Skip to main content

Full text of "Divine song in its human echo!or Song and service! : a series of short plain sermons on old-fashioned hymns"

See other formats 


FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


SectM        ^^S^ 


DIVINE  SONG  liN  ITS  HUMAN  ECHO! 


OR, 


SONG  AND  SERVICE! 


Divine  ^ong  in  it?  [luman 


SONG  AND  SERVICE! 


H  Series  ot  Sbort  UMatu  Sermons  on 
©lC)*ffasbione^  Ib^mns. 


BY     I'HK  yy 

REV.     J.     GEORGE     GIBSON, 

UNIVERSITY      COLLEGK,      DURHAM, 

Rector  of  Ebcliestcr,  Durliam, 
{Late  Vicar  of  Hartford,  Huntingdon. ) 

AUTHOR     OF 

Stepping  Stones  to  Life"  ^^  Fiain   IVords  to  Men,"   "  The  Primary  School  Series,"  etc. 


LONDON : 

WILLIAM    ANDREWS    &    CO.,    5,    FARRINGDON    AVENUE,    EC. 

1899. 


TLo  mp  Dear  /IDotber 

THESE     SERMONS     ARE     LOVINGLY     DEDICATED  1 


(tontente. 

SERMON  I. 

THE   DAY   OF   THE  LORD  ! " 
(advent). 


S.    MArTHEVV    VI.,    10. 

"  Thy   Kingdom   come,  Thy  Will   be  done  on   earth  as  it  is 
in  Heaven."  i 

SERMON  11. 
"THE   KING'S    HERALDS!" 

(CHRISTMAS    DAY). 

S.  Luke  il,  20. 
"  And  the  Angel  said  unto  them,    '  Fear  not ;  for,  behold,   I 
bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people."        13 

SERMON  III. 
"THE   ETERNAL   HELPER!" 

(NEW   YEAR). 

Psalm  cxxi.,  2. 
**  My  help  cometh  from  the   Lord  which  made   Heaven  and 
earth."  25 

SERMON  IV. 

"  THE   PRESENCE  CHAMBER  !  " 
(epiphany). 


Psalm  xi.,  4. 
*'  The   Lord  is  in   His  holy  temple,   the  Lord's  throne  is  in 
Heaven  :    His  eyes  behold,  His  eyelids  try,  the  children  of  men."       38 

SERMON   V. 
"  A   STATE   OF   WAR  !  " 

(ash    WEDNESDAY). 

I  S.   Peter,  v.  9. 
"  Whom  resist,  steadfast  in  the  faith."  50 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON   VI. 

"THE   WAITING   GUEST!" 

(lent). 

Revelation  iil,  20. 
**  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  !  if  any  man  hear  My 
voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him."  61 

\ 
SERMON    VII. 

"THE   RIGHTEOUS   THIRST!" 

(LENT). 


Psalm  xlil,  1-2. 
"As  the  hart  panteth  after  the   waterbrooks,  so  panteth   my 
soul  after  Thee,  O  God.      My  soul   thirsteth  for   God,  for  the 
living  God  :  when  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God  ?  "  73 

SERMON    VIIL 
"THE   EVE   OF   SACRIFICE!" 

(lent— palm    SUNDAY). 


Gal.  vl,  14. 
"  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and 
I  unto  the  world."  85 

SERMON  IX. 

"  A   SPECTACLE   AND   A  SALVATION  !  " 

(good    FRIDAY). 


I  S.  Peter  il,  7. 
"  Unto  you  therefore  which  believe  He  is  precious  :   but  unto 
them  which  disbelieve,  the  stone  which  the  builders  disallowed, 
the  same  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner."  97 

SERMON  X. 
"  VICTORY  !    VICTORY  !  " 

(EASTER). 

Revelation  l,   18. 
"  I  am  He  that  liveth,  and  was  dead  ;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive 
for  evermore.  Amen  ;  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death  !  "        108 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  XI. 

A   GLORIOUS   INHERITANCE!" 
(ascension). 


I  S.  John  hi.,  2. 

*'  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  shallsee  Him  as  He  is."  120 

SERMON  XII. 
"A    BREATH    OF   HEAVENLY    PRESENCE!" 

(WHIT   SUNDAY). 


S.  John  xvl,  7. 

•'  If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but 
if  I  depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you."  130 

SERMON  Xiri. 
"THE    ALL-SCFFICIENT  !" 

(IRINITY). 

Revelation  iv.,  8. 

"Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  was,  and  is, 
and  is  to  come." 

SERMON  XIV. 

"THE   GARMENTS    WASHED   IN    BLOOD!" 

(ALL   SAINTS). 


141 


Revelation  vil,  13. 

•'  And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying  unto  me,   '  What  are 
these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes?  and  whence  came  they?'  "     151 

SERMON  XV. 

"ENTERING   UPON    LIFE!" 
(baptism). 

S.  Luke  hi.,  16. 
"  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."       161 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  XVl. 

THE   CONFIRMED   COVENANT  !  " 

(confirmation). 


S.  John  xvii.,  7. 

Now  they  have  known  that  all  thin<;s  whatsoever  Thou  hast 
given   Me  are  of  Thee."  171 

SERMON  XVIL 

"WITH   THE    MASTER!" 

(holy  communion). 


Psalm  cxliii.,  9. 

"  Deliver  me,  O  Lord  from  mine  enemies  :  I  flee  unto  Thee  to 
hide  me." 

SERMON  XVIIL 

*♦  HELP-MEETS   AND   MEET-HELPS!"^ 
(marriage). 


ECCLES.    IV.,    12. 


**  And  if  one  prevail  against  him,  two  shall  withstand  him  ;  and 
a  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken."  190 

SERMON  XIX. 

**  NOT   LOST,    BUT   OUT   OF   SIGHT  ! " 
(burial). 


S.  John  xiv.,  2. 

*'  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."  201 

SERMON  XX. 

"OUR  LIFE   BUILDING!" 
(dedication). 

I  Cor.  III.,  II, 
"  For  other  Foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which 
is  Jesus  Christ."  212 


CONTENTS.  xi 


SERMON  XXL 
THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   SEEDLING  !  " 

(SUNDAY  SCHOOL   FESTIVAL). 


S.  Mark  x.,  14. 
*'  But  when  Jesus  saw  it,  He  was  much  displeased,  and  said 
unto  them,  '  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid 
them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  God.'  "  223 

SERMON  XXIL 

"THE   GOSPEL   STORY!" 
(children's). 

S.  John  hi.,  16. 
"  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  Only  Begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever   believeth  in   Him  should  not  perish,   but 
have  everlasting  life.  233 

SERMON  XX III. 
"STARS   SPARKLE   ABOVE,    PRLMROSES    BELOW!" 

(FLOWER    service). 


1    ChRON.    XXIX.,    9. 
"Then    the  people  rejoiced,   for  that   they  offered   willingly, 
because  with  perfect  heart  they  offered  willingly   to  the   Lord  : 
and  David  the  king  also  rejoiced  with  great  joy."  244 

SERMON  XXIV. 

"  THE  JOY   OF   THE   REAPER  !  " 
(harvest  festival). 


S.  John  iv.,  36. 
"  And  he  that  reapeth  receiveth  wages,  and  gathereth  fruit  unto 
life  eternal  :   that  both  he  that  soweth,  and  he  that  reapeth  may 
rejoice  together."  254 

SERMON  XXV. 

"THE   DRILL-ROOM    AND   THE    BIVOUAC!" 
(volunteers). 


Eph.  VI.,  13. 
"  Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye 
may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all, 
to  stand."  263 


xii  CONTENTS. 


SERMON  XX  VI. 

THE   POWER   OF   CHRISTIANITY  !  " 

(hospital). 


S.  Mark  i  ,  33-34. 
"  And  all  the  city  was  gathered  together  at  the  door.     And  He 
healed  many  that  were  sick  of  divers  diseases,  and  cast  out  many 
devils  ;  and  suffered  not  the  devils  to  speak,  because  they  knew 
Him."  274 

SERMON  XXVll. 

"THE   UNION   OF   HEARTS!" 
(friendly  societies). 

Psalm  cxxxiti.,  i. 
"  Behold,   how  good  and   how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren   to 
dwell  together  in  unity  !  "  283 

SERMON  XXVlll. 
*'  OUR   FATHER'S    HOME  !  " 

Psalm  lxxxiv.  ,   i. 
*'  How  amiable  are  Thy  taliernacles,  O  Lord  of  Hosts  !  "        292 

SERMON  XXIX. 
"SEEKING  THE   SAVIOUR!" 


S.  John  ix.,  36. 
"He  answered  and  said,    'Who  is   He,   Lord,   that  I  might 
believe  on  Him  ?  '  "  303 

SERMON  XXX. 

"  WHOLE-HEARTED   SURRENDER  !  " 


I  S.  John  l,  7. 
"  But  if  we  walk  in  the  Light,  as  He  is  in  the  Light,  we  have 
fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ,   His 
Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  3^4 

SERMON  XXXI. 
"  THE  FOUNTAIN   OF   HEALTH  !  " 

Psalm  li.,  7. 
•*  Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be  clean  :  wash  me,  and  I 
shall  be  whiter  than  snow."  3^5 


CONTENTS.  xiii 


SERMON  XXXII. 

♦'A   REFRESHING    REST!" 

Psalm  xxxvil,  7. 
Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  Him."  335 

SERMON  XXXIII. 
''IMMANUEL  !" 


Joshua  i.,  17. 
"According  as  we  hearkened  unto  Moses  in  all  things,  so  will 
we  hearken  unto  thee  :   only  the  Lord  thy  God  be  with  thee,  as 
He  was  with  Moses."  346 

SERMON  XXXIV. 

"THE   MARCH    OF   THE   SAINTS!^' 


Phil.,  in.  10. 
*'  That  I  may  know  Him,  and  the  power  of  His  resurrection, 
and   the  fellowship  of  His  sufferings,   being  made  conformable 
unto  His  death."  357 

SERMON  XXXV. 

"THE   SECRET   OF  VICTORY!" 


S.  Luke  xvii.,  5. 
And  the  Apostles  said  unto  the  Lord,  '  Increase  our  faith.'  "      368 

SERMON  XXXVI. 
"WELCOME   HOME  !" 


S.  Matt,  xi.,  28. 
"  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest."  379 

SERMON  XXXVIL 

•'WHAT   SHALL   IT    BE   TO    BE   THERE?" 


I  Thess,  IV.,  17-18. 
"  And  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord.     Wherefore  comfort 
one  another  with  these  words."  389 


DIVINE  SONG  IN   ITS  HUMAN  ECHO! 

OR, 

SONG    AND    SERVICE! 


SERMON   I. 


''Zbc   2)ap  of   tbc   Xor&!" 

(1st  Sunday  in  Advent.) 


St.    Matthew,    VI.,    lo. 

"  Thy  kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be  done  on  Earth 
as  it  is  in  Heaven." 

I^HESE  words  are  the  prayer  which  our 
Teacher  would  express  in  the  religion 
of  our  life,  the  means  by  which  our  Redeemer 
would  fill  the  Church  with  His  own  Desire, — 
His  own  Spirit, — His  own  Work.  They  are 
not  a  mere  form  by  means  of  which  we  are  to 
recognise  our  subordination,  but  the  Banner 
of  the  Cross, — of  the  Cross  Militant  and 
Triumphant. 

The  first  disciples  were  in  these  to  learn  the 
very  nature  of  His  Empire,  and  the  purpose  of 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD  ! 


His  mighty  travail.  Truly,  while  their  bondage 
and  social  subjection  to  the  iron-handed  invaders 
of  their  country  made  all  true  patriots  feel  sad 
and  weary,  history  was  preparing  at  a  very  rapid 
rate.  Dynasties  were  ceasing,  government  was 
degraded,  society  was  breaking  up,  all  bonds  of 
law  and  custom  were  being  broken  ;  and  the 
end  of  everything  seemed  near  ;  chaos  and 
social,  as  well  as  religious  anarchy,  breathed 
despair,  and  moral  leprosy  invaded  the  very 
courts  of  purity.  The  Guileless  Israelite  sought 
solitude  to  mourn  before  Jehovah^  and  the 
unthinking  flotsam  of  the  schools  lay  as  drift  on 
the  borders  of  any  mad  zealotry  which  promised 
any  "Day  of  the  Lord."  Judas  and  Theudas, 
and  many  others  were  even  encouraged  by 
those  of  influence  among  the  Nationalist  Jews, 
while  the  mailed  Roman  stalked  suspicious 
through  streets  where  Solomon  had  ridden  with 
Prince-Envoys  from  distant  climes,  and  David 
had  passed  to  "  Sing  unto  the  Lord  a  New 
Song."  Men  were  longing  for  an  **  Everlasting 
Kinordom,"  and  for  a  "  Dominion  that  hath  no 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD  ! 


end."  All  Jerusalem  and  the  citizens  and  hill- 
men  of  Judah  and  Ephraim  had  exulted  in  the 
*'  Message "  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  even 
gentle  women  were  deeply  interested  in  any 
'*  Word  of  the  Lord "  which  foretold  the 
breaking-down  of  oppression. 

For  Oh  !  the  burden  was  heavy, — they  were 
heavily  laden.  Their  fathers  had  sinned  ;  and 
the  wages  of  sin  is  always  Bitterness  and 
Death.  Their  whole  soul  cried  out  against  the 
prevalent  wickedness  and  its  ever  concomitant 
pain  and  loss. 

We  know,  alas !  what  this  all  means,  by  our 
own  painful  experience.  We  feel  the  environ- 
ment of  Sin,  as  a  ''darkness  that  can  be  felt." 
Evil  is  so  all  permeating.  The  fountains  of  our 
pleasure  are  poisoned  by  it,  and  our  Day  of 
Brightness  is  shadowed  over  by  the  looming 
Mountain  of  Offence.  In  our  every  social  circle 
the  Tempter  is  present ;  and  in  commercial 
state,  and  all  other  undertakings  it  seems  so 
hard  not  to  be  borne  down  of  evil.  How  we 
say  to  God — 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD  ! 


"  Thy  Kingdom  come  O  God, 
Thy  rule  O  Christ  begin, 
Break  with  Thine  iron  rod, 
The  tyrannies  of  sin." 

Ah !  that  is  it !  the  tyrannies  of  sin !  Sin 
has  no  law,  but  a  deadly  rule,  a  baneful 
presence  chamber,  where  obedience  means 
death,  and  a  half-hearted  subjection  means 
chaotic  anarchy.  Here  the  cup  of  friendship 
holds  poisoned  nectar ;  and  all  the  weapons  of 
war  are  jagged  and  pain  increasingly.  The 
tyrannies  of  sin  are  just  what  we  cannot  endure; 
and  for  that  reason  are  God's  messengers, 
telling  us  in  harsh  tones  how  great  is  our  need 
of  His  salvation.  In  sin  is  no  harmony,  its 
very  existence  infers  discord  and  unrest.  There 
is  no  peace  for  the  wicked.  There  is  no  balm 
for  the  sinner.  His  tasks  accomplished  are 
void  of  joy  to  the  victor,  in  the  strife  against 
nature  and  God.  *'  All  is  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit." 

And,  for  all  this  through  centuries  sin  has 
prevailed    in    the   lives  of  the  large   majority. 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD ! 


Authority  has  been  misused,  privilege  abused, 
liberty  misguided  to  license,  adventurers  have 
prospered,  virtue  has  been  persecuted,  and  the 
clean  garment  of  the  chaste  life  has  been 
befouled  by  vile  reproaches. 

"  Where  is  Thy  reign  of  peace 
And  purity  and  love  ? 
When  shall  all  hatred  cease 
As  in  the  realms  above  ? 
When  comes  the  promised  time 
That  war  shall  be  no  more, 
And  lust,  oppression,  crime 
Shall  flee  Thy  face  before?" 

Look  abroad,  and  what  do  we  see  ?  The 
Kings  coming  from  afar,  bringing  their  trophies 
to  the  altar  of  Zion's  God?  Are  the  lions 
being  taught  to  eat  straw  like  the  ox?  Is  the 
venom  of  the  asp  less  deadly  ?  Alas !  my 
brother,  alas  !  Are  not  more  and  more  of  the 
healthy  and  bread-earning  fathers,  and  brothers, 
and  sons  being  prepared  for  the  Moloch  of 
War  every  year  ?  Are  not  heavy  taxes  being 
wrung  from  the  feeble  and  poor  who  are  left  to 
struggle  or   to  starve?     Is  not  class  being  set 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD ! 


more  bitterly  against  class  than  ever  ?  Has 
Pilate  never  spoken  lately  of  spoiling  the 
Temple  Treasury  that  his  power  may  be 
increased?  Is  any  thing  Holy, — sacred  from 
a  rampant,  reckless  secularism  ? 

But  still  we  wait  and  wail  and  pray.  We 
know  that  man  cannot  govern  man.  None  but 
the  Judge  of  all  the  Earth  can  be  trusted  to  do 
right !     To  God  we  turn — 

"  We  pray  Thee  Lord  arise 
And  come  in  Thy  great  Might, 
Revive  our  longing  eyes. 
Which  languish  for  thy  sight. 
Men  scorn  Thy  Sacred  Name, 
And  wolves  devour  thy  fold  ; 
By  many  deeds  of  shame 
We  learn  that  love  grows  cold." 

The  Kingdom  of  God !  herein  lies  the  secret 
refuge  of  our  hope. 

This  is  what  Christ  told  the  disciples  through 
their  prayer.  The  best  human  systems  cannot 
succeed,  without  they  are  channels  of  the  power 
of  God.  It  is  not  well  that  many  little  knights 
should  air  their  caprices  in  the  King's  Land. 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD ! 


Even  Satraps  God  will  not  tolerate.  The  day 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  come  when  God  shall 
rule  directly,  and  guide  in  His  own  Person  the 
affairs  of  His  Heavenly  Kingdom.  As  God  is 
all  pervasive  to  the  eye  of  the  saints  above, 
and  all-present  to  the  consciousness  of  the 
angels,  so  He  shall  be  to  us  here. 

And  this  implies  a  constant  medium  in  our 
own  soul.  A  king  only  rules  effectively  through 
willing  subjects.  While  our  loyalty  is  only 
nominal,  the  prestige  of  the  king  may  be  great, 
but  his  personal  influence  at  the  same  time 
could  be  very  small.  God's  Kingdom  will  come 
when  we  are  co-workers  together  with  Him  in 
every  good  work.  His  truth  is  mightiest  when 
it  is  making  ms  free.  We  must  therefore 
humble  ourselves  to  Him. 

We  may  have  many  desires  to  abandon, 
many  to  learn  ;  but  never  mind  :  it  must  be 
done.  When  the  soldiers  and  tax-gatherers 
came  to  St.  John  Baptist,  we  can  easily  imagine 
that  his  commands  were  not  very  pleasing  to 
the    ear.      When    the    Pharisees    came,    there 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD  ! 


was  harder  hearing  required,  if  they  would  be 
justified.  They  refused  in  most  cases  to  obey 
him,  as  they  afterwards  refused  to  follow  Christ. 
So,  many  decline  to  throw  in  their  lot  with 
Christ  in  His  Church  even  now.  Duty  is 
never  palatable  to  the  self-indulgent.  Service 
is  never  acceptable  as  a  duty  of  the  would-be 
recipient.  T/iey  will  never  help  on  a  Divine 
Kingdom  who  always  claim  the  right  to  *'  pull 
the  wires "  in  everything.  And  yet  Christ 
claims  just  this  willing  subjection  of  us.  We, 
ourselves,  are  to  become  humble  servants,  sons, 
lovers  of  God  and  of  His  ways.  His  govern- 
ment is  to  enter  into  our  business,  our  home 
life,  our  studies,  our  doctrine,  our  worship,  and 
indeed  everything  belonging  to  us.  Brethren, 
let  us  pray  for  God's  coming  in  His  Kingdom, 
let  us  ask  that  His  will  may  be  done  on  earth  ; 
but  never  let  it  escape  our  minds  that  by  us, 
and  in  us,  this  Kingdom  Is  first  to  work  a 
revolution. 

But  as  light  is  never  absorbed  and  lost  in  a 
good  reflector,  so  power  and  life  cannot  remain 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD 


inactive  in  the  presence  of  inert  or  opposing 
circumstances.  Do  men  light  a  candle  and  put 
it  under  a  bushel  ?  Is  a  city  hid  which,  fortified 
and  menacing,  stands  upon  a  hill  ?  Christians 
who  represent  the  great  King  cannot  furl  their 
banners  and  indulge  private  sentiment  in 
obscurity,  while  all  about  them  are  cries  of 
disloyalty,  chronic  rebellion,  and  despite  of 
Paternal  Government.  Our  Divine  Head  has 
warned  us  that  if  we  really  live,  our  influence 
will  lead  to  friction,  to  persecution,  to  privation, 
to  reproach  and  cross-bearing.  And  it  Is  not 
for  us  to  consider  the  whispers  of  expediency, 
but  to  obey  as  leal-hearted  children  subject  to 
the  Lord  of  Life — by  living,  by  testifying,  by 
agresslve  light-bearing.  Religion  is  not  a 
matter  of  mere  sentiment,  but  a  well  of  life- 
giving  and  energizing  emotions  coined  into 
lively  deeds — the  currency  of  the  heavenly 
Kingdom.  And  the  area  of  our  influence  must 
not  be  the  circle  illumined  by  our  church  gas 
lights,  by  our  parish  boundaries,  or  even  by  the 
confines  of  our  national   or   Imperial   territory. 


10  THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD! 

All  Is  His  land,  all  are  His  people,  Christ  died 
for  all  ;  and  he  would  live  in  all.  His  authority 
must  be  more  than  acknowledged  :  it  must  be 
asserted.  More!  It  must  be  proved  that  it  is 
backed  by  power.  The  heathen  of  every  clime, 
the  alien  from  the  communion  of  the  Church, 
the  self-banished  from  the  Catholic  Fold  of  the 
Universal  Father  and  King,  the  erring  and  the 
anti-Christian,  are  all  to  be  compelled  to  own 
the  sway  of  the  Great  Teacher,  of  the  Great 
King.  Whether  the  rebels  used  the  Name  of 
the  King  against  His  rule,  or  whether  they 
blaspheme  against  it  daily,  they  are  disloyal  ; 
and  it  behoves  us  to  put  away  false  charity, 
and  weak,  vain  sentiments  born  of  the  carnal 
love  of  ease,  and,  while  loving  the  soul  involved 
in  darkness,  to  testify  to  the  rights  of  the 
Sovereign  to  implicit  obedience.  The  weak 
missionary  never  wins  anything  but  a  weak 
adhesion  of  weak  inclination.  Faith  in  the 
Gospel  he  preaches,  confidence  in  the  life  he 
calls  for,  belief  in  the  supreme  and  beneficent 
authority  of  the  God  he  tells  of — these  are  the 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD!  ii 

seeds  from  which  spring  strong  Christian  asso- 
ciations. Need  we  tell  how  even  untutored 
savages,  brutal  denizens  of  slumdom,  and 
worldly-minded  citizens  of  high  rank  have  been 
drawn  to  the  consecrated  banner  by  such  a 
faithful  ministry.  Alas,  how  many  die  unsought 
by  Christian  Heralds,  die  unknown  by  trembling 
hesitators,  who  might — nay  ought  long  since  to 
have  been  numbered  among  the  Sons  of  the 
Church  of  God — 

"  O'er  heathen  lands  afar 
Thick  darkness  broodeth  yet." 

What  can  we  do  ?  for  so  small  is  the  Church 
Army  of  Pioneers.  What  only  can  we  do  when 
our  unaided  hands  are  worn  and  weary,  when 
our  hearts  faint  and  grow  sad  "^  Brethren,  let 
us  work  and  pray!  The  hills  are  full  of  succours 
— the  legion  of  Angels  is  near, — the  strong- 
holds of  sin  are  sapped  and  undermined  by  the 
Eternal  Truth  of  God.  "  Lift  up  your  heads, 
O  ye  gates,  even  lift  them  up  ye  everlasting 
doors,  and  the  King  of  Glory  shall  come  in." 
In   glad    refrain,    our   hearts   reply — We   **  see 


12  THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD! 

afar,"  and  perhaps  nearer  than  we  hoped,  the 

darkness  less  dense,  and  a  blue  vault  studded 

with  his  heralds,  lesser  and  greater.     And  then 

in  faith,  as  the  prophets  and  servants  of  old  we 

cry — 

"  Arise,  O  morning  Star, 
And  never,  never  set ! " 


SERMON  II. 


^be  Iking's  1beral55 ! " 

(Christmas  Day.) 


St.  Luke,  II.,  20. 

"  And  the  Angel  said  unto  them,  '  Fear  not :  for, 
behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  to  all  people.' " 

THE  birth  of  a  King  is  an  event  of  vital 
importance  in  any  kingdom.  So  much 
depends  upon  his  abiHty,  his  disposition  and 
his  rule.  Nations  often  depend  almost  entirely 
upon  the  character  of  the  king  introduced.  A 
weak  king  means  a  weak  or  turbulent  council, 
a  lethargic  or  rebellious  people.  A  wise  king 
carries  on  the  business  of  state  with  the 
maximum  of  effect,  and  the  minimum  of  waste 
by  friction  or  neglect. 

And  where  the  nation  is  not  quite  inde- 
pendent of  foreign  influences  or  foreign 
domination,  nothing  short  of  wisdom  upon  the 
throne  can  save  a  nationality  from  utter  ruin. 


14  THE  KING'S   HERALDS! 

Judaea  was  in  this  condition.  She  existed  as 
a  distinct  state  on  sufferance.  The  sliorhtest 
Indiscretion  would  bring  on  a  crisis,  would  from 
a  protectorate  develop  a  sovereignty,  absolute 
and  tyrannical.  The  reigning  king  was  cunning 
and  cruel — relentless  and  unscrupulous.  He 
had  subdued  the  strong  banditti,  and  obtained 
a  complete  mastery  over  the  fearful  Jews.  But 
he  was  only  feared — not  trusted.  The  people 
had  no  confidence  in  his  rule.  He  was  sus- 
pected of  treachery,  and  was  a  deeply  stained 
murderer.  No  Jewish  independence  could 
spring  up  and  flourish  under  the  blight  of  his 
suspicious  self-seeking- ;  and  no  pure  worship 
could  be  maintained,  in  presence  of  crime 
In  the  King's  palace.  Though  he  had  come 
from  Edom,  though  his  garments  were  dyed 
with  blood,  though  he  was  mighty  as  prince 
and  counsellor,  none  could  accept  him  as  the 
promised  deliverer;  none  thought  of  him  as  of 
a  patriot  saviour. 

And     as    shepherds    watched     their    flocks, 
longing  sadly  for  Him  who  should  be  the  Lion 


THE  KING'S  HERALDS! 


of  Judah,  the  Morning  Star  of  Freedom,  telling 
each  other  of  the  last  shame  of  Israel's  King, 
the  most  recent  violation  of  justice  in  her 
borders,  and  often  wondering  when  God  would 
in  very  deed  visit  his  people,  a  wonderful  thing 
happened.  The  sheep  lay  huddled  together  in 
peaceful  slumber,  the  dogs  were  silent  about 
the  encampment,  the  sky  had  become  blacker 
with  the  encompassing  night,  when  the  heavens 
glimmered  and  glittered  with  sudden  splendour, 
the  glory  of  the  God  of  Sabaoth  shone  around, 
the  armies  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts — the  angels  of 
His  that  do  His  pleasure — filled  the  lambent  air, 
and  an  angel  spake  those  blessed  words  which 
to-day  are  heard  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
ears — bringing  joy  and  confidence  to  the  hearts 
erstwhile  sad  and  lone. 

The  poor  shepherds  were  amazed,  fearing 
they  scarce  knew  what,  from  the  apparition  of 
the  beings  of  the  other  world.  The  word  had 
been  indistinct  until  now.  The  veil  of  the 
Temple  fitly  typified  the  separation  of  the  here 
and   the   hereafter.     Only   the  privileged   and 


i6  THE  KING'S  HERALDS! 

those  about  to  die  were  ever  rewarded  for  their 
faith  by  *'  open  vision."     And  yet — 

"  Hark  the  Herald  angels  sing 
Christ  is  born  in  Bethlehem, 
Peace  on  Earth  and  mercy  mild, 
God  and  sinners  reconciled." 

The  middle  boundary  is  taken  away.  No 
longer  is  the  son  to  be  kept  away  from  His 
Father  in  heaven.  God  stoops  to  the  lowliest, 
keeps  from  His  embrace  no  poor  wanderer. 
In  Judaea's  trial  and  strife  and  fear,  He  brings 
peace  and  joy  and  restoration.  The  'Anointed' 
is  born — is  become  as  a  man.  "  God  commen- 
deth  His  love  to  us  in  that  while  we  were  yet 
in  our  sins  He  loved  us."  This  was  the  first 
message  of  the  angel-heralds.  And  yet  not  all 
of  it.  God  has  done  his  part.  In  fulness  of 
time  He  has  revealed  His  will,  and  manifested 
forth  His  grace.  The  Anointed  of  God  is 
given — a  Son  of  God.  The  veil  of  mortality 
has  been  penetrated  by  the  everlasting  and 
inextinguishable  love  of  the  Father-King.  He 
has  opened  His  arms  to  receive  and  welcome 


THE  KING'S  HERALDS!  17 

lost,  wandering  man.  The  Divine  Nature 
vindicates  Itself  In  the  longino-,  yearning  Invita- 
tion to  the  prodigal  needy— the  Ingrate  restored 
to  a  sense  of  his  unworthlness.  Now  the 
Herald  demands  our  confidence.  **  Fear  not," 
fear  not. 

"  Joyful  all  ye  nations  rise, 
Join  the  triumph  of  the  skies, 
With  the  angelic  host  proclaim 
Christ  is  born  in  Bethlehem." 

Here  was  the  way  out  of  all  difficulties  for 
Judaea — here  the  solution  of  all  her  problems — 
the  panacea  for  her  sicknesses.  ''  Hadst  thou 
but  known,  even  thou,  the  day  of  thy  visitation." 
It  was  not  the  Roman  who  was  sapping  the 
strength  of  Jewry,  nor  the  Herod  who  was  the 
real  tyrant.  Her  sins,  her  jealousies,  her  end- 
less bickerings  and  vain  jangllngs,  her  pride, 
her  bigotry  where  the  letter  of  the  law  was 
concerned,  her  neglect  of  the  weightier  matters 
of  judgment  and  mercy.  Alas  !  Jerusalem  ! 
These  were  thy  foes,  these  thine  enemy  within 
the  city.     Never  did  Jews  contend  more  for  the 


t8  the  KING'S  HERALDS! 

purity  of  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  platter  ; 
never  did  she  neglect  the  duty  of  her  high 
calling  more  lamentably !  How  often  in 
maintaining  necessary  discipline,  keeping  fast 
and  festival,  restoring  the  glory  of  decayed 
foundations,  reviving  observance  and  ordinance 
long  discontinued  by  the  indolence  or  error  of 
man,  do  we  forget  the  work  of  mercy,  the 
expression  of  practical  sympathy,  the  stirring-up 
of  the  best  part  in  the  masses  of  non-confessors 
which  surround  us. 

True,  in  the  celebration  of  Christmas.tide,  we 
are  not  so  Pagan  as,  ages  ago,  many  were  wont 
to  be.  We  recognise  that  the  season  is  one  for 
the  cheering  of  the  sad,  and  the  poor,  and  the 
friendless.  But,  do  we  call  them  from  outside 
urgently  enough  to  warrant  us  In  joining  in  the 
Angels'  Song.'^  Do  we  magnify  the  cause  of 
our  generous  impulses,  of  our  human  kindness  ? 
Do  we  reveal,  with  sufficient  distinctness,  the 
source  of  our  ecstacy .-^  Does  the  "Divine 
afflatus  "  bear  us  on,  and  up,  and  outwards  as 
we — 


THE  KING'S  HERALDS!  19 

"  With  the  angelic  host  proclaim, 
Christ  is  born  in  Bethlehem  ?  " 

How  can  we  be  silent  while  the  cherubim  and 
seraphim,  bright  with  the  joy  of  heaven, 
exultingly  sing — ringing  a  merry  peal  of  a 
loyalty  and  triumph  that  only  the  pure  can  know. 

"  Hark,  the  herald  angels  sing 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King." 

Then  the  Herald  told  the  Shepherds  other 
tidings  of  great  joy.  The  Son  of  God  was  the 
Son  of  Man !  The  work  required  by  God  of 
the  being  He  created  when  Man  was  made, 
was  to  be  proved  a  "possible  achievement." 
The  Prince  would  show  men  how  they  might 
conquer  the  ills  flesh  is  heir  to.  He  became 
incarnate.  He  who  thought  it  not  robbery  to 
be  equal  with  God,  yet  made  Himself  of  no 
reputation,  and  took  upon  Himself  the  form 
of  mankind. 

"  Christ,  by  highest  Heaven  adored, 
Christ  the  Everlasting  Word, 
Late  in  time  behold  Him  come. 
Offspring  of  a  Virgin's  womb," 


20  THE  KING'S  HERALDS  ! 

"Tempted  in  all  points  even  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin."  Liable  to  our  troubles,  aye,  to 
more  than  most  of  us  even  fancy  falls  to  our  lot. 
Born  In  obscurity,  of  a  poor  parent,  and  under 
conditions  most  unfavourable  to  a  prosperous 
ministry  and  Kingship  ;  how  was  It  possible  for 
Him  to  '^save  His  people.'^"  We  can  Imagine 
the  struggle  of  His  youth,  the  hard  discipline 
of  His  lonely  youth — subject  to  the  will  of 
those  at  the  head  of  His  household,  and  yet 
**  Knowing  that  He  must  be  about  His  Father's 
business."  Chastened  by  sorrows,  everburning 
but  ever  unconsumed,  continually  walking  on 
holy  ground  while  doing  the  drudgery  of  this 
ordinary  poor  man's  life.     Yet — 

"  Veiled  in  flesh,  the  Godhead  see, 
Hail  the  Incarnate  Deity, 
Pleased  as  Man  with  man  to  dwell, 
Jesus  our  Emmanuel." 

When  the  valleys  are  clouded  In  gloom,  and 
the  dark  pines  put  on  their  sombre  night-dress, 
and  all  colour  seems  gone  from  the  bright 
landscape,  the  rosy  after-glow  cast  upon    the 


THE  KING'S  HERALDS!  21 

snowy  mountain  tops  fills  our  hearts  with  a  soul- 
piercing  glory  the  bright  daylight  would  have 
made  impossible.  God  was  not  hidden  in  the 
Son  of  Man — only  veiled,  and  as  at  the  foot  of 
some  glacier  the  sun  shining  upon  a  grey  refuse- 
strewn  mass  of  dirty  ice,  pierces  through  it  with 
a  clear  blue  softness,  so  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
poor  and  rejected  of  men,  of  no  form  nor  come- 
liness and  of  no  beauty,  is  a  Divine  glory 
which  increases  the  deeper  the  gloom  of  His 
circumstance,  and  reaches  the  heart  with 
conviction  most  when  He  seems  most  for- 
saken. A  Babe  in  a  manger,  crowded  in  the 
stable  of  an  Eastern  caravanserai,  a  long 
way  from  home,  here  is  our  Emmanuel, — our 
Jesus. 

In  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  the  sins  of 
ignorance  and  vice  were  cleansed,  and  the 
flame  of  disgrace  which  licked  the  Confessor's 
naked  limbs  burned  away  the  barriers  of 
prejudice,  and  melted  the  ice  of  hate  which 
prevented  the  admission  of  the  heathen  into 
the  One  Church  Militant  of  the  Christ. 


2  2  THE  KING'S  HERALDS! 

"  Hark  the  herld  angels  sing, 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King." 

And  last,  the  Messenger  indicates  the 
character  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth. 
The  tidings  are  of  great  joy  ''  to  all  people." 

"  Hail  the  heaven-born  Prince  of  Peace  ; 
Hail,  the  Son  of  Righteousness  ; 
Light  and  life  to  all  He  brings. 
Risen  with  healing  in  His  wings." 

A  Kingdom  independent  of  accidents,  of 
birth,  of  condition,  of  earth's  trials,  and  joys ! 
A  rule  which  shall  be  for  the  advantag.e  of  the 
people.  No  self-interested  despotism,  no 
provision  for  His  own  luxuries,  no  indulgence 
of  His  own  passions,  save  of  a  passion  of 
continued  sacrifice !  Ever  evolving  the  sweet 
perfume  of  His  healing  ointment,  always  giving, 
eternally  a  servant,  and  a  king  because  serving. 
The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister  and  to  give  His  life  a 
took  ransom  for  many.  The  old  kings  of  Israel 
took  of  the  choicest  of  their  subjects  for  their  own 
use  and  enjoyment.      The  Eternal  King  gave 


THE  KING'S  HERALDS!  23 

gifts  to  men  and  spared  not  His  blood,  even  the 
*'  Blood  of  the  new  Covenant,  which  speaketh 
better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel." 

"  Mild  He  laid  His  glory  by, 
Born  that  Man  no  more  may  die, 
Born  to  raise  the  Sons  of  earthy 
Born  to  give  them  second  birth." 

As  He  said,  herein  is  my  Father,  glorified 
that  ye  brin^  forth  much  fruit,  so  He  did,  for 
He  humbled  Himself,  and  become  obedient  to 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  This  was 
the  Child  King  born  at  Bethlehem.  Was  He 
not  worthy  the  angels'  song?  Did  He  not 
offer  to  all  release  from  burdens  ?  And  does  He 
not  freely  fulfil  all  His  promises  of  Salvation. 
O  that  we  were  worthy  to  sound  His  praise 
abroad  as  Angels  did  then !  That  we  could 
only  understand  all  that  the  Christian  Church 
He  is  the  head  of  is  capable  of  being  to  the 
needy,  miserable  world!  If  we  want  to  win 
the  masses  of  men  for  Christ,  we  must  go  to 
the  Plains  of  Bethlehem's  pastures  and  listen  to 
that  heavenlv  chorus.     We  must  listen  until  the 


24  THE  KING'S  HERALDS! 


bonds  of  traditional  thought  and  custom  are 
melted  In  thin  air,  and  we  become  free  of  the 
Kingdom  that  Is  an  Everlasting  Kingdom — 
subjects  of  Him  of  whose  dominion  there  shall 
be  no  end. 

As  we  separate  to  keep  this  Festival  with  our 
dear  ones  at  home,  let  us  think  of  that  Heavenly- 
Vision.  As  we  unite,  as  we  delight  to  do,  in 
the  grand  old  Christmas  Hymns,  let  us  look  up 
to  the  opening  heavens  and  we  shall  hear  where 
the  Church  will  find  her  Sovereign.  And,  as 
the  Beatific  Vision  fades  from  our  sight,  we 
catch  the  words  "Goodwill  toward  men,"  an 
echo  from  another  voice  is  heard  in  answer — 
*'  Other  sheep  I  have  which  are  not  of  this  fold  : 
them  also  I  must  bring  that  there  may  be  one 
fold  and  one  Shepherd."  Brethren,  in  Christian 
seeking  we  shall  be  most  "present  with  the 
Lord." 

"  Hark,  the  herald  angels  sing 
Glory  to  our  new-born  King." 


SERMON  III. 


Zhc  Eternal  Ibclper ! 

(New  Year.) 


Psalms,  CXXL,  2. 

*  My  help  cometh  from  the  Lord  which  made  heaven 
and  earth." 


T 


HERE  may  have  been  moments  of 
madness  during  which  men  have,  in 
their  despair,  felt  utterly  alone,  and  dependent 
upon  their  own  imperfect  ability  for  all  they 
sought  after  or  needed;  but  only  the  unthinking 
and  reckless  can  ever  have  had  anything  like 
confidence  in  their  own  sufficiency,  their  own 
adequate  equipment  for  the  ever  changing 
battle-field  of  life.  Even  the  so-called  Godless 
are  daily  turning  for  help  in  emergency  to  finite 
creatures  like  themselves,  and  recognize  that 
perfect  independency  is  an  utter  impossibility. 

The  student  realizes  constantly  the  presence 
of  a  force  more  or  less  hidden — which  man  is 


26  THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  ! 

quite  incapable  of  generating,  and  which  often 
indeed  is  discovered  acting  in  a  direction 
quite  opposite  to  the  general  tendency  of  man's 
ordinary  life.  It  is  a  power  which  moulds  and 
ultimately  guides  all  events,  as  they  are  mar- 
shalled in  endless  and  motley  procession,  by  the 
will  of  an  inscrutable  but  all-wise  Providence. 
Some  call  it  the  Time  Spirit ;  but  it  often 
operates  against  the  trend  of  popular  opinion. 
It  is  the  voice  of  God.  He  who  took  Ephraim 
by  the  shoulders,  teaching  Him  how  to  walk, 
and  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart  that.  Israel's 
emancipation  might  be  more  assured  and 
complete,  who  always  manifests  His  glory 
where  the  shadow  of  the  cross  falls  most  darkly, 
He  is  our  help  from  of  old.  Unconsciously, 
our  Fathers  have  depended  upon  His  assistance  ; 
and  involuntarily  they  have  leant  upon  His 
strong  arm  when  weary  and  friendless. 

"  O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past. 
Our  hope  for  years  to  come, 
Our  shelter  from  the  stormy  blast 
And  our  eternal  home. 


THE  ETERNAL  HELPER!  27 

Beneath  the  shadow  of  Thy  Throne, 
Thy  saints  have  dwelt  secure. 
Sufficient  is  Thine  arm  alone  ; 
And  our  defence  is  sure." 

How  deep  has  been  my  own  conviction  of 
the  eternal  presence  of  this  help  during  the 
twelve  months  gone  by !  How  strong  and 
reliable  has  proved  our  Stay!  How  faithful 
has  been  our  King  in  the  time  of  His 
Kingdom's  trial !  How  safe  we  have  felt  when 
the  swelling  of  Jordan  has  found  us  in  the 
Mount  with  Him.  It  was  this  certainty  which 
bore  the  Early  English  missionaries  through 
various  and  awful  scenes  of  persecution  and 
heathen  rage,  and  encouraged  them  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  those  noble  piles  which  prove  to 
modern  ages  how  deep  was  their  faith  in  the 
power  behind  them. 

"  They  met  the  tyrant's  brandished  steel, 
The  lion's  gory  mane. 
They  bowed  their  heads,  the  death  to  feel, 
Who  follows  in  their  train  ? 
A  noble  army,  men,  and  boys, 
The  matron  and  the  maid, 


28  THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  ! 

Around  the  Saviour's  Throne  rejoice, 
In  robes  of  light  arrayed." 

It  was  just  this  consciousness  of  Divine  help 
which  was  the  pilgrim's  "  Key  of  Promise,"  to 
the  early  confessors  and  priests  of  the  church. 
Had  their  cause  been  a  political  one — of  a 
merely  humanly  organised  propaganda,  or  even 
the  attempt  of  the  best  minds  to  influence  the 
world  for  the  best  objects,  they  had  never 
sealed  their  testimony  at  the  pillory,  and  the 
stocks,  and  the  prison-house  and  gibbet  as  they 
did.  But  they  felt  the  Divine  presence  ac- 
tuating them,  they  cried  out  like  Jonah,  as 
compelled  to  convey  a  Divine  message  ;  and 
their  work  remains  for  ever.  The  thumbscrew 
and  the  "  boot,"  the  pincers  and  the  flame, 
alike  were  unable  to  move  them  from  the  foot 
of  the  Cross,  and  tyrant  has  often  trembled  as 
accused,  while  the  wretched  prisoner  has 
reasoned  of  righteousness  and  temperance  and 
judgment  .to  come.  The  plague  has  filled 
pagan  courts  with  loud  and  bitter  cries ;  but 
Azrael    has    passed  over    the  lintels  sprinkled 


THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  !  29 

with  the  blood  of  the  saints.  Wars  and 
rumours  of  war  have  put  nations  into  anxiety 
born  of  fearful  tumult ;  but  the  saints  have  not 
been  dismayed.  They  have  seen,  in  the  clouds, 
the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  !  They  have  fled 
to  the  Mountains  of  Divine  Protection,  and 
enduring  to  the  end,  they  have  been  saved. 
They  have  looked  upon  the  City  of  Zion,  and 
have  not  trembled  even  before  the  glittering 
sheen  of  the  spears  of  blasphemous  and  foolish 
Rabshekah. 

"  Beneath  the  shadow  of  Thy  throne, 
Thy  saints  have  dwelt  secure, 
Sufificient  is  Thine  Arm  alone. 
And  our  defence  is  sure." 

The  Church  and  the  World  both  feel  con- 
strained to  acknowledge  the  ''antiquity''  of 
God.  History  is  full  of  Him  !  His  strong 
deliverances  and  marvellous  interferences  for 
good  have  been  patent  to  all  observers, — even 
the  most  casual.  The  hardened  Roman  soldier, 
who  had  charge  of  the  execution  of  Pilate's  will 
on  Calvary,  was  compelled  to  exclaim,  ''  Truly 


THE  ETERNAL  HELPER! 


this  is  the  Son  of  God."  And  whenever  the 
Right  has  come  out  conqueror  in  any  struggle 
against  overwhelming  odds,  the  amazed  on- 
looker has  been  found  ready  to  put  upon  record, 
in  every  age,  the  wonderful  interposition  of  the 
Omnipotent.  The  unknown  forces  of  all  times 
have  naturally  been  ascribed  to  the  Ancient 
Deity  unseen,  yet  very  certainly  indwelling. 
But  an  ancient  God  is  not  enough  for  immortal 
spirits.  That  which  has  a  capacity  for  eternity 
demands  more  than  a  God  of  many  days.  The 
ideal  deity  must  be  Eternal  too  and  Pnfmite. 
He  must  not  be  the  idea  evolved  from  the 
experienced  need  of  man  ;  but  He  must  be 
God  independently  of  man's  need  of  Him — 
Creator  of  all  things — not  Creature  for  all 
things.  God  is  not  the  product  of  oicr  desire  ; 
He  is  the  Father  of  zcs  all, — but  above  all 
things  Eternal. 

Before  volcanic  action  ever  began  to  leave 
its  traces  upon  the  level  surface  of  the  earth — 
before  the  hills  rose  majestic  with  their  snowy 
or  wood-clad  heights — before  the  high  ridges 


THE  ETERNAL  HELPER!  31 

shed  the  rushing  torrents  of  Ice  water  down 
many  caverned  valleys — nay  before  the  electric 
glow  gave  place  to  the  glorious  Orb  of  Day — 
**the  heavens  declared  the  glory  of  God;  and 
the  firmament  shewed  His  handiwork.  In 
them  had  He  ''set  a  Tabernacle  for  the  sun." — 

"  Before  the  hills  in  order  stood, 
Or  earth  received  her  frame, 
From  everlasting.  Thou  art  God, 
To  endless  years  the  same." 

And  this  God   of  ours   was   not   like   them  of 

Olympus — a  little  above  the  standard  of  ordinary 

humanity.     As  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the 

earth,  so  great  is  He  in  His  mercies. 

"A  thousand  ages  in  Thy  sight 
Are  like  an  evening  gone. 
Short  as  the  watch  that  ends  the  night 
Before  the  rising  sun." 

And  herein  lies  the  great  contrast  between  our 
God  and  ourselves !  He  from  everlasting  to 
endless  days — we  creatures  of  one  day  and  off- 
spring from  another.  He,  God  the  Kin^ — we 
depending  upon  Him  even  for  ''breath  and  life 
and  all  things." 


32  THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  ! 

What  changes  men's  families  have  had  to 
take  note  of  during  the  year  that  Is  gone. 
Many  Hves  have  been  begun,  continued,  and 
ended,  all  within  the  short  bounds  of  a  twelve- 
month. Our  homes  have  become  hopeful,  sad, 
despairing,  and  strong,  many  times  during  one 
short  year.  Many  clouds  have  flitted  before 
our  Sun  of  Joy,  and  have  seemed  to  be  never 
going  to  pass  away  ;  and  this  has  only  preceded 
a  long  season  In  which  the  pleasures  and 
prosperities  of  this  world  have  been  such 
constant  companions  of  ours  that  we  have 
dared  to  think  the  daytime  could  be  followed 
by  no  night  for  us.  And  all  since  last  we  met 
to  usher  In  the  New-born  Year ! 

As  in  the  days  of  Noah  and  Lot,  we  have 
eaten  and  drunk,  and  married  and  given  in 
marriage.  We  have  laid  up  for  many  years 
and  have  not  known  until  God  came  to  awaken 
us  from  our  folly,  that  our  very  immortality 
depended  upon  Him. 

"  Time,  like  an  ever  rolling  stream, 
Bears  all  its  sons  away ; 


THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  !  33 

They  fly,  forgotten,  as  a  dream 
Dies  at  the  opening  day." 

And  our  help  in  emergency,  and  our  support  in 
the  hungry  land  of  pilgrimage  have  both  come 
from  the  Lord  who  made  heaven  and  earth. 
When  our  heart  became  hard  under  repeated 
disappointments  and  the  ingratitude  or  thought- 
less coldness  of  those  we  loved  in  deed  and 
truth,  it  was  the  balm  of  Gilead  which  healed 
us  of  our  disease.  And  when  our  heads  were 
bowed  with  woe  unspeakable,  it  was  the  pierced 
hand  of  Jesus  which  lifted  up  our  face  until  our 
eyes  met  His,  still  burning  with  the  Calvary 
Love  for  us  ;  and  our  hearts  were  lightened, 
and  we  became  free  again.  How  kindly  He 
led  us  apart  into  a  solitary  place  when  the 
snares  of  temptation  were  set  for  our  souls,  and 
counselled  us  !  How  the  sight  of  His  tears 
chastened  our  sorrows  when  we  laid  to  rest  in 
God's  Acre  the  remains  of  our  dear  ones  ! 

Yes,  Man  may  fly  forgotten  of  his  fellows  like 
a  dream  ;  his  life  may  be  very  insignificant  in 
the  judgment  of  his  peers  ;    the  resultant  of  all 


34  THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  ! 

his  works  may  not  amount  to  much  to  other 
men's  minds  ;  but  no  poor  Christian's  life  can 
become  invisible  to  succeeding  ages,  because  in 
the  poorest  witness  the  Saviour's  Word  ever 
abides,  and  cannot  be  rubbed  out  even  for  the 
sake  of  an  otherwise  worthless  life.  As  He 
and  His  influence  cannot  die,  so  the  best  of  our 
lives — that  where  he  is — will  live  for  ever. 

Think  of  this,  ye  pessimists  !  and  be  ashamed 
of  your  base  unfaith  !  Think  of  this,  ye  brow- 
beaten ones !  Your  life — that  part  of  it  in 
which  the  Lord  has  wrought — will  liveior  ever. 
A  light,  lit  by  Christ,  never  can  go  out,  though 
earthly  priests,  who  have  forgotton  its  very 
existence,  may  leave  it  and  die.  ^'  Our  God 
abideth  for  ever,"  and  ''  His  word  cannot  return 
unto  Him  void." 

And  now  we  commence  another  year,  and 
begin  to  tread  a  new  path,  which  may  mean  to 
us  a  new  set  of  experiences,  a  new  kind  of  trial, 
and  a  new  sweetness  of  joy. 

But  although  all  may  be  changing  to  us  in 
the  form  of  our  life,  one  thing  never  changes — 


THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  !  35 


Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
for  ever.  Whether  we  cross  the  treacherous 
sea,  or  journey  through  rocky  valleys  and  wild 
mountain-passes, — our  Pillar  of  Cloud  or  Fire 
is  always  near — "  He  will  never  leave  us,  nor 
forsake  us." 

Whatever  our  peculiar  trials,  His  presence 
nerves  us  to  endurance.  However  long  we 
may  wait  for  our  sight  of  Blessed  Canaan,  we 
are  content  to  wait  while  we  see  the  fleecy 
Cloud  of  Safety  before  us,  over  the  Tabernacle. 
It  was  there  when  the  rumble  of  Pharaoh's 
chariots  put  us  in  great  fear  ;  It  was  there  when 
the  mighty  waves  poured  over  our  proud 
adversary  ;  and  so  long  as  God  will  be  with  us, 
we  feel  that  no  harm  can  come  to  us.  We  feel 
somehow  as  the  sturdy  sons  of  Israel  must  have 
felt  when  at  last  their  weary  probation  was  over, 
and  they  stood  watching  the  ark  of  God, 
which  the  priests  were  bearing  down  to  Jordan's 
stream.  The  past  was  theirs  ;  and  all  the  good 
was  that  in  which  they  had  communed  with 
God.      The  future,  with  all  its  uncertainty,  was 


36  THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  ! 

before   them,   but  the  certainty  also  that  God 
was  with  them. 

"  O  God  our  help  in  ages  past, 
Our  hope  in  years  to  come, 
Be  Thou  our  guard  while  troubles  last, 
And  our  Eternal  Home." 

The  Canaan  we  have  such  hopes  centred  in 
is  before  us.  We  can  make  it  a  ''  Land  flowing 
with  Milk  and  Honey  " — or  otherwise — accord- 
ing as  we  observe  the  Divine  Presence,  or 
disregard  it.  How  are  we  going  to  live  this 
year  out  ?  is  a  more  important  question  for  us 
than  '■'  How  are  we  going  to  enjoy  this  year.'^" 
Are  we  going  to  live  it  relying  upon  the  help  of 
God?  Do  we  naturally  seek  to  do  His  Will? 
"  The  Law  of  the  Lord  Is  perfect,  converting 
the  soul.  The  Testimony  of  the  Lord  Is  sure, 
making  wise  the  simple.  The  Statutes  of  the 
Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart ;  the  Com- 
mandment of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the 
eyes —  ...  by  them  Is  Thy  servant 
warned  ;  and  in  keeping  of  them  there  Is  great 
reward."     Here  is  the  secret  of  a  Happy  New 


THE  ETERNAL  HELPER  !  37 

Year — of  a  year  that  shall  ever  be  new — never 
old — always  new  with  promise  and  joy  and 
peace  unutterable. 

A  life  lived  with  God  is  the  only  life  in  which 
perfect  success  can  safely  be  looked  for  ;  and  a 
Godly  life  is  never  a  failure  ! 

"  Eternal  Spirit,  by  whose  Breath 
The  soul  is  raised  from  sin  and  death : 
Before  Thy  throne  we  sinners  bend 
To  us  Thy  quickening  power  extend." 

"  O  God  our  help  in  ages  past, 
Our  hope  for  years  to  come. 
Be  Thou  our  guard  while  troubles  last, 
And  our  Eternal  Home." 


SERMON  IV. 


Zbc  presence  Chamber!" 

(Epiphany.) 


Psalms,  XL,  4. 

"  The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple,  the  Lord's  throne  is 
in  heaven  :  His  eyes  behold,  His  eyelids  try,  the 
children  of  men." 

THE  temple  worship  has  a  foremost  place 
among  the  customs  of  nearly  every  race 
of  men.  Each  nation  of  the  past  has  had  some 
place  where  it  was  believed  the  gods  could  be 
approached  with  greatest  advantage,  and  im- 
pleaded with  purest  desire ;  and  among  the 
most  highly  civilized  nations  like  the  Jews,  the 
Egyptians,  and  the  Greeks,  there  have  always 
been  some  special  shrines,  before  which  man 
might  commune  with  his  Creator  and  Spiritual 
Ruler.  The  classic  heroes  often  erected  costly 
temples  in  certain  commemoration  of  what  they 


THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER  !  39 

regarded  as  Divine  interpositions  for  their  own 
benefit,  and  in  these  places  various  gods  were 
supposed  to  be  most  ready  to  bear  help  to  their 
votaries.  And  the  greater  the  spirituality  of  the 
nation  seeking  this  communion,  the  greater  the 
safeguards  to  acquire  for  their  erections  sanctity, 
and  to  preserve  their  worship  from  the  intrusion 
of  customs  likely  to  be  displeasing  to  the  Deity. 
Hence  David's  ready  acquiescence  in  the  word 
which  prohibited  his  own  designs  for  a  temple, 
and  hence  also  the  restrictions  imposed  upon 
the  builders  of  the  first  temple  at  Jerusalem 
by  Solomon  himself  Hence,  too,  that  peculiar 
reverence  paid  by  Christians  to  the  Houses  of 
Prayer  we  build  to  the  glory  of  our  Lord. 

Perhaps  there  may  be  a  danger  of  idolatry  to 
be  guarded  against  here,  but  it  were  better  that 
this  danger  should  be  daily  avoided  than  that 
we  should  in  any  way  abate  one  single  obser- 
vance of  the  reverent  soul,  or  lower  in  one 
single  respect  our  ideal  of  the  House  of  God's 
Dwelling-place.  This  House  has  been  to  many 
of  us  verily  a  "  gate  of  Heaven."     Our  burdens 


40  THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER! 

have  been  here  lifted  by  the  nail-pierced  hand 
of  the  Strong  Zion  of  Judah,  and  the  Book  of 
the  mysteries  of  our  lives  has  been  opened  for 
us  by  One  like  unto  the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 
The  House  cannot  be  like  a  human  erection  to 
us  ;  it  is  ever  for  us  a  Bethel,  and  angels  here, 
as  nowhere  else,  seem  to  ascend  and  descend 
upon  the  Ladder  of  God's  Infinite  tender 
mercy.  Whether  we  meet  in  cathedral  fanes 
or  in  darkened  catacomb  chapels,  there  is 
something  of  association  which  ever  inspires  us 
with  wonder  and  praise.  The  missionary  in 
distant  haunts  of  savages,  amid  the  execrations 
of  a  lie-enraged  populace,  standing  by  the  altar 
with  One  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man,  exultantly 


smgs- 


"  All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell 
Sing  to  the  Lord  with  cheerful  voice. 
Him  serve  with  fear,  His  praise  forth  tell, 
Come  ye  before  Him  and  rejoice." 

And  why  ? 

Because  there   is  in  the  means  of  grace  an 
ever  constant  reminder  that  here   God  meets 


THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER!  41 

with  and  blesses   His  people.      King  Solomon's 

prayer  was  not  only  a  plea  for  the  All-Father's 

presence    in    His    House,    but    was    a  grandly 

confident  assertion  of  the  certainty  that  in  the 

Holy  Place  the  Almighty  woidci  commune  with 

the  weakly  finite,   that   there  the  supernatural 

and    informate    would    translate    itself    in    the 

evident  and  concrete  humanity  which   He  had 

created.      Unlike  so  many  of  the  wise  men  of 

our,   and  all   fallible   ages,   he   believed   in  the 

personal   relation   between   God  and    His  own 

elect  human  children, — that  it  was  true  that  the 

Almighty   Love  burned   for  an    object   in    the 

deliverance  of  Man,  in  short,  that  our  God  was 

not  only  a  Deity  to  be  impleaded,  but  a  Loving 

Father- King   who   approached   men    wherever 

He  could  breathe   into    them    His    Spirit  and 

inspire  them  with   His  power.     Therefore  it  is 

that  the   Religious   Soul   has   ever  approached 

with  a  reverent  delight  the  House  of  Prayer. 

It  is  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  the  Divine 

pity  and  love  for  a  fallen  and  self- disinherited 

race,    and    a  standing    proof   which  cannot  be 


42  THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER  ! 

gainsaid  that  "  the  Lord,  He  is  gracious,"  and 
that  in  His  Church  He  manifests  Himself  to 
His  Disciples  in  all  His  glory.  Here,  and 
through  the  Worship  of  His  Church,  He  has 
spoken  with  an  authority  of  deed  and  truth 
which  we  do  not  recognize  in  separation  from 
His  people  and  the  Divinely  appointed  ordin- 
ances through  which  He  draws  nigh  unto  us,  in 
the  power  from  on  High  by  which  we  over- 
come evil  tendency,  and  triumph  over  personal 
schism  of  all  kinds. 

The  Magi  from  the  Chaldean  rivers  saw  His 
star  in  the  East  and  came  to  worship  in  His 
presence.  The  early  fathers  of  our  race 
recognised  His  great  power  and  love,  and 
"began  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
The  Jews,  scattered  under  every  clime,  and 
subject  to  despots  throughout  distant  countries, 
turned  their  faces  toward  Jerusalem  to  offer 
their  orisons,  because  there  God  visited  His 
people. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  appears  to  have  taken 
great  pains  to  shew,  as  had  the  prophets  in  all 


THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER!  43 

ages,  that  Jehovah  was  not  a  Deity  who 
needed  "rivers  of  oil,"  and  burnt  '^offerings  of 
fatlings,"  as  though  He  was  in  want  and  must 
be  approached  in  a  bargain,  but  He  was  the 
'^Keeper  of  Israel,"  "The  Captain  of  our 
Salvation,"  He  who  taught  Ephraim  to  walk, 
"taking  him  by  the  shoulders."  Every  saying 
of  Christ  seems  to  amount  to  this  : — "  Think 
not,  like  the  heathen  that  ye  need  much 
speaking  for  God  to  hear  you.  Your  Father 
knoweth  ye  have  need  .  .  .  before  ye  ask 
Him.  With  His  Son  will  He  not  freely  give 
you  all  things  ? "  And,  my  brethren,  we  ought 
more  to  remember  that  God  is  the  first  to 
approach  man.  He  sent  His  servants  the 
prophets,  and  lastly  His  own  Son."  He  it  is 
who  comes  through  Pagan  systems  and  through 
man's  wilful,  blind  materialism,  breathing  into 
man  the  desire  for  spiritual  communion,  and  the 
ideal  of  an  immortal  life.  He  it  is  who  first 
created  healthy  ambition,  and  then  prepares  us 
to  attain  to  still  nobler  conquests  than  all  we 
first  desired. 


