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THE 


METHODIST    PULPIT 


SOUTH. 


COMPILED    BY   WILLIAM   T.    SMITHSON. 


THIRD   EDITION. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
PUBLISHED  BY  WILLIAM  T.  SMITHSOX, 

FOR  THE  BEXEFIT  OF  THE  METIIOniST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  SOUTH, 

IX  THE  CITY  OF  WASIIIXGTOX. 

1859. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Heavenly  Treasures  Contrasted  with  Earthly 9 

J3y  Rev.  W.  M.  Wightman,  D.  D.,  President  of  Wofford  College. 

Labor  and  Rest 21 

By  Rev.  Jos.  Cross,  D.  D.,  South  Carolina  Conference. 

The  Divinity  of  the  Church 39 

By  Rev.  C.  B.  Parsons,  D.  D.,  St.  Louis  Conference. 

Devotedness  to  Christ 57 

By  Rev.  G.  F.  Pierce,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  M.  R  Church  South. 

Angelic  Study , 79 

By  Rev.  John  W.  Hanner,  D.  D.,  Tennessee  Conference. 
I 

God  and  Man  Co-Workers  in  the  Salvation  op  the  Soul  .     93 
By  Rev.  Edward  Wadsworth,  D.  D.,  Alabama  Conference. 

God  in  Christ  Jesus 109 

By  Rev.  A.  Means,  D.  D.,  Georgia  Conference. 

Man  Subjected  to  the  Law  of  Suffering 120 

By  Rev.  WniXEFOORD  Smith,  D.  D.,  South  Carolina  Confexence. 

The  Objects  of  Angelic  Curiosity ^ ,  139 

By  Rev.  Thojias  0.  Summers,  D.  D.,  Alabama  Conference. 

The  Perfect  Law  of  Liberty 155 

By  Joshua  Soule,  D.  D.,  Senior  Bishop  of  the  If.  R  Church,  South. 

Christianity  Reasonable  in  its  Doctrines  and  Demands.  .  175 
By  Rev.  John  C.  Granbery,  A.  M.,  Virginia  Conference. 

Paul's  Commission  to  Preach ^ .  197 

By  Rev.  Lovick  Pierce,  D.  D.,  Georgia  Conference. 


4  contents. 

Salvation  in  its  Individual  Relations 217 

By  Rev.  Thomas  Boswell,  D.  D.,  Memphis  Conference. 

Characteristics  op  Abraham's  Faith 237 

By  Rev,  L.  D.  Huston,  D.  B.,  Kentucky  Conference. 

Resurrection  of  the  Dead 249 

By  Rev.  S.  G.  Starks,  A.  M.,  Pns't  Tennessee  Female  College. 

Sin  and  Punishment  of  Selfish  "Wealth 275 

By  Rev.  Lekoy  M.  Lee,  D.  D.,  Virginia  Conference. 

Religious  Principle 289 

By  Rev.  Josephus  Anderson,  A.  M.,  Florida  Conference. 

All  Things  Work  for  Good 803 

By  Rev.  John  C.  Granbery,  Virginia  Conference. 

Christ  and  Pilate 319 

By  Rev.  D.  S.  Doggett,  D.  D.,  Virginia  Conference. 

Labor  :  The  Law  of  Spiritual  Progress 329 

By  Rev.  John  E.  Edwards,  A.  M.,  Virginia  Conference. 

The  Word  of  God  :  The  Only  Safeguard 3-47 

By  Rev.  E.  E.  Wilev,  D.  D.-,  Ilohton  Conference. 

The  Gospel  :  Its  Character,  Requirements  and  Blessings  357 
By  Rev.  Nelson  Head,  Virginia  Conference. 

State  of  the  Soul  between  Death  and  Resurrection.  . .  373 
By  Rev.  H.  N.  M'Tyeirp:,  D.  D.,  Louisiana  Conference. 

Glorying  in  the  Cross 389 

By  Rev.  N.  F.  Reid,  A.  M.,  Korth  Carolina  Conference. 

Ministerial  Solicitude 399 

By  Rev.  E.  M.  Marvin,  St.  Louis  Conference. 

The  Holy  Scriptures 413 

By  Rev.  H.  0.  Thweatt,  D.  D.,  Louisiana  Conference. 


PREFACE. 


I  cheerfully  comply  with  the  request  of  Mr.  Smithsok,  to  whose  enter- 
prise this  volume  is  due,  that  I  would  introduce  it  to  the  public,  and  solicit 
in  its  favor  a  friendly  criticism  and  a  liberal  patronage.  Though  the  origi- 
nal motive  of  its  publication  was  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  a  particular  society  of 
Methodists,  or  rather  of  Southern  Methodism,  as  her  interests  are  involved 
in  the  Church  which  represents  her  at  the  Federal  Metropolis,  it  has  been 
his  ambition  to  make  it  a  gem  of  art  and  a  treasury  of  sacred  eloquence 
worthy  to  adorn  the  centre-table  of  every  parlor,  to  rank  in  the  library 
with  other  models  of  pulpit  oratory,  and  to  descend  to  succeeding  ages  in 
just  honor  to  the  faithful  ministry  of  our  day.  He  is  free  to  confess  that 
ie  has  not  perfectly  succeeded  in  realizing  the  harmony  and  completeness 
)f  his  design ;  and  he  pleads  as  his  apology  for  any  defect,  the  haste  in 
fphich  it  was  necessarily  got  up,  and  his  inexperience  in  book-making.  He 
had  expected  the  volume  to  be  of  larger  size ;  and  he  greatly  regrets  that 
every  Conference  in  our  connection  has  not  been  represented,  and  that  in 
a  few  instances  he  has  not  secured  engravings  of  the  authors.  But  I  have 
all  confidence  that  there  will  be  no  dissent  among  its  generous  patrons  from 
the  estimate  I  set  upon  it,  in  pronouncing  it  to  be  worth  far  more  than  it 
costs,  and  to  reflect  credit  both  on  him  and  on  the  whole  Church.  The 
number  and  style  of  the  engravings  enliance  greatly  the  expense  of  the  book 
to  him,  and  its  value  (o  the  subscriber.  A  considerable  circulation  will  be 
required  to  cover  that  single  item.  The  sermons,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
whose  special  interest  or  limited  circulation  justified  republication,  have 
never  been  printed  before;  they  constitute  a  valuable  contribution  to  this 
species  of  liteiature,  as  well  as  a  fair  exponent  of  a  pulpit  which  rates  in 
reputation  for  eloquence  and  efficiency  below  none  other  in  our  land.  The 
Methodists  of  the  South  will  not  fail  to  acknowledge  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 


6  PREFACE. 

Mr.  Smitoson  for  reproducing  in  a  permanent  form  the  sermon  of  our  ven- 
erable father,  Bisnop  Socle,  which  had  such  celebrity  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago.  TVe  had  fondly  hoped  to  obtain  from  him,  though  by 
the  pen  of  an  amanuensis,  a  legacy  of  counsel  and  encouragement  to  the 
Church  he  has  so  long  served,  and  from  whom  he  must  soon  separate :  by 
the  infirmities  of  disease,  added  to  those  of  age,  denied  us  the  boon.  It  is 
a  timely  work  to  present  to  the  public  now  an  accurate  engraving  of  that 
majestic  but  benignant  face,  on  which  the  vast  majority  of  us  cannot  here- 
after look,  and  a  discourse,  the  product  of  his  prime  and  the  admiration  ol 
our  fathers,  by  which,  even  when  dead,  he  will  yet  speak.  There  will  also 
be  an  unanimous  approval  of  the  perpetuation  of  the  noble  discourse 
preached  by  Bishop  Pierce  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Capers,  as  a  tribute 
to  one  whose  saintly  spirit,  silvery  eloquence,  and  abundant  labors  will  not 
soon  be  forgotten,  and  as  a  masterpiece  of  a  living  orator  who  deserved  to 
be  his  associate  in  the  high  office  of  the  Episcopacy.  "With  the  exception 
of  the  writer,  who  owes  his  place  among  the  great  men  of  our  Israel  to  the 
accident  of  his  present  pastoral  relation  to  the  Church  for  whose  benefit 
this  work  was  projected,  the  contributors  have  been  chosen  because  of  their 
eminence  in  their  respective  sections,  and  far  beyond.  Their  names  are 
"familiar  as  household  words"  throughout  the  South,  and  guaranty  the 
amplest  success  to  the  volume.  Their  sermons,  aided  by  the  most  correct 
and  elegant  likenesses  which  art  could  produce,  will  bring  before  the  minds 
of  vast  numbers  who  have  listened  with  delight  and  profit  to  their  preach- 
ing, the  living  men  and  the  living  voices.  Those  who  know  them  only  by 
the  fame  of  their  virtues,  their  talents  and  labors,  will  rejoice  to  see  their 
faces  in  these  faithful  engravings,  and  to  read  at  leisure  the  printed  words 
which,  as  they  came  from  the  lips  and  the  warm  heait,  were  clothed  with 
so  much  spiritual  power.  The  next  generation  will  gladly  learn  in  these 
pages  something  more  about  the  men  whose  praise  was  a  favorite  theme 
with  their  fathers. 

The  name  of  William  T.  Smithson  has  been  prominently  before  the 
public  in  connection  with  this  and  other  enterprises  to  establish  in  pros- 
perity and  permanence  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  at  the 
Capital  of  the  Union.  In  former  years,  as  a  member  of  the  flourishing 
Church  in  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  he  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his  duties 
with  a  liberal,  consistent,  and  working  devotion  to  all  her  interests ;  but 


PREFACE.  7 

then  he  was  at  liberty  to  indulge  the  modest,  quiet,  and  retiring  disposition 
so  characteristic  of  him,  without  detriment  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  which 
was  then,  as  it  still  is,  dear  to  his  heart.  Since  his  removal  to  this  city, 
peculiar  circumstances  have  called  forth  more  remarkable  displays  of  whole- 
souled  generosity  and  untiring  energy,  in  behalf  of  the  church  to  which  he 
has  ever  shown  himself  a  true  son.  His  zeal  has  been  no  partizan  heat 
against  any  body  of  Christians,  but  a  pure  affection  for  the  church  with 
which  he  is  identified  by  every  tie  of  birth,  education,  faith,  and  commu- 
nion. Here  had  been  planted,  in  a  soil  and  climate  which  seemed  ungenial, 
a  feeble  society  in  connection  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Souths 
He  and  others  of  like  spirit  have  watched  with  solicitude  and  nursed  with 
care  this  little  slip,  struggling  doubtfully  for  existence.  He  saw  that  if  a 
neat,  commodious,  and  accessible  place  of  worship  could  he  piocured,  it 
would  attract  in  future  the  numerous  Methodists  who  should  move  to  the 
Metropolis  from  all  parts  of  the  South — a  class  who  had  been  heretofore  lost 
to  us,  either  by  joining  the  societies  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Baltimore 
Conference,  or  by  straggling  off  from  their  mother  to  other  denominations, 
or  by  relapsing  into  the  world — a  course  to  which  alas!  strangers  moving 
to  this  city  of  fashion  and  dissipation  are  too  prone.  The  chief  obstacle  to 
the  realization  of  this  bright  vision  has  been  the  smallness  and  poverty  of 
our  membership,  and  the  consequent  lack  of  funds  to  place  themselves  in  a 
cendition  which  would  not  only  keep  them  alive,  but  attract  to  them  the 
attention  of  the  public  interested  in  their  welfare,  during  the  period  neces- 
sary for  the  operation  of  the  causes  already  indicated.  A  debt  has  been 
incurred  in  the  partial  fulfilment  of  this  object;  and  I  am  happy  to  state, 
as  I  can  with  certainty,  that  the  increase  in  members,  congregation,  and 
all  other  elements  of  success  which  had  been  anticipated,  has  already  be- 
gun, and  progressed  to  a  cheering  degree.  I  may  call  the  present  year  one 
of  prosperity  in  numbers,  finances,  and  usefulness.  The  fragile  slip  lives, 
grows,  is  destined  to  flourish  and  be  fruitful.  This  volume  is  one  of  a 
series  of  efforts  to  raise  the  money  which  the  members  really  have  not  the 
ability  to  pay,  though  they  have  the  heart.  Every  purchaser  will  have  the 
satisfaction  to  know  that  he  is  aiding  a  needy  church,  and  is  also  doing  a 
service  of  no  small  value  to  the  whole  extent  of  Southern  Methodism,  by 
arising  her  standard  aloft  at  the  Capital  of  our  country,  and  by  providing 
church  privileges  for  the  sons  of  every  Southern  State  who  shall  flock 


g  PREFACE. 

hither  with  their  families  to  fill  various  offices,  from  clerkships  in  the  dif- 
ferent departments  of  Government,  to  seats  in  the  Cabinet,  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  and  it  may  be  to  the   Chief  Magistracy  of  the 

^°*'^°-  JOHN  C.  GRANBERY. 

WAsniNGTON,  November^  1858. 


^:^[JY.  /f^jC^^i^, 


■'/:2i^^v^t^ 


if;^„  wmIo  wio  wii(ciHnrwi/Mi!Jo  icDdO)., 


SERMONS. 


HEAVENLY  TREASURES  CONTRASTED  WITH  EARTHLY 


-BY  WM.  M.  WIGHTMAN,  D.  D., 

PRESIDENT     OF      WOFFOKD    COLLEGE, 


"  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where  moth  and  rust  doth 
corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break  through  and  steal;  but  lay  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal:  for  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will 
your  heart  be  also." — Matt,  vi,  19-21. 

This  passage  is  taken  from  our  Lord's  sermon  on  the  mount — 
a  sermon  of  important  texts,  as  it  has  been  happily  described — a  ser- 
mon, of  which  the  preacher  is  the  Word  and  Wisdom  of  God ;  every 
sentiment  of  which  is  as  practical  and  adapted  to  daily  life,  as  it  is 
weighty  and  clad  with  the  authority  of  a  teacher  sent  directly  from 
God.  The  subject  which  is  thus  brought  to  our  attention  contains 
the  highest  wisdom,  and  involves  the  duty  and  happiness  of  time,  the 
destiny  of  eternity. 

The  text  presents  a  contrast  between  earthly  treasures  and  heav- 
enly ;  it  presses  an  earnest  warning  against  the  seductions  of  the  one, 
and  an  equally  earnest  direction  to  secure  the  other.  The  spirit  of 
the  passage  is,  that  spiritual  and  heavenly  things  are,  and  ought  to 
be  considered,  the  great  objects  of  pursuit  to  man,  since  they  alone 
are  imperishable,  satisfying,  and  worthy  of  the  ambition  of  an  immor- 
tal mind. 

The  terms  in  which  the  great  lesson  of  the  text  is  delivered,  are 
to  be  interpreted  with  the  scope,  intention,  and  limitations,  furnished 
by  the  whole  revelation  of  Divine  Truth.  Thus,  the  injunction, 
<'  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  on  earth,"  is  not  to  bo  under- 
stood as  a  peremptory  prohibition  against  all  prudent  foresight  for 


10  HEAVENLY  AND  EAKTHLY 

*'uture  wants — against  all  accumulation  of  property,  with  whatever 
intention  ;  but  the  expression  means,  according  to  the  Hebrew  idiom, 
that  we  should  prefer  heavenly  to  earthly  treasures — should  seek 
them  first  and  foremost — as  of  a  value  and  importance  infinitely  higher. 
Thus,  further  on,  the  great  Teacher  bids  us  take  no  thought  for  the 
morrow  ;  evidently,  from  the  whole  scope  of  the  discourse,  meaning 
no  anxious  thought — the  precept  lying  not  against  forethought  alto- 
gether, (one  of  the  noblest  attributes  of  human  intelligence) — but 
against  all  such  carking  care  for  the  morrow  as  a  distrust  of  the  Divine 
Providence  would  beget,  and  which  would  be  fatal  to  settled  peace 
of  mind. 

It  is  undeniable  that  the  present  life  has  its  claims — subordinate, 
certainly,  to  the  higher  claims  of  the  life  to  come,  yet  in  their  meas- 
ure real  and  substantial,  and  demanding  our  serious  regard.  Nay, 
these  subordinate  interests  are  themselves  included  in  the  covenant 
grant  of  the  gospel,  and  made  matters  of  specific  promise  :  "  Seek 
ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  3'ou."  Whilst  therefore  the  injunction  of 
the  test  does  not  oppose  a  proper  attention  to  the  temporary  inter- 
ests of  human  life,  it  may  be  understood  to  lie  against  the  hoarding 
up  of  useless  wealth.  Absurd  as  such  a  procedure  is,  it  often  hap- 
pens that  money  is  accumulated  solely  for  its  own  sake,  and  without 
any  respect  to  its  uses  and  advantages.  The  insane  passion  of  the 
miser  who  starves  in  his  wretched  garret  that  he  may  add  to  his  gains, 
is  only  an  extreme  illustration  of  a  tendency  too  often  witnessed. 
Even  large  wealth  may  be  so  held  as  to  confer  no  benefit  upon  its 
possessor  or  the  world.  Instead  of  being  regarded  as  an  important 
talent  committed  to  us  to  be  wisely  and  generously  used,  it  may  be 
looked  upon  as  absolutely  our  own,  and  hoarded  up  as  though  God 
and  the  world  had  no  right  to  demand  at  our  hands  a  religious  em- 
ployment of  it — no  poor  man  may  be  relieved,  no  benevolent  institu- 
tion fostered,  no  religious  interest  served  by  it.  Eiches  may  become 
not  our  servants,  but  our  masters.  We  may  surrender  ourselves  to 
the  domination  of  the  sordid  lust  of  gain,  sacrifice  conscience  and 
duty  to  God  in  this  wretched  servitude,  and  glory  in  the  gilded  badges 
of  our  slavery.     Obviously,  "  no  man  can  serve  God  and  Mammon." 

Furthermore,  the  spirit  of  the  precept  here  delivered  by  our  Lord 
implies  that  the  acquisition  of  property  is  not  to  be  matter  of  anxiety 
to  us,  so  as  to  prevent  our  contentment  with  the  lot  ia  life  in  which 


TREASURES   CONTRASTED.  11 

Providence  has  placed  us,  or  our  constant  dependence  on  God.  We 
hold  that  it  is  every  man's  privilege  to  endeavor  to  better  his  circum- 
stances. This  may  be  attempted  in  a  spirit  of  discontent,  of  mur- 
muring and  repining  at  our  present  condition  ;  or  it  may  be  done  in 
a  far  different  spirit,  and  in  due  submission  to  the  Divine  will.  While 
the  latter  is  both  lawful  and  commendable,  the  former  course  is  inter- 
dicted, and  carries  its  condemnation  in  its  face. 

We  hardly  need  to  add,  that  the  precept  before  us  prohibits  the 
accumulation  of  property  for  unworthy  and  sinful  ends.  Whenever  it 
is  an  object  of  ardent  desire  and  eager  pursuit,  that  it  may  foster  our 
pride,  pamper  luxurious  tastes,  minister  to  sinful  pleasures,  encour- 
age eflfeminacy,  or  dissolve  our  energies  in  indolent  repose,  then  at 
once  the  motive  desecrates  the  pursuit.  Sought  for  such  ends,  wealth 
becomes  an  unmitigated  curse  to  the  soul. 

The  lesson  taught  us  in  the  text  is  the  vast  superiority  of  heavenly 
treasures  over  earthly  ;  and  the  emphatic  exhortation  given  us  is  to 
lay  up  the  former  rather  than  the  latter.  This  superiority  is  exhib- 
ited in  the  following  particulars  :  1.  Their  incorruptibility  ;  2.  Their 
security  ;  3.  Their  suitableness  to  the  spiritual,  immortal  nature  of 
man.  Then  the  exhortation  is  enforced  by  the  considerations — 1.  Of 
the  susceptibility  of  augmentation  in  the  case  of  heavenly  treasures  ; 
and,  2.  Of  the  invariable  connection  between  our  affections  and  our 
treasures. 

In  general  terms,  treasure  may  be  defined  as  provision  for  the 
future.  What  instinct  supplies  to  the  bee  and  the  ant,  reason  and 
experience  teach  man.  The  fact  that  our  necessities  require  daily 
supplies,  suggests  the  propriety  of  anticipating  to-day  the  wants  of 
to-morrow,  and  providing  to  meet  them  as  they  come.  Even  in  a 
state  of  semi-savageism,  the  Indian  of  the  prairies  learns  that  winter 
will  come,  when  his  supplies  from  the  chase  must  cease,  and  that  corn 
should  be  planted  in  the  spring  to  furnish  him  with  food,  when  other 
resources  fail.  Earthly  treasures,  particularly  among  ancient  Ori- 
ental nations,  consisted  of  stores  of  con,  wine,  and  oil  ;  of  ampla 
wardrobes  of  rich  and  costly  garments  ;  of  numerous  flocks  and  herds  ; 
of  gems  and  precious  stones  ;  of  silver  and  golden  vessels.  In  mod- 
ern times,  earthly  treasures  are  composed  of  landed  estates,  splendid 
mansions,  elegant  furniture,  galleries  of  art,  cellars  stocked  with  wines, 
stables  filled  with  horses,  ample  revenues  from  fixed  capital,  and  the 
like. 


12  nEAVEXLY   AND    EARTHLY 

"  Heavenly  treasures"  is  an  expression  meant  to  mark  and  j-et 
forth  the  resources  and  reversionary  interests  of  an  immortal  spirit, 
brought  into  possession  of  the  favor  of  God,  created  anew  in  the 
Divine  image,  and  made  graciously  an  heir  of  the  promises  of  the 
gospel  in  Christ  Jesus.  These  may  be  summed  up  in  the  rielies  of 
grace  for  the  life  that  now  is,  and  the  riches  of  glory  in  the  life 
which  is  to  come.     They  are,  of  course,  spiritual,  satisfying,  immortal. 

These  two  are  contrasted  in  the  text.  The  superiority  of  heavenly 
treasures  is  seen,  first,  in  their  incorruptibility.  Earthly  treasures, 
in  their  ancient  form,  were  emphatically  corruptible.  The  stores  of 
corn,  wine,  and  oil,  were  perishable.  Their  rich  wardrobes,  their 
costly  fabrics  of  silk  and  wool,  were  proverbially  the  prey  of  the 
moth  and  mildew.  The  corrosions  of  rust  affected  their  precious 
metals.  If  modern  treasures  seem  to  claim  an  exemption  from  the 
rapid  processes  of  natural  decay,  they  nevertheless  are  subject  in 
the  long  run  to  the  same  law  of  decay.  The  towered  castle,  whit-h 
a  few  generations  ago  seemed  to  stand  in  monumental  grandeur,  de- 
fying the  tooth  of  time,  falls  ultimately  into  ruin  ;  the  lichens  and 
ivy  grow  in  the  widening  crevices  of  its  walls ;  the  gradual  inroads 
of  boat  and  moisture,  of  wind  and  rain,  are  all  the  while  corroding 
battlemented  turrets,  iron-ribbed  gates,  granite  foundations.  A  few 
hundred  years  will  suffice  to  lay  low  the  proudest  structures  of  wealth 
and  ambition. 

How  stands  the  case  with  heavenly  treasures?  They  are  intellec- 
tual, consequently  of  the  essence  of  mind  itself;  spiritual,  and  re- 
sist the  law  of  decay  which  attaches  to  material  substances  ;  immortal 
and  eternal  as  the  God  whose  favor,  attributes,  glory,  and  heaven, 
constitute  part  and  parcel  of  them.  War,  famine,  fire,  sword,  revo- 
lution, and  whatever  else  may  be  found  to  alienate  earthl}-  possessions, 
cannot  touch  these  heavenly  treasures.  They  enter  into  the  consti- 
tution of  the  mind  itself,  and  defy  the  point  of  the  sword,  the  engines 
of  torture,  the  inquisitor's  faggot,  the  executioner's  axe,  the  decay 
of  the  body,  the  very  grave  itself.  So  far,  then,  as  corruptibility  is 
concerned,  there  may  be  contrast, — there  can  be  no  comparison. 

Or,  secondly,  if  we  look  at  the  security  of  each,  the  same  conclu- 
sion is  inevitable.  In  addition  to  an  inherent  principle  of  decay, 
earthly  treasures  are  proverbially  insecure.  What  is  spared  by 
gradual  waste,  juay  bo  seized  by  sudden  violence.  The  estate  may 
remain  in  its  loveliness  of  wood  and  water,  of  mansion,  garden,  and 


TREASURES    CONTRASTED.  13 

field  ;  but  some  unlooked-for  civil  commotion  may  pluck  it  from 
our  hands,  and  turn  us  out  of  its  possession.  Lightning  may  rend 
ancestral  halls ;  the  incendiary's  fires  may  leave  the  palace  a  blackened 
ruin.  Or,  if  we  overlook  fortuitous  visitations  of  calamity ;  if  we 
suppose  that  no  commercial  convulsions  shall  shake  the  securities  on 
which  we  lean, — no  popular  tumult  overturn  the  established  founda- 
tions of  property,  and  send  us  adrift  upon  a  sea  covered  with  the 
wrecks  of  fortune ;  yet  at  least,  it  is  the  inevitable  doom  that  we 
must  ourselves,  ere  long,  leave  all  earthly  possessions  behind.  Let 
the  man  of  wealth  multiply  his  precautions.  I  care  not  if  he  be  a 
monarch,  and  can  post  an  army  around  his  palace.  Disease  laughs 
at  the  glittering  array  of  his  guards ;  walks  with  unceremonious  front 
along  his  corridors,  across  his  portals,  into  his  embroidered  chamber, 
indifferent  to  its  robes  of  state,  and  its  Arabian  perfumes.  Death, 
who  cannot  be  bribed  by  the  gold  of  an  empire,  challenges  his  vic- 
tim. Like  the  meanest  serf,  the  throned  king  must  heed,  must  obey 
that  summons.  Every  man  that  lives  and  breathes  must  reckon  on 
such  a  visitation.  Then  where  is  the  rich  man's  wealth  ?  Can  he 
carry  his  millions  into  the  eternal  state  1  Will  his  bonds  and  stocks, 
his  landed  property,  his  merchant-ships  with  Eastern  cargoes — will 
any  of  these  be  available  to  him  in  that  dread  futurity  which  is  his 
eternal  lot  ?  So  far  as  earthly  treasures  are  concerned,  what  is  the 
difi'erence  between  the  soul  of  a  rich  man  and  of  a  beggar,  a  moment 
after  death  ?  Can  you  tell,  as  each  takes  its  flight  to  its  eternal  des- 
tination, which  was  fortune's  favorite,  and  which  has  just  left  its  gar- 
ret and  its  rags  ?  Tell  me  not,  then,  of  treasures  held  by  so  frail  a 
tenure,  and  which,  sooner  or  later,  by  an  inevitable  destiny,  will 
desert  us  I 

Contemplate,  on  the  other  hand,  heavenly  treasures,  especially  in 
connection  with  the  close  of  life.  Down  to  the  meeting-place  between 
eternity  and  time,  the  treasures  of  earth  may  follow  us ;  but  there 
they  fail  us.  A  winding-sheet  and  six  feet  of  earth  is  all  that  re- 
mains of  hoarded  millions.  How  diiferent  is  the  case  in  respect  to 
the  treasures  of  the  soul !  Death  shall  sooner  quench  the  dimless 
ray  of  intellect,  and  dissolve  the  indestructible,  essence  of  mind,  and 
annihilate  the  grave-defying  soul  of  man,  than  toucli  the  inward 
peace,  the  calm  serenity,  the  assured  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  the 
mounting  hope,  the  heaven-kindled  love,  the  far-flying  joy,  in  which 
ure  found  the  true  treasures  of  the  gracious  soul.     Let  the  body  die ' 


14  HEAVENLY  AND  EARTHLY 

Let  the  last  expiring  struggle  give  the  signal  of  sorrow  to  those  who 
have  hung  with  speechless  anxiety  over  the  couch  of  sickness.  Carry 
to  the  grave,  and  to  cold  oblivion,  the  frail  vehicle  in  which  the 
spii'it  has  passed  its  earthly  sojourn.  Death  but  sets  the  spirit  free  ; 
and  with  its  indestructible  treasures  that  spirit  hastens  to  its  endless 
home  in  the  heavenly  country,  in  the  eternal  city  of  God  ! 

Thirdly.  We  may  try  the  case  by  considering  the  relative  suitable- 
ness of  earthly  and  heavenly  treasures  to  the  wants  of  man.  And 
here  it  is  admitted  that  earthly  treasures,  to  some  extent,  do  minister 
to  the  necessities  of  the  present  life.  Man  lives,  in  part  at  least,  by 
bread.  So  long  as  his  daily  labor  suffices  to  procure  what  is  neces- 
sary to  sustain  life  and  give  vigor  to  health,  he  is  to  a  large  extent 
independent  of  wealth.  Nevertheless,  sickness  may  wither  the  mus- 
cular arm  and  bend  the  stout  frame.  It  is  desirable  that  some  pro- 
vision should  be  made  for  age,  infirmity,  the  education  of  children, 
and  general  usefulness  in  the  world.  Be  it  so.  Yet,  after  all,  it 
remains  true  that 

"  Man  wants  but  little  here  below, 
Nor  wants  that  little  long." 

Over  and  beyond  the  amount  of  property  needful  for  this,  and 
leaving  out  of  consideration  a  christian  use  of  riches,  it  is  maintained 
that  wealth  in  itself  has  no  property  to  satisfy  the  inner  cravings  of 
the  soul.  The  rich  man  thinks  he  can  afford  to  keep  a  luxurious 
table.  Be  it  so.  Let  the  ends  of  the  earth  be  put  under  contribu- 
tion to  minister  to  his  palate.  After  all,  he  can  eat  but  three  times 
a  day — at  most,  four ;  and  each  time  only  a  given  quantity  ;  if  he 
goes  beyond  that,  dyspepsia  and  gout  arc  the  penalty.  His  cellar 
may  be  stocked  with  the  wines  of  Italy,  Spain,  and  the  Rhine  :  he 
can  drink  but  his  single  bottle  at  his  dinner.  His  hard-working 
neighbor  goes  to  his  homely  fare  with  an  edge  of  appetite  vastly 
keener,  and  enjoys  his  frugal  meal  with  a  relish  as  exquisite  as  the 
millionaire.  Hunger  is  the  best  sauce,  and  a  good  digestion  obviates 
all  nccessit}'  for  a  French  cook.  The  poor  man  sits  at  his  humble 
board  with  his  little  family  ;  the  rich  gourmand  invites  company — in 
most  cases,  a  set  of  mere  parasites.  His  saloons  arc  opened  to  a  gay 
crowd  of  triflcrs,  and  music  and  dancing,  silly  flirtation  or  ill-dissem- 
bled licentiousness,  while  away  the  tedious  hours.  Allow  that  all 
this  did  actually  satisfy  the  soul,  why,  the  tranquil  pleasures  of  a 
quiet  family  fireside  do  the  same.     The  rich  man  pays  his  thousand 


TREASURES   CONTRASTED.  15 

dollars  for  his  night's  dissipation,  and  tells  you  he  has  enjoyed  him- 
self; the  other  pays  nothing,  and  enjoys  himself  fully  as  much,  with- 
out the  fuming  and  flurry  of  spirits  beforehand,  and  perchance  the 
vexation,  headache,  and  touches  of  remorse,  afterwards.  How  is  the 
one  any  better  off,  so  far  as  satisfaction  is  concerned,  than  the  other  ? 

The  case  would  be  different,  we  admit,  if  wealth  could  buy  peace 
of  mind,  genius,  beauty,  learning,  wit,  or  even  love.  But  none  of 
these  are  marketable  qualities ;  they  are  not  to  be  commanded  by 
money.  No,  nor  even  exemption  from  sickness,  much  less  the  ap- 
proach of  death.  The  man  of  wealth  may  change  his  locality  at  will. 
He  may  cross  seas,  scale  mountains,  visit  watering-places ;  but  he 
cannot  get  away  from  himself ;  he  cannot  escape  the  tedium  of  a 
listless  mind,  the  weariness  of  a  sated  palate,  and  a  heart  ill  at  ease. 
And  for  the  rest,  he  breathes  nothing  better  than  the  common  air 
which  expands  the  lungs  of  the  meanest  slave  ;  he  cannot  appropriate 
to  himself  heaven's  sunshine — free  to  all ;  the  very  same  sky  expands 
over  the  poor  ;  its  "  majestical  canopy  fretted  with  golden  fire,"  its 
sunset  draperies,  its  gorgeous  cloud-pictures,  are  spread  out  to  the 
eye  of  the  poor  and  the  rich  alike. 

But  behold,  how  deep,  how  vast,  are  the  real  wants  of  a  soul  im- 
material. That  man  was  emphatically  a  fool,  who  said  to  his  soul — 
"  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years  ;  take  thine 
ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry!"  Can  any  of  the  combinations  of 
material,  gross,  outward  things  satisfy  the  pinings  of  a  spirit  made  in 
the  image  of  Grod,  and  fill  the  abysmal  depths  of  its  capacities  ?  It 
must  occasionally  speculate  upon  its  origin  and  destiny.  It  must 
ever  and  anon  revolve  the  awful  problems  of  life  and  death,  of  time 
and  eternity,  moral  probation  and  endless  retribution.  In  quest  of 
an  adequate  and  self-satisfying  enjoyment,  it  must  often  ask  the  ques- 
tion, "  Who  will  show  us  any  good  ?"  Conscious  of  guilt,  it  must  in- 
quire, "  How  can  a  man  be  just  with  God  ?"  What  the  soul  wants  is 
knowledge — truth,  especially  of  a  moral  and  spiritual  kind.  Its 
vigor  comes  from  an  enlightened,  well-working  conscience.  Its 
wealth  is  not  that  vulgar  thing  which  is  reckoned  in  pounds  sterling. 
Its  property  is  cultivated  moral  sentiment,  purified  affections,  high 
and  holy  communion  with  God  and  goodness.  To  make  it  rich,  you 
must  make  it  partaker  of  the  provisions  of  mercy  and  grace  in  the 
gospel.  It  must  find  an  interest  in  the  favor  of  God  through  faith 
in  the  sacrifice  of  the  redeeming  Son.     It  must  have  a  well-grounded 


16  HEAVENLY  AND  EARTHLY 

and  clearly  ascertained  consciousness  of  this  favor.  Then  it  possesses 
the  peace  which  passeth  understanding.  Its  satisfactions  are  all 
from  within,  and  therefore  independent  of  outward  circumstances. 
Its  joy  is  the  exultant  glow  of  a  spirit  in  vital  communion  with  the 
Supreme  goodness,  truth,  and  holiness ;  and  it  moves  on  in  a  path  of 
brightening  improvement — of  jubilant  progress — towards  an  endless 
home  in  Heaven,  the  glorious  goal  of  its  aspirations  and  efforts. 
These  are  the  treasures  which  the  gracious  soul  finds  in  the  gospel, 
and  finding  is  satisfied,  and  rejoices  and  is  glad  all  the  days  of  its 
earthly  pilgrimage. 

But,  besides  :  the  soul  is  immortal.  Its  conscious  existence  out- 
runs the  brief  limits  of  its  probationary  term  on  earth  ;  survives  the 
stroke  of  death  which  dissolves  the  body  ;  and  sweeps  onward  around 
the  orbit  of  a  measureless  eternity. 

'« The  spirit  shall  return  to  Him 
Who  gave  the  heavenly  spark  ; 
Yet  think  not,  Sun,  it  shall  be  dim, 
When  thou  thyself  art  dark." 

Long  after  the  transitory  things  of  earth  are  passed  away  and 
forgotten,  it  shall  remain  young,  fresh,  hale,  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
its  immortal  career.  Nothing  deserves  the  name  of  treasure — pro- 
vision for  the  future — which  does  not  embrace  immortality,  and  take 
in,  as  the  main  element  of  its  reckoning,  the  eternal  destination  of 
the  soul.  How  strikingly  does  St.  Peter  describe,  though  in  nega- 
tive terms,  the  reversionary  wealth  of  those  who  are  "  begotten 
again" — as  "  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth 
not  away,  reserved  in  the  heavens."  Their  crown  is  "  a  crown  of 
life  ;"  their  glory,  "  a  far,  more,  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory."  Earthly  treasures,  on  the  other  hand,  considered  not  in  the 
light  of  talents  to  be  used  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  man 
— rested  in  as  sources  of  enjoyment, — trusted  to  as  a  means  of  meet- 
ing future  necessities, — fail,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  answer  the  wants 
of  our  immortal  nature.  They  are  of  the  earth,  earthy  ;  they  perish 
in  the  using  ;  or  we  fly  away  and  leave  them  forever.  "  I  have  seen 
minute-glasses,"  says  one  of  the  old  men  eloquent  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury,— *'  glasses  so  short-lived.  If  I  were  to  preach  upon  this  text, 
to  such  a  glass,  it  were  enough  for  half  the  sermon ;  enough  to  show 
the  worldly  man  his  treasure  and  the  object  of  his  heart,  to  call  his 
eye  to  that  minute-glass,  and  to  tell  him,  there  flows,  there  flies  your 


TREASURES   CONTRASTED.  17 

treasure,  and  your  heart  with  it.  But  if  I  had  a  secular  glass,  a 
glass  that  would  run  an  age  :  if  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  world 
were  composed  in  the  form  of  such  a  glass,  and  all  the  world  cal- 
cined and  burnt  to  ashes,  and  all  the  ashes  and  sands  and  atoms  of 
the  world  put  into  that  glass,  it  would  not  be  enough  to  tell  the  good 
man  what  his  treasure  and  the  object  of  his  heart  is." 

"  Lay  up  for  yourselves  treasure  in  Heaven."  There  is,  finally, 
an  exhortation  addressed  to  us  on  the  basis  of  the  foregoing  consid- 
erations, to  lay  up  heavenly  treasures.  And  how  strong  is  the  appeal 
when  the  incorruptibility,  security,  and  satisfying  nature  of  these  are 
considered.  It  is  worth  our  while  to  make  accumulations,  if  these 
may  be  depended  on.  We  spend  not  our  strength  for  nought.  We 
labor  with  animating  encouragement  when  we  are  sure  that  our  labor 
tells  with  certain  effect  upon  ultimate  success.  There  is  a  strong 
instinct  in  the  human  bosom  which  prompts  us  to  acquisition  ;  which 
seeks  for  property ;  which  goes  out  after  a  possession  we  can  call  our 
own  ;  which  can  be  added  to  and  increased  by  daily  or  yearly  accu- 
mulations. This  instinct  is  most  commonly  turned  into  earthly 
channels,  and  expends  its  energies  upon  earthly  objects.  Chris- 
tianity comes  to  refine,  expand,  ennoble  it.  It  shows  us  durable 
riches : 

*'  Riches  above  what  earth  can  give, 
And  lasting  as  the  mind." 

We  are  exhorted  to  add  ;  to  give  all  diligence  to  add.  Abundance 
is  attainable.  Ampler  wealth,  vaster  resources,  enlarged  opulence, 
incite  our  ambition  and  stir  our  laggard  pulses. 

Is  it  of  the  nature  of  treasure  to  multiply  ?  Then  lay  up  treasures 
in  heaven.  He  that  had  received  five  talents  went  and  traded  with 
them,  and  made  them  five  talents  more.  "  Lay  up,"  by  visiting  the 
eick,  and  ministering  to  the  wants  of  the  destitute.  "  Lay  up,"  by 
taking  God's  cause  to  heart.  "  Lay  up,"  by  taking  God's  cause 
in  hand.  "  Lay  up,"  by  resisting  a  temptation,  by  acquiring  or 
strengthening  a  virtue.  Do  you  possess  earthly  treasures  ?  Tremble 
at  your  danger ;  for  "  how  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Avert  that  danger  by  taking  heed 
to  the  Apostolic  injunction  :  "  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this 
world,  that  they  be  not  high-minded,  nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches, 
but  in  the  living  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy  :  that 
they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute, 


18  HEAVENLT  AND   EARTHLY 

■willirjg  to  communicate ;  laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good 
foundation  against  the  time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  eter- 
nal life."  Are  you  poor?  "Godliness  with  contentment  is  great 
gain."  What  is  time  to  eternity  ?  "  If  a  son,  then  an  heir ;  an  heir 
of  God,  and  a  joint-heir  with  Christ."  Well  may  you  be  content, 
with  such  a  destiny  before  you.  Be  rich  in  faith.  Cherish  the 
patience  of  hope.  YdUr  earthly  capital  may  be  small,  and  your 
accumulations  may  correspond.  It  matters  little :  your  spiritual 
capital — your  soul-treasure,  is  the  main  thing.  Industry,  activity, 
consecration  to  God — what  accumulations  will  they  not  secure  !  Let 
shame  flush  our  cheek  when  we  see  men  of  the  world  in  pursuit  of 
gold  :  toiling  by  day,  scheming  by  night,  diverted  from  their  object 
by  no  obstacle,  alarmed  by  no  danger,  periling  health,  reputation, 
life  itself,  that  they  may  lay  up  earthly  treasures.  We  profess  to  put 
a  right  estimate  upon  these,  in  contrast  with  heavenly  treasures  ; 
and  yet  how  is  our  lagging  zeal  put  to  the  blush,  our  feeble  endeav- 
ors shamed,  by  the  example.  Lay  up,  lay  up  heavenly  treasures  I 
Dwarf  not  your  expectations  to  the  mean  ambition  of  merely  esca- 
ping hell — of  reaching  Heaven,  so  to  speak,  by  shipwreck.  Go  for 
an  ovation ;  more  still,  for  a  conqueror's  triumph  !  Covet  an  abund- 
ant entrance.  Aspire  to  a  crown.  Win  a  palace.  All  Heaven 
smiles  on  aspirations  like  these.  Jesus  himself  bids  you  lay  up. 
Build  your  accumulations  higher,  and  higher  still.  Shine  out,  0, 
City  of  God,  with  jeweled  gates  and  golden  walls  and  streets  ! 
Attract  us  by  the  vision  of  thy  loveliness,  win  us  by  the  melody  of 
thine  anthems !  Thou  art  our  true  and  proper  home  ;  where  else 
should  be  our  treasures  "^ 

The  exhortation  of  our  Lord,  in  the  text,  finds  its  closing  consid- 
eration in  the  fact,  that  where  our  treasure  is  there  will  our  heart  be 
also.  Now,  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  God  claims  our  heart. 
The  first  and  great  commandment  is,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy 
strength."  This  law  is  paramount.  It  lies  against  that  subtle  idol- 
atry which  is  so  often  paid  to  wealth.  No  shrine  may  be  set  up  ;  no 
pageantry  of  outward  worship  may  mark  the  devotee.  He  may  not 
bend  the  knee  before  an  idol,  the  symbol  of  the  divinity  which  rules 
his  heart ;  and  yet  the  homage  may  be  profound  as  the  depths  of 
the  fioul.  We  have  only  to  ask  what  subject  engrosses  the  thoughts^ 
and  possesses  the  greatest  attraction  for  us.     Wo  recoil  from  the 


TREASURES   CONTRASTED.  10 

grosser  forms  of  idolatry ;  and  yet  wealth  may  as  effectually  dethrone 
the  supreme  God,  usurp  the  ascendency  over  us,  and  constitute  for  us 
the  great  good  of  life,  as  though  we  considered  the  exchange  a  tem- 
ple of  worship,  our  ledgers  sacred  books  written  in  cabalistic  letters, 
and  the  various  investments  of  money  the  household  gods  to  which 
the  homage  of  profound  trust  and  daily  devotion  was  due.  Our  at- 
tention, our  delight,  our  confidence,  may  all  be  transferred  from  the 
Creator,  blessed  forever,  to  the  creature.  Satisfied  with  the  stream 
we  may  forget  the  fountain ;  engrossed  with  the  augmentation  of 
worldly  resources,  we  may  become  blind  to  the  primary,  originating 
source  of  whatever  is  desirable  on  earth.  Thus,  to  love  the  world  so 
as  to  make  it  practically  our  great  good,  to  trust  in  riches,  is  to  deny 
the  God  that  is  above.  Here  then  we  are  brought  to  a  solemn  pause. 
We  must  choose  the  one  or  the  other  ;.  God  or  the  world ;  heavenly 
or  earthly  treasures. 

Oh,  for  that  faith  which  is  the  evidence  of  things  unseen ! — which, 
passing  through  the  shadowy  phantoms  of  the  present  and  the  visible, 
grasps  the  eternal  substance.  That  alone  which  is  solid,  substantial, 
abiding,  is  worthy  of  the  heart  of  man  ;  fills  its  ideas  and  its  hopes ; 
realizes  its  expectations,  and  exhausts  its  capacities  of  enjoyment. 

"  Now,  unto  him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling,  and  to  pre- 
sent you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy, 
to  the  only  wise  God,  our  Saviour,  be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion 
and  power,  both  now  and  ever."     Amen. 


a^. 


^ 


li?;lEV.,  J€)?'EIPIH1  CIROSS,  lOcPo 


X2^ 


LABOR   AND   REST. 


BY  JOS.   CROSS,   D.  D., 

OF  THE  SOUTH    CAROLINA  CONFEBEXCE. 


'*  For  David,  after  he  had  served  his  own  generation  by  the  will  of  GoS, 
fell  on  sleep,  and  was  laid  unto  his  fathers,  and  saw  corruption. " — Acts  xiii,  36. 

"God  seeth  not  as  man  seeth,  nor  judgeth  as  man  judgeth."  Very 
different,  often,  from  ours,  is  his  estimate,  even  of  the  same  persons  and 
the  same  actions.  The  reason  is,  that  "  man  judgeth  according  to  the 
appearance,  but  Grod  looketh  upon  the  heart."  He  sees  through 
what  is  outward  and  accidental,  and  discerns  clearly  what  is  inward 
and  essential.  He  disregards  mere  external  forms  and  aspects,  and 
values  all  things  according  to  their  real  and  intrinsic  qualities.  Men 
judge  the  motive  by  the  act ;.  Grod  judges  the  act  by  the  motive. 

It  is  our  true  wisdom,  to  unlearn  our  own  method,  and  learn  the 
method  of  God.  But  this  is  a  wisdom  which  we  are  little  inclined  to 
seek.  Naturally,  we  are  averse  to  it ;  and  if  by  grace  we  ever  acquire 
it,  it  is  ordinarily  with  great  difficulty,  and  by  slow  degrees.  It  is  no 
easy  task  to  climb  the  mountain,  whence  we  may  look  down  upon  the 
world,  with  all  that  it  contains,  and  behold  it  as  it  is.  Death,  how- 
ever, will  place  us  instantly  upon  the  summit ;  and  the  panorama  of 
all  terrestrial  things,  in  all  their  relations  and  influences,  will  lie 
around  and  beneath  us.  Then  the  cloud  will  be  lifted  from  the  land- 
scape, the  veil  will  be  rent  that  intercepts  our  vision,  and  all  false 
lights  will  be  extinguished,  and  all  distorting  media  will  be  removed, 
and  gold  will  cease  to  charm,  and  fame  will  cease  to  allure,  and  the 
vain  pomp  and  unsubstantial  pageantry  of  earth  will  lose  their  bewild- 
ering splendors,  and  we  shall  see  things  as  God  sees  them,  and  estimate 
them  by  the  same  perfect  standard.  Even  now — such  is  the  wise  and 
gracious  arrangement  of  our  Heavenly  Father — every  season  of  afflic- 
tion, every  disappointment  of  our  hopes,  every  sickness  which  brings 
us  near  the  verge  of  life,  every  bereavement  which  throws  over  us  the 
shadow  of  death,  forces  us  to  anticipate  that  judgment  and  those  feel- 
ings which  the  last  great  change  shall  fix  unalterably  and  forever. 


82  LABOR   AND   REST. 

Ot !  it  is  a  dreadful  thing,  to  learn  too  late  the  true  aim  and  issue  of 
our  being.  Let  us  endeavor  to  learn  it  now,  while  repentance  is 
hopeful,  and  Mercy  waits  for  Wisdom.  Let  us  compare  our  own 
erring  views  with  the  revealed  views  of  God,  and  correct  the  former 
by  the  latter  ;  and  live  not  for  the  shadow,  but  for  the  substance — 
not  for  the  transitory,  but  for  the  eternal.  So  shall  the  morning 
mists  of  delusion  melt  away  before  the  risen  sun  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness ;  and  the  great  day  of  trial  shall  develop  in  us,  however 
regarded,  now  by  the  ignorant  and  ungodly,  a  wisdom  as  much  supe- 
rior to  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  as  heaven  is  to  earth,  or  immortality 
to  time. 

The  text  remarkably  exemplifies  the  difference  of  which  we  have 
spoken — the  difference  between  God's  view  and  man's  view,  both  of 
life  and  of  death.  It  is  God's  account  of  the  life  and  the  death  of 
David — the  true  object  of  the  one,  the  real  nature  of  the  other. 
How  different  would  have  been  man's  account  of  both.  Man's  account 
of  David's  life  would  have  spoken  of  his  heroism,  his  magnanimity, 
his  poetic  genius,  and  his  royal  policy  ;  and  man's  account  of  David's 
death  would  have  treated  of  the  state  in  which  he  left  his  family  and 
his  kingdom,  the  profound  grief  of  his  children  and  his  subjects,  the 
pomp  of  his  funereal  pageant,  and  the  immortal  fame  of  his  virtues. 
On  the  contrary,  God's  account  of  his  servant's  life  develops  the 
inward  motive  and  principle  of  his  conduct — the  two  great  elements 
of  charity  and  piety  which  formed  his  noble  character — he  "  served 
his  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God  ;"  and  God's  account  of  his 
servant's  death  relates  only  to  what  is  real  and  personal  in  that 
event — the  saint's  release  from  labor,  the  man's  return  to  dust, — he 
*'  fell  on  sleep,  and  was  laid  unto  his  fathers,  and  saw  corruption." 

Here  is  the  true  aim  of  life ;  and  here  is  ihe  proper  view  of  death. 
May  we  learn  to  estimate  both  by  this  divine  standard  ;  and  may  the 
testimony  hereafter  be  borne  of  us,  which  is  thus  borne  of  David. 
This,  substantially,  must  be  the  record,  or  the  contrary  must  be  the 
record — either,  that  we  lived  a  useful  life,  and  died  a  peaceful  death  ; 
or,  that  we  lived  solely  to  ourselves,  and  died  utterly  without  hope. 
There  is  no  medium  character ;  there  is  no  medium  destiny ;  nor  can 
the  idler  in  the  market  hope  to  share  with  the  laborer  in  the  vino- 
yard.  Let  us  carry  this  thought  along  with  us,  while  we  proceed 
to  consider, — 


LABOR  AND   REST  ,  W 

I.  The  True  JJim  of  Lxfe. 

Man's  natural  view  of  it,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  is  very 
different  from  God's.  He  regards  himself  as  sent  hither  to  grasp 
and  to  enjoy  as  much  as  he  can  of  the  world — as  much  as  he  can  of 
its  riches,  as  much  as  he  can  of  its  pleasures,  as  much  as  he  can  of 
its  honors,  as  much  as  he  can  of  its  science  ;  and  if  anything  compels 
him  to  remember  that  these  things  are  uncertain  and  transitory,  he 
only  pursues  them  the  more  eagerly,  or  clings  to  them  the  more  tena- 
ciously, for  the  conviction;  making  the  most  of  the  short  and  fleeting 
hour  for  acquiring  them,  and  in  the  hurry  of  its  occupation  forgetting 
the  deceitful  and  unsatisfying  nature  of  the  acquisition.  Many  live 
as  if  this  world  were  made  merely  for  themselves — as  if  it  were  the 
only  world,  and  they  its  only  occupants ;  and  all  the  discipline  of 
Providence — the  winds  of  adverse  fortune,  the  thwarted  plans  and 
blighted  hopes,  which  make  up  the  experience  of  worldly  men — can 
never  induce  them  to  act  upon  any  other  view  of  the  great  end  of 
life.  It  may  make  them  modify  their  plans,  or  change  the  particular 
objects  of  pursuit,  or  despair  of  finding  satisfaction  in  any  attainment ; 
but  it  will  never  alter  the  selfishness  of  their  motives,  and  the  sen- 
suousness  of  their  aims — it  will  never  hinder  them  from  looking  to 
themselves,  and  to  the  world  around  them,  and  to  their  own  personal 
command  of  a  portion  of  what  the  world  contains,  as  the  chief  source 
of  their  happiness.  There  is  something  in  man,  stronger  than  reason, 
and  stronger  than  prudence,  and  stronger  than  conscience,  which  will 
make  us  live  for  ourselves — for  the  poor  joys  and  petty  interests  of 
earth  and  time — regardless  of  heaven  and  eternity — till  God  visita 
the  soul  with  the  powerful  illuminations  of  his  truth,  and  the  gracious 
influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  Then,  in  this  new  light  which  beams 
upon  the  understanding,  this  new  life  which  quickens  the  slumbering 
conscience,  this  incipient  renovation  of  the  moral  man,  we  begin  to 
see  the  present  as  God  sees  it — in  its  relation  to  the  everlasting 
future,  and  enter  into  his  own  estimate  of  the  true  aim  of  life.  Then 
we  learn  to  look  upon  the  chief  object  of  our  being  as  consisting,  not 
in  seeking  our  own  interests,  or  gratifying  our  own  inclinations,  or 
building  the  monuments  of  our  own  fame,  or  furnishing  our  own  intel- 
lectual capacities  ;  but  simply  in  serving  our  own  generation  by  the 
will  of  God — reflecting,  as  mirrors,  the  light  which  has  been  shed 
upon  our  souls — dispensing,  as  almoners,  the  bounty  which  has  been 
placed  in  our  hands — distributing  to  a  suflFering  and  famishing  race 


<24  LABOR  AND   REST. 

the  living  bread  rained  upon  U3  from  heaven,  and  the  living  water 
gushing  for  us  from  the  smitten  rock  ;  nor  daring,  upon  the  peril  of 
our  immortality,  to  monopolize  the  manna,  or  seal  up  the  fountain. 
Then  we  learn  to  regard  ourselves,  not  as  isolated  and  independent 
existences,  without  any  responsible  relations  to  the  universe  or  its 
Author  ;  but  as  members  of  the  great  human  family,  all  mankind 
our  brethren,  and  God  the  father  of  us  all.  Then  we  learn  to  appre- 
ciate the  position  and  the  work  assigned  us  for  the  benefit  of  those  whose 
nature  we  partake  and  whose  redemption  we  share.  Then  we  learn 
to  "  look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every  man  also  on  the 
things  of  others."  Then  we  learn  to  "  seek  not  our  own  profit,  but 
the  profit  of  many,  that  they  may  be  saved."  Then  we  learn  to  "  do 
good  as  we  have  opportunity  unto  all  men,  especially  to  them  that 
are  of  the  household  of  faith."  Then  we  learn  to  trace  his  blessed 
footsteps,  of  whom,  as  our  example — the  incarnation  of  virtue — it  is 
recorded,  that  he  "went  about  doing  good." 

Such  are  the  promptings  of  grace.  And  they  are  seconded  by  the 
voice  of  nature.  Does  anything  in  the  universe  exist  solely  for  itself? 
Why  shines  the  sun,  or  beams  the  star  ?  Why  blows  the  wind,  or 
falls  the  rain  ?  Why  blooms  the  rose,  or  waves  the  corn  ?  Why 
spreads  the  meadow,  or  towers  the  forest  ?  Why  glides  the  river,  or 
heaves  the  ocean  1  Why  trills  the  mellow-throated  thrush  his  anthem, 
or  sings  the  morning  lark  his  merry  roundelay  ?-  Why  travels  the 
globe  in  its  eternal  circuit,  or  envelops  its  broad  convexity  the  all- 
pervading  atmosphere  1  Why  wings  the  angel  his  luminous  way  down 
the  empyrean,  or  tabernacles  among  us,  in  suffering  flesh,  the  very 
God  of  angels  ?  It  is  all  for  the  benefit  of  others — for  the  benefit  of 
xnan — to  sustain  and  bless  his  being,  render  him  a  blessing  to  his 
race,  and  conduct  him  to  blessedness  eternal.  And  shall  man,  thus 
ministered  to  by  all  the  creation,  and  by  the  very  Lord  of  creation — 
shall  man,  wrapped  up  in  himself,  and  all  unmindful  of  his  brethren — 
be  the  solitary  exception — an  anomaly  in  the  universe  1 

And  does  not  our  social  constitution  corroborate  the  preaching  of 
universal  nature  ?  What  mean  these  mutual  attractions  and  inter- 
ests— these  relations,  of  sympathy  and  dependence — which  prevail 
among  mankind?  Why  are  we  constituted  social  beings,  endowed 
with  social  faculties  and  affections  ?  Why  are  we  so  made  as  to  be 
necessary  to  one  another's  happiness — even  to  one  another's  subsist- 
ence 1    Why  have  we  the  power  of  speech,  and  the  gift  of  reason 


LABOR  AND  REST.  25 

and  such  means  of  Influence,  and  such  facilities  of  persuasion  ?  Why 
are  we  linked  together  in  families  and  communities,  instead  of  being 
dispersed  in  cold  isolation  and  desolate  solitariness  over  the  face  of 
the  earth  ?  Why  were  we  not  created  incapable  of  communicating 
our  thoughts  and  feelings  one  to  another,  or  without  any  of  those 
sweet  drawings  of  the  heart  which  we  experience  toward  our  kindred 
and  our  kind  1  Is  not  the  whole  social  arrangement  an  ordinance  of 
God,  and  does  it  not  indicate  his  will  that  we  should  serve  our  own 
generation  ? 

And  this  view  of  the  proper  aim  of  life  is  confirmed  by  our  contin- 
uance on  earth  after  our  preparation  for  heaven.  Are  we  justified 
and  regenerate  ?  In  our  justification  we  received  a  gracious  title  to 
heaven,  and  in  our  regeneration  we  received  an  incipient  meetness  for 
heaven.  Why  were  we  not  immediately  removed  to  the  celestial 
mansions  1  Does  not  our  Heavenly  Father  love  us  enough  to  desire 
the  completion  of  our  happiness  1  Is  it  not  the  end  of  his  whole  gra- 
cious economy  to  "  bring  many  sons  to  glory  ? "  Why,  then,  does  he 
leave  us  in  the  world,  when  we  are  not  of  it ;  when  we  are  in  danger 
from  it ;  when  we  are  despised  and  hated  by  it ;  when  our  entire 
sojourn  amid  its  changeful  scenes  can  be  nothing  better  than  a  pil- 
grimage of  tribulation  and  of  tears  ?  "  Poor  wanderers  of  a  stormy 
day !  "  why  does  he  not  transfer  you  at  once  to  a  place  of  perfect 
security  and  blessedness  ?  Look  around  you  for  an  answer.  What 
see  you  1  Ignorance  to  be  instructed,  errors  to  be  corrected,  vices 
to  be  reformed,  virtues  to  be  confirmed,  sorrows  to  be  soothed,  bur- 
dens to  be  lightened,  broken  hearts  to  be  healed,  suffering  saints  to 
be  comforted,  and  sinners  to  be  led  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  This  is 
your  appropriate  work  ;  and  you  are  left  on  earth  for  a  season,  (though 
God  would  have  you  in  heaven,  and  intends  ultimately  to  bring  you 
thither,)  that  you  may  serve  your  own  generation. 

But  this  service  of  charity  is  to  be  qualified  by  a  motive  of  piety. 
We  are  not  to  lose  ourselves  in  vague  conjectures  of  duty,  or  selfish 
views  of  benevolence.  The  standard  is  erected ;  the  method  is  pre- 
scribed— it  is  "  the  will  of  God."  The  work  is  neither  self-chosen 
nor  self-regulated ;  it  is  subject  to  the  Divine  appointment  and  the 
Divine  control.  We  are  to  benefit  mankind  by  doing  the  precise 
work  which  God  has  given  us  to  do,  in  the  exact  manner  which  he  has 
prescribed  for  doing  it.  So  that  in  serving  our  generation,  we  also 
serve  God.    We  serve  our  generation  subordinately,  God  supremely. 


96  LABOB  AND   BEST. 

And  God  has  different  work  for  his  several  servants — different 
spheres  of  action  and  of  influence.  In  the  church,  some  are  to  serve 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  and  others  in  inferior  offices  ;  some  to 
feed  the  flock  of  God,  and  others  to  supply  the  temporal  needs  of  the 
shepherd  ;  some  (like  Moses)  to  pray  upon  the  mountain,  and  others 
(like  Aaron  and  Hur)  to  hold  up  the  suppliant's  hands  ;  this  one 
being  "  set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel,"  and  that  one  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  church  ;  this  for  the  edification  of  saints,  and  that  for 
the  admonition  of  sinners ;  this  for  binding  up  the  broken  heart  of 
penitence,  and  that  for  cheeriug  the  departing  soul  "  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death."  Others  are  to  operate  in  far  differ- 
ent spheres  and  relations — in  civil  and  municipal  affairs,  and  the 
common  business  of  life :  one  as  the  advocate,  another  as  the  judge  ; 
one  as  the  physician,  another  as  the  teacher ;  one  as  the  mechanic, 
another  as  the  merchant ;  one  as  the  philosopher,  another  as  the 
laborer ;  one  as  the  tiller  of  the  soil,  another  as  the  plower  of  the 
seas ;  one  as  the  pioneer  of  discovery,  another  as  the  oracle  of  state  ; 
one  as  the  guardian  of  our  liberties,  another  as  the  administrator 
of  our  laws.  But  in  these  several  positions  and  activities  we  are  to 
be  governed  by  a  supreme  regard  for  the  will  of  God.  We  may  not 
choose  our  own  calling  without  reference  to  the  Divine  designation, 
nor  direct  ourselves  in  its  prosecution  without  seeking  the  guidance 
of  a  Heavenly  Wisdom.  And  in  all  our  relations  we  are  to  "  let  our 
light  shine  before  men,  so  that  they  may  see  our  good  works,  and 
glorify  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  By  a  consistent  and  holy 
example  we  are  to  be  constant  witnesses  for  God — our  lives  a  perpet- 
ual testimony  to  the  truth,  a  hymn  of  praise  to  the  Redeemer,  a  reproof 
to  the  ungodly,  an  encouragement  to  the  pious,  and  a  source  of 
instruction  to  all. 

And  perhaps  we  are  often  as  useful  in  suffering  as  in  laboring. 
Christ  accomplished  no  less  for  the  good  of  others  and  the  glory  of 
God  when  he  was  led  up  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil,  than  when  he  traversed  the  hills  and  plains  of  Judea  destroy- 
ing the  works  of  the  devil ;  no  less  when  he  delivered  himself  up  as  a 
lamb  for  the  slaughter,  than  when  he  magnified  his  mighty  preroga- 
tives as  "  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  ;"  no  less  in  the  Garden 
and  on  the  Cross,  than  by  the  evacuation  of  the  tomb  and  the  return 
to  heaven.  And  so  his  servants  are  often  most  efficient  when  they 
appear  most  passive — doing  most  for  their  Master's  cause  when  they 


LABOR   AND   REST.  27 

seem  to  be  only  suffering  His  will ;  and  doing  or  suffering,  they  are 
serving  their  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God. 

This,  then,  is  the  rule — the  motive — of  all  benevolent  action — a 
supreme  regard  for  the  will  of  God.  We  are  to  do  the  work  assigned 
us,  not  because  it  is  easy  or  pleasant,  not  because  it  is  profitable  or 
honorable,  nor  primarily  because  it  is  essential  to  our  salvation  ;  but 
chiefly,  if  not  simply,  because  it  is  the  will  of  God.  A  suflicient 
impulse  should  be  our  respect  for  His  sovereign  authority  ;  but  this 
impulse  is  strengthened  by  gratitude  and  love  ;  and  we  know  that 
God's  will  is  always  just  and  right — the  highest  wisdom  and  the 
purest  goodness ;  and  that  in  all  His  requirements  He  consults  the 
largest  and  most  lasting  interest  of  His  rational  and  immortal  crea- 
tures. Influenced  by  these  considerations  and  sentiments,  we  merge 
our  wills  in  God's  ;  and  God's  will  becomes  our  law  ;  and  His  com- 
mandments are  not  grievous  ;  but  His  yoke  is  easy,  and  His  burden 
is  light ;  and  toil,  and  hardship,  and  danger,  and  sacrifice,  are  not 
only  alleviated,  but  rendered  positively  delightful ;  and  the  pleasant- 
ness of  the  work  is  scarcely  transcended  by  the  hope  of  the  reward  ; 
and  all  anxiety  about  the  length  of  the  service  is  lost  in  the  zest  of 
the  pursuit ;  and  though  we  "  desire  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ," 
we  are  content  to  remain  and  serve  our  own  generation  by  the  will 
of  God. 

Such,  my  brethren,  is  the  true  aim  of  life.  Let  us  keep  it  in 
memory,  while  we  go  on  to  consider, — 

II.  The  Proper  View  of  Death. 

There  is  an  intimate  connection.  Life  is  the  way ;  death  is  the 
end.  Life  is  the  race  ;  death  is  the  goal.  Life  is  the  pilgrimage  ; 
death  is  the  terminus.  Life  is  the  day  for  toil ;  death  is  the  night 
for  repose.  Life  is  the  vineyard  and  the  harvest ;  death  is  the 
laborer's  sweet  release.  Life  is  the  dusty  march  and  the  stormy 
battle  ;  death  is  the  warrior's  welcome  home.  When,  like  David, 
we  shall  have  served  our  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  like 
David,  we  shall  fall  on  sleep,  and  be  laid  unto  our  fathers,  and  see 
corruption. 

Let  it  be  observed,  that  the  death  here  described  is  the  death  of  a 
good  man — one  of  the  best  that  ever  lived.  In  death,  as  in  life,  we 
must  "  discern  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked."  Death  is  the 
"  one  event"  that  "  happeneth  to  all ;"  but  not  to  all  alike.     Very 


§9 


LABOR   AND   REST. 


different  is  it  to  the  saint  and  the  sinner — very  different  in  its  aspects 
— very  different  in  its  issues.  In  the  remarks  which  follow,  we  refer 
only  to  the  death  of  those  who  serve  their  own  generation  by  the 
will  of  God,  for  to  such  only  comes  the  last  great  change  with  the 
calmness  and  security  of  a  sleep. 

God's  view  of  death  does  not  teach  us  to  regard  it  as  the  end  of 
our  existence.  He  who  sleeps  still  lives.  There  is  a  suspension  of 
his  voluntary  activities,  but  no  cessation  of  the  vital  functions.  It 
is  only  the  body  that  sleeps  ;  the  soul  is  ever  wakeful.  The  body 
sleeps  because  it  is  weary,  and  needs  refreshment ;  the  soul  knows 
no  fatigue,  and  demands  no  repose.  We  say  the  mind  flags,  or  the 
spirit  faints ;  but  we  speak  unphilosophically.  The  material  organ- 
ism, through  which  the  soul  acts  upon  the  external  world,  may  tire 
and  halt ;  the  soul  itself,  not  subject  to  physical  laws,  remains  always 
vigorous  and  active.  Sleep,  then,  is  only  the  state  of  the  outer 
man  ;  who  can  say  that  death  is  anything  more — that  it  affects  the 
thinking,  conscious  soul — that  it  produces  any  change,  except  in  the 
mere  mode  and  circumstances  of  our  being  ? 

True,  we  see  not  the  unbodied  soul.  What  then  ?  There  are  a 
thousand  other  things  that  we  have  never  seen,  though  we  readily 
admit  their  existence.  Some  of  these  are  the  most  pervading  and 
the  most  powerful  agencies  in  nature.  What  say  you  of  air,  caloric, 
electricity  "?  Do  you  doubt  their  existence  because  you  do  not  see 
them  ?  And  why  doubt  the  continued  existence  of  the  soul  because, 
separate  from  the  body,  it  is  invisible  ?  It  is  invisible  now,  in  con- 
nection with  the  body ;  and  if  you  infer  its  future  non-existence 
because  it  is  then  invisible,  you  should  infer  its  present  non-existence 
because  it  is  now  invisible.  The  argument  against  its  future  exist- 
ence bears  equally  against  its  present  existence.  There  is  as  much 
evidence  of  the  continued  being  of  man,  separate  from  the  material 
organism,  as  of  a  thousand  other  existences  that  are  never  questioned. 

Say  not  that  what  we  call  the  soul  is  the  result  of  a  wondrous 
organization,  and  must  cease  with  the  dissolution  of  the  body.  That 
organized  bodies  can  possess  no  powers  which  arc  not  inherent  in  the 
elements  of  which  they  are  composed,  is  an  important  axiom  in  phi- 
losophy ;  that  the  elements  of  the  human  frame  are  incapable  of 
intelligence,  consciousness,  volition,  is  a  proposition  of  which  no  proof 
will  be  demanded ;  and  that  mere  organization  can  never  originate 
mental  phenomena,  is  the  obvious  and  inevitable  conclusion.     Nay, 


LABOR  AND  REST.  29 

« there  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth 
him  understanding."  This  curious  frame  is  only  the  tenement  of  the 
rational  soul,  and  that  soul  is  doubtless  immortal.  Destined  by  its 
Creator  to  perish,  He  would  probably  have  revealed  that  destiny ; 
but  He  has  given  us  no  such  information — has  nowhere  intimated 
such  an  issue. 

To  establish  the  proposition  that  the  soul  dies  with  the  body,  infi- 
delity must  furnish  proof,  and  that  proof  must  be  clear  and  ample  j 
but  infidelity  has  no  proof  to  offer — infidelity  is  nothing  better  than 
a  negation  without  a  reason — a  mere  blind  conjecture.  The  doctrine, 
at  best,  is  only  an  opinion  of  my  neighbor }  why  is  not  my  opinion 
worth  as  much  as  his  ?  Nay,  is  it  not  more  rational  and  philosophi- 
cal ?  I  now  exist ;  and,  in  the  absence  of  any  proof  to  the  contrary, 
the  presumption  is  just,  that  I  shall  continue  to  exist  forever.  Na- 
ture utters  no  negative  to  my  hope.  All  analogy  is  in  favor  of  my 
perpetual  being.  Change  is  constant,  and  manifold,  and  universal ; 
annihilation  is  an  event  unknown  in  nature. 

The  very  constitution  of  man — his  interior  consciousness,  his  sense 
of  responsibility,  his  self-upbraiding  for  guilty  deeds,  his  apprehen- 
sion of  a  righteous  retribution,  his  capability  of  indefinite  improve- 
ment, his  natural  dread  of  annihilation,  and  his  strong  aspirations 
after  a  higher  destiny — all  give  evidence  of  the  life  to  come, 

"  Say,  whence  this  pleasing  hope,  this  fond  desire, 
This  longing  after  immortality  ? 
Or  whence  this  secret  dread,  and  inward  horror, 
Of  falling  into  nought  ?    Why  shrinks  the  soul 
Back  on  herself,  and  startles  at  destruction  ? 
'Tis  the  Divinity  that  stirs  within  us  ; 
'Tis  Heaven  itself,  that  points  out  an  hereafter, 
And  intimates  eternity  to  man  !" 

Nay,  is  not  the  soul  naturally  immortal  ?  Is  not  immortality  an 
element  of  its  very  constitution  1  The  body  is  composed  of  parts, 
and  these  parts  may  be  divided  and  dissolved ;  the  soul  is  a  simple 
substance,  indivisible  and  indissoluble,  and  can  perish  only  by  the 
fiat  of  its  Creator.  The  body  is  constantly  changing — constantly 
increasing  or  decreasing ;  the  soul  remains  the  same  under  all  the 
diversified  phenomena  of  its  manifestation — maintains  an  uninter- 
rupted consciousness  of  its  identity,  through  all  the  stages  of  its 
progress,  and  amidst  all  the  accidents  and  vicissitudes  of  its  outer 


50  LABOR  AND  REST. 

life.  Its  conscious  identity  proves  its  spirituality,  and  its  spirituality 
is  the  basis  of  its  immortality.  It  can  be  destroyed  only  by  the 
Power  that  made  it.  And  why  should  He  destroy  the  noblest  of  His 
creations  1  Did  He  not  make  it  for  an  important  end  1  And  shall 
He  thwart  His  own  purpose,  or  leave  His  design  unfinished  1  Who 
can  say  that  man,  like  the  moth,  attains  his  end  in  this  brief  period 
of  existence  ?  And  if  not — if  he  is  capable  of  moving  in  a  larger 
and  loftier  sphere — if,  having  learned  all  that  this  world  can  teach 
him,  he  still  longs  and  struggles  for  vaster  acquisitions  of  knowledge 
— another  life  is  necessary^  for  the  development  of  his  powers,  and 
the  completion  of  the  Almighty's  plan  ;  and,  if  there  is  no  future 
being,  man  is  an  abortion — "  a  monster  in  the  eternal  order,"  and 
there  is  no  discoverable  wisdom  or  goodness  in  his  Creator's  economy. 

Thus,  we  establish  a  very  strong  presumption  of  human  immortal- 
ity. This  presumption  is  corroborated  by  the  general  sense  of  man- 
kind. Whence  the  prevalent  opinion,  in  all  nations,  in  all  ages — an 
opinion  to  which  all  worships,  all  poesies,  all  traditions,  bear  witness 
— that  the  soul  lives  when  the  body  dies  ?  Either  it  is  an  original 
impression,  or  it  is  a  deduction  of  reason,  or  it  is  a  revelation  from 
God.  There  is  no  other  assignable  source  of  the  idea.  In  either 
case  the  argument  is  conclusive.  If  it  is  an  original  impression, 
God  himself  must  have  given  that  impression,  inweaving  the  senti- 
ment of  immortality  with  our  very  constitution,  and  that  sentiment 
cannot  be  false.  If  it  is  a  deduction  of  reason,  there  must  be  suffi- 
cient evidence  to  warrant  that  deduction  by  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind, and,  in  the  face  of  such  evidence,  it  must  be  highly  irrational 
to  reject  the  doctrine.  If  it  is  a  revelation  from  God,  that  revelation 
has  been  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  world  for  nearly  six  thousand  years, 
and  there  is  now  no  room  for  controversy,  nor  excuse  for  unbelief. 
So  that,  whichever  hypothesis  you  adopt,  this  always  and  everywhere 
prevalent  opinion  of  mankind  constitutes  an  irrefutable  argument  for 
the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  and  in  connection  with  the  present 
manifest  incompleteness  of  the  Divine  retribution,  the  unequal  dis- 
tribution of  good  and  ill,  and  the  decisive  testimony  of  Scripture, 
forbids  our  regarding  death  as  the  terminus  of  our  being. 

Neither  does  God's  account  of  death  represent  it  as  a  state  of  un- 
consciousness. Consciousness  continues  in  sleep,  and  sleep  often  but 
intensifies  consciousness.  The  doctrine  that  death  is  a  suspension  or 
a  cessation  of  consciousness  was  invented  to  accommodate  the  material. 


LABOR  AND   REST.  Hi 

istic  philosophy,  which  attributes  all  mental  phenomena  to  organiza- 
tion. It  has  no  warrant  in  scripture,  but  is  contrary  to  the  express 
declarations  of  the  Word  of  God.  "  This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me 
in  paradise."  "  For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain."  "  I 
have  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better." 
'•  We  are  willing,  rather,  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be 
present  with  the  Lord."  How  do  these,  and  similar  passages,  com- 
port with  the  view  in  question  1  Is  paradise  a  state  of  unconscious- 
ness ?  Is  being  with  Christ — being  with  the  Lord — a  state  of  uncon- 
sciousness 1  Is  Christ,  then — is  the  Lord,  then — in  a  state  of  uncon- 
sciousness ■?  Is  a  state  of  unconsciousness  either  desirable  or  gainful 
to  the  good — better  than  to  remain  in  the  flesh,  serving  so  good  a 
Master,  sharing  so  rich  a  bounty,  expectant  of  so  vast  a  reward  ? 
The  doctrine  is  wholly  unscriptural. 

Is  it  not  equally  unphilosophical  ?  The  intelligence  of  the  soul 
proves  its  immateriality ;  but  if  the  soul  is  immaterial,  it  is  indepen- 
dent of  its  connection  with  matter,  and  its  severance  from  matter  can- 
not affect  its  consciousness.  Consciousness,  indeed,  is  the  necessary 
condition  of  its  being.  An  unconscious  soul  were  an  impossible  con- 
ception. It  were  better  to  speak  of  an  immaterial  body.  It  were 
more  rational  to  suppose  an  utter  extinction  of  being.  If  the  soul 
exists  at  all,  it  must  exist  in  a  state  of  consciousness.  Unconscious- 
ness were  inanition.  The  present  dullness  of  our  consciousness — its 
frequent  partial  interruptions — result  from  the  encumbrance  of  the 
soul's  physical  environments — the  infirmities  of  the  outer  man. 
When  "  this  mortal  coil "  is  "  shuffled  off,"  consciousness  will  be 
vivid  and  perfect  far  beyond  all  present  experience.  The  last  long 
sleep  attaches  only  to  the  body  ;  the  soul  must  continue  to  think  and 
feel,  rejoice  or  suffer,  when  these  now  so  active  forms  are  cold  and 
decaying  in  their  tombs. 

Nor  is  death  to  be  regarded  as  the  final  condition  of  the  material 
organism.  Sleep  is  nature's  method  of  recuperation.  He  that  sleeps 
shall  awake  with  renewed  vigor.  The  body  is  not  to  lie  forever  in 
the  dust.  The  fallen  and  shattered  tabernacle  is  to  be  reconstructed, 
glorious  as  the  forms  of  angels,  and  imperishable  as  the  tenant  that 
has  forsaken  it  for  a  season,  to  return  to  it  forever.  Must  I  argue 
this  point  ?  "  Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you, 
that  God  should  raise  the  dead  ?"  Does  nature  furnish  no  analogies  ? 
Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  them 


# 


LABOR  AND   REST. 


"  All  bloom  is  fruit  of  death  ; 
All  being,  effort  for  a  future  germ. 
Creation's  soul  is  thrivance  from  decay  ; 
And  nature  feeds  on  ruin.     The  big  earth 
Summers  in  rot,  and  harvests  through  the  frost, 
To  fructify  the  world.     The  mortal  Now 
Is  pregnant  with  the  spring-flowers  of  To-come, 
And  death  is  seed-time  for  eternity." 

In  the  final  recovery  of  the  body  from  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  the  grave 
a  greater  achievement  than  the  constant  reproduction  from  decay  of 
animal  and  vegetable  life  around  us  ?  Is  it  a  more  wonderful  thing 
than  the  creation  of  the  worlds — than  its  own  original  construction  ? 
Whatever  the  difficulty  to  human  apprehension,  nothing  is  difficult  to 
Infinite  Wisdom  and  Power.  Who  is  it  that  saith — "  I  will  redeem 
them  from  death,  I  will  ransom  them  from  the  power  of  the  grave  ?" 
It  is  he  at  whose  word  the  teeming  spheres  rolled  forth  from  the  inane, 
and  order  arose  singing  out  of  chaos.  Nay,  it  is  he  who  promised  to 
raise  his  own  body,  and  did  so,  demonstrating  his  power  to  raise  the 
bodies  of  his  people.  "  The  captain  of  our  salvation,"  he  has  con- 
quered the  king  of  terrors,  and  led  our  captivity  captive.  He  has 
*'  abolished  death,  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  through 
the  gospel."  The  sleepers  of  a  long  night  shall  awake  to  an  eternal 
day. 

The  proper  view  of  death — the  death  of  God's  servants,  for  we 
speak  of  no  other — is  that  of  retirement  from  labor,  and  of  sweet  and 
secure  repose.  David,  having  finished  his  work,  "  fell  on  sleep  ;"  and 
all  the  faithful  departed  are  spoken  of  as  "  sleeping  in  Jesus  ;"  and 
the  angel  of  the  Apocalypse  saith  to  the  beloved  John — "  Write, 
from  henceforth,  blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord  ;  even  so, 
saith  the  Spirit,  for  they  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do 
follow  them."  There  is  nothing  here  to  be  deprecated  or  dreaded. 
We  lie  down  unfearing  at  night,  expecting  to  rise  refreshed  in  the 
morning.  How  welcome  is  rest  to  the  weary  husbandman,  to  the 
toilworn  traveller,  to  the  mariner  after  the  storm,  to  the  warrior  after 
the  battle.  And  what  is  there  to  fear  in  death  ?  Guilt,  indeed,  may 
fear  ;  for  there  is  a  dread  hereafter  of  retribution.  But  what  has  the 
pardoned  sinner  to  fear  ?  What  has  the  sanctified  believer  to  fear  ? 
To  him,  dying  is  only  falling  asleep,  and  the  grave  is  the  bed  in 
^hich  he  reposes  after  the  toils  of  the  day. 


LABOE  AND  REST.  33, 

"  How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies ! 

When  sinks  the  weary  soul  to  rest, 
How  mildly  beam  the  closing  eyes  ! 

How  gently  heaves  the  expiring  breast ! 
So  fades  the  summer  cloud  away  ; 

So  sinks  the  gale  when  storms  are  o'er  ; 
So  gently  shuts  the  eye  of  day  ; 

So  dies  a  wave  along  the  shore. 
Life's  duty  done,  as  sinks  the  clay, 

Light  from  its  load  the  spirit  flies  ; 
While  heaven  and  earth  combine  to  say, 

How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies  !" 

See !  friends  stand  weeping  around  him.  The  beaded  drops  of  death 
are  gathering  on  his  brow.  What  heavenly  smiles  play  over  his  pallid 
features !  What  joyful  whispers  issue  from  his  quivering  lips  !  He 
has  nothing  to  dread,  but  everything  to  hope.  The  blood  of  atone- 
ment is  on  his  conscience.  The  spirit  of  adoption  is  speaking  in  his 
heart.  He  sees  the  last  enemy  approaching ;  but  he  is  spoiled  and 
vanquished.  He  walks  in  the  dark  valley ;  but  he  hears  the  voice  of 
his  Shepherd,  and  grasps  trustfully  the  staff  and  the  rod.  He  hears 
the  roaring  of  the  flood  ;  but  bright  forms  are  beckoning,  and  sweet 
voices  are  calling,  from  beyond.  He  treads  the  chilling  waters  ;  but 
he  feels  the  rock  beneath  his  feet,  while  ministering  angels  haste  to 
meet  him,  and  sainted  spirits  "  compass  him  about  with  songs  of 
deliverance."  O !  the  transition  is  only  a  passage  to  paradise,  a  birth 
into  a  better  world,  an  introduction  to  a  noble  life 

"  When  the  soul,  from  sorrow  freed, 
Hastens  homeward  to  return. 
Mortals  cry — A  man  is  dead  ! 
Angels  sing — A  child  is  born  !" 

The  work  is  finished,  and  the  laborer  retires  to  his  rest.  The  journey 
is  ended,  and  the  traveller  enters  his  home.  The  voyage  is  over,  and 
the  seaman  leaps  upon  his  native  shore.  The  warfare  is  accomplished, 
and  the  victor  goes  singing  to  his  reward.  It  is  the  racer  grasping 
his  well-earned  garland  ;  it  is  the  heir  receiving  his  long-hoped-for 
inheritance ;  it  is  the  king  going  forth  to  the  festival  of  his  coronation. 
Death  is  presented  to  us  here  as  the  common  lot  of  our  kind. 
David  "was  laid  unto  his  fathers."  We  travel  no  unfrequented 
path.  It  is  "  the  way  of  all  the  earth."  Adam  himself  returned  to 
his  dust ;  and  all  his  posterity  constitutes  but  one  long  funereal  train, 
ever  marching  to  its  own  burial.     Every  tick  of  the  clock  opens  a 

3 


34  LABOR   AND  REST. 

new  sepulchre.  One  human  body  sinks  into  the  earth  every  second, 
sixty  every  minute,  nearly  four  thousand  every  hour,  nearly  ninety 
thousand  every  day,  more  than  six  hundred  thousand  every  week, 
more  than  two  millions  every  month,  about  thirty  millions  every  year, 
about  three  billions  every  century  ;  and  not  less  than  a  hundred  and 
fifty  billions— perhaps  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  billions — a  multi- 
tude which  no  mind  can  grasp — have  disappeared  in  that  all-devour- 
ing vortex  since  the  first  funeral  was  celebrated  in  sight  of  the  gate 
of  Paradise.  Some  forty  or  fifty  have  fallen  asleep  since  we  began 
this  enumeration ;  and  in  thirty  years  more,  a  number  equal  to  the 
entire  present  population  of  the  globe,  (amounting  to  ten  hundred 
millions,)  will  have  mingled  with  the  dust.  We  shall  not  rest  alone 
in  the  sepulchre.  All  the  great  and  good  of  earth  await  us  there — 
sharers  of  the  same  mortality,  expectants  of  the  same  resurrection. 
There  is  Abel,  lying  in  his  blood  beneath  his  altar ;  and  Noah,  rest- 
ing where  they  placed  him,  in  the  renovated  earth,  fresh  from  its  dilu- 
vian  baptism ;  and  Abraham  with  his  cherished  Sarah  ;  and  Isaac 
with  his  beloved  Rebecca ;  and  Jacob,  brought  up  from  Egypt  to  be 
laid  beside  his  Leah — all  reposing  in  the  cave  of  Macpelah,  before 
Mamre ;  and  the  pilgrim  bones  of  Joseph  in  Shechem  ;  and  Aaron 
in  Mount  Hor ;  and  Moses  in  Mount  Nebo ;  and  Joshua  in  Mount 
Ephraim :  and  Samuel  in  his  house  at  Ramah ;  and  the  life-giving 
skeleton  of  Elisha,  mingling  with  common  dust.  And  the  tombs  of 
the  prophets  are  filled  with  holy  forms ;  and  the  sepulchres  of  the 
kings  boast  their  royal  tenantry  ;  and  the  mangled  corse  of  Stephen 
sleeps  tranquilly ;  and  the  shattered  head  of  James  the  Just  is  fear- 
less of  the  fuller's  club.  And  there,  among  the  blessed  sleepers,  is 
Paul  from  the  block  ;  and  Peter  from  the  cross  ;.  and  Polycarp  from 
the  stake ;  and  Luther,  safe  from  the  rage  of  Rome  and  hell ;  and 
the  heroic  victims  of  the  Inquisition  ;  and  the  noble  martyrs  of  Smith- 
field  ;  and  the  VVesleys,  the  Fletchers,  the  Whitefields,  the  Summer- 
fields,  who  have  filled  the  world  with  their  fame  ;  and  the  Pajsons, 
the  Bascoms,  the  Olins,  the  Newtons,  whose  virtues  still  survive  them, 
like  the  odors  of  flowers  fresh  fallen  ;  and  many  a  dear  companion, 
with  whom  we  have  walked  hand  in  hand  along  the  rugged  path  of 
life,  and  stood  side  by  side  in  its  fierce  battles  ;  and  eyes  that  looked 
on  us  so  lovingly,  closed  in  their  long  sleep ;  and  tongues  that  made 
the  music  of  our  households,  hushed  till  the  resurrection ;  and  ears 


LABOR  AND  REST.  ^ 

that  drank  in  the  charm  of  our  discourse,  insensible  till  they  thrill  to 
the  trump  of  God ;  and  hearts  that  beat  in  unison  with  ours,  still 
and  cold,  till  they  quicken  with  the  pulse  of  immortality !  All  these 
have  gone  before  us,  and  we  haste  to  join  them  in  the  narrow  house 
of  hope.  Our  times  are  in  God's  hand ;  we  know  not  when  he 
may  call  us  from  the  field,  but  we  know  that  he  will  not  call  us  too 
soon,  nor  leave  us  too  long.  "  The  graves  are  ready  for  us  " — God 
prepare  us  for  our  graves ! 

Death  comes  to  us  as  a  very  humiliating  event.  David  "  saw  cor- 
ruption ;.  "  so  must  we.  These  tabernacles  must  be  dissolved.  These 
curious  frames  are  destined  to  decay.  The  worms  will  one  day  feast 
upon  their  fair  and  delicate  proportions,  and  revel  amid  the  ruins  of 
the  soul's  deserted  tenement.  The  beaming  eye,  the  blooming  cheek, 
the  sinewy  arm,  the  vigorous  constitution,  the  most  athletic  speci- 
mens of  physical  humanity,  must  bow  to  the  inevitable  decree — "  Dust 
thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return."  But  not  forever  !  "  For 
I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter 
day  upon  the  earth ;  and  though,  after  my  skin,  worms  destroy  this 
body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God ;  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself, 
and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  another,  though  my  reins  be  con- 
sumed within  me."  "If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?  All  the 
days  of  my  appointed  time  [in  the  tomb]  will  I  wait,  till  my  change 
come  —  [my  change  from  corruption  to  incorruption.]  He  shall 
appoint  me  a  set  time,  [for  waking,]  and  remember  me.  He  shall 
call,  [from  above,]  and  I  will  answer  him  [from  beneath.]  He  will 
have  a  desire  to  the  work  of  his  hands."  God  will  not  forget  his 
saints,  nor  leave  them  in  the  sepulchre.  At  the  summons  of  the 
archangel's  trump,  "  his  banished  ones  "  shall  return  to  the  joys  of 
a  blessed  resurrection.  "  For  we  are  dead,  and  our  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God  ;  when  Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall 
we  also  appear  with  him  in  glory."  Our  hope  of  a  resurrection  is 
founded  chiefly  upon  the  fact  of  his  resurrection.  He  rose  as  our 
leader,  and  "  became  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept."  His  res- 
urrection was  the  resurrection  of  our  nature,  and  a  pledge  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  race.  He  is  "  the  head  of  the  body,"  of  which 
every  individual  believer  is  a  member  ;  and  the  rising  head  must  surely 
draw  the  members  after  it.  Thus,  accurately,  he  is  "  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  life,"  and  we  are  "  risen  together  with  him  " — ^<  begot- 
ten again  to  a  lively  hope  by  his  resurrection  from  the  dead."     As 


Bfi  LABOR  AND  REST. 

the  champion  of  our  redemption,  he  travelled  into  the  dominions  of 
Death  and  Hades,  spoiling  principalities  and  powers ;  and  when  he 
returned  from  their  demolished  thrones,  he  brought  with  him  the  keys 
of  all  their  prisons ;  and  in  due  time  he  shall  descend  to  unlock 
every  dungeon,  and  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bound,  and  swallow 
up  death  in  victory.  "  Them  that  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with 
him;"  and  0  what  rapturous  greetings — what  shouts  of  celestial 
welcome — when  all  the  angels  shall  descend  with  songsof  jubilee,  and 
the  disembodied  souls  of  all  the  saints  that  have  passed  into  paradise 
shall  come  down  from  their  blessed  abodes, 

"  Again  to  visit  their  cold  cells  of  clay, 
Charmed  with  perennial  sweets,  and  smiling  at  decay." 

Here,  beloved  brethren,  is  your  incentive  to  labor,  and  your  encour- 
agement to  hope.  Merely  to  witness  such  a  scene,  would  be  a  thousand- 
fold reward  for  all  the  service  you  can  ever  render  your  generation 
by  the  will  of  God.  To  stand  off  on  some  neighboring  planet,  and 
behold  with  immortal  eyes  the  mighty  procession  and  the  magnificent 
coronation,  were  an  ample  indemnification  for  all  the  toil,  and  pain, 
and  sorrow,  and  sickness,  and  weariness,  and  anxiety,  and  tempta- 
tion, and  persecution,  and  disappointment,  and  bereavement,  and 
thousand-fold  afiliction,  that  all  the  faithful  of  every  nation  and  every 
age  have  endured,  even  if  all  were  wrung  into  the  cup  of  a  solitary 
servant  of  God.  But  0  !  you  are  not  to  be  uninterested  spectators — 
you  are  to  join  the  host  and  swell  the  triumph.  It  is  for  you  "  the 
i^ord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven,  with  a  shout,  and  with  the 
voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God ;  "  it  is  to  gather 
your  precious  dust  he  shall  send  forth  his  angels  to  explore  the  cem- 
eteries and  sound  the  seas  ;  and  you,  with  all  the  subjects  of  the  first 
resurrection,  "  shall  be  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and 
so  shall  you  ever  be  with  the  Lord." 

In  view  of  such  an  issue,  with  what  holy  zest  and  fervor  should 
we  devote  ourselves  to  the  service  of  our  generation  by  the  will  of 
God  !  Our  vocations  may  differ  ;  our  aims  should  be  identical.  We 
are  here  to  benefit  our  race  and  glorify  our  Creator.  He  who  does 
neither,  by  no  means  answers  the  end  of  his  existence.  He  defrauds 
both  God  and  man,  and  God  and  man  will  hold  him  to  a  stern  respon- 
sibility for  the  perversion  of  his  powers  and  privileges.  0,  Heaven! 
what  wasted  talents  are  treasured  up  for  judgment !  and  who  can 
bear  the  fierceness  of  Thine  anger,  augmented  by  the  curses  of  ruined 


LABOR  AND  REST.  |B 

souls,  undone  through  his  delinquency  !  The  indolent  and  the  vicious 
shall  never  be  able  to  estimate  the  evil  of  their  influence,  till  they 
awake  in  hell ;  and  the  wailing  voices  of  eternity  shall  be  ever 
preaching  to  them  the  infinite  desert  of  their  misdoing,  and  the  infi- 
nite calamity  of  their  loss  ! 

"  But,  beloved,  we  are  persuaded  better  things  of  you,  and  things 
which  accompany  salvation,  though  we  thus  speak."  Some  of  you, 
at  least — would  that  I  could  say  all ! — have  formed  a  proper 
estimate  of  life  and  its  aims,  of  death  and  its  issues.  You  have 
fixed  your  standard  for  time,  and  cast  your  fortune  for  eternity. 
You,  especially,  my  beloved  brethren,  who  minister  at  the  altars  of 
Grod,  must  often  have  felt  a  solemn  significance  in  these  mutual  rela- 
tions of  life  and  death.  Yours  is  a  holy  and  blessed  work.  It  shall 
sanctify  your  talents,  ennoble  your  virtues,  and  give  you  a  record 
with  the  man  after  God's  own  heart.  There  is  a  dignity  in  it  which 
immeasurably  transcends  all  earthly  engagements.  You  are  servants, 
but  3'ou  are  servants  of  God.  You  are  shepherds,  but  you  are  shep- 
herds of  His  flock.  You  are  stewards,  but  you  are  stewards  of  His 
household.  Y^'ou  are  builders,  but  you  are  builders  of  His  temple. 
You  are  workers,  but  you  are  workers  together  with  Him.  You  are 
messengers,  but  your  message  was  brought  from  heaven  upon  the 
wings  of  a  thousand  seraphim.  You  are  detained  awhile  from  para- 
dise to  seek  the  aliens  over  a  blasted  world ;  but  fidelity  to  your 
high  commission  will  prove  your  surest  passport  within  the  cherub- 
guarded  portal.  A  life  of  toil  is  before  you,  but  there  is  an  eternity 
of  bliss  beyond.  I'our  path,  amid  the  briar  and  the  thorn,  leads  to 
the  delectable  mountains.  *'  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in 
joy ;  and  he  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed, 
shall  doubtless  come  again  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 

Among  ministers,  especially,  "  no  man  liveth  to  himself,  and  no 
man  dieth  to  himself."  Heaven  and  earth  have  claims  upon  us. 
The  present  and  the  future  are  alike  interested  in  our  labors.  Mea 
demand  our  energies — the  blessing  of  our  sanctified  influence — in 
their  behalf;  while  the  eyes  of  witnessing  angels  range  over  our 
solemn  assemblies,  and  departed  friends  from  paradise  stoop  to  listen 
to  our  vows.  Let  us  magnify  our  office  !  Let  us  conceive  worthily 
of  our  sublime  vocation  !  Let  us  study  to  approve  ourselves,  both 
to  God  and  to  man,  as  workmen  that  need  not  Tje  ashamed  ! 

And  0  1  to  die  after  having  done  faithfully  a  work  so  great  and 


38  TABOR  AND  REST. 

holy-  -to  pass  from  the  well-occupied  pulpit  to  paradise — is  it  not 
stepping  from  the  mountain-top,  radiant  already  with  the  glory  of 
God,  into  the  Tishbite's  chariot  of  fire  ?  It  is  exchanging  the  throne 
of  a  petty  province  for  that  of  an  empire  '  It  is  graduating  from  a 
lower  heaven  to  a  higher  !  I  have  heard  of  men  expiring  in  the 
pulpit,  and  I  have  desired  such  an  end  for  my  own.  One  moment 
to  be  standing  so  near  to  God,  and  the  next  to  awake  in  his  presence 
— one  moment  to  be  delivering  his  message  to  men,  and  the  next  to 
receive  his  welcome  to  my  mansion — one  moment  to  be  pointing  poor 
sinners  to  "  the  Lamb  for  sinners  slain,"  and  the  next  to  grasp  Him 
as  my  own  eternal  portion — one  moment  to  be  talking  of  the  gold- 
and-crystal  city,  and  the  thunder-chant  of  its  teeming  minstrelsy, 
and  the  next  to  enter  the  gates  and  join  in  the  song — 0,  crucified 
Master !  this  were  too  much  for  such  a  sinful  worm  to  hope  for,  but 
that  nothing  is  too  great  for  Thy  infinite  love  to  grant ! 

Finally,  my  brethren,  remember  that  in  serving  your  own  genera- 
tion you  serve  also  the  generations  to  come.  The  seed  sown  in  the 
present  will  bloom  and  bear  fruit  in  the  future,  and  propagate  itself 
in  successive  harvests  forever.  Your  influence  will  outlive  you  j 
your  work  will  remain  when  you  are  gone  ;  and  the  good  you  shall 
have  done  will  flourish  over  your  tombs.  David  "  served  his  own 
generation  by  the  will  of  God,"  in  the  character  of  a  poet,  as  well  as 
of  a  prophet  and  a  king ;  and  this  day  a  thousand  temples  are  ring- 
ing with  the  voice  of  his  psalmody,  and  millions  of  worshippers  are 
melting  to  the  strain  of  his  penitence,  and  soaring  on  the  wings  of 
bis  piety ;  and  through  the  coming  centuries,  the  saints  shall  still 
make  these  sacred  compositions  their  songs  in  the  house  of  their 
pilgrimage ;  and  "  the  harp  the  monarch  minstrel  swept  "  shall  still 
soothe  the  troubled  soul,  and  heal  the  broken  heart,  and  breathe  its 
angel  melodies  over  the  bed  of  death,  and  around  the  tomb  of  the 
departed ;  and  "  the  sacramental  host  of  God's  elect  "  shall  march 
to  its  music  in  the  last  great  battle  for  the  faith  ;  and  its  livino 
numbers  shall  modulate  the  movement  of  the  resurrection  antheu'  ! 

Like  David  may  you  labor  !     With  David  may  you  rest ! 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.* 


BY   C.    B.    PARSONS,   D.  V. 


"And  of  Zion  it  shall  be  said,  This  and  that  man  was  born  in  her;  and  the 
highest  himself  shall  establish  her." — Psalms,  Ixxxvii,  5. 

The  great  and  distinguishing  event  in  the  history  of  time,  is  doubt- 
'ess  the  founding  among  men  of  the  Church  of  God  ;  the  setting  up 
in  the  world,  in  accordance  with  the  prediction  of  the  prophet,  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings, 
shall  the  Grod  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be 
destroyed  ;  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but 
it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  other  kingdoms,  and  it 
shall  stand  forever."f  To  this  kingdom,  whose  identity  is  to  be 
recognised  in  the  Church  of  Christ  —  to  its  assurances,  its  pur- 
poses and  its  powers — the  world  is  largely  indebted  for  every  ex- 
cellence of  enjoyment,  both  of  present  possession  and  of  future  hope. 
Like  the  material  sun  in  the  heavens,  which  lends  from  itself  the 
beams  of  light  that  we  see  reflected  from  every  lower  and  lesser  orb, 
while  in  kingly  radiance  it  presides  over  the  whole,  the  Church  is  the 
centre  power  of  a  sublime  moral  system  whose  divine  illumination  is 
ultimately  to  fill  the  whole  earth  :  "  For  the  earth  shall  be  filled 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea.")|  From  this  centre,  which  shows  us  God,  proceed 
forth  all  those  rays  of  moral  and  intellectual  brilliancy,  as  well 
as  spiritual  efiect,  that  are  reflected  upon  the  glassy  surface  of  the  sea 
of  time,  and  are  gathered  into  the  many  circling  eddies  of  earthly 
worth.  All  these  are  obedient  unto  their  parent  cause,  in  whose 
divinity  is  the  sovereign  rule.  For  as  "  the  head  of  every  man 
is  Christ,  ....  and  the  head  of  Christ  is  God,"||  this 
also  is  of  Christ  and  from  God  —  "  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  great  and  meri- 

»  A  Sermon  preached  at  the  dedication  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  at 
Saint  Louis,  December  31, 1«54. 
t  Daniel  ii,  44.  J  Habakuk  ii,  14.  U  1  Cor  xi,3.  §  John  iii,16. 


40  THE  DI^aNITY   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

torious  gift  of  God  to  man  was  the  procuring  cause  of  human  redemp- 
tion, the  instrumental  demonstration  and  sublime  result  of  which  ap- 
pear in  the  institutions  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  They  are  divine; 
hence  it  is  written,  "  The  Lord  loveth  the  gates  of  Zion  more  than 
all  the  dwellings  of  Jacob."*  And  "  the  Lord  shall  count,  when  he 
writeth  up  the  people,  that  this  (and  that)  man  was  born  there."t 

I.    The  Divinity  of  the  Church,  considered  from  its  origin. 

"  The  hiorhest  himself  shall  establish  her." 

If  the  origin  of  the  Christian  religion  cannot  be  clearly  traced  to  a 
Divine  authorship,  then  must  infidelity  be  right,  and  the  pledges  of 
faith  in  Christ  the  most  stupendous  fraud  ever  practiced  upon  a  delu- 
ded world.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  tracery  of  the  system  be 
distinctly  clear,  and  direct  from  God,  through  Christ,  then,  instead 
of  "  a  cunningly-devised  fable,"  it  will  appear  to  all  (what  it  really  is) 
the  most  magnificent  truth  ever  revealed  from  heaven  to  man — a  Da- 
guerrean  impress  of  God  in  his  nature,  made  with  infallible  exacti- 
tude by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  conveyed  by  the  lights  of  peace  and 
purity  to  the  tables  of  the  human  heart.  While  it  is  written,  there- 
fore, that  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them 
that  love  him,"|  (that  is,  the  glorious  realities  which,  as  results  of  the 
system,  shall  be  inherited  by  the  Christian  in  the  future  world,)  it  is 
also  said  that  "  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit : 
for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  even  the  deep  things  of  God."|  | 

1.  The  conception  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  of  which  the  Church  is 
the  visible  instrumentality,  was  first  in  heaven,  and  not  on  the  earth, 
and  was  of  God,  and  not  by  man. 

In  the  beginning  God  created  all  things,  and  pronounced  them 
perfect — not  only  good,  but  "  very  good."  The  world,  antecedent 
to  the  fall  of  man,  presents  to  the  mind  a  glorious  vision  of  beauty, 
grace,  and  power.  Wrapped  in  the  sublime  foldings  of  eternity  past, 
God  looked  out  from  himself  upon  the  mighty  void,  and  said,  "  Let 
there  be  light."  In  obedience  to  the  Divine  fiat,  the  earth  rose  ma- 
jestically into  gracefulness  of  form  and  being ;  the  heavenly  bodies 
wheeled  into  their  courses ;  and  the  sun,  putting  aside  the  veil  from 
off  his  golden  face,  as  the  eye  of  Deity,  looked  forth  upon  the  scene — 
■when,  it  is  said,  "  The  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons 

•  Psalms  Ixxxvii,  2.  t  Verse  6.  JlCor.  ii,6.  B  Verse  10. 


THE   DIVINITY   OP   THE   CHURCH.  41 

01  Grod  shouted  for  joy."  Such  a  scene,  we  should  think,  would 
be  in  the  nature  of  things,  abundantly  sufficient  to  produce  such  a 
result.  And  yet,  far  more  sublime  was  the  birth  of  man.  In  his 
case,  a  Council  of  Deity  seems  to  have  been  called  ;  for  "  God  said, 
Let  Tis  make  man  in  our  image."*  And  so  man  was  created 
(whatever  may  be  his  condition  now)  in  the  image  of  God.  How  long 
this  state  of  perfect  being  might  have  continued,  or  what  would  have 
been  the  result,  is  not  for  this  present  inquiry.  He  did  not  so  con- 
tinue. But,  instead  of  resisting  the  temptation — of  casting  from  him 
the  forbidden  fruit — and  so,  in  a  second  triumph  over  Lucifer,  call- 
ing the  heavenly  hierarchies  to  shout  around  the  new-born  victori- 
ous son  of  earth,  he  yielded — he  tasted — and  he  died.  With  his  own 
rash  hand,  he  plucked  away  the  keystone  from  the  symmetric  arch  of 
human  immortality,  and  the  whole  fabric  sunk  in  ruins.  The  earth 
felt  the  blow,  and  shuddered  ;  the  elements  labored,  and  breathed  out 
their  low  lament ;  while  heaven  stood  still,  astonished  (as  it  would 
seem,  if  not  aghast)  at  the  dreadful  scene.  To  this  point  may  be 
traced  the  first  inception  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  whose  promise  was 
primarily  revealed  in  heaven,  and  then  applied  upon  earth.  In  the 
vision  of  St.  John,  (which  may  be  considered  in  some  degree  a  figure 
of  the  past,  as  well  as  a  mirror  of  the  future,)  a  mysterious  book  is 
made  to  appear,  "  which  no  man  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth,  neither 
under  the  earth,  was  able  to  open."t  And,  as  it  is  declared,  the 
prophet  wept,  because  no  man  was  found  worthy  to  open  and  to 
read  the  book.  But  presently  his  tears  are  checked,  and  his  sor- 
row is  turned  to  joy,  for  a  champion  appears ! — he  comes  in  the 
panoply  of  the  Highest,  and  shows  himself  to  be  the  Lord  of  his  own 
presence !  Clothed  with  the  omnipotence  of  power  Divine,  he  lays 
his  hand  upon  the  book,  which  instantly  unclasps  itself  beneath  his 
touch,  as  the  heavenly  annunciation  sounds,  "  Behold,  the  Lion  of 
the  Tribe  of  Judah,  the  Root  of  David,  hath  prevailed  to  open  the 
book !  "I  What  was  the  book  ?  Was  it  a  symbol  of  the  Bible — 
the  book  of  mercy  to  man — the  book  of  salvation  to  the  world  ?  So 
it  would  seem ;  for,  as  an  immediate  consequence  of  the  opening  of 
the  volume,  the  Lion  has  turned  to  a  Lamb,  which,  as  an  object  of 
high  worship,  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  robed  in  sacrifice,  as  it 
had  been  slain  from  the  beginning  of  the  world.     It  was  the  "  Lamb 

•Gen.  i,2fi.  t  Rev  v,  2.  J  Verse  5. 


42  THE    DIVINITY    OP   THE    CHURCH. 

of  God,"  presented  in  sacrificial  pledge,  to  "  take  away  the  sin  of 
the  world  ;  "  which  pledge  was  afterwards  redeemed  on  Calvary, 
when  the  universal  altar  smoked  with  the  blood  of  a  God  !  It  was 
the  book  of  human  privilege — the  charter  of  redemption  in  Jesus 
Christ — which,  as  a  transcript  of  the  heavenly  mind,  was  destined  to 
be,  and  is,  the  constitution  of  the  Church  ;  and,  by  grace,  "  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  belie veth." 

Herein  we  discover,  that  the  campaign  of  the  world's  restoration 
was  drawn  and  plotted  in  the  court  of  heaven.  There  it  originated, 
and  thence  cometh  all  its  power.  With  the  promulgation  of  its  plan, 
came  forth  the  divine  firman  for  the  organization  of  its  earthly  forces, 
which,  from  the  first  till  now,  led  on  by  "  the  captain  of  our  salva- 
tion," have  demonstrated  to  the  world,  and  to  listening  heaven,  the 
divinity  of  the  organic  cause.  From  the  heavenly  throne,  the  golden 
chain  of  divine  truth,  consecrated  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and 
borne  by  the  hand  of  free-grace,  descended  to  man,  and,  encircling 
the  whole  body  of  time  with  its  "  link-work  "  of  blessed  promises, 
was  borne  back  by  an  ascending  Saviour,  and  joined  to  its  counter  ex- 
tremity again  in  heaven ; — thus,  with  its  ample  powers,  it  embraces 
and  sustains  the  whole  world,  while  it  freely  offers  itself,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  lift  every  individual  of  the  human  race,  up  to  the  seat  of 
its  divinity  who  will  place  their  trust  in  it. 

2.  The  Divinity  of  the  Church  is  seen  in  the  manner  of  its  com- 
munication^ which  was  FROM  heaven  in  Christ. 

The  long  period  of  spiritual  and  moral  darkness  which  preceded 
the  coming  of  Messiah,  presents  upon  the  pages  of  the  past  a  no  less 
striking  than  solemn  contrast  with  the  glowing  scene  that  witnessed 
his  descent  to  earth.  For  centuries,  the  kingdom  of  Judah  had  been 
in  a  state  of  progressive  decline.  The  prophecies  concerning  the 
Jews,  according  to  Rabinical  construction,  had  been  mainly  fulfilled, 
at  least  those  whose  fulfilment  was  located  antecedent  to  the  advent 
of  Messiah,  save  one,  in  the  promise  of  whose  prediction  they  con- 
tinue, to  rest  their  once  bright,  but  now  almost  expiring  hope.  This 
was  the  prophecy  of  Jacob,  made  in  the  hour  of  his  death — "  The 
sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his 
feet,  until  Shiloh  come  ;  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  peo- 
ple be."*     Year  after  year  of  anxious  hope  came  and  went,  as  the 

•Gen.  ilix,  10. 


THE   DIVINITY  OP   THE   CHURCH.  43 

sun  of  the  Jewish  polity  descended,  slowly,  the  western  heavens ;  and 
yet  Shiloh  came  not.  The  flight  of  the  Koman  Eagle  was  already  in 
the  land,  and  forming  his  circles  above  the  devoted  city — awaiting, 
as  it  would  seem,  but  the  time  appointed,  to  descend  upon  his  quarry.* 
The  question  now  began  to  be  started,  What  shall  the  end  of  these 
things  be '-  "  Has  God  forgotten  to  be  gracious  ?"  "  Is  his  mercy 
clean  gone  forever"*"  If  not,  where  is  the  prophecy  of  Jacob,  Where 
is  Shiloh  ■?  Already  the  decree  of  the  Emperor  has  gone  forth : 
Judah  has  been  gathered  together,  and  with  the  dawn  of  the  morning, 
the  enrolment  of  taxation,  which  was  to  wrest  the  "  sceptre"  and 
remove  the  lawgiver,  would  commence.  The  last  day  of  Judean 
empire  had  came,  and  the  last  night  of  their  Theocratic  existence  was 
preparing  to  spread  its  dark  mantle,  as  a  funeral  pall,  over  their  dead 
hope.  But  it  is  truly  said,  that  man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity ; 
so  it  proved  in  this  case.  A  band  of  pious  shepherds  were  on  this 
momentous  night  watching  their  flocks  on  Bethlehem's  plains,  which 
lay  near  to  Jerusalem  ; — as  they  kept  their  sleepless  vigil,  it  is  likely 
their  thoughts  turned  upon  their  national  condition,  and  their  minds 
communed  with  God.  How  solemn  the  scene !  and  presently  too, 
how  exciting !  Just  as  the  climbing  night,  in  darkness  wrapt,  was 
about  to  strike  upon  the  bell  of  time  the  turning  hour,  and  tell  to 
the  city  and  the  plains  that  the  new  day  was  born,  a  sun-like  glory 
leaped  from  the  heavens  above,  and  lighted  up  the  scene.  The  shep- 
herds stood  entranced.  What  was  it  ?  Not  the  morning,  nor  yet  the 
meridian  sun,  but  God  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  promise.  For  "  Lo  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone 
round  about  them."t  In  the  midst  of  the  glory,  as  in  a  chariot  of 
descending  light,  a  holy  company  now  appear,  for,  "  suddenly  there 
was  with  the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God. "J 
It  was  Liberty's  natal  anthem ;  the  liberty  of  the  world  from  the 
bondage  of  sin  and  death  ;  sung  by  the  synod  of  God .  Shiloh  had 
come  —  "  for  unto  you,"  said  the  sacred  messenger,  "  is  born  this 
day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord."|  |  It 
was  the  coming  of  the  king  into  his  kingdom,  the  head  unto  the 
Church,  to  impress,  with  his  own  presence,  his  oton  divinity  upon  the 
institution  he  had  set  up.  Loud  from  the  heavens  rung  the  chorus 
of  his  advent,  which  still  reverberates  through  the  world — "Glory  to 

•  Matt,  ixiv,  23.        tLuken,9.        t  Verse  13.         U  Verse  11. 


44  THE   DIVINITY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

God  ia  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  man."* 
Let  the  "  epithalamic "  harmony  roll  on,  and  roll  forever,  until 
the  "  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  fill  the  whole  earth,  even  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea." 

"  The  highest  himself  shall  establish  her." 

3.  In  the  character  of  its  progress  in  the  worlds  is  seen  the  di- 
vinity of  the  cause,  and,  by  consequence,  also,  the  divinity  of  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Church. 

This  progress  was  symbolized  by  the  rolling  stone  of  Daniel,  seen 
of  the  king  of  Babylon  in  his  night  vision,  which  is  interpreted 
to  refer  to  the  power  and  expansion  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
High  amidst  the  mountains  of  the  Lord,  a  stone,  cut  out  without 
hands,  commenced  to  roll  down  upon  the  earth.  The  great  image, 
representing  the  idolatries  as  well  as  the  kingdoms  of  the  world, 
was  crushed  beneath  it  ;  the  hills  were  leveled,  and  the  valleys 
were  raised,  until,  in  its  vast  expansion,  it  filled  the  whole  earth. 
This  was  Christianity,  which,  being  of  God,  and  not  of  man,  was  lit- 
erally "  without  hands."  A  divine  impulsion  from  the  heavenly 
throne,  culminating  in  power  and  expanding  in  purpose,  extending 
itself,  by  the  forces  of  an  inherent  Omnipotence,  over  countries  and 
kingdoms,  and  embracing  in  ita  ample  arms  the  whole  world.  For 
even  as  Jesus  Christ  "  tasted  death  for  every  man,"t  the  time  shall 
certainly  come  when,  in  the  language  of  the  prophet,  "  they  shall 
teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and  every  man  his  brother, 
saying  Know  the  Lord  :  for  they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of 
them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord."||  The  varied  his- 
tory, the  struggles,  fortunes,  persecutions,  and  proscriptions  of  the 
Church,  through  all  which  it  has  been  so  triumphantly  conducted, 
attests  also  the  divinity  of  the  cause.  To  no  other  power  but  to  that 
of  the  direct  inspiration  and  presence  of  Almighty  God,  can  be  attri- 
buted the  wondrous  manner  of  the  Church's  preservation,  when  as- 
sailed, as  it  has  been,  by  the  political  combinations  of  governments, 
and  the  settled  hatred  of  the  world.  If  it  had  been  simply  human 
in  its  nature,  it  is  plain  to  see  that  with  the  crumbling  dynasties  and 
changing  kingdoms  of  the  world,  it  would  have  ceased  to  exist  centu- 
ries ago  ;  and  if  history  had  remembered  it  at  all  in  the  present  day, 

•LuKcii.O.  t  Daniel  ii,  31-35.  J  Heb.  ii,  9.  ||  Jer.  xxxi,  34. 


THE  DIVINITY  OF   THE   CHURCH.  45 

it  would  have  been  to  have  classed  it  with  its  kindred  rubbish  of 
antique  obsoletism — with  the  "  myths"  and  "  marvels"  of  ancient 
days.  But  instead  of  this,  it  has  grown  mightily  in  the  midst  of 
death,  and  expanded  in  power  and  possession  most  where  proscrip- 
tions and  persecutions  have  been  loudest  and  most  violent  against 
it.  The  secret  of  the  invincibility  of  its  progress  is  contained  in  the 
fact  that  God  is  with  it.  The  promise  to  Moses,  "  My  presence 
shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will  give  thee  rest,"  has  been  verified 
in  every  step  and  period  of  its  eventful  history,  from  the  first  per- 
secution at  Jerusalem  to  the  last  proscript  of  Rome.  The  war, 
the  poison,  the  steel,  the  axe,  the  flame,  the  gibbet,  and  the  cord, 
have  done  their  bloody  work,  and  swelled  the  martyr  list  to  tens  of 
thousands ;  but  even  in  this  the  divinity  has  overruled,  and  "  the 
wrath  of  man  has  been  made  to  praise  God."  Millions  have  risen 
into  the  places  of  the  thousands  lost,  and  God  has  magnified  his  cause 
above  all  the  earth.  Like  a  great  seamark,  or  lofty  tower  of  light, 
set  to  guide  the  endangered  mariner  over  the  angry  deep,  the  Church 
stands  amidst  the  billowy  ocean  of  Time,  the  invulnerable  "  Pharos" 
of  spiritual  light  and  safety.  May  we  not  say,  too,  that  it  is  also  the 
great  tower  of  strength,  which  holds  together  the  structure  of  things? 
If  not,  what  did  Christ  mean  when  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Ye  are 
the  salt  of  the  earth"  ?  The  great  characteristic  of  salt  is  that  it 
preserves.  The  Church  as  an  institution,  and  Christianity  as  a  prin- 
ciple, operate  to  preserve  the  world  for  a  time  from  that  certain  dis- 
solution which,  but  for  this  divine  interposition,  would  irremediably 
and  irresistibly  be  its  fate  ;  for  unto  this  end  sin  hath  wrought  in  the 
earth.  It  might  be  said,  then,  of  the  Church  and  the  world,  as  it 
was  once  said  of  Rome  and  the  Colisseum,  "  While  the  Church  stands, 
the  world  stands  ;  but  when  the  Church  falls,  the  world  falls."  That 
is,  while  the  Church  holds  its  present  associated  relationship  to  the 
world  of  mankind,  the  earth  will  stand  ;  but  when  the  divinity  of  the 
cause  has  carried  to  its  close  the  progress  of  the  design — when  from 
the  circumference  to  the  centre  shall  come  upon  the  laden  wires  the 
travelled  word  of  triumph,  that  the  "  battle  of  life  is  fought  and 
won,  and  the  last  sinner  converted  to  God "  —  then,  casting  the 
earth  from  it  into  the  destruction  prepared  for  its  doom,  the  Church, 
in  heavenly  procession,  will  rise  to  glory  and  to  God,  inspired  and 

*  Exodus  xxxi,  14. 


46  THE  DIVINITY  OP  THE  CHURCH. 

sanctified  and  made  eternally  joyful,  by  that  same  divinity,  wbicli  is 
now,  and  ever  has  been,  the  spirit  and  power  of  its  resistless  progres- 
sion. "  For  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  to 
Zion,  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads  ;  they  shall 
obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away."* 

There 

'•  The  saints  in  his  presence  receive 
Their  great  and  eternal  reward; 
In  Jesus,  in  heaven  they  live — 

They  reign  in  the  smile  of  the  Lord." 

II.  The  Divinity  of  the  Church  demonstrated  in  the  purposes 
of  its  foundation,     '■'■^his  and  that  man  was  born  in  her."" 

«  Marvel  not,"  said  the  Saviour  to  Nicodemus,!  «  that  I  said  unto 
thee.  Ye  must  be  born  again." 

Holiness  to  the  Lord,  through  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit — 
which,  as  a  principle,  is  the  life  of  the  soul,  and  without  which  "  no 
man  shall  see  God,"J — is  the  corner  stone  of  hope,  in  the  chrbtian 
structure. 

1.  Holy  Living,  This  is  the  first  fruitage  of  the  system,  and  is 
the  early  demonstration,  both  to  the  individual  himself  in  its  practice, 
and  to  the  world  at  large  in  its  profession,  of  what  the  true  pur- 
poses of  the  Church  are, — of  its  designs  in  reference  to  the  human 
family,  and  its  mission  to  convince  mankind  of  its  instrumental 
divinity,  and  to  mark  this  efiect  upon  all  "  who  will,"  with  the  pres-' 
ence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  While  Christ,  therefore,  says 
to  his  followers,  in  order  to  the  inspiration  of  their  confidence  in 
Him,  «  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"]] 
that  the  testimony  of  the  cause  might  be  more  complete  and  per- 
fect, the  inner  witness  is  also  called,  and  joined  with  the  outer,  in  the 
Divine  attestation  that  « the  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of  God."§  No  greater  paradox  could 
be  invented,  than  is  contained  in  the  idea  of  an  unholy  christian ; 
and  no  greater  mistake  committed  than  to  attempt  the  ascent  to 
heaven  by  any  other  way  than  holiness.  Of  this,  Isaiah,  in  his  vision 
of  the  Christian  Church,  says,  "An  highway  shall  be  there,  and  it 
shall  be  called  the  way  of  holiness,'^M  which  Christ  locates  in  him- 
self.    For  says  He,  "  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life."** 


•Isaiah  Xixv,  10.        t  John  lil,  7.        {  Hcb.  xii,  U.         H  Malt,  xiviii,  20.        f  Rom.  vlii,  16 
H  Chap.  XXXV.  ••  John  xiv,  16. 


THE   DIVINITr  OF   THE   CHURCH.  47 

The  hjly  living,  or  holiness  of  heart  and  life,  which  is  ^'-the  way" 
of  the  christian,  is  necessarily  therefore  in  Christy  and  cannot  be 
anywhere  else.     Hence  the  Apostle  says,  »'  We  walk  by  faith,  not 
by  sight."*     To  be  in  Christ,  where  the  Church  is,  and  where  the 
Church,  by  the  Spirit  given,  invites  the  world  to  come,  involves  two 
things  which  stand  in  necessary  sequence  to  each  other, — holiness 
and  happiness.     These  principles,  which  are  properties  of  the  chris- 
tian faith,  in  whichever  way  they  may  be  logically  placed,  will  be 
found  to  sustain  to  each  other  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.     The 
holy  man  is  the  happy  man,  and  the  happy  man  is  the  holy  man.    These 
are  sequences  of  greater  infallibility  than  that  ascribed  to  the  chair 
of  St.  Peter.     The  philosophy  of  this  principle  is  contained  in  the 
fact  that  christians  are,  by  faith,  in  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  fountain 
of  holiness;  and  from  him,  as  "the  branch  in  the  vine,"  they  draw 
the  aliment  of  their  moral  and  religious  being.     Consequently,  if  the 
relationship  be  perfect,  they  must  be  like  him  and  show  as  reflectors 
of  His  divinity.     Less  than  this  would  be  less  than  the  measure 
made  by  Christ  himself.     He  says  of  the  relationship,  "  I  am  the 
vine,  ye  are  the  branches :  he  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the 
same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit. "f     This  the  Apostle  declares  to  be 
"fruit  unto  holiness,"  the  end  or  result  of  which  is  "everlasting 
life."     Holiness  of  life,  then,  is  the  great  gospel  mirror  that  shapes 
to  the  world  the  divinity  of  the  cause — the  divinity  of  the  Church. 
2.  Happy  Dying.     This  is  the  natural  result  of  holy  living, — for 
he  who  commences  to  be  happy  in  Christ,  by  a  holy  profession  of  the 
christian  faith,  and  continues  therein  until  the  end  comes,  makes 
assurance  doubly  sure  to  this  effect.     He  takes  a  bond,  by  faith,  for 
its  accomplishment, — not  of  fate,  but  of  grace,  written  by  the  Divine 
hand,  and  sealed  in  the  blood  of  the  Cross,  whose  pledge  "  is  a  crown 
of  life,"  and  whose  security  is  the  oath  of  God.     "  For  wherein," 
says  the  Apostle,  "  God  willing  more  abundantly  to  show  unto  the 
heirs  of  promise  the  immutability  of  His  counsel  confirmed  it  by  an 
OATH,  that  by  two  immutable  things  in  which  it  was  impossible  for 
God  to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong  consolation  who  have  fled  for 
refuge,  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  us  "J     That  to  die  in 
peace  is  the  greatest  desideratum  and  hope  of  life,  is  too  evident  a 
proposition  to  need  an  argument.     The  sinner,  as  well  as  the  saint, 

•2  Cor.  ▼,  7.  t  John  xy,5.  jHeb.  ri,  17,  18. 


48  THE  DIVINITY   OP   THE   CHURCH. 

will  admit  this.  There  is  no  difference  between  the  Church  and  the 
world,  with  regard  to  the  desirable  end ;  both  wish  to  be  safe — both 
wish  to  be  happy.  The  difference  lies  in  the  manner  and  labor  of 
attaining  unto  that  end.  In  this  they  are  wide  apart ;  with  wha* 
wisdom  God,  and  the  final  destiny  of  all  things,  will  ultimately  sef 
forth.  But  that  "  happy  dying"  is  the  immutable  consequence  of 
holy  living, — "  Christ  formed  the  hope  of  glory,"  is  as  well  the  wit 
ness  as  the  cause.  A  triumphant  death,  or  separation  from  the  world 
to  the  superficial  observer,  might  be  looked  upon,  perhaps,  as  enthu- 
siastic,  if  not  miraculous.  But  upon  examination,  it  will  show  to  be 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  It  is  perfectly  within  the  range  of 
philosophical  exposition,  and  is  as  susceptible  of  demonstration  as  a 
problem  in  mathematics.  Nay,  more  than  this,  it  is  just  as  impossi- 
ble, if  the  Word  of  God  be  a  verity,  for  a  holy  christian  to  die 
otherwise  than  happy,  as  it  is  for  figures,  truthfully  calculated,  to 
exhibit  an  erroneous  result.  "  For  so  an  entrance  shall  be  minis- 
tered unto  you  abundantly,  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ."*  If  a  certain  change,  then,  from 
poverty  to  riches,  from  gloom  to  gladness,  and  from  death  to  life— 
a  life  of  never-ending  joy,  and  wrought  out,  through  the  faithfulness 
of  the  christian,  by  the  direct  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost, — God  him- 
self being  pledged  to  this  end, — be  sufficient  to  inspire  a  rapture  at 
the  parting  from  sin  and  misery  and  pain  in  the  world,  then  the 
result  is  irresistible,  and  not  only  irresistible,  but  natural  and  philo- 
sophic. For  God  says  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give 
thee  a  crown  of  life."t  In  view  of  this,  St.  Paul  exclaimed  with 
holy  joy,  as  he  stood  upon  the  confines  of  time,  and  gazed  into  eter- 
nity— his  departure  being  at  hand — "  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered." 
"  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day ;  and  not  to 
me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  His  appearing."!  "  Oj 
death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0,  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?".... 
"Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."!  I  This  happiness  in  death  hath  its  producing  cause 
in  the  "  new  birth,"  which  plants  Christ  in  us ;  and  which,  as  the  ac- 
complishment of  one  of  Zion's  purposes  in  the  world,  as  set  forth  in 
the  text,  is  another  witness  of  the  Divinity  of  the  Church.     Under 

•aPet.  i,2.  tRev.  ii,  10.  t2Tiin.  iv,  8.  DlCor.  xv,65. 


THE  DIVINITY  OP  THE   CHURCH.  49 

its  influence  the  latter  day  reformers  have  manifested  the  same  spirit. 
Fletcher  shouted  for  joy  in  the  hour  of  dissolution ;  Wesley  said, 
"The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us;"  McKendree  exclaimed,  <' All  is 
well ;"  while  myriads  of  others,  sustained  by  the  same  Power  and 
filled  with  the  same  Spirit,  have  gone  up  to  glory  and  to  God,  where, 
with  the  holy  martyrs  as  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  they  wait  beneath  the 
altar  to  attest  the  mighty  truth.  They  will  receive  their  reward  in 
the  great  day  of  the  Lord.*     Then,  we  say  with  the  Poet, 

"  Let  sickness  blast,  let  death  devour, 

If  heaven  must  recompense  our  pains  ; 
Perish  the  grass,  and  fade  the  flower, 
If  firm  the  word  of  God  remains." 

"  For  this  is  the  promise  that  He  hath  promised  us,  even  eternal 
life.f" 

III.  The  Divinity  of  the  Churchy  as  manifested  in  the  necessity 
that  the  manner  of  its  acts,  as  well  as  their  substance  or  consc- 
iences, should  be  immortal. 

The  apostle  to  the  Romans  says,  "  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound,"|  which  grace  he  sets  forth  to  the  Church  at 
Ephesus  as  the  great  principle  of  salvation  in  Christ.  "For  by 
grace  (says  he)  are  you  saved  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves : 
it  is  the  gift  of  God."||  This  being  the  case,  the  deduction  is  clear, 
that  the  emancipated  soul,  in  its  departure  from  the  world,  must 
carry  with  it,  in  active  exercise,  all  those  properties  and  powers  which 
belonged  to  it  in  the  days  of  the  flesh.  And  these  must  be  perfect 
and  infallible,  without  which  the  judgment-seat  would  be  liable  to 
impeachment,  and  the  doctrine  of  rewards  and  punishments  become 
a  simple  absurdity.  The  necessity  of  this  will  sufficiently  appear  by 
reference  to  one  faculty  alone — that  of  memory.  To  make  God  just, 
memory  must  remain,  and  in  absolute  perfection.  The  least  delin- 
quency in  this  property  of  the  mind  or  spirit  to  retrospect  the  past, 
and  call  up  from  the  circles  of  time  the  procuring  causes  of  reward  or 
punishment,  would  invalidate  the  whole  structure  of  justice,  and  make 
of  reward  simply  a  gift,  and  of  punishment  a  mere  affliction.  The 
practices  of  earthly  jurisprudence  illustrate  this  necessity.  No  crimi- 
nal court  would  hold  itself  guiltless  in  punishing  either  an  idiot  or  a 
maniac,  because  the  chief  element  of  punishment  being  wanting — an 


•  Rev.  vi,  0, 10, 11.  1 1  John  ii,  SJ5.  tRom.v,20.  l|Eph.  ii,8. 

4 


50  THE  DIVINITr   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

uaderstanding  on  the  part  of  the  sufferer  for  what  he  suffered — the 
object  would  be  defeated,  and  the  end  lost ;  so  also  with  regard  to 
rewards.     The  same  necessity  exists  in  order  that  God  may  be  glorified 
in  the  son,  as  "  the  author  and  finisher  "  of  the  christian  faith ;  that 
faith,  which  being  baptized  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  bringeth  salva- 
tion to  man.     Take  from  memory  the  scenes  of  Calvary  and  Geth- 
semane,   and  what  would   constitute  the  basis  of  heavenly  praise  for 
either  time  or  eternity  ?  There  could  be  no  such  thing,  because  in  that 
event  there  would  be  no  sufficient  cause  of  inspiration.     In  addition 
to  this  necessity,  which   the  philosophy  of  the  subject  so    plainly 
teaches,  the  Divine  Word  has  also  declared,  by  inference  at  least,  the 
same  thing.     "  Unto  him  that  loved  us,  (said  an  angel  voice,)  and 
washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and 
priests  unto  God  and  his  Father :  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for 
ever  and  ever."*     In  this  communication  to  John,  the  heavenly 
messenger   refers  to  antecedent  acts  on  earth  as  the  inspiring  cause 
of  eternal  glorification  in  heaven.    If  the  triumphant  war  of  redemp- 
tion, then,  be  remembered,  whose  short  but  mighty  campaign  was 
from  "  Gethsemane"  to  "  Gabbatha,"  and  from  ''  Gabbatha  "  to  «  Gol- 
gotha," so,  by  construction,  of  everything  else.     This  answers  a  very 
interesting  if  not  important  question  that  is  frequently  asked,  "  Shall 
we  know  our  friends  again  when  we  meet  them  in  the  other  world  ?" 
If  the  testimony  of  necessity  and  the  declaration  of  the  word  of  God 
be  considered,  the  answer  is,  we  shall;  and  not  only  shall  we  know 
our  friends,  but  everything  else  also,  from  the  days  of  Adam  to  the 
end  of  time.     Knowledge,  to  this  extent,  must  be  intuitive,  else 
the  plan  is  imperfect.     An  example  of  this  truth  is  presented  by  the 
record  of  the  "transfiguration,"  in  the  intuitive  recognition  of  Moses 
and  Elias  by  the  disciples.     The  same  thing  is  declared  by  St.  Paul, 
in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians :  "  For  now  we  see  through  a 
glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face ;  now  I  know  in  part,  but  then 
shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known."!     If  ^^  shall  know  other 
things  as  God  knows  us,  which  seems  to  be  the  idea  of  the  apostle, 
then  will  knowledge  be  perfect,  and  if  perfect,  intuitive. 

There  needs  no  elaboration  of  this  thought  to  show  the  amazing 
perfection  and  goodness  of  God,  as  exhibited  in  the  scheme  of  human 

•Rev.  i,5  t  1  Cor.  xiii,  la. 


THE  DIVINITr  OP  THE   CHURCH.  5  , 

redemption ;  the  very  idea  is  laden  with  glory  and  crowned  with  hope. 
Not  to  a  land  of  strangers  will  the  christian  go  when  dismissed  from 
earth,  but  to  a  long-sought  home — a  home  in  the  heavenly  mansions 
of  bliss, 

"  Where  friends  shall  meet  again." 
There  long-severed  families  shall  be  brought  together,  and  be  re- 
constituted one  in  Jesus  Christ ;  there  the  old  warrior  of  the  cross, 
rejuvenate  in  the  light  of  the  Lamb,  shall  tell  his  battles  o'er  again, 
while  the  heavenly  arches  re-echo  with  the  song  of  the  Apocalypse — 
that  song  which  no  man  could  learn,  "  save  the  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  thousand  which  were  redeemed  from  the  earth."*  Of  that 
perfect  number,  which  represents  all  the  saved  of  mankind,  is  the 
Christian  Church  a  component  part.  It  once  bore  the  Cross,  but 
now  it  wears  the  Crown;  it  was  once  a  traveller  in  gloom,  but  now 
it  is  an  inhabitant  of  glory.  The  pilgrim  reaches  home.  Sustained  by 
the  divinity  of  its  cause,  it  hath  passed,  with  its  acts,  through  the 
purifying  crucible  of  truth  and  grace,  and  now  enters  "through  the 
gates  into  the  city,"  midst  the  imperial  shoutings  of  "Alleluia,  Alle- 
luia!"  "And  I  heard  a  great  voice,  of  much  people  in  heaven,  saying, 
Alleluia,  salvation  and  glory,  and  honor,  and  power,  unto  the  Lord 
our  God."t  It  was  the  redeemed  Church  of  Christ  in  the  glory-land. 
Then  in  prelibation  let  the  divine  ecstasy  of  hope  in  celestial  numbers 
roll.     On  earth  lot  the  saints  begin  the  endless  song — 

"  Cry  aloud,  in  hearenly  lays — 
Glory  doth  to  God  belong; 
God,  the  glorious  Saviour,  praise." 

rV. — The  relation  which  the  Church  sustains  to  the  Worlds  polit- 
ically— and  especially  in  this  country — shows  its  Divinity. 

'<  Put  on  thy  strength,  0  Zion ;.  put  on  thy  beautiful  garments, 
0  Jerusalem."! 

Much  fear  has  been  expressed  by  politicians  in  this  country,  and 
some  alarm  has  been  excited  also  in  weak  minds,  lest  the  Church  should 
in  some  way  become  interested  and  associated  in  the  administration  of 
the  Government,  This  has  been  carried  so  far  in  some  of  the  States, 
as  to  procure  a  constitutional  proscription  of  the  ecclesiastical  office ; 
depriving  the  incumbent  of  the  enjoyment  of  the  highest  rights  of 
freemen  —  eligibility   to   office,   under   the   franchise   of  the   peo- 

*  Rev.  xiY,  3.  t  Rev-  xix,  1.  I  laa  lii,  1. 


52  THE  DIVINITY  OP  THE  CHURCH. 

pie.     Whether  this  be  right  or  wrong,  belongs  not  to  this  present 
occasion  to  declare.     It  is  "pn/«a  facie^^  evidence,  however,  that 
a  fear  has  sprung  up  with  the  powers  that  be,  that  there  is  another 
King  than  Casar,  and  that  the  Prince  of  this  World  is  not  safe  from 
the  influences  of  righteousness,  when  brought  into  association  with 
the  children  of  God.     In  this  proscription  and  fear,  the  world  itself 
bears  testimony  to  the  Divinity  of  the  Church  or  Kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  of  whose  head  and  governor  it  is  said,  "  He  must  reign  till 
he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet."*     The  relation  of  the  Church 
to  the  world  may  be  likened  to  the  relation  of  the  heart  to  the  human 
system ;  it  is  the  organ  of  vitality — the  seat  of  life.     Particularly  is 
this  the  case  in  the  American  States,  whose  origin  was  in  the  Church, 
which  was  divinely  led  by  the  spirit  of  its  own  inspiration,  to  that 
home  in  the  "wilderness  where  (in  the  language  of  the  Bible)  she 
hath  a  place  prepared  of  God  ;"t  and  whose  protection  and  defence, 
in  the  nation's  growth  to  empire  and  to  power,  have  so  manifestly 
been  of  heaven.     It  was  Washington,  at  midnight,  in  the  grove  of 
prayer,  more  than  Washington  in  the  battle-field,  that  wrought  out 
the  liberties  of  the  Republic.     His  prowess  became  invincible,  be- 
cause the  shield  of  God  was  about  him,  for  God's  own  great  purpose — 
the  restoration  of  the  world  to  liberty  from  the  oppressions  of  des- 
potism, and  the  redemption  of  the  family  of  man  to  the  hope  of 
immortality  and  eternal  life,  from  the  bondage  of  sin  and  death.     It 
was  this  that  edged  the  hero's  sword  and  nerved  the  hero's  arm ;  and 
to  this  end  is  the  American  Republic  a  two-fold  missionary  to  the 
nations  of  the  earth.     As  a  political  Colossus,  in  the  first  instance,  it 
plants  its  foot  upon  either  land,  and  holds  out  to  all  people  the  light 
of  liberty  and  equality ;  while  evangelism,  in  the  second,  as  a  diamond 
set  in  gold,  sparkles  in  the  illumination,  and  sanctifies  the  blessed  gift. 
As  the  tide  of  glory  rolls  on,  from  the  West  to  the  East — from  the 
New  to  the  Old  World — crowns  sit  loosely  upon  their  wearers'  heads, 
and  thrones  begin  to  crumble :  "  For  the  people  which  sat  in  dark- 
ness saw  great  light,  and  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow 
of  death,  light  is  sprung  up. "J 

Let  it  not  be  thought  that  a  union  of  Church  and  State,  however, 
is  referred  to  or  desired  in  the  utterance  of  these  sentiments  and 
views — that  is,  in  any  greater  degree  than  such  union  now  exists — 

•  1  Cor.  IV,  85.  Rev.  xii,  fi.  %  Matt,  iv,  16, 


THE  DIVINITY  OP  THE  CHURCH.  53 

a  union  of  spirit,  fraternity,  and  design,  which  constitute  the  natural 
relationship  of  antecedents  in  common — referring  to  the  same  parent- 
age. The  Church  in  this  country  (unlike  that  of  any  other)  is  the 
elder  born  of  the  same  parentage  with  the  Government.  Both  are 
from  God,  and  have  shared  alike  his  heavenly  protection.  Both  have 
their  offices  to  fill,  for  which  they  are  mutually  dependent  upon  each 
other,  even  as  both  are  dependent  upon  him  who  is  the  source  of  all 
power.  In  united  division,  then,  we  may  say,  (if  such  a  seeming  par- 
adox may  be  used,)  let  the  star  of  Bethlehem  and  the  stripes  of  Con- 
federation wave  forever  over  the  descending  hosts  of  God's  chosen 
people,  as  in  their  march  they  go  down  the  pathway  of  time — the 
political  and  the  spiritual  insignia  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  upon  earth. 
And  when  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  campaign,  then  let  them,  side 
by  side,  pass  gloriously  together  to  the  promised  land,  where  each, 
sanctified  by  the  spirit  and  intent  of  the  other,  in  the  approving  smile 
of  heaven,  shall  become  consolidate,  and  remain  one  forever  in  the 
Paradise  of  God.  "  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection — [who  have  part  in  Christ,  who  was  the  first  to  rise  from 
the  dead] — on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power;  but  they  shall 
be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  him  a  thousand 
years."*  In  this  view,  the  Altar  of  Liberty  becomes  also  the  Altar 
of  Christianity,  and  the  Temple  of  Freedom  converts  to  the  Temple 
of  God. 

Concluding  Remarks. — The  acceptance  of  gifted  privileges^  con- 
ferred by  a  superior  power,  whelher  upon  communities  or  individuals^ 
involves  {by  construction)  the  performance  of  duties,  both  conditional 
and  personal ;  and  upon  the  faithful  discharge  of  those  duties,  ordi- 
narily, depends  all  the  hoped-for  benefits  to  be  enjoyed. 

Among  the  first  of  those  duties  is  to  be  recognised,  the  obligation 
to  make  ready  the  house  of  the  Lord — to  prepare  the  place,  and 
arrange  the  circumstances  of  Divine  Worship.  A  nation  or  commu- 
nity that  should  neglect  this  would  readily  be  pronounced  heathen, 
and  would  be  listed  in  the  condemnation  of  those  that  forget  God. 
This  constituted  a  part  of  the  inspiration  of  Moses,  when  upon  the 
shore  of  the  Red  Sea ;  and  in  view  of  Israel's  redemption  he  sung 
his  hymn  of  triumph :  "  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song ;  he  is 

*  Rev.  xix,  a. 


.«i  THE  DI\TNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

become  my  salvation ;  he  is  my  God,  and  I  will  prepare  him  an  hab- 
itation— my  father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt  him."  Scarcely  had  the 
echoes  of  that  anthem  of  joy  died  away  midst  the  mountain  peaks  of 
the  "pass"  that  led  down  to  the  deep,  ere  the  tabernacle  was 
planted.  The  altar  (though  a  rude  one)  was  owned  and  blessed  of 
Jehovah  ;  the  people  were  honored  ;  and  the  wilderness  of  "  Shur  " 
became  henceforth,  for  forty  years,  the  place  of  God's  encampment 
upon  earth.  But  when  Jerusalem  was  builded,  then  the  temple  was 
also  demanded.  While  Jacob  dwelt  in  tents,  God,  in  his  taberna- 
cle— making  manifest  his  presence  by  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire — 
dwelt  with  them.  But  when  Jacob  went  up  from  the  desert  to  dwell 
in  palaces,  a  palace  for  Jehovah  was  also  required ;  and  Solomon 
the  king,  who  was  deputed  its  builder,  received  both  the  plan  and  the 
direction  for  its  accomplishment  from  God  himself.  When  the  tem- 
ple was  finished,  the  "  Shekinah  "  of  acceptation,  which  filled  the 
place,  attested  the  Divinity  of  the  cause  and  the  high  approval  of 
heaven.  In  this  the  Jews  performed  a  solemn  obligation  which  rested 
upon  them.  The  same  obligation  now  rests  upon  all  people — that  is, 
to  make  the  house  of  God  to  correspond,  both  in  elegance  of  struc- 
ture and  beauty  of  adorning,  with  those  in  which  they  dwell  them- 
selves. There  can  be  no  better  guide  to  what  should  constitute  a 
right  standard  of  Christian  beneficence — no  better  rule  to  be  observed 
in  reference  to  what  God  requires  for  the  appointments  of  his  service, 
as  regards  "  the  Church  he  has  purchased  with  his  own  blood  " — 
than  to  make  the  proportionate  measure,  according  to  the  allowances 
made  for  private  and  domestic  uses.  This  was  the  graduating  scale 
among  the  Jews,  who  were  required  to  give  one-tenth  of  all  their  gains 
to  the  service  of  the  altar.  The  same  law — the  law  of  tithes — exists 
in  some  countries  still.  But  a  tenth  part  is  not  now  required  to 
meet  the  demand — a  far  less  proportion  would  be  suflScient ;  nay,  a 
tithe  of  the  titfie,  if  promptly  paid  in,  and  faithfully  administered, 
would  do  away  with  the  inconvenience  of  poor  church  houses,  and 
drive  indigence  from  the  doors  of  every  respectable  congregation.  And 
yet  the  rule  should  be  the  same.  If  God  requires  less  from  the 
world  than  in  former  years,  it  is  not  because  of  the  increasing  mei-it  of 
mankind,  but  of  his  own  amazing  goodness — the  munificence  of  his 
great  mercy.  A  pleasant  illustration  (and  profitable  also)  of  this 
doctrine  (and  which  in  its  turn  \s  likewise  symbolic  of  the  progress 
and  requirement  of  the  aggregated  Methodism  of  the  present  time)  is 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  55 

'  presented  in  the  history  of  this  society,  and  the  erection  of  this  beau- 
tiful house.  When  Methodism  was  small  in  the  city  and  the  town, 
and  few  of  the  wealthy  and  the  great  of  the  land  honored  its  altars 
with  their  gifts,  or  its  pales  with  their  presence,  then  the  former 
house — the  Tabernacle* — was  all  that  was  required  to  supply  the 
need.  Grod  then  and  there  honored  his  name  and  his  cause  in  the 
conversion  of  many  souls  ;  some  of  whom  yet  linger  upon  the  shores 
of  time,  as  ancient  waymarks  in  the  pathway  to  heaven — connecting 
links  betwixt  the  past  and  the  future,  and  unto  whom  the  present 
finger  of  historic  observation  points,  and  says,  "  This  and  that  man 
were  born  there."  But  when  numbers  and  wealth  increased ;  when 
Methodism,  no  longer  puny  and  despised,  laid  off  her  ancient  and 
distinctive  garb,  (how  great  the  pity!)  and  the  JVicodemuses  oi  i\iQ 
world,  and  of  kindred  "  Sanhedrims,'^  came  in  to  inquire  of  "  the 
better  way,"  not  only  in  night,  but  also  in  the  broad  day ;  then 
this  "  latter  house  "  (the  Templef)  was  demanded  to  be  built.  In  obe- 
dience to  the  requirement,  and  by  the  liberal  interference  of  onej 
who  was  the  original  benefactor  of  the  former  house,  and  whose  name 
is  almost  a  synonym  for  active  benevolence,  in  every  direction  both 
of  public  and  private  philanthrophy,  the  structure  rose,  which  now 
stands  alike  an  honor  to  progressive  Methodism,  and  an  ornament  to 
the  City  of  the  West. 

But  shall  "  the  glory  of  this  latter  house  be  in  truth  greater  than 
that  of  the  former,"  and  will  the  God  of  Jacob  here  give  peace  ?||  So 
may  it  be.  Religion,  it  is  true,  does  not  consist  in  fashions  and  in 
forms,  but  in  the  demonstration  of  the  spirit  and  the  power  of  God. 
There  may  be  no  specific  Christianity  in  an  humble  house,  a  close 
bonnet,  or  a  straight-breasted  coat,  it  is  likely ;  and  yet  the  associa- 
tion which  they  had  with  deep  piety  and  fervent  zeal  for  God,  in  the 
days  of  our  fathers  and  our  mothers,  makes  them  pleasant  to  the  eye 
of  the  mind,  when  memory  is  busy  in  its  filial  retrospect.  The  modern 
heart,  hidden  in  the  midst  of  fleecy  clouds  of  lace,  and  overwhelmed 
with  billowy  folds  of  "  crinoline,"  may  feel,  and  the  arm  robed  in  silks 
and  satins  may  be  strong,  as  if  clothed  in  humble  garb;  and  yet  it  will 
require  an  effort,  when  (through  faith)  such  ones  stand  by  the  manger 
at  the  inn,  and  look  upon  the  babe  of  Bethlehem,  or  by  the  cross,  or  by 
the  sepulchre,  to  forget  their  costly  and  proud  attire.  Better  leave  it  off. 


*  The  cid  4th  street  Cliurch.  t  First  M.  E.  Church  South.  HHagg.  ii,  2. 

t  Col.  John  O'Fallon,  who  gave  the  ground. 


56  THE  DIVINITT  OP  THE  CHURCH. 

There  was  an  untrammeled  freedom  —  a  power — in  the  simplicity  of 
original  Methodism,  which  it  is  to  be  feared  has  not  gained  by  its  alliance 
■with  the  too  fashionable  world.  «  Watch  and  pray,  then — oh,  watch 
and  pray — that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation."  Let  not  the  grandeur 
of  your  house,  nor  the  splendor  of  your  equipage,  nor  the  costliness 
of  your  attire,  steal  away  your  affections  from  the  cross  of  Christ ; 
but  be  humble  and  be  faithful,  as  in  the  days  of  your  former  house. 
Then  peace  will  be  given  here,  to  you  and  to  your  children  ;  «  and  of 
Zion  it  shall  be  said  that  this  and  that  man  was  born  in  her."  May 
it  so  come  to  pass !  Here,  in  after  years,  when  the  scenes  of  the 
present,  and  their  actors,  have  passed  away  from  the  memories  of  the 
living,  may  shouts  of  gladness  rise  from  new-born  souls,  in  the  midst 
of  this  sacred  altar,  which  is  now  consecrated,  in  perpetual  sacrifice, 
to  the  service  of  the  living  God.  And  may  the  Divinity  of  the  cause 
and  place  be  the  constant  inspiration  of  both  the  progress  and  the 
result.  Then,  if  those  who  go  hence  are  permitted  to  know  what  is 
passing  here,  there  will  be  joy  in  heaven,  not  only  with  the  angels  of 
God,  because  of  the  conversion  of  sinners,  but  with  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High,  also,  in  their  blessed  retreat.  And  thus  joy  will  neces- 
sarily be  increased  by  the  knowledge  of  the  pious  benefits  received 
by  their  posterity,  from  the  works  which  they  did  while  they  were 
yet  upon  the  earth.     "  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord. 

For  they  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow 

them."*    Reader^  have  faith  in  God  ! 

•  Rev.  xiv,  13. 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.* 


BT  REV.  BISHOP  PIERCE. 


"  For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  diethto  himself.  For  whether 
we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord: 
whether  we  live,  therefore,  or  die,  we  <<re  the  Lord's." — Romans  xiv,  1,  8. 

The  spirit  of  Christianity  is  essentially  a  public  spirit.  It  ignores 
all  selfishness.  It  is  benevolence  embodied  and  alive,  full  of  plans 
for  the  benefit  of  the  world,  and  actively  at  work  to  make  them 
effective.  Catholic,  generous,  expansive,  it  repudiates  all  the  bound- 
aries prescribed  by  names,  and  sects,  and  parties,  and  "  stretches  its 
line  into  the  regions  beyond,"  even  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth.  The  world  is  its  parish.  Its  wishes  are  commensurate  with 
the  moral  wants  of  mankind;  and  the  will  of  God,  who  gave  His  Son 
to  die  for  us  sinners  and  our  salvation,  is  the  authority  for  its  labors 
and  the  pledge  of  its  triumphs. 

It  is  the  policy  of  every  form  of  infidelity  and  speculative  unbelief, 
and  of  every  false  religion,  to  depreciate  and  undervalue  the  nature 
of  man.  They  despoil  him  of  his  true  glory  by  their  chilling,  pre- 
posterous theories,  even  while  they  affect  to  magnify  him  by  fulsome 
eulogy  of  his  intellect  and  its  capacious  powers.  By  false  notions 
of  personal  independence,  they  isolate  him  from  his  kind,  and  the 
sensibilities  which  Heaven  intended  should  flow  out  free  as  the  gush- 
ing spring,  they  contract  and  stagnate,  till  the  heart  grows  rank  and 
putrid  with  its  own  corruptions.  But  while  our  holy  religion  exalts 
man  as  made  in  the  image  of  God,  the  head  and  chief  of  the  system 
to  which  he  belongs,  and  thus  invests  the  individual  with  dignity  and 
value  vast  and  incalculable,  far,  far  beyond  "  worlds  on  worlds  ar- 
rayed," it  yet  links  him  in  closest  fellowship  with  the  kindred  of  his 
race.  For  him  the  ground  yields  its  increase,  the  sun  shines,  the 
stars  beam  in  beauty,  the  winds  blow,  the  waters  run.  Earth,  air, 
and  ocean  are  all  astir  with  agencies  commissioned  to  do  him  good ; 

•A  Sermon  preached  in  MrKendree  Church,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  April  15,  1855,  in 
memory  of  the  late  William  Capers,  D.D.,  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South 


58  DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST. 

but  not  for  him  alone.  Xo  matter  what  his  rank,  power,  influence, 
he  but  shares  the  bounties  which  have  been  provided,  in  the  munifi- 
cence of  Heaven,  as  the  common  inheritance  of  all  his  fellows.  No 
matter  what  his  personal  rights  and  interests,  he  is  but  a  part  of  a 
great  whole.  He  belongs  to  a  system.  No  choice  of  his  own,  no 
social  caste,  no  civil  distinctions^  can  detach  him  from  it.  Linked 
with  the  world  around  him  by  a  law  of  his  nature  and  the  decree  of 
his  Maker,  every  plan  of  isolation  is  abortive ;  and  the  very  effort  at 
Bcparation  and  exclusiveness  brands  him  as  a  miser,  a  misanthrope, 
a  selfish,  heartless  wretch,  without  natural  affection  or  any  redeem- 
ing principle.  A  brute  in  human  form — a  demon,  with  the  linea- 
ments of  man — he  is  under  the  outlawry  of  a  world  itself,  alas !  but 
too  ignorant  of  the  law  of  love  and  the  noble  aims  and  ends  of  this 
mortal  life. 

