

Some  men  are  naturally  impetuous  and  active  ;  others  love  quiet  and 
readily  yield.  The  over-earnest  must  be  sobered,  and  the  indolent 
must  be  roused.  The  history  of  Moses  supplies  us  with  an  instance  of 
a  proud  and  rash  spirit,  tamed  down  to  an  extreme  gentleness  of  de- 
portment. In  the  greatness  of  the  change  wrought  in  him,  when  from 
sl  fierce,  though  honest,  avenger  of  his  brethren,  he  became  the  meek- 


810  ST.   MARK.  [Serm. 

est  of  men  on  the  earth,  he  evidences  the  power  of  faith,  the  influence 
of  the  Spirit  on  the  heart.  St.  Mark's  history  affords  a  specimen  of 
the  other,  and  still  rarer  change,  from  timidity  to  boldness.  Difficult, 
as  it  is,  to  subdue  the  more  violent  passions,  yet  I  believe  it  to  be  still 
more  difficult  to  overcome  a  tendency  to  sloth,  cowardice,  and  despon- 
dency. These  evil  dispositions  cling  about  a  man,  and  weigh  him 
down.  They  are  minute  chains,  binding  him  on  every  side  to  the 
earth,  so  that  he  cannot  even  turn  himself  or  make  an  effort  to  rise. 
It  would  seem  as  if  right  principles  had  yet  to  be  planted  in  the  indo- 
lent mind  ;  whereas  violent  and  obstinate  tempers  had  already  some- 
thing of  the  nature  of  firmness  and  zeal  in  them,  or  rather  what  will 
become  so  with  care,  exercise,  and  God's  blessing.  Besides,  the  events 
of  life  have  a  powerful  influence  in  sobering  the  ardent  or  self-confident 
temper.  Disappointments,  pain,  anxiety,  advancing  years,  bring  with 
them  some  natural  wisdom  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  and,  though  such 
tardy  improvement  bespeaks  but  a  weak  faith,  yet  we  may  believe  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  often  blesses  these  means,  however  slowly  and  imper- 
ceptibly. On  the  other  hand,  these  same  circumstances  do  but  in- 
crease the  defects  of  the  timid  and  irresolute  ;  who  are  made  more 
indolent,  selfish,  and  faint-hearted  by  advancing  years,  and  find  a  sort 
of  sanction  of  their  unworthy  caution  in  their  experience  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  life. 

St.  Mark's  change,  therefore,  may  be  considered  even  more  aston- 
ishing in  its  nature  than  that  of  the  Jewish  Lawgiver.  "  By  faith," 
he  was  "  out  of  weakness  made  strong  ;"  and  becomes  a  memorial  of 
the  more  glorious  and  marvellous  gifts  of  the  last  and  spiritual  Dis- 
pensation. 

Observe  in  v»hat  St.  Mark's  weakness  lay.  There  is  a  sudden 
defection,  which  arises  from  self-confidence.  Such  was  St.  Peter's. 
He  had  trusted  too  much  to  his  mere  good  feelings  ;  he  was  honest 
and  ;sincere,  and  he  thought  that  he  could  do  what  he  wished  to  do- 
How  far  apart  from  each  other  are  to  wish  and  to  do  !  yet  we  are  apt 
to  confuse  tJicm.  Sometimes  indeed  earnest  desire  of  an  object  will 
by  a  sudden  impulse  surmount  diflicuUies,  and  succeed  without  previ- 
ous practice.  Enthusiasm  certainly  does  wonders  in  this  way  ;  just  as 
men  of  weakly  frames  will  sometimes  from  extreme  excitement  inflict 
blows  of  incredible  power.  And  sometimes  eagerness  sets  us  on  be- 
ginning to  exert  ourselves  ;  and,  the  first  obstacles  being  thus  removed, 
we  go  on  as  a  matter  of  course  with  comparatively  small  labour.  All 
(his,  being  from  time  to  lime  witnessed,  impresses  us  with  a  conviction, 
unknown  to  ourselves,  that  a  .sanguine  temper  is  the  main  condition  of 
success   in  any  work.     And  when,  in  our  lonely  imaginings,  we  fancy 


Serm.  XVI.]  RELIGIOUS  COWARDICE.  311 

ourselves  taking  a  strenuous  part  in  some  great  undertaking,  or  when 
we  really  see  others  playing  the  man,  so  very  easy  does  heroism  seem 
to  be,  that  we  cannot  admit  the  possibility  of  our  failing,  should  cir- 
cumstances call  us  to  any  difficult  duty.  St.  Peter  thought  that  he 
could  preserve  his  integrity,  because  he  wished  to  do  so  ;  and  he  fell 
from  ignorance  of  the  difficulty  of  doing  what  he  wished. 

In  St.  Mark's  history,  however,  we  have  no  evidence  of  self-confi- 
dence ;  rather,  we  may  discern  in  it  the  state  of  multitudes  at  the 
present  day,  who  proceed  through  life  with  a  certain  sense  of  religion 
on  their  minds,  who  have  been  brought  up  well  and  know  the  Truth,  who 
acquit  themselves  respectably  while  danger  is  at  a  distance,  but  dis- 
grace  their  profession,  when  brought  into  any  unexpected  trial.  His 
mother  was  a  woman  of  influence  among  the  Christians  at  Jerusalem  ; 
his  mother's  brother,  Barnabas,  was  an  eminent  Apostle.  Doubtless 
he  had  received  a  religious  education ;  and,  as  being  the  friend  of 
Apostles  and  in  the  bosom  of  the  pure  Church  of  Christ,  he  had  the 
best  models  of  sanctity  before  his  eyes,  the  clearest  teaching,  the  full- 
est  influence  of  grace.  He  was  shielded  from  temptation.  The  time 
came  when  his  real  proficiency  in  faith  and  obedience  was  to  be  tried. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  were  sent  forth  to  preach  to  the  heathen  ;  and  they 
took  Mark  with  them  as  an  attendant.  First  they  sailed  to  Cyprus,  the 
native  place  of  Barnabas  :  they  travelled  about  it,  and  then  crossed 
over  to  the  main  land.  This  seems  to  have  been  their  first  entrance 
upon  an  unknown  country.  Mark  was  discouraged  at  the  prospect  of 
danger,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem. 

Now,  who  does  not  see  that  such  a  character  as  this,  such  a  trial,  and 
such  a  fall,  belong  to  other  days,  besides  those  of  the  Apostles  ?  Or 
rather,  to  put  the  question  to  us  more  closely,  who  will  deny  that  there 
are  multitudes  in  the  Church  at  present,  who  have  no  evidence  to  them- 
selves of  more  than  that  passive  faith  and  virtue,  which  in  Mark's  case 
proved  so  unequal  even  to  a  slight  trial  ?  Who  has  not  some  misgiv- 
ings  of  heart,  lest,  in  times  such  as  these,  when  Christian  firmness  is 
so  little  tried,  his  own  loyalty  to  his  Saviour's  cause  be  perchance  no 
truer  or  firmer  than  than  that  of  the  sistcr's-son  of  a  great  Apostle? 
When  the  Church  is  at  peace,  as  it  has  long  been  in  this  country,  when 
public  order  is  preserved  in  the  community,  and  the  rights  of  person  and 
property  secured,  there  is  extreme  danger  lest  we  judge  ourselves  by 
what  is  without  us,  not  by  what  is  within.  We  take  for  granted  we  are 
Christians,  because  we  have  been  taught  aright,  and  are  regular  in  our 
attendance  upon  the  Christian  ordinances.  But,  great  privilege  and 
duty  as  it  is  to  use  the  means  of  grace,  reading  and  prayer  are  not 
enough;  nor  by  themselves,  will  they  ever  make  us  real  Christians, 


312  ST.  MARK.  [Sekm. 

Thev  will  n-ivc  us  right  knowledge  and  good  feelings,  but  not  firm  faith 
and  resolute  obedience.  Christians,  such  as  Mark,  will  abound  in  a 
prosperous  Church  ;  and  should  trouble  come,  they  will  be  unprepared 
for  it.  They  have  so  long  been  accustomed  to  external  peace,  that 
they  do  not  like  to  be  persuaded,  that  danger  is  at  hand.  They  settle 
it  in  their  imagination  that  they  are  to  live  and  die  undisturbed.  They 
look  at  the  world's  events,  as  they  express  it,  cheerfully;  and  argue 
themselves  into  self-deception.  Next,  they  make  concessions,  to  fulfil 
their  own  predictions  and  wishes  ;  and  surrender  the  Christian  cause, 
that  unbelievers  may  not  commit  themselves  to  an  open  attack  upon  it. 
Some  of  them  are  men  of  cultivated  and  refined  taste  ;  and  these  shrink 
from  the  rough  life  of  pilgrims,  to  which  they  are  called,  as  something 
strange  and  extravagant.  They  consider  those,  who  take  a  simpler 
view  of  the  duties  and  prospects  of  the  Church,  to  be  enthusiastic, 
rash,  and  intemperate,  or  perverse-minded.  To  speak  plainly,  a  state 
of  persecution  is  not,  (what  is  familiarly  called,)  their  element ;  they 
cannot  breathe  in  it.  Alas !  how  different  from  the  Apostle,  who  had 
learned  in  whatsoever  state  he  was,  therewith  to  be  content,  and  who 
was  all  things  to  all  men.  If  then  there  be  times  when  we  have  grown 
thus  torpid  from  long  security,  and  are  tempted  to  prefer  the  treasures 
of  Egypt  to  the  reproach  of  Christ,  what  can  we  do,  what  ought  we  to 
do,  but  to  pray  God  in  some  way  or  other  to  try  the  very  heart  of  the 
Church,  and  to  afiiict  us  here  rather  than  hereafter  ?  Dreadful  as  is 
the  prospect  of  Satan's  temporary  triumph,  fierce  as  are  the  horsehoofs 
of  his  riders,  and  detestiblc  as  is  the  cause  for  which  they  battle,  yet 
better  such  anguish  should  come  upon  us  than  that  the  recesses  of  our 
heritage  should  be  the  hiding-places  of  a  self-indulgent  spirit,  and  the 
schools  of  lukewarmness.  May  God  arise,  and  shake  terribly  the  earth, 
(though  it  be  an  awful  prayer,)  rather  than  the  double-minded  should 
lie  hid  among  us,  and  souls  be  lost  by  present  ease  !  Let  Him  arise,  if 
there  be  no  alternative,  and  chasten  us  with  his  sweet  discipline,  as  our 
hearts  may  best  bear  it ;  bringing  our  sins  out  in  this  world,  that  we  be 
not  condemned  in  the  day  of  the  Lord,  shaming  us  here,  reproving  us 
by  the  mouth  of  His  servants,  then  restoring  us,  and  leading  us  on  by 
a  better  way  to  a  truer  and  holier  hope  1  Let  Him  winnow  us,  till  the 
chaff  is  clean  removed!  though,  in  thus  invoking  Him,  we  know  not 
what  we  ask,  and  feeling  the  end  itself  to  be  good,  yet  cannot  worthily 
estimate  the  fearfulness  of  that  chastisement  which  we  so  freely  si)eak 
about.  Doubtless  we  do  not,  cannot  measure  the  terrors  of  the  Lord's 
judgments  ;  we  use  words  cheaply.  Still,  it  cannot  be  wrong  to  use 
them,  seeing  they  are  the  best  offering  we  can  make  to  God  ;  and,  so 
that  we  beg  Him  the  while  to  lead  us  on,  and  give  us  strength  to  bear 


XVII.]  THE   GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  313 

the  trial  according  as  it  opens  upon  us.  So  may  we  issue  Evangelists 
for  timid  deserters  of  the  cause  of  truth  ;  speaking  the  words  of  Christ, 
and  showing  forth  His  life  and  death ;  rising  strong  from  our  sufferings, 
and  building  up  the  Church  in  the  strictness  and  zeal  of  those  who  de- 
spise this  life  except  as  it  leads  to  another. 

Lastly,  let  us  not,  from  an  excited  fancy  and  a  vain  longing  after  the 
glories  of  other  days,  forget  the  advantages  which  we  have.  No  need 
to  have  the  troubles  of  Apostles  in  order  to  attain  their  faith.  Even  in 
the  quietest  times  we  may  rise  to  high  holiness,  if  we  improve  the  means 
given  us.  Trials  come  when  we  forget  mercies  ;  to  remind  us  of  them, 
and  to  fit  us  to  enjoy  and  use  them  suitably. 


SERMON   XVII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES,  THE  APOSTLES. 
THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES. 


2  Cor.  xiii.  1. 
In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  sliall  every  word  be  established. 

It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  in  His  great  mercy,  to  give  us  accumu- 
lated evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel ;  to  send  out  His  Witnesses 
again  and  again.  Prophet  after  Prophet,  Apostle  after  Apostle,  miracle 
after  miracle,  that  reason  might  be  brought  into  captivity,  as  well  as 
faith  rewarded,  by  the  fulness  of  His  revelations.  The  double  Festival 
which  we  are  now  celebrating,  reminds  us  of  this.  Our  service  is  this 
day  distinguished  by  the  commemoration  of  two  Apostles,  who  are  as- 
sociated together  in  our  minds  in  nothing  except  in  their  being  Apostles, 
in  both  of  them  being  Witnesses,  separate  Witnesses  of  the  life,  death, 
and  resurrection  of  Christ.  Thus  this  union,  however  originating,  of 
the  Feast  Davs  of  Apostles,  who  are  not  especially  connected  in  Scrip- 
ture, will  serve  to  remind  us  of  the  diversity  and  number  of  the  W  it- 
aesses  by  whom  one  and  the  same  Sacred  Truth  has  been  delivered  to  us. 


314 


ST.   PHILIP  AND   ST.   JAMES. 


[Serm. 


But,  farther  than  this.  Even  the  twelve  Apostles,  many  as  they 
were,  form  not  the  whole  company  of  the  Witnesses  vouchsafed  to  us. 
In  order  more  especially  to  confirm  to  us,  that  the  Word  has  really  be- 
come incarnate,  and  has  sojourned  among  men,  another  distinct  Wit- 
ness is  vouchsafed  to  us  in  the  person  of  St.  Paul.  What  could  be 
needed  beyond  the  preaching  of  the  Twelve  ?  they  all  were  attendants 
upon  Christ,  they  had  heard  His  words,  they  had  imbibed  His  Spirit 
and,  as  agreeing  one  and  all  in  the  matter  of  their  testimony,  they 
afforded  full  evidence  to  those  who  required  it,  that,  though  their 
Master  wrote  not  His  Gospel  for  us  with  His  own  finger,  nevertheless 
we  have  it  whole  and  entire.  Yet  He  did  more  than  this.  When  the 
time  came  for  publishing  it  to  the  world  at  large,  while  He  gradually 
initiated  their  minds  into  the  full  graciousness  of  the  New  Covenant, 
as  reaching  to  Gentile  as  well  as  Jew,  He  raised  up  to  Himself  by 
direct  miracle  and  inspiration,  a  fresh  and  independent  Witness  of  it 
from  among  His  persecutors  ;  so  that  from  that  time,  the  Dispensation 
had  (as  it  were)  a  second  beginning,  and  went  forward  upon  a  twofold 
foundation,  the  teaching,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the  Apostles  of  the  Cir- 
cumcision, and  of  St.  Paul  on  the  other.  Two  schools  of  Christian 
doctrine  forthwith  existed;  if  I  may  use  the  word  "school,"  to  denote 
a  difierence,  not  of  doctrine  itself,  but  of  history,  between  the  Apostles. 
Of  the  Gentile  school,  were  St.  Luke,  St.  Clement,  and  others,  follow- 
ers of  St.  Paul.  Of  the  School  of  the  Circumcision,  St.  Peter,  and 
still  more,  St.  John ;  St.  James,  and  we  may  add,  St.  Philip.  St. 
James  is  known  to  belong  to  the  latter,  in  his  history  as  Bishop  of  Je- 
rusalem ;  and,  though  little  is  known  of  St.  Philip,  yet  what  is  known 
of  him,  indicates  that  he  too  is  to  be  ranked  with  St.  John,  whom  he 
followed,  (as  history  informs  us,)  in  observing  the  Jewish  rule  of  cele- 
brating the  Easter  Feast,  and  not  the  tradition  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul.  I  propose  upon  this  Festival,  to  set  before  you  some  considera- 
tions which  arise  out  of  this  view  of  the  Scripture  history. 

Christianity  was,  and  was  not,  a  new  religion,  when  first  preached 
to  the  world ;  it  seemed  to  supersede,  but  it  was  merely  the  fulfilment^ 
the  due  development  and  maturity  of  the  Jewish  Law,  which,  in  one 
sense,  vanished  away,  in  another,  was  perpetuated  for  ever.  This  need 
not  be  proved  here  ;  I  will  but  refer  you,  by  way  of  illustration,  to  the 
language  of  Prophecy,  as  (for  instance)  to  the  forty-ninth  chapter  of 
the  B(jok  of  Isaiah,  in  which  the  Jewish  Church  is  comforted  in  her 
afflictions,  by  the  promise  of  her  propagation  and  triumphs  (that  is,  in 
her  Christian  form)  among  the  Gentiles.  "  Zion  said.  The  Lord  hath 
forsaken  me,  and  my  Lord  hath  forgotten  me.  Can  a  woman  forget 
her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on  the  son  of 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  315 

her  womb  ?  Yea,  they  may  forget,  yet  I  will  not  forget  thee  .... 
Lift  up  thine  eyes  round  about,  and  behold  ;  all  these  gather  themselves 
together,  and  come  to  thee.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  thou  shalt  surely 
clothe  thee  with  them  all,  as  with  an  ornament,  and  bind  them  on  thee 

as  a  bride  doth The  children  which  thou  shalt  have,  after  thou 

hast  lost  the  other,  shall  say  again  in  thine  ears,  The  place  is  too  strait 
for  me,  give  place  to  me  that  I  may  dwell.  Then  shalt  thou  say  in 
thine  heart,  Who  hath  begotten  me  these,  seeing  I  have  lost  my  chil- 
dren, and  am  desolate,  a  captive,  and  removing  to  and  fro  ?  ...  .  Be- 
hold, I  will  lift  up  Mine  hand  to  the  Gentiles,  and  set  up  My  standard 
to  the  people ;  .  .  and  kings  shall  be  thy  nursing-fathers,  and  their 
queens  thy  nursing-mothers."  The  Jewish  Church,  then,  was  not 
superseded,  though  the  Nation  was  ;  it  merely  changed  into  the  Chris- 
tian, and  thus  was  at  once  the  same,  and  not  the  same,  as  it  had  been 
before. 

Such  being  the  double  aspect  of  God's  dealings  towards  His  Church, 
when  the  time  came  for  His  exhibiting  it  in  its  new  form  as  a  Catholic, 
not  a  local  Institution,  He  was  pleased  to  make  a  corresponding  change 
in  the  internal  ministry  of  the  Dispensation  ;  imposing  upon  St.  Paul 
the  particular  duty  of  formally  delivering  and  adapting  to  the  world  at 
large,  that  Old  Essential  Truth,  the  guardianship  of  which  He  had  al- 
ready committed  to  St.  James  and  St.  John.  In  consequence  of  this 
accidental  difference  of  office,  superficial  readers  of  Scripture  have  some- 
times spoken  as  if  there  were  some  real  difference  between  the  respec- 
tive doctrines  of  those  favoured  Instruments  of  Providence.  Unbe- 
lievers have  objected  that  St.  Paul  introduced  a  new  religion,  such  as 
Jesus  never  taught  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  Christians  who 
maintain,  that  St.  Paul's  doctrine  is  peculiarly  the  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  intended  to  supersede  both  our  Lord's  recorded  words, 
and  those  of  His  original  follows.  Now  a  very  remarkable  circum- 
stance it  certainly  is,  that  Almighty  God  has  thus  made  two  begin- 
nings to  His  Gospel ;  and,  when  we  have  advanced  far  enough  in  sacred 
knowledge  to  see  how  they  harmonize  together,  and  concur  in  that 
wonderful  system,  which  Primitive  Christianity  presents,  and  which 
was  built  on  them  both,  we  shall  find  abundant  matter  of  praise  in  this 
Providential  arrangement.  But,  at  first  there  doubtless  is  something 
which  needs  explanation  ;  for  we  see  in  matter  of  fact,  that  different 
classes  of  religionists,  do  build  their  respective  doctrines  upon  the  one 
foundation  and  the  other,  upon  the  Gospels  and  upon  St.  Paul's  Epistles ; 
the  more  enthusiastic  upon  the  latter,  the  cold,  proud,  and  heretical, 
upon  the  former  ;  and  though  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  no  part  of 
Scripture  favours  either  coldness  or  fanaticism,  and,  in  particular,  may 


316  ST.   nilLIP  AND  ST.   JAMES.  [Serm, 

zealously  repel  the  impiety,  as  well  as  the  daring  perverseness,  which 
would  find  countenance  for  an  imperfect  Creed  in  the  heavenly  words 
of  the  Evangelists,  yet  the  very  fact  that  hostile  parties  do  agree  in  di- 
vidino-  the  ^ew  Testament  into  about  the  same  two  portions,  is  just 
enouo-h  at  first  sight  to  show  that  there  is  some  diflference  or  other, 
whether  in  tone  or  doctrine,  which  needs  accounting  for. 

This  state  of  the  case,  whether  a  difficulty  or  not,  may,  I  conceive, 
any  how  be  turned  into  an  evidence  in  behalf  of  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
Some  few  remarks  shall  here  be  made  to  explain  my  meaning;  nor  is  it  su- 
perfluous to  direct  attention  to  the  subject ;  for,  though  points  of  evi- 
dence seldom  avail  to  the  conversion  of  unbelievers,  they  are  always 
edifying  and  instructive  to  Christians,  as  confirming  their  faith,  and 
filling  them  with  admiration,  and  praise  of  God's  marvellous  works, 
which  have  more  and  more  the  stamp  of  Truth  upon  them,  the  deeper 
we  examine  them.  This  was  the  effect  produced  on  the  Apostles' 
minds  by  their  own  miracles,  and  on  the  Saints'  in  the  Apocalypse  by 
the  sight  of  God's  judgments  ;  prompting  them  to  cry  out  in  awe  and 
thankfulness,  "  Lord,  Thou  art  God,  which  hast  made  Heaven  and 
earth  !"  "  Great  and  marvellous  are  Thy  works.  Lord  God  Almighty  ; 
just  and  true  are  Thy  ways,  Thou  King  of  Saints  !"* 

My  remark  then  is  simply  this  ; — that,  supposing  an  essential  unani- 
mity of  teaching  can  be  shown  to  exist  between  the  respective  writings 
of  St.  Paul  and  his  brethren,  then  the  existing  difference,  whatever  it  is, 
whether  of  phraseology  of  subject,  or  of  historical  origin,  in  a  word,  the 
difference  of  school,  only  makes  that  agreement  the  more  remarkable, 
and  after  all  only  guarantees  them  as  two  independent  Witnesses  to  the 
same  Truth.     Now  to  illustrate  this  argument. 

I  suppose  the  points  of  difference  between  St.  Paul  and  the  Twelve 
will  be  considered  to  be  as  follows: — that  St.  Paul,  on  his  conversion, 
"  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood,!  neither  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
them  which  were  Apostles  before  him  ;" — that,  on  the  face  of  Scripture, 
there  a])i)ears  some  sort  of  difference  in  viewing  doctrine  between  St. 
Paul  and  the  original  Apostles,  that  St.  Paul  on  one  occasion  "  with- 
stood Peter  to  the  face,"  and  says  that  "  those  who  seemed  to  be  some- 
what" referring  apparently  to  James  and  John,  "  in  conference  added 
nothing  to  him,":j:  and  St.  Peter,  on  the  other  hand,  observes,  that  in 
^t.  Paul's  Epistles  there  "  are  some  things  hard  to  be  understood,"  while 
St.  James  would  even  seem  to  qualify  St.  Paul's  doctrine  concerning 
the  pre-eminence  of  faith  ;§  that  St.  James,  not  to  mention  St.  John, 

•Actsiv.ai.     Rev.  XV.  3.         t  Gal.  i.  16,  17.         t  Gal.  ii.  6.  11. 
§  2  Peter  lii.  16.    James  ii.  14—26. 


I 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  817 

was  stationary,  having  taken  on  himself  a  local  episcopate,  while  St. 
Paul  was  subjected  to  what  are  now  called  missionary  labours,  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  churches  without  undertaking  the  government  of  any 
of  them ; — that  St.  Paul  speaks  with  especial  earnestness  concerning 
the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  Law,  and  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles  into 
the  Church,  subjects  not  prominently  put  forward  by  the  other  Apos- 
tles ; — that  St.  Paul  declares  distinctly  and  energetically,  that  we  are 
elected  to  salvation  by  God's  free  grace,  and  justified  by  faith,*  and 
traces  out,  in  the  way  of  system,  all  Christian  holiness  and  spiritual 
mindedness  from  this  beginning  ;  whereas,  St.  James  says  we  are  justi- 
fied by  works,!  St.  John  that  we  shall  be  "judged  according  to  our 
works,"  and  St.  Peter  that  "  the  Father  judgeth  according  to  every 
man's  work,  without  respect  of  persons,":]:  phrases  which  are  but  sym- 
bols of  the  general  character  of  their  own  and  our  Lord's  teaching ; 
lastly,  that  there  is  more  expression  of  kindled  and  active  affections 
towards  God  and  towards  man  in  St.  Paul's  writings  than  in  those  of 
his  brethren.  This  is  not  the  place  to  explain  what  needs  explaining  in 
this  list  of  contrasts  ;  nor  indeed  is  there  any  real  difficulty  at  all  (I  may 
say)  in  reconciling  the  one  side  with  the  other,  where  the  heart  is  right 
and  the  judgment  fairly  clear  and  steady.  It  has  often  been  done  most 
satisfactorily.  But  let  us  take  them  as  they  stand,  prior  to  all  explana- 
tion ;  let  a  disputer  make  the  most  of  them.  So  much  at  least  is 
proved,  that  St.  Paul  and  St.  James  were  two  independent  witnesses 
(whether  concordant  or  not)  of  the  gospel  doctrines ;  which  is  abun- 
dantly confirmed  by  all  those  circumstances  which  objectors  sometimes 
enlarge  upon,  St.  Paul's  peculiar  education,  connexions,  and  history. 
Take  these  differences  at  the  worst,  and  then  on  the  other  hand  take 
account  of  the  wonderful  agreement  after  all  in  opinion,  manner  of 
thought,  feeling,  and  conduct,  nay,  in  religious  vocabulary,  between  the 
two  Schools,  (as  I  have  called  them,) — most  wonderful,  considering 
that  the  very  idea  of  the  Christian  system  in  all  its  parts  was  virtually 
a  new  thing  in  the  particular  generation  in  which  it  was  promulgated, — 
and  if  it  does  not  impress  us  with  the  conviction,  that  an  Unseen  Hand, 
a  Divine  Presence,  was  in  the  midst  of  it,  controlling  the  human  in- 
struments of  His  work,  and  ruling  it  that  they  should  and  must  agree 
in  speaking  His  Word,  in  spite  of  whatever  differences  of  natural  dispo- 
sition and  education,  surely  we  may  as  well  deny  the  agency  of  the 
Creator,  His  power,  wisdom  and  goodness,  in  the  appointments  of  the 
material  world. — The  following  are  some  instances  of  the  kind  of 
agreement  I  speak  of. 

*  Rom.  V.  1 .  t  Jam.  ii.  24  J  Rev.  xx.  13.     1  Tct.  i.lT. 


318  ST.  PHILIP  AND   ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

1.  Take  the  New  Testament,  as  we  have  received  it.  It  deserves 
notice,  that  in  spite  of  what  partisans  would  desire,  after  all  we  cannot 
divide  its  contents  between  the  two  Schools  under  consideration.  Ad- 
mitting there  were  two  principles  at  work  in  the  development  of  the 
Christian  Church,  the)'  are  inextricably  united  as  regards  the  docu- 
ments of  faith  ;  so  that  the  modern  parties  in  question,  whether  their 
particular  view  be  right  or  wrong,  are  at  least  attempting  a  return  to  a 
state  prior  to  the  existence  of  the  New  Testament.  Consider  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, — which  would  be  sufficient  evidence,  were 
there  no  other,  of  the  identity  of  St.  Paul's  doctrine  with  St.  James'«. 
Be  as  disputatious  as  you  will  about  its  author  ;  still  it  comes  at  least 
from  the  School  of  St.  Paul,  if  not  from  that  Apostle  himself.  The 
parallelisms  between  it  and  his  acknowledged  writings,  forbid  any  other 
supposition.  Now  look  through  it  from  beginning  to  end,  observe  well 
its  exhortations  to  obedience,  its  warnings  against  apostacy,  its  solemn 
announcement  of  the  terrors  of  the  Gospel,  and  further  its  honourable 
treatment  of  the  Jewish  Law,  which  it  sets  forth  as  fulfilled,  (after  our 
Saviour's  doctrine,)  not  disrespectfully  superseded  by  the  Gospel,  and 
then  say  whether  this  Epistle  alone  be  not  a  wonderful  monument  of 
the  essential  unity  of  the  Gospel  creed  among  all  its  original  dissemi- 
nators. 

Again,  consider  the  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  which  are  confess- 
edly St.  Paul's,  and  try  to  discriminate  if  you  can,  between  the  ethical 
character  which  they  display,  and  that  of  St.  James's  Epistle.  Next 
observe  the  position  of  St.  Luke's  writings  in  the  inspired  volume,  an 
Evangelist  following  the  language  of  St.  Mattlicw,  yet  the  associate  of 
St.  Paul.  Examine  the  speeches  of  St.  Paul  in  the  book  of  Acts,  and 
consider  whether  he  is  not  at  once  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
fellow  disciple  of  those  who  had  attended  our  Lord's  Ministry.*  Con- 
sider too  the  history  of  St.  Peter,  and  see  whether  the  revelations  made 
to  him  in  order  to  the  conversion  of  Cornelius,  do  not  form  a  link  be- 
tween "St.  Paul's  Gospel"  and  that  of  his  earlier  brethren.  Lastly, 
count  up  the  particular  parts  of  St.  Paul's  writings,  in  which  that  Apostle 
may  be  supposed  to  speak  a  different  doctrine  from  the  rest,  and  deter- 
mine their  extent  and  number.  Are  there  much  more  than  nine  chap- 
ters of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  four  of  that  to  the  Galatians,  three  in 
the  Ephcsians,  a  passage  in  the  Colossians,  and  a  few  verses  in  the 
Philippians?  Are  there  not  in  other  chapters  of  these  very  Epistles 
clear  and  explicit  statements,  running  counter  to  these  supposed  pecu- 
liarities, agreeing  with  St.  James,  and  so  protesting  (as  it  were)  against 

*  Vide  c.  g.  Acts  ix.  25.  xxviii.  31. 


I 


XVII.]  THE   GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  319 

those  who  would  put  asunder  Apostles  whom  God  has  joined  together? 
These  shall  be  presently  instanced ;  but  for  the  moment  concede  the 
whole  of  these  separate  documents, —  yet  you  cannot  make  more  than 
five  out  of  fourteen,  which  is  the  whole  number  of  his  Epistles ;  and 
these,  however  sacred  and  authoritative,  are  not  after  all  of  greater 
prominence  and  dignity  than  some  of  the  remaining  nine.  It  would 
appear  then,  from  the  very  face  of  the  New  Testament,  that  the  differ- 
ences between  St.  Paul's  doctrine  and  that  of  his  brethren,  (whatever 
they  were,)  admitting  of  an  amalgamation,  as  far  as  Christian  Teaching 
went,  from  the  moment  that  office  was  first  exercised  in  the  Church. 

2.  In  the  case  of  the  original  Apostles,  the  intention  of  delivering 
and  explaining  their  Divine  Master's  teaching  cannot  be  mistaken. 
Now,  of  course,  St.  Paul,  professing  to  preach  Christ's  Gospel,  could  not 
but  avow  such  an  intention  also ;  but  it  should  be  noticed,  considering 
that  he  was  not  with  our  Lord  on  earth,  how  he  devotes  himself  to  the 
sole  thought  of  Him;  that  is,  it  wouldhe  remarkable, were  not  St.  Paul 
divinely  chosen  and  called,  as  we  believe  to  have  been.  Simon  Magus 
professed  to  be  a  Christian,  yet  his  aim  was  that  of  exalting  himself. 
It  was  quite  possible  for  St.  Paul  to  have  acknowledged  Christ  generally 
as  his  Master,  and  still  not  practically  to  have  preached  Christ.  Yet 
how  full  he  is  of  his  Saviour  !  He  could  not  be  more  so,  if  he  had  at- 
tended Him  all  through  His  Ministry.  The  thought  of  Christ  is  the  one 
thought  in  which  he  lives;  it  is  the  fervent  love,  the  devoted  attachment, 
the  zeal  and  reverence  of  one  who  had  "  heard  and  seen,  and  looked 
upon  and  handled,  the  Word  of  Life."*  What  a  remarkable  attestation 
is  here  to  the  Sovereignty  of  the  Unseen  Saviour  !  What  was  Paul, 
and  what  was  James  "  but  ministers,"  by  whom  the  world  believed  on 
Him  ?  They  clearly  were  nothing  beyond  this.  This  is  a  striking  ful- 
filment  of  our   Lord's  declaration  concerning  the  ministration  of  the 

,  Spirit ;  "  He  shall  glorify  Me."|     St.  John  records  it;  St.  Paul  exem- 

I  phfies  it. 

It  is  remarkable  too,  how  St.  Paul  concurs  with  the  other  Apostles  in 
referring  to  our  Lord's  words  and  actions,  though  much  opportunity  for 
this  does  not  occur  in  his  Avritings ;  that  is,  it  is  plain,  that  he  was  not 
exalting  a  mere  name  or  idea,  any  more  than  the  rest,  but  a  Person,  a 
really  existing  Master.  For  instance,  St.  John  says,  "That  which  we 
have  seen  and  heard,  declare  we  unto  you  ;"  and  St.  Peter,  "  This  voice 
which  came  from  heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were  with  Him  in  the 
Holy  Mount ;"  again,  '•  We  are  witnesses  of  all  things  which  he  did.":}: 

*  1  John  i.  1.         t  John  xvi.  14. 

t  1  John  i.  3.    2  Pet.  i.  18.     Acts  i.  39. 


I 


320  ST.   PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serit. 

In  like  manner  St.  Paul  enumerates,  as  his  "  Gospel,"  not  mere  princi»- 
pies  of  religion,  but  the  facts  of  Christ's  life,  recurring  to  that  very- 
part  of  the  Dispensation,  in  which  he  was  inferior  to  his  brethren.  "  I 
delivered  unto  you  first  of  all,  that  which  I  also  received,  how  that 
Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  ....  was  buried 
.  .  .  rose  again  the  third  day,  and  that  He  was  seen  of  Cephas,  then 
of  the  Twelve,  after  that  ...  of  about  five  hundred  brethren  at  once 
....  after  that  ...  of  James,  then  of  all  the  Apostles ;"  he  adds 
with  expressions  of  self-abasement,  "  And  last  of  all,  He  was  seen  of 
me."*  Again  in  his  directions  for  administering  the  Lord's  Supper,  he 
refers  carefully  to  our  Lord's  manner  of  ordaining  it,  as  recorded  in 
the  Gospels ;  again,  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  same  Epistle,  there 
would  seem  a  repeated  reference  to  our  Lord's  words  in  the  Gospel  ;'* 
"  Unto  the  married  I  command,  yet  not  I,  but  the  Lord."  In  the  same 
chapter  the  verse  beginning,  "  This  I  speak  for  your  own  profit,"  has 
been  supposed  with  reason  to  refer  to  St.  Luke's  account  of  Martha'.s 
complaint  of  Mary,  and  our  Lord's  speech  thereupon.  In  his  first 
Epistle  to  Timothy,  he  alludes  to  our  Lord's  appearance  before  Pilate. 
In  his  farewell  address  to  the  Elders  of  Ephesus  he  has  preserved  one 
of  His  sayings  which  the  Gospels  do  not  contain  ;  "  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive."!  And  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  reference 
is  made  to  Christ's  agony  in  the  garden. 

3.  The  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation,  or  the  Gospel  Economy,  as 
embracing  the  two  great  truths  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ  and  the  Atone- 
ment, was  not  (as  far  as  we  know)  clearly  revealed,  during  our  Lord's 
ministry.  Yet,  observe  how  close  is  St.  Paul's  agreement  with  St. 
John.  "  The  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God,  and  the 
Word  was  made  flesh." — "  Christ  Jesus,  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God ;  yet  humbled  Himself, 
being  made  in  the  hkcness  of  men."  St.  John  calls  Christ  "  the  Only- 
begotten  Son  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father ;"  and  St.  Paul,  "  the  First- 
begotten."  St.  John  says,  that  He  hath  "  declared  the  Father,"  and  in 
His  own  sacred  words,  that  •'  he  that  hath  seen  Him,  hath  seen  the 
Father  ;"  St.  Paul  declares  that  He  is  "  the  Image  of  the  Invisible  God,' 
— "  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and  the  express  Image  of  His  Person. ' 
St.  John  says,  "All  things  were  made  by  Him;"  St.  Paul,  that 
"  By  Him  God  made  the  worlds."  Further,  St.  John  says,  "  The  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  cleanscth  us  from  all  sin  ;" — St.  Paul,  that  "  in  Him  we 
have  redemption  through  His  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins;" — 
St.  John,  that  "  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father, 

•  1  Cor.  XV.  3-8.  t  Acts  xx.  35. 


1 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITxVESSES.  321 

Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  ;" — St.  Paul,  that  He  "  is  even  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  and  also  maketh  intercession  for  us;" — St.  John,  that 
"He  is  the  propitiation  not  for  our  sins  onl}^  but  also  for  those  of  the 
whole  world;" — St.  Paul,  that  He  has  "reconciled"  Jew  and  Gentile 
"  in  one  body  by  the  cross."* 

Now,  considering  the  mysteriousness  of  these  doctrines,  the  proba- 
bility that  there  would  be  some  diversity  of  teaching,  in  the  case  of 
two  different  minds,  and  the  actual  diflcrences  existing  among  va- 
rious sects  at  the  time,  I  must  consider  this  exact  accordance  between 
St.  John  and  St.  Paul,  (men  to  all  appearance  as  unlike  each  other  by 
nature  as  men  could  be,)  to  be  little  short  of  a  demonstration  of  the 
reality  of  the  divine  doctrines  to  which  they  witness.  "  The  testimony 
of  two  men  is  true ;"  and  still  more  clearly  so  in  this  case,  supposing, 
(what  unbelievers  may  maintain,  but  they  alone,)  that  any  rivalry  of 
Schools  existed  between  these  Holy  Apostles. 

4.  To  continue  our  review.  St.  John  and  St.  Paul  both  put  forward 
the  doctrine  of  Regeneration,  both  connect  it  with  Baptism,  both  de- 
nounce the  world  as  sinful  and  lost.  They  both  teach  the  peculiar 
privilege  of  Christians,  as  God's  adopted  children,  and  make  the  grant 
of  this  and  all  other  privileges,  depend  to  faith. f  Now  the  ideas  and 
the  terms  employed  are  peculiar ;  and,  with  all  allowance  for  what 
might  have  been  anticipated  by  former  Dispensations  and  existing 
Schools  of  religion,  yet,  could  it  be  shown,  that  ever  so  much  of  this 
doctrine  was  already  familiar  to  the  Jewish  Church,  this  does  not  ac- 
count for  the  unanimity  with  which  they  respectively  adopt  and  modify 
it.  I  add  some  parallel  texts  on  this  part  of  the  subject.  St.  John 
delivers  our  Saviour's  prediction  ;  "  If  I  depart,  I  will  send  the  Com- 
forter unto  you  ;  He  will  guide  you  into  all  truth  ;" — St.  Paul,  "  God 
hath  revealed  (the  mysteries  of  the  Gospel)  unto  us  by  His  Spirit ;" 
"  All  those  (gifts)  worketh  that  one  and  the  self-same  Spirit,  dividing  to 
every  man  severally  as  He  will."  St.  Paul  says,  "  He  which  estab- 
lisheth  us  with  you  in  Christ,  and  hath  anointed  us,  is  God  ;'" — St. 
John,  "Ye  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One."  St.  John,  in  accor- 
dance with  the  teaching  of  his  Lord,  declares,  "  There  is  a  sin  unto 
death ;  I  do  not  say  that  a  man  shall  pray  for  it ;"  and  St.  Paul,  that 

*  John  i.  1.  1-i.  Phil.  ii.  5—8.  John  i.  18.  Hcb.  i.  6.  John  i.  13.  xiv.  9. 
Col.  i.  15.  Hcb.  i.  3.  John  i.  3.  Hcb.  i.  '2.  1  John  i.  7.  Col.  i.  14.  I  John 
ii.   1.     Rom.  viii.  31.     1  John  ii.  2.     Ephcs.  ii.  16. 

t  Johia  iii.  3—5.  16.  19.  1  John  iii.  1.  v.  19.  Rom.  iii.  19.  v.  1,  2.  viii.  14, 
15.     Tit.  iii.  5,  &c. 

Vol.  I.— 21 


322  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

"  it  is   impossible  for  those  who  were   once  enhghtcncd,  if  they  shall 
fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance."* 

5.  We  all  recollect  St.  Paul's  praise  of  charity  as  the  fulfilling  of 
the  Law,  and  the  characteristic  precept  of  the  Gospel.  Yet  is  not  the 
pre-eminent  imjjortance  of  it  as  clearly  set  forth  by  St.  John,  when  he 
says,  "  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  because  we 
love  the  brethren,"  and  the  nature  of  it  by  St.  James  in  his  description 
of  "  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  V  Again,  it  is  observable,  that  our 
Lord's  precept,  adopted  from  the  Law,  of  our  loving  our  neighbour  as 
ourselves,  is  handed  down  at  once  by  St.  Paul  and  St.  James,  f 

6.  We  know  that  an  especial  stress  is  laid  by  our  Lord  on  the  duty 
of  Almsgiving.  St.  John  and  St.  James  follow  Him  in  so  doing  ;:}:  and 
St.  Paul  likewise.  That  Apostle's  words,  in  the  Galatians,  are  espe- 
cially in  point  here,  as  expressly  acknowledging  this  agreement  between 
himself  and  his  brethren.  "  When  James,  Cephas,  and  John,  who 
seemed  to  be  pillars,  perceived  the  grace  that  was  given  unto  me,  they 
gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  that  we  should 
go  unto  the  heathen,  and  they  unto  the  circumcision  ;  only  they  would 
that  we  sliould  remember  the  jjoor  ;  the  same  which  I  also  icas  forward 
to  c?o." II 

7.  Self-denial,  mortification  of  life,  bearing  our  cross,  are  especially 
insisted  on  by  Christ.  St.  Paul  delivers  clearly  and  strongly  the  same 
doctrine,  declaring  that  he  himself  was  "  crucified  with  Christ,"  and 
"  died  daily. "§  The  duty  of  Fasting  may  here  be  mentioned,  as  one 
in  which  St.  Paul  unhesitatingly  enters  info  and  enforces  our  Lord's 
religious  system. 

8.  1  need  not  observe  how  urgent  and  constant  is  St.  Paul  in  his 
exhortations  to  Intercession ;  yet,  St.  James  equals  him  in  his  short 
epistle,  which  contains  a  passage  longer  and  more  emphatic  than  any 
which  can  be  found  in  St.  Paul. IT  Again,  both  Apostles  insist  on  the 
practice  of  sacred  Psalmody  as  a  duty.  St.  James,  "  Is  any  afflicted  I 
let  him  pray.  Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms."  St.  Paul,  "  Speak- 
ing to  each  other  in  psalms,  and  hynms,  and  spiritual  songs."** 

9.  St.  Paul  makes  much  of  the  Holy  Eucharist ;  nay,  to  him  the 
the  Church  is  indebted  for  tlie  direct  and  clear  proof  we  possess  of  the 
sacramental  virtue  of  that  Ordinance.     Far  different  is  the  conduct  of 

•  John  xvi.  7.  13.  ]  Cor.  ii.  10.  xii.  U.  2  Cor.  i.  21.  1  John  ii.  21.  v.  16. 
Heb.  vi  4 — G. 

t  1  John  iii.  14.     James  iii.   17.     Rom.  xiii.  9.     James  ii.  8. 

t  1  John  iii.  17.     James  ii.  1.5,  16.  ||  Gal.  ii.  9,  10. 

^  Gal.  ii.  20      1  Cor.  xv.  31. 

IT  Eph.  vi.  18.     1  Thcss.  v.  17.     James  v.  14—18. 

•♦  James  t.  13.     Eph.  v.  19. 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  323 

innovators ;  who  are  impatient  of  nothing  more  than  of  ordinances 
which  they  find  estaWished.  He  also  recognizes  the  obligation  of  the 
Lord's  day,*  he  being  the  Apostle  who  denounces,  as  other  Jewish  rites, 
so  also  the  Sabbath. 

10.  St.  Jude  bids  us  "  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  ths  Saints."  In  like  manner,  St.  Paul  enjoins  Timothy  to  "hold 
fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  which  he  had  heard  of  him  ;"  and  Titus, 
to  "  hold  fast  the  faithful  word  as  he  had  been  taught,  that  he  might 
be  able  by  sound  doctrine  both  to  exhort  and  to  convince  the  gainsay- 
ers."f  St.  Paul  bids  us  "  speak  the  Truth  in  love  ;"  St.  John  says,  he 
"  loves  Gains  in  the  Truth.":}: 

11.  It  is  observable  that  our  Lord  speaks  of  His  Gospel  being  preach- 
ed, not  chiefly  as  a  means  of  converting,  but  as  a  witness  against  the 
world.  This  is  confessedly  a  remarkable  ground  to  be  taken  by  the 
Founder  of  a  new  religion.  "  The  Gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
preached  in  all  the  world,  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations."||  Accord- 
ingly, He  Himself  witnessed  even  before  the  heathen  Pilate,  "  To  this 
end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should 
bear  witness  unto  the  Truth."§  Yet,  surely  it  is  still  more  remarkable, 
that  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  should  take  up  precisely  the  same  view, 
even  referring  to  our  Lord's  Confession  before  Pilate,  when  giving 
Timothy  his  charge  to  preach  the  Truth,  declaring,  that  the  Gospel  is 
"  a  savour  of  death  unto  death,"  as  well  as  "  of  life  unto  life,"  and  fore- 
telling the  growth  of  "  evil  men  and  seducers  "  after  his  departure.il 

12.  Observe  the  agreement  of  sentiment  in  the  following  texts  :  St. 
James,  taught  by  his  Lord  and  Master,  says,  "  Be  ye  doers  of  the  word, 
and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own  selves."  St.  Paul  nearly  in 
the  same  words,  "  Not  the  hearers  of  the  law  arc  just  before  God,  but  the 
doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified."**  Again,  did  we  not  know  whence 
the  following  passages  come,  should  we  not  assign  them  to  St.  James  ? 
"  God  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds  ;  to  them,  who 
by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek  for  glory,  and  honour,  and 
immortality,  eternal  life ;  but  unto  them  that  are  contentious,  and  do 
not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation,  and  wrath 
.....  for  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God."  This,  as  well  as 
the  text  just  cited,  is  to  be  found  in  the  opening  of  that  Epistle,  in  which 
St.  Paul  appears  most  to  difler  from  St.  James  ;  now  observe  how  he 
closes  it.     "  Why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother  1     And  why  dost  thou 

*  Acts  XX.  7.     1  Cor.  xvi.  2.  t  Judc  3.     2  Tim.  I.  13.     Titus  i.  9. 

I  Eph.  iv.  15.     3  John  1.  ||  Matt.  xxiv.  14.     xviii.  37. 

§  Jolm  xviii.  37.  U  1  Tim.  vi.  13.     2  Cor.  ii.  16.     2  Tim.  iii.  13. 
**  James  i.  22.     Rom.  ii.  13. 


324  ST.   nil  LIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

set  at  nought  thy  brother  ?     For  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment- 

seat  of  Christ Every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to 

God."  Again,  in  another  Epistle  :  *'  We  must  all  be  made  manifest 
before  the  judgaiGnt-scat  of  Christ ;  that  every  one  may  receive  the 
things  done  in  his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be 
good  or  bad.     Knowing  therefore  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade 


men 


J)* 


13.  St.  John,  after  our  Lord's  example,  implies  especial  praise  upon 
those  who  follow  an  unmarried  life, — involving  the  letter  in  the  spirit, 
as  is  frequent  in  Scripture.f  "  These  are  they  which  were  not  defiled 
with  women,  for  they  are  virgins  ;  these  are  they  which  follow  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth."  St.  Paul  gives  more  direct  praise  to 
the  same  state,  and  gives  the  same  reason  for  its  especial  blessedness  : 
"  He  that  is  unmarried  careth  for  the  things  that  belong  to  the  Lord, 

how  he  may  please  the  Lord I  speak  this  for  your  own  profit 

that  ye  may  attend  upon  the  Lord  without  distraction. "f 

14.  St.  Paul  says,  ''  Be  careful  for  nothing,  but  in  every  thing  by 
prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made 
known  unto  God ;"  St.  Peter  in  like  manner,  "  Casting  all  your  care 
upon  Him,  for  He  careth  for  you."     Both  are  after  our  Lord's  exhorta- 


*  Rom.  ii.  G— 8.  11 ;  xiv.  10—12.     2  Cor.  v.  10,  11. 

t  Vide  IIos.  xiii.  14.  John  xi-  23.  40  ;  xiii.  8;  xviii.  9.  And  especially,  as  being 
a  parallel  case,  Matt,  xviii  3 — 6,  and  so  again,  Matt.  x.  38.  Rev.  vii.  14. — The 
parallel  is  instructively  brought  out  in  separate  passages  in  the  Christian  Year : 

"  Yet  in  that  throng  of  selfish  hearts  untrue, 
Thy  sad  eye  rests  upon  Thy  faithful  few, 
Children  and  childlike  souls  are  there,"  &,c. — Advent. 

"  There  hangs  a  radiant  coronet, 

All  gemm'd  with  pure  and  living  light, 
Too  dazzling  for  a  sinner's  sight, 
Prepared  for  virgin  souls,  and  them 
Who  seek  the  martyr's  diadem. 
Nor  deem,  who,  to  that  bliss  aspire, 
.    Must  win  their  way  througli  blood  and  fire,"  &c. 

Wednesday  before  Easier. 

In  other  words.  Childhood,  Virginity,  Martyrdom,  arc  made  in  Scripture  at  once  the 
Types  and  .Standards  of  religious  Perfection,  as  they  arc  represented  in  the  three 
Saints'  Days  following  Christmas  Day,— St.  Stephen's,  St.  John's,  and  Holy  Inno- 
cents'.  So  again,  Poverty,  Luke  vi.  20  ;  xii.  33.  Matt.  xi.  5,  with  Matt.  v.  3.  But 
this  rule  of  interpretation,  and  the  light  it  throws  upon  Gospel  duties  and  the  Chris- 
tian  character,  carmot  be  more  than  alluded  to  in  a  note. 
J  Rev.  XIV.  4.     1  Cor.  vii.  32.  35. 


XVII.]  THE   GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  325 

tion,  "  Be  not  careful  for  the  morrow,  for  the  morrow  shall  take   care 
for  the  things  of  itself."* 

15.  Lastly,  as  Christ  foretells  the  approaching  visitations  of  the 
Jewish  Church,  and  the  necessity  of  looking  out  for  them,  so  St.  Peter 
declares,  "  The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand  ;  be  yc  therefore  sober,  and 
watch  uato  prayer."  St.  James,  "  Be  ye  also  patient,  stablish  your 
hearts,  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  drav/cth  nigh."f  And  St.  Paul  in 
like  manner,  "  Let  your  moderation  be  known  unto  all  men ;  the  Lord 
is  at  hand." 

These  instances  may  suffice  by  way  of  pointing  out  the  argument 
for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  which  I  conceive  to  lie  in  the  historical 
difference  existing  between  the  respective  Schools  of  St,  Paul  and  St. 
James.  Such  a  difference  there  is,  as  every  one  must  grant ;  I  mean 
that  St.  Paul  did,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  begin  his  preaching  upon  his  own 
independent  revelations.  And  thus,  however  we  may  be  able  (as  assu- 
redly every  Christian  is  gradually  able,  in  proportion  to  his  diligence 
and  prayer)  to  reconcile  and  satisfy  himself  as  regards  St.  Paul's  ap- 
parent discordances  in  doctrine  from  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,  so  much 
after  all  must  remain,  just  enough,  that  is,  to  build  the  foregoing  argu- 
ment upon.  At  the  same  time,  as  if  to  ensure  even  the  historical  har- 
mony of  the  whole  dispensation,  we  are  allowed  to  set  against  our  in- 
formation concerning  this  separate  origin  of  the  two  Apostolical  Schools, 
the  following  facts  ;  first,  that  St.  Paul  ever  considered  himself  ecclesi- 
astically subordinate  to  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  St.  James,  as  the 
book  of  Acts  shows  us ;  next,  that  St.  John,  the  beloved  disciple,  who 
was  in  Christ  before  him,  was  appointed  to  outlive  him,  and,  as  a  faith- 
ful steward,  to  seal  up,  avouch,  and  deliver  over  inviolate  to  the  Ciiurch 
after  him,  the  pure  and  veritable  teaching  of  his   Lord. 

As  to  the  point  of  doctrinal  agreement  and  difference  which  I  have 
been  employed  in  ascertaining,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe,  that 
beyond  controversy  the  agreement  is  in  essentials,  the  nature  and  of- 
fice of  the  Mediator,  the  gifts  which  He  vouchsafes  to  us,  and  the  tem- 
per of  mind  and  the  duties  required  of  a  Christian  ;  whereas  the  differ- 
ence of  doctrine  between  them,  even  admitting  there  is  a  difference, 
relates  only  at  the  utmost  to  the  Divine  counsels,  the  sense  in  which 
the  Jewish  law  is  abolished,  and  the  condition  of  justification,  whether 
faith  or  good  works.  I  would  not  (God  forbid  !)  undervalue  thc^e  or 
any  other  questions  on  which  inspiration  has  spoken  ;  it  is  our  duty  to 
search  diligently  after  every  jot  and  tittle  of  the  Truth  graciously  re- 

*  Phil.  iv.  6.         1  Pet,  v.  7.         Matt.  vi.  31. 
t  1  Pet.  iv.  7.       PhiL  iv.  5.         Jam.  v.  8. 


326  ST.   PHILIP  AND   ST.  JAMES.  [Serm.  XVII. 

vealod  to  us,  and  to  maintain  it  :  but  I  am  here  speaking  as  to  an  un- 
believer, and  he  must  confess  that,  viewing  the  Gospel  C^reed  in  what 
may  be  called  its  historical  proportions,  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
these  latter  subjects  cannot  detract  from  that  real  and  substantial  agree- 
ment of  System,  visible  in  the  course  of  doctrine  which  the  Two  Wit- 
nesses respectively  deliver. 

Next,  speaking  as  a  Christian,  who  will  admit  neither  inconsistency 
to  exist  between  the  inspired  documents  of  faith,  nor  points  of  trivial 
importance  in  the  revelation,  I  observe  notwithstanding,  that  the  forego- 
ing argument  affords  us  additional  certainty  respecting  the  characteris- 
tic doctrines  as  well  as  the  truth  of  Christianity.  An  agreement  be- 
tween St.  Paul  and  St.  John  in  behalf  of  a  certain  doctrine  is  an  agree- 
ment not  of  mere  texts,  but  of  separate  Witnesses,  an  evidence  of  the 
prominence  of  the  doctrine  delivered  in  the  Gospel  system.  In  this 
way,  if  in  no  other,  we  learn  the  momentous  character  of  some  particu- 
lar tenets  of  revelation  which  heretics  have  denied,  as  the  Eternity,  or 
again,  the  Personality  of  the  Divine  Word. 

Further,  we  are  thus  permitted  more  clearly  to  ascertain  the  main 
outlines  of  the  Christian  character ;  for  instance,  that  love  is  its  es- 
sence,— its  chief  characteristics,  resignation,  and  composure  of  mind, 
neither  anxious  for  the  morrow,  nor  hoping  from  this  world, — and  its 
duties,  alms-giving,  self-denial,  prayer  and  praise. 

Lastly,  the  very  circumstance  that  Almighty  God  has  chosen  this 
mode  of  introducing  the  Gospel  into  the  world,  I  mean  this  employ- 
ment of  a  double  agency,  opens  a  wide  field  of  thought,  had  we  light 
to  trace  out  the  parallel  providences  which  seem  to  lie  amid  the  intri- 
cacies of  His  dealings  with  mankind.  As  it  is,  we  can  but  gaze  with 
the  Apostle  in  wonder  and  adoration  upon  the  mystery  of  His  counsels. 
"  0  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  ! 
how  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways  past  finding  out ! 
For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord  ?  Or  who  hath  been  His 
counsellor  ?  Or  who  hath  first  given  to  Him,  and  it  shall  be  recom- 
pensed unto  him  again?  For  of  Him,  and  through  Him,  and  to  Him, 
are  all  things  :  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever.     Amen."* 

»  Rom.  xi.  33—36. 


SERMON    XVIII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ASCENSION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION. 


Rom.,  viii.  34. 


It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us. 

The  Ascension  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  is  an  event  ever  to  be  com- 
memorated with  joy  and  thanksgiving,  for  St.  Paul  tells  us  in  the  text 
that  He  ascended  to  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  there  makes  interces- 
sion for  us.  Hence  it  is  our  comfort  to  know,  that  "  if  any  man  sin, 
we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  and 
He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins."*  As  the  Jewish  High  Priest,  after 
the  solemn  sacrifice  for  the  people  on  the  great  day  of  Atonement,  went 
into  the  Holy  of  Holies  with  the  blood  of  the  victim,  and  sprinkled  it 
upon  the  Mercy-Ssat,  so  Christ  has  entered  into  Heaven  itself,  to  pre- 
sent (as  it  were)  before  the  Throne  that  sacred  Tabernacle  which  was 
the  instrument  of  His  passion, — His  pierced  hands  and  wounded  side, 
— in  token  of  the  atonement  which  He  has  effected  for  the  sins  of  the 
world. 

Wonder  and  awe  must  always  mingle  with  the  tliankfulness  which 
the  revealed  dispensation  of  mercy  raises  in  our  minds.  And  this,  in- 
deed, is  an  additional  cause  of  thankfulness,  that  Almighty  God  has 
disclosed  to  us  enough  of  His  high  Providence  to  raise  such  sacred  and 
reverent  feelings.  Had  He  merely  told  us  that  he  had  pardoned  us,  we 
should  had  overabundant  cause  for  blessing  and  praising  Him  ;  but  in 
showing  us  somewhat  of  the  means,  in  vouchsafing  to  tell  what  cannot 
wholly  be  told,  in  condescending  to  abase  heavenly  things  to  the 
weak  and  stammering  tongues  of  earth.  He  has  enlarged  our  gratitude, 
yet  sobered  it  with  fear.  We  are  allowed  with  the  Angels  to  obtain  a 
glimpse  of  the  mysteries  of  Heaven,    "  to  rejoice   with   trembling." 

*  1  John  ii.  1,  2. 


328  ASCENSION  DAY.  [Serm.. 

Therefore,  so  far  from  considering  the  Truths  of  the  Gospel  as  a  bur- 
den, because  they  arc  beyond  our  understanding,  we  shall  rather  wel- 
come them  and  exult  in  them,  nay,  and  feel  an  antecedent  stirring  of 
heart  towards  them,  for  the  very  reason  that  they  are  above  us.  Un- 
der  these  feelings  I  will  attempt  to  suggest  to  you  on  the  present  Fes- 
tival some  of  the  incentives  to  wonder  and  awe,  humiUty,  implicit  faith, 
and  adoration,  supplied  by  the  Ascension  of  Christ. 

1.  First,  Christ's  Ascension  to  the  right  hand  of  God  is  marvellous 
because  it  is  a  sure  token  that  heaven  is  a  certain  fixed  place,  and  not 
a  mere  stale.  That  bodily  presence  of  the  Saviour  which  the  Apostles 
handled,  is  not  here;  it  is  elsewhere,  it  is  in  heaven.  This  contradicts 
the  notions  of  cultivated  and  speculative  minds ;  and  humbles  the  rea- 
son. Philosophy  considers  it  more  rational  to  suppose  that  Almighty 
God,  as  being  a  spirit,  is  in  every  place  ;  and  in  no  one  place  more  than 
another.  It  would  teach,  if  it  dare,  that  heaven  is  a  mere  state  of  bless- 
edness ;  but  to  be  consistent,  it  ought  to  go  on  to  deny,  with  the  ancient 
heretics,  referred  to  by  St.  John,  that  "  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the 
flesh,"  and  maintain  that  His  presence  on  earth  was  a  mere  vision  ;  for, 
certain  it  is.  He  who  appeared  on  earth  went  up  from  the  earth,  and  a 
cloud  received  Him  out  of  His  Apostles'  sight.  And  here  again,  an  ad- 
ditional difficulty  occurs,  on  minutely  considering  the  subject.  Whither 
did  He  go  ?  beyond  the  sun  ?  beyond  the  fixed  stars  ?  Did  he  traverse 
the  immeasureable  space  which  extends  beyond  them  all  ?  Again,  what 
is  meant  by  ascending  1  Philosophers  will  say  they  there  is  no  differ- 
erence  between  down  and  wp,  as  regards  the  sky ;  yet,  whatever  diffi- 
culties the  word  may  occasion,  we  can  hardly  take  upon  us  to  decide 
that  it  is  a  mere  popular  expression,  consistently  with  the  reverence  due 
to  the  Sacred  Record. 

And  thus  we  are  led  on  to  consider,  how  difierent  are  the  character 
and  eficct  of  the  Scripture  notices  of  the  structure  of  the  physical 
world,  from  those  which  philosophers  deliver.  I  am  not  deciding  whether 
or  [not  the  one  and  the  other  are  reconcilable;  I  merely  say  their  re- 
spective effect  is  difierent.  And  when  we  have  deduced  what  we  deduce 
by  our  reason  from  the  study  of  visible  nature,  and  then  read  what  we 
read  in  his  in.spired  word,  and  find  the  two  apparently  discordant,  this  is 
the  feeling  I  think  we  ought  to  have  on  our  minds  ; — not  an  impatience 
to  do  what  is  beyond  our  powers,  to  weigh  evidence,  sum  up,  balance, 
decide,  and  reconcile,  to  arbitrate  between  the  two  voices  of  God, — but 
a  sense  of  the  utter  nothingness  of  worms  such  as  we  are,  of  cur  plain 
and  absolute  incapacity  to  contemplate  things  as  they  really  are,  a  per- 
ception of  our  emptiness,  before  the  great  Vision  of  God,  of  our  "come- 
liness being  turned   into  corruption,  and  our  retaining  no  strength,"  a 


XVIII.]  MYSTERIES   IN   RELIGION.  329 

conviction,  that  what  is  put  before  us,  in  nature  or  in  grace,  though  true 
in  such  a  full  sense  that  wo  dare  not  infringe  it,  yet  is  but  an  intima- 
tion useful  for  particular  purposes,  useful  for  practice,  useful  in  its  de- 
partment, "  until  the  day  break  and  the  shadows  flee  away,"  useful  in 
such  a  way  that  both  the  one  and  the  other  representation  may  at  once 
be  used,  as  two  languages,  as  two  separate  approximations  towards  the 
Awful  Unknown  Truth,  such  as  will  not  mislead  us  in  their  respective 
provinces.  And  thus  while  we  use  the  language  of  science,  without  jeal- 
ousy, for  scientific  purposes,  we  may  confine  it  to  these ;  and  repel 
and  reprove  its  upholders,  should  they  attempt  to  exalt  it  and  to 
"stretch  it  beyond  its  measure."  In  its  own  limited  round  it  has  its 
use,  nay,  may  be  made  to  fill  a  higher  ministry,  and  stand  as  a  prose- 
lyte under  the  shadow  of  the  Temple ;  but  it  must  not  dare  profane 
the  inner  courts,  in  which  the  ladder  of  Angels  is  fixed  for  ever,  reach- 
ing even  to  the  Throne  of  God,  and  "Jesus  standing  on  the  right  hand 
of  God." 

1  will  but  remind  you  on  this  part  of  the  subject,  that  our  Lord  is  to 
come  from  heaven  "  in  like  manner"  as  He  went ;  that  He  is  to  come 
*'  in  clouds,"  that  "  every  eye  shall  see  Him,"  and  "  all  tribes  of  the 
earth  wail  because  of  Him."  Attempt  to  solve  this  prediction,  accord- 
ing to  the  received  theories  of  science,  and  you  will  discover  their 
shallowness.     They  are  unequal  to  the  depth  of  the  problem. 

2.  I  have  made  the  foregoing  remark  in  order  to  impress  upon  you 
the  mystery  with  which  we  are  encompassed  all  about,  such  as  not 
merely  to  attach  to  one  or  two  truths  of  religion,  but  extending  to  al- 
most every  sacred  fact,  and  to  every  action  of  our  lives.  With  the 
same  view,  let  me  observe  upon  the  doctrine  which  accompanies  the 
fact  of  the  Ascension.  Christ,  we  are  told,  has  gone  up  on  high  "  to 
present  Himself  before  the  face  of  God  for  us."  He  has  "  entered  by 
His  own  blood  once  for  all  into  the  Holy  place,  having  effected  eternal 
redemption."  '' He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  those  who 
come  unto  God  by  Him  ;  He  hath  a  priesthood  which  will  not  pass 
from  Him."  We  have  such  a  High  Priest  who  is  set  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens ;  a  Minister  of  the 
Sanctuary,  and  of  the  true  Tabernacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched,  and 
not  man.  '*" 

These  and  similar  pa.<?sages  refer  us  to  the  rites  of  the  Jewish  law. 
They  contain  notice  of  the  type,  but  what  is  the  Antitype  ?  We  can 
give  no  precise  account  of  it.  For  consider :  tchy  was  it  that  Christ 
ascended  on  high  ?     With  what  object  1     What  is  His  work  ?     What 

»  Hcb.  ix.  12.  24,  25.  vii.  24,  25.  viii.  1,  2. 


330  ASCENSION  DAY.  [Serm. 

is  the  meaning  of  His  interceding  for  us  in  heaven  ?  We  know  that, 
whatever  He  does,  it  is  the  gracious  reality  of  the  Mosaic  figure.  The 
High  Priest  entering  with  the  atoning  blood  into  the  Holiest,  was  a 
representation  •  Christ's  gracious  deed  in  our  behalf.  But  what  is 
that  deed  ?  We  know  what  the  shadow  is  ;  what  is  the  substance  ? 
The  death  of  Christ  answers  to  the  Jewish  rite  of  atonement ;  how 
does  He  vouchsafe  to  fulfil  the  rite  of  Intercession  ?  Instead  of  ex- 
plaining, Scripture  does  but  continue  to  answer  us  in  the  language  of 
the  type  ;  eve  to  the  last  it  veils  His  deed  under  the  ancient  figure.* 
Shall  we  therefore  explain  away  its  language  as  merely  figurative, 
which  (as  the  word  is  now  commonly  understood)  is  next  to  saying  it 
has  no  meaning  at  all  ?  Far  from  it !  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round 
about  Him.  We  are  not  given  to  see  into  the  secret  shrine  in  which 
God  dwells.  Before  Him  stand  the  Seraphim,  veiling  their  faces. 
Christ  is  within  the  veil.  We  must  not  search  curiously  what  is  His 
present  office,  what  is  meant  by  His  pleading  His  sacrifice,  and  by  His 
perpetual  intercession  for  us.  And,  since  we  do  not  know,  we  will  stu- 
diously keep  to  the  figure  given  us  in  Scripture  :  we  will  not  attempt  to 
interpret  it,  or  change  the  wording  of  it,  being  wise  above  what  is  written. 
We  will  not  neglect  it,  because  we  do  not  understand  it.  We  will 
hold  it  as  a  Mystery,  or  (what  was  anciently  called)  a  Truth  Sacra- 
mental ;  that  is,  a  high  invisible  grace  lodged  in  an  outward  form,  a  pre- 
cious possession  to  be  piously  and  thankfully  guarded  for  the  sake  of  the 
heavenly  reality  contained  in  it.  Thus  much  we  see  in  it,  the  pledge 
of  a  doctrine  which  reason  cannot  understand,  viz.  of  the  influence  of 
the  prayer  of  faith  upon  the  Divine  counsels.  The  Intercessor  directs 
or  stays  the  hand  of  the  Unchangeable  and  Sovereign  Governor  of  the 
World  ;  being  at  once  the  meritorious  cause  and  the  earnest  of  the  in- 
terccs.sory  power  of  His  brethren.  "  Christ  rose  again  for  our  justifi- 
cation," "  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much,"  are  both  infinite  mercies,  and  deep  mysteries. 

3.  Further  still,  consider  our  Saviour's  words  : — "  It  is  expedient  for 
you  that  I  go  away,  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  corae 
unto  you."  He  does  not  tell  us,  why  it  was  that  His  absence  was  the 
condition  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  presence.  "  if  1  depart,"  He  says,  "I 
will  .send  Him  unto  you."  "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give 
you  another  Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  with  you  for  ever."f  To 
the  .same  purpose  are  the  following  texts  :  "  He  that  bclieveth  on  me,  the 
works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also  ;  and  greater  works  than  these  shall  he 
do,  because  I  go  unto  My  Father."     "  If  ye  loved  Me,  ye  would  rejoice, 

»  Rev.  viii.  3,  4.  f  John  xvi.  7.     liv.  16. 


I 


XVIII.]  MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION.  331 

'because  I  said,  I  go  unto  the  Father';  for  my  Father  is  greater  than  I." 
"  Touch  me  not ;  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father ;  but  go  to 
my  brethren,  and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  my  Father  and  your 
•Father,  and  to  My  God  and  your  (iod."*  Now  proud  and  curious 
reason  might  seek  to  know  why  He  could  not  "  pray  the  Father,"  with- 
out going  to  Him  ;  why  He  must  depart  in  order  to  send  the  Spirit. 
'But  faith,  without  asking  for  one  ray  of  Hght  more  than  is  given,  muses 
over  the  wonderful  system  of  Providence,  as  seen  in  this  world,  which 
is  ever  connecting  events,  between  which  man  sees  no  necessary  bond. 
The  whole  system  of  what  is  called  cause  and  effect,  is  one  of  mystery  ; 
and  this  instance,  if  it  may  be  called  one,  supplies  abundant  matter  of 
praise  and  adoration  to  a  pious  mind.  It  suggests  to  us,  equally  with 
the  topics  which  have  already  come  before  us,  how  very  much  our 
knowledge  of  God's  ways  is  but  on  the  surface.  What  are  those  deep 
hidden  reasons  why  Christ  went  and  the  Spirit  came  ?  Marvellous  and 
glorious,  beyond  our  understanding  !  Let  us  worship  in  silence  ; 
meanwhile,  let  us  jealously  maintain  this,  and  every  other  portion  of 
our  Creed,  lest,  by  dropping  jot  or  tittle,  we  suffer  the  truths  concealed 
therein  to  escape  from  us. 

Moreover,  this  departure  of  Christ,  and  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
leads  our  minds  with  great  comfort  to  the  thought  of  many  lower 
dispensations  of  Providence  towards  us.  He,  who  according  to  His 
inscrutable  will,  sent  first  His  Co-equal  Son,  and  then  His  Eternal 
Spirit,  acts  with  deep  counsel,  which  we  may  surely  trust,  when  He 
sends  from  place  to  place,  those  earthly  instruments  which  carry  on  His 
purposes.  This  is  a  thought  which  is  particularly  soothing  as  regards 
the  loss  of  friends  ;  or  of  especially  gifted  men,  who  seem  in  their  day 
the  earthly  support  of  the  Church.  For  what  we  know,  their  removal 
hence  is  as  necessary  for  the  furtherance  of  the  very  objects  we  have 
at  heart,  as  was  the  departure  of  our  Saviour. 

Doubtless,  "  it  is  expedient"  they  should  be  taken  away  ;  otherwise 
some  great  mercy  will  not  come  to  us.  They  are  taken  away  per- 
chance to  other  duties  in  God's  service,  equally  ministrative  to  the 
salvation  of  the  elect,  as  earthly  service.  Christ  went  to  intercede  with 
the  Father  :  we  do  not  know,  we  may  not  boldly  speculate, — yet,  it 
may  be,  that  Saints  departed  intercede,  unknown  to  us,  for  the  victory 
of  the  Truth  upon  earth  ;  and  their  prayers  above  may  be  as  really  in- 
dispensable conditions  of  that  victory,  as  the  labours  of  those  who  re- 
main among  us.  They  are  taken  away  for  some  purpose  surely  ;  their 
gifts  are  not  lost  to  us ;  their  soaring  minds,  the  fire  of  their  contem- 

*  John  liv.  12.  28.     xx.  17. 


332  ASCENSION   DAY.  [Serm. 

plations,  the  sanctity  of  their  desires,  the  vigour  of  their  faith,  th^ 
sweetness  and  gentleness  of  their  affections,  were  not  given  without  an 
object.  Yea,  doubtless,  they  are  keeping  up  the  perpetual  chant  in  the 
shrine  above,  praying  and  praising  God  day  and  night  in  His  Temple, 
like  Moses  upon  the  Mount,  while  Joshua  and  his  host  fight  with 
Amalek.  Can  they  be  allotted  greater  blessedness,  than  to  have  a  sta- 
tion after  the  pattern  of  that  Saviour  who  is  departed  hence  ?  Has  He 
no  power  in  the  world's  movements,  because  He  is  away  ?  And  though 
He  is  the  Living  and  exalted  Lord  of  all,  and  the  government  is  on  His 
shoulder,  and  they  are  but  His  servants,  without  strength  of  themselves^ 
laid  up  moreover  apart  from  the  conflict  of  good  and  evil  in  the  para- 
dise of  God,  yet  so  much  light  as  this  is  given  us  by  the  inspired  pages 
of  the  Apocalypse,  that  they  are  interested  in  the  fortunes  of  the 
Church.  We  read  therein  of  the  Martyrs  crying  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  Thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our 
blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?"  At  another  time,  of  the 
Elders  "  worshipping  God,  saying,  We  give  Thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God 
Almighty,  which  art,  and  wast,  and  art  to  come,  because  thou  hast 
taken  to  Thee  Thy  great  power  and  hast  reigned  ;  and  the  nations  were 
wrathful,  but  Thy  wrath  is  come."  And  again  of  the  Saints,  saying, 
"  Great  and  marvellous  are  Thy  works.  Lord  God  Almighty  ;  just  and 
true  are  Thy  ways.  Thou  King  of  Saints.  Who  shall  not  fear  Thee,. 
O  Lord,  and  glorify  Thy  name  ?  for  Thou  only  art  holy ;  for  all  na- 
tions shall  come  and  worship  before  Thee,  for  Thy  judgments  are  made 
manifest."*  Let  us  not  forget  that,  tliough  the  prophecies  of  this  sacred 
book  may  be  still  sealed  up  from  us,  yet  the  doctrines  and  precepts  are 
not ;  and  that  we  lose  nuich  both  in  the  way  of  comfort  and  instruc- 
tion; if  we  do  not  use  it  for  the  purposes  of  faith  and  obedience. 

W^hat  has  been  now  said  about  the  Ascension  of  our  Lord,  comes  to 
this ;  that  we  are  in  a  world  of  mystery,  with  one  bright  Light  before 
us,  suflicient  for  our  proceeding  forward  through  all  dilliculties.  Take 
away  this  Light,  and  we  are  utterly  wretched, — we  know  not  where  we 
are,  how  we  are  sustained,  what  will  become  of  us,  and  all  that  is  dear 
to  us,  what  we  are  to  believe,  and  why  we  are  in  being.  But  with  it 
we  have  all,  and  abound.  Not  to  mention  the  duty  and  wisdom  of 
implicit  faith  in  the  love  of  Him  who  made  and  redeemed  us,  what  is 
nobler,  what  is  more  elevating  and  transporting,  than  the  generosity  of 
heart  which  risks  every  thing  on  God's  word,  dares  the  powers  of  evil 
to  their  worst  eflx>rLs,  and  repels  the  illusions  of  sense  and  the  artifices 
of  reason,  by  confidence  in  the  truth  of  Him  who  has  ascended  to  the 

»  Rev.  vi.  10.    xi.  17,  IS.     XV.  3,  4. 


I 


XIX.J  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  333 

right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.  What  infinite  mercy  it  is  in  Him, 
that  He  allows  sinners  such  as  we  are,  the  privilege  of  acting  the  part 
of  heroes  rather  than  of  penitents  !  Who  are  we  "that  we  should  be 
able"  and  have  opportunity  "to  offer  so  willingly  after  this  sort?"* 
— "Blessed,"  surely  thrice  blessed,  "are  they  who  have  not  seen  and 
yet  have  believed  !"  We  will  not  wish  for  sight ;  we  will  enjoy  our 
privilege  ;  we  will  triumph  in  the  leave  given  us  to  go  forward,  "  not 
knowing  whither  we  go,"  knowing  that  "  this  is  the  victory  that  over- 
cometh  the  world,  even  our  faith. "f  It  is  enough  that  our  Redeemer 
liveth  ;  that  He  has  been  on  earth  and  will  come  again.  On  Him  we 
venture  our  all ;  we  can  bear  thankfully  to  put  ourselves  into  His  hands, 
our  interests  present  and  eternal,  and  the  interests  of  all  we  love. 
Christ  has  died,  "  yea,  rather  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us.  Who  shall  separate 
us  from  His  love?  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or 
famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword  ?  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we 
are  more  than  conquerors,  through  Him  that  loved  us  " 


SERMON    XIX 


THE    FEAST    OF    PENTECOST. 
THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 


Romans  viii.  9. 
'   Ye  are  not  in  the  flush,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you. 

'  God,  the  Son,  has  graciously  vouchsafed  to  reveal  the  Father  to  His 
;  creatures  from  without ;  God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  inward  communi- 
I  cations.  Who  can  compare  these  separate  works  of  condescension, 
'  either  of  them  being  beyond  our  understanding  ?  We  can  but  silently 
(adore  the  Infinite  Love  which  encompasses  us  on  every  side.  The 
Son  of  God  is  called   the  Word,  as  declaring  His  glory  throughout 

*1  Chron.  xxix.  14.  tl  John  v.  4. 


334  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

created  nature,  and  impressing  the  evidence  of  it  on  every  part  of  it. 
He  has  given  us  to  read  it  in  His  works  of  goodness,  holiness,  and 
and  wisdom.  He  is  the  Living  and  Eternal  Law  of  Truth  and  Per- 
fection, the  Image  of  God's  unapproachable  Attributes,  which  men 
have  ever  seen  by  glimpses  on  the  face  of  the  world,  felt  that  it  was 
sovereign,  but  knew  not  whether  to  say  it  was  a  fundamental  Rule  and 
self-existing  Destiny,  or  the  Offspring  and  Mirror  of  the  Divine  Will. 
Such  has  He  been  from  the  beginning,  graciously  sent  forth  from  the 
Father  to  reflect  His  glory  upon  all  things,  distinct  from  Him,  while 
mysteriously  one  with  Him ;  and  in  due  time  visiting  us  with  an 
infinitely  deeper  mercy,  when  for  our  redemption  He  humbled  Him- 
self to  take  upon  Him  that  fallen  nature  which  He  had  originally 
created  after  His  own  image. 

The  condescension  of  the  Blessed  Spirit  is  as  incomprehensible  as 
that  of  the  Son.  He  has  ever  been  the  secret  Presence  of  God  within 
the  Creation  ;  a  source  of  life  amid  the  chaos,  bringing  out  into  form 
and  order  what  was  at  first  shapeless  and  void,  and  the  voice  of  Truth 
in  the  hearts  of  all  rational  beings,  tuning  them  into  harmony  with  the 
intimations  of  God's  Law  which  were  externally  made  to  them. 
Hence  He  is  especially  called  the  "  life-giving  "  Spirit  ;  being,  (as  it 
were,)  the  Soul  of  universal  nature,  the  Strength  of  man  and  beast, 
the  Guide  of  faith,  the  Witness  against  sin,  the  inward  Light  of  patri- 
archs and  prophets,  the  Grace  abiding  in  the  Christian  soul,  and  the 
Lord  and  Ruler  of  the  Church.  Therefore,  let  us  ever  praise  the  Fa- 
ther Almighty,  who  is  the  first  Source  of  all  perfection,  in  and  together 
with  His  co-equal  Son  and  Spirit,  through  Avhose  gracious  ministrations 
we  have  been  given  to  see  "  what  manner  of  love  "  it  is,  wherewith  the 
Father  has  loved  us. 

On  this  Festival  I  propose,  as  is  suitable,  to  describe  as  scripturally 
as  I  can,  the  merciful  office  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  towards  us  Chris- 
tians ;  and  I  trust  I  may  do  so,  with  the  sobriety  and  reverence  which 
the  subject  demands. 

The  Holy  Spirit  has  from  the  beginning  pleaded  with  man.  We 
read  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  that,  when  evil  began  to  prevail  all  over 
the  earth  before  the  flood,  "  the  Lord  said.  My  Spirit  shall  not  always 
strive  with  man  ;"*  implying  that  He  had  hitherto  striven  with  his 
corruption.  Again,  when  God  took  to  Him  a  peculiar  people,  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  pleased  to  be  especially  present  with  them.  Nehemiah 
says,  "  Thou  gavest  also  Thy  Good  Spirit  to  instruct  them  ;"f  and 
Isaiah,  "They  rebelled  and  vexed  His  Holy  Spirit.":}:     Further,  He 

*  Gen.  vi.  3.  t  Nch.  ix.  20.  t  Isa.  kiii.  10. 


XIX.]  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  335 

manifested  Himself  as  the  source  of  various  gifts,  intellectual  and 
extraordinary,  in  the  Prophets,  and  others.  Thus,  at  the  time  the 
Tabernacle  was  constructed,  the  Lord  filled  Bezalecl  "  with  the  Spirit 
of  God,  in  wisdom,  and  in  understanding,  and  in  knowledge,  and  in  all 
manner  of  workmanship,  to  devise  cunning  works  "*  in  metal,  stone, 
and  timber.  At  another  time  when  Moses  was  oppressed  with  his 
labours,  Almighty  God  vouchsafed  to  "take  of  the  Spirit  "f  which  was 
upon  him,  and  to  put  it  on  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel,  that  they 
might  share  the  burden  with  him.  "  An  i  it  came  to  pass,  that  when 
the  Spirit  rested  upon  them,  they  prophesied,  and  did  not  cease." 
These  texts  will  be  sufficient  to  remind  you  of  many  others,  in  which 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  spoken  of  under  the  Jewish  covenant. 
These  were  great  mercies  ;  yet,  great  as  they  were,  they  are  as  nothing 
compared  with  that  surpassing  grace  with  which  we  Christians  are 
honoured  ;  that  great  privilege  of  receiving  into  our  hearts,  not  the 
mere  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  but  His  very  presence.  Himself,  by  a  real  not 

j  a  figurative  indwelling. 

I  When  our  Lord  entered  upon  His  Ministry,  He  acted  as  though  He 
were  a  mere  man,  needing  grace,  ai.d  received  the  consecration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  for  our  sakes.     He  became  the  Christ,  or  Anointed,  that 

I  the  Spirit  might  be  seen  to  come  from  God,  and  to  pass  from  Him  to 

'us.  And,  therefore,  the  heavenly  Gift  is  not  simply  called  the  Holy 
Ghost,  or  the  Spirit  of  God,  but  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  that  we  might 
clearly  understand,  that  He  comes  to  us  from  and  instead  of  Christ. 
Thus  St.  Paul  says,  "God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into 

iyour  hearts;"  and  our  Lord  breathed  on  His  Apostles,  saying,  '-Re- 
ceive ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  and  He  says  elsewhere  to  them,  "  If  I 
depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you.";j:  Accordingly,  this  "  Holy  Spirit 
of  promise  "  is  called  "  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,"  the  seal  and 
earnest  of  an  Unseen  Saviour  ;"§  being  the  present  pledge  of  Him  who 
is  absent, — or  rather  more  than  a  pledge,  for  an  earnest  is  not  a  mere 
token  which  will  be  taken  from  us  when  it  is  fulfilled,  as  a  pledge 
might  be,  but  a  something  in  advance  of  what  is  one  day  to  be  given 
in  full. 

j  This  must  be  clearly  understood ;  for  it  would  seem  to  follow,  that 
if  so,  the  Comforter  which  has  come  instead  of  Christ,  must  have 
Ivouchsafed  to  come  in  the  same  sense  in  which  Christ  came  ;  I  mean, 
that  He  has  come,  not  merely  in  the  way  of  gifts,  or  of  influences,  or 

♦  Exod.  sxxi.  3,  4.  t  Numb.  xi.  17.  25. 

X  Gal.  iv.  6.     John  xx.  22.     John  xvi.  7. 
§  Eph.  i.  14.    2  Cor.  :.  22.  v.  5. 


336  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

of  operations,  as  He  camo  to  the  Prophets,  for  then  Christ's  going  away 
would  be  a  loss,  and  not  a  gain,  and  the  Spirit's  presence  would  be  a 
mere  pledge,  not  an  earnest,  but  He  comes  to  us  as  Christ  came,  by  a 
real  and  personal  visitation.  I  do  not  say  we  could  have  inferred  this 
thus  clearly  by  the  mere  force  of  the  above  cited  texts ;  but  it  being 
actually  so  revealed  to  us  in  other  texts  of  Scripture,  we  are  able  to  see 
that  it  may  be  legitimately  deduced  from  these.  We  are  able  to  see 
that  the  Saviour,  when  once  He  entered  into  this  world,  never  so 
departed  as  to  suffer  things  to  be  as  before  He  came  ;  for  He  still  is 
with  us,  not  in  mere  gifts,  but  by  the  substitution  of  His  Spirit  for 
Himself,  and  that,  both  in  the  Church,  and  in  the  souls  of  individual 
Christians. 

For  instance,  St.  Paul  says  in  the  text,  "  Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but 
in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  diL'cU  in  you."  Again, 
"He  shall  quicken  even  your  mortal  bodies  by  His  Spirit  that  dwelleth 
in  you." — "  Know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  Temple  of  the  Holy 
Chost  which  is  in  you  ?  *'  Ye  are  the  Temple  of  the  Living  God,  as 
God  hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them."  The  same 
Apostle  clearly  distinguishes  between  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  and 
His  actual  operations  within  us,  when  he  says,  "  The  love  of  God  is 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us  ;" 
and  again,  "The  Spirit  himself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we 
are  the  children  of  God."* 

Here  let  us  observe,  before  proceeding,  what  indirect  evidence  is  af- 
forded us  in  these  texts  of  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Who  can 
be  personally  present  at  once  with  every  Christian,  but  God  Himself? 
Who  but  He, — not  merely  ruling  in  the  midst  of  the  Church  invisibly, 
as  Michael  might  keep  watch  over  Israel,  or  another  Angel  might  be 
"  the  Prince  of  Persia," — but  really  taking  up  His  abode  as  one  and  the 
same  in  many  separate  hearts,  so  as  to  fulfil  our  Lord's  words,  that  it 
was  expedient  that  He  should  depart ;  Christ's  bodily  presence,  which 
was  limited  to  place,  being  exchanged  for  the  manifold  spiritual  in- 
dwelling of  the  Comforter  within  us  ?  This  consideration  suggests  both 
the  dignity  of  our  Sanctifier,  and  the  infinite  preciousness  of  His  office 
towards  us. 

To  proceed  :  the  Holy  Ghost,  I  have  said,  dwells  in  body  and  soul, 
as  in  a  Temple.  Evil  spirits  indeed  have  power  to  possess  sinners,  but 
His  indwelhng  is  far  more  perfect ;  for  He  is  all-knowing  and  omni- 
present, He  is  able  to  search  into  all  oar  thoughts,  and  penetrate  into 
every  motive  of  the  heart.    Therefore,  He  pervades  us  (if  it  may  be  so 


Rom.  viii.  9.  11.     1  Cor.  vi.  19.     2  Cor.  vi.  16.     Rom.  v. 


XIX.]  THE  INDWELLING   SFIRIT.  337 

said)  as  light  pervades  a  building,  or  as  a  sweet  perfume  the  folds  of 
some  honourable  robe  ;  so  that,  in  Scripture  language,  we  are  said  to 
be  in  Him,  and  He  in  us.  It  is  plain  that  such  an  inhabitation  brings 
the  Christian  into  a  state  altogether  new  and  marvellous,  far  above  the 
possession  of  mere  gifts,  exalts  him  inconceivably  in  the  scale  of  beings, 
and  gives  him  a  place  and  an  office  which  he  had  not  before.  In  St. 
Peter's  forcible  language,  he  becomes  "partaker  of  the  Divine  Nature," 
and  has  "  power"  or  authority,  as  St.  John  says,  "  to  become  the  son 
of  God."  Or,  to  use  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  he  is  a  new  creation  ;  old 
things  are  passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  become  new."  His  rank 
is  new  ;  his  parentage  and  service  new.  lie  is  "  of  God,"  and  "  is  not 
his  own,"  "  a  vessel  unto  honour,  sanctified  and  meet  for  the  Master's 
use,  and  prepared  unto  every  good  work."* 

This  wonderful  change  from  darkness  to  light,  through  the  entrance 
of  the  Spirit  into  the  soul,  is  called  Regeneration,  or  the  New  Birth ; 
a  blessing  which,  before  Christ's  coming,  not  even  Prophets  and 
righteous  men  possessed,  but  which  is  now  conveyed  to  all  men  freely 
through  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  By  nature  we  are  children  of 
wrath  ;  the  heart  is  sold  under  sin,  possessed  by  evil  spirits,  and  inherits 
death  as  its  eternal  portion.  But  by  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  all 
guilt  and  pollution  are  burned  away  as  by  fire,  the  devil  is  driven  forth, 
sin,  original  and  actual,  is  forgiven,  and  the  whole  man  is  consecrated 
to  God.  And  this  is  the  reason  why  He  is  called  "  the  earnest"  of  that 
Saviour  who  died  for  us,  and  will  one  day  give  us  the  fulness  of  His  own 
presence  in  Heaven.  Hence  too  He  is  our  "  seal  unto  the  day  of  re- 
demption ;"  for  as  the  potter  moulds  the  clay,  so  He  impresses  the 
Divine  Image  on  us  members  of  the  household  of  God.  And  His  work 
may  truly  be  called  Regeneration,  for  though  the  original  nature  of  the 
soul  is  not  destroyed,  yet  its  past  transgressions  are  pardoned  once  and 
for  ever,  and  its  source  of  evil  staunched  and  gradually  dried  up  by  the 
pervading  Health  and  Purity  which  has  set  up  its  abode  in  it.  Instead 
of  its  own  bitter  waters,  a  spring  of  health  and  salvation  is  brought 
within  it ;  not  the  mere  streams  of  that  fountain,  "  clear  as  crystal," 
which  is  before  the  Throne  of  God,f  but,  as  our  Lord  says,  "  a  well  of 
water  in  him,"  in  a  man's  heart,  "springing  up  into  everlasting  life." 
Hence  He  elsewhere  describes  the  heart  as  giving  forth,  not  receiving, 
the  streams  of  grace  :  "  Out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  Living  Wa- 
ter."    St.  John  adds,  "  this  spaka  He  of  the  Spirit.":}: 

*  2  Pet.  i.  4.  John  i.  12.  2  Cor.  v.  17.  1  John  iv.  4.  1  Cor.  vi.  19,  23.  2  Tim. 
:ii.  21. 

t  Rev.  iv.  G.     Ps.  xlvi.  4.  t  John  iy.  14.  vii.  33,  39. 

Vol.  I.— 22 


338  WIIIT-SUNDAY.  [Serm, 

Such  is  the  inhabitation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within  us,  applying  to  us 
inciividually  the  precious  cleansing  of  Christ's  blood  in  all  its  manifold 
benefits.  Such  is  the  great  doctrine  which  we  hold  as  a  matter  of  faith, 
and  without  actual  experience  to  verify  it  to  us.  Next,  I  must  speak 
briefly  concerning  the  manner  in  which  the  gift  of  grace  manifests, 
itself  in  the  regenerate  soul ;  a  subject  which  I  do  not  willingly  take 
up,  and  which  no  Christian  perhaps  is  ever  able  to  consider  without 
some  eflbrt,  feeling  that  he  thereby  endangers  either  his  reverence 
towards  God,  or  his  humility,  but  which  the  errors  of  this  day  and  the 
confident  tone  of  their  advocates  oblige  us  to  dwell  upon,  lest  truth, 
should  suffer  by  our  silence. 

The  heavenly  gift  of  the  Spirit  fixes  the  eyes  of  our  mind  upon  the 
Divine  Author  of  our  salvation.  By  nature  we  are  blind  and  carnal 
but  the  Holy  (Jhost,  by  whom  we  are  new-born,  reveals  to  us  the  God  of 
mercies,  and  bids  us  recognise  and  adore  Him  as  our  Father  with  a  true 
heart.  He  impresses  on  us  our  Heavenly  Father's  image,  which  we  lost 
when  Adam  fell,  and  disposes  us  to  seek  His  presence  by  the  very  in- 
stinct  of  our  new  nature.  He  restores  to  us  a  portion  of  that  freedom, 
in  willing  and  doing,  of  that  uprightness  and  innocence  in  which  Adam, 
was  created.  He  unites  us  to  all  holy  beings,  as  before  we  had  relation- 
ship with  evil.  He  restores  for  us  that  broken  bond,  which,  proceeding- 
from  above,  connects  together  into  one  blessed  family  all  that  is  any 
where  holy  and  eternal,  and  .separates  it  off  from  the  rebel  world  which 
comes  to  nought.  Being  then  the  sons  of  God,  and  one  with  Him,  our 
souls  mount  up  to  Him,  and  cry  continually.  This  special  characterise! 
tic  of  the  regenerate  soul  is  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul  soon  after  the  text 
"  Ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba 
Father."  Nor  are  we  left  to  utter  these  cries  to  Him,  in  any  vagu< 
uncertain  way  of  our  own  ;  but  He  who  sent  the  Spirit  to  dwell  in  uA 
habitually,  gave  us  also  a  form  of  words  to  sanctify  the  separate  acts  o 
our  minds.  Christ  left  His  sacred  Prayer  to  be  the  peculiar  possessiol 
of  His  people,  and  the  voice  of  the  Spirit.  If  we  examine  it,  we  shal 
find  in  it  the  stibstance  of  that  doctrine,  to  which  St.  Paul  has  given  t 
name  in  the  pas.sage  just  quoted.  We  begin  it  by  using  our  privilege 
calling  on  Almighty  God  in  express  words  as  "  our  Father."  We  pro- 
ceed, according  to  this  beginning,  in  that  waiting,  trusting,  adoring,  r< 
signed  temper,  which  children  ought  to  feel ;  looking  towards  Hir 
rather  than  thinking  of  ourselves  ;  zealous  for  His  honour  rather  tha* 
fearful  about  our  safety  ;  resting  in  His  present  help,  not  with  eyes  lim- 
orou.sly  glancing  towards  the  future.  His  name,  His  kingdom,  His  will, 
are  the  great  olyects  for  the  Christian  to  contemplate  and  make  his 
portion,  being  stable  and  serene,  and  "  complete  in  Him,"  as  beseem* 


XIX.]-  THE   INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  339 

one  who  has  the  gracious  presence  of  His  Spirit  within  him.  And, 
when  he  goes  on  to  think  of  himself,  he  prays  that  he  may  be  enabled 
to  have  towards  others  what  God  has  shown  towards  himself,  a  spirit  of 
forgiveness  and  loving-kindness.  Thus  he  pours  himself  out  on  all 
sides,  first  looking  up  to  catch  the  heavenly  gift,  but,  when  he  gains  it, 
not  keeping  it  to  himself,  but  diffusing  "  rivers  of  living  water"  to  the 
whole  race  of  man,  thinking  of  self  as  little  as  may  be,  and  desiring  ill 
and  destruction  to  nothing  but  that  principle  of  temptation  and  evil, 
which  is  rebclhon  against  God  ; — lastly,  ending,  as  he  began,  with  the 
contemplation  of  His  kingdom,  power,  and  glory  everlasting.  This  is 
the  true  "  Abba  Father,"  which  the  Spirit  of  adoption  utters  within  the 
Christian's  heart,  the  infallible  voice  of  Him  who  "  maketh  intercession 
for  the  Saints  in  God's  way."  And  if  he  has  at  times,  for  instance, 
amid  trial  or  affliction,  special  visitations  and  comfortings  from  the 
Spirit,  "  plaints  unutterable"  within  him,  yearnings  after  the  life  to 
come,  or  bright  and  passing  gleams  of  God's  eternal  election,  and  deep 
stirrings  of  wonder  and  thankfulness  thence  following,  he  thinks  toa 
reverently  of  "  the  secret  of  the  Lord,"  to  betray  (as  it  were)  His  con- 
fidence, and  by  vaunting  it  to  the  world,  to  exaggerate  it  perchance  into 
more  than  it  was  meant  to  convey ;  but  is  silent,  and  ponders  it  as 
choice  encouragement  to  his  soul,  meaning  something,  but  he  knows 
not  how  much. 

2.  The  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  raises  the  soul,  not  only  to 
the  thought  of  God,  but  of  Christ  also.  St.  John  says,  "  Truly  our 
fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ."  And 
our  Lord  Himself,  "  If  a  man  love  Me,  he  will  keep  My  words  ;  and 
My  Father  will  love  him,  and  VVe  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our 
abode  with  him."*  Now,  not  to  speak  of  other  and  higher  ways  in 
which  these  texts  are  fulfilled,  one  surely  consists  in  that  exercise  of 
faith  and  love  in  the  thought  of  the  Father  and  Son,  which  the  Gospel, 
and  the  Spirit  revealing  it,  furnish  to  the  Christian.  The  Spirit  came 
especially  to  "  glorify  "  Christ  ;  and  vouchsafes  to  be  a  shining  Light 
within  the  Church  and  the  individual  Christian,  reflecting  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  in  all  His  perfections,  all  His  offices,  all  His  works.  He 
came  for  the  purpose  of  unfolding  what  was  yet  hidden,  while  Christ 
was  on  earth  ;  and  speaks  on  the  house-tops  what  was  delivered  in 
closets,  disclosing  Him  in  the  glories  of  His  transfiguration,  who  once 
had  no  comeliness  in  His  outward  form,  and  was  but  a  man  of  sorrows 
and  acquainted  with  grief.  First,  He  inspired  the  Holy  Evangelists  to 
j  record  the   life  of  Christ,  and  directed  them  which  of  His  words  and 

i  *  1  John  i.  3.    John  xiv.  23. 


340  WUIT-SUNDAY.  {Serm. 

works  to  select,  which  to  omit ;  next  He  commented  (as  it  were)  upon 
those  and  unfolded  their  rneaninfr  in  the  Apostolic  Epistles.  The 
birth,  the  life,  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  has  been  the  text 
which  He  has  illuminated.  He  has  made  history  to  be  doctrine;  tell- 
in"  us  plainly,  whether  by  St.  John  or  St.  Paul,  that  Christ's  concep- 
tion and  birth  was  the  real  Incarnation  of  the  Eternal  Word,  His  life, 
"  (iod  manifest  in  the  Flesh,"  His  death  and  resurrection,  the  Atone- 
ment for  sin,  and  the  Justification  of  all  believers.  Nor  was  this  all  : 
He  continued  His  sacred  comment  in  the  formation  of  the  Church, 
superintending  and  overruling  its  human  instruments,  and  bringing  out 
our  Saviour's  words  and  works,  and  the  Apostle's  illustrations  of  them, 
into  acts  of  obedience  and  permanent  Ordinances,  by  the  ministry  of 
Saints  and  Martyrs.  Lastly,  He  completes  His  gracious  work  by  con- 
veying this  system  of  Truth,  thus  varied  and  expanded,  to  the  heart  of 
each  individual  Christian  in  whom  He  dwells.  Thus  He  vouchsafes  to 
edify  the  whole  man  in  faith  and  holiness  ;  "  casting  down  imaginations 
and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God, 
and  bringing  into  captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ."* 
By  His  wonder-working  grace  all  things  tend  to  perfection.  Every 
faculty  of  the  mind,  every  design,  pursuit,  subject  of  thought,  is  hal- 
lowed in  its  degree  by  the  abiding  vision  of  Christ,  as  Lord,  Saviour 
and  Judge.  All  solemn,  reverent,  thankful,  and  devoted  feelings,  all 
that  is  noble,  all  that  is  choice  in  the  regenerate  soul,  all  that  is  self- 
denying  in  conduct,  and  zealous  in  action,  is  drawn  forth  and  offered, 
up  by  the  Spirit  as  a  living  sacrifice  to  the  Son  of  God.  And,  thougl 
the  Christian  is  taught  not  to  think  of  himself  above  his  measure,  and 
dare  not  boast,  yet  he  is  also  taught  that  the  consciousness  of  the  sin 
which  remains  in  him,  and  infects  his  host  services,  should  not  separate 
him  from  Ciod,  but  lead  hirn  to  Him  who  can  save  ;  he  reasons  with  St,^^ 
Peter, '* To  whom  should  he  go?"  and,  without  daring  to  decide,  of' 
being  impatient  to  be  told  how  far  he  is  able  to  consider  as  his  own 
every  Gospel  privilege  in  its  fulness,  he  gazes  on  them  all  with  deep 
thought  as  the  Church's  possession,  joins  her  triumphant  hymns  in 
honcur  of  Christ,  and  listens  wistfully  to  her  voice  in  inspired  Scrip- 
ture, the  voice  of  the  Bride  calling  upon  and  blest  in  the  Beloved. 

3.  St.  John  adds,  after  speaking  of  "  our  fellowship  with  the  Father 
and  His  Son  ;"  "  These  thmgs  write  we  unto  you,  that  your  joy  may 
be  full."  What  is  fulness  of  joy  but  "peace  ?  Joy  is  tumultuous  only 
when  it  is  not  fidl  ;  but  peace  is  the  privilege  of  those  who  arc  "  filled 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the 

•  2  Cor.  I.  5. 


XIX.  J  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  341 

sea."  "  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  on 
Thee,  because  he  trustcth  in  Thee."''  It  is  peace  springing  from  trust 
and  innocence,  and  then  overllowing  in  love  towards  all  around  him. 
What  is  the  eflbct  of  mere  animal  case  and  enjoyment,  but  to  make  a 
man  pleased  with  every  thing  which  happens?  "A  merry  heart  is  a 
perpetual  feast ;"  and  such  is  peculiarly  the  blessing  of  a  soul  rejoicing 
in  the  faith  and  fear  of  God.  He  who  is  anxious,  thinks  of  himself,  is 
is  suspicious  of  danger,  speaks  hurriedly,  and  has  no  time  for  the  in- 
terests of  others  ;  he  who  lives  in  peace  is  at  leisure,  wherever  his  lot 
is  cast.  Such  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart,  whether  in 
Jew  or  Greek,  bond  or  free.  He  Himself  perchance  in  His  mysterious 
nature,  is  the  Eternal  I.ove  whereby  the  Father  and  the  Son  have 
dwelt  in  each  other,  as  ancient  writsrs  have  believed  ;  and  what  He  is 
in  Heaven,  that  He  is  abundantly  on  earth.  He  lives  in  the  Ciuistian's 
heart,  as  the  never-failing  fount  of  charity,  which  is  the  very  sweet- 
ness of  the  living  waters.  For  where  He  is,  "  there  is  liberty"  from 
the  tyranny  of  sin,  from  the  dread,  which  the  natural  man  feels,  of  an 
offended,  unreconciled  Creator.  Doubt,  gloom,  impatience  have  been 
expelled  ;  joy  in  the  Gospel  has  taken  their  place,  the  hope  of  Heaven, 
and  the  harmony  of  a  pure  heart,  the  triumph  of  self-mastery,  sober 
thoughts,  and  a  contented  mind.  How  can  ciiarity  towards  all  men 
fail  to  follow,  being  the  mere  affcctionateness  of  innocence  and  peace  ? 
Thus  the  Spirit  of  God  creates  in  us  the  simplicity  and  warmth  of 
heart  which  children  have,  nay,  rather  the  perfections  of  His  heavenly 
hosts,  high  and  low  joined  together  in  His  mysterious  work  ;  implicit 
trust,  ardent  love,  abiding  purity  belonging  both  to  little  children  and 
to  the  adoring  Seraphim  ! 

Thoughts  such  as  these,  will  affect  us  rightly,  if  they  make  us  fear 
and  be  watchful,  while  we  rejoice.     They  cannot  surely  do  otherwise  ; 
for  the  mind  of  a  Christian,  as  I  have  been  attempting  to  describe  it, 
is  not  so  much  what  we  have,  as  what  we  ought  to  have.     To  look  in- 
deed, after  dwelling  on  it,  upon  the  multitude  of  men  who  have  been 
baptized  in  Christ's  name,  is  too  serious  a  matter,  and  we  need  not 
force  ourselves  to  do  so.     We  need  not  do  so,  further  than  to  pray  for 
them,  and  to  protest  and  strive  against  what  is  evil   among  them  ;  for 
j  as  to  the  higher  and  more  solemn  thought,  how  persons,  set  apart  indi- 
I  vidually  and  collectively,  as  Temples  of  Truth  and  Holiness,  should 
j  become  what  they  seem  to  be,  and  what  their  state  is  in  consequence 
!  in  God's  sight,  is  a  question,  which  it  is  a  great   blessing  to  be  allowed 
'  to  put  from  us  as  not  our  concern.     It   is  our  concern  only  to  look  to 

•  le.  xxvi.  3. 


342  WIIIT-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

ourselves,  and  to  see  that  as  we  have  received  the  gift,  we  "grieve  not 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  we  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  re- 
dcmj)ti()n  ;"  remembering  that  "if  any  man  destroy  the  temple  of 
God,  him  shall  God  destroy."  This  reflection,  and  the  recollection  of 
our  many  backslidings,  will  ever  keep  us,  please  God,  from  judging 
others,  or  from  priding  ourselves  on  our  privileges.  Let  us  but  con- 
sider how  we  have  fallen  from  the  light  and  grace  of  our  Baptism. 
Were  we  now  what  that  Holy  Sacrament  made  us,  we  might  ever  "  go 
on  our  way  rejoicing  ;"  but  having  sullied  our  heavenly  garments  in 
one  way  or  other,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  (God  knoweth  !  and  our 
own  consciences  too  in  a  measure,)  alas  !  the  Spirit  of  adoption  has  in 
part  receded  from  us,  and  the  sense  of  guilt,  rtrnnrse,  sorrow,  and  pe- 
nitence must  take  His  place.  We  must  renew  our  confession,  and  seek 
afresh  our  absolution  day  by  day,  before  we  dare  call  upon  God  as 
"  our  Father,"  or  offer  up  Psalms  and  Intercessions  to  Him.  And 
whatever  pain  and  affliction  meets  us  through  life,  we  nmst  take  it  as  a 
merciful  penance  imposed  by  a  Father  upon  erring  children,  to  be 
borne  meekly  and  thankfully,  and  as  intended  to  remind  us  of  the 
weight  of  that  infinitely  greater  punishment,  which  was  our  desert  by 
nature,  and  which  Christ  bore  for  us  on  the  Cross. 


SERMON    XX. 


MONDAY  IN    WHITSUN    WEEK. 
THE    KLNGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS. 


Daniel  ii.  35. 


Tlie   stonr   tlial  smote   the    Image   became  a  great  Mountain,  and  filled  the  whole 
earth. 

DoT'BTLKss,  could  wc  scc  ihc  coursc  of  God's  Dispensations  in  this 
world,  as  the  Angels  sec  them,  we  should  not  be  able  to  deny  that  it  was 
His  unseen  hand  that  ordered  them.  Even  the  most  presumptuous  sin- 


I 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM   OF  THE  SAINTS.  843 

ner  would  find  it  hopeless  to  withstand  the  marks  of  Divine  Agency  in 
thera  :  and  would  "  believe  and  tremble."  This  is  what  moves  the 
Saints  in  the  Apocalypse,  to  praise  and  adore  Almighty  God, — the  view 
of  His  wonderful  works  seen  as  a  whole  from  first  to  last.  "  Great 
and  marvellous  are  Thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty  ;  just  and  true  are 
Thy  ways,  Thou  King  of  Saints !  Who  shall  not  fear  Thee,  O  Lord, 
and  glorify  Thy  name  ?"*  And  perchance  such  a  contemplation  of  the 
Providences  of  God.  whether  in  their  own  personal  history,  or  in  the  affairs 
of  their  own  country,  or  of  the  Church,  or  of  the  world  at  large,  may  be 
one  of  the  blessed  occupations  of  God's  elect  in  the  Intermediate  State. 
However,  even  to  us  sinners,  who  have  neither  secured  our  crown  like 
the  Saints  departed,  much  less  are  to  be  compared  to  the  Angels  who 
^'  excel  in  strength,  that  do  His  commandments,  hearkening  unto  the 
voice  of  His  Word,"f  even  to  us  is  vouchsafed  some  insight  into 
God's  Providence,  by  means  of  the  records  of  it.  History  and  Pro- 
phecy are  given  us  as  informants,  and  reflect  various  lights  upon  His 
Attributes  and  Will,  whether  separately  or  in  combination.  The  text 
suggests  to  us  an  especial  instance  of  this  privilege,  in  the  view  allow- 
ed us  of  the  introduction  and  propagation  of  the  Gospel  ;  and  it  will 
be  fitting  at  this  season  of  the  year,  when  we  especially  commemo- 
rate its  first  public  manifestation  in  the  Holy  Ghost's  descent  upon  the 
Apostles,  to  make  some  remarks  upon  the  wonderful  Providence  of 
God  as  seen  in  it. 

The  words  of  Daniel  in  the  text  form  part  of  the  disclosure  he  was 
inspired  to  make  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  of  the  dream  that  "  troubled" 
him.  After  describing  the  great  Image,  with  a  head  of  fine  gold, 
arms  of  silver,  bally  and  thighs  of  brass,  legs  of  iron,  and  feet  of  iron 
and  clay,  by  which  were  signified  the  four  Empires  which  preceded  the 
coming  of  Christ,  he  goes  on  to  foretell  the  rise  of  Christianity  in 
these  words :  "  Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out  without  hands, 
which  smote  the  Image  upon  his  feet,  which  were  of  iron  and  clay, 
and  brake  them  to  pieces.  Then  was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the 
silver,  and  the  gold,  broken  in  pieces  together,  and  became  like  the 
chaff,"  heavy  and  costly  as  the  metals  were,  they  became  as  light  as 
chaff  "  of  the  summer  threshing  floors,  and  the  wind  carried  them 
away.  .  .  .  And  the  stone  that  smote  the  Image  became  a  great  Moun- 
tain, and  filled  the  whole  earth." 

Afterwards,  he  adds  this  interpretation  ;  "  In  the  davs  of  these  kings, 
shall  the  God  of  Heaven  set  up  a  Kingdom  which  shall  never  be  de- 
stroyed ;  and  the  Kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it  shall 

♦  Rev.  XV.  3,  4.  t  Ps.  ciii.  2. 


344  \VIIIT-M02nDAY.  [Serm. 

break  in  pieces,  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand 
for  ever." 

This  prophecy  of  Daniel  is  fulfdled  among  us,  at  this  daj'.  Wc  know 
it  is  so.  Those  four  idol  kingdoms  are  gone,  and  the  Kingdom  of  Christ, 
made  without  human  hands,  remains,  and  is  our  own  blessed  portion. 
But  to  speak  thus  summarily,  is  scarcely  to  pay  due  honour  to  God's 
work,  or  to  reap  the  full  benefit  of  our  knowledge  of  it.  Let  us  then 
look  into  the  details  of  this  great  Providence,  the  history  of  the  Gospel 
Dispensation. 

1.  Observe  what  it  was  that  took  place.  There  have  been  many 
kingdoms  before  and  since  Christ  came,  which  have  been  set  up  and 
extended  by  the  sword.  This,  indeed,  is  the  only  way  in  which  earthly 
power  grows.  Wisdom  and  skill  direct  its  movements,  but  the  arm  of 
force  is  the  instrument  of  its  aggrandisement.  And  an  unscrupulous 
conscience,  a  hard  heart,  and  guilty  deeds,  are  the  usual  attendants  upon 
its  growth  :  which  is,  in  one  form  or  other,  but  usurpation,  invasion, 
conquest,  and  tyranny.  It  rises  against  its  neighbours,  and  increases 
by  external  collisions  and  a  visible  extension.  But  the  propagation  of 
the  Gospel  was  the  internal  development  of  one  and  the  same  principle 
in  various  countries  at  once,  and  therefore  may  be  suitably  called,  in- 
visible, and  not  of  this  world.  The  Jewish  Nation  did  not  "  push  west- 
ward, and  northward,  and  southward  ;"  but  a  spirit  went  out  from  its 
Church  into  all  lands,  and  wherever  it  came,  there  a  new  Order  of 
things  forthwith  arose  in  the  bosom  of  strangers  ;  arose  simultaneously, 
independently  in  each  place,  and  recognising  its  fellows  in  other  places 
only  when  they  were  already  brought  into  existence.  We  know  indeed 
that  the  Apostles  were  the  instruments,  the  secret  emissaries  (as  they 
niight  bo  called)  of  this  work  ;  but,  I  am  speaking  of  the  appearance 
of  things  as  a  heathen  might  regard  them.  Who  among  the  wise  men 
or  the  disputors  of  this  world,  will  take  account  of  a  few  helpless  men 
wandering  about  from  place  to  place,  and  prcac-.hing  a  new  doctrine  ? 
It  never  can  be  believed,  it  is  impossible  that  they  should  be  the  real 
agents  of  the  revolution  which  followed.  So  we  maintain,  and  the 
world's  pliilosoj)hy  must  be  consistent  enough  to  agree  with  us.  It 
looked  down  upon  the  Ai)ostlcs  in  their  day  ;  it  said  they  could  affect 
nothing  ;  let  it  say  the  same  thing  now  in  common  fairness.  Surely  to 
the  philosophy  of  this  world  it  nmst  appear  as  absurd  to  ascribe  great 
changes  to  such  weak  vessels,  as  to  attribute  them  to  some  imaginary 
unseen  agents,  to  the  heavenly  hosts  whose  existence  it  disbelieves.  As 
it  would  account  the  hypothesis  of  Angelic  interference  gratuitous,  so 
did  it  then,  and  must  still  pronounce  that  of  the  Apostles' efforts  insuf- 
ficient.    Its  own  witness  in  the  beginning  becomes  our  evidence  now.. 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  345 

Dismissing  then  the  thought  of  the  feeble  and  despised  preachers,  who 
went  to  and  fro,  let  us  sec  ^yhat  really  happened.  In  the  midst  of  a 
great  Empire,  such  as  the  world  had  never  seen,  powerful  and  crafty 
beyond  all  former  empires,  more  extensive,  and  better  organized,  sud- 
denly a  new  Kingdom  arose.  Suddenly  in  every  part  of  this  well- 
cemented  Empire,  in  the  East  and  West,  North  and  South,  as  if  by 
some  general  understanding,  yet,  without  any  sufficient  system  of  cor- 
respondence or  centre  of  influence,  ten  thousand  orderly  societies,  pro- 
fessing the  same  principles,  and  disciplined  upon  the  same  polity,  sprang 
up  as  from  the  earth.  It  seemed  as  though  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  were  broken  up,  and  some  new  forms  of  creation  were  thrown 
forward  from  below,  the  manifold  ridges  of  some  "  great  Mountain," 
crossing,  splitting,  disarranging  the  existing  system  of  things,  levelling 
the  hills,  filling  up  the  valleys, — irresistible  as  being  sudden,  unforeseen, 
and  unprovided  for, — till  it  "  filled  the  whole  earth."*  This  was  indeed 
a  "  new  thing  ;"  and  independent  of  all  reference  to  prophecy,  is  un- 
precedented in  the  history  of  the  world  before  or  since,  and  calculated 
to  excite  the  deepest  interest  and  amazement  in  any  really  philosophical 
mind.  Throughout  the  kingdoms  and  provinces  of  Rome,  while  all 
things  looked  as  usual,  the  sun  rising  and  setting,  the  seasons  continuing, 
men's  passions  swaying  them  as  from  the  beginning,  their  thoughts  set 
on  their  worldly  business,  or  their  gain,  or  their  pleasures,  on  their  am- 
bitious prospects  and  quarrels,  warrior  measuring  his  strength  with  war- 
rior, politicians  plotting,  and  kings  banqueting,  suddenly  this  portent 
came  as  a  snare  ujTOn  the  whole  earth.  Suddenly,  men  found  them- 
selves encompassed  with  foes,  as  a  camp  surprised  by  night.  And  the 
nature  of  this  hostile  host  was  still  more  strange,  (if  possible)  than  the 
coming  of  it.  It  was  not  a  foreigner  who  invaded  them,  nor  barbarian 
from  the  north,  nor  a  rising  of  slaves,  nor  an  armament  of  pirates,  but 
the  enemy  rose  up  from  among  themselves.  The  first-born  in  every 
house  "  from  the  first-born  of  Pharaoh  on  the  throne,  to  the  first-born 
of  the  captive  in  the  dungeon,"  unaccountably  found  himself  enlisted 
in  the  ranks  of  this  new  power,  and  estranged  from  his  natural  friends. 
Their  brother,  the  son  of  their  mother,  the  wife  of  their  bosom,  the 
friend  that  was  as  their  own  soul,  these  were  the  sworn  soldiers  of  the 
"  mighty  army,"  that  "  covered  the  face  of  the  whole  earth."  Next 
when  they  began  to  interrogate  this  enemy  of  Roman  greatness,  they 
found  no  vague  profession  among  them,  no  varying  accoimt  of  them- 
selves, no  irregular  and  uncertain  plan  of  action  or  conduct.  They 
were  all  members  of  strictly  and  similarly  organized  societies.     Every 

*  Isa.  xli.  15,  16. 


346  WniT-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

one  in  his  own  district  was  the  subject  of  a  new  state,  of  which  there 
was  one  visible  head,  and  officers  under  him. 

These  small  kingdoms  were  indefinitely  multiplied,  each  of  them  the 
fellow  of  the  othjr.  Wherever  the  Roman  Emperor  travelled,  there 
he  found  these  seeming  rivals  of  his  powder,  the  Bishops  of  the  Church. 
Further,  they  one  and  all  refused  to  obey  his  orders,  and  the  prescrip- 
tive laws  of  Rome,  so  far  as  religion  was  concerned.  The  authority 
of  the  Pagan  Religion,  which  in  the  minds  of  Romans  was  identified 
with  the  history  of  their  greatness,  was  plainly  set  at  nought  by  these 
upstart  monarchies.  At  the  same  time  they  professed  and  observed  a 
singular  patience  and  subjection  to  the  civil  powers.  They  did  not 
stir  hand  or  foot  in  self-defence  ;  they  submitted  to  die,  nay,  accounted 
death  the  greatest  privilege  that  could  be  inflicted  on  them.  And  fur- 
ther, they  avowed  one  and  all  the  same  doctrine  clearly  and  boldly  ; 
and  they  professed  to  receive  it  from  one  and  the  same  source.  They 
traced  it  up  through  the  continuous  line  of  their  Bishops  to  certain 
twelve  or  fourteen  Jews,  who  professed  to  have  received  it  from  Heaven. 
Moreover,  they  were  bound  one  to  another  by  the  closest  ties  of  fellow- 
ship ;  the  society  of  each  place  to  its  ruler,  and  their  rulers  one  with 
another  by  an  intimate  alliance  all  over  the  earth.  And  lastly,  in  spite 
of  persecution  from  without,  and  occasional  dissensions  from  within, 
they  so  prospered,  that  within  three  centuries  from  their  first  appear- 
ance in  the  Empire  they  forced  its  sovereigns  to  become  members  of 
their  confederation  ;  nay,  nor  ended  there,  but,  as  the  civil  power  de- 
clined in  strength,  they  became  its  patrons  instead  of  its  victims,  me- 
diated between  it  and  its  barbarian  enemies,  and  after  burying  it  in 
peace  when  its  hour  came,  took  its  place,  won  over  the  invaders,  sub- 
dued their  kings,  and  at  length  ruled  as  supreme  ;  ruled,  united  under 
one  head,  in  the  very  scenes  of  their  former  sutlering,  in  the  territory 
of  the  Empire,  with  Rome  itself,  the  seat  of  the  Imperial  government, 
as  a  centre.  I  am  not  entering  into  the  question  of  doctrine,  any  more 
than  of  prophecy.  I  am  not  inquiring  how  far  this  victorious  Kingdom 
was  by  this  time  perverted  from  its  original  character;  but  only  direct- 
ing attention  to  the  historical  phenomenon.  How  strange  then  is  the 
course  of  tiie  J)ispensation  !  Five  centuries  compass  the  rise  and  fall 
of  other  kingdoms;  but  ten  were  not  enough  for  the  full  aggrandize- 
ment f)f  this.  Its  sovereignty  was  but  commencing,  when  other  powers 
have  run  their  course  and  are  exhausted.  And  now  to  this  day,  that 
original  Dynasty,  begun  by  the  Apostles,  endures.  Through  all  changes 
of  civil  air.iirs,  of  race,  of  language,  of  opinion,  the  succession  of  Rulers 
then  begun,  has  lasted  on,  and  still  represents  in  every  country  its  ori- 
ginal founders.     "  Instead  of  its  fathers,  it  has  had  children,  who  have 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  SAINTS.  347 

been  princes  in  all  lands."  Truly,  this  is  the  vision  of  a  "  stone  cut 
out  without  hands"  "  smiting"  the  idols  of  the  world,  "  breaking  them 
in  pieces,"  scattering  them  "like  chaff,"  and,  in  their  place  "  fiUing 
the  whole  earth."  If  there  be  a  Moral  Governor  over  the  world,  is  there 
not  something  unearthly  in  all  this,  something  which  we  are  forced  to 
refer  to  Him  from  its  marvellousness,  something  which  from  its  dignity 
and  greatness  bespeaks  His  hand. 

2.  Now,  with  this  wonderful  phenomenon  before  us,  let  us  consider  well 
the  language  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles.  In  the  very  infancy  of  their 
Kingdom,  while  travelling  through  the  cities  of  Israel,  or  tossed  to  and 
fro  as  outcasts  among  the  heathen,  they  speak  confidently,  solemnly, 
calmly,  of  its  destined  growth  and  triumph.  Observe  our  Lord's  lan- 
guage;  "Jesus  came  into  Galilee,  preaching  the  Gospel  of  the  King- 
dom of  God,  and  saying.  The  time  is  fulfilled,  and  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  at  hand;  repent  ye,  and  beheve  the  Gospel."  Again,  "Thou 
art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church  ;  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  "  I  appoint  unto  you  a  Kingdom, 
us  My  Father  hath  appointed  unto  Me ;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at 
My  table  in  My  kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  Twelve  Tribes 
of  Israel."  "  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  to  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  which  a  man  took  and  sowed  in  his  field  ;  which  indeed  is  the 
least  of  all  seeds,  but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greatest  among  herbs, 
and  becometh  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  come  and  lodge  in  the 
branches  thereof."  Is  it  possible  to  doubt  that  Christ  contemplated  in 
these  words  the  overshadowing  sovereignty  of  His  kingdom  1  Let  it 
be  observed  that  the  figure  used  is  the  same  applied  by  Daniel  to  the 
Assyrian  Empire.  "  The  tree  that  thou  sawest,"  he  says  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, "  which  grew  and  was  strong  ....  upon  whose  branches  the 
fowls  of  the  Heaven  had  their  habitation,  it  is  thou,  O  King."  How 
wondrously  was  the  parallel  prophecy  fulfilled,  when  the  mighty  men 
of  the  earth  fled  for  refuge  to  the  Holy  Church  !  Again,  "  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  be- 
lieveth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he  that  belicvcth  not  shall 
be  damned."*  With  what  "  authority  "  He  speaks  !  What  majestic  sim- 
plicity, what  unhesitating  resolve,  what  commanding  superiority  is  in 
His  words !     Reflect  upon  them  in  connection  Mith  the  event. 

On  the  other  hand,  consider  in  what  language  He  speaks  of  that  dis- 
organization of  society,  which  was  to  attend  the  establishment  of  His 
kingdom.     "  I  am  come  to  send  fire  on  the  earth  ;  and  what  will  I,  if 

•  Mark  i.l4,  15.  Matt.  xvi.  18.  Luke  xxii.  29,  30.  Matt.xiii.  31,  .32.  Dan. 
iT.  20.22.     Mark  vi.  15,  16. 


348  WIIIT-MONDAY.  [Serit. 

it  b:^  already  kimlled  ?  But  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with,  and 
now  I  am  straitened  till  it  be  accomplisiied !"  "  Think  not  that  I  am 
come  to  send  peace  on  earth  ;  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  For 
I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the  daugh- 
ter ao-ainst  her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against  the  mother  in- 
law ;  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household."  "  The 
brother  shall  betray  the  brother  to  death,  and  the  father  the  son  ;  and 
children  shall  rise  up  against  their  parents,  and  shall  cause  them  to  bo 
put  to  death  ;  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  My  name's  sake.  .  .  . 
In  those  days,  after  that  tribulation,  the  sun  shall  be  darkened,  and  the 
moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  of  heaven  shall  fall,  and 
the  powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shaken."*  In  the  last  words,  whatever 
difficulty  there  may  be  in  the  chronological  arrangement,  is  contained 
a  clear  announcement  vmder  the  recognised  prophetical  symbols,  of  the 
destruction,  sooner  or  later,  of  existing  political  institutions.  In  like 
manner,  observe  how  St.  Paul  takes  for  granted  the  troubles  which 
were  coming  on  the  earth,  and  the  rise  of  the  Christian  Church  amidst 
them,  and  reasons  on  all  this  as  if  already  realized.  *'  Now  hath  He 
promised,  saying.  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth  only,  but  also 
heaven.  And  this  word,  yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  those 
things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  are  made,  that  those  things 
which  cannot  be  shaken  may  remain.  Wherefore  we  receiving  a  King- 
dom which  cannot  be  moved,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve 
God  acceptably  with  reverence  and  godly  fear."t 

The  language,  of  which  the  above  is  but  a  specimen,  is  the  more  re- 
markable, because  neither  Christ  nor  His  Apostles  looked  forward  to 
these  wonderful  changes  with  exultation,  but  with  a  deep  feeling  of 
mingled  joy  and  sadness,  as  foreboding  those  miserable  corruptions  in 
the  Church,  which  all  Christians  allow  to  have  since  taken  place,  though 
they  may  differ  in  their  account  of  them.  "  Because  iniquity  shall 
abound,  the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold  .  .  .  There  shall  arise  false 
Christs  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show  great  signs  and  wonders  ,-: 
insomuch  that,  if  it  were  possible,  they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect. 
Behold  I  have  told  you  before."  "  In  the  last  days,  perilous  times  shall 
come.  For  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covctou.s,  boasters,. 
.  .  .  .  traitors,  heady,  high-minded  ....  having  a  form  of  godliness, 
but  denying  the  power  thereof.  .  .  .  Evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax 
worse  and  worse,  deceiving  and  being  deceived.":]: 

Now,  if  wc  had  nothing  more  to  bring  forward  than  the  two  consid- 

»  Luke  xii.  49,  50.     Matt.  x.  34—30.     Mark  xiii.  12,  13.  24,  25. 

t  Hcb.  xii.  2G— 28.  :  Matt.  xxiv.  12.  24,  25.     2  Tim.  iii.  1—5.  13. 


XXI.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  349 

erations  which  have  been  here  insisted  on,  the  singular  history  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  clear  and  confident  anticipation  of  it  by  its  first  preach- 
ers, we  should  have  enough  of  evidence,  one  would  think,  to  subdue 
the  most  difficult  inquirer  to  a  belief  of  its  divinity.  But  to-morrow 
we  will  see,  please  God,  whether  something  may  not  be  added  to  the 
above  view  of  it. 


SERMON   XXI. 


TUESDAY   IN    WHITSUN,  WEEK. 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS. 


Daniel  ii.  35 


The  stone  that  smote  the  Image,  became  a  great  Mountain,  and  filled  the 
whole  earth. 

Yesterday  I  drew  your  notice  to  the  outlines  of  the  history  of  the 
Church,  and  the  clear  and  precise  anticipation  of  it,  by  our  Lord  and 
His  Apostles.  The  Gospel  Dispensation  is  confessedly  a  singular  phe- 
nomenon  in  human  affairs  ;  singular,  whether  we  consider  the  extent 
it  occupies  in  history,  the  harmony  of  its  system,  the  consistency  of 
its  design,  its  contrariety  to  the  existing  course  of  things,  and  success 
in  spite  of  that  contrariety,  and  lastly,  the  avowed  intention  of  its  first 
preachers  to  cfiect  those  objects,  which  it  really  has  attained.  They 
professed  to  be  founding  a  Kingdom  ;  a  new  Kingdom,  different  from 
any  that  had  been  before,  as  disclaiming  the  use  of  force, — in  this 
world,  yet  not  of  this  world, — while  it  was  to  be,  notwithstanding,  of 
an  aggressive  and  encroaching  character,  an  empire  of  conquest  and 
aggrandizement,  destroying  all  former  powers,  and  itself  standing  for 
ever.  Infidels  often  object  to  us,  that  our  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
ture prophecies  concerning  Christ's  Kingdom,  is  after  all  but  allegori- 
cal, and  therefore  evasive.  Not  so  ;  we  are  on  the  whole  willing  to 
take  our  stand  on  their  literal  fulfilment.  Christ  preached  that  "  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  at  hand."     He  founded  it,  and  made  Peter  and 


350  WIIIT-TUESDAY.  [Serm, 

the  other  Apostles  His  Vice-gerents  in  it  after  His  departure,  and  He 
announced  its  indefinite  extension,  and  its  unlimited  duration.  And, 
in  matter  of  fact,  it  exists  to  this  day,  with  its  government  vested  in 
the  very  dvnastv  which  His  Apostles  began,  and  its  territory  spread 
over  more  than  the  world  then  known  to  the  Jews ;  with  varying  suc- 
cess indeed  in  times  and  places,  and  varying  consistency  and  una- 
nimity within  ;  yet,  after  making  every  allowance  for  such  partial 
failures,  strictly  a  visible  power,  with  a  political  influence  founded  on 
invisible  pretensions.  Thus  the  anticipations  of  its  founders  are  un- 
paralleled in  their  novelty,  their  boldness  and  their  correctness.  To 
continue  our  review. 

3.  If  the  Christian  Church  has  spread  its  branches  high  and  wide 
over  the  earth,  its  roots  are  fixed  as  deep  below  the  surface.  The  in- 
tention of  Christ  and  His  Apostles,  on  which  I  have  dwelt,  is  itself  but 
the  accomplishment  of  ancient  prophecy. 

First,  let  it  be  observed  that  there  was  an  existing  belief  among  the 
heathen,  at  the  time  of  its  rise,  that  out  of  the  East  a  new  Empire  of 
the  world  was  destined  to  issue.*  This  rumour,  however  originating, 
was  known  at  Rome,  the  then  seat  of  dominion,  and  is  recorded  by  a 
Roman  historian.  Next  it  became  matter,  (as  it  would  seem,)  for  hea- 
then poetry.  The  most  celebrated  of  Roman  poets  has  foretold  the 
coming  of  a  new  Kingdom  of  peace  and  righteousness  under  the  rule 
of  a  divine  and  divinely  favoured  King,  who  was  to  be  born  into  the 
world.  Could  it  be  maintained  that  he  wrote  from  his  own  imagina- 
tion, not  from  existing  traditions,  this  would  not  at  all  diminish  the 
marvel,  as  not  in  any  measure  tending  to  account  for  it.  In  that  case, 
the  poet  would  but  take  his  place  among  the  Prophets.  Further,  if  we 
admit  St.  Matthew's  testimony,  which  we  have  no  excuse  for  doubting, 
we  must  believe,  that,  just  at  the  time  of  Christ's  birth,  certain  East- 
ern Sages  came  to  Jerusalem  in  search  of  a  child,  of  whom  they  ex- 
pected great  things,  and  whom  they  desired  to  worship  in  His  cradle. 
And  lastly,  another  Eastern  Sage,  fourteen  hundred  years  before,  had 
declared,  heathen  though  he  was,  and  uninterested  in  the  event,  that 
"a  Star  should  come  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  Sceptre  should  rise  out  of 
Israel,  .  .  .  that  out  of  Jacob  should  come  He  that  should  have  domin- 
ion."! Now,  whether  this  last  prophecy  be  faithfully  recorded  by  Mo- 
ses or  not,  so  far  is  clear,  and  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  the  Jewish 
traditions  concerning  the  expected  Empire,  profess  to  take  their  rise  in 

♦  Vide  Ilorslcy's  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies  aniong  the  Heathen, 
t  Numb.  xiiv.  17.19. 


XXL]  THE   KINGDOM  OF  THE   SAINTS.  351 

heathen  sources.*  It  is  a  clear  coincidence  with  the  fact  already  ad- 
verted to,  of  the  prevalence  of  such  predictions  among  the  heathen  at 
the  time  of  Christ's  coming. 

While  such  was  the  testimony  of  enemies  and  strangers  to  this  des- 
tined rise  of  a  prosperous  Empire  from  Judaea,  much  more  full  and  va- 
ried are  the  predictions  of  it  delivered  by  the  natives  of  that  country 
themselves.     These,  as  contained  in  our  holy  books,  have   been  again 
and  again  illustrated  by  Christian  writers,  and  neither  need  nor  admit 
of  enmneration  here.     I  will  but  cite  one  or  two  passages  by  way  of  re- 
minding you  of  them.     "  Ask  of  Me,  and  I  shall  give  Thee  the  heathen 
for  Thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  Thy  pos- 
session.     Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  thou  shalt  dash 
them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel."     "  Gird  Thy  sword  upon  Thy 
thigh,  O  most  Mighty,  with  Thy  glory  and  Thy  majesty.     And  in  Thy 
majesty  ride  prosperously,  because  of  truth,  and  meekness,  and  righte- 
ousness ;  and  Thy  right  hand  shall  teach  Thee  terrible  things.     Thine 
arrows  are  sharp  in  the  heart  of  the  King's  enemies,  whereby  the  [)eo- 
ple  fall  under  Thee  .   .   .  Instead  of  Thy  fathers  shall  be  Thy  children, 
whom  Thou  mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth."     "The  Lord  shall 
send   the  rod  of  Thy  strength  out  of  Zion  ;  rule  Thou  in  the  midst  of 
Thine  enemies  .  .  .  The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand  shall  strike  through 
kings  in  the  day  of  His  wrath."     "  It  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days, 
that  the  Mountain  of  the  Lord's  House  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of 
the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the   hills  ;  and  all  nations 
shall  flow  unto  it  ;  .   .  .   Out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  Law,  and  the 
Word  of  the  Lord  froai  Jerusalem.     And  He  shall  judge  among  the 
nations,  and  shall  rebuke  many  people;  and  they  shall  boat  their  swords 
into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks  ;  nation  shall  not 
lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall   they  learn  war  any  more." 
"  It  is  a  light  thing  that  Thou  shouldest  be  My  servant  to  raise  up  the 
tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel.     I  will  also  give 
Thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldest  be   My  salvation 
unto  the  end  of  the  earth."     And  almost  in  the  same  words,  the  aged 
Simeon  recognises  in  the  infant  Jesus,  the  Lord's  promised  "  salvation, 
a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  Ilis  people  Israel."!     In 
these  passages  the  predictions  of  bloody  revolution  and  of  peace,  are  as 
strangely  combined,  as  in  our  Lord's  account  of  His  Kingdom,  as  being 

*  Gen.  xlix.  10,  docs  not  speak  of  conquest  or  empire,  so  clearly  as  to  constitute 
an  exception ;  much  less  Gen.  xii.  2,  3.  and  xxviii.  14,  which  could  scarcely  be  so 
interpreted,  except  after  other  and  clearer  prophecies. 

t  Ps.  ii.  8,  9.  ilv.  3—5.  16.  ex.  2.  5.    Is.  ii.  2—4.   xlix.  6.   Luke  ii.  30—32. 


352  WHIT-TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

at  once  a  refuse  and  consolation,  and  a  sword.  Maintain,  if  you  will, 
that  they  have  not  hitherto  been  so  fully  accomplished  in  its  history  as 
is  conceivable  ;  yet,  in  matter  of  fact,  has  not  this  twofold  character  of 
the  Dispensation  been  in  such  measure  reahzed,  as  substantially  answers 
to  the  words  of  the  prediction  ?  Consider  only  the  wars  and  tumults  of 
the  middle  ages,  of  which  the  Church  was  the  occasion,  and  at  the 
isame  time,  its  salutary  influence  upon  the  fierce  and  lawless  soldiers 
who  then  filled  the  thrones  of  Europe.  Take  the  Prophecy,  take  the 
History ;  and  say  fairly,  whether,  in  accordance  with  the  Scripture 
prospect,  we  do  not  actually  find  in  the  centuries  I  speak  of,  a  political 
power,  making  vassals  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  humbling  them  beneath 
its  feet,  affording  matter  of  endless  strife,  yet  acting  as  the  very  bond  of 
peace,  as  far  as  peace  was  really  attained.  How  truly  have  "  the  sons 
of  them  that  afflicted"  the  Church,  "come  bending  unto  her;  and  they 
that  despised  her,  bowed  themselves  at  the  soles  of  her  feet,"*  and  "  the 
enemies  of  Christ  been  made  His  footstool !" 

It  may  help  us  in  entering  into  the  state  of  the  case,  to  consider 
Avhat  our  surprise  would  be,  did  we  in  the  course  of  our  researches  into 
history,  find  any  resemblance  to  this  prophetic  forecast  in  the  annals  of 
other  kingdoms.  Even  one  poor  coincidence  in  the  history  of  Rome, 
viz.  of  the  anticipated  and  the  actual  duration  of  its  greatness,  does  not 
fail  to  arrest  our  attention.  We  know  that  even  before  the  Christian 
era,  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  Roman  Augurs,  that  the  twelve  vultures 
which  Romulus  had  seen  previous  to  the  foundation  of  the  city,  repre- 
sented the  twelve  centuries,  assigned  as  the  limit  of  its  power  ;  an  anti- 
cipation which  was  singularly  fulfilled  by  the  event. f  Yet  what  is  this 
solitary  fact  to  the  series  of  varied  and  circumstantial  prophecies  which 
ushered  in,  and  were  fulfilled  in  Christianity  ?  Extend  the  twelve  cen- 
turies of  Roman  dominion  to  an  additional  half  of  that  period,  preserve 
its  monarchical  form  inviolate,  whether  from  aristocratic  or  popular  in- 
novation from  first  to  last,  and  trace  back  the  predictions  concerning  it, 
through  an  antecedent  period,  nearly  of  the  same  duration,  and  then  you 
will  have  a.ssimilatcd  its  history — not  altogether,  but  in  one  or  two  of 
its  fealures,  to  the  characteristics  of  the  Gospel  Dispensation.  As  it  is, 
this  Roman  wonder  only  serves  to  assist  the  imagination  in  embracing 
the  marvcllousness  of  those  systematic  prophecies  concerning  Christ's 

•  Is.  Ix.  14. 

t  Vide  Gibbon,  cli.  xxxv.  fin.  The  ancient  prediction  conccrninjr  the  fortunes  of 
Russia  in  a  more  rrmaritable  instance.  A  brazen  equestrian  statue,  wliich  had  been 
originally  in  Antioch,  is  said  by  historians  of  the  beginning  of  the  12[h  century  to  be 
"  inscribed  with  a  prophecy,  how  the  Russians  in  the  last  days  should  become  mas- 
ters of  Constantinople."     Vide  Gibbon,  ch.  Iv. 


XXL]  THE   KINGDOM   OF  THE   SAINTS.  353 

kingdom,  which,  from  their  number,  variety,  succession,  and  contempo- 
rary influence,  may  ahiiost  be  accounted  in  themselves,  and  without 
reference  to  their  fulfihnent,  a  complete  and  independent  dispensa- 
tion. 

4.  Lastly,  the  coarse  of  Providence  co-operated  with  this  scheme  of 
prophecy ;  God's  word  and  hand  went  together.  The  state  of  the 
Jews  for  the  last  four  hundred  years  before  Christ  was  a  preparation 
deliberately  carried  on  for  that  which  was  to  follow ;  just  as  the  wan- 
derings  of  Abraham  and  his  heirs,  the  descent  into  Egypt,  and  the 
captivity  there,  for  the  same  period,  constituted  a  process  introductory 
to  the  establishment  of  the  Jewish  Church.  Consider  the  nature  of 
this  preparation  :  the  overthrow  of  the  nation  by  the  Chaldeans,  issued 
in  the  dispersion  of  its  members  all  over  the  civilized  world,  so  that  in 
all  the  principal  cities  Jewish  communities  existed,  which  gradually 
attracted  to  their  faith  Gentile  converts,  and  were  in  one  way  or  other 
the  nucleus  of  the  Christian  Church,  when  the  Gospel  was  at  length 
published.  Now,  here,  I  would  first  direct  your  attention  to  this  strange 
connexion,  which  is  visible  at  first  sight  between  the  dispersion  of  the 
Jews  and  the  propagation  of  Christianity.  Does  not  such  a  manifest 
appearance  of  cause  and  effect  look  very  much  like  an  indication  of 
design  1  Next,  I  remark  that  this  dispersion  was  later  than  the  predictions 
concerning  the  Christian  Church  contained  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures  ; 
which  in  consequence  cannot  be  charged  with  borrowing  the  idea  of  it 
from  any  actual  disposition  of  things.  And  further,  let  it  be  observed, 
that  the  disposition  arose  from  the  apparent  frustration  of  all  their  hopes  ; 
a  signal  instance,  as  it  would  seem,  of  an  overruling  Providence, 
which  would  not  be  defeated  as  regards  its  object,  in  spite  of  the  fail- 
ure of  those  instruments,  in  which  alone  a  human  eye  could  see  the 
means  of  accomplishing  it. 

Before  concluding,  I  must  explain  myself  on  one  point  vtliich  has 
been  incidentally  mentioned  more  than  once  in  the  foregoing  remarks, 
viz.  as  to  the  connection  between  the  temporal  fortunes  of  the  Church, 
in  the  middle  ages,  and  the  inspired  predictions  concerning  it.  It 
may  seem,  before  due  attention  has  been  given  to  the  subject,  as  if 
none  but  members  of  the  Roman  Communion  could  regard  them  as 
parts  of  the  Divine  Dispensation  ;  I  therefore  observe  as  follows  : — 

There  is  a  considerable  analogy  between  the  history  of  (what  is 
called)  the  Papacy  and  that  of  the  Israclitish  monarchy.  That  mon- 
archy was  perversely  demanded,  and  presumptuously  realized  by  the 
nation,  when  God  had  not  led  the  way  ;  it  terminated  in  the  dissolution 
of  the  federal  union  of  the  Tribes,  the  corruption  of  the  pcoi)Ie,  and  the 
ruin  of  their  temporal  power.     Nevertheless,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that 

Vol.  L— 23 


354  WHIT-TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

in  one  sense  that  kingdom  was  the  scope  of  the  Mosaic  Institutions,* 
and  a  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  Its  kings  were  many  of  them  highly 
favoured  in  themselves,  and  types  of  the  promised  Saviour ;  and  their 
government  and  suhjects  were  singularly  blessed.  Consider  the  cir- 
cumstances attendant  upon  the  building  of  the  Temple.  This  may  be 
accounted  as  the  most  glorious  event  in  their  history,  the  fruit  of  Mosea' 
anxieties  and  David's  labours,  the  completion  and  resting-place  of  the 
whole  Dispensation,  and  the  pledge  of  the  more  spiritual  blessedness 
which  was  to  come.  Connect  it  with  Solomon's  reign,  its  peace  and 
prosperity, — on  the  other  hand  with  its  voluptuousness,  its  departure 
from  the  simplicity  of  the  Mosaic  Law, — with  Solomon's  personal 
character,  degenerating  from  faith  and  purity  into  sins  which  we  are 
not  given  to  fathom.  Arc  we  able  rightly  to  adjust  the  relation  be- 
tween the  blessings  destined  for  Israel,  and  the  actual  prosperity  and, 
greatness  of  this  kingdom  set  up  in  rebellion  against  God,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  say  how  far  it  was  recognised  in  His  counsels,  how  far  not  ?  Can- 
we  draw  the  line  between  God's  work  and  man's  work  ? 

I  am  not  maintaining  that  the  case  of  the  Papacy  is  parallel  to  that 
of  the  Jewish  Monarchy  ;  nay,  I  do  not  introduce  the  latter  for  the 
sake  of  the  analogy  at  all,  be  it  stronger  or  fainter  ;  but  merely  in  order- 
to  show  that  it  is  possible  for  certain  events  to  be  in  some  sort  a  fulfil- 
ment of  prophecy,  without  considering  every  part  of  them,  the  manner 
of  their  accomplishment,  the  circumstances,  the  instruments,  and  the 
like,  to  be  approved  by  God.  The  Latin  ecclesiastical  system  of  the 
middle  ages  may  be,  for  what  we  know,  the  shadow,  of  that  gracious 
design,  which  would  have  been  accomplished,  had  Christians  possessed 
faith  enough  to  keep  closely  to  God's  revealed  will.  For  what  we 
know,  it  was  intended  that  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  should  have 
been  made  suliject  to  the  spiritual  rule  of  the  Church.  The  presump- 
tion of  man  defeated  this  purpose ;  but  it  could  not  so  far  defeat  it,  but 
some  sort  of  fulfilment  took  place.  The  mustard-plant,  stopped  in  its 
natural  growth,  shot  out  irregular  branches.  Satan  could  not  hinder, 
he  could  l)ut  corrupt  the  kingdom  promised  to  the  Saints.  He  could 
but  seduce  them  to  trust  in  an  arm  of  flesh.  He  could  but  sow  the 
seeds  of  decay  among  them  by  alluring  them  to  bow  down  to  "  Astoreth 
the  goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  and  Milcom  the  abomination  of  the 
Ammonites ;"  to  take  a  king  over  them  like  the  nations,  "  when  the 
Lord  was  their  king."  Had  it  not  been  for  this  falling  away  in  divers 
times  and  places,  surely  Christendom  would  not  be  in  its  present  mise- 
rable state  of  disunion  and  weakness;  nor  the  prophecies  respecting  it 

»  Dcut.  svii.  U— 20. 


I 


XXL]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  355 

have  issued  in  any  degreee  in  defeat  and  disappointment.  Still,  dim 
and  partial  as  is  their  fulfilment,  there  is  more  than  enough,  even  in 
what  is  and  has  been,  to  attest  in  the  Church  the  presence  of  that 
Almighty  Hand,  whose  very  failures  (so  to  say)  and  losses  are  deeds 
of  victory  and  triumph. 

As  for  ourselves,  what  was  the  exact  measure  of  the  offences  of  our 
forefathers  in  the  faith,  when  they,  tired  of  the  Christian  Theocracy, 
and  clothed  the  church  with  "  the  purple  robe  "  of  Caesar,  it  avails  not 
to  determine.  Not  denying  their  sin,  still,  after  contemplating  the 
glories  of  the  Temple  which  they  built,  we  may  well  bewail  our  pre- 
sent fallen  state,  the  Priests  and  Levites,  and  chief  of  the  Fathers,  all 
of  us  "  weeping  with  a  loud  voice,"  though  the  many  shout  for  joy, — 
"  praising  "  indeed,  and  giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  because  He  is 
good,  for  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever  toward  Israel,"*  not  undervaluing 
the  blessings  we  have,  yet  humbling  ourselves  as  the  sinful  offspring  of 
sinful  parents,  who  from  the  first  have  resisted  and  frustrated  the  grace 
of  God,  and  seeing  in  the  present  feebleness  and  blindness  of  the 
Church,  the  tokens  of  His  righteous  judgments  upon  us ;  yet  withal, 
from  His  continued  mercies  towards  us,  drawing  the  comfortable  hope, 
that  for  His  Son's  sake  He  will  not  forsake  us  in  time  to  come,  and 
cherishing  a  sure  trust,  that,  if  we  "give  Him  no  rest"  by  our  services 
of  prayer  and  good  works,  he  will  at  length,  even  yet,  though  doubtless 
in  a  way  which  we  cannot  understand,  "  establish  and  make  Jerusalem 
a  praise  in  the  earth." 

*  Ezra  iii.  11,  12. 


SERMON    XXII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE   HOLY  TRINITY.  ' 
THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US. 


1  Tim.  vi.  20,  21. 

O  Timothy,  keep  that  which  is  committed  to  Thy  trust,  avoiding  profane  and  vain 
babblings,  and  oppositions  of  science,  falsely  so  called  ;  which  some  professing,  have 
erred  concerning  the  faith. 

These  words  are  addressed  in  tlie  first  place  to  the  Ministers  of  the 
Gospel  in  the  person  of  Timothy  ;  yet  they  contain  a  serious  command 
and  warning  for  all  Christians.  For  all  of  U3,  high  and  low,  in  our 
measure  are  responsible  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the  Faith.  We  have 
all  an  equal  interest  in  it,  no  one  less  than  another,  though  an  Order  of 
men  has  been  especially  set  apart  for  the  duty  of  guarding  it.  If  we 
Ministers  of  Christ  guard  it  not,  it  is  our  sin,  but  it  is  your  loss,  my 
brethren ;  and  as  any  private  person  would  feel  that  his  duty  and  his 
safety  lay  in  giving  alarm  of  a  fire  or  of  a  robbery  in  the  city  where 
he  dwelt,  though  there  were  ever  so  many  special  officers  appointed  for 
the  purpose,  so,  doubtless  every  one  of  us  is  bound  in  his  place  to  con- 
tend for  the  Faith,  and  to  have  an  eye  to  its  safe  custody.  If  indeed 
the  I'aith  of  Christ  were  vague,  indeterminate,  a  matter  of  opinion  or 
deduction,  then,  indeed,  we  may  well  conceive  that  the  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel  would  be  the  only  due  expounders  and  guardians  of  it  ;  then 
it  might  be  fitting  for  private  Christians  to  wait  till  they  were  informed 
concerning  the  best  mode  of  expressing  it,  or  the  relative  importance 
of  this  or  that  part  of  it.  But  this  has  been  all  settled  long  ago ;  the 
Gospel  Faith  is  a  definite  deposit, — a  treasure,  common  to  all,  one  and 
the  .same  in  every  age,  conceived  in  set  words,  and  such  as  admits  of 
being  received,  preserved,  transmitted.  We  may  safely  leave  the  cus- 
tody  of  it  even  in  the  hands  of  individuals  ;  for  in  so  doing,  we  are 
leaving  nothing  at  all  to  private  rashness  and  fancy,  to  pride,  debate  and 


I 


Serm.  XXII.]     THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.     857 

strife.  We  are  but  allowing  men  to  "  contend  earnestly  for  the  Faith 
once  delivered  to  the  Saints  ;"  the  Faith  which  was  put  into  their  hands 
one  by  one  at  their  baptism,  in  a  form  of  words  called  the  Creed,  and 
which  has  come  down  to  them  in  that  very  same  form  from  the  first 
ages.  This  Faith  is  what  even  the  humblest  member  of  the  Church 
may  and  must  contend  for  ;  and  in  proportion  to  his  education,  will  the 
circle  of  his  knowledge  enlarge.  The  Creed  dehvered  to  him  in  Bap- 
tism will  then  unfold,  first,  into  the  Nicene  Creed  (as  it  is  called,)  then 
into  the  Athanasian  ;  and,  according  as  his  power  of  grasping  the  sense 
of  its  articles  increases,  so  will  it  become  his  duty  to  contend  for  them 
in  their  fuller  and  more  accurate  form.  All  these  unfoldings  of  the 
Gospel  Doctrine  will  become  to  him  precious  as  the  original  articles, 
because  they  are  in  fact  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  one  true  expla- 
nation of  them,  delivered  down  to  us  from  the  first  ages,  together  with 
the  original  Baptismal  or  Apostles'  Creed  itself.  As  all  nations  confess 
to  the  existence  of  a  God,  so  all  branches  of  the  Church  confess  to  the 
Gospel  doctrine  ;  as  the  tradition  of  men  witnesses  to  a  Moral  Gover- 
nor and  Judge,  so  the  tradition  of  Saints  witnesses  to  the  Father  Al- 
mighty, and  His  only  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  as  neither  the 
superstitions  of  polytheism,  nor  the  atheistic  extravagances  of  particular 
countries  at  particular  times,  practically  interfere  with  our  reception  of 
the  one  message  which  the  sons  of  Adam  deliver ;  so,  much  less,  do 
the  local  heresies  and  temporary  errors  of  the  early  Church,  and  its 
superadded  corruptions,  its  schismatic  oftshoots,  or  its  partial  defections 
in  later  ages,  impair  the  evidence  and  the  claim  of  its  teaching,  in  the 
judgment  of  those  who  sincerely  wish  to  know  the  Truth  once  delivered 
to  it.  Blessed  be  God !  we  have  not  to  find  the  Truth,  it  is  put  into 
our  hands  ;  we  have  but  to  commit^it  to  our  hearts,  to  preserve  it  invi- 
olate, and  to  deliver  it  over  to  our  posterity. 

This  then  is  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul's  injunction  in  the  text,  given 
at  the  time  when  the  Truth  was  first  published.  "  Keep  that  which  is 
committed  to  thy  trust,"  or  rather,  "  keep  the  Deposit ;"  turn  away  from 
those  "  profane  emptinesses"  which  pretenders  to  philosophy  and  sci- 
ence bring  forward  against  it.  Do  not  be  moved  by  them  ;  do  not  alter 
your  Creed  for  them  ;  for  the  end  of  such  men  is  error.  They  go  on 
disputing  and  refining,  giving  new  meanings,  modifying  received  ones, 
still  with  the  idea  of  the  True  Faith  in  their  minds  as  the  fcopc  of  their 
inquiries ;  but  at  length  they  "  miss  "  it.  They  shoot  on  one  side  of  it, 
and  embrace  a  deceit  of  their  own  instead  of  it. 