44  THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER! 

"  The  Lord  ye  know  is  God  indeed, 
Without  our  aid  He  did  us  make, 
We  are  His  flock,  He  doth  us  feed, 
And  for  His  sheep  He  doth  us  take." 

We  come  to  Him  then  because  He  first 
comes  to  us.  We  "love  Him  because  He  first 
loved  us."  We  long  for  Him  because  in  order 
to  satisfy  the  craving  of  His  nature  for  our 
happiness,  "  He  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but 
freely  gave  him  up  "  for  us. 

The  Church  of  God  then  Is  not  an  assembly 
of  men  for  the  worship  of  and  discovery  of  a 
being  who  must  be  Interested  in  us  before  He 
will  help  us,  but  Is  God's  means  of  doing  us 
good  In  ways  which  often  we  had  never  thought 
possible.  Does  this  not  relieve  many  of  us 
from  that  soul-destroying  and  God-Insulting 
fear  that  we  are  too  great  sinners  for  mercy, — 
too  wretchedly  feeble  to  be  able  to  appease  His 
anger  or  make  it  worth  His  while  to  save  or 
listen  to  us  ?  We  often  distrust  God's  Love 
more  than  we  would  that  of  our  earthly  parents. 
We  are  sure  of  their  welcome  home,  but  not 


THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER  !  45 

of  His  !  The  disciples  thought  that  only  the 
rich  and  powerful  would  be  considered  worth 
salvation.  Some  of  the  Jews  were  puzzled 
because  Jesus  troubled  Himself  with  publicly 
bad  people  ;  and,  similarly,  we  fear  God  will 
think  us  too  far  lost,  too  deeply  bemired  for 
deliverance  !  And  yet  He  was  always  calling 
the  lost  sheep,  and  healing  the  sick,  and  being 
good  to  the  friendless  and  outcast.  How  we 
wrono-  God !  We  do  not  make  ourselves  orood. 
He  takes  us  for  His  sheep,  and  teaches  us  by 
the  object  lesson  of  His  life,  and  death,  and 
glorious  Resurrection  how  to  '^  lead  captivity 
captive,  and  give  gifts  to  men." 

"  None  can  come  to  Me,"  says  He,  "  except 
My  Father  draw  Him."  The  whole  process  of 
salvation  is  God's  work,  not  ours.  We  may  be 
passive,  we  may  be  rebellious  ;  but  it  is  ''  God 
that  worketh  in  us  to  will  and  to  do  according 
to  His  good  pleasure."  Then,  my  brother, 
when  you  feel  that  the  wish  to  be  His  has  a 
place  in  your  hearts,  be  sure  that  the  great 
Shepherd  is  taking  you  for  His  sheep  and  leave 


46  THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER! 

troubling  any  longer  as  to    His  not  receiving 
you  into  His  fold. 

All  this  transforms  our  relation  to  the  great 
King  Jehovah.  An  antepast  of  eternal  blessed- 
ness is  placed  before  our  erst  fainting  soul,  and 
we  live  in  a  new  atmosphere,  and  breathe  the 
air  of  a  redeemed  nature.  Those  things  we 
counted  worthy  are  become  as  dross,  and  the 
gifts  we  looked  upon  askance  become  glorious 
and  desirable  in  our  eyes.  When  once  we 
think  of  God  in  His  right  relation  to  us,  we 
begin  to  well  contemplate  the  traits  of  the 
Divine  Nature  and  Character.  As  a  child,  just 
standing  amazed  before  the  awful  realities  of 
life,  feels  most  gratefully  the  wisdom  of  the  past 
parental  discipline,  so  we  adore  the  Divine 
Majesty  of  the  Infinite  love  which  has  chastised 
us  during  our  training,  and  give  to  our  God  the 
credit  due  for  all  His  lonor-sufferincr  arace  and 
mercy.  Even  our  own  sense  of  unworthiness 
and  insufficiency  are  for  the  nonce  lost  sight  of 
in  our  wonder  at  the  sublime  salvation  of  our 
Heavenly  King. 


THE  PRESENCE   CHAMBER!  47 

"  ()  enter  then  His  gates  with  praise, 
Approach  with  joy  His  courts  unto, 
Praise,  laud,  and  magnify  His  Name  always, 
For  it  is  seemly  so  to  do." 

Alas !  that  enthusiasm  in  religious  worship 
and  service  should  be  found  so  little  among  us ! 
The  Church  of  Christ  has  been  too  much  held 
In  a  leash  and  guided  by  a  blind,  cold,  passion- 
less fashion  or  convenance.  It  has  been 
thought  the  best  form  to  be  severely  emotionless 
in  the  House  of  Prayer  ;  and  we  have  almost 
been  ashamed  to  let  God  see  how  much  we 
admire  and  love  Him  in  His  household.  This 
is  not  seemly.  Not  only  should  we  offer  to  Him 
the  best  music,  the  choicest  product  of  every 
art,  the  richest  service  ;  but  as  the  poor  publican 
smote  upon  His  breast,  and  feelingly  confessed 
his  own  unworthlness,  and  as  David  danced 
before  the  Ark  on  its  entry  to  the  place  of  its 
rest,  and  as  the  simple  Children  of  the  East 
made  Jerusalem's  narrow  streets  rlnof  with  oflad 
hosannahs,  so  xh(t  jubilate  should  shine  upon  our 
faces,  and  peal  like  a  harmony  of  silver  bells  in 


48  THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER  ! 

the  multiple  acts  of  our  life.  Why  do  we  try- 
to  suppress  our  surging  emotions  at  every  great 
function  and  festival?  Our  brethren  of  the 
Greek  Church  have  a  very  beautiful  custom  at 
Easter  time.  "  He  is  risen,"  "  He  is  risen," 
they  cry,  and  gladly  salute  each  other,  with 
joyful  countenances  beaming  forth  the  peace  of 
a  Divine  afflatus.  And  we,  on  New  Year's 
morn,  roll  back  from  us  the  burdens  of  an  un- 
satisfactory past,  and  merrily  wish  each  other  a 
bright  and  fortunate  future.  Why  should  we 
be  silent  and  stiff  when  we  come  into  the 
presence  of  the  Great  Father  ?  Should  we  not 
rather  say  : — "  This  is  the  Lord's  day,  let  us  be 
glad  in  it "  ;  and  as  the  miracles  of  His  healing 
transform  one  after  the  other  of  us,  "from  glory 
unto  glory,"  as  by  the  working  of  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord,  should  we  not  cry,  "  This  is  the 
Lord's  doing,  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes  "  } 

"  For  why  ?     The  Lord  our  God  is  good, 
His  mercy  is  for  ever  sure, 
His  truth  at  all  times  firmly  stood, 
And  shall  from  age  to  age  endure." 


THE  PRESENCE  CHAMBER  !  49 


Could  we  but  go  out  to  our  daily  round  of 
working  and  waiting  with  this  ringing  In  our 
ears !  Oh,  that  we  would  remember  all  that 
God  Is  willinor  and  wantinor  to  be  to  us.     The 

o  o 

joy  of  Cornelius  ought  to  be  ours.  The  ready 
faith  of  the  Phillipian  gaoler  should  flood  oiir 
souls  with  peace,  and  fill  our  mouths  with  heart- 
felt praise.  We  should  then,  though  in  the 
world,  live  very  near  to  heaven  !  We  should 
unite,  we  may  unite  with  the  choristers  above 
in  the  great  Alleluia — 

"  To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
To  God,  whom  heaven  and  earth  adore, 
From  men,  and  from  the  Angel-host, 
Be  praise  and  glory  evermore." 

God  will  never  neglect  us,  never  be  at  fault 
In  our  affairs.  *'  His  eyes  behold.  His  eyelids 
try  the  children  of  men." 


SERMON  V. 

"  a  state  of  Mar ! " 

(Ash  Wednesday.) 

I  St.  Peter,  V.,  9. 
*'  Whom  resist  steadfast  in  the  faith." 

AS  the  struggle  of  the  plant  against  appar- 
ently adverse  forces  In  early  spring,  and 
the  consequent  period  of  consolidaticxn  of  all 
plant  life  and  energy  and  aim,  fit  the  green 
tenderling  for  the  burden  and  joy  of  blossom 
and  seed  shedding,  so  the  Season  of  Fast  and 
Vigil  prepare  the  Christian  plant  for  the 
demands  of  the  coming  trial  of  prosperity  and 
adversity,  of  which  every  healthy  and  progress- 
ive life  knows  a  blessed  experience.  Christians 
have  been  too  ready  to  separate  the  Spirit 
life  eternal  from  the  work  of  the  Soldier  in  the 
flesh,  and  In  the  contemplation  of  the  joys  of  the 
Hereafter  to  lose  sight  of  the  burning  questions 


A  STATE  OF  WAR!  51 

of  the  Here.      Hence   the  church   has  been   In 
great  danger,  in  all  ages,  of  yielding  up  to  any 
who   would    relieve   her,    all    her    power, — that 
power  with  which  her  great  Head  has  endued 
her,  to  influence  the  trend  of  popular  thought, 
and  the  direction  of  popular  action.     She  has 
thus   often  let   slip   opportunity  and   in  reality 
delegated   to   the   carnal    mind   and    hand,    the 
discharge  of  those  functions  for  which  she  has 
sole    authority    and    is     pre-eminently     fitted. 
Social  questions  have  been   dealt  with  without 
reference    to    her    veto,    and    shelved    without 
consideration   of  the   claims   of  her   leaders  to 
direct  by  doctrine  and  inspire  by  enthusiasm. 
Thank   God,  the  Church  now  is  learning  not 
only  to  take  her  rightful  position  in  the  van  of 
human   progress,  but  Is  also  willing  to  prepare 
herself   to    place    the    very    best   and    highest 
ideals    of  service    before    a    disorganised    and 
chaos-smitten  world. 

Arrogance  can  never  produce  senators, — 
neither  can  an  ignorant  conceit  develope  a 
permanent  system  of  a  Divine  government  of 


52  A  STATE  OF  WAR  ! 


man.  In  deepest  humility  alone  can  we 
commune  with  the  hidden  God,  and  receive 
from  Him  those  laws  and  that  nerve  without 
which  we  dare  not  execute  them. 

For  this  reason  we  set  apart  a  season  in 
which  by  quiet  life  and  thoughtful  meditation 
we  can  come  away,  as  it  were,  into  a  desert 
place  apart,  and  talk  with  our  Divine  Master 
about  those  many  mysteries,  and  otherwise 
doubtful  matters,  which  perplex  us  in  our  daily, 
private,  and  public  life. 

The  occasion  is  urgent,  and  we  dare  not 
trifle  with  the  call  of  our  Blessed  Masxer.  As 
before  the  events  which  culminated  in  Calvary 
and  bright  Gethsemane,  He  drew  away  to  the 
hills  of  Ephraim  His  disciples,  that  there  they 
might  be  fortified  by  His  assurances,  and  con- 
vinced by  His  arguments  and  personal  truth,  so 
we  are  led  by  the  custom  and  prayer  of  our 
Church  to  seek,  like  Job  of  old,  the  place  where 
we  may  find  out  God,  and  be  assured  of  His 
eternal  sufficiency. 

Events  daily  transpiring,   current  ravings  of 


A  STATE  OF  WAR  !  53 

irresponsible  literary  maniacs,  the  frothings  in 
the  lives  of  demented  men  and  women  of  the 
venom  of  all  uncleanness,  the  brazen  tongue  of 
the  self-sufficient  prophets,  whose  wish  is  parent 
to  their  inspiration,  the  demands  of  a  plausible 
libertinism,  and  the  agitation  for  the  abolition  of 
all  restraint — human  or  Divine,  while  they  do 
not  drive  us  as  chaff  before  the  wind,  lead  us  to 
earnestly  desire  a  closer  walk  with  God,  and  a 
more  thorough  appreciation  of  His  wise  counsels. 
Like  many  rebels,  they  are  scarce  worthy  of 
the  ammunition  we  expend  upon  their  conquest, 
but  yet  are  forces,  which,  if  not  very  vigorously 
attacked,  will  destroy  .all  that  is  bright  and 
hopeful  in  many  lives.  Like  the  boasting 
Midianite,  they  fight  like  brigands,  or  lanz- 
knechts,  and  will  own  any  or  no  supreme  banner, 
but  also,  like  Midian,  they  entrap  the  unwary, 
they  gather  where  they  have  not  strewed,  and 
would  sap  the  peace  of  any  organised  com- 
munity. 

"  Christian,  dost  thou  see  them, 
On  the  holy  ground, 


54  A  STATE  OF  WAR  ! 

How  the  troops  of  Midian 
Prowl  and  prowl  around?" 

Satan  has  no  code  of  honour,  no  knight  is  he. 

**  He    was   a  liar    from    the    beginning."     The 

burglar  and  the  foot-pad,   the  caviller  and  the 

sneak,  are  all  his  faithful  and  honoured  servants. 

The  flatterer  and  mischief-maker,  the  anarchist 

and    the    free-liver    are    the    pastors    of    his 

synagogues,  and  his  wolves  in  the  sheep-fold. 

That  which   is   noble,   which   is  pure,  which   is 

spiritually   minded,    which   is  constructive,   can 

have  no  common  ground  with  these,  any  more 

than     they    can     with     Belial,     their,  master. 

Toleration  of  wrong-doing  is  impossible.     The 

victory,    or    even    progress,    of  the   one    is   of 

necessity  destructive  of  its  opposite.    Indulgence 

of  the  senses,  the  sapping  of  the  foundations  of 

law,    the    decline    of   the    supremacy   of   moral 

feeling,  and  the  contempt  for  the  teachings  of 

Christian  experience,  involve  the  disruption  of 

that    upon     which     Man's    hope    is    built,    the 

destruction  of  that  central  ideal,  or  underlying 

Fact,  the  faith  in  which  holds  together  society. 


A  STATE  OF  WAR  !  55 

"  Christians,  up  and  smite  them, 
Counting  gain  but  loss. 
Smite  them  by  the  merit 
Of  the  holy  Cross." 

We  must  resist  steadfastly  any  tendency  to 
tolerate  that  which  is  anti-Christ,  that  which 
makes  against  that  travail  and  progress  which 
edifies  Man. 

And  we  must  also  be  prepared  for  the  logical 
sequence  of  our  assertion  of  principle.  Let  us 
never  forget  that  the  Christian  Church  attacks 
the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  No  self- 
respecting  Church  of  Christ  can  be  always  on 
the  defensive.  In  the  moment  when  we 
exclude  the  vile  and  lawless  from  a  place  among 
permissable  sentiments,  habits,  and  deeds,  we 
declare  war  against  the  whole  motley  array  of 
the  things  of  iniquity.  That  war  we  must  carry 
into  the  enemies  country.  A  mere  academic 
declaration  is  not  enough  :  we  must  act  in 
accordance  with  our  faith.  When  we  assert 
the  supremacy  of  the  Cross  we  must  lift  up 
the    Holy    Emblem    in    our    lives,    so    that    its 


56  A  STATE  OF  WAR  ! 


chastening  and  cleansing  efficacy  may  be 
proved  in  the  eyes  of  all  men.  A  defensive 
war  is  one  of  citadel  attacks,  of  starvation,  of 
siege  and  disease.  In  the  ages  gone  by  we  see 
clearly  that  only  where  nations  cast  away  the 
''Thou  shalt  not"  as  the  ultimate  rule  of  life, 
and  souofht  to  listen  to  the  "  Thou  shalt "  of  the 
Saviour  King,  did  they  develope  any  power 
and  permanent  strength  at  all. 

Alas  !  how  often  we  are  timorous,  and  fear  to 
roll  our  burdens  and  ourselves  upon  the  love  of 
God.  We  say  ''  We  believe,"  but  in  the  same 
breath  we  cry,  "  Help  Thou  my  unbelief!" 

"  Christian  dost  thou  feel  them 
How  they  work  within, 
Strivings  tempting,  luring, 
Goading  unto  sin?" 

It  often  seems  impossible  that  the  Christian 
life  can  be  lived  without  some  special  indulgence 
being  granted.  We  often  get  fairly  cornered, 
and,  like  Lazarus  at  Bethany,  appear  far  beyond 
the  saving  help  of  our  God.  Satan  then  comes 
to  us  with  golden  promises,  '*  All  shall  be  thine 


A  STATE  OF  WAR  !  57 

IF  .  .  .  ?  "  Tempted,  lured,  driven,  goaded 
forward  to  the  pit !  And,  like  brave  men  turned 
cowards  at  an  unexpected  onslaught,  we  tremble 
for  our  souls.  Like  St.  Peter,  before  he  learned 
to  be  steadfast,  we  deny  our  Lord,  at  heart, 
and  our  thoughts  wander  to  the  homes  of  those 
who  know  no  cares  and  have  "  no  bands  even 
in  death,"  who  like  Dives  enjoy,  while  we  like 
Lazarus  are  left  for  the  dogs  to  heal.  If  there 
be  one  here  whose  cares  have  led  him  thus  far, 
let  him  lift  up  his  eyes  to  Heaven,  for  God  can 
yet,  and  will  yet,  save  all  who  look  to  Him  for 
succour. 

The  newest  craze  had  its  prototype  in  another 
form  in  the  age  of  Chrysostom,  or  Aurelius,  or 
Nero,  or  of  the  Orsini.  And  yet  God's  hand 
broke  the  magic  glass  which  confused  men's 
vision,  and  set  wrong  for  right.  He  will  do  it 
again.  Let  us  be  braver,  because  more  faithful, 
and  more  masters  of  circumstances,  because 
firmer  in  the  stand  consistently  made  against 
evil,  because  it  is  evil,  and  not  because  we  are 
driven  to  fight. 


58  A  STATE  OF  WAR  ! 

"Christian  never  tremble, 
Never  be  downcast, 
Smite  them  by  the  virtue 
Of  the  Lenten  fast." 

But    now    conies    the    hardest    trial    of    all. 

Conquered  apparently  by    the  mailed  hand  of 

vigorous    offensive    war,    the    enemies    of    the 

faith    sneak    like    the    Gibeonites    of   old    into 

subjection,   as  professing   members   of   Christ's 

Body.      Here  they  foster  discontent  among  the 

young.       With    hypocritical   sanctimoniousness 

they   try    to    undermine    the   discipline    of   the 

Church.       "That    stern    and    uncompromising 

hostility    toward    antichrist,   perhaps    necessary 

in  the  past,  is  no  longer  required  in  the  hour  of 

peace."     The  young  who  have  waited  in  ease 

with  their  mothers  in  Gilead  while  their  fathers 

fought  in  the  Wars  of  Israel,  cannot  endure  the 

martial  training  of  the  self-denying  ordinances 

of  the  Church,  they  must  be  coaxed  by  ease," 

etc. 

"  Christian,  dost  thou  hear  them. 
How  they  speak  thee  fair  ? 
Always  fast  and  vigil  ? 
Always  watch  and  prayer  ?  " 


A  STATE  OF  WAR  !  59 


*' Humour  the  young,"  they  say,  "or  they 
will  leave  their  Father's  God."  Can  young 
men  be  trained  for  struggle  by  a  dispensation 
of  indulgence  ?  Will  they  retain  their  man- 
hood for  long  if  perennially  treated  as  babes  ? 

No !  Only  by  chastening  can  the  life  be 
developed.  Only  under  the  Cross  can  we 
come  near  our  inspiration.  Only  in  the  solitary 
place  alone  with  the  Great  Teacher,  can  we 
grow  out  into  complete  Christian  manhood. 

"  Christian  answer  boldly^ 
While  I  live,  I  pray, 
Peace  shall  follow  battle^ 
Night  shall  end  in  day." 

The  struggle  and  affliction  of  the  batde  they 
know  who  oppose  us  ;  but  they  have  not  that 
*'  same  hope  that  is  in  us," 

'*  Christ  in  us  the  hope  of  glory." 

They  are  equally  troubled  with  ourselves,  but 
in  them  all  trouble  makes  their  lives  measurably 
sourer,  sadder,  and  more  hopeless,  until  they 
cry  at  last,  ''Vanity  of  Vanity,  all  is  Vanity," 


6o  A  STATE  OF  WAR  ! 

while    we   know  In   whom   we  trust.      And  we 

know  that  He  "all  our  sorrows  shares."     The 

result  of  our  travail  is  increased  power  to  work. 

There  is  in  all  His  divine  and  loveful  wisdom, 

a  word  pregnant  with  a  future  sweet  and  certain 

to  us. 

"  Well  I  know  thy  trouble, 

0  my  servant  true, 
Thou  art  very  weary, 

1  was  weary,  too. 

But  that  toil  shall  make  thee 
Some  day  all  mine  own, 
And  the  end  of  sorrow 
Shall  be  near  my  throne." 

Let  us  then  resist  steadfastlv  ! 


SERMON    VL 


Zbc  Maitino  ©nest." 

(Lent    1.) 


RF.VELATIONS    III.,    20. 

"  Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock.  If  any  man 
hear  my  voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in 
to  him." 

HOWEVER  imperceptible  the  process 
by  which  Our  Redeemer  makes  His 
glorifying  influence  felt,  it  can  only  be  savingly 
a  blessing  to  us  when  He  comes  with  our  full 
consent,  and  excites  in  our  breast  sympathetic 
response. 

Through  all  the  centuries,  God  in  Christ  has 
been  kept  a^  the  Door  of  our  inner  self  and  of 
our  citadel  of  Man-soul,  in  the  great  multitude 
of  those  occasions  or  opportunities  in  which  He 
could  have  saved  our  race  and  our  nation  from 
those  blunders  and  that  confusion,  in  connection 


62  THE  WAITING  GUEST  ! 


with  which  the  Church's  aoraressive  work  has 
become  weak  and  uncertain,  and  her  own 
witness,  alas  !  too  often  that  of  a  house  sadly 
rebellious  and  schismatic.  While  we  were 
seeking  to  elaborate  policies,  and  propagate  life 
as  well  as  we  could,  we  at  the  same  time  lost 
sight  of  the  fact  that  a  would-be  Guest,  a  Wise 
Counsellor,  the  Captain  of  our  Church  army, 
was  waiting  unadmitted  at  our  doors. 

And  even  we.  at  this  time  of  greater  spiritu- 
ality in  desire  and  in  conception,  fail  to  realize 
the  fact  of  the  ever-presence  of  the  Saviour  of 
Men,  and  the  certainty  and  finality  whigh  would 
arise  from  a  ready  submission  of  all  our  schemes 
for  His  approval  and  amendment.  And  all  this 
because  we  do  not  recoonize  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
the  witness  of  God  in  all  ages.  God  can  make 
of  us  what  he  will,  but  we  only  can  profit  when 
we  are  in  harmony  with  Him.  He  called 
Cyrus,  and  made  him  an  instrument  of  His 
righteous  work  in  Israel  ;  yet  we  do  not  read 
that  Cyrus  forsook  the  worship  of  Bel  and 
turned  to  that  of  Jehovah.     Domitian,  Diocle- 


THE  WAITING  GUEST  !  62, 

tian,  Nero,  Herod,  and  Titus,  were  His  tools 
by  which  He  brought  out  the  fine  Hnes  and 
glorious  brightness  of  the  Christian  Church  ; 
and  none  of  these  ever  became  pillars  in  the 
House  of  the  Lord,  and  helpers  about  the  Altar 
of  our  God  ! 

The  profligate  Alexander,  the  jealous  poten- 
tates in  the  dark  ages  of  our  continental  history, 
the  monsters  of  the  first  French  Revolution, 
and  numberless  others,  contributed  at  the  will 
of  Him  who  "  maketh  the  wrath  of  men  to 
praise  Him,"  to  the  exaltation  of  the  Cross  and 
Crown  as  the  result  of  those  mysterious  deeds 
of  Atheism  and  darkness  w^hich  it  shames  man 
even  to  think  of  now  ;  and  yet  we  hear  not  of 
their  testimony  to  the  saving  health  of  the  work 
in  them  of  the  Nazarene,  whom  they  hated  as 
Death  hates  Life!  God  can  use  us,  yea,  He 
can  fashion  us  by  the  conflict  of  evil  forces. 
He  can  evolve  from  chaos  the  world  of  civili- 
zation, and  sensible  policy,  and  even  social 
reform.  But  only  when  we  are  willing  to 
open    the    door    of    our    affections,    can     He 


64  THE  WAITING  GUEST  ! 

ti^ansform  our  nature  and  change  our  cie slices  of 
heart. 

Have  we  received  the  Redeemer?  Have 
we  honestly  made  trial  of  His  power?  Alas! 
Alas! 

The  reason  why  Christians  are  still  in  the 
minority  in  all  the  earth,  is  not  that  we  have 
not  had  missionaries  enough  scattered  among 
the  heathen,  so  much  as  hecause  the  doors  of 
our  own  hearts  at  home  have  been  kept  rigidly 
locked  against  a  true  submission  to  the  King  of 
Kings.  We  are  willing  to  enter  heaven  by  the 
merits  of  Jesus,  but  our  hearts  exclaim."  we  will 
not  have  this  man  to  reign  over  us.'' 

We  have  been  buried  with  the  Holy  Saviour 
in  Baptism,  and  have  professed  His  Name,  and 
our  faith  in  His  Name,  every  Sabbath,  in  the 
Creed  we  confess  our  adhesion  to.  We  have 
declared  our  faith  in  His  judgment  and  reward. 
But  our  act,  in  so  doing,  has  been  often  merely 
formal  ;  and  He  has  been  persistently  ignored 
in  most  of  the  enterprises  and  engagements  of 
our  daily  life,  and  practically  denied  the  right 


THE  WAITING  GUEST  !  65 

to  adjudicate  in  matters  of  conscience  which 
are  raised  in  many  of  the  schemes  and  designs 
which  form  the  backbone  of  our  business  Hves. 
We  claim  and  exercise  the  right  to  admit  Him 
into  our  Hves  only  on  convenient  occasions, 
and  to  forget  Him  when  our  profit  or  pleasure 
mio^ht  be  affected  bv  His  Presence. 

"  O  Jesus  Thou  art  standing, 
Outside  the  fast  closed  door, 
In  lowly  patience  waiting 
To  pass  the  threshold  o'er." 

No  recognition  merely  of  the  Saviour  can 
save  us  or  make  Christian  manhood  of  us.  No 
squaring  of  our  outward  lives  by  the  standard 
of  a  quasi-Christian  conventualism  can  develop 
the  Divine  human  within  us.  Only  an  honest, 
cordial,  and  trustful  receiving  of  the  Saviour, 
with  all  risks  and  all  conditions,  which  such  a 
reception  may  involve,  can  meet  our  case. 

Let  us  count  the  cost !  We  may  be  ridiculed 
as  religious  faddists,  disliked  as  innovators, 
hated  as  an  outspoken  conscience  always  is, 
contemned  as  not  wise  in  our  generation.     Can 


66  THE  WAITING  GUEST  ! 

we  face  this?     We  may  find  ourselves  involved 

in    a    political    struggle    for    the    supremacy  of 

religion    when    we   love   peace   and  ease.     We 

may  even  be  persecuted,  misunderstood,  smitten 

with  the  scourge  of  the  mockery  of  an  ignorant 

and  unkind  populace,  bruised  by  the  blows  of 

blind    prejudice,    aye    even,     like    our     Lord, 

crucified   in   the  company  of  wicked   men   and 

hateful   thoughts.      Can    we   dare  this   for   Life 

immortal  ?     Do  not  be  deceived.     All  this  may 

fall   to  our   lot,  if  we  admit  the  husbandman's 

Lord,   whose  fan  is  in   His  hand,  and  who  will 

thoroughly  purge  His  floor.      These  ape  stirring 

times,  when  many  disciples  will  have  to  submit 

to  contumely   and   reproach   for   Christ's   sake. 

He  waits  at  the  door.      Will  you  let   Him  in? 

Choose   ye   this   day   whom   ye  will  serve.      If 

God,  then  we  must  open  the  door.      We  cannot 

in    reason,    seek   the    reward,    and   decline   the 

work. 

"  Shame  on  us  Christian  Brethren, 
His  name  and  sign  who  bear, 
O  shame,  thrice  shame  upon  us, 
To  keep  Him  standing  there." 


THE  WAITING  GUEST  !  67 

But  the  Lord  waits  not  so  passively.  He 
knocks.  If  any  here  saw  a  friend  in  deadly 
peril  and  asleep,  would  he  wait  silent  and 
submissively  until  the  hour  of  sleep  had  passed  } 

And  it  is  because  Jesus  is  our  Friend  that 
He  knocks,  sometimes  as  the  patter  of  the  rain 
drops  in  the  summer  shower,  sometimes  as  the 
thunder  shaking  the  earth  with  its  mighty 
voice.     Always  His  is  the  voice  of  love. 

Three  Hebrew  sons  were  once  in  great 
danger  of  apostacism  and  of  its  after  remorse 
and  wretchedness  :  God  knocked  and  led  them 
triumphantly  through  the  fiery  furnace. 

Once  in  Shunem  a  woman  fell  into  sin,  and 
God  knocked  at  her  mother's  heart  and  turned 
her  love  back,  by  the  restoration  of  her  forfeited 
son. 

Once  In  Canaan  a  young  man  was  giving 
himself  up  to  mean  artifices  and  unfilial  conduct 
until  he  feared  for  the  results  of  his  fraud  and 
was  driven  a  wanderer  from  his  over-tender 
mother,  that  he  might  learn  those  lessons  from 
angels    ascending   and    descending    from   God, 


68  THE  WAITING  GUEST  ! 

which  ml^ht  fit  him  to  become  the  patriarchal 
ancestor  of  descendants  as  the  sand  of  the  sea 
for  multitude.  And  were  not  nearly  all  the 
miracles  of  Jesus  so  many  knockings  at  the 
door  of  men's  hearts,  to  persuade  them  of  His 
power  to  save,  and  of  their  great  calling  to 
service?  Just  in  this  way  He  knocks  at  our 
door. 

Sometimes  when  our  minds  are  set  upon  the 
pulling  down  barns  to  build  greater,  and  upon 
an  assured  future,  He  knocks  at  our  door  with 
the  spear  of  the  Sabaean,  or  with  the  hurtling 
sound  raised  by  a  commercial  whirlwind  of 
panic. 

When  we  are  engrossed  with  our  family,  and 
shut  out  the  world  and  all  outside  responsibility, 
that  we  may  be  happy  in  the  little  circle  of  our 
home  life,  a  sickness  befalls  some  dear  one, 
and  the  gentle  physician,  though  groaning  in 
spirit,  does  not  heal,  but  knocks  at  the  door  of 
our  hearts  until  we  learn  that  God's  claims  must 
be  honoured. 

Again,  when  all  around  is  pregnant  with  a 


THE  WAITING  GUEST  !  69 

sense  of  the  uncertain,  and  we  shiver  in  the 
hopelessness  of  despair  in  life,  Christ  knocks, 
in  the  advent  of  a  friend  in  need,  a  joy  that 
Cometh  in  the  morning,  a  golden  glory  upon  the 
rim  of  a  sad  grey  cloud,  and  in  the  clear  shining 
of  the  Eternal  Sun  of  hope  and  peace. 

Only  the    intoxicated    reveller   says    "  some- 
thing happened."     Christ  knocked,  is  knocking 

still, 

"You  use  no  other  friend  so  ill." 

"  O  Jesus  Thou  art  knocking, 
And,  lo  !  that  Hand  is  scarr'd, 
And  thorns  Thy  Brow  encircle, 
And  tears  Thy  Face  have  marred  : 
O  Love,  that  passeth  knowledge, 
So  patiently  to  wait ; 
O  sin  that  hath  no  equal. 
So  fast  to  bar  the  gate." 

Then  the  p7^omise  must  not  be  forgotten,  for 

upon  this  depends  largely  the  spirit   in  which 

we  open  the  door  to  Christ.     Now  this  promise 

is  very  plain.      If  we   will  hear  and  open.    He 

"will   come   in   to  us."      He  will   become   our 

Host  and  Guest  in  one,  All  in  All  to  them  that 

believe. 


70  THE  WAITING  GUEST  ! 

Of  course  acceptance  of  Christ's  salvation 
involves  submission  to  His  judgment ;  but  not 
this  alone.  There  is  the  other  side  :  we  shall  be 
fortified  by  His  presence  and  residence  with  us. 
"  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him, 
and  he  with  Me." 

A  man  never  is  hindered  by  the  presence  of 
Christ  in  his  life  ;  he  is  helped  by  it.  While 
he  is  unable  any  longer,  perhaps,  to  pursue 
certain  means  to  an  end,  because  these  are 
unchristian  means,  he  becomes  independent  of 
these  methods,  for,  says  the  apostle,  "  I  can  do 
all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me."  And  neither  tribulation,  nor  distress,  nor 
famine,  nor  sword,  nor  pestilence  can  separate 
from  the  love  of  Christ. 

Herein  lies  the  secret  of  the  Church's 
strength.  God  chooses  the  weak,  and  the 
unlikely,  and  the  earthern  vessel  ;  and  with 
these  apparently  feeble  forces  brings  to  the 
ground  the  pride  of  human  conceit.  As  S. 
Aidan  said,  "  When  the  way  by  land  and  water 
was  closed,  there  still  remained  Heaven's  way." 


THE  WAITING  GUEST!  71 

And  it  is  remarkable  how  God  does  lift  up  the 
hands  that  hang  down  and  confirm  the  feeble 
knees,  when  once  we  let  Him  in  to  sup  with  us. 

Jesus  not  only  wipes  away  the  tears  from  our 
eyes,  but  He  takes  away  the  sting  of  bitterness 
from  our  sorrows.  He  not  only  smooths  the 
wrinkles  from  our  life,  but  He  "  renews  our 
spirit  from  day  to  day,"  until  He  makes  of  us 
full,  happy,  helpful  men  and  women.  Is  not 
this  worth  a  little  faith  ?  Dare  we  not  open 
the  door  for  the  Saviour  ? 

In  this  Blessed  Season  of  fast  and  serious 
thought,  can  we  not  weigh  in  the  balances  our 
unsaved  nature  as  against  the  joys  and  hopes 
of  the  New  Man  Christ  would  have  us  to 
become  ? 

O  let  us  receive  Him  and  trust  Him  Who 
loveth  our  soul !  Let  us  not  open  the  door  ajar 
as  suspecting  either  His  will  or  His  power,  but 
throw  it  open  eagerly  as  to  welcome  a  dear 
friend  from  afar.  Let  the  shutters  be  taken 
down,  and  the  burnt  down  lamps  be  extin- 
guished, that  our  souls  may  be  brightened  by 


72  THE  WAITING  GUEST  ! 

the  sunlight  of  His  presence  and  the  Hght  of 
His  countenance. 

"  O  Jesu  Thou  art  pleading 
In  accents  meek  and  low ; 
I  died  for  you,  My  children, 
And  will  ye  treat  me  so  ? 
O  Lord  with  shame  and  sorrow 
We  open  now  the  door, 
Dear  Saviour  enter,  enter, 
And  leave  us  never  more." 


SER^[ON  VII. 

"  ^be  IRiabtcous  thirst ! " 

(Lent.) 

Psalms,  XLIL,    i  &  2. 

"  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  waterbrooks,  so  panteth 
my  soul  after  Thee,  O  God.  My  soul  thirsteth  for 
God,  for  the  living  God  :  when  shall  I  come  and 
appear  before  God  ?  " 

"  '  I  "  HE  days  will  come  when  ye  shall  desire 
-^  to  see  one  of  the  days  of  the  Son  of 
Man,  and  ye  shall  not  see  it."  So  spake  the 
Gentle  Teacher  to  His  disciples  when  He  fore- 
saw the  difficulties  of  the  bereft  learners  after 
His  Ascension.  And  truly  is  this  an  expression 
of  the  religious  soul,  whether  the  disciple  be  an 
aged  and  persecuted  saint,  or  a  little  wondering 
child.  We  have  all,  as  children,  wished  we 
could  have  stood  near  Jesus,  even  in  His 
greatest  troubles,  and  watched  the  act,  and 
heard  the  word  which   restored  the  lost  sense, 


74  THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  ! 

cast  out  the  usurping  demon,  cleansed  the 
shunned  and  degraded  leper,  and  inspired  the 
common-people  with  new  hope  and  simple  trust. 
As  we  grow  older,  we  long  for  the  sight  of  a 
present  Saviour,  for  ''gods  to  go  before  us," 
for  the  words  that  make  hearts  burn  within  our 
breasts,  and  for  the  chaste  smile  as  He  looked 
upon  the  tenderlings  of  the  flocks.  We  wonder 
at  that  marvellous  spirit,  so  full  of  virtue, 
which  everywhere  did  good,  and  inspired  to 
effort  born  of  hope.  Could  we  have  been  with 
Him  in  His  journeys,  how  much  more  firmly 
and  bravely  we  could  have  met  the  opposition 
of  adverse  forces,  and  seen  through  the  chicanery 
of  a  plausible  craft  in  the  teaching  of  self- 
constituted,  and  unauthorised  prophets  and 
leaders.  There  are  so  many  wrongs  that  seem 
to  go  unrighted,  so  much  of  devotion  to  service 
that  we  never  see  rewarded,  so  many  recognised 
laws  which  are  productive  of,  as  well  as  con- 
ducive to,  unrighteousness  and  inequality,  that 
we  long  for  a  face-to-face  view,  viva  voce  con- 
versation with  the  Redeemer  Himself 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  !  75 

And  the  power  of  God  is  so  great,  and  the 
request  so  small,  that  we,  like  the  disciples, 
often  wonder  that  He  does  not  manifest  Himself 
more  to  His  faithful  servants.  Yet  only  in  the 
labour,  and  thought,  and  patience  involved  in 
the  search  for  His  dwelling-place  can  He 
prepare  us  for  that  study  and  imitation  of  His 
nature,  which  will  give  us  the  power  we  need. 
It  is  said  the  ancient  Balleares  used  to  place 
their  children's  meals  in  the  branches  of  the 
trees,  and  make  the  little  ones  knock  them  from 
their  lofty  shelves  before  they  were  allowed  to 
eat,  in  order  that  they  might  attain  that  skill 
in  the  use  of  the  sling  and  stone,  which  made 
their  fathers  valued  mercenaries  in  any  warfare. 
It  was  hard  for  a  father  to  watch  the  hungry 
face  of  his  child  as  he  made  one  attempt  after 
another  ;  but  it  was  love  and  duty  which  nerved 
him  to  the  task.  Only  by  discipline  of  this  kind 
could  he  equip  his  offspring  for  the  harder 
struggle  of  life.  We  ought  not  to  rebel  if  our 
Father  in  Heaven,  who  pitieth  them  that  fear 
Him,  while   He  yet  chastens  them  by  suffering, 


76  THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  ! 

should  be  apparently  deaf  when  we  cry  out 
for  these  appearino-s  in  His  glory.  For  in  the 
self-restraint  with  which  he  hides  from  us,  He 
displays  the  greater  love.  The  Lord  Jesus 
told  the  disciples  that  though  He  "  loved  them 
unto  the  end,"  He  still  was  about  to  leave 
them, — for,  said  He,  it  is  "expedient  for  you 
that  I  go  away." 

Neither  ought  we  to  so  readily  agree  that 
close  fellowship  with  Christ  is  no  longer,  in 
this  age  of  prosaic  common-places,  a  possibility. 
Christians  should  try  to  get  as  near  to  Him  as 
the  Apostles  ever  were.  ''  This  kind,  goeth 
not  out,  save  by  prayer  and  fasting."  Our 
Ambitions  should  not  be  less  high  than  those 
of  Job,  nor  our  labour  and  self-denial  less 
either.  We  should  long  to  be  better,  more 
spiritual  and  more  Christlike. 

This  can  only  be  reached  to  in  service.  A 
Convention  for  purposes  of  introspective  study 
and  meditation  will  never  make  Men,  who  are 
able  to  associate  with  Christ.  Even  if  they  all 
marvel,   and  say,  we  never  saw  this  before,  or 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST!  77 

0^0  to  the  extent  of  assuring^  themselves  that 
*'  He  doeth  all  things  well,"  their  faith  and 
power  will  break  down  when  Christ  makes 
them  wait  upon  the  hungry  thousands,  and 
wash  the  lepers  and  diseased  in  Siloam's  cooling 
waters,  and  sit  down  to  eat  and  drink  with 
publican  and  sinner,  and,  generally  speaking, 
''  to  render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  be 
Caesar's  and  unto  God  the  things  that  be  God's." 
No!  the  nearness  to  Christ  is  only  to  be 
attained  where  the  battle  is  hottest,  and  the 
truth  most  makes  us  free  to  do  and  dare  for  the 
commonweal. 

"  Nearer  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee, 
Even  though  it  be  a  Cross 

That  raiseth  me. 
Still  all  my  song  shall  be. 
Nearer  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee." 

But  at  the  very  outset  we  are  sure  to  receive 
a  terrible  but  inevitable  check,  as  our  soul  turns 
to  the  contrast  between  the  earthly  ideal  and 
often    sordid    motives    of    our    lives    with    the 


78  THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  ! 

unspeakable   Majesty  of  the   ever   resplendent 
brightness  of  the  Divine  Love. 

What  is  man  that  the  Almighty  should  take 
such  trouble  in  the  restoration  of  him.  "Will 
God  in  very  deed  dzvell  with  Men?"  Is  it 
possible  that  the  Finite  can  have  ''  mortality 
swallowed  up  of  life?"  Will  the  human  thirst 
be  ever  satisfied  by  drinking  of  the  ^'  Living 
Water?"  Or,  is  the  whole  Revelation  in  Jesus 
Christ  a  mistake?  Does  it  treat  of  a  Utopia — 
which  only  may  encourage, — even  exalt  the 
ideal, — but  not  transform,  nor  eternally  inspire 
the  development  of  Man  ?  Have  we  been  too 
sanguine  ?  Do  we  ?  Can  we  know  anything 
of  an  immortality  of  desire  and  growth  and 
life  ?  Can  we  be  sure  of  a  single  thing  ?  A 
little  child  often  has  his  doubts  of  the  perfection 
of  his  parents,  and  especially  wonders  when  the 
great  might  of  his  father  meets  its  match,  and 
the  child's  standard  of  completion  seems  to  bow 
before  circumstances,  and  take  a  denial  from 
evident  Providence.  So  we  have  our  mis- 
givings about  God.      We  do  not  doubt  Him, 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  !  79 


but  we  fear  for  His  Power  and  Influence  when 
iniquity  reigns  and  upright  innocency  pays  the 
penalty  of  her  assertion  of  Truth.  How  long, 
O  Lord,  how  long  ?  is  at  times  our  cry,  when 
the  law  of  the  Creator  does  not  appear  to  be 
supreme.  '*  We  trusted,"  said  the  disciples,  "that 
this  had  been  He  which  should  have  redeemed 
Israel!"  But  now,  alas!  Has  the  glory 
indeed  departed  ?  Is  the  Christian  Religion 
only  one  of  those  beautiful  embodiments  of 
inspiration  which,  as  in  other  nations,  have  in 
the  course  of  Nature's  lawful  development, 
helped  peoples  to  satisfy  the  demand  of  the 
time  upon  their  powers  ? 

Discouragements  like  these  come  upon  us 
at  the  early  as  well  as  at  the  later  stages  of  our 
Christian  pilgrimage,  and  fight  as  we  may,  and 
do,  against  their  insidious  influence,  they  make 
the  day  very  dark  and  sad  for  a  space  of  time. 
We  must  go  up  the  "  Valley  of  the  Shadow," 
and  somehow  the  sun  over  the  hill  does  not 
reach  us  at  all  times,  even  at  noon. 

If  our  life  ideal  is  merely  a  religious  effort 


8o  THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  ! 

evolved  from  considerations  of  true  and  false, 
of  abiding  and  transitory, — If,  in  short,  we 
can  only  believe  In  the  apparent,  and  If  all 
is  concluded  under  the  law,  we  must  at  last 
become  lax  and  heartless,  and  lose  our  hope  in 
and  hold  on  the  future.  But  thanks  be  unto 
God  who  hath  given  us  the  victory  through 
Jesus  Christ,  we  have  a  faith  In  a  personal 
Saviour  to  bear  us  throuo^h  the  delude  of  our 
reason,  and  that  wherein  the  law  was  weak  is 
fulfilled  In  the  Person  of  our  Deliverer,  Jesus 
Christ  the  Lord.  Faith  in  Jesus  is  wisely  and 
lovingly  then  made  the  central  foundation,  the 
key-stone  of  the  Arch  of  God's  Temple  of  Life. 
We  are  more  than  conquerors  through  Him 
that  loved  us,  and  gave  Himself  for  us.  He 
hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God. 

"Though  Hke  a  wanderer, 

The  sun  gone  down, 

Darkness  comes  over  me, 

My  rest  a  stone. 

Yet  in  my  dreams  I'd  be 

Nearer  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee." 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  ! 


Job  saw  in  God  a  Person  grander  than  all 
man's  highest  thought — One  who  would  stand 
by  him  and  be  to  him  a  Vindicator  and  Re- 
deemer. 

The  Psalmist  saw  in  Him  One  "whose  ways 
are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  His  thoughts  as  our 
thoughts,"  One  whose  ideals  and  power  were 
as  much  higher  than  man's  as  the  heavens  are 
lift  up  above  the  earth.  "  Bow  down  Thine 
ear  unto  me  and  hear  me."  "The  Lord  is  my 
Shepherd,  I  shall  not  want."  "As  a  father 
pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them 
that  fear  Him."  When  "sin  abounds,  grace 
doth  much  more  abound,"  says  the  Apostle  ; 
and  this  grace,  because  we  have  a  Personal 
Saviour  who  knoweth  our  frame,  and  who 
remembereth   that   we  are   but  dust. 

"Nearer  my  God  to  Thee"  is  then  the 
prayer  of  the  Christian  when  he  comes  into 
conflict  with  evil,  or  finds  that  he  also  is 
afflicted  in  the  Providence  of  God. 

Brethren  here  is  our  refuge  in  the  hour  of 
commercial  panic,  of  the  whirlwind  of  iniquity, 


82  THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  ! 


of  the  deep  pain  we  feel  when  disgrace  befalls 
our  dearest,  and  trouble  our  nearest  ones. 
Says  Job,  "Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  put 
my  trust  in  Him." 

"  The  Mercy  of  God  is  from  everlasting." 

"  Nearer  my  God  to  Thee, 
There  let  my  way  appear, 

Steps  into  Heaven, 
All  that  Thou  sendest  me, 

In  mercy  given. 
Angels  to  beckon  me. 
Nearer  my  God  to  Thee,  nearer  to  Thee." 

Trouble  and  discouragement  are  then  the 
parents  of  hope  to  the  Christian.  They  compel 
us  to  seek  and  to  find  a  God  who,  with  the 
deep  sympathy  of  Man,  has  the  deeper  love  of 
a  Spirit  Feather,  and  the  power  of  an  Omnipotent 
Saviour. 

Once  we  find  ourselves  believing  in  this 
Friend  of  Man,  our  fears  and  misgivings  flee 
away  as  the  tempestuous  winds  and  deluging 
waters  of  a  winter's  night  when  we  knock  at 
the  portal  of  the  House  of  Mercy,  where  we 
are  ushered  into   the   family  circle,  and  in  the 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  !  83 

warm  glow  of  the  present,  receive  help  which 
we  store  for  the  battle  with  the  elements  which 
is  to  follow  when  ao-ain  the  "  Kinof's  business 
requireth  haste." 

And  all  through  the  drenching  rain  and  icy- 
cold  we  pass  unhurt ;  for  hope  has  returned  to 
us  through  personal  sympathy.  And  as  the 
Messenger  passes  to  and  fro  in  the  execution  of 
His  Master's  will,  as  the  darts  of  envenomed 
hate  are  hurled  upon  him,  as  the  buffetings  of 
adverse  gales  would  impede  his  progress,  and 
lions  roar,  and  the  laughter  of  fools  assails  him, 
he  sees  no  trouble  that  God  will  not  bring  him 
through  triumphant.  And  as  he  passes  the 
Castle  Doubting,  he  dreams  of  the  pearly  gates 
of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  hears  the  Welcome 
Home  of  the  angel  choir,  and  makes  the  woods 
and  hills  echo  with  the  confident  reply  : — 

"  Then  with  my  waking  thoughts, 

Bright  with  Thy  praise. 
Out  of  my  stony  griefs 

Bethels  I'll  raise ; 
So  by  my  woes  to  be 


84  THE  RIGHTEOUS  THIRST  ! 

Nearer  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee." 

"  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God, 
For  the  living  God  : 
When  shall  I  come 
And  appear  before  God." 

''  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  waterbrooks, 
so  panteth  my  soul  after  Thee,  O  God." 


SERMON  VIII. 

''  Zbc  j£k>c  ot  Sacrifice ! '' 

(Lent,  Palm  Sunday.) 


Gal.  VI.,   14. 

"  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  Cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is 
crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world." 

THE  church  has  ever  venerated  the  sign  of 
her  leader's  human  humiliation  and 
divine  triumph.  The  fame  of  this  symbol  has 
reached  where  the  lan^uasfe  and  customs  of 
civilized  Christians  are  unknown  or  despised. 
When  the  fierce  hordes  of  southern  Germany- 
desolated  the  fair  cities  of  fruitful  Italy,  and 
sweet  womanhood  and  venerable  age,  and 
tender  childhood  dyed  the  broad  blades  with 
their  blood,  it  is  yet  related  that  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  restrained  the  rough  barbarian,  and 
protected  thousands  who  put  their  trust  in  God 


86  THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  ! 

under  the  shadow  of  its  guardian  care.  And 
when  true  reliction  was  at  its  lowest  ebb  in  the 
dark  days  of  the  church's  history,  we  read  of 
almost  miraculous  powers  being  exerted  through 
the  use  of  this  siofn. 

And  there  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  church  at 
this  present  age  of  iconoclasm  a  sweet  and 
hallowed  association  which  appeals  to  the 
patriot  saint  as  none  other  can.  In  our  church 
buildings  it  occupies  the  holiest  place,  reminding 
us  of  the  daily  struggle,  the  persistent  faith, 
and  the  final  victory  which  Christ's  disciples 
experience  in  their  chequered  lives..  In  our 
ornament  and  emblazonment  it  asserts  the 
authority  by  which  we  believe,  and  speak,  and 
do,  as  God  gives  us  opportunity  and  strength. 
We  use  it  in  the  proud  moment  when  our  little 
ones  are  dedicated  to  God  at  the  font  ;  and  in 
the  hour  of  death,  the  glorious  cross  is  an 
inspiration  of  hope,  a  battle  cry  for  the  final 
struggle  in  which  we  "lead  captivity  captive." 

But  what  does  it  mean  ?  Let  us  not  in 
ignorance  allow   this   habit   to   remain   a  habit 


THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  !  87 

only.  What  does  the  cross  signify  ?  On  the 
bloodstained  battle  ground  it  means  ''  God  with 
man  reconciling  him  by  pain  and  suffering  to 
Himself."  It  means  the  chastening  of  affliction 
and  the  removal  of  the  sting  of  death.  Is  this 
the  meaning  to  us  of  this  sign  ?  Surely  it 
should  be  so,  for  it  is  more  than  the  coat-of-arms 
of  a  community  :  it  is  "the  sign  of  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  the  representation  of 
the  means  of  man's  salvation.  What  did  it 
appear  to  the  son  of  Mary  as  he  stood  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  on  that  memorable  day  when 
the  air  rano-  aofain  with  the  exultant  Hosannah  ? 
The  cross  was  very  present  to  Him  then.  As 
he  beheld  the  richly  verdant  gardens  of  the 
wealthy  ones  of  that  powerful  city,  and  saw  the 
people  gathering,  in  their  hundreds,  from  all 
parts  of  the  known  world,  to  pay  their  devotions 
at  the  Feast  of  that  Passover,  wherein  Jehovah 
had  set  His  people  free  in  Egypt,  and  saw  the 
gleaming  walls  of  that  stately  Temple  which 
Herod  had  built  in  recognition  of  the  rank  of 
God's   People   in   the    Empire,  there  was  ever 


88  THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  ! 

before  Him  a  darkened  landscape  and  a  gloomy 
foreground  in  which  He  was  soon  to  be  of  all 
the  forsaken,  pitied,  mocked,  slain,  yet  trium- 
phant and  victorious  centre.  And  while  the 
children's  voices  rang  out  clear  and  sweet,  and 
and  the  great  ones  looked  hatred  and  suspicion, 
He  saw  that  cross,  and  accepted  it  with  joy. 
So  full  was  He  of  anticipatory  thanksgiving, 
that  when  the  elders  would  have  restrained  the 
little  choristers,  he  reproved  them,  saying  "  if 
these  hold  their  peace,  the  very  stones  them- 
selves will  cry  out."  He  saw  what  they  did  not. 
They  thought  a  popular  riot  would  involve  the 
city  with  the  Roman  governor,  and  result  in 
their  being  fined  at  least.  He  saw  the  people, 
the  sons  from  afar  hasting  to  bow  before  His 
salvation,  and  to  serve  under  His  Cross.  That 
which  to  them  meant  loss,  to  Him  meant  such 
gain  for  mankind,  that  He  bowed  Himself  to 
the  stroke  and  set  His  face  steadfastly  toward 
Calvary.  They  made  their  boast  in  the  beautiful 
Temple,  and  in  the  smile  of  Pilate,  and  in  the 
settled    government    under   which   much   profit 


THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  !  89 

attended  their  business  efforts.  To  them  the 
Cross  was  a  symbol  of  shame.  When  He  told 
them  He  was  neither  their  Messiah  nor  the 
prophet  which  they  expected,  but  the  Son  of 
Man  who  should  suffe^^  many  things,  they  lifted 
up  their  haughty  faces  and  incredulously  asked, 
"  Who  then  is  this  Son  of  Man  ? "  But  the 
Christian  makes  His  boast  in  this  very  Son  of 
Man  who  should  be  crucified  between  two 
malefactors. 

The  Temple  was  soon  burned,  the  rich  and 
prosperous  and  influential  of  the  Jewish  citizens 
were  robbed  by  Romans,  and  by  their  own 
countrymen,  and  these  admitted  the  assassins 
to  help  them  to  save  them  from  the  very  nation 
which  had  given  them  settled  government,  and 
the  verdant  grounds,  scented  with  beautiful 
flowers  and  spice  woods,  were  destroyed  for 
defensive  purposes  not  long  after  Jesus  wept 
over  Jerusalem. 

What  is  greatness  '^.  and  what  wealth  and 
influence  that  we  can  set  a  permanent  value 
upon  them  ?    As  a  Refuge,  are  they  not  vanity  ? 


90  THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  ! 

For  when  all  is  gone  that  we  thought  never 
could  be  removed,  and  when  systems  and 
schemes,  and  all  intrigues  are  exposed  in 
nakedness,  Christ's  Cross  is  the  search  light 
which  most  beshames  a  mean  and  empty  pride. 

"When  I  survey  the  wondrous  Cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 
My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride." 

"  Forbid  it  Lord  that  I  should  boast 
Save  in  the  Cross  of  Christ  my  God, 
All  the  vain  things  that  charm  me  most 
I  sacrifice  them  to  His  Blood." 

But  the  Cross  is  an  object  lesson  teaching  us 
something  of  the  value  of  the  Divine  Love. 
What  do  we  see  ?  Some  short  time  before  this 
tragedy  was  enacted  He  had  been  praying  in 
deep  agony.  *'  And  what  shall  I  now  say  ? 
Father  save  me  from  this  hour  ?  But  for  this 
cause  came  I  unto  this  hour.  Father,  glorify 
Thy  Name."  And  this  is  just  what  is  before 
us  now.  The  Name  of  God  depended  upon 
His  fulfilment  of  promise,  and  He  had  promised 
to  save  Man  by  Christ.      "  By  His  knowledge 


THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE!  91 

shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many,  for  He 
shall  bear  their  iniquities." 

The  salvation  of  man  and  the  glory  of  God 
both  depended  upon  the  Cross.  Only  when 
crucified  could  He  "  draw  all  men  to  Him,"  and 
therefore  He  came  to  die  for  the  life  of  men. 

And  as  He  entered  Jerusalem  and  encountered 
the  jealous  spite  of  the  Jews,  followed  by  one 
whom  He  knew  should  betray  Him,  and  rode 
through  the  crowds  of  acclaiming  Orientals  who 
soon  would  yell  and  hoot  and  hiss  and  spit  upon 
Him  and  crave  His  execution.  He  had  all  this 
in  His  mind.  With  escape  possible,  and  Divine 
Power  in  His  hands,  He  yet,  for  the  love  He 
bore  mankind,  trod  the  steep  ascent,  and  over- 
came the  fear  of  death. 

Death  is  never  anything  but  repelling  even 
to  other  men  who  see  not  a  great  future  opening 
up  before  them,  and  yet  He  "  was  led  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter."  He  laid  down  His 
life  for  these  very  ungrateful  people  and  for 
their  successors,  that  He  might  save  them  from 
their  sins,  and  from  the  terrible  suffering  that 


92  THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  ! 

sin    always    brings    in    its    train.       Is    this    not 
Love — pure  and  simple   Love  ? 

But  more  than  this,  Love  of  the  sinner  always 
involves  to  the  pure  mind  suffering  for  the  sin  ! 
Christ  suffered  for  our  sins.  He  mourned  for 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  who  had  seen  so  many 
of  His  mighty  works  unsaved,  and  alas,  as  yet, 
unrepentant.  He  who  could  see  the  future 
Jerusalem  hemmed  in,  hungry  and  foodless, 
torn  by  factions,  betrayed  and  dismantled,  wept 
for  them,  suffered  for  them.  He  knew  as  well 
as  any  that  the  Cross  does  not  immediately  win 
and  enjoy  the  crown  ;  and  that  He  could  not 
even  save  the  Jews  in  so  short  a  space  of  time 
from  their  awful  iniquity,  and  its  sequel  in  exile 
or  worse. 

"  See  from  His  Head,  His  hands.  His  feet. 
Sorrow  and  Love  flow  mingled  down, 
Did  e'er  such  Love  and  Sorrow  meet  ? 
Or  thorns  compose  so  rich  a  Crown  ?  " 

The  love  of  Christ  for  men  is  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  greatest  philanthropists 
we  know  of      No  missionary  among  the  savage 


THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  !  93 


heathen  ever  yearned  over  his  hard-hearted 
charee  as  our  Saviour  does  over  us.  No  mother 
ever  loved  her  first-born  as  He  does  us.  "  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son."  Christ  so  loved  us  that  having 
loved  His  own  He  /oved  them  unto  the  end. 
Can  we  not  then  believe  that  He  does  suffer 
when  we  persist  in  coming  short  of  the  glory  of 
His  Cross,  when  we  wilfully  choose  the  way  of 
pride  that  leads  to  destruction,  and  refuse  the 
chasteninor  of  the  Lord  which  brinos  forth 
peace  ?  The  way  of  the  Cross  is  the  only  way 
of  peace. 

And  surely  no  attitude  could  draw  men  to 
Christ  more  than  this  determination  of  His  to 
lead  us  to  the  bright  and  happy  heaven  life, 
here  and  hereafter.  When  we  see  Him  in 
whom  was  no  sin  set  Himself  to  2^0  through  all 
the  dreadful  experience  of  unpopularity  and 
suspicion  and  despite,  which  culminated  in  the 
Cross,  all  within  us  that  is  worthy  and  manly 
responds  in  gratitude.  We  find  in  Christ  an 
Ideal   Leader.      Here  is  One  who  knows  our 


94  THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  ! 

frame,  and  with  us  partaker  in  all  human 
adversity  of  condition,  conquering  as  even  the 
simple  little  children  never  dreamed  could  be 
possible.  Knowing  what  was  in  store  for  Him, 
He  yet  accepts  their  tribute  of  praise.  As  a 
conqueror  He  entered  the  temple,  and  as 
engaging  in  a  contest,  the  issue  of  which  was 
certain  victory,  He  bowed  Himself  and  bore 
our  burden,  and  took  away  the  sin  of  the 
world. 

Did  ever  human  leader  the  like  of  this  ? 
Search  through  the  annals  of  the  ages.  Is 
there  one  to  compare  with  Him  ?  Is  there  any 
other  to  whom  we  are  prepared  to  say,  Be 
thou  Head,  and  let  us  be  the  members? 

Young  men  and  maidens  seeking  an  object 
in  life,  you  want  to  be  great,  and  need  a  perfect 
pattern.      Can  you  find  any  other  than  this  ? 

Old  men  and  matrons,  have  you  ever  in 
your  wide  and  varied  experience  met  with  a 
Way,  which  was  also  the  Truth  and  the  Life. 
One  who  could  consolidate  your  powers,  inspire 
your  disheartened  desires,  and  make  you  swell 


THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  !  95 

with  delight  as  this  Being,  this  Man,  this 
God? 