Bound  together,  as  we  are,  by  the  ties  of  a  common  nature  and  of 
mutual  dependence,  every  man  is  a  fountain  of  influence,  good  or 
bad,  conservative  or  destructive.  Whether  he  will  or  not,  he  is  an 
example.  His  language,  spirit,  actions,  habits,  his  very  manners,  all 
tell — forming  the  taste,  moulding  the  character,  and  shaping  the 
course  of  others,  to  the  end  of  time.  J^o  man  livelh  to  himself. 
He  can  not.  Apparently  he  may,  but  really  he  does  not.  His  plans 
^nd  his  aspirations  may  all  revolve  around  himself  as  a  common  cen- 
tre, but  within  and  without  their  orbits  will  be  concentric  circles, 
enclosing  other  agents  and  other  interests.  He  may  rear  walls 
•around  his  possessions,  call  his  lands  by  his  own  name,  and  his  in- 
ward thought  may  be,  as  the  world  phrase  it,  to  take  care  of  himself 
and  his  dependents ,  but  he  can  neither  limit  the  effect  of  his  plans, 
nor  forecast  the  inheritance  of  his  estate.  Another  enters  even  into 
his  labors.  Disruptive  changes  abolish  his  best-concerted  schemes, 
and  scatter  to  the  winds  all  the  securities  by  which  he  sought  to  fence 
and  individualize  his  own  peculiar  interest. 

But  while  all  this  is  true,  and  constitutes  the  basis  of  a  fearful 
responsibility,  it  is  not  exactly  the  idea  in  our  text.  In  the  declara- 
tion before  us,  the  Apostle  does  not  afl5rm  a  principle  as  predicable 
of  our  nature  and  its  social  relations,  nor  merely  state  a  fact  as  re- 
sulting from  an  immutable  law  of  our  being ;  but  he  presents  a  moral 
rule,  and  erects  it  into  a  standard  for  the  adjudication  of  character. 
He  defines  the  rights  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  and  the  obligations 
of  those  who  claim  to  be  His  disciples  and  representatives. 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  59 

A  dispute  has  arisen  in  the  Church  concerning  meats  and  days — 
what  was  allowable  and  consistent  in  the  one  case,  and  what  was  re- 
quired and  binding  upon  the  other.  It  was  a  question  of  privilege — 
of  Christian  liberty.  Assuming  that  the  parties  were  equally  sincere, 
the  apostle  did  not  seek  to  quell  the  agitation  by  a  temporary  expe- 
dient, a  dubious  unreliable  compromise ;  but  took  occasion  to  declare 
a  principle  of  universal  authority  and  application.  He  lays  down  a 
rule  by  which  we  are  to  judge  others  as  well  as  to  measure  ourselves. 
What  one  may  regard  as  a  ceremony  and  a  superstition,  is  not  to  be 
charged  upon  another,  whose  opinion  is  diflFerent,  as  proof  that  his 
profession  is  a  mask  or  his  piety  insincere.  Nor  is  the  latter  to  de- 
nounce the  former  as  a  time-server — a  man-pleaser,  turning  the  grace 
of  God  into  licentiousness.  "  He  that  regardeth  the  day,  regardeth 
it  unto  the  Lord ;  and  he  that  regardeth  not  the  day,  to  the  Lord  he 
doth  not  regard  it.  He  that  eateth,  eateth  to  the  Lord,  for  he  giveth 
God  thanks ;  and  he  that  eateth  not,  to  the  Lord  he  eateth  not,  and 
giveth  God  thanks." 

Conceding  the  right  of  private  judgment — frankly  confessing  im- 
perfect knowledge — let  both  judge  charitably.  The  kingdom  of  God 
is  not  meat  and  drink — but  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  There  may  be,  there  is,  unity  in  the  great  principles  of  Christ- 
ian morality,  and  yet  a  diflference  of  judgment  and  practice  in  little 
things.  We  are  not  to  despise  one  another  because  of  this  diversity, 
nor,  though  fully  persuaded  in  our  own  minds,  harass  a  brother  by 
the  vexatious  obtrusion  of  our  peculiar  notions.  His  liberty  is  not 
to  be  bounded  by  our  prejudice,  nor  his  conscience  regulated  by  our 
superstition.  The  law  of  love  not  only  requires  good  will,  benevo- 
lent aiFection  towards  all  men,  but  stretches  its  authority  over  our 
opinions,  our  moral  judgments,  our  estimate  of  character.  We  are  not 
to  perplex  the  weak  with  doubtful  disputations,  nor  incur  the  risk  of 
imbittering  our  own  feeling.?  by  urging  our  ultraisms  as  essential  to 
salvation.  Life  is  too  short  to  be  wasted  in  frivolous  disputes,  even 
about  matters  of  conscience.  Christianity  is  too  precious  and  noble 
and  vast  to  be  scandalized  by  contentions  in  the  Church  about  meats 
and  drinks — the  tithing  of  mint  and  anise  and  cummin.  As  Christ- 
ians, we  are  public  men.  We  live  for  our  race.  The  Lord  is  our 
judge.  Great  principles  are  to  be  avowed — maintained — diffused — 
established  God  and  our  generation  are  to  be  served — the  one  to 
be  glorified,  and  the  other  to  be  saved.   "  For  none  of  us  liveth  to  him- 


go  DEV0TEDNE88   TO  CHRIST. 

self,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself.  Whether  we  live,  we  live  unto 
the  Lord ;  and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord;  whether  we  live, 
therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's." 

The  text  is  a  comprehensive  description  of  a  Christian's  life — a 
decisive  test  of  character.  It  is  the  language  of  one  who  well  knew 
what  Christianity  is,  and  who  himself  exemplified  its  principles  and 
spirit. 

Avoiding  minute  det^iils,  we  proceed  to  fix  the  meaning  of  the 
terms  living  unto  the  Lord,  and  dying  unto  the  Lord. 

Living  unto  the  Lord  may  be  considered  as  implying  that  we 
distinctly  recognize  the  will  of  God  as  the  rule  of  life. 

If  I  may  so  express  it — as  the  natural  subjects  of  the  Almighty, 
we  are  bound  to  serve  him  to  the  full  extent  of  the  powers  He  hath 
given  us.  He  has  an  unquestionable  right  to  our  obedience.  This 
results  from  our  relation  as  creatures.  He  made  us,  and  He  pre- 
serves us.  This  original  obligation,  instead  of  being  relaxed  and 
impaired,  is  confirmed  and   intensified  by  purchase  and  redemption. 

The  will  of  God  is  to  be  sought  in  the  statute-law  of  the  gospel— 
the  plain  and  express  decrees  which  define  and  regulate  our  duty. 
It  is  important  to  notice  and  to  remember  that  the  service  we  are  to 
perform  is  not  left  to  our  choice.  ^Ve  have  no  rights  of  legislation 
in  the  premises.  Our  task  is  assigned  us,  divinely  appointed.  Lord, 
what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?  ought  to  be  the  inquiry  of  every 
human  spirit.  The  word  of  God  gives  the  answer:  "  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  mind,  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  strength,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  This  is  the 
law  and  the  prophets — the  true  philosophy  of  life — the  first  and 
second  commandments.  On  these  hang  all  the  subordinate  require- 
ments of  "  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith."  The  precepts  of  Christian- 
ity are  so  wisely  and  graciously  adapted  to  promote  the  private 
interests  of  individuals  and  the  general  welfare  of  human  society, 
that  many  who  are  disaff"ected  towards  the  divine  government,  will, 
for  their  own  sakes,  choose  to  do  many  things  which  are  just,  and 
kind,  and  beneficent.  These  things  are  comely,  reputable,  of  good 
report  among  all  men ;  and  a  man  cannot  therefore  serve  himself 
more  efi"ectually  than  by  practicing  the  great  virtues  of  humanity. 
Man's  chief  controversy  is  with  God — against  Him  he  wars.  lie  is 
not  naturally  the  enemy  of  his  kind.  While  some  fierce  and  unsocial 
passions  occasionally  break  out,  and  startle  us  by  the  atrocity  of  some 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  61 

monstrous  individual  crime,  and  while  nations  wrought  into  fury 
sometimes  quench  their  hate  in  blood,  yet  commonly  the  social 
instinct,  and  the  love  of  ease,  and  the  fear  of  retribution,  prevail 
over  what  is  hostile  and  malignant  in  our  nature.  In  the  absence  of 
injury  or  provocation,  men  generally  wish  others  well,  and  are  even 
disposed  to  do  them  good.  To  some  of  the  duties  of  Christianity 
there  is  therefore  no  natural  aversion — no  active  repugnance.  And 
it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  many  are  basing  their  hopes  of  heaven 
upon  their  exemption  from  the  vices  that  corrupt  and  embroil  society, 
upon  their  amiable  feelings  and  kind  relations — upon  neighborly 
oflBces  and  charitable  expenditures.  But  those  virtues  which  are 
merely  human — educational — conventional — cannot  save.  In  this 
world  they  have  their  origin,  their  use,  and  their  reward.  The  great 
element  of  piety  is  wanting.  There  is  no  reference  to  God.  And 
here  is  a  marked  diflference  between  the  man  who  lives  for  himself, 
and  the  man  who  lives  unto  the  Lord.  The  one  obeys  a  constitu- 
tional impulse  perhaps — consults  his  reputation,  his  business,  his  in- 
fluence ;  or,  it  may  be,  rising  a  little  higher,  he  may  rightly  estimate 
his  responsibilities  as  a  father  or  as  a  citizen,  and  so  is  honorable, 
moral,  refined.  But  he  is  without  God  in  the  world.  Oh,  the  lone- 
liness and  destitution  of  such  a  spirit!  Atheism  is  his  religion,  if  not 
his  creed ;  or  at  best  he  is  an  idolater — himself  the  idol.  The  other 
realizes  the  divine  authority,  and  obeys  because  God  commands. 

The  relative  duties  of  life  are  performed  not  to  gratify  a  native 
generosity,  or  eke  out  a  dubious  popularity,  but  as  a  part  of  the 
service  and  homage  due  his  Maker.  Over  the  whole  circumference 
of  his  engagements — in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  the  busy  marts  of 
trade,  the  retirement  of  the  closet,  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary, 
the  citizenship  of  the  world — there  presides  a  solemn  recognition  of 
the  Divine  presence,  his  being  and  his  empire,  and  every  step  is  ta- 
ken in  reference  to  Him  as  a  witness  and  a  judge.  I  know  that 
many  profess  and  seem  to  be  religious  on  lower  principles.  Public 
opinion,  consistency,  ease  of  conscience  to  shun  hell,  to  gain  heaven, 
all  operate,  and  they  supersede  and  dethrone  the  higher  law  in  the 
text.  Not  that  these  motives  are  illegitimate,  but  partial  and  inferior. 
They  ought  not  to  become  principal  and  paramount ;  and  they  cannot 
without  a  deleterious  unhingement  of  character,  and  a  transfer  of 
our  duty  from  the  ground  of  what  is  divine  and  authoritative,  to  that 
which  is  human  and  self-pleasing.     The  motive  in  the  text  is  compre- 


oa  DEVOTEDNESS  TO   CHRIST. 

hensive,  embracing  all  lower  ends — harmonizes  all,  yet  subordinates 
them  all  to  its  own  sovereign  sway.  Like  a  conqueror  at  the  head 
of  his  battalions,  it  marches  forth  to  subdue  the  insurgent  elements 
that  would  dispute  its  dominion.  It  is  the  "  stronger  man"  keeping 
his  goods  in  peace.  Without  it,  there  can  be  no  consecration,  and 
with  it,  no  compromise  of  duty.  The  failure  to  recognize  and  adopt 
this  great  principle  of  morality,  has  fearfully  diluted  the  experience 
of  the  Church,  and  embarrassed  every  department  of  Christian  ser- 
vice. "I  will  run  in  the  way  of  thy  commandments,  when  Thou  shalt 
enlarge  my  heart,"  said  the  Psalmist.  No  man  can  rise  above  the 
constraining  considerations  which  spring  from  interest,  feeling,  safety, 
pleasure,  in  reference  to  all  minor  questions  of  duty,  save  as  he  re- 
solves religion  into  some  great  general  principles  and  purposes,  from 
the  decision  of  which  there  is  no  appeal.  These  principles,  wisely 
adopted  and  well  understood,  will  marshal  all  the  chances  and 
changes  of  life,  all  its  untoward  events,  all  its  interfering  agencies, 
so  that  they  shall  fall  into  ranks  like  well-trained  soldiers  under  the 
command  of  a  superior  officer.  They  simplify  religion,  disentangle 
it  from  all  purely  selfish  influences,  from  the  bias  of  worldly  interests, 
from  the  guile  of  passion,  and  leave  a  man  free  to  glorify  God  accord- 
ing to  the  Scriptures.  How  simple  and  sublime  the  character  de- 
riving its  greatness  and  worth  from  God  and  duty !  How  grandly 
independent  is  he  who  knows  no  fear  but  the  fear  of  God,  who  seeks 
no  favor  but  the  smile  of  Jesus,  and  whose  single  eye  scans  all  things, 
great  and  small,  in  the  light  which  no  shadow  can  eclipse  I  His  life 
regulated  by  one  great  pervading  law  and  purpose,  he  escapes  all  the 
trials  by  which  feebler  and  less  decided  Christians  are  tormented  and 
impeded.  His  heart,  consecrated  in  all  its  plans  and  purposes,  fal- 
ters not  at  sacrifice,  or  peril,  or  suffering.  Difficulties  and  doubts  he 
has  none.  His  religion  is  to  him  a  law  that  never  changes.  His 
heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord.  His  plan  of  life  settled  scrip- 
turally,  advisedly,  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  lie  is  not  to  be  bought  or 
bribed,  frightened  or  defeated.  Turning  neither  to  the  right  nor  left, 
he  moves  right  on.  If  along  his  pathway  the  den  of  lions  opens, 
he  lies  down  and  lodges  for  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  tells  how 
the  angel  kept  him.  If  the  furnace  be  kindled  to  test  or  to  destroy 
him,  he  walks  unburnt  in  the  flame,  and  comes  forth  without  the 
smell  of  fire  upon  his  garments.  Escaped  from  the  shallows  and  the 
breakers  where  so  many  toil  with  unavailing  oar,  he  has  launched  on 


DEVOTKDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  63 

the  deep,  and,  favored  by  ■wind  and  tide,  looks  with  lively  hope  for 
an  abundant  entrance  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

But  the  principle  I  am  discussing,  considered  as  a  test  of  charac- 
ter, and  a  rule  by  which  to  adjudicate  our  Christian  claims,  is  worthy 
of  enlargement.  Living  unto  the  Lord  implies  that  we  make  the 
approbation  of  God  our  governing  aim — that  we  study  to  please  Him, 
and  that,  whatever  we  do,  we  do  all  to  His  glory. 

Religion,  to  be  saving,  must  be  supreme:  "My  son,  give  me  thy 
heart."  "  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me,  is  not 
worthy  of  me."  God  claims  the  body  and  the  spirit.  He  will  not 
divide  the  empire,  which  is  his  by  right,  with  invaders  and  usurpers. 
Unless,  therefore,  His  approval  is  the  predominant  motive,  we  not 
only  base  our  Christianity  upon  mistaken  apprehensions  of  the 
Divine  claims,  but  we  repudiate  the  only  principle  which  can  subju- 
gate the  rebellious  elements  and  passions  of  our  fallen  nature.  Be- 
fore conversion,  we  form  attachments  and  allow  indulgences  wholly 
inconsistent  with  a  life  of  devotion.  To  do  well,  we  must  first  cease 
to  do  evil.  The  flesh,  with  its  affections  and  lusts,  must  be  crucified. 
Self-denial  is  the  first  law  of  discipleship.  "VMio  would  submit  to 
have  the  right  hand  cut  off,  the  right  eye  plucked  out — much  less 
perform  the  operation  upon  himself — unless  by  the  expulsive  power 
of  a  new  and  holy  affection,  these  enemies  which  encamped  within 
his  heart  shall  be  routed  and  taken  captive  ?  There  must  be  the  as- 
cendency of  another  and  a  higher  principle  than  any  which  is  merely 
human,  to  break  down  the  dominion  of  appetite,  and  passion,  and 
habit.  Flesh  and  blood  are  sad  counselors  in  the  work  of  God.  To 
consult  them  is  to  betray  our  spiritual  interests.  The  multitude 
do  evil — we  must  dare  to  be  singular.  But  who  will  come  out  from 
the  world — brave  its  scorn — defy  its  persecution — disdain  its  blan- 
dishments, and  rebuke  its  ungodliness  by  declining  its  fellowship  1 
None  but  those  who  feel  that  God's  smile  amply  remunerates  for  the 
world's  contempt,  and  that  the  testimony  that  we  please  Him  out- 
weighs all  earthly  treasure,  and  outshines  all  earthly  glory. 

To  live  for  Christ,  and  to  live  for  ourselves,  is  utterly  impractica- 
ble. The  union  is  a  moral  impossibility.  We  love  a  good  name  ; 
but  they  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution. 
We  are  rich ;  but  the  command  is,  "  Sell  all  that  thou  hast,  and  give 
to  the  poor,  and  come  follow  me."     We  love  home  and  friends  ;  but 


64 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST. 


Christ  calls  to  absence,  and  labor,  and  sacrifice.  Religion  is  popular 
— you  embrace  it :  the  Church  is  fashionable — you  join  it.  The  peo- 
ple shout  Hosanna,  and  Jesus  is  escorted  by  a  worshipping  multitude; 
you  say,  "  Lord,  I  will  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest."  The 
Master  replies  :  '<  The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have 
nests,  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head."  What 
will  you  do  now  ?-  Go  away  sorrowful  1  or,  having  counted  the  cost, 
go  on  to  build  ?  "  Choose  ye  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve  ;"  or  have 
you  settled  this  question  long  ago  in  favor  of  duty  and  heaven  ? 
Are  you  living  unto  the  Lord  ?  You  are  making  a  fortune  ;.  is  it  that 
you  may  do  more  good  1  You  are  rising  in  the  world,  seeking  title, 
and  honor,  and  influence  ;  is  it  that  you  may  enlarge  your  sphere  of 
usefulness  ?  0  brother,  if  the  carnal  affection  grows  along  with  the 
carnal  interest,  thy  prosperity  may  destroy  thee.  Or  if  thou  art 
seeking  thy  own  pleasure,  gratification,  and  advancement,  thou  hast 
fallen  from  grace.  Even  Christ  pleased  not  himself.  Paul  obeyed 
the  heavenly  vision  immediately,  conferring  not  with  flesh  and  blood. 
And  every  man  who  would  fulfil  the  great  purposes  of  his  creation 
and  redemption,  must  make  God's  approving  judgment  the  motive  of 
all  his  actions,  and  the  goal  of  all  his  efforts.  Oh,  how  the  saints  of  the 
Bible  luxuriated  in  this  element  of  devotion  !  "  One  thing  have  I 
desired  of  the  Lord;  that  will  I  seek  after,  that  I  may  dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life:  to  behold  the  beauty  of 
the  Lord  and  to  inquire  in  his  temple."  "  I  count  all  things  but  loss, 
for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord." 
These  exemplars  illustrate  our  subject.  They  lived  unto  the  Lord. 
In  His  favor  was  life.  "  A  day  in  His  courts  was  better  than  a 
thousand."  The  world's  parade  and  pomp  paled  before  the  glory  of 
the  sanctuary.  The  festal  charms,  the  music,  and  the  mirth  of  the 
tents  of  wickedness,  were  despised,  and  the  lowest  place  in  the  house 
of  God  preferred.  They  felt  that  they  did  not  live  at  all  except  as 
they  lived  unto  the  Lord. 

This  is  the  spirit  of  the  text.  Life  is  not  to  be  measured  by  days 
and  months  and  years,  but  by  a  succession  of  services  to  Him  that 
loved  us,  and  gave  himself  for  us.  I  have  no  doubt  that  when  the 
last  hour  comes  ;  that  hour  for  which  earth  has  no  comfort  and  phi- 
losophy no  hope — when  the  spirit,  disenthralled  from  the  seductions 
of  time,  the  witchery  of  sense,  shall  stand  face  to  face  with  the  reali- 
ties of  an  eternal  state,  then  even  life's  most  serious  engagements 


DEVOTEDNESS  TO  CHRIST.  65 

will  all  seem  as  vacancies,  like  the  hours  passed  in  sleep,  and  the 
pleasures  of  the  world  like  the  vagaries  of  sleep  itself.  Go,  buy,  sell, 
get,  gain,  build  a  name,  rear  houses,  add  field  to  field,  project 
public  improvements,  locate  railroads,  plan  empires  :  this  is  all  labor 
and  travail — vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

This  is  to  breathe,  not  to  live — to  work,  not  to  enjoy.  «  All  flesh 
is  grass,  and  the  glory  of  man  as  the  flower  of  the  grass  ;"  "  but  he 
that  doeth  the  will  of  God,  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever."  To  love 
God,  this  is  joy  :  to  know  Christ,  this  is  gain  :  to  do  good,  this  is  life. 
Mortal  man !  child  of  the  dust !  this  vain  life  which  we  spend  as  a 
shadow  is  but  the  vestibule  of  being.  Here  we  die  while  we  live  : 
the  cradle  rocks  us  to  the  tomb.  We  spend  our  strength  for  naught. 
Riches  fledge  and  fly  away.  Honor  is  but  a  dew-drop,  glittering  in 
the  morning  ray,  exhaled  by  the  very  beam  that  makes  it  shine. 
Love  and  friendship — the  heart's  blest  affections— wounded,  pine  ; 
or,  bereaved,  they  dwell  among  the  dead,  like  Mary  weeping  there. 
Oh  I  where  is  the  bloom  without  the  blight  ?  the  sun  without  the 
cloud  ?  Lord  Jesus,  thou  wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life ;  in  thy 
presence,  though  dimly  seen,  is  unutterable  joy,  and  where  thou  art 
in  glory  visible,  is  heaven. 

"  Whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord."  This  is  an  important 
declaration, "  wholesome  and  full  of  comfort."  «  Precious  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  saints."  The  death  of  a  good  man  is 
of  too  much  import  to  happen  by  chance.  It  is  an  important  instru- 
ment in  God's  plans  of  mercy  and  judgment.  The  event  is  big  with 
instruction.  Not  to  lay  it  to  heart  when  the  righteous  perish,  is  crimi- 
nal insensibility — a  wicked  indifference  to  the  dispensations  of  hea- 
ven. Such  a  death  is  a  public  calamity.  It  is  not  a  sparrow  falling 
to  the  ground,  a  flower  fading  in  the  field,  "  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf" 
afloat  upon  the  autumnal  gale,  and  then  descending  to  the  earth, 
where  its  mates  of  the  forest  lie  hueless  and  dead.  A  light  is 
quenched,  and  the  darkness  grows  deeper.  The  world  is  bereaved 
of  a  conservative  influence.  The  prayers  he  would  have  offered  are 
lost;  and  if  "  the  fervent  effectual  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much,"  how  great  the  loss  I  The  family  loses  a  guide  and  guardian, 
the  Church  an  example,  the  country  a  benefactor.  He  serves  the 
country  best  who  loves  God  most.  He  is  not  the  patriot  who  fights- 
the  nation's  battles,  right  or  wrong ;  but  he  who  leads  a  life  of  quiet- 
ness and  peace,  all  godliness  and  honesty.     He  is  not  the  most  im- 

5 


66  DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST. 

portant  man  who  projects  your  laws,  marshals  your  parties,  and  loads 
in  politics  ;  but  he  who,  by  faith,  and  prayer,  and  power  with  God, 
averts  the  wrath  our  sins  provoke.  David  did  more  for  Judah  when 
he  bought  Araunah's  threshing-floor,  built  an  altar,  offered  sacrifice, 
and  stayed  the  pestilence,  than  when,  with  kingly  authority,  he  des- 
patched Joab  to  quell  the  rebellion  of  Absalom.  The  intercession 
of  Moses,  when,  with  holy  boldness,  with  daring  confidence,  he  rushed 
between  the  offending  Israelites  and  the  Almighty,  girded  for  battle 
and  extermination,  and  prevailed  for  their  salvation,  wrought  a 
greater  wonder  than  when,  obedient  to  his  magic  rod,  the  parted 
waters  returned  in  vengeance  upon  Pharaoh's  pursuing  host.  Elijah 
•was  the  chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof — the  bulwark  of 
the  nation.  The  clouds  of  heaven  hung  their  keys  at  his  girdle,  and 
the  widow's  meal  and  oil  multiplied  beneath  His  blessing.  A  good 
man  I  Oh,  ye  men  of  royal  birth,  ye  sages,  statesmen,  heroes,  ye 
glimmer  faintly  beside  the  saint  shining  in  the  image  of  God.  His 
wisdom  is  divine,  his  lineage  heavenly,  and  greater  than  he  who  taketh 
a  city,  for  he  hath  conquered  himself.  I  admire  architecture,  paint- 
ing, sculpture,  the  wonders  of  the  chisel  and  the  pencil.  I  love  na- 
ture in  her  mountain  majesty,  the  rolling  ocean  and  the  woodland 
vales — all  that  is  lovely  and  sublime  ;  but  God  is  witness  I  would  go 
farther  to  see  a  good  man,  to  hear  him  talk  of  Jesus,  enter  into  his 
communion,  feel  the  moral  grandeur  of  his  destiny,  than  to  behold 
any  achievement  of  art  or  scene  of  nature.  These  change  and  perish  : 
he  is  immortal.  He  thinks,  he  feels,  he  loves.  His  body  is  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  his  spirit  is  bathed  in  the  glory  of  the 
Shekinah — the  symbol  of  the  presence  and  worship  of  God.  The 
departure  of  such  a  man  is  a  token  of  displeasure.  It  is  the  voice 
of  Heaven  in  judgment.  But,  though  the  family  is  afflicted,  the 
Church  in  mourning,  and  the  nation  smitten,  he  "  dies  unto  the  Lord" 
and  "  in  the  Lord."     With  him  "  it  is  well." 

Or  the  text  may  find  its  fulfilment  in  that  God  hides  him  from  the 
evil  to  come.  I  knew  a  good  man  who,  in  dying,  said,  "My  God  is  hous- 
ing me  from  a  storm ;"  and  the  declaration  was  prophetic.  Soon  evils 
that  would  have  broken  his  heart  and  brought  him  in  sorrow  to  the 
grave,  came  upon  his  family  in  overwhelming  disaster.  Dangers — 
spiritual  dangers — are  coming ;  domestic  calamities  draw  nigh ;  na- 
tional troubles  are  fermenting ;  God  sees  the  clouds  gathering,  the 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO  CHRIST.  67 

elements  brewing;  and,  while  yet  the  cloud  is  as  a  man's  hand,  and 
the  winds  are  murmuring  afar  off,  He  transfers  his  faithful  servant 
to  the  repose  of  the  blest.  "  In  his  hand  are  all  my  ways."  Delight- 
ful thought !  He  directs  my  steps,  hears  my  sighs,  chooses  my  allot- 
ments, numbers  the  hairs  of  my  head,  is  about  my  bed  and  my  path, 
and  knoweth  how  and  when  to  deliver.  "  Whether  we  die,  we  die 
unto  the  Lord." 

But  it  may  be  asked,  Why,  if  the  righteous  are  so  dear  to  Christ 
and  so  valuable  to  the  world,  are  they  doomed  to  death  at  all  ?  Why 
does  not  religion,  which  saves  us  from  a  thousand  other  evils,  release 
us  from  this  law  of  mortality  ?  In  answer,  I  remark:  The  reasons 
are  obvious  on  reflection.  Exemption  from  death,  as  a  reward  of  piety, 
would  appeal  so  strongly  to  the  love  of  life — the  quickest,  the  most 
enduring  instinct  of  our  being — as  to  override  the  freedom  of  choice, 
and  thus  make  rational,  voluntary  piety  impossible.  We  should  adopt 
it  as  a  starving  man  would  clutch  offered  bread,  or  the  man  dying  of 
thirst  would  seize  the  cup  of  cold  water.  And  besides  the  violence 
done  to  our  nature  in  making  the  propensities  decide  a  question  be- 
longing— under  the  present  economy  and  in  the  proper  fitness  and 
adaptation  of  things — to  the  intellect,  the  heart,  the  will,  the  incon- 
gruity would  follow  of  proposing  a  carnal,  earthly  motive  for  a  spirit- 
ual life.  On  such  a  plan,  Christianity  must  approve  what  she  now 
repudiates  ;  and  the  holy  considerations  by  which  she  now  seeks  to 
win  us  from  error  to  wisdom,  from  earth  to  heaven,  would  all  be 
neutralized  and  lost,  and  the  world  to  come  be  doomed  to  borrow  the 
forces  of  time  to  achieve  its  noblest  victories. 

The  evil  of  sin  cannot  be  shown  but  by  its  punishment.  This  con- 
clusion is  legitimate  from  what  is  revealed  of  the  divine  administration, 
and  from  what  we  know  of  the  processes  of  conviction  in  the  mind  of 
man.  God  hates  sin.  It  is  a  blot  upon  his  dominions.  But  he  has 
not  left  the  world  to  learn  the  fact  even  from  the  awful  denunciations 
of  his  word,  but  he  has  written  it  in  the  catastrophe  of  nations.  The 
deluge,  famine,  pestrlenee,  fire  and  brimstone  from  heavea,  have  been 
the  messengers  of  his  wrath  and  the  instruments  of  retribution.  And 
where,  save  in  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  Jesus  and  the  damnation  of 
the  guilty,  will  you  look  for  a  more  impressive  demonstration  of  God's 
Justice  and  his  indignation  against  sin,  than  in  the  dying  agonies  of 
infant  innocence,  or  the  mortal  convulsions  of  him  who  dies  unto  the 
Lord?    It  is  written,  "The  body  is  dead  because  of  sin,"  even  when 


68  DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST. 

"  the  spirit  is  life  because  of  righteousness."  But  death,  with  all  its 
antecedents  and  consequents — the  mournful  harbingers  of  its  approach 
and  its  power — the  loathsome  desolations  of  its  victory  and  its  reign, 
to  the  saint  of  God  is  no  longer  death.  It  is  but  dissolution — a  de- 
parture. Sad  in  its  aspects  and  accompaniments,  it  is  nevertheless  a 
release.  A  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire,  its  shadows  all  fall  on  this  side 
the  grave ;  beyond,  all  is  light,  and  life,  and  glory.  We  die  unto 
the  Lord, — and  may  I  not  add  for  the  Lord.  The  death  of  the  good 
preaches  terror  to  the  wicked.  "If  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved, 
where  shall  the  sinner  and  the  ungodly  appear  ?"  Oh !  we  ask  not 
"Enoch's  rapturous  flight,  nor  Elijah's  fiery  steeds  "  to  bear  us  away, 
if  by  dying  we  may  help  to  convince  the  world  of  sin  and  judgment. 
We  would  do  good  even  in  death.  As  we  wish  to  live  to  serve  him 
*'who  loved  us,"  so  would  we  die  to  make  his  glory  known — "the 
justice  and  the  grace." 

"  Mark  the  perfect  man  and  behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that 
man  is  peace."  "The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fata" 
is  a  scene  of  glory.  See  his  patience  under  suflFering ;  the  calm  sub- 
mission, and  often  the  joy  unutterable.  Is  this  human  fortitude ;  the 
stoicism  of  a  blind  philosophy;  the  outflashings  of  sentiment  and 
fancy?  No,  no.  It  is  the  fulfilment  of  promise;  grace  abounds.  It 
is  the  conviction  that  the  judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right. 
f*  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him."  It  is  the  knowledge 
of  the  Redeemer  in  his  pardoning  mercy,  his  purifying  spirit,  and  in 
the  glory  soon  to  be  revealed  in  its  fullness  and  its  eternity.  It  is 
an  argument  for  religion,  that  it  ends  well.  "  Let  me  die  the  death 
of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his."  The  prophet's 
prayer  finds  an  echo  in  every  heart  not  lost  to  hope  and  heaven. 
Who  that  looks  upon  a  dying  scene,  where  Christianity  wreathes  the 
pale  face  with  smiles  of  rapture,  and  inspires  the  failing  tongue  to 
utter  its  last  articulations  in  the  dialect  of  heaven,  does  not  breathe 
from  the  inmost  soul  the  wish — even  so  may  I  meet  the  last  enemy  ? 

In  life,  being  strong  in  faith, we  give  glory  to  God;  so  in  the  final 
struggle  He  is  glorified  in  us  and  by  us.  "  These  all  died  in  faith." 
immortal  record!  epitaph  of  the  good,  and  interpreter  of  their  doom. 
Living  and  dying,  "we  are  the  Lord's" — His  property — absolutely 
in  every  change,  walking  upon  the  earth  and  sleeping  upon  its  bosom. 
He  made  us, and  He  loves  us.  He  is  "not ashamed  to  be  called"  our 
God.     Life,  probation,  and  death,  are  all  ministers  employed  by  Him 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  69 

to  do  us  good.  If  He  prolong  our  days,  it  is  that  we  may  serve  Him 
and  our  generation  by  the  will  of  God.  If  He  afflicts  us,  it  is  "  for 
our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of  his  holiness.  If  He  call  us 
hence,  it  is  that  we  may  "  see  Him  as  He  is,  and  be  like  him  forever.'' 
Our  bodies  may  inhabit  the  house  appointed  for  all  the  living,  and 
our  very  name  perish  from  the  records  of  time,  but  He  looks  down 
and  "watches  all  our  dust  till  He  shall  bid  it  rise."  We  are  the 
Lord's — the  jewels  of  his  kingdom,  and  the  travail  of  his  soul.  He 
hath  said  it,  and  it  shall  stand  fast — "  They  shall  be  mine" — "Because 
I  live,  they  shall  live  also."  "  We  are  the  Lord's."  Let  us  rejoice 
in  our  relationship,  and  walk  worthy  of  our  high  descent  and  our  im- 
mortal destiny. 

The  principle  and  spirit  of  the  text  were  beautifully  exemplified  in 
the  life  and  death  of  our  beloved  brother,  Bishop  Capers.  I  have 
never  known  a  man  of  more  simple,  single-hearted,  uncalculating 
devotion.  Born  of  Grod  while  yet  a  youth,  his  life  was  consecrated 
unreservedly  to  the  service  of  Christ  and  his  Church.  Through  all 
the  changes  of  his  career,  youth,  maturity  and  age ;  single,  married, 
and  surrounded  by  sons  and  daughters ;  on  circuits,  stations  and  dis- 
tricts ;  a  deacon,  an  elder  and  a  bishop ;  he  exhibited  the  same  steady, 
onward  devotion  ;  a  man  of  God,  of  faith,  of  zeal.  His  steadfast 
purpose  never  faltered ;  no  change  of  fortune  modified  the  entireness 
of  his  dedication :  no  accumulation  of  cares  relaxed  his  efforts  to  do 
good.  He  lived  unto  the  Lord.  Absence  from  home  might  entail 
loss,  afflict  feeling,  tax  affection ;  no  matter,  he  had  set  his  heart 
within  him  to  finish  his  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  he 
had  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God.  On  more  than  one  occasion  he  might  have  secured  to  his  family 
a  home  rich  in  comforts,  and  to  himself  honors  and  emoluments,  by 
separating  himself  from  the  itinerancy  he  loved,  and  consenting  to 
serve  a  people  who  proved  their  esteem  by  the  largeness  of  their 
offered  liberality.  But  attached  to  our  Church  and  its  economy  by 
conviction  and  choice,  salary  was  no  temptation  to  leave  it,  or  even 
to  modify  his  relation  to  it ;  and,  in  the  face  of  all  the  sacrifices  and  pri- 
vations and  labors  of  a  travelling  Methodist  preacher,  he  declined  a 
city  home  and  a  well-filled  purse. 

My  acquaintance  with  our  dear  departed  brother  (I  ought  to  call 
him  father)  began  while  I  was  but  a  boy,  and  he  was  in  the  meridian 
of  his  strength,  and  the  blaze  of  a  renown  such  as  few  attain.     The 


70  DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST. 

impressions  made  upon  me  then  by  his  humble  manner,  his  sanctified 
conversation,  and  his  unwearied  labors,  were  fully  justified  by  the 
familiarity  of  intercourse  in  after  years.  He  seemed  to  me  to  be  dead 
to  the  world,  its  gains  and  honors,  and  alive  only  to  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  souls.  While  his  name  was  upon  every  tongue, 
and  crowds  were  rushing  from  appointment  to  appointment,  and  the 
whole  country  was  in  a  fever  of  curiosity  and  admiration,  he  seemed 
to  shrink  from  fame;  and  the  exultation  by  which  a  common  mind  and 
a  common  heart  would  have  been  lifted  up,  in  his  case  was  lost  in 
an  overwhelming  sense  of  the  responsibility  his  position  entailed. 
He  was  one  of  the  very  few  men  I  have  known  who  was  not  injured 
in  his  piety  and  preaching  by  great  popularity.  To  seek  popularity 
as  an  object,  in  a  minister  is  a  crime — to  bear  it  meekly  when  it  comes 
unsought,  is  a  virtue  of  rarest  value. 

This  virtue  characterized,  distinguished  Wm.  Capers  in  the  fresh- 
ness of  his  youth,  the  glory  of  his  noon,  and  in  the  mellow  ripeness 
of  his  sanctified  old  age.  He  was  clothed  with  humility.  It  was  his 
beauty  and  his  strength.  The  praise  even  of  the  lowly  oppressed 
him.  Courted  and  caressed  by  the  rich,  the  great,  the  mighty  in  the 
land,  he  shrunk  from  their  embrace,  lest  he  might  seem  to  others  to 
be  seeking  great  things  for  himself.  Hie  faith  was  never  hindered  by 
seeking  the  honor  of  men  ;  his  fidelity  never  compromised  by  the 
adulation  of  the  Church  or  the  world.  Who  ever  heard  him  tell  of 
the  mighty  works  he  had  done ;  the  great  sermons  he  had  preached ,; 
the  wondrous  revivals  he  had  carried  on  ?  Who  ever  saw  in  his  air 
the  conceit  of  success,  or  detected  in  his  language  the  self-gratulation 
of  a  praiseworthy  deed  ?  He  was  not  the  hero  of  his  narratives,  nor 
did  he  talk  to  make  the  simple  wonder,  or  the  great  admire.  Like 
Paul,  whose  visit  to  the  third  heaven  was  kept  a  secret  for  fourteen 
years,  and  revealed  at  last  only  to  vindicate  his  apostleship,  he  said 
but  little  of  his  own  experience,  save  in  the  retirement  of  private  life, 
to  the  ear  of  intimate  companionship.  Astonishingly  fluent,  he  talked 
much,  but  always  well.  He  never  forfeited  in  private  the  reputation 
he  had  made  in  public.  Cheerful  without  levity,  and  easy  without 
familiarity,  he  never  degraded  the  minister  into  the  trifler,  nor 
reproached  the  sanctity  of  his  profession  by  foolish  talking  and  jesting, 
which  are  not  convenient.  As  a  man,  his  nature  was  alive  and  gush- 
mg  with  all  noble,  generous  impulses;  kind,  affectionate,  full  of 
sympathy,  he  rejoiced  with  them  that  rejoiced,  and  wept  with  them 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  71 

that  wept.  In  his  family,  gentle  without  weakness,  and  fond, without 
improper  indulgence.  His  wife,  herself  a  model  woman,  revered 
while  she  loved,  and  honored  while  she  served.  His  children,  feeling 
themselves  favored  of  Heaven  in  the  virtues  of  such  a  father,  obeyed 
his  commands,  consulted  his  wishes,  and  felt  his  smile  to  be  a  meed 
and  a  recompense.  No  man  loved  his  children  more.  He  regretted 
in  the  last  hour  that  so  few  of  them  were  present,  and  yet  rejoiced 
that  he  had  seen  them  so  recently.  Lovely  family — children  honored 
in  their  parents,  and  parents  honored  in  their  children.  God's  best 
blessing  continue  with  them  to  the  latest  generation  ! 

It  is  not  amiss  to  say  that  Bishop  Capers  was  in  manners  a  gentle- 
man, bland,  courtly,  refined.  In  him  the  polish  of  the  courtier  and 
the  simplicity  of  the  saint  beautifully  blended.  His  politeness  did  not 
consist  in  the  formalities  and  ceremonies  which,  in  certain  circles,  are 
dignified  as  the  insignia  of  the  well-bred  and  the  fashionable  ;  but  it 
was  the  outgushing  of  a  heart  which  knew  no  rule  but  the  promptings 
of  its  own  benevolence.  It  was  the  outward  expression  of  an  inward 
disposition ;  a  mode  of  action  which  a  loving  spirit  instinctively  pre- 
scribed ;  the  free,  untaught,  unconstrained  operation  of  Christian 
courtesy.  In  the  parlor  and  the  pulpit,  the  street  and  the  sanctuary, 
he  was  minutely  regardful  of  the  proprieties  of  life  ;  and  while  the 
simplest  rustic  found  no  afi"ectation,  the  fastidious  critic  discovered  no 
fault. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  his  excellence  in  prayer.  Whether 
we  consider  his  power  as  a  gift  or  a  grace,  he  surpassed  most  men. 
In  his  devotions  there  was  so  much  of  the  evangelical  element,  that  a 
heathen  man  might  have  learned  the  plan  of  salvation  from  any  one 
of  his  public  exercises.  On  his  knees  he  knew  nothing  but  Christ. 
The  cross  was  his  all-prevailing  plea.  He  urged  it  with  fervor, 
affection,  and  faith.  He  was  himself  an  intercessor,  filled  with  yearn- 
ing sympathies  for  his  fellow-men.  And  sometimes  his  power  with  God 
would  remind  us  of  Jacob  and  the  Angel — of  Israel  and  his  blessing. 

To  describe  him  as  a  preacher  belongs  rather  to  his  biographer  than 
to  the  sketch  of  a  funeral  discourse.  He  was  a  scribe  well  instructed  in 
the  kingdom  of  God;  an  able  minister  of  the  New  Testament.  He  brought 
forth  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old.  Rich  in  thought,  fertile 
in  matter,  there  was  no  sameness  in  his  discourses,  even  when  he 
preached  from  the  same  text — which  he  often  did.  I  never  heard  him 
use  the  same   illustration  twice,  or  falter  for  a  word.     Copious  in 


7Sf  DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST 

language,  apt  in  selection,  and  inexhaustible  in  variety,  he  was  always 
ready  and  always  new.  It  is  diflBcult  to  classify  his  style  as  a  preacher. 
His  sermons  were  not  essays  nor  expositions,  nor  were  they  narratives 
with  reflections  interspersed,  nor  yet  topical  exactly ;  still,  all  these, 
except  the  first,  were  sometimes  mingled  by  him.  Perhaps  the  word 
textual  will  fit  hisjnanner  best.  His  sermons  grew  out  of  his  texts, 
not  by  formal  divisions,  but  by  an  artistic  development,  a  verbal  evolu- 
tion of  their  meaning.  Under  his  peculiar  management,  many  a  verse 
or  passage  to  the  untrained  eye  dark,  or  at  least  obscure,  became  in- 
structive, beautiful,  most  interesting.  Gifted  with  wonderful  versa- 
tility and  readiness,  he  excelled  all  I  ever  knew  in  adapting  his  text 
and  discourse,  on  a  sudden  call,  to  all  that  was  peculiar  on  the 
occasion.  He  often  awakened  attention  by  the  announcement  of  a 
verse  which  none  but  he  would  ever  have  chosen.  In  this,  however, 
he  was  not  fanciful  or  eccentric,  but  simply  obeyed  the  impulse  of  a 
mind  unique  in  its  conceptions  and  modes  of  thought.  In  thought, 
language,  style,  he  was  original,  yet  without  eccentricity  ;  called  no 
man  master,  and  yet  violated  no  rule  of  the  books  ;  always  accurate, 
always  simple,  but  elegant  in  his  simplicity.  His  sermons  were  often 
ornate  ;  but  there  was  no  florid  coloring  ;  no  exuberance ;  no  glare. 
There  was  a  delightful  propriety,  a  minute  beauty,  a  neat,  chaste, 
graceful  arrangement  of  every  part.  His  flowers  were  not  artificial ; 
they  all  had  roots,  and  they  were  redolent  with  the  morning  dew ; 
fresh  and  fragrant  as  a  vernal  garden  in  the  early  day. 

It  is  but  just  to  say  that  his  pulpit  efibrts  were  very  unequal ;  yet 
in  his  driest,  darkest  moods,  he  was  William  Capers — all  the  mental 
characteristics  of  the  man  stood  forth  ;  a  familiar  acquaintance  could 
not  fail  to  recognize  them.  He  possessed  the  singular  faculty  of 
speaking  with  fluency,  grace,  and  propriety,  when  his  mind  was  bar- 
ren and  empty,  and  his  hearers  listened  well  pleased,  even  when  they 
got  nothing  to  carry  away.  But  at  other  times  he  was  transfigured 
— his  very  form  dilated — his  eye  beamed  with  celestial  beauty,  soft 
with  the  light  of  love,  yet  radiant  with  the  joy  of  his  rapt  and  rav- 
ished spirit,  and  his  voice,  mellowed  by  emotion,  spell-bound  while  it 
inspired  the  hearing  multitude.  When  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God 
was  upon  him — when  the  angel  touched  his  lips  with  a  coal  from  the 
altar — oh !  he  was  a  charming  preacher.  I  have  heard  him  when 
the  consolations  of  the  gospel  distilled  from  his  tongue  as  honey  from 
the  rock,  and  the  message  of  salvatioh  came  down  like  the  angelic 


I 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  73 

song  upon  the  shepherds  of   Bethlehem.     Anon  I  have  seen  him 
clothe  himself  with  terrible  majesty,  as  when  a  prophet  proclaimed 
the  vengeance  of  the  Almighty,  and  then  the  thunder  of  the  violated 
law  pealed  from  his  lips  like  the  trump  of  doom,  and  the  pallid,  awe- 
struck assembly  told  that  the  preacher  had  power  with  God  and  pre- 
vailed with  men.     For  the  mourner  in  Zion,  the  grief-stricken,  the 
bowed,  the  desolate,  he  had  the  tongue  of  the  learned  and  the  heart 
of  a  seraph.     Oh !  the  pathos  of  his   sympathy — how  touching  and 
tender  I     It  was  a  healing  oil,  a  soothing  balsam :  beneath  its  magic 
charm,  desolation  bloomed  and  tears  were  turned  to  rapture.     Many 
a  wayworn  pilgrim,  weary  with  life's  heavy  burdens,  faint,  yet  pur- 
suing with  faltering  steps,  felt  his  hopes  revive  and  his  courage  grow 
strong  while  this  "  old  man  eloquent"  discoursed  of  providence,  and 
grace,  and  heaven — of  the  cross,  the  mercy-seat,  and  the  crown  of 
life.     These  were  the  themes  on  which  he  loved  to  dwell :  they  were 
the  rejoicing  of  his  heart,  and  the  staple  of  his  ministry.     But  the 
harp  is  broken,  and  all  its  music  gone.     The  pleasant  voice  is  hushed, 
and  he  who  played  so  well  upon  that  wondrous  instrument,  the  human 
tongue,  lies  low  in  cold  obstruction  and  dumb  forgetfulness.     Bishop 
Capers  is  no  more:    His  place  at  the  council-board  of  the  Church  he 
loved  is  empty.     The  pulpit  shall  know  him  no  more  for  ever.     The 
grave's  dark  eclipse  rests  upon  that  beaming  face,  and  that  venerable 
form,  that  moved  among  us  but  a  little  while  ago — shrouded,  coffined, 
buried,  sleeps   in   death — thank   God,  in  Jesus  too — awaiting  the 
descent  of  the  judgment  angel  and  the  revelation  of  the  Son  of  man. 
The  circumstances  of  his  decease  have  been  so  widely  published — 
are  so  generally  known — that  I  need  not  detail  them  now.     Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  having  finished  his  last  episcopal  tour,  visited  his  children, 
he  returned  to  his  quiet  home,  to  rest  for  a  season  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family.    Oh '  the  sober  bliss,  the  grateful  joy,  of  such  a  meeting !     It 
was  a  mercy  that  allowed  him  this  last  interview.     Death  found  the 
soldier  in  his  tent,  recruiting  for  another  campaign.     At  midnight 
the  spoiler  came.     The  sleeping  household  were  roused  by  the  trem- 
bling cry  of  the  wife,  the  mother,  in  the  agony  of  her  alarm.     They 
rushed  to  the  good  man's  chamber,  and  found  him  sitting  up,  but 
writhing  in  pain.     "  Make  my  blood  circulate,"  he   said.     They 
essayed  the  task,  but  failed.     Seeing  their  alarm,  and  feeling  that 
his  end  was  nigh,  he  said,  '*  I  am  already  cold,  and  now,  my  precious 
children,  give  me  up  to  God.     Oh  that  more  of  you  were  here !  but 


74  DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST. 

I  bless  God  that  I  have  so  lately  seen  you  all."  But  see  how  prin- 
ciple, and  duty,  and  devotion  to  the  Church,  worked  at  the  last  and 
to  the  last.  Bathed  in  the  dew  of  mortality,  enduring  untold  agony, 
longing  for  the  faces  of  those  ho  loved,  gasping  in  death,  he  said, 
"  3Iary,  I  want  you  to  finish  my  minutes  to-morrow,  and  send  them 
off."  Duty  was  his  law  in  life — his  watchword  at  the  gate  of  death. 
Partially  relieved  by  the  physician's  skill  and  the  power  of  medicine, 
he  asked  the  hour.  When  told,  he  exclaimed,  "  What !  only  three 
hours  since  I  have  been  suffering  such  torture  !  Only  three  hours  ! 
What  must  be  the  voice  of  the  bird  that  cries  Eternity!  Eternity! 
Three  hours  have  taken  away  all  but  my  religion."  Health  gone, 
strength  gone,  hope  gone,  life  almost  gone ;.  but  religion  abides  stead- 
fast and  stronger.  Retreating  from  the  shore  where  stand  wife, 
children,  and  friends,  waving  their  last  adieu,  but  my  religion  goes 
with  me.  All  the  foundations  of  earth  are  failing  me,  but  my  re- 
ligion still  towers  amid  the  general  wreck,  securely  firm,  indissolubly 
sure.     Glory  to  God  for  such  a  testimony  from  such  a  man ! 

For  a  little  while  nature  seemed  to  rally — the  king  of  terrors  to 
relent.  His  children  retired  to  rest  at  his  urgent  entreaty.  On  the 
morning  of  the  29th  of  January,  he  proposed  to  rise  and  dress  him- 
self, and  insisted  that  his  devoted  wife  should  seek  repose.  She 
reminded  him  of  the  doctor's  prescription,  and  besought  him  to  keep 
his  bed.  He  took  the  medicine,  drank  freely  of  water,  pillowed  his 
head  upon  his  arm,  and  breathed  his  last. 

"  So  fade3  a  summer  cloud  away, 

So  sinks  the  gale  when  storms  are  o'er, 
So  gently  shuts  the  eye  of  day, 
So  dies  a  wave  along  the  shore. 

Life's  duty  done,  as  sinks  the  clay, 

Light  from  its  load,  the  spirit  flies, 
While  heaven  and  earth  combine  to  say. 

How  blessed  the  righteous  when  he  dies  !" 

In  the  history  of  our  honored,  beloved  brother,  there  is  no  vice  to 
deplore  and  no  error  to  lament.  I  say  not  that  he  was  perfect ;  but 
I  do  say,  a  world  of  such  men  would  liken  earth  to  heaven.  I  say 
not  that  he  had  no  infirmities,  no  human  frailties  ;  but  I  do  say  that 
bis  self-sacrificing  spirit,  his  humble,  holy,  useful  labors,  his  unwearied 
zeal,  and  his  spotless  example,  are  to  his  descendants  a  noble  patri- 
mony, and  to  the  Church  a  priceless  heritage.    Alive,  he  was  a  dem- 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  75 

onstration  of  the  power  and  truth  of  Christianity ;  being  dead,  he  yet 
speaketh,  proclaiming  to  all  that  God  is  faithful.  He  left  all  and 
followed  Christ,  but  never  lacked  any  good  thing.  Counting  all 
things  but  loss  that  he  might  win  Christ,  God  gave  him  friends  and 
fame,  honor  and  usefulness.  A  messenger  of  God,  his  visits  were 
blessings.  The  country  admired  him,  and  the  Church  loved  him. 
His  death  fell  like  a  shadow  upon  many  a  hearthstone,  and  his  native 
State  became  a  valley  of  weeping.  Cities  struggled  for  the  honor 
of  his  burial,  and  Methodism,  in  mourning,  repeats  his  funeral,  to 
prolong  her  grief  and  consecrate  his  memory.  Oh,  brethren!  we 
have  lost  a  friend,  a  brother,  an  advocate,  an  example,  a  benefactor. 
Earth  is  growing  poorer.  There  is  now  less  faith,  less  zeal,  less  love 
in  the  world.  The  righteous  are  perishing;  the  good  are  taken  away. 
Oh,  ye  venerable  fathers  of  the  Church,  contemporaries  and  fellow- 
laborers  of  the  ascended  Capers,  your  ranks  are  broken.  The  friends 
of  your  youth  are  gone,  and,  relics  of  a  generation  well-nigh  past, 
ye  still  linger  among  us.  God  bless  you  :  we  love  you  much,  but  we 
cannot  keep  you  much  longer.  Your  sands  are  running  low,  your 
change  is  at  hand.  You,  venerable  sir,*  are  almost  the  only  bond 
that  binds  the  preacher  and  his  congregation  to  the  pioneers  of 
Methodism  in  this  broad  country.  That  bond,  fretted  and  worn  by 
more  than  threescore  years  and  ten,  is  well-nigh  threadless,  atten- 
uated, and  ready  to  break.  But  God  is  with  you.  The  raven  hair, 
the  ruddy  cheek,  the  vigorous  arm,  the  enduring  strength,  are  gone 
—all  gone  ;  but  your  religion,  too,  thank  God,  is  left  you.  Lean- 
ing upon  that  staff,  you  are  waiting  your  summons.  Heaven  bless 
you  with  a  smiling  sunset,  a  pleasing  night,  and  a  glorious  morn. 
And  you,  hoary  veterans  of  the  cross — one  and  all — heroes  of  a  glo- 
rious strife,  remnants  of  an  army  slain  and  yet  victorious,  if  we  sur- 
vive when  ye  are  gone,  how  bereaved  and  solitary  our  lot  I  But  ye 
are  going  :  the  wrinkled  brow,  the  furrowed  cheek,  the  halting  step 
respond.  Yes,  we  are  going.  Pray  for  us  while  you  live,  and  bless 
us  when  you  die. 

And  you,  brethren,  middle-aged  and  young,  let  us  imitate  the  ex- 
ample, catch  the  spirit,  of  our  glorified  brother  and  fellow-laborer. 
He  felt  himself  a  debtor  to  the  wise  and  the  unwise.  The  white  man, 
the  Indian,  and  the  negro,  all  shared  his  counsel,  his  labors,  his 

•Bishop  Soule. 


76  DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST 

sympathy,  and  his  prayers.  The  white  fields  are  yet  ungathered,  and 
the  strongest  reapers  are  falling.  The  mournful  event  we  commem- 
orate cries,  Go  work  to-day  in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  This  is  our  duty, 
and  ought  to  be  our  only  business.  We  are  here,  as  oflBcers  and 
ministers  of  our  branch  of  the  Church,  to  inaugurate  our  great  mis- 
sionary and  publishing  interests  under  new  auspices.  But  the  cold 
shadow  of  death  falls  darkly  upon  our  council-chamber.  Its  presence 
is  a  warning.  We  have  home-interests  we  may  not  live  to  supervise  j 
there  are  plans  of  usefulness  we  may  not  help  to  execute  ;  for  we  too 
are  passing  away.  What  we  do  must  be  done  quickly.  Let  us  live 
unto  the  Lord  ;  let  us  live  unto  the  Lord  more  than  ever  ;  let  us  be 
more  prompt,  self-denying  and  laborious.  Let  us  be  steadfast,  unmo- 
vable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  we 
know  that  our  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  What  we  lay  out  he 
will  repay.  Amid  our  toil,  inconveniences,  and  trials,  be  this  our 
consolation — "  We  are  the  Lord's."  If  we  live  till  our  physical  powers 
decay,  the  dim  eye  may  still  read  our  title  clear ;  on  Jesus'  bosom 
we  may  lean  the  hoary  head,  and  in  death's  sad  struggle  feel  our  kind 
Preserver  near.  God  will  not  love  us  less  because  "  the  strong  men 
bow  themselves,"  and  "  the  keepers  of  the  house  tremble."  His 
love  endureth  forever.  His  claim  is  undeniable — his  title  indisputa- 
ble. The  grave's  eiFacing  fingers  cannot  mutilate  the  handwriting. 
Time's  ponderous  wheel,  as  it  grinds  the  world  to  dust  on  its  march 
to  judgment,  cannot  destroy  the  record.  "A  book  of  remembrance 
is  written  before  Him  "  safe  beyond  the  desolations  of  earth,  and  the 
triumphs  of  the  sepulchre.  Heeding,  then,  the  solemn  providence 
which  bids  us  weep  a  brother  deceased,  let  us  go  forth  bearing  pre- 
cious seed,  sowing  beside  all  waters, — we  shall  rest,  and  stand  in  our 
lot  at  the  end  of  the  days.  "Whether  we  live,  therefore,  or  die,  we 
are  the  Lord's."  Living  and  dying,  dead  and  buried,  we  are  His — 
His  when  we  rise,  His  when  heaven  and  earth  are  fled  and  gone,  His 
in  the  New  Jerusalem,  for  ever  and  forever. 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done  ! 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  vict'ry  won, 

Enter  thy  Master's  joy." 
The  voice  at  midnight  came  : 

He  started  up  to  hear  : 
A  mortal  arrow  pierced  his  frame, 

He  fell, — but  felt  no  fear. 


DEVOTEDNESS   TO   CHRIST.  77 

Tranquil  amid  alarms, 

It  found  him  on  the  field, 
A  vet'ran  slumb'ring  on  his  arms, 

Beneath  his  red-cross  shield. 
His  sword  was  in  his  hand, 

Still  warm  with  recent  fight. 
Ready  that  moment,  at  command. 

Through  rock  and  steel  to  smite. 

At  midnight  came  the  cry, 

•*  To  meet  thy  God  prepare  !" 
He  woke, — and  caught  his  Captain's  eye  ; 

Then,  strong  in  faith  and  prayer, 
His  spirit,  with  abound, 

Left  its  encumb'ring  clay  : 
His  tent,  at  sunrise,  on  the  ground, 

A  darkened  ruin  lay. 

The  pains  of  death  are  past. 

Labor  and  sorrow  cease  ;  ^ 

And  life's  long  warfare  closed  at  last, 

His  soul  is  found  in  peace. 
Soldier  of  Christ,  well  done  ! 

Praise  be  thy  new  employ  ; 
And  while  eternal  ages  run. 

Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy. 


>■ 


''■^., 


ANGELIC   STUDY. 


BY  JOHN    W.   HANNER,    D.   D., 

OF  THE  TENNESSEE  COKFEBEKCB 


"  Which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into." — 1  Peter  i,  12. 

There  are  no  gaps  or  chasms  in  the  creation  of  God.  All  its  parts 
are  admirably  connected  together,  making  up  one  universal,  harmo- 
nious whole.  There  is  a  chain  of  beings,  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  point — from  a  sand-grain  to  an  archangel.  This  scale  of  be- 
ing advances  not  by  leaps,  but  by  smooth  and  gentle  degrees.  Al- 
though we  may  not  be  able  to  note  accurately  the  degrees  by  which 
this  scale  is  graduated,  yet  in  a  gross  and  general  way  we  may  begin 
with  inorganical  particles  of  water  and  earth,  and  ascend,  through 
minerals,  vegetables,  insects,  beasts,  and  men,  to  angels.  Of  angels, 
however,  we  know  nothing  but  by  divine  revelation.  The  crude 
notion  which  ancient  heathens  had  of  this  order  of  intelligences  was 
doubtless  derived  from  tradition — bent  and  broken  rays  of  light  from 
God's  original  communications  to  man — scattered  over  the  world. 
This  order  of  being  they  placed  between  God  and  man.  The  Greeks 
called  them  demons — that  is,  knowing  ones;  the  Romans  named 
them  genii  and  lares.  Socrates  had  his  good  demon,  or  angel,  that 
gave  him  notice  in  the  morning  of  any  evil  which  would  befall  him 
during  the  day.  On  the  day  he  was  condemned  to  drink  the  hem- 
lock, he  says  :  "  My  demon  did  not  give  me  notice  this  morning  of 
any  evil  that  was  to  befall  me  to-day ;  therefore  I  cannot  regard  as 
any  evil  my" being  condemned  to  die."  There  is  in  this  scrap  of  pro- 
fane history  a  strange  and  deep  spirituality,  that  must  be  interesting 
to  a  reflecting  mind.  It  is  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  wonderful 
sayings  of  uninspired  man.  Who  but  an  angel  of  God  could  have 
been  the  knoioing  one  that  revealed  beneficial  secrets  to  the  great 
mind  of  the  sage,  honestly  struggling  for  light  amid  the  darkness  of 
the  heathen  world  ?  What  a  Godsend  would  the  Bible  have  been  to 
that  man  ! 

"  All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable 


so  ANGELIC    STUDY. 

for  doctrine  and  instruction."  It  is  one  of  the  excellences  of  this 
revelation,  that  it  supplies  us  with  information  concerning  those 
things  and  rational  beings  which  our  eyes  have  not  seen,  nor  our  ears 
heard.  Among  these  revelations  the  existence  of  angels  is  not  the 
least  important.  Although  the  Bible  may  not  reveal  enough  on  this 
subject  to  gratify  our  insatiable  curiosity,  yet  it  reveals  enough  for 
our  faith,  enough  for  our  comfort.  Does  it  teach  us  their  existence  ? 
It  teaches,  also,  that  the  burden  of  their  song  is  praise  to  God,  and 
that  they  are  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of  salvation,  battling  un- 
der the  clouds  of  earth  and  time. 

As  to  the  nature  of  angels,  they  are  spirits,  not  clogged  with  flesh 
and  blood  as  we  are.  Their  bodies,  if  they  have  any,  are  not  earthly, 
gross,  and  gravitating  like  ours  ;  but  of  finer  substance,  ethereal — 
resembling  flame  more  than  any  object  of  which  we  have  knowledge. 
This  is  probably  intimated  by  the  Psalmist :  "  Who  maketh  his  angels 
spirits,  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire."  They  either  have  bodies, 
or  power  to  condense  the  atmosphere,  to  collect  vapor  around  them, 
or  in  some  other  way  make  themselves  visible  to  mortals  ;  for  they 
have  been  seen  of  men.  They  are  indued  with  understanding,  will, 
affections,  and  liberty.  These  attributes  are  essential  to  the  exist- 
ence of  spirit,  if  indeed  they  do  not  constitute  its  essence.  What 
are  we  to  think  of  the  understanding  of  an  angel  ?  Who  can  con- 
ceive the  extent  of  his  knowledge  ?  What  should  hinder  one  from 
seeing  the  very  thoughts  as  they  rise  in  our  hearts  ?  Not  the  thin 
veil  of  flesh  and  blood  can  intercept  the  view  of  an  angel.  Massive 
walls  are  no  obstruction  to  his  piercing  glance,  no  more  than  unop- 
posing  space  of  open  air.  Can  we  read  a  man's  thoughts  in  his  face  ? 
Far  more  easily  can  an  angel  read  them  in  our  minds,  forasmuch  as 
they  can  see  the  spirit  more  clearly  than  we  can  see  the  body.  Much 
of  the  past  and  present  they  doubtless  comprehend,  but  the  future 
sets  limits  to  the  extent  of  their  knowledge.  They  know  not  the 
day  nor  the  hour  of  Christ's  second  coming.  Notwithstanding  this 
limit,  the  extent  of  their  knowledge,  the  degree  of  their  wisdom  is 
inconceivable.  How  amazing  must  have  been  its  increase  during  the 
last  five  thousand  years,  resulting  from  an  employment  of  their 
mighty  understanding  and  the  lofty  faculties  with  which  they  were 
originally  endowed,  in  surveying  the  ways  and  hearts  of  men  through 
successive  generations,  and  by  observing  and  studying  the  works  of 


ANGELIC   STUDY.  81 

God,  creation,  providence,  redemption  !  And,  above  all, "  beholding 
the  face  of  their  Father  !" 

The  strength  of  angels — how  astonishing  is  this  I  One  of  them, 
and  a  fallen  one,  could  raise  a  whirlwind  to  level  Job's  house  with 
the  dust,  and  destroy  all  his  children  at  once.  A  single  angel  passed 
through  the  Syrian  camp,  and  slew  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
thousand  soldiers  in  a  night — perhaps  in  an  hour,  a  moment.  The 
strength  of  an  angel,  implied  in  the  slaughter  of  the  first-born  of 
man  and  beast  in  the  populous  and  fruitful  land  of  Egypt,  is  prodi- 
gious. Nor  is  his  speed  less  so.  The  four  angels  of  the  Revelation, 
One  standing  at  each  "  corner  of  the  earth,"  had  power  to  hold  in 
check  and  confine  the  winds  of  heaven. 

Their  number  is  indefinite,  countless.  There  are  myriads  upon 
myriads  of  them,  peopling  heaven  and  ranging  the  wide  realms  of 
their  Creator's  universe.  They  are  the  model  patterns  of  our  obe- 
dience :  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  in  heaven."  As  fellow- 
students,  they  desire  to  look  into  the  things  of  our  salvation. 

1.  What  tilings  form  the  subject  of  Angelic  Study  1 
The  subject  itself  is  the  grace  of  God  to  man,  in  the  world's  re- 
demption through  Jesus  Christ.  Peter  divides  this  subject  into  two 
parts,  "  the  sufierings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow." 
It  was  long  a  subject  of  prophetical  investigation,  employing  the' 
minds  of  men  under  the  inspiration  of  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  de- 
manding the  closest  and  most  diligent  research  from  those  who  bore 
witness  to  it.  Clearly  impressed  with  its  superiority  over  every  thing 
in  their  dispensation,  they  inquired  of  one  another,  and  searched  the 
sacred  writings  as  men  would  search  for  gold  hid  in  the  sand  or  em- 
bedded in  rocks  deep  down  in  the  earth,  that  they  might  ascertain 
the  nature,  time  and  manner  of  this  wonderful  display  of  God's  love 
to  man. 

"  God,  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners,  spake  unto  the  fa- 
thers by  the  prophets ;"  and  though  the  superiority  of  our  privilege 
is  undoubted  and  incalculable,  yet  we  have  not  lost  our  interest  m 
the  wondrous  mode  of  teaching  vouchsafed  to  the  ancient  Church,, 
nor  have  angels  lost  theirs.  There  is  a  harmonious  connection  be- 
tween prophets  and  angels  in  this  great  investigation.  The  plan  of 
redemption  is  God's.  It  originated  in  his  infinite  mind,  was  ar- 
ranged by  his  wisdom,  cherished  by  his  love,  and  manifested  to  the 

6 


^  ANGELIC    STUDY. 

world  in  due  time  by  his  Son.  In  the  mean  time,  types,  sacriBces, 
priests,  kings,  and  a  succession  of  prophets  to  strike  the  harp  of  sa- 
cred, song  with  inspired  impulse,  in  hymning  the  advent,  sufferings, 
and  subsequent  glory  of  the  Saviour,  were  employed  to  awaken  and 
keep  awake  the  attention  of  men  and  the  expectation  of  the  world 
till  Jesus  himself  appeared.  Thus  the  faith  of  good  men  was  up- 
held and  maintained,  and  their  desires  thrown  forward  to  future  ages, 
when  the  better  things  for  whi3h  they  hoped  should  be  made  mani- 
fest. 0,  with  what  intensity  were  these  things  studied!  It  was 
thus  they  were  "  searching  what,  or  what  time,  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it  testiBed  beforehand  the  suf- 
ferings of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should  follow." 

It  may  be  the  prophets  themselves,  in  many  instances,  did  not  un- 
derstand their  own  predictions.  They  had  a  general  view  of  God's 
design,  but  may  have  studied  particular  details  in  their  own  prophetic 
declarations.  They  describe  the  sufferings  of  Christ  as  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, under  circumstances  that  leave  them  no  paralel  in  the  history  of 
human  wo  ;  suffering  as  a  substitute,  not  for  himself  or  his  friends, 
but  for  a  world  of  enemies.  They  also  foretold  that  these  sufferings 
should  be  a  remedy  wide  as  the  posterity  of  Adam  and  deep  as  the 
corruption  of  human  nature.  And  finally,  that  they  should  bear  to 
the  faithful  in  every  age  an  absolute  efficacy  in  pardoning  and  cleans- 
ing from  sin.  "  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 
The  iniquity  of  us  all  was  made  to  meet  in  him,  as  all  the  rivers  meet 
in  the  sea.  The  punishment,  due  to  us  all  was  laid  on  Him.  This  is 
the  first  division  of  the  great  subject  of  angelic  study.  The  next  is 
the  glory  that  should  follow  upon  or  rise  out  of  the  sufferings  of 
Christ. 

Not  the  glory  of  an  earthly  conqueror,  built  upon  the  carcasses  of 
the  slain,  coming  fresh  from  the  field  of  carnage,  reeking  with  the 
blood  of  his  fellows,  sending  forth  his  heralds  to  trumpet  his  praise 
as  he  rides  in  a  triumphal  chariot  amid  the  shouts  of  a  venal  sol- 
diery ;  but  the  glory  of  a  deliverer,  an  almighty  hero,  who  shed  his 
own  blood  for  the  salvation  of  his  enemies,  coming  from  a  field  of 
strife  piled  with  the  rums  of  death,  hell,  and  the  grave,  lauded  by  the 
choral  anthems  of  angelic  hosts.  The  glory  of  saving  men's  souls. 
Not  the  glory  of  his  resurrection  and  ascension  only,  but  of  his  fol- 
lowers and  companions.  Like  branches  from  a  parent  stock,  and 
streams  from  a  fountain,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  tlie  stock  and 


ANGELIC    STUDY.  83 

fountain,  so  they  partake  of  the  nature  of  Christ,  and  conform  them- 
selves in  heart  and  life  to  his  glory. 

The  glory  also  of  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  established  and 
perpetuated  by  Him.  Neither  the  light  of  nature  nor  the  law  of  Si- 
nai could  teach  the  doctrine  of  pardon,  but  in  Jesus  justice  and  mer- 
cy meet  together. 

"  Here  the  whole  Deity  is  known, 
Nor  dares  a  creature  guess 
Which  of  the  glories  brighter  shone — 
The  justice  or  the  grace." 

Grod  is  just ;  man  is  guilty.  God  is  pure  ;  man  is  polluted.  God  is 
love  ;  "  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God."  How  can  they  be 
reconciled  ?  Nature  and  law  only  stir  up  the  opposition,  and  put  the 
parties  farther  asunder.  Jesus  came  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  himself,  and  to  publish  the  glorious  doctrine  that  "  God  is  in 
Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself."  Whether  young  or  hoary- 
hcaded,  rich  or  poor,  sick  or  in  health,  we  may  now  be  reconciled 
to  God,  and  saved. 

The  glory  ©f  regenerating  the  human  heart  and  human  character. 
Man  is  a  sinner  ;  not  only  guilty  as  an  inexcusable  violator  of  divine 
law,  but  depraved  in  his  moral  nature,  bereft  of  the  divine  image. 
He  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish ;  in  body  a  brute,  in  mind  a  ruined 
demon.  This  may  sound  harsh  in  your  ears,  for  the  reason  that  you 
have  seen  human  nature  in  its  best  estate  only.  Could  you  see  it  in 
its  homely,  uneducated  condition,  roaming  through  the  forest,  thirst- 
ing for  blood,  dancing  on  the  enchanted  ground,  practicing  witchcraft, 
or  revelling  in  a  pagan  bacchanal,  the  strongest  terms  would  seem  too 
weak  to  depict  fully  its  degradation.  What  makes  you  to  diflfer 
from  others  of  your  race  ?  The  gospel  of  Christ.  But  for  this  you 
would  have  been  the  same  that  they  are.  That  there  is  a  regenera- 
ting power  for  man,  a  spiritual  resurrection  to  spiritual  life,  is  a 
truth  at  which  Jews  wonder  and  Gentiles  too.  This  regeneration  is 
radical  and  thorough,  and  if  preserved  and  perfected  will  issue  in 
lifting  up  and  making  immortal  and  blessed  our  entire  humanity. 

Once  more.  The  glory  of  bringing  innumerable  souls  to  heaven, 
'<  Through  suffering  he  designed  to  bring  many  souls  to  glory."  Mil- 
lions have  already  gone :  millions  more  are  on  their  way,  and  if  it 
please  God  to  let  this  system  go  on  a  few  centuries  longer,  millions 


84  ANGELIC   STUDT. 

more  will  follow  to  swell  the  song  in  heaven,  "  Unto  Him  that  loved 
us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  to  him  be  glory." 
As  yet  the  world  does  not  glorify  God.  The  glory  due  to  his  name 
is  given  to  idols  and  vanities,  to  men  and  their  works,  to  wealth  and 
ease  and  pleasure.  The  idea  of  glorifying  God  never  enters  the 
minds  of  besotted  and  imbruted  thousands,  and  even  the  mind  of 
multitudes  professing  religion.  Worship  is  paid  and  songs  are  sung 
in  the  dark  and  evil  land,  but  neither  is  offered  to  God  nor  designed 
to  glorify  Him.  Where  the  gospel  mission  is  accomplished,  the 
work  of  divine  religion  done,  the  scene  is  different.  God  will  then 
be  glorified  in  the  mighty  moral  change  which  shall  be  presented  by 
a  regenerated  world  on  its  way  to  heaven  ;  in  the  exaltation  and  uni- 
versal dominion  of  Jesus  over  the  nations ;  in  the  spread  and  tri- 
umph of  his  truth,  and  in  all  nature.  God's  glory  will  be  seen  in 
all — in  every  shower  that  falls,  in  every  plant  that  grows,  in  every, 
in  all  objects  by  which  his  regenerated  human  worshippers  are  sur- 
rounded. The  great  plan  is  at  work.  God  is  in  it  ;  men  are  em- 
ployed it ;  angels  are  interested  in  it ;.  it  is  moving,  advancing  to 
completion — constantly  bringing  new  glory  to  God,  new  blessings  to 
man ;  all  is  intense  anxiety,  spirit-piercing  interest ;  and  when  all 
shall  be  accomplished  according  to  the  promise  of  Omnipotence,  both 
men  and  angels  will  be  inspired  and  thrilled  with  eternal  admiration 
and  love. 

2.  What  is  implied  in  the  desire  of  angels  to  look  into  these 
things  ? 

First. — Profound  attention.  P  ar  ak up sai,  "  stooping  down 
to,"  represents  them  in  the  posture  of  those  who  are  earnestly 
intent  on  finding  out  a  thing.  For  example,  a  difficult  and  mys- 
terious writing:  bending,  ^^ poring"  over  it.  The  same  word  is 
used  to  describe  the  attitude  of  the  disciples  at  the  sepulchre  : 
"  stooping  down,  they  looked  in." 

The  allusion  here  is  to  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  iu  tlio  Holy  ot 
Holies,  with  its  lid  of  gold,  or  "  mercy  seat,"  and  cherubim  bending 
down  and  covering  it  with  their  wings.  That  was  an  illustrious  type 
of  the  propitiation  made  by  the  Son  of  God.  The  ark  was  an  oblong 
chest  containing  the  tables  of  the  law ;  over  these  was  placed  the  lid 
or  covering,  the  "  mercy  seat,"  and  also  called  "the  throne  of  grace," 
and  over  this  the  sculptured  cherubim,  representations  of  the  angelic 


ANGELIC   STUDY.  85 

host,  and  between  their  outstretched  wings  shadowing  the  propitiato- 
ry was  the  visible  glory  of  Jehovah.  The  design  of  bringing  to- 
gether all  these  different  objects  into  one  great  symbol  must  have 
been  to  teach  us  that  there  are  important  relations  between  the  ad- 
ministration of  grace  to  man  on  earth  and  the  heavenly  world,  and 
that  there  is  a  close  connection  between  all  the  dispensations  and  ar- 
rangements of  the  great  plan  of  redemption.  The  very  forms  under 
which  some  scriptures  represent  the  cherubim,  are  the  symbols  of  in- 
telligence, strength,  courage,  endurance  and  activity,  "  the  face  of  a 
man,  a  lion,  ox,  eagle."  But  here  they  are  brought  before  us  as  fix- 
ing their  intent  gaze  upon  the  "  throne  of  grace,"  desiring  to 
comprehend  the  things  represented  by  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  the 
approach  of  guilty  man  to  God  seated  upon  the  throne  of  mercy, 
that  man  may  obtain  mercy  and  find  grace  to  help  him  in  time  of 
need. 

Angels  are  beings  of  astonishing  intelligence.  Over  the  vast 
fields  of  science,  where  man  proceeds  with  much  diflBeulty  so  tardily, 
and  he  has  never  traveled  at  all,  they  fly  with  ease.  To  them  na- 
ture is  an  open  space ;  they  can  wing  their  way  from  one  world  to 
another,  and  sweep  over  the  wide  domain  of  universal  creation.  They 
are  permitted  to  watch  the  changes  of  earth  and  its  scenes,  and  to 
note  the  entire  progress  of  the  vast  schemes  of  Providence,  a  part  of 
which,  "  a  little  part  alone,  we  scan."  But  over  whatever  other 
sights  their  view  ranges,  there  is  one  that  fixes  their  gaze.  There 
they  stay  their  flight,  and  bending  down  with  profound  attention, 
they  look  into  the  peculiarities  of  the  gospel,  which  worldly  wisdom 
accounts  foolishness.  Nearly  two  thousand  years  have  rolled  away 
since  Jesus  suffered,  and  still  they  "desire tolodk  into  these  things," 
not  having  yet  comprehended  them.  When  I  permit  my  imagination 
to  wander  away  from  the  naked  facts  of  the  record,  I  seem  to  see 
them  profoundly  studying,  with  bending  gaze  and  knit  brow,  these 
high  mysteries  for  a  thousand  years,  and  then  they  lift  up  their  heads 
a  moment  and  then  add  another  thousand  years  of  study,  and  lifting 
up  their  heads  again,  exclaim,  "  0  the  depths  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God  !  How  unsearchable  are  his  judgments,  and  his 
ways  past  finding  out !  "  Learn  on,  high-born  students  of  God  Al- 
mighty's wonders!  The  universe  is  your  text-book — eternity  the 
period  of  your  tuition!  Poor  witlings  of  earth,  what  is  your  whole 
stock  of  learnbg  compared  with  the  knowledge  of  angels,  gained  by 


gg  ANGELIC   STUDY. 

the  study  of  thousands  of  years,  without  the  interruption  of  sleep 
or  languor,  gathered  from  a  survey  of  God's  works  and  ways  without 
the  fogs  of  earth  and  sin  and  clogs  of  flesh  and  blood?  Yours  ig 
nothing  but  elements,  shreds  and  scraps  gleaned  from  fictions  and 
newspapers  ;  and  you  will  not  believe  the  mysteries  of  redemption 
because  you  cannot  comprehend  them !  Instead  of  cavilling,  we  should, 
with  angels,  believe,  love,  obey. 

Secondly. — Their  desire  implies  adoring  wonder.  Not  only  the 
head  bowed  in  profound  attention,  but  the  sidelong  glance  over  the 
lid  of  the  ark  seems  to  say:  Stupendous  gift  of  God  to  man  !  "  Though 
he  was  rich,  yet  for  their  sakos  he  became  poor,  that  they  through 
his  poverty  might  be  rich."  And  then,  '<  He  hath  given  them  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises  whereby  they  might  be  partakers 
of  the  divine  nature." 

Angels  had  seen  their  fallen  companions  "  passed  by,"  their  fel- 
lows who  had  sinned  cast  down  from  God  and  heaven,  and  no  Christ 
was  promised  to  them  ;  no  gospel  proclaimed  peace  in  hell  and  f-^od 
will  to  devils,  and  fearful  to  them  did  the  evil  of  sin  appear.  Must 
they  not  wonder  and  adore  over  the  scheme  of  man's  redemption  ; 
over  the  mysterious  agony  of  the  garden  and  the  cross ;  over  the  suf- 
fering of  the  Great  Victim,  who  died  to  put  away  sin  and  bring  myr- 
iads upon  myriads  of  souls  to  glory  ? 

They  also,  doubtless,  wonder  at  the  opposition  this  system  encoun- 
ters in  the  world.  The  race  of  man  is  fallen ;  the  whole  race  has 
been  redeemed.  All  are  diseased  ;  there  is  one  remedy,  and  but  one, 
for  all.  The  rejection  of  this  remedy  is  ruin — utter  and  irremedial 
ruin — and  but  few  are  disposed  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  while  mul- 
titudes resist  the  grace  of  God,  When  will  this  foul  reproach  be 
washed  away  from  all  the  world,  and  salvation  be  its  common  her- 
itage ■* 

3.  The  Probable  J\Iotives  of  Angelic  Study. 

These  can  only  be  conjectured  from  their  nature  and  relations. 

They  delight  in  knowledge.  Being  pure  spirits,  unencumbered 
with  flesh  and  blood,  the  salvation  of  man  must  be  to  them  a  subject 
of  intellectual  interest.  Every  new  display  of  Divine  wisdom 
and  glory  must  give  them  a  new  pleasure.  The  advent  of  the 
Saviour  was  their  joy ;  they  sang  it  in  strains  of  heavenly  music. 
His  resurrection  and  ascension  added  fresh  anthems  to  their  praise 


4NGELIC  STUDY.  87 

The  progress  and  development  of  the  whole  plan  of  salvation  have 
added  new  scores  to  their  knowledge.  "  Unto  me,"  says  Paul,  "  the 
least  of  all  saints,  is  this  grace  given,  that  1  might  preach  among  the 
Oentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ ;.  to  the  intent  that  now, 
unto  principalities  and  powers,  in  heavenly  places,  might  be  known, 
by  the  Church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God."  There  is  in  this  pas- 
sage a  collateral  reference  to  the  knowledge  of  angels  ;.  and  the 
knowledge  thus  acquired  surely  ministers  to  their  happiness  as  well 
as  to  their  holiness.  Of  all  other  knowledge  it  seems  best  fitted  to 
do  so.  It  would  seem  that  their  bright  lamps  burn  brighter  when 
fed  by  oil  from  Christianity.  They  are  called  "  seraphim  " — that  is, 
burners.  They  are  compared  to  a  flame  of  fire.  They  not  only  shine 
with  light,  but  burn  with  zeal.  The  gospel  reveals  God  to  man ; 
they  love  it — delight  in  its  study  ;  it  brings  glory  to  God — they  glory 
in  it.     They  praise  God,  and  love  to  praise  God. 

Another  motive  may  be,  the  large  moral  benefit  accruing  to  them 
from  this  study. 

That  they  need  no  redemption  we  know,  for  they  have  not  fallen ; 
and  if  any  moral  benefit  flow  to  them  from  this  scheme,  it  is  not  in 
the  way  of  direct  redemption.  Yet  it  is  easy  to  see,  that  if  to  any 
being  already  pure,  brighter  views  of  God  and  higher  degrees  of  moral 
knowledge  be  communicated,  such  communication  must  always  be 
an  instrument  of  increase  both  of  holiness  and  felicity.  And  it  is  as 
easy  to  show  that  there  ai'e  great  subjects  connected  with  the  history 
of  our  redemption,  with  which  angels  can  become  better  acquainted 
than  they  ever  could  have  been  had  there  been  no  redemption.  They 
were  deeply  impressed  with  God's  power  when  they  witnessed  the 
wonders  of  creation — when  nothing  heard  the  voice  of  God,  and  was 
substantiated  into  the  goodly  fabric  of  the  universe.  Then  they 
shouted  for  joy.  But  here  was  nothing  to  resist — all  was  passive. 
"  'Twas  great  to  speak  a  world  from  nought, 
'Twas  greater  to  redeem." 

In  redemption  they  have  seen  bad  principles  subdued  and  eradi- 
cated, alien  and  resisting  hearts  won  back  to  God,  and  sin  and 
uncleanness  washed  away  by  the  blood  of  the  cross.  They  had  seen 
the  virtue  of  holiness  in  each  other,  and  knew  what  it  was  in  the 
abstract;  but  this  was  a  ray  of  brigiitness  in  the  element  of  light.  By 
the  power  of  grace  in  man  they  had  seen  the  virtue  of  holiness  exhib- 
ited and  maintained  in  a  corrupt  world — a  beam  of  light  shining  in 


•.88  ANGELIC   STUDY. 

a  dark  place.  Here  they  see  virtue  in  action,  which  they  had  before 
contemplated  only  in  the  abstract.  They  had  -witnessed  bright  and 
vast  displays  of  the  love  of  God ;  but  they  had  never  beheld  love  so 
embodied  and  realized  as  in  the  gift  of  the  Son  of  God  for  man's  sal- 
vation— love  teaching,  travailing,  toiling,  suffering,  dying,  rising, 
ascending,  but  to  return  in  teeming  showers  of  richest  blessing  on 
man,  that  he  might  not  perish  ;  and  the  triumphs  of  victorious  grace 
in  men,  subduing  their  own  nature,  resisting  temptation,  bearing  up 
under  crosses,  forgiving  injuries,  sustaining  afflictions  with  patience, 
and  believing  against  hope.  They  have  witnessed  prisoners  for  Christ's 
sake  rejoicing  in  bonds,  and  singing  at  midnight  the  praise  of  God ; 
they  have  looked  upon  the  meekness  of  the  martyr,  and  listened  as 
he  prayed  for  his  murderers ;  they  have  admired  his  constancy  in 
torments,  and  the  cheerfulness  and  triumph  with  which  he  hailed 
reproach  and  welcomed  the  cross  of  Christ.  And  can  they  behold 
such  scenes  and  hear  such  sounds  (which  they  never  could  have  seen 
and  heard  but  for  redemption)  without  moral  benefit  ? 

A  third  motive  may  be  their  benevolence  toward  us.  They  wish 
US  well,  and  delight  to  attend  the  heirs  of  salvation.  Benevolent 
beings  are  angels.  How  much  they  are  interested  for  us,  and  what 
they  are  able  and  willing  to  do,  we  learn  from  the  Bible.  God  has 
always  employed  them  in  the  affairs  of  his  government  over  this 
world.  I  know  this  infidel  and  jovial  age  scoffs  at  the  doctrine  of 
supernatural  interposition,  as  far  below  the  wisdom  of  human  philoso- 
phy, while  in  fact  it  is  far  above  it. 

When  God  expelled  man  from  Eden,  an  angel  guarded  the  gate- 
way to  the  Tree  of  Life  When  Jacob  committed  himself  and  his 
interests  to  God  in  prayer,  angels  descended  and  ascended  his  ladder 
of  vision  reaching  from  earth  to  heaven — binding  the  footstool  to  the 
throne.  When  Egypt's  first-born  must  be  smitten,  an  angel's  hand 
gives  the  blow.  When  Daniel  was  to  be  preserved  among  the  lions, 
an  angel  is  there  to  shut  their  mouths.  When  Herod  would  destroy 
the  infant  Jesus,  an  angel  puts  Joseph  on  his  flight  to  a  place  of 
safety.  When  Jesus  agonized  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  an  angel 
strengthens  him ;  and  when  he  is  dying  on  the  cross,  forsaken  of  his 
friends  and  insulted  by  his  foes,  amid  the  lonely  desertion  and  dark- 
ness of  that  hour  thoy  spread  their  hovering  wings  around  his  sink- 
ing head,  and  leave  him  not  till  the  mortal  pang  is  past.  It  was  an 
angel  that  rolled  the  stone  from  the  door  of  his  sepulchre,  aud  saw 


ANGELIC    STUDT.  89 

the  light  of  immortality  for  the  human  body  when  first  it  flashed  forth 
from  the  vacated  tomb  of  the  risen  Jesus.  Angels  were  with  him  on 
the  mount  of  ascension,  lingered  awhile  in  the  shining  wake  of  his 
passage  to  heaven,  and  returned  to  the  gazing  men  of  Galilee,  with 
intelligence  of  what  took  place  beyond  the  cloud  which  had  veiled 
him  from  their  vision,  and  with  assurances  of  his  coming  again,  in  like 
manner. 

God's  cause  and  God's  people  are  still  in  the  world.  Angels  take 
an  interest  in  these.  When  a  missionary  was  called  to  go  out  with 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  he  inquired,  "  "Who  shall  go  with  me  !  "  "An 
angel,"  was  the  Divine  answer.  They  were  with  Moses,  with  the 
prophets,  and  apostles  ;  they  are  with  all  pious  souls  in  strife.  Is  a 
preacher  in  prison  ? — angels  are  there.  They  delivered  Peter,  Paul, 
and  John.  Is  the  preacher  discouraged  1 — do  his  hands  hang  down  ? 
An  angel  touches  his  lips  with  a  live  coal  from  off  the  altar,  and 
strengthens  his  hands.  Is  he  successful  ? — angels  are  present ;  and 
when  the  word  of  God  takes  effect,  intelligence  is  conveyed  to  heaven 
with  more  than  telegraphic  despatch,  and  "  there  is  joy  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  Not  all 
the  joys  of  heaven  can  supersede  the  shout ;  its  thundering  volume 
fills  the  palace  of  their  King. 

Perhaps  every  christian  has  a  guardian  angel.  It  may  be  that  there 
is  one  angel  to  every  christian,  or  a  score  of  them ;  or  one  may  have 
charge  of  a  score  of  christians.  Some  of  the  ancient  fathers  be- 
lieved that  every  city  had  a  guardian  angel,  while  others  assigned 
one  to  every  house  and  every  man.  None  of  us  know  how  much  we 
are  indebted  to  angels  for  our  deliverance  from  imminent  peril,  dis- 
ease, and  malicious  plots  of  men  and  devils.  Where  the  pious  die, 
angels  are  to  carry  the  soul  to  heaven,  though  it  be  the  soul  of  a 
Lazarus. 

Finally. — Angels  are  witnessing  the  whole  history  of  our  world  in 
its  connection  with  the  administration  of  grace  and  Providence,  and 
are  studying  it  with  reference  to  the  final  issue,  for  their  instruction 
and  our  good,  as  in  the  end  they  and  the  redemed  from  the  earth  are 
to  be  associated  in  the  kingdom  of  glory.  Long  has  there  been  a 
grand  struggle  between  light  and  darkness,  truth  and  error,  holiness 
and  sin.  It  commenced  in  the  case  of  "  angels  who  kept  not  their 
first  estate."  In  that  case,  however,  I  suppose  the  struggle  was 
short,  and  the  punishment  of  transgression   summary  and  sudden  ; 


90  ANGELIC   STUDY. 

for,  tliough  we  may  take  our  poetry,  we  are  not  to  take  our  theology 
from  Miltou.  We  must  uot  thiak  there  was  a  long  war  between  the 
disaffected  and  the  faithful  in  heaven.  Where  no  grace  is,  sin  is  followed 
by  immediate  punishment ,:  long-suifering  belongs  not  to  law — and 
but  for  the  covenant  of  mercy  with  man,  the  present  struggle  would 
have  terminated  in  the  very  day  of  transgression.  The  sinner,  un- 
der the  stroke  of  divine  vengeance,  would  have  sunk  at  once  into  the 
abodes  of  perdition,  but  through  mercy  the  stroke  was  prolonged, 
and  still  continues.  As  it  goes  on  important  principles  are  established, 
truth  receives  fresh  evidence  every  year,  achieves  new  victories  every 
day,  and  its  entire  history  goes  to  show  the  folly  and  wickedness  of 
rebellion  against  God,  and  the  wisdom  and  piety  of  submission  to 
Him.  His  service  is  the  wisdom,  duty,  and  interest  of  his  creatures; 
and  as  no  creature  can  so  clearly  perceive  the  force  of  truth  in  the 
abstract  as  when  exhibited  in  action,  probably  angels  feel  all  these 
truths  more  forcibly  in  consequence  of  seeing  them  and  their  practi- 
cal results  on  the  grand  theatre  of  our  world.  We  ourselves  may 
learn  much  from  the  awful  contest  if  we  watch  it  faithfully,  standing 
in  the  light  of  the  Lord — much  that  will  be  highly  instructive  and  of 
moral  benefit.  But  our  faculties  are  too  weak  ;  our  range  of  view 
too  limited ;  our  opportunities  and  space  of  observation  too  few  and 
brief,  to  allow  us  to  study  and  comprehend  the  lessons  presented  as 
they  are  studied  and  comprehended  by  angels.  When  we  join  their 
assembly  we  shall  share  their  advantages.  They  are  watching  the 
progress  of  the  struggle  with  growing  interest.  The  plans  of  Prov- 
idence, like  Ezekiel's  wheels,  are  involved  in  perplexity  and  seeming 
counter  movements  ;  the  clouds  gather  and  break  ;  alternate  floods  of 
light  and  shadows  of  darkness  are  poured  upon  the  scene,  and  still 
they  gaze  on  as  the  scheme  is  gradually  and  more  clearly  developed 
and  the  catastrophe  nearer  and  nearer  approaches.  And  what  shall 
be  theil  final  song  when  the  consummation  arrives,  and  they  part  from 
the  scene  wiser  and  holier  and  happier  ?  W^hat  their  crowning-  joy 
but  the  outburst  of  that  long  repressed  and  high-wrought  feeling 
which  has  struggled  in  their  vast  minds  for  so  many  ages,  "  Hallelu- 
jah I  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigncth  !  " 

By  reason  of  sin  there  is  a  repulsion  between  heaven  and  earth, 
angels  and  men.  The  death  of  Christ  was  designed  to  remove  this 
and  reconcile  all,  making  them  one  in  Jesus  and  heaven.  Not  only 
to  reconcile  God  and  his  worshippers,  but  to  reconcile  the  worshippers 


ANGELTC    STUDY.  91 

■with  each  other.  Under  this  arrangement  men  arc  employed  to  as- 
sist men,  that  by  mutual  good  offices  they  may  endear  themselves  to 
each  other  in  time  and  in  eternity  ;  and  for  the  same  reason  angels 
are  employed  to  assist  men  and  have  given  to  them  a  charge  over  us, 
to  endear  us  and  them  together  that  our  final  and  mutual  joy  maybe 
the  fuller  and  sweeter  when  we  meet  in  our  Father's  kingdom.  How 
delightful  is  the  communion  of  saints  ou  earth  !  It  heightens  the 
idea  when  we  connect  saints  below  with  saints  above,  and  recollect 
that  to  us  all  there  is  one  God  and  Father.  He  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
He  has  a  host  in  the  innumerable  company  of  angels  ;  a  host  in  the 
company  of  redeemed  men.  "  Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the 
flood  and  part  are  crossing  now  ;*'  and  part  are  traveling  through  the 
wilderness,  nearing  every  day  the  banks  of  the  Jordan — the  borders 
of  the  land  of  promise,  but  they  are  one  sacramental  host,  going  up 
by  companies  till  they  all  appear  in  Zion  before  God.  And  this 
feeling  of  union  with  saints  glorified,  not  only  those  we  have  known 
and  loved  on  earth,  and  those  whose  triumph  over  death  we  Avitnessed, 
but  all  who  have  gone  from  the  world  ;  this  feeling  of  union  with  them 
is  heightened  when  we  connect  them  with  the  angels  of  God.  They  are 
all  one  in  Christ,  so  that  in  heaven  all  are  our  friends.  And  when 
we  shall  be  dying  in  the  Lord,  kind  angels  will  bend  over  our  couch 
of  sufi"ering  to  fan  with  their  loving  wings  our  pale  brow,  and  through 
the  darkness  sweetly  smile  upon  our  souls,  as  with  them  we  rise  into 
light,  and  from  this  world  of  strife  ascend  to  a  better,  a  brighter, 
and  go  into  a  friendly  heaven,  there  to  find  our  God,  our  family,  our 
home. 

Learn  the  infinite  worth  of  the  gospel.  It  is  not  a  fable  that  fixes 
the  attention  of  angels — "  to  the  Greeks  it  was  foolishness,  to  the 
Jews  a  stumbling-block ;  but  to  those  that  believe,  it  is  the  wisdom 
of  God  and  the  power  of  God."  Jesus  took  not  on  him  the  nature 
of  angels,  but  our  nature,  that  through  suffering  he  might  bring  us 
to  glory.     "  Which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into." 

•'  My  heart  awake  I — to  feel  is  to  be  fired, 
And  to  believe,  Lorenzo,  is  to  feel." 


Op .{/-CiTCtn- d    //CL  cl<y  oo-on^l 


>U''.:^'V*Jf.U)lKilJ[HJ<,Lll'otQ)c3 


GOD  AND  MAN  ARE  CO-WORKERS  IN  THE  SALVATION 
OF  THE  SOUL. 


BJ  EDWARD   WADS  WORTH,   D.  D., 

OF  THE   ALABAMA    CONFERENCE. 


"  But  we  all,  with  open,  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
are  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord."— 2Cor.iii,  18. 

In  apprehending  this  declaration  of  Paul  we  must  see  the  meaning 
of  the  phrases  as  they  occur  in  regular  order.  "  We  all  with  open 
face,"  means  with  a  face  that  is  unveiled  or  uncovered,  so  that  the 
rays  of  light  may  pass  unobstructed  and  unchanged  to  the  eyes. 
"  Beholding  as  in  a  glass,"  means  looking  as  one  looks  in  a  mirror. 
The  gospel  which  contains  the  narration  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ 
the  Lord,  is,  by  a  beautiful  simile,  represented  as  a  well-made  looking- 
glass,  on  whose  even  surface  there  is  no  crack  or  indentation,  causing 
the  rays  of  light  to  make  an  untrue  figure  or  image  of  the  object  put 
before  it.  The  vision  here  is  clear  and  distinct.  "  The  glory  of  the 
Lord"  means  the  life  of  Christ,  as  developing  infinite  goodness,  im- 
maculate purity,  consummate  wisdom,  perfect  humility,  and  also  the 
excellent  doctrines  taught  by  his  ministry.  These  all  present  such 
beauty,  and  they  are  so  perfectly  shown  in  and  by  him,  that  they  are 
appropriately  called  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord."  "  Are  changed  into 
the  same  image,"  means  the  renewing  of  our  minds  by  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord,  for  the  same  Spirit  which  dwelt  in  Christ  now  applies  the 
truths  of  the  gospel  to  human  hearts,  and  changes  our  moral  nature, 
and  makes  it  like  the  nature  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  From  glory  to  glory," 
means  that  the  change  which  is  wrought  in  our  conversion,  by  which 
we  become  "  partakers  of  the  divine  nature,"  continues  to  advance 
from  one  degree  to  another,  until  the  soul  or  spirit  shall  be  fitted  for 
translation  to  Heaven.  The  change  wrought  in  us  may  be  sudden, 
and  perfect  enough  to  cause  our  adoption  into  the  family  of  God, 
because  we  are  "  born  from  above  ;"  yet  after  this,  there  must  be  pro- 
gression from  infancy  to  the  maturity  of  Christian  manhood. 

In  this  text  we  have  a  good  representation  of  the  work  necessary 


94  GOD  AND  MAN  CO-WORKERS  IN 

for  salvation,  because  we  see  the  part  which  the  sinner  has  to  do,  and 
the  part  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  to  do.  Right  discrimination  be- 
tween man's  work  in  performing  conditions  and  using  means,  and 
God's  work  in  applying  his  grace  and  exerting  his  power,  will  help  us 
much  in  working  out  our  salvation.  As  we  see  men  acting  in  the 
pursuits  of  agriculture,  so  we  should  act  in  the  pursuit  of  salvation. 
The  planter  confines  himself  to  his  appropriate,  work  in  the  use  of 
natural  means,  and  acts  according  to  rule ;  and  nature  furnishes  the 
seed,  the  soil,  the  rain,  the  sun's  light  and  heat,  and  the  atmosphere ; 
and  therb  results  a  valuable  product.  In  seeking  salvation,  we  must 
restrain  our  efforts  ^vithin  prescribed  limits,  and  do  our  work  accord- 
ing to  rule,  and  then  wait  for  and  expect  the  Holy  Spirit  to  do  his 
work  in  "  renewing  us  in  the  spirit  of  our  minds."  Our  work  is  to 
perform  conditions  and  use  means,  and  to  do  so  with  faith  and  hope. 
This  work  has  no  merit,  yet  it  is  necessary,  for  we  must  "work  out  our 
own  salvation." 

In  this  exposition  we  propose  to  show, 

I.  What  men  have  to  do  in  order  that  they  may  be  saved.  This 
is  expressed  in  the  text  thus :  "  But  we  all,  with  open  face,  beholding 
as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord." 

First,  as  a  man  who  looks  at  an  image  in  a  glass  can  study  its  form, 
color,  symmetry,  and  so  forth ;  and  as  a  man  who  reads  a  book  can 
study  its  contents  ;  so  the  inquirer  or  seeker  must  study  the  record 
made  in  the  gospel  respecting  Jesus  Christ  and  the  doctrines  taught 
by  his  ministry.  This  must  precede  all  true  repentance  and  saving 
faith.  In  this  study  we  learn  our  condition,  our  responsibility,  our 
remedy,  and  the  way  in  which  we  may  use  this  remedy. 

On  this  subject  we  have  instruction  in  the  parable  of  the  sower. 
Of  this  parable  we  have  three  versions,*  and  we  have  also  an  inter- 
pretation of  its  doctrines  by  the  great  Teacher.  It  is  designed  to 
show  us  the  right  way  of  hearing  the  gospel,  and  it  does  this  by  clas- 
sifying the  hearers.  There  is  a  class  of  hearers  who  are  represented 
by  the  way-side,  which  receives  seed,  but  because  it  is  trodden  by 
men  and  has  no  fence  around  it,  the  seed  do  not  take  root,  and  are 
devoured  by  birds  of  the  air.  These  are  they  who  hear  the  word  of 
tue  Kingdom  and  understand  it  not ;  then  the  d,evil  cometh,  imme- 
diately after  they  have  heard,  and  takoth  the  seed  out  of  their  hearts, 
lest  they  should  believe  and   be  saved.     Another  class  are  represen- 

*  Mali,  xiii,  Mark  Iv,  Luke  viii 


THE  SALVATION  OF  THE  SOUL.  95 

ted  by  the  slony  ground  which  was  planted  and  showed  signs  of 
fruitfulness,  but  the  sun  arose  in  his  strength  and  sent  down  his  hot 
rays  on  the  growing  corn  and  burned  it,  because  there  was  but  little 
soil  and   no  moisture.     These  are   they  who  hear  the  word  with  joy 
and  hold  it  for  a  season,  but  when  temptation  assails  them  and  tribu- 
lation befalls  them  because  of  the  word,  they  having  no  root  in  them- 
selves become  faithless  and  hopeless,  and  fall  away  and  bring  no  fruit 
to  perfection.     A  third  class  are  represented  by  the  ground  which 
had  in  it  the  roots  of  thorns,  and  the  seed  fell  among  the  thorns,  and 
the  thorns  grew  up  with  it  and  choked  it.       These  are  they  who  hear 
the  word,  and  when  they  have  heard  go  forth  and   "  suffer  the  care 
of  this  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  and  the  lust  of  other 
things,  to   enter  in  and  choke  the  word,"  and  make  them  unfruitful. 
A  fourth  class  are  represented  by  the  good  ground  in  which  the  seed 
sprang  up  and  increased  and  brought  forth  fruit,  some  thirty  fold; 
some  sixty,  and  some  an  hundred  fold.     This  class  hear,  understand, 
and  receive  the  word  in  honest  and  good  hearts,  keep  it  with  patience, 
and  bear  fruit.     Let  us  mark  the  characteristics  or  the   practice  of 
these  hearers.     They  hear  the  word,  they  understand  it,  they  keep  it 
in  honest  and   good  hearts,  and  they  are  fruitful.     These  are  the 
hearers  who  will  be  saved  ;  all  others  will  be  lost.     These  open  their 
ears  that  they  may  hear,  exercise  their  minds  that  they  may  under- 
stand, use    their  memories  that   they  may  hold  fast,  and  arouse  their 
hearts  that  they  may  believe  what  God  hath  revealed  concerning  his 
Son.     The   result  is  fruitfulness,  in  some  thirty  fold,  and  in  others 
sixty,  and  in  others  an  hundred  fold.    We  have  reason  to  expect  this 
fruitfulness  from  all  who  hear  the  word  in  the  way  taught  in  this 
parable.     "  Take  heed  how  you  hear,"  "  take    heed  xvhat  you  hear," 
are- the  admonitions  of  him  who  "  taught  as  one  having  authority." 

We  may  form  our  opinion  of  the  importance  of  this  study  of  the 
facts  and  doctrines  taught  in  the  Bible,  by  the  institutions  which  are 
operating  around  us.  The  command  of  Christ  to  his  ministers  to  "go 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature;"  the 
organization  of  the  Church  by  the  Apostles,  in  which  we  see  all  the 
appliances  for  instruction  in  those  things  which  make  men  wise  unto 
salvation  ;  the  statement  of  Paul  in  these  words,  "Whom  we  preach 
warning  every  man,  and  teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom,  that  we 
may  present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus ;  the  record  of  his 
owu  valuation  of  this  instruction  in  these  words,  "Yea,  doubtless,  and 


96  GOD  AND  MAN  CO-WORKERS  IN 

I  count  all  things  but  Ios3  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  luy  Lord  5"  the  assurance  he  gives  us  of  his  faith,  his 
safety,  his  humility,  in  these  words,  "  Nevertheless,  I  am  not 
ashamed,  for  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded  he 
is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him  against  that 
day ;"  and  the  view  of  the  greatness  of  the  work  he  had  to  do  in  this  : 
"  None  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto 
myself,  so  that  I  may  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry 
which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God;"  all  these  indicate  the  work  of  instructing  men  in  the 
things  which  contribute  to  their  assimilation  to  the  image  of  Jesus 
Christ* 

As  in  the  study  of  science  and  literature  we  are  dependent  on,  and 
are  accustomed  to  use,  competent  teachers  ;  so  in  this  study  we  should 
employ  ministers  of  the  gospel.  In  the  Levitical  dispensation  of 
religion,  God  set  apart  the  tribe  of  Levi  for  the  work  of  teaching 
and  ministering  in  holy  things.  In  the  dispensation  which  we  now 
enjoy,  men  of  religious  experience  and  capacity  to  teach  are  called 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  employed  in  the  labor  of  preaching.  The 
necessity  and  the  value  of  their  work,  and  the  way  of  sending 
them,  are  taught  in  Matthew  is,  36,  38:  "When  he  saw  the  mul- 
titudes, he  was  moved  with  compassion  on  them,  because  they 
fainted,  and  were  scattered  abroad,  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd: 
then  He  said  unto  His  disciples,  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous, 
but  the  laborers  are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest,  that  He  will  send  forth  more  laborers  into  His  harvest." 
Consider  the  figure  used  by  Christ.  Here  is  a  field  of  wheat  that 
has  ripened  and  is  ready  for  the  reaper.  Its  green  color  has  changed 
into  a  rich  brown.  The  planter  looks  over  his  productive  field,  and 
his  experienced  eye  marks  the  ripeness  of  the  crop,  and  his  judgment 
tells  him  that  the  harvest  must  be  gathered  promptly,  or  all  the  labor 
and  money  already  spent  on  that  field  will  be  wasted.  All  other 
work  must  be  stopped,  sooner  than  the  saving  what  has  matured. 
Every  laborer  that  is  needed  must  be  put  in  that  field.  The  other 
products  of  the  plantation  which  are  growing,  must  be  left  to  the 
contingencies  of  nature.  The  work  of  harvesting  is  done  with  more 
life  and  industry  than  the  work  of  planting,  and  it  is  valued  so  highly 
that  greater  wages,  if  they  be  necessary,  will  be  paid  for  it.  This 
work  of  saving  the  matured  grain  is  the  simile  used  by  Christ  to 


THE   SALVATION  OF   THE   SOUL.  97 

indicate  the  work  of  the  preacher.  Men  engaged  in  other  professions 
and  trades  are  useful  membelrs  of  society  ;  but  the  preacher  of  the 
gospel  is  the  most  useful.  All  the  labor  and  expense  attendant  on 
educating  men,  and  furnishing  them  with  the  conveniences  of  life, 
and  defending  them  in  their  rights  and  privileges,  will  fail  utterly  in 
the  production  of  happiness,  unless  their  souls  are  brought  under  the 
power  of  the  truth.  They  must  know  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Redeemer 
and  Intercessor.  They  must  "  with  open  face  beholJ,  ns  in  a  glass, 
the  glory  of  the  Lord."  They  must  approve  His  plan  of  saying 
sinners,  and  they  must  admire  the  beauty  of  Hia  character  until 
they  desire  earnestly  to  be  changed  into  His  image.  These  desires 
must  be  supreme  in  their  minds,  so  as  to  make  them  willing  to  use 
all  the  means,  and  perform  all  the  conditions  of  salvation.  To  pro- 
duce this  is  the  work  of  the  preacher.  He  must  preach  Christ  ; 
Christ  crucified  ;  Christ  raised  from  the  dead ;  Christ  in  all  His 
offices,  all  His  doctrines,  all  His  labors.  The  same  Holy  Spirit 
which  dwelt  in  Christ's  human  body,  has  indited  the  narration  con- 
tained in  the  gospel,  has  inspired  the  men  who  wrote  the  epistles, 
and  now  calls  the  preacher,  and  applies  the  truth  which  he  preaches. 
The  man  who  willingly,  eagerly,  penitently,  prayerfully,  opens  his 
ears  to  hear,  and  applies  his  intellect  to  understand,  shall  behold,  as 
in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  Eeholding,  he  will  admire  the 
glory  of  the  Lord;  admiring,  he  will  desire  to  be  changed  into  the 
same  image ;  desiring,  he  will  conquer  himself  and  be  willing  to  per- 
form the  conditions  of  salvation ;  willing,  he  will  apply  himself  to 
the  work  of  faith  and  obedience. 

Secondly,  as  a  man  who  looks  at  an  image  in  a  glass,  and  reads  an 
instructive  and  truthful  book,  believes  in  the  reality  and  truth  of 
what  he  sees  and  reads,  so  the  inquirer,  who  with  open  face  beholds 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  must  believe  in  Him  whose  glory  he  beholds. 
The  justification  of  every  sinner  depends  on  iiis  personal  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.  The  faith  he  exercises  must  influence  his  life,  and  this 
influence  will  be  seen  in  case  the  believer  shall  admit  into  his  heart 
the  truthful  doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

The  common  mirror  is  a  very  wonderful  instrument.  Few  instru 
ments  used  by  men  are  more  wonderful.  When  it  is  made  according 
to  the  rules  which  science  of  optics  develops,  and  is  adjusted  in  a 
room,  it  will  create  a  perfect  image  of  every  person  and  article  in 
that  room.     One  who  looks  on  its  smooth  surface  mav  occupy  a  place 

7      ' 


gg  GOD  AND  MAN   CO-WORKERS  IN 

from  which  he  can  see  nothing  in  the  room  but  the  mirror,  and  yet 
he   may  describe,   ^vith  accuracy,  every  object  reflected.     Now   the 
beholder  sees  nothing  other  than  the  images  created  by  the  mirror, 
yet  he    believes   these  images   represent  real   objects.      His  faith 
amounts  to  assurance,  and  he  knows  the   objects  reflected  have  real 
existence.     So  we  must  believe  that  the  events  recorded  in  the  gos- 
pel are  facts  ;  and  that  the  doctrines  taught  in  the  gospel  are  truths  . 
and  as  facts  and  truths  are  apprehended  as  things  which  have  reality 
and  intrinsic  power,  so  we  must  apprehend  the  facts  and  doctrines  in 
the  gospel.     Thus   believing,  we  know   that  Jesus  Christ  is  a  real 
person,  that  heaven  and  heil  are  real  places,  that  sin  is  really  offen- 
sive to  God,  that  the  guilty  will  really  be  damned,  and  that  the  con- 
verted sinner  will  really  be  saved.     This  view  of  faith  accords  with 
the  deflnition  given  us  in  Hebrews  xi,  I:  "  Now  faith  is  the  substance 
of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,"  and  also  with 
the  representations  in  the  Bible  of  the  influence  of  faith.     The  man 
who  is  full  of  faith  has  insight  into  the  truths  of  the  Bible  which  the 
unbeliever   never    attains  until   he  renounces    the   sin  of  unbelief. 
«  The  natural  man  receiveth   not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned." 
The  careful  reader  of  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  will  note 
what  is  said  of  the  faith  of  Abraham,  and  Joseph,  and  Moses,  and 
will  see  that  their  believiug  was  accompanied  by  spiritual  vision,  and 
amounted  to  assurance.     He  will  see  in  2d  Cor.  iv,  17, 18,  that  the 
wonderful  power  of  «  these  light  afflictions"  in  working  for  us  "  a  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory,"  depends  on  ihe  faith  of 
the  afflicted  one,  and  this  is  thus  stated:  "  While  we  look  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen;  for  the 
things  which   are   seen  are   temporal,  but   the  things  which  are  not 
seen  are  eternal." 

The  inhabitants  of  the  world  at  the  time  of  the  deluge  saw  no 
danger,  because  they  had  no  faith  in  the  declarations  of  those  who 
were  sent  to  warn  them;  but  Noah  saw  signs  of  danger,  and  knew  the 
flood  was  coming,  hence  «  he  prepared  an  ark  for  the  saving  of  his 
household."  The  people  who  crowded  the  streets  and  houses  of 
Sodom  had  no  apprehension  of  an  approaching  catastrophe,  because 
they  were  unbelievers  ;  but  Lot  saw  what  was  approaching,  and  he 
was  saved  by  his  faith,  for  he  fled  with  his  family  from  the  city,  leav- 
ing h'    Mnbflicving  sons-in-law  to  their  fate.     I  think  lean  see  in 


THE   SALVATION   OP  THE   SOUL.  99 

the  conversation  between  the  rich  man,  in  the  torments  of  hell,  and 
Abraham,  in  heaven,  that  the  rich  man  believed  not  what  Moses  and 
the  prophets  wrote  concerning  eternal  things,  and  that  his  five  broth- 
ers, whom  he  had  left  in  the  world,  were  unbelievers  ;  and  hence  he 
requests  that  the  testimony  of  a  dead  man  may  be  added  to  that  of 
these  inspired  writers.  The  rich  man  believed  not  while  he  lived, 
but  the  conviction  of  his  fatal  error  was  produced  by  the  realization 
of  the  horrid  pangs  of  damnation.  Lazarus  believed,  and  his  faith 
caused  him  to  trust  in  God,  and  to  use  the  means  which  are  necessary 
to  salvation  ;  and  this  led  to  the  attainment  of  holiness  and  heaven.* 
So  it  is  now ;  some  men  are  blinded  by  the  god  of  this  world,  and  do 
not  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  these  are  led  captive  by  Satan  at 
bis  will ;  others  have  freed  themselves  from  prejudice,  have  penitent- 
ly, prayerfully,  and  believingly  looked  into  the  gospel ;  thus  they 
have  obtained  help  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  have  felt  the  power  of 
the  truth  in  changing  them  into  the  image  of  Him  in  whom  they  have 
trusted. 

That  hearing  what  is  contained  in  the  gospel  may  lead  us  to  the 
knowledge  which  will  produce  salvation,  has  been  demonstrated  in 
thousands  of  cases.  A  hearer  may  give  attention  to  a  series  of  his- 
torical lectures  on  the  life  of  Washington.  The  lecturer  may  con- 
vince the  hearer  that  Washington  lived,  and  exercised  his  mental  and 
moral  faculties  so  as  to  become  a  successful  warrior,  a  consummate 
statesman,  a  model  patriot.  He  may  present  a  picture  of  this  great 
man's  achievements  on  the  battle  fields  and  in  the  council  chambers 
of  our  country,  and  of  his  virtues  in  the  private  walks  of  domestic 
life,  which,  by  its  vividness,  may  be  compared  to  the  images  seen  in 
a  looking-glass.  The  hearer  may  listen  until  his  imagination  becomes 
excited,  and  he  beholds  the  image  of  the  great  man,  and  he  may  gaze 
on  this  image  until  his  desire  to  be  like  Washington  may  become 
supreme;  and  if  hope  of  attaining  to  this  likeness  shall  be  strong  in 
his  mind,  he  will  have  his  own  consent  to  make  any  sacrifice  and  use 
any  means  requisite  for  the  attainment  of  so  desirable  an  end.  A 
man  being  convinced  of  his  sinful  and  lost  condition,  may  hear  the 
preaching  of  the  Word  until  he  shall  see  the  glorious  character  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  may  learn  that  the  whole  life  of  Christ 
was  spent  in  the  labors  which  were  necessary  to  complete  the  plan  of 

*  Luke  z,  vi. 


100  GOD    AND   MAN    CO-WORKERS  IN 

redemption.  That  "He  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame, and 
is  now  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father."  That  all  this 
•work  of  redeeming  and  interceding  is  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.  The 
hearer  knows  that  he  himself  is  a  sinner,  hears  now  that  he  has  a 
Saviour,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  at  work  to  bring  sinners  to  Christ. 
He  admires  the  glorj  of  the  Lord;  he  desires  to  be  made  like  Christ; 
he  has  his  own  consent  to  sacrifice  all  that  the  gospel  condemns,  and 
to  use  all  the  means  that  the  gospel  recommends.  These  desires  are 
excited  in  him  bj  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  they  lead  him  to  pray  with 
faith  and  hope.  He  embraces  Christ  as  his  Redeemer,  he  trusts  in 
Him  as  his  Saviour,  and  commits  himself  to  Him  as  one  who  is  able 
to  save  him  from  all  sin.  Thus  embracing,  trusting,  committing 
himself,  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  will  believe  with  all  his 
heart.  This  is  his  part  of  the  work.  In  this  way  he  *'  works  out 
his  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling."  One  may  admire  the 
character  of  the  great  patriot  mentioned  in  the  first  part  of  this  para- 
graph, and  may  desire  to  be  like  him,  and  yet  make  no  efi'ort  to 
attain  this  likeness,  and  have  no  hope  of  attaining  it,  because  nature 
has  not  endowed  him  as  she  did  Washington,  and  the  times  are  not 
favorable  to  the  perfoi'mance  of  such  achievements  as  he  performed. 
It  is  a  law  in  our  constitution  that  we  will  never  labor  to  obtain  any 
object,  unless  we  are  persuaded  that  it  is  valuable  and  attainable. 
One  who  beholds  with  open  face,  as  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
is  encouraged  to  hope  for  likeness  to  the  same  image,  because  God 
has  promised  that  he  who  by  faith  embraces  Christ  as  his  prophet, 
priest,  and  king,  shall  be  changed  into  the  same  image  by  the  same 
Spirit  which  animated  Christ's  human  soul  and  inspired  holy  men  to 
write  the  gospel.  And  all  may  perform  the  condition  on  which  this 
promise  depends.  Let  "  the  heart  turn  to  the  Lord,  and  the  veil 
shall  be  taken  away  ;"*  the  inquirer  shall  see  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
and  shall  be  changed  into  the  same  image. 

We  now  propose  to  show — 

II.  What  God  has  to  do  for  us  in  order  that  we  may  be  saved. 
This  is  expressed  in  the  text  thus :  "  We  are  changed  into  the  same 
ijnage,  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 

The  apostle  in  this  expression  asserts  that  the  spirit  will  change 

•  2  Cor.  iii,  16. 


THE  SALVATION  OP  THE  SOUL.  101 

the  believer :  he  gives  us  the  model  to  which  he  will  be  assimilated, 
and  be  teaches  that  this  shall  progress  towards  a  perfect  likeness. 

First.  A  change  shall  take  place.  This  is  asserted  in  the  lan- 
guage used  by  Paul,  by  a  word  which  intimates  the  nature  of  the 
change.  This  word  has  been  introduced  into  the  English  language 
without  any  change  in  its  form  when  we  use  the  noun  metamorphosis^ 
and  with  a  slight  alteration  when  we  use  the  verb  metamorphosed. 
"We  are  metamorphosed  into  the  same  image."  The  word  suggests 
illustrations  taken  from  natural  history,  by  which  we  may  see  the  thor- 
oughness of  the  transformation.  In  the  class  of  insects  we  have  an 
order  called  Lepidoptera,  in  which  there  is  a  family  called  Papilioni- 
dae.  From  an  egg  is  hatched  an  insect  which  in  its  growth  devel- 
ops a  larva  of  very  loathsome  form  and  groveling  appetites.  We 
instinctively  shrink  from  its  touch.  We  despise  it,  because  its  sole 
employment  is  to  devour  food.  We  fear  it,  because  we  imagine  a 
creature  so  loathsome  and  destructive  must  be  armed  with  teeth  and 
poison.  We  turn  away  from  it  with  irrepressible  disgust,  because  its 
aspect  is  hideous.  We  crush  it  with  pleasure,  because  we  judge  that 
it  is  unworthy  of  life.  After  this  filthy,  hated,  loathsome  creature 
has  attained  its  maturity,  it  seeks  a  place  of  concealment,  ceases  to 
take  any  food,  and  yields  itself  up  to  a  power  by  which  the  larva  is 
changed  into  the  chrysalis,  and  from  the  chrysalid  there  comes  an  in- 
sect wholly  unlike  the  caterpillar.  In  its  habits  we  see  cleanliness, 
in  its  body  we  see  beauty,  on  its  wings  we  see  the  gorgeous  colors  of 
the  rainbow.  It  is  pursued  by  playful  children,  handled  by  delicate 
maidens,  gazed  on  with  delight  by  tasteful  men,  and  preserved  with 
carefulness  in  the  cabinets  of  naturalists.  This  is  a  metamorphosis. 
The  caterpillar  is  metamorphosed  into  the  butterfly.  Without  expe- 
rience, who  would  believe  that  this  beautiful  insect,  adorned  with 
wings,  furnished  with  a  long  spiral  proboscis  or  tongue,  and  standing 
on  six  legs,  came  from  a  hated,  hairy  caterpillar,  having  jaws  and 
teeth,  and  fourteen  feet  ? 

There  stands  before  me  a  creature  whose  mind  is  earthly,  whose 
nature  is  sensual,  whose  spirit  is  devilish.  He  lives  to  gratify  his  ap- 
petites and  to  indulge  his  propensities.  In  these  he  is  groveling,  and 
in  his  habits  he  is  loathsome.  He  opens  his  mouth  to  blaspheme  his 
Maker,  to  deride  his  Saviour,  to  defy  his  Judge,  to  slander  his  neigh- 
bor. He  cultivates  no  virtue,  he  restrains  himself  from  no  vice. 
He  boasts  of  his  independence,  he  glories  in  his  degradation,  he 


102  GOD  AND  MAN  CO-WORKERS  IN 

Strives  to  be  contented  with  bis  condition,  and  be  charges  God  with 
the  evil  that  is  in  him.  To  the  eye  of  purity  this  creature  is  a  mass 
of  loathsome  corruption.  There  is  no  faculty  in  him  whieh  has  not  been 
prostituted  to  the  service  of  the  devil,  and  corrupted  by  sin.  He  is 
a  fallen  being,  a  polluted  creature,  a  lost  sinner.  He  does  not  look  into 
his  own  heart;  he  dares  not  look  into  eternity.  He  drires  on,  heed- 
less of  the  admonitions  of  his  friends,  imagines  himself  as  good  as  his 
neighbors,  and  judges  the  whole  system  of  religion  a  falsehood.  This 
wicked  man  has  a  soul  in  his  body — an  immortal  soul.  This  makes 
him  the  subject  of  christian  solicitude,  and  impels  some  one  to  men- 
tion his  name  in  prayer,  and  to  pursue  him  with  the  voice  of  love  and 
entreaty.  He  is  induced  to  go  to  the  house  of  God.  He  opens  his 
ears  to  hear  the  preacher.  He  looks  into  the  mirror  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  made.  His  own  image  is  therein  presented  in  all  its  offen- 
sive features  and  horrid  deformity,  and  appears  exceedingly  vile  by 
contrast  with  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  glory  of  the  latter 
blinds  him,  but  its  loveliness  stirs  his  insensible  soul,  and  its  look  of 
affection  astonishes  hiiu.  Can  it  be  possible  that  Christ  can  love  so 
vile  a  being?  "Will  ha  save  one  so  deeply  fallen,  so  perfectly  de- 
praved ?  Hearing  produces  thought ;  thought  merges  into  reflec- 
tion ;  reflection  creates  fear  ;  fear  urges  the  question,  "  What  shall  I 
do  ?"  The  way  is  open  for  instruction.  The  preacher  brings  out  of 
his  treasury  things  new  and  old.  He  shows  him  his  sinfulness  and 
guilt  and  danger,  and  bis  heart  breaks  ;  his  spirit  becomes  contrite ; 
he  renounces  his  sins,  he  consecrates  himself  to  God.  The  gospel 
glass  is  kept  before  biro.  He  beholds  the  image  of  Christ  hanging 
on  the  cross,  buried  in  the  sepulchre,  arising  from  the  tomb,  ascend- 
ing into  heaven,  interceding  with  God.  He  apprehends  these  events 
as  facts.  The  doctrines  are  explained,  the  promises  are  read.  He 
embraces  these  as  realities  and  truths.  By  some  power  working  in 
him,  to  which  he  submits,  he  is  able  to  see  that  all  the  provision  of 
the  gospel  is  adapted  to  his  wants,  and  by  faith  he  appropriates  it  to 
himself  and  claims  it  as  his  own.  In  this  act  he  commits  himself  to 
Jesus  Christ,  as  perfectly  as  the  sick  man  commits  himself  to  the 
physician.  In  that  instant  he  is  changed — yes,  changed  into  the  im- 
age of  Christ — metamorphosed  by  the  power  of  God  into  a  new  man 
This  is  the  work  of  God.  It  is  the  beginning  of  salvation  in  this 
life.  No  \nan  can  change  himself.  If  he  is  changed  at  all,  God 
irrst  io  it. 


THE    SALVATION   OF    THE    SOUL.  103 

This  change  is  spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  and  different  terms  are  used 
to  represent  it.  It  is  called  "  born  again,"  or  "  born  from  above," 
in  Christ's  sermon  to  Nicodemus — hence,  we  get  the  term  "  new 
birth."  And  that  no  man  may  mistake  about  this  matter,  the  evan- 
gelist tells  us  that  all  who  receive  Christ,  "  are  born  not  of  blood,  nor 
of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.''  This 
conveys  to  our  minds  the  same  idea  as  that  expressed  by  James,  in 
these  words  :  "Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truth, 
that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first  fruits  of  his  creatures,"  with  the 
addition  of  the  instrument  which  God  uses.  The  Holy  Spirit  uses 
the  truth  contained  in  the  gospel  in  changing  men  from  nature  to 
grace.  So,  also,  Paul  admonishes  us  thus,  "  Be  not  conformed  to 
this  world,  but  be  ye  transformed  (metamorphosed)  by  the  renewing 
of  your  minds ;"  and  "Put  off  the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt,  and  be 
renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  minds ;  and  that  ye  put  on  the  new 
man,  which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness." 
This  is  the  work  of  regeneration,  and  is  experienced  by  all  who  be- 
lieve in  Christ  with  hearts  unto  righteousness  ;  for  God  hath  "  given 
us  exceding  great  and  precious  promises,  that  by  these  we  might  be 
parlakers  of  the  divine  nature,  having  escaped  the  corruption  that 
is  in  the  world."  This  change  is  called  in  our  theology  conversion, 
and  we  get  the  term  from  the  Bible.  Tl^e  Psalmist  says,  "  The  law 
of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  [the  lua/gin  has  it  restoring]  the 
soul,"  Our  Lord  said  to  his  disciples,  "  L^icept  ye  be  converted, 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  And  James  says,  <'  Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from 
the  truth,  and  one  convert  him,  let  him  know,  that  he  which  convert- 
eth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death, 
and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins."  From  these  we  learn  that  con- 
version restores  men  to  the  image  of  God ;  makes  them  like  little 
children  in  humility,  affection,  and  docility ;  brings  them  under  the 
operation  of  the  truth,  relieves  them  from  the  guilt  of  a  multitude  of 
smSf  and  saves  their  souls  from  death.  All  who  experience  this  "  are 
in  Christ  Jesus,"  and  "  are  new  creatures,  old  things  having  passed 
away,  and  all  things  having  become  new." 

The  model  character  to  which  this  change  assinjjlates  men,  is  that 
of  our  Lord — "We  are  changed  into  the  same  ijiinge."  We  may 
search  the  records  of  history,  and  we  find  no  one  whose  nature  was  so 
perfect,  and  whose  example  was  so  lovely  as  Christ ;  hence,  there  is 


1Q4  GOD   AND    MAN   CO-WORKERS. 

no  one  who  can  be  followed  with  so  much  safety.  During  his  life  he 
•was  pursued  by  malignant  men  who  commanded  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical forces,  and  these  were  held  under  fretful  restraint  by  their 
incapacity  to  find  out  anything  which  they  could  use  against  him. 
His  private  character  was  irreproachable,  his  labors  were  disinterested, 
his  whole  time  was  consumed  in  doing  good.  When  he  was  arraigned 
and  charged  with  blasphemy,  the  specification  did  not  sustain  the 
charge,  though  the  high  priest  with  hypocritical  zeal  gave  judgment 
against  him.  When  he  was  carried  before  Pilate,  and  charged  with 
rebellion,  the  specification  could  not  be  proved.  And  when  the  mul- 
titude called  for  his  crucifixion,  the  judge  after  much  perplexity  and 
thorough  examination,  said,  "  Take  him  and  crucify  him,  for  I  find 
no  fault  in  him."  No  man  has  passed  through  more  searching  scru- 
tiny, and  yet  his  reputation  for  piety,  zeal,  purity,  wisdom,  and  all 
the  graces  which  ennoble  man  and  perfect  the  christian,  stands  this 
day  unquestioned.  The  truths  which  he  taught  are  embraced  by  all 
who  believe  in  him.  These  are  planted  in  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  they  become  the  principles  by  which  they  are  controlled  and 
sustained.  The  love  which  was  in  him  *<  is  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  unto  them,"  and  this  impels  them  to  do  his 
will.  The  grace  which  sustained  him  in  all  his  labors  and  trials  is 
given  to  them,  and  may  bo  had  in  quantity  equal  to  their  wants. 
Converting  grace  puts  toe  believer  in  this  state  of  assimilation  to 
Christ,  that  is  to  say,  L  begins  tins  assimilation.  There  may  be  in 
the  heart  of  the  converted  man  much  that  is  evil,  but  the  truth  is 
opposing,  and  the  grace  of  God  is  eradicating  this  evil ;  and  in  case 
this  grace  is  not  frustrated  by  unbelief,  and  truth  is  not  choked  by 
the  cares  of  this  world,  or  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  or  the  lust  of 
other  things,  then  the  likeness  shall  be  perfect  enough  to  insure  a 
title  to  the  inheritance  of  heaven.  "  Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which 
was  also  in  Christ  Jesus,"  is  the  admonition  of  Paul. 

Secondly.  This  change  shall  go  on  towards  perfection — "  Wc  are 
changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory."  The  work  of 
conversion  is  always  sudden,  and  it  may  be  attended  by  such  eviden- 
ces as  shall  satisfy  the  subject  of  it  that  he  has  passed  from  the 
natural  to  the  spiritual  or  gracious  state.  The  conversion  of  the  three 
thousand  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  of  Cornelius 
of  Caesarea,  of  the  jailor  in  Philippi,  was  sudden  and  powerful.  No 
man  is  regenerated  partially,  born  of  God  gradually.   This  work  must 


THE  SALVATION  OP  THE  SOUL.  105 

be  done  at  once.  The  evidence  of  it  however  may  not  satisfy  the 
mind  of  the  young  convert  at  first.  He  may  pass  through  hours  and 
days  doubting  and  fearing,  until  the  production  of  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  shall  convince  him  that  God  has  converted  him.  Right  instruc- 
tion concerning  the  effect  of  conversion,  and  careful  self-examination, 
will  enable  any  man  to  find  out  whether  he  is  a  converted  man.  Let 
this  change  be  wrought  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  then  let  the  "  babe 
in  Christ"  be  fed  with  what  St.  Paul  calls  "  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word,"  and  there  will  be  growth  in  the  knowledge  and  grace  of  Christ. 
The  believer  will  progress  into  a  state  in  which  he  may  be  fed  with 
what  the  same  apostle  calls  "  strong  meat."*  Let  this  strong  meat 
be  eaten  and  digested,  and  he  who  was  a  babe  will  pass  rapidly  through 
the  state  of  childhood  and  youth  into  the  maturity  of  christian 
character.  He  must  walk  by  the  same  faith  he  exercised  when  the 
Holy  Spirit  changed  him  ;  he  must  continue  in  the  use  of  the  same 
means ;  "  he  must,  with  open  face,  behold  the  glory  of  the  Lord  "  in 
the  Gospel,  as  he  did  at  first,  and  the  work  of  grace  will  go  on  assim- 
ilating him  to  the  image  of  Christ,  from  glory  to  glory. 

This  is  set  before  us  clearly  by  the  apostle  in  these  words :  "  And 
besides  this,  (that  is  being  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature)  giving 
all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and  to  virtue  knowledge,  and 
to  knowledge  temperance,  and  to  temperance  patience,  and  to  patience 
godliness,  and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness,  and  to  brotherly  kind- 
ness charity ;  for  if  these  things  be  in  you,  and  abound,  they  make 
you  that  ye  shall  be  neither  barren  [the  margin  has  it  idle,  which  is 
the  right  word]  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ :  ...  for  if  ye  do  these  things  ye  shall  never  fall ;  for  so  an 
entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto  you  abundantly  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."!  Herein  we  see  the 
faith  of  the  converted  man  urging  him  to  the  exercise  of  courage, 
the  use  of  study,  the  practice  of  obedience,  and  God  carries  on  his 
gracious  work  in  the  production  of  the  fruit  which  he  values  highly, 
and  promises  to  own  and  approve  in  eternity. 

At  the  same  time  the  believer  is  applying  himself  to  the  use  of  the 
means  of  grace,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  imparting  the  "  wisdom  which  Com- 
eth down  from  above,  which  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  easy 
to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  partiality,  and 


•Heb.  V,  12.    1 2  Peter,  ii,  5-11. 


106  CJOD  AND  MAN  CO-\VOIlKERS  IN 

without  hypocrisy."*  He  is  shedding  abroad  ia  his  heart  the  love 
of  God  ;  lie  is  fixing  in  his  soul  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  is 
"righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost;"  and  lie  is  so 
mingling  the  influences  of  His  grace  and  providence  as  to  cause  trib- 
ulations to  produce  patience,  and  patience  to  produce  experience,  and 
experience  to  produce  hope  of  eternal  life.  ''  And  every  man  who  has 
thi.^  hope  in  him  purifies  himself,  even  as  he  (i.  e.  Christ)  is  pure." 
In  all  this  work,  man  and  God  are  co-workers.  The  former  is  per- 
forming the  conditions  and  using  the  means,  and  the  latter  is  apply- 
ing his  truth,  is  increasing  the  measure  of  his  grace,  and  augmentin<» 
the  power  of  his  love.  Here  we  have  faith  working,  lovo  laboring, 
and  hope  patiently  enduring  the  whole  of  God's  will.i  And  the  fruit 
which  results  therefrom  consists  of  the  virtues  which  ennoble  human 
character,  the  graces  of  true  religion,  the  qualities  which  Jesus  Christ 
cultivated,  and  the  purity  or  holiness  which  is  necessary  for  resi- 
dence in  heaven. 

In  conclusion  we  state — 

1.  We  are  taught  by  moral  philosophy  that  the  moral  quality  of  an 
action  resides  in  the  motive  or  the  intention ;  and  we  arc  taught  by 
observation  that  there  is  connection  between  principles  and  conduct. 
Hence  there  is  need  for  knowledge  of  truth,  faith  in  truth,  and 
realization  of  the  power  of  truth.  No  man  cultivates  right  motives 
and  has  sound  moral  principles  unless  he  receives  into  his  mind  and 
believes  with  his  heart  what  God  has  revealed  concerning  his  Son. 
This  will  produce  sound  experience,  and  Christian  experience  consists 
in  the  love  of  God  in  the  heart :  and  he  who  has  this  in  full  measure 
is  changed  into  the  image  of  Christ.  All  who  desire  to  obey  God 
must  have  their  hearts  renewed  by  grace  ;  and  this  will  always  accom- 
pany genuine  faith.  "  Do  we  make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God 
forbid  1     Yea,  we  establish  the  law." 

2.  Capacity  to  see  and  understand  the  truth  depends  on  the  state 
of  our  minds  and  hearts.  If  the  former  be  full  of  prejudice,  and  the 
latter  be  estranged  from  God,  there  will  result  darkness,  and  igno- 
rance, and  sin.  "  When  the  heart  shall  turn  to  the  Lord,  the  veil 
shall  be  taken  away,"  is  the  declaration  of  Paul.  "  If  thine  eye  be 
single,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light,"  is  the  promise  of  Christ. 

•  James  iii,  17.  t  1  Thcss.  i,  8. 


THE  SALVATION  OF  THE  SOUL.  107 

3.  The  readers  of  this  discourse  will  desire  to  see  cases  of  men -who 
have  been  changed  into  the  image  of  Christ,  and  have  continued  to 
make  progress  from  glory  to  glory.  Cases  are  numerous  wherever 
the  gospel  is  preached  and  received,  yet  many  men  may  not  see 
them.  When  the  Lord  Jesus  was  on  earth,  the  people  who  heard  his 
sermons  and  saw  his  miracles  did  not  know  what  a  model  ot  benevo- 
lence, piety,  wisdom,  and  truthfulness,  they  had  in  their  midst. 
When  Paul  was  preaching  Christ  to  his  cotemporaries,  his  hearers 
did  not  know  the  purity  of  his  heart,  the  burning  zeal  of  the  apostle, 
and  the  joy  of  the  Christian.  When  Wesley,  Fletcher,  and  Whit- 
field, were  at  work  in  England,  the  people  abused  them,  and  the 
clergy  persecuted  them.  Man  sees  the  outward  form,  God  sees  the 
heart.  Man  judges  of  motives  by  actions  ;  God  looks  first  at  the  mo- 
tives, and  then  judges  the  action.  Every  sinner  who  gives  his  heart 
to  God  is  changed  into  the  image  of  Christ :  and  every  one  who  keeps 
the  precious  grace  in  his  heart,  and  does  not  frustrate  it,  is  advancing 
towards  perfection.  Cases  of  this  kind  are  around  us,  though  we 
may  not  see  them.  Reader,  strive  to  be  like  your  Lord.  When  you 
have  the  inclination  to  judge  your  neighbor,  repress  it  by  looking 
into  your  own  heart. 

4.  Preparation  for  heaven  must  be  begun  and  finished  in  this  world. 
The  body  presents  no  insuperable  obstacle  to  the  holiness  of  the  soul. 
The  hour  of  death  has  no  more  power  to  aid  the  sinner  in  seeking  the 
grace  of  salvation  than  may  be  secured  and  experienced  by  any  pen- 
itent m  the  enjoyment  of  health  and  life.  The  image  of  Christ  may 
be  stamped  on  our  souls  in  this  life  ;  and  it  must  be  done  in  this  life, 
or  exclusion  from  heaven  and  imprisonment  in  hell  will  be  the  result. 
When  we  pass  through  death  and  enter  eternity,  the  angel  of  God 
will  say,  "  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still ;  and  he  that  is 
filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still ;  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  be 
righteous  still ;  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still."* 

*  Rev.  xxii,  lu 


GOD    IN    CHRIST    JESUS. 


BY    A.    MEANS,    D.    D.,    LL.    D., 

OF    THE   GKOKGIA   CONFERENCE. 


"  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord;  make  straight  in  the  desert  a 
highway  for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain 
and  hill  shall  be  made  low;  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  places  plain:  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it."— Isaiah 
xl,3,  4,5. 

In  the  impressive  language  of  the  great  historian  of  the  reforma- 
tion, "  Jesus  Christ  is  the  purpose  of  God  in  history."  Whereas, 
unfortunately  for  the  world,  the  religion  of  the  Messiah  has  been  too 
often  degradingly  regarded  as  a  mere  appendage  to  the  embodiment 
of  divine  truth — a  couvenient  supplement  to  a  reigning  system — de- 
signed perhaps  to  embellish  or  explain  it,  or  at  best  to  furnish  man- 
kind, in  the  character  of  its  great  founder,  with  a  lively  impersona- 
tion of  inimitable  virtue. 

Our  views,  however,  of  this  grand  system  of  world-reforming  and 
world-saving  power,  derived  from  the  inspired  volume,  authorize  and 
require  us  to  announce  its  claims  as  coeval  witb  the  guilt  of  Para- 
dise, and  constituting  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  stupendous  economy  of 
the  moral  and  intellectual  universe ;  and  like  the  brilliant  rings  of 
Saturn,  which  adorn  his  evening  skies,  engirdling  our  sin-doomed 
world,  and  spanning  the  moral  heavens  with  a  zone  of  living  light, 
■which  reveals  at  once  the  dignity  and  the  destiny  of  our  race,  and 
solves  the  otherwise  inexplicable  problem  of  human  existence.  In 
short,  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  "  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,"  is 
the  great  truth  which  illumines  Revelation's  page  from  the  Penta- 
teuch to  the  Apocalypse.  Such  a  religion,  then,  rises  into  augustness 
and  grandeur  in  human  contemplation,  as  it  challenges  the  attention  and 
demands  the  confidence  of  mankind.  But  to  accomplish  its  sublime 
designs  it  must  come  with  the  badges  of  divinity  upon  its  brow,  and 
the  overpowering  displays  of  Omnipotence  in  its  train.  Proposing 
to  redeem  the  world  from  the  curse  of  ages,  and  to  herald  the  way  to 
a  happy  eternity,  it  must  antecedently  prepare  the  human  mind  for 


110  GOD  IN  CHUIST  JESUS. 

the  gradual  development  of  its  wonderful  truths,  and  then  propi- 
tiously begin  the  extension  of  its  divine  sway,  which  is  only  to  be 
consummated  when  the  ransomed  nations,  from  the  Arctic  circles  to 
the  line,  shall  exult  in  the  universality  of  its  millennial  reign. 

The  religion  we  reverence,  then,  is  not  the  ephemeral  offspring  of 
finite  intelligence,  much  less  the  surviving  spawn  of  an  exploded  phi- 
losophy. As  the  sun  of  heaven  was  the  physical  center  upon  which 
hung  the  vast  revolutions  of  all  the  planetary  worlds  that  circle 
around  him — no  less  during  the  first  Mree  demiurgic  days  of  the  Mosaic 
cosmogony  than  after  he  had  assumed,  upon  the  fourth,  his  more 
brilliant  phase  and  became  the  measurer  of  our  days  and  the  light- 
giver  to  the  universe — so  the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness,"  the  great  cen- 
ter of  the  moral  heavens,  was  no  less  essentially  and  efficiently  pres- 
ent when  "  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  suns  of  God 
shouted  for  joy,"  than  after  four  thousand  years  had  rolled  away, 
when,  robed  in  the  full-orbed  light  of  his  glory,  he  rose  upon  the 
world  from  the  crimson  horizon  of  Calvary.  Yea,  the  "  Rock  of 
Ages  "  was  no  less  the  stable  foundation  of  christian  faith  when  the 
authorities  of  the  synagogue,  surrounded  by  the  dim  outlines  of  a 
vague  theology,  proclaimed  "  An  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth,"  than  when,  under  the  noon-day  effulgence  of  the  cross,  those 
God-like  doctrines  were  so  benevolently  inculcated — "  Love  your  en- 
emies ;  bless  them  that  curse  you  ;  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you, 
and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you." 

Thus  we  are  to  regard  Christianity  as  an  integrant  portion  of  the 
moral  organization  of  the  world,  and  inseparable  from  its  history  and 
destiny  ;  blending  its  issues  with  the  physical  condition  and  final  ca- 
tastrophe of  our  planet ;  and  yet  for  the  wisest  of  purposes,  and  in 
accordance  with  an  eternal  law  of  heaven,  the  beauty  and  symmetry 
and  majesty  of  its  mighty  proportions  have  been  reserved  for  the  grad- 
ual evolution  of  succesive  centuries. 

Nor  are  all  its  exalted  truths  yet  illustrated,  nor  its  noblest  tri- 
umphs yet  achieved.  Its  grand  consummation  is  yet  to  be  effected 
amid  the  splendors  of  the  resurrection  morning  and  the  glories  of  the 
descending  throne  ;  when  earth's  returning  millions,  over-spanned  by 
"  new  haavens,"  and  standing  upon  "  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness,"  clad  in  the  courtly  costume  of  a  higher  dominion, 
shall  set  out  afresh  upon  the  diuturnally  ascending  scale  of  progress- 


GOD   IN   CHRIST  JESUS.  Ill 

ive  intellect  for  a  still  more  exalted  goal,  nearer,  and  still  nearer  the 
transcendent  light  of  the  throne ! 

Progress  towards  perfection  marks  the  order  of  the  divine  econ- 
omy in  every  department  of  its  reign.  An  approximation  to  higher 
from  lower  conditions  characterizes  the  movements  of  the  physical, 
mental,  and  moral  universe.  Nature  to  her  profoundest  depths  felt 
and  obeyed  this  impulse  from  her  God  long  before  the  inspired  dic- 
tum, "  Let  us  go  on  to  perfection,"  fell  upon  the  moral  world  from 
the  lips  of  the  gifted  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

The  gray  dawn  and  the  rosy  tints  of  twilight  must  gently  train  the 
delicate  retina  to  meet  the  bolder  blaze  of  the  rising  sun  and  the  me- 
ridian brightness  of  the  perfect  day.  The  swelling  bud  and  the  open- 
ing flower  must  be  evoked  from  the  torpid  sleep  of  winter  ;  the  ge- 
nial breath  of  spring  start  once  more  the  bounding  pulse  of  forest 
life  ;  and  then,  and  not  till  then,  will  earth's  green  glories  and  her 
golden  harvests  vindicate  the  perfection  ot  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
Nay,  this  law  of  physical  progression  is  traceable  in  its  action  from 
the  elementary  atom  up  to  the  highest  combinations  in  the  inorganic 
world — from  the  microscopic  cellule  which  nurses  the  germ  of  veg- 
etable and  animal  life,  up  to  the  gorgeous  organization  of  planets 
and  suns  in  the  profound  depths  of  space.  Geology,  from  her  ven- 
erable records  graven  with  the  stylus  of  passing  centuries  upon  her 
eternal  tablets  of  rock,  convincingly  establishes  its  prevalence  and 
power,  and  by  a  striking  and  unpremeditated  harmony  of  testimony, 
from  the  deep  subterranean  tombs  of  the  Fauna  and  Flora  of  a  pre- 
Adamic  world,  substantially  confirms  the  ascending  order  of  creation, 
as  in  the  cosmical  details  of  the  Mosaic  history.  There  was  a  time, 
according  to  the  annunciations  of  holh,  when  the  elements  of  our 
planet  constituted  but  a  diffuse,  nebulous,  chaotic  mass,  "  without 
form  and  void,"  and  when  "  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep  :" 
a  time  when,  in  the  magnificent  oriental  phrase  of  inspiration,  it  had 
but  just  "  issued  out  of  the  womb,"  and  when  "  the  cloud  was  made 
the  garment  thereof,  and  thick  darkness  a  swaddling  band  for  it."* 
This,  however,  was  but  its  elementary  condition.  "  Let  there  be 
light,  and  there  was  light,"  was  the  next  step  in  the  order  of  se- 
quence. Then  followed,  as  successive  links  in  the  continuous  chain, 
the  condensation  of  the  nebulous  mass  into  fluids  and  solids,  the  re- 


•  Job  zxxviii,  8, 9. 


112  GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS 

treat  of  oceans  and  seas  into  tlieir  cavernous  beds,  and  the  upheaval 
of  islands,  continents,  and  mountain  ranges  above  the  retiring  floods. 
Passing  by  the  Algae  of  the  seas,  next  come  the  first  manifestations 
of  terrestrial  vegetation,  beginning  in  the  upper  Silurian  system,  and 
advancing  in  the  geologic  scale,  through  the  old  red  sandstone,  the 
Permian  and  Triassic  systems,  up  to  the  Tertiary.  From  the  flower- 
less,  leafless,  and  stemless  Tballogeus,  at  the  base  of  the  scale,  to  the 
Monocotyledons,  Polycotyledons,  and  lastly  the  Dicotyledons  of  our 
orchards  and  forests — a  wonderful  palajontological  series,  almost  ex- 
actly corresponding  with  the  modern  botanical  arrangement  of  the 
distinguished  Lindley,  and  still  more  strangely  harmonizing  with  the 
simple  but  clear  order  of  creation  reported  by  Moses,  and  divided  by 
that  sacred  cosmologist  into  ^^grnss,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the 
fruit  tree,  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind,  whose  seec/ is  in  itself,^'  as  the 
apple,  peach,  plum,  pear,  ttc. 

Then  in  the  upward  grade  of  organic  life,  revealed  in  this  geologic 
series,  and  in  still  more  remarkable  parallelism  with  the  classifica- 
tion of  Cuvier,  the  greatest  zoologist  of  modern  times,  appear  the  in- 
habitants of  the  animal  kingdom,  from  the  star-like  type  of  the  sea- 
urchins  in  the  Silurian  zone,  through  the  regularly  expanding  line  of 
fishes,  reptiles,  birds,  and  mammals,  in  the  various  superincumbent 
strata,  up  to  the  grand  consummation  of  organic  being  upon  earth, 
in  the  Tertiary  formation,  the  incomparable  microcosm  of  man  him- 
self, the  last  crowning  work  of  this  sublunary  creation,  as  announced 
by  the  God  of  the  Bible,  and  confirmed  by  the  imperishable  records 
of  the  rocky  world.  So  that  we  may  appropriately  exclaim  with 
Dryden : 

"  From  harmony,  from  heavenly  harmony, 

This  universiil  frame  began  : 
From  iiarmony  Lo  harmony, 

Through  all  the  compass  of  the  notes  it  ran, 
The  diapason  closing  full  in  man." 

But  mind  too,  must  reach  its  climax  by  progressive  development. 
Yon  pale  and  puling  infant,  which  now  lies  in  unconscious  dependence 
upon  the  bosom  of  its  mother,  and  dozes  its  monotonous  days  away, 
must  patiently  await,  through  the  long  lapse  of  half  a  century,  the 
tedious  metamorphosing  toil  of  six  hundred  millions  of  pulses,  in 
expanding  its  fragile  form,  and  unfolding  its  dormant  powers  ;  and 
then  the  world  shall  gaze  with  astonishment  and  awe  upon  the  won- 


GOD  IN   CHRIST  JESUS.  113 

derful  Corsican,  whose  mighty  intellect,  like  the  heavings  of  an  ocean 
in  a  storm,  sports  with  the  noblest  fabrics  of  other  minds,  and  proudly 
rolls  the  tide  of  its  triumphs  over  a  trembling  continent :  or  may 
dwell  with  admiration  and  delight  upon  that  peerless  model  of  a  man, 
who,  unfurling  the  stainless  flag  of  freedom  over  the  shouting  millions 
of  the  American  people,  and  sweeping  the  circle  of  their  dominion 
over  half  a  hemisphere — wins  from  their  filial  hearts  the  endearing 
appellation  of  "  The  Father  of  his  Country." 

Surely,  then,  the  interests  of  the  moral  world,  which  stir  man's 
noblest  ambition,  inspire  his  loftiest  hopes,  and  embrace  within  their 
awful  range  the  dooms  of  eternity,  cannot  be  governed  by  a  less  wise, 
comprehensive,  and  patient  policy.  No,  verily,  for  the  stupendous 
plan  which  was  elaborated  in  heaven  for  the  enlargement,  elevation, 
and  SALVATION  of  human  nature,  contemplated  that  nature  in  its 
earliest  and  worst  phases,  and  has  continued,  through  successive  cen- 
turies, to  follow  and  control  the  destinies  of  mankind,  and  to  uncover 
its  splendors  and  widen  the  horizon  of  its  light,  as  their  mental  and 
moral  disfranchisement  seemed  to  require.  Even  now,  its  grand 
movements  are  seen  but  "  in  transitu."  We  have  only  beheld  "  the 
beginning  of  the  end."  The  transcendent  triumphs  of  Christianity 
are  yet  in  the  distance,  when  the  resources  of  the  social,  commercial, 
scientific,  and  religious  worlds — multiplied  a  hundred  fold — shall 
pour  in  their  spontaneous  contributions,  to  swell  the  tide  of  the  Di- 
vine glory,  and  complete  the  bliss  of  the  nations. 