By  the  Faith  is  evidently  meant,  as  St.  Paul's  words  show,  some  de- 
finite doctrine  ;  not  a  mere  temper  of  mind  or  principle  of  action, 
much  less,  vaguely,  the  Christian  cause  ;  and  accordingly,  in  his  Second 


359  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  .    [Serm. 

Epistle  to  Timothy,  the  Apostle  mentions  as  his  comfort  in  the  view  of 
death,  that  he  had  "  kept  the  Faith."  In  the  same  Epistle  he  describes 
it  more  particularly  as  "  the  Form"  or  outline  "  of  sound  words,"  "  the 
excellent  Deposit ;"  phrases,  which  show  that  the  Deposit  certainly  was 
a  series  of  truths  and  rules  of  some  sort,  (whether  only  doctrinal,  or 
preceptive  also,  and  ecclesiastical,)  and  which  are  accurately  descrip- 
tive of  the  formulary  since  called  the  Apostles'  Creed.*  And  these 
same  sacred  truths  which  Timothy  had  received  in  trust,  he  was  bid 
"  commit"  in  turn  "  to  faithful  men,"  who  should  be  "  able  to  teach 
others  also."  By  God's  grace,  he  was  enabled  so  to  commit  them ; 
and  they  being  thus  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  have 
through  God's  continued  mercy,  reached  even  unto  us,  "  upon  whom 
the  ends  of  the  world  are  come." 

I  propose,  in  what  follows,  to  set  befere  you,  the  account  given  us  in 
Scripture  of  this  Apostolic  Faith  ;  being  led  to  do  so  on  the  one  hand 
by  the  Day,  on  which  we  commemorate  its  fundamental  doctrine,  and 
on  the  other,  by  the  mistaken  views  entertained  of  it  by  many  persons 
in  this  day,  which  seem  to  require  notice. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  right  first  to  state  what  these  erroneous  opinions 
arc  ;  which  1  will  do  briefly.  They  are  not  novel,  as  scarcely  any  reli- 
gious error  can  be,  and  assuredly  what  has  once  or  twice  died  away  in 
former  times,  will  come  to  its  end  in  like  manner  once  more.  I  do  not 
speak,  as  if  I  feared  it  could  overcome  the  Ancient  Truth  once  delivered 
to  the  Saints  ;  but  still,  our  watchfulness  and  care  are  the  means  ap- 
pointed for  its  overthrow,  and  are  not  superseded  but  rather  encouraged, 
and  roused,  by  the  anticipation  of  ultimate  success. 

It  is  a  fashion  of  the  day,  then,  to  suppose  that  all  insisting  upon 
precise  Articles  of  Faith,  is  injurious  to  the  cause  of  spiritual  religion, 
and  inconsistent  with  an  enlightened  view  of  it ;  that  it  is  all  one  to 
maintain,  that  the  Gospel  requires  the  reception  of  definite  and  posi- 
tive Articles,  and  to  acknowledge  it  to  be  technical  and  formal  ;  that 
.such  a  notion  is  superstitious,  and  interferes  with  the  "  liberty  where- 
with  Christ  has  made  us  free ;"  that  it  argues  a  deficient  insight  into 
the  principles  and  ends,  a  narrow  comprehension  of  the  spirit  of  His 
revelation.  Accordingly,  instead  of  accepting  reverently  the  doctrinal 
Truths  which  have  come  down  to  us,  an  attempt  is  made  by  the  rea- 
soncrs  of  tlii'i  ago  to  compare  them  together,   to  weigh  and   measure 

♦  Vide  also,  among  other  passages,  1  John  ii.  21—27,  which  refers  to  nothing  short 
of  a  drfinito  doctrine  ;  c.  g.  •'  Let  that  therefore  abide  in  you,  which  ye  have  heard 
from  thebrginnine.  Again,  9  Tim.  ii.  18,  "Who  concerning  the  Truth  have  erred, 
saying  that  the  Resurrection  is  past  already,  and  overthrow  tlie  faith  of  some." 


I 


XXII.]         THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.  359 

them,  to  analyze,  simplify,  refashion  them  ;  to  reduce  them  to  system, 
to  arrange  them  into  primary  and  secondary,  to  harmonize  them  into 
an  intelligible  dependence  upon  each  other.  The  teacher  of  Chris- 
tianity, instead  of  delivering  its  Mysteries,  and,  (as  far  as  may  be)  un- 
folding them,  is  taught  to  scrutinize  them,  with  a  view  of  separatino-. 
the  inward  holy  sense  from  the  form  of  words,  in  which  the  Spirit  has 
indissolubly  lodged  them.  He  asks  himself,  what  is  the  use  of  the 
message  which  has  come  down  to  him ;  what  the  comparative  value 
of  this  or  that  part  of  it.  He  proceeds  to  assume  that  there  is  some 
one  end  of  his  ministerial  labours,  such  as  to  be  ascertainable  by  him, 
some  one  revealed  object  of  God's  deahngs  with  man  in  the  Gospel. 
Then,  perhaps,  he  arbitrarily  assigns  this  to  be  the  salvation  of  the 
world,  or  the  conversion  of  sinners.  Next  he  measures  all  the  Scrip- 
ture doctrines  by  their  respective  sensible  tendency  to  effect  this  end. 
He  goes  on  to  discard  or  degrade  this  or  that  sacred  truth  as  superflu- 
ous in  consequence,  or  of  inferior  importance  ;  and  throws  the  stress 
of  his  teaching  upon  one  or  other,  which  he  pronounces  to  contain  in 
it  the  essence  of  the  Gospel,  and  on  which  he  rests  all  others  which  he 
retains.  Lastly,  he  re-constructs  the  language  of  theology  to  suit  his 
(so-called)  improved  views  of  Scripture  doctrine. 

For  instance,  you  will  meet  with  writers  who  consider  that  all  the 
Attributes  and  Providences  of  God  are  virtually  expressed  in  the  one 
proposition  "  God  is  Love  ;"  the  other  notices  of  His  unapproachable 
Glory  contained  in  Scripture  being  but  modifications  of  this.  In  con- 
sequence they  are  led  on  to  deny,  first,  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punish- 
ment, as  being  inconsistent  with  this  notion  of  Infinite  Love ;  next, 
resolving  such  expressions  as  the  "wrath  of  God"  into  a  figure  of 
speech,  they  deny  the  Atonement,  viewed  as  a  real  reconciliation  of  an 
offended  God  to  His  creatures.  Or,  again,  they  say,  that  the  object  of 
the  Gospel  Revelation  is  merely  practical,  and  therefore,  that  theologi- 
cal doctrines  are  altogether  unnecessary,  mere  speculations,  and  hin- 
drances to  the  extension  of  religion;  or,  if  not  purely  injurious,  at  least 
requiring  modification.  Hence,  you  may  hear  them  ask,  "  what  is 
the  harm  of  being  a  Sabellian,  or  Arian  ?  how  does  it  affect  the  moral 
character  ?"  Or,  again,  they  say  that  the  great  end  of  the  Gospel,  is 
the  union  of  hearts  in  the  love  of  Christ  and  each  other,  and  that  in 
consequence,  Creeds  are  but  fetters  on  souls  which  have  received  the 
Spirit  of  Adoption  ;  that  Faith  is  a  mere  temper  and  a  principle,  not 
the  acceptance  for  Christ's  sake  of  a  certain  collection  of  Articles. 
Others,  again,  have  rested  the  whole  Gospel  upon  the  doctrines  of  the 
Atonement,  and  Sanctification.  And  others  have  seemed  to  make  the 
doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith  the  one  cardinal  point,  upon  which 


300  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

the  gates  of  life  open  and  shut.  Let  so  much  suffice  in  explanation  of 
the  drift  of  the  following  remarks. 

St.  Paul,  I  repeat,  bids  us  hold  fast  the  Faith  which  is  entrusted  to 
our  custody  ;  and  that  Faith  is  a  "  Form  of  sound  words,"  an  "  Out- 
line,'' which  it  is  our  duty,  according  to  our  opportunities,  to  fill  up  and 
complete  in  all  its  parts.  Now,  let  us  see  how  much  the  very  text  of 
Scripture  will  yield  us  of  these  elementary  lines  of  Truth,  of  the  un- 
changeable Apostolic  Rule  of  Faith,  of  which  we  are  bound  to  be  so 
jealous. 

Its  essential  doctrine  of  course  is  what  St.  John  terms  generally 
"  the  doctrine  of  Christ,"  and  which,  in  the  case  of  evey  one  calling 
himself  Christian,  is  the  profession  necessary,  (as  he  tells  us,)  for  our 
receiving  him  into  our  houses.  St.  Paul  speaks  in  much  the  same  com- 
pendious way  concerning  the  Gospel  Faith,  when  he  says,  "  Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus,  the  Christ." 
However,  in  an  earlier  passage  of  the  same  Epistle,  he  speaks  more 
explicitly  :  "  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified."  Thus  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  was 
one  essential  part  of  the  outline  of  sound  words  preached  and  delivered 
by  the  Apostle.  In  his  Epistle  to  the  Roman.s,  he  adds  another  article 
of  faith :  "  If  thou  shalt  confess  w  ith  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  Him  from  the  dead, 
thou  shalt  be  saved."  Here  then  the  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection  is 
added  to  that  of  the  Crucifixion.  Elsewhere  he  says  :  "  There  is  One 
God,  and  One  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus, 
who  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all  to  be  testified  in  due  time ;  even 
whereunto  I  am  ordained  a  preacher."  Here  Christ's  Mediation  and 
Atonement  are  added  as  doctrines  of  Apostolical  preaching.  Further, 
towards  the  end  of  an  Epistle  already  quoted,  he  speaks  still  more  dis- 
tinctly of  the  Gospel  which  he  had  preached,  and  had  delivered  over 
to  his  converts;  and  which  he  adds,  all  the  other  Apostles  preached 
also.  "  I  put  into  your  hands,  first  of  all,  what  had  before  been  put 
into  mine,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
and  that  He  was  buried,  and  that  He  rose  again  the  third  day  accord- 
ing to  the  Scriptures."*  Here  we  find  an  approximation  to  the  Arti- 
cles of  the  Creed,  as  the  Church  has  ever  worded  them. 

But  the  letter  of  Scripture  gives  us  still  further  insight  into  the  sub- 
jects of  the  Sacred  Deposit,  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks  in  the  text.  In 
the  course  of  the  very  Epistle  in  which  it  occurs,  he  delivers  to  Timo- 
thy a  more  explicit  "  form  of  sound  words"  than  any  I  have  cited  from 

•2  John  9—11.     1  Cor.  iii.ll;  ii.2.     Rom.  x.  9.     1  Tim.  ii.  5— 7.      1  Cor.  xv.  3,  4. 


XXII.]        THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.  361 

his  writings.  He  writes  to  tell  him  "how  to  conduct  himself  in  the 
Church  of  the  Living  God,"  which  he  had  to  govern,  and  how  to  pre- 
serve it  as  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  Truth  ;"  and  proceeds  to 
remind  him  what  that  Truth  is.  "  God  was  manifested  in  the  flesh, 
justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  Angels,  preached  unto  the  Gentiles, 
believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory."  Here  is  mention, 
among  other  doctrines,  of  the  Incarnation  and  the  Ascension.  It  seems 
then  to  have  been  an  article  of  the  original  Apostles'  Creed,  that  Christ 
was  not  a  mere  man,  but  God  incarnate.  In  like  manner,  when  the 
Ethiopian  asked  to  be  baptized,  and  Phihp  said  he  might  if  he  "believ- 
ed with  all  his  heart,"  this  was  his  confession ;  "  I  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God."  This,  it  should  be  observed,  is  his  confes- 
sion, after  Philip  had  ^^preached  unto  him  Jesus.-'* 

Now,  let  us  pass  on  to  the  very  words  in  which  that  Baptism  itself 
was  administered  ;  words,  which  the  Eunuch  might  not  understand 
indeed  at  the  time,  but  which  were  then  committed  to  him  to  feed  upon 
in  his  heart  by  faith,  and  by  the  influence  of  the  grace  at  the  same 
time  given,  gradually  to  enter  into.  Those  words  were  first  ordained 
by  Christ  Himself,  as  some  mysterious  key  by  which  the  fountains  of 
grace  might  be  opened  upon  the  baptismal  water, — "  In  the  Name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  and  they  show 
that  not  only  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  but  that  of  the  Trinity  also,  formed 
an  essential  portion  of  the  Sacred  Treasure,  of  which  the  Church  was 
ordained  to  be  the  Preacher.  Lastly,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
we  are  presented  with  an  enumeration  of  some  other  of  the  fundamen- 
tal Articles  of  Faith,  which  the  Apostles  delivered.  St.  Paul  therein 
speaks  of  "  the  foundation  of  Repentance  from  dead  works,  and  of 
Faith  towards  God,  of  the  doctrine  of  Baptisms,  and  of  Laying  on  of 
hands,  and  of  Resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  of  Eternal  Judgment."* 

Observe  then,  how  many  Articles  of  that  Faith,  which  the  Church 
has  ever  confessed,  are  incidentally  brought  before  us  as  such,  and 
delivered  as  such  in  very  form,  in  the  course  of  Scripture  narrative  and 
precept ; — the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  ;  of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son 
of  God,  His  Mediatorship,  His  Atonement  for  our  sins  on  the  Cross, 
His  Death,  Burial,  Resurrection  on  the  third  day,  and  Ascension  ;  of 
Pardon  on  Repentance,  Baptism  as  the  Instrument  of  it,  Imposition  of 
lands,  the  General  Resurrection,  and  the  Judgment  once  for  all.  I 
tnight  also  appeal  to  such  passages  as  that  in  the  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  where  St.  Paul  says,  "To  us  there  is  One  God  the  Father, 

»  1  Tim.  iii.  15,  16.     Acts  viii.  35—37. 

t  Matt,  xxviii.  19.    Heb.  vi.  1,  2,  Vide  also  2  Tim.  ii.  16—18,  above  referred  to. 


362  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

.  .  .  and  One  Lord  Jesus  Christ."*  but  I  wished  to  confine  myself  to 
texts  in  which  the  doctrines  specified  are  expressly  introduced  as  por- 
tions of  a  Formulary  or  Confession,  committed  or  accepted,  whether 
on  the  part  of  Ministers  of  the  Church  at  Ordination,  or  of  each 
member  of  it  when  he  was  baptized. 

It  may  be  proper  to  add,  that  the  history  of  the  Primitive  Church 
altogether  concurs  in  this  view  of  the  nature  of  Gospel  Faith,  which 
Scripture  sets  before  us.  I  mean  we  have  sufficient  evidence  that 
in  matter  of  fact,  such  Creeds  as  St.  Paul's  did  exist  in  its  various 
branches,  not  differing  from  each  other,  except,  (for  instance,)  as  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  differs  from  St.  Luke's  version 
of  it ;  that  this  one  and  the  same  Faith,  was  committeed  to  every 
Christian  every  where  on  his  baptism  :  and  that  it  was  considered  as 
the  especial  trust  of  the  Church  of  each  place  and  of  its  Bishop,  as 
having  been  received  by  continual  transmission  from  its  original 
Founder,  whether  Apostle  or  Evangelist. 

Enough  has  been  already  said  by  way  of  proving  from  Scripture,  how 
precise,  positive,  manifold,  are  the  Articles  of  our  Faith,  and  how  St. 
Paul  insists  on  this  their  dcfiniteness  and  minuteness  ;  enough  to  show 
that  we  may  not  slur  them  over,  nor  heap  them  together  confusedly, 
nor  tamper  with  them,  with  the  profaneness  either  of  carelessness  or  of 
curious  disputing, — in  a  word  that  they  are  sacred.  But  this  sacred 
character  of  our  trust  may  be  shown  by  several  distinct  considerations, 
which  shall  now  be  set  before  you. 

1.  First  from  the  very  circumstance  that  it  is  a  trust.  The  plain 
and  simple  reason  for  our  preaching  and  preserving  the  Faith,  is  because 
Me  have  been  told  to  do  so.  It  is  an  act  of  mere  obedience  to  Him  who 
has  "  put  us  in  trust  with  the  Gospel."  Our  one  great  concern  as  regards 
it,  is  to  deliver  it  over  safe.  This  is  the  end  in  view,  which  all  men 
have  before  them,  who  are  any  how  trusted  in  worldly  matters.  "  It  is 
required  in  stewards,  that  a  man  be  found  faithful."!  Our  Lord  had 
said,  that  "  this  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the 
world  as  a  witness  unto  all  nations.''  Accordingly,  His  Apostle  declares, 
speaking  of  his  persecutions,  "  None  of  these  things  move  me,  .... 
so  that  I  might  finish  ...  the  Ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  fully  to  witness  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."  And 
again,  when  liis  departure  is  at  hand,  he  comforts  himself  with  the  re- 
flection, that  he  has  "  kept  the  Faith."|  To  keep  the  Faith  in  the 
world  till  the  end,  may,  for  what  we  know,  be  a  sufficient  object  of  our 

*1  Cor.  viii.  6.  t  1  Cor.  iv.  2. 

t  Matt.  xxiv.  14.     Acts  xx.  24.     2  Tim.  iv.  7. 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.  363 

preaching  and  confessing,  though  nothing  more  come  of  it.  Hence 
then  the  force  of  the  words  addressed  to  Timothy  ;  "  Hold  fast,"  "  keep ;" 
"This  charge  I  commit  unto  thee  ;"  "continue  thou  in  the  things  en- 
trusted thee  ;"  "  put  the  brethren  in  remembrance  ;"  "  commit  thou  the 
same  to  faithful  men  ;"  "  refuse  profane  and  old  wives'  fables  ;"  "  shun 
profane  vain-talking ;"  "  avoid  foolish  and  unlearned  questions."  Were 
there  no  other  reason  for  the  Articles  of  the  Creed  being  held  sacred, 
their  being  a  trust  would  be  sufficient.  Till  we  feel  that  we  have  a  trust, 
a  treasure  to  transmit,  for  the  safety  of  which  we  are  answerable,  we 
have  missed  one  chief  peculiarity  in  our  actual  position.  Yet  did  men 
feel  this  adequately,  they  would  have  little  heart  to  indulge  in  the  ran- 
dom speculations  which  at  present  are  so  familiar  to  their  minds. 

2.  This  sense  of  the  seriousness  of  our  charge  is  increased  by  con- 
sidering, that  after  all  we  do  not  know,  and  cannot  form  a  notion,  what 
is  the  real  final  object  of  the  Gospel  Revelation.  Men  are  accustomed 
to  say,  that  it  is  the  salvation  of  the  world,  which  it  certainly  is 
not.  If,  instead  of  this,  we  say  that  Christ  came  "  to  purify  unto 
Himself  a  peculiar  people,"  then  indeed,  we  speak  a  great  Truth  ;  but 
this,  though  a  main  end  of  our  preaching,  is  not  its  simple  and  ulti- 
mate object.  Rather,  as  far  as  we  are  told  at  all,  that  object  is  the 
glory  of  God  ;  but  we  cannot  understand  what  is  meant  by  this,  or 
how  the  Dispensation  of  the  Gospel  promotes  it.  It  is  enough  for  us 
that  we  must  act  with  the  simple  thought  of  God  before  us,  make  all 
ends  subordinate  to  this,  and  leave  the  event  to  Him.  We  know, 
indeed,  to  our  great  comfort,  that  we  cannot  preach  in  vain.  His 
heavenly  word  "  shall  not  return  unto  Him  void,  but  shall  prosper  in 
the  thing  whereto  He  sent  it."  Still  it  is  surely  our  duty  to  preach* 
"  whether  men  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear."  We  must 
preach,  as  our  Lord  enjoins  in  a  text  already  quoted,  "  as  a  witness." 
Accordingly  He  Himself,  before  the  heathen  Pilate,  "  bore  witness  unto 
the  Truth  ;"  and  St.  Paul  conjures  u.s  to  keep  our  sacred  charge  as  in 
the  presence  of  Him,  who  "  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good 
confession."  Doubtless,  His  glory  is  set  forth  in  some  mysterious  way 
in  the  rejection,  as  well  as  in  the  reception  of  the  Gospel ;  and  we 
must  co-operate  with  Him.  We  must  co-operate  so  far,  as  to  be  con- 
tent to  wound  as  well  as  to  heal,  to  condemn  as  well  as  to  absolve.  We 
must  not  shrink  from  being  "  a  savour  of  death  unto  death,"  as  well  as 
"  of  life  unto  life."  We  must  steadfastly  believe,  however  painful  may 
be  the  duty,  that  we  are  in  either  case  offering  up  a  "  sweet  savour  of 
Christ  unto  God,  both  in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish. 
We  must  learn   to  acquiesce  and  concur  in  the  order  of  God's  Provi- 


364  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

dencc,  and  bear  to  rejoice   over   great   Babylon  and   her    inhabitants, 
when  the  wrath  of  God  has  fallen  upon  her. 

This  consideration  is  an  answer  to  those  who  would  limit  our  mes- 
sage to  what  is  influential  and  convincing  in  it,  and  measure  its  divinity 
by  its  success.  But  I  have  introduced  it  rather  to  show  generally,  how 
utterly  we  are  in  the  dark  about  the  whole  subject ;  and  therefore,  as 
being  in  the  dark,  how  necessary  it  is  to  gird  our  garments  about  us, 
and  hold  fast  our  treasure,  and  hasten  forward,  lest  we  betray  our  trust- 
We  have  no  means  of  knowing  how  far  a  small  mistake  in  the  Faith 
may  carry  us  astray.  If  we  do  not  know,  why  it  is  to  be  proclaimed 
to  all,  though  all  will  not  hear,  much  less  do  we  know  why  this  or  that 
doctrine  is  revealed,  or  what  is  the  importance  of  it.  The  grant  of 
grace  in  Baptism  follows  upon  the  accurate  enunciation  of  one  or  two 
words;  and  if  so  much  depends  on  one  sacred  observance,  even  down 
to  the  letter  in  which  it  is  committed  to  us,  why  should  not  at  least  the 
substantial  sense  of  other  truths,  nay,  even  the  primitive  wording  of 
them,  have  some  especial  claim  upon  the  Church's  safe  guardianship  of 
them  ?  St.  Paul's  articles  of  belief  are  precise  and  individual  ;  why 
should  we  not  take  them  as  Ave  find  them  ?  Why  should  we  be  wise 
above  that  is  written  ?  Why  should  we  not  be  thankful  that  a  work  is 
put  upon  us  which  is  so  plainly  within  our  power,  to  hold  the  Gospel 
Truths,  to  count  and  note  them,  to  feed  upon  them,  to  hand  them  on  ? 
However  wilful  and  feverish  minds  have  not  the  wisdom  to  trust  divine 
teaching.  They  persist  in  saying  that  Articles  of  belief  arc  mere  for- 
malities ;  and  that  to  preach  and  transmit  them  is  to  miss  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heart  in  faith  and  holiness.  They  would  rather  rouse 
emotions,  with  the  view  (as  they  hope)  of  changing  the  character. 
Forgetful  that  tempers  and  states  of  mind  are  things  seen  by  God 
alone,  and  when  really  spiritual,  the  work  of  His  Unseen  Spirit,  and 
beyond  the  power  of  man  to  ensure  or  ascertain,  they  put  upon  them- 
selves what  man  cannot  do.  They  think  it  a  light  thing  to  be  sowers 
of  that  heavenly  seed,  which  He  snail  make  spring  up  in  the  hearer's 
heart  to  life  eternal.  They  arc  willing  to  throw  it  aside  as  something 
barren  and  worthless,  as  the  sand  of  the  sea  shore ;  and  they  desire  to 
plant  the  flowers  of  grace,  (or  what  appear  such,)  in  one  another's 
hearts,  as  though  under  their  assiduous  culture  they  could  take  root 
therein.  Far  different  is  the  example  set  us  in  the  services  of  the 
Church !  In  the  Ofiice  for  Baptism  the  Articles  of  the  Creed  are 
recited  one  by  one,  that  the  infant  Christian  may  be  put  in  charge  of 
every  jot  and  tittle  to  the  sacred  Covenant,  M'hich  he  inherits.  In  the 
Communion  Service,  in  the  midst  of  its  solemn  praises  to  the  God  of  all 
grace,  when  Angels  and  Archangels  arc  to  be  summoned  to  join  in  the 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.  365 

Thanksgiving,  Articles  from  the  Creed  are  recited,  as  if  by  way  of 
preparation,  with  an  exact  doctrinal  precision,  according  to  the  Festival 
celebrated, — as  for  instance  on  this  day.  And  in  the  Visitation  of  the 
Sick,  he  whom  God  seems  about  to  call  away,  is  asked,  not  whether  he 
has  certain  spiritual  feelings  within  him,  (of  which  he  cannot  judge,) 
but  definitely  and  to  his  great  comfort,  whether  he  believes  those  Ar- 
ticles of  the  Christian  Faith  one  by  one,  which  he  received  at  Baptism, 
was  catechized  in  during  his  childhood,  and  confessed  whenever  he 
came  to  worship  God  in  Church.  It  is  in  the  same  spirit  that  the  most 
precise  and  systematic  of  all  the  Creeds,  the  Athanasian,  is  rather,  as 
the  form  of  it  shows,  a  hymn  of  praise  to  the  Eternal  Trinity  ;  it  being 
meet  and  right  at  festive  seasons  to  bring  forth  before  our  God  every 
jewel  of  the  Mysteries  entrusted  us,  to  show  that  of  those  which  He 
gave  us  we  have  lost  none. 

3,  Lastly,  the  sacred  character  of  our  charge  is  shown  most  forcibly 
by  the  sanction  which  attends  it.  WTiat  God  has  guarded  by  an  Ana- 
thema, surely  claims  some  jealous  custody  on  our  part.  Christ  says 
expressly,  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  and  he 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."*  It  is  quite  clear,  that  in  our 
Lord's  meaning,  this  belief  included  the  reception  of  a  positive  Creed, 
because  He  gave  one  at  the  time, — that  sovereign  Truth,  from  which 
all  others  flow,  which  we  this  day  celebrate,  the  Faith  of  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  Three  Persons,  One  God.  This  doctrine  then,  at 
least  is  necessary  to  be  believed  by  every  one  in  order  to  salvation  : 
and  that  certain  other  doctrines  are  also  necessary,  is  plain  from 
other  parts  of  Scripture  :  as,  for  instance,  our  Lord's  Resurrection, 
from  St.  Paul's  words  to  the  Romans.|  Now,  this  doctrine  of  the 
Resurrection,  which  closed  our  Lord's  earthly  mission,  is  evidently  at  a 
wide  interval  in  the  series  of  doctrines  from  that  of  the  Trinity  in 
Unity,  which  is  the  foundation  of  the  whole  Dispensation  ;  so  that  a 
thoughtful  mind,  which  fears  to  go  wrong,  will  see  reason  to  conclude 
even  from  hence,  that  perchance  the  doctrines  which  go  between  the 
two,  the  Incarnation,  for  instance,  or  the  Crucifixion,  are  also  essential 
parts  of  saving  Faith.  And,  in  fact,  various  passages  of  Scripture,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  occur,  in  which  these  intermediate  Articles  are 
separately  made  the  basis  of  the  Gospel.  Again,  let  St.  Paul's  lan- 
guage to  the  Galatians  be  well  considered,  who  had  departed  from  the 
Faith  in  what  might  have  seemed  but  a  subordinate  detail,  the  abolition 
of  the  Jewish  Law.  "  Though  we,  or  an  Angel  from  heaven,"  he 
says,  "  preach  any  other  Gospel  unto  you,  than  that  which  we  have 

*  Matt.  xvi.  16.  t  Rom.  x.  9. 


366  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm.  XXIL 

preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  Anathema.  As  we  said  before,  so  say  I 
now  again,  If  any  man  preach  any  other  Gospel  unto  you  than  that 
ve  have  received,  let  him  be  Anathema."*  The  state  of  the  case  then 
is  this  : — we  know  that  some  doctrines  are  necessary  to  be  believed  ; 
we  are  not  told  how  many  ;  and  we  have  no  powers  of  mind  adequate 
to  the  task  of  solving  the  problem.  We  cannot  give  any  sufficient 
reason,  beside  the  revealed  word,  why  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  itself 
should  be  essential ;  and  if  it  is  essential  nevertheless,  why  should  not 
any  other  ?  How  dangerous  then  is  it  to  trifle  with  any  portion  of  the 
message  committed  to  us  !  Surely  we  are  bound  to  guard  what  may 
be  material  in  it,  as  carefully  as  if  we  knew  it  to  be  so ;  our  not  know- 
ing it,  so  far  from  being  a  reason  for  indifference,  becoming  an  addi- 
tional motive  for  anxiety  and  watchfulness.  And,  while  we  do  not 
dare  anticipate  God's  final  judgment  by  attaching  the  Anathema  to 
individual  unbelievers,  yet  neither  do  we  dare  conceal  any  part  of  the 
doctrines  guarded  by  it,  lest  haply  it  should  be  found  to  lie  against 
ourselves,  who  have  "  shunned  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God." 

To  conclude. — The  error  against  which  these  remarks  are  directed, 
viz.  that  of  systematizing  and  simplifying  the  Gospel  Faith,  making 
much  of  one  or  two  articles  of  it,  and  disparaging  or  dismissing  the 
rest,  is  not  confined  to  this  province  of  religion  only.  In  the  same 
spirit,  sometimes  the  Ordinances,  sometimes  the  Polity  of  the  Church, 
are  dishonoured  and  neglected  ;  the  doctrine  of  Baptism  contrasted 
with  that  of  inward  Sanctification,  precepts  of  "decency  and  order '* 
made  light  of  before  the  command  to  evangehze  the  heathen,  the  in- 
junction to  "stand  in  the  old  ways"  broken  with  a  view  to  increase 
the  so-called  efficiency  of  our  ecclesiastical  institutions.  In  like  man- 
ner, by  one  class  of  reasoners  the  Gospels  are  made  every  thing,  by 
another  the  Epistles.  In  all  ages,  indeed,  consistent  obedience  is  a  very 
rare  endowment ;  but  in  this  cultivated  age,  we  have  undertaken  to  de- 
fend inconsistency  on  grounds  of  reason.  On  the  other  hand  hear 
the  words  of  Eternal  Truth.  "  Whosoever  shall  break  one  of  these 
least  conuiiandments,  a7id  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  the  least 
in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ;  but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them, 
the  same  shall  be  called  great  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. "f 

«  Gal.  i.  8,  9.  tMatt.  v.  19. 


SERMON   XXIII 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  BARNABAS  THE  APOSTLE. 
TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR. 


Acts  xi.  24, 

He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Gliost,  and  of  faith. 

When  Christ  came  to  form  a  people  unto  Himself  to  show  forth  His 
praise,  He  took  of  every  kind.  Highways  and  hedges,  the  streets  and 
lanes  of  the  city  furnished  guests  for  His  supper,  as  well  as  the  wilder- 
ness  of  Judaea,  or  the  courts  of  the  Temple.  His  first  followers  are  a 
sort  of  type  of  the  general  Church,  in  which  many  and  various  minds 
are  as  one.  And  this  is  one  use,  if  we  duly  improve  it,  of  our  Festivals  ; 
which  set  before  us  specimens  of  the  Divine  Life  under  the  same  diver- 
sity of  outward  circumstances,  advantages,  and  dispositions,  which  we 
discern  around  us.  The  especial  grace  poured  upon  the  Apostles  and 
their  associates,  whether  miraculous  or  moral,  had  no  tendency  to  de- 
stroy their  respective  peculiarities  of  temper  and  character,  to  invest 
them  with  a  sanctity  beyond  our  imitation,  or  to  preclude  failings  and 
errors  which  may  be  our  warning.  It  left  them,  as  it  found  them,  men. 
Peter  and  John,  for  instance,  the  simple  fishers  on  the  lake  of  Genne- 
sareth,  Simon  the  Zealot,  Matthew  the  busy  tax-gatherer,  and  the 
ascetic  Baptist,  how  dilferent  are  these, — first,  from  each  other, — then, 
from  Apollos  the  eloquent  Alexandrian,  Paul  the  learned  Pharisee,  Luke 
the  physician,  or  the  eastern  sages,  whom  we  celebrate  at  the  Feast  of 
the  Epiphany  ;  and  these  again  how  different  from  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  or  the  Innocents,  or  Simeon  and  Anna,  who  are  brought  be- 
fore us  at  the  Feast  of  the  Purification,  or  the  women  who  ministered 
to  our  Lord,  Mary  the  wife  of  Clcophas,  the  Mother  of  James  and  John, 
Mary  Magdalene,  Martha  and  Mary,  sisters  of  Lazarus  ;  or  again,  from 
the  widow  with  her  two  mites,  the  woman  whose  issue  of  blood  was 
staunched,  and  she  who  poured  forth  tears  of  penitence  upon  His  {cctj 
and  the  ignorant  Samaritan  at  the  well !     Moreover,  the  dpfiniteness  and 


368  ST.  BARXABAS.  [Serm. 

evident  truth  of  many  of  the  characters  presented  lo  us  in  the  Gospels 
serve  to  realize  to  us  the  history,  and  to  help  our  faith,  while  at  the 
same  time  they  afford  us  abundant  instruction.  Such,  for  instance,  is 
the  immature  ardour  of  James  and  John,  the  sudden  fall  of  Peter,  the 
obstinacy  of  Thomas,  and  the  cowardice  of  Mark.  St.  Barnabas  fur- 
nishes us  with  a  lesson  in  his  own  way  ;  nor  shall  I  be  wanting  in  piety 
towards  that  Holy  Apostle,  if  on  this  his  day  I  hold  him  forth,  not  only 
in  the  peculiar  graces  of  his  character,  but  in  those  parts  of  it  in  which 
he  becomes  our  warning,  not  our  example. 

The  text  says,  that  "  he  was  a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
of  faith."  This  praise  of  goodness  is  explained  by  his  very  name,  Bar- 
nabas, "the  Son  of  Consolation,"  which  was  given  him,  as  it  appears, 
to  mark  his  character  of  kindness,  gentleness,  considerateness,  warmth 
of  heart,  compassion,  and  munificence. 

His  acts  answer  to  this  account  of  him.     The  first  we  hear  of  hi 
is  his  selling  some  land  which    was  his,  and  giving  the  proceeds  td 
the  Apostles,  to  distribute  to  his  poorer  brethren.     The  next  notice 
him  sets  before  us  a  second  deed  of  kindness,  of  as  amiable,  though 
a  mere  private  character.     "  When  Saul  was  come  to  Jerusalem,  hd 
assayed  to  join  himself  to  the  disciples  ;  but  they  were  all  afraid  of  hi 
and  believed  not  that  he  was  a  disciple.     But  Barnabas  took  him  and 
brought  him  to  the  Apostles,  and  declared  how  he  had  seen  the  Lord  il 
the  way,  and  that  He  had  spoken  to  him,  and  how  he   had  preachc 
boldly  at  Damascus,  in  the  name  of  Jesus."*     Next,  he  is  mentions 
in  the  text,  and  still  with  commendation  of  the  same  kind.     How  had  hi 
shown  that  "he  was  a  good  man?"  by  going  on  a  mission  of  love  to 
the  first  converts  at  Antioch.     Barnabas,  above  the  rest,  was  honoure 
by  the  Church  with  this  work,  which  had  in  view  the  encouraging  and 
binding  together  in  unity  and  strength  this  incipient   fruit  of  God'i 
grace,  "  AVhen  he  came,  and  had  seen  the  grace  of  God,  he  was  g 
(surely  this  circumstance  itself  is  mentioned  by  way  of  showing  hi 
character  ;)  and  exhorted  them  all  that  with  purpose  of  heart  they  would 
cleave  unto  the  Lord."     Thus  he  may  even  be  accounted  the  founder* 
the  Church  of  Antioch,  being  aided  by  St.  Paul,  whom  he  succeeded 
bringing  thither.     Next,   on  occasion    of   an   approaching  famine 
joined  with   St.  Paul  in  being   the   minister   of  the  Gentiles'  bouutyjj 
towards   the  poor   saints  of  Judaea.     Afterwards,  when  the  Judaizing 
Christians  troubled  the  Gentile  converts  with  the  Mosaic  ordinances, 
Barnabas  was  sent  with  the  same  Apostle  and  others  from  the  Church 
of  Jerusalem  to  relieve  their  perplexity.     Thus  the  Scripture  history  of 

'  Acts  ix.  26,  27. 


XXIII.]  TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS   ERROR.  369 

him  does  but  answer  to  his  name,  and  is  scarcely  more  than  a  continued 
exemplitication  of  his  characteristic  grace.  Moreover,  let  the  particu- 
lar force  of  his  name  be  observed.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  called  our  Pa- 
raclete, as  assisting,  advocating,  encouraging,  comforting  us  ;  now,  as 
if  to  put  the  highest  honour  upon  the  Apostle,  the  same  term  is  applied 
to  him.  He  is  called  "  the  Son  of  Consolation,"  or  the  Paraclete  ;  and 
in  accordance  with  this  honourable  title,  we  are  told  that  when  the 
Gentile  converts  of  Antioch  had  received  from  his  and  St.  Paul's  hands 
the  Apostles'  decision  against  the  Judaizers,  "  they  rejoiced  for  the  con- 
solation. 

On  the  other  hand,  on  two  occasions  his  conduct  is  scarcely  becom- 
ing an  Apostle,  as  instancing  somewhat  of  that  infirmity  which  unin- 
spired persons  of  his  peculiar  character  frequently  exhibit.  Both  are 
cases  of  indulgence  towards  the  faults  of  others,  yet  in  a  different  way  ; 
the  one,  an  over-easiness  in  a  matter  of  doctrine,  the  other,  in  a  matter 
of  conduct.  With  all  his  tenderness  for  the  Gentiles,  yet  on  one  occa- 
sion he  could  not  resist  indulging  the  prejudices  of  some  Judaizing  bre- 
thren, who  came  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch.  Peter  first  was  carried 
away  ;  before  they  came,  "he  did  eat  with  the  Gentiles, but  when  they 
were  come,  he  withdrew,  and  separated  himself,  fearing  them  which 
were  of  the  circumcision.  And  the  other  Jews  dissembled  likewise  with 
him;  insomuch,  that  Barnabas  also  was  carried  away  with  their  dis- 
simulation." The  other  instance  was  his  indulgent  treatment  of  Mark, 
his  sister's  son,  which  occasioned  the  quarrel  between  him  and  St.  Paul. 
"  Barnabas  determined  to  take  with  them,"  on  their  Apostolic  journey, 
"  John,  whose  surname  was  Mark.  But  Paul  thought  not  good  to  take 
him  with  them,  who  departed  from  them  from  Pamphylia,  and  went  not 
with  them  to  the  work."* 

Now  it  is  very  plain  what  description  of  character,  and  what  kind  of 
lesson,  is  brought  before  us  in  the  history  of  this  Holy  Apostle.  Holy 
he  was,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith ;  still  the  characteristics 
and  the  infirmities  of  man  remained  in  him,  and  thus  he  is  "  unto  us  for 
an  ensample,"  consistently  with  the  reverence  we  feel  towards  him  as 
one  of  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  Church.  He  is  an  ensample 
and  warning  to  us,  not  only  as  showing  us  what  we  ought  to  be,  but  as 
evidencing  how  the  highest  gifts  and  graces  are  corrupted  in  our  sinful 
nature,  if  we  are  not  diligent  to  walk  step  by  step,  according  to  the 
light  of  God's  commandments.  Be  our  mind  as  heavily  as  it  may  be, 
|most  loving,  most  holy,  most  zealous,  most  energetic,  most  peaceful,  yet 
lif  we  look  off'  from  Him  for  a  moment,  and  look  towards  ourselves,  at 

*  Gal.  ii.  12,13.  Acts  xv.  37,  38. 
Vol.  I.— 24 


370  ST.   BARNABAS.  [Serm. 

once  these  excellent  tempers  fall  into  some  extreme  or  mistake.  Cha- 
rity becomes  over-easiness,  holiness  is  tainted  with  spiritual  pride,  zeal 
degenerates  into  fierceness,  activity  eats  up  the  spirit  of  prayer,  hope 
is  heightened  into  presumption.  We  cannot  guide  ourselves.  God's 
revealed  word  is  our  sovereign  rule  of  conduct ;  and  therefore,  among 
other  reasons,  is  faith  so  principal  a  grace,  for  it  is  the  directing  power 
which  receives  the  commands  of  Christ,  and  applies  them  to  the  heart. 

And  there  is  particular  reason  for  dwelling  upon  the  character  of  St. 
Barnabas  in  this  age,  because  he  may  be  considered  as  the  type  of  the 
better  sort  of  men  among  us,  and  those  who  are  most  in  esteem.  The 
world  itself  indeed  is  what  it  ever  has  been,  ungodly  ;  but  in  every  age 
it  chooses  some  one  or  other  peculiarity  of  the  Gospel  as  the  badge  of 
its  particular  fashion  for  the  time  being,  and  sets  up  as  objects  of  ad- 
miration those  who  eminently  possess  it.  Without  asking,  therefore, 
how  far  men  act  from  Christian  principle,  or  only  from  the  imitation  of 
it,  or  from  some  mere  secular  or  selfish  motive,  yet,  certainly,  this  age, 
as  far  as  appearance  goes,  may  be  accounted  in  its  character  not  unlike 
Barnabas,  as  being  considerate,  delicate,  courteous,  and  generous-mind- 
ed in  all  that  concerns  the  intercourse  of  man  with  man.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  thoughtful  kindness  among  us,  of  conceding  in  little  mat- 
ters, of  scrupulous  propriety  of  Avords,  and  a  sort  of  code  of  liberal  and 
honourable  dealing  in  the  conduct  of  society.  There  is  a  steady  regard 
for  the  rights  of  individuals,  nay,  as  one  would  fain  hope  in  spite  of 
misgivings,  for  the  interest  of  the  poorer  classes,  the  stranger,  the  fa- 
therless, and  the  widow.  In  such  a  country  as  ours,  there  must  always 
be  numberless  instances  of  distress  after  all ;  yet  the  anxiety  to  relieve 
it  existing  among  the  more  wealthy  classes  is  unquestionable.  And  it 
is  as  unquestionable,  that  we  are  somewhat  disposed  to  regard  ourselves 
favourably  in  consequence  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  our  national  trials  and 
fears,  to  say  (nay  sometimes  with  real  humility  and  piety)  that  we  do 
trust  that  these  characteristic  virtues  of  the  age  may  be  allowed  to  come 
up  as  a  memorial  before  God,  and  to  plead  for  us.  When  we  think  of 
the  commandments,  we  know  Charity  to  be  the  first  and  greatest ;  and 
we  are  tempted  to  ask  with  the  young  ruler,  "  What  lack  we  yet  ?" 

I  ask  then,  by  way  of  reply,  does  not  our  kindness  too  often  degene- 
rate into  wcaknes.s,  and  thus  become  not  Christian  Charity,  but  lack  of 
Charity,  as  regards  the  objects  of  it  1  Are  we  sufficiently  careful  to  do 
what  is  right  and  just,  rather  than  what  is  pleasant  1  do  we  clearly  un- 
derstand our  i)rofi;ssed  principles,  and  do  we  keep  to  them  under  tempta- 
tion 1 

The  history  of  St.  Barnabas  will  help  us  to  answer  this  question  hou- 
estly.     Now  I  fear  we  lack  altogether,  what  he  lacked  in  certain  occur- 


XXIII.]  TOLERANCE   OF  RELIGIOUS   ERROR.  371 

rences  in  it,  firmness,  manliness,  godly  severity.  I  fear  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, that  our  kindness,  instead  of  being  directed  and  braced  by  prin- 
ciple, too  often  becomes  languid  and  unmeaning;  that  it  is  exerted  on 
improper  objects,  and  out  of  season,  and  so  is  uncharitable  in  two  ways, 
indulging  those  who  should  be  chastised,  and  preferring  their  comfort  to 
those  who  are  really  deserving.  We  are  over-tender  in  dealing  with  sin 
and  sinners.  We  are  deficient  in  jealous  custody  of  the  revealed  Truths 
which  Christ  has  left  us.  We  allow  men  to  speak  against  the  Church, 
its  ordinances,  or  its  teaching,  without  remonstrating  with  them.  We 
do  not  separate  from  heretics,  nay,  we  object  to  the  word  as  if  unchar- 
itable ;  and  when  such  texts  are  brought  against  us  as  St.  John's  com- 
mand, not  to  show  hospitality  towards  them,  we  are  not  slow  to  answer 
that  they  do  not  apply  to  us. 

Now,  I  scarcely  can  suppose  any  one  really  means  to  say,  for  cer- 
tain, that  these  commands  are  superseded  in  the  present  day,  and  is 
quite  satisfied  upon  the  point  ;  it  will  rather  be  found  that  men  who  so 
speak,  merely  wish  to  put  the  subject  from  them.  For  a  long  while 
they  have  forgotten  that  there  were  any  such  commands  in  Scripture  ; 
they  have  lived  as  though  there  were  not,  and  not  being  in  circum- 
stances which  immediately  called  for  the  consideration  of  them,  they 
have  familiarized  their  minds  to  a  contrary  view  of  the  matter,  and 
built  their  opinions  upon  it.  When  reminded  of  the  fact,  they  are 
sorry  to  have  to  consider  it,  as  they  perhaps  avow.  They  perceive 
that  it  interferes  with  the  line  of  conduct  to  which  they  are  accus- 
tomed. They  are  vexed,  not  as  if  allowing  themselves  to  be  wrong, 
but  as  feeling  conscious  that  a  plausible  argument  (to  say  the  least) 
may  be  maintained  against  them.  And  instead  of  daring  to  give  this 
argument  fair  play,  as  in  honesty  they  ought,  they  hastily  satisfy 
themselves  that  objections  may  be  taken  against  it,  use  some  vague 
terms  of  disapprobation  against  those  who  use  it,  recur  to,  and  dwell 
upon,  their  own  habitual  view  of  the  benevolent  and  indulgent  spirit  of 
the  Gospel,  and  then  dismiss  the  subject  altogether,  as  if  it  had  never 
'  been  brought  before  them.  Observe  how  they  rid  themselves  of  it ;  it 
is  by  confronting  it  with  other  views  of  Christianity,  which  they  con- 
sider incompatible  with  it ;  whereas  the  very  problem  which  Christian 
duty  requires  us  to  accomplish,  is  the  reconciling  in  our  conduct  oppo- 
site virtues.  It  is  not  difficult  (comparatively  speaking)  to  cultivate 
single  virtues.  A  man  takes  some  one  partial  view  of  his  duty, 
whether  severe  or  kindly,  whether  of  action  or  of  meditation ;  he 
enters  into  it  with  all  his  might,  he  opens  his  heart  to  its  influence,  and 
allows  himself  to  be  sent  forward  on  its  current.  This  is  not  diflicult ; 
there  is  no  anxious  vigilance  or  self-denial  in  it.     On  the  contrary, 


372  ST.   BARNABAS.  [S£rm. 

there  is  a  pleasure  often  in  thus  sweeping  along  in  one  way  ;  and  espe- 
cially in  matters  of  giving  and  conceding.  Liberality  is  always  popu- 
lar, whatever  be  the  subject  of  it ;  and  excites  a  glow  of  pleasure  and 
self-approbation  in  the  giver,  even  though  it  involves  no  sacrifice,  nay, 
is  exercised  upon  the  property  of  others.  Thus  in  the  sacred  province 
of  religion,  men  are  led  on, — without  any  bad  principle,  without  that 
utter  dislike  or  ignorance  of  the  Truth,  or  that  self-conceit,  which  are 
chief  instruments  of  Satan  at  this  day,  nor  again  from  mere  cowardice 
or  worldliuess,  but  from  thoughtlessness,  a  sanguine  temper,  the  excite- 
ment of  the  moment,  the  love  of  making  others  happy,  susceptibility  of 
flattery,  and  the  habit  of  looking  only  one  way, — led  on  to  give  up 
Gospel  Truths,  to  consent  to  open  the  Church  to  the  various  denomi- 
nations of  error  which  abound  among  us,  or  to  alter  our  Services  so  as 
to  please  the  scoft'er,  the  lukewarm,  or  the  vicious.  To  be  kind  is  their 
one  principle  of  action  ;  and,  when  they  find  offence  taken  at  the 
Church's  creed,  they  begin  to  think  how  they  may  modify  or  curtail  it, 
under  the  same  sort  of  feeling  as  would  lead  them  to  be  generous  in  a 
money  transaction,  or  to  accommodate  another  at  the  price  of  personal 
inconvenience.  Not  understanding  that  their  religious  privileges  are  a 
trust  to  be  handed  on  to  posterity,  a  sacred  property  entailed  upon  the 
Christian  family,  and  their  own  in  enjoyment  rather  than  in  possession, 
they  act  the  spendthrift,  and  are  lavish  of  the  goods  of  others.  Thus,, 
for  instance,  they  speak  against  the  Anathemas  of  the  Athanasian 
Creed,  or  of  the  Commination  Service,  or  of  certain  of  the  Psalms,  and 
wish  to  rid  themselves  of  them.  Undoubtedly,  even  tlie  best  speci- 
mens of  these  men  are  deficient  in  a  due  appreciation  of  the  Christian 
Mysteries,  and  of  their  own  responsibility  in  preserving  and  trans- 
mitting them  ;  yet,  soujc  of  them  are  such  truly  "  good  "  men,  so  amiable 
and  feeling,  so  benevolent  to  the  poor,  and  of  such  repute  among  all 
classes,  in  short,  fulfil  so  excellently  the  ofiice  of  shining  like  lights  in 
the  world,  and  witnesses  of  Him  "  who  went  about  doing  good,"  that 
those  who  most  deplore  their  failing,  will  still  be  most  desirous  of  excus- 
ing them  personally,  while  they  feel  it  a  duty  to  withstand  them- 
Sometimes  it  may  be,  that  these  persons  cannot  bring  themselves  to 
think  evil  of  others  ;  and  harbour  men  of  heretical  opinions  or  immoral 
life  from  the  same  easiness  of  temper  which  makes  them  fit  subjecls 
for  the  practices  of  the  cunning  and  selfish  in  worldly  matters.  And 
sometimes  they  fasten  on  certain  favourable  points  of  character  in  the 
person  they  should  discountenance,  and  cannot  get  themselves  to 
attend  to  any  but  these ;  arguing  that  he  is  certainly  pious  and  well- 
meaning,  and  that  his  errors  plainly  do  himself  no  harm  ; — whereas  the 
question  is  not  about  their  effects  on  this  or  that  individual,  but  simply 


XXIIL]  TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  373 

whether  they  are  errors ;  and  again,  whether  they  are  not  certain  to 
be  injurious  to  the  mass  of  men,  or,  on  the  long  run,  as  it  is  called.  Or 
they  cannot  bear  to  hurt  another  by  the  expression  of  their  disap- 
probation,  though  it  be  that  "  his  soul  may  be  saved  in  the  dav  of  the 
Lord."  Or  perhaps  they  are  deficient  in  keenness  of  intellectual  per- 
ception as  to  the  moral  mischief  of  certain  speculative  opinions,  as  they 
-consider  them  ;  and  not  knowing  their  ignorance  enough  to  forbear 
the  use  of  private  judgment,  nor  having  faith  enough  to  acquiesce  in 
God's  word,  or  the  decision  of  His  Church,  they  incur  the  respon- 
sibility of  serious  changes.  Or,  perhaps  they  shelter  themselves 
behind  some  confused  notion,  which  they  have  taken  up,  of  the  peculiar 
character  of  our  own  Church,  arguing  that  they  belong  to  a  tolerant 
Church,  that  it  is  but  consistent  as  well  as  right  in  her  members  to  be 
tolerant,  and  that  they  are  but  exemplifying  tolerance  in  their  own 
conduct,  when  they  treat  with  indulgence  those  who  are  lax  in  creed 
or  conduct.  Now,  if  by  the  tolerance  of  our  Church,  it  be  meant 
that  she  does  not  countenance  the  use  of  fire  and  sword  against  those 
who  separate  from  her,  so  far  she  is  truly  called  a  tolerant  Church ; 
but  she  is  not  tolerant  of  error,  as  those  very  formularies,  which  they 
wish  to  remove,  testify  ;  and  if  she  retains  within  her  bosom,  proud 
jntellects,  and  cold  hearts,  and  unclean  hands,  and  dispenses  her  bless- 
ings to  those  who  disbelieve  or  are  unworthy  of  them,  this  arises  from 
other  causes,  certainly  not  from  her  principles ;  else  were  she  guilty  of 
Eli's  sin,  which  may  not  be  imagined. 

Such  is  the  defect  of  mind  suggested  to  us  by  the  instances  of  imper- 
fection recorded  of  St.  Barnabas  ;  it  will  be  more  clearly  understood  by 
contrasting  him  with  St.  John.  We  cannot  compare  good  men  togeth- 
er in  their  points  of  excellence ;  but  whether  the  one  or  the  other  of 
ihese  Apostles  had  the  greater  share  of  the  spirit  of  love,  we  all  know, 
that  any  how  the  Beloved  Disciple  abounded  in  it.  His  General  Epis- 
tle is  full  of  exhortations  to  cherish  that  blessed  temper,  and  his  name  is 
associated  in  our  minds  with  such  heavenly  dispositions  as  are  more  im- 
mediately connected  with  it, — contemplativeness,  serenity  of  soul,  clear- 
■nessof  faith.  Now  sec  in  what  he  differed  from  Barnabas  ;  in  uniting 
charity  with  a  firm  mnintenance  of  the  Truth  us  it  is  in  Jesus.  So  far 
were  his  fervour  and  exuberance  of  charity  from  interfering  with  his 
zeal  for  God,  that  rather,  the  more  he  loved  men,  the  more  he  desired 
to  bring  before  them  the  great  vmchangeable  Verities,  to  which  they 
must  submit,  if  they  would  see  life,  and  on  which  a  weak  indulgence 
suffers  them  to  shut  their  eyes.  He  loved  the  brethren,  but  he  "loved 
them  in  the  Truth."*  He  loved  them  for  the  Living  Truth's  sake  which 
*  3  John  1. 


374  ST.   BARNABAS.  [Serm. 

had  redeemed  them,  for  the  Truth  which  was  in  them,  for  the  Truth 
which  was  the  measure  of  their  spiritual  attainments.  He  loved  the 
Church  so  honestly,  that  he  was  stern  towards  those  who  troubled  her. 
He  loved  the  world  so  wisely,  that  he  preached  the  Truth  in  it ;  yet,  if 
men  rejected  it,  he  did  not  love  them  so  inordinately  as  to  forget  the 
supremacy  of  the  Truth,  as  the  Word  of  Him  who  is  above  all.  Let  it 
never  be  forgotten  then,  when  we  picture  to  ourselves  this  saintly  Apos- 
tle, this  unearthly  Prophet,  who  fed  upon  the  sights  and  voices  of  the 
world  of  Spirits,  and  looked  out  heavenwards  day  by  day  for  Him,  whom 
he  had  once  seen  in  the  flesh,  that  this  is  he  who  gives  us  that  com- 
mand about  shunning  heretics,  which  whether  of  force  in  this  age  or 
not,  still  certainly  in  any  age  is  (what  men  now  call)  severe ;  and  that 
this  command  of  his  is  but  in  unison  with  the  fearful  descriptions  he  gives 
in  other  parts  of  his  inspired  writings  of  the  Presence,  the  Law,  and  the 
Judgments  of  Almighty  God.  Who  can  deny  that  the  Apocalypse  from 
beginning  to  end  is  a  very  fearful  book ;  I  may  say,  the  most  fearful 
book  in  Scripture,  full  of  accounts  of  the  wrath  of  God  ?  Yet,  it  is 
written  by  the  Apostle  of  love.  It  is  possible  then,  for  a  man  to  be  at 
once  kind  as  Barnabas,  yet  zealous  as  Paul.  Strictness  and  tenderness 
had  no  "  sharp  contention  "  in  the  breast  of  the  beloved  Disciple ;  they 
found  their  perfect  union,  yet  distinct  exercise,  in  the  grace  of  Charity, 
which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  whole  Law. 

I  wish  I  saw  any  prospect  of  this  element  of  zeal  and  holy  sternness 
springing  up  among  us,  to  temper  and  give  cliaracter  to  the  languid 
unmeaning  benevolence  which  we  misname  Christian  love.  I  have  no 
hope  of  my  country  till  I  see  it.  Many  schools  of  Religion  and  Ethics 
are  to  be  found  among  us,  and  they  all  profess  to  magnify,  in  one  shape 
or  other,  what  they  consider  the  principle  of  love  ;  but  what  they  lack 
is,  a  firm  maintenance  of  that  characteristic  of  the  Divine  Nature, 
which,  in  accommodation  to  our  infirmity,  is  named  by  St.  John  and 
his  brethren,  the  wrath  of  God.  Let  this  be  well  observed.  There 
are  men  who  are  advocates  of  Expedience  ;  these,  as  far  as  they  are 
religious  at  all,  resolve  conscience  into  an  instinct  of  mere  benevo- 
lence, and  refer  all  the  dealings  of  Providence  with  His  creatures  to  the 
same  one  Attribute.  Hence,  they  consider  all  punishment  to  be  reme- 
dial, a  means  to  an  end,  deny  that  the  wo  threatened  against  sinners 
is  of  eternal  duration,  and  explain  away  the  doctrine  of  the  Atone- 
ment. There  are  others,  who  place  religion  in  the  mere  exercise  of  the 
excited  feelings  ;  and  these  too  look  upon  their  God  and  Saviour,  as  far 
(that  is)  as  they  themselves  are  concerned,  solely  as  a  God  of  love. 
They  believe  themselves  to  be  converted  from  sin  to  righteousness  by 
the  mere  manifestation  of  that  love  to  their  souls,  drawing  them  on  to- 


XXIII.]  TOLERANXE  OF     RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  375 

Him  ;  and  they  imagine  that  that  same  love,  untired  by  an}'  possible 
transgressions  on  their  part,  will  surely  carry  forward  every  individual 
so  chosen  to  final  triumph.  Moreover,  as  accounting  that  Christ  has 
already  done  every  thing  for  their  salvation,  they  do  not  feel  that  a 
moral  change  is  necessary  on  their  part,  or  rather,  they  consider  that 
the  Vision  of  revealed  love  works  it  in  them  spontaneously  ;  in  either 
case  dispensing  with  all  laborious  efforts,  all  "  fear  and  trembling,"  all 
self-denial  in  "  working  out  their  salvation,"  nay,  looking  upon  such 
qualifications  with  suspicion,  as  leading  to  a  supposed  self-confidence 
and  spiritual  pride.  Once  more,  there  are  others  of  a  mystical  turn  of 
mind,  with  untutored  imaginations  and  subtle  intellects,  who  follow  the 
theories  of  the  old  Gentile  philosophy.  These,  too,  are  accustomed 
to  make  love  the  one  principle  of  life  and  providence  in  heaven  and 
earth,  as  if  it  were  a  pervading  Spirit  of  the  world,  finding  a  sympathy 
in  every  heart,  absorbing  all  things  into  itself,  and  kindUng  a  rapturous 
enjoyment  in  all  who  contemplate  it.  They  sit  at  home  speculating, 
and  separate  moral  perfection  from  action.  These  men  either  hold,  or 
are  in  the  way  to  hold,  that  the  human  soul  is  pure  by  nature  ;  sin  an 
external  principle  corrupting  it  ;  evil,  destined  to  final  annihilation  ; 
Truth  attained  by  means  of  the  imagination  ;  conscience,  a  taste  ; 
hohness,  a  passive  contemplation  of  God  ;  and  obedience,  a  mere 
pleasurable  work.  It  is  difficult  to  discriminate  accurately  between 
these  three  schools  of  opinion,  without  using  words  of  unseemly  fami- 
liarity ;  yet  I  have  said  enough  for  those  who  wish  to  pursue  the  subject. 
Let  it  be  observed  then,  that  these  three  systems,  however  different  from 
each  other  in  their  principles  and  spirit,  yet  all  agree  in  this  one  respect, 
viz.,  in  overlooking  that  the  Christian's  God  is  represented  in  Scripture, 
not  only  as  a  God  of  love,  but  also  as  "  a  consuming  fire."  Rejecting 
the  testimony  of  Scripture,  no  wonder  they  also  reject  that  of  conscience, 
which  assuredly  forebodes  ill  to  the  sinner,  but  which,  as  the  exclusive 
religionist  maintains,  is  not  the  voice  of  God  at  all, — or  is  a  mere  bene- 
volence, according  to  the  disciple  of  Utility, — or,  in  the  judgment  of 
the  more  mystical  sort,  a  kind  of  passion  for  the  beautiful  and  sublime. 
Regarding  thus  "  the  goodness"  only,  and  not  "  the  severity  of  God," 
no  wonder  that  they  ungird  their  loins  and  become  efieminate  ;  no  won- 
der that  their  ideal  notion  of  a  perfect  Church,  is  a  Church  which  lets 
every  one  go  on  his  own  way,  and  disclaims  any  right  to  pronounce  an 
opinion,  much  less  infiict  a  censure  on  religious  error. 

But  those  who  think  themselves  and  others  in  risk  of  an  eternal  curse, 
dare  not  be  thus  indulgent.  Here  then  lies  our  want  at  the  present  day, 
for  this  we  must  pray, — that  a  reform  may  come  in  the  spirit  and  power 
of  Elias.     We  must  pray  God  thus  "  to  revive  His  work  in  the  midst  of 


376  ST.    BARNABAS.  [Serm.  XXIII. 

the  years  ;'"  to  send  us  a  severe  Discipline,  the  Order  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  John,  '<  speaking  the  Truth  in  love,"  and  "  loving  in  the  Truth," — 
a  Witness  of  Christ,  "  knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,"  fresh  from  the 
presence  of  Him  "  whose  heads  and  hairs  are  white  like  wool,  as  white 
as  snow,  and  whose  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  out  of  His  mouth  a 
sharp  sword," — a  Witness  not  shrinking  from  proclaiming  His  wrath,  as 
a  real  characteristic  of  His  glorious  nature,  though  expressed  in  human 
language  for  our  sakes,  proclaiming  the  narrowness  of  the  way  of  life, 
the  difficulty  of  attaining  Heaven,  the  danger  of  riches,  the  necessity 
of  taking  up  our  cross,  the  excellence  and  beauty  of  self-denial  and 
austerity,  the  hazard  of  disbelieving  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  the  duty  of 
zealously  contending  for  it. 

Thus  only  will  the  tidings  of  mercy  come  with  force  to  the  souls  of 
men  with  a  constraining  power  and  with  an  abiding  impress,  when 
hope  and  fear  go  together  ;  then  only  will  Christians  be  successful  in 
fight,  "  quitting  themselves  like  men,"  conquering  and  ruling  the  fury 
of  the  world,  and  maintaining  the  Church  in  purity  and  power,  when 
they  condense  their  feelings  by  a  severe  discipline,  and  are  loving  in 
the  midst  of  firmness,  strictness,  and  holiness.  Then  only  can  we 
prosper,  (under  the  blessing  and  grace  of  Him  who  is  the  Spirit  both  of 
love  and  of  truth,)  when  the  heart  of  Paul  is  vouchsafed  to  us,  to  with- 
stand even  Peter  and  Barnabas,  if  ever  they  arc  overcome  by  mere 
human  feelings,  to  "  know  henceforth  no  man  after  the  flesh,"  to  put 
away  from  us  sister's  son,  or  nearer  relative,  to  relinquish  the  sight  of 
them,  the  hope  of  them,  and  the  desire  of  them,  when  He  commands, 
■who  raises  up  friends  even  to  the  lonely,  if  they  trust  in  Him,  and  will 
give  us  "  within  His  walls  a  name  better  than  of  sons  and  of  daughters, 
an  everlasting  name  that  shall  not  be  cut  off."* 

»  Isai.  Ivi.  4,  5. 


SERMON   XXIV. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVITY  OF  ST.  JOHN  BAPTIST. 
REBUKING  SIN. 


Mark  vi.  18. 
John  had  said  unto  Herod,  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  have  thy  brother's  wife. 

In  the  Collect  of  this  day,  we  pray  God  to  enable  us  "  boldly  to  rebuke 
vice"  after  the  example  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  who  died  a  Martyr  in 
the  faithful  discharge  of  this  duty. 

Herod  the  Tetrarch  had  taken  his  brother's  wife.  John  the  Baptist 
protested  against  so  heinous  a  sin  ;  and  the  guilty  king,  though  he  could 
not  bring  himself  to  forsake  it,  yet  respected  the  prophet,  and  tried  to 
please  him  in  other  ways  ;  but  Herodias,  the  proud  and  cruel  woman 
whom  he  had  married,  resented  his  interference,  and  at  length  effected 
his  death.  I  need  not  go  through  the  details  of  this  atrocious  history, 
which  are  well  known  to  every  reader  of  the  Gospels. 

St.  John  the  Baptist  had  a  most  difficult  office  to  fulfil  ;  that  of  re- 
buking a  king.  Not  that  it  is  difficult  for  a  man  of  rude  arrogant  mind 
to  say  a  harsh  thing  to  men  in  power, — nay,  rather,  it  is  a  gratification 
to  such  a  one  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  rebuke  we//,  that  is,  at  a  right  time, 
in  a  right  spirit,  and  a  right  manner.  The  Holy  Baptist  rebuked  Herod 
without  making  him  angry  ;  therefore  he  must  have  rebuked  him  with 
gravity,  temper,  sincerity,  and  an  evident  good-will  towards  him.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  spoke  so  firmly,  sharply,  and  faithfully,  that  his  rebuke 
cost  him  his  life. 

We  who  now  live  have  not  that  extreme  duty  put  upon  us  with  M-hich 
St.  John  was  laden  ;  yet  every  one  of  us  has  a  share  in  his  office,  inas- 
much as  we  are  all  bound  "  to  rebuke  vice  boldly,"  when  we  have  fit 
opportunities  for  so  doing.  I  proceed  then  to  make  some  remarks  upon 
the  duty,  as  enforced  upon  us  by  to-day's  Festival. 

Now,  it  is  plain  that  there  are  two  sorts  of  men  in  the  world  ; — those 
who  put  themselves  forward,  and  speak  much  ;  and  those  who  retire,  and 


378  ST.  JOHN  BAPTIST.  [Serm- 

from  indolence,  timidity,  or  fastidiousness,  do  not  care  to  express  an 
opinion  on  what  comes  before  them.  Neither  of  these  classes  will  act 
the  i)art  of  St.  Jolin  the  Baptist  in  their  intercourse  with  others  :  the 
retirino-  will  not  rebuke  vice  at  all ;  the  bold  and  ill-mannered  will  take 
a  pleasure  in  giving  their  judgment,  whether  they  are  fit  judges  or  not, 
whether  they  ought  to  speak  or  not,  and  at  all  times  proper  and  improper^ 

These  self-appointed  censors  of  vice  are  not  to  be  countenanced  or 
tolerated  by  any  serious  Christian.  The  subjects  of  their  attack  are  often 
open  to  censure,  it  is  true  ;  and  should  be  censured,  but  not  by  them. 
Yet  these  men  take  upon  them,  on  their  own  authority,  to  blame  them ; — 
often,  because  those  whose  duty  it  is,  neglect  to  do  so  ;  and  then  they 
flatter  themselves  with  the  notion  that  they  are  energetic  champions  of 
virtue,  strenuous  and  useful  guardians  of  public  morals  or  popular  rights. 
There  is  a  multitude  of  such  men  in  these  days,  who  succeed  the  better, 
because  they  conceal  their  names  ;  and  are  thus  relieved  of  the  trouble 
of  observing  delicacy  in  their  manner  of  rebuking,  escape  the  retaliation 
which  the  assailed  party  may  inflict  on  an  open  assailant,  and  are  able 
to  dispense  with  such  requisites  of  personal  character  and  deportment 
as  are  ordinarily  expected  from  those  who  assume  the  office  of  the 
Baptist.  And,  by  speaking  against  men  of  note,  thoy  gratify  the  bad 
passions  of  the  multitude  ;  fond,  as  it  ever  is,  of  tales  of  crime,  and  male- 
volent towards  the  great ;  and  thus  they  increase  their  influence,  and 
come  to  be  looked  up  to  and  feared. 

Now  such  officious  accusers  of  vice  are,  I  say,  to  be  disowned  by  all 
who  wish  to  be  really  Christians.  Every  one  has  his  place,  one  to  obey,, 
another  to  rule,  a  third  to  rebuke.  It  is  not  religious  to  undertake  an 
office  without  a  commission.  John  the  Baptist  was  miraculously  called 
to  the  duties  of  a  reformer  and  teacher.  Afterwards,  an  Order  of  men 
was  appointed  for  the  performance  of  the  same  services ;  and  this  order 
remains  to  tliis  day  in  an  uninterrupted  succession.  Those  who  take 
upon  them  to  rebuke  vice  without  producing  credentials  of  their  authority, 
arc  intruding  upon  the  office  of  God's  Ministers.  They  may  indeed 
succeed  in  their  usurpation,  they  may  become  popular,  be  supported  by 
the  many,  and  be  recognised  even  by  the  persons  whom  they  attack,  still 
the  function  of  Censor  is  from  God,  whose  final  judgment  it  precedes 
and  shadows  forth  :  and  not  a  whole  generation  of  self-willed  men  can 
bestow  on  their  organ  the  powers  of  a  divine  ambassador.  It  is  our 
part,  then,  anxiously  to  guard  against  the  guilt  of  acquiescing  in  the 
claims  of  such  false  prophets,  lest  we  fall  under  the  severity  of  our 
Lord's  i)rediction  :  "  I  am  come  in  My  Father's  name,"  he  says,  "  and 
ye  receive  Me  not.  If  another  shall  come  in  his  own  name,  him  ye 
will  receive."* 

»  1  Jolin  V.  43. 


XXIV.]  REBUKING  SIN.  379 

I  notice  this  peculiarity  of  the  Reprover's  office,  as  founded  on  a 
Divine  Commission,  and  the  consequent  sin  of  undertaking  it  without  a 
call,  for  another  reason.  Besides  these  bad  men,  who  clamour  against 
vice  for  gain  and  envy's  sake,  I  know  there  are  others  of  a  better  stamp, 
who  imagine  that  they  ought  to  rebuke,  when  in  truth  they  ought  not  ; 
and  who,  on  finding  that  they  cannot  do  the  office  well,  or  on  getting 
into  trouble  in  attempting  it,  are  perplexed  and  discouraged,  or  consider 
that  they  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake.  But  our  duty  is  commonly  a  far 
more  straightforward  matter  than  excited  and  over-sensitive  minds  are 
apt  to  suppose,  that  is,  as  far  as  concerns  our  knowing  it ;  and,  when 
we  find  ourselves  perplexed  to  ascertain  it,  we  should  ask  ourselves, 
whether  we  have  not  embarrassed  our  course  by  some  unnecessary  or 
self-willed  conduct  of  our  own.  For  instance,  when  men  imagine  it  to 
be  their  duty  to  rebuke  their  superiors,  they  get  into  difficulties,  for  the 
simple  reason,  that  it  is  and  ever  will  be  difficult  to  do  another  man's 
duty.  When  the  young  take  upon  them  to  set  right  their  elders,  private 
Christians  speak  against  the  Clergy,  the  Clergy  attempt  to  direct  their 
Bishops,  or  servants  their  masters,  they  will  find  that,  generally  speak- 
ing, the  attempt  does  not  succeed  ;  and  perhaps  they  will  impute  their 
failure  to  circumstances, — whereas,  the  real  reason  is  that  there  was  no 
call  on  them  to  rebuke  at  all.  There  is  ever,  indeed,  a  call  on  them  to 
keep  from  sin  themselves  in  all  things,  which  itself  is  a  silent  protest 
against  whatever  is  wrong  in  high  places, — and  this  they  cannot  avoid, 
and  need  not  wish  to  avoid  ;  but  very  seldom,  only  in  extreme  cases, 
for  instance,  as,  when  the  Faith  is  in  jeopardy,  or  in  order  to  protect  or 
rescue  the  simple  minded,  is  a  man  called  upon  in  the  way  of  duty, 
directly  to  blame  or  denounce  his  superiors. 

And  in  truth  we  have  quite  enough  to  do  in  the  way  of  rebuking 
vice,  if  we  confine  our  censure  to  those  who  are  the  lawful  subjects  of 
it.  These  are  our  equals  and  our  inferiors.  Here,  again,  it  is  easy  to 
use  violent  language  towards  those  who  are  below  us  in  station,  to  be 
arrogant,  to  tyrannize ;  but  such  was  not  St.  John  the  Baptist's  man- 
ner of  reproving.  He  reproved  under  the  prospect  of  suffering  for  his 
faithfulness  ;  and  we  should  never  use  a  strong  word,  however  true  it 
be,  without  being  willing  to  acquiesce  in  .some  penalty  or  other  should 
it  so  happen,  as  Ihe  .seal  of  our  eanieslness.  We  must  not  suppose  that 
our  inferiors  are  without  power  to  annoy  us,  because  they  are  inferior. 
We  depend  on  the  poor  as  well  as  on  the  rich.  Nor,  by  inferiors,  do  I 
mean  those  merely  who  are  in  a  lower  rank  of  society.  Herod  was  St. 
John's  inferior ;  the  greatest  king  is,  in  one  sense,  inferior  to  God's 
Ministers,  and  is  to  be  approached  by  them  with  all  honour  indeed  and 
loyal  service,  but  without  trepidation  of  mind  or  cowardice,  without  for- 


380  ST.  JOHN   BAPTIST.  [Skrm. 

getting  that  they  are  servants  of  the  Church,  gifted  with  their  power  by 
a  divine  appointment.  And  what  is  true  even  in  the  instance  of  the 
King  himself,  is  much  more  apphcable  in  the  case  of  the  merely  wealthy 
or  ennobled.  But  is  it  a  light  matter  to  reprove  such  men  ?  And  when 
can  we  do  so  without  the  risk  of  suffering  for  it  ?  Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things,  without  the  guidance  and  strength  of  Him  who  died  to  pur- 
chase for  His  Church  this  high  authority  ? 

Again,  parents  are  bound  to  rebuke  their  children ;  but  here  the 
office  is  irksome  for  a  different  reason.  It  is  misplaced  affection,  not 
fear,  which  interferes  here  with  the  performance  of  our  duty.  And, 
besides,  parents  are  indolent  as  well  as  over-fond.  They  look  to  their 
home  as  a  release  from  the  world's  cares,  and  cannot  bear  to  make  du- 
ties in  a  quarter  where  they  would  find  a  recreation.  And  they  have 
their  preferences  and  partialities  about  their  children  ;  and  being  alter- 
nately harsh  and  weakly  indulgent,  are  not  respected  by  them,  even 
when  they  seasonably  rebuke  them. 

And  as  to  rebuke  those  who  are  inferior  to  us  in  the  temporal  ap- 
pointments of  Providence,  is  a  serious  work,  so  also,  much  more,  does 
it  require  a  ripeness  in  Christian  holiness  to  rebuke  our  equals  suitably ; 
and  this,  first,  because  we  fear  their  ridicule  and  censure  ;  next,  because 
the  failings  of  our  equals  commonly  lie  in  the  same  line  as  our  own,  and 
every  considerate  person  is  aware,  that,  in  rebuking  another,  he  is 
binding  himself  to  a  strict  and  religious  life,  which  we  naturally  shrink 
from  doing.  Accordingly,  it  has  come  to  pass,  that  Christians,  by  a 
sort  of  tacit  agreement,  wink  at  each  other's  faults,  and  keep  silence  ; 
whereas,  if  each  of  us  forced  himself  to  make  his  neighbour  sensible 
when  he  did  wrong,  he  would  both  benefit  another,  and,  through  God's 
blessing,  would  bind  himself  also  to  a  more  consistent  profession.  Who 
can  say  how  much  harm  is  done  by  thus  countenancing  the  imperfec- 
tions of  ovir  friends  and  equals  ?  The  standard  of  Christian  morals  is 
lowered  ;  the  service  of  God  is  mixed  up  with  devotion  to  Mammon ; 
and  thus  society  is  constantly  tending  to  a  heathen  state.  And  this 
culpable  toleration  of  vice  is  sanctioned  by  the  manners  of  the  present 
age,  which  seems  to  consider  it  a  mark  of  good  breeding  not  to  be  so- 
licitous «l)out  the  faith  or  conduct  of  those  around  us,  as  if  their  private 
views  and  habits  wore  nothing  to  us;  which  would  hcive  more  pretence 
of  truth  in  it,  were  they  merely  our  fellow-crealures,  but  is  evidently 
false  in  the  case  of  those  who  all  the  Avhile  profess  to  be  Christians,  who 
imagine  that  they  gain  the  privileges  of  the  Gosj)el  by  their  profession, 
wliile  they  bring  scandal  on  it  by  their  lives. 

Now,  if  it  be  asked,  what  rules  can  be  given  for  rebuking  vice  ? — I 
observe,  that,  as  on  the  one  hand  to  perform  the  office  of  a  censor  re- 


XXIV.]  REBUKING  SIN.  381 

quires  a  maturity  and  consistency  of  principle  seen  and  acknowledged, 
so  is  it  also  the  necessary  result  of  possessing  it.  They  who  reprove 
with  the  greatest  propriety,  from  their  weight  of  character,  are  gene- 
rally the  very  men  who  are  also  best  qualified  for  reproving.  To  re- 
buke well  is  a  gift  which  grows  with  the  need  of  exercising  it.  Not 
that  any  one  will  gain  it  without  an  eflbrt  on  his  part ;  he  must  over- 
come false  shame,  timidity,  and  undue  delicacy,  and  learn  to  be  prompt 
and  collected  in  withstanding  evil ;  but  after  all,  his  mode  of  doing  it 
will  depend  mainly  on  his  general  character.  The  more  his  habitual 
temper  is  formed  after  the  law  of  Christ,  the  more  discreet,  unexcep- 
tionable, and  graceful  will  be  his  censures,  the  more  difficult  to  escape 
or  to  resist. 

What  I  mean  is  this  :  cultivate  in  your  general  deportment  a  cheer- 
ful, honest,  manly  temper ;  and  you  will  find  fault  well,  because  you 
will  do  so  in  a  natural  way.  Aim  at  viewing  all  things  in  a  plain  and 
candid  hght,  and  at  calling  them  by  their  right  names.  Be  frank,  do 
not  keep  your  notions  of  right  and  wrong  to  yourselves,  nor,  on  some 
conceit  that  the  world  is  too  bad  to  be  taught  the  Truth,  suffer  it  to  sin  in 
word  or  deed  without  rebuke.  Do  not  allow  friend  or  stranger  in  the 
familiar  intercourse  of  society  to  advance  false  opinions,  nor  shrink 
from  stating  your  own  ;  and  do  this  in  singleness  of  mind  and  love. 
Persons  are  to  be  found,  who  tell  their  neighbours  of  their  faults  in  a 
strangely  solemn  way,  with  a  great  parade,  as  if  they  were  doing  some- 
thing extraordinary  ;  and  such  men  not  only  offend  those  whom  they 
wish  to  set  right,  but  also  foster  in  themselves  a  spirit  of  self-compla- 
cency. Such  a  mode  of  finding  fault  is  inseparably  coaeected  with  a 
notion  that  they  themselves  are  far  better  than  the  parties  they  blame  ; 
whereas  the  single-hearted  Christian  will  find  fault,  not  austerely  or 
gloomily,  but  in  love ;  not  stifHy,  but  naturally,  gently,  and  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  just  as  he  would  tell  his  friend  of  some  obstacle  in  his 
path,  which  was  likely  to  throw  him  down,  but  without  any  absurd 
feeling  of  superiority  over  him,  because  he  was  able  to  do  so.  His  feel- 
ing is,  "  I  have  done  a  good  office  to  you,  and  you  must  in  turn  serve 
me."  And  though  his  advice  be  not  always  taken  as  he  meant  it,  yet 
he  will  not  dwell  on  the  pain  occasioned  to  himself  by  such  a  result  of 
his  interference  ;  being  conscious  that,  in  truth,  there  ever  is  much  to 
correct  in  his  mode  of  doing  his  duty,  knowing  that  his  intention  was 
good,  and  being  determined  anyhow  to  make  light  of  his  failure,  except 
so  far  as  to  be  more  cautious  in  future  against  even  the  appearance  of 
rudeness  or  intemperance  in  his  manner. 

These  are  a  few  suggestions  on  an  important  subject.  We  daily  in- 
fluence each  other  for  good  or  evil ;  let  us  not  be  the  occasion  of  mis- 


382  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

leading  others  by  our  silence,  when  we  ought  to  speak.  Recollect  St. 
Paul's  M  ords  : — "  Be  not  partaker  of  other  men's  sins :  keep  thyself 
pure."* 


SERMON    XXV. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PETER  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


LuKK  vii.  28. 


I  say  unto  you,  Among  those  that  arc  bom  of  women  there  is  not  a  greater  prophet 
than  John  the  Baptist ;  but  he  that  is  least  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  greater 
than  he. 

St.  Peter's  day  suitably  follows  the  day  of  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  for 
thus  we  have  a  striking  memento  as  the  text  suggests,  of  the  especial 
dignity  of  the  Christian  Ministry  over  all  previous  Ministries  which 
Almighty  God  has  appointed.  St.  John  was  "  much  more  than  a  Pro- 
phet ;"  he  was  as  great  as  any  messenger  of  God  that  had  ever  been 
born  ;  yet  the  least  in  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,  the  least  of  Christ's 
Ministers,  was  greater  than  he.  And  this,  I  observe,  is  a  reflection  espe- 
cially fitted  for  this  Festival,  because  the  Apostle  Peter  is  taken  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  Gospel,  as  the  appropriate  type  and  representative  of 
the  Christian  ministry .f 

Now,  let  us  consider  in  what  the  peculiar  dignity  of  the  Christian 
Minister  consists.  Evidently  in  this,  that  he  is  the  representative  of 
Christ ;  for,  as  Christ  is  infinitely  above  all  other  messengers  from  God, 
he  who  stands  in  His  stead,  must  be  superior  beyond  compare,  to  all 
Ministers  of  religion,  whether  Prophets,  Priests,  Lawgivers,  Judges,  or 
Kings,  whom  Almighty  God  ever  commissioned.  Moses,  Aaron,  Sam- 
uel, and  David,  were  .shadows  of  the  Saviour  ;  but  the  Minister  of  the 
Gospel  is  His  present  sjibstitute.  As  a  type  or  prophecy  of  Grace  is 
less  than  a  pledge  and  means,  as  a  Jewish  sacrifice  is  less  than  a  Gos- 
pel sacrament,  so  are  Moses  and  Elias  less   by  oflice  than  the  repre- 

»  1  Tim.  V.  22.     t  Vide  Matt.  XTi.  18,  19.   Luke  ixii.  29,  30.   John  xxL  15—17. 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  383 

sentatives  of  Christ.  This  I  consider  to  be  evident,  as  soon  as  stated  ; 
the  only  question  being,  whether  there  is  reason  for  thinking,  that 
Christ  has,  in  matter  of  fact,  left  representatives  behind  Him  ;  and 
this,  I  proceed  to  show,  Scripture  enables  us  to  determine  in  the  affir- 
mative. 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  as  we  all  know,  Christ  chose  twelve  out  of 
His  disciples,  whom  He  called  Apostles,  to  be  His  representatives  even 
during  His  own  ministry.  And  He  gave  them  the  power  of  doing  the 
wonderful  works  which  He  did  Himself  Of  course  I  do  not  say  He 
gave  them  equal  power ;  (God  forbid !)  but  He  gave  them  a  certain 
sufficient  portion  of  His  power.  "  He  gave  them  power,"  says  St. 
Luke,  "  and  authority  over  all  devils,  and  to  cure  diseases  ;  and  He  sent 
them  to  preach  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  to  heal  the  sick."*  And  He 
expressly  made  them  His  substitutes  to  the  world  at  large  ;  so  that  to 
receive  them  was  to  receive  Himself.  "  He  that  recciveth  you,  re- 
ceiveth  Me."f  Such  was  their  principal  power  before  His  passion, 
similar  to  that  which  He  principally  exercised,  viz.  the  commission  to 
preach  and  to  perform  bodily  cures.  But  when  He  had  wrought  out 
the  Atonement  for  human  sin  upon  the  Cross,  and  purchased  for  man 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  then  He  gave  them  a  higher  commission  ; 
and  still,  be  it  observed,  parallel  to  that  which  He  Himself  then  assum- 
ed. "  As  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when 
He  had  said  this,  He  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost.  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted 
unto  them  ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained.":}:  Here 
then  the  Apostles  became  Christ's  representatives  in  the  power  of  His 
Spirit,  for  the  remission  of  sins,  as  before  they  were  His  representa- 
tives as  regards  miraculous  cures,  and  preaching  His  Kingdom. 

The  following  texts  supply  additional  evidence  tliat  the  Apostles 
were  commissioned  in  Christ's  stead,  and  inform  us  likewise  in  detail 
of  some  of  the  particular  oftices  included  in  their  commission.  "  Let 
a  man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  the  Ministers  of  Christ,  and  Stewards 
of  the  Mysteries  of  God."  "  Ye  received  me  as  an  AngeV  or  heaven- 
ly Messenger  "  of  God,  even  as  Christ  Jesus."  '*  We  are  Ambassa- 
dors for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us  ;  we  pray  you 
in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."§ 

The  Apostles  then,  standing  in  Christ's  place,  were  consequently  ex- 
alted by  office  far  above  any  divine  Messengers  before  them.  We 
come  to  the  same  conclusion  from  considering  the  sacred  treasures 
committed  to  their  custody,  which  (not   to  mention   their  miraculous 

*  Luke  ix.  1.2.  t  Matt.  i.  40.  J  John  xx.  21— 23. 

§  1  Cor.  iv.  1.    Gal.  iv.  14.    2  Cor.  v.  20. 


384  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

powers,  which  is  beside  our  present  purpose,)  were  those  pecuUar  spi- 
ritual  blessings  whicli  flow  from  Christ  as  a  Saviour,  as  a  Prophet, 
Priest,  and  King. 

These  blessings  are  commonly  designated  in  Scripture  as  "  the  Spi- 
rit," or  "  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  John  the  Baptist  said  of  himself 
and  Christ  ;  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance  ;  but  He 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire."*  In  this  respect, 
Christ's  Ministrations  were  above  all  that  had  ever  been  before  Him,  in 
bringing  with  them  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  one  gift,  one,  yet 
multiform,  sevenfold  in  its  operation,  in  which  all  spiritual  blessedness 
is  included.  Accordingly,  our  Lord  was  solemnly  anointed  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  Himself,  as  an  initiation  into  His  Ministerial  ofiice.  He 
was  manifested  as  receiving,  that  He  might  be  believed  on  as  giving. 
He  was  thus  commissioned,  according  to  the  Prophet,  "  to  preach  good 
tidings,"  "  to  bind  up,"  *'  to  give  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning."  There- 
fore, in  like  manner,  the  Apostles  also  were  anointed  with  the  same 
heavenly  gift  for  the  same  Ministerial  office.  "  He  breathed  on  them, 
and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  Such  as  was  the 
consecration  of  the  Master,  such  was  that  of  the  Disciples  ;  and  such  as 
His,  were  the  offices  to  which  they  were  thereby  admitted. 

Christ  is  a  Prophet,  as  authoritatively  revealing  the  will  of  God  and 
the  Gospel  of  grace.  So  also  were  the  Apostles  ;  "  He  that  heareth 
you,  heareth  Me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  Me  ;  and  he 
that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him  that  sent  Me  ;"  "  He  that  despiseth, 
despiseth  not  man,  but  God,  who  Jiath  also  given  unto  us  His  Holy 
Spirit."! 

Christ  is  a  Priest,  as  forgiving  sin,  and  imparting  other  needful  divine 
gifts.  The  Apostles,  too,  had  this  power  ;  "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit, 
they  arc  remitted  unto  them  ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are 
retained."  "  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  as  .  .  .  Stewards  of  the  Mys- 
teries of  God." 

Christ  is  a  King,  as  ruling  the  Church ;  and  the  Apostles  rule  it  in 
His  stead.  "  I  appoint  unto  you  a  Kingdom,  as  My  Father  hath  ap- 
pointed unto  Me ;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  My  table  in  My  King- 
dom, and  sit  on  thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. "| 

The  gift,  or  office  cannot  bo  named,  which  belongs  to  our  Lord  as 
the  (/hrist,  which  He  did  not  in  its  degree  transfer  to  His  Apostles  by 
the  communication  of  that  Spirit  through  which  He  Himself  wrought ; 
one  of  course  excepted,  the  One  great  work,  which  none  else  in  the 
whole  world  could  sustain,  of  being  the  Atoning  Sacrifice  for  all  man- 

»  Matt.  ill.  11.        t  Luke  x.  16.    1  Thcss.  iv.  8.         t  Luke  xii.  29,  30. 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  385 

kind.  So  far  no  one  can  take  His  place,  and  "  His  glory  He  does  not 
give  to  another."  His  death  upon  the  cross  is  the  sole  Meritorious 
Cause,  the  sole  Source  of  spiritual  blessing  to  our  guilty  race  ;  but  as 
to  those  offices  and  gifts,  which  flow  from  this  Atonement,  preaching, 
teaching,  reconciling,  absolving,  censuring,  dispensing  grace,  ruling, 
ordaining,  these  all  are  included  in  the  Apostolic  Commission,  which  is 
instrumertal  and  representative  in  His  absence.  ''As  My  Father  hath 
sent  Me,  so  send  I  you."  His  gifts  are  not  confined  to  Himself  "  The 
whole  house  is  filled  with  the  odour  of  the  ointment." 

This  being  granted,  however,  as  regards  the  Apostles  themselves, 
some  one  may  be  disposed  to  inquire,  whether  their  triple  office  has  de- 
scended to  Christian  Ministers  after  them.  I  say  their  triple  office, 
for  few  persons  will  deny  that  some  portion  of  their  commission  still 
remains  among  us.  The  notion  that  there  is  no  divine  appointment  of 
one  man  above  another  for  Ministerial  duties  is  not  a  common  one,  and 
we  need  not  refute  it.  But  it  is  very  common  for  men  to  believe  only 
so  far  as  they  can  see  and  understand  ;  and,  because  they  are  witnesses 
of  the  process  and  effects  of  instructing  and  ruling,  and  not  of  (what 
may  be  called)  "  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,"  to  accept  Christ's 
Ministers  as  representatives  of  His  Prophetic  and  Regal,  not  of  His 
Priestly  authority.  Assuming  then  their  claim  to  inherit  two  portions 
of  His  Anointing,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  question  of  their  pos- 
sessing the  third  likewise :  not  however  with  a  view  of  proving  it,  but 
rather  of  removing  such  antecedent  difficulties  as  are  likely  to  preju- 
dice the  mind  against  it. 

By  a  Priest,  in  a  Christian  sense,  is  meant  an  appointed  channel  by 
which  the  peculiar  Gospel  blessings  are  conveyed  to  mankind,  one  who 
has  power  to  apply  to  individuals  those  gifts  which  Christ  has  promised 
us  generally  as  the  fruit  of  His  mediation.  This  power  was  possessed 
by  the  Apostles  ;  I  am  now  to  show  that  it  is  possessed  by  their  Suc- 
cessors likewise. 

1.  Now,  first,  that  there  is  a  strong  line  of  distinction  between  the 
Apostles  and  other  Christian  Ministers,  I  readily  grant ;  nay,  rather  I 
would  maintain  it  to  be  so  clearly  marked  that  there  is  no  possibility 
of  confusing  together  those  respects  in  which  they  resemble  with  those 
in  which  they  differ  from  their  brethren.  The  Apostles  were,  not  only 
Ministers  of  Christ,  but  first  founders  of  His  Church  ;  and  their  gifts 
and  offices,  so  far  forth  as  they  had  reference  to  this  part  of  their  com- 
mission, doubtless  were  but  occasional  and  extraordinary,  and  ended 
with  themselves.  Thev  were  organs  of  Revelation,  inspired  Teachers, 
in  some  respects  infallible,  gifted  with  divers  tongues,  workers  of  mira- 
cles ;  and  none  but  they  are  such.  The  duration  of  any  gift  depends 
Vol.  I. — 25 


3S6  ST.  PETER.  [SER^f„ 

upon  the  need  which  it  supplies  ;  that  which  has  answered  its  purpose 
ends,  that  which  is  still  necessary  is  graciously  continued.  Such  at 
least  seems  to  be  the  rule  of  a  Merciful  Providence.  Therefore  it  is, 
that  the  Christian  Ministry  still  includes  in  it  the  office  of  teaching,  for 
education  is  necessary  for  every  soul  born  into  the  world  ;  and  the 
office  of  governing,  for  "  decency  and  order"  are  still  necessary  for  the 
quiet  and  union  of  the  Christian  brotherhood.  And,  for  the  same  rea- 
son, it  is  natural  at  first  sight  to  suppose,  that  the  office  of  applying  the 
gifts  of  grace  should  be  continued  also,  while  there  is  guilt  to  be  washed 
away,  sinners  to  be  reconciled,  believers  to  be  strengthened,  matured, 
comforted.  What  warrant  have  we  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  for 
making  any  distinction  betv/een  the  ministry  of  teaching  and  the  minis- 
try of  reconciliation  ?  if  one  is  still  committed  to  us,  why  not  the 
other  also  ? 

And  it  will  be  observed,  that  the  only  real  antecedent  difficulty  which 
attaches  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Christian  Priesthood,  is  obviated  by 
Scripture  itself.  It  might  be  thought  that  the  pov/er  of  remitting  and 
retaining  sins  was  too  great  to  be  given  to  sinful  man  over  his  fellows ; 
but  in  matter  of  fact  it  was  committed  to  the  Apostles  without  restric- 
tion, though  they  were  not  infallible  in  what  they  did.  "  Whosesoever 
sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them ;  and  zchosesoever  sins  ye 
retain,  they  are  retained."  The  grant  was  in  the  very  form  of  it  un- 
conditional, and  left  to  their  Christian  discretion.  What  has  once  been 
given,  may  be  continued.  I  consider  this  remark  to  be  of  weight  in  a 
case  like  the  present,  where  the  very  nature  of  the  professed  gift  is  the 
only  considerable  reason  against  the  fact  of  its  bestowal. 

2.  But  all  this  is  on  the  bare  antecedent  vicAv  of  the  case.  In  fact, 
our  Lord  himself  has  decided  the  question,  by  declaring  that  His  pre- 
sence, by  means  of  His  Apostles,  should  be  with  the  Church  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  He  promised  this  on  the  solemn  occasion  of  His  leaving 
them  ;  He  declared  it  when  He  bade  them  make  converts,  baptize,  and 
teach.  As  Avell  may  we  doubt  v/hether  it  is  our  duty  to  preach  and 
proselyte,  and  prepare  men  for  Heaven,  as  that  His  Apostolic  Presence 
is  with  us  for  those  purposes.  His  words  then  at  first  sight  even  go  to 
include  all  the  gifts  vouchsafed  to  His  first  Ministers  ;  far  from  having 
a  scanty  grant  of  them,  so  large  is  the  promise,  that  we  are  obliged  tc 
find  out  reasons  to  justify  us  in  considering  the  Successors  of  the  Apos- 
tles in  any  respects  less  favoured  than  themselves.  Such  reasons  wo 
know  are  to  be  found,  and  lead  us  to  distinguish  the  extraordinary  gifts 
from  the  ordinary,  a  distinction  which  the  event  justifies ;  but  what  is 
there  either  in  Scripture  or  in  Church  History  to  make  us  place  the 
commission  of  reconciliation  among  those  which  are  extraordinary  ? 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  397 

3.  In  the  next  place,  it  is  deserving  of  notice  that  tliis  distinction 
between  ordinary'  and  extraordinary  gifts,  is  really  made  in  Scripture 
itself,  and  that  among  the  extraordinary  there  is  no  mention  made  of 
the  sacerdotal  power.  No  one  can  doubt,  that  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
the  formal  inauguration  of  the  Apostles  took  place  into  their  high  and 
singular  office  of  building  the  Church  of  Christ.  They  were  "  wise 
Master-builders,  according  to  the  grace  given  them  ;"  and  that  grace 
was  extraordinary.  However,  among  those  gifts,  "  tongues  and  visions, 
prophecies  and  wonders,"  their  priestly  power  is  not  enumerated.  On 
the  contrary,  that  power  had  been  previously  conferred,  according  to 
the  passage  already  cited,  when  Christ  breathed  on  them,  and  gave 
them,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  authority  to  remit  and  retain  sins.* 


*  The  following  passage  supplies  a  corroboration  of  the  above  argument,  and  car- 
ries it  on  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostolical  Succession  : — "  The  very  first  act  of  the 
'     Apostles,  after  Clirist  was  gone  out  of  tlieir  sight,  was  the  ordination  of  Matthias  in 
'     the  room  of  the   traitor  Judas.     That  ordination  is  related  very  minutely.     Every 
i    particular  of  it  is  full  of  instruction  ;  but  at  present  I  wish  to  draw  attcHtion  to  one 
circumstance  more  especially  :  namely,  the  time  when  it  occurcd.     It  was  contrived 
(if  one  may  say  so)  exactly  to  fall   within  the  verij  short  interval  which  elapsed  be- 
tween the   departure  of  our  Lord  and  the  arrival  of  the  Comforter  in  His  place  :  on 
'    that  '  little  while,'  during  which  the  Church  was  comparatively  left  alone  in  the 
world.     Then  it  was  that  St.  Peter  rose  and  declared  with  authority,  that  the  time 
!    was  come  for  supplying  the  vacancy  which  Judas  had  made.     '  One,'  said  he, '  must 
be  ordained  ;'  and  without  delay  they  proceeded  to  the  ordination.     Of  course,  St. 
Peter  must  have  had  from   om-  Lord   express  authority  for   this  step.     Otherwise  it 
would   seem   most  natural   to  defer   a  transaction   so  important   until  the  unerring 
Guide,  the   Holy  Ghost,  should  have  come  among  them,  as  they  knew  He  would  hi 
a  few  days.     On  the  other  hand,  since  the  Apostles  were  eminently  Apostles  of  our 
Incarnate  Lord,  since  their  very  being,  as  Apostles,  depended  entirely  on  their  per- 
sonal mission  from  Him,  (which  is  tlie  reason  why  catalogue*  arc  given  of  them,  with 
such  scrupulous  care,  in  many  of  the  holy  books)  :  in  that  regard  one  should  natur- 
I  ally  have   expected  tiiat   He  Himself  before  His  departure  would  have  supplied  the 
[  vacancy  by  personal  designation.     But  we  see  it  was  not  His  pleasure  to  do  so.     As 
I  the  Apostles   afterwards  brought  on  the  ordination  sooner,  so  He  had  deferred  it 
longer  than  might  have  been  expected.     Both   ways  it  should  seem  as  if  there  were 
a  purpose  of  bringing  the  event  within  those  ten  days,  during  which,  as  I  said,  the 
church  icas  left  to  herself;  left  to  exercise  her  faith  and  hope,  much  as  Christians 
i  are  left  now,  without  any  7n{raculous  aid  or  extraordinary  illumination  from  above. 
;  Then,  at  that  moment  of  the  New  Testament  history,  in  which  the  circumstances  of 
believers  corresponded  most  nearly  to  what  they  had  been  since  miracles  and  inspi- 
ration ceased, — just  at  tliat  time  it  pleased  our  Lord  that  a  fresh  Apostle  should  be 
consecrated,  with  authority  and  commission  as  ample  as  the  former  enjoyed.     In  a 
iword,  it  was  His  will  that  the  eleven  Disciples  alone,  not  Himself  personally,  should 
jname  the  successor  of  Judas  ;  and  that  they  chose  the  right  person.  He  gave  testi- 
jmony  very  soon  after,  by  sending  His   Holy  Spirit  on  St.  JMatthias,  as  richly  as  on 
iSt.  John,  St.  James,  cr  St.  Peter." — Tracts  for  the  Times,  vol.  ii.  No.  52. 


388  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

And  further,  I  would  remind  you,  that  this  is  certainly  our  Church's 
deliberate  view  of  the  subject ;  for  she  expressly  puts  into  the  Bishop's 
mouth  at  ordination  the  very  words  here  used  by  our  Saviour  to  His 
Apostles.  "  Receive  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit, 
thev  are  remitted  to  them ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are 
retained;"  words,  which  it  were  inexpressibly  profane  for  man  to  use 
to  man,  except  by  a  plain  divine  commission  to  do  so. 

4.  But  again,  has  not  the  Gospel  Sacraments  ?  and  have  not  Sacra- 
ments,  as  pledges  and  means  of  grace,  a  priestly  nature  1  If  so,  the 
question  of  the  existence  of  a  Christian  Priesthood,  is  narrowed  at  once 
to  the  simple  question,  whether  or  not  it  is  probable  that  so  precious  an 
ordinance  as  a  channel  of  grace  would  be  committed  by  Providence  to 
the  custody  of  certain  guardians.  The  tendency  of  opinions  at  this 
day  is  to  believe  that  nothing  more  is  necessary  for  acceptance  than 
faith  in  God's  promise  of  mercy  ;  whereas  it  is  certain  from  Scripture, 
that  the  gift  of  reconciliation  is  not  conveyed  to  individuals  except 
through  appointed  ordinances.  Christ  has  interposed  a  something  be- 
tween Himself  and  the  soul ;  and  if  it  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
liberty  of  the  Gospel  that  a  Sacrament  should  interfere,  there  is  no 
antecedent  inconsistency  in  a  keeper  of  the  Sacrament  attending  upon 
it.  Moreover,  the  very  circumstance  that  a  standing  Ministry  has 
existed  from  the  first,  leads  on  to  the  inference  that  that  Ministry  was 
intended  to  take  charge  of  the  Sacraments ;  and  thus  the  facts  of  the 
case  suggest  an  interpretation  of  our  Lord's  words,  when  He  committed 
to  St.  Peter  "  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

I  would  have  this  Scripture  truth  considered  attentively ;  viz.  that 
Sacraments  are  the  channels  of  the  peculiar  Christian  privileges,  and 
not  merely  (as  many  men  think,  and  as  the  rite  of  Confirmation  really 
is,)  seals  of  the  covenant.  A  man  may  object  indeed,  that  in  St.  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  nothing  is  said  about  channels  and  instruments ; 
that  faith  is  represented  as  the  sole  medium  of  justification.  But  I  will 
refer  him  by  way  of  reply,  to  the  same  Apostle's  speech  to  Festus  and 
Agrippa,  where  he  describes  Christ  as  saying  to  him  on  his  miraculous 
conversion,  "  Rise  and  stand  upon  thy  feet ;  for  I  have  appeared  unto 
thee  for  this  purpose,  to  make  thee  a  Minister  and  a  Witness,"  sending 
him  forth,  as  it  might  appear,  to  preach  the  Gospel,  without  instrumen- 
tality of  Ordinance  or  Minister.  Had  we  but  this  account  of  his  con- 
version, who  would  not  have  supposed,  that  he  who  was  "  to  open  men'.s 
eyes,  and  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,''  had  been  pardoned  and 
accepted  at  once  upon  his  faith,  without  rite  or  form?  Yet  from  other 
parts  of  the  history,  we  learn  what  is  here  omitted,  viz.  that  an  especial 
revelation  was  made  to  Ananias,  lest  Saul  should  go  without  baptism ; 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  389 

and  that,  so  far  from  his  being  justified  immediately  on  his  faith,  he 
was  bid  not  to  tarry,  but  "  to  arise  and  be  baptized,  and  to  wash  away 
Ms  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord."*  So  dangerous  is  it  to 
attempt  to  prove  a  negative  from  insulated  passages  of  Scripture. 

Here  then  we  have  a  clear  instance  in  St.  Paul's  own  case,  that 
there  are  priestly  Services  between  the  soul  and  God,  even  under  the 
Gospel ;  that  though  Christ  has  purchased  inestimable  blessings  for 
our  race,  yet  that  it  is  still  necessary  ever  to  apply  them  to  individuals 
by  visible  means ;  and  if  so,  I  confess,  that  to  me  at  least  it  seems  more 
likely  antecedently,  that  such  services  should  have,  than  that  they 
should  lack,  an  appropriate  minister.  But  here  again  we  are  not  left 
to  mere  conjecture,  as  I  proceed  to  show. 

6.  You  well  know  that  the  benefits  of  the  Atonement  are  frequently 
represented  in  Scripture  under  the  figure  of  spiritual  food,  bread  from 
heaven,  the  water  that  never  faileth,  and  in  more  sacred  language,  as 
the  communion  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Divine  Sacrifice.  Now, 
this  special  Christian  benefit  is  there  connected,  as  on  the  one  hand 
with  an  outward  rite,  so  on  the  other  with  certain  appointed  Dispen- 
sers. So  that  the  very  context  of  Scripture  leads  us  on  from  the 
notion  of  a  priestly  service  to  that  of  a  priesthood. 

"  Who  then  is  that  faithful  and  wise  Steward,''  says  Christ,  "whom 
his  Lord  shall  make  ruler  over  His  household,  to  give  them  their  portion  of 
food  in  due  season  ?  Blessed  is  that  servant  whom  his  Lord,  when  he 
Cometh,  shall  find  so  doing. "|  Now,  I  infer  from  this  passage  ;  first, 
that  there  are,  under  the  Gospel,  especial  Dispenser  j  of  the  Christian's 
spiritual  food,  in  other  words  (if  the  word  "  food":}:  may  be  interpreted 
from  the  parallel  of  the  sixth  chapter  of  John,)  Dispensers  of  invisible 
grace,  or  Priests ; — next,  that  they  are  to  continue  to  the  Church  in 
every  age  till  the  end.  for  it  is  said  "  Blessed  is  he,  whom  his  Lord, 
when  He  cometh,  shall  find  so  doing  ;" — further,  that  the  Minister 
mentioned  is  also  "  Ruler  over  His  household,"  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Apostles,  uniting  the  Regal  with  the  Sacerdotal  office  ; — lastly,  the 
word  "  Steward,"  which  incidentally  occurs  in  the  passage,  a  title 
applied  by  St.  Paul  to  the  Apostles,  affords  an  additional  reason  for 
supposing  that  other  like  titles,  such  as  "Ambassadors  of  Christ,'* 
given  to  the  Apostles,  do  also  belong  in  a  true  and  sufficient  sense  to 
their  Successors. 

6.  These  considerations  in  favour  of  the  existence  of  a  Christian 
Priesthood,  are  strengthened  by  observing  that  the  office  of  intercession, 

»  Acts  xxvi.  16—18  ;  xxii.  16 ;  ix.  17.     Vide  also  xiii.  2,  3. 
t  Luke  xii.  42.  j.  (riTo^uiTg/ov. 


390  ST.   PETER.  [Serm. 

which  though  not  a  pecuHarity,  is  ever  characteristic  of  the  Priestly 
Order,  is  spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  a  sort  of  prerogative  of  the  Gospel 
Ministry.  For  instance,  Isaiah,  speaking  of  Christian  times,  says,  "I 
have  set  watchmen  upon  thy  walls,  O  Jerusalem,  which  shall  never  hold 
their  peace  day  nor  night.  Ye  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord,  keep 
not  silence  ;  and  give  him  no  rest,  till  He  establish,  and  till  He  make 
Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth."*  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we 
lind  Christ's  ministers  engaged  in  this  sacred  service,  according  to  the 
prophecy.  "  There  were  in  the  Church  that  was  at  Antioch  certain 
prophets  and  teachers,  as  Barnabas,  and  Simeon  called  Niger,  and 
Lucius  of  Cyrene,  and  Manaen,  foster-brother  to  Herod  the  Tetrarch, 
and  Saul.  As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,"t  the  Holy 
Ghost  separated  tv/o  of  them  for  His  work.  This  "  ministering  "  to 
the  Lord  with  fasting  was  surely  some  solemn  intercessory  service. 
And  this  agrees  with  a  passage  in  St.  James's  Epistle,  which  seems  to 
invest  the  Elders  of  the  Church  with  this  same  privilege  of  the  priest- 
hood. "  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?  Let  him  call  for  the  Elders  of  the 
Church,  and  Jet  them  pray  over  him,  (not  pray  with  him  merely,)  anoint- 
ing him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  jirayer  of  faith  {not 
the  oil  merely,)  shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up." 
In  like  manner  St,  Paul  speaks  of  Epaphras  as  "  our  dear  fellow-ser- 
vant, v.ho  Mi  for  you,"  that  is,  for  the  Colossians  to  whom  he  is  writing, 
*' a  faithful  minister  of  Christ."  Presently  he  explains  what  was  the 
.service  which  Epaphras  did  for  them  :  "  always  labouring  fervently  for 
you  in  prayer,  that  ye  may  stand  perfect  and  complete  in  all  the  will 
of  God.".t 

7.  We  may  end  these  remarks  by  recurring  to  the  instances  of  St. 
Peter  and  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  who,  as  types  of  God's  ordained  ser- 
vants, before  and  after  His  Son's  coming,  may  serve  to  explain  the 
office  of  ordinary  Christian  Ministers.  Even  the  lowest  of  them  is 
"  greater  tlian  John."  Now,  what  was  it  that  he  wanted  ?  Was  it  the 
knowledge  of  Gospel  doctrine  ?  No  surely  ;  no  words  can  be  clearer 
than  his  concerning  the  New  Covenant.  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
which  takcth  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  "  He  that  cometh  from 
above,  is  above  all.  ...  He  whom  God  hath  sent  speakcth  the  words 
of  God,  for  God  giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  Him.  The 
Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all  things  into  His  hand.  He 
that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life,  and  he  that  believcth 
not   the  Son  sliall   not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  him."§ 

»  Is.  Ixii.  6,  7.  t  Acts  xiii.  1,2. 

t  James  V.  14,  15.    Col.  i.  7.  iv.  12.  §  John  i.  29.  iii.  31— 3G. 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  391 

Therefore,  the  Baptist  lacked  not  the  full  Christian  doctrine  ;  what  he 
did  lack,  was  (as  he  says  himself)  the  Baptism  of  ihe  Spirit,  conveying 
a  commission  from  Christ  the  Saviour,  in  all  His  manifold  gifts,  ordi- 
nary and  extraordinary ,  Regal  and  Sacerdotal.  John  was  not  inferior 
to  us  Gospel  Ministers  in  knowledge,  but  in  power. 

On  the  other  hand,  if,  as  I  have  made  appear,  St.  Peter's  ministerial 
office  continues  as  regards  ordinary  purposos,  in  the  persons  of  those 
who  come  after  him,  we  are  bound  to  understand  our  Lord's  blessing, 
pronounced  in  the  first  instance  upon  him,  as  descending  in  due  meas- 
ure on  the  least  of  us  His  Ministers  who  "  keep  the  faith,"  Peter  being 
but  the  representative  and  type  of  them  all.  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon 
Barjona  ;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  My 
Father,  which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  also  unto  thee  that  thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  ;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth,  shall 
be  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth,  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven."  August  and  glorious  promise  !  Can  it  be,  that  it 
is  all  expended  on  St.  Peter,  how  great  soever  that  noble  Apostle  ?  Is 
it  inserted  in  the  "  everlasting  Gospel,"  to  witness  merely  of  one  long 
since  departed  ?  Is  it  the  practice  of  the  inspired  word  to  exalt  indi- 
viduals ?  Does  not  the  very  exuberance  of  the  blessing  resist  any  such 
niggardly  use  of  it  ?  Does  it  not  flow  over  in  spite  of  us,  till  our  unbe- 
lief is  vanquished  by  the  graciousness  of  Him  who  spoke  it?  Is  it,  in 
short,  any  thing  but  the  prejudices  of  education,  which  prevent  so  many 
of  us  from  receiving  it  in  that  fulness  of  grace  in  which  it  is  poured  out  ? 

I  say  our  prejudices, — for  these  surely  are  the  cause  of  our  inconsist- 
ency in  faith  ;  adopting,  as  we  do,  a  rule  of  Scripture  interpretation, 
which  carries  us  a  certain  way,  and  stops  short  of  the  whole  counsel  of 
God,  and  should  teach  us  nothing,  or  a  great  deal  more.  If  the  promi- 
ses to  Christ's  Apostles  are  not  fulfilled  in  the  Church  for  ever  after, 
why  should  the  blessing  attaching  to  the  Sacraments  extend  after  the 
first  age  ?  Why  should  the  Lord's  Supper  be  now  the  Communion  of 
the  Lord's  Body  and  Blood  ?  AVhy  should  Baptism  convey  spiritual 
privileges  ?  Why  should  any  part  of  Scripture  afford  permanent  in- 
struction ?  AVhy  should  the  way  of  life  be  any  longer  narrow  ?  Why 
should  the  burden  of  the  Cross  be  necessary  for  every  disciple  of  Christ  ? 
Why  should  the  Spirit  of  adoption  any  longer  be  promised  us?  Why 
should  separation  from  the  world  be  now  a  duty  ?  Haj)py  indeed  it  is 
for  men  that  they  are  inconsistent  ;  for  then,  though  they  lose  some  part 
of  a  Christian's  faith,  at  least  they  keep  a  portion.  This  will  happen 
in  quiet  times,  and  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  of  mature  years,  and 


392  ST.  PETER.  [Skrm. 

whose  minds  have  been  long  made  up  on  the  subject  of  religion.  But 
should  a  time  of  controversy  arise,  then  such  inconsistencies  become  of 
fearful  moment  as  regards  the  multitude  called  Christian,  who  have  not 
any  decided  convictions  to  rest  upon.  Inconsistency  of  creed  is  sure 
to  attract  the  notice  of  the  intellect,  unless  habit  has  reconciled  the 
heart  to  it.  Therefore,  in  a  speculative  age,  such  as  our  own,  a  reli- 
gious educatioi^ which  involves  such  inconsistency,  is  most  dangerous, 
to  the  unformed  Christian,  who  will  set  straight  his  traditionary  creed 
by  unlearning  the  portion  of  truth  it  contains,  rather  than  by  adding 
that  in  which  it  is  deficient.  Hence,  the  lamentable  spectacle,  so  com- 
monly seen,  of  men,  who  deny  the  Apostolic  commission  proceeding  to 
degrade  the  Eucharist  from  a  Sacrament  to  a  bare  commemorative  rite  ; 
or  to  make  Baptism  such  a  mere  outward  form,  and  sign  of  profession, 
as  it  would  be  childish  or  fanciful  to  revere.  And  reasonably  ;  for  they 
who  think  it  superstitious  to  believe  that  particular  persons  are  channels 
of  grace,  are  but  consistent  in  denying  virtue  to  particular  ordinances. 
Nor  do  they  stop  even  here  ;  for  denying  the  grace  of  baptism,  they 
proceed  to  deny  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  for  which  that  grace  is  the 
remedy.*  Further  denying  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  they  necessa- 
rily impair  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  and  so  prepare  a  way  for  the 
denial  of  our  Lord's  divinity.  Again,  denying  the  power  of  the  Sacra- 
ments on  the  ground  of  its  mysteriousness,  demanding  from  the  very 
texts  of  Scripture  the  fullest  proof  of  it  conceivable,  and  thinking 
little  of  the  blessedness  of  "  Hot  seeing,  and  yet  beheving,"  they 
naturally  proceed  to  object  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  as  obstruct- 
ing and  obscuring  the  simplicity  (as  they  consider  it,)  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  but  indirectly  deducible  from  the  extant  documents  of  in- 
spiration. Lastly,  after  they  have  thus  divested  the  divine  remedies  of 
sin,  and  the  treatment  necessary  for  the  sinner,  of  their  solemnity  and 
awe,  having  made  the  whole  scheme  of  salvation  of  as  intelligible  and 
ordinary  a  character  as  the  repair  of  any  accident  in  the  works  of  man, 
having  robbed  Faith  of  its  mysteries,  the  Sacraments  of  their  virtue,  the 
Priesthood  of  its  commission,  no  wonder  that  sin  itself  is  soon  consid- 
ered a  venial  matter,  moral  evil  as  a  mere  imperfection,  man  as  involved 
in  no  great  peril  or  misery,  his  duties  of  no  very  arduous  or  anxious 
nature.  In  a  word,  religion,  as  such,  is  in  the  way  to  disappear  from 
the  mind  altogether ;  and  in  its  stead  a  mere  cold  worldly  morality,  a 
decent  regard  to  the  claims  of  society,  a  cultivation  of  the  benevolent 
affections,  and  a  gentleness  and  polish  of  external  deportment,  will  be 
supposed  to  constitute  the  entire  duties  of  that  being,  who  is  conceived' 

»  E.  g.  A  Dissenting  Catechism  has  lately  been  published  in  the  country  for  pop- 
ular use,  in  which  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  is  denied,  by  way  of  meeting  the  charge 
of  cruelty  towards  children,  as  involved  in  the  omission  of  infant  baptism. 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  393 

in  sin,  and  the  child  of  wrath,  is  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of  the 
Son  of  God,  is  born  again  and  sustained  by  the  Spirit  through  the  invi- 
sible strength  of  Sacraments,  and  called,  through  self-denial  and  sanc- 
tification  of  the  inward  man,  to  the  Eternal  Presence  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  Such  is  the  course  and  the  issue  of  unbelief, 
though  beginning  in  what  the  world  calls  trifles.  Beware  then,  O  my 
Brethren,  of  entering  a  way  which  leads  to  death.  Fear  to  question 
what  Scripture  says  of  the  Ministers  of  Christ,  lest  the  same  perverse 
spirit  lead  you  on  to  question  its  doctrine  about  Himself  and  his  Father. 
"  Little  children,  it  is  the  last  time  ;  and,  as  ye  have  heard  that  Anti- 
christ  shall  come,  even  now  are  there  many  Antichrists  .  .  .  They 
went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of  us."*  "  Ye  shall  know  them 
by  their  fruits."!  If  any  man  come  to  you,  bringing  any  scoff'  against 
the  power  of  Christ's  Ministers,  ask  him  what  he  holds  concerning  the 
Sacraments,  or  concerning  the  Blessed  Trinity  ;  look  narrowly  after  his 
belief  as  regards  the  Atonement,  or  Original  Sin.  Ascertain  whether 
he  holds  with  the  Church's  doctrine  in  these  points ;  see  to  it  whether 
at  very  best  he  does  not  try  to  evade  the  question,  has  recourse  to  ex- 
planations, or  professes  to  have  no  opinion  at  all  upon  it.  Look  to  these 
things,  that  you  may  see  whither  you  are  invited.  Be  not  robbed  of 
your  faith  blindfold.  Do  what  you  do  with  a  clear  understanding  of 
the  consequences.  And  if  the  arguments  which  he  uses  against  you 
tend  to  show  that  your  present  set  of  opinions  is  in  some  measure  in- 
consistent,  and  force  you  to  see  in  Scripture  more  than  you  do  at  pre- 
sent, or  else  less,  be  not  afraid  to  add  to  it,  rather  than  to  detract  from 
it.  Be  quite  sure  that,  go  as  far  as  you  may,  you  will  never,  through 
God's  grace  be  led  to  see  more  in  it  than  the  early  Christians  saw  ;  that, 
however  you  enlarge  your  creed,  you  will  but  carry  yourselves  on  to 
Apostolic  perfection,  equally  removed  from  the  extremes  of  presump- 
tion and  of  unbelief,  neither  intruding  into  things  not  seen  as  yet,  nor 
denying  what  you  cannot  see. 

»  1  John  ii.  18,  19.  i  Matt.  vii.  16. 


SERMON    XXVI 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JAMES,  THE  APOSTLE. 
HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY. 


Matt.  xx.  23. 


To  sit  on  ]\Iy  right  hand  and  on  My  left  is  not  Mine  to  give  ;  but  it  shall  be  given  to 
them  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  my  Father. 

In  these  words  to  which  the  Festival  of  St.  James  the  Greater  espe- 
cially directs  our  minds,  our  Lord  solemnly  declares  that  the  high  places 
of  His  Kingdom  are  not  His  to  give, — which  can  mean  nothing  else, 
than  that  the  assignment  of  them  does  not  simply  and  absolutely  de- 
pend upon  Him  ;  for  that  He  will  actually  dispense  them  at  the  last  day, 
and  moreover  is  the  meritorious  cause  of  any  being  given,  is  plain  from 
Scripture.  I  say,  He  avers  most  solemnly  that  something  besides  His 
own  will  and  choice  is  necessary,  for  obtaining  the  posts  of  honour  about 
His  throne ;  so  that  we  are  naturally  led  on  to  ask,  where  it  is  that  this 
awful  prerogative  is  lodged.  Is  it  with  His  Father  ?  He  proceeds  to 
speak  of  His  Father  ?  but  neither  does  He  assign  it  to  Him,  "  It  shall 
be  given  to  them  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  My  Father."  The  Father's 
foreknowledge  and  design  are  announced,  not  His  choice.  *'  Whom 
He  did  foreknow,  them  He  did  predestinate."  He  prepares  the  reward, 
and  confers  it,  but  upon  whom  ?  No  answer  is  given  us,  unless  it  is 
conveyed  in  the  words  which  follow, — upon  the  humble  : — "  Whosoever 
will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister,  and  whosoever  will 
be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant." 

Some  parallel  passages  may  throw  further  light  upon  the  question. 
In  the  description  our  Lord  gives  us  of  the  Last  Judgment,  He  tells  us 
He  shall  say  to  them  on  His  right  hand,  "  Come  ye  blessed  of  My 
Father,  inherit  the  Kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world."  Here  we  have  the  same  expression  ;  who  then  are  the 
heirs  for  whom  the  Kingdom  is  prepared  ?  He  tells  us  expressly,  those 
who  fed  the  hungry  and  thirsty,  lodged  the  stranger,  clothed  the  naked, 
visited  the  sick,  came  to  the  prisoners,  for  His  sake.     Consider  again  an 


Serm.   XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY,  395 

earlier  passage  in  the  same  chapter.  To  whom  is  it  that  He  will  say, 
•«'  Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  ?" — to  those  whom  He  can  praise 
AS  •'  good  and  faithful  servants,"  who  have  been  "  faithful  over  a  few 
things."  These  two  passages  tlien  carry  our  search  just  to  the  very 
same  point,  as  that  of  which  the  text  is  a  part.  They  lead  us  from  the 
thought  of  God  and  Christ,  and  throw  us  upon  human  agency  and  re- 
sponsibility, for  the  solution  of  the  question  ;  and  they  finally  lodge  us 
there,  unless  indeed  other  texts  of  Scripture  can  be  produced  to  lead  us 
on  further  still.  We  know  for  certain  that  they  for  whom  the  Kingdom 
is  prepared  are  the  humble,  the  charitable,  and  the  diligent  in  the  im- 
provement of  their  gifts ;  to  which  another  text  (for  instance,)  adds  the 
spiritually-minded  ;  "  Eye  hath  not  seen  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  Him."*  Is  this  as  far  as  we  can  go  ?  does 
it  now  depend  ultimately  on  ourselves,  or  on  any  one  else,  that  we  come 
to  be  humble,  charitable,  diligent,  and  lovers  of  God  ? 

Now,  in  answering  this  question  religious  men  have  for  many  centu- 
ries differed  in  opinion  ;  not  indeed  in  the  first  and  purest  ages  of  the 
Church,  but  when  corruptions  began  to  steal  in.  In  the  primitive  times 
it  was  always  considered  that,  though  God's  grace  was  absolutely  ne- 
cessary for  us  from  first  to  last, — before  we  believed,  in  order  to  our 
believing,  and  while  we  obeyed  and  worked  righteousness,  in  order  to 
our  obeying, — so  that  not  a  deed,  word  or  thought  could  be  pleasing  to 
Him  without  it ;  yet,  that  after  all  the  human  mind  had  also  from  first 
to  last  a  power  of  resisting  grace,  and  thus  (as  the  foregoing  texts  im- 
ply) had  committed  to  it  the  ultimate  determination  of  its  own  fate, 
whether  to  be  saved  or  rejected,  the  responsibility  of  its  conduct,  and, 
if  rejected,  the  whole  blame  of  it.  However,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century,  when  shadows  were  coming  over  the  Church,  a  celebrated 
Doctor  arose,  whose  name  must  ever  be  honoured  by  us,  for  his  num- 
berless gifts,  his  diligence,  and  his  extended  usefulness,  whatever  judg- 
ment may  be  passed  on  certain  of  his  opinions.  He  is  known  in  the 
Theological  Schools  as  the  first  to  have  given  some  sort  of  sanction  to  two 
'  doctrines  hitherto  unknown  in  the  Church,  and  apparently  far  removed 
'  from  each  other,  as  indeed  are  the  modern  Systems  in  which  they  are 
found.     The  one  is    the   Prcdestinarian    Hypothesis;!    viz.    that,    in 

i     »  Matt.  XXV.  21.  34—36.     1  Cor.  ii.  9. 

i  t "  When,  towards  the  close  of  his  controversy  with  the  Pelagians,  he  (Augustine) 
entfered  largely  and  systematically  into  his  own  peculiar  views  of  election  and  pre- 
destination, ...  it  was,  even  by  those  who  concurred  in  the  general  drift  of  his  pre- 
vious  anti-pelagian  treatises  .  .  .  objected  to  him  that  he  was  noto  superfluously 
advancing  a  scheme  of  doctrine  hitherto  unknovra  and  unheard  o*",  a  scheme  of  doc- 
trine  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  all   antecedent  fathers,  and  contrary  to  the   sense 


396  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

spite  of  the  text,  it  is  God  and  Christ  with  whom  the  ultimate  decision 
concerning  the  individual's  state  depends  ;  that  His  grace  does  not 
merely  suggest,  influence,  precede,  and  follow,  but  forms  in  the  soul 
a  new  character,  not  by  the  soul's  instrumentality,  but  immediately  by 
Himself,  and  is  effectual  with  some  not  with  others,  at  His  own  will, 
not  at  the  individual's.  The  one,  I  say,  is  this  Predestinarian  Doctrine  ; 
and  the  other  is  the  doctrine  of  Purgatory.*  With  this  latter  I  am  not 
now  concerned ;  and  mention  it  only  as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the 
same  Teacher,  highly  to  be  venerated  except  where  he  deviates  from 
Catholic  doctrine,  should  have  first  sanctioned  certain  characteristics  of 
two  Systems,  which  lie  on  either  side,  as  of  the  Primitive,  so  of  the 
present  Anglican  Church.  Dismissing  the  coincidence  with  this  re- 
mark, I  proceed  to  make  some  brief  observations  on  the  ground  of  ar- 
gument on  which  the  Predestinarian  Doctrine  rests. 

It  is  doubtless  a  great  mystery,  how  it  is  that  one  man  believes,  and 
another  rejects  the  Gospel.  It  is  altogether  a  mystery  ;  we  cannot  get 
at  all  beyond  the  fact,  and  must  be  content  with  our  ignorance.  But 
men  of  reasoning,  subtle,  and  restless  minds,  have  within  them  a  temp- 
tation to  inquisitiveness  ;  they  cannot  acquiesce  in  the  limits  of  God's 
revelation,  and  go  on  to  assume  a  cause  for  the  strange  things  they  see, 
when  they  are  not  told  one.  Thus  they  argue  that  a  man's  self  cannot 
be  the  ultimate  cause  of  his  faith  or  unbelief,  else  there  would  be  more 
first  causes  than  God  in  the  v»orld  :  as  if  the  same  reasoning  would  not 
show  that  God  is  the  Author  of  evil ;  or  as  if  it  were  more  intelligible, 
why  the  Divine  Will  should  choose  this  man  and  reject  that,  than  why 
an  individual  man  should  choose  or  reject  good  or  evil.  When  then 
they  see,  as  is  constantly  seen  in  life,  two  persons,  in  education  the  same, 

of  the  entire  Church  Catholic Augustine  was  charged  with  novelty.  .  .  But 

how  does  the  great  Bishop  of  Hippo  act  under  the  present  allegation  .  .  .  After  much 
superfluous  discussion,  and  (I  fear)  with  a  too  evident  reluctance  to  meddle  with  the 
appeal  to  antiquity,  [he]  claims  to  produce  exactly  three  witnesses  in  his  favour,, 
Cyprian,  to  wit,  and  Ambrose,  and  Gregory  of  Nazianzum  .  .  .  But  in  truth,  with 
the  scanty  exception  of  nine  words  written  by  Ambrose,  their  several  testimonies  are 
altogether  nugatory  and  irrelevant ;  so  that  in  point  of  historical  evidence,  as  afforded 
by  those  fathers  who  preceded  Augustine,  the  whole  mighty  fabric  of  .  .  .  Austinism, 
rests  upon  the  single  Ambrosian  sentence:  Deus,  quos  dignatur,  vocat;  ct  quern  Tult, 
religiosum  facit."— F«ifir'»  Trinitarianism,  vol.  i.  p.  x— xiii. 

*  Vide  Bull,  Sermon  iii.  p.  77.  Augustine  however  did  no  more  than  state  the 
doctrine  conjceturally.  "  The  first,"  says  Archbishop  Usher,  "  whom  we  find  di- 
rectly to  have  held,  tliat '  for  certain  light  faults  there  is  a  purgatory  fire,'  provided  1)0. 
fore  the  day  of  judgment,  was  (Gregory  the  First,  about  the  end  of  tlie  sixth  age  after 
the  birth  of  our  Saviour  Christ."  Answer  to  a  Jesuit,  ch.  6.  Nay,  as  Bishop  Tay- 
lor tells  us,  even  "  St.  Gregory  Pope  affirms  that  which  is  perfectly  inconsistent  witli 
the  whole  doctrine  of  Purgatory."    Dissuasive,  p.  2.  ii.  2. 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  397 

in  circumstances  the  same,  both  baptized,  both  admitted  to  full  Church 
privileges,  one  turning  out  well,  the  other  ill,  astonished  at  the  mystery, 
they  hastily  say,  "  Here  is  God's  secret  election  !  God  has  decreed 
life  to  one,  and  has  passed  over  the  other ;  else  why  this  difference  of 
conduct  ?"  when  they  should  bow  the  head,  and  wait  till  the  day  of  the 
revelation  of  all  secrets.  Again,  they  assume  that  the  will  is  subjected 
to  the  influence  of  the  reason,  affections,  and  the  like,  in  the  same  uni- 
form way  in  which  material  bodies  obey  the  laws  of  matter ; — that, 
certain  inducements  or  a  certain  knowledge  being  presented,  the  mind 
can  but  act  in  one  way  ;  so  that,  its  movements  varying,  on  a  given 
rule,  according  to  influences  from  without,  (whether  from  the  world  or 
from  God,)  every  one's  doom  must  be  determined,  either  by  the  mere 
chance  of  external  circumstances,  (which  is  irrational,)  or  else,  certainly 
by  the  determination  of  God.  Such  are  their  reasonings ;  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  they  should  trust  to  reasoning,  and  in  so  special  a  way, 
considering  they  are  commonly  the  men  who  speak  against  human 
reason  as  fallible  and  corrupt,  when  it  is  brought  to  oppose  their  opinions. 
Such  grounds  of  argument,  then,  we  may  dismiss  at  once,  except  in 
philosophical  discussions ;  certainly  when  we  speak  as  Christians. 

Next,  let  us  inquire  whether  there  be  any  Scripture  reason,  for  break- 
ing the  chain  of  doctrine  which  the  text  suggests.  Christ  gives  the 
Kingdom  to  those  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  the  Father ;  the  Father 
prepares  it  for  those  who  love  and  serve  Him.  Docs  Scripture  warrant 
us  in  reversing  this  order,  and  considering  that  any  are  chosen  to  love 
Him  by  His  irreversible  decree  ?  The  disputants  in  question  maintain 
that  it  does. 

1.  Scripture  is  supposed  expressly  to  promise  perseverance,  when 

men  once  savingly  partake  of  grace  ;  as  where  it  is  said,  "  He  which 

hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus 

Christ  ;"*  and  hence  it  is  inferred  that  the  salvation  of  the  individual 

rests  ultimately  with  God,  and  not  with  himself.      But  here  I  would 

object  in  the  outset  to  applying  to  individuals,  promises  and  declarations 

I   made  to  bodies,  and  of  a  general  nature.       The  question  in  debate  is, 

!   not  whether  God  carries  forward  bodies  of  men,  such  as  the  Christian 

j   Church,  to  salvation,  but  whether  He  has  accorded  any  promise  of  in- 

j   defectibility  to  given  individuals  ?     Those  who  differ  from  us  sav,  that 

!  individuals  are  absolutely  chosen  to  eternal  life  ;  let  them  then  reckon 

j  up  the  passages  in  Scripture  where  perseverance  is  promised  to  in<livid- 

I   uals.     Till  they  can  satisfy  this  demand,   they  have  done  nothing  by 

I  producing  such  a  text  as  that  just  cited ;  which,  being  spoken  of  the 

«  Phil.  i.  6. 


398  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm, 

body  of  Christians,  does  but  impart  that  same  kind  of  encouragement^ 
as  is  contained  in  other  general  declarations,  such  as  the  statement 
about  God's  willingness  to  save,  His  being  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  the 
like. 

But  let  us  suppose,  for  argument's  sake,  that  such  passages  may  be 
applied  to  individuals ;  for  instance,  as  when  Christ  says,  that  no  one 
"  shall  pluck  His  sheep  out  of  His  Father's  hand."  Now,  I  would 
maintain  that  here  a  condition  is  understood,  as  is  constantly  the  ca.se 
in  Scripture,  as  in  other  writings ;  viz.  that,  while  the  sheep  "  follow"' 
Christ,  and  keep  within  the  fold,  none  can  pluck  them  thence.  God 
proclaims  His  name  to  Moses,  as  "  forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgression, 
and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty  ;"*  but  what  would 
be  thought  of  a  commentator  who  hence  inferred  that  the  impenitent 
might  be  forgiven,  and  the  repenting  sinner  fail  of  pardon  ? 

Again,  '*  It  is  God  which  worketh  in  you  both  to  v/ill  and  to  do  of 
His  good  pleasure."!  What  is  this  but  a  declaration,  that  on  the  whole 
all  our  sanctification  is  from  first  to  last  God's  work  ?  how  does  it  inter- 
fere with  this,  to  say  that  we  may  effectually  resist  that  work  ?  Might 
it  not  truly  be  said  that  the  cure  of  a  sick  person  was  wholly  attributa- 
ble to  the  physician,  without  denying  that  the  former,  had  he  so  chosen, 
might  have  obstinately  rejected  the  medicine,  or  that  there  might  have 
been  (though  there  was  not,)  some  malignant  habit  of  body,  which  com- 
pletely baffled  the  medical  art?  Does  the  chance  of  failure  make  it 
less  the  physician's  work  when  there  is  not  failure  ? 

In  truth,  the  two  doctrines  of  the  sovereign  and  overruling  power  of 
divine  grace,  and  man's  power  of  resistance,  need  not  at  all  interfere 
with  each  other.  They  lie  in  different  provinces,  and  are  (as  it  were,) 
incommcnsurablcs.  Thus  St.  Paul  evidently  accounted  them  ;  else  he 
could  not  have  introduced  the  text  in  question  with  the  exhortation, 
"  Work  out "  or  accomplish  "  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling,/or  it  is  God  which  worketh  "  or  acts  "  in  you."  So  far  was  he 
from  thinking  man's  distinct  working  inconsistent  with  God's  continual 
aiding,  that  he  assigns  the  knowledge  of  the  latter  as  an  encouragement 
to  the  former.  Let  me  challenge  then  a  Predestinarian  to  paraphrase 
this  text.  AVe,  on  the  contrary,  find  no  insuperable  difficulty  in  it,  con- 
sidering it  to  enjoin  upon  us  a  deep  awe  and  reverence,  while  we  engage 
in  those  acts  and  cftbrts  which  are  to  secure  our  salvation,  from  the  be- 
lief that  God  is  in  us  and  with  us,  inspecting  and  succouring  our  every 
thought  and  deed.  Would  not  the  Jewish  High  Priest,  on  the  Great 
Day  of  Atonement,  when  going  through  his  several  acts  of  propitiation 

»  John  X.  28.     Exod.  xx.tiv.  7.  t  Phil.  ii.  12,  13. 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  399 

in  God's  presence,  without  and  within  the  Veil,  "  exceedingly  fear  and 
quake,"  lest  he  should  fail  in  aught  put  upon  him  ;  and  shall  not  we  in 
our  more  blessed  Covenant,  knowing  that  God  himself  is  within  us,  and 
in  all  we  do,  fear  the  more  from  the  thought,  that  after  all,  we  have  our 
own  part  in  the  work,  and  must  do  it  well,  if  we  are  to  be  saved  ? 
What,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  meaning  of  saying  with  the  Predestina- 
rian,  "  Work  anxiously,  because,  in  reality,  you  have  no  work  to  do  ?" 

I  say  this,  not  so  much  by  way  of  argument  against  him,  as  to  show 
that  a  text  which  might  be  adduced  in  his  behalf,  chances  (so  to  say)  to 
be  implicated  with  an  exhortation,  such  as  proves  that  it,  and  therefore 
similar  passages,  cannot  really  be  explained  as  he  would  have  it ;  proves, 
that  his  argument  from  it,  "  The  whole  work  of  salvation  is  of  God, 
therefore  man  has  no  real  part  in  securing  it,"  in  fact  runs  contrary  to 
the  Apostle's  own  argument  from  his  own  words,  "  Man  must  exert 
himself,  because  God  is  present  with  him."  It  is  quite  certain  that  a 
modern  Predestinarian  never  could  have  written  such  a  sentence. 

Another  instructive  passage  of  this  kind  is  our  Lord's  declaration, 
with  St.  John's  comment  upon  it,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  his  Gospel, 
*'  There  are  some  of  you  that  believe  not.  For  Jesus  hnew  from  the 
beginning vf\\o  they  were  that  believed  not,  and  who  should  betrav  Him. 
And  He  said.  Therefore,  said  I  unto  30U,  that  no  man  can  come  unto 
Me,  unless  it  were  given  unto  him  of  My  Father.^'  Here,  in  the  plain 
meaning  of  the  words,  God's  foreknowledge  of  the  issue  of  free  will  in 
individuals  is  made  compatible  (though  the  manner  how  is  not  told  us,) 
with  electing  grace.  "  Whom  He  did  foreknow.  He  also  did  predesti- 
nate." 

Take  again  another  passage.  "  I  obtained  mercy,  because  I  did  it 
ignorantly  ;"  "  I  obtained  mercy,  that  in  me  first  Jesus  Christ  miglit 
show  forth  all  long-suffering."*  It  appears  that  the  Apostle  saw  no  in- 
consistency in  preaching  that  no  sinner  can  claim  forgiveness,  yet  that 
those  who  are  less  guilty  than  others  obtain  it.  These  two  doctrines  do 
not  seem  to  have  come  into  collision  in  his  mind,  any  more  than  in  our 
own  ;  but  it  is  quite  plain  that  a  Predestinarian  never  would  have  in- 
troduced the  second  while  descanting  on  the  first. 

"Z.  In  the  next  place,  there  are  many  passages  of  the  followino-  kind, 
which  are  sometimes  taken  to  favour  the  Predestinarian  view,  and  re- 
quire explanation.  "  God  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  according  as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without 
blame  before  Him  in  love,  having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of 

»  John  vi.  64,  C5.     1  Tim.  i.  13.  16. 


400  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  Himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of 
His  will."  Here  certainly  an  election  is  spoken  of,  irrespective  of  the 
conduct  of  the  individuals  who  are  subjects  of  it.  Again,  "  By  grace 
are  ye  saved  through  faith  ;  and  that  salvation  not  of  yourselves,  it  is 
the  gift  of  God  :"*  and  the  like.  But  in  such  passages  let  it  be  ob- 
served, neither  heaven,  nor  the  grace  of  Sanctiflcation  is  spoken  of,  but 
the  present  privilege,  high  indeed  and  peculiar  to  the  Gospel,  but  only  a 
privilege,  of  regeneration.  This  great  Christian  gift  of  course  includes 
in  it  the  communication  of  a  sanctifying  grace  ;  but  such  a  grace  may 
be,  and  under  circumstances  has  been,  given  without  it.  The  Jews 
were  aided  by  the  Spirit  of  Sanctification,  not  of  Regeneration.  They 
were  not  the  sons  of  God,  as  we  are  ;  whereas  in  every  age  "the  just 
have  lived  by  faith,"  and  the  like  fruits  of  Sanctiflcation,  Now,  where 
are  we  told  that  this  Sanctifying  Grace  is  irrespective  of  the  free-will 
of  individuals  1  for  this  is  the  point.  On  the  other  hand,  we  readily 
grant  that  the  grace  of  Regeneration  is  such  ;  we  grant  that  it  is  all 
that  certain  teachers  would  consider  Sanctiflcation  to  be.  It  is  a  defl- 
nite  and  complete  gift  conveyed,  not  gradually,  but  at  once  ;  or  at  least 
it  has  not  more  than  a  second  degree,  in  the  rite  of  Confirmation, 
wherein  what  is  given  in  Baptism  is  sealed  and  secured  ;  and  more- 
over, it  is  a  state  distinct  from  every  other,  consisting  in  the  Sacred 
Presence  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  soul  and  body  ;  and  lastly,  it  is  be- 
stowed on  this  man  or  that,  not  by  any  rule  which  we  can  discover,  but 
at  the  inscrutable  decree  of  Him,  who  calls  into  His  Church  whom  He 
will.  But  faith,  together  with  the  other  gifts  of  Sanctiflcation,  is  not 
thus  bestowed.  In  its  nature  it  is  independent  of  Regeneration,  and, 
in  the  formal  scheme  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  antecedent  to  it.  It  is  the 
antecedent  condition  for  receiving  the  Ordinances  which  convey  and 
seal  Regeneration, — Baptism  and  Confirmation.  Hence,  St.  John 
says,  "  As  many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  His  name,  which  were 
born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man, 
but  of  (iod."  And  St.  Paul,  "  Believing  in  Christ,  ye  were  sealed  with 
that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance, 
until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession."! 

It  avails  not,  therefore,  to  enlarge  upon  the  characteristics  of  the 
Christian  Election,  with  a  view  of  proving  the  irreversible  decrees  of 
God  concerning  the fnial  salvation  of  individuals. 

3.  Lastly,  there  are  passages  which  speak  of  God's  judicial  dealings 
with  the  heart  of  man ;  m  which,  doubtless,  He  does  act  absolutely  at 

"  Eph.  i.  3-5.  ii.  8.  t  John  i.  12,  13.    Eph.  i.  13,  11. 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  401 

His  sole  will, — jet  not  in  the  beginning  of  His  Providence  towards  us, 
but  at  the  close.  Thus  He  is  said  "  to  send"  on  men  "  strong  delusion 
to  believe  a  lie  ;"  but  only  on  those  who  "  received  not  the  love  of  the 
Truth  that  they  might  be  saved."*  Such  irresistible  influences  do  but 
pre-suppose,  instead  of  superseding,  our  own  accountableness. 

These  three  explanations  then  being  allowed  their  due  weight, — the 
compatibility  of  God's  sovereignty  over  the  soul  with  man's  individual 
agency,  the  distinction  between  Regeneration  and  faith  and  obedience, 
and  the  judicial  purpose  of  certain  divine  influences  upon  the  heart, — 
let  us  ask,  what  does  there  remain  of  Scripture  evidence  in  behalf  of  the 
Predestinarian  doctrines  ?  Are  we  not  obliged  to  leave  the  mystery  of 
human  agency  and  responsibility  as  we  find  it  1 — as  truly  a  mystery  in 
itself  as  that  which  concerns  the  Nature  and  Attributes  of  the  Divine 
Mind. 

Surely  it  will  be  our  true  happiness  thus  to  conduct  ourselves  ;  to  use 
our  reason,  in  getting  at  the  true  sense  of  Scripture,  not  in  making  a 
series  of  deductions  from  it ;  in  unfolding  the  doctrines  therein  con- 
tained, not  in  adding  new  ones  to  them  ;  in  acquiescing  in  what  is  told, 
not  in  indulging  curiosity  about  the  "  secret  things"  of  the  Lord  our 
God. 

I  conclude  with  the  following  text,  which,  while  it  is  a  solemn  warn- 
ing to  us  all  to  turn  to  God  with  a  true  heart,  states,  with  a  force  not  to 
be  explained  away,  that  revealed  Will  with  which  we  are  bound  to  rest 
satisfied.  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the 
death  of  the  wicked  ;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live. 
Turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways,  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  House  of 
Israel."t 

*  2  Thess.  ii.  10,  11.  t  Ez.  xixiii.  U. 


Vol.  L— 26 


SERMON     XXVII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW,  THE  APOSTLE. 
GUILELESSNESS. 


John  i.  47. 


Jesus  saw  Nathanacl  coming  to  Him,  and  saith  of  him,  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed, 
in  whom  is  no  guile. 

St.  Bartholomew,  whose  Festival  we  celebrate  to-day,  has  been  sup- 
posed to  be  the  same  as  the  Nathanael  mentioned  in  the  text.  Na- 
thanael  was  one  of  Christ's  first  converts,  yet  his  name  does  not  occur 
again  till  the  last  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  where  he  is  mentioned 
in  company  with  certain  of  the  Apostles,  to  whom  Christ  appeared  after 
His  resurrection.  Now  why  should  the  call  of  Nathanael  have  been 
recorded  in  the  opening  of  the  Gospel,  among  the  acts  of  Christ  in  the 
beginning  of  His  Ministry,  except  he  was  an  Apostle  ?  Philip,  Peter, 
and  Andrew,  who  are  mentioned  at  the  same  time,  were  all  Apostles  ; 
and  Nathanael's  name  is  introduced  without  preface,  as  if  familiar  to  a 
Christian  reader.  At  the  end  of  the  Gospel  it  appears  again,  and  there 
too  among  Apostles.  Besides,  the  Apostles  were  the  special  witnesses 
of  Christ,  when  He  was  risen.  He  manifested  Himself,  "  not  to  all 
the  people,"  says  St.  Peter,  *'  but  unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God, 
even  to  us,  who  did  eat  and  drink  with  Him  after  He  rose  from  the 
dead."*  Noav,  the  occasion  on  which  Nathanael  is  mentioned,  was 
one  of  these  manifestations.  "  This  is  now  the  third  time,"  says  the 
Evangelist,  "  that  Jesus  was  manifested  to  His  disciples,  after  that  He 
was  risen  from  the  dead."  It  was  in  the  presence  of  Nathanael  that 
He  gave  St.  Peter  his  commission,  and  foretold  his  martyrdom,  and  the 
prolonged  life  of  St.  John.  This  leads  us  to  conjecture  that  Nathanael 
is  one  of  the  Apostles  under  another  name.  Now  he  is  not  Andrew, 
Peter,  or  Philip,  for  they  are  mentioned  in  connection  with  him  in  the 
first  chapter  of  the  Gospel  ;  nor  Thomas,  James,  or  John,  in  whose 
company  he  is  found  in  the  last  chapter  ;  nor  Jude,  (as  it  would  seem,) 

*  Acts  X.  41. 


Serm.  XXVII.  GUILELESSNESS. 

4(j3 

because  the  name  of  Jude  occurs  in  St.  John's'  fon-M^  ,,     , 
Apostles  remain,  who  are  not  nled  m  h  s  G    ^      S^^^^^^^    "^^"^ 
Less  St.  Matthew,  St.  Snnon,  and  St.  Barthl^T^ ^vll^^^^^^^^^ 
thews  second  name  is  known  to  have  been  Levi,  whde  StJa  ' 

mg  related,   was  not  at  any  time  a  str-in^Pr  t  r     .  "^''  ''^- 

thanael  evidently  was.     If  then  N.thanfe  '"      T''   "'"^  ^^' 

either  Sm.on  or^Bartholomew  N:w  ts  obLT^bTe  fl'T'^'  ''  "^^ 
to  St.  John,  Philip  brought  Nathanael  to  ChH  t  ti  ^  '  T''^^^"^ 
and  Philip  were  fnendst  while  in  the  o  her  rf  '  ,r  ^^'^'^^^^^ 
ties.  Phihp  is  associated  w.th  Bl::^:r^iZ^:!:^  1 T'' 
James  and  John,  PMlip  and  Bartholomew"*     Tl  s  i"  f'^'' 

that  Bartholomew  and.  not  Sm.on  is  the  Nathana  To  sH  T'^"'' 
the  other  hand,  Matthias  has  been  suc.ested  instead  if  1  ^'  ^" 
meamng  nearly  the  same  as  Nathanad  Tn^L  ^^  J  ^^^^^^^^^^^  -- 
ever,  smce  writers  of  some  date  decide  in  favour  of  EnrTf^  r^"^' 
do  the  like  in  what  follows.  Bartholomew,  I  shall 

What  then  do  we  learn  from  his  recorded  character  and  historv2     r, 
affords  us  an  instructive  lesson.  ^^'>  •     ^^ 

When  Philip  told  him  that  ho  had  found  the  lon^-expected  M.    •  . 
of  whom  Moses  wrote,  Nathanael  Cthif  i«  P.  fi    .      '^^'f  *^^  Messiah, 

be  bern  in  Bethlehem;  whereas  JeL  d,l .  at  N  z  1  J'h  7^ 
hanael  supposed  i„  consequence  to  be  the  place  of  nth  Itl    tnd  h" 

Ph,l,p  toia  h.m  I  c;„e  an'/se'e-td  hT.r toT "arhVI  "' "• 
gle-mmded  man,  sincerely  desirous  to  get  at  the  t'ru  h  ,"  """ 
quencche  was  vouchsafed  an  .nterview  with  o,  r  Sariour^  H™'" 
converted.  ^saviour,  and  was 

Now,  from  what  occurred  in  this  interview    wf^  o-n.".  •     • 

into  St.  Bartholomew's  character  Our  T  ord  A  fu  ''''"'  ^"''«^^ 
Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  nt^  ''  andlt  f  "'  "''^'^^^^" 

before  Philip  called  him  to  come^^Ch ni;  hI  :!:Z::^-::-!' 
tion  or  prayer,  in  the  privacy  which  a  fio-  fr.  '      ^"5^^^°  ^n  niedita- 

An  even  unvaried  life  is  the  lot  of  most  men,  in  spite  of  occas:, 


is 

see 
by 


-  j'ional 
Matt.  X.  3. 


404  ST.   BARTHOLOMEW.  [Skrm. 

troubles  or  other  accidents ;  and  we  are  apt  to  despise  it,  and  to  get 
tired  of  it,  and  to  long  to  see  the  world, — or,  at  all  events,  we  think 
such  a  life  affords  no  great  opportunity  for  religious  obedience.  To 
rise  up,  and  go  through  the  same  duties,  and  then  to  rest  again,  day 
after  day, — to  pass  week  after  week,  beginning  with  God's  service  on 
Sunday,  and  then  to  our  worldly  tasks, — so  to  continue  till  year  follows 
year,  and  we  gradually  get  old, — an  unvaried  life  like  this  is  apt  to 
seem  unprofitable  to  us  when  we  dwell  upon  the  thought  of  it.  Many 
indeed  there  are,  who  do  not  think  at  all ;  but  live  in  this  round  of  em- 
ployments, without  care  about  God  and  religion,  driven  on  by  the  natu- 
ral course  of  things  in  a  dull  irrational  way  like  the  beasts  that  perish. 
But  when  a  man  begins  to  feel  he  has  a  soul,  and  a  work  to  do,  and  a 
reward  to  be  gained,  greater  or  less,  according  as  he  improves  the 
talents  committed  to  him,  then  he  is  naturally  tempted  to  be  anxious 
from  his  very  wish  to  be  saved,  and  he  says :  "  What  must  I  do  to 
please  God  ?"  And  sometimes  he  is  led  to  think  he  ought  to  be  useful 
on  a  large  scale,  and  goes  out  of  his  line  of  life,  that  he  may  be  doing 
something  worth  doing,  as  he  considers  it.  Here  we  have  the  history 
of  St.  Bartholomew  and  the  other  Apostles  to  recall  us  to  ourselves,  and 
to  assure  us  that  we  need  not  give  up  our  usual  manner  of  life,  in  order 
to  serve  God,  that  the  most  humble  and  quietest  station  is  acceptable  to 
Him,  if  improved  duly,  nay,  affords  means  for  maturing  the  highest 
Christian  character,  even  that  of  an  Apostle.  Bartholomew  read  the 
Scriptures  and  prayed  to  God  ;  and  thus  was  trained  at  length  to  give 
up  his  life  for  Christ,  when  He  demanded  it. 

But  further,  let  us  consider  the  particular  praise  which  our  Saviour 
gives  him.  "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile."  This 
is  just  the  character  which  (through  God's  grace)  they  may  attain  most 
fully,  who  live  out  of  the  world  in  the  private  way  I  have  been  de- 
scribing,— which  is  made  least  account  of  by  man,  and  thought  to  be 
in  the  way  of  success  in  life,  though  our  Saviour  chose  it  to  make  head 
against  all  the  power  and  Avisdom  of  the  world.  Men  of  the  world 
think  an  ignorance  of  its  ways  is  a  disadvantage  or  disgrace  ;  as  if  it 
were  somehow  unmanly  and  weak  to  have  abstained  from  all  acquaint- 
ance with  its  impieties  and  lax  practices.  How  often  do  we  hear  them 
say  that  a  man  must  do  so  and  so,  unless  he  would  be  singular  and 
absurd ;  that  he  must  not  be  too  strict,  or  indulge  high-flown  notions 
of  virtue,  which  may  be  good  to  talk  about,  but  are  not  fit  for  this 
world  !  When  they  hear  of  any  young  person  resolving  on  being  consis- 
tently religious,  or  being  strictly  honest  in  trade,  or  observing  a  noble 
purity  in  language  and  demeanour,  they  smile  and  think  it  very  well, 
but  that  it  will  and  must  wear  off  in  time.     And  they  are  ashamed  ol 


XXVII.]  GUILELESSNESS.  405 

being  innocent,  and  pretend  to  be  worse  than  they  really  are.  Then 
they  have  all  sorts  of  little  ways — are  mean,  jealous,  suspicious,  cen- 
sorious, cunning,  insincere,  selfish  ;  and  think  others  as  low-minded  as 
themselves,  only  proud,  or  in  some  sense  hypocritical,  unwilling  to  con- 
fess their  real  motives  and  feelings. 