Children  just  entering  upon  serious  prepara- 
tion, here  is  a  Plan  of  Life,  a  Scheme  of 
Preparation,  which  will  fit  you  to  be  great  in 
service,  glorious  in  fruitbearing,  which  will 
make  you  grow  in  spirit  and  in  mind,  until  you 
come  to  the  place  where  He  is.  He  will  never 
fail  you.  No  praise  you  offer  will  be  refused  or 
undervalued  by  Him  ;  for  out  of  the  lips  of 
babes  and  sucklings  is  perfect  praise.  Will 
you  not  give  yourselves  to  be  prepared  by  His 
Spirit,  to  be  chastened  by  His  pure  touch  ? 

Ah  !  my  brethren,  what  a  Prince  of  Peace  is 
this! — Who  made  peace  by  yielding  His  back 
to  the  smiters,  and  won  life  immortal  for  you  by 
laying  down  His  own  precious  life,  and  shedding 
His  own  blood. 

And  when  we  are  redeemed  by  such  a 
Saviour,  called  into  the  field  by  such  a  Captain, 
persuaded  from  the  wilderness  of  an  empty  and 
aimless  life  by  such  a  Shepherd,  what  can  we 
say  and  do  ? 


96  THE  EVE  OF  SACRIFICE  ! 

Shall  we  remain  silent  while  our  sins  are 
borne  by  Him  ?  Or  shall  we  join  with  Him 
under  the  blood-red  Banner  which  was  unfurled 
on  Calvary's  Green  Hill?  We  are  too  much 
in  danger  of  apostasy — of  "standing  off"  from 
Jesus. 

God  forbid  that  we  should  continue  so  callous, 
so  unsympathetic — so  ungrateful ! 

"To  Christ,  Who  won  for  sinners  grace. 
By  bitter  grief  and  anguish  sore. 
Be  praise  from  all  the  ransomed  race, 
For  ever  and  for  evermore." 


SERMON  IX. 

''a  Spectacle  anb  a  Salvation!" 

(Good  Friday.) 

I   Peter,  VII. 

"  Unto  you,  therefore,  which  believe,  He  is  precious ; 
but  unto  them  which  disbeHeve,  the  stone  which  the 
builders  disallowed,  the  same  is  become  the  head 
of  the  corner." 

WHEN  a  great  battle  has  been  won  at  the 
cost  of  many  precious  lives,  the  first 
news  is  that  of  victory,  and  all  the  clarions  of  a 
nation's  joy  break  forth  into  glad  sounds  of 
jubilations.  The  capture  of  a  strategic  position, 
salvation  from  a  condition  of  danger,  the 
crippling  of  a  hostile  army,  fill  us  with  a 
satisfaction  which  we  are  unable  to  contain — 
which  must  find  utterance  in  exuberations  of 
gladness.  But  when  the  roll  is  called,  and  the 
report  is  sent  home  of  the  lavish  expenditure 
of   the    lives    of    the    vouncr,    the    valiant,    the 


98  A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION  ! 

promising,  and  the  helpful,  our  hearts  are  sad, 
our  indiornatlon  burns  aorainst  the  evil  hearts 
and  the  blundering  selfishness  of  those  who 
compelled  the  necessity  for  defence,  or  aggres- 
sive action,  and  our  whole  soul  mourns  for  the 
dire  and  awful  results  of  the  dearly-bought 
victory. 

Though  we  are  none  the  less  proud  of  the 
shot-riddled  ensign  which  has  ruled  the  day, 
we  cannot  forget  the  shedding  of  blood,  by 
which  the  waving  emblem  has  been  preserved 
unsullied  and  honourable. 

To-day,  the  Church  of  Christ  exults  in  the 
victory  won  on  Calvary,  and  to-day  our  soul 
thrills  with  peace  assured,  as  those  parched 
lips  of  the  Son  of  Man  triumphantly  cry,  "  It  is 
finished  ;  "  but  what  a  cost  to  man  !  "  He  was 
led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep 
before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  He  opened  not 
His  mouth."  All  the  blood  shed  in  all  the 
wars  of  Christendom  were  as  nothing  in  com- 
parison to  the  blood  He  so  freely  poured  out 
for  His  foes,  whom  yet  He  loved. 


A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION  !  99 

It  was  an  awful  tragedy — the  death  of  this 
Pure  Man,  the  final  emptying  of  Himself  of 
this  Divine  Being  on  the  Cross.  As  we  gaze 
In  spirit  upon  that  mighty  sacrifice,  that  divine 
deed,  that  humbling  of  Himself,  we  are  led  to 
cry  In  shame,  "What  is  man,"  or  "the  son  of 
man,"  that  he  was  worthy  In  the  eyes  of  a 
crraclous  Providence  of  this  orgeat  offerlnof. 
And  alas  !  what  is  the  enormity  of  the  sin  which 
demanded  a  redemption  so  great  as  His  sal- 
vation. Not  His  friends  alone,  but  His 
executioners,  were  struck  with  amazement,  and 
the  mystery  of  an  inscrutable  Providence  became 
to  all  more  deeply  involved,  as  they  once  more 
called  to  mind  the  undefiled  and  helpful  life 
which  to  them  seemed  taken  away  for  ever. 
Savages,  who  knew  not  God,  have  often  been 
won  to  believe  In  the  loving  personality  of  the 
Deity,  by  the  relation  of  the  story  of  the  Cross, 
after  they  had  dismissed  the  miracles  as  either 
Inventions,  or  the  effect  of  magic.  Since  the 
world  began,  his  has  always  been  regarded 
the  highest  and  most  magnanimous  love  which 


loo        A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION  ! 


laid  down  life  for  one's  friends  ;  but  here  the 
first  met  with  One  who  emptied  Himself  to 
enrich  His  foes,  Who  when  He  was  reviled, 
reviled  not  again,  and  blessed  those  who  were 
His  murderers. 

And  as  long  after  the  national  mind  has  for- 
gotten the  peculiar  advantages  derived  by 
numerous  enofacrements,  the  names  and  natures 
of  heroes  are  dear  to  the  home  and  heart  of  a 
grateful  people,  so  we  now  are  chiefly  drawn  to 
the  study  of  the  Divine  Scheme  of  Redemption, 
by  the  Story  and  study  of  the  Cross  of  Christ. 

How  many  of  us  have  not  felt  our  load  of 
care  lifted  in  the  moment  of  adoration  before 
the  associations  of  the  Cross  ?  All  about  the 
scene  of  Golgotha  is  deeply  interwoven  into  our 
own  religious  experience.  The  picture  of  those 
faithful  women  near  the  rude  cross,  whom  the 
Roman  soldiers  had  not  heart  to  drive  away, 
the  agonized  faces  of  those  in  the  crowd 
of  madly-inflamed  bigots,  who  stood  to  watch 
the  end  of  the  apparently  exposed  imposture  of 
Him   who  led  the  people,  the  respectful  awe  of 


A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION  !        loi 

the  rough  soldiers  while  they  witnessed  and 
brought  to  pass  the  last  torture  o(  a  people- 
forsaken  idol.  And  then  the  grand  triumphal 
march  of  those  events,  which  were  only  possible 
as  the  sequel  of  such  a  transaction.  Are  these 
not  written  in  our  own  mortal  agony,  our  own 
affections,  our  own  doubts  and  misgivings. 
The  Christian  in  his  griefs,  in  his  wrestle,  in 
his  need,  tiies  7iaturally  to  the  Cross.  "  He 
considers  Him,  lest  he  should  faint  in  his  mind," 
he  looks  off  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and 
Finisher  of  his  faith.  For  in  the  Cross  is 
Peace,  though  it  be  prepared  in  agony  and 
shame,  and  darkness  of  half  despair. 

"  Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing, 
Which  before  the  Cross  I  spent, 
Life,  and  health,  and  all  possessing 
From  the  sinner's  dying  Friend." 

Then  the  Cross  is  precious  to  us  as  a  banner 
beneath  which  to  fight  upward  our  way  to  peace 
and  power.  It  is  a  river  making  glad  the  heart 
of  men,  for,  wherever  the  Crucified  Christ  is 
embodied  in  our  suffering,  our  burden  is  lifted, 


162        A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION! 

our  woe  is  lightened,  and  our  faith  in  our  God- 
given  power  and  mission  becomes  an  inspiration 
to  effort,  and  an  incentive  to  noble  aspirations. 

Compare  the  ideals  of  the  pagan,  unchurched 
world  with  those  of  the  Christian  world.  On 
the  one  hand,  we  find  a  grasping  for  rank  and 
arbitrary  power  for  the  individual,  reckless  of 
the  consequences  to  those  who  might  have  to 
take  the  objective  place  in  the  political  economy 
of  an  irresponsible,  carnal  despotism,  or  tyranny, 
while  on  the  other  hand,  we  find  the  greatest 
seeking  to  serve  the  less,  the  strong  devoting 
themselves  to  the  support  of  the  weak,  and  all 
the  Christian's  prayer  and  effort  directed  to  the 
restoration  to  power  of  others,  the  salvation  of 
the  sick  and  sorrowful  and  despairing.  Behold 
the  effects  of  the  Cross  Life  in  the  marvellous 
expansion,  and  still  more  marvellous  develop- 
ment, of  our  colonial  possessions.  This  is  often 
proudly  assumed  to  arise  from  the  influence  of 
natural  and  climatic  causes  operating  upon  the 
Imperial  British  Race.  How  do  we  trace  our 
original  national  capacity  for  conquest  and  con- 


A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION  !        103 

struction  ?  To  the  emotional  Kelt,  who  so  soon 
became  the  slave  or  alien  race  of  Angle- Land  ? 
To  the  fierce  Danish  and  Saxon  pirate,  who 
sacked  our  churches  and  wasted  our  fair  land 
in  turns  ?  To  the  haughty  and  often  perfidious 
Norman,  who  ruled  with  a  rod  of  iron  a  brave 
and  Christian  race  ?  To  whom  shall  we  seek 
as  the  spirit  which  permeated  the  English 
nation,  until  now  nations  unknown  to  us  sue  for 
our  protection  and  help  from  afar. 

Surely  it  is  the  Cross  of  Christ  which  out  of 
unlikely  material  has  built  up  a  nation  zealous 
of  good  works,  and  vigilant  as  a  deliverer  in  the 
hour  of  oppression.  However  mistaken  some 
of  our  ideals  have  been,  however  rude  our  many 
attempts  to  save  the  world,  it  is  the  Cross  which 
has  saved  our  land.  Did  not  the  most  orderly 
and  valiant  Crusaders  come  from  England  ? 
Did  not  the  martyrs  of  all  ages,  in  our  land, 
witness  to  the  truth  of  this  statement,  that 
where  men  became  brave,  it  was  the  Eaith  in 
the  Cross  which  built  them  up,  which  sent  them 
everywhere  as  ministers  of  mercy,  as  explorers 


104        A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION  ! 

of  God's  great  earth,  as  colonizers  of  the  fertile 
but  neQ:lected  lands,  and  as  teachers  of  a 
depraved  and  degraded  and  lost  heathendom. 
Even  where  men  were  not  what  we  consider 
typical  saints,  when  their  hand  was  rough,  and 
their  mercy  little  apparent,  the  influence  of 
their  teaching  for  many  generations  made  them 
trusted  where  others  were  feared,  and  followed 
where  others  were  forsaken.  Our  Wellington, 
our  Gordon,  our  Hannington,  our  Selwyn,  our 
Wilberforce,  our  Howard  of  Effingham,  our 
Drake,  our  Latimer,  our  Lawrence,  and  thous- 
ands of  others — were  these  not  men  who  viewed 
the  Cross  as  the  culmination  of  all  glories,  and 
who  learned  from  it  the  lessons  of  endurance, 
of  noble  aim,  and  splendid  achievement  ? 

"  Here  I  rest  for  ever  viewing 
Mercy  poured  in  streams  of  Blood, 
Precious  drops  my  soul  bedewing, 
Plead  and  claim  ray  peace  with  God." 

"  Truly  Blessed  is  the  station 
Low  before  His  Cross  to  lie, 
Whilst  I  see  Divine  Compassion 
Beaming  in  His  languid  eye." 


A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION!         105 

What  nation  would  have  taxed  Itself  as  we 
did,  when  the  slaves  had  to  be  freed,  and  all 
this  because  we  believed  that  righteous  sacrifice 
alone  could  win  a  righteous  reward.  What 
things  were  counted  orain  we  valued  not,  that 
we  might  be  found  with  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  us.  What  thinors  were  counted  loss  we 
willingly  endured,  that  right  might  be  done,  and 
man  exalted  before  His  Maker.  The  soldier 
looks  upon  his  tattered  ensigns  as  they  hang  In 
the  great  Cathedral,  and  his  thoughts  turn  to 
the  fatal  ride  which  made  his  enemies  quail 
before  British  pluck  and  obedience  to  command, 
or  he  thinks  of  the  dash  of  the  battalions  at 
Alma,  or  the  rout  of  Plassey,  the  check  of 
Corunna.  or  of  the  brave  Wolfe  before  Quebec. 
The  farmer  sees  the  subdued  Wash,  and  the 
verdant  Fen,  and  the  smiling  corn  on  many  a 
slope  where  deeds  of  desolation  and  despair, 
and  the  spirit  of  failure  alone  used  to  be  realised, 
and  he  admires  the  ardour  with  which  nature 
was  bridled,  and  man  blessed  by  the  countless 
dykes  and  intakes  of  our  fathers.      Let  these 


io6        A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION  ! 

look  beyond,  and  all  the  strength  we  as  a  nation 
possess,  all  the  opportunities  which  cry  aloud 
for  us  proceed  from  Calvary.  To  us  who 
believe  He  is  indeed  precious  who  laid  down 
His  life  there. 

But  this  were  a  barren  Passion  Day  did  we 
sit  down  only  with  a  thanksgiving  in  our  hearts. 
The  wrono-s  that  are  in  the  land  still  cause 
wounds  without  due  cause  ;,  the  weeping  of 
deserted  households  still  thrill  us  with  pain  ;  the 
pinched  face  and  dwarfed  stature  and  dreary 
outlook  of  waifs  and  strays  haunt  us  even  in 
our  villages.  Injustice  still  revels  in  many 
conditions  and  forms.  VVe  have  to  see  to  it 
that  Christ  dies  not  in  vain  to  the  millions  who 
yet  have  not  fully  realised  His  saving  grace. 
Do  we  believe  that  on  the  Cross  He  is  really 
ofoine  to  draw  all  men  to  Himself?  The  Stone 
which  the  builders  disallowed  Is  going  to  be 
recognised  as  the  Head  of  the  Corner.  "  It  is 
the  Lord's  doing,  and  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes," 
and  chiefly  marvellous  because  He  has  deigned 
to    choose    2CS,    of  all    others,    as    His    agents. 


A  SPECTACLE  AND  A  SALVATION!        107 

Perhaps  some  here  fail  to  see  how  they  can 
advance  the  Cause  of  the  Cross  in  the  oriving 
of  hearts  to  the  Chinese,  and  the  Spirit  of  God 
to  the  Papuans,  and  the  desire  for  a  humane 
spirit  to  the  cruel  Turk.  That  is  not  at  present 
your  supreme  concern.  Is  God  in  the  Crucified 
Christ,  to  you,  the  Head  of  every  motive,  and 
ambition,  and  desire  1  In  your  home  is  the 
Sacrifice  of  Jesus  the  Example  and  the  Power 
by  which  you  deny  yourself,  and  do  great  things 
to  the  o^lorv  of  Himself  and  of  the  Manhood 
He  has  created  ?  God  v^ill  reconcile  all  thino^s 
unto  Himself,  and  you  are  called  to  help  that 
work  forward  in  your  own  sphere,  according  to 
your  own  ability.  Are  you  obeying  the  call  ? 
Had  Paul  never  known  Nero's  Court,  he  had 
not  known  either  the  supporting  and  con- 
straining love  with  which  he  laboured  for  so 
long  in  that  pagan  abode  of  hard  cruelty. 

"  Lord,  in  ceaseless  contemplation 
Fix  my  thankful  heart  on  Thee, 
Till  I  taste  Thy  full  salvation, 
And  Thine  unveil'd  glory  see." 


SERMON  X. 

"Dictor^!  Dictor?!" 

(Easter.) 

Revelations  I.,   18. 

"  I  am  He  that  liveth  and  was  dead ;  and  behold  I 
am  aHve  for  evermore,  Amen  ;  and  have  the  keys 
of  hell  and  of  death." 

DEATH  is  to  us  a  terrible  nightmare 
without  hope  in  Christ.  Even  if  we 
have  no  knowledge  or  certainty  oi  a  future 
state — a  future  day  of  rewards  and  punishment, 
we  shrink  at  the  alarms  of  the  great  and 
dreaded  reaper ;  and  though  we  know  we  are 
in  the  presence  of  the  foe  in  the  midst  of  our 
life,  we  put  his  image  far  from  our  minds,  and 
banish  all  thought  of  him  from  our  pleasures 
and  our  moments  of  joy.  The  wee  child 
dislikes  the  possible  decease  from  his  life  and 
looks  upon  him  as  the  invariable  spoiler  of  his 
race. 


VICTORY  !   VICTORY  !  icq 


In  the  days  of  Christ,  there  were  two  great 
schools,  both  in  Jewish  and  Pagan  theologies, 
the  one  holdinof  that  as  this  life  could  be  com- 
pleted  without  a  future,  no  future  existed  for 
those  who  had  passed  the  flood, — the  other 
maintaining  that  the  laws  and  phenomena  of 
nature,  as  well  as  the  revelation  to  the  sages  of 
all  religions  which  they  believed  to  have  been 
made,  all  inferred  the  necessity  for  a  fuller, 
more  abiding  experience,  after  that  mortality 
had  wrought  its  power  upon  our  declining  life. 
But  both  alike  dreaded  its  approach  ;  for  to  one 
death  meant  extinction,  and  to  the  other  the 
usher  of  possible  punishment  or  unknown 
experiences  or  conditions. 

And  when  we  place  in  the  ground  what  we 
feel  to  be  a  seed  from  which  our  friends  shall, 
glorious,  rise  at  the  last  day,  there  is  sorrow 
and  sadness  unspeakable  always  inseparable 
from  the  view  we  form  of  the  nature  of  the 
great  bereaver  and  impoverisher  of  men. 

The  Christian  relii^ion  brings  in  a  glorious 
certaintv,    that   God   has   not   left   his   work  in 


VICTORY!   VICTORY 


each  one  of  us  Incomplete  or  exposed  to  the 
full  Influence  of  real  death.  And  He  who 
calmly  asserted  that  "  before  Abraham  was  He 
is^'  has  taught  us  that  His  life  cannot  be  ex- 
tinguished even  by  death,  but  is  In  the  hands 
of  the  Great  Giver. 

The  Agnostic  may  sneer  at  the  simple  record 
of  the  wonderful  resurrection  and  at  the 
credulity  of  the  witnesses  of  remarkable 
phenomena  in  the  garden  at  Gethsemane,  or 
may  speciously  explain  the  apparent  death  and 
apparent  rising  again  of  Jesus  ;  but  we  decline 
to  yield  our  blessed  hope  at  the  first  t)abble  of 
ignorance,  even  when  that  ignorance  is  covered 
by  the  hiding  wing  of  assumptive  arrogance. 
All  that  they  can  prove  against  the  Christian 
position  is  that  they,  by  the  exercise  of  that 
wisdom  that  knew  not  God,  could  not  see  any 
reason  which  they  were  bound  to  accept.  The 
evidence  of  nature,  the  experience  of  our 
changeful  conditions  in  this  life,  of  the  revival 
of  faiths  lost  for  acres,  and  of  a  multitude  of 
evidences    are    to    us    so    conclusive,    that    we 


VICTORY!   VICTORY!  iii 


cannot  for  a  moment  distrust  what,  with  all  its 
miraculous  circumstances  and  Its  almost  Im- 
probability, yet  naturalness,  appeals  so  simply 
to  us  and  accords  so  sympathetically  with  all 
we  believed  of  God,  our  Creator  and  Redeemer. 
That  Christ  the  first-born  among  many  brethren 
did  rise,  a  first-fruits  of  the  general  resurrection, 
and  that  He  takes  the  fear  of  death  from  before 
our  eyes,  we  have  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 

"  Jesus  lives  !  no  longer  now, 
Can  thy  terrors,  death,  appal  us, 
Jesus  lives  !  by  this  we  know 
Thou,  O  grave,  can'st  not  enthral  us." 

Our  lives  can  now  be  lived  in  peace,  there 
can  be  no  break  and  end  of  our  beino-.  The 
TOod  we  do  will  live  after  us,  and  thouo-h  our 
bodies,  no  longer  of  service,  may  moulder  in 
the  grave,  we  shall  not  die,  but  live.  Death  is 
a  very  avenue,  guarding  the  way  of  life,  the 
way  that  leads  to  God.  Is  it  not  ?  Sometimes 
we  have  mourned  for  an  apparently  untimely 
death, — for  a  promising  life  cut  short,- — for  a 
friend  removed.      Weeping  has  endured  for  the 


112  VICTORY!   VICTORY! 


night,   but  joy   came   in   the   morning.       When 

God's    Sun    of    Righteousness    arose,    then    we 

understood  the  end  of  it,  and  knew  that — 

"  He  is  too  wise  to  err, 
Too  good  to  be  unkind." 

The  land  beyond  is  no  longer  a  teri^a  incognita, 

though   no  navigator  has  explored  and  reduced 

its  ^shores  to  a  chart,  and  none  has  returned  to 

describe  its  clime,  and  wood,  and  verdant  field. 

The  land  is  a  "land  of  the  leal,"  and  we  fear 

not  to  oo  to  a  home  of  the  loval-hearted.     The 

land    is    the    Court    of    God,     and    we    know 

assuredly  that  there  justice  will  be  done.       It  is 

a  home  of  the  pure,  and  free,  and  kingly  ;    and 

we   are    willino-   when    our   time  shall   come  to 

launch   the  frail  bark  of  our  hopes,  even  upon 

the   turbid,    surging   waves    of  death  ;    for   our 

Pilot  knows  no  shipwrecks,  and  the  shores  of 

the    Heaven-land    are    never    littered    with    the 

product  of  a  destructive  storm. 

"  Jesus  lives  !    henceforth  is  death 
But  the  gate  of  hfe  immortal. 
This  shall  calm  our  trembling  breath, 
When  we  pass  its  gloomy  portal." 


VICTORY!   VICTORY!  113 

The  lesson  of  life  through  death  is  this. 
Our  life  is  not  temporal,  but  eternal.  We  have 
not  to  pass  through  the  experience  of  this  life, 
and  then  be  no  more  seen  for  ever,  but  to 
"know  the  number  of  our  days,  that  we  may 
apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom." 

How  limited  are  our  lives,  when  bounded  on 
the  one  side  by  the  moment  of  infancy,  and  on 
the  other  by  the  tomb !  And  yet,  how  many 
Christians  do  so  limit  their  lives.  We  exalt 
this  life  as  though  our  scope  for  work  was  so 
great  in  the  Here,  that  this,  and  the  preparation 
for  it,  should  be  made  out  '^the  principal  thing," 
and  that  heaven  is  a  place  for  endless  pleasure, 
when  we  have  tired  ourselves  out  here.  As  the 
Indian  looks  upon  the  hereafter  as  a  happy 
hunting  ground,  where  he  shall  chase  his  quarry, 
and  never  know  weariness,  so  we  picture  an 
endless  round  of  joys,  in  which  work  and 
thought  are  allowed  small  place. 

Now  what  is  the  Reality,  according  to  our 
faith  in  a  Risen  Christ  ?  Does  it  not  place  this 
life   in   the    position   of  a   kind   of  elementary 


114  VICTORY!   VICTORY! 


school,  In  which  the  eyes  of  pupils  are  barely 
opened,  their  hearts  just  taught  to  beat,  their 
minds  just  trained  to  exert  themselves,  when 
the  call  to  work  out  and  develope  what  they 
learned  at  school,  comes  to  lead  them  Into  the 
high  joy  of  service?  Here  we  just  learn  to 
depend  upon  a  living  God,  to  believe  In  a  living 
Christ,  to  stagger  tremblingly  forward,  to  look 
confidingly  upward,  when  the  door  of  a  higher 
life  and  service  summons  us  to  be  "absent  In 
body,  but  present  In  the  Lord,"  serving  ever  In 
His  presence  yonder ! 

Oh !  what  a  vista  It  Is  which  opens  to  our 
enraptured  gaze  !  Try  and  Imagine  It,  children  ! 
Think  of  it  carefully,  young  people.  You  have 
a  future  before  you  which  you  will  try  to  be 
worthy  of.  Have  high  ambitions.  As  the  wise 
scholar  carefully  masters  his  work,  and  the 
principles  of  the  sciences,  so  try  you  to  make 
the  most  of  yourself,  become  as  strong  as  you 
can  In  all  ways,  do  all  you  can  ;  for  exercise 
hardens  the  mind  as  well  as  the  muscles  of  the 
body.      Then  the  time  may  come  when  men 


VICTORY!   VICTORY!  115 

will  persuade  you  that  you  have  climbed  the 
tree  to  the  very  top.  You  will  be  advised  that 
you  have  done  well  in  life,  and  can  rest  and 
enjoy  yourself  for  many  a  day.  As  the  clever 
husbandman  thoug^ht  that  orood  farminor  had 
earned  him  indulgence,  you  may  pull  down 
barns  and  build  greater,  and  say  to  your  soul, 
^'  I  have  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years." 
Don't  stop  here  ;  but  remember  that  if  you 
succeed,  you  have  only  just  made  yourself  fit 
for  the  Master's  service.  He  is  speaking  to 
you  ;  do  not  refuse  to  listen.  God  likes  men 
to  get  on  by  honest  work,  for  honest  work 
makes  men  able  more  to  do  His  work.  And 
God  says  to  that  man  who  has  got  on,  Son, 
Servant,  well  done,  thou  hast  been  faithful  over 
a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many 
things,  be  thou  ruler  over  more  cities ! 

By  His  sacrifice  and  the  power  of  His 
glorious  resurrection  Christ  claims  you.  All 
that  you  have  become  or  done,  He  has  enabled 
you  and  girded  you  and  prepared  you  for. 
You  are  His  !     You  are  bought  with  -d.  price. 


ii6  VICTORY  !  VICTORY  ! 

•'  Jesus  lives  !  for  us  He  died  ; 
Then,  alone  to  Jesus  living, 
Pure  in  heart  may  we  abide, 
Glory  to  our  Saviour  giving." 

With  the  heaven  of  heavens  open  to  us  by 
His  Resurrection  we  dare  not  be  unfruitful,  we 
dare  not  come  short  of  His  glory,  we  are 
ashamed  to  neglect  His  so  great  salvation. 

But  can  we?  How  little  we  can  do  as 
individuals!  How  insignificant  can-  be  our 
efforts  and  how  barren  their  results!  "The 
good  we  would  we  do  not,  for  evil  Is  present 
with  us ! "  However  are  we  goin^  to  get 
through  safely  and  honorably  ?  We  cannot. 
**  But  what  is  impossible  with  man  Is  possible 
with  God."  We  may  promise  upon  our  knees 
in  the  morning  that  we  will  be  true  to  God, 
and  feel  then  as  though  nothing  can  tear  us 
from  the  Saviour's  guardian  care  ;  and  yet  a 
very  little  matter  tempts  to  sin,  and  when  we 
are  barely  conscious  of  it  we  have  In  our  minds 
broken  the  law  of  God  In  many  ways. 

Now  there  is  nothing  to  help  us  here  but  the 


VICTORY!   VICTORY!  117 


hand  of  God.  Christ  told  His  disciples  it  was 
better  for  Him  to  die  and  rise  again  for  their 
sakes,  and  it  is  better  for  2cs ;  for  now  He  has 
the  keys  of  all  the  kingdom,  and  there  is  no 
evil  habit  we  cannot  overcome,  no  sinful  desire 
we  cannot  put  from  us,  no  evil  tendency  we 
cannot  resist  by  the  grace  of  Him  that  "  liveth 
and  was  dead,"  who  "is  alive  for  evermore." 
''Amen,"  that  emphatic  Hebrew  ''Verily" 
means  much  here.  It  is  the  solemn  assevera- 
tion of  all  that  has  gone  before.  Do  not  let  us 
then  doubt  Christ's  power  to  help  us,  saying, 
"  How  can  he  assist  us  in  our  many  and  peculiar 
difficulties  '^  "  This  is  not  a  question  for  us  to 
settle.  Let  us  ask  Him,  in  faith  believing,  and 
He  will  in  His  own,  the  best  way. 

"Jesus  lives!  our  hearts  know  well. 
Nought  from  us  His  love  shall  sever, 
Life  nor  death,  nor  powers  of  Hell, 
Fear  us  from  His  keeping  ever." 

For  to  Him  is  given  a  throne  greater  than 
that  of  David,  and  the  Father  hath  committed 
all  things  into  His  hands.     The  power  of  His 


ii8  VICTORY!   VICTORY! 

messencrers  of  help  is  that  of  legions  of  angels, 
and  His  authority  is  supreme  in  all  the  affairs 
of  men.  Wonderful  are  the  answers  His  saints 
have  had  to  their  prayers.  Women  have 
received  their  dead  raised  to  life  again,"  and 
others  have  been  tortured,  not  accepting 
deliverance,  seeing  Him  that  was  invisible  to 
the  unillumined  eye.  Prayers  have  saved  the 
endangered  from  his  peril,  the  sinner  from  the 
end  and  wages  of  his  iniquity,  have  brought 
back  the  wanderer,  and  have  cast  out  demons 
of  hate  and  malice  and  all  uncleanness.  For 
God  sitteth  on  high  above  all  circumstance  and 
human  arrangement.  He  who  is  our  Friend  is 
supreme  in  power,  and  very  ready  to  give  to  all 
who  ask  of  Him  "in  faith  nothing  doubting." 

Can  you  imagine  an  earthly  parent  possessing 
such  power  to  bless  His  children's  labour  as  the 
Almighty  has  to  help  His,  and  declining  or 
neglecting  to  hear  their  petition  ?  Can  you 
doubt  that  one  of  ourselves  who  heard  the  cry 
of  any  child  in  trouble  would  hasten  to  its 
relief?     Why  then  doubt  God?     Will   He  not 


VICTORY!   VICTORY!  119 

with  His  Son  freelv  ofive  us  all  things?  Will 
He  not  support  the  hands  lifted  up  in  witness 
for  Him  ?  Will  He  not  come  into  the  fiery 
furnace  to  encourage  us''  Will  He  not  shut 
the  mouths  of  lions  for  us^  And  when  our 
scholar's  service  is  accomplished  here,  will  He 
not  take  us  to  Himself? 

"  Jesus  lives  !  to  Him  the  throne 
Over  all  the  world  is  given, 
May  we  go  where  He  is  gone, 
Rest  and  reign  with  Him  in  heaven. 
Alleluia." 


SERMON    XI. 

H  (Blorioua  Jnberitance. 

(Ascension.) 

I    John,    III.,   2. 

"  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." 

WE  are  all  familiar  with  the  picture  of  the 
Ascension  of  the  Risen  Christ,  how 
He  came  with  them  as  far  as  Bethany,  and  in 
the  act  of  blessing  them  was  taken  from  them, 
and  ascended  to  heaven.  The  recorder  also 
reports  how  the  disciples,  bereft  on  earth  of 
their  Leader,  bowed  down  and  worshipped,  and 
then  "  returned  to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy, 
and  were  continually  in  the  Temple,  praising 
and  blessing  God."  How  had  come  the  great 
change  from  the  moment  of  their  desertion,  and 


A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE.  121 


of  their  repeated  determinations  to  pursue  the 
ordinary  callings  of  their  lives,  to  this  wonderful 
exultation  and  faith  when  they  knew  they  had 
lost  their  human  Leader  in  the  person  of  Christ  ? 
After  the  crucifixion  of  their  Teacher,  and 
especially  in  those  sweet  and  blessed  interviews 
they  had  with  Him  after  His  great  resurrection, 
they  began  to  realize  more  and  more  the  perfect 
scheme  of  salvation.  When  they  had  seen 
their  Head  bow  in  submission  before  not  only 
the  High  Priest  and  Herod,  but  also  the 
representative  of  a  foreign  power  who  in  the 
Jewish  view  was  an  intruder  on  Jewish  soil, 
they  were  led  most  clearly  to  see  that  His 
kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  and  that  by  no 
carnal  conflict  was  His  reig^n  to  be  assured. 
On  the  other  hand,  alter  everything  had 
been  done  that  could  be  devised  to  seal  up  the 
dead  Christ,  He  had  appeared  to  them  on  many 
occasions,  shewing  that  the  carnal  power  had 
no  dominion  over  Him,  and  was  incapacitated 
from  putting  out  the  light  of  His  teaching,  and 
from  preventing   the  ultimate   triumph  of  His 


A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE. 


Word.  And  when  these  new  and  inspiring 
truths  were  brought  home  to  them,  He,  as  He 
had  told  them  He  would,  left  them  to  deserve  and 
receive  the  meed  of  their  faithful  labour,  and 
ascended,  before  their  eyes,  to  His  Father  and 
theirs.  Another  demonstration  was  thus  given 
of  His  Divine  nature  and  origin,  and  it  is  not 
at  all  remarkable  that  they  should  worship  and 
rejoice  in  the  public  places  to  which  serious  and 
pious  people  did  most  resort. 

From  being  disciples  of  Jesus  they  are 
promoted  to  be  sons  of  God ;  and  the  distant 
heaven  and  heaven  of  heavens  are-  brought 
nigh  unto  them  by  the  passing  of  their  Master 
behind  the  veil.  He  had  laid  down  His  life 
to  take  it  up  again  :  He  now  ascends  from  the 
mortality  of  this  life,  with  all  its  restrictions  and 
finitude,  to  the  land  of  spirits,  shewing  that  the 
hope  of  the  hereafter  life  is  changed  from  hope 
to  light  to  all  who  believe  on  Him. 

We  have  often  felt  the  unseen  land  to  be 
very  near,  when,  in  the  moment  of  our  bereave- 
ment,  we  seem   to  hear   the    flutter  of  angels' 


A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE.  123 

wings  in  the  death  chamber,  and  even  in  God's 
Acre  the  heavens  have  opened,  and,  'mid  our 
tears,  we  have  seen  the  rainbow  promise  very 
really  fulfilled.  We  come  and  meditate  by  the 
grassy  mound  because  we  have  an  idea  that 
there  the  spirits  of  our  friends  are  closer  to 
us,  and  heaven  much  brighter  than  in  other 
places. 

And  at  the  Ascension  we  realize  that  heaven 
is  not  a  distant  place  to  which  the  good  may  go 
some  day,  but  that  it  is  near  and  awaits  our 
entrance,  when  we  have  returned  home  from 
the  school  of  life,  ready  to  help  the  Father,  and 
to  glory  in  His  grand  work  of  grace. 

"  There  is  a  blessed  Home 
Beyond  this  land  of  woe, 
Where  trials  never  come, 
Nor  tears  of  sorrow  flow  ; 
Where  faith  is  lost  in  sight. 
And  patient  hope  is  crown'd. 
And  everlasting  light 
Its  glory  throws  around." 

Let  us  next  notice  the  future  which  was 
revealed    to    the   disciples    up    to    the    time   of 


124  A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE. 

Ascension.  They  begun  their  following  of  Jesus 
with  very  well  defined  ideas  as  to  the  nature, 
bounds,  and  place  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom. 
When  they  reached  the  Temple  with  praise  of 
God  upon  their  lips,  and  great  joy  in  their 
hearts,  all  this  certainty  of  assurance  had  melted 
into  nothingness  ;  and  a  new  Messiah,  a 
spiritual  dominion  and  world-wide  empire,  had 
taken  its  place.  Now,  all  was  not  bound  up  for 
them  in  the  extent  to  which  Jesus  satisfied 
their  old  ideal,  but  all  empire  and  service  must 
be  made  to  accord  with  Jesus.  Their  ambition 
was  no  longer  the  place  of  honour,  but  the  place 
where  they  could  best  serve  and  imitate  Him. 
The  world  without  Christ  was  now  empty, 
while  poverty  with  Jesus  was  great  reward. 
For  the  old  faith  had  as  its  Ultima  Thule,  the 
empire  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  as  its  highest 
prize  a  princeship  of  that  people  ;  while  the 
new  Creed  had  a  universe  for  empire,  and  God 
for  a  Father.  They  were  passed  verily  from 
death  unto  life,  for  now  were  they  sons  of  God, 
and  heirs  according  to  promise. 


A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE.  125 

They  were  prepared  to  leave  the  form  of 
heaven,  and  that,  too,  of  the  church,  to  His 
hand.  Do  we  not  often  puzzle  our  heads  to  no 
purpose  as  to  the  topographical  conditions  and 
political  economy  of  the  hereafter  land?  Is  it 
not  enough  for  us  that  there  the  disciple  will,  in 
a  higher  sense,  be  as  his  Lord,  that  as  He  is, 
so  shall  we  be  ?  All  these  fruitless  speculations 
but  obscure  the  glory  of  the  focus  of  light  about 
the  throne.  If  Christians  were  here  prepared 
to  subdue  all  things  to  the  nature  of  the  Christ, 
and  less  anxious  to  tinker  the  church  to  bring  it 
into  accord  with  modern  and  passing  whim  and 
fancy,  methinks  the  influence  of  the  church 
would  be  greater,  and  the  happiness  of  her 
members  more  complete.  "  These  sayings  of 
His,"  that  life  of  His.  those  miracles  of  His, 
the  sweet  promises  of  His  Spirit, — surely  these 
are  more  of  value  and  of  inspiration  than  all  the 
touches  of  intrigue  or  promise,  or  picture,  that 
the  most  fertile  imagination  can  dream  of  for 
us.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  God  sent  forth 
His  Son,  born  of  woman,  to  embrace  us  with 


126  A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE. 

His  wondrous  personality,  and  draw  our  spirits 
after  Him  to  the  unknown  blessedness  of  the 
unseen  land. 

"  There  is  a  land  of  peace, 
Good  angels  know  it  well ; 
Glad  songs  that  never  cease 
Within  its  portals  swell ; 
Around  its  glorious  throne 
Ten  thousand  saints  adore, 
Christ  with  the  Father  One 
And  Spirit  evermore." 

And  when  these  men  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
what  was  their  object  ?  They  worshipped  and 
praised  and  witnessed  because  they  could  not 
help  it  ;  but  what  was  their  object  in  life  ? 
Fisherman,  or  custom  house  officer,*^  or 
physician,  what  was  each  going-  to  do  for  the 
Kinordom  which  he  now  knew  was  over  all  ? 
They  could  not  tell  until  God  revealed  It  to 
them  ;  and  so  they  waited  upon  God,  and 
prepared  for  His  fuller  revelation.  But  the 
inspiration  of  their  life  was  a  desire  to  live  with 
and  for  Christ,  to  learn  more  of  Him,  and  to 
'*  see   Him  as   He  is."     Thev  knew  that  "He 


A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE.  127 


had  many  things  to  say  unto  them  "  which  they 
"  could  not  bear  "  yet.  They  recognised  the 
fact  that  they  still  only  saw  "  as  through  a  glass 
darkly;"  they  wanted  to  "see  Him  face  to 
face;"  to  "know  as  they  were  known."  And 
therefore,  from  step  to  step,  they  were  led  out 
of  the  gloom,  until  they  "spoke  as  they  believed," 
and  "waxed  very  valiant  in  fight,  putting  to 
flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens."  What  a  simple 
confiding  faith  was  their's,  what  a  watching  for 
the  appearing  of  the  Angel  of  Revelation. 
Only  to  know  Christ !  Only  to  be  ready  when 
the  Bridegroom  came !  And  yet  from  this 
simple  faith,  and  this  one  rule  of  life,  sprang  the 
faith  of  Christendom  which  has  changed  the 
face  of  the  world  as  by  a  miracle.  We  often 
try  to  hurry  the  progress  of  the  "  Gospel 
Chariot,"  or  to  hasten  its  end  by  avoiding 
conflict  with  wrong,  or  seeking  the  aid  of 
external  influences.  The  Israelites  tried  this 
plan.  They  spared  the  Gibeonites,  and  left 
many  fenced  cities  of  the  enemy  unassailed, 
undemolished  ;    and  these  cities  and  their  after 


128  A.  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE. 

influences  drove  the  people  Into  captivity,  time 
after  time,  and  led  the  Lord's  Israel  to  the 
worship  of  false  gods,  and  the  evils  which 
always  follow  the  adoption  of  sensual  religions. 
Brethren,  God  has  not  left  us  the  labour  of 
overseeing  and  planning  the  work  of  His  vine- 
yard. He  does  that,  and  it  is  not  for  us,  who 
know  so  litde  of  the  ultimate  designs  of  the 
Deity,  to  say  He  has  acted,  or  will  act,  unwisely. 
We  have  only  to  be  '^  as  servants  who  wait  for 
the  coming  of  the  King,  that  at  His  coming  we 
may  serve  Him  as  He  shall  direct.  God's 
Kingdom  is  a  kingdom,  and  not  a  republic  in 
the  ordinary  sense.  It  is  a  loving  despotism, 
but  a  despotic  government  nevertheless.  It  is 
for  us  to  obey,  to  watch,  to  pray  ;  for  to  Him 
belongs  the  prerogative  of  design,  even  in  regard 
to  the  minute  detail  of  government. 

Our  whole  nature  should  then  reach  forward 
toward  Him,  should  expand  at  the  light  of  His 
countenance,  and  should  be  ready  to  translate 
faith  in  action,  so  soon  as  the  still  voice  of  His 
spirit  shall  reveal  His  will. 


A  GLORIOUS  INHERITANCE.  129 

"  O  joy,  all  joys  beyond, 
To  see  the  Lamb  who  died, 
And  count  each  sacred  wound 
In  hands,  and  feet,  and  side ; 
To  give  to  Him  the  praise 
Of  every  triumph  won 
And  sing  through  endless  days 
The  great  things  He  hath  done. 

"  Look  up,  ye  saints  of  God, 
Nor  fear  to  tread  below 
The  path  your  Saviour  trod 
Of  daily  toil  and  woe  ; 
Wait  but  a  little  while 
In  uncomplaining  love, 
His  own  most  gracious  smile 
Shall  welcome  you  above." 

'*  For  now  are  ye  sons  of  God  .  .  .  when 
He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him  ;  for  we 
shall  see  Him  as  He  is." 


SERMON  XII. 

''H  Breatb  of  Ibeaveuli?  presence!'' 

(Whit  Sunday.) 

John,  XVI.,    7. 

"  If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto 
you ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you." 

WHEN  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  telling 
His  disciples  of  His  approaching 
withdrawal  from  their  company  on*  earth,  a 
great  sorrow  fell  upon  them.  They  tried  to 
point  out  to  Him  how  great  would  be  their 
misfortune  did  He  so  leave  them  with  His 
earth  work  uncompleted  ;  and  It  was  in  order 
to  re-assure  them  that  He  addressed  them  in 
the  words  of  our  text.  They  knew  not  yet  the 
nature  of  His  work  :  they  could  not  see  beyond 
the  limited  horizon  of  their  own  experience. 
He  could  do  this,  and,  although  their  eyes  were 
Still  to  be  fixed  upon  that  they  could  see,  He 


A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE.     131 

appeals  to  their  faith  in  Him,  and  in  His  Truth 
and  Wisdom.  They  still  were  crushed  by  their 
disappointment,  and  understood  not  the  full 
meaning  of  His  communication  ;  but  their 
despair  was  removed,  and  a  little  light  pene- 
trated through  the  thick  darkness  of  their 
minds.  Peter  after  this  denied  his  Lord, — but 
with  after  repentance  and  a  sore  heart  and 
tears.  They  all  forsook  Him  and  fled  at  the 
betrayal  ;  but  all  save  Judas  hung  together, 
and  could  not  but  discourse  about  Him,  as  they 
went  to  Emmaus  or  elsewhere ;  and  there  is 
something  very  significant  of  a  lingering  trust, 
in  the  fact  that  small  knots  of  disciples  were  so 
soon  discovered  when  the  Easter  Miracle  was 
first  revealed  to  the  poor  women  who  came  to 
offer  the  last  honours  to  a  Beloved  Friend  and 
Master. 

After  the  Ascension  their  faith  in  Christ 
was  fully  restored,  and  for  joy,  and  in  sympathy 
with  the  purpose  of  Jesus,  they  could  not  keep 
silent  even  when  in  the  mixed  congregation  of 
the  Temple.     And  at  last  continuing  in  prayer 


132     A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE. 

at  Jerusalem,  that  Pentecostal  shower  of  power 
fell  upon  a  faithful  band  who  were  assembled 
waiting  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  Our  blest  Redeemer  e'er  He  breathed 
His  tender  last  farewell, 
A  Guide,  a  Comforter  bequeathed, 
With  us  to  dwell." 

And  now  those  to  whom  He  had  promised 
the  gift,  and  those  whom  their  faith  in  His 
promise,  strengthened  in  their  confident  ex- 
pectation by  the  glorious  Ascension  of  their 
Lord  to  the  throne  of  God,  had  interested 
in  the  subject,  assembled  together  with  one 
accord  in  one  place ;  and  while  they  were 
waiting  the  place  was  filled  with  the  presence 
of  the  Highest,  and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  filled 
their  hearts  with  its  grand  inspiration,  and  their 
mouths  with  a  flood  of  confident  words. 

Outside,  the  Galileans  and  Pilate's  body 
guard  still  were  at  daggers  drawn,  the  priests 
and  Sanhedrim  were  still  endeavouring  to  cast 
discredit  upon  the  persistent  rumours  of  a  risen 
Nazarene,  of  a  form  having  been  seen  like  His 


A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE.     133 

with  his  disciples  one  day,  as  they  drew  up 
their  boat  upon  the  beach,  of  a  new  confidence 
having  been  apparent  among  the  erst  downcast 
followers  of  this  Crucified  One,  of  the  definite 
statements  in  public  places  that  the  Christ  had 
been  seen  by  His  party  taken  up  into  Heaven. 
And  the  atheist  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
joked  of  the  contest,  and  the  soldier  laughed 
at  the  hot  arguments  which  all  parties  waged 
as  to  the  merits  of  the  story.  And  in  the 
midst  of  it  all,  God  opened  the  mouth  of 
Peter  the  impulsive  and  declared  His  purpose, 
and  the  Paraclete,  —  the  Encourager  was 
come. 

Do  not  let  us  think  that  there  was  a  public 
display  of  power  before  the  Jews,  any  more 
than  there  is  at  the  present  day  when  God  is 
changing  men's  hearts,  and  filling  His  church 
with  devout  worshippers.  "The  Kingdom  of 
God  cometh  not  with  observation."  Wherever 
the  longing  soul  waits  for  God,  the  Spirit 
descends,  and  his  workfellow  often  knows  not 
how  near  God  has  come. 


134     A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE. 

"  He  came  sweet  influence  to  impart, 
A  gracious  willing  guest, 
While  He  can  find  one  humble  heart 
Wherein  to  rest." 

Even  in  that  great  assembly  there  were 
some  not  ready,  who  said,  "these  men  are  not 
sober,"  and  they  went  away  without  receiving 
the  Spirit. 

Probably  most  of  those  who  had  come 
together  were  converted  to  the  faith  of  Jesus 
before.  They,  like  His  more  immediate 
disciples,  had  been  staggered  by  the  shock  of 
His  death  ;  but  the  influence  of  the  eleven,  and 
of  the  faithful  women,  had  won  them  back  and 
convinced  them  of  their  error.  The  same 
chastening  influence  had  affected  all ;  and  the 
sayings  and  personality  of  Christ  were  fast 
displacing  their  former  theories  of  His  Object 
in  coming  to  mankind.  And  as  the  solemn 
prayers — many  of  them  doubtless  they  had 
heard  often  in  the  synagogue  in  His  presence 
— were  earnestly  offered,  and  as  the  Scriptures 
relating  to  the  Son  of  God  were  read  by  one 


A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE.     135 

of  their  number,  a  new  spirit  fell  upon  them, 
and  old  things  faded  out  of  view. 

Had  Christ  remained,  this  heart-searching, 
this  scripture-reading,  this  earnest  soul-inspired 
prayer,  had  doubtless  not  prepared  the  way  for 
the  descent  of  the  Spirit.  But  in  the  extremity 
of  their  loneliness  they  turned  pure  eyes  of 
expectation  toward  God  ;  and  God  answered. 
They  could  no  longer  be  guided  by  the  formal 
words  of  Jesus,  or  influenced  by  His  personal 
presence.  They,  therefore,  by  His  absence 
were  drawn  after  Him  and  received  the 
Comforter  to  their  souls'  salvation. 

We  often  wonder  why  God  for  no  purpose  of 
punishment  deprives  us  of  means  of  happiness 
and  peace.  With  no  warning  He  comes  and 
takes  the  lamb  of  the  flock,  or  the  adviser,  or 
bread-winner  of  the  home,  from  our  family 
circle  when  all  seems  to  point  to  this  as  to 
something  arbitrary,  or  without  reasonable 
explanation.  Again  our  prosperity  becomes, 
like  Job's,  a  desolation  ;  and  our  joy  of  harvest 
is  blighted  by  an  unseasonable  gale.      Again, 


136      A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE. 

some  affliction  fall  upon  our  body  and  we  are 
sick,  though  not  conscious  that  we  have  broken 
any  of  His  laws  of  health. 

Brethren,  God  is  never  arbitrary  ;  and  when 
He  sees  we  are  clinging  to  a  loosening  hold, 
He  removes  it,  when  trusting  to  a  dangerous 
foundation,  He  takes  it  away,  when  setting  our 
affections  upon  things  that  perish.  He  hides 
those  objects  of  our  love  until  we  are  better 
able  to  understand  the  duty  we  owe  to  Him  and 
to  ourselves.  Terribly  severe  are  some  of  His 
judgments,  but  not  so  hard  as  the  wages  of  sin. 
His  wounds  cause  often  sharp  stings  of  pain  ; 
but  that  is  better  than  the  stupor  of  deadly 
disease.  In  tender  love  and  with  a  true 
parent's  pity,  he  uses  the  surgeon's  knife,  that, 
cutting  away  the  dangerous  member,  He  may 
preserve  us  from  future  or  present  evil. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to  supply  the  lack 
of  man.  How  efficacious  it  is  we  may  see  from 
the  ''fruits  of  the  Spirit."  How  differently  we 
live  under  the  dominion  of  the  Spirit !  That 
which  we  could  not  regard  without  feelings  of 


A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE.     137 

repulsion,  the  spirit  shows  to  be  the  way  of  Hfe 
and  peace. 

A  sinful  life  becoming  filled  with  the  Spirit 
of  God  developes  a  power,  greater  for  God 
than  even  there  had  previously  been  against 
Him.  As  the  '  possessed  whom  chains  could 
not  bind'  came  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
clothed  and  in  his  right  mind,  so  the  disciples, 
whom  contact  with  the  Master  barely  kept  from 
quarrelling  among  themselves  on  receipt  of 
God's  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  became 
humble  learners,  self-devoting,  burden-bearers 
for  the  weak,  and  not  a  few  of  them  poured  out 
their  blood  for  Christendom  as  martyrs 
appealing  to  a  pagan  world.  How  His 
chastening  spirit  subdued  the  impetuosity  of 
St.  Peter,  and  the  Pride  of  Sect  of  St.  Paul  ; 
and  how  ready  all  the  apostles  were  to  deny 
themselves  of  every  even  allowable  pleasure,  in 
order  that  others  might  be  guarded  or  guided 
by  a  less  briary  path  to  the  high  way  of  know- 
ledge. And  what  a  change  is  noted  in  the  lives 
of  Christian  men  and  women,  when,  inspired  by 


138     A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE. 

the  spirit  of  God,  they  are  able  to  look  up  and 
say,  ''  Abba,  Father." 

The  spirit  of  Christ  enables  men  who  possess 
the  power  of  resisting  to  submit,  as  Christ  did, 
to  many  indignities,  and  gives  them  grace  to 
decline  apparently  simpler  methods  which  are 
carnal,  in  order  that  they  may  do  God's  work 
in  God's  own  way. 

"  And  His  that  gentle  voice  we  hear, 
Soft  as  the  breath  of  even, 
That  checks  each  fault,  that  calms  each  fear. 
And  speaks  of  heaven. 

"  And  every  virtue  we  possess. 
And  every  conquest  won, 
And  every  thought  of  holiness — 
Are  His  alone." 

Yes,  the  spirit  is  that  breath  of  life  by  which 
God's  people  are  trained  to  work,  moved  to 
speak  and  to  do  whatever  is  needed  to  make 
straight  the  highway  for  the  King's  progress. 
Its  limitations  are  found  only  in  the  bounds  of 
the  loyal  Christian's  power.  It  fills  us,  inspires 
us,  and  lights  us  from  on  high.  It  is  in  reality 
heaven    in    the    earth-life,    God    in    humanity, 


A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY   PRESENCE.     139 

and    the   assertion    of    immortality    in    mortal 
lives. 

The  spirit  is  everywhere  operative.  In  all 
the  apparently  insignificant  routine  work  of  life, 
in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being. 
From  being  hopeless  drudges,  or  money 
grubbing  business  men,  we  become  diligent  in 
spirit  serving  the  Lord.  There  is  an  eternal 
end  to  the  unwarranted  distinction  between 
secular  and  spiritual.  All  is  spirit  and  all  is 
life.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  churchmen  are 
so  anxious  that  in  so  called  secular  schools  such 
teaching  in  regard  to  the  spiritual  life  may  be 
given  as  shall  permeate  the  life  and  character  of 
the  unmatured  child,  and  not  only  underlying, 
but  taking  all  possession,  may  teach  his  fingers 
to  fight  and  his  hands  to  war  in  the  great  struggle 
which  always  characterizes  the  endeavour  of 
a  business  man.  Once  we  can  instil  into  the 
child  mind  this  influence,  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  his  after-witness.  The 
great  demand  of  a  secular  world  is  for  our 
inspiration,  which  like  power  in  a  factory,  shall 


I40     A  BREATH  OF  HEAVENLY  PRESENCE. 

fill  with  a  brightness  which  is  not  a  quality  of 
matter  all  things  God  created  for  our  use.  In 
our  foreign  and  domestic  affairs,  we  need  to 
recognize  the  claims  and  prerogative  of  the 
spirit,  or  our  cast-iron  decrees  and  our  rigid  but 
dead  machinery  will  fail  to  win  the  world  from 
darkness  and  pain  into  His  marvellous  light. 
Oh,  that  the  church  would  see  this,  and  pray 
more  earnestly  for  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  all  the  common  affairs  of  life ! 

A  formal  acceptance  of  Christ's  promise  of 
the  Paraclete,  and  a  weekly  assembly  for 
worship,  or  even  a  daily  kneeling  at  His  foot- 
stool cannot  meet  the  case.  He  must  be  with 
us  in  our  counting-house,  and  field  labour,  in 
our  domestic  councils,  and  our  public  work,  in 
our  grief  and  in  our  joy,  if  we  would  fully 
benefit  by  the  gift  of  the  Spirit. 

"  Spirit  of  purity  and  peace, 
,    Our  weakness  pitying  see  ; 
O  make  our  hearts  Thy  dwelling  place. 
And  worthy  Thee." 


SERMON  XIII. 

"^be  Hll  Sufficient!" 

(Trinity. ) 


Rev.  IV.,  7. 

"  Holy,    Holy,    Holy,   Lord  God  Almighty,   which 
was  and  is,  and  is  to  come." 

THE  Church  of  Christ  has  ever  been 
jealous  of  the  personal  attributes  of  the 
objects  of  her  worship,  and  wisely,  for  did  we 
not  assert  the  Triune  nature  of  God  we  are 
aware  that  there  is  no  resting-place  between 
the  Catholic  and  the  Mahomedan  platforms. 
Either  Jesus  is  God,  or  He  is  merely  an 
official  of  God  ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  either 
God,  or  only  an  influence  proceeding  from  God. 
If  Jesus  be  not  God,  then  He  has  deceived 
both  Himself  and  His  Church  ;  and  if  the 
Paraclete    be    not    God,    then    the    Apostolic 


142  THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT. 

groundwork  is  an   unreliable  foundation,    both 
for  doctrine  and  for  morals. 

On  the  authority  of  One  who  knew  all 
things  and  yet  knew  no  sin,  we  believe  that 
there  is  in  the  Divine  Being  a  Trinity,  and 
we  worship  and  praise  Him,  world  without 
end.  And  yet  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  in 
spite  of  all  that  profound  theologians  of  all 
ages  have  done,  cannot  be  so  formulated  that 
a  full  and  explicit  explanation  may  be  given 
to  satisfy  all  men  ;  and  this  simply  for  the 
reason  that  it  relates  to  that  realm  of  know- 
ledge of  which  we  know  but  little,-— and  that 
only  ''in  part."  Nor  is  it  necessary  for  our 
faith  that  we  should  so  explain  the  Trinity. 
Christ  has  told  us  so  much  of  His  relation 
to  the  Father  and  of  His  Authority  in  the  world 
and  in  the  Church,  as  is  required  to  justify  our 
confidence  in  Him.  And  He  has  further 
comforted  us  by  the  Promise  and  Reality  of 
a  Paraclete,  or  Holy  Breath,  emanating  from 
the  Father,  and  representing  that  work  He 
has  done  on  earth,  and  more. 


THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT.  143 

We  worship  therefore  the  One  in  Three 
under  His  various  Names  and  Beings,  with 
the  certainty  of  hope,  knowing  that  though 
we  pray  to  the  Father,  the  Son,  or  the  Holy 
Ghost,  we  pray  at  the  same  moment  to  the 
Triune  God.  We  can  leave  the  explication 
of  the  mystery  to  the  time  when  we  shall 
know  many  things  which  now  perplex  us,  but 
do  not  disturb  our  Faith. 

We  worship  the  Father  Almighty  ;  that  is, 
the  Almighty  as  Father,  because  from  Him 
comes  all  that  makes  life  possible  and  worth 
living. 

Do  we  ever  think  what  we  owe  to  the  Father. 
Too  often  we  look  upon  adoration  of  God  as  a 
duty, — even  as  a  penance,  the  neglect  of  which 
will  involve  our  everlasting  loss.  What  do  we 
see,  that  so  limited  should  be  our  understanding? 
Are  we  blind,  that  we  behold  nothing  of  the 
wondrous  providence,  the  great  re-creative  force, 
which  supplies  our  need  and  delights  our  eye 
with  the  manifold  revelation  of  Nature?  The 
fathers  of  our  race  could    trace    the    Creator- 


144  THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT. 

Redeemer  in  the  rolling  hills,  the  burning 
volcano,  the  heaving  ocean  swell,  the  keen 
ice  storm,  the  waving  blossom  on  a  myriad  of 
trees  and  bushes,  the  hole  of  the  coney,  the 
gentle  lily,  the  scorching  sand,  the  cooling 
rain,  the  bursting  spring,  and  the  star-spangled 
canopy  of  heaven.  Where  are  our  thoughts, 
that  even  apart  from  His  scheme  of  salvation, 
we  are  unable  to  glorify  God  in  the  ascription 
of  mercy,  of  unsearchable  wisdom,  and  omni- 
potent helpfulness  ?  Has  our  nearest  friend 
done  more  for  us  than  He  ?  Or  has  our  most 
favourable  circumstance  more  pre'pared  our 
happiness  than  His  gracious  providence?  See 
how  good  God  is  to  Israel,  and  the  Living 
Lord  to  all  who  would  make  the  most  of  their 
opportunity  !  ''  Thou  crownest  the  year  with 
Thy  goodness."  "  All  Thy  paths  drop  fatness  " 
for  the  *  lean  and  hungry  soul ' !  Where  is 
there  a  God  like  Jehovah  ?  Where  a  Friend 
like  Him  who  made  man  after  His  own 
image,  and  so  loved  him,  after  he,  like  a 
prodigal,   had  left  the  fold  of  the   safe  home 


THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT.  145 

life,  that  He  gave  ''His  only  begotten  Son" 
to  save  him  from  the  disease  of  his  sin  and  its 
consequent  wages — death. 

"  Three  in  One  and  One  in  Three, 
Ruler  of  the  earth  and  sea, 
Hear  us  while  we  lift  to  Thee 
Holy  Chant  and  Praise." 

And  is  the  Son  of  God  not  deserving  of 
adoration  ?  Is  He  only  a  means  of  salvation 
through  faith  in  "  His  Name?" 

In  fulness  of  time  He  came  to  give  sio-ht  to 
the  blind,  to  illumine  afresh  the  obscured  view, 
and  to  point  us  by  Himself  the  new  and  living 
Way  to  the  Truth  that  maketh  free  the  children 
of  God. 