She  occupies,  as  we  have  seen,  an  integral,  luminous,  and  com- 
manding position  in  the  great  prolific  scheme  of  the  existing  universe, 
and  is  inseparably  associated  with  its  history  and  destiny.  No  lapse 
of  ages  subdues  her  energies ;  no  past  successes  limit  her  conquests, 
and  no  geographical  boundaries  circumscribe  her  dominions.  The 
circumference  of  the  globe  alone  is  the  sphere  of  her  extension,  and 
the  ultimate  purification  of  the  nations  the  laudable  object  of  her 
toils.  And  in  anticipation  of  these  world-wide  moral  victories,  the 
herald-notes  of  the  coming  jubilee  are  already  sounded  from  the 
thousand  pulpits  of  the  land ;  and  Faith,  smiling  as  she  looks  from 
her  exalted  stand-point,  over  the  christian  schools,  and  colleges,  and 
churches,  and  mission  fields  of  the  age,  which  throng  upon  her  view,. 
significantly  points  to  the  skies,  and  utters  the  inspiring  language  of 
the  text :  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  ;  make  straight  in  the 
desert  a  highway  for  our  God." 
8 


114  GOD  IN  CHRIST  JESUS. 

Maintaining  the  trutb,  then,  under  the  beautiful  imagery  adopted 
by  Isaiah,  we  are  authorized  to  consider — 

1st.  The  long-standing  purpose  of  Heaven,  that  a  "  high-way" 
should  be  opened  up  through  the  moral  world  for  the  entrance  and 
triumphant  progress  of  its  reigning  King. 

2d.  To  mark  the  character  of  the  preparation  required  for  this 
extended  visit  of  the  royal  guest  through  His  earthly  dominion. 

3d.  To  contemplate  the  promised  results  of  His  reign. 

To  consider  the  first  proposition,  then  :  Man  has  lost  his  original 
position  in  the  scale  of  creation.  He  was  once  a  temple  filled  with 
God, — the  light  of  Divine  glory  streaming  through  all  its  aisles  and 
arches,  and  revealing  the  virgin  beauty  of  its  lovely  interior.  But, 
alas  !  a  wasting  hurricane  has  swept  over  the  spot,  and  now  its  archi- 
tectural magnificence,  like  the  crumbling  columns  of  Palmyra,  lies 
in  fragmentary  ruins,  while  Contemplation  broods  in  melancholy 
reverie  over  the  moral  desolation  of  the  scene.  It  is  good  that  man 
should  hold  communication  with  the  past,  and  learn  to  check  the  pride 
and  arrogance  of  an  easily  inflated  mind,  by  humiliating  reminiscences 
of  its  ancestral  fall,  and  the  consequent  conviction  of  its  entailed 
helplessness  and  present  guilt. 

The  first  representative  of  our  race,  then,  was  the  fit  companion  of 
angels  and  the  favorite  of  the  skies.  Inhaling  the  pure  atmosphere 
of  his  innocent  home,  he  stood  in  the  dignity  of  his  noble  manhood, 
•with  the  earth  around  him  blooming  in  the  freshness  of  its  green 
beauty — the  heavens  above  him  radiant  with  the  Creator's  smile — no 
ominous  cloud  to  darken  the  back-ground  of  his  3'oung  history,  and 
a  wide  vision  of  coming  bliss  stretching  out  in  long  perspective  be- 
fore him.  He  stood,  too,  in  the  undimmed  lustre  of  priceless  purity 
— the  richest  crown  jewel  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Hell's  vindictive 
monarch,  big  with  hate  to  Him  who  booned  it,  and  guided  to  his  task 
by  a  deadly  strategy,  approached,  and  praised,  and  stirred  ambition's 
fires,  and  then  bartered  for  the  gem.  Knowledge,  (0,  Heaven  !) 
knowledge — when  authorized  and  hallowed,  the  patrimony  of  angels  ; 
but  when  forbidden  and  profound  the  curse  of  archangels  ruined, — 
knowledge  was  lyingly  tendered  as  the  tempting  equivalent  of  its 
worth  !  The  guile  was  deep  and  damning.  The  fiendish  swindler 
triumphed,  and  a  beggared,  blasted,  and  expatriated  race  lived  to  date 
their  crime  and  their  curse  from  Paradise.  But  mercy  still  lingered 
over  the  doom  of  the  rebel,  and  taxed  the  resources  of  Almighty 


GOD  IN  CHRIST  JESFS.  115 

Goodness  to  avert  his  final  fate,  despoil  the  infernal  monster  of  his 
prey,  and  let  immortality,  once  more  restored  to  her  primeval  honors, 
claim  her  perennial  bliss  in  the  smile  of  Heaven. 

But  no  unseemly  haste  was  necessary  to  perfect  the  execution  of 
the  Divine  plans.  "  One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day."  As  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years  must  slowly  wear  away  before  Noah's  floating  palace  was  ready 
for  the  floods ;  so  one  hundred  and  twenty  generations  must  find 
their  way  to  the  tomb,  before  its  great  antitype — the  place  of  refuge 
for  the  dying  nations — is  ready  for  their  full  reception.  A  straggling 
beam  of  light,  it  is  true,  had  fallen  upon  the  devious  path  of  the 
exiles  from  Paradise,  as  a  voice  from  Heaven  whispered  in  mysterious 
purport,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman   shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head." 

But  still  darkness  brooded  over  their  doom.  Time  rolled  heavily 
on.  Their  posterity  increased,  and  the  coming  of  some  great  event, 
which  was  deeply  to  affect  its  destiny,  hung  portentously  upon  the 
heart  of  the  world.  Patriarchs  lived,  and  longed,  and  died,  with  a 
limited  horizon  and  a  star-lit  path.  Next,  in  the  order  of  Heaven, 
followed  a  long  line  of  consecrated  men,  burning  with  inspiration's 
fires,  kindled  at  the  upper  temple.  Ascending,  in  deliberate  succes- 
sion, the  mount  of  prophesy,  they  flung  the  light  of  hope  far  down 
the  vista  of  future  ages.  The  princely  son  of  Amoz,  the  loftiest  of 
their  rank,  seemed  laden  with  the  excess  of  a  boundless  revelation, 
and  rolled  from  his  sounding  harp  the  coming  glories  of  the  "  golden 
age,"  and  the  royal  reign  of  Heaven.  And  to  arouse  into  activity 
the  moral  languor  of  a  forgetful  world,  his  monitory  tones  have  for 
more  than  twenty-five  hundred  years  rung  upon  its  ear  from  the 
heights  of  prophecy,  in  the  exhilarating  accents  of  the  text, — "  Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  :  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  high-way 
for  our  GrOD,"  &c.  Malachi  caught  the  glowing  theme,  and  following 
in  the  train,  sang,  swan-like,  his  last  and  sweetest  notes  :  "  Behold  I 
will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming  of  the  great  and 
dreadful  day  of  the  Lord." 

But  the  last  sounds  of  prophetic  minstrelsy  died  away  in  the  dis- 
tance ;  the  unstrung  harp  was  laid  upon  the  altar,  and  silence  reigned 
in  the  synagogue  for  four  hundred  years.  It  seemed  the  breathless 
stillness  of  a  crowded  court,  where  every  heart  palpitates,  and  where 
every  eye  is  strained  to  catch  the  presence  of  coming  royalty,  whose 
approaching  footsteps  are  heard  upon  the  threshold.     At  length  the 


116  GOD   IN   CHRIST  JESUS. 

destined  hour  arrives,  and  the  "King  of  Glory  comes."  But  alas !  how 
widely  different  from  human  expectation  is  the  manner  of  his  advent ! 
How  mortifying  to  the  arrogance  of  rabbinical  learning!  How 
humiliating  to  the  pride  and  vanity  of  the  world  ! 

It  is  midnight.  Jerusalem's  thousands  are  wrapped  in  slumber. 
The  little  village  of  Bethlehem,  nestling  in  its  quiet  seclusion  like 
some  land-locked  bay  away  from  the  storms  of  the  deep,  has  nursed 
its  busy  population  to  rest.  All  is  still.  One  sound  only  occasionally 
disturbs  the  drowsy  air.  It  must  be — it  is — the  wail  of  an  infant 
from  a  neighboring  manger.  It  clings  to  the  bosom  of  its  outcast 
mother,  as  her  circling  arms,  its  only  cradle,  rock  it  to  its  rest. 
Merciful  Heaven !  What  means  this  supernatural  scene  ?  A  queenly 
star,  unseen  before,  stands  sentinel  over  the  spot.  An  angelic  legion 
are  out  upon  the  wing,  and  the  skies  resound  with  a  new  anthem  from 
heaven :  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good 
will  towards  men ;  for  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David, 
a  Saviour,  who  is  Christ  the  Lord." 

The  mystery  is  now  solved.  I  understanvi  ns  lofty  import.  The 
infant  Messiah  breathes!  The  incipien':-  jod  incarnate  enters  upon 
his  mission  of  mercy  to  the  world  ;  a.r>G  that  wail — ihat  plaintive  and 
thrilling  wail,  was  the  seal  of  the  fleshly  tie  that  binds  him  to  our 
suffering  nature.  The  great  event  is  proclaimed.  Wonders  in  earth 
and  heaven  attend  his  bright  career,  encircle  his  divinity  upon  the 
Cross,  and  herald  him  home  from  the  conquered  tomb  to  the  welcom- 
ing skies.  The  promised  redemption  has  come.  The  pulse  of  immor- 
tality now  beats  fully  and  freely  under  the  winding-sheet,  and  a  dead 
world,  Lazarus-like,  leaps  from  its  grave,  to  enjoy  the  light  of  au 
everlasting  day.  But  earth  is  not  yet  ready  for  her  higher  destiny  of 
innocence  and  purity,  and  for  ages  to  come,  the  mandatory  message 
of  Isaiah,  reiterated  by  the  harbinger  of  Christ :  "  Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord,"  &c.,  must  still  be  thundered  upon  the  ear  of  the 
nations  from  the  high  places  of  Zion. 

We  are  to  consider,  secondly — 

"  The  character  of  the  preparation  required  for  this  extended  visit 
of  the  royal  guest  through  his  earthly  dominions." 

Christianity  contemplates  a  progressive  and  thorough  reformation 
of  the  world.  Her  heavenly  efficiency,  and  her  benevolent  and  sub- 
lime purpose,  will  compromise  for  no  less  noble  results.  The  loath- 
someness of  vice  must  be  tra,n3formed  into  the  loveliness  of  virtue,  or 


GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS.  117 

fly  before  her  reign  and  meet  the  bolt  that  dooms  it.  Earth  must  be 
purified  from  her  blood,  and  robed  in  her  beauty,  to  shout  the  wel- 
come advent  of  the  "  latter  day  glory."  But  for  the  consummation 
of  this  high  destiny,  no  single  instrumentality  from  earth  or  heaven 
has  been  exclusively  consecrated.  The  universe  of  means  is  under 
her  control,  and  a  thousand  auxiliaries  may  be  legitimately  taxed 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  grand  event.  The  mammoth  obstacles 
which  have  heretofore  obstructed  her  career  of  glory  must  be  broken 
down  by  powerful  appliances,  commensurate  with  the  majesty  of  her 
designs.  When  the  claims  of  Divinity  are  to  be  vindicated.  Omni- 
potence must  signalize  itself  by  an  outlay  of  God-like  power,  indepen- 
dently of  human  aid,  and  above  and  beyond  all  human  resources. 
Obsequious  nature  must  suspend  her  laws  in  allegiance  to  her  Lord, 
and  earth  and  air,  and  sea,  and  sky,  pour  their  voiceless  tribute  at 
his  feet.  At  his  word  the  green  fig  tree  must  wither  to  its  roots,  as  if 
smitten  with  the  volcano's  breath.  The  wild  hurricane,  lashed  on  by 
the  lightning's  thong  to  make  battle  with  the  angry  seas,  must  sink 
apoplectic  upon  its  mission  of  wrath,  while  the  lulled  waves  softly 
ripple  the  lullaby  of  peace  to  rescued  and  rejoicing  nature  ;  and 
even  the  unaccustomed  grave  disgorge  at  his  fiat  its  sheeted  dead, 
in  triumphant  proof  of  a  coming  resurrection. 

But  when  miracles  have  proclaimed  and  sustained  the  origin  of  our 
religion,  and  her  effective  machinery  is  manifestly  in  motion,  under  a 
Divine  momentum,  every  subordinate  agency  within  the  range  of  her 
action  may  be  fitly  employed  in  the  spread  and  enforcement  of  her 
soul-saving  truths,  as  each  succeeding-  age  affords  its  own  peculiar 
supply.  Hence,  in  the  outset  of  the  apostolic  mission,  a  diversity  of 
talents  characterized  the  leading  disciples,  each  being  suited  to  his 
appropriate  sphere.  There  was  the  mild,  meek,  aud  faithful  John, 
the  very  impersonation  of  gentleness  and  love,  and  emotionally  con- 
stituted to  woo,  and  to  win.  With  the  warm  gush  of  christian  sym- 
pathy in  his  heart,  and  the  persuasive  eloquence  of  paternal  affection 
upon  his  tongue,  how  touchingly  he  pleads :  "  Little  children,  love 
one  another."  There,  too,  was  the  bold,  frank,  and  fearless  Peter, 
to  confound  the  circumcision,  and  charge  home  the  murder  of  his 
immortal  master  upon  the  cowering  Jews,  whose  hands  yet  reeked 
with  the  blood  of  the  crucifixion.  Amid  this  galaxy  of  primeval 
worth,  stood  the  kind,  cultivated,  and  eloquent  ApoUos,  to  still  the 
noise  of  the  heaving  multitudes  by  the  sweetness  of  his  tones,  and 


118  GOD   IN    CHRIST   JESUS. 

charm  the  subdued  heart  by  the  pathos  of  his  sanctified  rhetoric. 
And  last,  but  not  least,  the  learned,  magnanimous,  and  powerful  dis- 
ciple of  Gamaliel — rich  in  historical,  mythological,  and  rabbinical 
lore  ;  whose  steel-like  logic  fell  with  the  keenness  of  a  Damascus 
blade  upon  the  cloven  helmets  and  sinking  forms  of  the  stupid  phil- 
osphy  and  arrogant  religionism  of  the  day. 

In  accordance  with  the  order  of  Divine  Providence,  therefore,  it 
has  been  reserved  for  learning,  science,  and  the  arts,  in  the  latter 
ages  of  the  church,  to  furnish  new  instrumentalities  for  the  diffusion 
and  defence  of  moral  truth. 

The  Butlers  and  Paleys ;  the  Watsons  and  Clarks  ;  the  Chalmerses 
and  Keiths,  who  have  stood  upon  the  walls  and  labored  for  the  glory 
of  Jerusalem,  have  "wrought  in  the  work"  with  o?ie  hand,  while  the 
other  has  "  held  a  weapon"  whose  trenchant  blade  told  fearfully  upon 
the  intruding  ranks  of  infidelity.  Indeed  some  of  the  most  signal 
and  startling  repulses  with  which  skepticism  has  met,  in  modern  years, 
have  been  from  the  strongholds  of  learning — even  unconsecrated  by 
piety.  It  was  the  profound  knowledge  of  La  Place,  and  the  cultiva- 
ted discernment  of  De  Lambre,  each  in  search  of  solely  scientific 
truth,  and  both  the  avowed  friends  and  patrons  of  infidelity,  that  ex- 
ploded the  ingenious  and  alarming  treatise  of  M.  Bailey,  upon  the 
celebrated  Hindoo  Tables,  which  in  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
under  the  powerful  prestige  of  Professor  Playfair's  name,  threatened 
to  subvert  the  whole  Mosaic  cosmogony.  And,  later  still,  it  was  the 
deep  archeological  lore  of  the  younger  Champoliou  of  France,  in  1801, 
which  scattered  to  the  winds  the  gossamer  texture  of  the  famous 
Zodiacal  system  of  infidelity,  by  solving  the  mysterious  hieroglyphics 
found  upon  the  Egyptian  planispheres,  in  the  temples  of  Esne  and 
Dendera. 

But  the  Sciences  too,  we  have  said,  have  entered  the  field  in  defence 
of  Revelation. 

Astronomy,  the  noblest  of  the  sisterhood,  came  first  to  do  homage 
to  the  babe  of  Bethlehem.  A  strange  and  lonely  star — the  virgin 
creation  of  his  natal  hour,  or  summoned,  it  may  be,  from  some  far-off 
home  in  immensity,  as  if  at  once  the  commissioned  herald  and  lus- 
trous symbol  of  his  future  reign — graced  the  brow  of  our  firmament, 
and  culminated  over  the  manger  cradle,  where  the  Prince  of  Peace 
reposed.  Astronomy,  too,  when  hi5  benevolent  mission  was  closed, 
stood  last  at  his  cross,  and  contributed  her  solemnly-sublime  testi- 


GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS.  119 

monies  to  the  farewell  agonies  of  her  incarnate  God.  The  sun  of 
heaven  quenched  his  beams  in  the  blood  of  the  crucifixion,  and  turned 
noon  into  midnight,  over  an  astonished  world — leaving  outraged  con- 
science, for  three  dark,  dismal  hours,  to  lash  his  murderers  with  the 
memory  of  their  guilt  I 

Chemistry  instantaneously  suspended  her  universal  law  of  gravita- 
tion, that  the  Deity  incarnate  might  walk  upon  the  seas ;  and  again, 
at  his  high  behest,  sent  back  her  revivifying  oxygen  into  the  collapsed 
lungs  of  Jairus'  daughter. 

While  Geology  (the  youngest  of  the  group,  and  scarcely  yet  known 
to  the  scientific  world)  confessed  the  presence  of  his  power  by  the 
rupture  of  her  rocky  strata  under  the  cries  of  Calvary ;  and  in  the 
apostolic  age  proclaimed  her  unbroken  allegiance  to  his  authority,  by 
the  earthquake  throes  which  shook  Philippi  to  its  foundation,  when 
imprisoned  piety  prayed. 

But  why  need  we  supply  further  illustration  1  It  is  enough  briefly 
to  f^ay,  that  under  the  liberal  and  humanizing  spirit  of  the  age,  Sci- 
ence, which  has  long  stooped  in  degrading  vassalage  to  the  arrogant 
exactions  of  her  infidel  task-masters,  and  been  tortured  into  the  sup- 
port of  atheistical  dogmas  and  a  hopeless  materialism,  is  now  rejoicing 
in  the  freedom  of  a  boundless  research ;  and  from  her  tour  of  explo- 
ration through  the  natural  universe,  returns  ever  and  anon  laden 
with  the  triumphs  of  her  toils,  to  pour  them  in  adoring  gratitude  at 
the  foot  of  the  cross.  Nor  will  her  generous  labors  ever  cease,  until 
the  entire  physical  universe,  with  its  profound  laws  and  wonderful 
phenomena,  shall  be  found  to  harmonize  with  the  high  moral  truths 
and  grand  revelations  made  in  the  Christian  Scriptures. 

The  prophetic  prenunciation  contained  in  the  language  of  Isaiah, 
viz  :  "  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  every  mountain  and  hill  shall 
be  made  low,  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough 
places  plain,"  seems  even  now  to  be  in  the  process  of  an  almost  literal 
fulfilment,  under  the  formative  and  directive  forces  of  Science  and 
the  Arts,  as  the  rising  valleys  are  shouldering  the  tonnage  of  the  seas, 
and  cloven  mountains  are  disemboweled  for  the  passage  of  the  flying 
locomotive  and  its  thundering  train,  bearing  far  away  into  the  heart 
of  continents  the  light  of  intelligence  and  the  faith  of  Christendom ; 
while  mind,  mounted  upon  its  straight  iron  pathway,  and  sped  on- 
ward by  the  lightning's  breath,  outstrips  the  eagle  upon  the  wing  of 
the  storm,  and  leaves  the  booming  tempest  itself  in  the  rear  ;  or  anon. 


120  aOB    IN   CHRIST   JESUg. 

defying  the  world-wide  commotion  of  the  angry  main,  which  strain*  a 
hundred  strong  crafts  to  their  laboring  keels,  shoots  with  the  speed 
of  light  along  its  wiry  thoroughfare,  through  the  bowels  of  the  seas, 
far  below  the  briny  bed  where  the  sea-serpent  sleeps,  and  rises  upon 
a  distant  continent  on  its  mission  of  light,  interlocking  whole  nations 
in  the  bonds  of  brotherhood  ;  and  under  the  powerful  plea  of  interest 
and  prosperity,  subduing  the  belligerent  spirit  of  mankind,  and  open- 
ing the  way  for  the  reign  of  millennial  peace,  when  "  the  sword  shall 
be  turned  into  the  plowshare,  and  the  spear  into  the  pruning-hook." 
But  the  language  of  the  prophet,  in  the  verse  just  referred  to,  is 
perhaps  to  be  regarded  mainly  figurative,  and  warranting  an  ulterior 
and  higher  application   than  the  mere  literal  import  of  its   terms 
would  indicate.     The  various  obstacles  to  the  spread  of  the  Redeem- 
er's kingdom,  and  their  complete  removal,  in  the  progress  of  years, 
by  the  prevalent  and  powerful  religion  of  the  cross,  seem  here  to  be 
triumphantly  contemplated.      The  spirit  of  Christianity  exalts   the 
lowly  and  humbles  the  pj-oud ;  strikes  a  common  level  from  earth  to 
heaven  ;  and  against  the  philosophy  of  the  past  and  the  selfishness  of 
the  present,  bears  prince  and  peasant,  priest  and  people,  along  the 
same  graded  thoroughfare,  to  the  kingdom  of  God. 

The  covert  intrigues  and  tortuous  windings  of  corrupt  human 
policy,  as  well  as  the  "  crooked^''  outline  of  ungodly  creeds,  are  all 
to  be  abandoned  for  the  "  straight "  path  of  duty  and  the  plainness 
of  sanctifying  truth.  And,  lastly,  the  great  barriers  to  the  spread  of 
Christianity  shall  be  broken  down  ;  the  power  of  her  enemies  neutral- 
ized and  destroyed ;  the  roughness  of  human  nature  polished  and 
refined  by  its  spirit ;  and  the  trials  and  misfortunes  of  life  overcome 
and  subordinated  by  its  gracious  internal  reign. 

The  "  signs  of  the  times  "  are  ominous  of  the  approaching  advent 
of  a  halcyon  age,  whose  rosy  twilight  already  tinges  the  moral  horizon, 
and  strongly  forecasts  the  coming  accomplishment  of  these  prophetic 
dicta.  Among  the  leading  indications  of  a  brighter  future  we  can- 
not overlook  the  educational  enterprises  which,  under  the  sanction  of 
Christianity,  are  spreading  far  and  wide  through  both  continents. 
Our  own  favored  land  is  sharing  largely  in  the  blessings  of  knowledge 
and  truth,  which  flow  in  widening  streams  from  the  perennial  foun- 
tains. Ignorance  and  Idolatry  are  twin  sisters,  under  whose  dual 
sovereignty  the  world's  millions  have  long  bowed,  blighted  and  cursed, 
but  whose  waning  kingdom  and  obsolete  power  arc  being  rapidly  suo- 


GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS.  121 

cecded  by  Intelligence  and  Piety — a  noble  onion — crowned  from  the 
skies,  and  chartered  with  unlimited  dominion,  for  the  elevation  and 
happiness  of  the  whole  human  race. 

At  no  remote  day  in  the  history  of  the  past,  had  the  envenomed 
shafts  of  Hume  and  Voltaire  been  true  to  their  aim,  Christianity 
might  have  received  her  death-blow,  and  not  a  college  nor  academy 
in  the  land  have  felt  the  shock  of  her  dissolution.  But  how  happily 
different  the  aspect  which  our  own  great  country  now  presents  I 
The  Bible  has  been  enthroned  in  the  eyes  of  the  nation.  Its  lofty 
morals  have  become  the  standard  and  touchstone  of  public  and  pri- 
vate virtue,  while  its  sacred  counsels  daily  resound  through  the  halls 
and  chapels  of  our  seminaries  of  learning — hallowing  the  labors  of 
professional  instruction,  and  purifying  the  very  well-springs  of  human 
knowledge.  The  ample  provisions  now  made  under  its  holy  sanc- 
tions for  the  higher  cultivation  and  refinement  of  woman,  constitute 
a  distinctive  feature  in  our  modern  educational  plans,  and  character- 
ize the  present  as  an  interesting  era  in  the  history  of  our  country. 
The  high  schools  and  colleges  of  the  day,  already  in  successful  opera- 
tion, are  destined  to  give  a  literary  maternity  to  hundreds  of  our 
lovely  daughters.  And  although  it  is  neither  expected  nor  desired 
that  they  shall  all  turn  poets,  or  painters,  or  musicians,  or  authors, 
and  enter  upon  a  vexatious  career  for  fame,  yet,  under  the  chasten- 
ing and  ameliorating  influence  of  these  ministers  of  piety  and  learn- 
ing, they  are  but  the  better  prepared  to  become  amiable  sisters, 
enlightened  and  affectionate  wives,  and  cultivated  mothers — throw- 
ing the  charms  of  taste  and  intelligence  around  the  public  heart,  as 
well  as  the  domestic  circle — restraining  vice,  promoting  virtue,  and 
training  up  a  hopeful  progeny,  around  whose  parental  knees  the  young 
Washingtons,  and  Welbys  and  Websters,  of  a  coming  age,  shall 
gather  the  elements  of  their  future  greatness.  And  yet,  aroused  and 
sprung  by  these  educational  appliances,  why  should  not  female  genius 
plume  her  wing  for  a  bolder  flight  1  Who  shall  say  that  in  some 
future  day  our  Wesleys  and  Sigourneys  may  not  be  multiplied  and 
improved,  and  that  the  emerald  mountains  aod  orange  groves,  the 
flowing  rivers  and  golden  sunsets  of  our  native  land,  as  well  as  the 
high  themes  of  Revelation  and  the  charms  of  virtue,  may  not  be  woven 
into  still  more  persuasory  and  enrapturing  verse  by  many  of  our 
gifted  daughters, who  shall  stand  as  "corner  stones"  in  the  fabric  of 
society,  "  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace  ? "     That  other 


122  GOD   I^   CHRIST   JESDS. 

Hannah  Mores,  arising  from  the  common  ranks  of  life,  and  supplied 
from  the  depositories  of  knowledge— rich  in  thought,  pure  in  morals, 
and  vigorous  in  style — may  not  issue  from  their  prolific  pens  whole 
volumes  of  pertinent  truth  to  warn  the  wealthy  and  gladden  the  poor  ? 
Or  that  other  Miss  Somervilles,  expanding  into  fuller  intellectual 
proportions  under  an  American  sky,  may  not  measure  the  flight  of 
newly-discovered  worlds,  or  solve  the  apparent  difficulties  of  retro- 
grade cometary  motion ;  and  thus  unitedly  aid  in  elevating  and  refi- 
ning human  nature,  to  prepare  it  for  its  more  exalted  sphere. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  times,  which  indicates  the  approach- 
ing consummation  of  long-standing  prophecy,  is  the  strong  tendency 
of  the  enlightened  public  mind  to  ascend  to  first  principles — to  dis- 
cover and  to  control  elementary  forces — leaving  in  the  rear  the  rude^ 
the  palpable,  and  the  material,  and  advancing  to  the  region  of  the 
refined,  the  impalpible,  and  the  immaterial.  An  emancipation  from  the 
blind  dominion  of  Nature,  and  from  the  rigid  exactions  of  her  auto- 
cratic laws,  has  already  been  largely  effected,  after  the  patient  pro- 
gress of  nearly  sixty  centuries.  Her  embarrassing  resistance  has 
been  over-mastered  by  signal  disclosures  from  her  own  arcana,  and 
her  exhaustless  resources  made  tributary  to  the  highest  phase  of 
advancing  civilization. 

Progressive  development,  we  say,  has  marked  the  general  history 
of  the  world  ;  and  although  heretofore  temporarily  arrested  or  ob- 
structed by  impassable  geographical  boundaries,  or  paralyzing  reli- 
gious creeds,  is  certainly  destined  by  the  elastic  and  aggressive  spirit 
of  the  age,  and  the  liberalizing  and  diffusive  character  of  our  holy 
religion,  yet  to  penetrate  and  arouse  the  heart  of  the  most  stolid  and 
stationary  nations,  and  send  its  reformatory  impulse  over  the  plains 
of  northern  Europe,  the  inhospitable  steppes  of  Asia,  and  even  through 
the  sparsely-populated  jungles  of  Hisdostan. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  mankind,  and  among  savage  tribes,  muscular 
effort  was  the  sole  dependence  for  personal  supplies.  Observation 
and  reflection,  however,  soon  suggested  the  use  of  the  horse,  the  ox, 
and  the  ass,  in  substitution  for  human  labor.  Next  were  called  into 
requisition  the  mechanical  forces  of  the  inorganic  world  ;  and  the  roll- 
ing river  and  plunging  cataract  were  made  subservient  to  the  author- 
ity of  advancing  mind.  The  aid  of  a  still  more  mobile  fluid  was  then 
commanded,  and  the  obedient  winds  turned  machinery  and  filled  the 
sails  of  commerce.     But  after  the  lapse  of  ages,  clearer  perceptions 


GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS.  123 

and  a  wider  horizon  led  to  the  discovery  of  a  yet  more  elastic  and 
powerful  agent ;  and  in  the  happy  adaptation  of  steam  to  the  play  of 
machinery  and  the  laws  of  locomotion,  our  American  Fulton  has 
inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  civilization,  and  revolution- 
ized the  entire  commercial  world. 

This  brings  us  to  the  present  century,  when  the  whole  heaven  of 
intellect  begins  to  glow  with  unaccustomed  light,  and  has  already 
disclosed  to  the  wondering  nations  the  secret  store-houses  of  a  still 
more  ethereal  and  boundless  power,  whose  fiery  flights,  dynamic  feats, 
and  limitless  reign,  vindicate  our  postulate  —  establish  the  pre_ 
eminence  of  intangible  and  imponderable  forces  over  the  grosser 
forms  of  matter,  and  herald  the  advent  of  a  brighter  age.  And  yet 
the  mysterious  profounds  of  electricity  are  unsounded,  and  her  utmost 
capabilities  untaxed.  Her  incipient  achievements,  it  is  true,  belong 
to  the  present^hvii  her  unrevealed  glories  are,  perhaps,  providentially 
reserved  for  the  sublimer  intellectuality  of  Sk  future  age. 

So  too,  by  beautiful  parallelism,  in  the  moral  world.  When  the 
catastrophe  of  Paradise  had  grown  dim  upon  the  memory  of  a  degen- 
erate and  polluted  race,  and  the  tradition  of  the  deed  had  faded  into 
twilight,  their  conceptions  of  a  Deity  became  vague  and  degrading, 
the  sensuous  nature  ruled  in  the  ascendant,  and  wealth  paid  ample 
tribute  at  the  imposing  shrines  of  idolatry.  Hence  the  artistic  splen- 
dor of  polytheistic  Athens,  with  her  thirt}'  thousand  gods,  and  the 
architectural  magnificence  of  pagan  Rome,  with  her  one  hundred  and 
twenty  gorgeous  temples,  even  at  the  period  when  the  learning  and 
philosophy  of  the  ancient  world  had  reached  its  zenith.  The  soul 
was  still  in  fetters,  and  the  reigning  God  unknown.  All  religion 
was  reduced  to  the  visible,  the  tangible,  and  the  audible,  while  sordid- 
ness  and  selfishness,  sensuality  and  pollution,  were  consecrated  at 
the  altars  and  incorporated  with  the  showy  but  scandalous  mysteries 
of  the  ritual 

Nay,  such  was  the  slowness  of  the  human  mind  to  perceive  spiritual 
truth,  that  even  within  the  pale  of  Revelation  the  sublime  symbolic 
ceremonies  of  the  Temple  service  were  addressed  by  the  Divine  con- 
descension to  the  exterior  senses.  Rut  generations  passed  away, 
intelligence  ripened,  and  the  insignia  of  old  dispensations  gave  place 
to  the  simplicity  and  spirittiality  of  the  Messiah's  opening  reign. 
And  yet,  in  after  centuries,  many  of  the  cumbrous  forms  and  pomp- 
ous rites  of  pagan  superstition,  were  found  clinging  around  the  altars 


124  GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS. 

of  christian  worship,  when  another  grand  phase  of  human  progres- 
sion burst  upon  the  world  from  the  sound  and  sanctified  intellect  of 
the  immortal  monk  of  Erfurt.  Since  the  days  of  the  RefofmatioD, 
emancipated  mind  has  been  advancing  to  a  higher  level,  and  sweep- 
ing a  broader  horizon. 

As  in  the  physical,  so  in  the  psychological  world,  the  most  stupend- 
ous results  follow  from  the  play  of  invisible  and  intangible  elements. 
This  is  emphatically  the  age  of  ethereal  and  impalpable  forces,  and 
Christianity  is  but  harmonizing  in  her  grand,  world-wide  movements, 
with  the  significant  and  subordinate  powers  of  nature,  when  her  sim- 
ple, elemental  faith — the  radical  grace  of  the  lovely  train — is 
spreading  its  electric  impulses  far  and  wide,  and  stirring  the  masses 
of  the  moral  world,  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  a  continent. 

Such  is  the  vast  revival  injluence  which  has  signalized  this  year  of 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  wonders, — left  its  hallowing  impress 
upon  the  public  heart,  and  imposed  its  salutary  restraints  upon  pub- 
lic morals  throughout  the  States  of  this  Union. 

Christian  faith,  because  invisible  and  incomprehensible  in  its  modes 
of  action,  and  incapable  of  demonstration  by  the  microscope,  the 
scalpel,  or  the  crucible,  has  long  been  the  subject  of  libertine  taunt 
and  skeptical  inuendo,  and  has  often  provoked  the  fires  of  pagan  per- 
secution, and  even  the  tortures  of  inquisitorial  vengeance.  But  the 
very  violence  and  oppression  of  the  past  have  but  served  to  unlimber 
her  celestial  artillery  and  unmask  her  strongest  batteries. 

Nature's  ethereal  forces — the  most  powerful  which  she  wields — 
manifest  their  boldest  phenomena  when  temporarily  restrained  and 
held  in  abeyance.  How  quiet  and  harmless  the  escape  of  steam 
from  the  matron's  tea-kettle.  But  generate  and  confine  it  in  iron 
cylinders,  and  huge  masses  of  ponderous  machinery  start  into  mo- 
tion, and  impetuous  keels  scour  the  pathless  deep,  between  distant 
kingdoms  I  How  silent  and  invisible  the  ascent  of  liberated  gases  in 
the  open  air.  But  when  evolved  by  the  heat  of  the  earth's  central 
fires,  and  pent  up  by  its  superincumbent  strata,  whole  continents  rock 
under  its  elastic  recoil,  volcanoes  heave,  and  mountains  spring  from 
the  bottom  of  the  seas. 

The  electric  fluid  too,  whose  ubiquity,  dominion,  and  brilliant  phe- 
nomena seem  but  to  fore-type  the  universality  and  brightness  of  the 
reign  of  faith, — is  noiseless  and  unseen,  until,  when  insulated  and 
confined  upon  the  floating  storm-cloud,  it  collects  its  latent  energies, 


GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS.  125 

and  leaps  with  blinding  blaze  and  startling  crash,  through  the  rent 
and  yielding  air,  splintering  masts  and  firing  forests  in  its  resistless 
course. 

Such  is  the  order  of  Heaven  in  the  exhibitions  of  its  spiritual 
power.  Would  you  prove  the  inherent  might  and  operative  energies 
of  the  faith  of  Revelation,  surround  her  by  mountain  ranges  upon 
the  right  and  left,  intercept  her  onward  passage  by  the  Red  sea,  and 
press  her  in  the  rear  by  the  countless  chariots  and  horsemen  of  the 
Egyptian  king,  and  then,  at  the  signal  from  the  Mosaic  trident,  the 
cloven  waves  shall  stand  like  walls  of  adamant,  as  she  leads  the 
exultant  hosts  of  Israel  through  the  yawning  chasm,  and  the  return- 
ing floods  submerge  the  enemies  of  God.  Or,  again ;  let  barbarian 
thousands  assail  her  armed  legions,  when  the  honor  of  Heaven  is  in- 
volved, and,  obedient  to  her  powerful  impulses,  the  sun  shall  stand 
still  over  the  beleaguered  heights  of  Gibeon,  and  the  moon  over  the 
valley  of  Ajalon,  until  the  arrogant  heathen  are  swept  from  the  earth, 
and  the  sovereignty  of  Jehovah  sublimely  vindicated.  Then,  let  no 
faithless  fears  overshadow  the  vision  of  her  pledged  and  princely 
future  conquests.  Her  fair  escutcheon,  emblazoned  by  the  deeds  of 
apostolic  days,  and  rich  with  the  graven  memories  of  martyrdom, 
shall  never  be  tarnished  by  the  records  of  an  ignominious  retreat  in 
the  campaign  against  "  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world  ■.  against  spiritual  wickedness  in 
high  places."  Her  spirit  leads  the  great  aggressive  movements  of 
Zion  in  the  present  age,  and,  less  and  less  trammeled  by  the  sensual 
clogs  and  unmeaning  ceremonies  which  once  so  seriously  impeded  her 
progress,  she  goes  "  forth,  conquering  and  to  conquer,"  promising  a 
bright  and  blissful  future  to  the  sons  of  men.  And  even  now,  the 
hybernating  and  masked  infidelities  of  the  day  are  shocked  and  par- 
alyzed by  the  breadth  of  her  empire  and  the  silent  successes  of  her 
arms.  But  our  limits  forbid  us  at  present  to  trace  these  interesting 
parallelisms  farther,  and  we  desist. 

Thirdly  and  lastly,  then  .  ''f 

We  propose  briefly  "  to  contemplate  the  promised  results  of  His 
reign."  In  the  lofty  language  of  the  text,  "  The  glory  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together,  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Lord  hath  spoken  it.' 

Christianity  has  no  secrets  which  shall  not  be  revealed.  It  is  true, 
her  comprehensive  economy  is  too  vast  to  be  entirely  compassed  by 


126  GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS 

an  earthly  nature,  and  she  must  await  the  disfranchisement  and  en- 
largement of  tlie  immortal  mind,  amid  the  sinless  scenes  of  Heaven, 
to  unroll  the  wide  wonders  of  her  plan.  There  alone  shall  be  sounded 
the  fathomless  deeps  of  the  Divine  mercy,  in  its  incomprehensible 
affiliation  with  humble  manhood,  and  its  conquering  struggle  amid 
the  death  groans  of  the  crucifixion.  There,  too,  and  there  alone, 
shall  the  "  glory  of  the  Lord"  be  displayed,  in  unfolding  to  the  en- 
raptured eyes  of  his  saints,  the  wisdom  and  the  benevolence  of  that 
mysterious  Providence  which  giiided  them  to  their  rest.  Yet  even 
before  her  terrestrial  mission  is  closed,  when  the  broad  charities  of 
her  heart  shall  have  poured  themselves  out  upon  the  whole  earth, 
and  the  repentant  and  redeemed  nations  shall  have  tasted  "  the  pow- 
ers of  the  world  to  come," — even  then  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  revealed  "  so  that  "  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together,"  as  the  grand 
presage  to  its  higher  exhibition  in  the  light  of  eternity." 

When  a  few  more  generations  shall  have  passed  away,  the  world 
shall  witness  the  unearthly  pageant  o(  the  second  advent,  when  God's 
annointed  comes  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  attended  by  the  retinue  of 
the  skies.  Up,  then,  ye  sons  and  daughters  of  godly  sires,  crowned 
with  the  light  of  knowledge  and  robed  with  the  loveliness  of  virtue. 
Up  and  away  upon  your  heavenly  mission,  and  with  the  warm  blood 
of  a  christian  ancestry  in  your  veins,  seek  to  "  prepare  the  way  of 
the  Lord,"  and  to  "  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our 
God."  For  ye  are  destined  to  be  the  honored  bearers  of  an  undy- 
ing faith  to  our  waiting  posterity. 

The  venerable  and  the  loved  who,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  have 
stood  in  the  van  of  your  coming  hosts,  shall  soon  have  closed  their 
humble  career  and  have  gone  to  the  rest  of  their  fathers.  Sinking 
under  the  weight  of  years  and  of  toils,  but  still  glowing  with  the 
ardors  of  parental  love,  and  kindling  into  rapture  under  the  in- 
spiring visions  of  the  text,  their  longing  hopes  delight  to  linger  about 
your  footsteps,  and  point  your  young  ambition  to  the  spiritual  con- 
queror's crown. 

Upon  the  prowess  of  your  right  arms,  then,  sustained  by  Jeshurun's 
God,  must  rest  the  future  honors  of  Zion  ;  and  with  their  dying  bless- 
ing, they  commit  to  your  defence  the  unfurled  banner  of  the  cross, 
still  proudly  streaming  from  her  blood-stained  ramparts. 

But  suppose  your  fathers  die.  What  at  last  is  the  tomb  of  superan- 
nuated nature  but  the  cradle  of  a  ncio  life,  soon  to  be  unfolded  in  the 


GOD   IN   CHRIST   JESUS.  127 

brightening  evolutions  of  Bible  prophesy,  and  in  the  maintenance  of 
the  mighty  scheme  of  human  salvation  ?  Move  fearlessly  and  faith- 
fully onwards,  then,  ye  rising  thousands  of  the  young,  to  greet  the 
glorious  future.  The  high  carnival  of  the  assembling  nations  ap- 
proaches. Let  your  children's  children,  through  successive  genera- 
tions, swell  the  gorgeous  procession  which  comes  down  the  path  of 
ages  to  hail  the  millennial  grandeur  of  God — the  Messiah's  reign ; 
gaze  with  the  redeemed  and  purified  millions  upon  the  "  glory  of  the 
Lord,"  revealed  in  earth  and  air  and  ocean,  and  join  with  the  sacra- 
mental host  in  the  long,  loud  acclaim  which  rolls  with  the  tremors  of 
an  earthquake  through  the  arches  of  the  echoing  skies,  "  Hallelujah  . 
the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth !  " 


J^'' 


.^ 


^t^ 


OF  THE  SOtrm  OAROTJNA  VONy/-:BENVT 


MAN  SUBJECTED  TO  THE  LAW  OF  SUFFERLNa. 


BY  WHITEFOORD  SMITH,  D.  D., 

OF  SOUTH  CABOLINA 


"  "Who  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  when  he  had  offered  up  prayers  and  suppli- 
cations with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  him  that  was  able  to  save  him  from 
death,  and  was  heard  in  that  he  feared;  though  he  were  a  Son,  yet  learned 
he  obedience  by  the  things  which  he  suflered;  and  being  made  perfect,  he 
became  the  author  of  eternal  salvation  unto  all  them  that  obey  him." — He- 
brews V,  7,  8,  9. 

Every  one  who  has  been  observant  of  what  takes  place  around  and 
within  him,  has,  no  doubt,  often  been  perplexed  by  what  he  has  wit- 
nessed and  experienced.  Perhaps  in  reference  to  no  class  of  sub- 
jects is  this  more  common  than  to  that  which  relates  to  the  sufferings 
of  men.  The  exclamation  is  frequently  heard,  "What  a  mysterious 
dispensation  of  Providence  !  "  If  any  one  is  overtaken  by  adversity, 
and  reduced  from  a  comfortable  estate  to  comparative  poverty,  it  is 
regarded  by  many  as  something  strange ;.  though  such  occurrences 
are  by  no  means  rare.  If  one  is  found  laboring  under  a  chronic  dis- 
ease, or  some  bodily  infirmity,  or  if  a  sudden  death  is  announced,  it 
is  often  remarked,  "  How  extraordinary  !  "  If  a  husband  and  father 
is  taken  away  from  a  dependent  family,  and  a  wife  is  made  a  widow 
and  her  children  fatherless,  or  if  a  statesman  dies  in  the  midst  of 
some  important  public  business,  or  in  some  critical  period  of  his 
country's  history,  it  is  declared  to  be  a  most  mysterious  dispensation. 
It  might  thus  be  supposed  that  such  events  but  very  seldom  occurred, 
and  that  their  infrequency  made  them  startle  us,  and  that  they  were 
utterly  inexplicable  upon  any  principles  of  reason  or  religion.  But 
if  we  will  take  the  trouble  to  remember  and  to  reflect,  we  shall  find 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other  of  these  suppositions  to  be  correct.  If 
men  were  left  entirely  to  the  light  of  their  own  unassisted  reason, 
they  might  be  at  a  loss  to  discover  the  design  of  many  of  the  evils 
which  they  witness  in  the  world,  and  of  many  of  which  themselves  are 
the  subjects.  But  it  has  pleased  God  in  his  infinite  goodness,  to  reveal 
to  us  his  will,  and  much  of  the  darkness  and  mystery  which  shrouded 
9 


130       MAN  SUBJECTED  TO  THE  LAW  OP  SUFFERING. 

his  plans  of  operation  has  been  removed,  and  they  have  been  made 
easy  of  comprehension  by  the  light  of  revelation.  The  patient  and 
prayerful  study  of  this  subject  will  often  convince  us  that  our  opin- 
ions have  been  erroneous  and  our  judgments  sadly  at  fault  in  the 
views  we  have  taken  and  the  conclusions  we  have  formed  touching 
the  divine  administration.  Despite  all  the  evils  which  we  see  arouncs 
us  in  the  world,  despite  all  the  pains  and  sorrows  we  have  felt  our- 
selves, the  pious  inquirer  will  join  in  the  declaration  of  Scripture— 
"  The  Lord  is  good  to  all ;  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all  hi? 
works." 

The  text  suggests  two  propositions  : 

1.  That  in  our   present  condition  the  law  of  suffering  is  a  great 
universal  law  of  our  nature. 

2.  That  the  discipline  of  suffering  is  necessary  to  perfect  us  in  all 
holy  obedience  to  the  will  of  God. 

I.  In  our  present  condition  the  law  of  suffering  is  a  great  univer- 
sal law  of  our  nature.  The  history  of  the  world  is  the  record  of  this 
truth.  The  consciousness  of  every  man  is  its  inward  attestation. 
From  the  day  of  the  first  transgression  until  now  the  family  of  man 
has  become  subject  to  this  law.  The  first  utterances  of  humanity 
are  cries  of  suffering — its  last  expressions  are  groans  and  sighs.  No 
favored  spot  of  earth  has  been  found,  no  matter  how  salubrious  its 
climate — how  grand  and  gorgeous  its  scenery — how  clear  its  crystal 
waters — how  brave  and  generous  its  people — where  the  wail  of  the 
sufferer  is  not  heard.  The  generations  of  men  as  they  successively 
followed  each  other  have  uttered  the  same  lamentations  over  the  mis' 
eries  of  life,  and  patriarch  and  sage  and  philosopher  have  all  wept 
over  its  disappointments  and  vanity.  So  uniform  in  this  respect  has 
been  the  experience  of  men  that  they  have  united  in  designating  the 
scene  of  mortal  life  a  '•  vale  of  tears." 

If  we  confine  our  views  of  suffering  merely  to  the  physical  evils 
which  men  endure,  we  shall  form  a  very  inadequate  idea  of  its  true 
extent.  But  there  are  sufferings  vastly  greater  than  the  burning  fe- 
ver or  the  aching  limb.  All  the  anxieties  and  tears  and  griefs  of  hu- 
manity are  to  be  computed  in  this  reckoning.  The  baffled  labor,  the 
disappointed  hope,  the  fruitless  research,  the  unrequited  affection,  the 
broken  ties  of  friendship  and  of  love — all  these  are  to  be  embraced  in 
the  estimate  of  human  sufferino;.     And  when  we  have  thus  united 


MAN   SUBJECTED   TO   THE   LAW  OP   SUFFERING.  131 

the  cries  of  infancy,  and  the  tears  of  helpless  womanhood,  and  the 
wretchedness  of  disappointed  manhood, and  the  despair  of  old  age  dy- 
ing in  sin — from  the  cabin,  and  the  hall,  and  the  palace,  and  the  bat- 
tle-field— what  an  aggregate  of  suffering  does  humanity  exhibit !  And 
yet  all  is  not  known,  for  the  artificial  caprice  of  society  seeks  to  hide 
its  sorrows  from  the  gaze  of  the  world,  and  many  a  face  which  is 
wreathed  with  smiles  would  be  a  false  index  to  the  aching  heart. 

Nor  let  it  be  supposed  that  the  assertion  that  humanity  exists  un- 
der  an  universal  law   of  suffering  is  rebutted  by  the  numerous  joys 
which  vary  the  scene  of  life.     Neither  the  existence  nor  the  univer- 
sality of  suffering  depends  upon  its  constant  continuance.     The  very 
constitution  of  our  nature  is  such  that  were  man  all  the  time  sub- 
jected to  pain,  it  would  become  his  fixed  habit ;  and  custom  renders 
agreeable  what  was  originally  unpleasant,  and  even  suffering,  if  con- 
stant, would  cease  to  be  suffering.  So,  many  who  for  long  years  have 
suffered  under  a  painful  and  incurable  disease,  become  so  accustomed 
to  it  as  to  cease  to  complain,  and  bear  with  comparative  indifference 
what  to  others  would  be  torture.  The  great  design  of  God  in  placing 
us  under  the  law  of  suffering  is  best  accomplished  by  an  occasional 
exemption  from  the  severity  of  its  pangs.     Yet,  while  it  is  admitted 
that  the  sky  of  human  life  is  not  always  black  with  lowering  clouds, 
that  ever  and  again  some  bright  and  beauteous  ray  beams  upon  the 
pilgrim's  path,  how  much  of  truth  is  there  in  the  Poet's  words ; 
"  Poor  wand'rers  of  a  stormy  day, 
From  wave  to  wave  we're  driven! 
And  fancy's  flash,  and  reason's  ray, 
Serve  but  to  light  the  troubled  way ; 
There's  nothing  true  but  Heaven." 

But  the  most  striking  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  position  that  hu- 
manity exists  under  a  great  universal  law  of  suffering,  is  found  in 
the  fact  brought  so  forcibly  to  view  in  the  text,  that  even  our  blessed 
Redeemer,  while  He  condescended  to  wear  our  nature,  was  not  ex- 
empt from  its  severest  application.  Surely  it  might  seem  to  our 
weak  apprehension,  that  a  voluntary  divesture  of  His  glory  for  a 
season,  and  the  assumption  of  our  nature  apart  from  its  pains  and 
sorrows,  would  have  been  a  sufficient  humiliation,  and  an  unspeakable 
manifestation  of  His  love.  But  not  so  thought  the  Infinite  wisdom. 
When  He  took  our  nature.  He  took  it  with  all  its  liabilities  to  ill.  It 
was  deemed  a  necessary  part  of  His  education  for  the  great  ofi5ce  He 
was  to  fill  for  us,  that  He  should  learn  by  painful  experience  what 


132  MAN  SUBJECTED   TO   THE   LAW   OF  SUFFERING. 

are  the  temptations  and  sorrows  of  humanity.  He  was  to  drink  of 
our  cup  with  all  its  bitterness.  He  was  to  be  poor,  and  slighted  and 
spurned  by  the  great,  betrayed  and  deserted.  He  was  to  feel  all  the 
intensity  of  agony  of  which  our  nature  is  susceptible,  and  that  fear 
by  which  for  ages  it  had  been  haunted.  He  was  to  know  our  infirmi- 
ty, to  feel  our  weakness,  to  utter  the  cries  for  help  which  we  utter, 
to  mingle  his  tears  with  ours,  to  shudder,  shrink,  and  fear  to  die. 
The  language  of  the  Apostle  in  the  text  seems  almost  extravagantly 
bold  when  he  speaks  of  Jesus  offering  up  prayers  and  supplications, 
with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  was  able  to  save  him 
from  death.  But,  daring  as  the  words  appear,  they  are  borne  out 
by  the  record  of  His  life  and  death.  To  His  agony  in  the  garden, 
doubtless,  the  Apostle  referred.  Amazing  scene  !  baffling  all  at- 
tempt at  description  ;  awakening  wonder  that  can  never  be  satisfied. 
The  Son  of  God,  the  first-born  and  the  only  begotten  of  His  Father, 
the  brightness  of  His  glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  person, 
bearing  the  form  of  a  man,  and  approaching  the  crisis  of  His  human 
fate,  struggling  with  the  fear  of  death  and  crying  to  be  delivered 
from  it,  saying,  "  If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me  ;  never- 
theless, not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt."  Need  we  wonder,  then,  at 
the  terror  which  death  has  awakened  in  the  frail  children  of  our 
race  ?  If  He,  the  mighty  conqueror,  who  even  now  was  about  to 
vanquish  the  foe,  trembled  and  sweat  great  drops  of  blood  as  the 
hour  of  conflict  drew  near,  oh  I  need  we  wonder,  if 
"  The  pains,  the  groans,  the  dying  strife, 

Fright  our  approaching  souls  away  ; 
And  we  shrink  back  again  to  lite. 

Fond  of  our  prison  and  our  clay?" 
To  all  the  sufferings  appointed  to  man,  Christ  himself  was  made 
subject.  This  "  fairest  flower  that  ever  bloomed  upon  the  stalk  of 
humanity,"  this  Rose  of  Sharon,  this  Lily  of  the  Valleys,  was  not 
exempted  from  the  fury  of  that  dread  storm  which  had  long  been 
beating  upon  the  less  honored  plants  in  the  garden  of  life.  And, 
surely,  if  He  enjoyed  no  exemption,  we  have  no  right  to  expect  a 
suspension  of  this  law  on  our  behalf;  '<  for  the  disciple  is  not  above 
his  master,  nor  the  servant  above  his  lord.'^ 

Nor  was  it  intended  that  His  sufferings  only  should  be  exemplary 
of  ours,  For  our  encouragement,  no  doubt,  it  was  written.  He  "was 
heard  in  that  He  feared."  Whether  these  last  words  be  taken,  as 
some  have  supposed  they  should  be,  as  assigning  His  piety  or  fear  of 


MAN  SUBJECTED  TO  THE  LAW  OF  SUFFERING.      133 

the  Lord  as  the  reason  why  He  was  heard ;  or,  which  is  perhaps 
better,  that  He  was  heard  ia  respect  to  that  thing  which  He  feared, 
that  is,  death  ;  the  declaration  still  remains  the  same.  He  was  heard. 
His  prayers  and  supplications  were  not  offered  up  in  vain  ;  His  strong 
crying  and  tears  were  not  unanswered.  And  if  the  arm  of  the  Almighty 
was  adequate  to  the  deliverance  of  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation  in 
the  greatest  emergency  ever  known  to  man,  how  strong  the  assurance 
given  to  every  trembling  saint  that  the  divine  grace  shall  be  found 
all-sufficient  in  his  sorest  need.  Thus  may  He  be  our  example,  not 
only  as  a  sufferer,  but  also  as  a  sufferer  delivered. 

The  other  general  position  proposed  in  the  text,  is  - 
II.  That  the  discipline  of  suffering  is  necessary  to  perfect  us  in  all 
holy  obedience  to  the  will  of  God, 

If  this  proposition  were  not  true,  it  might  be  considered  an  objec- 
tion to  the  first  that  it  was  inconsistent  with  the  character  and  admin- 
istration of  God  as  infinitely  good  and  loving,  that  He  should  place 
man  under  a  law  of  suffering.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  sufferings  of  the  present  time  are  not  merely  nor  chiefly  penal, 
but  disciplinary  and  corrective'.  Cases  there  have  been  and  are,  in 
which,  even  here,  the  Almighty  vindicates  His  insulted  throne,  and 
visitations  of  suffering  are  sent  in  judgment  upon  the  ungodly.  And 
it  is,  doubtless,  wisely  ordained  that  in  the  present  life  suffering  should 
often  be  the  consequence  of  sin,  that  men  may  learn  bow  ultimately 
certain  is  the  connection  between  them.  But  we  find  suffering  now 
not  confined  to  the  wicked,  but  the  wise  and  the  virtuous  and  the 
good  are  alike  subject  to  this  general  law.  If  these,  in  common  with 
others,  are  vi.sited  with  affliction  and  pain,  we  must  turn  to  the  Word 
of  God  for  the  explication  of  what  would  seem  inconsistent  alike  with 
His  justice  and  His  goodness.  The  text  solves  the  mystery  of  suffer- 
ing virtue  when  it  declares  of  Christ  himself,  that  "  though  He 
were  a  Son,  yet  learned  He  obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suf- 
fered." Or,  as  the  same  Apostle  expresses  it  in  the  second  chapter 
of  this  epistle,  "  For  it  became  Him,  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by 
whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make  the 
Captain  of  their  Salvation  perfect  through  sufferings."  No  position 
can  be  more  evident  than  this,  that  if  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  a 
man,  could  only  be  fitted  by  sufferings  for  the  great  design  He  had 
come  into  the  world  to  accomplish,  if  sufferings  were  necessary  to  the 


134  MAN   SUBJECTED   TO   THE   LAW  OF   SUFFERING. 

completeness  and  perfection  of  His  character,  much  more  must  the 
like  discipline  of  suffering  be  necessary  to  fit  us  for  all  the  will  of 
God  concerning  ua. 

Uroadly  has  this  great  principle  been  stamped  upon  the  history  of 
the  world  and  the  characters  of  men.  Who  have  attained  to  the 
high  ends  of  even  a  worldly  ambition  without  toil  and  sorrow  ?  What 
prices  of  human  suffering  have  not  been  paid  for  the  acquisition  of 
a  desired  good  ]  What  enterprise  of  true  grandeur  has  been  achieved 
without  privation  and  sacrifice  1  Some  useful  invention  has  cost  the 
discoverer  years  of  patient  toil  and  self-denial  and  voluntary  poverty, 
perchance  more,  the  loss  of  health  or  even  life.  For  the  attainment 
of  an  enviable  fame,  weariness  and  solicitude  and  mortification  have 
been  cheerfully  endured.  The  liberties  of  a  country  have  been  won 
or  preserved  by  the  noble  sacrifice  of  fortune  and  of  life  on  the  part 
of  its  sons.  In  every  age  of  the  world,  and  under  every  dispensa- 
tion of  religion,  the  good  have  attained  their  goodness  by  self-abne- 
gation and  suffering.  True  nobility  of  character  is  not  to  be  reached 
by  the  idle  or  the  frivolous.  It  is  the  exercise  of  the  heroic  mind 
in  encountering  and  overcoming  difficulties,  in  bearing  trials  and  en- 
during sorrows,  that  raises  it  to  that  great  superiority  where  it  beoomes 
the  object  of  admiration  to  generations. 

So,  too,  in  Christianity.  It  has  its  appointed  labors,  its  crosses, 
its  sufferings,  for  every  votary  who  would  reach  the  heights  of  its 
glory.  Was  it  not  this  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  suffering  to  a 
perfect  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  that  prompted  that  strong  aspi- 
ration of  St.  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the  Philippians,  "  That  I  may 
know  Him,  and  the  power  of  His  resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of 
His  sufferings,  being  made  conformable  unto  His  death  ■.  if  by  any 
means  I  might  attain  unto  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  Was  it 
not  this  which  enabled  Him  to  set  a  proper  estimate  upon  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  present  time  when  He  n'.ckoned  them  "  not  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us  ?"  Was  it 
not  this  which  dictated  those  noble  words,  "  What,  mean  ye  to  weep 
and  to  break  mine  heart?  for  I  am  ready  not  to  be  bound  only,  but 
also  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus," 

From  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  this  truth  has  been  openly  pro- 
claimed. Christianity  has  not  sought  to  gain  disciples  by  any  prom- 
ised exemption  from  suffering ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  made  a 
readiness  to  endure  affliction  for  Christ's  sake  a  necessary  antecedent 


MAN   SUBJECTED   TO   THE   LAW   OF    SUFFERING.  135 

to  its  profession.  "  I  came  not  to  send  peace  on  earth,  but  a  sword." 
"  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his 
cross,  and  follow  me."  "  If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it 
^lated  me  before  it  hated  you.'' 

If  in  the  early  periods  of  the  Christian  Church  many  of  its  mem- 
bers exhibited  perhaps  too  great  a  desire  for  the  crown  of  martyr- 
dom, and  longed  for  this  full  conformity  to  Christ,  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  in  our  own  time  there  is  too  great  a  tendency  in  the  opposite 
direction — an  unwillingness  to  suflFer — an  impatience  under  the  dis- 
cipline by  which  we  may  be  made  perfect.  We  complain  of  sufier- 
ings  which,  compared  with  those  of  former  times,  are  not  worthy  to 
be  mentioned.  How  diflPerent  is  the  view  we  take  of  our  trials,  from 
that  which  the  apostles  took  of  them  !  "  Count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall 
into  divers  temptations ;  knowing  this,  that  the  trying  of  your  faith 
worketh  patience.  But  let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,  that  ye 
may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing."  Instead  of  consider- 
ing our  sufferings  as  indications  of  our  sonship  to  our  Heavenly 
Father,  and  as  means  he  employs  to  prepare  us  for  his  kingdom  and 
glory,  we  too  often  regard  them  as  signs  of  his  displeasure,  and  ask, 
What  have  we  done  that  God  should  afflict  us  thus  1  "  If  ye  endure 
chastening,  God  dealcth  with  you  as  with  sons :  for  what  son  is  he 
whom  the  father  chasteneth  not  ? "  Rather  let  us  "  consider  him 
who  endured  such  contradiction  of  sinners  against  himself." 

The  sufferings  of  Christ  are  represented  as  having  been  necessary 
to  his  qualification  for  the  work  he  undertook.  He  was  to  be  the 
ever-living  High  Priest  of  our  guilty  race.  To  fulfil  the  duties  of 
this  office,  it  was  all-important  that  he  should  be  able  to  enter  into 
the  tenderest  sympathy  with  all  our  temptations  and  sufferings.  And 
that  he  might  be  able  to  feel  this  sympathy,  it  was  indispensable  that 
he  should  take  our  nature,  and  be  "  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are, 
yet  without  sin."  It  was  only  by  becoming  a  link  in  the  great  chain 
of  humanity  that  he  could  feel  the  electric  influence  of  human  sym- 
pathy. Very  happily  does  St.  Paul  apply  this  same  principle  to  the 
sufferings  of  the  Apostles  and  all  christian  ministers.  It  is  not  for 
themselves  alone  that  they  sometimes  suffer,  but  for  the  benefit  of 
those  to  whom  they  minister.  Their  afflictions  are  often  necessary 
that  they  may  know  how  to  enter  with  a  genuine  sympathy  into  the 
afflictions  of  others.     "  Whether  we  be  afflicted  it  is  for  your  conso- 


136      MAN  SUBJECTED  TO  THE  LAW  OP  SUTFERINQ. 

lation  and  salvation,  which  is  effectual  in  the  enduring  of  the  same 
sufferings  which  we  also  suffer." 

And  what  hinders  that  the  same  principle  should  find  its  applica- 
tion also  to  all  christians  ■?  The  pre-eminent  law  of  the  gospel  dis- 
pensation is  the  law  of  Charity  or  Love.  For  the  fulfilment  of  this 
law,  in  its  high  and  broad  signification,  it  is  essential  that  the  ties  of 
sympathy  should  bind  us  together.  It  is  not  enough  that  we  are  of 
the  same  race — it  is  not  enough  that  we  are  of  the  same  country  or 
district  or  town — it  is  not  enough  that  we  are  even  of  the  same  family 
— it  is  important  that  we  are  partakers  of  the  same  infirmities  and 
sufferings.  No  one  who  has  not  himself  suffered  understands  well 
how  to  enter  into  the  feelings  of  a  sufferer.  The  children  of  a  family 
who  have  stood  together  around  the  grave  of  a  parent  feel  that  the 
sorrow  of  which  they  are  sharers  in  common,  constitutes  an  additional 
bond  to  their  mutual  affection.  The  husband  and  the  wife  whose 
lives  may  have  before  passed  on  in  comfort,  perhaps  in  aflJuence  and 
luxury,  when  overtaken  by  adversity,  realize  more  fully  the  sacred- 
ness  and  closeness  of  their  relation,  and  find  that  the  fiery  trial  is  the 
means  of  welding  together  their  hearts  in  perfect  unity.  In  the 
prosperous  seasons  of  a  community,  every  one  seems  engrossed  in  his 
own  pursuits,  busy  with  his  own  schemes,  intent  upon  his  own  ag- 
grandizement. The  sordid  selfishness  of  our  nature  is  in  the  ascend- 
ant, and  no  one  has  time  to  consider  his  neighbor's  interest.  But 
when  the  "  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness  and  the  destruction 
that  wasteth  at  noon-day  "  are  abroad  in  the  city,  when  the  voices  of 
lamentation  are  heard  in  every  street,  and  sorrow  sits  brooding  in 
every  house  ;  oh  !  then,  how  are  the  tears  of  sympathy  poured  out, 
and  the  hands  of  charity  opened  and  the  hearts  that  were  hard  are 
softened,  and  the  men  who  had  been  as  strangers  remember  that  they 
are  neighbors  and  brethren.  And  all  this  is  the  effect  of  sufferings 
which  they  have  shared  in  common.  With  what  joy  does  an  aged 
veteran  meet  his  old  companion  in  arms,  and  call  to  mind  the  priva- 
tions and  dangers  they  have  experienced  in  a  long  campaign.  The 
pauper  has  been  known  to  divide  the  alms  he  had  received  with  a 
co-partner  in  misery,  and  the  lame  have  been  seen  tottering  to  the 
table  of  the  Holy  Supper  leading  the  blind. 

A  mistake  is  sometimes  made  even  by  good  and  pious  persons,  in 
supposing  that  they  arc  not  submissive  to  the  will  of  God  because 
they  feel  their  sufferings  so  acutely.     Their  tears  will  flow  under  a 


MAN   SUBJECTED   TO   THE   LAW   OF   SUFFERING.  137 

sense  of  pain  or  bereavement,  and  they  think  such  tears  are  indica- 
tions of  a  rebellions  spirit.  But  such  is  not  always  a  correct  judg- 
ment. A  stoical  indifference  is  not  christian  resignation.  If  we  did 
not  feel,  we  would  not  suffer  ;  and  it  is  the  suffering  which  is  to  teach 
us  obedience.  Nor  is  it  the  evidence  of  a  want  of  submission  to  the 
Divine  will  when  we  ask  relief  from  pain,  or  ease  for  a  troubled 
mind,  or  deliverance  from  doubt  and  fear.  The  example  of  our  Lord 
in  the  text  is  strikingly  in  proof  of  this.  lie,  in  the  days  of  His 
flesh,  offered  up  prayers  and  supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears 
unto  Him  that  was  able  to  save  Him  from  death. 

This  subject  suggests  three  reflections,  each  of  which  is  very  full 
of  comfort. 

1.  Our  sufferings  here  are  not  accidental,  but  are  either  appointed 
or  permitted  in  the  providence  of  God.  "Although  affliction  cometh 
not  forth  of  the  dust,  neither  doth  trouble  spring  out  of  the  ground ; 
yet  man  is  born  unto  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  upward."  How  ap- 
propriately did  the  Psalmist  rebuke  the  rising  murmur,  "  I  was 
dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  thou  didst  it."  To  see  and 
recognise  God's  hand  in  our  afflictions  is  the  privilege  of  every 
christian.  And  how  greatly  is  the  pain  assuaged  when  we  view  it  as 
coming  from  our  Heavenly  Father.  Our  comfort,  too,  is  still  in- 
creased when  we  remember — 

2.  That  all  our  sufferings  here  are  designed  for  our  profit,  and  are 
working  out  our  good.  Infinite  wisdom  sees  them  necessary,  and  in- 
finite goodness  adapts  them  to  our  strength.  Fathers  of  our  flesh 
"  for  a  few  days  chastened  us  after  their  pleasure,  but  he  for  our 
profit,  that  we  might  be  partakers  of  his  holiness."  Precious  thought ! 
The  chastenings  of  his  children  are  not  in  anger  but  in  love ;  not 
destructive  but  corrective.  And  though  "no  chastening  foi  the 
present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous  ;  nevertheless  afterward 
it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  rigliteousness  unto  them  which  are 
exercised  thereby." 

To  these  let  one  other  reflection  be  added — 

3.  In  all  our  sufferings  we  have  the  tender  sympathies  of  our 
Great  High  Priest  and  Redeemer.  For  it  behooved  him  to  be  made 
like  unto  his  brethren  for  this  very  purpose,  that  he  might  "  be 
touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities."   We  are  not  left  to  bear 


138  MAN    SUBJECTED   TO   THE    LAW   OF   SUFFERINO. 

our  sorrows  in  solitude  and  desolation,  without  pity  and  without  sym- 
pathy. If  cut  off  from  human  relationships,  and  shut  out  from  the 
communion  of  kindred  hearts,  there  is  one  whose  ubiquity  assures  us 
of  his  presence,  whose  love  secures  our  hope,  whose  sufferings  are 
our  warrant  of  his  sympathy. 

«'  In  every  pang  that  rends  the  heart, 
The  Man  of  Sorrows  had  a  part 
He  sympathises  in  our  grief, 

And  to  the  suff'rer  sends  relief." 

To  him,  m  the  unity  of  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all 
honor  and  glory.     Amen. 


^ 


?^  ^ 


^e^ 


tf- 


!^:;[E^.Tn-HlrU>SSn<D)o  SQJkMlWIEfffiSv  IPoia' 


■W    .-1/  l.'  .4A-M    Cr'NFJCllirK 


THE  OBJECTS  OP  ANGELIC  CURIOSITY. 


BY   THOS.    O.   SUMMERS,  D.  D., 

OF    THE   ALABAJIA    CONFERENCE. 


*•  Which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into." — 1  Peter  i,  12. 

A  strong  desire  to  find  out  something  unknown,  either  by  research 
or  inquiry,  is  characteristic  of  a  great  mind.  It  is  predicated  by  the 
apostle  of  the  ancient  prophets.  Those  wonderful  men,  influenced  by 
Divine  inspiration,  uttered  predictions  concerning  the  mysteries  of 
redemption,  which  were  astounding  to  themselves  as  well  as  to  others. 
A  holy  curiosity  was  excited  in  their  minds,  and  they  "  inquired  and 
searched  diligently  "  into  the  hidden  meaning  of  their  sublime  an- 
nouncements. They  endeavored  to  find  out  the  nature  of  the  salva- 
tion they  predicted,  and  the  time  of  its  accomplishment.  Nor  were 
they  singular  in  this;  the  angels  themselves  evinced  a  similar  curiosity. 
Indeed,  they  evince  it  still — they  manifest  a  constant  "  desire  to  look 
into  the  mysterious  things  "  of  our  salvation. 

There  is  a  kind  of  curiosity  which  is  contemptible.  It  consists  in 
a  pragmatical  disposition  of  the  mind,  an  incontinent  inclination  to 
pry  into  matters,  whether  lofty  or  low,  which  are  entirely  beyond  one's 
province — a  quest  of  information  about  things  which  do  not  concern 
us  at  all.  Thousands  who  manifest  no  avidity  in  pursuit  of  "  the 
knowledge  fit  for  man  to  know,"  let  no  opportunity  escape  to  approach 
the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  pluck  its  forbidden  fruit. 
Curiosity  is  laudable  only  when  its  objects  are  proper.  The  things 
which  the  angels  desire  to  look  into  are  worthy  of  their  highest  and 
most  intense  concern,  as  they  combine  novelty,  grandeur,  and  impor- 
tance, on  the  largest  scale. 

Let  us  first  notice  the  novelty  of  these  things  : 
They  are  developments  of  Divine  mercy  and  compassion. 
The  angels  had  witnessed  exhibitions  of  Divine  power  and  wisdom 
m  their  own  creation  and  in  the  creation  of  the  universe  at  large — so 


140  THE   OBJECTS   OP  ANQELIC    CURIOSITT. 

also  of  benevolence,  of  which,  in  a  thousand  modifications,  they  were 
the  happy  subjects.  These  perfections  of  the  Deity  were  variously 
and  gloriously  manifested  in  the  origination,  maintenance,  and  govern- 
ment of  all  the  worlds  that  had  been  called  into  existence.  And  there 
had  been  also  a  display  of  the  severer  attributes  of  the  Divine  Majes- 
ty. Angels  had  fallen  from  their  pride  of  place.  Whe7i  they  fell, 
and  how  they  fell,  we  know  not.  From  an  incidental  expression  of 
the  apostle,  we  may  suppose  that  pride  or  ambition  was  the  sin  which 
occasioned  their  overthrow.  It  could  scarcely  have  been  a  meaner 
crime  than  that  which  has  been  poetically  and  paganizingly  defined, 
"  the  glorious  fault  of  angels  and  of  gods."  Certain  it  is,  they 
"  kept  not  their  tirst  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation."  They 
fell — self-tempted  of  course,  and  this  perhaps  was  the  reason  that  no 
redemption  was  provided  for  them.  They  were  hurled  at  once  from 
the  battlements  of  heaven,  shut  up  in  the  prison-house  of  hell,  and 
bound  with  chains  of  darkness,  as  culprits  under  a  terrible  sentence 
and  waiting  its  execution.  What  a  development  of  inexorable  justice 
and  vindictive  wrath !  This  the  holy  angels  witnessed  ;  but  they  had 
never  witnessed  any  expression  of  mercy  and  compassion — the  former 
requiring  sin  for  its  elicitation,  and  the  latter  connoting  misery,  neither 
of  which  had  any  place  in  heaven  or  any  relief  in  hell. 

But  when,  through  the  envy,  malice,  and  subtlety  of  the  devil,  man 
had  fallen,  the  Divine  benevolence  received  a  new  modification,  de- 
veloping itself  in  forms  adapted  to  the  character  and  condition  of 
lapsed  humanity.  The  sin  and  misery  of  man  drew  forth  the  mercy 
and  compassion  of  God.  These  lovely  qualities  of  the  Divine  nature 
mingled  harmoniously  with  all  the  other  attributes  of  the  Most  High, 
and  produced  the  plan  of  redemption,  which  is  the  mystery  of  the 
universe  and  the  problem  of  eternity.  No  sooner  did  the  mighty  and 
merciful  design  beam  forth  from  the  countenance  of  the  Godhead, 
than  angelic  curiosity  was  excited  to  comprehend  it. 

There  was  the  gracious  purpose  of  God — they  were  eager  to  unfold 
it.  There  was  the  primordial  promise — they  reverently  cast  an  inqui- 
sitive glance  towards  the  Only-begotten  of  the  Father,  as  if  they 
would  know  from  himself  whether  it  were  possible  that  He  should  be- 
come the  seed  of  the  women  to  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  There  was  the 
stellar  light  of  patriarchal  revelations — through  this  medium  they 
sought  to  penetrate  the  mystery  in  which  the  wonderful  arrangements 
were  involved.     There  was  the  lunar  light  of  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 


THE   OBJECTS   OP   ANGELIC   CURIOSITY.  141 

tion — they  strained  their  vision  to  avail  themselves  of  its  aid.  And, 
finally,  the  solar  light  burst  forth  in  its  effulgence  upon  our  world  J 
and,  though  dazzled  with  its  splendor,  they  gazed  with  interest  still 
more  intense  upon  the  wonders  it  revealed. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  that,  by  the  constant  application  of  their 
powerful  minds  to  the  all-absorbing  subject,  they  acquired  considera- 
ble knowledge  of  the  principles,  as  well  as  the  facts,  constituting  the 
great  mystery  of  our  redemption.  The  information  thus  gained,  bears, 
however,  but  a  small  proportion  to  the  wonders  yet  to  be  revealed, 
and  serves  to  sharpen  their  appetite  and  increase  their  thirst  for 
evangelical  knowledge.  They  learned  more  of  the  Divine  nature  in 
watching  the  openings  of  the  scheme  of  redemption,  than  they  could 
have  learned  in  millions  of  ages  through  any  other  medium. 

•'Part  of  thy  name  divinely  stands, 

On  all  thy  creatures  writ ; 
They  show  the  labor  of  thy  hands, 

Or  impress  of  thy  feet; 
But  when  we  view  thy  strang-e  design 

To  save  rebellious  worms, 
Where  vengeance  and  compassion  join 

In  their  divinest  forms. 
Our  thoughts  are  lost  in  reverent  awe. 

We  love  and  we  adore  ; 
The  first  archangel  never  saw 

So  much  of  God  before." 

No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  angels  are  ever  ready  to  leave  their 
ancient  seats,  singing  still,  or  suspending  their  songs,  wending  their 
way  to  earth,  the  favored  theatre  of  Divine  mercy  and  compassion, 
impelled  by  an  irrepressible  desire  to  look  into  these  unexampled  and 
astounding  things. 

Let  us  glance  for  a  moment  at  their  grandeur  : 
Those  developments  of  grace  are  made  on  a  most  magnificent  scale. 
Look  at  the  extensive  preparatory  arrangements  of  the  gospel. 
These  could  not  fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  angels,  who  must 
have  seen,  from  the  vast  and  towering  scaffolding  of  the  earlier  dis- 
pensations, that  an  edifice  of  wonderful  magnitude  was  to  be  erected. 
They  would  endeavor  to  penetrate  the  cloud  which  enveloped  the 
ancient  economies,  and  to  find  out  the  character  of  coming  events  by 
a  careful  observation  of  the  shadows  which  they  cast  before  them. 
They  saw  something  in  the  ancient  ritual  beside  the  imposing  pageant. 


142  THE   OBJECTS   OF  ANGELIC    CURIOSITY. 

In  priest  and  victim,  altar  and  sanctuary — in  the  multifarious  cere- 
monies and  services  of  the  Levitical  religion — they  did  not  fail  to  note 
the  preparatory,  adumbrative  character  of  the  whole.  The  mysteries 
typified  were  those  things  which  the  angels  desire  to  look  into.  Indeed, 
this  is  intimated  by  the  term  used  in  the  text.  It  means  to  stoop,  or 
bend  over,  this  being  the  posture  of  one  who  desires  to  look  into  a 
thing  attentively  ;  and  the  reference  seems  to  be  to  the  cherubim 
over  the  mercy-seat  in  the  most  holy  place.  They  were  represented 
as  bending  over  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  which,  with  its  sacred  con- 
tents and  mystic  associations,  was  typical  of  the  redemption  that  is 
in  Christ  Jesus.  The  covering  of  the  ark,  in  particular,  was  styled 
the  mercy-seat,  or  throne  of  grace,  in  reference  to  the  "  propitiation  " 
which  in  due  time  was  to  be  set  forth,  to  declare  the  righteousness  of 
God,  "  that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth 
in  Jesus."  Once  a  year,  on  the  day  of  expiation,  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment was  sprinkled  by  the  high  priest  upon  the  mercy-seat,  over 
which  was  the  symbol  of  the  Divine  presence. 

In  the  ark  were  the  tables  of  the  law — an  indication  that  the  holi- 
ness they  enjoin  can  be  realized  only  in  connection  with  the  scheme 
of  redemption  by  virtue  of  the  atoning  blood.  There,  too,  was 
Aaron's  rod  that  budded  and  blossomed  and  brought  forth  almonds, 
determining  by  this  miracle  the  sacerdotal  prerogatives  of  the  Le- 
vitical tribe.  It  was  laid  up  in  the  ark,  not  only  as  a  memento  of 
the  fact,  but  also  as  a  type  of  the  unchangeable  and  everlasting 
priesthood  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  the  subordinate  priestly  prerog- 
atives of  all  his  people.  The  golden  censer,  from  which  ascended  a 
sweet-smelling  savor,  was  emblematical  of  the  prevalent  intercessions 
of  our  great  High  Priest,  and  also  of  "  the  prayers  of  all  saints," 
which,  through  his  mediations,  go  up  with  acceptance  before  God. 
The  manna,  too,  laid  up  in  the  ark  in  the  most  holy  place,  not  only 
commemorated  the  miraculous  support  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness, 
but  also  typified  the  bread  of  life,  of  which  if  a  man  eat  he  shall  live 
forever.  Into  these  mysteries — integral  portions  as  they  were  of  a 
great  symbolical  system — the  angels  are  represented  as  desiring  to 
look,  in  order  to  find  out  their  evangelical  import. 

Then  there  were  the  prophecies,  stretching  through  forty  or  fifty 
centuries,  calling  forth  the  faith  and  exciting  the  hope  of  the  ancient 
church.  Many  of  these  predictions,  indeed,  had  reference  to  collat- 
eral points,  such  as  the  fortunes  of  empires,  states,  and  individuals } 


I 


THE   OBJECTS   OF"   ANGELIC   CURIOSITY.  143 

but  when  the  grand  scheme  is  unfolded,  and  the  connections  are 
traced  in  the  light  of  fulfilment,  we  find  that  "  the  testimony  of  Je- 
sus is  the  spirit  of  prophecy."  There  was  not  one  of  the  ancient  or- 
acles but  had  reference,  direct  or  indirect,  to  the  Redeemer  that  was 
to  come  out  of  Zion.  This  the  prophets  knew,  even  though  they 
could  not  comprehend  the  full  import  of  their  own  predictions.  The 
angels  also  were  advised  of  this,  although  their  information  was  vague 
and  general,  like  that  of  the  prophets.  But  there  was  too  much 
pomp  and  circumstance — too  much  heraldic  form  and  ceremony — 
too  much  system  and  solemnity  in  these  oracular  announcements,  to 
allow  of  their  being  considered  fugitive  in  their  interest  and  tempo- 
rary in  their  issues.  They  were  not  given  all  at  once,  though  they  were 
given  in  great  profusion.  They  stretched  along  an  extended  line, 
having  for  its  termini  the  promise  in  Eden  and  the  henedictus  of 
Zacharias.  Systemize  the  predictions,  which,  without  the  appearance 
and  affectation  of  system,  are  scattered  munificently  along  the  line  of 
the  past,  and  you  have  the  anticipated  history  of  our  redemption. 
What  a  work,  my  brethren,  for  angelic  minds  to  gather  those  evan- 
gelic elements,  arranging  and  combining  them,  thereby  enlarging  their 
information  concerning  those  things  which  they  desire  to  look  into. 

There  is,  moreover,  a  concatenation  of  providential  arrangements 
having  reference  to  the  great  salvation.  The  general  history  of  the 
ancient  world  presents  to  our  contemplation  little  more  than  a 
desert  waste ;  yet  there  is  a  verdant  stripe  which,  however  narrow  at 
some  places,  extends  entirely  through  it,  cheering  the  eye  of  the  be- 
holder. We  trace  it  from  Simeon  and  Anna  to  the  Maccabees  ;  then 
to  Malachi,  Isaiah,  Elijah,  David,  and  Samuel ;  then  to  Joshua  and 
his  renowned  predecessor  ;  then  to  the  father  of  the  faithful ;  then 
to  the  second  father  of  the  world ;  then  to  Enoch,  Seth,  righteous 
Abel,  and  the  progenitors  of  our  race.  Without  excluding  from 
the  regards  of  heaven  all  who  did  not  belong  to  "  the  chosen  seed," — 
for  Job  and  his  three  friends,  and  millions  beside  of  other  nations, 
were  in  favor  with  God — what  a  series  of  miracles  and  marvels  do  we 
discover  marking  and  making  illustrious  the  path  of  Providence  over 
which  we  have  passed.  With  what  interest  would  the  angels  notice 
the  occurrence  of  those  stupendous  events  which  betokened  the  re- 
demption of  our  race.  Their  curiosity  would  be  the  more  excited  as 
they  themselves  were  frequently  employed  in  embassies  both  of  mercy 
and  vengeance  to  the  children  of  men.  Jacob  saw  them  in  his  vision. 


144  THE   OBJECTS   OP   ANGELIC    CURIOSITY. 

ascending  and  descending  the  mystic  ladder — acting  as  couriers  be 
twecn  heaven  and  earth,  being  engaged  in  ministering  for  them  who 
were  to  be  the  heirs  of  salvation.  Sometimes  they  were  sent  forthwith 
some  special  message  to  the  chosen  servants  of  God — sometimes  to 
pitch  their  tents  around  the  dwelling  place  of  the  righteous,  or  to 
bear  them  up  in  their  hands  to  secure  them  from  harm — sometimes  to 
deal  out  summary  retribution  upon  the  foes  of  God  and  his  saints. 
Myriads  of  them  were  with  Jehovah  "  in  Sinai,  in  the  holy  place," 
for  the  law  was  given  "  by  the  disposition  of  angels."  How  desi- 
rous must  they  have  been  to  find  out  the  full  spiritual  import  of  the 
communications  of  which  they  were  the  channel  of  conveyance,  and 
to  comprehend  the  ulterior  design,  the  evangelical  bearing,  of  the 
services  which  they  were  constantly  rendering  to  the  church  under 
the  patriarchal  and  Mosaic  dispensations.  They  longed  for  the  ful- 
ness of  time  to  come,  when  "  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  should 
prevail  to  open  the  book  and  to  loose  the  seven  seals  thereof." 
They  knew  well  enough  that  this  was  his  prerogative.  They  had 
seen  him  many  a  time  assume  a  vehicle  like  that  in  which  they  in- 
vested their  own  spiritual  essence,  in  order  to  execute  such  functions 
among  men  as  were  not  proper,  perhaps  not  possible,  to  be  executed 
by  any  angel  except  the  angel  of  the  covenant.  And  as  they  were 
frequently  privileged  to  accompany  him  in  his  pre-advent  missions  to 
our  earth,  with  what  interest  would  they  mark  alibis  movements,  and 
wonder  at  the  gracious  words  which  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth.  They 
knew  that  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament  was  to  be  the  Jesus  of 
the  New ;  and  by  marking  his  revelations  in  the  former  character, 
they  would  be  able  to  divine  somewhat  concerning  those  that  were  to 
take  place  in  the  latter.  Our  adorable  Redeemer  was  "  seen  of  an- 
gels," and  that,  too,  on  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven,  long  before  "  the 
Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us."  How  must  this  have  in- 
flamed their  desire  to  look  into  the  mysteries  of  our  redemption ! 

But  the  grandeur  of  those  things  increases  on  our  view.  The  de- 
velopments take  place  on  a  more  magnificent  scale.  "  For  unto  us 
a  child  is  born  ;  unto  us  a  Son  is  given."  All  heaven  is  in  a  holy 
commotion — the  seraphic  choirs  are  transported  with  jubilation  and 
wonder.  There  is  not  an  angel  that  does  not  want  to  vacate  his  throne 
and  come  down  to  earth, "  to  learn  new  mysteries"  in  the  contempla- 
tion and  study  of  this  stupendous  event.  Gabriel  has  already  been 
employed  in  preparatory  ministrations  in  reference  to  its  acoomplisli- 


THE   OBJECTS  OF  ANQELIC   CURIOSITT.  145 

ment ;  and  not  all  the  harps  of  heaven  can  keep  him  from  earth, 
when  the  virgin  mother  brings  forth  her  Son.  With  what  surpassing 
beauty  is  the  scene  portrayed  by  the  pencil  of  inspiration  :  "And 
there  were  in  the  same  country  shepherds  abiding  in  the  field,  keep- 
ing watch  over  their  flock  by  night.  And  lo !  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round  about  them, 
and  they  were  sore  afraid.  And  the  angel  said  unto  them.  Fear  not ; 
for  behold  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to 
all  people.  For  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a 
Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  He  had  not  been  an  unobservant, 
unreflecting  agent — a  mere  mechanical  channel  of  communication  be- 
tween God  and  man — he  had  studied  well  every  message  he  had  been 
honored  to  convey,  and  had  penetrated  to  the  utmost  possibility  the 
design  of  every  movement  in  which  he  had  been  concerned.  Nor 
was  he  singular  in  this.  For  "  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a 
multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God,  and  saying.  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men." 
By  this  time  they  had  acquired  so  much  knowledge  of  christian 
theology  that  they  could  push  their  inquiries,  and  pursue  their  inves- 
tigations, with  greater  facility  and  more  satisfactory  results  than  be- 
fore. For  good  and  sufiicient  reasons,  inspiration  is  well-nigh  silent 
concerning  the  boyhood  of  the  holy  child  Jesus.  But  we  hazard 
nothing  in  affirming  that  the  angels  were  ceaselessly  crowding  around 
Him,  holding  Him  in  constant  survey.  They  were,  doubtless,  rapt 
in  admiration  when  they  saw  Him  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst 
of  the  doctors,  both  hearing  them  and  asking  them  questions  ;  and 
they  were  astonished,  as  well  as  others  that  heard  Him,  at  His  under- 
standing and  answers.  They  came  and  ministered  unto  Him,  when, 
on  His  entrance  upon  His  ministry.  He  had  so  terrible  an  encounter 
with  the  prince  of  darkness.     In  short — 

"  In  all  His  toils  and  conflicts  here 
Their  Sovereign  they  attend, 
And  pause,  and  wonder  how,  at  last, 
This  scene  of  love  will  end." 

They  beheld  Him  with  mute  astonishment  when  He  endured  that 
tremendous  agony  in  the  garden.  How  intensely  did  they  apply 
themselves  to  the  study  of  that  mystery,  which,  after  all,  they  failed 
to  comprehend!  They  could  "  strengthen  Him  in  the  hour  of  dark- 
ness," by  pointing  to  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him,  in  view  of  which 
10 


14t>  THE    OBJECTS    OP    ANGELIC    CURIOSITY. 

He  drank  the  bitter  cup  ;  but  they  could  not  find  out  the  ingredients 
of  that  mysterious  draught.  They  were  poised  upon  their  piniona 
over  the  Cross,  while 

"  Amazed  they  saw  that  awful  sight, 
The  Lord  of  Glory  die." 

There  was  not  an  angel  in  heaven  whose  eyes  were  not  fixed  upon 
Calvary.  And  when  it  was  finished  they  accompanied  His  spirit  in 
silence  to  paradise,  and  detailed  a  guard  to  linger  around  His  sacred 
tomb,  waiting  the  moment  to  arrive  when  His  soul  should  remain  no 
longer  in  the  separate  state,  and  His  flesh,  not  seeing  corruption, 
should  awake  from  the  dust  of  death.  How  ready  were  they  to  roll 
away  the  stone  from  the  sepulchre,  and  sing  their  rising  God ! 

••  Their  anthems  say,  Jesus  who  bled 
Hath  left  the  dead,  He  rose  to-day  ! 

And  when  the  time  arrived  that  the  heavens  must  receive  Him, 

'«  They  brought  His  chariot  from  the  skies, 
To  bear  Him  to  His  throne. 
Clapped  their  triumphant  wings,  and  cried, 
The  glorious  work  is  dene  !" 

But  all  this  did  not  satisfy  their  curiosity.  Their  desdre  to  look 
into  those  things  was  indeed  gratified  by  the  discoveries  they  had 
made,  but  it  was  rather  excited  than  satiated.  All  the  angels  of 
God  worshipped  the  ascending  Conqueror,  and  tendered  their  fealty 
to  the  King  of  Saints.  With  what  readiness  did  they  offer  theii 
services  I  With  what  alacrity  did  they  execute  their  functions  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  Messiah's  kingdom!  With  what  exulta- 
tion did  they  mark  the  triumphs  of  the  gospel — making  common 
cause  with  their  junior  brethren  on  the  earth,  rejoicing  with  them 
over  the  repentance  of  even  a  single  sinner,  because  every  such  cvenJ 
weakens  the  powers  of  darkness  and  strengthens  the  sacramental 
host,  prepares  for  the  colonization  of  heaven,  and  the  filling  of  the 
thrones  made  vacant  by  the  fallen  angels,  and  thereby  illustrates  and 
magnifies  the  Divine  perfections  ! 

And  as  the  magnificent  scheme  of  redemption  embraces  the  entire 
course  of  earth  and  time,  their  desire  is  perpetuated  through  every 
succeeding  age,  and  they  are  this  moment  as  intent  upon  making 
fresh  discoveries  in  the  science  of  salvation  as  they  were  the  day  of 
the  date  of  the  first  promise — indeed,  far  more  so,  for  their  holy  cu- 
riosity grows  by  that  which  feeds  it,  and  it  has  long  since  become  an 


THE  OBJECTS  OP   ANGELIC    CURIOSITY.  147 

ardent  and  unquenchable  passion.     They  are  now  looking  forward 
with  intense  interest  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  glorious  predictions  con- 
cerning the  overthrow  of  all  anti-christian  powers,  and  the  universal 
diflfusion  of  truth  and   righteousness  ;  their  harps   already  tuned  to 
send  forth  the   response  of  heaven   to  earth,  "  Hallelujah  !  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth  !"     And  if  they  are  so  joyful  to  bear 
the  ransomed  spirits  of  all  ages  to  Abraham's  bosom,  what  will  be 
their  joy  when  sent  forth  to  gather  together  God's  elect  from  the 
four  winds,  to  escort  them,  body  and  soul,  to  heaven,  heralding  them 
in  their  ascension  and   triumphant  entry  into   the   metropolis  of  the 
universe,  the  city  of  the  great  King — their  own  bright  and  everlast- 
ing home !     This,  in  fact,  is  with  them  the  great  and  absorbing  event. 
They  look  forward  to  it  with  the  deepest  interest.     They  know  that 
then  the  great  scheme  of  Providence  will  be  unfolded  and  explained  : 
God  will  justify  His  ways  to  men.     They  will  listen  to  the  songs  of 
saints,  and  thunder  forth  the  rapturous  chorus,  Worthy  the  Lamb  ! 
Such,  my  brethren,  is  the  grandeur  of  those  things  which  the  an- 
gels desire  to  look  into — this  is  the  magnificent  scale  of  their  devel- 
opment.    We  marvel  not  at  the  excitement  of  angelic  curiosity  in 
reference  to  mysteries  so  sublime. 

Let  us  briefly  notice  their  importance. 

They  were  developed  for  great  ends.  The  designs  had  in  view  in 
the  mystery  of  redemption  involve  the  eternal  destiny  of  our  world. 
But  for  the  great  salvation  which  was  projected  before  the  ages  of 
time,  man  would  not  have  been  created  with  a  liability  to  fall  through 
the  voluntary  perverse  exercise  of  his  moral  powers ;  or,  having 
fallen,  he  would  have  received  in  his  own  person  the  penalty  of  his 
own  fault.  He  would  have  died  the  threatened  death,  without  being 
permitted  to  propagate  his  species  to  partake  his  corrupt  nature  and 
heir  his  ruined  fortunes.  They  never  would  have  had  any  other  than 
a  seminal,  potential  existence — which  amounts  to  no  existence  at  all. 
This  is  the  certain  and  satisfactory  conclusion  of  reason,  revelation 
being  silent  on  the  subject,  as  it  is  on  all  similar  negations. 

But  in  view  of  the  great  redemptory  scheme,  man  is  created ;  and 
when  he  falls  from  his  perfection  and  forfeits  his  paradise,  a  gracious 
reprieve  is  afforded  him,  and  he  is  permitted  to  propagate  his  species, 
and  the  command,  so  pregnant  with  Divine  mercy,  so  exuberant  in 
benevolence,  is  again  enjoined,  "  Be  fruitful  and  multiply,  and  re- 


148  THE    OBJECTS    OP   ANGELIC    CURIOSITY. 

plenish  the  earth."  And,  as  the  provident  father  of  a  young  and 
increasing  family,  the  Most  High  has  made  all  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  their  support  and  happiness.  As  he  "  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,"  so 
He  "  hath  not  left  Himself  without  witness,  in  that  He  is  continually 
doing  them  good,  giving  them  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons, 
filling  their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."  These  temporal  bestow- 
ments  of  the  universal  Father  are  identified  with  the  great  system  of 
redemption,  and  reach  us  through  mediatorial  channels.  There  is  no 
intercourse  of  any  sort  whatever  between  heaven  and  earth,  except 
through  the  intervention  of  the  Son  of  God. 

It  is  not  possible,  my  brethren,  to  exclude  the  things  of  earth 
and  time  from  the  arrangements  of  the  great  plan  of  salvation,  as 
earth  and  time  sustain  an  introductory  and  probationary  relation  to 
the  eternal  state.  A  moral  character,  therefore,  attaches  to  our  most 
secular  concerns ;  and  the  legitimate  use  or  the  abuse  of  this  world, 
contemptible  as  it  may  be  in  our  estimation,  will  most  certainly  affect 
our  whole  eternity. 

If  these  inferior  things  are  of  so  high  concernment,  who  can  esti- 
mate the  importance  of  those  things  which  constitute  the  spirit  and 
essence  of  the  great  mystery  of  salvation  ?  How  momentous  the 
questions :  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  "  How  shall  man  be  just 
with  God  ?"  "  What  good  thing  must  I  do  that  I  may  inherit  eternal 
life?"  And,  without  controversy,  the  infallible  and  satisfactory 
solution  of  the  problem  they  propose  can  be  furnished  alone  by  the 
oracle  of  inspiration.  The  gospel  alone  contains  the  religion  of  sal- 
vation, and  that  is  the  only  religion  adapted  to  man.  The  principles 
which  it  reveals,  and  the  facts  it  unfolds,  and  these  alone,  can  sub- 
serve the  interests  of  man's  eternity.  We  do  not,  indeed,  aflBrm  that 
none  can  be  saved  without  becoming  acquainted  with  the  gospel  and 
comprehending  its  character ;  but  we  do  affirm  that  none  can  be  saved 
except  upon  the  basis  which  it  exhibits — the  redemption  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  We  still  further  affirm,  that  none  to  whom  the  gospel 
is  proclaimed  can  be  saved,  if  they  neglect  the  great  salvation  which 
it  proposes.  It  is  thus  a  mighty  agent,  either  for  salvation  or  destruc- 
tion. And  in  this  respect  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  a  savor  of 
death  unto  death,  or  of  life  unto  life,  according  as  their  message  is 
rejected  or  embraced  by  those  to  whom  it  is  oflfered.     With  what  im 


THE  OBJECTS  OP  ANGELIC   CURIOSITY.  149 

portanee  does  this  invest  the  mysteries  of  revelation !    No  wonder  the 
angels  desire  to  look  into  them !     It  is  true, 

"  Never  did  angels  taste  above 
Redeeming  grace  and  dying  love;" 

so  that  they  cannot  tell,  by  their  utmost  penetration,  what  transports 
fill  the  souls  of  the  ransomed,  pardoned,  and  sanctified  children  of 
earth — what  ecstacies  they  realize  when,  free  from  mortality,  they* 
triumph  over  death  and  the  grave ;  or  what  glories  await  them  in  their 
consummation  of  bliss  around  the  throne.  Yet  they  know  that  through 
the  mysterious  connection  of  Divinity  with  humanity  in  the  incarnate 
Word,  and  the  almost  equally  mysterious  connection  of  humanity  with 
Divinity  in  the  case  of  every  believer — for  every  believer  is  made  a 
partaker  of  the  Divine  nature — such  a  dignity  is  stamped  upon  man, 
who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  themselves,  that  he  is  ultimately 
exalted  above  them — such  a  variety  and  affluence  of  heavenly  and 
beatific  objects  are  subjected  to  his  control,  and  introduced  to  his  ex- 
perience, that  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light  is  more  eligible 
than  that  of  the  first-born  sons  of  God. 

Indeed,  the  developments  of  the  plan  of  redemption,  so  far  as 
we  can  discover,  involve  the  destinies  of  the  universe.  Whether 
or  not  the  multiplied  millions  of  worlds  that  revolve  in  immensity  are 
inhabited  with  intellectual  and  moral  beings — if  so,  whether  or  not 
any  of  them  have  fallen,  like  our  own — if  they  have,  whether  or  not 
they  have  been  redeemed — these,  and  other  questions  equally  curious, 
we  have  no  means  of  answering.  By  a  course  of  analogical  reason- 
ing, many  philosophers  have  conducted  themselves  to  the  conclusion 
that  those  worlds  are  inhabited.  If  tliey  be,  it  is  not  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  their  inhabitants  will  never  be  made  acquainted  with 
man  and  his  fortunes.  If  they  be  unfallen,  their  intercourse  with  the 
universal  Parent  and  Sovereign,  and  especially  their  final  beatifica- 
tion, will  put  them  in  possession  of  the  astounding  facts  which  belong 
to  the  history  of  our  planet.  Besides,  every  creature — every  intel- 
lectual being  in  the  universe — has  received  his  existence  from  the 
Saviour  of  our  race,  and  owes  him  eternal  allegiance.  And  we  are 
assured  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  shall  bow,  of  those  who 
are  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  and  under  the  earth — that  is,  throughout 
the  universe — and  every  tongue  shall  confess  that  he  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father.  A  knowledge  of  his  mediatorial  character 
seems  to  be  implied  in  the  homage  thus  rendered  j  and  this  involves 


150  THE   OBJECTS  OF   ANGELIC   CURIOSITY. 

the  mysteries  of  redemption.  What  influence  and  effect  this  know- 
ledge will  exert  and  produce  upon  those  distant  inhabitants  of  the 
universe,  we  cannot  tell ;  but  so  far  as  the  angels  are  concerned,  it  is 
generally  believed  that  although  the  Redeemer  of  man  did  not  take 
upon  him  their  nature,  so  that  the  fallen  angels  are  not  redeemed  by 
his  merits,  yet  the  holy  angels  are  confirmed  thereby  in  a  state  of 
purity  and  bliss.  Dr.  Donne  does  not  scruple  to  say  :  "  Lest  this 
world  should  not  afford  him  sins  enough,  he  took  upon  him  the  sins  of 
heaven  itself ;  not  their  sins  who  were  fallen  from  heaven,  and  fallen 
into  an  absolute  incapacity  of  reconciliation,  but  their  sins  which  re- 
mained in  heaven  ;  those  sins  which  the  angels  that  stood  would  fall 
into  if  they  had  not  received  a  confirmation  given  them  in  contempla- 
tion of  the  death  and  merits  of  Christ — Christ  took  upon  him;  for  all 
things  in  heaven,  and  earth  too,  were  reconciled  to  God  by  him."  The 
doctrine  which  is  thus  somewhat  boldly  stated,  was  generally  received 
by  the  scholastic  divines,  and  it  is  hypothetically  set  forth  by  one  of 
our  own  poets,  who  thus  apostrophizes  these  glorious  intelligences 

'•  Angels,  rejoice  in  Jesus'  grace, 
And  vie  with  man's  more  favored  race  ; 
The  blood  that  did  for  us  atone 
Conferred  on  you  some  gift  unknown  ; 
Your  joy  through  Jesus'  pains  abounds, 
Ye  triumph  by  his  glorious  wounds. 
Or,  'stablished  and  confirmed  by  him 
Who  did  our  lower  world  redeem, 
Secure  you  kept  your  blest  estate 
Firm  on  an  everlasting  seat ; 
Or  raised  above  yourselves,  aspire, 
In  bliss  improved,  in  glory  higher. 
Him  ye  beheld,  our  conquering  God, 
Returned  in  garments  rolled  in  blood  ! 
Ye  saw  and  kindled  at  the  sight. 
And  filled  with  shouts  the  realms  of  light, 
With  loudest  hallelujahs  met. 
And  fell,  and  kissed  his  bleeding  feet. 
Ye  saw  him  in  the  courts  above 
With  all  his  recent  prints  of  love  , 
The  wounds  !  the  blood  !  ye  heard  its  voice 
That  heightened  all  your  highest  joys — 
Ye  felt  it  sprinkled  through  the  skies, 
And  shared  that  better  sacrifice. 
Not  angel-tongues  can  e'er  express 
Th'  unutterable  happiness, 


THE   OBJECTS   OP   ANGELIC   CURIOSITY.  Jgl 

Nor  human  hearts  can  e'er  conceive 
The  bliss  wherein  through  Christ  ye  live  ; 
But  all  your  heaven,  ye  glorious  powers, 
And  all  your  God,  is  doubly  ours  !" 

The  language  of  the  Apostle,  to  say  the  least,  seems  to  give 
countenance  to  this  belief:  "  For  by  Him  were  all  things  created 
that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible, 
whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers ; 
all  things  were  created  by  Him  and  for  Him ;  and  He  is  before  all 
things,  and  by  Him  all  things  consist.  And  He  is  the  Head  of  the 
body,  the  Church,  who  is  the  beginning,  the  first-born  from  the  dead, 
that  in  all  things  He  might  have  the  pre-eminence.  For  it  pleased 
the  Father  that  in  Him  should  all  fullness  dwell.  And  having  made 
peace  through  the  blood  of  His  cross,  by  Him  to  reconcile  all  things 
unto  himself:  by  Him,  I  say,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things 
in  heaven."  The  fall  of  man  alienated  him,  not  only  from  his  God, 
but  also  from  all  the  unfallen  subjects  of  the  universal  King.  To 
countenance  the  rebel  would  have  been  constructive  rebellion.  By 
the  purity  of  their  nature,  and  their  fealty  to  their  Sovereign,  angels 
were,  therefore,  bound  to  set  their  faces  against  this  revolted  prov- 
ince. And  though  this  may  have  involved  no  real  abatement  of  their 
bliss,  and  though  the  dire  contagion  of  man's  revolt  might  not  have 
extended  to  their  happy  abodes,  yet  the  fall  of  man  prevented  that 
accession  to  their  happiness  which  would  result  from  intercommuni- 
cation with  a  holy  and  happy  race,  and  threatened,  at  least,  their 
own  stability.  They  were  necessitated  to  enforce  a  rigid  quarantine, 
which  must  have  been  eternal  but  for  the  plan  of  redemption  and  its 
glorious  issues.  Through  Christ  man  is  not  only  reconciled  to  his 
God,  but  also  to  the  holy  angels.  They  descend  to  earth  again,  with 
songs  more  joyous  and  triumphant  than  those  which  they  sung  at  the 
birth  of  creation.  And  the  mysteries  of  redemption,  involving  the 
tragedy  of  the  Cross,  constitute  a  moral  lesson  for  the  universe, 
which  may  prove  an  effective  means  of  preventing  another  revolt 
among  the  armies  of  heaven.  It  will  not  only  confirm  their  virtue, 
but  also  augment  their  happiness — it  does  augment  it  now,  while  they 
are  looking  into  those  things  and  ministering  "  for  them  who  shall  be 
heirs  of  salvation."  And  when  the  great  scheme  shall  be  unfolded, 
and  the  light  of  eternity  shall  be  shed  upon  those  mysteries,  their 


152  THE   OBJECTS  OP  ANOELIC   CURIOSITT. 

knowledge  •will  be  indefinitely  increased  and  their  bliss  proportion- 
ally enlarged  .  "  to  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places 
shall  be  made  known  by  the  Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God." 

It  requires  no  effort  to  show  that  the  glory  of  God  is  involved  in 
the  great  issues  of  human  redemption.  As  the  plan  is  unfolded, 
what  light  is  cast  upon  that  wisdom  which  devised  it ;  which  so  ar- 
ranged all  its  parts,  so  adjusted  all  its  provisions,  as  to  secure  the 
greatest  possible  good  to  the  greatest  possible  number  of  intellectual, 
moral,  and  immortal  agents — the  salvation  of  millions  of  our  rebe/ 
race,  without  compromising  the  justice  and  judgment  of  His  throne 
or  hazarding  the  fealty  of  other  intelligences  ! 

What  a  triumph  of  benevolence,  that  where  sin  abounded  grace 
should  much  more  abound,  and  yet  that  grace  be  so  displayed,  as  that 
those  who  are  the  subjects  as  well  as  those  who  are  the  spectators  of  its 
manifestation,  should  derive  from  it  no  encouragement  to  sin,  but 
rather  be  held  thereby  in  willing  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ ' 

What  an  exaltation  of  Divine  power,  which  controls  all  the  agen- 
cies of  earth  and  time,  of  heaven  and  hell — which  so  overrules  every- 
thing in  the  universe  as  to  defeat  the  designs  and  subvert  the  usurped 
authority  of  the  devil,  causing  "  all  things  to  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  God,  to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  His 
purpose !" 

The  glory  of  God  in  redemption,  where  He  shines  forth  in  His 
"  whole  round  of  rays  complete,"  will  constitute  the  theme  of  ever- 
lasting admiration  for  angels  as  well  as  men.  The  ceaseless  investi- 
gations of  their  inquisitive  and  powerful  minds  will  constantly  add  to 
their  knowledge  of  the  Most  High,  and  furnish  the  subject-matter  of 
the  new,  eternal  song. 

What  a  reflection  on  us,  my  brethren,  if  we  are  unconcerned  about 
those  things  which  the  angels  desire  to  look  into. 

They  are  not  so  bound  on  the  score  of  duty  and  interest  to  look 
into  them  as  we  are.  Bound,  indeed,  they  are,  by  both  considera- 
tions, but  their  obligations  in  the  premises  are  but  secondary  to  ours. 
They  are  but  remotely,  we  are  directly,  interested  in  these  things. 
It  was  not  for  angels,  but  for  us  men,  and  for  our  salvation,  that  "God 
was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into 
glory." 

He  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  nor  are  angels  privileged 


THE   OBJECTS    OP  ANGELIC   CURIOSITY.  153 

to  become  partakers  of  his  nature,  in  the  glorious  and  mysterious 
manner  in  which  we  realize  communion  with  him,  and  therefore  they 
are  not  so  favorably  circumstanced  as  we  are  to  look  into  those 
things.  And  yet,  beloved,  how  indifferent  are  we  in  regard  to  them, 
while  angels  are  always  prying  into  them.  And  is  it  so  that  nothing 
but  obscurity  and  distance  can  lend  enchantment  to  the  view  of  those 
scenes  whose  novelty,  grandeur,  and  importance  throw  everything 
else  in  the  universe  into  the  shade  ? 

What  a  reproach  on  us,  my  brethren,  that  we  are  disposed  to  look 
into  other  things,  and  neglect  those  which  the  angels  desire  to  look 
into. 

The  current  things  of  earth  that  engage  our  attention  perish  with 
their  using,  and  are  unworthy  of  our  solicitude.  And  yet  how  so- 
licitous are  we  about  them.  Trifles  light  as  air  loom  up  before  our 
eyes  with  infinite  importance,  and  all  our  energies  of  body  and  soul 
are  summoned  to  their  pursuit.  Heaven  be  merciful !  What  fatuity ! 
The  noblest  subjects  which  engage  our  attention  and  absorb  our 
interest  are  not  equal  to  those  within  the  range  of  angelic  minds,  and 
yet  these  are  scarcely  noticed  by  the  angels  when  the  mysteries  of 
redemption  are  brought  to  view.  To  what  knowledge  can  we  attain, 
in  nature  and  philosophy,  in  science  and  art,  that  angels  cannot  at- 
tain in  thousand  fold  measures  ?  so  much  greater  is  their  intellectual 
strength  than  ours,  and  so  much  more  favorably  circumstanced  for 
such  discoveries  are  angels  than  men.  And  yet  the  wonders  of  cre- 
ation are  subordinated  in  their  estimation  to  the  greater  mysteries  of 
redemption ;  and  although  they  never  cease  to  inquire  into  the  tormer, 
their  interest  in  them  is  proportioned  to  the  relation  which  they  sus- 
tain to  the  latter.  In  this  respect,  my  brethren,  what  a  contrast  do 
we  present  to  the  angels.  A  Herschell  or  a  Rosse  shall  be  immor- 
talized for  the  resolution  of  the  nebula  or  the  discovery  of  a  planet, 
while  Gabriel  turns  aside  from  millions  of  suns  and  multiplied  sys- 
tems of  worlds  to  range  through  the  moral  heavens  and  strain  his 
eye  to  look  at  "  the  bright  and  morning  star !  " 

Alas  !  for  us,  my  dear  brethren,  we  are  an  enigma  to  the  angels. 
They  see  us  toiling,  and  panting,  and  sweating  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
unsatisfying  pleasures,  the  contemptible  honors,  the  perishing  goods 
of  earth,  instead  of  stretching  every  nerve  and  taxing  every  muscle 
to  secure  the  joys  of  God's  salvation — nobly  and  resolutely  refusing 


154  ±tlE   OBJECTS   OF   ANGELIC   CURIOSITY. 

to  glory  save  in  the  cross,  and  pouring  contempt   on  every  treasure 
except  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ. 

"  Michael  has  fought  our  battles,  Raphael  sung 
Our  triumphs,  Gabriel  on  our  errands  flown, 
Sent  by  the  Sovereign  ;  and  are  these,  O,  man. 
Thy  friends,  thy  warm  allies  ?  and  thou  (shame  burn 
Thy  cheek  to  cinder)  rival  to  the  brute !  " 

My  brethren,  if,  as  children  of  the  resurrection,  we  expect  to  be 
made  like  unto  the  angels,  let  us  imitate  them  in  their  desire  to  look 
into  those  things  which  to  us  are  of  so  vast  importance.  Would  to 
God  you  could  every  one  exclaim  with  the  noble-minded  apostle, 
"  Yea,  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of 
the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord." 


>-*. 


"^-., 


fM 


ivf-' 


nLIA\  StQJlUILE, 


THE  PERFECT  LAW  OF  LIBERTY.* 


BY  JOSHUA  SOULE,  D.  D., 

NOW  SENIOR  BISHOP  OF  TDK  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH,  SOOTH. 


•'  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  continueth  therein, 
he  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be 
blessed  in  his  deed." — James  i,  25. 

A  superficial  attention  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  both  as  it  is  recorded 
in  the  sacred  writings,  and  proclaimed  by  its  appointed  ministers,  may 
justly  be  considered  among  the  principal  causes  of  its  partial  success, 
either  in  regard  to  its  influence  over  the  heart  and  life  of  man  as  an 
individual,  or  its  spread  and  establishment  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Our  Lord  has  sufficiently  admonished  us  of  the  different  effects 
which  the  ministry  of  his  word  would  produce,  according  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  men  received  it,  in  the  memorable  parable  of  the  sower 
and  the  seed.  Four  different  classes  "hear  the  word,"  but  it  is 
finally  successful  only  in  one.  Hence  that  important  caution,  "  Take 
heed  how  ye  hear ! "  A  large  proportion  of  those  who  hear  the  "  word 
preached,"  or  read  it  in  the  "lively  oracles,"  regard  it  rather  as  a 
matter  of  theory,  or  abstract  science,  than  as  a  subject  of  experience 
and  a  rule  of  practice.  Hence  the  best  sermons,  while  they  have  been 
approved,  admired,  and  applauded,  have  neither  changed  the  hearts 
nor  reformed  the  lives  of  the  hearers.  If  at  any  time  the  light  of 
truth  has  forced  its  way  to  the  conscience,  so  as  to  disclose  the  defor- 
mity and  the  consequence  of  sin,  like  a  man  who  beholds  his  natural 
face  in  the  glass,  they  have  gone  away,  and  soon  forgotten  ■v^hat  man- 
ner of  persons  they  were. 

Of  the  importance  and  necessity  of  a  practical  application  of  the 
truths  of  the  gospel,  on  the  part  of  those  who  hear  them,  our  blessed 
Saviour  has  informed  us,  at  the  close  of  his  instructions  in  his  sermon 
on  the  mount :  "  Therefore,  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine, 


*  A  Sermon  preached  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  January  14,  1327,  before  the  South  Carolina 
Conference. 


15t)  THE   PERFECT    LAW    OP    LIBERTY. 

and  doelh  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man  which  built  his  house 
upon  a  rock :  And  the  ruin  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the 
winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house  ;  and  it  fell  not :  for  it  was 
founded  on  a  rock.  And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine, 
and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which  built 
his  house  upon  the  sand:  And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house  -,  and  it  fell ;  and 
great  was  the  fall  of  it." 

In  this  most  striking  representation,  both  the  characters  described 
are  hearers  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  fearful  difference 
therefore  in  the  final  issue  is,  the  result  of  doing  or  not  doing  the 
thinf's  they  heard.  If  the  preaching  of  the  word  is  unprofitable,  it  is 
because  it  is  not  mixed  with  faith — even  that  faith  which  is  unto  obe- 
dience— in  them  that  hear  it.  It  might  be  supposed  that  the  preten- 
sions of  the  gospel  were  sufficient  to  induce  all  men  to  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  evidence  on  which  its  claims  are  founded  ;  but  more 
especially  that  the  admission  of  its  truth  could  not  fail  to  produce  a 
deep  and  lively  interest  in  it.  But,  alas  !  what  multitudes  who  pro- 
fess to  believe  it  to  be  a  revelation  from  God,  hear  it,  not  as  the 
gospel  of  their  salvation — not  as  the  only  way  of  their  reconciliation 
and  eternal  life — but  rather  as  a  subject  with  which  they  have  little 
or  no  personal  concern.  To  all  who  hear  the  sayings  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  this  manner,  the  gospel  will  be  a  "  savor  of  death  unto  death." 
"  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  continueth 
therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this 
man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed." 

In  the  improvement  to  be  made  of  this  subject,  we  will — 

1.  Consider  the  character  which  the  apostle  has  given  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ ;  and, 

2.  The  c  oncern  we  have  with  it.  And  may  the  Holy  Spirit,  on 
whose  agency  the  success  of  our  eff"orts  depends,  enable  us  to  speak 
and  hear  the  word  to  profit — that  we  may  obey  from  the  heart  the 
"  form  of  doctrine "  delivered  to  us,  and  know  the  truth  that  the 
truth  may  make  us  free. 

I.  The  character  which  the  apostle  has  given  of  the  gospel. 

By  the  gospel  is  to  be  understood,  the  system  of  divine  economy 
m  the  salvation  of  sinners,  by  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ ;  em- 
bracing  all  the  doctrines,  precepts,  promises,  and  threatenings,  re- 


THE  PERFECT  LAW  OF  LIBERTY.  157 

vealed  and  made  known  by  Christ  and  his  inspired  apostles.  This 
grand  system  of  human  salvation  has  frequently  been  considered 
merely  as  a  development  of  the  divine  benevolence,  or  a  display  of 
the  abundant  mercy  of  God  to  sinners,  without  due  regard  to  the 
great  designs  of  moral  government,  in  the  establishment  and  pres- 
ervation of  order  among  men,  as  intelligent  beings  and  accountable 
agents. 

There  is  indeed  no  correct  view  which  we  can  take  of  the  "  gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God,"  in  which  it  does  not  appear  to  be  "  glad  ti- 
dings of  great  Joy;  "  but  if  it  has  any  one  attribute  which  excels 
another,  as  a  ground  of  joy  and  gladness,  it  is  that  which  provides 
for  and  enjoins  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  and  requires  holiness 
on  earth  as  necessary  to  happiness  in  heaven.  Such,  we  conceive,  is 
the  character  which  St.  James  has  drawn  of  the  "  glorious  gospel." 
It  is  a  law — a  law  of  liberty — a  perfect  law  of  liberty. 

First.  The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  possesses  the  properties  of  law. 
It  makes  known  the  true  character  of  God  as  our  divine  lawgiver. 
The  works  of  creation,  and  the  order  established  in  the  kingdom  of 
nature,  display  the  perfections  of  the  Creator,  and  on  this  account 
may  be  called  a  law.  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handiwork."  "  For  the  invisible 
things  of  Hiin,  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being 
understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and 
Godhead  ;  so  that  they  are  without  excuse."  But  the  revelation  of 
Jesus  Christ  makes  manifest  all  the  attributes  of  the  divine  nature — 
all  the  moral  as  well  as  the  natural  perfections  of  him  whose  liahila- 
tion  is  eternity.  It  clearly  declares  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  har- 
mony of  all  his  glorious  attributes  in  the  moral  government  of  the 
world. 

The  gospel  imposes  obligations  from  God.  It  teaches  us  the  rela- 
tions existing  between  God  and  us,  and  the  obligations  founded  in 
those  relations.  He  is  our  creator,  and  we  are  his  creatures,  his 
workmanship.  He  is  our  preserver,  and  we  the  subjects  of  his  con- 
stant and  efficient  agency.  "  In  him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being."  He  is  our  bountiful  and  gracious  benefactor,  and  we  the 
partakers  of  his  continual  care.  "  Every  good  gift  and  every  per- 
fect gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights." 
He  is  our  redeemer,  and  we  are  his  purchased  inheritance.  He  is 
our  governor,  and  we  are  his  lawful  objects.    Out  of  these  relations, 


158  THE    PERFECT   LAW    OF    LIBERTY. 

made  known  by  the  gospel  revelation,  arises  an  obligation  to  acknowl 
edge  God — to  reverence  and  worship  him — to  love  and  obey  him. 
But  obligations  are  still  more  strongly  imposed  by  a  clear  declaration 
of  the  will  of  God  concerning  man,  in  the  form  of  positive  commands. 
The  gospel  "commands  all  men  everywhere  to  repent" — to  love  God 
with  all  our  heart,  and  our  neighbor  as  ourselves  ;  to  love  our  ene- 
mies :  to  do  to  others  what  we  would  have  others  do  to  us.  Hence 
according  to  the  constitution  of  the  economy  of  salvation  by  grace, 
we  are  obligated  by  the  express  commands  of  God  to  the  performance 
of  duties  clearly  pointed  out.  This  we  conceive  to  be  a  distinguish- 
ing attribute  of  law.  Our  views  of  the  gospel,  in  its  legal  character 
will  be  further  improved  when  we  consider  it  as  prescribing  a  rule  of 
obedience.  All  the  precepts  of  .Jesus  Christ  sustain  this  character 
All  his  instructions  relative  to  the  government  of  our  hearts  and 
lives  ;  in  a  word,  all  which  he  has  taught  us  to  do,  must  be  considerec 
in  this  light.  It  is  only  necessary  to  examine  with  due  care  the  ser- 
mon on  the  mount,  that  grand  constitution  of  God's  kingdom  among 
men,  to  be  fully  convinced  that  he  who  is  our  "  wisdom  and  right- 
eousness "  has  taught  and  enjoined  a  system  of  moral  rectitude  far 
more  explicit  and  extensive  than  the  decalogue  itself — even  extend- 
ing to  the  most  secret  "  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart." 

But  if  the  gospel  furnishes  precepts  for  the  direction  and  govern- 
ment of  human  actions,  those  precepts  are  attended  with  the  most 
authoritative  sanctions.  Promised  rewards  and  threatened  punish- 
ments accompany  every  rule  of  life  prescribed  in  the  new  cove- 
nant. The  rewards  of  the  kingdom  of  grace  upon  earth,  and  of  the 
kingdom  of  glory  in  heaven,  are  promised  to  those  who  obey  th« 
truth.  But  to  the  workers  of  iniquity  the  most  fearful  punishments  are 
threatened,  even  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  glory  of  his  power.  On  this  important  point  in  our  subject  wo 
desire  to  be  distinctly  understood.  The  penal  sanctions,  the  terrible  de- 
nunciations against  the  impenitent,  unbelieving  and  disobedient,  be- 
long as  really  to  the  gospel,  as  the  promises  of  pardon  to  the  re- 
penting sinner,  or  of  eternal  life  to  the  persevering  believer.  It  is 
as  clearly  the  work  of  the  gospel  to  condemn  as  to  justify — to  punish 
as  to  save.  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved ;  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned.  Both  are  parts  of  the  gospel  economy — both 
regard  gospel  obligations,  and  can  regard  no  other.  In  both  the 
language  of  the  gospel  is  heard.  The  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  have 


THE  PERFECT  LAW  OP  LIBERTY.  159 

therefore,  no  occasion  to  borrow  the  "  terrors  "  by  which  they  enforce 
their  message  from  Mount  Sinai.  The  Mount  of  Olives  will  furnish 
them  with  more  efficient  motives.  If  they  would  move  men  by  fear, 
they  should  point  them  to  the  "judgment  seat  of  Christ,"  where 
they  may  "  know  the  terrors  of  the  Lord. 

We  have  only  to  add  that  the  gospel  of  Christ  will  be  the  rule  of 
judgment  in  the  last  day.  This  is  inseparable  from  the  view  we  have 
taken  in  the  previous  observations.  For  the  precepts  of  Christ, 
being  the  rule  of  obedience,  must  govern  the  process  of  judgment 
in  the  final  issue.  "  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  they  that  shall  be 
judged  by  the  law  of  liberty.'"  Our  Lord  has  established  this  point 
in  the  most  indubitable  manner,  in  His  description  of  this  grand  event, 
recorded  in  the  gospel  by  St.  Mathew.  The  Son  of  Man  sitting  on 
the  throne  of  His  glory  is  the  judge — all  nations  are  gathered  to- 
gether before  him — He  divides  them  as  a  shepherd  divides  his  sheep 
from  the  goats — the  sheep  are  set  on  his  right  hand,  and  the  goats  on 
his  left.  "  Then  shall  He  say  to  those  on  His  right  hand,  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world :  For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me 
meat  :  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
ye  took  me  in :  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me :  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited 
me  :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  He  say  also 
unto  them  on  the  left  hand.  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlast- 
ing fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels  :  For  I  was  an  hun- 
gered, and  ye  gave  me  no  meat :  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no 
drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in  :  naked,  and  ye 
clothed  me  not :  sick  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not.  These 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment ;  but  the  righteous  into 
life  eternal."  No  comment  of  ours  can  enlighten  this  scene.  If  any 
thing  further  is  necessary  to  heighten  the  awful  majesty  and  grandeur 
of  the  gospel  in  its  character  of  law,  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  will 
supply  this  lack.  "  The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven 
with  His  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them 
that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesu^ 
Christ."  The  conclusion  is,  that  as  the  gospel  reveals  the  character 
of  God ;  as  it  imposes  obligations  from  Him ;  as  it  is  a  rule  of  obe- 
dience attended  with  the  most  solemn  sanctions ;  and,  consequently, 
the  rule  of  the  process  in  the  final  judgment,  it  contains  all  the  es- 
sential attributes  of  law. 


IGO  THE  PERFECT   LAW   OP   LIBERir. 

Second.  The  gospel  is  the  law  of  liberty.  It  has  released  man  from 
his  original  relations  to  the  law  given  to  Adam  in  a  state  of  innocence 
He  is  no  longer  held  obliged  to  the  performance  of  the  righteousness 
of  that  law,  as  a  condition  of  life,  and  consequently  is  not  condemned 
by  it.  This  is  a  point  of  so  much  importance  in  the  scheme  of  sal- 
vation, that  the  character  of  the  gospel  dispensation  can  never  be 
clearly  apprehended  without  it.  Man,  with  all  his  obligations^  and 
with  all  his  responsibilitieSf  is  transferred  from  the  Adamic  covenant, 
the  law  of  works,  to  the  covenant  of  grace,  the  law  of  liberty  ;  and 
this  change  of  his  relation  is  by  virtue  of  the  redemption  of  Christ. 
Being  "  bought  off  from  law,"  he  has  become  obligated  to  Christ, 
whose  law  he  is  bound  to  obey. 

The  gospel  is  the  law  of  liberty  as  distinguished  from  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  as  it  frees  men  from  the  obligations  of  that  economy.  Of 
the  whole  Mosaic  dispensation,  the  apostle  St.  Peter  says,  "  It  is  a 
yoke  which  neither  we  nor  our  fathers  were  able  to  bear."  It  bound 
those  who  were  under  it  to  the  observance  of  a  legal  and  ceremonial 
righteousness,  which  could  never  remove  the  guilt.,  or  the  pollution 
of  sin.  The  most  that  could  be  said,  even  of  that  which  was  "  writ- 
ten and  engraven  in  stones'^  was  that  it  was  a  "  ministration  of  con- 
demnation and  death,"  and.  served  as  a  "  schoolmaster  to  Christ." 
But  when  the  righteousness  of  faith  was  fully  come,  in  the  dispensa- 
tion of  Christ,  there  was  no  farther  need  of  a  schoolmaster.  All 
the  offices  of  the  law  ceased,  when  Christ  came  as  our  perfect  teacher, 
priest,  and  ruler.  The  yoke  of  the  law  is  removed,  and  the  easy  yoke 
of  our  gracious  Mediator  is  only  obligatory  on  us.  All  men  being 
brought  under  the  obligations  of  the  gospel  covenant,  and  thereby 
delivered  from  the  law  as  given  to  our  first  parents  in  the  garden, 
and  to  the  Jewish  legislator  at  Sinai,  are  the  proper  subjects  of 
Christ's  government.  They  are  free  to  choose  Christ  as  the  captain 
of  their  salvation  —  to  become  subject  to  the  laws  of  His  kingdom 
and  enjoy  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  the  children  of  God. 
Were  we  to  contemplate  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  effecting  the 
liberty  of  sinful  man,  in  no  other  view  than  that  we  have  just  taken, 
it  might  be  supposed  that  ever j  fallen  spirit  embraced  in  its  gracious 
provisions  would  hail  its  manifestation  with  "  exceeding  joy."  But 
the  liberty  of  the  gospel  extends  much  farther,  even  to  a  deliverance 
from  the  bondage  of  iniquity.  "  The  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus  makes  us  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death."     It  "pro- 


THE   PERFECT   LAW  OF   LIBERTY.  161 

claims  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  doors  to 
them  that  are  bound."  By  a  mighty  energy  it  subdues  the  reigning 
power  of  sin,  and  brings  into  captivity  those  enemies  which  had  cap- 
tivated our  souls  before.  Sin  is  represented  as  a  powerful  tyrant, 
strengthened  by  the  force  of  the  law,  holding  his  vassals  in  chains, 
while  the  wages  of  his  service  are  death.  From  this  dungeon  of  sin 
and  death,  the  miserable  captive  is  heard  to  groan,  "  Oh,  wretched 
man  that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me?"  The  gospel,  my  brethren, 
answers  to  this  unutterable  groan.  The  gospel  binds  this  "  strong 
man,"  this  "  man  of  sin,"  thus  armed,  and  sets  his  prisoner  free. 
The  gospel  delivers  men  from  the  guilt  and  condemnation  of  sin,  in 
the  act  of  pardon.  It  frees  them  from  the  power  and  dominion  of 
sin  by  the  grace  and  strength  which  it  supplies.  It  delivers  them 
from  the  slavery  of  their  passions  and  lusts,  and  restores  the  domin- 
ion of  reason  and  conscience  in  their  minds. 

Man  is  "  subject  to  bondage  through  fear."  Conscious  of  his  ac- 
countability, his  sinfulness  and  guilt ;  and  knowing  that  it  is  appoint- 
ed to  him  once  to  die,  and  after  death  to  appear  in  judgment,  he 
trembles  at  the  thought  of  his  approaching  dissolution,  and  fears  to 
appear  in  the  presence  of  his  judge.  Reason  affords  him  but  a  fee- 
ble support  in  the  hour  of  his  alarm  and  trial.  Her  lights  are  but 
dim  through  the  dark  valley  he  has  to  pass,  and  she  casts  but  a  "  glim- 
mering ray"  on  the  scenes  of  eternity  which  lie  before  him.  What 
shall  dispel  his  doubts,  remove  his  fears,  support  his  trembling  spirit, 
and  illuminate  his  pathway  ?  What  shall  fortify  him  against  the 
terrors  of  these  tremendous  events  ?  The  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  through  which  "  life  and  immortality  are  brought  to  light." 
"  The  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,"  the  fountain  of  pardon  and  puri- 
fication in  the  grand  atonement.  TLe  foundation  of  a  steadfast  and 
"  lively  hope"  in  its  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises. 

Finally.  The  gospel  is  the  law  of  liberty,  because  it  provides  for, 
and  will  effect  the  deliverance  of  our  bodies  from  the  "  bondage  of 
corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God."  Death 
must  be  swallowed  up  in  victory,  and  its  empire  demolished.  The 
grave  must  deliver  up  its  prisoners,  and  be  spoiled  of  its  dominion  ;. 
and  mortality  be  swallowed  up  of  life,  under  the  reign  of  God's  Mes- 
siah. Oh,  what  a  "glorious  liberty"  indeed  will  be  the  portion  of  the 
children  of  the  first  resurrection,  over  whom  the  second  death  shall 
have  no  power,  when  the  grand  end  of  the  mediation  of  tho  Son  of 
11 


162  THE   PERFECT   LAW   OP   LIBERTY. 

God  shall  be  accomplished  in  the  fulfilment  of  that  saying,  "  Behold 
I  create  all  things  new." 

Third.  The  gospel  is  the  perfect  law  of  liberty.  It  is  perfect  in 
itself.  There  is  no  obscurity,  no  weakness,  no  deficiency,  in  any  part 
of  it.  As  a  system  of  doctrine,  it  contains  every  truth  necessary  to 
be  known  in  order  to  salvation.  Is  it  necessary  that  man  should  know 
God  ?  The  gospel  has  revealed  Him.  It  declares  the  nature  of  the 
Divine  essence  :  "  God  is  a  Spirit."  It  asserts  His  unity  :  "  To  us 
there  is  but  one  God — God  is  one."  It  proclaims  His  omnipresence 
and  eternity — His  omniscience,  infinite  wisdom,  and  almighty  power 
— His  righteousness,  justice  and  truth.  It  makes  known  the  will  of 
God  concerning  His  creatures,  both  with  regard  to  action  and  end. 
It  declares  His  goodness,  tender  mercy,  patience,  long-suflfering,  and 
loving  kindness  in  a  thousand  varied  and  endearing  forms.  In  this 
grand  manifestation  of  God  there  is  no  darkness,  no  veil  ;  but  all  is 
light — perfect  light.  Here  we  behold  the  Divine  glory  beaming  forth 
•with  transcendant  brightness.  Is  it  necessary  that  man  should  know 
himself?  The  gospel  teaches  his  origin  and  end — his  fall  and  re- 
covery— his  obligation  and  accountability  It  settles  with  infallible 
certainty  the  immortality  of  the  human  soul,  and  a  future  state  of 
being.  Is  it  necessary  for  man,  fallen  and  guilty  man,  to  understand 
how  he  may  regain  the  favor  of  God?  how  he  may  be  introduced  to 
communion  and  fellowship  with  his  (creator,  and  finally  obtain  ever- 
lasting life  in  heaven?  The  gospel  revelation  is  a  perfect  directory. 
The  way  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  drawn  in  sunbeams.  Neither 
clouds  nor  darkness  rest  upon  it.  He  that  runs  may  read.  Who 
that  examines  with  due  attention  the  records  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His 
inspired  apostles,  can  say,  "  /  know  not  the  way  to  heaven'"? 

Nor  shall  we  find  the  gospel  less  complete,  if  we  examine  it  in  re- 
gard to  the  evidence  of  its  divine  origin,  the  proofs  of  its  authenticity. 
Its  truth  is  attested  by  the  light  of  its  doctrines — by  the  extent  and 
purity  of  its  morality ;  by  the  benevolence  of  its  designs ;  by  the 
fulfilment  of  ancient  predictions ;  and  by  the  life,  miracles,  death, 
and  resurrection  of  its  author.  What  assurance  has  the  christian, 
from  this  body  of  evidence,  that  he  has  not  believed  a  "  cunningly 
devised  fable,"  in  embracing  the  gospel  of  his  salvation? 

That  which  is  perfect  in  itself  needs  no  foreign  aid,  no  auxiliary 
help,  in  order  to  the  accomplishment  of  its  ends.  This  is  the  true 
character  of  the  gospel.     It  contains  within  itself  all  which  is  nece^ 


THE  PERFECT  LAW  OP  LIBERTT.  163 

sary  to  the  present  and  eternal  salvation  of  sinful  man.  It  needs  no 
aid  from  the  Adainic  or  Mosaic  law ;  but  is  the  end  of  both  for  right- 
eousness. The  doctrine,  therefore,  that  sinners  are  under  the  law, 
as  distinguished  from  the  gospel,  is  both  erroneous  and  dangerous. 
There  is  no  act  in  the  entire  scheme  of  mediation  by  Jesus  Christ, 
which  affects  the  relation  of  a  sinner  to  law,  thus  distinguished,  but 
the  act  of  redemption  by  His  death.  This  is  not  a  continued  act. 
It  was  "  finished"  in  the  one  offering  of  the  body  of  Christ  on  the 
cross.  Consequently,  if  sinners  are  under  any  law,  except  the  law 
of  liberty,  the  law  of  the  Mediator,  there  is  no  provision  for  their 
deliverance.  Offences  under  the  second  covenant  are  put  away  by 
pardon.  But  those  under  the  law  require  atonen>ent,  because  no 
provision  was  made  for  their  remission.  We  have  no  occasion  then 
to  employ  the  law  to  bring  men  to  Christ —  to  use  the  terrors  of  the 
first  covenant,  to  introduce  sinners  to  the  blessings  of  the  second. 
It  is  enough  that  we  "  preach  Christ"  in  all  his  oflBces,  pointing  all 
men  to  "  one  law-giver  and  one  judge,  who  is  able  to  save  and  to 
destroy.'^ 

The  gospel  possesses  a  peculiar  perfection  in  the  nature,  extent, 
and  efficacy  of  the  grand  atonement.  Here  all  its  excellences 
centre,  This  is  the  foundation  of  the  entire  and  perfect  building. 
The  nature  of  the  atonement  made  by  Christ  cannot  be  apprehended 
aright,  unless  it  be  considered  with  direct  reference  to  the  law  of  God 
given  to  man  in  a  state  of  innocence,  and  to  sin  as  the  transgression 
of  that  law.  The  plain  scriptural  doctrine  is,  that  the  sacrifice  of 
atonement  is  a  perfect  satisfaction  of  the  demands  of  that  law  against 
man  as  a  transgressor  ;  that  its  threatened  penalties  were  borne  by 
Jesus,  as  man's  surety.  By  this  sin  offering,  Christ  has  not  only 
expiated  the  guilt  of  original  transgression,  and  delivered  the  whole 
human  race  from  the  curse,  or  punishment  of  eternal  death,  which 
the  law  annexed  to  sin :  but  also  "  bought  man  off  "  from  the  law  it- 
self, as  a  rule  of  justifying  righteousness,  and  restored  him  to  a  new 
trial,  under  the  gracious  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  where  obedience 
to  the  righteousness  of  faith  is  required  to  justification  and  eternal 
life. 

But  for  whom  was  the  atonement  made  ?  What  is  the  extent  of 
the  redemption  which  is  by  Christ  Jesus  %  If  it  is  partial,  if  it  is 
limited  to  a  part  of  "  those  who  have  sinned,"  it  is  imperfect ;  it  is 
defective  in  every  point.     The  law  is  magnified   and  made  honorable 


164  THE   PERFECT  LAW  OP  LIBERTY. 

but  in  part.  Divine  justice,  with  regard  to  the  original  transgression, 
is  satisfied  but  in  part.  Those  who  are  not  redeemed  are  under  the 
righteousness  of  the  Adamic  law,  as  the  only  rule  of  justification, 
and  consequently  subject,  by  inevitable  necessity,  to  all  its  terrible 
punishments.  Redemption  by  the  death  of  Christ,  alone,  places  man 
within  the  possibility  of  salvation.  It  is  not  possible,  therefore,  that 
any  should  be  saved  for  whom  his  blood  was  not  shed.  To  all  such, 
if  such  there  were,  invitations  to  look  to  Christ,  to  believe  on  him,  to 
be  saved  by  him,  would  be  but  a  mockery  of  their  impotence  and  their 
misery.  But,  blessed  be  God,  it  is  as  broad  as  the  transgression,  and 
as  deep  as  the  guilt  of  man.  It  extends  to  every  human  soul,  to  every 
fallen  child  of  Adam.  As  certain  as  all  have  sinned,  so  certain  is  it 
that  Jesus  has  died  for  all.  For  all  who  were  under  the  '<  curse  of 
the  law,"  Christ  has  given  himself  a  ransom.  "  For  God  sent  forth 
his  Son  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law  ;"  having  concluded 
all  in  unbelief,  or  shut  them  up  for  disobedience,  that  he  might  have 
mercy  upon  all,  in  his  unspeakable  gift.  The  atonement  then  is  uni- 
versal in  its  extent,  all  men  being  redeemed  by  the  death  of  Jesus. 
But  the  expiatory  sacrifice  of  our  divine  Redeemer  is  as  perfect  in 
its  efficacy,  as  universal  in  its  extent.  It  was  not  possible,  indeed, 
that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  should  take  away  sin ;  either  its 
guilt  or  its  pollution.  But  "  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  " 
can  purify  the  conscience  from  both,  and  make  us  ^'^ perfect  in  every 
good  work."  The  fountain  of  redeeming  grace  is  deeper  than  the 
"troubled  sea"  of  our  corruption.  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound.  The  doctrine,  therefore,  that  sin  must  cleave  to 
the  soul  of  man,  till  death  dissolves  the  union  between  the  body  and 
spirit,  is  not  only  repugnant  to  the  plain  testimony  of  the  divine 
oracles,  but  also  an  undervaluing  of  the  efficacy  of  that  precious  blood 
which  ^^cleanseth  from  all  sin."  Here,  perhaps,  it  maybe  supposed  we 
might  safely  close  our  observations  on  the  perfection  of  the  gospel 
system,  and  leave  our  hearers  to  infer  from  the  premises  a  thousand 
traits  of  fitness  in  detail.  But  there  is  one  more  view  of  the  gospel, 
as  a  law  of  liberty,  which  we  deem  of  the  utmost  importance.  We 
mean  its  perfect  agreement  or  suitableness  to  the  condition  of  man  as 
he  is — a  fallen,  weak,  and  guilty  creature  ;  in  a  word,  as  a  sinner. 
If  we  examine  the  law  of  GoS,  even  as  given  to  Adam,  or  Moses,  we 
shall  find  it  perfect,  and  without  defect,  considered  in  itself.  For 
verily,  "  the  law  is  holy,  and  the  commandment  is  holy,  and  just,  and 


THK   PERFECT  LAW  OF   LIBERTY.  165 

good."  Proceeding  from  God,  the  fountain  of  holiness,  justice,  and 
goodness,  it  must  necessarily  possess  these  attributes.  It  may,  there- 
fore, be  justly  called  a  "  transcript  of  his  nature."  Nevertheless, 
there  was  a  relative  imperfection  in  the  law.  There  was  something  in 
the  condition  of  a  sinner^  to  which  it  was  not  suitable ;  something 
which  he  could  not  do,  being  weak  through  the  flesh.  And  on  account 
of  this  weakness  it  was  unprofitable,  it  made  nothing  perject. 

The  law  was  unsuitable  to  the  condition  of  a  sinner,  in  regard  to 
salvation ;  first,  because  it  knew  no  repentance  of  the  ofi'ender,  as  a 
condition  of  justification  and  life  ;  second,  because  it  made  no  pro- 
vision for  the  putting  away  of  sin,  either  by  pardon  or  purification  ; 
third,  because  it  required  a  righteousness  which  a  sinner  could  not 
perform  ;  and,  fourth,  because  the  penalty  of  death  was  annexed  to 
transgression.  The  law,  therefore,  could  not  give  life ;  but  was  a 
'' ministration  of  death.''  It  could  only  "  work  wrath  ;"  so  that  by 
the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  could  be  saved.  In  all  these  respects 
the  law  had  no  glory,  by  reason  of  the  glory  that  excelleth.  For  the 
(aw  made  nothing  perfect ;  but  the  bringing  in  of  a  better  hope  did, 
by  which  we  draw  nigh  unto  Grod.  For  through  Jesus,  our  Mediator, 
•we  have  access  to  God  ;  the  middle  wall  of  partition  which  the  law 
interposed  being  removed  out  of  the  way.  If,  in  examining  the 
relative  character  of  the  gospel  system,  we  shall  detect  any  point  in 
which  it  is  unsuitable  to  the  state  of  man  as  a,  fallen  creature  ;  if  he  is 
not  brought  completely  within  the  province  of  its  operations :  if  it 
should  be  found  to  require  any  thing  of  man,  as  necessary  to  salva- 
tion, which  he  is  not  furnished  with  ability  or  power  to  perform  ;  then, 
indeed,  may  it  be  said  of  the  gospel,  as  it  is  said  of  the  law,  "  It  is 
weak  through  theflesh.^'  It  makes  nothing  perfect.  Establish  man's 
inability  to  perform  the  conditions  of  the  gospel  covenant,  and  you 
tarnish  the  glory  of  the  covenant  itself;  because  you  prove  it  to  be 
relatively  defective.  Indeed,  for  aught  we  can  see  to  the  contrary, 
you  make  salvation  as  impossible  to  man,  under  the  gospel,  as  under 
the  law  ;  unless  it  be  presumed  that  God  will  dispense  with  the  per- 
formance of  the  terms  of  the  covenant.  It  is  of  no  conceivable  im- 
vortance  in  what  this  inability  consists,  or  by  what  name  it  is  called. 
Call  it  natural  or  moral  inability,  or  by  any  other  name  you  please, 
and  the  grand  difficulty  remains  the  same.  Whether  this  fearful  ina- 
bility lies  in  the  regions  of  the  understanding,  or  of  the  heart ;  in  the 
vhysical  or  moral  constitution  of  man,  is  a  matter  of  perfect  indiffer- 


166  THE   PERFECT   LAW  OF  LIBEBTT. 

ence  as  regards  his  salvation.  We  are  not  unapprised  of  those  modern 
metaphysical  refinements,  by  which  attempts  have  been  made  to  re- 
move this  dilBculty,  by  magnifying  what  is  called  man's  natural  povo- 
ers,  and  resolving  his  entire  inability  into  the  will.  Hence  it  is  said, 
a  sinner  cannot  obey  the  commands  of  the  gospel,  merely  because  he 
will  not.  Were  we  to  admit  the  truth  of  this  curious  theory,  which 
is  equally  repugnant  to  the  philosophy  of  the  human  mind,  the  oracles 
of  God,  and  the  dictates  of  common  sense  ;  were  we,  I  say,  to  admit 
the  truth  of  this  theory,  the  great  difficulty  remains  untouched. 
There  still  remains  something  in  the  condition  of  a  sinner,  to  which 
the  gospel  is  not  suitable — for  which  it  has  not  provided,  and  this 
discrepancy  stamps  it  with  imperfection.  It  is  weak,  relatively  weak, 
if  there  is  any  circumstance  of  weakness  in  our  nature,  to  which  it 
does  not  extend  efficient  aid — any  disease  for  which  it  does  not  provide 
an  all-sufficient  remedy.  But  who  can  comprehend  the  strange  theory? 
Does  it  not  involve  this  obvious  absurdity,  that  moral  ability  consists 
in  something  different  from  a  power  or  capacity  to  perform  moral 
actions  ?  This,  it  is  confessed,  man  possesses.  For  he  has  natural  power 
to  repent,  believe,  and  obey  the  will  of  God  ;  all  which  are  n>oral 
actions.  The  sum  of  this  doctrine,  then,  is,  that  man  has  all  natural 
power  to  perform  all  moral  actions  ;  but  is  destitute  of  all  moral  power. 
We  think  it  must  require  something  widely  different  from  the  natural 
sense  of  man,  to  understand  this.  The  truth  is,  that  by  nature,  sinful 
man  has  no  power  to  turn,  and  prepare  himself  to  faith  and  calling 
upon  God.  The  power  to  do  good  works  pleasing  and  acceptable  to 
God,  is  not  natural,  but  by  the  grace  of  God  preventing  us,  that  we 
may  have  a  good  will,  and  working  with  us  when  we  have  that  good 
will.     Nor  does  God  withhold  this  grace  from  any  human  soul. 

The  scheme  of  the  gospel,  in  its  terms  of  justification  and  life,  is 
suited,  not  to  innocent  and  holy  creatures,  such  as  man  was  when  he 
came  from  the  creating  hand  of  God  ;  but  to  beings  guilty  and  pol- 
luted, such  as  man  is  in  his  state  of  transgression.  These  terms  are, 
repentance  towards  God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  both 
of  which  necessarily  involve  sin  and  guilt.  For  repentance  belongs 
not  to  sinless  beings.  Jesus  came  not  to  call  the  righteous  but 
sinners  to  repentance.  He  who  has  not  sinned  cannot  be  a  suitable 
subject  of  that  conviction,  confession,  humiliation,  and  penitential 
sorrow,  which  repentance  implies.  The  same  may  be  said  of  faith 
as  required  by  the  gospel  to  justification.     As  such,  it  embraces  Christ 


THE  PERFECT  LAW  OP  LIBERTT.  167 

as  cur  surely  ;  his  blood  as  an  atoning  sacrifice  for  the  remission  of 
sin  ;  his  death  as  the  price  of  our  redeinption,  and  the  eiScient  cause 
of  pardon.  It  lays  hold  on  Christ  for  ''  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanc- 
lifi.cation,  and  redemption."  But  in  none  of  these  senses  could  faith 
be  the  exercise  of  a  creature  who  had  not  sinned.  The  grand  condi- 
tions of  salvation,  therefore,  are  suitable  to  sinners,  and  none  others. 
It  is  in  vain,  then,  to  urge  that  man  cannot  obey  the  requisitions  of 
the  gospel  because  he  is  a  sinful  creature.  The  truth  is,  if  he  were 
not  a  sinner,  he  could  not  obey  those  requisitions,  because  they  would 
be  entirely  unsuitable  to  his  condition.  How  could  man  in  his  pris- 
tine innocence,  or  angels  who  have  not  sinned,  obey  these  commands 
of  the  gospel "?  Sinners  can  obey  them,  and  sinners  only.  But  there 
is  a  further  perfection  of  fitness  in  the  gracious  aid  which  the  gospel 
affords  to  sinners.  The  grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation  has 
not  only  appeared  to  all  men,  but  its  manifestation  is  in  perfect  adap- 
tation to  the  circumstances  of  those  to  whom  it  is  made.  Has  sin  dark- 
ened the  understanding,  perverted  the  judgment,  and  blinded  the 
conscience  of  man  ?  Is  he  ignorant  of  God  and  himself  1  The  gospel 
is  light — unsullied  light — a  light  shining  into  this  darkness — ''  the 
true  light  that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  Nei- 
ther Christian,  Jew,  nor  Heathen,  is  excluded  from  this  divine  illumi- 
nation. The  manifestation  of  the  truth  commends  itself  in  every  man's 
conscience.  The  spirit  reproves  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness, 
and  of  judgment.  There  is  no  language  in  which  his  voice  is  not 
heard.  Is  man  far  gone  from  original  righteousness,  and  of  his  own 
will  inclined  to  evil  1  Has  sin  debilitated  all  his  faculties,  so  as  to 
render  him  utterly  incapable  of  delivering  himself  ?  Has  he  become 
weak,  so  as  to  be  able  of  himself  to  do  nothing?  Is  he  "without 
strength  ?  "  The  grace  of  the  gospel  comes  down  to  his  lowest  condi- 
tion of  weakness  and  helplessness.  It  comes  to  bring  him  help  and 
strength — not  only  to  open  his  eyes  that  he  may  see  his  sin  and  his 
danger,  but  to  enable  him  to  turn  away  from  it,  and  lay  hold  on 
eternal  life.  Imperfect  indeed  would  be  the  gospel  system,  if,  while 
it  proclaimed  the  impotency  and  misery  of  sinners,  it  brought  no 
strength  to  their  weakness  no  relief  to  their  misery,  Jesus  never 
invites  helpless  and  perishing  souls  to  come  to  him,  when  he  does  not 
supply  all  that  is  necessary  to  enable  them  to  obey  the  invitation. 
Paint  the  character  of  human  nature,  fallen  and  depraved,  in  its  most 
striking  colors — carry  it  to  its  utmost  extreme  of  debility,  and  we 


168  THE   PERFECT   LAW  OP   LIBERTT. 

shall  only  employ  it  as  an  occasion  more  abundantly  to  magnify  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  still  proclaim,  with  joyful  exul- 
tation, where  weakness  abounded,  through  sin,  there  strength  does 
much  more  abound  through  grace.  Has  the  gospel  invited  all  men  to 
come  to  Christ,  as  their  all-sufl&cient  Saviour?  That  invitation  is 
proof — ample  proof — that  all  men  have,  through  grace,  ability  to  come 
to  Christ,  in  obedience  to  the  invitation.  It  is  then  the  peculiar 
glory  and  excellence  of  the  gospel,  that  it  "  helps  our  infirmities,^'  as 
well  as  convinces  us  of  thom.  Have  all  men  sinned  and  come  short 
of  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  is  it  therefore  necessary  that  all  men  should 
repent  ?  The  gospel  provides  for  it.  Jesus  is  exalted  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance.  This  is  the 
very  ground  of  the  divine  command.  "  The  times  of  ignorance  God 
winked  at,  but  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent."  The 
grace  of  the  gospel  supplies  the  means  and  the  ability  to  repent,  and 
to  do  works  meet  for  repentance. 

Are  men  by  nature  strangers  and  aliens  —  at  a  distance  from 
God,  far  off  by  wicked  works,  without  hope  and  without  God  in  the 
world  ?  The  gospel  has  opened  a  way  for  their  return — taken  down 
the  separating  wall,  and  brought  in  a  better  hope,  by  which  we  draw 
nigh  unto  God.  It  is  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  under  which 
«« strangers  and  foreigners  "  become  fellow  citizens  with  the  saints, 
and  of  the  household  of  God.  Here  we  have  free  access  to  the  mercy 
seat.  No  flaming  sword  is  set  to  guard  the  throne ;  no  terrible 
voices  and  thunderings  to  drive  us  from  the  presence  of  Him  that  sits 
upon  it.  The  voice  which  is  heard  issuing  from  the  divine  presence 
is  the  voice  of  invitation  and  of  promise — "  Look  unto  me  and  be  ye 
saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth.  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet, 
they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson, 
they  shall  be  as  wool." 