To  this  base  and  irreligious  multitude  is  opposed  the  Israelite  indeed, 
in  Avhom  there  is  no  guile.  David  describes  his  character  in  the  fif- 
teenth Psalm  ;  and,  taken  in  all  its  parts,  it  is  a  rare  one.  He  asks,  "  Lord, 
who  shall  abide  in  Thy  tabernacle  ?  who  shall  dwell  in  Thy  holy  hill  ? 
He  that  walketh  uprightly,  and  worketh  righteousness,  and  speaketh 
the  truth  in  his  heart.  He  that  backbiteth  not  with  his  tongue,  nor 
doeth  evil  to  his  neighbour,  nor  taketh  up  a  reproach  against  his  neigh- 
bour. In  whose  eyes  a  vile  person  is  contemned ;  but  he  honoureth 
them  that  fear  the  Lord.  He  that  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt,  and 
changeth  not." 

I  say,  it  is  a  difficult  and  rare  virtue,  to  mean  what  we  say,  to  love 
without  dissimulation,  to  think  no  evil,  to  bear  no  grudge,  to  be  free 
from  selfishness,  to  be  innocent  and  straight-forward.  This  character 
of  mind  is  something  far  above  the  generality  of  men ;  and,  when  re- 
alized in  due  measure,  one  of  the  surest  marks  of  Christ's  elect.  And 
the  instances  which  wo  may  every  now  and  then  discover  of  it  among 
Christians,  will  be  an  evidence  to  us,  if  evidence  be  wanting,  that,  in 
spite  of  all  that  grovelling  minds  may  say  about  the  necessity  of  ac- 
quaintance with  the  world  and  with  sin,  in  order  to  get  on  well  in  life, 
yet  after  all,  inexperienced  guilelessness  carries  a  man  on  as  safely  and 
more  happily.  For,  first,  it  is  in  itself  a  great  privilege  to  a  rightly 
disposed  mind,  not  to  be  sensible  of  the  moral  miseries  of  the  world ; 
and  this  is  eminently  the  lot  of  the  simple-hearted.  They  take  every 
thing  in  good  part  which  happens  to  them,  and  make  the  best  of  every 
one  ;  thus  they  have  always  something  to  be  pleased  with,  not  seeing 
the  bad,  and  keenly  sensible  of  the  good.  And  communicating  their 
own  happy  peace  to  those  around  them,  they  really  diminish  the  evils 
of  life  in  society  at  large,  while  they  escape  from  the  knowledge  of 
them  themselves.  Such  men  are  cheerful  and  contented  ;  for  they  de- 
sire but  little,  and  take  pleasure  in  the  least  matters,  having  no  wish 
for  riches  and  distinction.  And  they  are  under  the  tyranny  of  no  evil 
or  base  thoughts,  having  never  encouraged  what  in  the  case  of  other 
men  often  spreads  disorder  and  unholiness  through  their  whole  future 
life.  They  have  no  phantoms  of  former  sins,  such  as  remain  even  to 
the  penitent,  when  he  has  subdued  their  realities,  rising  up  in  their 
minds,  harassing  them,  for  a  time  domineering,  and  leaving  a  sting 
behind  them. 


4C6  ST.   BARTHOLOMEW. 


[Skrm. 


Guileless  persons  are,  most  of  all  men,  skilful  in  shaming  and  silenc- 
ing the  wicked  ; — for  they  do  not  argue,  but  take  things  for  granted  in 
so  natural  a  way,  that  they  throw  back  the  sinner  upon  the  recollection 
of  those  times  of  his  youth,  when  he  was  pure  from  sin,  and  thought 
as  they  do  now  ;  and  none  but  very  hardened  men  can  resist  this  sort 
of  appeal.  Men  of  irreligious  lives  live  in  bondage  and  fear ;  even 
though  they  do  not  acknowledge  it  to  themselves.  Many  a  one,  who 
would  be  ashamed  to  own  it,  is  afraid  of  certain  places  or  times,  or  of 
solitude,  from  a  sort  of  instinct  that  he  is  no  company  for  good  spirits, 
and  that  devils  may  then  assail  him.  But  the  guileless  man  has  a  sim- 
ple boldness  and  a  princely  heart ;  he  overcomes  dangers  which  others 
shrink  from,  merely  because  they  are  no  dangers  to  him,  and  thus  he 
often  gains  even  worldly  advantages,  by  his  straight-forwardness,  which 
the  most  crafty  persons  cannot  gain,  though  they  risk  their  souls  for 
them.  It  is  true  such  single-hearted  men  often  get  into  difficulties, 
but  they  usually  get  out  of  them  as  easily  ;  and  are  almost  unconscious 
both  of  their  danger  and  their  escape.  Perhaps  they  have  not  received 
a  learned  education,  and  cannot  talk  fluently;  yet  they  are  ever  a 
match  for  those  who  try  to  shake  their  faith  in  Christ  by  profane  argu- 
ment or  ridicule,  for  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men. 

Nor  is  it  only  among  the  poor  and  lowly  that  this  blessed  character 
of  mind  is  found  to  exist.  Secular  learning  and  dignity  have  doubt- 
less in  their  respective  ways  a  powerful  tendency  to  rob  the  heart  of 
its  brightness  and  purity  ;  yet  even  in  kings'  courts,  and  the  schools  of 
philosophy,  Nathanacls  may  be  discovered.  Nay,  like  the  Apostle, 
they  have  been  subjected  to  the  world's  buffetings,  they  have  been 
thwarted  in  their  day,  lived  in  anxiety,  and  seemingly  lost  by  their 
honesty,  yet  without  being  foiled  either  of  its  present  comfort  or  its  ulti- 
mate fruit.  Such  was  our  great  Archbishop  and  Martyr,  to  whom  per- 
chance we  owe  it,  that  we  who  now  live  are  still  members  of  a  branch 
of  the  Church  Catholic  ;  one  of  whose  "  greatest  unpopular  infirmities," 
according  to  the  historian  of  his  times,  was  "  that  he  believed  innocence 
of  heart,  and  integrity  of  manners,  was  a  guard  strong  enough  to  secure 
any  man  in  his  voyage  through  this  world,  in  what  company  soever  he 
travelled,  and  through  what  ways  soever  he  was  to  pass.  And  sure, 
(he  adds,)  never  any  man  was  better  supplied  with  that  provision." 

I  have  in  these  remarks  spoken  of  guileless  men  as  members  of 
society,  because  I  wished  to  show,  that,  even  in  that  respect  in  which 
they  seem  deficient,  they  possess  a  hidden  strength,  an  unconscious 
wisdom,  which  makes  them  live  above  the  world,  and  sooner  or  later 
triumph  over  it.  The  weapons  of  their  warfare  are  not  carnal ;  and 
thev  are  fitted  to  be  Apostles,  though  they  seem  to  be  ordinary  men. 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  407 

Such  is  the  blessedness  of  the  innocent,  that  is,  of  those  who  have  never 
given  way  to  evil,  or  formed  themselves  to  habits  of  sin ;  who  in  con- 
sequence literally  do  not  know  its  power  or  its  misery,  who  have 
thoughts  of  truth  and  peace  ever  before  them,  and  are  able  to  discern 
at  once  the  right  and  wrong  in  conduct,  as  by  some  delicate  instrument, 
which  tells  truly  because  it  has  never  been  ill-treated.  Nay,  such  may 
be  the  portion  (through  God's  mercy)  even  of  those  who  have  at  one 
time  departed  from  Him,  and  then  repented  ;  in  proportion  as  they  have 
learned  to  love  God,  and  have  purified  themselves,  not  only  from  sin, 
but  from  the  recollections  of  it. 

Lastly,  more  is  requisite  for  the  Christian,  even  than  guilelessness 
vsuch  as  Bartholomew's.  When  Christ  sent  forth  him  and  his  brethren 
into  the  world,  He  said,  "  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the 
midst  of  wolves  ;  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as 
doves."  Innocence  must  be  joined  to  prudence,  discretion,  self-com- 
mand, gravity,  patience,  perseverence  in  well-doing,  as  Bartholomew 
doubtless  learned  in  due  season  under  his  Lord's  teaching ;  but  inno- 
cence is  the  beginning.  Let  us  then  pray  God  to  fulfil  in  us  "all  the 
good  pleasure  of  His  goodness,  and  the  work  of  faith  with  power  ;"  that 
if  it  should  please  Him  suddenly  to  bring  us  forward  to  great  trials,  as  He 
did  His  Apostles,  we  may  not  be  taken  by  surprise,  but  be  found  to 
have  made  a  private  or  domestic  fife  a  preparation  for  the  achievements 
•  of  Confessors  and  Martyrs. 


SERMON    XXVII I. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHEW  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE  DANGER  OF  RICHES. 


Luke    vi.  24. 
Wo  unto  you  that  arc  rich  I  for  yc  have  received  jour  consolation. 

Unless  we  were  accustomed  to  read  the  New  Testament  from  our 
childhood,  I  think  we  should  be  very  much  struck  witii  the  warnings 
which  it  contains,  not  only  against  the  love  of  riches,  but  the  very  pos- 
session of  them  ;  we  should  wonder  with  a  portion  of  that  astonishment 


4 OS  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Serm. 

which  the  Apostles  at  first  felt,  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  notion 
that  they  were  a  chief  reward  which  God  bestowed  on  those  He  loved. 
As  it  is,  we  have  heard  the  most  solemn  declarations  so  continually,  that 
Ave  have  ceased  to  attach  any  distinct  meaning  to  them ;  or,  if  our 
attention  is  at  any  time  drawn  more  closely  to  them,  we  soon  dismiss  the 
subject  on  some  vague  imagination,  that  what  is  said  in  Scripture  had 
a  reference  to  the  particular  times  when  Christ  came,  without  attempt- 
ing to  settle  its  exact  application  to  us,  or  whether  it  has  any  such  appli- 
cation at  all, — as  if  the  circumstance  that  the  interpretation  requires 
care  and  thought,  were  an  excuse  for  giving  no  thought  nor  care  what- 
ever to  the  setthng  of  it. 

But,  even  if  we  had  ever  so  little  concern  in  the  Scripture  denuncia- 
tions against  riches  and  the  love  of  riches,  the  very  awfulness  of  them 
might  have  seemed  enough  to  save  them  from  negl.ect ;  just  as  the  flood, 
and  the  judgment  upon  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  are  still  dwelt  upon  by 
Christians  with  solemn  attention,  though  we  have  a  promise  against  the 
recurrence  of  the  one,  and  trust  we  shall  never  be  so  deserted  by  God's 
grace  as  to  call  down  upon  us  the  other.  And  this  consideration  may 
lead  a  man  to  suspect  that  the  neglect  in  question  does  not  entirely  arise 
from  unconcern,  but  from  a  sort  of  misgiving  that  the  subject  of  riches 
is  one  which  cannot  be  safely  or  comfortably  discussed  by  the  Christian 
world  at  this  day ;  that  is,  which  cannot  be  discussed  without  placing 
the  claims  of  God's  Law  and  the  pride  of  life  into  visible  and  perplexing 
opposition. 

Let  us  then  see  what  the  letter  of  Scripture  says  on  the  subject.  For 
instance,  consider  the  text.  "  Wo  unto  you  that  are  rich  !  for  ye  have 
received  your  consolation  !"  The  words  are  sufficiently  clear,  (it  will 
not  be  denied,)  as  spoken  of  rich  persons  in  our  Saviour's  day.  Let  the 
full  force  of  the  word  "  consolation,''  be  observed.  It  is  used  by  way 
of  contrast  to  the  comfort  which  is  promised  to  the  Christian  in  the  list 
of  Beatitudes.*  Comfort,  in  all  the  fulness  of  that  word,  as  including 
help,  guidance,  encouragement,  and  suj)port,  is  the  peculiar  promise  of 
the  Gospel.  The  Promised  Spirit  who  has  taken  Christ's  place,  was 
called  by  Him  "  the  Comforter."  There  is  then  something  very  fearful 
in  the  intimation  of  the  text,  that  those  who  have  riches  thereby  receive 
their  portion,  such  as  it  is,  in  full,  instead  of  the  Heavenly  Gift  of  the 
Gospel.  The  same  doctrine  is  implied  in  our  Lord's  words  in  the  para- 
ble of  Dives  and  Lazarus.  "  Son,  remember  thou  in  thy  lifetime  re- 
ceivedst  thy  good  things,  and  likewise  Lazarus  evil  things ;  but  now  he 
is  comforted,  and  thou  art  tormented."     At  another  time  He  said  to  His 

•  Matt.  V.  4. 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  409 

Disciples,  "  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God  !  for  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle's  eye, 
than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."* 

Now  it  it  usual  to  dismiss  such  passages  with  the  remark  that  they 
are  directed,  not  against  those  who  have,  but  against  those  who  trust 
in  riches  ;  as  if  forsooth  they  implied  no  connection  between  the  having 
and  the  trusting,  no  warning  lest  the  possession  led  to  the  idolatrous 
reliance  on  them,  no  necessity  of  fear  and  anxiety  in  the  possessors, 
lest  they  should  become  castaways.  And  this  irrelevant  distinction  is 
supposed  to  find  countenance  in  our  Lord's  own  language  on  one  of 
the  occasions  above  referred  to,  in  which  He  first  says,  "  How  hardly 
shall  they  that  have  riches,"  then,  "  How  hard  is  it  for  them  that  trust 
in  riches,  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;"  whereas  surely.  He  only 
removes  His  disciples'  false  impression,  that  the  bare  circumstance  of 
possessing  wealth  was  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  salvation,  and  no 
more  interprets  having  by  trusting,  than  makes  trusting  essential  to 
having.  He  connects  the  two,  without  identifying,  without  explaining 
away  ;  and  the  simple  question  which  lies  for  our  determination,  is  this  : 
— whether,  considering  that  they  who  had  riches  when  Christ  came, 
were  Ukely  in  His  judgment  idolatrously  to  trust  in  them,  there  is,  or 
is  not,  reason  for  thinking  that  this  likelihood  varies  materially  in  dif- 
ferent ages ;  and,  according  to  the  solution  of  this  question,  must  we 
determine  the  application  of  the  wo  pronounced  in  the  text  to  these 
times.  And,  at  all  events,  let  it  be  observed,  it  is  for  those  who  would 
make  out  that  these  passages  do  not  apply  now,  to  give  their  reasons 
for  their  opinion  ;  the  burden  of  proof  is  with  them.  Till  they  draw 
their  clear  and  reasonable  distinctions  between  the  first  and  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  denunciation  hangs  over  the  world  that  is,  as  much 
as  over  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  at  our  Lord's  coming. 

But,  in  truth,  that  our  Lord  meant  to  speak  of  riches  as  being  in 
some  sense  a  calamity  to  the  Christian,  is  plain,  not  only  from  such 
texts  as  the  foregoing,  but  from  His  praises  and  recommendation  on  the 
other  hand  of  poverty.  For  instance,  "  Sell  that  ye  have  and  give 
alms  ;  provide  yourselves  bags  which  wax  not  old."  "  If  thou  wilt  be 
perfect,  go  soil  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have 
treasure  in  heaven."  "  Blessed  be  ye  poor  ;  for  yours  is  the  kingdom 
of  God."  "  When  thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper,  call  not  thy 
friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  neither  thy  kinsmen,  nor  thy  rich  neighbours 
.  .  .  .  but  ....  call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind." 
And  in  like  manner,  St.  James :   "Hath  not   God  chosen  the  poor  of 

»  Luke  xvi.  55.  xviii.  24.  25. 


410  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Serm. 

this  world,  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  that  kingdom  which  He  hath 
promised  to  them  that  love  Him?"*  Now  I  cite  these  texts  in  the  way 
of  doctrine,  not  of  precept.  Whatever  be  the  line  of  conduct  they 
prescribe  to  this  or  that  individual  (with  which  I  have  nothing  to  do  at 
present,)  so  far  seems  clear,  that  according  to  the  rule  of  the  Gospel, 
the  absenre  of  wealth,  is,  as  such,  a  more  blessed  and  a  more  Chris- 
tian state  than  the  possession  of  it. 

The  most  obvious  danger  which  worldly  possessions  present  to  our 
spiritual  welfare  is,  that  they  become  practically  a  substitute  in  our 
liearts  for  that  One  Object  to  which  our  .supreme  devotion  is  due.  They 
are  present ;  God  is  unseen.  They  are  means  at  hand  of  effecting 
Avhat  we  want ;  whether  God  will  hear  our  petitions  for  such  things,  is 
imcertain  ;  or  rather,  I  may  say,  certain  in  the  negative.  Thus  they 
minister  to  the  corrupt  inclinations  of  our  nature  ;  they  promise  and 
are  able  to  be  gods  to  us,  and  such  gods  too  as  require  no  service,  but, 
like  dumb  idols,  exalt  the  worshipper,  impressing  him  with  a  notion  of 
his  own  power  and  security.  And  in  this  consist  their  chief  and  most 
subtle  mischief.  Religious  men  are  able  to  repress,  nay  extirpate  sin- 
ful desires,  the  lust  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  eyes,  gluttony,  drunkenness, 
and  the  like,  love  of  amusements  and  frivolous  pleasures  and  display, 
indulgence  in  luxuries  of  whatever  kind  ;  but  as  to  wealth,  they  can- 
not easily  rid  themselves  of  a  secret  feeling  that  it  gives  them  a  footing 
to  stand  upon,  an  importance,  a  superiority  ;  and  in  consequence  they 
get  attached  to  this  world,  lose  sight  of  the  duty  of  bearing  the  Cross, 
become  dull  and  dim-sighted,  and  lose  their  delicacy  and  precision  of 
touch,  are  numbed  (so  to  say)  in  their  fingers'-onds,  as  regards  religious 
interests  and  prospects.  To  risk  all  upon  Christ's  word  seems  some- 
how unnatural  to  them,  extravagant,  and  evidences  a  morbid  ex- 
citement ;  and  death,  instead  of  being  a  gracious,  however  awful  re- 
lease, is  not  a  welcome  subject  of  thought.  They  are  content  to  re- 
main as  they  are,  and  do  not  contemplate  a  change.  They  desire  and 
mean  to  serve  God,  nay  actually  do  serve  Him  in  their  measure  ;  but 
not  with  the  keen  sensibilities,  the  noble  enthusiasm,  the  grandeur  and 
elevation  of  .soul,  the  dutifulness  and  affectioiiateness  towards  Christ 
which  becomes  a  Christian,  but  as  Jews  might  obey,  who  had  no  Image 
of  God  given  them  except  this  created  world,  "  eating  their  bread  with 
joy,  and  drinking  their  Avine  with  a  merry  heart,"  caring  that  "  their 
garments  be  always  white,  and  their  head  lacking  no  ointment,  living 
joyfully  with  the  wife  whom  they  love  all  the  days  of  the  life  of  their 
vanity,"  and  "  enjoying  the  good  of  their  labour."t     Not    of  course, 

*  Luke  xii.  33.     Matt.  xix.  21.     Luke  vi.  20.  xiv.  12,  13.     James  ii.  5. 
t  Eccles.  ix.  7—9.  v.  18. 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  411 

that  the  due  use  of  God's  temporal  blessings  is  wrong,  but  to  make 
them  the  object  of  our  affections,  to  allow  them  to  beguile  us  from 
the  "  One  Husband  "  to  whom  we  are  espoused,  is  to  mistake  the  Gos- 
pel for  Judaism. 

This  then,  if  we  may  venture  to  say  so,  was  some  part  of  our 
Saviour's  meaning,  when  He  connects  together  the  having  with  the 
trusting  in  riches  ;  and  it  is  especially  suitable  to  consiMer  it  upon  this 
day,  when  we  commemorate  an  Apostle  and  Evangelist,  whose  history 
is  an  example  and  encouragement  for  all  those  who  have,  and  fear  lest 
they  should  trust.  But  St.  Matthew  was  exposed  to  an  additional 
temptation,  which  I  shall  proceed  to  consider  ;  for  he  not  only  pos- 
sessed, but  he  Avas  engaged  also  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth.  Our  Saviour 
seems  to  warn  us  against  this  further  danger  in  His  description  of  the 
thorns,  in  the  parable  of  the  Sower,  as  being  "  the  care  of  this  world 
and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  ;"  and  more  clearly  in  the  parable  of 
the  Great  Supper,  where  the  guests  excuse  themselves,  one,  as  having 
"  bought  a  piece  of  ground,"  another  "  five  yoke  of  oxen."  Still  more 
openly  does  St.  Paul  speak  in  his  first  Epistle  to  T,mothy  ;  "  They 
that  desire  to  be  rich,  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many 
foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition. 
For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil  ;  which,  while  some 
coveted  after,  they  have  erred  from  the  Faith,  and  pierced  themselves 
through  with  many  sorrows."* 

The  danger  o{  possessing  riches  is  the  carnal  security  to  which  they 
lead  ;  that  of  "  desiring  "  and  pursuing  tliem,  is,  that  an  object  of  this 
world  is  thus  set  before  us  as  the  aim  and  end  of  life.  It  seems  to  be 
the  will  of  Christ  that  His  followers  should  have  no  aim  or  end,  pursuit 
or  business  merely  of  this  world.  Here,  again,  I  speak  as  before,  not 
in  the  way  of  precept,  but  of  doctrine.  I  am  looking  at  His  holy  reli- 
gion as  at  a  distance,  and  determining  what  is  its  general  character 
and  spirit,  not  what  may  happen  to  bo  the  duty  of  this  or  that  indi- 
vidual who  has  embraced  it.  It  is  His  will  that  all. we  do  should  be 
done,  not  unto  men,  or  to  the  world,  or  to  self,  but  to  His  glory  ;  and 
the  more  we  are  enabled  to  do  this  simply,  the  more  favoured  we  arc. 
■Whenever  we  act  with  reference  to  an  object  of  this  world,  even  though 
it  be  ever  so  pure,  we  are  exposed  to  the  temptation,  (not  irresistible, 
God  forbid  !)  still  to  the  temptation  of  setting  our  hearts  upon  obtaining 
it.  And  therefore,  we  call  all  such  objects  excitements,  as  stinuilating 
4is  incongruously,  casting  us  out  of  the  serenity  and  stability  of  heav- 
•enly  faith,  attracting  us  aside  by  their  proximity-  from  our  harmonious 

♦  Matt.  xiii.  22,    Luke  xiv.  18,  19.     1  Tim.  vi.  9,  10. 


412  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Serm. 

round  of  duties,  and  making  our  thoughts  converge  to  something  short 
of  that  which  is  infinitely  High  and  eternal.  Such  excitements  are  of 
perpetual  occurrence,  and  the  mere  undergoing  them,  so  far  from 
involving  guilt  in  the  act  itself  or  its  results,  is  the  great  business  of 
life  and  the  discipline  of  our  hearts.  It  is  often  a  sin  to  withdraw 
from  them,  as  has  been  the  case  of  some  perhaps  who  have  gone  into 
Monasteries  to  sprve  God  more  entirely.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the 
very  duty  of  the  Spiritual  Ruler  to  labour  for  the  flock  committed  to 
him,  to  suffer  and  to  dare;  St.  Paul  was  encompassed  with  excite- 
ments hence  arising,  and  his  writings  show  the  agitating  effect  of  them 
on  his  mind.  He  was  like  David,  a  man  of  war  and  blood  ;  and  that, 
for  our  sakes.  Still  it  holds  good  that  the  essential  spirit  of  the  Gos- 
pel is  "  quietness  and  confidence  ;"  that  the  possession  of  these  is  the 
highest  gift,  and  to  gain  them  perfectly  our  main  aim.  Consequently, 
however  much  a  duty  it  is  to  undergo  excitements  when  they  are  sent 
upon  us,  it  is  plainly  unchristian,  a  manifest  foolishness  and  sin,  to^ 
seek  out  any  such,  whether  secular  or  religious.  Hence  gaming  is  so- 
great  an  offence ;  as  being  a  presumptuous  creation  on  our  part  of  a 
serious,  if  not  an  overpowering  temptation  to  fix  the  heart  upon  an 
object  of  this  world.  Hence,  the  mischief  of  many  amusements  of 
(what  is  called)  the  fashion  of  the  day  ;  which  are  devised  for  the  very 
purpose  of  taking  up  the  thoughts,  and  making  time  pass  easy.  Quite 
contrary  is  the  Christian  temper,  which  is  in  its  perfect  and  peculiar 
enjoyment  when  engaged  in  that  ordinary,  unvaried  course  of  duties 
which  God  assigns,  and  which  the  world  calls  dull  and  tiresome.  To 
get  up  day  after  day  to  the  same  employments,  and  to  feel  happy  in 
them,  is  the  great  lesson  of  the  Gospel;  and,  when  exemplified  in 
those  who  are  alive  to  the  temptation  of  being  busy,  it  implies  a  heart 
weaned  from  the  love  of  this  world.  True  it  is,  that  illness  of  body, 
as  well  as  restlessness  of  mind,  may  occasionally  render  such  a  life  a 
burden  ;  it  is  true  also,  that  indolence,  self-indulgence,  timidity,  and 
other  similar  bad  habits,  may  indulge  in  it  by  preference,  as  a  pretext 
for  neglecting  more  active  duties.  Men  of  energetic  minds  and  talents 
for  action  are  called  to  a  life  of  trouble  ;  they  are  the  compensations 
and  antagonists  of  the  world's  evils  ;  still  let  them  never  forget  their 
place  ;  they  are  men  of  war,  and  wc  war  that  we  may  obtain  peace. 
They  are  but  men  of  war,  honoured  indeed  by  God's  choice,  and  in 
spite  of  all  momentary  excitements,  resting  in  the  depth  of  their  hearts 
upon  the  One  True  Vision  of  Christian  faith  ;  still  after  all  they  are 
but  soldiers  in  the  open  field,  not  builders  of  the  Temple,  nor  inhabi- 
tants of  those  "  amiable"  and  specially  blessed  "Tabernacles"  where 
the  worshipper  lives  in  praise  and  intercession,  and  is  militant  amid. 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  413 

the  unostentatious  duties  of  ordinary  life.  "  Martha,  Martha,  thou  art 
anxious  and  troubled  about  many  things  ;  but  one  thing  is  needful, 
and  Mary  has  chosen  that  good  part  which  shall  not  be  taken  away 
from  her."*  Such  is  our  Lord's  judgment,  sliowing  that  our  true  hap- 
piness consists  in  being  at  leisure  to  serve  God  without  excitements. 
For  this  gift  we  especially  pray  in  one  of  our  Collects  :  "  Grant,  O 
Lord,  that  the  course  of  this  world  may  be  so  peaceably  ordered  by 
thy  governance,  that  Thy  Church  may  joyfully  serve  Thee  in  all 
godly  quietness. "t  Persecution,  civil  changes,  and  the  like,  break  in 
upon  the  Church's  calm.  The  greatest  privilege  of  a  Christian  is  to 
have  nothing  to  do  with  worldly  politics, — to  be  governed  and  to  sub- 
mit obediently  ;  and,  though  here  again,  selfishness  may  creep  in,  and 
lead  a  man  to  neglect  public  concerns  in  which  he  is  called  to  take  his 
share,  yet,  after  all,  such  participation  must  be  regarded  as  a  duty, 
scarcely  as  a  privilege,  as  the  fulfilment  of  trusts  committed  to  him  for 
the  good  of  others,  not  as  the  enjoyment  of  rights,  (as  men  talk  in 
these  days  of  delusion,)  not  as  if  political  power  were  in  itself  a  good. 
To  return  to  the  subject  immediately  before  us  I  say  then,  that  it  is 
a  part  of  Christian  caution  to  see  that  our  engagements  do  not  become 
pursuits.  Engagements  are  our  portion,  but  pursuits  are  for  the  most 
part  of  our  own  choosing.  We  may  be  engaged  in  worldly  business, 
without  pursuing  worldly  objects ;  "  not  slothful  in  business,"  yet 
"  serving  the  Lord."  In  this  then  consists  the  danger  of  the  pursuit  of 
gain,  as  by  trade  and  the  like.  It  is  the  most  common  and  widely  ex- 
tended of  all  excitements.  It  is  one  in  which  every  one  almost  may 
indulge,  nay,  and  will  be  praised  by  the  world  for  indulging.  And  it 
lasts  through  life ;  in  that  differing  from  the  amusements  and  pleasures 
of  the  world,  which  are  short-lived,  and  succeed  one  after  another.  Dis- 
sipation of  mind,  which  these  amusements  create,  is  itself  indeed,  mi- 
serable enough  ;  but  far  worse  than  this  dissipation  is  the  concentration 
of  mind  upon  some  worldly  object,  which  admits  of  being  constantly 
pursued, — and  such  is  the  pursuit  of  gain.  Nor  is  it  a  slight  aggrava- 
tion of  the  evil,  that  anxiety  is  almost  sure  to  attend  it.  A  life  of 
money-getting  is  a  life  of  care  ;  from  the  first  there  is  a  fearful  antici- 
pation of  loss  in  various  ways  to  depress  and  unsettle  the  mind,  nay  to 
haunt  it,  till  a  man  finds  he  can  think  about  nothing  else,  and  is  unable 
to  give  his  mind  to  religion  from  the  constant  whirl  of  business  in  which 
he  is  involved.  It  is  well  this  should  be  understood.  You  may  hear 
men  talk  as  if  the  pursuit  of  wealth  was  the  business  of  life.  They  will 
argue  that  by  the  law  of  nature  a  man  is  bound  to  gain  a  livelihood  for 

*  Luke  X.  41,  42.  t  Vide  1  Tim.  ii.  2. 


414  ST.   MATTHEW.  [Serm. 

his  family,  and  that  he  finds  a  reward  in  doing  so,  an  innocent  and 
honourable  satisfaction,  as  he  adds  one  sum  to  another,  and  counts  up 
his  gains.  And  perhaps  they  go  on  to  argue,  that  it  is  the  very  duty 
of  man  since  Adam's  fall,  "  in  the  sweat  of  his  face,"  by  effort  and 
anxiety,  "  to  eat  bread."  How  strange  it  is  that  they  do  not  remember 
Christ's  gracious  promise,  repealing  that  original  curse,  and  obviating 
the  necessity  of  any  real  pursuit  after  "the  meat  that  perisheth  !"  In 
order  that  we  might  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption.  He 
has  expressly  told  us  that  the  necessaries  of  life  shall  never  fail  his  faith- 
ful  follower,  any  more  than  the  meal  and  oil  the  widow-woman  of  Sa- 
repta  :  that,  while  he  is  bound  to  labour  for  his  family,  he  need  not  be 
engrossed  by  his  toil, — that  while  he  is  busy,  his  heart  may  be  at  leisure 
for  his  Lord.  "  Be  not  anxious,  saying,  what  shall  we  eat  1  or,  what 
shall  we  drink  ?  or  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  ?  For  after  all 
these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek  ;  for  your  Heavenly  Father  knoweth 
that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things.  But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  His  righteousness  ;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you."  Here  is  revealed  to  us  at  once  our  privilege  and  our  duty,  the 
Christian  portion  of  having  engagements  of  this  world  without  pursuing 
objects.  And  in  accordance  with  our  Divine  Teacher  are  the  words  of 
the  Apostle,  introductory  of  a  passage  already  cited.  "  We  brought 
nothing  into  this  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out. 
And  having  food  and  raiment,  let  us  be  therewith  content."*  There  is 
no  excuse  then  for  that  absorbing  pursuit  of  wealth,  which  many  men 
indulge  in,  as  if  a  virtue,  and  expatiate  upon  as  if  a  science.  "  After 
all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek  !"  Consider  how  different  is  the 
rule  of  life  left  us  by  the  Apostles.  »  I  speak  this  for  your  own  profit," 
says  St.  Paul,  "  that  ye  may  attend  upon  the  Lord  without  distraction." 
"  This  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is  short ;  it  remaineth,  that  both  they 
that  have  wives  be  as  though  they  had  none,  and  they  that  weep  as 
though  they  wept  not,  and  they  that  rejoice  as  though  they  rejoiced  not, 
and  they  that  buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not,  and  they  that  use  this 
world,  as  not  abusing  it,  for  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away." 
"  Be  anxious  for  nothing  ;  but  in  every  thing,  by  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion with  thanksgiving,  let  our  requests  be  made  known  unto  God." 
And  St.  Peter,  "  Casting  all  your  anxiety  upon  Him,  for  Ho  careth 
for  you.'f 

I  have  now  given  the  main  reason,  why  the  pursuit  of  gain,  whether 
in  a  large  or  small  way,  is  prejudicial  to  our  spiritual  interests,  that  it 

»  Matt.  vi.     1  Tim.  vi.  7,  8. 

t  1  Cor.  vii.  29—31.  35.    Phil.  iv.  6.    1  Pet.  v.  7. 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  415 

fixes  the  mind  upon  an  object  of  tliis  world  ;  yet  others  remain  behind. 
Money  is  a  sort  of  creation,  and  gives  the  acciuirer,  even  more  than  the 
possessor,  an  imagination  of  his  own  power  ;  and  tends  to  make  liim 
idolize  self.  Again,  what  we  have  hardly  won,  we  arc  unwilling  to 
part  with  ;  so  that  a  man  who  has  himself  made  his  wealth,  will  com- 
monly be  penurious,  or  at  least  will  not  part  with  it  except  in  exchange 
for  what  will  reflect  credit  upon  himself,  or  increase  his  importance. 
Even  when  his  conduct  is  most  disinterested  and  amiable,  (as  in  spend- 
ing for  the  comfort  of  those  who  depend  on  him,)  still  this  indulgence 
of  self,  of  pride  and  worldliness  insinuates  itself.  Very  unlikely  there- 
fore is  it  that  he  should  be  liberal  towards  God  ;  for  religious  offerings 
are  an  expenditure  without  sensible  return,  and  that  upon  objects  for 
which  the  very  pursuit  of  wealth  has  indisposed  his  mind.  Moreover, 
it  may  be  added,  there  is  a  considerable  tendency  in  occupations  con- 
nected with  gain  to  make  a  man  unfair  in  his  dealings,  that  is,  in  a 
subtle  way.  There  are  so  many  conventional  deceits  and  prevarica- 
tions in  the  details  of  the  world's  business,  so  much  intricacy  in  the 
management  of  accounts,  so  many  perplexed  questions  about  justice 
and  equity,  so  many  plausible  subterfuges  and  fictions  of  law,  so  much 
confusion  between  the  distinct  yet  approximating  outlines  of  honesty 
and  civil  enactment,  that  it  requires  a  very  straightforward  mind  to 
keep  firm  hold  of  strict  conscientiousness,  honour,  and  truth,  and  to  look 
at  matters  in  which  he  is  engaged,  as  he  would  have  looked  on  them, 
supposing  he  now  came  upon  them  all  at  once  as  a  stranger. 

And  if  such  be  the  effect  of  the  pursuit  of  gain  on  an  individual, 
doubtless  it  will  be  the  same  on  a  nation  ;  and  if  the  peril  be  so  great 
in  the  one  case,  why  should  it  be  less  in  the  other  ?  Rather  considering 
that  the  tendencies  of  things  are  sure  to  be  brought  out,  where  time  and 
numbers  allow  them  fair  course,  is  it  not  certain  that  any  multitude, 
any  society  of  men,  whose  object  is  gain,  will  on  the  whole  be  actuated 
by  those  feelings,  and  moulded  into  that  character,  which  has  been  above 
described  ?  With  this  thought  before  us,  it  is  a  very  fearful  considera- 
tion that  we  belong  to  a  nation  which  in  good  measure  subsists  by 
making  money.  I  will  not  pursue  it ;  nor  inquire  whether  the  especial 
pohtical  evils  of  the  day  have  not  their  root  in  that  principle,  which  St. 
Paul  calls  the  root  of  all  evil,  the  love  of  money.  Only  let  us  consider 
the  fact,  that  we  are  money-making  pcoi)le,  with  our  Saviour's  declara- 
tions before  us  against  wealth,  and  trust  in  wealth  ;  and  we  shall  have 
abundant  matter  for  serious  thought. 

Lastly,  with  this  dreary  view  before  us  of  our  condition  and  prospects 
as  a  nation,  the  pattern  of  St.  Matthew  is  our  consolation ;  for  it  sug- 
gests that  we,  Christ's  ministers,  may  use  great  freedom  of  speech,  and 


416  ST.  MICHAEL.  [Skrm. 

state  unreservedly  the  peril  of  wealth  and  gain,  without  aught  of  harsh- 
ness or  uncharitahleness  towards  individuals  who  are  exposed  to  it. 
They  may  be  brethren  of  the  Evangelist,  who  left  all  for  Christ's  sake. 
Nay  such  there  have  been  (blessed  be  God  !)  in  every  age  ;  and  in  pro- 
portion to  the  strength  of  the  temptation  which  surrounds  them,  is  their 
blessedness  and  their  praise,  if  they  are  enabled  amid  the  "wares  of  the 
seas"  and  the  "great  wisdom  of  their  traffic"  to  hear  Christ's  voice,  to 
take  up  their  Cross,  and  follow  Him. 


SERMON   XXIX. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MICHAEL  AND  ALL  ANGELS. 
THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE. 


Pbalm  civ.  4. 
Who  maketh  His  Angels  spirits,  His  Ministars  a  flaming  fire. 

On  to-day's  Festival  it  well  becomes  us  to  direct  our  minds  to  the  thought 
of  those  Blessed  Servants  of  God,  who  have  never  tasted  of  sin  ;  who 
are  among  us,  though  unseen,  ever  serving  God  joyfully  on  earth  as  well 
as  in  heaven  ;  who  minister,  through  their  Maker's  condescending  will, 
to  the  redeemed  in  Christ,  the  heirs  of  salvation. 

There  have  been  ages  of  the  world,  in  which  menjhave  thought  too  much 
of  Angels,  and  paid  them  excessive  honour  ;  honoured  them  so  perversely 
as  to  forget  the  supreme  worship  due  to  Almighty  God.  This  is  the  sin 
of  a  dark  age.  But  the  sin  of  what  is  called  an  educated  age,  such  as 
our  own,  is  just  the  reverse  ;  to  account  slightly  of  them,  or  not  at  all, 
to  ascribe  all  we  see  around  us,  not  to  their  agency,  but  to  certain  as- 
sumed laws  of  nature.  This,  I  say,  is  likely  to  be  our  sin,  in  proportion 
as  we  are  initiated  into  the  learning  of  this  world  ; — and  this  is  the  danger 
of  many  (so  called)  philosophical  pursuits,  now  in  fashion,  and  recom- 
mended zealously  to  the  notice  of  large  portions  of  the  community, 
hitherto  strangers  to  them, — chemistry,  geology,  and  the  like  ;  the 
danger,  that  is,  of  resting  in  things  seen,  and  forgetting  unseen  things 
and  our  ignorance  about  them. 


1 


Serm.  XXIX.]  THE   POWERS   OF  NATURE.  417 

I  will  attempt  to  say  what  I  mean  more  at  length.  The  text  informs 
us  that  Almighty  God  makes  His  Angels  spirits  or  winds,  and  His  Min- 
isters  a  flame  of  fire.    Let  us  consider  what  is  implied  in  this. 

1.  What  a  number  of  beautiful  and  wonderful  objects  does  Nature 
present  on  every  side  of  us  !  and  how  little  we  know  concerning  them  ! 
In  some  indeed  we  see  symptoms  of  intelligence,  and  we  get  to  form 
some  idea  of  what  they  are.  For  instance,  about  brute  animals  we 
know  little,  but  still  we  see  they  have  sense,  and  we  understand  that 
their  bodily  form  which  meets  the  eye  is  but  the  index,  the  outside  token 
of  something  we  do  not  see.  Much  more  in  the  case  of  men  ;  we  see 
them  move,  speak,  and  act,  and  we  know  that  all  we  see  takes  place  in 
<;onsequence  of  their  will,  because  they  have  a  spirit  within  them,  though 
we  do  not  see  it.  Bat  why  do  rivers  flow  ?  Why  does  rain  fall  ?  Why 
does  the  sun  warm  us  ?  And  the  wind,  why  does  it  blow  ?  Here  our 
natural  reason  is  at  fault  ;  we  know,  I  say,  that  it  is  the  spirit  in  man 
and  in  beast  that  makes  man  and  beast  move,  but  reason  tells  us  of  no 
spirit  abiding  in  what  is  commonly  called  the  natural  world,  to  make  it 
perform  its  ordinary  duties.  Of  course,  it  is  God's  will  which  sustains 
it  all ;  so  does  God's  will  enable  us  to  move  also,  yet  this  does  not  hinder, 
but,  in  one  sense,  we  may  be  truly  said  to  move  ourselves  ;  but  how  do 
the  wind  and  water,  earth  and  fire  move  ?  Now  here  Scripture 
interposes,  and  seems  to  tell  us,  that  all  this  wonderful  harmony  is  the 
work  of  Angels.  Those  events  which  we  ascribe  to  chance  as  the 
weather,  or  to  nature  as  the  seasons,  are  duties  done  to  that  God  who 
maketh  His  Angels  to  be  winds,  and  His  Ministers  a  flame  of  fire.  For 
example,  it  was  an  Angel  which  gave  to  the  pool  at  Bethesda  its  medi- 
cinal quality  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  doubt  that  other 
health-springs  in  this  and  other  countries  are  made  such  by  a  like  unseen 
ministry.  The  fires  on  Mount  Sinai,  the  thunders  and  lightnings,  were 
the  work  of  Angels  ;  and  in  the  Apocalypse  we  read  of  the  Angels  re- 
straining the  four  winds.  Works  of  vengeance  are  likewise  attributed 
to  them.  The  fiery  lava  of  the  volcanoes,  which  (as  it  appears)  was 
the  cause  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah's  ruin,  was  caused  by  the  two  angels 
who  rescued  Lot.  'i'he  hosts  of  Sennacherib  were  destroyed  by  an 
Angel,  by  means  (it  is  su|)posed)  of  a  suffocating  wind.  The  pestilence 
in  Israel  when  David  numbered  the  people,  was  the  work  of  an  Angel. 
The  earthquake  at  the  resurrection  was  the  work  of  an  Angel.  And 
in  the  Apocalypse  the  earth  is  smitten  in  various  ways  by  Angels 
vengeance.* 

•  John  V.  4.     Exod.  xix.  16— 18.     Gal.  iii.  19.     Acts  vii.  53.     Rev.  vii.  1.    Gen. 
xix.  13.    2  Kings  xix.  35.    2  Sam.  xxiv.  15— 17.    Matt,  xxviii.  2.   Rev.  viii.  ix- ivi. 
Vol  I.— 27 


418  ST.   MICHAEL.  [Skrm. 

Thus,  as  far  as  the  Scripture  communications  go,  we  learn  that  the 
course  of  Nature  which  is  so  wonderful,  so  beautiful,  and  so  fearful,  is 
effected  by  the  ministry  of  these  unseen  beings.  Nature  is  not  inani- 
mate ;  its  daily  toil  is  intelligent ;  its  works  are  duties.  Accordingly, 
the  Psalmist  says,  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  His  handy-work."  "  O  Lord,  Thy  word  endureth 
for  ever  in  heaven.  Thy  truth  also  remaineth  from  one  generation  to 
another ;  Thou  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and  it  abideth. 
They  continue  this  day  according  to  Thine  ordinance,  for  all  things 
serve  Thee:'* 

I  do  not  pretend  to  say,  that  we  are  told  in  Scripture  what  matter 
is ;  but  I  affirm,  that  as  our  souls  move  our  bodies,  be  our  bodies  what 
they  may,  so  there  are  Spiritual  intelligences  which  move  those  won- 
derful and  vast  portions  of  the  natural  world,  which  seem  to  be  inani- 
mate ;   and,   as  the  gestures,  speech,  and  expressive  countenance  of 
our  friends  around  us  enable  us  to  hold  intercourse  with  them,  so  in  the 
motions  of  universal  Nature,  in  the  interchange  of  day  and  night,  sum- 
mer  and  winter,  wind  and  storm,   fulfilling  His  word,  we  are  reminded 
of  the  blessed  and  dutiful  Angels.     Well  then,  on  this  day's  Festival, 
may  we  sing  the  hymn  of  those  Three  Holy  Children  whom  Nebuchad- 
nezzar cast  into  the  fiery  furnace.     The  Angels  were  bid  change  the 
nature  of  the  flame,  and  make  it  harmless  to  them ;  and  they  in  turn 
called  on  all  the  creatures  of  God,  on  the  Angels  especially,  to  glorify 
Him.     Though  many  hundreds  of  years  have  passed  since  that  time, 
and  the  world  now' vainly  thinks  it  knows  more  than  it  did,  and  that  it 
has  found  the  real  causes  of  the  things  it  sees,  still  may  we  say  with 
grateful  and  simple  hearts,  "  0  all  ye  works  of  the  Lord,  O  ye  Angels 
of  the  Lord,  O   ye  sun  and  moon,  stars  of  heaven,   showers  and  dew, 
winds  of  God,  light  and  darkness,  mountains  and  hills,  green  things 
upon  the  earth,  bless  ye  the  Lord,  praise  Him,  and  magnify  Him  for- 
ever."    Thus  whenever  we  look  abroad,  we  are  reminded  of  those  most 
gracious  and  holy  Beings,   the  servants  of  the  Holiest,  who  deign  to 
minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation.     Every  breath  of  air  and  ray  of  light 
and  heat,  every  beautiful  prospect,  is,  as  it  were,  the  skirts  of  their  gar- 
ments, the  waving  of  the  robes  of  those,  whose  faces  see  God  in  hea- 
ven.    And  I  put  it  to  any  one,  whether  it  is  not  as  philosophical,  and 
as  full  of  intellectual  enjoyment,  to  refer  the  movements  of  the  natural 
world  to  them,   as  to  attempt  to  explain  them  by  certain  theories  of 
science  ;  useful  as  these  theories  certainly  are  for  particular  purposes,. 

•  Psa.  xix.  1  ;  cxix.  89— 91. 


XXIX.]  THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE.  419 

and  capable  (in  subordination  to  that  higher  view)  of  a  rehgious  appli- 
cation. 

2.  And  thus  I   am  led  to  another  use  of  the  doctrine  under  con- 
sideration.    While  it  raises  the  mind,    and  gives  it  matter  of  thought 
it  is  also  profitable  as  a  humbling  doctrine,  as  indeed  I  have  already 
shown.     Vain  man  would  be  wise,  and  he  curiously  examines  the  works 
of  Nature,   as  if  they  were  lifeless  and  senseless ;    as  if  he  alone  had 
intelligence,  and  they  were  base  inert  matter,  however  curiously  con- 
trived at  the  first.     So  he  goes  on,  tracing  the  order  of  things,  seeking 
for  Causes  in  that  order,  giving  names  to  the  wonders  he  meets  with, 
and  thinking  he  understands  what  he  has  given  a  name  to.     At  length 
he  forms  a  theory,  and  recommends  it  in  writing,  and  calls  himself  a 
philosopher.     Now  all  these  theories  of  science,  which  I  speak  of,  are 
useful,  as  classifying,  and  so  assisting  us  to  recollect,  the  works  and  ways 
of  God  and  of  His  ministering  Angels.     And  again,  they  are  ever  most 
useful,  in  enabling  us  to  apply  the  course  of  His  providence,  and  the 
ordinances  of  His  will  to  the  benefit  of  man.     Thus  we  are  enabled  to 
enjoy  God's  gifts ;  and  let  us  thank  Him  for  the  knowledge  which  en- 
ables us  to  do  so,  and  honour  those  who  are  His  instruments  in  commu- 
nicating it.     But  if  such  a  one  proceeds  to  imagine  that,  because  he 
knows  something  of  this  world's  wonderful  order,  he  therefore  knows 
how  things  really  go  on,  if  he  treats  the  miracles  of  Nature  (so  to  call 
them)  as  mere  mechanical  processes,  continuing  their  course  by  them- 
selves,— as  works  of  man's  contriving  (a  clock,  for  instance,)  are  set  in 
motion,  and  go  on,  as  it  were,  of  themselves, — if  in  consequence  he  is, 
what  may  be  called,  irreverent  in  his  conduct  towards  Nature,  thinking 
(if  I  may  so  speak)  that  it  does  not  hear  him,  and  see  how  he  is  bearing 
himself  towards  it ;    and,  if  moreover  he  conceives  that  the  Order  of 
Nature,  which  he  partially  discerns,  will  stand  in  the  place  of  the  God 
who  made  it,  and  that  all  things  continue  and  move  on,  not  by  His 
will  and  power,  and  the  agency  of  the  thousands  and  ten  thousands  of 
His  unseen  Servants,  but  by  fixed  laws,  self-caused  and  self-sustained, 
Avhat  a  poor  weak  worm,  and  miserable  sinner  he  becomes  !    Yet  such, 
I  fear,  is  the  condition  of  many  men  now-a-days,  who  talk  loudly,  and 
appear  to  themselves  and  others  to  be  oracles  of  science,  and  as  far  as 
the  detail  of  facts  goes,  do  know  much  more  about  the  operations  of 
Nature  than  any  of  us. 

Now  let  us  consider  what  the  real  state  of  the  case  is.     Supposing 

the  inquirer  I  have  been  describing,  when  examining  a  flower,  or  a  herb, 

1  or  a  pebble,  or  a  ray  of  light,  which  he  treats  as  something  so  beneath 

him  in  the  scale  of  existence,  suddenly  discovered  that  he  was  in  the 

presence  of  some  powerful  being  who  was  hidden  ^behind  the  visible 


420  ST.  MICHAEL.  [Skrm. 

thino-s  he  was  inspecting,  who,  though  conceahng  his  wise  hand,  was 
giving  them  their  beauty,  grace,  and  perfection,  as  being  God's  instru- 
ment for  the  purpose,  nay,  whose  robe  and  ornaments  those  wondrous 
objects  were,  which  he  was  so  eager  to  analyze,  what  would  be  his 
thoughts  ?  Should  we  but  accidentally  show  a  rudeness  of  manner 
towards  our  fellow  man,  tread  on  the  hem  of  his  garment,  or  brush 
roughly  against  him,  are  we  not  vexed,  not  as  if  we  had  hurt  him,  but 
from  the  fear  we  may  have  been  disrespectful  ?  David  had  watched 
the  awful  pestilence  three  days,  not  with  curious  eyes,  but  doubtless 
with  an  indescribable  terror  and  remorse ;  but,  when  at  length  he  "  lifted 
up  his  eyes  and  saw  the  Angel  of  the  Lord,"  (who  caused  the  pesti- 
lence) "  stand  between  the  earth  and  the  heaven,  having  a  drawn  sword 
in  his  hand  stretched  out  over  Jerusalem,  then  David  and  the  elders, 
who  were  clothed  in  sackcloth,  fell  upon  their  faces."*  The  mysteri- 
ous irresistible  pestilence  became  still  more  fearful  when  the  cause  was 
known ; — and  what  is  true  of  the  painful,  is  true  on  the  other  hand  of 
the  pleasant  and  attractive  operations  of  Nature.  When  then  we  walk 
abroad,  and  "meditate  in  the  field  at  the  eventide,"  how  much  has 
every  herb  and  flower  in  it  to  surprise  and  overwhelm  us !  For,  even 
did  we  know  as  much  about  them  as  the  wisest  of  men,  yet  there  are 
those  around  us,  though  unseen,  to  whom  our  greatest  knowledge  is  as 
ignorance  ;  and,  when  we  converse  on  subjects  of  Nature  scientifically, 
repea  ting  the  names  of  plants  and  earths,  and  describing  their  proper- 
ties, we  should  do  so  religiously,  as  in  the  hearing  of  the  great  Servants 
of  God,  with  the  sort  of  diffidence  which  we  always  feel  when  speaking 
before  the  learned  and  wise  of  our  own  mortal  race,  as  poor  beginners 
in  intellectual  knowledge,  as  well  as  in  moral  attainments. 

Now  I  can  conceive  persons  saying  all  this  is  fanciful ;  but  if  it 
appears  so,  it  is  only  because  we  are  not  accustomed  to  such  thoughts. 
Surely  we  are  not  told  in  Scripture  about  the  Angels  for  nothing, 
but  for  practical  purposes  ;  nor  can  I  conceive  a  use  of  our  knowledge 
more  practical  than  to  make  it  connect  the  sight  of  this  world  with  the 
thought  of  another.  Nor  one  more  consolatory  ;  for  surely  it  is  a 
great  comfort  to  reflect  that,  wherever  we  go,  we  have  those  about  us, 
who  are  ministering  to  all  the  heirs  of  salvation,  though  we  see  them 
not.  Nor  one  more  easily  to  be  understood  and  felt  by  all  men ;  for 
we  know  that  at  one  time  the  doctrine  of  Angels  was  received  even 
too  readily.  And  if  any  one  would  argue  hence  against  it  as  danger- 
ous, let  him  recollect  the  great  principle  of  our  Church,  that  the  abuse 
of  a  thing  docs  not  supersede  the  use  of  it ;  and  let  him  explain,  if  he 

»  1  Chron.  xxi.  IG. 


XXIX.]  THE   POWERS  OF  NATURE.  421 

can,  St.  Paul's  exhorting  Timothy  not  -only  as  "  before  God  and 
Christ,"  but  before  "  the  elect  Angels"  also.  Hence,  in  the  Conunu- 
nion  Service  our  Church  teaches  us  to  join  our  praises  with  that  of 
"  Angels  and  Archangels,  and  all  the  Company  of  heaven  ;"  and  the 
early  Christians  even  hoped  that  they  waited  on  the  Church's  seasons 
of  worship,  and  glorified  God  with  her.  Nor  are  these  thoughts  with- 
out their  direct  influence  on  our  faith  in  God  and  His  Son  ;  for  the 
more  we  can  enlarge  our  view  of  the  next  world,  the  better.  When 
we  survey  Almighty  God  surrounded  by  His  Holy  Angels,  His  thou- 
sand thousands  of  ministering  Spirits,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand  standing  before  Him,  the  idea  of  his  awful  Majesty  rises 
before  us  more  powerfully  and  impressively.  We  begin  to  see  how 
little  we  are,  how  altogether  mean  and  worthless  in  ourselves,  and  how 
high  He  is,  and  fearful.  The  very  lowest  of  His  Angels  is  indefinitely 
above  us  in  this  our  present  state  ;  how  high  then  must  be  the  Lord  of 
Angels  !  The  very  Seraphim  hide  their  faces  before  His  glory,  while 
they  praise  Him  ;  how  shame-faced  then  should  sinners  be,  when  they 
come  into  His  presence  ! 

Lastly,  it  is  a  motive  to  our  exertions  in  doing  the  will  of  God,  to 
think  that,  if  we  attain  to  heaven,  we  shall  become  the  fellows  of  the 
blessed  Angels.  Indeed  what  do  we  know  of  the  courts  of  heaven, 
but  as  peopled  by  them  ?  and  therefore  doubtless  they  are  revealed  to 
us,  that  we  may  have  something  to  fix  our  thoughts  on,  when  we  look 
heavenwards.  Heaven  indeed  is  the  palace  of  Almighty  God,  and  of 
Him  doubtless  we  must  think  in  the  first  place  ;  and  again  of  His  Son 
our  Saviour,  who  died  for  us,  and  who  is  manifested  in  the  Gospels,  in 
order  that  we  may  have  something  definite  to  look  forward  to ;  for  the 
same  cause,  surely,  the  Angels  also  are  revealed  to  us,  that  heaven  may 
be  as  little  as  possible  an  unknown  place  in  our  imaginations. 

Let  us  then  entertain  such  thoughts  as  these  of  the  Angels  of  God  ; 
and  while  we  try  to  think  of  them  worthily,  let  us  beware  lest  we 
make  the  contemplation  of  them  a  mere  feeling,  and  a  sort  of  luxury 
of  the  imagination.  This  world  is  to  be  a  world  of  practice  and  la- 
bour ;  God  reveals  to  us  glimpses  of  the  Third  Heaven  for  our  com- 
fort ;  but  if  we  indulge  in  these  as  the  end  of  our  present  being,  not 
trying  day  by  day  to  purify  ourselves  for  the  future  enjoyment  of  the 
realities,  they  become  but  a  snare  of  our  enemy.  The  Services  of  re- 
ligion, day  by  day,  obedience  to  God  in  our  calling  and  in  ordinary 
matters,  endeavours  to  imitate  our  Saviour  Christ  in  word  and  deed, 
constant  prayer  to  Him,  and  dependence  on  Him,  these  are  the  due 
p  reparation  for  receiving  and  profiting  by  His  revelations ;  whereas 
many  a  man  can  write  and  talk  beautifully  about  them,  who  is  not  at 
all  better  or  nearer  heaven  for  all  his  excellent  words. 


SERMON    XXX. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  LUKE  THE  EVANGELIST. 
THE  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 


Exodus  xxxi.  6, 
In  the  hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted,  I  have  put  wisdom. 

St.  Luke  differed  from  his  fellow-evangelists  and  disciples  in  having 
received  the  advantages  of  (what  is  called)  a  liberal  education.  In 
this  respect  he  resembled  St.  Paul,  who,  with  equal  accomplishments, 
appears  to  have  possessed  even  more  learning.  St.  Luke  is  said  to 
have  been  a  native  of  Antioch,  a  city  celebrated  for  the  refined  habits 
and  cultivated  intellect  of  its  inhabitants ;  and  his  profession  was  that 
of  a  physician  or  surgeon,  which  of  itself  evidences  him  to  have  been 
in  education  something  above  the  generality  of  men.  This  is  con- 
firmed by  the  character  of  his  writings,  which  are  superior  in  composi- 
tion to  any  part  of  the  New  Testament,  excepting  some  of  St.  Paul's 
Epistles. 

There  are  persons  who  doubt  whether  what  are  called  "accomplish- 
ments," whether  in  literature  or  the  fine  arts,  can  be  consistent  with 
deep  and  practical  seriousness  of  mind.  They  think  that  attention  to 
these  argues  a  lightness  of  mind,  and  at  least  takes  up  time  which 
might  be  better  employed  ;  and,  I  confess,  at  first  sight  they  seem  to 
be  able  to  say  much  in  defence  of  their  opinion.  Yet,  notwithstanding, 
St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul  were  accomplished  men,  and  evidently  took 
pleasure  in  their  accomplishments. 

I  am  not  speaking  of  human  learning ;  this  also  many  men  think 
inconsistent  with  simple  uncorrupted  faith.  They  suppose  that  learn- 
ing must  make  a  man  proud.  This  is  of  course  a  great  mistake ;  but 
of  it  I  am  not  speaking,  but  of  an  over-jealousy  o^  accomplishments,  the 
elegant  arts  and  studies,  .'•uch  as  poetry,  literary  composition,  painting, 
music,  and  the  like  ;  which  are  considered,  (not  indeed  to  make  a  man 
proud,  but)  to  make  him  irijling.  Of  this  opinion,  how  far  it  is  true, 
and  how  far  not  true,  I  am  going  to  speak  ;  being  led  to  the  considera- 


Serm.  XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  423 

tion  of  it  by  the  known  fact,  that  St.  Luke  was  a  pohshed  writer,  and 
and  yet  an  EvangeUst. 

Now,  that  the  accomplishments  I  speak  of  have  a  tendency  to  make 
us  trifling  and  unmanly,  and  therefore,  are  to  be  viewed  by  each  of  us 
with  suspicion  as  far  as  regards  himself,  I  am  ready  to  admit,  and  shall 
presently  make  clear.  I  allow,  that  in  matter  of  fact,  refinement  and 
luxury,  elegance  and  eifeminacy,  go  together.  Antioch,  the  most 
polished,  was  the  most  voluptuous  city  of  Asia.  But  the  abuse  of  good 
things  is  no  argument  against  the  things  themselves  ;  mental  cultiva- 
tion may  be  a  divine  gift,  though  it  is  abused.  All  God's  gifts  are 
perverted  by  man  ;  health,  strength,  intellectual  power,  are  all  turned 
by  sinners  to  bad  purposes,  yet  they  are  not  evil  in  themselves :  there- 
fore an  acquaintance  with  the  elegant  arts  may  be  a  gift  and  a  good, 
and  intended  to  be  an  instrument  of  God's  glory,  though  numbers  who 
have  it  are  rendered  thereby  indolent,  luxurious,  and  feeble-minded. 

But  the  account  of  the  building  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the  wilderness, 
from  which  the  text  is  taken,  is  decisive  on  this  point.  It  is  too  long  to 
read  to  you,  but  a  few  verses  will  remind  you  of  the  nature  of  it. 
"  Thou  shalt  speak  unto  all  that  are  wise-hearted,  Avhom  I  have  filled 
■with  the  Spirit  of  wisdom,  that  they  may  make  Aaron's  garments  to  con- 
secrate him,  that  he  may  minister  unto  Mc  in  the  priest's  ofiice."  "  See 
I  have  called  thy  name  Bezaleel  .  .  .  and  have  filled  him  with  the 
Spirit  of  God,  in  wisdom,  and  in  understanding,  and  in  knowledge,  and 
in  all  manner  of  workmanship,  to  devise  cunning  works,  to  work  in 
gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in  brass,  and  in  cutting  of  stones,  to  set  them, 
and  in  carving  of  timber,  to  work  all  manner  of  workmanship."  "  Take 
ye  from  among  you  an  offering  unto  the  Lord  ;  whosoever  is  of  a  will- 
ing heart  let  him  bring  it,  an  offering  of  the  Lord,  gold,  and  silver,  and 
brass,  and  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine  linen,  and  goat's  hair, 
and  rams'  skins  dyed  red,  and  badgers'  skins,  and  shittim  wood,  and  oil 
for  the  fight,  and  spices  for  anointing  oil,  and  for  sweet  incense,  and 
oynx  stones,  and  stones  to  be  set  for  the  ephod,  and  for  the  breastplate, 
and  every  wise-hearted  among  you  shall  come  and  make  all  that  the 
Lord  hath  commanded."* 

How  then  is  it,  that  what  in  itself  is  of  so  excellent,  and  (I  may  say) 
divine  a  nature,  is  yet  so  commonly  perverted  ?  I  proceed  to  state 
what  is  the  danger,  as  it  appears  to  mc,  of  being  accomplished,  with  a 
view  to  answer  this  question. 

Now,  the  danger  of  an  elegant  and  polite  education  is,  that  it  sepa- 
rates  feeling  and  acting  ;  it  teaches  us  to  think,  speak,  and  be  affected 

*  Eiod.  iiviii.  3.     mi.  2 — 5.     xxiv.  5 — 10. 


J 


424  ST.  LUKE.  [Skric. 

aright,  witho  it  forcing  us  to  practice  what  is  right.  I  will  take  an  illustra- 
tion of  this,  though  somewhat  a  familiar  one.  from  the  effect  produced 
on  the  mind  ',n  reading  what  is  commonly  called  a  romance  or  novel, 
which  comes  under  the  description  of  polite  literature,  of  which  I  am 
speaking.  Su  ii  works  contain  many  good  sentiments;  (I  am  taking 
the  better  sort  of  them,)  characters  too  are  introduced,  virtuous,  noble, 
patient  under  suffering,  and  triumphing  at  length  over  misfortune. 
The  great  truths  of  religion  are  upheld,  we  will  suppose,  and  enforced  : 
and  our  affections  excited  and  interested  in  what  is  good  and  true. 
But  it  is  all  fiction  ;  it  does  not  exist  out  of  a  book  which  contains  the 
beginning  and  end  of  it.  We  have  nothing  to  do ;  we  read,  are 
affected,  softened  or  roused,  and  that  is  all;  we  cool  again, — nothing 
comes  of  it.  Now  observe  the  effect  of  this.  God  has  made  us  feel  in 
order  that  we  may  go  on  to  act  in  consequence  of  feeling  ;  if  then  we 
allow  our  feelings  to  be  excited  without  acting  upon  them,  we  do  mis- 
chief to  the  moral  system  within  us,  just  as  we  might  spoil  a  watch,  or 
other  piece  of  mechanism,  by  playing  with  the  wheels  of  it.  We 
weaken  its  springs,  and  they  cease  to  act  truly.  Accordingly,  when 
we  have  got  into  the  habit  of  amusing  ourselves  with  these  works  of 
fiction,  we  come  at  length  to  feel  the  excitement  without  the  slightest 
thought  or  tendency  to  act  upon  it ;  and,  since  it  is  very  difficult  to 
begin  any  duty  without  some  emotion  or  other,  (that  is,  on  mere  princi- 
ples of  dry  reasoning,)  a  grave  question  arises,  how,  after  destroying 
the  connection  between  feeling  and  acting,  how  shall  we  get  ourselves 
to  act  when  circumstances  make  it  our  duty  to  do  so  ?  For  instance, 
we  will  say  we  h.nve  read  again  and  again,  of  the  heroism  of  facing 
danger,  and  we  have  glowed  with  the  thought  of  its  nobleness.  We 
have  felt  how  great  it  is  to  bear  pain,  and  submit  to  indignities,  rather 
than  wound  our  conscience ;  and  all  this,  again  and  again,  when  we 
had  no  opportunity  of  carrying  our  good  feelings  into  practice.  Now, 
suppose  at  length  we  actually  come  into  trial,  and  let  us  say,  our  feel- 
ings become  roused,  as  often  before,  at  the  thought  of  boldly  resisting 
temptations  to  cowardice,  shall  we  therefore  do  our  duty,  quitting  our- 
selves like  men?  rather,  we  are  likely  to  talk  loudly,  and  then  run  from 
the  danger.  Why  ? — rather  let  us  ask,  why  7iot  ?  what  is  to  keep  us 
from  yielding?  Because  we  feel  aright  ?  nay,  we  have  again  and  again 
felt  aright,  and  thought  aright,  without  accustoming  ourselves  to  act 
aright,  and  though  there  was  an  original  connection  in  our  minds  be- 
tween feeling  and  acting,  there  is  none  now  ;  the  wires  within  us,  as 
they  may  be  called,  are  loosened  and  powerless. 

And  what  is  here  instanced  of  fortitude,  is  true  in  all  cases  of  duty. 
The   refinement    wliich  literature   gives,   is   that  of  thinking,  feelings 


XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  425 

knowing  and  speaking,  right,  not  of  acting  right ;  and  thus,  while  it 
makes  the  manners  amiable,  and  the  conversation  decorous  and  agree- 
able, it  has  no  tendency  to  make  the  conduct,  the  practice  of  the  man 
virtuous. 

Observe,  I  have  supposed  the  works  of  fiction,  I  speak  of,  to  inculcate 
right  sentiments ;  though  such  works  (play  books  for  example,)  are 
often  vicious  and  immoral.  But  even  at  best  supposing  them  well 
principled,  still  after  all,  at  best,  they  are,  I  say,  dangerous  in  them- 
selves ; — that  is,  if  we  allow  refinement  to  stand  in  the  place  of  hardy, 
rough-handed  obedience.  It  follows,  that  I  am  much  opposed  to  cer- 
tain religious  novels,  which  some  persons  think  so  useful :  that  they 
sometimes  do  good  I  am  far  from  denying  ; — but  they  do  more  harm 
than  good.  They  do  harm  on  the  whole  ;  they  lead  men  to  cultivate 
the  religious  affections  separate  from  religious  practice.  And  here  I 
might  speak  of  that  entire  religious  system,  (miscalled  religious,)  which 
makes  Christian  faith  consist,  not  in  the  honest  and  plain  practice  of 
what  is  right,  but  in  the  luxury  of  excited  religious  feeling,  in  a  mere 
meditating  on  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  dwelling  as  in  a  reverie  on  what 
He  has  done  for  us  ? — for  such  indolent  contemplation  will  no  more 
sanctify  a  man  in  fact,  than  reading  a  poem  or  listening  to  a  chant  or 
psalm-tune. 

The  case  is  the  same  with  the  arts  last  alluded  to,  poetry  and  music. 
They  are  especially  likely  to  make  us  unmanly,  if  we  are  not  on  our 
guard,  as  exciting  emotions  without  ensuring  correspondent  practice, 
and  so  destroying  the  connection  between  feeling  and  acting  ;  for  I  here 
mean  by  unmanliness  the  inability  to  do  with  ourselves  what  we  wish, 
— the  saying  fine  things,  and  yet  lying  slothfully  on  our  couch,  as  if  we 
could  not  get  up,  though  we  ever  so  much  wished  it. 

And  here  I  must  notice  something  besides  in  elegant  accomplish- 
ments, which  goes  to  make  us  over-refined  and  fastidious,  and  falsely 
delicate.  In  books,  every  thing  is  made  beautiful  in  its  way.  Pictures 
are  drawn  of  complete  virtue  ;  little  is  said  about  failures,  and  little  or 
nothing  of  the  drudgery  of  ordinary,  every-day  obedience,  which  is 
neither  poetical  nor  interesting-  True  faith  teaches  us  to  do  numberless 
disagreeable  things  for  Christ's  sake,  to  bear  petty  annoyances,  which 
we  find  written  down  in  no  book.  In  most  books  Christian  conduct  is 
made  grand,  elevated,  and  splendid  ;  so  that  any  one,  who  only  knows 
of  true  religion  from  books,  and  not  from  actual  endeavours  to  be  reli- 
gious, is  sure  to  be  offended  at  religion  when  he  actually  comes  upon  it, 
from  the  roughness  and  humbleness  of  his  duties,  and  his  necessary  de- 
ficiences  in  doing  them.     It  is  beautiful  in  a  picture  to  wash  the  disci- 


426  ST.  LUKE.  [Ssuf. 

pics'  feet ;  but  the  sands  of  the  real  desert  have  no  comeliness  in  them 
to  compensate  for  the  servile  nature  of  the  occupation. 

And  further  still,  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  art  of  composing, 
which  is  a  chief  accomplishment,  has  in  itself  a  tendency  to  make  us 
artificial  and  insincere.  For  to  be  ever  attending  to  the  fitness  and 
propriety  of  our  words,  is  (or  at  least  there  is  the  risk  of  its  being)  a 
kind  of  acting  ;  and  knowing  what  can  be  said  on  both  sides  of  a 
subject,  is  a  main  step  towards  thinking  the  one  side  as  good  as  the 
other.  Hence  men  in  ancient  times,  who  cultivated  polite  literature, 
became  what  were  called  "  Sophists  ;"  that  is,  men  who  wrote  elegantly, 
and  talked  eloquently,  on  any  subjects  whatever,  right  or  wrong.  St. 
Luke  perchance  might  have  been  such  a  Sophist,  had  he  not  been 
Christian. 

Such  are  some  of  the  dangers  of  elegant  accomplishments  ;  and  they 
beset  more  or  less  all  educated  persons  ;  and  of  these  perhaps  not  the' 
least,  such  females  as  happen  to  have  no  very  direct  duties,  and  are 
above  the  drudgery  of  common  life,  and  hence  are  apt  to  become  fas- 
tidious and  fine, — to  love  a  luxurious  ease,  and  to  amuse  themselves  in 
mere  elegant  pursuits,  the  while  they  admire  and  profess  what  is  reli- 
gious and  virtuous,  and  think  that  they  really  possess  the  character  of 
mind  which  they  esteem. 

With  these  thoughts  before  us,  it  is  necessary  to  look  back  to  the 
Scripture  instances  which  I  began  by  adducing,  to  avoid  the  conclusioa 
that  accomplishments  are  positively  dangerous,  and  unworthy  a  Chris- 
tian. But  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul  show  us,  that  we  may  be  sturdy  work- 
ers in  the  Lord's  service,  and  bear  our  cross  manfully,  though  we  be 
adorned  with  all  the  learning  of  the  Egyptians,  or  rather,  that  the  re^ 
sources  of  literature,  and  the  graces  of  a  cultivated  mind,  may  be  made 
both  a  lawful  source  of  enjoyment  to  the  possessor,  and  a  means  of 
introducing  and  recommending  the  Truth  to  others  ;  while  the  history.! 
of  the  Tabernacle  shows  that  all  the  cunning  arts,  and  precious  pos^ 
sessions  of  this  world,  may  be  consecrated  to  a  religious  service,  and 
be  made  to  speak  of  the  world  to  come.  I  conclude  then  with  the  fol- 
lowing cautions,  to  which  the  foregoing  remarks  lead.  First,  we  must 
avoid  giving  too  much  time  to  lighter  occupations,  and  next,  we  must 
never  allow  ourselves  to  read  works  of  fiction  or  poetry,  or  to  interest 
ourselves  in  the  fine  arts  for  the  mere  sake  of  the  things  themselves; 
but  keep  in  mind  all  along  that  we  are  Christians  and  accountable  be- 
ings, who  have  fixed  principles  of  right  and  wrong,  by  which  all  things 
must  be  tried,  and  religious  habits  to  be  matured  within  us,  towards 
which  all  things  are  to  be  made  subservient.  Nothing  is  more  common 
among  accomplished  people,  than  the  habit  of  reading  books  so  entirely 


XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  427 

for  reading's  sake,  as  to  praise  and  blame  the  actions  and  persons  de- 
scribed in  a  random  way,  according  to  their  fancy,  not  considering 
whether  they  are  really  good  or  bad  according  to  the  standard  of  moral 
truth.  I  would  not  be  austere  ;  but  when  this  is  done  habitually,  surely 
it  is  dangerous.  Such  too  is  the  abuse  of  poetical  talent,  that  sacred 
gift.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  fall  into  the  practice  of  utter- 
ing  fine  sentiments,  particularly  in  letter  writing,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
or  a  kind  of  elegant  display.  Nothing  more  common  in  singing  than 
to  use  words  with  a  light  meaning,  or  a  bad  one.  All  these  things  are 
hurtful  to  seriousness  of  character.  It  is  for  this  reason  (to  put  aside 
others)  that  the  profession  of  stage-players,  and  again  of  orators,  is  a 
dangerous  one.  They  learn  to  say  good  things,  and  to  excite  in  them- 
selves vehement  feelings,  about  nothing  at  all.  If  we  are  in  earnest, 
we  shall  let  nothing  lightly  pass  by  which  may  do  us  good,  nor  shall  we 
dare  to  trifle  Avith  such  sacred  subjects  as  morality  and  religious  duty. 
We  shall  apply  all  we  read  to  ourselves  ;  and  this  almost  without  in- 
tending to  do  so,  from  the  mere  sincerity  and  honesty  of  our  desire  to 
please  God.  We  shall  be  suspicious  of  all  such  good  thoughts  and 
wishes,  and  we  shall  shrink  from  all  such  exhibitions  of  our  principles* 
as  fall  short  of  action.  We  shall  aim  at  doing  right,  and  so  glorifying 
our  Father,  and  shall  exhort  and  constrain  others  to  do  so  also  ;  but  as 
for  talking  on  the  appropriate  subjects  of  religious  meditation,  andtrying 
to  show  piety,  and  to  excite  corresponding  feelings  in  another,  even 
though  our  nearest  friend,  far  from  doing  this,  we  shall  account  it  a 
snare  and  a  mischief.  Yet  this  is  what  many  persons  consider  the  high- 
est part  of  religion,  and  call  it  spiritual  conversation,  the  test  of  a  spir- 
itual mind  ;  whereas,  putting  aside  the  incipient  and  occasional  hypo- 
crisy, and  again  the  immodesty  of  it,  I  call  all  formal  and  intentional 
expression  of  religious  emotions,  all  studied  passionate  discourse,  dissi. 
pation, — dissipation  the  same  in  nature,  though  different  in  subject,  as 
what  is  commonly  so  called  ;  for  it  is  a  drain  and  a  waste  of  our  reli- 
gious and  moral  strength,  a  general  weakening  of  our  spiritual  powers 
(as  I  have  already  shown)  and  all  for  what  ?  for  the  pleasure  of  the  im- 
mediate excitement.  Who  can  deny  this  religious  disorder  is  a  parallel 
.case  to  that  of  the  sensualist  ?  Nay,  precisely  the  same  as  theirs,  from 
whom  the  religionists  in  question  think  themselves  very  far  removed, 
of  the  fashionable  world  I  mean,  who  read  works  of  fiction,  frequent 
the  public  shows,  are  ever  on  the  watch  for  novelties,  and  affect  a  pride 
jof  manners  and  a  "  mincing"*  deportment,  and  are  ready  with  all  kinds 
jof  good  thoughts  and  keen  emotions  on  all  occasions. 

•  Isa.  iii.  16. 


428  ST.  LUKE.  [Serm.  XXX. 

Of  all  such  as  abuse  the  decencies  and  elegancies  of  moral  truth 
into  a  means  of  luxurious  enjoyment,  what  would  a  prophet  of  God 
say  •  Hear  the  words  of  the  holy  Ezekiel,  that  stern  rough  man  of 
God,  a  true  Saint  in  the  midst  of  a  self-indulgent  high-professing  peo- 
ple. "  Thou  son  of  man,  the  children  of  thy  people  still  are  talking 
against  thee  by  the  walls  and  in  the  doors  of  the  houses,  and  speak  one 
to  another,  every  one  to  his  brother,  saying.  Come,  I  pray  you,  and 
hear  what  is  the  word  that  cometh  forth  from  the  Lord.  And  they 
come  unto  thee  as  the  people  cometh,  and  they  sit  before  thee  as  My 
people,  and  they  hear  thy  words,  but  they  will  not  do  them :  for  with 
their  mouth  they  show  much  love,  but  their  heart  goeth  after  their 
covetousness.  And  lo,  thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very  lovely  song  of  one 
that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument :  for 
they  hear  thy  words,  but  they  do  them  not."* 

Or,  consider  St.  Paul's  words  ;  which  are  still  more  impressive,  be- 
cause he  was  himself  a  man  of  learning  and  accomplishments,  and  took 
pleasure,  in  due  place,  in  the  pursuits  to  which  these  gave  rise. 

"  Preach  the  word  ;  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season  ;  reprove,  re- 
buke, exhort,  with  all  long-sutfering  and  doctrine.  For  the  time  will 
come  when  they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine ;  but  after  their  own 
Insts  shall  they  heap  to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears.  And 
they  shall  turn  away  their  ears  from  the  Truth,  and  shall  be  turned 
unto  fables."  "Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit  you  like  men, 
be  strong."! 

»  Ezek.  xxiiii.  30—32.  t  2  Tim.  iv.  2—4.         1  Cor.  xvi.  13. 


SERMON   XXXI. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE  THE  APOSTLES. 
CHRISTIAN   ZEAL. 


John  ii.  17. 
The  zeal  of  Thine  house  hath  eaten  Me  up. 

The  Apostles  commemorated  on  this  Festival,  direct  our  attention  to 
the  subject  of  Zeal,  which  I  propose  to  consider,  under  our  Saviour's 
guidance,  as  suggested  by  the  text.  St.  Simon  is  called  Zelotes, 
which  means  the  Zealous  ;  a  title  given  him  (as  is  supposed)  from  his 
belonging  before  his  conversion  to  the  Jewish  sect  of  Zealots,  which 
professed  extraordinary  Zeal  for  the  law.  Any  how,  the  appellation 
marks  him  as  distinguished  for  this  particular  Christian  grace.  St. 
Jude's  Epistle,  which  forms  part  of  the  service  of  the  day,  is  almost 
wholly  upon  the  duty  of  manifesting  Zeal  for  Gospel  Truth,  and  opens 
with  a  direct  exhortation  to  "  contend  earnestly  for  the  Faith  once 
dehvered  to  the  Saints."  The  Collect  also  indirectly  reminds  us  of  the 
same  duty,  for  it  prays  that  all  the  members  of  the  Church  may  be 
united  in  spirit  by  the  Apostles'  doctrine  ;  and  what  are  these  but  the 
words  of  Zeal,  viz.  of  a  love  for  the  Truth  and  the  Church  so  strong 
as  not  to  allow  that  man  should  divide  what  God  hath  joined  to- 
gether ? 

However,  it  will  be  a  more  simple  account  of  Zeal,  to  call  it  the 
earnest  desire  for  God's  honour,  leading  to  strenuous  and  bold  deeds  in 
His  behalf;  and  that  in  spite  of  all  obstacles.  Thus  when  Phinehas 
stood  up  and  executed  judgment  in  Israel,  he  was  zealous  for  God. 
David  also,  in  his  punishment  of  the  idolaters  round  about,  and  in  pre- 
paring for  the  building  of  the  Temple,  showed  his  Zeal,  which  was  ouf 
of  his  especial  virtues.  Elijah,  when  he  assembled  the  Israelites  upon 
Mount  Carmel,  and  slew  the  prophets  of  Baal,  was  "  very  zealous  for 
the  Lord  God  of  Hosts."  Hezekiah  besides,  and  Josiah,  were  led  to 
their  reformations  in  religious  worship  by  an  admirable  Zeal ;  and  Nc- 


430  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

hemiah  too,  after  the  captivity,  who  with  the  very  fire  and  sweetness 
of  Gospel  Love  set  the  repentant  nation  in  order  for  the  coining  of 
Christ. 

1.  Now  Zeal  is  one  of  the  elementary  religious  qualifications  ;  that 
is,  one  of  those  which  are  essential  in  the  very  notion  of  a  religious 
man.  A  man  cannot  be  said  to  be  in  earnest  in  religion,  till  he  magni- 
fies his  God  and  Saviour  ;  till  he  so  far  consecrates  and  exalts  the 
thought  of  Him  in  his  heart,  as  an  object  of  praise,  and  adoration,  and 
rejoicing  as  to  be  pained  and  grieved  at  dishonour  shown  to  Him,  and 
eager  to  avenge  Him.  In  a  word  a  religious  temper  is  one  of  loyalty 
towards  God ;  and  we  all  know  what  is  meant  by  being  loyal  from  the 
experience  of  civil  matters.  To  be  loyal  is  not  merely  to  obey  ;  but  to 
obey  with  promptitude,  energy,  dutifulness,  disinterested  devotion,  dis- 
regard of  consequences.  And  such  is  zeal,  except  that  it  is  ever  at- 
tended with  that  reverential  feeling  which  is  due  from  a  creature  and  a 
sinner  towards  his  Maker,  and  towards  Him  alone.  It  is  a  first  step  in 
all  religious  service  to  love  God  above  all  things  ;  now  Zeal  is  to  love 
Him  above  all  men,  above  our  dearest  and  most  intimate  friends.  This 
was  the  especial  praise  of  the  Levites,  which  gained  them  the  reward 
of  the  Priesthood,  viz.  their  executing  judgment  on  the  people  in  the 
sin  of  the  golden  calf.  "  Let  Thy  Thummim  and  Thy  Urim  be  with 
Thy  Holy  One,  whom  Thou  didst  prove  at  Massah,  and  with  whom 
Thou  didst  strive  at  the  waters  of  Meribah.  Who  said  unto  his  father 
and  to  his  mother,  I  have  not  seen  him  ;  neither  did  he  acknowledge  his 
brethren,  nor  knew  his  own  children  ;  for  they  have  observed  Thy 
word,  and  kept  Thy  covenant.  They  shall  teach  Jacob  Thy  Judg- 
ments, and  Israel  Thy  Law ;  they  shall  put  incense  before  Thee,  and 
whole  burnt  sacrifice  upon  Thine  Altar.  Bless,  Lord,  his  substance, 
and  accept  the  work  of  his  hands;  smite  through  the  loins  of  them  that 
rise  against  him,  and  of  them  that  hate  him,  that  they  rise  not  again." 
Phinehas  was  rewarded  in  like  manner,  after  executing  judgment, 
*'  Behold  I  give  unto  him  My  covenant  of  peace.  And  he  shall  have  it, 
and  his  seed  after  him,  even  the  covenant  of  an  everlasting  Priesthood, 
because  he  was  zealous  for  his  God."*  Zeal  is  the  very  consecration 
of  God's  Ministers  to  their  ofiice.  Accordingly,  our  Blessed  Saviour, 
the  One  Great  High  Priest,  the  Antitype  of  all  Priests  who  went  be- 
fore Him  and  the  Lord  and  Strength  of  who  come  after,  began  his 
manifestation  of  Himself  by  two  acts  of  Zeal.  When  twelve  years  old 
He  deigned  to  put  before  us  in  representation  the  sacredness  of  this 
duty,  when  He  remained  in  the  Temple  "  while  His  father  and  mother 

•  Deut.  xxxiii.  8—11.    Numb,  ixt,  12,  13. 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  431 

sought  Him  sorrowing,"  and  on  their  finding  Him,  returned  answer, 
"  Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  My  Father's  business  ?"  And  again, 
at  the  opening  of  His  public  Ministry,  He  went  into  the  Temple,  and 
"  made  a  scourge  of  small  cords,  and  drove  out  the  sheep  and  oxen,  and 
overthrew  the  changers'  tables"*  that  profaned  it ;  thus  fulfilling  the 
prophecy  contained  in  the  text,  "The  Zeal  of  Thine  House  hath  eaten 
Me  up." 

Being  thus  consumed  by  Zeal  himself,  no  wonder  He  should  choose 
His  followers  from  among  the  Zealous.  James  and  John,  whom  He 
called  Boanerges,  the  sons  of  thunder,  had  warm  hearts,  when  He  call- 
ed them,  however  wanting  in  knowledge  ;  and  felt  as  if  an  insult  offered 
to  their  Lord  should  have  called  down  fire  from  Heaven.  Peter  cut  off 
the  right  ear  of  one  of  those  who  seized  Him.  Simon  was  of  the  sect  of 
the  Zealots.  St.  Paul's  case  is  still  more  remarkable.  He,  in  his  attach- 
ment to  the  elder  Covenant  of  God,  had  even  fought  against  Christ ; 
but  he  did  so  from  earnestness,  from  being  "zealous  towards  God," 
though  blindly.  He  "verily  thought  with  himself,  that  he  ought  to  do 
many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  and  acted 
"  in  ignorance  ;"t  so  he  was  spared.  With  a  sort  of  heavenly  com- 
passion his  persecuted  Lord  told  him,  that  it  was  "  hard  for  him  to  kick 
against  the  pricks ;"  and  turned  his  ignorant  zeal  to  better  account. 
On  the  same  ground  rests  the  commendation  which  that  Apostle  bestows 
in  turn  upon  his  countrymen,  while  he  sorrowfully  condemns  their 
unpardonable  obstinacy.  "  My  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for 
Israel,"  he  says,  "  is,  that  they  might  be  saved  ;  for  I  bear  them  record, 
that  they  have  a  zeal  of  God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge. ":|:  They 
were  guilty,  because  they  might  have  known  what  they  did  not  know ; 
but  so  far  as  they  were  zealous,  they  claimed  from  him  a  respectful  no- 
tice, and  were  far  better  surely  than  those  haughty  scorners,  the  Ro- 
mans, who  felt  no  concern  whether  there  was  a  God  or  not,  worshipped 
one  idol  as  readily  as  another,  and  spared  the  Apostles  from  contemp- 
tuous pity.  Of  these  was  Gallio,  who  "  cared  for  none  of  those  things,"^ 
'which  either  Jews  or  Christians  did.  Such  men  are  abominated  by  our 
Holy  Lord,  who  "  honours  them  that  honour  Him,"  while  "  they  that 
despise  Him,  are  lightly  esteemed. "§  He  signifies  this  judgment  of 
the  lukewarm  and  disloyal,  in  His  message  to  the  Church  of  Laodicea. 
"  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot.  I  would  thou 
ivert  cold  or  hot.     So  then,  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither 

♦  Luke  ii.  48,  49.    John  ii.  15,  +  Acts  xivi.  9.     1  Tim.  i.  13 

I  Rom.  X.  i.  §  1  Sam.  ii.  30. 


432  ST.   SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Skrm. 

cold  nor  hot,  I  will  cast  the  forth  out  of  My  mouth."*  Thus  positive 
misbelief  is  a  less  odious  state  of  mind  than  the  temper  of  those  who 
arc  indifferent  to  religion,  who  say  that  one  opinion  is  as  good  as  the 
other,  and  contemn  or  ridicule  those  who  are  in  earnest.  Surely,  if 
this  world  be  a  scene  of  contest  between  good  and  evil,  as  Scripture 
declares,  "  he  that  is  not  with  Christ,  is  against  Him ;"  and  Angels  who 
Avitness  what  is  going  on,  and  can  estimate  its  seriousness,  may  well 
cry  out  "  Curse  ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof, 
because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the 
Lord  against  the  mighty."| 

I  do  not  deny  that  this  view  of  the  subject  is  different  from  that 
which  certain  principles  and  theories  now  current  in  the  world  would 
lead  us  to  adopt ;  but  this  is  surely  no  reason  that  it  should  not  be  true, 
unless  indeed,  amid  the  alternate  successes  of  good  and  evil,  there  be 
any  infallible  token  given  us  to  ascertain  the  superior  illumination  of 
the  present  century  over  all  those  which  have  preceded  it.  In  fact, 
we  have  no  standard  of  Truth  at  all  but  the  Bible,  and  to  that  I  would 
appeal.  "  To  the  Law  and  to  the  Testimony ;"  if  the  opinions  of  the 
day  are  conformable  to  it,  let  them  remain  in  honour,  but  if  not,  how- 
ever popular  they  may  be  at  the  moment,  they  will  surely  come  to 
nought.  It  is  the  present  fashion  to  call  Zeal  by  the  name  of  intole- 
rance, and  to  account  intolerance  the  chief  of  sins  ;  that  is,  any  earnest- 
ness for  one  opinion  above  another  concerning  God's  nature,  will,  and 
dealings  with  man, — or,  in  other  words,  any  earnestness  for  the  Faith 
once  delivered  to  the  Saints,  any  earnestness  for  Revelation  as  such. 
Surely,  in  this  sense,  the  Apostles  were  the  most  intolerant  of  men ; 
what  is  it  but  intolerance  in  this  sense  of  the  word  to  declare,  that  "  he 
that  hath  the  Son  hath  life,  and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath 
not  life  ;"  that  "they  that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  ;"  that  "  neither  fornicators,  nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor 
covetous,  nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  i 
God  ;"  that  we  must  not  even  "  eat  with  a  brother  who  is  one  of  such ; 
that  we  may  not  "  receive  into  our  houses,"  or  "bid  God  speed"  to  any 
one  who  comes  to  us  without  the  "  doctrine  of  Christ  ?"  Has  not  St. 
Paul,  whom  many  seem  desirous  of  making  an  Apostle  of  less  rigid 
principles  than  his  brethren,  said  even  about  an  individual,  "  The  Lord 
reward  him  according  to  his  works  !"|  and  though  wc  of  this  day  have 
not  the  spiritual  discernment  which  alone  can  warrant  such  a  form  of 

*  Rev.  iii.   5     ,16.         t  Judg.  v.  23. 

t  1  John  V.  12.    2  Thcss.  i.  8,  9.     1  Cor.  vi.  9,  10.     v.  11.    2  John  10,  11 
2  Tim.  iv.  14. 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  433 

words  about  this  man  or  that,  have  we  not  here  given  us  a  clear  evidence, 
that  there  are  cases  in  which  God's  glory  is  irreconcileable  with  the 
salvation  of  sinners,  and  when  in  consequence,  it  is  not  unchristian  to 
acquiesce  in  His  judgments  upon  them  ?  These  words  were  delibe- 
rately written  by  ISt.  Paul,  in  the  closing  days  of  his  life,  when  his 
mind  was  most  calm  and  heavenly,  his  hope  most  assured,  his  reward 
immediately  in  view  ;  circumstances  which  render  it  impossible  for  any 
one  who  even  reverences  St.  Paul  as  a  man  of  especial  holiness,  to 
explain  them  away,  not  to  insist  on  the  argument  from  his  inspiration. 
Such  is  Zeal,  a  Christian  grace  to  the  last,  while  it  is  also  an  elemen- 
tary virtue  ;  equally  belonging  to  the  young  convert,  and  the  matured 
believer ;  displayed  by  Moses  at  the  first,  when  he  slew  the  Egyptian, 
and  by  St.  Paul  in  his  last  hours,  while  he  reached  forth  his  hand  for 
his  heavenly  crown. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  Zeal  is  an  imperfect  virtue  ;  that  is,  in  our 
fallen  state,  it  will  ever  be  attended  by  unchristian  feelings,  if  it  is  cher- 
ished by  itself  This  is  the  case  with  many  other  tempers  of  mind, 
which  yet  are  absolutely  required  of  us.  Who  denies  that  it  is  a  duty 
in  the  returning  sinner  to  feel  abhorrence  of  his  past  offences,  and  a 
dread  of  God's  anger  1  Yet  such  feelings,  unless  faith  accompany 
them,  lead  to  an  unfruitful  remorse,  to  despair,  to  hardened  pride  ;  or 
again,  to  perverse  superstitions.  Not  that  humiliation  is  wrong  in  any 
sense  or  degree,  but  it  induces  collateral  weaknesses  or  sins,  from  unduly 
exciting  one  side  of  our  imperfect  nature.  Mercy  becomes  weakness, 
when  unattended  by  a  sense  of  justice  and  firmness  ;  the  wisdom  of  the 
serpent  becomes  craft,  unless  it  be  received  into  the  harmlessness  of 
the  dove.  And  Zeal,  in  like  manner,  though  an  essential  part  of  a 
Christian  temper,  is  but  a  part  ;  and  is  in  itself  imperfect,  even  for  the 
i  very  reason  that  it  is  elementary.  Hence  it  appropriately  fills  so  promi- 
nent a  place  in  the  Jewish  Dispensation,  which  was  intended  to  lay  the 
foundations,  as  of  Christian  Faith,  so  of  the  Christian  character. 
Whether  we  read  the  injunctions  delivered  by  Moses  against  idolatry 
and  idolaters,  or  trace  the  actual  history  of  God's  chosen  servants,  such 
asPhinehas,  Samuel,  Elijah,  and  especially  David,  we  find  that  the  Law 
was  peculiarly  a  Covenant  of  Zeal.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Gospel 
brings  out  into  its  full  proportions,  that  perfect  temper  of  mind,  which 
the  Law  enjoined  indeed,  but  was  deficient  both  in  enforcing  and  crea- 
ting,— Love ;  that  is,  Love  or  Charity,  as  described  by  St.  Paul  in  his 
first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  which  is  not  merely  brotherly-love,  (a 
virtue  ever  included  in  the  notion  of  Zeal  itself,)  but  a  general  temper 
of  gentleness,  meekness,  sympathy,  tender  consideration,  open-hearted- 
aess  towards  all  men,  brother  or  stranger,  who  come  in  our  way.  In 
Vol.  L— 28 


434  ST.   SIMON  AND   ST.  JUDE.  [Szku. 

this  sense,  Zeal  is  of  the  Law,  and  Love  of  the  Gospel  ;  and  Love 
perfects  Zeal,  purifying  and  regulating  it.  Thus  the  Saints  of  God  go 
on  unto  perfection.  Moses  ended  his  life  as  "  the  meekest  of  men," 
though  he  began  it  with  undisciplined  Zeal,  which  led  him  to  a  deed  of 
violence.  St.  John,  who  would  call  down  fire  from  heaven,  became  the 
Apostle  of  love  ;  St.  Paul,  who  persecuted  Christ's  servants,  "  was  made 
all  things  to  all  m.en  ;"  yet,  neither  of  them  lost  their  Zeal,  though  they 
trained  it  to  be  spiritual. 

Love,  however,  is  not  the  only  grace  which  is  necessary  to  the  per- 
fection of  Zeal ;  Faith  is  another.  This,  at  first  sight  may  sound 
strange  ;  for  what  is  Zeal,  it  may  be  asked  but  a  result  of  Faith  ?  who 
is  zealous  for  that  in  which  he  does  not  trust  and  delight  ?  Yet,  it  must 
be  kept  in  mind,  that  we  have  need  of  Faith,  not  only  that  we  may 
direct  our  actions  to  a  right  object,  but  that  v/e  may  perform  them 
rightly  ;  it  guides  us  in  choosing  the  means,  as  well  as  the  end.  Now, 
Zeal  is  very  apt  to  be  self-v/illed  ;  it  takes  upon  itself  to  serve  God  in 
its  ov/n  way.  This  is  evident  from  the  very  nature  of  it :  for,  in  its  ruder 
form,  it  manifests  itself  in  sudden  and  strong  emotions  at  the  sight  of 
presumption  or  irreverence,  proceeding  to  action  almost  as  a  matter  of 
feehng  v/ithcut  having  time  to  inquire  which  way  is  best.  Thus,  when 
our  Lord  was  seized  by  the  officers,  Peter  forthwith  "  drew  his  sword, 
and  struck  a  servant  of  the  High  Priest's,  and  smote  off  his  ear."*  Pa- 
tience then,  and  resignation  to  God's  will,  are  tempers  of  mind  of  which 
Zeal  especially  stands  in  need, — that  dutiful  faith,  which  v*ill  take  nothing 
for  granted  on  the  mere  suggestion  of  nature,  looks  up  to  God  with  the 
eyes  of  a  servant  towards  his  m.aster,  and,  as  far  as  may  be,  ascertains 
His  will  before  it  acts.  If  this  heavenly  corrective  be  wanting.  Zeal, 
as  I  have  said,  is  self-willed  in  its  temper  ;  while,  by  using  sanctions, 
and  expecting  results  of  this  world,  it  becomes  (what  is  commonly 
called,)  political.  Here,  again,  we  see  the  contrast  between  the  Jewish 
and  the  Christian  Dispensations.  The  Jewish  Law  being  a  visible  system, 
sanctioned  by  temporal  rewards  and  punishments,  necessarily  involved 
the  duty  of  a  political  temper  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  under  it. 
They  were  bound  to  aim  at  securing  the  triumph  of  Religion  here  ;  real- 
izing its  promises,  enjoying  its  successes,  enforcing  its  precepts  with  the 
sword.  This,  I  say,  was  their  duty  ;  and,  as  fulfilling  it,  among  other 
reasons,  David  is  called  "a  man  after  God's  own  heart."  But  the  Gospel 
teaches  us  to  "  walk  by  Faith,  not  by  sight ;"  and  Faith  teaches  us  so 
to  be  zealous,  as  still  to  forbear  anticipating  the  next  world,  but  to  wait 
till  the  Judge  shall  come.     St.  Peter  drew  his  sword,  in  order  (as  he 

»  Matt.  xxvi.  51. 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  435 

thought)  to  realize  at  once  that  good  work  on  which  his  heart  was  set, 
our  Lord's  dehverajice  ;  and,  on  this  very  account,  he  met  with  that 
Saviour's  rebuke,  who  presently  declared  to  Pilate,  that  His  Kingdom 
was  not  of  this  world,  else  would  His  servants  fight.  Christian  Zeal, 
therefore,  ever  bears  in  mind  that  the  Mystery  of  Iniquity  is  to  continue 
on  till  the  Avenger  solves  it  once  for  all ;  it  renounces  all  hope  of  has- 
tening His  coming,  all  desire  of  intruding  upon  His  work.  It  has  no 
vain  imaginings  about  the  world's  real  conversion  to  Him,  however  men 
may  acknowledge  Him  outwardly,  knov/ing  that  it  lies  in  wickedness. 
It  has  recourse  to  no  officious  modes  of  propagating  or  strengthening 
His  truth.  It  does  not  flatter  and  ally  itself  with  Samaria,  in  order  to 
repress  Syria.  It  does  not  exalt  an  Idumsan  as  its  king,  though  he  bo 
willing  to  beautify  the  Temple,  or  has  influence  with  the  Emperors  of 
the  World.  It  plans  no  intrigues  ;  it  recognizes  no  parties  ;  it  rehes  on 
no  arm  of  flesh.  It  looks  for  no  essential  improvements  or  permanent 
reformations,  in  the  dispensation  of  those  precious  gifts  which  are  ever 
pure  in  their  origin,  ever  corrupted  in  man's  use  of  them.  It  acts  ac- 
cording to  G  od's  will,  (this  time  or  that,  as  it  comes,)  boldly  and  promptly ; 
yet  letting  each  act  stand  by  itself,  as  a  sufficient  service  to  Him,  not 
connecting  them  by  hope,  or  working  them  into  system,  further  than  He 
commands.     In  a  word,  Christian  Zeal  is  not  political. 

Tv.^0  reflections  arise  from  considering  this  last  characteristic  of  the 
virtue  in  question  ;  and  with  a  brief  notice  of  these  I  will  conclude. 

I .  First,  it  is  too  evident  how  grievously  the  Roman  Schools  have 
erred  in  this  part  of  Christian  duty.  Let  their  doctrines  be  as  pure  as 
they  would  represent,  still  they  have  indisputably  made  their  Church  an 
instrument  of  worldly  politics  by  a  "zeal  not  according  to  knowledge." 
Let  us  grant  that  her  creed  was  not  formally  erroneous  till  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  nevertheless,  from  the  eleventh,  at  least,  she  has  made  Christ's 
Kingdom  of  this  world.  I  will  not  inquire  whether  she  committed  the 
additional  most  miserable  sin  of  rebellion  against  Caesar  ;  though,  from 
what  we  see  around  us  at  this  day,  there  is  great  reason  to  fear,  that 
from  the  beginning  of  her  power  she  has  been  tainted  with  it.  But 
consider  tlie  principles  recognised  in  her  practice,  though  not  adopted 
into  her  formal  teaching,  since  the  date  I  have  mentioned,  and  then 
say  whether  she  has  not  failed  in  this  essential  duty  of  a  Christian  Wit- 
ness, viz.  in  preserving  the  spiritual  character  of  Christ's  kingdom.*  In 
saying  this,  I  would  not  willingly  deny  the  great  debt  we  owe  to  thai 

*  Among  the  principles  referred  to  are  the  following,  which  occur  among  tlic  Dic- 
tatus  Hildebrandi :  "  Quod  liccat  illi  [Papce]  imperatores  deponcre ;"  "  Quod  a  fide- 
litate  iniquorum  subditos  poteet  absolvcre."     Vide  Laud  against  Fisher,  p.  !-!• 


Il 


436  ST.  SIMON  AND   ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

Church  for  her  faithful  cuslody  of  the  Faith  itself  through  so  many  cen- 
turies ;  nor  seem  unmindful  of  the  circumstances  of  other  times,  the 
oradual  growth  of  religious  error,  and  the  external  dangers  which  ap- 
peared to  placejthe  cause  of  Christianity  itself  in  jeopardy,  and  to  call 
for  extraordinary  measures  of  defence.  Much  less  would  I  speak  dis- 
respectfully of  the  eminent  men  who  were  the  agents  under  Providence 
in  various  stages  of  that  mysterious  Dispensation,  and  whom,  however 
our  Zeal  may  burn,  we  must  in  very  Charity  believe  to  be,  what  their 
works  and  sufferings  betoken,  single-minded,  self-denying  servants  of 
their  God  and  Saviour. 

2.  The  Roman  Church  then  has  become  political ;  but  let  us  of  the 
present  day  beware  of  running  into  the  other  extreme,  and  of  supposing 
that,  because  Christ!s  Kingdom  is  not  based  upon  this  world,  it  is  not 
connected  with  it.  Surely  it  was  established  here  for  the  sake  of  this 
world,  and  must  ever  act  in  it  as  if  a  part  of  it,  though  its  origin  is  from 
above.  Like  the  Angels  which  appeared  to  the  Patriarchs,  it  is  a 
Heavenly  Messenger  in  human  form.  In  its  Polity,  its  Public  Assem- 
blies, its  Rules  and  Ordinances,  its  Censures,  and  its  Possessions,  it  is  a 
visible  body,  and,  to  appearance,  an  institution  of  this  world.  It  is  no 
faulty  zeal  to  labour  to  preserve  it  in  the  form  in  which  Christ  gave  it. 

And  further,  it  should  ever  be  recollected,  that,  though  the  Church  is 
not  of  this  world,  yet  we  have  assurance  from  God's  infallible  word, 
that  there  are  in  the  world  temporal  and  present  Dispensers  of  His 
Eternal  .Justice.  We  are  expressly  told,  that  "  the  powers  that  be  are 
ordained  of  God  ;"  that  they  "  bear  not  the  sword  in  vain,  but  are 
ministers  of  God,  revengers  to  execute  wrath  upon  the  evil  doer,"  and 
bestow  "  praise"  on  those  who  do  well.  Hence,  as  being  gifted  with  a 
portion  of  God's  power,  they  hold  an  office  of  a  priestly  nature,*  and 
are  armed  with  the  fearful  sanction,  that  "  they  that  resist  them,  shall 
receive  to  themselves  Judgment."  On  this  ground,  religious  Rulers 
have  always  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to  act  as  in  God's  place  for  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Truth  ;  and  the  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  has  seen 
her  obligation  not  only  to  submit  to  them  in  things  temporal,  but  zeal- 
ouslv  to  co-operate  with  them  in  her  own  line,  towards  those  sacred 
objects  which  they  have  both  in  common.  And  thus  has  been  happily 
fulfilled,  for  fifteen  himdred  years,  Isaiah's  prophecy,  that  "  kings  should 
be  nursing  fathers  to  the  Church,  and  queens  her  nursing  mothers." 
Yet,  clearly  there  is  nothing  here,  either  of  a  self-willed  zeal,  or  political 
craft,  in  the  conduct  of  the  Church  ;  inasmuch  as  she  has  but  submitted 
herself  thereby  to  the  guidance  of  the  revealed  Word. 


hurov^yo)  ecjv.     Rom.  xiii.  1 — G, 


J 


XXXII.]  USE  OF  SAINTS'   DAYS.  437 

May  Almighty  God,  for  His  dear  Son's  sake,  lead  us  safely  through 
these  dangerous  times ;  so  that,  while  we  never  lay  aside  our  Zeal  for 
His  honour,  we  may  sanctify  it  by  Faith  and  Charity,  neither  staining 
our  garments  by  wrath  or  violence,  nor  soiling  them  with  the  dust  of  a 
turbulent  world  ! 


SERMON   XXXII 


THE    FEAST    OF  ALL    SAINTS. 
USE  OF  SAINTS'  DAYS. 


Ye  shall  be  Witnesses  unto  Me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judca,  and  in  Samaria 
and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  tlie  earth. 

So  many  were  the  wonderful  works  which  our  Saviour  did  on  earth, 
that  not  even  the  world  itself  could  have  contained  the  books  recording 
them.  Nor  have  his  marvels  been  less  since  He  ascended  on  high  ; — 
those  works  of  higher  grace  and  more  abiding  fruit,  wrought  in  the 
souls  of  men,  from  the  first  hour  till  now, — the  captives  of  His  power, 
the  ransomed  heirs  of  His  kingdom,  whom  He  has  called  by  His  Spirit 
working  in  due  season,  and  led  on  from  strenglli  to  strength  till  they 
appear  before  His  face  in  Zion.  Surely  not  even  the  world  itself  could 
contain  the  records  of  His  love,  the  history  of  those  many  Saints,  that 
"  cloud  of  Witnesses,"  whom  we  to-day  celebrate.  His  purchased  pos- 
session in  every  age  !  We  crowd  these  all  up  into  one  day  ;  we  min- 
gle together  in  the  brief  remembrance  of  an  hour  all  the  choicest  deeds, 
the  holiest  lives,  the  noblest  labours,  the  most  precious  sufferings,  which 
the  sun  ever  saw.  Even  the  least  of  those  Saints  were  the  contempla- 
tion of  many  days, — even  the  names  of  them,  if  read  in  our  Service, 
would  outrun  many  settings  and  risings  of  the  light, — even  one  passage 
in  the  hfe  of  one  of  them  were  more  than  sufficient  for  a  long  discourse. 
"Who  can  count  the  dust  of  Jacob,  and  the  number  of  the  fourth  jtart 


438  ALL  SAINTS,  [Serm. 

of  lyiae!.''*  Martyrs  and  Confessors,  Rulers  and  Doctors  of  the 
Church,  devoted  Ministers  and  ReHgious  brethren,  kings  of  the  earth 
and  all  people,  princes  and  judges  of  the  earth,  young  men  and  maidens, 
old  men  and  children,  the  first  fruits  of  all  ranks,  ages,  and  callings, 
gathered  each  in  his  own  time  into  the  paradise  of  God.  This  is  the 
blessed  company  which  to-day  meets  the  Christian  pilgrim  in  the  Ser- 
vices of  the  Church.  We  are  like  Jacob,  when,  on  his  journey  home- 
wards, he  was  encouraged  by  a  heavenly  vision.  "  Jacob  went  on  his 
way,  and  the  Angels  of  God  met  him ;  and  when  Jacob  saw  them,  he 
said.  This  is  God's  host,  and  he  called  the  name  of  that  place  Ma- 
hanaim."f 

And  such  a  host  was  also  seen  by  the  favoured  Apostle,  as  described 
in  the  chapter  from  which  the  Epistle  of  the  day  is  taken.  "  I  beheld, 
and  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations, 
and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the  Lamb,  clothed 
with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands.  .  .  .  These  are  they  which 
came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.":}: 

This  great  multitude,  Avhich  no  man  could  number,  is  gathered  into 
this  one  day's  commemoration,  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  Prophets, 
the  noble  army  of  Martyrs,  the  Children  of  the  Holy  Church  Univer- 
sal, who  have  rested  from  their  labours. 

The  reason  of  this  disposition  of  things  is  as  follows  : — Some  centu- 
ries  ago  there  were  too  many  Saints'  days  ;  and  they  became  an  excuse 
for  idleness.  Nay,  worse  still,  by  a  great  and  almost  incredible  per- 
versencss,  instead  of  glorifying  God  in  His  Saints,  Christians  came  to 
pay  them  an  honour  approaching  to  divine  worship.  The  consequence 
was,  that  it  became  necessary  lo  take  away  their  Festivals,  and  to  com- 
memorate them  all  at  once  in  a  summary  way.  Now  men  go  into  the 
contrary  extreme.  These  Holy  days,  few  though  they  be,  are  not  duly 
observed.  Such  is  the  way  of  mankind,  ever  contriving  to  slip  by 
their  duty,  and  fall  into  one  or  other  extreme  of  error.  Idle  or  busy, 
they  are  in  both  cases  wrong  ;  idle,  and  so  neglecting  their  duties  to- 
wards man  ;  busy,  and  so  neglecting  their  duties  towards  God.  We 
have  little  to  do  however  with  the  faults  of  others ; — let  us  then,  pass- 
ing by  the  error  of  idling  time  under  pretence  of  observing  many  Ho- 
lydays,  rather  speak  of  the  fault  of  our  own  day,  viz.,  of  neglecting  to 
observe  them,  and  tliat,  under  pretence  of  being  too  busy. 

Our  Church  abridged  the  number  of  Holydays,  thinking  it  right  to 
have  but  a  few  ;  but  we  account  any  as  too  much.     For,  taking  us  as 

»  Numb,  ixiii.  10.         t  Gen.  x.\xii.  1,9.        i  Rev.  vii.  9.  14. 


XXXII.]  USE  OF  SAINTS'  DAYS.  489 

a  nation,  wg  are  bont  on  gain  ;  and  grudge  any  lime  whicli  is  spent 
without  reference  to  our  worldly  business.  We  should  seriously  re- 
flect whether  this  neglect  of  the  appointments  of  religion  be  not  a 
great  national  sin.  As  to  individuals,  i  can  easily  understand  how  it 
is  that  they  pass  them  over.  A  considerable  number  of  persons,  (for 
instance,)  have  not  their  time  at  their  own  disposal.  They  are  in  ser- 
vice or  business,  and  it  is  their  duty  to  attend  to  the  orders  of  their 
masters  or  employers, — which  keep  them  from  Church.  Or  they  have 
particular  duties  to  keep  them  at  home,  though  they  are  their  own  mas- 
ters. Or,  it  even  may  be  said,  that  the  circumstances  under  which 
they  find  their  calling,  the  mode  in  which  it  is  exercised  by  others,  may 
be  a  sort  of  reason  for  doing  as  others  do.  It  may  be  such  a  worldly 
loss  to  them  to  leave  their  trade  on  a  Saint's-day  and  go  to  Church,  as 
to  appear  to  them  a  reason  in  conscience  for  their  not  doing  so.  I  do 
not  wish  to  give  an  opinion  upon  this  case  or  that,  which  is  a  matter 
for  the  individual  immediately  concerned.  Still,  I  say  on  the  whole, 
that  state  of  society  must  be  defective,  which  renders  it  necessary  for 
the  Ordinances  of  religion  to  be  neglected.  There  must  be  a  fault 
somewhere ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  one  of  us  to  clear  himself  of 
his  own  portion  of  the  fault,  to  avoid  partaking  in  other  men's  sins,  and 
to  do  his  utmost  that  others  may  extricate  themselves  from  the  blame 
too. 

I  say  this  neglect  of  religious  ordinances  is  an  especial  fault  of  these 
latter  ages.  There  was  a  time  when  men  openly  honoured  the  Gospel ; 
and  when,  consequently,  they  had  each  of  them  more  means  of  be 
coming  religious.  The  institutions  of  the  Church  v.ere  impressed  up- 
on the  face  of  society.  Dates  were  reckoned  not  so  much  by  months 
and  seasons,  as  by  sacred  Festivals.  The  world  kept  pace  with  the 
Gospel  ;  the  arrangements  of  legal  and  commercial  business  were  regu- 
lated by  a  Christian  rule.  Something  of  this  still  remains  among  us  ; 
but  such  customs  are  fast  vanishing.  Mere  grounds  of  utility  are  con- 
sidered sutTicient  for  re-arrauging  the  order  of  secular  engagements. 
Men  think  it  waste  of  time  to  wait  upon  the  course  of  the  Christian 
year ;  and  they  think  they  gain  more  by  a  business-like  method,  and 
the  neatness,  despatch,  and  clearness  in  the  worldly  transactions  con- 
sequent upon  it,  (and  this  perhaps  they  really  do  gain,)  but  they  think 
they  gain  more  by  it,  than  they  lose  by  dropping  the  .Memorials  of  re- 
ligion. These  they  really  do  lose  ;  they  lose  those  regulations  which 
at  stated  times  brought  the  concerns  of  another  life  before  their  minds  ; 
and,  if  the  truth  must  be  spoken,  they  often  rejoice  in  losing  what  otli- 
ciously  interfered,  as  they  consider,  with  their  temporal  schemes,  and 
leminded  them  they  were  mortal. 


440"  ALL  SAINTS.  [Serm, 

Or  view  another  part  of  the  subject.     It  was  once  the  custom  for 
the  Churches  to  be  open  through  the  day,  that  at  spare  times  Christians 
might  enter  them,  and  be  able  to  throw  off  for  some  minutes  the  cares 
of  the  world  in  religious  exercises.     Services  were  appointed  for  sepa- 
rate hours  in  the  day,  to  allow  of  the  attendance  in^whole  or  in  part  of 
those  who  happened  to  be  at  hand.      Those  who  couldfnot  come  still 
might  keep  their  service-book  with  them  ;  and  at  least|repeat  at  times 
the  j)rayers  in  private  which  were  during  the  passing  hour  offered  in 
Church.     Thus  provision   was  made  for  the  spiritual    sustenance  of 
Christians  day  by  day  ;  for  that  daily-needed  bread  which  far  exceeds 
"the  bread  that  perisheth."     All  this  is  now  at  an  end.     We  dare  not 
open  our  Churches,  lest  men  should  profane  them  instead  of  worship- 
ping.    As  for  an  accurately   arranged  Ritual,  too  many   of  us  have 
learned  to  despise  it,  and   to  consider  it  a  form..     Thus  the  world  has 
encroached  on  the  Church  ;  the  lean  kine  have  eaten  up  the  fat.     We 
are  threatened  with  years  of  spiritual  famine,  with  the  triumph  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Truth,  and  with  the  stifling,  or  at  least  enfeebling  of 
the  Voice  of  Truth  ; — and  why  ?     All  because  we  have  neglected  those 
religious  observances  through  the  year  which  the  Church  commands, 
which  we  are  bound  to  observe  ;  while,  by  neglecting,  we  have  provided 
a  sort   of  argument  for  those  who  have  wished  to  do  them  away  alto- 
gether.    No  party  of  men  can  keep  together  without  stated  meetings; 
assemblings  are,  we  know,  the  very  life  of  political  associations.     View- 
ing, then,  the  institutions   of  the  Church  merely  in  a  human  point  of 
view,  how  can  we  possess  power  as  Christians,  if  we  do  not,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  what  great  power  we  should  have,  if  we  did,  flock  to  the 
Ordinances  of  religion,  present  a  bold  face  to  the  world,  and  show  that 
Christ  has  still  servants  true  to  Him?     That  we  come  to  Church  on 
Sundays  is  a  help  this  way  doubtless ;  but  it  would  be  a  vastly  more 
powerful  evidence  of  our  earnestness  for  the  Truth,  if  we  testifled  for 
Christ  at  some  worldly  inconvenience  to  ourselves,  which  would  be  the 
case  with  some  of  us  on  other  Holydays.     Can  we  devise  a  more  pow- 
crfid  mode  of  preaching  to  men  at  large,  and  one  in  which  the  most 
unlearned  and   most   timid  among  us  might   more   easily  partake,  of 
preachmg  Christ  as  a  warning  and  a  rcn>embrance,  than  if  all  who 
loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  made  it  a  practice  to  throng  the 
Churches  on  the  week-day  Festivals  and  various  Holy  Seasons,  allow- 
ing less  religious  persons  the  while  to  make  tiie  miserable  gains,  which 
greater  keenness  in  the  pursuit  of  this  world  certainly  does  secure  ? 

I  have  not  yet  mentioned  the  peculiar  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the 
observance  of  Saints'  days:  which  obviously  lies  in  their  setting  be- 
fore the  mind  patterns  of  excellence  for  us  to  follow.     In  directing  us 


XXXII.]  USE   OF  SAINTS'  DAYS.  441 

to  these,  the  Church  does  but  fulfil  the  design  of  Scripture.  Consider 
how  great  a  part  of  the  Bible  is  historical ;  and  how  much  of  the  his- 
tory is  merely  the  lives  of  those  men  who  were  God's  instruments  in 
their  respective  ages.  Some  of  them  are  no  patterns  for  us,  others 
show  marks  of  the  corruption  under  which  human  nature  universally 
lies :  yet  the  chief  of  them  are  specimens  of  especial  faith  and  sanctity* 
and  are  set  before  us  with  the  evident  intention  of  exciting  and  guidmg 
us  in  our  religious  course.  Such  are  above  others,  Abraham,  Joseph, 
Job,  Moses,  Joshua,  Samuel,  David,  Elijah,  Jeremiah,  Daniel,  and 
thel  ike ;  and  in  the  New  Testament  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists. 
First  of  all,  and  in  His  own  incommunicable  glory,  our  Blessed  Lord 
Himself  gives  us  an  example ;  but  His  faithful  servants  lead  us  on 
towards  Him,  and  confirm  and  diversify  His  pattern.  Now,  it  has  been 
the  aim  of  our  Church  in  her  Saints'  days  to  maintain  the  principle, 
and  set  a  pattern,  of  this  peculiarly  Scriptural  teaching. 

And  we,  at  the  present  day,  have  particular  need  of  the  discipline 
of  such  commemorations  as  Saints'  days,  to  recall  us  to  ourselves.  It 
is  a  fault  of  these  times,  (for  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  faults  of 
other  times)  to  despise  the  past  in  comparison  of  the  present.  We  can 
scarce  open  any  of  the  lighter  or  popular  publications  of  the  day  with- 
out falling  upon  some  panegyric  on  ourselves,  on  the  illumination  and 
humanity  of  the  age,  or  upon  some  disparaging  remarks  on  the  wisdom 
and  virtues  of  former  times.  Now  it  is  a  most  salutary  thing  under  this 
temptation  to  self-conceit  to  be  reminded  that  in  all  the  highest  qualifi- 
cations of  human  excellence,  we  have  been  far  outdone  by  men  who 
lived  centuries  ago  ;  that  a  standard  of  truth  and  holiness  was  then 
set  up,  which  we  are  not  likely  to  reach,  and  that,  as  for  thinking  to 
become  wiser  and  better,  or  more  acceptable  to  God  than  they  were,  it 
is  a  mere  dream.  Here  we  are  taught  the  true  value  and  relative  im- 
portance of  the  various  gifts  of  the  mind.  The  showy  talents,  in  which 
the  present  age  prides  itself,  fade  away  before  the  true  metal  of  Pro- 
phets and  Apostles.  Its  boasted  "  knowledge"  is  but  a  shadow  of  "  pow- 
er "  before  the  vigorous  strength  of  heart  which  they  displayed,  who 
could  calmly  work  miracles,  as  well  as  speak  with  the  lips  of  inspired 
wisdom.  Would  that  St.  Paul  or  St.  John  could  rise  from  the  dead  ! 
How  would  the  minute  philosophers  who  now  consider  intellect  and 
enlightened  virtue  all  their  own,  shrink  into  nothing  before  those  well- 
tempered,  sharp-edged  weapons  of  the  Lord  !  Are  not  we  come  to  this  / 
is  it  not  our  shame  as  a  nation,  that,  if  not  the  Apostles  themselves,  at 
least  the  ecclesiastical  System  they  devised,  and  the  Order  they  found- 
ed, are  viewed  with  coldness  and  disrespect  ?  How  few  are  there  who 
look  with  reverent  interest  upon  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  as  tlic  Sue. 


442  ALL  SAINTS.  [Serm,  XXXII. 

ccssors  of  the  Apostles ;  honouring  them,  if  they  honour,  merely  be- 
cause they  like  them  as  individuals,  and  not  from  any  tjiought  of  pecu- 
liar sacredness  of  their  office  !  Well,  let  it  be  !  the  End  must  one  time 
come.  It  cannot  be  that  things  should  stand  still  thus.  Christ's  Church  is 
indistructible  ;  and,  lasting  on  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  this  world, 
she  must  rise  again  and  flourish,  when  the  poor  creatures  of  a  day  who 
opposed  her,  have  crumbled  into  dust.  "  No  weapon  that  is  formed 
against  her  shall  prosper."  "  Rejoice  not  against  me,  O  mine  enemy  ! 
when  I  fall,  I  shall  arise ;  when  I  sit  in  darkness,  the  Lord  shall  be  a 
light  unto  me."*  In  the  mean  time  let  us  not  forget  our  duty  ;  which 
is  after  the  example  of  Saints,  to  take  up  our  cross  meekly,  and  pray 
for  our  enemies. 

These  are  thoughts  suitably  to  be  impressed  on  us,  on  ending  (as  we 
do  now)  the  yearly  Festivals  of  the  Church.  Every  year  brings  won- 
ders. We  know  not  any  year,  what  wonders  shall  have  happened 
before  the  circle  of  Festivals  has  run  out  again,  from  St.  Andrew's  to 
all  Saints'.  Our  duty  then  is,  to  wait  for  the  Lord's  coming,  to  prepare 
His  way  before  Him,  to  pray  that  when  he  comes  we  may  be  found 
watching,  to  pray  for  our  country,  for  our  King  and  all  in  authority  under 
him,  that  God  would  vouchsafe  to  enlighten  the  understandings  and 
change  the  hearts  of  men  in  power,  and  make  them  act  in  His  faith 
and  fear,  for  all  orders  and  conditions  of  men,  and  especially  for  that 
branch  of  His  Church  which  He  has  planted  here.  Let  us  not  forget, 
in  our  lawful  and  fitting  horror  at  evil  men,  that  they  have  souls,  and 
that  they  know  not  what  they  do,  when  they  oppose  the  truth.  Let  us 
not  forget,  that  we  are  sons  of  sinful  Adam  as  well  as  they,  and  have  had 
advantages  to  aid  our  faith  and  obedience  above  other  men.  Let  us 
not  forget,  that,  as  we  are  called  to  be  Saints,  so  we  are,  by  that  very 
calling,  called  to  sutler ;  and,  if  we  suffer,  must  not  think  it  strange 
concerning  the  fiery  trial  that  is  to  try  us,  nor  be  puffed  up  by  our  pri- 
vilege of  suflering,  nor  bring  suffering  needlessly  upon  us,  nor  be  eager 
to  make  out  we  have  suffered  for  Christ,  when  we  have  but  suffered  for 
our  faults,  or  not  at  all.  May  God  give  us  grace  to  act  upon  these 
rules,  as  well  as  to  adopt  and  admire  them';  and  to  say  nothing  for  say- 
ing's sake,  but  to  do  much  and  say  little  ! 

*  Isaiah  liv.  17.     Micah  vii.  8. 


NOTE 

ON  SERMON   XIII.— P.  293. 

The  instrumentality  of  the  Spiritual  Sustenance  received  in  the  Lord's  Supper, 
in  the  renewal  of  the  whole  man,  body  as  well  as  soul,  in  holiness  and  immor- 
tality, is  a  doctrine  so  solemn,  so  momentous  in  its  influence  upon  the  entire 
Christian  system,  and  so  little  understood  at  the  present  day,  that  it  may  be 
right  to  cite  one  or  two  authorities  in  support  of  it.  This  is  done,  not  under 
the  notion  that  such  authorities  will  weigh  with  certain  reasoners,  but  in  order 
that  those  whose  minds  are  not  made  up  on  the  subject,  may  see  how  far  they 
must  go,  if  they  would  at  once  scornfully  or  rudely  reject  the  doctrine  thus 
sanctioned  ;  involving,  as  they  necessarily  must  in  such  treatment,  a  disrespect 
towards  writers,  whose  opinions,  though  not  infallible,  have  ever  a  claim  on  the 
consideration  and  deference  of  members  of  the  Church. 

Hooker  is  known  to  be  opposed  to  any  formal  doctrinal  assertion  of  the 
presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacred  Elements,  and  especially  on  this  ground,  lest 
any  such  should  withdraw  our  minds  from  His  real  presence  and  operation  in 
the  soul  and  body  of  the  recipient.  The  following  passages  are  from  his  Ec- 
clesiastical Polity,  v.  56,  57.  67.  "  We  are  by  nature  the  sons  of  Adam.  When 
God  created  Adam,  He  created  us  ;  and  as  many  as  are  descended  from  Adam, 
have  in  themselves  the  root  out  of  which  they  spring.  The  sons  of  God  we 
neither  are  all,  nor  any  one  of  us,  otherwise  than  only  by  grace  and  favour.  The 
sons  of  God  have  God's  own  natural  Son  as  a  second  Adam  from  heaven, 
whose  race  and  progeny  they  are  by  spiritual  and  heavenly  birth.  God  there- 
fore loving  eternally  His  Son,  He  must  needs  eternally  in  Him  have  loved  and 
preferred  before  all  others,  them  which  are  spiritually  sithence  descended  and 

sprung  out  of  Him Our  being  in   Christ  by  eternal  foreknowledge, 

saveth  us  not  without  our  actual  and  real  adoption  into  the  fellowship  of  His 
Saints  in  this  present  world.  For  in  Him  we  actually  are,  by  our  actual  incor- 
poration into  that  Society  which  hath  Him  for  their  head  ;  and  doth  make  to- 
gether with  Him  one  body,  (He  and  they  in  that  respect  having  one  name,)  for 
which  cause,  by  virtue  of  this  mystical  conjunction,  we  are  of  Him,  and  in  Him, 
even  as  though  our  very  flesh  and  bones  should  be  made  continuate  with  His. 
....  The  Church  is  in  Christ,  as  Eve  was  in  Adam.  Yea,  by  grace  we  are 
every  of  us  in  Christ  and  in  His  Church,  as  by  nature  we  were  in  those  of  our 
first  parents.  God  made  Eve  of  the  rib  of  Adam  ;  and  His  Church  He  fram- 
eth  out  of  the  very  flesh,  the  very  wounded  and  bleeding  side  of  the  Son  ot 
Man.  His  body  crucified,  and  His  blood  shed  for  the  life  of  the  world,  are  the 
True  Elements  of  that  heavenly  being,  which  maketh  us  such  as  Himself  is, 
of  whom  we  come.  For  which  cause,  the  words  of  Adam  may  be  fitly  the 
words  of  Christ  concerning  His  Church,  '  Flesh  of  My  flesh,  and  bone  of  My 
bones;'  a  true  nature  extract  out  of  my  own  body.     So  that  in  Him,  even  ac- 


444  NOTE  ON  SERMON  XIII. 

cording  to  His  Manhood,  we,  according  to  our  heavenly  being,  are  as  branches 
in  that  root  out  of  which  they  grow.  .  .  .  Adam  is  in  us  as  an  original  cause  of 
our  nature,  and  of  tiiat  corruption  of  nature  which  causcth  death  ;  Christ,  as  the 
cause  original  of  restoration  to  life.  The  person  of  Adam  is  not  in  us,  but  his 
nature,  and  the  corruption  of  his  nature  derived  into  all  mon  by  propagation,  Christ 
having  Adam's  nature,  as  we  have,  but  incorrupt,  dcriveth  not  nature,  but  incor- 
ruption,  and  thai  immediately  from  His  own  person,  into  all  that  belong  unto  Him. 
As  therefore  we  are  really  partakers  of  the  body  of  sin  and  death  received  from, 
Adam,  so  except  we  be  truly  partakers  of  Christ,  and  as  really  possessed  of  His- 
Spirit,  all  we  speak  of  eternal  life  is  but  a  dream.  That  which  quickeneth  us 
is  the  Spirit  of  the  second  Adam,  and  His  Flesh  is  that  wherewith  He  quicken- 
eth. That  which  in  Him  made  our  nature  uncorrnpt  was  the  union  of  His 
Deity  with  our  nature  .  .  .  These  things  St.  Cyril  duly  considering,  reproveth 
their  speeches,  which  taught  that  only  the  Deity  of  Christ  is  the  vine  whereupon 
we  by  faith  do  depend  as  branches,  and  that  neither  His  Flesh,  nor  our  bodiesy 
are  comprised  in  this  resemblance.  For,  doth  any  man  doubt,  but  that  even  from 
the  Flesh  of  Christ,  our  very  bodies  do  receive  that  life  tvhich  shall  make  them 
glorious  at  the  latter  day ;  and  for  which  they  are  already  accounted  parts  of 
His  Blessed  Body?  .  .  .  Christ  is,  therefore,  both  as  God  and  as  man,  that 
true  vine,  whereof  we,  both  spiritually  and  corporally,  are  branches.  The 
mixture  of  His  bodily  substance  with  ours,  is  a  thing  which  the  ancient  Fa- 
thers disclaim."  ....  That  saving  grace  which  Christ  originally  is,  or  hath 
for  the  general  good  of  His  whole  Church,  by  Sacraments  He  severally  deriv- 
eth  into  every  member  thereof.  Sacraments  serve  as  the  instruments  of  God^ 
to  that  end  and  purpose.  .  .  .  Our  souls  and  bodies  quickened  to  eternal  life, 
are  effects,  the  cause  whereof,  is  the  Person  of  Christ ;  His  body  and  blood 
are  the  true  well-spring  out  of  which  this  life  floweth.  So  that  His  Body  and 
Blood  are  in  that  very  subject  whereunto  they  minister  life  ;  not  only  by  effect 
or  operation,  even  as  the  influence  of  the  heavens  is  in  plants,  beasts,  men^ 
and  in  every  thing  which  they  quicken  ;  but  also  by  a  far  more  divine  and  mys- 
tical kind  of  union,  whicii  maketh  us  one  with  Him.  even  as  He  and  the  Father 
are  one.  The  real  presence  of  Christ's  most  Blessed  Body  and  Blood  is  not 
therefore  to  be  sought  for  in  the  Sacrament,  but  in  the  worthy  receiver  of  the 
Sacrament.  .  ,  They  (the  Sacramentarics)  grant  that  these  holy  Mysteries, 
received  in  due  manner,  do  instrumentally  both  make  us  partakers  of  the  grace 
of  that  Body  and  Blood  which  were  given  for  the  life  of  the  world,  and  besides 
also  impart  to  us,  even  in  true  and  real,  though  mystical  manner,  the  very  per- 
son of  our  Lord  Himself  whole,  perfect,  and  entire.''''  ...  It  is  impossible  to 
do  justice  to  this  most  instructive  Author  by  mere  extracts.  The  whole  of  his 
discussion  should  be  diligently  read  and  mastered  by  those  who  wish  to  know 
the  sublime,  yet  cautious  doctrine  of  our  Church  on  the  subject,  securing  es- 
sentials here  as  elsewhere,  but  allowing  her  children  to  differ  as  to  minuter 
points.  It  is  plain,  that  Hooker  accounted  the  Lord's  Supper  as  a  chief  means 
of  conveying  to  the  body  u  principle  of  life,  distinct  altogether  from  that  physi- 
cal life  we  now  live,  the  seed  of  immortality  not  to  be  developed  till  the  resur- 
rection, the  rudiment  of  tlie  spiritual  body  which  will  then  be  given  us.     (Vide 


NOTE  ON  SERMON  XIII.  445 

Ij  68.  fin.)  But  too  many  students  and  writer's  glance  over  his  pages  in  a  care- 
less way,  and  not  imagining  that  his  statements  are  to  be  interpreted  in  their 
plain  sense,  do  but  find  in  them  an  obscurity,  which  they  attribute  to  an  anti- 
quated style;  or  going  further,  they  interpret  "mystical"  to  mean  nothing 
more  than  "  figurative,"  and  consider  his  whole  discussion,  the  over-subtle 
treatment  of  a  true  but  merely  general  analogy  ;  or,  further  still,  a  mere  unin- 
telligible disputation  derived  from  the  schools. 

Ignatius,  Epist.  ad  Ephes.  20.  tvj.  aprov  ntZ/Ti;,  o;  Xm  <f>upuiKOY  aS:tvx(rix:, 
avT/J'oTOC  Toy  a7riS-j.vHv  aAAai^iiv  h  'j/isrou  XpttTTrZ  tf/'t  vomto;. 

Irenaeus  contr.  Haires.iv.  18.  plainly  discriminates  between  the  body  consid- 
ered as  physical  and  mortal,  and  the  spiritual  body  that  shall  be,  and  describes 
the  Eucharist  as  the  present  seed  of  the  latter.  TlZ;  t«v  o-afKi.  xiyMo-iv  u;  <pScf>av 
XptfCn^  >t.x\  (M)!  f^iri^uv  T-Sif  ^ceti;,  t«v  liiro  too  trai^stTOf  tou  Ku/ii'ou,  Jtai  t;u  oli/uclto!  autoZ 
Tfi^Of^irnv ;  ,  ,  .  >L;  yap  utto  yyi;  apro?  TrpaTKHufixvi/niva  t>i»  "iKKKna-iv  tou  ©s;u  oIkiti  xa/yoc 
a^TOc  la-Tiv,  dXA.'  rji^i-picrrl-x^  iK  (TJo  vpi/yfAarm  a-ui/t^THKu'ta.,  \7r1yttov  rt  mt  iiipxvUu'  ovTm; 
K«<  Ta  trdifAXTX  yif^Zv  juirx\a.f/.^dvo]/rct  T>ic  i'u^Aptrrix;,  /nmUTi  Uyxt  <p8itp7ra,   riiy   'tKviJ'x 

Til;    tU    OLlZvU.!  dystCTTdj-faJC  i^OVTX. 

Afain,  V    2.     'E-vliJ'ti  fji.iK»  aiirm  iT/xiv,  Jt«i  tfia    tmc  Ktis-itui   Tfi^if^tBit,  t«v  J'i   ktio'IY 

ifJih     CtUTOC    TTUfi^tt,    TOy     «X/3V     MToZ    aVXTlKKm,    Kxl  0pi^aiV,   Xifl^g  0'jVKtTaH,   TO    dwo  tit 

xrla-icu;  TroT^ptov,  cLtfAH.  Uiov  l/uioKoyyiyiv ,  t^  oZ  to  tif/.'iTipoi  Siuii  tufxrt,  Kxi  tov  dsro  T«f  xrio-un 
aprov,  iJ'm  a-Z/ua.  JiS/Ss/S^t/wO-ttTO,  d^'  ou  Ta  ifjLitipi.  ttu^it  fl-w^stTa.  *Owot«  cur  xaii  to 
VMpx/nivov  TToryipm,  *«/  0  ytyovU  aprot  iTriSia^iTXt  tov  xoyov  to-/  ©eov,  n-ti  yimxi »  i^j'/jt. 
PIttU  ^ZfAX  Xpti-rov,  iK  Tsi/T*v  S'i  aii^il  >cx)  auv'tJTi.'ra.i  «  t«c  o-i/ixsc  »^w»  Ja-oVTstir/c, 
■!rZc  J'lKTiKiv  ju>i  iJvit  Xiyov^t  tjiv  a-dpx.i.  T>tc  Jaipia;  tsu  ©sou  iirt;  ia-r)  ^cnii  aiwV/ot,  tmv  utto 
TOU  <rl/ua.TA;  icx)  aI'^w^toc  tou  Kupiau  rpifOfxivm,  m)  fxiXot  auTOu  CTrdp^ovtrxi  ;   x.  t.  \. 

Athanasius,  de  Incarnat.  j  16.  [p.  883,  ed.  Benedict.]  ^i^iix^i  y^g  »f*i(  iv  th 
k/%i,  h  T^  vuv  eiiZn  «m7v  to»  tTrtiua-tov  iigrov,  toutso-t/  tov  ^ex^^cVT*,  ou  d5rag;^«v  tc^-o/^s/  i? 
<rij  vDi-  fa.?  Tii;  trotgKo:  tou  Kt/g/ou  ^«T:tA*^/2avovT£c  .  .  .  srvsu^a  >a/>  fa'oa-o/ouy  »  (rdg|  ia-T/ 
TOU  Kug/ou. 

Chrysostom,  Hom.  xxiv.  in  1  Cor.  [t.  xi.  p.  257,  ed.  Due]  'E^&Tri  »  ^godp* 
-TTic  (Tsjgxoc  ?u«-/c  «  diro  j,«c  Stx7rKxa-bii<TA  dTro  t??  a/nxpTU;  t<p6ita-i  viKptviha.!,  kx)  fa«c 
>fyl(r6a<  sg«^o?,  mgav,  ic  dv  el^ro/  tk,  (udf^iv  x*<  f^Vnv  ejre/a-x'jaje,  ti.i'  mutou  a-dgxi, 
<|>uV6«  (uiy  ous-stv  T»v  oLUTiiv,  a/xxpTW  (fe  d.7n,\Kxyjuiviiv,  x-xi  ^un;  yk/xvjrxr  ka)  vdrty  Uamv 

CLVTVH:  fXiTXKX/xUdvilV,  htt  TitUT)!  TgS<(>0>«VO<  **<  T«V  5rgOTfg«»  ttlToflj^SVOi  T«^  VWgdv,  «(C  T«V 
f«J)V   TMl"    dSctVXTOV  J(d  TM?   Tg*TJif«C    dy.-tKSg«c9J;,M«V    TiUTMC 

Vid.  Cyril.  Alex.  t.  vi.  Explan.  Duodcc.  Cap.  p.  156.  d.  contr.  Julian,  t. 
viii.  p.  253.  b.  &c.     Apollin.  apud  Theodor.  Eranist.  ii.  fin. 

A  number  of  instances  from  the  Fathers  is  supplied  in  Johnson's  Unbloody 
Sacrifice,  Part  ii.  ch.  ii.  5  i-  Vid.  also  Petav.  de  Incarn.  ii.  8,  9.  x.  2.  Vide 
also  Patrick's  Mensa  Mystica,  Sect.  i.  ch.  5.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  refer 
to  the  Homily  on  the  Sacrament,  Part  i.,  and  our  Communion  Service,  for  con- 
cise statements  of  the  same  doctrine. 


J 


PAROCHIAL    SERIMONS 


VOL.    III. 


OF    THE    LONDON    EDITION 


AD  VE  RTISE  A[E  .\  T. 


Ax  opinion  having  been  expressed  in  several  quarters  of  the  resem- 
blance of  some  of  the  doctrinal  statements  in  these  volumes  of  Ser- 
mons to  those  received  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  the  author  has  been 
led  to  point  out  some  of  the  distinctions  between  Romanism  and  what 
he  conceives  to  be  the  genuine  AngUcan  theology,  in  a  series  of  Lec- 
tures upon  the  Prophetical  office  of  the  Church.  Here  he  will  but 
observe,  that  if  the  system  commonly  called  Popery  be  a  perversion 
or  corruption  of  the  Truth,  as  we  beUeve,  it  must,  by  the  mere  force 
of  the  terms,  be  like  that  Truth  which  it  counterfeits :  and  therefore, 
that  the  fact  of  a  resemblance,  as  far  as  it  is  borne  out.  is  no  proof  of 
any  essential  approximation  in  his  opinions  to  Popery,  as  such. 
Rather,  it  would  be  a  serious  argument  against  their  primitive  char- 
acter, if  to  superficial  observers  they  bore  no  likeness  to  it.  Ultra- 
Protestantism  could  never  have  been  silently  corrupted  into  Popery-. 


SERMON    I 


ABRAHAM  AND  LOT. 


Gex.  liii.  10, 11. 


Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  beheld  all  the  plain  of  Jordein,  that  it  was  well  watered 
every  where,  before  the  Lord  destroyed  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  even  as  the  garden 
of  the  Lord,  like  the  land  of  Egypt,  as  thou  comest  unto  Zoar.  Then  Lot  chose 
him  all  the  plain  of  Jordan. 

The  lesson  to  be  gained  from  the  history  of  Abraham  and  Lot  is  ob- 
viously this, — that  nothing  but  a  clear  apprehension  of  things  unseen,  a 
simple  trust  in  God's  promises,  and  the  greatness  of  mind  thence  arising, 
can  make  us  act  above  the  Avorld,  indifferent,  or  almost  so,  to  its  com- 
forts, enjoyments,  and  friendships ;  or  in  other  words,  that  its  goods 
corrupt  the  common  run  even  of  religious  men  who  possess  them.  Lot, 
as  well  as  Abraham,  left  his  own  country  "  by  faith,"  in  obedience  to 
God's  command  ;  yet  on  a  further  trial,  in  which  the  will  of  God  was 
not  so  clearly  signified,  the  one  was  found  "  without  spot  and  blame- 
less," the  other  "  was  saved  so  as  by  fire."  Abraham  became  the  "  father 
of  all  them  that  believe  ;"  Lot  obscured  the  especial  hope  of  his  caUing, 
— impaired  the  privileges  of  his  election, — for  a  time  allowed  himself  to 
resemble  the  multitude  of  men,  as  now  seen  in  a  Christian  country, 
who  are  religious  to  a  certain  point,  and  inconsistent  in  their  lives,  not 
aiming  at  perfection. 

His  history  may  be  divided  into  three  parts  : — first,  from  the  time  of 
his  setting  out  ^\^th  Abraham  from  Haran,  to  their  separation ;  then 
from  his  settlement  in  the  cities  of  the  plain  (as  they  are  called.)  of 
which  Sodom  was  one,  till  his  captivity  and  rescue  ;  and  lastly,  from 
his  return  to  Sodom,  to  his  escape  thence  to  the  mountain,  under  the 
Angel's  guidance,  when  the  Scripture  history  loses  sight  of  him.  Let 
us  review  these  in  order. 

1.  When  Abraham  and  Lot  first  came  into  the  land  of  Canaan  they 
bad  received,  as  it  seems,  no  divine  direction  where  they  were  to  settle. 
They  first  came  to  Sichem  :  thence  they  went  on  to  the  neighbourhood 
5f  Bethel ;  at  length  a  famine  drove  them  down  to  Egypt ;  and  after 
his  the  history  of  their  temptation  (for  so  it  must  be  colled)  begins. 
Vol.  L— 29 


li 


450  ABRAHAM  AND  LOT.  [Skrm.. 

Abraham  and  Lot  had  given  up  this  world  at  the  word  of  God  ;  but 
a  more  difHcult  trial  remained.  Though  never  easy,  yet  it  is  easier  to 
set  our  hearts  on  religion,  when  we  have  nothing  else  to  engage  them, — 
or  to  take  some  one  decided  step,  which  throws  us  out  of  our  line  of  life* 
and  in  a  manner  forces  upon  us  what  we  should  naturally  shrink  from  ; 
than  to  possess  in  good  measure  the  goods  of  this  world,  and  yet  love 
God  supremely.  Many  a  man  might  make  a  sacrifice  of  his  worldly 
interests  from  impulse ;  and  then  having  little  to  unsettle  him,  he  is 
enabled  to  hold  fast  his  religion,  and  serve  God  consistently  and  accep- 
tably. Of  course  men  who  make  such  sacrifices,  often  evidence  much 
strength  of  character  in  making  them,  which  doubtless  was  Lot's  case 
when  he  left  his  country.  But  it  is  even  a  greater  thing,  it  requires  a 
clearer,  steadier,  nobler  faith,  to  be  surrounded  with  worldly  goods,  yet 
to  be  self-denying  ;  to  consider  ourselves  but  stewards  of  God's  bounty, 
and  to  be  "  faithful  in  all  things"  committed  to  us.  In  this  then  lay  the 
next  temptation  which  befel  the  two  patriarchs.  God  gave  them  riches, 
and  importance.  When  they  went  down  to  Egypt,  Abraham  was  hon- 
ourably received  by  the  king  of  the  country.  Soon  after,  it  is  said  that 
Abraham  had  "  sheep,  and  oxen,  and  he-asses,  and  men-servants,  and 
maid-servants,  and  sheasses,  and  camels:"  again,  that  "Abram  was 
very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold;"  and  presently,  that  "  Lot 
also  .  .  had  flocks,  and  herds,  and  tents."*  The  consequence  was,, 
that,  on  their  return  to  Canaan,  their  households  and  cattle  had  become 
too  numerous  for  one  place  :  "  The  land  was  not  able  to  bear  them,  that 
they  might  dwell  together  ;  for  their  substance  was  great  so  that  they 
could  not  dwell  together."f  Their  servants  quarrelled  in  consequence; 
each  party,  for  instance,  endeavouring  to  secure  the  richest  pasturesi 
and  the  best  supplied  wells.  This  discordance  in  the  chosen  family  was, 
of  course,  very  unseemly,  as  witnessed  by  idolaters,  the  Canaanities, 
and  Perizzites,  who  lived  in  the  neighbourhood.  Abraham  accordingly 
proposed  a  friendly  separation,  and  left  it  to  Lot  to  choose  what  part  of 
the  country  he  would  settle  in.  Here  was  the  trial  of  Lot's  faith  ;  let 
us  see  how  he  met  it.  It  so  happened  that  the  most  fruitful  region,  the 
plain  of  Jordan,  was  in  the  hands  of  an  abandoned  people,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Sodom,  Gomorrah,  and  the  neighbouring  cities.  Now  the 
wealth  which  Lot  had  hitherto  enjoyed  had  been  given  him  as  a  pledge 
of  God's  favour,  and  had  its  chief  value  as  coming  from  Him.  But 
surely  he  forgot  this,  and  esteemed  it  for  his  own  sake,  when  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  attracted  by  the  richness  and  beauty  of  a  guilty  and  devot- 
ed  country.     The  prosperity  of  a  wicked  people  could  not  be  account- 

»  Gen.  li.  16.  xiii.  2.  5.  f  Gen.  iiii.  6. 


I.]  ABRAHAM  AND  LOT.  451 

ed  a  mark  of  God's  love  ;  but  to  look  toward  Sodom  was  to  go  the  way 
of  the  world,  and  to  make  wealth  the  measure  of  all  things,  and  the  end 
of  life.  In  the  words  of  the  text,  "  Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  beheld 
all  the  plain  of  Jordan,  that  it  was  well  watered  every  where  .  .  .  even 
as  the  garden  of  Eden  .  .  .  And  Lot  chose  him  all  the  plain  of  Jor- 
dan .  .  .  and  pitched  his  tent  toward  Sodom.  But  the  men  of  Sodom 
were  wicked,  and  sinners  before  the  Lord  exceedingly."  I  do  not  see 
how  we  can  deny  that  this  was  a  false  step  in  the  holy  patriarch,  blame- 
able  in  itself,  and  leading  to  most  serious  consequences.  "  I  had  rather 
be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of  my  God,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "  than  to 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness."*  But  those  who  have  accustomed 
their  minds  to  look  on  worldly  prosperity  as  highly  desirable  in  itself, 
take  it  wherever  they  meet  with  it  ; — now  as  given  by  God,  and  now, 
again,  when  not  given  by  Him.  It  is  not  to  them  a  point  of  first  im- 
portance  hy  whom  it  is  given,  at  least  not  in  their  secret  hearts  :  though 
they  might,  perhaps,  be  surprised  did  any  one  so  tell  them.  If  all  this 
does  not  in  its  fulness  apply  to  Lot,  his  history  at  least  reminds  us  of 
what  takes  place  daily  in  instances  which  resemble  it  externally.  Men 
still  consider  themselves,  and  promise  themselves  to  be,  consistent  wor- 
shippers of  the  One  True  God,  while  they  are  falling  into  that  sin  which 
the  Apostle  calls  "  idolatry," — the  love  and  worship  of  the  creature  for 
the  Creator. 

In  the  meantime  Abraham  is  left  without  any  earthly  portion,  but 
with  God's  presence  for  his  inheritance  :  and  so  God  witnessed  it :  for, 
as  if  to  reward  him  for  his  disinterestedness.  He  renewed  to  him  the 
promise  already  made  him,  of  the  future  grant  of  the  whole  land,  in- 
cluding even  that  fair  portion  of  which  Lot  had  temporary  possession. 
"  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Abram,  after  that  Lot  was  separated  from 
him.  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and  look  from  the  place  where  thou  art, 
northward  and  southward  and  eastward  and  westward  ;  for  all  the  land 
which  thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever.  And 
I  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the  earth,  so  that  if  a  man  can 
number  the  dust  of  the  earth,  then  shall  thy  seed  also  be  numbered. 
Arise,  walk  through  the  land  in  the  length  of  it,  and  in  the  breadth  of 
it,  for  I  will  give  it  unto  thee."f 

2.  Thus  ehds  the  fir.  t  portion  of  the  history  of  Abraham  and  Lot : — 
To  proceed  :  God  is  so  merciful  that  He  suffers  not  His  favoured  ser- 
vants to  wander  from  Him  without  repeated  warnings.  They  cannot 
be  "  as  the  heathen  :"  they  are  pursued  with  gracious  visitings,  as  Jonah 
I  when  he  fled  away.     Lot  had  chosen  the  habitation  of  sinners  ;  still  he 

*  Psalm  Ixxxiv.  10.  t  Gen.  xiii.  1-4 — 17. 


452  ABRAHAM  AND  LOT.  [Serm. 

was  not  left  to  himself.     A  calamity  was  sent  to  warn  and  chasten 

liifu  • ^ve  arc  not  told  indeed  that  this  was  the  intention  of  it,  but  we 

know  even  bv  the  light  of  nature  that  all  affliction  is  calculated  to  try 
and  iinjirove  us,  and  so  it  is  fair  to  say  that  this  was  the  design  of  the 
violence  and  captivity  to  which  Lot  was  soon  exposed.  Sodom,  Go- 
morrah, and  the  neighbouring  cities,  which  were  subject  to  Chedorlao- 
jner,  king  of  Elani,  at  this  time  revolted  from  him.  In  consequence 
their  country  was  overrun  by  his  forces  and  those  of  his  allies  ;  and,  a 
battle  taking  place,  the  kings  of  those  cities  were  defeated  and  killed, 
and  "  their  goods  and  victuals  "  taken.  Lot  also  and  his  property  fell 
into  their  hands.  Thus,  independently  of  religious  considerations,  his 
place  of  abode  had  its  disadvantage  in  that  very  fertility  and  opulence 
which  he  had  coveted,  and  which  attracted  the  notice  of  those  whose 
power  enabled  them  to  be  rapacious.  Abraham  at  this  time  dwelt  in 
the  plain  of  Mamre,  and  on  hearing  the  news  of  his  kinsman's  capture, 
he  at  once  assembled  his  own  followers,  to  the  number  of  above  three 
hundred  men,  and  being  joined  by  several  princes  of  the  country  with 
whom  he  was  confederate,  he  pursued  the  plunderers,  surprised  them 
by  night,  routed  them,  and  rescued  Lot  with  his  fellow-captives  and  all 
his  goods. 

This,  I  have  said,  was  a  gracious  warning  to  Lot,  not  a  warning 
onlvj  it  seems  also  to  have  been  an  opportunity  of  breaking  off  his  con- 
nection with  the  people  of  Sodom,  and  removing  from  the  sinful  coun- 
try. However,  he  did  not  take  it  as  such.  Nothing  indeed  is  said  of] 
his  return  thither  in  this  passage  of  the  history  ;  but  in  the  narrative 
which  follows  shortly  after,  we  find  him  still  in  Sodom,  though  not  in- 
volved in  the  Divine  vengeance  inflicted  upon  it : — but  of  this  more 
presently. 

Let  us  first  turn  by  way  of  contrast  to  Abraham.  How  many  ex- 
cuses might  he  have  made  to  himself,  had  he  so  willed,  for  neglecting 
his  kinsman  in  misfortvme  !  Especially  might  he  have  enlarged  on 
the  danger  and  apparent  hopelessness  of  the  attempt  to  rescue  him. 
But  it  is  a  principal  characteristic  of  faith  to  be  careful  for  others 
more  tlian  for  self.  With  a  small  band  of  followers  he  boldly  pursued 
the  forces  of  the  victorious  kings,  and  succeeded  in  recovering  his 
brother's  son.  Observe  too  his  disinterested  and  princeh"  spirit  after 
the  battle,  in  refusing  part  of  the  spoil.  "  I  will  not  take  from  a  thread 
even  to  a  shoclatchct,"  he  said  to  the  king  of  Sodom,  "  and  I  will  not 
take  any  thing  that  is  thine,  lest  thou  shouldest  say,  I  have  made 
Abram  rich."  Besides,  this  might  be  especially  necessary  to  mark  his 
abhorrence  of  the  men  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  was  a  sort  of 
protest  against  their  sins.     His  conduct  suggests  a  further  remark : 


I]  ABRAHAM  AND  LOT.  453 

He  had  been  promised  the  land  in  which  he  now  hved  as  a  stranger  ; 
he  had  vaHant  troops,  though  few  in  number,  who  doubtless,  had  he  so 
desired,  might  have  conquered  for  him  a  sufficient  portion  of  it.  But 
he  did  not  attempt  it :  for  he  knew  God  could  bring  about  his  design 
and  accomplish  His  promise  in  His  own  good  time,  without  his  use  of 
unlawful  means.  Force  of  arms  indeed  would  not  have  been  unlaw- 
ful, had  God  ordered  their  use,  as  afterwards  when  the  Israelites  re- 
turned  from  Egypt  ;  but  it  was  unlawful  without  express  command, 
and  Abraham  perhaps  had  to  overcome  a  temptation  in  not  having 
recourse  to  it.  We  have,  in  the  after  history,  a  similar  instance  of 
forbearance  in  the  conduct  of  David  towards  Saul.  David  was  pro- 
mised the  kingdom  by  God  Himself ;  Saul's  life  was  more  than  once 
in  his  hands,  but  he  thought  not  of  the  sin  of  doing  him  any  harm. 
God  could  bring  about  His  promise  without  his  "  doing  evil  that  good 
might  come."  This  is  the  true  spirit  of  faith  :  to  wait  upon  God,  to 
watch  for  and  to  follow  His  guidance,  not  to  attempt  to  go  before  Him. 