With  the  coming  of  our  Great  Exemplar  the 

old    message    was    translated    into    a    simpler 

tongue.      The  Old  Dispensation  is  permeated 

by  an  atmosphere  of  "  Thou  shalt  "  and  "  Thou 

shalt    not."      The    flaming    Sinai    guards    the 

dangerous   road,   and    Prosperity,    with    all    its 

kindred     allurements,     point     onward.        With 

Christ    a    Gospel    long    needed    was  preached, 

10 


146  THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT. 

and  to  the  ever-recurring  plea  for  gods  to  go 
before  us,  He  answers,  "  Follow  Me,"  "  What  I 
do,  do  thou,"  "Take  up  thy  cross  and  come 
after  Me,"  ''I  am  the  Light  of  the  World;" 
come  near  to  Me,  that  I  may  enter  with  the 
Father  and  reign  in  thy  heart. 

Under  the  ancient  system  of  Theocracy,  men 
were  apt  to  regard  their  most  favoured  fellows 
as  the  favourites  of  God.  Under  the  new,  the 
Light  shone  forth  from  the  midnight  blackness 
and  shame  of  Calvary,  from  the  rebuff  and 
repulse  of  the  Sacred  College  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
from  the  desolation  of  the  solitary  place,  and 
from  the  persecution  of  His  own  kindred. 

And  on  Golgotha  a  light  was  set  up,  which 
nor  kings,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  could 
ever  extinguish — the  light  which  testified,  in 
living  deed  and  word,  to  God's  estimate  of  man, 
and  to  His  determination  to  save  man  from  the 
evil  accretions  of  ages'  growth. 

And  in  this  Light  men  began  to  be  ashamed 
of  idleness  and  selfishness,  and  commenced  to 
do  as  Christ  taught  them  to  do.      They  became 


THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT.  147 

disenamoured  of  Cain's  plea  of  irresponsibility  ; 
and  all  over  the  earth  you  now  find  men  who 
have  left  their  homes,  and  denied  themselves 
earthly  rank  and  comfort,  because  they  see  in 
distant  lands  room  for  the  lifted  Cross,  and  hear 
in  savage  anarchy  an  inarticulate  cry  for  the 
gentle  rule  of  Christ,  and  in  our  own  land,  how 
many  there  are  who  in  hospital,  or  workhouse 
infirmary,  or  slum,  or  some  other  place,  meet  a 
great  need  that,  through  the  Love  of  Christ, 
pleads  for  their  love  to  satisfy. 

"  Light  of  lights  !  with  morning  shine ; 
Lift  on  us  Thy  Light  Divine ; 
And  let  Charity  benign 
Breath  on  us  Balm." 

O  Thou  Son  of  God,  Thou  art  Holy  God 
Almighty,  worthy  our  praise  and  deserving  our 
service.      Help  us  to  serve  ! 

And  is  the  Holy  Spirit  not  worthy  of  adora- 
tion ?  That  Being  Divine  which  gives  us  the 
nerve  to  live,  the  impulse  heavenward,  and  the 
wisdom  to  use  in  the  winning  of  Christ's  Own 
back    to    the    Lord.       Can    we    deny    to    Him 


148  THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT. 

Divine  honours  ?  What  has  not  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  already  accompHshed  in  the  field  ! 
Who  filled  the  mouth  of  the  martyr  with  food, 
which  was  an  antidote  to  Death  ?  Who  changed 
the  hearts  of  those  wolfish  men  and  women  and 
children  who  demanded  ''  the  Christians  to  the 
lions  "  ?  Who  made  men  ashamed  of  those 
feeble  crutches — the  temple  of  the  Jews  and  the 
shrine  of  the  "unknown  god"?  Who  was  it 
dissuaded  our  own  English  ancestors  from  those 
wicked  displays  of  physical  prowess  which 
treated  men  as  mere  "beasts  of  war?"  and 
who  prompted  them  to  enterprise  and  noblest 
heroism?  Was  it  not  the  Holy  Ghost?  Who 
soothes  the  unrestful  pillow  of  sick  humanity 
with  counsels  of  peace  and  comfort  of  resigna- 
tion ?  Who  throws  oil  upon  the  troubled 
waters  of  debate,  and  chastens  the  soul  of  the 
bigot  ?  Who  stirs  men  from  vain  and  fruitless 
jangling,  to  active  work  and  Christian  union 
agfainst  the  forces  which  make  for  disintegration 
and  hateful  schism  in  the  ranks  of  the  Lord's 
disciples  ?      Who  opens  the  door  of  the  future, 


THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT.  149 

and  encourages  us  to  the  pioneer  work,  and  to 

the  waiting,  and  to  the  sowing  of  precious  seed  ? 

Is  it  not  the   Holy  Spirit?     And  this  Spirit  is 

as    potent    now    as    ever,    and    deserves    our 

warmest  welcome  as  an  impelling  influence,  as 

when,  during  Herod's  persecution.  He  scattered 

the    brethren    through    all    the    cities   of  Syria 

preaching  the    Gospel.       In    troubled    seas    of 

trial  and  opposition,  it  is   He  who    calms    our 

souls   with  sweet   comfort ;    and   when    at    the 

close  of  the  day  or  the  life  we  are  dissatisfied 

with  our  work,   and,  like  the   prophet    of   old, 

complain  that  there  are  none  likeminded   w^ith 

us  in  whole  hearted  service,  He  draws  the  veil, 

and  shews  us  the  harvest  of  apparent  failure, 

a  crop  of  healthy  green   shoots    springing  up, 

perhaps    many    of   them   the   fruit  of  the  very 

efforts  we  were  so  ashamed  of. 

"  Light  of  Light,  when  falls  the  even. 
Let  it  close  on  sin  forgiven  ; 
Fold  us  in  the  peace  of  Heaven, 
Shed  a  Holy  Calm." 

"  Three  in  One  and  One  in  Three, 
Dimly  here  we  worship  Thee  ; 


150  THE  ALL  SUFFICIENT. 

With  the  Saints  hereafter  we 
Hope  to  bear  the  Palm." 

Then  shall  we  join,  with  all  the  mists  cleared 
away  and  the  doubtful  points  made  plain,  in  the 
chorus  of  those  who  bow  down  in  their  hearts 
crying  inwardly  : — 

"Holy,    Holy,    Holy,   Lord    God  Almighty,   which 
was  and  is,  and  is  to  come." 


SERMON  XIV. 


''  JLbc  6armente  MasbeJ)  m  ffilooD." 

(All  Saints.) 


Rev.  VII. 

"  And  one  of  the  Elders  answered,  saying  unto  me, 
What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes  ? 
and  whence  came  they." 

THESE  are  a  part  of  the  vision  of  St.  John 
which  he  had  In  Patmos  and  are  a 
question  asked  by  one  of  his  guides  In  the  spirit 
world  so  clearly  laid  bare  to  his  faithful,  but 
sorely  tried  affection.  While  he  Is  regarding 
the  heavenly  hosts,  he  notes  a  multitude  which 
no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations  and  peoples 
and  tongues,  having  every  personal  peculiarity 
of  variety  and  yet  all  free,  all  standing  In  the 
Divine  presence,  all  sounding  aloud  His  praises 
all  earnestly  and  intently  offering  worship  and 
service  to  the  King  of  Truth,  while  he  heard  the 


152      THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD. 

Angels  answer  their  song  with  the  loud  Amen, 
an  elder  appeals  to  him  as  to  the  meaning  of 
this  mighty  multitude,  and  forthwith  proceeds 
to  explain  the  wonder. 

What  an  education  this  revelation  must  have 
been  to  St.  John.  He  had  seen  the  angelic 
bodies  before,  and  the  angels  and  archangels 
which  surround  his  Throne.  He  had  heard  a 
song  divine  and  inspiring  sung  to  the  sweet 
tones  of  the  celestial  harps  ;  but  now  he  hears 
the  confident  ode  of  the  victorious  earth  child, 
and  the  languages  he  had  heard  in  the  eastern 
cities  ;  and  he  recognises  that  Man  has  a  place 
already  among  the  Hosts  above,  and  that  the 
place  of  Humanity  in  God's  Kingdom  is 
distinguished  and  glorious. 

He  had  come  from  the  world  where  men 
spoke  in  doubting  terms  even  of  Hades,  and 
with  misgiving  as  to  the  ascension  of  Man  to 
the  Spirit  Land.  Now  he  sees  man  ascended 
and  busied  in  active  service.  The  7iow,  to  them, 
has  beco7ne  the  hereafter,  and  in  the  power  of 
the  Lion  of  Judah  they  have  prevailed  to  open 


THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD.      153 


the  Book  of  Life.     Such  was  the  picture  to  St. 

John  ;  such  the  encouragement  he  received. 

"  Could  we  but  stand  were  Moses  stood 

And  view  the  Landscape  o'er, 
Not  Jordan's  Stream,  nor  Death's  cold  flood 
Could  fright  us  from  the  shore." 

Brethren  we  can.     Not  every  day  nor  for  every 

man  does   God  draw   away  the  curtain   which 

hides  that  thundering  chorus  of  saved  Men  and 

Women  :      but   sufficiently  he   lets   the   far   off 

rolling  resonance  salute  our  doubting  souls  with 

peace  and  hope.     When  we  feel  dubious  as  to 

whether  life  is  really  worth  living,  an  elder  asks 

us  to  look  up  and  tell 

"  Who  are  these  like  stars  appearing, 

These,  before  God's  Throne  who  stand. 
Each  a  golden  crown  is  wearing. 
Who  are  all  this  glorious  band. 
Alleluia,  hark  !  they  sing, 
Praising  loud  their  heavenly  King. 

"  Who  are  these  in  dazzling  brightness. 
Clothed  in  God's  own  righteousness, 

These  whose  robes  of  purest  whiteness, 
Shall  their  lustre  still  possess 

Still  untouched  by  time's  rude  hand  ? 

Whence  came  all  this  glorious  band  ?  " 


154      THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD. 

Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the  Lord  ? 
Who  stand  in  His  holy  place?  They  that  hath 
clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart  .  .  .  "These 
are  they  who  come  out  of  great  tribulation  with  a 
pure  eye,  and  firm  hearts.  These  are  they  who 
insisted,  many  of  them  through  the  loss  of 
nearly  every  earthly  joy,  that  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  the  simple  way  was  the  King's  Highway 
to  Peace. 

Now,  it  is  hard  to  pursue  this  simple  child's 
path  to  God.  Expedients  and  policies  and  false 
Christs  without  number  tell  us  that  the  end  of 
Christianity  may  be  reached  with  less*  waste  by 
other  ways  than  by  a  consistent  adhesion  to  the 
plan  of  the  Saviour  Himself.  Very  plausible 
are  the  emissaries  of  Egypt  and  Edom  and  the 
merchants  of  Tyre !  Yea !  if  it  were  possible 
they  would  deceive  the  very  elect.  And  the 
elect  would  be  deceived  and  lose  heart,  could 
they  not  see  "  the  saints  above  how  bright 
their  joys,"  and  be  nerved  by  the  rumble  of 
many  voices  and  many  nations  to  belief,  even 
against  seeming  failure  in  the  Way  of  the  Lord. 


THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD.       155 

The  young  especially  are  likely  to  miss  the 
inspiration  of  this  revelation.  It  is  hard  for 
them  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  Divine 
Order,  of  a  limitation  of  the  method  of  salvation, 
of  a  restriction  of  the  ambitions  of  carnal  man. 
All  nature  is  rosy  with  the  promise  of  success 
upon  any  lines  adopted,  and  the  heavens  are 
often  as  a  nebulous  something  which  need  only 
take  form  in  the  future  shadow.  An  earthly 
standard  usurps  the  place  and  influence  of  a 
heavenly,  and  the  tangible  treasure  of  this  life 
hides  the  precious  pearls  of  the  Eternal. 

My  friends,  the  way  of  crosses  is  to  be  found 
in  the  field  of  license,  and  the  hour  of  irrever- 
ence and  unfaith  is  the  beginning  of  the  day  of 
death  and  despair  and  fear.  Heaven's  host  of 
our  human  brethren  does  not  contain  the 
millions  who  have  shrunk  from  the  discipline  of 
faith  and  the  labour  of  the  spiritual  contest  with 
the  forces  of  evil.  The  victors  are  men  whose 
voices  have  acquired  a  manly  cadence  while 
raising  the  loud  alleluia  in  Armageddon,  and 
whose    faith  in     God    has    been    the    result    of 


156      THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD. 

co-operation  with  the   King  upon   the  untilled 
wilderness  of  man's  godlessness  and  pessimism. 

"  These  are  they  who  have  contended 
For  their  Saviour's  honour  long. 
Wrestling  on  till  life  was  ended 

Following  not  the  sinful  throng. 
These  who  well  the  fight  sustained 
Triumph  by  the  Lamb  have  gained." 

And  there  is  a  something  so  full  of  sympathy 
to  St.  John  and  to  all  whose  faith  is  chastened 
by  pain  in  the  words  of  our  context.  These 
"have  washed  their  robes  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb." 

In  the  heat  of  conflict  pain  is  often  never  felt. 
A  soldier  will  sometimes  become  giddy  through 
loss  of  blood  before  he  feels  himself  seriously 
wounded.  But  all  cannot  be  in  the  exciting 
struggle  for  mastery.  Most  men  and  women 
have  to  bear  pains  without  the  incentive  of  a 
conflict,  vigorous  and  blood-stirring.  They 
have  to  believe  without  any  banner  to  quicken 
their  hopes  save  the  banner  of  awful  Calvary, 
and  the  only  crown  they  seem  likely  to  win  is 
the  crown  of  thorns,  the  only  sceptre  the  mock- 


THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD.      157 

sceptre  of  a  reed.  St.  John  himself  was  a  man 
of  this  kind.  Not  called  to  the  schools  for 
contention,  but  to  carry  love  to  the  destitute 
and  bankrupt  human  nature,  the  fathers  give 
many  indications  of  a  heart  tried  but  tenacious, 
of  a  hope  blighted  often,  but  never  made 
ashamed.  And  St.  John  saw  men  of  this  kind 
in  that  mighty  company,  and  women  too — the 
mother-martyrs  of  obscure  homes,  the  child- 
martyrs  who  before  the  gleaming  fangs  of  the 
horrid  wild  beast,  calmly  looked  up  to  the  open 
heaven,  the  man-martyr,  who,  helpless,  im- 
potent yet  faithful,  lay  bound  while  wrong 
rioted  in  excesses  and  right  was  publicly 
beshamed.  God  does  not  judge  men  by  the 
result  of  their  work,  but  by  their  obedience  of 
faith ;  otherwise  many  a  martyr  would  be  refused 
admission  among  the  saved.  The  widow's  two 
mites  were  to  Him  more  than  the  abundance  of 
the  wealthy.  And  many  a  man  and  woman  and 
child  is  found  among  God's  saints  who  has  only 
given  two  mites — all  a  living.  Only  tears, 
only  agony,  only  pleas,  only  privation,   for  the 


158       THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD. 

Kingdom's    sake,     only    an    example,    only    a 
look! 

"  These  are  they  whose  hearts  are  riven  . 

Sore  with  woe  and  anxious  tried, 
Who  in  prayer  full  oft  have  striven 

With  the  God  they  glorified. 
Now  their  painful  conflict  o'er 
God  has  bid  them  weep  no  more." 

And  lastly,  my  brethren,  Is  there  not  in  the 
vision  of  St.  John  and  in  the  comforting  word 
of  the  elder  an  added  incentive  to  Christian 
endeavour  here.'^  Is  there  no  paracletic  inspira- 
tion in  the  knowledge  that  "  our  labour  is  not  in 
vain  in  the  Lord  ? "  The  burdened  man  of 
business  looks  forward  with  joyful  anticipation 
to  the  rest  of  competency  ;  and  the  anxious 
husbandman  is  nerved  to  the  toil  of  cultivation 
by  the  thought  of  Harvest  Home.  Are  not  we 
encouraged  to  ^7^us^  on,  j^£/i^  on  and  suffer  on 
when  we  think  of  the  joys  prepared  for  those 
who  diliofentlv  seek  and  serve  Him  who  has  for 
our  final  elevation  yielded  up  His  only  begotten 
Son? 

For  only  by  constant  application  and  persistent 


THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD.       159 

self-surrender  upon  the  altar  of  duty  can  we  be 
prepared  for  the  enjoyment  of  God  in  the 
fulness  of  His  spirit. 

As  blooming  and  the  growth  of  seed  vessels 
ever  precede  the  last  effort  of  seed  shedding,  so 
earth  labour  for  God,  and  earth  fruiting  in  the 
spirit  alone  can  be  the  precursors  of  that  full 
joy  of  the  heavenly  work  and  service  of  praise. 
Our  eyes  must  be  prepared  by  the  dawn  for 
the  dazzling  noon-day  glare,  and  our  spirits  by 
spring  and  summer  for  the  trying  season  of 
harvest.  Let  us  then  meet,  as  in  the  light  of 
heaven,  those  obstacles  we  so  often  encounter, 
and  in  the  name  of  Him  who  cannot  lie  prevail. 
And  w^ith  the  example  of  the  blessed  saints  ever 
before  us,  and  their  assured  beatification  real  to 
our  consciousness,  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  "  looking  (off)  to  Jesus  the  Author 
and  Finisher  of  our  Faith,  who  for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  him  endured  the  Cross,  despising 
the  shame  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of 


i6o      THE  GARMENTS  WASHED  IN  BLOOD. 


God."  Many  have  not  *'  resisted  unto  Blood," 
and  are  discouraged  at  every  little  distraction, 
and  stricken  down  by  every  small  affliction. 
Unlike  Job,  we  are  sometimes  in  the  moment 
of  our  agony  ready  to  "curse  God  and  die." 
Brethren,  let  us  consider  the  saints  whose 
example  destroyed  the  power  of  paganism, 
nerved  the  manhood  of  nations,  won  civil  and 
religious  liberty  by  the  shedding  of  their  blood, 
and  who  were  saved  by  enduring  to  the  end. 

"  These  the  Almighty  contemplating 
Did  as  priests  before  Him  stand, 
Soul  and  body  always  waiting 

Day  and  night  at  His  command. 
Now  in  God's  most  holy  place 
Blest  they  stand  before  His  face." 


SERMON    XV. 

''jentering  upon  Xife! 

(Baptism.) 


S.  John  III.,  i6. 

"  He  shall  baptise  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
with  fire." 

TO  baptise  is  to  cleanse  primarily,  by 
washing  from  impurity,  from  the  accre- 
tions of  evil,  from  the  taint  of  sin  engendered 
or  inherited.  By  this  rite  we  do  not  simply 
shadow  beforehand  a  future  conversion  and  a 
future  sanctification  ;  we  believe  that  in  effective 
baptism  the  God  to  whom  we  present  ourselves 
or  our  children  will,  and  does  wash  us  from  our 
iniquity  and  take  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
For  this  reason  it  is  that  the  Church  is  so 
anxious  to  increase  the  number  of  the  baptized, 
and  to  fill  the  new  members  in  Christ  Jesus 
with  those  thoughts,  those  ambitions,  and  those 

n 


i62  ENTERING  UPON  LIFE. 

ideals  which  result  in  a  grand  devotion  and  in 
a  noble  consecration  of  life  and  powers  to  the 
service  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Saviour. 

The  Jew  who  was  baptized  into  the  doctrine 
of  a  new  Teacher  signified  that,  by  that 
washing,  he  left  behind  him  all  other  ideals, 
all  other  doctrines,  and  all  other  desires,  in 
order  to  place  himself  in  what  he  now  con- 
sidered the  truer  fold,  the  more  holy  association 
and  the  more  helpful  service. 

And  it  was  in  this  spirit  that  the  various 
constituent  classes  of  Jewish  Society  came  to 
St.  John  the  Baptist ;  and  for  this  purpose  that 
they  left  following  John,  to  attend  the  teaching 
of  Jesus,  as  soon  as  ever  their  first  Teacher 
shewed  them  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

By  baptism,  their  past  was  thus  left  behind, 
and  actively,  vigorously,  and  in  measure, 
enthusiastically,  they  reached  forward  to  the 
newer  hope,  to  the  brighter  life,  and  to  the 
more  needful  activities. 

And  it  is  just  this  same  spirit  that  is  found  in 


ENTERING  UPON  LIFE.  163 

the  true  disciple,  in  the  really  baptized  member 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Baptism  is  not  a  rite  only  :  it 
is  a  step  forward  and  upward.  It  is  more  than 
this  ;  for  it  is  by  Baptism  that  open  confession 
of  religion  is  made,  and  the  subject  by  this 
service  dares  to  assert  his  alleofiance  to  the 
Church  of  the  Lord. 

"  In  token  that  thou  shalt  not  fear, 
Christ  crucified  to  own, 
We  print  the  Cross  upon  thee  here, 
And  stamp  thee  His  alone." 

Like  the  recruit  who  takes  the  *'  Queen's 
Shilling,"  we  commit  ourselves, — not  to  noisy 
acclamation,  nor  alone  to  an  academical  agree- 
ment with  the  theory  of  the  Evangel,  but  to 
drill  and  discipline,  to  temperance  and  con- 
sistency, to  hardship  and  fast,  to  wounds  and 
grief,  and  lastly  to  all  those  labours  and  ex- 
periences without  which  we  can  never  join  the 
Angel  legions  in  their  attribute  of  praise,  and 
can  never  hope  to  stand  beneath  the  shot-riven 
banner  of  the  Victor  Anointed,  stained  with 
blood. 


1 64  ENTERING  UPON  LIFE. 

Whether  then  as  little  infants,  quite  uncon- 
scious of  the  momentous  act  of  the  lovers  of 
our  souls  who  bring  us  to  the  font,  or  as  of 
riper  years  able  and  ready  to  see  in  the 
Crucified,  '^  the  beautiful  among  ten  thousand 
and  the  altogether  lovely,"  we  regard  the  rite, 
and  the  sacrament,  and  the  service  of  Baptism 
as  an  experience  which  absolutely  separates  us 
from  the  Gentile  outsider,  and  marks  us  out  as 
"holy  unto  the  Lord."  The  imprinted  Cross 
implies  not  only  a  separation,  but  an  opposition 
to  *' the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  Devil,  **  which 
means  a  persecution  and  tribulation  of  our 
carnal  nature,  but  to  our  spirit-life  a  "power  of 
God "  for  salvation,  for  healing,  for  building, 
and  for  production.  Baptism  is  the  assertion 
then,  not  only  of  our  own  right  to  serve  God 
with  a  good  conscience  without  reference  to  the 
permissive  powers  of  the  world,  but  it  is  a 
Declaration  of  War  against  the  state  of  evil  and 
of  destructiveness  which  so  mars  the  beauty  of 
creation,  and  so  impedes  the  process  of  the 
Divine  Restoration  of  fallen  man. 


ENTERING  UPON  LIFE.  165 


And  this  open  and  obtrusive  confession  does 
not  readily  come  from  weakness  like  ours.  It 
is  very  hard  for  us  to  stand,  in  such  a  small 
troop,  with  such  apparently  inferior  weapons, 
and  defy  the  Champion  of  the  armies  of  the 
Philistines !  The  laugh  of  the  hoarse-voiced 
Gittite,  and  the  chaff  of  his  buffoons  and  jesters 
are  bad  to  endure.  As  Saul  retired  sullen  into 
his  tent  after  each  defiance  of  Israel,  so  we 
shrink  from  doing  more  than  shake  out  each 
day  the  folds  of  the  heavy  banner. 

This  is  not  what  Baptism  means.  God 
comes  to  us  with  a  sling  and  a  few  pebbles 
which  we  can  use  well  enough  for  our  own 
pleasure,  and  says,  *'  Go  out  against  the  brazen 
Philistine,"  or  He  sends  with  loaves  and  a  few 
other  necessaries  the  youthful  David  to  the 
camp.  How  are  we.  Baptized  and  Sponsors  of 
the  Baptized,  answering  Gods  purpose  ?  How 
many  godparents  realise  what  their  solemn 
undertaking  at  the  font  involves  in  responsi- 
bility ?  How  many  even  think  it  needful  to 
prepare   the  minds  of   the    young  subjects    of 


i66  ENTERING  UPON  LIFE. 

Baptism  for  the  coming  day  of  Confirmation  ? 
The  Httle  ones  for  whom  you  answered  years 
ago  in  Baptism  are  God's  talents,  potent  in  a 
rich  and  energetic  life — if  trained  and  wisely 
prepared  for  Christian  work  !  How  is  it  that 
so  many  have  hidden  these  talents  away,  have 
neglected  their  spiritual  improvement,  and 
perhaps  by  want  of  sympathy,  or  by  evil  and 
inconsistent  example,  have  contributed  in 
making  a  faithful  heart  faint,  an  innocent  heart 
suspicious,  and  a  warm  heart  irresponsive  to 
the  call  of  the  Gentle  Jesus  ? 

The  Brahmin  is  not  ashamed  of  his  caste 
marks  upon  his  frontal,  and  the  Moslem  is  not 
afraid  to  prostrate  himself  in  prayer  before  a 
myriad  of  amused  English  soldiers.  How  is  it 
that  we  let  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus  die 
away  from  our  foreheads,  and  from  the  face  of 
those  for  whom  we  have  undertaken  that  we 
will  guide  and  help  and  encourage  them  in  their 
heavenward  way  ?     The  Baptismal  cross  is 

"  In  token  that  thou  shalt  not  blush 
To  glory  in  His  name." 


ENTERING  UPON  LIFE.  167 

Yes,  this  is  the  victory,  even  the  victory  of  our 
faith.  How  is  it,  then,  that  we  are  so  reticent 
in  the  world,  and  so  reserved  as  to  our  Spiritual 
citizenship,  and  as  to  our  claims  on  Christ's 
behalf,  even  amonor  our  most  intimate  friends  ? 
Baptism  involves  an  outside  allegiance,  a 
vigorous  foreign  policy,  a  'light  in  the  window,' 
a  banner  upon  the  house  top  ;  there  must  be  no 
lights  hidden,  no  secret  hoard  of  mercy,  no 
sentimental  indulgence  of  religion  underground. 
For  this  it  is  that 

"  We  blazon  here  upon  thy  front 

His  glory  and  His  shame, 
In  token  that  thou  shalt  not  flinch 

Christ's  quarrel  to  maintain, 
But  'neath  His  banner  manfully 

Firm  at  thy  post  remain." 

Either  the  Christian  religion  is  the  conquering 
force  before  which  all  opposition  will  ultimately 
go  down,  or  Christians  live  in  a  '  fool's  paradise,' 
where  joy  is  but  a  tickling  of  the  imagination, 
and  hope  is  a  mirage  which  excites  anticipation 
but  to  beshame  and  deceive  the  soul.  That 
the  Christian  Faith  inspires  man  to  victory,  and 


1 68  ENTERING  UPON  LIFE. 

builds  what  nothing  can  pull  down  or  destroy, 
the  history  of  every  generation  demonstrates. 
Why  then  need  we  be  afraid  to  fight  upon  the 
side  which  not  only  deserves  to  win,  but  does 
and  will  always  win  .f^ 

"'Neath  His  Banner  manfully, 
Firm  at  thy  post  remain." 

And  Baptism  is  the  assertion  of  each  succeed- 
ing generation  that  in  Jesus  Christ  and  in  His 
Holy  Spirit  whereby  we  are  sealed  into  the  Day 
of  Redemption,  there  is  the  completion  of  Man's 
Nature,  the  fulfilling  of  his  destiny.  Think 
what  a  constant  witness  this  has  been?  In  the 
gaol  at  Phillipi,  in  the  household  of  Caesar,  in 
the  galleries  of  the  Catacombs,  by  the  Ethio- 
pian's Chariot  on  the  Egyptian  highway,  in 
richly  beautiful  Cathedral,  in  lonely  cotter's 
earthern-floored  home,  under  the  spreading 
palms  of  the  southern  seas,  in  the  Cabin  of  some 
storm-tossed  bark  in  mid-Atlantic,  in  King's 
Courts,  and  in  the  prison  house  of  shame,  the 
holy  water  has  been  cast,  and  the  cross  has  been 
printed,    in    token    of    the    confidence    of   the 


ENTERING  UPON  LIFE.  169 

Church  in  the  promises  of  her  Divine  Head 
and  in  the  grand  sufficiency  of  the  Christian 
Life.  The  simple  words  of  dedication,  the 
simple  form  of  separation,  the  simple  charge, 
the  simple  rite,  survive  all  internal  and  external 
struggles  and  attacks.  We  believe  and  therefore 
we  come  and  bring  our  babes  to  enter  upon  the 
trying  life  which  yet  is  life — life  Immortal. 
Life  cannot  exist  without  hope;  and  Baptism 
is  the  exultancy  of  our  hope  in  Jesus.  And  in 
this  sacrament  is  God.  Amid  the  shadows  of 
the  Cross,  as  we  indicate  its  imminence  in  the 
service  of  Baptism,  God  becomes  indwelling, 
Christ  takes  the  tender  lambs  in  His  arms  and 
to  the  tremulous  parents,  recognises  His  re- 
sponsibility and  His  sweet,  loving  desire  for 
their  Spiritual  Victory  !  Born  from  above,  with 
added  impetus,  the  soul  of  innocence  reaches 
upward.  Woe  unto  him  who  shall  cause  one 
of  these  little  ones  to  offend ! 

"  In  token  that  thou  too  shalt  tread 
The  path  He  travelled  by, 
Endure  the  cross,  despise  the  shame, 


I70  ENTERING  UPON  LIFE. 

And  sit  thee  down  on  high ; 
Thus  outwardly  and  visibly 
We  seal  thee  for  His  own." 

Oh  !  the  pity  of  a  life's  failure,  of  the  blighting 
of  hopes,  of  the  waste  of  opportunity,  of  the 
shortcoming  in  a  race  well  started.  The  joy  of 
the  final  leap  of  the  victor  past  the  winning 
post !  What  can  compare  with  a  crown  won  and 
deserved\  Oh,  that  the  Baptism  may  fill  our  life 
with  truer  confidence  with  a  capacity  for  nobler 
and  prevailing  endurance,  and  with  a  conscious- 
ness that,  step  by  step,  or  even  inch  by  inch, 
we  are  distancing  the  pursuing  tempter,  and 
nearing  the  goal ! 

"  And  may  the  brow  that  wears  His  Cross 
Hereafter  share  His  Crown." 


SERMON    XVI. 


*'^bc  Confirmed  Covenant." 

(Confirmation). 


John   XVI.,    7. 

"  Now  they  have  known  that  all  things,  whatso- 
ever Thou  hast  given  me,  are  of  Thee." 

THE  disciples  were  filled  with  dismay  by 
the  rapid  succession  of  events  which  they 
had  noted  in  the  last  few  days.  Since  Christ 
had  "  steadfastly  set  His  face  towards  Jerus- 
alem," every  step  foretold  triumph  and  pain 
strangely  blended.  The  Cross  and  Calvary, 
surrounded  by  thick  clouds,  portended  the 
sufferings  He  had  so  often  foretold  ;  and  this 
cross  all  felt  Him  more  threatened  with,  for 
every  word  predicted  the  travail  that  was  before 
Him.  But  high  above  this  looming  sadness 
the  angels  bore  palms  of  victory,  and  prepared 
the  glad   triumphal  car  for   Resurrection  Day. 


172  THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT. 

And  the  very  victim  rather  displayed  might  in 
surrender  than  the  frailty  of  the  helpless. 
''These  things  I  tell  you,"  said  He,  ''before 
they  come  to  pass,  that  ye  may  know  that  I  am 
He."  Bonds  and  death  awaited  Him,  because 
He  had  all  things  mundane  in  subjection,  and 
Himself  lay  down  His  life.  Life  for  evermore 
were  His,  for  the  everlasting  Sceptre  had  not 
departed  from  Judah,  nor  a  Law-giver  from 
between  His  feet. 

But  the  disciples  were  not  fully  prepared  to 
submit  to  this  Divine  ruling  as  yet.  He  had 
set  them  apart, — had  chosen  them  out  of  the 
world  for  His  purpose  of  world-healing ;  but 
they  would  in  a  few  hours  be  offended,  and 
flee  from  the  officers  who  would  arrest  their 
Master ! 

He  prayed  for  them. 

They  scarcely  yet  perceived  to  what  an 
extent  the  prayer  was  needed.  Very  confident 
were  some  of  them,  for  they  had  not  yet  been 
hounded  from  city  to  city  through  His  name. 

To-day  there  are  those  here  who  have  taken 


THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT.  173 

upon  them  vows,  and  received  a  blessing  as 
disciples  of  Christ.  Under  the  inspiration  of 
present  conditions  and  teaching,  they  are  apt  to 
undervalue  the  guidance  they  so  much  need. 
They  will  go  away  from  the  classes,  and  from 
this  helpful  service  with  the  best  of  intentions 
to  cling  to  their  God,  to  follow  His  Christ,  and 
to  bear  witness  that  they  have  received  in 
measure  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  are  inflated 
by  a  passion  of  exultation  in  God's  holy 
church,  and  filled  with  a  desire  to  serve  their 
day  and  generation.  And  so  far  they  act 
well. 

But  to-morrow  a  reaction  may  come,  and 
perplexity  puzzle,  and  temptation  try  them  very 
hardly,  and  the  path  of  God  be  presented  full  of 
briars  and  pitfalls,  and  strewn  with  wrecks  of 
former  pilgrims  ;  and  then  how  shall  it  fare  with 
the  young  member  of  Christ  ? 

One  tempter  will  tell  us  we  are  going  on  very 
well,  and  need  fear  no  snare  or  fall,  another  will 
advise  us  to  trouble  not  to  keep  our  feet,  for  it 
of  no   use  our   keeping    ourselves    from    the 


174  THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT. 

polluting  influence  of  our  fellows,  and  of  our  other 
surroundings.  Another,  again,  will  inform  us 
that  the  ancient  way  is  rough  and  uneven,  and 
much  inferior  in  every  way  to  the  path  through 
the  pleasant  fields  of  indolence ;  and  yet  a 
fourth  will  try  to  entangle  us  in  our  conceit, 
or  to  trip  us  up  by  the  snare  of  our  haughty 
pride. 

My  young  friends,  the  ancient  way  was  trod 
by  the  Man  of  Nazareth,  and  no  disciple  ever 
met  Him  in  the  path  of  indolence.  All  the 
other  temptations  assailed  Him  in  the  Wilder- 
ness of  Judaea,  and  attacked  His  position  in 
vain.  If  you  would  be  His  followers,  His 
learners,  you  must  keep  near  Him,  wherever 
He  leads,  whatever  He  teaches.  The  disciple 
must  be  near  his  Master,  or  he  soon  loses  his 
Master's  power,  and  grace  and  nature. 

"  O  Jesus  I  have  promised. 

To  serve  thee  to  the  end, 
Be  thou  for  ever  near  me. 

My  Master  and  My  Friend ; 
I  shall  not  fear  the  battle 

If  thou  art  by  my  side, 


THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT.  175 

Nor  wander  from  the  highway 
If  Thou  will  be  my  Guide." 

With  or  without  a  present  Saviour  we  are 
always  near  the  world.  Out  of  our  animal 
nature  spring  foes  with  talons  sharp  and  power- 
ful. Amid  the  most  fertile  pastures  the  vulture 
eye  watches  the  straggling  sheep,  ready  to 
pounce  upon  him  the  moment  he  becomes  too 
weak  to  escape.  The  carnal  mind,  too,  easily 
tempts  us  to  seek  temptation,  and  is  almost  over- 
whelming when  temptation  is  upon  us.  No 
gifts,  no  education,  no  mental  powers,  no 
circumstances  can  preserve  us  from  these 
downward  tendencies  of  our  nature,  unless 
they  are  founded  in  the  ever-near  Christ.  In 
business,  in  the  very  home  life,  in  the  world  of 
letters,  everywhere,  we  are  exposed  to  a 
thousand  degrading  doctrines,  a  thousand  de- 
basing influences.  "  To  whom  shall  we  look 
for  succour,  save  to  Thee,  O  God." 

"  O  let  me  feel  Thee  near  me  : 
The  world  is  ever  near ; 
I  see  the  sights  that  dazzle. 
The  tempting  sounds  I  hear. 


176  THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT. 

My  foes  are  ever  near  me, 

Around  me,  and  within  ; 
But,  Jesus,  draw  me  nearer, 

And  shield  my  soul  from  sin." 

These  disciples  believed  in  God,  but  did  not 
associate  all  good  things  with  Him,  any  more 
than  we  do.  We,  like  them,  look  upon  the 
Great  King  as  upon  a  Divine  Vengeance,  or 
Divine  Anger,  whom  we  must  pacify,  but  can- 
not love.  Christ  came  to  reveal  the  true 
Father — King  ;  and  I  think  He  does  it  in  the 
words  of  our  text.  He  wanted  His  followers 
to  understand  that  God  was  the  "  Father,  and 
Giver  of  all  good  gifts."  He  wants  you,  my 
brethren,  and  sisters,  so  to  believe.  God  is  a 
jealous  God,  but  no  tyrant ;  He  is  a  just  God, 
but  merciful,  tender,  and  provident.  The 
nearer  we  get  to  Almighty  God,  the  closer  to 
the  side  of  Jesus, — and  the  more  earth's  Babels 
are  disregarded,  and  earth's  jealousies  con- 
demned. 

Men  cry  out  for  the  ''open  vision,"  and  long 
for  revealed  gods  to  guide  them.     They  tell  us 


THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT.  177 

"  the  Bible  is  archaic  in  form  and  antiquated  in 
Theology,  that  creeds  must  anew  be  formulated, 
a  new  gospel  be  proclaimed  to  mankind."  The 
fault  of  non-revelation  is  not  with  God,  and  the 
Holy  Word  shall  never  become  antiquated  until 
eternal  truth  is  obsolete.  Come  to  the  House 
of  Prayer  to  meet  God  and  commune  with  Him, 
and,  Verily,  thou  shalt  find  a  blessing.  The 
words  of  ancient  prophets  shall  daily  be  found 
taking  richer  volume  and  tone  until  man's  blind- 
ness shall  wholly  pass  away.  Let  no  earthly 
carelessness  stand  between  thee  and  the  Com- 
munion of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  The  Bread  of  Life  to  all 
believers  shall  indeed  yield  sustenance,  and 
minister  strength,  and  going  into  affairs  and 
interests  of  this  world,  let  us  hourly  converse 
with  Him. 

"  O  let  me  hear  Thee  speaking 
In  accents  clear  and  still, 
Above  the  storms  of  passion, 

The  murmurs  of  self-will. 
O  speak  to  re-assure  me, 
To  hasten,  or  control ; 

12 


178  THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT. 

O  speak  and  make  me  listen, 
Thou  Guardian  of  my  soul." 

And  then,  my  dear  people,  let  us  think  what 
duties  our  separation  to  God's  service  really 
involves.  If  all  good  comes  from  the  Father  of 
Lights,  then  we  ought  to  seek  to  fulfil  our 
Destiny  in  the  work  of  the  Church  in  the 
World. 

God  has  promised  the  faithful  disciple  that 
He  will  not  only  provide  us  with  ability  and 
talents,  but  that  He  will  also  open  out  spheres 
in  which  they  may  have  exercise. 

Some  of  you  are  called  to  learn  and  serve 
in  the  Sunday  Schools,  some  to  stand  for 
righteousness  in  commerce,  others  to  help  in 
the  training  and  care  of  younger  brothers  and 
sisters.  Some,  again,  are  still  preparing  them- 
selves for  the  battle  of  life  in  schools  of  learning, 
and  others  are  in  various  other  ways  elected  for 
the  service  of  the  Church.  Remember  your 
Confirmation  vows,  and  neglect  not  to  avail  your- 
selves of  every  opportunity  of  increasing  the 
effectiveness  of  Church  influence,  and  the  power 


THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT.  179 

you  have  to  speak  and  live  the  truth  of  our  great 
Head.  You  have  now  formally  enlisted  under 
Immanuel's  banner  ;  let  it  not  be  a  mere  form, 
but  wave  high  the  Standard  of  Faith  wherever 
you  have  opportunity. 

"  O  Jesus,  Thou  hast  promised. 

To  all  who  follow  Thee, 
That  where  Thou  art  in  glory 

There  shall  Thy  servant  be. 
And,  Jesus,  I  have  promised 

To  serve  Thee  to  the  end ; 
O  give  me  grace  to  follow. 

My  Master  and  my  Friend."_ 

"  O  let  me  see  Thy  footmarks, 
And  in  them  plant  my  own. 
My  hope  to  follow  duly 
Is  in  Thy  strength  alone. 
"  O  guide  me.,  call  me,  draw  me, 
Uphold  me  to  the  end  ; 
And  then  in  heaven  receive  me, 
My  Saviour  and  My  Friend." 

He  that  is  faithful  in  a  few  things  will  be 
faithful  also  in  many.  As  we  are  found  able  to 
learn,  He  calls  into  power  to  teach.  And  as  in 
the  marks  of  Jesus  we  plant  i?/^r  feet,  we  see  the 


i8o  THE  CONFIRMED  COVENANT. 

sights  which  filled  Him  with  joy,  awful ^o"^,  as 
He  went  up  to  the  feast  ;  and  by  His  power, 
and  for  His  glory,  and  in  His  grace  and  faith 
we  become  worthy  to  sit  down  with  God  and 
the  Lamb  in  glory. 


SERMON    XVII. 


"Mttb   the  riDastcr." 

(Holy  Communion). 


Ps.   CXLIIL,   9. 

"  Deliver  me,  O  Lord,  from  mine  enemies.     I  flee 
unto  Thee  to  hide  me." 

IN  the  midst  of  great  soul  tumult  these  words 
are  used.  "  Hear  me  speedily,"  cries  the 
Psalmist,  "my.  Spirit  faileth."  His  enemies 
defeated  his  plans,  his  foes  gathered  daily 
courage  at  the  sight  of  his  dreadful  straits,  his 
own  troops  and  he  himself  were  reduced  to  a 
forlorn  hope.  Surely  this  is  the  meaning  of 
the  Psalm.  And  as  the  forlorn  hope  is  not 
usually  manned  by  reckless  desperadoes,  but  by 
the  giants  of  faith  and  trust,  so  the  trouble  of 
the  Psalmist  compelled  him  to  trust  God 
mightily  in  this  extreme  effort.  Humanly  shut 
in,    and    without    issue    or    supplies,    like    the 


i82  WITH  THE  MASTER. 

Prophet  at  Dothan,  his  keen  sense  of  mind 
quickened  his  ears  to  the  hearing  of  the  chariots 
of  help  in  the  mountain.  You  all  have  heard 
the  story  of  how  in  Lucknow,  when  the  savage 
hordes  of  blood  -  steeped  insurgents  were 
counting  the  days  for  the  hunger  fiend  to  finish 
his  fell  work,  the  sore  need  of  one  poor  woman 
reached  over  an  otherwise  impossible  distance, 
and  heard  the  strains  of  the  band  of  deliverance 
and  the  tramp  of  the  armed  men  coming  to 
relieve  them.  Just  in  this  way  God  uses  our 
heaviest  burden,  our  almost  despair,  our  terrible 
anguish,  our  deep  humiliation,  to  fill  our  soul 
with  delight  and  urge  us  to  the  necessary  effort 
for  freedom. 

It  is  remarkable  how  hardened  wretches  in 
their  abject  misery  will  cry  unto  God.  Men 
who  have  only  blasphemed  His  name  when  all 
went  well,  in  the  moment  of  tempest,  in  the 
shaking  of  the  earth,  in  the  climax  of  social 
iniquity,  are  found  crying  for  mercy  with 
mighty  agonies,  and  appealing  confidently, 
though   sometimes  profanely,  to  the  Almighty 


WITH  THE  MASTER.  183 

goodness.  The  condemned  prisoner,  who  has 
no  remorseful  sorrow  for  his  crime,  who  cares 
not  for  the  victim's  ultimely  end,  nor  for  the 
grief  and  poverty  of  his  family,  is  yet  heard  to 
plead  upon  the  scaffold  for  mercy  as  the  pains 
of  death  get  hold  upon  him.  Much  more  the 
saint  who  has  ever  loved  and  feared  his  Maker  ; 
for  with  him  it  is  only  the  utmost  call  of  direst 
need,  and  is  the  assertion  of  a  determination 
never  to  let  the  Saviour  go  until  the  ultimate 
blessing  is  vouchsafed.  ''  Deliver  me,  O  Lord, 
from  mine  enemies."  O,  how  many  they  are  ! 
Foes  within  and  foes  everwhere.  Even  our 
religious  exercises  cannot  keep  them  altogether 
away.  There  was  of  old  a  common  belief  that 
no  spell,  no  evil  spirit  could  withstand  the  Sign 
of  the  Cross.  Even  this,  however,  is  disproved 
during  every  celebration  of  Divine  worship. 
Often  we  delight  rather  in  the  rolling,  pealing, 
swelling  anthem  than  in  the  God  to  whom  these 
are  offered  as  very  unworthy  gifts.  Again, 
jealousies  and  angry  words  are  indulged  here, 
and  a  low  ideal  of  service  is  engendered  by  the 


i84  WITH  THE  MASTER. 

the  Indolence  of  our  minds  and  spirits.  And  yet 
the  Holy  Rood  with  its  Divine  Victim  are  even 
before  us,  and  the  sacred  Name  is  ever  uttered 
with  outward  signs  of  respect  or  reverence. 
We  can  never  escape  this  or  the  other  deadly 
foe  so  long  as  we  trust  in  our  own  power  and 
in  our  own  means  of  Salvation.  Even  he  who 
never  meets  his  fellow  in  the  madding  din  of 
social  or  business  pursuits,  perhaps  most 
earnestly  cries  out,  *'  Who  shall  save  me  from 
the  body  of  this  death." 

"  They  who  fain  would  serve  Him  best  are 
conscious  most  of  wrong  within." 

Have  you  never  felt  it  so  .^  Have  you  never 
realised  how  strong  are  the  bonds  of  iniquity 
when  you  make  the  most  vigorous  effort  to 
shake  yourself  free  ?  There  is  no  hope  for  man 
save  in  the  Salvation  of  the  precious  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Only  by  His  heavenly 
washing  can  we  ever  become  "  Whiter  than 
snow."  And,  as  we  come  to  Him  in  His  own 
Feast  of  Love,  as  we  open  our  eyes  to  the 
grandeur   and    majesty  of   His   passion,   as   we 


WITH  THE  MASTER.  185 

hear  again  and  again  the  sacred  words  with 
which  He  encourages  His  disciples  to  fight  the 
good  fight  of  faith,  we  feel  a  wondrous  ecstatic 
influence  pervade  our  nature,  the  burden  falls 
from  our  shoulders,  and  thence  into  the  foun- 
tain opened  for  all  kinds  of  sin  and  uncleanli- 
ness. 

"Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  gathering  waters  roll. 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high ; 
Hide  me,  O,  my  Saviour,  hide. 

Till  the  storm  of  life  be  past ; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 

O  receive  my  soul  at  last." 

And  for  us  who  believe  "Jesus  only"  is  the 
soul's  refrain  to  every  spiritual  song.  He  is 
the  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  the  Bishop  of  our 
souls,  the  Beautiful  among  ten  thousand,  the 
altogether  Lovely.  Yea,  He  is  Jesus,  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever  :  the  Founder, 
Head,  and  End  of  all  church  life,  the  Alpha 
and  Omega.  This  Sacrament  of  Holy  Com- 
munion   in   then   consequently  a   centre  of  our 


i86  WITH  THE  MASTER. 

Church  experience ;  for  here  we  meet  most 
closely  the  Lord  we  love  and  adore.  When 
the  Holy  Feast  is  despised  and  allowed  to  fall 
Into  the  background,  it  Is  a  certain  sign  that  the 
people  have  ceased  to  value  the  contemplation 
of  the  Incarnate  Word,  suffering  and  triumph- 
ant In  opening  the  gate  of  the  golden  city  to 
man.  And  yet  In  Christ  Is  all  our  hope — In 
Him  alone  can  we  become  holy  in  the  sight  of 
God,  or  able  to  serve  our  Father  In  the  daily 
witness  of  life. 

"  Other  refuge  have  I  none, 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee, 
Leave,  ah,  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me. 
All  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stay'd, 

All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring, 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing." 

Coming  to  Jesus,  however,  does  not  mean 
only  fleeing  from  the  wrath  to  come.  This 
flight  may  arise  from  a  refined  selfishness,  and 
the  true  Christian  cannot  be  selfish.  Com- 
munion  with   Christ   Is   not   only   a    protection 


WITH  THE  MASTER.  187 

from  the  result  of  sin,  but  Is  a  washing  away  of 

sin  itself  from  the  nature. 

"  Plenteous  grace  with  Thee  is  found, 
Grace  to  cleanse  from  all  my  sin." 

And  sin  is  not  an  act  or  a  series  of  acts,  but 
a  condition.  Sin  begets  disobedience,  outrage, 
weepings  without  cause,  anger  and  darkness  ; 
but  none  of  these  are  sin  itself  so  much  as  they 
are  the  product  of  sin.  By  no  overt  act  need 
we  break  a  single  commandment :  and  yet  be 
in  sin  and  the  slave  of  sin  too.  Sin  is  in  the 
heart,  a  rebellion  against  God's  law,  a  suspicion 
of  His  love,  an  anarchy  of  carnal-minded 
feeling.  When  we  commune  with  Him  at 
this  Holy  Table,  when  we  offer  a  consecrated 
sacrifice,  heartful  and  spiritual,  in  His  presence, 
we  enter  into  a  clearer  light,  a  larger  room,  and 
learn  to  know  God  too  well  and  to  value  our  Holy 
Redeemer  too  highly,  to  so  readily  rebel  against 
His  Authority.  And  as  we  grow  in  grace,  we 
become  more  willing  to  increase  the  rate  of  our 
development.  Earthly  calculations  and  safe- 
guards are  discredited,  and  we  pray, 


i88  WITH  THE  MASTER. 

"  Let  the  healing  streams  abound, 
Make  and  keep  me  pure  within." 

"  We  flee  to  Him  to  hide  us,"  and  that  He 
may  hide  us  in  His  love.  My  brother,  my 
sister,  have  you  reached  even  to  this  .^  If  so, 
you  know  how  sweet  is  the  ever-growing  faith 
in  your  Saviour.  To  know  in  Whom  we  have 
beHeved,  and  to  find  that  the  more  we  get  to 
know  Him,  the  less  we  think  we  find  flaws  in 
His  Divine  Character  is  joy  to  which  nothing 
on  earth  is  equal.  In  all  the  other  relations  of 
life,  while  we  may  continue  to  love  and  in  a 
measure  respect  our  friends,  after  we  -have  be- 
come thoroughly  familiar  with  their  lives,  and 
thoughts,  we  cannot  find  '  a  perfect  man,'  nor 
behold  '  an  upright '  in  the  truest  sense.  But 
with  Christ,  the  more  we  know,  the  brighter 
the  vision,  the  more  real  the  experience,  the 
more  enthusiasts  we  become. 

"  Thou  of  life  the  fountain  art, 
Freely  let  me  take  of  Thee." 

There  is  no  fear  to  the  true  Communicant. 
And   our   holy   children  go   through    the   fiery 


WITH  THE  MASTER.  189 

furnace  of  trial  and  persecution,  and  our  devoted 
members  take  up  the  hardest  pioneer  work  in 
the  most  unpromising  soil  all  over  the  world, 
and  our  sons  are  found  fighting  a  gallant  battle 
against  every  attack  upon  Christ's  Church  and 
every  attempt  to  hinder  her  work  and  insult  her 
Lord.  And  bearing  His  reproach,  covered 
with  a  glory  the  world  cannot  see,  nor  under- 
stand, the  servants  of  the  Cross  wave  defiance 
aorainst  the  grross  Philistinism  of  modern  or 
middle-age  blunders,  not  doubting  that  God  will 
in  His  own  time  ''arise  and  scatter  His  enemies." 

•Most  of  this  trust,  most  of  this  fervour  of 
this  high  patriotism,  was  born  before  the  xA.ltar 
sprang  into  form  in  the  meditation  upon  the 
the  dying  victory,  the  burial  of  the  Resurrection 
germ,  the  seed  sowing  for  the  mighty  tree  which 
should  fill  the  whole  earth  with  its  spreading 
branches. 

Let  your  prayer,  as  you  kneel  now  and  ever 

in  the  presence  of  the  Crucified  Conqueror,  be  : 

"  Spring  Thou  up  within  my  heart, 
Rise  to  all  Eternity." 


SERMON    XVIII. 


'"Ibelp  meets  an&  meet  belpa." 

(Mappiage.) 


ECCLES.    IV.,    12. 

"  And  if  one  prevail  against  him,  two  shall  withstand 
him,  and  a  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken." 

IT  is  remarkable  to  note  the  unanimity 
of  all  races,  all  nations,  all  classes  of 
society,  of  whatever  religion,  of  whatever  dis- 
position of  mind,  upon  the  marriage  question  ; 
as  though  the  Divine  Institutor  had  provided 
co-lateral  evidence  of  the  necessity  for  marriage, 
whether  as  a  social  custom  or  as  a  union  of 
persons.  The  practice  varies  much  according 
to  local  surroundings,  conditions  of  life,  and  a 
nation's  tendency  and  disposition  ;  but  even  the 
African  kinglet  and  the  Turkish  pasha,  and  still 
less  developed  humanity,  appear  all  to  recog- 
nize its  necessity,  and  to  fulfil  more  or  less  the 


HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS.  191 

requirements  of  the  relation.  And  the  sHghter 
the  marriage  bond,  the  more  unstable  is  society  ; 
and  the  more  unequal  the  yoke  fellows,  the  less 
vigorous  the  national  life. 

As  the  Creator  has  produced  certain  condi- 
tions in  which  true  marriage  is  impossible  to 
some,  and  has  even  called  others  who  naturally 
are  capable  of  marriage  to  be  separated  for 
special  reasons  from  the  way  of  matrimony, 
it  is  evident  that  marriage  is  not  intended  to 
be  ordained  for  all.  Indeed  it  is  manifest  to 
all  that  injudicious,  merely  animal  marriage,  lies 
at  the  root  of  much  of  the  unhappiness  and 
poverty  of  the  nation.  Before  ever  the  matter 
is  broached  as  a  possibility,  it  is  incumbent  upon 
all  concerned  that  they  be  convinced  that  all  the 
duties  of  the  high  and  mysterious  office  are 
within  the  reach  of  the  couple  who  would  be 
joined  as  man  and  wife  together. 

Marriage  is  first  for  the  two  contracting 
parties.  If  either  is  unable  to  strengthen  the 
other,  if  one  is  only  able  to  hang  as  a  wearing 
dead-weight  upon  the  industry  of  the  other,  if, 


92  HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS. 


in  either  case,  there  is  any  incurable  tempera- 
ment, any  mental  taint,  any  ineradicable  bitter- 
ness as  to  the  truth  of  what  the  other  accepts 
as  essential  in  life,  the  union  can  not  be  true 
marriage.  The  more  closely  they  are  bound 
together,  the  more  will  these  points  of  difference 
be  magnified  and  new  '  bones  of  contention ' 
discovered.  Too  often  man  and  maid  are 
drawn  to  each  other  by  mere  passing  circum- 
stances, only  to  find  that  with  differing  sur- 
roundings and  in  new  paths  the  affinity  is  not 
real.  Nothing  can  be  more  wretched  than  the 
awakening  of  either  to  impassable  gulfs  which 
must  ever  separate,  and  voids  in  one  or  the 
other  which  cannot  be  filled.  Lives  which  are 
promising  and  helpful  apart  are  often  ruined  by 
this  unnatural  bond.  But  where  the  two  are 
well  mated,  joined  together  in  the  true  sense 
by  God,  seeing  eye  to  eye,  and  each  helping 
according  to  ability  vouchsafed,  every  day 
cements  the  union,  each  trial  draws  them 
closer,  and  for  better  for  worse,  they  are  ''able 
to  withstand  "  the  enemy. 


HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS.  193 

"The  voice  that  breathed  o'er  Eden, 
It  hath  not  passed  away, 
Still  in  the  pure  espousal 
Of  Christian  man  and  maid. 
The  Holy  Three  are  with  us, 
The  Threefold  grace  is  said." 

Marriage  is  also  a  State  matter,  and  God 
depends  upon  our  spiritual  ascendancy  in 
purifying  the  vicious  channel  along  which  so 
many  lives  run.  The  Apostle  S.  Paul  even 
on  one  occasion  strongly  advised  celibacy  for 
Christian  members.  It  was  in  the  hour  of 
persecution,  and  a  nerve  was  called  for  which 
might  be  lacking  were  there  too  many  families 
dependent  upon  the  martyr's  confession.  Chris- 
tianity purifies,  refines  all  the  higher  feelings  of 
humanity,  and  inculcates  a  chivalry  which  would 
never  snatch  pleasure  at  the  expense  of  others, 
weaker  and  more  -liable  to  suffering. 

True  patriotism  would  prevent  men  marrying 

whose  marriage  would  fill  the  workhouse,  the 

lunatic  asylum,  the  hospital,  or  in  any  way  of  a 

certainty  make  the  burden  of  the  poor  heavier. 

But  patriotism  goes  farther.       It  has  an  ideal 

13 


194  HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS. 

which  exalts  marriage  to  such  a  position  of 
honour  and  responsibility  that  all  life  is  a 
double  endeavour  to  become  what  the  union 
makes  possible,  as  by  help  meets  and  workers 
in  and  out  of  the  home. 

A  wife  who  has  this  ideal  does  not  permit 
discomfort  to  reign  when  her  bread-winner 
returns  tired  from  his  labour.  A  husband 
with  the  same  aim  endeavours  to  leave  all 
worry  and  all  shadow  outside  the  threshold 
when  he  comes  home.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  most  regular  and  most  earnest  of  the 
Church's  workers  are  the  ideal  husband  and 
wife.  How  many  excuse  themselves  from 
every  civic,  parochial,  or  Church  duty,  with 
the  time-dishonoured  word,  *'  I  have  married  a 
wife,  and  therefore  I  cannot  come!" 

A  man  ought  to  be  in  a  better  position  to 
sympathise  with  and  help  his  fellows  when  he 
has  a  complement  in  his  mate.  Alas !  the 
number  of  young  men  who  teach  in  our  schools, 
or  study  in  our  Bible  classes,  or  help  twice  a 
day   in  our  choirs,   who  first    become  slack  in 


HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS.  195 

well  doing,  and  then  yield  themselves  up  to 
indolent  habits,  and  drift  away  from  the  Church, 
in  the  service  of  which  they  found  so  much 
delight. 

"  O  spread  Thy  pure  wing  o'er  them, 
Let  no  ill  power  find  place. 
When  onward  to  Thine  Altar 
The  hallowed  path  they  trace." 

There  is  such  a  danger  in  the  hour  of 
happiness  of  saying  like  the  disciples  of  old, 
"It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,"  "  Let  us  make 
tents."  And  God  would  answer  as  the  disciples 
were  answered,  *'  This  is  My  Beloved  Son, 
hear  Him!"  Gifts  do  but  train  the  Receiver; 
and  by  taking  at  the  hands  of  God  we  bind 
ourselves  by  an  everlasting  covenant  to  use  His 
creatures,  and  not  abuse  them. 

But  in  the  marriage  mystery  there  is  a  third 
party.  The  Creator  spirit  alone  can  join  that 
He  has  created  ;  and  He  always  joins  the 
Christian  man  and  woman  to  Himself.  Here, 
then,  is  the  threefold  cord.  There  are  difficulties 
which  arise  that  even  united  husband  and  wife 


T96  HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS. 

are  unable  to  overcome.  Here  God  steps  in, 
and  "all  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
believeth."  In  our  hymn  we  pray  God, 
verbally,  and  say — 

"  Be  present  Holy  Spirit, 

To  bless  them  as  they  kneel, 
As  Thou  for  Christ,  the  Bridegroom, 
The  heavenly  spouse  dost  seal." 

Do  we  realise  how  ready  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
to  unite  with  them  in  the  holy  comfort?  In 
our  wedding-feast  we  hope  the  blessing  of  the 
Almighty  will  rest  upon  them.  But  really 
when  the  happy  yet  sorrowful  tear  falls  upon 
the  loving  mothers  shoulder,  and  the  last 
cheerful  word  is  shouted  after  the  departing 
couple,  the  Unseen,  the  Stronger  goes  with 
them,  and  it  is  His  voice  which  fills  the  pure 
hearts  with  ecstasy,  and  His  hand  which  clasps 
closer  the  hands  just  pledged.  And  it  is  just 
this  spiritual  aspect  of  marriage  which  is  so 
frequently  referred  to  in  St.  Paul's  epistles,  and 
in  the  Book  of  Revelation.  And  wisely  ;  for 
only  as  the  Spirit  does  guide  and  inspire  the 


HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS.  197 

life  of  the  mated  ones,  can  the  world  become 
better  for  their  marriage. 