Is  man  dead — spiritually  dead — utterly  destitute  of  the  life  of 
God  ?  Dead,  even  in  trespasses  and  in  sins  ?  The  gospel  is  life, 
spiritual,  eternal  life.  It  is  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
Jesus,  delivering  us  from  sin  and  death.  The  gospel,  therefore,  pos- 
sesses a  peculiar  relative  perfection.  It  brings  light  to  our  darkness  ; 
strength  to  our  weakness  ;  pardon  to  our  guilt ;  liberty  to  our  bond- 
age ;  relief  to  our  misery ;  and  life  to  our  death.  There  is  no  case 
to  which  it  does  not  apply;  to  which  it  does  not  bring  adequate  help. 
O,  the  length,  the  depth,  the  breadth,  and  height  of  the   gospel  sal- 


THE   PERFECT   LAW  OP   LIBERTY.  169 

vation  !  0,  what  amazing  wisdom  m  its  adaptation !  What  power 
in  its  agency !  What  grace  in  its  fulness !  Grace  abounding  to  the 
chief  of  sinners.  0,  that  we  could  all  unite,  this  saving  grace  to 
prove !  If  the  views  we  have  taken  of  the  perfect  law  of  liberty  are 
agreeable  to  truth — if  the  gospel  is  indeed  such  a  scheme  of  salva- 
tion as  we  have  endeavored  to  represent  it  to  be,  it  follows  that  evo-y 
human  soul  has  a  deep  and  eternal  interest  in  it.  Let  us,  then,  con- 
sider— 

II.  The  concern  we  have  in  it. 

Having  occupied  so  much  of  the  time  allotted  for  this  service  on 
the  former  part  of  the  subject,  it  becomes  necessary  that  we  be  very 
brief  on  the  latter.  Indeed  we  can  do  little  more  than  bring  it  into 
view  and  leave  it  for  the  improvement  of  our  hearers.  We  have  a 
two-fold  concern  with  the  gospel  ;  a  concern  of  duty  or  obligation  ; 
and  a  concern  of  interest  or  privilege.  As  a  concern  of  duty  or  ob- 
ligation, we  are  required  to  examine  it  aiteniitehj  and  carefully.  The 
gospel  addresses  itself  to  our  understanding.  It  is  a  grand  harmoni- 
ous system.  It  professes  to  be  a  revelation  from  heaven,  and  to  sup- 
port its  claims  by  the  authority  of  God  himself,  having  the  present 
and  eternal  salvation  of  man  as  its  object.  Whatever  right  of  gov- 
ernment or  control  the  Deity  might  claim  over  his  sinful  creatures,  it 
has  pleased  him  in  this  most  merciful  economy  to  stoop  down  to  our 
low  condition  —  to  instruct  us,  to  reason  with  us,  and  to  itivite  us  to 
reason  with  him.  It  becomes  us,  therefore,  to  listen  attentively  to 
his  instructions,  Siad  to  examine  carefully  the  message  he  has  sent 
us.  This  is  the  import  of  the  emphatical  words  in  the  passage  be- 
fore us  :  "  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty."  This 
looking  into  the  gospel,  is  opposed  to  hearing  in  such  a  superficial 
way  as  to  leave  no  deep  and  lasting  impressions  on  the  memory  ;  as 
io  produce  no  settled  resolutions  of  the  mind  in  regard  to  practice.  It 
is  very  justly  supposed  that  our  apostle  has  reference  in  this  expres- 
sion to  the  z/icZitttrtg*  and^xec/joosf  wre  of  the  cherubims,  with  their 
faces  towards  the  mercy  seat.  The  evangelist  has  used  the  same 
word  in  regard  to  the  attitude  of  the  disciples  when  they  visited  the 
sepulchre  of  Christ,  after  his  resurrection.  Now,  as  the  faces  of  the 
cherubims  were  fixed  towards  the  mercy  seat,  which  was  an  expres- 
sive representation  of  the  gospel,  and  as  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
stooped  down  to  look  narrowly  into  the  sepulchre  of  him  who  was  the 


170  THE  PERFECT  LAW  OP  LIBERTY. 

author  of  life,  and  on  whose  resurrection  all  their  hopes  depended,  so 
should  we,  with  fixed  attention,  with  intense  application,  examine  the 
gospel  of  our  salvation.  Examine  carefully  the  evidences  of  its  au- 
thenticity, that  you  may  arrive  to  a  full  conviction  that  it  is  the  truth 
of  God.  Look  narrowly  into  all  its  characters  of  fitness  and  per- 
fection, that  you  may  apprehend  what  it  requires  of  you,  and  what 
kelp  it  affords  you.  Be  careful  in  your  examinations  not  to  overlook 
its  preceptive  purity  in  the  splendor  of  its  promises.  Consider  it  in  the 
analogy,  proportion,  and  harmony  of  all  its  parts,  and  in  the  suita- 
bleness of  the  whole  to  the  grand  end  it  proposes  to  accomplish.  Re- 
member that  this  business  requires  time  and  labor.  It  is  not  the 
work  of  the  hour  you  spend  in  the  house  of  God,  in  hearing  the  word  of 
the  gospel  from  the  lips  of  his  ministers.  Stated  periods  should  be 
devoted  to  this  important  employment.  Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed 
that  any  considerable  improvement  will  be  made  till  we  settle  it  in 
our  minds  that  our  religious  concerns  are  paramount  to  all  others. 
When  this  conviction  is  "  deep  rooted"  in  the  soul,  complaints  of  the 
want  of  time  will  cease. 

The  mind  must  be  disciplined  to  meditation  upon  these  things. 
Habits  of  indolence  are  to  be  overcome.  Our  indisposition  to  thinking 
must  be  subdued.  But  it  is  not  enough  that  we  look  narrowly  and 
diligently  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty  in  the  way  of  examination. 
"VVe  have  a  far  more  extensive  concern  of  duty  and  obligation  with  it. 
It  is  the  rule  of  our  obedience.  It  is  Christ's  yoke  which  we  are 
obligated  to  take  upon  us.  In  vain  do  we  hear  the  sayings  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  with  our  lips  call  him  Lord,  Lord,  if  we  do  not  the  things 
which  he  has  commanded.  "  Be  ye,  therefore,  doers  of  the  word,  and 
not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own  selves."  Whether  we  hear  the 
word  preached,  or  read  the  lively  oracles — whether  we  visit  the  house 
of  worship,  or  meditate  upon  the  revelation  of  God  at  our  own  houses, 
all  should  be  done  with  a  special  reference  to  practice  ;  with  a  fixed 
resolution  to  do  what  we  learn  to  be  the  will  of  God  concerning  us. 
<  Patient  continuance  "  in  this  great  work,  both  of  acquiring  the 
knowledge  of  the  gospel,  and  of  obeying  from  the  heart  its  sacred 
precepts,  is  of  indispensable  obligation.  Multitudes  have  commenced 
the  work,  and  run  well  for  a  season  ;  but  not  "  continuing  therein," 
have  fallen  short  of  the  prize.  To  "  obey  the  gospel,"  therefore,  and 
continue  in  our  obedience  till  the  reward  of  the  inheritance  is  obtained, 
13  our  duty. 


THE   PERFECT   LAW   OP   LIBERTY.  171 

But  we  have  a  concern  of  interest,  of  privilege,  in  the  gospel  •.  and 
our  interest  in  it  is  designed  as  a  powerful  motive  to  action.  It  is 
emphatically,  the  gospel  of  our  salvation.  It  provides  and  makes 
known  the  way,  the  only  way  of  salvation.  There  is  no  other  ground 
of  hope — no  other  means  of  access  to  God — no  other  ministry  of  re- 
conciliation— no  other  law  of  liberty — no  other  fountain  of  pardon, 
peace,  and  life.  If  we  fail  of  being  saved  by  the  gospel,  we  are  lost — 
inevitably  and  forever  lost.  What  an  interest  have  we,  then,  in  this 
scheme  of  salvation.  Add  to  this  the  blessedness  of  those  who  look 
into  the  gospel,  and  continue  steadfast  in  sincere  and  humble  obedience 
to  its  holy  commandments.  The  blessings  of  pardon,  peace,  and  holi- 
ness, are  their  inheritance  on  earth,  and  a  far  more  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory,  their  portion  in  heaven. 

To  conclude  :  Let  us  examine  ourselves  closely  in  regard  to  the 
improvement  we  have  made  of  the  blessed  gospel  of  God  our  Saviour. 
We  have  heard  it,  perhaps,  from  our  childhood.  We  were  early 
taught  to  read  the  sacred  writings  which  contain  the  doctrine,  and 
precepts,  and  promises,  and  threatenings  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  have 
professed  to  believe  these  writings  as  of  divine  authority — to  receive 
them  as  the  records  of  eternal  truth.  But  how  have  we  heard  the 
gospel  proclamation?  How  have  we  read  the  divinely  inspired  pages  ? 
What  estimation  have  we  made  of  the  revelation  given  us  from  heaven? 
W  hat  experimental,  what  practical,  uses  have  we  made  of  those 
truths  we  have  heard,  and  which  we  profess  to  believe  ?  Are  we  not, 
even  to  this  day,  hearers  of  the  word  only,  and  not  doers  ;  deceiving 
our  own  selves  ?  What  influence  has  the  gospel  had  on  the  state  of 
our  hearts,  or  the  actions  of  our  lives  1  Have  we  been  awakened, 
justified,  regenerated,  through  the  ministry  of  the  law  of  the  spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  Have  we  been  made  free  by  the  law  of  liberty? 
Free  from  the  guilt,  power,  and  pollution  of  sin  ?  Free  from  the  do- 
minion of  our  passions  and  lusts  ?  Free  from  the  bondage  of  fear — 
fear  of  death  and  of  judgment  ?  Alas !  are  we  not,  ev&n  while  we 
hear  the  proclamation  of  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of 
the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound,  under  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin 
and  death  ?  How  has  the  "  wicked  one  "  catched  away  the  word  of 
the  kingdom  in  the  very  act  of  hearing  it !  How  little  have  we  been 
profited,  either  by  the  preaching  or  reading  of  the  word,  for  the  want 
of  humble,  active  faith  !  0,  let  it  suflSce  that  we  have  heard  so  many 
sermons  in  vain  —  that  we  have  attended  the  house  of  God  so  often 


172  THE   PERFECT   LAW   OP   LIBERTY. 

■without  repentance  and  conversion.  Let  us  immediately  awake  out 
of  sleep,  and  receive  the  truth,  that  the  truth  may  make  us  free.  0, 
let  us  look  into  the  law  of  liberty  with  deep  and  interested  attention. 
Has  Jesus  Christ  declared  that  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish  1  that  except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little  children? 
ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ?  that  except 
a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  And  can 
we  hear  these  weighty  and  solemn  declarations  of  the  Son  of  God, 
without  reflection — without  a  direct  application  to  ourselves — without 
laying  our  hands  on  our  hearts  and  proposing  to  ourselves  these  seri- 
ous questions  ?  Has  the  work  of  repentance  ever  been  wrought  in 
this  heart  of  mine  ?  Have  I  ever  been  converted  to  God  ?  Have  I 
ever  been  born  again  1  Has  this  great  moral  change  ever  been  eff"ected 
in  this  fallen  soul  of  mine  ? 

Is  it  possible  that  we  can  hear  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
certainty  and  strictness  of  a  future  judgment,  and  not  enter  into  the 
interests  of  that  awful  transaction?  Is  it  possible  that  we  can  read 
on  the  pages  of  that  revelation  wliich  bears  the  seal  and  signature  of 
Jehovah  himself,  that  they  who  have  done  good  shall  come  forth  to 
the  resurrection  of  life,  and  they  who  have  done  evil,  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  damnation  ;  that  the  wicked  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal — is  it  possible,  I  say, 
that  we  can  read  these  sayings  of  the  truth  of  God,  without  a  pause, 
a  solemn  pause,  succeeded  by  an  inquiry  of  all  others  the  most 
important?  How  shall  I  leave  my  tomb?  with  triumph  or  regret? 
On  which  hand  of  the  eternal  Judge  shall  I  stand  ?  What  will  be 
my  doom  ?  Shall  I  hear  it  said  to  me,  Come  ye  blessed,  or.  Depart 
ye  cursed  ?  Terrible  thought  indeed  !  What  I  to  hear  the  voice  of 
ray  once  gracious  and  most  merciful  Redeemer  pronounce  the  dread- 
ful word,  "  Depart  ye  cursed  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels  I"  0  Jesus,  thou  whose  arms  were  once  ex- 
tended on  the  cross,  cast  those  arms  of  bleeding  mercy  around  the 
speaker  and  his  heai-ers.  Other  refuge  have  we  none ;  hang  our 
helpless  souls  on  thee.  May  we  not  hope  that  the  gospel  will, 
this  evening,  be  a  savor  of  life  unto  life  to  many  of  these  precious 
souls?  Wliy  this  silent,  fixed,  solemn  attention  reigning  through 
this  vast  assembly?  Why  every  eye  fastened,  and  expressive  of  the 
sensibility  of  the  soul  ?  0  Lord,  thou  knowest.  Is  it  not  that  thy 
holy  spirit  has  reached  the  hearts,  while  the  feeble  voice  of  thy  servant 


THE   PERFECT   LAW    OP    LIBERTY.  173 

has  sounded  in  the  ears  of  this  people  ?  To  thy  name  be  all  the  praise, 
0  for  a  trumpet  voice,  on  all  the  world  to  call.  0  that  I  could  point 
this  whole  assembly  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world.  Those  arms  of  love  that  compass  me,  would  compass  all 
mankind.  May  the  Son  make  us  free  that  we  may  be  free  indeed  ! 
Amen. 


^^-^L. 


IR^iey.  JI'CDBflM  (C„<GII8^Bl[BE(}gYo  Mo  i^o 


or  TBF.  'VIRGINIA.   OONfEKFJtOi 


CHRISTIANITY  REASONABLE   IN  ITS  DOCTRINES  AND 
DEMANDS. 


BY   REV.  JOHN   C.    GRANBERY,  A.   M., 

OF    THE  VIRGINIA    CONFERKKCE. 


•'  Then  he  which  had  received  the  one  talent  came,  and  said,  Lord,  I  knew 
thee  that  thou  art  a  hard  man,  reaping  where  thou  hast  not  sown,  and  gathering 
where  thou  hast  not  strewed  :  And  I  was  afraid,  and  went  and  hid  thy  talent 
in  the  earth  :  lo,  there  thou  hast  that  is  thine." — Mat.  xxv,  24,  25. 

I  do  not  purpose  to  comment  on  the  crime  and  punishment  of  the 
servant  who  buried  his  talent.  There  was  little  committed  to  his 
trust — a  single  talent ;  he  is  charged  not  with  throwing  it  away  or 
spending  it  sinfully,  but  merely  with  failure  to  improve  and  increase 
it :  Nevertheless,  he  is  condemned  as  wicked  and  slothful ;  the  one 
talent  is  taken  away,  and  he  is  cast  into  outer  darkness,  where  there 
shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Fearful  warning  to  every 
unprofitable  servant !  Friend,  have  you  received  the  grace  of  God 
in  vain,  or  are  you  growing  therein  ?  Are  you  doing  anything  with 
your  talents,  five,  two,  one  ;  or  lie  they  idle  ?  God  grant  that  you 
may  be  a  good  and  faithful  servant — commended  and  rewarded  as 
such  in  the  day  of  reckoning  ! 

But  I  will  not  now  pursue  that  line  of  thought.  I  quote  the  ser- 
vant's vindication  of  his  own  conduct  as  substantially  agreeing  with 
the  excuse  you  often  make  for  the  neglect  of  duty,  viz  :  the  severity 
and  even  impracticability  of  the  Divine  exactions.  You  recoil,  I 
grant,  from  the  daring  profanity  of  calling  God  a  hard  Master ;  when 
tried  by  His  word  and  found  wanting,  you  may  not  be  so  bold  and  so 
blasphemous  as  to  assert  your  own  innocence,  and  impeach  Him  of  in- 
justice in  His  requirements ;  you  may  refuse  to  utter  such  words,  or 


176  CHRISTIANITY   REASONABLE   IN 

entertain  such  reflections  in  their  naked  impiety  :  and  yet,  in  the  secret 
chambers  of  the  heart,  unsearched  save  by  His  all-piercing  and  all- 
comprehensive  gaze,  lurks  there  not  the  thought,  unexpressed,  scarce 
acknowledged  to  yourself,  that  His  demands  are  austere  and  unr£a- 
sonable  ?  Is  not  that  the  true  rendering  of  many  disguised  argu- 
ments with  which  you  repel  the  personal  appeals  of  the  preacher  or 
other  christian  friend  1  Whether  you  sneer  at  the  hypocrisy  and 
inconsistency  of  the  Church  in  general ;  or  select  some  individual 
member  for  your  censure ;  or  complain  that  there  are  so  many  mys- 
teries in  the  Bible,  deep,  dark,  incomprehensible,  so  that  you  know 
not  what  to  believe  or  what  to  do  ;  or  rail  at  the  clashing  creeds  and 
fierce  contests  of  christian  sects  among  whom  you  cannot  tell  where 
you  shall  find  the  safest  guide,  and  whose  endless  diversities  leave 
little  chance  for  falling  on  the  one  true  faith — whatever  special  form 
your  reasoning  may  assume,  yet,  inasmuch  as  you  are  held  to  respon- 
sibility by  God  and  not  by  man  ;  inasmuch  as  no  conduct  of  your 
fellows,  who  are  equally  with  yourself  His  subjects,  can  release  you 
from  obligation  to  His  service  or  screen  you  from  His  judgment,  is 
not  the  simple  amount  of  all  these  pleas  an  attempt  to  clear  yourself 
by  charging  God  ?  Do  you  not  virtually  affirm  that  you  are  required 
to  pursue  a  path  which  you  are  unable  to  discover,  and  to  perform 
duties  which  exceed  your  utmost  strength ;  that  it  will  not  be  right 
in  your  Judge  to  punish  you  for  the  lack  of  a  religion  you  can  neither 
understand  nor  practice  ? 

Suppose  I  were  to  admit  your  assumption  thus  far,  that  the  dread 
Being  with  whom  we  have  to  deal  does  exact  a  difficult  service  at 
our  hands,  and  seems,  both  in  the  measure  of  His  requirements  and 
in  the  terror  of  His  retributive  justice,  to  have  little  respect  to  human 
infirmities  and  the  disadvantages  of  our  condition,  may  I  not  turn 
your  argument  against  yourself?  May  I  not  say,  as  the  Lord  said  to 
His  servant, "  Out  of  thine  own  mouth  will  I  judge  thee,  thou  wicked 
servant  ?-"  Let  all  you  say  be  true  about  the  hard  commands  and  the 
harsh  judgments  of  God,  yet  as  you  are  in  His  power,  impotent  to 
break  His  grasp  or  bear  His  wrath,  the  very  austerity  of  His  char- 
acter, the  very  rigor  of  His  law,  should  make  you  the  more  careful 
and  diligent  and  untiring  in  doing  the  work  assigned  you  ;  for  if  you 
be  idle  and  negligent,  if  you  make  no  effort  to  do  what  you  can  for 
Him,  how  unfit  you  are  to  be  measured  by  so  strict  a  rule,  and  how 


ITS   DOCTRINES   AND   DEMANDS.  177 

heavy  must  be  the  penalty  aflSxed  by  so  stern  a  Judge  ?  0,  think 
what  it  is  to  be  weighed  in  a  balance  so  exact !  0,  tremble  before 
God  who  holds  a  rod  of  iron  I  You  sometimes  seek  to  content  and 
comfort  yourself  in  a  course  of  sin  and  neglect  of  religion,  by  the 
idea  that  large  allowance  will  be  made  for  the  frailty  of  your  nature 
and  the  violence  of  temptation,  by  Him  who  remembereth  our  frame, 
who  knoweth  that  we  are  dust,  whose  mercies  endure  forever  ;  but 
I  warn  you  against  lowering  that  high  standard  of  holiness  which  His 
law  contains,  and  offending  that  stainless  purity  which  cannot  look 
upon  sin,  and  insulting  that  inexorable  justice  which  will  by  no  means 
clear  the  guilty,  and  despising  that  rich  goodness  which  seeks  to  bring 
you  to  repentance,  but  failing  there  will  surely  bring  you  to  eternal 
remorse.  The  blazing  glory  of  infinite  holiness  is  to  the  sinner  a 
consuming,  quenchless  fire  :  the  majestic  arm  of  His  avenging  jus- 
tice wields  a  whetted  sword  that  spares  not  a  victim  and  misses  not 
an  aim.  If  God  shall  prove  to  you  a  hard  Master,  0  sinner,  what 
must  be  your  fate  ! 

But  I  would  address  myself  at  present  to  a  more  pleasing  and  not 
less  profitable  task  :  I  would  refute  your  assumption  so  far  as  it 
charges  God  with  undue  severity,  and  vindicate  the  claims  of  the 
gospel  as  not  only  allowed,  but  demanded,  by  wisdom,  righteousness, 
and  love. 

One  might,  at  first  glance,  question  whether  it  is  consistent  with  a 
becoming  modesty  and  reverence  in  God's  servant  to  examine  the 
objections  of  the  caviller  against  the  Divine  government,  and  enter 
upon  an  argument  in  vindication  of  his  ways  at  the  bar  of  human 
judgment.  The  august  name  of  the  Infinite  is  ever  on  the  lip  of 
fools  to  point  a  jest  or  strengthen  an  imprecation  \  but  far  be  it  from 
his  servant  to  speak  or  think  it  without  deep  abasement  and  solemn 
awe.  When  we  would  approach,  though  to  adore,  a  voice  speaks 
forth  from  the  flaming  glory,  "  Draw  not  nigh  hither  :  put  off  thy  shoes 
from  off  thy  feet :  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy 
ground."  We  enter  the  holiest  with  appeasing  blood,  and  the  sheki- 
nal  splendor,  though  resting  on  the  mercy-seat,  dazzles  and  over- 
powers us  ;  in  silence  and  in  fear  we  fall  and  worship.  The  angels 
before  His  throne  cover  their  faces  with  their  wings,  as  they  cry, 
"  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts :"  reverently  restraining 
within  due  bounds  their  desire  to  look  into  the  mysteries  of  the  gos- 
pelj  that  they  may  understand  the  strange  sufferings  of  Christ  and 
12 


178  CHRISTIANITY    REASONABLE    IN 

the  glory  which  should  follow,  they  wait  their  orders,  and  fly  forth  as 
servants  to  herald  salvation  and  minister  to  its  heirs,  though  the 
wondrous  plan  has  not  been  unrolled  to  their  vision  or  fathomed  by 
their  reason.  How  shall  we,  impressed  with  the  sublime  majesty 
and  effulgent  holiness  of  the  Most  High,  discuss  with  foolish,  sinful 
Biea  the  wisdom  of  His  law  and  the  equity  of  His  judgments  ?  Yet 
we  are  warranted  in  so  doing  by  inspired  examples.  Does  not  God 
expostulate  with  men  on  their  folly,  refute  their  objections  to  His 
acts,  and  appeal  to  their  own  reason  ^against  themselves  and  in  His 
favor?  "  And  now,  0  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, and  men  of  Judah," 
we  hear  Him  say,  "judge,  I  pray  you,  betwixt  me  and  my  vineyard. 
What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vineyard,  that  I  have  not 
done  in  it  ?  wherefore,  when  1  looked  that  it  should  bring  forth 
grapes,  brought  it  forth  wild  grapes  ?"  "  Yet  saith  the  house  of 
Israel,  The  way  of  the  Lord  is  not  equal.  0  house  of  Israel,  are 
not  my  ways  equal?  are  not  your  ways  unequal?"  Astounding  and 
affecting  spectacle  !  "VVe  see  the  God  of  grandeur  and  of  glory,  dwell- 
ing in  the  unapproachable  splendor  of  His  own  uncreated  and  un- 
bounded perfection,  filling  with  His  presence  all  space  and  all 
duration ;  the  faint  straggling  of  whose  brightness,  through  the  many- 
folded  veil  of  clouds  which  surround  Him,  is  the  illumination  of 
heaven,  so  intense  as  scarce  to  be  endured  by  the  strength  of  angelic 
vision;  whose  homage  and  praise,  when  not  awe-struck  dumbness  as 
of  death,  is  the  thunder-shout  of  all  their  hosts,  and  song  deep  as  the 
ocean  swell ;  the  glance  of  whose  eye  is  the  flash  of  the  lightning, 
and  the  step  of  His  foot  the  tread  of  the  tornado,  the  breath  of  His 
mouth  volcanic  fire,  and  the  shake  of  His  hand  the  rocking  earth- 
quake ;  at  whose  voice  of  grace  in  the  beginning  the  universe  sprang 
into  being  and  beauty,  at  whose  voice  of  terror  in  the  end,  it  shall 
dissolve  into  its  primitive  abyss  of  nothing — we  see  this  God  stretch- 
ing forth  His  hands  with  crying  all  day  long  to  a  rebellious  people  ; 
we  see  Him  in  Christ,  shedding  tears  for  Jerusalem  and  blood  for  the 
world  ;  we  see  him  in  his  Spirit,  striving  to  win  man  from  ruin  ;  we  see 
bim  in  his  servants,  warning  sinners,  pleading  with  them,  stooping  to 
controvert  their  insulting  reasonings  ;  we  hear  of  the  sounding  of  his 
bowels  and  of  his  mercies  ;  we  hear  him  say, "  How  shall  I  give  thee 
up  ?  my  heart  is  turned  within  me,  my  repentings  are  kindled  to- 
gether ;"  and  again,  "  Is  Ephraim  my  dear  sou  ?  is  he  a  pleasant 
child  ?  for  since  I  spake  against  him,  I  do  remember  him  still :  there- 


ITS   DOCTRINES  AND   DEMANDS.  179 

fore  my  bowels  are  troubled  for  him ;  I  will  surely  have  mercy  upon 
him,  saith  the  Lord."  And  this  God  of  tender  mercy  and  long  suf- 
fering you  call  a  hard  Master !  Be  sure  that  his  condescending 
grace,  which  is  so  full  of  forbearance,  unless  it  shall  happily  win  you 
to  obedience,  will  break  your  heart,  now  hardened  against  gratitude, 
with  aggravated  anguish,  and  your  doom  shall  be  the  more  terrible 
because  the  sentence  of  the  Judge  must  be  sanctioned  by  the  con- 
science of  the  criminal.  Laying  aside,  therefore,  in  accommodation 
to  your  folly,  that  unquestioning  loyalty  and  speechless  homage 
which  I  would  have  as  the  unbroken  habit  of  my  own  mind,  I  meet 
your  impious  assertions,  and  maintain  that  the  claims  of  God  in  their 
height  and  breadth  are  both  right  and  reasonable. 

I.  God  does  not  require  of  you  faith,  without  ample  evidence  and 
light. 

It  is  not  a  matter  of  slight  moment  what  your  creed  may  be.  It 
is  of  binding  obligation  and  essential  importance  that  you  learn  and 
believe  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  "  Sanctify  them  through  thy 
truth ;  thy  word  is  truth."  By  faith  in  the  true  gospel  we  must  be 
saved ;  without  it  we  are  lost.  It  is  idle  to  affirm  that  a  man  should 
not  be  held  responsible  for  his  belief.  Suppose  that  he  refuses  to 
seek  light,  is  he  not  criminal  therein  ?  Suppose  he  blinds  his  mind, 
perverts  his  moral  judgment  by  a  long  course  of  sin,  or  by  direct  ef- 
forts to  reason  himself  into  opinions  which  license  and  stimulate  his 
lusts,  until  he  loses  all  perception  of  the  excellence  of  virtue,  and 
approves  the  most  horrid  crimes — is  not  this  sufficient  evidence  to  con- 
vict him  of  guilt  and  deep  depravity,  though  not  an  act  of  wicked- 
ness, in  accordance  with  his  black  creed,  be  charged  against  him  ? 
Gifted  as  you  are  with  intelligence  and  freedom,  the  necessary  con- 
ditions of  responsibility  and  moral  character,  you  cannot  demand 
that  truth  should  burst  upon  your  view  in  full-orbed  splendor  and 
irresistible  conviction,  like  the  the  morning  sun  upon  our  globe,  with- 
out any  effort  of  your  own  to  discover  or  capacity  to  dispute  it. 
It  is  enough,  that  to  the  honest,  earnest,  patient  searcher,  there 
should  be  revealed  evidence  to  satisfy  his  judgment  and  light  to  in- 
struct his  reason.  "  If  I  had  not  done  among  them,"  said  Jesus  of  the 
Jews,  "  the  works  which  none  other  man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin  ; 
but  now  have  they  both  seen,  and  hated  both  me  and  my  Father." 
Whenever  there  has  been  made  an  authoritative  annunciation  of 


180  CHRISTIANITY   REASONABLE  IN 

truth,  it  has  been  accompanied  by  works  so  far  removed  from  human 
power,  and  brought  within  such  distinct  cognizance  of  the  senses,  as 
to  attest  the  divinity  of  the  message.  These  miracles  have  been  wit- 
nessed to  other  lands  and  times  by  vast  multitudes  of  spectators,  whose 
general  character  compels  respect,  whose  sincerity  is  proved  by  mar- 
tyr devotion  to  their  doctrine,  and  whoso  concurrence  would  be  more 
than  miraculous  if  it  were  not  accounted  for  by  the  truth  of  their 
testimony.  I  refer  not  only  to  those  who  have  recorded  the  facts, 
but  to  the  great  numbers  who,  during  their  lifetime,  were  appealed 
to  as  having  observed  them,  and  whose  faith  and  walk  from  the  date 
of  their  occurrence  were  regulated  by  them  :  for  instance,  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel  who  yearly  celebrated  the  feast  of  the  passover  in  com- 
memoration of  that  night  when  the  destroying  angel  spared  their 
homes,  but  slew  the  first-born  of  Egypt;  to  the  five  hundred  who  saw 
at  once  the  risen  Saviour  ;  and  to  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  in  whose 
midst  the  resurrection  was  declared  to  have  happened,  according  to 
public  prophecy,  and  in  spite  of  an  armed  guard  set  to  watch  his 
tomb — an  event  which  was  the  basis  of  their  religion,  essentially 
connected  with  their  whole  system  of  doctrines,  and  shown  forth  in 
their  most  sacred  institutes,  indirectly  in  the  sacramental  supper>  and 
directly  in  the  holy  day  of  the  Lord.  If  it  should  still  be  thought 
that  those  before  whose  eyes  those  things  were  wrought,  occupy  a  vant- 
age ground  in  comparison  with  us  of  remoter  times  to  whom  they  have 
descended  by  testimony — though  that  testimony  is  no  vague  tradition, 
enfeebled  in  authority  by  the  ages  through  which  it  has  been  trans- 
mitted, but  is  a  written  record  of  undoubted  authenticity,  and  pub- 
lished amid  the  very  scenes  and  days  of  miarcles,  and  is  embodied  in 
the  uniform  ordinances  of  the  church  from  her  first  foundation — there 
is  the  cumulative  evidence  of  prophecy,  a  light  undimmed  by  the 
lapse  of  centuries;  yea,  blazing  with  increasing  brilliancy,  as  history 
develops  event  after  event  of  its  predictions,  like  torches  that  are 
kindled  on  earth,  or  stars  that  come  out  in  heaven,  points  of  bright- 
ness and  centres  of  illumination  amid  the  darkness  which  covers  hu- 
man destiny,  and  which  will  not  be  fully  scattered  until  the  dawn  of 
immortality.  On  these  evidences  the  wisest  have  reposed  with  un- 
shaken confidence  ;  many,  like  West  and  Littleton,  have  examined  to 
refute,  but  ended  in  belief ;  and  avowed  enemies,  distinguished  for 
the  perverted  might  of  their  minds  and  the  impotent  malice  of  their 
opposition,  have  argued,  and  quibbled,  and  scoffed,  and  raged,  blind- 


ITS   DOCTRINES   AND   DEMANDS.  181 

ing  their  eyes  to  find  spots  in  the  sun,  and  straining  their  arms  to 
shoot  arrows  at  the  sky. 

I  leave  these  two  great  branches  of  external  evidence — granite 
foundations  of  the  faith,  miracles  and  prophecy — to  glance  at  a  more 
favorite  theme  with  me  :  the  intrinsic  force  of  conviction  which  be- 
longs to  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  Christianity — doctrines  so  simple 
that  the  untutored  African  can  receive  them,  so  sublime  that  the 
loftiest  archangel  cannot  soar  up  to  their  height,  whose  evident  rea- 
son attests  their  truth,  whose  evident  grandeur  attests  their  divinity. 
I  affirm  boldly  that  they  require  no  long  siege  sustained  by  historical 
researches  and  subtle  reasonings,  but  they  storm  your  intellect ;  yea, 
rather  the  heart  irresistibly  opens  to  receive  them,  as  the  morning 
glories  unfold  to  receive  the  sun,  and  the  thirsty  herbs  rejoice  to 
receive  the  dews  of  night.  Have  they  not  become  the  faith  of  the 
enlightened  world,  not  held  as  speculations,  to  be  sifted  and  weighed, 
but  as  established  facts  and  known  truths,  by  which  all  theories 
must  be  tried — the  standard  and  touchstone  of  truth  ?  I  assert  that 
you  do  believe  ;  I  defy  you  to  doubt.  The  God  of  the  Bible,  with- 
out cause,  date,  or  place,  whose  faculties  have  no  limit  and  whose  at- 
tributes have  no  blemish,  creator  of  matter  and  of  spirit,  ruler  and 
judge  of  the  universe,  sole  object  of  worship — do  you  not  believe 
in  him  ?  The  immortality  of  the  soul  —  dare  ycu  question  it  1 
Say,  if  you  can,  that  with  the  last  shut  of  this  eye  the  light 
of  mind  is  quenched,  and  with  the  rot  of  this  flesh  the  sensibility  of 
the  soul  perishes,  and  with  the  rigidity  of  this  arm  the  force  of  will 
is  struck  with  fatal  paralysis — in  the  very  utterance  your  own  rea- 
son will  give  you  the  lie,  and  a  sense  of  self-degradation  will  be  your 
punishment.  Not  more  surely  does  the  instinct  of  the  eaglet  lift 
him  in  ambition,  ere  yet  his  growing  pinions  can  lift  him  in  attain- 
ment, to  the  empyrean  heights,  than  do  the  spontaneous  longings  and 
conscious  capacities  of  the  enlightened  spirit  bear  her  towards  an  im- 
mortality from  which  she  is  still  restrained  by  physical  shackles. 
I  know  not  whether  Divine  Omniscience  has  seen  fit  to  give  the 
crawling  caterpillar,  one  intimation  of  the  change  that  awaits  him,  of 
the  beauty  and  the  grace  which  shall  adorn  his  loathsome  and  cum- 
brous body,  the  free  air  in  which  he  shall  sport,  and  the  finer  food  in 
which  he  shall  feed ;  but  I  do  know  that  in  us  there  dwells  the  re- 
sistless conviction  of  a  temporary  disability,  keeping  us  from  the 
sphere  for  which  we  were  formed,  and  spiritual  tastes  and  cravings 


182  CHRISTIANITY  REASONABLE   IN 

already  begin  to  foreshow  the  coming  change  which   shall  adapt  us 
to  a  less  sensual  and  an  immortal  life.     The  inborn  and  universal 
corruption  of  human  nature — can  you  look  into  your  own  heart  with- 
out learning  it  from  consciousness,  or  look  around  you  at  babe  or 
man,  at  individuals  or  society,  without  finding  proofs  beyond  number  ? 
Nor  would  I  exempt  from  this  scrutiny  of  reason  the  grand   doctrine 
of  the   cross,  which  is  so  emphatically  the  stumbling-block  of  the 
skeptic  and  the  ridicule  of  the  scoffer.     I  affirm  that  the  only  possi- 
ble solution  of  the  confused  condition  of  our  race,  in  whose  heart  and 
lot  evil  and  good,  justice  and  mercy,  fear  and  hope,  strangely  mingle, 
showing  that  they  are  neither  acquitted  of  crime  nor  abandoned  to 
woe,  is  the  remedial   scheme   of  the   gospel — that   reign   of  grace, 
through  the  substitution  of  Grod's  own  Son,  in  human  form  assumed 
for  the  purpose,  as  the  victim  of  a  righteous  retribution  for  our  sins, 
under  which  an  opportunity  is  afforded   the   guilty  sinner   to   secure 
justification  from  the  charges  of  the  broken  law ;  and  I  further  af- 
firm, that  the  longer  and  the  more  deeply  one  reflects  on  the  difficulties 
involved  in  his  moral  state,  and  the  provision  in   Christ  to  meet  the 
exigency  of  the  case,  the  more  filled  will  he  be  with  admiration  and 
delight  at  the  wisdom,  the  justice,  the  mercy  of  the  plan,  as  a  per- 
fect and  the  only  conceivable  reconciliation  of  the  stern  demands  of 
righteousness  with  the  salvation  of  the   sin-cursed  world.     In  close 
connection  with  this  redemption  by  Christ,  stands  the  doctrine  of  the 
shedding  forth  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  necessary  to  explain  the 
glimpses  of  truth,  the  softenings  of  a  hard  heart,  and   the  drawings 
of  a  stubborn  will  towards  right  and  purity,  realized  by  us  all ;  and 
for  a  much  stronger  reason,  necessary  to  recover  man  from  the  do- 
minion of  sin  in  his  soul,  and  to  invest  him  with  a  new,  holy  nature, 
as  the  medium  of  friendly  communion  with  God,  and  the  fountain  of 
true  happiness.     Did  J  not  fear  to  weary  you,  I  would  bring  before 
you,  also,  judgment,  heaven,  hell.     I  ask,  what  say  conscience,  hope, 
fear,  justice   to  these  things  1     What  say  the  disorder,  the  trampled 
virtue,  the  unequal  lot,  of  our  world  ?     Is   there  no  tribunal  before 
which  you  must  appear — no  reckoning  that  you  should  dread  ? 

So  much  on  the  evidence  which  demands  your  faith  in  the  Bible  as 
God's  own  word.  Do  you  complain  that  you  cannot  understand  its 
revelations?  Go  to  the  child  of  seven  summers  in  the  Sabbath  school  ; 
go  to  the  pious  old  negro  at  your  father's  home,  and  ask  them  to  ex- 
plain it.     Those  things  are  hid  from  none  except  those  foolishly  wise 


ITS  DOCTRINES  AND  DEMANDS.  183 

in  their  own  conceit,  or  wilfully  resolved  to  exclude  the  light,  or 
wickedly  careless  about  instruction ;  they  are  revealed  unto  babes. 
Search  the  scriptures  with  an  honest  heart,  in  order  to  find  out,  and 
embrace,  and  live  by  the  truth — it  will  disclose  itself  in  a  brighter 
efi"ulgence,  and  a  richer  beauty,  and  a  more  convincing  evidence,  as 
you  proceed,  by  giving  new  discernment  to  your  spiritual  understand- 
ing, and  new  activity  to  your  spiritual  tastes.  Do  you  object  that 
there  are  so  many  mysteries  into  which*  you  cannot  pierce  1  And 
what  are  you,  born  of  yesterday,  and  to-morrow  doomed  to  die,  that 
you  should  understand  all  mysteries  ?  I  cannot  tell  whether  I  should 
fall  to  laughing  or  to  crying,  as  some  young  man  who  has  just  learned 
to  distinguish  his  right  hand  from  his  left,  whose  eye  is  beginning  to 
open  to  what  exists  and  operates  around  him,  but  not  to  its  essence, 
end,  or  cause,  who  scarce  knows  how  to  steady  his  steps,  and  does  not 
know  whither  to  direct  them — as  such  an  one  comes  to  me  complaining 
that  he  went  forth  to  explore  immensity,  and  got  lost:  that  he  searched 
after  the  bounds  of  eternity,  and  was  only  bewildered  for  his  pains;  that 
he  attempted  to  dive  down  into  the  deepest  problems  of  divine  wisdom, 
and  could  not  touch  bottom  ;.  that  he  aimed  to  comprehend  the  Infinite, 
and  his  inflated  mind  still  stretched  not  to  sufiicient  capacity  for  the 
vast  iJea ;  that  to  him  this  wide  universe  seems  sadly  out  of  sorts,  its 
affairs  involved  beyond  possibility  of  disentanglement,  and  conducted 
without  intelligible  plan !  But  you  reply,  perhaps,  that  this  sarcasm 
cannot  satisfy  you :  you  admit  that  in  the  counsels  of  Jehovah  there 
must  be  many  things  which  he  has  not  chosen  to  explain,  or  you  have 
not  capacity  to  comprehend  ;  but  doctrines,  you  say,  are  taught  by 
christian  churches  which  are  clearly  and  irreconcilably  opposed  to  the 
most  elementary  and  universal  principles  of  righteousness,  and  which 
your  reason  compels  you  to  reject.  Well,  let  us  look  at  this  matter. 
Select,  for  instance,  the  Calvinistic  creed.  What  is  the  difficulty  ? 
God  is  just,  man  responsible,  sin  avoidable,  virtue  voluntary,  by  the 
undoubted  testimony  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  of  reason ;  none  but  fools 
and  wretches  dispute  these  truths.  Our  Calvinistic  brethren  affirm 
them  as  strongly  as  ourselves.  The  question  in  controversy  between 
them  and  us  is  not  whether  these  be  so,  but  whether  their  scheme  of 
predestination  is  consistent  with  them;  if  it  be,  your  objection  is  ob- 
\iated ;  if  not,  by  unanimous  consent  it  is  false.  Your  accountability 
and  God's  justice  are  solid  rock ;  theories  of  the  human  will  and  divine 


Jlg4  CIIAISTIANITY  REASONABLE  IN 

decrees   arc  fluctuating  waters  which  may  break  against,  but  cannot 
shake  it. 

I  reach  this  conclusion  :  God's  truth  is  sanctioned  by  man's  reason. 

II.  God  has  published  a  law  which  you  knoio  to  be  just  and  good. 

You  cannot  complain  against  this  law,  because  it  requires  of  you 
only  that  holiness  which  your  reason  recognizes  as  the  highest  excel- 
lence, that  rectitude  which  your  conscience  recognizes  as  of  the  high- 
est obligation.  To  omit  one  of  its  traits  from  your  character  would  mar 
its  beauty ;  to  omit  one  of  its  precepts  from  your  duty  would  license  sin. 
I  have  spoken  of  Christianity  as  a  system  of  doctrines,  and  we  have  seen 
it  to  contain  unmixed  and  lofty  truth  ;  I  speak  of  it  now  as  a  system 
of  morals,  and  pronounce  it  the  perfect  law.  No  other  creed  will 
bear  comparison  with  the  christian's  faith  ;  neither  will  any  other  code 
with  the  christian's  law.  I  declare  it,  with  a  painful  consciousness 
of  my  own  unworthiness,  which  is  more  than  lip  deep,  and  costs  me 
more  heavily  than  mere  word  confession,  that  however  this  law  may 
condemn  and  abase  me,  I  would  not  lower  it  by  one  line  from  tl\e 
height  of  its  commands,  or  subtract  one  tittle  from  their  breadth — 
no,  not  for  the  universe.  Let  me  be  pronounced  guilty,  but  that  jus- 
tice remain  unwarped  ;  let  me  be  shown  vile,  but  that  purity  remain 
unstained.  I  will  stand  afar  ofF,  and  smite  my  breast,  and  cry  unclean; 
but  shut  not  from  my  sight  that  beauty  which  I  love,  that  majesty  which 
I  adore,  with  a  devotion  surpassing  my  weak  fondness  for  all  my  treas- 
ure, and  all  my  joy  beside — the  ravishing  beauty,  the  sublime  majesty 
of  the  holy  law.  There  may  be  particular  precepts  of  a  positive 
natuns,  the  design  and  benefit  of  which  are  not  obvious  to  our  minds : 
though  these  are  few,  if  any,  in  the  new  and  simple  covenant  under 
•which  we  live.  But  for  the  most  part,  its  institutions  carry  with  them 
the  evidence  of  their  own  wisdom  and  benevolence  ;  and  without  an 
exception,  its  principles  must  be  acknowledged  by  friend  and  foe, 
believer  and  infidel,  so  perfect  that  no  flaw  can  be  detected,  so  com- 
plete that  no  addition  can  be  suggested,  so  authoritative  that  none 
can  dispute  their  obligation.  It  realizes  the  perfect  ideal  of  goodness; 
and  yet  it  is  no  mere  abstraction,  but  a  light  to  guide  us,  and  a  rule 
to  try  us  in  all  the  situations  and  particulars  of  life,  in  act  and  spirit, 
in  motive  and  method,  ascending  to  the  height  of  supreme  love  to 
God,  and  yet  coming  down  without  the  compromise  of  its  dignity  to 
the  humblest  virtues,  such  as  prudence  and  sobriety.    Have  you  over 


ITS  DOCTRINES  AND  DEMANDS.  185 

thought  of  it,  that  this  law  cannot  be  set  aside  without  renouncing 
your  conscience  and  reason  ?  That  it  harmonizes  with,  and  is  the 
embodiment  of  all  those  grand  principles  of  justice  and  goodness  by 
which  you,  by  which  the  civilized  world,  test  character  and  conduct  1 
That  man  must  become  hopelessly  blind,  irrecoverably  lost,  the  very 
recognition  of  virtue  and  all  her  charms  gone,  before  he  can  deny 
this  law  to  be  holy,  and  just,  and  good  ?  That  whatever  you  may  say 
about  the  book,  you  could  as  soon  sully  a  sunbeam  as  connect  im- 
purity with  the  law  that  book  contains ;  you  could  no  more  doubt  it3 
divinity  than  that  God  built  the  sky?  Let  these  statutes  be  graven 
on  stone,  or  written  in  a  book,  or  published  by  voice,  or  in  any  other 
way  brought  before  the  mind,  conscience  shall  approve  them,  and 
they  shall  carry  with  them  all  the  authority  of  God,  and  the  trans- 
gressor shall  be  self-reproached  and  tremble  through  fear  of  righteous 
retribution,  and  reason  shall  pronounce  that  only  by  conformity  to 
them,  whether  they  be  the  essential  principles  of  right  which  must 
enter  into  the  law  of  every  order  of  intelligent  beings,  or  the  appli- 
cations of  these  principles  to  the  special  relations  of  man,  can  the  char- 
acter be  purified  and  ennobled,  inward  peace  secured,  government 
sustained,  and  the  interests  of  society  promoted.  It  would  be  more 
rational  to  expect  physical  strength  and  enjoyment  where  every  organ 
was  diseased,  and  every  function  deranged,  than  spiritual  happiness 
in  a  heart  whose  dispositions  and  acts  vary  from  this  rule  of  moral 
health  and  order. 

If  I  had  space,  I  would  not  shrink  from  the  task  of  subjecting  this 
position  to  the  severest  investigation.  I  would  call  up,  one  by  one, 
those  virtues  which  have  direct  relation  to  God,  supreme  love,  resig- 
nation, patience,  gratitude,  reverence,  faith,  obedience  ;  then  those 
which  rather  rest  in  ourselves,  temperance,  chastity,  modesty,  humili- 
ty ;  then  those  which  respect  our  fellow-men,  truth,  honesty,  meek- 
ness, charity :  I  would  ask  which  one  is  wrong,  unworthy,  unneces- 
sary ;  which  one  could  you  blot  out ;  which  one  lacks  the  impress  of 
truth  and  divinity ;  which  one  lacks  majesty  and  grace.  I  would  defy 
you  to  add  to  the  list,  to  take  from  the  list,  to  amend  or  abate.  The 
sun  is  not  so  bright;  heaven's  dome  is  not  so  broad,  and  high,  and 
regular;  there  reigns  not  amid  the  systems  and  motions  of  the  stars  a 
harmony  so  complete,  as  is  this  perfection  of  all  that  is  beautiful, 
and  lovely,  and  proportioned,  and  noble,  and  sublime,  most  worthy 


186 


CHRISTIANITY  REASONABLE  IN 


to  be  revered  and  loved  as  the  image  of  God's  own  wisdom  and  will, 
most  worthy  to  be  embraced  and  practiced  as  man's  true  dignity  and 
good.  I  will  select  one  command;  it  shall  be  the  most  difficult  to  be 
obeyed — that  from  which  our  fallen  nature  recoils  with  the  most  stub- 
born hostility,  that  which  is  directly  in  the  teeth  of  the  old  philoso- 
phy and  of  the  world's  code  of  honor — the  duty  of  forgiveness,  of 
love  and  kindness  to  our  encinies.  I  ask  a  fair  trial  at  the  bar  of 
your  own  reason.  I  appreciate  the  disadvantage  under  which  I  labor; 
the  passions  of  your  heart  are  against  this  precept :  your  own  life  is 
condemned  by  it,  and  to  sanction  it  is  heavily  to  accuse  yourself ;  it 
is  sneered  at  and  scouted  by  the  great  world.  Nevertheless,  I  appeal 
to  you  in  the  quiet  hour  when  prejudice  and  passion  are  in  a  measure 
stilled,  and  am  willing  that  your  understanding,  sadly  darkened  as  it  is 
in  spiritual  things — your  conscience,  sadly  stupefied  as  it  has  become 
by  neglect  of  religion,  shall  decide  the  question.  It  is  weak  and  un- 
manly not  to  revenge  insult  and  injury,  is  the  heathen  doctrine  ;  it 
is  noble,  godlike,  is  the  christian.  I  place  before  you  a  man  of  scru- 
pulous honesty,  of  unblemished  purity,  of  generous  friendship.  He 
has  been  deeply  injured,  wantonly  insulted,  in  his  person,  property, 
reputation,  family,  by  one  whom  he  had  treated  with  uniform  kind- 
ness. Now  every  other  feeling  is  swallowed  up  in  the  foaming  pas- 
sion of  revenge  ;  he  plans,  be  pursues  that  he  may  inflict  terrific  pun- 
ishment ;  he  loathes,  scorns,  hates,  with  cruel  hatred,  his  enemy ;  he 
would  waste  his  possessions,  lacerate  his  tenderest  affections,  rend  him 
limb  from  limb.  There  stands  before  you  the  hero  of  heathen  admir- 
ation— of  human  philosophy.  And  now  I  present  to  you  another  who 
shall  resemble  the  former  in  every  other  feature,  but  diflfer  in  the 
triumph  of  holy  love.  He  shall  not  lack  courage  ;  Christianity  dis- 
dains cowardice.  He  shall  not  be  of  so  easy  and  sluggish  a  spirit 
that  he  would  not  stir  to  maintain  his  rights  ;  Christianity  gives  hardi- 
hood and  earnestness.  He  shall  not  be  protected  from  the  pain  of 
that  wound  which  the  hand  of  his  familiar  friend  has  given  by  an  ob- 
tuse nature — his  shall  be  keen  sensibility  ;  for  Christianity  refines, 
instead  of  blunting  the  feelings.  He  shall  have  a  warm  indignation 
against  all  injustice  and  meanness ;  and  pity  shall  not  enfeeble  princi- 
ple, but  he  shall  bo  prompt  to  strike  the  blow  of  judgment  at  the 
demand  of  duty.  And  yet,  he  shall  spare  his  foe,  shall  forgive  from 
the  heart  his  foe,  shall  feel  sorrow  for  his  crime,  shall  pray  for  hia 
amendment  and  pardon,  shall  retrench  his  own  expenses  that  he  may 


ITS  DOCTRINES  AND  DEMANDS.  187 

minister  to  his  wants,  and  risk  the  most  imminent  peril  to  save  Lis  life. 
Such  is  the  hero  of  Christianity.  What  say  you  ?  Who  is  the  greater? 
AVho  is  right  ?  Answer  :  «  The  hero  of  heathendom,"  and  I  carry 
you  to  Calvary,  and  dare  you  despise  the  cry  of  the  crucified:  "Father 
forgive  them."  I  carry  you  to  the  great  white  throne,  and  dare  you 
invoke  justice  without  mercy,  wrath  without  forgiveness. 
You  cannot  find  fault  with  God's  law  if  you  would 

III.  God  offers  you  justification  on  terms  which  are  simple,  jusi^ 
and  eminently  merciful. 

It  argues  gross  presumption  and  folly  in  the  criminal  to  except  to 
any  method  by  which  he  may  be  acquitted  ;  for  his  acquittal  must 
proceed  from  mere  grace,  and  deserve  the  warmest  gratitude.  How 
a  sinner  can  be  cleared  in  the  Divine  court  where  his  crime  is  proved, 
where  the  law  pronounces  every  one  accursed  who  continueth  not  in 
all  things  therein  written,  where  a  justice  presides  which  metes  out 
due  retribution  without  the  chance  of  mistake  or  partiality — how  he 
can  go  forth  at  freedom  and  in  honor  as  a  righteous  person,  and  re- 
sume his  rank  among  heaven's  loyal  subjects,  is  a  problem  so  diffi- 
cult that  it  must  have  been  judged  insoluble  by  the  highest  finite 
intelligence  before  the  revelation  of  the  gospel,  "  He  justifieth  the 
ungodly :''  there  is  the  good  news  of  a  mercy  in  God  and  a  happiness 
for  man  which  were  incredible  on  any  less  assurance  than  the  Divine 
proclamation,  but  being  found  true  should  melt  the  heart  of  stone, 
and  fill  with  more  than  angelic  rapture  earth's  despairing  wretches ; 
it  does  raise  in  the  presence  of  God  a  shout  of  joy  which  had  never 
sounded  forth  over  the  safety  of  the  unfallen.  And  while  the  great 
heart  of  God  is  yearning  with  compassion  towards  the  guilty,  and  the 
eternal  Son  is  looking  with  delight  to  see  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and 
all  the  bright  spirits  around  the  throne  are  praising  the  love  that 
abounded  over  sin,  and  rejoicing  with  new  songs  in  sympathy  with 
the  ransomed  captives  of  earth,  shall  the  transgressor  proudly  lift 
the  head  which  had  deserved  to  bow  in  perpetual  degradation  beneath 
the  wrath  of  his  Judge,  and  quarrel  with  the  conditions  on  which  his 
pardon  is  offered,  and  fling  back,  as  into  the  very  face  of  God,  that 
writ  of  justification  I  But  if  you  be  so  disposed,  what  complaint  can 
you  allege  against  the  conditions?  Comment  would  be  superfluous 
to  show  that  God  is  right  in  demanding  confession  and  renunciation 
of  sin,  and  acceptance  of  forgiveness  as  his  free  gift.     Do  you  object 


188  CHRISTFANITY    REASONABLE    IN 

to  the  sliaiuc  and  bitterness  of  repentance  !  Surely,  the  pain  of  a 
penitence  which  is  comforted  amid  its  very  tears  by  assurances  of  the 
divine  readiness  to  forgive,  is  an  easy  exchange  for  the  blackness  of 
despair  and  the  gnawings  of  remorse  and  the  endurance  of  vengeance 
through  ages  without  end  ;  and  the  cries  of  a  suppliant  at  the  mercy- 
seat,  where  God's  own  Son  is  the  advocate,  are  far  better  than  prayers 
in  hell,  to  which  comes  through  eternity  no  answer  save  laughter  and 
mockery,  and  wailings  over  a  ruin  from  which  there  is  no  recovery. 
God  takes  no  pleasure  in  your  sorrow  except  as  it  is  necessary  to 
your  amendment,  but  he  hastes  to  bind  up  the  bruised  heart  and 
pour  into  it  a  healing  balm.  The  gospel  contains  no  weak  compro- 
mise by  which  a  partial  suiTering  of  the  penalty  is  substituted  for  its 
eternal  and  unmitigated  severity  ;  it  teaches  neither  penance  during 
life  nor  purgatory  hereafter.  Evangelical  repentance  is  neither  in 
whole  nor  in  part  an  atonement  for  sin  ;  and  the  grief  it  implies  has 
no  other  use  and  no  further  extent,  either  in  time  or  poignancy,  than 
to  induce  the  hating  and  abandonment  of  sin,  and  an  earnest  turning 
unto  God.  When  that  point  has  been  reached,  there  soon  follows  a 
sweet  peace  through  the  witness  of  a  full  pardon. 

-  But  the  great,  the  peculiar  condition  on  which  justification  is  of- 
fered, is  faith  in  Christ.  And  what  possible  objection  can  be  urged 
against  this,  unless  it  be  such  an  one  as  Nauman  presented  when  he 
was  told  to  dip  himself  seven  times  in  Jordan  for  the  cure  of  his 
leprosy — viz  :  that  he  had  expected  a  more  difficult  task  and  a  more 
magnificent  apparatus  ?  Men  wonder  and  stumble  at  the  docti-inc  of 
salvation  by  faith,  because  to  believe  seems  so  small  a  thing.  It  de- 
mands neither  toil  nor  suffering,  neither  ceremony  nor  waiting,  neither 
learning  nor  morality  :  it  is  as  easy  and  instantaneous  as  looking  to 
the  brazen  serpent  on  the  pole,  or  touching  the  hem  of  Christ's  robe ; 
its  efficacy  is  no  more  restricted  by  the  previous  character  and  life 
than  was  the  virtue  which  went  forth  from  Jesus  by  the  nature  or 
extent  of  the  disease.  Faith  is  the  denial  of  all  merit,  righteousness 
and  works  in  the  believer.  It  flings  away  the  worthless  dross  of  our 
own  deeds,  with  which  we  had  vainly  dreamed  to  purchase  heaven, 
and  bows  before  God  a  beggar  and  a  debtor :  it  silences  the  tongue 
which  had  been  flippant  with  self-excuse  and  self-praise,  and  is  dumb 
at  the  Divine  reproof:  it  tears  oft"  every  bandage  from  our  wounds, 
and  probes  them  through  the  skin  which  had  deceitfully  closed  over 
them  to  their  very  depth,  exposing  the  festered,  loathsome  corrup- 


ITS   DOCTRINES  AND   DEMANDS.  189 

tion  :  it  goeth  not  about  to  establish  our  own  righteousness,  but 
stands  still  with  self-despair.  Such  is  faith  simply  doing  nothing, 
ceasing  to  work,  ceasing  to  go  about,  ceasing  to  boast,  naked,  speech- 
less, wounded,  dying.  But  what  else  shall  I  say  of  faith  ?  It  looks, 
it  listens,  it  receives.  With  reverent  boldness  it  draws  nearer  to 
Jesus  in  Gethsemane  than  the  stone's  cast  which  separated  his  fa- 
vored disciples,  and  with  anxious  vigilance  sleeps  not  one  moment  of 
those  dark  hours  which  he  spends  in  prostrate  prayer,  but  hearkens 
to  every  cry  of  anguish  which  breaks  the  silence  of  the  night,  and 
watches  every  drop  of  sweat  which  falls  like  blood  to  the  earth ;  for 
well  does  it  understand  that  the  cup  of  bitterness  so  intense  as  to 
sicken  unto  death  the  soul  of  the  shrinking,  yet  submissive  sufferer, 
must  be  drunk  to  the  dregs,  or  else  to  the  sinner's  lips  shall  be  pressed 
forever  the  exhaustless  potion  of  God's  wrath,  without  one  drop  of 
water  to  allay  its  burning  heat.  It  follows  Jesus,  but  not  afar  off  as 
did  Peter,  to  the  high  priest's  palace,  and  Pilate's  judgment-seat ; 
it  witnesses  all  the  mockery  and  all  the  pain  which  he  endures  from 
Jewish  council,  Roman  governor,  rude  soldiers,  and  excited  rabble  ; 
it  lingers  with  his  mother  and  the  beloved  disciple  near  his  cross, 
until  he  cries,  "  It  is  finished,"  and  yields  the  ghost :  it  beholds 
another  victim  than  the  mere  man  for  whose  blood  the  crowd  thirsted, 
and  another  judge  than  unjust  Pilate,  who  gave  up  to  death  one  he 
had  himself  pronounced  faultless,  and  another  charge  than  that  of 
treason  against  Caesar  for  which  he  is  condemned — the  Son  of  God, 
adjudged  by  the  Father  who  delighted  in  him  to  an  anguish  exceed- 
ing human  appreciation,  in  expiation  of  the  united  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  It  is  earlier  at  the  sepulchre  on  the  third  morning  than  Mary 
Magdalene  with  her  needless  spices,  and  freely  weeps,  but  not  like 
her,  with  grief ;  for  it  is  in  time  to  see  the  first  triumph  of  the  Ke- 
deemer  over  death — God's  witness  to  the  love  with  which  he  accepts 
the  satisfaction  offered  his  offended  justice  in  the  voluntary  sacrifice 
of  his  Son,  and  God's  pledge  to  save  through  its  merit  every  believ- 
ing sinner.  It  is  at  Bethany  on  the  day  of  the  ascension,  but  the  cloud 
in  which  Jesus  is  folded  hides  him  not  from  its  more  piercing  gaze, 
as  it  did  from  the  eleven ;  for  it  sees  the  grand  triumphal  procession 
of  heaven's  hosts  hasting  forth  through  the  everlasting  doors  to  hail 
the  King  of  glory,  and  the  crown  of  universal  empire,  outshining  the 
sun,  with  which  the  Father  binds  upon  the  throne  the  brow  so  lately 
torn  by  thorns  upon  the  cross.     It  abides  in  that  most  holy  presence 


190  CHRISTIANITY   REASONABLE   IN 

of  God,  where  blazes  a  splendor  beyond  the  shekinah,  and  a  raercy- 
geat  of  purer  gold  than  the  lid  of  the  ark  is  sprinkled  with  more 
precious  blood  than  ever  flowed  beneath  the  knife  of  Levitical  priest ; 
it  hears  our  great  High  Priest,  with  infinite  majesty,  with  boundless 
compassion,  pleading  for  our  sakes  the  value  of  his  own  vicarious 
sufiering  and  death.  And  through  this  wonderful  plan  of  mediation, 
it  receives,  it  is  gifted  with  blessings  beyond  all  price,  save  that  of 
the  blood  of  God's  own  Son.  Jesus  Christ  is  made  unto  us  of  God 
wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  redemption.  A 
righteousness  not  of  the  law,  but  of  grace,  is  found,  whose  surpassing 
excellence  causes  us  to  count  all  things  else  but  loss.  The  debtor 
is  discharged  from  his  obligation ;  the  beggar  is  enriched  with  trea- 
sures beyond  computation  ;  the  sick  unto  dea.th  is  restored  to  sound- 
ness by  a  kind  physician ;  the  criminal  is  absolved  from  guilt ;  the 
dead  is  alive,  and  the  lost  is  found. 

Oh  sinner  !  here  is  a  burden,  but  it  presses  not  on  you.  Here  is 
the  exaction  of  your  debt  unto  the  last  farthing,  but  it  is  paid  by 
{mother.  Here  is  rigor,  the  unsparing  rigor  of  law  and  justice,  but 
God's  beloved  Son  is  held,  to  the  account,  and  feels  the  keen  edge  of 
the  sword.  For  him  there  is  severity,  for  you  there  is  grace  alone. 
Over  his  sufferings  the  sun  blackens,  and  the  earth  quakes  ;  but  to- 
wards you  is  displayed 

«<  Amazing  pity,  grace  unknown, 
And  love  beyond  degree!" 

IV.  God  has  made  a  gracious  provision  for  the  renewal  of  your  fall- 
en nature  after  his  own  image  in  holiness. 

Man,  in  the  pride  of  his  heart,  would  gladly  think  well  of  himself 
if  he  could.  And  such  is  the  blindness  which  sin  brings  over  his 
moral  judgment,  and  such  are  the  delusions  which  he  practices  upon 
himself  to  conceal  an  unpleasant  truth,  that  he  has  but  a  faint  con- 
ception of  his  own  depravity,  and  sometimes  feels  a  positive  compla- 
cency in  hifc  own  character.  Yet  he  meets  with  but  a  partial  success 
in  his  earnest  effort  to  hide  from  himself  the  true  state  of  his  heart, 
and  to  persuade  himself  that  he  is  not  a  degraded  being.  There  is 
too  much  of  vice,  and  crime,  and  selfishness,  and  impiety  in  the 
world  not  to  be  discovered  and  condemned  even  by  his  obscure  vis- 
ion and  obtuse  conscience.  He  himself  has  been  guilty  of  depart- 
ures from  duty  too  evident  to  be  danied,  and  there  often  burn  in  his 


ITS    DOCTRINES   AND   DEMANDS.  191 

heart  tempers  of  such  violence  as  not  to  be  overlooked,   and  of  such 
fiendishness  or   brutality  as  not   to  be   excused.     He  would  shrink 
with  abject  shame  from  the  disclosure  to  his  fellows  of  thoughts  and 
principles  and  motives  which  work  within  his  secret  soul  ;  he  cannot 
be  reconciled  with  himself,  but  is  mortified  and  pained  at  his  own 
weakness  in  yielding  to  temptation,  and  his  own  lusts  which  crave  un- 
hallowed indulgence  ;  he  would  shrink  with  terror  at  the  idea  of  ap- 
pearing before  the  judgment  seat  of  God,  and  being  revealed  in  all 
his  pollution  amid  the  effulgence  of  the  divine  perfections.   Loud  aa 
are  the  laudations  of  man  with  which  the  world  often  rings,  the  so- 
ber confession  is  as  often  extorted  that  human  nature  is  very  frail, 
full  of  faults  and  infirmities,  easily  led  astray  by  temptation,  breaking 
loose  with  untamable  wildness  from   every  restraint  of  law  and  ed- 
ucation, but  soon  subjected  to  the  resistless  tyranny  of  evil  habits.  I 
appeal  to  your  observation  of  mankind,  to  your  familiarity  with  his- 
tory, to  the  facts  of  your  own  life,  to  the  present  testimony  of  your 
own  consciousness,  in  proof  that  the  heart  is  habitually  and  deeply 
vicious.     If  you   are   ever  well  pleased  with  yourself,  it  is  in  gay 
moods  of  thoughtlessness,  or  on  very  superficial  reflection  ;  it  is  when 
friends  have  flattered  you,  or  you  have  drugged  your  own  souls  t^ith 
the  opiate  of  vain  imaginations,    I  challenge  you  to  enter  on  serious 
self-examination  ;  to  select  as  a  standard  of  comparison  an   ideal  of 
virtue  and  purity,  not  more  strict  and  spiritual  than  your  own  con- 
science will  approve  as  right  and  enforce  as  binding,  if  you  allow 
conscience  to  speak ;  to  try  your  life  by  that  line — your  inward  dis- 
positions by  that  law,  candidly  and  searchingly,  as  you  expect  to  be 
tried  by  God  in  the  day  of  accounts.     I  know  that  the  verdict  of 
your  own  heart  now  will  be  the  same  as  the  verdict  of  the  dread 
Judge  then — you  will  pronounce  yourself  unworthy  of  his  love  and 
unfit  for  heaven.     It  requires  no  peculiar  skill  of  priest,  or  seven 
days  of  trial,  to  determine  that  you  are  a  moral  leper,  cut  off  from 
the  congregation  of  the  righteous  and  the  presence  of  divine  glory. 
Yet  you  know  not  one  tithe  of  your  own  wickedness  as  it  appears  be- 
fore the  God  of  infinite  purity,  or  oven  as  it  may  be  learned  by  your- 
self.   You  confess  in  moments  of  honesty  and  sober  thought  that  you 
are  prone  to  do  evil  and  weak  to  do  good  ;  but  in  fact,  you  are  a  cap- 
tive to  sin,  without  power  to  escape  its  chains,  and  a  spiritual  par- 
alytic, impotent  to  work  righteousness.     You  may  patch  together  a 
garment   of  fancied   goodness  by  outward   morality  and   religious 


192  CHRISTIANITY   REASONABLE   IN 

forms,  but  you  have  only  to  consider  in  order  to  strip  off  and  cast 
away  the  robe  of  filthy  rags  as  utterly  worthless.  Set  about  to 
change  your  nature,  and  be  the  holy  being  your  conscience  com- 
mends, and  you  will  find  the  task  as  difficult  as  to  roll  back  the  river 
rushing  to  the  sea. 

But  I  pause  too  long  in  describing  the  disease — where  is  the  rem- 
edy? Can  there  be  any  remedy  ?  One  only,  and  that  must  come 
from  the  power  and  grace  of  God.  He  cannot  change.  Over  his 
lustrous  purity  shall  never  come  spot  or  dimness.  As  his  essence,  so 
must  be  his  will  and  law,  holy,  unchangeable.  Not  a  precept  can  be 
waived  in  accommodation  to  human  weakness.  Earth,  his  footstool, 
heaven,  his  throne,  may  be  crushed  and  rolled  into  nonenity ;  but  his 
glory,  which  is  his  holiness,  shall  still  shine  forth  in  infinite  bright- 
ness, and  his  law,  which  is  a  flawless  mirror  reflecting  that  glory, 
shall  remain  in  its  original  perfection.  Grod  must  ever  loathe  and 
hate  sin,  with  a  repugnance  as  uncompromising  as  his  justice  and  as 
unbounded  as  his  purity.  But  man  may  change — rather,  may  be 
changed,  for  the  change  cannot  come  from  himself.  How  shall  this 
change  be  wrought?  Not  by  the  law,  though  it  is  holy,  just,  and  good. 
Absolutely  perfect  in  its  own  nature  and  to  its  own  end,  it  has  no 
adequacy  or  even  tendency  to  restore  to  purity  a  sinful  nature.  It 
is  an  infallible  guide  in  the  path  of  life,  but  not  a  physician  to  cure 
an  impotent  man  that  he  may  walk  therein.  Its  study  may  increase 
the  admiration  of  virtue  in  the  pure,  because  it  discloses  all  her  peer- 
less beauty ;  but  a  carnal  mind  feels  a  more  violent  aversion  to  its 
statutes  the  more  clearly  they  are  understood.  You  must  be  born 
again — born  of  God — or  you  cannot  see  his  kingdom.  There  is  re- 
generating power  in  the  Holy  Ghost  shed  down  on  us  by  the  Father. 
The  old  heart  must  be  taken  away,  and  a  new  heart  given.  The  na- 
ture itself  must  be  thoroughly  renovated  before  it  can  take  any  de- 
light in  God,  or  God  can  take  any  delight  in  it.  Nothing  will  an- 
swer the  necessities  of  your  case  save  a  spiritual  and  almighty  influ- 
ence, which  can  act  directly  on  the  very  heart  and  revolutionize  the 
whole  man.  Such  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit.  The  very  best  account 
of  your  moral  state  which  even  your  dim-eyed  conscience  can  furnish, 
shows  the  need  of  a  change  to  make  you  a  partaker  of  the  divine  na- 
ture, so  vast  and  profound  as  to  be  beyond  any  other  agency  than 
that  of  God's  Spirit ;  and  the  very  worst  account  of  yourself  which 
you  can  give  under  the  progress  of  religious  conviction,  cannot  show 


ITS   DOCTRINES  AND   DEMANDS. 


193 


too  desperate  a  condition  to  be  saved  by  this  power  to  which  all  things 
are  possible.  Though  you  be  dead  in  sin,  the  Spirit  can  quicken 
you  ;  though  you  be  buried,  the  Spirit  can  raise  you  from  your  grave; 
though  you  have  turned  to  corruption,  the  Spirit  can  restore  to  or- 
der the  elements  which  have  dissolved,  and  reclothe  with  beauty  the 
form  which  has  decayed ;  though  your  skeleton  be  broken  and  your 
bones  be  dry,  and  the  question  be  asked  with  despair,  "  Can  these 
dry  bones  live  ? "  yet  there  may  breathe  upon  you  the  Spirit,  so  that 
the  deranged  fragments  shall  be  composed  into  a  new  man,  and  your 
heart  shall  beat  with  the  pulsations  of  an  immortal  life. 

This  Spirit  of  the  Lord  has  sufficiently  enlightened  your  mind,  and 
excited  a  susceptibility  to  the  attractions  of  holiness,  to  induce  in  you 
a  penitent  seeking  after  God,  unless  you  wilfully  resist  his  gracious 
drawings.  If  you  ask  his  sanctifying  work,  your  Father  in  heaven 
will  give  him  to  your  prayers  with  greater  eagerness  than  ever  earthly 
parent  gave  bread  to  the  cries  of  a  starving  child.  He  will  dwell  in 
you  to  thoroughly  purify  your  inmost  thoughts,  and  to  strengthen  you 
for  all  righteousness.  Through  his  might  you  shall,  like  Paul,  be 
able  to  do  all  things :  that  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness. 
There  is  not  a  command  in  the  Bible  so  high  that  you  shall  not  find 
a  promise  of  grace  sufficient  to  qualify  you  for  its  performance.  If 
you  are  required  to  love  the  Lord  your  God  with  all  your  heart,  he 
Las  promised  to  circumcise  your  heart  thai  you  may  love  him  with  all 
the  heart.  You  are  left  in  a  world  of  evil,  but  Christ  prays  the 
Father  to  keep  you  from  the  evil.  You  will  be  exposed  to  tempta- 
tions, but  there  shall  not  befal  you  a  tempation  without  strength 
enough  being  imparted  to  bear  it.  He  "  is  able  to  keep  you  from 
falling,  and  to  present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory 
with  exceeding  joy." 

V.      Godpays  the  largest  wages  for  the  service  he  demands. 

The  remuneration  is  of  grace,  not  of  debt,  for  the  most  faithful 
(Crvice  through  a  life-time  would  only  fill  the  measure  of  duty,  and 
could  not  bring  our  Lord  under  obligation.  Man,  in  his  impatience, 
desires  immediate  reward ;  and  God,  in  his  compassion,  does  not 
■withhold  it  until  the  day's  task  is  finished,  but  begins  to  bless 
him  in  his  very  deed,  and  reserves  for  him  in  heaven  an  incorrupti- 
ble inhtritance.  The  recompense  in  this  world  is  a  hundred  fold 
greater  than  the  toil  and  the  sacrifice ;  there  is  added  in  the  world 

13 


194  CHRISTIANITY   REASONABLE  IN 

to  come  everlasting  life — a  portion  too  vast  tu  bear  any  ratio  which  we 
can  express  or  conceive  to  the  service  even  of  the  apostle  who 
was  "  in  labors  more  abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons 
more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft."  God  keeps  ceaseless  watch  over  his 
servants,  directs,  defends,  feeds,  clothes  them.  He  gives  them  hia 
Spirit  to  abide  in  their  hearts  as  a  comforter.  This  divine  friend, 
guest,  companion,  speaks  to  them,  communes  with  them,  leads  them 
into  a  spiritual  understanding  of  the  precious  truths  of  God,  inspires 
them  with  child-like  confidence  and  delight  in  their  heavenly  Father, 
encourages  them  under  difficulties  and  despondency,  and  strengthens 
them  with  internal  joy  and  vigor  when  they  feel  ready  to  faint  and 
fall.  The  kind  voice  of  the  Spirit  cheers  them  in  the  heat  of  the 
strife  and  during  the  dull  hours  of  watching ;  and  there  soon  fol- 
lows a  complete  victory  which  revives  and  emboldens  them  for  fresh 
conflicts.  They  have  peace  of  conscience,  the  love  of  God,  and  fruits 
of  usefulness.  Theirs  is  a  steadily  increasing  reward,  because  they 
are  conscious  of  a  progressive  purification  and  strengthening  of  their 
spirits,  by  which  it  becomes  easier  to  conquer  temptation,  a  keener 
relish  is  felc  for  divine  things,  and  they  have  larger  capacity  to  do 
good.  In  seasons  of  affliction,  they  have  revelations  of  God  in  such 
glory  of  holincsss  and  tenderness  of  love  as  they  enjoy  at  no  other 
time  ;  and  they  come  forth  from  the  fires  with  a  purity,  not  tarnished, 
but  more  resplendent  than  before.  Their  dying  hours  are  bright 
with  a  spiritual  joy  and  triumph  which  draw  from  the  most  worldly 
the  prayer,  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last 
end  be  like  his." 

After  a  short  life  of  labor  they  rest  forever,  and  their  works  do 
follow  them.  Shall  I  attempt  to  describe  the  munificence  of  that  recom- 
pense which  God  will  give  to  you  when  you  shall  have  proved  faithful 
unto  death  ?  Shall  I  contrast  the  wages  of  sin  with  the  wages  of  piety- 
eternal  death  with  eternal  life?  Shall  I  speak  of  the  short  service 
and  the  enduring  reward  ?  Shall  I  speak  of  how  little  we  do  and 
how  much  we  receive  ?  I  can  find  neither  words  nor  thoughts  wor- 
thy of  the  theme.  The  inspired  description  leaves  nothing  to  be  de- 
sired above  or  besides  what  is  promised.  You  could  not  ask  more 
than  you  will  get  ;  you  cannot  even  conceive  the  riches  of  your  in- 
heritance. You  shall  sit  down  to  a  heavenly  feast,  and  the  Son  of 
God  shall  gird  himself  to  serve  you.  Because  you  have  employed, 
not  for  your  own  pleasure,  but  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 


ITS   DOCTRINES   AND   DEMANDS.  195 

others,  the  few  talents  here  committed  to  your  trust,  you  shall  be  ru- 
ler over  many  things,  and  it  shall  be  the  will  of  God  that  they  should 
minister  to  your  full  enjoyment.  There  is  nothing  which  seems  to 
us  so  long  or  so  heavy  as  affliction  ;  but  the  most  severe  and  pro- 
tracted sufl'erings  are  light  as  a  feather  and  brief  as  a  moment  if 
compared  with  the  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory 
which  they  work  out  for  the  christian.  Your  talents  may  be  few 
and  your  sphere  of  activity  contracted,  but  if  you  improve  that 
which  is  given,  you  shall  not  fail  to  be  commended  as  a  good  and 
faithful  servant,  and  to  be  welcomed  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord.  Your 
face  shall  glow  like  the  sun  in  his  strength,  while  around  your  form 
shall  flow  a  robe  of  light,  and  on  your  brow  shall  glitter  a  crown  of 
glory.  Your  rank  shall  be  equal  to  that  of  the  angels,  and  God 
himself  shall  delight  to  honor  you ;  yea,  Jesus  Christ  shall  seat  you 
by  his  side  as  a  brother,  and  share  his  inheritance  with  you  as  a  joint- 
heir.  There  will  not  be  a  tongue  to  revile  you,  or  a  hand  to  be 
raised  against  you,  or  a  tempter  to  try  you,  or  a  sorrow  to  pierce 
you,  or  a  care  to  annoy  you,  or  a  task  to  weary  you.  Every  desire 
will  feast  without  satiety  on  a  full  supply,  and  every  faculty  will  ex- 
ult without  fatigue  in  the  noblest  employment.  Yours  shall  be  an 
endless  life  of  waiting  on  God,  beholding  his  glory,  hearing  his 
voice,  doing  his  will,  delighting  in  his  love,  being  transformed  into 
his  image,  with  a  satisfaction  and  rapture  unmixed  in  purity  and  un- 
bounded in  degree. 

Friend,  will  you  withhold  from  God  so  reasonable  a  service,  and 
r»ject  for  yourself  so  rich  a  reward  ? 


■TO"*' 


PAUL'S  COMMISSION  TO  PREACH. 


BY  LOVICK  PIERCE,  D,  D., 

OF  THE  GEORGIA.  CONFEBENCB 


"  For  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel :  not  with 
wisdom  of  words,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be  made  of  none  effect."— 
I  Cor.  i.  17. 

As  all  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable 
for  doctrine,  we  may  place  our  text  at  once  upon  its  proper  basis, 
and  proceed  to  adjust  its  terms  and  explain  its  rather  singular  aspeci, 
according  to  our  view  of  its  import. 

And,  Jirst :  Were  it  meet  to  call  any  one  of  the  apostles  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  an  appointee  of  his  by  eminence,  we  think  all  would 
unite  on  Paul.  His  epistles  are  nearly  all  prefaced  with  the  same 
great  governing  fact  —  "Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ" — once 
adding  "  Not  of  men,  neither  by  man,  but  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  God 
the  Father."  And  he  once  says  he  was  "  set  for  the  defence  of  the 
gospel."  Putting  all  these  evidences  of  his  divine  credentials  together, 
and  then  seeing  how  slightly  attached  to  the  commission  of  preaching 
was  the  work  of  baptizing,  there  is  much  room  left  for  wise  sugges- 
tions, none  for  silly  speculation. 

The  commission  of  St.  Paul  to  preach  the  gospel  was  either  a  per- 
fect commission,  without  an  absolute  order  to  baptize  ;  or  else  ho 
preached  under  an  imperfect  commission,  and  pleads  its  origin  and 
authority  to  be  divine.  Every  one  not  mentally  disabled  to  judge 
by  an  incautious  surrender  of  principle  to  creed,  will  admit  the  first 
member  of  the  proposition — to  wit:  that  St.  Paul  had  a  perfect 
commission  to  preach  the  gospel,  exclusive  of  an  absolute  order  to 
baptize.  And  if  this  be  ceded  as  a  fact,  it  calls  us  all,  with  due 
distrust  of  many  long-settled  notions  about  baptism,  to  review  old 
theories  and  conclusions,  and  see  whether  we  may  not  in  some  way 
be  "  teaching  for  dectrines  the  commandments  of  men." 

One  thing  we  assume  as  certain — viz  :  that  if  there  may  be  issued 


198  PAUL'S    COMMISSION    TO    PREACH. 

a  perfect  commission  to  preach  the  gospel  without  an  absolute  ordei 
to  baptize,  then  baptism  as  a  thing  or  act  is  not  an  integrant  portion 
of  what  the  scriptures  mean  by  the  charming  epithet,  gospel.  For  if 
it  were,  then  would  a  commission  to  preach  shut  up  every  preacher 
of  the  gospel  to  the  necessity  of  baptizing  as  a  part  of  his  office,  and 
of  preaching  baptism  as  a  part  of  the  gospel.  This  will  furnish  the 
reason  why  so  many  self-deluded  preachers  preach  baptism  so  much  ; 
it  is  because  they  look  upon  baptism  (by  which  they  mean  immersion) 
as  a  portion  of  the  gospel — not  as  an  incidental  appendage  of  a  Chris- 
tian church,  but  as  a  part  of  the  very  gospel.  If  they  did  not  so 
understand  it,  they  could  not  preach  immersion  as  one  of  Chtist's 
commands  under  the  general  commission,  "  Go,  preach  my  gospel." 
And  yet  there  are  thousands  of  worthy  preachers  who  preach  this 
dogma  as  a  portion  of  Christ's  gospel.  As  a  proof  point-blank  that 
they  do  so  understand  it,  they  deny  the  existence  of  a  gospel  church 
in  the  absence  of  immersion,  and  hold  that  a  pure  and  legitimate  admin- 
istrator must  derive  his  right  from  his  place  in  a  regular  descending 
line  of  the  duly  immersed.  They  also  make  obedience  to  this  fea- 
ture in  the  gospel  they  preach  indispensable  to  Christian  communion. 
In  a  word,  immersionists  demand  more  and  yield  less  at  this  point 
than  anywhere  else.  A  candidate  may  be  a  liberal  on  almost  any  point 
of  general  faith,  but  on  the  question  of  immersion,  as  demanded  by 
eminence,  no  modification  can  be  allowed.  All  must  yield  to  on? 
mode,  and  then  hold  every  one  not  immersed  as  a  stranger  and  a  for- 
eigner in  the  family  of  Christ. 

That  anything  as  subordinate  to  the  gospel  as  baptizing  is  made 
in  Paul's  commission  to  preach,  as  set  forth  in  the  text,  should  have 
been  exalted  by  men  to  such  importance,  is  a  point  entitled  to  manly 
and  fearless  consideration.  For  let  it  be  understood  that  the  obli- 
gation of  a  minister  to  perform  baptism  cannot  fall  below  the  value  of 
baptism  itself;  and  if  the  necessity  to  be  baptized  is  to  be  enforced 
on  the  same  ground  that  we  enforce  the  obligation  to  believe,  then 
there  could  not  be  any  such  subordination  of  baptism  as  that  which  is 
provided  for  in  St.  Paul's  commission.  But  if  baptism,  like  circumci- 
sion, is  a  mere  certificate  of  interests  secured  to  the  holder  anterior 
to  its  institution — obtained  without  and  entirely  independent  of  it,  it 
being  only  a  sign  or  seal  of  an  interest  arising  from  a  simple  reliance 
on  the  covenant  of  grace,  through  Christ  Jesus — then  Paul's  failure 
to  baptize  was  no  infraction  of  any  primary  law  or  ground  of  saving 


Paul's  commission  to  preach.  199 

faith.  Thus  to  ignore  baptizing  was  not  to  discard  baptism  as  wrong 
or  idle,  but  to  declare  its  great  inferiority  when  compared  with  preach- 
ing the  gospel — it  being  at  best  only  an  outward  rite,  valuable  as  a 
testimonial  of  an  inward  grace,  but  perfectly  worthless  in  itself.  And 
if  such  a  deduction  is  at  all  legitimate,  it  follows  as  a  matter  of  course 
that  the  individual  right  of  Christians  to  communion  in  the  house- 
hold of  faith  does  not  proceed  in  anywise  from  baptism,  in  view  of  ori- 
ginal dependence  of  the  one  upon  the  other,  but  from  the  possession 
and  exercise  of  that  faith  which  justifies  the  ungodly,  into  the  ground- 
work and  reason  of  which  baptism  did  not  and  cannot  enter.  The 
whole  value  of  Christian  baptism  is  found  in  its  representative  and 
social  signification.  In  the  first,  it  is  the  visible  sign  of  imparted  purity  • 
in  the  second,  it  is  the  fraternal  sign  of  the  household  of  faith,  and  of 
the  consociation  of  converted  souls  in  the  Church  of  the  living  God, 
and  derives  its  importance  and  authority  from  the  divine  law  and 
rule  of  order.  It  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  initiatory  step  into  Church 
relationship ;  in  taking  which,  the  initiated  is  understood  to  admit  all  the 
rights  of  the  Church,  and  to  pledge  himself  to  a  Christian  observance 
of  all  the  rules  and  regulations  thereof.  Hence  it  is  conceded  as  a 
self-evident  fact,  that  any  denominational  law  or  usage  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  exclusive  mode  of  baptism,  cannot  have  any  force 
beyond  their  own  limits  as  a  reasonable  ground  of  brotherly  fellow- 
ship, until  they  prove  that  a  legitimate  membership  in  the  Church  of 
Christ  cannot  be  secured  without  a  special  mode  of  baptism,  and  that 
all  variations  or  modifications  of  that  mode  renders  nugatory,  and  an 
usurpation,  the  claim  of  any  person  for  brotherly  communion  and 
Christian  fellowship — the  claimant  not  being  in  the  Church.  Our 
couclusion  is,  that  every  such  assumption  of  right  and  power  in  a 
Church  is  but  a  beguiling  of  Christ's  children  in  a  voluntary  humil- 
ity, a  subjection  of  them  to  an  usurped  authority,  and  a  policy  of 
bigotry  at  war  with  Paul's  directions,  "  Let  no  man  therefore  judge 
you  in  meat  or  in  drink,"  or  in  anything  immaterial  to  the  faith  that 
justifies  and  saves.  Every  such  surrender  of  a  great  principle  is  the 
inauguration  of  an  element  of  arrant  bigotry. 

But  the  commission  of  St.  Paul  suggests  another  important  idea, 
viz  :  that  the  office  of  baptizing  may,  by  an  over  estimate  of  its  neces- 
sity, minister  to  divisions  in  the  Church,  and  that  as  an  inferior  office 
it  may  and  should  be  laid  over  until  this  evil  is  cured.  We  as- 
sume this  apostolic  example  as  conviawDg  proof  that  baptism  can 


200  Paul's  commission  to  preacit. 

never  have  importance  enough  to  justify  divisions  in  the  Church  ;  and 
therefore  all  such  divisions  founded  on  mere  differences  about  b:i.ptism 
are  evidences   of  bigotry  on  a  larger  scale   than  they  arc  of  ortlio- 
doxy.     It  is  true  that  Paul  ignored  baptism  for  reasons  stronger 
than  could  easily  be   shown   in  our  day ;  but  it  is  sufficient  for  our 
purpose,  in  all  cases  where  the  evil  is  presumptively  evident.     Paul's 
movement  in  this  instance  is  not  alleged  on  higher  ground.     He  only 
feared,  as  a  possible  case,  that  some   one  of  the  self-styled  Paulites 
might,  in  partizan  heat  and  folly,  claim  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of 
Paul.     But  let  not  any  imagine  that  Paul  feared  the  formula  of  bap- 
tism would  be  altered,  so  that  the  officiating  minister  would  say  "  I 
baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  Paul,  the  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ."     No, 
this  was  not  what  he  feared,  and  what  he  so  nobly  deprecated.     He 
feared  that  he  would  seem  to  be  making  disciples  unto  himself :  this 
was  what  he  meant  by  baptizing  in  his  own  name.     There  was  the 
carnal  leaven  of  envy  and  strife  working  lustily  in  Corinth,     It  was 
a  choice  time  and  place  for  a  factionist.     The  revival,  or  to  speak  more 
properly  perhaps,  the  great  religious  awakening  in  Corinth  came  up 
under  Paul's  preaching  ;  so  much  so  that  he  afterwards,  in  vindica- 
tion of  his  ministerial  success  there  against  his  calumniators,  asserts 
his   pre-emption  right  to   the  whole  of  them,  as  his  converts.     But 
•waiving  all  advantages  from  position  and  priority,  he  nobly  lived  and 
labored  only  for  Christ.     He  was  one  of  a  very  few  preachers,  as  I 
fear,  who  know  that   there  cannot  be  an  over-appreciation  of  them- 
selves but  at  the  deadly  cost  of  an  equal  depreciation  of  Christ.    He 
knew  that  the   leaven  of  Paulism  in   the  Church  would  be  no  less 
harmful  than  would  the  leaven  of  Herod.     He  counted  a  refusal  to 
baptize   his  converts   a  saving  policy  demanded  by  Christ  himself, 
when  set  up  against  the  error  and  idolatry  of  man-worship  which  en- 
ters into  all  these  excessive  admirations  of  men.     In  how  many  ways, 
and  in  how  many  instances,  think  you,  baptisms  are  virtually  admin- 
istered in  the  name  of  a  Paul  ?     I  tell  you  I  am  not  utterly  mistaken, 
nor  do  I  speak  uncharitably,  when  I  say  there  are  now  in  our  midst 
preachers  who  would   rejoice  more  at  the  conversion  of  any  old  or 
prominent  member  in  another  church  to  the  belief  that  immersion  is 
the  only  mode  of  baptism,  indeed  that  it  is  the  thing  itself,  than  they 
would  at  the  conversion  of  a  sinner  who  had  this  sectarian  faith  be- 
fore.    Now,  candor  and  conscience  compel  me  to  say,  that  I  want  no 
other  proof  of  the  carnal  origin  of  any  ecclesiasticism  of  this  kinf' 


PAUL'S   COMMISSION  TO   PREACH.  2&i 

than  these  two — the  bigotry  that  disowns,  and  the  zeal  that  proselytes 
with  a  gusto.  And  these  little  carnal  outgushings  can  be  found  in 
no  church,  unless  some  strict  orthodoxy  of  creed  or  punctilious  ob- 
servance of  order,  not  recognized  by  other  churches  as  of  such  in- 
trinsic value,  is  raised  to  preeminent  importance,  and  becomes  a 
matter  of  glorying.  There  are  thousands  of  these  misguided  immer- 
sionists  who  have  imbued  their  spirits  with  admiration  of  this  bant- 
ling idea,  until  they  really  believe  themselves  the  chosen  sentinels  of 
the  ark  of  the  covenant.  Thus  every  one  who  defends  an  idea  under 
the  belief  that  he  is  defending  a  divinity,  naturally  becomes  a  sort  of 
spiritual  idolator. 

It  is  evident  that  Paul  was  too  cautious  in  his  course,  or  else  many 
of  his  successors  are  far  too  incautious  ;  either  he  was  over  scrupulous 
in  guarding  the  great  doctrine  of  grace,  of  exclusive  grace  in 
human  salvation,  or  else  we  are  generally  too  indifferent  about  the 
dangers  of  its  corrxiption.  I  fear  there  is  too  much  glorying  in  men 
and  modes,  for  the  purity  of  the  church.  It  is  no  better  to  make  a 
sectarian  now  than  it  would  have  been  in  Paul  to  make  a  partizan. 
He  determined  to  do  neither  by  any  official  act  of  his  ;  and  therefore 
after  baptizing  Crispus  and  Gains,  and  subsequently  Stephanas  and 
his  household,  he  practically  ignored  baptism,  lest  any  should  say  he 
baptized  in  his  own  name — that  is,  baptized  his  converts  as  his  own 
disciples,  and  the  friends  of  his  party.  Against  such  a  chance,  he 
said  that  Christ  sent  him  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel — 
not  to  raise  up  a  Paul  party,  by  going  on  to  baptize,  while  some  said 
"  I  am  of  Paul,"  and  of  course  would  wish  to  be  baptized  by  Paul  as 
their  champion  leader.  No,  he  ceases  to  baptize  any  of  them,  know- 
ing that  if  they  thought  baptism  was  any  better  at  his  hands,  because 
he  was  their  man,  than  it  would  be  at  the  hands  of  any  other  minister, 
they  were  not  religiously  worth  baptizing.  And  if  they  were  baptized 
as  much  to  honor  Paul,  as  to  be  honored  by  him,  they  were  to  all 
practical  ends  baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul  Here  was  a  preacher 
for  you — a  model  preacher.  Where  shall  we  find  his  successors  1 
Can  no  such  man  be  found  in  our  times  ?  Can  we  find  anywhere  now 
a  warm-hearted  immersionist  who,  when  about  to  immerse  an  unin- 
formed subject,  would  say  :  <'Christ  did  not  send  me  to  baptize,  but  to 
preach  the  gospel  ;  that  is,  baptism  is  so  little  a  thing  that  I  do  not 
look  upon  it  as  contained  in  the  spirit  of  my  commission ;  it  is  only 
added  as  a  thing  of  practical  utility  to  the  outward  church ;  and  if  I 


Ul^  Paul's  commission  to  preach. 

thought  you  would  look  upon  yourself  as  any  more  acceptahle  to 
Christ,  any  more  worthy  or  welcome  a  member  in  his  church,  on  ac- 
count of  this  immersion,  I  would  now  dosist."  Baptism,  like  circum- 
cision, is  nothing — notliing  in  the  same  sense.  Who  ever  heard  any 
immersionists  labor  to  convince  his  subjects  that  immersion,  as  a  spirit- 
ual agency,  was  empty,  dead,  worthless  in  itself — that  it  was  a  mere 
religious  form,  and  could  not,  by  its  mode,  make  religion  more  valid  ? 
Now,  brother,  it  were  as  well  for  you  to  make  water  itself  your  saviour, 
as  the  mode  of  applying  it  in  baptism.  Now  we  modestly  say  that  if 
our  immersionists  would  talk  thus  to  their  numerous  disciples,  (and  it 
is  their  absolute  duty  to  talk  so  to  them)  there  would  be  a  decline  in 
the  estimated  value  of  immersion.  But  right  here  arises  the  dificulty 
which  presses  so  fearfully  upon  all  sides  of  this  question.  The  prac- 
tical working  in  these  days  of  all  sectarian  and  partisan  movements, 
is  exactly  the  opposite  of  Paul's  course.  We  risk  wrong  notions 
about  certain  things — for  instance,  immersion  itself— rather  than 
depress  them  to  their  proper  measure,  for  fear  of  unsettling  some  views 
already  extravagant  in  devotion  to  this  mode.  Paul's  idea  was  that 
non-baptism  was  a  less  evil  to  the  Corinthian  church,  than  baptism 
with  idolatrous  elements  wrapped  up  in  it  :  our  modern  immersionists 
recommend  and  defend  their  idolized  mode  of  baptism,  as  if  satisfied 
that  an  error  in  mode  is  more  to  be  dreaded  than  an  excess  of  confi- 
dence in  its  God-pleasing  letter.  Hence  an  ultra  immersionist  never 
thinks  too  much  passed  to  the  credit  of  immersion,  until  you  say  it  is 
meritorious  enoug/i  to  supersede  Christ's  merit !  then  alarmed  and 
horrified,  he  raises  his  wail.  So  that  you  do  not  reach  that  point, 
you  may  say  :  "  There  is  no  gospel-obedience  without  it ;  no  church 
without  it  ;  no  ground  of  christian  communion  without  it.  It  is 
Christ's  chosen  and  only  mode  of  baptism.  Christ  has  the  same  views 
of  immersion  and  preference  for  it  that  we  have.  And  I  believe  that 
God  is  just  as  much  pleased  with  me  on  account  of  my  having  fol- 
lowed him  through  his  '  liquid  grave,'  as  I  am  with  myself."  Every 
immersionist  that  does  not  feel  and  think  thus  enough  to  justify  him 
in  saying  so,  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  his  adhesion  to  his  party.  For 
if  all  this  is  not  true,  the  whole  ground  of  modal  baptism  is  only  a 
delusive  mirage.  But  the  delight  with  which  every  water-worshiping 
spirit  hears  the  immersionist  extol  and  magnify  the  mode  of  his  bap- 
tism, is  proof  conclusive  of  his  devotion   to  mode.     The  credentials 


PAUL'S   COMMISSION   TO   PREACH-  203 

ander  which  he  acts  must,  therefore,  differ  from  those  Christ  gave  to 
Paul,  in  so  far  as  to  make  baptism  a  part  of  the  gospel,  and  its  ad- 
ministration a  paramount  duty.  Hence  a  stress  and  meaning  are  placed 
on  every  phase  of  this  wonderful  symbol,  so  as  to  magnify  a  mode. 

But  once  more  we  will  return  to  our  stand-point  :  The  division  of 
the  church  in  connection  with  baptiziHg.  Have  not  these  latter  days 
furnished  men  of  popular  ministerial  prominence  who  have  rent  in 
twain  a  church  of  years,  and  of  well-earned  fame,  on  the  ground  of 
baptism  ?  Not  indeed  about  its  mode,  but  about  sequences  involved 
in  the  extravagant  notions  entertained  concerning  the  mere  mode. 
The  church  as  it  was,  made  immersion  indispensable  to  gospel  obe- 
dience. The  gi'eat  reformer  desired  the  church  to  go  farther,  and 
increase  the  necessity  for  this  obedience,  by  making  immersion, 
when  believingly  received,  the  guarantee  of  regeneration — thus  seem- 
ingly denying  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  and  yet  teach- 
ing that  the  Spirit  is  so  resident  in  the  word,  or  letter,  as  to  render 
obedience  to  the  letter  indispensable  to  the  offices  of  the  Spirit,  and 
those  offices  a  never  failing  certainty  upon  such  obedience.  It  was  a 
magnificent  idea  for  such  as  labored  under  the  modal  lunacy.  It  is  a 
matter  of  wonder  to  me,  how  Mr.  Campbell  came  to  make  immersion 
such  a  central  point  in  this  brief  programme  of  spiritual  development. 
It  is,  however,  retrospectively  a  very  suggestive  incident.  The  germ 
of  Campbellism  is  found  in  the  over-estimated  value  of  immersion. 
Whenever  an  enhanced  value  is  attributed  to  outward  forms  of  reli- 
gion, it  always  leads  to  theoretical  dogmas,  or  to  sacramental  sanctifi- 
cation.  The  Campbellite  heresy  is  the  fullest  development  of  what 
we  understand  to  have  been  the  evil  deprecated  by  St.  Paul,  "  the 
baptizing  in  his  own  name,"  which  the  world  ever  saw.  But  who 
supposes  that  Mr.  C.  ever  felt  this  horror  of  having  disciples  bapti- 
zed in  his  name,  as  a  champion  and  a  leader  1  And  yet  to  prevent  a 
similar  evil,  Paul  was  commissioned  to  preach  the  gospel  without 
baptizing,  because  to  baptize  and  make  a  hobby  of  it  would  have 
ministered  to  party  feuds  ;  and  baptism  was  considered  of  too  little 
value  to  the  church,  to  be  practiced  at  such  cost  of  vital  principle. 

The  argument,  up  to  this  point,  has  been  to  show  that  baptizing  in 
Paul's  commission  to  preach  was  only  incidental,  and  not  imperative 
as  though  it  were  essential  in  carrying  out  the  high  behests  of  heaven, 
as  some  seem  to  regard  it.  And  being  so  clearly  a  contingent  duty, 
it  cannot  be  exalted  into  a  consideration  of  such  intrinsic  value,  as 


20-t  Paul's  commission  to  preach. 

to  constitute  a  sitie  qua  non  in  settling  the  ground  of  christian  fellow- 
ship, thereby  rendering  null  and  void  all  higher  and  more  spiritual 
qualifications,  such  as  spiritual  regeneration.  And  if  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  baptism  is  too  insignificant  to  justify  divisions  in  a  church, 
the  mode  of  baptism  must  furnish  still  less  justifiable  ground  for  dis- 
cord and  division  in  the  whole  church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This 
much  for  the  conditional  part  of  Paul's  divine  commission  :  next, 
comes  the  positive  and  imperative.  He  was  sent  io  preach  the  gos- 
pel.     How  did  he  do  it? 

Paul's  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  marked  by  three  distinguishing 
features :  in  its  ?natter;  in  its  manner;  and  in  its  extent.  To  each 
of  these  let  us  pay  a  passing  notice. 

Christ,  and  him  crucified,  was  his  constant  theme.  His  first  public 
discourse  was  in  the  synagogues  at  Damascus,  to  prove  that  Christ 
was  the  Son  of  God.  x\s  he  increased  in  strength,  he  mightily  con- 
founded the  Jews,  proving  that  Jesus  was  the  very  Christ.  Here 
was  to  them  the  rock  of  ofience,  and  here  he  applied  his  arguments. 
At  Thessalonica,  he  entered  into  their  synagogue,  and  "  three  Sab- 
bath days  reasoned  with  them,  opening  and  alleging,  that  Christ  must 
needs  have  suffered,  and  risen  again  from  the  dead ;  and  that  this 
Jesus,  whom  I  preach  unto  you,  is  Christ."  Most  of  his  epistles  open 
with  the  recognition  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  of  God.  To  the  Ro- 
mans, his  salutation  is:  "  Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  called  to 
be  an  apostle,  separated  unto  the  gospel  of  God,  (which  he  had  prom- 
ised afore  in  the  holy  scriptures,)  concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  which  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh ; 
and  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  with  power,  according  to  the  Spirit 
of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  Here  is  a  brief 
view  of  the  gospel  as  Paul  preached  it.  He  began  with  Christ,  and 
ended  with  Christ. 

To  the  Church  at  Corinth  he  said  :  "  For  I  determined  not  to  know 
anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Clirist,  and  him  crucified."  To  the 
Galatians  :  "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.  For  in  Christ  Jesus,  neither  circumcision  availeth 
anything,  nor  uncircumclsion,  but  a  new  creature,"  or  a  new  creation. 
Thus  he  teaches  us  that  in  the  mighty  work  of  the  soul's  regenera- 
tion, there  is  nothing  that  counts  save  Christ  himself.  For  this  most 
suflScient  reason,  he  says  to  the  Phillipians  :  "  And  be  found  in  him, 


Paul's  commission  to  preacbt  205 

not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  -which  is  of  the  law,  but  that 
which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of 
God  by  faith."  He  preached  Christ  as  the  end  of  the  law  for  right- 
eousness to  every  one  that  believed.  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life 
which  makes  believers  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death,  he  placed 
in  Christ.  Deliverance  from  the  noisome  body  of  death,  he  ascribed 
to  Christ.  Such,  indeed,  was  his  estimate  of  Christ,  that  he  proudly 
declares  his  loss  of  all  things — a  loss  too,  which  was  the  result  of 
deliberate  choice, — for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
Jesus  his  Lord.  Nay  more,  he  gloried  also  in  the  marks  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  which  he  bore  in  his  body— the  marks  of  whips  and  the  endu- 
ing scars  of  stonings,  all  suffered  for  preaching  Christ.  He  preached 
this  gospel  from  prison  and  prison  bounds  :  he  preached  it  in  chains. 
He  was  transported  in  this  condition  from  .Jerusalem  to  Cesarea,  and 
from  Cesarea  to  Rome.  To  the  Romans,  he  declared  in  his  epistle  : 
"  For  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ :  for  it  is  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  ofie  that  believeth  ;  to  the  Jew  first, 
and  also  to  the  Greek."  He  preached  Christ,  the  wisdom  of  God,  and 
the  power  of  God.  He  declared  that  in  Christ  dwelt  all  the  power 
of  the  God-head  bodily ;  and  that  believers  are  complete  in  him — 
need  no  other  ingredients  in  their  religion,  Christ  being  all  and  in  all. 
To  his  merit,  nothing  could  be  added ;  especially,  nothing  by  ceremo- 
nial washings.  Jewish  ablutions  were  all  annulled,  and  Jewish  sac- 
rifices abolished,  and  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  set  up.  But  out- 
ward things  could  not  become  of  any  more  worth,  after  the  setting 
up  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  than  they  were  before.  How  could 
they  ?  Could  Christ  make  water  baptism  of  more  value  in  the 
christian  religion,  than  circumcision  was  in  the  Jewish  ?  Surely  not. 
For  this  would  have  been  to  put  away  one  ceremonial  on  account  of 
its  unprofitableness,  and  substitute  it  by  another  equally  worthless  as 
a  saving  element.  If  no  saving  virtue  could  be  imparted  to  circum- 
cision, none  can  be  to  water  baptism.  The  two  impossibilities  are 
just  equal.  Here  we  see  further  evidence  that  Christ  did  not  send 
Paul  to  baptize.  Paul  wrote  and  spoke  on  every  essential  principle 
of  salvation,  and  yet  there  is  not  a  word  from  him  on  this  now  mooted 
question,  except  an  incidental  disclaimer  to  the  christian  validity  of 
John's  baptism,  as  related  in  Acts,  nineteenth  chapter.  And  this  may 
safely  be  regarded  as  one  of  many  instances  in  which  Paul,  being  set 
for  the  defence  of  the   gospel,  interposed  his   apostolic   authority 


206  PAUL'S  COMMISSION   TO   PREACH. 

against  the  incorporation  of  any  one  element  of  Jewish  religion  into 
the  gospel  of  Christ.  Paul  knew  that  to  admit  these  twelve  disciples 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  Ephesian  church  upon  the  authority  of 
John's  baptism,  would  be  construed  as  accepting  a  rite  which  did 
not  demand  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity  of  the  ever- 
lasting God-head — a  circumstance  which  demolishes  forever  the  bap- 
tism of  John  as  an  example  for  christians.  It  is  perfectly  immaterial 
by  what  mode  John  baptized  :  all  must  confess  that  his  baptism 
passed  away  with  his  peculiar  office  and  dispensation ;  and  with  his 
baptism,  its  mode.  Its  effete  and  imperfect  character  was  declared 
by  the  order  of  Paul  that  those  disciples  should  be  baptized  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  which  was  done  by  some  other  minister 
beside  Paul.  But  Paul  ceremonially  laid  his  hands  on  them,  and  they 
then  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  whom  they  had  significantly  learned 
in  their  christian  baptism.  In  view  of  these  and  other  considerations 
not  less  grave,  it  is  to  us  a  most  surprising  fact  that,  ever  since  our 
earliest  recollection,  there  have  been  persons  claiming  the  right  of 
teaching  as  if  by  eminence,  who  hold  the  preposterous  notion  that 
Christ's  baptism  by  John  before  the  public  was  an  example  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  his  disciples,  and  who  have  taught  in  all  cases  of  immersion 
under  their  auspices  that  the  gist  of  the  thing  consists  in  its  being 
obedience  to  Christ's  example.  And  yet  a  mind  not  crippled  by 
prejudice  will  see  at  once,  that  it  was  impossible  for  Christ  to  be  bap- 
tized, at  any  time,  or  in  any  mode,  simply  as  an  example  for  his 
followers.  Neither  his  character  nor  his  order  left  to  him  the  possi- 
bility of  receiving  John's  baptism,  or  his  own,  as  an  example  for 
believers.  Example  proper  cannot  be  set  in  cases  where  the  condi- 
tions and  moral  obligations  are  essentially  dissimilar.  Where,  we 
ask,  in  the  name  of  unprejudiced  candor,  is  it  found  that  Christ's 
ceremonial  consecration  to  the  office  of  God's  high  priest  on  earth, 
in  the  river  Jordan,  by  John  the  baptizer,  the  only  official  of  God 
who  could  befittingly  perform  this  consecration  of  Jesus  to  his  public 
office  as  a  divine  teacher — where,  we  ask,  is  it  found  that  this  sui 
generis  bapti.sm,  or  Jewish  priestly  washing,  was  done  or  designed  as 
an  example  for  christians  to  follow  in  their  baptism  ?  I  confess  that 
to  meet  with  men  of  good  capacity  in  other  respects,  who  can  doggedly 
defend  the  idea  that  Christ  took  up  John's  baptism,  grafted  on  to  it  a 
different  ceremonial,  and  then  made  his  own  baptism  by  John  an 
example  for  believers'  baptism,  leaves  me  less  ground  of  confidence 


PAtJL's   COMMISSION    TO    PREACH.  SOT 

in  the  reliability  of  human  opinion,  where  prejud.ce  exists,  than  I  am 
willing  to  admit. 

lu  all  Paul's  preaching  there  is  little,  very  little,  heard  of  baptism. 
Not  a  word  did  he  say  about  baptism  as  if  it  were  a  doctrine  proper, 
or  any  thing  like  a  doctrine,  of  the  gospel.  Not  a  sermon  did  he 
ever  preach  in  vindication  of  baptism,  in  any  way,  or  as  to  any  mode. 
What  he  did  say  referred  to  the  spiritual  truths  acknowledged  and 
vows  assumed  by  baptism  in  the  name  of  Christ  :  it  only  went  to 
prove  this  one  thing — that  the  baptized  renounced  sin,  and  professed 
full  and  implicit  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  in  all  the  grand  and  gra- 
cious benefits  of  his  death  ;  so  much  so,  that  they  were  said  to  be 
baptized  into  Christ's  death.  Now  I  would  like  to  know  why  any 
mode  of  baptism  may  not  lead  the  mind,  by  ceremonial  allusion,  to 
the  death  of  Christ.  May  not  the  man  who  is  baptized  in  the  name 
and  as  the  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  thus  manifest  his  sole  reliance  on 
the  cross,  and  his  obligation  to  die  unto  sin,  without  any  literal  re- 
semblance between  the  mode  of  his  baptism  and  the  mode  of  Christ's 
death  ? 

We  come  next  to  speak  of  the  manner  of  Paul's  preaching.  This 
was  of  no  less  decided  a  character  than  was  the  matter. 

The  general  manner  of  Paul's  preaching,  as  to  style,  was  argumen- 
tative. We  judge  that  his  epistles  afford  unquestionable  specimens 
both  of  the  matter  and  manner  of  his  synagogue  discourses.  Luke, 
in  the  Acts,  tells  us  plainly  that  he  did  preach  after  this  form.  His 
reasoning  seems  to  have  been  after  the  fashion  of  Christ's  instruction 
to  his  disciples  after  his  resurection — namely,  that  if  they  had  un- 
derstood the  prophecies  concerning  him,  and  had  believed  them,  they 
would  never  have  felt  a  jostle  in  the  ground-work  or  in  the  frame- 
work of  their  faith.  Hence,  beginning  at  Moses,  and  all  the  proph- 
ets, he  expounded  to  them  in  all  the  scriptures,  the  things  concerning 
himself.  Oh  !  what  a  discourse  that  must  have  been.  How  often 
have  I  felt  inclined  to  wish  that  I  could  have  heard  it.  But  we  have 
the  rich  skeleton  of  it  still  unimpaired.  It  was  somewhat  after  this 
divine  model  that  Paul  preached  the  gospel.  At  Thesalonica,  for  in- 
stance, he  entered  the  synagogue,  and  three  Sabbath  days  reasoned 
with  the  Jews  out  of  the  holy  scriptures,  opening  and  alleging  that 
Christ  must  needs  have  suffered,  and  entered  into  his  glory.  "  And 
this  crucified  Jesus,  about  whom  Jerusalem  and  all  Judea  have  been 
so  excited   and   confounded,  is  the  veritable  Christ — the  Christ  de- 


208  Paul's  commission  to  preach. 

83ribed  by  your  prophets.  Look  and  see.  No  one  but  Jesus  whom 
you  have  crucified,  could  ever  answer  the  description  given  of  Mes- 
siah by  Isaiah."*  Go,  guilty  unbeliever,  compare  notes  with  these  de- 
delineated  characteristics  of  Christ,  and  see  if  you  can  concieve  of  a 
mere  Jewish  prince  entering  upon  his  glory  without  suffering,  and 
make  such  a  prince  the  promised  Prince  of  Peace.  God's  Messiah 
is  foretold  by  all  your  prophets,  so  minutely  that  his  entrance  into 
Jerusalem  upon  an  ass,  and  the  foal  of  an  ass,  (as  the  prophet  had 
phrased  it,  probably,  a  young  unbroken  ass,)  was  as  necessary  to  meet 
that  vastly  significant  monosyllable  needs — Christ  must  needs  suffer, 
and  enter  his  glory — as  was  his  crucifixion  upon  the  hill  of  Calvary. 
It  was  necessary  that  all  prophecies  concerning  Christ  should  be  lit- 
erally fulfilled,  and  all  were  so  fulfilled ;  and  then  he  cried :  "  It  is 
finished." 

But  Paul's  manner  of  preaching  the  gospel,  as  it  regards  style,  is 
more  fully  set  forth  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians.  Corinth  was 
one  of  the  proud  and  populous  cities  where  this  missionary  apostle 
broke  ground  himself;  a  city  where  false  apostles  tried  to  oust  him, 
and  made  it  necessary  that  he  should  boast  himself  a  little.  They 
sought  to  depreciate  Paul  by  ridicule,  and  by  insinuations  derogatory 
to  his  integrity.  But  all  these  attempts  were  weakened  into  mere 
pestiferous  breath  by  his  apostolic  signs  and  seals,  to  which  he  could 
so  undeniably  appeal.  He  claimed  to  have  begotton  the  whole  of 
them  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  so  that  however  many  instructors  they  might 
have,  they  had  only  one  ministerial,  spiritual  father.  On  this  ground 
he  claimed  their  christian  aifiliation.  But  as  Corinth  was  a  hot-bed 
of  factionists,  it  afforded  a  fine  opportuuity  for  proselyters.  But  how 
did  Paul  break  ground  in  Corinth  ?  He  says  :  "  I  came  Bot  with  ex- 
cellency of  speech  or  of  wisdom,  declaring  unto  you  the  testimony 
of  God — and  I  was  with  you  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in  much 
trembling — and  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  with  enticing 
words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of 
power;  that  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but 
in  the  power  of  God."  Whether  Paul  intended  any  difference  between 
his  speech  and  his  preaching,  and  if  so,  what,  we  are  not  advised  ; 
but  we  suppose  the  terras  to  have  been  used  then,  as  they  are  now, 
to  distinguish  between  a  sermon  proper,  and  a  hortatory  address  on 
the  general  subject  of  religion.     But  be  the  difference  what  it  may, 

*  Isaiah  lii,  63. 


Paul's  commission  to  preach, 

his  style  was  the  same  in  each.  It  consisted  in  the  recital  of  God's 
testimonies  or  truths,  as  found  in  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
These  were  brought  forward,  and  their  application  to  Christ,  and  their 
fulfilment  in  him  and  by  him  were  simply  declared.  None  of  the 
apostles  seem  to  have  felt  it  a  duty  or  a  necessity  to  prove  God's  word 
true.  They  simply  assumed  and  affirmed  its  truth,  and  called  upon  sin- 
ners to  believe  it,  and  to  deport  themselves  accordingly.  They  did  not 
stand  at  the  door  of  a  sinner's  heart,  and  plead  with  him  to  yield  to 
the  chances  of  a  verdict  against  himself  ;  but  they  took  a  verdict  al- 
ready found,  and  walked  into  the  heart's  guilty  chamber,  and  exhibi- 
ting Jehovah's  bill  of  complaints,  called  upon  him  to  plead  "  guilty  " 
as  to  his  conscience  was  clearly  the  fact,  and  judgment  was  at  once 
entered  up. 

This  manner  of  preaching,  it  is  to  be  feared,  has  been  too  long 

neglected,  and  a  reliance  on  logical  reasoning,  such  as  might  appear 
well  in  a  lawyer  before  a  court  and  jury,  or  in  a  statesman  before  his 
peers  and  his  country,  has  been  substituted  for  that  faith  which  de- 
clares God's  testimonies,  and  leaves  him  to  work  out  their  verity  by 
the  demonstration  of  his  Spirit  and  power.  Or  if  there  should  be  any 
approach  to  it,  it  is  done  rather  in  the  way  of  a  professional  perform- 
ance, than  as  a  mere  agency  to  be  made  powerful  and  efficient  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  "We  do  not  feel  that  we  are,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  labor- 
ers together  with  God — ambassadors  for  Christ,  sent  not  so  much  to 
negotiate  about  terms,  as  to  demand  submission.  It  will  require  the 
disclosures  of  the  last  day  to  tell  what  has  been  lost  to  the  church  by 
the  error  of  her  ministers  in  placing  too  much  reliance  on  the  wisdom 
of  words.  The  hope  of  demolishing  the  fortresses  of  unbelief  and 
sin,  by  mental  troops  or  logical  detachments,  is  a  vain  hope — at  least, 
m  our  general  warfare.  Sinners  must  be  arraigned  before  the  law 
and  the  testimony  of  God,  charged  with  a  consciousness  of  their  guilt, 
and  left  to  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power.  This  is  the 
way  in  which  ministers  ought  to  preach  ;  and  at  this  point  arises  the 
need  of  prayer  by  the  church,  for  the  want  of  which  much  preaching 
is  lost.     The  Holy  Spirit  is  given  in  answer  to  prayer. 

But  it  is  time  for  us  to  subject  our  text,  in  another  of  its  pecu- 
liar aspects,  to  a  more  critical  examination.  Paul's  commission  to 
preach  the  gospel,  as  it  seems  in  the  language  of  the  text,  made  his 
obligation  to  baptize  so  contingent  that  he  did  not  consider  it  a  part 
of  his  call  at  all.     Strange  procedure  this,  if  baptism  is  what  our 

14 


PAUL'S   COJmiSSION   TO  PREACH. 

Baptist  friends  claim  it  to  be — the  door  into  the  church,  and  the  or- 
deal of  obedience.  But  his  call  to  preach  the  gospel  was  a  positive 
call  in  two  aspects  :  first,  he  was  to  preach  it ;  and  secondly,  he  was 
to  preach  it  without  wisdom  of  words — that  is,  without  any  connec- 
tion with  the  philosophy  of  Greece  or  Rome,  or  any  dependence  upon 
mere  excellency  of  speech.  This  is  no  denunciation  of  a  pure  and 
good  style  in  preaching,  but  a  simple  declaration  that  the  stylo  of 
preaching,  so  far  as  it  concerns  grammar  and  rhetoric,  or  even  logic, 
philosophy,  and  oratory  itself,  is  not  the  medium  of  spiritual  power 
and  success.  This  medium  is  found  in  the  divine  testimonies  them- 
selves. Wisdom  of  words  cannot  energize  the  truth  with  such  power 
as  dead  souls  demand.  Indeed,  if  wisdom  of  words  could  add  anything 
in  the  way  of  saving  energy  to  the  word  of  God's  grace,  then  would 
it  be  settled  that  the  divine  word,  like  a  musical  instrument,  gives 
forth  better  or  worse  sounds,  according  to  the  artistic  skill  of  the  per- 
former. Not  so,  however,  with  the  minister  of  the  gospel.  He 
strikes  the  keys  of  gospel  truth  and  grace  ;  and  disdaining  all  the 
artistic  rules  which  the  fastidious  taste  of  the  auditors  of  the  age 
may  seek  to  impose  upon  him,  he  thunders  from  Sinai  or  weeps  and 
woos  from  Calvary,  as  he  judges  best,  and  quietly  leaves  all  issues  to 
God's  Holy  Spirit. 

But  there  was  a  positive  prohibition  in  Paul's  commission  to  preach. 
This  negative  part  of  his  obligation  is  couched  in  terms  of  such  im- 
port as  to  demand  investigation  with  godly  jealousy.  The  tempta- 
tion to  preach  the  gospel  with  wisdom  of  words  was  never  greater 
than  at  this  time ;  and  the  reason  of  its  forbiddance  is  not  entirely 
transparent  to  all  minds.  It  is  lest  by  wisdom  of  words  we  make 
the  cross,  or  what  we  may  consider  the  preaching  of  the  cross  itself, 
of  none  effect.  This  danger  of  burying  the  cross  out  of  sight  by 
wisdom  of  words,  so  as  to  destroy  its  meaning  and  power,  is  utterly 
unintelligible  to  carnal  minds.  They  have  not  learned  to  distinguish 
between  the  proud  delight  they  take  in  the  poetic  drapery  cast  about 
the  cross  by  the  delicate  imaginings  of  their  preacher,  and  the  cross  as 
it  exhibits  the  love  of  the  Father  in  the  gift  of  the  Son,  and  the  love  of 
the  Son  in  dying  for  sinners.  And  yet  in  seeing  and  feeling  this  very 
distinction,  lies  the  very  life  of  the  cross.  It  is  possible  for  a  master  of 
oratory  so  to  drape  the  cross,  as  to  load  listeners  to  honor  and  glorify 
themselves,  cither  in  their  heroic  censure  of  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees for  the  cruel  treatment  of  Christ,  or  else  in  their  enthusiastic  ad- 


Paul's  commission  to  preach.  211 

miration  of  liis  life  and  death  as  the  prince  of  philanthropists.  But 
•with  him  as  the  Lamb  of  God,  taking  away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
they  feel  no  adoring  sympathy.  The  cross,  in  this  high  sense,  is 
made  of  none  effect. 

This  prohibition,  so  justly  imposed  by  Christ  upon  bis  preachers, 
while  it  deprecated  as  weak  and  unavailing  the  wisdom  of  the  world 
which  had  labored,  but  with  constant  failure,  to  make  God  known  in 
former  ages,  looked  no  less  to  the  more  modern  inventions  of  a  proud 
philosophy  seeking  to  rid  itself  of  the  necessity  of  dependence  on  the 
doctrine  of  a  positive  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  for  faith  and  sal- 
vation, with  the  special  view  of  avoiding  that  mystery  of  godliness, 
the  incarnation,  and  of  bringing  Christianity  sufficiently  under  the 
auspices  of  some  school  of  German  neology  to  make  the  story  of  the 
cross  more  a  carnival  for  the  revelry  of  reason,  than  a  kneeling  place 
for  penitents.  This  tendency  to  bring  the  great  central  doctrine  of 
the  gospel — Christ  crucified,  crucified  vicariously — into  pleasant  odor 
with  a  rationalistic  philosophy,  is  diffusing  itself  more  and  more  into 
every  new  modification  of  theology.  It  is  to  be  detected,  wherevei 
it  gains  a  foot-hold,  by  frequent  gentle  insinuations  that  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  the  human,  as  well  as  of  the  divine  mind,  to  be  looked 
for  in  the  Bible.  And  they  soon  learn  to  make  this  want  of  inspira- 
tion as  broad  as  the  flattered  cravings  of  a  worldly  spirit  may  demand. 
Many  of  these  American  neologists  are  strangely  wrapped  up  in  a 
modernized  Swedenborgianism.  They  are  wonderfully  familiar  with 
ideal  spirits ;  can  almost  see  and  feel  them  ;  have  no  dread  of  them. 
But  watch  these  religious  lunatics,  and  if  they  belong  at  all,  in  their 
own  classification,  to  the  rationalistic  philosophers,  they  are  apt  to 
wind  up  their  rhapsody  with  a  most  respectful  and  religious  announce- 
ment of  their  Bridge  creed  :  I  believe  in  one  true  and  living  God. 
This  is  Deism,  as  it  is  cultivated  in  the  Church  by  the  Unitarians  of 
our  day.  Deism  used  to  manifest  itself  by  epithets  of  abuse  lavished 
against  Christ ;  but  since  its  baptism  and  reception  into  the  Church, 
it  only  believes  in  one  true  and  living  God.  But  its  wisdom  of  words 
has  made  the  cross  of  none  effect. 

There  remains  one  other  view  of  this  subject  to  which  we  desire  to 
call  particular  attention  :  it  is  the  sense  in  which  we  should  under- 
stand "  excellency  of  speech"  to  be  forbidden  in  Paul's  commission 
to  preach  the  gospel.  There  does  not  seem  to  us  any  sense  in  which 
it  can  be  taken  as   contradistinguished  from  "  wisdom  of  words^" 


j^  Paul's  commission  to  preach. 

except  that  of  composition  ;  or  if  there  be  any  other,  or  further  sense, 
it  must  be  that  of  fine  elocution.  Now,  how  is  it  that  either  or  both 
of  these  pleasant  accomplishments  can  make  the  gospel  of  none 
effect  ?  There  are  several  ways  in  which  they  might  lead  to  such  a 
result.  There  might  be  in  the  preacher  himself  such  a  looking  to 
mannerism  as  to  vitiate  simple  faith  in  the  word ;  or  there  might  be 
in  the  church  such  a  readiness  to  account  for  success  by  the  charm- 
ing style  and  captivating  eloquence  of  the  preacher,  as  to  render  it 
necessary  that  God  should  withhold  his  Spirit,  in  order  to  save  the 
Church  from  this  man-worship,  and  to  preserve  unmixed  to  the  end 
of  time  the  pristine  view  of  efficiency — "  It  is  God  that  giveth  the 
increase." 

But  our  thoughts  lead  us  to  the  conclusion,  that  this  excellency  of 
speech  may  be  applied,  directly  and  without  any  forcing,  to  the  prac- 
tice, in  these  days  too  common  among  us,  of  writing  and  reading 
sermons.  Why,  we  ask,  do  so  many  ministers  of  a  certain  order  of 
taste,  go  to  the  trouble  of  writing  their  sermons — for  it  is  trouble- 
some when  viewed  in  connection  with  life's  many  calls — if  it  is  not 
for  "  excellency  of  speech  or  of  wisdom?"  I  do  not  think,  after  all 
the  ingenious  excuses  given  by  the  advocates  of  this  pernicious  prac- 
tice, that  but  one  ruling  reason  can  be  found  for  its  adoption  and  use, 
and  that  is  desire  to  attain  excellency  of  speech  and  of  wisdom.  If 
these  polished  preachers  believed  that  they  could,  by  carefully  con- 
ning over  their  rising  thoughts  and  entering  the  pulpit  from  knees  of 
wrestling  prayer,  produce  an  extemporaneous  discourse  which  would 
elicit  as  much  praise  from  the  elite  as  one  they  can  bring  forth  in 
manuscript  from  their  studies  after  days  of  thinking — does  any  one 
suppose  that  they  would  write  and  read  their  sermons  ?  Certainly 
not.  There  is  not  one  of  them  who  imagines  that  truth  is  any  more 
truth,  because  it  is  first  written ;  and  certainly  it  does  not  add  any- 
thing to  the  sublime  grandeur  of  the  pulpit,  to  see  a  preacher  thumb- 
ing down  his  sermon  for  fear  that  a  puff  of  wind  will  blow  out  his 
light,  or  fixing  his  eyes  on  every  change  in  his  position  as  if  he  re- 
volved on  an  axis.  And  if  no  vital  advantage  is  to  be  gained  by 
writing  a  sermon,  why  do  it  ?  Wc  answer  again  :  it  is  for  the  sake 
of  excellency  of  speech  and  of  wisdom.  It  is  not  that  the  sermon 
may  be  more  impregnated  with  truth,  but  merely  that  it  may  accord 
•with  grammar  and  rhetoric,  and  be  pronounced  a  chaste  and  beauti- 
ful piece  of  English  composition.     And  here,  my  dear  brother,  let 


Paul's  commission  to  preach. 

me  tell  you  for  your  mortification  that  I  often  hear  men  who  are  men, 
pronounce  your  discourses  very  beautiful  compositions,  but  very  poor 
sermons. 

But  we  do  not  play  oiF,  because  we  are  either  afraid  or  ashamed  of 
our  position  ;  which  is  that,  as  a  general  result,  th'»  writing  and  read- 
ing of  sermons  for  the  common  uses  of  preaching,  makes  the  cross  of 
none  effect.  Does  not  the  history  of  the  pulpit,  everywhere,  prove 
beyond  the  possibility  of  denial  that  discourses,  first  written  and  then 
read,  or  written  and  pronounced,  are  somehow  shorn  of  their  wonted 
power?  Who  ever  saw  under  this  form  of  preaching  any  of  that  heart- 
stirring  influence  which  precedes  and  accompanies  revivals  of  religion? 
And  does  not  every  one  know  that  a  simple  sermon  of  that  sort— to  say 
nothing  of  a  series  of  them — is  deprecated  as  an  evil  in  times  of  revi- 
val ?  There  is,  as  a  matter  of  necessity — doubtless  of  necessity — 
an  abs3nce  of  that  peculiar  unction  which  seems  to  give  a  sort  of 
almightiness  to  a  gospel  sermon,  when  it  gushes  like  a  crystal  stream 
fresh  from  the  baptized  heart  of  the  preacher.  Here  every  emotion 
expressed  is  a  truthful  thermometer  of  love  divine  within.  But  tell 
me  nothing  about  it :  my  mind  is  clear  that  it  must  often  happen  in 
the  delivery  of  written  sermons,  that  the  emotions  are  merely  artifi- 
cial ;  they  may  appear  in  the  right  place  in  the  programme,  but  they 
are  unnatural,  and  unable  to  call  up  their  kindred  tribe  in  others. 

The  ground  I  take  involves  so  much  that  is  exceedingly  delicate, 
that  modesty  itself  restrains  me.  This  much,  however,  I  must  say 
for  myself :  that  whether  mine  is  an  abnormal  mind  or  not,  one  thing 
is  certain,  I  cannot  feci  under  a  written  sermon,  as  I  can  under  an 
extemporaneous  one ;  and  I  believe  that  the  common  sense  of  man- 
kind has,  by  a  general  disapproval  of  the  practice,  given  a  verdict 
against  it.  It  is  an  innate  desire,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  a  sim- 
ple appetite,  to  crave  feeling  in  all  public  addresses  which  would  lead 
us  to  action  in  matters  of  interest.  The  extent  to  which  a  speaker 
can  carry  our  active  sympathies  with  him,  is  the  measure  of  his  prob- 
able success.  And  if  nearly  all  the  results  of  speaking  are  in  favor 
of  extemporaneous  discourses  as  most  efficient,  why  will  ministers  who 
could,  if  they  would,  extemporize  well,  persist  in  this  dull  round  of 
reading,  disliked  by  nine-tenths  of  mankind,  if  it  is  not  for  the  eclat 
of  excellency  of  speech  ?  I  do  fear  for  all  my  friends  who  are  about 
to  inure  their  minds  to  this  incubus  on  fine  natural  powers  of  speech.  It 
is  true,  certainly  true,  that  if  a  sermon-reader  could  have  in  his  man- 


214  PAUL'S  coannssioN  to  preach. 

uscript  every  word  just  as  it  would  have  risen  in  an  impromptu  dis- 
course— fresh  gushings  of  a  present,  internal  fountain  of  feeling,  yet 
when  read,  those  words  would  fall  on  the  ears  and  hearts  of  his  au- 
dience like  weary,  worn-out  winds.  The  curse  of  ineflBciency  has  been 
universally  stamped  upon  written  sermons,  when  read  to  an  audience, 
and  called  preaching.  If  badly  read,  it  is  murder ;  and  if  well,  it  is 
agreed  that  the  man  in  the  desk  is  a  good  writer,  and  a  fine  reader  ; 
but  no  one  ever  regards  anything  as  preaching  proper,  unless  it  is 
generated  and  delivered  as  an  impromptu  production — aL  else  is  call- 
ed preaching  merely  by  gi-ace.  Every  congregation  that  requires  the 
pastor  to  serve  it  with  prepared  sermons,  that  is,  sermons  prepared 
to  be  read,  is  found  to  be  as  unmoved  in  all  the  emotional  springs  of 
piety,  as  a  skeleton.  Indeed,  the  underlying  and  prompting  motive 
In  those  cases  is,  generally,  quietism.  But  in  these  time-serving  move- 
ments, as  they  creep  in  among  us,  there  is  an  unsuspected  element  of 
vain  glory.  I  have  never  conversed  with  a  volunteer  in  this  line  of 
Methodist  preaching,  who  did  not  leave  me  decidedly  under  the  con- 
viction, that  ambition  after  excellency  of  speech  and  of  wisdom  was  the 
real  motive  prompting  him  in  the  premises ;  and  the  avowed  motive  is 
to  ensure  the  esteem,  and  gain  the  ear  of  the  well  informed.  This 
all  looks  well — looks  right  j  but  somehow  it  does  network  well.  It 
is  condemned  by  the  comparative  practical  results.  There  is  some 
way  in  which  this  reliance  on  excellency  of  speech  vitiates  the  gospel; 
some  way  in  which  the  cross  is  made  of  none  effect.  Hence,  St.  Paul 
would  not  preach  the  gospel  with  excellency  of  speech,  or  of  wisdom. 
If  he  had  pertinaciously  adhered  to  all  the  school  rules  of  composi- 
tion and  oratory  as  practiced  by  lawyers  and  senators,  his  power 
would  have  been  located  in  his  oratory — using  the  word  oratory  in 
the  generic  sense.  But  waiving  all  these  facilities  of  speech,  ho 
simply  declared  God's  testimonies.  He  planted  himself  on  the  truth 
of  God's  revelation,  and  demanded  belief  in  it,  and  conformity  of  life 
to  it.  He  never  gave  himself  any  trouble  about  the  strict  conformity 
of  his  speech  and  preaching  to  every  law  of  grammar,  and  every  rule 
of  rhetoric,  but  declared  the  testimonies  of  his  God  in  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  and  of  power.  In  his  preaching,  the  cross  was  undraped, 
it  stood  out  naked,  the  centre  and  soul  of  the  gospel,  and  the  only 
hope  of  sinners. 

Having  considered  what  seems  to  have  been  optional  and  what  im- 
perative in  Paul's  call  to  preach   the  gospel,  to  wit :  the  work  oi 


PAUL'S   COMMISSION   TO  PREACH.  215 

baptizing ;  and  also  both  the  positive  and  the  negative  parts  of  what 
was  imperative  in  his  commission  ;  and  having  shown,  moreover,  how 
he  did  preach,  both  as  to  matter  and  manner,  we  come,  finally,  to  say 
a  few  things  on  the  extent  of  his  labors. 

There  were  but  few  features  in  Paul's  personal  ministry  more  stri- 
king than  the  extent  and  abundance  of  his  preaching.  Referring  to 
abundance  he  says :  "  In  labors  more  abundant."  In  reference  to 
his  field,  he  says :  "  So  that  from  Jerusalem  and  round  about  unto 
Illyricum,  I  have  fully  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Yea,  so  have 
I  strived  to  preach  the  gospel,  not  where  Christ  was  named,  lest  I 
should  build  on  another  man's  foundation ;  but  as  it  is  written.  To 
whom  he  was  not  spoken  of  they  shall  see  ;  and  they  that  have  not 
heard  shall  understand."  Circuit-rider  was  once  the  sobriquet  of 
a  Methodist  preacher.  It  was  then  used  as  a  depreciative  term. 
Circuit-riding  was  regarded  as  a  low  employment.  But  here  was  a 
precedent  in  circuit-riding,  or  perhaps,  in  Paul's  case,  it  was  circuit- 
walking,  which  fully  justifies  the  Methodist  in  riding  circuits.  It  is 
the  best  plan  in  the  world  for  the  wide  and  easy  spread  of  gospel 
truth.  It  seeks  to  break  new  ground  all  the  time.  It  is  in  exact 
accordance  with  the  aggressive  genius  of  the  people.  Paul's  circuit} 
from  Jerusalem  round  about  to  Illyricum,  was  perhaps  more  than 
one  thousand  miles  in  length  ;  but  whether  they  were  in  direct  line 
or  not,  he  fully  preached  Christ  in  cities  and  in  country.  His  theme 
was  Christ  crucified.  Before  the  preaching  of  the  cross,  superstition, 
idolatry,  and  systems  of  false  religion,  venerable  in  years  and  powerful 
in  patronage,  fled  like  morning  mists  before  the  orb  of  day.  He  says 
that  this  style  of  preaching  brought  forth  fruit  in  every  place ;  that 
God  always  caused  him  to  triumph  through  Christ.  This  was  the  ef- 
fect of  preaching  Christ  then,  and  has  been  ever  since.  Preaching 
must  be  done  upon  the  simple  basis  of  faith,  faith  in  the  word,  faith 
because  it  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  that  endureth  forever.  Our  faith 
must  not  be  in  the  logical  arguments  used,  not  in  the  captivating 
style,  not  in  excellency  of  speech  or  of  wisdom,  but  in  the  great  doc- 
trines of  the  cross.  And  if  we  catch  the  proper  inspiration  of  this 
doctrine,  like  Paul,  we  will  restlessly  strive  to  make  Christ  known 
to  such  as  had  not  heard  of  his  name  in  this  relation  before.  What- 
ever we  may  or  may  not  do  in  this  aggressive  line,  if  the  spirit  of 
preaching  ihe  gospel  to  every  creature  is  properly  upon  us,  we  will 
show  our  divine  calling  by  our  labor  in  the  lanes  of  poverty  and  in 


216  PAUL'S   COMMISSION   TO  PREAOH. 

the  destitute  districts  of  the  country.  A  preacher  who  can  content  him- 
self through  life  to  sit  down  in  some  good  pasture,  and  write  off,  and 
gracefully  read  off  a  sermon  or  two  every  Sunday,  and  feel  no  call  to 
preach  to  the  destitute  that  lie  all  round  him,  is  surely  not  a  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ.  No  such  pastors  and  preachers  are  reported  to  us  in 
the  New  Testament.  Look  and  see.  The  extent  to  which  a  minister 
preaches  the  gospel,  he  being  able  to  choose  his  course,  has  much  to 
do  with  the  evidence  of  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry.  A  man  may 
have  a  local  charge,  but  no  man  can  do  his  duty  by  giving  himself  to 
one  congregation,  while  there  arc  large  numbers  of  neglected  souls 
in  easy  reach  of  him.  But  we  will  here  close  this  humble  essay. 
We  have  glanced  at  one  or  two  things  which  lie  without  the  beaten 
pathway  of  our  predecessors  in  exposition.  Our  great  desire  is  to 
wake  up  in  all  our  preachers  a  jealous,  just  concern  to  guard  against 
all  the  chances  of  making  the  cross  of  none  effect  by  wisdom  of 
words. 

Let  Paul's  account  of  a  gospel  ministry  be  our  motto  :  "  But  if 
all  prophesy  and  there  come  in  one  that  believeth  not,  or  one  un- 
learned, he  is  convinced  of  all,  he  is  judged  of  all ;  and  thus  are  the 
secrets  of  his  heart  made  manifest,  and  falling  down  on  his  face,  he 
will  worship  God,  and  report  that  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth."  If  any 
one  ever  saw  the  like  of  this  under  a  sermon  read,  no  matter  what  its 
excellency  of  speech,  he  has  seen  what  I  have  not.  Let  us  prophesy, 
that  is  declare  the  testimonies  of  God. 


J 


i^t/  ^c/-'-^^^  ^^y^^- 


SALVATION  IN  ITS  INDIVIDUAL  RELATIONS. 


BY  THOMAS  L.  BOSWELL,  D.  D., 

OF  THE  MEMI'IIIS  CONFERENCE. 


'•What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?  " — Acts  xvi,  30. 

Salvation  is  commonly  understood  as  deliverance  from  danger, 
vrhether  temporal  or  spiritual.  It  is  therefore  a  subject  of  the  great- 
est moment  to  one  exposed  to  imminent  danger.  Its  importance  is 
to  be  estimated  according  to  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved. 
Hence,  if  a  man's  health,  character,  or  life,  is  exposed  to  great  dan- 
ger, and  likely  to  be  lost  or  greatly  damaged,  and  it  is  quite  beyond 
his  power  to  escape,  and  in  his  great  extremity  some  kind  friend 
interposes  and  eflFects  his  deliverance,  he  is  gratefully  appreciated  as 
a  saviour. 

But  let  us  apply  the  idea  of  salvation  in  a  spiritual  sense  to  the 
interests  of  man's  immortal  soul,  and  the  greatness  of  the  danger 
(and  consequently  of  the  deliverance)  is  at  once  inconceivably  aug- 
mented. Think  of  an  immortal  soul,  all  polluted  with  sin  and  iniquity, 
exposed  to  the  wrath  of  God,  "  in  danger  of  eternal  damnation ; " 
think  of  the  inexorable  law  of  God — the  claims  of  in6nite  justice ; 
think  of  the  infinite  love  of  God  in  the  gift  of  his  eternal  Son,  to  be 
made  flesh  and  dwell  among  us ;  think  of  his  midnight  prayers,  his 
agonizing  sweat  of  blood ;  think  of  his  sufferings  on  the  cross,  and 
ignominious  death  !  — and  all  to  atone  for  sin,  and  to  make  the  sinner's 
salvation  possible  ;  and  then  think  of  this  salvation  actually  applied 
to  a  penitent  believer,  through  the  agency  of  the  Eternal  Spirit :  How 
great,  and  good,  and  glorious  !  Well  might  the  angels  desire  to  look 
into  these  things,  and  rejoice  more  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth, 
than  over  ninety-and-nine  just  persons  that  need  no  repentance.  And 
well  may  men  upon  earth  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad  at  so  gra- 
cious a  display  of  omnipotent  goodness  in  the  salvation  of  perishing 
sinners. 

"  How  then  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation  ? " 
How  shall  we  escape  the  condemaation  and  pollution  of  sin,  the  wrath 


218 


SALVATION    IN    ITS 


of  God,  and  the  damnation  of  hell  ?  There  is  no  escape  if  wo 
neglect  the  salvation  of  Christ.  Sinners  can  only  escape  the  fearful 
retributions  of  the  future  by  seeking,  finding,  and  perfecting  the 
salvation  in  question.  Hence  the  great  importance  of  the  question 
proposed  in  the  text — "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 

It  is  now  proposed  to  call  attention  to  the  subject  of  salvation  in 
its  individual  relations. 

I.   Salvation  is  an  individual  concernment. 

There  must  be  a  deep  and  abiding  conviction  of  this  truth  in  the 
sinner's  heart  before  he  will  even  consent  to  seek  salvation.  He 
must  be  made  to  feel  and  say,  «  Let  others  choose  whom  they  will 
serve," — wealth,  honor,  pleasure,  &e. — "  as  for  me,  I  will  serve  the 
Lord." 

1.  Acting  under  this  personal  resolution,  the  sincere  penitent  will 
not  neglect  his  salvation  on  account  of  the  adverse  influence  of  oth- 
ers. He  will  give  no  heed  to  the  doubts  of  the  skeptic,  the  scoffs  ot 
the  infidel,  and  false  reason  of  the  Deist.  He  is  not  discouraged  at 
the  fact  that  false  professors  of  religion  occasionally  appear  in  the 
Church  ;  that  some  "  run  well  for  a  while"  and  then  turn  back  to 
the  world ;  that  others  are  deceived  and  miss  their  way,  &c.  He 
judges  no  man — his  concern  is  with  himself. 

One  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  personal  religion  is  the  spirit  and 
practice  of  judging  others.  Therefore  the  Great  Teacher  says, 
"  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged  ;  for  with  what  judgment  ye  judge, 
ye  shall  be  judged."  In  opposition  to  this,  a  sinner,  blind  and  igno- 
rant in  spiritual  things,  sets  himself  up  to  judge  ;  and  he  very  readily 
decides  upon  the  character  of  the  members  of  the  Church — one  is  a 
hypocrite,  another  is  a  backslider,  and  the  balance  cold  and  formal. 
Therefore  I  shall  not  seek  religion — not  join  the  Church — I  am  as 
good  as  the  best  of  them.  And  thus  he  excuses  himself  on  the  score 
of  others.  Now,  what  right  or  qualification  has  one  short-sighted, 
fallible  man,  to  judge  another  ?  And  what  has  the  hypocrisy,  back- 
sliding, &c.,  of  others,  to  do  with  a  man's  own  personal  religion  ? 
Let  no  man  judge  anoUier  in  these  things.  "  To  his  own  master 
he  standeth  or  falleth."  "  Every  one  shall  give  account  of  himself 
to  God."  So  far  from  these  considerations  operating  a  discourage- 
ment to  one  seeking  salvation,  they  should  convince  him  that  the 
circulation  of  counterfeits  provQS  the  existence  of  a  genuine  currency, 


INDIVIDUAL  RELATIONS.  219 

and  should  stimulate  him  to  greater  efforts  ia  seeking  to  obtain  it. 
Hence  these  evil  influences  from  others  should  not  cause  us  to  neg- 
lect our  own  personal  salvation. 

2.  It  should  not  be  neglected  on  account  of  human  speculations. 
Some  persons  have  quieted  themselves  in  the  neglect  of  salvation  on 
the  ground  that  "  If  I  am  to  be  saved,  I  will  be  saved."  "  When 
God's  good  time  shall  come,  I  shall  be  brought  in."  And  in  the  day 
of  his  power,  his  people  shall  (as  an  old  New  England  divine  once 
said)  be  made  willing.  This  human  scheme  of  salvation  has  kept 
thousands  from  "  striving  to  enter  in  at  the  straight  gate,"  until  the 
master  of  the  house  has  risen  up  and  shut  to  the  door,  and  excluded 
them  forever  from  the  possibility  of  salvation. 

On  the  other  hand,  others  have  rested  their  hopes  of  heaven  on 
the  infinite  benevolence  of  God — that  he  will  finally  save  all  men  in 
heaven ;  and  consequently,  have  neglected  their  personal  salvation. 
And  there  are  others  who  are  simply  resting  in  the  neglect  of  personal 
salvation  on  the  supposition,  that  "there  is  time  enough  yet"-- 
a  sophism  that  has  drowned  millions  in  destruction  and  perdition ! 
Still  men  rest  upon  this  broken  reed,  and  glide  along  softly,  singing 
to  themselves  "  time  enough  yet."  May  the  Holy  Spirit  awaken  such 
sleepers  from  their  dangerous  and  almost  fatal  slumbers,  that  they 
may  seek  an  individual  interest  in  the  Saviour  of  sinners ' 

Human  speculations  will  never  awaken  sinners  to  see  their  need  of 
Christ.  Suppose  a  man  could  prove  that  if  I  am  to  be  saved, 
I  will  be  saved  ;  will  such  preaching  be  the  means  of  saving  my  soul 
from  sin  ?  Suppose  another  man  should  convince  me  that  all  men 
will  eventually  be  saved  ;  is  it  likely  that  I  would  be  alarmed  on 
account  of  my  sins,  so  as  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ?  And  sup- 
pose a  third  should  persuade  me  that  I  need  give  myself  no  personal 
concern  about  salvation ;  when  God's  good  time  shall  come,  he  will 
make  me  willing,  and  bring  me  in — and  "  Be  easy,  my  child,  there 
is  time  enough  yet ."  Would  such  a  gospel  as  this  awaken  sinners — 
cause  them  to  break  off  their  sins  and  come  to  Christ  ?  Nay,  verily. 
The  reason  is,  it  is  not  personal,  individual,  direct ;  hence  there  are 
no  personal  and  direct  results  in  convictions  and  conversions  under 
such  ministrations. 

3.  It  should  not  be  personally  neglected^  and  left  to  the  ecclesias- 
tical attorneyship  of  others.  If  I  mistake  not,  this  was  the  great 
and  fatal  error  of  the  Jews  who  attended  upon  the  public  ministry  of 


^0  SALVATION    IN    ITS 

John  the  Baptist,  our  blessed  Lord,  and  his  apostles.  They  were 
wont  to  saj',  "  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father  5"  we  were  elected 
in  him  to  the  favor  and  salvation  of  God,  and  we  have  descended  from 
him  in  an  unbroken  succession,  and  "  have  never  been  in  bondage 
to  an  J  man."  Therefore  your  doctrine  of^aersonaZ  conviction,  repent- 
ance, faith,  conversion,  &c.,  does  not  apply  to  us.  All  this,  and 
more,  has  been  secured  to  us  in  our  father  Abraham.  Is  it  any  won- 
der they  should  have  held  the  tradition,  "  that  Abraham  stands  at  the 
gates  of  hell,  and  will  not  suflPer  an  Israelite  to  go  in  thereat  1 "  In 
opposition  to  this  great  error,  John  the  Baptist  testifies  against  them, 
that  their  exclusive  claims  to  salvation  in  Abraham,  by  virtue  of  their 
succession  from  him,  are  nothing  in  the  sight  of  God,  in  absence  of 
personal  faith  and  obedience.  He  says  :  <'  Think  not  to  say  within 
yourselves,  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father  ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that 
God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham  " — that 
is,  spiritual  children,  hy  personal  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  also 
ignored  by  our  blessed  Lord  :  "  I  know  that  ye  are  Abraham's  seed"- 
in  a  natural  sense,  and  by  ecclesiastical  succession  from  him — but  this 
does  not  save  you  ;  for  "  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  (and  no  murderer  hath 
eternal  life  in  him,)  because  my  word  hath  no  place  in  you."  But^ 
"  If  ye  were  Abraham's  children,"  by  personal  faith  in  me,  "  ye 
would  do  the  works  of  Abraham."  The  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
is  no  less  explicit  on  this  point.  He  says,  "  Circumcision  is  noth- 
ing ; "  all  that  Abraham  and  all  others  in  succession  from  him  can  do 
for  you  as  ecclesiastical  attorneys  in  religion,  without  your  own  indi- 
vidual faith  and  obedience,  amounts  to  nothing  ;  "  And  uncircum- 
cision  is  nothing,  but  the  keeping  the  commandments  of  God  " — faith 
working  by  love,  by  which  you  become  "  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus," 
Now,  when  we  consider  the  extent  of  this  error,  its  evil  tendencies, 
and  its  great  opposition  to  the  progress  of  "  pure  and  undefiled  reli- 
gion," we  are  not  surprised  that  it  was  promptly  met  and  confuted 
Dy  the  greatest  authorities  in  the  whole  range  of  Christianity.  In 
its  extent,  it  was  almost  universal  among  the  Jews  at  the  time  alluded 
to ,  its  evil  tendency  was  to  extinguish  among  them  all  personal  and 
experimental  religion  ;  it  secularized  their  notions  of  the  iMessiah  and 
his  kingdom,  and  resulted  in  the  total  ruin  of  their  national  polity. 
It  was  a  mighty  barrier  to  the  progress  of  spiritual  religion.  Neither 
John,  nor  Christ,  nor  Paul,  could  succeed  in  the  truth  of  God's  mes- 
sage of  individual  salvation  till  this  wall  of  brass  was  broken  down. 


INDIVIDUAL    RELATIONS.  221 

But  let  US  come  a  little  nearer  home  in  our  inquiries  on  tliis  sub- 
ject of  ecclesiastical  attorneyship  in  matters  of  religion.  And  how 
many  thousands  are  there  who  call  themselves  Christians  who  have 
given  up  all  personal  and  independent  thinking,  acting,  and  realizing 
for  themselves,  through  the  grace  of  God,  the  religion  of  Christ,  for 
the  vain  notion  oi priesihj  absolution.  Ask  them  what  they  believe, 
and  the  reply  is,  «  I  believe  what  the  Church  believes."  But  what 
does  the  Church  believe  1  "  The  Church  believes  what  I  believe." 
But  what  do  you  both  believe  ?  '<  We  both  believe  the  same  thing.*' 
No  independence  in  thinking  and  believing.  Again  ;  if  you  should 
hear  one  swear,  or  see  another  drunk,  and  reprove  them  of  their  sins, 
they  would  most  likely  (as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Wesley)  refer  you  to 
their  priestly  absolution — "  I  have  been  baptized  ;  I  have  been  con- 
firmed ;  I  receive  the  sacrament  from  apostolic  hands,"  &c.  And 
thus  they  excuse  themselves  and  cover  their  sins  under  the  cloak  of 
sacerdotal  absolution — what  their  ecclesiastical  attorneys  have  done 
for  them.  Ask  them  of  their  religious  experience,  assurance,  and 
prospects,  and  they  can  only  say  they  have  committed  their  religious 
interests  into  the  hands  of  the  priest,  and  they  suppose  he  is  man- 
aging all  for  the  best.  Oh,  what  a  pity  that  so  many  thousands  of 
God's  people,  religiously  blind,  should  be  led  on  by  blind  Nicode- 
muses,  that  they  should  all  fall  into  the  ditch  together ! 