But  did  Abraham  return  to  his  place  without  reward  for  his  generous 
and  self-denying  conduct?  Far  otherwise;  God  mercifully  renewed 
to  him  the  pledge  of  His  favour  in  answer  to  this  new  instance  of  his 
faith.  As  He  had  renewed  the  blessing  when  Lot  at  first  chose  the 
fruitful  land,  so  He  blessed  him  now  by  the  mouth  of  a  great  priest  and 
king.  Lot  went  back  to  Sodom  in  silence ; — but  God  spoke  to  Abra- 
ham by  Melchizedek.  "  And  Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  brought 
forth  bread  and  wine,  and  he  was  the  priest  of  the  most  High  God  ; 
and  he  blessed  him  and  said,  Blessed  be  Abram  of  the  most  High  God, 
possessor  of  heaven  and  earth,"  (who  can  give  away  kingdoms  and 
countries  as  He  will)  "  and  blessed  be  the  most  High  God,  who  hath 
dehvered  thine  enemies  into  thy  hand."  Who  Melchizedek  was,  is 
not  told  us  ;  Scripture  speaks  of  him  as  a  type  of  Christ ;  but  we  can- 
not tell  how  far  Abraham  knew  this,  or  what  particular  sanctity 
attached  to  his  character,  or  what  virtue  to  his  blessing.  But  evi- 
dently it  was  a  special  mark  of  favour  placed  on  Abraham  ;  and  the 
bread  and  wine,  brought  forth  as  refreshment  after  the  fight,  had  per- 
haps something  of  the  nature  of  a  sacrament,  and  conveyed  the  pledge 
of  mercy. 

3.  Now  let  us  pass  to  the  concluding  event  of  Lot's  history.  The 
gain  of  this  world  is  but  transitory  ;  faith  reaps  a  late  but  lasting 
recompense.  Soon  the  Angels  of  God  descended  to  fulfil  in  one  and 
the  same  mission  a  double  purpose ; — to  take  from  Lot  his  earthly  por- 
tion, and  to  prepare  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  everlasting  blessings 
promised  to  Abraham  ;  to  destroy  Sodom,  while  they  foretold  the 
approaching  birth  of  Isaac. 


454  ABRAHAM   AND  LOT.  [Serm. 

The  destruction  of  the  guilty  cities  was  at  hand.  "  The  Lord  said, 
Because  the  cry  of  Sodona  and  Gomorrah  is  great,  and  because  their 
sin  is  very  grievous,  I  will  go  down  now,  and  see  whether  they  have 
done  altogether  according  to  the  cry  of  it,  which  is  come  unto  Me,  and 
if  not,  I  will  know."*  And  now  the  greatest  honour  was  put  upon 
Abraham.  God  entrusted  him  with  the  knowledge  of  His  secret  pur- 
pose, and  in  so  doing,  made  him  a  second  time  the  deliverer  of  Lot 
from  ruin  ;  strongly  marking  the  contrast  between  the  two,  in  that  the 
weak  brother  owed  his  safety  to  the  intercession  of  him,  who,  enjoying 
God's  favour,  was  content  to  be  without  earthly  portion.  "  And  the 
Lord  said,  Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  that  thing  which  I  do  ?  seeing 
that  Abraham  shall  surely  become  a  great  and  mighty  nation,  and  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  shall  be  blessed  in  him  1  For  I  know  him, 
that  he  will  command  his  children  and  his  household  after  him,  and 
they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord  to  do  justice  and  judgment,  that 
the  Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham  that  which  He  hath  spoken  of 
Him."  Accordingly  Abraham  was  allowed  to  intercede  for  Sodom 
and  all  who  were  in  it.  I  need  scarcely  go  through  this  solemn  nar- 
rative, which  is  doubtless  well  known  to  all  of  us.  Abraham  began 
with  asking  whether  fifty  righteous  were  not  remaining  in  the  city  ;  he 
found  himself  obliged  gradually  to  contract  the  supposed  remnant  of 
good  men  therein,  till  he  came  down  to  ten,  but  not  even  ten  were, 
found  to  delay  God's  vengeance.  Here  he  ceased  his  intercession, 
perhaps  in  despair,  and  fearing  to  presume  upon  that  adorable  mercy,  . 
the  depths  of  which  he  had  tried,  but  had  not  ascertained.  He  did . 
not  mention  Lot  by  name ;  still  God  understood  and  answered  the  un-  ' 
expressed  desire  of  his  heart ;  for  we  are  told  presently,  "  It  came  to 
pass,  when  God  destroyed  the  cities  of  the  plain,  that  God  remembered 
Abraham,  and  sent  Lot  out  of  the  midst  of  the  overthrow,  when  he 
overthrew  the  cities  in  the  which  Lot  dwelt. "f 

It  was  an  eventide  that  two  Angels  came  to  Sodom,  to  rescue  from 
it  the  only  man  (as  it  would  seem)  who  had  retained  in  his  mind  those 
instincts  of  right  and  wrong  which  are  given  us  by  nature,  who  con- 
tinued to  acknowledge  the  true  God,  had  exercised  himself  in  faith  and 
obedience,  and  iiad  not  done  despite  to  the  gracious  Spirit.  Multi- 
tudes of  children  there  doubtless  were  in  that  city  untainted  with  actual 
sin  ;  these  were  involved  in  their  parents'  ruin,  as  they  are  now-a-days 
in  earthquakes,  conflagrations,  or  shii)wreck.  But  of  those  who  could 
"  discern  between  their  right  hand  and  their  left,"  not  ten  (we  know 
for  certain),  and  (as  it  may  be  concluded)  not  one  had  righteousness 

»  Gen.  iviii.  20,  21.  t  Gen.  lix.  29. 


I.]  ABRAHAM  AND  LOT.  455 

;such  as  Lot's.  "  Old  and  young,  all  the  people,"  "  in  every  quarter," 
were  corrupt  before  God,  and  therclbre  are  "  set  forth  for  an  example  " 
of  what  the  AU-nierciful  God  can  do  Avhen  sinners  provoke  Him  to 
wrath.  "We  will  destroy  this  place,"  the  Angels  said,  "because  the 
cry  of  them  is  waxen  great  before  the  face  of  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord 
hath  sent  us  to  destroy  it."  "  And  when  the  morning  arose  the  Angels 
hastened  Lot  .  .  .  and  brought  him  forth  and  set  him  without  the 
city  :  and  said  "  Escape  for  thy  life,  look  not  behind  thee,  neither  stay 
thou  in  all  the  plain,  escape  to  the  mountain,  lest  thou  be  consumed." 
— Thus  was  Lot  a  second  time  warned  and  rescued  ;  whether  he  was 
brought  thereby  to  a  more  consistent  righteousness,  or  more  enlight- 
ened faith,  than  before,  we  know  not.  What  became  of  him  after  this 
event  we  know  not ;  of  his  subsequent  life  and  death  nothing  is  told 
us,  the  sacred  record  breaks  off  abruptly.  This  alone  we  know,  that 
his  posterity,  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites,  wore  the  enemies  of  the 
descendants  of  Abraham,  his  friend  and  kinsman,  the  favoured  servant 
of  God  ;  especially  as  seducing  them  to  that  idolatry  and  sensuality 
which  the  chosen  family  was  set  apart  to  withstand.  Had  not  God  in 
mercy  confirmed  to  us,  by  the  mouth  of  St.  Peter,  the  saying  of  the 
wise  man  in  the  Apocrypha,  that  Lot  was  "  righteous,"  we  should  have 
had  cause  to  doubt  whether  he  had  not  fallen  away. 

However,  without  forming  harsh  judgments  concerning  one  whom 
Scripture  thus  honours,  we  may  at  least  draw  from  his  history  a  useful 
lesson  for  ourselves.  Miserable  will  be  the  fate  of  the  double-minded, 
of  those  who  love  this  world  so  well  that  they  will  not  give  it  up,  though 
they  believe  and  acknowledge  that  God  bids  them  do  so.  Not  that  they 
confess  to  themselves  that  their  hearts  are  set  upon  it ;  they  contrive  to 
hide  the  fact  from  themselves  by  specious  excuses,  and  consider  them- 
selves religious  men.  My  brethren,  do  not  take  it  for  granted  that 
your  temper  of  mind  is  much  superior  to  that  which  I  have  been  de- 
scribing and  condemning  ;  nay,  that  it  is  not  worse  than  it.  You,  in- 
deed, are  placed  in  an  age  of  the  world  which  is  conspicuous  for  decency, 
and  in  which  there  are  no  temptations  to  tlie  more  hideous  forms  of 
sin,  or  rather  much  to  deter  from  them.     But  answer  this  one  question, 

'  and  then  decide  whether  this  age  docs  not  follow  Lot's  pattern.  It 
would  appear  that  he  thought  more  of  the  riches  than  of  the  sins  of  the 
cities  of  the  plain.  Now,  as  to  the  temper  of  this  country,  consider 
fairly,  is  there  any  place,  any  persons,  any  work,  which  our  country- 

I  men  will  not  connect  themselves  with,  in  the  way  of  trade  or  business  ? 

I  For  the  sake  of  gain,  do  we  not  put  aside  all  considerations  of  principle 
as  unseasonable  and  almost  absurd  1  It  is  not  possible  to  explain  my- 
self on  this  subject  without  entering  into  details  too  familiar  for  this 


H 


466  ABRAHAM  AND  LOT.  [Serm. 

sacred  place  ;  but  try  to  follow  out  for  yourselves  what  I  suggest  in 
general  terms.  Is  there  any  speculation  in  commerce  which  religion' 
is  allowed  to  interfere  with  ?  Whether  Jew,  Pagan,  or  Heretic,  is  to 
be  our  associate,  does  it  frighten  us  ever  so  little  ?  Do  we  care  what 
side  of  a  quarrel,  civil,  political,  or  international,  we  take,  so  that  we 
gain  by  it  ?  Do  we  not  serve  in  war,  do  we  not  become  debaters  and 
advocates,  do  we  not  form  associations  and  parties,  with  the  supreme 
object  of  preserving  property,  or  making  it  ?  Do  we  not  support  reh- 
gion  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  good  order  1  Do  we  not  measure  its 
importance  by  its  efficacy  in  securing  these  objects  1  Do  we  not  sup- 
port it  only  so  far  as  it  secures  them  1  Do  we  not  retrench  all  expenses 
of  maintaining  it  which  are  not  necessary  for  securing  them  ?  Should 
we  not  feel  very  lukewarm  towards  the  established  religion,  unless  we 
thought  the  security  of  property  bound  up  in  its  welfare  ?  Should  we  ^ 
not  easily  resign  ourselves  to  its  overthrow,  could  it  be  proved  to  us 
that  it  endangered  the  State,  involved  the  prospect  of  civil  disturbances, 
or  embarrassed  the  Government  ?  nay,  could  not  we  even  consent  to 
it,  at  the  price  of  the  reunion  of  all  parties  in  the  nation,  the  pacification 
of  turbulent  districts,  and  the  establishment  of  our  public  credit  ?  Nay, 
further  still,  could  we  not  easily  persuade  ourselves  to  support  Anti- 
christ, I  will  not  say  at  home,  but  at  least  abroad,  rather  than  we  should 
lose  one  portion  of  the  freights  which  "  the  ships  of  Tarshish"  bring  us? 
If  this  be  the  case  in  any  good  measure,  how  vain  is  it  to  shelter  our- 
selves, as  the  manner  of  some  is,  under  the  notion  that  we  are  a  moral, 
thoughtful,  sober-minded,  or  religious  people  !  Lot  is  called  a  "  just' 
man"  by  St.  Peter,  he  is  referred  to  as  "hospitable"  by  St.  Paul 
doubtless  he  was  a  confessor  of  the  Truth  among  the  wretched  in- 
habitants of  the  cities  in  which  he  dwelt ;  and  the  rays  of  light  which< 
those  Apostles  shed  upon  his  history,  are  most  cheering  and  acceptable,, 
after  reading  the  sad  narrative  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  ;  still,  after  allr 
who  would  willingly  take  on  himself  Lot's  sins,  plain  though  it  be  that 
God  had  not  deserted  him  ?  Surely,  if  we  are  to  be  saved,  it  is  not  by^ 
keeping  ourselves  just  above  the  line  of  reprobation,  and  living  without 
any  anxiety  and  struggle  to  serve  God  with  a  perfect  heart.  Surely,^ 
if  Christians  are  to  be  .saved,  at  least  their  righteousness  must  be  far 
other  than  that  which  merely  argued  some  remaining  grace  in  one  who- 
was  not  a  Christian.  Surely,  if  Christians  arc  to  be  saved,  they  must 
have  carefully  imlearned  the  love  of  this  world's  pleasures,  comforts, 
luxuries,  honours.  No  one,  surely,  can  really  be  a  Christian,  who  makes 
his  worldly  interests  his  chief  end  of  action.     A  man  may  be,  in  a 

»  2  Pet.  li.  7,  8.     Hcb.  xiii.  2. 


II.]  WILFULNESS  OF  ISRAEL.  457 

measure,  ill-tempered,  resentful,  proud,  cruel,  or  sensual,  and  yet  be  a 
Christian.  For  passions  belong  to  our  inferior  nature  ;  they  are  irra- 
tional, rise  spontaneously,  are  to  be  subdued  by  our  governing  principle, 
and  (through  God's  grace)  are  ultimately,  though  gradually,  subdued. 
But  what  shall  be  said  when  the  reasoning  and  ruling  faculty,  the  power 
that  wills  and  controls,  is  turned  earthward  ?  "  If  the  light  that  is  in 
thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  that  darkness  !"* 

God  only  knows  how  far  these  remarks  concern  each  of  us.  I  will 
not  dare  to  apply  them  to  this  man  or  that  ;  but  where  I  even  might, 
I  will  rather  turn  away  my  mind  from  the  subject.  The  thought  is  too 
serious,  too  dreadful  to  dwell  upon.  But  you  must  do,  my  brethren, 
what  I  must  not  do.  It  is  your  duty  to  apply  them  to  yourselves.  Do 
not  hesitate,  as  many  of  you  as  have  never  done  so,  to  imagine  the 
miserable  and  shocking  possibility  of  your  coming  short  of  your  hope, 
"  having  loved  this  present  world."  Retire  into  yourselves  and  imagine 
it ;  in  the  presence  of  Christ  your  Saviour,  in  that  presence  which 
at  once  will  shame  you,  and  will  encourage  you  to  hope  for  forgiveness, 
if  you  earnestly  turn  to  Him  to  obtain  it.f 


SERMON    II 


WILFULNESS  OF  ISRAEL  IN  REJECTING  SAMUEL. 


Psalm  xlvi.  10. 


Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God  :  I  will  be  exalted  among  the  heathen,  I  will  be 
exalted  in  the  earth. 

It  was  a  lesson  continually  set  before  the  Israelites,  that  they  were 
never  to  presume  to  act  for  themselves ;  but  to  wait  till  God  wrought 
for  them,  to  look  on  reverently,  and  then  follow  His  guidance.  God 
was  their  All-wise  King ;  it  was  their  duty  to  have  no  will  of  their 
own,  distinct  from  His  will,  to  form  no  plan  of  their  own,  to  attempt  no 
work  of  their  own.  "  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God."  Move  not, 
speak  not ;  look  to  the  pillar  of  the  cloud, — see  how  it  moves, — then 
follow.     Such  was  the  command. 

*  Matt.  vi.  23.  t  Vide  note  A  at  the  end  of  the  Tolume. 


458  WILFULNESS  OF  ISRAEL  [Serm. 

For  instance  :  when  the  Eyptians  pursued  the  Israelites  to  the  coast 
of  the  Red  Sea,  Moses  said  to  the  people,  "  Fear  ye  not,  stand  still,  and 
see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord ;  the  Lord  shall  light  for  you,  and  ye 
shall  hold  your  peace."  When  they  came  to  the  borders  of  Canaan, 
and  were  frightened  at  the  strength  of  its  inhabitants,  they  were  ex- 
horted, "Dread  not,  neither  be  afraid  of  them,  the  Lord  your  God  shall 
fight  for  you."  To  the  same  effect  was  the  dying  injunction  of  Joshua, 
"  Be  very  courageous  to  keep  and  to  do  all  that  is  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  of  Moses,  that  ye  turn  not  aside  therefrom  to  the  right  hand 
or  to  the  left."  And  in  a  later  age,  when  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites 
made  war  against  Jehoshaphat,  the  prophet  Jahaziel  was  inspired  to 
encourage  the  people  in  these  words  ;  "  Be  not  afraid  nor  dismayed  by 
reason  of  their  great  multitude  ;  for  the  battle  is  not  yours,  but  God's 
....  Ye  shall  not  need  to  fight  in  this  battle  :  set  yourselves,  staiid  ye 
still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord  with  you,  O  Judah  and  Jerusa- 
lem." Once  more  :  When  Israel  and  Syria  came  against  Judah,  the  pro- 
phet Isaiah  was  directed  to  meet  Ahaz  and  to  say  to  him,  "  Take  heed, 
and  he  quiet;  fear  not,  neither  be  faint-hcarted»"*  Presumption,  that  is, 
the  determination  to  act  of  themselves,  or  self-will,  was  placed  in  the  num- 
ber of  the  most  heinous  sins.  "  The  man  that  Avill  do  presumptuously, 
and  will  not  hearken  unto  the  priest  that  standcth  to  minister  there 
before  the  Lord  thy  God,  or  unto  the  judge,  even  that  man  shall  die, 
and  thou  shalt  put  away  the  evil  from  Israel."  f 

\^  hile  however  this  entire  surrender  of  themselves  to  their  Almighty 
Creator  was  an  especial  duty  enjoined  on  the  chosen  people,  a  deliberate 
and  obstinate  transgression  of  it  is  one  of  the  especial  characteristics  of 
their  history.  They  failed  most  conspicuously  in  that  very  point,  in  which 
obedience  was  most  strictly  enjoined  upon  them.  They  were  not  told 
never  to  act  of  themselves,  and  (as  if  out  of  mere  pcrverseness)  they  were 
for  ever  acting  of  themselves  ;  and,  if  we  look  through  the  series  of  their 
punishments,  we  shall  find  them  inflicted,  not  for  mere  indolent  disobe- 
dience, or  for  frailty  under  temptation,  but  for  deliberate,  shameless 
presumption,  running  forward  just  in  that  very  direction  in  which  the 
Providence  of  God  did  not  lead  them,  and  from  which  it  even  prohibited 
them. 

First,  they  made  a  molten  image  to  worship  ;  and  this  just  after  re- 
ceiving the  command  to  make  to  themselves  no  emblems  of  the  Divine 
Majesty,  and  while  Moses  was  still  in  the  'mount.  Then  they  Avould 
take  to  themselves  a  captain,  and  return  to  Egypt,  instead  of  proceed- 

•  Ex.xiv.l3,  14.     Dcut.  i.29,30.     Josh,  xxiii.  G.    2  Chron.  xx.  15— 17.   Is.  vii.4. 
i  Dcut.  xvii.  12. 


II.]  IN  REJECTING  SAMUEL.  459 

ing  into  the  land  of  promise.  When  forbidden  to  go  forward,  then  they 
at  once  attempted  it.  At  last,  when  they  had  entered  it,  instead  of  fol- 
lowing God's  guidance,  and  destroying  the  guilty  inhabitants,  they 
adopted  a  plan  of  their  own,  and  put  their  conquered  enemies  under 
tribute.  Next  followed  their  self-willed  purpose  of  having  a  king  like 
the  nations  around  them. 

It  is  observable  moreover  that  they  were  the  most  perversely  disobe- 
dient, at  those  times  when  Divine  mercy  had  aided  them  in  some  re- 
markable way.  For  instance,  in  the  life-time  of  Moses.  Again,  when 
Samuel  was  raised  up  to  bring  back  the  age  of  Moses,  and  to  complete 
what  he  had  begun,  then  they  ran  counter  to  God's  design  most  sig- 
nally ;  at  the  very  time,  I  say,  when  God  was  visiting  them  in  their 
low  estate,  and  renewing  His  mercies,  their  very  first  act,  on  gaining 
a  little  strength  and  recovering  from  their  despair,  was  to  reject  God's 
government  over  them,  and  ask  a  king  like  other  nations. 

This  is  the  part  of  their  history,  to  which  I  wish  now  particularly  to 
draw  your  attention,  the  times  of  Samuel ;  the  main  circumstances  to 
be  considered  being  these, — the  renewal  of  God's  mercies  to  them  after 
their  backslidings, — His  single  demand  in  return,  that  they  should  sub- 
mit  themselves  to  His  guidance, — and  lastly,  their  plain  refusal  to  do 
so,  or  rather  their  impetuous  and  deliberate  movement  in  another  direc- 
tion. 

When  Moses  was  nigh  his  death,  he  foretold  that  a  prophet  was  one 
day  to  arise  like  unto  him  in  his  place ;  a  promise  which  was  properly 
fulfilled  in  Christ's  coming,  but  which  had  a  prior  accomplishment  in 
the  line  of  prophets  from  Samuel  down  to  the  captivity.  A  period 
however  of  four  hundred  years  intervened  between  Moses'  age  and  this 
first  fulfilment  of  the  prediction.  The  people  were  at  first  ruled  by 
judges  ;  at  length,  in  the  midst  of  the  distress  which  their  sins  had 
brought  upon  them,  when  the  Philistines  had  overrun  tlie  country,  God 
visited  them  according  to  the  promise.  He  raised  up  Samuel  as  His 
,  first  prophet,  and  him  not  as  a  solitary  messenger  of  His  purposes,  but 
as  the  first  of  many  hundreds  in  succession. 

1  Now  let  us  consider  the  circumstances  under  which  Samuel,  the  first 
i  of  the  prophets,  was  raised  up.  We  shall  find  that  his  elevation  was 
owing  simply  to  God's  will  and  power.  He,  like  Moses,  was  not  a 
warrior,  yet  by  his  prayers  he  saved  his  people  from  their  enemies,  and 
established  them  in  a  settled  government.  "Be  still,  and  know  that  I 
am  God :"  the  principle  of  this  command  had  been  illustrated  in  the 
giving  of  the  Law,  and  now  it  was  enforced  in  the  beginning  of  the 
,  Prophetical  Dispensation  ;  as  also  in  later  ages,  after  the  captivity,  and 


U 


460  WILFULNESS  OF  LSRAEL.  [Serm. 

■when  Christ  came,  according  to  the  words  of  Zechariah,  "  Not  by- 
might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  My  Spirit,  saith  the  I^ord  of  Hosts."* 

Observe,  Samuel  was  born,  in  answer  to  his  mother's  earnest  prayer 
for  a  son.  Hannah,  "  in  bitterness  of  soul,  had  prayed  unto  the  Lord, 
and  wept  sore,  and  vowed  a  vow ;"  viz.  that  if  God  would  give  her  a 
son,  he  should  be  dedicated  to  Him.  This  sliould  be  noticed  ;  for  Sam- 
uel was  thus  marked  from  his  birth  as  altogether  an  instrument  of  the 
Lord's  providing.  A  similar  providence  is  observable  in  the  case  of 
other  favoured  objects  and  ministers  of  God's  mercy,  in  order  to  show 
that  that  mercy  is  entirely  of  grace.  Isaac  was  the  child  of  divine 
power  ;  so  was  John  the  Baptist ;  and  Moses  again  was  almost  miracu- 
lously saved  from  the  murderous  Egyptians  in  his  infancy. 

According  to  his  mother's  vow,  Samuel  was  taken  into  the  service  of 
the  temple  from  his  earliest  years  ;  and  while  yet  a  child  was  made  the 
organ  of  God's  sentence  of  evil  upon  Eli  the  high  priest.  God  called 
him,  in  the  sacred  time  between  night  and  morning.  "  Samuel,  Sam- 
uel," and  denounced  through  him  a  judgment  against  Eli,  for  his  sinful 
indulgence  towards  his  sons.  Here  again  was  a  lesson  to  the  Israelites, 
how  entirely  the  prophetic  spirit,  with  which  the  nation  was  henceforth 
to  be  favoured,  was  from  God.  Had  Samuel  grown  to  manhood  before 
he  was  inspired,  it  would  not  have  clearly  appeared  how  far  the  work 
was  immediately  divine  ;  but  when  an  untaught  child  was  made  to  pro- 
phesy against  Eli,  the  aged  high  priest,  the  people  were  reminded,  as  in 
the  case  of  Moses,  who  was  slow  of  speech,  that  it  was  the  Lord  who 
"  made  man's  mouth,  the  dumb,  or  deaf,  the  seeing,  or  the  blind  ;"f  and 
that  age  and  youth  were  the  same  with  Him  when  His  purposes  re- 
quired an  in.strument. 

Samuel  thus  grew  up  to  manhood,  witli  the  presages  of  greatness  on 
him  from  the  first.  It  is  written,  Samuel  grew,  and  the  Lord  was  with 
him,  and  did  let  none  of  his  words  fall  to  the  ground.  And  all  Israel, 
from  Dan  even  to  Beersheba,"  (i.  e.  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the 
other,)  "  knew  that  Samuel  was  established  to  be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord. 
And  the  Lord  appeared  again  in  Shiloh  ;  for  the  Lord  revealed  Himself 
to  Samuel  in  Shiloh  by  the  word  of  the  Lord.":]: 

After  this,  when  he  was  about  thirty  }ears  old,  the  battle  took  place 
with  the  Phili.stines,  in  which  thirty  thousand  Israelites  fell.  The  ark 
of  God  was  taken,  and  Eli,  on  hearing  the  news,  fell  from  off  his  seat 
backward,  and  was  killed.  Tlius  Samuel  was  raised  to  the  supreme 
power,  in  his  country's  greatest  aflliction.  Still,  even  in  his  elevation, 
he  was  not  allowed  to  do  any  great  action  himself.     The  ark  of  God 

»  Zcch.  iv.  6.  t  Exodus  iv.  11.  }  1  Sam.  iii.  19—21. 


II.]  IN  REJECTING  SAMUEL.  461 

was  taken,  yet  he  was  not  to  rescue  it.  God  so  ordered  it  that  His 
name  "  should  be  exalted  among  the  heathen,  and  should  be  exalted  in 
the  earth." 

The  Philistines  took  the  ark  to  Ashdod,  and  placed  it  in  the  temple 
of  their  idol,  Dagon.  Next  morning,  Dagon  was  found  fallen  on  its 
face  to  the  earth  before  it.  They  set  it  up  again,  and  the  next  morning 
it  was  found  broken  into  pieces  ;*  and  soon  after  the  men  of  Ashdod 
and  its  neighbourhood  were  smitten  with  a  divine  judgment.  In  conse- 
quence, they  resolved  to  rid  themselves  of  what  they  rightly  considered 
the  cause  of  it,  and  transported  the  ark  to  Gath.  The  men  of  Gath 
were  smitten  with  God's  anger  in  their  turn,  and  in  their  turn  sent 
away  the  ark  to  Ekron.  The  Ekronites,  in  their  terror,  hardly  suffered 
it  to  approach  them.  But  the  mysterious  plague  still  attended  it  ;  and 
the  Ekronites,  as  they  had  justly  feared,  were  smitten  with  a  "  deadly 
destruction  throughout  all  the  city."  The  Philistines  now  determined 
to  send  their  spoil,  as  they  had  at  first  fancied  it,  back  to  Israel ;  but,  in 
order  to  try  further,  as  it  seems,  the  power  of  the  God  of  Israel,  they 
did  as  follows  :  They  took  two  milch-kine,  which  had  never  been  un- 
der the  yoke,  and  shutting  up  their  calves  at  home,  harnessed  them  to 
the  cart  on  which  they  had  placed  the  ark.  Should  the  kine,  in  spite 
of  their  natural  affection  for  their  young,  go  towards  the  Israelitish  bor- 
der, then,  they  argued,  they  might  be  sure  that  it  was  the  God  of  Israel 
who  had  smitten  them,  in  punishment  for  their  capture  of  His  holy 
habitation.  It  is  written,  "  The  kine  took  the  straight  way"  towards  the 
territory  of  Israel,  "  lowing  as  they  went,  and  turned  not  aside  to  the 
right  hand  or  to  the  left.'"-\ 

All  this  was  a  lesson  to  the  Philistines  ;  but  the  Israelites  had  yet  theirs 
to  learn.  They  had  taken  the  ark  to  the  battle,  not  in  reverence,  but 
as  if  it  were  a  sort  of  a  charm,  with  virtue  in  itself,  and  without  any 
command  from  God,  presumptuously.  They  were  first  punished  by 
losing  it.  When  they  saw  the  ark  returning  to  them,  they  rejoiced  ; 
and  the  Levites  took  it  down  and  offered  sacrifice.  So  far  was  well, 
but  presently  "  the  men  of  Bethshemesh  .  .  .  looked  into  it ;"  this 
evidenced  a  want  of  reverence  towards  God's  sacred  dwelling-place 
And  God  "  smote  of  the  people  fifty  thousand  three  score  and  ten  men 
and  the  people  lamented,"  and  said,  "Who  is  able  to  stand  before  this 
Holy  Lord  God  ?" 

Thus,  when  Almighty  God,  four  hundred  years  after  the  age  of  Moses, 
again  visited  His  people.  He  showed  Himself  in  various  ways  to  be  the 
!  sole  author  of  the  blessings  they  received.  The  child  Samuel,  tlie  ark 
of  wood,  the  brute  cattle, — these  were  the  instruments  through  which 

»  1  Sam.  r.  3,  4.  t  1  Sam.  vi.  12. 


462  WILFULNESS  OF  ISRAEL  [Serm. 

He  manifested  that  He  was  a  living  God  ;  and  having  thus  bared  His 
mighty  arm,  and  bid  all  men  "  be  still,  and  know  that  He  was  God," 
then  at  length  He  sent  His  first  prophet  forward  to  teach  and  reclaim 
the  people.     "  Samuel  spake  unto  all  the  house  of  Israel,  saying.  If  ye 
do  return  unto  the  Lord  with  all  your  hearts,  then  put  away  the  strange 
gods  and  Ashtaroth  from  among  you,  and  prepare  your  hearts  unto  the 
Lord,  and  serve  Him  only  :  and  He  will  deliver  you  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  PhiUstines.     Then  the  children  of  Israel  did  put  away  Baalim  and 
Ashtaroth,  and  served  the  Lord  only."     The  period  during  which  this 
reformation  was   carried  on  seems  to  have  been  the  greater  part  of 
twenty  years,  which  was  more  or  less  a  time  of  captivity.     Towards 
the  end  of  it,  he  gathered  the  Israelites  together  at  Mizpeh,  to  hold  a 
fast  for  their  past  sins  ;  and  then  "  he  judged  the  children  of  Israel  in 
Mizpeh."     This  seems  to  imply  a  more  open  assumption  of  power  than 
any   he  had  been  hitherto   directed   to  make.      In  consequence,  the 
Philistines  w^ere  alarmed,  thinking  perhaps  the  subjugated  people  were 
on  the  point  of  recovering  their  independence ;  and  assembling  their 
forces  they  marched  against  them.     "And  the  children  of  Israel  said 
to  Samuel,  Cease  not  to  cry  unto  the  Lord  for  us,  that  He  will  save 
us   out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines.     And  Samuel  took  a  sucking 
lamb,  and  otiered  it  for  a  burnt  offering  wholly  unto  the  Lord,  and  Sam- 
uel cried  unto  the  Lord  for  Israel,  and  the  Lord  heard  him."     The  Phi- 
listines drew  near  to  battle,  while  the  sacrifice  was  offering ;  "  but  the 
Lord  thundered  with  a  great  thunder  on  that  day  upon  the  Philistines, 
and  discomfitted  them,  and  they  were  smitten  before  Israel.  .  .  .  Then 
Samuel   took  a    stone  and  set    it     between    Mizpeh  and   Shen,  and 
called  the  name  of  it  Ebenezer,  saying,  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped 
us."  In  this  whole  transaction  the  text  is  again  illustrated.    It  is  added, 
"  So  the  Philistines  were  subdued,  and  came  no  more  into  the  coast  of 
Israel,  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  against  the  Philistines  all  the  days 
of  Samuel.     And  the  cities  which  they  had  taken  from  Israel,  were 
restored."     "  And  Samuel  judged  Israel  all  the  days  of  his  life,"  making 
circuits  year  by  year  through  the  land. 

And  now  we  have  arrived  at  the  point  in  the  history,  which  evidences, 
more  than  any  other,  the  perverse  ingratitude  of  the  Israelites.  Just 
when  God  had  rescued  them  from  their  enemies,  given  them  peace,  and 
by  a  fresh  act  of  boimty  established  the  propliets  in  the  land  as  minis 
ters  of  His  word  and  will,  when  the  heavenly  system  was  just  coming 
into  operation,  this  was  the  very  time  they  chose  to  rebel  and  run  coun- 
ter to  His  |)urposes.  They  asked  for  themselves  a  king  like  the  nations. 
The  immediate  occasion  of  this  request  was  the  faulty  conduct  of 
Samuel's  sons,  who  assisted  their  father  in  his  old  age,  "  but  walked  not 


II.]  IN  REJECTING  SAMUEL.  463 

in  his  ways,  but  turned  aside  after  lucre,  and  took  bribes,  and  pcrycrted 
judgment."*  This,  however,  though  doubtless  a  grievance,  surely  was 
no  excuse  for  them.  While  the  Lord  was  their  king,  no  lasting  harm 
could  happen  to  them  ;  yet  even  "  the  elders  of  Israel  came  to  Samuel, 
and  said  unto  him,  Behold  thou  art  old,  and  thy  sons  walk  not  in 
thy  ways :  now  make  us  a  king  to  judge  us  like  all  the  nations."  They 
added  a  reason  which  still  more  clearly  evidenced  their  obstinate  un- 
belief—" to  judge  us,  and  go  out  before  us,  and  fight  our  battles."  By 
what  strange  infatuation  was  it  that  they  sought  for  a  king  to  ''fght 
their  battles,^'  when  through  the  whole  course  of  Samuel's  government,  it 
was  so  evident  that  God's  power  alone  had  subdued  their  enemies  ? 
There  was  one  additional  aggravation  of  their  sin ;  they  had  really  been 
promised  a  king,  at  some  future  time  undetermined,  by  Moses  himself  ;■{• 
and  hence,  indeed,  they  probably  defended  their  asking  for  one.  But,  ia 
truth,  that  very  circumstance  gave  to  their  self-will  its  distinctive  mark 
already  insisted  on,  viz.  the  desire  of  doing  things  their  own  way  in- 
stead of  waiting  God's  time.  The  fact  that  God  had  promised  what 
they  clamoured  for,  and  merely  claimed  to  choose  the  time,  surely  ought 
to  have  satisfied  them.  But  they  were  headstrong ;  and  he  answered 
them  according  to  their  wilfulness.  He  "gave  them  a  king  in  His 
anger."  David,  indeed,  succeeded,  but  the  corruption  and  degradation 
of  the  people  quickly  followed  his  death.  The  kingdom  was  divided 
into  two ;  idolatry  was  introduced ;  and  at  length  captivity  came  upon 
them,  the  loss  of  their  country,  and  the  dispersion,  or  rather  annihilation 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  tribes. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  make  one  remark  by  way  of  applying  their 
history  to  ourselves  at  this  day.  Certainly  we  have  not,  at  the  present 
time,  learned  the  duty  of  waiting  and  being  still.  Great  perils,  just 
now,  encompass  our  branch  of  the  Church  :  here  the  question  comes 
upon  us,  as  a  body  and  as  individuals,  what  ought  we  to  do  ?  Doubt- 
less to  meet  them  with  all  the  wisdom  and  prudence  in  our  power,  to 
use  all  allowable  means  to  avert  them  ;  but,  after  all,  is  not  our  main 
duty  this ;  to  go  on  quietly  and  steadfastly  in  our  old  ways,  as  if  noth- 
ing was  the  matter  ?  "  When  Daniel  knew  that  the  writing  was 
signed,"  which  condemned  him  to  the  lion's  den,  if  he  did  what  was 
his  plain  duty,  he  did  not  look  about  to  sec  whether  he  might  not  law- 
fully suspend  it  for  a  time,  or  whether  there  were  not  other  ways  of 
serving  God  not  interdicted  by  the  civil  power,  "  but  he  kneeled  upon 
his  knees  three  times  a  day,  and  praj'cd,  and  gave  thanks  before  his 
God,  as  he  did  aforetime."|    It  is  a  very  painful  subject,  but  it  is  not 

»  1  Sam.  viii.  3.  t  Deut,  xvii.  11—20.  t  Dan.  vi.  10. 


464  WILFULNESS  OF  ISRAEL.  [Serm.  II. 

right  to  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact,  that  friends  of  the  Church  are  far 
more  disposed  to  look  out  for  secular  and  unauthorized  ways  of  defend, 
ing  her  than  to  proceed  quietly  in  their  ordinary  duties,  and  trust  to 
(Jod  to  save  her.  What  is  the  use  of  these  feverish  exertions,  on  all 
sides  of  us,  to  soothe  our  enemies,  conciliate  the  suspicious  or  wavering, 
and  attach  to  us  men  of  name  and  power  ?  Rather  let  our  resolve  be, 
if  we  are  to  perish,  it  shall  be  at  our  post  of  duty.  We  will  be  found 
in  the  circle  of  our  sacred  services,  in  prayer  and  praise,  in  fasting  and 
alms-doing,  "  in  quietness  and  confidence."  All  the  great  deliverances 
of  the  Church  have  been  thus  gained.  Israel  stood  still,  and  saw  the 
Egyptians  overwhelmed  in  the  sea.  Hezekiah  went  up  unto  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  prayed  to  Him  who  dwelt  between  the  Cherubim,  and 
Sennacherib's  army  was  destroyed.  "  Prayer  was  made  without  ceas- 
ing of  the  Church  unto  God  for  "  St.  Peter,  and  the  Apostle  was  deliv- 
ered out  of  prison  by  an  Angel.  The  course  of  Providence  is  not 
materially  different  now.  God's  arm  is  not  shortened,  nay,  nor  so 
restrained  that  He  cannot  save  without  miracles  as  well  as  with  them. 
He  can  save  silently  and  suddenly,  while  things  seem  to  go  on  as  usual. 
The  hearts  of  all  are  in  His  hand,  the  issues  of  life  and  death,  the  rise 
and  fall  of  mighty  men,  and  the  distribution  of  gifts.  Why  then 
should  we  fear,  or  cast  about  for  means  of  defence,  who  have  the 
Lord  for  our  God  ?  He  may  indeed,  if  it  so  happen,  make  us  His 
instruments,  He  may  put  arms  into  our  hands ;  but  even  if  He  gives 
us  no  tokens  what  He  is  meditating,  what  then  ?  At  length  our  deliv- 
erance will  come  when  we  expect  it  not ;  whereas  we  shall  lose  our 
own  hope,  and  disorder  the  Church  greatly,  if  we  presume  to  form 
plans  of  our  own  by  way  of  protecting  it.  Jeroboam  thought  he  acted 
"  wisely"  when  he  set  up  the  calves  of  gold  at  Dan  and  Bethel.  Our 
wisdom  is  like  his,  if  we  venture  to  relax  one  jot  or  tittle  of  Christ's 
perfect  law,  one  article  of  the  Creed,  one  holy  ordinance,  one  ancient 
usage,  with  the  hope  of  placing  ourselves  on  a  more  advantageous  or 
less  irksome  position.  "  Our  strength  is  to  sit  still ;"  and  till  we  learn 
this  far  more  than  we  seem  at  present  to  understand  it,  surely  the 
hopes  of  the  true  Israel  among  us  must  be  low,  and  with  prayers  for  the 
Church's  safety  they  will  have  to  mingle  confessions  and  intercessions 
in  behalf  of  those  who  believe  themselves  its  prudent  friends  and 
effective  defenders,  and  are  not. 


SERMON    III 


SAUL. 


Hose  A  xiii.  II. 
I  gave  thee  a  king  in  Mine  anger,  and  took  him  away  in  My  wrath. 

The  Israelites  seem  to  have  asked  for  a  king  from  an  unthankful 
caprice  and  waywardness.  The  ill  conduct  indeed  of  Samuel's  sons 
was  the  occasion  of  the  sin,  but  "  an  evil  heart  of  unbchef,"  to  use 
Scripture  language,  was  the  real  cause  of  it.  They  had  ever  been 
restless  and  dissatisfied,  asking  for  flesh  when  they  had  manna,  fretful 
for  water,  impatient  of  the  wilderness,  bent  on  returning  to  Egypt, 
fearing  their  enemies,  murmuring  against  Moses.  They  had  miracles 
even  to  satiety  ;  and  then  for  a  change  they  wished  a  king  like  the 
nations.  This  was  the  chief  reason  of  their  sinful  demand.  And 
further,  they  were  dazzled  with  the  pomp  and  splendour  of  the  heathen 
monarchs  around  them,  and  they  desired  some  one  to  fight  their  bat- 
tles, some  visible  succour  to  depend  on,  instead  of  having  to  wait  for 
an  invisible  Providence,  which  came  in  its  own  way  and  time,  by  little 
and  little,  being  dispensed  silently,  or  tardily,  or  (as  they  might  con- 
sider) unsuitably.  Their  carnal  hearts  did  not  love  the  neighbourhood 
of  heaven  ;  and,  like  the  inhabitants  of  Gadara  afterwards,  they 
prayed  that  Almighty  God  would  depart  from  their  coasts. 
I  Such  were  some  of  the  feelings  under  which  they  desired  a  king 
like  the  nations ;  and  God  at  length  granted  their  request.  To  punish 
them.  He  gave  them  a  king  after  their  own  heart,  Saul,  the  son  of 
Kish,  a  Benjamite  ;  of  whom  the  text  speaks  in  these  terms,  "  I  gave 
them  a  king  in  Mine  anger,  and  took  him  away  in  My  wrath." 

There  is  in  true  religion  a  sameness,  and  absence  of  hue  and  bril- 
liancy in  the  eyes  of  the  natural  man  ;  a  plainness,  austereness,  and 
(what  he  considers)  sadness.  It  is  like  the  heavenly  manna,  of  which 
the  Israelites  complained,  insipid  and  at  length  wearisome,  "  like  wafers 
made  with  honey."  They  complained  that  "  their  soul  was  dried 
away:"  "There  is  nothing'at  all,"  they  said,  "besides  this   mauna. 

Vol.  I.— 30 


466  SAUL.  [Sbrm. 

before  our  eves.  .  .  •  We  remember  the  fish,  which  we  did  eat  in 
ECTvi)t  freely ;  the  cucumbers,  and  the  melons,  and  the  leeks,  and  the 
onions,  and  the  garlick.'"^  Such  were  the  dainty  meats  in  which  their 
soul  delighted  ;  and  for  the  same  reason  they  desired  a  king.  Samuel 
had  too  much  of  primitive  simplicity  about  him  to  please  them,  they 
felt  they  were  behind  the  world,  and  clamoured  to  be  put  on  a  level 
with  the  heathen. 

Saul,  the  king  whom  God  gave  them,  had  much  to  recommend  him 
to  minds  thus  greedy  of  the  dust  of  the  earth.  He  was  brave,  daring, 
resolute  ;  gifted  too  with  strength  of  body  as  well  as  of  mind, — a  cir- 
cumstance which  seems  to  have  attracted  their  admiration.  He  is 
described  in  person  as  if  one  of  those  sons  of  Anak,  before  whose  giant 
forms  the  spies  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  were  as  grasshoppers, 
— "  a  choice  young  man  and  a  goodly,  there  was  not  among  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  a  goodlier  person  than  he ;  from  his  shoulders  and  up- 
ward he  was  higher  than  any  of  the  people."f  Both  his  virtues  and 
his  faults  were  such  as  became  an  eastern  monarch,  and  were  adapted 
to  secure  the  fear  and  submission  of  his  subjects.  Pride,  haughtiness, 
obstinacy,  reserve,  jealousy,  caprice, — these  in  their  way  were  not  un- 
becoming qualities  in  the  king  after  whom  their  imaginations  roved. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  better  parts  of  his  character  were  of  an 
excellence  sufficient  to  engage  the  aflection  of  Samuel  himself. 

As  to  Samuel,  his  conduct  is  far  above  human  praise.  Though  in- 
juriously treated  by  his  countrymen,  who  cast  him  off  after  he  had 
served  them  faithfully  till  he  was  "  old  and  grey-headed,":):  and  who 
resolved  on  setting  over  themselves  a  king  against  his  earnest  entrea- 
ties ;  yet  we  find  no  trace  of  coldness  or  jealousy  in  his  behaviour 
towards  Saul.  On  his  first  meeting  with  him  he  addressed  himfin  the 
words  of  loyalty, — "  On  whom  is  all  the  desire  of  Israel  ?  is  it  not  on 
thee,  and  on  all  thy  father  s  house  ?"  Afterwards,  when  he  anointed 
him  king,  he  "  kissed  him  and  said,  Is  it  not  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  thee  to  be  captain  over  His  inheritance  ?"  When  he  an- 
nounced lum  to  the  people  as  their  king,  he  said,  "  See  ye  him  whom 
the  Lord  hath  chosen,  that  there  is  none  like  him  among  all  the  people." 
And,  some  time  after,  when  Saul  had  irrecoverably  lost  God's  favour, 
we  are  told,  "  Samuel  came  no  more  to  see  Saul  until  the  day  of  his 
death,  nevertheless  Samuel  mourned  for  Saw/."  In  the  ne.xt  chapter 
he  is  even  rebuked  for  immoderate  grief, — "  How  long  wilt  thou  mourn 
for  Saul,  seeing  I  have  rejected  him  from  reigning  over  Israel. "fl     Such 

«  ExJc'.  XVI.     Numb.  xi.  5.      t  1  Sam.  ii.  2.— Tid6  1  Sam,  x.  23.     t  1  ^"am.  xii.  2' 
D  lSam.ij.20.   xi  1.  24.  xv.  35,  xvi.  1. 


III.]  SAUL.  467 

sorrow  speaks  favourably  for  Saul  as  well  as  for  Samuel ;  it  is  not 
only  the  grief  of  a  loyal  subject  and  a  zealous  prophet,  but,  moreover, 
of  an  attached  friend  ;  and,  indeed,  instances  are  recorded,  in  the  first 
years  of  his  reign,  of  forbearance,  generosity,  and  neglect  of  self, 
which  sufficiently  account  for  the  feelings  with  which  Samuel  regarded 
him.  David,  under  very  ditferent  circumstances,  seems  to  have  felt 
for  him  a  similar  affection. 

The  higher  points  of  his  character  are  brought  out  in  instances  such 
as  the  following  : — The  first  announcement  of  his  elevation  came  upon 
him  suddenly;  but  apparently  without  unsettling  him.  He  kept  it 
secret,  leaving  it  to  Samuel,  who  had  made  it  to  him,  to  publish  it. 
"  Saul  said  unto  his  uncle,  He"  (that  is,  Samuel)  "  told  us  plainly  that 
the  asses  were  found ;  but  of  the  matter  of  the  kingdom,  whereof 
Samuel  spake,  he  told  him  not."  Nay,  it  would  even  seem,  he  was 
averse  to  the  dignity  intended  for  him  ;  for  when  the  divine  lot  fell 
upon  him,  he  hid  himself,  and  was  not  discovered  by  the  people  with- 
out recourse  to  divine  assistance.  The  appointment  was  at  first  un- 
popular :  "  the  children  of  Belial  said,  how  shall  this  man  save  us  ? 
They  despised  him,  and  brought  him  no  presents  ;  but  he  held  his 
peace.'^  Soon  the  Ammonites  invaded  the  country  beyond  Jordan, 
with  the  avowed  intention  of  subjugating  it.  They  sent  to  Saul  for 
rehef  almost  in  despair  ;  and  the  panic  spread  in  the  interior  as  well  as 
among  those  whose  country  was  immediately  threatened.  The  sacred 
writer  proceeds ;  "  Behold  Saul  came  after  the  herd  out  of  the  field ; 
and  Saul  said,  what  aileth  the  people  that  they  weep  ?  and  they  told 
him  the  tidings  of  the  men  of  Jabesh.  And  the  Spirit  of  God  came 
upon  Saul,  and  his  anger  was  kindled  greatly."  His  order  for  an  imme- 
diate gathering  throughout  Israel  was  obeyed  with  the  alacrity  with 
which  the  multitude  serve  the  strong-minded  in  times  of  danger.  A 
decisive  victory  over  the  enemy  followed  :  then  the  popular  cry  became, 
"Who  is  he  that  said.  Shall  Saul  reign  over  us  ?  bring  the  men,  that 
we  may  put  them  to  death.  And  Saul  said,  Thtre  shall  not  a  man  he 
put  to  death  this  day;  for  to-day  the  Lord  hath  wrought  salvation  in 
Israel."* 

Thus  personally  qualified,  Saul  was  moreover  a  prosperous  king. 
He  had  been  appointed  to  subdue  the  enemies  of  Israel,  and  success 
attended  his  arms.  At  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  we  read,  "  So 
Saul  took  the  kingdom  over  Israel,  and  fought  against  all  his  enemies 
I  on  every  side,  against  Moab,  and  against  the  children  of  Ammon,  and 
against  Edom,  and  against  the  kings  of  Zobah,  and  against  the  Philis- 

*  1  Sam.  z.  a. 


468  SAUL.  [Serm. 

tines,  and  whithersoever  he  turned  himself,  he  vexed  them.  And  he 
trathered  an  host,  and  smote  the  Amalekites,  and  deUvered  Israel  out  of 
the  hands  of  them  that  spoiled  them." 

Such  was  Saul's  character  and  success ;  his  character  faulty,  yet  not 
without  promise,  his  success  in  arms  as  great  as  his  carnal  subjects 
could  have  desired.  Yet  in  spite  of  Samuel's  private  liking  for  him, 
and  in  spite  of  the  good  fortune  which  actually  attended  him,  we  find 
that  from  the  beginning  the  Prophet's  voice  is  raised  both  against  peo- 
ple and  king  in  warnings  and  rebukes,  which  are  omens  of  his  destined 
destruction  ;  according  to  the  text,  "  I  gave  them  a  king  in  Mine  anger, 
and  took  him  away  in  My  wrath."  At  the  very  time  that  Saul  was 
publicly  received  as  king,  Samuel  protested,  "  Ye  have  this  day  re- 
jected your  God,  who  Himself  saved  you  out  of  all  your  adversities  and 
your  tribulations."*  In  a  subsequent  assembly  of  the  people,  in  which  he 
testified  his  uprightness,  he  says,  "  Is  it  not  wheat-harvest  to-day  1  I 
will  call  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  send  thunder  and  rain,  that  ye  may 
perceive  and  see  that  your  wickedness  is  great,  in  asking  you  a  king." 
Again,  "If  ye  shall  still  do  wickedly,  ye  shall  be  consumed,  both  ye 
and  your  king."!  And  after  this,  on  the  first  instance  of  disobedience, 
and  at  first  sight  no  very  heinous  sin,  the  sentence  of  rejection  is 
passed  upon  him :  "  Thy  kingdom  shall  not  continue  ;  the  Lord  hath 
sought  Him  a  man  after  His  own  heart.":}: 

Here  then  a  question  may  be  raised  : — why  was  Saul  thus  marked 
for  vengence  from  the  beginning?  Why  these  presages  of  misfortune, 
which  from  the  first  hung  over  him,  gathered,  fell  in  storm  and  tem- 
pest, and  at  length  overwhelmed  him?  Is  his  character  so  essentially 
faulty  that  it  must  be  thus  distinguished  for  reprobation  above  all  the 
anointed  kings  after  him  t  Why,  while  David  is  called  a  man  after 
God's  own  heart,  should  Saul  be  put  aside  as  worthless  ? 

This  question  leads  us  to  a  deeper  inspection  of  his  character.  Now, 
we  know,  the  first  duty  of  every  man  is  the  fear  of  God, — a  reverence 
for  His  word,  a  love  towards  Him,  a  desire  to  obey  Him  ;  and,  besides, 
it  was  peculiarly  incumbent  on  the  king  of  Israel,  as  God's  vicegerent, 
by  virtue  of  his  office,  to  promote  His  glory,  whom  his  subjects  had 
rejected. 

Now  Saul  "  lacked  this  one  thing."  His  character  indeed  is  obscure, 
and  we  must  be  cautious  while  considering  it  ;  still,  as  Scripture  is 
given  us  for  our  instruction  it  is  surely  right  to  make  the  most  of  what 
we  find  there,  and  to  form  our  judgment  by  such  lights  as  we  possess. 
It  would  appear  then,  that  Saul  was  never  under  the  abiding  influence 

♦  1  Sam.  X.  19.  1 1  Sam.  xii.  17.  25.  t  Ibid.  xiii.  14. 


H 


III.]  SAUL.  469 

of  religion,  or,  in  Scripture  language  "  the  fear  of  God,"  however  he 
might  be  at  times  moved  and  softened.  Some  men  are  inconsistent  in 
their  conduct,  as  Samson ;  or  as  Eli,  in  a  different  way  ;  and  yet  may 
have  lived  by  faith,  though  a  weak  faith.  Others  have  have  sudden 
falls,  as  David  had.  Others  are  corrupted  by  prosperity,  as  Solomon. 
But  as  to  Saul,  there  is  no  proof  that  he  had  any  deep-seated  religious 
principle  at  all ;  rather  it  is  to  be  feared  that  his  history  is  a  lesson  to 
us,  that  the  "  heart  of  unbelief"  may  exist  in  the  very  sight  of  God, 
may  rule  a  man  in  spite  of  many  natural  advantages  of  character,  in 
the  midst  of  much  that  is  virtuous,  amiable,  and  commendable. 

Saul,  it  would  seem,  was  naturally  brave,  active,  generous  and  pa- 
tient ;  and  what  nature  made  him,  such  he  remained,  that  is,  without 
improvement :  with  virtues  which  had  no  value,  because  they  required 
no  effort,  and  implied  the  influence  of  no  principle.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  we  look  for  evidence  of  his  faith,  that  is,  his  practical  sense  of 
things  unseen,  we  discover  instead  a  deadness  to  all  considerations  not 
connected  with  the  present  world.  It  is  his  habit  to  treat  propliet  and 
priest  with  a  coldness,  to  say  the  least,  which  seems  to  argue  some 
great  internal  defect.  It  would  not  be  inconsistent  with  the  Scripture 
account  of  him,  even  should  the  real  fact  be,  that  (with  some 
general  notions  concerning  the  being  and  providence  of  God)  he  doubted 
of  the  divinity  of  the  Dispensation,  of  which  he  was  an  instrument. 
The  circumstance  which  first  introduces  him  to  the  inspired  history  is 
not  in  his  favour.  While  in  search  of  his  father's  asses,  which  were 
lost,  he  came  to  the  city  where  Samuel  was ;  and  though  Samuel  was 
now  an  old  man,  and  from  childhood  known  as  the  especial  minister  and 
prophet  of  the  God  of  Israel,  Saul  seems  to  have  considered  him  as  a 
mere  diviner,  such  as  might  be  found  among  the  heathen,  who,  for  "  the 
fourth  part  of  a  sheckel  of  silver,"  would  tell  him  his  way. 

The  narrative  goes  on  to  mention,  that  after  his  leaving  Samuel, 
"  God  gave  him  another  heart,"  and  on  meeting  a  company  of  pro- 
phets, "  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  him,  and  he  jirophesied  among 
them."  Upon  this,  "  all  that  knew  him  beforetime"  said,  "  What  is 
this  that  is  come  unto  the  son  of  Kish  :  is  Saul  also  among  the  pro- 
phets ?  .  .  .  therefore  it  became  a  proverb."  From  this  narrative  we 
gather,  that  his  carelessness  and  coldness  in  religious  matters  were  so 
notorious,  that,  in  the  eyes  of  his  acquaintance,  there  was  a  certain 
strangeness  and  incongruity  which  at  once  struck  the  mind,  in  associ- 
ating him  with  a  school  of  the  prophets. 

Nor  have  we  any  reason  to  believe,  from  the  after  history,  that  the 
divine  gift,  then  first  imparted,  left  any  religious  effect  upon  his  mind. 
At  a  later  period   of  his^life  we  find  him  suddenly  brouglit  under  the 


470  SAUL.  [Serm. 

same  sacred  influence  on  his  entering  the  school  where  Samuel  taught ; 
but,  instead  of  softening  him,  its  effect  upon  his  outward  conduct  did 
but  testify  the  fruitlessness  of  divine  grace  when  acting  upon  a  will 
obstinately  set  upon  evil. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  his  rejection  was  his  failing  under  a  spe- 
cific  trial  of  his  obedience,  set  before  him  at  the  very  time  he  was  an- 
ointed. He  had  collected  with  difficulty  an  army  against  the  Philis- 
tines :  while  waiting  for  Samuel  to  offer  the  sacrifice,  his  people  be- 
came dispirited,  and  began  to  fall  off  and  return  home.  Here  he  was 
doubtless  exposed  to  the  temptation  of  taking  unlawful  measures  to  put 
a  stop  to  their  defection.  But  when  we  consider  that  the  act  to  which 
he  was  persuaded  was  no  less  than  that  of  his  offering  sacrifice,  he  be- 
ing neither  priest  nor  prophet,  nor  having  any  commission  thus  to  in- 
terfere with  the  Mosaic  ritual,  it  is  plain  "  his  ybrctn^  himself"  to  do 
so  (as  he  tenderly  described  his  sin)  was  a  direct  profaneness, — a  pro- 
faneness  which  implied  that  he  was  careless  about  forms,  which  in  this 
world  will  ever  be  essential  to  things  supernatural,  and  thought  it  mat- 
tered little  whether  he  acted  in  God's  way  or  in  his  own. 

After  this,  ho  seems  to  have  separated  himself  from  Samuel,  whom 
he  found  unwilling  to  become  his  instrument,  and  to  have  had  recourse 
to  the  priesthood  instead.  Ahijah  or  Ahimeleck  (as  he  is  afterwards 
called,)  the  high  priest,  followed  his  camp  ;  and  the  ark  too,  in  spite  of 
the  warning  conveyed  by  the  disasters  which  attended  the  presumptu- 
ous use  of  it  in  the  time  of  Eli.  "  And  Saul  said  unto  Ahijah,  Bring 
hither  the  ark  of  God ;"  while  it  was  brought,  a  tumult  which  was 
heard  in  the  camp  of  the  Philistines,  increased.  On  this  interruption 
Saul  irreverently  put  the  ark  aside,  and  went  out  to  the  battle. 

It  will  be  observed,  that  there  was  no  professed  or  intentional  irreve- 
rence in  Saul's  conduct ;  he  was  still  on  the  whole  the  same  he  had 
ever  been.  He  outwardly  respected  the  Mosaic  ritual, — about  this 
time  he  built  his  first  altar  to  the  Lord,*  and  in  a  certain  sense  seemed 
to  acknowledge  God's  authority.  But  nothing  shows  he  considered 
there  was  any  vast  distinction  between  Israel  and  the  nations  around 
them.  He  was  indifferent,  and  cared  for  none  of  these  things.  The 
chosen  people  desired  a  king  like  the  nations,  and  such  a  one  they  re- 
ceived. 

After  this  he  was  commanded  to  "  go  and  smite  the  sinners,  the  Ama- 
lekites,  and  utterly  destroy  them  and  their  cattle."  This  was  a  judg- 
ment on  them  which  God  had  long  decreed,  though  He  had  delayed  it ; 
and  He  now  made  Saul  the  minister  of  His  vengeance.    But  Saul  per- 

*  1  Sam.  xiv.  35. 


III.]  SAUL.  471 

formed  it  so  far  only  as  fell  in  with  his  own  inchnation  and  purposes. 
He  smote,  indeed,  the  Amalekites,  and  "  destroyed  all  the  people  with 
the  edge  of  the  sword," — this  exploit  had  its  glory  ;  the  best  of  the 
flocks  and  herds  he  spared,  and  why  ?  to  sacrifice  therewith  to  the 
Lord.  But  since  God  had  expressly  told  him  to  destroy  them,  what 
was  this  but  to  imply,  that  Divine  intimations  had  nothing  to  do  with 
such  matters  ?  what  was  it  but  to  consider  that  the  established  religion 
was  but  a  useful  institution,  or  a  splendid  pageant  suitable  to  the  digni- 
ty of  monarchy,  but  resting  on  no  unseen  supernatural  sanction  1  Cer- 
tainly he  in  no  sense  acted  in  the  fear  of  God,  with  the  wish  to  please 
Him,  and  the  conviction  that  he  was  in  His  sight.  One  might  con- 
sider it  mere  pride  and  wilfulness  in  him,  acting  in  his  own  way  because 
it  was  his  own,  (which  doubtless  it  was  in  great  measure.)  except  that 
he  appears  to  have  had  an  eye  to  the  feelings  and  opinions  of  men  as  to 
his  conduct,  though  not  to  God's  judgment.  He  "  feared  the  people 
and  obeyed  their  voice."  Again,  he  spared  Agag,  the  king  of  the 
Amalekites.  Doubtless  he  considered  Agag  as  "  his  brother,"  as  Ahab 
afterwards  called  Ben-hadad.  Agag  was  a  king,  and  Saul  observed  to- 
wards him  that  eourtesy  and  clemency  which  earthly  monarchs  observe 
one  towards  another,  and  rightly,  when  no  divine  command  comes  in 
the  way.  But  the  God  of  Israel  required  a  king  after  His  own  heart, 
jealous  of  idolatry  ;  the  people  had  desired  a  king  like  the  nations 
around  them. 

It  is  remarkable,  moreover,  that,  while  he  spared  Agag,  he  attempted 
to  exterminate  the  Gibeonites  with  the  sword,  who  were  tolerated  in 
■Israel  by  virtue  of  an  oath  taken  in  their  favour  by  Joshua  and  "  the 
.princes  of  the  congregation."  This  he  did  "m  Jiis  seal  to  the  children 
of  Israel  and  Judah."* 

From  the  time  of  his  disobedience  in  the  matter  of  Amalek,  Samue' 
.came  no  more  to  see  Saul,  whose  season  of  probation  was  over.  The 
evil  spirit  exerted  a  more  visible  influence  upon  him ;  and  God  sent 
Samuel  to  anoint  David  privately,  as  the  future  king  of  Israel.  I  need 
Jiot  trace  further  the  course  of  moral  degradation  which  is  exemplified 
in  Saul's  subsequent  history.  Mere  natural  virtue  wears  away,  when 
men  neglect  to  deepen  it  into  religious  principle.  Saul  appears  in  his 
youth  to  be  unassuming  and  forbearing  ;  in  advanced  life  he  is  not  only 
proud  and  gloomy,  (as  he  ever  was  in  a  degree,)  but  cruel,  resentful, 
and  hard-hearted,  which  he  was  not  in  his  youth.  His  injurious  treat- 
ment  of  David  is  a  long  history  ;  but  his  conduct  to  Ahimelech,  the  high- 
j)riest,  admits  of  being  mentioned  here.     Ahimelech  assisted  David  in 

»  Josh.  ix.  2.     2  Sam.  xxi.  1—5. 


472  SAUL.  [Serb. 

his  escape,  Saul  resolved  on  the  death  of  Ahimelech  and  all  his  father's 
house.*  On  his  guards  refusing  to  execute  his  command,  Doeg,  a  man 
of  Edom,  one  of  the  nations  Saul  was  raised  up  to  withstand,  undertook 
the  atrocious  deed.  On  that  day  eighty-five  priests  were  slain.  After- 
wards Nob,  the  city  of  the  priests,  was  smitten  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  and  all  destroyed,  "men  and  women,  children  and  sucklings, 
and  oxen,  and  asses,  and  sheep."  That  is,  Saul  executed  more  com- 
plete vengeance  on  the  descendants  of  Levi,  the  sacred  tribe,  than  on 
the  sinners,  the  Amalekites,  who  laid  wait  for  Israel  in  the  way,  on  their 
going  up  from  Egypt. 

Last  of  all,  he  finishes  his  bad  history  by  an  open  act  of  apostacy 
from  the  God  of  Israel.  His  last  act  is  like  his  first,  but  more  signifi- 
cant. He  began,  as  we  saw,  by  consulting  Samuel  as  a  diviner  ;  this 
showed  the  direction  of  his  mind.  It  steadily  persevered|in  its  evil 
way, — and  he  ends  by  consulting  a  professed  sorceress  at  Endor.  The 
Philistines  had  assembled  their  hosts  ;  Saul's  heart  trembled  greatly — 
he  had  no  advisers  or  comforters  ; — Samuel  was  dead, — the  priests  he 
had  himself  slain  with  the  sword.  He  hoped,  by  magic  rites,  which  he 
had  formerly  denounced,  to  foresee  the  issue  of  the  approaching  battle. 
God  meets  him  even  in  the  cave  of  satanic  delusions, — but  as  an  An- 
tagonist. The  reprobate  king  receives,  by  the  mouth  of  dead  Samuel, 
who  had  once  anointed  him,  the  news  that  he  is  to  be  "  taken  away  in 
God's  wrath," — that  the  Lord  would  deliver  Israel,  with  him,  into  the 
hands  of  the  Philistines,  and  that  on  the  morrow  he  and  his  sons  should 
be  numbered  with  the  dead.j 

The  next  day  "the  battle  went  sore  against  him,  the  archers  hit 
him  ;  and  he  was  sore  wounded  of  the  archers.  "|  "  Anguish  came 
upon  him,"||  and  he  feared  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  uncircumcised. 
He  desired  his  armour-bearer  to  draw  his  sword  and  thrust  him  through 
therewith.  On  his  refusing,  he  fell  upon  his  own  sword,  and  so  came 
to  his  end. 

Unbelief  and  wilfulness  are  the  wretched  characteristics  of  Saul's  his- 
tory,— an  car  deaf  to  the  plainest  commands,  a  heart  hardened  against 
the  most  gracious  influences.  Do  not  suppose,  my  brethren,  because  I 
speak  thus  strongly,  I  consider  Saul's  state  of  mind  to  be  something 
very  unu.sual.  (iod  forbid  it  should  exist  in  its  full  misery  any  where 
among  us  !  but  surely  there  is  not  any  one  soul  here  present  but  what 
may  trace  in  itself  the  elements  of  sins  like  his.  Let  us  only  reflect 
on  our  hardness  of  heart  when  attending  religious  ordinances,  and  we 

*  1  Sam.  xxii.16.       t  1  Sam.  xxviii.  19.       i  1  Sam.  xx.'u.  3.       (1  2  Sam.  i.  9. 


III.]  SAUL.  473 

shall  understand  something  of  Saul's  condition  when  he  prophesied. 
We  may  be  conscious  to  ourselves  of  the  truth  of  things  sacred  as  en- 
tirely as  if  we  saw  them  ;  we  may  have  no  misgivings  about  the  presence 
of  God  in  Church,  or  about  the  grace  of  the  Sacraments,  and  yet  we 
often  feel  in  as  ordinary  and  as  unconcerned  a  mood  as  if  we  were  al- 
together unbelievers.  Again,  let  us  reflect  on  our  callousness  after 
mercies  received,  or  after  suflering.  We  are  often  in  worse  case  even 
than  this  ;  for  to  realize  the  unseen  world  in  our  imagination,  and  feel 
as  if  we  saw  it,  may  not  always  be  in  our  power.  But  what  shall  be 
said  to  wilful  transgression  of  God's  commandments,  such  as  most  of  us, 
I  fear,  must  recollect  in  ourselves,  even  as  children,  when  our  hearts 
were  most  tender,  when  we  least  doubted  about  religion,  were  least  per- 
plexed  in  matters  of  duty,  and  had  all  the  while  a  full  consciousness  of 
what  we  were  doing  ?  What,  again,  shall  be  said  to  those,  perhaps  not 
few  in  number,  who  sin  with  the  purpose  beforehand  of  repenting  after- 
wards ? 

What  makes  our  insensibility  still  more  alarming  is,  that  it  follows 
the  grant  of  the  highest  privileges.  Saul  was  hardened  after  the  Spirit 
of  God  had  come  on  him  ;  ours  is  a  sin  after  Baptism.  There  is  some- 
thing awful  in  this,  if  we  understood  it ;  as  if  that  peculiar  hardness  of 
heart  which  we  experience,  in  spite  of  whatever  excellences  of  charac- 
ter we  may  otherwise  possess,  like  Saul, — in  spite  of  the  benevolence, 
or  fairness,  or  candour,  or  consideration,  which  are  the  virtues  of  this 
age, — was  the  characteristic  of  a  soul  transgressing  after  it  had  "tasted 
the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,"  and  an  earnest  of  the  second  death. 
May  this  thought,  through  God's  mercy,  rouse  us  to  a  deeper  serious- 
ness than  we  have  at  present,  while  Christ  still  continues  to  intercede 
for  us,  and  grants  us  time  for  repentance  ! 


SERMON    IV. 


EARLY   YEARS   OF  DAVID. 


Samuel  xvi.  18. 


Behold,  I  have  seen  a  son  of  Jesse  the  Beth-lehemite,  that  is  cunning  in  playing,  and 
a  mighty  valiant  man,  and  a  man  of  war,  and  prudent  in  matters,  and  a  comely 
person,  and  the  Lord  is  with  him. 


Such  is  the  account  given  to  Saul,  of  David,  in  many  respects  the  most 
favoured  of  the  ancient  Saints.  David  is  to  be  accounted  the  most 
favoured,  first  as  being  the  principal  type  of  Christ,  next  as  being  the 
author  of  great  part  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  which  have  been  used  as 
the  Church's  form  of  devotion  ever  since  his  time.  Besides,  he  was  a 
chief  instrument  of  God's  providence,  both  in  repressing  idolatry  and 
in  preparing  for  the  Gospel ;  and  he  prophesied  in  an  especial  manner 
of  that  Saviour  whom  he  prefigured  and  preceded.  Moreover,  he  was 
the  cho.sen  king  of  Israel,  a  man  after  God's  own  heart,  and  blessed, 
not  only  in  himself,  but  in  his  seed  after  him.  And,  further,  to  the  his- 
tory of  his  life  a  greater  share  is  given  of  the  inspired  pages  than  to 
that  of  any  other  of  God's  favoured  servants.  La.stly,  he  displays  in 
his  personal  character  that  very  temper  of  mind  in  whicli  his  nation,  or 
rather  human  nature  itself,  is  especially  deficient.  Pride  and  unbelief 
di-sgracc  the  history  of  the  chosen  people ;  the  deliberate  love  of  this 
world,  which  was  the  sin  of  Balaam,  and  the  presumptuous  wilfulness 
which  is  exhibited  in  Saul.  But  David  is  conspicuous  for  an  affec- 
tionate, a  thankful,  a  loyal  heart  towards  his  God  and  Defender,  a  zeal 
which  was  as  fervent  and  as  docile  as  Saul  was  sullen,  and  as  Keen- 
sighted  and  as  pure  as  Balaam  was  selfish  and  double-minded.  Such 
was  the  son  of  Jesse  the  Beth-lehemite  ;  he  stands  midway  between 
Abraham  and  his  predicted  seed,  Judah  and  the  Siiiloh,  receiving  and 
transmitting  the  promises  ;  a  figure  of  the  Christ,  and  an  inspired 
Prophet,  living  in  the  Church  even  to  the  end  of  time,  in  his  office,  hi.s 
history,  and  his  sacred  writings. 


Serii.  IV.]  EARLY   YEARS  OF  DAVID.  475 

Some  remarks  on  his  early  life,  and  on  his  character,  as  therein  dis- 
played, may  profitably  engage  our  attention  at  the  present  time. 

When  Saul  was  finally  rejected  for  not  destoying  the  Amalekites, 
Samuel  was  bid  go  to  Bethlehem,  and  anoint,  as  future  king  of  Israel, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Jesse,  who  should  be  pointed  out  to  him  when  he 
was  come  there.  Samuel  accordingly  went  thither  and  made  a  sacri- 
fice ;  when,  at  his  command,  Jesse's  seven  sons  were  brought  by  their 
father,  one  by  one,  before  the  Prophet ;  but  none  of  lliem  proved  to  be 
the  choice  of  Almighty  God.  David  was  the  youngest  and  out  of  the 
way,  and  it  seemed  to  Jesse  as  unlikely  that  God's  choice  should  fall 
upon  him,  as  it  appeared  to  Joseph's  brethren  and  to  his  father,  that  he 
and  his  mother  and  brethren  should,  as  his  dreams  foretold,  bow  down 
before  him.  On  Samuel's  inquiring,  Jesse  said,  "  There  remaineth  yet 
the  youngest,  and,  behold,  he  keepeth  the  sheep."  On  Samuel's  bid- 
ding, he  was  sent  for.  "  Now  he  was  ruddy,"  the  sacred  historian  pro- 
ceeds, "and  withal  of  a  beautiful  countenance,  and  goodly  to  look  to; 
And  the  Lord  said,  Arise,  anoint  him,  for  this  is  he."  After  Samuel 
had  anointed  him,  "  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  David  from 
that  day  forward."  It  is  added,  "  But  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  departed 
from  Saul." 

David's  anointing  was  followed  by  no  other  immediate  mark  of 
God's  favour.  He  was  tried  by  being  sent  back  again,  in  spite  of  the 
promise,  to  the  care  of  his  sheep,  till  an  unexpected  occasion  introduced 
him  to  Saul's  court.  The  withdrawing  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  from 
Saul  was  followed  by  frequent  attacks  from  an  evil  spirit,  as  a  judgment 
upon  him.  His  mind  was  depressed,  and  a  "  trouble,"  as  it  is  called, 
came  upon  him,  with  symptoms  very  like  those  which  we  now  refer  to 
derangement.  His  servants  thought  that  music,  such  perhaps  as  was 
used  in  the  schools  of  the  Prophets,  might  soothe  and  restore  him  ;  and 
David  was  recommended  by  one  of  them  for  that  purpose,  in  the  words 
of  the  text :  "  Behold,  I  have  .seen  a  son  of  Jesse  the  Beth-lehemite, 
that  is  cunning  in  playing,  and  a  mighty  valiant  man,  and  a  man  of 
war,  and  prudent  in  matters,  and  a  comely  person,  and  the  Lord  is  with 
him." 

David  came  in  the  power  of  that  sacred  influence  whom  Saul  had 
grieved  and  rejected.  The  Spirit  which  inspired  his  tongue  guided  his 
hand  also,  and  his  sacred  .songs  became  a  medicine  to  Saul's  diseased 
mind.  "  When  the  evil  spirit  from  God  was  upon  Saul,  ....  David 
took  an  harp,  and  played  with  his  hand  ;  so  Saul  was  refreslied,  and  was 
I  well,  and  the  evil  spirit  departed  from  him."  Thus  he  is  first  intro- 
!  duced  to  us  in  that  character  in  which  he  still  has  praise  in  the  Church, 


476  EARLY  YEARS    OF  DAVID.  [Serm. 

as  "  the  anointed  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  and  the  sweet  psalmist  of 
Israel.  '* 

Saul  "  loved^David  greatly,  and  he  became  his  armour-bearer  ;"  but 
the  first  trial  of  his  humility  and  patience  was  not  over,  while  many 
other  trials  were  in  store.  After  a  while  he  was  a  second  time  sent 
back  to  his  sheep  ;  and  though  there  was  war  with  the  Philistines,  and 
his  three  eldest  brethren  were  in  the  army  with  Saul,  and  he  had  already 
essayed  his  stren^h  in  defending  his  father's  flocks  from  wild  beasts, 
and  was  a  "  mighty  valiant  man,"  yet  he  contentedly  stayed  at  home 
as  a  private  person,  keeping  his  promise  of  greatness  to  himself,  till  his 
father  bade  him  go  to  his  brethren  to  take  them  a  present  from  him,  and 
report  how  they  fared.  An  accident,  as  it  appeared  to  the  world,  brought 
him  forward.  On  his  arrival  at  the  army,  he  heard  the  challenge  of  the 
Philistine  champion,  Goliath  of  Gath.  I  need  not  relate  how  he  was 
divinely  urged  to  engage  the  giant,  how  he  killed  him,  and  how  he  was 
in  consequence  again  raised  to  Saul's  favour  ;  who,  with  an  infirmity 
not  inconsistent  with  the  deranged  state  of  his  mind,  seems  to  have 
altogether  forgotten  him. 

From  this  time  began  David's  public  life  ;  but  not  yet  the  fulfilment 
of  the  promise  made  to  him  by  Samuel.  He  had  a  second  and  severer 
trial  of  patience  to  endure  for  many  years  ;  the  trial  of  "  being  still" 
and  doing  nothing  before  God's  time,  though  he  had  (apparently)  the 
means  in  his  hands  of  accomplishing  the  promise  for  himself  It  was 
to  this  trial  that  Jeroboam  afterwards  showed  himself  unequal.  He  too 
was  promised  a  kingdom,  but  he  was  tempted  to  seize  upon  it  in  his  own 
way,  and  so  forfeited  God's  protection. 

David's  victory  over  Goliath  so  endeared  him  too  Saul,  that  he  would 
not  let  him  go  back  to  his  father's  house.  Jonathan  too,  Saul's  son,  at 
once  felt  for  him  a  warm  affection,  which  deepened  into  a  firm  friend- 
ship. "  Saul  set  him  over  the  men  of  war,  and  he  was  accepted  in  the 
sight  of  all  the  people,  and  also  in  the  sight  of  Saul's  servants."!  This 
prosperous  fortune,  however,  did  not  long  continue.  As  Saul  passed 
through  the  cities  from  his  victory  over  his  enemies,  the  women  of  Israel 
came  out  to  meet  him,  singing  and  dancing,  and  they  said,  "  Saul  hath 
slain  his  thou.sands,  and  David  his  ten  thousands."  Immediately  the 
jealous  kmg  was  "very  wroth,  and  the  saying  displeased  him  ;"  his  .sul- 
lenness  returned  ;  he  feared  David  as  a  rival ;  and  "  eyed  him  from  that 
day  and  forward."  On  the  morrow,  as  David  was  playing  before  him,  as 
at  other  times,  Saul  threw  his  javelin  at  him.  After  this,  Saul  displaced 
him  from  his  situation  at  his  court,  and  sent  him  to  the  war,  hoping  so 

♦  2  Sam.  iiin.  1.  t  1  Sam.  xvm.  5. 


IV.]  EARLY  YEARS  Of   DAVID.  477 

to  rid  himself  of  him  by  his  falhng  in  battle  ;  but  by  God's  blessing 
David  returned  victorious. 

In  a  second  war  with  the  Philistines,  David  was  successful  as  before ; 
and  Saul,  overcome  with  gloomy  and  malevolent  passions,  again  cast  at 
him  with  his  javehn,  as  he  played  before  him,  with  the  hope  of  killing 
him. 

This  repeated  attempt  on  his  life  drove  David  from  Saul's  court ;  and 
for  some  years  after,  that  is,  till  Saul's  death,  he  was  a  wanderer  upon 
the  earth,  persecuted  in  that  country  which  was  afterwards  to  be  his 
own  kingdom.  Here,  as  in  his  victory  over  Goliath,  Almighty  God 
purposed  to  show  us,  that  it  was  His  hand  which  set  David  on  the  throne 
of  Israel.  David  conquered  his  enemy  by  a  shng  and  stone,  in  order, 
as  he  said  at  the  time,  that  all  ...  .  might  know  "  that  the  Lord 
saveth  not  with  sword  and  spear  ;  for  the  battle  is  the  Lord's."*  Now 
again,  but  in  a  different  way.  His  guiding  providence  was  displayed. 
As  David  slew  Goliath  without  arms,  so  now  he  refrained  himself  and 
used  them  not,  though  he  possessed  them.  Like  Abraham  he  traversed 
the  land  of  promise  "as  a  strange  land,"t  waiting  for  God's  good  time. 
Nay,  far  more  exactly,  even  than  to  Abraham,  was  it  given  to  David 
to  act  and  suffer  that  life  of  faith  which  the  Apostle  describes,  and  by 
which  "  the  elders  obtained  a  good  report."  By  faith  he  wandered  about 
"  being  destitute,  afflicted,  evil-entreated,  in  deserts,  and  in  mountains, 
and  in  dens,  and  in  caves  of  the  earth."  On  the  other  hand,  through 
the  same  faith,  he  "  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained 
promises,  waxed  vahant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the 
ahens." 

Onjescaping  from  Saul,  he  first  went  to  Samuel  to  ask  his  advice. 
With  him  he  dwelt  some  time.  Driven  thence  by  Saul,  he  went  to 
Bethlehem,  his  father's  city,  then  to  Ahimelech  the  high-priest,  at  Nob. 
Thence  he  fled,  still  through  fear  of  Saul,  to  Achish,  the  Philistine  king 
of  Gath  ;  and  finding  his  life  in  danger  there,  he  escaped  to  AduUam, 
where  he  was  joined  by  his  kindred,  and  put  himself  at  the  head  of  an 
irregular  band  of  men,  such  as,  in  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country, 
might  |be  usefully  and  lawfully  employed  against  the  remnant  of  the 
heathen.  After  this  he  was  driven  to  Hareth,  to  Keilah  which  he  res- 
cued from  the  Philistines,  to  the  wilderness  of  Ziph  among  the  moun- 
tains,  to  the  wilderness  of  Maon,  to  the  strong-holds  of  Engedi,  to  the 
wilderness  of  Paran.  After  a  time  he  again  betook  himself  to  Achish, 
I  king  of  Gath,  who  gave  him  a  city[;  and  there  it  was  that  the  news  was 
i  brought  him  of  the  death  of  Saul  in  battle,  which  was  the  occasion  of 

»  1  Sam.  xvii.  47.  +  Hob.  xl  9. 


478  EARLY  YEARS  OF  DAVID.  [SRair. 

his  elevation  first  to  the  throne  of  Judah,  afterwards  to  that  of  all  Israel, 
according  to  the  promise  of  God  made  to  him  by  Samuel. 

It  need  not  be  denied  that,  during  these  years  of  wandering,  we  find 
in  David's  conduct  instances  of  infirmity  and  inconsistency,  and  some 
things  which,  without  being  clearly  wrong,  are  yet  strange  and  startling 
in  so  favoured  a  servant  of  God.  With  these  we  are  not  concerned^ 
except  so  far  as  a  lesson  may  be  gained  from  them  for  themselves.  We 
are  not  at  all  concerned  with  them  as  regards  our  estimate  of  David's 
character.  That  character  is  ascertained  and  sealed  by  the  plain  word 
of  Scripture,  by  the  praise  of  Almighty  God,  and  is  no  subject  for  our 
criticism  ;  and  if  we  find  in  it  traits  which  we  cannot  fully  reconcile- 
with  the  approbation  divinely  given  to  him,  we  must  take  it  in  faith  to- 
be  what  it  is  said  to  be,  and  wait  for  the  future  revelations  of  Him  who 
"  overcomes  when  He  is  judged."  Therefore  I  dismiss  these  matters 
now,  when  I  am  engaged  in  exhibiting  the  eminent  obedience  and  mani- 
fold virtues  of  David.  On  the  whole,  his  situation,  during  these  years 
of  trial,  was  certainly  that  of  a  witness  for  Almighty  God,  one  who  does 
good  and  suffers  for  it,  nay,  suffers  on  rather  than  rid  himself  from  suf- 
fering by  any  unlawful  act. 

Now  then  let  us  consider  what  was,  as  far  as  we  can  understand,  his 
especial  grace,  what  is  his  gift ;  as  faith  was  Abraham's  distinguishing 
virtue,  meekness  the  excellence  of  Moses,  self-mastery  the  gift  espe- 
cially conspicuous  in  Joseph. 

This  question  may  best  be  answered  by  considering  the  purpose  for 
which  he  was  raised  up.  When  Saul  was  disobedient,  Samuel  said  to 
him,  "  Thy  kingdom  shall  not  continue  :  the  Lord  hath  sought  Him 
a  man  after  His  own  heart,  and  the  Lord  hath  commanded  him  to  be 
captain  over  His  people,  because  thou  hast  not  kept  that  which  the 
Lord  commanded  thee."*  The  office  to  which  first  Saul  and  then 
David  were  called,  was  different  from  that  with  which  other  favoured 
men  before  them  had  been  entrusted.  From  the  time  of  Moses,  when 
Israel  became  a  nation,  God  had  been  the  king  of  Israel,  and  His  chosen 
servants,  not  delegates,  but  mere  organs  of  His  will.  Moses  did  not 
direct  the  Israelites  by  his  own  wisdom,  but  he  spake  to  them,  as  God 
spake  from  the  pillar  of  the  cloud.  Joshua,  again,  was  merely  a  sword 
in  the  hand  of  God.  Samuel  was  but  His  minister  and  interpreter. 
God  acted,  the  Israelites  "stood  still  and  saw"  His  miracles,  then  fol- 
lowed. But,  when  they  had  rejected  Him  from  being  king  over  them, 
then  their  chief  ruler  was  no  longer  a  mere  organ  of  His  power  and 
will,  but  had  a  certain  authority  entrusted  to  him,  more  or  less  inde* 

*  1  Sam.  xiii.  14. 


IV.]  EARLY  YEARS  OF  DAVID.  479 

pendent  of  supernatural  direction  ;  and  acted,  not  so  much  from  God, 
as  for  God,  and  in  the  place  of  God.  David,  when  taken  from  the 
sheepfolds  "  to  feed  Jacob  His  people  and  Israel  His  inheritance," 
"  fed  them,"  in  the  words  of  the  Psalm,  "  with  a  faithful  and  true 
heart ;  and  ruled  them  prudently  with  all  his  power."*  From  this  ac- 
count of  hi^  office,  it  is  obvious  that  his  very  first  duty  was  that  of 
fidelity  to  Almighty  God  in  the  trust  committed  to  him.  He  had  power 
put  into  his  hands,  in  a  sense  which  neither  Moses  had  it,  nor  Samuel. 
He  was  charged  with  a  certain  office,  which  he  was  bound  to  adminis- 
ter according  to  his  ability,  so  as  best  to  promote  the  interests  of  Him 
who  appointed  him.  Saul  had  neglected  his  Master's  honour ;  but 
David,  in  this  an  eminent  type  of  Christ,  "came  to  do  God's  will"  as 
a  viceroy  in  Israel,  and,  as  being  tried  and  found  faithful,  he  is  espe- 
cially called  "  a  man  after  God's  own  heart." 

David's  peculiar  excellence  then  is  that  of  fidelity  to  the  trust  com- 
tniited  to  him ;  a  firm  uncompromising  single-hearted  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  his  God,  and  a  burning  zeal  for  His  honour. 

This  characteristic  virtue  is  especially  illustrated  in  the  early  years 
of  his  life  which  have  engaged  our  attention.  He  was  tried  therein  and 
found  faithful ;  before  he  was  put  in  power,  it  was  proved  whether  he 
could  obey.  Till  he  came  to  the  throne,  he  was  like  Moses  or  Samuel, 
an  instrument  in  God's  hands,  bid  do  what  was  told  him  and  nothing 
more  ; — having  borne  this  trial  of  obedience  well,  in  which  Saul  had 
failed,  then  at  length  he  was  intrusted  with  a  sort  of  discretionary  power, 
to  use  in  his  Master's  service. 

Observe  how  David  was  tried,  and  what  various  high  qualities  of 
mind  he  displayed  in  the  course  of  the  trial.  First,  the  j)romise  of  great- 
ness was  given  him  and  Samuel  anointed  him.  Still  he  stayed  in  the 
sheep-folds  ;  and  though  called  away  by  Saul  for  a  time,  yet  returned 
contentedly  when  Saul  released  him  from  attendance.  How  difficult 
it  is  for  such  as  know  they  have  gifts  suitable  to  the  Church's  need  to 
refrain  themselves,  till  God  makes  a  way  for  their  use !  and  the  trial 
would  be  the  more  severe  in  David's  case,  in  proportion  to  the  ardour 
and  energy  of  his  mind  ;  yet  he  fainted  not  under  it.  Afterwards  for 
seven  years,  as  the  time  appears  to  be,  he  withstood  the  strong  tempta- 
tion, ever  before  his  eyes,  of  acting  without  God's  guidance,  when  ho 
had  the  means  of  doing  so.  Though  skilful  in  arms,  popular  with  liis 
countrymen,  successful  against  the  enemy,  the  king's  son-in-law,  and 
on  the  other  hand  grievously  injured  by  Saul,  who  not  only  continually 
sought  his  life,  but  even  suggested  to  him  a  traitor's  conduct  by  ac- 

*  Ps.  Ixxviii.  71—73. 


480  EARLY  YEARS  OF  DAVID.  [Sirm. 

cusing  him  of  treason,  and  whose  life  was  several  times  in  his  hands 
yet  he  kept  his  honour  pure  and  unimpeachable.  He  feared  God  and 
honoured  the  king  ;  and  this  at  a  time  of  life  especially  exposed  to  the 
temptations  of  ambition. 

There  is  a  resemblance  between  the  early  history  of  David  and  that 
of  Joseph.  Both  distinguished  for  piety  in  youth,  the  youngest  and 
the  despised  of  their  respective  brethren,  they  are  raised,  'after  a  long 
trial,  to  a  high  station,  as  ministers  of  God's  Providence.  Joseph  was 
tempted  to  a  degrading  adultery ;  David  was  tempted  by  ambition. 
Both  were  tempted  to  be  traitors  to  their  masters  and  benefactors.  Jo- 
seph's trial  was  brief;  but  his  conduct  under  it  evidenced  settled  habits 
of  virtue  which  he  could  call  to  his  aid  at  a  moment's  notice.  A  long 
imprisoment  followed,  the  consequence  of  his  obedience,  and  borne  with 
meekness  and  patience  ;  but  it  was  no  part  of  his  temptation,  because, 
when  once  incurred,  release  was  out  of  his  power.  David's  trial,  on 
the  other  hand,  lasted  for  years,  and  grew  stronger  as  time  went  on. 
His  master  too,  far  from  "  putting  all  that  he  had  into  his  hand,"* 
sought  his  life.  Continual  opportunity  of  avenging  himself  incited  his 
passions  ;  self-defence,  and  the  divine  promise,  were  specious  arguments 
to  seduce  his  reason.  Yet  he  mastered  his  heart, — he  was  "  still ;" — 
he  kept  his  hands  clean  and  his  lips  guileless, — he  was  loyal  through- 
out,— and  in  due  time  inherited  the  promise. 

Let  us  call  to  mind  some  of  the  circumstances  of  his  stedfastness  re- 
corded in  the  history. 

He  was  about  twenty-three  years  old  when  he  slew  the  Philistine ; 
yet,  when  placed  over  Saul's  men  of  war,  in  the  first  transport  of  his 
victory,  we  are  told  he  "behaved  himself  wisely."t  When  fortune 
turned,  and  Saul  became  jealous  of  him,  still  "  David  behaved  himself 
wisely  in  all  his  ways,  and  the  Lord  was  with  him."  How  like  is  this 
to  Joseph  under  different  circumstances  !  "  Wherefore,  when  Saul  saw 
that  he  behaved  himself  very  wisely  he  was  afraid  of  him  ;  and  all 
Israel  and  Judah  loved  David."  Again,  "  And  David  behaved  himself 
more  wi^.iely  than  all  the  servants  of  Saul,  so  that  his  name  was  much  set 
by."  Here  in  shifting  fortunes  is  evidence  of  that  staid,  composed 
frame  of  mind  in  his  youth,  which  he  himself  describes  in  the  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-first  Psalm.     "  3Iy  heart  is  not  haughty,  nor  mine  eyes 

lofty Surely  I  have  behaved  and  quieted  myself,  as  a  child 

that  is  weaned  of  his  mother." 

The  same  modest  deportment  marks  his  subsequent  conduct.  He 
consistently  seeks  counsel  of  God.     When  he  fled  from  Saul  he  went 

•  Genesis  xix  x.  i.  +1  Sam.  xviii.  5—33. 


IV,]  EARLY  YEARS  OF  DAVID.  481 

to  Samuel ;  afterwards  wc  find  him  following  the  directions  of  the 
prophet  Gad,  and  afterwards  of  Abiathar  the  high  priest.*  Here  his 
character  is  in  full  contrast  to  the  character  of  Saul. 

Further,  consider  his  behaviour  towards  Saul,  when  he  had  him  in  his 
power ;  it  displays  a  most  striking  and  admirable  union  of  simple  faith 
and  unblemished  loyalty. 

Saul,  while  in  pursuit  of  him,  went  into  a  cave  in  Engedi.  David 
surprised  him  there,  and  his  companions  advised  to  seize  him,  if  not  to 
take  his  life.  They  said,  "  Behold  the  day  of  which  the  Lord  said  unto 
thee."t  David,  in  order  to  show  Saul  how  entirely  his  life  had  been  in 
his  power,  arose  and  cut  off  a  part  of  his  robe  privately.  After  he  had 
done  it,  his  "  heart  smote  him  "  even  for  this  slight  freedom,  as  if  it  were 
a  disrespect  offered  towards  his  king  and  father.  "  He  said  unto  his 
men.  The  Lord  forbid  that  I  should  do  this  thing  unto  my  master,  the 
Lord's  anointed,  to  stretch  forth  mine  hand  against  him,  seeing  he  is  the 
anointed  of  the  Lord."  When  Saul  left  the  cave,  David  followed  him 
and  cried,  "  My  Lord  the  king.  And  when  Saul  looked  behind  him, 
David  stooped  with  his  face  to  the  earth,  and  bowed  himself."  He 
hoped  that  he  could  now  convince  Saul  of  his  integrity  "  Wherefore 
hearest  thou  men's  words,"  he  asked,  "  saying,  Behold,  David  seekcth 
thy  hurt  ?  Behold,  this  day  thine  eyes  have  seen  how  that  the  Lord 
had  delivered  thee  to-day  into  mine  hand  in  the  cave :  and  some  bade 
me  kill  thee  ....  Moreover,  my  father,  see,  yea  see  the  skirt  of  thy 
robe  in  my  hand  :  for  in  that  I  cut  oft'  the  skirt  of  thy  robe,  and  killed 
thee  not,  know  thou  and  see,  that  there  is  neither  evil  nor  transgression 
in  mine  hand,  and  I  have  not  sinned  against  thee  :  yet  thou  huntest  my 
soul  to  take  it.     The  Lord  judge  between  me  and  thee,  and  the  Lord 

I  avenge  me  of  thee :  but  mine  hand  shall  not  be  upon  thoe 

After  whom  is  the  king  of  Israel  come  out  ?  after  whom  dost  thou  pur- 
1  sue?  after  a  dead  dog,  after  a  flea.  The  Lord  therefore  judge  .... 
and  see,  and  plead  my  cause,  and  deliver  me  out  of  thine  hand."  Saul 
was  for  the  time  overcome  ;  he  said,  "  Is  this  thy  voice,  my  Son  David  ? 
and  Saul  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept."  And  he  said,  '•  Thou  art  more 
righteous  than  I ;  for  thou  hast  rewarded  me  good,  whereas  I  have  re- 
warded thee  evil."  He  added,  "And  now,  behold,  I  know  well  that 
thou  shalt  surely  be  king."  At  another  time  David  surprised  Saul  in 
the  midst  of  his  camp,  and  his  companion  would  have  killed  him  ;  but 
he  said,  "Destroy  him  not,  for  who  can  stretch  forth  his  hand  against 
the  Lord's  anointed  and  be  guiltless  ?"i  Then,  as  he  stood  over  him,  he 
meditated  sorrowfully  on  his  master's  future  fortunes,  while  he  himself 

*  Ibid.  xxii.  5.  20.  xxiii.  6.  1 1  Sam.  xiiy.  4.     1 1  Sam.  ixvi-  9. 

Vol.  L— 31 


482  EARLY  YEARS  OF  DAVID.  [Skrm- 

refrained  from  interfering  with  God's  purposes.  "  Surely  tlie  Lord  shall: 
smite  him  ;  or  his  day  shall  come  to  die  ;  or  he  shall  descend  into  battle 
and  perish."  David  retired  from  the  enemy's  camp;  and  when  at  a. 
safe  distance,  roused  Saul's  guards,  and  blamed  them  for  their  negligent 
watch,  which  had  allowed  a  stranger  to  approach  the  person  of  their 
king.  Saul  was  moved  the  second  time  ;  the  miserable  man,  as  if. 
waking  from  a  dream  which  hung  about  him,  said,  "  I  have  sinned ; 

return,  my  son  David behold,  I  have  played  the  fool,  and 

have  erred  exceedingly."  He  added,  truth  overcoming  him,  "  Blessed 
be  thou,  my  son  David  ;  thou  shalt  both  do  great  things,  and  also  shalt 
still  prevail. 

How  beautiful  are  these  passages  in  the  history  of  the  chosen  king 
of  Israel !  How  do  they  draw  our  hearts  towards  Him,  as  one  whom 
in  his  private  character  it  must  have  been  an  extreme  privilege  and  a 
great  delight  to  know  !  Surely  the  blessings  of  the  patriarchs  descended 
in  a  united  tlood  upon  "  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  the  type  of  the 
true  Redeemer  who  was  to  come.  ,He  inherits  the  prompt  faith  and 
magnanimity  of  Abraham  ;  he  is  simple  as  Isaac  ;  he  is  humble  as  Ja- 
cob ;  he  has  the  youthful  wisdom  and  self-possession,  the  tenderness, 
the  affectionatencss,  and  the  firmness  of  Joseph.  And,  as  his  own  es- 
pecial gift,  he  has  an  overflowing  thankfulness,  an  ever-burning  devo- 
tion, a  zealous  fidelity  to  his  God,  a  high  unshaken  loyalty  towards  his 
king,  a  heroic  bearing  in  all  circumstances,  such  as  the  multitude  of 
men  see  to  be  great,  but  cannot  \mderstand.  Be  it  our  blessedness,  un- 
less the  wish  be  presumptuous,  so  to  acquit  ourselves  in  troubled  times ; 
cheerful  amid  anxieties,  collected  in  dangers,  generous  towards  enemies, 
patient  in  pain  and  sorrow,  subdued  in  good  fortune  !  How  manifold 
are  the  ways  of  the  Spirit,  how  various  the  graces  which  He  imparts ;  what 
depth  and  width  is  there  in  that  moral  truth  and  virtue  for  which  we 
are  created  !  Contrast  one  with  another  the  Scripture  Saints ;  how 
different  are  they,  yet  how  alike  !  how  fitted  for  their  respective  cir- 
cumstances, yet  how  unearthly,  how  settled  and  composed  in  the  faith 
and  fear  of  God  !  As  in  the  Services,  so  in  the  patterns  of  the  Church. 
God  has  met  all  our  needs,  all  our  frames  of  mind.  "  Is  any  afflicted  1 
let  him  pray  ;  is  any  merry?  let  him  sing  Psalms."*  Is  any  in  joyoi 
in  sorrow  ?  there  are  Saints  at  hand  to  encourage  and  guide  him.  There 
is  Abraham  for  nobles.  Job  for  men  of  wealth  and  merchandise,  Mose? 
for  patriots,  Samuel  for  rulers,  Elijah  for  reformers,  Joseph  for  thos( 
who  rise  into  distinction  ;  there  is  Daniel  for  the  forlorn,  Jeremiah  fo 
the  persecuted,  Hannah  for  the  downcast,  Ruth  for  the  friendless,  th< 

*  James  V.  13. 


v.]  EARLY  YEARS  OF  DAVID.  483 

Shunammite  for  the  matron,  Caleb  for  the  soldier,  Boaz  for  the  farmer, 
Mephibosheth  for  the  subject  ;  but  none  is  vouchsafed  to  us  in  more  va- 
ried lights,  and  witli  more  abundant  and  more  affecting  lessons,  whether 
in  bis  history  or  in  his  writings,  than  he  whose  eulogy  is  contained  in 
the  words  of  the  text,  as  cunning  in  playing,  and  a  mighty  valiant  man, 
and  prudent  in  matters,  and  comely  in  person,  and  favoured  by  Almighty 
God.  May  we  be  taught,  as  he  was,  to  employ  the  gifts,  in  whatever 
measure  given  us,  to  God's  honour  and  glory,  and  to  jthe  [extension  of 
that  true  and  only  faith  which  is  the  salvation  of  the  soul ! 


SERMON    V. 


JEROBOAM. 


1  Kings  xiii.  2. 


Hk  cried  against  the  altar  in  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  said,  O  altar,  altar,  thus 
saith  the  Lord,  Behold,  a  child  shall  be  born  unto  the  house  of  David,  Josiah 
by  name ;  and  upon  thee  shall  he  offer  the  priests  of  the  high  places  that  burn 
incense  upon  thee,  and  men's  bones  shall  be  burnt  upon  thee. 

These  words  are  parts  of  a  narrative  which  we  hear  read  once  a  year 
in  the  Sunday  Service,  but  which  can  scarcely  be  understood  without 
some  attention  to  the  history  which  precedes  it.  It  is  a  j)rophecy  against 
the  form  of  worship  set  up  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel ;  let  us  consider 
what  this  kingdom  and  this  worship  were,  and  how  this  wo  came  to  be 
uttered  by  a  prophet  of  God. 

I     When  Solomon  fell   into  idolatry,   he  broke  what  may  be  called  his 

coronation  oath,  and  at  once   forfeited  God's  favour.     The  essential 

duty  of  a  king  of  the  chosen  people  was  to  act  as  God's  representative, 

to  govern  for  Him.     David  was  called  a  man  after  God's  heart,  because 

■^e  was  thus  faithful  ;  he  fultilled  his  trust.     Solomon  failed,  failed  in 

he  very  one  duty  which,  as  king  of  Israel,  he  was  bound   to  perform. 

In  consequence,  a  message  came  from  Almighty  God,  revealing  what 

ihe  punishment  of  his  sin  would  be.     He  might  be  considered  as  having 

I'orfeited  his  kingdom,  for  himself  and  his  posterity.     For  David's  sake, 

lowever,  this  extreme  sentence  was  not  pronounced  upon  him.     First, 

ince  the  promise  had  been  made  to  David  that  his  son  should  reign 


I 


484  JEROBOAM.  [Skrm. 

after  him,  though  that  son  was  the  very  transgressor,  yet  he  was  spared 
the  impending  evil  on  account  of  the  promise.  As  an  honour  to  Da- 
vid, Solomon's  reign  closed  without  any  open  infliction  of  divine  ven- 
geance ;  only  with  the  presage  of  it.  "  Forasmuch  as  this  is  done  of 
thee,  I  will  surely  rend  the  kingdom  from  thee,  and  will  give  it  to  thy 
servant.  Notwithstanding  in  thy  days  I  will  not  do  it,  for  David  thy 
father's  sake  :  but  I  will  rend  it  out  of  the  hand  of  thy  son."*  A  still 
further  mitigation  of  punishment  was  granted,  still  for  David's  sake. 
It  had  been  promised  David,  "  I  will  set  up  thy  seed  after  thee,  and  I 
will  stablish  the  throne  of  his  kingdom  for  ever  ...  If  he  com- 
mit iniquity,  I  will  chasten  him  with  the  rod  of  men  ;  but  My  mercy 
shall  not  depart  away  from  him, 'as  I  took  it  from  Saul,  whom  I  put 
away  before  thee."t  Accordingly  when  Solomon  had  sinned,  and  the 
kingdom  was  rent  from  him,  still  holy  David's  seed  was  not  utterly  put 
away  before  a  new  king,  as  the  family  of  Saul  had  fallen  before  Da- 
vid ;  part  of  the  kingdom  was  still  left  to  the  descendants  of  the  faithful 
king.  "  Howbeit,  I  will  not  rend  away  all  the  kingdom  ;  but  I  will 
give  one  tribe  to  thy  son,"  Solomon's  son,  "  for  David  My  servanfs 
■sakey  This  one  tribe  was  the  tribe  of  Judah,  David's  own  tribe ;  to 
which  part  of  Benjamin  was  added,  as  being  in  the  neighbourhood. 
And  this  kingdom,  over  which  David's  line  reigned  for  four  hundred 
years  after  him,  is  called  the  kingdom  of  Judah. — But  with  this  king- 
dom of  Judah  we  are  not  now  concerned  ;  but  with  that  larger  portion 
of  the  tribes,  which  was  rent  away  from  David's  house,  and  forms  what 
is  called  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 

These  were  the  circumstances  under  which  the  division  of  the  king- 
dom  was  made.  Solomon  seems  to  have  allowed  himself  in  tyrannical 
conduct  towards  his  subjects,  as  well  as  in  idolatry.  On  his  death  the 
people  came  to  his  son  Rehoboam,  at  Shechem,  and  said.  "  Thy  father 
made  our  yoke  grievous  ;  now  therefore  make  thou  the  grievous  service 
of  thy  father  and  his  heavy  yoke  which  he  put  upon  us  lighter,  and  we 
will  serve  thee."  Rehoboam  was  rash  enough  to  answer,  after  three 
days'  deliberation,  "  My  father  made  your  yoke  heavy,  and  I  will  add 
to  your  yoke ;  my  father  also  chastised  you  with  whips,  but  I  will  chas- 
tise you  with  scorpions.''^  Now  every  one  sees  that  Rehoboam  here 
acted  very  wrongly,  and  Solomon  too,  as  I  have  said,  had  sinned  griev- 
ously  before  him.  His  oppression  of  the  people  was  a  sin  ;  yet,  you 
will  observe,  the  people  had  no  right  to  complain.  They  had  brought 
this  evil  on  themselves ;  ^they  had  obstinately  courted  and  struggled 
after  it.     They  would  have  "  a  king  like  the  nations,"  a  despotic  king : 

♦  1  Kings  xi.  11,  IQ.  t  2  Sam.  vii.  12—15.        t  1  Kings  xii.4.  14. 


II 


v.]  JEROBOAM.  485 

and  now  they  had  one,  they  were  discontented.  Samuel  had  not  only 
earnestly  and  solemnly  protested  against  this  measure,  as  an  offence 
against  their  Almighty  Governor,  but  had  actually  forewarned  them  of 
the  evils  which  despotic  power  would  introduce  among  them.  "  He 
will  take  your  sons  and  appoint  them  for  himself,  for  his  chariots,  and 
to  be  his  horsemen ;  he  will  set  them  to  ear  his  ground  and  to  reap  his 
harvest  and  to  make  his  instruments  of  war.  He  will  take  your  dauo-h- 
ters  to  be  confectionaries,  and  to  be  cooks,  and  to  be  bakers.  And  he 
will  take  your  fields,  and  your  vineyards,  and  your  oliveyards,  and  give 
them  to  his  servants."  The  warning  ends  thus  :  "  And  ye  shall  cry 
out  in  that  day,  because  of  your  king  which  xje  shall  have  chosen  yov^ 
and  the  Lord  will  not  hear  you  in  that  day."*  These  were  Samuel's 
words  beforehand.  Now  all  this  had  come  upon  them  :  as  they  had 
sown,  so  they  had  reaped.  And,  as  matters  stood,  their  best  course 
would  have  been  contentment,  resignation  ;  it  was  their  duty  to  bear  the 
punishment  of  their  national  self-will.  But  one  sin  was  not  enough  for 
them.  They  proceeded  as  men  commonly  do,  to  mend  (as  they  con- 
sidered) their  first  sin,  by  a  fresh  one  ; — they  rebelled  against  their 
king.  "  What  portion  have  we  in  David  ?"  they  said,  "  neither  have 
we  inheritance  in  the  son  of  Jesse.  To  your  tents,  0  Israel, — now  see 
to  thine  own  house,  David."j  Ten  tribes  out  of  twelve  revolted  from 
their  king  in  that  day.  Here  they  were  quite  inexcusable.  Even  put- 
ting it  out  of  the  question  that  they  had  brought  the  evil  on  themselves, 
still,  independently  of  this,  their  king's  tyranny  did  not  justify  their 
sudden,  unhesitating,  violent  rebellion.  He  was  acting  against  no  en- 
gagement or  stipulation.  Because  their  king  did  not  do  his  duty  to 
them,  this  was  no  reason  they  should  not  do  their  duty  to  him.  Say 
that  he  was  cruel  and  rapacious,  still  they  might  have  safely  trusted 
the  miraculous  providence  of  God,  to  have  restrained  the  king  by  His 
prophets,  and  to  have  brought  them  safely  through.  This  would  have 
been  the  way  of  faith  ;  but  they  took  the  matter  into  their  own  hands, 
and  got  into  further  difficulty.  And  I  wish  you  to  observe,  that  all  the 
evil  arose  from  this  original  fault,  worked  out  in  its  consequences 
through  centuries,  viz.  their  having  a  king  at  all. 

So  much,  then,  for  their  first  sin,  and  their  second  sin.  To  continue 
further  the  history  of  their  downward  course,  we  must  look  to  the  man 
whom  they  made  the  leader  of  their  rebellion.     This  was  Jeroboam. 

Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  had  been,  during  Solomon's  life-time, 
appointed  to  collect  the  tribute  from  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  the  most 
powerful  of  the   ten  tribes ;  a  situation  which  gave  him  influence  and 

»  1  Sam.  viii.  11—13.  t  1  Kings  lii.  16. 


486  JEROBOAM.  [Serm. 

authority  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  king  appointed  him,  "  see- 
ing the  young  man  that  he  was  industrious."  We  are  told  too  that  he 
was  "  a  mighty  man  of  valour."*  Thus  honoured  by  Solomon,  he 
abused  his  trust,  even  in  the  king's  life-time,  by  rebelling  against  him. 
"Jeroboam,  Solomon's  servant,  even  he  lift  up  his  hand  against  the 
king.  When  Solomon,  in  consequence,  sought  to  kill  him,"  he  fled  to 
Egypt,  when  Shisak,  the  king,  sheltered  him.  On  Solomon's  death  he 
returned  to  his  country,  and  at  the  invitation  of  the  revolting  tribes, 
headed  their  rebellion.  "  It  came  to  pass  when  all  Israel  (i,  e.  the  ten 
tribes)  heard  that  Jeroboam  was  come  again,  that  they  sent  and  called 
him  unto  the  congregation,  and  made  him  king  over  all  Israel :  there 
was  none  that  followed  the  house  of  David,  but  the  tribe  of  Judah  only."f 
Now,  that  Jeroboam  was  an  instrument  in  God''s  hand  to  chastise 
Solomon's  sin,  is  plain  ;  and  there  is  no  difficulty  in  conceiving  how  a 
wicked  man,  without  being  any  excuse  to  him,  still  may  bring  about 
the  Divine  purposes.  But  in  Jeroboam's  particular  case  there  is  this 
difficulty,  at  first  sight ;  that  Almighty  God  had  seemed  to  sanction 
his  act  by  promising  him,  in  Solomon's  life-time,  the  kingdom  of  the 
ten  tribes.  The  prophet  Ahijah  had  met  him,  and  dehvered  to  him  a 
message  from  "  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel."  "  I  will  rend  the  king- 
dom  out  of  the  hand  of  Solomon,  and  will  give  ten  tribes  to  thee."  And 
it  was  on  account  of  this  prophecy  that  Jeroboam  "  lifted  up  his  hand 
against  the  king."  On  a  little  consideration,  however,  we  shall  find  no 
difficulty  here  :  for  though  Almighty  God  promised  him  the  kingdom, 
he  did  not  tell  him  to  gain  it  for  himself;  and,  if  we  must  not  do  evil 
that  good  may  come,  surely  we  may  not  do  evil  that  a  promise  may  be 
fulfilled ;  and  to  "  rebel  against  his  lord"  (in  the  words  of  Scripture) 
was  a  plain  indisputable  sin.  God,  who  made  the  promise,  could  of 
course  fulfil  it  in  His  own  time.  He  did  not  require  man's  crime  to 
bring  it  about.  It  was,  of  course,  an  insult  to  His  holiness  and  power 
to  suppose  He  did.  Jeroboam  ought  to  have  waited  patiently  God's 
time ;  this  would  have  been  the  part  of  true  faith.  But  it  had  always 
been,  as  on  this  occasion,  the  sin  of  the  Israelites,  to  outrun  God's  pro- 
vidence ;  and  even  when  they  chose  to  pursue  His  ends,  to  wish  to 
work  them  out  their  own  way.  They  never  would  "  be  still  and  know 
that  He  was  God,"  wait  His  word  and  follow  His  guidance.  Thus, 
when  they  first  took  i)ossession  of  the  promised  land,  they  were  told  to 
cast  the  nations  out,  and  utterly  destroy  all  that  did  not  leave  the  coun- 
■try.  They  soon  became  weary  of  this,  and  thought  they  had  found 
out  a  better  way.     They  thought  it  wiser  to  spare  their  enemies,  and 

*  1  Kings  xi.  23.  t  1  Kings  xii.  20. 


II 


v.]  JEROBOAM.  487 

ibrm  alliances  with  them,  and  put  them  under  tribute.  This  brought 
them  first  into  idolatry,  then  into  captivity.  When  Samuel  rescued 
-them,  and  their  hopes  revived,  their  first  act  was  to  choose  a  king  like 
the  nations,  contrary  to  God's  will.  And  Jeroboam,  in  this  instance, 
as  a  special  emblem  of  the  whole  people  in  the  rebellion  itself,  had  not 
patience  to  wait,  and  faith  to  trust  God,  that  "  what  He  had  promised 
He  was  able  also  to  perform."  That  it  was  a  trial  to  Jeroboam  we 
need  not  deny  ;  of  course  it  was.  He  was  tried  and  found  wanting. 
JIad  he  withstood  the  temptation,  and  refrained  himself  till  lawfully 
called  to  reign,  untold  blessings  might  have  been  showered  on  him  and 
on  his  people,  who,  in  the  actual  history,  were  all  cut  off'  for  their  sins. 
He  was  not  the  first  man  who  had  thus  been  tried.  David  had  been 
promised  Saul's  kingdom,  and  anointed  thereunto  by  Samuel,  years 
before  he  came  into  possession  ;  yet,  though  he  was  persecuted  by  Saul, 
and  had  his  fife  several  times  in  his  power,  still  he  would  not  lift  up  his 
hand  against  his  king.  He  had  the  faith  of  his  forefather  Abraham, 
who,  though  promised  the  land  he  dwelt  in,  wandered  in  it  as  a  pilgrim, 
without  daring  to  occupy  it ;  wandered  on  with  a  band  of  trained  ser- 
vants at  his  command,  who  might  have  gained  for  him  a  territory  had 
he  desired  it,  as  certainly  as  they  smote  Chedorlaomer  and  recovered 
•Xot  and  his  goods.  David  inherited  this  patient  faith,  and  through  it 
"obtained  the  promise,"  and  founded  a  throne  in  righteousness  and 
•truth.  Had  Jeroboam  followed  it,  he  too  might  have  been  the  father 
of  a  line  of  kings ;  he  might  have  been  the  instrument  and  object  of 
God's  promised  favour  towards  the  house  of  Joseph :  satisfying,  in  his 
own  person,  the  prophecies  which  Jacob  and  Moses*  had  delivered,  and 
Joshua,  himself  an  Ephraimite,  had  begun  to  fulfil,  and  founding  a 
.  dominion  not  inferior  in  glory  to  that  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem. 

Jeroboam,  then,  is  not  excused,  though  Ahijah  prophesied  ;  but,  next, 
let  us  inquire  how  did  he  act  when  at  length  seated  on  the  throne  ?  It 
is  not  surprising,  after  such  a  beginning,  that  he  sinned  further  and 
more  grievously.  When  a  man  begins  to  do  wrong,  he  cannot  answer 
for  himself  how  far  he  may  be  carried  on.  He  does  not  see  before- 
hand, he  cannot  knoAv,  where  he  shall  find  himself  after  the  sin  is  com- 
mitted. One  false  step  forces  him  to  another,  for  retreat  is  impossible. 
This,  which  occurs  every  day,  is  instanced,  first,  in  the  history  of  the 
whole  people,  and  then,  in  the  history  of  Jeroboam.  For  a  while,  in- 
deed, he  seemed  to  prosper.  Rehoboam,  Solomon's  son,  had  brouglit 
an  extraordinary  force  of  chosen  men  against  him  ;  but  Almighty  God, 
willing  there  should   be  no  blood  shed,  designing  to  punish  Solomon's 

•  Gen.  xUx.  22—26.     Dcut.  .xxxiii.  13—17.  cf.     1  Kinffs  xi.  33. 


489  JEROBOAM.  [Sbrm. 

idolatry,  and  intending  to  leave  Jeroboam  to  himself,  to  work  out  the 
fruit  of  his  rebellion,  and  then  to  judge  and  smite  him  with  His  own 
arm,  would  not  allow  the  war.  The  prophet  Shemaiah  was  sent  to 
Rehoboam  to  put  an  end  to  it,  and  Rehoboam  obeyed. 

Thus  Jeroboam  seemed  to  have  every  thing  his  own  way;  but  soon 
a  difficulty  arose  which  he  had  thought  light  of,  if  he  thought  of  it  at 
all.  The  Jewish  nation  was  not  only  a  kingdom,  but  a  church,  a  reli- 
gious as  well  as  a  political  body  ;  and  Jeroboam  found,  before  long,  that 
in  setting  up  a  new  kingdom  in  Israel,  he  must  set  up  a  new  religion 
too. 

It  was  ordered  in  the  Law  of  Moses,  that  all  the  men  throughout 
Israel  should  go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  three  times  a  year  ;  but 
Jerusalem  was,  at  this  time,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  the 
rival  kingdom ;  and  Jeroboam  clearly  saw  that  if  his  new  subjects 
were  allowed  to  go  up  thither,  they  could  not  remain  his  subjects  long, 
but  would  return  to  their  former  allegiance.  Here,  then,  a  second  false 
step  was  necessary  to  complete  the  first ;  for  a  false  step  that  must 
have  been,  which,  as  it  would  seem,  required  for  its  protection  a  viola- 
tion of  the  Law  of  Moses.  He,  doubtless,  argued  that  he  was  obliged 
to  do  what  he  did,  that  he  could  not  help  himself.  It  is  true  ; — sin  is  a 
hard  master ;  once  sold  over  to  it,  we  cannot  break  our  chain  ;  one 
evil  concession  requires  another. 

"  Jereboam  said  in  his  heart.  Now  shall  the  kingdom  return  to  the 
house  of  David  :  if  this  people  go  up  to  do  sacrifice  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  at  Jerusalem,  then  shall  the  heart  of  this  people  turn  again 
unto  their  lord,  even  unto  Rehoboam  king  of  Judah,  and  they  shall 
kill  me,  and  go  again  to  Rehoboam,  king  of  Judah.  Whereupon  the 
king  took  counsel."*  A  melancholy  counsel  it  was  :  he  resolved  to 
select  places  for  religious  worship  in  his  own  kingdom.  This  was 
against  the  Law  of  course  ;  but  what  he  did  was  worse  than  this.  He 
could  not  build  a  Temple  like  Solomon's,  and  yet  he  needed  some  visi- 
ble sign  of  the  presence  of  God.  Almighty  God  had  bid  the  Israel- 
ites take  to  themselves  no  sign  of  His  presence,  no  likeness  of  Him; 
but  Jeroboam  thought  he  could  not  do  better  than  set  up  two  figures  of 
gold,  one  at  each  end  of  his  country,  not  indeed. as  representations  (he 
would  argue)  but  as  emblems  and  memorials  of  the  true  God,  and  as 
marking  the  established  place  of  worship.  It  is  probable  that  the  age 
of  Solomon,  a  season  of  peace,  when  the  arts  were  cultivated  and  an 
intercourse  opened  with  foreign  nations,  was  a  season  also  of  a  pecu- 
liar  religious   corruption,    such   as  had   never   occurred   before.      All- 

»  1  Kings  xii.  26—28. 


v.]  JEROBOAM.  48» 

through  their  history,  indeed,  the  Israelites  had  opposed  God's  will ;  but 
by  this  time  they  had  learned  to  defend  their  disobedience  by  argu- 
ment, and  to  transgress  upon  a  system.  Jeroboam's  sins,  in  regard  to 
religious  worship,  were  not  single,  or  inconsistent  with  each  other,  but 
depended  on  this  principle, — that  there  is  no  need  to  attend  to  the  pos- 
itive laws  and  the  outward  forms  and  ceremonies  of  religion,  so  that 
we  attend  to  the  substance.  In  setting  up  these  figures  of  gold,  it  was 
far  from  his  intention  to  oppose  the  worship  of  the  One  True  God,  the 
Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  Saviour  of  Israel ;  the  words  he  used 
on  the  occasion,  and  the  course  of  the  history  show  this.  He  thought 
he  was  only  altering  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  as  we  should  now 
call  it,  and  he  might  plausibly  ask,  what  did  that  matter  1  He  was  but 
putting  another  emblem  of  God  in  the  place  of  the  Cherubim.  He 
made  merely  such  alterations  as  change  of  circumstances  and  the 
course  of  events  rendered  indispensable.  He  was  in  ditficulties,  and 
had  to  consider,  not  what  was  best,  or  what  he  himself  should  choose, 
had  he  to  choose,  but  what  was  practicable. 

The  figure  he  adopted,  as  a  memorial  of  Almighty  God,  was  in  the 
shape  of  an  ox  or  calf,  the  same  that  the  Israelites  had  set  up  in  the 
wilderness.  It  is  hardly  known  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  emblem, 
which  doubtless  came  from  Egypt.  The  ox  is  thought  to  be  the  em- 
blem of  life  or  strength  ;  and,  being  set  up  as  a  religious  monument, 
might  be  intended  to  signify  God's  creative  power.  But  however  this 
might  be,  it  was,  at  any  rate,  a  direct  and  open  transgression  of  the 
second  Commandment.  "The  king  took  counsel,  and  made  two  calves 
of  gold,  and  said  unto  the  people.  It  is  too  much  for  you  to  go  up  to 
Jerusalem  ;  behold  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which  brought  thee  up  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt.  And  he  set  the  one  in  Bethel,  and  the  other  put 
he  in  Dan." 

Even  this  open  idolatrous  worship,  not  merely  tolerated,  but  estab- 
lished, even  this  was  not  the  last  sin  of  this  unhappy  man,  who  had  be- 
gun a  course  of  wickedness  upon  system,  and  then  left  it  as  an  inheri- 
tance for  others  more  abandoned  than  himself  to  perfect.  The  tribe  of 
Levi,  who  were  especially  consecrated  to  religious  purposes,  had  their 
possessions  not  in  one  place,  but  scattered  up  and  down  the  country.  It 
was  not  to  be  supposed  that  they,  who  executed  judgment  upon  the  sin 
of  the  calf  in  the  wilderness,  would  tamely  suffer  this  renewal  of  the 
ancient  offence  in  a  more  heinous  shape.  They  refused  to  counte- 
nance the  idolatrous  worship,  and  Jeroboam,  led  on  by  hard  necessity, 
cast  them  out  of  the  country,  got  possession  of  their  cities  and  lands, 
and  put  in  priests  of  his  own  making  in  their  stead.  "  He  made  a 
house  of  high  places,"  and  "  he  and  his  sons  cast  off  the  Levitcs  trom 


490  JEROBOAM.  [Skiim. 

executing  the  priest's  office  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  ordained  him  priests 
for  the  high  places,  and  for  the  devils,  and  for  the  calves  which  he  had 
made  ;  priests  of  the  lowest  of  the  people  which  were  not  of  the  sons 
of  Levi."*  And  he  changed  the  solemn  feast  days,  and  dared  to  offer 
incense,  himself  intruding  first,  for  example's  sake  into  the  sacred 
office. 

In  consequence  of  these  impious  proceedings,  not  only  "  the  priests 
and  Levites,  that  were  in  all  Israel,"  left  his  kingdom  and  retired  to  Ju- 
dea,  but  also,  "  after  them,  out  of  all  the"  other  "  tribes,  such  as  set  their 
hearts  to  seek  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  came  to  Jerusalem  to  sacrifice 
unto  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers." 

Truly  this  was  an  ill-omened  commencement  of  his  reign.  He  had 
made  it  impossible  for  pious  Israelites  to  remain  in  the  country.  The 
irreligious  alone  held  by  him.  Jeroboam  ruled  in  a  country  given  up, 
as  it  seemed,  to  evil  s])irits.  So  true  is  it,  in  a  kindred  sense  too  that  in 
Avhich  the  words  were  used  by  Samuel,  that  "  rebellion  is  as  the  sin  of 
witchcraft,  and  stubbornness  is  as  iniquity  and  idolatry."! 

Now,  then,  we  come  to  the  concluding  scene  of  this  course  of  crime, 
perpetrated  by  one  man, — the  transaction  to  which  the  text  belongs. 

It  was  on  the  new  feast  day  "  which  he  had  devised  of  his  own  heart," 
and  at  Bethel  where  the  idol  was  set  up.  The  people  were  collected 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  the  king  "  offered  upon  the  altar  and 
burnt  incense."  Such  was  the  formal  inauguration  of  the  false  reli- 
gion in  (lod's  own  hallowed  country,  answering  to  that  sacred  solemnity 
when'Solomon  offered  the  prayer  of  dedication  in  the  Temple.  The 
glory  of  God  had  come  down  on  that  chosen  place  in  token  of  His  fa- 
vour, and  now  at  Bethel,  which  He  had  once  specially  visited  in  an 
earlier  age.  He  suffered  not  the  heathen  act  to  pass  without  an  indica- 
tion of  His  wrath.  One  of  His  prophets  was  sent  from  Judah  to  at- 
tend the  festival ;  but,  as  if  he  were  entering  a  country  infected  by 
the  pestilence,  he  was  bid  go  into  no  house,  nor  eat,  nor  drink  while  he 
■was  in  it,  nay,  he  was  not  even  to  return  to  his  home  the  same  way  by 
which  he  came,  as  if  his  feet  must  not  touch  the  polluted  earth  twice. 

When  the  prophet  came  he  uttered  his  message  before  the  apostate 
king.  It  was  a  ])rophecy  ;  a  prophecy  set  up  as  a  witness  against  the 
complicated  sins  of  the  people,  the  destiny  of  that  rebellious  and  idola- 
trous kingdom  stamped  upon  it  in  the  day  of  its  nativity.  The  man 
of  (iod  addrest  the  altar,  as  not  deigning  to  speak  to  Jeroboam,  and 
foretold  its  fate.  He  announced  that,  after  no  long  time,  the  idola- 
trous power  should  be  destroyed,  and  that  very  altar  should  last  long 

»  Kings  xii.  31.    2  Cliron.  xi.  14,  15.  t  1  Sam.  xv.  23. 


^T]  JEROBOAM.  491 

enough  to  see  its  fall ;  for  upon  it,  fragrant  as  it  now  was  with  incense, 
the  impious  priests  should  be  sacrificed,  and  men's  bones  burned  ;  more- 
over that  all  this  should  be  done  by  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Judah ; 
thus  intimating  that  David's  royal  line  would  outlive  the  revolting 
kingdom  of  Israel.  "  O  altar,  altar,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Behold,  a  child 
shall  be  born  unto  the  house  of  David,  Josiah  by  name  ;  and  upon  thee 
shall  he  offer  the  priests  of  the  high  places  that  burn  incense  upon  thee, 
and  men's  bones  shall  be  burnt  upon  thee."  To  show  his  Divine  com- 
mission, the  prophet  gave  the  word,  and  the  altar  was  miraculously  rent 
in  twain,  and  the  ashes  of  the  sacrifice  scattered  on  the  ground.  No- 
thing could  be  more  public  than  a  judgment  like  this,  denounced  from 
God  Himself,  after  Rehoboam,  Solomon's  son,  had  not  been  allowed  to 
take  the  matter  into  his  own  hands.  And  to  make  the  occurrence  still 
more  impressive,  two  further  signs  were  added.  Jeroboam  stretched 
forth  his  hand  to  seize  the  prophet ;  it  was  instantly  shrivelled  up  so 
that  he  could  not  pull  it  to  him  again.  At  the  prophet's  prayer,  it  was 
restored.  The  second  miracle  was  still  more  awful.  The  prophet, 
wearied  with  his  journey,  was,  on  his  return,  persuaded  by  a  bad  man 
to  eat  and  drink,  against  the  express  word  of  God  declared  to  him. 
An  immediate  judgment  followed.  As  he  sat  at  table,  his  seducer  was 
constrained  to  declare  to  him  his  punishment, — that  his  body  should 
not  come  into  the  sepulchre  of  his  fathers ;  and  as  he  went  home,  a 
lion,  God's  second  instrument  for  its  infliction,  met  and  slew  him,  yet 
did  not  devour  him,  nor  touch  the  ass  he  rode  on,  nor  molest  other 
passengers  he  met,  but,  fixed  to  the  spot  by  miracle,  he  stood  over  the 
prophet's  body,  a  sign,  more  truly  than  the  idols  at  Dan  and  Bethel,  of 
God's  power,  holiness,  and  fearful  justice,  and  suggesting,  throughout 
all  Israel,  the  fearful  argument, — "  If  God  so  punish  His  own  children, 
what  will  be  the  final,  though  delayed,  punishment  of  the  wicked  ?  If 
the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner 
appear  ?"* 

As  for  Jeroboam,  in  spite  of  all  this,  "  after  this  thing  he  returned 
not  from  his  evil  way,  but  made  again  of  the  lowest  of  the  people 
.priests  of  the  high  places ;  whosoever  would,  he  consecrated  him,  and 
he  became  one  of  the  priests  of  the  high  places."t     Such  was  his  life. 

At  the  close  of  his  reign,  he  lost  even  his  earthly  prosperity.  "  The 
Lord  struck  him,  and  he  died."     Such  was  his  end. 

His  family  was  soon  cut  oft'  from  the  throne ;  and  after  all  his  wise 
counsels  and  bold  plans  he  has  loft  but  his  name  and  title  to  posterity. 

»  1  Pet.  iv.  18.  t  1  Kings  xiii.  33. 


492  JEROBOAM.  [Ssrm.  V> 

"  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat  who  caused  Israel  to  sin.**     Such  is  his 
memorial. 

"  Cursed  be  the  man  that  trusteth  in  man,  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm^. 
and'whose  heart  departeth  from  the  Lord.  For  he  shall  be  hke  the 
heath  in  the  desert,  and  shall  not  see  when  good  cometh,  but  shall 
inhabit  the  parched  places  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  salt  land,  and  not 
inhabited."* 

It  requires  but  a  few  words  to  show  the  application  of  this  history 
to  the  circumstances  in  which  we  find  ourselves.  So  strongly  does  it 
portray  to  us  the  existing  disorders  and  schisms  of  the  Christian* 
Church, — the  profane  and  tyrannical  usage  which  it  meets  with  from 
the  world, — that  the  only  question  which  can  possibly  arise  in  the  mind 
is,  whether  it  is  allowable  to  apply  it,  and  whether,  as  the  events  are 
alike,  their  respective  character  and  their  issue  are  like  each  other  also. 
This,  I  say,  is  the  only  question,  whether  we  may,  without  blame^ 
judge  of  what  we  see,  by  the  light  of  what  we  read  in  the  history  of 
Israel ;  and  I  wish  all  readers  would  clearly  understand  that  this  is  the 
only  question.  If  the  deeds  of  Israel  and  Jeroboam  may  be  taken  as 
t^'pes  of  what  has  been  acted  under  the  Gospel  for  centuries  past,  can 
we  doubt  that  schism,  innovation  in  doctrine,  a  counterfeit  priesthood, 
sacrilege,  and  violence,  are  sins  so  heinous  and  crying,  that  there  is  no 
judgment  too  great  for  them,  no  wo  which  we  may  not  expect  will' 
ultimately  fall  on  the  systems  which  have  been  born  in  them,  and  the 
lineage  of  their  perpetrators  ?  What  other  lesson  can  we  draw  from 
the  history  but  this  ?  but  that  we  ought  to  draw  a  lesson,  is  plain  from  the 
repeated  declaration  of  St.  Paul.  "  Whatsoever  things  were  written 
aforetime,  were  written  for  our  teaching."  "  All  these  things  happened 
unto  them  as  types,  and  they  are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon 
whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come."  "  All  Scripture  is  given  by 
inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for  cor- 
rection, for  instruction  in  righteousness."  St.  Peter  also  and  St.  Jude 
expressly  apply  occurrences  in  the  Old  Testament  to  parallels  under 
the  Gospel.f 

May  God  give  us  the  will  and  the  power  to  reaUze  to  our  minds  this 
most  serious  truth,  and  fairly  to  follow  it  out  in  its  necessary  conse- 
quences !  And  may  He  of  His  mercy  have  pity  upon  our  poor  dis- 
tracted Church,  rescue  it  from  the  dominion  of  the  heathen,  and  grant 
that  "  the  world's  course  may  be  so  peaceably  ordered  by  His  govern- 
ance, that  "  it  and  all  the  branches  of  the  One  Church  Catholic  "may 
joyfully  serve  Him  in  all  godly  quietness  !" 

•  Jer.  xvii.  5,  6. 

tRom.  XV.  4.     ICor.  I.  11.    2Tim.  iii.  16.     2  Pet.  ii.  1—15.    Jude  5—1 L 


SERMON    VI. 


FAITH  AND  OBEDIENCE. 


Matt.  xix.  17, 

If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments. 

Let  a  plain  man  read  the  Gospels  with  a  serious  and  humble  mind, 
and  as  in  God's  presence,  and  I  suppose  he  would  be  in  no  perplexity 
at  all  about  the  meaning  of  these  words.  They  are  clear  as  the  day  at 
first  reading,  and  the  rest  of  our  Saviour's  teaching  does  but  corro- 
borate their  obvious  meaning.  I  conceive  that  if  such  a  man,  after 
reading  them  and  the  other  similar  passages  which  occur  in  the  Gos- 
pels, were  told  that  he  had  not  mastered  the  sense  of  them,  and  that  in 
matter  of  fact  to  attempt  to  enter  into  life  by  keeping  the  com- 
mandments, to  attempt  to  keep  the  commandments  in  order  to  enter 
into  life,  were  suspicious  and  dangerous  modes  of  expression,  and  that 
the  use  of  them  showed  an  ignorance  of  the  real  spirit  of  Christ's  doc- 
trine, he  would  in  despair  say,  "  then  truly  Scripture  is  not  a  book  for 
I  the  multitude,  but  for  those  only  who  have  educated  and  refined  under- 
standings, so  as  to  see  things  in  a  sense  different  from  their  obvious 
;  meaning." 

Or  again,  supposing  one,  who  disbelieved  our  Lord's  divinity,  fell  in 
with  persons  who  did  thus  consider  that  to  keep  the  commandments 
by  way  of  entering  into  life,  was  a  sign  of  spiritual  blindness  in  a  man, 
not  to  say  of  pride  and  reprobation  ;  do  you  suppose  there  would  be 
I  any  possibility  of  their  silencing  him  as  regards  his  own  particular 
1  heresy,  with  Scripture  proofs  of  the  sacred  truth  which  he  denied  ? 
For  can  the  doctrine  that  Christ  is  God,  be  more  clearly  enunciated 
I  than  the   precept  that,  to  enter  into   life,  we   must  keep   the  com- 
mandments ■?  and  is  it  not  the  way  to  make  men  think  that  Scripture 
i  has  no  definite  meaning  at  all,  and  that  each  man  may  fairly  put  his 
own  sense  upon  it,  when  they  see  our  Lord's  plain  directions  thus 
explained  away  ? 


494  FAITH  AND  OBEDIENCE.  [Serm. 

The  occasion  of  this  unreal  interpretalion  of  Scripture,  which,  in 
fact,  docs  exist  among  us  to  a  great  extent,  is,  that  St.  Paul,  in  some 
passages  of  his  Epistles,  teaches  us  that  we  are  accepted  and  saved  by- 
faith  ;  and  it  is  argued  that,  since  he  wrote  under  the  guidance  of  the 
promised  Spirit,  his  is  the  true  gospel  mode  of  Speech,  and  that  the 
language  of  Christ,  the  Eternal  Word  of  God,  must  be  drawn  aside, 
however  violently,  into  that  certain  meaning  which  is  assumed  as  the 
only  true  sense  of  St.  Paul.  How  our  Divine  Master's  words  are 
explained  away,  what  ingenious  refinements  are  used  to  deprive  us  of 
the  plain  and  solemn  sense  which  they  bear  on  their  very  front,  it 
profits  not  here  to  inquire  ;  still  no  one,  it  may  be  presumed,  can  deny, 
that,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly,  they  are  turned  aside  in  a  very  unex- 
pected way,  unless  rather  they  are  put  out  of  sight  altogether,  and 
forgotten,  as  if  superseded  by  the  Apostolic  Epistles.  Doubtless  those 
Epistles  are  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  He  was  sent  from  Christ 
to  glorify  and  illuminate  the  words  of  Christ.  The  two  Heavenly 
witnesses  cannot  speak  diversely ;  faith  will  listen  to  Them  both. 
Surely  our  duty  is,  neither  to  resist  the  One  nor  the  other ;  but  humbly 
to  consider  whether  there  is  not  some  one  substantial  doctrine  which 
they  teach  in  common ;  and  that  with  God's  blessing  I  will  now 
attempt  to  do. 

How  are  we  sinners  to  be  accepted  by  Almighty  God  1  Doubtless 
the  sacrifice  of  Christ  on  the  cross  is  the  meritcrious  cause  of  our  justi- 
fication, and  His  Church  is  the  ordained  instrument  of  conveying  it  to 
us.  But  our  present  question  relates  to  another  subject,  to  our  own 
part  in  appropriating  it ;  and  here  I  say  Scripture  makes  two  answers, 
saying  sometimes  "  Believe,  and  you  shall  be  saved,"  and  sometimes 
"  Keep  the  commandments,  and  you  shall  be  saved."  Let  us  consider 
whether  these  two  modes  of  speech  are  not  reconcileable  with  each 
other. 

What  is  meant  by  faith  ?  it  is  to  feel  in  good  earnest  that  we  are 
creatures  of  God  ;  it  is  a  practical  perception  of  the  unseen  world  ;  it 
is  to  understand  that  this  world  is  not  enough  for  our  happiness,  to 
look  beyond  it  on  towards  God,  to  realize  His  presence,  to  wait  upon 
Him,  to  endeavour  to  learn  and  to  do  His  will,  and  to  seek  our  good 
from  Him.  It  is  not  a  mere  temporary  strong  act  or  impetuous  feeling 
of  the  mind,  an  impression  en  a  view  coming  upon  it,  but  it  is  a  habit, 
a  state  of  mind,  lasting  and  consistent.  To  have  faith  in  God  is  to 
surrender  oneself  to  God,  humbly  to  put  one's  interests,  or  to  wish  to  be 
allowed  to  put  them,  into  His  hands  who  is  the  Sovereign  Giver  of  all 
good. 

Now,  again,  let  me  ask,  what  is  obedience  ?     It  is  the  obvious  mode, 


VI.]  FAITH  AND  OBEDIENCE.  495- 

suggested  by  nature,  of  a  creature's  conducting  himself  in  God's  siglit, 
who  fears  Him  as  his  Maker,  and  knows  that,  as  a  sinner,  he  has  espe- 
cial cause  for  fearing  Him.  Under  such  circumstances  he  "  will  do 
what  he  can"  to  please  Him,  as  the  woman  whom  our  Lord  commended. 
He  will  look  every  way  to  see  how  it  is  possible  to  approve  himself  to 
Him,  and  will  rejoice  to  find  any  service  which  may  stand  as  a  sort  of 
proof  that  he  is  in  earnest.  And  he  will  find  nothing  better  as  an  offer- 
ing, or  as  an  evidence,  than  obedience  to  that  Holy  Law,  which  con- 
science tells  him  has  been  given  us  by  God  Himself;  that  is,  he  will  be 
diligent  in  doing  all  his  duty  as  far  as  he  knows  it  and  can  do  it.  Thus, 
as  is  evident  the  two  states  of  mind  are  altogether  one  and  the  same  ; 
it  is  quite  indifferent  whether  we  say  a  man  seeks  God  in  faith,  or  say  he 
seeks  Him  by  obedience ;  and,  whereas  Almighty  God  has  graciously- 
declared  He  will  receive  and  bless  all  that  seek  Him,  it  is  quite  indiffer- 
ent  whether  we  say,  He  accepts  those  who  believe,  or  those  who  obey. 
To  believe  is  to  look  beyond  this  world  to  God,  and  to  obey  is  to  look 
beyond  this  world  to  God  ;  to  believe  is  of  the  heart,  and  to  obey  is  of 
the  heart ;  to  believe  is  not  a  solitary  act,  but  a  consistent  habit  of 
trust ;  and  to  obey  is  not  a  solitary  act,  but  a  consistent  habit  of  doing 
our  duty  in  all  things.  I  do  not  say  that  faith  and  obedience  do  not 
stand  for  separate  ideas  in  our  minds,  but  they  stand  for  nothing  more ; 
they  are  not  divided  one  from  the  other  in  fact.  They  are  but  one 
thing  viewed  differently. 

If  it  be  said  that  a  man  may  keep  from  sin  and  do  good  without 
thinking  of  God,  and  therefore  without  being  religious  or  having  faith  ; 
this  is  true,  but  nothing  to  the  purpose.  It  is,  alas  !  too  true,  that  men 
often  do  what  is  in  itself  right,  not  from  the  thought  of  God,  but  for 
some  purpose  of  this  world  ;  and  all  of  us  have  our  best  doings  sullied 
by  the  intrusion  of  bad  thoughts  and  motives.  But  all  this,  I  say,  is 
nothing  to  our  present  purpose  ;  for  if  a  man  does  right,  not  for  reli- 
gion's sake,  but  the  world's  sake,  though  he  happens  to  be  doing  right, 
that  is,  to  perform  outwardly  good  actions,  this  is  in  no  sense  obedience^ 
which  is  of  the  heart.  And  it  was  obedience,  not  mere  outward  good 
conduct,  which  I  said  belonged  to  the  same  temper  of  mind  as  faith. 
And  I  repeat  it,  for  by  obedience  is  meant  obedience  not  to  the  world, 
but  to  God, — and  habitually  to  obey  God  is  to  be  constant  in  looking  on 
to  God, — and  to  look  on  to  Almighty  God,  is  to  have  faitja ;  so  that  to 
"  live  by  faith,"  or  "walk  by  faith,"  (according  to  the  Scripture  phra- 
ses,) that  is,  to  have  a  habit  of  faith,  and  to  be  obedient,  are  one  and  the 
same  general  character  of  mind  ; — viewed  as  sitting  at  Jesus'  feet,  it  is- 
called  faith  ;  viewed  as  running  to  do  His  will,  it  is  called  obedience. 
If  again  it  be  said  that  a  man  may  be  obedient  and  yet  proud  of  be- 


496  FAITH  AND  OBEDIENCE.  [StRM. 

inf'  so,  that  is,  obedient  without  having  faith,  I  would  maintain,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  in  matter  of  fact  a  man  is  proud,  or  (what  is  some- 
times called)  self-righteous,  not  when  obedient,  but  in  proportion  to  his 
disobedience.  To  be  proud,  is  to  rest  on  oneself,  which  they  are  most 
charf^eable  with  who  do  least ;  but  a  really  obedient  mind  is  necessarily 
dissatisfied  with  itself,  and  looks  out  of  itself  for  help,  from  understand- 
ing the  greatness  of  its  task ;  in  other  words,  in  proportion  as  a  man 
obevs,  is  he  driven  to  faith,  in  order  to  learn  the  remedy  of  the  imper- 
fections of  his  obedience, 

All  this  is  clear  and  obvious  to  every  thinking  man  ;  and  this  view  of 
the  subject  was  surely  present  to  the  minds  of  the  inspired  writers  of 
Scripture, — for  this  reason,  because  they  use  the  two  words  faith  and 
obedience  indiscriminately,  sometimes  declaring  we  shall  be  accepted, 
saved  by  believing,  sometimes  by  doing  our  duty.  And  they  so  inter- 
change these  two  conditions  of  God's  favour,  so  quickly  pass  to  and  fro 
from  the  one  view  to  the  other,  as  to  show  that  in  truth  the  two  do  not 
differ,  except  in  idea.  If  these  apparently  two  conditions  were  merely 
connected,  not  substantially  one,  surely  the  inspired  writers  would  com- 
pare them  one  with  the  other, — surely  they  would  be  consistent  in  ap- 
propriating distinct  offices  to  each.  But,  in  very  truth,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  Scripture,  the  one  voice  of  inspiration  consistently 
maintains,  not  a  uniform  contrast  between  faith  and  obedience,  but 
this  one  doctrine,  that  the  only  way  of  salvation  open  to  us  is  the  jur- 
render  of  ourselves  to  our  Maker  in  all  things,  supreme  devotion,  dedi- 
cation, the  turning  with  all  our  heart  to  God  ;  and  this  state  of  mind  is 
ascribed  in  Scripture  sometimes  to  the  believing,  sometimes  to  the  obe- 
dient, according  to  the  particular  passage  ;  and  it  is  no  matter  to  which 
it  is  ascribed. 

Now  I  will  cite  some  passages  of  Scripture  in  proof  of  what  I  have 
said.  The  Psalmist  says,  "  Lord,  who  shall  abide  in  Thy  tabernacle  ? 
who  shall  dwell  in  Thy  holy  hill  ?  He  that  walketh  uprightly,  and 
worketh  righteousness  and  speakcth  the  truth  in  his  heart."  "  He  that 
hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart,  who  hath  not  lifted  up  his  soul  unto 
vanity  nor  sworn  deceitfully."*  Here,  obedience  is  described  as  secur- 
ing a  man's  salvation.  But  in  another  Psalm  we  read,  "  How  great 
is  thy  goodness  which  Thou  hast  laid  up  for  them  that  fear  Thee ; 
which  Thou  Ijast  wrought  for  them  that  trust  in  T/jce."t  Here,  trust  or 
faith  is  the  condition  of  God's  favour.  Again,  in  other  Psalms,  first, 
"  What  man  is  he  that  dcsircth  life  1  Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil  and 
thy  lips  from  speaking  guile.    Depart  from  evil  and  do  good,  seek  peace 

»  P«.  XV.  1,  2  ;  xxir.  4.  t  Ps.  ixxi.  19  ;  ixxiv.  12—14.  18.  22. 


VI.]  FAITH  AND  OBEDIENCE.  497 

and  pursue  it."  .  .  .  Next  it  is  said,  "  The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  them 
that  are  of  a  broken  heart,  and  saveth  such  as  be  of  a  contrite  spirit^ 
Lastly,  *'  None  of  them  that  trust  in  Him  shall  be  desolate."  Here, 
obedience,  repentance,  and  faith  are  successively  mentioned  as  the 
means  of  obtaining  God's  favour ;  and  why  all  of  them,  but  because 
they  are  all  names  for  one  and  the  same  substantial  character,  only 
viewed  on  different  sides  of  it,  that  one  character  of  mind  which  is 
pleasing  and  acceptable  to  Almighty  God  1  Again,  the  prophet  Isaiah 
says,  "  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on 
Thee,  because  he  trusteth  in  Thee."*  Yet  in  the  preceding  verse  he 
had  proclaimed,  "  Open  ye  the  gates  (of  the  heavenly  city)  that  the 
righteous  nation,  which  keepeth  the  Truth,  may  enter  in."  In  like 
manner  Solomon  says,  "  By  mercy  and  truth  iniquity  is  purged  :"  Dan- 
iel, that  "  mercy  to  the  poor^'  is  a  "  breaking  off  of  sin,"  and  "  an  heal- 
ing  of  error:"  Nehemiah  prays  God  to  "remember  him,"  and  "not 
wipe  out  his  good  deeds  for  the  House  of  his  God ;"  yet  Habakkuk  says, 
"  the  just  shall  live  by  his  faith."  j 

What  honour  our  Saviour  put  on  faith  I  need  hardly  remind  you. 
He  blessed  Peter's  confession,  and  in  prospect  those  who  though  they 
saw  Him  not  on  earth,  as  Thomas,  yet  believe  ;  and  in  His  miracles 
of  mercy,  faith  was  the  condition  He  exacted  for  the  exertion  of  His 
powers  of  heahng  and  restoration.  On  one  occasion  he  says,  "  All 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  helieveth.'"\  Yet  afterwards  in  His 
solemn  account  of  the  last  judgment.  He  tells  us  that  it  is  obedience 
to  His  will  which  will  then  receive  His  blessing,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  My  brethren,  ye  have  done 
it  unto  Me."^  Again,  the  Angel  said  to  Cornelius,  "  Thy  prayers  and 
thine  alms  are  come  up  for  a  memorial  before  God  ;"  and  Cornelius  is 
described  as  a  "devout  man,  and  one  that  feared  God  with  all  his  house, 
which  gave  much  alms  to  the  people,  and  prayed  to  God  alway."|l 
Yet  it  is  in  the  very  same  Book  of  Acts  that  we  read  St.  Paul's  words, 
"  Believe,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."1[  The  Epistles  afford  us  still  more 
striking  instances  of  the  intimate  association  existing  in  the  Apostle's 
thoughts  between  believing  and  obeying,  as  though  exhibitions  of  one 
and  the  same  spiritual  character  of  mind.  For  instance,  St.  Paul 
says  Abraham  was  accepted  (not  by  ceremonial  observances,  but)  by 
i  faith,  yet  St.  James  says  he  was  accepted  by  works  of  obedience.  The 
t   meaning  is  clear,  that  Abraham  found  favour  in  God's  sight,  because  he 

'  Isaiah  ixvi.  2,  3.  +  Prov.  xvi.  6.     Dan.  iv.  27.  J  Neh.  liii.  14.     Hab.  ii.  4. 

4  Mark  ix.  23.         }  Matt.  xxv.  40.         ||  Acts  x.  2.        jt  Acts  xvi.  31. 
Vol.  I.— 32 


498  FAITH  AND  OBEDIENCE.  [Skrm. 

gave  himself  up  to  Him  ;  this  is  faith  or  obedience,  whichever  we  please 
to  call  it.  No  matter  whether  we  say,  Abraham  was  favoured  because 
his  faith  embraced  God's  promises,  or  because  his  obedience  cherished 
God's  commands,  for  God's  commands  are  promises,  and  His  promises 
commands  to  a  heart  devoted  to  Him  ;  so  that,  as  there  is  no  substan- 
tial difference  between  command  and  promise,  so  there  is  likewise  none 
between  obedience  and  faith.  Perhaps  it  is  scarcely  correct  even  to 
say,  that  faith  comes  first  and  obedience  follows  as  an  inseparable 
second  step,  and  that  faith,  as  being  the  first  step,  is  accepted.  For 
not  a  single  act  of  faith  can  be  named  but  what  has  in  it  the  nature  of 
obedience,  that  is,  implies  the  making  an  effort  and  a  consequent  vic- 
tory. What  is  the  faith  which  earns  Baptism,  the  very  faith  which 
appropriates  the  free  gift  of  grace,  but  an  acquiescence  of  the  reason 
in  the  Gospel  Mysteries?  Even  the  thief  upon  the  Cross  had  (it 
would  seem)  to  rule  his  reason,  to  struggle  against  sight,  and  to  bring 
under  pride  and  obstinacy,  when  he  turned  to  Him  as  his  Saviour,  who 
seemed  to  mortal  eyes  only  his  fellow-sufferer.  A  mere  confession  or 
prayer,  which  might  not  be  really  an  act  of  obedience  in  us,  might  be 
such  in  him.  On  the  other  hand,  faith  does  not  cease  with  the  first 
act,  but  continues.  It  works  with  obedience.  In  proportion  as  a  man 
believes,  so  he  obeys  ;  they  come  together,  and  grow  together,  and  last 
through  life.  Neither  are  perfect  ;  both  are  on  the  same  level  of  im- 
perfection ;  they  keep  pace  with  each  other  ;  in  proportion  to  the  im- 
perfection of  one  so  is  the  imperfection  of  the  other ;  and  as  the  one 
advances,  so  does  the  other  also. 

And  now  I  have  described  the  temper  of  mind  which  has,  in  every 
age,  been  acceptable  to  Almighty  God,  in  its  two  aspects  of  faith  and 
obedience.  In  every  age  "the  righteous  shall  live  by  faith."  And  it 
is  remarkable  that  these  words  of  the  prophet  Habakkuk,  which  St. 
Paul  quotes  three  several  times  to  show  the  identity  of  true  religion 
under  all  dispensations,  do  also  represent  it  under  these  very  two  char- 
acteristics, Righteousness  and  Faith. 

Before  closing  the  subject,  however,  it  may  be  necessary,  in  a  few 
words,  to  explain  why  it  is  that,  in  some  parts  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  a  cer- 
nin  stress  is  laid  upon  faith,  ove  rand  above  the  other  parts  of  a  religious 
character,  in  our  justification.  The  reason  seems  to  be  as  follows  ;  the 
Gospel  being  pre-eminently  a  covenant  of  grace,  faith  is  so  far  of 
more  excellence  than  other  virtues,  because  it  confesses  this  beyond  all 
others.  Works  of  obedience  witness  to  God's  just  claims  upon  us,  not 
to  His  mercy  :  but  faith  comes  empty-handed,  hides  even  its  own  worth, 
and  does  but  point  at  that  precious  scheme  of  redemption  which  God's 
love  has  devised  for  sinners.     Hence,  it  is  the  frame  of  mind  especially 


VI.]  FAITH  AND  OBEDIENCE.  499 

suitable  to  us,  and  is  said,  in  a  special  way,  to  justify  us,  because  it  glo- 
rifies God,  witnessing  that  He  accepts  those,  and  those  only,  who  con- 
fess they  are  not  worthy  to  be  accepted. 

On  this  account,  faith  has  a  certain  prerogative  of  dignity  under  the 
Gospel.  At  the  same  time  we  must  never  forget  that  the  more  usual 
mode  of  doctrine  both  with  Christ  and  His  Apostles  is  to  refer  our 
acceptance  to  obedience  to  the  commandments,  not  to  faith  ;  and  this, 
as  it  would  appear,  from  a  merciful  anxiety  in  their  teaching,  lest,  in 
contemplating  God's  grace,  we  should  forget  our  own  duties. 