Christians  must  elevate  and  magnify  the 
office  of  marriage  by  unifying  their  force  in 
improving  the  tone  of  society.  And  this  can  not 
be  done  by  any  conventional  prudery  or  veneer  of 
modesty  and  morality.  It  can  only  result  from 
a  wholesome  life  and  a  soul  chaste  and  good. 
''The  king's  daughter  is  all  beautiful  within." 
Not  that  which  entereth  in  defileth  a  man,  but 
that  which  cometh  out !  From  within  are  the 
germs  of  a  death  that  is  -the  more  dangerous 
because  its  very  existence  is  unsuspected.  The 
man  who  never  thinks  guile  or  frames  iniquity 
in  his  heart  will  never  speak  vileness  nor  corrupt 
the  morals  of  society.  The  woman  who  is  not 
only  faithful  to  the  trust  of  her  husband,  but  is 
faithful  and  pure  and  chaste  in  her  love  for  God, 
will  never  be  thought  lightly  of.  The  carnal 
mind  will  sink  ashamed  in  her  presence,  and 
men  and  women  round  her  will  learn  to  know 
what  manner  of  manhood  Jesus  came  to 
inculcate  when  they  are  no  longer  weak  vessels, 


HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS. 


no  longer  indolent  men  and  women,  no  longer 
ignorant,  hard-hearted,  and  bitter  husbands  and 
wives. 

Then  they  may  still  further  exalt  their  office, 
when  God  shall  bless  their  union  with  increase. 
Parents  who  will  look  upon  all  offspring  as 
additional  trust  on  God's  part  are  not  likely 
to  fall  far  short  of  their  higher  duties. 

When  the  Creator  gives  children  to  the 
home,  He  gives  another  chance  to  the  parents, 
humbled  by  their  experience,  another  oppor- 
tunity for  us  to  live  our  lives  over  again  under 
improved  conditions. 

We  often  say  *'  If  I  had  known  when  I  was 
younger,  what  a  different  life  I  would  have  led!" 
God  gives  us  the  power  to  live  this  life  over 
and  over  again  as  he  adds  one  shoot  after 
another,  offspring  from  the  parent  stock.  He 
expects  us  to  live  better  in  our  children  than  we 
lived  in  ourselves  !  We  have  some  knowledge 
of  the  snares  of  this  world.  Let  us  keep  the 
trusting  feet  from  their  vicinity.  We  remember 
the  first  and    holy   influence  of   the  prayer   at 


HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS.  199 

the  mother's  knee.  We  must  deepen  the 
impressions  made  there  upon  us.  We  can  call 
to  mind  how  our  life  was  preserved  from 
weakness  by  the  contemplation  of  the  strong 
character  of  our  parents.  Oh,  that  our  con- 
sistency and  firmness  in  faith  might  keep  the 
feet  of  our  darlings !  Many  a  growing  child 
has  clung  to  the  Bible  for  years  simply  because 
his  mother  and  father  believed  in  it,  and  has 
become  strong  in  obedience  to  its  wisdom.  Let 
no  laxity  of  view  interfere  with  the  faith  of  the 
child  in  that  most  trying  time  of  transition. 
And  how  many  fresh  little  lives  have  been 
lost  to  the  church  through  their  parents  neg- 
lecting to  educate  them  for  the  holy  witness 
of  the  confirmation.  May  no  sad  second 
failure  ever  fall  upon  us.  May  our  life  in 
our  children  seize  all  advantage  and  glorify 
God. 

And,  finally,  my  brethren,  there  is  the  fruition 
of  a  true  marriage  in  the  home  eternal.  They 
learn  first  in  all  the  conditions  of  life  to  come, 
O  God— 


200  HELP  MEETS  AND  MEET  HELPS. 

"  To  cast  their  crowns  before  Thee 
In  perfect  sacrifice ; 
Till  in  the  home  of  gladness 
With  Christ's  own  bride  they  rise." 

As  the  silver  crown  unfeared  takes  the  crown 
of  golden  youth,  the  light  within  is  golden,  all 
covered  with  the  pearls  of  holy  deeds  and 
chaste  life.  And  on  the  highway  of  the  life 
past  nothing  is  clear  to  us  but  the  mile-stones, 
the  stones  of  help,  of  the  Father's  love.  But 
ahead  there  is  one  blaze  of  light.  Amid  and 
with  angels  and  archangels  and  all  the  company 
of  the  heavenly  host,  our  glad  and  solemn 
acclaim  is  of  honour  to  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain,  to  Him  who  has  been  so  helpful  to  us,  in 
whom  we  trust  so  implicitly,  our  Heavenly 
love,  the  Bridegroom  of  the  Church. 


SERMON    XIX. 


''IRot  l06t,  but  out  of  exQbtV 

(Burial.) 


S.  John  XIV.,  2. 

"  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." 

THIS  is  a  part  of  the  parting  counsel  of 
Christ  to  His  disciples,  when  the  time 
was  nigh  in  which  He  should  lay  down  His 
life  for  man.  For  long  they  had  clung  to  the 
idea  of  an  earthly  crown,  and  even  at  the  very 
last  there  were  some  who  hoped  that  by  some 
stroke  of  power  He  would  assert  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Jewish  nation  ;  but  gradually  He  dis- 
abused their  minds  of  this  rabbinical  phantasy, 
and  helped  them  to  peer  beyond  the  veil  and 
see  the  unspeakable,  and  note  the  saints  above — 
how  bright  their  joys,  how  sweet  their  com- 
munion with  their  God. 


202  NOT  LOST,   BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT. 

And  now,  as  time  pressed  heavily,  and  the 
final  trial  of  their  faith  was  imminent,  He  told 
them  much  that  they  yet  could  not  understand, 
of  the  unseen  world,  of  the  future  of  the  soul, 
of  the  ultimate  of  the  Church,  of  the  nature  of 
the  bond  of  faith. 

And  He  commences  His  description  of 
Heaven  by  demanding  a  faith  in  Himself  as 
the  very  essential  to  their  understanding  of  it. 
Ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  Me.  In  my 
father's  house  are  many  mansions. 

They  were  soon  to  have  their  hearts  dis- 
turbed ;  events  were  crowding  fast  tipon  each 
other  already,  and  Golgotha  was  in  near  view. 
Whatever  they  did,  they  must  believe  in  the 
Eternal  Truth  of  Jesus.  There  was  a  future 
life,  a  future  dwelling,  a  future  rest. 

And  is  not  this  just  the  comfort  we  need  so 
often  in  our  life.  And  the  thought,  nay,  cer- 
tainty that  Heaven  is  not  an  image  of  the  fancy, 
but  a  blessed  verity,  has  not  only  taken  away 
the  sting  of  this  world's  pain  for  us,  but  when 
we  have  laid  the  remains  of  our  dear  ones  in 


NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT.  203 

God's  Acre,  our  tears  and  sobs  have  lost  their 
bitterness.  They  have  become  the  gentle  rain 
of  the  spring  time,  sparkling  with  the  promise 
of  Immortality. 

"  We  sorrow  not  as  those  without  hope  for  them 
that  die  in  the  Lord." 

And  all  mankind,  of  every  Religion  and  race, 
however  isolated  portions  of  the  human  race 
may  be,  have  believed  at  some  time  in  the 
eternal  life,  and  in  the  reward  of  the  virtuous. 
And  the  heaven  has  been  a  refined  earth,  and 
the  reward  the  victory  over  conditions,  and  the 
hope  the  utmost  of  humanly  imagined  good. 
The  Indian  has  a  hunting  ground  where  the 
chase  and  victory  are  never  interrupted  ;  the 
Hindoo  a  higher  state  of  life,  and  the  Saxon  a 
hall  of  victory.  The  heaven  of  the  Christian 
follows  upon  the  same  lines;  but  as  the  Christian 
religion  has  higher  ideals,  it  gives  a  more 
glorious  heaven.  As  it  knows  no  perfection 
save  God,  its  heavenly  gaol  has  no  finality  save 
in  the  Almighty.  Through  all  the  metaphor  so 
dear  to  the  Hebrew  mind  we  see  this  distinctly, 


204  NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT. 

and  the  ideal  of  S.  John  answers  to  the  promise 
of  Christ  Himself.  We  believe  and  are  sure 
that  as  Christ  ascended,  the  firstborn  of  many 
brethren,  so  we  must  ascend  to  be  *'  for  ever 
with  the  Lord." 

"  Christ  will  gather  in  His  own 

To  the  place  where  He  is  gone, 
Where  their  heart  and  treasure  lie. 
Where  our  life  is  hid  on  high." 

And  that  the  home  prepared  yonder  is  anything 
but  the  most  joyous  and  perfect  we  cannot 
believe.  He  is  gone  to  prepare  rest  for  us. 
There  is  something  wonderfully  significant  in 
the  fact  that  as  Son  of  Man  He  is  gone  to 
prepare  this  for  us.  We  may  be  confident 
that  seeing  we  have  this  Son  of  Man  for  our 
High  Priest,  whatever  Heaven  may  be,  it  will 
have  all  the  elements  which  go  to  make  up 
human  spiritual  enjoyment,  and  conduce  to 
spiritual  growth  and  work. 

Here  we  are  hindered  by  sickness,  pain, 
poverty,  and  unsympathetic  circumstance,  and 
ensnared    by    the    most    insidious    temptations. 


NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT.  205 

There  shall  be  no  more  death,  no  more  pain, 
no  more  of  anything  that  hurts  or  destroys  or 
endangers  health.  There  will  not  only  be  no 
hindrance,  no  fetter  ;  but  every  encouragement 
the  Father's  love  can  devise,  every  light  He 
can  shed  upon  our  way.  The  soul  taken  to 
Heaven  is  simply  removed  to  a  more  favourable 
part  of  God's  garden,  that,  like  the  pure  lily, 
it  may  grow  there  and  beam  upon  the  Father 
of  Lights.  The  good  we  do  lives  on  here  ;  the 
good  we  are  we  plant  up  yonder,  and  it  never 
dies  the7^e, 

"  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight, 

Where  saints  immortal  reign, 
Infinite  day  excludes  the  night, 

And  pleasures  banish  pain. 
There  everlasting  spring  abides. 

And  never  withering  flowers  ; 
Death,  like  a  narrow  stream,  divides 

This  heavenly  land  from  ours." 

And  yet  we  shrink  at  death's  alarms,  and  are 

dismayed    when    the    great    Father    calls    His 

children  home  to  their  rest. 

"  Day  by  day  the  voice  saith  come, 
Enter  thine  Eternal  Home, 


2o6  NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT. 


Asking  not  if  we  can  spare 
Ttiis  dear  soul  it  summons  there. 
Had  He  asked  us,  well  we  know, 
We  should  cry  '  O,  spare  this  blow  !' 
Yea,  with  streaming  eyes  would  pray, 
'  Lord,  we  love  hi7n^  let  him  stay.' " 

And  yet  we  must  all  die  ;  and  each  in  his  turn 
must  be  laid  to  sleep  in  the  narrow  grave.  We 
know  our  time  will  come,  and  perhaps  some 
would  anticipate  it,  did  they  dare.  But  most 
would  still  plead  for  more  grace,  for  more  of  the 
visible  before  they  took  the  great  plunge  into 
the  deep  unseen.  ''  Spare  me  a  little  that  I  may 
recover  my  strength  before  I  go  hence  and  be 
no  more  seen,"  we  beseech,  although  we  have, 
or  profess  to  have,  confidence  in  the  Great 
Shepherd.  To-day  we  are  dull  and  sad  in  the 
privation  by  death,  but  even  while  we  bow  our 
heads  in  grief  the  birds  hop  from  twig  to  twig, 
and  the  sun  will  not  be  hid,  and  the  grass  grows, 
and  the  flowers  of  the  graveyard  yield  their 
sweet  perfumes.  There  are  changes  and  decay 
to  be  found  in  Nature  ;  but  the  change  is  the 
triumph  of  maturity,  and  the  decay  is  the  victory 


NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT.  207 

over  the  tomb,  for  in  the  withered  stalk  is  the 
falling  of  the  resurrection  seed  into  the  respon- 
sive and  fruitful  earth.  So  in  His  infinite 
wisdom  the  Creator  redeems  man  from  destruc- 
tion, and  saith  ''  Return,  ye  children  of  men." 
Learn  of  God's  open  book  of  Nature — how 
Spring  on  Autumn's  fall  shall  tread,  and  how 
from  seeming  weakness  shall  awake  the  mighty- 
strength  of  the  new-born  joy  which  shall  arise 
from  the  ashes  of  despair.  The  heaven  is  pre- 
pared for  those  who  love  God  and  are  fit  for  His 
Kingdom  ;  is  it  not  well  that  He  should  call 
them  away  from  the  trouble  they  were  so  ill 
fitted  to  endure  ? 

Many  a  parent  who  has  mourned  deeply  for 
the  loss  of  the  childish  touch,  the  lisping  voice, 
the  unceasing  patter  of  footsteps  now  still,  has 
in  the  agony  of  a  life  struggle  blessed  God  Who 
took  her  from  the  evil  to  come  ;  and  could  we 
but  extend  this  same  thought  we  should  find 
that,  whatever  we  once  thought  of  Him,  we 
know  now  He  is 

"  Too  wise  to  err,  too  good  to  be  unkind." 


2o8  NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT. 

** .    .    .    The  Lord  doth  nought  amiss, 
And,  since  He  hath  ordered  this, 
We  have  nought  to  do  but  still 
Rest  in  silence  on  His  will." 

Even  as,  though  the  pain  of  the  family  at 
Bethany  was  agony  to  Jesus  that  wrung  a  tear 
from  Him  as  He  went  to  the  sepulchre,  He 
resisted  the  temptation  to  relieve  it  otherwise 
than  at  the  right  time,  so  now,  for  our  good  and 
that  of  the  dear  ones  gone  before,  He  keeps  the 
door  of  the  tomb  fast  closed,  and  fills  the 
habitant  of  Heaven  with  joy  unknown  on  earth, 
though  in  our  self-absorption  we  do  not  trust 
His  love. 

In  the  Catacombs  of  Rome  we  have  countless 
evidences  that  in  all  ages  the  Christian  ideal  of 
the  tomb  has  inspired  the  living  with  confidence, 
and  prepared  the  dead  for  the  life  that  has  no 
end.  While  heathen  parents  cursed  the  gods 
for  the  ruined  prospect,  and  emblems  like  that 
of  a  broken  column  pictured  their  despair  of 
ever  seeing  again  the  deceased.  Christian  epi- 
taphs indicated  the  comfort  of  the  Spirit,   the 


NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT.  209 

hope  of  the  hereafter,  and  the  faith  in  God, 
while  the  joy  of  a  certain  resurrection  brightens 
the  Galleries  as  formed  in  every  imaginable 
form,  hinted  or  expressed  according  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  time.  "  For  me  to  live  is 
Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain,"  says  Paul,  as  he 
was  ready  to  be  offered  up.  And  this  is  really 
the  Christian  view. 

There  is  also  another  thought  which  robs  the 
grave  of  its  victory  and  makes  it  the  way  of  joy. 
Through  the  grave  we  join  again  all  broken 
chains,  leaving  associations  of  pain  behind  us. 
How  many  friendships  interrupted,  how  many 
friends  separated  by  adverse  suspicions  here 
will  be  clear  as  daylight  to  all  in  the  Land  of 
the  Leal.  No  more  tangled  skeins,  no  more 
calumny,  no  more  undeserved  shame  and  re- 
proach, no  more  mischief  and  wrong,  no  more 
weeping  and  wailing  and  death  and  despair 
and  darkness  of  soul.  All  shall  there  be  clear 
and  simple  and  manifest.  The  light  of  God 
shall   shine   right   through    us    and    bring    into 

prominence  the   worth   and   strength   and   also 

14 


2IO  NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT. 

the  feeble  part  of  us  and  the  need  of  the  soul. 
There  will  be  none  to  take  advantage,  but  each 
will  be  the  complement  of  his  fellow,  and  the 
lack  of  each  the  richer  soul  will  supply. 

We,  most  of  us,  have  friends  who  cause  us 
sad  and  serious  thoughts  here.  Perhaps  yonder 
their  mysteries  shall  be  simplified  to  our  wonder 
and  joy.  And  the  troubles  we  have  as  to  the 
dealings  of  God  with  us — how  these  perplex  us 
at  times,  and  how  impossible  it  seems  to 
reconcile  two  phases  of  the  Father's  nature ! 
Brethren,  what  a  joy  it  will  be  to  us  when  that 
which  sense  hides  is  revealed,  and*  the  whole 
and  perfect  supersedes  the  partial  and  incom- 
plete !  How  glad  shall  we  be  when  the  dark 
lines  of  the  way  of  pilgrimage  is  seen  golden 
and  glistening  with  Divine  glory  !  And  this  is 
just  what  Heaven  will  become  to  us.  The 
fears  and  misQ^ivinof  and  doubts  and  misunder- 
standings  of  God  will  have  an  end  for  ever,  and 
we  shall  know  Him  as  He  is,  and  however  He 
shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him. 

How  hard  are  rock  and  steep  to  climb,  stream 


NOT  LOST,  BUT  OUT  OF  SIGHT.  211 

and  fordless  river  to  cross,  when  we  take  to  the 
mountains.  How  they  become  as  very  little 
things,  while  we  look  round  upon  the  distant 
horizon,  broken  with  peaks  and  hung-  with  cloud 
curtains.  Our  sense  of  proportion  is  lost,  as 
once  we  understood  the  term  ;  and  in  a  new 
world,  upon  the  Holy  Hill,  with  God  for  our 
guide,  and  the  high  Heaven  far  above  us  yet, 
the  river  is  a  streak  of  silver,  and  the  rock  we 
do  not  see  at  all.  And  out  of  the  depths  of 
our  earth  troubles  He  lifts  us  up  until  He  sets 
our  feet  upon  the  Eternal  Rock  of  Zion  above. 

"  Many  a  heart  no  longer  here, 
Ah  !  was  all  too  inly  dear  ; 
Yet.  O  Love,  'tis  Thou  dost  call, 
Thou  wilt  be  our  All  in  All." 


SERMON    XX. 


''®ur   life  Buil&ino/' 

(Dedication). 


I  Cor.  III.,  II. 

"  For  other  Foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ." 

ST.  PAUL  here  evidently  Intends,  while 
discouraging  all  attempts  at  human  Church 
Institution,  yet  to  shew  that  providing  the 
fundamental  and  essential  conditions  of  Church 
doctrine  and  practice  are  observed.  Christian 
life  may  take  many  forms  and  still  be  one,  be- 
cause of  the  necessary  identity  of  the  foundation 
of  Christ's  Church.  No  institution  can  exist  in 
the  air,  and  no  influence  can  be  involved  with- 
out a  Divine  Principle,  which  is  able  to  cope 
with  the  forces  which  make  for  man's  downfall 
and  death. 

Many    builders    have    been     found    in    the 
Church,  and  various  have  many  of  them  been 


OUR  LIFE  BUILDING.  213 

as  to  the  manner  of  presentment  of  truth  ;  and 
yet  In  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer  there  is 
room  for  all  of  them  if  only  they  be  founded 
after  the  Divine  Order,  in  a  real  conformity  to 
the  will  of  Christ.  But  without  this  Living 
Stone,  this  Divine  Son,  this  great  Mediator,  no- 
thing but  schism  and  jealous  burnings,  and  vain 
janglings  and  offences,  can  arise  ;  and  where  the 
method  and  matter  of  doctrine  depend  for  their 
authority  upon  any  save  Christ,  there  can  be 
no  solidarity,  no  unity,  no  history,  no  inspira- 
tion. Hence  the  Divine  Order,  or  Divine 
manner  of  distinofuishinor  His  Church  from  un- 
believers,  must  of  necessity  be  very  carefully 
sought  out  and  adhered  to  by  a  body  of  men 
who  are  jealous  for  the  influence  and  honour  of 
their  great  Founder  and  Head.  Not  only 
does  the  Church  In  every  age  seek  to  preserve 
her  doctrine  whole  and  undefiled  by  strange 
teaching,  but  she,  as  a  consequence  of  such 
preservation  of  doctrine,  guards  the  sanctity  of 
those  sacraments  which  are  the  witnesses  In 
her  of  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 


2  14  OUR  LIFE  BUILDING. 

When  any  of  these  rites  and  services  and 
means  of  grace  have  been  neglected,  spiritual 
indifference  has  speedily  robbed  the  Church  of 
her  right  and  power  to  transmit  from  God  to 
man  the  blessing  and  inspiration  of  life  ;  her 
Churches  have  fallen  into  decay,  her  pulpit  has 
degenerated,  her  altar  has  no  longer  a  lesson 
for  the  weary  worshipper,  and  the  soul-stirring 
prayers  which  have  brought  the  pious  of  all 
ages  into  close  nearness  to  God  have  lost  for 
man  all  but  their  chaste  form.  Only  a  Church 
founded  upon  the  Word  of  God,  committed 
to  us  in  Christ  by  the  Holy  Apostles,  can 
possibly  be  at  rest  within  her  own  borders, 
or  able  to  organize  the  conquest  of  the  world 
outside. 

There  is  at  the  present  time  a  feeling  of 
indolence,  and  another  of  political  origin,  which 
urges  upon  us  the  expediency  of  a  union  of  all 
forces  under  one  great  Authority  ;  and  none 
more  than  the  churchmen  of  our  day  know  the 
impotence  which  results  from  any  schism,  any 
heresy,  any  division  even  in  aim  among  Chris- 


OUR  LIFE  BUILDING.  215 

tians  and  men  of  good  intent.  But  no  re-union 
which  is  not  based  upon  the  Authority  of 
Christ,  no  common  Church  which  in  one  law 
that  is  least  would  disregard  the  Di\ine  Order, 
no  federation  which,  in  one  single  particular 
would  check  free  progress  in  assertion  and 
evangelizing  the  world,  can  ever  be  accepted 
by  Christians.  Compromise  with  error  can 
never  be  justifiable,  and  the  Church  had  better 
be  a  doomed  victim  before  a  pagan  Caesar's  chair, 
and  still  confess  her  Faith  and  her  Founder, 
than  buy  prosperity  and  popularity  at  the 
expense  of  her  ancient  Faith.  What  Christ 
has  founded  for  all  time,  no  human  hands  must 
be  allowed  to  remodel  or  modify,  whatever  be 
the  present  effect  of  our  determination  to  be 
true.  We  must  be  faithful  to  Him,  for  if  the 
Corner  Stone  be  removed,  wherein  consists  the 
Temple. 

"  The  Church's  One  Foundation 
Is  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
She  is  His  new  Creation 
By  Water  and  by  Word  ; 


2i6  OUR  LIFE  BUILDING. 

From  heaven  He  came  and  sought  her 

To  be  His  holy  Bride, 
With  His  own  blood  He  bought  her, 

And  for  her  Hfe  He  died." 

Then  the  foundation  of  Christ  provides,  by 
His  Order,  a  majestic  bond  of  union  among 
believers. 

In  God's  Church,  all  mere  accidental  dis- 
tinctions vanish  away,  and  master  and  servant, 
high  born  and  humble,  learned  and  simple, 
young  and  old,  are  brethren  and  sisters  in  the 
Lord.  How  our  hearts  burn  for  the  trials  of 
Christian  populations  in  the  sore  straits  of  per- 
secution. Whether  in  Uganda  or  in  China,  or 
in  Hindustan  or  in  England,  wherever  a 
Christian  is  found  to  suffer  for  his  faith  in 
Christ,  and  his  profession  of  membership  in 
His  Church,  we  are  full  of  a  rich  and  helpful 
sympathy  ;  and  when  we  find  that  legislation  is 
needed  to  conserve  the  rights  of  religion,  or  to 
deliver  the  unwary  from  a  deadly  snare,  it 
matters  little  what  party  we  belong,  or  what 
earthly    interest    we    represent ;     we    all    unite 


OUR  LIFE  BUILDING.  217 

against  the  menaced  evil,  and  that  because  in 
common  we  enjoy  the  real  fellowship  of  the 
Christian  Faith.  More  than  ever  before,  signs 
are  manifest  that  all  ranks  and  interests  will  be 
found  discarding  the  party  garbs  and  cries  their 
fathers  have  found  too  feeble  and  unhelpful, 
and  arraying  themselves  either  for  Christ  or 
Antichrist. 

"  Elect  from  every  nation, 

Yet  one  o'er  all  the  earth, 
Her  charter  of  salvation. 

One  Lord,  One  Faith,  One  Birth. 
One  Holy  Name  she  blesses. 

Partakes  one  Holy  Food, 
And  to  one  hope  she  presses, 

With  every  grace  endued." 

Ephraim  and  Judah  shall  no  longer  be  at 
variance,  nor  shall  jealousy  divide  the  priest 
and  the  warrior,  but  both,  under  the  banner  of 
Israel,  shall  fly  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
Philistine,  and  in  Unity  find  the  cherished 
ambition  more  than  realized. 

Not  only  shall  she  be  united  and  in  sympathy, 
but  her  union  shall  encourage  the  great  hope  of 


2i8  OUR  LIFE  BUILDING. 

the  true  Catholic.  We  shall  believe  more  that 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the 
Kingdoms  of  God's  Son. 

The  time  is  not  near,  but  is  sure  to  come. 
Even  now  the  sound  of  the  chariot  wheels  of 
the  Son  of  Man  are  heard  in  the  air,  but  afar 
off.  Nearer  the  babel  of  earth's  voices,  the  din 
of  carnal  minded  distraction,  the  jar  of  con- 
flicting interests,  the  wail  of  the  worse  than 
fatherless,  the  cry  of  the  desolate,  and  the  moan 
of  the  wronged.  The  air  of  our  slums  is 
stifling  with  the  stench  of  shameless  iniquities, 
and  reeking  with  the  smoking  embers  of  life's 
saddest  failures.  And  men  say,  "  Doth  God 
know  ?  "      *'  Can  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  hear  .^  " 

Atheism  hawks  her  nostrums,  and  false 
prophets  cry  aloud  to  deceive  the  credulous. 

But  among  all  this  there  is  the  soothing 
music  of  the  voice  of  mercy,  and  the  missionary, 
and  the  nursing  sister,  and  the  teacher,  steal 
into  the  hearts  of  the  world's  outcasts,  until 
hope  breathes  faith,  and  that  blossoms  into  life 
again. 


OUR  LIFE  BUILDING.  219 

"  Though  with  a  scornful  wonder, 

Men  see  her  sore  opprest, 
By  schisms  rent  asunder, 

By  heresies  distrest. 
Yet  Saints  their  watch  are  keeping, 

Their  cry  goes  up,  '  How  long  ? ' 
And  soon  the  night  of  weeping 

Shall  be  the  morn  of  song. 

"  'Mid  toil  and  tribulation, 

And  tumult  of  her  war, 
She  waits  the  consummation 

Of  peace  for  evermore  ; 
Till  with  the  vision  glorious, 

Her  longing  eyes  are  blest, 
And  the  great  Church  victorious 

Shall  be  the  Church  at  rest." 

And  the  foundation  of  her  Hfe  In  Christ  is 
secured  to  her  by  her  union  with  Him  in  her 
present  struggle. 

There  are  often  problems  presented  for  her 
solution  which  can  never  be  solved  save  by- 
authority.  And  even  the  authority  of  eminent 
churchmen  of  every  age  is  seen  to  be  exposed 
to  the  possible  fallibility  to  which  even  wisest 
men  are  liable.      What   are    we   to   do   in   the 


2  20  OUR  LIFE  BUILDING.       . 

swelling  of  Jordan  ?     Can   the  mighty  and  the 
wise  deliver  us  then  ? 

The  young  are  often  led  to  doubt  by  the 
lack  of  explicit  statements  of  certain  beliefs  of 
the  Church.  Human  nature  always  likes  to 
have  "gods  to  go  before  it."  My  younger 
brothers  and  sisters,  here  is  the  panacea  which 
will  cure  all  your  disease  of  unfaith,  "  Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved." 

Behind  the  Church  and  beneath  her  is  the 
Unsearchable  yet  All  -  Sufficient ;  and  when 
man,  even  at  his  best,  fails  you,  God  will,  if  you 
trust  Him,  make  all  plain. 

Wisely  He  has  left  even  the  saints  dependent 
upon  Him  for  life  and  breath  and  all  things, 
that  the  discipline  of  faith  might  bring  us  m.ore 
into  a  truly  spiritual  relation  with  Himself. 

And  in  this  union  with  God  we  grow  into 
His  nature,  in  a  more  real  resemblance  to  Him, 
and  experience  His  mighty  power  in  over- 
coming our  vile  tastes  and  our  earthly  desires 
and  ambitions,  until  ''old  things,"  for  us   "are 


OUR  LIFE  BUILDING. 


done  away,"  and  all  are  new — new  in  Christ. 
And  thus  the  authority  of  Christ  becomes  to  us 
as  that  of  the  nature  which  for  a  season  had 
guided  our  inclination  and  prompted  our  desires. 
The  law  of  Christ  becomes  the  law  of  our  hope, 
— our  aspiration, — and  by  contact  with  Him  we 
become  separate  from  sin  unto  a  life  of  righteous- 
ness. Here,  my  brethren,  our  fathers  met 
with  God,  here  we  may  meet  Him  too,  and 
here  we  can  receive  the  strength  for  the  ordeal 
to  which  all  are  called. 

As  the  Saints  in  Glory  everlasting,  we  may 
be  saved  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  be  clothed 
in  the  purity  of  the  blood-washed  robes.  No- 
thing can  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ. 
When  we  most  learn  our  dependence  upon  Him, 
we  most  learn  confidence  in  our  eternal  found- 
ation. Jesus,  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  ever 
lives  to  make  an  effective  plea  before  the  ever 
loving  Father,  and  our  Rock  shall  never  be 
overturned. 

'  In  the  hereafter  is  our  Church's  Eternal  Hope, 
and  for  that  life  she  lives  the  life  that  now  is. 


222  OUR  LIFE  BUILDING. 

"Yet  she  on  earth  hath  union 

With  God  the  Three  in  One, 
And  mystic  sweet  communion 

With  those  whose  rest  is  won. 
O  happy  ones  and  holy  ! 

Lord  give  us  grace  that  we, 
Like  them  the  meek  and  lowly, 

On  high  may  dwell  with  Thee." 


SERMON    XXT. 

**S;be  Jfuture  of  the  SceMing/' 

(Sunday  School  Festival). 


St.  Mark  X.,   14. 

"  But  when  Jesus  saw  it,  He  was  much  displeased, 
and  said  unto  them,  Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such 
is  the  Kingdom  of  God." 

WHAT  an  Institution  the  Sunday  School 
has  been  to  the  Church  of  God  !  In 
olden  days  there  was  no  church  work  of  this 
kind.  The  Sunday  School  is  of  comparatively 
modern  origin,  and  even  now  is  strangely 
altered  in  character  and  aim  from  its  original 
intent.  At  first  a  very  secular  institution  for 
teaching  the  very  poor  and  very  fallen  families 
how  to  read  and  write,  the  Spirit  of  God  has 
used  it,  first  in  improving  the  depraved  and 
pauper  population,  and   afterwards,   when    our 


224         THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING. 

National  School  System  had  largely  provided 
for  this  necessity,  in  opening  up  the  Doctrine 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  millions  who  otherwise 
would  never  hear  His  name.  Here  we  can 
train  the  little  ones  of  our  homes  to  become 
useful  men  and  women,  and  to  learn  to  make 
stronger  the  bulwarks  of  our  beloved  country. 

Once  the  work  of  the  child  was  very  much 
circumscribed  by  the  prevailing  customs  of  the 
aore  —  which  trusted  in  the  converted  adult 
rather  than  in  the  spiritually  developed  child, 
for  much  that  little  children  do  directly  or  in- 
directly. 

And  yet,  in  child-work  is  the  hope  of  the 
wiser  modern  age.  Far  stronger  is  the  Church 
which  is  made  up  of  those  who  were  never 
found  wandering  outside  her  boundaries,  and 
who  have  learned  to  love  her  faith  and  order, 
than  when  consisting  of  fragments  of  all  kinds, 
good  or  less  good,  who  were  held  together 
often  through  fear,  and  oftener  still  were  in 
little  harness  at  all. 

This  being  the  case,  it  is  surely  wisest  that 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING.         225 

all  churchmen  should  take  the  deepest  interest 

in  the  spiritual  education  of  the  young,  for  the 

Sunday  School  should  be  to  the  Church  what 

the   Elementary  School  is  to  the  College  and 

University.     As  the  School  is  careful  to  ground 

well  the  child,  and  inspire  him  with  a  love  of 

learning,  so  the  child  will  shine  in  the  lecture 

hall  and  the  examination,  and  later  in  the  work 

of  life. 

And  you,  my  dear  children,  should  earnestly 

consider   what   your   life   is   going    to    be,   and 

prepare  yourself  for  it  by  diligent  study  and  self 

discipline.      You  do  not  learn  for  forms  sake 

all  the  record  of  ancient  days,  nor  the  Collects 

and  Catechisms  of  your  Church,  but  for  a  great 

'a.r\d  Eternal  purpose.      In  the  woods  there  are 

tiny   bushes   as   well   as   lofty  trees,   there  are 

shoots  with  a  few  leaves  on  as  well  as  thickets 

and  heavy  shrubs.      All  the  trees  were  small 

and  tender  once  ;   all  the  shrubs   sprang   from 

little  seeds  years  ago.     And   you   are,   in   the 

pursuit  of  your   studies — both   in    Sunday  and 

day  school — only  learning  how  to  grow.     Cut  a 

15 


226         THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING. 

slip  off  a  geranium,  and  stick  it  in  the  ground, 
and  there  is  no  budding  and  blooming  and 
spreading  all  at  once.  The  piece  under  ground 
has  to  learn  how  to  get  roots,  which  will  convey 
moisture  and  such  minerals  as  it  needs  for  food  ; 
and  all  this  takes  time. 

You  cannot  always  have  your  fathers  and 
mothers  to  help  you,  and  lift  you  over  your 
little  difficulties ;  so  they  send  you  into  the 
nurseries,  there  to  learn  to  make  root  in  know- 
ledge and  wisdom  for  yourselves.  You  can 
perhaps  do  very  little  yet,  but  you  have  faith 
and  learn,  you  first  imitate  your  parents  and 
are  kind — then  your  God,  and  become  good 
and  pure  in  your  religion.  You  cannot  under- 
stand all  things  at  once,  —  your  trust,  your 
parents,  your  teachers,  your  priests,  your 
Saviour.  Faith  you  cannot  do  without.  How 
do  you  know  the  multiplication  table  is  right 
whatever  the  problem  it  is  applied  to  '^.  You 
do  not  know,  but  you  believe  your  teachers,  and 
try  it,  and  your  faith  is  rewarded.  As  children, 
you  must  believe  many  things  in  religion  which 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING.         227 

your  Church  has  proved  true,  but  which  you 
cannot  fully  understand  yet.  And  Christ  loves 
such  teachable  little  children.  He  likes  the 
clasp  of  the  little  fingers  which  seize  His  hand, 
the  crow  of  delight  with  which  babes  receive 
His  embrace,  the  hosannah  which  rang  through 
the  Temple  and  streets  of  Jerusalem  from 
childish  lungs. 

"  Heavenly  Father,  send  Thy  blessing, 

On  Thy  children  gathered  here, 
May  they  all  Thy  name  confessing 

Be  to  Thee  for  ever  dear ; 
May  they  be,  like  Joseph,  loving, 

Dutiful,  and  chaste,  and  pure. 
And  their  faith,  like  David,  proving 

Steadfast  unto  death  endure." 

Sometimes  when  you  read  of  great  heroes  of 
our  race,  grand  teachers  and  inspirers  of  English 
life,  you  look  upon  them  with  awed  admiration. 
When  you  hear  of  Cuthbert,  of  the  Venerable 
Bede,  of  St.  Aidan,  and  of  great  leaders  of 
modern  times,  you  revere  and  wish  you  could 
have  known  them.  Christ  wants  you  to  know 
such  men  ;  but  much  more   He  longs  for.      He 


228         THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING. 

calls  you  to  be  such  men.  The  Hebrew 
children  whom  He  blessed  had  heard  of  David, 
of  Solomon,  of  Isaiah,  of  Joshua,  of  Moses. 
The  blessing  of  Christ  meant  that  the  children 
might  be  ambitious  safely,  that  it  was  God's 
good  pleasure  to  give  them  the  kingdom.  He 
wants  you  to  aim  high,  and  to  be  useful  to  your 
fellows.  Many  are  prophesying  that  the  reign 
and  power  of  the  Church  will  soon  be  on  the 
wane.  So  long  as  Christ  is  our  Head,  and  so 
long  as  He  can  lead  by  means  of  children,  all  is 
safe  for  His  Church.  He  wants  your  services 
in  this  direction,  that,  when  one  generation  after 
another  of  good  children  have  become  good 
men  and  passed  to  the  abode  of  the  good,  the 
world  may  at  last  be  so  good  at  heart  that  the 
prophet's  word  may  then  come  true  : — "  The 
earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledgre  of  the  Lord 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

You  will  not  find  it  easy.  Even  after  con- 
firmation has  become  an  added  seal  to  your 
salvation,  the  evil  that  is  present  with  you  will 
often  try  to  prevent  you  doing  right.      But  it  is 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING.         229 

possible.  You  can  do  it  if  you  live  very  near  to 
Christ.  You  will  get  terribly  tired  of  forgiving 
your  enemies,  for  instance,  sometimes.  At 
times,  too,  the  duties  of  your  business,  and 
those  of  religion,  will  almost  weary  you.  This 
is  no  new  thing.  You  know  S.  Peter,  after 
he  had  been  over  three  years  under  Christ's 
teaching,  denied  Him,  and  on  three  occasions 
was  called  from  his  fishing  to  the  fishing  for 
men,  and  that  he  forsook  Christ  and  fled,  and 
shewed  that  it  was  not  easy,  this  struggle  with 
his  evil  tendencies.  But  it  was  St.  Peter  at 
last  who  opened  the  Kingdom  to  the  Jews,  and 
then  to  the  Gentiles  of  Cornelius'  house- 
hold. It  was  hard  for  Saul  of  Tarsus  to 
humble  himself  before  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  but 
it  was  Saul  who,  as  Paul  the  Apostle,  was 
chosen  to  assert  the  claims  of  Christ  at  Caesar's 
Court,  and  died  a  martyr  there.  God  helped 
these  holy  men,  and  He  is  willing  to  help 
you. 

"  Holy  Saviour,  who  in  meakness, 
Did'st  vouchsafe  a  child  to  be, 


230         THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING. 

Guide  their  steps,  and  help  their  weakness, 
Bless  and  make  them  like  to  Thee ; 

Bear  Thy  lambs,  when  they  are  weary, 
In  Thine  arms  and  at  Thy  breast. 

Through  life's  desert,  dry  and  dreary. 
Bring  them  to  Thy  heavenly  rest." 

And  It  is  not  only  in  this  life  that  He  is 
willing  to  be  your  Guide  and  your  Joy.  There 
will  be  many  children  in  the  choir  about  God's 
Throne.  Jesus  once  said  that  the  little  ones' 
angels,  were  always  before  the  face  of  the 
Father.  And  if  we  trust  in  God's  Holy  Spirit 
we  can  be  very  near  to  God.  A  prisoner,  who 
had  led  a  bad  life,  and  to  whom  repentance 
was  coming  swift  and  trying,  asked  a  little 
child  to  pray  to  God  for  him,  for  said  he, 
**God  will  always  listen  to  a  child."  And 
the  man  was  not  far  wrong,  according  to 
the  Bible.  Children  are  very  dear  to  God, 
and  He  loves  to  see  them  engaged  in  all  good 
work. 

Children  have  often  comforted  people  in 
trouble  as  no  one  else  could.  Do  not  think 
then  that  It  matters  nothing  what  you  do  until 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING.         231 

you  are  grown  up.  God  wants  to  use  you  now. 
And  my  dear  people  who  are  no  longer 
children  like  these,  beware  how  you  offend  one 
of  these  little  ones.  Your  influence  is  great 
with  them,  do  not  let  them  grow  up  toward 
Christ  without  your  hand's  support,  and  your 
eye's  encouragement.  Some  may  know  the 
wages  of  sin.  Do  not  allow  one  of  these  to 
earn  them.  Some  know  the  gift  of  God.  Oh, 
that  ye  would  more  honour  the  Giver  in  the 
wise  use  of  it.  Much  can  be  done  by  you  to 
confirm  the  word  of  the  teacher,  to  strengthen 
the  impression  created  at  the  Sunday  School. 
Let  no  opportunity  escape  of  helping  forward 
the  work  of  the  Church  in  these  child  lives. 
Earn  God's  well  done.  What  an  unspeakable 
bliss  that  will  be  when,  as  we  all  gather  in 
families  yonder,  we  find  not  a  single  child  or 
parent  missing.  All  passed  from  the  Church 
Militant  to  the  Church  Triumphant  above,  to 
be  with  God  for  ever ! 

"Spread  Thy  golden  pinions  o'er  them, 
Holy  Spirit  from  above, 


232         THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SEEDLING. 

Guide  them,  lead  them,  go  before  them. 
Give  them  peace  and  joy  and  love. 

Thy  true  temples,  Holy  Spirit, 
May  they  with  Thy  glory  shine. 

And  immortal  bliss  inherit. 
And  for  evermore  be  Thine." 


SERMON    XXII. 


(Children's). 

John    III.,    i6. 

"  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

THIS  is  the  first  and  cardinal  point  of 
difference  between  the  theology  of 
Christianity  and  its  prophecy,  the  Jewish  and 
Patriarchal  faith,  and  the  creed  of  Paganism. 
The  love  of  God  in  Christ  is  opposed  to  the 
arbitrary  deism  of  the  various  heathen  systems. 
The  idol  worshipper  is  the  victim  of  fear  ;  he 
dares  not  do  anything  to  displease  his  god, 
because  his  god,  he  thinks,  will  punish  severely 
the  slightest  neglect,  and  will  pain  him  as  much 
as  it  can  for  slights  however  unintended.  And 
fear   hardens   and   makes    cruel    in   disposition, 


234  THE  GOSPEL  STORY. 

relentless  in  revenge,  and  untrustworthy  in 
character  all  who  are  devoted  to  the  false 
religions  of  Paganism ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  love  of  Christ  makes  tender,  and 
dissolves  out  from  all  base  alloy  the  heart  of  all 
who  put  their  trust  in  God's  mercy. 

There  is  something  enchanting  in  the  story 
of  God's  eternal  love.  Man  was  made  in  God's 
image  and  abused  his  power  ;  and  was  taught 
the  way  of  life,  and  perverted  judgment ;  he 
was  given  command  over  the  forces  of  all 
nature's  dominion,  and  used  these  energies  to 
defame  and  degrade  the  ideal  of  God's  kingdom. 
The  son  of  the  house  was  sent  to  appeal  to 
their  better  feelings  ;  they  said,  "  Let  us  kill 
him,  and  the  inheritance  shall  be  ours,"  ''  We 
can  do  as  we  like  with  it."  What  shall  the 
lord  of  the  vineyard  do  ?  Shall  he  not  let  the 
floods  cover  the  earth  and  destroy  mankind  ? 
Shall  he  not  cast  them  away  as  utterly  vile  ? 
Has  man  any  claim  upon  God  ?  And  this  is 
the  answer  of  God,  "God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  son."     He  was 


THE  GOSPEL  STORY.  235 

determined  that  man  should  not  perish,  that 
man  should  have  eternal  life ;  and  so  ''  He 
spared  not  His  own  son."  This  is  the  message 
of  the  Bible,  and  of  the  church  of  Christ. 

"  I  love  to  hear  the  story 
Which  angel  voices  tell, 
tiow  once  the  King  of  Glory 
Came  down  on  earth  to  dwell." 

There  are  old  men  who  remember  yet  how 
wonderful  the  story  was,  when  first  their 
mothers  used  to  tell  them  about  it.  It  was  like 
some  marvellous  fairy  tale  which  delighted,  but 
which  they  could  not  then  believe.  They  could 
not  imagine  how  the  sweet  child  who  reasoned 
with  the  doctors  in  the  temple  could  be  both 
God  and  man,  and  they  could  not  see  either 
why  God  should  permit  His  son  to  die  upon  the 
shameful  cross.  And  they  have  never  ceased 
to  wonder,  though  they  have  been  called  by 
Christ  and  have  left  all  and  followed  Him.  It 
was  a  charming  story  then  ;  it  is  an  inspiring 
and  comforting  fact  to  us  now  ;  and  in  the  ages 
yet  to  come  multitudes  will  burn   with  love  to 


236  THE  GOSPEL  STORY. 


Him  who  first  so  loved  us  and  gave  Himself  a 
ransom  for  many. 

You  can  perhaps  even  now  imagine  Him, 
serious,  yet  tender  and  bright,  as  He  went 
about  the  workshop  at  Nazareth,  or  sat  upon 
the  hill  against  which  the  city  was  built,  gazing 
beyond  the  yellow  sand  of  the  Great  Sea,  past 
the  ultramarine  band  which  bounded  the  human 
vision,  to  the  coming  of  the  sons  and  daughters 
from  afar,  and  to  the  swelling  sails  which  in 
time  to  come  should  bring  the  nations  home  to 
their  desire  and  hope.  You  can  see  Him 
subject  to  Mary,  the  holy  virgin  mother,  and 
growing  in  wisdom  and  in  stature,  just  as  the 
Great  Father  desires  you  to  be  subject  to  the 
corrective  influences  of  this  life,  and  to  gather 
strength  for  the  future. 

Think  yet  more  closely  of  Him,  and  you  will 
note  that  the  Son  of  God  was  then  preparing  to 
save  you  ;  He  was  providing  all  things  needed 
for  the  battle  against  your  ensnarer  and  enemy  ; 
against  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  you 
and  lead  you  away  captive. 


THE  GOSPEL  STORY.  237 

We  are  all  sinners,  and  need  a  greater  strength 
than  our  own  to  lift  us  out  of  the  slough  of 
iniquity.  You  may  have  a  garden  ;  and  you 
plant  in  season  what  will  in  time  be  beautiful 
flowers,  and  say,  "  By  such  a  time  this  bed  will 
be  covered  with  geraniums,  and  fuschias,  and 
petunias,  and  lobelia,  and  other  flowers."  And 
the  time  comes,  but  not  the  flowers.  Why  ? 
The  seed  was  good,  the  plant  healthy,  the  leaf 
promising,  and  no  Insect  has  devoured  it ;  but 
it  could  not  grow,  for  it  had  no  strength  in 
itself.  The  rain  and  the  sun  have  been  unkindly 
and  cold,  dull  days  and  chilly  nights  have 
prevented  its  development.  But  by  and  by  the 
sun  shines  out  and  gentle  growing  showers  fall, 
and  buds  and  gems  of  colour  are  opened  to  the 
delighted  eye. 

You  are  the  plant  which  God  has  planted. 
You  have  in  you  power  to  do  something, 
but  you  cannot  unaided  get  the  better  of 
your  condition  of  trial,  temptation,  and  evil 
tendency.  Only  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
only  the  Sun  and  Shield  of   the  Christian  can 


238  THE  GOSPEL  STORY. 

give     the    increase,     can     free    us     from    our 
enemy. 

"  I  am  both  weak  and  sinful, 
But  this  I  surely  know — 
The  Lord  came  down  to  save  me 
Because  He  loved  me  so." 

Now  what  will  this  salvation  be  ?  He  will 
take  us  to  heaven  we  know ;  but  more  than 
that.  He  will  prepare  us  to  enjoy  Heaven,  and 
to  live  a  useful  life  here. 

Now  see  what  a  difference  there  is  here 
between  Christianity  and  paganism  ! 

In  our  own  country  the  priests  of  the'Druidic 
faith  made  men  burn  to  death  basket-work 
cages  full  of  human  beings  to  please  the  gods  ; 
and  often  they  required  parents  to  sacrifice 
their  own  little  boys  and  girls  to  avert  some 
great  calamity.  In  India  men  were  urged  to 
torture  themselves  in  many  ways,  and  to  throw 
themselves  beneath  the  car  of  Juggernaut  to  be 
crushed  to  death,  under  the  belief  that  by  this 
sacrifice  they  would  be  saved.  And  in  more 
modern  times  missionaries  have   always  found 


THE  GOSPEL  STORY.  239 

that  the  more  idolatrous  a  nation  is,  the  more 
cruel,  the  more  vile,  the  more  exposed  to 
cannibalism  and  all  degrading  practices.  You 
find  there  no  hospitals  built  for  love  ;  only  fear 
of  a  plague  will  ever  raise  any  human  hand  in 
work  of  this  kind.  Everywhere  heathenism 
makes  men  cruel.  The  Romans  used  to  chain 
their  slaves  in  the  porches  as  watchdogs,  and 
when  they  offended  them,  crucified  them,  or 
threw  them  into  the  eel  ponds  for  food. 

Christianity  was  just  the  opposite.  When 
you  read  the  Epistles  you  are  continually 
coming  across  mention  of  some  act  of  charity  or 
kindness.  And  one  of  the  first  duties  is  always 
love  and  care  of  the  brethren  ! 

The  footsteps  of  Christ  were  full  of  healing. 
Wherever  He  went  you  could  find  out  by  the 
gratitude  of  some  poor  man  or  woman  to  whom 
He  had  shewn  compassion,  that  He  had  passed 
that  way.  He  not  only  was  full  of  loving 
works  Himself,  but  He  made  all  about  Him  do 
good  too.  Even  Judas  was  sent  out  to  heal 
the  sick,  cleanse  the  leper,  and  bless  the  cities 


240  THE  GOSPEL  STORY. 

he    entered.      Said    Christ,    *'  Freely    ye    have 
received,  freelv  crive.'' 

And  everybody  expected  His  disciples  to 
heal  them.  Doing  good  with  a  good  true  heart 
was  the  sign,  then  as  now,  by  means  of  which 
men  found  out  the  Christian. 

"  I'm  glad  my  blessed  Saviour, 
Was  once  a  child  like  me ; 
To  show  how  pure  and  holy 
His  little  ones  might  be. 
And  if  1  try  and  follow 
His  footsteps  here  below, 
He  never  will  forget  me, 
Because  He  loves  me  so." 

Remember  then  the  sign — active,  real,  help- 
ful love.  St.  John  in  his  first  Epistle  puts  it  in 
this  way.  He  says,  "he  that  saith  he  is  in  the 
light,  and  hateth  his  brother,  is  in  darkness  even 
until  now.  He  that  loveth  his  brother  abideth 
in  the  light,  and  there  is  none  occasion  of 
stumbling  in  Him."  And  by  this  working 
Christ's  work,  and  teachino-  Christ's  doctrine, 
and  obeying  Christ's  spirit  of  purest  love,   we 


THE  GOSPEL  STORY.  241 

learn  to  realize  His  Salvation  and  His  blessed 
work  in  us. 

And  then  there  is  the  promise  which  reaches 
bevond  the  orrave.  There  is  everlastino-  life 
freely  promised  to  those  who  believe  and  do 
according  to   His  Love. 

If  we  live  close  beside  Jesus  always,  we  shall 
not  need  to  seek  Him  in  the  hour  of  death. 
He  will  never  leave  us,  nor  forsake  us  then  ! 
It  is  not  the  will  of  His  Father  that  even  the 
little  ones  should  be  allowed  to  be  lost. 

We    often    think    of   the    glorious    band    of 

choristers  in  heaven,  and  we  picture  Abraham, 

and    Isaac,    and    Jacob,    and     an    innumerable 

company  of  martyrs  all   with  harps  for  praise. 

But  do  we  forget  that  such  a  large  number  of 

those    who    stand    yonder    are    children    like 

ourselves  ?     Why   many   of  the   early   martyrs 

who  were  boldest   in  the  hour  of  immortality, 

were  boys  and  girh  not  sixteen  years  of  age  ! 

The  Romans  could  understand  men  being  able 

to   endure  death   with    manly  composure ;    but 

the    fact    that     mothers    and     children     were 

16 


242  THE  GOSPEL  STORY. 

"  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,"  affected 
them  to  such  an  extent,  that  at  last  the  cruel 
combats  and  fierce  persecution  were  abated  in 
deference  to  the  power  of  the  crucified  Jesus. 
And  these  boys  and  girls  are  in  the  heavenly- 
throng  awaiting  you  with  palms  of  victory  in 
their  hands. 

Have  you  palms  yet  ?  I  mean  have  you 
overcome  the  tempter  ?  Have  you  suffered 
for  Christ  ?  Have  you  boldly  witnessed  to 
your  love  of  this  great  and  good  God  ?  Why 
are  there  so  few  communicants  among  young 
people.  Many  "have  promised  to  serve  Him 
to  the  end  ?  "  How  is  it  that  so  few  will  testify 
to  their  love  of  Christ  in  this  way  ?  How 
many  are  carefully  preparing  themselves,  as 
Jesus  did,  by  the  study  of  God's  truth  ?  My 
children  think  of  this,  and  even  you  may 
become  very  useful  to  the  Saviour  yet.  And 
when  you  feel  discouraged,  and  are  conscious 
of  depression,  never  forget  that  the  crown  is  of 
Immortality,  one  that  fadeth  not  away, 
"  For  He  hath  kindly  promised," 


THE  GOSPEL  STORY.  243 

and  God  is  not  a  man   that  He  should  repent 
and  take  back  His  word. 

"  He  hath  kindly  propu'sed, 
That  even  I  may  go, 
To  sing  among  His  angels, 
Because  He  loves  me  so." 

"  God  commendeth  His  love  to  us  in  that  while  we 
were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly." 


SERMON    XXIII. 


*' Stare  Sparkle  Hbov>e,  primroaes 
Below." 

(Flower  Service). 

I   ChroN.,  XXIX.,  9. 

"Then  the  people  rejoiced,  for  that  they  offered 
wilhngly,  because  with  perfect  heart  they  offered 
willingly  to  the  Lord  :  and  David  the  king  also 
rejoiced  with  great  joy." 

DAVID  was  become  an  old  man,  and  great 
in  his  humility.  God  had  told  him  his 
hands  were  not  clean  enough  for  him  to  build 
the  temple  his  heart  designed  ;  and  though  his 
feelings  were  hurt  without  doubt  at  first,  he 
acted  a  strong  and  honourable  part  immediately 
after.  Many  a  king  would  have  sulked,  and 
resented  his  rejection.  Many  a  less  honourable 
and  less  able  man  withdraws  his  influence  and 
support    from     any    movement    unless    he    be 


STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE.  245 

allowed  to  discharge  the  functions  of  the  chief 
office.  But  David  did  not  this.  If  unable  to 
build,  he  could  prepare  ;  if  unable  to  be  publicly 
identified  with  erection,  he  could  strengthen 
the  hands  of  his  son,  Solomon.  And  David 
determined  so  to  do.  He  first  o^ave  himself  of 
the  National  Treasure,  and  followed  the  gift  by 
a  private  donation  of  a  considerable  amount. 
Then  he  called  the  nation,  and  took  them  into 
his  counsel,  and  asked  them  to  do  as  they  were 
able  and  disposed.  First  the  rulers,  and  then 
the  people  offered  willingly,  both  in  gold  and 
silver,  and  in  precious  stones  ;  and  in  the  gift 
the  blessing  came,  and  they  all  rejoiced  for 
the  spirit  which  was  in  the  heart  of  the  people. 
To-day,  we  bring  not  gold  but  flowers  to  the 
House  of  Prayer,  but  we,  like  ancient  Israel, 
are  preparing  for  the  building  of  a  temple,  the 
living  temple  of  God. 

"  Here,  Lord,  we  offer  Thee  all  that  is  fairest, 
Flowers  in  their  freshness,  from  garden  and  field. 
Gifts  for  the  stricken  ones — knowing  Thou  carest." 

You    have    all    heard,    perhaps,   of   the    tiny 


246  STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE. 

tender  plant  which  grew  up  In  a  hole  in  the 
pavement  of  a  French  prison,  and  of  the 
affectionate  care  with  which  the  convict  tended 
it  day  after  day  ;  how  he  stored  the  rain  drops, 
sheltered  it  from  wind,  and  gave  it  all  the  sun- 
shine he  could  reflect  upon  it,  until  the  iron 
heel  of  a  cruel  official  crushed  it  to  death  in  a 
paroxysm  of  anger.  And  yet  the  children  cull 
the  most  delicately  shaded  blooms  in  God's 
beautiful  garden,  and  heedlessly  throw  them 
away  mangled  and  dying.  How  differently 
people  look  upon  these  marvellously  sweet 
creations  of  God.  But  those  who  bring  these 
bunches  of  blossom  to  a  Flower  Service  cannot 
think  carelessly  about  such  matters,  since  they 
know  how  valuable  they  will  soon  be  in  the 
hospital  ward,  or  in  the  slum  reeking  with  vile- 
ness — material  and  moral.  I  know  that  you 
thought  of  this  while  you  gathered  and  arranged 
your  bonnie  nosegays  this  morning,  or  when 
they  were  gathered. 

Now  I  am  going  to  ask  one  or  two  questions, 
and  the  first  is  this  :   "  Did  not  the  flowers  look 


STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE.  247 

best  where  they  were  found?"  Those  Hlac  and 
blue  forget-me-nots,  which  your  warm  hands 
have  made  to  bow  their  heads  with  faintness, 
have  you  not  spoiled  them  and  the  bank  upon 
which  they  grew  ?  And  those  marguerites,  and 
that  meadowsweet,  spread  out  and  mingled  with 
ragged  foliage,  have  you  improved  their  appear- 
ance by  huddling  the  heads  together.  And 
those  orchids,  and  those  late  primroses,  and 
that  golden  marsh-marigold,  is  it  not  a  shame 
to  crowd  them  so  together?  And  you  know, 
you  left  that  geranium  plant  very  bare,  and 
robbed  the  early  rose  until  scarcely  a  bud  was 
to  be  seen?  Is  it  not  foolish.  And  this  is  not 
all.  Those  branches  you  so  proudly  bring  will 
only  be  seen  in  some  attic  or  stable  loft,  in  a 
broken  pot  of  some  kind,  before  the  morrow  is 
over.  Don't  you  regret  having  taken  all  the 
pains  to  spoil  your  own  display  for  this  ? 

Wait !  Before  you  answer  I  will  tell  you 
more.  In  a  dirty  alley  are  houses  crowded  so 
closely  that  you  can  scarcely  see  the  sky.  A 
sickly    odour    pervades  everything.       Children 


248  STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE. 

play  with  the  mud,  and  drink  in  deHghts  when 
the  scavenger  washes  the  flags  with  his  hose. 
In  some  of  these  houses  are  ten  rooms,  and  in 
some  of  these  rooms  live  several  families. 
Some  of  these  are  sick.  They  do  not  lie  upon 
spring  mattresses,  nor  upon  bedsteads  at  all,  but 
upon  the  floor,  with  the  rain  dripping  through 
the  ceiling  upon  them,  or,  in  summer,  sick  with 
heat,  and  feverish.  That  is  not  all.  They  once 
lived  in  green  lanes  and  rambled  under  shady 
trees  to  pull  the  flowers  you  have  to-day. 
Larks  used  to  sing  for  them,  and  they  heard 
the  dormouse  in  the  hedge,  and  now  they 
remember  it  all  in  these  attics  and  stable  lofts, 
and  they  are  poor  and  can  scarcely  buy  food. 

The  door  is  open  and  a  lady  visitor  walks  in. 
She  opens  her  basket  and  takes  one  of  those 
bunches  out,  and  puts  it  in  the  broken  jar. 
The  baby  claps  its  hands  and  the  sick  woman's 
eyes  greedily  devour  the  old  features  of  God's 
nature,  once  so  familiar  to  her.  And  the  tender 
sympathetic  word  is  spoken,  the  baby  is  fondled 
and  hope  springs  brighter.      God  has  not  left 


STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE.  249 

Himself  without  witness,  and  His  witness  is  that 
bunch  of  flowers.  Is  this  not  an  answer  to  my 
question. 

"  Here,  Lord,  we  offer  Thee  all  that  is  fairest. 
Gifts  for  the  stricken  ones." 

Messengers  of  Thine  abiding  mercy  crying 
back  the  memory  to  the  days  of  greater  trust 
in  Thee. 

My  second  question  is,  '*  What  are  you  ex- 
pecting will  be  the  good  they  will  do  ? " 

What  can  flowers  do?  Even  if  they  give 
pleasure  for  a  time,  will  they  feed  the  hungry, 
give  health  to  the  sick,  or  provide  money  for 
the  poor  ? 

Let  us  see.  Firstly,  you  are  blessed  in 
giving.  You  cannot  do  a  good  action  for  the 
advantage  of  another  without  feeling  happier. 
Children  who  never  deny  themselves  for  others 
are  never  happy.  It  is  always  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive.  Why  the  very  flowers 
we  pull  teach  us  a  lesson.  How  long  it  takes 
some  of  them  to  grow,  how  much  they  have  to 
submit   to   in    winter's   cold,  spring's  rains,  and 


250  STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE. 

summer's  burning  blast  ;  and  every  one  has  to 
become  matured  and  wither  to  be  of  service. 
When  you  are  ill,  your  parents  get  you  medicine, 
often  sweetened  and  coloured  to  make  it  agree- 
able ;  and  this  medicine  which  restores  you 
much  of  it  grows  in  the  woods  in  the  form  of 
flowers  and  herbs.  And  the  poultices  you  feel 
such  relief  from  are  made  often  from  marsh 
mallow,  and  camomile  flowers,  and  the  seed  of 
the  gorgeous  poppy.  These  flowers  are  them- 
selves grown  by  the  Heavenly  Gardener  that 
they  may  be  used  as  healers.  Imitate  these 
flowers,  my  friends.  Let  your  thoughts  always 
be  bent  upon  doing  good  to  the  friendless  and 
needy. 