Priestly  absolution  ! — what  is  it  1  It  is  said  to  be  the  power  to 
forgive  sin.  But  who  can  forgive  sin  but  God  ?  He  alone  possesses 
infinite  wisdom  to  know  the  sins  man  has  committed,  and  he  alone 
has  power  to  forgive  them  when  known.  Sins  to  be  forgiven  must  be 
known.  The  priest  has  not  this  knowledge,  as  he  cannot  penetrate 
the  secrets  of  another's  heart.  He  cannot  come  to  the  possession  of 
this  knowledge  by  auricular  confession ;  for  no  man  can  call  to  mind 
all  his  sins  in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  But  if  he  could  know  all  the 
sins  of  the  penitent  confessor,  he  has  no  power  sufficient  to  forgive. 
This  is  plain  from  the  fact,  that  the  Jews,  regarding  our  Saviour  as 
a  mere  man,  called  in  question  his  power  to  forgive  sin,  and  accused 
him  of  blasphemy  ;  and  he,  to  vindicate  himself  from  so  foul  a  charge, 
and  to  establish  his  authority  in  the  premises,  gave  a  stupendous 
exhibition  of  Divine  power,  by  saying  to  the  man  sick  of  the  palsy, 
whose  sins  he  had  just  forgiven — "  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed,  and  go 
unto  thy  house.  And  he  arose  and  went  to  his  house."  I  know  that 
it  is  contended  that  "  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  were  given 


222  SALVATION    IN    ITS 

to  Peter  and  his  associate  apostles,  and  that  they  received  power  to 
remit  and  retain  sins ;  but  it  is  fatal  to  this  view  of  the  subject,  that 
W8  never  find  that  they  ever  exercised  any  such  power  as  is  con- 
tended for  in  modern  priestly  absolution.  They  understood  their 
Lord  and  Master  better  than  that. 

No  man  can  rationally  and  religiously  presume  to  forgive  sin,  for 
he  has  no  jurisdiction  in  the  case.  Sin  is  committed  against  God, 
and  not  man  ;  hence  the  penitent  must,  in  his  own  individual  person, 
confess  to  God,  like  the  Publican,  <:  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner!  " 
This  is  direct,  individual  confession  to  God,  and  direct  and  personal 
results  followed ;  for  "  he  went  down  to  his  house  justified,"  without 
the  agency  of  any  ecclesiastical  attorney.  "We  are,  indeed,  to  confess 
our  "  faults  one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  we  may 
be  healed  ;"  but  confessing  our  faults  one  to  another  is  not  confessing 
to  the  priest ;  and  there  is  a  vast  diflPerence,  too,  between  the  faults 
committed  between  man  and  man,  and  sins  committed  against  God — 
the  former  can  be  forgiven  by  man,  upon  suitable  acknowledgment 
by  the  aggressor ;  the  latter  only  by  the  Divine  Sovereign  of  the 
Universe.  Therefore  our  Saviour  says,  "  If  thy  brother  shall  trespass 
against  thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between  thee  and  him  alone  : 
If  he  shall  hear  thee  " — be  convinced  of  his  fault,  and  confess  it — 
"  thou  hast  gained  thy  brother."  Again  :  "  If  thy  brother  trespass 
against  thee,  rebuke  him  ;  and  if  he  repent,  forgive  him.  And  if  he 
trespass  against  thee  seven  times  in  a  day,  and  seven  times  in  a  day 
turn  again  to  thee,  saying,  I  repent,  thou  shalt  forgive  him."  There 
is  no  auricular  confession  here — no  priestly  absolution.  Brethren 
are  to  confess  their  faults  or  trespasses  one  to  another,  and  upon 
suitable  confession  of  wrong  on  the  part  of  the  offender,  he  is  to  be 
forgiven  by  the  brother  aggrieved. 

There  is  a  species  of  this  ecclesiastical  attorneyship  manifested 
among  some  evangelical  christians,  in  apparent  efforts  to  prompt  pen- 
itents in  a  profession  of  faith — in  the  relation  of  their  experience,  ttc. 
Now,  by  how  far  this  practice  may  prevail,  by  so  far  we  consider  it 
a  departure  from  the  true  standard  of  scriptural  profession  and  expe- 
rience. In  the  days  of  the  Psalmist  this  standard  was  reared  on 
the  individual  platform.  He  says,  <'  Come  and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear 
the  Lord,  and  /will  tell  you  what  he  hath  done  for  7«y  soul."  No 
ministerial  prompting  or  confessing  for  the  penitent  in  this  case — he 
tells  the  news  himself.     So  it  was  in  the  time  of  Christ  on  earth 


INDIVIDUAL    RELATIONS.  aSftd 

«  One  thing  /  know,  that  whereas  /was  blind,  now  /  see."  This  is  a 
short  scriptural,  personal  experience.  Let  us  profit  by  it.  Give  full 
and  proper  instruction  to  penitents  ;  <'  weep  with  them  that  weep ; 
mourn  with  them  that  mourn  ;  "  but  let  them  believe  for  themselves, 
profess  for  themselves,  and  tell  their  own  experience  in  their  own 
way  :  then  "  Rejoice  with  those  that  do  rejoice."  In  this  way  we 
shall  avoid  the  fatal  errors  of  ecclesiastical  attorneyship  ;  convictions 
among  us  will  be  personal,  deep,  and  pungent ;  conversions  will  be 
individual,  thorough,  and  powerful ;  and  thus  our  people  shall  be 
taught  of  the  Lord — shall  know  him  in  the  pardon  of  their  sins  ;  "  and 
be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that  asketh  a  reason 
of  the  hope  that  is  in  them." 

II.  Salvation  is  an  individual  experience  of  the  grace  of  God — in 
conviction,  conversion,  and  sanctification.  This  involving  the  exer- 
cise of  Divine,  angelic,  and  human  agencies. 

1.  In  conviction.  Divine  agency  is  indispensable,  as  He  alone  can 
quicken  the  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins"  to  life,  sensation,  and 
action.  This  divine  power  is  graciously  given  in  the  direct  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost — the  instrumentality  of  the  word — and  the 
mercies  and  judgments  of  God.  The  angels  are  "  ministering  spirits, 
sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  the  heirs  of  salvation  ;" 
hence,  they  have  their  agency  in  influencing  sinners  to  come  to  God  ; 
and  we  are  told,  when  they  succeed,  that  "  there  is  joy  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  more  than 
over  ninety-and-nine  just  persons  which  need  no  repentance."  Hu- 
man agency  is  exerted  in  good  example,  pious  advice,  admonition, 
rebuke,  persuasives,  &c.,  &c. 

But,  let  us  notice  more  particularly  the  great  and  leading  agent  in 
connection — the  direct  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  was  one 
of  the  great  objects  of  His  mission  into  the  world,  for  it  is  so  defined 
by  our  blessed  Lord,  who  says,  "  When  He  (the  Comforter)  is  come, 
He  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment," &c.  But  here  is  a  question,  How  does  he  do  this  ?  Is  it 
done  only  through  the  word,  or  by  a  direct  influence  on  the  mind  of 
the  sinner  without  the  word  ?  To  "  the  word  only"  system  there  are 
many  and  weighty  objections.  In  the  first  place,  it  tends  to  material- 
ize the  mind,  as  it  assumes  that  the  human  mind  is  incapable  of  re- 
ceiving ideas  except  through  the  senses.  Our  own  consciousness 
teaches  us  that  this  is  false  in  philosophy.     In  the  second  place,  its 


224  SALVATION  IN   ITS 

tendency  is  to  senma]ize  religion.  It  ignores  all  experience  in  :e- 
ligion  and  reducing  it  to  something  that  is  tangible  to  the  senses — 
that  can  be  seen,  and  heard,  and  handled  ;  hence,  the  motto  is,  "  Do 
religion."  Obedience  is  more  necessary  than  faith.  There  was  plenty 
of  this  kind  of  religion  in  the  day  of  our  Saviour  and  His  apostles  ; 
but  they  repudiated  the  whole  of  it  as  "  making  clean  the  outside  of  the 
cup  and  platter,  while  within  they  were  full  of  extortion  and  excess." 
Instead  of  this  they  taught  that  men  must  have  pure  hearts  in  order 
to  see  God.  There  was  plenty  of  the  outward  doing  of  religion  in 
the  days  of  Luther ;  but  he  rejected  it  all  for  the  Scriptural  doctrine 
of  "justification  by  faith."  The  Church  of  England  abounded  with 
the  outward  forms  of  godliness  in  the  days  of  Wesley,  and  he  him- 
self was  a  long  time  subject  to  a  sacramental  salvation ;  but,  when 
the  eyes  of  his  understanding  were  opened,  he  laid  it  all  aside  for  the 
"  more  excellent  way"  of  "  salvation  by  faith."  In  all  this  we  see 
that  the  "  word  only"  system  is  wofully  heterodox  in  theology.  In 
the  third  place,  this  "  word  only"  view  of  the  operation  of  the  Spirit 
operates  fatally  to  the  religious  interests  of  a  large  and  helpless 
portion  of  our  race.  It  effectually  excludes  from  all  possibility  of 
salvation  every  individual  of  the  race  who  is  incapable  of  being  ben- 
efitted by  the  word.  How  can  infants  be  saved  if  the  Spirit  operates 
only  through  the  word — the  Spirit  saves  only  through  the  word — 
therefore  infants  cannot  be  saved  !  Horrible  conclusion.  AVho  can 
believe  it?  Now,  it  must  be  apparent  to  all  thinking  minds  that  that 
system  must  be  founded  in  error  against  which  so  many  weighty  ob- 
jections are  found  to  exist ;  and  especially,  when  the  crowning  objec- 
tion— that  it  is  totally  wanting  in  support  from  the  pages  of  holy 
inspiration — is  added  to  the  foregoing.  Where  is  it  taught  in  the 
Scriptures  that  "  the  Spirit  operates  only  through  the  word?"  It  is 
a  mere  assumption  which  was  found  necessary  to  an  extended  system 
of  new-divinity.  The  old  way  of  experimental  religion  must  be  set 
aside — a  new  system  of  doing  religion  is  to  be  introduced — and,  in 
this,  there  is  no  necessity  and  no  plan  for  the  direct  operation  of  the 
Spirit. 

Having  shown  that  the  "  word  only"  system  is  false  and  fatal  in  its 
tendencies,  I  will  now  proceed  to  set  forth  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
in  regard  to  the  direct  operation  of  the  Spirit,  and  its  blessed  results. 

(I.)  The  Holy  Spirit  is  a  Divine  Person-  "of  one  substance,  ma- 
jesty and  glory  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  very  and  eternal  God." 


INDIVIDUAL   RELATIONS.  225 

He  is  then  infinitely  wise  and  powerful — everywhere  present — and 
therefore  capable  of  making  direct  communication  to  the  mind  of  the 
sinner — for,  "  with  God  all  things  are  possible." 

(2.)  "  There  is  a  spirit  in  man"  underived  from  matter,  and  capa- 
ble of  conscious  and  intelligent  existence  apart  from  matter ;  hence, 
it  is  immaterial.  In  proof  of  this,  we  learn  from  the  Bible,  that  God 
originally  "  formed  man's  body  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  ;  (Heb.  lives,  animal, 
intellectual,  and  spiritual ;)  and  man  became  a  living  soul."  Here 
then  is  the  origin  of  the  spirit  that  is  in  man,  not  from  the  earth,  not 
from  organization,  but  from  God  ;  hence,  when  "  the  dust  returns  to 
the  earth  as  it  was,  the  spirit  returns  to  God  who  gave  it,"  and 
receives  its  position  in  weal  or  wo,  "  according  to  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body,"  and  is  capable  of  a  conscious  and  intelligent  existence 
in  a  disembodied  state.  This  is  amply  proved  by  the  argument 
of  our  Lord  in  opposition  to  the  materialism  of  the  Sadducees, 
who  denied  the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits.  He  says  to  them,. 
"  Have  ye  not  read  that  which  was  spoken  unto  you  by  God, 
saying,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the 
God  of  Jacob  '^  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead  but  of  the  living.''^ 
That  is,  God  is  the  God  of  the  living  and  happy  spirits  of  those  ven- 
erable patriarchs,  notwithstanding  their  bodies  had  been  mouldering 
and  mingling  in  the  dust  of  Machpelah  for  more  than  sixteen  centu- 
turies.  Again,  the  great  teacher  gives  us  evidence  of  the  same  great 
truth  in  the  narrative  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus.  They  lived 
through  their  probation  on  earth,  the  former  in  wealth  and  afiluence, 
gratifying  "  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,"  and  careless 
about  religion  ;  the  latter,  in  poverty  and  affliction,  but  deeply  pious, 
laying  up  his  treasures  in  heaven  ;  he  died,  and  was  carried  by  the 
angels  to  Abraham's  bosom  to  rest ;  he  is  conscious  and  happy  in  a 
disembodied  state.  "  The  rich  man  also  died  and  was  buried  ;  and 
in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torment;"  hence,  his  spirit  is 
living  and  conscious  of  torment ;  for  he  says,  "  I  am  tormented  in 
this  flame."  Moreover,  his  conversation  with  Abraham  shows  that 
he  was  intelligent  as  well  as  conscious  ;  but  the  mind  cannot  be  in- 
telligent without  ideas — the  rich  man  had  ideas  of  the  torments  ,of 
hell  in  a  disembodied  state  :  therefore  the  mind  is  capable  of  receiv- 
ing ideas  independent  of  the  senses.  Once  more,  there  is  evidence 
of  the  same  great  truth  in  the  transfiguration  of  our  Lord.     Peter, 

15 


SALVATION    IN   ITS 

and  James,  and  John,  are  selected  to  witness  the  transcendent  glory 
of  their  Lord ;  and  on  this  interesting  occasion  "  there  appeared 
vnto  them  Elias  with  Moses ;  and  they  were  talking  with  Jesus  " 
Elias  was  a  glorified  saint  in  soul  and  body,  for  he  had  been  trans- 
lated that  he  should  not  see  death  ;  but  Moses  was  a  disembodied 
spirit.  Tie  had  suffered  death — his  body  was  buried  and  given  to  the 
dust,  but  here  we  find  his  spirit  living,  intelligent,  and  happy.  He 
is  talking  with  Jesus  ;  but  men  cannot  talk  sensibly  without  ideas  ; 
therefore  the  spirit  of  man  is  capable  of  receiving  ideas  apart  from 
matter.  Hence,  I  conclude  that  the  human  mind  is  immaterial  and 
capable  of  receiving  direct  influences  from  the  Divine  Spirit  indepen- 
dent of  the  outward  senses. 

(3.)  The  Scriptures  furnish  abundant  proof  of  the  fact  that  many 
of  the  most  important  ideas  ever  communicated  to  the  mind  of  man 
have  been  made  without  the  medium  of  the  outward  senses. 

In  the  days  of  Job,  under  the  Patriarchal  dispensation,  the  pre- 
vailing doctrine  was,  as  set  forth  by  Elihu,  that  "  there  is  a  spirit  in 
man  j" — materialism  was  not  then  known — "  and  the  inspiration  of 
the  Almighty  giveth  them  understanding."  "  Inspiration"  is  defined 
by  the  best  authorities  to  be  "  any  supernatural  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  upon  the  mind  of  a  rational  creature,  whereby  he  is 
formed  to  a  degree  of  intellectual  improvement  to  which  he  could 
not  have  attained  in  a  natural  way."  This  is  true  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures ;  but,  if  these  great  revelations  were  made  to  the 
minds  of  holy  men  of  old,  who  spoke  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  a  supernatural  way  without  the  medium  of  the  out- 
ward senses,  the  Spirit  of  God  can  convict,  convert,  and  sanctify  the 
soul  of  man  in  the  same  way  now — I  mean  by  direct  communication. 

In  the  days  of  our  Saviour  the  most  momentous  idea  ever  commu- 
nicated to  the  human  mind  was  by  direct  influence  without  the  inter- 
vention of  "  flesh  and  blood" — the  outward  senses.  It  is  the  idea 
contained  in  the  noble  confession  of  Peter  when  Jesus  put  the  ques- 
tion to  the  apostles,  "  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ?  And  Simon  Peter 
answered  and  said,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God," 
Jes-js,  in  reply,  said,  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona  ;  for  flesh 
and  blood" — human  teaching  and  human  senses — "  hath  not  revealed 
it  unto  thee" — for  they  had  it  not  in  possession — "  but  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven" — who  alone  could,  by  His  spirit,  impart  this  great 
truth  to  your  mind.     Now,  if  this  great  truth  could  be  revealed  to 


INDIVIDUAL    RELATIONS. 


227^ 


the  mind  of  Peter  without  the  agency  of  «  flesh  and  blood,"  there 
can  be  no  good  reason  for  denying  the  direct  operation  of  the  Spirit 
in  conviction,  &c. 

Additional  evidence  is  found  on  this  point  in  the  instructions  given 
by  our  Lord  to  his  apostles  in  view  of  their  being  brought  before 
"  magistrates  and  powers  ;"  he  says  to  thein,  "  Take  no  thought  how 
or  what  thing  ye  shall  answer,  cr  what  ye  shall  say :  for  the  Holy 
Ghost  shall  teach  you  in  the  same  hour  what  ye  ought  to  say.""  Here 
is  direct  spiritual  influence  proniied  beyoad  a  doubt,  and  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  promise  to  the  discipks  and  primitive  christians  proves 
the  truth  of  my  proposition — that  the  human  mind  is  susceptible  of 
direct  communications  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Finally,  "  the  Spirit  of  adoption  '  is  conclusive  proof  of  the  direct 
operation  of  the  Spirit  in  the  work  of  salvation.  On  this  point  St. 
Paul  says,  "  Ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear  j 
but  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry  Abba, 
Father.  The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we 
are  the  children  of  God."  Again,  he  says,  "  Because  ye  are  sons, 
God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  your  hearts  crying, 
Abba,  Father."  And  St.  John  says,  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
of  God,  hath  the  witness  in  himself."  These  passages  set  forth  in 
unmistakable  language  the  agency  ot  the  Spirit  of  adoption  in  chris- 
tian assurance,  which  it  is  at  once  the  duty  and  privilege  of  every  chris- 
tian to  enjoy.  And  it  is  equally  plain  that  His  Divine  testimony  is 
borne  directly  to  the  spirit  of  the  child  of  God — the  Spirit  boareth 
witness  with  our  spirits — not  our  senses.  God  sends  forth  the  spirit 
of  His  Son  into  our  hearts — not  to  our  senses.  The  christian  has 
the  witness  in  himself — not  from  others — not  through  the  outward 
senses — but  from  the  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit. 

It  is  not  intended  in  this  connection  to  make  the  impression  that  the 
Soirit  does  not  operate  through  the  word.  Far  from  it.  The  word  is 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit ;  and  the  mind  can  be  reached  through  the 
senses.  But  the  object  is  to  establish  the  fact,  that  he  is  not  confined 
aione.  to  this  channel  of  communication,  and  that  the  heart  of  man  ia 
capable  of  direct  conviction,  conversion,  and  sanctification,  which  is 
conceived  to  be  the  only  ground  of  all  spiritual  and  experimental 
religion. 

In  order  to  produce  conviction  on  the  mind  of  sinners,  by  the  agency 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Father  hath  sent  him  into  the  world  to  "  re- 


S38  SALVATION  IN  ITS 

prove  "  or  convince  "  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment,"  To  this  end  he  was  striving  with  man  in  the  days  of 
Noah,  directly — through  the  word  preached  by  Noah — and  by  the 
long-suifering  of  God,  and  the  threatening  of  judgment.  But  they 
resisted  all  and  were  destroyed.  He  was  engaged  in  the  days  of  the 
Saviour,  strioing  with  the  hearts  of  men — casting  out  devils,  and 
doing  wonders  by  his  direct  agency.  He  also  employed  the  outward 
word  as  preached  by  the  apostles — applied  the  mercies  of  God  and 
threatened  nis  judgments.  But  the  unbelievers  rejected  his  word,  tram- 
pled upon  his  mercies,  disregarded  his  judgments,  blasphemed  his 
Holy  Spirit,  and  were  overthrown  with  a  terrible  destruction.  In 
view  of  all  this,  we  are  exhorted  not  to  resist  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the 
Fathers  did  :  "  quench  not  the  Spirit  " — "  to-day  if  ye  will  hear  his 
voice  harden  not  your  hearts,"  "  lest  we  fall  after  the  same  example 
of  unbelief." 

Conviction,  in  a  general  sense,  is  the  assurance  of  the  truth  of  any 
proposition.     And  when  applied  in  a  personal  and  religious  sense,  it 
is  an  assurance  from  the  Holy  Spirit  that  man  is  a  guilty  sinner  before 
God.    It  is  the  knowledge  of  sin.    When  this  conviction  is  produced, 
then  the  sinner's  own  individual  agency  is  called  into  requisition, 
first  in  volition.     "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,"  he  must  be 
willing  to  take  up  his  cross,  and  willing  to  follow  Jesus  in  evil  as 
well  as  good  report.     In  the  second  place,  he  must  individually  re- 
pent.    He  must  deeply  feel  a  godly  sorrow  for  sin — he  must  forsake 
all  his  sins — he  must  confess  his  sins  to  God,  and  learn  to  do  well ; 
and  thus  to  reform  his  life.     A  knowledge  of  sin  however,  will  not 
save  him — willingness  to  be  a  christian  will  not  save  him,  and  reform- 
ation of  life  will  not  save  him.   So  far  from  this,  the  whole  course  of 
conviction  and  repentance  will  lead  him  to  a  point  of  self-distrust  and 
self-despair — that  he  cannot  save  himself.     Then,  in  the  third  place, 
Le  must  individually  believe.     This  is  a  thorough  conviction  of  the 
truth  of  the  christian  religion — a  satisfactory  assurance  of  the  suffi- 
oiency  of  that  truth  to  accomplish  all  that  it  proposes  to  do — and  an 
entire  trust  of  soul  and  body,  for   time  and  eternity,  on  the  great 
Author  of  that  truth,  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith. 
This  is  the  great  condition  of  personal  salvation :  "  He  that  believeth 
jhall  be  saved  ;"  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt 
00  saved  ;"  "  If  thou  canst  believe,  all  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
jelievca  j"  "  Lord,  I  believe,  help  thou  mine  unbelief."     Thus  far 


INDIVIDUAL    RELATIONS.  229 

we  see  individual  human  agency  employed  in  "  working  our  sal- 
vation;" not  indeed  without  divine  assistance,  for  without  the  aid  of 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  we  can  do  nothing. 

2.  In  conversion  the  Spirit  operates  directly  upon  the  hearts  of 
penitent  believers.  Conversion,  in  this  connection,  is  a  general  term 
■which  includes  several  particulars  ;  and — 

(1.)  It  inclvidiiis  justification,  that  act  of  God  by  which  he  gracious- 
ly pardons  the  penitent  believer — forgives  all  his  past  sins,  for  Christ's 
sake  —  absolves  him  from  guilt  and  condemnation —  restores  him 
to  his  divine  favor,  and  treats  him  as  innocent.  "Therefore  being 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Faith  is  the  only  condition  of  this  great  work  done  for  us. 
Whatever  we  may  be  supposed  to  have,  without  faith  we  cannot  be 
justified ;  and  whatever  we  may  lack  in  the  exercise  of  faith  we  shall 
be  justified.  The  reason  is,  that  faith  appropriates  the  merits  of 
Christ  to  the  penitent  individual,  and  thus  presents  to  the  Father  an 
infinite  consideration  why  the  sinner  should  be  pardoned — and  the 
work  is  done. 

(2.)  Conversion  includes  the  work  of  regeneration  ;  and,  so  far  as 
we  can  learn,  the  scriptural  order  of  the  work  of  salvation,  it  follows 
justification,  is  one  of  its  concomitants,  and,  of  course,  inseparable 
from  it.  In  proof  of  this,  St.  Paul  says  :  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ," 
by  justification,  "he  is  a  new  creature,"  by  regeneration.  The  rea- 
son of  this  order  is  plain,  for  when  the  sinner  is  pardoned,  there  is 
then  no  obstruction  in  the  way  of  his  regeneration  ;  there  is  no  need 
of  an  additional  act  of  faith  as  it  is  concomitant  with  justification,  so 
that  he  that  is  justified  must  be  at  the  same  time  regenerated.  Re- 
generation is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  directly  on  the  heart  of  the 
penitent  believer  ;  hence,  our  Saviour  teaches  that  we  "must  be  born 
of  the  Spirit,"  « and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  Spirit." 
This  shows  the  individual  and  spiritual  nature  of  regeneration. 
Again,  we  learn  from  St.  John  that  as  "  many  as  received  him,( Christ) 
to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that 
believe  on  his  name  :  which  were  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of 
the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God."  This  important  pas- 
sage clearly  defines  the  agent  of  spiritual  regeneration  as  well  as 
man's  individual  relation  to  it.  The  evangelist  is  exceedingly  care- 
ful, in  the  first  place,  to  exclude  all  human  agency  from  all  partici- 
pation in  it.     He  says  the  sons  of  God  are  born,  begotten,  or  regen- 


230  SALVATION  IN  ITS 

erated,  "not  of  blood" — by  descent  from  Abraham,  which  has  already 
been  noticed  as  the  great  error  of  the  Jews  in  trusting  to  their  suc- 
cession from  Abraham  more  than  in  God  and  individual  piety.  This 
is  a  vain  hope,  whether  it  is  founded  on  Abraham,  the  Virgin  Mary, 
Peter,  Paul,  or  any  one  else,  and  can  never  "  make  the  comers  there- 
unto perfect."  Regeneration  is  not  "  by  the  will  of  the  flesh  " — na- 
tural generation.  Natural  generation  can  never  produce  a  holy  seed 
so  long  as  the  progenitors  are  naturally  depraved;  like  must  produce 
its  like  ;  and,  whatever  man  may  acquire  by  grace  through  faith,  it 
will  have  no  effect  on  his  natural  generation.  Neither  is  this  great 
work  effected  by  "  the  will  of  man."  One  man  cannot  regenerate 
another  by  an  act  of  his  will — in  faith  or  otherwise.  This  at  once 
and  forever  excludes  the  idea  of  baptismal  regeneration  ;  for  baptism 
can  only  be  given  by  the  will  of  man,  and  St.  John  expressly  tells  us 
that  regeneration  is  not  by  his  will.  Hegeneration  by  baptism  is  one 
of  the  greatest  absurdities  that  could  possibly  occupy  the  human 
mind.  I  had  as  soon  believe  in  the  doctrines  of  transubstantiation 
as  this.  There  is  about  as  much  scripture  and  reason  for  one  as  the 
other.  I  know  it  is  said  that  Saul  was  commanded  to  "  arise  and  be 
baptized  and  wash  away  his  sins,"  and  that  Peter  exhorted  the  peo- 
ple on  the  day  of  Pentecost  to  "  repent  and  be  baptized  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins,"  &c.  But  there  is  just  as 
much  authority  for  transubstantiation.  Jesus  says,  in  reference  to 
the  consecrated  elements  of  theEucharist :  "This  is  my  body," — "  this 
is  my  blood."  Now,  if  these  passages  are  to  be  taken  just  as  they 
stand,  we  must  believe  not  only  in  baptismal  regeneration,  but  thak 
the  elements  of  the  holy  supper  are  changed  into  the  body  and  blood 
and  soul  and  divinity  of  our  blessed  Lord,  by  mere  priestly  consecra- 
tion. But,  says  the  zealous  Protestant,  the  words  of  institution  in 
the  sacrament  must  be  explained — '■^  This  denotes  my  blood" — "  this 
signifies  or  represents  my  body" — and  so  we  demolish  the  Romanist 
at  a  stroke,  and  fairly  enough  too ;  for  this  mode  of  interpretation 
must  be  applied  to  other  portions  of  holy  scripture,  such  as  the  para- 
ble of  the  tares  of  the  field  ;  in  reference  to  this  Jesus  says :  "The 
field  is  the  world;"  that  is,  it  represents  the  world.  "  The  good  seed 
are  the  children  of  the  kingdom;"  that  is,  denotes,  &c.  ''  The  tares 
are  the  children  of  the  wicked  one;"  that  is,  they  signify  the  children 
of  the  wicked  one.  Now,  if  this  is  a  just  rule  of  interpretation,  why 
not  demolish  the  Romish  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  by  ap- 


INDIVIDUAL  RELATIONS  231 

plying  it  to  the  passages  cited  from  the  Acts,  in  support  of  that  mon- 
strous dogma  ?  We  would  thus  understand  the  apostles  :  "  llepenfc 
and  be  baptized  ia  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  represent  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,"  and  in  the  case  of  Saul  :  "Arise  and  be  baptized,  and 
denote^  or  signify,  the  washing  away  of  thy  sins,"  &c.;  and  in  this 
way  rid  ourselves  and  the  church  of  the  unscriptural  doctrine  of 
Romish,  Anglican,  and  all  high  church  baptismal  regeneration  as  well 
as  Romish  transubstantiation.  Thanks  be  to  God  that  the  great 
interests  of  individual  salvation  have  not  been  left  to  the  precarious 
contingency  of  the  will  of  man  in  baptism,  confirmation,  the  euchar- 
ist,  or  anything  else  that  depends  upon  his  will.  So  far  from  this, 
inspired  authority  assures  us  that,  in  regeneration  the  penitent  be- 
liever is  born  of  God;  that  is,  of  His  Spirit,  and  that  which  is  born  of 
the  Spirit  is  spiritual,  powerful,  and  saving. 

(3.)  Next  to  regeneration  in  the  order  of  grace,  as  we  humbly  con- 
ceive, stands  the  spirit  of  adoption,  which  is  also  included  in  the 
general  term  conversion.  This  is  that  work  of  grace  performed  by 
the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  which  he  bears  a  direct  witness  to 
the  spirit  of  the  justified  and  regenerate  believer,  that  he  is  a  child 
of  God — a  joint-heir  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  an  heir  to  an  incorrupti- 
ble inheritance  which  is  undefiled  and  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in 
heaven  for  the  faithful. 

This  is  the  great  privilege  of  all  christians.  It  is  the  source  of 
their  present  joy  and  future  hope.  It  is  their  comfort  and  support 
in  trouble  and  affliction,  and  their  courage  and  fortitude  in  contending 
against  their  spiritual  enemies,  and  in  the  valley  and  shadow  of 
death.  And  as  it  is  of  so  great  importance  in  the  christian's  life 
md  experience,  we  are  devoutly  thankful  that  it  has  not  been  left  in 
doubt  by  the  inspired  writers.  They  tell  us  that  "  the  Spirit  himself 
beareth  witness  with  our  spirits,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God." 
And,  "  because  we  are  sons,  God  has  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son 
into  our  hearts,  crying  :  Abba,  Father."  And,  "  he  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  of  God,  hath  the  witness  in  himself."  Nothing  more  ex- 
plicit is  needful  on  this  point.  He  that  hath  this  witness  in  himself 
?an  adopt  the  language  of  one  of  old :  "One  thing  /  know,  that, 
whereas  /was  blind,  now  /  see."  The  change  is  personal,  spiritual, 
and  conscious,  through  the  direct  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  There 
are  outward  evidences  that  serve  to  corroberate  christian  experience 
on  this  point,  such  as  the  love  of  the  brethren — love  of  the  ordinances 


232  SALVATION  IN  ITS 

of  religion — hatred  of  evil,  and  the  follies  and  vanities  of  the  world. 
"  By  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love 
one  to  another,"  which  includes  all  the  graces  of  Christianity. 

3.  Sanctification  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  highest 
degree  of  christian  experience  attainable  in  this  life.  "It  is  the  will 
of  God,"  says  St.  Paul,  "even  your  sanctification."  And  "Jesus,  that 
he  might  sanctify  the  people  with  his  own  blood,  suffered  without  the 
gate."  This  is  sufficient  to  show  that  sanctification  is  attainable  by 
all  who  are  convinced  of  its  necessity,  and  will  soek  it  according  to 
the  will  of  God. 

The  necessity  of  this  work  is  found  in  the  indwelling  seeds  of  sin 
and  roots  of  bitterness  still  remaining  in  the  hearts  of  regenerate 
persons.  For  regeneration  does  not  destroy  all  the  remains  of  the 
carnal  mind,  though  it  implies  a  change  of  our  nature,  and  establishes 
the  reign  of  grace,  and  is  itself  the  incipient  stage  of  sanctification. 
In  proof  of  this,  while  every  justified  person  is  enabled  to  maintain 
the  reign  of  grace,  and  prevent  the  dominion  of  sin,  he  feels  that  he 
has  a  constant  warfare  with  unsanctified  passions  and  tempers.  Hence 
St.  Paul,  after  acknowledging  that  the  Thessalonians  had  received  the 
gospel,  "not  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  in  much  assurance," — had  recognized  "  their  election  of  God;" 
and,  remembering  with  approbation,  "  their  work  of  faith,  and  labor 
of  love,  and  patience  of  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  sight 
of  God  our  Father," — after  all  this,  he  prays  for  their  entire  sancti- 
fication, saying:  "The  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly;  and 
I  pray  God  your  whole  spirit,  and  soul,  and  body,  be  preserved  blame- 
less unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  I  want  no  other 
evidence  than  this  of  the  necessity  of  this  great  and  good  work. 
None  of  us  can  claim  higher  attainments  than  those  accredited  to  the 
christians  at  Thessalonica,  and  they  needed  to  be  xoholly  sanctified — 
80  do  we.     Let  us  then  inquire  what  it  is.     And, 

(1.)  It  is  to  be  set  apart  to  the  service  of  God.  This  much  may  be 
included  in  regeneration,  in  which  much  acceptable  service  may  be 
rendered  to  God.  All  such  are  "  babes  in  Christ," — "  little  children 
because  their  sins  are  forgiven." 

(2.)  It  is  to  be  cleansed  from  all  unrighteousness  by  a  personal  appli- 
cation of  the  blood  of  Christ  through  the  Spirit.  It  is  not  "  by  the 
blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by  his  own  blood,  Christ  entered  in 
once  into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  redemption  for  us.     For 


INDIVIDUAL  RELATIONS.  233 

if  (under  the  law)  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  and  the  ashes  cf 
an  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth  to  the  purifying  of  the 
flesh  ;  how  much  more  shall  the  hlood  of  Christ,  who  through  the 
eternal  Spirit,  offered  himself  without  spot  to  Qod, purge  your  con- 
science from  dead  works,  to  serve  the  living  God  !" 

(3.)  It  is  to  be  filled  with  the  mind  which  was  in  Christ  Jesus — love, 
meekness,  and  humility.  It  is  to  love  God  with  all  the  heart,  soul, 
mind,  and  strength;  and  to  love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves.  This  is 
"  walking  in  love  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  given  himself  for 
us."  Love  is  the  ruling  principle  of  the  sanctified  heart — meekness 
characterizes  its  relations  with  men,  and  humility  uproots  and  de- 
stroys every  vestige  of  "  pride  and  fond  desire,"  so  that  there  is  no- 
thing in  it  contrary  to  the  "mind  of  Christ." 

(4.)  This  state  of  grace  and  salvation  is  developed  by  a  gradual 
growth  under  the  gracious  influence  of  the  Spirit,  in  connection  with 
the  means  of  grace.  Hence,  we  are  exhorted  to  "  grow  in  grace,  and 
in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  To  "  add 
to  our  faith  virtue,  knowledge,  temperance,  patience,  godliness, 
brotherly  kindness,  and  charity,"  and  thus  to  "go  on  to  perfection" 
"  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of  the  Son  of  God 
unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of 
Christ."  It  is  illustrated  by  Christ  according  to  the  growth  of 
grain — "  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the 
ear  ;"  and  by  John,  according  to  the  growth  of  man ;  first,  *'  little 
children,"  then  "  young  men,"  finally,  "  fathers." 

(5.)  This  state  of  grace  does  not  exempt  the  sanctified  from  tempta- 
tion and  liability  to  sin  while  on  probation.  Some  of  the  angels 
"  kept  not  their  first  estate,"  but  sinned  and  fell.  Adam  sinned  and 
was  expelled  from  Paradise,  and  sanctified  christians  may  sin  and  fall 
too  :  hence,  they  must  watch  and  pray.  It  does  not  exclude  the  in- 
firmities of  our  finite  natures  while  in  this  state  of  being.  The  best 
of  men  are  still  liable  to  err,  to  mistake,  &c.;  hence,  they  must  still 
pray,  "  Forgive  us  our  trespasses,"  &c.,  and  feel  — 

"  Every  moment,  Lord  I  need, 
The  merit  of  Thy  death." 

This  is  what  we  humbly  conceive  to  be  salvation  from  sin  in  this 
life  in  its  individual  experience,  as  it  is  wrought  in  all  who  seek  it  by 
faith  in  Jesus  through  the  direct  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is 
the  cementing  element  of  our  great  spiritual  temple.     Methodism 


23-t  SALVATIOX   IN    ITS 

originated  in  reading  the  Scriptures  and  seeking  spiritual  religion. 
She  has  had  her  growth  and  unparalleled  success  in  preaching  and 
realizing  the  direct  operation  of  the  Spirit  in  conviction,  conversion, 
and  sanctification ;  and,  by  zealously  maintaining  this  doctrine  in 
teaching  and  experience,  she  will  carry  down  the  blessed  institutions 
of  the  gospel  pure  and  efficient  to  the  latest  generations  :  but,  if  she 
proves  unfaithful  in  her  high  and  heaven-born  mission — backslides 
from  spiritual  religion — substituting  for  it  succession,  ceremonies, 
forms,  and  sacraments,  "  Ichnbod"  will  be  written  upon  her  pulpits, 
her  altars,  and  her  hearts,  the  glory  will  have  departed,  and  God 
will  spue  her  out  of  His  mouth. 

III.  Salvation  is  an  individual  practice  of  the  duties,  privileges^ 
and  responsibilities  of  religion. 

(1.)  Authoritative  commands  originate  and  impose  c/uffes  upon  all 
intelligent  subjects ;  it  is  therefore  the  duty  of  all  men  to  do  what 
God  commands,  and  to  abstain  from  all  that  he  forbids.  The  deca- 
logue, as  contained  in  the  Old  Testament,  comprises  an  admirable 
code  of  moral  duties,  all  that  we  should  do,  and  all  that  we  should 
not  do,  in  the  relations  we  hold  to  God,  our  neighbor,  and  ourselves. 
Our  Saviour  sums  it  all  up  in  "  two  commandments" — love  to  God, 
and  love  to  man — which,  the  apostle  says,  "  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law."  Some  of  the  duties  arising  out  of  our  present  relations,  and 
enjoined  by  religion,  will  be  found  delicate,  some  unpleasant,  some 
diflBcult,  others  pleasant  and  agreeable — none  impossible ;  for  the 
commandments  of  God  "  are  not  grievous,"  He  is  not  ''  a  hard  mas- 
ter," His  "yoke  is  easy  and  His  burden  light."  All  His  commands 
are  reasonable  and  profitable  to  those  who  are  exercised  therein,  and 
all  His  prohibitions  are  for  our  good. 

(2.)  Privileges  result  from  the  rights  freely  bestowed  on  '.'hristians. 
Thus,  man  has  a  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  property ;  and  from  this 
flows  the  privileges  he  enjoys  therein.  3Ian  has  a  right  to  liberty  of 
conscience  in  matters  of  religion,  and  from  this  right  result  his  nu- 
merous religious  privileges.  This  gives  him  the  privilege  to  think 
for  himself,  believe  for  himself,  and  to  worship  God  according  to  His 
word,  without  any  to  molest,  or  to  make  him  afraid.  In  the  exercise 
of  this  right  it  is  a  glorious  privilege  to  "  search  the  Scriptures  daily;" 
inasmuch  as  "  whatsoever  was  written  aforetime  was  written  for  our 
learning,  that  we  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  scriptures  might 


INDIVIDUAL   RELATIONS.  «J35 

have  hope."  It  likewise  secures  to  every  child  of  God  the  inestima- 
ble privilege  of  praying  to  his  heavenly  "  Father  in  secret,''^  under 
the  encouraging  promise  that  his  Father,  "who  seeth  in  secret,  will 
reward  him  openly."  Every  head  of  a  family  has  the  privilege  of 
worshipping  God  in  his  house  ;  every  gifted  christian  has  the  privilege 
of  pi'aying  and  speaking  in  the  church  for  spiritual  edification  ;.  every 
christian  has  the  privilege  of  attending  upon  the  ordinances  of  God — 
hearing  the  word  read  and  expounded — attending  upon  the  holy  com- 
munion, and  to  '•  speak  often  one  to  another  "  of  the  dealings  of  God 
with  their  souls  ;  and  thus,  in  the  improvement  of  their  privileges,  to 
"  build  each  other  up  in  their  most  holy  faith,  praying  in  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

(3.)  Responsibilities  result  from  important  interests  being  committed 
to  the  care  of  intelligent  moral  agents.  Here  we  must  observe  that 
God  gives  "  to  every  man  according  to  his  ability ;"  to  one  he  gives 
five  talents,  to  another  two,  to  another  one,  and  holds  each  one  re- 
sponsible for  what  he  has  received.  To  one  he  gives  the  great  and 
important  trust  of  preaching  the  gospel^  and  holds  him  responsible  for 
the  faithful  discharge  of  this  important  trust.  To  another  the  gift 
of  exhortation — to  another  the  responsibility  of  "  working  out  his 
own  salvation  :" — to  every  man  according  to  the  grace  given  to  him, 
whether  "  prophecy,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  let  us  prophesy  according 
'.0  the  proportion  of  faith,  or  ministry,  let  us  wait  on  our  ministering; 
jr  he  that  exhorteth,  on  exhortation  :"  but  let  every  man  know  that 
he  is  responsible  for  what  he  has  received,  and  must  "  give  account 
of  himself  to  God." 

God  has  given  to  his  pastors  the  solemn  responsibility  of  taking  the 
oversight  of  His  flock.  He  says  to  them  :  "  feed  my  sheep — feed  my 
lambs," — bring  them  into  the  fold  and  set  the  seal  of  the  covenant 
upon  them  in  their  infancy.  He  has  also  imposed  a  great  responsi- 
bility on  parents  in  "training  up  their  children  in  the  way  they  should 
go  " — "  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,"  that,  "  when 
they  become  old,  they  may  not  depart  from  it."  Fearful  will  be  the 
accountability  of  those  who  neglect,  or  abuse,  this  responsibility  ;  but, 
eternity  alone  will  tell  the  blessedness  of  its  right  and  faithful  ob- 
servance. The  great  Head  of  the  Church  has  also  enjoined  the  re- 
sponsibility on  "  masters  to  give  to  their  servants  that  which  is  just  and 
equal;  knowing  that  they  also  have  a  Master  in  heaven,"  to  whom 
they  are  accountable.     Here  is  a  clear  recognition  of  the  relation  of 


236  SALVATION  IN  ITS  INDIVIDUAL   EELATIONS. 

master  and  servant.  The  master  has  the  right  to  the  time  and  labor 
of  the  servant :  and,  while  the  servant  is  his,  and  accountable  to  him, 
he  is  entitled  to  that  which  is  "just  and  equal."  And  what  is  that  ' 
A  sufficiency  of  comfortable  and  wholesome  "  food  and  raiment ; " 
reasonable  labor ;  all  due  attention  when  sick  ;  support  and  protec- 
tion when  oM  and  infirm  ;  all  needful  religious  instruclion  in  youth 
and  mature  age,  and  a  decent  burial  when  dead.  Masters  give  unto 
your  servants  these  ^'Just  and  equal  t/dngs,''^  and  ye  need  not  be  afraid 
to  meet  them  in  judgment. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  make  a  few  reflections  on  the  great  utility  of 
practicing  the  duties,  privileges  and  responsibilities  of  our  holy  reli- 
gion. 

1.  It  is  practice  which  proves  the  truth  of  our  profession  to  others. 
"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  We  know  that  the  doctor  is 
what  he  professes  to  be  when,  by  his  skill  and  remedies,  he  cures  his 
patient;  so  of  the  lawyer,  mechanic,  farmer  ;  and  so  of  the  christian: 
we  know  him  to  be  a  good  man  who  bears  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit ;" 
"  fruit  unto  holiness."  The  world  will  credit  a  profession  upon  such 
evidence  as  this. 

2.  It  is  prac/ice  which  makes  per/ec/.  The  practical  improvement 
of  religion  will  maintain  all  that  was  at  first  received,  and  will  be  the 
occasion  of  receiving  more  ;  for  it  is  a  rule  in  the  economy  of  grace 
that,  "whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  more 
abundance,"  because  he  shows  both  capacity  and  willingness  to  im- 
prove. Acting  upon  this  rule  he  will  soon  become  "  perfect  and 
entire,  wanting  nothing." 

3.  It  is  practice  that  prevents  backsliding ; — "  for  if  ye  do  these 
things,  ye  shall  never  fall."  "  Never  fall  "  from  your  own  steadfast- 
ness ;  "never  fall"  from  the  enjoyment  of  religion  ;  "  never  fall  " 
into  sin,  pride,  and  the  snare  of  the  devil ;  "  never  fall "  into  hell. 
On  the  contrary,  he  that  cometh  to  Christ,  heareth  his  sayings,  and 
doeth  them,  like  a  wise  man  building  his  house  upon  a  rock,  shall 
stand  firm  and  unshaken  amid  howling  winds,  descending  rains  and 
beating  floods,  when  storms  of  wrath  shake  earth  and  sky ;  and, 
soaring  above  all,  "  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto  him  abun- 
dantly  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."     Amen. 


^v 


Engrs 


f-^'  II..  fffio  My  STdDW,  lOolD). 


V  A  JisirrircKV  aonFERErroB 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH. 


BY    REV.    L.    D.   HUSTON,    D.    D., 

OF  THE  KKNTUCKT  CONFERENCE. 


"  By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  called  to  go  out  into  a  place  which  he 
should  after  receive  for  an  inheritance,  obeyed  ;  and  he  went  out  not  know- 
ing whither  he  went.  By  faith  he  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise,  as  in  a 
strange  country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles  with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with 
him  of  the  same  promise  ;  for  he  looked  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations, 

whose  builder  and  maker  is  God By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was 

tried,  offered  up  Isaac,  and  he  that  had  received  the  promises  offered  up  his 
only-begotton  son,  of  whom  it  was  said  :  That  in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be 
called;  accounting  that  God  was  able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead;  from 
whence  also  he  received  him  in  a  figure." — Heb.  xi,  8,9,  10;  .   .  17,  18,  19. 

Abram,  the  son  of  Terah,  was  born  about  the  year  of  the  world 
2008,  or  350  years  after  the  flood.  This  is  supposed  to  have  been 
but  two  years  after  the  death  of  Noah,  the  faithful  preacher  of  right- 
eousness, whom  Terah  must  have  known,  and  yet,  such  is  man's 
proneness  to  forget  God,  that  already  the  world  was  filled  with  idolatry. 
Even  Ur,  the  land  in  which  the  human  family  had  so  recently  had  its 
second  origin,  was  an  idolatrous  country — even  Terah,  it  would  seem, 
an  idolater.  This  astonishing  fact  explains  the  frequent  recurrence 
in  the  word  of  God  of  the  first  commandment,  and  justifies  the  prompt- 
ness and  severity  of  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  idolaters.  It 
shows,  also,  why  it  pleased  God  thus  early  to  select  a  suitable  man  to 
be  the  special  depository  of  Divine  truth,  and  a  reliable  conservator 
of  the  true  religion. 

Abram  was  invested  with  this  high  prerogative  for  the  reason,  above 
all  others,  that  he  was  "  the  friend  of  God."  No  other  character  is 
likely  to  be  a  public  benefactor,  "for  foe  to  God  was  ne'er  true  friend  to 
man."  And  of  all  those  who,  at  that  time,  were  friends  of  God,  he 
was  perhaps  the  most  likely  man  to  subserve  the  two  great  purposes 
of  heaven — the  illustration  and  the  preservation  of  the  true  religion. 
Through  all  his  known  life  he  both  taught  and  practiced  it.  Besides, 
God  knew  him,  that  he  would  "  command  his  children  and  his  house- 
hold after  him,  that  they  should  keep  the   way  of  the  Lord,  to  do 


238  CHARACTERISTICS   OP  ABRAHAM'S   FAITH. 

justice  and  judgment."  For  these  reasons  he  was  selected  to  be  at 
once  the  conservator  and  exemplar  of  the  true  religion — "  the  father 
of  the  faithful."  To  fulfill  this  great  calling,  it  was  better  that  he 
should  leave  home,  since  idolatry  would  seem  more  revolting  to  him 
if  practiced  by  strangers.  Accordingly,  the  terms  of  his  call  were  • 
"  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and //-oot  thy  kindred,  to  a  land  which 
I  shall  shew  thee."  And  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years,  he  started, 
without  a  murmur  or  misgiving,  carrying  with  him,  besides  his  ser- 
vants, Terah,  his  father  ;  Sarah,  his  wife  ;  and  Lot,  his  nephew. 

Though  ordered  to  no  particular  spot,  the  general  country  for 
which  he  was  destined  was  Canaan,  the  eligibility  of  which,  for  the 
purpose  contemplated,  is  worthy  of  a  moment's  notice.  It  was  rich, 
salubrions,  and  diversified  in  its  scenery  and  resources  ;  having  land 
for  pasturage,  and  land  for  tillage  ;  with  enough  of  sea-coast  for  use- 
ful purposes,  but  not  enough  to  tempt  to  a  wandering  or  warlike  life. 
It  was  also  conveniently  situated  as  to  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  occu- 
pying a  position  where  three  vast  continents  meet;  near  the  centre,  in 
fact,  of  the  whole  eastern  hemisphere — the  entire  known  world  of 
those  times.  Not  just  in  the  great  international  thoroughfares,  but 
immediately  by  them.  Within  sight  of  all  that  was  transpiring  in  the 
world,  yet  perfectly  retired.  An  observer  of  the  nations,  but  in  nc 
one's  way. 

Abraham  was  not  an  absolutely  perfect  man,  nor  is  he  represented 
as  such  in  the  scriptures  ;  yet  really,  if  we  except  the  prevarication 
in  his  intercourse  with  Pharaoh  and  Abimclech,  it  would  be  hard  to 
name  his  fault.  He  possessed  a  clear  calm  mind,  and  a  moral  consti- 
tution of  surpassing  strength  and  integrity.  In  all  the  relations  of 
life,  as  husband,  father,  master,  patriarch,  he  was  a  model  of  manly 
virtues.  But  it  was  his  faith  which  distinguished  him  above  all  other 
men ,  and  it  is  to  some  of  the  more  patent  characteristics  of  that 
faith  that  your  attention  will  be  called  in  the  following  remarks. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  important  to  show  that  it  was  a  reasona- 
ble faith. 

There  is  an  expression  in  vogne,  to  the  use  of  which  Christians 
have  a  right  to  object.  Men  speak  of  a  "  blind  faith."  There  is  no 
such  faith.  There  is  faith,  and  there  is  superstition,  but  the  differ- 
ence between  them  is  not  less  than  the  difference  between  light  and 
darkness.  If  men  will  call  a  prompt,  obedient,  heroic  trust  in  God, 
blind,  they  slander  it.     Such  was  Abraham's  faith,  but  it  was  not 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   ABRAHAM'S   FAITH.  239 

blind — it  was  reasonable.  God  constantly  supported  and  reassured 
him  upon  every  occasion  of  more  than  ordinary  trial,  appearing  to 
him  and  renewing  the  promise  some  nine  or  ten  times.  It  is  altogether 
probable,  also,  that  the  first  great  promise  made  him  was  understood 
at  the  time  to  embrace  the  gratification  of  every  virtuous  wish  of  a 
great  and  good  man's  heart,  together  with  the  imperishable  honor  of 
a  connection  with  Christ.  Such  a  promise  fully  justified  the  most 
implicit  and  self-sacrificing  trust  in  its  author. 

When  he  was  called  to  leave  the  land  of  his  birth  and  the  society 
of  his  friends,  God  did  not  at  first  promise  him  the  place  to  which 
he  was  called ;  he  did  not  describe  it ;  he  did  not  even  name  it ;  he 
only  said  he  would  show  it  to  him.  But  the  patriarch  knew  that  it 
was  God  who  spoke  to  him ;  that  with  such  a  warrant  he  could  well 
afibrd  to  go  anywhere ;  and  that  nothing  could  be  more  reasonable 
than  such  a  venture.  When  it  is  said  that  Abraham  offered  up  Isaac, 
"  accounting  that  God  was  able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead," 
the  literal  sense  is,  *' he  reasoned  with  himself"  —  exercising  the 
highest  faculties  of  the  mind.  It  was  not  "  a  thing  incredible  with 
him  that  God  should  raise  the  dead."  He  walked  in  the  way  of  God's 
commandments  by  the  help  of  a  light  sufficient  to  make  the  path  plain 
immediately  before  him,  and  was  willing  to  wait  for  more  till  he  needed 
it.  For  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  God  supplies  this  commodity 
step  by  step,  and  in  no  other  way.  Room  is  always  left  for  doubt  and 
occasion  for  trust,  else  were  there  no  faith.  God  will  force  no  man 
to  believe.  He  will  give  him  light  enough,  but  none  to  waste.  Ac- 
cordingly Abraham  went,  not  knowing  whither  he  went,  but  perfectly 
satisfied  in  knowing  his  guide. 

The  term  "  seed  of  the  woman  "  was  always  understood  to  refer  to 
a  Saviour  of  the  world ;  and  whenever  that  expression  was  used,  the 
idea  of  redemption  was  suggested.  There  is  also  abundant  reason  to 
believe  that  Abraham  knew  more  of  this  doctrine  than  a  careless 
reader  of  his  history  would  suppose — more,  indeed,  than  the  recorded 
language  of  the  covenant  seems  at  first  to  imply.  "  The  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  shined  on  him  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Our  Saviour  says,  "  Abraham  rejoiced  to  sec  my  day, 
[eagerly  desired — leaped  forward — to  see  my  day,]  and  he  saw  it, 
and  was  glad."  He  knew  what  the  allusion  to  his  posterity  meant, 
and  had,  therefore,  the  greatest  possible  motive  to  fidelity.  Through 
him — in  his  seed,  "Not,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  seeds,  as  of  many,"  but 


240  CnARACTERISTICS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH. 

seed — in  allusion  to  the  Messiah — "  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
be  blest."     Of  course  Abraham  understood  this. 

When  the  son  was  promised,  he  was,  it  is  true,  very  old ;  but  God 
had  already  made  him  rich  while  he  was  a  wanderer,  and  without  any 
apparent  advantages  ;  why  could  he  not  also  give  him  a  son  ?  After 
the  son  had  been  given,  he  was  required  to  sacrifice  him,  and  virtu- 
ally did  so ;  but  he  "reasoned  with  himself'^  that  God  had  given 
Isaac  by  miracle,  in  reward  of  obedience,  and  would,  if  it  became 
necessary,  restore  him  in  the  same  way. 

Abraham's  faith  was  reasonable  ;  so  must  ours  be.  No  man  ever 
had  more  faith  than  he  had  a  reason  for ;  and  he  who  most  clearly 
comprehends  the  nature  of  Heaven's  promises,  will  repose  the  most 
implicit  trust  in  them. 

2.  His  faith  was  prompt.  The  faith  by  which  men  in  all  ages  have 
been  justified,  is  a  living,  active  faith.  The  Bible  abounds  in  pre- 
cepts as  well  as  promises,  duties  as  well  as  privileges ;  and  though 
Abraham  was  justified  before  the  works  of  the  law — before  circum- 
cision was  enjoined — it  was  not  before  there  were  commandments  to 
obey  and  duties  to  perform.  There  is  no  mention  of  his  ever  having 
delayed  or  hesitated  to  obey,  but  many  expressions  forcibly  suggest- 
ive of  his  punctuality.  Hagar's  banishment  was  very  grievous  to  him, 
yet  "  he  rose  up  early  in  the  morning  "  to  enforce  it.  He  was  a  very 
old  man  when  circumcision  was  enjoined,  yet  the  rite  was  observed 
"  the  self-same  day."  Nothing  could  be  more  shocking  than  was  the 
commandment  to  sacrifice  Isaac,  yet  "  he  rose  up  early  in  the  morn- 
ing" to  execute  it. 

His  faith  was  prompt ;  so  should  ours  be.  Few  things  are  so  fatal 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  soul,  as  the  habit  of  delaying  the  performance 
of  an  act  of  duty.  The  very  derivation  of  that  word  is  suggestive  ; 
it  signifies  something  that  is  already  due.  The  very  moment  God 
bids  us  perform  an  act,  that  moment  let  us  do  it.  Delays  are  dan- 
gerous.    Faith  is  productive  of  prompt  obedience. 

3.  Abraham's  faith  was  singularly  constant.  Ileligion  was  the 
business  of  his  life.  Wherever  he  went,  he  carried  it  with  him ; 
wherever  he  pitched  a  tent,  he  built  an  altar  ;  wherever  God  appeared 
to  him,  he  offered  an  extra  sacrifice.  He  was  very  rich,  encumbered 
with  a  large  family,  unsettled,  in  the  midst  of  enemies  to  his  religion  ; 
yet  he  never  neglected  his  devotions,  nor  permitted  his  household 
to  do  so. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  241 

By  obeying  God  he  became  rich,  and  so,  by  being  in  good  company, 
did  Lot  become  rich.  But  wealth  without  piety  is  sure  to  be  a  snare. 
Hence  Lot,  who  had  his  choice  of  localities  when  he  separated  from 
his  uncle,  preferred  the  neighborhood  of  wealth  and  sin.  At  first  he 
only  "  pitched  his  tent  toward  Sodom,"  but  in  a  short  time  he  was 
a  citizen.  He  loitered  round  the  verge  of  the  vortex  till  it  had  well 
nigh  engulfed  him. 

One  cannot  help  noticing  in  this  connection  the  great  danger  of 
prosperity  to  social  concord.  The  flocks  and  herds  of  the  kinsmen 
no  sooner  became  increased  than  they  gave  rise  to  disputes  ;  so  that 
what  want  and  wandering,  fatigue  and  famine  failed  to  do,  was  easily 
effected  by  prosperity.  The  friends  were  separated.  But  the  sincere 
man  of  God  is  always  safe.  Neither  the  height  of  prosperity,  nor  the 
depth  of  adversity  could  separate  Abraham  from  God.  All  of 
Lot's  good  fortune  was  the  result  of  his  connection  with  Abraham ; 
insomuch  that,  "  when  God  destroyed  the  cities  of  the  plain,  he 
remembered  Abraham,  and  sent  Lot  out  of  the  midst  of  the  destruc- 
tion." The  first  set  prayer  upon  record  is  the  one  offered  by  the 
patriarch  for  the  doomed  city ;  and  it  contains  all  the  elements  of 
christian  supplication — an  impression  of  God's  majesty,  faith,  humility, 
charity,  importunity — so  that  the  good  man  who  would  not  dwell  in 
Sodom,  as  Lot  did,  prayed  for  it,  as  Lot  did  not. 

His  mind  seems  to  have  dwelt  constantly  upon  his  "  high  vocation." 
At  Haran  he  took  a  house  "  at  the  entering  in  "  of  the  town — on  the 
alert  to  learn — ready  to  entertain  ;  an  example  of  piety  we  should 
be  careful  to  follow.  When  in  the  service  of  the  weak  he  had  taken 
spoil  in  battle,  he  refused  to  keep  or  to  share  it ;  because  that  was 
not  his  profession.  His  mind  was  on  other  gains  :  he  was  true  to  his 
calling.  "  He  was  not  mindful  of  that  country  from  whence  he  came; 
for  truly  had  he  been  mindful,  he  might  have  returned."  But  "  he 
desired  a  better  country,  even  a  heavenly."  When  the  famine  broke 
out  in  Canaan,  he  did  nol  murmur,  nor  wait  for  a  needless  miracle — 
he  helped  himself;  not  by  going  back  to  Ur,  for  he  went  in  a  directly 
opposite  direction ;  yet  not  to  stay,  but  to  sojourn.  When  stricken 
in  years,  he  very  naturally  wished  to  see  Isaac  well  settled  in  life, 
but  would  not  permit  him  to  marry  in  Canaan.  His  wife  must  come 
of  good  people,  and  there  were  none  nearer  than  Chaldea.  Yet  he 
would  not  go  for  her  himself,  nor  suffer  his  son  to  go,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  "whatever  might  come  of  it."  He  would  not  go  nor  send 
16 


242  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH. 

Ills  child  where  temptation  was,  not  even  upon  an  important  errand. 
He  therefore  sent  Eliezer,  his  servant,  having  just  sworn  him  to  be 
faithful.  So  also,  when  Sarah  died,  he  would  not  bury  her  with  the 
natives  ;  but  bought  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  and  buried  her  aloue. 
By  these  tokens  may  we  judge  of  the  constancy  of  the  patriarch's 
faith. 

4.  But  the  most  remarkabls  characteristic  of  Abraham's  faith  was 
its  fortitude.  We  have  seen  what  it  could  do,  let  us  see  what  it  could 
suffer.  Cave  mentions  fifteen  different  journeys,  and  ten  sore  temp- 
tations, which  befel  him  ;  and  in  almost  every  trial  he  was  called  upon 
to  face  a  seeming  contradiction,  if  not  an  apparent  impossibility' 
Upon  reaching  Canaan,  the  land  was  promised  him,  for  an  inheritance 
to  him  and  to  his  children ;  yet  it  belonged  to  unfriendly  strangers, 
and  he  was  not  permitted  to  settle,  but  was  required  to  dwell  in  tents 
and  tabernacles  ;  while  his  age  threw  him  far  past  all  hope  of  a 
posterity. 

But  of  course,  the  great  trial  of  his  faith  was  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac. 
It  befel  him  just  when  all  his  troubles  should  have  seemed  well  nigh 
well  past.  He  was  comparatively  settled  in  life  ;  the  long-promised 
son  had  been  given  ;.  domestic  broils  were  provided  against ;  all 
seemed  well  with  him,  and  it  was  *'  well  with  the  child;"  when  the 
command  fell  upon  him  like  a  bolt  out  of  heaven,  that  he  should 
ofi"er  Isaac  for  a  burnt  sacrifice.  That  moment,  it  may  be  supposed, 
every  bliss  of  his  life  was  turned  to  a  pain.  He  was  desolate.  Ish- 
mael,  poor  boy,  was  an  exile  at  God's  command  ;  Isaac  was  all  the 
son  he  had  or  ever  would  have.  The  very  being  whose  presence 
would  have  nerved  him  to  meet  any  demand  upon  his  fortitude,  was 
now  to  be  imiuolatcd,  as  a  test  of  that  fortitude,  under  circumstances 
indescribably  revolting.  His  last  prop  was  to  be  struck  from  under 
him.  Ah  !  no ;  not  his  last :  he  still  had  for  a  support  his  confidence 
in  the  Avord  of  the  Lord.  Wonderful  faith  !  Even  there  it  "  stag- 
gered not  through  unbelief  at  the  promises  of  God." 

He  might  have  given  many  plausible  excuses  for  disobedience.  He 
might  have  called  it  murder,  and  shown  an  antecedent  law  forbidding 
it.  He  might  have  urged  natural  affection,  and  demanded,  at  least, 
that  some  one  else  should  do  the  deed.  lie  could  have  required  a 
reason  for  this  requisition.  Ishmacl  was  banished  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  but  what  had  Isaac  done?  He  might  have  asked  what  would 
become  of  the  promise ;  or  how  he  should   afterwards  look  Sarah  in 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH. 


•M3 


the  face  ,  or  what  the  heathen  would  think  of  human  sacrifice  among 
the  Hebrews,  and  whether  the  cause  of  religion  would  suffer  by  it. 
But  nothing  of  the  sort  was  said.  He  neither  disputed,  delayed  nor 
murmured  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  "  rose  up  early  in  the  morning  "  to 
execute  his  dreadful  commission. 

The  requisition  was  made,  it  should  be  observed,  in  the  very  hard- 
est language : 

''  Take  now  thy  son  " — 

««  O  God,  will  not  all  my  flocks,  and  herds,  and  servants  do,  instead  ?  " 

"No  :  take  thy  son!" 

"Then  at  least  let  me  send  to  the  wilderness  for  Ishmael  ;  Isaac  is  my 
cherished  child,  the  son  of  the  wife  of  my  youth — my  beautiful,  faithful 
Sarah— the  tie  that  binds  us  to  the  days  of  our  bloom.    Will  not  Ishmael  dor" 

"  No  :  take  thine  only  son,  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest.  It  is  to  be  a  trial  of 
love  ;  the  question  is,  lovest  thou  the  gift  more  than  the  giver?" 

'*  Enough,  Lord,  I  give  him  up." 

"  Nay,  but  more  :  take  now  thy  son,  and  get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah, 
and  offer  him  there." 

"Alas,  must  J  slay  him  ? — pompously,  religiously,  immediately.'  Must 
I  do  it.?" 

"  Yea,  even  more  :  offer  him  there  for  a  burnt  offering  !" 

What  a  mitigation  of  the  good  man's  suffering  would  a  sentence 
of  death  have  been  ! 

In  further  progress  of  the  narrative,  Moses  introduces,  according 
to  his  wont,  many  of  those  touches  of  power,  by  which,  almost  at  the 
rate  of  a  volume  to  the  word,  he  throws  the  entire  picture  upon  your 
eye  in  all  its  terrible  sadness.  For  example,  they  were  to  travel  to- 
gether for  three  long,  dreary  days ;  and  then,  when  near  the  mount 
of  grief,  they  were  required  to  leave  the  servants  behind,  and  proceed 
alone.  Father  and  son  together  for  such  a  purpose  !  It  was  the  fel- 
lowship of  joy  and  grief,  of  love  and  death.  (This  occurred  near  the 
foot  of  Moriah  :  was  it  the  spot  afterwards  called  Gethsemane  1)  An 
excuse  for  requiring  the  company  of  the  servants  could  easily  have 
been  framed  ;  but  no — 

"  The  menials  at  a  distance  wait, 
Alone  ascend  the  son  and  sire  ; 
The  wood  on  Isaac's  shoulders  laid — 

The  wood  to  build  his  funeral  pyre."  ; 

The  unsuspecting  innocence  of  the  son — the  face  unclouded  by  appre-  • 
hension — the  voice — the  speech,  especially  his  allusion  to  the  absence 
of  a  lamb,  must  have  added  poignancy  to  the  grief  that  stung  the  old , 
man's  heart. 


246  cnARACTERiSTrcs  OF  Abraham's  faith. 

For  this  is  by  eminence  the  day  of  Christ,  and  it  is  fair  to  suppose 
that  Abraham  saw  it. 

It  has  been  objected  that  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  excites  too  much 
feeling ;  that  the  feeling  it  excites  is  wrong ;  that  the  patriarch's 
faith  was  ferocious,  his  piety  cruel ;  that  religion  should  recognise  no 
such  duties,  and  encourage  no  such  thoughts. 

Cain  may  have  entertained  a  similar  opinion  of  Abel's  sacrifice 
The  elder  brother's  offering  was  beautiful ;  it  consisted  of  the  blush- 
ing, golden,  dewy  fruits  of  the  earth.  The  younger  brother  slew  an 
innocent  creature,  and  placed  it  reeking  upon  the  altar.  The  former 
act  was  a  proud  man's  offering — a  mere  acknowledgment  that  his 
wishes  were  gratified  ;.  the  latter  was  the  sacrifice  of  an  humble,  pen- 
itent heart,  whose  faith  admitted  that  without  the  shedding  of  blood 
there  is  no  remission  of  sin. 

The  transaction  now  under  consideration  was  a  scenic  representa- 
tion to  Abraham  and  to  us  of  something  infinitely  more  moving.  And 
if  it  be  asked  why  the  object  of  the  sacrifice  was  not  at  once  explained 
to  father  and  son,  it  is  obvious  to  answer  that  the  scene  was  meant  to 
be  affecting — to  move  the  feelings  of  all  whose  guilt  and  vanity  will 
permit  them  to  feel ;  to  show  how  dear  a  price  it  cost  to  buy  a  soul 
from  death ;  how  deep  the  obedience  and  humiliation  to  which  Christ 
bowed  his  neck.  It  was  meant  to  give  as  lively  an  idea  as  possible 
of  the  amazing  love  of  God,  who,  not  at  the  command  of  a  superior, 
or  the  call  of  friendship,  but  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  spared  not 
his  only-begotten,  his  well-beloved  Son,  but  freely  gave  him  up  to 
sorrow  and  death  for  us  all. 

The  whole  narrative  is  as  faithful  a  representation  as  prophetic  act 
could  well  be,  of  the  Eternal  Father  off"ering  the  Adorable  Son.  The 
place  was  the  same ,  the  sacrificer  a  father  ;  the  sacrifice  an  only 
son — an  unoffending  and  willing  victim  ;  the  son  was  received  back 
by  a  figure  of  the  resurrection  ;  the  place  was  called,  by  way  of  pro- 
phetic promise,  Jehovah-jireh — the  Lord  will  jirovide.  Isaac  bore 
the  faggots,  as  Christ  bore  the  cross.  The  entire  scene  forcibly 
reminds  us  of  the  world's  redemption,  and  furnishes  a  beautiful  expla- 
nation of  the  words,  "Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  didst  not  require; 
a  body  bast  thou  prepared ;  lo  I  I  come  to  do  thy  will." 

Men  will  call  this  act  of  Abraham  by  such  names  as  suit  them — 
a  display  of  iron  nerve,  of  heroic  fortitude,  and  the  like — but  it  was 
an  exhibition  of  unconquerable  faith — faith  which  the  hurtlings  of  all 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP   ABRAHAM'S   FAITH.  247 

heaven's  thunders  and  the  shock  of  a  thousand  earthquakes  could  not 
stagger.  That  faith  had  reached  the  sublime  height  at  which  it 
became  an  absolute  and  settled  understanding  with  its  possessor,  that 
whatever  God  did,  he  would  do  him  no  harm,  but  always  good  ;  that, 
whatever  befell  him,  nothing  should  ultimately  hurt  him  ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  all  things  should  work  together  for  good  to  him.  Such  a 
faith  was  his  support  in  this  great  trial.  He  accounted  that  God  was 
able  to  raise  his  son,  even  from  the  dead.  He  reasoned  thus  with 
himself:  I  may  stab  the  life  out  of  that  young  heart ;  I  may  rob  the 
glory  from  eye,  lip,  and  limb  ;  may  drown  the  music  of  that  pleasant 
voice ;  may  burn  that  youthful  form  to  ashes, — but  God  can  give  my 
son  to  me  again  !  He  can  collect  the  wreathing  smoke  to  glossy 
curls ;  the  sparks  to  beaming  eyes ;  make  lips  of  eloquence  of  the 
ruddy  coals ;  and  bring  looks  of  love  and  life  from  ghastliness  and 
death ! 

Such  was  the  eminence  attained  by  Abraham,  through  an  unflinch- 
ing trust  in  God.  But  let  none  suppose  that  it  was  his  exclusive 
privilege  to  occupy  that  position.  We  may  all  obtain  "  like  precious 
faith."  If  we  do  not,  it  is  our  own  fault.  And  0,  brethren,  when 
we  consider  that  the  word  spoken  by  angels  was  steadfast,  and  that 
even  in  the  comparatively-benighted  days  of  the  patriarch,  "  every 
transgression  and  disobedience  received  a  just  recompense  of  reward," 
with  what  earnest  emphasis  should  we  ask,  "  How  shall  we  escape,  if 
we  neglect  so  great  salvation  ? " 

Abraham  was  now  permitted  to  rest  and  prosper,  till  twelve  years 
afterward  we  find  him  sitting  in  his  wife's  tent,  whither  he  had  gone 
(as  the  Scriptures  express  it)  "  to  mourn  for  Sarah,  and  to  weep  for 
her."  She  had  been  the  beautiful  companion  of  his  youth  in  far-off 
Mesopotamia ;  the  faithful  sharer  of  his  toils  and  wanderings ;  she 
was  the  mother  of  Isaac.  Honored  woman,  to  have  such  a  mourner 
at  her  bier. 

Finally,  about  the  year  before  Christ  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty- 
one,  Abraham  himself  gave  up  the  ghost,  at  a  good  old  age.  He  had 
lived  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  years,  during  an  entire  century 
of  which  he  had  been  a  wanderer.  Now  had  he  found  the  long-sought 
rest ;  the  "  stranger  and  pilgrim  ou  earth  "  had  reached  the  heavenly 
country ; "  his  eyes  beheld  "  the  city  which  is  out  of  sight,  whose 
maker  and  builder  is  God." 


^^•^^  V  J  Cfcttr.  frcm  «^  *>ito-<W' 


/^^^ 


C7 


AoR«c 


RESURRECTION    OF   THE    DEAD. 


BY   REV.    S.    G.    STARKS,   A.   M. 


•'Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you  that  God  should 
raise  the  dead?" — Acts  xxvi,  8. 

How  precious  are  the  words  of  promise !  and  so  much  the  more, 
as  the  heart  is  clothed  in  sadness.  How  full  of  interest  and  heaven- 
ly consolation  does  that  record  appear  which  speaks  to  us — to  all — 
of  a  better  life,  when  the  life  that  now  is  is  ebbing  to  a  close  !  Then 
it  comes  to  pass,  if  not  before,  that  heaven  gains  audience  on  earth, 
and  man  is  wont  to  heed  the  counsels  of  his  Maker.  Then  it  is  that 
every  doctrine  and  precept  of  our  holy  religion  appears  to  assume  a 
new  and  increased  lustre,  and  to  speak  with  an  unwonted  energy  and 
power  to  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  men  ;  in  a  word,  that  a  new 
song  has  been  heard  in  the  temple. 

And  shall  we  inquire  for  the  cause  1  Has  any  fresh  impulse  been 
imparted  ?  Has  any  new  star  been  seen  burning  on  the  brow  of  the 
future,  or  any  new  message  come  down  from  the  Holy  One  ?  By  no 
means.  The  very  same  light  and  influence  which  are  now  seen  kin- 
dling on  the  altars  and  thrones  of  revelation,  have  crowned  its  every 
page  and  paragraph  from  the  beginning.  That  peculiar  interest  with 
which  Christianity  seems  invested  in  such  an  hour  and  on  such  an 
occasion,  is  made  manifest  from  the  fact  that  man  is  now  inclined  to 
look  with  a  "  single  eye"  on  the  "  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus" — to  con- 
sider his  ways,  and  to  ponder  the  path  of  his  going.  It  is  now  that 
his  ear,  so  long  closed  to  all  good,  is  open  to  instruction  ;  and  his 
eye,  so  long  fastened  on  earth,  is  uplifted  to  heaven,  where  the  cross 
from  the  first  pointed  his  vision,  and  labored  to  plant  his  aflections. 

Whenever  Christianity  finds  such  a  spirit  and  temper  of  mind  as 
this  enthroning  the  aifections,  how  complete  are  the  triumphs  of  faith, 
how  blessed  the  results  of  obedience !  Then,  every  word  of  revela- 
tion is  heard  and  heeded,  embraced  and  adored.  It  is  no  longer 
viewed,  as  heretofore,  to  be  a  matter  of  minor  importance,  but  as  the 


250  REStJBRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD. 

one  and  only  source  of  life  and  hope,  joy  and  immortality.  Happy 
would  it  be  for  man  if  in  every  period  of  his  life  there  were  the  same 
marked  anxiety  to  know  and  obey  the  will  of  God  as  that  which  char- 
acterizes the  close  of  existence.  And  of  reason  ;  for  so  varied  as 
are  the  conditions  of  earth's  sorrowing  children,  so  varied  likewise 
are  the  voices  of  revelation.  There  is  a  sentiment  rich  and  full  for 
every  condition,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  That  Infinite  Wisdom 
whose  ear  is  open  to  the  cry  of  the  raven,  and  whose  eye  is  on  the 
flight  of  the  falling  sparrow,  certainly  has  not  been  less  mindful  of 
man  and  his  wants  ;  nor  has  He  failed,  in  the  bright  revelations  of 
His  will,  to  manifest  His  care  and  tender  solicitude  for  our  race. 
Kevelation,  therefore,  by  Divine  appointment,  rejoices  with  those  who 
rejoice,  and  weeps  with  those  who  weep.  The  law  and  the  gospel, 
Sinai's  thunder  and  Calvary's  hymn,  conspire  together  to  promote 
man's  present  and  eternal  good. 

In  view,  therefore,  of  the  many  deaths  among  those  we  love,  over 
which  our  holy  Christianity  teaches  us  not  to  sorrow  even  as  other? 
who  have  no  hope,  and  of  our  own  approaching  dissolution,  may  we 
not  fondly  hope  that  the  theme  of  our  present  meditation  will  be  re- 
garded as  appropriate  and  highly  suggestive  ?  In  the  great  and  mo- 
mentous question  before  us,  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
revelation  speaks  with  an  air  of  commanding  triumph,  and  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  in  strains  as  sweet  as  the  "  song  of  love."  Blessed  words  I 
swift-winged  messengers  of  light,  bearing  joy  and  gladness  to  the 
habitations  of  mourning  and  distress. 

The  text  is  truly  inwrought  with  glorious  hope  in  reference  to  the 
dead,  and  the  final  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  of  death.  We  may 
well  and  with  much  assurance  contend,  that  there  is  nothing  which  so 
universally  calls  forth  and  enlists  the  sympathies  of  our  race  as  that 
momentous  question,  the  question  of  all  ages  and  climes,  •'  If  a  man 
die,  shall  he  live  again  ?"  Shall  the  sleep  of  the  dead  have  a  waking, 
and  the  silence  of  the  grave  be  broken  by  a  song  of  the  resurrection  1 
Who  is  there  that  is  not  interested — vitally  interested — in  the  solu- 
tion of  this  great  problem  ?  Nor  is  it  wise  in  nian  to  turn  away  from 
or  push  aside  this  fearful  question.  He  has  too  much  at  stake  to 
think  either  slightly  or  seldom  on  this  subject.  Nothing  is  more  fully 
calculated  to  arouse  and  impress  man  with  a  due  estimate  of  life's 
untold  interests  and  issues,  its  facts  and  fallacies,  its  brevity  and  un- 
certainty, than  the  hopes  and  fears  of  a  coming  future.     How  often 


RESURRECTION   OP    THE  DEAD.  251 

is  it  that,  in  tlie  contemplation  of  this  subject,  the  Christian,  the  true 
disciple  of  Christ,  is  made  to  rejoice  through  hope,  "  knowing  that  the 
day  of  his  redemption  draweth  near  ;"  and  many  who  are  out  of  Christ 
are  induced  to  "  turn  their  feet  into  the  path  of  His  testimonies." 

Probably  no  other  subject  of  thought  or  inquiry,  in  the  vast  range 
of  the  human  intellect,  has  more  fully  or  more  deeply  penetrated  the 
souls  of  men,  and  of  all  men,  than  the  doctrine  of  a  future  state 
whether  there  is,  or  is  not,  an  hereafter  ;  whether  all  life  terminates 
at  the  hour  of  death,  or  whether  beyond  the  grave  there  is  a  renewal 
of  existence.  As  to  the  general  sentiment  of  mankind,  but  few — 
very  few,  comparatively — are  found  to  doubt.  Notwithstanding  the 
absence  of  a  written  revelation  in  many  portions  of  the  earth,  and 
the  consequent  moral  darkness  which  shrouds  the  nations,  still  that 
great  truth,  revealed  by  God  in  the  garden  of  Paradise,  nearly  sixty 
centuries  ago,  that  man  was  to  inherit  immortality,  has  not  been  en- 
tirely lost  nor  forgotten  ;  but,  being  invested  with  immortality,  it  has 
lived  on  in  glorious  remembrance,  rising  superior  to  Eden's  wreck 
and  ruin  ;  and  to-day,  as  in  the  beginning,  though  in  greatly  dimin- 
ished splendor,  it  still  burns  in  every  human  heart,  and  kindles  an 
undying  glory  in  every  human  hope.  It  has  wandered  on  through 
every  tribe,  and  nation,  and  kindred,  and  people,  and  tongue,  until  its 
testimony  is  found  in  every  land  and  under  every  sky,  from  the 
dwarfed  Grreenlander  to  the  giant-grown  Patagonian,  and  from  the 
dweller  in  Oriental  climes  to  him  whose  home  is  at  the  setting  sun. 

Everywhere  man  reaches  forth  his  arms  to  embrace  a  future.  How- 
ever marred  and  disfigured,  materialized  and  sensualized,  the  heavenly 
pencillings  of  immortality  may  be  and  are,  nevertheless  the  great 
primal  fact  stands  out  in  bold  and  living  colors  ;  nor  have  the  clouds 
of  ignorance  and  superstition,  nor  the  howling  storms  of  ages,  been 
able  to  extinguish  this  celestial  light,  or  hush  the  song  of  its  triumph  : 
it  lives  on  still  and  forever.  In  fact,  the  great  future  forms  part  and 
parcel  of  every  system  of  religion  under  the  sun  :  it  is  incorporated 
in  every  language  under  the  whole  heavens  :  it  is  symbolized  in  fact 
and  fancy,  in  budding  life  and  in  smouldering  hecatombs,  in  rolling 
clouds  and  in  purple  floods :  everywhere  and  in  everything  man 
strives  to  read  his  future  and  his  rest.  The  sun-tanned  children  of 
the  woods,  as  they  wander  among  the  wild  pomp  of  their  mountains, 
rehearse  it  in  their  legends  of  distant  smiling  seas  and  islands  of 
green.     The  polished  and  erudite  Greek  proclaims  it  in  his  classic 


•252  RESURRECTION   OP  THE   DEAD 

story  of  Hesperian  gardens  and  Elysian  fields  of  fruits  and  flowers. 
But  above  all  the  Christian  glories  in  it,  as  be  sees  heaven  open 
through  the  resting  chamber  of  the  "  Man  of  Sorrows,"  and  as  he 
listens  to  the  song  of  the  celestial  harpers,  as  it  rises  and  swells,  like 
a  tide  of  glory,  beneath  the  bending  arches  of  immortality. 

In  fact,  nothing  is  more  foreign  to  the  human  mind  than  the  idea 
of  ceasing  to  exist.  The  fearful  dream  of  annihilation  is,  if  possible, 
more  revolting,  more  withering  and  blighting  to  the  hopes  and  ener- 
gies of  an  immortal  soul,  than  the  visions  of  gloom.  Life,  life  is  the 
song  of  existence.  God  is  life,  as  well  as  love  ;  and  the  more  perfect, 
and  pure,  and  abundant  is  man's  life,  the  more  he  resembles,  of  con- 
ceivable excellency  in  man,  his  maker.  "  Blot  me  not  out  of  thy 
Book,  0  God,  but  let  me  live  on  and  forever,"  is  the  prayer  of  every 
living  and  intelligent  spirit.  And  what  are  we  to  understand  by  all 
this  universal  longing  after  immortality?  Shall  we  interpret  it  as  a 
simple  chimera  of  the  brain,  a  wild  and  distempered  romance  of  a 
heated  imagination  ?  Is  no  higher  and  nobler  estimate  to  be  placed 
upon  it  than  this  ?  Ought  wc  not  the  rather  to  view  it  as  the  revealed 
will  of  God — as  a  glorious  prophecy  written  on  the  imperishable  attri- 
butes of  man's  nature — in  a  word,  as  the  first  great  poem  of  life  and 
immortality,  once  sung  in  Paradise,  and,  through  the  efficacy  of  the 
atonement,  still  shouting  its  heavenly  harmonies  on  the  chords  of  the 
soul  ?  We  may  not,  we  cannot  regard  it  as  an  inspiration  of  no  value; 
nor  should  we  close  our  eyes  or  seal  our  ears  to  its  heavenly  hopes 
and  bright  anticipations.  Has  Infinite  wisdom,  think  you,  kindled 
this  star  of  promise  to  cheer  and  allure  man  on  in  the  hope  of  a 
future  state,  of  a  better  life,  and  of  an  eternity  of  joy,  for  no  other 
reason  than  to  mitigate  the  sorrows  of  the  present?  Surely,  such  an 
estimate  is  as  unworthy  of  man  as  it  is  dishonoring  to  God.  Creation 
may  tremble  on  its  ancient  foundations,  but  the  "  word  of  the  Lord 
abideth  forever,"  And  this  is  the  word  which  He  has  spoken,  th^t 
"  the  dead  shall  arise  ;"  that  there  "  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the 
dead,"  both  of  the  "just  and  of  the  unjust ;"  that  the  great  eter- 
nity to  which  man  goes  is  the  autumn  of  probation,  in  which  man 
shall  reap  the  harvest  of  that  which  he  sowed  and  cultivated  in  time. 
If  man's  immortality  were  on  earth,  and  to  bo  developed  in  the 
growth  of  ages,  then  might  the  world  plant  its  hopes  and  settle  its 
fortunes  in  the  dust ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  this  life  in  its  best 
estate  is  only  a  fading  and  transitory  scene,  the  simple  cradling  exis- 


RESURRECTION  OF   THE   DEAD.  253 

tence,  the  preface  of  a  history  burdened  with  the  epochs  of  eternity, 
where  is  the  wisdom  in  man's  spending  all  his  energies,  and  living, 
and  toiling,  and  striving  simply  and  alone  for  this  life,  whilst  every 
object  of  trust  and  treasure  on  which  God  has  stamped  the  impress 
of  merit  and  immortality  is  above  him,  in  the  regions  of  man's  prom- 
ised existence — a  land  undiramed  by  clouds,  unshaken  by  storms  ? 

And  here  the  question  naturally  arises.  What  use,  what  improve- 
ment, should  we  make  of  this  universal  and  well-attested  faith  of 
mankind  ?     Does  it  not  bear  the  signs  and  seals  of  the  Divine  glory  ? 
and  if  so,  can  we  doubt   the  issue  ?     Will  it  not  most   assuredly  be 
fulfilled  1     Hath  the   Almighty  spoken,  and  will   He    not  bring  it  to 
pass  1     Hath  He  attracted  the  gaze  of  all  nations  to  the  unfolding 
future,  and  will  He  not  reveal  that  future  in  the  annals  of  eternity? 
Is  the  racer  to  reach  no  goal,  and  the  vessel  no  port  1     In  a  word,  is 
the  divinity  in  man  to  expire  in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  the  voyager 
to  eternity  to  be  stranded,  and  lost,  and  go  down,  and  forever, "  into 
the  caverns  of  a  sunless  sea  ?"     Great  God !  is  this  to  be  the  destiny 
of  human  hopes,  and  the  final  issue  of  those   glorious  promises  and 
prophecies  which   have   come  to  us  from  the  Divine  throne  !     By  no 
means  :  heaven    has   inspired  no   false   hopes,  nor  has  the  Almighty 
kindled  a  meteor  glare  on  the  brow  of  eternity.     The  eternal  sun 
floods  with  prophetic  daylight  the   valley  of  death,  and   already  the 
voices  of  holy  watchmen  are  heard  on  the  summits  of  intervening  ages 
"Behold,  the  morning  cometh!"  "Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in 
the  dust,  for  your  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast 
out  the  dead  !"     Nor  is  this  blessed  hope  of  a  coming  future  found 
simply   in  the  faith  of  those  who  enjoy  the  advantages  of  revelation* 
God  has   written  it  in  all  nature  :  it  "lives  in  all  life,  and  extends 
through  all  extent."     If  so  be,  then,  that  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
having  no  other  apparent  light  than  that  of  nature,  have  stood  out 
beneath  the  opening  heavens,  and  in  the    profound  and  unmeasured 
abysses  of  space,   reaching  away  to    the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  have 
gathered  hopes  of  a  homo  and  residence  in  the  altitude  of  boundless 
spheres,  what  may  not  our  exultant  songs  bo,  who  have  received  the 
Divine  penclllings  of  that  invisible  future,  in  whose   sky  the   Star  of 
Bethlehem  has  shone  like  an   undimmed  glory,  and  from  whose  very 
tombs  have  been  heard  the  thrilling  shouts  of  triumph? 

At  this  point,  however,  lest  we  be  misapprehended  in  our  argu- 
ment, we  would  most  explicitly  and   unequivocally  state,  that  all  we 


25-t  RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD. 

have  said  as  to  the  universal  belief  of  all  nations  in  a  future  state  of 
existence,  as  read  in  nature,  taught  in  the  schools  of  philosophy,  or 
rehearsed  in  their  sacred  groves,  has  reference  simply  and  only  to  the 
soul — to  man's  spiritual  existence.  As  to  the  body,  the  visible  and 
tangible  part  of  man's  nature,  what  was  to  be  its  destiny  after  death 
formed  no  part  of  this  theory,  at  least  in  relation  to  the  hoped-for 
future.  At  the  hour  of  death,  the  body  was  supposed  to  have  met 
and  fully  accomplished  all  the  designs  of  its  organization  and  being ; 
and,  consequently,  it  was  consigned  to  no  higher  and  nobler  destiny 
than  that  of  hopeless  dissolution  and  decay.  Even  the  soul's  im- 
mortality was  regarded,  more  especially  among  those  who  sought  the 
teachings  of  philosophy,  as  hypothetical,  and  grounded  on  what  they 
were  pleased  to  style  *<  the  eternal  fitness  of  things."  Philosophy  in 
its  best  estate,  and  encouraged  by  the  longing  desires  of  the  multi- 
tude, and  receiving  its  all  of  inspiration  from  the  natural  instincts  of 
man's  nature  and  the  floating  strains  of  Eden's  prophecy,  ventured 
only  to  teach  the  immortality  of  the  soul :  that  there  was  an  invisible 
and  intangible  something  in  man,  which  would  survive  the  ravages  of 
death,  and  wing  its  mysterious  and  invisible  flight  to  higher  and  nobler 
regions,  or  to  lands  of  deepest  gloom,  as  its  moral  afl5nities  might  de- 
termine. When  this  much  was  said,  all  was  said  that  lay  in  the  region 
of  their  philosophy.  Knowing  of  no  future  for  the  body,  they  spoke 
not  of  its  resurrection  or  redemption.  Their  brightest  lamps  were 
instantly  extinguished  as  they  sought  to  penetrate  the  arcana  of  the 
grave.  They  saw  no  prophet  standing  on  the  borders  of  the  valley. 
They  heard  no  rushing  winds  of  immortality  gathering  over  the  mil- 
lions of  the  slain.  All  was  silent,  and  dark,  and  incomprehensible, 
and  consequently  they  pronounced  death  eternal.  And  yet,  how- 
ever imperfect  such  a  system  is,  and  more  especially  when  contrasted 
with  the  hopes  of  Christianity,  and  whatever  of  gloom  settled  upon 
the  grave  in  the  belief  that  death  was  an  eternal  slumber,  neverthe- 
less we  can  but  rejoice  that  our  kindred  in  evei'y  land  and  nation  have 
not  entirely  lost  the  hopes  of  a  future  state,  and  the  belief  that  virtue 
will  be  rewarded  and  vice  punished.  But,  rejoice  as  we  may,  what 
would  be  the  eff'ect  upon  us,  upon  enlightened  Christendom,  if  the 
hopes  of  the  resurrection  were  cut  ofi";  if  the  Star  of  Bethlehem 
were  to  go  down  in  darkness  ;  if  the  story  of  the  cross  should  be  re- 
versed, and  the  "  shoutings  of  harvest  "  be  heard  no  more?  Alas  ! 
alas  I  what  an  Aceldama !  what  a  wail  of  woe  would  be  heard  in  our 


RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD.  255 

land  !  As  little  as  we  may  regard  it,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  he 
■who  seeks  to  blot  out  the  hopes  of  the  resurrection,  not  only  plants 
himself  in  battle-array  against  the  truth  of  Jehovah,  but  at  the  same 
time  shows  himself  to  be  in  league  with  death,  and  sealing  with  ap- 
probation the  heartless  work  of  the  destroyer  !  But,  thank  God> 
there  is  a  Power  high  over  all ;  a  Power  which  in  the  fulness  of  time 
shall  send  earthquake,  and  overthrow  the  thrones  of  primeval  dark- 
ness ;  a  Power  which  shall  be  heard,  and  felt,  and  realized  in  the  re- 
surrection of  the  dead,  and  the  utter  confusion  of  those  who  "  obey 
not  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God  !" 

"With  whatever  of  confidence  the  world  has  held  to  the  doctrine  of 
a  future  state  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  repeat  that  it  was  left  for  Christianity,  and  Christianity  alone,  as 
taught  in  the  "  living  oracles,"  to  reveal  and  make  manifest  the  sub- 
lime mystery  of  a  resurrection.  To  Christianity  belongs  the  immortal 
honor  of  kindling  hope  in  the  bosom  of  despair,  and  of  pouring  a  flood 
of  eternal  daylight  on  the  grave  of  humanity.  It  was  Christianity 
speaking  in  the  first  promise  after  the  fall ;  Christianity  tenting  among 
shepherd-kings  ;  Christianity  in  the  Tabernacle  and  in  the  Temple  ; 
Christianity  rejoicing  in  the  hymns  of  priests  and  singing  on  the  harps 
of  prophets;  and,  above  all,  Christianity  as  embodied  in  the  person? 
character,  and  teachings  of  Him  who  was  revealed  from  heaven  as 
"  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  His 
persdn,"  which  "  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the 
gospel."  Christianity  was  that  almighty  arm  revealed  from  heaven, 
which  rolled  back  the  dismal  clouds  from  the  mouth  of  the  grave,  and 
that  Divine  hand  which  traced  in  characters  of  flame,  on  the  very 
arches  and  columns  of  Death's  shadowy  throne,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
the  resurrection  and  the  life." 

That  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  human  body  is  purely 
a  subject  of  Divine  revelation,  is  most  fully  attested  by  the  universal 
history  of  mankind.  That  it  is  in  advance  of  all  human  reasoning, 
and  superior  to  the  loftiest  conceptions  of  the  imagination,  is  at  once 
most  fully  sustained  by  the  universal  silence  of  all  history  and  poetry, 
ethics  and  philosophy,  on  the  subject.  Christianity,  therefore,  in  the 
statement  and  advocacy  of  this  new  and  startling  doctrine,  not  only 
assumed  a  high  and  regal  position,  but  at  the  same  time  stood  solitary 
and  alone,  clothed  in  the  awful  grandeur  of  its  own  divinity.  It  had 
no  ally  but  Omnipotence,  and  no  investments  but  the  high  behests  of 


256  RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD. 

Heaven  ;  and  consequently,  whenever  its  voice  was  heard  and  its 
pleadings  manifested,  whether  in  the  Temple  or  in  the  Tabernacle, 
in  the  forum  or  in  the  field,  in  Jewish  or  in  Pagan  lands, "  Jesus  and 
the  resurrection"  was  the  burden  of  its  song  and  the  hymn  of  its  tri- 
umph. As  proof  of  this,  we  refer  to  the  position  taken  by  St.  Paul, 
when  he  uttered  the  memorable  language  of  the  text.  Nor  was  it  the 
theme  of  this  only,  but  of  every  other  occasion  on  which  he  spoke  in 
the  name  and  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  It  will  be  remembered  ihat, 
two  years  previous  to  this  interview,  the  Jews  had  lodged  complaint 
against  the  apostle  of  "  sedition,"  as  it  respected  both  their  govern- 
ment and  their  religion.  He  was  consequently  arraigned  before  Fe- 
lix, and  impleaded  by  Tertullus.  And  although  "po  cause  worthy 
of  death  or  bonds"  was  found  in  him,  nevertheless,  Felix,  on  being 
removed  from  office,  to  please  the  Jews,  left  Paul  in  chains.  On 
the  arrival  of  Festus,  the  new  Governor  of  Judea,  he  found  the 
apostle  in  bonds  at  Cesarea.  King  Agrippa,  coming  as  far  as  this 
place  to  do  court  to  the  new  Governor,  and  learning  from  him  the 
state  and  condition  of  the  apostle,  and  that  he  was  under  arrest  on 
account  of  his  religious  opinions,  signified  his  desire  to  hear  him  him- 
self ;  whereupon  Festus  appointed  the  audience  on  the  following  day. 
"  And  on  the  morrow,  when  Agrippa  was  come,  and  Bernice,  with 
great  pomp,  and  was  entered  into  the  place  of  hearing,  with  the  chief 
captains  and  principal  men  of  the  city,  at  Festus'  commandment  Paul 
was  brought  forth,"  attended  by  the  soldiers  who  kept  guard. 

What  a  spectacle  of  the  moral  sublime  was  there  here  displayed ! 
In  the  midst  of  pomp  and  royalty,  titled  chiefs,  and  earthly  nobility, 
and  all  the  insignia  of  grandeur  and  state,  the  chained  apostle  for 
the  honor  and  cause  of  Christ  makes  his  appearance.  Calm  and  self- 
possessed,  with  a  Divine  impulse  in  his  heart  and  the  glory  of  his 
Master  in  view,  and  realizing  in  himself  a  divine  unction  and  the  bap. 
tism  of  fire,  he  began  and  finished  one  of  the  most  triumphant  and 
overwhelming  arguments  in  defence  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  the 
glorious  assurance  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  to  be  found  in  all 
the  Book  of  God.  Nor  was  his  appeal  in  vain.  As  he  called  up 
prophet  after  prophet  who  had  spoken  of  Christ  and  the  "  power  of 
His  resurrection,"  and  arranged  and  stationed  them  around  the  cross 
and  at  the  sepulchre,  and  made  them  repeat  their  ancient  and  honor- 
able predictions  in  reference  to  the  sufferings  and  death,  resurrection 
and  ascension  of  the  Prince  Messiah,  and  then  and  there  pointed  out 


RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD.  257 

their  literal  and  eternal  fulfillment  in  Jesus,  the  "  son  of  Marj,  the 
Son  of  God,"  every  heart  was  riven  as  by  the  bolts  of  heaven.  The 
actual  tragedy  of  the  crucifixion  and  the  resurrection,  of  the  cross 
and  the  sepulchre,  was  being  reiinacted  in  the  minds  of  that  awe- 
stricken  multitude,  when  St.  Paul  moved  towards  the  king,  and,  lift- 
ing his  chain  in  the  sight  of  his  royal  auditor,  exclaimed,  "  King 
Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets  ?"  The  appeal  was  irresistible  ; 
and  at  once  the  king  responds,  giving  proof  of  the  soundness  of  the 
apostle's  argument,  and  an  honest  conviction  that  Christianity  was 
true,  "Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian."  Why,  then. 
0  King  Agrippa,  "  why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with 
you  that  God  should  raise  the  dead  ?" 

This  was  Paul's  only  crime,  and  herein  was  found  the  whole  of  his 
offence,  that  he  preached  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  and  set 
forth  Christ  as  its  author.  And  yet  there  and  then  he  most  tri- 
umphantly demonstrated  that  to  the  same  glorious  hope  "  the  twelve 
tribes,  who  instantly  served  God,  day  and  night,  hoped  to  come  ;" 
and  "for  which  hope's  sake,  (exclaims  the  apostle,)  King  Agrippa,  i 
am  accused  of  the  Jews."  In  view  of  the  Almighty  energies  em- 
barked in  the  work,  "  why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible 
with  you  that  God  should  raise  the  dead?"  Can  any  man  show  rea- 
son, or  science,  or  philosophy,  or  aught  else  to  disparage  the  faith  in 
God's  ability  to  raise  the  dead  ?  That  the  same  Almighty  Power 
which  in  the  beginning  made  man  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  can- 
not and  should  not,  in  His  own  good  time  and  pleasure,  raise  up  the 
fallen  tabernacle  of  humanity,  and  adorn  and  beautify  it,  spiritualize 
and  glorify  it,  and  crown  the  whole  with  an  investiture  of  immortality 
and  eternal  life  ?  "  Can  man  conceive  beyond  what  God  can  do  ? 
Quite  impossible."  We  may  well,  then,  rest  secure  in  the  immuta- 
bility of  His  word,  let  that  word  pledge  or  promise  what  it  may. 

And  here  we  would  examine  more  critically  the  immutable  and 
eternal  basis  on  which  the  apostle  founds  his  faith  and  builds  his 
argument  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  He  appeals 
not  to  the  philosophy  of  the  schools,  for  there  was  no  light  in  them ; 
he  calls  not  to  his  aid  the  prejudices  or  sympathies  of  the  multitude  ; 
lie  rests  not  his  argument  on  the  musty  records  of  the  past,  nor  on 
the  fancied  systems  of  the  present ;  but,  as  a  wise  master-builder,  he 
lays  his  foundation  and  piles  his  superstructure  amid  the  attributes 
of  God.     On  the  "  stone  which  the  builders  rejected"  he  rears  the 

17 


258  RESURRECTION   OP   THE   DEAD. 

hope-tower  of  his  faith,  and,  taking  his  point  of  survey  from  this 
lofty  and  glorious  elevation,  and  beholding  in  the  coming  future  the 
heraldiug-star  and  the  dawning  light  of  God's  promised  morrow,  he 
exclaims,  with  an  air  of  conscious  triumph,  '*  Why  should  it  be 
thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you  that  God  should  raise  the  dead?" 
Here  the  apostle,  in  plain  and  simple  terms,  states  the  ground  of  the 
Christian's  hope,  which  hope  rests  on  the  promise  that  God  will  raise 
the  dead,  and  the  ability  to  redeem  the  pledge.  The  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  is  set  forth  most  emphatically  as  the  work  and  preroga- 
tive of  God,  and  of  God  only.  No  other  power,  or  combination  of 
powers,  can  effect  it.  He,  and  He  alone,  who  made  mau,  can  redeem 
man.  "  An  angel's  arm  can't  lift  man  from  the  grave  ;"  and  when 
God  speaks,  "  Legions  of  angels  can't  confine  him  there."  In  the 
mind  and  counsel  of  Jehovah,  the  resurrection  has  actual  existence  ; 
His  eye  as  certainly  rests  on  the  triumphs  of  the  last  great  battle  as 
though  every  child  of  mortality  tijis  moment  stood  before  Him ;  but 
to  us  the  event  is  future.  But  when  the  final  hour  shall  arrive^  the 
transcendent  glory  of  the  resurrection  is  as  certain  to  be  revealed  as 
that  God  exists  and  immortality  endures.  In  view,  therefore,  of  the 
almighty  resources  embarked,  why  should  we  tremble  to  convey  our 
kindred  to  the  dust  ?  Who  does  not  recognise  the  reasonableness 
and  Divine  assurance  of  the  doctrine,  in  that  the  hand  of  God  is  set 
to  the  work,  and  the  honor  and  veracity  of  the  Eternal  Throne  is 
fully  and  faithfully  pledged  to  its  consummation  ? 

And  yet,  as  full  of  hope  and  heavenly  consolation  as  this  doctrine 
is  to  man,  there  are  many,  even  in  Christian  lauds,  who  have  denied 
its  authority,  and  labored  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  a  better  cause  to 
effect  its  overthrow.  Not,  it  is  presumed,  from  antipathy  to  the 
doctrine  itself,  simply  and  abstractly  considered,  but  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  great  foundation-principle-  -a  basement  doctrine  of  a  sys- 
tem of  religion  which  they  despise,  and  despise  only  because  it  re- 
proves vice,  and  threatens  punishment  to  the  finally  impenitent. 
Although  the  cherished  mode  of  attack  is  not  by  a  direct  charge, 
seemingly,  that  God  has  not  power  to  raise  the  dead,  yet  impliedly  it 
is  none  the  less  bold  and  presumptuous,  in  this,  that  God  has  counter- 
worked the  ability  to  do  so.  The  argument  is  based  on  what  infidels 
are  pleased  to  style  the  "  innnutability  of  the  laws  of  nature."  It 
is  contended  that  God  is  the  builder  of  nature,  and  the  author  of  her 
laws  ;  and  to  this  every  Christian  will  most  heartily  subscribe  ;  but 


RESURRECTION   OP   THE  DEAD.  259 

the  deduction  drawn  from  this  fact  by  the  infidel,  namely,  that  "  na- 
ture's laws  are  immutable — incapable  of  alteration  or  change,  even 
by  God  himself,"  we  do  as  heartily  deny.  This  objection,  taken  in 
its  most  favorable  bearings,  must  at  once  be  pronounced,  not  only 
fallacious,  but  highly  presumptuous.  It  is  in  no  sense  logical,  nor 
can  it  stand  the  slightest  test  of  criticism.  It  is  neither  more  nor 
less  than  an  artful  mode  of  evading  the  subject,  rather  than  an  honest 
conMderation  of  it.  The  position  assumed  by  the  apostle  in  the  text, 
and  that  too  in  perfect  harmony  with  every  other  inspired  writer, 
touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  is  not  in  any  sense,  either  in- 
timately or  remotely,  founded  on  nature  or  her  laws,  but  solely  and 
entirely  on  God.  If  the  word  of  God  taught  that  the  resurrection 
of  the  human  body  were  to  bo  effected,  in  whole  or  in  part,  by  nature 
and  her  laws,  then  the  objection,  whether  true  or  false,  would  have 
at  least  a  degree  of  relevancy,  and  an  expression  of  candor.  But 
as  neither  nature  nor  her  laws  are  called  into  effect,  or  in  any  sense 
to  aid  in  this  work,  but  the  whole  is  reliant  on  God  and  God  only, 
no  objection  can  lie  against  the  doctrine  as  set  forth  in  nature.  We 
assert — and  the  proof  is  abundant — that  no  valid  objection  can  be 
found  in  or  urged  from  nature,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  an  effect 
is  greater  than  the  cause  which  produced  it,  which  no  one  but  a  mad- 
man or  fool  will  allow.  What  is  nature  but  an  effect  of  which  God 
is  the  cause?  Which  then  is  the  greater,  nature,  or  God,  the  author 
and  builder  of  nature  ?  But  if  there  be,  as  contended  for,  any  law 
or  element  of  nature  which  can  or  will  prevent  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  then  God  must  be  held  as  inferior  to  nature,  and  is  conse- 
quently overmastered  by  the  works  of  his  own  hands.  Can  anything 
be  more  absurd  than  such  a  conclusion  as  this  ?  And  yet  this  is  the 
logic  and  criticism  with  which  infidelity  strives  to  overturn  the  sub- 
lime and  glorious  hopes  of  the  Christian  ! 

What  is  law,  either  human  or  Divine,  natural  or  revealed,  that  it 
should  be  held  in  such  profound  veneration,  on  this  subject,  by  those 
who  are  constantly  violating  it  on  all  others  t  Is  it  anything  more 
than  an  ordained  "  rule  of  action"  or  "  mode  of  existence  i"  It  is  not 
an  agent,  but  an  instrumentality  ;  the  express  or  understood  will  or 
pleasure  of  a  superior,  single  or  multiplied.  Law,  in  itself  consid- 
ered, is  purely  passive :  it  is  not  in  any  sense  existence  itself, 
but  simply  a  mode  or  means  of  existence.  The  idea,  therefore, 
that   the   element   of   "  immutability"  is   an   inherent   or   natural 


JSBU  RESURRECTION   OF   THE  DEAD. 

quality  of  law,  urged  by  those  who  oppose  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection,  is  a  most  arrogant  assumption,  and  destitute  of  any 
foundation.  Immutability  of  right  belongs  to  God,  and  to  Him  only. 
If  in  the  counsels  of  Infinite  Wisdom  nature  has  been  constituted  on 
a  plan  or  principle  of  regularity,  or,  if  it  is  preferred,  "  immutabili- 
ty," it  is  subject  to  the  will  of  God,  and  in  no  particular  can  it  be 
shown  to  be  independent  of  Him.  As  all  immutability,  as  an  origi- 
nal quality  or  mode  of  existence,  is  of  God,  and  can  only  be  imparted 
or  bestowed  by  Him,  it  is  at  once  evident  that  nothing  is  or  can  be 
immutable  or  unchangeable,  contrary  to  His  will ;  and  can  only  so 
long  remain  immutable,  in  its  relation  to  other  modes  of  existence,  as 
the  Divine  pleasure  shall  bind  the  investment.  Although  it  may  be 
admissible  and  rational  to  speak  of  the  "  immutable  and  unchangeable 
laws  of  nature,"  when  referring  to  simple  created  causes  and  agencies, 
and  of  their  ability  to  alter  or  amend,  yet  when  reference  is  made  to 
God,  the  author  and  builder  of  nature,  the  terms  are  inadmissible 
and  unmeaning.  That  God  cannot  (as  contended  by  those  who  deny 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead  on  the  ground  that  the  immutable  laws 
of  nature  forbid  such  an  occurrence)  alter  or  change  the  laws  of  na- 
ture, (if  necessary,)  to  effect  the  resurrection  of  the  human  body,  is 
too  absurd  and  ridiculous  to  demand  a  refutation.  In  fact,  the  entire 
argument  of  infidelity,  if  it  is  to  be  styled  an  argument,  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  a  pure  sophism,  in  this,  that  the  attempt  is  made 
to  prove  that  the  regularity  in  nature  is  one  and  the  same  thing  as 
the  "  immutability"  of  nature.  That  nature  is  regular,  or  at  least 
seems  so  to  us,  is  at  once  admitted  ;  but  that  it  is  "  immutable"  is 
most  positively  denied  ;  nor  is  it  in  the  power  of  any  man  to  establish 
such  a  fact ! 

Intimately  connected  with  this  error  in  doctrine  and  sophistry  in 
reasoning,  on  the  part  of  infidelity,  is  found  another,  none  the  less 
objectionable.  In  fact,  errors  in  doctrine  or  practice  scarcely  ever 
exist  alone.  The  assumption  that,  because  a  thing  now  exists,  it  will 
forever  exist,  or  that,  because  it  does  not  now  exist  it  never  will  exist, 
(which  is  scarcely  more  than  the  former  argument  in  another  form,) 
is  not  only  an  unwarranted  assumption,  but  is  at  the  same  time  con- 
tradicted and  proved  false  by  every  agency  and  instrumentality  in 
God's  moral  and  physical  universe ;.  and  of  reason  we  afiirm,  that  the 
simple  fact  of  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  umtability  or  immu- 
tability, when  made  to  depend  on  God  as  an  absolute  and  independent 


RESURRECTION   OP   THE   DEAD.  261 

cause,  relies  solely  on  His  will  and  pleasure.  Planting  ourselves, 
therefore,  on  this  immutable  basis,  we  conclude  that  the  fact  that  the 
resurrection  is  not  now — to-day — taking  place,  and  the  dead  are  not 
seen  rising  up  and  walking  forth  out  of  their  graves,  furnishes  no 
more  evidence  that  they  never  will  arise,  than  does  the  existence  of 
man — to-day — that  he  will  never  die.  The  argument  is  as  sound  in 
the  one  case  as  in  the  other,  nor  can  the  conclusion  be  successfully 
resisted.  That  men  have  lived  and  then  died,  is  a  fact  requiring  no 
array  of  argument ;  equally  true  is  it  that  those  who  were  dead  have 
been  raised  to  life  again  by  the  power  of  God — that  same  power 
which  stands  pledged  for  the  resurrection  of  all.  These  two  great 
facts,  death  and  the  resurrection,  are  sustained  by  the  same  style  and 
character  of  evidence  ;  nor  can  the  one  (except  in  frequency  of  oc- 
currence) claim  any  real  advantage  over  the  other.  This  may  seem 
at  first  a  strange  if  not  a  hazardous  position  ;  nevertheless,  we  feci 
confident  that  facts  will  bear  us  out.  Take  the  case  of  Jairus's 
daughter,  or  the  widow's  son,  or  Lazarus — either  one,  or  all  of  them 
— and  there  were  as  many,  if  not  more,  present  when  Christ  raised 
them  from  the  dead,  and  who  saw  and  conversed  with  them  after  their 
resurrection,  as  ever  beheld  any  one  die,  or  followed  him  to  his  grave. 
The  fact  that  but  few  have  been  raised  from  the  dead  has  no  rele- 
vancy to  the  validity  of  the  argument ;  nor  can  the  world  reasonably 
look  for  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead  until  the  period  of  gen- 
eral probation  closes.  Revelation  indicates  each  period  as  distinct 
and  successive,  and  not  as  both  existing  or  transpiring  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  The  simple  fact  that  God  has  given  promise  to  the  world 
that  He  will  raise  the  dead,  is  and  should  be  a  sufficient  and  an  all- 
sufficient  ground  for  our  faith ;  and  yet  He  has  done  more,  and  be- 
cause of  our  infirmities  has  abundantly  demonstrated  the  doctrine  by 
raising  to  life  some  of  those  who  were  dead,  which  fact  is  sustained 
by  the  testimony  of  friends  and  enemies,  by  sacred  and  profane  his- 
tory. These,  at  least  to  the  eye  of  faith,  stand  up  as  prophetic 
sheaves,  typifying  the  general  harvest. 

The  studied  effort  on  the  part  of  infidelity  to  array  nature  against 
revelation  in  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  is  entirely  unfounded 
and  disingenuous.  Nature  and  revelation  are  not  opposed  to  each  other, 
but  the  rather,  when  wisely  considered  and  justly  interpreted,  pro- 
claim the  one  and  self-same  language.  Both  teach  the  doctrine  of 
periodic  succession  and  harmonious   progression.     Everything  in  the 


262  RESURRECTION    OP    THE    DEAD. 

moral  and  physical  universe  has  been  ordained  and  established  on 
regular  and  successive  periods  of  time  and  fitness  ;  and,  consequently, 
no  two  events,  epochs,  or  periods,  in  the  regular  order  of  nature, 
providence,  or  grace,  are  found  existing  at  the  same  place  and  time  : 
in  a  word,  God  has  everywhere  and  in  all  things  revealed  himself  as 
a  Being  of  order  and  not  of  confusion. 

To  illustrate  and  strengthen  this  position,  we  need  only  refer  the 
mind  to  the  period  when  God  alone  existed  ;  when  there  were  none 
with  him  in  the  universe  ;  and  then  there  followed  another  period 
when  the  creative  fiat  went  forth,  and  the  silence  of  eternity  was 
broken  by  the  harps  and  hymns  of  angels.  There  was  also  a  period 
when  no  firmament  lifted  its  fretted  dome  of  azure  and  gold,  and  no 
system  of  worlds  revolved  through  "  voids  immense  ;"  and  then  again 
there  was  another  period  succeeding,  when  the  gloom  of  ancient  night 
fled  away  before  the  blaze  of  innumerable  suns  and  sparkling  stars. 
Now,  with  these  beautiful  illustrations  and  proofs  drawn  from  nature, 
the  accredited  record  of  infidelity  itself — relative  to  the  order  and 
harmony  of  the  works  of  creation,  both  spiritual  and  material ;  of 
period  succeeding  period,  and  of  creation  following  in  the  train  of 
creation  ;  we  must  naturally,  and  with  the  fullest  assurance  of  reason, 
conclude  that,  with  the  accumulated  light  of  a  thousand  prophecies 
burning  in  glorious  fulfilment  on  the  ages  of  the  past,  and  kindling 
■with  a  Divine  a.ssurance  on  ages  yet  to  come,  instead  of  nature  or  her 
laws  placing  any  barrier  in  the  way  of  a  resurrection,  it  does  in  fact 
not  only  illustrate,  but  at  the  same  time  confirm  and  establish  it. 
How  forcibly  are  we  taught  that  the  present  is  the  period  of  death 
and  the  power  of  the  grave,  but  that  succeeding  this  there  is  to  come 
another  period,  which  shall  prove  the  period  of  life  and  the  power 
of  the  resurrection  !  As,  in  the  order  o*'  creation,  the  '•  evening  " 
preceded  the  "  morning,"  so,  in  the  order  of  redemption,  death  and 
the  grave  precede  life  and  the  resurrection.  If,  in  the  triumphs  of 
Calvary,  death  has  prospectively  been  "  swallowed  up  in  victory  " — 
in  which  event  the  resurrection  of  the  human  body  is  reliant  on  God, 
then  it  is  as  certain  in  due  time  to  come  forth,  as  if  this  very  day  and 
hour  the  song  of  the  resurrection  should  salute  our  cars,  and  the 
earth  be  felt  trembling  under  the  mighty  tread  of  its  buried  genera- 
tions. 

As  far  as  the  light  of  nature  and  revelation  combined  have  enabled 
man   to  read  the  mighty  volume  of  creation,  and  the  glory  and  sul>- 


RESL'RRECTION    OF   THE    DEAD.  263 

liiultj  of  its  constitution  and  laws,  it  Las  been  found  to  reveal  but  one 
grand  series  of  elevations  and  progressions.  In  fact,  God  never 
works  on  a  retrogressive  scale.  His  every  sketch  of  wisdom  and 
touch  of  power  is  always  and  forever  to  improve  and  perfect,  to  beau- 
tify and  adorn.  Whatever,  therefore,  there  is  or  may  be  found  con- 
trary to  this  great  elemental  principle,  either  in  nature  or  man's 
present  state  and  condition,  is  and  must  be  pronounced  foreign  and 
antagonistic  to  the  Divine  government.  We  may  therefore  with  bold- 
ness assert  that  death  and  the  grave  are  no  more  of  nature,  as  God 
originally  constituted  it,  (at  least  in  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,)  than 
they  are  of  heaven.  They  are  the  offspring  of  sin,  and  the  just  re- 
tribution for  the  violation  of  G-od's  law.  God  made  the  world  an 
abode  of  life  and  an  Eden  of  pleasure,  but  by  transgression  it  became 
the  habitation  of  death  and  of  countless  evils.  Every  triumph  of 
death  over  humanity,  and  every  grave  dug  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth, 
are  but  the  visible  footprints  of  the  destroyer.  God,  however,  in  the 
great  and  glorious  plan  of  human  redemption,  has  pronounced  the 
doom  of  death,  and  the  restoration  of  his  captives.  As  the  grand 
mission  of  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven,  was  to  counter- 
work the  powers  of  darkness,  and  to  bring  back  what  was  lost  by  the 
defection  of  the  first  Adam,  death  and  the  grave  are  as  certain  to  be 
overthrown,  as  that  God  is  mightier  than  His  enemies.  Whatever, 
therefore,  infidelity,  or  pseudo-infidelity,  may  assert  to  the  contrary, 
one  thing  is  certain— one  unfailing  edict  has  passed  the  throne,  that 
God  will  vindicate  the  honor  of  His  injured  law,  and  sustain  the  rec- 
titude and  perfection  of  His  universal  government.  And  when  this 
shall  have  been  fully  accomplished,  death  and  the  grave  shall  be  piled 
in  ruins  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  nature  restored  to  its  pristine  purity, 
and  Paradise  bloom  in  unclouded  beauty. 

Such  we  conceive  to  be  the  overwhelming  evidence  of  nature,  as 
unfolded  in  the  light  of  revelation ;  not  as  now  existing,  in  death  and 
graves,  but  as  it  shall  hereafter  exist,  when  redeemed  and  disen- 
thralled, and  when  the  hands  of  the  Crucified  One  shall  pronounce 
the  second  benediction  upon  it  through  the  power  of  His  grace.  This 
sublime  prophecy,  however,  is  only  clearly  and  distinctly  enunciated, 
at  present,  in  the  volume  of  revelation.  Nature  itself,  as  it  now  sends 
out  its  multitudinous  responses,  is  most  emphatically  a  Babel,  a  land 
of  confusion.  In  one  section  there  is  manifest  the  budding  of  hope, 
whilst  in   another  there  is  revealed  the  blight  of  despair.     In  one 


264  RESURRECTION   OP  THE   DEAD. 

mouient  the  ear  is  regaled  with  the  song  and  shout  of  life,  whilst  in 
another  it  is  torn  and  riven  with  the  fearful  wail  of  death.  And  what 
does  all  this  mean  ?  Has  Infinite  Wisdom  thus  ordained  and  estab- 
lished confusion  and  contradiction  in  His  own  government  ?  By  no 
means.  "  God  cannot  deny  himself."  All  His  acts  and  works  are 
necessarily  perfect  in  harmony  and  degree.  The  confusion  and  con- 
tradiction which  are  so  apparent  to  all,  are  the  works  of  an  enemy. 
God  sowed  "  wheat"  in  the  fields  of  existence,  but  an  enemy  hath 
scattered  "  tares."  Such  are  the  present  conflicting  and  jarring  ele- 
ments of  nature,  that  no  man  or  class  of  men  are  now  or  ever  have 
been  able,  independent  of  the  light  of  revelation,  to  satisfy  themselves 
as  to  the  great  original  laws  of  life  and  being.  If  so,  why  is  it  that 
so  many  countless  systems  have  perished  with  their  authors  ?  Why 
is  it  that  even  now  long  established  and  cherished  theories  are  seen 
trembling  on  their  ancient  foundation  ?  Is  it  not  because  God's  ori- 
ginal laws  written  in  nature  have  been  so  mutilated  and  disfigured 
that  no  system  of  philosophy  can  fully  decipher  them  and  read  under- 
standingly  the  record  ?  In  view,  therefore,  of  such  a  condition  of 
things,  God  has,  in  tender  compassion  for  our  race,  spoken  to  man 
through  His  revealed  word  ;  and  it  is  through  this  medium  alone  that 
man  can  arrive  at  any  satisfactory  conclusion  in  determining  what  con- 
stitutes God's  will  and  pleasure  towards  our  world.  Here,  and  here 
only,  can  man  learn  what  is  of  God,  and  what  is  the  result  of  sin  ; 
■what  is  in  conformity  with,  and  what  is  opposed  to,  the  Divine  govern- 
ment. With  this  Divine  record  in  the  hand  of  man,  flashing  its  im- 
mortal fires  over  the  wastes  of  time,  he  learns  of  the  power  of  a 
resurrection  ;  that  death  shall  be  destroyed  ;  that  the  grave  shall  be 
opened,  and  that  those  who  "  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall 
awake  and  come  forth  ;"  and  that  life  "  immortal  and  the  same  "  shall 
one  day  live  and  reign  in  glorious  triumph. 

Whatever,  therefore,  may  be  the  trembling  suspense  of  the  world, 
or  the  cavils  of  infidelity,  in  reference  to  this  marvel  of  revelation, 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  matters  not  as  to  its  full  and  final  com- 
pletion. God  has  settled  and  established  it  as  His  own  will  and  work, 
that  the  dead  shall  awake  and  come  forth  to  newness  of  life  ;  and  no 
power  shall  be  able  to  resist  it.  To  give  to  this  momentous  subject 
the  strongest  possible  hold  upon  the  human  mind,  God  has  declared 
it  to  be  His  own  peculiar  work  and  pleasure.  He  has  not  intrusted 
it  to  any  agency  or  instrumentality,  but  reserved  the  accomplishment 


RESURRECTTON   OP   THE   DEAD.  265 

of  the  niigbty  enterprise  to  himself,  and  consequently  placed  it  be- 
3  ond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  chance,  or  change.  If  the  resurrection 
cf  the  dead  had  been  predicted  as  the  result  of  second  causes  ;  if 
nature,  or  man,  or  angels  had  been  spoken  of,  there  might  and  would, 
doubtless,  have  been  a  withholding  of  confidence;  but  when  God 
roveals  His  own  almighty  arm,  and  stakes  the  honor  of  His  throne 
tbat  He  will  raise  the  dead,  who  can  doubt  the  issue  ?  Infidelity 
itpelf,  with  all  its  assumed  composure,  trembles  before  the  announce- 
ment, and  actually  calls  upon  the  "  rocks  and  the  mountains  "  to  shut 
out  the  light  of  revelation,  and  shield  the  trembling  consciences  of  its 
votaries  from  the  "  face  of  Him  who  sitteth  on  the  throne."  Here, 
thank  God,  the  soul  may  find  repose.  Here  the  mourner  may  hush 
his  griefs  and  still  his  sorrows.  Here,  on  this  tempestuous  ocean  of 
time,  lashed  into  foam  and  fury  by  the  wild  hurricane  of  death,  the 
voice  of  Jesus  lingers  still  ;  and  in  the  calm  of  dissolution,  as  the 
vessel  bounds  over  the  dark  waters,  faith  walks  with  steady  step  the 
deck  of  those  eternal  promises  that  God  will  raise  the  dead — that 
'<  they  that  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 

The  various  other  objections  urged  by  infidels  against  this  doctrine, 
and  founded  on  the  imaginary  idea  of  opposition  in  nature,  are  in  fact 
but  of  minor  importance.  The  controversy  on  the  doctrine  of  "  per- 
sonal identity"  and  the  "revolution  of  particles,"  even  among  those 
who  cavil,  is  in  fact  but  little  relied  on.  These  floating  visions  of 
infidel  sophistry  may  allure  and  deceive  for  a  moment,  and  more  espe- 
cially those  who  strive  to  weave  a  "  cloak  for  their  sins,"  but  when 
it  is  remembered  that  no  respectable  infidel  writer  has  ventured  to 
base  his  theory  on  so  slender  a  trifle,  but  simply  held  them  as  colla- 
ted for  want  of  something  better,  we  may  well  pass  them  by  without 
any  formal  refutation.  The  theories  foreshadowed,  although  urged 
against  the  resurrection  of  the  human  body,  are  in  themselves  as 
much,  if  not  more,  opposed  to  nature,  and  to  every  system  of  civil 
jurisprudence  throughout  the  world,  as  they  are  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection.  We  may  in  truth  affirm  that  the  immutable  and  eter- 
nal basis  on  which  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  has  been  placed 
in  the  Word  of  God,  leaves  all  objections  without  foundation,  and 
utterly  harmless.  Nature,  the  great  volume  with  which  infidelity 
assumes  to  be  so  conversant,  is  as  little  comprehended  by  those  who 
speak  so  confidently  of  its  God-built  laws  as  are  the  words  of  revelation  ; 
and  if  it  were  not  that  its  marvels  were  every  day  and  everywhere 


266  RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD. 

rising  up  in  life  and  beauty  around  us,  would  be  as  certainly  con- 
demned by  those  who  oppose  the  resurrection  as  any  doctrine  of 
Divine  revelation.  How  prone  is  man  to  forget  that  God's  ways  and 
modes  and  plans  are  not  only  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure,  but 
infinitely  wise,  and,  in  innumerable  instances,  beyond  the  mightiest 
conception  of  the  mightiest  minds !  But  were  it  possible  for  every 
objection  urged  by  infidels  to  bear,  as  set  forth  by  them  as  found  in 
nature,  against  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  (which  is  by  no  means 
true,)  still  Grod  could  and  would  as  certainly  raise  the  dead  as  bis 
own  word  has  been  pledged  to  the  work ;  and  in  so  doing  God  would 
be  restoring  his  law  and  vindicating  his  sovereignty.  Were  the 
particles  of  the  human  body  scattered  to  the  utmost  limits  of  infidel 
conjecture,  and,  in  addition,  "  immutability  "  be  stamped  on  every 
law  of  nature,  (admitted  for  argument's  sake,)  yet  God  could  as  easily 
and  as  consistently  raise  the  dead  as  he  now  gives  life  to  vegetation 
and  fragrance  to  flowers.  And  of  reason ;  for  death  is  not  a  law  of 
nature  ;  it  is  the  result  of  sin  ;  and  sin  had  no  existence  in  this  world 
when  God  ordained  and  established  its  laws,  and  pronounced  every- 
thing "good"  which  he  had  made.  Death  and  the  resurrection, 
therefore,  both  lie  outside  of  the  original  constitution  of  nature.  But 
should  infidelity  object  to  this  theory,  then  every  infidel  is  reduced 
to  the  fearful  necessity  of  contending  that  God  is  at  war  with  himself, 
and  has  set  up  opposing  laws  in  his  own  government )  that  with  one 
law  he  ordains  life,  and  with  another  law  destroys  that  life;  that 
with  one  hand  he  builds  up,  and  with  another  hand  pulls  down  ;  and, 
furthermore,  that  these  two  laws — the  law  of  life  and  the  law  of  death — 
are  both  "  immutable,"  unchangeable,  and  eternally  the  same.  Alas, 
alas,  for  the  fearful  logic  of  those  who  set  themselves  in  opposition  to 
the  Word  of  God ! 

Let  us  not  forget  that  God  is  consistent  with  himself;  that  none 
of  his  plans  or  laws  or  governments  have  been  ordained  or  set  up  in 
confusion ;  that  God's  periods  are  of  a  moral  character,  and  not  of 
days  and  years  ;  that  with  the  Lord  "  one  day  is  as  a  thousand  years, 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day ; "  and,  consequently,  that  it  ia 
because  of  man's  infirmities  that  he  measures  and  maps  off  time.  When- 
ever, then,  the  great  period  of  probation  shall  close,  and  the  reign  o£ 
death  end,  then  shall  be  ushered  in  the  period  of  life  and  the  resur 
rection ;  and  then  (tliank  God)  lie  who  in  "the  beginning"  called 
matter  into  existence,  and  out  of  a  sea  of  chaos  built  up  and  adorned 


RESURRECTION  OP   THE   DEAD.  261 

the  innuioerable  chambers  and  dwelling-places  of  universal  being, 
will  as  certainly  raise  the  dead,  and  out  of  the  widespread  chaos  of  a 
crushed  and  blighted  humanity  reconstruct  the  human  body,  suited 
to  its  new  and  future  relations,  and,  upon  the  indestructible  princi- 
ples of  rejuvenescence  and  immortality,  place  it  forever  beyond  the 
possibility  of  chance  or  change. 

Such  are  some  of  the  analogies  of  nature  in  reference  to  this  sub- 
lime and  heavenly  doctrine  ;  and  although  the  Christian  faith  neither 
looks  for  nor  claims  from  the  great  world  around  us  any  evidence  or 
proof  confirming  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  still  there  is  much 
which,  in  the  light  of  revelation,  serves  to  typify  and  illustrate  it. 
Most  certain  is  it  that  every  effort  has  most  signally  failed  to  find 
anything  in  nature  to  disprove  it.  Infidelity  may  wrest  the  language 
of  nature,  as  it  most  certainly  does  that  of  revelation,  to  its  own 
destruction,  and  final  and  eternal  overthrow,  but  still  nature,  like  a 
great  physical  prophecy,  is  rolling  forward  to  final  completion  and  a 
glorious  end — a  period  when  its  stammering  tongue  and  broken  accents 
shall  be  eloquent  with  the  praise  of  God,  and  triumphant  in  the  vin- 
dication of  his  word. 

To  this  word  of  revelation  we  now  turn  our  attention,  and  gather 
from  the  rich  munificence  of  its  grace  the  evidences  of  the  doctrine 
under  discussion.  And  here  we  find  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection 
most  clearly  stated  and  abundantly  established.  With  the  Church 
of  God  the  resurrection  is  no  novel  theory.  It  is  no  new  mine  sprung 
in  modern  times,  or  forged  out  in  the  brains  of  speculative  theolo- 
gians, but  is  venerable  with  the  age  of  God's  first  promise,  and  has  ever, 
from  the  beginning,  been  recognised  and  embraced  in  every  dispen- 
sation of  the  Church  of  God.  Although  it  was  but  dimly  shadowed 
forth  in  earlier  times,  when  compared  with  the  overpowering  splendor 
of  later  ages,  nevertheless  there  was  always  light  sufficient  to  arrest 
the  attention  and  inspire  hope,  to  prevent  the  seal  of  destiny  from 
settling  on  the  brow  of  death  and  the  gates  of  the  grave- 

Enoch  doubtless  understood  this  doctrine  when  he  "  walked  with 
God  "  and  communed  with  his  Maker ;  and  although  his  translation 
was  not  strictly  speaking  a  resurrection,  it  was  in  fact  a  most  splendid 
realization  of  it,  and  served  as  a  mcst  beautiful  type  to  the  nations 
present  and  to  come,  that  there  was  a  future  for  the  bodies  as  well 
as  for  the  souls  of  men.  Abraham  was  fully  instructed  in  this  great 
mystery  when  standing  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Moriah,  and  bending 


26S  RESURRECTION    OF   THE    DEAD. 

over  his  son  —  his  only  son  —  bound  for  sacrifice;  and  although 
restrained  from  actual  immolation  by  the  arresting  voice  of  the  Divine 
Angel,  nevertheless  (says  an  inspired  apostle)  "he  received  Isaac 
from  the  dead  in  a  figure  of  the  resurrection."  How  well  this  great 
truth  was  recognised  by  Job,  may  be  fully  comprehended  by  his  own 
language.  Listen  to  the  sublime  proem  with  which  he  introduces 
his  testimony  :  "  0  that  my  words  were  now  written  I — 0  that  they 
were  written  in  a  book  I — that  they  were  graven  with  an  iron  pen  and 
lead  in  the  rock  forever !  "  Could  anything  be  more  beautiful  than 
this  '*■  But  hear  his  testimony :  "  For  I  know  that  my  lledeemer 
livetb,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth  ;  and 
though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall 
I  see  God,  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold 
and  not  another,  though  ray  veins  be  consumed  within  mc."  What 
testimony  could  be  more  full  and  explicit  than  this  ?  How  sublimely 
does  the  harp  of  David  send  out  the  following  language  :  <'  My  flesh 
shall  rest  in  hope,  for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  the  grave," 
"  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  in  thy  likeness."  How  beauti- 
fully does  Isaiah  set  forth  and  establish  this  doctrine  in  those  sublime 
odes  and  songs  with  which  he  celebrates  the  praises  of  the  Prince 
Messiah  :  "  Thy  dead  men  shall  live ;  together  with  my  dead  body 
shall  they  arise.  Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust ;  for  the 
dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead." 
In  fact,  nearly  all  the  prophets  more  or  less  clearly  shadow  forth  this 
glorious  doctrme,  and  point  out  some  new  star  of  hope  burning  in  the 
sky  of  the  future,  to  keep  in  remembrance  this  great  truth,  that 
"  the  dead  shall  arise." 

Here  we  might  safely  rest  our  argument  as  to  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures ;  and  yet  we  can  scarcely  forego  the  pleasure  of  introdu- 
cing one  other  illustrious  character,  in  the  person  of  Elijah.  This 
holy  man  of  God,  exercising  his  prophetic  office  midway  between  Eden 
and  Calvary,  a  translated  Enoch  and  a  rising  Redeemer,  had  not  only 
been  signally  honored  during  his  stay  on  earth  by  the  answering  fire 
from  heaven  to  consume  the  sacrifice,  and  by  being  entrusted  as  it 
■were  with  the  very  keys  of  heaven,  by  which  to  shut  up  the  chambers 
ot  the  dew,  and  at  command  to  unlock  the  treasures  of  the  clouds, 
but  more — he  had  likewise  read  the  visions  of  a  future,  and  beheld 
the  dead  starting  into  life  before  him  by  the  power  of  God,  as  a  living 
prophecy — an  abiding  witness — that  death  was  in  the  plan  of  redemp- 


RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD.  269 

tion  a  conquered  enemy,  and  the  grave  a  chamber  of  temporary 
repose.  But  that  chapter  in  his  history  which  most  effectually  arrests 
the  attention  of  mortals  is  the  story  of  his  translation.  Elijah  hav- 
ing passed  ouf  from  the  city  of  habitation — having  entered  the  valley 
of  the  Jordan,  and  passed  the  water-floods — ascended  in  a  celestial 
chariot,  and  was  borne  aloft  amid  the  sublime  wonders  and  temple 
habitations  of  the  heavenly  world,  leaving  another  bright  example  of 
the  power  of  faith,  the  awards  of  holiness,  and  a  glorious  demonstra- 
tion of  an  invisible  and  ever-unfolding  future  for  man's  physical  as 
well  as  spiritual  existence. 

Such  are  some  of  the  evidences  in  relation  to  the  knowledge  of  this 
sublime  doctrine  in  "  olden  times  " — years  when  creation  was  young, 
and  the  memorials  of  Eden  lived  in  the  memory  of  man.  Whilst 
numerous  other  passages  might  be  cited  from  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures  to  the  same  point  and  proof  as  the  foregoing,  yet,  holding 
the  above  to  be  amply  sufficient  to  sustain  the  correct  sentiments  of 
the  ancient  worthies,  we  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  New  Dispen- 
sation, and  walk  out  under  a  sky  radiant  with  the  "  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness," and  over  a  land  actually  rent  and  torn  by  the  power  of  a  re- 
surrection. In  making  our  selections,  however,  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment Scriptures,  we  scarcely  know  where  to  begin.  So  replete  is  the 
entire  volume,  and  so  convincing  and  overpowering  are  the  demon- 
strations given,  that  to  collate  all  that  is  appropriate  would  result  in 
but  little  less  than  the  reading  of  the  record.  Whilst  the  four  evan- 
gelists were  chiefly  concerned  in  writing  the  history,  and  in  giving  to 
the  Church  and  the  world  a  true  narrative  of  the  advent,  life,  minis- 
try, sufferings,  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  of  "Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth," they  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same  connection,  make  the 
most  full  and  ample  references  to  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
Nor  could  they  have  done  otherwise,  when  their  Divine  Lord  and 
Master,  both  in  His  public  and  private  ministrations,  in  the  audience 
of  gathered  multitudes,  and  alone  with  His  disciples,  gave  the  most 
direct  and  convincing  proofs  that  the  period  was  approaching  when 
"all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  son  of  God, 
and  come  forth."  In  this  connection  Christ  most  emphatically  pro- 
claimed Himself  "  the  resurrection  and  the  life;"  and  not  only  so, 
but  He  gave  proof  of  this  great  fact,  and  settled  forever  this  momen- 
tous question,  in  that  He  raised  the  dead  in  His  own  name  and  power, 
and  finally  came  up  himself  from  the  silence  of  the  tomb,  to  the  con- 


270  RESURRECTION  OF   THE   DEAD. 

stcrnation  of  his  enemies  and  the  joy  of  his  friends.  The  great  bur- 
den, however,  of  the  Evangelists'  triumph  and  hymn  of  joy  was,  to 
celebrate  the  resurrection  of  Christ  himself ;  His  victory  over  death; 
His  triumph  over  the  grave  ;  His  spoiling  of  principalities  and  pow- 
ers, and  making  a  show  of  them  openly;  His  leading  captivity  captive, 
and  receiving  gifts  for  men  ;  and  His  glorious  ascension  into  the 
heavenly  places,  with  all  the  essential  attributes  of  man's  nature, 
spiritualized  and  glorified,  as  the  first  fruits  of  that  mighty  harvest  of 
redeemed  humanity  which  shall  be  gathered,  in  the  fulness  of  time 
and  the  fruition  of  glory,  into  the  home  and  rest  of  the  sanctified  and 
saved. 

However  full  and  convincing  may  be  the  testimony  afforded  by  the 
four  Evangelists  in  proof  of  the  resurrection,  still,  if  possible,  the 
writings  and  ministry  of  the  apostles  are  more  full  and  ample.  The 
reason  of  this  will  at  once  appear,  when  we  consider  their  fields  of 
labor,  and  the  gross  darkness  which  shrouded  the  minds  of  Gentile 
nations.  The  mission  and  ministry  of  Christ,  according  to  ancient 
prediction,  (in  so  far  at  least  as  His  personal  labors  were  concerned,) 
were  to  be  exercised  in  the  land  of  Judea — the  house  and  home  of 
the  prophets,  the  earthly  inheritance  promised  to  Abraham,  the  nation 
out  of  which  Messiah  was  to  rise,  and  to  which  He  was  to  appear  ;  a 
land  made  sacred  by  God's  temple,  and  in  which  Christ  was  to  stand ; 
immortalized  by  its  sacred  mountains,  crowned  with  cedars  and  waving 
with  palms.  The  Urimand  Thummim,  the  altar  and  incense,  the  types 
and  symbols,  and  all  the  ministration  of  Divine  heraldry,  were  there  ; 
and  there  Christ  made  His  advent,  and  taught,  and  suffered,  and  died, 
and  rose  again,  fulfilling  both  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  In  this 
land  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  held  as  an  article  of  religious 
faith  ;  but  in  the  great  field  which  opened  up  to  the  apostles,  "  white 
and  ready  to  the  harvest,"  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  an 
unrevealed  mystery. 

The  commission  which  Christ  gave  to  His  disciples  was  of  the  most 
extensive  character  :  *'Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  every  creature."  In  the  execution  of  this  godlike  plan  and 
labor,  the  apostles  of  necessity  ventured  en  lands  where  no  Law  had 
revealed  its  thunders,  where  no  prophet  had  told  of  the  glory  of 
Messiali's  reign,  and  no  hymn  of  redemption  had  ever  been  sung.  In 
such  lands,  lying  on  the  borders  and  in  the  "  shadow  of  death,"  all 
had  to  be  made  known  and  proclaimed,  and  republished  at  every 


RESURRECTION   OF   THE    DEAD.  271 

interview  and  on  every  occasion  when  the  apostles  spake  of  Jesus  and 
the  resurrection.  In  the  very  beginning  of  the  apostolic  ministry, 
after  the  resurrection  and  ascension  of  Christ,  the  manifestation  and 
approval  given  by  heaven  in  confirmation  of  their  Divine  and  holy 
mission,  and  of  the  sublime  verity  of  the  doctrine,  was  in  very  deed 
one  of  the  most  splendid  and  overwhelming  miracles  found  in  sacred 
story.  In  accordance  with  the  command  of  Christ,  the  apostles  held 
their  first  conference  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  Here,  on  the  very 
theatre  where  the  tragedy  of  the  crucifixion  had  been  so  lately  per- 
formed, in  sight  of  Calvary  and  the  cross,  the  garden  and  the  sepul- 
chre, crowned  with  cloven  tongues  of  fire,  they  preached  Jesus  and 
the  resurrection  ;  and  there  and  then,  three  thousand  of  those  who 
had  so  lately  clamored  for  Christ's  crucifixion  cried  out  for  pardon^ 
and  embraced  the  cross. 

From  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  holy  memories,  the  city  of  Christ's 
humiliation  and  triumph,  the  apostles,  "  being  endued  with  power 
from  on  high,"  took  their  departure  to  publish,  in  every  land  and 
nation  whither  they  should  go,  Jesus  and  the  power  of  the  resurrec- 
tion ;  and  "  their  words  were  with  power,  for  God  was  with  them." 
Stephen,  in  Jerusalem,  puts  to  silence  and  utter  confusion  the  com- 
bined wisdom  and  subtlety  of  the  synagogues  of  the  libertines,  and 
those  of  Cyrene,  and  Alexandria,  and  Cilicia,  and  contends,  even 
unto  martyrdom,  that  the  '<  same  Spirit  which  raised  up  Jesus  from 
the  dead  shall  also  quicken  our  mortal  bodies,"  and  enthrone  them  at 
His  own  right  hand  in  heaven.  Philip,  in  Samaria,  confounds  and 
overwhelms  the  sorcerers  and  magicians,  and  moves  to  anxious  inquiry 
the  whole  city,  in  reference  to  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  ;  giving 
assurance  unto  all  that  "  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible  : 
for  this  corruptible  shall  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall 
put  on  immortality.  Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is 
written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory."  Peter,  in  Cesarea,  in  Pon- 
tus,  in  Galatia,  in  Bithynia,  in  Cappadocia,  and  wherever  he  went, 
preached  with  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven* 
giving  proclamation  and  proof  of  the  resurrection,  in  the  conversion 
of  the  people,  and  to  as  many  as  heard  him,  that  "  if  they  believed 
that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus 
will  God  bring  with  Him."  Barnabas,  in  the  cities  of  Phenice,  and 
Cyprus,  and  Antioch,  sent  consternation  and  alarm  to  the  hearts  and 
consciences  of  listening  thousands,  who  beheld   the  miracle-attested 


272  RESURRECTION   OP   THE   DEAD. 

evidences  that  "God  would  raise  the  dead,  and  brinp:  every  work  into 
judgment }  that  the  hour  was  coming  when  all  that  are  in  their  graves 
shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall  live." 
Paul,  at  Berea,  and  Corinth,  and  Philippi,  and  the  world-renowned 
cities  of  Athens  and  Rome,  and  the  idolatrous  Ephesus,  and  v/her- 
ever  he  went  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  his  mission,  gloried  in  the 
cross,  and  triumphed  in  the  sepulchre.  His  arguments  and  demon- 
strations were  like  mighty  avalanches  sprung  from  the  Rock  of  Ages, 
and  thundering  down  the  heights  of  Calvary,  overwhelmed  sages,  and 
philosophers,  and  heroes,  and  statesmen,  and  camps,  and  courts.  Like 
another  Divinity  walking  amid  the  earthquake  of  the  crucifixion,  and 
bearing  on  his  shoulder  the  "  stone  rolled  away  from  the  door  of  the 
sepulchre,"  he  dedicated  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth  the  altar  inscribed 
"  To  the  Unknown  God  :"  he  heaved  the  very  foundations  of  Diana's 
temple  ;  he  drove  to  madness  the  craftsmen  of  her  shrine  ;  he  commit- 
ted to  the  flames  the  thousands  of  their  magical  books  ;  and,  standing 
in  triumph  in  the  crowded  Areopagus,  he  established  and  defended 
the  cross,  and  piled  at  its  base  the  diadeai  of  Death,  the  broken  bars 
and  shattered  gates  of  the  grave,  and  proclaimed  the  day  of  God's 
appointment,  "  in  the  which  He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness 
by  that  Man  whom  He  hath  ordained,  whereof  He  hath  given  assur- 
ance unto  all  men,  in  that  He  hath  raised  Him  from  the  dead." 
James,  and  John,  and  Timothy,  and  Titus,  and  a  host  of  others,  sent 
out  on  the  glorious  mission  of  the  world's  conversion,  went  every- 
where proclaiming  the  one  all-heavenly  theme  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  and  the  coming  in  of  a  morning  which  shall  shed  down  ou 
the  night  of  the  tomb  the  radiance  of  inmiortality  and  eternal  life 
and  reveal  to  the  gaze  of  an  astonished  universe  the  returning  captives, 
triumphing  in  the  song  of  the  bursting  sepulchre  :  "0  Death,  where 
is  thy  sting!  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  !"  until, at  last,  the  trans- 
cendcntly  glorious  apocalyptic  vision,  descending  from  God  out  ot 
heaven,  burst  upon  the  gaze  of  Patmos'  isle,  and  closed  the  scene. 

And  here  is  the  kindling  of  a  glory  too  intense  for  mortal  vision. 
We  may  not,  we  cannot,  sketch  the  unfoldings  of  this  inspired  drama. 
Who  can  adequately  portray  the  evening  of  time  and  the  dawn  of 
eternity?  Ages  of  investigation  have  walked  among  these  divine 
symbols,  and  gazed  on  these  last  links  of  prophecy,  and  yet  how  little 
does  man  comprehend  them  !  nor  can  he  fully,  for  they  bend  too  near 
the  throne,  and  speak  in  the  language  of  glory.     And  yet  this  much 


RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD.  273 

we  may  know,  that  these  sacred  signs  are  hung  upon  the  cross  as 
trophies  of  conquest  ;  that  the  multitudes  of  angels  which  surround 
the  throne  and  bow  before  the  altars  are  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  ; 
that  the  tramp  of  the  celestial  horses  and  the  thunderings  of  the  roll- 
ing chariots  proclaim  a  pilgrimage  to  the  sepulchre ;  that  the  heavenly 
armies  are  pushing  forward  the  triumphs  of  Calvary;  and  that,  press- 
ing hard  upon  the  evening  of  the  world  and  the  setting  of  time's 
last  sun,  they  already  burn  with  ecstatic  delight  to  celebrate  with  harp 
and  hymn  the  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Like  a  second  Moses,  who  typified  the  coming  Redeemer,  and  was 
chosen  of  God  to  narrate  the  sublime  wonders  of  the  first  creation,  so  St. 
John,  the  "  beloved  disciple,"  who  so  often  leaned  on  the  Saviour's 
bosom,  was  selected  to  sketch  the  diviner  glories  of  the  spiritual  cre- 
ation, the  closing  periods  of  time,  and  the  opening  epochs  of  eternity. 
Far  down  the  unfolding  future,  and  standing  as  it  were  on  some  angel- 
tower,  which  overlooked  the  roll  of  centuries  and  the  flight  of  time, 
he  beheld  the  opening  of  seal  after  seal,  and  heard  ever  and  anon 
their  prophetic  thunderings  proclaiming  the  triumphs  of  the  cross 
and  the  final  conquest  of  the  world,  the  overthrow  of  Death,  and  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead  ;  when  "  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,"  as  the  voice  of  the  archangel  sounded  out  amid  the  thrilling 
notes  of  the  trump  of  God,  creation  ceased  its  roll — the  power  of 
death  was  broken — the  slumber  of  the  grave  was  disturbed — the 
generations  of  the  dead  awoke — and  far  and  near,  over  land  and  over 
sea,  earth  and  ocean,  there  were  beheld  uprising  millions  walking  out 
over  the  boundless  fields  of  space,  arranging  and  stationing  around 
the  descending  throne,  height  over  height,  and  order  over  order,  and 
lifting  the  bold  anthem  on  the  tongues  of  unnumbered  generations, 
"Jesus  reigns — He  reigns  victorious  !"  "  Alleluiah  !  alleluiah  !  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth !" 

0  my  God,  may  our  voices  and  the  voice  of  our  departed  brethren 
it  last  unite  in  this  glorious  song !  Blessed  be  God,  and  blessed  be 
His  holy  name  forever,  for  the  promise  of  a  resurrection,  and  of  life 
eternal  after  death ' 

As  proof  of  these  high-born  and  heavenly  hopes,  that  our  kindred 
shall  arise,  and  that  we  ourselves  shall  come  up  from  the  last  resting 
places  of  humanity,  St.  John  testifies  that  he  "  saw  the  dead  " — so 
near  did  he  stand  on  the  confines  of  that  glorious  day  of  God 
Almighty — that  he  actually  saw  the  dead.     "And  I  saw  the  dead, 

18 


274  RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD. 

small  and  great,  stand  before  God  ;  and  the  books  were  opened  ;  and 
another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life  ;  and  the  dead 
were  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the  books, 
according  to  their  works." 

It  is  enough  :  God  has  declared  it,  and  coming  ages  shall  reveal  ia 
glorious  perfection  His  every  word  and  promise  ;  and  those  whom  we 
now  mourn  as  dead  shall  stand  living  witnesses  of  the  power  of  the 
resurrection.  Why,  my  christian  friends;  why,  my  weeping  brother 
and  sister;  "why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you  that 
God  should  raise  the  dead  V  Nor  is  it ;  for  your  faith  and  trust  is 
in  Him  who  raised  the  widow's  son,  and  who  will  as  assuredly  raise  your 
dead  to  newness  of  life. 

"  O  happy  dead,  in  Thee  that  sleep, 

While  o'er  their  mouldering  dust  we  weep  ! 
O  faithful  Saviour,  who  shall  come 
That  dust  to  ransom  from  the  tomb !" 


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THE  SIN  AND  PUNISHMENT  OF  SELFISH  WEALTH. 


BY  REV.   LEROY  M.   LEE,   D.   D. 

OF    THE   VIRGINIA   CONFERENCE. 


"So  is  he  that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  is  not  rich  toward  God." 
Luke  xii,  21. 

A  profoundly  interested  crowd  were  listening  to  the  gracious 
words  that  proceeded  from  the  mouth  of  Christ.  They  were  agitated 
by  the  solemn  warning  to  fear  Him  who  hath  power  to  kill  and  to 
cast  into  hell  ;*  and  were  excited  to  a  grateful  joy,  by  the  assur- 
ance of  a  special  and  merciful  Providence,  which  supplied  their 
daily  wants,  watched  over  their  steps,  and  "  numbered  the  very  hairs 
of  their  heads. "f  But  their  eager  attention  was  suddenly  and 
strangely  interrupted.  There  was  one  among  those  who  listened  to 
him,  who  "  spake  as  never  man  spake,"  whose  thoughts  were  too 
much  engrossed  by  "  the  love  of  money,"  to  sympathize  with  the 
doctrines  of  Christ,  or  to  be  attracted  by  his  representations  of  ♦*  a 
better  and  a  more  enduring  substance"  than  earth  can  offer,  or  wealth 
can  purchase.  He  had  no  taste  for  those  spiritual  treasures  which 
Christ  was  offering  "  without  money  and  without  price"  to  himself 
and  others.  But  he  was  keen  to  perceive  the  authority  with  which 
Christ  taught,  and  the  deference  with  which  he  was  heard  ;  and  quick 
to  conclude  that  he  might  avail  himself  of  the  authority  of  Christ  to 
accomplish  a  selfish  purpose  of  his  own.  The  things  that  filled  hia 
heart  and  excluded  Christ  from  his  thoughts  and  affections  were  dis- 
played when,  lifting  his  voice  amid  the  solemn  stillness  of  the  multi- 
tude, he  said  :  "  Master,  speak  to  my  brother,  that  he  divide  the 
inheritance  with  me. "J  Disclaiming  all  right  or  power  to  juuge  or 
settle  questions  of  that  character,  the  Master  warned  him  against 
covetousness ;  and  taught  him  a  lesson,  with  respect  to  wealth,  that 
he,  and  others  in  the  pursuit  of  riches,  find  it  hard  to  believe,  and 
are  slow  to  practice  :  "  Take  heed,  and  beware  of  covetousness  ;  for 

•  Luke  xit,  4..  5.  t  Verse  6,  7.  t  Verse  13. 


276  SIN  AND   PUNISHMENT  OF   SELFISH   WEALTH. 

a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he 
possesseth."*  How  true  I  How  wisely,  how  impressively  true  is  it, 
that  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  his  possessions  I 
Life  has  a  better  and  a  more  enduiing  substance  than  "  gold  that 
perisheth  !"  It  has  higher  aims,  nobler  promptings,  and  more  sub- 
stantial objects  than  are  found  in  the  pursuit  or  the  possession  of 
wealth.  "  They  that  will  be  rich,  fall  into  temptation,  and  a  snare, 
and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruc- 
tion and  perdition."!  The  dangerous  tendency  and  destructive  in- 
fluence of  the  love  of  money  on  the  hearts  and  habits  of  men  are 
distinctly  portrayed  in  the  parable  connected  with  the  text. 