To  conclude.  If,  after  all,  to  believe  and  to  obey  be  but  differenf 
characteristics  of  one  and  the  same  state  of  mind,  in  what  a  most 
serious  error  are  whole  masses  of  men  involved  at  this  day,  who  are 
commonly  considered  religious  ?  It  is  undeniable  that  there  are  multi- 
tudes who  would  avow  with  confidence  and  exultation,  that  they  put 
obedience  only  in  the  second  place  in  their  religious  scheme,  as  if  it 
were  rather  a  necessary  consequence  of  faith  than  requiring  a  direct 
attention  for  its  own  sake ;  a  something  subordinate  to  it,  rather  than 
connatural  and  contemporaneous  with  it.  It  is  certain,  however  start- 
ling it  is  to  reflect  upon  it,  that  numbers  do  not  in  any  true  sense  be- 
lieve that  they  shall  be  judged  ;  they  believe  in  a  coming  judgment  as 
regards  the  wicked,  but  they  do  not  belivc  that  all  men,  that  they  them- 
selves personally,  will  undergo  it.  I  wish  from  my  heart  that  the  per- 
sons in  question  could  be  persuaded  to  read  Scripture  with  their  own 
eyes,  and  take  it  in  a  plain  and  natural  way,  instead  of  perplexing 
themselves  with  their  human  systems,  and  measuring  and  arranging  its 
its  inspired  declarations  by  an  artificial  rule.  Are  they  quite  sure  that 
in  the  next  world  they  will  be  able  to  remember  these  strained  inter- 
pretations in  their  greatest  need  1  Then  surely,  while  we  wait  for  the 
judgment,  the  luminous  sentences  of  Divine  Truth,  will  come  over  us, 
first  one  and  then  another,  and  we  shall  wonder  how  we  ever  misunder- 
stood them !  Then  will  they  confront  us  in  their  simplicity  and  entire- 
ness,  and  we  shall  understand  that  nothing  can  be  added  to  them, 
nothing  taken  away.  Then  at  length,  if  not  before,  we  shall  compre- 
hend our  Lord's  assurance,  that,  "  He  will  reward  every  man  according 
to  his  works;"  St.  Paul's,  that  "we  must  all  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  Christ,  that  every  one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his 
body,  according  to  that  ho  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad ;"  St. 
Peter's,  that  "  He  is  ordained  of  God  to  be  the  Judge  of  quick  and 
dead  ;"  St.  James's,  that  "a  man  is  justified  by  works  and  not  by  fiiith 
only ;"  and  St.  John's  that  "  they  are  blessed  that  do  His  command- 
ments, that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  tlirough 


600  CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE.  [Serm. 

the  gates  into  the  city."*  Whatever  else  may  be  true,  these  declara- 
tions,  so  solemnly,  so  repeatedly  made,  must  hold  good  in  their  plain  and 
obvious  sense,  and  may  not  be  infringed  or  superseded.  So  many  testi- 
monies combined  are  "^an  anchor  of  the  soul,  sure  and  stedfast,"  and  if 
they  mean  something  else  than  what  they  all  say,  what  part  of  Scrip- 
ture can  we  dare  trust  in  future  as  a  guide  and  consolation  ? 

"  O  Lord,  Thy  Word  endureth  for  ever  in  heaven  !"  but  the  exposi- 
tions of  men  are  written  on  the  seashore,  and  are  blotted  out  before  the 
evenmg. 


SERMON    VII 


CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE. 


Luke  xv.  18,  19. 


Pather,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be 
called  thy  son  ;  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants. 

The  very  best  that  can  be  said  of  the  fallen  and  redeemed  race  of 
Adam  is,  that  they  confess  their  fall,  and  condemn  themselves  for  it, 
and  try  to  recover  themselves.  And  this  state  of  mind,  which  is  in  fact 
the  only  possible  religion  left  to  sinners,  is  represented  to  us  in  the  parable 
of  the  Prodigal  Son,  who  is  described  as  receiving,  then  abusing,  and 
then  losing  God's  blessings,  suffering  from  their  loss,  and  brought  to 
himself  by  the  experience  of  suffering.  A  poor  service  indeed  to  offer, 
but  the  best  we  can  offer,  to  make  obedience  our  second  choice  when 
the  world  deserts  us,  when  that  is  dead  and  lost  to  us  wherein  we  were 
held! 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  because  I  say  this,  that  I  think  that  in  the 
life-time  of  each  one  of  us  there  is  some  clearly  marked  date  at  which 
he  began  to  seek  God,  and  from  which  he  has  served  Him  faithfully. 
This  may  be  so  in  the  case  of  this  person  or  that,  but  it  is  far  from 
being  the  rule.  We  may  not  so  limit  the  mysterious  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.     He  condescends  to  plead  with  us  continually,  and  what  He 

*  Matt.  xvi.  27.     2  Cor.  t.  10.     Acts  x.  42.    James  ii.  24.     Rev.  xxii.  14. 


VII.]  CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE.  501 

cannot  gain  from  us  at  one  time,  He  gains  at  another.  Repentance  is 
a  work  carried  on  at  divers  times,  and  but  gradually  and  with  many- 
reverses  perfected.  Or  rather,  and  without  any  change  in  the  meaning 
of  the  word  repentance,  it  is  a  work  never  complete,  never  entire, — 
unfinished  both  in  its  inherent  imperfection,  and  on  account  of  the 
fresh  and  fresh  occasions  which  arise  from  exercising  it.  We  are  ever 
sinning,  we  must  ever  be  renewing  our  sorrow  and  our  purpose  of  obedi- 
ence, repeating  our  confessions  and  our  prayers  for  pardon.  No  need 
to  look  back  to  the  first  beginnings  of  our  repentance,  should  we  be 
able  to  trace  these,  as  something  solitary  and  peculiar  in  our  religious 
course  ;  we  are  ever  but  beginning  ;  the  most  perfect  Christian  is  to 
himself  but  a  beginner,  a  penitent  prodigal,  who  has  squandered  God's 
gifts,  and  comes  to  him  to  be  tried  over  again,  not  as  a  son,  but  as  a 
hired  servant. 

In  this  parable,  then,  we  must  not  understand  the  description  of  the 
returning  prodigal  to  imply  that  there  is  a  state  of  disobedience  and 
subsequent  state  of  conversion  definitively  marked  in  the  life  of  Christians 
generally.  It  describes  the  state  of  all  Christians  at  all  times,  and  is 
fulfilled  more  or  less,  according  to  circumstances,  in  this  case  or  that ; 
fulfilled  in  one  way  and  measure  at  the  beginning  of  our  Christian 
course,  and  in  another  at  the  end.  So  I  shall  now  consider  it,  viz.  as 
describing  the  nature  of  all  true  repentance. 

1.  First,  observe,  the  prodigal  son  said,  "  I  am  no  more  worthy  to  be 
called  Thy  son,  make  me  as  one  of  Thy  hired  servants."  We  know 
that  God's  service  is  perfect  freedom,  not  a  servitude ;  but  this  it  is  in 
the  case  of  those  who  have  long  served  Him ;  at  first  it  is  a  kind  of 
servitude  ;  it  is  a  task  till  our  likings  and  tastes  come  to  be  in  unison 
with  those  which  God  has  sanctioned.  It  is  the  happiness  of  Saints 
and  Angels  in  heaven  to  take  pleasure  in  their  duty,  and  nothing  but 
their  duty  ;  for  their  mind  goes  that  one  way,  and  pours  itself  out  in 
obedience  to  God,  spontaneously  and  without  thought  or  deliberation, 
just  as  man  sins  naturally.  This  is  the  state  to  which  we  are  tending 
if  we  give  ourselves  up  to  religion  ;  but  in  its  commencement,  religion 
is  necessarily  almost  a  task  and  a  formal  service.  When  a  man  be- 
gins to  see  his  wickedness,  and  resolves  on  leading  a  new  life,  he  asks. 
What  must  I  do  ?  he  has  a  wide  field  before  him,  and  he  does  not 
know  how  to  enter  it.  He  must  be  bid  do  some  particular  plain  acts 
of  obedience,  to  fix  him.  He  must  be  told  to  go  to  Church  regularly,  to 
say  his  prayers  morning  and  evening,  and  statedly  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures. This  will  limit  his  efforts  to  a  certain  end,  and  relieve  him  of 
the  perplexity  and  indecision  which  the  greatness  of  his  work  at  first 
causes.     But  who  does  not  see  that  this  going  to  Church,  praying  in 


6G2  CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE.  [Skrm. 

private,  and  rcatling  Scripture,  must  in  his  case  be,  in  great  measure, 
what  is  called  a  form  and  a  task  ?  Having  been  used  to  do  as  he  would, 
and  indulge  himself,  and  having  very  Httle  understanding  or  liking  for 
religion,  he  cannot  take  pleasure  in  these  religious  duties ;  they  will 
necessarily  be  a  weariness  to  him  ;  nay,  he  will  not  be  able  even  to  give 
his  attention  to  them.  Nor  will  he  see  the  use  of  them  ;  he  will  not  be 
able  to  find  they  make  him  better,  though  he  repeat  them  again  and  again. 
Thus  his  obedience  at  first  is  altogether  that  of  a  hired  servant.  '•  The  ser- 
vant knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth."*  This  is  Christ's  account  of  him. 
The  servant  is  not  in  his  Lord's  confidence,  does  not  understand  what 
he  is  aiming  at,  or  why  he  commands  this  and  forbids  that.  He  exe- 
cutes the  commands  given  him,  he  goes  hither  and  thither  punctually, 
but  by  the  mere  letter  of  the  command.  Such  is  the  state  of  those 
who  begin  religious  obedience.  They  do  not  see  any  thing  come  of 
their  devotional  or  penitential  services,  nor  do  they  take  pleasure  in 
them  ;  they  are  obliged  to  defer  to  God's  word  simply  because  it  is  His 
word  ;  to  do  which  implies  faith  indeed,  but  also  shows  they  are  in  that 
condition  of  a  servant  which  the  prodigal  felt  himself  to  be  in  at  best. 

Now,  I  insist  upon  this,  because  the  conscience  of  a  repentant  sinner 
is  often  uneasy  at  finding  religion  a  task  to  him.  He  thinks  he 
ought  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord  at  once,  and  it  is  true  he  is  often  told  to  do 
so ;  he  is  often  taught  to  begin  by  cultivating  high  aflections.  Per- 
haps he  is  even  warned  against  offering  to  God  what  is  termed  a  formal 
service.  Now  this  is  reversing  the  course  of  a  Christian's  life.  The 
prodigal  son  judged  better,  when  he  begged  to  be  made  one  of  his  father's 
.servants, — he  knew  his  place.  We  must  begin  religion  with  what  looks 
like  a  form.  Our  fault  will  be,  not  in  beginning  it  as  a  form,  but  in 
continuing  it  as  a  form.  For  it  is  our  duty  to  be  ever  striving  and 
praying  to  enter  into  the  real  spirit  of  our  services,  and  in  proportion 
as  we  understand  them  and  love  them,  they  will  cease  to  be  a  form 
and  a  task,  and  will  be  the  real  expression  of  our  minds.  Thus  shall 
we  gradually  be  changed  in  heart  from  servants  into  sons  of  Almighty 
God.  And  though  from  the  very  first,  we  must  be  taught  to  look  to 
Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  still  His  very  love  will  frighten,  while 
it  encourages  us,  from  the  thought  of  our  ingratitude.  It  will  fill  us 
Avith  remorse  and  dread  of  judgment,  for  we  are  not  as  the  heathen,  we 
have  received  privileges,  and  have  abused  them. 

2.  So  much  then  on  the  condition  of  the  repentant  sinner  ;  next,  let 
us  consider  the  motives  which  actuate  him  in  his  endeavours  to  serve 


»  John  XV.  15. 


VII.]  CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE.  5C3 

God.  One  of  the  most  natural,  and  among  the  first  that  arise  in  the 
mind,  is  that  oi  propitiating  Him.  When  we  are  conscious  to  ourselves 
of  having  offended  another,  and  wish  to  be  forgiven,  of  course  we  look 
about  for  some  means  of  setting  ourselves  right  with  him.  If  it  be  a 
shght  offence,  our  overtures  are  in  themselves  enough,  the  mere  ex- 
pression that  we  wish  our  fault  forgotten.  But  if  we  have  committed 
some  serious  injury,  or  behaved  with  any  special  ingratitude,  we,  for  a 
time,  keep  at  a  distance,  from  a  doubt  how  we  shall  be  received.  If  we 
can  get  a  common  friend  to  mediate  in  our  behalf,  our  purpose  is  best 
answered.  But  even  in  that  case  we  are  not  satisfied  with  leaving  our 
interests  to  another  ;  we  try  to  do  something  for  ourselves  ;  and  on 
perceiving  any  signs  of  compassion  or  placability  in  the  person  offended, 
we  attempt  to  approach  him  with  propositions  of  our  own,  either  verj- 
humble  confession,  or  some  acceptable  service.  It  was  under  this  feel- 
ing that  Jacob  attempted  to  conciliate  the  governor  of  Egypt  (whom  he 
knew  not  to  be  his  son  Joseph,)  with  a  present  of  "  the  best  fruits  in  the 
land,  a  little  balm,  and  a  httle  honey,  spices,  and  myrrh,  nuts  and  al- 
monds." And  this  holds  good  when  applied  to  the  case  of  sinners  de- 
siring forgiveness  from  God.  The  marks  of  His  mercy  all  around  us 
are  strong  enough  to  inspire  us  with  some  general  hope.  The  very  fact 
that  He  still  continues  our  life,  and  has  not  at  once  cast  us  into  hell, 
shows  that  He  is  waiting  awhile  before  the  wrath  comes  upon  us  to  the 
uttermost.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  natural  that  the  conscience- 
stricken  sinner  should  look  round  him  for  some  atonement  with  which 
to  meet  his  God.  And  this  in  fact  has  been  the  usual  course  of  religion 
in  all  ages.  Whether  "  with  burnt  offerings  and  calves  of  a  year  old, 
with  thousands  of  rams,  and  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil,  with  the 
offering  of  a  man's  first-born  for  his  transgression,  the  fruit  of  his  body 
for  the  sin  of  his  soul  ;"  or,  in  a  higher  way,  *'  by  doing  justly,  loving 
mercy,  and  walking  humbly  with  our  God  ;"*  by  some  means  or  other, 
repentant  sinners  have  attempted  to  win  God's  attention  and  engage 
His  favour.  And  this  mode  has,  before  now,  been  graciously  accepted 
by  God,  though  He  generally  chose  the  gift  which  He  would  accept. 
Thus  Jacob  was  instructed  to  sacrifice  on  the  altar  at  Bethel,  after  his 
return  from  Padan-aram.  David,  on  the  other  hand,  speaks  of  the  more 
spiritual  sacrifice  in  the  fifty-first  Psalm  :  "  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a 
broken  spirit  ;  a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  Thou  wilt  not 
despise."  Such  are  the  services  of  the  penitent,  as  suggested  by  nature, 
-and  approved  by  God  Himself  in  the  Old  Testament. 

But  now,  turning  to  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son,  we  find  nothing 

*  Micah  vi.  6 — S. 


504  CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE.  [Skrkj 

of  this  kind  in  it.  There  is  no  mention  made  here  of  any  offering  on 
his  part  to  his  father,  any  propitiatory  work.  This  should  be  well  ob- 
served. The  truth  is,  that  our  Saviour  has  shown  us  in  all  things  a 
more  perfect  way  than  was  ever  before  shown  to  man.  As  He  promises 
us  a  more  exalted  holiness,  an  exacter  self-command,  a  more  generous 
self-denial,  and  a  fuller  knowledge  of  truth,  so  He  gives  us  a  more  true 
and  noble  repentance.  The  most  noble  repentance  (if  a  fallen  being 
can  be  noble  in  his  fall,)  the  most  decorous  conduct  in  a  conscious  sin- 
ner,  is  an  unconditional  surrender  of  himself  to  God, — not  a  bargaining 
about  terms,  not  a  scheming  (so  to  call  it)  to  be  received  back  again, 
but  an  instant  surrender  of  himself  in  the  first  instance.  Without 
knowing  what  will  become  of  him,  whether  God  will  spare  or  not,  mere- 
ly with  so  much  hope  in  his  heart  as  not  utterly  to  despair  of  pardon, 
still  not  looking  merely  to  pardon  as  an  end,  but  rather  looking  to  the 
claims  of  the  Benefactor  whom  he  has  offended,  and  smitten  with 
shame,  and  the  sense  of  his  ingratitude,  he  must  surrender  himself  to  his 
lawful  Sovereign.  He  is  a  runaway  offender  ;  he  must  come  back,  as 
a  very  first  step,  before  any  thing  can  be  determined  about  him  bad  or 
good  ;  he  is  a  rebel,  and  must  lay  down  his  arms.  Self-devised  offer- 
ings might  do  in  a  less  serious  matter  ;  as  an  atonement  for  sin,  they 
imply  a  defective  view  of  the  evil  and  extent  of  sin  in  his  own  case. 
Such  is  that  perfect  way  which  nature  shrinks  from,  but  which  our  Lord 
enjoins  in  the  parable, — a  surrender.  The  prodigal  son  waited  not  for 
his  father  to  show  signs  of  placability.  He  did  not  merely  approach  a 
space,  and  then  stand  as  a  coward,  curiously  inquiring,  and  dreading 
how  his  father  felt  towards  him.  He  made  up  his  mind  at  once  to  de- 
gradation at  the  best,  perhaps  to  rejection.  He  arose  and  went  straight 
on  towards  his  father,  with  a  collected  mind ;  and  though  his  relenting 
father  saw  him  from  a  distance,  and  went  out  to  meet  him,  still  his  pur. 
pose  was  that  of  an  instant  frank  submission.  Such  must  be  Christian 
repentance  :  First  we  must  put  aside  the  idea  of  finding  a  remedy  for 
our  sin ;  then,  though  we  feel  the  guilt  of  it,  yet  we  must  set  out  firmly 
towards  God,  not  knowing  for  certain  that  we  shall  be  forgiven.  He 
indeed  meets  us  on  our  way  with  the  tokens  of  His  favour,  and  so  He 
bears  up  human  faith,  which  else  would  sink  under  the  apprehension  of 
meeting  the  Most  High  God  ;  still,  for  our  repentance  to  be  Christian, 
there  must  be  in  it  that  generous  temper  of  self-surrender,  the  acknow- 
ledgment that  we  are  unworthy  to  be  called  any  more  His  sons,  the  ab- 
stinence from  all  ambitious  hopes  of  sitting  on  His  right  hand  or  left, 
and  the  willingness  to  bear  the  heavy  yoke  of  bond  servants,  if  He 
should  put  it  upon  us. 

This,  I  say,  ie  Christian  repentance.     Will  it  be  said,  "it  is  too  hard 


VII.]  CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE.  605 

for  a  beginner  ?"  true  :  but  I  have  not  been  describing  the  case  of  a  be- 
ginner.  The  parable  teaches  us  what  the  character  of  the  true  penitent 
is,  not  how  men  actually  at  Jirst  come  to  God.  The  longer  we  live,^ 
the  more  we  may  hope  to  attain  this  higher  kind  of  repentance,  viz.  in 
proportion  as  we  advance  in  the  other  graces  of  the  perfect  Christian 
character.  The  truest  kind  of  repentance  as  little  comes  at  first,  as  per- 
fect conformity  to  any  other  part  of  God's  Law.  It  is  gained  by  long 
practice, — it  will  come  at  length.  The  dying  Christian  will  fulfil  the 
part  of  the  returning  prodigal  more  exactly  than  he  ever  did  in  his  for- 
mer years. 

When  first  we  turn  to  God  in  the  actual  history  of  our  hves,  our 
repentance  is  mixed  with  all  kinds  of  imperfect  views  and  feelings. 
Doubtless  there  is  in  it  something  of  the  true  temper  of  simple  submis- 
sion ;  but  the  wish  of  appeasing  God  on  the  one  hand,  or  a  hard-hearted 
insensibility  about  our  sins  on  the  other,  mere  selfish  dread  of  punish- 
ment, or  the  expectation  of  a  sudden  easy  pardon, — these,  and  such  like 
principles,  influence  us,  whatever  we  may  say  or  may  think  we  feel.  It 
is  indeed  easy  enough  to  have  good  words  put  into  our  mouths,  and  our 
feelings  roused,  and  to  profess  the  union  of  utter  self-abandonment  and 
enlightened  sense  of  sin  ;  but  to  claim  is  not  really  to  possess  these  ex- 
cellent tempers.  Really  to  gain  these  is  a  work  of  time.  It  is  when 
the  Christian  has  long  fought  the  good  fight  of  faith,  and  by  experience 
knows  how  few  and  how  imperfect  are  his  best  services  ;  then  it  is  that 
he  is  able  to  acquiesce,  and  most  gladly  acquiesces  in  the  statement,  that 
we  are  accepted  by  faith  only  in  the  merits  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 
When  he  surveys  his  life  at  the  close  of  it,  what  is  there  he  can  trust 
in  ?  what  act  of  it  will  stand  the  scrutiny  of  the  Holy  God  ?  of  course 
no  part  of  it,  so  much  is  plain  without  saying  a  word.  But  further,  what 
part  of  it  even  is  a  sufficient  evidence  to  himself  of  his  own  sincerity 
and  faithfulness  ?  This  is  the  point  which  I  urge.  How  shall  he  know 
that  he  is  really  forgiven  after  all  his  sins  ?  Doubtless  he  may  have 
some  humble  hope  of  his  forgiveness.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  testimony 
of  his  conscience  as  consohng  him  ;  but  after  all,  a  man's  conscience 
will  rather  evidence  to  him  some  particular  act  of  faith  than  that  he  has 
lived  by  faith,  and  has  the  habit  and  temper  of  faith  lodged  deep  in  his 
heart.  Besides,  his  conscience  also  tells  him  of  numberless  actual  sms, 
and  numberless  omissions  of  duty  ;  and  with  the  awful  prospect  of  eter- 
nity before  him,  and  in  the  weakness  of  declining  health,  how  shall  he 
collect  himself  to  appear  before  God  ?  Thus  he  is,  after  all,  in  the  very 
condition  of  the  returning  prodigal,  and  cannot  go  beyond  him,  though 
he  has  served  God  ever  so  long.  He  can  but  surrender  himself  to  God, 
as  after  all,  a  worse  than  unprofitable  servant,  resigned  to  God's  will. 


506  CHRISTIAN  REPENTANCE.  [Serm. 

whatever  it  is,  with  more  or  less  hope  of  pardon,  as  the  case  may  be ; 
doubtin"  not  that  Christ  is  the  sole  meritorious  Author  of  all  grace,  rest- 
ino-  simply  on  Him  who,  "if  He  will,  can  make  him  clean,"  but  not 
venturing  to  take  for  granted  his  restoration  to  his  Father's  favour,  be- 
cause unable,  as  he  well  knows,  to  read  his  own  heart  in  that  clear  unerr- 
ing way  in  which  God  reads  it.  Under  these  circumstances,  how  vain 
it  is  to  tell  him  of  his  own  good  deeds,  and  to  bid  him  look  back  on  his 
past  consistent  life  !  This  reflection  will  rarely  comfort  him  ;  and,  when 
it  does,  it  will  be  the  recollection  of  the  instances  of  God's  mercy  to- 
wards him  in  former  years,  which  will  be  the  chief  ground  of  encour- 
agement in  it.  No,  his  true  stay  is,  that  Christ  came  "to  call  sinners 
to  repentance,"  that  "  He  died  for  the  ungodly."  He  acknowledges  and 
adopts,  as  far  as  he  can,  St.  Paul's  words,  and  nothing  beyond  them, 
"  This  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am  chief."* 

I  shall  but  observe  in  addition  to  what  has  been  said,  that  I  have  been 
describing  the  nature  of  true  repentance,  and  not  speaking  of  the  time 
and  manner  in  which  God  forgives  us.  The  parable  seems  to  imply, 
that  God  in  His  mercy  forgives  as  soon  as  a  man  truly  repents.  He 
calls  those  men  sons,  and  honours  them  with  His  most  condescending 
favour,  who  still  call  themselves  servants.  He  makes  them  His  friends, 
according  to  His  promise,  and  guides  them  on  heavenward,  while  they 
are  still  in  fear  and  suspense,  because  they  do  not  know  that  they  are 
accepted.  Accept  them,  we  trust.  He  does,  but  He  does  not  simply  tell 
them  while  He  does  it.  He  hides  His  own  mercy.  He  has  not  vouch- 
safed a  Sacrament  after  Baptism,  like  Baptism,  to  re-assure  them  of  it. 
He  leaves  them  in  suspense  for  their  good.  Still  there  is  joy  in  heaven, 
though  no  echo  of  it  reaches  earth.  God  accepts  them,  and  the  Angels 
know  it  ;  and  whenever  God  takes  them  hence,  they  will  know  it  too. 

Who  shall  dare  approach  Christ  at  the  dreadful  day  of  judgment,  who 
has  rejected  the  calling  of  His  Spirit  here  1  Who  shall  then  dare  to 
surrender  himself  to  the  great  God,  when  hell  is  opened  ready  to  receive 
him  ?  Alas  !  it  is  only  because  some  hope  is  left  to  us  that  we  dare  give 
ourselves  up  to  Him  here ;  despair  ever  keeps  away.  But  then,  when 
He  takes  his  scat  as  the  severe  Judge  of  sinners,  who,  among  His  sloth- 
ful disobedient  servants,  will  willingly  present  himself  ?  Surely  the  time 
of  submission  will  then  be  over  ;  resignation  has  no  place  among  fallen 
spirits  ;  they  are  swept  away  by  the  uncontrollable  power  of  God. 
"  Bind  him  hand  and  foot  and  take  him  away  ;"t  such  will  be  the  dreadful 
command.     They  would  struggle  if  they  could. 

»  Matt.  ix.  13.     Rom  v.  6.     1  Tim.  i.  15.  t  Matt.  xiii.  13. 


VIII.]  CHRISTIAN   REPENTANCE.  607 

And  in  hell  they  will  be  still  tormented,  by  the  worm  of  proud  rebel- 
lious hatred  of  God  !  Not  even  ages  will  reconcile  them  to  a  hard  en- 
durance of  their  fate,  not  even  the  dry  apathy  in  wliich  unbelievers  on 
earth  take  refuge,  will  be  allowed  them.  There  is  no  fatalism  in  the 
place  of  torment.  The  devils  see  their  doom  was  their  own  fault,  yet 
they  are  unable  to  be  sorry  for  it.  It  is  their  tcill  that  is  in  direct  energetic 
variance  with  the  will  of  God,  and  they  know  it. 

Consider  this  my  brethren,  and  lay  it  to  heart.  Doubtless  you  must 
render  yourselves  to  God's  mercy  here,  or  else  be  forced  away  before  his 
anger  hereafter. 

"  To-day,  while  it  is  called  to-day,  harden  not  your  hearts."* 


SERMON     VIII. 


CONTRACTED  VIEWS  IN  RELIGION. 


Luke  xv.  29. 


Lo,  these  many  years  do  I  serve  thee,  neither  transgressed  I  at  any  time  tliy  com- 
mandment ;  and  yet  thou  never  gavest  me  a  kid,  that  I  might  make  merry  with 
my  friends. 

There  is  a  general  correspondence  between  this  parable,  and  that  in 
St.  Matthew's  gospel,  of  the  two  sons  whom  their  father  bade  go  work 
in  his  vineyard ;  but  they  differ  as  regards  the  character  of  the  pro- 
fessedly obedient  son  :  in  St.  Matthew  he  says,  "  I  go.  Sir,  and  went 
not ;"  in  the  parable  before  us  he  is  of  a  far  different  class  of  Christians, 
though  not  without  his  faults.  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  he  is  in- 
sincere in  his  profession,  though  in  the  text  he  complains  in  a  very 
unseemly  and  foolish  way.  He  bears  a  considerable  resemblance 
to  the  labourers  in  the  vineyard,  who  complained  of  their  master  ; 
though  they  are  treated  with  greater  severity.  The  elder  brother  of  the 
prodigal  complained  of  his  father's  kindness  towards  the  penitent ;  the  la- 
bourers of  the  vineyard  murmured  against  the  good-man  of  the  house  for 
receiving  and  rewarding  those  who  came  late  to  his  service  as  liberally 
as  themselves.     They,  however,  spoke  in  selfishness  and  presumption ; 

*  Heb.  iii.  7—13. 


508  CONTRACTED  VIEWS  IN  RELIGION.  [Skem. 

but  he  in  perplexity,  as  it  would  appear,  and  distress  of  mind.  Accord. 
in<Tly  he  was  comforted  by  his  Father,  who  graciously  informed  him  of 
the  reason  of  his  acting  as  he  had  done.  "  Son,  thou  art  ever  with 
me,"  he  says,  "  and  all  that  I  have  is  thine.  It  was  meet  that  we 
should  make  merry  and  be  glad  ;  for  this  thy  brother  was  dead  and  is 
alive  again,  and  was  lost  and  is  found." 

Now  let  us  try  to  understand  the  feelings  of  the  elder  brother,  and 
to  apply  the  picture  to  the  circumstances  in  which  we  find  ourselves  at 
present. 

First,  then,  in  the  conduct  of  the  father,  there  seemed,  at  first  sight, 
an  evident  departure  from  the  rules  of  fairness  and  justice.  Here  was 
a  reprobate  son  received  into  his  favour  on  the  first  stirrings  of  repent- 
ance. What  was  the  use  of  serving  him  dutifully  if  there  were  no  dif- 
ference in  the  end  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  1  This  is 
what  we  feel  and  act  upon  in  life  constantly.  In  doing  good  to  the 
poor,  for  instance,  a  chief  object  is  to  encourage  industrious  and  provi- 
dent habits ;  and  it  is  evident  we  should  hurt  and  disappoint  the  better 
sort,  and  defeat  our  object,  if,  after  all,  we  did  not  take  into  account  the 
difference  of  their  conduct,  though  we  promised  to  do  so,  but  gave 
those  who  did  not  work  nor  save,  all  the  benefits  granted  to  those  who 
did.  The  elder  brother's  case,  then,  seemed  a  hard  one  ;  and  that,  even 
without  supposing  him  to  feel  jealous,  or  to  have  unsuitable  notions  of 
his  own  importance  and  usefulness.  Apply  this  to  the  case  of  religion, 
and  it  still  holds  good.  At  first  sight,  the  reception  of  the  penitent  sin- 
ner seems  to  interfere  with  the  reward  of  the  faithful  servant  of  God. 
Just  as  the  promise  of  pardon  is  abused  by  bad  men  to  encourage  them- 
selves in  sinning  on,  that  grace  may  abound,  so  on  the  other  hand  it  is 
misapprehended  by  the  good,  so  as  to  dispirit  them.  For  what  is  our 
great  stay  and  consolation  amid  the  perturbations  of  this  world  ?  This 
truth  and  justice  of  God.  This  is  our  one  light  in  the  midst  of  dark- 
ness. "■  He  loveth  righteousness,  and  hateth  iniquity  ;"  "just  and  right 
is  He."  Where  else  shall  we  find  rest  for  our  foot  all  over  the  world? 
Consider  in  how  mysterious  a  state  all  things  are  placed ;  the  wicked  are 
uppermost  in  power  and  name,  and  the  righteous  are  subjected  to  bodily 
pain  and  mental  suffering  as  if  they  did  not  serve  God.  What  a  temp- 
tation is  this  to  unbelief!  The  Psalmist  felt  it  when  he  spoke  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked.  "  Behold,  these  are  the  ungodly  who  prosper 
in  the  world,  they  increase  in  riches.  Verily,  I  have  cleansed  my  heart 
in  vain,  and  washed  my  hands  in  innocency."*  It  is  to  meet  this  dif- 
ficulty that  Almighty  God  has  vouchsafed  again  and  again  to  declare 

•  Pb.  Ixxiii.  12, 13. 


J 


VIII.]  CONTRACTED  VIEWS  IN  RELIGION.  609 

the  unswerving  rule  of  His  government, — favour  to  the  obedient,  punish- 
ment to  the  sinner  ;  that  there  is  "  no  respect  of  persons  with  Him  ;" 
that  "  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall  be  upon  him,  and  the 
wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon  him."*  Recollect  how  often 
this  is  declared  in  the  book  of  Psalms.  "  The  Lord  knoweth  the  way 
of  the  righteous,  but  the  way  of  the  ungodly  shall  perish."  "The 
righteous  Lord  loveth  righteousness ;  His  countenance  doth  behold  the 
upright."  "  With  the  merciful  Thou  wilt  show  Thyself  merciful,  with 
an  upright  man  Thou  wilt  show  Thyself  upright.  With  the  pure  Thou 
wilt  show  Thyself  pure,  and  with  the  froward  Thou  wilt  show  Thyself 
froward.  For  thou  wilt  save  the  afflicted  people,  but  wilt  bring  down 
high  looks."  "  Many  sorrows  shall  be  to  the  wicked,  but  he  that  trust- 
eth  in  the  Lord,  mercy  shall  compass  him  about."  "  Do  good,  O  Lord, 
unto  those  that  be  good."f  These  declarations,  and  numberless  others 
like  them,  are  familiar  to  us  all ;  and  why,  I  say,  so  often  made,  except 
to  give  us  that  one  fixed  point  for  faith  to  rest  upon,  while  all  around 
us  is  changing  and  disappointing  us  ?  viz.  that  we  are  quite  sure  of 
peace  in  the  end,  bad  as  things  may  now  look,  if  we  do  but  follow  the 
rule  of  conscience,  avoid  sin,  and  obey  God.  Hence,  St.  Paul  tells  us 
that  "he  that  cometh  to  God,  must  believe  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of 
them  that  diligently  seek  Him."|  Accordingly,  when  we  witness  the 
inequalities  of  the  present  world,  we  comfort  ourselves  by  reflecting  they 
will  be  put  right  in  another. 

Now  the  restoration  of  sinners  seems  to  interfere  with  this  con- 
fidence ;  it  seems  at  first  sight,  to  put  bad  and  good  on  a  level.  And 
the  feeling  it  excites  in  the  mind  is  expressed  in  the  parable  by  the 
words,  of  the  text:  "These  many  years  do  I  servo  Thee,  neither 
transgressed  I  at  any  time  Thy  commandment,  yet  I  never  have  been 
welcomed  and  honoured  with  that  peculiar  joy  which  Thou  showest 
towards  the  repentant  sinner."  This  is  the  expression  of  an  agitated 
mind,  that  fears  lest  it  be  cast  back  upon  the  wide  world,  to  grope  in 
the  dark  without  a  God  to  guide  and  encourage  it  in  its  course. 

The  condescending  answer  of  the  Father  in  the  parable  is  most 
instructive.  It  sanctions  the  great  truth,  which  seemed  in  jeopardy, 
that  it  is  not  the  same  thing  in  the  end  to  obey  or  disobey,  expressly 
telling  us  that  the  Christian  penitent  is  not  placed  on  a  footing  with 
those  who  have  consistently  served  God  from  the  first.  "  Son,  thou 
art  ever  with  Me,  and  all  that  I  have  is  thine;"  that  is,  why  this  sud- 
den fear  and  distrust  1  can  there  be  any  misconception  on  your  part 


I 


•  Rom.  ii.  11.     Ezek.  iviii.  20. 

t  Ps.  i.  6 ;  xi.  7  ;  xviii.  23—27 ;  xxxii.  10  ;  cxxv.  4.        t  Heb.  xi. 


610  CONTRACTED  VIEWS  OF  RELIGION.  [Serh. 

because  I  welcome  your  brother  1  do  you  not  yet  understand  Me  ? 
Surely  you  have  known  Me  too  long  to  suppose  that  you  can  lose  by 
his  gain.  Vou  are  in  My  confidence.  I  do  not  make  any  outward 
display  of  kindness  towards  you,  for  it  is  a  thing  to  be  taken  for 
granted.  We  give  praise  and  make  professions  to  strangers,  not  to 
friends.  You  are  My  heir,  all  that  I  have  is  thine.  "  O  thou  of  little 
faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?"  Who  could  have  thought  that  it 
were  heedful  to  tell  to  thee  truths  which  thou  hast  heard  all  thy  Ufe 
long  ?  Thou  art  ever  with  Me  ;  and  canst  thou  really  grudge  that  I 
should,  by  one  mere  act  of  rejoicing,  show  my  satisfaction  at  the  sin- 
ner's recovery,  and  should  console  him  with  a  promise  of  mercy,  who, 
before  he  heard  of  it,  was  sinking  down  under  the  dread  of  deserved 
punishment?  "It  was  meet  that  we  should  make  merry  and  be  glad," 
thou  as  well  as  thy  Father. — Such  is  our  merciful  God's  answer  to  His 
suspicious  servants,  who  think  He  cannot  pardon  the  sinner  without 
withdrawing  His  favour  from  them ;  and  it  contains  in  it  both  a  con- 
solation for  the  perplexed  believer  not  to  distrust  Him  :  and  again,  a 
warning  to  the  disobedient,  not  to  suppose  that  repentance  makes  all 
straight  and  even,  and  puts  a  man  in  the  same  place  as  if  he  had 
never  departed  from  grace  given. 

But  let  us  now  notice  the  unworthy  feeling  which  appears  in  the 
conduct  of  the  elder  brother.  "  He  was  angry,  and  would  not  go " 
into  the  house.     How  may  this  be  fulfilled  in  our  own  case  ? 

There  exists  a  great  deal  of  infirmity  and  foolishness  even  in  the 
better  sort  of  men.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the 
original  corrupt  state  of  their  nature,  however  it  is  to  be  deplored, 
repented  of,  and  corrected.  Good  men  are,  hke  Elijah,  "jealous  for 
the  Lord  God  of  hosts,"  and  rightly  solicitous  to  see  his  tokens  around 
them,  the  pledges  of  His  unchangeable  just  government  ;  but  then 
they  mix  with  such  good  feelings  undue  notions  of  self-importance,  of 
which  they  are  not  aware.  This  seemingly  was  the  state  of  mind 
which  dictated  the  complaint  of  the  elder  brother. 

This  will  especially  happen  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  in  the  most 
favoured  situations  in  the  Church.  All  places  possess  their  pecuUar 
temptation.  Quietness  and  peace,  those  greatest  of  blessings,  constitute 
the  trial  of  the  Christians  who  enjoy  them.  To  be  cast  on  the  world, 
and  to  see  life,  (as  it  is  called,)  is  a  vanity,  and  "drowns"  the  un- 
stable  "  in  destruction  and  perdition  ;"  but,  while  on  the  one  hand,  a 
religious  man  may  thrive  even  in  the  world's  pestilent  air  and  on 
unwholesome  food,  so  on  the  other  hand,  he  may  become  sickly,  unles.s 
he  guards  against  it,  from  the  very  abundance  of  privileges  vouchsafed 
to  him  in  a  peaceful  lot.     The  elder  brother  had  always  lived  at  home 


VIII.]  CONTRACTED  VIEWS  OF  RELIGION.  511 

he  had  seen  things  go  on  one  way,  and,  as  was  natural  and  right,  got 
attached  to  them  in  that  one  way.  But  then  he  could  not  conceive 
that  they  possibly  could  go  on  in  any  other  way  ;  he  thought  he  under- 
stood his  Father's  ways  and  principles  far  more  than  he  did,  and  when 
an  occurrence  took  place,  for  which  he  had  hitherto  met  with  no  pre- 
cedent, he  lost  himself,  as  being  suddenly  thrust  aside  out  of  the  con- 
tracted circle  in  which  he  had  hitherto  walked.  He  was  disconcerted, 
and  angry  with  his  father.  And  so  in  religion,  we  have  need  to  watch 
against  that  narrowness  of  mind,  to  which  we  are  tempted  by  the  uni- 
formity and  tranquillity  of  God's  providence  towards  us.  We  should 
be  on  our  guard  lest  we  suppose  ourselves  to  have  that  clear  knowledge 
of  God's  ways,  as  to  rely  implicitly  on  our  own  notions  and  feelings. 
Men  attach  an  undue  importance  to  this  or  that  point  in  received 
opinions  or  practices,  and  cannot  understand  how  God's  blessing  can 
be  given  to  modes  of  acting  to  which  they  themselves  are  unaccus- 
tomed. Thus  the  Jews  thought  religion  would  come  to  an  end,  if  the 
Temple  were  destroyed,  whereas,  in  fact,  it  has  spread  abroad  and 
flourished  more  marvellously  since  than  ever  it  did  before.  In  this 
perplexity  of  mind  the  Church  Catholic  is  our  divinely  intended  guide, 
which  keeps  us  from  a  narrow  interpretation  of  Scripture,  from  local 
prejudices  and  excitements  of  the  day  ;  and  by  its  clear-sighted  and 
consolatory  teaching  scatters  those  frightful  self-formed  visions  which 
scare  us. 

But  I  have  not  described  the  extreme  state  of  the  infirmity  into 
which  the  blessing  of  peace  leads  unwary  Christians.  They  become 
not  only  over-confident  of  their  knowledge  of  God's  ways,  but  positive 
in  their  over-confidence.  They  do  not  like  to  be  contradicted  in  their 
opinions,  and  are  generally  most  attached  to  the  very  points  which  are 
most  especially  of  their  own  devising.  They  forget  that  all  men  are 
it  best  but  learners  in  the  school  of  Divine  Truth,  and  that  they  them- 
selves ought  to  be  ever  learning,  and  that  they  may  be  sure  of  the 
ruth  of  their  creed,  without  a  like  assurance  in  the  details  of  religious 
)pinion.  They  find  it  a  much  more  comfortable  view,  much  more 
igreeable  to  the  indolence  of  human  nature,  to  give  over  seeking,  and 
0  believe  they  had  nothing  more  to  find. 

A  right  faith  is  ever  eager  and  on  the  watch,  with  quick  eyes  and 
!ars,  for  tokens  of  God's  will,  wliether  He  speak  in  the  way  of  nature 
>r  of  grace.  "  I  will  stand  upon  my  watch,  and  set  me  upon  the  tower, 
ind  will  watch  to  see,  what  He  will  say  unto  me,  and  what  I  shall  an- 
iwer  when  I  am  reproved."*     This  is  that  faith  by  which  (as  the  pro- 

»  Htb.  Ji.  I. 


512  CONTRACTED  VIEWS  IN  RELIGION.  [Sbrm. 

phet  continues)  *'  the  just  shall  live."  The  Psalmist  also  expresses  this 
expectant  temper.  "  Unto  Thee  lift  I  up  mine  eyes,  O  Thou  that 
dvvcllest  in  the  heavens.  Behold,  as  the  eyes  of  servants  look  unto 
the  hand  of  their  masters,  and  as  the  eyes  of  a  maiden  unto  the  hand 
of  her  mistress."*  But  as  for  those  who  have  long  had  God's  favour 
without  cloud  or  storm,  so  it  is,  they  grow  secure.  They  do  not  feel 
the  great  gift.  They  are  apt  to  presume,  and  so  to  become  irreverent. 
The  elder  brother  was  too  famihar  with  his  Father.  Irreverence  is  the 
very  opposite  temper  to  faith.  "  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  Me,  and  all 
that  I  have  is  thine."  This  most  gracious  truth  was  the  very  cause  of 
his  murmuring.  When  Christians  have  but  a  little,  they  are  thankful ; 
they  gladly  pick  up  the  crumbs  from  under  the  table.  Give  them 
much,  they  soon  forget  it  is  much  ;  and  when  they  find  it  is  not  all, 
and  that  for  other  men  too,  even  penitents,  God  has  some  good  in  store, 
straightway  they  are  offended.  Without  denying  in  words  their 
own  natural  unworthiness,  and  still  having  real  convictions  of  it 
to  a  certain  point,  nevertheless,  somehow,  they  have  a  certain  secret 
over-regard  for  themselves  ;  at  least  they  act  as  if  they  thought  that 
the  Christian  privileges  belonged  to  them  over  others,  by  a  sort  of  fit- 
ness. And  they  like  respect  to  be  shown  them  by  the  world,  and  are 
jealous  of  any  thing  which  is  likely  to  interfere  with  the  continuance 
of  their  credit  and  authority.  Perhaps,  too,  they  have  pledged  them- 
selves to  certain  received  opinions,  and  this  is  an  additional  reason  for 
their  being  suspicious  of  what  to  them  is  a  novelty.  Hence  such  per- 
sons are  least  fitted  to  deal  with  difficult  times.  God  works  wondrously 
in  the  world  ;  and  at  certain  eras  His  providence  puts  on  a  new  aspect. 
Religion  seems  to  be  failing  when  it  is  merely  changing  its  form.  God 
seems  for  an  instant  to  desert  His  own  appointed  instruments,  and  to 
be  putting  honour  upon  such  as  have  been  framed  in  express  disobe- 
dience to  His  commands.  For  instance,  sometimes  He  brings  about 
good  by  means  of  wicked  men,  or  seems  to  bless  the  efforts  of  those 
who  have  separated  from  His  Holy  Church  more  thon  those  of  His  true 
labourers.  Here  is  the  trial  of  the  Christian's  faith,  who,  if  the  fact  is 
so,  must  not  resist  it,  lest  haply  he  be  found  fighting  against  God,  nor 
must  he  quarrel  with  it  after  the  manner  of  the  elder  brother.  But  he 
must  take  every  thing  as  God's  gift,  hold  fast  his  ■principles,  not 
give  them  up  because  appearances  are  for  the  moment  against  them, 
but  believe  all  things  will  come  round  at  length.  On  the  other  hand  he 
must  not  cease  to  beg  of  God,  and  try  to  gain  the  .spirit  of  a  sound 
mind,  the  power  to  separate  truth  from  falsehood,  and  to  try  the  spirits, 

*  Pa.  cxxiii.  1,  2. 


i| 


Vm.]  CONTrwVCTED  VIEWS  IN  RELIGION.  518 

the  disposition  to  submit  to  God's  teaching,  and  the  wisdom  to  act  as 
the  varied  course  of  affairs  requires  ;  in  a  word,  a  portion  of  that  Spirit 
which  rested  on  the  great  Apostle,  St.  Paul. 

I  have  thought  it  right  to  enlarge  upon  the  conduct  of  the  elder 
brother  in  the  parable,  because  something  of  his  character  may  per- 
chance be  found  among  ourselves.  We  have  long  had  the  inestimable 
blessings  of  peace  and  quiet.  We  are  unworthy  of  the  least  of  God's 
mercies,  much  more  of  the  greatest.  But  with  the  blessing  we  have  the 
trial.  Let  us  then  guard  against  abusing  our  happy  lot,  while  we  have 
it,  or  we  may  lose  it  for  having  abused  it.  Let  us  guard  against  discon- 
tent in  any  shape  ;  and  as  we  cannot  help  hearing  what  goes  on  in  the 
world,  let  us  guard,  on  hearing  it,  against  all  intemperate,  uncharitable 
feelings  towards  those  who  differ  from  us,  or  oppose  us.  Let  us  pray 
for  our  enemies  ;  let  us  try  to  make  out  men  to  be  as  good  as  they  can 
fairly  and  safely  be  considered ;  let  us  rejoice  at  any  symptoms  of  re- 
pentance, or  any  marks  of  good  principle  in  those  who  are  on  the  side 
of  error.  Let  us  be  forgiving.  Let  us  try  to  be  very  humble,  to  un- 
derstand our  ignorance,  and  to  rely  constantly  on  the  enlightening  grace 
of  our  Great  Teacher.  Let  us  be  "slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath;" — 
not  abandoning  our  principles,  or  shrinking  from  the  avowal  of  them 
when  seasonable,  or  going  over  to  the  cause  of  error,  or  fearing  conse- 
quences, but  acting  ever  from  a  sense  of  duty,  not  from  passion,  pride, 
jealousy,  or  an  unbelieving  dread  of  the  future  ;  feeling  gently,  even 
when  we  have  reason  to  act  severely.  "  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  Me, 
and  all  that  I  have  is  thine."  What  a  gracious  announcement,  if  we 
could  realize  it!  and  how  consolatory,  so  far  as  we  luive  reason  to  hope 
that  we  are  following  on  to  know  God's  will,  and  living  in  His  faith 
and  fear !  What  should  alarm  those  who  have  Christ's  power,  or  make 
them  envious  who  have  Christ's  fulness  ?  How  ought  we  calmly  to 
regard,  and  resolutely  endure,  the  petty  workings  of  an  evil  world, 
thinking  seriously  of  nothing  but  of  the  souls  that  are  perishing  in  it ! 

"  I,  even  I,  am  He  that  comforteth  you,"  says  Almighty  God  :  "  who 
art  thou,  that  thou  shouldest  be  afraid  of  a  man  that  shall  die,  and  of 
the  son  of  man  which  shall  be  made  as  grass  ?  and  forgettest  the  Lord 
thy  Maker,  and  hast  feared  continually  every  day  because  of  the  fury 
of  the  oppressor,  as  if  he  were  ready  to  destroy  ?  And  where  is  the 
fury  of  the  oppressor  ?  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  I  have  put  My 
words  in  thy  mouth,  and  have  covered  thee  in  the  shadow  of  Mine  hand, 
that  I  may  plant  the  heavens,  and  lay  the  foundations  of  the  earth, 
land  say  unto  Zion,  Thou  art  My  people."* 

*  Isaiah  h.  12—16. 
.     Vol.  1 — 33 


SE  RMON    IX. 


A   PARTICULAR  PROVIDENCE   AS    REVEALED  IN  THE" 
GOSPEL. 


Gen.  xvi.  13. 
Thou  God  seest  rae. 


When  Hagar  fled  into  the  wilderness  from  the  face  of  her  mistress, 
she  was  visited  by  an  Angel,  who  sent  her  back ;  but,  together  with 
this  implied  reproof  of  her  impatience,  gave  her  a  word  of  promise  to 
encourage  and  console  her.  In  the  mixture  of  humbling  and  cheer- 
ful thoughts  thus  wrought  in  her,  she  recognised  the  presence  of  her 
Maker  and  Lord,  who  ever  comes  to  his  servants  in  a  two-fold  aspect, 
severe  because  He  is  holy,  yet  soothing  as  abounding  in  mercy.  In 
consequence,  she  called  the  name  of  the  Lord  that  spake  unto  her, 
"  Thou  God  seest  me." 

Such  was  the  condition  of  man  before  Christ  came,  favoured  with 
seme  occasional  notices  of  God's  regard  for  individuals,  but,  for  the 
most  part,  instructed  merely  in  His  general  Providence,  as  seen  in  the 
course  of  human  affairs.  In  this  respect  even  the  Law  Avas  deficient, 
though  it  abounded  in  proofs  that  God  was  a  living,  all-seeing,  all-re- 
compensing, God.  It  was  deficient,  in  comparison  of  the  Gospel,  in 
evidence  of  the  really  existing  relation  between  each  soul  of  man  and 
its  Maker,  independently  of  every  thing  else  in  the  world.  Of  Moses, 
indeed,  it  is  said,  that  "  the  Lord  spake  unto  him  face  to  face,  as  a 
man  speaketh  unto  his  friend."*  But  this  was  an  especial  privilege 
vouchsafed  to  him  only  and  some  others,  as  to  Hagar,  who  records  it  in 
the  text,  not  to  all  the  people.  But,  under  the  New  Covenant,  this 
distinct  regard  vouchsafed  by  Almighty  God,  to  every  one  of  us,  is 
clearly  revealed.  It  was  foretold  of  the  Christian  Church  "  All  thy 
children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord  ;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of 

*  Exod.  xxxiii.  11. 


Skrm.  IX.]  A  PARTICULAR  PROVIDENCE,   &c.  515 

thy  children."*  When  the  Eternal  Son  came  on  earth  in  our  flesh, 
men  saw  their  invisible  Maker  and  Judge.  He  showed  Himself  no 
longer  through  the  mere  powers  of  nature,  or  the  maze  of  human  af- 
fairs, but  in  our  own  likeness.  "  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  kindle  the  know- 
ledge of  His  glory  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  ;"t  that  is,  in  a  sensible 
form,  as  a  really  existing  individual  being.  And,  at  the  same  time. 
He  forthwith  began  to  speak  to  us  as  individuals.  He,  on  the  one  hand, 
addressed  each  of  us  on  the  other.  Thus  it  was  in  some  sense  a  reve- 
lation  face  to  face. 

This  is  the  subject  on  which  I  propose  now  to  make  a  few  remarks. 
And  first,  let  me  observe,  it  is  very  difficult,  in  spite  of  the  revelation 
made  us  in  the  Gospel,  to  master  the  idea  of  this  particular  providence 
of  God.  If  we  allow  ourselves  to  float  down  the  current  of  the  world, 
living  as  other  men,  gathering  up  our  notions  of  religion  here  and  there, 
as  it  may  be,  we  have  little  or  no  true  comprehension  of  a  particular 
Providence.  We  conceive  that  Almighty  God  works  on  a  large  plan  ; 
but  we  cannot  realize  the  wonderful  truth  that  He  sees  and  thinks  of 
individuals.  We  cannot  believe  He  is  really  present  every  where,  that 
He  is  wherever  we  are,  though  unseen.  For  instance,  we  can  under- 
stand, or  think  we  understand,  that  He  was  present  on  Mount  Sinai, — 
or  within  the  Jewish  Temple, — or  that  He  clave  the  ground  under 
Dathan  and  Abiram.  But  we  do  not  in  any  sufficient  sense  believe 
that  He  is  in  like  manner  "  about  our  path,  and  about  our  bed,  and  spi- 
eth  out  all  our  ways.":i:  We  cannot  bring  ourselves  to  get  fast  hold  of 
the  solemn  fact  that  He  sees  what  is  going  on  among  ourselves  at  this 
moment ;  that  this  man  falls  and  that  man  is  exalted,  at  His  silent  in- 
visible appointment.  We  use,  indeed,  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  and 
intercede,  not  only  for  all  conditions  of  men,  but  for  the  King  and  the 
Nobility,  and  the  Court  of  Parliament,  and  so  on,  down  to  individual 
sick  people  in  our  own  parish  ;  yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  we  do  not  bring 
home  to  us  the  truth  of  His  omniscience.  We  know  He  is  in  heaven, 
and  foro-et  that  He  is  also  on  earth.  This  is  the  reason  why  the  mul- 
titude of  men  are  so  profane  :  they  use  light  words  ;  they  scoff"  at  re- 
liction ;  they  allow  themselves  to  be  lukewarm  and  indiflferent ;  they 
take  the  part  of  wicked  men  ;  they  push  forward  wicked  measures ; 
they  defend  injustice,  or  cruelty,  or  sacrilege,  or  infidelity ;  because 
they  have  no  grasp  of  a  truth,  which  nevertheless  they  have  no  inten-. 
tion  to  deny  that  God  sees  them. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  self-will,  and  self-deceit,  which  wouldfsin  on  ever* 

»  Is.  Uv.  13,  t  2  Cor.  iv.  6,  I  Fs.fsxxix.  2. 


( 


616  A  PARTICULAR    PROVIDENCE  [Serm. 

in  God's  visible  presence.  This  was  the  sin  of  Balaam,  who  took  part 
with  the  enemies  of  Israel  for  reward  ;  and  of  Zimri,  the  Son  of  Salu, 
a  prince  of  the  Simeonites,  on  whom  Phineas  did  judgment ;  and  such 
the  sin  of  Saul,  of  Judas,  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira.  Alas !  doubtless 
such  is  the  sin  of  many  a  man  now  in  England,  unless  human  nature 
is  other  than  it  was  aforetime ;  alas !  such  a  sin  is  in  a  measure  our 
own  from  time  to  time,  as  any  one  may  know  for  certain  who  is  used  to 
self-examination.  Yet,  over  and  above  this,  certainly  there  is  also  a 
great  deal  of  profane  sinning  from  our  forgetting,  not  comprehending 
that  we  are  in  God's  presence  ;  not  comprehending  or,  (in  other  words) 
believing,  that  He  sees  and  hears  and  notes  down  every  thing  we  do. 
This  again,  is  often  the  state  in  which  persons  find  themselves  on  fall- 
ing into  trouble.  The  world  fails  them,  and  they  despair,  because  they 
do  not  realize  to  themselves  the  loving-kindness  and  the  presence  of 
God.  They  find  no  comfort  in  a  truth  which  to  them  is  not  a  substance 
but  an  opinion.  Therefore  it  was  that  Hagar,  when  visited  in  the  wil- 
derness by  the  Angel,  called  the  name  of  the  Lord  that  spake  unto  her, 
**Thou  God  seest  me  !"'  It  came  as  a  new  Truth  to  her  that,  amid  her 
trouble  and  her  waywardness,  the  eye  of  God  was  upon  her.  The  case 
is  the  same  now.  Men  talk  in  a  general  way  of  the  goodness  of  God, 
His  benevolence,  compassion,  and  long-suffering ;  but  they  think  of  it 
as  of  a  flood  pouring  itself  out  all  through  the  world  ;  as  the  light  of  the 
sun,  not  as  the  continually  repeated  action  of  an  intelligent  and  living 
Mind,  contemplating  whom  it  visits  and  intending  what  it  effects.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  they  come  into  trouble,  they  can  but  say,  "  It  is  all  for 
the  best — God  is  good  :"  and  the  like  ;  and  it  all  falls  as  cold  comfort 
upon  them,  and  does  not  lessen  their  sorrow,  because  they  have  not  ac- 
customed their  minds  to  feel  that  He  is  a  merciful  God,  regarding  them 
individually,  and  not  a  mere  universal  Providence  acting  by  general 
laws.  And  then,  perhaps,  all  of  a  sudden  the  true  notion  breaks  on 
them,  as  it  did  upon  Hagar.  Some  especial  Providence,  amid  their  in- 
fliction, runs  right  into  their  heart ;  brings  it  close  home  to  them,  in  a 
way  they  never  experienced  before,  that  God  sees  them.  And  then, 
surprised  at  this,  which  is  a  something  quite  new  to  them,  they  go  into 
the  other  extreme,  in  proportion  to  their  former  apathy ;  and  are  led  to 
think  that  they  are  especial  objects  of  God's  love,  more  than  all  other 
men.  Instead  of  taking  what  has  happened  to  them  as  an  evidence  of 
His  particular  Providence  over  all,  as  revealed  in  Scripture,  they  still  will 
not  believe  a  jot  or  tittle  more  than  they  see  ;  and,  while  discovering  He 
loves  them  individually,  they  do  not  advance  one  step,  on  that  account, 
to  the  general  truth,  that  He  loves  other  men  individually  also.  Now 
had  they  been  air  along  in  the  practice  of  studying  Scripture,  they 


IX.]  AS  REVEALED   IN  THE  GOSPEL.  517 

would  have  been  saved  from  both  errors ; — their  first,  which  was  bUnd- 
ness  to  a  particular  Providence  altogether ; — their  second,  which  was  a 
narrow-minded  limiting  of  it  to  themselves,  as  if  the  world  at  large  were 
rejected  and  reprobate ;  for  Scripture  represents  it  as  the  portion  of  all 
men  one  by  one. 

I  suppose  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  prove  to  those  who  have  allowed 
their  minds  to  dwell  on  the  Gospels,  that  the  peculiar  character  of  our 
Lord's  goodness,  as  displayed  therein,  is  its  tenderness  and  its  consider- 
ateness.  These  qualities  are  the  very  perfection  of  kindness  between 
man  and  man  ;  but,  from  the  very  extent  and  complication  of  the 
world's  system,  and  from  its  Maker's  being  invisible,  our  imagination 
scarcely  succeeds  in  attributing  them  to  Him,  even  when  our  reason  is 
convinced,  and  we  wish  to  believe  accordingly.  His  Providence  mani- 
fests itself  in  general  laws,  it  moves  forward  upon  the  lines  of  truth 
and  justice  ;  it  has  no  respect  of  persons,  rewarding  the  good  and  pun- 
ishing the  bad,  not  as  individuals,  but  according  to  their  character. 
How  shall  He  who  is  Most  Holy  direct  His  love  to  this  man  or  that  for 
his  own  sake,  contemplating  us  one  by  one,  without  infringing  on  his 
own  perfections  1  Or  even  were  the  Supreme  Being  a  God  of  unmixed 
benevolence,  how,  even  then,  shall  the  thought  of  Him  come  home 
to  our  minds  with  that  constraining  power  which  the  kindness  of  a  hu- 
man friend  exerts  over  us  ?  The  greatest  acknowledgment  we  can 
mak^  of  the  kindness  of  a  superior,  is  to  say  that  He  acts  as  if  he  were 
personally  interested  in  us.  The  mass  of  benevolent  men  are  kind  and 
generous,  because  it  is  their  way  to  be  so,  irrespectively  of  the  object 
they  benefit.  Natural  temper,  a  flow  of  spirits,  or  a  turn  of  good  for- 
tune, opens  the  heart,  which  pours  itself  out  profusely  on  friend  and 
enemy.  They  scatter  benefit  as  they  move  along.  Now,  at  first  sight, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  our  idea  of  Almighty  God  can  be  divested  of 
I  these  earthly  notions,  either  that  His  goodness  is  imperfect  or  that  it  is 
fated  and  necessary  ;  and  wonderful  indeed,  and  adorable  is  the  conde- 
scension by  which  He  has  met  our  infirmity.  He  has  met  and  aided 
it  in  that  same  Dispensation  by  which  He  redeemed  our  souls.  In 
I  order  that  we  may  understand  that  in  spite  of  His  mysterious  per- 
1  fections  He  has  a  separate  knowledge  and  regard  for  individuals,  He 
■  has  taken  upon  Him  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  our  own  nature,  which 
we  all  understand  is  capable  of  such  personal  attachments.  By  becom- 
ing man.  He  has  cut  short  the  perplexities  and  the  discussions  of  our 
i  reason  on  the  subject,  as  if  He  would  grant  our  objections  for  argu- 
j  ment's  sake,  and  supersede  them  by  taking  our  own  ground. 

The  most  winning  property  of  our  Saviour's  mercy,  (if  it  is  right  so 
to  speak  of  it,)  is  its  dependence  on  time  and  place,  person  and  circum- 


518  A  PARTICULAR  PROVIDENCE  [Seem. 

stance  ;  in  other  words,  its  tender  discrimination.  It  regards  and  con- 
sults for  each  individual  as  he  comes  before  it.  It  is  called  forth  by 
some,  as  it  is  not  by  others,  it  cannot  (if  I  may  say  so)  manifest  itself 
to  every  object  aUke  ;  it  has  its  particular  shade  and  mode  of  feeling 
for  each  ;  and  in  some  it  is  so  wrapt  up,  as  to  seem  to  depend  for  its 
own  happiness  on  their  well-being.  This  might  be  illustrated,  as  is 
often  done,  by  our  Lord's  tender  behaviour  towards  Lazarus  and  his 
sisters,  or  His  tears  over  Jerusalem  ;  or  by  His  conduct  towards  St. 
Peter,  before  and  after  his  denial  of  Him,  or  towards  St.  Thomas  when 
he  doubted,  or  by  His  love  of  His  mother,  or  of  St.  John.  But  I  will 
direct  your  attention  rather  to  his  treatment  of  the  traitor  Judas  ;  both 
because  it  is  not  so  commonly  referred  to,  and,  also,  because  if  there 
was  a  being  in  the  whole  world  whom  one  might  suppose  cast  out  of 
His  presence  as  hateful  and  reprobate,  it  was  he  who  He  foresaw  would 
betray  Him.  Yet  we  shall  find  that  even  this  wretched  man  was  fol- 
lowed and  encompassed  by  His  serene  though  solemn  regard  till  the 
very  hour  he  betrayed  Him. 

Judas  was  in  darkness  and  hated  the  light,  and  "  went  to  his  own 
place ;"  yet  he  found  it,  not  by  the  mere  force  of  certain  natural  prin- 
ciples working  out  Iheir  inevitable  results, — by  some  unfeeling  fate, 
which  sentences  the  wicked  to  hell, — but  by  a  Judge  who  surveys  him 
from  head  to  foot,  who  searches  him  through  and  through,  to  see  if  there 
is  any  ray  of  hope,  any  latent  spark  of  faith  ;  who  pleads  with  ^im 
again  and  again,  and,  at  length  abandoning  him,  mourns  over  him  the 
while  with  the  wounded  affection  of  a  friend  rather  than  the  severity 
of  the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth.  For  instance,  first,  a  startling  warn- 
ing a  year  before  his  trial.  "  Have  not  I  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one 
of  you  is  a  devil  ?"  Then,  when  the  time  was  come,  the  lowest  act  of 
abasement  towards  one  who  was  soon  to  betray  him  and  to  suffer  the 
unquenchable  fire.  "  He  riseth  from  supper,  and  .  .  .  poureth  water 
into  a  bason  and  began  to  wash  the  disciples'  feet,"*  and  Judas  in  the 
number.  Then  a  second  warning  at  the  same  time,  or  rather  a  sorrow- 
ful lament,  spoken  as  if  to  Himself,  "  Ye  are  not  all  clean."  Then 
openly,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray 
Me."  "  The  Son  of  man  goeth  as  it  is  written  of  Him  ;  but  wo  unto 
that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  !  it  had  been  good  for 
that  man  if  he  had  not  been  born.  Then  Judas,  which  betrayed  Him, 
answered  and  said,  Master,  is  it  I  ?  He  said  unto  him.  Thou  hast  said 
it."  Lastly,  when  He  was  actually  betrayed  by  him,  "  Friend,  where- 
fore art  thou  come  ?"     "  Judas,  (He  addresses  him  by  name,)  betrayest 

*    Jolin  vi.70  :  xiii.  4,  5. 


IX.]  AS  REVEALED  IN  THE  GOSPEL.  519 

thou  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss?"*  I  am  not  attempting  to  reconcile 
His  divine  foreknowledge  with  this  special  and  prolonged  anxiety,  this 
personal  feeling  towards  Judas;  but  wish  you  only  to  observe  the  latter, 
to  observe  what  is  given  us  by  the  revelation  of  Almighty  God  in  the 
Gospels,  viz.  an  acquaintance  with  His  providential  regard  for  individ- 
uals, making  His  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  as  well  as  on  the  good.  And  in 
like  manner  doubtless  at  the  last  day,  the  wicked  and  impenitent  shall 
be  condemned,  not  in  a  mass,  but  one  by  one, — one  by  one,  appearing 
each  in  his  own  turn  before  the  righteous  Judge,  standing  under  the 
full  glory  of  His  countenance,  carefully  weighed  in  the  balance  and 
found  wanting,  dealt  with,  not  indeed  with  a  weak  and  wavering  pur- 
pose, where  God's  justice  claims  satisfaction,  yet,  at  the  same  time, 
with  all  the  circumstantial  solicitude  and  awful  care  of  one  who  would 
fain  make,  if  He  could,  the  fruit  of  His  passion  more  numerous  than  it  is. 
This  solemn  reflection  may  be  further  enforced  by  considering  our 
Lord's  behaviour  towards  strangers  who  came  to  Him.  Judas  was  His 
friend  ;  but  we  have  never  seen  Him.  How  will  He  look  and  how 
does  he  look  upon  us  1  Let  His  manner  in  the  Gospels  towards  the 
multitude  of  men  assure  us.  All-holy,  almighty  as  He  is,  and  has 
shown  himself  to  be,  yet  in  the  midst  of  His  Divine  Majesty,  He  could 
display  a  tender  interest  in  all  who  approached  Him  ;  as  if  He  could 
not  cast  His  eyes  on  any  of  His  creatures  without  the  overflowing  af- 
fection of  a  parent  for  his  child,  regarding  it  with  a  fuU  satisfaction, 
and  simply  desiring  its  happiness  and  highest  good.  Thus,  when  the 
rich  young  man  came  to  Him,  it  is  said,  "  And  Jesus  beholding  him, 
loved  him  and  said  unto  him,  One  thing  thou  lackest."  When  the  Phar- 
isees asked  a  sign,  "  He  sighed  deeply  in  His  spirit."  At  another  time, 
"  He  looked  round  about  on  them," — as  if  on  every  one,  to  see  if  here 
or  there  perchance  there  might  be  an  exception  to  the  general  unbelief, 
and  to  condemn  one  by  one,  those  who  were  guilty,t — "  He  looked 
round  about  on  them  with  anger,  being  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts."  Again,  when  a  leper  came  to  Him,  He  did  not  simply  heal 
him,  but  •'  moved  with  compassion,  He  put  forth  His  hand."t 

How  gracious  is  this  revelation  of  God's  particular  providence  to 
those  who  seek  Him !  how  gracious  to  those  who  have  discovered  that 
this  world  is  but  vanity,  and  who  are  solitary  and  isolated  in  themselves, 
whatever  shadows  of  power  and  happiness  surround  them !  The  multi- 
tude, indeed,  go  on   without  these  thoughts,  either  from  insensibility, 

*  Matt.  xxvi.  24,  25,  50.     Luke  xxil.  48. 
!  t  Vide  also  Matt.  xix.  26.     Mark  iii.  34.     Luke  ixii.  61., 

t  Mark  x.  21.  viii.  12  ;  iii.  5  ;  i.  41. 


520  A  PARTICULAR  PROVIDENCE  [Skrm- 

as  not  understanding  their  own  wants,  or  changing  from  one  idol  to 
another,  as  each  successively  fails.     But  men  of  keener  hearts  would 
be  overpowered  by  despondency,  and  would  even  loathe  existence,  did 
they  suppose  themselves  under  the  mere  operation  of  fixed  laws,  pow- 
erless to  excite  the  pity  or  the  attention  of  Hirn  who  has  appointed 
them.     What  should  they  do  especially,  who  are  cast  among  persons 
unable  to  enter  into  their  feelings,  and  thus  strangers  to  them,  though 
by  long  custom  ever  so  much  friends  !  or  have  perplexities  of  mind  they 
cannot  explain  to  themselves,  much  less  remove,  and  no  one  to  help 
them, — or  have  affections  and  aspirations  pent  up  within  them,  because 
they  have  not  met  with  objects  to  which  to  devote  them, — or  are  mis- 
understood by  those  around  them,  and  find  they  have  no  words  to  set 
themselves  right  with  them,  or  no  principles  in  common  by  way  of  ap- 
peal,— or  seem  to  themselves  to  be  without  place  or  purpose  in  the 
world,  or  to  be  in  the  way  of  others, — or  have  to  follow  their  own  sense 
of  duty  without  advisers  or  supporters,  nay,  to  resist   the  wishes  and 
soUcitations  of  superiors  or  relatives, — or  have  the  burden  of  some  pain- 
ful secret,  or  of  some  incommunicable  solitary  grief !     In  all  such  cases 
the  Gospel  narrative  supplies  our  very  need,  not  simply  presenting  to 
us  an  unchangeable  Creator  to  rely  upon,  but  a  compassionate  Guar- 
dian, a  discriminating  Judge  and  Helper.     God  beholds  thee  individual- 
ly, whoever  thou  art.     He  "  calls  thee  by  thy  name."     He  sees  thee, 
and  understands  thee,  as  He  made   thee.     He  knows  what  is  in  thee, 
all  thy  own  peculiar  feelings  and  thoughts,  thy  dispositions  and  likings, 
thy  strength  and  thy  weakness.     He  views  thee  in  thy  day  of  rejoicing 
and  thy  day  of  sorrow.     He  sympathizes  in  thy  hopes  and  thy  tempta- 
tions.    He  interests  Himself  in  all  thy  anxieties  and  remembrances,  all 
the  risings  and  fallings  of  thy  spirit.     He  has  numbered  the  very  hairs 
of  thy  head  and  the  cubits  of  thy  stature.     He  compasses  thee  round 
and  bears  thee  in  His  arms ;  He  takes  thee  up  and  sets  thee  down. 
He  notes  thy  very  countenance,  whether  smiling  or  in  tears,  whether 
healthful  or  sickly.     He  looks  tenderly  upon  thy  hands  and  thy  feet ; 
He  hears  thy  voice,  the  beating  of  thy  heart,  and  thy  very  breathing. 
Thou  dost  not  love  thyself  better  than  He  loves  thee.     Thou  canst  not 
shrink  from  pain  more  than  He  dislikes  thy  bearing  it ;  and  if  He  puts 
it  on  thee,  it  is  as  thou  wilt  put  it  on  thyself,  if  thou  art  wise,  for  a  great- 
er good  afterwards.     Thou  art  not  only  His  creature,  (though  for  the 
very  sparrows  He  has  a  care,  and  pitied  the  "much  cattle"  of  Nine- 
veh,)  thou  art  man  redeemed  and  sanctified.  His  adopted  son,  favoured 
with  a  portion  of  that  glory  and  blessedness  which  flows  from  Him  ever- 
lastingly   unto   the  Only-bcgotten.     Thou   art  chosen  to  be  His,  even 
above  thy  fellows  who  dwell  in  the  East  and  South.     Thou  wast  one  of 


IX.]  AS  REVEALED  IN  THE  GOSPEL.  521 

those  for  %vhom  Christ  offered  up  His  last  prayer,  and  sealed  it  with  His 
precious  blood.  What  a  thought  is  this,  a  thought  almost  too  great  for 
our  faith  ?  Scarce  can  we  refrain  from  acting  Sarah's  part,  when  we 
bring  it  before  us,  so  as  to  "  laugh"  from  amazement  and  perplexity. 
What  is  man,  what  are  we,  what  am  I,  that  the  Son  of  God  should  be 
so  mindful  of  me  1  What  am  I,  that  He  should  have  raised  me  from 
almost  a  devil's  nature  to  that  of  an  Angel's  ?  that  he  should  have 
changed  my  soul's  original  constitution,  new-made  me,  who  from  my 
youth  up  have  been  a  transgressor,  and  should  Himself  dwell  personally 
in  this  very  heart  of  mine,  making  me  His  temple  ?  What  am  I,  that 
God  the  Holy  Ghost  should  enter  into  me,  and  draw  up  my  thoughts 
heavenward  "  with  plaints  unutterable  ? 

These  are  the  meditations  which  come  upon  the  Christian  to  console 
him,  while  he  is  with  Christ  upon  the  holy  mount.  And,  when  he  de- 
scends to  his  daily  duties,  they  are  still  his  inward  strength,  though  he 
is  not  allowed  to  tell  the  vision  to  those  around  him.  They  make  his 
countenance  to  shine,  make  him  cheerful,  collected,  serene,  and  firm  in 
the  midst  of  all  temptation,  persecution,  or  bereavement.  And  with 
such  thoughts  before  us,  how  base  and  miserable  does  the  world  appear 
in  all  its  pursuits  and  doctrines  !  How  truly  miserable  does  it  seem  to 
seek  good  from  the  creature  ;  to  covet  station,  wealth,  or  credit ;  to 
choose  for  ourselves,  in  fancy,  this  or  that  mode  of  life ;  to  affect  the 
manners  and  fashions  of  the  great ;  to  spend  our  time  in  follies  ;  to  be 
discontented,  quarrelsome,  jealous  or  envious,  censorious  or  resentful ; 
fond  of  unprofitable  talk,  and  eager  for  the  news  of  the  day  ;  busy  about 
public  matters  which  concern  us  not ;  hot  in  the  cause  of  this  or  that  in- 
terest  or  party  ;  or  set  upon  gain  ;  or  devoted  to  the  increase  of  barren 
knowledge  !  And  at  the  end  of  our  days,  when  flesh  and  heart  fail, 
what  will  be  our  consolation,  though  wc  have  made  ourselves  rich,  or 
have  served  an  oflice,  or  been  the  first  man  among  our  equals,  or  have 
depressed  a  rival,  or  managed  things  our  own  way,  or  have  settled  splen- 
didly,  or  have  been  intimate  with  the  great,  or  have  fared  sumptuously, 
or  have  gained  a  name  !  Say,  even  if  we  obtain  that  which  lasts  long- 
est, a  place  in  history,  yet,  after  all,  what  ashes  shall  we  have  eaten  for 

1  bread  !  And,  in  that  awful  hour,  when  death  is  in  sight,  will  He,  whose 
eye  is  now  so  loving  towards  us,  and  whose  hand  falls  on  us  so  gently,  will 
He  acknowledge  us  any  more  ?  or  if  He  still  speaks,  will  His  voice  have 
any  power  to  stir  us  ?  rather  Avill  it  not  repel  us  as  it  did  Judas,  by  the 

I  very  tenderness  with  which  it  would  invite  us  to  Him? 

j  Let  us  then  endeavour,  by  His  grace,  rightly  to  understand  where 
we  stand,  and  what  He  is  towards  us  ;  most  tender  and  pitiful,  yet,  for 
all  His  pity,  not  passing  by  the  breadth  of  a  single  hair  the  eternal  lines 


522  TEARS  OF  CHRIST  [Skiim. 

of  truth,  holiness  and  justice  ;  He  who  can  condemn  to  the  wo  ever- 
lasting, though  He  weeps  and  laments  beforehand,  and  who,  when  once 
tlic  sentence  of  condemnation  has  gone  forth,  will  wipe  out  altogether 
the  remembrance  of  us,  "  and  know  us  not."  The  tares  were  "bound 
in  bundles"  for  the  burning,  indiscriminately,  promiscuously,  contempt- 
uously. "Let  us  then  fear,  lest  a  promise  being  left  us  of  entering  into 
His  rest,  any  of  us  should  seem  to  come  short  of  it." 


SERMON    X. 


TEARS  OF  CHRIST  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS. 


John  xi.  34 — 36. 


Jesus  said,  Where  have  ye  laid  him?     They  said  unto  Him,  Lord,  come  and  see. 
Jesus  wept.     Then  said  the  Jews,  Behold  how  He  loved  him. 

On  first  reading  these  words  the  question  naturally  arises  in  the  mind — 
why  did  our  Lord  weep  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus  ?  He  knew  He  had 
power  to  raise  Him,  why  should  He  act  the  part  of  those  who  sorrow  for 
the  dead  1  In  attempting  any  answer  to  this  inquiry,  we  should  ever 
remember  that  the  thoughts  of  our  Saviour's  mind  are  far  beyond  our 
comprehension.  Hardly  do  we  enter  into  the  feelings  and  meaning  of 
men  like  ourselves,  who  are  gifted  with  any  special  talent ;  even  human 
philosophers  or  poets  are  obscure  from  the  depth  of  their  conceptions. 
What  then  must  be  the  marvellous  abyss  of  love  and  understanding  in 
Him  who,  though  partaker  of  our  nature,  is  the  Son  of  God  ? 

This,  indeed,  is  evident,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  on  the  face  of  the  Scrip- 
ture record,  as  any  one  may  see  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  inspect  it. 
It  is  not,  for  instance,  the  text  alone  which  raises  a  question  ;  but  the 
whole  narrative,  in  which  it  occurs,  exhibits  our  Saviour's  conduct  in 
various  lights,  which  it  is  difficult  for  weak  creatures,  such  as  we  are, 
properly  to  blend  together. 

When  He  first  received  the  news  of  Lazarus's  illness,  "  He  abode  two 
days  still  in  the  same  place  where  He  was."  Then  telling  His  disciples 
that  Lazarus  was  dead,  He  said  He  was  "  glad  for  their  sake  that  He  was 


Serm.  X.]  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS.  523 

not  there  ;"  and  said  that  He  would  "  go  and  awaken  him  out  of  sleep." 
Then,  when  He  was  come  to  Bethany,  where  he  dwelt,  He  was  so 
moved  by  the  sorrow  of  the  Jews  that  "  He  groaned  in  the  spirit  and 
was  troubled."  Lastly,  in  spite  of  His  perturbation  and  weeping,  pre- 
sently He  raised  Lazarus. 

I  say,  it  is  remarkable  that  such  difficulties  as  these  should  lie  on  the 
face  of  Scripture,  quite  independently  of  those  arising  from  the  com- 
parison of  the  texts  in  question  with  the  doctrine  of  His  divine  nature. 
We  know,  indeed,  there  are  insuperable  mysteries  involved  in  the  union 
of  His  divine  with  His  human  attributes,  which  seem  incompatible  with 
each  other  ;  for  instance,  how  He  should  be  ever  blessed,  and  yet  weep, 
— all-knowing,  yet  partially  ignorant  ;  but,  without  entering  into  the 
consideration  of  the  mysteries  of  faith,  commonly  so  called,  it  is  worth 
inquiring  whether  the  very  surface  of  the  sacred  history  does  not  con- 
tain apparent  inconsistencies,  of  a  nature  to  prepare  us  for  such  other 
difficulties  as  may  lie  from  a  deeper  comparison  of  history  with  doctrine. 

As  another  instance  of  the  discrepancy  I  speak  of,  consider  our  Sa- 
viour's words  according  to  the  received  versions,  "  Sleep  on  now,  and 
take  your  rest ;"  and  immediately  after,  "  Rise,  let  us  be  going."* 

So  again,  "  He  that  hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  garment  and  buy 
one  ;"  then  follows,  "  Lord,  behold,  here  are  two  swords.  And  He  said, 
It  is  enough  ;"  lastly,  when  Peter  used  his  sword,  "  Put  up  again  thy 
sword  into  his  place,  for  all  they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with 
the  sword. "t 

I  am  not  saying  that  we  cannot  possibly  remove  any  part  of  the 
seeming  opposition  between  such  passages,  but  only  that  on  the  whole 
there  is  quite  enough  in  the  narrative  to  show  that  He  who  speaks  is  not 
one  whose  thoughts  it  is  easy  to  get  possession  of;  that  it  is  no  light 
matter  to  put  oneself,  even  in  part,  into  the  position  of  His  mind,  and 
to  state  under  what  feelings  and  motives  He  said  this  or  that;  in  a  word, 
I  wish  to  impress  upon  you,  that  our  Saviour's  words  are  not  of  a  nature 
to  be  heard  once  and  no  more,  but  that  to  understand  them  we  must 
feed  upon  them,  and  live  in  them,  as  if  by  little  and  little  growing  into 
their  meaning. 

I  It  would  be  well  if  we  understood  the  necessity  of  this  more  than  we 
do.  It  is  very  much  the  fashion  at  present  to  regard  the  Saviour  of  the 
:  world  in  an  irreverent  and  unreal  way, — as  a  mere  idea  or  vision ;  to 
speak  of  Him  so  narrowly  and  unfruit fully,  as  if  we  only  knew  of  His 
,name ;  though  Scripture  has  set  Him  before  us  in  His  actual  sojourn  on 
j  earth,  in  His  gestures,  words,  and  deed,  in  order  that  we  may  have  that 

*  Matt.  iivi.  45,  46.  t  Matt.  xxvi.  52.     Luke  xxii.  36.  3d. 


524  TEARS  OF  CHRIST  [SERjt. 

on  which  to  fix  our  eyes.  And  till  we  learn  to  do  this,  to  leave  off  vague 
statements  about  His  love,  His  willingness  to  receive  the  sinner.  His 
imparting  repentance  and  spiritual  aid,  and  the  like,  and  view  Him  in 
His  particular  and  actual  works,  set  before  us  in  Scripture,  surely  we 
have  not  derived  from  the  Gospels  that  very  benefit  which  they  are  in- 
tended to  convey.  Nay,  we  are  in  some  danger,  perhaps,  even  as  regards 
our  faith  ;  for,  it  is  to  be  feared,  while  the  thought  of  Christ  is  but  a 
creation  of  our  minds,  it  may  gradually  be  changed  or  fade  away,  it  may 
become  defective  or  perverted  ;  whereas  when  we  contemplate  Christ  as 
manifested  in  the  Gospels,  the  Christ  who  exists  therein,  external  to  our 
own  imaginings,  and  who  is  as  really  a  living  being,  and  sojourned  on 
earth  as  truly  as  any  of  us,  then  we  shall  at  length  believe  in  Him  with 
a  conviction,  a  confidence,  and  an  entireness,  which  can  no  more  be 
annihilated  than  the  belief  in  our  senses.  It  is  impossible  for  a  Chris- 
tian mind  to  meditate  on  the  Gospels,  without  feeling,  beyond  all  manner 
of  doubt,  that  He  who  is  the  subject  of  them  is  God ;  but  it  is  very 
possible  to  speak  in  a  vague  way  of  His  love  towards  us,  and  use  the 
name  of  Christ,  yet  not  at  all  to  realize  that  He  is  the  Living  Son  of 
the  Father,  or  to  have  any  anchor  for  our  faith  within  us,  so  as  to  be 
fortified  against  the  risk  of  future  defection. 

I  will  say  a  few  words  then  under  this  impression,  and  with  the 
reverent  thoughts  before  me  with  which  I  began,  by  way  of  comment  on 
our  Saviour's  weeping  at  Lazarus's  grave  ;  or,  rather  I  will  suggest  what 
each  of  you  may,  please  God,  improve  for  himself. 

What  led  our  Lord  to  weep  over  the  dead,  <vho  could  at  a  word  re- 
store him,  nay,  had  it  in  purpose  so  to  do  1 

1.  First  of  all,  as  the  context  informs  us.  He  wept  from  very  sympathy 
with  the  grief  of  others.  "  When  Jesus  saw  Mary  weeping,  and  the 
Jews  also  weeping  which  came  with  her.  He  groaned  in  the  spirit,  and 
was  troubled."  It  is  the  very  nature  of  compassion  or  sympathy,  as  the 
word  implies,  to  "  rejoice  with  those  who  rejoice,  and  weep  with  those 
who  weej)."  We  know  it  is  so  with  men  ;  and  God  tells  us  He  also  is 
compassionate,  and  full  of  tender  mercy.  Yet  we  do  not  well  know 
what  tins  means,  for  how  can  God  rejoice  or  grieve  ?  By  the  very  per- 
fection of  His  nature  Almighty  God  cannot  show  sympathy,  at  least  to  the 
comprehension  of  beings  of  such  limited  minds  as  ours.  He,  indeed, 
is  hid  from  us  ;  but,  if  we  were  allowed  to  see  Him,  how  could  we  dis- 
cern in  the  K(rrnal  and  Unchangeable  signs  of  sympathy?  Words  and 
works  of  sympatliy  H(!  docs  display  to  us ;  but  it  is  the  very  sight  of 
sympathy  in  another  that  affects  and  comforts  the  sufferer  more  even 
than  the  fruits  of  it.  Now  we  cannot  see  God's  sympathy  ;  and  the 
Son  of  God,  though  feeling  for  us  as  great  compassion  as  His  Father, 


X.]  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS.  625 

did  not  show  it  to  us  while  He  remained  in  His  Father's  bosom.  But 
when  He  took  flesh  and  appeared  on  earth.  He  showed  us  the  Godhead 
in  a  new  manifestation,  He  invested  Himself  with  a  new  set  of  attri- 
butes, those  of  our  flesh,  taking  into  Him  a  human  soul  and  body,  in 
order  that  thoughts,  feelings,  affections,  might  be  His,  which  could  re- 
spond to  ours  and  certify  to  us  His  tender  mercy.  When,  then,  our 
Saviour  weeps  from  sympathy  at  Mary's  tears,  let  us  not  say  it  is  the 
love  of  a  man  overcome  by  natural  feeling.  It  is  the  love  of  God,  the 
bowels  of  compassion  of  the  Almighty  and  Eternal  condescending  to 
appear  as  we  are  capable  of  receiving  it,  in  the  form  of  human  nature. 

Jesus  wept,  therefore,  not  merely  from  the  deep  thoughts  of  His  un- 
derstanding, but  from  spontaneous  tenderness  ;  from  the  gentleness  and 
mercy,  the  encompassing  loving-kindness  and  exuberant  fostering  af- 
fection of  the  Son  of  God  for  His  own  work,  the  race  of  man.  Their 
tears  touched  Him  at  once,  as  their  miseries  had  brought  Him  down 
from  heaven.  His  ear  was  open  to  them,  and  the  sound  of  weeping 
went  at  once  to  His  heart. 

2.  But  next,  we  may  suppose  (if  it  is  allowable  to  conj  ture),  that 
His  pity,  thus  spontaneously  excited,  was  led  forward  to  awell  on  the 
various  circumstances  in  man's  condition  which  excite  pity.  It  was 
awakened  and  began  to  look  around  upon  the  miseries  of  the  world. 
What  was  it  He  saw  ?  He  saw  visibly  displayed  the  victory  of  death  ; 
a  mourning  multitude, — every  thing  present  which  might  waken  sorrow 
except  him  who  was  the  chief  object  of  it.  He  was  not, — a  stone 
marked  the  place  where  he  lay.  Martha  and  Mary,  whom  he  had 
known  and  loved  in  their  brother's  company  new  solitary,  approached 
Him,  first  one  and  then  the  other,  in  far  other  mood  and  circumstance 
than  heretofore, — in  deep  affliction ;  in  faith  indeed  and  resignation, 
yet,  apparently,  with  somewhat  of  a  tender  complaint  :  "  Lord,  if  Thou 
hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died."  Such  has  been  the  judg- 
ment passed,  or  the  doubt  raised,  concerning  Him,  in  the  breast  of  the 
creature  in  every  age.  Men  have  seen  sin  and  misery  around  them, 
and,  whether  in  faith  or  unbelief,  have  said,  "  If  Thou  hadst  been  here," 
if  Thou  hadst  interfered,  it  might  have  been  otherwise.  Here,  then, 
was  the  Creator  surrounded  by  the  works  of  His  hands,  who  adored 
Him  indeed,  yet  seemed  to  ask  why  He  suffered  what  He  Himself  had 
made,  so  to  be  marred.  Here  was  the  Creator  of  the  world  at  a  scene 
of  death,  seeing  the  issue  of  his  gracious  handy-work.  Would  not  He 
revert  in  thought  to  the  hour  of  creation,  when  He  went  forth  from  the 
bosom  of  the  Father  to  bring  all  things  into  existence  ?  There  had  been 
a  day  when  He  had  looked  upon  the  work  of  his  love,  and  seen  that  it 
was  "  very  good."     Whence  had  the  good  been  turned  to  evil,  the 


526  TEARS  OF  CHRIST  [Sjtrk. 

fine  gold  become  dim  ?  "  An  enemy  had  done  this."  Why  it  was 
allowed,  and  how  achieved,  was  a  secret  with  Him  ;  a  secret  from  all 
who  were  about  Him,  as  it  is  a  secret  to  us  at  this  day.  Here  He  had 
incommunicable  thoughts  with  His  Eternal  Father.  He  would  not  say 
why  it  was  ;  He  chose  another  course  for  taking  away  their  doubts  and 
complaints.  "He  opened  not  His  mouth,"  but  He  wrought  won- 
drously.  What  He  has  done  for  all  believers,  revealing  His  atoning 
death,  yet  not  explaining  it,  this  He  did  for  Martha  and  Mary  also,  pro- 
ceeding to  the  grave  in  silence,  to  raise  their  brother,  while  they  com- 
plained that  he  had  been  allowed  to  die. 

Here,  then,  I  say,  were  abundant  sources  for  His  grief  (if  we  may  be 
permitted  to  trace  them),  in  the  contrast  between  Adam,  in  the  day  in 
which  he  was  created,  innocent  and  immortal,  and  man  as- the  devil 
had  made  him,  full  of  the  poison  of  sin  and  the  breath  of  the  grave  ; 
and  again,  in  the  timid  complaint  of  His  sorrowing  friends  that  that 
change  had  been  permitted.  And  though  He  was  about  to  turn  back 
the  scene  of  sorrow  into  joy  again,  yet,  after  all,  Lazarus  one  day  must 
die  again, — He  was  but  delaying  the  fulfilment  of  His  own  decree.  A 
stone  lay  upon  him  now  ;  and,  though  he  was  raised  from  the  grave,  yet, 
by  His  own  inscrutable  laAV,  one  day  he  must  lie  down  again  in  it.  It 
was  a  respite,  not  a  resurrection. 

3.  Here  I  have  suggested  another  thought  which  admits  of  being 
dwelt  upon.  Christ  was  come  to  do  a  deed  of  mercy,  and  it  was  a  secret 
in  His  own  breast.  All  the  love  which  He  felt  for  Lazarus  was  a  secret 
from  others.  He  was  conscious  to  Himself  He  loved  Him  ;  but  none 
could  tell  but  He  how  earnest  that  affection  was.  Peter,  when  his  love 
for  Christ  was  doubted,  found  a  relief  in  an  appeal  to  Himself:  "  Lord, 
Thou  knowest  all  things ;  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee."*  But 
Christ  had  no  earthly  friend  who  could  be  His  confidant  in  this  matter; 
and,  as  His  thoughts  turned  on  Lazarus  and  His  heart  yearned  towards 
him,  was  He  not  in  Joseph's  case,  who  not  in  grief,  but  from  the  very 
fulness  of  his  soul,  and  his  desolateness  in  a  heathen  land,  when  his 
brethren  stood  before  him,  "  sought  where  to  weep,"  as  if  his  own  tears 
were  his  best  companions,  and  had  in  them  a  sympathy  to  sooth  his 
inward  emotion  ?  Was  He  not  in  the  case  of  a  parent  hanging  over  an 
infant,  and  weeping  upon  it,  from  the  very  consciousness  of  its  help- 
lessness and  insensibility  to  the  love  poured  out  upon  it?  But  the  pa- 
rent weeps  from  the  feeling  of  her  weakness  to  defend  it  ?  knowing  that 
what  is  now  a  child  must  grow  up  and  take  its  own  course,  and  (whether 
for  earthly  or  heavenly  good)  must  depend,  not  on  her,  but  on  the 

*  John  xxi.  17. 


X.J  •    AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS.  527 

Creator  and  on  itself.  Christ's  was  a  different  contemplation  ;  yet  at- 
tended with  its  own  peculiar  emotion.  I  mean  the  feeling  that  He  had 
power  to  raise  up  Lazarus.  Joseph  wept,  as  having  a  secret,  not  only 
of  the  past,  but  of  the  future  ; — of  good  in  store  as  well  as  of  evil  done, — 
of  good  which  it  was  in  his  own  power  to  confer.  And  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  knew  that,  while  all  seemed  so  dreary  and  hopeless,  in  spite  of 
the  tears  and  laments  of  his  friends,  in  spite  of  the  corpse  four  days  old, 
the  grave  and  the  stone  which  was  upon  it.  He  had  a  spell  which  could 
overcome  death,  and  He  was  about  to  use  it.  Is  there  any  time  more 
affecting  than  when  you  are  about  to  break  good  news  to  a  friend  who 
has  been  stricken  down  by  tidings  of  ill  1 

4.  Alas  !  there  were  other  thoughts  still  to  call  forth  His  tears.  This 
marvellous  benefit  to  the  forlorn  sisters,  how  was  it  to  be  attained  1  at 
His  own  cost.  Joseph  knew  he  could  bring  joy  to  his  brethren,  but  at 
no  sacrifice  of  his  own.  Christ  was  bringing  life  to  the  dead  by  His 
own  death.  His  disciples  would  have  dissuaded  Him  from  going  into 
Judea,  lest  the  Jews  should  kill  Him.  Their  apprehension  was  fulfilled. 
He  went  to  raise  Lazarus,  and  the  fame  of  that  miracle  was  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  His  seizure  and  crucifixion.  This  He  knew  beforehand. 
He  saw  the  prospect  before  Him ;  He  saw  Lazarus  raised, — the  sup- 
per in  Martha's  house, — Lazarus  sitting  at  table, — joy  on  all  sides  of 
Him  ; — Mary  honouring  her  Lord  on  this  festive  occasion  by  the  out- 
pouring of  the  very  costly  ointment  upon  His  feet, — the  Jews  crowd- 
ing, not  only  to  see  Him,  but  Lazarus  also ; — His  triumphant  entry 
into  Jerusalem, — the  multitude  shouting  Hosanna, — the  people  testify. 
ing  to  the  raising  of  Lazarus, — the  Greeks,  who  had  come  up  to  worship 
at  the  feast  earnest  to  see  Him, — the  children  joining  in  the  general  joy ; 
and  then  the  Pharisees  plotting  against  Him,  Judas  betraying  Him,  His 
friends  deserting  Him,  and  the  cross  receiving  Him.  These  things 
doubtless,  among  a  multitude  of  thoughts  unspeakable,  passed  over  His 
mind.  He  felt  that  Lazarus  was  wakening  to  life  at  His  own  sacrifice  ; 
that  He  was  descending  into  the  grave  which  Lazarus  left.  He  felt 
that  Lazarus  was  to  live  and  He  to  die  ;  the  appearance  of  things  was 
to  be  reversed  ;  the  feast  was  to  be  kept  in  Martha's  house,  but  the  last 
passover  of  sorrow  remained  for  Him.  And  He  knew  that  this  reverse 
was  altogether  voluntary  with  Him.  He  had  come  down  from  His 
Father's  bosom  to  be  an  Atonement  of  blood  for  all  sin,  and  thereby  to 
raise  all  believers  from  the  grave,  as  He  was  then  about  to  raise  La- 
zarus ;  and  to  raise  them,  not  for  a  time,  but  for  eternity  ;  and  now 
the  sharp  trial  lay  before  Him,  through  which  He  was  to  "  open  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  to  all  believers."  Contemplating  then  the  fulness 
of  His  purpose  while  going  about  a  single  act  of  mercy,  He  said  to 


628  TEARS  OF  CHRIST,   &c.  [Seem.  X. 

Martha,  "  I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life :  he  that  bcHeveth  in 
Me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,  and  whosoever  liveth  and 
belicveth  in  Me,  shall  never  die." 

Let  us  take  to  ourselves  these  comfortable  thoughts,  both  in  the  con- 
templation of  our  own  death  or  upon  the  death  of  our  friends.  Where- 
ever  laith  in  Christ  is,  there  is  Christ  Himself.  He  said  to  Martha, 
"  Believest  thou  this  ?"  Wherever  there  is  a  heart  to  answer,  "  Lord, 
I  believe,"  there  Christ  is  present.  There  our  Lord  vouchsafes  to  stand, 
though  unseen, — whether  over  the  bed  of  death  or  over  the  grave  : 
whether  we  ourselves  are  sinking,  or  those  who  are  dear  to  us.  Blessed 
be  His  name !  nothing  can  rob  us  of  this  consolation  :  we  will  be  as 
certain,  through  His  grace,  that  He  is  standing  over  us  in  love  as  though 
we  saw  Him.  We  will  not,  after  our  experience  of  Lazarus's  history, 
doubt  an  instant  that  He  is  thoughtful  about  us.  He  knows  the  begin- 
nings of  our  illness,  though  He  keeps  at  a  distance.  He  knows  when 
to  remain  away  and  when  to  draw  near.  He  notes  down  the  advances 
of  it,  and  the  stages.  He  tells  truly  when  His  friend  Lazarus  is  sick 
and  when  he  sleeps.  We  all  have  experience  of  this  in  the  narrative 
before  us,  and  henceforth,  so  be  it !  will  never  complain  at  the  course 
of  His  providence.  Only,  we  will  beg  of  Him  an  increase  of  faith  ; 
a  more  lively  perception  of  the  curse  under  which  the  world  lies,  and 
of  our  own  personal  demerits  ;  a  more  understanding  view  of  the  mys- 
tery of  His  cross,  a  more  devout  and  implicit  reliance  on  the  virtue  of 
it,  and  a  more  confident  persuasion  that  He  will  never  put  upon  us 
more  than  we  can  bear,  never  afflict  His  brethren  with  any  wo  except 
for  their  own  highest  benefit. 


SERMON    XI 


BODILY  SUFFERING. 


COLOSSIANS  i.   24. 


I  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh  for  His  body's 
sake,  which  is  the  Church. 


Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  came  by  blood  as  well  as  by  water, 
not  only  as  a  Fount  of  grace  and  truth,  the  source  of  spiritual  light,  joy, 
and  salvation,  but  as  a  combatant  with  Sin  and  Satan,  who  was  "  con- 
secrated through  suiFering."  He  was,  as  prophecy  had  marked  Him 
out,  "  red  in  His  apparel,  and  His  garments  like  him  that  treadeth  in 
the  wine-fat  ;"  or,  in  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  "  He  was  clothed  with 
a  vesture  dipped  in  blood."  It  was  the  untold  sufferings  of  the  Eternal 
Word  in  our  nature.  His  body  dislocated  and  torn.  His  blood  poured  out, 
His  soul  violently  separated  by  a  painful  death,  which  has  put  away 
from  us  the  wrath  of  Him  whose  love  sent  Him  for  that  very  purpose. 
This  only  was  our  Atonement ;  no  one  shared  in  the  work.  He  "  trod 
the  wine-press  alone,  and  of  the  people  there  was  none  with  Him." 
"When  lifted  up  upon  the  cursed  tree,  He  fought  with  all  the  hosts  of 
evil,  and  conquered  by  suffering. 

Thus,  in  a  most  mysterious  way,  all  that  is  needful  for  this  sinful 
world,  the  life  of  our  souls,  the  regeneration  of  our  nature,  all  that  is 
most  joyful  and  glorious,  hope,  Ught,  peace,  spiritual  freedom,  holy  in- 
fluences, religious  knowledge  and  strength,  all  flow  from  a  fount  of 
blood.  A  work  of  blood  is  our  salvation  ;  and  we,  as  we  would  be 
saved,  must  draw  near  and  gaze  upon  it  in  faith,  and  accept  it  as  the 
way  to  heaven.  We  must  take  Him,  who  thus  suffered,  as  our  guide  ; 
we  must  embrace  His  sacred  feet,  and  follow  Him.  No  wonder,  then, 
should  we  receive  on  ourselves  some  drops  of  the  sacred  agony  which 
bedewed  His  garments  ;  no  wonder,  should  we  be  sprinkled  with  the 
sorrows  which  He  bore  in  expiation  of  our  sins  ! 

And  so  it  has  ever  been  in  very  deed ;  to  approach  Him  has  been, 
from  the  first,  to  be  partaker,  more  or  less,  in  his  sufferings ;  I  do  not 

Vol.  I 34 


^ 


630  BODILY  SUFFERING.  [Serm. 

say  in  the  case  of  every  individual  who  believes  in  Him,  but  as  regards 
the  more  conspicuous,  the  more  favoured.  His  choice  instruments,  and 
His  most  active  servants  ;  that  is,  it  has  been  the  lot  of  the  Church  on 
the  whole,  and  of  those  on  the  whole  who  had  been  most  like  Him,  as 
Rulers,  Intercessors,  and  Teachers  of  the  Church.  He,  indeed,  alone 
meritoriously  ;  they,  because  they  have  been  near  Him.  Thus,  imme- 
diately upon  His  birth,  He  brought  the  sword  upon  the  infants  of  His 
own  age  at  Bethlehem.  His  very  shadow,  cast  upon  a  city  where  He 
did  not  abide,  was  stained  with  blood.  His  Blessed  Mother  had  not 
clasped  Him  to  her  breast  for  many  weeks,  ere  she  was  warned  of  the 
penalty  of  that  fearful  privilege  :  "  Yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through 
thy  own  soul  also."*  Virtue  went  out  of  Him  ;  but  the  water  and  the 
blood  flowed  together  as  afterwards  from  His  pierced  side.  From 
among  the  infants  He  took  up  in  His  arms  to  bless,  is  said  to  have  gone 
forth  a  chief  martyr  of  the  generation  after  Him.  Most  of  his  Apostles 
passed  through  life-long  sufferings  to  a  violent  death.  In  particular, 
when  the  favoured  brothers,  James  and  John,  came  to  Him  with  a  re- 
quest that  they  might  sit  beside  Him  in  His  kingdom.  He  plainly  stated 
this  connection  between  nearness  to  Him  and  affliction.  "Are  ye 
able,"  He  said,  "  to  drink  of  the  cup  that  I  shall  drink  of,  and  to  be 
baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with  ?"f  As  if  He  said, 
*'  Ye  cannot  have  the  sacraments  of  grace  without  the  painful  figures 
of  them.  The  Cross,  when  imprinted  on  your  foreheads,  will  draw 
blood.  You  shall  receive  indeed  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  cup 
of  My  communion,  but  it  shall  be  with  the  attendant  pledges  of  My 
cup  of  agony  and  My  baptism  of  blood."  Elsewhere  He  speaks  the 
same  language  to  all  who  would  partake  the  benefits  of  His  death  and 
passion  :  "  Whosoever  doth  not  bear  his  cross,  and  come  after  Me,  can- 
not be  My  disciple.":}: 

Accordingly,  His  Apostles  frequently  remind  us  of  this  necessary, 
though  mysterious  appointment,  and  bid  us  "  think  it  not  strange  con- 
cerning the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  us,  as  though  .some  strange  thing 
happened  unto  us,  but  to  rejoice  in  having  communion  with  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ. "§  St.  Paul  teaches  us  the  same  lesson  in  the  text,  in 
which  he  speaks  of  taking  up  the  remnant  of  Christ's  sorrows,  as  sonic 
precious  mantle  dropt  from  the  Cro.ss,  and  wearing  it  for  His  sake.  "  I 
rejoice  in  my  .sufferings  for  you,  and  fill  up  in  my  flesh  what  remains  of 
the  afflictions  of  Christ  for  His  body's  sake,  that  is  the  Church."]]  And, 
though  he  is  speaking  especially  of  persecution  and   other  sufferings 

♦  Luke  ii.  35.  +  Matt.  xx.  22.  t  Luke  xiv.  27. 

§  1  Pel.  iv.  12,  13.  Vide  also  2  Cor.  iv.  10. 


I 


XL]  BODILY  SUFFERING.  531 

borne  in  the  cause  of  the  Gospel,  yet  it  is  our  great  privilege,  as  Scrip- 
ture tells  us,  that  all  pain  and  trouble,  borne  in  faith  and  patience,  will 
be  accounted  as  marks  of  Christ,  grace  tokens  from  the  absent  Saviour, 
and  will  be  accepted  and  rewarded  for  His  sake  at  the  last  day.  It  de- 
clares generally,  "  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be 
with  thee  ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee  ;  when 
thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou  shah  not  be  burned,  neither  shall  the 
flame  kindle  upon  thee."  "  Our  light  atiliction,  which  is  but  for  a  mo- 
ment, worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory."* 

Thus  the  Gospel,  which  has  shed  light  in  so  many  ways  upon  the 
state  of  this  world,  has  aided  especially  our  view  of  the  sufferings  to 
which  human  nature  is  subjected  ;  turning  a  punishment  into  a  privi- 
lege,  in  the  case  of  all  pain,  and  especially  of  bodily  pain,  which  is  the 
most  mysterious  of  all.  Sorrow,  anxiety,  and  disappointment  are  more 
or  less  connected  with  sin  and  sinners  ;  but  bodily  pain  is  involuntary 
for  the  most  part,  stretching  over  the  world  by  some  external  irresistible 
law,  reaching  to  children  who  have  never  actually  sinned,  and  to  the 
brute  animals,  who  are  strangers  to  Adam's  nature,  while  in  its  mani- 
festations it  is  far  more  piteous  and  distressing  than  any  other  suffering. 
It  is  the  lot  of  all  of  us,  sooner  or  later  ;  and  that,  perhaps  in  a  measure 
which  it  would  be  appalling  and  wrong  to  anticipate,  whether  from  dis- 
ease,  or  from  the  casualties  of  life.  And  all  of  us,  at  length  must  die  ; 
and  death  is  generally  ushered  in  by  disease,  and  ends  in  that  separa- 
tion of  soul  and  body,  which  itself  may,  in  some  cases,  involve  peculiar 
pain. 

Wordly  men  put  such  thoughts  aside  as  gloomy  ;  they  can  neither 
deny  nor  avert  the  prospect  before  them  ;  and  they  are  wise,  on  their 
own  principles,  not  to  embitter  the  present  by  anticipating  it.  But 
Christians  may  bear  to  look  at  it  without  undue  apprehension  ;  for  this 
very  infliction,  which  most  touches  the  heart  and  imagination,  has  (as 
I  have  said)  been  invested  by  Almighty  God  with  a  new  and  comforta- 
ble light,  as  being  the  medium  of  His  choicest  mercies  towards  us. 
Pain  is  no  longer  a  curse,  a  necessary  evil  to  be  undergone  with  a  dry 
submission  or  passive  endurance, — it  may  be  considered  even  as  a  bless- 
ing of  the  Gospel,  and  being  a  blessing,  admits  of  being  met  well  or  ill. 
In  the  way  of  nature,  indeed,  it  seems  to  shut  out  the  notion  of  duty,  as 
if  so  masterful  a  discipline  from  without  superseded  the  necessity  or  op- 
portunity of  self-mastery ;  but  now  that  "  Christ  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh," 


*  Is.  xUii.2.     2  Cor.  iv   17. 


-^ 


632  BODILY  SUFFERING.  [Serm. 

we  arc  bound  "  to  arm  ourselves  with  the  same  mind,"  and  to  obey,  as 
He  did,  amid  suffering. 

In  what  follows,  I  shall  remark,  briefly,  first,  on  the  natural  effect  of 
pain  upon  the  mind  ;  and  next,  upon  the  remedies  and  correctives  of 
that  effect  which  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  supplies. 

1.  Now,  as  to  its  effect  upon  the  mind,  let  it  be  well  understood  that 
it  has  no  sanctifying  influence  in  itself.  Bad  men  are  made  worse  by 
it.  This  should  be  borne  in  mind,  lest  we  deceive  ourselves  ;  for  some- 
times we  speak  (at  least  the  poor  often  so  speak)  as  though  present  hard- 
ship and  suffering  were  in  some  sense  a  ground  of  confidence  in  them- 
selves as  to  our  future  prospects,  whether  as  expiating  our  sins  or  bring- 
ing our  hearts  nearer  to  God.  Nay,  even  the  more  religious  among  us 
may  be  misled  to  think  that  pain  makes  them  better  than  it  really  does  ; 
for  the  effect  of  it  at  length,  on  any  but  very  proud  or  ungovernable 
tempers,  is  to  cause  a  languor  and  composure  of  mind,  which  looks  like 
resignation,  while  it  necessarily  throws  our  reason  upon  the  especial 
thought  of  God,  our  only  stay  in  such  times  of  trial.  Doubtless  it  does 
really  benefit  the  Christian,  and  in  no  scanty  measure  ;  and  he  may 
thank  God  who  thus  blesses  it ;  only  let  him  be  cautious  of  measuring 
his  spiritual  state  by  the  particular  exercise  of  faith  and  love  in  his  heart 
at  the  time,  especially  if  that  exercise  be  Hmited  to  the  affections  them- 
selves, and  have  no  opportunity  of  showing  itself  in  works.  St.  Paul 
speaks  of  chastisement  "  yielding  afterwards  the  peaceable  fruit  of 
righteousness,"*  formed  indeed  and  ripened  at  the  moment,  but  mani- 
fested in  due  season.  This  may  be  the  real  fruit  of  the  suffering  of  a 
death  bed,  even  though  it  may  not  have  time  to  show  itself  to  others 
before  the  Christian  departs  hence.  Surely  we  may  humbly  hope  that 
it  perfects  habits  hitherto  fwt  partially  formed,  and  blends  the  several 
graces  of  the  Spirit  more  entirely.  Such  is  the  issue  of  it  in  established 
Christians  ; — but  it  may  possibly  effect  nothing  so  blessed.  Nay,  in 
the  case  of  those  who  have  followed  Christ  with  but  a  half  heart,  it  may 
be  a  trial  too  strong  for  their  feebleness,  and  may  overpower  them. 
This  is  a  dreadful  reflection  for  those  who  put  off  the  day  of  repentance. 
"Well  does  our  Church  pray  for  us  :  "  Suffer  us  not,  at  our  last  hour,  for 
any  pains  of  death  to  fall  from  Thee  !"  As  for  unbelievers,  we  know 
how  it  affecL-  them,  from  such  serious  passages  of  Scripture  as  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  They  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  the 
God  of  heaven  because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores,  and  repented  not 
of  their  deeds.  "| 

Nay,  I  would  go  so  far  as  to  say,  not  only  that  pain  does  not  com- 

»  Heb.  xii.  11.  t  Rev.  xvi.  10,11. 


XL]  BODILY  SUFFERING.  533 

monly  improve  us,  but  that  without  care  it  has  a  strong  tendency  to 
do  our  souls  harm,  viz.  by  making  us  selfish ;  an  effect  produced,  even 
when  it  does  us  good  in  other  ways.  Weak  health,  for  instance, 
instead  of  opening  the  heart,  often  makes  a  man  supremely  care- 
ful  of  his  bodily  ease  and  well-being.  Men  find  an  excuse  in  their 
infirmities  for  some  extraordinary  attention  to  their  comforts ;  they 
consider  they  may  fairly  consult,  on  all  occasions,  their  own  conve- 
nience rather  than  that  of  another.  They  indulge  their  wayward 
wishes,  allow  themselves  in  indolence  when  they  really  might  exert 
themselves,  and  think  they  may  be  fretful  because  they  are  weak. 
They  become  querulous,  self-willed,  fastidious,  and  egotistical.  By- 
standers, indeed,  should  be  very  cautious  of  thinking  any  particular 
sufferer  to  be  thus  minded,  because,  after  all,  sick  people  have  a  multitude 
of  feehngs  which  they  cannot  explain  to  any  one  else,  and  are  often  in 
the  right  in  those  matters  in  which  they  appear  to  others  most  fanciful 
or  unreasonable.  Yet  this  does  not  interfere  with  the  correctness  of 
my  remark  on  the  whole. 

Take  another  instance  under  very  different  circumstances.  If  bodily 
suffering  can  be  presented  under  distinct  aspects,  it  is  in  the  lassitude 
of  a  sick-bed  and  in  the  hardships  of  the  soldier's  life.  Yet,  of  the  lat- 
ter we  find  selfishness  almost  a  proverbial  characteristic.  Surely  the 
Hfe  of  soldiers  on  service  is  a  very  school  of  generosity  and  self-neglect, 
if  rightly  understood,  and  is  used  as  such  by  the  noble  and  high-princi- 
pled ;  yet  here,  a  low  and  carnal  mind,  instead  of  profiting  by  its  advan- 
tages, will  yield  to  the  temptation  of  referring  every  thing  that  befalls 
it  to  its  own  comfort  and  profit.  To  secure  its  own  interests,  will  be- 
come enshrined  within  it  as  its  main  duty,  and  with  the  greater  plausi- 
bility, inasmuch  as  there  is  a  sense  in  which  it  may  really  be  so  account- 
ed. Others  (it  will  suggest)  must  take  care  of  themselves  ;  it  is  a  folly 
and  weakness  to  think  of  them  ;  there  are  but  few  chances  of  safety  ; 
the  many  must  suffer,  some  unto  death  ;  it  is  wisdom  to  struggle  for 
life  and  comfort,  and  to  dismiss  the  thought  of  others.  Alas  !  instances 
occur,  every  now  and  then,  in  the  experience  of  life,  which  show  that 
such  thoughts  and  feelings  are  not  peculiar  to  any  one  class  of  men, 
but  are  the  actuating  principles  of  the  multitude.  If  an  alarm  of  dan- 
ger be  given  amid  a  crowd,  the  general  eagerness  for  safety  leads  men 
to  act  towards  each  other  with  utter  unconcern,  if  not  with  frantic 
cruelty.  There  are  stories  told  of  companies  of  men  finding  them- 
selves at  sea  with  scanty  provisions,  and  of  the  shocking  deeds  which 
followed,  when  each  was  struggling  to  preserve  his  own  life. 

The  natural  effect,  then,  of  pain  and  fear,  is  to  individuahze  us  in  our 
own  minds,  to  fix  our  thoughts  on  ourselves,  to  make  us  selfish.     It  is 


534  BODILY  SUFFERING.  [Sei 

through  pain,  chiefly,  that  we  reaHze  to  ourselves  even  our  bodily 
organs ;  a  frame  entirely  without  painful  sensations  is  (as  it  were)  one 
whole  without  parts,  and  prefigures  that  future  spiritual  body  which 
shall  be  the  portion  of  the  Saints.  And  to  this  we  most  approximate  in 
our  youth,  when  we  are  not  sensible  that  we  are  compacted  of  gross 
terrestrial  matter,  as  advancing  years  convince  us.  The  young  reflect 
httle  upon  themselves,  they  gaze  around  them,  and  live  out  of  doors, 
and  say  they  have  souls,  little  understanding  their  words.  "  They| 
rejoice  in  their  youth."  This,  then,  is  the  effect  of  suffering,  that  it 
arrests  us  :  that  it,  as  it  were,  puts  a  finger  upon  us  to  ascertain  for  U3 
our  own  individuality.  But  it  does  no  more  than  this  ;  if  such  a  warn- 
ing does  not  lead  us  through  the  stirrings  of  our  conscience  heaven- 
wards, it  does  but  imprison  us  in  ourselves  and  make  us  selfish. 

2.  Here,  then,  it  is  that  the  Gospel  finds  us ;  heirs  to  a  visitation, 
which,  sooner  or  later,  comes  upon  us,  turning  our  thoughts  from  out- 
ward objects,  and  so  tempting  us  to  idolize  self,  to  the  dishonour  of  that 
God  whom  we  ought  to  worship,  and  the  neglect  of  man  whom  we 
should  love  as  ourselves.  Thus  it  finds  us,  and  it  obviates  this  danger, 
not  by  removing  pain,  but  by  giving  it  new  associations.  Pain,  which 
by  nature  leads  us  only  to  ourselves,  carries  on  the  Christian  mind  from 
the  thoiight  of  self  to  the  contemplation  of  Christ,  His  passion,  His 
merits,  and  His  pattern  ;  and,  thence,  further  to  that  united  company 
of  suflferers  who  follow  Him  and  "  are  what  He  is  in  this  world."  He 
is  the  great  Object  of  our  faith ;  and,  while  we  gaze  upon  Him,  we 
learn  to  forget  ourselves. 

Surely  that  is  not  the  most  fearful  and  hateful  of  evils,  here  below, 
however  trying  to  the  flesh,  which  Christ  underwent  voluntarily.  No 
one  chooses  evil  for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the  greater  good  wrought  out 
through  it.  He  underwent  it  as  for  ends  greater  than  the  immediate 
removal  of  it,  "  not  grudgingly  or  of  necessity,"  but  cheerfully  doing 
God's  will,  as  the  Gospel  history  sets  before  us.  When  His  time 
was  come,  we  are  told,  "  He  stedfastly  set  His  face  to  go  to  Jeru- 
salem." His  disciples  said,  "  Master,  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone 
Thee,  and  goest  Thou  thither  again  ?"  but  He  persisted.  Again,  He 
said  to  Judas,  "That  thou  docst,  do  quickly."  He  proceeded  to  the 
garden  beyond  Cedron,  though  Judas  knew  the  place  ;  and  when  the 
band  of  officers  came  to  seize  Him,  "  He  went  forth,  and  said  unto 
them,  I  am  He."*  L\nd  with  what  calmness  and  majesty  did  He  bear 
His  sufferings,  whenTliey  came  upon  Him,  though  by  His  agony  in  the 
garden  He  showed  He  fully  felt  their  keenness  !     The  Psalmist,  in  his 

^  •  Luke  ix.  51.     John  li.  8  ;  xiii.  27  ;  xTiii.  2.  4,  5, 


\i 


XI.j  BODILY  SUFFERING.  535 

prediction  of  them,  saj^s,  "  I  am  poured  out  like  water,  and  all  My 
bones  are  out  of  joint ;  My  heart  is  like  wax,  it  is  melted  ;"*  describ- 
ing, as  it  would  seem,  that  sinking  of  spirit  and  enfeebling  of  nerve 
which  severe  pain  causes.  Yet,  in  the  midst  of  distress  which  seemed 
to  preclude  the  opportunity  of  obedience.  He  was  "  about  His  Father's 
business,"  even  more  diligently  than  when  in  His  childhood  He  asked 
questions  of  the  doctors  in  the  Temple  ;  not  thinking  to  be  merely  pas- 
sive under  the  trial,  but  accounting  it  as  if  a  great  occasion  for  a  noble  I 
and  severe  surrender  of  Himself  to  His  Father's  will.  Thus  He  "  learn-  ^ 
ed  obedience  by  the  things  that  He  suffered. '^Consider  the  deep  and 
serene  compassion  which  led  Him  to  pray  for  those  who  crucified  Him  ; 
His  solicitous  care  of  His  mother  ;  and  His  pardoning  words  addressed 
to  the  robber  who  suffered  with  Him.  And  so,  when  He  said,  "  It  is 
finished,"  He  showed  that  He  was  still  contemplating,  with  a  clear  intel- 
lect, "the  travail  of  His  soul,  and  was  satisfied  ;"  and  in  the  solemn 
surrender  of  Himself  into  His  Father's  hand.  He  showed  where  His 
mind  rested  in  the  midst  of  its  darkness.  Even  when  He  seemed  to 
be  thinking  of  Himself,  and  said,  "I  thirst,"  He  really  was  regarding 
the  words  of  prophecy,  and  was  bent  on  vindicating,  to  the  very  letter, 
he  divine  announcements  concerning  Him. 

f ;  Thus,  upon  the  Cross  itself,  we  discern  in  Him  the  mercy  of  a  Mes- 
senger  from  heaven,  the  love  and  grace  of  a  Saviour,  the  dutifulness  of 
a  Son,  the  faith  of  a  created  nature,  and  the  zeal  of  a  servant  of  God, 
His  mind  was  stayed  upon  His  Father's  sovereign  will  and  infinite  per- 
fections, yet  could  pass,  without  effort,  to  the  claim  of  filial  duty,  or 
the  need  of  an  individual  sinner.  Six  out  of  His  seven  last  words 
were  words  of  faith  and  love.  For  one  instant  a  horrible  dread  over- 
whelmed Him,  when  He  seemed  to  ask  why  God  had  forsaken  Him. 
Doubtless  "  that  voice  was  for  our  sakes  ;"  as  when  He  made  mention 
of  His  thirst  ;  and,  like  the  other,  was  taken  from  inspired  prophecy. 
Perhaps  it  was  intended  to  set  before  us  an  example  of  a  special  trial  to 
which  human  nature  is  subject,  whatever  was  the  real  and  inscrutable 
manner  of  it  in  Him,  who  was  all  along  supported  by  an  inherent  Di- 
vinity ;  I  mean  the  trial  of  sharp  agony,  hurrying  the  mind  on  to  vague 
terrors  and  strange  inexplicable  thoughts  ;  and  is,  therefore,  graciously 
recorded,  for  our  benefit,  in  the  history  of  His  death,  "  who  was  tempt- 
ed, in  all  points,  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin."t 
'  Such,  then,  were  our  Lord's  sufferings,  voluntarily  undergone,' and 
[ennobled  by  an  active  obedience ;  themselves  the  centre  of  our  hopes 
and  worship,  yet  borne  without  thought  of  self,  towards  God  and^  for 

*  PealmBXiii.  14.  t  Heb.  iv.  15, 


536  BODILY  SUFFERING.  [Seem. 

man.  And  who,  among  us,  habitually  dwells  upon  them,  but  is  led, 
without  deliberate  purpose,  by  the  very  warmth  of  gratitude  and  ador- 
ing love,  to  attempt  bearing  his  own  inferior  trials  in  the  same  heaven- 
ly mind  ?  Who  does  not  see,  that  to  bear  pain  well,  is  to  meet  it  cour- 
ageously, not  to  shrink  or  waver,  but  to  pray  for  God's  help,  then  to 
look  at  it  steadfastly,  to  summon  what  nerve  we  have  of  mind  and 
body,  to  receive  its  attack,  and  to  bear  up  against  it  (while  strength  is 
given  us)  as  against  some  visible  enemy  in  close  combat  ?  Who  will 
not  acknowledge  that,  when  sent  to  us,  we  must  make  its  presence  (as 
it  were)  our  own  voluntary  act,  by  the  cheerful  and  ready  concurrence 
of  our  own  will  with  the  will  of  God  1  Nay,  who  is  there  but  must 
own  that  with  Christ's  sufferings  before  us,  pain  and  tribulation  are, 
after  all,  not  only  the  most  blessed,  but  even  the  most  congruous  attend- 
ants upon  those  who  are  called  to  inherit  the  benefit  of  them  ?  Most 
congruous,  I  say,  not  as  though  necessary,  but  as  most  natural  and  be- 
fitting, harmonizing,  most  fully,  with  the  main  Object  in  the  group  of 
sacred  wonders  on  which  the  Church  is  called  to  gaze.  Who,  on  the 
other  hand,  does  not  at  least  perceive  that  all  the  glare  and  gaudiness 
of  this  world,  its  excitements,  its  keenly  pursued  goods,  its  successes 
and  its  transports,  its  pomps  and  its  luxuries,  are  not  in  character  with 
that  pale  and  solemn  scene  which  faith  must  ever  have  in  its  eye  1 
What  Christian  will  not  own  that  to  "  reign  as  kings,"  and  to  be  "  full," 
is  not  his  calling ;  so  as  to  derive  comfort  in  the  hour  of  sickness,  or 
bereavement,  or  other  affliction,  from  the  thought  that  he  is  now  in  his 
own  place,  if  he  be  Christ's,  in  his  true  home,  the  sepulchre  in  which 
his  Lord  was  laid?  So  deeply  have  His  saints  felt  this,  that,  when 
times  were  peaceful  and  the  Church  was  in  safety,  they  could  not  rest 
in  the  lap  of  ease,  and  have  secured  to  themselves  hardnesses,  lest  the 
world  should  corrupt  them.  They  could  not  bear  to  see  the  much-en- 
during Paul  adding  to  his  necessary  tribulations  a  self-inflicted  chastise- 
ment of  the  flesh,  and  yet  allow  themselves  to  live  delicately,  and  fare 
sumptuously  every  day.  They  saw  the  image  of  Christ  reflected  in 
tears  and  blood,  in  the  glorious  company  of  the  Apostles,  the  goodly 
fellowship  of  the  Prophets,  and  the  noble  army  of  Martyrs  ;  they  read 
in  prophecy  of  the  doom  of  the  Church  as  "  a  woman  fed  by  God  in  the 
wilderness,"*  and  her  witnesses  as  "clothed  in  sackcloth;"  and  they 
could  not  believe  tliat  they  were  meant  for  nothing  more  than  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  of  this  life,  however  innocent  and  moderate  might  be 
their  use  of  them.  Without  deciding  about  their  neighbours,  they 
felt  themselves  called  to  higher  things  ;  their  own  sense  of  the  duty 

»  Vide  Rev.  xii.  6 ;  li.  3, 


XI.]  BODILY  SUFFERING.  537 

became  tlie  sanction  and  witness  of  it.  They  considered  that  God  at 
least  would  afflict  them  in  His  love,  if  they  spared  themselves  ever  so 
much.  The  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  buffetings  of  Satan,  the  bereave- 
ment of  their  eyes,  these  were  their  portion  ;  and  in  common  prudence, 
were  there  no  higher  thought,  they  could  not  live  out  of  time  and  meas- 
ure with  these  expected  visitations.  With  no  superstitious  alarms,  or 
cowardly  imagination,  or  senseless  hurrying  into  difficulty  or  trial,  but 
calmly  and  in  faith,  they  surrendered  themselves  into  His  hands  who 
had  told  them  in  His  inspired  word  that  affliction  was  to  be  their  fa- 
miliar food ;  till  at  length  they  gained  that  distaste  for  the  luxuries  of 
life  as  to  be  impatient  of  them  from  their  very  fulness  of  grace.  Even  in 
our  latter  days,  when  "  the  fine  gold  has  become  dim,"  such  has  been 
the  mind  of  those  we  most  revere.*  But  such  was  it  especially  in  pri- 
mitive times.  It  was  the  temper  too  of  such  of  the  Apostles  as  were 
removed,  more  than  their  brethren,  from  the  world's  buffetings  ;  as  if 
the  prospect  of  suffering  afterwards  were  no  dispensation  for  a  present 
self-inflicted  discipline,  or  rather  demanded  it.  St.  James  the  Less  was 
Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  and  was  highly  venerated  for  his  uprightness  by 
the  unbelieving  Jews  among  whom  he  lived  unmolested.  We  are  told 
that  he  drank  no  wine  nor  strong  drink,  nor  did  he  eat  any  animal  food, 
nor  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  the  bath.  "  So  often  was  he  in  the  Tem- 
ple on  his  knees,  that  they  were  thin  and  hard  by  his  continual  suppli- 
-cation."f  Thus  he  kept  his  "  loins  girded  about  and  his  lamp  burn- 
ing," for  the  blessed  martyrdom  which  was  to  end  his  course.  Could 
it  be  otherwise  ?  How  could  the  great  Apostle,  sitting  at  home  by  his 
Lord's  decree,  "  nourish  his  heart,"  as  he  calls  it,  "  as  for  the  slaugh- 
ter !"  How  could  he  eat  and  drink  and  live  as  other  men,  when  "  the 
Ark,  and  Israel,  and  Judah  were  in  tents,"  encamped  in  the  open  fields, 
and  one  by  one,  God's  chosen  warriors  were  falling  before  the  brief  tri- 
umph of  Satan!  How  could  he  be  "delicate  on  the  earth  and  wan- 
ton," when  Paul  and  Barnabas,  Peter  too  and  John  were  in  stripes  and 
prisons,  in  labours  and  perils,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  cold  and  naked- 
ness !  Stephen  had  led  the  army  of  Martyrs  in  Jerusalem  itself,  which 
was  his  own  post  of  service.  James,  the  brother  of  John,  had  follow- 
ed him  in  the  same  city ;  he  first  of  the  Apostles  tasting  our  Lord's 
cup,  who  had  unwittingly  asked  to  drink  it.  And  if  this  was  the  feel- 
ing of  the  Apostles,  when  in  temporary  safety,  why  is  it  not  ours,  who. 
altogether  live  at  ease,  except  that  we  have  not  faith  enough  to  realize 

*  "  It  is  a  most  miserable  state  for  a  man  to  have  every  thing  according  to  his  de- 
sire, and  quietly  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  life.     There  needs  no  more  to  expos*  him  to 
'«temal  misery." — Bishop  Wilson— Sacra  Privata.     Wednesday. 
I      t  Euseb.  Hist.  ii.  23. 


538  BODILY  SUFFERING.  [Skru.  XI. 

what  is  past  ?  Could  we  see  the  Cross  upon  Calvary,  and  the  list  of 
sufierers  who  resisted  unto  blood  in  the  times  that  followed  it,  is  it  pos- 
sible that  we  should  feel  surprise  when  pain  overtook  us,  or  impatience 
at  its  continuance  ?  Is  it  strange  though  we  are  smitten  by  ever  so 
new  a  plague  1  Is  it  grievous  that  the  Cross  presses  on  one  nerve  or 
limb  ever  so  many  years  till  hope  of  relief  is  gone?  Is  it,  indeed,  not 
possible  with  the  Apostle  to  rejoice  in  '*  bearing  in  our  body  the  marks 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  1  And  much  moi*e,can  we,  for  very  shame's  sake,  suffer 
ourselves  to  be  troubled  at  what  is  but  ordinary  pain,  to  be  irritated  or 
saddened,  made  gloomy  or  anxious  by  inconveniences  which  never 
could  surprise  or  unsettle  those  who  had  studied  and  understood  their 
place  as  servants  of  a  crucified  Lord  1 

Let  us  then  determine  with  cheerful  hearts  to  sacrifice  unto  the 
Lord  our  God  our  comforts  and  pleasures,  however  innocent,  when  He 
calls  for  them,  whether  for  the  purposes  of  His  Church  or  in  His  own 
inscrutable  Providence.  Let  us  lend  to  Him  a  few  short  hours  of 
present  ease,  and  we  shall  receive  our  own  with  abundant  usury  in  the 
day  of  His  coming.  There  is  a  Treasurer  in  heaven  stored  with  such 
offerings  as  the  natural  man  abhors  ;  with  sighs  and  tears,  wounds  and 
blood,  torture  and  death.  The  Martyrs  first  began  the  contribution, 
and  we  all  may  follow  them  ;  all  of  us,  for  every  suffering,  great  or 
little,  may,  like  the  widow's  mite,  be  sacrificed  in  faith  to  Him  who 
sent  it.  Christ  gave  us  the  words  of  consecration,  when  He  for  an 
ensample  said,  "  Thy  will  be  done."  Henceforth  as  the  Apostle 
speaks,  we  may  "  glory  in  tribulation,"  as  the  seed  of  future  glory. 

Meanwhile,  let  us  never  forget  in  all  we  suffer  that,  properly  speak- 
ing, our  own  sin  is  the  cause  of  it,  and  it  is  only  by  Christ's  mercy 
that  we  are  allowed  to  range  ourselves  at  His  side.  We  who  are 
children  of  wrath,  are  made  through  Him  children  of  grace ;  and  our 
pains,  which  are  in  themselves  but  foretastes  of  hell,  are  changed  by 
the  sprinkling  of  His  blood  into  a  preparation  for  heaven. 


SERMON  XII 


THE  HUMILIATION  OF  THE  ETERNAL  SON. 


Hebrews  v.  7,  8. 


Who,  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  when  He  had  offered  up  prayers  and  supplications 
with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  was  able  to  save  Him  from  death,  and 
was  heard  in  that  He  feared  ;  though  He  were  a  Son,  yet  learned  He  obedience 
by  the  things  which  He  suffered. 

The  chief  mystery  of  our  holy  faith  is  the  humihation  of  the  Son  of 
God  to  temptation  and  suffering,  as  described  in  this  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture. In  truth,  it  is  a  more  overwhelming  mystery  even  than  that 
which  is  involved  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  I  say,  more  over- 
whelming, not  greater,  for  we  cannot  measure  the  more  and  the  less  in 
subjects  utterly  incomprehensible  and  divine  ;  but  with  more  in  it  to 
perplex  and  subdue  our  minds.  When  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity  is 
set  before  us,  we  see  indeed  that  it  is  quite  beyond  our  reason  ;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  it  is  no  wonder  that  human  language  should  be  unable 
to  convey,  and  human  intellect  to  receive,  truths  relating  to  the  in- 
communicable and  infinite  essence  of  Almighty  God.  But  the  mys- 
tery of  the  Incarnation  relates,  in  part,  to  subjects  more  level  with  our 
reason ;  it  lies  not  only  in  the  manner  how  God  and  man  is  one  Christ, 
but  in  the  very  fact  that  so  it  is.  We  think  we  know  of  God  so  much 
as  this,  that  He  is  altogether  separate  from  imperfection  and  infirmity ; 
yet  we  are  told  that  the  Eternal  Son  has  taken  into  Himself  a  crea- 
ture's nature,  which  henceforth  became  as  much  one  with  Him,  as  much 
belonged  to  Him,  as  the  divine  attributes  and  powers  which  He  had 
ever  had.  The  mystery  lies  as  much  in  what  we  think  we  know,  as 
in  what  we  do  not  know.  Reflect,  for  instance,  upon  the  language  of 
the  text.  The  Son  of  God,  who  "  had  glory  with  the  Fatlier"  from 
everlasting,  was  found,  at  a  certain  time,  in  human  flesh,  offering  up 
prayers  and  supplications  to  Him,  crying  out  and  weeping,  and  exer- 
cising obedience  in  suffering  ! 

Do  not  suppose,  from  my  thus  speaking,  that  I  would  put  the  doc- 
trine before  you  as  a  hard  saying,  as  a  stumbling-block,  and  a  yoke  of 


540  THE  HUMILIATION  OF  [Serm. 

bondage,  to  which  you  must  perforce  submit,  however  unwillingly. 
Far  be  it  from  us  to  take  such  unthankful  account  of  a  dispensation 
■which  has  brought  us  salvation  !  Those  who  see  in  the  Cross  of 
Christ  the  Atonement  for  sin,  cannot  choose  but  glory  in  it ;  and  its 
mysteriousncss  does  but  make  them  glory  in  it  the  more.  They  boast 
of  it  before  men  and  Angels,  before  an  unbelieving  world,  and  before 
fallen  spirits,  with  no  confusion  of  face,  but  with  a  reverent  boldness 
they  confess  this  miracle  of  grace,  and  cherish  it  in  their  creed,  though 
it  gains  them  but  the  contempt  and  derision  of  the  proud  and  ungodly. 
And  as  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  humiliation  is  most  mysterious,  so 
the  very  surface  of  the  narrative  in  which  it  is  contained  is  mysterious 
also,  as  exciting  wonder,  and  impressing  upon  us  our  real  ignorance  of 
the  nature,  manner,  and  causes  of  it.  Take,  for  instance.  His  temp- 
tation. Why  was  it  undergone  at  all,  seeing  our  redemption  is  ascribed 
to  His  death,  not  to  it  ?  Why  was  it  so  long?  What  took  place  during 
it  ?  What  was  Satan's  particular  object  in  tempting  Him  1  How  came 
Satan  to  have  such  power  over  Him  as  to  be  able  to  transport  Him 
from  place  to  place  ?  and  what  was  the  precise  result  of  the  temptation  ? 
These  and  many  other  questions  admit  of  no  satisfactory  solution. 
There  is  something  remarkable  too  in  the  period  of  it,  being  the  same 
as  that  of  the  long  fasts  of  Moses  and  Elijah,  and  of  His  own  abode  on 
earth  after  His  resurrection.  A  like  mystery  again  is  cast  around  that 
last  period  of  His  earthly  mission.  Then  He  was  engaged  we  know 
not  how,  except  that  He  appeared,  from  time  to  time,  to  His  Apostles ; 
of  the  forty  days  of  His  temptation  we  know  still  less,  only  that  "  He 
did  eat  nothing,"  and  "  was  with  the  wild  beasts."* 

Again,  there  is  something  of  mystery  in  the  connection  of  this  temp- 
tation with  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  Him  on  His  baptism. 
After  the  voice  from  Heaven  had  proclaimed,  "  This  is  My  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,"  ^*^  immediately  "  as  St.  Mark  says, 
"  the  Spirit  driveth  Him  into  the  wilderness."  As  if  there  were  some 
connection,  beyond  our  understanding,  between  His  baptism  and  temp- 
tation, the  first  act  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  forthwith  to  "drive  Him" 
(whatever  is  meant  by  the  word)  into  the  wilderness.  Observe,  too, 
that  it  was  almost  from  this  solenm  recognition,  "  This  is  My  beloved 
Son,"  that  the  Devil  took  up  the  temptation,  "  Jf  Thou  be  the  Son  of 
God,  command  that  these  stones  be  made  bread  ;"f  yet  what  his 
thoughts  and  designs  were  we  cannot  even  conjecture.  All  we  see  is  a 
renewal,  apparently,  of  Adam's  temptation,  in  the  person  of  the 
"second  man." 

»  Luke  iv.  2.     Mark  i.  13.  f  Matt.  iv.  3. 


XII. ]  THE  ETERNAL  SON.  541 

In  like  manner,  questions  might  be  asked  concerning  His  descent 
into  hell,  which  could  as  little  be  solved,  with  our  present  limited 
knowledge  of  the  nature  and  means  of  His  gracious  Economy. 

I  bring  together  these  various  questions  in  order  to  impress  upon  you 
our  depth  of  ignorance  on  the  entire  subject  under  review.  The  dis- 
pensation of  mercy  is  revealed  to  us  in  its  great  and  blessed  result,  our 
redemption,  and  in  one  or  two  other  momentous  points.  On  all  these 
we  ought  to  dwell  and  enlarge,  mindfully  and  thankfully,  but  with  the 
constant  recollection  that  after  all,  as  regards  the  dispensation  itself,  but 
one  or  two  partial  notices  are  revealed  to  us  altogether  of  a  great 
Divine  Work.  Enlarge  upon  them  we  ought,  even  because  they  are 
few  and  partial,  not  slighting  what  is  given  us,  because  it  is  not  all, 
like  the  servant  who  buried  his  lord's  talent,  but  giving  it  what  increase 
we  can.  And  as  there  is  much  danger  of  the  narrow  spirit  of  that 
slothful  servant  at  the  present  day,  in  which  is  strangely  combined  a 
profession  of  knowing  every  thing,  with  an  assertion  that  there  is 
nothing  to  know  concerning  the  Incarnation,  I  propose  now,  by  God's 
blessing,  to  set  before  you  the  Scripture  doctrine  concerning  it,  as  the 
Church  Catholic  has  ever  received  it ;  trading  with  the  talent  com- 
mitted to  us,  so  that  Avhen  our  Lord  comes  He  may  receive  his  own 
with  usury. 

Bearing  in  mind,  then,  that  we  know  nothing  truly  about  the  man- 
ner or  the  ultimate  ends  of  the  humiliation  of  the  Eternal  Son,  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  let  us  consider  what  that  humiliation  itself  was. 

The  text  says,  "  though  He  were  a  Son."  Now,  in  these  words, 
"the  Son  of  God,"  much  more  is  implied  than  at  first  sight  may 
appear.  Many  a  man  gathers  up,  here  and  there,  some  fragments  of 
religious  knowledge.  He  hears  one  thing  said  in  Church,  he  sees 
another  thing  in  the  Prayer-book ;  and  among  religious  people,  or  in 
the  world,  he  gains  something  more.  In  this  way  he  gets  possession  of 
sacred  words  and  statements,  knowing  very  little  about  them  really. 
He  interprets  them,  as  it  may  happen,  according  to  the  various  and 
inconsistent  opinions  which  he  has  met  with ;  or  he  puts  his  own  mean- 
ing upon  them,  that  is,  the  meaning,  as  must  needs  be,  of  an  untaught, 
not  to  say  a  carnal  and  irreverent  mind.  How  can  a  man  expect  he 
shall  discern  and  apprehend  the  real  meaning  of  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture, if  he  has  never  approached  it  as  a  learner,  and  waited  on  the 
Divine  Author  of  it  for  the  gift  of  wisdom  ?  By  continual  meditation  on 
the  sacred  text,  by  diligent  use  of  the  Church's  instruction,  he  will  come 
to  understand  what  the  Gospel  doctrines  are  ;  but,  most  surely,  if  all  the 
knowledge  he  has,  be  gathered  from  a  sentence  caught  up  here,  and  an 
argument  heard  there,  even  when  he  is  most  orthodox  in  word,  he  has 


642  THE  HUMILIATION  OF  [Skrm. 

but  a  collection  of  phrases,  on  which  he  puts  not  the  right  meaning, 
but  his  own  meaning.  And  the  least  reflection  must  show  you  what  a 
very  poor  and  unworthy  meaning,  or  rather  how  false  a  meaning,  "  the 
natural  man  "  will  put  upon  "  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God."  I  have 
been  led  to  say  this  from  having  used  the  words,  "  the  Son  of  God," 
which,  I  niuch  fear,  convey,  to  a  great  many  minds,  little  or  no  idea, 
little  or  no  high,  religious,  solemn  idea.  We  have,  perhaps  a  vague 
general  notion  that  they  mean  something  extraordinary  and  super- 
natural ;  but  we  know  that  we  ourselves  are  called,  in  one  sense,  sons 
of  God  in  Scripture.  Moreover  we  have  heard,  perhaps,  (and  even 
though  we  do  not  recollect  it,  yet  may  retain  the  impression  of  it,)  that 
the  Angels  are  sons  of  God.  In  consequence,  we  collect  just  thus 
much  from  the  title  as  applied  to  our  Lord,  that  He  came  from  God, 
that  He  was  the  well-beloved  of  God,  and  that  He  is  much  more  than  a 
mere  man.  This  is  all  that  the  words  convey  to  many  men  at  the 
most ; '.  while  many  more  refer  them  merely  to  His  human  nature. 
How  different  is  the  state  of  those  who  have  been  duly  initiated  into 
the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  !  How  different  was  the  mind 
of  the  primitive  Christians,  who  so  eagerly  and  vigorously  apprehended 
the  gracious  announcement,  that  in  this  title,  "  the  Son  of  God,"  they 
saw  and  enjoyed  the  full  glories  of  the  Gospel  doctrine  !  When  times 
grew  cold  and  unbelieving,  then  indeed,  as  at  this  day,  public  explana- 
tions were  necessary  of  those  simple  and  sacred  words ;  but  the  first 
Christians  needed  none.  They  felt  that  in  saying  that  Christ  was  the 
Son  of  God,  they  were  witnessing  to  a  thousand  marvellous  and  salu- 
tary truths,  which  they  could  not  indeed  understand,  but  by  which  they 
might  gain  life,  and  for  which  they  could  dare  to  die. 

What,  then,  is  meant  by  the  "  Son  of  God  V  It  is  meant  that  our 
Lord  is  the  very  or  true  Son  of  God,  that  is.  His  Son  by  nature.  We 
are  but  called  the  sons  of  God, — we  are  adopted  to  be  sons, — but  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  is  the  Son  of  God,  really  and  by  birth,  and  He  alone 
is  such.  Hence  Scripture  calls  Him  the  Only-begotten  Son.  "  Such 
knowledge  is  too  excellent  for  "  us  ;  yet,  however  high  it  be,  we  know 
from  His  own  mouth  that  God  is  not  solitary,  if  we  may  dare  so  to 
speak,  but  that  in  His  own  incomprehensible  Essence,  in  the  perfection 
of  His  one  indivisible  and  eternal  nature,  His  Dearly-beloved  Son  has 
ever  existed  with  Him,  who  is  called  the  Word,  and  being  His  Son,  is 
partaker  in  all  the  fulness  of  His  Godhead.  "  In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  Thus 
when  the  early  Christians  used  the  title,  "  the  Son  of  God,"  they  meant, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Apostles  when  they  use  it  in  Scripture,  all  we 
mean  in  the  Creed,  when,  by  way  of  explaining  ourselves,  wc  confess 


XII.]  THE  ETERNAL  SON.  543 

Him  to  be  "  God  from  God,  Light  from  Liglit,  Very  or  True  God  from 
True  God."  For  in  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  He  must  be  whatever 
God  is,  all  holy,  all  wise,  all  powerful,  all  good,  eternal,  infinite ;  yet 
since  there  is  only  one  God,  He  must  be  at  the  same  time  not  separate 
from  God,  but  ever  one  with  and  in  Him,  one  indivisibly, — so  that  it 
would  be  as  idle  language  to  speak  of  Him  as  separated  in  essence  from 
His  Father,  as  to  say  that  our  reason,  or  intellect,  or  will,  was  separate 
from  our  minds, — as  rash  and  profane  language  to  deny  to  the  Father 
His  Only-begotten  Word,  in  whom  He  has  ever  delighted,  as  to  deny 
His  Wisdom,  or  Goodness,  or  Power,  which  also  have  been  in  and  with 
Him  from  everlasting. 

The  text  goes  on  to  say  :  "  though  He  were  a  Son,  yet  learned  He 
obedience  by  the  things  which  He  sutfered."  Obedience  belongs  to  a 
servant,  but  concurrence,  accordance,  co-operation,  are  the  character- 
istics of  a  Son.  In  His  eternal  union  with  God  there  was  no  distinc- 
tion of  will  and  work  between  Him  and  His  Father ;  as  the  Father's 
life  was  the  Son's  life,  and  the  Father's  glory  the  Son's  also,  so  the  Son 
was  the  very  Word  and  Wisdom  of  the  Father,  His  Power  and  Co- 
equal Minister  in  all  things,  the  same  and  not  the  same  as  He  Himself. 
But  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  when  He  had  humbled  Himself  to  "  the 
form  of  a  servant,"  taking  on  Himself  a  separate  will  and  a  separate 
work,  and  the  toil  and  sufferings  incident  to  a  creature,  then  what  had 
been  mere  concurrence  became  obedience.  This,  then,  is  the  force 
of  the  words,  "  Though  He  was  a  Son,  yet  had  He  experience  of  obe- 
dience." He  took  on  Him  a  lower  nature,  and  wrought  in  it  towards 
a  will  higher  and  more  perfect  than  it.  Further,  "  He  learned  obedi- 
ence amid  suffering,'"  and,  therefore,  amid  temptation.  His  mysterious 
agony  under  it  is  described  in  the  former  part  of  the  text ;  which  declares 
that  "  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,"  He  "  offered  up  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions with  strong  crying  and  tears,  u;ito  Him  that  was  able  to  save  Him 
from  dtath,  and  was  heard  in  that  He  feared."  Or,  in  the  words  of 
the  foregoing  chapter.  He  "  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  arc, 
yet  without  sin." 

I  am  only  concerned  here  in  setting  before  you  the  sacred  truth  itself, 
not  how  it  was,  or  why,  or  with  what  results.  Let  us,  then,  reverently 
consider  what  is  implied  in  it.  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh  ;  by  which 
is  meant,  not  that  he  selected  some  particular  existing  man  and  dwelt  in 
Him,  (which  in  no  sense  would  answer  to  the  force  of  those  words,  and 
which  He  condescends  to  do  continually  in  the  case  of  all  His  elect, 
through  His_^Spirit,)  but  that  He  became  what  He  was  not  before,  that 
lie  took  into  His  own  Infinite  Essence  man's  nature  itself,  in  all  its 
original  fulness,  creating  a  soul  and  body,  and,  at  the  moment  of  crea- 


644  THE  HUMILIATION   OF  [Skrm- 

tion,  making  them  His  own,  so  that  they  never  were  other  than  His, 
never  existed  by  themselves  or  except  as  in  Him,  being  properties  or 
attributes  of  Him  (to  use  defective  words,)  as  really  as  His  divine 
goodness,  or  His  eternal  Sonship,  or  His  perfect  likeness  to  the  Father. 
And,  while  thus  adding  a  new  nature  to  Himself,  He  did  not  in  any 
respect  cease  to  be  what  He  Nvas  before.  How  was  that  possible  ?  All 
the  while  He  was  on  earth,  when  He  was  conceived,  when  He  wa» 
born,  when  He  was  tempted,  on  the  cross,  in  the  grave,  and  now  at 
God's  right  hand, — all  the  time  through,  He  was  the  Eternal  and  Un- 
changeable Word,  the  Son  of  God.  The  flesh  which  he  had  assumed 
was  but  the  instrument  through  which  He  acted  for  and  towards  us. 
As  He  acts  in  creation  by  His  wisdom  and  power,  towards  Angels  by 
His  love,  towards  devils  by  His  wrath,  so  He  has  acted  for  our  redemp- 
tion through  our  own  nature,  which  in  His  great  mercy  He  attached 
to  His  own  person,  as  if  an  attribute,  simply,  absolutely,  indissolublyj 
Thus  St.  Paul  speaks, — as  in  other  places,  of  the  love  of  God,  and  the 
holiness  of  God, — so  in  one  p'ace  expressly  of  "  the  blood  of  God,"  if 
I  may  venture  to  use  such  words  out  of  the  sacred  context.  "  Feed 
the  Church  of  God,"  he  says  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  "  which  He  hath 
purchased  with  His  own  blood."*  Accordingly,  whatever  our  Lord 
said  or  did  upon  earth  was  strictly  and  literally  the  word  and  deed  of 
God  Himself.  Just  as  we  speak  of  seeing  our  friends,  though  we  do 
not  see  their  souls  but  merely  their  bodies,  so  the  Apostles,  Disciples, 
Priests,  and  Pharisees,  and  the  multitude,  all  who  saw  Christ  in  the 
flesh,  saw,  as  the  whole  earth  will  see  at  the  last  day,  the  Very  and 
Eternal  Son  of  God. 

■*>:  After  this  manner,  then,  must  be  understood  His  suffering,  tempta- 
tion, and  obedience,  not  as  if  He  ceased  to  be  what  He  had  ever  been, 
but  having  clothed  Himself  with  a  created  essence.  He  made  it  the 
instrument  of  His  humiliation  ;  He  acted  in  it,^He  obeyed  and  suf- 
fered through  it.  Do  not  we  see  among  men,  circumstances  of  a 
peculiar  kind  throw  one  of  our  own  race  out  of  himself,  so  that  he,  the 
same  man,  acts  as  if  his  usual  self  were  not  in  being,  and  he  had  fresh 
feelings  and  faculties,  for  the  occasion,  higher  or  lower  than  before  ? 
Far  be  it  from  our  thoughts  to  parallel  the  incarnation  of  the  Eternal 
Word  with  such  an  accidental  change  !  but  I  mention  it  not  to  explain 
a  IMv.-tery  (which  I  relinquished  the  thought  of  from  the  first,)  but  to 
facilitate  your  conception  of  Him  who  is  the  subject  of  it,  to  help  you 
towards  contemplating  Him  as  God  and  man  at  once,  as  still  the  Son 
of  God  though  He  had  assumed  a  nature  short  of  His  original  perfec- 
tion. That  Eternal  Mind,  which,  till  then,  had  thought  and  acted  as 
•  Acts  XI.  28. 


XII.]  THE  ETERNAL  SON.  645 

God,  began  to  think  and  act  as  a  man,  with  all  man's  faculties,  affec- 
tions, and  imperfections,  sin  excepted.  Before  he  came  on  earth  He  was 
infinitely  above  joy  and  grief,  fear  and  doubt,  pain  and  ignorance  ;  but 
afterwards  all  these  properties  and  many  more  were  his  as  fully  as  they 
are  ours.  Before  He  came  on  earth,  he  had  but  the  perfections  of  God 
but  afterwards  He  had  also  the  virtues  of  a  creature,  such  as  faith,  meek- 
ness, self-denial.  Before  he  came  on  earth  He  could  not  be  tempted  of 
evil ;  but  afterwards  He  had  a  man's  heart,  a  man's  tears,  and  a  man's 
wants  and  infirmities.  His  Divine  Nature  indeed  pervaded  His  man- 
hood,  so  that  every  deed  and  word  of  His  in  the  flesh  savoured  of  eternity 
and  infinity ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  from  the  time  he  was  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  he  had  a  natural  fear  of  danger,  a  natural  shrinking  from 
pain,  though  ever  subject  to  the  ruling  influence  of  that  Holy  and  Eter- 
nal Essence  which  was  in  Him.  For  instance,  we  read  on  one  occasion 
of  His  praying  that  the  cup  might  pass  from  Him  ;  and,  at  another, 
when  Peter  showed  surprise  at  the  prospect  of  His  crucifixion.  He  re- 
buked him  sharply  as  if  for  tempting  Him  to  murmur  and  disobey. 