Then  flowers  in  the  slums  take  away  a 
great  danger  to  society.  Men  who  live  under 
such  very  •  unfavourable  conditions  often  be- 
come ravenous,  and  savage,  and  riotous. 
They  learn  to  misunderstand  those  who  are 
in  a  better  condition  of  life,  and  to  hate 
them,  and  do  them  all  the  harm  they  can. 
They  rob  them,  and  insult  them,  and  in  many 


STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE.  251 

ways  produce  a  very  bad  feeling  between 
rich  and  poor,  between  Christians  and  bad  men 
and  women.  Flower  Services,  and  bunches 
which  shew  that  love  of  the  poor  has  made 
children  orather  the  flowers,  and  the  remem- 
brance  of  better,  purer  days,  which  the  flowers 
themselves  encourage,  proves  that  everywhere 
men  are  brothers,  and  are  closely  bound  to- 
gether by  Christian  love  and  other  interests. 

"  Speak,  Lord,  by  these  to  the  sick  and  the  dying, 
Speak  to  their  hearts  with  a  message  of  peace, 
Comfort  the  sad  who  in  weakness  are  lying. 
Grant  the  departing  a  gentle  release." 

Be  God's  true  servants,  filling  the  dark 
places  of  the  earth  with  the  tokens  of  His  love, 
giving  "  Gladness  for  sorrow,  and  brightness 
for  gloom." 

But  the  flowers  have  another  message,  and 
this  time  to  us.  They  tell  of  the  change  and 
decay  of  the  forms  and  forces  of  this  life. 
With  the  intense  heat  of  summer  the  sweet 
primrose  passes  away,  and  the  flowers  of  spring 
alike  blossom  and  fall  away.      Others  take  their 


252  STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE. 

place  in  a  measure,  but  do  not  deliver  just  the 
peculiar  message  which  was  heard  in  the  early 
flowers.  These  have  shed  their  seed,  and  are 
preparing  for  the  rising  again  of  next  spring- 
time. 

"  We,  Lord,  like  flowers,  in  our  autumn  must  wither. 
We,  like  these  blossoms,  must  fade  and  must  die." 

And  how  many  blooms  are  withered  long 
before  we  think  they  can  be  spared.  How 
earnest  and  workful  we  should  be  while  still  the 
little  day  is  at  our  service.  Think  again  of 
those  slums  I  spoke  of  before.  Are  you  willing 
to  be  missed  there  before  you  have  prepared 
them  to  do  without  you. 

As  you  grow  older,  and  enter  upon  business 
pursuits,  you  may  meet  with  many  whom  the 
flower's  message  of  a  seasonable  kindness  has 
enabled  to  tide  over  the  stress  of  trial,  and  to 
make  a  start  in  life.  May  you  treat  them  then 
as  you  are  now,  with  Christian  love  and  helpful 
charity. 

We  cannot  always  be  a  blessing  to  even  our 
parents.       Do   not   forget   this    when    you    are 


STARS  SPARKLE  ABOVE.  253 

sending  flowers  to  the  pained  and  poor,  whom 
you  do  not  know.  Jesus  shewed  us  an  example 
when  in  the  throes  of  the  agony  of  Calvary. 
He  could  think  of  and  provide  for  the  comfort 
of  His  mother.  Remember  your  parents  never 
become  so  used  to  kindness  on  the  part  of  their 
children  as  to  be  insensible  and  irresponsible. 
And  the  flower  yields  up  in  seeding  and  dying 
its  life  for  the  strength  of  the  future,  so  may  we 
be  found  so  naturally  giving  our  lives  for  the 
Church  and  for  sufferino-  humanitv,  that  we  can 
in  confidence  pray, 

"  Gather  us,  Lord,  to  Thy  bosom  for  ever, 
Grant  us  a  place  in  Thy  home  in  the  sky." 


SERMON  XXIV. 

"^bc  30?  of  the  IReaper!" 

(Harvest  Festival). 

St.  John  IV.,  36. 

"  And  he  that  reapeth  receiveth  wages,  and  gathereth 
fruit  unto  hfe  eternal ;  that  both  he  that  soweth, 
and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together." 

AGAIN  we  celebrate  the  gathering-in  of 
the  fruits  of  our  labours,  of  the  eternal 
demonstration  of  the  firmness  of  God's  promise, 
and  of  the  providence  of  that  nature  which  is 
His  law  in  creation.  The  varying  weather  and 
dangers  from  many  quarters  have  been  met  and 
safely  overcome.  The  golden  grain,  cast  into  the 
soil  to  die,  has  lived  in  manifold  returns,  and  the 
dull  brown  soil  has  yielded  abundantly  of  that 
energy  which  is  her  own.  The  merry  shout  of 
joy  has  crowned  the  Harvest  Home,  and  the 
relief  of  mind  from  bravely  combated  fear  has 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER!  255 

filled  the  soul  of  the  farmer  with  a  deep 
thanksgiving  to  the  Author  of  all  good.  He 
has  no  longer  the  wearing  anxiety  of  the  seed 
time  and  of  the  day  of  the  springing  blade.  In 
the  garner  is  safely  laid  his  living,  and  the  food 
of  His  cattle,  and  of  his  family,  too,  for  the 
coming  winter. 

And  yet  he  remembers  all  the  trial  and  all 
the  worry  of  the  earlier  stages  of  development 
in  the  corn.  The  tiny  yellow-green  spots  which 
resolved  themselves  into  blades,  and  then 
became  ears  full  of  meat ;  the  uneasy  nights 
when  rain  and  wind  beat  down  the  waving  heads 
of  grain  ;  and  the  disappointment  when  stalk 
and  fruit  alike  appeared  ready  to  die  for  lack  of 
water  and  sunlight.  He  remembers  all  these, 
but  the  sting  is  gone  ;  and  as  a  warrior  looks 
back  upon  the  travail  of  a  successful  campaign, 
so  he  now  regards  the  various  steps  and  trials 
which  led  to  victory.  And  only  when  at  rest 
and  freed  from  the  excitement  of  struggle,  can 
he  rightly  understand  how  one  trouble  and 
escape,  one  labour  and  success,  led  to  another  ; 


256  THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER! 

and,  also,  how  at  every  turn,  he  was  dependent 
upon  the  sure  covenant  of  a  redeeming  God  ; 
an  untimely  drought,  a  flood  devastating  his 
fields,  a  season  of  cold  and  damp,  a  plague  of 
insect  vermin,  an  unfertile  seed — all  these  were 
influences,  more  or  less,  prohibitive  of  success, 
and  all,  more  or  less,  fatal  to  a  good  harvest. 
When,  therefore,  the  true  man,  the  good 
Christian,  sets  up  his  shocks  of  corn,  full  and 
golden,  he  feels  how  great  and  good  God  has 
been  all  through  ;  and  an  exultation  in  the 
Almighty  and  All-loving  fills  his  breast.  And 
when  he  is  reminded  that  the  life  of  millions  of 
his  fellow-countrymen,  the  happiness  of  the 
poorer  classes,  and,  to  some  large  extent,  the 
morality  of  many  of  the  humbler  citizens  of  the 
empire,  depend  for  favourable  conditions  upon 
him  and  such  as  he  is,  a  pride  which  is  right 
and  justified  lifts  him  above  the  level  of  the 
mere  business  man,  and  makes  him  to  know 
and  to  feel  that  he  is  a  co-worker  with  God. 

"  The  sower  went  forth  sowing  ; 
The  seed  in  secret  slept 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER!  257 

Through  weeks  of  faith  and  patiencej 

Till  out  the  green  blade  crept. 
And  warmed  by  golden  sunshine, 

And  fed  by  silver  rain, 
At  last  the  fields  were  whitened 

To  harvest  once  again. 
O  praise  the  heavenly  sower 

Who  gave  the  fruitful  seed, 
And  watched  and  watered  daily. 

And  ripened  for  our  need." 

And  as  seed  time  and  harvest  In  the  physical 

world,  so  are  they  in  the  spiritual.     God  and 

man  are,  or  should  be,  united  in  the  development 

of  our  and  our  fellows'  spiritual  life  and  work. 

Things  do  not  happen  by  accident ;  but  cause 

and  effect  are  inseparable  even  here.     A  strong 

and  influential  church  does  not  exist  without  a 

consecrated  and  prayerful  membership.     Even 

the  word  "preach"  does  not  edify,  saving  when 

**  mixed  with  grace  in  them  that  hear."     The 

Church  cannot  either  conserve  her  own  liberties 

in  the  State,  nor  direct  effectively  the  machinery 

and  mind  of  that  State,  unless  the  kingdom  of 

God  grow  in  her  as  the  seed  of  mustard  becomes 

a  great  tree  ;    and  only  when   churchmen  are 

17 


258  THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER  ! 

found  willing  to  suffer  personal  loss  for  Christ, 
and  to  become  martyrs  for  their  God,  Is  It  ever 
possible  to  vindicate  her  rightful  claim,  or  to 
assert  her  glorious  life.  A  formal  attendance 
on  Christian  worship  does  not  make  us 
Christians  ;  neither  can  a  formal  observance  of 
all  her  sacraments  make  us  churchmen  of  Jesus 
Christ.  We  need  the  self  abnegation  of  seed 
sowing,  the  humility  of  the  covered  embryo, 
which  has  life,  yet  seemeth  dead,  the  vigour  and 
energy  of  the  green  blade  which  obtrudes  the 
principle  of  the  divine  life  in  us  upon  a  world 
often  hostile  and  generally  derisive.  We  must 
have  growth  In  grace  and  In  the  knowledge  of 
God.  We  must  become  given  to  charity,  too, 
and  be  helpers  of  men,  before  we  can  ever 
consider  the  very  possibility  of  a  harvest.  We 
cannot  take  up  the  thread  of  our  life  just  where 
it  appears  convenient  to  us  that  we  should  do  so. 
We  must  enter  by  the  door  into  the  sheepfold. 
even.  How  much  St.  Peter  had  to  go  back 
before  he  became  a  true  disciple  of  the  Lord ! 
He  said,    "  I   am  willing  to  go  with  Thee  to 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER!  259 

prison  and  death,"  and  yet  he  denied  his  Lord 
whom  he  loved  so  dearly.  St.  Peter  had  to  be 
converted  before  he  could  strengthen  the 
brethren.  And  yet  a  great  many  people  think 
they  can  dispense  with  the  elementary  and 
principal  stages  of  their  life.  Only  when  we 
learn  to  know  the  love  of  God,  can  we  shew 
love  to  our  brother-men.  Only  when  we 
appreciate  the  great  self-humbling  of  Jesus  by 
His  incarnation  and  crucifixion,  can  we  know 
how  to  bow  our  heads  to  the  discipline  of  our 
Father  in  heaven. 

And  yet  we  are  expected  to  learn  of  Jesus, 
and  to  not  only  experience  His  salvation  our- 
selves, but  to  lead  others  to  Him  that  they  may 
become  heirs  of  God  even  as  we  are. 

"  Behold  the  heavenly  sower 

Goes  forth  with  better  seed — 
The  word  of  sure  salvation, 

With  feet  and  hands  that  bleed. 
Here  in  His  church  'tis  scatter'd 

Our  spirits  are  the  soil ; 
Then  let  an  ample  fruitage 

Repay  his  pain  and  toil. 


26o  THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER ! 

O  beauteous  is  the  harvest, 
Wherein  all  goodness  thrives  ; 

And  this  the  true  thanksgiving — 
The  first  fruits  of  our  lives." 

And  good,  the  fruit  of  the  spirit,  Hves  eternal. 
We  sow,  another  cultivates,  God  gives  increase  ; 
and  long  after  we  are  laid  to  rest  In  God's  acre, 
a  judgment  Is  set  on  high,  and  it  Is  found  that 
good  done  to  the  least  of  Christ's  disciples  is 
counted  as  done  to  the  King  Himself!  Again, 
the  fruits  of  a  good  life  become  seed,  too. 
Chastened,  pure,  and  holy.  His  saints  are  placed 
in  their  positions  of  obscurity.  With  their  feet 
toward  the  rising  sun,  and  their  faces  up  toward 
the  light,  now  hidden  from  their  blind,  dead, 
eyes,  their  body  decays  and  falls  away — yet  as 
surely  to  rise  again,  and  as  certainly  to  enter 
into  the  great  presence  as  God's  promise  and 
love  can  make  it.  We  "bury  our  dead  out 
of  our  sight,"  .as  the  farmer  covers  the 
precious  seed.  Tears  are  shed,  but  not  the 
hopeless  tears  of  despair.  The  eyes  we  have 
seen  troubled  and  tear-filled  shall  open  again 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER!  261 

before  long,  where  they  never  weep  and  never 
are  troubled.  The  frail  body  will  be  formed 
like  unto  His  glorious  body.  The  weary  face 
will  kindle  before  the  glories  of  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  died  and  rose  again.  The  ultimate 
result  of  earth's  work  will  become  the  infant's 
first  step  in  the  Better  Land,  where,  relieved 
from  pain  and  weakness,  joy  shall  be  found  by 
each  longing  soul  in  the  Faith  of  Christ,  in  the 
Sight  of  God.  Let  none  of  us  lose  heart 
because  of  the  failures,  and  of  the  broken 
columns  of  this  life.  Earth  is  not  the  ultimate, 
the  result  of  earth  is  not  final.  The  product  of 
earth  is  often  not  even  complete.  In  the  land 
of  eternal  summer  the  broken  lines  will  be 
made  whole,  the  feeble  will  become  stalwart,  the 
tremulous  saint  will  lead  the  way,  and  the 
uncertain  shall  see  all  things  plainly.  The 
"  well  done "  of  God  shall  chase  away  the 
gloomy  fears  and  misgivings  we,  many  of  us, 
have  ;  and  many  an  impotent  man,  and  blind 
and  dumb,  shall  comfort  us  with  the  record 
of  how   little  acts  of  love  and  crrace  wrouo^ht 


262  THE  JOY  OF  THE  REAPER! 

for    them     the     power     to     become     sons    of 
God. 

"  Within  a  hallowed  acre, 
He  sows  yet  other  grain, 
When  peaceful  earth  receiveth 
The  dead  He  died  to  gain  ; 
For  though  the  growth  be  hidden. 
We  know  that  they  shall  rise ; 
Yea  even  now  they  ripen 
In  sunny  Paradise. 
O  summer  land  of  harvest, 
O  fields  for  ever  white, 
With  souls  that  wear  Christ's  raiment, 
With  Crowns  of  golden  light ! 

"  One  day  the  heavenly  Saviour, 
Shall  reap  where  He  hath  sown. 
And  come  again  rejoicing, 
And  with  Him  bring  His  own. 
And  then  the  fan  of  judgment, 
Shall  winnow  from  His  floor 
The  chaff  into  the  furnace 
That  flameth  evermore. 
O  holy,  awful  Reaper 
Have  mercy  in  the  day, 
Thou  puttest  in  Thy  sickle. 
And  cast  us  not  away." 


SERMON  XXV. 


''^be  ©rilUroom  an&  tbe  Bivouac!'' 

(Volunteers). 

Eph.  VI.,    13. 

"  Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole  armour  of  God, 
that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day, 
and  having  done  all  to  stand." 

ENGLAND'S  safety  consists  in  the  man- 
hood of  her  sons  to  a  very  great  extent. 
Were  her  men  and  women  to  degenerate,  the 
day  would  not  be  far  distant  when  the  sea  and 
our  Navy  could  no  longer  be  trusted  to  as  even 
a  first  line  of  defence.  In  the  most  glorious  of 
our  wars,  when  we  have  been  fighting  for  our 
rights  and  liberty,  numerically  our  force  has 
been  much  inferior  to  that  of  our  enemy.  And 
the  secret  of  our  success  lay  not  in  our  wealth, 
for  often  we  were  in  money  the  poorest,  not  in 
favourable   conditions  of  any  kind,  but  in  the 


264        THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC! 

trust  and  firmness  with  which  we  suffered 
defeats  without  accepting  them,  and  acquiring 
skill  by  the  discipline  of  disasters,  learned  to 
conquer.  Not  the  physique,  but  the  moral 
qualities  of  our  men  have  been  our  deliverance. 
Emotionalism  and  brag  are  alike  unhelpful  in 
the  world  of  arms  and  in  that  of  religion.  Our 
hope  is  only  in  the  capacity  for  bearing  the  cross 
in  our  adversity  and  our  weakness.  The  love 
of  war,  for  itself  alone,  is  not  a  sign  of  courage, 
but  of  weakness.  The  soldiers  who  hate  the 
horror  of  war,  the  loss  of  a  campaign,  the  un- 
settlement  of  relations  of  international  friendship, 
the  hungering  and  the  slaying  of  innocent 
women  and  children,  these  are  they  to  whom 
our  Nation  looks  for  defence  and  strength.  All 
conflict,  of  brute  force,  of  mental  energy,  of 
spiritual  influences  which  are  in  any  way  even 
good,  is  to  be  avoided  as  wasteful,  although  it  is 
sometimes  forced  upon  us  for  high  ends.  A 
nation  of  calm,  well-principled,  consistent  men 
and  women  may  laugh  at  armoured  millions  and 
stamping  army  gods.     The  War  of  American 


THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC!         265 

Union  shewed  this  clearly.  Calmly  the  North- 
erners went  from  their  desks  and  farms,  and 
laid  their  bones  in  the  swamps  of  Tenessee, 
until  the  bubble  of  secession  exploded,  and 
black  and  white  at  last  were  free.  Calmly  our 
fathers  absorbed  the  Norman  invaders,  and 
made  them  English,  until  at  last  they  avenged 
Hastings  at  Crecy  and  Poictiers.  And  in  a  day 
of  danger,  when  the  mailed  hand  menaced  our 
shores,  the  Citizen  Army  of  Civilians  was  called 
into  being.  There  was  no  lust  for  battle  ;  we 
had  too  much  to  lose  by  it.  Without  being  an 
appreciable  burden  upon  the  State,  however, 
men  of  peace  prepared  for  war,  that  the  liberty 
their  fathers  bought  might  be  assured  by  the 
blood  of  their  descendants.  And  the  result  of 
this  institution,  both  Christian  and  English,  has 
simply  been  this,  that  since  it  firmly  took  hold 
upon  the  nation,  though  hundreds  of  thousands 
have  passed  through  its  ranks,  no  war  beyond 
what  might  be  regarded  as  police  expeditions 
has  afflicted  our  people  and  our  trade.  Much 
nonsense  is  talked  with  regard  to  the  military 


266         THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC! 

Spirit  supposed  to  be  fostered  by  various  quasi- 
military  societies  in  connection  with  our  church. 
Has  the  Volunteer  Force  made  England  more 
aggressive,  less  scrupulous  of  her  neighbour's 
rights,  more  spiteful,  and  more  susceptible  to 
insult?  No!  Envies  may  provoke,  rivalry 
may  make  jealous,  a  position  of  proud  pre- 
dominance, such  as  is  ours  among  the  nations, 
may  be  very  galling.  But  so  long  as  England's 
foundation  for  action  lies  in  her  national 
righteousness,  so  long  as  her  Army  is  so  largely 
a  defensive  one,  no  attack  upon  our  position 
can  succeed,  and  no  dangerous  enterprises  can 
lure  us  from  the  stronghold  of  God's  truth. 

There  are  two  essentials  in  the  soldier's 
work.  Strength,  or  health,  and  efficiency. 
Without  these  no  army  is  safe,  no  nation  can 
trust  her  defenders.  No  puny,  delicate,  de- 
formed, feeble  candidate  can  be  passed  for 
admission  to  the  army.  In  some  armies  even  a 
defect  in  a  gland,  a  deformation  of  the  ear,  or 
other  very  trifling  fault,  is  enough  to  reject  the 
recruit.      It  is  terrible  to  think  that  those  who 


THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC!         267 

die  In  war's  carnage  are  of  necessity  the  strong- 
est and  healthiest  of  our  sons.  But  It  is 
necessary  that  every  man  who  goes  Into  battle 
shall  be  able  to  do  just  what  he  Is  trusted  to  do. 

And  In  the  work  of  our  civilian  life  It  Is  just 
the  same.  The  weak  go  to  the  wall,  the 
Incompetent  and  unfit  become  stepping  stones 
upon  which  their  natural  superiors  climb  to 
power  and  usefulness.  ''  To  him  that  hath 
shall  be  given." 

And  In  the  spiritual  life  too,  those  who  are 
living  out  of  accord  with  the  spiritual  law  of 
health  get  behind  In  the  race  for  life  eternal. 
Yielding  to  a  depraved  appetite,  to  a  sensuous 
craving,  to  a  weakening  habit,  not  only  unfits 
the  soldier  for  the  bivouac  and  fatigue  march,  it 
robs  the  civilian  of  his  business,  of  his  health, 
of  his  capacity  for  getting,  giving,  and  enjoying, 
and  often  stands  like  a  wall,  or  hangs,  like  a 
veil  of  earth-born  clouds,  between  the  Christian 
and  his  Lord.  We  must  cultivate  strength, 
and  not  only  enjoy  it.  *  Soldiers  of  Christ '  we 
all  hope  we  are. 


268         THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC! 

"  Soldiers  of  Christ  arise, 

And  put  your  armour  on, 
Strong  in  the  Strength  which  God  supplies 
Through  His  Eternal  Son." 

Many  years  ago  the  cricket  club  and  athletic 
society  were  looked  upon  as  just  so  many  means 
of  arranging  for  the  play  and  frolic  of  the  young. 
Now,  In  nearly  every  Church  congregation, 
some  method  of  encouraging  the  development, 
and  Improving  the  health  of  young  and  old  is 
adopted,  as  a  valuable  preparative  to  spiritual 
growth.  And  in  our  debating  societies,  and 
our  Bible  classes,  and  our  guilds  for  education, 
and  our  continuation  classes,  we  are  simply 
testifying  to  the  view  we  hold  of  the  urgent 
necessity  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  to  be 
strong  in  every  way  for  the  service  of  the  Lord 
and  those  for  whom  He  died.  And  while  we 
guard  the  body  and  mind  we  also  provide  for 
the  need  of  the  Spirit.  In  the  restored  fre- 
quency of  Holy  Communion  Celebrations,  and 
In  the  more  Spiritual  and  helpful  rendering 
of  the  beautiful  Ritual  of  our  Church,  we  try  to 


THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC!         269 

make    men    firmer    in    temptation,    stronger   in 

work,    wiser   in   counsel,    truer   in   speech,   and 

generally    more    like    "servants   who    wait    for 

their  Lord." 

"  Strong  in  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
And  in  His  mighty  power, 
Who  in  the  Strength  of  Jesus  trusts 
Is  more  than  conqueror." 

Whether  then  in  physical  preparation,  or  in 

mental  exercise  and  attainment,  or  in  Spiritual 

work. 

"Stand  then  in  His  great  might. 
With  all  His  Strength  endued." 

But  efficiency  is  also  called  for. 

Untrained  brute  force  may  in  the  clash  of 
battle  be  a  snare  to  the  whole  army.  A  well- 
drilled  force  is  worth  more  than  three  times  its 
number  of  undisciplined  men  of  good  arms  and 
splendid  physique.  Courage  ill-directed  is  often 
worse  than  timidity.  Hence  Gideon's  tiny  troops 
completed  the  demoralisation  and  destruction 
of  the  hosts  of  the  Midianites.  The  well  trained 
legions  of  the  Roman  veterans  defeated  the 
Britons,  who,  in  immense  numbers,  and  backed 


270        THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC! 

by  the  frenzy  of  their  fanaticism,  made  a  last 
stand  against  Suetonius  In  Anglesea  ;  and  at 
Plassey,  Cllve  scattered  one  of  the  most  Im- 
posing armies  India  ever  brought  into  the  field. 
Efficiency  always  tells,  and  every  one  of  you  Is 
anxious  that  when  required  you  may  be  able  to 
give  a  good  account  of  yourselves.  And  here- 
in Is  the  strength  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
''  Leaving  those  things  which  are  behind  we 
press  forward." 

Are  you  pressing  forward  In  all  your  nature  ? 
While  training  head,  and  eye,  and  4iand,  are 
you  also  becoming  more  helpful  to  the  Lord  In 
al/  the  varied  occupations  of  your  life  ? 

When  our  Lord's  disciples  were  left  alone, 
and  after  Pentecost,  they  might  have  said,  "We 
have  known  the  Lord,  we  are  converted  to  His 
doctrine,  we  are  able  to  work  miracles,  we  will 
still  learn  and  keep  quiet'''  But  they  did  not. 
They,  like  some  of  us,  might  have  said,  "What 
can  we  unlettered  fishermen  do  ?  "  '^  How  can 
we  turn  the  world  upside  down,  and  change  the 
axis  of  the  moral  sphere  ?  "     But  they  did  not. 


THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC!         271 

They  went  everywhere,  preaching  the  Gospel. 
The  rulers  charged  them  not  to  speak  In  This 
name  ;  and  yet  In  Jesus  they  waxed  more  bold 
until  at  last  these  poor  and  humble  men  became 
the  chosen  teachers  of  learned  and  simple,  of  Jew 
and  Gentile,  of  bond  and  free  In  all  parts  of  the 
known  world,  and  such  letters  as  they  wrote, 
which  are  still  extant,  are  read  with  reverence 
in  all  the  church.  Would  we  follow  their  ex- 
ample, and  lay  hold  on  their  crown  ? 

"  From  strength  to  strength  go  on. 
Wrestle  and  fight  and  pray, 
Tread  all  the  powers  of  darkness  down. 
And  win  the  well-fought  day." 

The  earthly  soldier  looks  for  the  recognition 
of  his  sovereign.  We  look  for  the  "  Well  done  " 
of  ours. 

In  every  step  successfully  planted  In  the 
morass  of  our  walk  and  work  we  ealn  couraofe 
for  the  next.  Every  stone  securely  placed 
heartens  us  for  the  preparation  of  the  following 
course.  The  healthy  child  trained  becomes  the 
healthy    man,    subject    to    the    corrective    and 


272         THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC! 

directive  influences  of  the  All  Teacher.  And 
as  we  climb  the  mountain,  the  air  becomes 
clearer,  and  contains  less  of  the  taint  of  earth, 
and  of  the  distracting  influence  of  this  life, 
and  we 

"  See  the  heaven  we  love. 
With  unbeclouded  eyes." 

What  a  difference  there  is  between  the 
xAlpine  valley,  where  the  sun  Is  only  seen  for  a 
short  time,  and  the  shadows  of  departing  day 
tread  closely  on  those  of  daybreak,  and  the 
Tnountain  top  many  thousands  of  feet  above. 
Silver  clouds  and  snowy  peaks,  glistening  and 
clear,  set  here  and  there,  even  as  reaching  to 
the  skies,  gemmed  with  emerald  lakes,  and 
tasseled  with  ragged  pine  forests.  Yes,  up  in 
the  hills  where  the  harsh  Alpine  horn  becomes 
in  echoes  sweeter  harmonies  than  cathedral 
organ  ever  gave  birth  to.  This  Is  the  goal  we 
seek,  the  City  of  our  pilgrimage's  hope,  the 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 

No  more  jargons,  jangles,  and  contentions  ; 
no  longer  any  mistaken  feelings,  any  cause  for 


THE  DRILL-ROOM  AND  BIVOUAC!         273 

distrust.        The    full-grown    man,    the    efficient 
soldier,  rises  into  a  heaven 

"  Where  all  is  fellowship, 
Where  all  is  peace." 

"  Ye  may  obtain  through  Christ  alone 
A  crown  of  joy  at  last." 


18 


SERMON  XXVI. 

''ZEbe  power  of  Cbristianit?/' 

(Hospital). 


Mark  L,  33-34. 

"  And  all  the  city  was  gathered  together  at  the  door. 
And  he  healed  many  that  were  sick  of  divers 
diseases,  and  cast  out  many  devils  ;  and  suffered 
not  the  devils  to  speak,  because  they  knew  him." 


W 


HAT  a  stirring  sight  !  It  was  in  wicked, 
rich,  luxurious  Capernaum.  Not  in 
the  streets  Hned  with  palaces,  and  patrolled  by 
Romans,  nor  in  any  of  those  public  places  to 
which  men  resorted  after  the  rest  of  the  siesta 
to  discuss  the  news  of  the  day,  nor  in  those 
houses  where  the  young  nobles,  Jewish  and 
Italian,  most  met  to  gamble  and  trifle  and 
drink.  *'  He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry,  neither 
shall  His  voice  be  heard  in  the  streets,'  one  had 
said  of  Him  ;  and  He  was  not  found  anvwhere 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  275 

obtruding  Himself  upon  the  notice  of  the  great 
ones  of  this  world.  It  was  in  a  little  house  of 
the  fisherman's  quarter  whither  He  had  come 
from  the  synagogue.  Here  Simon  and  Andrew 
lived,  and  in  this  close  stifling  atmosphere,  a 
poor  woman  tossed  in  the  delirium  of  fever. 
He  heard  it  as  He  sat,  and  healed  her  so  that 
she  was  able  to  rise  from  her  bed  and  wait  upon 
the  company. 

He  had  wroucrht  a  wonderful  miracle  that 
day ;  a  man  with  an  unclean  devil  had  been 
restored  in  a  public  place,  even  in  the  synagogue; 
the  people  were  amazed,  astonished  and 
attentive.  His  fame  spread  in  all  directions  ; 
others,  filled  with  hope,  were  borne  to  the  Great 
Physician,  the  crowd  gathered,  the  thoroughfare 
was  blocked,  the  power  was  present  to  heal,  and 
many  who  had  lost  hope  rejoiced  and  glorified 
God.  This  is,  in  short,  the  history  of  the  words 
of  our  text,  the  summary  of  the  events.  There 
were  soldiers  there,  curious  and  contemptuous, 
priests  suspicious  and  jealous,  Hellenists  mildly 
interested  but  careless,  rough  fishermen  carrying 


276  THE  POWER  OF  CEIRISTIANITY. 

their  nets  down  to  the  Lake,— all  sorts  of  men 
and  women.  And  some  were  not  there.  The 
gambling  proceeded,  the  sentry  went  on  and  off 
duty,  the  chariot  dashed  down  the  street, 
the  intriguers  still  plotted  and  knew  not  of  the 
work  which  was  robbing  life  of  its  terror  and 
pain,  and  filling  with  courage  the  castaway  of 
despair. 

"  At  even,  ere  the  sun  was  set. 

The  sick,  O  Lord,  around  thee  lay. 
Oh,  in  what  divers  pains  they  met, 
Oh,  with  what  joy  they  went  away." 

So  it  ever  is.  Think  of  the  thousands  of  beds 
in  Christendom  filled  by  Christian  charity  with 
victims  of  disease  or  disaster,  many  of  whom 
would  die  unaided,  unhelped,  unfed,  were  It  not 
for  Christian  institutions  and  Christian  love 
beneath  and  behind  them.  And  yet  how  slight 
is  the  knowledge  even  of  many  sympathizers  as 
to  the  need  and  value  of  hospital  service  !  And 
how  much  less  does  the  careless,  selfish  world, 
for  all  the  salvation  of  otherwise  wasted  energy, 
all    the   restored    hopes    and    faculties,    all    the 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  277 

strength  vouchsafed  to  impotent  and  feeble 
humanity. 

Christians  must  be  prepared  for  this.  We 
are  often  tempted  to  leave  their  share  of  such 
burdens  to  these  unfeeling,  inhumane  worldlings, 
and  to  feel  that  having  done  our  proportion  of 
the  work,  we  have  done  enough.  Brethren, 
these  will  never  do  their  part,  will  never  bear 
their  proper  burden.  It  is  not  natural  to  expect 
the  carnal  mind  to  be  subject  to  the  law  of  God. 
Until  the  love  of  God  finds  its  way  to  a  man's 
heart,  he  has  no  room  for  designs  in  self-denial  ; 
and  the  church  must  in  the  future,  as  in  the 
past,  be  prepared  to  meet  all  the  demands 
suffering  humanity  makes  upon  her.  To 
Christ's  disciples  the  hospitals  look  for  help  ; 
and  they  cannot  wait  in  vain. 

The  Church  of  Christ  is  itself  a  Bethesda. 
To  her  resort  all  the  needy,  the  weak,  and  the 
suffering,  and  in  her  Lord  they  find  their 
Healer  now  as  of  olden  time. 

"  Once  more  'tis  eventide,  and  we 

Oppressed  with  various  ills  draw  near ; 


278  THE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

What  if  thy  form  we  cannot  see, 

We  know  and  feel  that  thou  art  here. 

O  Saviour  Christ,  our  woes  dispel, 
For  some  are  sick  and  some  are  sad, 

And  some  have  never  loved  thee  well, 
And  some  have  lost  the  love  they  had." 

And  many  naturally  gravitate  to  the  assembly 
of  God's  people,  knowing  as  yet  little  of 
their  soul's  deep  wound.  They  know  they 
are  miserable,  that  their  life  is  ineffective,  a  life 
of  broken  links,  and  yet  either  have  not  the 
courage  to  boldly  come  confessing  their  sins,  or 
are  deceiving  themselves,  saying  they  have  no 
sin. 

"  And  some  have  found  the  world  is  vain, 
Yet  from  the  world  they  break  not  free. 
And  some  have  friends  who  give  them  pain. 
Yet  have  not  sought  a  friend  in  thee. 

And  none,  O  Lord,  have  perfect  rest, 

For  none  are  wholly  free  from  sin  ; 
And  they  who  fain  would  serve  thee  best, 

Are  conscious  most  of  wrong  within." 

Is  this  not  the  burden  of  our  most  solemn 
confession  ?  There  is  no  health  in  us,  no  help 
in  man.      It  is  the  boast  of  the  Christian  that 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  279 

*'  Whosoever  will  may  come  and  drink  of  the 
water  of  life  freely."  There  is  no  guilt  so  deeply 
crimson  that  the  Blood  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
will  not  wash  it  white.  There  is  no  heartache 
religion  will  not  soothe,  no  ignorance  the 
doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God  will  not  enlighten. 
Let  us  ever  remember  this,  to  this  house  we  not 
only  bring  our  own  troubles,  but  hither  shall  be 
brought  the  halt,  the  lame,  the  blind,  and  all 
waiting  for  the  angel  to  trouble  the  healing 
water. 

And  we  come  with  confidence.  ''  He  knoweth 
our  frame."  "He  hath  been  tempted  in  all 
points  even  as  we."  He  is  acquainted  alike 
with  our  weakness  and  our  strength,  with  our 
sickness  and  our  resisting  power.  None  can 
diagnose  our  diseases  as  He  can,  no  pharma- 
copsea  so  clearly  indicate  the  only  remedy. 

"  O  Saviour  Christ,  Thou  too  art  man, 

Thou  hast  been  troubled,  tempted,  tried. 
Thy  kind,  but  searching  glance  can  scan 
The  very  wounds  that  shame  would  hide." 

Unlike  any  earthly  physician,    He  does   not 


28o  THE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

depend  upon  what  we  tell  Him.  He  tries  our 
reins  ;  no  secret  clog  obstructs  the  probe  of  His 
loving  interest,  and  the  pain  we  hide  and  the 
disease  we  try  to  ignore  He  locates  without  the 
slightest  trouble.  He  does  not  shrink  from 
usingf  the  knife  ;  for  thouo^h  He  hates  to  wound, 
He  hates  more  to  see  us  create  wounds  ourselves 
for  our  hurt.  His  word  Is  like  a  two-edged 
sword  even  here.  He  can  divide  and  clearly 
distinguish  the  harmless  from  the  noxious.  By 
the  sharp  discipline  of  His  corrective.  He 
reclaims  the  wayward  soul  ;  and  the  love  nearly 
dead  Is  revived  by  the  consuming  fire  of  His 
sympathy. 

"  Thy  touch  has  still  its  ancient  power, 
No  word  from  Thee  can  fruitless  fall. 
Hear  in  this  solemn  evening  hour, 
And  in  Thy  mercy  heal  us  all." 

Are  you  sinning  against  the  Light,  my 
brother  ?  Do  you  come  here  week  after  week 
and  hear  the  invitations  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus, 
and  go  back  unconscious  of  your  need  for  closer 
communion  with  God  ?     Do  not  so  misunder- 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  281 

stand  yourself;  do  not  neglect  the  call  of 
Christ. 

Many  seem  to  leave  repentance  to  the 
criminal  and  the  outcast  and  the  vile,  as  though 
this  could  not  affect  them  of  necessity.  My 
brethren,  you  are  criminal  ;  for  you  are  guilty  of 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord."  You  crucify 
Him  afresh  daily  by  your  cold  or  lukewarm 
demeanour  before  Calvary,  and  as  a  criminal 
you  need  to  repent. 

You  are  outcast,  for  the  leprosy  of  your  soul's 
degradation  has  cut  you  off  from  the  kindred  of 
the  spiritual  Israel.  You  are  vile;  for  although 
you  may  have  become  used  to  your  present 
condition,  and  be  no  longer  offended  by  its 
outward  and  visible  sign,  the  angels  of  God 
cannot  give  you  a  clean  bill  of  health.  Even 
they  who  are  in  Christ  in  spirit  and  in  truth 
cannot  boast  ;  for  they  are  unprofitable  servants. 
How  then,  shalt  thou  stand,  O  man,  in  the 
judgment  of  mankind  ?  Where  are  the  talents 
thy  Lord  gave  to  thy  keeping  ?  Where  the 
spirit  of  power   He  charged  thee  to  present  to 


282  THE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


the  world  ?  Do  you  offend  others,  keep  them 
from  Service,  check  their  enthusiam,  impede  the 
development  of  God's  Hfe  in  their  hearts  ?  It 
were  better  that  a  mill-stone  were  hanged  about 
your  neck  and  you  were  cast  into  the  sea,  than 
that  you  should  offend  God's  little  ones.  If  you 
will  not  walk  heavenward  yourself,  you  have  no 
right  to  obstruct  the  King's  highway.  Are  you 
doing  so?  If  so,  repent,  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand.  Alas  !  how  we  all  need  to 
take  this  warning  to  heart ;  and  yet  even  at  our 
worst  we  have  a  glorious  hope,  nay,  certainty 
of  help  from  God.  He  healed  that  motley  crowd 
of  Jews  and  aliens  in  the  days  of  old  ;  He  will 
heal  us.  All  our  vileness  He  will  bear  away, 
and  our  crime  shall  be  for  ever  a  transgression 
hidden,  hidden  by  the  love  of  the  Great 
Redeemer. 

Let  us  help  men  to  heal  physical  disease  and 
alleviate  human  pain  ;  but  above  all  things  let 
our  prayer  be  "  Heal  us,  O  Christ,  Deliver  me, 
O  Lord,  for  I  am  poor  and  needy." 


SERMON  XXVII. 

"Ebe  Tilnion  of  Ibeatts!" 

(Friendly  Societies), 

Ps.    CXXXIIL,    I. 

"  Behold,    how    good    and    how   pleasant    it   is    for 
brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity." 

IN  an  Eastern  palace  this  Is  a  rare 
phenomenon,  and  stabiHty  of  govern- 
ment, permanency  of  reforms,  and  continuity  of 
policy  are  never  known.  Polygamy  and  Its 
associate  disintegrating  Influences,  the  scope 
allowed  to  the  courtier,  and  the  despotic  rule 
upon  the  throne,  are  all  factors  of  unrest,  of 
destruction,  of  waste.  As  In  Oriental  despot- 
isms of  to-day,  so  even  the  political  solidarity 
of  Israel  depended  largely  upon  the  king,  and 
upon  the  extent  to  which  he  was  guided  by 
good  counsellors  or  bad.  Hence  we  find  the 
nation    oscillating    between    sun     worship    and 


284  THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS! 

spiritual  religion,  between  a  desire  to  develope 
the  resources  of  land  and  nation,  and  military 
exploits.  A  good  king  made  the  people  glad, 
and  confident,  and  strong  ;  a  bad  king  brought 
shame  and  confusion  of  face,  and  internecine 
strife,  and  jealousies,  and  bitterness  to  all  with 
whom  he  had  the  mastery. 

We  can  imagine,  therefore,  that  the  Psalm 
we  have  chosen  our  text  from  must  have  been 
written  when  this  rare  lesson  of  wisdom  was 
being  learned—  when  the  king's  household  were 
in  amity  and  at  peace,  when  the  various 
factions  amono  the  counsellors  were  ai^reed, 
and  when  each  department,  whether  of  state  or 
society,  seemed  desirous  to  fulfil  its  high 
vocation,  and  do  what  was  possible  to  make 
the  kingdom  stable  and  respected. 

Hope  is  the  foundation  of  all  organization. 
Hope  absent,  the  purpose  of  association  not 
given,  all  bonds  are  merely  accidental,  and  are 
slipped — not  even  broken — at  every  new  event. 
Although,  the  Friendly  Society's  work  was 
doubtless   as    old    as   man's   appreciation  of  its 


THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS!  285 

advantages,  the  earliest  Christian  churches  were 
evidently  important  centres  of  this  activity. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  many  of  the  churches  at 
Rome  at  least  were  in  a  sense,  so  far  as  the 
public  was  concerned,  Burial  Clubs  ;  and  with- 
out doubt  in  times  of  persecution  this  blending 
of  two  objects  preserved  the  early  Christians 
from  many  penalties,  while  affording  an  avenue 
by  which  w^ell-intentioned  pagans  might  be 
lured  to  the  light  of  Christianity.  Thus  the 
sexton,  or  fossor,  from  the  days  of  primitive 
Roman  Christianity,  has  been  closely  associated 
with  the  Church,  and  in  the  Catacomb  inscrip- 
tions, evidence  is  not  lackinof  as  to  his  duties 
and  position.  And  in  the  line  of  this  series  of 
epitaphs  we  are  able  to  see  how  religion  altered 
the  very  conception  of  death  in  the  minds  of 
Christian  converts.  The  tablets  more  and 
more  bore  emblems  of  the  cardinal  principles  of 
our  faith,  and  in  these  caverns  we  find  the 
clearest  corroboration  of  church  history.  Here, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  Christian 
Charity,  the  rich  arranged  for  his  own  Christian 


286  THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS! 


burial,  and  here  he  helped  his  poorer  brethren 
to  the  last  consolation  of  this  life. 

And  the  modern  Friendly  Society  is  only  a 
fuller  development  of  the  same  idea.  They 
comforted  the  sorrowing  in  bereavement,  we 
succour  those  whose  sorrow  is  the  product  of 
privation.  Both  are  alike  Christian,  and  both 
alike  are  constructive  and  restorative.  The 
complete  ideal  we  have  not  yet  reached  ;  but  so 
far  as  we  have  attained  to  the  work  of  God  it 
is  certain  that  we  are  helping  on  the  triumph 
of  His  life  among  men. 

There  may  be  many  who  think  not  at  all 
of  the  matter  in  this  light  ;  to  them  it  is  merely 
provision  against  evil,  the  avoidance  of  hunger. 
But  even  they  are  working  for  humanity  and 
for  God,  though  no  credit  be  due  to  them. 
Nothing  that  makes  men  firmer  in  trial,  that 
reduces  temptation  to  vice  and  degradation, 
that  improves  man's  prospect  of  restoration, 
can  but  be  pleasing  to  God. 

Buf  these  are  a  small  minority  compared  with 
the  multitude  who  join  these  societies  from  a 


THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS  !  287 

sense  of  duty,  and  who  as  patriots,  as  Christians, 
as  brothers,  band  themselves  together  to  help 
the  weak  and  reduce  the  number  of  castaways, 
and  of  waifs  and  strays. 

Many  may  remember  the  great  cotton  famine 
during  the  American  War,  when  thousands  of 
respectable  men  and  women  and  little  children 
died  of  simple  starvation.  Alas !  that  many, 
desparate  and  hungry,  did  worse  than  die  in  the 
clamour  for  the  poorest  bread.  Seeds  of  vice 
were  sown  then  which  have  even  yet  their 
baleful  progeny  represented  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Wretchedness  unspeakable  fell  upon 
the  whole  land  at  the  woe  of  the  brethren.  Is 
It  not  Christian  to  provide  against  a  disease,  a 
death,  like  this  ?  Many  a  family  has  been  kept 
from  the  abyss  of  pauperism,  yea,  from  the 
grave,  by  the  operation  of  our  principle.  And 
we  thank  God  from  whom  the  inspiration 
comes.  The  Christian's  hope  produced  it,  and 
the  Christian's  confidence  in  the  possibilities 
opened  to  man  made  life  worth  fighting  for,  a 
living  with  self-respect  to  be  desired. 


288  THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS  ! 

"Through  the  night  of  doubt  and  sorrow, 

Onward  goes  the  Christian  band, 
Singing  songs  of  expectation. 

Marching  to  the  Promised  Land ; 
Clear  before  us,  through  the  darkness, 

Gleams  and  burns  the  guiding  light. 
Brother  clasps  the  hand  of  brother. 

Stepping  fearless  through  the  night." 

And  your  presence  here  this  day  Is  an 
assertion  on  your  part  that  your  work  Is  more 
than  even  a  help  In  pounds,  -  shillings,  and 
pence,  more  than  politic  thrift.  You  come  here 
because  you  desire  to  claim  unity  with  all  the 
people  of  God,  In  respect  of  your  work.  You  re- 
cognize that  labour  of  the  helpful  kind  Is  sure  to 
bear  Its  richest  fruit  In  the  future.  Not  only  the 
recipient  but  the  giver  is  blessed  In  the  brotherly 
visit,  the  niorht  watchino^,  the  labour  sharlnof, 
the  cheery  encouragement,  which  the  British 
working  man  so  readily  renders  to  his  needy 
friend  ;  and  you  feel  nearer  Christ  as  you  go 
about  among  your  comrades,  weeping  with  the 
weeper  and  rejoicing  with  the  glad. 

After  all,  to  a  greater  extent  than  ever  we 


THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS  !  289 

think,  men  are  part  of  each  other,  and  none  can 
live  to  himself  entirely.  In  our  love  and 
reverence  of  our  great  Father,  we  come 
wonderfully  close  to  each  other. 

"  One  the  light  of  God's  own  presence, 

O'er  His  ransomed  people  shed, 
Chasing  far  the  gloom  and  terror, 

Brightening  all  the  path  we  tread. 
One  the  object  of  our  journey. 

One  the  faith  which  never  tires, 
One  the  earnest  looking-forward. 

One  the  hope  our  God  inspires. 
One  the  strain  that  lips  of  thousands 

Lift  as  from  the  heart  of  one, 
One  the  conflict,  one  the  peril. 

One  the  march  in  God  begun  ; 
One  the  gladness  of  rejoicing, 

On  the  far  Eternal  shore. 
Where  the  One  Almighty  Father 

Reigns  in  love  for  evermore." 

The  more  we  help  each  other,  and  put  away 
our  carnal  separatism  and  the  more  we  become 
as  one  in  spirit  and  in  aim. 

But  let  us  never  be  satisfied  with  our  present 

attainments.      Blessed  is  the  man  who   is   not 

contented    with    himself  and    his    condition   of 

19 


290  THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS ! 

soul.       A    nation,   a  church,    a  family,    an    in- 
dividual, without  a  future,  is  sure  to  be  a  failure 
in    every    sense.       If  we   have   done   much   to 
lighten   sorrow,    and   give   men    more   hope   in 
God,  we  have,  or  should  have,  an    incentive   to 
do  more  good  in  the  time  that  is  coming.     We 
can  insist  more  upon  right  being  supreme  over 
might,  upon  the  Eternal  taking  precedence  of 
the  temporal,  upon  the  due  recognitionof  the  Law 
of  God  in  all  our  dealings  with  each  other  and 
with  those  with  whom  we  daily  come  into  contact. 
Let  us  ever  remember  that  our  organizations 
must  never  become  tyrannical  in  any  sense,  any 
more  than  they  have  been  in  the  past.     They 
are  just  the  instrument  by  means  of  which  God 
helps  man   to  work  out  the   Divine  Will,  and 
glorify  his  Creator.     Only,  as   in  the  direction 
of  our  energy  we  look  toward  the  great  Over 
Master,  can  we  hope  to  make  our  work  success- 
ful.    Ever  let   us   keep   these  words   of  Holy 
Writ  before    us,    "the    letter    killeth,    but  the 
Spirit  maketh  alive."     The  Spiritual  aspect  of 
our  work,  the  Divine  foundation   in   recreative 


THE  UNION  OF  HEARTS!  291 

and  restorative  power,  the  call  to  the  faithful 
servant  to  come  up  higher," — all  these  should 
ring  in  our  ears  until  not  only  in  the  lodge,  but 
everywhere  our  hands  will  tempt  us  to  help. 

And  then  shall  come  the  end,  which  is  the 
beginning  of  the  Hereafter.  A  land  shall  be 
seen  in  which  are  no  widows,  no  fatherless 
children,  no  weepings  nor  moans  of  pain.  It 
shall  be  a  land  of  light,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  revealed.  There  we  shall  learn 
what  sorrow  and  pain  and  poverty  here  meant, 
and  we  shall  be  glad  when  we  remember  the 
little  ones  the  gentle  Saviour  lifted  into  our 
arms,  the  healing  hope  we  took  from  Him  to 
the  disconsolate,  the  sloughs  we  dragged  so 
many  would-be  victims  out  of,  and  the  angel  faces 
which,  but  for  us,  might  be  sullied  and  wasted. 

"  Onward,  therefore,  pilgrim  brothers, 
Onward  with  the  Cross,  our  aid  ; 
Bear  its  shame  and  fight  its  battle. 
Till  we  rest  beneath  its  shade. 
Soon  shall  come  the  great  awakening, 
Soon  the  rending  of  the  tomb, 
Then  the  scattering  of  all  shadows. 
And  the  end  of  toil  and  gloom." 

"  Even  so,  come  Lord  Jesus." 


SERMON    XXVIII. 


''  ®ur  lfatber'6  Ibome/' 

Ps.  LXXXIV.,  i. 

"  How   amiable  are   Thy  tabernacles,    O   Lord  of 
Hosts." 

"We  love  the  place,  O  God, 

Wherein  Thine  honour  dwells, 
The  joy  of  Thine  abode. 
All  earthly  joy  excels." 

THE  Ancient  Israelite  might  well  have 
delivered  himself  thus  in  the  wilderness. 
As  in  the  distant  valley,  and  wady  of  the 
desert,  he  returned  with  his  flock  to  the  camp 
at  night,  and  saw  the  curtained  tabernacle, 
cloud-capped  and  awful,  yet  peaceful  and  help- 
ful, the  fears  and  misgivings  of  the  day's 
wanderings  vanished  from  his  mind,  and  he 
knew  his  kindred  were  still  safe,  and  his  home- 
coming happy  and  auspicious.     As  he  beheld, 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOME.  293 

in  the  distance,  the  white  robed  figures  busied 
about  the  evening  sacrifice,  and  the  smoke  of 
the  burnt  offering  rise  upon  the  still  air  up  to 
heaven,  he  felt  a  strange  assurance  of  God's 
security  vouchsafed,  of  God's  promises  yet  to  be 
fulfilled.  And  when  the  tent  became  the 
House,  and  the  rude  altar  was  now  fashioned  of 
valuable  carved  work  in  choice  metals,  and  the 
psalm  was  accompanied  by  the  sound  of  a 
hundred  instruments  of  music,  and  the  choir 
marched  in  solemn  procession,  and  lifted  up 
their  voice  in  joyous  refrain,  and  the  sun  broke 
up  his  white  gleams  upon  the  burnished  gold 
and  traced  work  of  the  temple,  more  than  ever 
the  Jew  realised  that  the  Lord  was  in  His 
Holy  Temple,  and  that  the  Most  Holy  was 
behind  the  Mercy  Seat.  And  especially  when 
the  wanderers  from  Asia  Minor,  from  North 
Africa,  from  Gaul  and  Hungary,  and  Rome  and 
Spain,  and  Parthia  and  Mesopotamia,  brought 
their  offerings  at  the  great  feasts,  and  told  each 
other  of  the  great  goodness  and  providence  of 
the   Divine   Lord  of  mankind,   their  heart  was 


294  OUR  FATHER'S  HOME. 

swollen  with  pride,  their  national  glory  seemed 
assured,  and  they  would  not,  could  not,  believe 
that  the  abomination  of  desolation  could  ever 
be  seen  in  Jerusalem,  nor  the  eagle  standard  in 
her  temple. 

And  do  not  we  exult  likewise  in  the  fact  of 
our  Churches  being,  and  having  been  for  so  many 
ages,  the  chosen  House  of  Mercy  for  all  genera- 
tions ?  Sometimes  we  go  into  some  little 
church  in  a  poor  outlying  district  of  the  country. 
The  inside  is  bare,  and  the  walls  tell  of  ages  of 
weather  and  of  the  poverty  of  the  worshippers, 
the  tombstones  lean  among  the  thick  grass,  and 
all  about  the  place  indicates  the  lack  of  wealth, 
and  of  the  desire  or  power  to  make  the  House 
worthy  of  its  Divine  Guest.  And  even  here, 
with  no  ornate  service,  with  an  unmusical  choir 
it  may  be,  and  uncomfortable  benches,  and 
weatherswept  aisles,  we  feel  the  blessing  of 
God's  presence.  As  we  look  upon  the  empty 
pews,  we  begin  to  go  back  centuries,  and  see  a 
succession  of  humble  men  and  women  who,  in 
war    and    peace,    under  good    report    and    evil 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOME.  295 

report,  in  poverty  and  deeper  poverty,  bowed 
the  knee  to  Our  God  here.  Here  they  washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  hither  they  were  brought  as  tiny 
infants  and  held  before  that  worn  and  un- 
beautiful  font,  while  the  holy  rite  of  baptism 
was  administered.  By  that  row  of  benches 
they  knelt,  and  consecrated  hands  confirmed 
the  graces  received  in  baptism.  Yonder  they 
stood  and  were  joined  together  in  matrimony, 
here  Sunday  by  Sunday  they  listened  to  the 
Word  of  God,  and  offered  up  confession  and 
thanksgiving,  and  knelt  in  Holy  Communion  ; 
and  at  last  they  were  borne  out  of  that  door  to 
rest  until  the  Daybreak. 

And  now,  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses,  they 
fill  with  a  wondrous  and  sweet  influence  the 
empty  church ;  their  glistening  forms  almost 
stand  out  in  the  dim  light,  the  bareness  of 
everything  around  is  lost  sight  of,  for  God 
everywhere  paints  pictures  of  the  work  of 
these  saints,  and  beautifies  the  dilapidated  little 
church  with  the  glory  of  His  presence.      Shame 


296  OUR  FATHER'S  HOME. 

s 

upon  those  who  do  not  long  to  prepare  all  for 
God's  House  that  will  exalt  His  worship  in  the 
eyes  of  men  ;  but,  however  it  be  neglected,  and 
however  poor  be  all  its  surroundings,  we  must 
uncover  in  His  presence  there,  and  become 
humble  in  view  of  the  great  crowd  of  the 
Church  Triumphant,  who  once  suffered  and 
conquered  here. 

"  We  love  the  place,  O  God, 
Wherein  Thine  honour  dwells." 

"  How  amiable  are  Thy  tabernacles." 

We  are  often  charged  with  idolatry,  because 
of  this  affection  we  bear  to  all  about  the  Father's 
Home  on  earth.      Is  it  idolatry? 

You  have  a  book  or  a  trinket  some  dear 
friend  once  owned.  Is  it  the  same  to  you  as 
any  other  similar  object  never  possessed  by  this 
friend  ?  Is  new  furniture  just  the  same  to  us  as, 
for  instance,  the  little  chair  in  which  our  mother 
rocked  us  to  sleep  long  years  ago,  or  the  couch 
upon  which  she  lay  during  the  years  of  her  old 
age  ?     Is  it  reasonable  to  speak  of  idolatry  in  a 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOME.  297 


connection  like  this  ?  Is  it  not  natural  and 
right  that  we  should  cherish  an  ancient  font  in 
which  our  fathers  were  christened,  or  an  altar 
before  which  they  knelt  in  communion  with  the 
whole  Church  and  Jesus  Christ  ?  It  is  not 
idolatry  which  determines  us  in  our  attachment 
to  ancient  forms,  time  honoured  doctrines,  and 
even  objects  dear  to  those  who  are  in  the 
Fellowship,  but  who  have  "gone  before  " 

"  We  love  the  sacred  Font, 

For  there  the  Holy  Dove, 
To  pour  is  ever  wont 

His  blessing  from  above. 
We  love  Thine  Altar,  Lord  ; 

O  what  on  earth  so  dear? 
For  there,  in  faith  adored. 

We  find  Thy  Presence  near." 

Never  let  an  iconoclastic  fanaticism  weaken 
the  tenacity  with  which  we  cling  to  all  the 
ancient  and  heroic  associations  which  crowd 
around  the  font,  the  altar,  and  the  cross.  In 
the  symbol  of  our  Faith,  affection  reaches 
through  the  type  into  the  ultimate,  and  with 
the  help  of  the  form  lays  hold  upon  the  Spirit 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOME. 


whereby  we  are  sealed  unto  the  Day  of 
Redemption.  Take  away  these,  and  you  have 
a  shifting  platform,  and  a  doctrine  as  change- 
able as  man's  whim  or  fancy.  By  means  of 
these  three,  with  all  the  sacraments  clustering 
about  them,  we  are  built  upon  the  Rock  of 
Christ,  and  maintain  our  communication  with 
the  Divine  Base  of  Operations,  and  we  decline  to 
surrender  on  a  false  charge  of  idolatry  that 
which  gives  us  the  strength  of  purpose  and 
unity  of  aim  without  which  "we  cannot  see 
God." 

There  is,  however,  something  even  more 
loved  than  all  these. 

''  We  love  the  Word  of  Life, 
The  word  that  tells  of  peace, 
Of  comfort  in  the  strife, 
And  joys  that  never  cease." 

What  a  load  has  been  lifted  by  the  reading 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  systematically 
as  our  Church  ordains.  As  we  hear  the 
commands  of  God,  the  history  of  His  dealings 
with    men,    the   record   of  the    true   Ascent    of 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOME.  299 

Man,  we  see  the  iniquity  and  hatefulness  of 
sin,  the  evil  and  unhappiness  it  causes,  the 
division  it  produces  in  the  homes  and  among 
the  hearts  of  mankind.  And  v^e  also  are  able 
to  be  encouraged  by  the  eternal  rev^ard  which 
always  follows  to  the  good  and  the  pure  and  the 
true.  Moreover,  we  understand  better  why 
there  are  shadows  here  as  well  as  sunshiny 
gleams, — why  sadness  as  well  as  exulting  and 
perennial  joy.  The  Word  that  shall  abide  for 
ever,  sure  and  steadfast  amid  the  howling  of  an 
exasperating  lie,  the  truth  of  God  that  "shall 
prevail  though  the  heavens  fall," 

"  The  Word  that  tells  of  Peace, 
Of  Comfort  in  the  strife, 
And  joys  that  never  cease." 

We  love  the  House  of  Prayer !  Many  a 
time  have  we  been  straightened  out  of  our 
deformity,  had  sight  pervade  our  blindness, 
and  heard  the  Voice  of  Divine  Love  for  the 
first  time,  as  we  listened  to  the  Record  of  the 
Work  of  the  Ages  by  the  Eternal  Spirit  of  Life. 
And  lastly,  we  receive  hope  as  we  again  see 


300  OUR  FATHER'S  HOME. 

Enoch  translated,  Elijah  caught  up,  Moses 
received  home  weary  to  rest,  Christ  leading 
Captivity  Captive  and  loosing  the  pains  of 
death. 

The  time,  perhaps,  has  already  come  when 
some  of  us  feel  that  we  have  commenced  the 
descent  into  Jordan.  The  x^rk  of  the  Lord  is 
before  us,  and  the  priests  that  bear  it  are  gone 
over  dry  shod.  It  is  our  turn  to  step  into  the 
river  bed.  Can  we  do  it  ?  If  so,  how  is  it  ? 
Is  it  not  that  here  we  have  heard  of  the  Angels 
in  charge,  of  the  Waters  that  shall  not  over- 
whelm us,  of  the  Land  of  promise,  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey  ?  Have  we  not  received  so 
many  accounts  from  saints  who  have  tasted  and 
seen  that  the  Lord  is  precious,  and  know  that 
the  flood  shall  not  come  nigh  unto  us. 

We  think,  as  we  still  go  down  with  other  pil- 
grims to  the  brink,  of  the  joys  laid  in  store  for 
man  where  the  "wicked  cease  from  troubling, 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest,"  and  we  feel  tired, 
and  "ready  to  depart."  As  one  more  pledge  is 
oiven    to    life    yonder,    one    more    link    which 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOME.  301 

detains  us  here  is  snapped,  and  we  wonder,  and 
wait  for  our  name  to  be  called. 

"  We  love  to  sing  below 

For  mercies  freely  given  ; 
But,  Oh,  we  long  to  know 

The  triumph  song  of  Heaven." 