To  confirm  his  warning  against  covetousness,  and  to  illustrate  the 
deceptions  and  hardening  influence  of  the  disposition  and  determina- 
tion to  be  rich  and  increased  in  goods,  he  related  a  parable  showing 
the  efi"ects  of  wealth  upon  one  who  "  laycd  up  treasure  for  himself," 
and  was  not,  either  in  the  possession  or  use  of  his  wealth,  "  rich 
toward  God."  Our  text  is  a  deduction  from  the  parable,  setting 
forth  a  general  principle,  as  to  the  eff'ect  of  selfish  wealth  on  religious 
life  and  character,  drawn  from  a  particular  case.  It  is  the  history 
of  a  man  who  made  to  keep  ;  who  accumulated  to  lay  up  for  himself ; 
who  labored  to  have,  not  to  give  ;  who  was  anxious  to  get  and  glad 
to  hoard  ;  but  not  cheerful  to  communicate  nor  willing  to  distribute ; 
who  was  rich  for  himself  and  poor  toward  God  ;  who  was  wealthy  for 
the  life  that  now  is,  but  a  pauper  for  that  which  is  to  come  !  As  he 
was,  "  So  is  he  that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  is  not  rich 
toward  God." 

The  parable  furnishes  ample  and  authoritative  proof  of  the  evils  of 
seeking  wealth  for  its  own  sake,  and  of  laying  it  up  for  pride  and 
selfish  pleasures.  Its  various  and  impressive  facts  for  warning  and 
instruction  may  be  comprised  in  the  following  propositions  : 

1.  The  influence  of  the  pursuit  and  use  of  wealth  for  selfish  pur- 
poses,  on  the  character  and  destiny  of  men. 

2.  The  remedy  against  the  evils  of  accumulating  riches  suggested 
by  the  duty  of  so  using  our  wealth  as  to  become  "  rich  toward  God." 

I.  The  influence  of  the  pursuit  and  use  of  wealth  for  selfish  pur- 
poses, &c. 

Recurring  to  the  parable  for  illustration  and  proof  ol  the  evils  at- 

•Lukeiii,  15.  tlTim.vi,9. 


SIN  AND   PUNISHMENT   OP    SELFISH   WEALTH.  277 

tendant  upon  the  selfish  pursuit  and  use  of  wealth,  we  find  that  it 
blinds  the  mind,  hardens  the  heart,  inflames  the  passions,  perverts  the 
understanding,  and  damns  the  soul.  A  frightful  catalogue  of  evils, 
consummated  in  eternity,  and  crowned  with  fire  that  never  shall  be 
quenched.     Let  us  hear  and  heed  the  warning. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  an  insignificant  fact  that  the  case  used  for  illus- 
trating so  important  a  principle  as  the  consecration  of  one's  wealth 
to  the  service  and  glory  of  God,  is  taken  from  agricultural  pursuits 
and  profits.  From  any  other  of  the  professional  and  industrial  pur- 
suits of  life  it  might  have  awakened  the  suggestion  that  the  successful 
accumulation  of  wealth  was  connected  with  chicanery  and  peculation, 
the  growth  of  skillful  trickery,  professional  mendacity,  or  of  fraudu- 
lent transactions  pervading  a  thousand  operations,  and  spreading 
over  a  long  tract  of  time.  But  nothing  of  the  kind  enters  into  the 
subject.  It  is  a  case  where  the  man  and  his  pursuits  are  segregated 
from  corruption  and  trickery,  are  subordinate  to  providence,  and  face 
to  face  with  God,  Man  the  worker  and  God  the  blesser  occupy  the 
vision  and  fill  the  thoughts.  These  work  together.  The  munificence 
of  God  crowns  the  toil  of  man,  and  he  is  rich  !  But  alas  !  he  is  rich 
without  an  emotion  of  gratitude,  an  impulse  of  benevolence,  or  even 
a  desire  for  fellowship  with  him  who  crowns  labor  with  increase,  and 
life  with  blessings.  In  these  facts,  defining  the  influence  of  selfish 
wealth  on  the  character  of  "  a  certain  rich  man,"  we  find  authority 
for  our  proposition,  and  support  it  by  the  following  deductions 
plainly  set  forth  in  the  parable. 

1.  Wealth  sought  and  used  for  selfish  ends  blinds  the  mind  as  to 
the  author  and  end,  no  less  than  the  right  use  of  wealth.  "  The 
ground  of  a  certain  rich  man  brought  forth  plentifully."  He  was 
already  rich.  The  successive  products  of  years  had  brought  him 
wealth.  It  was  not  ill-gotten  wealth.  It  had  grown  by  God's  bless- 
ing upon  the  skill,  and  care,  and  industry  of  the  husbandman.  He 
plowed  and  planted  and  sowed.  God  gave  the  genial  seasons,  sum- 
mer and  winter,  sunshine  and  rain,  seed  time  and  harvest ;  and  his 
stores  were  continually  augmenting.  The  direct  agency  of  God's 
providence  is  constantly  displayed  in  such  a  case  of  prosperity.  It 
is  more  palpable  and  impressive  here  than  in  any  other  mode  of 
growing  rich.  But  this  rich  man  seems  wholly  unconscious  of  the 
source  of  his  success.  He  does  not  recognise  the  kindness  and  love 
of  God.     The  gift  absorbs   his  thoughts,  fills  his  vision,  engulfs  his 


278 


SIN   AND   PUNISHMENT   OF    SELFISH   WEALTH. 


affections  :  the  Giver  is  ignored,  selfishly  excluded,  practically  repu- 
diated :  God  is  not  in  all  his  thoughts.  He  may  not  have  magnified 
his  own  thrift,  his  prudent  foresight,  his  indomitable  energy  and  per- 
severance. But  neither,  on  the  other  hand,  does  he  acknowledge 
God,  confess  his  providential  goodness,  feel,  or  even  suspect,  his  de- 
pendence upon  Him  whose  sun  and  rain  and  air  cause  the  earth  to 
bring  forth  her  fruits  in  their  season.  In  the  vastness  of  his  posses- 
sions; in  the  diversity,  variety  and  abundance  of  his  goods,  in  the 
full  hand,  the  satisfied  heart,  the  confiding  trust  of  wealth,  he  is 
"  without  God  in  the  world :"  alone  with  plenty  ;  rejoicing  in  the 
harvest,  but  stupidly  unconscious  of  the  prolific  goodness  of  the 
Giver  of  fruitful  seasons.  He  has  toiled  for  wealth,  and  he  has  it. 
Poor  as  he  is  in  all  things  else,  he  is  "  rich  and  increased  in  goods." 
He  has  a  God,  but  it  is  gold  :  he  has  a  temple,  but  Mammon  sits  en- 
throned in  its  high  places ;  and  the  melody  of  his  worship  is  the 
rushing  tide  of  increasing  prosperity.  But,  rich  as  he  was,  he  was 
"not  rich  toward  God."  He  knew  that  he  was  "  rich,  and  increased 
in  goods,  and  had  need  of  nothing"  that  wealth  could  furnish  ;  but 
he  knew  not  that,  with  all  his  boasted  wealth,  he  was  toward  God 
"  wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."  Such 
is  the  sad  picture  of  a  rich  man  who  lived  and  labored  to  <'  lay  up 
treasure  for  himself."  But  it  has  darker  shades,  and  the  gloom  in- 
creases as  we  proceed  in  the  analysis. 

2.  Wealth  sought  for  its  own  sake  hardens  the  heart  against  the 
duty  of  benevolence  towards  men.  "And  he  thought  within  himself 
saying.  What  shall  I  do,  because  I  have  no  room  where  to  bestow 
my  fruits  ?  "*  &c.  The  barns  which  had  sufficed  to  preserve  the  prod- 
ucts of  preceding  years  were  inadequate  for  the  protection  of  the 
plenteous  harvest  of  this  fruitful  season.  He  must,  therefore,  to  pre- 
serve the  fruits  of  his  industry,  have  larger  storehouses.  He  resolves 
to  pull  down  his  barns,  and  build  larger  ones — spacious  enough  to 
receive  and  retain  all  his  fruits  and  provisions.  In  the  desire  to  pre- 
serve his  goods,  there  is  nothing  to  be  censured  or  condemned ;  the 
sin  of  the  act  consists  in  its  selfishness.  He  intends  to  take  care  of 
his  goods  —  that  is  right;  but  he  does  it  only  for  himself — that  is 
wrong.  He  never  loses  sight  of  AiOTseZ/'and  Aw  goods.  God  is  forgot- 
ten, the  poor  are  forgotten  ;  the  good  that  wealth  might  do,  the  hearts 


•  Verses  17  and  18. 


gTN  AND  PUNISHMENT  OP   SELFISH   WEALTH.  279 

it  might  gladden,  the  moral  wastes  it  might  make,  "  to  rejoice  and 
blossom  as  the  rose,"  enter  not  into  his  thought,  form  no  part  of  his 
plans,  have  no  place  in  the  uses  to  which  his  wealth  is  to  be  appro- 
priated. What  cares  he  for  these,  or  God?  He  says.  These  are  my 
fruits,  my  goods,  my  provisions ;  my  hands  have  gotten  me  all  this 
wealth.  May  I  not  do  what  I  please  with  my  own  1  Whom  shall  / 
consult  ?  God  ? — the  poor  ? — the  cause  of  benevolence  ?  In  that  case, 
my  present  barns  would  hold  all  they  would  leave  me.  No,  none  of 
these  ;  Self  is  my  counsellor.  I  and  selfishness  will  settle  the  matter. 
What  shall  I  do  ?  I  will  pull  down,  and  /  will  build  up,  and  /  will 
bestow  my  goods  in  a  place  of  safety.  Here  is  a  combination  of  arro- 
gance, selfishness,  and  pride — the  legitimate  fruit  of  godless  wealth — 
enough  to  make  those  who  ^'■will  be  rich"  pause  in  their  cause,  and 
tremble  for  their  salvation.  "  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God !  "  He  was  laying  up  treasure  for 
himself.  His  present  was  as  blissful  as  heart  could  desire.  He  had 
much  goods — enough  for  the  long  years  that  were  trooping  towards 
him,  like  the  swelling  symphonies  of  coming  music.  His  future  was 
gorgeous  with  a  protracted  career  of  unruffled  repose,  luxurious  liv- 
ing, and  splendid  merriment.  But  the  portrait  of  this  rich  atheist  is 
not  yet  filled  up.  A  master's  hand  traces  the  image  on  the  canvas. 
Another  stroke,  and  it  grows  more  luminous  and  perfect. 

3.  Wealth  sought  and  used  for  selfish  purposes  deceives  and  damns 
the  soul.  "And  I  will  say  to  my  soul.  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods 
laid  up  for  many  years  ;  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry."* 
The  selfish  passion  for  wealth  seldom  tolerates  self-indulgence,  and 
less  frequently  indulges  in  sensuality  It  is  generally  too  exacting 
for  the  one,  and  too  avaricious  for  tbo  other.  In  this  graceless  rich 
man,  however,  they  all  meet  and  barmonize,  and  combine  to  form  a 
character  which  Inspiration  only  can  describe,  and  which  "  pure  and 
undefiled  religion "  contemplates  with  humiliation  and  sorrow.  In 
purpose  all  his  plans  were  settled  :  his  larger  barns  were  built,  and 
his  abundant  harvests  gathered  into  his  spacious  storehouses.  He 
now  passes  into  the  future.  A  long  line  of  years  stretches  out  and 
away  before  him.  He  has  much  goods  laid  up  for  each  of  the  many 
years  that  are  coming  to  meet  him.  Heretofore  he  labored ;  henceforth 
he  will  rest.     He  forgot  God  in  the  getting  ;  he  will  not  think  of  him 

•  Verse  19. 


280  SIN   AND  PUNISHMENT   OP   SELFISH  WEALTH. 

in  the  using  of  his  wealth.  He  laid  up  for  himself;  he  will  enjoy  it 
alone.  His  aspirations  are  bounded  by  his  possessions ;  his  antici- 
pations range  within  the  years  and  luxuriate  among  the  scenes  of  feast- 
ing and  merriment  for  which  he  has  provided.  Soul,  these  are  thy 
goods,  thy  gods  ;  enter  into  thy  rest ;  sit  down  to  the  feast  and  the 
Ijowl  I — eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.  Pause  not,  nor  spare  ;  thou  hast 
much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years.  Soul,  take  thine  ease.  The 
long  years  of  toil  are  ended  ;  the  anxious  thought  for  to-morrow  can 
disturb  no  longer.  The  diligent  hand,  the  daily  thrift,  the  nightly 
care,  the  ceaseless  vigilance,  have  met  their  reward  in  boundless 
wealth !  To  keep,  economize,  and  enjoy  thyself,  is  henceforth  life's 
business  and  recompense.  Take  thine  ease,  soul — eat,  drink  !  Crowd 
thy  table  with  the  choicest  and  costliest  delicacies ;  clothe  thyself 
"  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  fare  sumptuously  every  day  ; "  give  a 
free  rein  to  appetite ;  revel  in  the  lusts  of  the  -flesh ;  —  whatever 
passion  suggests  wealth  can  supply ;  — eat  thy  fill  of  dainty  food  ;  drink 
at  every  fountain  of  pleasure!  Soul,  be  merry;  put  away  sadness; 
call  for  the  daughters  of  music ;  join  in  the  song  and  the  dance  ;  bid 
care  be  gone  ;  hush  the  voices  of  the  past ;  live  to-day ;  and  let  to- 
morrow be  as  to-day,  and  much  more  abundant !  Thou  hast  much 
goods  ;  they  will  last  through  many  years  to  come.  Eat,  drink,  and 
be  merry  I 

Such  was  the  dream  of  a  sensualist,  foolish  with  wealth,  and  fren- 
zied with  the  desire  of  anticipated  pleasures.  But  the  dream  perished, 
and  the  vision  faded  and  passed  away  at  the  rebuke  of  Him  before 
whose  word  "  riches  take  wings  and  fly  away ; "  or  he  who  for  them 
forgets  God  fades  as  a  leaf,  and  dies  in  the  strength  of  his  days, 
and  in  the  magnificence  of  his  possessions.  While  the  dream  was  at 
its  height — in  the  midst  of  his  gorgeous  imaginings,  with  his  plans 
ripening,  and  his  soul  counting  on  long  years  of  pleasure  here,  and 
reveling  through  their  ample  rounds  of  ever-coming,  ever-changing 
joys — a  voice  awoke  his  soul !  It  was  God  that  ppoke  !  And,  oh, 
how  terrible  were  the  words,  "  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul  shall 
be  required  of  thee !  Then  whose  shall  these  things  be  which  thou 
hast  provided  1 "  "  So  is  he,"  in  character  and  feeling,  in  doom  and 
destiny,  "  who  layeth  up  treasures  for  himself,  and  is  not  rich 
toward  God." 


SIN   AND   PUNISHMENT  OF   SELPISH  WEALTH.  281 

II.  The  remedy  againsi  the  evils  of  accumulating  riches  suggested 
by  the  duty  of  so  using  our  wealth  as  to  become  "  rich  toward  God." 

A  compound  object  is  comprised  in  the  history  set  forth  in  this 
parable.  It  contains  a  solemn  admonition  against  the  sin  of  covetous- 
ness,  and  it  suggests  the  end  for  which  wealth  is  given,  and  the  uses 
to  which  it  is  to  be  appropriated.  It  warns  against  laying  up  treas- 
ure for  its  own  sake,  and  for  our  own  exclusive  use.  It  teaches  that 
wealth  is  a  gift  of  Grod,  and  is  to  be  used  for  his  glory,  and  for  the 
good  of  our  neighbors.  In  its  proper  use,  we  make  "  friends  of  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness,"  become  rich  toward  God,  and  lay  up 
treasure  in  heaven.  The  case  of  the  rich  fool  is  presented  as  a  warn- 
ing against  the  follies  and  vices  to  which  inordinate  love  of  money 
leads  its  votaries.  He  stands  as  an  example  of  the  sin  and  punish- 
ment of  selfish  wealth.  If  we  would  escape  his  doom  of  damnation, 
we  must  avoid  his  course  of  crime  and  folly.  The  wealth  God  mer- 
cifully confers  must  be  gratefully  received  and  rightfully  used.  In 
all  respects,  as  to  the  reception  and  use  of  wealth,  the  parable  is 
eminently  suggestive. 

1.  Wealth  is  a  gift  of  God.  Wealth  is  a  relative  term,  of  common 
use,  but  indefinite  in  meaning.  The  world's  idea  of  wealth,  as  to 
amount  and  uses,  we  discard,  as  it  enters  not  into  our  present  object. 
We  occupy  christian  ground,  and  present  christian  ideas,  for  christian 
objects.  In  this  view  wealth  consists  in  the  ability  to  do  good  as  op- 
portunity ofiers  and  means  allow.  Besides,  it  comprises  the  idea  of 
jtower  to  work  that  we  may  have  wherewith  "  to  give  to  him  that 
needeth."  If  we  are  destitute  of  means,  and  have  no  ability  to  work 
for  means,  then  only  can  we  be  excused  from  giving.  St.  Paul 
prescribes  it  as  the  duty  of  a  converted  thief,  "  to  labor,  working 
with  his  hands  that  he  may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth."* 
Thus  making  it  a  rule  of  christian  life  to  give  a  portion  even  of 
the  hard-earned  fruits  of  daily  labor  as  a  consecrated  offering  to 
the  christian  doctrine  of  doing  good  to  our  neighbor.  Wealth, 
in  the  christian  sense,  then,  is  not  measured  by  the  amount  of  our 
gifts,  or  the  ability  to  give  largely,  but  by  the  ability  to  give 
something,  and  the  disposition  to  give  as  God  hath  prospered  us, 
and  to  ^ive  willingly  and  cheerfully.  The  ability,  the  spirit,  and  the 
obligation  of  this  law  of  christian  life  are  happily  combined  in  a  oen- 
tence  of  the  disciple  that  Jesus  loved,  and  whose  spirit   so  be^uti- 

•Eph.  iv,2S. 


282  SIN  AND   PUNISHMENT   OF   SELFISH   WEALTH. 

fully  reflects  the  life  and  doctrines  of  the  Master :  "  But  whoso  hath 
this  world's  goods,  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up 
his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in 
him,"*  The  principle  is  this  :  the  possession  of  the  means  of  reliev- 
ing, or  of  contributing  something  towards  the  relief  of  the  needy,  in- 
volves the  duty  of  giving.  He  who  hath  the  means,  whether  limited 
or  in  profusion,  has  wealth,  is  able  to  give,  and  is  under  law  to  Christ 
to  give  according  to  his  ability.  The  ability  to  give,  that  constitutes 
the  wealth  in  the  case,  is  the  gift  of  God.  The  use  we  make  of  this 
wealth  displays  "  the  riches  of  our  liberality  "  as  signally  in  the  gift 
of  two  mites,  as  in  the  offering  of  thousands  of  gold  and  silver.  God 
giveth  us  richly  all  the  means  by  which  wealth  is  required.  The  head 
that  plans,  the  energy  that  executes,  the  arms  that  work,  the  hands 
that  gather,  have  their  foresight,  patience,  perseverance,  and  success 
from  God.  Wealth  inherited,  the  emoluments  of  trade  and  commerce, 
the  fruits  of  professional  skill,  the  gains  of  daily  industry  and  pro- 
tracted toil,  all  come  from  God.  His  providence  turns  all  to  wealth, 
'and  transmutes  honest  labor  into  gold.  Whoever  plants  or  waters, 
projects  or  executes,  plans  or  works — He  giveth  the  increase.  It  is, 
therefore,  a  duty  first  in  order,  and  of  grave  importance  to  the  suc- 
cessful prosecution  of  all  our  eflforts  to  accumulate,  to  recognise  God, 
to  confess  our  dependence  upon  Him,  and  to  importune  His  blessing 
upon  the  work  of  our  hands.  Besides,  there  is  a  mode  of  increasing 
ability  to  give,  which  is  the  true  christian  idea  of  accumulation,  too  little 
understood,  and  too  seldom  practiced  by  christians.  Christ's  pre- 
scription for  growing  rich  is  by  promptness  and  fidelity  in  giving  : 
"  Give,  and  it  shall  be  given  you."  A  doubting  philosophy  trans- 
poses and  perverts  the  doctrine  and  rule  of  Christ.  Tt  says :  we 
mus.t  get  and  give  :  get  first,  then  give  :  get  enough  to  give  largely, 
then  give  largely  :  get  much,  and  give  in  proportion  to  our  gettings. 
All  such  reasoning  is  vain  and  vicious.  The  command  is  clear,  the 
rule  positive,  and  the  promise  infallible.  Give  and  receive  :  for  if 
you  "give  it  shall  be  given  you."  The  rule  of  christian  life  is  to 
begin  by  giving.  The  amount  is  not  stipulated  that  is  to  go  out  from 
us ;  but  the  return  is  certain,  and  the  increase  abundant.  Give,  says 
Christ.  Give  something,  give  according  to  your  ability.  It  may  be 
but  little  you  have  to  give  :  give  the  little.     Let  those  who  are  able 

•1  John,  iii,  17. 


SIN  AND   PUNISHMENT   OF   SELFISH   WEALTH.  283 

give  the  more,  to  supply  your  lack,  if  more  be  needed.  Be  only  care- 
ful to  give  of  a  ready  mind,  and  do  it  cheerfully  :  God  loveth  a  cheer- 
ful giver.  Giving,  you  will  grow  "  rich  toward  God."  Give  to  every 
one  that  asketh  you,  to  every  good  cause  :  the  command  is  give :  the 
amount  is  "  accoi-ding  to  your  ability."  Means  are  not  lost,  but  in- 
creased by  giving.  "  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth." 
Giving  scatters.  God  multiplies  his  mercies  as  we  obey  him  by  giving. 
"  Give,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you  ;  good  measure,  pressed  down, 
and  shaken  together,  and  running  over,  shall  men  give  into  your 
bosom.  For  with  the  same  measure  that  ye  mete  withal,  shall  it  be 
measured  to  you  again."*  This  is  a  new  mode  of  "  increasing  in 
goods."  It  is  not  by  pulling  down  our  barns  and  building  greater, 
that  we  may  have  room  to  bestow  and  keep  our  plentiful  harvests  : 
it  is  not  by  absorbing  all  the  gains  of  trade  into  our  business,  for  the 
enlargement  of  trade  and  the  multiplication  of  profits  :  it  is  not  by 
investing  our  surplus  capital  in  profitable  stocks  :  but  it  is  by  riches 
of  liberality,  giving  to  do  good,  growing  rich  toward  God  by  the  right 
use  of  our  means,  that  we  are  multiplied  in  all  the  resources  with 
which  God  rewards  and  enriches  a  cheerful  giver.  This  is  the  only 
true,  satisfactory,  and  authorized  mode  of  laying  up  treasure  on  earth 
and  in  heaven.  It  commands  the  appropriation  of  present  available 
means  to  present  objects  of  necessity  or  benevolence  ;  and  God 
assumes  the  place  of  debtor  to  the  giver,  and  pledges  grace,  mercy, 
and  truth,  to  repay  a  hundred-fold  in  this  life,  with  eternal  recompense 
in  the  life  to  come. 

But  wealth,  in  the  sense  here  presented,  as  comprising  the  power  to 
work,  "  that  we  may  have  to  give  ;"  and  giving  as  a  means  of  increas- 
ing the  amount  of  our  wealth  and  the  ability  to  give  at  the  same  time, 
is  not  the  precise  idea  of  the  parable.  It  is  offered  as  a  sound  reli- 
gious sentiment,  suggestive  of  duty,  and  soliciting  practical  experi- 
ment of  all  who  make  the  necessity  of  daily  toil  an  apology  for 
inability  to  give.  It  is  commended  to  our  faith,  and  secured  by 
heavenly  promises. 

2.  Wealth  is  a  talent  entrusted  to  us  for  usefulness  :  and  for  the 
right  employment  of  it  we  are  responsible  to  God.  "The  Lord  maketh 
rich  "f     His  providential  agencies  fill  the  barns  of  the  agriculturist, 

*Lukevi,  S3.    1 1  Samuel  ii,  7. 


284  SIN  AND  PUNISHHMBNT   OP   SELFISH   WEALTH. 

prosper  the  plans  of  the  merchant,  crown  the  industry  of  the  luechanic. 
His  world  has  wealth  for  each,  for  all,  and  forever.     Sea,  and  earth, 
and  sky,  are  full  of  His  treasures ;  and  invite  all,  who  to  prudence 
and  sobriety  add  industry,  economy  and  energy,  to  come,  appropriate 
and  grow  rich.     But  creation  is  not  filled  with  treasure  to  stimulate 
cupidity,  to  gratify  pride,  or  to  pander  to  lust ;  nor  do  all  equally 
participate  of  the  munificent  provision.     Ignorance,  infirmity,  misfor- 
tune, and  sin,  hinder  many  from  competency,  and  subject  them  to 
want  and  suffering.     Poverty  is  a  heritage,  for  good  or  evil,  from 
which  humanity  will  never  be  free.     "  The  poor  ye  have  always  with 
you."   The  Lord  maketh  poor.   But  poverty  is  representative.    Christ 
was  poor  :  He  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head  ;  and  friendship,  affec- 
tion, and  faith,  supplied  His  daily  wants.     The  munificence  that  fills 
the  world  with  wealth,  the  providence  that  guides  and  prospers  hu- 
manity in  the  search  for  it,  and  fills  the  diligent  hand  with  riches, 
taxes  success  with  the  first  fruits  of  its  increase  ;  and  claims  a  tenth 
at  least,  as  tribute  money  for  his  treasury,  and   a  proof  of  fealty  to 
his  government.     This  obligation  to  give,  of  giving  "  according  as 
God  has  prospered  us,"  is  absolute  and  universal.      It  binds  all ; 
excuses  none.    It  is  a  law  of  life,  sanctioned  by  Divine  authority,  and, 
like  the  tree  of  life  girt  about  with  the  flaming  sword,  it  is  fenced 
round  with  words  of  warning,  and  voices  of  vengeance,  crying  woo 
against  every  transgression  and  disobedience.     "  How  hard  is  it  for 
a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."     "  Go  to,  now,  ye 
rich  men,  weep  and  howl  for  your  miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you. 
Your  riches  are  corrupted ;  your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered,  and  the 
rust  of  them  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  it  were  fire  ;  ye  have  heaped 
treasure  together  for  the  last  days  :  Thou  fool :  this  night  thy  soul 
shall  be  required  of  thee!"     Selfish  wealth  is  a  crime  against  God 
and   society ;  and  a   curse  to  him  who   lays  up  treasure  for  himself. 
It  is  never  a  virtue,  but  always  a  crime  ;  never  a  blessing,  but  always 
a  curse.     It  expels   all  the  sympathies  and  charities  of  Christianity 
from  the  soul ;  it  solidifies  <'  the  milk  of  human  kindness  "  in  the 
breast ;   it  dethrones  God  from  the  affections,  and  elevates  Mammon 
and  ]Moloch  to  the  throne  of  authority  and  worship  ;  and  having  begun 
by  debasing,  it  ends  by  devouring  the  soul  in  destruction  and  per- 
dition. 

3.  Wealth  derived  from  God  is  to  be  consecrated  to  his  service 
and  glory.     Wealth,  whether  regarded  as  an  actual  possession,  or  as 


SIN   AND   PUNISmiENT  OF   SELFISH  WEALTH.  285 

ability  to  give,  may  be  held,  enjoyed,  and  used,  so  as  to  render  us 
"  rich  toward  God  :"  and  this  constitutes  the  true  riches.     A  com- 
prehensive outline  of  the  duty,  and  of  the  modes  by  which  our  means 
are  to  be  used  on  earth  so  as  to  make  us  rich  toward  God,  and  be 
treasure  laid  up  in  heaven,  is  thrown  off  by  the  Apostle  in  words 
fragrant  with  the  unction  of  heavenly  wisdom,  and  musical,  as  if  the 
angel  singers  had  come  a  second  time  to  sing,  not  the  opening,  but 
the  consummated  triumph  of  the  reign  of  peace  on  earth  and  good 
will  to  man.     "  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  world,  that  they  be 
not  high  minded,  nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the  living  God, 
who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy ;  that  they  do  good,  that 
they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  communi- 
cate ;  laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good  foundation  against  the 
time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life."*     The  senti- 
ments of  the  Apostle  are  a  commentary,  exegetical  and  practical,  on 
the  words  of  Christ — "  rich  toward  God."     Means  distributed  in 
good  works  are  not  wasted,  not  lost.     The  alms,  no  less  than  the 
prayers  of  Cornelius,  came  up  as  a  memorial  before  God.     How  grate- 
ful was  "  the  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish"  to  the  heart 
of  the  ancient  patriarch ;  and  how  sweet  to  his  soul  was  the  song 
that  widowed  hearts  sung  for  joy  in  his  path.f     The  inscription  on 
the  tomb  of  a  charitable  man  happily  illustrates  and  urgently  en- 
forces the  duty  of  consecrating  our  wealth  to  God  :  "  Here  lies  Etella : 
who  transported  a  large  fortune  to  heaven  in  acts  of  charity ;  and 
has  gone  thither  to  enjoy  it." 

4.  Wealth  laid  up  for  selfish  uses  and  sensual  pleasures,  is  a  vio- 
lation of  the  ordinances  of  God,  and  brings  no  blessing,  but  leaves  a 
curse.  "  They  that  will  be  rich  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare, 
and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruc- 
tion and  perdition.  For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil."J 
The  seductive  and  delusive  influences  of  "the  love  of  money"  in 
perverting  the  thoughts,  sensualizing  the  affections,  and  debasing  the 
noble  powers  of  the  soul,  are  frightfully  portrayed  in  the  parable  of 
the  rich  man.  He  contemplated  his  wealth,  and  forgot  the  Author 
of  the  varied  seasons  and  the  Giver  of  the  plentiful  harvests.  He 
looked  at  his  wealth,  and  the  higher  instincts  of  his  soul  and  the  no- 
bler aspirations  of  an  immortal  blessedness  hushed  their  claims  and 

» 1  Tim.  vi,  17, 19.  t  J ob  xxix,  IS  J  1  Tim.  vi,  9, 10. 


286  SIN  AND  PUNISHMENT   OP   SELFISH   WEALTH. 

folded  their  wings  to  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,  at  tables  crowded 
with  sumptuous  fare,  and  fountains  ever  flowing  and  always  sparkling 
with  pleasure.  He  was  in  the  bloom  and  freshness  of  life,  counting 
on  long  years  of  pleasure,  with  ample  provision  for  each  as  it  came 
and  went.  But,  how  abject  and  poor,  in  the  profusion  of  this  world's 
good.  His  mind  had  no  God  5  his  heart  no  worship,  his  soul  no 
eternity,  his  hope  no  treasure.  He  was  alone  :  rich,  selfish,  and  a 
fool !  "  So  is  he  that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself  and  is  not  rich 
toward  God."  How  full  of  horror  to  such  an  one  is  the  startling 
announcement :  "  This  night  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee  !" 
How  much  more  horrifying  still,  to  him  who  is  rich  for  himself,  the 
demand  :  "  Then  whose  shall  those  things  be  which  thou  has  tgath- 
ered  ?"  Yes ;  whose  shall  they  be  1  Poor  man,  wretched  man, 
ruined  man,  the  announcement  and  the  question  have  shivered  thy 
hopes,  the  vision  fades  from  the  mind,  the  wealth  falls  from  the  grasp, 
the  soul  is  transpierced  with  a  thousand  sorrows  ;  and  of  all  he  had,  all 
he  loved,  all  he  desired,  *' there  remaineth  nothing  but  a  certain  fear- 
ful looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation."  This  is  his  posi- 
tion. It  is  not  what  he  wished,  but  it  is  all  he  deserves.  So  is  he  ; 
so  will  he  be, "  who  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  is  not  rich 
toward  God." 

Covetousness  merits  the  rebuke  it  receives  in  the  parable.  It  Ls 
always  and  only  evil ;  a  sin  against  God,  a  crime  against  society. 
The  rich  and  selfish  sensualist  is  the  type  of  a  class  :  a  representative 
of  an  innumerable  company  who  love  money  for  its  own  sake,  and  for 
the  license  it  gives  to  the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  It  is  an  easily  besetting 
sin,  delusive  in  its  approaches,  strong  in  its  enticements,  corrupt- 
ing in  its  influences,  and  destructive  in  its  issues.  It  is  the  only  sin 
in  the  catalogue  of  transgression  that  by  a  strange  perversion  of  feel- 
ing, or  a  stranger  disregard  of  the  Word  of  God,  is  held  to  be  not 
incompatible  with  the  christian  profession.  Hence,  it  is  as  pervasive 
and  glaring  in  the  pews  of  the  Church,  as  in  the  places  of  more 
worldly  resort.  It  is  arraigned  by  God  as  guilty  of  the  gravest  of 
sins,  and  classed  with  the  most  ofiensive  of  sinners.  Covetousness  is 
idolatry ;  and  idolatry  is  treason  against  God.  It  dethrones  God. 
It  usurps  his  place  in  the  affections.  It  deifies  gold.  It  is  a  rapa- 
cious worshipper  of  Mammon.  Covetousness  fraternizes  the  money 
lover  with  the  impure  and  impenitent  both  in  the  nature  and  punish- 
ment of  their  crimes.     Association  with  the  covetous  is  prohibited  to 


SIN   AND   PUNISHMENT  OP   SELFISH  WEALTH.  287 

u  christian.*  He  cannot  be  a  christian,  since  a  christian  may  not  eat 
with  him.  Inspiration,  with  a  pencil  of  light,  defines  his  true  char- 
acter and  destination  by  association.  He  is  one  of  a  vile  and  vicious 
crowd,  grouped  together  in  a  companionship  of  guilt,  and  marching 
to  the  damnation  of  hell.  "  Be  not  deceived  ;  neither  fornicators, 
nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  effeminate,  nor  abusers  of  them- 
selves with  mankind,  nor  thieves,  nor  covetous,  nor  drunkards,  nor 
revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.'*f  Look 
at  that  picture,  ye  money  lovers  !  It  is  drawn  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
He  places  the  covetous  arm  in  arm  with  the  thief  and  the  drunkard, 
in  the  centre  of  the  most  oflfensive  and  loathsome  group  of  depravity 
and  corruption  that  can  be  found  this  side  the  world  of  woe ;  and 
together  they  are  journeying,  not  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  to  the 
place  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 
Take  heed,  and  beware  of  covetousness  ! 

•lOor.v.U  Vers*  8.101 


*vv 


C^tc^ 


d:)^£.^:^  ^''T^^ 


J>y  THE  nOJUDA  COXFJiTUiiNCS 


RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE. 


BY  REV.   JOSEPHUS   ANDERSON,   A.  M., 

OF   THE    FLORIDA    CONFERENCE. 


•  Ai»d  beoiae    this,  giving  all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith  virtue.  " 

-2  Peter  i,  5. 

This  whole  passage  deserves  attention,  as  a  beautiful  and  compre- 
hensive description  of  the  virtues  of  the  christian  character.  Here  is 
a  sacred  chain,  vrith  link  after  link,  commencing  with  "  faith"  in  Christ, 
and  closing  with  "  charity,"  the  greatest  of  all.  Here  is  the  pro- 
gressive development  of  a  holy  character,  where  trait  after  trait  be- 
comes visible,  and  grace  after  grace  appears.  I  call  this  the  great 
christian  motto.  It  deserves  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  and 
placed  where  it  will  always  attract  attention.  It  should  be  committed 
to  memory,  and  so  often  thought  upon  as  to  influence  the  life,  and 
conform  the  character  to  its  standard. 

The  Apostle  begins  thus  :  "  And  besides  this" — intimating  that 
there  is  something  more.  There  is  no  degree  of  grace,  no  position 
in  religion,  no  height  of  enjoyment,  where  we  may  not  hear  the  voice 
of  God  saying,  "  And  besides  this,  giving  all  diligence,"  There  are 
yet  higher,  brighter,  better,  positions  which  invite  to  diligence.  It 
is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  it  requires  no  exertion  to  be  a 
christian.  Many  would  gladly  so  believe,  and  would  rejoice  to  go  to 
heaven  on  flowery  beds  of  ease.  But  there  is  no  such  way  for  either 
rich  or  poor,  high  or  humble.  There  is  one  way,  and  but  one,  pointed 
out  by  Christ,  and  that  is,  *'  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  straight  gate, 
for  many,  I  say  unto  you,  will  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able." 
Laziness  and  self-indulgence  are  great  foes  to  religion.  There  is 
nothing  worthy  of  our  attention,  but  requires  exertion.  Men  do  not 
become  rich,  or  great,  or  learned,  simply  by  idle  wishes,  or  even  bj 
earnest  desires.  Eminence  in  any  pursuit  is  only  gained  by  perse- 
vering labor.     It  requires  effort  to  achieve  greatness.     Were  it  other- 

19 


290 


RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE. 


wise,  we  should  fail  to  appreciate  it.  We  do  not  value  highly  what 
costs  us  nothing,  and  if  we  made  no  exertions  after  religion,  we  should 
but  lif'litly  esteem  it.  The  Apostle  urges  therefore  to  diligence,  and 
not  simply  to  diligence,  but  to  "  all  diligence."  Nothing  is  to  be 
left  undone  ;  every  effort  is  to  be  made.  If  men  were  only  as  dili- 
gent, and  made  the  same  amount  of  exertion  in  the  cause  of  religion, 
as  for  riches  and  worldly  honors,  they  would  prosper  greatly  and  re- 
joice in  the  Lord  always. 

The  object  of  diligence  is  to  "  add  io.^'     The   christian   should 
never  be  content  to  occupy  the  same  position  in  religion  for  any  length 
of  time.     The  spirit  of  Christianity  calls  perpetually,  saying  "  come 
up  higher."     "  There  is  very  much  ground  yet  to  be  occupied  :"  and 
we  must  "  go  up  at  once  and  possess  the  land."     Too  many  live  in 
the  past,  and  when  they  desire  to  excite   pleasant  religious   feelings 
they  go  back  to  the  day  of  their  conversion,  the  time  of  first  love, 
and  live  over  again  those  days.     It  is  all  the  joy   they  have ;  they 
remember  how  they  once  felt,  and  this  gives   them  pleasure.     Alas  ! 
for  them.     They  have  no  present  experience.     I'aul  said,  "  Forgetting 
the  things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  to  those  which   are 
before,  I  press  toward  the    mark  for   the   prize  of  my  high   calling, 
which  is  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."     It  is  thus  a  continual  adding  to. 
"We  add  victory  to  victory,  grace  to  grace,  joy  to  joy,  work  to  work, 
improvement  to  improvement ;  and  so  pass  round  after  round  up  the 
ladder  from  earth  to  Heaven.    The  true  christian  ever  prays,  "Nearer, 
my  God,  to  thee  I"     The   starting   point  is  faith—"  add    to  faith." 
This  is  the  ground  work  of  the  religious  life,  and   he  who  has  not 
faith  builds  upon  sand,  and  while  his  hopes  may  stand  in  prosperity, 
when  all  goes  well,  in  adversity,  in  death,  in  judgment,  his  founda- 
tion will  be  swept  away,  and  he  doomed  to  a  miserable  and   eternal 
disappointment.     He  who  starts  for  the  Celestial  City  without  faith 
in  Christ,  enters  the  wrong  gate,  and  travels  in  the  wrong  direction. 
Poor  man  !  he  has  lost  his  way  and  is  in  darkness,  but  he  knows  it 
not.     First  of  all,  we  must  come  to  Christ  as  poor,  miserable,  guilty 
sinners,  utterly  unable  to  save   ourselves,  and  cast  ourselves  at  his 
feet   cryin"'  "  Save,  Lord,  or  we  perish."     Faith   looks  back   upon 
a  life  of  sin  and  wickedness,  within  at  a  heart  polluted  and  evil, 
above  at  an  angry  God,  beneath  at  a  flaming  hell,  before  us  to  an 
eternity  of  woe,  and  then  grasps  the  cross  of  Christ  as  the  only  hope, 
crying 


RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE.  291 

"  Jcsu!5,  I  my  cross  have  taken, 
All  to  leave  and  follow  thee  ; 
Naked,  poor,  despised,  forsaken, 

Thou,  from  hence,  my  all  shall  be." 

The  next  step  is  virtue.  Here  is  the  progress  of  religious  experi- 
ence ;  first  faith,  then  virtue.  I  dislike  ever  to  find  fault  with  our 
translation  of  the  Scriptures.  It  stands  deservedly  high  as  a  faithful 
and  true  rendering  of  the  original  into  pure  and  unexceptionable 
English.  It  is  certainly  the  best  translation  into  English  ever  yet 
made,  and  perhaps  the  best  that  will  be  made  for  many  generations 
to  come.  But  while  this  may  safely  be  said  of  it  as  a  whole,  truth 
requires  that  we  say,  that  in  a  few  instances — and  they  are  very  few 
indeed— the  translation  is  at  fault.  These  are  not  suSicient  to  mar 
the  beauty,  or  change  materially  the  sense,  of  the  Scriptures.  They 
do  not  aff'ect  a  single  doctrine  ;  and  the  complaint  can  only  be,  that 
they  fail  to  bring  out  the  sense  of  the  original  fully.  Now,  in  the 
case  before  us,  we  should  hardly  expect  the  apostle  to  say,  <'Add  to 
faith  virtue,''  which  means  religion  or  moral  goodness ;  and  then  go 
on  to  require  the  addition  to  religion  of  the  several  virtues  which 
make  up  religion.  This  is  absurd.  The  original  makes  no  such  blunder, 
nor  did  the  translators  so  intend;  for  when  the  translation  was  made, 
virtue  was  a  term  expressive  of  courage,  fortitude,  moral  principle. 
Like  many  other  words,  it  has  changed  its  meaning  in  the  course  of 
years.  The  Grreek  word  here  translated  virtue,  means  courage,  forti- 
tude, goodness,  principle.  The  last  is  the  best  meaning  for  this  place, 
because  it  embraces  all  the  rest,  and  answers  the  design  of  the  apos- 
tle. He  is  giving  the  progressive  development  of  Christian  charac- 
ter, and  therefore  intends  to  say,  "Add  to  faith  principle,"  which  is 
a  settled  law  or  rule  of  action  ;  an  inward,  fixed  purpose  of  life ;  a 
permanent  spring  of  conduct. 

I  wish  to  call  your  attention,  therefore,  to  the  subject  of  Reli- 
gious Principle, 

I.  There  is  a  great  demand  for  the  serious  consideration,  the  calm 
investigation,  of  the  true  nature  of  Christianity  in  this  regard.  There 
are  so  many  Reubens  "  unstable  as  water ; "  so  many  Ephraims  whose 
*'  goodness  is  like  the  morning  cloud  and  the  early  dew  that  passeth 
away  ; "  W)  many,  like  Peter,  who  "  deny  their  Master  ; "  so  many, 
like  Hymeneus,  who  "  make  shipwreck  of  faich  j "  so  many,  like 
Bemas,  who  "  love  this  present  world  j "  so  many  revival  Christians, 


292  RELIGIOtJS   PRINCIPLE. 

who  are  zealous  and  active  in  times  of  religious  excitement,  but  who 
are  lukewarm  and  indiflferent  at  other  times ;  so  many  summer  and 
fair-weather  Christians,  who  are  seen  at  the  house  of  God  when  the 
weather  is  pleasant  and  warm,  but  when  it  requires  self-denial  to 
attend,  we  see  no  more  of  them;  so  many  who  are  very  regular  and 
attentive  when  they  have  a  popular  pastor  whose  eloquence  attracts 
and  charms  them,  but  at  other  times  either  go  not  at  all  or  very  seldom  ; 
so  many  who  serve  God  when  adversity  drives  them  to  the  cross  for 
consolation  and  hope,  but  when  prosperity  returns  they  forget  God, 
and,  like  Jeshurun,  "wax  fat  and  kick." 

The  question  arises.  Does  Christianity  sanction  this  state  of  things' 
Does  it  spring  legitimately  from  the  nature  of  religion  ?  Can  it  be 
chargeable  to  the  influence  of  religion  ?  If  so,  it  ought  to  be  known, 
for  then  these  persons  are  not  to  be  condemned  ;  but  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  Christianity  provides  for  and  contemplates  a  different 
development  of  character,  these  persons  must  be  condemned,  and  their 
conduct  denounced  as  utterly  contrary  to  true  religion. 

We  invite  you,  then,  to  enter  upon  the  investigation  ;  and  we  begin 
with  a  question,  the  answer  to  which  setles  the  matter  decisively  and 
at  once  :  Is  religion  merely  an  excitement  of  the  emotional  nature 
by  the  presentation  of  religious  truth,  or  is  it  more  ?  Mark  you,  the 
question  is  not  whether  religion  excites  emotional  feeling.  This  we 
know  to  be  true.  God  has  not  ignored  the  emotions  in  providing  a 
religion  for  man.  Religion  is  not  simply  for  the  intellect,  nor  for 
the  will  and  conscience,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  sensibilities.  It  is 
for  the  whole  man — intellect,  emotions,  will,  conscience.  A  religion 
that  does  not  affect  the  heart  is  worthless,  and  altogether  unsuited 
to  man's  nature  and  condition.  Nor  am  I  to  be  understood  as  ques- 
tioning the  propriety  of  religious  excitement.  Doubtless  David  was 
excited  when  the  ark  of  God  was  brought  back ;  Solomon  when  the 
temple  was  dedicated ;.  Moses  when  he  saw  the  promised  land  from 
the  top  of  Pisgah  ;  Paul  when  he  was  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven 
and  heard  unspeakable  words ;.  and  multitudes  of  the  people  of  God, 
in  ancient  and  modern  times,  have  felt  the  most  powerful  excitement 
at  times.  There  are  times  when  not  to  experience  an  excitement  of 
feeling  would  be  unnatural,  and  almost  impossible.  The  question  is, 
whether  religion  consists  in  excitement  of  our  emotions,  or  in  some- 
thing more.  The  essential  element  of  religion  cannot  be  emotional 
feeling,  because  that  wanta  three  of  its  most  prominent  characteria 


RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE.  293 

tics.  Eiuotional  feeling  wants  the  uniformity  of  true  religion.  It  is 
variable  an<l  ever  changing.  Sometimes  men  feel  deeply,  and  are  pow- 
erfully excited,  but  at  others  they  are  calm,  and  apparently  destitute 
of  feeling-  It  is  a  source  of  frequent  trouble  to  some  persons  that 
at  times  they  feel,  and  at  others  they  seem  to  have  little  feeling  on 
the  subject  of  religion.  Again ;  true  religion  is  by  all  conceded  to 
be  adapted  to  all  men ;  but  if  emotional  feeling  is  the  essential  ele- 
ment of  religion,  it  sadly  fails  in  adaptedness  to  all.  Men  are  differ- 
ently constituted  with  regard  to  the  predominance  of  the  mental 
faculties.  There  are  those  who  have  more  feeling  than  others — of 
excitable  temperament,  and  a  greater  prominence  of  the  emotional 
nature.  Others,  from  constitution  and  habits  of  life,  are  cold,  intel- 
lectual men,  never  much  excited,  but  always  calm  and  reflective. 
Others  again  are  men  of  great  nerve  and  iron  will,  formed  for  action, 
neither  excitabl-e  nor  reflective,  but  cool  and  deliberate,  and  strong 
in  purpose.  If  religion  is  a  mere  excitement  of  the  emotions,  it  is 
clearly  adapted  to  but  one  of  these  classes.  It  is  totally  unsuitea  to 
the  man  of  intellect  or  the  man  of  will,  neither  of  whom  can  be  exci- 
ted to  display  much  feeling  upon  any  subject  whatever.  It  is  contrary 
to  their  constitution  and  habits  of  mind  that  they  should  do  so. 
These  need  a  diff'erent  religion  from  that  of  mere  excitement. 

Once  more  :  we  know  that  the  christian  religion  is  a  permanently 
abiding  reality — something  that  is  constant,  always  with  us.  But 
emotional  excitement,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  necessarily  incon- 
stant and  variable.  Excitement  cannot  possibly  remain  long;  it  soon 
wears  itself  out,  and  by  the  laws  of  the  mind  must  produce  a  reaction, 
when  there  is  a  calm.  Are  we  to  believe  that  we  have  no  religion, 
when  we  are  no  longer  excited  ?  This  is  inevitable  if  religion  is  no 
more  than  excitement  of  the  emotions.  We  conclude,  then,  that  reli 
gion  is  something  more  than  feeling.  It  is  a  principle.  Some  think 
that  the  sentence  "  Religion  is  a  principle"  is  a  scriptural  phrase,  but 
in  this  they  are  mistaken.  It  does  not  occur  in  scripture  ;  but  is  a 
christian  axiom  of  universally  admitted  truth.  1  know  of  no  christ- 
ian divine  who  teaches  otherwise.  St.  Paul  frequently  teaches  this 
when  he  speaks  of  the  Spirit  as  dwelling  in  us,  leading  and  influen- 
cing VLS,  and  remaining  always  in  our  hearts  as  a  controlling  power. 
St.  Peter  teaches  the  same  thing,  where  he  says  we  are  partakers 
of  the  divine  nature.  This  divine  nature  becomes  a  living,  active  in- 
fluence, a  principle  of  life,  a  powerful  inward  motive.     St.  John  says 


294  RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE. 

that  when  a  man  is  converted  "he  cannot  sin,  because  his  seedremam 
eth   in  him."     A  new  principle   of  life   is   imparted  to  the  convert, 
which   changes  his   inclination  and  disposition,  so  that  he  no  longer 
loves   sin,  no   longer  commits  it  willingly  and   deliberately.     David 
spoke  of  himself  as  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  religious  state,  from  which 
he  sought  relief.     He  says  :  "  I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord,  and 
he  inclined  unto  me  and  heard  my  cry  ;  he  brought  me  up,  also,  out 
of  a  horrible  pit,   and  out  of  the  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  vpon  a 
rock  and  established  my  goings.''^    Then  he  exclaims  :  "  0   God,  my 
heart  is  fixed,  my  heart  is  fi^edJ*^     In  this  we  recognise  religious 
principle — something  more  than  mere  feeling.     This  is  what  Paul  ex- 
horted the  Corinthians  to  secure,  when  he  urged  them  to  be  "  stead- 
fast, immovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of   the  Lord."     St. 
John  speaks  of  this  principle  when   he  says  :  "  I  have  written  unto 
you,  young  men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and  the  word  of  God  abideth 
in  you."     The  word  of  God  received  into  the  heart  and  mind  as  an 
abiding  principle  becomes  a  source  of  spiritual  strength.    "We  see  the 
presence   and  influence  of  religious  principles  in  the  case  of  Moses 
when  he  rejected  the  crown  of  Egypt.    There  was  everything  to  excite 
his  feelings,  and  lead  him  to  a  different  course  of  conduct.    Gratitude 
to  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  for  his  preservation,  education,  and   her 
care  and  kindness,  the  desire  of  wealth  aroused  by  the  treasures  of 
Eg}'pt,  the  ambition  for  distinction  and  renown,  the  desire  of  ease  and 
pleasure — all  these  were  operating  against  his  choice.     Why  then  did 
"  he  choose  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God  than  to 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season  ?"     This  was  not  a  matter  of 
feeling  ;  there  was   more  than   feeling  involved  ;  it  was  because  his 
religion  was  a  principle  of  influence  and  power  that  he  so  acted. 
Abraham  offers  a  striking  illustration  of  religious  principle.     Isaac  is 
his  son,  the  son  of  promise,  long  expected  and  waited  for,  the  son  of 
his  old  age,  the  only  son  by  his  beloved  wife  Sarah,  the  son  who  is  to 
be  his  heir,  and  in  whom  his  seed  is  to  be  called — yet  God  commaads 
to  take  him  and  offer  him  up  a  burnt  offering.     Can  he  do  it  ?     Are 
not  all  his  feelings  against  it  ?     Shall  he  commit  murder  ?     Murder 
his  son  so  endeared  to  him  ?  offer  him  up  a  burnt  offering  ?      How  is 
it  possible  for  him  to  do  it?  Here  then  is  feeling  against  duty,  against 
principle.     If  Abraham's  religion  had  been  one  of  mere  feeling,  it 
would  have  certainly  failed  here.     Job  was  a  man  of  great  wealth, 
and  surrounded  by  a  large  family  of  children,  to  whom  he  was  most 


RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE.  295 

devotedly  attached.  He  has  everything  of  an  earthly  character  to 
make  hiiu  happy — rich  in  possessions,  rich  in  domestic  aflFection,  rich 
in  his  circle  of  friendship,  rich  in  the  esteem  of  all  men,  rich  in  re- 
ligious hopes.  But  in  one  day  all  his  property  is  swept  away,  all  his 
children  perish,  and  he  is  not  permitted  to  see  them  die  or  be  buried: 
his  friends  forsake  him,  his  wife  turns  against  him,  and  his  body 
breaks  out  with  loathsome  and  painful  boils.  If  his  religion  is  uo 
more  than  feeling,  it  cannot  possibly  sustain  him  ;  it  is  more  than 
nature  that  can  bear  all  this.  How  is  this  ?  Hear  him  :  "  The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  This  can  be  no  less  than  religious  principle  in  its  most  pow- 
erful and  beautiful  influence,  for  here  it  contends  with  feeling  and 
overcomes  nature.  How  glorious  must  such  a  religion  be  !  how  infinitely 
superior  to  a  mere  excitement  of  feeling  I  Daniel  was  severely  tried, 
when  the  decree  was  issued  that  no  petition  should  be  presented  to 
either  God  or  man  for  thirty  days,  and  thrusting  into  the  lion's  den 
made  the  penalty  of  violating  it.  If  he  complied  with  it  he  disobeyed 
God,  but  if  he  violated  it  he  exposed  himself  to  the  charge  of  ingrati- 
tude to  the  king,  who  had  greatly  promoted  him,  disloyalty  in  trans- 
gressing the  king's  decree,  and  then  to  be  devoured  by  lions,  torn 
asunder  piece  by  piece  !  But  Daniel  kneels  down  with  his  window 
open  and  prays  as  usual  three  times  a  day,  calmly  and  firmly.  Is  this 
not  from  principle  ? 

It  was  this  religious  principle  that  made  such  heroes  of  the  pro- 
phets, martyrs,  and  confessors.  Nothing  less  could  iave  sustained 
them  in  the  loss  of  property,  friends,  and  everything  dear  to  their 
hearts ;  nothing  less  could  have  supported  them  in  imprisonment, 
exile,  torture,  and  cruel  death.  How  firm  they  were  when  other  men 
were  weak  !  how  courageous  they  stood  when  others  trembled  !  how 
calm  and  cheerful  they  became  even  at  the  stake  and  on  the  rack  I 
Was  it  feeling  that  sustained  Ignatius  when  torn  by  wild  beasts  1  or 
Luther  when  going  to  Worms  ?  or  Jerome  when  singing  in  the  flames? 
When  John  Ardly  was  before  the  cruel  Bonner,  he  particularly  de- 
scribed the  pain  of  dying,  and  dwelt  upon  the  sufferings  he  would 
Koon  be  enduring  unless  he  returned  to  the  Roman  Church.  Ardly 
listened  patiently,  and  then,  as  a  hero,  calmly  replied,  "  Had  I  a 
hundred  heads,  they  should  every  one  be  cut  off  before  I  would  give 
up  my  faith  I"     Noble  man  !  the  world  was  not  worthy  of  him. 

Such,  then,  is  the  nature  of  Christianity.     It  is  far  more  than  ex- 


296  RELiaious  prinoiplb, 

citeiuent  of  feeling.  In  its  essential  element  it  is  a  principle — a 
principle  fixed  in  the  soul  of  man  by  the  Holy  Spirit  at  conversion  ; 
a  principle  given  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  faith ;  a  principle  that 
succeeds  faith  in  the  development  of  christian  character.  But  if 
we  pause  here,  we  leave  this  subject  too  indefinitely  before  your 
minds.  "We  proceed  therefore  to  investigate  the  properties  of  this 
principle.     These  we  find  to  be  two,  life  and  power. 

II.  Religion  is  a  living  j>rinciple.  Some  persons  content  them- 
selves by  imagining  that  they  have  a  sort  of  indefinite  something 
which  they  call  principle,  but  which  has  no  life,  and  no  power.  Their 
religion  is  like  a  tree  whose  roots  are  rotten  ;  it  is  dead,  and  ready  to 
fall  whenever  the  storm  comes.  It  is  like  a  watch  with  a  worthless 
mainspring,  that  will  network,  or  only  irregularly  and  without  keep- 
ing time. 

There  are  two  great  errors,  which  have  each  its  advocates.  There 
is  a  class  who  think  too  much  of  excitement  of  feeling  ;  they  suppose 
there  is  no  religion  where  there  is  no  excitement,  and  that  the  excite- 
ment will  be  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  religion.  There  is 
another  class  who  are  ever  prating  about  principle  ;  but  their  boast 
of  principle  is  the  only  evidence  they  give  of  religion.  Theirs  is  a 
dead  inactive  principle.  These  are  both  in  error.  Religion  is  a 
living  principle,  and  feeling  is  the  result  of  life.  Where  there  is 
life,  there  is  conscious  feeling.  The  religious  principle  fixed  in  the 
soul  imparts  life  to  the  soul — a  conscious  religious  life.  Life  in  its 
proper  conditions  is  always  conscious,  and  attended  by  sensibility. 
So  the  religious  principle,  wherever  found,  gives  a  consciousness  of 
its  possession,  and  creates  religious  emotions.  David  so  declared  : 
"I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord,  and  he  inclined  unto  me,  and  heard 
my  cry.  He  took  me  up  also  out  of  a  horrible  pit,  out  of  the  miry 
clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock  and  established  my  goings ;  and  he 
hath  put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  God."  Again 
he  says :  "  0  God,  my  heart  is  fixed,  my  heart  is  fixed ;  therefore 
will  I  sing  and  give  praise  even  with  my  glory."  The  principle 
produces  joy.  He  is  happy  when  his  feet  arc  on  the  rock,  and  his 
heart  is  fixed.  I  will  illustrate  this  point,  for  it  is  an  important  one. 
We  will  take  three  human  bodies,  two  dead  and  one  alive.  We  will 
not  touch  one  of  the  dead  bodies;  but  to  the  other  we  apply  a  gal- 
Tanic  battery.  What  is  the  result  ?  As  soon  as  the  battery  acta 
upon  the  body,  it  starts,  moves  convulsively,  and  perhaps  staggers 


RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE.  297 

about  until  the  influence  has  passed  off.     But  it  is  still  a  dead  body, 
just  as  dead  as  the  other  ;  the  only  diff"erence  is,  that  under  the  influ- 
ence of  outward  appliances  it  starts  convulsively  into  a  sort  of  irreg- 
ular motion,  while  the   untouched  body  is   still  and  inactive.     The 
living  body  is  warm,  moves  regularly,  and  is  active  from  an  inward 
principle  of  life.     Now,  these  bodies  represent  three  classes  of  pro- 
fessing christians.     The  body  acted  on  by  the  galvanic  battery  rep- 
resents the  noisy  christian  who,  during  times  of  great  religious  excite- 
ment, gives  some  seeming  evidence  of  religious  life,  but  as  soon  as 
the  excitement  pa.sses  away,  he  relapses  into  his  former  lifeless  state 
of  cold  indifi'erence.     The    other  dead  body  is  the  professor,  who 
prides  himself  on  being  a  christian  from  principle;  he  cannot  bear 
excitement,  never  goes  into  it — no,  not  he  ;  he  has  no  patience  with 
shouting,  or  any  manifestation  of  religious  feeling ;  he  believes  it  to 
be  madness  and  wild  enthusiasm.     These   bodies  are  both  dead,  and 
they  are  equally  dead.     But  the  living   bodv  represents   the   true 
christian,  who  is  alive,  has  the  principle  of  religion  in  his  heart,  and 
the  feelings  of  a  living  christian — moves  regularly,  acts  consistently, 
goes  steadily  on.     How  dlfi'erent  he  from  the  cold,  feelingless  body, 
or  the  body  that  starts  and  gives  signs  of  life  only  when  acted  upon 
from  without,  having  no  life  within  !      A  christian  who  does  not  feel, 
is  not  conscious  of  religious  feelings,  is  an  anomaly  in  the  moral  world, 
a  monstrous  absurdity  !     Life  is  characterized  by  loves,  bates,  joys, 
sorrows,  and  struggles.     So  is  the  religious  life.     The  true  christian 
loves  God  with  all  his  heart ;  his  heart  melts  with  tenderness    at  the 
name  of  Jesus,  and  he  loves  his  brethren  of  the   household  of  faith 
with  a  pure  heart  fervently.     He  hates  sin  and  Satan  with  a  perfect 
hatred.     He  rejoices  with   joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.     His 
are  the  joys  of  freedom,  of  adoption,  of  divine  love,  of  spiritual  de- 
light, and  of  hope.     Not  unfrequently  he  mourns  over  his  follies  and 
failings,  and  sorrows  over  the  ungodliness  of  men,  and  the  desolation 
of  Zion.     He  struggles  against  temptation,  difliculues,  and  weakness. 
Sometimes  the  principle  of  life  becomes  very  weak,  and  is  ready 
to  die.     In  this  condition  men  do  many  things  they  could  not  have 
done  in  any  other  da)'s,  many  things  which  others  condemn,  but  they 
say  that  their  hearts  do  not  condemn  them,  and  they  think  themselves 
safe.     Deluded  people  !     The  truth  is,  the  religious  principle  is  too 
weak  to  give  them  trouble — too  weak  to  oS'er  resistance.     It  is  like  a 
reed  that  leans  any  way  that  the  wind  blows.     It  is  fast  declining — 


298  RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE. 

like  a  poor  consumptive,  it  grows  weaker  and  weaker  every  da)'.  Soon 
the  last  live  coal  may  be  quenched,  and  spiritual  coldness  and  death 
ensue.  Is  this  the  condition  of  any  of  my  readers  ?  Wake  up,  thou 
self-secure  ;  examine  thy  lamp  ;  see  if  there  is  yet  oil  in  thy  vessel ; 
arouse,  for  the  Bridegroom  cometh  I 

III.  I  must  pass  on  to  notice  the  power  of  the  religious  principle. 
Religion  is  an  active  principle.  Life  is  active,  and  the  religious  life 
is  the  highest  form  of  living  power.  It  has  the  energy  of  the  divine 
nature.  It  comes  from  God,  and  is  an  emanation  of  his  own  glorious 
activity.  What  may  we  not  expect  of  it  ?  Activity  is  a  great  law 
of  all  principles.  All  have  power  and  exert  it.  They  move  worlds, 
change  seasons,  cause  day  and  and  night,  produce  vegetation,  paint 
the  flowers,  ripen  fruits,  and  occasion  all  the  phenomena  of  the 
natural  world.  If  the  principles  of  the  natural  are  so  active  and  effi- 
cient in  working,  may  we  not  expect  the  principle  of  grace  to  be 
equally  so  1  Nay,  it  is  the  most  active  of  all  principles,  and  if  un- 
restrained it  is  the  most  powerful.  Here  is  Ihe  origin  of  the  doctrine 
of  salvation  by  works.  Men  saw  that  wherever  there  was  true  reli- 
gion, it  produced  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  and  that  the  scriptures 
required  holiness  of  life  ;  therefore  they  concluded  that  salvation  was 
by  works.  Salvation  is  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  but  that  faith  is  fol- 
lowed by  an  indwelling  and  active  principle  which  produces  works  of 
righteousness.  They  stand  related  as  cause  and  effect,  antecedent  and 
consequent;  one  is  the  legitimate  result  of  the  other.  The  absence  of 
obedience  is  good  evidence  of  the  want  of  religious  principle.  An 
obedient  spirit  is  the  characteristic  of  a  true  christian,  and  the  reli- 
gious principle  must  either  be  given  up,  or  it  will  cause  its  possessor 
to  seek  after  holiness.  It  acts  upon  the  affections,  purifying  the  heart ; 
it  acts  upon  the  desires,  producing  a  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
righteousness ;  it  acts  upon  the  thoughts,  directing  them  to  Christ 
and  his  service  ;  it  acts  upon  the  temper,  causing  meeknesS;  gentle- 
ness and  love;  it  acts  upon  the  conversation,  turning  it  upon  heavenly 
things :  it  acts  upon  the  conduct,  producing  conformity  to  the  divine 
will,  and  an  effort  to  promote  the  divine  glory.  If  unrestrained,  this 
principle  would  work  wonders  everywhere.  Wherever  it  has  been 
free,  it  has  done  great  things.  Behold  the  religious  men  of  the  past 
six  thousand  years  !  Even  in  days  of  darkness  and  general  corrup- 
tion, when  there  were  few  religious  advantages,  and  no  encouragements 
to  piety,  see  the  strength  of  this  principle  in  the  character  of  Enoch, 


RELIGIOUS   PRINCIPLE.  299 

of  Noah,  of  Abraliara,  of  Moses,  of  Samuel,  and  a  host  of  men  of 
great  renown  in  the  Church  of  God. 

We  often  hear  men  say,  "  I  wish  I  was  as  holy  as  Moses,  or  Sam- 
uel, or  John."  They  wish  they  could  be  great  christians — eminent 
saints.  And  why  are  they  not?  Certainly  they  have  more  light, 
greater  advantages,  more  assistance,  stronger  encouragements,  and 
are  altogether  more  favorably  situated  than  were  the  ancients.  They 
have  the  same  religious  principle.  Why  are  they  not  eminent  for 
piety,  and  distinguished  for  holiness  ?  The  difficulty  is  in  themselves. 
They  restrain  and  hold  the  religious  principle  in  check.  They  grieve, 
resist,  and  quench  the  Spirit.  It  leads  them,  but  they  follow  not ;  it 
moves  them,  but  they  go  not ;  it  draws  them,  but  they  yield  not. 
Often  has  the  religious  principle  pointed  to  some  duty  which  they 
■would  not  perform — urged  to  the  house  of  God,  to  the  prayer  meet- 
ing, to  attend  class,  to  commence  family  prayer,  to  make  restitution, 
to  visit  the  sick,  to  pray  with  the  dying,  to  attend  Sabbath  School,  to 
speak  to  the  unconverted.  Some  such  duties  have  been  pointed  out, 
but  they  have  been  neglected. 

I  tell  you  plainly,  if  you  resist  and  restrain  this  principle,  you  can- 
not become  holy ;  but  if  you  will  only  give  it  free  course,  and  be  led 
by  its  influence,  it  will  lead  to  glorious  heights  of  holiness.  Now 
and  then,  we  see  here  and  there  a  christian  who  has  allowed  the  re- 
ligious principle  its  legitimate  influence,  and  it  has  led  hiiu  above  the 
■world,  into  the  presence  of  God,  surrounded  him  with  a  heavenly  in- 
fluence, and  filled  him  with  a  sweet  serenity  and  joy  of  soul.  How 
pure  his  spirit,  full  of  meekness  and  goodness,  and  ready  to  enter 
the  heavenly  world  I  I  have  seen  such  persons,  in  whose  presence  I 
have  felt  a  sacred  awe,  and  yet  a  holy  delight ;  and  the  impression 
was  made  that  they  have  been  with  Jesus,  or  on  the  mount  with  God. 

Yes,  my  friends,  if  you  have  religion,  you  have  in  you  a  principk 
of  great  active  power,  ■which  if  you  do  not  restrain,  but  only  follo\^ 
its  leadings,  ■will  cause  you  to  ride  upon  high  places,  to  mount  up  on 
■wings  as  eagles,  to  run  and  not  be  weary,  to  walk  and  not  faint.  A 
gentleman  in  Baltimore  city  many  years  ago  bought  a  young  eagle 
and  kept  him  caged  until  he  was  fully  grown,  when  ho  determined  to 
give  him  liberty.  He  got  together  a  number  of  friends  as  spectators 
on  the  public  square,  and  there  opened  the  door  of  the  cage.  The 
eagle  walked  out,  and  after  going  several  times  around  the  cage, 
stre*':hed  himself,  arose,  and  flew  slowly  around  a  few  times,  looking 


300  RELIGIOUS    PRINCIPLE. 

down  upon  the  spectators,  then  darting  upward  he  started  towards 
the  sun,  and  rose  higher  and  higher  and  still  higher, until  he  appeared 
but  as  a  little  speck  before  the  sun.  Just  so  with  him  who  yields  to 
the  powerful  influence  of  christian  principle.  He  may  look  earth- 
ward awhile,  and  soar  around  near  the  ground,  but  if  true  to  the 
grace  of  God,  he  will  arise,  and  fixing  his  eye  upon  the  glories  of 
heaven,  mount  higher  and  higher,  going  on  from  grace  to  grace,  and 
from  glory  to  glory  I  True  religion  is  like  Avater.  Water  will,  if 
not  hindered,  invariably  find  its  level.  If  you  place  a  vessel  full  of 
water  by  the  side  of  one  that  is  empty,  and  establish  a  communication 
between  them  so  that  the  water  can  pass  from  one  vessel  into  the 
other,  the  water  will  run  into  the  empty  vessel  until  it  rises  as  high 
in  it  as  it  is  in  the  other.  Religion  is  the  water  that  comes  from  God — 
it  flows  from  the  throne  of  God  iuto  our  hearts,  and  if  not  hindered, 
it  will  raise  us  gradually  but  certainly  to  its  level  in  heaven.  Blessed 
truth  I  glorious  power  of  divine  grace  !  There  is  nothing  too  hard  for  it. 
There  is  no  temper  but  can  be  subdued — no  disposition  but  can  be  over- 
come—no habit  but  can  be  reformed — no  vice  but  can  bo  rooted  out. 
It  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believethi 

Reader,  have  you  this  divine  principle,  living  and  active  ?  If  you 
have,  keep  it  and  guard  it  as  you  would  trca-;ures  of  gold.  It  is  of 
more  value  than  gems  and  precious  stones.  It  is  the  true  riches  of 
indescribable  and  ever  increasing  value.  He  who  possesses  it  is  rich 
indeed,  and  he  who  is  without  it  is  poor  indeed.  No  other  wealth 
can  compensate  for  the  absence  of  this — no  other  .-fupply  its  place. 
It  is  a  fountain  of  heavenly  peace,  and  an  inexhaustible  source  of 
sacred  joy.  It  is  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life. 
It  is  a  light  cheering  the  heart,  irradiating  the  path  of  life,  chasing 
away  the  gloom  of  death,  and  shining  unto  the  perfect  day. 

But  I  must  not  leave  the  impression  upon  your  minds  that  it  is  sim- 
ply a  subject  relating  only  to  individual  experience.  It  is  far  more. 
It  is  a  matter  of  vital  interest  to  the  Church  at  large.  There  is  no 
greater  want  of  the  times,  than  a  piety  that  is  the  result  of  a  living, 
active  principle — a  consistent,  laboring,  firm,  and  uniform  piety.  The 
impression  that  religion  is  nothing  more  than  blind  enthusiasm,  or  the 
fitful  excitement  of  the  ignorant  and  weak-minded,  must  be  destroyed, 
but  it  can  only  be  done  by  showing  the  true  nature  of  religion,  and 
arousing  the  Churclx  to  the  exhibition  of  a  piety  springing  from  prin- 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLE.  301 

oiple.  Men  must  be  taught  by  the  Church,  that  grace  is  more  tlian 
an  exciting  sound — that  it  has  an  existence  in  the  heart  as  a  directing 
and  controlling  power.  I  would  rather  have  the  distinction  of  calling 
attention  to,  and  fixing  this  great  idea  in  the  minds  of  the  people, 
than  any  honor  in  the  gift  of  men.  Let  this  be  properly  understood, 
and  widely  taught  as  the  true  theory  of  Christainity  ;  let  it  be  incul- 
cated in  the  early  lessons  of  family  religion  ;  let  it  find  a  place  in  the 
instructions  of  the  Sabbath  School ;.  let  it  be  published  from  the  sacred 
desk ;  let  it  be  firmly  held  as  an  undisputed  truth  by  all  christians  ; 
and  the  efi'ect  will  be  seen  everywhere  in  the  beautiful  consistency  and 
permanent  uniformity  of  christian  character,  the  greater  respect  it 
inspires  among  others,  and  the  increased  power  of  the  Gospel.  Now 
we  look  upon  the  vascillating  piety,  the  instability  and  frequent  back- 
slidings  of  christians,  and  mourn  the  want  of  principle.  When  shall 
these  mournings  cease  1  When  shall  we  take  down  our  harps  from 
the  willows,  and  rejoice  in  tha  beauty  of  Zion  and  the  salvation  of 
the  Lord  1  When  shall  Zion  put  on  her  strength,  and  come  out  of 
the  wilderness,  comely  as  Jerusalem,  beautiful  as  Tirzah,  and  terrible 
as  an  army  with  banners  "?  When  shall  the  glorious  battle-shout  of 
victory  ring  from  line  to  line  of  the  militant  host :  "  The  best  of  all 
is  God  is  with  us  V  When  shall  one  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put 
ten  thousand  to  flight,  and  a  nation  be  born  to  God  in  a  day  ?  That 
day  of  wonders  and  of  glory  will  come,  but  not  until  we  have  a  difier- 
ent  religion  from  that  of  merely  excited  feeling.  Guard  well  this 
point.  If  you  have  this  principle,  keep  it ;  and  you  can  only  keep  it 
by  yielding  to  its  influence.  Wherever  it  urges,  go  ;  let  it  be  unre- 
strained, and  it  will  lead  you  to  God's  kingdom  and  glory.  But  what 
shall  I  say  to  you  who  are  strangers  to  divine  grace?  What  argu- 
ments can  I  use  that  have  not  been  often  urged  upon  your  attention  ? 
What  appeals  can  I  make,  that  you  have  not  often  resisted  ?  Will 
you  still  live  without  religion  ?  Trust  not  in  your  morality,  and  ex- 
pect not  to  be  saved  because  of  your  honesty  and  benevolence.  It 
is  written,  and  will  face  you  in  the  judgment,  "  Without  holiness  no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord."  Fearful  truth  I  Morality  may  do  for  this 
world,  because  it  regards  your  relations  to  men  ;  but  it  will  not  do 
for  eternity,  because  it  does  not  regard  your  relations  and  duties  to 
God.  Hear  me,  then,  "  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God."  Choose  you 
this  day  "  the  better  part  that  shall  not  be  taken  from  you,"  and 
live  for  Heaven. 


ALL  THINGS  WORK  FOR  GOOD. 


BY   REV.   J.    C.    GRANBERY, 

OF  THE  VIRGINIA  CONFERENCE. 


•'  And  we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good,  to  them  that  love 
Qod,  to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose." — Rom.  viii,28. 

What  a  rich  promise !  How  full  of  comfort !  Often  has  the  troubled 
Christian  thought  that  it  was  exactly  suited  to  his  need,  and  thanked 
God  that  it  was  ever  written.  Often  has  it  seemed  the  only  ray  of 
light  in  thick  darkness — the  last  fortress  to  which  the  soul  could  flee 
against  the  assaults  of  temptation.  My  brother,  you  would  not  have 
this  one  verse  stricken  out  of  the  Bible  for  millions  of  gold.  It  is 
well  to  consider  it.  Sometimes  men  say  that  they  wish  they  could 
understand  it,  but  that  it  is  a  mystery  to  their  minds.  Let  us  have 
patience  in  examining  it,  and  we  may  unfold  the  meaning  of  this  mys- 
tery— if  not  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  curiosity  which  would  pry  into  the 
secret  things  of  God,  at  least  to  the  strengthening  of  faith  and  hope. 

"  To  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose."  Here 
1  might  launch  forth  upon  the  stormy  sea  of  controversy,  which  has 
agitated  the  Church  during  centuries,  about  foreknowledge,  foreordi- 
nation,  election,  reprobation,  and  kindred  topics.  But  I  am  talking 
for  your  comfort,  afflicted  Christian,  and  you  have  no  heart  now  for 
such  disputes  :  I  prefer  another  course.  I  will  attempt  a  simple  expla 
nation  of  the  terms  employed  in  the  text,  which,  by  avoiding  rather 
than  seeking  to  settle  controverted  points,  may  be  acceptable  to 
Christians  of  every  creed.  What,  then,  is  the  purpose  of  God  ?  I  un 
derstand  by  it  his  eternal  decree,  that  through  the  mediation  of  his 

Note. — This  is  the  only  instance  of  a  second  sermon  from  any  of  the  contributors,  and 
it  is  proper  to  explain  the  reason.  When  all  the  rest  of  the  book  had  been  printed,  and  I  had 
despaired  of  getting  the  promised  sermons  of  several  of  the  brethren,  who  finally  excused 
themselves  on  tlie  p'lea  of  multiplicity  of  other  engagements,  I  was  troubled,  because  the 
volume  would  evidently  be  too  small.  At  my  earnest  solicitation,  Brother  Gbanbery,  at  the 
last  hour,  furnished  this  sermon.  W.  T,  Smituso.n. 


304 


ALL    THINGS   WORK   FOR   GOOD. 


Son,  salvation  should  be  provided  for  the  lost  world,  both  Jews  and 
Gentiles  ;  that  it  should  be  offered  as  a  free  gift  to  all,  upon  the  same 
condition  of  faith  in  Christ ;  and  that,  without  distinction,  believers 
of  every  nation  should  be  gathered  into  the  one  family  of  God.  This 
purpose,  foreshadowed  in  prophecy,  was  first  clearly  and  fully  pro- 
claimed after  the  ascension  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  it  began  to  be  ful- 
filled in  those  Jews  and  Gentiles,  who,  in  apostolic  days,  received  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  grace,  and  became  members  of  the  household 
of  faith.  "  Having  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will, 
according  to  his  good  pleasure,  which  he  hath  purposed  in  himself: 
that  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times  he  might  gather  together 
in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are 
on  earth,  even  in  him ;  in  whom  also  we  have  obtained  an  inherit- 
ance, being  predestinated  according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  work- 
eth  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will :  that  we  should  be  to 
the  praise  of  his  glory,  who  first  trusted  in  Christ."*  "  Unto  me, 
who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is  this  grace  given,  that 
I  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ; 
and  to  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  fellowship  of  the  mystery,  which 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  hath  been  hid  in  God,  who  created 
all  things  by  Jesus  Christ :  to  the  intent  that  now  unto  the  princi- 
palities and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be  known  by  the  Chxirch 
the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which 
he  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."f 

Who  are  '■'■  the  called''''  according  to  this  purpose"?  All  men  to 
whom  the  gospel  comes  are  invited  to  repent  and  believe,  that  they 
may  enter  upon  the  blessings  of  salvation ;  for  God  "  will  have  all 
men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  In 
this  sense  many  are  called,  but  few  chosen,  because  the  majority 
disobey  the  call.  }3ut  is  not  this  equivalent  to  affirming  that  onlv 
those  who  comply  with  the  required  terms  of  repentance  and  faith 
are  called  to  take  their  places  among  the  children  of  God  and  heirs 
of  faith  ?  Of  those  who  excuse  themselves  for  declining,  amid  the 
pressof  other  engagements,  to  gather  to  his  feast,  Christ  says  :  "For 
I  say  unto  you,  that  none  of  those  men  which  were  bidden  shall  taste 
of  ray  supper."  To  him  who  appears  among  the  guests  without  the 
proper  robe,  he  saith  :  ''  Friv^ud  how  camest  thou  in  hither,  not 

•  Eph.  i,  9—12.  t  £ph.  iii,  8— 11. 


ALL   THINGS   -WORK  FOR   GOOD.  305 

having  a  wedding  garment  ?"  These  are  rejected — are  bid  to  stand 
back — are  thrust  into  outer  darkness.  But  the  humble,  the  contrite, 
the  believing,  are  called  to  fellowship  with  God  and  Christ,  and  to 
the  hope  of  eternal  salvation. 

God,  therefore,  of  his  rich  mercy,  had  purposed  that  Jesus  Christ 
should,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  be  sot  forth  as  the  propitiation  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world ;  and  that,  without  any  respect  to  persons, 
whoever  received  him  by  simple  faith  in  his  atonement,  should  be 
admitted  to  the  high  privileges  and  immortal  hopes  of  his  peculiar  and 
elect  people.  Do  you  earnestly  repent  of  all  your  sins  ?  Do  you, 
renouncing  every  other  trust,  cling  to  the  cross  of  Christ  for  salva- 
tion ?     Then  are  you  among  the  called. 

"  To  them  thai  love  God.''''  Evidently  this  phrase  describes  the  same 
class  that  the  other  does.  Their  great  spiritual  characteristic  is  the 
love  they  have  for  God.  This  is  the  first  precept  of  the  law  and 
element  of  religion.  Supreme  love  to  God  is  the  highest  excellence 
in  itself,  and  it  comprises  every  other ;  it  includes  obedience.  We 
must  do  his  commandments  because  we  love  him  ;  we  desire  to  please 
him  in  all  things,  and  we  delight  in  his  will,  because  it  corresponds 
with,  and  is  an  exact  expression  of,  his  holy  nature.  Love  cannot 
exist  without  constraining  us  to  obedience  ;  and  obedience  is  merely 
apparent  and  wholly  worthless,  unless  it  is  the  development  of  love. 
Not  those  who  say  "  Lord,  Lord,"  but  those  who  do  his  will,  truly 
love  him.  You  cannot  love  God  and  sin  at  the  same  time :  love  to 
one  is  hatred  to  the  other.  Love  involves  resignation  ;  hearty  appro- 
val of  his  will  and  acquiescence  in  it,  as  expressed  in  his  acts  as  well 
as  obedience ;  hearty  approval  and  observance  of  the  same  will,  as 
expressed  in  his  commands.  Supreme  love  to  God  cannot  exist,  apart 
from  sympathy  with  those  great  ends  which  it  is  the  pleasure  of  God 
to  accomplish,  or  from  confidence  in  his  resources  for  subserving  his 
own  purposes  in  the  best  manner.  You  see,  therefore,  how  love  to 
God  will  manifest  itself,  viz  :  in  efi"orts  to  be  like  God  in  our  nature, 
because  we  admire  him  above  all  others,  and  wish  to  please  him ;  in 
carrying  out  his  will  by  the  employment  of  every  energy,  both  to 
perfect  our  own  holiness,  and  to  promote  it  among  our  fellows ; 
in  a  cheerful  and  patient  acquiescence  in  whatever  he  does  to  us  or 
to  any  of  his  creatures.  Do  you  thus  love  God  ?  If  Christ  should  ask 
you,  as  he  asked  Peter,  "  Lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  1"  could 
jou  answer,  "  Yea, Lord,  thou  knowest  all  tilings;  thou  knowest  that 

20 


306  ALL    TIIINOS    "WORK   FOR   GOOD. 

I  love  thee  ? "     Then  arc  you  one  of  that  number  to  whom  applies 
the  promise,  "All  things  work  together  for  good." 

What  is  "  good .'"  Not  mere  comfort.  Some  restrict  it  even  to 
bodily  or  natural  comfort,  or  to  that  -which  is  adapted  to  promote 
such  comfort.  They  understand  by  it  only  riches,  health,  honor^ 
friendship,  and  like  worldly  blessings.  If  we  take  so  narrow  a  view, 
we  cannot  admit  the  truth  of  the  text,  for  it  is  contradicted  by  facts. 
Stephen  was  stoned.  Paul  was  beheaded.  Peter  was  crucified. 
Many  tortures  have  been  employed  to  destroy  those  who  loved  God. 
And  they  have  often  had  lots  during  life  cruel  as  their  deaths.  Not 
honored,  but  disgraced.  Not  rich,  but  penniless  and  homeless.  Not 
luxurious,  but  hungered,  and  thirsting,  and  thin-clad,  and  foot-sore 
with  hard  travel,  and  imprisoned,  and  scourged,  and  chained,  and 
fastened  in  stocks.  How  is  it  in  the  most  quiet  times  of  the  church? 
jLook  at  the  condition  and  experience  of  God's  servants.  You  will 
find  them  in  mean  hovels  and  at  heavy  toil,  scarce  able,  with  all  labor 
and  pains,  to  get  bread  enough  for  themselves  and  their  families.  You 
•will  find  them  tossing  upon  beds  of  sickness  through  long  days,  and 
groaning  through  sleepless  nights,  writhing  beneath  acute  paroxysms 
of  pain,  or  lingering  out  lives  of  weariness  and  disease.  You  will  find 
tiiem  watching  with  anxious  faces  by  the  couch  of  those  dearest  to  them, 
who  they  fear  will  soon  be  torn  from  their  embrace ;  or  heartbroken 
at  the  graves  into  which  they  have  just  seen  them  lowered,  and 
returning  to  their  houses  with  slow  steps  and  sobs  of  anguish,  for  the 
hearth  seems  desolate  and  the  home  cheerless  now  ;  or  bowed  beneath 
a  more  insupportable  burden  of  grief,  because  madness  or  other 
calamity  has  darkened  the  mind  of  a  child  or  other  near  friend.  You 
will  find  them  persecuted  by  the  .slander  and  abuse,  the  tricks  and 
violence,  of  wicked  men.  There  are  good  people  to  whom  all  things 
seem  to  work  together  for  evil.  Take  a  pious  woman,  (you  have 
known  many  such  cases  as  I  will  describe,)  of  gentle  spirit,  of  much 
prayer,  of  faithfulness  in  every  duty.  Her  husband's  business  does 
not  prosper ;  he  is  thrown  out  of  employment ;  he  spends  months 
upon  his  bed,  earning  nothing,  but  running  up  a  large  bill  with  the 
doctor,  though  —  honor  to  the  profession  I  —  they  are  very  kind  to 
the  poor  ;  he  loses  debts,  and  has  to  pay  security-money ;  their  chil- 
dren are  ofttimes  sick  ;  those  who  begin  to  be  of  age  to  help  her,  die  ; 
her  own  health  is  feeble.  With  a  bare  house,  which  she  can  scarcely 
keep  decent ;  with  a  .« canty  fire,  around  which  the  large  family  shiver 


ALL   THINGS   WORK   FOR   GOOD.  307 

in  the  piercing  cold  of  winter ;  with  meagre  and  wornout  clothing, 
which  affords  little  protection  against  the  pitiless  elements  ;  with  the 
coarsest  fare,  often  refused  by  squeamish  sickness,  hut  oftener  craved 
by  keen  hunger,  when  each  one's  pittance  is  too  small  to  satisfy  the 
demands  of  appetite  and  strength  ;  not  knowing  how  or  when  the 
exhausted  stock  will  be  supplied  again  ;  draining  her  own  spirits  and 
life  by  constant  waiting  on  the  sick  by  day  and  night ;  with  aching 
head  and  feeble  limbs,  trying  to  do  some  little  jobs  which  may  bring 
temporary  relief —  do  not  all  things  seem  to  conspire  against  her  ? 
And  you  look  away  from  her  to  some  man  in  the  community  without 
any  regard  for  God,  who  prospers  every  way.  He  has  uninterrupted 
health ;  he  looks  fresh,  strong,  and  buoyant ;  he  is  making  money 
swiftly  and  surely  ;  no  scheme  goes  amiss  ;  he  has  a  happy  family,  in 
whose  midst  he  can  rejoice  and  refresh  himself  after  the  cares  of  the 
day ;  he  has  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  congenial  company.  It 
does  look  like  all  things  are  working  together  for  good  to  the  godless 
man.  So  it  looks  to  the  eye  of  sense,  but  far  otherwise  to  the  eye 
of  faith.  As  God  is  true  and  faithful,  all  things  work  together  for 
her  good,  for  his  harm.     How  is  this  ? 

The  diflBculty  may  be  relieved  by  looking  over  a  few  more  years  of 
the  present  life.  You  watch  a  few  scenes  in  the  drama  of  life,  but  do 
not  wait  for  its  complete  unfolding.  The  plot  is  not  half  unravelled, 
ere  you  pronounce  your  hasty  decision.  Have  patience.  The  pres- 
ent moment  is  not  a  lifetime.  Great  changes  may  happen  to  each  of 
those  persons  before  death.  Joseph's  envious  brethren  conspire 
against  him,  and  succeed  —  that  is,  seem  to  succeed ;  they  stay  at 
home  ;  he  is  sold  into  slavery  in  Egypt,  and  thrown  into  prison.  But 
see  him  next  in  honor  and  power  to  Pharaoh,  ministering  bread  to  a 
famished  nation,  and  sending  supplies  to  the  distant  family  of  his 
aged  father.  See  the  brothers  in  his  presence,  ignorant  who  he  is, 
and  accused  of  being  spies ;  hear  them  as  they  say,  "  We  are  verily 
guilty  concerning  our  brother,  in  that  we  saw  the  anguish  of  his  soul, 
when  he  besought  us,  and  we  would  not  hear :  therefore  is  this  dis- 
tress  come  upon  us."  Do  you  not  see  how  God,  when  he  seemed  to 
desert  his  servant,  was  really  caring  for  him ;  and  eternal  justice, 
though  it  seemed  to  be  defeated  by  the  schemes  of  wicked  men,  was 
by  such  means  working  out  its  own  unerring  judgments  ?  Haman 
is  advanced  above  all  the  princes  of  the  empire,  and  abounds  in 
wealth ;  he  builds  a  gallows  fifty  cubits  high,  on  which  to  hang  pious 


SOS  ALL    THINGS    WORK   FOR    GOOD. 

Mordecai,  and  procures  a  decree  for  the  utter  extermination  of  the 
Jews,  men,  women,  and  children,  in  one  day.  Haman  is  feasting  : 
God's  people  are  fasting,  and  weeping,  and  wailing.  But  see  the 
result.  The  proud  and  cruel  oppressor  is  hung  on  his  own  gallows 
Mordecai  succeeds  to  his  dignities,  and  the  delivered  Jews  have  light^ 
and  gladness,  and  joy,  and  honor.  It  often  happens,  even  here,  that 
a  season  of  trial  to  the  good  is  followed  by  years  of  happiness,  and 
that  heavy  reverses  overtake  the  evil  who  for  a  while  had  prospered. 
They  may  continue  rich,  perhaps  :  but  how  easily  may  some  rankling 
heart-wound,  some  domestic  trouble,  turn  to  wormwood  every  cup 
of  pleasure. 

This  does  not,  however,  remove  the  difficulty.  It  is  useful  in  sug- 
gesting that  even-handed  justice  does  preside  over  human  affairs,  and 
that  after  years  may  furnish  a  satisfactory  solution  of  what  in  Provi- 
dence is  now  strange  and  dark  to  our  short  sight :  but  it  is  not  a 
complete  vindication  of  the  ways  of  God.  Sinners  do  sometimes 
flourish,  and  saints  do  sometimes  suffer,  to  the  very  end  of  life.  But 
why  should  we  follow  men  only  so  far  as  the  limits  of  the  present 
life  ?  Why  should  we  not  look  beyond  death  and  the  grave  ?  Does 
not  the  soul  exist  hereafter  ?  Eternally  ?  Is  she  not  conscious,  and 
has  she  not  susceptibilities  of  pain  or  pleasure  in  the  disembodied 
state  ?  If  we  grant  that  God  may  show  his  goodness  in  working  out 
years  of  comfort  and  honor  for  the  righteous,  after  and  by  means  ot 
severe  afflictions  during  the  early  part  of  life,  and  may  show  his 
severity  by  hurling  the  ungodly  into  disgrace  from  the  height  of  honor 
he  had  reached,  and  stripping  him  of  all  his  riches  and  all  his  glory, 
why  may  he  not  reserve  his  retributions  until  they  are  ushered  at  his 
summons  into  his  immediate  presence  and  into  vast  eternity  1  Why 
may  not  a  lifetime  be  the  day  of  trial  to  the  good,  and  of  seeming 
prosperity  to  the  wicked  ?  Is  not  eternity  long  enough  to  reward 
the  one,  and  punish  the  other?  God  has  an  unpaid  balance  of  good 
on  his  books  to  the  credit  of  the  christian,  and  a  happy  immortality 
shall  be  their  recompense  :  he  has  an  unsettled  account  against  the 
sinner,  and  to  the  uttermost  farthing  shall  he  exact  that  debt  in  the 
prison  of  hell.  He  stands  in  slippery  places ;  he  is  treasuring  up 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  ;  he  has  his  good  things  in  this  world  ; 
God's  eye  marks  him ;  God's  strong  bow  is  drawn,  and  his  sharp 
arrow  made  ready  on  the  stretched  string  ;  in  a  moment  his  fortune 
shall  consume  into  smoke  ;  he  shall  suddenly  stumble,  and  fall  into 


ALL   THINGS   WORK  FOR   GOOD.  309 

desolation,  to  rise  no  more  ;  his  comfort  is  a  dream,  and  bis  glory  a 
vision  of  the  night,  which  shall  cruelly  pass  away  at  the  hour  of  wak- 
ing ;  the  Lord  laughs  at  hiui,  for  he  sees  that  his  day  is  couiing; 
haughty  and  voluptuous  as  he  now  is,  there  is  a  sentence  written 
against  his  name,  and  an  hour  fixed  in  the  great  book  of  judgment, 
which  would  make  his  face  pale,  and  his  heart  break  with  anguish, 
could  he  look  into  those  pages ;  when  that  hour  comes,  not  all  the 
powers  of  earth  can  save  him  from  his  doom ;  his  plans  stop,  his 
beauty  withers,  his  head  droops,  his  pride  bows,  his  mirth  is  hushed 
then  ;  in  the  grave  he  has  no  benefit  of  gold  or  honor,  of  sumptuous 
fare  and  costly  raiment,  of  friends  and  family  ;  in  hell  he  is  tor- 
mented with  flames  that  never  burn  out,  and  parched  with  thirst 
that  is  never  cooled,  and  cries  aloud  to  a  Heaven  that  is  separated 
by  an  impassable  gulf,  and  a  Grod  that  is  deaf  to  all  his  prayers. 
See  the  proud  sinner  in  his  luxury  on  earth ;  then  see  the  poor 
wretch  in  his  misery  in  hell.  But  how  is  it  with  the  afflicted  saint? 
He  is  taken  up  by  angels  from  his  hovel,  or  the  rich  man's  gate,  to 
a  mansion  in  heaven  ;.  he  leaves  his  bed  of  straw  to  rest  in  Abraham's 
bosom ;  he  drops  his  rags,  and  is  clad  in  spotless  white  ;  he  wears 
upon  his  brow  a  diadem  more  majestic  than  Pharaoh's,  sparkling 
with  jewels  that  outshine  the  morning  star  ;  he  sits  down  to  a  feast 
fit  for  angels,  and  Jesus  serves  him  ;  his  tearless  eye  is  bright  with 
gladness  :  upon  his  enraptured  ear  fall  the  melody  of  angel  tongues 
and  golden  harps,  and  the  sw?eter  music  o:  tlie  voice  of  Jesus  ;  he 
has  forgotten  his  moaning,  and  is  ever  breaking  into  songs  of  joy 
and  shouts  of  glory  ;  his  face  is  radiant  as  a  cloudless  sun,  and  his 
mind  is  fresh  as  a  dewy  morn,  and  his  voice  is  merry  as  the  notes  of 
any  summer's  bird ;  and  his  heart  is  so  happy  that  tongue  has  no 
ivord,  earth  no  symbol,  imagination  no  conception,  to  express  it. 
W^ill  not  such  an  immortality  sufficiently  reward  us  for  our  afflictions 
oere  ?  "  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh 
for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  Light 
affliction  does  he  call  it  ?  Ah !  it  seems  heavy  enough  to  you,  my 
brother ;  almost  too  heavy  to  be  borne  —  a  crushing,  grinding  burden. 
Poverty,  care,  sickness,  bereavement,  disgrace,  temptation —  are  not 
these  heavy  ?  Yes ;  but  Paul  was  thinking  of  the  glory  which 
ehould  follow ;  that  made  them  appear  so  light.  Put  into  scales, 
the  afflictions  so  flew  up  that  they  seemed  light  as  a  feather.  "  For 
I  reckon,"  he  says,  "  that  the  sufi^eriags  of  this  present  time  are  not 


310  ALL    THINGS   WORK  TOR   GOOD. 

worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  ■which  shall  be  revealed  in  us.*' 
Ah  I  these  are  the  weights  with  which  I  would  like  to  compare  my 
future  glory.  When  I  am  told  that  I  shall  be  equal  to  the  angels, 
and  bright  as  the  sun,  I  cannot  clearly  understand  the  expressions. 
But  I  know  what  my  troubles  are ;  I  can  appreciate  them ;  they  are 
more  and  heavier  than  aught  else,  or  so  seem.  And  Paul  says  that 
they  are  not  worthy  of  comparison  with  the  glory  which  shall  be 
mine  —  that  they  are  light  to  this  far  more  exceeding  weight  I  He 
says,  too,  that  they  are  but  for  a  moment.  That  sounds  strangely  in 
your  ear.  The  time  wears  away  slowly  when  trouble  presses  you 
A  night  lengthens  into  an  age.  Perhaps  day  follows  day  —  weeks, 
months,  years  pass  away,  without  any  relief.  Hope  is  ready  to  die  ; 
you  ask.  How  much  longer  must  I  suffer  this  ?  But  Paul  was  think- 
ing of  the  long  hereafter.  When  he  looked  forth  upon  eternity,  that 
boundless  expanse,  that  endless  line,  years  shrank  into  a  moment. 
Did  I  describe  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  man  as  a  cheating  vanity, 
conjured  up  by  the  fancy  during  sleep,  vanishing  as  the  senses  open, 
perhaps  through  the  very  excess  of  joy,  and  leaving  the  deluded 
wretch  to  bitter  disappointment  ?  Yes :  and  what  is  the  adversity 
of  the  righteous  but  the  pain  and  the  terror  which  oppress  the  slum- 
berer  in  dreams,  until  be  turns  over  in  restlessness,  and  awakes  to 
find  all  an  illusion  ?  So  shadowy  and  fleeting  are  the  joys  and  sor- 
rows of  this  world  :  so  substantial  and  lasting  the  things  of  eternity. 
Therefore  "  beloved,"  looking  not  merely  to  temporal  good,  but  much 
more  to  eternal,  "  think  it  not  strange,  concerning  the  fiery  trial 
which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  happened  unto 
you."  Do  not  think  it  singular;  for  tribulation  is  the  old,  the  com- 
mon, the  one  path  to  heaven  ;  many  have  travelled  it  before  you, 
and  many  are  travelling  it  with  you,  and  many  shall  travel  it  after 
you  ;  every  hour  hundreds  are  stepping  out  of  darkness  and  sorrow 
into  fadeless  light  and  ever-flowing  joy.  Think  it  not  mysteriovs,2kS 
though  God  had  forsaken  you,  or  was  angry  with  you  ;  for  he  intends 
to  give  you  an  eternal  compensation  for  every  tear  and  sob.  "  But 
rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings ;  that, 
when  his  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  exceeding 
joy."  Jesus  lay  in  the  manger,  fasted  in  the  wilderness,  was 
tempted  by  the  devil,  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  was  reviled  by 
sinners,  was  betrayed  by  a  disciple,  was  deserted  by  his  best  friend?, 
suffered  intense  mental  anguish  in  Gethsemane,  poured  out  strong^ 


ALL   THINGS   WORK  FOR   GOOD.  311 

cries  and  tears,  prayed  thrice  in  vain  that  the  cup  might  pass  from 
him,  was  publicly  mocked,  scourged,  sentenced  as  a  criminal,  was 
nailed  to  the  cross,  was  in  deep  gloom  at  the  hour  of  death,  was  laid 
in  the  tomb  :  thence  he  ascended  to  heaven,  which  opened  wide  its 
gates  in  welcDme,  and  poured  forth  its  myriad  hosts  to  hail  him  with 
worship  ;  the  Father  crowned  him  and  seated  him  upon  the  throne, 
and  bade  heaven,  earth,  and  hell  bow  in  joy  or  else  in  terror  before 
him.  You  see  the  way  Jesus  went,  and  whither  it  led  him.  You 
must  gc  the  same  way  ;  you  must  drink  the  same  cup  ;  you  must  be 
baptized  with  the  same  baptism  ;.  self-denial  must  be  yours,  the  cross 
must  be  yours :  or  you  will  never  go  where  Jesus  is,  and  see  his 
glory.,  and  shara  his  joy. 

We  arc  beginning  to  solve  the  mystery  of  the  text,  but  we  have 
not  reachod  the  exact  idea  yet.  I  do  not  feel  satisfied  with  the  ex- 
planation thus  far  given,  viz  :  that  all  things  work  together  for  our 
eternal  good,  because  against  whatever  is  adverse  in  our  lot  now,  shall 
be  set  an  abundant  compensation  hereafter.  I  would  like  to  know 
how  and  why  our  present  afflictions  produce  such  blessed  results 
forever.  I  wish  to  see  more  clearly  the  connection  between  our  di- 
versified experience  here  and  our  eternal  happiness.  There  seems  to 
be  too  much  abruptness  in  thus  contrasting  our  condition  here  and 
that  yonder,  as  though  all  were  bitterness  and  blackness  this  side, 
and  all  sweetness  and  brightness  the  other ;  an  unfilled  and  unbridged 
chasm  intervening.  I  would  be  glad  not  to  put  off  the  results  so 
far  —  to  see  that  all  things  work  for  good  even  noio.  And  this  I  be- 
lieve to  be  the  true  doctrine.  It  will  require  eternity  to  develop  all 
the  good,  and  it  will  be  more  clear,  more  conspicuous  in  the  future 
world  ;  but  it  is  being  wrought,  being  realized  already. 

We  will  understand  the  text  so  soon  as  we  rightly  interpret  ike  good 
which  is  intended  to  be  wrought  out  by  all  agencies  and  events.  Sup- 
pose we  conceive  good  to  be  not  mere  comfort,  whether  temporal  or 
eternal,  but  something  nobler  than  this,  viz  :  the  progressive  develop 
ment  and  perfection  of  our  own  natures  after  the  iniage  of  God. 
Let  us  agree  that  evil  is  more  in  ourselves,  than  without  us  ;  more  in 
our  hearts,  than  in  our  circumstances  ;  that  a  remorseful  conscience, 
and  unruly  lusts,  and  raging  passions,  are  greater  curses  than  poverty 
and  bodily  pain  ;  that  a  degraded  character  is  worse  than  the  con- 
tempt of  our  fellows ;  that  the  consciousness  of  our  own  guilt  and 
vileneas  is  a  heavier  load  than  all  the  abuse  and  execration  the  world 


312  ALL    THINGS   WORK   FOR   GOOD. 

can  heap  upon  us.     It  is  a  bad  thing  to  have  a  keen  appetite  and  no 
food  to  appease  it ;  but  it  may  be  worse  amid  the  greatest  profusion 
to  become  slaves  to  our  appetites,  and  to  pamper  and  stimulate  them 
until  they  are  morbid,  insatiate  cravings,  which  force  us  to  indulge 
them,  though  the  momentary  gratification  is  working  ruin   to  soul 
and  body.     Our  lot  may  not  be  an  easy  one  ;  but  we  often  embitter 
the  waters  we  drink  by  our  own  discontent,  and  spread  for  ourselves 
beds  of  thorns  and  thistles,  by  envy,  and  jealousy,  and  wrath,  and 
suspicion.     If  the  flesh  has  its  wants  which  must  be  met,  or  pain  will 
ensue,  the  soul  has  deeper  and  more  lasting  needs,  to  neglect  which 
will  cause  us  an  ever-gnawing  hunger  and    an  ever-burning  thirst. 
If  the  body  has  its  diseases  which  produce  weariness,  and  depression, 
and  achings,  there  is  a  sickness,  an  unsoundness  of  the  moral  nature, 
which  unfits  for  every  proper  employment,  for  all  true  happiness, 
which  makes  the  heart  sad  and  gloomy.     This  is  evil.     You  may  put 
a  man  with  a  stained  conscience  and  a  mean  spirit,  with  a  heart  under 
the  tyranny  of  licentious  desires  and  malicious  tempers,  sullen  and 
sour,  amid  the  sweets  of  paradise  or  on  the  pinnacle  of  power,  and 
he  will  be,  he  must  be,  a  wretch.     Purge  away  that  guilt  from  the 
conscience ;  cure  that  inward  disease,  those  festering  sores  of  the 
heart;  give  the  man  a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit;  let  him  be  born 
again,  partake  the  divine  nature,  and  begin  a  holy  life  ;  shed  abroad 
in  his  soul  love  to  God,  love  to  his  neighbor  ;  fill  him  with  thanl<ful- 
ness,  resignation,  and  trust ;  let  every  appetite,  propensity,  passion, 
be  moderated  and  controlled  by  reason  and  duty ;  let  him  enjoy  the 
friendship   of  God   and  the  approval  of  his  own  heart ;.  give  him  a 
hope  of  living  with  God  in  spotless  purity  forever  —  and  do  you  not 
confer  on  him  the  highest  good  of  which  he  is  capable  ?     The  true 
riches,  the  true  beauty,  the  true  glory,  of  a  man  consists  in  the  vir- 
tues of  his  heart.     These  inhere  in  himself.     These  alone  are  his 
own.     These  depend  not  on  shifting  circumstances.     These  are  a 
perennial  fountain  within  —  not  a  cistern  which  may  be  exhausted,  or 
from  which  you  may  wander.     External  situation  does  have  some 
effect.     Things  without  us  do  affect  our  comfort.     Wc  have  wants 
whose  supply  is  outside  of  us.     But  let  a  man's  own  body  be  deeply 
diseased  and  violently  tortured,  in  the  lassitude,  and  melancholy,  and 
pain  thence  resulting,  is  he  not  oat  off  from  pleasure  in  the  outward 
world  ?     What  lo  him  are  the  sunlight  on  the  varied  landscape,  the 
delicate  viands  which  the  epicure  provides,  polished  mahogany,  and 


ALL   THINGS   AVORK   FOR   GOOD.  313 

soft  carpets,  and  rich  curtains,  and  a  magnificent  c  uch,  and  sweet 
strains  of  music  1     And  how  mu  h  nearer  to  himself  than  the  flesh, 
is  hi-  spirit.     How  much  more  sensitive.     If  the  heart  is  sick,  if  the 
heart  is  wounded  and  bruised  and  bleeding,  if  there  is  derangement 
in  all  its  parts  and  functions,  how  can  there  be  happiness  ?     It  is  the 
soul  that  constitutes  himself  and  his  worth,  that  raises  him  above  the 
brute,  that  by  its  holiness  can  make  him  the  equal  of  angels  and  the 
image  of  God.     Our  good  must  be  found   in   moral  excellence,  in 
purity  from  all  sin,  in  partaking  the  divine  nature  and  reflecting  the 
divine  glory,  in   meekness,  and   gentleness,   and   temperance,    and 
humility,  and  patience,  and  justice,  and   truth,  and  generosity,  and 
love.     This  is   the  glory  that  is  not  artificial,  not  accidental,  not 
changing:  but  genuine,  essential,  unfading.     It  sweetens  the  waters 
of  Marah..    The  consciousness  of  innocence,  the  approval  of  our  own 
hearts,  unswerving  integrity,   superiority  to  all  low  and  mean  feel- 
ings, submission,  confidence,  and  love,  can  triumph  over  all   ills,  can 
sing  songs  of  gladness  in  the  prison  at  midnight,  can  shout  victory 
amid  the  agonies  of  death.     Death  itself  cannot  rob  us  of  this  good 
though  it  takes  all  else.     Gold  may  be  stolen,  honor  may  be  wrested 
friends  may  forsake,  reputation  may  be   aspersed,  health  may   fail, 
kindred  may  be  laid  in  the  dust,  the  body  itself  may  fall  off  and  rot . 
but  virtue,  holiness,  religion,  survive   every  change  of  life,  survive 
the  last  anguish  of  tho  flesh,  bloom  with  unwithering  beauty,  shine 
•with  fadeless  lustre.     And  thus  it  is  that  our  good  is  eternal.     Freed 
from  all  alloy,  no  longer  liable  to  any  tarnish,  perfected,  it  is  "  the 
glory  ihf/t  shall  be  revealed  in  ms" — a  glory  that  cannot  go   out, 
cannot  dim,  but  can  and  will  widen  and  brighten  evermore. 

Now  this  :s  the  good,  begun  here,  perfected  in  heaven,  continued 
forever,  which  all  things  tend  and  contribute  to  produce  in  us.  It  is 
the  refining  of  the  soul  from  all  dross,  its  transformation  into  the 
divine  likeness,  the  development  and  maturing  of  virtue,  the  glorifi- 
cation of  the  immortal  spirit,  its  preparation  here  and  now  for  the 
presence,  sight,  fellowship,  fruition  of  God  in  heaven  and  forever. 
Our  worldly,  our  bodily  comfort  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference  to 
God;  but  what  chiefly  concerns  him  is  our  holiness.  Are  not  all 
things  designed  to  promote  in  us  this  growth  of  virtue,  and  to  result 
in  immortal  blessedness  Chri.-t  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might 
sanctify  and  cleanse  us  to  be  a  glorious  church,  without  spot,  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing     The  Spirit  is  given  to  hallow  and  comfort  us. 


314  ALL    THINGS    WORK   FOR   GOOD. 

The  Scriptures  are  given  that  we  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished 
unto  all  good  -norks.     All  orders  of  the  ministry  are  given  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  Saints,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ,  that 
we  may  grow  up  from  feebleness  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness    of  Christ.     The  fellowship  of  the  church   is   provided 
that  we  may  consider  one  another,  to  provoke  unto  love  and  good 
works.     God  sends  us  rain,  sunshine,  food,  friends,  health,  that  hi.^ 
goodness  may  lead  us  to  repentance,  to  thankfulness,  to  imitation  of 
his  own  benevolence.     He  gives  us  talents,  that,  by  employing  them 
aright,  we  may  not  only  be  useful   to  others,  but  may  exercise  and 
strengthen  our  own  graces.     And  trials  subserve  the  same  purpose. 
They  teach  us  humility,  self-distrust,  the  vanity  of  earth,  the  impor- 
tance of  living  for  heaven,  the  value  of  religion,  faith  in  God,  meek- 
ness, patience,  love.     They  chasten  the  spirit.     They   subdue  lust, 
tame  passion,  sober  frivolity.     They  drive  us  to  the  "Word  of  God,  to 
pious  meditation  and  prayer.     They  impose  on  us  the  necessity  of 
watchfulness  and   self-control.     Trouble  is   the  time   for  reflection. 
Darkness  is  the  season  to  try  and  to  improve  faith.     When  men  slan- 
der and  ill-treat  us,  we  may  learn  to  conquer  pride  and  revenge,  to 
put  on  long-suffering,  gentleness,  charity.     Go  to  the  sick  room,  and 
you  will  find  the  best  examples  of  resignation,  patience,  trust,  hope, 
love,  deadness  to  the  world,  joy  in  Christ,  heavenly-mindedness.    The 
Captain  of  our  salvation  was  made  perfect  through  sufferings.     We 
need  to  be  made  perfect  through  sufferings.     Often  we  are  straying, 
and  can  be  brought  back  only  by  the  rod.     Often  a  toy  is  charming 
us  to  forgetfulness  of  God,  and  he  breaks  it.     Often  worldly,  or  sen 
sual,  or  bitter  feelings  are  waxing  too  strong,  and  they  must  be  curbed 
and  subjected  by  sorrow.     If  we  do  not  need  punishment,  yet  our 
virtues  may  ripen  faster  in  adversity.     Then  we  think  much  about 
God  and  heaven.     Then  we  prize  most  highly  the  consolations  of  tl 
Spirit.     Is  there  any  temptation  against  which  we  struggle  manfully 
without  profit  ?     Is  there  any  sorrow  which  we  bear  patiently,  and  are 
not  improved  1     Thus  does  God  choose   to  work  in  us  substantia; 
and  abiding  good.     Thus  does  he  draw  us  from  the  world  to  the  en- 
joyment of  himself,  and  invest  our  souls  with  the  glory  of  holiness, 
which  will  outshine  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     Therefore, 
we  glory  in  tribulations,  also  ;  they  are  agencies  for  our  good ;  they 
work  experience,  patience,  hope.     Therefore  do  we  most  giadly  glory 
rather  in   infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  us. 


ALL   THINGS   WORK  FOR   GOOD.  B15 

Therefore  it  is  needful  that,  for  a  season,  we  sht)uld  be  in  heavi- 
ness through  manifold  temptations ;  that  the  trial  of  our  faith,  being 
much  more  precious  than  of  gold  that  perisheth,  may  be  found  unto 
praise,  and  honor,  and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ.  Thus 
do  these  light,  momentary  afflictions  work  out  for  us  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory. 

We  now  see  why  those  things  work  good  only  to  them  that  love 
God.  We  are  moral  beings,  and  must  co-operate  with  every  agency 
in  order  to  be  benefitted.  Only  to  those  properly  exercised  by  them 
do  chastenings  yield  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  It  de- 
pends on  the  spirit  with  which  we  receive  the  gifts  and  dealings  of 
GoJ,  how  we  shall  be  affected  by  them.  If  we  view  God  in  all  things, 
in  blessings  and  afflictions,  in  providence  and  grace,  in  our  own  busi- 
ness and  plans,  if  we  are  patient,  thankful,  and  resigned,  then  do  all 
things  contribute  to  our  growth  in  piety. 

We  see  also  the  connection  of  the  promise  with  our  calling  ac- 
cording to  his  purpose.  God  made  us  to  bear  his  image  and  show 
forth  his  glory.  He  has  redeemed  us  by  the  blood  of  his  Son  to  the 
same  end.  He  manages  his  providential  and  spiritual  kingdoms  alike 
for  the  salvation  of  his  people.  We,  bought  from  the  power  of  sin 
by  so  dear  a  ransom,  justified,  taken  into  his  friendship,  taken  into 
his  family,  and  made  his  heirs  —  must  not  all  things  work  the  divine 
purpose  towards  us,  the  object  near  his  heart  —  even  our  glorifica- 
tion ?  Yes,  all  things  are  ours  to  this  end.  Earth  is  ours.  See  the 
bounty  of  God  in  verdure,  fruitage,  harvest,  flowers,  in  his  care  of  the 
least  blade  of  grass  and  the  tiniest  insect.  Do  you  think  that  he  will 
deny  one  of  his  own  redeemed,  beloved  children,  a  share  of  his 
bounty?  No  :  he  withholds  only  as  our  good  demands.  Angels  are 
ours,  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of  salvation.  Life  is  ours,  for 
the  culture  of  piety.  Trials  are  ours,  to  purge  away  sin,  and  invigo- 
rate religious  principles.  Death  is  ours,  to  bear  away  our  souls  to 
God.  The  grave  is  ours,  that,  sleeping  in  weakness  like  Christ,  we 
may  rise  like  him  in  power.  Heaven  is  our  home  and  inheritance. 
3e  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how 
shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ? 

All  things  work  together  for  good.     We  may  not  see  their  conneu 
tion,  their  interplay,  their  bearing,  on  one  result.     We  may  not  un- 
derstand how  the  tangled  threads  of  life  are  woven  into   a  perfect 
web.     The  defect  is  in  our  vision ;  it  is  too  dim  and  narrow.     Had 


316  ALL  THINGS  WORK  FOR  GOOD. 

we  eyes,  we  might  see  all  things,  linked  together  and  co-working, 
like  cog-wheels  and  bands  in  some  vast  machinery.  The  private 
soldier  may  not  understand  the  unity  of  plan  in  the  mind  of  the 
general,  by  which  the  movements  of  different  companies  converge  to 
a  single  end.  The  reader  may  not  conjecture  for  a  time  how  the 
ingenious  author  will  manage  the  thickening  plot.  These  are  poor 
illustrations  of  the  deep  wisdom  by  which  the  complicated  affairs  of 
earth  are  directed  to  the  accomplishment  of  one  great  purpose.  Some- 
times, as  in  the  cases  of  Joseph  and  Haman,  the  design  is  sufficiently 
developed  in  this  world  to  be  appreciated  by  us.  Hereafter,  as  the 
results  shall  be  developed  on  the  broad  stage  of  eternity,  we  will 
understand  more  correctly  and  fully.  Put  us  in  possession  of  the 
law  of  gravitation,  and  what  had  been  separate  and  disconnected 
phenomena  are  arranged  in  order  and  harmony  as  parts  of  one  stu- 
pendous whole  :  the  falling  of  a  leaf  and  the  regular  motions  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  are  seen  to  obey  one  common  impulse.  So  a  simple 
principle  of  God's  moral  government  may  explain  to  us  the  appa- 
rently confused  and  clashing  operations  progressing  around  us. 

Can  we  avoid  a  glance  at  the  general  purpose  which  the  events 
and  agencies  of  all  earth  and  all  time  are  effecting — the  eternal  glo- 
rification of  the  entire  Church  ?  Look  and  listen  to  the  wrecking 
storms  witnessed  in  different  ages  I  Do  you  tremble  for  the  Church  1 
Founded  on  a  rock,  she  shall  never  fall.  What  chaos,  what  dark- 
ness, what  tumult,  abound  among  the  nations!  Over  all  preside 
eternal  justice,  eternal  mercy.  Wars  and  treaties,  science  and  inven- 
tion, commerce  and  conquest,  the  spread  of  civilization  and  Christianity 
over  savage  or  unpeopled  lands — all,  all  are  working,  under  the  watch- 
ful superintendence  of  God,  for  the  preservation,  the  purification,  the 
perfection,  the  triumph,  of  his  saints.  Above  the  din  of  business,  above 
the  upioar  and  shocks  of  armies  and  revolutions,  rises  the  shout  of 
saints  and  angels — "  Alleluia!  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth  ! " 
It  is  the  shout  of /fliVA  and  hope.  As  systems  of  error  and  sin,  long- 
established  and  high-towering,  fixll  with  mighty  crash  to  earth,  loud 
rises  the  triumphant  acclaim — "  Alleluia !  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth!"  As  Christianity  is  freed  from  some  false  doctrine,  from 
some  dark  spot,  from  some  heavy  incubus ;.  as  she  marches  to  new 
lands,  and  plants  her  standard  on  a  strange  soil,  again  the  jubilant 
peal  is  heard  —  "Alleluia!  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth'" 
When  every  idol  shall  have  been  broken,  and  the  crescent  shall  have 


ALL   THINGS   WORK   FOR   GOOD.  317 

yielded  to  the  cross,  and  spiritual  religion  shall  have  evor}nlicie 
prevailed ;  when  Christ  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and 
the  number  of  the  saved  shall  be  completed,  and  the  Prince  of  Dark- 
ness shall  be  doomed  to  confinement  and  chains  in  his  own  hell,  and 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  in  Jesus  shall  share  the  glory  of  his  redemp- 
tion;  and  the  Church,  as  a  bride  arrayed  in  fine  white  linen,  (the 
righteousness  of  the  saints,)  shall  be  presented  toj-her  Lord — then, 
as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  shall  we  hear  the 
shout — 0  that  we  may  join  therein! — "Alleluia;  the  Lord  God 
omnipotent  reigneth  !  "  "  To  the  intent  that  now  unto  the  principal- 
ities and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be  known  by  the  Church 
the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which 
he  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

It  is  equally  true,  that  all  things  work  together  for  evil  to  the 
wicked.  As  a  diseased  stomach  turns  the  best  food  into  poison,  so 
does  a  bad  heart  turn  every  blessing  into  a  curse — every  gift  becomes 
a  snare.  The  very  gospel  is  a  savor  of  death  unto  death.  The  atone- 
ment of  Christ  is  the  occasion  of  heavier  condemnation,  through 
unbelief.  Their  privileges  (neglected)  aggravate  their  guilt.  Chas- 
teningS;  instead  of  melting,  harden  their  hearts.  Prosperity  blinds 
their  eyes  to  their  true  interests.  Fortune  is  as  smooth,  but  slippery 
rocks.  Honor  is  a  height  overhanging  a  deep  abyss,  and  the  head  be- 
comes dizzy.  They  sow  to  the  flesh,  and  reap  corruption.  They  are 
filling  up  their  cup.  They  are  fitting  themselves  unto  destruction. 
They  wax  worse  and  worse — harder  and  blinder.  Thus  goes  on  the 
progress  of  virtue  in  Christians,  of  vice  in  sinners;  until  probation 
ends  and  retribution  begins  ;  until  saints  are  ripe  for  heaven  and  sin- 
ners for  hell ;  until  justice,  unrestrained  by  mercy,  seizes  the  ungodly, 
and  mercy,  unrestrained  by  justice,  blesses  the  righteous ;  until  the 
one  class  enters  upon  the  perfection  and  eternity  of  misery,  and  the 
other  upon  the  perfection  and  eternity  of  bliss. 


>';'--^^^^*?*s:< 


lUCV    DAVID   3.DOG&ETT,   D.D 


Editor  of  Qu>  Quartarly  Soviavr  of  fii*  Usthodlot  I^copal  Church ,  SuuSt 


CHRIST    AND    PILATE: 
Or,  the  divine  AND  HUMAN  GOVERNMENTS  IN  CONTRAST. 


BY    REV.    DAVID    S.    DOGGETT,   D.D., 

OF  THE  VIHGINIA  CONFERENCE. 


"  Jesus  answered,  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world :  if  my  kingdom  were 
of  this  world,  then  would  my  servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered 
to  the  Jews  :  but  now  is  my  kingdom  not  from  hence.  Pilate  therefore  said 
unto  him,  Art  thou  a  king,  then  ?  Jesus  answered,  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a 
king.  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that 
I  should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth.  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth 
my  voice."— John  xviii,  36,  37. 

The  Jews,  in  order  to  accomplish  their  murderous  purpose  upon 
Jesus  Christ,  availed  themselves  of  the  most  successful  of  all  human 
instruments  :  the  jealousy  of  the  Roman  government.  To  obtain 
against  him  the  sentence  of  capital  punishment,  which,  as  a  tributary 
people  they  had  no  right  to  pass,  they  charged  him  before  the  legal 
tribunal  with  the  crime  of  sedition.  They  pretended  that  he  was  an 
opponent,  if  not  a  rival,  of  Caesar,  and  perhaps  a  dangerous  compe- 
titor for  the  imperial  crown.  Under  this  accusation  he  was  arraigned 
before  Pontius  Pilate,  the  provincial  governor.  Said  they,  "  We 
have  found  this  fellow  perverting  the  nation,  and  forbidding  to  give 
tribute  to  Csesar,  saying  that  he  himself  is  Christ,  a  king."  And  to 
render  Pilate's  decision  in  their  favor  inevitable,  they  charged  him 
with  virtual  conspiracy  against  his  own  sovereign.  They  declared, 
"  if  thou  let  this  man  go,  thou  art  not  Caesar's  friend :  whosoevei 
maketh  himself  a  king,  speaketh  against  Csesar."  Thus  were  Christ 
and  Pilate  brought  face  to  face.  What  a  scene,  my  brethren  !  what 
a  mystery !  They  confronted  each  other,  not  merely  as  individuals, 
not  merely  as  a  judge  and  a  criminal,  but  as  representative  person- 
ages, brought  by  Heaven's  unfathomable  counsel,  once  in  the  lapse 
of  ages,  into  contact  and  antagonism,  that  both  might  pronounce 
their  verdict  in  the  presence  of  a  listening  universe,  on  the  greatest 
of  all  questions.     Pilate  represented  the  imperial  authority  of  the 


320  CHRIST    AND    PILATE. 

visible  world,  Christ  that  of  the  invisible  world  ;  Pilate  the  claims 
of  human  law,  Christ  those  of  the  divine  ;  Pilate  the  wisdom  of  man, 
Christ  the  wisdom  of  God ;  Pilate  the  court  of  Rome,  Christ  the  court 
of  Heaven.  Pilate  was  a  frail,  sinful  man,  under  sentence  of  eternal 
death ;  Christ,  the  eternal  son  of  God,  at  Pilate's  bar,  about  to  re- 
ceive the  sentence  of  crucifixion,  in  behalf  of  Pilate  and  of  that 
humanity  which  Pilate  represented.  Little  did  Pilate  understand 
these  contrasts,  Christ  understood  them  perfectly.  Under  these 
imposing  circumstances,  Pilate  interrogated  Christ  as  to  the  nature 
of  his  pretensions.  The  text  is  Christ's  reply  to  Pilate.  In  this 
reply  we  recognise  his  assertion  of  his  royalty,  and  his  description 
of  his  kingdom.     Let  us  examine — 

1.  His  Assertion  of  His  Royalty. — This  was  the  very  issue 
which  the  Jews  had  made  before  the  governor.  They  affirmed  that 
he  had  avowed  himself  to  be  a  king  ;  and  for  this  accusation  there  was, 
to  say  the  least,  apparent  ground.  He  had  not,  at  any  time,  posi- 
tively so  announced  himself.  Others  had  done  it  for  him.  He  had, 
however,  indirectly  assumed  the  prerogative  in  his  conversations  and 
in  his  parables.  Several  recorded  proofs  sustain  the  general  allega- 
tion. The  Magi,  who  had  been  guided  from  the  East  by  the  wonder- 
ful phenomenon  of  a  new  star,  inquired.  "  "Where  is  he  that  is  born 
King  of  the  Jews  ? "  Nathaniel  had  said,  "  Thou  art  the  King  of 
Israel."  After  the  miracle  of  the  five  loaves  and  two  fi.shes,  "  Jesus 
perceived  that  they  would  come  and  take  him  by  force  and  make  him 
a  king."  The  mother  of  Zebedee's  children  had  urged  him  :  "  Grant 
that  these,  my  two  sons,  may  sit,  the  one  on  thy  right  hand,  and  the 
other  on  the  left,  in  thy  kingdom."  When  he  made  his  triumphant 
entrance  into  Jerusalem,  the  multitude  shouted,  "  Hosanna  I  blessed 
is  the  King  of  Israel,  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  He 
had  said  unto  his  disciples,  "  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my 
Father  hath  appointed  unto  me  ;.  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my 
table  in  my  kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel."  He  had  often,  in  his  teachings,  uttered  the  phrase,  "king- 
dom of  heaven."  It  was  easy,  out  of  such  materials,  to  frame  and 
to  sustain  the  plausible  charge  with  which  Christ  wa.?  indicted  before 
the  provincial  court  of  Rome. 

2.  This  was  the  only  pretext  on  which  Christ  could  have  been 
made  amenable  to  the  imperial  tribunal,  and  exposed  to  its  penalty. 


CHRIST   AND    PILATE.  321 

There  had  been  no  phase  of  his  entire  life  which  could  have  been 
construed  into  insubordination  to  the  government  except  this  ;  and 
this,  only,  by  that  malignant  ingenuity  which,  to  realize  its  nefarious 
objects,  seeks,  by  a  legal  technicality,  to  consign  its  innocent  victim 
to  a  death  of  torture.  Of  religious  questions  Pilate  would  take  no 
cognizance.  He  would  entertain  only  such  as  were  civil  and  politi- 
cal, involving  the  welfare  of  society  and  the  State.  Hence,  when 
Christ  was  arraigned  before  him  as  an  impostor,  Pilate  declined  official 
action  against  him,  and  earnestly  endeavored  to  release  him,  without 
the  firmness  with  which  he  should  have  assumed  the  responsibility  ; 
for  he  clearly  perceived  the  real  ground  of  the  prosecution.  It  was 
only  when  his  adversaries  made  and  pressed  their  political  plea  that 
he  allowed  himself  to  yield  to  their  wishes 

The  chief  priests  had  met  in  council,  and  determined  upon  his 
death.  They  had  obtained  the  sanction  of  Annas  and  Caiphas,  with 
which  they  conducted  him  to  Pilate;  who,  to  evade  the  painful 
emergency,  sent  him  to  Herod  ;  who,  again,  remanded  him  to  Pilate. 
Unfortunate  man  !  He,  against  his  own  convictions  and  the  solicita- 
tions of  his  wife,  is  obliged,  at  last,  to  meet  that  emergency,  or  suffer 
the  impeachment  of  disloyalty  to  Ccesar. 

3.  The  extreme  perplexity  of  Pilate  in  this  emergency,  was  pain- 
fully betrayed  by  the  questions  which  he  put  to  Christ  in  order  to 
satisfy  himself,  and,  perhaps,  to  vindicate  his  conduct.  He  pro- 
pounded three,  very  distinct  in  their  nature,  and  requiring  different 
answers.  The  first  was,  ^^  Art  ihon  the  king  of  the  Jews?"  The 
second  was,  «  What  hast  thou  done  ?"  The  third  was,  «  Art  thou  a 
king,  then  V  The  object  of  the  first  seems  to  have  been  to  secure  an 
explicit  avowal  as  to  the  crime  alleged ;  of  the  second,  to  ascertain 
whether  his  conduct  had  justified  the  allegation;  of  the  third, 
whether  he  indulged  any  regal  pretensions  of  any  kind. 

4.  What,  then,  was  the  reply  of  Christ  to  these  questions  ?  A 
direct  answer  to  the  first,  true  as  it  would  have  been  in  one  sense, 
might  have  been  readily  construed  into  a  confession  of  guilt.  It  was, 
therefore,  indirectly  given,  and  was  designed  to  make  Pilate  define 
his  position  ;  which  he  promptly  did.  Jesus  answered  him,  «  Sayest 
thou  this  thing  of  thyself,  or  did  others  tell  it  thee  of  me  ?"  Pilate 
answered,  «  Am  I  a  Jew  ?  Thine  own  nation  and  the  chief  priests 
have  delivered  thee  unto  me."  A  direct  answer  to  the  second,  was 
rendered  unnecessary  by  the  notoriety   of  his   acts^;  consequently 

21 


322  CHRIST   AND    PILATE. 

nothing  more  than  a  negative  response  was  made.  A  direct  answer  to 
the  third,  was  demanded  by  the  posture  of  the  case,  and  was  accord- 
ingly rendered  in  unequivocal  terms,  in  the  three  following  specifica- 
tions ;  positive  affirmation,  tlie  immediate  ohjed  of  his  birth,  and  the 
grand  design  of  his  incarnation,  "  Jesus  answered,  thou  sayest  that  I 
am  a  king.  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the 
world."  Thus,  when  the  period  arrived ;  when  the  pending  crisis 
required  it ;  when  the  great  plan  of  God  had  reached  its  develop- 
ment, Christ,  at  the  bar  of  Pilate,  asserted  his  royalty,  not  only  over 
the  Jews,  but  over  Pilate,  over  Cajsar  himself,  and  over  every  man 
that  is  named,  whether  in  heaven  or  eartli !  He  then  and  there  an- 
nounced himself,  "  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords."  This,  my 
brethren,  is  that  "  good  confession,"  which  Paul  declares  that  Jesus 
Christ  witnessed  before  Pontius  Pilate.     Let  us  now  contemplate, 

IL  His  Description  of  his  Kingdom.  —  On  no  subject  con- 
nected with  Christianity  was  it  more  imperative  to  impart  definite 
ideas  to  the  world.  And  no  distinction  have  mankind  been  more 
prone  to  confound,  notwithstanding  the  perspicuity  with  which  Christ 
himself  has  drawn  it.  The  purity  and  the  majesty  of  our  holy  re- 
ligion can  be  contemplated  only  in  its  own  light.  It  must  stand  out 
in  that  clear  and  bold  relief  in  which  its  author  placed  it  in  his  tes- 
timony at  the  bar  of  Pilate,  uncompromised  by  earthly  affinities,  in 
order  to  display  its  own  grandeur^  and  to  maintain  its  divine  preroga- 
tive over  the  human  mind.  While,  therefore,  Christ  asserted  his 
sovereignty,  he  settled  forever  the  character  of  his  reign.  This  he 
did, 

1.  By  a  decisive  disclaimer.  Said  he,  in  the  audience  of  Pilate 
and  for  the  instruction  of  all  men,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world :  if  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would  my  servants 
fight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews  :  but  now  is  my 
kingdom  not  from  hence."  This  negation  is  unspeakabl}-  important. 
It  defines  the  boundaries  between  what  would  otlierwise  appear  the 
conterminous  and  blending  lines  of  two  very  difi'erent  terrritories  ; 
those  of  the  Divine  and  human  governments:  boundaries  never  to  be 
obliterated  from  the  map  of  human  history.  Let  us  endeavor  to 
recognise  them  to  day. 

The  kingdom  of  Christ  did  not  originate  in  the  world.  All  other 
forms  of  government  have  arisen    from    thig  source.       They   were 


CHRIST  AND   PILATE.  323 

dictated  by  the  exigencies  or  by  the  caprice  of  human  societies. 
They  claim  no  higher  a  paternity  than  human  intelligence  and  human 
passion.  That  of  Christ  was  planned  in  heaven,  and  descended  ;yith 
its  founder  to  earth,  and  is  the  combined  product  of  the  wisdom  and 
the  love  of  God.  Immeasurably  distant  are  their  respective  foun- 
tains :  the  one,  the  bosom  of  Divinity;  the  other,  the  heart  of 
humanity. 

The  kingdom  of  Christ  is  distinguished  from  those  of  the  world, 
by  its  objects.  Civil  governments  propose  to  secure  and  to  promote 
the  interests  of  men  merely  as  citizens  ;  as  members  of  organized 
human  societies  ;  an  object  which  the  purest  models  accompltsh  im- 
perfectly. Christ's  government  proposes  to  emancipate,  purify,  and 
exalt  man's  moral  nature,  with  the  design  of  transferring  him  to  a 
loftier  sphere,  in  which  that  nature  shall  be  replenished  with  the 
boundless  acquisitions  of  citizenship  in  heaven.  This  is  its  sublime 
object,  in  the  accomplishment  of  which  it  incidentally,  but  infinitely 
enhances  his  civil  and  social  felicity. 

The  kingdom  of  Christ  does  not  resemble  those  of  the  world  in  the 
modes  of  their  operation.  They  appeal  exclusively  to  the  motive  of 
self-interest,  by  the  presence  and  the  force  of  visible  agencies,  and 
by  the  sanctions  of  human  authority,  in  the  guaranty  of  rights  and 
the  infliction  of  penalties,  in  accordance  with  their  objects.  Christ's 
government  appeals  to  the  conscience,  by  the  rectitude  and  the  weight 
of  divine  authority,  and  by  the  power  of  interminable  results ;  ut- 
terly discarding  civil  disabilities  as  incompatible  with  its  genius  or 
its  ends. 

The  divine  and  human  governments  differ  in  their  policy,  if  so 
doubtful  a  term  may  be  employed  in  the  contrast.  All  human  gov- 
ernments are  actuated  by  a  principle  of  self-aggrandizement ;  of  their 
prosperity  as  governments  ;  and  adopt  corresponding  contrivances. 
The  kingdom  of  Christ  is  administered  on  the  principle  of  aggran- 
dizmg  Its  subjects,  and  adjusts  its  measures  to  that  principle. 

Human  governments  are  animated  by  the  spirit  of  the  world  ;  by 
earthly  and  secular  impulses.  Their  heart,  their  life,  their  senti- 
ments, are  identified  with  things  temporal  and  visible.  The  spirit 
which  penetrates  and  difi-uses  itself  through  that  of  Christ,  is  hallowed 
heavenly,  divine.  The  HOLY  SPIRIT  dwells  in  and  works  by 
means  of  that  kingdom. 

They  diflFer  in  their  defences.     The  last,  and  often  the  precipitate 


324  CHRIST   AND   PILATE. 

resort  of  states,  is  the  scourge  of  war.  The  outraged  honor,  rights, 
or  territory  of  nations,  are  rebulied  by  its  thunder  and  baptized  with 
its  blood.  Jesus  Christ  disavowed,  in  his  behalf,  the  intervention  of 
arms.  "  If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would  my  servants 
fight."  Not  forbidden  to  fight  for  their  country,  they  are  forbidden 
to  fight  for  him.  The  interests  of  his  cause  are  to  be  entrusted  to  his 
own  hands.  "  Put  up  thy  sword,"  said  he  to  Peter,  and  to  his  church, 
"  for  they  that  use  the  sword  shall  fall  by  the  sword."  This  is  the 
maxim  of  Christianity.  This  is  the  command  of  its  author.  Happy 
would  it  have  been  for  the  world  had  it  never  been  violated  ! 

Human  governments  are  circumscribed  by  territorial  limits,  and 
by  a  transitory  duration.  They  may  occupy  a  continent,  and  survive 
for  ages.  But  conflicting  claims  and  national  disasters  terminate 
their  progress  and  annihilate  their  existence.  The  kingdom  of  Christ 
is  universal  in  its  domain,  irresistible  in  its  advancement,  and  imper- 
ishable in  its  structure.  The  dynasties  of  men,  confined  within  their 
contracted  limits,  and  held  in  check  by  contesting  encroachments, 
shall  decay  and  fall,  and  the  coming  wave  of  oblivion  roll  over  all 
their  pride  and  splendor.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  will  witness  the 
catastrophe,  and  rear  its  grand  and  indestructible  proportions  over 
every  foot  of  earth's  conquered  territory.  Pope,  in  his  Messiah,  thus 
paraphrases  the  prophet : 

"  The  seas  shall  waste,  the  skies  in  smoke  decay, 
Rocks  fall  to  dust,  and  mountaihs  melt  away  ; 
But  fix'd  his  word,  his  saving  power  remains, 
Thy  realm  forever  lasts,  thy  o\\n  Messiah  reigns." 

Better  still  are  the  words  of  the  christian  poet : 

"  Wide  as  the  w^orld  is  thy  command. 
Vast  as  eternity  thy  love, 
Firm  as  a  rock  thy  truth  must  stand, 

When  rolling  years  shall  cease  to  move." 

In  these  instances,  at  least,  we  realize  the  solemn  divclaimer  which 
Christ  uttered  in  the  ears  of  Pilate  :  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world  ;  now  is  it  not  from  hence." 

He  describes  his  kingdom, 

2.  By  affirming  its  constitution,  both  as  to  its  nature  and  its 
subjects. 

It  is  a  kingdom  of  "  iriith  "  It  was  to  erect  such  an  empire,  that 
the  Son  of  God  was  ftianifested.     "  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for 


CHRIST   AND    TILATE.  325 

this  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto  the 
truth;  "  should  unfold,  demonstrate,  inaugurate,  establish  the  truth. 
He  thus  exalts  his  government  above  all  others.  It  is  not  only  founded 
in  truth,  and  supported  by  truth  ;  it  is  truth  itself:  truth  enthroned  ; 
truth  triumphant.  Let  us  ask,  as  Pilate  did,  at  the  time  of  Christ's 
declaration,  "  What  is  truth  ? "  Unlike  Pilate,  let  us  wait  for  an 
answer.  Pilate's  question  indicated  his  own  skepticism  ;  indicated 
the  fruitless  search  of  all  philosophers  and  of  all  sages.  The  answer 
had  never  yet  been  given.  It  had  never  been  found.  He  doubted, 
probably,  whether  it  ever  would  or  could  be  found.  The  laborious 
experiment  of  antiquity  had  been  a  terrible  failure,  and  the  human  mind 
was  reeling  under  its  own  recoil.  Could  truth  ever  be  discovered  1 
Pilate's  question  is  the  question  of  humanity  ;  of  all  men,  and  of  all 
ages.  Little  did  he  suspect  that  the  prisoner  at  his  bar  was  compe- 
tent to  impart  to  him  and  to  the  world  the  only  satisfactory  and  com- 
plete answer ;  an  answer  which  would  leave  nothing  to  be  added,  and 
allow  nothing  to  be  subtracted  ;  that  he  was  the  infallible  oracle,  the 
eternal  Word,  whose  utterances  settled  all  questions.  Little  did  he 
imagine  that  the  Truth  itself  was  before  him  in  the  person  of  his  priso- 
ner. If  the  unhappy  judge  did  not  perceive  the  fact,  nor  wait  for  a 
verbal  reply,  the  one  was  visible,  and  the  other  has  been  given.  Let 
us  further  remark  upon  both. 

The  truth  which  Christ  came  to  inaugurate  was  not  that  which  the 
world  has  vaunted  and  magnified  as  such  :  scientific  truth  ;  the  dis- 
coveries and  the  deductions  of  philosophy.  It  was  that  absolute,  es- 
sential truth  to  which  every  other  truth  tends,  and  into  which  it  will 
converge  with  a  focal  blaze,  when  the  period  of  its  full  development 
shall  have  arrived.  This  absolute,  this  essential  truth,  is  presented 
to  us  in  two  forms,  which  are  generically  the  same.  Said  Jesus,  in 
his  intercessory  prayer  to  the  father,  "  Thy  word  is  truth."  The 
revelation  of  God  is  the  divine  idea,  the  infinite  reality  expressed  in 
words.  It  is  the  theory  and  the  essence  of  the  divine  government, 
announced  in  human  language.  It  is  the  solution  of  life's  problem, 
the  explanation  of  man's  history,  the  guide  of  his  destiny,  and  the 
aliment  of  his  being.  It  is  his  true  and  only  good.  It  is  the  whole 
truth,  embracing  and  comprehending  every  other  truth. 

Again  :  Christ  said  to  his  disciples,  "  I  am  the  truth."  He  is 
truth  embodied,  concentrated,  perfected,  impersonated.  Divine 
Revelation  is  the  emanation  and  manifestation  of  Christ  by  the  Father 


326  CHRIST   AND   TILATE 

through  the  Eternal  Spirit.  He  is  the  centre,  the  fountain,  the 
subsistence  of  all  truth,  human  and  divine.  He  is  the  King,  and 
his  is  the  Kingdom  of  Truth. 

Once  more  :  The  affirmation  of  Christ  before  Pilate  defines  the 
subjects  of  his  kingdom.  They  are  not  philosophers,  politicians, 
citizens,  nor  human  beings,  as  such.  They  are  those  who  are  "  of 
the  truth  ; "  who  understand,  appreciate,  and  receive  the  truth  ;  who 
submit  to  its  sway,  surrender  themselves  to  its  power,  and  exemplify 
its  influence.  It  is  thus  that  "  Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children," 
and  Christianity  achieves  its  conquests  over  the  souls  of  men. 

In  conclusion  : 

Let  us  recall  the  strange  and  instructive  scene,  which  our  text  so 
vividly  portrays  before  us  ;  one  of  "  the  princes  of  this  world,"  and 
"  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,"  face  to  face  ;  the  one 
clothed  with  the  visible  insignia  of  human  authority  about  to  pass 
sentence  of  death  upon  the  other,  who,  though  his  prisoner,  is  about 
to  obtain  the  sentence  of  pardon  for  the  world  ;  the  one,  by  his 
questions  and  perplexity,  evincing  the  ignorance  and  unhappiness  of 
mankind  ;  the  other,  by  his  answers,  bringing  <'  life  and  immortality" 
to  light ;  the  one,  personating  the  pomp  and  the  secularity  of  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth  ;  the  other,  the  simplicity  and  the  spirituality 
of  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;"  the  one,  representing  the  dominion 
of  human  law  ;  the  other,  the  sublime  dominion  of  the  Truth  ;  the 
ane,  ascending  his  throne  to  pronounce  his  official  judgment  upon  the 
•inrecognized  sovereign  of  the  universe  ;  the  other,  descending  from 
ois  throne  "  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself."  What  an  interview! 
\Yhat  an  inversion  of  order  !  What  a  diflference  between  parties  ! 
What  pending  results ! 

Again,  let  us  recognise  the  cardinal  distinction  which  our  subject 
draws  between  the  Christian'ty  of  the  Bible  and  all  forms  of  human 
organization.  Civil  governments,  when  discharging  their  legitimate 
functions,  are  perfectly  compatible  with  Christianity.  But  their  na- 
ture and  spheres  are  totally  dissimilar.  The  one  cannot  and  ought 
not  to  merge  into  the  other ;  nor  ought  they  ever  to  conflict.  lu 
their  true  relations,  they  harmonize  without  combining,  and  recipro- 
cate without  interference.  All  that  Christianity  invokes  of  civil  go- 
vernment, is  its  protection.  All  that  civil  government  needs  of  Chris- 
tianity, is  its  blessing.  The  integrity  of  civil  government  is  preserv- 
ed by  adhering  to  its  legitimate  purposes ;  the  purity  of  Christianity 


CHRIST   AND  PILATE  327 

maintained  by  discarding  all  alliance  with  the  State.  It  is  thus  that  a 
civil  government  becomes  the  patron  of  Christianity ;  Christianity  the 
support  of  civil  government ;  and  it  is  thus  that  each,  untrammeled  and 
uncorrupted,  accomplishes  its  highest  possible  good  for  the  human 
race ;  the  one  for  its  temporal,  the  other  both  for  its  temporal  and 
eternal  welfare. 

Finally,  whatever  may  be  our  individual,  social,  or  political  predi- 
lections, it  behooves  us  to  submit  to  the  King  of  Truth,  aad  to  hear 
his  voice.  To  be  citizens  of  his  kingdom,  is  to  ally  our  destiny  with 
its  own  duration,  and  to  enrich  ourselves  with  its  eternal  wealth. 
To  enjoy  this  boon,  we  must  be  "  of  the  truth."  Wo  must  be  sub- 
dued by  it,  identified  with  it,  and  sanctified  through  it.  We  shall 
then  "  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  us  free."  Enfran- 
chised by  its  authority,  invested  with  its  prerogative,  and  imbued 
with  its  spirit,  our  exalted  condition,  our  ennobling  hopes,  and  our 
perennial  pleasures,  will  demonstrate  to  ourselves,  and  illustrate  to 
others,  its  grandeur  and  its  grace  ;  will  justify  the  universal  prayer, 
"  Thy  kingdom  come  ;  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven  ; " 
and  extort  the  rapturous  doxology,  "  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the 
power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever  and  ever :  Amen. 


or  rsjs  rmari^Cd  carrsABNCE. 


LABOR— THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS. 

BY   REV.   JOHN   E.   EDWARDS,   A.  M., 

OF    TllK  VIBGINIA  CONFEKESCE. 


"  For  unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abund- 
ance ;  but  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away,  even  that  which  he 
hath."— Matthew  xxv,  29. 

The  parables  of  the  Great  Teacher  are,  for  the  most  part,  founded 
upon  some  well-known  custom  among  the  people  of  his  day,  or  upon 
some  established  law  of  nature,  or  upon  some  recognised  principle  of 
action  in  the  business  affairs  of  life.  The  parable  of  the  virgins  is 
based  upon  a  prevalent  oriental  custom ;  the  parable  of  the  mustard 
seed,  of  the  leaven,  and  of  the  corn  from  the  early  blade  to  the  ma 
ture  ear,  each  has  for  its  foundation  an  established  law  ;  the  parable 
of  the  treasure  hid  in  a  field,  and  that,  also,  of  the  creditor  and 
debtor,  furnish  us  examples  of  that  class  of  parables  founded  on 
business  transactions.  Some  of  the  parables  combine  more  than  one 
of  these  elements  as  a  basis ;  and  I  may  mention,  as  a  striking  ex- 
ample of  this  class,  the  parable  of  the  talents,  with  which  the  text 
stands  intimately  connected. 

Having  thus  briefly  introduced  the  text,  I  shall  go  on,  as  prelimi- 
nary to  the  main  object  of  this  discourse, 

I.  To  lay  before  you  an  explication  of  the  parable  of  which 
the  text  contains  the  pith  or  moral. 

A  chronological  arrangement  of  Christ's  parables,  I  doubt  not, 
would  exhibit  a  gradual  progress  and  development  in  his  sublime 
instructions,  rising,  by  almost  insensible  gradations,  from  the  simple 
and  elementary  to  the  more  abstruse  and  profound  ;  from  the  germi- 
nant  seed  to  the  mature  grain.  The  parable  of  the  wise  and  foolish 
virgins,  with  which  this  chapter  opens,  represents  the  church  in  a 
state  of  repose  and  expectancy,  looking  ahead  for  something  in  the 
future ;  the  parable  of  the  talents,  which  follows  it,  represents  the 
church  in  a  state  of  activity  and  responsibility.  As  has  been  happily 
said  by  some  one,  we  are  presented  in  the  one  case  with  persons  pre- 
suming on  the  mercy  of  God  ;  in  the  other,  with  persons  deterred  by 


330  LABOR  —  THE    LAAV   OF    SPIRITUAL    PROGRESS. 

fear.  In  both  parables  we  have  examples  of  persons  saved  and  of 
persons  lost.  The  parables  stand  closely  connected,  and  are  in- 
structive. 

The  parable  of  the  talents  is  based  on  a  custom  Ijnown  in  the  East 
in  the  days  of  Christ.  The  familiarity  of  his  hearers  with  the  custom 
in  question,  excited  a  deeper  interest  in  their  minds  as  he  proceeded 
with  his  discourse.  The  moral  lessons  inculcated  peered  through  the 
almost  tangible  imagery  which  he  employed  ;  at  first,  phantom-like — 
mere  skeletons  stalking  in  the  twilight — but  presently,  as  the  atten- 
tion became  more  fixed,  and  the  interest  grew  more  intense,  the  truth 
flashed  full  on  the  mind.  The  phantom  became  a  reality ;  the  skele-^ 
ton  a  thing  instinct  with  life  and  energy. 

A  man  of  fortune,  owning  slaves  in  the  Orient,  when  he  travelled 
out  of  the  province  in  which  he  resided,  could  not  carry  them  with 
him,  and  as  he  wished  to  derive  the  greatest  possible  profit  from  their 
labors,  on  his  leaving  he  committed  certain  trusts  to  them  on  certain 
conditions.  He  made  each  servant  an  interested  party,  and  promised 
a  suitable  reward  to  a  proper  use  and  improvement  of  the  goods  with 
which  he  severally  intrusted  them.  He  knew,  from  intimate  personal 
acquaintance,  the  different  capacities  of  his  servants,  and  he  there- 
fore gave  to  them  according  to  their  several  ability,  in  the  proportion 
of  one,  two,  and  five.  Having  made  a  judicious  distribution  of  his 
moneys  among  his  servants  for  improvement,  he  took  his  departure, 
and  spent  his  time  in  foreign  travel  and  diversion  in  other  lands.  On 
his  return,  after  a  long  absence,  he  called  his  servants  together  for 
settlement.  Each  one  was  required  to  render  a  just  account  of  the 
moneys  committed  to  his  hands,  and  receive  the  promised  reward  for 
improvement.  In  every  case  where  there  had  been  activity  and  in- 
crease in  the  use  of  the  talents  intrusted  to  the  servant's  management 
and  care,  he  bestows  a  compliment  and  the  merited  reward  ;  in  each 
case  of  failure  to  improve,  he  refutes  the  false  reasoning  urged  in 
justification  or  extenuation  of  the  neglect,  and  inflicts  condign  pun- 
ishment for  the  delinquency. 

It  will  be  observed  that  no  servant  is  rewarded  simply  because  he 
had  five  or  two  talents,  and  that  no  one  is  punished  simply  because 
he  had  but  one  talent.  The  reward  is  bestowed  for  improvement  ;  the 
punishment  is  inflicted,  not  for  waste  or  prodigality,  but  for  simple 
neglect. 

On  this  custom  of  the  East,  Christ  founds  the  parable  of  the 


LABOR  —  THE    LAW   OP    SPIRITUAL    PROGRESS.  331 

talents.  Christ  himself  is  the  master  of  the  household ;  we  are  all 
his  servants ,  the  goods  committed  to  us  severally  are  our  natural 
endowments  and  our  temporal  possessions,  but  mainly  our  spiritual 
blessings,  the  measure  of  grace  imparted  to  us,  and  our  capabilities 
for  usefulness  in  the  church,  in  promoting  the  happiness  and  welfare 
of  those  around  us,  and  of  advancing  Christ's  kingdom  in  the  world. 
The  travelling  "  into  a  far  country"  is  evidently  intended  to  repre- 
sent Christ's  departure  from  earth,  and  his  ascension  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father.  The  "  long  time"  is  the  interval  between  his 
ascension  from  Mount  Olivet  and  his  second  advent,  when  he  shall 
come  "  without  sin  unto  salvation."  The  "  reckoning"  unquestion- 
ably has  reference  to  the  final  judgment,  when  every  man  shall  be 
rewarded  according  to  his  works  :  a  day  of  reckoning — a  day  of 
settlement — a  final  settlement  between  God  and  man.  13y  the  "  good" 
servants,  we  are  to  understand  those  Christians  who  have  been 
active  and  diligent  in  the  improvement  of  all  their  means  and  capa- 
bilities of  usefulness  ;  those  who  have  industriously  employed  what- 
ever of  ability  God  has  given  them  fpr  the  advancement  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  By  the  "  wicked  and  slothful  servant,"  we 
are  to  understand  the  man  who  refuses  to  employ  his  limited  means 
of  usefulness,  simply  because  they  are  limited  ;  who  pretends  to  jus- 
tify his  indolence  and  neglect,  either  on  the  ground  that  he  could  do 
but  little  for  God's  cause  any  way,  or  on  the  ground  that  he  could 
not  hope  to  meet  God's  exactions  by  the  most  vigorous  improvement 
of  the  little  talent  which  he  possesses.  The  whole  practical  bearing 
and  application  of  this  parable  is  summed  up  in  the  text :  "  For  un- 
to every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance  ; 
but  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away,  even  that  which  he 
hath  ;"  and  it  contains  the  following  proposition,  namely  :  That  an 
active  improvement  of  the  gifts  of  God  for  our  personal  salvation,  or 
for  usefulness  in  the  church,  will  be  followed  by  a  proportionate  iti- 
crease,  whereas  the  neglect  to  improve  what  God  has  given,  will  be 
followed  by  decrease,  and,  ultimately,  by  an  utter  deprivation  of  all 
that  was  originally  bestowed. 