Thus  He  possessed  at  once  a  double  assemblage  of  attributes,  divine 
and  human.  Still  He  was  all-powerful,  though  in  the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant ;  still  He  was  all  knowing,  though  partially  ignorant ;  still  inca- 
pable of  temptation,  though  exposed  to  it ;  and  if  any  one  stumble  at 
this,  as  not  a  mere  mystery,  but  in  the  very  form  of  language  a  contra- 
diction of  terms,  I  would  have  him  reflect  on  those  peculiarities  of 
human  nature  itself,  which  were  just  now  hinted  at.  Let  him  consider 
the  condition  of  his  own  mind,  and  see  how  hke  a  contradiction  it  is. 
Let  him  reflect  upon  the  faculty  of  memory,  and  try  to  determine 
whether  he  does  or  does  not  know  a  thing  which  he  cannot  recollect, 
or  rather,  whether  it  may  not  be  said  of  him,  that  one  self-same  person 
that  in  one  sense  he  knows  it,  in  another  he  does  not  know  it.  This 
may  serve  to  appease  his  imagination,  if  it  startles  at  the  mystery.  Or 
let  him  consider  the  state  of  an  infant,  which  seems,  indeed,  to  be  with- 
out a  soul  for  many  months,  which  seems  to  have  only  the  senses  and 
functions  of  animal  life,  yet  has,  we  know,  a  soul  which  may  even  be 
regenerated.  What,  indeed,  can  be  more  mysterious  than  the  Baptism 
of  an  infant  ?  How  strange  is  it,  yet  how  transporting  a  sight,  what  a 
source  of  meditation  is  opened  on  us,  while  we  look  upon  what  seems 
so  helpless,  so  reasonless,  and  know  that  at  that  moment  it  has  a  soul" 
so  fully  formed,  as  on  the  one  hand,  indeed,  to  be  a  child  of  wrath  ; 
and  on  the  other  (blessed  be  God)  to  be  capable  of  a  new  birth  through 
the  Spirit  ?  Who  can  say,  if  we  had  eyes  to  see,  in  what  state  that 
infant  soul  is  1  Who  can  say  it  has  not  its  energies  of  reason  and  of 
will  in  some  unknown  sphere,  quite  consistently  with  the  reahty  of  its 
Vol.  L— 35 


646  THE  HUMILIATION  OF  [Serm. 

insensibility  to  the  external  world  ?  Who  can  say  that  all  of  us,  or  at 
least  all  who  are  living  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  have  not  some  strange 
but  unconscious  life  in  God's  presence  all  the  while  we  are  here, — seeing 
what  we  do  not  know  we  see,  impressed  yet  without  power  of  reflection, 

and  this,  without  having  a  double  self  in  consequence,  and  with  an 

increase  to  us,  not  a  diminution,  of  the  practical  reality  of  our  earthly 
sojourn  and  probation  ?  Are  there  not  men  before  now  who,  like  Elisha, 
when  his  spirit  followed  Gehazi,  or  St.  Peter  when  he  announced  the 
coming  of  Sapphira's  bearers,  or  St.  Paul  when  his  presence  went  be- 
fore him  to  Corinth,*  seem  to  range  beyond  themselves,  even  while  in 
the  flesh  ?  Who  knows  where  he  is  "  in  visions  of  the  night  ?"  And 
this  being  so,  how  can  we  pronounce  it  to  be  any  contradiction  that, 
while  the  Word  of  God  was  upon  earth,  in  our  flesh,  compassed  within 
and  without  with  human  virtues  and  feelings,  with  faith  and  patience, 
fear  and  joy,  doubt,  misgivings,  infirmities,  temptations,  still  He  was, 
according  to  His  Divine  Nature,  as  from  the  first,  passing  in  thought 
from  one  end  of  heaven  even  to  the  other,  reading  all  hearts,  foreseeing 
all  events,  and  receiving  all  worship  as  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father? 
This,  indeed,  is  what  He  suggests  to  us  Himself  in  those  surprising 
words  addressed  to  Nicodemus,  which  imply  that  even  His  human 
nature  was  at  that  very  time  in  heaven  while  He  spoke  to  him.  "  No 
man  hath  ascended  up  to  heaven,  but  He  that  came  down  from  heaven, 
even  the  Son  of  man  which  is  in  heaven."-f 

To  conclude,  if  any  one  is  tempted  to  consider  such  subjects  as  the 
foregoing,  abstract,  speculative,  and  unprofitable,  I  would  observe,  in 
answer,  that  I  have  taken  it  on  the  very  ground  of  its  being,  as  I  be- 
lieve, especially  practical.  Let  it  not  be  thought  a  strange  thing  to 
say,  though  I  say  it,  that  there  is  much  in  the  religious  behef,  even  of 
the  more  serious  part  of  the  community  at  present,  to  make  observant 
men  very  anxious  where  it  will  end.  It  would  be  no  very  diflicult 
matter,  I  suspect,  to  perplex  the  faith  of  a  great  many  persons  who 
believe  themselves  to  be  orthodox,  and  indeed  are  so  according  to  their 
light.  They  have  been  accustomed  to  call  Christ,  God,  but  that  is  all ; 
they  have  not  considered  what  is  meant  by  applying  that  title  to  one 
who  was  really  a  man,  and  from  the  vague  way  in  which  they  use  it, 
they  would  be  in  no  small  danger,  if  assailed  by  a  subtle  disputant,  of 
being  rol)bcd  of  the  sacred  truth  in  its  substance,  even  if  they  kept  it 
in  name.  In  truth,  until  we  contemplate  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  God 
and  man,  as  a  really  existing  being,  external  to  our  minds,  as  complete 
and  entire  in  His  personality  as  we  appear  to  be  to  each  other,  as  one 

»  2  Kings  T.  26.     Acts  v.  9.     1  Cor.  iv.  19.  v.  3.  t  John  iii.  13. 


XII.]  THE   ETERNAL  SON.  547 

and  the  same  in  all  His  various  and  contrary  attributes,  "  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,"  we  are  using  words  which  profit  not. 
Till  then  we  do  not  realize  that  Object  of  faith,  which  is  not  a  mere 
name  on  which  titles  and  properties  may  be  affixed  without  congruity 
and  meaning,  but  has  a  personal  existence  and  an  identity  distinct  from 
every  thing  else.  In  what  true  sense  do  wc  "  know"  Him,  if  our  idea 
of  Him  be  not  such  as  to  take  up  and  incorporate  into  itself  the  mani- 
fold attributes  and  offices  which  we  ascribe  to  Him  ?  What  do  we  gain 
from  words,  however  correct  and  abundant,  if  they  end  with  themselves, 
instead  of  lighting  up  the  image  of  the  incarnate  Son  in  our  hearts  ? 
Yet  this  charge  may  too  surely  be  brought  against  the  theology  of  late 
centuries,  which,  under  the  pretence  of  guarding  against  presumption, 
denies  us  what  is  revealed  ;  like  Ahaz,  refusing  to  ask  for  a  sign,  lest 
it  should  tempt  the  Lord.  Influenced  by  it,  we  have  well  nigh  forgot- 
ten the  sacred  truth,  graciously  disclosed  for  our  support,  that  Christ  is 
the  Son  of  God  in  His  Divine  nature  as  well  as  his  human ;  we  have 
well  nigh  ceased  to  regard  Him,  after  the  pattern  of  the  Nicene  Creed, 
as  "  God  from  God,  and  Light  from  Light,"  ever  one  with  Him  yet  ever 
separate  from  Him.  We  speak  of  Him  in  a  vague  way  as  God,  which 
is  true,  but  not  the  whole  truth  ;  and,  in  consequence,  when  we  proceed 
to  consider  His  humiliation,  we  are  unable  to  carry  on  the  notion  of  His 
personality  from  heaven  to  earth.  He  who  was  but  now  spoken  of  as 
God  without  mention  of  the  Father  from  whom  He  is,  is  next  described 
as  a  creature  ;  but  how  do  these  distinct  notions  of  Him  hold  together 
in  our  minds  ?  We  are  able  to  continue  the  idea  of  a  Son  into  that  of 
a  servant,  though  the  descent  was  infinite,  and,  to  our  reason,  incom- 
prehensible ;  but  when  we  merely  speak  first  of  God,  then  of  man,  we 
seem  to  change  the  Nature  without  preserving  tlie  Person.  In  truth. 
His  Divine  Sonship  is  that  portion  of  the  sacred  doctrine  on  which  the 
mind  is  providentially  intended  to  rest  throughout,  and  so  to  preserve 
for  itself  His  identity  unbroken.  But  when  we  abandon  this  gracious 
help  afforded  to  our  faith,  how  can  we  hope  to  gain  one  true  and  simple 
vision  of  Him  ?  how  shall  we  possibly  I<  ok  beyond  our  own  words,  or 
apprehend,  in  any  sort,  what  we  say  ?  In  consequence  we  are  too  often 
led,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  in  discoursing  of  His  words  and  works,  to 
distinguish  between  the  Christ  who  lived  on  earth  and  the  Son  of  God 
Most  High,  speaking  of  His  human  nature  and  His  Divine  nature  so 
separately  as  not  to  feel  or  understand  that  God  is  man  and  man  is  God. 
I  am  speaking  of  those  of  us  who  have  learned  to  reflect,  reason,  and 
dispute,  to  inquire  and  pursue  their  thoughts,  not  of  the  incurious  or 
ilUterate,  who  are  not  exposed  to  the  temptation  in  question ;  and  of 
the  former  I  fear  I  must  say,  (to  use  the  language  of  ancient  theolog)',) 


548       THE  HUMILIATION  OF  THE  ETERNAL  SON.       [Serm.  XII. 

that  they  begin  by  being  Sabellians,  that  they  go  on  to  be  Nestorians, 
and  that  they  tend  to  be  Ebionites  and  to  deny  Christ's  divinity  alto- 
gether. Meanwhile  the  religious  world  little  thinks  whither  its  opin- 
ions are  leading ;  and  will  not  discover  that  it  is  adoring  a  mere  ab- 
stract name  or  a  vague  creation  of  the  mind  for  the  Ever-living  Son, 
till  the  defection  of  its  members  from  the  faith  startle  it,  and  teach  it 
that  the  so-called  religion  of  the  heart,  without  orthodoxy  of  doctrine, 
is  but  the  warmth  of  a  corpse,  real  for  a  time,  but  sure  to  fail. 

How  long  will  that  complicated  Error  last  under  which  our  Church 
now  labours  ?  How  long  are  human  traditions  of  modern  date  to  ob- 
scure, in  so  many  ways,  the  majestic  interpretations  of  Holy  Writ 
which  the  Church  Catholic  has  inherited  from  the  age  of  the  Apostles  1 
When  shall  we  be  content  to  enjoy  the  wisdom  and  the  pureness  which 
Christ  has  bequeathed  to  His  Church  as  a  perpetual  gift,  instead  of 
attempting  to  draw  our  creed,  each  for  himself,  as  he  best  may,  from 
the  deep  wells  of  truth  ?  Surely  in  vain  have  we  escaped  from  the 
errors  of  Rome,  if  the  worse,  because  the  more  subtle,  corruptions  of  a 
rash  and  self- trusting  philosophy  spread  over  our  faith  ! 

May  God,  even  the  Father,  give  us  a  heart  and  understanding  to 
realize,  as  well  as  to  confess  that  doctrine  into  which  we  were  baptized, 
that  His  Only-begotten  Son  our  Lord  was  conceived  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  suffered,  and  w^as  buried,  rose 
again  from  the  dead,  ascended  into  heaven,  from  whence  He  shall  come 
again  at  the  end  of  the  world,  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  ! 


v-^ 


SERMON    XIII. 


JEWISH   ZEAL,  A  PATTERN  TO   CHRISTIANS. 


Judges  v.  31. 


'  ■So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish,  O  Lord ;    but  lot  them  that  love  Him,  be  as  the 
sun  when  he  goeth  forth  in  his  might.      And  the  land  had  rest  forty  years. 

What  a  contrast  do  these  words  present  to  the  history  which  goes 
before  them  !  "  It  came  to  pass,"  says  the  sacred  writer,  "  when  Israel 
was  strong,  that  they  put  the  Canaanites  to  tribute,  and  did  not  utterly 
drive  them  out.  Neither  did  Ephraim  drive  out  the  Canaanites  that 
dwelt  in  Gezer  .  .  .  Neither  did  Zebulon  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of 
Kitron  .  .  .  Neither  did  Asher  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  Accho  .  .  . 
Neither  did  NaphtaU  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  Bethshemesh."* 
What  was  the  consequence  ?  "  And  the  children  of  Israel  did  evil  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord  and  served  Baalim  .  .  .  they  forsook  the  Lord 
and  served  Baal  and  Ashtaroth.  And  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  hot 
against  Israel,  and  He  dehvered  them  into  the  hands  of  spoilers  that 
spoiled  them,  and  He  sold  them  into  the  iiands  of  their  enemies  round 
about  .  .  .  Whithersoever  they  went  out,  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was 
against  them  for  evil,  as  the  Lord  had  said,  and  as  the  Lord  had  sworn 
unto  them ;  and  they  were  greatly  distressed."!  Here  is  the  picture 
of  indolence  and  unfaithfulness  leading  to  cowardice,  to  apostasy,  and 
to  national  ruin. 

On  the  other  hand,  consider,  by  way  of  contrast,  the  narrative  con- 
tained in  the  chapter  which  ends  with  the  text.  Ephraim  and  Benja- 
min, Machir  and  Zebulon,  Issachar  and  Naphtali,  rousing,  uniting, 
assailing  their  enemies,  and  conquering ;  conquering  in  the  strength  of 
the  Lord.  Their  long  captivity  was  as  nothing,  through  God's  great 
mercy,  when  they  turned  to  Him.  In  vain  had  their  enemies  trod  them 
•^own  to  the  ground  ;  the   Church  of  God  had  that  power  and  grace 

•  Judges  i.  28—32.  t  Judges  ii.  11—15.; 


650  JEWISH  ZEAL,  [Serk. 

within  it,  that,  whenever  it  could  be  persuaded  to  shake  off  its  lassitude 
and  rally,  it  smote  as  sharply  and  as  effectively  as  though  it  had  never 
been  bound  with  the  green  withes  and  the  new  ropes  of  the  Philistines. 
So  it  was  now.  "  Awake,  awake,  Deborah :  awake,  awake,  utter  a 
song :  arise,  Barak,  and  lead  thy  captivity  captive,  thou  son  of  Abi- 
noam."  Such  was  the  inspired  cry  of  war :  and  it  was  obeyed.  In 
consequence  the  Canaanites  were  discomfited  in  battle  and  fled  ;  "and 
the  land  had  rest  forty  years."  Here  is  a  picture  of  manly  obedience 
to  God's  will, — a  short  trial  of  trouble  and  suffering, — and  then  the 
reward,  peace. 

I  propose  now  to  make  some  remarks  upon  the  lesson  conveyed  to  us 
in  this  history,  which  extends  indeed  through  the  greater  part  of  the 
Old  Testament, — the  lesson  to  us  as  individuals ;  for  surely  it  is  with 
reference  to  our  own  duties  as  individuals,  that  we  should  read  every 
part  of  Scripture. 

What  the  Old  Testament  especially  teaches  us  is  this  : — that  zeal  is 
as  essentially  a  duty  of  all  God's  rational  creatures,  as  prayer  and 
praise,  faith  and  submission ;  and,  surely,  if  so,  especially  of  sinners 
whom  He  hus  redeemed ;  that  zeal  consists  in  a  strict  attention  to  His 
commands — a  scrupulousness,  vigilance,  heartiness,  and  punctuality 
which  bears  with  no  reasoning  or  questioning  about  them, — an  intense 
thirst  for  the  advancement  of  His  glory, — a  shrinking  from  the  pollu-^ 
tion  of  sin  and  sinners, — an  indignation,  nay  impatience,  at  witnessing 
His  honour  insulted, — a  quickness  of  feeling  when  His  name  is  men- 
tioned, and  a  jealousy  how  it  is  mentioned, — a  fulness  of  purpose,  an 
heroic  determination  to  yield  Him  service  at  whatever  sacrifice  of  per- 
sonal feeling, — an  energetic  resolve  to  push  through  all  difficulties, 
were  they  as  mountains,  when  His  eye  or  hand  but  gives  the  sign, — a 
carelessness  of  obloquy,  or  reproach,  or  persecution,  a  forgetfulness  of 
friend  and  relative,  nay  a  hatred  (so  to  say)  of  all  that  is  naturally 
dear  to  us,  when  He  says  "  Follow  Me."  These  are  some  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  zeal.  Such  was  the  temper  of  Moses,  Phinehas,  Samuel* 
David,  Elijah  ;  it  is  the  temper  enjoined  on  all  the  Israelites,  especially 
in  their  conduct  towards  the  abandoned  nations  of  Canaan.  The  text 
expresses  that  temper  in  the  words  of  Deborah  :  "  So  let  all  thine  ene- 
mies perish,  O  Lord  ;  but  let  them  that  love  Him,  be  as  the  sun  when 
he  goeth  forth  in  his  might." 

Now,  it  has  sometimes  been  said  that  the  commands  of  strenuous. 
and  stern  service  given  to  the  Israelites, — for  instance,  relative  to  their 
taking  and  keeping  possession  of  the  promised  land, — do  not  aj)ply  to  ua 
Christians.  There  can  be  no  doubt  it  is  not  our  duty  to  take  the 
sword  and   kill  the  enemies  of  God,  as  the  Jews  were  told  to  do  ;  "  Put 


XIII.]  A  PATTERN   TO  CHRISTIANS.  551 

up  again  thy  sword  into  his  place,"*  are  our  Saviour's  words  to  St ; 
Peter.  So  faj-,  then,  if  this  is  what  is  meant  by  saying  that  these  com- 
mands do  not  apply  to  us,  so  far,  doubtless,  it  is  clear  they  do  not 
apply  to  us.  But  it  does  not,  hence,  follow  that  the  temper  of  mind 
which  they  pre-suppose  and  foster  is  not  required  of  us ;  else,  surely, 
the  Jewish  history  is  no  longer  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for 
correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness.  St.  Peter  was  blamed,  not 
for  his  zeal,  but  for  his  use  of  the  sword. 

Man's  duty,  perfection,  happiness,  have  always  been  one  and  the 
same.  He  is  not  a  different  being  now  from  what  he  ever  was ;  he 
has  always  been  commanded  the  same  duties.  What  was  the  holiness 
of  an  Israelite  is  still  the  holiness  of  a  Christian,  though  the  Christian 
has  far  higher  privileges  and  aids  for  perfection.  The  Saints  of  God 
have  ever  lived  by  faith,  and  walked  in  the  way  of  justice,  mercy,  truth, 
self-mastery,  and  love.  It  is  impossible,  then,  that  all  these  duties  im- 
posed on  the  Israelites  of  driving  out  their  enemies,  and  taking  and 
keeping  possession  of  the  promised  land,  should  not  in  some  sense  or 
other  apply  to  us  ;  for  it  is  clear,  they  were  not  in  their  case  mere  acci- 
dents of  obedience,  but  went  to  form  a  certain  inward  character,  and 
as  clear  is  it  that  our  hearts  must  be  as  the  heart  of  Moses  or  David,  if 
we  would  be  saved  through  Christ. 

This  is  quite  evident,  if  we  attentively  examine  the  Jewish  history 
and  the  divine  commands  which  are  the  principles  of  it.  For  these 
commands,  which  some  persons  have  said  do  not  apply  to  us,  are  so 
many  and  varied,  and  repeated  at  so  many  and  diverse  times,  that  they 
certainly  must  have  formed  a  peculiar  character  in  the  heart  of  the  obedi- 
ent Israelite,  and  were  much  more  than  an  outward  form  and  a  sort  of 
ceremonial  service.  They  are  so  abundant  throughout  the  Old  Testament, 
that,  unless  they  in  some  way  apply  to  us,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  is 
its  direct  use,  at  this  day,  in  the  way  of  precept  ;  and  this  is  the  very 
conclusion  which  these  same  persons  often  go  on  to  draw.  They  are 
willing  to  rid  themselves  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  they  say  that 
Christians  are  not  concerned  in  it,  and  that  the  Jews  were  almost 
barbarians  ;  whereas  St.  Paul  tells  us,  that  the  Jewish  history  is  "  writ- 
ten for  our  admonition  and  our  learning."! 

Let  us  consider  some  of  the  commands  I  have  referred  to,  and  the 
terms  in  which  they  are  conveyed.  For  instance,  that  for  the  extirpa- 
tion of  the  devoted  nations  from  the  land  of  Canaan.  "  When  the 
Lord  thy  God  shall  bring  thee  into  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  pos- 
sess it,  .  .  .  thou  shalt  smite  "  the  nations  that  possess  it,  "and  utterly 

*  Matt.  xxvi.  52.  t  1  Cor.  x.  H.     Rom.  xv.  4. 


652  JEWISH  ZEAL.  [Serm. 

destroy  them  ;  thou  shalt  make  no  covenant  with  them,  nor  show 
mercy  unto  them  ;  neither  shalt  thou  make  marriages  with  them  .... 
Ye  shall  destroy  their  altars,  and  break  down  their  images,  and  cut 
down  their  groves,  and  burn  down  their  graven  images  with  fire.  .  .  . 
Thou  shalt  consume  all  the  people  which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  de- 
liver thee ;  thine  eye  shall  have  no  pity  upon  them."* 

Next  observe,  this  merciless  temper,  as  profane  people  would  call  it, 
but  as  well-instructed  Christians  say,  this  Godly  zeal,  was  enjoined 
upon  them  under  far  more  distressing  circumstances,  viz.  the  trans- 
gressions  of  their  own  relations  and  frfends.  "  If  thy  brother,  the  son 
of  thy  mother,  or  thy  son,  or  thy  daughter,  or  the  wife  of  thy  bosom,  or 
thy  friend  which  is  as  thine  own  soul,  entice  thee  secretly,  saying.  Let 

us  go  and  serve  other  gods Thou  shalt  not  consent  unto  him, 

nor  hearken  unto  him,  neither  shall  thine  eye  pity  him,  neither  shalt  thou 
spare,  neither  shalt  thou  conceal  them.  But  thou  shalt  surely  kill  him. 
Thine  hand  shall  be  first  upon  him  to  put  him  to  death,  and  afterwards  the 
hand  of  all  the  people. "f  Now,  doubtless,  we  at  this  day  are  not  to  put 
men  to  death  for  idolatry  ;  but,  doubtless  also,  whatever  temper  of  mind 
the  fulfilment  of  this  command  implied  in  the  Jew,  such,  essentially,  must 
be  our  temper  of  mind,  whatever  else  it  may  be  also  ;  for  God  cannot 
speak  two  laws,  He  cannot  love  two  characters, — good  is  good,  and  evil  is 
evil,  and  the  law  He  gave  to  the  Jews  was,  in  its  substance,  "  perfect, 
converting  the  soul ;  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  sure,  making  wise  the 
simple;  the  statutes  of  the  Lord  right,  rejoicing  the  heart ;  the  command- 
ment of  the  Lord  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes ;  .  .  .  .  more  to  be  desired 
than  gold,  yea  than  much  fine  gold ;  sweeter  also  than  honey  and  the 
honeycomb.  Moreover,"  as  the  Psalmist  proceeds,  "  by  them  is  Thy 
servant  taught,  and  in  keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward.":}: 

A  self-mastering  fearless  obedience  was  another  part  of  this  same 
religious  temper  enjoined  on  the  Jews,  and  still  incumbent,  as  I  dare 
affirm,  on  us  Christians.  "  Be  5^6  very  courageous  to  keep  and  to  do 
all  that  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses.-'§  It  required  an 
exceeding  moral  courage  in  the  Jews  to  enable  them  to  go  straight 
forward,  seduced  neither  by  their  feelings  nor  their  reason. 

Nor  was  the  severe  temper  under  review  a  duty  in  the  early  ages  of 
Judaism  only.  The  book  of  Psalms  was  written  at  different  times,  be- 
tween David's  age  and  the  captivity,  yet  it  plainly  breathes  the  same 
hatred  of  sin,  and  opposition  to  sinners.  I  will  but  cite  one  text  from 
the  hundredth  and  thirty-ninth  Psalm.     "  Do  not  I  hate  them,  O  Lord, 

•  Deut.  vii.  1—5.  16.  t  Deut.  xiii.  6—9, 

J  Pa.  lix.  7,  8.  10,  1 1.  §  Josh,  xxiii.  6. 


XIII.]  A  PATTERN  TO  CHRISTIANS.  558 

that  hate  Thee  ?  and  am  not  I  grieved  with  those  that  rise  up  against 
Thee  ?  I  hate  them  with  perfect  hatred  ;  I  count  them  mine  enemies." 
And  then  the  inspired  writer  proceeds  to  lay  open  his  soul  before  God, 
as  if  conscious  he  had  but  expressed  feelings  which  He  would  approve. 
"  Search  me,  0  God,  and  know  my  heart ;  try  me,  and  know  my 
thoughts,  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in  the 
way  everlasting." 

Further  still,  after  the  return  from  the  captivity,  after  the  Prophets  had 
enlarged  the  compass  of  Divine  Revelation,  and  purified  and  heightened 
the  religious  knowledge  of  the  nation,  still  this  rigid  and  austere  zeal 
was  enjoined  and  enforced  in  all  its  ancient  vigour  by  Ezra.  The 
Jews  set  about  a  reformation  ;  and  what  was  its  most  remarkable  act  ? 
Let  us  attend  to  the  words  of  Ezra  :  "The princes  came  to  me,  saying. 
The  people  of  Israel,  and  the  priests,  and  the  Levites  have  not  separat- 
ed themselves  from  the  people  of  the  lands  ;  for  they  have  taken  of  their 
daughters  for  themselves  and  for  their  sons  ;  so  that  the  holy  seed  have 
mingled  themselves  with  the  people  of  those  lands  ;  yea,  the  hand  of 
the  princess  and  rulers  hath  been  cliief  in  this  trespass."  Now  let  me 
stop  to  ask  what  would  most  likely  be  the  conduct  of  a  temporizing 
Christian  of  this  day,  had  he,  in  that  day,  been  in  Ezra's  place  ?  He 
would,  doubtless,  have  said  that  such  marriages  were  quite  unjustifiable 
certainly,  but  now  that  they  were  made,  there  was  no  remedy  for  it  ; 
that  they  must  be  hindered  in  future  ;  but,  in  the  existing  instances,  the 
evil  being  done  could  not  be  undone ; — and,  besides,  the  great  men  were 
involved  in  the  sin,  whom  it  was  impossible  to  interfere  with.  This  he 
would  have  said,  I  think,  though  the  prohibition  of  Moses  seemed  to 
make  such  marriages  null  and  void  from  the  first.  Now,  I  do  not  say 
that  every  one  ought  to  have  done  what  Ezra  did,  for  he  was  super- 
naturally  directed ;  but  would  the  course  he  adopted  have  ever  entered 
into  the  mind  of  men  of  this  day,  or  can  they  even  understand  or  ac- 
quiesce in  it,  now  that  they  know  it  ?  for  what  did  he  1  "  And  when  I 
heard  this  thing,"  he  says,  "  I  rent  my  garment  and  my  mantle,  and 
plucked  off  the  hair  of  my  head,  and  of  my  beard,  and  sat  down  aston- 
ished. Then  were  assembled  unto  me  every  one  that  trembled  at  the 
words  of  the  God  of  Israel,  because  of  the  transgression  of  those  that  had 
been  carried  away,  and  I  sat  astonished  until  the  evening  sacrifice."* 
Then  he  offered  a  confession  and  intercession  in  behalf  of  the  people ; 
then  at  length  he  and  the  people  came  to  a  decision ;  which  was  no 
other  than  this, — to  command  all  persons,  who  had  married  foreign 
wives,  to  put  them  away.     He  undid  the  evil,  as  well  as  hindered  it  in 

*  Ezra  ix.  3,  4. 


554  JEWISH  ZEAL,  [Serjt, 

future.     T\liat  an  act  of  self-denying  zeal  was  this   in  a  multitude  of 
people ! 

These  are  some,  out  of  many  instances  which  might  be  brought  from 
the  Jewish  history,  in  proof  of  the  duty  of  strict  and  severe  loyalty  to 
God  and  His  revealed  will ;  and  I  here  adduce  them,  first,  to  show  that 
the  commands  involving  it  could  not,  (their  number  and  variety  are  so 
great,)  could  not  have  related  to  a  merely  outward  and  ceremonial 
obedience,  but  must  have  wrought  in  the  Jews  a  certain  temper  of 
mind,  pleasing  to  God,  and  therefore  necessary  for  us  also  to  possess. 
Next,  I  deduce  from  that  same  circumstance  of  their  number  and  va- 
riety, that  they  must  be  binding  on  us,  else  the  Old  Testament  would' 
be  but  a  shadow  of  a  revelation  or  law  to  the  Christian. 

I  wish  to  insist  on  the  lesson  supplied  merely  by  the  Old  Testament^ 
and  will  not  introduce  into  the  argument  the. consideration  of  the  Apos- 
tle's doctrine,  which  is  quite  in  accordance  with  it.  Yet  it  may  be 
right,  briefly,  to  refer  to  the  sinless  pattern  of  our  Lord,  and  to  what  is 
told  us  of  the  holy  inhabitants  of  heaven,  in  order  to  show  that  the 
temper  of  mind  enjoined  on  the  Jews  belongs  to  those  who  are  in  a  state 
of  being  superior  to  us,  as  well  as  to  those  who  were  living  under  a  de- 
fective and  temporary  Dispensation.  There  was  an  occasion  when  our 
Lord  is  expressly  said  to  have  taken  upon  Him  the  zeal  which  consumed 
David.  "  Jesus  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  found  in  the  Temple  those 
that  sold  oxen,  and  sheep,  and  doves,  and  the  changers  of  money,  sitting  ; 
and  when  He  had  made  a  scourge  of  small  cords.  He  drove  them  all  out 
of  the  Temple,  and  the  sheep,  and  the  oxen  ;  and  poured  out  the  chang- 
er's  money,  and  overthrew  the  tables."  Surely,  unless  we  had  this  ac- 
count given  us  by  an  inspired  writer,  we  should  not  have  believed  it  T 
Influenced  by  notions  of  our  own  devising,  we  should  have  said,  this 
zealous  action  of  our  Lord  was  quite  inconsistent  with  His  merciful, 
meek,  and  (what  may  be  called)  His  majestic  and  serene  temper  of 
mind.  To  put  aside  form,  to  dispense  with  the  ministry  of  His  attendant 
Angels,  to  act  before  He  had  spoken  His  displeasure,  to  use  His  own 
hand,  to  hurry  to  and  fro,  to  be  a  servant  iti  the  work  of  purification, 
•surely  this  must  have  arisen  from  a  fire  of  indignation  at  witnessing 
His  Father's  House  insulted,  which  Ave  sinners  cannot  understand. 
But  any  how,  it  is  but  the  perfection  of  that  temper  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  encouraged  and  exemplified  in  the  Jewish  Church.  That 
energy,  decision,  and  severity  which  Moses  enjoined  on  his  people,  is 
manifested  in  Christ  Himself,  and  is,  therefore,  undeniably  a  duty  of 
man  as  such,  whatever  be  his  place  or  attainments  in  the  scale  of  human 
nature. 

Such  is  the  pattern  aflbrded  us  by  our  Lord  ;  to  which  add  the   ex- 


XIII]  A  PATTERN  TO  CHRISTIANS.  555 

ample  of  the  Angels  which  surround  Him.  Surely  in  Him  is  mingled, 
"  goodness  and  severity  ;"  such  therefore,  are  all  holy  creatures,  loving 
and  severe.  We  read  of  their  thoughts  and  desires  in  the  Apocalypse, 
"  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  Him,  for  the  hour  of  His  judgment  is 
come."  Again,  "  Thou  art  righteous,  O  Lord,  which  art,  and  wast, 
and  shall  be,  because  Thou  hast  judged  thus.  For  they  have  shed  the 
blood  of  saints  and  prophets,  and  Thou  hast  given  them  blood  to  drink, 
for  they  are  worthy."  And  again,  "  Even  so,  Lord  God  Almighty, 
true  and  righteous  are  thy  judgments."  Once  more,  "  Her  sins  have 
reached  unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  remembered  her  iniquities.  Re- 
ward her  even  as  she  rewarded  you,  and  double  unto  her  double 
according  to  her  works  ;"* — all  which  passages  imply  a  deep  and 
solemn  acquiescence  in  God's  judgments. 

Thus  a  certain  fire  of  zeal,  showing  itself,  not  by  force  and  blood, 
but  as  really  and  certainly  as  if  it  did, — cutting  through  natural  feel- 
ings, neglecting  self,  preferring  God's  glory  to  all  things,  firmly  resist- 
ing sin,  protesting  against  sinners,  and  steadily  contemplating  their 
punishment,  is  a  duty  belonging  to  all  creatures  of  God,  a  duty  of 
Christians,  in  the  midst  of  all  that  excellent  overflowing  charity  which 
is  the  highest  Gospel  grace,  and  the  fulfilling  of  the  second  table  of 
the  Law. 

And  such,  in  fact,  has  ever  been  the  temper  of  the  Christian  Church  ; 
in  evidence  of  which  I  need  but  appeal  to  the  impressive  fact,  that  the 
Jewish  Psalter  has  been  the  standard  book  of  Christian  devotion  from 
the  first  down  to  this  day.  I  wish  we  thought  more  of  this  circum- 
stance. Can  any  one  doubt  that,  supposing  that  blessed  manual  of 
faith  and  love  had  never  been  in  use  among  us,  great  numbers  of  the 
present  generation  would  have  clamoured  against  it  as  unsuitable  to 
express  Christian  feelings, — as  deficient  in  charity  and  kindness  T 
Nay,  do  we  not  know,  though  I  dare  say  it  may  surprise  many  a  sober 
Christian  to  hear  that  it  is  so,  that  there  are  men  at  this  moment  who 
(I  hardly  like  to  mention  it)  wish  parts  of  the  Psalms  left  out  of  the 
Service  as  ungentle  and  harsh  ?  Alas  !  that  men  of  this  day  should 
rashly  put  their  own  judgment  in  competition  with  that  of  all  the 
Saints  of  every  age  hitherto  since  Christ  came, — should  virtually  say, 
"  either  they  have  been  wrong  or  «?e  are,"  thus  forcing  us  to  decide 
between  the  two.  Alas !  that  they  should  dare  to  criticise  the  words  of 
inspiration.  Alas  !  that  they  should  follow  the  steps  of  the  backsliding 
Israelites,  and  shrink  from  siding  with  the  Truth   in  its  struggle  witli- 

•  Rev.  xiv.  7.     xvi.  5 — 7.     xviii.  5,  6. 


556  '  JEWISH  ZEAL,  [Sbrm. 

the  world,  instead  of  saying  with  Deborah,  "  So  let  all  Thine  enemies 
perish,  O  Lord  !" 

Now  I  shall  make  a  few  observations  in  conclusion,  with  a  view  of 
showing  how  meekness  and  charity  are  compatible  with  this  austere 
and  valiant  temper  of  the  Christian  soldier. 

1.  Of  course  it  is  absolutely  sinful  to  have  any  private  enmities. 
Not  the  bitterest  personal  assaults  upon  us  should  induce  us  to  retaliate. 
We  must  do  good  for  evil,  "  love  those  who  hate,  bless  those  who  curse 
us,  and  pray  for  those  who  despitefully  use  us."  It  is  only  when  it  is 
impossible  at  once  to  be  kind  to  them  and  give  glory  to  God,  that  we 
may  cease  to  act  kindly  towards  them.  When  David  speaks  of  hating 
God's  enemies,  it  was  under  circumstances  when  keeping  friends  with 
them  would  have  been  a  desertion  of  the  Truth.  St.  James  says» 
"  Know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with  God  ?"* 
and  so,  on  the  other  hand,  devotion  to  God's  cause  is  enmity  with  the 
world.  But  no  personal  feeling  must  intrude  itself  in  any  case.  We 
hate  sinners,  by  putting  them  out  of  our  sight  as  if  they  were  not,  by 
annihilating  them  in  our  affections.  And  this  we  must  do  even  in  the 
case  of  our  friends  and  relations,  if  God  requires  it.  But  in  no  case 
are  we  to  allow  ourselves  in  resentment  or  malice. 

2.  Next,  it  is  quite  compatible  with  the  most  earnest  zeal,  to  offer 
kind  offices  to  God's  enemies  when  in  distress.  I  do  not  say  that 
denial  of  these  offices  may  not  be  a  duty  ordinarily  ;  for  it  is  our  duty, 
as  St.  John  tells  us  in  his  second  Epistle,  not  even  to  receive  them  into 
our  houses.  But  the  case  is  very  different  where  men  are  brought  into 
extremity.  God  "  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the 
good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust."t  We  must  go 
and  do  likewise,  imitating  the  good  Samaritan  ;  and  as  he  thought  no- 
thing of  difference  of  nations  when  a  Jew  was  in  distress,  in  like  man- 
ner we  must  not  take  account  of  wilful  heresy,  or  profaneness,  in  such 
circumstances. 

3.  And  further,  the  Christian  keeps  aloof  from  sinners  in  order  to 
do  them  good.  He  does  so  in  the  truest  and  most  enlarged  charity. 
It  is  a  narrow  and  weak  feeling  to  please  a  man  here,  and  to  endanger 
his  soul.  A  true  friend  is  he  who  speaks  out,  and,  when  a  man  sins, 
shows  him  that  he  is  displeased  at  the  sin.  He  who  sets  up  no  witncs.s 
against  his  friend's  sin,  is  "  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds.":|:  The  Psalmist 
speaks  in  this  spirit,  when  after  praying  to  God  "  to  persecute"  the 
ungodly  "  with  His  tempest,"  he  adds,  "  fill  their  faces  with  shame,  that 
they  may  seek  Thy  name,  O  Lord."§ 

*  James  iv.  4.  t  Matt.  v.  45.  t  2  John  11.  §  Ps.lxixiu.  16. 


XIIL]  A  PATTERN  TO  CHRISTIANS.  557 

Accordingly,  the  more  zealous  a  Christian  is,  therefore  is  he  the  more 
charitable.  The  Israelite,  when  he  entered  Canaan,  was  told  to  spare 
neither  old  nor  young  ;  the  weak  and  the  infirm  were  to  be  no  exception 
in  the  list  of  victhns  whose  blood  was  to  be  shed.  "  Of  the  cities  of 
these  people,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  doth  give  thee  for  an  inheritance, 
thou  shalt  save  alive  nothing  that  breatheth."*  Accordingly,  when  the 
people  fought  against  Sihon,  they  "  took  all  his  cities  at  that  time,  and 
utterly  destroyed  the  men,  and  the  women,  and  the  little  ones  of  every 
city,"  they  left  none  to  remain. "f  And  when  Jericho  was  taken,  they 
utterly  destroyed  all  that  was  in  the  city,  both  man  and  woman,  young 
and  old,  and  ox,  and  sheep,  and  ass,  with  the  edge  of  the  sword. "^ 
What  an  awful  office  was  this,  what  an  unutterably  heart-piercing  task, 
almost  enough  to  make  a  man  frantic,  except  as  upheld  by  the  power 
of  Him  who  gave  the  command  !  Yet  Moses,  thus  severely  mindcdjto 
do  God's  will,  was  the  meekest  of  men.  Samuel  too,  who  sent  Saul 
to  slay  in  Amalek  "  man  and  woman,  infant  and  suckling,  ox  and  sheep, 
camel  and  ass,"  was  from  his  youth  up  the  wise  and  heavenly-minded 
guide  and  prophet  of  Israel.  David,  who  had  a  fiery  zeal  so  as  even 
to  consume  him,  was  (as  we  see  by  his  Psalms)  most  tender-hearted  and 
gentle  in  his  feelings  and  thoughts.  Doubtless  while  the  servants  of 
God  executed  His  judgments,  they  still  could  bend  in  pity  and  in  hope 
over  the  young  and  old  whom  they  slew  with  the  sword, — merciful  amid 
their  severity  ; — an  unspeakable  trial,  doubtless,  of  faith  and  self-mas- 
tery, and  requiring  a  very  exalted  and  refined  spirit  successfully  to  un- 
dergo. Doubtless,  as  they  slew  those  who  suffered  for  the  sins  of  their 
fathers,  their  thoughts  turned,  first  to  the  fall  of  Adam,  next  to  that 
unseen  state  where  all  inequalities  are  righted,  and  they  surrendered 
themselves  as  instruments  unto  the  Lord,  of  mysteriously  working  out 
good  through  evil. — And  shall  we  faint  at  our  far  lesser  trials  when  they 
bore  the  greater  ?  Spared  the  heavy  necessity  of  piercing  with  the 
spear  of  Phinehas,  and  of  hewing  Agag  in  Gilgal, — allowed  to  take 
instead  of  inflicting  suffering,  and  to  "  make  a  difference"  instead  of 
an  indiscriminate  severity, — shall  we,  like  cowards,  shrink  from  bearing 
our  lighter  burdens,  which  our  Lord  commands,  and  in  which  He  set  us 
the  pattern  ?  Shall  we  be  perversely  persuaded  by  the  appearance  of 
amiableness  or  kindness  in  those  whom  God's  word  bids  us  depart  from 
as  heretics,  or  profligate  livers,  or  troublers  of  the  Church?  Joseph 
could  speak  strangely  to  his  brethren  and  treat  them  as  spies,  put  one 
i  of  them  in  prison  and  demand  another  from  Canaan,  while  he  hardly 
I  refrained  himself  in  doing  so,  and  his  bowels  yearned  over  them  ;  and 

•  Deut.  XI.  16.  t  Dcut.  ii.  34.  t  Josh.  vi.  21. 


658  JEWISH  ZEAL,  &c.  [Skrm.  XIII. 

by  turns  he  punished  them  and  wept  for  them.  0  that  there  was  in 
us  this  high  temper  of  mingled  austerity  and  love  !  Barely  do  we  con- 
ceive of  severity  by  itself,  and  of  kindness  by  itself ;  but  who  unites 
them  ?  We  think  we  cannot  be  kind  enough  without  ceasing  to  be  se- 
vere.  Who  is  there  that  walks  through  the  world  wounding  according 
to  the  rule  of  zeal,  and  scattering  balm  freely  in  the  fulness  of  love  ; 
smiting  as  a  duty,  and  healing  as  a  privilege ;  loving  most  when  he 
seems  sternest,  and  embracing  them  most  tenderly  whom  in  semblance 
he  treats  roughly  ?  What  a  state  we  are  in,  when  any  one  who  re- 
hearses the  plain  threats  of  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  against  sinners, 
or  ventures  to  defend  the  anathemas  of  His  Church,  is  thought  unfeel- 
ing rather  than  merciful  ;  when  they  who  separate  from  the  irreligious 
world  are  blamed  as  fanciful  and  extravagant,  and  those  who  confess 
the  truth,  as  it  is  m  Jesus,  are  said  to  be  bitter,  hot  of  head,  and  intem- 
perate !  Yet,  with  God's  grace,  with  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament 
before  us,  and  the  fearful  recompense  to  warn  us  which  came  upon 
backsliding  Israel,  we,  the  Ministers  of  Christ,  dare  not  keep  silence 
amid  this  great  error.  In  behalf  of  Christ,  our  Saviour  and  Lord,  who 
yielded  up  His  precious  life  for  us,  and  now  feeds  us  with  His  own  blood 
for  the  sake  of  the  souls  whom  He  has  redeemed,  and  whom,  by  a  false 
and  cruel  charity,  the  world  would  keep  in  ignorance  and  sin, — we 
cannot  refrain ;  and  if  His  Holy  Spirit  be  with  us,  as  we  trust  He  is, 
whatever  betides,  whatever  is  coming  on  this  country,  speak  the  truth 
we  will,  and  overcome  in  our  speaking  we  must  ;  for  He  has  given  ua 
to  overcome  ! 


SERMON   XIV 


SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY. 


Prov.  iv.  24— 27. 


Put  away  from  thee  a  froward  mouth,  and  perverse  lips,  put  far  from  thee.  Let 
thine  eyes  look  right  on,  and  let  thine  eye-lids  look  straight  before  thee.  Ponder 
the  path  of  thy  feet,  and  let  all  thy  ways  be  established.  Turn  not  to  the  right 
hand  nor  to  the  left :  remove  thy  foot  from  evil. 

Precepts  such  as  these  come  home  with  the  force  of  truth,  even  to 
minds  which  fain  would  resist  them,  from  their  seriousness  and  practical 
wisdom,  putting  aside  the  authority  of  inspiration.  At  no  time  and 
under  no  circumstances  are  they  without  their  appHcation  ;  at  the  pre- 
sent time,  when  reHgious  unity  and  peace  are  so  lamentably  disregarded, 
and  novel  doctrines  and  new  measures  alone  are  popular,  they  naturally 
remind  us  of  the  duty  of  obedience  to  the  Church,  and  of  the  sin  of 
departing  from  it,  or  what  our  Litany  prays  against  under  the  name  of 
*'  heresy  and  schism."  It  may  seem  out  of  place  to  speak  of  this  sin 
here,  because  those  who  commit  it  are  not  likely  to  be  in  Church  to  pro- 
fit by  what  might  be  said  about  it ;  yet  the  commission  of  it  affects  even 
those  who  do  not  commit  it,  by  making  them  indifferent  to  it.  For 
this  reason,  and  because  it  is  right  that  even  such  persons  as  are  firmest 
in  their  adherence  to  the  Church  should  know  why  they  adhere  to  it,  I 
will  consider  some  of  the  popular  objections  which  are  made  to  such 
adherence,  by  those  who  account  it,  not  sinful  indeed,  (though  many  go 
even  this  length,)  but  unnecessary. 

You  know  time  was  when  there  was  but  one  vast  body  of  Christians, 
called  the  Church,  throughout  the  world.  It  was  found  in  every  country 
where  the  name  of  Christ  was  named  ;  it  was  every  where  governed  in 
the  same  way  by  Bishops  ;  it  was  every  where  descended  from  the 
Apostles  through  the  line  of  those  Bishops  ;  and  it  was  every  where  in 
perfect  peace  and  unity  together,  branch  with  branch,  all  over  the  world. 
Thus  it  fulfilled  the  prophecy  :  "Jerusalem  is  builded  as  a  city  that  is 
compact  together  ;  for  there  are  set  Thrones  of  judgment,  the  Thrones  of 


560  SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY.  [Serit^ 

the  House  of  David."*  There  were,  indeed,  separatists  and  dissenters- 
then  as  now,  but  they  were  many  and  various,  not  one  body  Hke  the 
Church  ;  they  were  short-Uved,  had  a  beginning  after  the  Apostles,  and  ^ 
came  to  an  end,  first  one  and  then  another.  But  now  all  this  beauty  oF 
Jerusalem  is  miserably  defaced.  That  vast  Catholic  body,  "  the  Holy 
Church  throughout  all  the  world,''  is  broken  into  many  fragments  by  the 
power  of  the  Devil ;  just  as  some  huge  barrier  cliff  which  once  boldly 
fronted  the  sea  is  at  length  cleft,  parted,  overthrown  by  the  waves. 
Some  portions  of  it  are  altogether  gone,  and  those  that  remain  are  sepa- 
rated from  each  other.  We  are  the  English  Catholics  ;  abroad  are  the 
Roman  Catholics,  some  of  whom  are  also  among  ourselves  ;  elsewhere 
are  the  Greek  Catholics,  and  so  on.  And  thus  we  stand  in  this  day  of 
rebuke  and  blasphemy, — clinging  to  our  own  portion  of  the  Ancient  Rock 
which  the  waters  are  roaring  round  and  would  fain  overflow, — trusting^ 
in  God, — looking  for  the  dawn  of  day,  which  "  will  at  length  come 
and  will  not  tarry,"  when  God  will  save  us  from  the  rising  floods,  if  we 
have  courageously  kept  our  footing  where  He  has  placed  us,  neither 
yielding  to  the  violence  of  the  waves  which  sweep  over  us,  nor  listening 
to  the  crafty  invitations  of  those  who  offer  us  an  escape  in  vessels  not  of 
God's  building. 

Now  I  am  going  to  notice  and  refute  some  of  the  bad  arguments  by 
which  the  children  of  this  world  convey  their  invitation. 

1.  First  they  say,  "  Why  keep  so  strictly  to  one  body  of  Christiar 
when  there  are  so  many  other  bodies  also, — so  many  denominations, 
many  persuasions, — all  soldiers  of  Christ,  like  so  many  different  armies,'' 
all  advancing  in  one  cause  against  one  enemy  1  Surely  this  exclusive 
attachment  to  one  party,"  so  they  speak  "  to  the  neglect  of  other  Chris- 
tians who  profess  a  like  doctrine,  and  only  differ  in  forms,  is  the  sign 
of  a  narrow  and  illiberal  mind.  Christianity  is  a  universal  gift ;  why 
then  limit  its  possession  to  one  set  of  men  and  one  kind  of  Church  go- 
vernment, instead  of  allowing  all  who  choose  to  take  it  to  themselves 
in  any  way  they  please  V 

Now  surely,  those  who  thus  speak  should  begin  with  answering  Scrip- 
ture, not  questioning  us ;  for  Scripture  certainly  recognizes  but  "  one 
body"  of  Christians  as  explicitly  as  "one  Spirit,  one  faith,  one  Lord,  and 
one  God  and  Father  of  all."f  As  far  as  the  text  of  Scripture  goes,  it  is 
as  direct  a  contradiction  of  it  to  speak  of  more  than  one  body,  as  to 
speak  of  more  than  one  Spirit.  On  the  other  hand.  Scripture  altogether 
contemplates  the  existence  of  persuasions,  as  they  are  called,  round  about 
this  one  body,  for  it  speaks  of  them  ;  but  it  does  not  hint  ever  so  faintly 

»  Pb.  cxxii.  3.  5.  t  Eph.  iv.  4—6. 


XIV.]  SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY.  561 

that,  because  they  exist,  therefore  they  must  be  acknowledged.  So 
much  the  contrary,  that  it  says,  "  There  must  be  heresies,"  that  is,  pri- 
vate persuasions,  self-formed  bodies,  "  amor^  you,  that  they  which  are 
approved  may  be  mado  manifest  among  you."  Again,  "A  man  that  is 
a  heretic,"  that  is,  one  who  adopts  some  opinion  of  his  own  in  religious 
matters,  and  gets  about  him  followers,  "  after  the  first  and  second  admo- 
nition,  reject."  And  again  "  Mark  them  which  cause  divisions,  and  avoid 
them."t  Now,  we  are  of  those  who,  in  accordance  with  these  direc- 
tions, have  ever  kept  clear  of  such  human  doctrines  and  private  opinions, 
adhering  to  that  one  Body  Catholic  which  alone  was  founded  by  the 
Apostles,  and  will  last  till  the  end  of  all  things.  And  it  is  surely  better 
thus  implicitly  to  believe  and  obey  God's  voice  in  Scripture,  than  to 
reason  ;  it  is  more  tolerable  to  be  called  narrow-minded  by  man,  than  to 
be  pronounced  self-wise  and  self-sufficient  by  God  ;  it  is  happier  to  be 
thought  over-scrupulous,  with  the  Bible,  than  to  have  the  world's  praise 
for  liberality  without  it. 

But  again,  who  is  bold  enough  to  say  that  "  it  would  be  a  narrow  and 
niggardly  appointment,  were  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  stored  up  in  one 
body  or  set  of  persons  to  the  exclusion  of  others  ?"  Let  him  see  to  it, 
how  he  opposes  God's  universal  scheme  of  providence  which  we  see 
before  our  eyes.  Christianity  is  a  blessing  for  the  whole  earth, — grant- 
ed ;  but  it  does  not  therefore  follow  (to  judge  from  what  we  otherwise 
know  of  God's  dealings  with  us)  that  none  have  been  specially  commis- 
sioned to  dispense  the  blessing.  Mercies  given  to  multitudes  are  not 
less  mercies  because  they  flow  from  particular  sources.  Indeed,  most  of 
the  great  appointments  of  Divine  goodness  are  marked  by  this  very 
character  of  what  men  call  exdusiveness.  God  distributes  numberless 
benefits  to  all  men,  but  He  docs  so  through  a  fcAv  select  instruments. 
The  few  are  favoured  for  the  good  of  the  many.  Wealth,  power,  gifts 
of  mind,  learning,  all  tend  towards  the  welfare  of  the  community ;  yet, 
for  all  that,  they  are  not  given  at  once  to  all,  but  channelled  out  to  the 
many  through  the  few.  And  so  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  are  open  to 
the  whole  world,  as  freely  given  as  light  or  fire ;  yet  even  light  has  had 
its  own  receptacle  since  the  fourth  day  of  Creation,  and  fire  has  been 
hidden  in  the  flinty  rock,— as  if  to  show  us  that  the  light  and  fire  of  our 
souls  are  not  gained  without  the  use  of  means,  nor  except  from  special 
sources. 

Again,  as  to  the  Ministerial  Succession  being  a  form,  and  adherence 
to  it  a  form,  it  can  only  be  called  a  form  because  we  do  not  sec  its 
effects ;    did  any  thing  visible  attend  it,  we  should  no  longer  call  it  a 

t  1  Cor.  li.  19  ;  Tit.  iii.  10  ;  Rom.  ivi.  17. 
Vol.  I.— 36 


II 


662  SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH   AUTHORITY.  [Skem. 

form.  Did  a  miracle  always  follow  a  baptism  or  a  return  into  the 
Church,  who  would  any  longer  call  it  a  form  1  that  is,  we  call  it  a  form, 
only  so  long  as  we  refuse  to  walk  hy  faith,  which  dispenses  with  things 
visible.  Faith  sees  things  not  to  be  forms,  if  commanded,  which  seem 
like  forms ;  it  reahzes  consequences.  Men  ignorant  in  the  sciences 
would  predict  no  result  from  chemical  and  the  like  experiments  ;  they 
would  count  them  a  form  and  a  pretence.  What  is  prayer  but  a  forml 
that  is,  who  (to  speak  generally)  sees  any  thing  come  of  it  ?  But  we 
believe  it,  and  so  are  blessed.  In  what  sense  is  adherence  to  the 
Church  a  form  in  which  prayer  is  not  also  1  The  benefit  of  the  one  is 
not  seen,  nor  of  the  other  ;  the  one  will  not  profit  the  ungodly  and  care- 
less, nor  will  the  other ;  the  one  is  commanded  in  Scripture,  so  is  the 
other.  Therefore,  to  say  that  Church-union  is  a  form,  is  no  disparage- 
ment of  it ;  forms  are  the  very  food  of  faith. 

2.  However,  it  may  be  argued,  that,  "  whatever  was  the  cause,  and 
whatever  was  intended  by  Divine  Providence,  many  sects  there  are  ;" 
and  that,  "  if  unity  be  a  duty,  as  members  of  the  Church  maintain,  the 
best,  the  only  way  to  effect  it  now,  is  for  them  to  relax  their  strictness 
and  join  in  one  with  all  sects  upon  whatever  terms."  I  answer  by  ask- 
ing, whether  we  have  any  leave  so  to  do,  any  commission  to  alter  any 
part  of  what  God  has  appointed  ;  whether  we  might  not  as  well  pretend 
to  substitute  another  ordinance  for  Baptism  as  to  annul  the  rites  of  the 
Church  Catholic,  and  put  human  societies  and  teachers  of  man's  creat- 
ing on  a  level  with  it  ?  Balaam  even  felt  what  was  the  power  of  a 
Divine  appointment.  "He  hath  blessed,"  he  says,  "ancZ  /  cannot 
reverse  it.''  Even  holy  Isaac,  much  as  he  wished  it,  could  not  change 
the  course  of  the  blessing  once  conferred,  or  the  decree  of  God.  He 
cried  out  of  Jacob,  "  yea,  and  he  shall  be  blessed ;"  for  "  it  is  not  of  him 
that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that  runneth,"  "  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,"  "  but  of  God  that  showeth 
mercy."     "  The  gifts  and  calling  of  God,  are  without  repentance."* 

Men,  who  have  themselves  separated  from  the  Church,  sometimes 
urge  a  union  among  all  Christians  in  the  following  way :  they  say, 
"  We  di.ssent  from  you  ;  yet  we  will  cast  aside  our  forms  if  you  will 
cast  aside  yours.  Thus  there  will  be  mutual  concession.  What  are 
forms,  so  that  our  hearts  are  one  ?"  Nay,  but  there  is  not,  there  can- 
not  be,  a  like  heart  and  spirit,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  between 
us  and  them,  for  obedience  to  the  Church  is  one  part  of  our  spirit. 
Those  who  think  much  of  submission  to  her  authority  as  we  do,  plainly 
do  differ  in  spirit  from  those  who  think  little  of  it.  Such  persons,  then, 
however  well  they  mean  it,  yet,  in  fact,  ask  us  to  give  up  something, 


I 


*  Numb,  xxiii.  20  ;  Gen.  xxvii.  33  ;  Rom.  ix.  16  ;  John  i.  13  ;  Rom.  xi.  29. 


i 


XIV.]  SUBMISSIOiN   TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY.  663 

while  they  give  up  nothing  themselves  ;  for  that  is  not  much  to  give  up 
which  a  man  sets  no  value  upon.  All  they  give  up  is  what  they  them- 
selves disparage  by  calling  a  form.  They  call  our  holy  discipline  also 
a  form,  but  we  do  not  ;  and  it  is  not  a  mere  form  in  our  judgments, 
though  it  may  be  in  theirs.  They  call  it  a  human  invention,  just  as 
they  call  their  own  ;  but,  till  we  call  it  so  also,  till  they  have  first  con- 
vinced us  that  it  is,  it  must  be  a  sacrifice  in  us  to  give  it  up,  such  as  they 
cannot  possibly  make.  They  cannot  make  such  sacrifice,  because 
they  have  made  it  already,  or  their  fathers  before  them,  when  they  left 
the  Church.  They  cannot  make  it,  for  they  have  no  affections  tosacri- 
fice  in  the  matter ;  whereas  our  piety,  our  reverence,  our  faith,  our  love 
adhere  to  the  Church  of  the  Apostles,  and  could  not  (were  desertion 
possible,  which  God  forbid !)  could  not  be  torn  away  from  it  without 
many  wounds  and  much  anguish.  Surely,  then,  it  is  craft,  or  over- 
simplicity,  in  those  who  differ  from  us,  thus  to  speak.  They  strip  them- 
selves of  what  we  consider  an  essential  of  holiness,  the  decencies  and 
properties  of  the  Ancient  Rule.  Then,  being  unclothed,  they  are  forced 
to  array  themselves  in  new  forms  and  ordinances,  as  they  best  may  ; 
and  these  novelties,  which  their  own  hands  have  sewed  together  to 
cover  them,  which  they  never  revered,  and  which  are  soon  to  wither, 
they  purpose  (as  though)  to  sacrifice  to  us,  provided  we,  on  our  part, 
will  cast  from  us  the  Lord's  own  clothing,  that  sanctity  and  sobriety  of 
order,  which  is  the  gift  of  Christ,  the  earnest  of  Ilis  imputed  merits,  the 
type  and  the  effectual  instrument  of  His  work  in  our  hearts.  This,  truly, 
would  be  exchanging  the  fine  gold  for  brass  ;  or,  like  unthankful  Esau, 
bartering  our  enduring  birthright  for  an  empty  and  transitory  benefit. 
j  3.  But  the  argument  is  continued.  "  Well,"  it  may  be  said,  "  even 
I  granting  that  obedience  to  the  Church  be  a  Scripture  duty,  still,  when 
!  there  are  erroneous  teachers  in  it,  surely  it  is  a  higher  duty  to  desert 
them  for  their  error's  sake,  than  to  keep  to  them  for  form's  sake."  Now, 
before  this  question  can  be  answered,  the  error  must  be  specified  which 
this  or  that  teacher  holds. 

I  The  plain  and  practical  question  we  have  to  decide  is,  whether  his  error 
be  such  as  to  suspend  his  power  of  administering  the  Sacraments.  It 
I  must  bo  deadly  indeed  and  monstrous  to  effect  this ;  and,  surely,  this 
I  ministry  of  the  Sacraments,  not  of  the  outward  word, — of  the  spirit, 
not  of  the  letter, — is  his  principal  power  and  our  principal  need.  It  is 
jOur  interest,  it  is  our  soul's  interest,  that  we  keep  to  those  who  minister 
idivinc  benefits,  even  though  they  "offend  in  many  things."  And  it  is 
iplainly  our  duty  also.  If  they  be  in  error,  let  us  pray  for  them,  not 
abandon  them.  If  they  sin  against  us,  let  not  us  sin  against  them.  Let 
us  return  good  for  evil.     Thus  David  acted  even  towards  Saul  his  per- 


664  SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY.  [Skrk. 

secutor.  He  '•behaved  himself  wisely  in  all  his  ways,  and  the  Lord 
was  with  him."*  The  cruelty  of  Saul  was  an  extreme  case ;  yet 
David's  eyes  looked  right  on,"  and  "  he  turned  not  to  the  right  hand 
nor  the  left."  He  still  honoured  Saul,  as  put  over  him  by  Almighty 
God.  So  ought  we,  in  St.  Paul  s  words,  to  "  obey  them  that  have  the 
rule  over  us,  and  submit  ourselves." 

In  truth,  the  notion  that  errors  in  a  particular  teacher  justify  separation 
from  the  Church  itself,  is  founded  in  a  mistake  as  to  the  very  object  (as 
it  may  be  considered)  for  which  teaching  was  committed  to  it.  If  indi- 
vidual teachers  were  infallible,  there  would  be  no  need  of  order  and  rule 
at  all.  If  we  had  a  living  Head  upon  earth,  such  as  once  our  Saviour 
was  with  His  di.sciples,  teaching  and  directing  us  in  all  things,  the  visi- 
ble Church  might  so  far  be  dispensed  with.  But,  since  we  have  not,  a 
form  of  doctrine,  a  system  of  laws,  a  bond  of  subordination  connecting 
all  in  one,  is  the  next  best  mode  of  securing  the  stability  of  sacred  Truth. 
The  whole  body  of  Christians  thus  become  the  trustees  of  it,  to  use  the 
language  of  the  world,  and,  in  fact,  have  thus  transmitted  it  down  to  our- 
selves. Thus,  teachers  have  been  bound  to  teach  in  one  way  not  in 
another,  as  well  as  hearers  to  hear.  As,  then,  we  have  a  share  in  the 
advantage,  let  us  not  complain  of  sharing  in  the  engagement ;  as  we  en- 
joy the  Truth  at  this  day  by  the  strictness  of  those  who  were  before  us, 
let  us  not  shrink  from  undergoing  that  through  which  we  have  inherited 
it.  If  hearers  break  the  rule  of  discipline,  why  should  not  teachers  break 
the  rule  of  faith  ?  and  if  we  find  fault  with  our  teacher,  even  while  he  is 
restrained  by  the  Church's  rule,  how  much  greater  would  be  our  com- 
plaint when  he  was  not  so  restrained  1  Let  us  not  then  be  impatient  of 
an  appointment  which  effects  so  much,  on  the  ground  that  it  does  not 
effect  all.  Let  us  not  forget  that  rules  pre-suppose  the  risk  of  error,  but 
rather  reflect  whether  they  do  not  do  more  than  they  fail  to  do.  Let  us 
be  less  selfish  than  to  think  of  ourselves  only.  Let  us  look  out  upon 
the  whole  community,  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  the  wayward,  and  the  mis- 
taken. Let  us  consider  whether  it  will  h<^  prudent  to  become  responsi- 
ble for  the  Church's  ultimately  withdrawing  from  our  land,  which  wc 
shall  be  (as  far  as  in  us  lies)  by  our  withdrawing  from  it. 

4.  But  it  may  be  said,  "  Faith  is  not  a  matter  of  words,  but  of  the 
heart.  It  is  more  than  the  formal  doctrine,  it  is  the  temper  and  spirit 
of  this  or  that  teacher  which  is  wrong.  His  creed  may  be  orthodox,  but 
his  religion  is  not  vital  ;  and  surely  external  order  must  not  lie  upon  us 
as  a  burden,  stifling  and  destroying  the  true  inward  fellowship  between 
Christian  and  Christian."     Now  let  it  be  carefully  noted  that,  if  order 

*  1  Sam.  iviii.  14. 


J 


XIV.]  SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY.  665 

is  to  be  preserved  at  all,  it  must  be  at  the  expenso  of  what  seems  to  be 
of  more  consequence,  viz.  the  so-called  conifnunion  of  the  heart  between 
Christians.  This  peculiarity  is  involved  iu  its  very  nature  ;  and  surely 
our  Sayiour  knew  this  when  he  enjoined  it.  For  consider  a  moment. 
True  spiritual  feeling,  heartfelt  devotion,  lively  faith,  and  the  like,  do 
not  admit  of  being  described,  defined,  ascertained  in  any  one  fixed  way  ; 
as  is  implied  indeed  in  the  very  objection  under  consideration.  We 
form  our  judgment  of  them,  whatever  it  be,  by  a  number  of  little 
circumstances,  of  language,  manner,  and  conduct,  which  cannot  be  put 
Into  words,  which  to  no  two  beholders  appears  exactly  the  same,  insomuch 
that  if  every  one  is  to  be  satisfied,  every  one  must  have  the  power  of 
drawing  his  line  for  himself.  But  if  every  one  follow  his  own  rule  of 
fellowship,  how  can  there  possibly  be  but  "  one  body,"  and  in  what  sense 
are  those  words  of  the  Apostle  to  be  taken  ? 

Again,  this  or  that  person  may  be  more  or  less  religious  in  speech  and 
conduct ;  how  are  we  to  draw  the  line,  even  according  to  our  own  indi- 
vidual standard,  and  say  who  are  to  be  in  our  Church  and  who  out  of 
it  ?  Scandalous  offenders  indeed,  and  open  heretics  might  be  excluded 
at  once ;  but  it  would  be  far  easier  to  say  whom  to  put  out  than  whom 
to  let  in,  unless  we  let  in  all.  From  the  truest  believer  to  the  very  infi- 
del, there  may  be  interposed  a  series  of  men,  more  or  less  religious,  in 
human  eyes,  gradually  filling  up  the  whole  interval.  Even  if  we  could 
infallibly  decide  between  good  and  bad,  life  would  be  spent  in  the 
work  ; — what  our  success  really  will  be,  may  be  foretold  from  the  in- 
stances of  those  who  attempt  to  do  so,  and  who  not  unfrequently  mis- 
take for  highly-gifted  Christians  men  who  are  almost  unbelievers.  But, 
granting  we  have  some  extraordinary  gift  of  discernment,  still  any  how 
•we  could  not  see  more  than  He  sees,  who  implies  that  the  faith  of  all 
of  us  is  but  immature  and  in  its  rudiments,  by  His  very  postponement 
of  the  final  judgment : — so  that  to  draw  a  line  at  all,  and  yet  to  include 
just  all  who  seem  religious,  arc  things  of  necessity  incompatible  with 
each  other. 

On  the  other  hand,  forms  are  precise  and  definite.  Once  broken, 
they  are  altogether  broken.  There  are  no  degrees  of  breaking  them  ; 
either  they  are  observed  or  they  are  not.  It  seems  then,  on  the  whole, 
that  if  we  leave  the  Chureh,  in  order  to  join  what  appears  a  less  formal, 
a  more  spiritual,  religion  elsewhere,  we  break  a  commandment  for  cer- 
tain, and  we  do  not  for  certain  secure  to  ourselves  a  benefit. 

5.  Lastly,  it  may  be  asked,  "  Are  we  then  to  keep  aloof  from  those 
whom  we  think  good  men,  granting  that  it  would  be  better  that  they 
should  be  in  the  Church  ?"  We  need  not,  we  must  not,  keep  aloof.  We 
.are  not  bound,  indeed,  to  court  their  society,  but  we  are  bound  not  to 


566  SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY.  [Serk. 

shrink  from  them  when  we  fall  in  with  them,  except,  indeed,  they  be  the 
actual  authors  and  fomenters  of  division.  We  are  bound  to  love  them 
and  pray  for  them  ;  not  to  be  harsh  with  them,  or  revile  or  despise  them, 
but  to  be  gentle,  patient,  apt  to  teach,  merciful  to  make  allowance,  to 
interpret  their  conduct  for  the  best.  We  would,  if  we  could,  be  one 
with  them  in  heart  and  ir  tVrm,  thinking  a  loving  unity  the  glory  and 
crown  of  Christian  faith  ;  and  we  will  try  all  means  to  eticct  this  ;  but 
we  feel,  and  we  cannot  conceal  it,  we  feel  that,  if  we  and  they  are  to  be 
one,  they  must  come  over  to  us.  We  desire  to  meet  together,  but  it 
must  be  in  the  Church,  not  on  neutral  ground,  or  rather  an  enemy's,  the 
open  inhospitable  m  aste  of  this  world,  but  within  that  sheltered  heritage 
whose  landmarks  have  long  since  been  set  up.  If  Christ  has  constituted 
one  Holy  Society  (which  He  has  done)  ;  if  His  Apostles  have  set  it  in 
order  (which  they  did),  and  have  expressly  bidden  us  (as  they  have  in 
Scripture)  not  to  undo  what  they  have  begun  ;  and  if  (in  matter  of  fact) 
their  AVork  so  set  in  order  and  so  blessed  is  among  us  this  very  day  (as 
it  is),  and  we  partakers  of  it,  it  were  a  traitor's  act  in  us  to  abandon  it, 
an  unthankful  slight  on  those  who  have  preserved  it  for  so  many  ages, 
a  cruel  disregard  of  those  who  are  to  come  after  us,  nay  of  those  now 
alive  who  are  external  to  it  and  might  otherwise  be  brought  into  it.  We 
must  transmit  as  we  have  received.  We  did  not  make  the  Church,  we 
may  not  unmake  it.  As  we  believe  it  to  be  a  Divine  Ordinance,  so  we 
must  ever  protest  against  separation  from  it  as  a  sin.  There  is  not  a 
dissenter  living,  but,  inasmuch,  and  so  far  as  he  dissents,  is  in  a  sin.  It 
may,  in  this  or  that  instance,  be  a  sin  of  infirmity,  or  carelessness,  nay 
of  ignorance  ;  it  may  be  a  sin  of  the  society  a  man  is  in,  not  his  own, 
a  ceremonial  offence,  not  a  personal ;  still  it  is  in  its  nature  sinful.  It 
may  be  mixed  up  with  much  that  is  good  ;  it  may  be  a  perversion  of 
conscience,  or  again,  an  inconsistency  in  him  ;  it  may  be  connected 
more  or  less  with  piety  towards  his  forefathers  ;  still,  considered  as  such, 
it  cannot  but  be  a  blemish  and  a  disadvantage,  and,  if  he  is  saved,  he  will 
be  saved,  not  through  it,  but  in  spite  of  it.  So  far  forth  as  he  dissents, 
he  is  under  a  cloud  ;  and  though  we  too  may,  for  what  we  know,  have 
as  great  sins  to  answer  for,  taking  his  sin  at  the  greatest,  and  though  we 
pray  that  Christ  will  vouchsafe,  in  some  excellent  way,  known  to  Him- 
self, to  "  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  settle,"  all  "  who  love  Him  uncor- 
ruptly,"  even  if  separate  from  the  glories  of  His  Church  on  earth,  still 
protest  we  should  and  must  against  separation  itself,  and  wilful  continu- 
ance in  it,  as  evil, — as  nothing  short  of  "  the  gainsaying  of  Core,"  and 
the  true  child  of  that  sin  which  lost  us  Eden. 

Nor  does  the  sin  of  separation  end  in  itself.     Never  suppose,  my 
brethren,  whatever  the  world  may  say,  that  a  man  is  neither  better  noro 


XIV.l  SUBMISSION  TO  CHURCH  AUTHORITY.  567 

worse,  in  his  own  faith  and  conduct,  for  separating  from  the  Church. 
Of  course  we  cannot  "  try  the  heart  and  the  reins,"  or  decide  about 
individuals  ;  still  thus  much  seems  clear,  that,  on  the  whole,  deliberate 
insubordination  is  the  symptom,  nay  often  the  cause  and  first  beginning 
of  an  unhumbled,  wilful,  self-dependent,  contentious,  jealous,  spirit ;  and 
as  far  as  any  man  allows  himself  in  acts  of  it,  so  far  has  he  upon  him 
the  tokens  of  pride  or  of  coldness  of  heart,  going  before  or  following 
after.  Coldness  and  pride, — these  sins  are  not  peculiar,  alas  !  to  those 
who  leave  us  ;  that  we  know  full  well.  We  all  have  the  seeds  of  them 
within  us,  and  it  is  our  shame  and  condemnation  if  we  do  not  repress 
them.  But  between  us,  if  we  be  cold  or  proud,  and  those  who  are  active 
in  dissent,  there  is  this  clear  difference  ;  that  proud  reliance  on  self,  or 
that  cold  formality,  which  may  also  be  found  in  the  Church,  these,  though 
found  in  it,  are  not  fruits  of  it,  do  not  rise  from  connection  with  it,  but 
are  inconsistent  with  it.  For  to  obey  is  to  be  meek,  not  proud  ;  and  to 
obey  for  Christ's  sake  is  to  be  zealous,  not  cold ;  whereas  wilful  separa- 
tion or  turbulent  conduct,  forming  religious  meetings  of  our  own,  op- 
posing our  private  judgment  to  those  who  have  the  rule  over  us,  disaf- 
fection towards  them,  and  the  like  feelings  and  courses,  are  the  very 
effects  and  the  sure  forerunners  of  pride,  or  impatience,  or  restlessness 
or  self-will,  or  lukewarmness  ;  so  that  these  sins  in  members  of  the 
Church  are  in  spite  of  the  Church,  and  in  separatists  are  involved  in 
their  separating. 

"  Put  away  from  thee  a  froward  mouth,  and  perverse  lips  put  far  from 
thee.  Let  thine  eyes  look  right  on,  and  let  thine  eyelids  look  straight 
before  thee.  Ponder  the  path  of  thy  feet,  and  let  all  thy  ways  be  estab- 
lished. Turn  not  to  the  right  hand,  nor  to  the  left ;  remove  thy  foot 
from  evil."  What  have  we,  private  Christians,  to  do  with  the  hopes 
and  fears  of  earth,  with  schemes  of  change,  the  pursuit  of  novelties,  or 
dreams  of  reforms  ?  The  world  is  passing  like  a  shadow  ;  the  day  of 
Christ  is  hastening  on.  It  is  our  wisdom  surely  to  use  what  has  been 
provided  for  us,  instead  of  lusting  after  what  we  have  not,  asking  flesh 
to  eat,  and  gazing  wistfully  upon  Egypt  or  on  the  heathen  around  us. 
Faith  has  no  leisure  to  act  the  busy  politician,  to  bring  the  world's  lan- 
guage into  the  sacred  fold,  or  to  use  the  world's  jealousies  in  a  divine 
polity  ;  to  demand  rights,  to  flatter  the  many,  or  to  court  the  powerful. 
What  is  faith's  highest  wish  and  best  enjoyment  ?  A  dying  saint  shall 
answer.  It  is  related  of  a  meek  and  holy  confessor  of  our  own,  shortly 
before  his  departure,  that  when  after  much  pain  he  was  asked  by  a  friend, 
"  What  more  special  thing  he  would  recommend  for  one's  whole  life  ?" 
he  briefly  replied,  "  uniform  obedience  ;"  by  which  he  meant,  as  his  bio- 
grapher tells  us,  that  the  happiest  state  of  life  was  one,  in  which  he  had 


568  CONTEST  BETWEEN  TRUTH   AND  [Skrm" 

not  to  command  or  direct,  but  io  obey  solely  ;  not  having  to  choose  for 
ourselves,  but  having  our  path  of  duty,  our  mode  of  hfe,  our  fortunes 
marked  out  for  us.*  This  lot,  indeed,  as  is  plain,  cannot  be  the  lot  of 
all ;  but  it  is  the  lot  of  the  many.  Thus  (Jod  pours  out  His  blessings 
largely,  and  puts  trial  on  the  few  ;  but  men  do  not  understand  their  OM'n 
gain,  and  run  into  trials  as  being  unfit  for  enjoyment.  May  He  give 
us  grace  to  cherish  a  wiser  mind  ;  to  make  much  of  our  privilege,  if  we 
have  it,  to  serve  and  be  at  rest  ;  and  if  we  have  it  not,  to  covet  it,  and 
to  bear,  dutifully,  as  but  a  misfortune  to  a  sinner,  that  freedom  from  re- 
straint which  the  world  boasts  in  as  a  chief  good  ! 


SERMON    XV. 


CONTEST  BETWEEN  TRUTH  AND  FALSEHOOD  IN  THE 
CHURCH. 


Matt.  xiii.  47,  48. 


The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net,  that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of 
every  kind  ;  which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore,  and  sat  down,  and  gath- 
ered the  good  into  vessels,  but  cast  the  bad  away. 

In  the  Apostles'  age,  the  chief  contest  between  Truth  and  Falsehood 
lay  in  the  war  waged  by  the  Church  against  the  world,  and  the  world 
against  the  Church : — the  Church,  the  aggressor  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  ;  the  world,  stung  with  envy  and  malice,  rage  and  pride,  retalia- 
ting spiritual  weapons  with  carnal,  the  Gospel  with  persecution,  good 
with  evil,  in  the  cause  of  the  Devil.  But  of  the  conflict  within  the 
Church,  such  as  it  is  at  this  day.  Christians  knew  comparatively  little. 
True,  the  Proi)hctic  Spirit  told  them  that  "  even  of  their  ownselvca 
should  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  things,  to  draw  away  disciples 
after  them;"  that  "in  the  last  days  perilous  times  should  come."f 
Also  they  had  the  experience  of  their  own  and  former  times  to  show 

*  Fell's  Life  of  Hammond.  t  Acts  xi.  30.    2  Tim.  iii.  1. 


XV.]  FALSEHOOD  IN  THE  CHURCH.  569 

them,  as  in  type,  that  in  the  Church  evil  will  always  mingle  with  the 
good.  Thus,  at  the  flood,  there  were  eight  men  in  the  Ark,  and  one  of 
them  was  reprobate  ;  out  of  twelve  Apostles,  one  was  a  devil ;  out  of 
seven  Deacons,  one  (as  it  is  said)  fell  away  into  heresy ;  out  of  twelve 
tribes,  one  is  dropped  at  the  final  sealing.  These  intimations,  however, 
whether  by  instance  or  prophecy,  were  not  sufficient  to  realize  to  them, 
before  the  event,  the  serious  and  awful  truth  implied  in  the  text,  viz. 
that  the  warfare  which  Christ  began  between  His  little  flock  and  the 
world  should  be  in  no  long  while  transferred  into  the  Church  itself,  and 
be  carried  on  by  members  of  that  Church  one  with  another. 

This,  I  say,  the  early  Christians  did  not  see  fulfilled,  as  our  eyes  see 
it ;  and,  so  hard  is  it  to  possess  ourselves  of  a  true  conviction  about  it, 
that,  even  at  this  day,  when  it  may  be  plainly  seen,  men  will  not  see 
it.  They  will  not  so  open  and  surrender  their  min:i.s  to  Divine  truth, 
as  to  admit  that  the  Holy  Church  has  unholy  members,  that  blessings 
are  given  to  the  unworthy,  that  "  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  a  net 
that  gathers  of  every  kind."  They  evade  this  mysterious  appointment 
in  various  ways.  Sometimes  they  deny  that  bad  men  are  really  in 
God's  Church,  which  they  think  consists  only  of  good  men.  They 
have  invented  an  Invisible  Church,  distinct  and  complete  at  present, 
and  peopled  by  saints  only,  as  if  Scripture  said  one  word  anywhere,  of 
a  spiritual  body  existing  in  this  world  separate  from,  and  independent 
of,  the  Visible  Church  ;  and  they  consider  the  Visible  Church  to  be  no- 
thing but  a  mere  part  of  this  world,  an  establishment,  sect,  or  party. 
Or,  again,  while  they  admit  it  as  a  Divine  ordinance,  they  lower  its 
standard  of  faith  and  hohness,  and  its  privileges  ;  and,  considering  the 
communion  of  saints  to  be  but  a  name,  and  all  Christians  to  be  about 
alike,  they  efiectually  destroy  all  notions,  whether  of  a  Church  or  of  a 
conflict.  Thus,  in  one  way  or  other,  they  refuse  to  admit  the  idea  con- 
tained in  the  text,  that  the  dissimilitude,  the  enmity  and  the  warfare 
which  once  existed  between  the  world  and  the  Church,  is  now  transfer- 
red into  the  Church  itself. 

But,  let  us  try,  with  God's  blessing,  to  get  a  firm  hold  upon  this 
truth,  and  see  if  we  cannot  draw  some  instruction  from  it.  The  text 
says,  that  "  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  that  is,  the  Christian  Church, 
*'  is  like  unto  a  net  that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every 
kind."  Elsewhere  St.  Paul  says,  "  In  a  great  house  there  are  not  only 
vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver,  but  also  of  wood  and  of  earth,  and  some  to 
honour  and  some  to  dishonour."*  Now  passages  such  as  these  admit 
of  a  very  various  application.  I  shall  consider  them  here  with  refer- 
ence to  the  contest  between  Truth  and  Falsehood  in  the  Church. 

*  2  Tim.  ii.  20. 


570  CONTEST  BETWEEN  TRUTH  AND  [Serm. 

Doubtless  it  would,  in  the  eye  of  natural  reason,  be  a  privilege,  were 
the  enemies  of  Christ  and  our  souls  separated  from  us,  and  did  the  trial 
of  our  faith  take  place  on  some  broad  questions,  about  which  there  could 
be  no  mistake ;  but  such  is  not  the  fact  "  in  the  wisdom  of  God." 
Faith  and  unbelief,  humbleness  and  pride,  love  and  selfishness  have 
been  from  the  Apostles'  age  united  in  one  and  the  same  body  ;  nor  can 
anv  means  of  man's  device  disengage  the  one  from  the  other.  All  wha 
are  within  the  Church  have  the  same  privileges ;  they  are  all  baptized, 
all  admitted  to  the  Holy  Eucharist,  all  taught  in  the  Truth,  all  profess 
the  Truth.  At  all  times,  indeed,  there  have  been  those  who  have 
avowed  corrupt  doctrine  or  indulged  themselves  in  open  vice;  and 
whom,  in  consequence,  it  was  easy  to  detect  and  avoid.  But  these  are 
few ;  the  great  body  in  the  Christian  Church  profess  one  and  the  same 
faith,  and  seem  one  and  all  to  agree  together.  Yet,  among  these  per- 
sons, thus  apparently  unanimous,  is  the  real  inveterate  conflict  proceed- 
ing, as  from  the  beginning,  between  good  and  evil.  Some  of  these 
are  wise,  some  foolish.  Who  belong  to  the  one,  and  the  other  party  is 
hid  from  us,  and  will  be  hid  till  the  day  of  judgment ;  nor  are  they  at 
present  individually  formed  upon  the  perfect  model  of  good  or  evil ;  they 
vary  one  with  another  in  the  degree  and  mode  of  their  holding  to  the 
one  or  the  other ;  but  that  there  are  two  parties  in  the  Church,  two 
parties,  however  vague  and  indefinite  their  outhnes,  among  those  who 
live,  in  one  sense,  as  famihar  friends,  I  mean,  ■vvho  eat  the  same  spiritual 
Food,  and  profess  the  same  Creed,  is  certain. 

Next,  what  do  they  contend  about  ?  how  and  where  their  conflict  ? 
The  Apostles  contended  about  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  with  unbelievers  ; 
their  immediate  successors  contended,  though  within  the  Church,  yet 
against  open  heresies,  such  as  they  could  meet,  confute,  and  cast  out ; 
but  m  after  times, — in  our  own  day, — now, — what  do  the  two  secret 
parties  in  the  Church,  the  elect  and  the  false-hearted,  what  do  they  con- 
tend about  ? 

It  is  difficult  to  answer  this  question  suitably  with  the  reverence  due 
to  this  sacred  place,  in  which  the  language  of  the  world  should  not  be 
heard.  Yet,  in  so  important  a  matter,  one  would  wish  to  say  something. 
That  contest,  which  was  first  about  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  itself,  next 
about  the  truth  of  doctrine,  is  now  commonly  about  very  small  matters^ 
of  an  every-day  character,  of  public  afiairs,  or  domestic  business,  or 
parochial  concerns,  which  serve  as  tests  of  our  religious  state,  quite  as 
truly  as  greater  things,  in  God's  unerring  judgment, — serve  as  power- 
fully to  form  and  train  us  for  heaven  or  liell. 

1  say,  that  as  the  early  Christians  were  bound  to  "  contend  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  so  the  trial  of  our  obedience 


XV.]  FALSEHOOD  IN  THE  CHURCH:  571 

commonly  lies  in  taking  this  or  that  side  in  a  multitude  of  questions,  in 
which  there  happen  to  be  two  sides,  and  which  come  before  us  almost 
continually ;  and,  before  attempting  to  explain  what  I  mean,  I  would 
have  you  observe  how  parallel  this  state  of  things  is  to  God's  mode  of 
trying  and  disciplining  us  in  other  respects. 

For  instance,  how  is  our  devotion  to  Christ  shown  ?  Ordinarily,  not 
in  great  matters,  not  in  giving  up  house  and  lands  for  His  sake,  but  in 
making  little  sacrifices  which  the  world  would  ridicule,  if  it  knew  of 
them ;  in  abridging  ourselves  of  comforts  for  the  sake  of  the  poor,  in 
sacrificing  our  private  likings  to  religious  objects,  in  going  to  Church  at 
a  personal  inconvenience,  in  taking  pleasure  in  the  society  of  religious 
men,  though  not  rich,  or  noble,  or  accomplished,  or  gifted,  or  entertain- 
ing ;  in  matters,  all  of  them  of  very  little  moment  in  themselves. 

How  is  self-denial  shown  ?  Not  in  hterally  bearing  Christ's  Cross, 
and  living  on  locusts  and  wild  honey,  but  in  such  light  abstinences  as 
come  in  our  way,  in  some  poor  efforts  at  fasting  and  the  like,  in  desiring 
to  be  poor  rather  than  rich,  solitary  or  lowly  rather  than  well-connected, 
in  living  within  our  income,  in  avoiding  display,  in  being  suspicious  of 
comforts  and  luxuries ;  all  of  which  are  too  trifling  for  the  person  ob- 
serving them  to  think  about,  yet  have  their  use  in  proving  and  improving 
his  heart. 

How  is  Christian  valour  shown  1  Not  in  resisting  unto  blood,  but  in 
withstanding  mistaken  kindness,  in  enduring  importunity,  in  submitting 
to  surprise  and  hurt  those  we  love,  in  undergoing  little  losses,  incon- 
veniences, censures,  slights,  rather  than  betray  what  we  believe  to  be 
God's  Truth,  be  it  ever  so  small  a  portion  of  it. 

As  then.  Christian  devotion,  self-denial,  courage,  are  tried  in  this  day 
in  little  things,  so  is  Christian  faith  also.  In  the  Apostles'  age  faith  was 
shown  in  the  great  matter  of  joining  cither  the  Church,  or  the  pagan 
or  Jewish  multitude.  It  is  shown  in  this  day  by  taking  this  side  or  that 
side  in  the  many  questions  of  opinion  and  conduct  which  come  before 
us,  whether  domestic,  or  parochial,  or  political,  or  of  whatever  kind. 

Take  the  most  unlettered  peasant  in  the  humblest  village ;  his  trial 
lies  in  acting  for  the  Church  or  against  it  in  his  own  place.  He  may 
happen  to  be  at  work  with  others,  or  taking  refreshment  with  others  ; 
and  he  may  hear  religion  spoken  against,  or  the  Church,  or  the  king; 
he  may  hear  voices  raised  together  in  scoffing  or  violence ;  he  must 
withstand  laugh  and  jest,  evil  words  and  rudeness,  and  witness  for 
Christ.  Thus  he  carries  on,  in  his  day,  the  eternal  conflict  bct\\cen 
Truth  and  Falsehood. 

Another,  in  a  higher  class  of  society,  has  a  certain  influence  in  parish 
matters,  in  the  application  of  charities,  the  appointment  of  officers,  and 


572  CONTEST  BETWEEN  TRUTH  AND  [Sbbm. 

tlic  like ;  lie,  too,  must  act,  as  in  God's  sight,  for  the  Truth's  sake,  as 
Christ  would  have  him. 

Another  has  a  certain  political  power  ;  he  has  a  vote  to  bestow,  or 
dependents  to  advise ;  he  has  a  voice  to  raise,  and  substance  to  con- 
tribute. Let  him  act  for  religion,  not  as  if  there  were  not  a  God  in 
the  world. 

My  brethren,  I  must  not  venture  to  keep  silence  in  respect  to  a  pro- 
vince of  Christian  duty,  in  w  hich  men  are  especially  tried  at  this  day, 
and  in  which  they  especially  fail. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  religion  is  not  (what  is  called)  political. 
Now  there  is  a  bad  sense  of  the  word  "  political,"  and  religion  is  noth- 
ing that  is  bad.  But  there  is  also  a  good  sense  of  the  word,  and  in  this 
sense  whoever  says  that  religion  is  not  political  speaks  as  erringly,  and 
(whether  ignorantly  or  not)  offends  with  his  tongue  as  certainly,  as  if  in 
St.  Paul's  time  a  man  had  said  it  mattered  not  whether  he  was  Christian 
or  heathen  ;  for  what  the  question  of  Christian  or  no  Christian  was  in 
the  Apostle's  day,  such  are  questions  of  politics  now.  It  is  as  right  to 
take  one  side,  and  as  wrong  to  take  the  other,  now,  in  that  multitude 
of  matters  which  comes  before  us  of  a  social  nature,  as  it  was  right  to 
become  a  Christian  in  St.  Paul's  day,  and  wrong  to  remain  a  heathen. 

I  am  not  saying  which  side  is  right  and  which  is  wrong,  in  the  ever- 
varying  course  of  social  duty,  much  less  am  I  saying  all  religious  peo- 
ple are  on  one  side  and  all  irreligious  on  the  other ;  (for  then  would 
that  division  between  good  and  evil  take  place,  which  the  text  and 
other  parables  assure  us  is  not  to  be  till  the  day  of  judgment ;)  I  only 
say  there  is  a  right  and  a  wrong,  that  it  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference 
which  side  a  man  takes,  that  a  man  will  be  judged  hereafter  for  the 
side  he  takes. 

When  a  man  (for  instance)  says  that  he  takes  part  against  the  King 
or  against  the  Church,  because  he  thinks  kingly  power  or  established 
Churches  contrary  to  Scripture,  I  think  him  as  far  from  the  truth  as 
light  is  from  darkness;  but  I  understand  him.  He  takes  a  religious 
ground,  and,  whatever  I  may  think  of  his  doctrine,  I  praise  him  for 
that.  I  had  rather  he  should  take  a  religious  ground  (if  in  sincerity) 
and  be  against  the  Church,  than  a  worldly  selfish  ground,  and  be  for  it ; 
that  is,  if  done  in  earnest,  not  in  pretence,  I  think  it  speaks  more  hope- 
fully for  his  soul.  I  had  rather  the  Church  were  levelled  to  the  ground 
by  a  nation,  really  honestly,  and  seriously,  thinking  they  did  God  ser- 
vice in  doing  so,  fearful  indeed  as  the  sin  would  be,)  than  that  it  should 
be  upheld  by  a  nation  on  the  mere  ground  of  maintaining  property,  for 
I  think  this  a  much  greater  sin.  I  think  that  the  worshipper  of  Mam- 
mon will  be  in  worse  case  before  Christ's  judgment-scat  than  the  mis- 


XV.]  FALSEHOOD  IN  THE  CHURCH.  573 

taken  zealot.  If  a  man  must  be  one  or  the  other  (though  he  ought  to 
be  neither,)  but  if  I  must  choose  for  him,  I  had  rather  he  should  be 
Saul  raging  like  a  wild  beast  against  the  Church,  than  Gallio  caring  for 
none  of  these  things,  or  Dcmas  lovini;;  <'io  present  world,  or  Simon 
trafficking  with  sacred  gifts,  or  Ananias  grudging  Christ  his  substance, 
and  seeking  to  be  saved  as  cheaply  as  possible.  There  would  be  more 
chance  of  such  a  man's  conversion  to  the  Truth  ;  and,  if  not  converted, 
less  punishment  reserved  for  him  at  the  last  day.  Our  Lord  says  to 
the  church  of  Laodicea,  "  I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  So  then  be- 
cause thou  art  luke-warm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  cast  thee 
from  My  mouth."* 

Men,  however,  generally  act  from  mixed  motives  ;  so  I  do  not  mean 
that  they  are  at  once  in  a  fearful  peril,  or  as  bad  as  fanatical  revolu- 
tionists, for  having  some  regard  to  the  security  of  property,  while  they 
defend  what  is  called  the  Church  Estabhshed ; — far  from  it,  though  I 
still  think  it  would  bo  better  if  the  thought  of  religion  absorbed  all 
other  considerations  ; — but  I  am  speaking  against  an  avowed  doctrine 
maintained  in  this  day,  that  religion  has  nothing  to  do  with  political 
matters ;  which  will  not  be  true  till  it  is  true  that  God  does  not  govern 
the  world  ;  for  as  God  rules  in  human  affairs,  so  must  his  servants 
obey  in  them.  And  what  we  have  to  fear  more  than  any  thing  else  at 
this  time  is,  that  persons  who  are  sound  on  this  point,  and  do  believe 
that  the  concerns  of  the  nation  ought  to  be  carried  on  on  religious 
principles,  should  be  afraid  to  avow  it,  and  should  ally  themselves, 
without  protesting,  with  those  who  deny  it ;  lest  they  should  keep  their 
own  opinion  to  themselves,  and  act  with  the  kindred  of  Gallio,  Demas, 
Simon,  and  Ananias,  on  some  mere  secular  basis,  the  mere  defence 
of  property,  the  security  of  our  institutions,  considered  merely  as  secu- 
lar, the  maintenance  of  our  national  greatness ;  forgetting  that,  as  no 
man  can  serve  two  masters,  God  and  mammon,  so  no  man  can  at  once 
be  in  the  counsels  of  the  servants  of  the  two  ; — forgetting  that  the 
Church,  in  which  they  and  others  are,  is  a  net  gathering  o(  every  kind; 
that  it  is  no  proof  that  others  are  to  be  followed  and  supported  in  all 
things,  because  they  happen  to  be  in  it  and  profess  attachment  to  it ; 
and  that  though  we  are  bound  to  associate  in  a  general  way  with  all, 
(except,  indeed,  such  as  openly  break  the  rules  of  the  Church,  heretics, 
drunkards,  evil  livers,  and  the  like,  who  ought  of  course  to  be  put  out 
of  it,)  yet  we  are  not  bound  to  countenance  all  in  all  they  do,  and  are 
ever  bound  to  oppose  bad  principles, — bound  to  attempt  to  raise  the 
standard  of  faith  and  obedience  in  that  multitude  of  men  whom,  though 

•  Rev.  iii.  15,  16. 


574  CONTEST  BETWEEN  TRUTH   AND  [Serm. 

we  disapprove  in  many  rsspccts,  we  dare  not  affirm  to  be  entirely  des- 
titute of  the  life  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  not  to  suffer  friend  or  stranger 
to  take  part  against  the  Truth  without  warning  him  of  it  according  to 
our  opportunities. 

Lastly,  this  union  of  the  True  and  the  Praise  in  the  Church,  which  I 
have  been  speaking  of,  has  ever  existed  in  the  governing  part  of  it  as 
well  as  among  the  people  at  large.  Our  Saviour  sets  this  truth  before 
us  in  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  St.  Matthew's  gospel,  in  which  He 
bids  His  hearers  obey  their  spiritual  rulers  in  all  lawful  things,  even 
though  they  be  unworthy  of  their  office,  because  they  hold  it, — "as 
unto  the  Lord  and  not  to  men."  "  The  Scribes  and  the  Pharisees  sit 
in  Moses'  seat ;  all,  therefore,  whatsoever  they  bid  you  observe,  that 
observe  and  do  :  but  do  not  ye  after  their  works,  for  they  say  and  do 
not."  And  no  one  can  read,  ever  so  little,  the  history  of  the  Church 
since  He  was  on  earth,  without  perceiving  that,  under  all  the  forms  of 
obedience  and  subordination  of  kind  offices  and  social  intercourse, 
which  Christ  enjoins,  a  secret  contest  has  been  carried  on,  in  the  most 
sacred  chambers  of  the  Temple,  between  Truth  and  Falsehood  ;— 
rightly,  peaceably,  lovingly  by  some,  uncharitably  by  others,  with  a 
strange  mixture  at  times  of  right  principles  and  defective  temper,  or  of 
sincerity  and  partial  ignorance  ;  still,  on  the  whole,  a  contest  such  as 
St.  John's  against  Diotrephes,  or  St.  Paul's  against  Ananias  the  High 
Priest,  or  Timothy's  against  Hymeneus  and  Alexander.  Meantime 
the  rules  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  have  been  observed  on  both  sides 
as  well  as  the  professions  of  faith,  as  conditions  of  the  contest ;  never- 
theless, the  contest  has  proceeded. 

Now  I  would  have  every  one  who  hears  me^bring  what  I  have  said 
home  as  a  solemn  truth  to  his  own  mind  ; — the  solemn  truth,  that  there 
is  nothing  indiffi3rent  in  our  conduct,  no  part  of  it  without  its  duties, 
no  room  for  trifling  ;  lest  we  trifle  with  eternity.  It  is  very  common 
to  speak  of  our  political  and  social  privileges  as  rights,  which  we  may 
do  what  we  like  with ;  whereas  they  merely  impose  duties  on  us  in 
God's  sight.  A  man  says  "  I  have  a  right  to  do  this  or  that,  I  have  a 
right  to  give  my  vote  here  or  there ;  I  have  a  right  to  further  this  or 
that  measure."  Doubtless  you  have  a  right, — you  have  the  right  of 
freewill, — you  have  from  your  birth  the  birthright  of  being  a  free 
agent,  of  doing  right  or  wrong,  of  saving  yourself  or  ruining  your- 
self; you  have  the  right,  that  is,  you  Ijave  the  power, — (to  speak  plain- 
ly) the  power  to  damn  yourself;  but  (alas  !)  a  poor  consolation  will  it 
be  to  you  in  the  next  world,  to  know  that  your  ruin  was  all  your  own 
fault,  as  brought  upon  you  by  yourself, — for  what  you  have  said  comes 
to  nothing  more  than  this  ;  and  be  quite  sure  men  do  not  lose  their  souls. 


XV.]  FALSEHOOD  IN  THE  CHURCH.  575 

by  some  one  extraordinary  act  but  by  a  course  of  acts  ;  and  the  care- 
less or,  rather,  the  self-sufficient  and  haughty-minded  use  of  your  poHti- 
cal  power,  this  way  or  that  at  your  pleasure,  which  is  now  so  common, 
is  among  those  acts  by  which  men  save  or  lose  them.  The  young  man 
whom  Solomon  speaks  of,  thought  he  had  a  right  to  indulge  his  lusts, 
or,  as  the  rich  man  in  the  Gospel,  to  "  take  his  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry  ;"  but  the  preacher  says  to  him,  "  Rejoice,  O  young  man  in  thy 
youth  ;  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and 
walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes  ;  but 
Jcnow  thou,  for  all  these  things,  God  u'ill  bring  thee  into  judgment."* 

So,  again,  many  a  man,  when  warned  against  the  sin  of  leaving  the 
Church,  or  of  wandering  about  from  one  place  of  worship  to  another, 
says,  "  he  has  a  right  to  do  so."  So  it  is,  he  has  a  strange  notion  that 
it  is  an  EngUshman's  right  to  think  what  he  will,  and  do  what  he  will, 
in  matters  of  religion.  Nay,  it  is  the  right  of  the  whole  world,  not 
ours  alone  ;  it  is  the  attribute  of  all  rational  beings  to  have  a  right  to 
do  wrong,  if  they  will.  Yet,  after  all,  there  is  but  one  right  way,  and 
there  are  a  hundred  wrong  ways.  You  may  do  as  you  will ;  but  the 
first  who  exercised  that  right  was  the  devil  when  he  fell ;  and  every  one 
of  us,  when  he  does  this  or  that  in  matters  between  himself  and  his 
God,  merely  because  he  wills  it,  and  not  for  conscience'  sake,  is  (so  far) 
following  the  devil's  pattern. 

Now  let  us  put  aside  these  vain  fancies,  and  look  at  our  position  stea- 
dily. Every  one  of  us  here  assembled  is  either  a  vessel  of  mercy  or  a 
vessel  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction  ;  or  rather,  I  should  say,  will  be 
such  at  the  last  day,  and  now  is  acting  towards  the  one  or  the  other. 
We  cannot  judge  each  other,  we  cannot  judge  ourselves.  We  only 
know  about  ourselves  whether  or  no  we  are  in  some  measure  trying  to 
serve  God  ;  we  know  he  has  loved  us  and  "  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual 
blessings  in  Christ,"  and  desires  our  salvation.  We  know  about  others 
around  us  that  they  too  have  been  blessed  by  the  same  Saviour,  and  are 
to  be  looked  on  as  our  brethren,  till,  by  word  or  deed,  they  openly  re- 
nounce their  brotherhood.  Still  it  is  true  that  tlie  solemn  process  of 
separation  between  bad  and  good  is  ever  going  on.  The  net  has,  at 
present,  gathered  of  every  kind.  At  the  end  of  the  world  will  be  the 
final  division  ;  meanwhile  there  is  a  gradual  sorting  and  sifting,  silent 
but  sure,  towards  it.  It  is  also  true  that  all  the  matters  which  come 
before  us  in  the  course  of  life  are  the  trials  of  our  faith,  and  instru- 
ments of  our  purification.  It  is  also  true  that  certain  principles  and 
actions  are  right,  and  others   wrong.     It  is  true,  moreover,  that  our 

*  Eccles  xi.  9. 


676  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  [Sbku, 

part  lies  in  finding  out  what'is  right,  and  observing  and  contending  for 
it.  And  without  judging  of , our  brethren's  state,  and,  again,  without 
being  over-earnest  about  httlc  matters,  it  is  our  duty  plainly  to  witness 
against  others  when  we  think  tliem  wrong,  and  to  impress  our  serious- 
ness upon  them  by  our  very  manner  towards  them  ;  lest  we  suffer  sin 
in  them,  and  so  become  partakers  of  it. 

If  all  this  be  true,  may  God  Himself,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  enable  us  heartily  to  act  upon  it !  May  He  give  us  that  hon- 
esty and  simplicity  of  mind,  which  looks  at  things  as  He  views  them, 
realizes  what  is  unseen,  puts  aside  all  the  shadows  and  mists  of  pride, 
party  feeling,  or  covetousness  ;  and,  not  only  knows  and  does  what  is 
right,  but  does  it  because  it  knows  it,  and  that  not  from  mere  reason, 
and  on  grounds  of  argument,  but  from  the  heart  itself,  from  that  in- 
ward and  pure  sense,  and  scrupulous  fear,  and  keen  faith,  and  gene- 
rous devotion,  which  does  not  need  arguments,  except  as  a  means  of 
strengthening  itself,  and  of  persuading  and  satisfying  others. 


SERMON   XVI. 


THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE. 


2  Tim.  ii.  20. 

In  a  great  hcu^c  there  are  not  only  vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver,  but  also  of  wood 
and  of  earth  :   and  some  to  honour,  and  some  to  dishonour. 

In  these  words  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  Church  as  containing  within  it 
good  and  bad,  after  our  Saviour's  pattern,  who,  in  the  parables  of  the 
Net  and  of  the  Tares,  had,  from  the  first,  announced  the  same  serious 
truth.  That  Holy  House  which  Christ  formed  in  order  to  be  the  trea- 
sury and  channel  of  His  grace  to  mankind,  over  which  His  Apostles 
presided  at  the  first,  and  after  them  others  whom  they  appointed,  was, 
even  from  their  time,  the  scat  of  unbelief  and  unholiness  as  well  as  of 
true  religion.  Even  among  the  Apostles  themselves,  one  was  "a 
devil."     No  wonder  tlien  that  eversince,  whether  among  the  rulers  or 


XVI.]  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  677 

the  subjects  of  the  Church,  sin  has  abounded,  where  nothing  but  righte- 
ousness, and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  should  have  been 
found.     It  is  so  at  this  day  ;  our  eyes  see  it ;  we  cannot  deny  it. 

But  though  we  all  see  it,  we  do  not  all  see  it  in  that  particular  light 
which  Scripture  sheds  upon  it.  We  often  account  for  it  differently,  we 
view  it  in  a  different  relation  to  other  truths,  from  that  in  which  it 
really  exists.  In  other  words,  we  admit  the  fact,  but  adopt  our  own 
theory  about  it,  I  will  explain  what  I  mean,  which  will  introduce  a 
subject  worth  considering. 

The  sight  of  the  sins  of  Christians  has  led  us  to  speak  of  what  are 
called  the  Visible  and  the  Invisible  Church  in  what  seems  an  unscriptu- 
ral  way.  The  word  Church,  applied  to  the  body  of  Christians  in  this 
world,  means  but  one  in  thing  in  Scripture,  a  visible  body  invested  with 
invisible  privileges.  Scripture  does  not  speak  of  two  bodies,  one  visible, 
the  other  invisible,  each  with  its  own  complement  of  members.  But 
this  is  a  common  notion  at  present ;  and  it  is  an  erroneous,  and  (I  will 
add)  a  dangerous  notion. 

It  is  true  there  are  some  senses  in  which  we  may  allowably  talk  of 
•the  Visible  and  Invisible  Church.  I  am  not  finding  fault  with  mere 
expressions ;  one  is  not  bound  in  common  discourse  to  use  every  word 
with  scientific  precision.  It  is  allowable  to  speak  of  the  Visible  and  of 
the  Invisible  Church,  as  two  sides  of  one  and  the  same  thing,  separated 
by  our  minds  only,  not  in  reality.  For  instance,  in  political  matters, 
we  sometimes  speak  of  England  as  a  nation  and  sometimes  as  a  state  ; 
not  meaning  different  things,  but  one  certain  identical  thing  viewed  in 
a  different  relation.  When  we  speak  of  the  Nation,  we  take  into  ac- 
count its  variety  of  local  rights,  interests,  attachments,  customs, 
opinions  ;  the  character  of  its  people,  and  the  history  of  that  character's 
formation.  On  the  other  hand,  when  we  speak  of  the  State,  we  imply 
the  notion  of  orders,  ranks,  and  powers,  of  the  legislative  and  executive 
departments,  and  the  like.  In  like  manner,  no  harm  can  come  of  the 
distinction  of  the  Church  into  Visible  and  Invisible,  while  we  view  it 
as,  on  the  whole,  but  one  in  different  aspects  ;  as  Visible,  because  con- 
sisting (for  instance)  of  clergy  and  laity, — as  Invisible,  because  resting 
for  its  life  and  strength  upon  unseen  influences  and  gifts  from  heaven. 
This  is  not  really  to  divide  into  two,  any  more  than  to  discriminate 
(as  they  say)  between  concave  and  convex,  is  to  divide  a  curve  line ; 
which  looked  at  outwardly  is  convex,  but  looked  at  inwardly,  concave. 

Again,  we  may  consider  the  Church  in  one  century  as  different  from 

the  Church  in  another.     We  may  speak  of  the  modern  Church  and  the 

ancient  Church  ;  and  this  without  meaning  that  these  are  two  bodies, 

merely  by  way  of  denoting  difference  of  time.     In  a  similar  Avay  we 

Vol.  I— 37 


678  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND   INVISIBLE.  [Seiw. 

talk  of  tho  Jewish  Church  and  the  Christian,  tliough  really  both 
Churches  arc  one,  only  under  ditforent  Dispensations.  "What  is 
meant,"  Mill  vou  ask,  "by  the  Church  in  one  age  being  the  same  as 
the  Church  in  another  ?"  plainly  this,  that  there  is  no  real  line  of  de- 
marcation between  them,  that  the  one  is  but  the  continuation  of  the 
other,  and  that  you  may  as  well  talk  of  two  Churches  at  this  moment 
in  the  north  and  south  of  England,  as  two  in  difterent  centuries. 
Properly  speaking,  the  One  Church  is  the  whole  body  gathered  to- 
gether from  all  ages  ;  so  that  the  Church  of  this  very  age  is  but  part  of 
it,  and  this  in  the  same  sense  in  which  the  Church  in  England,  again, 
in  this  day,  is  but  part  of  the  present  Church  Catholic.  In  the  next 
world  this  whole  Church  will  be  brought  together  in  one,  whenever 
its  separate  members  lived,  and  then  too  all  its  unsound  and  unfruitful 
members  will  be  dropped,  so  that  nothing  but  holiness  will  remain  in  it. 
Here,  then,  is  a  second  sense  in  which  we  may  discriminate  between 
the  Church  Visible  and  Invisible.  The  body  of  the  elect,  contemplated 
as  it  will  be  hereafter,  nay,  as  it  already  exists  in  Paradise,  >vc  may,  if 
we  will,  call  the  Church,  and,  since  this  blessed  consummation  takes 
place  in  the  unseen  world,  we  may  call  it  the  Invisible  Church. 
Doubtless,  we  may  speak  of  the  Invisible  Church  in  the  sense  of  the 
Church  in  glory,  or  the  Church  in  rest.  There  is  no  error  in  such  a 
mode  of  speech.  We  do  not  make  two  Churches,  we  only  view  the 
Christian  body  as  existing  in  the  world  of  spirits ;  and  the  present 
Church  visible,  so  far  as  it  really  has  part  and  lot  in  the  same  blessed- 
ness. 

Still  further,  we  may,  by  a  figure  of  speech,  speak  of  the  members  of  the 
existing  Church,  who  are  at  present  walking  in  God's  faith  and  fear,  as  the 
Invisible  Church  ;  not  meaning  thereby  that  they  constitute  a  separate 
body,  which  is  not  the  case,  but  by  a  mental  abstraction,  separating 
them  ofi'  in  imagination  from  the  rest,  speaking  of  them  as  invisible 
because  we  do  not  know  them,  and  speaking  of  them  as  peculiarly  the 
Church  because  they  are  what  all  Christians  are  intended  and  ought 
to  be,  and  are  all  that  would  remain  of  the  Church  Visible,  did  the  day 
of  judgment  suddenly  come.  In  like  manner,  speaking  politically,  we 
talk  of  the  Clergy  as  the  Church  :  here  is  a  parallel  instance,  in  which 
a  part  of  a  body  is  viewed  as  the  Avhole  ;  still,  who  would  say  that  the 
Laity  are  one  Church  by  themselves,  and  the  Clergy  by  themselves 
another  ? 

In  all  these  senses  then,  whether  we  speak  of  the  Church  as  invisibly 
blest  and  succoured,  or  as  triumphant  hereafter,  or  in  relation  to  its  true 
members,  who  are  its  substantial  support  and  glory,  we  may  allowably 
make  mention   of  the  Invisible  Church.     But  if  wo  conceive  of  the 


XVI.J  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  579 

Invisible  as  one,  and  the  Visible  as  another,  as  if  there  were  one  body 
without  spiritual  privileges,  of  good  and  bad  together,  and  another  of 
good  only,  with  spiritual  privileges,  surely  we  speak  without  warrant,  or 
rather  without  leave  of  Holy  Scripture. 

The  Church  of  Christ,  as  Scripture  teaches,  is  a  visible  body,  in- 
vested with,  or  (I  may  say)  existing  in  invisible  privileges.  Take  the 
analogy  of  the  human  body  by  way  of  illustration.  Considering  man 
according  to  his  animal  nature,  I  might  speak  of  him  as  havinw  an 
organized  visible  frame,  sustained  by  an  unseen  spirit.  When  the 
soul  leaves  the  body  it  ceases  to  be  a  body,  it  becomes  a  corpse.  So 
the  Church  would  cease  to  be  the  Church,  did  the  Holv  Spirit  leave  it ; 
and  it  does  not  exist  at  all  except  in  the  Spirit.  Or,  consider  the  figure 
of  a  tree,  which  is  our  Lord's  own  instance.  A  vine  has  many  branches, 
and  they  are  all  nourished  by  the  sap  which  circulates  throughout. 
There  may  be  dead  branches,  still  they  are  upon  one  and  the  self-same 
tree.  Were  they  as  numerous  as  the  sound  ones,  were  they  a  hundred 
times  as  many,  they  would  not  form  a  tree  by  themselves.  Were  all  the 
branches  dead,  were  the  stock  dead,  then  it  would  be  a  dead  tree.  But  any 
how,  we  could  never  say  they  were  two  trees.  Such  is  the  Scripture  ac- 
count of  the  Church,  a  living  body  with  branches,  some  dead,  some  livin" ; 
as  in  the  text  by  another  figure  :  "  In  a  great  house  there  are  vessels, 
some  to  honour  and  some  to  dishonour."'  Can  any  account  be  plainer 
than  this  is  1  Why  divide  into  two,  when  the  only  reason  for  so  divid- 
ing, viz.  the  improbability  that  good  and  bad  should  be  together,  is 
superseded,  as  irrelevant,  by  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  themselves  ? 
Very  various  things  are  said  of  the  Church  ;  sometimes  it  is  spoken  of 
as  glorious  and  holy,  sometimes  as  abounding  in  otiences  and  sins.  It 
is  natural,  perhaps,  at  first  sight,  to  invent,  in  consequence,  the  hypo- 
thesis of  two  Churches,  as  the  Jews  have  dreamed  of  two  Messiahs  ; 
but,  I  say,  our  Saviour  has  implied  that  it  is  unnecessary,  that  these 
opposite  descriptions  of  it  are  not  really  incompatible;  and  if  so,  what 
j  reason  remains  for  doing  violence  to  the  sacred  text  ? 

Consider  these  various  descriptions,  carefully  examine  them,  and  sav» 
why  it  is  not  possible  to  adjust  them  together  in  one  subject,  directly 
we  know  that  it  is  lawful  to  do  so?  Consider  how  they  were  all  ful- 
filled in  the  case  of  the  Corinthians,  which  is  expressly  given  in  Scrip- 
ture. For  instance,  the  Church  is  made  up  of  ranks  and  offices. 
"God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church,  first  apostles,  secondarih"  prophets, 
thirdly  teachers,  after  that  miracles,  then  gifts  of  healings,  helps, 
governments,  diversities  of  tongues."  It  is  inhabited  by  the  Holy- 
Ghost ;  "All  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  self-same  Spirit,  dividing 
to  every  man  severally  as  he  will.     For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath 


680  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  [Skrh; 

many  members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  though  many, 
are  one  body  ;  so  also  is  Christ."  Its  Sacraments  are  the  instruments 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  uses  :  "By  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into 
one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free  ; 
and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit."  Yet,  in  spite  of 
these  ])recious  gifts,  the  Church  consists  of  bad  as  well  as  good  ;  for 
the  Corinthians,  though  "  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  are  reproved 
by  St.  Paul  for  being  "puffed  up,"  "contentious,"  and  carnal." 

Now,  in  answer  to  this  account  of  the  Church,  as  one  and  not  double, 
it  may  be  objected,  that  "  surely  it  is  impossible  that  bad  men  can 
really  have  God's  grace  within  them,  or  that  the  irreligious  or  secular 
can  be  properly  called  justified  or  elect ;  yet  such  men  are  outwardly  in 
the  Church,  so  that  there  are  two  Churches  anyhow,  an  outward  and  an 
inward."  Or,  again,  it  may  be  said  that  "  repentance  and  faith  are 
confessedly  necessary  in  order  to  enjoy  the  Christian  privileges  ;  those, 
therefore,  who  have  not  these  requisites,  certainly  have  not  the  privi- 
leges, that  is,  arc  not  members  of  Christ's  true  Church ;  from  which 
again  it  follows,  that  there  certainly  are  two  bodies,  whatever  words  we 
use."  It  will  be  added,  perhaps,  that  "  Simon  Magus,  though  he  had 
been  baptized,  was  unregenerate,  being  addressed  by  St.  Peter  as  being 
*  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  the  bond  of  iniquity.'  "*  On  the  other 
hand  it  may  be  argued  that  "  there  are  good  men  outside  the  Visible 
Church,  viz.  among  Dissenters,  who,  as  being  good,  must  necessarily  be 
in  the  Invisible  Church  ;  and  thus  there  certainly  are  two  Churches." 
On  the  whole,  then,  there  are  these  two  arguments  to  prove  that  the 
word  Church  has  two  dintinct  meanings  in  Scripture :  first,  that  there 
are  bad  men  in  the  Visible  Church,  next,  that  certain  good  men  are  oul 
of  it  : — both  being  derived  from  the  actual  state  of  things  which  we  see 
which  is  supposed  to  be  a  legitimate  comment  upon  the  words  of  Scrip 
ture. 

1.  We  will  first  take  the  objection  that  bad  men  are  in  the  Visiblt 
Church  ;  what  is  this  to  prove  ?  Let  us  observe.  It  is  maintaincc 
that  "  bad  men  cannot  be  members  of  the  true  Church,  therefore  then 
is  a  true  Ch\irch  distinct  from  the  Visible  Church."  But  we  shall  bi 
nearer  the  truth,  if,  instead  of  saying  "  bad  men  cannot  be  members  o 
the  true  Church,"  we  word  it,  "  bad  men  cannot  be  true  members  of  thi 
Church."  Does  not  this  meet  all  that  reason  requires,  yet  without  lean 
ing  to  the  inference  that  the  Church  Visible  is  not  the  true  Church 
Again,  it  is  said  that  ♦•  the  Visible  Church  has  not  the  gifts  of  gracf 
because  wicked  men  are  members  of  it,  who,  of  course,  cannot  hav 

•  Acts  viii.  23, 


XVI.]  THE   CHURCH   VISIBLE   AND  INVISIBLE.  581 

them."     What !  must  the  Church  be  without  them  herself,  because  she 

,  is  not  able  to  impart  them  to  wicked  men  1  What  reasoning  is  this  ? 
because  certain  individuals  of  a  body  have  them  not,  therefore  the  body 
has  them  not  !  Surely  it  is  possible  that  certain  members  of  a  body 
should  be  debarred,  under  circumstances,  from  its  privileges ;  and  this 

I  we  consider  to  be  the  case  with  bad  men. 

Let  us  return  to  the  instance  of  a  tree,  already  used.  Is  a  dead  branch 
part  or  not  part  of  a  tree  ?     You  may  decide  this  way  or  that,  but  you 

,  will  never  say,  because  the  branch  is  dead,  that  therefore  the  tree  has 
no  sap.     It  is  a  dead  branch  of  a  living  tree,  not  a  branch  of  a  dead 

;  tree.     In  like  manner,  irreligious  men  are  dead   members  of  the  one 

'  Visible  Church,  which  is  living  and  true,  not  members  of  a  Church 
which  is  dead.  Because  they  are  dead,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  Visi- 
ble Church  to  which  they  belong  is  dead  also. 

Or,  consider  the  parallel  of  a  body  politic.  Are  persons,  who  are  un- 
der disabilities,  members  of  it  or  not  1  Are  convicts  1  Prisoners  are 
debarred  from  certain  rights,  but  they  are  still  members  of  the  state,  and, 
after  a  while,  recover  what  they  have  forfeited. 

The  case  is  the  same  as  regards  the  Church.  Its  invisible  privi- 
leges range  throughout  it ;  but  there  may  be,  on  the  part  of  individuals, 

1  obstacles  or  impediments  which  suspend  their  enjoyment  of  them.  It 
is  one  thing  to  be  admitted  into  the  body,  and  another  thing  to  enjoy 
its  privileges.  While  men  are  impenitent,  the  grace  of  the  Christian 
election  does  not  operate  in  their  case.  And  in  proportion  to  their 
carelessness  and  profaneness  do  they  quench  the  Spirit.  Hence  it  is 
that  faith  is  necessary  for  our  justification,  as  an  indispensable  condi- 
tion where  it  can  be  had.  Simon  Magus,  we  may  securely  grant,  was 
profited  nothing  by  his  baptism  ;  the  font  of  regeneration  was  opened 
upon  him,  but  his  heart  was  closed.  The  blessing  was  put  into  his 
hand,  but  he  had  not  that  which  alone  could  apprehend  and  apply  it. 
It  was  sealed  up  from  him,  and  only  penitence  and  faith  could  unseal 
it.  Therefore  St.  Peter  bids  him  repent,  that  he  might  receive  it.  He 
went  on  further  in  wickedness,  as  history  informs  us,  and  then,  of 
course,  the  gift  thus  attached  to  him,  but  not  enjoyed,  would  prove,  at 
the  last  day,  but  a  cause  of  heavier  condenmation.  I  do  not  presume 
to  say  that  this  is  the  true  explanation  of  his  case,  which  is  not  told  us, 
but  as  a  mode  of  explaining  it,  and  yet  keeping  clear  of  the  conclusion, 
for  the  sake  of  which  it  is  usually  brought.  If  there  be  one  such  ex- 
planation, there  may  be  others.* 

,     In  like  manner,  when  men  fall  into  sin,  they  lose  the  light  of  God's 

*  Vido  Note  at  the  end  of  thii  Volume. 


682  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  [Serm. 

countenance ;  but  why  should  it  be  withdrawn  from  the  Holy  Church, 
for  their  indi\idual  transgressions  ? 

There  was  a  controversy,  in  early  times,  which  illustrates  still  fur- 
ther  the  foregoing  explanation  of  the  difficulty.  It  was  disputed  whether 
the  baptism  administered  by  clergy  who  were  heretics,  and  had  been 
put  out  of  the  Church,  was  valid.  And  at  length  it  was  decided  as  fol- 
lows :  that  the  baptism  was  valid  for  the  primary  purpose  of  baptism, 
viz.  that  of  admitting  into  the  visible  body  of  Christ,  but  that  the  enjoy, 
merit  of  its  privileges  was  suspended,  while  the  parties  receiving  it  re- 
mained in  heretical  communion.  On  coming  over  to  the  Church  Catho- 
lic, they  were  formally  admitted  by  confirmation,  and  released  from 
the  bond  under  which  they  had  hitherto  lain. 

If,  then,  I  am  asked  what  is  to  be  thought  of  the  state  of  irreligious 
men  in  the  Church,  I  answer,  that  if  open  sinners,  or  heretics,  or 
leaders  in  dissent,  be  meant,  they  are  to  be  put  out  of  it  by  the  com- 
petent authority.  As  to  those  who  are  not  such,  we  cannot  determine 
about  their  real  condition,  for  we  cannot  see  their  hearts.  Many  may 
seem  fair  and  specious  to  us,  who  are  really  dead  in  God's  sight ;  and 
these,  of  course,  cannot  possess  the  gifts  of  grace  any  more  than 
Simon  Magus.  Or  they  may  be  lukewarm,  unstable,  inconsistent  ;  and 
may  thus  have  forfeited,  more  or  less,  the  privileges  which  have  gra- 
ciously been  committed  to  them.  But  how  does  all  this  show  that  the  . 
Visible  Church  has  not  the  true  and  spiritual  gifts  of  the  Gospel  at- 
tached to  her. 

2.  Now,  to  consider  the  second  objection  that  is  urged,  viz.  that 
*'  there  are  good  men  external  to  the  Visible  Church,  therefore  there  is 
a  second  Church,  called  the  Invisible."  In  answer,  I  observe,  that  as 
every  one,  who  has  been  duly  baptized,  is,  in  one  sense,  in  the  Church, 
even  though  his  sins  since  have  hid  God's  countenance  from  him  ;  so, 
if  a  man  has  not  been  baptized,  be  he  ever  so  correct  and  exemplary 
in  his  conduct,  this  does  not  prove  that  he  has  received  regeneration, 
Tvhich  is  the  peculiar  and  invisible  gift  of  the  Church.  What  is  re- 
generation ?  It  is  the  gift  of  a  new  and  spiritual  nature  ;  but  men 
have,  through  God's  blessing,  obeyed  and  pleased  Ilim  without  it.  The 
Israelites  were  not  regenerated  ;  Cornelius,  the  Centurion,  was  not 
regenerated,  when  his  prayers  and  alms  came  up  before  God.  No 
outward  conduct,  however  consistent,  can  be  a  criterion,  to  our  mortal 
judgments,  of  this  unearthly  and  mysterious  privilege.  Therefore,  when 
you  bring  to  me  the  case  of  religious  Dissenters,  I  rejoice  at  hearing  of 
them.  If  they  know  no  better,  God,  we  trust,  will  accept  them  as  he 
did  the  Shunammite.  I  wish,  with  all  my  heart,  they  partook  the  full 
blessings  of  the  Church  ;  but  all  my  wishing  cannot  change  God's 


X^/I.]  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  683 

appointments  ;  and  His  appointment,  I  say,  is  this,  that  the  Chu  ch 
Visible  should  be  the  minister,  and  Baptism  the  instrument  of  Regene- 
ration. But  I  have  said  not  a  word  to  imply  that  a  man,  if  he  knows  no 
better,  may  not  be  exemplary  in  his  generation  without  it. 

So  much  in  answer  to  this  objection  ;  but  the  same  consideration 
throws  light  upon  the  former  ditficulty  also,  that  of  inconsistent  men 
being  in  the  Church.  Regeneration,  I  say,  is  a  new  birth,  or  the  giving 
of  a  new  nature.  Now,  let  it  be  observed,  there  is  nothing  impossible 
in  the  thing  itself,  (though  we  believe  it  is  not  so,)  but  nothing  impos- 
sible in  the  very  notion  of  a  regeneration  being  accorded  even  to  im" 
penitent  sinners.  I  do  not  say  regeneration  in  its  fulness,  for  that 
includes  in  it  perfect  happiness  and  holiness,  to  which  it  tends  from  the 
first  ;  yet  regeneration  in  a  true  and  sufficient  sense,  in  its  primary 
qualities.  For  the  essence  of  regeneration  is  the  communication  of  a 
higher  and  diviner  nature ;  and  sinners  may  have  this  gift,  though  it 
would  be  a  curse  to  them,  not  a  blessing.  The  devils  may  have  a  nature 
thus  higher  and  more  divine  than  man,  yet  they  are  not  preserved 
thereby  from  evil. 

And  if  this  is  the  case  even  with  sinners,  much  more  is  regeneration 
conceivable  in  the  instance  of  children,  who  have  done  neither  good  nor 
evil.  Nor  does  it  at  all  follow,  even  though  they  grow  up  disobedient, 
and  are  a  scandal  to  the  Church,  that  therefore  the  Church  has  not 
conveyed  to  them  a  great  gift,  an  initiation  into  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come. 

If,  indeed,  this  gracious  privilege  ensured  religious  obedience,  then, 
truly,  disobedience  in  those  who  have  been  admitted  into  the  Church 
would  prove  that  the  Church  had  not  conveyed  it  to  them.  But  until  a 
man  is  ready  to  maintain  that  the  Spirit  cannot  be  "  quenched,"  he  has 
no  warrant  for  saying  that  it  has  not  been  given. 

Now  then,  after  these  explanations,  let  me  ask,  in  what  is  this  whole 
doctrine  concerning  the  Church,  which  I  have  been  giving,  inconsistent  ? 
"What  dijficulty  does  it  present  to  force  us  to  reject  the  plain  word  of 
Scripture  about  it,  and  to  imagine  a  Visible  Church  with  no  privileges 
at  all,  and  an  Invisible  Church  of  real  Christians  exclusively  with 
them  ?  Surely,  nothing  but  the  influence  of  a  human  system,  acting 
on  us,  can  make  us  read  Scripture  so  perversely  !  and  how  is  it  a  less 
violence  to  deny  that  the  Church  which  the  Apostle  set  up,  and  which 
is,  in  matter  of  fact,  among  us  at  this  day,  is  (what  Scripture  says  it 
is)  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  Truth,  the  Mother  of  us  all,  the  House 
of  God,  the  dwelling  place  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Spouse  of  Christ,  a 
glorious  Church  without  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing,  and  des- 
tined to  remain  even  to  the  end  of  the  world, — how  is  this  a  less 


584  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  [Skrm.. 

violent  perversion  of  Scripture  trutli  than  theirs,  who,  when  Scripture 
says  that  Christ  is  God,  obstinately  maintain  He  is  a  mere  man  ? 

I  will  notice  in  conclusion  one  objection  which  subtle  minds  may 
make  the  statements  now  set  before  you.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
Church  has  forfeited  its  early  privileges,  by  allowing  itself  to  remain  in  a 
state  of  sin  and  disorder  which  Christ  never  intended  :  for  instance, 
"  that  from  time  to  time  there  have  been  great  corruptions  in  it,  espe- 
cially under  the  ascendancy  of  the  Papal  power  :  that  there  have  been 
very  many  scandalous  appointments  to  its  highest  dignities,  that  infidels 
have  been  bishops,  that  men  have  administered  baptism  or  ordination 
not  believing  that  grace  was  imparted  in  those  sacred  ordinances,  and, 
that  in  particular  in  our  own  country,  heretics  and  open  sinners,  whom 
Christ  would  have  put  out  of  the  Church,  are  suffered,  by  a  sin  on  the 
part  of  the  Church,  to  remain  within  it  unrebuked,  uncondemned." 
This  is  what  is  sometimes  said ;  and  I  confess,  had  we  not  Scripture 
to  consult,  it  would  be  a  very  specious  argument  against  the  Church's 
present  power,  now  at  the  distance  of  eighteen  hundred  years  from  the 
Apostles.  It  would  certainly  seem  as  if  the  conditions  not  having  been 
fully  observed  on  which  that  power  was  granted,  it  was  forfeited.  But 
here  the  case  of  the  Jewish  Church  afibrds  us  the  consoling  certainty, 
that  God  does  not  so  visit,  even  though  He  might,  and  that  His  gifts 
and  calling  "  are  without  repentance."*  Christ's  Church  cannot  be  in 
a  worse  condition  than  that  of  Israel  when  He  visited  it  in  the  flesh  ; 
yet  He  expressly  assures  us  that  in  His  day  "  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
seet,'  wicked  men  as  they  were,  "  sat  in  Moses'  seat,"  and  were  to  be 
obeyed  in  what  they  taught  ;  and  we  find,  in  accordance  with  this 
information,  that  Caiaphas,  "  because  he  was  the  high  priest,"  had  the 
gift  of  prophecy, — had  it,  though  he  did  not  know  he  had  it,  nay,  in 
spite  of  his  being  one  of  the  foremost  in  accomplishing  our  Lord's 
crucifixion.  Surely,  then,  we  may  infer,  that,  however  fallen  the 
Church  now  is  from  what  it  once  was,  however  unconscious  of  its 
power,  it  still  has  the  gift,  as  of  old  time,  to  convey  and  withdraw  the 
Christian  privileges,  "  to  bind  and  to  loose,"  to  consecrate,  to  bless,  to 
teach  the  Truth  in  all  necessary  things,  to  rule,  and  to  prevail. 

But  if  these  things  be  so  if  the  Church  Visible  really  has  invisible 
privileges,  what  must  we  think,  my  brethren,  of  the  general  spirit  of 
this  day,  which  looks  upon  the  Church  as  but  a  civil  institution,  a  crea- 
tion and  a  portion  of  the  state  ?  What  shall  be  thought  of  the  notion  that 
it  depends  upon  the  breath  of  princes,  or  upon  the  enactments  of  human 
law  ?     What,  again,  shall  be  thought  of  those  who  fiercely  and  rancor- 

*  Rom.  li.  29. 


XVI.]  THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE.  585 

ously  oppose  and  revile  what  is  really  an  Ordinance  of  God  and  the 
place  where  His  honour  dwelleth  ?  Even  to  the  Jewish  priesthood  after 
the  blood  of  the  Redeemer  was  upon  it,  even  to  it  St.  Paul  deferred, 
signifying  that  God's  high  priest  was  not  to  be  reviled  ;  and  if  so,  surely 
much  less  the  rulers  of  a  branch  of  the  Church,  which,  v/hatever  have 
been  its  sins  in  times  past,  yet  is  surely  innocent  (as  we  humbly  and 
fervently  trust)  of  any  inexpiable  crime.  Moreover,  what  an  unworthy 
part  they  act,  who  knowing  and  confessing  the  real  claims  of  the  Church, 
yet  allow  them  to  be  lightly  treated  and  forgotten  without  uttering  a 
word  in  their  behalf ;  who,  from  secular  policy,  or  other  insufficient 
reason,  bear  to  hear  our  spiritual  rulers  treated  as  mere  civil  functiona- 
ries, without  instructing  or  protesting  against  or  foregoing  intimacy  with 
those  who  despise  them,  nay  even  co-operating  with  them  cordially,  as 
if  they  could  serve  two  masters,  Christ  and  the  world  !  And  how  me- 
lancholy is  the  general  spectacle  in  this  day  of  ignorance,  doubt,  per- 
plexity, misbelief,  perverseness,  on  the  subject  of  this  great  doctrine,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  jealousy,  hatred,  and  unbelieving  spirit  with  which 
the  Church  is  regarded  !  Surely,  thus  much  we  are  forced  to  grant, 
that,  be  the  privileges  vested  in  the  Church  what  they  may,  yet,  at  pre- 
sent,  they  are,  as  to  their  full  fruits,  suspended  in  our  branch  of  it  by  our 
present  want  of  faith  ;  nor  can  Ave  expect  that  the  glories  of  Christ's 
Kingdom  will  again  be  manifested  in  it,  till  we  repent,  confess  "  our 
offences  and  the  offences  of  our  forefathers  ;"  and,  instead  of  trusting  to- 
an  arm  of  flesh,  claim  for  the  Church  what  God  has  given  it,  for  Christ's 
sake,  "  whether  men  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear." 


SERMON    XVII 


THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH  AN  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  FAITH. 


Heb.  xii.  1. 


"Wlierefore,  seeing  we  also  arc  compassed  about  witli  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses, 
let  UB  lay  aside  every  weight  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us 
run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us. 

The  warning  and  consolation  given  by  the  Apostle  to  the  Hebrews, 
amid  their  sufferings  for  the  truth's  sake,  were  as  follows :  they  were  to 
guard  against  unbelief,  that  easily-besetting  sin  under  temptation, 
chiefly,  and  above  all,  by  "  looking  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher 
of  faith  ;"  but,  besides  this,  a  secondary  stay  was  added.  So  glorious 
and  holy  is  our  Lord,  though  viewed  in  His  human  nature,  so  perfect 
when  He  was  tempted,  so  heavenly  even  upon  earth,  that  sinners,  such 
as  we  are,  cannot  endure  the  sight  of  Him  at  first.  Like  the  blessed 
Apostle  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  we  "fall  at  His  feet  as  dead."  So, 
in  mercy  to  us,  without  withdrawing  His  presence,  He  has  included 
within  it.  His  Saints  and  Angels,  a  great  company  of  created  beings, 
nay,  of  those  who  once  were  sinners,  and  subjects  of  His  kingdom  up- 
on earth  ;  that  thus  we  may  be  encouraged  by  the  example  of  others 
before  us  to  look  unto  Him  and  live.  St.  Paul,  in  the  foregoing  chap- 
ter, enumerates  many  of  the  Ancient  Saints  who  had  run  the  course  of 
faith ;  and  then  he  says  in  the  te.xt,  "  Wherefore,  let  us  also,  being, 
compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  lay  aside  every 
weight  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with 
patience  the  racp  that  is  set  before  us."  And  presently  he  speaks  in  still 
more  high  and  glowing  language  of  the  Christian  Church,  that  august 
assemblage  which  Christ  had  formed  of  all  that  was  holy  in  heaven  and 
earth.  "  Ye  arc  come  unto  Mount  Sion,  and  unto  the  City  of  the  Liv- 
ing God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company  of 
Angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born,  and  to 
the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the 
New  Covenant." 


Serm.  XVIL]  THE   VISIBLE   CHURCH,   &c.  487 

And  much  is  needed,  in  every  age  as  a  remedy  against  unbelief,  that 
support  which  St.  Paul  suggested  to  the  Hebrews  in  persecution,  the 
vision  of  the  saints  of  God,  and  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Much 
is  it  needed,  in  every  age,  by  those  who  have  set  their  hearts  to  serve 
God,  because  they  are  few,  and  faint  for  corapanj-.  We  are  told,  ex- 
pressly, "  Broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there 
be  which  go  in  thereat."  On  the  other  hand,  "  Strait  is  the  gate,  and 
narrow  is  the  way  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find 
it."*  Alas  !  is  it  not  discouragement  enough  to  walk  in  a  path  of  self- 
denial,  to  combat  with  our  natural  lusts  and  high  imaginations,  to  have 
the  war  of  the  flesh,  that  the  war  with  the  world  must  be  added  to  it  ? 
Is  it  not  enough  to  be  pilgrims  and  soldiers  all  our  days,  but  we  must 
hear  the  mutual  greetings,  and  exulting  voices,  of  those  who  choose 
the  Avay  of  death,  and  must  walk  not  only  in  pain  but  in  solitude  ? 
Where  is  the  blessing  upon  the  righteous,  where  the  joy  of  faith,  the 
comfort  of  love,  the  triumph  of  self-mastery,  in  such  dreariness  and 
desolateness  ?  Who  are  to  sympathize  with  us  in  our  joys  and  sorrows, 
who  are  to  spur  us  on  by  the  example  of  their  own  success  before  us  1 
St.  Paul  answers  us, — the  cloud  of  witnesses  of  former  days.  Let  us 
then  consider  our  need  and  its  remedy. 

1.  Certainly  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  if  we  surrender  our  hearts  to 
Christ  and  obey  God,  we  shall  be  in  the  number  of  the  few.  So  it  has 
been  in  every  age,  so  it  will  be  to  the  end  of  time.  It  is  hard  indeed, 
to  find  a  man  who  gives  himself  up  honestly  to  his  Saviour.  In  spite 
of  all  the  mercies  poured  upon  us,  yet  in  one  way  or  other  we  are  in 
danger  of  being  betrayed  by  our  own  hearts,  and  taking  up  with  a  pre- 
tence of  religion  instead  of  the  substance.  Hence,  in  a  country  called 
Christian,  the  many  live  to  the  world.  Nay,  it  would  seem  that  as 
Christianity  spreads,  its  fruit  become  less  ;  or  at  least,  does  not  increase 
with  its  growth.  It  seems  (some  have  said)  as  if  a  certain  portion  of 
truth  were  in  the  world,  a  certain  number  of  the  elect  in  the  Church, 
and,  as  you  increased  its  territory,  you  scattered  this  remnant  to  and 
fro,  and  made  them  seem  fewer,  and  made  them  feel  more  desolate. 

"  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves  ;"t  what 
•our  Lord  addressed  to  His  Apostles  is  fulfilled  to  this  day  in  all  those 
who  obey  Him.  They  are  sprinkled  up  and  down  the  world  ;  they  are 
separated  the  one  from  the  other,  they  are  bid  quit  each  other's  dear 
society,  and  sent  afar  off  to  those  who  are  differently  minded.  Their 
choice  of  profession  and  emplo}-ment  is  not  their  own.  Outward  cir- 
cumstances, over  which  they  have  no  control,  determine  their  line  of 

*  Matt.  Tii.  13,  14.  t  Matt.  x.  16. 


588  THE  VISIBLE   CHURCH  [Serm. 

life ;  accidents  bring  them  to  this  place  or  that  place,  not  knowing 
whither  they  go ;  not  knowing  the  persons  to  whom  they  unite  them- 
selves, they  find,  almost  blindly,  their  home  and  their  company.  And 
in  this,  moreover,  dilFcring  from  the  Apostles,  and  very  painfully  ;  that 
the  Apostles  knew  each  other,  and  could  communicate  one  with  an- 
other,  and  could  form,  nay,  were  bound  to  form  one  body  ;  but  now, 
those  honest  and  true  hearts,  in  which  the  good  seed  has  profitably 
fallen,  do  not  even  know  each  other  ;  nay,  even  when  they  think  they 
can  single  out  their  fellows,  yet  are  they  not  allowed  to  form  a  separate 
society  with  them. 

They  do  not  know  each  other  ;  they  do  not  know  themselves ;  they 
do  not  dare  take  to  themselves  the  future  titles  of  God's  elect,  though 
they  be  really  reserved  for  them  ;  and  the  nearer  they  are  towards 
heaven,  so  much  the  more  lowly  do  they  think  of  themselves.  "  Lord, 
I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou  shouldest  come  under  my  roof,"*  was  the 
language  of  him  who  had  greater  faith  than  any  in  Israel.  Doubtless, 
they  do  not  know  their  own  blessedness,  nor  can  they  single  out  those 
who  are  their  fellows  in  blessedness.  God  alone  sees  the  heart ;  now 
and  then,  as  they  walk  their  way,  they  see  glimpses  of  God's  work  in 
others  ;  they  take  hold  of  them  awhile  in  the  dark,  but  soon  lose  therh  ; 
they  hear  their  voices,  but  cannot  find  them.  Some  few,  indeed,  are 
revealed  to  them,  in  a  measure.  Among  those  with  whom  their  lot  is 
cast,  whom  they  see  continually,  one  or  two,  perhaps,  are  given  them 
to  rejoice  in,  but  not  many  even  of  these.  For  so  it  has  pleased  the 
Dresser  of  the  Vineyard,  who  seems  purposed  that  His  own  should  not 
grow  too  thick  together  ;  and  if  they  seem  to  do  so.  He  prunes  His  vine 
that,  seeming  to  bear  less,  it  may  bear  better.  He  plucks  oft'  some  of 
the  promise  of  the  vintage ;  and  they  who  are  left,  mourn  over  their 
brethren  whom  God  has  taken  to  Himself,  not  understanding  that  it  is 
no  strange  providence,  but  the  very  rule  of  His  government  to  leave  His 
servants  few  and  solitary. 

And,  even  when  they  know  each  other,  (as  far  as  man  can  know 
man,)  still,  as  I  have  said,  they  may  not  form  an  exclusive  communion 
together.  Of  course,  every  one  will  naturally  live  most  with  those 
whom  he  likes  most ;  but  it  is  one  thing  to  have  a  preference,  and  quite 
another  to  draw  a  line  of  exclusion,  and  to  form  a  select  company  within 
the  Church.  The  Visible  Church  of  God  is  that  one  only  company 
Avhich  Christians  know  as  yet  ;  it  was  set  up  at  Pentecost,  with  the 
Apostles  for  founders,  tlieir  successors  for  rulers,  and  all  professing 
Christian  people  for  members.     In  this  Visible  Church  the  Church  In- 

•  Matt.  viii.  8. 


XVII.]  AN  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  FAITH.  689 

visible  is  gradually  moulded  and  matured.  It  is  formed  slowly  and  va- 
riously by  the  Blessed  Spirit  of  God,  in  the  instance  of  this  man  and 
that,  who  belong  to  the  general  body.  But  all  these  blessed  fulfilments 
of  God's  grace  are  as  yet  but  parts  of  the  visible  Church  ;  they  grow 
from  it ;  they  depend  upon  it ;  they  do  not  hang  upon  each  other  ;  they 
do  not  form  a  body  together  ;  there  is  no  Invisible  Church  yet  formed  ; 
it  is  but  a  name  as  yet  ;  a  name  given  to  those  who  are  hidden,  and 
known  to  God  only,  and  as  yet  but  half  formed,  the  unripe  and  gradu- 
ally ripening  fruit  which  grows  on  the  stem  of  the  Church  Visible.  As 
well  might  we  attempt  to  foretell  the  blossoms  which  will  at  length  turn 
to  account  and  ripen  for  the  gathering,  and  then  counting  up  all  these 
and  joining  them  together  in  our  minds,  call  them  by  the  name  of  a 
tree,  as  attempt  now  to  associate  in  one  the  true  elect  of  God.  They 
are  scattered  about  amid  the  leaves  of  that  Mystical  Vine  which  is  seen, 
and  receive  their  nurture  from  its  trunk  and  branches.  They  live  on 
its  Sacraments  and  its  Ministry  ;  they  gain  light  and  salvation  from  its 
rites  and  ordinances  ;  they  communicate  with  each  other  through  it ; 
they  obey  its  rulers ;  they  walk  together  with  its  members  ;  they  do 
not  dare  to  judge  of  this  man  or  that  man,  on  their  right  hand  or  their 
left,  whether  or  not  he  is  absolutely  of  the  number  of  those  who  shall  be 
saved  ;  they  accept  all  as  their  brethren  in  Christ,  as  partakers  of  the 
same  general  promises,  who  have  not  openly  cast  off  Christ, — as  really 
■brethren,  till  death  comes,  as  those  who  fulfil  their  calling  most  strictly. 
Yet,  at  the  same  time,  while  in  faith  they  love  those,  all  around  them, 
who  are  called  by  Christ's  name,  and  forbear  to  judge  about  their  real 
state  in  God's  sight,  they  cannot  but  see  much  in  many  of  them  to  hurt 
and  offend  them  ;  they  cannot  but  feel,  most  painfully,  the  presence  of 
that  worldly  atmosphere  which,  however  originating,  is  around  them  ; 
they  feel  the  suffocation  of  those  vapours  in  which  the  many  are  con- 
tent to  remain  ;  and  while  they  cannot  trace  the  evil  to  its  real  authors 
individually,  they  are  sure  that  it  is  an  evil  to  be  avoided  and  pointed 
out,  and  originating  somewhere  or  other  in  the  Church.  Hence,  in 
their  spheres,  whether  high  or  low,  the  faithful  few  are  witnesses  ;  they 
are  witnesses  for  God  and  Christ,  in  their  lives,  and  by  their  protesta- 
tions, without  judging  others,  or  exalting  themselves.  They  are  wit- 
nesses, in  various  degrees,  to  various  persons,  more  or  less,  as  each 
needs  it,  differing  from  the  multitude  variously,  as  each  of  that  multi- 
tude, before  whom  the}'  witness,  is  better  or  worse,  and  as  they  them- 
selves are  more  or  less  advanced  in  the  truth  ;  still,  on  the  whole,  they 
are  witnesses,  as  light  witnesses  against  darkness  by  the  contrast ; — 
giving  good  and  receiving  back  evil ;  receiving  back  on  themselves  the 
contempt,  the  ridicule,  and  the  opposition  of  the  world,  mixed,  indeed, 


590  THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH  [Serjt, 

with  some  praise  and  reverence,  reverence  which  does  ^ot  last  long,  but 
soon  becomes  fear  and  hatred.  And  hence  it  is  that  religious  men  need 
some  consolation  to  support  them,  which  the  Visible  Church  seems,  at 
first  sight,  not  to  supply,  when  the  overflowings  of  ungodliness  make 
them  afraid. 

2.  Now  then,  secondly,  in  such  circumstances  what  shall  we  say  T 
Are  they  but  sohtary  witnesses,  each  in  his  place  ?  Is  the  Church  which 
they  see  really  no  consolation  to  them  at  all,  except  as  contemplated  by 
faith  in  respect  of  its  invisible  gifts  ?  or  does  it,  after  all,  really  afford 
them  some  sensible  stay,  a  vision  of  Heaven,  of  peace  and  purity,  an- 
tagonist to  the  world  that  now  is,  in  spite  of  the  evil  which  abounds  in 
it,  and  overlays  it  ?  Through  God's  great  mercy,  it  is  actually,  in  no 
small  degree,  a  present  and  a  sensible  consolation,  as  I  proceed  to  show. 

In  truth,  do  what  he  will,  Satan  cannot  quench  or  darken  the  Light  of 
the  Church.  He  may  incrust  it  with  his  own  evil  creations,  but  even 
opake  bodies  transmit  rays,  and  Truth  shines  with  its  own  heavenly 
lustre,  though  "  under  a  bushel."  The  Holy  Spirit  has  vouchsafed  to 
take  up  His  abode  in  the  Church,  and  the  Church  will  ever  bear,  on  its 
front,  the  visible  signs  of  its  hidden  privilege.  Viewed  at  a  little  dis- 
tance, its  whole  surface  will  be  illuminated,  though  the  light  really  streams 
from  apertures  which  might  be  numbered.  The  scattered  witnesses 
thus  become,  in  the  language  of  the  text,  "  a  cloud,"  like  the  Milky  Way 
in  the  heavens. 

We  have,  in  Scripture,  the  records  of  those  who  lived  and  died  by 
faith  in  the  old  time,  and  nothing  can  deprive  us  of  them.  The  strength 
of  Satan  lies  in  his  being  seen  to  have  the  many  on  his  side  ;  but,  when 
we  read  the  Bible,  this  argument  loses  its  hold  over  us.  There,  we  find 
that  we  are  not  solitary ;  that  others,  before  us,  have  been  in  our  very 
condition,  have  had  our  feelings,  undergone  our  trials,  and  laboured  for 
the  prize  which  we  are  seeking.  Nothing  more  elevates  the  mind  than 
the  consciousness  of  being  one  of  a  great  and  victorious  company.  Does 
not  the  soldier  exult  in  his  commander,  and  consider  his  triumph  as  his 
own  ?  He  is  but  one,  yet  he  identifies  himself  with  the  army,  and  the 
cause  in  which  he  serves,  and  dwells  upon  the  thought  of  victories,  and 
those  who  win  them,  more  than  on  casual  losses  and  defeats.  Does  not 
a  native  of  a  powerful  country  feel  it  a  joy  and  boast  to  be  so  ?  Do 
we  not  hear  men  glory  in  being  born  in  Englishmen  ?  And  they  go  to 
and  fro,  gazing  on  the  works  of  their  own  days,  and  the  monuments  of 
their  forefathers,  and  say  to  themselves  that  their  race  is  a  noble  one. 
Much  more  fully,  much  more  reasonably,  is  this  the  boast  of  a  Christian, 
and  without  aught  of  arrogant  or  carnal  feeling.  He  knows,  from  God's 
word,  that  he  is  "citizen  of  no  mean  city."     He  feels  that  his  is  na 


XVII.]  AN  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  FAITH.  531 

upstart  line,  but  very  ancient ;  Almighty  God  having  purposed  to 
bring  many  sons  unto  glory  through  His  Son,  and  begetting  them  again, 
in  their  separate  ages,  to  do  Him  service.  He  is  one  of  a  host,  and  all 
those  blessed  Saints  he  reads  of  are  his  brethren  in  the  faith.  He  finds, 
in  the  history  of  the  past,  a  peculiar  kind  of  consolation,  counteracting 
the  influence  of  the  world  that  is  seen.  He  cannot  tell  who  the  saints 
are  now  on  earth  ;  those  yet  unborn  are  known  to  God  only  ;  but  the 
Saints  of  former  times  are  sealed  for  Heaven  and  are  in  their  degree  re- 
vealed to  him.  The  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect  encourage  him  to 
follow  them.  This  is  why  it  is  a  Christian's  characteristic  to  look  back 
on  former  times.  The  man  of  this  world  lives  in  the  present,  or  specu- 
lates about  the  future  ;  but  faith  rests  upon  the  past  and  is  content.  It 
makes  the  past  the  mirror  of  the  future.  It  recounts  the  list  of  faithful 
servants  of  God,  to  whom  St.  Paul  refers  in  the  text,  and  no  longer  feels 
sad  as  if  it  were  alone.  Abraham  and  the  Patriarchs,  Moses,  Samuel, 
and  the  prophets,  David  and  the  kings  who  walked  in  his  steps,  these  are 
the  Christian's  forefathers.  By  degrees  he  learns  to  have  them  as  fami- 
Har  images  before  his  mind,  to  unite  his  cause  with  theirs,  and,  since 
their  history  comforts  him,  to  defend  them  in  his  own  day.  Hence  he 
feels  jealous  for  their  honour,  and  when  they  are  attacked  he  answers 
eagerly,  so  as  to  surprise  those  who  are  contented  with  things  as  they 
are  ;  but,  truly,  he  is  too  grateful,  too  affectionate,  too  much  interested 
in  the  matter,  to  be  comphmentary  and  generous  towards  their  assailants. 
He  had  rather  the  present  day  should  be  proved  captious,  than  a  former 
day  mistaken. 

But  to  return  :  what  a  world  of  sympathy  and  comfort  is  thus  opened 
to  us  in  the  communion  of  Saints  !  The  heathen,  who  sought  truth 
most  earnestly,  fainted  for  want  of  companions ;  every  one  stood  by 
himself.  They  were  tempted  to  think  that  all  their  best  feelings  were 
.  but  an  empty  name,  and  that  it  mattered  not  whether  they  served  God 
or  disobeyed  Him.  But  Christ  has  "  gathered  together  the  children  of 
God  that  were  scattered  abroad,"  and  brought  them  near  to  each  other 
in  every  time  and  place.  Are  we  young,  and  in  temptation  or  trial  1 
we  cannot  be  in  worse  circumstances  than  Joseph.  Are  we  in  sickness  ? 
Job  will  surpass  us  in  sufferings  as  in  patience.  Are  we  in  perplexities 
and  anxieties,  with  conflicting  duties  of  a  bewildered  path,  having  to 
please  unkind  superiors,  yet  without  offending  God  1  so  grievous  a  trial 
as  David's  we  cannot  have,  when  Saul  persecuted  him.  Is  it  our  duty 
to  witness  for  the  truth  among  sinners  ?  No  Christian  can  at  this  day 
be  so  hardly  circumstanced  as  Jeremiah.  Have  we  domestic  trials  1  Job, 
Jacob,  and  David,  were  afflicted  in  their  children.  It  is  easy  indeed  to 
say  all  this,  and  many  a  man  may  hear  it  said  and  not  feel  moved  by  it, 


692  THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH  [Sibm. 

and  conceive  it  is  a  mere  matter  of  words,  easy  and  fitting  indeed  to 
say,  but  a  cold  consolation  in  actual  suffering.  And  I  will  own  that  a 
man  cannot  profit  by  these  considerations  all  at  once.  A  man,  who 
has  never  thought  of  the  history  of  the  Saints,  will  gain  little  benefit 
from  it  on  first  taking  up  the  subject  when  he  comes  into  trouble.  He 
will  turn  from  it  disappointed.  He  may  say,  "  my  pain  or  my  trial  is 
not  the  less  because  another  had  it  a  thousand  years  since."  But  the 
consolation  in  question  comes  not  in  the  way  of  argument  but  by  habit. 
A  tedious  journey  seems  shorter  when  gone  in  company,  yet,  be  the 
travellers  many  or  few,  each  goes  over  the  same  ground. 