And  others  who  have  not  yet  finished  their 
work,  who  still  are  engaged  in  the  furtherance 
of  plans  which  may  keep  them  here  for  years 
to  come,  still  hear  in  this  house  the  angels' 
song.  In  our  sacred  celebratory  services  we 
join  with  angels  and  archangels,  and  with  the 
invisible  but  living  saints  about  the  Throne, 
in  ascription  of  praise  and  power  to  God 
Almighty.  Because  we  so  unite  with  the 
Triumphal  Band  in  the  Heaven  above,  we  have 
no  accord,  of  heart  towards  worldliness,  and 
vanity,  and  weakness.  We  bear  in  our  body 
the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Is  it  so.'* 
Blessed  is  the  man  who  ever  lives  in  the 
presence  of  God.  "  Better  be  a  door-keeper  in 
the  House  of  my  God  than  dwell  in  the  tents  of 
iniquity,"  says  a  wise  man  of  old. 


302  OUR  FATHER'S  HOME. 

"  Lord  Jesus  give  us  grace, 

On  Earth  to  love  Thee  more, 
In  Heaven  to  see  Thy  face. 

And  with  Thy  Saints  adore." 

Fight  your  battles  as  seeing  and  receiving 
personal  commands  from  the  Invisible  Author 
of  our  Salvation,  and  expecting  the  glad 
acclaim  of  praise  which  will  be  "joy  in  the 
presence  of  the  Angles  of  God." 

'^  How  amiable  are  Thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord 
of  Hosts." 

"  How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob, 
And  Thy  tabernacles,  O  Israel." 

"  Blessed  is  he  that  Blesseth  Thee, 
And  cursed  is  he  that  curseth  Thee." 


SERMON  XXIX. 


''Sccf^inci  the  Saviour!'' 


St.  John  IX.,  36. 

"  He  answered  and   said,  Who  is  he,  Lord,  that  I 
might  believe  on  him?" 

THE  speaker  of  these  words  was  a  man  In 
dreadful  plight.  Distrusted  by  friends, 
excommunicated  from  his  fellow  religionist,  in 
conflict  with  the  recognised  teachers  of  the  law, 
and  almost  disowned  by  his  parents,  he  was  left 
to  begin  life  long  after  he  had  become  appar- 
ently a  confirmed  and  hopeless  adult.  He  had 
never  seen  the  light,  had  never  looked  up  and 
seen  his  mother's  smile  when,  as  a  babe,  he  lay 
at  her  breast,  had  soon  begun  to  feel  that  those 
who  gave  him  birth  rather  looked  upon  him  as  a 
sign  of  God's  displeasure  than  otherwise.  Un- 
til a  few  hours  ago  he  sat  and  walked  aimlessly 


304  SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR  ! 

as  one  in  the  world,  yet  having  Httle  part  in  its 
work.  Jesus  had  found  him  and  shewn  forth 
the  works  of  God  in  him.  The  born-bHnd  now 
saw  ;  wondering  but  not  aimless  he  felt  about 
the  streets  for  a  friend,  a  teacher,  a  Saviour  ; 
and  none  dare  come  near  to  help  him.  He 
was  seeking  a  Saviour  when  Jesus  met  him 
again,  and  drew  out  from  him  this  answer — 
^'  Who  is  He,  Lord,  that  I  might  believe  on 
Him." 

Like  this  poor  man,  we  all  may  say, 

"  Weary  of  earth,  and  laden  with  my  sin, 
I  look  at  Heaven,  and  long  to  enter  in, 
But  there  no  evil  thing  may  find  a  home." 

When  conviction  of  our  unworthiness  comes, 
when   we  feel   how    empty   have  been   all   the 

promises  of  this  world,  when  worn  and  buffeted, 
and  scourged  for  our  sins,  we  cry  out,  the  in- 
finite glory  of  heaven,  the  cleanness  of  the 
Home  Life,  the  purity  of  the  moral  and  spiritual 
atmosphere,  the  rightness  of  the  Eternal,  un- 
bending Law,  terrify  us. 

"  There  no  evil  thing  may  find  a  home." 


SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR  !  305 

''  There  shall  in  no  wise  enter  Into  it  anything 
that  defileth,  neither  whatsoever  worketh  abom- 
ination, or  maketh  a  lie ;  but  they  which  are 
written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life." 

Alas ! 

"  So  vile  am  I,  how  dare  I  hope  to  stand 
In  the  pure  glory  of  that  holy  land 
Before  the  pure  whiteness  of  that  Throne  appear." 

These  are  the  voices  of  our  awakened  con- 
science, the  fears  of  a  conscious  guilt.  We 
dare  not  hope  in  God ;  and  yet  we  need  a 
helper.  We  must  find  a  deliverer,  for  we  know 
that  the  wrath  of  God,  the  lash  of  our  own  in- 
iquity, the  remorse  of  our  own  kindling  spirit, 
are  upon  us  with  their  terrible  penalties.  We 
pray,  though  with  fear  and  trembling. 

" .     .     .     Fast  falls  the  eventide. 
The  darkness  deepens  ;  Lord  with  me  abide  ; 
IVken  other  helpers  fail ;  and  comforts  flee, 
Help  of  the  helpless^  O  abide  with  me." 

"  Other  Refuge  have  I  none, 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee, 
Leave,  ah,  leave  me  not  alone. 
Still  support  and  comfort  me." 

20 


3o6  SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR! 

Only  God  can  help  us!  Will  He?  At  our 
wit  s  end,  and  in  the  delirium  of  our  soul  fever, 
we  cry  to  Him,  and  we  have  an  instinctive 
hope. 

"  Yet,  I  hear  a  voice  that  bids  me.  Come. 
Yet  there  are  Hands  stretched  out  to  draw  me  near. 
The  while  I  fain  would  tread  the  heavenly  way. 
Evil  is  ever  with  me  day  by  day  ; 
Yet  on  mine  ears  the  gracious  tidings  fall, 
Repent,  confess,  thou  shalt  be  loosed  from  all." 

As  the  cry  of  the  tiniest  babe  in  pain,  who 
pleads  with  circumstances,  and  bespeaks  the 
compassion  he  has  yet  not  learned  to  know,  so 
Man  rolls  upon  His  Redeemer  the  burden  that 
is  too  heavy  for  his  own  shoulders,  and  trusts 
God  as  the  drowning  man  trusts  the  hard  rock 
or  bough  his  hand,  taught  by  instinct  and  ex- 
perience, has  seized. 

How  true  to  life  was  the  question,  the  plea 
of  this  forsaken  man !  Who  is  He,  Lord  that  I 
might  believe  ?  And  human  trust  was  not  be- 
shamed.  The  cry  of  need  was  honoured  in 
Divine  grace.  "  Open  thy  mouth  wide,  and  I 
will  fill  it,"  says  God.     This  man  was  hungering 


SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR  !  307 

for  the  bread,  thirsting  for  the  water  of  life,  and 
He  opened  his  mouth  as  the  young  lions  and 
the  ravens  whom  God  feeds,  and  he  was  fed 
with  heavenly  food. 

There  arc  some  perhaps  here  now  who  are 
convinced  of  their  sins,  and  longing  for  a 
Saviour.  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved,"  is 
their  constant  wonder.  They  see  their  children, 
their  kindred,  their  nearest  and  dearest  kneel 
before  the  '  Table  of  the  Lord  '  and  they  dare 
not  join  them.  *  Unclean  ! '  '  Unclean  ! '  their 
heart  cries  out  each  time  of  the  Celebration. 
The  promises  and  gracious  words  of  Jesus 
enter  them  as  stabs,  as  sharp  penetrating  pains, 
and  the  agony  of  their  sinful  heart  is  more  than 
they  can  endure.  ^\i^y  fear  God,  as  the  devils 
fear  and  tremble,  and  they  are  afraid  to  come 
home. 

To  the  people  Christ  said,  and  to  you  he 
says,  "  For  judgment  am  I  come  into  the  world 
that  they  which  see  not  might  see."  And, 
surely.  He  is  willing  to  save  you,  for  He  came 
to  '  call  the  Sinners  to  repentance,'  and  to  de- 


3o8  SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR  ! 

liver  the  "prisoner  bound  in  affliction  and  iron." 
Do  not  be  discouraged.  He  will  cast  out  no 
man  who  needs  him  ;  He  will  freely  heal  all 
who  come  to  him  diseased  and  blind  with  pain. 
Only  trust  Him,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to 
find  how  soon  your  dread  will  disappear  from 
your  mental  horizon. 

"  It  is  the  voice  of  Jesus  that  I  hear, 
His  are  the  Hands  stretched  out  to  draw  me  near, 
And  His  the  Blood  that  can  for  all  atone, 
And  set  me  faultless  there  before  the  Throne." 

Come  to  Jesus,  for  He  will  receive  you. 

"  I  heard  the  Voice  of  Jesus  say, 
I  am  this  dark  world's  Light, 
Look  unto  Me,  thy  morn  shall  rise, 
And  all  Thy  Day  be  bright." 

Could  you  but  look  to  Jesus  as  so  many  have 
done  and  sing  with  them 

"  I  looked  to  Jesus,  and  I  found 
In  Him  my  Star,  my  vSun, 
And  in  that  Light  of  Life  I'll  walk 
Till  travelling  days  are  done." 

And    what    do   you    consider    the    scope    of 
Christ's  salvation?     Is  it  only  escape  from  the 


SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR  I  309 

punishment  of  Sin.  Do  not  deceive  yourselves. 
Sin  is  always  punished  ;  it  ever  brings  pain. 
And  when  you  come  to  Christ  and  most  join  in 
the  work  of  His  Church,  you  have  most  pain  as 
you  think  of  the  hurt  you  have  inflicted  in  the 
past  upon  God  and  His  Children.  The  sting 
of  pain  is  gone,  but  pain  will  ever  be  present. 

The  Saviour  Christ  would  become,  is  the 
deliverer  from  the  power  of  sin  in  the  present. 
The  gates  of  Hell  can  receive  no  soul  whom 
Christ  has  delivered  from  the  power  of  sin  here. 
Religion  is  not  a  mere  escape  from  future 
punishment ;  it  is  a  change  from  death  unto  life 
here,  and  in  all  our  earthly  transactions. 

See,  what  a  Saviour  He  was  to  the  Dis- 
ciples !  How  He  chastened  St.  Peter  s  spirit, 
and  nerved  the  clinging  love  of  St.  John,  and 
chased  away  the  doubts  of  St.  Thomas.  And 
how  He  humbled,  later,  the  proud  self-righteous 
Saul,  and  made  Him  his  prisoner  at  the  court 
of  the  cruel  Nero !  He  not  only  took  from 
them  the  fear  of  the  judgment  after  death,  but 
he  made  those  who  once  fled  in  the  moment  of 


3IO  SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR! 

the  Betrayal,  firm,  and  bold  in  the  presence  of 
tyrants,  and  confident  in  the  ultimate  victory  of 
Truth. 

How  He  made  an  enlightened  Rome  sicken 
in  the  presence  of  murder  and  brutishness  in 
the  arena,  and  turned  their  hearts  away  from 
the  vile  earth  gods  they  worshipped  with  such 
disgusting  rites,  and  heaped  contempt  upon 
princes  by  the  apparently  insignificant  army 
which,  with  spiritual  weapons,  wound  its  way 
from  the  Catacomb  Churches  to  the  public  places 
where  iniquity  for  so  many  centuries  "had  been 
honoured !  The  Saviour  comes  to  show  us 
His  Highway  of  Life,  and  to  help  us  to  walk 
in  it.  He  came  to  teach  us  that  mighty  Love 
which  fulfils  the  Law,  that  active  practical 
harmony  of  life  which  accords  with  the  Eternal 
Doctrine  of  an  everlasting  truth.  When  He 
saves,  a  man  immediately  cries  out,  ''  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ? "  There  is 
always  something  flavouring  of  the  superficial 
when  we  are  willing  to  enjoy  the  means  of 
grace,   but  try  very  little  to  provide  them  for 


SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR!  311 

Others.  Salvation  makes  us  think  the  thoughts 
of  Christ  who  is  within  us  ;  and  that  produces 
a  desire,  ever  increasing,  to  extend  His  kingdom 
everywhere.  We  see  our  poor  children  with 
chilblained  toes  and  shivering  under-fed  frames, 
struggling  against  fearful  odds  in  the  school- 
room, and  we  want  to  warm  them  and  improve 
the  conditions  under  which  they  start  upon  life. 
We  see  pauperism  rampant,  increasing,  danger- 
ous, and  burn  to  so  legislate  and  administer  the 
law  that  this  unnatural  fault  may  no  longer 
hinder  the  coming  of  the  age  of  God's  kingdom. 
We  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars,  and  not 
only  pray  for  peace,  but  join  our  voice  to  those 
who  discourage  strife  and  turmoil  and  jealousies 
which  produce  suspicion  and  distrust  between 
sister  nations,  and  between  varying  interests  in 
our  own  country.  Instead  of  Christendom 
being  a  house  divided  against  itself,  the 
Saviour  will  make  us  brethren  and  helpers, 
and  builders  of  future  glories  which  shall 
accrue  to  the  labours  we  now  inaugurate.  O 
that    men    would    understand    how    wide    and 


312  SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR! 

free    and    complete    is   the    Salvation   of    our 
God. 

"  O  great  Absolver,  grant  my  soul  may  wear, 
The  lowliest  garb  of  penitence  and  prayer, 
That  in  the  Father's  courts,  my  glorious  dress 
May  be  the  garment  of  Thy  righteousness. 
Nought  can  I  bring,  dear  Lord,  for  all  I  owe. 
Yet  let  my  full  heart  what  it  can  bestow. 
Like  Mary's  gift,  let  my  devotion  prove, 
Forgiven  greatly  how  I  greatly  love." 

And  He  shall  lead  His  flock  like  a  Shepherd. 
Quietly,  but  evidently,  our  growth  shall  proceed 
and  our  grace  shall  be  manifested,  Divine  and 
Christian.  Long  before  we  reach  Golgotha, 
we  shall  hear  the  sweet  melody  of  the  song  of 
the  Redeemed,  calling  us  to  highest  witness 
and  holiest  faith.  The  way  may  be  dark,  but 
there  is  light  from  the  Holy  Saviour  who  shall 
go  before.  And  when  we  pass  through  the 
floods,  His  voice  will  cheer,  and  His  arm  be- 
neath our's  will  bear  us  valiantly  against  the 
rush  of  destruction.  And  when  the  influences 
of  materialism  seem  most  charged  with  hope, 
and  from  end  to  end  of  the  world  they  muster 


SEEKING  THE  SAVIOUR!  313 

mighty  armies  to  attack  the  Christian  position, 
a  Banner  shall  be  lifted  up  flaming  with  a  light 
before  which  sin  and  death  and  pain  shall  hide 
ashamed.  And  in  place  of  the  War  Cry  of 
Armageddon  shall  arise  the  endless  Alleluia  ; 
and  for  the  moan  of  the  wounded  there  shall  be 
a  song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb.  The  clouds 
shall  be  the  chariots  of  the  Lord  God  of  Sab- 
baoth,  and  the  firmament  shall  ring  with  the 
acclaim  of  those  about  the  Throne.  The  bon- 
dage of  the  Saints  shall  be  broken,  and  free  men 
shall  draw  near  to  God  with  joy  and  thanks- 
giving, yea,  a  never  ending  'Jubilate'  shall 
fill  the  Courts  of  Heaven  and  Earth.  Then 
we  shall  realize  fully  what  Christ's  Salvation 
means;  for  then  "shall  we  know  even  as  we 
are  known." 

"  The  strife  will  not  be  long — 
This  day  the  noise  of  battle 
The  next  the  Victor's  song  ! 
To  him  that  overcometh, 
A  crown  of  life  shall  be, 
He  with  the  King  of  Glory, 
Shall  reign  eternally." 


SERMON  XXX. 


*'Mbole**bearte&  Surrender." 


I.  St.  John  i.,  7. 

"  But  if  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the  light,  we 
have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  Blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  His  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 

DECISION  is  a  most  difficult  stage  to 
reach  for  the  deep  thinker ;  and  it  is. 
only  the  superficial,  the  shallow,  who  can  easily 
say,  *'  I  will,"  "  I  will  not."  He  who,  like  chaff, 
is  blown  in  every  or  any  direction  as  the  wind 
eddy  may  guide  him,  is  '^  unstable  as  water,  and 
shall  not  excel."  We  often  meet  with  these 
creatures  of  impulse  ;  they  are  seen  to  flit  hither 
and  thither,  feeding  often  upon  mere  sensation- 
alism, and  are  no  deeper  spiritually  than  if  they 
had  never  taken  a  first  draught  of  the  water  of 
life.  Intoxicated  with  first  one  and  then  another 
doctrine,    they   live   in   one   sense    eternally    at 


WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER.  315 

high  pressure,  and  in  a  truer  sense  the  directing 
energy  being  absent,  all  their  vitalities  run  wild  ; 
and  there  is  no  stamina  in  them,  and  no  central 
principle  of  their  life.  Like  Israel  of  Ahab's 
day,  they  will  declare  for  the  Lord  one  day,  and 
the  next  are  ready  to  persecute  His  prophets! 

It  is  the  strong  current  of  evil,  the  over- 
whelming desire  for  a  carnal  life,  which  finds 
decision  to  reverse  all  energy  almost  insuper- 
able, but  which  yet  makes  the  grandest  of  all 
character  when  truly  converted  to  God.  Hence 
there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  Angels  of 
God  over  one  real  sinner  more  than  over  ninety 
and  nine  just  persons  who  need  no  repentance. 
And  when  the  headstrong  Saul  prayed  in  that 
house  at  Damascus,  there  was  an  influence  felt 
both  in  Heaven  and  on  Earth,  in  that  "  he 
which  persecuted  all  of  that  way "  was  now 
openly  maintaining  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ/ 
So  when  the  wild,  wicked  Augustine  was 
given  to  Monica's  prayer,  a  light  was  set  up 
from  which  hundreds  of  thousands  of  torches 
have  been  kindled.      In  all  these  cases  Decision 


3i6  WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER. 

was  a  hard  process  so  far  as  the  subject  of 
conversion  was  concerned.  Saul  kicked  against 
the  goad.  Augustine  tried  hard  to  kill  the 
thought  of  a  Righteousness  insulted.  But  at 
last  the  Rubicon  was  crossed,  and  the  War 
of  God  begun  in  their  lives.  This  decision  is 
determined  and  is  complete.  Surrender  after  a 
long  struggle  is  perfect  surrender,  and  it  is  just 
this  final  confession  of  need  and  final  coming  to 
Christ  which  predetermines  the  strong  salvation 
which  they  are  able  to  bring  to  mankind, 

"  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea, 
But  that  Thy  Blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  Thou  bid'st  me  come  to  Thee. 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 

Just  as  I  am,  though  tossed  about 
With  many  a  conflict,  many  a  doubt ; 
Fighting  and  fears,  within,  without. 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 

These  are  nothing  now  to  the  determined  soul. 
He  has  found  the  pass- word  of  the  city  guard. 
To  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened,  and 
he  knocks.  His  need  is  abject :  he  has  no 
friend    save    One,    and    gates    and  bars  divide 


WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER.  317 

them.  He  knocks,  and  cries  out  upon  the 
Name  of  the  Lord.  Jesus,  Son  of  David,  have 
mercy  upon  me ! 

"  Jesus,  as  I  am,  poor,  wretched,  blind  ; 
Sight,  riches,  healing  of  the  mind. 
Yea,  all  I  need,  in  Thee  to  find. 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 

It  was  in  this  way  that  Jacob  wrestled  with  the 
Angel  for  a  blessing,  and  became  Israel.  So 
the  Disciples  cried  to  God,  and  at  Pentecost 
the  Comforter  came  down  ;  and  so  the  brethren 
prayed  for  the  imprisoned  S.  Peter,  when  the 
doors  were  open  for  his  escape. 

Many  are  turned  away  because  they  lack 
whole-heartedness  in  their  prayer  and  complete 
trust  in  their  faith.  They  want  light,  but  only 
under  a  bushel.  They  implore  salvation,  but 
hamper  the  Spirit  of  God  with  conditions. 
The  Sun  of  Righteousness  seems  to  them  a 
mistake.  Each  man  should  have  a  dark- 
lantern,  which  he  could  open  or  not  as  he 
found  it  convenient.  Nothing  short  of  a 
broken  and  contrite  spirit   will   be    acceptable 


3i8  WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER. 

to  the  Bishop  of  our  salvation  ;  for  only  when 
we  place  ourselves  unreservedly  in  His  hands, 
can  He  make  us  fit  for  His  Kinordom.  Secret 
Christianity  is  an  insult  to  Christ,  a  reserved 
surrender  is  unbelief,  and  prohibits  our  restora- 
tion to  health  of  spirit.  We  come,  not  for 
either  creature  comforts  here,  nor  heavenly 
joys  in  the  hereafter,  but  for  "  healing  of  mind," 
without  which  we  can  neither  see,  nor  enjoy 
God. 

And  if  we  walk  in  the  light  we  shall  enter 
into  spiritual  fellowship,  and  the  Blood  of  the 
Son  of  God  shall  cleanse  us  from  all  sin.  This 
is  just  the  word  of  all  others  which  defines  the 
work  of  the  Spirit — '  Cleanse.'  The  Blood  of 
Jesus  will  cleanse  us  from  all  sin  ! 

"  Just  as  I  am,  Thou  wilt  receive, 
Wilt  welcome^  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve, 
Because  Thy  promise  I  believe. 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 

It  is  sin  which  spoils  this  world,  and  robs  the 
fair  earth  of  its  glory.  It  is  sin  that  causes 
wounds  of  shame,  and  blights  a  life  of  promise  : 


WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER.  319 


Sin  which  strips  the  garments  of  praise  from 
our  limbs,  and  hangs  upon  our  shoulders  the 
sackcloth  and  rags  of  sadness  and  remorse. 
How  true  the  story  of  Eden  is  in  all  our  own 
experience.  Joy,  peace,  mutual  trust,  growth, 
work,  dominion,  security,  until  the  forbidden 
fruit  is  eaten  ;  and  then  comes  shame,  doubt, 
fear,  flight,  exclusion  and  exile,  labour,  sorrow, 
murder,  blasphemy,  darkness,  despair!  Now 
Christ  in  our  spirits  will  cleanse  us  from  all  sin. 
Not  wash  out  only  the  stain  of  former  guilt,  but 
take  away  from  us  the  desire  for  those  pleasures 
in  which  once  we  took  such  delight.  By  the 
cleansing  of  our  nature  He  makes  man  anew. 
The  carnal  gives  place  to  the  spiritual,  and  the 
desire  of  man  to  the  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
And  this  salvation  of  our  nature  is  possible 
through  faith.  Works  never  come  without 
faith,  and  we  cannot  be  saved  without  we  trust 
in  the  wisdom  and  power  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  schoolboy,  by  faith  in  his  teacher, 
attacks  the  problems  placed  before  him,  and 
the  little  child,  by  faith  in  his  mother,  learns  to 


320  WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER. 

pronounce,  and  to  walk,  and  to  take  his  part  in 
all  that  is  going  on.  The  business  man,  by 
faith  in  certain  principles  and  observation  of 
certain  phenomena,  guards  himself  from  loss, 
and  lays  the  foundation  of  success.  Nothing  is 
done  without  faith.  Without  faith  in  the  true, 
we  cannot  disabuse  our  minds  of  the  false ;  and 
without  a  confidence  in  the  future,  we  are 
incapable  of  a  concentration  of  mind  upon  the 
solution  of  the  difficult  problem  of  the  present. 
Many  speak  as  if  the  demand  of  Christ  were 
an  appeal  to  credulity,  a  new  confidence  wanted 
in  order  to  subjugate  man.  This,  you  re- 
member, is  just  what  the  Tempter  said  to  Eve 
in  Paradise.  In  reality  it  is  not  new  at  all,  in 
that  God  asks  that  men  shall  just  do  in  the 
religious  world  what  they  have  always  done  in 
the  secular  affairs  of  life,  viz.,  live  as  they 
believe,  and  believe  that  they  may  live. 

Do  you  believe  the  promise  .'^  Do  you  come 
to  live  in  the  light  of  that  promise  ?  If  so,  my 
brother,  you  need  not  fear  any  opposition,  any 
adverse    condition,    any    combination    of    evil 


WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER.  321 

influences,  for  God  will  assuredly  cleanse  you 
and  make  you  whole. 

Do  you  want  to  be  made  whole  ?  Remember, 
ability  brings  increased  responsibility ;  and  a 
strict  account  will  be  required  of  your  steward- 
ship. Some  may  feel  that  God  has  work  for 
them  in  the  slum,  He  may  call  you  to  work  in 
the  Zenana,  or  in  distant  China  ?  or  in  the 
home  of  squalor  ?  or  the  den  of  vice  ?  Perhaps 
any  of  these  ;  but  certainly  you  will  have  to  be 
true  to  Him  in  your  home,  among  those  with 
whom  you  have  sinned  and  who  can  watch 
your  every  feeling  or  thought  from  the  moment 
of  inception  to  its  translation  into  action.  Are 
you  ready?     He  will  give  us — 

"  Sight,  riches,  healing  of  the  mind." 

He  will— 

"  Welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve." 

He    will    freely    give    you    all    things    ^'with 

persecutions."       Are     you    prepared    for     the 

travail  ? 

And   yet   no   half  service   will   satisfy    Him. 

21 


322  WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER. 

We  must  be  wholly  His.  ''  No  man  having 
put  his  hand  to  the  plough,  and  looking  back,  is 
fit  for  the  Kingdom  of  God."  Have  you  joys 
you  are  unwilling  to  give  up  for  Him?  Do 
your  hearts  turn  back  to  the  fieshpots  of  the 
house  of  bondage  ?  Do  you  come  to  the  church 
of  Christ  on  the  understanding  that  for  your 
sake  its  gates  shall  be  ever  open  for  you  to 
leave  and  come  back,  whenever  you  desire  to 
rest,  skulking  in  the  haunts  of  shame  ?  If  this 
is  so,  you  cannot  be  His  disciples,  He  will  not 
call  you  apostles,  nor  trust  you  as  members  of 
His  church.  But,  O  my  brethren,  look  away 
from  the  cross  you  refuse  to  bear,  to  the  "  green 
hill  far  away."  Watch  His  agony — the  just 
dying  for  the  unjust,  the  righteous  for  sinners. 
It  is  said  that  in  the  *' travail  of  His  soul,  He 
was  satisfied."  Are  you  of  the  seed  in  whom 
**  He  shall  prolong  His  days,"  and  in  whom 
**  the  pleasure  of  your  Lord  shall  prosper.^  "  If 
not,  what  is  your  brighter  hope  ? 

Some  look  for  the  freedom  of  the  adult,  and 
as  adults  for  the  maturity  of  complete  manhood 


WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER.  323 

in  its  prime,  and  then  for  the  competency  of 
age  and  honour;  and  after  this,  even  if  attainable 
— what  ?  what  ?  What  is  your  ambition  ? — if  not 
to  follow  Christ  and  help  to  lift  up  fallen 
humanity,  and  soothe  pain,  and  illumine 
shadowland,  and  glorify  your  Creator- Re- 
deemer. If  you  neglect  so  great  salvation,  how 
can  ye  escape  ? 

What  higher  ambition  can  appeal  to  youth,  or 
maturity,  or  age,  than  the  service  of  the  church 
of  Christ,  in  business,  in  our  healing  moral 
agencies,  in  our  missions  to  the  poor  and 
wretched,  in  alleviating  pain,  and  lightening 
grief  .-^  Can  there  be  anything  under  heaven  so 
glorious  and  sweet  and  blissful  as  this,  ''to  be 
Christ's." 

"Just  as  I  am,  Thy  love  unknown, 
Hath  broken  every  barrier  down, 
Now  to  be  Thine,  yea  Thine  alone, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 

Yes,  Christ's  alone  in  joy,  and  rest,  and  hope, 
and    ambition,    Christ's    in    nature,    clean    and 


324  WHOLE-HEARTED  SURRENDER. 

seemly  in  all  our  deeds,   Christ's  now  and  for 
evermore. 

"Just  as  I  am,  of  that  free  love, 

The  breadth,  length,  depth,  and  height  to  prove,     , 
Here  for  a  season,  then  above, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 


SERMON  XXXI. 


ITbe  Ifountatn  of  Ibcaltb. 


Psalm   LI.,  7. 

"  Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be  clean  :  wash 
me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow." 

DAVID  was  very  conscious  of  his  sin  and 
shame,  and  of  the  natural  taint  which 
now  and  again  had  shewn  itself  in  the  moments 
of  his  leisure  or  anger.  Although  a  man  after 
God's  own  heart,  and  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel, 
there  were  flaws  and  faults  which  he  could  not 
always  leave  out  of  account,  and  which  often 
led  him  from  excess  to  sin. 

But,  notwithstanding  his  frequent  falls,  his 
repentance  was  real  and  converting  to  the  soul. 
His  sense  of  justice,  and  confidence  in  the 
wisdom  of  the  All-Father,  ever  brought  him 
back  when  he  wandered  off  the  highway  of  life 
and  safety. 


326  THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH. 

On  this  occasion  he  had  been  inexpressibly- 
mean  and  hateful  in  his  own  sight ;  he  had  not 
only  wronged  two  faithful  subjects,  but  had 
degraded  and  humbled  himself  before  God  and 
his  own  judgment.  All  his  confidence  in  his 
own  honour,  his  pride  of  royal  rank,  his  enthusi- 
astic devotion  for  the  glory  of  God  at  any  price, 
were  proved  unable  to  keep  him  from  falling ; 
and,  conscious  that  his  many  sins  were  traceable 
to  the  same  moral  weakness,  he  cried  out  for 
the  pity  of  God.  He  had  wronged  Uriah 
deeply  ;  but  rightly  he  acknowledges  th'at  he  had 
even  more  dishonoured  God.  Trusted  with  the 
power  of  manhood,  educated  in  minstrelsy  and 
in  the  art  of  leadership,  specially  preserved  from 
evil  which  would  ensnare  his  steps,  and  chosen 
as  a  king  and  a  religious  leader  to  set  an 
example  to  his  subjects,  he  fell  and  shewed  his 
unworthiness,  and  brought  discredit  upon  the 
God  he  served.  Said  he,  "  Against  Thee, 
Thee  only,  have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in 
Thy  sight."  Alas!  how  many  are,  like  David, 
bound  to  confess  that  in  a  variety  of  ways  we 


THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH.  327 

have  done  evil  which  shall  put  the  Redeemer 
to  an  open  shame.  We  may  not  yield  as  the 
great  King  of  Israel  did,  but  we  know  that  all 
have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God.  St.  John  says,  **  If  we  say  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not 
in  us,"  and  a  truer  word  was  never  spoken. 
When  we  offer  our  humble  confession  to 
Almighty  God  every  Sabbath  or  week-day 
service,  this  comes  home  to  us, — that  we  have 
not  only  committed  sin,  but  have  omitted 
righteous  deed  and  word  so  frequently,  that,  like 
the  King  of  Israel,  we  humble  ourselves  before 
God  and  pray  for  His  deliverance.  *'  Wash  me 
thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity,  and  cleanse  me 
from  my  sin."  ''Create  in  me  a  clean  heart, 
O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me." 

And  generations  after  generations  of  men 
who  come  to  God  in  this  spirit,  have  learned  in 
their  abasement  that 

"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Emmanuel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 


328  THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH. 

All  ranks,  from  the  proud  patrician  who 
prepared  for  baptism  in  the  Catacomb  Church, 
to  the  humble  fisherman  of  Galilee  who  cried, 
^*  Depart  from  me,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  O 
Lord,"  and  the  publican  who  smote  upon  his 
breast,  saying,  **  Lord  be  merciful  to  me,  a 
sinner,"  all  who  turn  toward  the  Almighty- 
Goodness  are  humiliated  by  their  sin  ;  and  all 
cry  out  for  the  healing  fountain. 

"  The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day  ; 
And  there  may  I,  as  vile  as  he,     * 
Wash  all  my  sins  away." 

And  so  long  as  there  are  sins  to  wash  away, 
and  iniquity  to  purge  from  our  nature,  so  long 
the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  cleanse 
us  from  all  unrighteousness. 

"  Dear  dying  Lamb,  Thy  precious  blood 
Shall  never  lose  its  power, 
Till  the  whole  ransomed  Church  of  God 
Be  saved  to  sin  no  more." 

Have  you  come  to  Christ,  weary,  sin-stricken 
soul?     He  can  give  you  peace,  and  renew  your 


THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH.  329 

youth,  and  breathe  a  new  spirit  into  your  Hfe. 
He  can  save  you  from  your  enemy,  and  deliver 
you  from  your  oppressor.  Have  you  knelt  by 
His  side,  the  pierced  side  He  endured  for  your 
sin?  Have  you  placed  your  hand  in  His,  the 
hands  marked  with  the  print  of  the  nails  ? 
Have  you  beheld  the  crown  of  glory,  a  crown 
of  thorns  upon  His  head  ?  '*  He  could  not  do 
many  mighty  works  in  Capernaum  because  of 
their  unbelief."  Are  you  tying  His  hand  from 
your  salvation  ?  Put  your  trust  in  Christ,  and 
no  moral  degradation,  no  ingrain  of  selfishness, 
no  fear  of  man  nor  of  principality,  nor  of  any 
earthly  domination,  shall  separate  you  from  His 
love.  Come  and  confess,  and  trust  Him  jus^ 
now.  Do  not  wait  to  try  other  means,  come 
now.  He  never  yet  turned  penitent  away; 
never  yet  proved  insufficient  for  salvation  to 
any  who  believed  and  put  their  trust  in  Him. 

And  when  we  have  been  healed,  we  must 
not  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  the  Healer, 
and  to  bring  others  to  His  fountain  of  health. 

And  the  true  Christian  is  not.     We  are  ready 


330  THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH. 

to  thank  God  for  every  imaginable  material 
blessing  vouchsafed,  and  to  recognise,  even 
before  our  friends,  our  indebtedness  for  all  His 
gifts  ;  but  we  seem  to  shrink  from  the  declara- 
tion of  what  Christ  has  done  for  us  in  the 
cleansing  away  of  our  sins.  Why  is  this  ?  Are 
we  ashamed  of  ever  having  needed  God's  help, 
His  forgiveness,  His  sanctification  ?  This 
ought  not  to  be  !  He  was  not  ashamed  to 
wear  the  thorny  diadem,  the  red  robe  of 
mockery,  the  reed  of  sham  royalty!  He  did 
not  shrink  from  the  slave's  death  they  con- 
demned Him  to  die,  and  the  mocking  inscription 
which  insulted  both  Him  and  the  Jewish 
nation.  He  did  not  avoid  the  laying  down  of 
His  life — under  such  inglorious  conditions  that 
even  some  of  His  disciples  trembled  in  their 
faint  hope,  as  they  went  down  to  Emmaus. 

"  Ashamed  of  Jesus  ?     Can  it  be  ? 
A  mortal  man  ashamed  of  Thee  ?  " 

Have  we  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  confessing 
the  mighty  power  of  God  In  Christ  Jesus. 

Shall    we    be    put     to    shame    by    the    poor 


THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH.  331 

demented  man  out  of  whom  Jesus  cast  a  legion 
of  devils,  or  by  the  poor  sinner  who  washed 
the  Saviour's  feet  with  her  tears  and  wiped 
them  dry  with  the  hair  of  her  head  ?  Shall  we, 
in  our  age  be  afraid  to  confess  nobly  and  boldly 
what  Christ  is  in  our  life.  Loud  profession 
may  often  be  a  sham,  but  confession  is  never- 
theless a  duty  which  we  should  be  ashamed  to 
neglect.  Can  we  not  sing  praises  and  glorify 
God  when  a  great  miracle  makes  all  things 
hew  for  us. 

"  E'er  since  by  faith  I  saw  the  stream, 
Thy  flowing  wounds  supply, 
Redeeming  love  has  been  my  theme, 
And  shall  be  till  I  die. 

"  Then  in  a  nobler,  sweeter  song, 
I'll  sing  Thy  power  to  save, 
When  this  poor  lisping,  stammering  tongue, 
Lies  silent  in  the  grave." 

And  heroic  deeds  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  are  the  burden  of  the  song. 

When  the  great  company  of  the  martyrs  and 
apostles  and  teachers  of  the  faith  join  in  the 


332  THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH. 

endless  ^^  Alleluia,"  they  will  use  no  arbitrary 
form,  but  as  they  have  seen  and  felt,  so  they 
shall  declare.  They  shall  not  recapitulate  the 
various  triumphs  of  the  faith,  for  all  that  is  well 
known  of  yonder  ;  but  in  the  flood  of  memories, 
and  in  the  abundant  harvest,  and  in  the  glad 
smile  of  "  Welcome  Home,"  the  ascription  of 
praise  will  become  the  most  natural  utterance 
of  the  lips  and  heart. 

Are  you  doing  anything  to  prepare  for  this 
glad  song?  Are  you  going  into  highways  and 
hedges  compelling  the  troubled  and'poor  and 
sin-sick,  to  come  in  to  the  supper  of  the  Lamb.'* 
Are  you  persuading  men  of  the  love  and  power 
of  God  as  manifest  in  Jesus  the  Lord  ? 

All  our  plans  should  be  laid  with  this  object 
in  view.  Even  the  exultation  of  the  joyous 
anthem  must  be  made  to  produce  the  sob  of  the 
contrite  sinner  returning  from  the  error  of  his 
way,  and  the  system  of  our  business  establish- 
ments must  be  arranged  to  prevent  the  fall  or 
discouragement  of  one  of  God's  little  ones.  We 
have  no  right  to  leave  our  feebler  brother  to 


THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH.  333 

shift  for  himself,  and  we  are,  as  Christians, 
keepers  of  our  brother's  way,  and  shall  have  as 
strict  account  to  crive  of  our  care  for  them  as  of 
our  care  for  our  own  good. 

If  this  were  more  seriously  realised,  there 
were  fewer  friendless  waifs,  less  flotsam  and 
jetsam  driven  to  and  fro,  a  smaller  proportion 
going  under  year  by  year,  of  all  the  toiling 
millions. 

Our  Sunday  classes  would  maintain  their  full 
complement  of  learners,  and  would  send  out  a 
nobler  staff  of  workers  into  the  vineyard. 
Passion  cannot  last  unless  the  fire  be  fed 
perpetually  with  wisdom  and  work.  Froth  is 
not  power,  and  emotionalism  is  not  spiritual  life. 
If  we  would  sing  the  noble  song,  we  must  lead 
the  noble  life  ;  if  we  would  feel  the  sweetness 
of  heaven,  our  lives  must  be  trained  by  the 
music  of  a  heart's  gratitude  for  mercies  vouch- 
safed to  us  and  all  mankind.  Then  and  not  till 
then,  shall  we  know  whiteness — the  whiteness 
of  snow,  the  cleanness  of  the  purity  of  the  Spirit 
of  Christ. 


334  THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  HEALTH. 

Then  with  the  golden  harp — 

"  Strung  and  tuned  for  endless  years, 
And  formed  by  power  divine." 

The  deep  sounding  harmonies  of  the  heavenly 
chorus  shall  wake  our  hearts  to  their  fullest  life, 
their  grandest  effort,  their  most  glorious 
victories  ! 


SERMON  XXXII. 


^^a  IRefreebtng  IReet/' 

Psalm  XXXVIL,  7. 
'*  Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  Him." 

HOW  calmly  little  children  will  wait 
through  tumult,  and  riot,  and  tempest, 
if  only  a  strong  parental  arm  encircles,  and  a 
mighty  hand  fights  for  them  !  The  rumbling 
thunder,  the  flashing  lightning,  the  rushing, 
howling  storm,  the  splash  and  roar  of  the  waves, 
the  darkness  of  death — all  these  are  rendered 
innocuous  if  only  the  father  be  there  and  stand 
unmoved.  It  is  just  this  which  makes  us  stand 
still  and  see  the  salvation  of  our  God.  We, 
however,  have  no  fear,  no  misgiving  as  to  the 
future  prospect  of  the  kingdom,  and  we  know 
that  God  is  the  foundation  of  all  things  eternal. 
And  it  is  well ! 


336  A  REFRESHING  REST. 

There  comes  a  time  when  all  human  theories 
break  down,  when  the  Jordan  overflows  all  its 
banks,  when  the  earth  rampart  is  undermined 
and  carried  away,  when  the  friends  we  trusted 
are  cold,  or  oppose  our  purpose,  when  every 
plan  we  had  made  proves  faulty,  or  to  be  fatally 
imperfect.  We  need  a  strong  helper,  and  turn 
to  the  Eternal. 

"  Abide  with  me,"  we  say. 

"  Abide  with  me,  fast  falls  the  eventide, 
The  darkness  deepens.  Lord,  with  me  abide ; 
When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  fke, 
Help  of  the  helpless,  O,  abide  with  me." 

Here  we  find  our  peace,  our  best,  eternal  hope  ; 
the  Helper  that  cannot  fail ;  the  Comfort  that 
shall  never  depart  from  us. 

"  Swift  to  its  close  ebbs  out  life's  little  day. 
Earth's  joys  grow  dim,  its  glories  pass  away ; 
Change  and  decay  in  all  around  I  see, 
O  Thou,  who  changest  not,  abide  with  me." 

How  we  rest  in  soul  as  we  think  of  the 
mighty  arms  of  love  beneath  us !  As  little 
children,  wearied  with  the  unsatisfactory  day's 


A  REFRESHING  REST.  337 

play  and  work,  recline  against  their  home 
maker,  and  retreat  from  worry  and  fear  beneath 
the  maternal  wing,  so  we  find  peace  that  passeth 
understanding  in  the  certain  security  of  the  all- 
encircling  guardiance  of  God.  In  the  still 
night  we  look  upon  the  heavenly  bodies,  which 
in  all  the  ages  cease  not  to  pursue  their  wonted 
course,  acting  and  re-acting  upon  each  other  so 
systematically  that  the  solar  systems  of  every 
extent  preserve  their  wished -for  relations 
through  all  the  aeons  of  time.  When  we  think 
that  the  great  and  vast  earth  is  a  tiny  planet 
compared  with  these  dots  and  sparkles  of  light. 
What  an  almighty  force  is  God !  What  a 
condescension  of  person  is  involved  in  His 
attitude  towards,  and  interest  in,  mankind  I 
*'  What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of 
him,  and  the  son  of  man  that  Thou  visitest 
him  ?  ' 

And  yet  in  this  Abiding  Might,  in  this  vast 
Origination  of  Life,  in  this  Majesty  of  Wisdom 
do  we  put  our  trust !     And  when  all  else  fails 

to  satisfy,  to  help,  to  inspire,  to  give  us  strength, 

22 


338  A  REFRESHING  REST. 

we   turn   in   towards    the    Father-Creator,    and 

cry — 

"Abide  with  me,  fast  falls  the  eventide." 
"  Thou  that  changest  not  abide  with  me." 
"  Help  of  the  helpless,  O  abide  with  me." 

In  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  in  mountain 
solitudes  and  moorland  wastes,  and  in  the 
snare  of  the  persecutor,  the  abiding  strength 
and  love  of  God  have  hallowed  pain,  sweetened 
the  waters  of  Marah,  have  raised  up  a  sheltering 
gourd  in  the  burning  sun's  blaze,  robbed  death 
of  its  sting,  and  filled  the  sufferer  with  a  spirit 
of  rest  and  resignation.  To  have  *the  sweet 
consciousness  of  the  supporting  might  of  God 
Almighty,  to  know  that  although  the  mountains 
shake  and  heavens  be  moved,  Zion  is  founded 
upon  the  immoveable  and  impregnable  !  What 
a  sense  of  peace  it  diffuses  through  our  nature ! 

And  we  need  this  confidence,  this  faith  in  the 
*'  Rock  that  Is  higher  than  we  are." 

The  Christian  sings  daily — 

"  I  need  Thy  presence  every  passing  hour, 
What  but  Thy  grace  can  foil  the  tempter's  power  ? 
Who,  like  Thyself,  my  guide  and  stay  can  be." 


A  REFRESHING  REST.  339 

In  the  petty  worries  of  business,  in  the  con- 
sideration of  duties  forced  upon  us,  in  the 
decisions  we  are  called  to  arrive  at  regarding 
wise  and  foolish,  good  and  evil,  godly  and 
ungodly  in  the  affairs  of  our  daily  life,  who,  like 
God,  our  guide  and  stay  can  be  ?  Many  think 
this  an  intrusion  of  the  Divine  into  the  realm  of 
the  secular.  ^' We  ought  not  to  trouble  God  with 
what  we  can  put  right  ourselves."  Is  it  likely 
that  this  should  seem  natural  even  to  earthly 
fathers  and  mothers  ?  A  very  little  bruise,  or 
nettlesting,  or  fright,  will  send  our  little  ones 
rushing  to  our  arms  ;  and  our  arms  are  open  for 
them.  If  earthly  parents  are  so  interested,  can 
we  imagine  our  Heavenly  Father  caring  nothing 
when  men  trust  him  little  in  the  affairs  of  life  ? 
It  is  in  the  small  matters  of  our  concern  that  the 
Spirit's  influence  first  begins  to  tell ;  and  as  the 
life  depends  upon  the  successful  treatment  of  an 
apparently  insignificant  illness  in  the  majority 
of  cases,  so  the  mighty  deed  is  shewn  forth 
from  the  faithfulness  in  that  which  is  least. 
We  cannot  do  without  God  in  the  daily  round 


340  A  REFRESHING  REST. 

of  duties,  however  monotonous  or  mechanical' 

they  may  be  in   nature,  and  however  we  may 

leave   to   automatic   action   our   work   and    our 

word.      No  doubt   Judas    Iscariot   had  pilfered 

long  before  he  was  a  common  thief,  and  was  a 

thief  lonor  before  he  betraved  his   Lord.      It  is 

just  at  the  parting  of  the  ways  that  Christ  can 

help  us  best,  and  in  the  hour  of  germination 

that  His  shelter  is  most  appreciated. 

What  is  conscience  but  the  voice  of  Jesus,. 

which  should  be  our  guide  and  stay  ;    and  how 

soon   a   dulled   conscience   produces  its  cursed 

brood  of  vacillation,   weakness  and,   ultimately^ 

sin ! 

"  Who,  like  Thyself,  my  guide  and  stay  can  be  ? 
Through  cloud  and  sunshine,  O  abide  with  me." 

And  how  the  presence  of  Christ  transforms 
our  life  and  experience!  What  a  faith  is  ours 
when  our  Captain  of  Salvation  is  by  us  ! 

"  I  fear  no  foe  with  Thee  at  hand  to  bless, 
Ills  have  no  weight,  and  tears  no  bitterness."' 

Companionship    on    earth    will    soften,    to    an 
untold  extent,  the  asperities  of  our  lot.     Where 


A  REFRESHING  REST.  341 

alone,  and  with  no  help  of  sympathy,  we  face 
the  enemy's  array,  we  have  all  the  brunt  to 
bear  of  the  shock,  and,  additional  to  this,  the 
anxiety  of  fear  and  doubt  as  to  the  way  we 
shall  take.  But  even  with  a  companion  as 
inexperienced  as  ourselves,  the  way  seems 
•clearer,  and  misfortune  scarcely  looks  the  same 
for  the  peaceful  voice  of  encouraging  trust. 
And  when  the  companion  is  One  tried  in  all 
points  like  ourselves,  who  has  trodden  every 
foot  of  the  path,  and  suffered  every  pain  of 
travail,  and  every  trial  of  faith,  our  religion  is  a 
sure  thing,  pregnant  alike  with  hope  and  joy  to 
all  who  may  be  on  pilgrimage.  The  darkest 
life  is  lit  up  by  the  beauty  of  His  countenance, 
and  the  land  of  shadows  is  full  of  the  glints  of 
^lory,  which  are  cast  down  from  the  mountain 
of  vision. 

"  Where  is  Death's  sting  ?  where  grave  thy  victory  ? 

Sin  is  the  sting  of  death,  and  the  victory  of 

the  grave.      But  with  the  abiding  Christ  there 

is,  can  be,  no  sin.     Where,  then,  is  the  sting  of 

death  ?     Death  is  always  hard  enough  to  bear 


342  A  REFRESHING  REST. 

without  it  being  poisoned  by  any  of  the  progeny 
of  sin.  However  bright  the  home  of  the  saints, 
however  peaceful  the  Hereafter,  however  we 
long  for  rest,  there  are  longings  nearly  equally 
forceful.  The  wrench  of  kindred  hearts,  the 
interrupted  work,  the  broken  engagements,  the 
conscious  shortcoming  of  our  own  life  and 
spiritual  attainment.  All  these  make  the  last 
act  in  mortal  life  full  of  unrest  and  pain.  To 
see  the  bud  and  not  pluck  the  blossom,  to  train 
and  bind  up  the  fruit  and  not  eat  thereof,  to 
build  up  a  house  for  habitation  and  not  dwell  in 
it,  to  knit  closely,  stronger  and  stronger  bonds 
of  love  and  interest,  and  see  them  all  severed 
by  inexorable  death  !  It  is  hard,  even  for  many 
a  worn,  weary,  and  wasted  one,  to  die.  How 
much  harder  is  it  to  surrender  all  the  possibility 
of  youth,  strength,  and  capacity  ! 

But  we  can  bear  it  if  there  be  no  remorse 
gnawing  at  our  vitals,  no  injustice  uncorrected, 
no  hatred  burning  out  of  our  heart,  all  desire  for 
the  rest  that  remaineth. 

With  Christ  in  our  heart, 


A  REFRESHING  REST.  343 

"  Where  is  Death's  sting?  where  grave  thy  victory  ? 
I  triumph  still,  if  Thou  abide  with  me." 

Here  is  our  strength,  the  virtue  of  the  Holy 
Cross. 

The  dark  valley  is  no  longer  even  gloomy  if 
He  be  there  ;  and  though  the  heavens  refuse  to 
shine  on  Calvary,  the  Cross  beams  forth  the 
Love  of  the  Father  and  the  Light  of  the  World. 

"  Hold  Thou  Thy  Cross  before  my  closing  eyes." 
Here  is  our  only  hope.  If  Christ  be  not  risen 
then  we  are  dead,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins. 
But  Christ  is  risen,  through  the  Cross  triumph- 
ant ;  and  now  the  Cross,  upon  which  Jesus 
made  the  great  sacrifice,  is  our  comfort  in 
sadness,  and  our  salvation  in  death's  agonies. 
As  our  thoughts  pass  from  transitory  things, 
and  our  eyes  are  closed  from  the  forms  we 
loved  so  well,  we  want  to  look  off  to  Jesus,  to 
the  Cross  so  strangely  dear  to  the  Church. 
Let  this  be  the  last  thought,  this  the  representa- 
tion, the  summing-up  of  all  our  struggles. 
"  Hold  Thou  Thy  Cross  before  our  closing  eyes." 

And    as    the    frail    bark    is    loosed    from    its 


jsm:  m 


-n  :tit 


^--—    ri  izzE.  tITit  ne  tm's^.s-  v^ics. 


A  REFRESHING  REST.  345 

support.     To   live    or   to    die    is   unsafe   apart 
from  God. 

"  Abide  with  me  from  morn  till  eve, 
For  without  Thee  I  cannot  live. 
Abide  with  me  when  night  is  nigh, 
For  without  Thee  I  dare  not  die." 

"  In  life,  in  death,  O  Lord,  abide  with  me." 


SERMON   XXXIII. 


*' 3mmanuel ! '' 

Joshua  I.,  17. 

"  According  as  we  hearkened  unto  Moses  in  all 
things,  so  will  w^e  hearken  unto  thee :  only  the 
Lord  thy  God  be  with  thee,  as  He  was  with  Moses." 

AROUND  Joshua  stood  the  elders  of 
Israel  ;  the  men  who  had  .led  their 
families  to  war  with  the  Amalekites,  and  had 
helped  Moses  to  judge  in  the  lesser  cases  of 
dispute  which  arose  among  the  men  of  that 
mighty  host  of  God's  people. 

These  were  not  the  heads  who  came  out  of 
Egypt,  who  were  in  fear  as  the  chariot  wheels 
of  Pharaoh  orround  the  earth  with  a  harsh  roar 
and  deep  rumble,  who  murmured  at  Meribah, 
who  turned  faint  as  the  spies  reported  the  sons 
of  Anak,  and  the  strong  cities  of  Canaan,  of 
Heth,  and  of  the   Hivites.     These  had  known 


IMMANUEL !  347 


bondage,  some  of  them,  but  only  as  child's 
memories  out  of  the  distant  past  did  they  see 
the  gods  of  Egypt,  the  heavy  pageant  of  her 
worships,  and  the  brute  strength  of  her  empire. 
The  harsh  and  restrictive  policy,  adopted 
against  Israel,  was  before  their  time  in  inception, 
and  they  only  remembered  the  lash  of  the  task- 
masters, the  burden  they  used  to  faint  under, 
the  ceaseless  labour  which  was  their  lot. 
Nearer  were  the  plaguing  of  the  Egyptians, 
the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  destruction  of 
Pharaoh's  host,  and  the  many  events  which 
proved  the  Real  Presence,  of  which  the  pillar  of 
fire  and  cloud  was  the  emblem  ever  before 
their  eyes. 

And  in  their  time  they  had  seen  human 
instruments  discarded,  man-made  gods  cast 
down,  a  law  given  by  the  disposition  of  angels, 
a  heavenly  food  spread  by  Divine  hands  upon 
the  earth,  the  mighty  cities  beyond  Jordan 
subjected  to  the  ill-armed  pilgrims,  and  the 
whole  of  the  unsubjected  kingdoms  in  deadly 
fear  of  their  own  destruction.      We  read  in  the 


348  IMMANUEL! 


Word  that  the  people  served  God  so  long  as 
Joshua,  and  the  elders  who  outlived  Joshua, 
survived  to  tell  them  of  God's  ways  in  Israel ; 
and  the  reason  was  just  that  these  elders  had 
found  that  God  was  able  to  be  all  things  in  the 
campaign,  even  though  the  best  generals  were 
slain,  the  wisest  guides  discredited  in  their 
calling,  and  Moses  left  in  the  hills  beyond 
Jordan. 

A  God-forsaken  nation  might  be  desperate  in 
her  struggle  for  existence  ;  victory  was  not  to 
the  mighty  and  the  great,  but  belonged  to  the 
people  who  could  truly  say,  "  Immanuel,"  "  God 
with  us." 

Joshua  had  already  shewn  great  ability,  had 
displayed  great  aptitude  for  the  office  of  leader. 
Moses  had  indicated,  in  many  ways,  the  advis- 
ability of  electing  the  son  of  Nun  as  his 
successor  in  the  leadership.  He  had  evidently 
had  opportunities  of  learning  the  wisdom  of  the 
age,  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  very  few.  He  was 
in  himself  a  true  man,  not  afraid  to  find  himself 
in  a  minority  so  long  as  the  minority  was  in  the 


IMMANUEL!  349 


right.  He  and  Caleb  alone  were  found 
courageous  among  the  spies  whom  Moses  sent 
out.  Everything  seemed  to  point  out  Joshua 
as  the  Governor-General  of  Israel.  But  the 
elders  imposed  a  condition,  without  which  even 
he  must  not  be  elected.  God  must  be  with 
him  ! 

They  were  prepared  to  shew  him  the  respect 
they  had  rendered  Moses,  they  would  obey  him 
blindly  as  they  had  obeyed  the  deceased  leader, 
they  would  live  with  him,  die  with  him,  do 
anything  for  him,  only  "  God  were  with  him." 

And  splendidly  did  the  Lord  of  Sabbaoth 
honour  ihe  position  taken  up  by  these  excellent 
men !  Although  the  greatest  of  the  conferacy 
age  united  against  the  victorious  army,  the 
retreating  kings  strewed  the  plains  with  heaps 
of  their  dead,  and  the  Jordan  ran  red  with  their 
blood.  They  who  had  come  out  to  punish  the 
invading  tribes  of  slaves,  with  loud  boasts,  and 
in  splendid  condition,  hurried  into  the  back 
gates  of  the  fenced  cities  by  twos  and  threes  ; 
and  S')on  all  the  open  country  was  in  the  hands 


350  IMMANUEL! 


of  the  people  of  God,  of  the  nation  who  could 
truly  say,  "  Immanuel."  God  led  them.  He 
told  them  when  to  go  up  to  battle,  and  when  to 
stand  still  ;  and  the  result  of  it  was  courage, 
and  patriotism,  and  discipline,  and  the  maximum 
of  force  brought  to  bear  against  the  foe. 

One  product  of  this  discipline  was  a  particular 
reliance  on  God's  judgment.  We  often  believe 
that,  in  the  main,  God  knows  best,  but  that  in 
particular  details  we  can  amend  His  rule! 
Israel  learned  to  trust  Him  with  everything  I 
Have  we  reached  this  ?  When  you  have 
bought  shares  in  a  particular  company,  whose 
work  you  know  of  with  all  the  results  likely  to 
accrue  from  its  operations,  can  you  cry,  ''  Im- 
manuel?" When  you  have  finished  the  day's 
business,  and  remember  your  treatment  of  each 
man  or  woman  with  whom  you  have  had 
transactions,  the  extent  to  which  the  golden 
rule  has  been  your  standard,  can  you  always 
feel  a  joy  come  over  your  soul,  as  you  hear  the 
cry,  ''Immanuel.'^"  Are  you  always  satisfied 
that    God   has   helped    you    in    your    bargains, 


IMMANUEL!  351 


and  that  you  have  been  partners  with  Him  in 
all  your  affairs  ?  Perhaps  you  dare  to  transgress 
as  Achan  trespassed,  and  modify  the  law  of 
obedience  to  suit  your  proclivities.  Can  you 
then  come  to  the  congregation  of  Israel  and 
shout,  ''  Immanuel?"  Has  God  led  you  in  all 
your  various  electoral  campaigns,  municipal, 
parliamentary,  and  other  ?  Have  you  first 
asked  Him  what  is  right,  and  lifted  His  banner, 
or  have  you  asked  what  would  pay,  and 
followed  the  banner  of  avarice  ? 

God  does  not  care  for  abject  servility,  even 
in  His  service ;  but  He  does  want  us  to  be 
waiting  upon  Him  for  every  sign  of  His  will, 
and  desires  a  cheerful  surrender  of  our  will,  as 
of  the  unreliable  and  often  foolish,  to  a  Will  that 
is  always  the  outcome  of  love  and  judgment. 

The  elders  were  on  the  eve  of  a  o^reat 
struggle,  where  the  slightest  slip  might,  as  it 
often  did,  cause  bitter  wailing  in  the  homes  of 
the  ingloriously  dead.  They  needed  one  whom 
they  could  trust,  even  when  they  could  not 
follow  the  lead  of   His  mind.      This  was  not 


352  IMMANUEL 


Joshua — only  the  Ancient  of  Days  can  inspire 
such  implicit  trust  as  this,  and  they  were 
determined  that  they  would  follow  none  other. 
We  are  in  the  midst  of  foes,  we  are  in  danger 
of  our  life,  we  must  have  a  guide  we  can  place 
entire  confidence  in,  under  every  circumstance. 
Only  Christ,  our  Holy  Immanuel,  can  supply 
our  need. 

"  Lead  kindly  light,  amid  the  encircling  gloom, 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 
The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from  home, 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 
Keep  Thou  my  feet,  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene,  one  step  enough  for  me." 

What  a  good  thing  it  is  for  us  when  we  can 
leave  the  future  so  in  the  hands  of  God !  It  is 
a  merciful  provision  of  God  that  our  eyes  are 
so  darkened,  so  shaded  that  we  cannot  see  the 
future  of  our  own  present  act.  Man  so  limits 
results  by  his  inclination.  Man  would  have  no 
darkness,  no  winter,  no  storm  and  tempest- 
tossed  sea,  no  cold,  and  hail,  and  snow,  and 
biting  frost.  We  hate  the  gloomy  and  cloudy 
dispensations,  and  would  never  have  an  hour  of 


IMMANUEL!  353 


rest  when  enjoying,  nor  an  hour  of  labour  when 

in  pain. 

God    acts    not    so    unwisely,    nor    does    He 

permit  us  to  do  so  where  He  can  turn  us  in  the 

right  way.     Could  we  see  all  the  pain  of  the 

Christian  Endeavour,  we  should  shrink  from  it, 

or  temporize.     God  hides  it  from  us  because 

He  longs  that  we  may  undertake  that  labour, 

the  very  trials  of  which  shall  develope  in  our 

manhood  the  seeds  of  a  bright  future.       Hence, 

"  the  way  is  dark,"  and  the  sense  of  forlornness 

drives  us  to  our  Guide,  and  the  uneven  way, 

and  the  uncertain  land  ahead,  make  us  pray, 

"  Keep  Thou  my  feet,  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene,  one  step  enough  for  me." 

And  we   cannot   but  compare  the  policy  of 

confidence  with  that  of  distrust.     The  Children 

of  Israel   cried  for  meat,  and  God  gave  them 

quails,   and    terrible    disorders    and    pestilence. 