II.  It  is  my  purpose  to  illustrate  and  establish  the  doctrine 
of  this  proposition.     The  illustrations  of  this  doctrine  are  abundant. 

1.  We  briefly  advert  to  some  natural  and  obvious  facts  that  strike 
tne  mind   on   every  hand  as  illustrative  of  this  subject.     God  has 


332  LABOR  —  THE    LAW   OP    SPIRITUAL    PROGRESS. 

endowed  us  with  wonderfully  contrived  bodies.  His  wisdom  and 
goodness  are  singularly  displayed  in  the  mechanism  of  our  physical 
organization.  There  is  an  admirable  adaptation  of  the  various  parts 
of  this  mysterious  piece  of  machinery  to  the  diversified  ends  and 
purposes  for  which  it  was  constructed.  And  yet,  we  have  but  to 
neglect  the  proper  improvement  of  the  different  parts  of  this  physical 
apparatus  to  render  it  extremely  inefficient  in  the  accomplishment  of 
the  objects  for  which  it  was  designed  by  our  Maker.  The  neglect 
of  bodily  exercise,  and  the  use  of  appropriate  means  to  develop  and 
invigorate  the  system,  is  followed  by  pliancy  of  bone  and  muscle, 
by  feebleness  and  debility,  by  a  sickly  constitution,  and  a  miserable 
existence  ;  whereas  the  well-directed  use  and  employment  of  one's 
physical  faculties  tend  to  strengthen  and  brace  the  body  :  the  arm 
becomes  brawny  and  strong,  the  chest  expands,  the  step  grows  firm, 
and  the  muscles  elastic,  until  the  ruddy  glow  of  health  tinges  the 
3heek,  and  an  undimned  fire  burns  in  the  eye.  To  him  that  hath — 
that  improvea  what  he  has — shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abund- 
ance ;  but  from  him  that  hath  not — that  does  not  improve  what  he 
has — shall  be  taken  away,  even  that  which  he  hath.  But  this  doc- 
trine is  also  true  in  relation  to  the  active  use  and  improvement  of 
our  temporal  possessions.  The  man  who  employs  his  capital  in  a 
prudent  and  properly  conducted  business,  or  who  invests  it  in  safe 
and  well-secured  stocks,  or  even  employs  it  in  private  hands  at  sim- 
ple interest,  realizes  a  steady  increase  of  his  means  ;  whereas  the 
thriftless  drone  who  lives  on  his  capital  stock,  without  making  his 
principal  productive,  constantly  exhausts  his  resources,  and  verifies 
the  truth  of  the  somewhat  paradoxical  clause  in  the  test,  "  from  him 
that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away,  even  that  which  he  hath." 

The  doctrine  of  our  proposition  also  finds  striking  illustration  in 
the  general  law  by  which  our  intellectual  and  moral  faculties  are 
governed. 

A  man  of  ordinary  mental  endowments,  by  application  and  un- 
wearied diligence  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  may  become  a  scholar 
of  extensive  learning  and  varied  information.  Mental  culture  in 
creases  mental  power,  and  facilitates  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 
The  more  a  man  knows,  the  more  he  may  acquire,  and  the  acquisition 
is  rendered  easier  by  the  increase  of  knowledge.  On  the  other 
band,  the  sluggard  will  grow  weaker  in  mental  power  by  the  mere 
neglect  to  develop  his  mind.     Ilis  intellect  will  actually  dwarf,  and 


LABOR  —  THE    LAW   OF   SPIRITUAL    PROGRESS.  333 

he  who  might,  by  patient  study,  have  acquired  a  name  as  a  scholar, 
may,  by  simple  neglect,  verge  on  imbecility  in  intellect. 

Sometimes  we  arc  astonished  to  find  men  whom  we  once  knew  as 
rising  star«  of  no  ordinary  magnitude,  sinking  back  into  obscurity, 
and  losing  their  position  in  the  galaxy  of  bright  names  in  which 
they  promised  to  shine.  Their  history  furnishes  a  forcible  com- 
ment on  the  doctrines  of  our  text.  The  God-like  faculty  which 
we  denominate  conscience,  or  the  moral  sense,  is  subject  to 
this  same  law.  By  cultivation  and  exercise  it  becomes  strong, 
powerful  and  authoritative  in  its  monitions  and  impulses.  By  neglect 
it  loses  its  keenness  of  moral  discrimination,  becomes  weak  and  feeble 
in  its  impulses  ;  right  and  wi'ong  are  robbed  of  their  independent  and 
distinctive  character  ;  and  the  wretch  who  has  thus  neglected  to  im- 
prove a  talent  of  incalculable  value,  finds  himself  bankrupt  in  moral 
virtues,  unable  to  resist  temptation,  the  victim  of  passion  and  appe- 
tite, and  more  nearly  allied,  in  disposition  and  character,  to  the  foul 
fiends  of  hell,  than  to  the  good  and  holy  angels.  Instead  of  rising 
higher  and  still  higher  in  moral  excellence,  with  a  conscience  as  re- 
sponsive to  the  calls  of  duty  as  the  seolian  harp-string  to  the  zephyr's 
kiss,  he  sinks  deeper  and  still  deeper  in  crime,  becomes  hardened  and 
vile,  and  finally  reaches  a  point  of  degradation  in  which  he  is  given 
over  to  reprobacy  of  mind,  to  believe  a  lie  that  he  may  be  damned. 
"  Unto  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance  ; 
but  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away,  even  that  which  he 
hath.'^ 

The  will — that  high  executive  faculty  with  which  God,  in  the 
proportion  of  one,  two,  and  five,  has  invested  every  man — is  subject 
to  this  law  under  consideration.  Its  proper  use,  in  obedience  to  the 
dictates  of  an  enlightened  and  cultivated  conscience,  clothes  man 
with  dignity  and  poA'cr.  By  neglect  and  abuse  of  this  endowment, 
he  becomes  the  sport  of  every  wind  of  doctrine,  unstable  as  water,  a 
cloud  that  floats  on  the  atmospheric  current,  double-minded,  and 
utterly  fails  in  the  accomplishment  of  any  noble  purpose  or  plan  in 
life. 

In  all  the  above  enumerated  regards,  we  find  striking  and  inter- 
esting illustrations  of  the  doctrine  deduced  from  the  text,  any  one  of 
which  might  furnish  a  theme  for  a  profitable  discourse.  But  I  pro- 
pose to  furnish  still  more  important  illustrations  of  this  doctrine. 


334  LABOR  —  THE  LATV    OF    SPIRITUAL    PROGRESS. 

2.  From  a  consideration  of  the  operations  of  this  law  in  relatioD 
to  spiritual  gifts.     And 

First.  The  gift  of  divine  enlighlenment,  which  produces  conviction 
for  sin  and  leads  to  repentance,  is  a  talent  subject  to  this  law. 

The  pearl  of  salvation  is  embedded  in  the  gift  of  divine  enlighten- 
ment. This  is  a  priceless  jewel.  Who,  indeed,  dare  attempt  tr 
estimate  its  value  ?  And  yet,  how  little  prized  by  vast  multitudes 
around  us !  It  is  trifled  with,  and  tossed  aside  as  though  it  were 
valueless. 

A  single  ray  of  light  from  the  Holy  Spirit — the  great  sun  of  this 
fallen  world — penetrating  the  darkness  of  the  sinner's  mind,  and 
shedding  its  genial  influence  upon  his  cold,  dead  heart,  and  struggling 
amid  the  gloom  that  reigns  in  the  chambers  of  his  guilty  soul,  is 
worth  more  than  than  ten  thousand  worlds  to  the  sinner,  "  were  each 
world  a  crysolite." 

This  talent  is  bestowed  in  different  degrees  on  different  individuals. 
God  gives  it  to  men  according  to  their  "several  ability."  To  one 
five  talents,  to  another  two,  to  another  one.  And  if  any  man  is 
damned  at  the  last,  it  will  not  be  because  he  did  not  have  five,  or  two 
talents,  but  because  he  did  not  improve  what  his  God  gave  him.  He 
gives  to  every  one  a  talent  that  may  be  improved  to  eternal  life. 
Sometimes  the  light  is  strong,  the  conviction  for  sin  powerful,  and 
the  consequent  feeling  or  emotion  intense.  Tears  may  fall,  and  ear- 
nest prayers  may  be  extorted  from  the  agonized  heart.  This  large 
measure  of  divine  enlightenment  devolves  fearful  responsibilities  upon 
the  sinner ;  where  much  is  given  much  will  be  required.  But  God, 
for  wise  reasons,  unknown  to  us,  gives  this  talent  of  divine  enlight- 
enment in  smaller  measure  to  others.  He,  however,  only  requires 
us  to  improve  what  is  given,  be  it  much  or  little.  xVnd  the  sinner 
who  is  the  recipient  of  ^single  talent,  may  so  improve  it  as  to  be  able 
to  make  quite  as  satisfactory  a  return  to  the  Master  at  the  last,  as  he 
who  received  the  five,  and  meet  with  just  the  same  compliment  of 
approval,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant ;  thou  hast  been 
faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things  ; 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  Everything  depends  on  im- 
provement. "For  unto  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall 
have  abundance  " 

But  very  many  fail  to  improve  the  light  given,  simply  because  the 
measure  of  conviction  and  feeling  upon  the  subject  of  religion  docs 


LABOR  —  THE   LAW   OF   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS.  335 

not  come  up  to  their  preconceived  expectations.  They  compare  their 
exercises  with  the  exercises  of  St.  Paul,  under  divine  awakenings,  or 
with  the  experience  of  some  remarkable  person  of  whom  they  have 
read  in  religious  biography,  and  because  it  does  not  exactly  corre- 
spond with  these  standards,  they  either  reject  it  altogether,  or  wait  for 
some  more  powerful  divine  manifestation  ;  meanwhile  complaining 
and  repining  because  God  does  not  come  down  suddenly  upon  them, 
smiting  them  to  the  ground  and  crushing  the  reluctant  and  irrepres- 
sible cry  from  the  heart,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  Their 
language  is,  "  If  God  would  convict  me  powerfully  ;  if  he  would  so 
melt  and  move  my  hard  and  stubborn  heart  as  to  make  me  weep  and 
mourn  ;  if  he  would  only  give  me  such  a  view  of  my  sins,  and  the 
hell  to  which  they  expose  me,  as  to  excite  my  fears,  and  stir  me  up 
to  pray,  then  I  would  go  to  work  and  seek  pardon  and  reconciliation 
to  God." 

Sinner,  hear  me :  if  you  continue  to  wait  until  you  realize  your 
own  views  and  expectations  on  this  subject,  you  will  wait  until  the 
day  of  grace  is  past  with  you;  until  your  present  light  expires,  and 
your  convictions  for  sin  entirely  vanish  ;  and  until  you  realize  what 
that  meaneth,  "  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away,  even  that 
which  he  hath." 

The  sinner's  duty  under  divine  enlightenment  is,  however  feeble 
and  faint  the  illumination,  to  place  his  foot  at  the  farthest  verge  of 
the  light  that  plays  around  him,  and  make  an  advance,  and  he  will 
discover  that,  like  a  man  in  the  dark  with  a  lantern  in  his  hand,  the 
light  will  advance  with  him  ;  more  than  that,  the  circumference  of 
vision  will  enlarge,  and  if  he  continue  to  advance,  his  path  will  shine 
yet  "  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 

It  is  dark  ;  I  tell  you  to  go  to  a  certain  point  which  I  designate. 
You  strain  your  eyes,  peering  through  the  gloom,  and  tell  me  you  can- 
not see  the  distant  point.  I  know  it.  But  I  place  a  lighted  taper 
in  your  hand,  put  you  in  the  path,  and  tell  you  to  advance.  That 
light  will  answer  all  the  purposes  to  guide  and  conduct  your  steps 
over  all  the  intervening  space  till  you  reach  that  point  of  destination. 
The  Holy  Spirit  finds  the  sinner  in  the  darkness  of  nature's  night, 
and  urges  him  to  fly  to  the  cross.  But  he  cannot  see  the  cross  ;  he 
cannot  fix  his  eye  on  the  sufi"ering  Son  of  God.  He  stumbles  and 
knows  not  what  to  do.  The  Spirit  sheds  its  light  around  him,  and 
tells  him  to  go  forward.     Improve  the  grace  given.     Begin  to  pray. 


336  LABOR  —  THE   LAW   OP   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS. 

and  feel  after  the  Saviour,  and  the  light  will  increase ;  "  for  unto 
every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  abundance." 

I  remember  once  to  have  visited  the  Washington  Monument,  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore.  I  stood  at  its  base  and  looked  up  to  its  lofty  sum- 
mit that  towered  high  above  me.  I  wished  to  ascend  to  its  topmost 
pinnacle,  and  gaze  upon  the  magnificent  prospect  that  I  knew  must 
greet  the  eye  of  the  beholder  from  that  elevated  point.  My  eyo 
rested  for  a  moment  upon  the  lowermost  step,  and  as  I  looked  up  the 
spiral  stairway  in  that  rock-built  shaft,  I  discovered  that  but  three 
or  four  steps  were  visible ;  the  rest  were  shrouded  in  darkness.  Just 
then  the  keeper,  who  saw  how  I  was  puzzled,  placed  a  little  lantern 
in  my  hand,  which  glimmered  faintly  around  me.  "  Take  that,"  said 
he,  "  and  mount  the  steps.  It  will  conduct  you  safely  to  the  top." 
I  took  the  flickering  lamp  and  began  to  ascend,  holding  it  in  such 
a  position  as  to  shed  its  light  on  the  steps  ahead  of  uie ;  and  up- 
ward and  onward  I  ui'ged  my  way,  panting  and  almost  breathless. 
Wherever  I  paused,  there  the  light,  which  only  revealed  a  lew  steps, 
lingered  around  me,  until  I  advanced  again.  But,  faint  and  feeble 
as  it  was,  I  found  it  sufficient  for  all  my  purposes,  until  at  last  I 
emerged  from  the  gloom ;  the  sunlight  began  to  meet  my  upward 
gaze,  and  in  a  moment  I  stood  on  the  summit,  with  a  clear  blue  sky 
above  me,  the  city  lying  at  my  feet,  the  canvas-whitened  bay  stretch- 
ing away  till  "  the  steel-blue  rim"  of  waters  bounded  the  vision,  while 
all  around  lay  one  of  the  finest  panoramic  views  that  ever  greeted  my 
eyes.  The  application  is  plain.  Take  the  lamp  of  the  gospel  in 
your  hand,  and  hie  away  to  the  cross.  Don't  stand  still ;  if  you  do 
the  light  will  tarry.  Go  forward.  Improve  grace,  and  grace  will  in- 
crease ;  you  shall  even  have  abundance.  Press  onward,  discouraged 
though  you  may  be,  and  it  will  not  be  long  till  you  have  reached  the 
point  "  where  ether  pure  surrounds,  and  Elysian  prospects  rise." 

Divine  enlightenment  is  a  talent.  It  is  the  germ  of  eternal  life. 
But  patient  persevering  labor  is  necessary  to  its  development. 
Neglect  nips  it  in  the  germinant  state.  "  Learn  to  labor  and  to 
wait." 

Second.  The  lowest  evidence  of  pardon  is  a  talent,  subject  to 
this  law. 

The  man  who  truly  repents — that  is,  becomes  so  sorry  for  sin, 
under  the  divine  enlightenment,  as  to  give  it  up  and  turn  away  from 
it,  needs  nothing  but  simple  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  his  Saviour,  to 


LABOR  —  THE   LAW  OP   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS.  337 

bring  him  into  a  state  of  forgiveness  and  acceptance  with  God,     '<  To 
him  that  worketh  not,  but  believeth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly, 
h\s  faith  is  counted  to  him  for  righteousness.'"     "  Christ  is  the  end  of 
the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  believeth.''^     "  Abraham 
believed  Grod,  and  it — his  faith — was  counted  to  him  for  righteous- 
ness."    It  is  not  a  sinner's  tears,  or  prayers,  or  promises,  or  suffer- 
ings, that  saves  him  ;  it  is  his  faith.     He  gives  up  his  sins  ;  confesses 
them  to  God  ;  asks  God  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake  to  forgive  him  ;  and 
firmly  believes  in  his  heart  that  what  God  has  promised  for  his  Son's 
sake  he  most  surely  will  perform.     And  standing  at  that  point,  he 
lays  the  hand  of  faith  on  the  atoning  victim,  and  he  finds  God  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  world  unto  himself.     God's   anger  is  turned  away. 
He  can  be  just,  and  the  justifier   of  him  who  believes  in  Jesus. 
Now,  if  that  penitent  sinner   firmly  believes  that  God  for  Christ's 
sake  does  accept  and  forgive  him,  his  faith  is  "  counted,"  "  imputed," 
"  reckoned"  unto  him  for  righteousness  or  justification.     And  when 
this  act  of  pardon  passes  in  the  mind  of  God,  if  the  believer  instantly 
receives  a  full  and  overpowering  sense  of  forgiveness,  attended  by  a 
large  measure  of  joy,  and  a  spirit  of  rejoicing,  then  the  gift  of  pardon 
is  accepted  ;  it  is  appreciated  ;.  and  there  arises  with  it  a  sense  of 
indebtedness  to  God  for  his  abundant  mercy  and  goodness,  and  a 
purpose  of  heart  to  love  and  serve  him.     But,  if  the  sense  of  pardon 
is  not  very  decided  ;  if  it  barely  amounts  to  a  faint  persuasion  in  the 
mind  that  God  for  Christ's  sake  has  pardoned  the  sinner ;  if  it  is 
unattended  with  joy  and  rapturous  delight ;  if  there  is  no  outward 
manifestation  in  the  way  of  rejoicing,  then  it  is  often  treated  as  the 
wicked  and  slothful  servant  treated  his  one  talent :  it  is  buried,  and 
the  work  of  grace  ceases,  or  goes  backward  in  that  heart. 

Now  I  hold,  and  I  am  very  certain  the  view  is  scriptural,  that  the 
removal  of  condemnation,  or  the  conscious  sense  of  guilt,  from  the 
heart  of  the  penitent  who  confesses  and  forsakes  his  sins,  and  who- 
stands  by  the  cross  of  Christ,  trusting  in  God's  promise  of  forgiveness- 
to  him  that  works  not  but  believes^  is  to  be  received  as  a  low  evidence 
of  justification  ;  and  that  the  new  creature—  the  new  creation — begins- 
from  the  mysterious  change  which  is  then  and  there  wrought  in  the 
soul  by  the  divine  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from,  heaven^ 
This  state  is  always  attended  with  a  degree  of  peace,  and  ths- 
subject  of  this  inexplicable  moral  transformation  realizes-  that  "  there 
is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus-;."  and  that 

22 


9S8  LABOR  —  THE   LAW   OF   SPLRITUAL   PROGRESS. 

"  being  justified  by  faith  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

Now,  the  position  which  I  have  assumed  as  scriptural  is,  that  in  the 
absence  of  joy,  or  the  spirit  of  rejoicing — in  the  absence  of  any  nut- 
ward  demonstration  whatsoever — the  simple  calm,  the  peace,  howevei 
small,  received  as  indicated  above,  should  be  taken  as  a  precious  and 
invaluable  talent ;  and  that  the  recipient  of  this  high  trust  should 
address  himself  to  the  work  of  improvement,  with  the  assurance  that 
"  unto  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance." 
The  fact  that  the  measure  of  grace  is  small — is  one  talent  instead  of 
five — does  not  relieve  the  servant  from  the  duty  of  using  and  improving 
that  talent.  He  is  under  the  same  obligation  precisely  to  improve 
the  one  talent,  as  the  more  highly  favored  servant  is  to  improve  the 
two  or  five  with  which  he  may  be  invested.  With  the  larger  number 
of  talents  there  is  greater  responsibility ;  and  the  servant  who  has 
but  one  talent  will  find  it  quite  as  easy  to  improve  that  one  as  for 
the  servant  who  has  two  or  five  to  improve  the  greater  number 
intrusted  to  him.  God  knows  our  "  several  ability,"  and  he  does 
not  lavish  his  grace  improvidently  upon  us.  He  knows  what  we  are 
capable  of  using  successfully.  He  does  not  impose  responsibilities 
upon  us  that  we  are  not  able  to  meet.  We  should  therefore  accept 
thankfully  what  he  designs  to  give,  and  go  to  work  to  make  the  best 
of  it.  God  knows  far  better  than  we  how  much  he  can  trust  to  our 
improvement ;  and  there  is  a  species  of  arrogance  and  presumption 
on  our  part  in  presuming  to  dictate  to  him  what  measure  of  grace 
shall  be  meted  out  to  us  in  our  conversion.  It  is  wicked  and 
offensive  in  any  one  to  murmur  and  complain  against  the  master 
because  he  does  not  give  two  or  five  talents  instead  of  one.  The 
lowest  evidence  of  pardon  may  be  improved  and  cultivated  until  it 
shall  ripen  into  the  most  abundant  and  satisfactory  assurance.  The 
mists  of  doubt  will  vanish  before  the  rising  sun  ;  the  clouds  that  skirt 
the  horizon  will  dissolve  into  thin  air,  and  the  great  spiritual  luminary 
will  ascend  higher  and  still  higher,  until  in  unclouded  splendor  he 
culminates  in  meridian  glory,  and  pours  a  flood-tide  of  light  and 
blessing  upon  the  enraptured  heart  "  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of 
God."  "  To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given" — given  in  abundance  j 
given  in  exceeding  abundance ;  above  all  we  can  ask  or  think. 

But  if  we  cast  away  our  confidence  ;  if  we  doubt  our  acceptance 
because  it  is  not  attended  by  the  degree  and  kind  of  evidence  we  an- 


LABOR — THE  LAW  OP   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS.  339 

ticipated;.  if  we  reject  and  despise  tbe  little  because  we  expected 
much  ;  if  we  bury  the  one  talent  because  it  was  not  five,  we  shall 
lose  all  ;  even  that  which  we  have  shall  be  taken  away  from  us. 
How  many  who  have  been  pardoned  and  regenerated,  have  failed  of 
the  grace  of  God  and  gone  back  to  the  world,  to  realize  at  the  last 
the  fearful  doom  of  the  apostate,  simply  because  Grod  did  not  give 
that  sort  of  evidence  of  conversion,  or  that  measure  of  evidence  which 
the  beggar  demanded  !  One  rejects  peace,  and  even  a  small  degree 
of  joy,  because  it  did  not  break  upon  his  dark  and  benighted  soul 
like  a  blaze  of  lightning  upon  the  gloom  of  midnight.  Another  is 
dissatisGed  with  the  removal  of  all  guilt  and  condemnation,  because 
he  was  not  so  filled  with  the  love  of  God  at  the  moment  as  to  shout 
aloud  and  praise  God  in  the  congregation.  This  is  the  part  of  the 
slothful  and  wicked  servant. 

Take  what  is  given  with  a  grateful  heart.  Bless  God  that  he 
can  trust  you  with  anything.  Accept  a  dime,  a  penny,  and  go 
to  work.  Turn  it  over  to  the  best  advantage.  It  will  multiply. 
Labor  and  activity  is  the  law  of  spiritual  progress.  Your  capital 
stock  will  increase,  and  increase  too  with  astonishing  rapidity. 
You  may  become  rich  in  grace  and  good  works.  There  can  be 
no  failure  here.  Hundreds  and  thousands  have  commenced  the 
religious  life  with  a  single  talent  of  grace  in  conversion,  and 
have  become  eminent  Christians,  deeply  experienced  in  the  divine 
life,  and  have  attained  a  power  of  faith,  and  an  acquisition  of  the 
Christian  virtues — patience,  meekness,  love,  longsuff"ering,  and 
charity — that  has  entitled  them  to  the  highest  rank  among  the  saints 
of  God  on  earth,  "  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the 
saints  in  light."  Then  trifle  not  with  even  the  lowest  evidence  of 
justification.  Prize  it  highly.  It  is  all  that  God  can  safely  commit 
to  you  for  improvement.  But  remember,  it  is  susceptible  of  endless 
development.  And  as  the  broad  and  majestic  river  maybe  traced  to 
its  source  in  some  quiet  dell,  where  the  noiseless  fountain  oozes  from 
the  bosom  of  the  earth  beneath  the  shade  of  Some  moss-covered  rock, 
and  creeps  silently  away  half  concealed  by  the  velvet  turf,  sparkling 
for  a  moment  in  a  stray  sunbeam  that  here  and  there  steals  through 
the  overhanging  foliage  :  60  the  glorified  saint  may  survey  his  spirit 
ual  career  from  the  mount  of  holy  vision,  tracing  it  back  to  its 
commencement  in  a  quiet  serenity  that  stole  over  his  anxious  soul 
while  engaged  in  prayer  3  or  to  a  transient  emotion  of  joy  that  thrilled 


340  LABOR  —  THE  LAW   OF  SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS. 

for  a  single  moment  the  tense  chords  of  his  heart,  touched  by  the 
ethereal  fingers  of  the  Holy  Spirit :  or  to  a  momentary  emotion  of 
love  to  God  and  his  people  that  lifted  his  aflfections  from  earth  to 
heaven,  lasting,  it  may  be,  only  long  enough  to  be  fully  conscious  of 
the  existence  of  the  peace,  the  joy,  the  love,  and  then  was  succeeded 
by  tedious  intervals  of  doubt,  depression,  and  gloom ;  to  a  beginning 
80  small  he  may  trace  the  unspeakable  blessing  of  eternal  life  which 
crowns  his  immortality  in  glory. 

However  desirable  it  may  be  to  enjoy  an  overwhelming  sense  of 
pardon  and  regeneration  at  the  moment  the  great  work  takes  place — 
an  evidence  that  banishes  all  doubt,  and  leaves  the  mind  in  a  state 
of  full  assurance — it  nevertheless  often  happens  that  early  Christian 
experience  is  mingled  with  much  fear,  perplexity,  and  doubt ;  and 
too  many  are  discouraged  and  cast  away  their  confidence  simply 
because  it  is  weak  ;  because  it  is  one  instead  of^ue  talents  ;  because 
it  does  not  compare  favorably  with  some  familiar  instance  of  Christian 
experience  recorded  in  religious  biography,  or  with  that  of  a  pious 
friend  narrated  in  private  conversation. 

And  yet,  a  careful  scriptural  examination  of  the  subject,  would 
reveal  the  interesting  fact,  that  the  change  efiected,  and  the  evidence 
furnished,  differ  only  in  degree,  not  in  nature  or  substance  ;  in 
quantity,  not  in  quality.  The  responsibilities  imposed,  in  each  case, 
are  proportioned  to  the  measure  of  grace  imparted  ;  and  "  he  that  is 
faithful  in  that  which  is  least,  is  faithful  also  in  much ;  and  he  that  is 
unjust  in  the  least,  is  unjust  also  in  much." 

Let  the  timid  doubting  Christian  take  encouragement.  He  does 
not  serve  a  hard  master.  God  requires  no  impossibilities.  Diligence 
will  certainly  be  crowned  with  reward ;  while  simple  neglect  will 
ultimately  be  followed  by  an  utter  deprivation  of  all  that  was  ori- 
ginally given  :  "  For  unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he 
shall  have  abundance ;  but  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken 
away,  even  that  which  he  hath." 

ni. — The  capacity  for  usefulness  in  the  church  is  governed  by 
this  law. 

This  department  of  the  subject  furnishes  abundant  illustration  of 
our  proposition.  The  humblest  and  the  highest  ability  are  alike  sub- 
ject to  this  law. 

In  the  distribution  of  gifts  for  improvement  in  the  church,  the 


LABOR— THE   LAW  OP   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS.  341 

Great  Master  has  given  for  fhe  work  of  the  ministry,  "  apostles," 
*'  prophets,"  "  evangelists,"  "  pastors,"  and  "  teachers  ;"  the  object 
of  which  is,  « the  perfecting  of  the  saints  and  the  edifying  of  the  body 
of  Christ." 

Among  those  whom  God  designates  for  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
he  distributes  a  diversity  of  gifts.  All  are  not  equally  endowed. 
One  is  a  Paul ;  another  an  Apollos  ;  another  a  Cephas.  But  all  are 
Christ's  ministers.  Each  one  has  his  appropriate  work,  and  each  his 
appropriate  endowment  for  that  work.  The  ability  for  the  perform- 
ance of  the  work  assigned  to  each,  is  given  by  the  Great  Head  of  the 
church  in  the  proportion  of  one,  two,  and  five.  No  one  is  accounta- 
ble for  the  improvement  of  that  which  he  has  not.  Where  much  is 
given  much  will  be  required,  and  when  but  little  is  given  but  little 
will  be  required.  In  the  final  settlement,  he  that  knew  his  Master's 
will,  and  did  it  not,  shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes  ;  while  he  that 
knew  not  his  Master's  will,  though  he  did  things  worthy  of  punishment, 
shall  be  beaten  with  few  stripes  ! 

It  will  not  prove  the  slightest  extenuation  of  a  man's  guilt,  in  the 
day  of  judgment,  to  say  that  he  was  not  eloquent  like  Apollos ;  that 
he  could  not  command  the  logic  of  a  Paul ;  that  he  could  not  move 
and  persuade  like  a  Summerfield,  or  pour  forth  the  oratory  of  a  Bas- 
com.  This  will  not  excuse  the  neglect  of  whatever  grade  of  ability 
God  may  have  given  him.  For  the  use  and  improvement  of  that,  the 
man  is  responsible.  And  we  have  hundreds  of  illustrious  examples 
to  show  what  a  man  may  accomplish  by  the  active  employment  and 
improvement  of  limited  ability.  The  man  of  plain  mind,  who  is  in- 
capable of  commanding  the  figures  and  flowers  of  rhetoric  ;  who  can 
never  delight  his  audience  with  bold  and  lofty  descriptions,  or  the 
gorgeous  creations  of  the  imagination  ;  whose  elocution  is  even  re- 
pulsive, and  who  can  scarcely  rise  above  a  simple  didactic  or  narra- 
tive style,  may,  by  a  vigorous  and  untiring  use  of  his  talent,  accomr 
plish  an  immense  amount  of  good.  Activity  and  industry  in  the  use 
of  his  limited  ability  will  be  followed  by  increase.  Each  successive 
step  prepares  him  for  a  farther  advance  ;  and  with  a  growing  influ- 
ence, and  the  gradual  accumulation  of  the  results  of  his  labors  around 
him,  he  may  reach  a  point  of  usefulness  in  the  church  that  will  em- 
balm his  name  in  the  memory  of  thousands,  and  enable  him  to  leave  a 
legacy  of  incalculable  value  behind  him  when  he  is  called  to  enter 
*'  the  joy  of  his  Lord." 


342  LABOR  —  THE   LAW    OF    SPIRITUAL    PROGRESS. 

But,  unfortunately,  this  ability,  simply  because  it  is  small,  is  buried 
by  thousands  who  are  entrusted  with  it  for  improvement.  The  man 
who  might  have  improved  his  one  talent  so  as  to  have  had  abundance, 
by  his  neglect  and  afl'ected  humility,  becomes  worse  than  bankrupt. 
He  is  deprived  of  all,  and  cursed  as  a  wicked,  slothful,  and  unprofita- 
ble servant.  Not  for  having  squandered  and  wasted  his  lord's 
mone}',  but  for  a  failure  to  improve  it  according  to  the  intention  of 
the  master. 

But  this  subject  is  not  restricted  in  its  application  to  the  ministry, 
The  laity  of  the  Church  «  are  called  in  their  measure  to  edify  one 
another,"  as  says  Mr.  Trench,  in  his  comment  on  the  parable  of  the 
talents.  They  all  have  "  a  spiritual  vocation,  and  are  entrusted 
with  gifts,  more  or  fewer,  for  which  they  will  have  to  render  an  ac- 
count." One  has  a  talent,  it  may  be,  for  leading  a  class  ;  another, 
for  public  exhortation  ;  another  for  Sabbath  school  instruction ; 
another  for  visiting  the  sick  ;  another  for  public  prayer  ;  another  for 
instructing  inquirers  after  salvation  ;  another  for  distributing  the  alms 
of  the  church  among  the  poor  ;  and  still  another  for  soliciting  funds 
for  benevolent  objects.  Now,  each  one  is  called  on — male  and  fe- 
male— to  use  that  ability,  be  it  much  or  little,  for  the  advancement 
of  God's  cause  in  the  world.  And  a  gift  for  usefulness  in  any  de- 
partment of  service  in  the  church,  is  subject  to  the  law  under  notice. 
Improvement  and  active  use  will  be  followed  by  increase ;  neglect 
will  result  in  an  entire  deprivation  of  all  that  was  originally  be- 
stowed. 

From  small  beginnings  how  many  have  risen,  as  class  leaders,  as 
exhorters,  as  Sabbath  school  teachers,  and  as  visitors  of  the  sick  and 
imprisoned,  to  positions  of  extensive  usefulness  and  influence  in  the 
Church  of  God !  Up,  thou  indolent  and  slothful  servant,  and  to  thy 
work !  God  is  not  a  hard  master.  He  does  not  reap  where  he  has 
not  sowed.  He  does  not  expect  something  from  nothing,  nor  does 
he  expect  a  great  deal  from  a  little  ;  but  he  does  expect  a  proportion- 
ate improvement  and  increase  of  what  is  actually  given  away.  Away 
with  your  idle  excuse  that  you  can  do  nothing  ;  or,  what  you  could 
do  would  be  so  small  and  inconsequent  that  you  are  excusable  in  do- 
ing nothing.  Unfaithfulness  in  that  which  is  least  will  subject  you  to 
a  fearful  doom ;  and  when  at  last,  like  a  guilty  culprit,  you  are  drag- 
ged into  court,  and  begin  to  say,  "  Lord,  I  knew  thee  that  thou  art 
a  hard  man,  reaping  where  thou  hast  not  sown,  and  gathering  where 


LABOR  —  THE  LAW    OP   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS.  343 

thou  hast  not  strewed ;  and  I  was  afraid,  and  went  and  hid  thy 
talent  in  the  earth ;"  what  must  be  the  shame  and  confusion  of  the 
miserable  delinquent  when  his  Master  responds :  "  Thou  wicked  and 
slothful  servant;  out  of  thine  own  mouth  I  will  condemn  thee.  What 
thou  hast  said  is  false  ;  but  admitting  its  truth,  what  should  have 
been  thy  conduct?  If  thou  wast  afraid  to  use  thy  talent  ;  afraid  to 
enter  the  marts  of  trade  ;  afraid  to  risk  it  in  any  independent  enter- 
prise of  thine  own,  thou  shouldst  have  attached  thyself  to  others, 
stronger  and  more  skilful  than  thyself  in  the  management  of  my 
funds,  under  whose  direction  I  might  at  least  have  obtained  '  some 
small,  but  certain  return  for  my  moneys.'  Take  the  talent  from  him, 
and  cast  the  unprofitable  servant  into  outer  darkness,  where  there 
shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  This  is  the  terrible  doom 
of  the  idler,  the  drone,  the  man  that  wastes  not,  but  fails  to  improve 
his  talent  for  usefulness  in  the  church,  however  small  it  may  be.  Be 
alarmed  and  tremble,  ye  sluggards  !  You  will  be  damned  for  doing 
nothing. 

There  are  several  instructive  lessons  suggested  by  this  subject. 
And— 

First.  We  learn  why  it  is  that  so  many  who,  at  one  time  of  life,  are 
convinced  of  sin,  and  make  partial  efforts  to  obtain  salvation,  fall 
short  of  pardon  and  regeneration. 

They  fail  to  improve  the  talent  of  divine  enlightenment.  They  do 
not  follow  out  their  convictions  of  duty.  They  halt  and  complain 
because  their  feelings  are  not  so  much  excited  and  aroused  as  they 
think  necessary.  They  wait  for  more  light,  without  improving  what 
they  have,  and  the  result  is  that  these  convictions  abate,  and  are 
transferred  to  others ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  many  sinners  will  look 
back  from  the  pit  of  hell,  and  fix  their  eyes  upon  the  very  point  iu 
their  experience  when,  because  of  their  neglect,  the  scales,  for  awhile 
it  equipoise,  balanced  for  damnation.  Beware,  my  unconverted 
friends — you  who  attend  church,  and  wait  all  the  time  for  more  light, 
conviction,  and  feeling,  and  do  not  improve  what  Grod  has  already 
given.  Some  of  you  will  never  have  a  particle  more,  till  you  improve 
what  you  have  already.  Go  to  work.  Begin  to  pray  and  repent. 
"  For  unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have 
abundance  ;  but  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away,  even 
that  which  he  hath."    Millions  are  now  in  hell,  and  millions  more  are 


344  LABOR — THE  LAW   OP   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS. 

on  their  way,  who  have  had  a  sufficiency  of  light  to  conduct  them  to 
the  cross.  Their  damnation  is  attributable — not  to  profanity  ;  not 
to  outbreaking  crime  ;  not  to  wicked  rebellion  and  obstinacy  }  but  to 
negleet. 

Second.  We  hereby  account  for  the  spiritual  poverty  and  inejfi- 
cienaj  of  many  members  of  the  church. 

They  have  been  genuinely  converted — born  of  the  Spirit — passed 
from  death  unto  life  ;  but  they  have  declined  from  their  first  love. 
They  have  hid  their  Lord's  money  for  safe  keeping,  too  honest  to 
risk  anything.  The  gift  for  prayer  and  active  Christian  duty  has 
been  permitted  to  lie  idle  ;  and  the  consequence  is,  the  soul  has  lost 
its  relish  for  divine  things ;  the  hands  hang  down  ;  the  knees  become 
feeble ;  and  he  who  once  had  a  capital  stock  which  was  susceptible  of 
indefinite  expansion  and  improvement,  is  now  a  worthless  and  bank- 
rupt idler  in  the  Church  of  God.  Backsliding  begins  in  idleness 
and  neglect.  How  many  become  spiritually  poor  and  inefficient — 
doing  nothing  for  themselves  or  others — for  no  other  reason  than  a 
failure  to  improve  the  talents  committed  to  their  trust ! 

Third.  We  are  struck  with  the  amount  of  good  the  whole  church 
might  accomplish  if  all  the  talent  of  the  church  were  put  into  active 
use. 

We  have  a  state  of  things  verging  on  bankruptcy,  where  we  might 
have  an  amount  of  wealth  that  would  satisfy  the  heart  oJ  Jesus 
Christ.  Our  Sabbath  schools  languish  ;  our  class  meetings  grow 
cold  and  decline  in  interest ;  the  poor  are  neglected  ;  the  sick  die 
without  spiritual  comfort ;  penitents  grope  in  the  dark  for  the  want 
of  instruction  ;  the  pulpit  is  less  efficient  than  it  should  be  ;  wick- 
edness multiplies  on  every  hand  ;  the  church,  instead  of  pushing 
its  victories  to  the  speedy  conquest  of  the  world,  barely  holds  its 
position  at  home.  And  why  ?  Is  it  because  God  has  not  furnished 
the  grace  and  the  ability  to  sustain  all  these  interests  of  the  church  ? 
Nay,  verily.  It  is  because  the  talent  of  the  church  is  not  employed. 
It  is  buried  ;  and  oh  !  my  God,  what  a  fearful  reckoning  awaits  the 
crowds  of  wicked  and  slothful  servants  that  throng  our  altars  !  Sup- 
pose all  the  talent  of  the  church  were  put  into  requisition  ;  every 
member,  male  and  female,  from  the  least  gifted  to  the  most  highly 
endowed,  was  at   work,  doing  something,  employing  his  talent — 


LABOR — THE   LAW   OF   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS.  345 

what  would  be  the  result  ?  Very  soon  the  church  would  become  aa 
terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary 
places  would  blossom  and  bloom  like  the  garden  of  God.  The  strong- 
holds of  heathenism  would  give  way,  and  the  long,  loud  shout  of  ulti- 
mate triumph  would  soon  ring  out  from  multiplied  myriads  of  happy 
souls,  and  the  whole  world  should  see  the  salvation  of  our  Grod ! 
What  a  melancholy  spectacle  is  presented  in  the  swarms  of  idlers 
standing  upon  the  graves  of  buried  talent — talent  enough  to  save  a 
world,  if  rightly  employed — while  that  world,  from  inexcusable  lazi- 
ness and  neglect,  sinks  with  a  heartbreaking  wail  to  hell !  0,  for  a 
trumpet-voice  to  arouse  the  sluggards  in  the  church ;  to  awake  and 
excite  the  idlers  to  activity.  Time  is  flying.  The  period  for  labor  is 
short.  With  every  vibration  of  the  pendulum,  souls  are  sinking  to 
hell ;  and  yet  the  church  slumbers  ;  and  thousands  excuse  them- 
selves from  the  work,  which  they  could  so  easily  perform,  of  plucking 
sinners  from  the  fires  of  perdition.  Thou  wicked  servant,  stretch  out 
thy  hand,  and  save  a  soul  from  death  ! 

Fourth.  We  learn  from  this  subject,  that  while  oneparticle  of  grace 
remains  it  may  be  improved.  The  work  becomes  harder  and  still 
harder  with  the  delay  ;  but,  thank  God,  while  a  single  spark  remains, 
it  may  be  kindled  into  a  flame.  "  Be  watchful,  and  strengthen  the 
things  that  remain,  which  are  ready  to  die."  Ready  to  die !  What 
a  blessing  they  are  not  quite  dead  !  There  is  a  little  love,  a  little 
faith,  a  little  hope,  that  yet  lingers  in  the  heart.  Improve  it  right 
speedily. 

Sinner,  if  there  is  one  good  desire  ;  if  there  is  the  slightest  inclina- 
tion of  the  soul  to  God,  fall  upon  thy  knees  and  begin  to  pray  ;  there 
is  yet  mercy  and  salvation  for  you.  But  the  light  wanes  ;  hasten  to, 
the  cross  ere  the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can  work.  Cold-hearted 
formal  professor,  is  there  any  faith,  any  love,  any  zeal,  in  the 
thy  soul  ?  If  the  Holy  Spirit  still  tarries  with  you  ;  if  there  is  any 
longing  after  God,  your  case  is  not  hopeless.  But  everything  de- 
pends upon  an  active  improvement  of  what  remains.  Dig  up  the 
buried  talent ;  and  by  your  future  diligence,  make  up  and  atone  for 
past  neglect.  God  waits  to  multiply  his  blessings  upon  you.  "  Unto 
him  that  hath  shall  be  given." 

Finally.  The  day  of  final  settlement   draws  on   apace — «  silent 


346  LABOR — THE  LAW   OP   SPIRITUAL   PROGRESS. 

as  the  breeze,  but  dreadful  as  the  storm.  After  a  long  time  the 
Master  will  come.  A  scoffing  world  may  mock,  and  ask,  "  Where 
is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?"  "  After  a  long  time."  The  church 
may  grow  weary  in  waiting.  The  world  may  grow  old  and  gray  with 
time.  Successive  generations  of  men  may  pass  in  silence  to  the  tomb. 
The  sun  may  grow  dim  with  age,  and  the  &tar-fires  may  expire  on 
heaven's  high  arch  ;  but  after  a  long  time  the  Master  will  come  and 
call  up  his  servants,  to  whom  he  committed  his  goods  for  use  and 
improvement,  for  a  final  reckoning.  With  what  joy  the  faithful  will 
meet  him  ;  and  with  what  ecstacy  will  they  hear  him  say,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant."  For  that  compliment,  who  would 
not  cheerfully  toil  and  bear  reproach  ?  Who  would  not  suffer  and 
die  for  his  Divine  Master,  to  hear  him  say,  in  the  great  day  of  judg- 
ment, when  the  world  is  on  5re,  when  the  faithless  and  unbelieving, 
the  sluggard,  the  hypocrite,  and  the  backsliders  are  crying  for 
rocks  and  mountains  to  fall  on  them,  and  hide  them  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb — who,  I  repeat,  \Tould  not  be  willing  to  toil,  to  suffer,  to 
bear  reproach,  and  even  to  die,  to  hear  the  blessed  Jesus  pronounce 
the  words  upon  him  :  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant ;  enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord"  1 


■*V'V»K>4  fy  J-C  Buttr» 


.&.     ^^Un.A. 


I^[£\f.  [£[PIK10S«^0Rfl  [£n^O!ire:v„  [®.t©. 


nvxurDEirr  or  Eiioar  s^ineafor  collkoh 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD  :  THE  ONLY  SAFEGUARD  AMID 
THE  PERILS  OF  YOUTH. 


BY  REV.  E.  E.  WILEY,  D.  D. 

OF  HOLSTON  COKFBRENCK 


•'  Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  By  taking  heed 
thereto,  according  to  thy  word." — Psalm  cxix,  9. 

Encouragements  to  the  young  to  forsake  the  paths  of  sin,  and  to 
tread  the  ways  of  virtue,  abound  in  the  Scriptures.  So  many  and 
special  are  the  promises  made  to  this  class  of  persons,  that  the  minis- 
ter of  Christ  may  be  well  assured  that  his  labors  with  them  will  not 
be  in  vain.  A  rich  moral  harvest  awaits  him  who  tills,  in  faith  and 
hope,  this  virgin  soil.  The  seeds  of  sin,  the  noxious  weeds  of  corrup- 
tion, tlie  briars  and  thorns  of  depravity,  may  find  here,  it  is  true,  a 
ready  and  a  rapid  germination  and  increase  ;  but  these,  under  the 
tiller's  hopeful  toil,  with  the  help  of  God,  may  be  eradicated,  and  the 
plants  of  virtue  reared  in  their  stead  to  a  comely  growth,  and  an 
abundant  yield  of  precious  fruit.  Left  to  itself,  the  ground  will  soon 
become  a  wilderness,  where  monsters  lurk  and  vipers  hiss  ;  but  under 
the  hand  of  patient  cultivation,  it  may  be  made  as  the  garden  of  God. 
It  is  not  so,  however,  with  the  old,  whose  hearts  are  dry  as  summer 
clods,  whose  sensibilities  are  blunted,  whose  habits  are  fixed.  There 
is  hope  of  the  wayward  youth,  that  he  may  yet  turn  to  the  paths  of 
life.  The  tender  twig,  though  it  shoot  aslant  from  the  ground,  may 
with  kindly  guidance  yet  grow  heavenward,  and  send  out  from  a 
stately  trunk  its  hundred  arms  and  luxuriant  foliage — the  glory  of 
the  forest.  But  what  can  bend  the  old  gnarled  oak,  whose  shapeless 
stock  and  crooked  limbs  have  defied  a  thousand  wintry  storms,  and 
thrown  ofi",  unsplintered,  the  fiercest  bolts  of  heaven?  The  young 
may  cleanse  his  way — may  change  from  a  vicious  course — by  taking 
heed  thereto,  according  to  God's  word  ;  the  old,  however,  seldom  do — 
nay,  hardly  can.  When  the  Ethiopian  shall  change  his  skin  or  the 
leopard  his  spots,  then  may  they  also  do  good  that  are  accustomed  to 
do  evil. 


348  THE  WORD  OP   god: 

The  text  contains  a  question  of  much  interest  and  importance — 
How  shall  a  young  man  make  his  way  pure  ?  The  term  way  here  sig- 
nifies a  little  path,  and  indicates  a  distinction  between  this  and  the 
broad,  frequented  way,  in  which  the  ungodly  millions  walk.  The  lan- 
guage implies  that  the  goings  of  the  young  are  not  yet  so  well  estab- 
lished that  their  steps  may  not  be  retraced.  They  have  begun  to  go 
astray — their  feet  have  already  entered  the  ways  of  vice — yet  these 
ways,  little  though  they  be,  lead  with  certainty  to  destruction.  Their 
number  is  many,  their  names  different,  yet  all  tend  to  the  same  end. 
They  may  be  fitly 'represented  as  lanes  leading  off  to  the  left,  out  of 
the  broad  road,  into  which  they  come  again,  bringing  their  travelers 
to  swell  the  vast  multitude  rolling  on  to  the  chambers  of  death.  But 
the  text  also  assures  us  that  the  young  who  have  been  allured  into 
any  of  these  forbidden  ways  may  come  back  to  the  path  of  life. 
There  are  ways  of  escape  on  the  other  side  of  the  broad  road,  directly 
opposite  each  lane  to  ruin.  Let  the  young  man,  then,  pause  and 
ascertain  his  true  moral  position  ;  let  him  ponder  the  path  of  his  feet, 
and  take  heed  thereto,  according  to  God's  word.  Into  which  of  these 
lanes  has  the  tempter  beguiled  you  ?  For  there  are  but  few  young 
men  in  this  age,  who  have  not  either  made  some  progress  in  a  course 
of  vice,  or  at  least  looked  with  desire  upon  the  gorgeous  scenes  which 
fancy  paints  along  this  tempting  path,  and  which  the  flatterer  falsely 
declares  to  be  realities. 

That  you  may  better  know  them,  let  us  point  out  some  of  the  more 
dangerous  roads  into  which  you  are  liable  to  turn,  in  which  you  may 
perchance  now  be  traveling,  or  around  which  you  may  be  lingering, 
and  listening  to  the  voice  of  the  charmer.  You  will  not  have  trav- 
eled far  in  the  broad  way  until  you  reach  a  path  upon  the  left,  lead- 
ing off  to  apparently  Elysian  bowers.     This  is — 

The  way  of  the  indolent.  Thousands  of  happy  loungers  are  gath- 
ered about  its  entrance.  Splendid  palaces  attract  the  eye,  whose  walls 
are  festooned  with  rich  drapery,  whose  floors  shine  with  Persian  dye, 
whose  walls  echo  with  music's  voluptuous  swell,  and  glitter  with 
the  sheen  of  golden  light.  Couches  of  down  invite  the  weary  to 
repose.  The  air  is  redolent  with  the  perfume  of  flowers,  and  vocal  with 
songs  of  nature's  choristers.  Gardens,  rich  in  the  beauty  of  colors 
and  of  fruits,  gladden  the  eye  and  delight  the  taste.  As  on  the  trav- 
eler slowly  moves,  bowers  of  ease,  cooling  water  brooks,  and  voluptu- 
ous inns,  retard  his  steps.     At  length,  full  to  satiety  of  fancied  joy, 


youth's  only  safeguard.  349 

diseased  in  body  and  imbecile  in  mind,  lost  to  every  noble  impulse, 
and  reft  of  hope,  he  would  lay  him  down  to  die ;  but  the  on-coming 
crowd  presses  him  toward  the  end  of  his  path,  and  soon  he  disappears 
in  the  countless  throng  which  fills  the  broad  way  leading  to  destruc- 
tion. How  many  thousands  of  the  young  find  a  shameful  end  through 
this  path  !  Thinking  that  they  may  turn  back  at  any  moment,  they 
consent  to  indulge  in  indolence,  and  to  regale  the  senses  for  a  time. 
But  they  wake,  alas  !  too  late,  from  their  dream  of  delight ;  they  wake 
only  to  the  consciousness  that  their  energies  are  paralyzed — that 
their  hopes  are  dead  !  I  ask  you,  young  man,  at  this  point,  to  pause, 
to  consider  the  end  of  this  way.  Listen  not  to  the  voice  of  the  charm- 
er, nor  to  the  lying  speech  of  the  deceiver.  God  has  made  you  for 
labor,  and  not  for  indolence.  The  powers  of  your  body  as  well  as  of 
your  soul  are  strengthened  by  toil.  Grreat  achievements  are  attained 
only  by  great  labor — a  labor  too  that  is  incessant,  not  fitful.  The 
yielding  stream,  by  its  constant  flow,  will  wear  its  channel  in  the  solid 
rock ;  the  ever-ringing  clink  of  the  chisel  will  tunnel  the  stupendous 
mountain ;  the  ceaseless  toil  of  the  coral  insect  will  pile  his  rocky 
reef  from  the  depths  below  to  the  ocean's  surface,  and  stretch  it  from 
shore  to  shore.  Work  on,  then,  work  ever,  at  something  noble  and 
good.  Enough  of  rest  will  be  found  in  the  slumber  of  the  grave. 
Such,  too,  is  the  teaching  of  God's  word.  Whatsoever  thy  hand  find- 
eth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might.  Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard  ;  con- 
sider her  ways,  and  be  wise.  Say  not,  there  is  a  lion  in  the  way — 
a  lion  is  in  the  streets.  And  remember,  too,  that  the  sluggard  is  wiser 
in  his  own  conceit  than  seven  men  that  can  render  a  reason.  But  let 
us  look  at — 

The  way  of  the  profane.  No  sin  is  more  common  among  us  than 
that  of  profane  swearing,  and  there  are  but  few  of  greater  magnitude. 
It  is  an  ofi'ence  not  so  much  against  the  peace  of  society  and  the 
rights  of  our  fellows  as  against  our  Creator.  For  this  reason  public 
opinion  has  not  set  the  seal  of  its  condemnation  upon  it,  nor  the  civil 
law  enacted  and  executed  against  it  severe  penalties.  Hence  it  is  too 
often  regarded  as  a  venial  transgression,  to  be  winked  at  rather  than 
to  be  scorned.  The  man  who  steals  (no  matter  how  trifling  the  sum) 
IS  branded  as  a  thief,  scouted  from  even  the  common  walks  of  life, 
and  doomed  to  carry  the  stain  to  his  grave ;  nor  would  we  mitigate 
the  punishment  which  is  inflicted  upon  him ;  while  he  who  utters  pro- 
fanely his  Maker's  name,  in  all  his  waking  hours,  and  pours  forth 


350  THE  WORD   OF  GOD: 

blasphemous  oaths,  until  by  habit  he  is  unconscious  of  his  crime,  is 
neither  discarded  by  the  polite,  nor  utterly  rejected  by  the  good.  But 
which  is  the  greater  sinner  ?  Society  will  tell  you,  the  thief.  But 
wc  ask  not  for  the  answer  in  the  light  of  human  law,  but  in  the  light 
of  the  Divine  Word — in  the  blaze  of  God's  searching  eye.  In  heaven's 
chancery  what  decision  may  we  suppose,  from  the  revelations  given, 
would  be  made?  In  the  Divine  Law-book  it  is  said,  Thou  shalt  not 
steal.  In  the  same  decalogue  God  has  written  with  his  own  finger, 
Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain  ;  and  has 
added  to  this  prohibition,  (and  to  none  other,  as  if  to  magnify  his 
abhorrence  of  this  sin,)  For  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that 
taketh  his  name  in  vain.  There  is  not,  perhaps,  another  crime  which 
men  commit,  for  which  they  might  not  find  some  apology,  flimsy  though 
it  be.  The  liar  may  plead  in  extenuation  of  his  sin  the  dread  of  pun- 
ishment ;  the  thief,  poverty  and  hunger ;  the  drunkard,  his  quench- 
less thirst ;  the  libertine,  his  lust ;  the  murderer,  his  passions ;  the 
midnight  assassin,  his  drunkenness  ; — but  what  excuse  has  he  to  ofier 
who  takes  his  Maker's  name  in  vain — who  pollutes  his  soul  and  sears 
his  conscience  with  blasphemous  oaths  ?  Is  it  that  his  Creator  has 
not  dealt  in  kindness  with  him  ?  Let  him  tell,  if  he  can,  the  sum  of 
God's  mercies  towards  him  ;  let  him  fathom  the  depth  of  the  love 
wherewith  Heaven  has  loved  him ;  let  him  estimate  the  value  of  the 
cost  of  his  redemption — and  then  answer,  if  the  name  of  his  Father 
in  Heaven  is  not  worthy  at  least  of  his  reverence.  Surely  he  who 
thus  insults  Infinite  Goodness  must  be  approaching  rapidly  the  gulf 
of  perdition,  and  requires  but  few  more  days,  and  but  little  practice 
more,  to  make  him  a  finished  fiend.  Does  he  swear  that  more  credit 
may  be  given  to  his  assertions  1  His  declarations  were  believed, 
perhaps,  before  the  profane  oath  passed  his  lips  ;  but  now,  doubt  has 
taken  the  place  of  confidence.  The  vilest  of  the  vile  must  surely 
hold  the  words  of  him  in  less  esteem  who  would  attempt  by  profanity 
to  strengthen  them.  Shame  on  the  man  whose  mouth  is  full  of  curs- 
ing, and  whose  tongue  has  never  yet  pronounced  with  reverence  the 
name  of  the  blessed  God.  Turn  thou,  my  son,  from  the  way  of  the 
profane.  Go  not  with  the  countless  host  that  throng  this  lane  of 
death.  Take  heed  to  thy  steps,  according  to  God's  Word.  Forget 
not  the  holy  law  uttered  amidst  the  flaming  thunders  of  the  mount, 
nor  the  milder  injunction  of  an  apostle  •  But  above  all  things,  my 
brethren,  swear  not — neither  by  heaven,  neither  by  the  earth,  neither 


youth's  only  sapequard.  351 

by  any  other  oath — but  let  your  yea  be  yea,  and  your  nay  nay,  lest 
ye  fall  into  condemnation.     But  consider  also — 

The  way  of  ike  "  man  of  honor.''^  This  way  is  marked  with  the 
tears  and  groans  of  stricken  ones — the  wail  of  widowed  hearts — the 
blood  of  murdered  men.  The  "  code  of  honor,"  in  its  teachings,  in 
its  spirit,  in  its  practical  results,  is  so  abhhorent  to  humanity,  so  bold 
a  contradiction  of  Christianit}',  and  so  surely  a  remnant  of  a  barbar- 
ous age,  that  we  could  hardly  suppose  that  it  would  not  flee  before 
the  march  of  Civilization,  and  wither  in  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  It 
cannot  be  countenanced  by  the  good,  nor  practiced,  except  by  men 
of  distorted  conceptions  of  right,  and  of  corrupt  hearts.  It  is  a  golden 
image,  which  publ  c  opinion — a  tyrant  more  cruel  than  Nebuchad- 
nezzar of  old — has  set  up,  and  to  which  all  who  bow  not  are  doomed 
to  the  fiery  furnace.  It  is  a  Moloch  monster  that  fattens  on  human 
gore,  and  sates  his  cannibal  maw  on  nought  but  human  flesh.  It  has 
its  origin  in  a  false  view  of  honor,  tramples  upon  Uod's  law,  and  sets 
at  defiance  the  plainest  teachings  of  reason  and  of  conscience.  In 
the  "  man  of  honor  "  passion  reigns  supreme,  subjugating  the  better 
principles  of  the  heart,  and  scotSng  at  Divine  authority.  Resentment 
and  Revenge — two  fiends  that  would  extirpate  the  entire  race,  if  left 
to  themselves — are  the  presiding  judges  in  the  court  where  this  code 
is  admitted.  But  society  will  brand  him  a  coward  who  acts  not  in 
accordance  with  its  requisitions.  What  society  1  That  of  the  just, 
the  pure,  the  holy  on  earth  ;  that  of  the  blessed,  of  angels,  of  God,  in 
heaven  ?  Nay,  verily  ;  but  of  fiends  incarnate  upon  earth,  and  of  lost 
spirits  and  of  devils  in  hell  I  Better  that  the  world  call  you  coward, 
than  that  God  stamp  upon  you  the  mark  of  Cain,  and  call  you  a 
murderer.  Every  duelist  is  a  murderer  in  the  eye  of  God's  law  ;  and 
whether  he  shed  the  blood  of  his  fellow  or  not,  the  purpose  of  his 
heart  is  manifest,  from  his  relation  to  his  antagonist.  If  for  keeping 
the  Divine  commandments  you  are  to  be  loaded  with  opprobrious 
epithets,  you  may  have  grace  to  endure  it.  But  he  has  a  stouter 
heart  than  mine,  who  can  bow  in  cringing  attitude  before  a  wicked 
public  sentiment,  and  in  the  same  act  hurl  defiance  at  God's  law,  and 
run  madly  upon  the  thick  bosses  of  his  bucklers.  Company  not  with 
the  men  who  call  this  the  way  of  honor.  0  my  soul,  come  not  thou 
into  their  secret ;  unto  their  assembly,  mine  honor,  be  not  thou 
united  ;  for  in  their  anger  they  slew  a  man,  and  in  their  self-will  they 
digged  down  a  wall.     Solomon,  in  his  Proverbs,  has  well  said,  He 


352  THE  WORD  OP  god: 

that  is  slow  to  anger  is  better  than  the  mighty ;  and  he  that  ruleth 
bis  spirit,  than  he  that  taketh  a  city.  And  a  greater  than  Solomon 
hath  said,  Thou  sbalt  do  no  murder.     But  mark  well — 

The  way  of  the  licentious.  As  you  approach  this  path,  the  scenes 
before  you  will  seem  strangely  at  variance  with  the  conceptions  you 
had  heretofere  formed  of  its  travelers  and  of  its  horrors.  Over  the  en- 
trance is  written,  in  gilded  letters,  "  The  way  of  many  delights."  The 
young,  the  gay,  the  beautiful,  alone  are  there.  Glittering  in  costly  array 
and  jewelled  light,  the  joyous  throng  dance  on,  swift  as  the  flying  hours 
to  the  sound  of  their  revelry.  That  health  reigns  here,  the  bloom- 
ing cheek,  the  sparkling  eye,  the  elastic  step,  proclaim ;.  that  this  is 
pleasure's  path  is  known  by  the  rapture  playing  upon  every  face. 
While  the  beholder  is  surveying  the  bewitching  prospect  before  him, 
drawn  towards  it  by  the  power  of  an  enchanting  spell,  his  trembling 
feet  a  moment  pause,  lest  pitfalls  and  snares  may  be  there.  For  he 
has  heard  that  there  is  a  way  which  seemeth  right  unto  a  man,  but 
the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death  :  that  the  way  of  a  fool  is  right 
in  his  own  eyes,  but  he  that  hearkeneth  unto  counsel  is  wise.  Turn- 
ing his  face  towards  the  way  of  escape,  and  just  ready  to  seek  the 
path  of  life,  he  sees  approaching  him  a  form  of  surpassing  beauty. 
Her  lips  drop  as  a  honey-comb,  her  mouth  is  smoother  than  oil.  With 
face  half-veiled,  and  eye  radiant  with  the  light  of  love  ;  with  smiles 
pleasant  and  changeful  as  the  tinted  clouds  in  summer-sunset  aky, 
and  robe  glittering  as  the  dress  which  morning  throws  over  beds  of 
flowers  and  spangled  lawns, — she  utters,  in  the  melody  of  music,  her 
winning  words:  I  have  peace-ofi"erings  with  me ;  this  day  have  I  paid 
my  vows  ;  therefore  came  I  forth  to  meet  thee,  diligently  to  seek  thy 
face,  and  I  have  found  thee.  I  have  decked  my  bed  with  coverings 
of  tapestry,  with  carved  works,  with  fine  linen  of  Egypt.  I  have 
perfumed  my  bed  with  myrrh,  aloes,  and  cinnamon.  With  much  fair 
speech  she  causes  him  to  yield  ;  with  the  flattering  of  her  lips  she 
forces  him.  He  goeth  after  her  straightway.  For  a  time  he  revels 
in  the  bliss  of  his  intoxication,  until,  wearied  and  exhausted,  he  turns 
aside  from  the  giddy  crowd,  and  seeks  repose  in  the  quiet  of  slumber. 
He  wakes,  at  length,  to  look  upon  a  scene  so  sadly  changed  that  he 
can  scarcely  believe  it  to  be  real.  He  is  surrounded  now  by  the 
unholy  and  unclean,  whose  cheeks  are  never  tinged  with  the  blush  of 
purity,  whose  countenances  are  fading  under  the  blight  of  disease, 
whose  eyes  are  burning  in  the  fires  of  lust,  whose  mouths  are  open 


youth's  only  safeguard.  353 

sepulchres.  Kusliing  upon  his  soul  now,  like  a  swift-coming  tide,  are 
the  thoughts  of  a  father's  counsel,  of  a  mother's  warning  voice,  of  a 
sister's  love.  He  sighs  for  the  innocence,  the  purity,  the  bliss  of 
home.  He  would  fain  go  back  to  the  paths  of  his  childhood.  But, 
alas  I  he  is  swept  on  by  a  current  that  he  cannot  resist.  Onward  and 
downward  with  the  living  tide  of  pollution,  he  is  borne  until  the  house 
of  death  receives  him,  and  the  gates  of  hell  open  before  him.  And 
tell  me — Oh  tell  me,  if  you  can — what  tongue  has  ever  described  the 
horrors  of  that  living  death,  or  the  torments  of  that  burning  hell 
which  awaits  the  licentious  profligate  !  My  young  friend,  pause,  con- 
sider. Listen  not  to  the  lying  words  of  the  foolish  woman.  Heed 
rather  the  voice  of  Him  who  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and 
who  has  in  mercy  declared.  Let  not  thine  heart  decline  to  her  ways; 
go  not  astray  in  her  paths,  for  she  hath  cast  down  many  wounded — 
yea,  many  strong  men  have  been  slain  by  her.  Her  house  is  the  way 
to  hell,  going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death. 

The  way  of  the  intemperate.  This  is  another  of  the  numerous  paths 
which  lead  to  present  ruin  and  to  eternal  destruction.  The  proba- 
bilities that  you  may  enter  it  are  greatly  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  you  will  find  at  the  outset  of  the  way  those  whom  the  world  has 
honored  —  men  of  commanding  position  and  of  intellectual  might. 
The  accomplished,  the  generous,  the  social — all — will  win  you  by  the 
prestige  of  their  influence.  The  hand  of  beauty,  perchance,  will  press 
to  your  lips  the  foaming  bowl,  which  you  dare  not  dash  away.  The 
tempter  will  whisper,  "  No  evil  can  follow  from  association  with  such 
company.  A  short  excursion  in  this  way  will  enhance  life's  enjoy- 
ments. '  Live  while  you  live,'  and  make  the  most  of  the  passing  hours. 
If  dangers  lurk  along  the  path,  they  are  nowhere  within  the  range  of 
ury  vision;  and  upon  their  first  appearance  it  will  be  easy  to  retrr.ce 
my  steps.  No  poverty  nor  disease  nor  death  are  apparent ;  and  if 
they  spring  out  upon  the  traveller,  like  beasts  of  prey  from  their 
ambush,  their  hiding  places  must  be  far  on  at  points  which  I  shall  never 
reach.  The  drunkard  shall  never  be  my  companion,  nor  the  drunk- 
ard's grave  nor  hell  my  portion."  Trust  not  to  these  fancy  dreams. 
The  real  evils  which  flow  from  the  wine-cup  have  never  yet  been  told  . 
no  human  mind  has  ever  fully  compassed  them,  nor  imagination  painted 
them.  You  have  read  of  gorgon  horrors  :  of  the  transformation  of 
men  into  swine,  by  Circe's  potent  spells  ;  of  harpies,  whose  touch  was 
pollution  j  of  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  whose  dismal  caverns  are  wbi- 

23 


354  THE  WORD  OP  god: 

tencd  with  the  bones  of  ill-starred  mariners  ;  of  the  Maelstrom,  whose 
capacious  maw,  at  one  effort,  could  engulf  whole  navies  ;  of  Sin  and 
Death  as  pictured  by  the  poet ;  of  Lucifer  hurled  from  heaven,  driven 
through  dreary  leagues  of  chaotic  night,  and  stretched,  a  dragon 
huge,  on  his  lake  of  quenchless  fire.  To  these  you  may  add  all  the 
monsters  dire  which  the  human  fancy  has  created,  and  group  the  whole 
into  one  revolting  picture  :  to  this  picture  your  terrified  spirit  would 
fly  for  relief,  from  the  one  imagining  forth  all  the  horrors  of  intem- 
perance. There  sits  the  Moloch  monster.  King  Alcohol,  with  his  eyes 
of  fire,  his  teeth  of  iron,  his  arms  of  burning  steel,  his  cannibal  maw 
distended,  but  never  filled,  and  smiles  with  grim  and  ghastly  visage 
above  his  altar,  reeking  with  human  gore  and  pollution,  upon  the 
ruin  which  reigns  throughout  his  wide  domains.  See  in  the  distance 
that  stately  mansion  ;  enter  its  gates :  look  behind  those  grates  of 
iron — there  is  he  whom  the  world  honored ;  on  whose  lips  listening 
senates  hung  entranced !  He  writhes  in  chains  which  humanity  had 
placed  upon  him  to  mitigate  his  sufferings.  And  here  is  another  house, 
whose  walls  and  dungeons  imprison  felons  of  every  grade,  from  the 
youthful  culprit  to  the  cold-blooded  assassin.  Here  is  a  lazar-house, 
and  there  a  gibbet,  whose  beam  has  just  swung  into  eternity  a  youth- 
ful murderer  I  What  train  of  weeping  ones  is  this,  clad  in  the  weeds 
of  widowhood,  stricken  and  bowed  with  the  anguish  of  years?  They 
were  once  the  wives,  they  are  now  the  widows,  of  drunkards.  With 
swollen  eyes  and  faded  cheeks  and  bleeding  hearts  they  tread  upon 
the  brink  of  the  grave.  What  countless  multitudes  of  innocent  little 
ones  are  there,  in  tatters  and  in  filth — hatless,  bounetless,  shoeless ; 
haggard  with  hunger  and  pallid  with  disease  ?  Their  tiny  feet  patter 
over  the  frozen  clods,  until  their  pathway  reddens  with  their  trick- 
ling blood !  These  are  the  children  ef  drunkards.  But  I  cannot 
complete  the  picture.  My  tongue  and  voice  grow  tremulous  in  the 
work  ;  my  hand  can  no  longer  guide  the  pencil  upon  the  canvas. 
Turn,  young  man,  from  this  dimly-colored  picture  of  living  realities  ;, 
fill  up,  if  you  can,  and  tinge,  if  you  will,  with  burning  hues,  aU  the 
true  scenes  of  misery  that  lie  on  either  side  of  this  path  to  hell.  Then 
look  across  the  broad  way,  and  over  the  way  of  escape  which  leads 
to  life  ;  read  in  letters  of  light,  radiant  with  heaven's  own  brightness, 
"  Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  its  color 
in  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright :  at  the  last  it  bite^h  like 
a  serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an  adder." 


youth's  only  safeguard.  355 

But  the  young  are  always  too  ready  to  believe  that  the  perils  of 
these  paths  of  vice  are  by  the  more  experienced  greatly  exaggerated. 
The  danger  lies,  (as  they  suppose,)  not  in  entering  them,  and  in  trav- 
eling in  them  for  a  time,  but  in  continuing  in  them  too  long.  True, 
some  have  made  shipwreck  of  body  and  of  soul  by  pursuing  these 
courses  too  far,  but  as  for  us,  we  will  be  wary  and  watchful.  Little 
acquainted  with  their  own  natures,  with  the  fearful  laws  which  God 
has  thrown  about  their  intellectual  and  moral  being,  with  the  power 
of  temptation,  or  with  the  nature  of  habit,  they  rush  on,  in  the  firm 
persuasion  that  they  are  fully  able,  at  any  moment,  to  reverse  their 
course.  They  Know  not  the  strength  of  the  chain  which  habit  has 
already  thrown  around  them;  they  know  it  not,  because  they  have 
never  made  an  effort  to  sunder  it.  To  the  eye  its  threads  are  of  gos- 
samer, and  will  yield  to  the  touch  of  youthful  vigor.  The  lion,  impris- 
oned behind  the  slender  bars  of  iron,  knows  not  that  the  little  rods 
are  stronger  than  his  brawny  arm,  until  he  tries  upon  them  his  full 
power.  In  his  native  wilds  he  roams  monarch  of  the  forest,  and  in  the 
pride  of  his  strength  looks  scornfully  upon  the  net  which  holds  the 
tempting  bait.  His  might  can  sever  the  meshes  and  snap  the  strands, 
should  they  aipass  him  around,  and  with  a  bound  he  leaps  upon  the 
wished-f'^  prize.  The  repast  is  ended,  and  he  rises  to  his  wonted 
haunts,  out  (alas  for  him  !)  the  net  has  already  enfolded  him.  Every 
effort  of  his  stalwart  limbs  draws  yet  more  closely  the  fatal  cords 
around  him,  until,  exhausted  in  the  struggle,  the  king  of  beasts  lays 
him  down  to  die  in  the  meshes  which  the  tooth  of  a  mouse  might 
sunder.  Would  you  knovs^  the  sti'ength  of  the  cord  which  habit  has 
already  woven  into  the  entire  tissue  of  your  physical  and  mental 
being  ?  Bring  against  it  all  the  force  of  your  young  manhood,  and 
happy  for  you  if  you  find  in  it  the  strength  only  of  the  seven  green 
withes  with  which  they  bound  the  sonof  Manoah.  Are  you  still  con- 
fident of  your  power  1  are  you  an  overmatch  for  the  mighty  Samson  ? 
He  rent  asunder  the  lion  as  he  would  have  rent  a  kid ;  slew  a  thou- 
sand men  of  the  Philistines  single-handed,  with  no  weapon  but  a  bone 
for  his  club  ;  parted  the  new  ropes  and  green  withes  as  a  thread  of 
tow  when  it  toucheth  the  fire  ;  bore  off  the  huge  beams  of  the  house, 
to  which  he  had  been  fastened  by  the  hair  of  his  head, — and  yet  you 
find,  afterwards,  this  same  Samson  quietly  sleeping  upon  the  lap  of 
his  own  loved  Delilah,  until  the  wicked  woman,  artfully  stealing  the 
seven  wondrous  locks,  the  secret  of  his  strength,  cries  out,  "  The 


356  THE   WOBB   OP   GOD, 

Philistines  be  upon  thcc,  Samson  !"  and  be  awakes  to  the  consciotisnesff 
that  his  power  is  gone,  and  himself  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  his- 
enemies.  And  now  see  this  mightiest  of  men  !  Reft  of  his  eyes,  and 
bound  with  fetters  of  brass,  he  doth  grind  like  a  galley-slave  in  the 
prison-house  of  the  Philistines. 

Trust  not  then,  young  men,  to  your  own  strength,  nor  to  your  own 
wisdom.  Listen  to  the  instructions  of  the  wise,  to  the  experience  of 
age.  Heed — Oh,  heed ! — the  admonition  of  the  text.  If  you  would 
■walk  uprightly  and  purely,  take  heed  to  your  steps,  according  to 
God's  word.  Fearful  are  the  interests  trembling  this  hour  in  the 
balance  of  your  decision — interests  affecting  not  only  the  present,  but 
reaching  far  away  into  the  cycles  of  eternity.  I  beseech  you,  by  the 
counsels  of  an  honored  father  ;  by  the  daily  prayers  of  a  loving 
mother,  if  she  lives,  or,  if  not,  by  the  vows  that  you  made  when  words 
of  tenderness  fell  upon  your  ear  for  the  last  time  from  her  dying  lips 
and  which  you  have  often  renewed  at  her  quiet  grave,  as  the  tears 
have  fallen,  like  the  rain-drops,  upon  the  green-growing  sod  ;  I  be- 
seech you,  by  the  love  of  God  as  shown  in  the  abundance  of  his  grace 
by  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  which  paid  the  priceless  cost  of  your 
redemption, — let  not  your  feet  decline  towards  the  paths  of  sin. 
Choose  rather,  and  follow,  while  you  may,  the  way  of  life,  which  leada 
to  usefulness  and  honor  here,  and  to  everlasting  joys  in  Heaven. 


'•'Vnutcd.  by  J  C  BKttrr 


c  c^^e,^^^  c^-X-x^^^^c^^-t^ 


OF  nts  vmama  coNrERErrcs 


THE  GOSPEL— ITS  CHARACTER,  REQUIREMENTS  AND 
BLESSINGS. 


BY   THE   REV.    NELSON   HEAD, 

OF    THK   VIRGINIA  CONTERE^•Cl:. 


*' In  whom  ye  also  trusted,  after  that  ye  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the 
Gospel  of  your  salvation  ;  in  whom,  also,  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were 
sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of  our 
inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession,  unto  the  praise 
of  his  glory." — Eph.  i,  13,  14. 

What  a  precious  treasure  is  the  Bible  !  What  a  privilege  to 
«njoy  the  free,  unrestricted  use  of  the  oracles  of  our  salvation ! 
The  Bible  stands  alone  amidst  the  multiform  literature  of  our  world, 
as  the  Book  of  God.  It  is  a  revelation  of  God's  personal  existence 
and  perfections.  It  contains  an  account  of  God's  works.  It  fur- 
nishes a  disclosure  of  God's  plans.  It  is  a  repository  of  God's 
thoughts.  It  makes  known  to  us  the  brightest  expression,  and 
sublimest  proof,  of  God's  love  to  our  fallen  world.  Its  treasures  of 
instruction  and  consolation  are  inexhaustible.  The  more  we  study 
the  Bible  with  humility  and  prayer,  for  divine  teaching,  the  more  we 
perceive  in  it  to  admire  and  to  enjoy,  to  guide  and  to  comfort  us  in 
our  perilous  pilgrimage  to  "  the  Saints'  everlasting  rest."  The  more 
we  imbibe  the  spirit  of  the  Bible,  the  more  will  the  scope  of  faith's 
vision  enlarge,  the  range  of  hope's  expectations  widen,  and  the  image 
of  God's  eternal  love  be  reflected  from  the  depths  of  our  moral  and 
spiritual  nature. 

No  part  of  the  Bible  should  be  neglected.  History,  prophecy, 
poetry — its  doctrines,  its  ethical  principles  and  precepts — have  all  a 
meaning,  and  all  contain  a  good,  and  it  is  ours  to  enquire  into  the  one, 
and  appropriate  the  other.  Frcm  this  blessed  book,  it  is  our 
special  duty,  as  "  the  ministers  of  Christ,  and  stewards  of  the 
mysteries  of  God,"  to  minister  to  the  edification  of  God's  Israel,  and 
give  warning  and  invitation,  to  the  unconverted  and  unsaved.  Paul's 
letter  to  the  Ephesians  furnishes  the  material  for  discourse,  medita- 
tion and  profit  to-day.  In  this  Epistle  Paul  seems  to  have  poured 
out  the  very  fulness  of  his  inspired  mind,  and  loving  heart.     Its 


358  THE  GOSPEL. 

contents  exhibit  the  most  elevated  conceptions,  and  eloquent  expres- 
sions, of  those  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him.  Here  we  have  sublimest  doctrines,  most  spiritual  truths,  the 
purest  precepts,  loftiest  privileges,  kindest  admonitions,  and  most 
inspiring  encouragements.  0,  that  we  had  eyes  to  perceive  the 
beauties,  ears  to  catch  the  celestial  tones,  and  hearts  to  appreciate 
the  riches  of  this  Divine  composition  I 

The  passage  which  we  have  selected  for  our  present  use,  is  replete 
with  instruction  and  comfort.  In  it  we  have  the  characier^  the 
requirements )  and  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel. 

I.  The  character  of  the  Gospel :  "  It  is  the  word  of  truth,  and  the 
gospel  of  your  salvation." 

1.  The  Gospel  is  characterized  by  the  Apostle  as  the  "  Word  of 
truth.'^  It  is  "  the  word  "  which  "  God  spake  in  time  past  to  the 
fathers  by  the  prophets,"  and  which  he  "  hath  in  these  last  days 
spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son."  The  Gospel  is  not  made  up  of  the 
gleanings  of  human  wisdom,  and  human  investigations,  and  human 
opinions ;  it  is  a  kind  and  faithful  oracle,  which  has  been  communi- 
cated from  the  eternal  throne  of  wisdom  and  love.  It  is  "  the  word" 
— the  special  utterance  of  God.  It  is  a  revelation  from  the  God 
and  Father  of  all,  to  his  lapsed  creatures,  bearing  the  impress  of  his 
paternal  regards  and  solicitude,  for  the  recovery  of  our  revolted  and 
wretched  portion  of  his  family.  Its  tones  are  clear,  loving,  authori- 
tative, pathetic,  and  full.  Truth  is  its  subject-matter.  But  what 
kind  of  truth?  It  is  truth  diverse  from  all  those  truths  which  the 
human  intellect  hath  ascertained,  and  in  which  it  glories  ;  and  yet  it 
contradicts  no  truth,  but  is  in  harmony  with  all  truth.  It  is  "  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ;"  the  "  truth  which  is  according  to  godliness  ;" 
it  is  the  truth,  whose  foundation  is  Christ,  fore-ordained  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world  ;  whose  superstructure  is  Christ  dying  for 
our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  whose  topstone  is  Christ 
head  over  all  things,  and  head  over  all  things  to  his  church.  The 
"  word  of  truth"  is  the  whole  sum  of  Christianity,  as  revealed  in  the 
person,  teaching,  works  and  sufferings,  resurrection  and  triumphs,  of 
the  Son  of  God.  The  truth  which  solves  all  the  mysteries  of  our 
"beings,  dispels  all  doubt,  as  the  infallible  guide  to  the  divincst 
•wisdom.  It  is  the  standard  by  which  all  moral  and  religious  truth 
must  be  finally  tested.     By  it,  all  tho  moral  and  religious  sentiments 


THE   GOSPEL.  359 

of  mankind  must  stand  or  fall ;  it  eclipses  all  by  its  glory,  transcends 
all  by  its  majesty  ;  sways  all  by  its  authority,  and  determines  all  by 
its  decision.  This  is  the  truth  after  which  the  world  has  all  along 
sighed  and  striven,  since  man's  first  transgression  disrobed  him  of  his 
innocency  and  purity,  and  perverted  his  whole  nature  into  the  dark- 
ness, guilt  and  misery  of  falsehood.  Thus  bereft  of  the  sun  of  his 
moral  and  intellectual  nature,  man,  apart  from  the  word  of  God, 
has  ever  groped  in  ignorance  and  falsity,  seeking  in  vain  for  the 
truth  of  which  sin  despoiled  him.  Even  the  most  illumined  and 
enlarged  intellects,  which  rear  their  noble  forms  high  above  the  less 
favored  masses  of  humanity,  have  been  doomed  to  confess,  after  all 
their  painful  enquiries,  that  the  truth  has  still  eluded  their  search. 
"  You  may  see,"  says  a  Christian  philosopher,  "  Socrates  in  the 
twilight  lamenting  his  obscure  and  benighted  condition,  and  telling 
you  that  his  lamp  will  show  him  nothing  but  his  own  darkness.  You 
may  see  Plato  sitting  down  by  the  water  of  Lethe,  and  weeping 
because  he  could  not  remember  his  former  notions.  You  may  hear 
Aristotle  bewailing  himself  thus — that  his  '  potential  reason  '  will 
60  seldom  come  into  act,  that  his  blank  sheet  has  so  few  and  such 
imperfect  impressions  upon  it,  that  his  intellectuals  are  at  so  low  an 
ebb,  as  that  the  notions  of  Euripus  will  pose  them.  You  may  hear 
Zeno  say  that  his  '  porch '  is  dark  ;  and  Epictetus  confessing  and 
complaining  that  he  had  not  the  right  'handle,'  the  true  apprehen- 
sion of  things."  And  as  it  has  fared  with  the  old  philosophers,  so  has 
it  fared  with  the  new.  They  are  alike  blear-eyed,  when  untouched 
by  the  healing  beams  of  "  the  Sun  of  Righteousness."  But  what 
the  sage,  the  scribe,  and  the  disputer  of  this  world  have  sought  for 
in  vain,  breaks  upon  the  human  mind,  with  all  the  splendor  of  a 
sunburst,  from  the  firmament  of  gospel  truth.  The  Gospel  then  is 
"  the  word  of  truth,"  because  it  contains,  and  makes  known,  truth, 
absolute  truth,  without  any  mixture  of  error  or  falsehood.  It  is  that 
special  truth  which  humanity  needs,  and  after  which  it  groans  being 
burdened ;  and  to  which,  when  made  known  and  appropriated,  the 
deep,  throbbing,  oppressed  heart  of  humanity  responds  in  jubilant 
tones  of  praise  and  joy.  Three  beautiful  words  reveal  this  truth. 
These  words  are,  "  God  is  love."  Hail,  simple,  yet  sublime  truth  ! 
Truth  so  simple,  that  the  child  can  understand  it ;  and  yet  so  pro- 
found, so  comprehensive,  so  sublime,  that  neither  philosopher,  divine, 
nor  archangel,  can  comprehend  or  exhaust  its  living  import.     "  God 


360  THE   GOSPEL. 

is  love."  Of  this  glorious  truth,  the  cross  is  at  once  its  brightest 
expression  and  sublimcst  proof,  salvation  its  unspeakable  gift,  and 
heaven  the  scene,  and  eternity  the  scope  of  its  consummated  beati- 
tudes. Do  you  ask  for  the  credentials  of  "  the  word  of  truth  1" 
Go  ask  of  history,  as  it  expands  into  living  reality,  what  the  prophets' 
pen  had  so  long  antedated,  on  the  pages  of  Holy  Scripture.  Go  ask 
of  the  miracles  of  "  the  Great  Teacher  "  of  the  truth,  and  the  lame 
leaping,  the  blind  seeing,  the  sick  flushed  with  new  health,  the  dead 
living,  the  waves  turning  to  adamant  as  a  pavement  for  his  sacred 
feet — his  own  triumphant  exit  from  the  grave,  and  ascension  into 
heaven — these  are  credentials  of  the  word  of  truth.  Go  ask  of  the 
moral  triumphs,  which  the  word  of  truth  hath  achieved  along  the 
centuries  of  the  past,  over  the  barbarism,  idolatry,  superstition,  false- 
hood, sin,  and  wretchedness  of  man,  and  learn  from  their  response, 
the  credentials  of  the  truth.  Nay,  go  no  further  than  your  own 
moral  consciousness,  for  you  must  fee!  there^  that  the  Gospel  is  the 
word  of  truth — divine,  eternal  truth,  that  flashes  light  through  the 
densest  darkness  of  your  nature,  condemning  your  sins,  and  pointing 
you  to  your  only  remedy :  this  it  does  by  its  own  self-evidencing 
power.  Thus  attested,  and  instinct  with  the  resources  of  Omnipo- 
tence, the  truth  "must  stand  when  rolling  years  shall  cease  to  move." 
And  as  it  rises  higher  and  higher  in  the  firmament  of  this  world's 
history,  all  that  is  darkened  with  error  and  falsehood,  in  governments, 
both  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  in  institutions,  in  literature,  creeds  and 
forms,  must  fade  away  ;  and  as  it  culminates  in  its  meridian  splendor, 
the  nations  shall  shout  the  long-expected  jubilee,  and  hail  the 
universal  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  truth.  Then  shall  "  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together." 
2.  The  Gospel  is  not  only  "  the  word  of  truth,"  but  also  "  the 
gospel  of  your  salvation."  The  Gospel  is  as  benevolent  as  it  is  true. 
It  comes  not  only  to  shed  the  eff"ulgence  of  certitude  on  all  those 
great  subjects  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  man's  highest  interests,  but 
also  to  release  mankind  from  the  burdens  of  sin  and  woe  which  had 
for  ages  crushed  their  energies,  darkened  their  hopes,  and  saddened 
their  hearts.  It  is  a  Gospel  which  proclaims  "  Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest,  on  earth  peace,  and  good  will  towards  men."  It  freely 
offers,  as  it  abundantly  provides,  salvation  to  the  lost,  and  heaven  to 
the  exiled  posterity  of  Adam.  It  tells  of  the  Father,  that  lie  "  sent 
his  Sun  into  the  world,  not  to  condemn  the  world,  but  that  the  world 


THE   GOSPEL.  361 

through  him  might  be  saved."  It  tells  of  the  Son,  that  he  came  to 
seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost ;  and  declares,  that  "  this  is  a 
faithful  saying  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came 
into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  xind  it  tells  you,  also,  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  he  should  come  into  the  world,  to  convince  it  of  sin,  of 
righteousness,  and  of  a  judgment  to  come  ;  and  that  it  is  his  special 
province  to  enlighten,  regenerate,  comfort  and  sanctify  you,  that  you 
may  be  made  "  meet  for  an  inheritance  among  the  saints  in  light." 
Truly  then  does  the  Apostle  describe  the  Gospel  as  "  the  gospel  of 
your  salvation."  It  reveals  the  whole  Trinity  in  unity  engaged  in 
the  work  of  saving  you.  And,  surely,  the  work  which  engages  the 
entire  Godhead,  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  must  be  a  work  of  matchless 
grandeur  and  blessedness.  And  such  undoubtedly  is  the  work  which 
achieves  a  sinner's  salvation.  What  difficulties  are  surmounted  in 
this  work !  The  eternal  rectitude  of  the  government  of  God  was 
opposed  to  it.  But  this  was  brought  into  harmony  with  it.  The 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  by  his  life,  which  was  "  holy,  harmless, 
undefiled  and  separate  from  sinners,"  and  by  his  humiliation  "  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,"  magnified  the  law,  and  made  it 
honorable,  and  fully  satisfied  the  claims  of  Divine  rectitude  and 
justice.  And  in  saving  the  sinner, "  mercy  and  truth  meet  together, 
righteousness  and  peace  kiss  each  other."  The  perverted,  blind, 
depraved,  and  hostile  nature  of  man  himself  is  against  it.  But  this 
i-esistauce,  stubborn  and  mighty  as  it  is,  is  met  and  overcome  by  those 
elements  of  superior  power  which  are  embodied  in  the  Gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God.  Satan,  and  his  manifold  agencies,  are  opposed  to  it. 
But  "  greater  is  he  that  is  for  us,  than  all  that  can  be  against  us." 
How  do  these  difficulties  and  oppositions  serve  to  heighten  our 
conceptions  of  the  glory  of  that  Gospel,  which  wields  principles  and 
powers  by  which  they  may  all  be  overcome,  and  God  glorified  in  the 
STtmer's  salvation  ?  But  look  at  the  salvation  itself.  What  does  it 
do  for  the  sinner  ■?  It  comes  to  you  beaming  with  light  and  robed  in 
celestial  loveliness.  It  solves  all  the  anxious  solicitudes  of  your 
souls,  when  awakened  to  a  keen  perception  of  the  wrongs  which  you 
have  done  to  God.  It  cancels  your  guilt.  It  pardons  your  iniqui- 
ties. It  breaks  the  bond  of  your  old  sinful  servitude,  and  leads  you 
forth  into  the  liberty  of  the  Sons  of  God.  It  calms  all  your  mental 
disquietudes,  and  breathes  over  you  the  balmy  atmosphere  of  peace. 
It  purifies,  strengthens,  and  restores  you  to  the  image  of  God.     It 


362  THE    GOSPEL. 

makes  the  whole  sphere  and  scope  of  your  being  bright  and  joyous 
with  the  hope  of  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed.  Such,  and  more 
than  words  can  express,  is  the  salvation  which  the  Gospel  proclaims 
as  the  work  that  engages  the  tireless  energies  of  the  ever-blessed 
Trinity.  Well  might  the  Apostle  exult  in  such  a  Gospel,  saying  :  "  1 
am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  fur  it  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth  ;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also 
to  the  Greek."  This  Gospel  is  indeed  good  news  ;  for  wherever 
it  comes,  it  is  the  bearer  of  the  tidings  of  salvation — the  most 
truthful  and  cheering  tidings  that  ever  fell  on  mortal  ears.  These 
are  the  tidings  which  hush  the  wailings  of  despair ;  raise  the 
downcast  eye  of  conscious  guilt,  and  send  the  pulsations  of  new  life 
and  joy  into  the  crushed  and  woe-stricken  heart  of  humanity.  What 
Cv^n  is  our  Gospel?  Is  it  a  mere  system  of  high  doctrines  and 
mysteries,  inviting  the  investigations  of  the  learned?  Is  it  a  mere 
repository  of  dogmas,  for  the  use  of  creed-mongers  ;  or  is  it  merely 
a  spacious  firmament  of  brilliant  truths,  sparkling  and  beautiful,  to 
be  gazed  at  with  delight  and  admiration?  No,  no,  my  brethren. 
The  Gospel  is  the  glorious  proclamation  from  heaven,  that  sinners 
may  be  saved  through  the  finished  work  of  the  Mediator,  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord.  This  is  its  grand  charaeteristie.  This  is  its 
sublime  mission.  And  in  this,  it  is  peerless  and  alone.  Its  tones 
of  mercy  and  deliverance  to  man,  sound  from  no  other  quarter  of 
the  universe.  The  good  news  of  salvation  radiates  from  no  orb  of 
the  sky ;  it  is  announced  from  no  region  of  scientific  discovery  ;. 
philosophy  in  all  its  depths  and  in  all  its  heights  never  struck  its 
key-note ;  "  the  depth  saith  it  is  not  in  me  ;  and  the  sea  saith  it  is 
not  in  me  ;"  but  it  is  voiced  out  from  the  Gospel,  in  tones  full  and 
sweet,  like  the  singing  of  angels  ;  and  free,  like  the  atmosphere  that 
enwraps  the  globe.  Hear  it,  ye  nations  !  Hear  it,  all  ye  people  who 
are  ready  to  perish.  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

II.  The  requirements  of  the  Gospel.  "  After  that  ye  heard  the 
word  of  trutA — in  whom  also  after  that  ye  believed.^' 

1.  The  Gospel  requires  that  it  be  heard.  And  is  not  this  a  most 
reasonable  requirement  ?  If  there  be  any  sound — any  proclamation 
which  rightfully  demands  the  listening  ear  of  mortal  man— it  is  the 


THE   GOSPEL.  363 

sound  of  the  Gospel.  Is  the  utterance  of  truth  on  any  grave  ques- 
tion, involving  the  property,  reputation,  liberty  and  lives  of  men,  or 
the  stability  of  nations,  worthy  of  being  heard  with  profound  atten- 
tion 1  How  much  more  po,  "  the  word  of  truth."  By  its  announce- 
ments, questions  infinitely  more  momentous  than  ever  trembled  in 
the  balance  of  senatorial  debate,  or  judicial  decision,  are  solved  and 
determined  beyond  any  further  appeal.  Those  great  questions 
concerning  God,  the  eoul,  life  and  death — eternal  life  and  eternal 
death — tremble  in  the  balance  which  is  swayed  by  the  oracles  of 
Gospel  truth.  What  then  can  so  much  merit  your  serious  and 
attentive  hearing?  Does  the  proclamation  of  health  to  the  sick, 
freedom  to  the  captive,  joy  to  the  sorrowing,  or  life  to  the  dead, 
receive  the  tribute  of  an  eager  audience,  from  those  subjects  of  pain 
and  wretchedness?  Then  how  should  you  regard  "  the  Gospel  of 
your  salvation  V-  You  are  diseased,  it  offers  you  health  ;  you  are  in 
bondage,  it  offers  you  liberty  ;  you  are  the  subjects  of  manifold 
sorrows,  which  earth  cannot  cure,  it  offers  you  "  a  balm  for  every 
wound,  a  cordial  for  every  fear;"  you  are  dead  to  all  the  higher 
and  nobler  ends  of  your  being,  it  offers  you  life.  Surely  then  if 
there  is  one  duty  pressing  upon  you — one  privilege  which  you  ought 
with  eager  hand  to  grasp — it  is  the  duty,  the  privilege,  of  hearing 
the  Gospel.  And  yet  how  lamentably  true  is  it,  that  scarcely  any 
sound  is  less  heeded  than  this  heavenly  proclamation,  by  the 
thoughtless  and  guilty  multitudes,  who  are  hurrying  through  their 
brief  and  uncertain  existence  upon  earth.  Your  ears  are  open  to 
every  passing  tale  that  is  told,  eager  to  drink  in  the  news  of  the 
day,  whether  of  personal,  social,  political,  or  commercial  matters. 
Lectures  on  the  fine  arts,  literature,  science,  and  even  on  subjects  of 
ridicule  and  mirth,  are  listened  to  with  marked  interest  and  attention, 
and  made  the  themes,  afterwards,  of  earnest  conversation.  What 
multitudes,  also,  lend  their  ears,  night  after  night,  to  the  feigned 
exhibitions  of  the  stage.  And  yet  all  these  things  together,  with 
any  interest  you  may  have  in  them,  are  limited  by  the  seen  and  the 
temporal ;  while  some  of  them  are  opposed  alike  to  the  interests  of 
the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come.  But  where  is 
the  eager,  attentive,  appreciative  ear,  when  the  word  of  truth  is 
declared,  and  when  the  Gospel  pours  forth  the  melody  of  its  glad 
tidings,  offering  rest  to  the  weary,  pardon  to  the  guilty,  holiness  to 
the  impure,  and  heaven  to  the  exiled  sons  and  daughters  of  men  1 


364  THE   GOSPEL. 

When  tl>e  Gospel  is  preached,  purely,  simply,  God  speaks  to  you 
words  of  truth  and  grace  by  which  you  may  be  saved.  How  reason- 
able, how  solemn,  how  urgent,  then,  the  duty  of  hearing  it !  "0 
€arth,  earth,  earth,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord."  Hear  it  attentively, 
and  you  will  receive  instruction  in  the  way  of  life.  Hear  it,  honestly 
desiring  to  know  what  is  the  truth,  and  it  will  flash  the  light  of 
conviction  into  your  dark  understandings  and  consciences.  Hear  it 
with  an  humble,  reverent  prayer,  that  it  may  bring  to  you  a  message 
of  mercy,  and  it  will  reveal  Chri.st  to  your  inmost  soul,  as  "  the  way, 
the  trutli,  and  the  life."  May  you  so  hear  it  now  !  Not  long  since 
two  of  the  mightiest  nations  on  the  globe  paused,  and  bent  their 
ears  to  catch  the  first  notes  of  mutual  congratulation,  as  they  were 
borne  on  the  tongue  of  lightning,  through  the  waters  of  the  broad 
Atlantic.  And  will  you  not  hush  your  souls  into  stillness,  bid  all 
your  passions  be  quiet,  while  your  Almighty  Father,  King  of  kings, 
and  Lord  of  lords,  stoops  from  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  in  all 
the  melting  majesty  of  love,  proclaims  to  you  "  the  word  of  truth, 
the  gospel  of  your  salvation  V  0,  who  will  not  say.  Be  still !  let 
•every  earthly  sound  be  hushed  :  it  is  my  Father's  voice !  lo !  my 
elder  brother  speaks !     "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  V 

"  Send  some  message  from  thy  word. 
That  may  peace  and  joy  afford." 

2.  The  second  requirement  of  the  Gospel  furnishes  an  answer  to 
the  all-absorbing  question,  which  the  right  hearing  of  the  truth  ever 
suggests  and  awakens.  "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved."  "  In  whom  after  that  ye  hdievtd.'"  "Faith 
Cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God."  But  what  is 
it  to  believe  ?  On  this  subject  many  words  darken  counsel.  It  is 
not  so  much  the  philosophy  of  the  act,  as  the  act  itself,  which 
concerns  you.  Yet  its  philosophy,  like  all  the  philosophy  of  heaven, 
is  simplicity  itself.  Do  3'ou  still  ask  what  it  is  to  believe  ■?  We 
reply,  it  is  the  "  flight  of  a  penitent  sinner  unto  the  mercy  of  God  in 
Christ."  Make  an  honest  efi"ort  to  perform  the  act,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  will  explain  its  import.  Remember  it  is  faith  in  Christ  which 
the  Gospel  requires.  You  have  "  the  word  of  truth,"  and  you 
should  hear  it,  ponder  on  it,  believe  it,  and  receive  its  convicting 
power  in  your  consciences ;  but  you  should  not  trust  in  it,  as  a  mere 
revelation  of  truth.     You  have  the  gospel  of  your  salvation,  and 


THE  GOSPEL,  365 

you  should;  hail  it  with  joy,  study  it,  embrace  it,  as  the  only  dis- 
closure of  God's  method  of  saving  sinners.  But  if  you  stop  here, 
you  stop  short  of  salvation.  The  Gospel  receives  all  its  significance 
and  importance — its  very  character  and  substance  as  a  Gospel — ^from 
the  person,  the  work,  and  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus,  to  whom  it  points  as 
the  only  ground  of  a  sinner's  hope,  and  the  sole  object  of  a  sinner's 
faith.  He  it  is,  "  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past, 
through  the  forbearance  o-f  God ;  to  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his 
righteousness  :  that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that 
believeth  in  Jesus."  This,  then,  is  the  grand  requirement  of  the 
Gospel— Believe.  Wonderful  word!  What  power  resides  in  it, 
what  a  crisis  in  human  e:sistence  does  it  produce  ;  what  countless 
blessings  does  it  secure!  It  fixes  the  soul  on- the  everlasting  love 
of  God  in  Christ,  as  the  foundation  of  its  pardon,  adoptiouy  and 
regeneration.  It  gives  to  the  soul  a  living,  felt,  joyous  interest  in 
the  aim  and  end  of  the  redeeming  work  of  the  Son  of  God,  which  is 
eternal  life,  derived  from  God  and  perfected  in  him.  It  is  the 
fruitful  source  of  a  holy  and  beautiful  life,  in  conformity  to  the 
lovely  life  of  Jesus.  Believe  in  Christ,  and  you  are  one  with  him. 
And  in  this  blessed  union  the  whole  Godhead  smiles  on  yoU,  am3 
invests  your  being  and  destiny  with  divine  dignity  and  splendor. 
Such  being  the  simplicity,  power,  and  efficacy  of  faith  in  Christ, 
marvelous  indeed  is  the  unbelief  of  man  !  I  know  that  the  pride  of 
philosophy,  and  the  pride  of  aelf-rigbteousness,  have  ever  stumbled 
at  this  word — bslieve.  But  ihat  pride  must  bow,  or  the  soul  it  swells 
must  die.  Reason,  philosophy,  science,  and  largest  learning,  must 
bring  all  their  boasted  treasures,  and  lay  them  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  and  count  them  but  loss,  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge 
of  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord — that  Christ  may  be  won.  Morality,  with 
its  noblest  traits  and  most  generous  deeds,  musft  disrobe  itself  and 
appear  in  its  naked  deformity,  that  it  may  seek,  like  Paul,  "  to  be 
found  in  Him,  not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the 
law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  fuith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness 
which  is  of  God  by  faith."  But  why  do  I  prolong  your  attention  to 
this  evangelical  word,  believe  ?  It  is  that  you  may  even  now  realize 
its  sublime  import  in  your  hearts.  Come,  then,  all  guilty,  polluted, 
wretched  and  undone,  as  you  are,  and  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God 
that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world." 


366  THE   GOSPEL. 

"  Believe  in  Him,  who  died  for  thee  ; 
And  sure  as  He  has  died, 
Thy  debt  is  paid,  thy  soul  is  free, 
And  thou  art  justified." 

Here  3'ou  may  lay  off  the  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and  in  a  garment  pure 
and  white,  standing  hard  by  the  cross,  with  your  eye  of  faith  resting 
on  the  slain  Lamb  of  God,  tunc  your  harp  and  sing : 

*'  All  praise  to  the  Lamb  !   accepted  I  am, 

Through  faith  in  the  Saviour's  adorable  name  ; 

In  Him  I  confide,  His  blood  is  applied ; 

For  me  He  hath  suffered,  for  me  He  hath  died. 

"  Not  a  doubt  doth  arise,  to  darken  the  skies, 
Or  hide  for  a  moment,  my  Lord  from  mine  eyes: 
In  Him  I  am  blest,  I  lean  on  His  breast, 
And,  lo  !  in  His  wounds  I  continue  to  rest." 

III.  The  blessings  of  the  Gospel.  "  After  that  ye  believed,  ye 
were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of 
our  inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession." 

1.  The  first  gospel  blessing,  as  indicated  in  the  text,  is  that  of  our 
being  "  sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise."  Here  is  a  blessed 
agent,  and  a  blessed  act.  The  agent  is  "  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
promise."  He  it  is,  by  whom  the  work  of  salvation  is  wrought  in, 
and  made  manifest  to  the  soul.  Hence  our  spiritual  renovation  is 
said  to  be  effected  "  by  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  He  is  the  third  person  of  the  triune  Godhead, 
and  as  such,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  it  is  his  high 
prerogative,  in  the  economy  of  our  redemption,  to  re-edify  the  fallen 
temple  of  the  human  soul,  to  re-adorn  it  with  the  beauties  of  holiness, 
and  to  fill  it  with  the  Divine  presence  and  glory.  He  is  called  the 
"Spirit  of  promise,"  because  he  is  the  prominent  subject  of  many  of 
the  promises  announced  by  the  prophets  of  the  old  economy.  He 
was  also  promised  by  Christ  to  his  disciples.  For  before  Christ  was 
glorified  the  Spirit  was  to  the  church  a  promised  gift.  For  this 
promise  the  church  waited,  and  with  this  promised  gift  the  waiting 
church  was  baptized,  and  mightily  endowed  for  the  fulfillment  of  her 
mission  in  the  world.  For  the  largest  fulfillment  of  this  promise, 
the  church  still  waits  ;  and  0,  that  she  would,  in  faith  and  earnest, 
united,  pleading  prayer,  then  would  another  Pentecost  come,  and  a 
nation  be  bora  in  a  day  I 


THE   GOSPEL.  367 

But  what  is  the  act,  wliicli  is  here  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  which  constitutes  for  the  child  of  God  so  rich  a  blessing  ?  It  is 
the  act  of  sealing  them.  The  use  of  seals,  to  which  the  Apostle 
refers,  was  to  impress  a  mark  on  an  object,  so  as  to  designate  it  as 
the  property  of  him  whose  seal  it  bore.  Thus  the  Holy  Spirit  seals 
those  who  have  believed,  by  impressing  xipon  them  the  image  of  God, 
thereby  designating  them  as  the  peculiar  people  and  property  of  God, 
enlisting  in  their  behalf  the  special  interest  and  regards  of  God. 
The  Spirit's  seal  hath  on  it  this  motto,  *'  The  Lord  knoweth  them 
that  are  his." 

The  seal  of  the  Spirit  is  not  only  an  objective  designation,  but 
also  a  subjective  assurance  that  we  are  God's  people  ;  the  objects  of 
his  peculiar  interest  and  ftivor.  It  is  a  part  of  the  Spirit's  work  to 
make  our  reconciliation  and  adoption  sure  to  us.  Wherever  he 
dwells  as  a  sealing  Spirit,  there  he  is  as  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  crying 
in  our  hearts,  Abba  1  Father  ! 

What  a  rich  blessing  is  this  !  to  be  designated,  marked,  sealed  as 
the  peculiar  people  and  property  of  God,  and  to  be  inwardly  assured 
that  we  are  his,  and  are  entitled  to  all  the  present  and  prospective 
immunities  of  his  heavenly  household.  And  all  this,  not  by  the 
fallible  deductions  of  our  own  reason  ;.  the  declarations  of  an  erring 
priesthood,  nor  the  appliances  of  ecclesiastical  forms  and  ceremonies, 
but  by  the  infallible  Spirit  of  God  himself.  The  Holy  Spirit  first 
produces  in  us  the  new  creation  after  the  image  of  God,  then  sheds 
a  clear,  steady  light  on  his  own  work,  by  which  we  are  assured  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God,  and  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with 
his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the  blessed  religious  experience  'which 
the  Bible  inculcates,  which  true  faith  realizes,  which  God  acknow- 
ledges, before  which  the  clouds  of  earthly  aflBiction  grow  bright, 
death  loses  its  sting,  and  the  grave  its  victory.  My  brethren,  this  I 
call  a  great,  a  glorious  Gospel  blessing.  What  think  you  ?  Is  it  not 
so  ■?  I  know  that  you  are  accustomed  to  place  a  very  high  estimate 
on  the  assured  favor  of  those  whom  you  regard  as  important  to  your 
temporal  well-being.  You  know  if  you  are  in  want  they  will  help 
you  ;  if  you  are  in  danger  they  will  screen  you;  if  you  are  perplexed 
they  will  guide  you.  They  may  be  wealthy,  strong,  and  wise  ;  and 
you  know  they  love  you.  What  a  cheerful  light  does  the  assurance 
of  their  love  and  favor  throw  around  your  earthly  life!  But  what  is 
the   favor  of  man  compared  with  the  favor  of  God?    A  thousand 


368  THE   GOSPEL. 

circumstances  may  intervene,  and  cause  the  aid  of  those  on  whom 
you  rely,  to  fail  you  just  v.t  the  period  of  your  greatest  need.  But 
can  God  fail?  Can  circumstances  affect  him?  Is  he  not  "  a  friend 
that  sticketh  closer  than  any  brother  ?"  Can  his  wealth  be  exhausted, 
or  his  strength  be  weakened,  or  his  wisdom  be  nonplused  1  Then,  if 
you  are  scaled  as  his  property,  and  assured  of  his  proprietorship  in 
you  as  one  of  his  peculiar  people,  you  may  rejoice  and  be  glad,  for 
thou  hast  a  friend  adequate  to  every  possible  emergency.  And  he 
says  to  thee — "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee  ;."  so  that 
thou  mayest  boldly  gay,  "theLord  is  my  helper." 

2.  The  other  great  blessing  which  follows  faith  in   Christ,  is  the 
"  earnest  of  our  inheritance."     An  earnest  is  a  part  of  the  purchase 
money  already  paid  down,  to  confirm  the  contract,  and  as  a  pledge 
that  the  whole  amount  shall  be  forthcoming  in  due  time.     This  word 
the  Apostle  uses  in  a  figurative  sense,  to  represent  the  work  already 
wrought   in   the   heart   of  the   believer,  in  relation   to   its   future 
completion  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.     The  import  of  this 
"  earnest"  is,  that  grace  is  incipient  glory,  and  glory  shall  complete 
what  grace   has   begun.     This   representation   of  the   work  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  believers,  has  a  special  value,  as  it  serves  to 
give  a  kind  of  definiteness  to  our  ideas  of  the  heavenly  inheritance. 
Much  of  the  gorgeous  picturing  of  heaven  which  we  sometimes  read 
and  hear,  fails  in  vividness  of  impression  and  urgency  of  moiive  to 
our  souls,  because  it  is  composed  of  features  and  hues  to  which  there 
is  nothing  correspondent  in  the  present  realizations  of  our  experience. 
But  when  we  speak  of  a  heaven  on  whose  loveliness  you  have  already 
gazed,  of  whose  fruits  you  have  already  had  a  foretaste,  and  into 
whose  fellowship  you  have  already  entered,  then  the  shadowy  gives 
place  to  the  real,  the  indefinite  to  the  distinct,  the  foreign  to  the 
familiar  ;  then  the  land  that  is  afar  off  is  brought  nigh,  and  the 
visions,  the  love,  the  purity,  the  high   services,  holy  fellowships,  and 
the  sublime  enjoyments  of  heaven,  are  antedated  by  the  "  earnest  of 
our  inheritance,"  which  is  heaven  in  miniature,  and  which  all  who 
have  believed,  and   are  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  possess  and 
enjoy,  even  in  this  vale  of  tears.     You  have  now  the  disquietudes  of 
your  hearts  calmed  by  "  the  peace  of  God  which  passcth  all  under- 
standing ;"  and  what  is  this  but  a  foretaste  of  that  deep,  sweet, 
unbroken  calm,  which  is  forever  settled  upon  the  paradise  of  God  ? 
Already  are  you  changed  into  the  image  of  Joaus — "  from  glory  to 


THE   GOSPEL.  369 

glory  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord;"  and  is  not  this  the  beginning 
of  that  perfection  which  consists  in  your  complete  transformation 
into  the  image  of  God,  and  which  is  one  of  the  brightest  radiances 
of  the  celestial  glory  ?  John  tells-  us  of  the  blessedness  that  shall 
crown  us,  that  "  we  shall  be  like  Ilim,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He 
is."  Have  you  not  in  this,  the  land  of  your  pilgrimage,  some  of 
those  ravishing  delights  and  elevated  joys,  which  are  forever  in  the 
presence,  and  at  the  right  hand  of  God  ?  "  Whom  having  not  seen 
ye  love,  in  whom  though  now  ye  see  Him  not,  yet  believing  ye 
rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  In  these  works  and 
fruits  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Gospel  blesses  the  believer  with  an 
earnest  of  his  future  heaven.  These  are  the  grapes  of  Eschol,  which 
tell  me  how  goodly  a  land  my  Canaan  is.  These  are  streaks  of 
immortality  breaking  through  the  intervening  veil,  and  kindling  for 
me  the  beginnings  of  heaven  upon  earth.  And  if  all  this  be  but  an 
"  earnest,"  which  is,  as  Chrysostom  explains  it,  "  a  part  of  the 
whole,"  then  what  must  that  "  whole  "  be  ?  It  will  be  these  precious 
buds  bursting  into  full  blown  flowers  ;  these  lovely  streaks  of  the 
morning  dawn  melting  into  the  splendor  of  meridian  day.  It  will 
be  my  present  knowledge,  freed  from  its  dirasightedness  and  uncer- 
tainty ;  my  present  holiness  made  stainless  like  the  holiness  of  God  ; 
my  present  enjoyments  expanding  into  all  the  perfection  of  bliss,  of 
■which  my  glorified  nature  shall  be  capable.  And  all  this  to  be 
realized  in  that  "  new  heaven  and  new  earth,"  where  sin  shall  never 
be,  with  its  defilements  and  its  curse ;  where  there  are  no  seeds  of 
corruption  to  work  decay,  and  whose  bloom  and  beauty  shall  be 
immortal  in  their  tints  and  hues  of  loveliness  and  splendor. 

And  this  earnest  is  ours  "  until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased 
possession."  By  the  purchased  possession,  here,  you  are  not  to 
understand  heaven,  or  your  eternal  blessedness,  but  the  collective 
people  of  God,  whom  he  hath  purchased  by  the  precious  blood  of 
Jesus  as  His  own  peculiar  treasure.  And  by  the  redemption  of  this 
purchased  possession,  is  meant  the  final  restoration,  when  the  graves 
shall  give  up  their  dead,  and  the  whole  family  of  God  shall  be 
presented  faultless  and  complete  before  His  throne.  Of  that 
glorious  period  of  "  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God "  Paul 
speaks  in  another  place,  and  says  of  those  who  have  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  "  even  v\c  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the 
adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our  body."    AVhen  the  trumpet 

24 


370  THE   GOSPEL. 

that  heralds  the  second  advent  of  our  Lord  shall  sound  its  bias 
upon  the  ear  of  the  universe,  then  shall  the  slumbering  dust  of  his 
saints  hear  his  voice,  and  come  forth,  in  new  and  beautiful  forms, 
fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  spiritual,  incorruptible, 
inmiortal  ;  robed  in  flashing  sunbeams,  £t  abodes  and  organs  for 
"  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect."  Then  shall  be  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  purchased  possession;  then  shall  the  "earnest"  be 
absorbed  in  the  full  "  inheritance."  Then  for  the  foretaste,  you 
shall  have  the  rich  and  royal  banquet.  For  then,  the  shout  shall  be 
heard,  as  the  sound  of  many  waters  :  "  Let  us  be  glad,  and  rejoice, 
and  give  glory  to  Him.  For  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and 
his  wife  hath  made  herself  ready." 

•'  Yes,  the  prize  shall  soon  be  given  ; 

We  his  open  face  shall  see  : 
Love  the  earnest  of  our  heaven, 

Love  our  full  reward  shall  he  : 
Love  shall  crown  us 

Kings  through  all  eternity." 

My  brethren  and  fellow  heirs  of  immortality,  what  is  this  Gospel 
to  you  ?  Has  it  given  truth  to  your  understandings,  and  salvation 
to  your  souls?  Have  you  heard  it  with  due  interest,  reflection  and 
prayer  ?  Have  you  believed  in  the  Christ  to  whom  it  points  you,  as 
your  only  and  all-sufficient  Saviour?  Have  "you  the  seal  of  God 
impressed  upon  your  inmost  souls  ?  Have  you,  in  the  peace,  the 
purity,  and  the  gladness  of  your  hearts,  the  earnest  of  your  future 
heaven  ^  Can  you  answer  these  questions  affirmatively  1  if  so,  then 
I  hail  you,  ye  blessed  people  of  the  Lord  I  Learn  to  prize  this 
Gospel  more  highly  every  day  of  your  lives.  You  will  never  reach 
that  point  of  progression  in  this  life,  at  which  you  will  be  beyond 
the  need  of  this  grand  old  Gospel.  Make  it,  then,  more  and  more 
7jour  Gospel  every  day  of  your  existence.  Study  it ;  pray  over  it ; 
adorn  it ;  commend  it.  Breathe  in  its  atmosphere.  Drink  of  its 
living  waters.  Feast  upon  its  heavenly  manna.  Thus  shall  ye  grow 
up  into  a  moral  manhood,  like  unto  Christ  your  living  head.  Thus 
pass  a  few  interchanging  days  and  nights,  and  then —  , 

•'  The  joyful  news  will  come, 
Child,  your  Father  calls,  come  liome  " 

But  if  you  are  unable  to  claim  the  blessinga  of  the  Gospel  as  a 


THE   GOSPEL.  371 

present  possession,  what  shall  I  say  to  you  ?  What  can  I  say,  that 
has  not  been  said  a  thousand  times  before  ?  And  yet,  blessed  be 
God,  I  have  an  abiding  faith  in  the  simple,  old  story  of  the  cross. 
"  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  for  it  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth."  And  as  "  faith  cometh 
by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God,"  why  may  not  that 
faith  so  come  to  you  this  day  ?  Think  of  your  sins,  how  deep  their 
lye ;  how  ponderous  their  weight  of  guilt ;  how  revolting  in  the  sight 
of  your  immaculate  God ;  how  deep  the  damnation  they  deserve. 
Think  of  the  love  that  bled  and  died,  in  the  person  of  the  holy  and 
loving  Jesus,  that  your  sins  might  not  cleave  as  a  withering  curse 
to  your  souls  forever.  And  can  you  thus  ponder,  and  not  turn  and 
live  ?  Behold  the  cross  I  Hear  as  from  the  quivering,  dying  lipg 
of  your  crucified  Lord  and  Saviour,  these  gladly  solemn  words : 
"  Look  unto  me  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth,  and  be  ye  saved."  One 
look  I  One  glance  of  the  eye  of  living  faith,  and  thou'  art  justified, 
and  hast  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  May  God 
grant  you  this  grace  for  his  name's  sake.     Amen. 


'•^< 


//  .^r  .yU^^y^i^i^ 


:\/o  Mo  Wo  m%  ir^EQiKtLv  li^'"'^'^ 

jf  THE  LOVISIANA  OOhrfKREV  rK 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  STATE : 
Or,  State  op  the  Soul  between  Death  and  the  Resurrection. 


BY     H.     N.     M'TYEIRE,    D.D. 

OF  THE  LOUISIANA  COXTEREN'CE. 


"  And  these  all,  having  obtained  a  good  report  through  faith,  received  not 
the  promise  ;  G-od  having  provided  some  better  thing  for  us,  that  they  with- 
out us  should  not  be  made  perfect." — Heb.  xi,  39,  40. 

No  one  has  yet  been  saved  in  heaven :  no  one  sent  to  hell.  These 
states  and  conditions  wilLuot  be  awarded  till  the  judgment;  and  it 
will  not  take  place  till  the  resurrection. 

"  It  ia  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this,  the  judg. 
ment."  God  has  also  "  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained." 
"  That  man  "  has  described  to  us  the  order  and  awful  glory  of  "  that 
day."  It  is  future — how  far  off,  we  know  not.  Meantime,  death 
reigns.  For  six  thousand  years  men  have  been  dying.  What  of  the 
souls  of  the  departed  ?  What  of  all  who  have  died,  and  who  shall 
die  between  this  day  and  the  last  1 

No  vain  or  irreverent  curiosity  inquires  here.  A  state  so  near,  so 
certain,  concerns  us  all.  The  soul  would  explore  before  entering 
"  the  land  of  darkness,  as  darkness  itself."  We  look,  we  cannot  help 
looking  in  that  direction.  That  long  interval  between  death  and  the 
judgment,  how  is  it  spent,  and  where  ?  Reflection  upon  such  themes 
sobers  and  chastens  us ;  brings  worldly  thoughts  to  a  solemn  pause  ; 
lessens  the  dread  of  death ;  introduces  us  to  edifying  communion 
with  the  things  which  are  not  seen,  and  kindles  gratitude  and  love 
to  Him  to  whom  we  owe  these  lively  hopes. 

This  chapter  recites  the  names  and  deeds  of  heroes  and  heroines  of 
faith  :  their  noble  epitaph — "  Of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy." 
A.fter  obeying,  suffering  and  illustrating  their  service,  they  died  ;  but 
the  promise,  in  its  fullness,  was  still  ahead  5  the  "  rest,"  the 
'* heavenly  country,"  the  "city  prepared  by  Grod" — all,  all  lay 
before  them. 


374  THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE. 

No  salvation  is  perfected  under  the  Mediatorial  dispensation,  until 
that  dispensation  is  consummated.  The  Mediator  must  reign  till  he 
hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet  by  conversion  or  subjection. 
Death,  the  last  enemy,  must  be  destroyed ;  his  bands  be  broken,  his 
pains  loosed,  and  every  grave  opened  and  emptied.  "  Then  comeih 
the  end,  when  he  shall  have  delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even 
the  Father Then  shall  the  Son  also  himself  be  sub- 
ject unto  him  that  put  all  things  under  him,  that  God  may  be  all 
in  all." 

This  Mediatorial  sovereignty  is  distinct  from  that  which  he  shares, 
as  the  Son,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  essential 
unity  of  Godhead.  It  was  delegated  for  a  time  and  a  purpose.  All 
power  was  given  unto  him,  in  heaven  and  earth  ;  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church.  When  he  has  brought  sons  and  daughters  to  glory — 
saved  his  church,  then,  except  so  far  as  his  reign  is  with  and  over 
them,  his  mediatorial  sovereignty  may  end — be  merged  in  the  original 
and  eternal  sovereignty  which  he  has  as  God  the  Son,  with  God  the 
Father  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  martyrs  have  gone  before  ;  we  shall 
overtake  them ;  others  us  ;  and  the  communion  of  saints  be  enjoyed 
in  being  perfected  together.  There  are  advantages  in  an  advance 
position.  To  have  "  the  ends  of  the  world  come  upon  us,"  is  not 
without  lis  advantages.  Our  times  are  in  God's  hand  ;  he  has  dis- 
tributed and  disposed  of  us  well.  Let  us  be  thankful  for  the  times 
we  live  in.  The  redeemed  in  Jesus  Christ  are  one  family.  They  bear 
one  family  name,  and  are  bound  up  in  one  covenant  and  fate,  from 
righteous  Abel  to  the  last  praying,  trusting,  self-renouncing  Christian 
who  shall  die  in  the  Lord. 

"  One  family  we  dwell  in  him. 
One  church  above,  beneath — 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream, 
The  narrow  stream  of  death." 

Chrysostom  has  remarked  on  the  text :  "  Still  they  had  not  re- 
ceived it,  still  they  waited  for  it,  even  after  they  had  ended  their  life 
in  such  tribulation.  So  much  time  had  passed  after  their  victory, 
and  still  they  had  not  received  it !  And  should  we  sigh  because  we 
stand  yet  in  the  conflict  1  Hemember  what  is  said,  that  Abraham 
and  the  Apostle  Paul  sit  and  vmit,  until  thou  art  made  perfect. 
Until  we  come,  has  the  Saviour  said,  he  will  not  give  the  reward  to 


THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  375 

tnem ;  just  as  a  tender  father  would  say  to  his  good  sons  Tyho  had 
finished  their  work,  <  I  will  give  you  to  eat  when  your  brother  also 
comes.'  The  Lord  does  no  wrong  to  them,  but  he  does  honor  to  us." 

Of  the  state  of  the  dead  during  the  interval  between  death,  the 
dissolution  of  soul  and  body,  and  the  resurrection,  when  soul  and 
body  are  re-united  forever,  the  three  opinions  most  seriously  enter- 
tained, are  : 

1.  An  unconscious  state.  To  one  dead,  time  is  of  no  note  ;  no- 
thing to  mark  it  by  :  no  scenes,  no  moving  bodies,  no  succession  of 
ideas.  The  grave  is  without  a  dial-plate.  Hence,  like  a  dream  in 
the  night,  it  will  seem  but  a  moment  between  closing  the  eyes  in 
death  and  awaking  to  judgment. 

This  cheerless  theory  involves  a  subtile  distinction  between  real 
and  apparent  time  not  to  be  attributed  to  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  St.  Paul's  willingness  to  be  "  absent  from  the  body," 
in  which  he  was  so  useful  to  the  churches  and  the  brethren,  was  in 
view  of  the  happiness — not  of  vital  suspension,  but  of  being  "  present 
with  the  Lord."  The  reverse  was,  "  at  home  in  the  body — absent 
from  the  Lord."  The  Apostle,  in  his  earthly  presence,  was  fully 
alive,  conscious.  Moses  and  Elias  had  been  sometime  dead  when 
Been  and  communed  with  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  Jesus 
encouraging  the  dying  thief — "This  day,"  etc. — meant  what  he  said. 

2.  Souls  go  immediately  to  heaven  or  hell.  This  view  has  many 
difficulties.  For  the  present,  hear  Mr.  Wesley  :*  "  *  The  beggar 
died ' —  here  ended  poverty  and  pain — *  and  was  carried  by  angels  ' — 
nobler  servants  than  any  that  attended  the  rich  man — '  into  Abra- 
ham's bosom  ;'  so  the  Jews  commonly  termed  what  our  blessed  Lord 
styles  paradise  ;  the  place  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling 
and  where  the  weary  are  at  rest ;  the  receptacle  of  holy  souls  from 
death  to  the  resurrection.  It  is  indeed  very  generally  supposed 
that  the  souls  of  good  men,  as  soon  as  they  are  discharged  from  the 
body,  go  directly  to  heaven  :  but  this  opinion  has  not  the  least  found- 
ation in  the  oracles  of  Grod Paradise  is  not  heaven. 

It  is  indeed  (if  we  may  be  allowed  the  expression)  the  antechamber 
[elsewhere,'  porch']  of  heaven,  where  the  souls  of  the  righteous  re- 
main till,  after  the  general  judgment,  they  are  received  into  glory." 

3.  A  conscious  interval,  which  all  shall  pass  through,  except  those 
found  on  the  earth  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ.     There  is  a  place 

•*  Sermon  on  Dives  and  Lazarus. 


376  THE   INTERMEDIATE   STATE. 

for  our  bodies,  so  also  there  is  a  receptacle  for  our  souls,  during  their 
separation.  This  spirit-world  receives  all  who  depart ;  good  and  bad, 
small  and  great,  old  and  young.  The  Hebrew  original  of  the  Old 
Testament  calls  it  shcol,  which  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Septua- 
gint  renders  hades.  The  Greek  original  of  the  New  Testament 
calls  it  hades,  which  the  Latin  Vulgate  renders  infernus.  The 
English  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  and  of  the  New,  sometimes 
renders  it  hell,  sometimes  grave. 

Here,  in  sheol,  hades,  the  souls  of  all  who  die  are  received,  with- 
out respect  to  their  goodness  or  badness,  their  happiness  or  misery. 
It  is  a  temporary  abode.  But  they  abide  not  together.  There  is  a 
gulf  fixed,  a  great  gulf  and  impassable,  between  Dives  and  Lazarus, 
and  all  who  fall  respectively  into  their  classes.  Hero  are  not  only  sepa- 
rations, but  joys  and  sorrows  ;  for  these  affections  are  not  confined  to 
the  body. 

With  this  agr^e  particular  words,  texts  and  the  tenor  of  Scripture. 
An  eminent  biblical  critic*  observes  that  g-e/jerma,  a  word  occurring 
just  twelve  times  in  the  New  Testament,  means  the  place  of  torment 
reserved  for  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  in  a  tuture  state.  In  tea 
of  these  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  in  the  other  two,  the  expression,  if 
figurative,  is  taken  from  that  state  of  misery  which  awaits  the  impeni- 
tent, "  where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched." 
Another  word,  hades,  occurs  frequently  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  in 
eleven  places  in  the  New.  In  the  New  Testament  it  is  translated 
hell,  in  all  places  except  one,  (1  Cor.  xv.  55,)  where  it  is  translated 
grave.  Hades  is  not  only  frequently  used  by  the  Seventy,  but  it  is 
common  among  classical  authors ;  and  in  the  judgment  of  the  critic 
quoted,  and  others,  it  ought  never  in  Scripture  be  rendered  hell,  at 
least  in  the  sense  wherein  this  word  is  now  universally  understood 
among  Christians.  In  translating  the  Hebrew  word  sheol,  the  Seventy 
almost  invariably  used  hades  ;  both  meaning  the  state  of  the  dead  in 
general — the  invisible,  the  hidden,  the  veiled  land. 

Jacob,  hearing  of  the  probable  and  melancholy  fate  of  Joseph — "  I 
will  go  down  into  the  grave  unto  my  son  mourning."  According  to 
his  fears,  Joseph  was  not  in  a  grave,  much  less  the  family  burial- 
place,  where  his  own  dust  would  mingle  with  his  beloved  son's.  He 
had  despairingly  pronounced — "  An  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him  j 
Joseph  is  without  doubt  rent  in  pieces."    Afterwards,  his  sons  expos- 

*  George  Campbell,  (1758,)  Dissertalioiis 


THE   INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  377 

tulating  with  their  father  about  sending  Benjamin  into  Egypt  with 
them — "  Then  shall  ye  bring  down  my  grey  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave."  In  both  texts,  grave  is  in  the  Septuagint  hades,  in  the 
Hebrew  sheol.  Shocking  as  it  might  seem,  there  would  have  been  as 
much  reason  to  translate  it  hell  in  both,  as  in  Psalm  xvi,  10,  where 
David  prophecies  of  Christ — "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell  ; 
neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  The 
words  are  the  same.  (So  Isa.  v,  14  ;  xiv,  19.  Ps.  cxxxix,  8.)  Be- 
sides, continues  our  critical  authority,  we  have  another  clear  proof 
from  the  New  Testament,  that  hades  denotes  the  intermediate  state 
of  souls  between  death  and  the  general  resurrection.  In  Revelations 
(xx,  14)  we  read  that  death  and  hades — by  our  translators  rendered 
hell,  as  usual — shall,  immediately  after  the  general  judgment,  "  be 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  :  this  is  the  second  death."  In  other  words, 
the  death  which  consists  in  the  separation  of  soul  and  body,  and  the 
receptacle  of  disembodied  spirits  shall  be  no  more.  Hades  shall  be 
emptied,  death  abolished.  But  interpret  hades  hell  in  the  Christian 
acceptation,  and  you  have  hell  represented  as  being  cast  into  hell ! 

An  ancient  and  much  used  form  of  the  Apostles'  creed  delivers 
that  Christ  being  crucified,  was  dead,  buriei  and  descended  into  hell. 
Not  into  gehenna,  there  with  the  devil  and  his  angels  to  perfect  his 
passion  or  complete  his  atonement;  that  was  "finished,"  proclaimed 
so,  and  accepted,  when  he  died  on  the  Cross,  commending  his  sinless 
spirit  into  his  Father's  hands.  But  that  he,  a^'ter  death,  entered  into 
hades,  we  may  well  believe. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  was  very  man — not  in  appearance  only  ;  he  lived, 
he  died  ;  really  went  through  all  the  phases  of  our  humanity,  living, 
dying,  and  post-mortem.  He  skipped  no  essential  passage  of  the 
nature  he  had  taken  on  him,  not  even  from  the  womb.  Through 
some,  he  went  more  rapidly  than  we  may  go.  His  soul  and  body 
were  parted  by  death ;  the  body  was  laid  in  Joseph's  new  tomb  5  the 
soul  went,  as  every  other  departed  soul,  into  hades.  It  did  not 
abide  there  long,  but  returned  and  reanimated  the  body,  before  in 
the  course  of  nature  the  latter  had  seen  corruption.  Peter's  sermon 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  applies  David's  prophecy — "  For  thou  wilt 
not  leave  mj  soul  in  hell,  [sheol,  hades,]  neither  wilt  thou  suffer 
thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption  " — to  Jesus,  and  from  it  justifies 
his  speedy  resurrection.  From  the  land  of  spirits  hissoul  was  to  be 
the  "  first  fruits,"  as  was  his  body  from  the  sepulchre.    His  soul  was 


378  THE   INTERMEDIATE    STATE. 

first  to  come  out  of  hades  and  enter  heaven  with  Lis  glorified  body. 
As  among  the  living  he  had  manifested  his  divinity  and  mission,  so 
he  proclaimed  by  his  presence  among  the  millions  of  fivithful  spirits, 
that  the  atonement  lO'is  accomplished,  and  bore  to  the  happy  prisoners 
of  hope  the  joyful  tidings  that  the  seed  of  the  woman  had  bruised  the 
serpent's  head.  Faith's  expectation  had  been  fulfilled.  The  desire 
of  nations — the  object  of  their  prophecies  and  prayers,  of  their  hopes 
and  sacrifices,  had  come.  He  had  found  a  ransom ;  nothing  had 
failed. 

In  view  of  this  Lamb  of  God,  the  Church  in  all  previous  dispensa- 
tions had  been  accepted.  His  prospective  atonement  was  their  hope. 
Could  they  have  witnessed  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness,  when 
Satan  thrust  sorely  at  the  second  Adam,  that  he  might  fall  and  re- 
demption fail  in  him  ;  could  they  have  known  of  his  agony  in  the 
garden,  when,  at  the  approach  of  the  awful  hour  for  which  he  came 
into  the  world,  he  fell  on  the  ground  and  prayed  that,  if  it  were  pos- 
sible, it  might  pass  from  him,  and  the  shrinking  flesh  for  a  moment — 
only  a  moment — seemed  to  put  away  the  cup  of  expiation  for  the  sins 
of  men — then  they  might  have  feared.  But  he  has  appeared  and  put 
away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself.  He  has  cancelled  the  debt. 
Paradise,  with  all  its  joys,  must  have  known  a  higher  joy  then.  And 
his  departure  thence  was  the  announcement  that  he  had  the  keys  of 
hades  and  death. 

The  thief  on  the  Cross  was  promised — "  This  day  thou  shalt  be 
with  me  in  paradise."  Jesus  kept  the  appointment.  That  very  day, 
doubtless — and  it  was  far  spent  when  the  word  was  spoken — the  soul 
of  the  penitent  sinner  was  with  him  in  paradise,  a  trophy  of  redemp- 
tion.  Three  days  after  this  promise,  Mary  is  at  the  Lord's  sepulchre 
weeping.  He  has  risen.  He  speaks.  She  recognizes  and  would  wor- 
ship him.  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  "  Touch  me  not,  for  I  am  not  yet 
ascended  to  my  Father  ;  but  go  to  my  brethren  and  say  unto  them,  I 
ascend  unto  my  Father  and  your  Father,  and  to  my  God  and  your 
God."  After  that,  and  in  their  sight,  he  was  carried  up  "into 
heaven  :"  ascended,  and  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  from 
whence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.  If  Jesus 
making  his  word  good,  was  with  the  soul  of  the  thief  in  paradise  on 
the  day  of  the  crucifixion,  and  three  days  after  it  had  not  ascended 
into  heaven,  paradise  and  heaven  are  not  the  same  place.  In 
paradise  the  soul  of  the  penitent  sinner  was  left;  his  body  has  seen 


THE   INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  S79 

corruption.     When  the  trumpet  sounds,  and  death  and  hades  deliver 
up  those  in  them,  he  shall  come  forth  with  others. 

So  much  for  the  literal  meaning  of  hades,  which,  as  has  been  shown, 
implies  properly  neither  hell  nor  the  grave,  but  the  place  or  state  of 
departed  souls.  Created  spirits  are  not  omnipresent,  but  bounded 
by  space,  and  may  even  take  form — perhaps  human,  or  fairer  than 
human — though  invisible  to  mortal  eyes.  Place,  habitation,  may 
therefore  be  assigned  them. 

Consistently,  Samuel,  in  his  apparition  to  wicked  and  God-forsaken 
Saul,  speaks  on  this  wise  :  "  To-morrow  thou  and  thy  sons  shall  be 
with  me."  Not  that  Samuel  the  prophet,  and  Saul  the  apostate,  were 
congenial  characters,  and  had  the  same  portion  after  death,  yet  both 
on  the  morrow,  were  iu  the  spirit-world,  as  they  both  had  been  in  this 
world.  Of  the  wicked  kings  and  of  the  pious  kings  of  Israel,  it  is 
alike  written,  that,  after  their  decease,  they  were  gathered  unto  and 
slept  with  their  fathers. 

Otherwise,  a  consequence  cannot  be  escaped  that  makes  the 
Judgment  Day  too  empty  to  be  solemn  or  too  uncertain  to  be  just. 
All  Scripture  attests  but  one  Judgment.  The  time  is  set — "  a  day," 
"  that  day,"  "  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ,"  "  the  day  of  Judgment," 
"the  day  of  God."  The  most  frequent  and  eminent  and  emphatic 
designation  is  "  that  day  ;"  as  of  a  day  whose  import  and  certainty 
were  well  understood.  It  is  the  last  day,  and  the  judgment  will  be 
universal.  Then  every  one  receives  a  final  and  everlasting  destiny. 
But  if  as  fast  as  men  die  they  are  sent  to  heaven  or  hell,  that  day  is 
only  for  the  very  small  portion  of  the  human  race  alive  at  its  coming. 
Or  will  those  sentenced  to  hell,  ffohenna,  for  thousands  of  years,  and 
who  have  been  suffering  its  torments,  be  brought  to  a  second  trial  ? 
Is  there  probability  or  possibility  of  reversal  of  the  first  sentence  ? 
must  be,  if  the  form  is  serious.  If  reversal  follow  upon  their  second 
judgment,  they  were  unjustly  dealt  by  in  the  first.  Or  are  they 
only  brought  out  to  be  remanded  again  ?  No  adequate  purpose  is 
served.  We  read  of  a  "  second  death,"  never  of  a  second  judgment. 
And  the  righteous,  must  they  leave  their  heaven — for  what  ?  To  be 
put  in  jeopardy  of  their  crowns,  and  tremble  at  a  capricious  adminis- 
tration ?  The  Scriptures  lead  us  clear  of  all  such  incongruities  and 
absurdities. 

Jesus  has  gone  to  prepare  a  place  for  his  people,  and  will  come 
again  and  receive  them  unto  himself,  that  where  he  is  they  may  be 


380  THE  INTER3IEDIATE   STATE. 

Whither  he  has  gone  we  know,  and  the  way  we  know.  The  heaven 
must  receive  him  until  the  restitution  of  all  things.  But  we  look 
for  him.  "  And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after 
this  the  judgment :  so  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of 
many  ;  and  unto  them  that  look  for  him  shall  he  appear  the  second 
time  unto  salvation."  Without  any  signs  of  sin-offering  or  humilia- 
tion he  will  come — come  in  glory  :  his  second  coming  and  the  gen- 
eral judgment  contemporaneous.  May  we  have  boldness  in  that 
day! 

Jesus  has  not  made  known  the  time,  but  he  has  the  order  of  the 
judgment  of  the  last  great  day : 

"  When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  ail  the  holy  angels 
with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory.  And  before  him 
shall  be  gathered  all  nations  ;  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from  another, 
as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats.  And  he  shall  set  the  sheep 
on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goals  on  the  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto 
them  on  his  right  hand.  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world:  For  I  was  an  hungered, 
and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink  ;  1  was  a  stranger, 
and  ye  took  me  in:  Naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  ;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited 
me  ;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer 
him,  saying.  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and  fed  thee  ?  or  thirsty, 
and  gave  thee  drink?  When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in?  or  na- 
ked, and  clothed  thee  ?  Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came 
unto  thee  ?  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren, 
ye  have  done  it  unto  me.  Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand, 
Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels.  For  1  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  no  meat  ;  I  was  thirsty,  and 
ye  gave  me  no  drink  ;  1  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in  ;  naked,  and 
ye  clothed  me  not ;  sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not.  Then  shall 
they  also  answer  him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  or 
athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  un- 
to thee?  Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  inas- 
much as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  me.  And 
these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment  ;  but  the  rigliteous  into  life 
eternal.' 

The  righteous  and  the  wicked  hear  their  sentence  together  ;  hear 
it  for  the  first  time.  Singly  or  collectively,  the  "  blessed"  of  the 
Father  have  never  entered  upon  the  inheritance  before.  The  last 
shall  enter  with  the  first,  "  that  they  without  us  should  not  be  made 
perfect." 


THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  38 1 

When  Jesus  exhorted  his  followers  to  charity,  he  added,  "  Tbou 
shalt  be  recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just."  Again,  "  At 
the  end  of  the  world" — not  before — "  shall  the  righteous  shine  as  the 
sun,  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father."  St.  John  declares,  "  When  he 
doth  appear  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  ho  is." 
Till  then,  it  is  enough  to  be  assured  that  we  are  the  sons  of  God. 
St.  Paul  encouraging  persecuted  Christians — 

"  And  to  you  who  are  troubled,  [God  will  recompense]  rest  with  us,  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels: 
In  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey 
not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  Who  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power:  When  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to  be  admired 
in  all  of  them  that  believe  in  that  day." 

Christ  was  our  pattern — the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  The 
foremost  and  preeminent  position  belongs  to  him,  by  necessity  and  by 
nature,  and  is  carefully  guarded  in  the  Scriptures.  Others  were 
raised  from  the  dead  before  him,  but  to  a  mortal  life,  not  to  die 
no  more.  Death  claimed  them  afterwards,  and  they  died  like 
other  men.  They  had  only  a  respite  from  the  grave.  Corruption 
did  not  put  on  incorruption,  this  mortal  immortality,  in  their  cases. 
But  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  was  real,  and  the  first  of  human  na- 
ture. He  did  not  enter  heaven  without  a  glorified  body.  We  cannot. 
Enoch  may  have  been  translated  in  the  patriarchal,  and  Elias  in  the 
prophetic  dispensation,  for  a  purpose.  Saved  from  seeing  death,  as 
others  see  it  and  undergo  it,  their  bodies  may  have  been  buried  by 
God,  as  he  buried  Moses'  body,  no  man  knoweth  where  or  how. 
But  the  body  of  each  is  a  seed  sown  somewhere,  that  has  not  yet 
been  raised  "  in  glory"  and  "  in  power."  Without  spiritual,  glorified 
bodies,  none  shall  enter  heaven  ;  and  even  with  such  bodies,  they 
could  not  have  entered,  for  that  would  have  inverted  the  order :  the 
Head  before  the  members.  "  But  every  man  in  his  own  order. 
Christ  the  first  fruits ;  afterwards  they  that  are  Christ's,  at  his  com- 
ing." The  sheaf  of  "  the  first  fruits,"  severed  from  the  ripening 
crop,  was  the  pledge  and  earnest  of  the  coming  harvest,  and  conse- 
crated it,  apart,  in  advance:  this  is  the  rank  and  order  of  Jesus. 
We  shall  rise  because  he  did — rise  like  him — rise  after  him.  The 
order  is  a  material  part  of  the  fact. 

Of  the  two  cases  which  seem,  at  first,  to  stand  in  the  way,  well  has 


382  THE   INTERMEDIATE    STATE. 

it  been  observed,  that  "  it  is  most  prob  ible  that  Moses  was  with  Eliaa 
as  well  before  as  upon  the  mount ;  nor  is  there  any  reason  to  con- 
ceive that  Abraham  should  be  in  any  worse  place  or  condition  than 
Enoch  was,  having  as  great  a  <  testimony  that  he  pleased  God'  aa 
Enoch  had." 

No  change  of  character  in  this  disembodied  state,  in  this  spirit- 
land.  In  hades  is  no  dispensation  for  making  men  better  who  were  bad 
here.  '<  We  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ, 
that  every  one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to 
that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  The  things  done  in 
the  bodj  are  to  form  the  basis  of  judgment.  This  life  is  given  unto 
men  to  work  out  their  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling.  This  is 
the  day  of  salvation  ;  secure  it  now  or  never.  After  death,  judg- 
ment, and  judgment  proceeds  upon  and  reflects  on  the  life  that  went 
before  death — that  only.  No  amendment,  no  conversion  is  provided 
for  between  death  and  the  judgment.  Character  is  fixed  then,  though 
destiny  be  not  pronounced.  Hence,  correctly  it  may  be  said  of  one 
dying  in  his  sins — he  has  gone  to  hell.  Gone,  beyond  grace  and 
efiFectual  prayer.  Gone,  beyond  remedy.  He  which  is  filthy  must 
be  filthy  still.  Gone,  gone  to  hell.  Work  while  it  is  day ;  the  night 
Cometh.  Do  this  work  of  salvation  now,  and  with  thy  might,  "  for 
there  is  no  work  nor  device  nor  knowledge  nor  wisdom  in  the  grave 
whither  thou  goest."    Ye  unholy  who  enter  there,  leave  hope  behind. 

Likewise,  when  the  righteous  die,  we  may  safely  say,  not  only  that 
they  rest  from  their  labors,  but  by  anticipation  that  they  have  gone 
to  heaven.  "  The  righteous  perisheth,  and  no  man  layeth  it  to  heart ; 
and  merciful  man  are  taken  away,  none  considering  that  the  right- 
eous is  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come;  he  s'lnll  enter  into  peace." 
No  temptations,  no  lapses  beyond  the  grave  ;  ho  that  endures  till 
then,  endures  to  the  end  of  probation,  and  a  crown  is  his.  He  that 
liveth  and  believeth  in  Christ  shall  never  die  ;  he  that  believeth, 
though  he  die,  yet  he  shall  live  ;  but  he  that  dieth  in  unbelief  shall 
neither  believe  nor  live. 

Happiness  and  woe  in  this  middle  state.  It  is  a  low  and  unworthy 
conception  that,  apart  from  the  body,  there  is  no  susceptibility  of  pain 
or  pleasure.  When  material  conditions  are  most  favored  here,  there 
may  be  unutterable  anguish.  Torments  are  there,  of  which  the  na- 
tural body  in  flames  without  mitigation,  conveys  some  idea.  There 
remorse,  deathless  worm,  preys.     There  passions  are  let  loose  upon 


THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  383 

their  victim  sharpened  and  unrestrained.     Tribulation  and  anguish 
,  are  there,  foretastes  of  judgment. 

"Tortured  with  keen  despair,  (hey  cry 
Yet  wait  for  fiercer  pains." 

These  torments  have  one  mitigation — they  are  not  hell,  gehenna, 
with  the  devil  and  his  angels ;  that  is  to  come.  The  malefactor,  con- 
demned in  his  own  heart  and  imprisoned,  awaits  the  day  of  doom. 

"  Regions  of  sorrow,  doleful  shades,  where  peace 
And  rest  can  never  dwell  ;  hope  never  comes 
That  comes  to  all." 

If  final  sentence  were  immediately  meted  out,  men  would  not  be 
prepared,  unless  God  gave  an  insight  into  the  future,  to  estimate  the 
evil  done,  and  to  acquiesce.  Let  their  works  follow  after  and  results 
work  out ;  let  the  slow  unfolding  seeds  of  evil  produce  their  harvest. 
While  the  day  of  wrath  approaches  they  are  tormented  with  the  ac- 
cumulating consequences  of  their  wickedness.  It  is  a  growing  ac- 
count, after  death,  treasuring  up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and 
revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God.  Dives  not  only  la- 
ments, but  prays.  He  prays  for  others.  Hear  the  requests  of  a  lost 
soul :  Failing  of  any,  the  least  succor  for  himself,  and  assured  that 
it  was  hopelessly  impossible — 

"Then  he  said,  I  pray  thee  therefore,  father,  that  thou  wouldest  send  him 
to  my  father's  house:  For  1  have  five  brethren:  that  he  may  testify  unto 
them,  lest  they  also  come  into  this  place  of  torment.  Abraham  saith  unto 
him,  They  have  Moses  and  the  prophets  ;  let  them  hear  them.  And  he  said, 
>lay,  father  Abraham  -,  but  if  one  went  unto  them  from  the  dead,  they  will 
repent." 

It  is  counted  a  sign  of  grace  to  be  interested  for  the  salvation  of 
others.  Whence  this  solicitude  1  Not  gracious,  but  selfish — purely 
selfish.  As  his  life  had  been  Avasted  in  social  pleasures,  he  remem- 
beredh's  influence  upon  those  brethren,  in  setting  them  in  the  ways  of 
hell.  He  dreads  to  meet  them  at  their  coming,  as  heaping  up  more 
wrath,  and  sinking  deeper  one  already  lost. 

Let  the  impenitent  know  that  their  repentance  is  a  matter  of  soli- 
citude to  lost  spirits,  as  well  as  to  angels.  For  our  sake,i\\&y  would 
say,  if  their  deprecating  tones  could  reach  your  ears,  Come  not  also 
into  this  place  oj  torment.     Go  to  them  you  may,  and  go  you  will, 


384  THE   INTERMEDIATE   STATE. 

unless  you  cease  from  the  sins  you  learned  of  them — but  you  go  un- 
welcome. They  would  turn  you  back  after  whom  you  press  on  with 
a  heavy  and  reluctant  damnation. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord."  They  enter  at 
once  into  peace,  if  not  into  glory.  Devils  tempt  no  more,  the  wicked 
trouble  no  more : 

.  "  Flesh  and  sin  no  more  control 

The  sacred  pleasures  of  the  soul." 

The  days  of  suffering  and  sorrow  are  ended.  The  body  rests  in  hope, 
while  the  soul  is  happy — happy  as  the  disembodied  spirit  can  be. 
But  complete  perfection  includes  the  body.  The  soul  must  ever  tend 
to  and  affect  its  body.  BlLss  cannot  be,  in  the  full  sense,  consum- 
mated until  its  restoration,  all  fit  and  suitable  for  an  endless  union. 
Hence  Job,  referring  not  to  death,  but  to  the  resurrection,  as  the 
context  shows,  "  All  the  days  of  my  appointed  time  will  I  wait, 
till  my  change  come.  Thou  shalt  call,  and  I  will  answer  thee  ;  thou 
wilt  have  a  desire  to  the  work  of  thy  hands."  He  argues  that  if  a 
man  die  he  shall  live  again — not  as  a  separate  spirit,  but  in  his  en- 
tirety. The  «I"  that  waits  in  hope  of  the  resurrection  is  the  part 
of  man  alive  after  dissolution — the  soul  longing  for  the  satisfaction 
to  be  enjoyed  in  reunion  with  the  body.  A  spirit  that  never  had  a 
body,  and  not  constituted  for  one,  may  be  fully  satisfied  without ;  but 
if  framed  for  and  associated  in  experience  with  a  body,  it  cannot  be 
complete  without  one.  It  is  pleased  to  have  its  vitality  diffused 
through  what  more  remotely  belongs  to  it  and  is  dear  to  it.  And  it 
is,  in  a  sense,  straitened  till  this  be  accomplished.  "  I  shall  be  sat- 
isfied when  I  awake  with  thy  likeness."  Then,  and  not  before,  there 
will  be  nothing  left  to  be  desired. 

No  wonder  the  soul  thinks  on  its  lowly  companion,  well  pleased 
that  it  rests  in  hope,  and  that  God,  who  so  curiously  formed  and 
adapted  it,  will  have  " a  desire  to  the  work  of  hs  hands." 

'•  God,  my  Redeemer,  lives. 
And  ever,  from  the  skies, 
Looks  down  and  watches  all  my  dust. 
Till  he  shall  bid  it  rise." 

Notwithstanding  this  possibility  of  higher  bliss,  this  waiting  for  the 
full  "  adoption — to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our  body " —  paradise 
must  be  a  good  place.     Abraham  is  there,  and  all  the   faithful. 


THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE.  3S5 

Goodly  company  !  Angels,  as  spirits  also,  are  congenial  for  inter- 
course. And  it  is  not  likely  that  they  which  see  God's  face  would  be 
sent  down  from  heaven  to  convey  the  souls  of  the  just  into  that 
placo  where  are  no  unveilings  of  that  face.  Even  in  this  world,  God's 
grace  can  be  so  poured  into  earthen  vessels,  his  love  and  mercy  so 
sweetly  manifested,  as  to  make  the  willing  sufferer  abide  in  patience 
for  his  release.  What  raptures  must  there  be  where  the  saints  of  all 
ages  in  harmony  meet,  and  they  who  have  loved  meet  again — de- 
tained, if  detention  it  can  be  called,  only  in  due  time  to  be  made 
happier.  Contentment  were  easy  in  paradise.  Like  enough,  Peter 
has  long  ago  said,  "  It  is  good  to  be  here  ;  let  us  make  tabernacles." 