Such  is  the  Christian's  feehng  towards  all  Saints,  but  it  is  especially 
excited  by  the  Church  of  Christ  and  by  all  that  belong  to  it.  For  what 
is  that  Church  but  a  pledge  and  proof  of  God's  never-dying  love  and 
power  from  age  to  age  ?  He  set  it  up  in  mercy  to  mankind,  and  its 
presence  among  us  is  a  proof  that  in  spite  of  our  sins  He  has  not  yet  for- 
saken us  ; — "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us."  He  set  it  up  on  the 
foundation  of  His  Twelve  Apostles,  and  promised  that  the  gates  of  hell 
should  not  prevail  against  it ;  and  its  presence  among  us  is  a  proof  of 
His  power.  He  set  it  up  to  succeed  to  the  four  monster  kingdoms 
which  then  were  ;  and  it  lived  to  see  those  kingdoms  of  the  earth  crum- 
ble  into  dust  and  come  to  nought.  It  lived  to  see  society  new  formed 
upon  the  model  of  the  governments  which  last  to  this  day.  It  lives  stilU 
and  it  is  older  than  them  all.  Much  and  rightly  as  we  reverence  old 
lineage,  noble  birth,  and  illustrious  ancestry,  yet  the  royal  dynasty  of 
the  Apostles  is  far  older  than  all  the  kingly  families  which  are  now  on 
the  earth.  Every  Bishop  of  the  Church  whom  we  behold,  is  a  lineal 
descendant  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  after  the  order  of  a  spiritual  birth  ; 
— a  noble  thought,  if  we  could  realize  it !  True  it  is  that  at  various 
times  the  Bishops  have  forgotten  their  high  rank  and  acted  unworthily 
of  it.  So  have  kings  and  princes,  yet  noble  they  were  by  blood  in  spite 
of  their  personal  errors,  and  the  line  of  their  family  is  not  broken  or  de- 
graded thereby.  And  in  like  manner,  true  though  it  be  that  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Apostles  have  before  now  lived  to  this  world,  have 
fancied  themselves  of  this  Avorld,  have  thought  their  oflice  secular  and 
civil,  or  if  religious,  yet  at  least  "  of  men  and  by  man,"  not  "  by  Jesus 
Christ,"  have  judged  it  much  to  have  riches,  or  to  sit  in  high  places,  or 
to  have  rank  and  consideration,  or  to  have  the  fame  of  letters,  or  to  be 
king's  counsellors,  or  to  live  in  courts, — yet,  granting  the  utmost,  for 
all  this  they  are  not  the  less  inspiring  an  object  to  a  believing  mind, 
which  sees  in  each  of  them  the  earnest  of  His  promise,  "  1  will  never 
leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  He  said.  He  would  be  with  His  Church  : 
He  has  continued  it  alive  to  this  day.     He  has  continued  the  line  of 


XVII.]  AN  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  FAITH.  598 

His  Apostles  onwards  through  every  age  and  all  troubles  and  perils  of 
the  world.  Here  then,  surely,  is  somewhat  of  encouragement  for  us 
amid  our  loneliness  and  weakness.  The  presence  of  every  Bishop  sug- 
gests a  long  history  of  conflicts  and  trials,  sufferings  and  victories,  hopes 
and  fears,  through  many  centuries.  His  presence  at  this  day  is  the 
fruit  of  them  all.  He  is  the  living  monument  of  those  who  are  dead. 
He  is  the  promise  of  a  bold  fight  and  a  good  confession  and  a  cheerful 
martyrdom  now,  if  needful,  as  was  done  by  those  of  old  time.  We  see 
their  figures  on  our  walls,  and  their  tombs  are  under  our  feet  ;  and  we 
trust,  nay,  we  are  sure,  that  God  will  be  to  us  in  our  day  what  He  was 
to  them.  In  the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "  The  Lord  hath  been  mindful 
of  us :  He  will  bless  us  :  He  will  bless  the  house  of  Israel,  He  will  bless 
the  house  of  Aaron."* 

And  more  especially  does  the  sight  of  our  living  Apostles  bring  be- 
fore  our  thoughts  the  more  favoured  of  their  line,  who,  at  different  times, 
have  fought  the  good  fight  of  faith  valiantly  and  gloriously.  Blessed 
be  God,  He  has  given  us  to  know  them  as  if  we  had  lived  in  their  day 
and  enjoyed  their  pattern  and  instructions.  Alas !  in  spite  of  the  va- 
riety of  books  now  circulated  among  all  classes  of  the  community,  how 
little  is  known  about  the  Saints  of  past  times  !  How  is  this  1  has 
Christ's  Church  failed  in  any  age  1  or  have  His  witnesses  betrayed 
their  trust  1  are  they  not  our  bone  and  our  flesh  ?  Have  they  not  par- 
taken the  same  spiritual  food  as  ourselves  and  the  same  spiritual  drink, 
used  the  same  prayers,  and  confessed  the  same  creed  1  If  a  man  mere- 
ly looks  into  the  Prayer-book  he  will  meet  there  with  names  about 
which,  perhaps,  he  knows  and  cares  nothing  at  all.  A  prayer  we  read 
daily  is  called  the  prayer  of  St.  Chrysostom  ;  a  creed  is  called  the 
creed  of  St.  Anthanasius  ;  another  creed  is  called  the  Nicene  Creed  ; 
in  the  Articles  we  read  of  St.  Augustine  and  St.  Jerome  ;  in  the  Homi- 
lies of  many  other  such  besides.  What  do  these  names  mean  1  Sad 
it  is,  you  have  no  heart  to  inquire  after  or  celebrate  those  who  are  fel- 
low-citizens with  you,  and  your  great  benefactors  !  Men  of  this  world 
spread  each  other's  fame, — they  vaunt  loudly  ; — you  see  in  every  street 
the  names  and  the  statues  of  the  children  of  men,  you  hear  of  their  ex- 
ploits in  speeches  and  histories  ;  yet  you  care  not  to  know  concerning 
those  to  whom  you  are  indebted  for  the  light  of  Gospel  truth.  Truly 
they  were  in  their  day  men  of  God ;  they  were  rulers  and  teachers  in 
the  Church ;  they  had  received  by  succession  of  hands  the  power  first 
given  to  the  Apostles  and  now  to  us.  They  laboured  and  su  fleered  and 
fainted  not,  and  their  writings  remain  to  this  day.     Now  a  person  wha 

*  Psalms  cxv.  12, 
Vol.  I 38 


694  THE  VISIBLE  CHURCH  [Sim. 

cultivates  this  thought,  finds  therein,  through  God's  mercy,  great  en- 
couragement. Say  he  is  alone,  his  faith  counted  a  dream,  and  his  ef- 
forts to  do  good  a  folly,  what  then  ?  He  knows  there  have  been  times 
when  his  opinions  were  those  of  the  revered  and  influential,  and  the 
opinions  now  in  repute  only  not  reprobated  because  they  were  not  heard 
of.  He  knows  that  present  opinions  are  the  accident  of  the  day,  and 
that  they  will  fall  as  they  have  risen.  They  will  surely  fall  even 
though  at  a  distant  date !  H ;  labours  for  that  time ;  he  labours  for 
five  hundred  years  to  come.  He  can  bear  in  faith  to  wait  five  hundred 
years,  to  wait  for  an  era  long,  long  after  he  has  mouldered  into  dust. 
The  Apostles  lived  eighteen  hundred  years  since ;  and  as  far  as  the 
Christian  looks  back,  so  far  as  he  can  afford  to  look  forward.  There  is 
one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  from  first 
to  last. 

I  referred  just  now  to  our  Sacred  Services  ;  these  again  may  be  made 
to  furnish  a  support  to  our  faith  and  hope.  He  who  comes  to  Church 
to  worship  God,  be  he  high  or  low,  enters  into  that  heavenly  world  of 
Saints  of  which  I  have  been  speaking.  For  in  the  Services  of  worship 
we  elicit  and  realize  the  invisible.  I  know,  indeed,  that  Christ  is  then 
especially  present,  and  vouchsafes  to  bless  us ;  but  I  am  speaking  all 
along  of  the  help  given  to  us  by  sensible  objects,  and,  even  in  this  lower 
view,  doubtless  much  is  done  for  us  in  the  course  of  divine  worship. 
We  read  from  the  Bible  of  the  Saints  who  have  gone  before  us,  and  we 
make  mention  of  them  in  our  prayers.  We  thank  God  for  them,  we 
praise  God  with  them,  we  pray  God  to  visit  us  in  mercy  as  He  visited 
them.  And  every  earthly  thought  or  principle  is  excluded.  The  world 
no  longer  rules  as  it  does  abroad  ;  no  longer  teaches,  praises,  blames, 
scoffs,  wonders,  according  to  its  own  false  standard.  It  is  merely 
spoken  of  as  one  of  the  three  great  enemies  whom  we  are  sworn  to 
resist  ;  it  holds  its  proper  place ;  and  its  doom  is  confidently  predicted, 
the  final  victory  of  the  Church  over  it.  And,  farther,  it  is  much  more 
impressive  to  hear  and  to  see,  than  to  read  in  a  book.  When  we  read 
the  Bible  and  religious  books  in  private,  there  is  great  comfort ;  but  our 
minds  are  commonly  more  roused  and  encouraged  in  Church,  when  we 
see  those  great  truths  displayed  and  represented  which  Scripture  speaks 
of.  There  we  see  "  Jesus  Christ  evidently  set  forth,  crucified  among 
us."  The  ordinances  which  we  behold,  force  the  unseen  truth  upon 
our  senses.  The  very  disposition  of  the  budding,  the  subdued  light, 
the  aisles,  the  Altar,  with  its  pious  adornments,  are  figures  of  things 
unseen,  and  stimulate  our  fainting  faith.  We  seem  to  see  the  heavenly 
courts,  with  Angels  chanting,  and  Apostles  and  Prophets  listening,  as 
we  read  their  writings  in  due  course.     And  thus,   even  attendance  on 


XVII.]  'AN  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  FAITH.  595 

a  Sunday,  may,  through  God's  mercy,  avail  even  in  the  case  of  those 
who  have  not  given  themselves  up  to  Him, — not  to  their  salvation  (for 
no  one  can  be  snved  by  one  or  two  observances  merely,  or  without  a 
life  of  faith,)  but  so  far  as  to  break  in  upon  their  dream  of  sin,  and  give 
them  thoughts  and  notions  which  may  b--  tho  germ  of  future  good. 
Even  to  those,  I  say,  who  live  to  the  world,  the  mere  Sunday  attend- 
ance at  Church  is  a  continual  memento  on  their  conscience,  giving 
them  a  glimpse  of  things  unseen,  and  rescuing  them  in  a  measure  from 
the  servitude  of  Mammon  or  of  Belial.  And  therefore  it  is,  that  Satan's 
first  attempt,  when  he  would  ruin  a  soul,  is  to  prevail  upon  him  to  dese- 
crate the  Lord's  day.  And  if  such  is  the  effect  of  coming  to  Church 
once  a  week,  even  to  an  undecided  or  carnal  mind,  how  much  more 
impressive  and  invigorating  are  the  Services  to  serious  men  who  come 
daily  or  frequently !  Surely  such  attendance  is  a  safeguard,  such  as 
amulets  are  said  to  be,  a  small  thing  to  all  appearance,  but  effectual. 
I  say  it  with  confidence,  he  who  observes  it  will  grow  in  time  a  differ- 
ent  man  from  what  he  was,  God  working  in  him.  His  heart  will  be 
more  heavenly  and  aspiring  ;  the  world  will  lie  under  his  feet ;  he  will 
be  proof  against  its  opinions,  threats,  blandishments,  ridicule.  His 
very  mode  of  viewing  things,  liis  very  voice,  his  manner,  gait,  and 
countenance,  will  speak  of  Heaven  to  those  who  know  him  well,  though 
the  many  see  nothing  in  him. 

The  many  understand  him  not,  and  even  in  St.  Paul  or  St.  John 
would  see  but  ordinary  men.  Yet  at  times  such  a  one  will  speak  effec- 
tually even  to  the  many.  In  seasons  of  unusual  distress  or  alarm,  when 
men's  minds  faint  for  fear,  then  he  will  have  a  natural  power  over  the 
world,  and  will  seem  to  speak  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  if  in  him  was 
concentrated  all  the  virtue  and  the  grace  of  those  many  Saints  who 
have  been  his  life-long  companions.  He  has  lived  with  those  who  are 
dead,  and  he  will  seem  to  the  world  as  one  coming  from  the  dead, 
speaking  in  the  name  of  the  dead,  using  the  language  of  souls  dead  to 
things  that  are  seen,  revealing  the  mysteries  of  the  heavenly  world,  and 
awing  and  controlling  those  who  are  wedded  to  this.  What  slight 
account  did  the  centurion  and  the  crew  make  of  St.  Paul,  till  a  tempest 
had  long  time  "  lain  on  them"  and  "  all  hope  that  they  should  be  saved 
was  then  taken  away !"  But  then,  though  he  had  done  no  miracle, 
"  he  stood  forth  in  the  midst,"  exhorted  and  encouraged  them,  bade  them 
take  meat,  acted  as  their  priest,  giving  thanks  to  God  and  breaking 
bread  in  the  presence  of  them  all,  and  so  made  them  "of  good  cheer." 
Such  is  the  gift,  deeply  lodged  and  displayed  at  times,  of  those  who 
liave  ascended  into  the  third  heaven.     One  living  Saint,  though  there 


696  THE  GIFT  OF  THE   SPIRIT.  [Ser» 

be  but  one,  is  a  pledge  of  the  whole  Church  Invisible.  Let  this  thought 
console  us  as  it  ought  to  do ;  let  it  have  its  full  influence  in  us,  and 
possess  us.  Let  us  "  lift  up  our  hearts,"  let  us  "  lift  them  up  unto  the 
Lord !" 


SERMON   XVIII. 


THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


2  Corinthians  iii.  18. 


Wc  all  with  open  face,  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  tlie  Lord,  arc  changed 
into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord. 

Moses  prayed  for  this  one  thing,  that  he  might  '*  sec  God's  glory  ;"  and 
he  was  allowed  to  behold  it  in  such  measure,  that,  when  he  came  down 
from  the  Mount,  "  the  skin  of  his  face  shone,"  so  that  the  people  "  were 
afraid  to  come  nigh  him."  This  privilege  was  vouchsafed  only  to  him 
in  this  intimate  way,  and  that  but  once  ;  but  a  promise  was  given  that 
at  some  future  time  it  should  be  extended  to  the  whole  earth.  God  said 
to  him,  "  As  truly  as  I  live,  all  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  glory  of 
the  Lord,"  that  glory  which  the  Israelites  had  seen  in  glimpses  and  had 
profaned.  Afterwards  the  prophets  Isaiah  and  Habakkuk  foretold,  ia 
like  manner,  that  the  earth  should  be  filled  with  the  Lord's  glory  and 
the  knowledge  of  it.  When  Christ  came,  these  promises  were  fulfilled, 
for,  "  wc  beheld  His  glory,"  St.  John  says,  "  the  glory  as  of  the  Only- 
begotten  of  the  Father."* 

In  the  chapter  which  ends  with  the  text,  St.  Paul  contrasts  the  sha- 
dows and  earnests  under  the  Law,  of  "  the  glory  that  should  follow"' 
Christ's  coming  with  that  glory  itself.  He  says  that  he  and  his  brother 
Apostles  are  "  not  as  Moses,  who  put  a  veil  over  his  face."  At  length,' 
the  glory  of  God  in  full  measure  was  the  privilege  and  birthright  of  all' 

*  Ex.  xixiv.  30.    IS'umb.  xiv.  21.     Is.  xi.  9.    Ilab.  ii.  14.    Jolrn  i.  14. 


XVIII.]  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  697 

believers,  who  now,  "  in  the  unveiled  face  of  Christ  their  Saviour,  be- 
held the  reflection  of  the  Lord's  glory,"  and  were  "changed  into  His 
likeness  from  one  measure  of  glory  to  another."  Our  Saviour's  words 
in  his  last  prayer  for  His  Apostles,  and  for  all  His  disciples  as  included 
under  them,  convey  to  us  the  same  gracious  truth.  He  says,  "  The 
glory  which  Thou  gavest  Me,  I  have  given  them.* 

This  glorious  Dispensation,  under  which  the  Church  now  exists,  is 
called  by  St.  Paul,  in  the  same  chapter,  "the  ministration  of  the  Spirit;" 
and  again  in  the  text,  we  are  said  to  be  changed  into  the  glorious  image 
of  Christ  "  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 

And  further,  the  Church,  as  being  thus  honoured  and  exalted  by  the 
presence  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  called  "  the  Kingdom  of  God,"  the 
"  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ;"  as,  for  instance,  by  our  Lord  Himself  "  The 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand  :"  *'  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God."| 

I  propose  now  to  make  some  remarks  on  this  peculiar  gift  of  the  Gos- 
pel Dispensation,  which,  as  in  the  foregoing  passages,  is  spoken  of  as 
the  gift  of  '•  the  Spirit,"  the  gift  of  "  glory,"  and  through  which  the 
Church  has  become  what  it  was  not  before,  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

And  here,  before  entering  upon  the  subject,  I  would  observe  that  as 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  the  grant  of  glory  was  made  even  under  the 
Law,  as  in  its  miracles,  (as  when  the  Israelites  are  condemned  for  hav- 
ing "  seen  the  glory  of  the  Lord  and  His  miracles,"  and  yet  "  not 
having  hearkened  to  His  voice,"|)  so  in  another  point  of  view  it  belongs 
exclusively  to  the  promised  blessedness  hereafter.  Still  there  is  a  real 
and  sufficient  sense  in  which  it  is  ascribed  to  the  Christian  Church,  and 
■what  this  is,  is  the  question  now  before  us. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  some  insight  is  given  into  the  force  of  the  word 
"  glory"  as  our  present  privilege,  by  considering  the  meaning  of  the 
title  "  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  which,  as  has  been  just  observed,  has  also 
belonged  to  the  Church  since  Christ  came.  The  Church  is  called  by 
this  name  as  being  the  court  and  domain  of  Almighty  God,  who  retreat- 
ed from  the  earth,  as  far  as  His  kingly  presence  was  concerned,  when 
man  fell.  Not  that  He  left  Himself  without  witness  in  any  age,  but, 
even  in  His  most  gracious  manifestations,  still  He  conducted  Himself  as 
if  in  an  enemy's  country,  "  as  a  stranger  in  the  land,  and  as  a  wayfar- 
ing man  that  turneth  aside  to  tarry  for  a  night."§  But  when  Christ 
had  reconciled  Him  to  His  fallen  creatures.  He  returned  according  to 
the  prophecy,  "  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them  ;  I  will  set  my 

•  John  xvii.  22.  t  Matt.  x.  7.    John  iii.  5. 

t  Numb.  xiv.  22.  §  Jer.  xiv.  8. 


598  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  [Serm. 

sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore."*  From  that  time  there 
has  really  hcen  a  heaven  upon  earth,  in  fulfilment  of  Jacob's  vision. 
Thenceforth  the  Church  was  not  a  carnal  ordinance,  made  of  perisha- 
ble materials,  like  the  Jewish  Tabernacle,  which  had  been  a  type  of  the 
Dispensation  to  which  it  belonged.  It  became  "  a  kingdom  which  can- 
not be  moved,"  being  sweetened,  purified,  and  spiritualized  by  the  pour- 
ing out  of  Christ's  blood  in  it.  It  became  once  more  an  integral  part 
of  that  unseen,  but  really  existing  world,  of  which  "  the  Lord  is  the 
everlasting  Light  ;"  and  it  had  fellowship  with  its  blessed  inhabitants. 
St.  Paul  thus  describes  it  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  :  "  Ye  are  come 
to  Mount  Sion  ;"  to  the  true  "  mountain  of  the  Lord's  House,"  of  which 
the  earthly  Sion  was  a  type — "  and  to  the  city  of  the  Living  God,  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem," — that  is,  as  he  elsewhere  calls  it,  "  the  Jerusalem 
that  is  above,"  or,  as  he  speaks  in  another  place,  "  our  citizenship  is  in 
heaven," — "  and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  Angels,  to  the  festive 
concourse  and  Church  of  the  First-born  enrolled  in  heaven,  and  to  God 
the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  the  perfected  Just,  and  to  Jesus 
the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling  that 
speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel."f 

Since  then  the  Christian  Church  is  a  Heaven  upon  earth,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  in  some  sense  or  other  its  distinguishing  privilege  or  gift 
should  be  glory,  for  this  is  the  one  attribute  which  we  ever  attach  to  our 
notion  of  Heaven  itself,  according  to  the  Scripture  intimations  concern- 
ing it.  The  glory  here  may  be  conceived  of  by  considering  what  we. 
believe  of  the  glory  hereafter. 

2.  Next,  if  we  consider  the  variety  and  dignity  of  the  gifts  minister- 
ed by  the  Spirit,  we  shall,  perhaps,  discern,  in  a  measure,  why  our  state 
under  the  Go.spel  is  called  a  state  of  glory.  It  is  not  uncommon  in  the 
present  day,  to  divide  the  works  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Church  into 
two  kinds,  miraculous  and  moral.  By  miraculous  are  meant  such  as 
He  manifested  in  the  first  ages  of  the  Gospel,  marvels  out  of  the  course 
of  nature,  addressed  to  our  senses  ;  such  as  the  power  of  healing,  of 
raising  the  dead,  and  the  hke  ;  or,  again,  such  as  speaking  with  tongues 
or  prophecy.  On  the  other  hand,  by  7nor(tl  operations  or  influences  are 
meant  such  as  act  upon  our  minds,  and  enable  us  to  be  what  we  other- 
wise could  not  be,  holy  and  accepted  in  all  branches  of  the  Christian 
character ;  in  a  word,  all  such  as  issue  in  sanctification  as  it  is  called. 
These  distinct  works  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  viewed  in  their  effects,  are 
commonly  called  extraordinary  and  ordinary,  or  gifts  and  graces ;  and 
it  is  usual  to  say,  that  gifts  have  ceased,  and  graces  alone  remain  to  us, 

•  a  Cor.  Yi.  16.     Ez.  xxivii.26.  t  Heb.  lii.  22—24. 


XVHI.]  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  699 

and,  hence  to  limit  the  present  "  ministration  of  the  Spirit "  to  certain 
iniiuences  on  our  moral  nature,  to  the  office  of  changing,  rencMing,  pu- 
rifying the  heart  and  mind,  implanting  a  good  will,  imparting  knowledge 
of  our  duty  and  power  to  do  it,  and  cultivating  and  maturing  within  us 
all  right  desires  and  habits,  and  leading  us  to  all  holy  works.  Now,  all 
these  influences  and  operations  certainly  do  belong  to  the  "  ministration 
of  the  Spirit ;"  but  in  what  appropriate  sense  can  any  efTects  wrought 
in  us  be  called  "  glory  V  Add  to  them  the  miracles  which  now  have 
ceased,  and  you  will  indeed  gain  a  more  intelligible  meaning  of  the 
word,  but  not  even  then  any  meaning  peculiar  to  the  Gospel.  The 
Jewish  Church  was  gifted  by  a  more  abiding  super-human  presence 
than  the  Christian,  and  with  as  over-powdering  miracles,  yet  it  did  not 
possess  this  privilege  of  glory.  Again,  its  patriarchs  and  teachers  rose 
to  degrees  of  sanctification  quite  as  much  above  our  power  of  measuring 
them  as  those  attained  by  Apostles  and  Martyrs  under  the  Gospel ;  nor, 
to  all  human  appearance,  is  the  actual  sanctification  of  the  mass  of 
Christians  more  true  or  complete  than  was  that  of  the  Jews  :  how  then 
are  we  in  a  state  of  glory,  and  the  Jewish  Church  not  ?  Granting  then 
that  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  mentioned  in  Scripture,  includes  in  it  both 
the  miracles  of  the  first  ages  and  the  influences  of  grace  ; — granting 
also,  that  the  sanctifying  grace  bestowed  on  each  Christian  is  given 
with  far  greater  fulness,  variety,  and  power,  than  it  was  vouchsafed  to 
the  Jews,  whether  it  be  eventually  quenched  or  not ;  granting  too  that 
holiness  is  really  the  characteristic  of  that  gift  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
ministers  now,  as  miracles  were  its  outward  manifestation  in  the  first 
ages  ; — still  all  this  is  not  a  sufficient  account  of  it ;  it  is  not  equivalent 
to  our  great  Gospel  privilege,  which  is  something  deeper,  wider,  and 
more  mysterious,  though  including  both  miracles  and  graces.  In  truth, 
the  Holy  Ghost  has  taken  up  His  abode  in  the  Church  as  a  sevenfold 
Spirit. 

A  little  consideration  will  show  this.  For  instance,  is  the  gift  of  the 
body's  immortality  miraculous  or  moral  ?  Neither,  in  the  common  sense 
of  the  words  ;  yet  it  is  a  gift  bestowed  on  us  in  this  life  and  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  according  to  the  texts,  "  Your  body  is  the  temple 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  ;"  and  "  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall 
also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies  by  His  indwelling  Spirit."  *  Again, 
is  justification,  or  the  application  of  Christ's  merits  to  the  soul,  moral 
or  miraculous  ?  Neither  ;  yet  we  are  told,  that  we  are  "  washed,  hal- 
lowed, justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our 
God."  t     Or,  is  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Ordination  miraculous  or 

♦  1  Cor.  vi.  19.     Rom.  viii.  11.  t  1  Cor.  vi.  11. 


600  THE   GIFT  OF  THE   SPIRIT.  [Skrm. 

moral  ?  It  is  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  but  a  supernatural  power 
of  ministering  effectually  in  holy  things.  Once  more,  is  communion 
with  Christ  miraculous  or  moral  ?  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  real  but 
mysterious  union  of  nature  with  Him,  according  to  the  text  ;  "  we  are 
members  of  His  body,  from  His  flesh,  and  from  His  bones.'"*  Such 
reflections  as  these  are  calculated,  perhaps,  to  give  us  somewhat  of  a 
deeper  view  than  is  ordinarily  admitted,  of  the  character  of  that  gift 
which  attends  on  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Church,  and 
which  is  called  the  gift  of  glory.  I  do  not  say  that  any  thing  that  has 
been  just  said  has  been  sufficient  to  define  it  ;  rather  I  would  maintain, 
that  it  cannot  be  defined.  It  cannot  be  limited ;  it  cannot  be  divided, 
and  exhausted  by  a  division.  This  is  the  very  faultiness  of  the  division 
into  miraculous  and  moral,  useful  as  this  may  be  for  particular  purposes, 
that  it  professes  to  embrace  what  is  in  fact  incomprehensible  and  un- 
fathomable. I  would  fain  keep  from  the  same  mistake ;  and  the  in- 
stances already  given  may  serve  this  purpose,  enlarging  our  view  with- 
out bounding  it.  The  gift  is  denoted  in  Scripture  by  the  vague  and 
mysterioui  term  "  glory  ;"  and  all  the  descriptions  we  can  give  of  it  can 
only,  and  should  only,  run  out  into  a  mystery. 

3.  Perhaps,  however,  it  may  be  questioned,  whether  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit,  now  possessed  by  us,  is  really  called  by  this  name ;  with  a  view 
of  making  this  quite  clear,  I  will  here  recite  a  number  of  passages  in 
order,  in  addition  to  those  with  which  I  began  ;  and  while  I  do  so,  I 
would  have  you  observe  in  what  close  and  continual  connection  the 
"  Spirit,"  and  "  glory,"  and  "  heaven"  occur. 

•'  The  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon  you." 

**  The  God  of  all  grace,  who  hath  called  us  unto  His  eternal  glory  by 
Christ  Jesus,  after  that  ye  have  suffered  a  M'hile,  make  you  perfect." 

"  According  as  His  divine  power  hath  given  unto  us  all  things  that 
pertain  unto  life  and  godliness,  through  the  knowledge  of  Him  that 
hath  called  us  to  glory  and  virtue." 

"  Whom  He  did  predestinate,  them  He  also  called,  and  whom  He 
called,  them  He  also  justified,  and  whom  He  justified,  them  He  also 
glorified." 

♦'  We  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the  hidden  wis- 
dom which  God  ordained  before  the  world  unto  our  glory  ....  Eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  Him  .  .  . 
The  natural  man  rcceiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for 
they  are  foolishness  unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned." 

•  2  Pet.  i.  4.    Eph.  v.  30. 


XVIII.l  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  601 

"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath 
blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ." 

[I  pray]  "  that  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Chrust,  the  Father  of  glory, 
may  give  unto  you  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation,  in  the  know- 
ledge of  Him,  the  eyes  of  your  understanding  being  enlightened,  that 
ye  may  know  what  is  the  hope  of  His  calling,  and  what  the  riches  of 
the  glory  of  His  inheritance  in  the  Saints,  and  what  is  the  exceeding 
greatness  of  His  power  to  us-ward  who  believe,  according  to  the  work- 
ing of  His  mighty  power  which  He  wrought  in  Christ,  when  He  raised 
Him  from  the  dead." 

"  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great  love  wherewith  He  loved 
us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with 
Christ,  (by  grace  ye  are  saved,)  and  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and 
made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus.  .  .  .   Through 

Him  we  both  have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father In 

whom  [Christ]  ye  also  are  budded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God 
through  the  Spirit." 

[I  pray]  *'  that  He  would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  His 
glory,  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  His  Spirit  in  the  inner  man  ; 
that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith ;  that  ye,  being  rooted 
and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend,  with  all  saints,  what 
is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height,  and  to  know  the  love 
of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the 
fulness  of  God.'' 

"  Christ  loved  the  Church  and  gave  Himself  for  it,  that  He  might 
sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word  ;  that  He 
might  present  it  to  Himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing  ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish." 

"  It  is  impossible  for  those  who  were  once  illuminated,  and  have 
tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance."* 

I  would  have  you  pay  particular  attention  to  this  last  passage,  which, 
in  speaking  of  those  who  thwart  God's  grace,  runs  through  the  various 
characteristics  or  titles  of  that  glory  which  they  forfeit : — illumination, 
the  heavenly  gift,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Divine  Word,  the  powers  of  the 
world  to  come ;  which  all  mean  the  same  thing,  viewed  in  diflerent 
lights,  viz.  that  unspeakable  Gospel  privilege,  which  is  an  earnest  and 


*  1  Pet.  iv.  14  ;  v.  10.     2  Pet.  i.  3.     Rom.  viii.  30.     1  Cor.  ii.  7.  9.  14.     Eph.  i. 
3. 17—20  ;  ii.  4—6.  18.  23  ;  iii.  16—19 ;  v.  25—27.     Hcb,  vi.  4—6. 


602  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  [Skrm. 

portion  of  heavenly  glory,  of  the  holiness  and  blessedness  of  Angels, — 
a  present  entrance  into  the  next  world,  opened  upon  our  souls  through 
participation  of  the  Word  Incarnate,  ministered  to  us  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

Such  is  the  mysterious  state  in  which  Christians  stand,  if  it  be  right 
to  enlarge  upon  it.  They  are  in  Heaven,  in  the  world  of  Spirits,  and 
are  placed  in  the  way  of  all  manner  of  invisible  influences.  "  Their 
conversation  is  in  heaven ;"  they  live  among  angels,  and  are  withia 
reach  (as  I  may  say)  of  the  Saints  departed.  They  are  ministers  round 
the  throne  of  their  reconciled  Father,  "  kings  and  priests  unto  God," 
having  their  robes  washed  in  the  Lamb's  blood,  and  being  consecrated 
as  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  this  being  so,  we  have  some  in- 
sight into  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul's  anxiety  that  his  brethren  should 
understand  "  the  breadth  and  length,"  "  the  riches"  of  the  glorious  in- 
heritance which  they  enjoined,  and  of  his  forcible  declaration,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  "  the  natural  man"  could  not  "  discern"  it. 

If  we  now  recur  to  our  Saviour's  words  already  cited,  we  shall  find 
that  all  that  the  Apostles  have  told  us  in  their  Epistles  is  but  an  expan- 
sion of  two  short  sentences  of  His  :  '•  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into,  or  (as  it  is  said  just  before)  see 
the  Kingdom  of  GodJ'^  "  The  glory  which  Thou  gavest  me,  I  have 
given  them."*  On  these  texts  I  make  the  following  additional  re- 
marks : — When  Nicodemus  doubted  about  our  Lord's  declaration,  that 
a  birth  through  the  Spirit  was  the  entrance  into  His  kingdom,  He  said, 
"  If  I  have  told  you  earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not,  how  shall  ye  be- 
lieve if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly  things  ?  And  no  man  hath  ascended  up 
to  Heaven,  but  He  that  came  down  from  Heaven,  even  the  Son  of  man 
which  is  in  Heaven^  In  these  words  our  Lord  plainly  discloses  that  ia 
some  mysterious  way  He,  the  Son  of  man,  was  really  in  Heaven,  even 
while,  by  human  eyes.  He  was  seen  to  be  on  earth.  His  discourse  seems 
to  run  thus: — "Are  you  offended  at  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth  of 
the  soul  into  the  kingdom  of  God?  High  as  it  is,  it  is  but  an  earthly 
truth  compared  with  others  I,  as  coming  from  Heaven,  could  disclose. 
It  is  mysterious  how  regenerate  man  should  be  a  citizen  of  a  heavenly 
kingdom,  but  I  Myself,  who  speak,  am  at  this  moment  in  Heaven  too, 
even  in  this  My  human  nature."  Thus  the  greater  Mystery  of  the  In- 
carnation is  made  to  envelope  and  pledge  to  us  the  mystery  of  the  new 
birth.  As  He  was  in  Heaven  in  an  ineffable  sense,  even  "in  the  days 
of  His  flesh,"  so  are  we,  in  our  degree  ;  according  to  the  words  of  His 
prayer,  that  His  disciples  might  "  all  be  one  ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in 
Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  Us."f 

•  John  iii.  5  ;  ivii.  22.  t  John  xvii.  21. 


XVIII]  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  60» 

But  He  was  pleased  to  reveal  this  high  truth  more  explicitly  on  a 
subsequent  occasion,  I  mean  in  His  transfiguration.  To  many  persons 
this  portion  of  the  Sacred  History  may  have  appeared  without  object  or 
meaning.  It  was,  in  one  sense,  a  miracle  ;  yet  it  had  no  beneficent 
purpose  or  lasting  consequence,  as  is  usual  with  our  Lord's  miracles, 
and  it  took  place  in  private.  But,  surely,  it  is  of  a  doctrinal  nature, 
being  nothing  less  than  a  figurative  exhibition  of  the  blessed  truth  con- 
tained in  the  texts  under  review,  a  vision  of  the  glorious  Kingdom  which 
He  set  up  on  the  earth  on  His  coming.  He  said  to  His  Apostles,  "  I 
tell  you  of  a  truth,  there  be  some  standing  here  which  shall  not  taste  of 
death  till  they  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  Then,  "  after  six  days  Jesus 
taketh  Peter,  James,  and  John  his  brother,  and  bringeth  them  up  into 
a  high  mountain  apart,  and  was  transfigured  before  them.  And  as  He 
prayed,  the  fashion  of  His  countenance  was  altered,  and  His  raiment 
was  white  and  glistening.     And  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  His 

raiment   was  white  as  the  light And  behold  there   talked  with 

Him  two  men,  which  were  Moses  and  Elias,  who  appeared  in  glory. 
....  But  Peter  and  they  that  were  with  him  were  heavy  with  sleep ; 
and,  when  they  were  awake,  they  saw  His  glory."*  Such  is  the  King- 
dom of  God  ;  Christ  the  centre  of  it.  His  glory  the  light  of  it,  the  Just 
made  perfect  His  companions,  and  the  Apostles  His  witnesses  to  their 
brethren.  It  realizes  what  the  ancient  Saints  saw  by  glimpses, — Jacob 
at  Bethel,  Moses  in  answer  to  his  petition. 

Such  then  being  the  especial  glory  and  "  dreadfulness"  which  attaches 
to  the  Christian  Church,  it  may  be  asked,  how  far  the  gift  is  also  im- 
parted to  every  individual  member  of  it  ?  It  is  imparted  to  every  mem- 
ber on  his  Baptism  ;  as  may  plainly  be  inferred  from  our  Lord's  words, 
who  in  His  discourse  with  Nicodemus,  makes  a  birth  through  the  Spirit, 
which  He  also  declares  is  wrought  by  Baptism,  to  be  the  only  means  of 
entering  into  His  kingdom  ;  so  that,  unless  a  man  is  thus  "  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,"  he  is  in  no  sense  a  member  of  His  kingdom 
at  all.  By  this  new  birth  the  Divine  Shechinah  is  set  up  within  him, 
pervading  soul  and  body,  separating  him  really,  not  only  in  name,  from 
those  who  are  not  Christians,  raising  him  in  the  scale  of  being,  drawing 
and  fostering  into  life  whatever  remains  in  him  of  a  higher  nature,  and 
imparting  to  him,  in  due  season  and  measure,  its  own  surpassing  and 
heavenly  virtue.  Thus,  while'he  carefully  cherishes  the  Gift,  he  is,  in 
the  words  of  the  text,  "  changed  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord."  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Gift  be  resisted,  it  grad- 
ually withdraws  its  presence,  and  being  thwarted  in  its  chief  end,  the 

*  Matt.  xvii.  1,  &c.     Luke  ix.  27,  &c.     Cf.  John  i.  14.    2  Pet.  i.  17. 


604  THE  GIFT  OF  THE   SPIRIT.  [S«ii. 

sanctification  of  our  nature,  is  forfeited  as  regards  its  other  benefits  also. 
Such  seems  to  be  the  rule  on  which  the  Almighty  Giver  acts  ;  and, 
could  we  see  the  souls  of  men,  doubtless  we  should  see  them  after  this 
manner  :  infants  just  baptized  bright  as  the  Cherubim,  as  flames  of  fire 
rising  heavenward  in  sacrifice  to  God  ;  then  as  they  pass  from  child- 
hood to  man's  estate,  the  light  within  them  fading  or  strengthening  as  the 
case  may  be  ;  while  of  grown  men  the  multitude,  alas  ;  might  show  but 
fearful  tokens  that  the  Lord  had  once  been  among  them,  only  here  and 
there  some  scattered  witnesses  for  Christ  remaining,  and  they,  too, 
seamed  all  over  with  the  scars  of  sin. 

To  conclude.  It  were  well  if  the  views  I  have  been  setting  before 
you,  which  in  the  main  are,  I  trust,  those  of  the  Church  Catholic  from 
the  beginning,  were  more  understood  and  received  among  us.  They 
would,  under  God's  blessing,  put  a  stop  to  much  of  the  enthusiasm 
which  prevails  on  all  sides,  while  they  might  tend  to  dispel  those  cold 
and  ordinary  notions  of  religion  which  are  the  opposite  extreme.  Till 
we  understand  that  the  gifts  of  grace  are  unseen,  supernatural,  and 
mysterious,  we  have  but  a  choice  between  explaining  away  the  high 
and  glowing  expressions  of  Scripture,  or  giving  them  that  rash,  irreve- 
rent, and  self-exalting  interpretation,  which  is  one  of  the  chief  errors 
of  this  time.  Men  of  awakened  and  sensitive  minds,  knowing  from 
Scripture  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  something  great  and  un- 
earthly, dissatisfied  with  the  meagre  conceptions  of  the  many,  yet  not 
knowing  where  to  look  for  w  hat  they  need,  are  led  to  place  the  life  of  a 
Christian,  which  "  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,"  in  a  sort  of  religious 
cestacy,  in  a  high  wrought  sensibility  on  sacred  subjects,  in  impassioned 
thoughts,  a  soft  and  languid  tone  of  feeling,  and  an  unnatural  profession 
of  all  this  in  conversation.  And  further,  from  the  same  cause,  their 
ignorance  of  the  supernatural  character  of  the  Heavenly  Gift,  they  at* 
tempt  to  measure  it  in  each  other  by  its  sensible  effects,  and  account 
none  to  be  Christians  but  those  whom  they  suppose  they  can  ascertain 
to  be  such,  by  their  profession,  language  and  carriage.  On  the  other 
hand,  sensible  and  sober-minded  men,  offended  at  such  excesses,  acqui- 
esce  in  the  notion,  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  almost  peculiar 
to  the  Apostles'  day,  that  now,  at  least,  it  docs  nothing  more  than  make 
us  decent  and  orderly  members  of  society  ;  the  privileges  bestowed  up- 
on us  in  Scripture  being,  as  they  conceive,  but  of  an  external  nature, 
education  and  the  like,  or,  at  the  most,  a  pardon  of  our  sins  and  admis- 
sion to  God's  favour,  unaccompanied  by  any  actual  and  inherent  powers 
bestowed  upon  us.  Such  are  the  consequences  which  naturally  follow, 
when  from  one  cause  or  other,  any  of  those  doctrines  are  obscured, 
which   have  been  revealed   in  mercy  to  our   necessities.     The   mind 


XVIII.]  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  606 

catches  at  the  words  of  hfe,  and  tries  to  apprehend  them  ;  and  being 
debarred  their  true  meaning,  takes  up  with  this  or  that  form  of  error,  as 
the  case  may  be,  in  the  semblance  of  truth,  by  way  of  compensation. 
For  ourselves,  in  proportion  as  we  realize  that  higher  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, which  we  may  humbly  trust  is  the  true  one,  let  us  be  careful  to 
act  up  to  it.  Let  us  adore  the  Sacred  Presence  within  us  with  all  fear, 
and  '•  rejoice  with  trembling."  Let  us  offer  up  our  best  gifts  in  sacri- 
fice to  Him  who,  instead  of  abhorring,  has  taken  up  His  abode  in  these 
sinful  hearts  of  ours.  Prayer,  praise,  and  thanksgiving,  "  good  works 
and  alms-deeds,"  a  bold  and  true  confession,  and  a  self-denying  walk, 
are  the  ritual  of  worship  by  which  we  serve  Him  in  His  temple.  How 
the  distinct  and  particular  works  of  faith  avail  to  our  final  acceptance, 
we  know  not ;  neither  do  we  know  how  they  are  efhcacious  in  chang- 
ing our  wills  and  characters,  which,  through  God's  grace,  they  certain- 
ly do.  All  we  know  is,  that  as  we  persevere  in  them,  the  inward  light 
grows  brighter  and  brighter,  and  God  manifests  Himself  in  us  in  a  way  the 
world  knows  not  of.  In  this  then  consists  our  whole  duty,  first  to  con- 
template Almighty  God,  as  in  heaven,  so  in  our  hearts  and  souls;  and 
next,  while  we  contemplate  Him,  to  act  towards  and  for  Him  in  the 
works  of  every  day  ;  to  view  by  faith  His  glory  without  and  within  us, 
and  to  acknowledge  it  by  our  obedience.  Thus  we  shall  unite  in  one, 
conceptions  the  most  lofty  concerning  His  majesty  and  bounty  towards 
us,  with  the  most  lowly,  minute,  and  unostentatious  service  to  Him. 

Lastly,  the  doctrine  on  Avhich  I  have  been  dwelling,  cannot  fail  to 
produce  in  us  deeper  and  more  reverent  feelings  towards  the  Church 
of  Christ,  as  His  especial  dwelling-place.  It  is  evident,  we  are  in  a 
much  more  extraordinary  state  than  we  are  at  all  aware  of  The  mul- 
titude do  not  understand  this.  So  it  was  in  Israel  once.  There  was  a 
time  when,  even  at  Bethel,  where  God  had  already  vouchsafed  a  warn- 
ing against  such  ignorance,  the  very  children  of  the  city  "  mocked"  His 
prophet,  little  thinking  he  had  with  him  the  mantle  of  Elijah.  In  an 
after  age,  the  prophet  Ezekiel  was  bid  prophesy  to  the  people,  "whether 
they  would  hear  or  whether  they  would  forbear  ;"  and,  it  was  added, 
"  and  they,  whether  they  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  forbear,  yet  shall 
know  that  there  hath  been  a  prophet  among  them."* 

Let  us  not  fear,  therefore,  to  be,  in  our  belief,  but  a  few  among  many. 
Let  us  not  fear  opposition,  suspicion,  reproach,  or  ridicule.  God  sees 
us,  and  His  Angels ;  they  are  looking  on.  They  know  we  are  right, 
and  bear  witness  to  us  :  and,  "  yet  a  little  while,  and  He  that  cometh 
shall  come,  and  will  not  tarry.     Now  the  just  shall  live  hj  faith. "f 

»  3  Kings  tl.  23      Ezck.  ii.  5—7.  t  Hcb.  x.  37,  38. 


SERMON   XIX 


EEGENERATING  BAPTISM. 


1  Corinthians  xii.  13. 
By  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  Body. 

As  there  is  One  Holy  Ghost,  so  there  is  one  only  visible  Body  of  Chris- 
tians which  Almighty  God  "  knows  by  name,"  and  one  Baptism  which 
admits  men  into  it.  This  is  implied  in  the  text,  which  is  nearly  parallel 
to  St.  Paul's  words  to  the  Ephesians:  "there  is  one  Body,  and  one 
Spirit,  one  Baptism.'*  But  more  than  this  is  taught  us  in  it ;  not  only 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  in  the  Church,  and  that  Baptism  admits  into  it, 
but  that  the  Holy  Ghost  admits  by  means  of  Baptism,  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  baptizes ;  in  other  words,  that  each  individual  member  receives 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a  preliminary  step,  a  condition,  or  means 
of  his  being  incorporated  into  the  Church, — or,  in  our  Saviour's  words, 
that  no  one  can  enter,  except  he  be  regenerated  in  order  to  it. 

Now,  this  is  much  more  than  many  men  are  willing  to  grant,  their 
utmost  concession  being  that  the  Church  has  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  it,  and  therefore,  to  be  in  the  Church  is  to  be  in  that  which  has 
the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit, — that  is,  to  be  in  the  way  of  the  Spirit, 
(so  to  speak,)  which  cannot  but  be  a  state  of  favour  and  privilege  ;  but 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to  infants,  one  by  one,  on  their  Baptism, 
this  they  will  not  admit.  Yet,  one  would  think  words  could  not  be 
plainer  than  the  text  in  proof  of  it ;  however,  they  do  not  admit  it. 

This  defective  view  of  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  for  so  I  must  not 
shrink  from  calling  it,  shall  now  be  considered,  and  considered  in  its 
connection  with  a  popular  argument  for  the  Baptism  of  infants,  which, 
most  true  as  it  is  in  its  proper  place,  yet  is  scarcely  profitable  for  these 
times,  as  seeming  to  countenance  the  error  in  question.  I  mean,  the 
assumed  parallel  between  Baptism  and  Circumcision. 


SiRM.XIX.]  REGENERATING  BAPTISM.  607 

-  It  is  undeniable  that  Circumcision  in  some  important  respects  resem- 
bles Baptism,  and  may  allowably,  nay,  usefully  be  referred  to  in  illus- 
tration of  it.  (.ircumcision  vas  the  entrance  into  the  Jewish  Cove- 
nant, and  it  typitieJ  the  renunciation  of  ihe  flosh.  In  respects  such  as 
these  it  resembles  Baptism ;  and,  hence,  it  has  been  of  service  in  the 
argument  for  Infant  Baptism,  as  having  been  itself  administered  to 
infants.  But,  though  it  resembles  Baptism  in  some  respects,  it  is  un- 
like it  in  others  more  important.  When,  then  it  is  found  to  be  the 
chief  and  especially  approved  argument  in  favour  of  Infant  Baptism 
.among  Christians,  there  is  reason  for  some  anxiety,  lest  this  circum- 
stance evince,  or  introduce  insufficient  views  on  the  subject  of  a  Chris- 
tian Sacrament.  This  remark,  I  fear,  is  applicable  in  the  present  day. 
We  baptize  infants,  in  the  first  place,  because  the  Church  has  ever 
-done  so  ;  and,  to  say  nothing  of  the  duty  of  observing  and  transmitting 
■what  we  have  received,  in  the  case  of  so  great  a  privilege  as  Baptism, 
'we  should  be  ungrateful  and  insensible  indeed,  if  we  did  not  give  our 
children  the  benefit  of  the  usage,  even  though  Scripture  said  not  a  word 
■on  the  subject,  so  that  it  said  nothing  the  other  way.  But,  besides,  we 
consider  we  do  find,  in  our  Saviour's  words,  a  command  to  bring  chil- 
dren to  Him,  for  His  blessing.  Again,  He  said  they  were  to  be  mem- 
bers of  His  Kingdom  ;  also,  that  Baptism  is  the  only  entrance,  the  new 
birth  into  it.  We  administer  then  Baptism  to  children  as  a  sure  bene- 
fit to  their  souls. 

But,  when  men  refuse  to  admit  the  doctrine  of  Baptismal  Regenera- 
tion, in  the  case  of  infants,  then  they  look  about  how  they  may  defend 
Infant  Baptism,  which,  perhaps,  from  habit,  good  feeling,  or  other 
causes,  they  do  not  like  to  abandon.  The  ordinary  and  intelligible 
reason  for  the  Baptism  of  infants,  is  the  securing  to  them  remission  of 
sins,  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, — Regeneration  ;  but  if  this  sacred 
privilege  is  not  given  to  them  in  Baptism,  why,  it  may  be  asked,  should 
Baptism  be  administered  to  them  at  all?  Why  not  wait  till  they  can 
understand  the  meaning  of  the  rite,  and  can  have  faith  and  repentance 
themselves  1  Certainly  it  does  seem  a  very  intricate  and  unreasonable 
proceeding ;  first,  to  lay  stress  on  the  necessity  of  repentance  and  faith 
in  persons  to  be  baptized,  and  then  to  proceed  to  administer  Baptism 
universally  in  such  a  way  as  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  their  having 
repentance  and  faith.  I  say,  this  would  be  strange  and  inconsistent, 
were  not  Baptism,  in  itself,  so  direct  a  blessing  that,  Avhen  parents 
demand  it  for  their  children,  all  abstract  rules  must,  in  very  charity, 
necessarily  give  way.  We  administer  it  whenever  we  do  not  discover 
some  actual  obstacle  in  the  recipient  to  hinder  its  efficacy,  as  we  give 
medicine  to  the  sick.     Otherwise  the  objection  holds ;  and,  accordingly, 


608  REGENERATING   BAPTISM.  [Scrir. 

clear-sighted  men,  who  deny  its  regenerating  power  in  the  case  of  in- 
fants, often  do  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  to  administer  i:  to  them  ia- 
a  needless  and  officious  act,  nay,  a  profanation  of  a  sacred  institution. 
It  seems  to  them  a  mockery  to  baptize  them  ;  the  waste  of  an  edifying 
rite,  not  to  say  a  Sacrament,  upon  those  who  cannot  understand  or  use 
it;  and,  to  speak  the  truth,  they  do  appear  reasonable  and  straightfor- 
ward in  their  inference,  granting  their  premises.  It  does  seem  as  if 
those,  who  deny  the  regeneration  of  infants,  ought,  if  they  were  con- 
sistent, (which  happily  they  are  not,)  to  refrain  from  baptizing  them. 
Surely,  if  we  go  by  Scripture,  the  question  is  decided  at  once ;  for  no 
one  can  deny  that  there  is  much  more  said  in  Scripture  in  behalf  of  the 
connection  between  Baptism  and  Divine  grace,  than  about  the  duty  of 
Infant  Baptism.  The  passage  can  scarcely  be  named,  in  the  New 
Testament,  where  Baptism  is  referred  to,  without  the  mention,  direct 
or  indirect,  of  spiritual  influences.  What  right  have  we  to  put  asun- 
der what  God  has  united  ?  especially  since,  on  the  other  hand,  the  text 
cannot  be  found  which  plainly  enjoins  the  Baptism  of  infants.  If  the 
doctrine  and  the  practice  are  irreconcilable, — Baptismal  Regeneration 
and  Infant  Baptism, — let  the  practice,  which  is  not  written  in  Scrip- 
ture, yield  to  the  doctrine  which  is  ;  and  let  us  (if  we  can  bear  to  do 
so)  defraud  infants  of  Baptism,  not  Baptism  of  its  supernatural  virtue. 
Let  us  go  counter  to  Tradition  rather  than  to  Scripture.  This  being- 
the  difficulty  which  comes  upon  those  who  deny  the  Regeneration,  yet 
would  retain  the  Baptism,  of  infants,  let  us  next  see  how  they  meet  it. 
We  need  not  suppose  that  all  I  am  drawing  out  passes  through  the 
mind  of  every  one  who  denies  that  infants  arc  regenerated  in  Baptism  ;: 
but,  surely,  some  such  processes  of  thought  are  implied,  which  it  may 
be  useful  to  ourselves  to  trace  out.  This  being  understood,  I  observe 
that  the  partly  assumed  and  partly  real  parallel  of  Circumcision  come9» 
in  fact,  whether  they  know  it  or  not,  as  a  sort  of  refuge  to  those  who 
have  taken  up  this  intermediate  position  between  Catholic  doctrine 
and  heretical  practice.  They  avail  themselves  of  the  instance  of  Cir- 
cumcision as  a  proof  that  a  divinely-appointed  ordinance  need  not  con- 
vey grace,  even  while  it  admits  into  a  state  of  grace ;  and  they  argue 
from  the  analogy  between  Circumcision  and  Baptism,  that  what  was 
the  case  with  the  Mosaic  ordinance  is  the  case  with  the  Christian  also. 
Circumcision  admitted  to  certain  privileges,  to  the  means  of  grace,  to 
teaching,  and  the  like  ;  Baptism,  they  consider,  does  the  same  and  no 
more.  It  has  also  the  same  uses  as  Circumcision,  in  teaching  the 
necessity  of  inward  sanctification,  and  implying  the  original  corrupt 
condition  of  our  nature.  In  like  manner,  it  ought  to  be  administered 
to  infants,  since  Circumcision  was  so  administered  under  the  Law. 


XIX.]  REGENERATING  BAPTISM.  fl09 

I  do  not  deny  that  this  view  is  consistent  with  itself,  and  plausible. 
And  it  would  be  perfectly  satisfactory,  as  a  view,  were  it  Scriptural. 
But  the  plain  objection  to  it  is,  that  Christ  and  His  Apostles  do  attach 
a  grace  to  the  ordinance  of  Baptism,  sucli  as  is  not  attached  in  the  Old 
Testament  to  Circumcision, — which  is  exactly  that  difl'erence  which 
makes  the  latter  a  mere  rite,  tlie  former  a  Sacrament;  and  if  this  be 
so,  it  is  nothing  to  the  purpose  to  build  up  an  argument  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  two  ordinances  are  precisely  the  same. 

Surely  we  have  forgotten,  in  good  measure,  the  difference  between 
Jewish  ordinances  and  Christian.  It  was  said  of  old  time,  after  St. 
Paul,  "  The  Law  has  a  shadow,  the  Gospel  an  image,  Heaven  the 
reality  ;"  or,  in  other  words,  that  of  those  heavenly  blessings  which  the 
Jewish  Dispensation  prefigured,  the  Christian  imparts  a  portion  or  earn- 
est. This,  then,  is  the  distinction  between  our  ritual  and  the  Mosaic. 
The  Jewish  rites  had  no  substance  of  blessing  in  them  ;  they  were  but 
outward  signs  and  types  of  spiritual  privileges.  They  had  in  them  no 
**  grace  and  truth."  When  the  Divine  Antitype  came,  they  were  sim- 
ply and  merely  in  the  way ;  they  did  but  hide  from  the  eye  of  faith  the 
reality  which  they  had  been  useful  in  introducing.  They  were  as  the 
forerunners  in  a  procession,  who,  after  announcing  their  Prince's  com- 
ing, must  themselves  retire,  or  but  crowd  his  path.  Nor  these  alone, 
but  all  mere  ceremonies  were  then  for  ever  unseasonable,  as  mere  obsta- 
cles intercepting  the  Divine  light.  Yet,  while  Christ  abolished  them, 
considered  as  means  of  expiation,  or  mere  badges  of  profession,  or  aa 
prophetical  types  of  what  was  no  longer  future.  He  introduced  another 
class  of  ordinances  in  their  stead  ;  Mysteries,  as  they  are  sometimes 
called,  among  which  are  the  Sacraments,  viz.  rites  as  valueless  and 
powerless  in  themselves  as  the  Jewish,  but  being,  what  the  Jewish  were 
not,  instruments  of  the  apphcation  of  His  merits  to  individual  believers. 
Though  He  now  sits  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  He  has  in  one  sense, 
never  left  the  world  since  He  first  entered  it ;  for,  by  the  ministration 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  He  is  really  present  with  us  in  an  unknown  way,  and 
ever  imparts  Himself  to  those  who  seek  Him.  Even  when  visibly  on 
earth,  He,  the  Son  of  Man,  was  still  "  in  heaven  ;"  and  now,  though  He 
is  ascended  on  high.  He  is  still  on  earth.  And  as  He  is  still  with  us, 
for  all  that  He  is  in  heaven,  so,  again,  is  the  hour  of  His  cross  and 
passion  ever  mystically  present,  though  it  be  past  these  eighteen  hundred 
years.  Time  and  space  have  no  portion  in  the  spiritual  Kingdom  which 
He  has  founded  ;  and  the  rites  of  His  Church  are  as  mysterious  spells 
by  which  he  annuls  them.  They  are  not  like  the  Jewish  ordinances, 
long  and  laborious,  expensive  or  irksome,  with  aught  of  value  or  merit 
in  themselves ;  thev  are  so  simple,  so  brief,  with  so  little  of  outward 
Vol.  I.--39 


610  REGENERATING    BAPTISM.  [Sb 

substance,  that  tlic  mind  is  not  detained  for  a  moment  from  Him  who 
works  by  means  of  them,  Dut  takes  them  for  what  they  really  are,  only 
so  far  outward  as  to  sc.  vo  for  a  medium  of  the  heavenly  gift.  Thus 
Christ  shines  through  them,  as  through  transparent  bodies,  without  im- 
pediment. He  is  the  Light  and  Life  of  the  Church,  acting  through  it, 
dispensing  of  His  fulness,  knitting  and  compacting  together  every  part  of 
it ;  and  these  its  Mysteries  are  not  mere  outward  signs,  but,  (as  it  were) 
effluences  of  His  grace  developing  themselves  in  external  forms,  as 
Angels  might  do  when  they  appeared  to  men.  He  has  touched  them 
and  breathed  upon  them,  when  He  ordained  them  ;  and  thenceforth  they 
have  a  virtue  in  them,  which  issues  forth  and  encircles  them  round,  till 
the  eye  of  faith  sees  in  them  no  element  of  matter  at  all.  Once  for  all 
He  hung  upon  the  cross,  and  blood  and  water  issued  from  His  pierced 
side,  but  by  the  Spirit's  ministration,  the  blood  and  water  arc  ever  flow- 
ing,  as  though  His  cross  were  really  set  up  among  us,  and  the  baptismal' 
wai'^r  were  but  the  outward  image  upon  our  senses.  Thus  in  a  true 
sense  that  water  is  not  what  it  was  before,  but  is  gifted  with  new  and 
spiritual  quaUties.  Not  as  if  its  material  substance  were  changed,  which, 
our  eyes  see,  or  as  if  any  new  nature  were  imparted  to  it,  but  that  the 
life-giving  Spirit,  who  could  make  bread  of  stones,  and  sustain  animal 
life  on  dust  and  ashes,  applies  the  blood  of  Christ  through  it ;  or  accord- 
ing to  the  doctrine  of  the  text,  that  He,  and  not  man,  is  the  baptizer. 

St.  Paul  sets  this  great  truth  before  us,  among  other  places,  in  the 
second  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Colossians.  First  he  says,  "  In 
Christ  diw-Ileth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  and  ye  have  ful- 
ness in  Him,  who  is  the  head  of  all  principality  and  power."  Here  the 
most  solemn  and  transporting  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  is  disclosed 
to  us,  as  the  corner  stone  of  the  whole  Church  system  ;  "  the  Word  made 
flesh,"  being  the  divinely  appointed  Way  whereby  we  are  regenerated 
and  saved.  The  Apostle  then  proceeds  to  describe  the  manner  in  which, 
this  divine  fulness  is  imparted  to  us,  and  in  so  doing  contrasts  the  Jewish 
ceremony  of  Circumcision  with  the  spiritual  Ordinance  which  has  su- 
perseded it.  "  In  whom  also,"  in  Christ,  "  ye  are  circumcised  with  a 
circumcision  made  without  hands,"  heavenly,  supernatural,  invisible ; 
when  ye  strip  yourselves  of  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh,  and  re- 
ceive" the  true  circumcision,  "the  circumcision  of  Christ,  namely, 
buried  >vith  Him  in  Baptism."  Thus  Baptism  is  a  spiritual  Circum- 
cision. He  continues  still  more  plainly,  "  Let  no  man  therefore  judge 
you  in  meat  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  an  holy  day,  or  of  the  new 
moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath  days  ;  which  are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come, 
but  the  body  is  of  Christ."  Now,  if  Baptism  were  but  an  outward 
rite,  like  Circumcision,  how  strange  a  proof  would  it  be  of  the  Gospel's 


XIX.]  REGENERATING  BAPTISM.  611 

superseding  all  outward  rites,  to  say  that  it  enforced  Baptism !  He 
says,  "  Ye  have  Baptism,  therefore  do  not  think  of  shadows,''  as  if  Bap- 
tism  took  the  place  of  shadows,  as  if  it  were  certainly  not  a  shadow 
but  a  substance.  Again  he  says,  "  but  the  body  is  of  Christ  ;"  Cir- 
cumcision is  a  shadow,  but  Baptism  and  the  other  Mysteries  of  the 
Church  are  "  the  body,''  and  that  because  they  are  "  of  Christ."  And 
lastly  he  speaks  of  the  duty  of  "  holding  to  the  Head,"  that  is,  to  Christ, 
from  whom  the  whole  body,  being  nourished  and  knit  together  by  joints 
and  bands,  increaseth  with  a  godly  increase.  What  are  the  joints  and 
bands  but  the  Christian  Ordinances  and  Ministrations,  as  well  as  those 
who  perform  them  ^  but,  observe,  they  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  sub- 
serve the  "  increase"  of  the  Church. 

Such  is  St.  Paul's  doctrine  after  Christ  had  died ;  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist teaches  the  same  beforehand.  "  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water 
imto  repentance,  but  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
witlifire."  Doubtless  there  is  an  allusion  here  to  the  special  descent  of 
the  Spirit  at  Pentecost ;  but,  even  taking  it  as  such,  the  fulfilment  of 
^he  Baptist's  words  then,  becomes  a  pledge  to  us  of  the  fulfilment  of 
our  Saviour's  words  to  Nicodemus  to  the  end  of  time.  He  who  came 
by  fire  at  Pentecost,  will,  as  He  has  said,  come  by  water  now.  But  we 
may  reasonably  consider  these  very  words  of  the  Baptist  as  referring  to 
ordinary  Christian  Baptism,  as  well  as  to  the  miraculous  Baptism  of  the 
Apostles.  As  if  he  said,  "  Christ's  Baptism  shall  not  be  mere  water,  as 
mine  is.  What  you  see  of  it  indeed  is  water,  but  that  is  but  the  subordinate 
element  of  it  ;  for  it  is  water  endued  with  high  and  supernatural  quah- 
ties.  Would  it  not  surprise  you  if  water  burned  like  fire  ?  Such,  and 
more  than  such,  is  the  mystery  of  that  water  which  He  shall  pour  out 
on  you,  having  a  searching  and  efficacious  influence  upon  the  soul  itself.'' 

Now,  if  any  one  says  that  such  passages  as  this  need  not  mean  all  I 
have  supposed,  I  answer  that  the  question  is  not  what  they  must  mean, 
but  what  they  do  mean.  I  am  not  now  engaged  in  proving,  but  in  ex- 
plaining the  doctrine  of  Baptism,  and  in  illustrating  it  from  Scripture. 

To  return  : — hence  too  the  Baptismal  Font  is  called  "  the  washing  of 
regeneration,'''  not  of  mere  water,  "  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
He  hath  poured  out  on  us  richly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  ;" 
and  Christ  is  said  to  have  "  loved  the  Church  and  given  Himself  for  it, 
that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the 
Word,  that  he  might  present  it  to  Himself  a  glorious  Church." 

Further,  let  us  consider  the  instances  of  the  administration  of  Baptism 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  If  it  be  as  serious  a  rite  as  I  have  repre- 
sented, surely  it  must  be  there  set  forth  as  a  great  thing,  and  received 


eiS  REGENERATING   BAPTISM.  [Sbrm. 

with  awe  and  thankfulness.  Now  we  shall  find  these  expectations  alto, 
gether  fulfilled.  For  instance,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  St.  Peter  said 
to  the  multitude,  who  asked  what  they  must  do,  •'  Repent,  and  be  bap- 
tized every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  I'or  the  remist-ion  of 
sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Accordingly, 
•'  they  that  gladly  received  His  word  were  baptized,"  to  obtain  these 
privileges  ;  and,  forthwith,  we  hear  of  their  continuing  "  in  gladness  and 
singleness  of  heart,  praising  God."  Again,  when  the  Ethiopian  Eunuch 
had  been  baptized  by  Philip,  he  "  went  on  his  way  rejoicing."  After 
St.  Paul  had  been  struck  down  by  the  Saviour  whom  he  was  persecu- 
ting, and  sent  to  Damascus,  he  began  to  pray  ;  but  though  in  one  sense 
a  changed  man  already,  he  had  not  yet  received  the  gift  of  regeneration, 
nor  did  he  receive  it  except  by  the  ministry  of  Ananias,  who  was  sent 
to  him  from  Christ,  expressly  that  he  "  might  be  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Accordingly  Ananias  said  to  him,  "And  now  why  tarriest 
thou  1  arise  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord."  So  again  Cornelius,  religious  man  as  he  was,  and 
that  doubtless  by  God's  secret  aid,  yet  was  not  received  into  Christ's 
family  except  by  Baptism.  Even  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon 
him  and  his  friends  miraculously,  while  St.  Peter  was  preaching  to 
them,  did  not  supersede  the  necessity  of  the  Sacrament.  And  lastly 
■when  the  jailor  of  Philippi  had  been  baptized,  he  "  rejoiced,  believing  in 
God  with  all  his  house."* 

These  and  similar  passages  seem  to  prove  clearly  the  superiority  of 
Baptism  to  Circumcision,  as  being  a  Sacrament  ;  but  if  they  did  not, 
what  conclusion  should  we  have  arrived  at  ?  no  other  than  this,  that 
Baptism  is,  like  Circumcision,  but  a  carnal  ordinance  (if  the  words  may 
be  spoken,)  not  a  spiritual  possession.  See  what  follows.  Do  you  not 
recollect  how  much  St.  Paul  says  in  depreciation  of  the  rites  of  the  Jew- 
ish Law,  on  the  ground  of  their  being  rudiments  of  this  world,  cardinal 
ordinances  1  Now  if  Baptism  be  altogether  like  Circumcision,  can  it, 
any  more  than  they,  have  a  place  in  the  New  Covenant  1  This  was 
the  very  defect  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  that  it  was  but  a  form  ;  this  was  one 
part  of  the  bondage  of  the  Jews,  that  they  were  put  under  forms,  which 
contained  in  them  no  direct  or  intrinsic  virtue,  but  had  their  spiritual 
use  only  as  obeying  for  conscience'  sake,  and  as  means  of  prophetic  in- 
struction. Surely  this  cannot  be  our  state  under  the  Gospel:  "We," 
says  St.  Paul,  "  when  we  were  children,"  that  is,  Jews,  "  were  in  bond- 
age under  the  elements  of  the  world  ;  but  when  the  fulness  of  the  time 

»Actsii.  38— 17;  Till.  39  ;  ii.  n :   xiii.  16;  x.  44— 43  ;  xvi.  31. 


XIX]  REGENERATING  BAPTISM.  613 

was  come,  God  sent  forth  His  Son,  made  of  a  woman that 

we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons.  And  because  ye  are  sons,  God 
hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying  Abba, 
Father."  Is  it  possible  then,  now  that  the  Spirit  is  come,  we  can  be 
under  dead  rights  and  ordinances  1  It  is  plainly  impossible.  If  Baptism 
then  has  no  spiritual  virtue  in  it,  can  it  be  intejidcd  for  us  Christians? 
If  it  has  no  regenerating  power,  surely  they  only  are  consistent  who  re- 
ject it  altogether.  I  will  boldly  say  it,  we  have  notliing  dead  and 
earthly  under  the  Gospel,  and  we  act  like  the  Judaizing  Christians  of 
old  time  if  we  submit  to  any  thing  such  ;  therefore  they  only  are  con- 
sistent, who,  denying  the  virtue  of  Baptism,  also  deny  its  authority  as 
a  permanent  ordinance  of  the  Gospel.  Surely  it  was  but  intended  for 
the  infancy  of  the  Church,  ere  men  were  weaned  from  their  attachment 
to  a  ritual !  Surely  it  was  but  an  oriental  custom,  edifying  to  those 
who  loved  a  symbolical  worship,  but  needless,  nay  harmful  to  us ;  harm- 
ful as  impeding  the  prerogative  of  Christian  liberty,  obscuring  our  view 
of  the  one  Christian  Atonement,  corrupting  the  simplicity  of  our  faith 
and  trust,  and  profaning  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit !  I  repeat  it, 
either  Baptism  is  an  instrument  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  it  has  no  place  in 
Christianity.  We  indeed,  who,  in  accordance  with  the  teaching  of  the 
Church  Universal,  believe  that  it  is  an  act  of  the  Spirit,  are  under  no 
difficulty  in  this  matter.  But  let  those  who  deny  it  look  to  themselves. 
They  are  on  their  own  principles  committing  the  sin  of  the  Galatians, 
and  severing  themselves  from  Christ.  Surely  if  their  doctrine  be  right, 
they  may  consider  themselves  addressed  by  St.  Paul  in  his  language  to 
those  early  Judaizers,  "  O  senseless  Galatians,"  he  would  have  said  to 
them,  "  who  hath  bewitched  you  ?  Are  ye  so  foolish,  having  begun  in 
the  Spirit,  are  ye  now  made  perfect  by  the  flesh  ?  Why  burden  your- 
selves with  mere  ceremonies  external  washings,  the  rudiments  of  the 
world,  shadows  of  good  things,  weak,  beggarly  and  unprofitable  ele- 
ments, whereunto  ye  desire  to  be  in  bondage  ?  Stand  fast  in  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free,  and  be  not  entangled  with  the  yoke 
of  bondage.  Spiritual  men  are  delivered  from  formal  observances.  If 
ye  be  baptized,  Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing ;  for  neither  Baptism 
availeth  any  thing  nor  want  of  Baptism,  but  faith  which  worketh  by 
love.  Neither  Baptism  availeth  any  thing  nor  want  of  Baptism,  but 
a  new  creature ;  and  as  many  as  walk  according  to  this  rule,  peace  be 
on  them  and  mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  our  God." 

Such,  doubtless,  is  the  only  consistent  mode  of  regarding  and  treat- 
ing this  sacred  ordinance,  if  it  has  no  power  or  grace  in  it  above  a 
'Jewish  rite.  We  should  discard  it.  And  in  whatever  degree  we  think 
it  thus  unprofitable,  so  far  we  should  discard  it.     If  we  think  it  but  a 


614  REGENERATING   BAPTISM.  [Serm.  XIX- 

figure  in  the  case  of  children,  though  a  Sacrament  to  grown  men,  we 
should  keep  from  wasting  upon  children  what  would  benefit  them  as 
men.  And  this  holds  good  of  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Church  ;  so  far 
as  they  are  but  outward  forms,  let  them  be  abolished  as  parts  of  dead 
Judaism.  But,  praised  be  God  !  they  are  none  of  them  such.  They 
all  have  life.  Christ  has  lodged  virtue  in  His  Church,  and  she  dis- 
penses it  forth  from  her  in  all  her  words  and  works.  Why  will  you  not 
believe  this  ?  What  do  you  gain  by  so  jealous  and  niggardly  a  spirit, 
such  "  slowness  of  heart,"  but  the  loss  of  thoughts  full  of  comfort  and 
of  majesty  ?  To  view  Christ  as  all  but  visibly  revealed, — to  look  upon 
His  ordinances,  not  in  themselves  but  as  signs  of  His  presence  and 
power,  as  the  accents  of  His  love,  the  very  form  and  countenance  ;of 
Him  Avho  ever  beholds  us,  ever  cherishes  us, — to  see  Him  thus  revealed 
in  glory  day  by  day, — is  not  this  to  those  who  believe  it  an  unspeakable 
privilege  1  Is  it  not  so  great  that  a  man  might  well  wish  it  true  from 
the  excellence  of  it,  and  count  them  happy  who  are  able  to  receive  it  ? 
And  when  this  is  all  plainly  revealed  in  Scripture,  when  we  are  ex- 
pressly told  that  Christ  washes  us  by  W^ater  to  change  us  into  a  glo- 
rious Church,  that  the  consecrated  bread  is  His  flesh,  that  He  is  present 
with  His  ministers  and  is  in  the  midst  of  His  Church  why  should  we 
draw  back,  like  Thomas  doubting  of  our  Lord's  resurrection  ?  "  Bless- 
ed are  they  that  have  not  seen  and  have  yet  believed  !"  Surely  so  it 
is ;  and  however  the  world  may  scorn  our  faith,  however  those  despise 
us  from  whom  we  might  expect  better  things,  we  will  cheerfully  bear 
what  is  a  slight  drawback  indeed  on  our  extreme  blessedness.  While 
they  accuse  us  of  trusting  in  ourselves,  trusting  in  our  forms,  and  of 
ignorance  of  the  Gospel,  we  will  meekly  say  in  our  hearts,  "'Thou, 
God,  seest  me  :'  Thou  knowest  that  we  desire  to  love  nothing  but 
Thee,  and  to  trust  in  nothing  but  the  cross  of  Christ  ;  and  that  we 
relinquish  all  self-reliance,  and  know  ourselves  in  ourselves  to  have 
nothing  but  sin  and  misery,  and  esteem  these  ordinances  of  Thine  not 
for  their  own  sake,  hut  as  memorials  of  Thee  and  of  Thy  Son, — me- 
morials which  He  has  appointed,  which  He  has  blessed,  and  in  which, 
by  faith,  we  see  Him  manifested  day  by  day,  and  through  which  we 
hope  to  receive  the  imputation  of  those  merits,  once  for  all  wrought 
out  on  the  Cross,  and  our  only  effectual  help  in  the  day  of  account." 


SERMON    XX 


INFANT  BAPTISM. 


Matt,  xviii.  5. 
Whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in  my  name,  receiveth  me. 

Perhaps  there  are  no  words  uttered  by  our  Lord  in  the  Gospels  more 
gracious  and  considerate,  as  well  as  holy,  just,  and  good  (that  is,  if  we 
dare  measure  His  words  by  our  own  sense  of  them,)  than  the  encour- 
agement given  in  this  text,  and  others  of  a  similar  character  ;  none, 
more  gracious  and  considerate,  taking  into  account  our  nature  and  the 
necessary  consequence  of  believing  the  doctrines  He  has  brought  to 
light.  He  has  brought  to  light  life  and  immortality  ;  but  with  immortal 
life,  He  has  also  brought  to  light  eternal  death  ;  He  has  revealed  the 
awful  truth,  that  the  soul  never  dies,  never  ceases  to  think  and  to  be 
conscious,  to  be  capable  of  happiness  or  misery  ;  that  when  once  a 
man  is  born  into  the  world,  neither  time  nor  place,  friend  nor  enemy. 
Angels  nor  devils  can  touch  the  living  principle  within  him  ;  not  even 
himself  has  any  power  over  himself ;  but,  as  he  has  begun,  so  he  must 
continue  to  exist  on  to  eternity.  He  has  taught  us,  that  every  child, 
from  the  moment  of  his  birth,  has  this  prospect  before  him,  also,  that 
far  from  being  sure  of  heaven,  he  is  to  be  put  on  a  trial,  whether  he 
will  serve  God  or  no  ;  nay,  not  only  on  a  trial,  but  on  a  trial  not  on 
even  terms  ;  not  a  trial  to  which  he  is  equal,  but  with  a  strong  pro- 
pensity within  him  to  the  worst  alternative,  a  tendency  weighing  him 
down  to  earth  ;  so  that  of  himself  he  cannot  serve  God'acceptably, 
or  even  repent  of  his  unworthy  service. 

I  say,  if  we  knew  only  this,  no  thoughtful  person  could  ever,  with- 
out the  greatest  humiliation  and  terror,  reflect  on  his  being  responsible 
for  the  existence  of  being  exposed  to  such  miserable  disadvantages. 
Surely,  if  we  only  knew  the  primary  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  viz.  that 
man  is  a  sinner  by  nature,  and,  though  redeemed  by  Christ,  cannot 
turn  to  Christ  of  his  own  strength,  I  say,  the  cruelty  of  giving  birth  to 
poor  infants,  who  should  inherit  our  nature  and   receive   from  us   the 


616  INFANT  BAPTISM.  [Sirsc.- 

birth-right  of  corruption,  would  be  so  great,  that  bowing  the  head  to 
God's  appointment,  and  believing  it  to  be  good  and  true,  we  could  but 
conclude  with  the  Apostles  on  one  occasion,  that  "  it  were  good  not  to 
marry.''  Our  knowledge  of  the  real  condition  of  man  in  God's  sight 
would  surely  lead  to  the  breaking  up  of  society,  in  proportion  as  it 
was  sincerely  and  simply  received  ;  for  what  good  were  it  to  know  that 
Christ  has  died  for  us,  if  we  also  knew  that  no  one  is  by  nature  able  to 
repent  and  believe,  and  knew  nothing  more  ?  It  would  lead  thoughtful 
men  to  think  of  their  own  personal  salvation  only,  and  thus  to  defraud 
Christ  of  the  succession  of  believers,  and  the  perpetual  family  of  Saints, 
which  is  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth  to  the  end  of  time  and  the  full 
fruit  of  His  passion. 

It  is  true,  there  is  another  doctrine  besides  those  which  I  have  stated, 
viz.  that  Christ  has  not  only  died  for  sinners,  but  also  vouchsafes  from 
above  the  influences  of  grace,  to  enable  them  to  love  what  by  nature 
they  cannot  love,  and  to  do  what  they  cannot  do,  to  believe  and  obey. 
But  even  this  would  not  be  enough  to  remove  the  alarm  and  distress  of 
the  Christian  parent.  For,  though  God  mercifully  gives  His  grace  to 
enable  men  to  beheve  in  His  Son,  yet  it  is  as  certain  as  the  truth  of 
Scripture  itself,  that  He  does  not  give  His  grace  to  all,  but  to  those  to 
whom  He  will.  If  any  word  of  Scripture  be  true,  it  is  this, — that  there 
is  an  election,  that  "  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that  run- 
neth, but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy,"  that  some  men  are  brought 
near  unto  God,  and  gifted  with  His  regenerating  grace,  and  others 
not ;  so  that,  although  we  knew  ever  so  much  concerning  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  concerning  the  meritorious  death  of  Christ, 
yet,  that  knowledge  would  not  tend  a  whit  more  to  reconcile  religious 
men  to  what  they  must  certainly  consider  the  cruelty,  and  the  personal 
responsibility,  of  becoming  a  parent. 

I  would  say,  then,  that  if  this  were  all  we  knew  on  the  subject,  no 
one  of  any  seriousness  could  bear  the  thought  of  adding  to  this  world's 
"  children  of  wrath,"  except  an  express  divine  command  obliged  him  to 
do  so.  If  even  a  single  dehberate  act  of  sin  be  (as  it  is)  »  great  and 
fearful  matter,  mortal  and  damnable,  yet  what  is  any  sin,  say  blasphe- 
my, murder,  idolatry,  even  the  greatest,  what  would  it  be  to  the  giving 
being  to  a  soul  intelligent,  individual,  accountable,  fraught  with  all  the 
sensibilities  and  aflections  which  belong  to  human  nature,  capable  of 
pain,  immortal,  and  in  due  season  manifesting  a  will  incurably  corrupt, 
and  a  heart  at  enmity  with  God,  even  though  there  were  the  chance 
that  possibly  it  might  be  one  of  those  who  were  elected  for  eternal 
hfe  ?  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  if  we  know  no  more  of  the  Gospel 
than  I  have  hitherto  mentioned,  if  we  content  ourselves  with  that  half 


XX.]  INFANT  BAPTISM.  617 

Gospel  which  is  sometimes  taken  for  the  whole,  none  would  be  so  self- 
ish and  so  unfeeling  as  wc,  who  could  be  content,  for  the  sake  of  world- 
ly comforts,  a  cheerful  home,  and  the  like,  to  surround  ourselves  with 
those,  about  whom,  dearly  as  we  loved  them,  and  fervently  as  we  might 
pray  for  them,  we  only  knew  thus  nmch,  that  there  was  a  chance, — 
a  chance  of  some  sort  that,  perhaps  they  might  be  in  the  number  of 
the  few  whom  Christ  rescues  from  the  curse  of  original  sin. 

Let  us  now  see  how  His  gracious  words,  contained  in  the  text,  re- 
move the  difficulty. 

In  truth,  our  Merciful  Saviour  has  done  much  more  for  us  than  re- 
veal the  wonderful  doctrines  of  the  Gospel ;  He  has  enabled  us  to  ap- 
ply them.  He  has  given  us  directions  as  well  as  doctrines,  and  while 
giving  them  has  imparted  to  us  especial  encouragement  and  comfort. 
What  an  inactive,  useless  world  this  would  be,  if  the  sun's  light  did  not 
diffuse  itself  through  the  air  and  fall  on  all  objects  around  us,  enabling 
us  to  see  earth  and  sky  as  well  as  the  sun  itself!  Cannot  we  conceive 
nature  so  constituted  that  the  sun  appeared  as  a  bright  spot  in  the  hea- 
vens, while  the  heavens  themselves  were  black  as  in  the  starlight,  and 
the  earth  dark  as  night  ?  Such  would  have  been  our  religious  state, 
had  not  our  Lord  applied,  and  diversified,  and  poured  to  and  fro,  in 
heat  and  light,  those  heavenly  glories  which  are  concentrated  in  Him. 
He  would  shine  upon  us  from  above  in  all  His  high  attributes  and  offi- 
ces, as  the  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  of  His  elect ;  but  how  should  we 
bring  home  His  grace  to  ourselves  ?  How  indeed  should  we  gain,  and 
know  we  gain,  an  answer  to  our  prayers, — how  secure  the  comfortable 
assurance  that  He  loves  us  personally,  and  will  change  our  hearts, 
which  we  feel  to  be  so  earthly,  and  wash  away  our  sins,  which  we  con- 
fess to  be  so  manifold,  unless  He  had  given  us  Sacraments, — means 
and  pledges  of  grace, — keys  which  open  the  treasure-house  of  mercy, 
— ordinances  in  which  we  not  only  ask,  but  receive,  and  know  we  re- 
ceive, all  we  can  receive  as  accountable  beings,  (not,  indeed,  the  cer- 
tainty of  heaven,  for  we  are  still  in  the  flesh.)  but  the  certainty  of  God's 
present  favour,  the  certainty  that  He  is  reconciled  to  us,  will  work  in 
us  and  with  us  all  righteousness,  will  so  supply  our  need,  that  hence- 
forth we  shall  lack  nothing  for  the  completion  and  overflowing  sancti- 
fication  of  our  defective  and  sinful  nature,  but  have  all,  and  more  than 
all  that  Adam  ever  had  in  his  first  purity,  all  that  the  highest  Archangel 
or  Seraph  ever  had  when  on  his  trial,  whether  he  would  stand  or  fall  ? 

For  instance,  in  the  particular  case  I  have  been  considering,  our 
gracious  Lord  has  done  much  more  than  tell  us  some  souls  are  elected 
to  the  mercies  of  redemption  and  others  not.  He  has  not  left  Chris- 
tians thus  uncertain  about  their  children.     He  has  expressly  assured  u» 


618  INFANT  BAPTISM.  [Serm. 

that  cliildrcn  arc  in  the  number  of  His  chosen  ;  and,  if  you  ask  wheth- 
er all  children,  I  reply,  all  children  that  you  can  bring  to  Baptism,  all 
children  who  are  \vithin  reach  of  it.  So  literally  has  He  fulfilled  His 
promise  :  "  Flo,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and 
he  that  hath  no  money,  come  ye  buy  and  eat ;  yea,  come  buy  wine 
and  milk  without  money  and  without  price  !"  and  again,  "  All  that  the 
Father  giveth  Me,  shall  come  to  Me,  and  him  that  cometh  to  Me,  I 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  He  has  disclosed  His  secret  election  in  a 
visible  Sacrament,  and  thus  enables  Christians  to  bear  to  be,  what  oth- 
erwise they  would  necessarily  shrink  from  being  parents.  He  relieves, 
my  brethren,  your  anxious  minds,  anxious  (as  they  must  ever  be)  for 
your  children's  welfare,  even  after  all  the  good  promises  of  the  gospel, 
but  unspeakably  anxious  before  you  understand  how  you  are  to  be  rid  of 
the  extreme  responsibility  of  bestov.ing  an  eternal  being  upon  sinful 
creatures  whom  you  cannot  change.  With  the  tcnderest  feeling  He 
removes  your  difficulty.  He  bids  you  bring  them  to  Him  from  the 
first,  and  then  take  and  educate  them  in  His  name.  Like  Pharaoh's 
daughter.  He  takes  them  up  when  you,  their  natural  kin,  have  been 
forced  to  abandon  them  to  inevitable  death  ;  and  then  He  gives  them 
back  to  you  to  nurse  for  His  sake.  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
vmto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God."* 
Again  in  the  text,  "  Whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in  My 
iicvme,  receiveth  Me."  Observe  how  He  speaks,  as  if  He  would  give 
you  some  great  and  urgent  encouragement ;  not  only  does  He  give  per- 
mission, but  He  promises  a  reward  to  those  who  dedicate  children  to 
Him.  He  not  only  bids  us  do  the  very  thing  we  wish  to  do,  but  be- 
stows on  the  doing  it  a  second  blessing.  He  promises  that  if  we  bring 
children  to  Him  for  His  blessing.  He  will  bless  us  for  bringing  them ; 
if  we  receive  them  for  His  sake.  He  will  make  it  as  if  we  received 
Himself,  which  is  the  greatest  reward  He  could  give  us.  Thus,  while 
we  are  engaged  in  this  work  of  receiving  children  in  His  name,  let  us 
recollect,  to  our  great  comfort,  that  we  are  about  no  earthly  toil ;  we 
are  taking  part  in  a  joyful  solemnity,  in  a  blessed  and  holy  ordinance, 
in  which  our  Saviour  Christ  not  only  comes  to  them,  but  is  spiritually 
received  into  our  own  souls. 

These  reflections  arise  on  the  first  view  of  the  subject.  However  it 
may  be  objected,  that  after  all,  numbers  fall  away  from  God,  even  with 
the  advantages  of  Baptism,  and  if  so,  the  birth  of  children  is  not  a  less 
awful  subject  of  contemplation  now  than  before,  nay,  rather  more  so, 
inasmuch  as  a  heavier  doom  awaits  those  who  sin  after  grace  given, 
than  those  who  have  not  received  it. 

•  Mark  i.  14. 


Xv.;  INFANT  BAPTISM.  619 

But  this  objection  surely  brings  us  to  a  very  different  question.  What 
I  have  been  saying  comes  to  this  : — that  a  child  seems  by  its  very  na- 
turc,  which  is  corrupt  and  ungodly,  to  complain  of  those  parents  who 
gave  it  him  ;  I  mean,  seems  to  do  so  in  the  parents'  estimation,  when 
they  think  of  him.  Their  tender  love  towards  him  is  humbled  and  dis- 
tressed by  this  thought :  "This  dear  and  helpless  object  of  our  affection 
is  a  sinner  through  his  parents,  shapen  in  iniquity,  conceived  in  sin, 
horn  a  child  of  wrath.  Now,  I  conceive  this  dreadful  thought  is  at 
once  removed,  directly  it  is  known  that  they  who  gave  him  his  natural 
being  may  also  bring  him  to  a  second  birth,  in  which  original  sin  is 
washed  away,  and  such  influences  of  grace  given  and  promised  as 
make  it  a  child's  own  fault,  if  he,  in  the  event,  fails  of  receiving  an 
eternal  inheritance  of  blessedness  in  God's  presence.  They  undo  their 
own  original  injury.  Now  that  Christ  receives  us  in  our  infancy,  no 
one  has  any  ground  for  complaining  of  his  fallen  nature.  He  receives 
hy  birth  a  curse,  but  by  Baptism  a  blessing,  and  the  blessing  is  the 
greater  ;  and  to  murmur  now  against  his  condition  is  all  one  with  mur- 
muring against  his  being  created  at  all,  his  being  created  as  a  responsi- 
ble being,  which  is  a  murmuring,  not  against  man  but  against  God ;  for 
though  it  was  man  who  has  made  our  nature  inclined  to  evil,  yet,  that 
we  are  beings  on  a  trial,  with  moral  natures,  a  power  to  do  right  or 
wrong,  and  a  capacity  of  happiness  or  misery,  is  not  man's  work,  but 
the  Creator's.  Thus  parents  being  allowed  to  bestow  a  second  birth 
upon  tlieir  offspring,  henceforth  do  but  share  and  are  sheltered  in  His 
responsibility,  (if  I  may  dare  so  speak,)  who  is  ever  "  justified  in  His 
sayings,  and  overcomes  when  He  is  judged." 

However,  it  may  be  asked,  how  this  applies  to  the  case  of  the  hea- 
then ?  They  cannot  bring  their  children  to  Baptism,  therefore  they  do 
incur  the  responsibility  of  giving  being  to  souls  who  live  and  die  in  the 
Aviath  of  God.  I  answer,  that  a  man  cannot  be  responsible  for  that 
about  which  he  is  altogether  ignorant.  The  heathen  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  real  state  of  mankind,  and  therefore  they  can  have  none  of 
the  duties  which  arise  out  of  that  knowledge.  None  of  us,  not  even 
Christians,  know  fully  our  own  condition,  and  the  consequences  of  our 
actions  ;  else,  doubtless,  we  should  be  too  much  overpowered  to  act  at 
all.  Did  W8  sec  the  complete  consequences  of  any  one  sin,  did  we  see 
how  it  spread  by  the  contagion  of  example  and  influence  through  the 
world,  how  many  souls  it  injured,  and  what  its  eternal  effects  were, 
doubtless  we  should  become  speechless  and  motionless,  as  though  we 
saw  the  flames  of  hell  fire.  Enough  light  is  given  us  to  direct  us,  and 
to  make  us  responsible  beings,  not  so  much  as  to  overwhelm  us.  Wo 
arc  not  told  the  secret  of  our  guilty  nature,  till  v>c  are  told  the  mean* 


620  INFANT  BAPTISM.  [SBmt 

to  escape  from  it ;  we  are  not  told  of  God's  fearful  wrath  till  we  are 
told  of  Ilis  love  in  Christ.  The  heathen  do  not  know  of  Baptism,  but 
they  do  not  know  of  original  sin  ;  for  God  would  allot  fear,  faith,  and 
hope  to  all  men,  despair  to  none.  Again  the  heathen  know  nothing  of 
the  eternity  of  future  punishment,  yet  our  Lord,  in  His  account  of  the 
judo-ment,  when  "  all  nations"  shall  be  gathered  before  Him,  does  not 
except  them  from  the  risk  of  it.  They  know  neither  of  eternal  death 
nor  eternal  life.  Let  us  leave  the  case  of  the  heathen,  about  which 
nothing  has  been  revealed  to  us  ;  they  arc  in  the  hand  of  God,  the 
righteous  and  merciful  God  ;  "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right."* 

But  further,  it  may  be  objected  that  tliough  Baptism  is  vouchsafed  to 
the  children  of  Christian  parents,  yet  we  are  expressly  assured  that  the 
few,  not  the  many,  shall  be  saved  ;  so  that  the  gift,  however  great,  does 
not  remove  the  difficulty  in  our  way  or  make  it  less  of  a   risk  to  bring 
into   existence  those  who   are   more  likely  to  be  among  the  wretched 
many  than  the  blessed  few.     But,  surely,  this  is  a  misconception  of  our 
Saviour's  words.     Where  does  He  say  that  only  few  of  the  children  of 
His  sincere  followers  shall   be  saved  ?     He   says,   indeed,  that  there 
will  be   but  few    out  of  the  whole  multitude  of  the  regenerate ;  and 
the  greater  number  of  them,   as  we   know   too  well,  are  disobedient 
to  their  calling.      No  wonder   if  their  children   turn  out  like   them- 
selves, and  live  to  this  world.     But,  because  the  mass  of  men  abuse 
their  privileges,  which  we  see  they  do,  and  because  we  dare  not  enter- 
tain  any  sanguine  hopes  of  the  children  of  careless   parents,  how  does 
this  prove   that  those  who  do   live  in  God's  faith  and  fear,  and  are  la- 
bouring and  tending  to  be  in  the  number  of  the  elect  few,  may  not  cher- 
ish the  confidence  that  their  children,  in  like  manner  will  in  due  season 
obey  God's  calling,  yield  to  His  Holy  Spirit,  "  be  made  like  the  image 
of  His  Only-begotten   Son,  walk  religiously  in  good    works,"  and  at 
length  attain  to  everlasting  glory  ?     Solomon,  even  under   the   Law, 
assures  us  that,  if  a  child  be  trained  up  in  the  way  he  should  go,  when 
he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."t     Much  more  (please  God)  will 
this  be  true,  where  the  parents'  prayers  and  the  children's  training  are 
preceded  by  the  grant  of  so  great  and  present  a  benefit  as  regenerating 
Baptism ;  nnich  more,  when  His  Son  has  so  graciously  made  the  little 
children  patterns  to  grown  men,  declaring  that  then,  and  then  only,  we 
become  true  members  of  His  Kingdom  when  we  become  like  them,  and 
when,  in  sign  of  His  favour,   "  He  took  them  up  in  his  arms,  put  His 
hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them."     Let  a  man  consider  how  much 
is  contained  in  the  declaration,  that  God  "hath  not  appointed  us  unto- 

»  Gen.  xviii.  25.  +  Prov.  xxii.  6. 


XX.]  INFANT  BAPTISM.  «2l 

M'rath,  but  to  obtain  salvation  ;"*  and  he  will  feel  that  he  may  safely 
trust  his  children  to  their  Lord  and  Saviour, — reluctance  being  no  lon- 
ger a  serious  prudence,  but  an  unbelieving  and  unthankful  jealousy,  and 
the  care  of  them  no  burdensome  nor  sorrowful  toil,  though  an  anxious 
one,  but  a  labour  of  love,  a  joyful  service  done  to  Christ. 

Lastly,  it  may  still  be  asked  what  encourgoment  after  all  has  been 
gained  through  Christian  Baptism,  which  we  should  not  have  had  with- 
out it,  since  it  seems  the  children's  hopes  are  to  be  ultimately  rested  not 
on  the  Sacrament  admnistered,  but  on  the  parents'  faith  and  prayers 
and  careful  training  of  them.  These  means,  it  may  be  objected,  might 
and  would  have  been  used  by  religious  men,  even  though  they  had 
known  only  of  Christ's  merits  and  gifts  without  direction  how  to  con- 
vey and  apply  them  to  individuals  ;  they  would  have  prayed  and  been 
careful  then,  and  so  gained  grace  for  their  children,  and  they  can  do  no 
more  now.  But  can  you  indeed  thus  argue  ?  What !  is  there  no  dif- 
ference between  asking  and  receiving  ?  for  prayer  is  an  asking  and 
Baptism  is  a  receiving.  Is  there  no  difference  between  a  chance  and 
a  certainty  ?  How  many  infants  die  in  their  childhood  !  is  it  no  differ- 
ence to  know  that  a  child  has  gone  to  heaven,  or  that  he  has  died  as 
he  was  born  ?  But  supposing  a  child  lives,  is  not  regeneration  a  real 
gain  ?  does  not  it  renew  our  nature,  exalt  us  in  the  scale  of  being,  give 
us  additional  powers,  open  upon  us  untold  blessings,  and  moreover 
brighten  in  an  extreme  degree  the  prospect  of  our  salvation,  if  religious 
training  follows  ?  I  will  say  more.  Many  men  die  without  any 
signs  of  confirmed  holiness,  or  formed  character  one  way  or  the  other. 
We  know,  indeed,  that  privileges  not  improved  will  save  no  one  ;  but 
we  do  not  know,  we  cannot  pronounce,  whether  in  souls  where  there  is 
but  a  little  strength,  yet  much  conflict,  and  much  repentance,  their  re- 
generation may  not,  as  in  the  case  with  children,  avail  them  hereafter 
in  some  secret  manner  which,  with  our  present  knowledge,  we  cannot 
speak  about  or  imagine.  Surely  it  is  not  a  slight  benefit  to  have  been 
"  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift 
and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come."f 

Now  I  trust  that  these  considerations  may  suffice,  through  God's 
grace,  to  open  on  you  a  more  serious  view  oi  the  subject  treated  of, 
than  is  often  taken  even  by  those  who  are  not  without  religious  thoughts 
upon  it.  I  fear  indeed  that  most  men,  though  they  profess  and  have  a 
regard  for  religion,  yet  have  very  low  and  contracted  notions  of  the 
dignity  of  their  station  as  Christians.  To  be  a  Christian  is  one  of  the 
most  wondrous  and  awful  gifts  in  the  world.     It  is,  in  one  sense,  to  be 

»  1  Thess.  V.  9-  t  Heb.  vi.  4,  5. 


622  INFANT  BAPTISM.  [Serm.   XX. 

higher  than  Angel  or  Archangel.  If  we  have  any  portion  of  an  enlight- 
ened (r.itii,  we  shall  understand  that  our  state,  as  members  of  Christ's 
Church,  is  full  of  mystery.  What  so  mysterious  as  to  be  born,  as  we 
are,  under  God's  wrath  ?  What  so  mysterious  as  to  be  redeemed  by 
the  death  of  the  Son  of  God  made  flesh  ?  What  so  mysterious  as  to 
receive  the  virtue  of  that  death  one  by  one  through  Sacraments  ?  What 
so  mysterious  as  to  be  able  to  teach  and  train  each  other  in  good  or 
evil  1  When  a  man  at  all  enters  into  such  thoughts,  how  is  his  view 
changed  about  the  birth  of  children !  in  what  a  different  light  do  his 
duties,  as  a  parent,  break  upon  him  !  The  notion  entertained  by  most 
men  seems  to  be,  that  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  have  a  home  ; — this  is 
what  would  be  called  an  innocent  and  praiseworthy  reason  for  marrying ; 
— that  a  wife  and  family  are  comforts.  And  the  highest  view  a  num- 
ber of  persons  take  is,  that  it  is  decent  and  respectable  to  be  a  married 
man  ;  that  it  gives  a  man  a  station  in  society,  and  settles  him.  All 
this  is  true.  Doubtless  wife  and  children  are  blessings  from  God  :  and 
it  is  praiseworthy  and  right  to  be  domestic,  and  to  live  in  orderly  and 
honourable  habits.  But  a  man  who  limits  his  view  to  these  thoughts, 
who  does  not  look  at  marriage  and  at  the  birth  of  children,  as  some- 
thing  of  a  much  higher  and  more  heavenly  nature  than  any  thing  we  see, 
who  does  not  discern  in  Holy  matrimony  a  divine  ordinance,  shadowing 
out  the  union  between  Christ  and  the  Church,  and  does  not  associate 
the  birth  of  children  with  the  Ordinance  of  their  new  birth,  such  a  one, 
I  can  only  say,  has  very  carnal  views. 

It  is  well  to  go  on  labouring,  year  after  year,  for  the  bread  that  perish- 
eth  ;  and,  if  we  are  well  oft'  in  the  world,  to  take  interest  and  pleasure 
in  our  families  rather  than  to  seek  amusements  out  of  doors  ;  it  is  very 
well,  but  it  is  not  religion  ;  and  let  us  endeavour  to  make  our  feelings  to- 
wards them  more  and  more  religious.  Let  us  beware  of  aiming  at 
nothing  higher  than  their  being  educated  well  for  this  world,  their  form- 
ing respectable  connexions,  succeeding  in  their  callings,  and  settling 
well.  Let  us  never  think  we  have  absolved  ourselves  from  the  responsi- 
bility of  being  their  parents,  till  we  have  brought  them  to  Christ,  as  in 
Baptism,  so  by  religious  training.  Let  us  bear  in  mind  ever  to  pray  for 
their  eternal  salvation  ;  let  us  "  watch  for  their  souls  as  those  who  must 
give  account."  Let  us  remember  that  salvation  does  not  come  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course  ;  that  Baptism,  though  administered  to  them  once  and 
long  since,  is  never  past,  always  lives  in  them  as  a  blessing  or  as  a  bur- 
den :  and  that  though  we  may  cherish  a  joyful  confidence  that  "  He 
who  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  them  will  perform  it,"  then  only  have 
we  a  right  to  cherish  it,  when  we  are  doing  our  part  towards  fulfilling  it. 


SERMON     XXI. 


THE  DAILY  SERVICE. 


Heb.  X.  25. 


Not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is,  but 
exhorting  one  another  ;  and  so  much  the  more,  ai  ye  see  the  day  approachmg. 

The  first  Christians  set  up  the  Church  in  continual  prayer.  "  They 
persevering  daily  with  one  mind  in  the  Temple,  and  breaking  bread  from 
house  to  house,  did  share  their  food  with  gladness  and  singleness  of 
heart,  praising  God."*  St.  Paul  in  his  epistles  binds  their  example  upon 
their  successors  for  ever.  Indeed  we  could  not  have  conceived,  even  if 
he  and  the  other  Apostles  had  been  silent,  that  such  a  solemn  opening 
of  the  Gospel,  as  that  contained  in  the  book  of  Acts,  was  only  of  a  tem- 
porary nature,  and  not  rather  a  specimen  of  what  was  to  take  place 
among  the  elect  people  in  every  age,  and  a  shadow  of  that  perfect  ser- 
vice which  will  be  their  blessedness  in  heaven.  However,  St.  Paul  re- 
moves all  doubt  on  this  subject  by  expressly  enjoining  this  united  and 
unceasing  prayer  in  various  passages  of  his  epistles :  as  for  instance, 
•*  I  will  .  .  .  that  men  pray  in  every  place,  lifting  up  holy  hands."! 
"  Persevere  in  prayer,  and  watch  in  the  same  with  thanksgiving  ;"J  and 
in  the  text. 

But  it  will  be  said,  "  Times  are  altered  ;  the  rites  and  observances  of 
the  Church  are  local  and  occasional ;  what  was  a  duty  then,  need  not 
be  a  duty  now,  even  though  St.  Paul  happens  to  enjoin  it  on  those 
whom  he  addresses.  Such  continual  prayer  was  the  particular  form 
which  the  religion  of  the  early  Christians  took,  and  ours  has  taken 
another  form."  Do  not  suppose,  because  I  allow  myself  thus  to  word 
the  objection,  that  I  therefore,  for  an  instant,  allow  that  continual  united 
prayer  may  religiously  be  considered  a  mere  usage  or  fashion  ;  but  so 
it  is  treated, — so,  perhaps,  some  of  us  in  our  secret  hearts  have  at  times 
been  tempted  to  imagine  :  that  is,  wc  have  been  disposed  to  think  that 

»  Acts.  ii.  46,  47.  t  1  Tim.  ii.  8.  }  Col.  iv.  2. 


624  THE  DAILY  SERVICE.  [Se»m. 

public  worship  at  intervals  of  a  week  has  in  it  something  of  natural 
titness  and  reasonableness  which  continual  week-day  worship  has  not. 
Still,  supposing  it, — granting  daily  worship  to  be  a  ceremony,  or  an 
usa^e,  and  Sunday  worship  not  to  be,  calling  it  by  any  title  the  most 
sli<^hting  and  disparaging, — the  question  returns,  was  this  ceremony  or 
usao-e  of  continual  united  prayer  intended  by  the  Apostles,  for  every 
ao^e  of  the  Church,  or  only  for  the  early  Christians  1  A  precept  may 
be  but  positive,  not  moral,  and  yet  of  perpetual  obligation.  Now,  I 
answer  confidently  that  united  prayer,  unceasing  prayer,  is  enjoined  by 
St.  Paul,  in  a  passage  just  cited  from  an  epistle  which  lays  down  rules 
for  the  government  and  due  order  of  the  Church  to  the  end  of  time. 
More  plausibly  even  might  we  desecrate  Sunday,  which  he  does  not 
mention  in  it,  than  neglect  continual  prayer,  which  he  does.  Obserre 
how  explicitly  he  speaks,  "  I  will  therefore  that  men  pray  in  every 
'place  ;''  not  only  at  Jerusalem,  not  only  at  Corinth,  not  only  in  Rome, 
but  even  in  England ;  in  England  at  this  day,  in  our  secluded  villages, 
in  our  rich  populous  busy  towns,  whatever  be  the  importance  of  those 
secular  objects  which  absorb  our  thoughts  and  time. 

Or,  again,  take  the  text,  and  consider  whether  it  favours  the  notion 
of  a  change  or  relaxation  of  the  primitive  custom.  '•  Not  forsaking  the 
assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is,  but  exhort- 
ing one  another  ;  and  so  much  the  more,  as  ye  see  the  Day  approach- 
ing." The  increasing  troubles  of  the  world,  the  fury  of  Satan,  and  the 
madness  of  the  people,  the  dismay  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  distress  of 
nations  with  perplexity,  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  the  sea  and 
the  waves  roaring,  all  these  gathering  tokens  of  God's  wrath  are  but 
calls  upon  us  for  greater  perseverance  in  united  prayer.  Let  those  men 
especially  consider  this,  who  say  that  we  are  but  dreaming  of  centuries 
gone  by,  missing  our  mark  and  born  out  of  time,  when  we  insist  on  such 
duties  and  practices  as  are  now  merely  out  of  fashion  ;  those  who  point 
to  the  tumult  and  fever  which  agitates  the  whole  nation,  and  say  we 
must  be  busy  and  troubled  too,  in  order  to  respond  to  it  ;  who  say  that 
the  tide  of  events  has  set  in  one  way,  and  that  we  must  give  into  it,  if 
we  w  ould  be  practical  men ;  that  it  is  idleness  to  attempt  to  stem  a  cur- 
rent, which  it  will  be  a  great  thing  even  to  direct  ;  that  since  the  pres- 
€nt  age  loves  conversing  and  hearing  about  religion,  and  does  not  like 
silent  thought,  patient  waiting,  recurring  prayers,  severe  exercises,  that 
therefore  we  must  obey  it,  and,  dismissing  rites  and  ordinances,  convert 
the  Gospel  into  a  rational  faith,  so  called,  and  a  religion  of  the  heart  ; 
let  those  men  seriously  consider  St.  Paul's  exhortation,  that  we  are  to 
persevere  in  prayer, — and  that  in  every  place, — and  the  more,  the  more 


XXL]  THE   DAILY   SERVICE.  625 

troubled  and  perplexed  the  affairs  of  this  world  become ;  not  indeed 
omitting  active  exertions,  but  not,  on  that  account,  omitting  prayer. 

I  have  spoken  of  St.  Paul,  but,  consider  how  this  rule  of  "  continu- 
i-fag  in  prayer  "  is  exemplified  in  St.  Peter's  history  also.  He  had  learned 
from  his  Saviour's  pattern  not  to  think  prayer  a  loss  of  time.  Christ 
had  taken  Him  up  with  Him  into  the  holy  mount,  though  multi- 
tudes  waited  to  be  healed  and  taught  below.  Again,  before  His 
passion,  He  had  taken  him  into  the  garden  of  Gethsemane;  and 
while  He  prayed  Himself,  He  called  upon  Him  likewise  to  "  watch 
and  pray  lest  he  entered  into  temptation."  In  consequence,  St. 
Peter  warns  us  in  his  first  Epistle,  as  St.  Paul  in  the  text,  "The 
end  of  all  things  is  at  hand,  be  ye  thc-refore  sober,  and  watch  unto 
prayer."*  And  in  one  memorable  passage  of  his  history  he  received  a 
revelation  of  a  momentous  and  most  gracious  truth  when  he  was  at  his 
prayers.  Who  would  not  have  said  that  he  was  wasting  his  time,  when 
he  retired  to  the  house  of  Simon  at  Joppa,  for  many  days,  and  went  up 
upon  the  housetop  to  pray,  about  the  sixth  hour  ?  Was  that,  it  might 
be  asked,  the  part  of  an  Apostle,  whose  commission  was  to  preach  the 
Gospel  ?  Was  he  thus  burying  his  light,  instead  of  meeting  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  time  ?  Yet,  there  God  met  him,  and  put  a  word  in  his 
mouth.  There  he  learned  the  comfortable  truth,  that  the  Gentiles  were 
no  longer  common  or  unclean,  but  admissible  into  the  Covenant  of 
Grace.  And  if  continual  prayer  was  the  employment  of  an  Apostle, 
much  more  was  it  observed  by  those  Christians  who  were  less  promi- 
nently  called  to  labour.  Accordingly,  when  St.  Peter  was  in  prison, 
prayers  were  offered  for  him,  "without  ceasing,"  by  the  Church  ;  and 
to  those  prayers  he  was  granted.  When  miraculously  released,  and  ar- 
rived at  the  house  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Mark,  he  found  ''  many 
gathered  together  praying."]" 

Stated  and  continual  prayer,  then,  and  especially  united  prayer,  is 
plainly  the  duty  of  Christians.  And  if  we  ask  how  oft^sn  we  are  to  pray, 
I  reply,  that  we  ought  to  consider  prayer  as  a  plain  privilege,  directly 
we  know  that  it  is  a  duty,  and  therefore  that  the  question  is  out  of  place. 
Surely,  when  we  know  we  may  approach  the  Mercy-seat,  the  only  fur- 
ther question  is,  whether  there  be  any  thing  to  forbid  us  coming  often, 
any  thing  implying  that  such  frequent  coming  is  presumptuous  and  ir- 
reverent. So  great  a  mercy  is  it  to  be  permitted  to  come,  that  a  hum- 
ble mind  may  well  ask,  "  is  it  a  profane  intrusion  to  come  when  1  will  ?' 
If  it  be  not,  such  a  one  will  rejoice  to  come  continually.  Now,  by  way 
-of  removing  these  fears,  Scripture  contains  most  condcscendiag  iulima- 

«  1  Pet.  iy.  7j  t  Acts  lii.  12. 

Vol.  I.— 40 


626  THE  DAILY  SERVICE.  [Serm.- 

tions  that  wc  may  come  at  all  times.  For  instance,  in  the  I^ord's. 
Prayer  petition  is  made  for  daily  bread  for  this  day  ;  therefore,  our  Sa- 
viour intended  it  should  be  used  daily.  Further,  it  is  said,  "  give  u*," 
"  forgive  us ;"  therefore  it  may  fairly  be  presumed  to  be  given  us  as  a. 
social  prayer.  Thus  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  itself  there  seems  to  be  sanc- 
tion for  daily  united  prayer.  Again,  if  we  consider  His  words  in  the 
parable,  twice  a  day  at  least  seems  permitted  us,  "  Shall  not  God  avenge 
His  own  elect,  which  cry  day  and  night  unto  Him,"*  though  this  is  to 
take  the  words  according  to  a  very  restricted  interpretation.  And  since 
Daniel  prayed  three  times  a  day,  and  the  Psalmist  even  seven,  under 
the  Law,  we  may  infer,  that  Christians,  certainly,  are  not  irreverent, 
nor  incur  the  blame  of  using  vain  repetitions,  though  they  join  in  many 
Services. 

Now  I  do  not  see  what  can  be  said  in  answer  to  these  arguments, 
imperfect  as  they  are,  compared  with  the  whole  proof  that  might  be  ad- 
duced, except  that  some  of  the  texts  cited  may,  perhaps,  refer  to  mere 
secret  prayer  almost  without  words,  and  some  speak  primarily  of  private 
prayer.  Yet  it  is  undeniable,  on  the  other  hand,  that  united  prayer, 
not  private  or  secret,  is  principally  intended  in  those  passages  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  speak  of  prayer  at  all ;  and,  if  so,  the  remain- 
der may  be  left  to  apply  indirectly  or  not,  as  we  chance  to  decide,, 
without  interfering  with  a  conclusion  otherwise  proved.  If,  however,- 
it  be  said,  that  family  prayer  is  a  fulfilment  of  the  duty,  without  prayer 
in  Church,  I  reply,  that  I  am  not  at  all  speaking  of  it  as  a  duty,  but  as 
a  privilege  ;  I  do  not  tell  men  that  they  must  come  to  Church,  so  much 
as  declare  the  glad  tidings  that  they  may.  This  surely  is  enough  for 
those  who  "hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,"  and  humbly  desire 
to  see  the  face  of  God. 

Now,  I  wii  say  a  few  words  on  the  manner  in  which  the  early 
Christians  fulfilled  this  duty. 

Quite  at  first,  when  the  persecutions  raged,  they  assembled  when  and 
where  they  could.  At  times  they  could  but  avail  themselves  of  Christ's 
promise,  that  if  two  of  His  disciples  "og-  e  on  earth,  as  touching  any 
thing  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  their  Heavenly 
Father;"  though,  by  small  parties,  and  in  towns,  they  seem  to  have 
met  together  continually  from  the  first.  Gradually,  as  they  grew- 
stronger,  or  as  they  happened  to  be  tolerated,  they  made  full  proof  of 
their  sacred  privilege,  and  showed  what  was  the  desire  of  their  hearts. 
Their  most  solemn  Service  took  place  on  the  Lord's  day,  as  might 
be  expected,  when  the  Holy  Eucharist  was  celebrated.f  Nex  to  Sun- 
day came  Wednesday  and  I'riday,  whon,  also,  assemblies  for  m  orship: 
•  Luke  jcviii.  7.  t  Bingham'o  Antiq.  xiii.  9. 


XXL]  THE   DAILY  SERVICE.  627 

continued  till  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  were  observed  with 
fasting  ;  in  some  places  with  the  Eucharist  also.  Saturday  too  was 
observed  in  certain  branches  of  the  Church  with  especial  devotion,  the 
Holy  Mysteries  being  solemnized  and  other  Services  performed  as  on 
the  Lord's  day. 

Next  must  be  mentioned,  the  Festivals  of  the  Martyrs,  when,  in  ad- 
dition to  tlie  sacred  Services  used  on  the  Lord's  day,  there  was  read 
some  account  of  the  particular  Martyr  commemorated,  with  exhorta- 
tions to  follow  his  pattern. 

These  holy  days,  whether  Sunday  or  Saint's  day,  were  commonly 
ushered  in  by  a  Vigil  or  religious  watching,  as  you  find  it  noted  down 
in  the  calendar  at  the  beginning  of  the  Prayer  Book.  These  lasted 
through  the  night. 

Moreover,  there  were  the  sacred  Seasons ;  such  as  the  forty  days  of 
Lent  for  fasting,  and  the  fifty  days  between  Easter  and  Whitsuntide 
for  rejoicing. 

Such  was  the  course  of  special  devotions  in  the  early  Church ;  but, 
besides,  every  day  had  its  ordinary  Services,  viz.  prayer  morning  and 
evening. 

Besides  these,  might  be  mentioned  the  prayers  at  the  canonical  hours, 
which  were  originally  used  for  private,  but,  at  length,  for  united  wor- 
ship ;  viz.  at  the  third  hour,  or  nine  in  the  morning,  in  commemoration 
of  the  Holy  Ghost's  descent  at  Pentecost  at  that  hour  ;  at  the  sixth,  the 
time  of  St.  Peter's  vision  at  Joppa,  in  memory  of  our  S  iviour's  crucifix- 
ion ;  and  at  the  ninth,  in  memory  of  His  death,  which  was  the  hour 
when  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  went  up  to  the  Temple  and  healed  the 
lame  man.  It  may  be  added,  that  in  some  places  the  Holy  Eucharist 
was  celebrated  and  partaken  daily. 

This  is  by  no  means  a  full  enumeration  of  the  sacred  Services  in  the 
early  Church ;  but  it  is  abundantly  sufficient  for  my  purpose,  which  is 
to  show  how  highly  they  valued  the  privilege  of  united  prayer,  and  how 
literally  they  understood  the  words  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles.  I  am 
by  no  means  contending,  that  every  point  of  discipline  and  order  in 
this  day  must  be  precisely  the  same  as  it  was  then.  Christians  then 
had  more  time  on  their  hands  than  many  of  us  have  ;  and  certain  pe- 
culiarities of  the  age  and  place  might  combine  to  allow  them  to  do  what 
we  cannot  do.  Still,  so  far  must  be  clear  to  every  candid  person  who 
considers  the  state  of  the  case,  that  they  found  some  sort  of  pleasure  in 
prayer  which  we  do  not ;  that  they  took  delight  in  an  exercise,  which 
(I  am  afraid  I  must  say,  though  it  seems  profane  even  to  say  it)  which 
we  should  consider  painfully  long  and  tedious. 

This  too  is  worth  observing  of,  the  primitive  Christians,  that  they 


C28  THE  DAILY  SERVICE.  [S»»m. 

united  social  and  private  prayer  in  their  Service.  On  holydays,  for  in- 
stance, when  it  was  extended  till  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  they 
commenced  with  singing  the  Psalms,  in  the  midst  of  which  two  Les- 
sons were  read,  as  is  usual  with  us,  commonly  one  from  the  Old  and  one 
from  the  New  Testament.  But,  in  some  places,  instead  of  these  Les- 
sons, after  every  Psalm,  a  short  space  was  allowed  for  private  prayer  to 
he  made  in  silence,  much  in  the  way  we  say  a  short  prayer  on  coming^ 
into,  and  going  out  of  Church.  After  the  Psalms  and  Lessons  came 
the  Sermon,  the  more  solcnm  prayers  having  not  yet  begun.  Shortly 
after,  followed  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion,  which  again 
was  introduced  by  a  time  of  silence  for  private  prayer,  such  as  we  at 
this  day  are  allowed  during  the  administration  of  the  Sacred  Elements 
to  other  communicants. 

And  in  this  way  they  lengthened  out  and  varied  their  Services ; 
principally,  that  is,  by  means  of  private  prayers  and  psalms  :  so  that, 
when  no  regular  course  of  service  was  proceeding,  yet  the  Church 
might  be  full  of  people,  praying  in  secret  and  confessing  their  sins,  or 
singing  together  p.salms  or  hymns.  Thus  exactly  did  they  fulfil  the 
Scripture  precepts, — "Is  any  among  you  afflicted?  let  him  pray  ;  is 
any  merry  1  let  him  .sing  psalms,"  and  "  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell 
in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom  ;  teaching  and  admonishing  one  another  in 
psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  with  grace  in  your 
hearts  to  the  Lord."  * 

I  have  now  said  enough  to  let  you  into  the  reasons  why  I  lately  began 
Daily  Service  in  this  Church.  I  felt  that  we  were  very  unlike  the  early 
Christians,  if  we  went  on  without  it  ;  and  that  it  was  my  business  to 
give  you  an  opportunity  of  observing  it,  else  I  was  keeping  a  privilege 
from  you.  If  you  ask,  why  I  did  not  commence  it  before,  I  will  rather 
tell  you  why  I  began  just  at  this  time.  It  was,  that  the  state  of  public 
affairs  was  .so  threatening  that  I  could  not  bear  to  wait  longer;  for  there 
seemed  quite  a  call  upon  all  Christians  to  be  earnest  in  prayer,  so  much 
the  more,  as  they  seemed  to  sec  the  Day  of  vengeance  approaching. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  seemed  wrong  to  withhold  from  you  a 
privilege,  for  as  a  privilege  I  would  entirely  consider  it.  I  wish  to  vic\r 
it  rather  as  a  privilege  than  as  a  duty,  because  then  all  those  perplexed 
questions  are  removed  at  once,  which  otherwise  beset  the  mind,  whether 
a  man  should  come  or  not.  Considering  it  in  the  light  of  a  privilege,  I 
am  not  obliged  to  blame  a  man  for  not  coming.  I  .say  to  him,  If  you 
cannot  corne,  then  you  !  avc  a  great  loss.  Very  likely  you  are  right  in 
not  corning ;  you  have  duties  connected  with  your  temporal  calling 
•  James  ▼.  13.    C  I.  iii.  16. 


XXI.  J  THE  DAILY  SERVICE.  629 

which  have  a  claim  on  you  ;  you  must  serve  like  Martha,  you  have  not 
the  leisure  of  Mary.  Well,  be  it  so  ;  still  you  have  a  loss,  as  Martha 
had  while  Mary  was  at  Jesus'  feet.  You  liave  a  loss ;  I  do  not  say  God 
cannot  make  it  up  to  you  ;  doubtless  He  will  bless  every  one  who  con- 
tinues in  the  path  of  duty.  He  blessed  Peter  in  prison,  and  Paul  on  the 
sea,  as  well  as  the  mother  of  Mark,  or  the  daughters  of  Philip.  Doubt- 
less, even  in  your  usual  employments  you  can  be  glorifying  your  Saviour ; 
you  can  be  thinking  of  Him  ;  you  can  be  thinking  of  those  who  are  met 
together  in  worship  ;  you  can  be  following  in  your  heart,  as  far  as  may 
be,  the  prayers  they  offer.  Doubtless  :  only  try  to  realize  to  yourself 
that  continual  prayer  and  praise  is  a  privilege ;  only  feel  in  good  earnest, 
what  somehow  the  mass  of  Christians,  after  all,  do  not  receive,  that  "  it 
is  good  to  be  here," — feel  as  the  early  Christians  felt  when  persecution 
hindered  them  from  meeting,  or,  as  holy  David,  when  he  cried  out, 
"  My  soul  is  athirst  for  God,  yea,  even  for  the  Living  God  ;  when  shall 
I  come  to  appear  before  the  presence  of  God  ?"*  feel  this,  and  I  shall 
not  be  solicitous  about  your  coming  ;  you  will  come  if  you  can. 

With  these  thoughts  in  my  mind,  I  determined  to  offer  to  God  the 
Daily  Service  here  myself,  in  order  that  all  might  have  the  opportunity 
of  coming  before  Him,  .who  would  come  ;  to  offer  i*,  not  waiting  for  a 
congregation,  but  independently  of  all  men,  as  our  Church  sanctions  ; 
to  set  the  example,  and  to  save  you  the  need  of  waiting  for  one  another  ; 
and  at  least  to  give  myself,  with  the  early  Christians,  and  St.  Peter  on 
the  house-top,  the  benefit,  if  not  of  social,  at  least  of  private  prayer,  as 
becomes  the  Christian  priesthood.  It  is  quite  plain  that  far  the  greater 
part  of  our  Daily  Service,  though  more  fitted  for  a  congregation  than 
for  an  individual,  (as  indeed  is  the  Lord's  prayer  itself,)  may  yet  be 
used,  as  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  used,  by  even  one  person.  Such  is  our 
Common  Prayer  viewed  in  itself,  and  our  Church  has  in  the  introduction 
to  it  expressly  directed  this  use  of  it.  It  is  there  said,  "  All  priests  and 
deacons  are  to  say  daily  the  morning  and  evening  prayer,  either  pri- 
vately or  openly,  not  being  let  by  sickness,  or  some  other  urgent  cause." 
Again,  "  the  curate  that  mini-stereth  in  every  parish  church  or  chapel, 
being  at  home,  and  not  being  otherwise  reasonably  hindered,  shall  say 
the  same  in  the  parish  church  or  chapel  where  he  ministereth,  and  shall 
cause  a  bell  to  be  tolled  thereunto  a  convenient  time  before  he  begin, 
that  people  may  come  to  hear  God's  word  and  to  pray  with  him."  Now, 
doubtless,  there  are  many  reasons  which  may  render  the  strict  observ- 
ance of  these  rules  inexpedient  in  this  or  that  place  or  time.  The  very 
disuse  of  them  will  be  a  reason  for  reviving  them  very  cautiously  and 

•  Pe.xlii.2, 


630  THE  DAILY  SERVICE.  [Serm. 

gradually  ;  the  paucity  of  clergy  is  another  reason  for  suspending  them. 
Still  there  they  remain  in  the  Prayer  Book, — obsolete  they  cannot  be- 
come, nay,  even  though  torn  from  the  book  in  some  day  of  rebuke  (to 
suppose  what  should  hardly  even  be  supposed),  they  still  would  have 
power  and  live  unto  God.  If  prayers  were  right  three  centuries  since, 
they  are  right  now.  If  a  Christian  Minister  might  suitably  offer  up 
common  prayer  by  himself  then,  surely  he  may  do  so  now.  If  he  was 
then  the  spokesman  of  the  saints  far  and  near,  gathering  together  their 
holy  and  concordant  suffrages,  and  presenting  them  by  virtue  of  his 
priesthood,  he  is  so  now.  The  revival  of  this  usage  is  merely  a  matter 
of  place  and  time  ;  and  though  neither  our  Lord  nor  His  Church  would 
have  us  make  sudden  alterations,  even  though  for  the  better,  yet  cer- 
tainly we  ought  never  to  forget  what  is  abstractedly  our  duty,  what  is  in 
itself  best,  what  it  is  we  have  to  aim  at  and  labour  towards.  If  authority 
were  needed,  besides  our  Church's  own,  for  the  propriety  of  Christian 
Ministers  praying  even  by  themselves  in  places  of  worship,  we  have  it 
in  the  life  of  our  great  pattern  of  Christian  faith  and  wisdom,  Hooker. 
*♦  To  what  he  persuaded  others,"  says  his  biographer,  "  he  added  his  own 
example  of  fasting  and  prayer  ;  and  did  usually  every  Ember  week  take 
from  the  parish  clerk  the  key  of  the  church-door,  into  which  place  he 
retired  every  day,  and  locked  himself  up  for  many  hours  ;  and  did  the 
like  most  Fridays,  and  other  days  of  fasting." 

That  holy  man,  in  this  instance,  kept  his  prayers  to  himself.  He  was 
not  offering  up  the  Daily  Service  ;  but  I  adduce  his  instance  to  show 
that  there  is  nothing  strange  or  unseemly  in  a  Christian  Minister  praying 
in  Church  by  himself ;  and  if  so,  much  less  when  he  gives  his  peo  pie 
the  opportunity  of  coming  if  they  will.  This,  then,  is  what  I  felt  and 
feel  : — it  is  commonly  said,  when  week-day  prayers  are  spoken  of, 
"you  will  not  get  a  congregation,  or  you  will  get  but  a  iavf  ;"  but  they 
whom  Christ  has  brought  near  to  Himself  to  be  the  Stewards  of  His 
Mysteries  depend  on  no  man  ;  rather,  after  His  pattern,  they  are  to 
draw  men  after  them.  He  prayed  alon^  on  the  mountain  ;  He  prays 
alone  (for  who  shall  join  with  Him  ?)  in  Mis  Father's  presence.  He  is 
the  one  effectual  Intercessor  for  sinners  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  And 
what  He  is  really, such  are  we  in  figure;  what  He  is  meritoriously,  such 
are  we  instrumentally.  Such  are  we  by  His  grace  ;  allowed  to  occupy 
His  place  visibly,  however  unworthily,  in  His  absence,  till  He  come  ; 
allowed  to  depend  on  Him,  and  not  on  our  people  ;  allowed  to  draw  our 
commission  from  Him,  not  from  them  ;  allowed  to  be  a  centre,  about 
which  the  Church  may  grow,  and  about  which  it  really  exists,  be  it 
great  or  little. 

Therefore,  in  beginning  and  continuing  the  Daily  Service,  I  do  not, 


XXL]  THE   DAILY  SERVICE.  631 

will  not  measure  the  effect  produced,  by  appearances.  If  we  wait  till 
all  the  world  are  worshippers,  we  must  wait  till  the  world  is  new  made  ; 
but,  if  so,  who  shall  draw  the  line,  and  say,  how  many  are  enough  to 
pray  together,  when  He  has  told  us  that  His  flock  is  Uttle,  and  that 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  His  name,  He  is  in  the 
midst  of  them  ?  So  I  account  a  few  met  together  in  prayer  to  be  a 
type  of  His  true  Church ;  not  actually  His  true  Church,  (God  forbid 
the  presumption  !)  but  as  a  token  and  type  of  it; — not  as  His  elect,  one 
by  one,  for  who  can  know  whom  He  has  chosen  but  He  who  chooses  ? 
— not  as  His  elect  for  certain,  for  it  often  may  be  a  man's  duty  to  be 
awa)-,  as  Martha  was  in  her  place  when  serving,  and  only  faulty  when 
she  thought  censoriously  of  Mary  ; — not  as  His  complete  flock,  doubt- 
less, for  that  were  to  exclude  the  old,  and  the  sick,  and  the  infirm,  and 
little  children  ; — not  as  His  select  and  undefiled  remnant,  for  Judas  was 
one  of  the  twelve, — still  as  the  earnest  and  promise  of  His  Saints,  the 
birth  of  Christ  in  its  rudiments,  and  the  dwelling-place  of  the  Spirit  j? 
and  precious,  even  though  but  one  out  of  the  whole  number,  small 
though  it  be,  belong  at  present  to  God's  hidden  ones ;  nay,  though,  as 
is  likely  to  be  the  case,  in  none  of  them  there  be  more  than  the  dawn 
of  the  True  Light  and  the  goings  forth  of  the  morning. — Some,  too,  will 
come  at  times,  as  accident  guides  them,  giving  promise  that  they  may 
one  day  be  settled  and  secured  within  the  sacred  fold.  Some  will  come 
in  times  of  grief  or  compunction,  others  in  preparation  for  the  Holy 
Communion.*  Nor  is  it  a  service  for  those  only  who  are  present  ;  all 
men  know  the  time,  and  many  mark  it,  whose  bodily  presence  is  away. 
We  have  with  us  the  hearts  of  many.  Those  who  are  conscious  they 
are  absent  in  the  path  of  duty,  will  naturally  turn  their  thoughts  to  the 
Church  at  the  stated  hour,  and  thence  to  God.  They  will  recollect 
what  prayers  are  then  in  course,  and  they  will  have  fragments  of  them 
rising  on  their  minds  amid  their  worldly  business.  They  will  call  to 
mind  the  day  of  the  month,  and  the  psalms  used  on  it,  and  the  chapters 
of  Scripture  then  read  out  to  the  people.  How  pleasant  to  the  way- 
faring  man,  on  his  journey,  to  think  of  what  is  going  on  in  his  own 
"Church !  How  soothing  and  consolatory  to  the  old  and  infirm  who 
cannot  come,  to  follow  in  their  thoughts,  nay,  with  the  prayers  and 
psalms  before  them,  what  they  do  not  hear  !     Shall  not  those  prayers 

*  It  may  be  suggested  here,  that  week-day  services  (with  fasting)  arc  the  appro- 
-priate  attendants  on  weekly  communion,  which  has  lately  been  advocated,  especially 
in  the  impressive  sermons  of  Mr.  Dodaworth.  When  the  one  observance  is  used  with- 
out the  other,  either  the  sacredness  of  the  Lord's  day  is  lost,  from  its  wanting  a  pe- 
culiar Service,  or  the  Eucharist  is  in  danger  of  profanation,  from  its  frequency  leading 
;«8  to  remissness  in  preparing  for  it. 


6S2  THE  DAILY  SERVICE.  TSeem.  XXI. 

and  holy  meditations,  separated  though  they  be  in  place,  ascend  up  to- 
gether to  the  presence  of  God  ?  Shall  not  they  be  with  their  Minister 
in  spirit,  who  are  provoked  unto  prayer  by  his  service  ?  Shall  not  their 
prayers  unite  in  one  before  the  Mercy-seat,  sprinkled  with  the  Atoning 
Blood,  as  a  pure  offering  of  incense  unto  the  Father,  and  an  acceptable 
sacrifice  both  for  the  world  of  sinners  and  for  His  purchased  Church? 
Who  then  will  dare  speak  of  loneliness  and  solitude,  because  in  man's 
eyes  there  are  few  worshippers  brought  together  in  one  place  ?  or,  who 
will  urge  it  as  a  defect  in  our  Service,  even  if  that  were  so?  Who, 
moreover,  will  so  speak,  when  even  the  Holy  Angels  are  present  when 
we  pray,  stand  by  us  as  guardians,  sympathize  in  our  need,  and  join  us 
in  our  praises  ? 

When  thoughts,  such  as  these,  are  set  before  the  multitude  of  men, 
they  appear  to  some  of  them  strained  and  unnatural ;  to  others,  formal,, 
severe,  and  tending  to  bondage.  So  must  it  be.  Christ's  commands 
will  seem  to  be  a  servitude,  and  His  privileges  will  be  strange,  till  we 
act  upon  the  one  and  embrace  the  other.  To  those  who  come  in  faith, 
to  receive  and  to  obey,  who,  instead  of  standing  at  a  distance  reasoning, 
criticising,  investigating,  adjusting,  hear  His  voice  and  follow  Him,  not 
knowing  whither  they  go  ;  who  throw  themselves,  their  hearts  and  wills, 
their  opinions  and  conduct,  into  His  Divine  System  with  a  noble  bold- 
ness, and  serve  Him  on  a  venture,  without  experience  of  results,  or 
skill  to  defend  their  own  confidence  by  argument :  who,  when  He  says 
"Pray,"  "  Continue  in  prayer,"  take  His  words  simply,  and  forthwith 
pray,  and  that  instantly,  these  men,  through  His  great  mercy  and  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  working  in  them,  will,  at  length,  find  perse- 
vering prayer,  praise,  and  intercession,  neither  a  bondage  nor  a  barren- 
ness. But  it  is  in  the  nature  of  things,  <hat  Christ's  word  must  be  a 
law  while  it  is  good  tidings.  That  very  message  of  good  tidings,  that 
Christ  saves  sinners,  is  no  good  tidings  to  those  who  have  not  a  heart 
to  abandon  sin  ;  and  as  no  one,  by  nature,  has  this  good  heart,  and, 
even  under  grace,  no  one  obtains  it  but  gradually,  there  must  ever  be 
a  degree  of  bondage  in  the  Gospel,  till,  by  obeying  the  Law  and  creating 
within  us  a  love  of  God  and  holiness,  we,  by  little  and  little,  enter  into 
the  meaning  of  His  promises. 

May  He  lead  us  on  evermore  in  the  narrow  way,  who  is  the  One  Aid 
of  all  that  need,  the  Helper  of  all  that  flee  to  Him  for  succour,  the  Life, 
of  them  that  believe,  and  the  Resurrection  of  the  dead  ! 


SERMON     XXII 


THE  GOOD  PART  OF  MARY. 


Luke  x.  41,  42. 


Martha,  Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things ;  but  one  thing  is 
needful :  and  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken  away 
from  lier. 

Every  word  of  Christ  is  good ;  it  has  its  mission  and  its  purpose,  and 
does  not  fall  to  the  ground.*  It  cannot  be  that  He  should  ever  speak 
transitory  words,  who  is  Himself  the  very  Word  of  God,  uttering,  at 
His  good  pleasure,  the  deep  counsels  and  the  holy  will  of  Him  who  is 
invisible.  Every  word  of  Christ  is  good  ;  and  did  we  receive  a  record 
of  His  sayings  even  from  ordinary  men,  yet  we  might  be  sure  that, 
whatever  was  thus  preserved,  whether  spoken  to  disciple  or  enemy, 
whether  by  way  of  warning,  advice,  rebuke,  comfort,  argument,  or  con- 
demnation, nothing  had  a  merely  occasional  meaning,  a  partial  scope 
and  confined  range,  nothing  regarded  merely  the  moment,  or  the  acci- 
dent, or  the  audience  ;  but  all  His  sacred  speeches,  though  clothed  in  a 
temporary  garb,  and  serving  an  immediate  end,  and  difficult,  in  conse- 
quence, to  disengage  from  what  is  temporary  in  them  and  immediate, 
yet  all  have  their  force  in  every  age,  abiding  in  the  Church  on  earth  ^ 
•*  enduring  for  ever  in  heaven,"  and  running  on  into  eternity.  They 
are  our  rule,  "  holy,  just,  and  good,"  "  the  lantern  of  our  feet  and  the 
light  of  our  paths,"  in  this  very  day  as  fully  and  as  intimately  as  when 
they  were  first  pronounced. 

And  if  this  had  been  so,  though  mere  human  diligence  had  gathered 
up  the  crumbs  from  His  table,  much  more  sure  are  we  of  the  value  of 
what  is  recorded  of  Him,  receiving  it,  as  we  do,  not  from  man,  but  from 
God.     The  Holy  Ghost,  who  came  to  glorify  Christ,  and  inspired  the 

♦  Basil.  Const.  Mon.  1. 


<}34  THE   GOOD   PART  OF  MARY.  [Serm. 

Evangelists  to  write,  did  not  trace  out  for  us  a  barren  Gospel ;  but  doubt- 
less, praised  be  Ilis  name,  selected  and  saved  for  us  those  words  which 
were  to  have  an  especial  usefulness  in  after  times,  those  words  which 
might  he  the  Church's  law,  in  faith,  conduct,  and  discipline ;  not  a  law 
written  in  tables  of  stone,  but  a  law  of  faith  and  love,  of  the  spirit,  not 
of  the  letter  ;  a  law  for  willing  hearts,  which  could  bear  to  "  live  by 
every  word,"  however  faint  and  low,  "which  proceeded  from  His 
mouth,"  and  out  of  the  seeds  which  the  Heavenly  Sower  scattered  could 
foster  into  life  a  Paradise  of  Divine  Truth  Let  us  then  humbly  try, 
with  this  thought  before  us,  and  the  help  of  His  grace,  to  gain  some 
benefit  from  the  text. 

Martha  and  Mary  were  the  sisters  of  Lazarus,  who  was  afterwards 
raised  from  the  dead.  All  three  lived  together,  but  Martha  was  mis- 
tress of  the  house.  St.  Luke  mentions,  in  a  verse  preceding  the  text, 
that  Christ  came  to  a  certain  village,  "  and  a  certain  woman,  named 
Martha,  received  Him  into  her  house."  Being  then  at  the  head  of  a 
family,  she  had  duties,  which  necessarily  engaged  her  time  and  thoughts. 
And  on  the  present  occasion  she  was  especially  busy,  from  a  wish  to  do 
honour  to  her  Lord.  "Martha  was  cumbered  about  much  serving." 
On  the  other  hand,  her  sister  was  free  from  the  necessity  of  worldly 
business,  by  being  the  younger.  "  She  had  a  sister  called  Mary,  which 
also  sat  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  heard  His  word."  The  same  distinction,  at 
once  of  duty  and  character,  appears  in  the  narrative  of  Lazarus'  death 
and  restoration,  as  contained  in  St.  John's  Gospel.  "  Then  Martha,  as 
soon  as  she  heard  that  Jesus  was  coming,  went  and  met  Him  ;  but  Ma- 
ry sat  still  in  the  house."*  Afterwards'  Martha  "went  her  way  and 
called  Mary  her  sister  secretly,  saying,  The  Master  is  come,  and  calU 
eth  for  thee."     Again,  in  the  beginning  of  the  following  chapter,  "  There 

they  made  Him  a  supper  ;  and  Martha  served Then  took  Mary 

a  pound  of  ointment  of  spikenard,  very  costly,  and  anointed  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  and  wiped  His  feet  with  her  hair."f  In  these  passages  the  same 
general  dilference  between  the  sisters  presents  itself,  though  in  a  differ, 
cnt  respect  ; — Martha  still  directs  and  acts,  while  Mary  is  the  retired 
and  modest  servant  of  Christ,  who,  at  liberty  from  worldly  duties,  loves 
to  sit  at  His  feet  and  hear  His  voice,  and  silently  honours  Him  with  her 
best,  without  obtruding  herself  upon  His  sacred  presence. 

To  return  : — "  Martha  was  cumbered  about  much  serving,  and  came 
to  Him,  and  said.  Lord,  dost  Thou  not  care  that  my  sister  hath  left  mo 
to  serve  alone  ?  bid  her  therefore  that  she  help  me.  And  Jesus  answer- 
ed and  said  unto  to  her,"  in  the  words  of  the  text,  "  Martha,  Martha, 

»  John  xi.  20.  j  John  xii.  2,  3. 


XXII.]  THE  GOOD  TART  OF  MARY.  635 

ihou  art  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things  ;  but  one  thing  is  need- 
lul :  and  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken 
from  her." 

I  shall  draw  two  observations  from  this  incident,  and  our  Saviour's 
-comment  on  it. 

1.  First,  it  would  appear  from  hence,  on  His  own  authoritv,  that 
there  are  two  ways  of  serving  Him — by  active  business,  and  by  quiet 
adoration.  Not,  of  course,  that  He  speaks  of  those  who  call  themselves 
His  servants,  and  are  not ;  who  counterfeit  the  one  or  the  other  manner 
of  life  ;  either  those  who  are  "  choked  with  the  cares  of  this  world,"  or 
those  who  lie  idle  and  useless  as  the  hard  way-side,  and  "  bring  no  fruit 
to  perfection."  Nor,  again,  as  if  His  words  implied  that  any  Christians 
were  called  to  nothing  but  religious  worship,  or  any  to  nothing  but  ac- 
tive employment.  There  are  busy  men  and  men  of  leisure,  who  have 
no  part  in  Him  ;  others,  who  at  least  are  faulty,  as  altogether  sacrificing 
leisure  to  business,  or  business  to  leisure.  But  putting  aside  the  thought 
of  the  untrue  and  the  extravagant,  still  after  all  there  remain  two  class- 
es of  Christians ; — those  who  are  like  Martha,  those  like  Mary,  and 
both  of  them  glorify  Him  in  their  own  line,  whether  of  labour  or  of 
quiet,  in  either  case  proving  themselves  not  their  own,  but  bought  with 
a  price,  set  on  obeying,  and  constant  in  obeying  His  will.  If  they  la- 
hour,  it  is  for  His  sake  ;  and  if  they  adore,  it  is  still  from  love  of  Him. 

And  further,  these  two  classes  of  His  disciples  do  not  choose  for 
themselves  their  course  of  service,  but  are  allotted  it  by  Him.  Martha 
might  be  the  elder,  Mary  the  younger.  I  do  not  say  that  it  is  never  left 
to  a  Christian  to  choose  his  own  path,  whether  He  will  minister  with 
the  Angels  or  adore  with  the  Seraphim ;  often  it  is ;  and  well  may  he 
bless  God  if  he  has  it  in  his  power  freely  to  choose  that  good  portion 
which  our  Saviour  especially  praises.  But,  for  the  most  part,  each  has 
his  own  place  marked  out  for  him,  if  he  will  take  it,  in  the  course  of 
His  providence  ;  at  least  there  can  be  no  doubt  tvho  are  intended  for 
worldly  cares.  The  necessity  of  getting  a  livelihood,  the  calls  of  a  fa- 
mily, the  duties  of  station  and  office,  these  are  God's  tokens,  tracing 
•out  Martha's  path  for  the  many.  Let,  me,  then,  dismiss  the  considera- 
tion of  these,  and  rather  mention  who  they  are  who  may  be  considered 
as  called  to  the  more  favoured  portion  of  Mary  ;  and  in  doing  so  I  shall 
more  clearly  show  what  that  portion  is. 

First,  I  instance  the  Old,  as  is  natural,  whose  season  of  business  is 
past,  and  who  seem  to  be  thereby  reminded  to  serve  God  by  prayer 
and  contemplation.  Such  was  Anna  ;  "  she  was  of  a  great  age,  .  .  . 
And  was  a  widow  of  about  fourscore  and  four  years,  which  departed 
not  from  the  Temple,  but  served  God  with  fastings  and  prayers  night 


636  THE   GOOD   PART  OF  MARY.  [Sekk^ 

and  day-"*  Here  we  see  both  the  description  of  person  called,  and  the 
occupation  itself.  Further,  observe,  it  was  the  promises  stored  in 
Christ  the  Saviour,  which  were  the  object,  towards  which  her  service 
had  respect.  When  He  was  brought  to  the  Temple,  she  "  gave  thanks 
to  the  Lord,  and  spake  of  Him  to  all  them  that  looked  for  redemption  ^ 
in  Jerusalem."  Again,  the  same  description  of  person,  certainly  the 
same  office,  is  set  before  us  in  the  parable  of  the  importunate  widow. 
"  He  spake  a  parable  unto  them  to  this  end,  that  we  ought  always  to 
pray  and  not  to  faint."t  The  widow  said,  "  Avenge  me  of  mine  adver- 
sary." "  And  shall  not  God  avenge  His  own  elect,"  our  Lord  asksv 
"  which  cry  day  and  night  unto  Him,  though  He  bear  long  with 
them  ?"  Add  to  these  St.  Paul's  description  :  "  Now  she  that  is  a 
widow  indeed,  and  desolate,  trusteth  in  God,  and  continueth  in  sup- 
plications and  prayers  night  and  day.":}: 

Next  those,  who  minister  at  the  Altar,  are  included  in  Mary's  por- 
tion. "  Blessed  is  the  man  whom  thou  choosest  and  causest  to  ap- 
proach unto  Thee,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "  that  he  may  dwell  in  Thy 
courts. "§  According  to  the  Apostles'  rule,  the  Deacons  were  to  min- 
ister the  worldly  matters  of  the  Church,  the  Evangelists  were  to  go 
among  the  heathen,  the  Bishops  were  to  govern  ;  but  the  Elders  were 
to  remain,  more  or  less,  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  Lord's  people,  in  the 
courts  of  His  house,  in  the  services  of  His  worship,  "  executing  the^ 
priests'  office," ||  as  we  read  in  the  book  of  Acts,  offering  up  the  Sac- 
rifice of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  teaching,  catechising,  but  not  busy 
or  troubled  with  the  world.  I  do  not  mean  that  these  offices  were 
never  united  in  one  person,  but  that  they  were,  in  themselves,  distinct, 
and  that  the  tendency  of  the  Apostles'  discipline  was  to  separate  off 
from  the  multitude  of  Christian  Ministers  certain  who  should  serve 
God  and  the  Church  by  giving  thanks  and  intercession. 

And  next,  I  may  mention  children  as  in  some  respects  partakers  of 
Mary's  portion.  Till  they  go  out  into  the  world,  whether  into  its 
trades  or  its  professions,  their  school-time  should  be,  in  some  sort,  a 
contemplation  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour.  Doubtless  they  cannot 
enter  into  sacred  subjects  as  steadily  as  they  may  afterwards ; 
they  must  not  be  unnaturally  compelled  to  serve,  and  they  are  to 
be  exercised  in  active  habits  of  obedience,  and  in  a  needful  disci- 
pline for  the  future ;  still,  after  all,  we  must  not  forget  that  He,. 
who  is  the  pattern  of  children  as  well  as  grown  men,  was,  at  twelve 
years  old,  found  in  His  Father's  House  ;  and  that  afterwards,  whea 

♦  Luke  ii.  36,  37.  t  Luke  xviii.  1.         J  1  Tim.  t.  5.         §  Ps.  Ixt.  4. 

II  Acts  ziii.  2. 


XXII.J  THE  GOOD  PART  OF  MARY.  637 

He  came  thither  before  His  passion,  the  children  welcomed  Him  with 
the  words,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,"  and  fulfilled  a  prophecy, 
and  gained  His  praise,  in  so  doing. 

Further,  we  are  told,  on  St.  Paul's  authority,  (if  that  be  necessary 
on  so  obvious  a  point,)  that  Mary's  portion  is  allotted,  more  or  less,  to 
the  unmarried.  I  say  more  or  less,  for  Martha  herself,  though  unmar- 
ried, yet  as  mistress  of  a  household,  was  in  a  measure  an  exception  ; 
and  because  servants  of  God,  as  St.  Paul,  may  remain  unmarried,  not 
to  labour  less,  but  to  labour  more  directly  for  the  Lord.  St.  Paul's 
words,  some  have  observed,  almost  appear  to  refer  to  the  language 
used  in  the  text,  when  read  in  the  original  Greek ;  which  is  the  more 
hkely,  as  St.  Luke  was  an  attendant  on  the  Apostle,  and  his  Gospel 
seems  to  be  cited  elsewhere  by  him.  As  if  he  said,  "  The  unmarried 
careth  for  the  things  of  the  Lord,  so  as  to  be  holy  both  in  body  and  in 
spirit.  And  this  I  speak  for  your  own  profit,  that  ye  may  sit  at  the 
Lord's  feet  without  being  cumbered." 

And  further  still,  there  are  vast  numbers  of  Christians,  in  Mary's 
case,  who  are  placed  in  various  circumstances,  and  of  whom  no  descrip- 
tion can  well  be  given ;  rich  men  having  leisure,  or  active  men  during 
seasons  of  leisure,  as  when  they  leave  their  ordinary  work  for  recrea- 
tion's sake.  Certainly  our  Lord  meant  that  some  or  other  of  His  ser- 
vants should  be  ever  worshipping  Him  in  every  place,  and  that  not  in 
their  hearts  merely,  but  with  the  ceremonial  of  devotion.  St.  Paul 
says,  "  I  will  therefore  that  men,"  even  that  sex  whose  especial  pun- 
ishment it  was  that  they  should  "  eat  bread  in  the  sweat  of  their  face," 
•*'  that  men  pray  every  where,  lifting  up  holy  hands.^'  in  common 
and  public  worship,  *'  without  wrath  and  doubting."*  And  we  find, 
accordingly,  that  even  a  Roman  Centurion,  Cornelius,  had  found  time, 
amid  his  miUtary  duties,  to  serve  God  continually,  before  he  became  a 
Christian,  and  was  rewarded  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  in  con- 
sequence. "  He  prayed  to  God  alway,"  we  are  told,  and  his  "  prayers 
and  alms  came  up  for  a  memorial  before  God."| 

And  last  of  all,  in  Mary's  portion,  doubtless,  are  included  the  souls 
of  those  who  have  lived  and  died  in  the  faith  and  fear  of  Christ. 
Scripture  tells  us  that  they  "rest  from  their  labours ;"t  and,  in  the 
same  sacred  book,  that  their  employment  is  prayer  and  praise.  While 
God's  servants  below  cry  to  Him  day  and  night  in  every  place  ;  these 
"  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple  "  above,  and  from  their  rest- 
ing place  beneath  the  altar  intercede,  with  lou J  voice,  for  those  holy- 
interests  which  they  have  left  behind  them.     "How  lorg,  0  Ljrd, 

•  1  Tim.  ii.  8.  t  Acts  x.  4.        t  Rev.  xiv  13. 


638  THE  GOOD  PART  OF  MARY.  [Serm: 

holy  and  true,  dost  Thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  thcni  that 
dwell  on  the  earth  ?"  "  We  give  Thee  thanks,  because  Thou  hast 
taken  to  Thee  Thy  great  power  and  hast  reigned."* 

This  then  is  the  company  of  those  who  stand  in  Mary's  lot ; — the 
Aged  and  the  Children, — the  Unmarried  and  the  Priests  of  God, — and* 
the  Spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  all  with  one  accord,  like  Moses  on* 
the  Mount,  lifting  up  holy  hands  to  God,  while  their  brethren  fight,  or- 
meditating  on  the  promises,  or  hearing  the  Saviour's  teaching,  or  adorn- 
ing  and  beautifying  His  worship. 

2.  Such  being  the  two-fold  character  of  Christian  obedience,  I  ob- 
serve, secondly,  that  Mary's  portion  is  the  better  of  the  two.  Our 
Lord  does  not  expressly  say  so,  but  he  clearly  impUes  it :  "  Martha, 
Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things ;  but  one 
thing  is  needful :  and  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part,  which  shall 
not  be  taken  away  from  her."  If  His  words  be  taken  literally,  they 
might,  indeed,  even  mean  that  Martha's  heart  was  not  right  with  Him, 
which,  it  is  plain  from  other  parts  of  the  history,  they  do  not  mean. 
Therefore,  what  He  intimated  surely  was,  that  Martha's  portion  was 
full  of  snares,  as  being  one  of  worldly  labour,  but  that  Mary  could  not 
easily  go  wrong  in  hers ;  that  we  may  be  busy  in  a  wrong  way ;  we- 
cannot  well  adore  Him  except  in  a  right  one  ;  that  to  serve  God  bv 
prayer  and  praise  continually,  when  we  can  do  so  consistently  with 
other  duties,  is  the  pursuit  of  the  "  one  thing  needful,"  and  emphati- 
cally "  that  good  part  which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  us." 

It  is  impossible  to  read  St.  Paul's  Epistles  carefully  without  perceiv- 
ing how  faithfully  they  comment  on  this  rule  of  our  Lord's.  Is  it 
doubtful  to  any  one,  that  they  speak  much  and  often  of  the  duties  of 
worship,  meditation,  thanksgiving,  prayer  and  praise,  intercession;  and 
in  such  a  way  as  to  lead  the  Christian,  so  far  as  other  duties  will  allow- 
him,  to  make  them  the  ordinary  employment  of  his  life  ?  not,  indeed, 
to  neglect  his  lawful  calling,  nor  even  to  be  content  without  some  ac- 
tive efforts  to  do  good,  whether  in  the  way  of  the  education  of  the  ' 
young,  attendance  on  the  sick  and  needy,  pastoral  occupation,  study, 
or  other  toil,  yet  to  devote  himself  to  a  life  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  a  con-  ' 
tinual  hearing  of  His  word  ?  And  is  it  not  plainly  a  privilege,  above 
other  privileges,  if  we  really  love  Him,  to  be  called  to  this  unearthly 
life  ?  Consider  the  following  passages,  in  addition  to  those  already 
quoted,  and  see  if  they  can  possibly  be  completely  realized  in  the  life 
of  the  common  run  of  Christians,  though  all,  doubtless,  must  cultivate 
inwardly,  and  in  due  measure  bring  into  outward  act,  the  spirit  which 

»  Rev.  vi.  10 ;  xi.  17. 


XXII.]  THE  GOOD  PART  OF  MARY.  63» 

they  enjoin.  Sec  if  they  be  not  illustrations  of  that  more  blessed  por- 
tion with  which  Mary  was  favoured.  "  Continue  in  prayer,  watching  in 
it  with  thanksgiving."*  "  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly 
in  all  wisdom  ;  teaching  and  admonishing  one  another  in  psalms,  and 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the 
Lord."f     "  Rejoice  evermore,  pray  without  ceasing,  in  everything  give 

thanks, quench  not  the  Spirit,   despise  not    prophesyings.":}: 

"  I  will  that  men  pray  everywhere,  lifting  up  holy  hands. "§  "  Be  not 
drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is  excess,  but  be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  speak- 
ing to  each  other  in  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  singing 
and  making  melody  in  your  heart  to  the  Lord  ;  giving  thanks  always, 
for  all  things,  unto  God  our  Father  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."||  "  Stand  therefore,  having  your  loins  girt  about  with  truth, 
.  .  .  .  taking  the  shield  of  faith,  ....  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  the  word  of  God,  praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  sup- 
plication in  the  Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverence 
and  supplication  for  all  the  Saints. "H  Thus  St.  Paul  speaks :  in  like 
manner  St.  Peter ;  "  Casting  all  your  care  (such  as  Martha's)  upon 
Him,  for  He  is  concerned  for  you."**  "  Abstain  from  wine,  that  you 
may  pray;"f|  and  St.  James,  "Is  any  among  you  afflicted  ?  let  him 
pray.     Is  any  merry  1   let  him  sing  psalms. ";}:J 

These  are  the  injunctions  of  the  Apostles ;  next,  observe  how  they 
were  fulfilled  in  the  early  Church.  Before  the  Comforter  came  down, 
they  "  all  (the  Apostles)  continued,^''  St.  Paul's  very  word  in  the  pas- 
sages above  cited,  "  they  persevered  steadily,  they  endured,  with  one 
accord,  in  prayer  and  supplication,  with  the  women,  and  Mary  the 
mother  of  Jesus,  and  with  his  His  brethren."  And  so,  after  Pentecost, 
"  They  continuing" — the  same  word, — " steadfastly  enduring,  daily, 
with  one  accord,  in  the  Temple,  and  breaking  bread  from  house  to 
house,  did  eat  their  meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  praising 
God."§§  That  early  privilege,  we  know,  was  soon  taken  from  them  as 
a  body.  Persecution  arose,  and  they  were  "scattered"||||  to  and  fro, 
over  the  earth.  Henceforth  Martha's  portion  befel  them.  They  were 
full  of  labours,  whether  pleasant  or  painful  ; — pleasant,  for  they  had  to 
preach  the  Gospel  over  the  earth, — but  painful  as  losing,  not  only 
earthly  comforts,  but,  in  some  sort,  spiritual  quietness.  They  were 
separated  from  the  Ordinances  of  Divine  grace,  as  wanderers  in  a  wil- 
derness.    Here  and  there,  as  they  journeyed,  they  met  a  few  of  their 

*  Col.  iv.  2.  j  Col.  iii.  16.  t  I  Thess.  v.  16—20. 