They  asked  Aaron  to  make  them  Elohim  to  go 

before  them,  and  he  acceded  to  their   request 

with   awful    consequences    upon    their    unfaith. 

Israel's    self-confidence    involved    the    national 

23 


354  IMMANUEL! 


disaster,  and  the  national  shame,  just  as  surely 
as  bad  government  now,  and  unjust  laws  now, 
and  godless  legislation  now,  produce  a  crop  of 
evils,  enough  to  destroy  any  people  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  And  this  is  equally  true  of 
individuals.  We  remember  what  follies  we 
were  guilty  of,  what  pains  we  produced  by  our 
neglect  of  the  Divine  law  and  will ! 

"  I  was  not  ever  thus,  nor  prayed  that  Thou 

Should'st  lead  me  on  ; 
I  loved  to  choose,  and  see  my  path,  but  now 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 
I  loved  the  garish  day,  and  spite  of  feafs, 
Pride  ruled  my  will ;  remember  not  past  years." 

Here  and  there  we  are  struck  with  the  note 
of  regret  in  the  Pauline  Epistles,  and  we  meet 
with  it  in  every  true  Christian's  heart.  The 
wasted  energy  of  the  hopeless  past,  the  wounds 
caused  which  we  now  can  never  heal,  the  loss 
sustained  no  riches  now  make  up  for,  the  sin 
indulged,  which,  did  the  blood  of  Christ  make 
it  white  as  wool,  is  still  a  scar  in  our  soul.  Alas, 
for  the  past  years  of  weakness,  of  pride,  of 
intrigue,  of  guilt,  of  darkness !     Our  pride  lay 


IMMANUEL !  355 


at  the  root  of  all  our  misfortunes,  our  conceit 

was    the    bane    of    our    life,    our    headstrong 

insistence  against  the  rule  of  the  Gentle  Spirit 

called  forth  a  Nemesis,  whom  we  dread  even 

now. 

*'  Remember  not  past  years." 

And  yet  God  will  disentangle  our  life  for  us, 
and  will  strengthen  the  eternal  parts  that  still 
remain.  The  past  strength  will  be  rejoined  to 
the  chain  of  our  happiness,  though  the  evil  be 
burned  out  of  our  nature.  And  these  pasts 
will  be  joined  to  us  by  our  going  forward. 

As  the  elders  obeyed  Joshua  when  the 
^'Immanuel"  banner  floated  upon  the  breeze, 
so  we  shall  obey  our  Leader,  and  the  freedom 
enjoyed  by  us  shall  return  and  bring  peace  to 
our  souls,  just  as  the  wars  of  Canaan  restored 
to  a  progressive  people  the  Princeship  which 
their  fathers,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  had 
enjoyed.  And  the  broken  links  of  past  and 
present  He  shall  weld  with  His  love,  and  the 
joys  we  thought  could  ne'er  return  shall  be  ours 
once  more  ;    for  the  past  good  is  stored  in  His 


356  IMMANUEL! 


keeping,  and  will  be  available  when  He  draws 
back  the  veil,  and  ushers  us  into  the  Land  of 
our  Home  for  ever  and  ever. 

"  So  long  Thy  power  hath  blest  me,  sure  it  still 

Will  lead  me  on, 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone  ; 
And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile. 
Which  I  have  loved  long  since  and  lost  awhile." 


SERMON  XXXIV. 


''Zbc  fIDarcb  of  the  Saints." 

Phil.  III.,   lo. 

"  That  I  may  know  Him,  and  the  power  of  His 

resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of  His  sufferings, 
being  made  conformable  unto  His  death." 

ST.  PAUL  does  not  generally  make  any 
complaint  as  to  the  cost  of  his  adhesion 
to  Christ  and  His  cross  ;  and  yet,  probably, 
few  gave  more  up  when  the  Holy  Ghost 
required  open  confession.  Saul  of  Tarsus 
evidently  was  not  only  of  good  family,  but  of 
one  influential  and  well-to-do  at  the  least. 
When  he  reached  Jerusalem,  he  came  to 
Gamaliel  to  complete  his  studies,  and  here 
he  seems  to  have  come  well  to  the  front ;  for 
he  it  was  who  held  authority  at  the  stoning 
of  St.  Stephen.  After  the  futile  attempt  to 
put   out   the  light   at   Damascus,   he   went   for 


358  THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

study  and  preparation  into  Arabian  desolation, 
and  even  on  his  return  from  thence  was  suffici- 
ently known  to  be  dreaded  by  the  more 
timorous  of  the  Christians.  It  was  natural 
that  the  change  would  affect  Saul's  position 
terribly.  Excommunicated,  without  doubt,  he 
would  be  from  the  family  circle,  even  if  the 
synagogue  did  not  cast  him  out ;  and  when  he 
passed  through  the  city  and  state  in  which  he 
had  distinguished  himself  and  his  family  by  his 
fierce  advocacy  of  the  claims  of  the  Jewish 
religion,  we  can  easily  understand  that  no  gentle 
hospitality,  no  sweet  encouragement,  no  help  of 
any  kind  would  be  rendered  up  to  the  altar  of 
human  love.  An  outcast  at  home,  a  poor  man, 
who  yet  was  an  heir  to  considerable  property  ; 
a  heretic,  who  yet  was  almost  ready  himself  to 
be  accursed  that  his  Israelitish  brethren  might 
be  saved,  Paul  had  reason  for  claiming  some 
special  consideration  at  the  hands  of  his  God. 
And  yet  he  would  not  glory,  save  in  the  Cross  ; 
he  would  not  boast,  save  of  the  great  love  of 
his  God. 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS.  359 

"Yea,  doubtless,"  says  he,  "and  I  count  all 
things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord  ;  for  whom  I 
have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do 
count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ, 
and  be  found  in  Him." 

"  O  happy  band  of  pilgrims, 
If  onward  ye  will  tread, 
With  Jesus  as  your  fellow, 
To  Jesus  as  your  Head. 

O  happy  if  ye  labour. 
As  Jesus  did  for  men  ; 
O  happy  if  ye  hunger, 
As  Jesus  hungered  then." 

St.  Paul  had  then  three  desires,  and  these 
are  the  stages  of  the  Christian's  journeys. 

I.  He  sought  to  be  found  in  Christ.  What- 
ever trouble  or  opportunity  should  come,  he 
wanted  to  be  ready  for  the  emergency.  He 
longed  to  "prepare  to  meet  his  God,"  that 
when  God  called  him  he  might  make  answer  at 
once. 

What  is  it  to  be  found  in  Christ  ?  The  Jews 
had  a  sad,  yet  beautiful,  custom  in  the  sending 


36o  THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

out  of  the  scape-goat.  After  the  sins  of  the 
people  were  imputatively  transferred  to  him,  he 
was  made  to  wander  into  the  wilderness, 
carrying  with  him  the  reproach  and  the  degra- 
dation of  Israel.  As  he  gradually  receded  from 
the  congregation,  and  became  a  mere  speck  on 
the  mountains  of  the  far  distance,  and  then 
disappeared,  a  relief  was  felt,  and  the  people 
were  safe  in  heart  ;  they  were  found  in  the 
odour  of  sanctity,  in  the  pureness  of  sacrifice, 
and  felt  secure  from  all  penalty  which  sin  might 
produce.  So  the  convert,  plunging,  into  the 
ever-open  fountain  of  God's  forgiving  love,  feels 
that  he  is  safe  from  the  law,  and  a  debtor  to  the 
grace  of  God.  He  is  right  in  the  sight  of 
God.  He  has  observed  all  rites  and  ceremonies, 
has  used  all  ablutions  and  means  of  grace,  and 
is  clean  in  the  eyes  of  God,  found  in  Christ. 
St.  Paul  yearned  to  be  in  this  sense  wholly 
found  in  Christ,  ready  for  all  His  perfect  will, 
fit  for  the  service  of  the  King. 

2.      He  also  wished  to  know  the    power  of 
God's  resurrection,  the  power  of  the  Almighty 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS.  361 

Spirit  making  alive  the  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  stirring  up  the  defaulting  and  indolent, 
restoring  the  penitent,  raising  the  impotent, 
opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  shaking  from 
their  lethargy  the  sluggard  and  the  careless. 
These  forces  of  His  Spirit  it  was  which  made 
man  victor  over  his  mortality,  and  gave  the 
Sweet  and  chaste  reward  of  immortality. 

This  surely  is  a  worthy  wish,  which  we  all 
should  know.  We  have  no  right  to  be  satisfied 
if  we  can  just  squeeze  into  safety  ;  we  ought  to 
enter  openly  and  with  hosannahs  to  Christ. 

"  The  cross  that  Jesus  carried, 
He  carried  as  your  due  ; 
The  crown  that  Jesus  weareth, 
He  weareth  it  for  you." 

It  is  degrading  this  slavish  indolence  which 
makes  so  many  lose  their  crowns,  which  unfits 
so  many  more  for  ever  bearing  the  cross  they 
are  called  to  carry. 

You  would  not  like  your  children,  whom  you 
have  educated  and  clothed  at  the  cost  of  many 
arduous  toils  and  much  and  riorid  self-denial,  to 


362  THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS. 


be  satisfied  with  a  workhouse  maintenance,  or 
bread  begged  from  door  to  door. 

Neither  does  our  Heavenly  Father  care  to 
see  us  with  no  ambition  to  excel  in  gifts,  to 
serve  our  fellows,  to  o^row  in  orrace,  to  know 
even  as  we  are  known. 

3.  And  lastly,  St.  Paul  wished  to  know  the 
fellowship  of  His  sufferings.  We  sometimes 
feel  exultantly  the  consciousness  of  our  national 
supremacy  in  the  counsels  of  the  earth.  Far 
greater  the  glory  of  those  patient,  trusting, 
determined  men,  who  laid,  humanly  -speaking, 
the  foundations  of  our  might — St.  Hilda.  Bede, 
Wilfred,  Aidan  ;  their's  was  a  glorious  experi- 
ence. What  was  passing  through  Bede's  mind 
when  he  translated  those  last  few  verses  upon 
his  death-bed,  and  rested  his  soul  with  a  pious 
'Nunc  dimittis?"  They  were  wise  master- 
builders,  but  they  saw  ahead  the  graceful 
pinnacles  and  stately  towers  which  should  arise 
from  their  labours,  and  they  had  their  reward 
in  knowing  the  fellowship  of  the  sufferings  of 
Jesus. 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS.  363 

Why  was  the  Apostle  so  anxious  ?  Was  it  not 
because  he  sought  the  precious  pearl,  the  pearl 
of  great  price?     "The  Cross,  the  Crown." 

"  The  faiih  by  which  ye  see  him, 

The  hope  in  which  ye  yearn, 
The  love  that  through  all  troubles 

To  Him  alone  will  turn. 
The  troubles  that  beset  you, 

The  sorrows  ye  endure. 
The  manifold  temptations 

That  death  alone  can  cure." 

"  What  are  they  but  His  jewels, 
Of  right  celestial  worth." 

These  are  the  bright  ornaments  of  mankind, 
the  stars  which  surround  the  throne,  the  golden 
candle-sticks  of  the  sanctuary  of  man's  inner 
life.  And  the  world  takes  more  notice  of 
ornaments  than  it  does  of  arguments  ever  so 
subtle  and  convincing. 

Payment  here,  even  in  the  credence  of  the 
world,  goes  largely  by  fruits  which  can  be  made 
manifest.  Such  object-lessons  as  the  prosperity 
of  a  Christian  nation,  the  success  of  a  Christian 
policy,    the    effect    of    Christian    training,    the 


364  THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

hospital,  the  refuge,  the  humanising  of  the 
law,  the  enfranchisement  of  the  serf,  the  freeing 
of  slave  labour  at  a  people's  cost  ;  these  are 
what  people  take  notice  of.  You  may,  with 
mathematical  precision,  demonstrate  that  right- 
eousness exalts  a  nation  ;  none  will  believe  it 
very  much  until  they  see  the  nation  exalted  by 
righteousness.  We  must  then  not  forget  to  let 
our  light  shine.  If  there  be  light  in  us,  we  shall 
glow  before  the  world,  and  convince  them  of  the 
claims  of  Christ.  Men  delioht  in  concrete 
quantities  ;  they  are  easier  to  grasp  t-han  mere 
abstractions.  When  Jesus  put  out  His  hand  to 
the  leper,  and  said,  "  I  will,  be  thou  clean,"  it 
meant  more  than  all  the  lectures  of  the  Rabbis 
regarding  the  origin,  purpose,  and  development 
of  the  dreadful  disease. 

Alas  !  That  men  should  so  little  understand 
this ;  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  is  sadly 
impeded  by  our  persistent  disregard  of  the  most 
simple  of  all  natural  laws.  And  they  are  more 
than  jewels.  They  are  the  means  of  our 
salvation. 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS.  365 

"  What  are  they  but  the  ladder 

Set  up  to  heaven  on  earth. 
O  happy  band  of  pilgrims, 

Look  upward  to  the  skies, 
Where  such  a  Hght  affliction 

Shall  win  so  great  a  prize." 

Trouble  overcome,  temptation  resisted,  war 
brought  to  a  successful  termination,  faith  which 
brings  forth  works  of  love  and  help,  hope  that 
maketh  not  ashamed,  and  is  not  shamed  at  any 
time,  love  which  melts  the  hard  heart  of  the 
transgressor,  power  which  casts  out  devils,  and 
fills  the  world  with  hope  again  for  many  who 
were  lately  in  darkest  despair. 

These  are  the  graded  road  up  which  we 
climb  from  post  to  post,  and  strength  to  strength, 
until  we  prevail  to  overcome  that  last  dread 
enemy  of  mortal  man.  If  any  have  ridden 
upon  a  rack  and  pinion  railway,  they  would  see 
there  a  o-ood  illustration  of  the  pradual  ascent 
of  Christian  manhood.  Sometimes  there  is  no 
progress  apparent,  and  it  seems  impossible  that 
we  shall  ever  reach  the  snow-patched  rocks 
above.       Then,  again,  we  rise   more  rapidly  as 


366  THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

the  gradient  offers  less  danger,  then  we  stop 
altogether,  and  before  another  tooth  of  the  cogs 
can  force  us  ahead,  the  inertia  of  the  carriage 
must  be  overcome.  But  at  last  the  black 
valley  lies  below  in  the  shadow,  and  the  snowy 
peaks  surround  us,  and  the  sun  kisses  the 
mountain  tops  and  lights  them  with  glistening 
glory,  and  for  many  miles  we  see  nothing  but 
green  lakes,  and  browny  slopes,  and  snow  and 
cloud,  just  as  God  arranged  them. 

In  our  climb  we  reach  ever  nearer  Him,  and 
taste  more  of  the  sweet  teaching  of  -the  Guide 
and  Guardian  of  our  souls  ;  but  there  we  never 
see  any  after-glow,  for  our  Sun  never  sets. 
There  is  no  night  in  heaven,  and  ever  brighter 
becomes  the  light  as  the  earth-dimness  passes 
from  our  eyes. 

"  Glories  upon  glories 

Hath  our  God  prepared, 
By  the  souls  that  love  Him 

One  day  to  be  shared ; 
Eye  hath  not  beheld  them, 

Ear  hath  never  heard, 
Nor  of  these  hath  uttered 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  SAINTS.  367 

Thought,  or  speech,  or  word. 
Forward,  marching  Eastward, 

Where  the  Heaven  is  bright, 
Till  the  veil  be  lifted. 

Till  our  faith  be  sight." 


SERMON  XXXV. 


*'Zbc  Secret  of  IDictor^ 


St.  Luke  XVII.,  5. 

"  And  the  Apostles  said  unto  Him,  Lord,  increase 
our  faith." 

THE  prayer  was  a  very  natural  one  coming 
from  the  Disciples.  Christ  'had  asked 
a  hard  thing  of  them  ;  they  did  not  see  how, 
with  the  light  then  within  them,  the  way  could 
ever  be  clear  enough.  Two  strange  things  had 
Christ  said.  He  had  given  them  to  understand 
that  the  little  ones  were  of  the  first  importance, 
and  that  goodness  would  overcome  all  obstacles 
and  drive  out  evil.  To  make  the  little  ones 
stumble  was  such  a  crime,  that  it  were  better 
that  the  would-be  criminal  were  hanged  to  a 
millstone  and  cast  into  the  sea. 

The  Disciples  were  told  to  forgive,  not  seven 


THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY.  369 

times,  but  seventy  times  seven,  in  short,  were 
to  be  as  ready  to  forgive  a  wrong  as  a  wrong 
was  inflicted  often. 

These  were  hard  sayings  for  them.  To  the 
monarchist  how  could  the  weak  be  of  more 
account  than  the  mighty  and  warHke  '^  And  to 
the  Jew,  who  claimed  the  right  to  hate  with  a 
bitterness  unknown  among  Western  nations, 
the  perpetual  *  I  forgive '  was  simply  prepos- 
terous. 

What  wonder  then  that  the  followers  of 
Jesus  shrank  from  simple  obedience,  and  sought 
to  be  prepared  for  the  ordeal  of  a  life  they 
could  not  live  at  present !  And  to  us,  more 
anomalies  than  these,  and  less  easy  of  explana- 
tion, are  constantly  presented.  How  strange, 
for  instance,  that  One  who  could  summon 
legions  of  angels  to  glorify  His  mission,  chose 
rather  to  humble  Himself  to  the  death  of  the 
Cross,  that  He,  who  was  equal  with  the  Father 
and  one  with  the  Father,  should  take  upon  Him 
the    form    of    poor,    helpless    babyhood,    and 

wrestle  with  each  difficulty,  and  overcome  each 

24 


370  THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY. 

obstacle,  when  He,  who  called  a  world  from 
naught,  could  have  spoken  a  word,  and  changed 
all  things  in  a  moment  of  time ! 

How  mysterious  are  the  ministry  of  pain, 
the  record  of  loss  and  weakness,  the  witness  of 
Divine  purity  in  earthern  vessels !  We  often 
read  in  the  papers  of  the  millions  possessed  by 
this  or  that  man,  who  often  either  wastes  it  on 
expensive  tastes,  or  controls,  by  subtle  influ- 
ences, the  government  of  a  nation  ;  and  at  the 
same  moment  the  work-people  of  his  city  are 
herded  under  unnatural  and  unharllowed  con- 
ditions, and  subjected  to  the  most  deadly 
temptations  that  poverty  and  despair  can  present 
to  man.  It  is  hard  to  believe  sometimes  in  the 
possibility  of  a  spiritual  religion  which  allows  an 
omnipotence  to  its  Deity,  which  yet  can  tolerate 
an  iniquity  of  this  kind. 

This,  in  sum,  was  the  chief  ground  upon 
which  the  tempter  attacked  too  consistently  the 
faithful  witness  of  Jesus  in  the  wilderness.  We 
cannot,  somehow,  distinguish  in  our  judgment 
between  the   Divine  and  the  human  ideals  of 


THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY.  371 

goodness ;  and  we  often  suspect  the  weakness 
(as  we  consider  it)  which  God  yet  uses  as  the 
medium  through  which  He  exerts  His  mightiest 
influences. 

"  O  for  a  faith  that  will  not  shrink, 

Though  pressed  by  many  a  foe ; 
That  will  not  tremble  on  the  brink 

Of  poverty  or  woe  ; 
That  will  not  murmur  nor  complain 

Beneath  the  chastening  rod, 
But  in  the  hour  of  grief  or  pain 

Can  lean  upon  its  God." 

A  faith  independent  of  condition  and  surround- 
ing, equally  clear  in  sickness  and  in  health,  and 
equally  trustful  however  we  are  called  to  endure 
affliction.      Lord  increase  our  faith. 

Now,  how  was  the  Disciples'  faith  increased  .-^ 
Did  Christ  explain  more  the  manners  of  His 
revelation  ?  Did  He  give  more  signs  to  con- 
vince them  of  His  determination  to  keep  His 
promises  made  to  them  ?  I  think  not.  But 
He  did  lead  their  faith  for  its  bases  to  Himself, 
as  distinguished  from  His  sayings.  Hence,  in 
the  trouble  of  the   Crucifixion,    we  find   them 


372  THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY. 

perseveringly  trusting  His  promise,  because  they 
had  learned  that  He  Himself  was  true.  The 
form  of  a  creed  may  be  modified,  or  explained 
in  a  new  sense  of  fulness,  and  our  faith  is 
shaken,  and  becomes  tremulous  in  the  hour  of 
transition  ;  but  Jesus  Christ  remains  ever  the 
same  to  us  ''yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever," 
and  therefore  we  can  endure  change,  and, 
through  our  great  faith  in  Hhii,  even  believe 
that  the  unlikely  which  He  says  is  true.  And 
this  faith  comes  out  more  with  each  test,  and 
radiates  confidence  to  all  we  have  any  relation 
to.      It  is 

"  A  faith  that  shines  more  bright  and  clear, 

When  tempests  rage  without ; 
That  when  in  danger  knows  no  fear, 

In  darkness  feels  no  doubt ; 
A  faith  that  keeps  the  narrow  way. 

Till  Hfe's  last  spark  is  fled  ; 
And  with  a  pure  and  heavenly  ray 

Lights  up  the  dying  bed." 

It  was  this  faith  which  won  the  Great 
Master's  approval  when  the  centurion  said^ 
"  I   am  not  worthv  that   Thou  shouldest  enter 


THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY.  373 

under  my  roof;  but  speak  the  word  only." 
This  was  the  faith,  too,  of  the  poor  Syro- 
Phenician  woman,  who  begged  for  the  crumbs 
which  fell  from  the  Jewish  table,  that  her 
daughter  might  be  delivered  from  her  terrible 
complaint.  And  it  was  this  faith  which  made 
St.  Peter  cry  out,  *'  Lord,  save  me,  or  I  perish." 

Our  only  safety  lies  in  this  faith  in  a  Personal 
Saviour.  Could  we  trust  in  Jesus,  the  Son  of 
God,  all  the  apologies  ever  written  for  the 
Christian  faith  are  for  us  superfluous.  If  we 
believe  in  Him,  we  will  believe  and  do  all  He 
ever  commands.  Have  we  the  risfht  faith  at 
all  ?  Are  we  trusting  in  Him,  or  only  in  some- 
thing He  is  reported  to  have  said  or  done.^^ 
Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  on  Himself, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 

And  how  shall  our  faith  be  increased  ?  By 
knowing  Him  more  and  better!  We  have 
friends  whom  we  remember  knowing  for  many 
years  ;  we  could  not  have  any  full  confidence  in 
them  at  first,  we  might  even  look  suspiciously 
upon  them  ;  but  we  have  seen  them  under  the 


374  THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY. 

fire  of  temptation,  have  passed  with  them 
through  affliction,  have  observed  them  in  stress 
of  tempest,  or  burning  heat  of  day,  and  never 
knew  them  flinch  in  trial  or  shrink  from  duty  of 
any  kind.  By  getting  to  know  them  better  we 
have  learned  to  increase  our  faith  in  them, 
until  we  have  an  almost  perfect  trust  that  what 
is  right  they  will  do. 

Just  in  the  same  way  must  we  increase  our 
faith  in  Christ.  He  kept  His  disciples  beside 
Him  for  some  three  years,  and  shewed  them  the 
inner  divine  nature  which  was  incarnate  in  the 
Man  of  Nazareth,  and  they  learned  to  come  to 
Him  in  all  their  troubles,  and  to  tell  Him  their 
worries,  great  and  small,  until  at  last  they  were 
ready  to  run  to  the  sepulchre  when  the  women 
told  them  of  the  risen  Christ  being  no  longer 
there.  And  one  important  means  for  becoming 
acquainted  with  Christ  is  in  the  study  of  His 
word.  We  know  that  a  large  number  are  quite 
satisfied  that  the  Scriptures  have  been  duly 
honoured  by  the  reading  of  the  appointed 
lessons  for  the  day.     Nothing  of  the  kind  !     We 


THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY.  375 

can  only  get  to  understand  the  Saviour  while 
we  "read,  mark,  learn,  and  inwardly  digest" 
the  truth  contained  in  His  Holy  Gospels. 
Study  it  devoutly  and  prayerfully,  reverently 
opening  every  light  which  will  illumine  our 
darkness.  All  the  contemporary  events  relating 
to  Palestine,  every  reliable  word  of  the  principal 
men  and  women  of  Judaea,  and  all  the  inform- 
ation we  can  obtain  o(  the  influences  affecting 
the  growth  and  coming  of  His  kingdom  in  any 
wav  should  be  orathered  tog^ether  as  a  back- 
ground,  and  then  the  "  Word  made  flesh  "  will 
stand  out  in  clear  and  distinct  lines  so  plainly 
that  we  shall  feel  able  to  trust  Him  even  in  the 
cloud  of  Calvary. 

Then  we  increase  our  faith  by  working  with 
Him  in  the  salvation  of  the  world.  It  is 
astonishing  how  soon  we  are  able  to  trust  God 
when  we  have  stood  in  Bethesda's  porches 
beside  Christ,  and  helped  some  impotent  man 
down  into  the  water.  Have  you  ever  tried  to 
reclaim  some  wanderer,  along  Gospel  lines, 
going    into    the    wolf-infested    mountains    and 


376  THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY. 

almost  compelling  the  strayed  and  lost  one  to 
return  to  the  home  he  had  left  ?  If  so,  we  can 
imagine,  not  only  the  joy  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
but  also  the  song  of  the  angels  of  God.  And  so 
we  reach  the  heart  and  begin  to  comprehend 
the  love  of  Christ. 

But  after  all  it  is  God  who  will  increase  our 
faith  most  of  all.  Day  by  day  He  opens  out 
new  and  sweet  meanings  for  all  that  He  has 
said.  He  it  is  prepares  our  way  for  the 
experiences  which  bring  us  into  closer  contact 
with  Him,  and  opens  our  eyes  wide  that  we 
may  perceive  the  heavenly  vision. 

And  so  that  He  answers  our  prayer  for  more 
faith,  so  that  He  increases  our  capacity  for  faith 
we  should  not  complain  when  He  uses  bitter 
trials  and  severe  tests,  in  order  to  draw  our 
affections  more  toward  spiritual  verities. 

He  always  has  to  bring  home  to  us  our  own 
ignorance,  our  own  need  of  salvation  ;  and  this 
to  the  self-proud  man  or  woman  is  a  trying 
experience.  As  He  let  S.  Peter  sink  for  a 
moment,  so  far  that  he  thought  he  was  about  to 


THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY.  377 

drown,  so  He  often  seems  to  hide  His  face,  and 
we  are  plunged  in  such  woe  that  we  think  we 
are  God-forsaken,  while  He  is  only  seeking  His 
opportunity  for  deliverance.  So  long  as  a 
sinking  man  is  able  to  struggle  for  Himself,  it 
is  unwise  to  approach  him.  Only  when  hope 
is  lost  and  exhaustion  succeeds,  can  the  deliverer 
safely  come  alongside  and  draw  his  brother  to 
the  land.  So  long  as  men  think  they  can  by 
any  possibility  save  themselves,  Christ  has  no 
power  or  influence  with  them.     Only  when  we 

cry — 

"Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring, 
Simply  to  Thy  cross  I  cling." 

Can  He  find  in  us  the  basis  of  a  trust  in 
Him? 

When  all  else  fails  and  we  are  left  helpless  at 
the  mercy  of  our  foe,  then,  and  not  till  then,  can 
He  shew  us  how  much  we  may  rely  upon 
Him,  how  entirely  trust  His  power  and  will. 

And  as  we  learn  that  Christ  satisfies  all  our 
need,  fulfills  all  our  ideal,  and  inspires  us  with 
life,   and    breath,   and   all   things,"   we    become 


378  THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY. 

capable  of  great  services,  of  simple  belief  in  all 
circumstances,  in  the  all  sufficiency  of  Christ. 

"  Lord,  give  me  such  a  faith  as  this, 
And  then,  whate'er  may  come 
I  taste  e'en  now  the  hallowed  bliss 
Of  an  eternal  home." 


SERMON  XXXVI. 


Melcomc  Ibomc! 


S.  Matt.  XI.,  28. 

"  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

T  T  OW  terribly  the  prophecy  of  Christ  has 
been  fulfilled  in  after  ages.  The  proud 
city  by  the  cool  Sea  of  Galilee  which  was 
exalted  unto  heaven  is  cast  down  to  hell  to  be 
covered  up,  to  be  forgotten,  save  in  its  con- 
nection with  the  work  of  this  Man  of  Nazareth, 
and  with  a  few  of  her  greater  national  sins ! 
Here  and  there  are  found  fragments  of  her 
splendid  temples ;  in  heaps  of  rubbish  one 
discovers  the  broken  vessels  her  slaves  used  to 
bear  for  their  pampered  masters. 

Roman  and  Jew  vied  with  each  other  in  the 
voluptuous   richness   of   their   circumstance  ;'   a 


38o  WELCOME  HOME. 

cold,  cynical  superciliousness  was  the  keynote 
of  the  synagogue  worship,  as  well  as  of  the 
idolatrous  celebrations.  ''In  Capernaum  He 
could  not  do  many  mighty  works,  except  that 
He  laid  His  hands  upon  a  few  sick  folk  and 
healed  them." 

All  this  passed  away  ;  the  greater  the  pride 
and  truculence  of  the  citizens,  the  greater  and 
deeper  and  more  thorough  the  vengeance  of  the 
Roman  over-lord  ;  and  now  the  haughty  city, 
and  Chorazin,  and  Bethsaida  are  niounds  of 
ruins,  littered  with  shattered  memorials  of 
former  magnificence !  So  shall  we  pass  away, 
if  we  have  no  more  certain  tenure  than  that 
supplied  by  worldly  power  and  influence. 

And  when  He  had  shewn  the  vanity  of  all 
temporal  things,  the  transitory  nature  of  mere 
physical  possession  and  power,  He  propounds 
to  them  a  new  way  of  salvation,  wherein  a 
citizenship  in  an  abiding  and  impregnable  city 
is  assured  for  ever.  These  have  put  their 
trust  in  alliances,  in  wealth,  in  political  intrigue, 
and  in   wide-spread  combinations.     Come  unto 


WELCOME  HOME.  381 

Me,  and  I  will  give  you  the  rest  they  know  not, 
the  peace  that  endures  for  ever,  the  life  beyond 
the  tomb ! 

The  more  objects  in  life  a  man  has,  the  more 
scattered  his  energies,  and  the  more  divided 
and  distracted  his  affections.  Christ  would 
bring  men  home  with  one  ideal,  one  hope,  one 
aim.  None  can  serve  two  masters,  he  must 
favour  one  and  disregard  the  other.  Christ — 
God — says,  ''Thou  shalt  have  none  other  gods 
beside  Me;"  and  this  for  our  own  advantage. 
One  object,  one  ideal  we  must  have  if  we  would 
be  successful  in  the  spiritual  life. 

It  must  have  sounded  strange,  this  invitation 
of  Christ.  A  street  in  one  of  the  cities  of 
Galilee,  and  a  crowd  of  all  ranks,  with  a  centre 
in  a  well-known  resident  in  Galilee.  Perhaps 
some  were  there  who  had  got  work  done  at 
Joseph's  shop  in  Nazareth,  and  who  knew  St. 
Mary  well.  Imagine  the  picture — the  banter, 
the  laughter,  the  indignation  of  some  well- 
favoured  man  or  woman  of  the  richer  class,  the 
amused  curiositv  of  the   Italian  soldier  who  has 


382  WELCOME  HOME. 

stopped  on  the  skirts  of  the  crowd.  And  yet, 
even  among  all  these,  there  are  a  few  who  do 
not  make  sport  of  the  supposed  pretensions  of 
this  Nazarene.  Some  have  drunk  deeply  of  the 
pleasure  cup,  and  have  a  burning,  unslaked 
thirst ;  some  think  the  Hebrew  prophets  must 
have  indicated  this  time  of  Israel's  lowest  abase- 
ment, and  have  heralded  such  a  Saviour  ;  some 
are  beginning  to  doubt  the  stability  of  all  human 
greatness.  These  listen  ;  some  follow  ;  others 
turn  away  for  the  present.  To  these  the 
invitation  is  not  absurd  ;  for  their  heart  needs 
home,  and  of  home,  and  rest,  and  peace  Christ 
speaks. 

Ye  that  are  laden,  come  !  Ye  weary,  come  ! 
Ye  sin-sick  and  sorrowful,  come !  Alas,  how 
many  there  were  to  whom  these  words  appealed. 
Many  had  despised  the  God  of  their  Jewish 
fathers,  and  drifted  under  the  influence  of 
strange  customs,  vile  habits,  unnatural  pleasures. 
Christ's  word  reminded  them  of  their  days  at 
home,  and  of  the  songs  of  Israel's  victories,  of 
her  heroes,   and  of  her  faith.      Some  had   dis- 


WELCOME  HOME.  383 

honoured  their  parents  by  vice  and  folly,  and 
were  cast  off  by  the  rigid  law  of  Israel.  These 
sinners  came  to  listen,  and  some,  doubtless, 
found  God  more  merciful  than  even  offended 
and  disgraced  fathers  and  mothers.  Possibly 
the  poor  Magdalen,  who  later  showed  her 
penitence  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour,  was  just 
brought  to  the  home-light  in  this  way.  Even 
in  the  cities  of  wicked  Galilee,  the  voice  from 
home  reached  the  heart  of  the  sick  and  weary 
and  burdened  souls  ;  and  after  all,  these  were 
they  whom  Jesus  came  to  bring  into  the 
household  circle. 

"  Far,  far  away,  like  bells  at  evening  pealing, 
The  voice  of  Jesus  sounds  o'er  land  and  sea ; 
And  laden  souls  by  thousands  meekly  stealing, 
Kind  Shepherd  turn  their  weary  steps  to  Thee." 

And  Christ  was  not  alone.  He  not  only 
testified  Himself,  but  the  works  He  did,  the 
souls  He  saved,  the  hope  He  re-kindled,  the 
love  He  displayed,  were  testimony  to  the  power 
of  His  mission.  These  were  the  angel-voices, 
the  herald's  proclamation,  wherever  He  went. 


384  WELCOME  HOME. 

When  we  see  the  Son  of  Man  exalted  by  the 

miracles    He   is  every  day  working,    we  have 

much  more  courage  to  adopt  His  methods  and 

forms  in  salvation.     These  angels  of  His  that 

do    His  pleasure   are  a  constant    witness   that 

Christ  can  give  strength  to  the  believer,  that 

He  stands  by  His  church  which  He  has  bought 

with  His  own  blood. 

"  Hark,  hark  my  soul,  angelic  songs  are  swelling, 

O'er  earth's  green  fields  and  ocean's  wave-beat  shore, 
How  sweet  the  truth  those  blessed  strains  are  telling 
Of  that  new  life  where  sin  shall  be  no  more." 

And  we  never  get  out  of  hearing  ;  at  night 

and  by  day,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  the  busy 

hum  of  the  town,  and  the  quiet  dell  and  glade 

of  rural  life,  in  the  merry  pursuit  of  recreation, 

and  in  the  sorrowful  contemplation  of  broken 

idols,  and  vain  ideals,  we  hear  them  still.      In 

the   awful    judgment,    and    the    sweet    reward 

bringing,    in   the   building,    and  in   the    pulling 

down,  we  have  the  voice  within  and  the  voices 

on  every  hand  calling  us  home, 

"Angels  of  Jesus,  angels  of  light. 
Singing  to  welcome  the  pilgrims  of  the  night." 


WELCOME  HOME.  385 

And  when  gloomy  shadows  fall  around  us, 
and  the  last  bird  of  hope  has  gone  to 
sleep  upon  the  thick  overhanging  branches, 
and  each  landmark  is  obscured  until  we  can 
only  tell  when  we  are  upon  the  King's  high- 
way by  the  hard  ring  beneath  our  footsteps, 
even  then, 

"  Onward  we  go,  for  still  we  hear  them  singing. 
Come  weary  souls,  for  Jesus  bids  you  come, 
And  through  the  dark,  its  echoes  sweetly  ringing, 
The  music  of  the  Gospel  leads  us  home." 

None  can  ever  say  he  is  forsaken  of  God,  for 
"  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and  night  unto 
night  sheweth  knowledge."  "  There  is  no  place 
where  their  voice  is  not  heard  "  ;  and  the  lesson 
of  the  voice  is  Come  home,  home  to  God,  home 
through  Christ, — the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the 
Life. 

And  apart  from  the  works  of  God  existent 
about  us,  there  is  another  voice,  that  from 
beyond  the  tomb  ! 

There  are  mothers  who  once  were  careless 

about  spiritual  matters.     They  might  use  all  the 

25 


386  WELCOME  HOME. 

sacraments  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  attend 
regularly  at  all  her  services  ;  but  formal,  rather 
than  vital,  v^as  the  rela.tion  of  the  soul  to  the 
Redeemer.  A  voice  spoke  a  beautiful  trust 
from  the  knee,  and  little  fingers  entwined  them 
about  the  heartstrings.  That  mother  knows 
more  of  heaven  and  of  home  now,  for  the  same 
child  voice  of  trust  speaks  from  the  courts  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  same  baby  hand  seems  to 
soothe  the  wearied  and  forlorn  heart.  Earth  is 
not  home  now,  but  heaven,  for  there  is  the 
treasure  laid  up  for  the  day  of  the  Lord. 
And  all  of  us  have  hostages  in  the  Almighty 
hands.  Many  a  sin  have  we  been  preserved 
from  by  the  bright  faces  yonder,  which  we 
see  by  faith.  Our  loved  ones  are  angels  now 
for  us ;  and  we  see  them  beckoning  us 
onward  when  we  have  nearly  given  up 
hope. 

Oh  !  how  weary  we  become  at  times  !  And 
yet  we  are  ashamed  to  lie  down  on  the  way 
home !  How  hard  is  the  struggle  with  tempest 
and  sword  !     But  we  cannot  tolerate  a  barrier 


WELCOME  HOME.  387 

between  us  and  our  loved  ones.  And,  above 
all,  there  is  the  gracious  promise  of  Jesus, 
the  Lord.  He  will  take  us  to  be  with 
Hint!  How  long  It  seems  to  look  forward 
to !  Children  who  lose  their  dearest  mothers 
and  other  earthly  guardians,  what  a  long 
waiting  there  Is  before  they  enter  Into  rest 
and  rejoin  the  lost  ones !  How  long  before 
they  see  the  Redeemer !  And  yet  how  we 
may  use  that  time ! 

If  your  parents  leave  you,  as  Anglo-Indian 
parents  do  leave  their  children  often  for  years, 
do  you  think  they  will  be  pleased  to  find  you  no 
wiser,  no  better,  no  stronger,  no  more  useful 
than  when  they  left  you  1 

Even  so  It  Is  to  nerve  us  to  our  duty,  to  call 
out  the  best  In  us,  to  develope  the  life  now 
latent,  that  God  often  leaves  us  to  fight  our 
battles  alone,  and  yet  not  alone,  for  He  is  with 
us,  and  the  voices  of  the  redeemed  across  the 
river  ever  encourage  us  to  a  grander  life,  and  a 
fit  preparation  for  the  joys  of  reunion  above. 
And— 


388  WELCOME  HOME. 

"  Rest  coiries  at  length,  though  life  be  long  and  dreary. 

The  day  must  dawn,  and  darksome  night  be  past 
•    Faith's  journey  ends  in  welcome  to  the  weary, 

And  heaven,  the  heart's  true  home,  will  come  at  last. 
Angels  sing  on,  your  faithful  watches  keeping, 
Sing  us  sweet  fragments  of  the  songs  above ; 
Till  morning's  joy  shall  end  the  night  of  weeping, 
And  life's  long  shadows  break  in  cloudless  day." 


SERMON  XXXVII. 


**Mbat  shall  it  be  to  be  tbcre!'' 


I  Thess.  IV.,   17,   18. 

"  And  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord.     Wherefore 
comfort  one  another  with  these  words." 

CONCERNING  the  Resurrection,  St.  Paul 
is  beautifully  simple,  and  necessarily 
so,  for,  of  all  things  taught  in  the  Scriptures, 
perhaps  there  is  least  of  certainty  regarding  the 
real  and  full  significance  of  the  great  change  of 
the  rising  again  of  the  saints.  He  clearly 
proves  how  the  Spirit  cannot  die,  and  that  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit  shall  remain  through 
all  the  ruin  of  mortality.  He  demonstrates 
further  the  absurdity  of  the  death  of  the  sancti- 
fied soul  of  the  member  of  Christ,  and  finally 
takes  the  spirit  behind  the  veil  and  foretells  the 
joys  of  the  redeemed.  Here,  the  great 
hindrance  to  our  faith  is  the  veil  of  the  temple 


o 


9c      WHAT  SE. 


V 


We  cannot  see  into  the  future:    we 

:         T  TT         i:    :r.e    Z'ivine    Guide    shall 

.1   -T    r.   :..r  r.ext  hour  of  our  day; 

-    :  annot  read  the  heart  of  our  brother ;    we 

may  not  know  the  nature  of  our  God  ;   nor  can 

:he  proportions  of  His  creation;  nor 

may  f  the  nature  of  His  provision  for 

the  wanis     :    H  i^tures.     ''O  Lord,  make 

i^-t  Tr  rt     r~.    we  cry.  *'*  Make  us  gods  to  go 

It:':  re  -s,  whose  lips  we  watch  moving  as  they 

i  :s."  we  often  pray.     The  veil  of  sense 

r  '  vision,  and  disheartened 

LLLtr  »*•:•:  r  -t-     Now,  it  is  necessary 

for  our  --^-ted,  our  way  to  be 

boundec  '"?      W  hen  we  pass 

into  the        _.-  ?3  the  mande  of 

^.tzz  25  we  cross  tr-  iberty — a  Aofy 

wiD  be  OL  onour,  and  we 

know  more  w.  Jibe  forever 

Him,  and  becmne  for  ever  like  Him. 

**  For  ever  with  the  Lofd ! 
Amen;  solet  it  be; 
life  fitom  the  dead  is  in  that  wad 
lis 


WHAT  SHALL  IT  BE  TO  BE  THERE.      391 

How  much  the  Disciples  must  have  missed 
Jesus  after  the  Ascension !  The  personal 
influence,  the  inspiring  goodness,  the  teaching 
Word,  the  exhorting  love  of  their  Lord  was  so 
constantly  in  request,  that  we  can  easily  under- 
stand them  hidden  in  the  upper  room,  nerveless, 
masterless,  and  at  times  hopeless  in  life.  And 
as  the  Lord,  in  each  great  crisis,  directed  their 
steps,  and  year  by  year  they  endured  as  seeing 
the  Invisible,  what  must  have  been  their 
anticipatory  joy  as  they  thought  of  the  time 
when  the  calumny  and  reproach,  the  suspicion 
and  jealousy,  the  hard,  toilsome  journeys  among 
hostile  forces,  the  perils  by  sea  and  land,  the 
stripes  and  imprisonments  should  have  an  end, 
and  they  should  rejoin  their  Lord,  and  be  with 
Him  for  ever  and  ever  in  the  Land  of  Peace ! 

"  Heme  io  the  body  pent, 

Abseei  ffirom  Him  I  roair. 

Yet  nigbdy  pitch  noiy  moviiag  tent 
A  day's  majrcfe  neaier  bome." 

And  often,  as  Sl  Paul  and  the  other  Apostles 
wrote  letters  to  the  various  churches,  especially 


392      WHAT  SHALL  IT  BE  TO  BE  THERE. 


under  stress  of  bitter  persecution,  and  when  in 
this  Hfe  Christians  were  ''of  all  men  most 
miserable,"  how  the  eye  in  antetaste  would 
feast  upon  the  glories  of  the  crowns  laid  up  for 
them  that  come  out  of  great  tribulation. 

"  My  Father's  house  on  high, 

Home  of  my  soul,  how  near ; 
At  times,  to  faith's  foreseeing  eye, 

Thy  golden  gates  appear  ! 
Ah  !  then  my  spirit  faints 

To  see  the  land  I  love, 
The  bright  inheritance  of  saints, 

Jerusalem  above." 

What  will  it  be  to  be  there  ?  What  is 
heaven  ?  Will  there  really  be  crowns  and  harps 
of  gold,  and  crystal  seas,  and  pearly  gates  ? 
Will  the  sun  be  the  Father  and  the  Lamb  ? 

I  think  there  are  two  principal  certainties 
warranted  to  faith  by  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

1.  Heaven  is  the  ttltimate  of  that  which 
lives. 

2.  Heaven  is  rest  from  that  which  produces 
death. 

Let   us  look  at   the   first   proposition.       Not 


WHAT  SHALL  IT  BE  TO  BE  THERE.      393 

only  the  Old  and  New  Testament  Scriptures, 
but  the  writings  of  the  poets  under  every 
religious  influence,  agree  here.  Those  who  live 
in  Olympus  are  freed  from  the  limitations  of 
human  sense,  and  those  who  are  found  in 
Elysium  enjoyed  a  keener  and  more  spiritual 
life  than  those  who  were  still  upon  earth.  But 
when  we  refer  to  the  Sacred  Word,  there  is  no 
longer  the  slightest  shadow  of  a  doubt  that 
heaven  is  an  elevation  of  earthly  life  to  a  more 
spiritual  level  ;  a  lifting  of  man  from  the  sordid 
and  mortal  to  the  spiritual  and  eternal. 

Heaven  is  therefore  exclusive.  The  good, 
and  the  strong,  and  the  pure  in  man  can  be 
lifted  up  ;  the  evil,  and  selfish,  and  weak,  and 
double  must  be  left  behind.  Admit  the  sinner 
to  heaven,  and  you  destroy  heaven.  Hence 
Lucifer  was  by  his  very  nature  excluded,  though 
ever  so  able  he  might  be. 

Hence,   again,  the  mere  skill  in  serving  the 

Church    is    not    only    no    longer    a    necessary 

quantity   in   the    candidate,   but    many   a   man, 

who  in  Christ's  name  has  done  many  wonderful 

26 


394      WHAT  SHALL  IT  BE  TO  BE  THERE. 

works,  is  yet  rejected.  Heaven  Is  not  the  home 
for  him. 

Goodness,  and  love,  and  life  with  all  its 
branches  and  influences,  culminate  in  heaven  ; 
nothing  else  can  arrive  there.  A  good  tree 
cannot  bear  corrupt  fruit,  neither  can  men 
produce  the  useful  from  destruction,  and  disease, 
and  death.  Only  that  which  is  truly  man  can 
grow  up  to  heaven  ;  all  else  is  rejected,  and 
wisely  so. 

Many  utter  harsh  criticisms  of  the-  Almighty 
God,  because  they  say  He  condemns  men  to 
hell.  This  is  not  just.  It  is  not  God's  will 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  they  should 
repent  and  live  ;  and  He  has  not  spared  His 
only  begotten  Son,  in  man's  service !  But  if 
men  choose  to  be  grovellers,  creepers,  all  their 
lives,  they  cannot  at  the  day  of  judgment  stand 
up  like  the  forest  trees  in  the  free  air  of  heaven. 
Heaven  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  place,  as 
it  is  of  condition  and  nature.  A  vile  person 
could  not  be  happy  there.  Indeed,  the  most 
terrible  hell  a  man  could  know  would  be  for  a 


WHAT  SHALL  IT  BE  TO  BE  THERE.      395 

sinful  nature  to  be  condemned  to  an  eternity  of 
heaven  ;  to  see  the  joys  of  the  pure  he  could 
not  drink  in,  the  gladness  of  the  free  he  could 
not  feel,  to  hear  the  music  which  was  discordant 
to  him,  the  praise  of  a  Being  he  looked  upon  as 
a  tyrant,  and  much  beside.  Heaven  would  be 
hell  to  him  indeed. 

To  the  soul  which  has  lived  here,  heaven 
would  be  what  the  tree  is  to  the  struggling 
shoot  which  has  not  yet  reached  the  surface  of 
the  earth — the  development,  under  happier 
conditions,  of  the  same  life  which  was  lived 
here  below. 

And  heaven,  therefore,  will  be  a  rest  from 
sin.  Not  the  home  of  idleness,  as  some  people 
picture  it,  but  the  home  of  life,  where  happiness 
and  peace  are  not  poisoned  by  the  venom  of 
that  which  offends. 

"  So  when  my  latest  breath 

Shall  rend  the  veil  in  twain, 
By  death  I  shall  escape  from  death, 
And  life  eternal  gain." 

The    nature  of   heaven    must,   of   necessity, 


396      WHAT  SHALL  IT  BE  TO  BE  THERE. 

have  an  important  bearing  upon  our  preparation 

here.      We    must    sow    for   immortality    if  we 

would  reap  heaven  ;    we  must  mature  life  if  our 

aim  be  life  for  evermore !      And,  in  a  sense,  we 

can,  even  here,  be  **  absent  from  the  body,  and 

present  with  the  Lord." 

"  Home  of  my  soul,  how  near 

At  times,  to  faith's  foreseeing  eye, 
Thy  golden  gates  appear." 

"  For  ever  with  the  Lord, 
Father,  if  'tis  Thy  will, 
The  promise  of  that  faithful  word    . 
E'en  here  to  me  fulfil. 

"  Be  Thou  at  my  right  hand. 
Then  can  I  never  fail  ; 
Uphold  Thou  me,  and  I  shall  stand. 
Fight,  and  I  must  prevail." 

Here  we  should  learn  only  what  will  be  of 
use  to  us,  build  only  that  which  will  defend  us, 
attempt  only  the  advancement  of  God's  kingdom 
within  us.  Are  we  doing  this  ?  Are  we 
*  mortifying  the  flesh,  and  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh  ?'  Are  we  leading  captivity  captive,  over- 
coming bad  habits,  and  becoming  robust  and 
helpful  in  the  presence  of  the  Healer? 


WHAT  SHALL  IT  BE  TO  BE  THERE.      397 

We  have  many  opportunities,  surely,  of 
growing  up  into  closer  communion  with  Christ 
which  we,  alas,  neglect  and  ever  undervalue. 
And  yet  every  step  should  make  us  stronger  for 
the  journey,  every  echo  from  the  Celestial 
Choir  should  nerve  us  more  for  the  struggle  for 
the  everlasting  gain  of  salvation,  full  and  free, 
and  eternal. 

Let  us  not  sing  of  what  we  would  have  done 

in    the    days    when    Christ    was    present    upon 

earth.     We  can  be  nearer  to  Him  in  spirit  now 

than   even   the   Disciples   were  until   after  the 

first  Whit-Sunday.      He  is  by  our  beds  of  pain, 

in    our    counting-houses,    walking   over    green 

fields  and  rolling  ocean  billows.      He  points  to 

His  wounds  our  sins  still  keep  open,  and  says  : 

"This  I  did  for  thee, 
What  hast  thou  done  for  Me  ?" 

"  For  ever  with  the  Lord."      We  may  be  for 

ever  with  Him  here  and  hereafter,  until, 

"  Knowing  as  I  am  known, 

How  shall  I  love  the  Word, 
And  oft  repeat  before  the  throne. 
For  ever  with  the  Lord." 


In  Handsome  Cloth  Binding.         Crown  8vo.         Price  js.  6d. 

STEPPING  STONES  TO  LIFE 

•^  §zxuB  0f  §hart  f  kin  §ermanB 


BY    THE 

Rev.   J.    GEORGE   GIBSON 

UNIVERSITY    COLLEGE,     DURHAM, 

Fellozu  of  the  Educational  Institute  of  Scotland.^ 

Vicar  of  Ebchester, 

{Sometime   Curate  of  S.    Mary,  Preston,    Lancashire ;     Roy  ton,    Lancashire  ; 

and  of  East   Rainton-cum-Mooi  sley,  Durham.') 

AUTHOR    OF 

The  Primary  School  Series  of  Arithmetical  Exercises."'    '^'' Plain   Words  to  Men. 
"  The  Lessons  of  Autumn,''  ^'c. 

SECOND  EDITION. 


©pininns  of  i\it  f  hbs 

"  In  regard  both  to  their  quality  and  spirit,  and  their 
compactness  of  form  might  be  studied  with  advantage  by 
those  accustomed  to  preach,  as  well  as  those  accustomed  to  be 
preached  to.     They  are  pithy,  practical,  vivid  and  devotional 

.  .  .  Each  of  them  is  devoted  to  some  living  problem  of 
human  life." — Scotsman. 

"  Good,  and  will  be  read  with  interest  and  profit  .  .  . 
Original  in  the  best  sense ;  they  are  obviously  the  product  of 
Mr.  Gibson's  own  thought  and  experience,  and  they  will  bear 
what  is  a  good  test,  more  than  one  reading." — North  British 
Daily  Mail. 

*'  Subjects  and  texts  remarkably  varied.     The  preacher  seems 

[p.T.o. 


to  place  himself  in  the  very  scenes  which  he  is  describing,  and 
to  enter  into  the  various  considerations  that  have  prompted  the 
utterance  of  the  text.  He  takes  advantage  of  a  turn  of  each 
narrative  to  point  some  useful  lesson.  The  style  is  popular, 
yet  thoughtful,  and  the  writer  is  faithful  and  earnest.  We  have 
seldom  had  occasion  to  look  with  more  favour  upon  a  volume 
of  sermons." — Rock. 

"  Will  repay  the  reader,  and  give  an  impetus  to  thought  of  a 
useful  and  elevating  character.  We  cannot  do  better  than 
introduce  a  quotation  from  the  sermon  upon  '  The  Work  of 
Ages,  the  Harvest  of  ^^ow^— -Hereford  Times. 

"  A  very  characteristic  volume  of  Anglican  sermons.     . 
Wholesome  honest  talk     .     ,     .     The  most  impatient  listener 
has  not  time  to  weary." — Christian  Leader. 

"  Eminently  suitable  for  parish  readings  or  parish   libraries. 

.  .  .  In  themselves  they  aim  at  a  simple  spirituality 
which,  however  much  it  may  be  talked  about,^  is  not  too  much 
practised  among  our  rural  populations,  and,  as  an  advocate  for 
that  by  no  means  fashionable  state,  we  wish  them  the  success 
they  deserve." — Queen. 

"  Will  be  perused  with  genuine  interest  .  .  .  Short 
sermons,  all  of  a  touching  kind,  and  such  as  must  benefit 
largely  all  who  read  them." — Irish  Times. 

"  Earnest  pleadmgs,  calm  and  uncontroversial." — Liverpool 
Mercury. 

"They  contain  much  spiritual  guidance  and  comfort." 
—  Christian  Globe. 

"  Conveniently  arranged,  well  and  ably  put  together  .  .  . 
Tinged  throughout  with  a  devout  and  prayerful  spirit,  and  will 
well  repay  perusal." — La7nily  Churchman. 

"Short,  plain  sermons  ...  on  topics  mostly  of 
common  interest.  The  theology  is  from  the  Church  of 
England  standpoint  of  view,  but  the  practical  matter  is  good 
for  our  whole  race." — Christian  Life. 


The  Church  Treasury  of  History,  Custom, 
Folk- Lore,  etc. 

Edited    by    WILLIAM    ANDREWS. 

Demy  8vo.^  ys.  6d,     Numerous  Illustrations. 

Contents  :— Stave-Kirks  —  Curious  Churches  of  Cornwall  —  Holy 
Wells — Hermits  and  Hermit  Cells — Church  Wakes — Fortified  Church 
Towers — The  Knight  Templars  :  their  Churches  and  their  Privileges — 
English  Mediaeval  Pilgrimages — Pilgrims'  Signs — Human  Skin  on  Church 
Doors — Animals  of  the  Church  in  Wood,  Stone,  and  Bronze — Queries  in 
Stones — Pictures  in  Churches — Flowers  and  the  Rites  of  the  Church — 
Ghost  Layers  and  Ghost  Laying— Church  Walks — Westminster  Wax- 
Works — Index.     Numerous  Illustrations. 

"It  is  a  work  that  will  prove  interesting  to  the  clergy  and  churchmen 
generally,  and  to  all  others  who  have  an  antiquarian  turn  of  mind,  or  like 
to  be  regaled  occasionally  by  reading  old-world  customs  and  anecdotes." — 
Church  Family  Newspaper. 

'*  Mr.  Andrews  has  given  us  some  excellent  volumes  of  Church  lore,  but 
none  quite  so  good  as  this.  The  subjects  are  well  chosen.  They  are 
treated  brightly  and  with  considerable  detail,  and  they  are  well  illustrated. 

Mr.  Andrews  is  himself  responsible  for  some  of  the  most 

interesting  papers,  but  all  his  helpers  have  caught  his  own  spirit,  and  the 
result  is  a  volume  full  of  information  well  and  pleasantly  put." — London 
Quarterly  Review. 

"Those  who  seek  information  regarding  curious  and  quaint  relics  or 
customs  will  find  much  to  interest  them  in  this  book.  The  illustrations 
are  good." — Publishers'  Circular. 

"  An  excellent  and  entertaining  book." — Newcastle  Daily  Leader. 

"The  book  will  be  welcome  to  every  lover  of  archaeological  lore." — 
Liverpool  Daily  Post. 

"  The  volume  is  of  a  most  informing  and  suggestive  character,  abounding 
in  facts  not  easy  of  access  to  the  ordinary  reader,  and  enhanced  with  illus- 
trations of  a  high  order  of  merit,  and  extremely  numerous. " — Birmingham 
Daily  Gazette. 

' '  The  contents  of  the  volume  are  very  good. " — Leeds  Mercury. 

"  The  volume  is  sure  to  meet  with  a  cordial  reception." — Manchester 
Courier. 

"  A  fascinating  book." — Stockport  Advertiser. 

' '  Mr.  Andrews  has  brought  together  much  curious  matter. " — Manchester 
Guardian. 

"  The  book  is  a  very  readable  one,  and  will  receive  a  hearty  welcome." — 
Herts.  Advertiser. 

"  Mr.  William  Andrews  has  been  able  to  give  us  a  very  acceptable  and 
useful  addition  to  the  books  which  deal  with  the  curiosities  of  Church  lore, 
and  for  this  deserves  our  hearty  thanks.  The  manner  in  which  the  book  is 
printed  and  illustrated  also  commands  our  admiration. " — Norfolk  Chronicle. 


Historic  Dress  of  the  Clergy. 

By  the  Rev.  GEO.  S,  TYACK,  b.a., 

Author  of  "The  Cross  in  Ritual,  Architecture,  and  Art." 

CrowTiy  doth  extras  Sa.  6d. 

The  work  contains  thirty-three  illustrations  from  ancient 
monuments,  rare  manuscripts,  and  other  sources. 

**  A  very  painstaking  and  very  valuable  volume  on  a  subject  which  is  just 
now  attracting  much  attention.  Mr.  Tyack  has  collected  a  large  amount 
of  information  from  sources  not  available  to  the  unlearned,  and  has  put 
togtther  his  materials  in  an  attractive  way.  The  book  deserves  and  is  sure 
to  meet  with  a  wide  circulation." — Daily  Chronicle. 

*'  This  book  is  wriiien  with  great  care,  and  with  an  evident  knowledge 
of  history.  It  is  well  worth  rhc  study  of  all  who  wish  to  be  better  informed 
upon  a  subject  which  the  author  states  in  his  preface  gives  evident  signs  of 
a  lively  and  growing  interest." — Manchester  Courier. 

"Those  who  are  interested  in  the  Dress  of  the  Clergy  will  find  full  in- 
formation gathered  together  here,  and  set  forth  in  a  lucid  and  scholarly 
vid^y."— Glasgow  Herald. 

•'  We  nre  glad  to  welcome  yet  another  volume  from  Ihe  author  of  '  The 
Cross  in  Ritual,  Architecture,  and  Art.'  His  subject,  chosen  widely  and 
carried  out  comprehensively,  makes  this  a  valuable  book  of  reference  for 
all  classes.  It  is  only  the  antiquary  and  the  ecclesiologist  who  can  devote 
time  and  talents  to  research  of  this  kind,  and  Mr.  Tyack  has  done  a  real 
and  lasting  service  to  the  Church  of  England  by  collecting  so  much  useful 
*nd  reliable  iniormation  upon  the  dress  of  the  clergy  in  all  ages,  and  offering 
it  to  the  public  in  such  a  popular  form.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  recommend 
this  volume  as  the  most  reliable  and  the  most  comprehensive  illustrated 
guide  to  the  history  and  origin  of  the  canonical  vestments  and  other  dress 
worn  by  the  clergy,  whether  ecclesiastical,  academical,  or  general,  while 
the  excellent  work  in  typography  and  binding  make  it  a  beautiful  gift- 
book."— Cy^wr^A  Bells. 

*•  A  very  lucid  history  of  ecclesiastical  vestments  from  Levitical  times  to 
the  present  day." — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

**The  book  can  be  recomiuended  to  the  undoubtedly  large  class  of 
persons  who  are  seeking  information  on  this  and  kindred  subjects." — 7^he 
Times. 

"The  work  may  be  read  either  as  pastime  or  for  instruction,  and  is 
worthy  of  a  place  in  the  permanent  section  ot  any  library.  The  numerous 
illustration^,  extensive  contents  table  and  index,  and  beautiful  workmanship, 
both  in  typography  and  binding,  are  all  features  of  attraction  and  utiUty." 
—  Dundee  Advertiser. 


u^. 

^v^^ 


Q-^ 


]i^  *•     Ivf