^ITiin.  ii.  8.  |1  Eph.  v.  18— 20.  If  Eph.  ^i  14-18. 

**  1  Pet.  V.7.  +t  IPct.  iv.  7.  U  James  v.  13. 

§§  Acts  i.  14 ;  ii.  4G.  ||||  Acts  viii.  1. 


640  THE  GOOD  PART  OF  MARY.  [Sikh. 

brethren  "prophets  and  teachers,  ministering  to  the  Lord"  at  Antioch  ; 
or  Phihp's  daughters,  "  virgins  which  did  prophesy"*  at  Caesarea. 
They  met  for  worship  in  secret,  fearing  their  enemies  ;  and  in  course  of 
time,  when  the  fire  of  persecution  became  fiercer,  they  fled  to  the 
deserts,  and  there  set  up  houses  for  God's  service.  T^hus  Mary's  portion 
was  withheld  from  the  Church  for  many  years,  while  it  laboured  and 
suffered.  St.  Paul  himself,  that  great  Apostle,  though  he  had  his  sea- 
sons of  privilege,  when  he  was  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven  and 
heard  the  hymns  of  Angels,  yet  he  too  was  a  man  of  contention  and 
toil.  He  fought  for  the  Truth,  and  so  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Tem- 
ple. He  was  ••  sent  to  preach,  not  to  baptize."  He  was  not  allowed 
to  build  the  House  of  God,  for  He  was,  in  figure,  like  David,  a  "  man 
of  blood."  He  did  but  bring  together  into  one,  the  materials  for  the 
Sacred  Building.  Tije  Order  of  the  Ministry,  the  Succession  of  Apos- 
tles, the  Services  of  Worship,  the  Rule  of  Discipline,  all  that  is  calm, 
beautiful,  and  soothing  in  our  Holy  Religion,  was  brought  forth  piece- 
meal, out  of  his  writings  by  his  friends  and  fellow-disciples,  in  his  own 
day,  and  in  the  time  after  him,  as  the  state  of  the  Church  admitted. 
Accordingly,  as  peace  was  in  any  measure  enjoyed,  so  the  building 
was  carried  on,  here  and  there,  at  this  time  and  that,  in  the  cavern,  or 
the  desert,  or  the  mountain,  where  God's  stray  servants  lived  ;  till  a 
time  of  peace  came,  and  by  the  end  of  four  hundred  years  the  work 
was  accomplished.  From  that  time  onwards  to  the  present  day,  Mary's 
lot  has  been  offered  to  vast  multitudes  of  Christians,  if  they  could  re- 
ceive it.  If  they  knew  their  blessedness,  there  are  numbers  now,  in 
various  ranks  of  society,  who  might  enjoy  the  privilege  of  continual 
praise  and  prayer,  and  a  scat  at  Jesus'  feet.  Doubtless  they  are,  after 
all,  but  the  few ;  for  the  great  body  of  Christians  have  but  the  Lord's 
day  as  a  day  of  rest,  and  would  be  deserting  their  duty  if  they  lived  on 
other  days  as  on  it.  But  what  is  not  granted  to  some,  is  granted  to 
others,  to  serve  God  in  His  Temple,  and  be  at  rest.  Who  these  fa- 
voured persons  arc,  has  already  been  said  generally  ;  which  is  all  that 
can  be  said  in  a  matter  in  which  every  one  must  decide  for  himself, 
according  to  his  best  light  and  his  own  peculiar  case.  Yet  surely,  with- 
out attempting  to  pronounce  upon  individuals,  so  far  at  least  we  may 
say,  that  if  there  be  an  age  when  Mary's  portion  is  altogether  let  alone 
and  decried,  that  age  is  necessarily  so  far  a  stranger  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel. 

Let  rac  then,  in  conclusion,  ask,  for   our  own  edification,  whether 
perchance  this  is  not  such  an  age  ?  I  say  "  perchance  ;"  because  in 

•  Acts  xiii,  2  ;  ixi.  9. 


XXII.]  THE  GOOD  PART  OF  MARV.  641 

matters  of  this  kind,  men  show  their  motives  and  principles  less  openly 
than  in  others,  as  being  of  a  nature  more  immediately  lying  between 
themselves  and  God.  Yet,  taking  account  of  this,  at  least  is  not  this 
an  age  in  which  few  persons  are  in  a  condition,  from  the  very  state  of 
society,  to  "  give  themselves  continually  to  prayer"  and  other  direct 
religious  services  ?  Has  not  the  desire  of  wealth  so  eaten  into  our 
hearts,  that  we  think  poverty  the  worst  of  ills,  that  we  think  the  secu- 
rity of  property  the  first  of  blessings,  that  we  measure  all  things  by  mam- 
mon, that  we  not  only  labour  for  it  ourselves,  but  so  involve  in  our  own 
evil  earnestness  all  arovmd  us,  that  they  cannot  keep  from  the  pursuit 
of  it  though  they  would  ?  Does  not  the  frame-work  of  society  move 
forward  on  such  a  plan  as  to  enlist  into  the  service  of  the  world  all  its 
members,  almost  whether  they  will  or  no  ?  Would  not  a  man  be  thought 
unaspiring  and  unproductive,  who  cared  not  to  push  forward  in  pursuit 
of  that  which  Scripture  calls  "  the  root  of  all  evil,"  the  love  of  which  it 
calls  "  covetousness  which  is  idolatry,"  and  the  possession  of  which  it 
solemnly  declares  all  but  excludes  a  man  from  the  kingdom  of  Heaven? 
Alas  !  can  this  be  denied  ?  And  therefore,  of  course,  the  entire  system 
of  tranquil  devotion,  holy  meditation,  freedom  from  worldly  cares,  which 
our  Saviour  praises  in  the  case  of  Mary,  is  cast  aside,  misunderstood,  or 
rather  missed  altogether,  as  much  as  the  glorious  sunshine  by  a  blind 
man,  slandered  and  ridiculed  as  something  contemptible  and  vain. 
Surely,  no  one,  who  is  candid,  can  doubt,  that,  were  Mary  now  living, 
did  she  choose  on  principle  that  state  of  life  in  which  Christ  found 
her,  were  she  content  to  remain  at  Jesus'  feet  hearing  His  word  and 
disengaged  from  this  troublesome  world,  she  would  be  blamed  and 
pitied.  Careless  men  would  gaze  strangely,  and  wise  men  compas- 
sionately, on  such  an  one,  as  wasting  her  life,  and  choosing  a  melan- 
choly, cheerless  portion.  Long  ago  was  this  the  case.  Even  in  holy 
Martha,  zealous  as  she  was  and  true-hearted,  even  in  her  instance  we 
are  reminded  of  the  impatience  and  disdain  with  which  those  who  are 
far  diflerent  from  her,  the  children  of  this  world,  regard  such  as  dedi- 
cate themselves  to  God.  Long  ago,  even  in  her,  we  seem  to  witness, 
as  in  type,  the  rash,  u  christ  i  way  in  which  this  age  disparages  de- 
votional services.  Do  we  never  hear  it  said,  that  the  daily  Service  of 
the  Church  is  unnecessary  ?  Is  it  never  hinted  that  it  is  scarcely  worth 
while  to  keep  it  up  unless  wc  g  ;t  numbers  to  attend  it,  as  if  one  single 
soul,  if  but  one,  were  not  precious  enough  for  Christ's  love  and  His 
Church's  rearing?  Is  it  never  objected,  that  a  partially-filled  Church 
is  a  discouraging  sight,  as  if,  ifl  r  all,  our  Lord  Jesus  had  chosen  the 
many  and  not  the  few  to  be  His  true  disciples  ?  Is  it  never  maintained, 
ihat  a  Christian  Minister  is  off  his  post  unless  he  is  for  ever  labouring 
Vol.  I— 41 


I 


642  THE  GOOD  PART  OF  MARY.  [Skrm,- 

for  the  heartless  many,  instead  of  ministering  to  the  more  reHgious 
few  ?  Alas  !  there  must  be  something  wrong  among  us  ;  when  our  de- 
fenders recommend  the  Church  on  the  mere  plea  of  its  activity,  its 
popularity,  and  its  visible  usefulness,  and  would  scarcely  scruple  to  give 
us  up,  had  we  not  the  many  on  our  side  !  If  our  ground  of  boasting  be, 
that  rich  men,  and  mighty  men,  and  many  men  love  us,  it  never  can  be 
a  rehgious  boast,  and  may  be  our  condemn.ation.  Christ  made  His 
feast  for  "  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  and  the  blind."  It  is  the 
widow  and  the  fatherless,  the  infirm,  the  helpless,  the  devoted,  bound 
together  in  prayer,  who  are  the  strength  of  the  Church.  It  is  their 
prayers,  be  they  many  or  few,  the  prayers  of  Mary  and  such  as  Mary, 
who  are  the  safety,  under  Christ,  of  those  who  with  Paul  and  Barnabas 
fight  the  Lord's  battles.  "  It  is  but  lost  labour  to  rise  up  early,  to  sit  up 
late,  to  eat  the  bread  of  sorrows,"  if  prayers  arc  discontinued.  It  is 
mere  infatuation,  if  we  think  to  resist  the  enemies  who  at  this  moment 
are  at  our  doors,  if  our  Churches  remain  shut,  and  we  give  up  to  prayer 
but  a  few  minutes  in  the  day. 

Blessed  indeed  are  they  whom  Christ  calls  near  to  Him  to  be  His  own 
peculiar  attendants  and  familiar  friends, — more  blessed  if  they  obey  and 
fulfil  their  calling  !  Blessed  even  if  they  are  allowed  to  seize  intervals 
of  such  service  towards  Him  ;  but  favoured  and  honoured  beyond 
thought,  if  they  can  without  breach  of  duty,  put  aside  worldly  things 
with  full  purpose  of  heart,  renounce  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  keep  clear  of 
family  cares,  and  present  themselves  as  a  holy  ofl^ering,  without  spot  or 
blemish,  to  Him  who  died  for  them.*  These  are  they  who  "  follow 
Him  whithersoever  He  goeth,"  and  to  them  He  more  especially  addres- 
ses those  lessons  of  faith  and  resignation,  which  are  recorded  in  His 
Gospel.  "Take  heed,"  He  says,  "and  beware  of  covetousness,  for 
man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  overabundance  of  the  things  which  he 
possesseth.  Take  no  care  for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  neither  for 
the  body,  what  yc  shall  put  on.  Consider  the  lilies  how  they  grow,  they 
toil  not,  they  spin  not.  Seek  not  ye  what  ye  shall  eat  or  what  ye  shall 
drink,  neither  be  ye  unsettled ;  for  all  these  things  do  the  nations  of 
the  world  seek  after,  and  your  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of 
these  things.     Fear  not,  little  flock,  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  plea- 

*  The  life  Iicre  advocated  is  one  of  whieh  Prayer,  Praise,  Intercession,  and  other 
devotional  services,  arc  made  the  object  and  business,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  a 
certain  profession  or  trade  is  the  object  and  business  of  life  to  the  mass  of  men  :  one  in 
which  devotion  is  the  end  to  which  every  thing  else  gives  way.  This  explanation 
will  answer  the  question,  hoio  much  of  each  day  it  supposes  set  aside  for  devotion. 
Callings  of  this  world  do  not  neceesarily  occupy  the  whole,  or  half,  or  a  tliird  of  our 
time,  but  they  rule  and  dispose  of  tlic  whole  of  it. 


XXin.]  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  643 

sure  to  give  you  the  Kingdom.  Sell  that  ye  have,  and  give  ahns  ;  pro- 
vide yourselves  bags  which  wax  not  old,  where  no  thief  approacheth, 
neither  moth  corrupteth.  Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and  your 
lights  burning ;  and  ye  yourselves  like  unto  men  that  wait  for  their 
Lord,  when  He  will  return  from  the  wedding.  Blessed  are  those  ser- 
vants, whom  the  Lord,  when  He  cometh,  shall  find  watching.  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  that  He  will  gird  Himself," — He  who  before  let  them 
sit  at  His  feet  hearing  His  word,  or  anoint  His  feet  with  ointment  kiss- 
ing them,  He  in  turn,  as  He  did  before  His  passion,  by  an  inexpressible 
condescension,  "  will  gird  Himself;  and  make  them  to  sit  down  to  meat, 
and  will  come  forth  and  serve  them.  And  if  He  shall  come  in  the 
second  watch,  or  come  in  the  third  watch,  and  find  them  so,  blessed 
are  those  servants.  Be  ye  therefore  ready  also ;  for  the  Son  of  man 
Cometh  at  an  hour,  when  ye  think  not."* 


SERMON    XXIII 


RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP  A  REMEDY  FOR  EXCITEMENTS. 


Jaubs  v.  13. 
Is  any  among  you  afflicted  ?  let  him  pray.     Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  pzalms. 

St.  James  seems  to  imply  in  these  words,  that  there  is  that  in  religious 
worship  which  supplies  all  our  spiritual  need,  which  suits  every  mood 
of  mind  and  every  variety  of  circumstances,  over  and  above  the  hea- 
venly and  supernatural  assistance  which  we  are  allowed  to  expect  from 
it.  Prayer  an<i  praise  seem  in  his  view  to  be  a  universal  remedy,  a 
panacea,  as  it  is  called,  which  ought  to  be  used  at  once,  whatever  it  be 
that  affects  us.  And,  as  is  implied  in  ascribing  to  them  this  universal 
virtue,  they  produce  very  opposite  effects,  according  to  our  need ; 
allaying  or  carrying  off  the  fever  of  the  njind,  as  the  case  may  be. 
The  Apostle  is  not  speaking  of  sin  in  the  text ;  he  speaks  of  the  emo- 
tions  of  the  mind,  whether  joyful  or  sorrowful,  of  good  and  bad  spirits  ; 

»  Luke  xii.  15—40. 


644  RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP  [Serm. 

and  for  these  and  all  other  such  disturbances,  prayer  and  praise  are  a 
medicine.  Sin  indeed  has  its  appropriate  remedies  too,  and  more  seri- 
ous ones ;  penitence,  self-abasement,  self-revenge,  mortification,  and 
the  like.  But  the  text  supposes  the  case  of  a  Christian,  not  of  a  mere 
penitent, — not  of  scandalous  wickedness,  but  of  emotion,  agitation  of 
mind,  regret,  longing,  despondency,  mirthfulness,  transport,  or  rapture ; 
and  in  case  of  such  ailments  he  says,  prayer  and  praise  is  the  remedy. 

Indisposition  of  body  shows  itself  in  a  pain  somewhere  or  other ; — a 
distress,  which  draws  our  thoughts  to  it,  centres  them  upon  it,  impedes 
our  ordinary  way  of  going  on,  and  throws  the  mind  otl'  its  balance. 
Such  too  is  indisposition  of  the  soul,  of  whatever  sort,  be  it  passion  or 
affection,  hope  or  fear,  joy  or  grief.  It  takes  us  ofi'  from  the  clear  con- 
templation of  the  next  world,  ruffles  us,  and  makes  us  restless.  In  a 
word,  it  is  what  we  call  an  excitement  of  mind.  Excitements  are  the 
indisposition  of  the  mind  ;  and  of  these  excitements  in  different  ways 
the  services  of  divine  worship  are  the  proper  antidotes.  How  they  are 
so  shall  now  be  considered. 

1.  Excitements  are  of  two  kinds,  secular  and  religious  :  First,  let  us 
consider  secular  excitements.  Such  is  the  pursuit  of  gain,  or  of  power, 
or  of  distinction.  Amusements  are  excitements  ;  the  applause  of  a 
crowd,  emulations,  hopes,  risks,  quarrels,  contests,  disappointments, 
successes.  In  such  cases  the  object  pursued  naturally  absorbs  the 
mind,  and  excludes  all  thoughts  but  those  relating  to  itself.  Thus  a 
man  is  sold  over  into  bondage  to  this  world.  He  has  one  idea,  and 
one  only  before  him,  which  becomes  his  idol.  Day  by  day  he  is  en- 
grossed by  this  one  thing,  to  which  his  heart  pays  worship.  It  may 
attract  him  through  the  imagination,  or  through  the  reason  ;  it  may 
appeal  to  his  heart,  or  to  his  self-interest,  or  to  his  pride  ;  still,  whether 
we  be  young  or  old,  rich  or  poor,  each  age,  each  fortune  is  liable  to  its 
own  peculiar  excitement,  which  has  power  to  fascinate  the  eye  of  our 
minds,  to  enervate  and  destroy  us.  Not  all  at  once  (God  forbid  !)  but 
by  a  gradual  process,  till  every  thought  of  religion  is  lost  before  the 
contemplation  of  this  nearer  good. 

The  most  ordinary  of  these  excitements,  at  least  inj:his  country,  is 
the  pursuit  of  gain.  A  man  may  live  from  week  to  week  in  the  fever 
of  a  decent  covetousness,  to  which  he  gives  some  more  specious  t  .ne, 
(for  instance,  desire  of  doing  his  duty  by  his  family,)  till  the  n.^art  of 
religion  is  eaten  out  of  him.  He  may  live  and  die  in  his  farm  or  in 
his  merchandise.  Or  he  may  be  labouring  for  some  distinction,  which 
depends  on  his  acquitting  himself  well  on  certain  trying  occasions,  and 
requires  a  laborious  preparation  beforehand.  Or  he  may  be  idly  carried 
away  by  some  light  object  of  sense,  which  fills  his  mind  with  empty 


XXIII.]  A  REMEDY  FOR  EXCITEMENTS.  646 

dreams  and  pains  which  profit  not.  Or  he  may  be  engaged  in  the 
general  business  of  Hfe ;  be  full  of  schemes  and  projects,  of  political 
mancEuvres  and  efforts,  of  hate,  or  jealousy,  or  resentment,  or  triumph. 
He  may  be  busy  in  managing,  persuading,  outwitting,  resisting  other 
men.  Again,  he  may  be  in  one  or  other  of  these  states,  not  for  a  life, 
but  for  a  season  ;  and  this  is  the  more  general  case.  Any  how,  while 
he  is  so  circumstanced,  whether  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  season,  this 
will  hold  good  ; — viz.  the  thought  of  religion  is  excluded  by  the  force 
of  the  excitement  which  is  on  him. 

Now  then,  observe  what  is  the  remedy.  "  Is  any  afflicted  ?  let  him 
pray.  Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms."  Here  we  see  one  very 
momentous  use  of  prayer  and  praise  to  all  of  us  ;  it  breaks  the  current 
of  worldly  thoughts.  And  this  is  the  singular  benefit  of  stated  worship, 
that  it  statedly  interferes  with  the  urgency  of  worldly  excitements. 
Our  daily  prayer,  morning  and  evening,  suspends  our  occupations  of 
time  and  sense.  And  especially  the  daily  prayers  of  the  Church  do 
this.  I  say  especially,  because  a  man,  amid  the  business  of  life,  is  often 
tempted  to  defraud  himself  of  his  private  devotions  by  the  pressure  of 
engagements.  He  has  not  many  minutes  to  give  to  them  ;  and,  if  by 
accident  they  are  broken  in  upon,  the  season  is  gone  and  lost.  But 
the  pubhc  service  is  of  a  certain  length,  and  cannot  be  interrupted  ; 
and  it  is  long  enough  to  calm  and  steady  the  mind.  Scripture  must  be 
read,  psalms  must  be  sung,  prayers  must  be  offered  ;  every  thing  comes 
in  course.  I  say,  it  is  impossible  (under  God's  blessing)  for  any  one  to 
attend  the  Daily  Service  of  the  Church  "  with  reverence  and  godly 
fear,"  and  a  wish  and  effort  to  give  his  thoughts  to  it,  and  not  find  him- 
self thereby  sobered  and  brought  to  recollection.  What  kinder  office 
is  there,  when  a  man  is  agitated,  than  for  a  friend  to  put  his  hand  upon 
him  by  way  of  warning,  to  startle  and  recall  him  ?  It  often  has  the 
effect  of  saving  us  from  angry  words,  or  extravagant  talking,  or  incon- 
siderate jesting,  or  rash  resolves.  And  such  is  the  blessed  effect  of  the 
sacred  Services,  on  Christians  busied  about  many  things  ;  reminding 
them  of  the  one  thing  needful,  and  keeping  them  from  being  drawn  into 
the  great  whirlpool  of  time  and  sense. 

This,  let  it  be  observed,  is  one  important  benefit  arising  from  the 
institution  of  the  Lord's  day.  Over  and  above  the  privilege  of  being 
allowed  one  day  in  seven  for  religious  festivity,  the  Christian  may 
accept  it  as  a  merciful  break  in  upon  his  usual  employments,  lest  they 
should  engross  him.  Most  men,  indeed,  perceive  this ;  they  will  feel 
wearied  with  the  dust  of  this  world  when  Saturday  comes,  and  under- 
stand it  to  be  a  mercy  that  they  are  not  obliged  to  go  on  toiling  without 
cessation.     But,  still  there  are  many  who,  if  it  were  not  an  express 


646  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP  [Serm. 

ordinance  of  religion,  would  feci  tempted,  or  think  it  their  duty,  to 
continue  their  secular  labours,  even  though  the  custom  of  society 
allowed  them  to  rest.  Many,  as  it  is,  are  so  tempted  ;  that  is,  at  times, 
when  they  have  some  pressing  object  in  view,  and  think  they  cannot 
afford  to  lose  a  day  :  and  many  always, — such,  for  instance,  as  are  in 
certain  professions,  which  are  not  regulated  (as  trade  is,  more  or  less,) 
by  times  and  places.  And  great  numbers,  it  is  to  be  feared,  yield  to 
the  temptation ;  and  the  evil  effect  of  it  shows  itself  in  various  miser- 
able ways,  even  in  the  overthrow  of  their  health  and  reason.  In  all 
these  cases,  then,  the  weekly  Services  of  prayer  and  praise  come  to  us 
as  a  gracious  relief,  a  pause  from  the  world,  a  glimpse  of  the  third  hea- 
ven, lest  the  world  should  rob  us  of  our  hope,  and  enslave  us  to  that 
hard  master  who  is  plotting  our  eternal  destruction. 

You  see,  then,  how  secular  excitements  are  remedied  by  religious 
worship  ;  viz.  by  breaking  them  up,  and  disabling  them. 

2.  Next,  let  us  consider  how  religious  excitements  are  set  right  by 
the  same  divine  medicine. 

If  we  had  always  continued  in  the  way  of  light  and  truth,  obeying 
God  from  children,  doubtless  we  should  know  little  of  those  swellings 
and  tumults  of  the  soul,  which  are  so  common  among  us.  Men  who  have 
grown  up  in  the  faith  and  fear  of  God,  have  a  calm  and  equable  piety  ;  so 
much  so,  that  they  are  often  charged  on  that  very  account  with  being 
dull,  cold,  formal,  insensible,  dead  to  the'next  world.  Now,  it  stands  to 
reason,  that  a  man  who  has  always  lived  in  the  contemplation  and 
improvement  of  his  Gospel  privileges,  will  not  feel  that  agitating  sur- 
prise and  vehemence  of  joy,  which  he  would  feel,  and  ought  to  feel,  if 
he  had  never  known  any  thing  of  them  before.  The  jailor,  who  for 
the  first  time  heard  the  news  of  salvation  through  Christ,  gave  evident 
signs  of  transport.  This,  certainly  is  natural  and  right ;  still  it  is  a 
state  of  excitement,  and,  if  I  might  say  it.  all  states  of  excitement  have 
dangerous  tendencies.  Hence  one  never  can  be  sure  of  a  new  convert ; 
for,  in  that  elevated  state  of  mind  in  which  he  is  at  first,  the  passions 
have  much  more  sway  than  the  reason  or  conscience  ;  and,  unless  he 
takes  care,  they  may  hurry  him  away,  just  as  the  wind  might  do,  in  a 
wrong  direction.  He  is  balanced  on  a  single  point,  on  the  summit  of 
an  excited  mind,  and  he  may  easily  fall.  However,  though  this  danger 
would  not  exist,  or,  at  least,  not  commonly  or  seriously,  did  men  turn 
to  God  from  early  youth,  yet,  alas!  in  matter  of  fact  they  do  not  so 
turn  ;  in  matter  of  fact  they  are  open  to  the  influence  of  excitement, 
when  they  begin  to  seek  God  ;  and  the  question  is,  what  is  then  to  be 
done  with  them  1 

Now  this  advice  is  often  given : — "  Indulge  the  excitement ;  when 


:XXIII.]  A  REMEDY  FOR  EXCITEMENTS.  647 

you  flag,  seek  for  another ;  live  upon  the  thought  of  God  ;  go  about 
doing  good  ;  let  your  light  shine  before  men  ;  tell  them  what  God  has 
done  for  your  soul ;" — by  all  which  is  meant,  when  we  go  into  particu- 
lars,  that  they  oug.it  to  fancy  that  they  have  something  above  all  other 
men  ;  ought  to  neglect  their  worldl)'^  calling,  or  at  best  only  bear  it 
as  a  cross ;  join  themselves  to  some  particular  set  of  religionists  ;  take 
part  in  this  or  that  religious  society  ;  go  to  hear  strange  preachers,  and 
obtrude  their  new  feelings  and  new  opinions  upon  others,  at  times  proper 
and  improper.  I  am  speaking  now  of  the  temper,  not  of  those  who  profess 
adherence  to  the  Church,  but  of  such  as  detach  themselves,  more  or 
less,  from  its  discipline ;  and  the  reason  I  allude  to  them  is  this.  It  is 
often  said,  that  separation  and  dissent  are  but  accidents  of  a  religious 
temper;  that  they  who  commit  them,  if  pious,  are  the  same  in  heart  as 
Churchmen,  only  divided  by  some  outward  difference  of  forms  and 
circumstances.  Not  so :  the  mind  of  dissent,  viewed  in  itself,  is  far 
other  than  the  mind  of  Christ  and  His  Holy  Church  Catholic  ;  in  what- 
ever proportion  it  may  or  may  not  be  realized  in  individuals.  It  is 
full  of  self-importance,  irreverence,  censoriousness,  display,  and  tumult. 
It  is  right,  therefore,  ever  to  insist,  that  it  is  different,  lest  men  should 
be  seduced  into  it,  by  being  assured  that  it  is  not  different. 

That  it  is  different  from  the  mind  and  spirit  of  the  early  Christians 
at  least,  is  quite  plain  from  history.  If  there  was  a  time,  when  those 
particular  irregularities,  which  now  are  so  common,  were  likely  to 
abound,  it  was  in  the  primitive  Church.  Men,  who  had  lived  all  their 
lives  in  the  pollutions  of  sin  unspeakable,  who  had  been  involved  in  the 
darkness  of  heathenism,  were  suddenly  brought  to  the  light  of  Christian 
truth.  Their  sins  were  all  freely  forgiven  them,  clean  washed  away  in 
the  waters  of  Baptism.  A  new  world  of  ideas  was  opened  upon  them  ; 
and  the  most  astonishing  objects  presented  to  their  faith.  What  a  state 
of  transport  must  have  been  theirs  !  We  know  it  was  so,  by  the  ac- 
count  of  such  men  in  the  book  of  Acts.  The  jailor  "  rejoiced,  believing 
in  God,  with  all  his  house."  What  an  excited  and  critical  state  was 
theirs  !  Critical  and  dangerous  in  proportion  to  its  real  blessedness ; 
for,  in  proportion  to  the  privileges  we  enjoy,  ever  will  be  our  risk  of 
misusing  them.  In  spite,  then,  of  their  blessedness,  they  were  in  a 
state  of  risk,  and  that  from  the  excitement  of  their  minds.  How  then 
did  they  escape  that  enthusiasm  which  now  prevails,  that  irreverence, 
immodesty,  and  rudeness  '^  I  say,  if  in  any  age  that  feverish  spirit  was 
likely  to  have  prevailed,  which  now  prevails,  the  early  times  of  the 
Gospel  was  such  ;  how  is  it  we  do  not  read  generally  of  what  happened 
in  a  measure  and  for  a  season  in  the  Corinthian  Church,  of  Christians 
disobeying  their  Rulers,  saying  that  their  own  hearts  were  the  best 
judges  in  religious  matters,  censuring  those  about  them,  taking  teachers 


648  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP  [Serit. 

for  themselves,  and  so  breaking  up  the  Church  of  Christ  into  ten  thou- 
sand parts?  If  at  any  time  the  outward  frame-work  of  Christianity 
was  in  jeopardy,  surely  it  was  then.  How  was  it  the  ungovernable 
elements  within  it  did  not  burst  forth  and  shiver  to  pieces  the  vessel 
which  contained  them  ?  How  was  it  that  for  fifteen  hundred  years  the 
Church  was  preserved  from  those  peculiar  affections  of  mind  and 
irregularities  of  feeling  and   conduct,   which  now  torment  it  like  an 


ague 


Now  certainly,  looking  at  external  and  second  causes,  the  miracles 
had  much  to  do  in  securing  this  blessed  sobriety  in  the  early  Christians. 
These  kept  them  from  wilfulness  and  extravagance,  and  tempered  them 
to  the  spirit  of  godly  fear.  Thus  St.  Paul,  when  converted,  was  not 
let  go  by  himself,  so  to  speak.  His  merciful  Lord  kept  His  hand  upon 
him,  and  directed  his  every  step,  lest  he  should  start  aside  and  go  astray. 
Thus  He  would  not  tell  him  all  at  once  what  to  do,  though  St.  Paul 
wished  it ;  but  bade  him  "  arise,  and  go  into  the  city,"  and  there  it  was 
to  be  told  him  what  he  was  to  do.  He  was  led  by  the  hand  (a  fit  em- 
blem of  his  spiritual  condition,)  and  brought  to  Damascus.  Then  he 
was  three  days  without  sight,  and  without  meat  and  drink.  During 
this  time  he  was  still  kept  in  suspense  and  ignorance  of  what  was  to  hap- 
pen, and  was  employed  in  praying.  Such  desolateness — his  darkness, 
fasting,  and  suspense — had  a  sobering  influence.  Then  Ananias  was 
sent  to  him  to  baptize  him.  Forthwith  he  began  to  preach  Christ  at 
Damascus,  but  was  soon  checked,  thwarted,  sent  into  Arabia  out  of  the 
way,  for  three  years.  Then  he  returned  to  Damascus,  and,  again 
preaching  Christ,  was  in  no  long  time  obliged  to  flee  for  his  life.  He 
came  to  Jerusalem,  and  began  again  to  preach.  Here  he  first  had  a 
difficulty  in  getting  acknowledged  by  the  Apostles,  who  were  for  a  time 
afraid  of  him  ;  then  the  Jews  laid  a  plot  to  kill  him.  As  he  was  pray- 
ing in  the  Temple,  Christ  appeared  to  him,  and  bade  him  depart  from 
Jerusalem.  The  brethren  brought  him  down  to  Cassarea ;  thence  he 
went  to  Tarsus.  Now,  who  docs  not  sec  in  this  history  how  the 
Apostle  was  repressed  and  brought  under  by  the  plain  commands  and 
providences  of  God,  hurrying  him  to  and  frc,  without  saying  wliy? 
After  all  this,  many  years  passed,  before  he  was  employed  to  preach  to 
the  heathen,  and  then  only  after  a  solemn  ordination. 

Thus,  God's  miraculous  providence,  awing  and  controUing  the  heart, 
would  seem  to  be  one  especial  means  by  which  the  early  Christians 
were  kept  from  enthusiasm  ;  and  the  persecutions  of  the  Church  be- 
came another.  But  the  more  ordinary  means  was  one  which  we  may 
enjoy  at  this  day,  if  we  choose  ;  the  course  of  religious  Services,  the 
round  of  prayer  and  praise, — which,  indeed,  was  also  part  of  St.  Paul'c) 


XXIII.]  A  REMEDY  FOR  EXCITEMENTS.  64» 

discipline,  as  we  have  seen,  and  which  has  a  most  gracious  effect  upon 
the  restless  and  excited  mind,  giving  it  an  outlet,  yet  withal  calming^ 
soothing,  directing,  purifying  it. 

To  go  into  details.  It  often  happens  that  in  a  family  who  have  been 
brought  up  together,  one  suddenly  takes  what  is  called  a  religious  turn. 
Such  a  person  wishes  to  be  more  religious  than  the  rest,  wishes  to  do 
something  more  than  ordinary,  but  does  not  know  exactly  what  to  do. 
You  will  find,  generally,  that  he  joins  himself  to  some  dissenting  party, 
mainly  for  this  reason, — to  evidence  to  himself  greater  strictness.  His 
mind  is  under  excitement;  he  seems  to  say  with  St.  Paul,  "Lord,  what 
wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  This  is  the  cause,  again  and  again  of  per- 
sons falling  from  the  Church.  And  hence,  a  notion  has  got  abroad  that 
dissenting  bodies  have  more  of  true  religion  within  them  than  the  Church ; 
I  say,  for  this  reason,  because  earnest  men,  awaking  to  a  sense  of  reli- 
gion, wish  to  do  something  more  than  usual,  and  join  sects  and  here- 
sies as  a  relief  to  their  minds,  by  way  of  ridding  themselves  of  strong 
feelings,  which,  pent  up  within  them,  distress  them.  And  I  cannot 
deny,  that  in  this  way  these  bodies  do  gain,  and  the  Church  does  lose, 
earnestly  religious  people,  or  rather  those  who  would  have  been  such  in 
time  ;  for  it  is,  I  fear,  too  true  that,  while  the  sects  in  question  are  in 
this  way  recruited  and  improved  from  the  Church,  the  persons  them- 
selves, who  join  them,  are  injured.  They  lose  the  greater  part  of  that 
religious  light  and  warmth  which  hung  about  them,  even  though  they 
have  been  hitherto  careless,  and  but  partially  availed  themselves  of  it. 
It  is  as  if  a  living  hand  were  to  touch  cold  iron  ;  the  iron  is  somewhat 
warmed,  but  the  hand  is  chilled.  And  thus  the  blossom  of  truth,  the 
promise  of  real  religion,  is  lost  to  the  Church.  Men  begin  well,  but  be- 
ing seduced  by  their  own  waywardness,  fall  away. 

Here  then,  if  we  knew  how  to  employ  them,  the  Services  of  the 
Church  come  in  to  soothe  and  guide  the  agitated  mind.  "  Is  any 
afflicted  ?  let  him  pray  ;  is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms."  Is  any 
in  a  perturbed  state  of  mind  1  he  need  not  go  ofi'  to  strange  preachers 
and  meetings,  in  order  to  relieve  himself  of  his  uneasiness.  We  can 
give  him  a  stricter  rule  of  life,  and  a  safer  one.  Did  not  our  Lord  make 
a  distinction  between  the  life  of  Martha,  and  that  of  Mary,  and  without 
disclaiming  Martha,  who  was  troubled  for  His  sake  with  the  toils  of 
life,  yet  praise  Mary  the  rather,  who  sat  at  His  feet  ?  Does  not  St.  Paul 
make  a  distinction  between  the  duties  necessary  for  a  Christian,  and 
those  which  are  comely  and  of  good  report  ?  Let  restless  persons  attend 
upon  the  worship  of  the  Church,  which  will  attune  their  minds  in  har- 
mony with  Christ's  Law,  while  it  unburdens  them.  Did  not  St.  Paul 
"  pray"  during  his  three  days  of  blindness  ?     Afterwards  he  was  pray- 


650  KELIGIOUS  WORSHIP,  &c.  [Seem. 

in"-  in  the  Temple,  when  Christ  appeared  to  him.  Let  this  be  well  con- 
sidered. We  may  build  Houses  of  God,  without  number,  up  and  down 
the  land,  as  indeed  our  duty  is  :  we  may  multiply  resident  ministers  : 
we  may  (with  a  less  commendable  zeal)  do  our  utmost  to  please  the 
many  or  the  wealthy ;  but  all  this  will  not  deprive  Dissenting  bodies  of 
their  virtue  and  charm,  such  as  it  is.  Their  strength  is  their  semblance 
of  a  strictness  beyond  members  of  the  Church.  Till  we  act  up  to  our 
professed  principles  more  exactly  ;  till  we  have  in  deed  and  actual  prac- 
tice more  frequent  Services  of  praise  and  prayer,  more  truly  Catholic 
plans  for  honouring  God  and  benefitting  man  ;  till  we  exhibit  the  nobler 
and  more  beautiful  forms  of  Christian  devotedness  for  the  admiration 
and  guidance  of  the  better  sort,  we  have,  in  a  manner,  done  nothing. 
Surely  we  want  something  more  than  the  material  walls,  we  want  the 
"  spirit  and  truth"  of  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem,  the  worshippers  "  with 
one  accord  continuing  in  the  Temple,  with  gladness  and  singleness  of 
heart,  praising  God,"  persevering  and  prevailing  in  prayer,  and  thus, 
without  seeking  it,  "  having  favour  with  all  the  people." 

Is  any  one  then  desirous  of  gaining  comfort  to  his  soul,  of  bringing 
Christ's  presence  home  to  his  very  heart,  and  of  doing  the  highest  and 
most  glorious  things  for  the  whole  world  ?  I  have  told  him  how  to  pro- 
ceed. Let  him  praise  God  ;  let  holy  David's  Psalter  be  as  familiar 
words  in  his  mouth,  his  daily  service,  ever  repeated,  yet  ever  new  and 
ever  sacred.  Let  him  pray  ;  especially  let  him  intercede.  Doubt  not 
the  power  of  faith  and  prayer  to  effect  all  things  with  God.  However 
you  try,  you  cannot  do  works  to  compare  with  those,  which  faith  and 
prayer  accomplish  in  the  name  of  Christ.  Did  you  give  your  body  to 
be  burned,  and  all  your  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  you  could  not  do  so 
much  as  by  continual  intercession.  Few  are  rich,  few  can  suffer  for 
Christ  ;  all  may  pray.  Were  you  an  Apostle  of  the  Church,  or  a 
Prophet,  you  could  not  do  more  than  you  can  do  by  the  power  of  prayer. 
Oo  not  then  astray  to  find  out  new  modes  of  serving  God  and  benefitting 
man.  I  show  you  "  a  more  excellent  way."  Come  to  our  Services  ; 
■come  to  our  Litanies  ;  throw  yourself  out  of  your  own  selfish  heart ; 
pour  yourself  out  upon  the  thought  of  sin  and  sinners,  upon  the  con- 
templation of  God's  Throne,  of  Jesus  the  Mediator  between  God  and 
man,  and  of  that  glorious  Church  to  which  the  dispensation  of  His  mer- 
its is  committed.  Aspire  to  be  what  Christ  would  make  you.  His  friend  ; 
having  power  with  Him  and  prevailing.  Other  men  will  not  pray  for 
themselves.  You  may  pray  for  them  and  for  the  general  Church  ;  and 
while  you  pray,  you  will  find  enough  in  the  defects  of  your  praying  to 
remind  you  of  your  own  nothingness,  and  to  keep  you  from  pride  while 
you  aim  at  perfection. 


XXIV.]  INTERCESSION.  651 

But  I  must  now  draw  to  an  end.  Thus,  in  both  ways,  whether  our 
excitements  arise  from  objects  of  this  world  or  the  next,  praise  and 
prayer  will  be,  through  God's  mercy,  our  remedy ;  keeping  the  mind 
from  running  to  waste  ;  calming,  soothing,  sobering,  steadying  it.;  attu- 
ning it  to  the  will  of  God  and  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  teaching  it  to 
love  all  men,  to  be  cheerful  and  thankful,  and  to  be  resigned  in  all  the 
dispensations  of  Providence  towards  us. 

0  that  we  knew  our  own  true  bliss,  now  that  Christ  is  come,  instead 
of  being,  as  we  still  are  for  the  most  part,  like  the  heathen,  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd  !  May  the  Good  Lord  fulfil  His  purpose  towards 
us  in  His  own  time  !     Amen. 


SERMON   XXIV 


INTERCESSION. 


Ephks.  Ti.  18. 


Praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto 
with  all  perseverance  and  supplication  for  all  saints. 

Every  one  knows,  who  has  any  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  that  Prayer 
is  one  of  its  especial  ordinances ;  but  not  every  one,  perhaps,  has  no- 
ticed what  kind  of  prayer  its  inspired  teachers  most  carefully  enjoin. 
Prayer  for  self  is  the  most  obvious  of  duties,  as  soon  as  leave  is  given 
us  to  pray  at  all,  which  Christ  distinctly  and  mercifully  accorded,  when 
he  came.  This  is  plain  from  the  nature  of  the  case ;  but  He  Himself 
has  given  us  also  an  express  command  and  promise  about  ourselves,  to 
*'  ask  and  it  shall  be  given  to  us."  Yet  it  is  observable,  that  though 
prayer  for  self  is  the  first  and  plainest  of  Christian  duties,  the  Apostles 
especially  insist  on  another  kind  of  prayer ;  prayer  for  others,  for  our- 
selves with  others,  for  the  Church,  and  for  the  world,  that  it  liiay  be 
brought  into  the  Church.  Intercession  is  the  characteristic  of  Chris- 
tian worship,  the  privilege  of  the  heavenly  adoption,  the  exercise  of  the 
perfect  and  spiritual  mind.  This  is  the  subject  to  which  I  shall  now 
idirect  your  attention. 


652  INTERCESSION.  [Skrm. 

•1.  First,  let  us  turn  to  the  express  injunctions  of  Scripture.  For  in- 
stance, the  text  itself:  "  Praying  in  every  season  with  all  prayer  and 
supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and  abstaining  froin  sleep  for  the  purpose, 
with  all  perseverance  and  supplication  for  all  saints."  Observe  the  ear- 
nestness of  the  intercession  here  inculcated  ;  "  in  every  season,"  "  with, 
all  supplication,"  and  "  to  the  loss  of  sleep."  Again,  in  the  epistle  ta 
the  Colossians  ;  "  Persevere  in  prayer,  watching  in  it  with  thanksgiv- 
ing, withal  praying  for  us  also."  Again,  "  Brethren,  pray  for  us."  And 
again  in  detail  ;  "  I  exhort  that,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers,  in>. 
tercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all  men  ;  for  kings  and  all 
that  are  in  authority.  I  will,  therefore,  that  men  pray  in  every  place." 
On  the  other  hand,  go  through  the  Epistles,  and  reckon  up  how  many 
exhortations  occur  therein  to  pray  merely  for  self.  You  will  find  there 
are  few,  or  rather  none  at  all.  Even  those  which  seem  at  first  sight  to 
be  such,  will  be  found  really  to  have  in  view  the  good  of  the  Church- 
Thus,  to  take  the  words  following  the  text,  St.  Paul,  in  asking  his  breth- 
ren's prayers,  seems  to  pray  for  himself ;  but  he  goes  on  to  explain  why, 
— "  that  he  might  make  known  the  Gospel ;"  or  elsewhere, — that  "  the 
word  of  the  Lord  might  have  free  course  and  be  glorified  ;"  or,  as  where 
he  says, — "  Let  him  that  speaketh  in  an  unknown  tongue,  pray  that  he 
may  interpret,"*  for  this  too  was  a  petition  in  order  to  the  edification  of 
the  Church. 

Next,  consider  St.  Paul's  own  example,  which  is  quite  in  accordance 
with  his  exhortations  :  "  I  cease  not  to  give  thanks  for  you,  making 
mention  of  you  in  my  prayers,  that  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Father  of  Glory,  may  give  unto  you  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and 
revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  Him."  "  I  thank  my  God  upon  every 
remembrance  of  you,  always  in  every  prayer  of  mine  for  you  all  ma- 
king request  with  joy."  "  We  give  thanks  to  God,  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  praying  always  for  you."  "  We  give  thanks  to 
God  always  for  you  all,  making  mention  of  you  in  our  praycrs."f 

The  instances  of  prayer,  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  are  of  the 
same  kind,  being  almost  entirely  of  an  intercessory  nature,  as  offered 
at  ordinations,  confirmations,  cures,  missions,  and  the  like.  For  in- 
stance ;  "  As  they  interceded  before  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the  Holy 
Ghost  said.  Separate  Me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I 
have  called  them  ;  and  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid 
their  hands  on  them,  they  sent  them  away."     Again,  "  And  Peter  put 

»Gl.iv.  2.     IThcs.  V.  25.     1  Tim.  u.  1,  2.  8.     2Thes.  iii.  1.     1  Cor.  xiT.  13. 
t  Eph.  i.  IC,  17.     Phil.  i.  3,  4.     Col.  i.  3.     1  Thes.  i.  2. 


XXIV.]  INTERCESSION.  653 

them  all  forth,  and  kneeled  down,  and  prayed :  and  turning  him  to  the 
body,  said,  Tabitha,  arise."* 

2.  Such  is  the  lesson  taught  us  by  the  words  and  deeds  of  the  Apos- 
tles and  their  brethren.  Nor  could  it  be  otherwise,  if  Christianity  be 
a  social  religion,  as  it  is  pre-eminently.  If  Christians  are  to  live  to- 
gether, they  will  pray  together  ;  and  united  prayer  is  necessarily  of  an 
intercessory  character,  as  being  offered  for  each  other  and  for  the 
whole,  and  for  self  as  one  of  the  whole.  In  proportion,  then,  as  unity 
is  an  especial  Gospel-duty,  so  does  Gospel  prayer  partake  of  a  social 
character  ;  and  Intercession  becomes  a  token  of  the  existence  of  a 
Church  Catholic. 

Accordingly,  the  foregoing  instances  of  intercessory  prayer  are  sup- 
phed  by  Chrislians.  On  the  other  hand,  contrast  with  these  the 
recorded  instances  of  prayer  in  men  who  were  not  Christians,  and  you 
will  find  they  are  not  intercessory.  For  instance  :  St.  Peter's  prayer 
on  the  house-top  was,  we  know,  answered  by  the  revelation  of  the  call 
of  the  Gentiles  :  viewing  it  then  by  the  light  of  the  texts  already 
quoted,  we  may  conclude,  that,  as  was  the  answer,  such  was  the  prayer, 
— that  it  had  reference  to  others.  On  the  other  hand,  Cornelius,  not 
yet  a  Christian,  was  also  rewarded  with  an  answer  to  his  prayer. 
"  Thy  prayer  is  heard  ;  call  for  Simon,  whose  surname  is  Peter  ;  he 
shall  tell  thee  what  thou  oughtest  to  d  ."  Can  we  doubt  from  these 
words  of  the  Angel,  that  his  prayers  had  been  offered  for  himself  espe- 
cially ?  Again  on  St.  Paul's  conversion,  we  are  told,  "  Behold  he 
prayeth."  It  is  plain  he  was  praying  for  himself;  and,  observe,  it  was 
before  he  was  a  Christian.  Thus,  if  we  are  to  judge  of  the  relative 
prominence  of  rehgious  duties  by  the  recorded  instances  of  the  per- 
formance of  them,  we  should  say  that  Intercession  is  the  kind  of  prayer 
distinguishing  a  Christian  from  such  as  are  not  Christians. 

3.  But  the  instance  of  St.  Paul  opens  upon  us  a  second  reason  for 
this  distinction.  Intercession  is  the  especial  observance  of  the  Chris- 
tian, because  he  alone  is  in  a  condition  to  otfjr  it.  It  is  the  function  of 
the  justified  and  obedient,  of  the  sons  of  God,  "  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh  but  after  the  Spirit ;"  not  of  the  carnal  and  unregenerate.  This  is 
plain  even  to  natural  reason.  The  blind  man,  who  was  cured,  said  of 
Christ,  "  We  know  that  God  heareth  not  sinners  ;  but  if  any  man  be 
a  worshipper  of  God,  and  doeth  his  w'll,  him  He  heareth. "f  Saul  the 
persecutor  obviously  could  not  intercede  like  St.  Paul  the  Apostle.  He 
had  yet  to  be  baptized  and  forgiven.  Il  w  )uld  bj  a  presumption  and 
an  extravagance  in  a  penitent,  before  his  regeneration,  to  do  aught  but 

•  Acts  xiii.  2,  3  ,  ix.  40.  t  Jahn  ii.  31. 


e54  INTERCESSION.  [Seric. 

confess  his  sins  and  deprecate  wrath.  He  has  not  yet  proceeded,  he 
has  had  no  leave  to  proceed,  out  of  himself ;  and  has  enough  to  do 
within.  His  conscience  weighs  heavy  on  him,  nor  has  he  "  the  wings 
of  a  dove  to  flee  away  and  he  at  rest."  We  need  not,  I  say,  go  to 
Scripture  for  information  on  so  plain  a  point.  Our  first  prayers  ever 
must  be  for  ourselves.  Our  own  salvation  is  our  personal  concern  ; 
till  we  labour  to  secure  it,  till  we  try  to  live  religiously,  and  pray  to  be 
enabled  to  do  so,  nay,  and  have  made  progress,  it  is  but  hypocrisy,  or 
at  best  it  is  overbold,  to  busy  ourselves  with  others.  I  do  not  mean  that 
grayer  for  self  always  comes  first  in  order  of  time,  and  Intercession 
second.  Blessed  be  God,  we  were  all  made  His  children  before  we 
had  actually  sinned ;  we  began  life  in  purity  and  innocence.  Inter- 
cession is  never  more  appropriate  than  when  sin  had  been  utterly  abol- 
ished, and  the  heart  was  most  affectionate  and  least  selfish.  Nor  would 
I  deny,  that  a  care  for  the  souls  of  other  men  may  be  the  first  symp. 
tom  of  a  man's  beginning  to  think  about  his  own  ;  or  that  persons,  who 
are  conscious  to  themselves  of  much  guilt,  often  pray  for  those  whom 
they  revere  and  love,  when  under  the  influence  of  fear,  or  in  agony,  or 
other  strong  emotion,  and,  perhaps,  at  other  times.  Still  it  is  true,  that 
there  is  something  incongruous  and  inconsistent  in  a  man's  presuming- 
to  intercede,  who  is  an  habitual  and  deliberate  sinner.  Also  it  is  true 
that  most  men  do,  more  or  less  fall  away  from  God,  sully  their  baptis- 
mal robe,  need  the  grace  of  repentance,  and  have  to  be  awakened  to 
the  necessity  of  prayer  for  self,  as  the  first  step  in  observing  prayer  of 
any  kind. 

"  God  heareth  not  sinners ;"  nature  tells  us  this  ;  but  none  but  God 
Himself  could  tell  us  that  He  will  hear  and  answer  those  who  are  not 
sinners ;  for  "  when  we  have  done  all,  we  are  unprofitable  servants, 
and  can  claim  no  reward  for  our  services."  But  He  has  graciously 
promised  us  this  mercy,  in  Scripture,  as  the  following  te.xts  will  show. 

For  instance,  St.  James  says,  "  The  eftectual  fervent  prayer  of  a 
righteous  man  availeth  much."  St.  John,  "  Whatsoever  we  ask,  we 
receive  of  Him,  because  we  keep  His  commandments,  and  do  those 
things  that  are  pleasing  in  his  sight."*  Next  let  us  weigh  carefully 
our  Lord's  solemn  announcements  uttered  shortly  before  His  crucifixion, 
and,  though  addressed  primarily  to  His  Apostles,  yet,  surely,  in  their 
degree  belonging  to  all  who  "  believe  on  Him  through  their  word." 
We  shall  find  that  consistent  obedience,  mature,  habitual,  lifelong  holi- 
ness, is  therein  made  the  condition  of  His  intimate  favour,  and  of  power 
in  Intercession.     "  If  ye  abide  in  Me,"  He  says,  "  and  My  words  abide 

*  James  t,  16.     1  John  iii.  22, 


XXIV.]  INTERCESSION.  655 

in  you,  yo  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you.  Herein 
is  my  Father  gloritied,  that  ye  bear  muc  h  fr  jit :  so  shall  ye  be  My  dis- 
ciples. As  the  Father  halh  loved  Me,  so  have  I  loved  you  ;  abide  ye  in 
My  love.  If  ye  keep  My  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  My  love. 
Ye  are  My  friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you.  Henceforth 
I  call  you  not  servants  ;  for  the  servant  knowctli  not  what  his  lord 
doeth ;  but  1  have  called  you  friends,  for  all  that  I  have  heard  of  My 
Father,  I  have  made  known  unto  you."*  From  this  solemn  grant  of 
the  peculiarly  Gospel  privilege  of  being  the  "  friends"  of  Christ,  it  is 
certain,  that  as  the  prayer  of  repentance  gains  for  us  sinners  Baptism 
and  justification,  so  our  higher  gift  of  having  power  with  Him  and. 
prevailing,  depends  on  our  "adding  to  our  faith  virtue." 

Let  us  turn  to  the  examples  given  us  of  holy  men  under  former  dis- 
pensations, whose  obedience  and  privileges  were  anticipations  of  the 
evangelical.  St.  James,  after  the  passage  already  cited  from  his  epistle, 
speaks  of  Elijah  thus  :  "  Elias  was  a  man  subject  to  hke  passions  as  we 
are,  yet  he  prayed  earnestly  that  it  might  not  rain,  and  it  rained  not  on 
the  earth  by  the  space  of  three  years  and  six  months."  Righteous  Job 
was  appointed  by  Almighty  God  to  be  the  effectual  intercessor  for  his 
erring  friends.  Moses,  who  was  "  faithful  in  all  the  house "  of  God, 
affords  us  another  eminent  instance  of  intercessory  power ;  as  in  the 
Mount,  and  on  other  occasions,  when  he  pleaded  for  his  rebellious  peo- 
ple, re  in  the  battle  with  Amalek,  when  Israel  continued  conquering  as 
long-  as  his  hands  remained  lifted  up  in  prayer.  Here  we  have  a  striking 
emblem  of  that  continued,  earnest,  unwearied  prayer  of  men  "  lifting 
up  holy  hands,"  which,  under  the  Gospel,  prevails  with  Almighty  God. 
Again,  in  the  book  of  Jeremiah,  Moses  and  Samuel  are  spoken  of  as 
mediators  so  powerful,  that  only  the  sins  of  the  Jews  were  too  great  for 
the  success  of  their  prayers.  In  like  manner  it  is  implied,  in  the  book 
of  Ezekiel,  that  three  such  as  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  would  suffice,  in 
some  cases,  to  save  guilty  nations  from  judgment.  Sodom  might  have 
been  rescued  by  ten.  Abraham,  though  he  could  not  save  the  aban- 
doned city  just  mentioned,  yet  was  able  to  save  Lot  from  the  overthrow  ; 
as  at  another  time  he  interceded  successfully  for  Abimelech.  The  very 
intimation  given  him  of  God's  purpose  towards  Sodom  was  of  course  an 
especial  honour,  and  marked  him  as  the  friend  of  God.  "  Shall  I  hide 
from  Abraham  that  thing  which  I  do,  seeing  that  Abraham  shall  surely 
become  a  great  and  mighty  nation ;  and  all  the  nations  of  the  world 
shall  be  blessed  in  him  ?"  The  reason  follows,  "/or  /  knoiv  him,  that 
he  will  command  his  children  and  his  household  after  him,  and  they 

*  John  XV.  7—15. 


656  INTERCESSION.  [S«m. 

shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord  to  do  justice  and  judgment,  that  the 
Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham  that  which  He  hath  spoken  of  him."* 

4.  The  history  of  God's  dealings  with  Abraham  will  afford  us  an 
additional  lesson,  which  must  be  ever  borne  in  mind  in  speaking  of  the 
privilege  of  the  saints  on  earth  as  intercessors  between  God  and  man. 
I  can  fancy  a  person,  from  apprehension  lest  the  belief  in  it  should  in- 
terfere with  the  true  reception  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Cross,  perplexed  at 
finding  it  in  the  foregoing  texts  so  distinctly  connected  with  obedience  : 
I  say  perplexed,  for  I  will  not  contemplate  the  case  of  those,  though 
there  are  such,  who,  when  the  text  of  Scripture  seems  to  them  to  be  at 
variance  with  itself,  and  one  portion  to  diverge  from  another,  will  not 
allow  themselves  to  be  perplexed,  will  not  suspend  their  minds  and  hum- 
bly wait  for  light,  will  not  believe  that  the  Divine  Scheme  is  larger  and 
deeper  than  their  own  capacities,  but  boldly  wrest  into  apparent  agree- 
ment what  is  already  harmonious  in  God's  infinite  counsels,  though  not 
to  them.  I  speak  to  perplexed  persons  ;  and  would  have  them  observe 
that  Almighty  God  has  in  this  very  instance  of  Abraham  our  spiritual 
father,  been  mindful  of  that  other  aspect  under  which  the  most  highly 
exalted  among  the  children  of  flesh  must  ever  stand  in  His  presence. 
It  is  elsewhere  said  of  him,  "  Abraham  believed  in  the  Lord,  and  He 
counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness,"")"  as  St.  Paul  points  out,  when  he 
is  discoursing  upon  the  free  grace  of  God  in  our  redemption.  Even 
Abraham  was  justified  by  faith,  though  he  was  perfected  by  works ; 
and  this  being  told  us  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  seems  as  if  an  intimation 
to  the  perplexed  inquirer  that  his  difficulty  can  be  but  an  apparent  one, 
— that,  while  God  reveals  the  one  doctrine.  He  is  not  the  less  careful  of 
the  other  also,  nor  rewards  His  servants  (though  He  rewards  them)  for 
works  done  by  their  own  strength.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  caution  to 
us,  who  rightly  insist  on  the  prerogatives  imparted  by  His  grace,  ever 
to  remember  that  it  only  can  ennoble  and  exalt  us  in  His  sight.  Abra- 
ham is  our  spiritual  father  ;  and  as  he  is,  so  are  his  children.  In  us, 
as  in  him,  faith  must  be  the  foundation  of  all  that  is  acceptable  with 
God.  "  By  faith  we  stand,"  by  faith  we  are  justified,  by  faith  we  obey, 
by  faith  our  works  arc  sanctified.  Faith  applies  to  us  again  and  again 
the  grace  of  our  Baptism  ;  faith  opens  upon  us  the  virtue  of  all  other 
ordinances  of  the  Gospel, — of  the  Holy  Comnv  non,  which  is  the  high- 
est. By  faith  we  prevail  "  in  the  hour  of  death  and  in  the  day  of 
judgment."  And  the  distinctness  and  force  with  which  this  is  told  us 
in  the  Epistles,  and  its  obviousness,  even  to  our  natural  reason,  may  be 
the  cause  why  less  stress  is  laid  in  them  on  the  duty  of  prayer  for  self. 

•  Gen.  xviii.  17—19.  t  Gen.  xv.  6. 


OCXIV.]  INTERCESSION.  657 

The  very  instinct  of  faith  will  lead  a  man  to  do  this  without  set  com- 
mand, and  the  Sacraments  secure  its  observance. — So  much  then,  by- 
way of  caution,  on  the  influence  of  faith  upon  our  salvation,  furthering 
it,  yet  not  interfering  with  the  distinct  office  of  works  in  giving  virtue 
to  our  intercession. 

And  here  let  me  observe  on  a  peculiarity  of  Scripture,  its  speaking  as 
if  separate  rewards  attended  on  separate  graces,  according  to  our  Lord's 
words,  "  To  him  that  hath  more  shall  be  given  ;"  so  that  what  has  been 
said  in  contrasting  faith  and  works,  is  but  one  instance  under  a  general 
■rule.  Thus,  in  the  sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  beatitudes  are  pronounced 
on  separate  virtues  respectively.  *'  Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall 
inherit  the  earth  ;"  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see 
God  ;"  and  the  rest  in  like  manner.  I  am  not  attempting  to  determine 
what  these  particular  graces  are,  what  the  rewards,  what  the  aptitude 
of  the  one  to  the  other,  what  the  real  connection  between  the  reward  and 
the  grace,  or  how  far  one  grace  can  be  separated  from  another  in  fact. 
We  know  that  all  depend  on  one  root,  faith,  and  are  but  differently  de- 
veloped in  different  persons.  Again,  we  see  in  Scripture  that  the  same 
reward  is  not  invariably  assigned  to  the  same  grace,  as  if,  from  the  inti- 
mate union  between  all  graces,  their  rewards  might  (as  it  were)  be  lent 
and  interchanged  one  with  another ;  yet  enough  is  said  there  to  direct 
our  minds  to  the  existence  of  the  principle  itself,  though  we  be  unable 
to  fathom  its  meaning  and  consequences.  It  is  somewhat  upon  this 
principle  that  our  Articles  ascribe  justification  to  faith  only,  as  a  symbol 
of  the  free  grace  of  our  redemption  ;  just  as  in  the  parable  of  the  Phari- 
see and  publican,  our  Lord  would  seem  to  impute  it  to  self-abasement, 
and  in  His  words  to  the  "  woman  which  was  a  sinner,"  to  love  as  well 
as  to  faith,  while  St.  James  connects  it  with  works.  In  other  instances 
the  reward  follows  in  the  course  of  nature  Thus  the  gift  of  wisdom  is 
the  ordinary  result  of  trial  borne  religiously ;  courage,  of  endurance. 
In  this  way  St.  Paul  draws  out  a  series  of  spiritual  gifts  one  from  ano- 
ther, experience  from  patience,  hope  from  experience,  boldness  and  con- 
fidence  from  hope.  I  will  add  but  two  instances  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  commandment  says,  '•  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother 
that  thy  days  may  be  long  ;"  a  promise  which  was  signally  fulfilled  in 
the  case  even  of  the  Rechabites,  wb .  were  not  of  Israel.  Again,  from 
Daniel's  history  we  learn  that  illurainiLtion,  or  other  miraculous  power, 
is  the  reward  of  fasting  and  prayer.  "In  those  days  I,  Daniel,  was 
mourning  three  full  weeks.  I  ate  no  pleasant  bread,  neither  came 
ilesh         wine  in  my  mouth,  neither  did  I  anoint  myself  at  all,  till  three 

whole  weeks  were  fulfilled And  he  said  unto  me.  Fear  not, 

Daniel  ;  for  from  the  first  day  that  thou  didst  set  thine  heart  to  under. 
Vol.  I— 42 


668  INTERCESSION.  [Sb»ii. 

stand  and  to  chasten  thjself  before  thy  God,  thy  words  were  heard,  and 
I  am  come  for  thy  words Now  I  am  come  to  make  thee  un- 
derstand what  shall  befal  thy  people  in  the  latter  days."  With  this 
passage  compare  St.  Peter's  vision  about  the  Gentiles  while  he  prayed 
and  fasted  ;  and,  again,  our  Lord's  words  about  casting  out  the  "  dumb 
and  deaf  spirit,"  •'  This  kind  can  come  forth  by  nothing  but  by  prayer 
and  fasting."*  And  it  is  by  a  similar  appointment,  that  Intercession  is 
the  prerogative  and  gift  of  the  obedient  and  holy. 

6.  Why  should  we  be  unwilling  to  admit  what  it  is  so  great  a  conso- 
lation  to  know  ?  Why  should  we  refuse  to  credit  the  transforming 
power  and  efficacy  of  our  Lord's  sacrifice?  Surely  He  did  not  die  for 
any  common  end,  but  in  order  to  exalt  man,  who  was  of  the  dust  of  the 
field,  into  "  heavenly  places."  He  did  not  die  to  leave  him  as  he  was, 
sinful,  ignorant,  and  miserable.  He  did  not  die  to  see  His  purchased 
possession,  as  feeble  in  good  works,  as  corrupt,  as  poor-spirited,  and  as 
desponding,  as  before  He  came.  Rather  He  died  to  renew  him  after 
His  own  image,  to  make  him  a  being  He  might  delight  and  rejoice  in, 
to  make  him  "  partaker  of  the  divine  nature,"  to  fill  him  within  and 
without  with  a  flood  of  grace  and  glory,  to  pour  out  upon  him  gift  upon 
gift,  and  virtue  upon  virtue,  and  power  upon  power,  each  acting  upon 
each,  and  working  together  one  and  all,  till  he  becomes  an  A  gel  upon 
earth,  instead  of  a  rebel  and  an  outcast.  He  died  to  bestow  upon  him 
that  privilege  which  implies  or  involves  all  others,  and  brmgs  him  into 
nearest  resemblance  to  Himself,  the  privilege  of  Litercession.  This,  I 
say,  is  the  Christian's  especial  prerogative  ;  and  if  he  does  not  exercise 
it,  certainly  he  has  not  risen  to  the  conception  of  his  real  place  among 
created  beings.  Say  not  he  is  a  son  of  Adam,  and  has  to  undergo  a  fu- 
ture judgment ;  I  know  it  ;  but  he  is  something  besides.  How  far  he 
is  advanced  into  that  higher  state  of  being,  how  far  he  still  languishes 
in  his  first  condition,  is,  in  the  case  of  individuals,  a  secret  with  God. 
Still  every  Christian  is  in  a  certain  sense  both  in  the  one  and  in  the 
other  :  viewed  in  himself  he  ever  prays  for  pardon,  and  confesses  sin  ; 
but  viewed  in  Christ,  he  "  has  access  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand, 
and  rejoices  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."f  Viewed  in  his  place 
in  "  the  Church  of  the  First-born  enrolled  in  h<  aven,"  with  his  original 
debt  cancelled  in  Baptism,  and  all  subsequent  penalties  put  aside  by 
Absolution,  standing  inCJod's  presence  upright  and  irreprovable,  accept- 
ed in  the  Beloved,  clad  in  the  garments  of  righteousness,  anointed  with 
oil,  and  with  a  crown  upon  his  head,  in  royal  and  priestly  garb,  as  an 
heir  of  eternity,  full  of  grace  and  good  works,  as  walking  in  all  the 

•  Ei.  XX.  12,    Jcr.  XMv.  18,  19,     Dan.  x  2—14.    Mark  ix.  29.  t  Rom.  v.  2 


XXIV.]  INTERCESSION.  659 

commandments  of  the  Lord  blameless,  such  an  one,  I  repeat  it,  is  plainly 
in  his  fitting  place,  when  he  intercedes.  He  is  made  after  the  pattern 
and  in  the  fulness  of  Christ, — he  is  what  Christ  is.  Christ  intercedes 
above,  and  he  intercedes  below.  Why  should  he  linger  in  the  doorway, 
praying  for  pardon,  who  has  been  allowed  to  share  in  the  grace  of  the 
Lord's  passion,  to  die  with  Him  and  rise  again  ?  He  is  already  in  a 
capacity  for  higher  things.  His  prayer  thenceforth  takes  a  higher 
range,  and  contemplates  not  himself  merely,  but  others  also.  He  is 
taken  into  the  confidence  and  counsels  of  His  Lord  and  Saviour.  He 
reads  in  Scripture  what  the  many  cannot  see  there,  the  course  of  His 
providence,  and  the  rules  of  His  government  in  this  world.  He  views 
the  events  of  history  with  a  divinely  enlightened  eye.  He  sees  that  a 
Treat  contest  is  going  on  among  us  between  good  and  evil.  He  recog- 
nizes in  statesmen,  and  v/arriors,  and  kings,  and  people,  in  revolutions 
and  changes,  in  trouble  and  prosperity,  not  merely  casual  matters,  but 
instruments  and  tokens  of  heaven  and  of  hell.  Thus  he  is  in  some  sense 
a  prophet ;  not  a  servant,  who  obeys  without  knowing  his  Lord's  plans 
and  purposes,  but  even  a  confidential  "  familiar  friend"  of  the  Only-be- 
gotten Son  of  God,  calm,  collected,  prepared,  resolved,  serene,  amid  this 
restless  and  unhappy  world.  O  mystery  of  blessedness,  too  great  to 
think  of  steadily,  lest  we  grow  dizzy  !  Well  is  it  for  those  who  are  so 
gifted,  that  they  do  not  for  certain  know  their  privilege ;  well  is  it  for 
them  that  they  can  but  timidly  guess  at  it,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  are 
used,  as  well  as  bound,  to  contemplate  it  as  external  to  themselves  lodged 
in  the  Church  of  which  they  are  but  members,  and  the  gift  of  all  saints 
in  every  time  and  place,  without  curiously  inquiring  whether  it  is  theirs 
peculiarly  above  others,  or  doing  more  than  availing  themselves  of  it  as 
any  how  a  trust  committed  to  them  (with  whatever  success)  to  use. 
Well  is  it  for  them  ;  for  what  mortal  heart  could  bear  to  know  that  it  is 
broucrht  so  near  to  God  Incarnate,  as  to  be  one  of  those  who  are  perfect- 
ing holiness  and  stand  on  the  very  steps  of  the  throne  of  Christ  ? 

To  conclude.  If  any  one  asks,  "  How  am  I  to  know  whether  I  am 
advanced  enough  in  holiness  to  intercede  ?"  he  has  plainly  mistaken  the 
doctrine  under  consideration.  The  privilege  of  Intercession  is  a  trust 
committed  to  all  Christians  who  have  a  clear  conscience  and  are  in  full 
communion  with  the  Church.  We  leave  secret  things  to  God, — what 
each  man's  real  advancement  is  in  holy  things,  and  what  his  real  power 
m  the  unseen  world.  Two  things  alone  concern  us,  to  exercise  our  gift 
and  make  ourselves  more  and  more  worthy  of  it.  The  slothful  and  un-» 
profitable  servant  hid  his  Lord's  talent  in  a  napkin.  This  sin  be  far  from 
us  as  regards  one  of  the  greatest  of  our  gifts  !  By  words  and  works 
we  can  but  teach  or  influence  a  few  ;  by  our  prayers  we  may  benefit 


660  INTERCESSION.  [Serm.  XXIV. 

the  whole  world,  and  every  individual  of  it,  high  and  low,  friend,  stranger, 
and  enemy.  Is  it  not  fearful  then  to  look  back  on  our  past  lives  even 
in  this  once  respect  ?  How  can  we  tell  but  that  our  king,  our  country, 
our  Church,  our  institutions,  and  our  own  respective  circles,  would  be 
in  fai  happier  circumstances  than  they  are,  had  we  been  in  the  practice 
of  more  earnest  and  serious  prayer  for  thern  ?  How  can  we  complain 
of  difficulties,  national  or  personal,  how  can  we  justly  blame  and  de- 
nounce evil-minded  and  powerful  men,  if  we  have  but  lightly  used  the 
intercessions  offered  up  in  the  Litany,  the  Psalms,  and  in  the  Holy 
Communion  1  How  can  we  answer  to  ourselves  for  the  souls  who  have, 
in  our  time,  lived  and  died  in  sin  ;  the  souls  that  have  been  lost  and  are 
now  waiting  for  judgment,  the  infidel,  the  blasphemer,  the  profligate, 
the  covetous,  the  extortioner  ;  or  those  again  who  have  died  with  but 
doubtful  signs  of  faith,  the  death-bed  penitent,  the  worldly,  the  double- 
minded,  the  ambitious,  the  unruly,  the  trifling,  the  self-willed,  seeing 
that,  for  what  we  know,  we  were  ordained  to  influence  or  reverse  their 
present  destiny  and  have  not  done  it  ? 

Secondly  and  lastly,  If  so  much  depend  on  us,  "  What  manner  of 
persons  ought  we  to  be,  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness  I"  O  that 
•we  may  henceforth  be  more  diligent  than  heretofore,  in  keeping  the 
mirror  of  our  hearts  unsullied  and  bright,  so  as  to  reflect  the  image  of 
the  Son  of  God  in  the  Father's  presence,  clean  from  the  dust  and  stains 
of  this  world,  from  envies  and  jealouses,  strife  and  debate,  bitterness  and 
harshness,  indolence  and  imj)urity,  care  and  discontent,  deceit  and 
meanness,  arrogance  and  boasting  !  O  that  we  may  labour,  not  in  our 
own  strength  but  in  the  pow^r  of  God  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  sober, 
chaste,  temperate,  meek,  att".  ctionate,  good,  faithful,  firm,  humble,  pa- 
tient,  cheerful,  resigned,  under  all  circumstances,  at  all  times,  among 
all  people,  amid  all  trials  aid  sorrows  of  this  mortal  life  !  JVIay  God 
grant  us  the  power,  according  to  His  promise,  through  His  Son  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ ! 


SERMON     XX\. 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE. 


Revelation  vi.  11. 


And  white  robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of  them  ;  and  it  was  said  unto  them,  that 
they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until  their  fellow-servants  also,  and  their 
brethren,  that  should  be  killed  as  they  were,  should  be  fulfilled. 


In  taking  these  words  as  a  text,  I  do  not  profess  to  give  you  any  suf- 
ficient explanation  of  ihem.  Doubtless  in  their  full  meaning  they  are 
too  deep  for  mortal  man  ;  yet  they  are  written  for  our  reverent  contem- 
plation at  least,  and  perchance  may  yield  something,  under  God's  bless- 
ing, even  though  the  true  and  entire  sense  of  them  was  lost  to  the 
Church  with  him  who  wrote  them.  He  was  admitted  into  the  heaven 
of  heavens,  while  yet  in  the  flesh,  as  St.  Paul  before  him.  He  saw  the 
throne  and  Him  who  sat  on  it  ;  and  his  words,  as  those  of  the  prophets 
under  the  Law,  are  rather  spontaneous  accompaniments  on  what  he  saw, 
than  definite  and  complete  descriptions  addressed  to  us.  They  were 
provided,  indeed,  and  directed  according  to  our  need,  by  an  overruling 
inspiration ;  but  the  same  sacred  influence  also  limited  their  range,  and 
determined  under  what  aspect  and  circumstances  they  should  dehneate 
the  awful  realities  of  heaven.  Thus  they  are  but  shadows  cast,  or  at 
best,  lines  or  portions  caught  from  what  is  unseen,  and  they  attend 
upon  it  after  the  manner  of  the  Seraphim,  with  wings  covering  their 
face,  and  wings  covering  their  feet,  in  adoration  and  in  mystery. 

Now  as  to  the  text  itself,  it  speaks  of  the  Martyrs  in  their  disembodied 
state,  between  death  and  judgment ;  according  to  the  foregoing  verse, 
"  the  souls  of  them  that  were  slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the 
testimony  which  they  held."  It  describes  them  in  a  state  of  rest ;  still 
they  cry  out  for  some  relief,  for  vengeance  upon  their  persecutors.  They 
are  told  to  wait  awhile,  "  to  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,"  till  the  circle  of 
Martyrs  is  completed.  Meantime  they  receive  some  present  earnest  of 
the  promise,  by  way  of  alleviation  ;  "  white  robes  were  given  unto  every 
one  of  them." 


662  THE   INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  [Sirm. 

Some  men  will  say  that  this  is  all  figurative,  and  means  merely  that 
the  blood  of  the  Martyrs,  crying  now  for  vengeance,  will  be  requited 
on  their  murderers  at  the  last  day.  I  cannot  persuade  myself  thus  to 
dismiss  so  solemn  a  passage.  It  seems  a  presumption  to  say  of  dim 
notices  about  the  unyeen  world,  "  they  only  mean  this  or  that,"  as  if  one 
had  ascended  into  the  third  heaven,  or  had  stood  before  the  throne  of 
God.  No  ;  I  see  herein  a  deep  mystery,  a  hidden  truth,  which  I  cannot 
handle  or  define,  shining  "  as  jewels  at  the  bottom  of  the  great  deep,"* 
darkly  and  tremulously,  yet  really  there.  And  for  this  very  reason, 
while  it  is  neither  pious  nor  thankful  to  explain  away  the  words  which 
convey  it,  while  it  is  a  duty  to  use  them,  not  less  a  duty  is  it  to  use 
them  humbly,  diffidently,  and  teachably,  with  the  thought  of  God  be- 
fore us,  and  of  our  own  nothingness. 

Under  these  feelings  I  shall  now  attempt  to  comment  upon  the  text, 
and  with  reference  to  the  Intermediate  State  of  which  it  seems  plainly 
to  speak.  But  it  will  be  best  rather  to  use  it  as  sanctioning  and  con- 
necting our  anticipations  of  that  State,  as  drawn  from  more  obvious 
passages  of  Scripture,  than  to  venture  to  infer  anything  from  it  in  the 
first  instance.  Also,  though  it  directly  speaks  of  the  Martyrs,  it  may 
be  profitably  applied  to  the  case  of  all  Saints  whatever  ;  for,  the  Mar- 
tyrs being  types  and  first  fruits  of  all,  what  is  true  to  them,  is  per- 
chance in  some  sense  true  also  of  their  brethren  ;  and  if  it  be  true  of 
any  at  least  all  antecedent  objections  vanish,  against  its  being  true  of 
all,  which  are  the  chief  arguments  we  shall  have  to  contend  with.  Now 
let  us  proceed  to  the  consideration  proposed. 

St.  John  says  : — "  I  saw  under  the  Altar  the  souls  of  them  that  were 
slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  which  they  held  ;  and 
they  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true, 
dost  Thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earth  ?  And  white  robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of  them,  and  it 
was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until 
their  fellow-servants  also  and  their  brethren,  that  should  be  killed  as 
they  were,  should  be  fulfilled." 

1.  Now  first  in  this  passage  we  are  told  that  the  Saints  are  at  rest. 
'•  White  robes  wore  given  unto  every  one  of  them."  "  It  was  said  unto 
them  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season."  This  is  expressed 
still  more  strongly  in  a  later  passage  of  the  same  book  :  "blessed  arc 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  hard  from  henceforth.  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
^.hat  they  maij  rest  frojn  their  labours.'"  Again,  St.  Paul  had  a  desire 
■"to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  (he  adds)  is  far  better."     And 

*  Davison  on  Sacrifice. 


XXV.]  THE   INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  663 

our  Lord  told  the  penitent  robber,  '*  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  Me  in 
paradise."  And  in  the  parable  He  represents  Lazarus  as  being  "i/» 
Abraham''s  bosom;"  a  place  of  rest  surely,  if  words  can  describe  one. 

If  we  had  no  other  notice  of  the  dead  than  the  foregoing,  it  would 
appear  quite  sutRcient  for  our  need.  The  great  and  anxious  question 
that  meets  us,  is,  what  is  to  become  of  us  after  this  life.  We  fear  for 
ourselves,  we  are  solicitous  about  our  friends  just  on  this  point.  They 
have  vanished  from  us  with  all  their  amiable  and  endearing  qualities, 
all  their  virtues,  all  their  active  powers.  AVhere  is  that  spirit  gone, 
over  the  wide  universe,  up  or  down,  which  once  thought,  felt,  loved, 
hoped,  planned,  acted  in  our  sight,  and  which  wherever  it  goes,  must 
carry  with  it  the  same  affections  and  principles,  desires  and  aims?  We 
know  how  it  thought,  felt,  and  behaved  itself  on  earth ;  we  know  that 
beloved  mind,  and  it  knows  us,  with  a  mutual  consciousness; — and 
now  it  is  taken  from  us,  what  are  its  fortunes  ? — This  is  the  question 
which  perplexed  the  heathen  of  old  time.  It  is  fearful  to  be  exposed 
in  this  world  to  ills  we  know  of, — the  fury  of  the  elements  and  the 
darkness  of  night,  should  we  be  left  houseless  and  shelterless.  But 
when  we  think  how  utterly  ignorant  we  are  both  of  the  soul's  nature 
and  of  the  invisible  world,  the  idea  of  losing  friends,  or  departing  our- 
selves into  such  gloom,  is,  to  those  who  get  themselves  to  think  about 
it,  very  overpowering.  Now,  here  Scripture  meets  our  need,  in  the 
texts  already  cited.  It  is  enough,  surely,  to  be  in  Abraham's  bosom, 
in  our  Saviour's  presence  ;  it  is  enough,  after  the  pain  and  turmoil  of 
this  world,  to  be  at  rest. 

Moreover,  texts  such  as  these  do  more  than  satisfy  the  doubts  which 
beset  the  heathen  ;  they  are  useful  to  us  at  the  present  day,  in  the  per- 
plexity which  may  easily  befal  us.  A  great  part  of  the  Christian 
world,  as  is  well  known,  believes  that  after  this  life  the  souls  of  Chris- 
tians ordinarily  go  into  a  prison  called  Purgatory,  where  they  are  kept 
in  fire  or  other  torment,  till,  their  sins  being  burned  away,  they  are  at 
length  fitted  for  that  glorious  kingdom  into  which  nothing  defiled  can 
enter.  Now  if  there  were  any  good  reason  for  this  belief,  we  should 
certainly  have  a  very  sad  and  depressing  prospect  before  us  ; — watch 
and  pray,  and  struggle  as  we  might,  yet  after  all  to  have  to  pass  from 
the  sorrows  of  this  life,  from  its  weariness  and  its  pains,  into  a  second 
and  a  worse  trial !  Not  that  we  should  have  any  reason  to  complain  : 
for  our  sins  deserve  an  eternal  punishment,  were  God  severe.  Still 
it  would  be  a  very  afflicting  thought,  especially  as  regarded  our  de- 
ceased friends,  who  (if  the  doctrine  were  true)  would  now,  at 
this  very  moment,  be  in  a  state  of  suffering.  I  do  not  say  that  to 
many  a  sinner,  it  would  not  be  an  infinitely  less  evil  to  suffer  for  a 


664  THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  [Serh- 

time  in  Purgatorv,  than  to  be  cast  into  hell  for  ever ;  but  those  whom, 
we  have  loved  best,  and  revered  most,  arc  not  of  this  number  ;  and  be- 
fore going  on  to  examine  the  grounds  of  it,  every  one  must  admit  it 
to  be  a  very  frightful  notion  at  least,  that  they  should  be  kept  from  their 
rest,  and  confined  in  a  prison  beneath  the  earth.  Nay,  though  the 
Bible  did  not  positively  affirm  it,  yet  if  it  did  not  contradict  it,  and  i£ 
the  opinion  itself  was  very  general  in  the  Church  (as  it  is,)  and  primi- 
tive too  (as  it  is  not,)  there  would  be  enough  in  it  reasonably  to  alarm 
us;  for  who  could  tell  in  such  a  case,  but  probably  it  might  be  true? 
This  is  what  might  have  been  ;  but  in  fact,  Christ  has  mercifully  in- 
terfered, expressly  to  assure  us  that  our  friends  are  better  provided  for,, 
than  this  doctrine  would  make  it  appear.  He  assures  that  they  ^'■rest 
from  their  labours,  and  their  works  do  follow  them  ;"  and  we  gather 
from  the  text,  that  even  that  loneliness  and  gloom  which,  left  to  them- 
selves, they  would  necessarily  feel,  though  ever  so  secure  from  actual 
punishment,  may  in  truth,  be  mercifully  compensated.  The  sorrowful 
state  is  there  described,  in  which  they  would  find  themselves  when  sev- 
ered from  the  body,  and  waiting  for  the  promised  glory  at  Christ's 
coming,  and  they  are  represented  as  sustained  under  it,  soothed,  quiet- 
ed, consoled.  As  a  parent  would  hush  a  child's  restlessness,  cherish- 
ing it  in  her  arms,  and  lulling  it  to  sleep,  or  diverting  it  from  the  pain, 
or  the  fright  which  agitates  it,  so  the  season  of  delay,  before  Christ 
comes  in  judgment,  tedious  in  itself,  and  solitary,  is  compensated  to  the 
spirits  of  the  just  by  a  present  gift  in  earnest  of  the  future  joy.  "  How 
long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true."  Such  is  their  complaint.  "And  white 
robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of  them  ;  and  it  was  said  unto  them, 
that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,"  till  the  end. 

2.  Next,  in  this  description  is  implied,  what  I  have  in  fact  already 
deduced  from  it,  that  departed  Saints,  though  at  rest,  have  not  yet  re- 
ceived their  actual  reward.  ''  Their  works  do  follow  with  them,"  not 
yet  given  in  to  their  Saviour,  and  Judge.  They  are  in  an  incomplete 
state  in  every  way,  and  will  be  so  till  the  day  of  judgment,  which  will 
introduce  them  to  the  joy  of  their  Lord. 

They  are  incomplete,  inasmuch  as  their  bodies  arc  in  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  and  they  wait  for  the  Resurrection. 

They  are  incomplete,  as  being  neither  awake  nor  asleep ;  I  racan,- 
they  arc  in  a  state  of  rest,  not  in  the  full  employment  of  their  powers. 
The  Angels  are  serving  God  actively;  they  arc  ministers  between 
heaven  and  earth.  And  the  Saints,  too,  one  day  shall  judge  the  world, 
— they  shall  judge  the  fallen  Angels  ;  but  at  present,  till  the  end  comes,, 
they  are  at  rest  only,  which  is  enough  for  their  peace,  enough  for  our- 


XXV.]  THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  665 

comfort  on  thinking  of  them, — still,  incomplete,  compared  with  what 
one  day  shall  be. 

Further,  there  is  an  incompleteness  also  as  regards  their  place  of 
rest.  They  are  "  under  the  Altar."  Not  in  the  full  presence  of  God^ 
seeing  His  face,  and  rejoicing  in  His  works,  but  in  a  safe  and  holy 
treasure-house  close  by,  "  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock,"  as  Moses  was,  covered 
by  the  hand  of  God,  and  beholding  the  skirts  of  His  glory.  So  again, 
when  Lazarus  died,  he  was  carried  to  Abraham's  bosom  ; — which,  how- 
ever honoured  and  peaceful  an  abode,  was  a  place  short  of  heaven. 
This  is  elsewhere  expressed  by  the  use  of  the  word  "  paradise,"  or  the 
garden  of  Eden  ;  which,  again,  though  pure  and  peaceful,  visited  by 
Angels  and  by  God  himself,  was  not  heaven.  No  emblem  could  ex- 
press more  vividly  the  refreshment  and  sweetness  of  that  blessed  rest, 
than  to  call  it  the  garden  in  which  the  first  man  was  placed  ;— to 
which  must  be  added  St.  Paul's  account  of  it,  that  he  heard  in  it  (when 
he  was  caught  up  thither)  "  unspeakable  words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for 
a  man  to  utter."  *  Doubtless,  it  is  full  of  excellent  visions  and  wonder- 
ful revelations.  God  there  manifests  Himself,  not  as  on  earth  dimly, 
and  by  material  instruments,  but  by  those  more  intimate  approaches 
which  spirit  admits  of,  and  our  present  faculties  cannot  comprehend. 
And  in  some  unknown  way,  that  place  of  rest  has  a  communication  with, 
this  world,  so  that  disembodied  souls  know  what  is  going  on  below. 
The  Martyrs,  in  the  passage  before  us,  cry  out,  "  How  long,  O  Lord,, 
Holy  and  True,  dost  Thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?"  They  saw  what  was  going  on  in  the  Church, 
and  needed  comfort  from  the  sight  of  the  triumph  of  evil.  And  they 
obtained  white  robes  and  a  message  of  peace.  Still,  whatever  be  their 
knowledge,  whatever  their  happiness,  they  have  but  lost  their  tabernacle 
of  corruption,  and  are  "  unclothed,"  and  wait  to  be  "  clothed  upon," 
having  put  off"  mortality,"  but  not  yet  being  absorbed  in  "  life."t 

There  is  another  word  used  in  Scripture  to  express  the  abode  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  which  gives  us  the  same  meaning.  Our  Lord  is 
said  in  the  Creed  to  have  "  descended  into  /te//,"  which  word  has  a  very 
different  sense  there  from  that  which  it  commonly  bears.  Our  Savi- 
our, as  we  suppose,  did  not  go  to  the  abyss  assigned  to  the  fallen 
Angels,  but  to  those  mysterious  mansions  where  the  souls  of  all  men 
await  the  judgment.  That  He  went  to  the  abode  of  blessed  spirits,  ia 
evident,  from  His  words  addressed  to  the  robber  on  the  cross,  when  He 
also  called  it  paradise ;  that  He  went  to  some  other  place  besides 
paradise,  may  be  conjectured  from  St.  Peter's  saying.  He  "  went 
and    preached    to    the    spirits    in    prison,  who   had    once  been  dis- 

*  2  Cor.  xii.  4.  |  2  Cor.  v.  4. 


666  THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  [Sawi. 

obedient."*  The  circumstance  then  that  these  two  abodes  of  disem- 
bodied good  and  bad,  are  called  by  one  name,  Hades,  or  (as  we  happen 
to  express  it)  hell,  seems  clearly  to  show  that  paradise  is  not  the  same 
as  Heaven,  but  a  resting-place  at  the  foot  of  it.  Let  it  be  further  re- 
marked, that  Samuel,  when  brought  from  the  dead,  in  the  witch's  ca- 
vern, said,  '  Why  hast  thou  disquieted  me,  to  bring  me  up  ?"  words 
which  would  seem  quite  inconsistent  with  his  being  then  already  in 
Heaven. 

Once  more,  the  Intermediate  State  is  incomplete  as  regards  the 
happiness  of  the  Saints.  Before  our  Lord  came,  it  may  be  supposed 
even  to  have  admitted  at  times  of  a  measure  of  disquiet,  and  that  in  the 
case  of  the  greatest  Saints  themselves,  though  most  surely  still  they 
were  altogether  "  in  God's  hand  ;"  for  Samuel  says,  "  Why  hast  thou 
disquieted  me,  to  bring  me  up  ?"  Perchance  our  Lord  reversed  this 
imperfection  at  his  coming,  and  took  with  Him,  even  in  their  bodies,  to 
heaven  itself,  some  principal  Saints  of  the  Old  Covenant  ;  according 
to  St.  Matthew's  intimation.  But  even  now,  as  it  would  appear  from 
the  text,  the  Blessed,  in  their  disembodied  state,  admit  of  an  increase  of 
happiness,  and  receive  it.  "  They  cried  out"  in  complaint — and 
"  white  robes  were  given  them ;"  they  were  soothed,  and  bid  wait 
awhile. 

Nor  would  it  be  surprising,  if  in  God's  gracious  providence,  the  very 
purpose  of  their  remaining  thus  for  a  season  at  a  distance  from  heaven, 
were,  that  they  may  have  time  for  growing  in  all  holy  things,  and  per- 
fecting the  inward  development  of  the  good  seed  sown  in  their  hearts. 
The  Psalmist  speaks  of  the  righteous  as  "  trees  planted  by  the  rivers  of 
water,  that  bring  forth  their  fruit  in  due  season  ;"  and  when  might  this 
silent  growth  of  holiness  more  suitably  and  happily  take  place,  ban 
when  they  are  waiting  for  the  Day  of  the  Lord,  removed  from  those 
trials  and  temptations  which  were  necessary  for  its  early  beginnings  ? 
Consider  how  many  men  are  very  dark  and  feeble  in  their  religious 
state,  when  they  depart  hence,  though  true  servants  of  God. as  far  as 
they  go.  Alas !  I  know  that  the  multitude  of  men  do  not  think  of 
religion  at  all ; — they  are  thoughtless  in  their  youth,  and  secular  as  life 
goes  on  ; — they  find  their  interest  lie  in  adopting  a  decent  profession  ; 
they  deceive  themselves,  and  think  themselves  religious,  and  (to  all 
appearance)  die  with  no  deeper  religion  than  such  a  profession  implies. 
Alas  !  there  are  many  also,  who,  after  careless  lives,  amend,  yet  not 
truly  ; — think  they  repent,  but  do  not  in  a  Christian  way.  There  are 
a  number  too,  who  leave  repentance  for  their  death-bed,  and  die  with 
no  fruits  of  religion  at  all,  except  with  so  much  of  subdued  and  serious 

»  1  Pet.  iii.  19,  20.  t  1  Sara,  xxviii.  15. 


XXV.]  THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  667 

feeling  as  pain  forces  upon  them.  All  these,  as  far  as  we  are  told,  die 
without  hope.  But,  after  all  these  melancholy  cases  are  allowed  for, 
many  there  are  still,  who,  beginning  well,  and  persevering  for  years, 
yet  are  even  to  the  end  but  beginners  after  all,  when  death  comes 
upon  them  ; — many  who  have  been  in  circumstances  of  especial  diffi- 
culty, who  have  had  fiercer  temptations,  more  perplexing  trials  than 
the  rest,  and  in  consequence  have  been  impeded  in  their  course.  Nay, 
in  one  sense,  all  Christians  die  with  their  work  unfinished.  Let  them 
have  chastened  themselves  all  their  lives  long,  and  hved  in  faith  and 
obedience,  yet  still  there  is  much  in  them  unsubdued, — much  pride, 
much  ignorance,  much  unrepentcd,  unknown  sin,  much  inconsistency, 
much  irregularity  in  prayer,  much  lightness  and  frivolity  of  thought. 
Who  can  tell  then,  but,  in  God's  mercy,  the  time  of  waiting  between 
death  and  Christ's  coming,  may  be  profitable  to  those  who  have  been 
His  true  servants  here,  as  a  time  of  maturing  that  fruit  of  grace,  but 
partly  formed  in  them  in  this  life, — a  school-time  of  contemplation,  as 
this  world  is  a  discipline  of  active  service  1  Such,  surely,  is  the  force 
of  the  Apostle's  words,  that  "  He  that  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  us, 
will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ,"  until  not  at,  not  stopping 
it  with  death,  but  carrying  it  on  to  the  Resurrection.  And  this,  which 
will  be  accorded  to  all  Saints,  will  be  profitable  to  each  in  proportion 
to  the  degree  of  holiness  in  which  he  dies  ;  for,  as  we  are  expressly 
told,  that  in  one  sense  the  spirits  of  the  just  are  perfected  on  their  death, 
it  follows  that  the  greater  advance  each  has  made  here,  the  higher  will 
be  the  line  of  his  subsequent  growth  between  death  and  the  Resur- 
rection. 

And  all  this  accounts  for  what  else  may  surprise  us, — the  especial 
stress  the  Apostles  lay  on  the  coming  of  Christ,  as  the  object  to  which 
our  hope  must  be  directed.  We  are  used  in  this  day  to  look  upon 
death  as  the  point  of  victory  and  triumph  for  the  Saints ; — we  leave 
the  thought  of  them  when  life  is  over,  as  if  then  there  was  nothing 
more  to  be  anxious  about ;  nor  in  one  sense  is  there.  Then  they  are 
secure  from  trial,  from  falling  ;  as  they  die,  so  they  remain.  Still,  it 
will  be  found,  on  the  whole,  that  death  is  not  the  object  put  forward  in 
Scripture  for  hope  to  rest  upon,  but  the  coming  of  Christ,  as  if  the 
interval  between  death  and  His  coming  was  by  no  means  to  be  omit- 
ted in  the  process  of  our  preparation  for  heaven.  Now,  if  the  sacred 
writers  uniformly  hold  out  Christ's  coming,  but  we  consider  death  as 
the  close  of  all  things,  is  it  not  plain  that,  in  spite  of  our  apparent 
agreement  with  them  in  formal  statements  of  doctrine,  there  must  be 
some  hidden  and  undetected  difference  between  them  and  ourselves, 
some  unfounded  notion  on  our  part  which   we  have  inherited,  some 


668  THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  [Seru 

assumed  premiss,  some  lurking  prejudice,  some  earthly  temper,  or  some 
mere  human  principle  2  For  instance,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  Corin- 
thians as  ^^  waiting  for  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  To  the 
Philippians  he  says,  "  Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven,  from  whence  also 
we  look  out  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  change 
our  vile  body."  In  his  first  epistle  to  the  Thcssalonians,  he  seems  to 
make  this  waiting  for  the  Last  day  almost  part  of  his  definition  of  a 
true  Christian  ;  "  Ye  turned  to  God  from  idols,  to  serve  the  living  and 
true  God,  and  to  wait  for  His  Son  from  heaven.'^  In  his  epistle  to 
Titus,  "  Looking  for  that  blessed  hope  and  glorious  appearing  of  our 
great  God  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ."  To  the  Hebrews,  "  Unto  them 
that  look  for  Him,  shall  Christ  appear  the  second  time  without  sin  unto 
salvation."  Again,  ''  Ye  have  need  of  patience,  that,  after  ye  have 
done  the  will  of  God,  ye  might  receive  the  promise.  For  yet  a  little 
while,  and  He  that  shall  come  will  come  and  will  not  tarry."  And  to 
the  Romans,  "  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  the  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  M^th  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us,'' 
i.  e.  at  the  Resurrection  ;  "  for  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature 
waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God.  .  .  .  We  ourselves 
groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption 
of  our  body  ;"  and  presently  ho  adds,  evidently  speaking  of  things  be- 
longing to  the  unseen  world,  and  (as  we  may  suppose)  the  Inter- 
mediate State  inclusively,  "  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor 
life,  nor  Angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord."  Again,  "  He  that  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus,  shall  raise  up  tis  also 
by  Jesus,  and  shall  present  us  with  you.  Our  light  affliction,  wliich  is 
but  for  a  moment,  workcth  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory.  .  .  .  For  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  Now,  how  parallel  is  this  waiting 
for  Christ's  coming,  as  inculcated  in  the  foregoing  passages  to  the 
actual  conduct  of  the  Saints  as  recorded  in  the  passage  of  which  the 
text  forms  part !     '^  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not 

judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth 

And  white  robes  were  given  uuto  every  one  of  them,  until  their  fellow - 
servants  also,  and  their  brethren,  that  should  be  killed  as  they  were, 
should  be  fulfilled  :" — and  with  our  Saviour's  words  in  the  Gospel, 
"Shall  not  God  avenge  His  own  elect,  which  cry  day  and  night  unto 
Him,  though  He  bear  long  with  them  ?  I  tell  you  that  He  will  avenge 
them  speedily.     Nevertheless,  when  the  Son  of  man  cometh,"  (Christ's 


XXV.]  THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  669 

-coming  then  is  the  "  avenging  "  for  which  they  cry,)  "  when  the  Son 
of  man  cometh,  shall  He  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?"* 

This,  indeed,  is  our  Saviour's  usual  doctrine,  as  well  as  His  Apos- 
tles'. I  mean,  it  is  His  custom  to  insist  on  two  events  chiefly — His 
first  coming  and  his  second — our  regeneration  and  our  resurrection, — 
throwing  into  the  back  ground  the  prospect  of  our  death,  as  if  it  were 
but  a  line  of  distinction,  (liowever  momentous  a  one,)  not  of  division,  in 
the  extended  course  of  our  purification.  For  example:  "The  hour  is 
coming,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  t\\ey  that  hear  shall  live  ;" — the  dead  in  sin :  here,  then,  our 
regeneration  is  set  forth.  Then  He  proceeds  :  "  The  hour  is  coming  in 
the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come 
forth  ;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life,  and 
they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation."  Here  is 
mentioned  His  second  coming,  with  its  attendant  events.  Again  :  "  In 
My  Father's  house  are  many  mansions  ;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have 
told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you  ;  and  if  I  go  and  prepare 
u  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto  Myself,  that 
where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also.  And  in  the  parable  of  the  talents : 
"  A  certain  nobleman  went  into  a  far  country,  to  receive  for  himself  a 
kingdom  and  to  return ;  and  he  called  his  ten  servants,  and  delivered 
Ihem  ten  pounds,  and  said  unto  them,  Occupy  till  I  come."t  Here  is 
mention  of  Christ's  first  and  His  second  coming.  It  is  not  uncommon 
indeed  to  say,  that  "  till  I  come"  means  "  till  every  man's  death," 
when  in  a  certain  sense  Christ  comes  to  him:  but  surely  this  is  a  mere 
human  assumption  ;  the  time  of  judgment,  and  not  before,  is  the  time 
when  Christ  calls  His  servants  and  takes  account. 

Lastly,  it  is  the  manner  of  Scripture  to  imply  that  all  Saints  make  up 
l)ut  one  body,  Christ  being  the  Head,  and  no  real  distinction  existing 
between  dead  and  living  ;  as  if  the  Church's  territory  were  a  vast  field, 
only  with  a  veil  stretched  across  it,  hiding  part  from  us.  This  at  least, 
I  think,  will  be  the  impression  left  on  the  mind  after  a  careful  study  of 
the  inspired  writers.  St.  Paul  says,  "  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Fa- 
ther of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  named,"  where  "heaven"  would  seem  to  include  paradise. 
Presently  he  declares  that  there  is  but  "  one  body,"  not  i v.o,  as  there 
is  but  one  Spirit.  In  another  Epistle  he  speaks  of  Christians  in  the 
flesh  being  "  come  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  the  spirits  of  just 

»  I  Cor  i.  7.     Phil.  iii.  20,  21.     1  Thcss.  i.  9,  10.     Tit.  ii.  13.     Heb.  ix.  23;  x. 
36,  37.     Rom.  viii.  18—39.     2  Cor.  iv.  14-17 ;  v.  1.     Luke  xviii.  7,  8. 
+  John  V.  25—29  ;  xiv-  2,  3.     Luke  lix.  12,  13. 


670  THE   INTERMEDIATE  STATE,  [Skrm. 

men  made  perfect."*  Agreeably  to  this  doctrine,  the  collect  for  All 
Saints'  day  teaches  us  that  "  Almighty  God  has  knit  together  his  elect,'^ 
(that  is,  both  living  and  dead,)  "  in  one  communion  and  fellowship  in 
the  mystical  body  of  His  Son." 

This  then,  on  the  whole,  we  may  humbly  believe  to  be  the  condition 
of  the  Saints  before  the  Resurrection,  a  state  of  repose,  rest,  security  ; 
but  again  a  state  more  like  paradise  than  heaven, — that  is,  a  state 
which  comes  short  of  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us  after  the 
Resurrection,  a  state  of  waiting,  meditation,  hope,  in  which  what  has 
been  sown  on  earth  may  be  matured  and  completed. 

I  will  make  one  remark  before  concluding,  by  way  of  applying  what 
has  been  said  to  ourselves.  There  have  been  times,  we  know,  when 
men  thought  too  much  of  the  dead.  That  is  not  the  fault  of  this  age. 
We  now  go  into  the  opposite  extreme.  Our  fault  surely  is,  to  think  of 
them  too  little.  It  is  a  miserable  thing  to  confess,  yet  surely  so  it  is, 
that  when  a  friend  or  relative  is  dead,  he  is  commonly  dismissed  from 
the  mind  very  shortly,  as  though  he  was  not ;  there  is  no  more  talk  of 
him,  or  reference  to  him,  and  the  world  goes  on  without  him  as  if  he 
had  never  been.  Now,  of  course  the  deepest  feelings  are  those  which 
are  silent ;  so  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  friends  are  not  thought  of,  be- 
cause they  are  not  talked  of.  How  could  it  be  ?  Can  any  form  of  so- 
ciety or  any  human  doctrine  fetter  down  our  hearts,  and  make  us  think 
and  remember  as  it  will  ?  Can  the  tyranny  of  earth  hinder  our  hold- 
ing a  blessed  and  ever-enduring  fellowship  with  those  who  are  dead,  by 
consulting  their  wishes,  and  dwelling  upon  their  image,  and  trying  to 
imitate  them,  and  imagining  their  peaceful  state,  and  sympathizing  in 
their  "  loud  cry,"  and  hoping  to  meet  them  hereafter  ?  No,  truly '. 
we  have  a  more  glorious  liberty  than  man  can  take  from  us,  with  all 
the  sophistries  of  selfishness,  and  subtleties  of  the  schools  !  I  do  not 
speak  of  the  tender-hearted,  affectionate,  and  thoughtful.  They  can- 
not forget  the  departed,  whose  presence  they  once  enjoyed,  and  who, 
(in  Scripture  language,)  though  "absent  in  the  body,  are  present  with 
them  in  spirit,"  '•  joying  and  beholding  their  order  and  the  steadfast- 
ness of  their  faith  in  Christ. "f  But  I  speak  of  the  many,  the  rude,, 
cold,  and  scornful,  the  worldly-minded,  the  gay,  and  the  careless  ; 
whose  ordinary  way  it  is,  when  a  friend  is  removed,  to  put  aside  the 
thought  of  him,  and  blot  it  out  from  their  memories. 

Let  me  explain  what  I  mean  by  an  instance,  which  is  not  uncommon. 
We  will  say,  a  parent  or  relative  dies  and  leaves  a  man  a  property  : — 
he  comes  into  it  gladly  j  buries  the  dead  splendidly ;  and  then  thinking 

»Eph.  iii.  14,  15;  iv.  4.     Ilcb.  22,  23.  t  1  Cor.  v.  3.     Col.  ii.  5. 


XXV.]  THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  671 

he  has  done  all,  he  wipes  out  what  is  past,  and  enters  upon  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  benefaction.  He  is  not  profuse  or  profligate,  proud  or  pe- 
nurious, but  he  thinks  and  acts  in  all  respects  as  if  he,  to  whom  he  is 
indebted,  were  annihilated  from  God's  creation.  He  has  no  obligations. 
He  was  dependent  before,  but  now  he  is  independent  ;  he  is  his  own 
master  ;  he  ceases  to  be  in  the  number  of  "  little  children."  Like  the 
Corinthians,  *'  now  he  is  full,  now  he  is  rich,  he  reigns  as  a  king  with- 
out "  those  to  whom  he  once  was  forced  to  submit.  He  is  the  head  of 
(what  is  called  )  an  establishment.  If  he  ever  speaks  of  the  dead,  it  is 
in  a  way  half  kind,  half  contemptuous,  as  of  those  who  are  helpless  and 
useless,  as  he  would  speak  of  men  still  living  who  were  in  dotage  or  in 
mental  incapacity.  You  hear,  even  the  most  good- hearted  and  kindly 
(such  is  the  force  of  bad  example)  speak  in  this  disrespectful  way  of 
old  people  they  knew  in  their  youth,  not  meaning  anything  by  it,  but 
still,  doubtless,  cherishing  in  themselves  thereby  a  very  subtle  kind  of 
hardness,  selfishness,  superciliousness,  self-gratulation.  Men  little  think 
what  an  effect  all  this  has  on  their  general  character.  It  teaches  them 
to  limit  their  belief  to  what  they  see.  They  give  up  a  most  gracious 
means  divinely  provided  for  their  entering  into  "  that  which  is  within 
the  veil,"  and  seeing  beyond  the  grave  ; —  and  they  learn  to  be  con- 
tented in  uniting  themselves  with  things  visible, —  in  connections  and 
alliances  which  come  to  nought.  Moreover,  this  same  error  casts  them 
upon  the  present  instead  of  the  past.  They  lose  their  reverence  for 
antiquity  ; — they  change  the  plans  and  works  of  their  predecessors  with- 
out scruple  ;  they  enjoy  the  benefactions  of  past  ages  without  thank- 
fulness, as  if,  by  a  sort  of  right ;  they  worship  in  churches  for  which 
"  other  men  laboured"  without  thinking  of  them  ;  they  forget  they  have 
but  a  life-interest  in  what  they  possess,  that  they  have  received  it  in 
trust,  and  must  transmit  as  they  have  received. 

On  the  other  hand,  while  the  thought  of  the  dead  is  thus  a  restraint 
upon  us,  it  is  also  a  great  consolation,  especially  in  this  age  of  the  world, 
when  the  Universal  Church  has  fallen  into  errors  and  is  divided  branch 
against  branch.  What  shall  sustain  our  faith  (under  God's  grace)  when 
we  try  to  adhere  to  the  Ancient  Truth  and  seem  solitary  ?  What  shall 
nerve  the  "  watchmen  on  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,"  against  the  scorn  and 
jealousy  of  the  world,  the  charge  of  singularity,  of  fancifulness,  of  ex- 
travagance, of  rashness  ?  What  shall  keep  us  calm  and  peaceful  with- 
in, when  accused  of  "  troubling  Israel,"  and  "  prophesying  evil  ?" 
What  but  the  vision  of  all  Saints  of  all  ages,  whose  steps  we  follow  ? 
What  but  the  image  of  Christ  mystical  stamped  upon  our  hearts  and 
memories?  The  early  times  of  purity  and  truth  have  not  passed  away  ! 
they  are  present  still !    We  are  not  solitary,  though  we  seem  so.     Fe\r 


672  THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  [Sbrm.  XXV. 

now  alive  may  understand  or  sanction  us  ;  but  those  multitudes  in  the 
primitive  time,  who  believed,  and  taught,  and  worshipped,  as  we  do,  still 
live  unto  God,  and,  in  their  past  deeds  and  their  present  voices,  cry 
from  the  Altar.  They  animate  us  by  their  example  ;  they  cheer  us  by 
their  company  ;  they  are  on  our  right  hand  and  our  left.  Martyrs,  Con- 
fessors, and  the  like,  high  and  low,  who  used  the  same  Creeds,  and  cele- 
brated the  same  Mysteries,  and  preached  the  same  Gospel  as  we  do. 
And  to  them  were  joined,  as  ages  went  on,  even  in  fallen  times,  nay, 
even  now  in  times  of  division,  fresh  and  fresh  witnesses  from  the  Church 
below.  In  the  world  of  spirits  there  is  no  difference  of  parties.  It  is 
our  plain  duty  indeed  here,  to  contend  even  for  the  details  of  the  Truth 
according  to  our  light ;  and  surely  there  is  a  Truth  in  spite  of  the  dis- 
■cordance  of  opinions.  But  that  Truth  is  at  length  simply  discerned  by 
the  spirits  of  the  just;  human  additions,  human  institutions,  human 
enactments,  enter  not  with  them  into  the  unseen  state.  They  are  put 
oft"  with  the  flesh.  Greece  and  Rome,  England  and  France,  give  no 
colour  to  those  souls  which  have  been  cleansed  in  the  One  Baptism, 
nourished  by  the  One  Body,  and  moulded  upon  the  One  Faith.  Ad- 
versaries agree  together  directly  they  are  dead,  if  they  have  lived  and 
walked  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  harmonies  combine  and  fill  the  tem- 
ple, while  discords  and  imperfections  die  awaj'.  Therefore  is  it  good 
to  throw  ourselves  into  the  unseen  world,  it  is  "  good  to  be  there,"  and 
to  build  tabernacles  for  those  who  speak  "  a  pure  language"  and  "  serve 
the  Lord  with  one  consent  ;"  not  indeed  to  draw  them  forth  from  their 
secure  dwelling-places,  not  irreverently  to  address  them,  or  wilfully  to 
rely  on  them,  lest  they  be  a  snare  to  us,  but  silently  to  contemplate 
them  for  our  edification  ;  thereby  encouraging  our  faith,  enlivening  our 
patience,  sheltering  us  from  thoughts  about  ourselves,  keeping  us  from 
restijjg  on  ourselves  and  making  us  seem  to  ourselves  (what  really  we 
ought  ev<>r  to  bo)  but  followers  of  the  doctrine  of  those  who  have  gone 
before  us,  not  teachers  of  novelties,  not  founders  of  schools. 

God  grant  to  us  all,  out  of  the  superabundant  treasures  of  His  grace, 
such  a  spirit,  !h  ■  spirit  of  mingled  teachableness  and  zeal,  of  calmness 
in  inquiry  and  vigour  in  resolve,  of  power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound 
mind  ! 


NOTES. 

ON  SERMON  I.— P.  581. 


The  view  of  Lot's  character  taken  in  this  Sermon  having  been  questioned  ia 
the  British  Magazine,  a  kind  friend,  under  the  signature  of  E.  B.  P.,  made 
the  following  remarks  upon  it,  which  are  here,  with  the  writer's  leave  reprinted. 
"  Mr.  Newman  selected  the  example  of  Lot ;  not  with  any  thought  of  dis- 
paraging one  whom  God  had  pronounced  a  'just'  man,  but  to  show  wherein  he 
fell  short  of  a  yet  higher  pattern,  which  is  set  forth  to  us  of  him  whose  chQ- 
dren  we  are  as  long  as  we  walk  in  the  steps  of  his  faith — the  father  of  the 
faithful — faithful  Abraham.  The  very  value  of  the  warning  held  out  to  us,  in 
this  respect,  by  the  history  of  Lot,  consists  in  this,  that  he  was,  indeed,  a  good 
and  righteous  man  ;  but,  being  such,  he  continually  lost  opportunities  of  rising 
to  a  higher  state,  and  so,  finally,  fell  so  very  far  short  of  the  faith  of  Abraham, 
the  '  friend  of  God.'  The  summary  of  Mr.  N.'s  view  of  the  character  of 
Lot  is  this, — that  he,  as  well  as  Abraham,  believed  God,  and  obeyed  him,  when 
his  commands  were  direct  and  express;  that,  even  under  the  miserable  circum- 
stances under  which  he  placed  himself,  he  did  not  forfeit  his  integrity  ;  he 
remained  in  Sodom,  a  worshipper  of  the  one  true  God  among  infidels, — kind 
among  the  hard-hearted,  pure  among  the  brutish.  And  this,  doubtless,  was 
much ;  at  least,  if  one  contrasts  the  indifference  with  which  even  many  respec- 
table persons  allow  themselves  to  become  inured  to  sin,  which  they  witness 
frequently,  with  his  feelings,  who,  '  in  seeing  and  hearing,  vexed  his  righteous 
soul  from  day  to  day  with  their  unlawful  deeds.'  Or  again,  if  we  compare  his 
diligence  in  receiving  strangers  (so  that  he  sat  till  eventide  at  the  gate  of 
Sodom,  awaiting  if  any  should  pass  by  that  way)  with  the  indolence  and 
sparing  of  personal  pains  which  characterizes  most  of  this  day's  charity,  we 
shall  see  some  of  the  value  of  his  example.  And  these  are  the  points  for 
which  he  is  praised  in  holy  Scripture — his  lothing  sin,  although  in  the  midst  of 
it ;  his  being  '  vexed  with  the  filthy  conversation  of  the  wicked,'  although 
accustomed  to  it ;  and,  again,  his  habitual  self-denying  care  of  strangers, 
whence  '  he  entertained  angels  unawares.'  Lot's  particular  virtues  stand  out 
as  a  beacon  to  us,  like  the  purity  of  Joseph,  the  energy  of  Samson,  the  wisdom 
of  Solomon,  the  tranquil  reflectiveness  of  Isaac,  the  self-denying  unambitious- 
ness  of  Gideon,  the  early  piety  and  consequent  evenness  of  character  of 
Samuel,  as  so  many  several  portions  of  the  complete  Christian  character. 
The  several  graces  were  in  a  remarkable  degree,  far  beyond  what  we  should 
have  expected,  developed  in  God's  servants  under  the  old  dispensation,  many 
'Of  whom  thereby  became  in  their  several  ways  types  of  Him  who  was  all 
Vol.  II.— 43 


674  NOTE  ON  SERMON  I. 

holiness,  and  are  unitedly  the  patterns  for  us.  We  need  not  fear,  then,  dispa- 
raging this  their  excellence  and  appointed  end,  by  adverting  to  other  points 
•wherein  any  of  them  seem  to  be  pointed  out  as  having  come  short.  Lot's 
faithfulness  among  the  faithless  is  a  protest  against  sinful  compliance  with  the 
world's  maxims  ;  his  deliverance,  a  pledge  that  '  God  knoweth  how  to  deliver 
the  godly  out  of  temptation  ;'  the  reward  of  his  hospitality,  an  encouragement 
to  toilsome  care  of  strangers  ;  for  so  we,  too,  may  entertain  not  angels  only 
unawares,  but  may  '  take'  our  Lord  also  '  in  ;'  and  yet,  witii  all  this,  his  exam- 
ple, like  David's,  may  be  in  other  respects  a  warning  not  to  follow,  but  to  avoid. 
We  have  but  one  perfect  exemplar.  Placed  then  under  the  same  outward 
circumstances  as  Abraham,  carried  through  his  first  trial  by  a  ready  acquies- 
cence* in  Abraham's  parental  guidance  and  commanding  faith,  he  yet  fell  far 
short  of  him.  No  one  would  think  of  comparing  Lot  with  the  father  of  the 
faithful  and  the  friend  of  God.  Rather  he  seems  in  part  to  stand  by  him  the 
more  to  illustrate  Abraham's  superior  faith.  Wherein,  then,  consisted  the 
difference  1  In  that,  when  the  occasion  was  offered  him,  he  preferred  present 
ease,  comfort,  wealth,!  and,  although  without  direct  sin,  yet  made  them  irre- 
spectively of  holiness,  the  objects  of  his  choice.  Though  a  stranger  and  a 
pilgrim,  he  sought  a  home  ;  he  entangled  himself  in  the  affairs  of  this  life  ; 
and  so,  though  'saved  as  by  fire'  from  the  consequences  of  his  choice,  yet  he 
'suffered  loss,'  fell  short  of  the  '  exceeding  great  reward'  of  Abraham's  single- 
hearted  perseverance,  remained  altogether  upon  a  lower  level  of  attainment, 
and  receives  a  far  lower  measure  of  the  praise  of  God.  From  the  time  that 
he  separates  from  Abraham,  and  chooses  to  dwell  among  the  evil  inhabitants 
of  the  plain,  we  hear  of  nothing  but  loss  and  disgrace — first,  captivity  ;  then 
loss  of  all  for  the  sake  whereof  he  had  made  this  unhappy  choice ;  every  one 
immediately  connected  with  him  a  dishonour  ;  his  sons-in-law  perish  as  pro- 
fane unbelievers ;  his  wife  a  proverb  and  a  monument  of  God's  displeasure  on 
xinsteadfastness  ;  his  daughters  named  only  as  connected  with  shame,  compass- 
ing the  continuance  of  their  race  by  dreadful,  unholy  means,  and  so  receiving 
the  reward  of  such  self-wise  ways  in  the  parentage  of  a  savage  race,  excluded 
from  and  persecutors  of  '  the  congregation  of  the  Lord ;'  himself  though 
spared  for  the  sake  of  another,  yet  a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond  upon  the 
earth,  fleeing  in  alarm  from  the  city  which,   in  weakness  of  faith,  he  had 

*  Gen.  x'n.i.  "  And  Lot  v/cntwith  him."    VerseS.    "  And  Abram  <ooA  Lot."    St.Chrys.ad^ 
loc.  Horn.  xxxi.  §  5,  ed.  Ben.     Perhaps  because  he  was  young,  and  he  ( Abram)  was  in  the 
place  of  a  father  to  him  ;  and  Lot  also,  through  natural  affection  and  gentleness  of  manners^ 
could  not  readily  tear  himself  from  the  just  rr.an  ;  therefore  he  could  not  leave  him. 

This  is  clearly  implied  by  Scripture  as  Lot's  motive.  "  And  Lot  lift  up  his  eyes  and 
beheld  all  the  plain  of  Jordan  that  it  was  well  watered  everywhere,  (before  the  Lord  de- 
stroyed Sodom  and  Gomorrah,)  even  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord.  Then  Lot  chose  him  all 
the  plain  of  Jordan  ;  nor  is  blame  less  implied  in  the  strong  notice  of  the  exceeding  sinful- 
ness of  Sodom,  in  this  place,  when  it  stands  altogether  detached  from  the  account  of  their 
punishment.  "  And  Lot  dwelled  in  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and  pitched  his  tent  towards 
Sodom  ;  but  the  men  of  Sodom  were  wicked  and  sinners  before  the  Lord  exceedingly." 
We  may  not  look  upon  such  juxta-position  as  without  its  meaning ;  the  statement,  a.^  it 
stands  here,  obviously  contains  a  reflection  on  Lot's  conduct,  and  is  disconnected  from 
everything  besides. 


NOTE  ON  SERMON  I.  676 

implored  leave  to  stop  short  in,  and  not  even  thus  returning  in  his  poverty  to 
Abraham's  holy  household,  which  for  wealth  he  had  left.  Surely,  it  is  not 
without  evident  warning,  that  all  this  accumulated  misery  is  related  to  have 
over-spread  his  latter  years  ;  that  disgrace,  such  as  is  not  known  even  among 
the  heathen,  was  allowed  to  attach  to  this  servant  of  God,  was  stamped  by  his 
daughters  upon  the  very  name  and  front,  upon  their  children  and  people  ;  and  yet 
we  are  not  told  of  the  repentance  of  their  father  :  of  him  and  Esau  alone  we  hear 
not,  while  of  1  shmael  we  hear,  that  '  he  was  gathered  to  his  fathers. '  They  died, 
as  their  descendants  lived,  shut  out  from  '  the  congregation  of  the  Lord.'  It  is 
again  remarkable,  that  Scripture,  which  speaks  of  the  office  assigned  to  other 
holy  men  in  an  evil  generation,  (as  to  Noah,  the  preacher  of  righteousness,') 
assigns  no  office,  no  duties,  to  Lot  in  Sodom.  His  dwelling  there  was  self- 
chosen,  and  so  God  (as  far  as  it  appears)  employed  him  not  ;  he  came  forth 
as  he  went  in,  not  having  gained  one  single  soul  by  his  renewed  stay,  but 
having  in  weakness  of  faith*  oifered  to  destruction  two  of  his  family  ;  and  his 
very  wife,  the  only  other  member  of  it,  being  slain  for  the  longing  after  the 
corrupted  and  guilty  city — the  city  which  her  husband  had  chosen  to  dwell  in. 
This  is  not  what  we  should  have  expected,  not  perhaps  what  even  Abraham 
expected,  when  he  hoped  that  '  ten  righteous'  might  be  found  in  the  city  ;  and 
accordingly  different  inferences  have  been  made  from  the  sacred  text,  which 
might  assign  him  some  duties  in  Sodom  ;  as,  from  the  wordsf  '  sat  in  the  gate,' 
the  Jews  have  inferred  that  he  was  a  judge  ;  and  from  his  expostulation  with 
the  men  of  Sodom,  he  appears  in  the  Coran|  (again  a  Jewish  notion)  as  a 
prophet.  These  expedients  the  more  illustrate  the  mournful  silence  of  holy 
Scripture. 

"  This  view  of  Lot's  character— as  one,  namely,  who  with  particular  excel- 
lences, yet  for  want  of  more  unremitting,  irrespective,  noble  perseverance, 
fell  short  of  the  high  attainments  to  which  he  was  called,  and  remained  a 
sort  of  middle  character,  neither  sinking  altogether,  nor  yet  rising  to  chief 
eminence  among  the  saints  of  God — is  that  which  we  generally  find  among  the 
fathers  of  the  Christian  church.  The  very  etymology  which  is  so  conitantly 
given  by  them  to  the  name  of  Lot,  'declinans,'^  expresses  this, — one  who,  having 
begun  well,  fell  off.     Again,  we  find  it  among  them||  as  a  sort  of  proverb,  (in 

*  St.  Augustine  remarks  on  Lot's  saying,  "I  cannot  escape  to  the  mountain," — "He 
did  not  believe  the  Lord  himself,  whom  he  recognised  in  the  angels,  through  the  distraction 
of  his  fear,  whereby  also  he  .«aid  what  he  did  about  the  defilement  of  his  daughters ; 
whence  also  we  may  know  that  what  he  then  said  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  of  authority,  (as 
if  we  might  do  a  less  evil,  lest  another  should  do  a  greater,)  inasmush  as  this  principle  is 
not  to  be  regarded  as  of  authority,  that  we  may  mistrust  God." — Quaest.  ad  Gen.  1.  i.  q.  44. 
And  again,  c.  Mendaciam  ad  Consentium,  §  21,  he  speaks  of  Lot's  being  "  ready  to  do  that 
■which — not  the  cloudy  atmosphere  of  human  panic,  but — the  tranquil  serenity  of  Divine 
law  would,  if  it  were  consulted,  cry  aloud  was  not  to  be  done." 

t  C.  xix.  1.  t  Jura  29  ;  and  others. 

I  St.  Aug.  in  Ps.  Ixxxii.  8.  St.  Ambrose  de  Abraham,  1.  i.  c.  3, 1.  ii.  c.  C.  St.  Jerome 
inf  add.  Philo.  de  migrat.  Abrah.  p.  410,  ed.  Hoeschel.  In  the  Pe  Migr.  Abraham,  p.  37&, 
Philo   scruples  not  to    call  him    "  unsteady,  vacillating,  halting  hither  and  thither," — 

It/^i^ilO;,    ll7rajU<fi^0MC,    (ifTlf^iTaV    TvSi   Kaxtla-f. 

H  See  below ;  some  instances  are  also  connected  in  Aloysius  Lipomannos'  Catena  in 
Gcncsin. 


676  NOTE  ON  SERMON  I. 

allusion  to  his  words,  Gen.  xix.  19,  '  I  cannot  escape  to  the  mountain,')  '  He 
who  dwelt  in  the  valley  of  Sodom,  could  not  ascend  up  into  the  mountain ;' — 
i.  e.,  '  he  who  had  placed  himself  voluntarily  in  circumstances  spiritually  disad- 
vantageous, cannot  at  once  reach  a  high  eminence  in  faith,  or  practice,  or 
understanding.' 

•  "  This  idea  of  mediocrity  and  want  of  faith  is  expressed  by  St.  Augustine  :* 
— '  Scripture  sets  forth  that  Lot  was  freed  rather  for  the  deserts  of  Abraham, 
that  it  may  be  understood  that  Lot  is  called  'just'  relatively  (secundum  quen- 
dam  morem  ;)  principally  because  he  worshipped  the  one  true  God,  and  in 
comparison  to  the  guilt  of  the  men  of  Sodom,  among  whom  though  he  lived, 
yet  he  could  not  be  led  to  a  life  like  theirs  ;'  and  on  the  words,  '  Lot  went 
up  out  of  Zoar  and  dwelt  in  the  mountain,' — '  Probably  the  very  mountain  to 
which  he  now  goes  of  his  own  accord  was  that  whither  at  the  Lord's  com- 
mand he  would  not  go  up.  The  Lord  had  granted  to  his  weakness  and  fear  a 
city,  which  Lot  himself  had  chosen,  and  had  promised  him  safety  therein,  be- 
cause for  his  sake  he  would  spare  the  city  ;  yet  he  was  afraid  to  remain  there 
also,  so  little  strong  %vas  his  faith.'  Origen,t  again,  (in  an  application  partly 
allegorical,  wherein  however  he  keeps  close  to  the  meaning  of  the  Scripture 
facts,)  marks  both  the  benefits  of  his  example  and  wherein  he  fell  short. — 
'Hear  this,  ye  who  shut  your  doors  against  strangers,  who  shun  a  foreigner 
as  a  foeman,  (hospitem  velut  hostem.)  Lot  was  dwelling  in  Sodom.  We 
read  not  of  any  other  good  deeds  of  his.  Hospitality  alone  is  mentioned. 
Lot  was  indeed  hospitable,  and  escaped  destruction,  (as  Scripture  bears  him 
witness,)  having  '  entertained  angels.'  Yet  he  was  not  so  perfect  as,  im- 
mediately upon  leaving  Sodom,  to  ascend  the  mountain.  For  it  belongs  to  the 
perfect  to  say,  '  I  have  lifted  up  my  eyes  to  the  mountains,  whence  my  help 
shall  come.'  He,  then,  was  neither  such  as  to  deserve  to  perish  with  the  men 
of  Sodom,  nor  yet  so  great  as  to  be  able  to  dwell  with  Abraham  in  the  high 
places.  For  had  he  been  such,  Abraham  would  now  have  said  to  him,  '  If  thou 
goest  to  the  right,  I  to  the  left ;  or  if  thou  to  the  left,  I  to  the  right ;  nor  ivould 
the  dwellings  of  Sodom  have  pleased  him.  For  he  was  a  sort  of  middle  cha- 
racter between  those  ivho  are  lost  and  the  perfect.''  And  again,  speaking  of  the 
consequences  of  his  drunkenness, — '  Drunkenness  deceived  him  whom  Sodom 
deceived  not.  Lot  was  deceived  by  artifice,  not  willingly.  He  stands,  then, 
as  it  were  in  the  midst  between  the  sinners  and  the  just ;  inasmuch  as  he  was 
descended  from  the  kindred  of  Abraham,  yet  had  dwelt  in  Sodom.  For  his 
very  escape  from  Sodom  (as  Scripture  implies)  rather  belongs  to  the  honour 
of  Abraham,  than  to  the  merits  of  Lot.  For  this  it  speaks,  '  And  it  came  to 
pass  when  God  overthrew  the  cities  of  Sodom,  the  Lord  remembered  Abra- 
ham, and  brought  forth  Lot.'     And  on  Lot's  first  first  choice,  he  observes,^ 

*  QusGstt.  ad  Gen.  1.  i.  q.  45—47,  t,  3,  ed.  Bened.  In  another  place,  St.  Augustine's 
character  of  Lot  singularly  coincides  with  that  of  Mr.  N. ;  "Lot,  just  and  hospitable  in 
Sodom,  and  pure  and  free  from  all  contaminations  of  its  inhabitants,"  «Scc. — C.  Faust.  L 
xxii.  c.  4L 

t  Homil.  5.  in  Genes.  §  1,  2,  t.  ii.  pp.  73,  74,  cd.  Do  la  Rue. 

X  Selecta  in  Gen.  ib.  p.  35. 


NOTE  ON   SERMON   I.  677 

— '  Although  the  choice  had  been  given  to  Lot  by  the  modesty  of  Abraham, 
we  must  observe,  that  he  who  chooses  for  himself  benefits  not  by  his  choice, 
and  he  who  gave  up  had  what  was  left  blest  to  him.' 

"  St.  Ambrose,*  in  like  manner,  speaks  of  this  choice  as  the  critical  point  of 
the  life  of  Lot  : — As  Abraham  acted  humbly,  who  offered  the  choice  ;  so  Lot  too 
arrogantly,  in  that  he  took  it.  Virtue  humbles  itself,  iniquity  exalts  itself,  and  he 
ought  to  have  committed  himself  to  his  elder,  that  so  he  might  be  safer.  Last- 
ly, he  knew  not  hoiv  to  choose.  For  first  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  beheld  the 
country — i.  e  ,  what  should  not  be  first  in  order,  but  last.  For  the  goods  of 
the  soul  stand  first,  then  those  of  the  body,  then  those  things  which  come  from 
without,  such  as  the  dwelling,  &c.  St.  Ambrose  f  then  strikingly  conveys  his 
meaning  under  an  allusion  to  the  signification  of  the  word  Jordan,  (lit.  '  the 
descending.')  '  Since  Jordan  is  called  the  descent,'  he  descends  who  deserted 
the  intercourse  of  virtue,  and  chose  what  was  fair,  not  what  was  real.  Well, 
then,  saith  Scripture,  '  Lot  {i.  e.,  declension,)  chose  for  himself,'  for  God  hath 
set  before  us  good  and  evil,  that  each  may  choose  what  he  will.  Let  us  not 
choose,  then,  what  appears  to  us  the  pleasanter,  but  what  is,  in  truth,  the 
more  excellent ;  lest,  when  a  choice  be  given  us,  that  we  may  follow  what  is 
best,  we  lift  up  our  eyes,  led  aside  by  the  false  show  of  pleasantness,  and  ob- 
scure the  truth  of  nature  by  the  obliquity  of  our  vision.'  And  again,  '  Lot 
chose  what  was  pleasant,  which  soon  attracted  the  eyes  of  robbers.  Hence, 
war  among  kings,  victory  of  the  enemies,  captivity  of  the  inhabitants.  So 
then  Lot  paid  the  penalty  for  his  weaker  choice,  his  expectations  being  de- 
ceived, not  through  the  unfruitfulness  of  the  country,  but  through  men's  envy 
of  what  is  pleasant ;  since,  through  the  fault  of  a  slavish  listlessness,  he  had 
turned  aside  from  that  which  was  preferable,  and  had  chosen  the  lot  of  the 
most  abandoned.  For  Sodom  is  luxury  and  wantonness.  Wherefore  '  Lot,' 
is  explained  to  mean  '  declension,'  for  he  who  declines  from  virtue,  and  turns 
aside  from  equity,  chooses  what  is  vicious.'  St.  Jerome  takes  the  same  view 
of  this  first  error  of  Lot,  and  the  comparative  weakness  of  his  faith.  The 
first  is  a  letter  to  Pammachius,|  who  had  recently  built  '  a  place  to  receive 
strangers'  (Xenodochium)  in  the  port  of  Rome,  which  he  calls  'planting  a 
twig  from  the  tree  of  Abraham  on  the  shore  of  Italy.'  St.  Jerome  is  exhorting 
him  to  hold  on  ;  '  the  chief  of  those  who  led  a  monastic  life  in  the  chief  city 
following  the  c/i/e/ patriarch  [Abraham.]  Let  Lot,  which  is  explained  'de- 
clining,' choose  the  plain,  and,  at  the  parting  of  life's  ways,^  choose  the  easier, 
and  that  on  the  left  hand.  Do  thou,  with  Sara,  prepare  thyself  a  monument 
in  the  rocky  and  difficult  eminences.'  And  again, ||  when  he  is  extolling  the 
character  of  Lot,  '  Lot  also  had  hoped,  with  his  daughters,  to  save  his  wife, 
and  hurrying  out  of  the  conflagration  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  well  nigh  half 

*  De  Abraham.  1.  ii.  c.  6,  §  33—35.  f  lb.  1.  i.  c.  3,  §  14. 

J  Ep.  66,  (al.  26,)  ed.  Vallars. 

§  Lit.  "  according  to  the  letter  of  Pythagoras."—!,  e,  Y. — which  was  regarded  as  the 
symbol  of  human  life,  one  arm  denoting  the  path  of  virtue,  the  other  that  of  vice. — 
Vallars. 

II  Ep.  122,  ad  Rusticum  de  Pcenitentia,  (aV  46.) 


678  NOTE  ON  SERMON  I. 

consumed,  to  bring  forth  her  who  was  held  captive  by  her  former  views  ;  but 
she,  hesitating  tlirough  despair,  and  looking  back,  is  condemned  by  an  eternal 
inscription  of  infidelity.  And  an  earnest  faith,  in  lieu  of  one  woman  who  was 
lost,  delivers  a  whole  town,  Zoar.  Lastly,  after  that  he,  leaving  the  valleys 
and  darkness  of  Sodom,  ascended  towards  the  mountains,  the  sun  rose  upoa 
him  in  Zoar,  which  is,  by  interpretation,  little  ;  so  that,  the  little  faith  of  Lot, 
because  it  could  not  save  what  ivas  greater,  might,  at  least,  save  the  less.  For 
he  who  had  been  the  inhabitant  of  Gomorrah  and  of  error,  could  not  at  once 
reach  that  mid-day  wherein  Abraham,  the  friend  of  the  Lord,  together  with  the 
angels  received  the  Lord.'  St.  Chrysostom  again  praises  the  hospitality*  of 
Lot  in  glowing  terms,  yet  blames  t  his  choice  in  the  same  manner  as  the  other 
fathers — '  The  nephew,  having  experienced  such  courtesy,  [from  Abraham,  in 
giving  him  his  choice,]  ought  to  have  requitted  the  patriarch  with  like  honour, 
and  rather  himself  to  have  left  the  choice  with  him.  For,  somehow,  we  all, 
when  we  see  others  disputing  and  resisting  us,  and  claiming  the  first  place,  are 
inclined  not  to  allow  ourselves  to  be  worsted,  or  to  give  in  to  them  ;  but  when 
we  see  them  giving  way,  and  with  humble  words  leaving  the  whole  matter  to 
us,  we  reverence  their  great  moderation  and  give  up  our  contention,  and  in 
turn  yield  the  whole  right,  even  though  he  who  questioned  it  seem  to  be  our 
inferior.  Lot,  then,  whereas  he  ought  so  to  have  acted  towards  the  patriarch, 
with  the  impetuosity  J  of  youth,  and  carried  away  by  the  desire  of  the  best 
portion,  sprung  upon  the  first  and  best,  as  he  deemed,  and  makes  his  choice. 
'And  Lot,'  Scripture  says,  'lifting  up  his  eyes,'  &c.  God  had,  moreover,  [in 
this  separation,]  a  mysterious  end,  that  Lot  should  be  ivarned  by  events  that 
he  had  not  rightly  chosen,  and  that  the  men  of  Sodom  should  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  goodness  of  Lot,  and  that  when  the  separation  had  been 
made,  the  promise  which  had  been  given  to  the  patriarch  should  take  effect. 
And  on  the  scriptural  mention  of  the  wickedness  of  the  men  of  Sodom  in  this 
place,  verses  12,  13,)  he  remarks, — '  Seest  thou  that  Lot  looked  only  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  and  regarded  not  the  ivickednese  of  the  inhabitants  ?  For 
tell  me,  what  avails  fruitlessness  of  soil,  when  the  inhabitants  are  depraved  ? 
or  what  harm  is  there  in  a  desert,  if  the  dwellers  therein  be  good  ?  For  the 
righteousness  of  the  inhabitants  is  the  chief  good.  But  Lot  regarded  one  point 
only,  the  fruitfulness  of  the  land.  Wherefore  Scripture,  wishing  to  point  out 
to  us  the  wickedness  of  those  who  dwelt  there,  says,  '  But  the  men  in  Sodom 
were  wicked,  and  sinners  before  God  exceedingly.'  It  says,  'not  wicked' 
only,  but  'sinners'  also;  and  not  'sinners'  simply,  but  'before  God'  also; 
i.  e.,  the  intensity  of  their  sins  was  very  great,  and  their  wickedness  exceed- 
ing ;  wherefore  it  adds,  'before  God  exceedingly.'  Seest  thou  the  greatness 
of  the  wickedness  1  Seest  thou  how  great  an  evil  it  is  to  rush  upon  the  chief 
portion,  and  not  consider  what  is  really  advantageous  ?    Seest  thou  how  valua- 

*  Horn.  43,  in  Gen. — "  That  we  may  accurately  know  how  the  society  of  the  patriarch 
led  up  this  righteous  man  to  the  highest  pitch  of  virtue  ;  and,  following  in  his  footsteps, 
he  also  showed  his  especial  hospitality  by  hig  deeds."  This  praise  evidently  all  belongs 
to  the  same  subject — his  hospitality. 

t  Horn.  33,  in  Gen.  xiii.  4.  |  fKa-fof. 


NOTE  ON  SERMON  I.  679 

ble  a  thing:  is  modesty,  and  to  retire  from  the  chief  things,  and  to  take  the 
worser  ?  For,  in  the  course  of  this  teaching  we  shall  see,  that  he  who  chose 
the  chief  things  reaped  no  benefit ;  but  he  who  took  the  lesser  became  daily 
more  illustrious,  and  his  abundance  was  every  way  increased,  and  he  was  set 
up  as  an  object  of  admiration  to  all.'  And  subsequently,*  on  c  xiv.  ver.  11, 
12,  '  See,  what  I  said  yesterday  is  now  come  to  pass  ;  for  Lot  reaped  no 
benefit,  from  choosing  the  chief  things,  but  was  warned  by  the  very  events  not 
to  love  them.  For  not  only  did  no  benefit  accrue  to  him,  but,  see,  he  was  car- 
ried away  captive,  and  learnt,  indeed,  that  it  had  been  much  better  for  him  to 
enjoy  the  society  of  the  just  one,  than  being  separated,  and  his  freedom  to  be 
tried  by  such  calamities.  For,  look,  he  was  separated  from  the  patriarch,  and 
deemed  himself  more  independent,  and  tiiat  he  had  obtained  the  chieftest  lot, 
and  was  in  much  abundance  ;  and,  on  a  sudden,  he  turns  a  captive,  homeless 
and  heartless  ;  that  thou  mayest  learn  how  great  an  evil  division  is,  how  great 
a  good  is  harmony  ;  and  that  it  is  better  not  to  seize  on  the  greater  portion, 
but  rather  to  be  content  to  suffer  loss.  '  They  took,'  Scripture  saith,  '  Lot  and 
his  goods.'  How  much  better  were  it  to  dwell  with  the  patriarch,  and  to  endure 
anything  rather  than  break  that  harmony,  or,  removing,  and  having  chosen  the 
chief  part,  fall  straightway  into  so  great  troubles,  and  into  the  hands  of  the 
heathens.'  Gregory  the  Great,  lastly,  (as  St.Augustine  above,)  remarks,! 
that  '  the  excellence  of  Lot  was,  that  among  the  bad  he  remained  good.  For 
it  is  no  such  great  praise  to  be  good  among  the  good,  but  among  the  bad.  For 
as  it  is  a  more  grievous  fault  not  to  be  good  among  the  good,  so  it  is  an  im- 
mense panegyric  to  have  been  good  even  among  the  bad.  Hence,  St.  Peter 
praises  Lot  very  highly,  because  he  found  him  good  among  the  reprobate.' 

"  Any  one  who,  with  Mr.  Newman's  sermons  fresh  in  his  memory,  should 
read  these  passages  of  the  fathers,  would  be  struck  (as  I  myself  was)  with  the 
similarity  of  the  teaching ;  how  both  point  out  the  same  parts  of  Lot's  history, 
whether  for  praise  or  blame.  Each  insists  that  he  was  '  just,  hospitable,  a 
confessor  of  the  truth  among  the  wretched  inhabitants  of  the  cities  in  which  he 
dwelt;'  each  blames  his  eagerness  in  appropriating  to  himself  this  world's 
goods,  and  the  fathers  more  strongly  than  Mr.  Newman.  My  object,  however, 
in  writing  this,  is  not  the  defence  of  any  one,  but  because  the  character  of  Lot 
thus  viewed,  is  one  which  our  age  ought  well  to  lay  to  heart.  Our  age  is  in 
all  respects,  one  of  mediocrity  ;  its  theory  is  moderate  goodness,  moderate 
attainments,  moderate  enjoyments  of  this  world's  pleasures,  moderate  luxury, 
moderate  dissipation  of  mind,  moderate  departure  from  sound  doctrine,  moderate 
desire  after  heaven,  moderate  devotion  to  God,  moderate  accumulation  of  mam- 
mon, moderate  serving  it — in  truth,  an  '  aurea  mediocritas.'  The  church  and 
the  world  have  shaken  hands  together,  and  the  world  has  gained  strength  from 
the  touch  ;  and,  as  the  stronger,  has  well-nigh  brought  the  church  on  the 
boundary,  which  she  shrinks  from  passing  ;  yet  have  men  on  both  sides  allied 
themselves,  and  combined  to  tolerate  all  which  is  moderate,  to  proscribe  only 
what  leans  on  either  side,  to  excess ;  tbe  world  professes  itself  ready  to  aban- 
don the  protection  of  its  natural  offspring — notorious,  flagrant,  offensive  vice,— 

*  Horn.  35.  s.  4.  t  Lib.  i.  in  Job  c.  i. 


680  NOTE  ON  SERMON  I. 

if  the  church  will  not  set  forth  any  higher  standard  than  that  of  an  easy,  sleepy, 
costless  virtue.  The  world  professes  itself  ready  to  give  up  its  protection  of 
its  wolf-cubs,  if  the  sheep  will  but  (as  in  the  fable)  part  with  their  troublesome, 
but  faithful  guardians.  If  we  will  be  honest  with  ourselves,  we  have  been 
bent  upon  persuading  the  world  that  it  may  become  or  remain  Christian  upon 
easy  terms  ;  that  Christianity  was  once,  indeed,  a  hard  service,  and  that  it  then 
lequired  a  severe  discipline  ;  but  that  these  times  are  long  since  past,  (will 
men  venture  to  say  that  they  will  not  return  ■?)  and  that  wiih  them  is  gone  the 
necessity  of  exercising  ourselves  in  that  laborious  weighty  armour, — that  we 
may  sit  '  each  under  our  vine  and  our  fig-tree,'  and  take  our  rest.  The  world 
is  what  it  was,  or  worse  ;  and  the  church,  as  it  must,  has  suffered  by  the  com- 
promise. We,  too,  are,  as  well  as  Lot,  in  great  danger  of  forgetting,  '  our 
war-note,'  and  our  pilgrim  staff,  while  we  'lift  up  our  eyes'  on  the  well-watered 
plain  of  Jordan,  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord,' — well-watered  everywhere,  before 
the  Lord  overthrew  it.  We,  too,  are  in  danger  of  forgetting,  '  amid  the  list- 
less joys  of  summer  shades,'  that  here  is  not  our  rest,  nor  our  abiding-place — 
that  we,  too,  seek  a  country  ;  we  make  our  pathway  so  flowery,  that  we  are 
in  peril  of  forgetting  whither  it  leads — that '  the  flower  fadeth,  the  grace  of  the 
fashion  of  it  perisheth,'  and  that  the  '  word  of  the  Lord  [alone]  abideth  for  ever.' 
The  problem  which  we  seem  to  have  proposed  to  ourselves,  is,  how  to  unite 
the  greatest  possible  enjoyment,  intellectual,  sensible,  social,  with  our  Christian 
calling — to  show  that  Christianity  is  perfectly  compatible  with  the  fullest  earthly 
enjoyment ;  that  proposed  by  our  forefathers  was,  however,  in  the  midst  of  this 
world's  duties,  in  everything  to  win  the  soul  from  earth,  and  fix  it  on  heaven. 
We  heap  round  ourselves  comforts,  in  our  food,  our  furniture,  our  sleep,  our 
families,  and  perhaps  from  time  to  time  give  God  thanks  for  these  things,  but 
for  the  most  part  take  them  as  things  of  course  ;  they  habitually  denied  them- 
selves therein,  fasted  from  food,  dwelt  hardly,  endured  cold,  broke  their  sleep, 
night  by  night,  for  prayer  to  God,  and  thanked  God  for  their  abridged  ease 
more  than  we  for  our  fulness.  They  chose  the  pilgrim-Ufe  of  the  father  of  the 
faithful  ;  we,  the  portion  of  Lot,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Sodom.  It  will  be 
something  gained  if  we  acknowledge  this ;  if  all  are  not  tied  down  to  this  Pro- 
crustean bed  of  an  even  mediocrity  of  attainment  or  purpose  ;  for  conscience 
•will  not  then  sleep  ;  when  comfort  is  not  made  our  principal  aim  or  our  idol, 
then  will  people  abridge  their  comforts  for  Christ's  sake.  This,  however,  is  to 
all  of  us  an  immediate  practical  question  ;  every  one  of  us  has  had,  from  time  to 
time,  Lot's  choice  before  us,  to  take  present  ease  and  comfort,  or  to  forego  it ; 
we,  too,  have  been  tempted  to  '  lift  up  our  eyes'  on  the  pleasant  land,  and  we, 
too,  h^ard  our  Father's  voice  within  us,  calling  us  to  higher  things  ;  and,  in 
each  single  instance,  to  take  up  our  cross  and  follow  him.  We  have  all  of  us 
had  many  such  impulses, — many,  'whether  we  would  hear,  or  whether  we 
would  forbear,' — although  their  permanence  and  distinctness  depended  upon 
our  previous  obedience.  Obey  we  these,  each  of  them,  little  or  great,  and  we 
shall  be  led  further ;  Abraham  was  led  step  by  step  onwards,  till  he  was  brought 
to  Mount  Moriah,  and  was  called  to  sacrifice  '  his  own  son,  his  only  son,  whom 
he  loved,'  and,  in  that  sacrifice,  was  privileged  to  see  his  Redeemer's  day, 
'  and  saw  it,  and  was  glad  ;  if  we  choose  to  dwell  near  Sodom,  we  shall  never, 


NOTE  ON  SERMON  XVI.  681 

indeed,  be  called  to  Abraham's  trial,  yet  neither  shall  we  have  Abraham's  re- 
ward ;  it  will  be  a  mercy  if  we  escape  with  Lot,  much  more  if  we  escai)e  Lot's 
disgrace  and  loss.  For  Lot  had  not  a  Christian's  privileges  or  a  Christian's 
covenanted  might  entrusted  to  him." 


NOTE  B.— ON  SERMON  XVL— P.  581. 

After  these  Sermons  on  the  Church  and  on  Baptism  were  written,  but  before 
they  were  published.  Dr.  Pusey's  Treatise  appeared  on  the  latter  subject,  and, 
in  part  anticipated,  in  part  elucidated  and  completed,  the  doctrine  contained  in 
them.  On  the  point  under  discussion  in  the  passage  to  which  this  note  is 
appended,  he  observes  as  follows  : — 

"  It  is  an  awful  question,  whether  by  receiving  the  Sacrament  of  Regenera- 
tion in  unbelief,  there  being  no  other  appointed  means  whereby  the  new  birth 
is  bestowed,  such  a  one  had  not  precluded  himself  for  ever  from  being  born 
again  7  It  is  a  case  of  such  profane  contempt  of  God's  institutions,  it  betrays 
such  a  servitude  to  the  god  of  this  world,  that  such  a  case  has  not  been  pro- 
vided for  in  Scripture  ;  and  one  should  almost  dread  to  speak  where  God  in 
His  word  has  been  silent.  For  Simon  Magus  is  no  such  case  ;  since  of  him 
Scripture  positively  affirms  that  he  believed,  however  soon  he  fell  away ;  sa 
that  St.  Peter's  exhortation  to  him,  to  repent,  holds  out  no  encouragement  to 
them  who  make  a  mock  or  a  gain  of  God's  institution.  Where  God  gives 
repentance,  we  are  safe  in  concluding  that  He  is  ready  to  pardon  the  offence, 
however  in  its  own  nature  it  may  seem  to  put  a  person  out  of  the  covenant  of 
grace  and  repentance,  and  at  the  same  time  to  preclude  his  entering  again  into 
it ;  and  to  any  person  who,  having  thus  sinned,  is  concerned  about  his  salva- 
tion, that  very  concern  is  a  proof  that  God,  in  his  case,  has  not  withdrawn  His 

Spirit I  speak  not  of  particular  cases,  for  God  has,  in  a  wonderful 

manner,  for  His  own  glory,  made  Baptism  effectual,  when  administered  in 
mockery  by  heathens  on  a  heathen  stage,  1o  interest  the  curiosity  of  a  profane 
audience  and  a  Pagan  Emperor ;  but  God  has  put  forth  His  power  to  vindicate 
His  own  ordinances,  by  making  the  poor  buffoon  a  convert,  and  enduing  the 
convert  of  Baptism  with  strength  for  instant  martyrdom.  God  can  vindicate 
His  ordinances,  by  making  them  all-powerful,  either  to  save  or  to  destroy. 
But  when  there  is  no  such  signal  end  to  be  attained,  one  would  fear  that  they 
would  be  pernicious  to  the  profane  recipient.  St.  Augustine  argues  thus  .... 
'  The  Church  bore  Simon  Magus  by  Baptism,  to  whom,  however,  it  was  said, 
that  he  had  no  part  in  the  inheritance  of  Christ.  Was  Baptism,  was  the 
Gospel,  were  the  Sacraments,  wanting  to  him  1  But  since  love  was  wanting, 
he  was  born  in  vain,  and   perhaps  it  had  been  belter  for  him  not  to  have  been 

born.'' One   portion,   however,  of  the  Ancient  Church  (the  African) 

seems  to  have  held  decisively,  not  only  that  this  sin  of  receiving  Baptism  un- 
worthily would  be  forgiven  upon  repentance,  but  that  it  did  not  hinder  repent- 


682  NOTE  ON  SERMON  XVI. 

ance.  St.  Augustine  uses  this  case  as  an  argument  against  the  Donatists, 
•why  the  Church  did  not  re-baptize  those  who  sought  to  be  restored  to  her  out 
of  a  schismatic  communion,  although  she  held  the  baptism  administered  by 
that  communion  to  be  useless  while  men  remained  in  it.  '  If  they  say  that 
sins  arc  not  forgiven  to  one  who  comes  hypocritically  to  baptism,  I  ask,  if  he 
afterwards  confess  his  hypocrisy  with  a  contrite  heart  and  true  grief,  is  he  to 
be  baptized  again  1  If  it  be  most  insane  to  affirm  this,  let  them  confess  that  a 
man  may  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  Christ,  and  yet  his  heart,  persever- 
ing in  malice  and  sacrilege,  would  not  allow  his  sins  to  be  done  away  :  and 
thus  let  them  understand  that  in  communions  separated  from  the  Church  men 
may  be  baptizfed  (when  the  baptism  of  Christ  is  given  and  received,  the  Sacra- 
ment being  administered  in  the  same  way  ;)  which  yet  is  then  first  of  avail  to 
the  remission  of  sins,  when  the  person  being  reconciled  to  the  unity  of  the 
Church,  is  freed  from  the  sacrilege  of  dissent,  whereby  his  sins  were  retained, 
and  not  allowed  to  be  forgiven.  For,  as  he  who  had  come  hypocritically  is  not 
baptized  again,  but  what  without  baptism  could  not  be  cleansed,  is  cleansed  by 
that  pious  correction  (of  life)  and  true  confession  ;  so  that  what  was  before 
given,  then  begins  to  avail  to  salvation,  when  that  hypocrisy  is  removed  by  a 

true  confession  ;  so  also  the  enemy  of  the  love  and  peace  of  Christ,'  &c 

St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  other  hand,  speaks  of  the  loss  as  absolutely 
irreparable.  'If  thou  feignest,'  he  addresses  the  Catechumen,  'now  do  men 
baptize  thee,  but  the  Spirit  will  not  baptize  thee.  Thou  art  come  to  a  great 
examination,  and  enlisting,  in  this  single  hour :  which  if  thou  losest,  the  evil 
is  irreparable,  but  if  thou  art  thought  worthy  of  the  grace  thy  soul  is  enlight- 
ened.'   It  may  be  that  St.  Cyril  may  have  meant,  as  is  said  also  of 

all  impairing  of  baptismal  purity,  that  it  cannot  be  wholly  repaired,  since  there 

is  no  second  baptism The  question  is  very  awful,  as  what  is  not  which 

concerns  our  souls  ?  It  may  suffice  to  have  said  this  much  upon  it,  if  by  any 
means  persons  might  see  that  subjects,  of  which  they  speak  lightly,  are  indeed 
Tery  fearful."— Tracfj  for  the  Times  No.  69.  pp.  171—176. 


END   OF    VOL.     I. 


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