Children  of  God,  it  is  within  a  day's  journey.  Your  faithful  friends 
are  not  lost,  but  gone  before.  Should  it  please  God  to  dismiss  us, 
"  this  day  "  we  should  be  with  them,  in  paradise.  There  is  comfort 
in  the  thought  of  death — light  in  that  valley— sweet  hope  for  our 
dead,  and  for  ourselves  dying.  Jesus  has  gone  before.  Grace  and 
hope  span  the  tomb.  If  there  is  much  to  stay  for,  there  is  more  to 
go  to.  And  the  Christian  is  in  a  strait  betwixt  the  two.  Of  those 
departed,  survivors  may  use  touchingly  true  and  solemn  words,  in  the 
office  for  the  burial  of  the  dead  :  "Almighty  God,  with  whom  do  live 
the  spirits  of  them  that  depart  hence  in  the  Lord,  and  with  whom  the 
souls  of  the  faithful,  after  they  are  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the 
flesh,  are  in  joy  and  felicity,  we  give  thee  hearty  thanks,  for  that  it 
hath  pleased  thee  to  deliver  this,  our  brother,  out  of  the  miseries  of 
this  sinful  world ;  beseeching  thee  that  it  may  please  thee,  of  thy 
gracious  goodness,  shortly  to  accomplish  the  number  of  thine  elect, 
and  to  hasten  thy  kingdom  ;  that  we,  with  all  those  that  are  de- 
parted in  the  true  faith  of  thy  holy  name,  may  have  our  perfect  con- 
summation and  bliss,  both  in  body  and  soul,  in  thy  eternal  and  ever- 
lasting glory."  And  those  who  welcome  each  new  comer  "  into 
peace  "  on  the  other  shore,  and  wait  till  all  are  come,  for  their  own 
perfection,  might  well  say,  Jimm.    There  is  a  communion  of  saints. 

St.  Paul  exults  in  view  of  martyrdom ;  "  For  I  am  now  ready  to 
be  offered  up,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  band.  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight."  The  soldier  puts  off  his  armor  ;  the  victory  is 
won :  "  I  have  finished  my  course  " — the  race  is  run,  the  goal 
reached ;  the  path  of  duty  lies  all  behind  me.  "  I  have  kept  the 
faith  " — no  fear  any  more  of  making  shipwreck  of  it — no  danger  of 
becoming  a  castaway.     Probation  is  ended — I  am  approved.     What 

25 


386  THE  INTERMEDIATE   STATE. 

now  ?  Crowned  immediately  ?  He  says  not  so,  but  continues 
«'  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day."  The  so- 
cial principle  in  religion  heightens  its  individual  joys  :  "  And  not  to 
me  only,  but  to  all  that  love  his  appearing."  Proclaimed  victor,  but 
not  crowned.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  he  is  to  have  a  crown.  It 
is  cast,  gemmed,  and  "  laid  up  "  for  Paul.  No  man  can  take  that 
crown.  Solomon  garnished  the  "house  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon" 
with  two  hundred  targets  of  beaten  gold,  and  three  hundred  shields. 
They  were  hung  about  its  walls— a  magnificent  display  !  What  are 
these,  in  all  their  glory,  to  that  array  of  crowns  "laid  up"  for  the 
people  of  God,  who  have  fought  a  good  fight,  finished  their  course, 
and  kept  the  faith  I 

"  Love  his  appearing."  If,  when  he  appears,  we  shall  be  like  him 
— if  the  perfection  of  soul  and  body  in  the  resurrection  depends  on 
his  appearing — then  it  is  natural  Paul,  and  all  in  his  condition,  though 
in  paradise,  should  "love  his  appearing."  When  in  the  body,  he 
saw  something  "  far  better  ;"  and  now,  in  the  spirit,  still  a  "  far  bet- 
ter "  is  the  object  of  his  hope — even  the  reunion  of  that  soul  and 
body  in  the  glorious  likeness  of  his  Lord.  "  Things  present  and 
things  to  come  "  are  ours,  even  in  paradise.  No  restless  anxiety,  no 
impatience  ;  but  an  affectionate  longing  for  the  consummation,  a 
felicitous  expectation — "  looking  for  and  hasting  the  coming  of  the 
day  of  God." 

What  a  contrast !  The  wicked  dread  his  appearing,  and  tremble 
at  every  sign  that  betokens  "  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  tlie 
Lord."  On  their  part,  "  a  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery 
indignation:"  while  those  who  "  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God, 
through  faith  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time," 
would  rather  cry,  "  How  long  V  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  and  come 
quickly."  In  that  day,  when  the  frame  of  nature  falls,  and  all  faces 
gather  blackness,  h^  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste.  Though 
the  sun  become  as  sack-cloth,  and  the  moon  as  blood,  the  stars  fall, 
as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her  untimely  figs  when  shaken  by  a  mighty  wind, 
and  the  heavens  depart,  as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together,  and 
every  mountain  and  every  island  be  moved  out  of  their  place,  yet 
will  not  they  fear  who  "  love  his  appearing." 

One  day  of  coronation  is  set  for  all.  The  beloved  disciple  who, 
outrunning  his  ccmpaQions,  was  first  at  the  sepulchre,  shall  be  over- 


THE   INTERMEDIATE  STATE.  387 

taken  by  the  saint  of  this  day,  and  both  enter  heaven  at  even  step. 
There  is  an  inheritance  not  )'et  possessed  :  a  virgin  soil,  and  our  feet 
shall  brush  off  its  dew  with  the  foremost.  By  the  side  of  those  he- 
roes of  faith  who  "  obtained  a  good  report,"  and  whose  conduct  you 
have  admired  and  emulated,  you  may  stand,  and  with  thera  receive 
the  promise.  Peradventurc  you  think  of  other  names  less  renowned, 
but  dearer  to  you — old  compaiiions  of  earth,  who  have  labored  and 
prayed  and  sympathized  with  you.  Friends  and  families  in  groups, 
pastors  and  congregations,  may  stand  and  be  perfected  together. 
A  church — a  family — God's  people  are  also  a  militant  host : 

*'  One  army  of  the  living  God, 
At  his  command  they  bow  ; 
Part  of  his  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 
And  part  are  crossing  now." 

They  will  not  straggle  into  heaven,  like  the  fragments  of  a  broken 
and  defeated  army.  Passing  over,  they  halt  on  the  other  shore. 
There  the  land  is  bright  and  fields  are  sunny,  and  they  wait  for  us. 
They  pitch  their  tents  on  celestial  plains.  For  each  arrival  there  is 
a  welcome  and  a  greeting.  And  when  the  last  has  passed  over,  and 
the  redeemed  host  has  been  gathered,  in  number  numberless, 

"  They  shout  to  see  their  Captain's  sign, 
And  hear  his  trumpet  sound." 

Christ,  their  life,  appears,  and  they  also  appear  with  him,  in  glory : 

"  Now  shall  their  sacred,  sleeping  dust 
Leap  into  life;  for  Jesus  comes." 

Now  is  the  consummation  of  bliss.  Now  they  are  made  perfect. 
Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 

Together  they  will  march  to  the  holy  hill,  and  have  a  triumphant 
entry,  after  the  manner  of  the  King  of'  glory,  "  the  Lord  mighty  in 
battle,"  who  obtained  it  for  them. 

Lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  can  number,  of  all  nations 
and  kindreds  and  people  and  tongues,  before  the  throne,  and  before 
the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands,  and 
crying,  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Salvation  to  our  God,  which  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  I"  And  all  the  angels  about  the 
throne  respond,"  Amen  :  blessing  and  glory  and  wisdom  and  thanks- 
giving and  honor  and  power  and  might  be  unto  God  forever  and 
ever  !" 


388  THE   INTERMEDIATE   STATE. 

What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  whence 
come  they? 

These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day  and 
night  in  his  temple  ;  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell 
among  them.  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more  ; 
neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead 
them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters,  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes. 

0  thou  Saviour  of  sinners,  surely  in.  that  day  thou  shalt  see  of  the 
travail  of  thy  soul,  and  be  satisfied. 

Now  unto  Him  that  loved  us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his 
own  blood,  and  Lath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  his 
Father — to  Him  be  glory  and  dominion,  forever  and  ever.   Amen  ' 


if  /iL-f 


iRtlEW.   W.    If,  IWltJll  Iff).    A.  RB. 
6'/'   rifStS*    NOnTM  CAROLINA    COJrfSRKMCK 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS. 


BY   REV.   N.   y.   REID,   A.  M., 

OF    THE   NORTH   CAROUNA   COXFERKNCE. 


"  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."— Gal.  vi,  14. 

There  is  an  expression  similar  to  this  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Phillip- 
pians.  The  Apostle,  writing  to  them  on  the  same  subject,  closes  one 
of  his  arguments  with  the  declaration,  '<  Yea,  doubtless,  and  I  count 
all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
Jesus,  my  Lord."  We  are  liable  to  mistake  the  sense  of  the  Apostle 
in  the  use  of  these  strong  expressions,  unless  we  use  some  care  to 
ascertain  his  true  meaning.  We  are  not  to  understand  him  that,  ab- 
stractly considered,  he  regarded  everything  as  worthless ;  by  no 
means.  His  history  and  writings  show  that  he  placed  a  proper  esti- 
mate upon  the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life ;  that  he  valued 
highly  his  friendships  ;  that  he  prized  learning  and  everything  calcu- 
lated to  enhance  our  happiness  here ;  but  when  any  or  all  of  these 
were  compared  with  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  or 
contrasted  with  the  benefits  of  the  Cross  of  the  Redeemer,  they 
dwindled  into  insignificance. 

In  meeting  the  obligations  of  this  hour,  we  propose  taking  up  the 
theme  of  the  Apostle,  and  shall  undertake  to  present  the  Cross  of 
Christ,  in  its  power  and  attractiveness  and  blessing,  as  the  object 
above  all  others  which  demands  the  highest  place  in  the  affections  of 
every  man.  In  doing  so  we  shall  also  endeavor  to  follow  the  spirit  of 
the  text,  by  contrasting  the  Cross  with  the  objects  connected  with  and 
limited  to  this  life,  which  constitute  the  chief  glory  of  a  large  majority 
of  our  race. 

Though  happiness  is  the  end  proposed  by  each,  no  matter  what  may 
be  the  occupation  or  profession,  or  if  none  at  all,  yet  it  is  a  melan- 
choly truth  that  the  vast  majority  of  mankind  are  in  the  road  that 
leads  directly  from  its  attainment.     Deluded  by  sin,  they  are  follow- 


390  GLORYING  IN  THE   CROSS. 

ing  the  dictates  of  their  carnal  appetites,  and  as  they  are  cursed  and 
thrown  into  confusion,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  they  are  unsafe  guides, 
and  in  the  end  will  prove  ruinous  to  their  hopes,  for  under  their  in- 
fluence they  form  attachments  to  things  which  soon  perish  and  pass 
away.  Thus  the  million  bow  at  the  shrine  of  wealth,  glory  in  gain, 
thinking  it  will  confer  happiness.  Money  is  the  great  Diana  now. 
Money  is  the  watch-word  by  which  the  sentinels  are  passed  to  posi- 
tions of  honor,  trust,  and  emolument.  If  there  is  ever  a  time  when 
Mammon  holds  more  undisputed  sway  than  at  another,  that  time  is 
the  present.  Individuals  of  every  class  and  grade  and  profession 
and  sex,  almost,  are  brought  under  its  influence,  so  as  to  be  swayed 
by  it  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The  ruling  sentiment  of  the  age 
seems  to  be  that  money-getting  should  constitute  the  chief  concern  of 
life.  What  a  strange  infatuation  !  An  individual  may  bend  all  his 
energies  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  and  at  last  become  disappointed  in 
its  acquisition.  How  blank  and  terribly  embarrassing  must  his  con- 
dition be,  who,  after  consecrating  his  time  and  talent  and  physical 
energies  at  the  shrine  of  Mammon,  is  despised  and  rejected  by  his 
God !  But  allow  that  he  is  successful,  how  easily  do  riches  "  make 
themselves  wings"  and  fly  away!  Grant  even  that  he  is  not  only 
successful,  but  retains  his  wealth,  how  poor,  how  wretchedly  destitute ! 
aye,  we  would  repeat,  if  thereby  we  can  make  it  more  emphatic,  how 
wretchedly  destitute  is  he  who  comes  down  to  the  grave,  at  the  close 
of  his  earthly  career,  possessed  with  no  other  treasure  than  his  world's 
goods !  Out  of  all  his  vast  possessions  he  can  use  only  enough  to 
buy  a  wooden  box  or  metallic  case ;  then,  dressed  in  his  best  suit  of 
clothes,  he  is  wrapped  in  a  linen  sheet  and  hid  from  the  gaze  of  his 
fellows.  This  little  even  he  cannot  carry  with  him  through  the  grave, 
for  mingling  with  his  dust,  when  his  body  is  called  away  by  the  trump 
of  God,  it  stays  behind  as  fuel  in  the  general  conflagration  of  all 
things.  Wealth  is  proper  enough,  sought  and  obtained  and  used 
properly,  but  should  not  hold  the  highest  place  in  the  afi'ections  of 
any. 

-  Under  the  influence  of  the  same  appetites,  another  class  glories  in 
fame.  Catching  up  the  roll,  and  running  over  the  names  of  renowned 
warriors  and  statesmen  and  philosophers  and  poets  and  orators  and 
scholars,  an  intense  desire  prompts  them  to  write  theirs  on  the  shining 
list.  Tlie  aspirations  of  many  do  not  rise  perhaps  so  high  as  this,  but 
the  principle  is  the  same  in  all :  fame  is  their  God.    We  have  found 


GLORYING  IN   THE  CROSS.  391 

some  of  this  class,  who  did  not  enjoy  more  than  a  neighborhood  noto- 
riety, as  devout  worshippers  at  its  shrine  as  was  ever  Wellington  or 
Napoleon.  What  Is  fame  ?  A  bubble  that  glitters  awhile  in  the  sun- 
light, then  bursts  and  is  gone  forever !  It  dies  away  like  the  "  voices 
of  morning  bells  on  the  air."  If  we  would  know  its  worth,  let  us 
turn  the  pages  of  the  past.  We  read  of  one  Ammon's  son,  who  came 
forth  in  the  majesty  of  his  strength  ;  the  smoke  and  dust  roll  into  the 
heavens  from  the  wheels  of  his  triumphal  car,  as  he  sweeps  the  plains 
of  Tyre  and  Gaza,  Phoenicia  and  Egypt.  We  are  awe-struck  and 
amazed  as  we  see  him  stopping  at  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammou,  and, 
by  a  mysterious  rite  of  his  own  invention,  lay  aside  his  humanity  and 
assume  divinity.  On  he  shoots,  like  a  thunderbolt,  through  Persia 
and  India,  successive  victories  marking  his  bloody  way,  until  he  stands 
upon  the- sea-shore,  weeping  for  more  worlds  to  conquer. 
Jind  after  all,  the  jref ended  god  died  drunk  in  Babylon  ! 
We  read  also  of  the  Carthagenian  general,  and  Roman  usurper  ; 
the  one,  after  a  splendid  career,  perishing  by  his  own  hand;  the  other, 
in  the  act  of  consummating  his  highest  ho]ie^  falling  by  the  hand  of 
the  assassin. 

Coming  on  down  to  later  times,  the  ear  is  saluted  with  "  Vive  P 
Empereur  /"  Not  a  breath  stirs  but  is  loaded  with  praise  to  the  Corsi- 
can  lieutenant.  His  sun  scarcely  clears  the  horizon  ere  it  is  blazing' 
in  its  meridian ;  all  Europe  is  lighted  up  by  the  splendor  of  his  genius, 
and  the  Anglo-Saxon  holds  his  breath  in  terror  as  he  sees  the  thrones 
of  his  neighbors,  hallowed  by  the  sacred  memories  of  ages,  crumbling 
to  dust  beneath  the  giant  tread  of  the  man  of  destiny.  Yet,  his  sun 
went  down  as  suddenly  in  cloud  and  darkness,  as  it  had  arisen  in 
brilliancy  and  hope.  He  died  in  banishment  and  bonds,  an  outcast. 
In  these  examples  is  seen  the  worth  of  fame,  when  enjoyed  in  its 
greatest  measure.  They  have  a  name  renowned,  but  it  is  cursed  by 
humanity.  They  are  remembered,  and  are  immortal ;  so  is  the  plague. 
Could  we  call  their  ghosts  from  the  spirit-land,  and  take  their  testi- 
mony as  to  the  value  of  fame,  as  they  should  stand  before  us  wrapped 
in  the  vestments  of  the  dark  world  they  inhabit,  with  souls  well 
scorched  with  unquenchable  fires,  we  venture  that  testimony  would 
be  this  :  "  All  the  glory  of  man  is  as  the  flower  of  grass." 

Under  the  same  influence  another  class  glories  in  pleasure.  What 
an  ephemeral  flower  is  worldly  pleasure.  Truly  it  is  "  but  for  a  sea- 
son I"     When  passed  it  always  leaves  an  "  aching  void"  behind,  and 


392  GLORTINO  IN  THE  CROSS. 

often,  even  m  its  enjoyment,  the  cup  of  bliss  is  broken  upon  our  lips, 
and  by  a  single  thought  our  pleasures  die. 

These  three — wealth,  fame,  pleasure — constitute,  as  some  one  has 
said,  the  world's  trinity.  These  are  the  objects  in  which  worldly- 
minded  men  glory.  Your  observation  and  experience  will  witness 
whether  we  have  correctly  represented  them ;  if  so,  we  would  have 
you  carry  the  estimation  in  which  they  are  now  held  with  you,  whilst 
we  hold  up  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  invite  you  to  look  upon  it ;  and 
we  trust  that  when  our  reflections  are  ended,  we  shall  all  be  prepared 
to  join  the  Apostle  in  the  prayer  of  the  text. 

The  first  feature  in  the  Cross — of  course  the  doctrines  of  the 
Cross  are  meant ;  the  merit  of  the  victim,  and  not  the  instrument 
itself — which  we  present,  is  its  elevating  influence  upon  individuals 
and  nations. 

Man,  since  the  fall,  has  had  a  downward  tendency.  The  prompt- 
ings of  his  fallen  nature,  as  already  intimated,  lead  him  into  incon- 
ceivable difficulty  and  trouble.  Every  step  he  takes  increases  the 
distance  between  himself  and  his  God,  and  tends  to  consummate  his 
humiliation  and  abasement.  The  Cross  counteracts  this  influence. 
It  calls  to  him  ;  tells  him  of  his  noble  birth ;  points  him  to  his  high 
destiny  ;  exhorts  him  to  retrace  his  steps.  In  a  word,  it  elevates  him 
morally,  mentally,  socially,  and  exalts  him  to  a  high  and  holy  com- 
munion with  his  God.  Turn  to  a  page  in  your  observation,  and  you 
see  this  truth  illustrated.  Do  you  not  remember  to  have  seen  a  way- 
ward son  leaving  his  father's  house,  or  the  bosom  of  his  own  family  ; 
frequenting  the  haunts  of  vice  and  dissipation  ;  descending  step  by 
step  until  he  reached  the  lowest  depths  of  poverty,  shame  and  dis- 
grace ?  Just  as,  in  his  abandonment  and  wretchedness,  he  was 
chasing  from  his  heart  the  last  lingering  symptom  of  good  feeling — 
cursing  away  the  influence  of  a  pious  mother's  prayers,  which  tarried 
with  him  when  all  things  else  had  well  nigh  departed — you  saw  some 
messenger  of  the  Cross  take  him  gently  by  the  arm  and  whisper  in 
his  ear  a  word  of  hope  and  recovery.  He  told  him  there  was  yet  a 
chance  for  him ;  bade  him  rise,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  be  a  man. 
He  started  up,  resolved  to  make  one  last  eff"ort  to  return  ;  he  threw 
his  eye,  as  directed,  upon  the  Cross  ;  his  strength  increased.  At  last 
he  reached  forth  his  hand,  trembling  from  debauch,  and  grasped  it, 
and  in  a  moment  he  stood  erect ;  soundness  was  restored  to  him  ;  a 
new  song  was  put  into  his  mouth — "  even  praise  unto  our  God" — 


GLORTINO  IN   THE  CROSS.  393 

decent  clothes  were  substituted  for  his  tattered  garments,  and,  a  de- 
vout worshipper,  he  came  to  occupy  a  place  in  the  sanctuary  of  God, 
and  was  introduced  again  into  society,  a  worthy,  respectable  citizen. 
Though  all  this  occurred  years  ago,  yet,  as  you  visit  him  in  his  com- 
fortable, happy  home,  kneel  with  him  at  the  sacramental  table,  and 
lift  your  voice  with  his  in  the  song  of  praise,  you  now,  more  confi_ 
dently  than  then,  expect  to  meet  him  in  Heaven.  This  is  but  one 
instance  of  the  thousands  that  are  occurring  all  over  Christendom,  in 
which  the  power  of  the  Cross  transforms  cruel  tyrants  into  aflFectiou- 
ate  husbands,  rebellious  children  into  obedient  sons,  drunken  sots  into 
intelligent  citizens,  and  fiends  almost  into  pious  saints. 

The  elevating  influence  which  the  Cross  exerts,  upon  individuals,  it 
also  exerts  upon  communities  and  nations.  When  the  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  not  a  people,  corrupt  passion  becomes  their  guide  in  all 
things.  Thus  they  become  involved  in  the  same  evil  consequences, 
find  the  same  degradation  to  which  the  individual  is  reduced.  The 
Gospel,  from  its  peculiar  self-perpetuating  principle,  prompts  its  vo- 
taries to  undertake  in  their  behalf.  Soon  we  see  the  missionary 
tearing  himself— for  he  loves  as  we  do — from  the  embrace  of  home 
and  country,  embarking  upon  the  "  dark  blue  sea,"  and  under  the 
protection  of  that  God  who  put  it  into  his  heart  to  go,  he  sets  his 
foot  in  safety  upon  heathen  soil.  He  erects  the  Cross,  flings  to  the 
breeze  his  banner,  stained  all  over  with  precious  blood,  then  kindly 
approaches  the  deluded  worshipper,  as  he  is  bowed  before  his  dumb 
idol,  tells  him  of  the  one  true  and  living  God,  whom  alone  he  is  to 
worship ;  tells  him  that  all  his  fellows  are  his  brethren,  descended 
from  the  same  stock,  subject  to  the  same  ills  and  sorrows,  and  heirs 
of  the  same  promises  and  hopes ;  tells  him  of  man's  fallen  state, 
assures  him  of  the  remedy ;  bids  him  look  upon  the  Cross  and  rise  to 
a  higher  life.  The  idolator's  heart,  touched  by  the  holy  spirit  that 
"lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world,"  turns  to  that  Cross 
as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  and  quitting  his  senseless  worship,  he  con- 
secrates himself  to  the  service  of  the  most  high  God.  One  after 
another  follows  his  example.  A  new  and  glorious  era  begins  to  dawn 
upon  that  people,  as  the  '<  day-spring  from  on  high"  throws  his  light 
across  their  spiritual  sky.  As  they  begin  the  work  of  cultivating 
true  morality  and  religion,  they  commence  remodelling  their  laws ; 
they  begin  in  earnest  the  culture  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  The 
work  of  civilization  goes  on  under  the  appliances  of  the  Gospel,  until 


394  GLORYING   IN   THE  CROSS 

in  commerce,  in  science,  in  laws,  the  new-born  nation  takes  her  posi- 
tion side  by  side  with  the  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth. 

One  ray,  emanating  from  the  Cross,  has  kissed  the  black,  hideous 
cheek  of  Africa,  and  has  thrown  a  smile  over  the  face  of  that  dark 
benighted  land.  The  little  republic  sitting  upon  the  sea-shore,  re- 
flecting its  borrowed  light,  heightens  the  hope  inspired  by  the  Prophet, 
that  "  Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch  out  her  hands  unto  God,"  and  that 
the  songs  of  Zion,  with  their  accompaniments,  the  ploughman's  merry 
laugh,  and  the  rattle  of  the  steam  car,  shall  resound  in  the  jungle, 
where  now  is  only  heard  the  yell  of  the  savage,  the  hiss  of  the  serpent, 
and  the  roar  of  the  lion. 

If  we  would  witness  the  most  wonderful  display  of  the  elevating  in- 
fluence of  the  Cross,  nationally,  we  have  only  to  turn  to  our  own  Eepub- 
lic.  What  has  given  us  the  proud  and  enviable  elevation  as  a  nation 
which  we  enjoy  ?  What  constitutes  us  the  free  and  happy  people  we 
are"?  The  response  comes  from  millions  of  happy  lips,  that  it  is  the 
inculcation  and  practice  of  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity — jus- 
tice, equality,  and  fraternity.  The  late  distinguished  Calhoun,  in  his 
"  Disquisition  on  Government,"  teaches  that  men  are  influenced 
by  only  two  principles  in  their  actions — selfishness  and  benevolence, 
or  self-interest  and  the  interest  they  feel  in  others.  That  selfishness 
being  much  stronger  than  benevolence,  the  end  of  all  proper  legisla- 
tion is  to  check  the  former  and  promote  the  latter.  If  benevolence 
was  the  stronger  principle,  then  it  would  be  necessary  to  reverse  legis- 
lation, so  as  to  promote  selfishness  and  check  benevolence.  That 
government,  therefore,  he  alleges,  which  produces  by  its  legislative 
enactments  an  equilibrium  between  these  two  principles,  compelling 
each  of  its  subjects  to  act  with  as  much  regard  for  the  interests  of 
others  as  his  own,  is  a  perfect  government.  Now,  in  following  the 
great  statesman  to  his  conclusion,  and  endeavoring  as  a  nation  to 
carry  out  the  doctrine  taught  in  all  our  legislation,  where  do  we  find 
ourelves  standing  1  Upon  the  second  great  commandment  of  Christ, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  This  is  the  secret  of  our 
success  in  all  our  struggles  to  be  free,  and  to  rise  to  a  commanding 
position  as  a  people.  This  is  the  sap  to  the  tree  of  liberty,  which 
causes  it  to  strike  its  roots  deep  into  the  soil,  and  throw  out  its  great 
arms,  covered  with  evidences  of  health  and  substantial  growth.  The 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  have  not  only  elevated  us,  but  they  preserve 
us  in  our  elevation  and  progress.     The  corner-stone  of  our  Republic 


GLORYING   IN   THE   CROSS.  395 

rests  securely  beneath  the  rage  of  party  strifes  and  fanaticism,  not 
because  it  was  laid  with  pomp,  or  is  guarded  with  bristling  bayo- 
nets, but  because  it  was  laid  with  prayers  and  tears  upon  the  Cross 
of  Christ.  But  recently  we  have  had  an  exemplification  of  our  true 
preservative  principle.  When,  a  few  years  ago,  that  dark  cloud 
gathered  in  our  political  atmosphere,  flinging  its  black  shadows  over 
the  whole  land,  threatening  in  its  fury,  if  ungirted,  to  tear  in  shreds 
our  flag,  and  rend  in  fragments  our  glorious  Union,  what  was  it  but 
the  honesty,  the  Christian  integrity  of  the  masses,  the  pure  Gospel 
temper  and  spirit  of  the  convocations  of  the  people,  North  and  South, 
that  sounded  the  knell  to  demagogues  and  fanatics  ?  Remove  from 
our  nation  the  influence  of  the  Cross,  and  there  are  now  exciting 
causes  abroad  that  would  make  our  rivers  run  red  with  blood,  and 
bleach  our  plains  with  the  bones  of  our  bravest  and  best  citizens. 

The  truth  of  the  position  we  have  assumed  is  more  strikingly  man- 
ifest by  contrasting  our  condition  with  that  of  unfortunate,  down- 
trodden France.  God  has  blessed  France  with  the  elements  of  a  great 
nation— she  has  the  physical  element ;  she  has  the  intellectual  ele- 
ment ;  she  has  bravery  and  courage  enough  for  anything ;  but  she 
lacks  the  religious  element ;  she  is  cursed  with  infidelity ;  and  on  this 
account  her  masses  are  ignorant  and  enslaved  ;  and  as  a  general  thing 
she  has  to  keep  them  abroad,  murdering  her  neighbors,  to  prevent 
them  from  butchering  each  other  at  home.  Let  a  pure  Christianity 
be  given  to  the  French,  and  they  would  soon  break  their  chains  and 
put  themselves  upon  the  platform  upon  which  we  now  stand.  We 
should  glory  therefore  in  the  Cross  on  account  of  its  elevating 
influence. 

Again :  we  should  glory  in  the  Cross,  because  it  is  the  manifeUa- 
tion  of  a  peculiar  exercise  of  power  by  God  in  meeting  the  wants  of 
our  spiritual  7iaiure.  The  apostle  calls  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  '<  the 
power  of  God."     It  has  been  truly  said — 

"  'Twas  great  to  speak  the  world  from  nought, 
'Twas  greater  to  redeem." 

It  required  an  exercise  of  power  altogether  difibrent,  in  the  one  case, 
from  that  exerted  in  the  other.  In  the  act  of  creation,  God  spread 
out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain  ;  he  digged  out  the  pit  of  the  sea  and 
filled  it  with  waves  ;  he  piled  mound  upon  mound,  and  rock  upon  rock, 
until  the  mountains  pierced  the  clouds,— but  all  this  was  done  by 


396  GLORYINa  IN  THE   CROSS. 

the  strength  of  his  voice.  «  He  spake  and  it  was  done,  he  commanded 
and  it  stood  fast."  AVhen  man  evea  stood  before  him,  fashioned  from 
the  clay,  he  simply  breathed  upon  hira,  and  he  began  to  live  ;  but 
\9hen  by  his  disobedience  he  sunk  down  into  spiritual  death,  God  could 
not,  without  an  infraction  of  his  justice,  breathe  hira  again  to  life. 
Though  God  could  tling  from  his  fingers  a  blazing  sun,  and  send  him 
shining  and  sparkling  on  his  path ;  though  he  could  by  the  strength 
of  his  voice  crown  the  sky  with  shining  worlds,  and  by  a  wave  of  his 
hand  pencil  their  orbits  through  space  ;  yet  it  was  not  enough  that 
he  sit  upon  his  throne  and  point  out  the  way  of  redemption.  If  there 
was  a  way,  it  was  necessary  that  God  himself  come  down  and  press 
the  path  with  his  own  feet.  This  he  did.  Christ  said,  when  upon 
earth,  "  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father."  Coming  thus 
in  person,  when  he  had  thoroughly  explained,  taught,  and  enforced 
his  doctrines,  he  submitted  to  be  lifted  upon  the  cross.  Then  it  was 
that  he  brought  into  exercise  his  omnipotence,  in  bearmg  "  our  sins 
in  his  own  body  on  the  tree."  When  he  cried,  "  My  God!  my  God! 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? "  such  was  the  effort  put  forth  by  him, 
that  the  influence  of  the  act  was  felt  co-extensive  with  his  very  exist- 
ence. God  was  touched,  and  through  every  avenue  and  vein  and  fibre 
of  the  universe,  the  power  of  the  influence  of  this  act  went  thrilling 
along  ;  for  wherever  God  was,  there  the  sensation  was  felt.  No  won- 
der the  earth  reeled  and  rocked  and  trembled,  and  the  rock's  were 
split ;  no  wonder  the  graves  heaved  forth  their  dead  ;  no  wonder  the 
sun  covered  his  face  in  darkness.  Here  we  witness  an  act  performed 
by  God  which  rises  in  grandeur  and  sublimity  above  all  the  displays 
of  his  power.  There  seems  to  be  a  significance  in  the  very  outstretch- 
ing of  his  hands  ;  with  one  he  holds  up  the  principles  of  his  govern- 
jQcnt — lifts  them  high  above  the  touch  of  violence  or  injury ;  with 
the  other,  though  pierced  and  bleeding  it  is,  he  grasps  the  millions  of 
the  human  race,  and,  holding  them  upon  his  throbbing  heart,  cries, 
«  Father,  forgive ! "  And  as  the  blood  trickles  down  his  side,  we 
behold  the  sublimest  of  all  spectacles — "  Mercy  and  truth  are  met 
together,  righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  each  other."  Ever 
since  that  time,  God  can  "  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  hira  which 
believeth  in  Jesus  ■' 

There  was  at  the  same  time  a  power  exerted,  the  effects  of  which 
are  not  visible  to  the  natural  eye— a  secret  power  springing  from  the 
Cross  which  sent  itself  back  to  the  commencement  of  time,  mysteri- 


GLORYING  IN   THE   CROSS.  397 

ously  imparting  virtue  to  all  the  altars  of  sacriSce  which  had  been 
fired  in  hope  of  "  the  promise, "  and  also  sending  itself  forward  to 
the  latest  period ;  thus  stretching  itself  across  the  generations  of  man, 
from  the  eternity  of  the"  past  to  the  eternity  of  the  future.  The  apos- 
tle calls  it  "  The  power  of  God  unto  salvation."  It  is  in  our  atmos- 
phere, it  is  in  our  sanctuaries,  it  is  in  our  closets,  it  is  in  our  "  mouth 
and  heart,"  and,  upon  confession  of  the  crucified  Saviour,  it  is  devel- 
oped upon  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  raising  our  dead  souls  from  the 
death  of  sin  to  a  life  of  "  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy." 

Finally,  we  should  glory  in  the  Cross,  because  it  is  our  only  hope 
in  the  hour  of  death.  Disguise  it  as  we  may,  there  is  a  mysterious 
influence,  beyond  the  power  of  our  resistance,  bearing  us  rapidly  to 
another  state  of  being.  Our  life  is  but  "  a  vapor  that  appeareth  for 
a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away."  Our  fathers,  where  are 
they  ?  They  have  fallen  asleep  upon  our  bosoms,  and  we  have  taken 
them  in  the  arms  of  afi'ection,  and  laid  them  down  in  their  beds  of 
dust.     Soon  our  children  will  perform  the  same  kind  office  for  us. 

"Like  leaves  on  trees  the  race  of  man  is  found, 
Now. green  in  youth,  now  withering  on  the  ground; 
Another  race  the  following  spring  supplies, 
They  fall  successive,  and  successive  rise: 
So  generations  in  their  course  decay; 
So  flourish  these,  when  those  are  passed  away." 

When  the  time  of  our  change  shall  come,  then  the  Cross  is  our 
only  hope ;  for  when  the  shadows  rising  from  the  grave  are  dimming 
our  sight ;  when  the  silver  cord  is  being  loosed ;  when  the  turbid 
waters  are  rolling  at  our  feet, — then  it  breaks 

«<  The  shock  blind  nature  cannot  shun, 

And  lands  thought  smoothly  on  the  farther  shore." 

In  that  hour,  the  light  of  the  Cross  falling  into  the  tomb,  scatters 
its  darkness  and  opens  to  the  spiritual  eye  the  path  of  triumph,  trod 
by  the  rising  Saviour  ;  and  clinging  to  his  cross,  and  listening  to  his 
encouraging  voice,  we  feel  that  we  have  reached  the  perfection  of 
human  nature,  in  knowing  death  and  not  fearing  it ;  for  passing  his 
gate,  in  defiant  and  triumphant  tone  we  can  cry,  "  0  death,  where  is 
thy  sting  1  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  What  a  grand  thing  it  is, 
that  when  kind  friends,  and  our  dearest  ones,  are  unable  to  adminis- 
ter relief  or  solace ;  when  the  pride  and  pomp  and  pageant  of  earth 


398  OLORTINQ  IN  THE  CROSS. 

sicken,  rather  than  soothe ;  when  the  heart  fails  to  propel  the  life- 
current,  and  is  becoming  still  and  cold, — what  a  grand  thing  it  is, 
that  we  can  cast  ourselves  upon  a  great  beating  heart,  whose  mighty 
pulsations,  in  flowing  out  to  the  farthest  limits  of  the  universe,  send- 
ing life  and  sustaining  power  to  all  things,  just  at  that  moment  throb 
through  our  souls,  thaw  away  the  death-chill,  and  warm  us  into 
eternal  life! 

God  grant  that  we  may  all  be  prepared,  now  and  ever,  to  join  the 
apostle  in  the  sentiment  of  the  text ;  and  may  the  time  speedily  come 
on,  when  every  human  lip,  from  a  thorough  conviction  of  its  worth 
and  excellence,  shall  repeat,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save 
in  the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  " 


*-a 


^.^. 


WEV.  E.  Ra.RjOAUfiVUW. 


MINISTERIAL    SOLICITUDE. 


BY  REV.   E.   M.   MARVIN, 

OF    THK  ST.   LOWIS  CONFBRBNCB. 


"  Therefore,  said  I,  Look  away  from  me:  I  will  weep  bitterly;  labor  not 
to  comfort  me,  because  of  the  spoiling  of  the  daughter  of  my  people:  For 
it  is  a  day  cf  trouble,  and  of  treading  down,  and  of  perplexity  by  the  Lord 
God  of  hosts  in  the  valley  of  vision,  breaking  down  the  walls,  and  of  crying 
to  the  mountains." — Isaiah  xxii,  4,  5. 

The  denunciatory  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  and  some  of  the  minor 
prophets,  are  denominated  "  burdens  " — a  most  expressive  title. 
The  curse  of  God  is  heavy — it  is  intolerable. 

Isaiah,  commissioned  by  God  himself,  stood  upon  the  heights  of 
Judea,  and  hurled  thunderbolts  here  and  there  against  the  most 
powerful  and  prosperous  nations  in  existence.  Babylon,  Moab,  Ed- 
om,  and  other  nations  and  cities,  were  the  objects  of  malediction. 
The  prophet  seemed  an  angel  of  destruction,  as  the  lightning  leaped 
out  of  his  terrible  words,  eager  for  its  guilty  prey.  He  stood,  the 
agent  and  embodiment  of  vengeance,  with  features  unrelaxed,  as  he 
saw  empires  overthrown  by  the  headlong  violence  of  the  wrath  which 
his  lips  pronounced.  Scene  after  scene  of  national  crime  and  its 
sanguinary  denouement  passes  before  his  vision,  and  finds  expression 
from  his  tongue.  But  ^ne  weeps  not,  shudders  not — he  simply  sees 
and  denounces.     The  man  h  lost  in  the  prophet. 

At  last  a  burden  comes  that  wakes  the  man.  The  tension,  even  of 
prophetic  strength,  is  insufficient  to  support  the  enormous  load,  and 
it  lies  on  the  prophet's  soul.  Grief  clamors  for  utterance,  and  puts 
tears  into  the  eyes  of  the  seer  to  make  the  glaring  vision  less  intol- 
erable. Words  of  anguish  shriek  amid  the  thunders  of  prophetic 
vengeance  :  "  Look  away  ;  I  will  weep  bitterly  :  labor  not  to  com- 
fort me,  because  of  the  spoiling  of  the  daughter  of  my  people." 

It  is  the  "  burden  of  the  valley  of  vision." 

We  are  to  understand  by  the  valley  of  vision,  Judea^  or,  as  soaie 


400  MINISTERIAL   SOLICITUDE 

suppose,  Jerustlem.  The  subject  of  the  prophecy  is  the  invasion  ot 
Judea  by  Sennacherib,  and  perhaps  its  conquest  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
The  latter  is  probably  referred  to  in  the  first  part  of  the  prophecy. 
Both  these  invasions,  and  especially  the  latter,  brought  heavy  calam- 
ity upon  the  Jews.  The  bloodshed,  the  starvation,  the  violation  of 
Judean  homes,  the  brutal  bearing  of  the  savage  soldiery,  the  con- 
sternation of  Hebrew  women  delicately  raised,  the  defilement  of  the 
temple,  the  desecration  of  the  altar,  the  long  procession  of  weeping 
captives,  torn  from  their  own  vine  and  fig-tree,  and  hurried  away  into 
the  land  of  the  idolater,  presented  to  the  Jewish  seer  a  panorama  the 
most  appalling  his  eyes  had  ever  looked  upon.  It  was  his  fatherland, 
and  he  was  none  the  less  a  patriot  for  being  a  prophet.  On  the  con- 
trary, his  prophetic  character  gave  him  an  intense  Jewish  heart.  In 
Judea,  religion  was  an  element  of  patriotism.  To  all  the  other  con- 
siderations that  endear  a  country  to  its  citizens,  there  were  added 
here  the  promises  and  strange  providence  of  God  which  had  brought 
the  seed  of  Abraham  into  the  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  ;  the 
memories  of  a  thousand  divine  interpositions  on  behalf  of  their  op- 
pressed and  endangered  country ;  the  solemnities  of  their  faith,  that 
brought  them  near  to  Grod ;  their  national  election,  by  God  himself,  to 
be  his  peculiar  treasure,  and  the  consciousness  of  a  faith  and  wor- 
ship infinitely  purer  and  sublimcr  than  those  of  the  nations  sur- 
rounding them.  Thus  the  full  strength  of  their  religious  character 
entered  into  their  patriotic  sentiments.  The  land  was  consecrated,  in 
their  eyes,  by  every  sacred  consideration  that  could  fix  affection  or 
excite  emotion.  Around  Jerusalem,  especially,  the  place  where  Je- 
hovah was  worshipped,  these  sentiments  clustered.  There  the  smoke 
of  continual  incense  and  sacrifice  went  up  to  the  God  of  their  fathers ; 
and  there,  from  between  the  cherubim,  did  He  "  shine  forth  "  and 
answer  their  supplications. 

In  an  eminent  religious  character,  such  as  Isaiah,  these  sentiments 
would  be  doubly  strong.  Every  stone  in  the  mountains  that  were 
round  about  Jerusalem  would  be  dear  to  him ;  every  vessel  in  the 
temple  would  be  sacred.  The  utmost  strength  of  his  emotional  na- 
ture would  take  hold  of  the  city  of  God,  and  the  tread  of  idolatrous 
feet  upon  its  pavements  would  grind  his  heart.  He  would  "  love 
Jerusalem  above  his  chief  joy,"  and  to  witness  her  desolation  would 
be  the  consummation  of  his  own. 

Armies  might  come  and  go,  depopulate  cities  and  ravage  empires. 


MINISTERIAL   SOLICITUDE.  401 

and  leave  the  smoke  of  ruined  homes  behind  them  over  half  a  conti- 
nent, so  they  kept  within  the  territories  of  the  stranger.  But  horrid 
war  !  Must  it  stain  the  sacred  hills  of  the  "  promised  land  ?"  Must 
it  ravage  the  "  heritage  of  God  ]"  The  man  of  God  could  not  bear 
it.  "  Look  away  from  me  :  I  will  weep  bitterly ;  labor  not  to  com- 
fort me." 

The  anguish  of  the  prophet  is  the  example  of  every  true  minister 
of  God  to  men.  He  deals  not  with  men  so  remote  and  uncongenial 
to  him  as  to  arouse  no  interest.  There  is  no  man  so  much  a  heathen 
or  barbarian  as  to  be  beyond  his  sympathy.  The  acutest  sensibilities 
of  his  nature  unite  him  to  the  cross,  and  the  cross  connects  him  with 
the  whole  world.  His  citizenship  is  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
that  embraces  in  its  provisions  mankind  entire. 

The  true  minister  of  Christ  feels  himself  charged,  in  a  measure, 
with  the  destiny  of  those  who  come  within  the  range  of  his  ministra- 
tions. He  feels  the  deepest  concern  for  them.  He  cannot  bear  that 
they  should  reject  his  message,  which  comes  to  them  from  God.  We 
will  consider  this  subject  of  ministerial  solicitude  in  several  aspects. 

I.    It  arises — 

1.  From  a  clear  view  of  the  nature  of  sin.  He  realizes  the 
enormous  sinfulness  of  sin.  He  sees  bow  hateful  it  must  be  to 
God,  how  it  vitiates  the  nature  it  inhabits,  how  it  debases  the  soul, 
and  fixes  an  infamous  brand  upon  the  being  that  is  controlled  by  it. 
This  is  the  essence  and  source  of  every  species  of  evil.  It  is  the 
poison  injected  by  the  serpent  into  the  veins  of  our  race  at  the  very 
fountain  of  humanity,  and  it  has  been  spreading  ever  since.  Where- 
ever  it  comes  it  brings  a  blight.  It  has  taken  possession  of  states, 
and  places  them  alternately  under  cruel  tyranny  and  still  more  cruel 
licentiousness.  It  has  made  itself  master  of  commerce,  and  trade  has 
become  almost  anoiher  word  for  fraud.  It  controls  social  life,  and 
has  made  intercourse  between  neighbors  a  lie.  It  enthrones  itself  in 
the  family  circle,  and  either  destroys  all  peace,  or  makes  the  family 
bond  a  mere  species  of  hearthstone  selfishness.  It  extends  its  do- 
mination over  the  individual  heart,  and  fills  it  with  all  uncleanness. 
The  world  is  permeated  by  it  and  suffused  with  it,  and  « all  the 
foundations  are  out  of  course."  Not  only  the  murder,  and  theft, 
and  slander,  and  blasphemy,  that  dare  heaven  with  demoniacal 
effrontery,  but  the  more  craven,  though  not  less  impious  brood  of 

26 


402  MINISTERIAL    SOLICITTTDE. 

covert  corruptions,  blacken  the  character  of  man,  so  that  not  one 
escapes.  They  disturb  human  relations,  so  that  everything  is  out  of 
joint. 

But,  to  the  mind  that  appreciates  divine  truth,  the  worst  aspect 
under  which  sin  appears  is  in  the  fact  that  it  alienates  man  from  his 
Creator.  Our  relations  to  Him  are  infinitely  the  most  sacred  of  any 
that  we  sustain.  To  disregard  them  is  at  once  the  climax  of  guilt 
and  the  consummation  of  moral  ruin.  Everything  that  is  noble  in 
human  nature  is  realized  in  communion  with  God.  Everything  that 
is  desirable  in  human  condition  comes  of  harmonious  relations  with 
Him.  The  recklessness  of  moral  obligation  that  can  disregard  divine 
claims  is  the  concentration  of  crime.  This  first  of  claims  despised, 
it  matters  little,  so  far  as  the  character  of  the  sinner  is  concerned, 
what  becomes  of  the  rest. 

One  of  the  most  alarming  manifestations  of  depravity  is  the  fact 
that  men  are  so  stupid  in  their  moral  perceptions  that  they  cannot 
see  this  fact.  They  imagine  that  the  whole  sphere  of  goodness  is 
filled  when  they  discharge  their  obligations  to  one  another.  As 
though  there  were  no  God,  or  that  we  owed  him  nothing.  Disregard 
of  God  is  the  very  essence  of  sin,  and  they  imagine  they  escape  bj 
avoiding  merely  some  of  its  accidents.  It  is  this  bluntness  of  feeling 
that  makes  men  so  immovable  in  their  sins — that  seems,  in  some 
cases,  almost  to  shut  them  up  to  their  doom. 

The  only  thing  that  is  hateful  to  God  is  sin.  The  only  misfortune 
of  sinners  is  to  fall  under  his  hatred.  The  faithful  servant  of  God  is 
grieved  in  his  soul  that  God  should  be  flouted  by  His  creature,  and 
that  men  should  fall  under  His  displeasure. 

2.  The  concern  of  the  minister  arises  from  a  just  conception  of 
the  danger  of  souls.  As  sin,  in  its  own  nature,  is  no  trifle,  so  it  can- 
not be  regarded  as  such  in  the  divine  administration.  The  hateful 
and  ruinous  thing  must  be  put  under  ban.  The  most  effectual  check 
must  be  laid  upon  its  progress.  God  owes  it  at  once  to  Himself  and 
His  creatures  to  punish  the  workers  of  iniquity.  "  The  soul  that 
sinneth,  it  shall  die." 

This  fearful  issue  of  a  sinful  life  follows  at  once  from  the  nature 
of  sin  and  the  divine  displeasure  against  the  sinner.  Sin,  in  its 
effect  upon  the  soul,  renders  it  incapable  of  communion  with  the 
fountain  of  good.  All  essential  good  comes  from  God.  But  the  sin- 
ful nature  is  abhorrent  to  Him,  and  there  is  and  can  be  no  inter- 


MINISTERIAL   SOLICITUDE.  403 

course.  This  privation  must  result  in  unliappiness.  But  sin  does 
still  more — it  deranges  and  perverts  the  nature  it  possesses.  The 
soul,  in  its  normal  condition,  is  adjusted  to  enjoyment.  The  affec- 
tions, which  constitute  the  eiuotionul  nature,  are  genial  and  joyful. 
But  sin  jostles  them  out  of  their  adjustment,  and  turns  them  to  gall. 
la  their  sad  perversion,  they  answer  ends  exactly  the  reverse  of 
those  designed  in  their  production. 

The  faculty  of  repugnance,  in  its  healthful  state,  directed  temper- 
ately but  decidedly  against  evil,  was  given  for  the  soul's  protection 
and  safety.  But  sin  inflames  it  into  anger,  hatred,  revenge  ;  and 
these  tear  the  soul  with  cruel  pangs.  Love,  a  pure  spiritual  aflSnity, 
is  the  harmonizing  and  happifying  principle  of  the  intelligent  uni- 
verse. It  is  the  magnetic  touch  that  turns  gravitation  Godward 
everywhere.  But  sin  has  reached  even  this,  and,  from  its  delightful 
and  undeviating  polarity,  turned  it  to  wild  and  demoniac  impulses, 
always  earthward  and  debasing,  and  involving  a  guilty  consciousness 
and  a  disappointed  hope.  Conscience,  intended  to  be  not  only  the 
tiler  of  the  soul,  to  guard  it  against  all  contraband  approach,  but 
also  a  mirror  reflecting  the  smile  of  God  upon  the  innocent  spirit, 
brightening  its  peacefulness  into  rapture,  becomes  a  Nemesis,  armed 
with  a  thousand  lashes.  Consciousness  occupies  the  present  with 
guilty  pain.  Memory  gathers  evil  from  the  past,  and  the  imagination 
sweeps  the  illimitable  future  for  yet  more  horrid  forms  of  anguish  ; 
and  these  two,  meeting,  from  the  past  and  future,  at  the  present, 
with  their  dreadful  hoard,  deluge  consciousness  with  woe. 

This  desolate  picture  is  not  realized  in  this  life,  simply  because 
every  sinner  exists  under  the  mitigations  which  grace  secures  him. 
This  restraining  influence  removed,  and  his  soul  becomes,  in  its  own 
being,  a  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone.     Sin,  left  to  itself,  is  hell. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  additional  element  that  could 
add  a  shade  to  this  midnight,  except  one — the  wrath  of  God.  This 
consummates  the  soul's  ruin. 

How  the  blackness  blackens  still  under  the  pencil  of  avenging 
inspiration!  "  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all 
ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men,"  It  is  revealed  "  in  flam- 
ing fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  obey  not 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  We  read  of  the  "  fierceness 
and  wrath  of  Almighty  God."     Our  Maker  declares  that  after  the 


404  MINISTERIAL    SOLICITUDE. 

persistent  rejection  of  His  mercies  by  rebellious  men,  *'  He  will  laugh 
at  their  calamity,  and  mock  when  their  fear  cometh." 

The  divine  displeasure  finds  its  expression  in  the  eternal  condition 
of  the  sinner.  He  is  "  cast  out  into  outer  darkness,  where  there  is 
weeping  and  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth"  "Outer  darkness!" 
The  very  words  make  a  man  shudder.  And  Oh  !  "  the  lake  of  fire 
that  burneth  with  brimstone !"  To  be  alive  forever,  in  raging  firo 
and  the  stifling  smoke  of  brimstone  !  If  anything  can  be  more  dread- 
ful, it  is  "  the  worm  that  dieth  not  I" — a  revolting  reptile  feeding 
forever  on  a  living  soul ! 

Feel !  The  minister  that  does  not  feel  is  a  monster.  If  he  be  a 
man,  he  will  join  the  cry  of  the  prophet,  "  Labor  not  to  comfort  me." 
I  will  hear  no  consolation.  The  children  of  my  people  are  given  to 
the  slaughter. 

3.  The  fact  of  immortality  adds  infinitely  to  the  interest  with 
which  the  sinner's  condition  is  to  be  regarded.  Any  condition  that  will 
terminate  is  tolerable.  But  souls  are  immortal ;  and  character  and 
destiny,  once  beyond  the  boundary  of  probation,  are  unalterable.  In 
the  eternal  world  every  lineament  of  the  moral  features  becomes 
fixed.  No  agencies  are  at  work  there  to  produce  a  beneficent  change. 
Guilt  and  degradation  are  the  soul's  heritage  for  eternity.  Oh  I  eter- 
nity, how  will  thy  cycles  lag  in  their  course  over  the  despairing  eyes 
fixed  on  the  dial  that  marks  their  progress  I  The  depths  of  the  fu- 
ture lengthen  as  they  are  approached.  Death  is  sought  in  vain. 
The  soul  that  might  have  had  heaven  for  the  asking  once,  now  begs 
for  annihilation,  and  even  this  poor  boon  is  denied  it.  To  be  and  to 
suffer  are  inevitable  now.  Existence  itself  becomes  hateful,  and  life 
a  curse !  To  battle  with  a  disgusting  self,  and  not  be  able  to  destroy 
it,  to  flee  and  not  be  able  to  escape  it,  forever  and  forever — this  is 
the  doom  of  the  guilty.     Oh  !  thou  just  God,  what  has  sin  wrought  1 

4.  A  lively  sympathy  with  the  sufi"erings  and  work  of  Christ  char- 
acterizes the  faithful  minister.  He  is  so  fully  in  communion  with  the 
Saviour  that  he  seems  almost  a  partaker  of  the  "  agony,"  in  his  min- 
ute degree. 

The  Victim  of  the  cross  draws  all  noble  natures  to  himself.  Im- 
MANUEL — God  WITH  US — must  cvcr  be  "  chiefest  among  ten  thou- 
sand "  to  all  right-feeling  human  hearts.  Godhead  allies  itself  to 
our  nature,  and  binds  itself  by  a  kindred  link  to  our  Spirits^  "  God 
was  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  and  is  henceforth  our  Elder  Brother. 


jriNISTERIAL   SOLICITUDE.  |^ 

The  object  of  his  advent  heightens  the  interest.  "He  came  to  seek 
and  to  save  the  lost,"  and  we  ourselves  were  the  lost  objects  of  his 
self-denying  benoBcence.  Ruined  natures  are  restored,  spiritual  en- 
mity reclaimed  to  friendship,  and  upon  death  itself  is  breathed  the 
breath  of  a  new,  divine  vitality.  Creation  is  outdone,  and  the  display 
of  Godhead  appears.  Above  all,  the  manner  of  the  achievement  in- 
vests it  with  transcendent  glory.  It  was  the  only  undertaking  in  which 
Godhead  ever  labored.  In  creation,  the  divine  words  shaped  them- 
selves into  worlds,  and  the  divine  volition  wheeled  them  into  their 
orbits.  But,  to  reclaim  rebellious  spirits,  he  must  needs  put  on  the 
working  dress  of  humanity,  and  toil,  and  die !  Let  the  history  of 
redemption  infuse  its  spirit  into  a  man,  and  see  how  his  soul  will 
yearn  for  the  salvation  of  the  "blood-bought  I" 

5.  All  holy  beings  rejoice  over  the  salvation  of  a  soul.  The  re- 
pentance of  a  single  sinner  is  an  event  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  be 
telegraphed  at  once  to  heaven,  and  published  there  to  heighten  an- 
gelic joy.  "  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the 
angels  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  Angel  shouts  to  angel,  till 
the  remotest  hears  it :  "  The  dead  lives !"  "  The  lost  is  found !"  and 
every  harp  gives  out  a  gush  of  unstudied  rapture.  God  himself  re- 
joices. 

This  interest  of  superior  natures  in  us  exalts  our  idea  of  the  soul'a 
importance.  It  can  be  no  trivial  thing  that  concentrates  the  atten- 
tion of  princely  intelligences.  It  can  be  an  event  of  no  small  magni- 
tude that  produces  revelry  amid  their  thrones.  The  mystery  of  re- 
demption is  the  object  of  profound  inquiry  among  the  angels:  "  they 
desire  to  look  into  these  things" — and  they  do  actually  exult  in  the 
triumphs  of  the  Cross. 

It  is  no  tax  upon  the  imagination  to  suppose  that  Christ  rejoices 
in  the  happy  issue  of  his  labor.  "  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his 
soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied."  Gethsemane  and  the  Cross,  contem- 
plated by  him  in  the  light  of  their  results,  shall  produce  profound 
complacency  in  his  mind.  Every  saved  soul  will  recall  that  awful 
night  and  day,  but  in  the  recollection  he  shall  be  ^^  satisfied.''^ 

6.  The  preacher  is  God's  ambassador,  and  is  directly  responsible 
to  him  for  souls  "  committed  to  his  charge,"  For  them  he  must 
"give  account.''* 

A  commission  of  any  sort  from  that  high  authority  must  produce 
a  spirit  of  trembling  anxiety  in  the  bearer  of  it.     How  much  alive 


406  MINISTERIAL   SOLICITUDB 

will  he  be  to  the  displeasure  that  must  follow  upon  any  want  of 
fidelity.  This  alone,  aside  from  the  interests  with  which  he  is  charged, 
is  enough  to  arouse  him  to  the  keenest  solicitude.  But,  then,  he  is 
to  enter  upon  negotiations  directly  involving  the  eternal  destiny  of 
souls,  and  the  vital  interests  of  the  divine  government. 

I  cannot  imagine  a  consideration  that  might  add  to  the  force  of 
those  actually  concentrated  on  the  preacher's  heart,  to  give  pungency 
and  power  to  the  feelings  that  must  sway  him  in  the  performance  of 
the  duties  of  his  office. 

To  realize  all  this  so  as  to  produce  a  great  concern  for  souls,  there 
is  requisite, 

1st.  A  full,  clear  faith.  Without  this  a  man  cannot  appreciate 
the  nature  of  divine  claims  or  spiritual  facts.  The  realities  with 
which  we  have  chiefly  to  do  are  unappreciated  by  any  other  means 
than  faith.  They  belong  to  a  sphere  which  no  perception  through 
the  means  of  a  physical  organism  can  recognise.  The  soul  must  be 
raised  above  the  conditions  of  its  physical  habitation  to  have  a  real, 
sensible  appreciation  of  divine  things. 

An  account  of  these  things  God  has  given  us  in  his  word. 
To  the  mind  in  its  native,  carnal  condition,  they  seem  distant  and  un- 
real. To  such  the  only  real  is  the  tangible.  They  are  so  fully  occu- 
pied with  the  gross  every-day  facts  that  crowd  upon  sensation,  that, 
becoming  assimilated  to  their  nature,  there  is  no  aptness  of  spiritual 
perception  and  existence.  Even  where  there  is  sufficient  elevation 
of  the  reason  to  recognise  the  truth  of  religion,  there  is  so  much 
earthliness  in  the  affections  that  it  produces  no  deep  impression,  so 
that  men  live  in  the  habitual  acknowledgment  of  the  claims  of 
Christianity,  and  equally  habitual  inattention  to  them.  There  can 
be  no  more  astounding  inconsistency  than  this.  It  is  monstrous  I 
But  the  reason  of  it  is  that  though  there  be  an  intellectual  belief 
there  is  no  realizing  faith.  And  there  never  can  be  until  the  grace 
of  God  shines  into  the  heart  and  renders  it  susceptible  of  a  divine 
consciousness.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  spiritual  things  become  ac- 
tualities. Then  they  begin  to  take  effect  upon  the  sensibilities. 
*'  Faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen."  It  takes  hold  of  the  remote  and  the  spiritual  with  a  con- 
sciousness as  vivid  as  that  produced  by  sensation.  Eternal  things 
now  begin  to  impress  the  soul  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  their 
importance. 


MINISTERIAL    SOLICITUDE.  407 

With  such  a  faith  as  this,  a  faith  which  transports  the  spirit  into 
the  presence  of  infinite  realities,  a  faith  that  sees  sin  and  hell,  that  sees 
God  and  eterniiy,  the  minister  receives  his  message  from  God  to  the 
sinner.  Everything  hangs  on  the  reception  or  rejection  of  the  mes- 
sage. Everything  is  poised  on  the  volition  of  the  sinner,  and  that  is 
either  oscillating,  or  has  settled  on  the  "wrong  side.  Considerations 
that  fill  eternity  compress  themselves  into  a  single  hour,  and  waken 
in  the  heart  that  has  faith,  an  agony  that  may  find  some  faint  expres- 
sion in  countenance  and  voice,  but  none  in  words.  It  is  too  intense 
for  language. 

2d.  There  must  be  an  elevated  Christain  experience.  Indeed, 
faith,  true  faith,  will  secure  this.  The  two  are  inseparable.  He 
that  walks  by  faith  walks  with  God.  His  moral  nature  is  open  to 
holy  influences,  and  becomes  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  religion. 

Experimental  religion  is  very  readily  defined.  One  word  expresses 
it  all.  That  word  is  Love.  "  The  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  the 
heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  unto  us,"  is  the  new  birth.  This  is 
experimental  religion.  The  man  who  enjoys  it  in  its  perfection  loves 
God  with  all  his  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself.  All  the  pure 
and  noble  sensibilities  of  the  soul  become  active.  Sin  becomes  hate- 
ful, and  virtue  lovely.  The  one  his  soul  abhors  ;  with  equal  fervor 
he  rejoices  in  the  other. 

Under  the  activ^e  operation  of  this  principle,  the  person  of  the  sin- 
ner becomes  dear  to  him.  He  looks  upon  one  for  whom  Christ  died ; 
one  who  with  the  acutest  sensibilities,  equally  alive  to  suffering  and 
enjoyment,  is  immortal ;  one  who  is  his  fellow,  having  the  same 
originally  noble,  though  fallen  nature,  and  grappling  with  the  same 
enemies.  He  looks  upon  each  man  with  a  feeling  of  deep  personal 
interest — with  the  heart  of  a  brother,  arbiter  of  his  own  destiny, 
poised  between  contendiug  motives,  and  uncertain  of  the  issue. 

Thus  his  religious  character  gives  every  man  a  place  in  bis  heart, 
and  awakens  alarm  for  every  one  he  sees  in  danger.  It  wrings  from 
him  the  agonized  cry,  "  3Iy  brother !  my  brother  !  thou  art  stagger- 
ing on  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and  the  lake  of  unquenchable  fire  is 
at  the  bottom."  He  would  interpose  his  own  person,  if  he  could,  to 
arrest  the  fall. 

II.  The  nature  and  extent  of  this  solicitude.  The  nature  of  it  is 
found  in  the  general  principles  of  our  faith  ;  its  extent  is  regulated 


408  MINISTERIAL   SOLICITUDE. 

very  much  by  personal  characteristics  and  circumstances,  and  is  fre- 
quently fluctuating. 

1.  The  nature  of  ministerial  solicitude  is  indicated  in  what  has 
been  already  said.  It  is  the  alarm  of  a  pure  nature  alive  to  eternal 
things,  for  those  who  are  exposed  to  infinite  retribution.  It  is  the 
feeling  of  responsibility  in  the  execution  of  a  commission  from 
Jehovah  to  deathless  spirits.  He  is  the  watchman  on  the  walls,  and 
if  he  allows  the  sword  to  come  without  warning,  the  blood  of  slain 
souls  is  upon  him.  It  is  at  the  same  time  the  vibration  of  the 
Saviour's  sorrow  in  his  soul — the  echo  of  the  Saviour's  death-groan 
in  his  heart.  All  the  moving  considerations  connected  with  redemp- 
tion conspire  to  create  it.  The  urgencies  of  immortal  want  clamor 
in  his  ear.  The  breathing  of  earnest  angel-ministries  to  the  same 
great  object  deepens  the  intenseness  of  his  anxiety.  Divine  expostu- 
lations of  most  subduing  pathos  are  put  into  his  mouth  to  raise  him 
to  the  inexpressible  height  of  their  meaning. 

2.  Sensitive  natures  become  agitated  under  it,  as  Habakkuk ;  or 
melancholy,  as  Jeremiah ;  or  impetuous,  as  Nahum.  The  profound 
spirit  of  Paul  swells  to  an  ocean  wave  of  feeling — a  tide  of  earnest- 
ness. The  great  soul  of  Isaiah  bows  itself;  he  weeps  bitterly,  and 
will  hear  no  comforter.  Whatever  there  is  earnest  in  a  man  will  be 
roused  to  its  fullest  measure.  The  preacher's  calling  becomes  the 
master  excitant  of  his  nature,  and  concentrates  it  upon  the  one  great 
object  before  him.  Under  its  influence  the  strong  man  becomes  a 
Hercules,  and  even  the  languid  become  strong. 

There  are  times,  however,  when  special  causes  produce  an  augmen- 
tation of  the  feeling,  as  times  of  revival.  Not  unfrequently  does 
solicitude  deepen  into  anguish,  and  the  excitement  become  so  great 
that  any  long  duration  of  it  would  be  fatal.  It  produces  a  tension 
■which  neither  body  nor  spirit  can  bear. 

But  at  all  times  the  soul  of  the  minister  yearns  for  the  salvation  of 
men,  and  is  at  any  moment  alive  to  the  peril  of  those  who  come  to 
his  attention  in  their  sins  and  exposed  to  the  death  that  dies  not. 
He  is  on  the  alert  for  souls. 

3.  Solicitude  for  souls  is  graduated,  however,  by  the  higher  or 
lower  standard  of  personal  piety  in  the  subject  of  it.  No  doubt  the 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  himself,  may  live  so  far  from  God,  and  culti- 
vate his  faith  so  negligently  that  his  religious  consciousness  will  be 
very  feeble.    Many  deplorable  instances  of  this  are  given  in  the 


MINISTERIAL   SOLICITUDE.  409 

history  of  the  Church.  Entire  continents  and  long  ages  have  been 
marked  by  it  as  their  leading  religious  characteristic.  And  in  her 
best  estate  the  Church  laments  the  presence  of  more  or  less  of  this 
class  of  men  at  her  altars.  Not  Sinai  can  alarm  them  nor  Calvary 
melt  them.  There  they  stand,  amid  solemnities  that  hold  angels 
breathless,  themselves  unmoved. 

In  one  whom  religion  has  taken  possession  of,  and  who  is  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  there  is  the  highest 
exhibition  of  unselfish  interest  in  the  welfare  of  others.  He  lives  for 
them,  labors  for  them,  suffers  for  them.  He  is  so  fully  occupied  for 
them,  that  self  is  to  a  very  great  degree  lost  sight  of  and  abandoned. 
Fatigue,  and  suffering,  and  shame,  can  scarcely  recall  him  to  the 
demands  of  his  own  existence.  When  Moses  stood  before  Jehovah, 
and  heard  him  threaten  the  entire  extinction  of  the  rebellious  race — 
No  I  he  exclaimed  in  passionate  intercession,  no  !  rather  "  blot  me 
out  of  thy  book  !"  Paul,  in  contemplating  the  case  of  the  reprobate 
Jews,  makes  this  earnest  declaration  :  "  I  say  the  truth  in  Christ;  I 
lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing  me  witness,  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  I  have  great  heaviness  and  continual  sorrow  in  my  heart.  For 
I  could  wish  that  myself  were  accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren, 
my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh."  His  "spirit  was  stirred  within 
him  "  when  he  saw  a  "  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry  ;"  and  when  he 
had  turned  men  to  God  they  were  his  "  glory  and  crown  of  rejoicing." 
When  he  had  collected  them  into  a  church  he  was  "  jealous  over  them 
with  godly  jealousy,"  for  he  ^^ feared  lest  by  any  means,  as  the 
serpent  beguiled  Eve  through  his  subtilty,  so  their  minds  should  be 
corrupted  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ,"  and  the  fruit  of  his 
labor  be  lost. 

4.  Mingled  with  this  is  a  pervading  feeling  of  unworthiness — "  I 
am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  dwell  among  a  people  of  unclean  lips." 
How  is  it  that  God  should  choose  such  an  instrument  for  his  holy 
purposes  ?  "  Who  am  I,  and  what  is  my  father's  house  ?"  Can  /  be 
Go(rs  Ambassador  to  negotiate  in  his  name  with  the  revolted  subjects 
of  his  government "?  Impossible  I  I  am  a  sinner  saved  by  grace  my- 
self, and  demanding  fresh  supplies  of  grace  every  moment. 

When  once  the  fact  is  admitted,  and  the  divine  call  recognised, 
still  he  says  and  feels  "  the  heavenly  treasure  is  in  a  clay  vessel," 
and,  bowing  with  conscious  weakness  under  the  burden,  he  turns 
continually  to  the  promise,  «  Lo  !  I  am  with  vou  always." 


410  MINISTERIAL    SOLICITUDE. 

5.  "  Wo  is  roe  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel."  I  must  preach  or  die. 
This  direct  accountability  to  God  under  an  undoubted  conviction  of 
duty  gives  pungency  to  his  concern.  He  is  solicitous  for  himself  as 
well  as  others.  Fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  to  them  is  the 
pivot  on  which  his  own  safety  vibrates.  When  our  flaming  firmament 
shall  light  the  judgment  scene,  he  expects  to  hear  the  Judge  demand 
"  Where  is  thy  brother  1"  That  will  be  no  time  for  the  impudent 
infidel  reply,  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?"  Who  of  us  in  that  hour 
will  be  able  to  stand  with  undisturbed  composure,  and  respond, 
"  Here  am  I,  and  the  children  thou  hast  given  me." 

Let  us  consider,  finally, 

III.  Its  results  upon  ministerial  effort  and  success. 

1.  It  incites  to  activity.  It  tolerates  no  sluggishness.  It  is  a 
constant  impulsion,  urging  its  subject  to  the  most  strenuous  exertion 
in  the  service  of  souls.  He  looks  around  him  for  a  place  to  work  and 
a  way  to  work,  "  if  by  any  means  he  may  save  some."  He  is  not 
select  as  to  places,  nor  ambitious  of  distinctions,  but  work  he  must. 
Let  others  scheme  and  wrangle  for  promotion — "  let  the  potsherd 
strive  with  the  potsherd  of  the  earth  " — he  has  loftier  demands  to 
meet.  To  preach  the  Gospel — to  all — especially  to  the  poor — is  his 
highest  aspiration. 

To  occupy  metropolitan  churches,  and  to  see  his  name  in  news- 
papers and  books,  with  flattering  encomiums,  is  a  very  little  thing. 
In  highways  and  hedges,  in  forgotten  lanes  and  alleys,  in  rude,  un- 
cultivated neighborhoods,  he  finds  the  fields  whitening  to  the  harvest. 
A  soul  saved  out  of  a  gutter  is  as  good  as  a  soul  saved  out  of  a 
palace. 

He  can  even  afford  to  live  on  a  small  salary.  "  Not  yours,  but 
you,"  is  his  motto.  He  can  dispense  with  sumptuous  dinners  and 
costly  clothing.  Only  let  him  work  for  Christ  and  souls.  What  if 
he  does  not  attract  the  world's  eye.     God  sees  him  !     He  is  willing 

to  be 

«' little  and  unknown, 

Loved  and  prized  by  God  alone." 

If  the  force  of  his  talents  or  the  accidents  of  his  position  elevate 
him  to  public  regard,  he  accepts  it,  not  as  the  end  of  his  labors,  but 
as  furnishing  the  means,  and  indicating  the  methods  of  exertion. 

A  model  preacher  was  the  man  of  Tarsus.     In  all  ho  did  this  prin- 


SHNISTERIAL   SOLICITUDE  411 

ciple  predominated — '<  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us."  From 
*he  moment  "  Christ  was  formed  within  him,  the  hope  of  glory,"  the 
spirit  of  the.  ministry  wrought  in  him,  making  him  a  constant  miracle 
of  endurance  and  of  toil.  No  distance  was  too  great  to  traverse  in 
pursuit  of  souls.  No  difficulty  was  too  formidable  to  encounter.  No 
danger  too  extreme  to  be  braved.  Throughout  Asia  and  Europe, 
through  perils,  stripes  and  imprisonments,  publicly  and  from  house  to 
house,  night  and  day,  to  the  very  last,  he  gave  himself  to  the  work. 
Wesley  found  Paul's  mantle  and  put  it  on.  From  the  great  Apostle 
he  took  the  motto  which  became  the  main-spring  of  his  over-active 
life,  "  in  labors  more  abundant."  Anywhere,  in  London  or  in  the 
collieries,  no  matter  where,  so  there  were  men  there.  These  two 
men — Paul  and  Wesley — each  in  his  day,  literally  stirred  the  world 
up.  It  is  not  the  fortune  of  every  man  to  do  so  large  a  work,  but 
every  one  may  work  as  incessantly  as  they  in  the  minuter  cultivation 
of  a  smaller  field.  There  is  work  enough  for  the  most  vigorous  body 
and  the  most  active  mind,  in  a  single  pastoral  charge.  To  prepare 
for  thorough  pulpit  instruction,  to  visit  the  sick  and  them  that  are 
out  of  the  way,  to  lenrn  the  wants  of  all  and  supply  them,  will  leave 
a  man  but  little  rest. 

2.  He  can  do  nothing  else.  His  consuming  zeal  will  hear  of  no 
meaner  employment.  This  is  his  business,  and  it  is  of  too  much  im- 
portance to  be  encroached  upon  by  other  avocations.  Head,  and 
heart,  and  hands  must  be  devoted  to  this.  He  must  not  bring  to  it 
affections  diluted  by  the  cares  of  secular  life.  Of  the  Gospel  he 
must  live. 

3.  It  infuses  an  inspiring  animation  into  all  his  ministrations. 
His  theology  is  no  mere  speculation.  His  gospel  is  not  a  system 
of  remote  and  unappreciated  facts.  Gesture,  and  tone,  and  eye  are 
alive  with  the  message.  The  words  take  more  than  half  their  mean- 
ing from  the  utterance  of  a  burning  spirit.  A  sentence  which  from 
other  lips  means  little,  comes  from  his  throbbing  with  vital  thought. 
Nor  is  it  from  studied  action.  It  is  the  soul,  heated  to  fusion,  and 
pouring  itself  out  in  the  warnings  and  persuasions  of  the  Gospel. 

4.  Such  a  ministry  is  always  successful.  The  elements  of  success 
are  all  present.  Earnest  workers  always  reach  their  object.  The 
energy  of  a  sincere  mind  is  a  wonderful  power.  Faith  at  the  same 
time  allies  itself  to  divine  strength.     In  the  enthusiasm  of  his  own 


412  MINISTERIAL    SOLICITUDE. 

spirit  lie  is  a  host,  and  with  the  luomentum  of  divine  energy  added, 
he  is  irresistible. 

Contemplate  the  results  :  Souls  delivered  out  of  the  snare  of  the 
devil,  washed  from  their  dark  defilement,  relieved  of  their  guilt,  and 
Bavcd  from  the  damnation  of  hell.  Hundreds  rejoice  in  the  ministry 
of  a  single  man.  They  turn  their  eyes  upward.  The  clouds  are 
parted.  The  sky  is  luminous.  Heaven  opens.  Thrones,  and  crowns, 
and  joys  invite  them.  Walls  and  arches,  palaces  and  domes,  brilliant 
with  precious  stones,  and  aglow  with  the  glory  of  God,  welcome 
them.  Joy,  kindled  to  rapture,  brightens  every  face,  and  pours  itself 
in  divinest  melody  from  myriad  strings. 

We  must  live  in  heaven  before  we  can  fully  realize  the  spirit  of 
this  theme.  If  we  could  use  the  words  in  which  the  seraphim  hold 
their  high  communion,  we  should  find  no  audience  to  receive  the 
celestial  import.     We  must  die  to  understand  it. 

Let  the  day  come.  Let  me  see  the  dust  of  toil  brushed  off,  and 
the  "fine  linen,  clean  and  white,  put  on."  Let  me  see  the  clay 
chrysalis  burst  into  the  seraph.  Let  me  hear  the  shout  that  shall  go 
up  into  the  ear  of  God,  when  the  "great  multitude,  which  no  man 
can  number,"  shall  "  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city  :" 

"  Unto  Him  that  hath  loved  us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his 
own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  his 
Father,  to  Him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever."  AiiEN. 


-^t^y-^ccZ^^^CZ^ 


■-y  THE  z.ooistAHA.  oairr^sEircB 

'^HK:;„,,.ni     c„.    the  MANm-lKlJ,  FV.yiAM,  COLLVc  • 


THE   HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 

BY  H.  C.  THWEATT,  D.  D., 

rHESIDENT  OF  MANSFIELD  FEMALE  COLLEGE — LOUISIANA  CONFERENCE. 


"  Search  the  Scriptures-,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life:  and 
they  are  they  which  testify  of  me."' — John  v,  39. 

If  there  be  often  much  dilBBculty  in  saying  enough,  and  no  more, 
on  anyone  verse  or  single  passage  of  Scripture,  how  much  more  is  that 
difficulty  increased  when  we  undertake  to  say  all  that  might  be  desired 
on  the  Book  itself,  which  contains  near  fifty  thousand  verses.  The 
mind  is,  in  a  measure,  bewildered  in  the  attempt  rightly  to  embody,  and 
thereby  forcibly  to  exhibit  the  vast,-  varied,  and  almost  endless  mate- 
riel of  such  a  subject ;  and  especially  so,  when  it  is  required  to  de- 
velop all  that  is  important  to  be  introduced  in  the  brief  space  usually 
allotted  to  the  services  of  the  pulpit.  Indeed,  on  a  theme  like  this, 
it  is  no  easy  task  judiciously  to  select,  from  the  innumerable  points  of 
interest  and  of  argument,  all  the  proper  elements  wherewith  to  con- 
struct the  frame-work  of  a  discourse  which  may  prove  at  once  per- 
tinent and  impressive,  profitable  and  edifying,  to  an  intelligent  wor- 
shipping assembly. 

It  may  be  said,  that  the  subject  is  old,  trite,  common.  True,  but 
not  yet  exhausted,  nor  ever  will  be.  A  man  may  live  in  a  house 
without  being  an  architect  ;  so  may  we  perpetually  talk  or  write 
about  the  Bible  without  understanding  to  the  full  extent  any  one 
of  the  wonders  of  its  construction,  the  secret  sources  of  its  power 
and  beauty.  Though  for  centuries  past  the  most  gifted  intellects 
have  been  engaged  in  this  worthiest  subject  of  study  and  investiga- 
tion, still  the  true  value  of  this  blessed  volume  remains  untold. 
Yes  :  this  book,  with  which  the  careless  infant  plays,  in  which  bright 
childhood  cons  its  task,  and  the  dim  eye  of  age  meets  a  cheering 
light ;  this  book,  by  which  the  learned  become  more  wise,  and  with- 
ered hearts  find  hope  ;  this  book,  whose  glorious  "  autlior,  God  him- 
self— the  subject,  God  and  man — the  end,  salvation  and  eternal  life," 
fully  to  comprehend  and  appreciate,  in  all  its  breadth,  and  length, 


414  .  THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

and  depth,  and  height,  has  never  been  vouchsafed  to  any  human,  or 
(as  hinted,  1st  Peter  i,  12,)  even  angelic  mind.  And  yet  every  seri- 
ous, earnest  inquirer,  however  humble,  may  contribute  something,  if 
but  a  mite,  to  the  common  treasury  of  thought,  and  thus,  to  some 
extent,  help  forward  the  grand  approximation  towards  the  truth, 
\vhich  is  constantly  going  on  while  the  ages  roll  away.  The  bare 
thought  that  the  best  and  brightest  of  mankind,  the  highest  educated 
of  every  age  and  realm,  the  appointed  leaders  of  mind,  the  kingly 
spirits  of  earth,  have  here  labored  and  toilad  to  faintness  and  weari- 
ness, is  enough  to  inspire  fear  and  much  trembling  while  I,  in  weak- 
ness, the  mighty  task  essay,  to  speak  of  a  book  which  "  has  stood, 
time's  treasure,  and  the  wonder  of  the  wise."  Aye,  too,  a  book  which 
reveals  its  secrets,  imparts  its  power,  and  bestows  its  blessings  only  on 
those  who,  with  a  reverent,  loving,  humble,  believing  heart,  receive 
it  as  the  pure  Word  of  God,  the  exact  transcript  of  infinite  perfec- 
tion, and  especially  that  which  brings  to  view  the  light  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  glory  of  Grod,  as  it  Shines  in  the  face  of  Jssus  Christ, 
by  whom  alone  we  have  eternal  life,  and  of  whom  mainly  to  testify, 
this  sure  and  blessed  Word  was  given. 

Impressed  with  this  great  truth,  and  at  the  same  time  deeply  con- 
scious of  the  immense  difficulty  of  condensing  and  shaping  our 
thoughts  on  a  theme  so  grand,  so  profound,  so  immeasurable,  well 
may  the  preacher  feel  himself  as  much  perplexed  as  was  the  man  who, 
when  be  first  discovered  that  the  rays  of  light  which  fell  on  the  con- 
vex surface  of  his  sun-glass  had  been  gathered  to  a  burning  focal 
point,  inquired  •'  if  a  lens  could  not  be  made  that  might  gather  all 
the  sun's  rays  ?" 

The  rays  of  light,  my  brethren,  emanating  from  this  holy  book,  to 
enlighten,  cheer,  and  xnvify  the  world,  are  more  numerous,  if  possible, 
than  those  which  come  from  yonder  sun,  rejoicing  in  his  beams  ;  and 
should  I  presume  to  gather  them  all  into  one,  a  hundred,  or  a  thou- 
sand sermons,  I  would  act  as  wildly  in  the  attempt  as  the  man 
in  the  case  of  the  sun-glass.  Let  us  then  content  ourselves,  at 
least  on  the  present  occasion,  with  such  leading  facts,  principles,  and 
truths,  as  stand  in  some  wise  connected  with  the  text;  and  that  we 
may  observe  some  form  or  method,  the  better  to  impress  the  mind,  and 
thereby  aid  your  recollection,  we  will  begin  with  that  part  of  our 
subject,  and  so  continue  and  end  as  general  order  and  just  propriety 
may  seem  to  us  most  naturally  and  plainly  to  demand. 


a  HE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  415 

Let  us  then  consider  : 

I.  The  term  "  Scriptures." 

Scripture,  in  its  original  sense,  is  of  the  same  import  with  writings 
and  as  such  signifies  "  anything  written."    Byway  of  eminence,  how- 
ever, and  as  used  in  the  plural,  the  term  denotes  the  entire  volume 
of  divine  revelation,  containing,  as  it  does,  the  most  important  of  all 
writings.     In  the  place  before  us,  the  Saviour  refers  to  the  writings 
of  the  Old  Testament,  as  those  of  the  New  were  not  then,  or  during 
any  period  of  his  abode  on  earth,  (at  least,  in  an  embodied  form,)  in 
existence  ;  and  it  was  only  by  reference  to  these,  (if  not  indeed 
direct  quotation  therefrom,)  that  he  could  have  in  any  way  vindicated 
his  conduct,  and  convinced  the  Jews  that  the  Father  had  sent  him, 
since  these  alone  were  by  them  received  and  accredited  as  divine, 
and  in  which  alone  they  thought  they  had  eternal  life.     On  no  other 
ground  could  he  have  so  forcibly  upbraided  them,  when  he  said,  "  Ye 
do  greatly  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures  ;"  and  again,  "  If  they 
hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded 
though  one  rose  from  the  dead."     Yet,  according  to  St.  Peter,  (2d 
Epistle,  3d  chapter,  16th  verse,)  the  writings  of  the  evangelists  and 
apostles,  together  with  those  of  the  Old  Testament,  are  all  included, 
and  thus  constitute  one  volume  or  collection  of  sacred  writings.  And 
as  the  Saviour  now  speaks  to  us,  not  only  by  what  Moses  and  the 
prophets, but  by  what  he  himself  declared,  as  recorded  by  the  evan- 
gelists, and  also  by  what  his  apostles  wrote,  as  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  who  proceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the   Son,  we   must  of 
course  embrace  in  the  term  "Scriptures,"  as  expressed  in  the  text,  all 
the  canonical  books,  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  :  since  to- 
gether they  must  either  stand  or  fall,  the  one  being  incomplete  with- 
out the  other — and  can  only,  when  conjoined,  form  a  full,  sufficient, 
and  perfect  revelation  of  the  will  of  God  to  man  ;  for  like  the  over- 
shadowing cherubim,  they  look  to  the  same  propitiatory,  and,  as  the 
lips  of  an  oracle,  give  utterance  to  the  same  blessed  truths.     What- 
ever, therefore,  may  be  said  on  this  point,  in  this  discourse,  must  be 
understood  of  all  the  Scriptures,  which,  though  called  by  different 
names,  mean  but  one  thing— the  Word  of  God,  given  by  his  author- 
ity, and  under  his  direction  ;  written,  not  left  to  uncertain  oral  tra- 
dition, but  in  the  shape  of  an  indestructible  stereotype— an  immuta- 
ble fixture — proof  alike  against  the  attacks  of  open  foes  and  the 


416  THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

corruptions  of  pretended  friends.  "  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven, 
saying,  write  "—thus  and  so.  "  It  is  written."  "  To  the  law  and  to 
the  testimony  " — the  final  appeal,  the  perfect  standard.  "Indeed,  Jesus 
so  honored  his  written  word  that  he  preferred  to  quote  from  its 
pages  solutions  of  intricate  questions,  to  emitting  replies  from  the 
depths  of  his  own  infinite  mind;"  and  yet  this  written  word  is  to  be 
spoken,  enunciated,  preached.* 

The  Scriptures  are  sometimes  called  '*  oracles,"  because  they  are 
the  answers  which  God  has  given,  from  his  holy  place,  to  the  inqui- 
ries of  his  people.  And  again,  with  some  enlargement,  they  are  de- 
nominated "  lively  oracles,"  in  contradistinction  to  old,  dead  histo- 
ries, myths,  and  fables  about  persons  and  things  long  since  passed 
away — if  indeed  they  (all  of  them)  ever  existed — and  which,  even  if 
true,  could  never  have  been  of  any  practical  use  or  spiritual  benefit 
to  the  world. 

The  apostle  Paul  mentions  it  as  a  chief  advantage  to  the  Jewish 
people  that  "unto  them  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God."  And 
"what  nation,"  says  Moses,  "is  there  that  hath  statutes  and  judg- 
ments so  righteous  as  all  these  laws  ?"  How  difiFerent  these  judg- 
ments, statutes,  oracles,  from  those  idle,  ambiguous,  equivocal,  illu- 
sory responses  of  juggling,  lying  priests,  palming  their  impious 
devices  upon  the  credulity  of  the  wretched  votaries  of  some  ima- 
ginary god  or  deuion.  Indeed,  how  widely  different  such  revelations 
from  those  so  beautifully  and  forcibly  set  forth  in  the  nineteenth  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty-ninth  psalms.  And  if  such  (as  therein  ex- 
pressed) was  the  esteem  and  veneration  which  the  pious  entertained 
for  the  living  oracles  under  the  former  dispensation,  when  they  had 
only  Moses  and  the  prophets,  how  then  ought  they  to  be  prized  by 
us,  who  have  also  Christ  and  his  apostles  ! 

The  word  "  holy  "  is  often  connected  with  other  titles,  to  express 
the  pure  quality  and  sublime  tendency  of  the  Scriptures.  Also,  the 
word  "testament"  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  sacred  writings, 
and  which,  in  its  original  import,  is  equivalent  to  "  covenant" — per- 
haps a  more  appropriate  term.  Either,  however,  conveys  the  idea  of 
an  instrument — the  most  solemn  and  authentic  ever  presented  to  the 
world — subscribed,  witnessed,  and  published  in  such  a  manner  as 
stamps  in  undeniable  characters,  on  the  minds  of  all  who  view  it 

•  Roni.  X,  H,  19 ;  Matt.  iv.  17 :  x,  27 ;  1st  Cor.  i.  3.3 :  xv,  11;  2d  Tim.  iv,  2;  Mark  v',  12' 
xvi,  20;  I's.  xi,  9 ;  Acts  ix,  20:  xiii,  3S  ;  Col.  i,  23  j  Eph.  ii,  17;  &c 


THE   HOLY  SCRIPTURES.  417 

aright,  the  name,  and  being,  and  perfections  of  Him  "  who,  through 
the  eternal  spirit,  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,"  and  who,  as 
Moses  dedicated  the  first  testament  by  the  blood  of  calves  and  goats, 
■with  water,  and  scarlet  wool,  and  hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the 
book  and  all  the  people,  saying,  "  This  is  the  blood  of  the  testament 
which  God  hath  enjoined  unto  you,"  so  also  the  apostle  and  high 
priest  of  our  profession,  by  his  own  blood  having  entered  into  heaven 
itself,  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us, gives  the  promise  of  eternal  in- 
heritance, saying  "  This  is  the  new  testament,  in  my  blood,  whereof 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  witness,  through  mighty  signs  and  wonders  and 
miracles  ;"  and  not  less  so  through  the  mystery  of  grace,  "made  man- 
ifest to  all  saints  by  faith  and  sanctification  of  the  spirit  unto  obedi- 
ence, and  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ." 

The  name  "  Bible"  is  more  frequently  applied  than  any  other.  The 
Book,  by  way  of  superlative  distinction,  because  it  far  excels  all 
others — the  book  of  books,  which  stands  up  as  the  kingly  sheaf  amid 
thousands  round  about  that  make  obeisance  unto  it — and  yet  not 
casting  a  slight  upon,  but  lending  to  them,  some  of  its  own  dignity 
and  honor.  In  a  word,  the  most  perfect  instrument  and  adequate  or- 
gan of  all  the  gifts  and  powers  by  which  man,  individual  or  collect- 
ive, is  privileged  "  to  rise  above,  and  lose  his  dividual,  phantom  self, 
in  order  to  find  his  true  self  in  that  distinctness  where  no  division  can 
be,  even  in  the  great  I  Am,  the  everlasting  "Word."  More  than  this 
\vc  cannot  say,  since,  after  the  widest  range,  we  shall  only  return  to 
this  at  last.  To  know  that  it  is  the  word  of  God,  has  sufficed  for  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands,  and  it  suffices  for  us.  The  most  earnest 
and  devout  search,  with  the  most  exact  balancing,  will  determine  in 
favor  of  this  name,  as  it  conveys,  most  clearly  and  distinctly,  the 
idea  of  the  will  of  God,  so  necessary  to  be  known  for  our  salvation  ; 
also  the  wisdom  of  God,  so  far  above  the  wisdom  of  the  world,  (1st 
Cor.  ii,  7) ;  again,  word  recorded  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  (2d  Tim.  iii,  16,) 
— word  inspired  by  the  most  wise,  excellent,  and  holy  men,  pre- 
senting doctrines,  precepts,  principles  and  truths,  the  most  pure, 
perfect  and  immutable,  and  which  alone  embraces  all  things  necessary 
for  faith  and  practice,  and  is  the  best  testimony  of  its  own  fullness 
and  sufficiency ;  and  that  because  it  is  the  word  of  God,  and  we  have 
no  other,  and  need  no  other,  since  it  affords  certainty  in  those  things 
which  are  sufficient  to  perfect  men  here  thoroughly,  furnishing  them 

"  unto  all  good  works,"  and  thereby  in  the  end,  through  faith  in 

27 


418  THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

Christ,  lead  them  to  life  eternal.  Therefore,  saith  Christ  himself, 
»*  Search  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  ; 
and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me." 

II.     A  Brief  HiSTORt  op  the  Scriptures  : 

We  are  accustomed  to  look  upon  the  Bible  as  one  book.  In  a  very 
impoitant  and  qualified  sense,  this  is  true.  Its  origin,  as  divine,  is 
ode  ;  its  doctrines,  as  a  rule  of  life,  one ;  and  the  object  at  which  it 
aims  is  one.  At  the  same  time,  it  consists  of  "  a  great  number  of 
small  tracts — about  sixty-six-^the  composition  of  above  thirty  indi- 
viduals— f)ersotis  of  all  classes,  from  kings  to  peasants,  of  various 
education,  of  every  kind  and  measure  of  intellectual  ability,  and  who 
lived  scattered  over  a  period  of  nearly  sixteen  hundred  years ;"  and 
these  tracts  composed  in  different  languages,  and  on  divers  subjects. 
The  books  contained  in  the  Old  Testament  (with  very  few  exceptions) 
were  collected  into  one  volume  by  Ezra,  "  the  son  of  Seraiah,  a  priest 
and  ready  scribe  in  the  law  of  the  God  of  heaven,"  whose  memory 
is  tenderly  cherished  by  the  Jews,  and  for  whom  they  have  an  extra- 
ordinary esteem,  and  indeed  regard  as  second  only  to  Moses  ;  ana,  as 
such,  say  "  that,  if  the  law  had  not  been  given  by  Moses,  Ezra  de- 
served to  have  been  the  legislator  of  the  Hebrews.^'  This  grea : 
restorer  and  publisher  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  prepared  hi. 
heart  to  seek  and  to  do  the  worK  of  collecting  and  disposing  in  theii 
proper  order,  as  well  as  of  changing  here  and  there  obsolete  words  and 
places,  and  of  making  such  additions  (for  instance,  the  last  chaptci 
of  Deuteronomy)  as  were  deemed  necessary,  and  in  all  of  which 
doubtless,  he  was  assisted  by  the  same  spirit  by  which  these  several 
books  were  first  written ;  for  we  read,  "And  then  Ezra,  after  the 
wisdom  of  thy  God  that  is  in  thine  hand,"  &c.  Again,  "  I  was 
strengthened  as  the  hand  of  the  Lord  my  God  was  upon  me."  And 
yet  again,  "  According  to  the  good  hand  of  his  God  upon  him,  Ezra, 
the  priest,  the  scribe,  even  a  scribe  of  the  word,  of  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord,  and  of  the  statutes  of  Israel,"  &c.  (Ezra,  chap- 
ter vii.) 

This  work  was  undertaken  and  completed  during  the  reign  of 
Artaxerxes  Longimanus,  king  of  Persia,  soon  after  the  Babylonish 
captivity — about  five  hundred  years  before  Christ.  And  yet  this 
Jewish  canon  of  Scripture,  by  Ezra,  was  not  so  executed  or  settled, 
but  that  several  variations  have  been  made  in  it.     It  is  probable 


THE   HOLT   SCRIPTURES.  4lf 

tLat  the  two  books  of  Chronicles,  Nehemiah  and  Esther — at  least 
portions  of  them — together  with  the  entire  prophecy  of  Malachi,  were 
adopted  into  the  Jewish  Scriptures  by  Simon  the  Just,  the  last  of 
the  men  of  the  great  synagogue,  as  in  these  books  certain  names 
and  events  are  recorded,  which  certainly  had  no  existence  till  more 
than  one  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Ezra,  and  of  course  could 
not  have  been  put  by  him  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  by  some  other, 
and,  as  is  generally  supposed,  by  Simon  the  Just,  as  before  stated. 
[t  is  enough,  however,  for  us  to  know,  that  the  books  as  now  con- 
tained in  the  Old  Hebrew  Testament,  and  only  these,  were  regarded 
by  the  ancient  Jews  as  of  divine  authority ;  and  according  to  the 
concurrent  voice  of  all  antiquity,  are  the  accredited  sacred  writings 
of  their  nation. 

In  respect  to  the  New  Testament,  we  have  the  most  satisfactory 
testimony  that  the  different  writings  of  which  it  is  composed,  (at 
least  the  principal  part  of  them,  if  not  indeed  all,)  were  collected  into 
one  volume  before  the  death  of  the  Apostle  John.  The  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  were  mostly  written  in  Hebrew  ;  those  of  the  New  in 
Greek ;  and  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  both  proved  by  an 
amount  of  evidence  that  cannot  be  brought  to  bear  in  any  other 
writings  of  antiquity.  But  as  it  would  require  a  separate  discourse 
to  enter  fully  into  this  part  of  our  subject,  we  will  pass  on  to  notice 
some  additional  facts  relative  to  the  history  of  the  Bible.  "Before 
the  art  of  printing,  (A.  D.  1440,)  the  sacred  writings,  as  also  all 
other  books,  were  preserved  only  in  manuscripts,  written  on  parch- 
ment or  vellum,  prepared  from  the  skins  of  animals,  and  usually 
executed  with  extreme  accuracy  and  beauty.  Many  of  these  manu- 
scripts have  come  down  to  us  from  the  fifth  or  sixth  century,  and 
preserved  with  great  purity."  Much  has  been  said  and  written  about 
the  number  of  various  readings  discovered  by  biblical  critics,  in  the 
manuscripts  of  dififerent  languages,  which  for  eight  centuries  or  more 
had  multiplied  almost  beyond  counting ;.  and  to  this  may  be  added 
innumerable  apographs,  which,  as  one  might  suppose,  the  art  of 
printing  would  have  wholly  superseded.  Of  the  vast  amount  of 
these  various  readings  we  may  form  some  idea, "  from  the  number 
discovered  by  the  labors  of  one  biblical  scholar,  who  devoted  thirty 
years  of  his  life  mainly  to  this  point — Dr.  Mill — who  found  in  the 
New  Testament  alone,  thirty  thousand."  Many  thousand  more  since 
his  day  (1668)  have  been  discovered  ;  and  those   that  have  been 


420  THE  HOLT   SCRIPTURES. 

found  in  collecting  various  manuscripts  of  the  Old  Testament,  have 
risen  to  many  hundred  thousand.  But  what  does  all  this  amount  to  ? 
"nothing  more  than  whether  an  i  shall  be  dotted,  or  a  ^  crossed  ;  or 
whether  the  word  honor  shall  be  spelled  with  or  without  m;"  for  we 
may  well  say,  with  one  of  the  most  profound  scholars,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  critics  of  the  learned  languages  of  the  time  in  which  he 
lived,  (1740,)  that  eminent  divine.  Dr.  Richard  Bentley  :  "  Put  all 
the  multiplied  thousand  of  various  readings  into  the  hands  of  a 
knave  or  a  fool,  and  make  them  as  many  more,  and  yet,  with  the 
most  sinistrous  and  absurd  choice,  he  shall  not  extinguish  the  light 
of  any  one  chapter,  or  so  disguiso  Christianity,  but  that  every  feature 
of  it  will  be  the  same."  Indeed,  this  learned  and  somewhat  curious 
discovery  of  so  large  a  number  of  various  readings  in  the  sacred 
text,  has  resulted  in  precluding  forever  any  just  ground  for  cavil 
and  suspicion,  since  they  have  been  found  to  be  connected  simply 
with  "  letters,  accents,  commas  and  stops  ;"  not  with  points  of  doc- 
trine or  practices  of  morality,  for  the  very  worst  manuscript  ever 
consulted,  does  not  contain  a  single  deviation  from  the  original  text, 
which  would  vitiate,  in  the  slightest  degree,  any  one  vital,  essential 
truth  ;  and  as  such,  places  the  uncorrupted  integrity  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  a  stronger  light  than  ever — "  sotting  the  text  on  a  perma- 
nent basis,  and  thereby  serving  to  increase  our  confidence  in  its 
general  purity  and  correctness." 

"Originally,  there  were  no  breaks  or  divisions  of  the  sacred  books 
into  chapters,  verses,  or  even  into  words,  so  that  anciently  a  whole 
line,  and  even  a  whole  book,  was  in  fact  but  one  continued  word. 
The  invention  of  our  present  chapters  was  by  Hugo  de  Sancto  Caro, 
or  as  more  commonly  called,  Hugo  Cardinalis,  who  flourished  about 
the  year  1240.  The  method  of  distinguishing  the  verses  by  figures, 
as  seen  in  our  Bibles,  was  introduced  into  the  Old  Testament  by 
Atheas,  a  Jew  of  Amsterdam,  in  the  year  1661 ;  and  the  same  was 
effected  for  the  New  Testament,  by  Kobert  Stephens,  a  French 
printer,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  while  on  a 
journey  from  Paris  to  Lyons."  Our  present  version  of  the  Bible  was 
made  in  the  reign  and  by  the  authority  of  James  I,  king  of 
England,  who,  in  1604,  nominated  fifty-four  learned  men,  chiefly 
professors  and  divines  of  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
to  whom  he  committed  the  business  of  producing  as  perfect  a  trans- 
lation as  possible  of  the  Scriptures,  from  their  original  Hebrew  and 


THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  421 

Greek,  into  English.  Nearly  three  years  were  spent  in  completing 
the  translation,  and  quite  four  in  preparing  the  work  for  the  press. 
It  was  published  in  folio  in  1611,  and  has  ever  since  been  the  version 
i  1  common  use  ;.  and  we  have  the  best  reasons,  on  the  whole,  to  be- 
satisfied  with  it.  Yea,  take  it  all  in  all,  it  is  an  illustrious  monument 
of  the  age,  the  nation,  and  the  language ;  the  noblest,  best,  most 
finished  classic  of  the  English  tongue,  and  (as  remarks  a  learned 
commentator*)  "  not  only  a  standard  translation,  but  the  translation 
is  the  standard  of  our  language."  The  original,  from  which  it  was 
taken,  is  alone  superior  to  the  Bible  translated  by  the  authority  of 
King  James.  "  Of  all  modern  versions,"  says  Richard  Watson, 
*'  this  is  the  most  faithful  and  accurate.  Its  style  is  simple,  harmo- 
nious and  energetic;  use  has  made  it  familiar,  and  time  has  rendered 
it  sacred."  Indeed,  we  may  add,  a  noble  monument  of  the  integrity, 
fidelity  and  learning  of  its  venerable  translators.  Some  improve- 
ments, some  corrections,  doubtless,  might  be  made,  to  render  a  few 
passages  more  clearly  expressive  of  the  meaning  of  the  original :  but 
in  making  even  these  few  and  comparatively  unimportant  improve- 
ments, one  in  so  doing  might  be  tempted  to  proceed  further  than 
would  in  the  end  prove  correct,  advantageous,  safe.  Admitting  that 
we  might,  here  and  there,  gain  a  little  in  point  of  style,  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  how  serious  to  us  might  be  the  loss  in  point  of  thought, 
which,  after  all,  is  the  main  object  in  the  translation  of  any  book,  and 
especially  so  of  this  book,  the  full  and  proper  sense  of  every  word 
of  which  it  behooves  us,  by  every  consideration,  both  of  time  and 
eternity,  earnestly  to  seek,  secure  and  retain. 

And  where,  it  may  be  asked,  could  we  expect  to  find  now,  so 
faithful  a  translation  as  this,  which,  for  two  centuries  and  a  half,  has 
withstood  the  test  of  the  severest  criticism,  and  which  multiplied 
thousands,  in  reading,  have  experienced  as  being  the  very  spirit  and 
soul  of  God's  own  words,  transmitted  through  a  channel  in  every 
respect  adequate  to  convey,  in  simplicity,  dignity  and  clearness,  all 
the  original  pathos  and  energy  ?  Such  were  the  translators,  and  such 
the  language  they  employed.  No  set  of  men  ever  acted  under  a 
more  solemn  religious  sense  of  an  important  duty  devolved,  than  did 
those  in  this  work,  for  which,  by  an  earthly  monarch,  they  were 
selected  and  called ;  but  most  evidently  by  a  heavenhj,  fitted,  guided 
and  sustained. 

•  Dr.  Adam  Clarke, 


422  THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

Truly,  it  was  "  God  who  enabled  them  to  stand,  as  upon  Mount 
Sinai,"  and  raise  up  their  country's  language  to  the  dignity  of  the 
original,  imbuing  it  thoroughly  with  its  spirit,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
by  his  own  spirit,  freeing  them  (the  translators)  from  all  the  blinding 
tendencies,  and  narrowness,  and  bitterness  of  a  sectarian  spirit ;  for 
at  that  time  all  protestants  were  agreed  in  England  on  every  im- 
portant point,  and  then,  too,  the  English  language  was  at  the 
happiest  stage  of  its  progress,  with  all  the  simplicity  and  clearness 
of  the  older  literature  ;  whilst  at  the  same  time  it  was  free  from  the 
"cant  of  the  age  of  Charles  I  and  Cromwell,  from  the  vulgarity  and 
levity  of  that  of  Charles  II,  and  from  the  artificial  character  of  that 
of  Anne;"  and  thus  by  it  our  own  language  is  at  once  enriched  and 
adorned ;  and  therefore,  as  to  all  frivolous  objections  in  regard  to  the 
present  version,  we  hold,  with  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  that  "  if  the 
substantial  subject  be  well  forged  out,  we  need  not  examine  the 
sparks  which  irregularly  fly  from  it ;"  or,  to  change  the  figure,  as 
adopted  by  another, "  If  the  edifice  is  so  finely  proportioned,  that  its 
architectural  effect  impress  every  beholder,  we  may  well  bethink 
ourselves  a  little  before  we  undertake  to  meddle  with  or  to  mend  it." 
The  Book,  as  we  have  it,  comes  to  us  from  clear  heads,  pure  hearts, 
and  from  the  "wells  of  English  undefiled."  In  its  first  vigor,  large, 
hearty;  "with  the  dew  of  the  early  morning  upon  it,  and  under  the 
inspiration  of  the  universal  awakening  of  the  human  intellect,"  ready 
for  the  first  essays  of  its  power. 

"*■  III.  The  Character  op  the  Scriptures. 

1.  In  a  mere  literary  point  of  view  it  is  far  superior  to  any  human 
production.  Of  the  simplicity  and  purity  that  mark  its  style,  of 
the  originality  and  grandeur  of  its  sentiments,  and  of  its  poetry  and 
eloquence,  time  forbids  that  I  speak.  We  could  here  give,  at  nmcL 
length,  the  recorded  judgment  of  the  best  critics  and  finest  scholars, 
from  the  days  of  Longinus  to  the  present  time,  passing  the  highest 
eulogiums  upon  the  sacred  penmen,  merely  as  authors,  without  any 
regard  to  their  being  messengers  of  Heaven,  or  laying  any  claims, 
however  just,  to  a  divine  inspiration ;  but  I  will  detain  you  with 
only  a  few  brief  quotations,  and  as  you  will  at  once  recognise  from 
those  writers,  who,  by  the  splendor  of  their  talents  and  profound 
erudition,  were  eminently  qualified  to  decide  on  a  point  like  this. 
Sir  William  Jones,  a  distinguished  poet,  scholar  and  lawyer,(and 


THE   HOLr  6CRIPTDRES.  423 

oi  whom  it  has  been  said  few  such  luminaries  have  ever  enlight- 
enad  the  world,  or  been  so  renowned  for  learning,  wisdom,  taste  and 
imagination,)  thns  openly  and  distinctly  sets  forth  his  noble  testi- 
mony : 

"I  have  regularly  and  attentively  read  the  Bible,  and  am  of  opinion  that 
this  volume,  independently  of  its  divine  origin,  contains  more  true  sublimity, 
more  exquisite  beauty,  purer  morality,  more  impartial  history,  and  finer 
strains  of  poetry  and  eloquence,  than  could  be  collected  within  the  same 
compass  from  all  other  books  ever  composed  in  any  age." 

So  likewise  Bishop  Home,  a  learned  prelate,  whose  writings  are 
invariably  characterized  by  deep  research,  and  held  in  high  repute, 
and  as  deservedly  esteemed  by  the  friends  of  piety  and  virtue,  thus 

writes  : 

"  The  fairest  productions  of  human  wit,  after  a  few  perusals,  like  gathered 
flowers,  wither  in  our  hands,  and  lose  their  fragrancy  ;  but  these  unfading 
plants  of  paradise  become,  as  we  are  accustomed  to  them,  still  more  and  more 
beautiful  ;  their  bloom  appears  to  be  doubly  heightened  ;  fresh  odors  are 
emitted,  and  new  sweets  extracted  from  them.  He  who  hath  once  tasted 
their  excellences  will  desire  to  taste  them  yet  again  ;  and  he  who  tastes 
them  oftenest  will  relish  them  best." 

Even  J.  J.  Rousseau  made  the  remarkable  observation  : 

"  I  will  confess  to  you,  further,  that  the  majesty  of  the  Scripture  strikes 
me  with  admiration,  as  the  purity  of  the  Gospel  has  its  influence  on  my  heart. 
Peruse  the  works  of  our  philosophers,  with  all  their  pomp  of  diction  ;  how 
mean,  how  contemptible  are  they  when  compared  with  Scripture!  Is  it 
possible,  that  a  book,  at  once  so  simple  and  sublime,  should  be  merely  the 
work  of  man  ?" 

And  the  great  Joseph  Addison,  so  highly  celebrated  in  English 
literature,  says : 

"  Let  a  judge  of  the  beauties  of  poetry  read  a  literal  translation  of  Horace 
or  Pindar,  and  he  will  find  in  them  such  obscurity  and  confusion  of  style, 
with  such  a  comparative  poverty  of  imagination,  as  will  make  him  sensible 
of  the  vast  superiority  of  Scripture  style." 

Longinus,  the  b€st  critic  of  the  heathen  world,  speaks  of  Moses  a^ 
a  superior  writer,  and  cites  instances  of  the  true  sublime  in  the  Old 
Testament — so  likewise  in  the  New — and  ranks  St.  Paul  among  the 
famous  orators.  Madam  Dacier,  in  the  preface  to  her  translation  of 
Homer,  assures  us  that — 

"  The  books  of  the  Prophets  and  the  Psalms,  even  in  the  Vulgate,  are  full 


424  THE  HOLT   SCRIPTURES. 

of  such  passages  as  the  greatest  poet  in  the  world  could  not  put  into  verse, 
without  losing  much  of  their  majesty  and  pathos." 

Cowley  tells  us,  that — 

"  All  the  hooks  of  the  Bible  are  either  already  most  admirable  and  exalted 
pieces  of  poesy,  or  are  the  best  materials  in  the  world  for  it." 

Blackmore  says,  that — 

"  For  sense,  and  for  noble  and  sublime  thoughts,  the  poetical  parts  of 
Scripture  have  an  infinite  advantage  above  all  others  put  together." 

Prior  is  of  the  opinion,  that — 

"  The  writings  of  Solomon  aflTord  subjects  for  finer  poems  of  every  kind, 
than  have  yet  appeared  in  the  Greek,  Latin,  or  any  modern  language." 

Pope  assures  us,  that — 

"  The  pure  and  noble,  the  graceful  and  dignified  in  simplicity  of  language, 
is  nowhere  in  such  perfection  as  in  the  Scriptures  and  Homer ;  and  that  the 
whole  book  of  Job — with  regard  both  to  sublimity  of  thought  and  morality — 
exceeds  beyond  all  comparison  the  most  noble  parts  of  Homer." 

"  I  have  one  book  only,^'  said  Collins,  a  distinguished  English  poet, 
(after  he  had  withdrawn  from  study,  and  the  society  of  men  of 
letters,  and  was  confining  his  attention  exclusively  to  the  reading  of 
the  Bible,)  "  but  that  one  is  the  best,"" 

A  large  volume  of  like  testimony  might  be  given,  but  we  close  on 
this  particular  part  of  our  subject,  with  the  well  known  and  justly 
admired,  eloquent  remarks  of  the  gifted  Grimke,  expressed  in  an 
oration  delivered  a  few  years  past,  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society  of  one  of  the  colleges  of  our  country : 

"In  sublimity  and  beauty,  in  the  descriptive  and  pathetic,  in  dignity  and 
simplicity  of  narrative,  in  power  and  comprehensiveness,  depth  and  variety 
of  thought,  in  purity  and  elevation  of  sentiment,  the  most  enthusiastic 
admirers  of  the  heathen  classics  have  conceded  their  inferiority  to  the 
Scriptures.  The  Bible,  indeed,  is  the  only  universal  classic,  the  classic  of 
all  mankind,  of  every  age  and  country,  of  time  and  eternity,  more  humble 
and  simple  than  the  primer  of  the  child,  more  grand  and  magnificent  than 
the  epic  and  the  oration,  the  ode  and  the  drama  ;  when  genius,  with  his 
chariot  of  fire,  and  his  horses  of  fire,  ascends  in  whirlwind  into  the  heaven 
of  his  own  invention.  It  is  the  best  classic  the  world  has  ever  seen,  the 
noblest  that  has  ever  honored  and  dignified  the  language  of  mortals!  If  you 
boast  that  the  Aristotles,  and  the  Platos,  and  the  Tullys  of  classic  ages, 
'dipped  their  pens  in  intellect,'  the  sacred  authors  dipped  theirs  in  inspira- 
tion!     If  those  were  the  •  secretaries  of  nature,'  these  were  the  secretaries 


THE  HOLT   SCRIPTURES.  4& 

of  the  very  Author  of  nature.  If  Greece  and  Rome  have  gathered  into  their 
cabinet  of  curiosities  the  pearls  of  Heathen  poetry  and  eloquence,  the  dia- 
monds of  pagan  history  and  philosophy,  God  himself  has  treasured  up  in  the 
Scriptures  the  poetry  and  eloquence,  the  philosophy  and  history  of  sacred 
law-givers,  of  prophets  and  apostles,  of  saints,  evangelists  and  martyrs.  In 
vain  may  you  seek  for  the  pure  and  simple  light  of  universal  truth  in  the 
Augustan  ages  of  antiquity      In  the  Bible  only  is  the  poet's  wish  fulfilled — 

'"And  like  the  sun,  be  all  one  boundless  eye.'" 

If  the  exhortation,  as  applied  by  an  eminent  author  (Pope)  to 
Homer,  were  applied  to  this  inestimable  volume,  it  would  be  used 
with  the  strictest  truthfulness  and  propriety  : 

"  Read  God's  word  once,  and  you  can  read  no  more, 
For  all  books  else  appear  so  mean,  so  poor, 
Verse  will  seem  prose:  but  still  persist  to  read. 
And  God's  word  will  be  all  the  books  you  need." 

2.  In  its  general  arrangement.  "  The  Bible  not  only  abounds  with 
all  the  varied  beauties  of  the  Greek  and  Koman  classics,  and  in  a 
much  higher  degree  of  perfection,  but  its  arrangement  is  the  most 
wonderful  of  all  other  books  in  the  world.  It  consists  not  merely  of 
a  collection  of  chapters  and  verses,  and  distinct  aphorisms  on  trivial 
subjects,  as  too  many  are  apt  to  conceive,  but,  as  the  learned  and 
pious  David  Simpson  remarks,  "  One  grand  epic  composition,  form- 
ing sixty-six  books  of  unequal  lengths,  and  of  various  importance. 
As  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets,  have  one  system,  and  each  of  them 
are  necessary  to  the  harmony  of  the  whole,  so  the  different  books  of 
the  sacred  code  that  are  separately  considered,  and  taken  out  of  their 
course,  may  appear  unimportant ;  yet,  as  parts  of  one  large  complica- 
ted system,  they  are  all  necessary,  though  the  time  is  longer  than  is 
usually  admitted  in  compositions  of  the  epic  kind.  Its  beginning  is 
with  the  birth,  and  its  end  with  the  close  of  nature  itself;  yet  even 
this  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  rest  of  the  adorable  plan — a  thou- 
sand years  being  with  the  Lord  as  one  day — and  the  action  of  it,  too, 
is  one  and  entire,  and  the  greatest  that  can  be  conceived.  All  the 
beings  of  the  universe,  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  are  con- 
cerned in  the  drama."  The  epic  opens  in  a  mild,  calm  sublimity, 
with  the  creation  of  the  world  itself ;  and  carried  on  with  an  astonish- 
ing variety  of  incidents,  and  unfolded  in  a  language  of  unparalleled 
simplicity  and  majesty,  and  adorned  with  episodes,  or  under-actions, 
of  inconceivable  beauty  and  interest ;  closing  with  a  scene  the  most 


426  THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

solemn,  grand,  and  sublime,  ever  presented  by  any  author,  sacred  or 
profane.  The  human  mind  can  conceive  of  nothing  like  it.  Indeed 
it  is  a  complete  drama,  having  a  beginning  a  middle  and  an  end ;  main- 
taining throughout  a  pervading  unity  ;  unfolding  itself  as  a  perfect 
organic  whole  ;  always  consistent  with  itself;  the  realization  of  the 
idea  of  one  mind,  developed  by  a  number  of  others,  like  laborers  upon 
some  vast  edifice,  under  the  direction  of  the  chief  architect,  working 
each  at  the  part  assigned  him,  till  the  building  stands  forth  in  all 
its  commanding  sublimity  and  perfection.  None  but  a  shallow  or 
malignant  objector  could  complain  of  the  want  of  order  or  arrange- 
ment in  the  Bible,  since  its  author  has  established  "  order  as  Heav- 
en's first  law."  Method  is  divine,  and,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
inseparable  from  the  ideas  of  God  and  order.  System  (which  we 
must  not  confound  with  method)  is  of  man,  and  is  a  help  to  the  weak- 
ness of  his  faculties — the  artificial  contrivance  by  which  he  brings 
within  his  limited  ken  that  which  by  no  other  way  he  would  be  able 
to  grasp.  Hence  a  sort  of  necessity  for  books  of  systematic  theology. 
But  it  is  most  needful  that  the  Bible  be  not  a  book  of  this  kind. 
Were  it  so,  the  Scriptures  would  be  only  a  skeleton  —  a  worthless 
residuum — or,  as  one  has  it,  "a  mere  herbarium  : "  a  curious  collec- 
tion of  withered  plants  and  flowers ;  a  hortus  siccus  ;  a  dry  garden, 
uninviting,  desolate — no  fresh  fragrant  flowers  growing  upon  living 
stalks,  with  the  dew  upon  their  leaves.  To  illustrate  the  point,  Christ 
does  not  declare  to  a  system,  and  say,  "  This  is  truth."  So  doing, 
he  might  have  established  a  school ;  but  he  points  to  a  person — him- 
self. And  thus  he  founded  not  a  school,  but  a  church — a  fellowship- 
whose  faith  stands  upon  Him  who  is  "  the  chief  corner-stone"  of  the 
Temple  of  Truth.  By  this  mode  of  interpretation,  as  applied  to  all 
other  great  truths,  facts,  and  principles  of  Revelation,  viewed  in  their 
proper  connection,  order,  and  arrangement,  we  find  how  "  every  part, 
fitly  joined  together  and  compacted,"  is  rendered  a  perfect,  organic 
whole. 

When  God,  who  at  divers  times  spoke  to  the  world  by  his  servants, 
had  spoken  his  last  and  fullest  word  then  to  this  book  there  is  added 
no  more,  since  there  is  nothing  more  to  add  ;  though  prophetic  vision 
teaches  this  is  not  "  the  be  all,"  (for  "  the  eye  hath  not  seen,"  &c.)* 
the  latest,  highest,  supremest  triumph  which  afi'ects  redeemed  human- 

•  I  Cor.  xi,  9. 


THE  HOLT   SCRIPTURES.  427 

ity.  No,  it  can  only  be  fully  unfolded  amidst  the  splendor  and  bless- 
edness of  a  perfected  kingdom  in  heaven.  In  connection  with  this 
idea  relative  to  the  general  arrangement,  order,  method,  and  unity 
of  design  as  seen  in  the  Scriptures,  we  would  further  observe  :  Vast 
as  is  the  course  which  they  have  traced,  it  has  been  a  circle  still,  and 
in  that  most  perfect  form  carries  us  back  to  the  point  whence  it  started 
"  The  heaven  which  had  disappeared  from  the  earth  since  the  third 
chapter  of  Genesis,  reappears  in  visible  manifestation  in  the  latest 
chapter  of  Revelation.  The  '  tree  of  life,'  whereof  we  have  only  the 
faintest  remmiscences  in  all  the  intermediate  time,  again  stands  by  the 
'  river  of  the  water  of  life,'  and  again  there  is  no  more  curse."  The 
token  of  the  covenant  which  God  made  unto  Noah,  for  perpetual  gen- 
erations, in  the  first  year  of  the  restored  earth,  reappears  with 
"  a  mighty  angel  coming  down  from  heaven,  clothed  with  a  cloud  and 
a  rainbow  upon  his  head ; "  and  yet  again  we  find  it  fixed  and  per- 
manent, "  about  the  throne  of  God,  like  unto  an  emerald."  The  angels 
that  shouted  for  joy  over  the  new-born  earth,  reappear  with  their 
characteristic  songs  of  praise  and  triumph,  when  they  announce  to 
the  wondering  shepherds  on  the  plains  of  Bethlehem,  "  good  tidings 
of  great  joy  " — the  birth  of  the  world's  "  Saviour,  which  is  Christ 
the  Lord."  And  yet  again  in  heaven  they  are  heard  saying,  "  Bless- 
ing and  honor  and  glory  and  power  be  unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever!" 

3.  Its  peculiar  adaptation  to  the  human  mind,  as  fitted  to  satisfy 
its  utmost  developments,  furnishing  a  rich  and  exhaustless  material 
for  the  exercise  of  the  soundest  judgment,  the  most  delicate  sensi- 
bility of  taste,  the  highest  flight  of  imagination,  and  the  loftiest  con- 
templations of  the  human  intellect ;  in  the  meantime  eliciting  and 
improving  all  the  best  feelings  and  faculties  of  the  soul.  On  this 
point  a  few  hints  will  suffice.  We  say  that  the  Bible  is  adapted  to  the 
human  mind,  and  this  in  all  stages  of  society,  and  in  all  advances  of 
the  arts  and  sciences.  This  cannot  be  said  of  any  other  booK.*'When 
we  read  an  ancient  book  on  philosophy  or  medicine  or  any  other  sci- 
ence, we  are  constantly  compelled  to  encounter  positions  which  modern 
science  has  ascertained  to  be  false.  Even  the  works  of  Lord  Bacon 
cannot  be  perused  without  melancholy  reflections  on  his  now  obvious 
errors  in  regard  to  many  of  the  well-established  facts  in  the  physical 
and  the  mental  sciences.  Not  so  with  the  Bible.  It  contradicts  none 
of  the  discoveries  of  modern  science ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  lends  its 


428  THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

light  for  a  more  sure,  vigorous,  and  successful  investigation,  as  it 
shines  on  the  pathway  of  universal  advancement."  The  same  might 
be  said  of  mental  science,  the  only  true  system  of  which  will  yet  be 
found  to  have  been  given  in  the  Divine  Word  :  the  entrance  of  which 
alone  imparteth  a  light  wholly  unmixed  with  darkness  to  the  mind  of 
man  ;  for  the  simple  reason  that  all  mere  human  theories  of  mental 
philosophy  have  left  the  operations  of  the  mind  in  religion  almost 
if  not  entirely  out  of  view,  which  must  of  necessity  lead  to  a  cardinal 
and  ultimately  destructive  defect.  The  operations  of  the  mind  in 
regard  to  religion  are  most  clearly  detailed  in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  as 
they  represent  man  as  he  really  is,  and  not  what  human  philosophy 
would  have  him  to  be,  we  conclude  that  the  Bible  on  this  point  fur- 
nishes the  only  true  doctrine.  With  equal  truth  these  remarks  might 
be  extended  and  applied  to  political  science.  No  other  book  pre- 
sents such  elevated  views  of  the  civil  rights  of  man.  The  circulation 
of  the  Bible  has  been  the  most  certain  mode  of  diffusing  just  views 
of  liberty  and  the  nature  of  civil  government.  The  truth  of  this  may 
be  easily  ascertained  by  opening  a  map  of  the  world  and  drawing  a 
line  around  those  regions  where  the  Scriptures  have  had  the  most 
free  and  extensive  circulation.  The  truth  is,  the  Bible  contains  the 
only  principles  on  which  true  liberty  can  rest  with  permanency.  This 
is  obvious  to  every  one  who  knows  anything  of  its  .spirit  or  its  doc- 
trines. "  The  Hebrew  Commonwealth  presents  the  first  example  ever 
witnessed  in  the  world  of  a  Federative  Republic,  governed  by  equal 
and  fixed  laws,  and  securing  liberty  to  the  subject  in  the  truest  and 
best  sense.  Neither  tyrant  nor  Pope  have  been  able  to  chain  down 
the  minds  of  men,  or  subject  their  necks  to  the  yoke  of  oppression, 
while  they  had  the  Scriptures  in  their  hands,  and  were  allowed  to 
read  and  understand  them."  The  work  of  subjugation  has  always  been 
preceded  by  the  locking  up  the  "  Word  of  Life,"  and  taking  from  the 
people  the  "  Key  of  Knowledge."  If  the  liberties  of  our  country  are 
to  be  preserved,  it  must  be  by  spreading  abroad  through  the  land 
the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  Bible  ;  and  if  they  are  ever  destroyed, 
the  first  blow  will  be  struck  by  men  who  disbelieve  and  hate  the 
Bible.  Yes,  "  the  Bible  is  the  great  charter  and  pledge  of  civil  lib- 
erty." That  memorable  document  drawn  by  our  fathers — the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence — is  based  on  that  sacred  text,  "  Whatsoever 
ye  would  that  men,"  &c.  The  most  eminent  men  that  have  adorned 
the  land,  in  all  the  departments  of  its  government,  have  found  it  to 


THE   HOLY  SCRIPTURES.  429 

their  honor  and  advantage  to  study  the  Bible ;  and  that  the  distribu- 
tion, reading,  and  minding  it,  will  do  more  to  establish  national 
peace  than  a  standing  army  or  a  floating  navy.  It  will  do  more  to 
check  crime  than  all  the  criminal  codes  ever  devised  and  employed, 
and  will  insure  liberty  in  all  her  justifiable  forms,  more  than  consti- 
tution and  statutes,  though  these  are  necessary  for  a  nation's  wel- 
fare, but  would  be  insecure  unless  sanctioned  by  the  authority  of  the 
Bible.  How  many  past  governments  stand  out  to  view  as  monuments 
of  the  instability  of  nations  without  the  Bible !  In  the  language  of 
another,  we  would  here  say  :  "  Had  the  vale  of  Tempe,  in  ancient 
Greece,  been  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  ;  had  Olympus  been  Cal- 
vary, and  had  the  ambiguous  responses  of  the  Delphic  Oracle  been 
the  sure  testimony  of  the  Word  of  God — then  had  not  the  swaddling 
clothes  that  wrapped  her  infantLiberty  so  soon  have  proved  its  wind- 
ing sheet!  From  Tvhom  did  our  illustrious  ancestors  imbibe  the 
spirit  that  led  them  valorously  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  oppres- 
sion— disqualified  them  to  be  slaves — but  from  the  Bible  ?  The  Bible 
was  to  Washington,  the  leader  of  their  forces,  as  he  bound  it  to 
his  heart,  like  the  breastplate  that  indicated  to  the  high  priest  when 
Israel  should  war,  and  gave  signs  of  God's  approval.  It  was  the  ark 
of  the  covenant,  leading  out  an  injured  people  to  victory." 

And  not  only  to  civil  but  religious  liberty.  Though  every  country 
of  the  world,  with  all  their  resources,  be  employed ;  though  every 
Jesuitical  effort  combine  to  seat  "  the  man  of  sin "  upon  the  throne 
of  our  Government ;  so  long  as  we  be  faithful  to  God  we  need  not 
fear,  for  we  have  a  weapon  by  which  all  the  efforts  of  opposing  foes 
shall  be  foiled.  As  easily  may  darkness  cover  the  land  when  the  san 
is  in  its  unclouded  zenith,  as  for  Romanism  or  Infidelity  to  triumph, 
when  the  Bible  is  abroad  in  the  land.  Like  Dagon  before  the  ark, 
all  its  enemies  shall  fall  and  perish,  and  not  a  vestige  remain  to  tell 
of  their  former  insolence  and  vain  boastings  of  power.  With  grati- 
tude to  God  we  should  acknowledge  our  indebtedness  to  the  Word 
of  Revelation  for  the  establishment  of  genuine  liberty.  The  tree 
beneath  whose  ample  shade  we  have  reposed,(and  by  whose  fairest 
fruit  we  have  been  fed,)was  planted  by  God  himself,  and  owes  its 
growth,  elevation,  and  grandeur,  to  the  benign  and  fostering  influ- 
ences of  that  truth  which  he  has  made  known  to  us  through  the  Word 
of  his  Power. 

And  with  political  freedom  (the  greatest  glory  of  a  people — aye, 


430  THE  HOLT  SCRIPTURES. 

Heaven's  choice  prerogative  ;  true  bond  of  law ;  social  soul  of  prop- 
erty; breath  of  reason;  life  of  life  itself;  earth's  richest  blessing — 
cheap,  though  purchased  with  our  blood ;  pure,  celestial  boon,  revealed 
of  God,  and  by  him  freely  given)  wc  blend  the  social  and  domestic 
relations,  while,  in  connection  with  liberty  and  its  numerous  attend- 
ant blessings,  we  have  a  complete  round  of  all  the  sweet  endearments 
of  life.  And  bright  beyond  comparison,  in  this  respect,  is  "the  beau- 
tiful land  of  our  birth — the  home  of  the  homeless  all  over  the  earth ;" 
the  divinely-honored  abode  of  joy  and  peace  and  harmony  and  plenty; 
where  supporting  and  supported,  friends  and  dear  relations,  with 
strangers,  welcomed,  mingle  high  thoughts  and  smiles  akin  to  those 
when  from  the  genial  cradle  of  our  race  went  forth  the  tribes  of  men 
with  hands  and  hearts  ever  open,  gentle,  kind.  All  that  is  connected 
with  the  name  of  father,  child,  husband,  wife,  master,  servant,  fnend, 
guest,  "  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates,"  is  derived  from  the 
things  which  God  has  graciously  made  known  to  man.  And  not  only 
is  it  adapted  to  the  human  mind,  in  a  way  to  secure  to  us  all  those 
blessings,  social,  political,  and  domestic,  which  so  elevate  and  adorn 
the  race  of  man,  but  "the  Bible  also  strengthens  as  well  as  greatly 
enlarges  the  human  intellect.  It  does  this,  even  when  it  does  not  change 
the  heart.  It  has  a  tendency  to  ennoble  and  refine,  where  it  does  not 
save.  There  is  nothing  so  likely  to  elevate  and  endue  with  new  vigor 
our  faculties,  as  to  bring  them  in  contact  with  stupendous  truths,  and 
the  setting  them  to  grasp  and  measure  those  truths.*  This  it  docs 
not  merely  by  its  rich  imagery,  exquisite  poetry,  and  clear  history, 
but  because  it  brings  truth  to  the  mind,  such  as  He  who  formed  the 
mind  knew  that  it  would  need.  When  God  comes  in  contact  with 
the  human  soul  he  enlarges  its  power.  The  baptism  of  Pentecost 
reaches  the  mind  as  well  as  the  heart.  Who  can  doubt  that  in  the 
presence  of  God  in  heaven  the  intellect  grows  in  strength  simply  be- 
cause it  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  great  mind  of  the  universe  ? 
There,  God  teaches  without  the  medium  of  the  Bible  ;  here,  with  it  : 
in  both  cases  God  dealing  with  the  intellect."  The  faintest  beam  from 
the  star  of  Bethlehem  is  brighter  than  the  strongest  light  philosophy 
ever  held  up  to  the  world  of  mankind.  And  this,  too,  we  know,  will 
ever  be  free  to  us,  and  shed  an  increasing  brightness  on  the  path  of 
successive  generations,  as  long  as  the  sun  endures.    For  thus  saith 

*  I'ibI.  cziz,  130,  '■  The  entrance  of,"  Ac. 


THE  HOLT  SCRIPTURES.  431 

the  Lord,  "  This  Gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the 
world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations,  and  then  shall  the  end  come." 
In  assurance  of  this,  John*  beheld  "  an  angel  flying  in  the  midst  of 
heaven,  having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  and  to  every  nation  and  kindred  and  tongue  and 
people,"  and  shall  thus  "  fly  and  preach"  until  the  world  shall  bo 
filled  with  the  "  brightness  of  the  Lord's  glory" — a  "  light,"  indeed, 
"  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day !"  Hence  we 
conclude  that  the  Bible  is 

4.  Inexhaustible.  "  Other  books  teach  through  the  eye,  and  I  may 
take  from  the  page  all  that  the  author  has  put  there,  and  perhaps 
even  more,  because  I  may  have  trains  of  thoughts  suggested  which 
he  never  had ;  but  opening  the  Book  of  God  I  open  what  is  inex- 
haustible ;  first,  because  the  mind  that  created  its  pages  is  infinite, 
and  has  embodied  its  own  emotions  there  ;  and,  secondly,  because  the 
spirit  of  God  is  ever  present  to  aid  the  reader  of  the  Scriptures," 
"  Am  I  an  illiterate  man  ?-"  I  take  up  Aristotle  or  Locke  or  Bacon, 
or  some  other  of  the  kind,  and  am  perhaps  in  some  point  as  dark  at 
the  close  as  when  I  began  the  book,  while,  if  an  humble  reader  of 
the  Bible,  I  understand  plans  which  embrace  everlasting  ages,  and 
the  eternal  destiny  of  myriads  of  created  beings.  From  the  Bible 
there  goes  forth  a  mysterious  light,  and  in  that  light  I  see  the  Infinite 
One — "  high  and  lifted  up" — and  as  he  sits  upon  the  throne  of  the 
universe,  his  eternal  mind  designs  and  completes  the  sublime  scheme 
of  love  and  power  which  is  recorded  in  the  sacred  page—"  a  page 
where  triumphs  immortality  ;  a  page  which  not  the  whole  creation 
could  produce,  which  not  the  conflagration  shall  destroy.  In  nature's 
ruins,  not  one  letter  lost ;  'tis  printed  in  the  mind  of  God  forever." 

You  may  walk  amid  the  columns  of  the  most  glorious  porticoes  and 
listen  to  the  "  stoics'  fond  pretence,"  the  philosophic  lore  of  Athens, 
but  the  charm  is  broken,  the  light  eclipsed  by  truth's  resistless 
blaze.  The  glory  of  the  once  illustrious  Parthenon  is  gone,  and  no 
longer  wins  the  praise  of  wondering  Greece.  You  may  gaze  upon 
the  fairest  landscape,  and  revel  amid  the  boundless  store 

"  Of  charms  which  nature  to  her  votary  yields, 
The  warbling  woodland — the  resounding  shore, 
The  pomp  of  groves  and  garniture  of  fields, 

•  Rev.  xiv,  6. 


432  THE   HOLT   SCRIPTURES. 

All  that  the  genial  ray  of  morning  gilds, 

And  all  that  echoes  to  the  song  of  even, 

AH  Ihat  the  mountain's  sheltering  bosom  shields, 

And  all  the  dread  magnificence  of  Heaven." 

These  are  created  and  limited.  The  soul  is  immortal,  and  want? 
sometliing  more.  The  soul  is  a  native  of  the  sky,  and  would  pine 
with  pale  decay  if  condemned  to  dwell  on  thoughts  and  scenes  con- 
fined to  earth.  From  such  it  turns  disdainfully,  to  an  equal  good ;. 
with  eye  of  fire  and  wings  of  light,  it  seeks  through  all  the  ascent  of 
things  to  enlarge  her  view,  till  every  finite  object  at  length  shall 
disappear,  and  infinite  perfection  close  the  scene. 

5.  It  is  tireless.  "You  may  load  your  shelves  with  the  volumes  of 
eloquence,  with  the  research  of  science,  narrations  of  history,  lofty 
aspirations  of  poetry,  but  the  time  comes  when  these  titles  and  pages 
and  contents  become  an  old  story.  You  take  down  the  volume  with- 
out interest  and  replace  it  without  regret.  Not  so  with  the  Bible.  It 
does  not  tire,  like  the  toys  of  earth."  It  is  an  emanation  of  the  in- 
finite mind,  and  is  for  the  greatest  minds,  and  yet  so  adapted  to  the 
weakest  as  to  delight  and  charm  by  its  wonderful  simplicity  and 
variety.  It  can  bear  to  be  looked  at  in  its  largest  aspect  as  in  its 
smallest  details.  Here  truly  are  "  maxima  in  minimis.''^  The 
sun  reflecting  itself  as  faithfully  in  the  tiny  dew-drop  as  in  the  great 
mirror  of  the  ocean.  How  do  they  shine  like  finely  polished  dia- 
monds!  How  simple,  and  yet  how  deep!  How  beautiful,  and  yet 
how  amazingly  grand  and  sublime  !  Every  one  can  get  something 
from  them,  and  yet  no  one  can  get  all.  "  He  that  gathers  little  has 
enough,  and  he  that  gathers  much  has  nothing  over."  Every  one 
there  gathers  according  to  his  eating.  Who  sees  not  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  God  that  the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell  are  put  into  his  hands, 
and  yet  in  this  widest  wealth  are  laid  up  thoughts  in  narrowest  com- 
pass? Who  will  venture  to  affirm  that  he  has  come  to  their  end, 
that  he  has  dived  into  all  their  deeps,  or  that  he  expects  to  do  so  ? 
Even  the  skeptic  Bayle  was  compelled  to  call  them" an  abridgment 
of  all  human  history,"  and  as  such  setting  us  at  the  very  centre  of 
the  moral  oscillation  of  the  world.  Nor  is  it  only  what  Scripture 
says,  but  its  very  silence  is  instructive.  More  so,  indeed,  than  the 
speech  of  other  books;  so  that  it  has  been  likened  to  "a  dial  in  which 
the  shadow  as  well  as  the  light  informs  us" — so  that  we  can  never  tire 
for  the  want  of  proper  materials  5  for  fresh  interest  and  new  delight 


THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  433 

continually  reward,  as  we  read  and  re-read,  tune  and  again,  with 
glimpses  unperceived  before,  of  the  strange,  beautiful,  grand,  sublime 
and  manifold  relations  ia  which  the  visible  and  invisible  stand  to  one 
another  in  the  sacred  pages. 

Thus,  brethren,  have  I  endeavored  to  present  to  you  a  few  of  the 
aspects  under  which  the  subject  of  our  text  may  be  contemplated  as 
fitted  to  provoke,  and  even  more,  to  reward  our  inquiries.  Could  I 
have  known  how  to  condense  within  the  ordinary  limits  of  a  single 
discourse,  all  connected  with  the  subject  that  is  needful  and  proper  to 
introduce,  I  should  not  have  left  it  so  far  unfinished  as  a  whole,  and 
so  imperfectly  executed  even  those  separate  and  particular  points 
which  I  have  endeavored  to  discuss.  I  should  have  been  pleased  to 
have  unfolded  and  closed  the  subject  according  to  the  plan  I  had 
designed,  viz : 

I,  II,  III.  As  already  treated,  and  then  as  follows  : 

IV.  Contents  of  the  Scriptures,  &c. 

V.  Inspiration  of,  &c. 

VI.  Arguments  for  its  truth,  &c. 

VII.  Gruilt  of  neglecting,  &c. 

VIII.  Man's  condition  without,  &c. 

IX.  Prospects  of  final  triumph,  &c. 

X.  The  reading,  study,  practice,  &c.,  recommended,  urged,  &c. 

All  of  which  (the  remaining  seven)  presented  and  discussed  even 
as  briefly  and  imperfectly  as  the  three  points  already  noticed,  would 
require  at  least  two  additional  discourses  of  equal,  if  not  indeed 
greater  length  than  the  one  here  offered  for  your  consideration.  The 
subject,  however,  is  with  you,  and  must  stand  (so  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned, at  least  on  this  occasion)  in  the  unfinished  form  in  which  we 
leave  it,  but  for  which  it  does  not  become  us  perhaps  either  to  ex- 
press any  regret  or  offer  any  apology,  since  by  so  doing,  we  might 
seem  unmindful  of  a  truth  universally  admitted,  and  for  the  elucida- 
tion of  which  we  devoted  the  opening  remarks  of  our  present  dis- 
course, i.  e.,  the  utter  impossibility  of  expressing  fully  by  speech  or 
written  words  all  the  pre-eminently  excellent,  beautiful,  grand,  glo- 
rious and  sublime  things  which  the  Scriptures  alone,  of  all  other  pro- 
ductions, claim  for  themselves.  For  such  a  task,  all  men  and  all 
angels  combined,  would  be  found  inadequate,  and  that  too  (it  may 
be)  though  aided  by  the  ever  encircling  light  and  perpetually  aug- 

2a 


434  THE  HOLT  SCRIPTURES. 

menting  facilities  of  eternity  ;  for  God  only  can  the  mind  of  God 
fully  fathom.  And  what  are  the  Scriptures  but  the  transcript  of  the 
Divine  mind?  Here  and  there  ocean-depths  which  no  line  can 
measure  ;  or  mountain  height  transcending  the  reach  of  finite  gaze  ; 
"pinnacled  ia  clouds  suhlime  ;  throned  in  eternity." 

On  such  a  theme  (without  hyperbole)  the  world  itself  could  not 
contain  the  books  that  might  be  written  ;  for  if  fully  presented,  it 
must  necessarily  embrace  all  the  hidden  purposes  and  emotions,  as 
well  as  the  manifold  disclosures  of  infinite  love,  infinite  wisdom,  and 
infinite  power,  as  connected  with  man's  redemption,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  work  of  creation,  and  the  schemes  of  Providence,  so  incon- 
ceivably vast  in  their  design,  interminable  in  their  range,  and  end- 
less in  their  operations  and  results.  Yea,  only  to  write  i/ie  love 
of  God  to  man, 

"  Would  drain  an  ocean  dry, 
Nor  would  a  scroll  contain  the  plan, 
Tho'  stretched  from  sky  to  sky." 

So,  then,  to  the  loving  and  earnest  seeker  of  divine  truth,  the  Scrip- 
tures will  ever  be  making  new  and  continually  enlarging  discoveries 
in  their  heavenl}'  doctrines;  and  thus  to  him  what  seemed  at  first  but 
a  light  vaporous  cloud,  will,  upon  a  closer  gaze,  to  his  armed  eye 
resolve  itself  into  a  world  of  stars.  The  farther  he  advances  the 
more  will  he  be  aware  that  what  lies  before  him  is  far  more  than 
what  lies  behind ;  the  readier  will  he  be  to  take  up  the  hymn  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving,  and  wonder,  with  tho  Apostle,  at  the  depth 
of  the  riches,  both  of  the  wisdom  and  the  knowledge  of  God,  which 
are  displayed  at  once  in  his  works  and  in  his  word,  but  far  more  in 
his  word  than  in  his  works.  Hence  saith  David,  "  I  will  worship 
toward  thy  holy  temple,  and  praise  thy  name  for  thy  loving  kindness 
and  for  thy  truth,  for  thou  hast  magnified  thy  word  above  all  tity 
namey''  Tpvcfcrr'ing  fa'it/ifulness  to  its  promises,  to  the  attributes  of  in- 
finite power  and  wisdom  wherein  Jehovah  has  proved  himself  ineffa- 
bly great.  Verily,  oh  God,  thy  word  is  truth,  firmly  rooted  in  the 
attributes  of  all  thy  name,  and  will  endure  forever.  Its  birth  is 
divine,  its  destiny  eternal.  It  cannot  be  extinguished,  for  God  is  its 
light.  It  cannot  die,  for  God  is  its  life.  Thrones  may  totter,  and 
powerful  sceptres  be  shivered,  "  but  the  word  of  our  God  shall  stand 
forever."  By  divine  power  has  it  been  borne  over  the  storms  of 
ages  and  sheltered  amid  the  wreck  of  nations  and  of  systems.    It  has 


THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  435 

bid  defiance  to  tlic  political,  religious  and  intellectual  convulsions  of 
three  thousand  years.     It  has  laughed  at  the  impotent  rage  of  its 
enemies  of  every  age,  and  name,  and  dye.  "The  power  of  kings,  the 
pride  of  nobles,  the  prejudices  of  priests,  and  whatever  learning 
could  snatch  from  the  arsenals  of  the  past,  or  wit  invent,  or  wicked- 
ness wield,  have  been  hurled  against  it,  and  all  have  recoiled  broken, 
and  lie  as  trophies  at  its  feet.      It  has  successfully  resisted  the  per- 
secution of  kings  and  conquerors.     It  has  sustained  the  burden  of 
many  centuries,   and  survived  the  shock  of  many  a  disaster."  In 
every  conflict  it  has  triumphed,  and  all  who  have  dared  to  assail  it 
have  perished  from  the  earth  in  deserved  discomfiture.     By  the 
breath  of  its  power  it  has  dissipated  the  mists  of  error,  as  from  time 
to  time  they  have  risen  up  in  the  form  of  Essays  on  the   Miracles. 
Ages  of  Reason,  Theories  of  Creation,  of  the  Races,  &c.     Yea,  it 
has  defied  the  sophisms  of  Hume,  the  eloquence  of  Gibbon,  the  vitu- 
perations of  Voltaire,  the  innuendoes  of  Rousseau,  the  blasphemies 
of  Paine,  the  terrible  atheism  of  Hobbes  and  his  immediate  pupils, 
the  pantheism  of  Spinosa,  the  worse  than  heathenish  philosophy  of 
Shaftesbury,  the  deeply  impure  and  blighting  immorality  of  Boling- 
broke,  the  strange,  monstrous,  and  ridiculous  theories  of  Kant,  the 
dreamy  and   bootless  idealism  of  Fitch,  the  vague  absolutism  of 
Schelling,  the  childish  entities  of  Kezel,  the  quibbling,  contradic- 
tory infidelity  of  Strauss,  and  a  thousand  more  of  every  class  of 
"  isms,"  which,  in  their  sad  delusions  and  wild  perversions  of  a  sys- 
tem which  claims  to  be  Christian,  are  as   truly  and  as  fearfully  op- 
posed to  the  principles  of  the  Bible  as  the  arch  enemy  himself  might 
desire,  who  would  "  have  all  men  to  believe  a  lie  that  they  may  be 
damned."     Though   in  theory  they  teach  with  divers   tongues,  and 
charm  with  a  thousand  artful  plausibilities,  yet  they  all  practically 
destroy  the  same  hopes,  and  inflict  the  same  ruin — quenching  the 
only  torch  of  truth  which  throws  its  rays  upon  the  gloom  which 
broods  so  heavily  over  this  fallen  creation.     Yet  blessed  be  God  !  ia 
despite  of  all  those  wide-spread,  multiform,  injurious,  fatal  systems 
of  unbelief;  in  despite  of  all  the  direct,  malicious  assaults  of  des- 
perately wicked  men  and  devils  ;  in  despite  of  all  the  earthly  tem- 
pests that  have  beaten  upon  it,  the  word  of  our  God  still  ifimains, 
the  strong  defence  of  the  truth,  tlic  frontier  bulwark  of  the  Church, 
and  the  noblest  and  most  precious  boon  which  heaven  has  bestowed 
on  this,  our  apostate  and  orphaned  world,  which  is  its  great  mission- 


436  THE  HOLT  SCRIPTURES. 

ary  field,  and  whose  nations  are  its  pupils.  And  in  itg  angust  train, 
science  and  art,  commerce  and  agriculture,  delight  to  follow,  while 
the  demons  of  war  fly  appalled  at  its  approach,  amid  the  acclama- 
tions of  redeemed  millions,  made  joyful  by  its  divine  teachings. 

To  this  end — securing  the  best  interests  of  man  for  time  and  eter- 
nity— God  first  gave  it ;  and  from  its  earliest  career  to  the  present 
moment  he  has  guarded,  watched  over,  and  preserved  it,  as  the  au- 
thorized herald  and  organ  of  his  divine  will.  "  The  final  conflagra- 
tion of  the  earth  may  destroy  the  material  depository  of  its  truths, 
but  the  truths  themselves  will  survive  in  the  records  of  heaven,  mir- 
rored in  the  mind  of  the  great  I  Am,  engraved  on  the  hearts  of  the 
redeemed,  and  will  become  the  eternally  revered  text-book  of  the 
children  of  God."  Here,  then,  brethren,  stand  ye  fast,  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  never  prevail  against  you.  On  this  moveless,  ever- 
abiding  rock  we  may  plant  our  feet,  and  upon  it  we  may  wage  the 
last  mortal  strugle  with  the  embattling  hosts  of  error  ;  and,  if  need 
be,  there  would  we  fall,  and  there  only.  We  need  not  fear.  This 
mighty  tower  of  our  God,  round  whose  base  the  angry  waters  rage 
and  foam  and  fret,  shall  ever  stand,  calmly  and  strongly  secure.  We 
may  hear  again,  as  indeed  we  have  often  heard,  from  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy,  premature  hymns  of  an  imaginary  triumph,  but  let  us  ever,  my 
brethren,  resort  to  this  impregnable  fortress  of  our  defence,  and 
make  it  a  sanctuary  till  all  the  calamities  of  life  beqoverpast,  which 
Burely  and  shortly  they  will ;  and  especially  let  us  ever  have  at  hand, 
that  immediate  syllogism  of  the  heart,  against  which  no  argument 
is  good — that  is,  ever  to  be  able  to  say,  "  These  words,  we  have  them 
to  be  words  of  healing,  words  of  comfort  and  joy."  This  is  our  sole 
security :  to  have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  to  have  known  the 
powers  of  the  world  to  come.  And  what  if  theology  may  not  be  able, 
on  the  instant,  to  solve  every  difficulty,  yet  faith  will  not  therefore 
abandon  one  jot  or  tittle  of  that  which  she  holds,  for  she  has  it  on 
another  and  a  surer  tenure — she  holds  it  directly  from  her  God, 
*'  the  Spirit  itself  bearing  witness  with  our  spirit "  that  verily  they 
are  the  words,  the  entrance  of  which  giveth  and  revealeth  to  the  re- 
newed soul,  with  divine  power  and  distinctness,  the  blessed  truth 
that  in  them  we  "  have  eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  which  testify 
of  me  " — of  Christ,  the  anointed,  the  "  sent  of  God,"  full  of  graeo 
and  truth,  in  whom  are  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge 
— "  the  onlv  name  under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must 


THE  HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  437 

be  saved ;"  the  name  of  Jesus,  at  which  every  knee  must  bow  that 
is  in  heaven,  and  in  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  which  every 
tongue  must  confess  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father — the  image  ol 
the  invisible  God,  by  whom  were  all  things  created* — whose  words 
are  spirit  and  life,  and  whom  to  know  is  eternal  life,  since  he  is  the 
author  of  eternal  salvation.  In  a  word,  the  truth  is  in  Jesus,  and 
he  is  all  and  in  all.  Out  of  Christ,  not  only  is  God  a  consuuiiiig 
fire,  but  the  great  truths  of  creation  and  providence  become  con- 
fused and  perplexed,  and  shrouded  in  vague  conjecture.  When, 
however,  we  fix  our  mind  on  the  great  fact  that  all  things  were  cre- 
ated by  Christ,  and  for  Christ,  and  that  he  upholds  all  things  by  the 
word  of  his  power,  making  known  thereby  the  manifold  wisdom  of 
God,  according  to  his  eternal  purpose,  we  learn,  and  not  till  then, 
that  the  gorgeous  structure  of  materialism  spreading  itself  intermin- 
ably above  us  and  around  us,  that  suns  and  planets,  angels  and  men, 
serve  but  to  constitute  one  vast  apparatus  for  effecting  a  mighty  en- 
thronement of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Hence,  from  every  field  of  im- 
mensity, crowded  with  admiring  spectators,  there  rolls  in  the  ecstatic 
acknowledgment,  "  "Worthy,  worthy,  worthy  is  the  Lamb." 

Yes,  it  is  unequivocally  proved,  by  sundry  declarations  of  the 
Scriptures,  that  each  star,  each  system,  each  human,  each  celestial 
being,  fills  some  place  in  a  mechanism  which  is  working  out  the  noble 
result  of  the  coronation  of  Christ  as  Lord  of  all ;  and,  as  such,  he  is 
all  and  in  all.  Every  part  of  the  Scriptures  is  inlaid  with  Christ — the 
historical,  prophetic,  promissory,  ceremonial,  doctrinal,  and  practical. 
Remove  Ilim,  and  we  are  at  once  "  without  God  and  without  hope  in 
the  world  " — no  sun,  no  star,  to  shine  forth  in  the  moral  firmament, 
to  guide  and  enlighten  the  lost  and  benighted  of  earth  in  their  sad, 
dark  pilgrimage  in  search  of  rest  in  some  peaceful  abode.  Blessed 
be  God,  we  have  a  sun  in  the  spiritual  heavens,  and  of  such  glorious 
and  redundant  brightness  that  no  mirror  is  large  enough  to  take  in 
all  his  beams — the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Blessed  be  God,  wc  have 
a  star,  which  twinkles  with  undimmed  lustre  in  the  world's  moral 
night,  and  which,  if  faithfully  observed,  will  avail  to  lead  humble 
and  devout  hearts  from  far-ofi"  regions  of  superstition  and  error,  till, 
kneeling  as  the  eastern  sages,  beside  the  babe  in  the  manger,  they 
will  see  all  their  weary  wanderings  repaid  in  a  moment,  and  all  their 
desires  finding  a  perfect  fulfilment  in  Him — the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

•  Col.  i,  IS. 


438  THE   HOI.T   SCRIPTURES. 

Searcb,  tlien,  the  Scriptures,  for  they  arc  they  which  testify  of  that 
radiant  sun,  that  brilliant  star,  that  clear,  true  light,  which  lightetb 
erery  man  that  coracth  into  the  world  : 

♦'  For  like  the  dawn,  its  cheering  rays 

On  rich  and  poor  are  seen  to  fall, 
Inspiring  their  Redeemer's  praise 
In  lowly  cot  and  lordly  hall." 

Again,  let  all  search  the  Scriptures  ;  search  them  deeply,  closely, 
thoroughly,  constantly,  faithfully,  honestly,  unwearicdly,  earnestly, 
prayerfully  ;  yea,  dig  into  them,  scrutinize  them,  sift  them,  and 
weigh  their  import,  accurately  comparing  Scripture  with  Scripture  : 
the  best  and  truest  method,  the  simplest  and  surest  exponent  of  its 
own  rcYclation.  In  a  word,  read,  read  the  Scriptures,  till  you  love 
to  read,  and  pray  over  them  till  you  love  to  pray ;  and  thus  continue 
to  read  and  pray,  never  resting  till  you  have  imbibed  their  spirit  into 
the  very  frame  and  constitution  of  your  soul,  and  with  their  spirit 
transcribed  the  precepts  and  examples  of  Jesus  into  every  part  of 
your  daily  walk  in  life,  ere  I  giving  my  last  advice,  in  death's 
fearful  hour,  to  the  dearest  friend  I  have  on  earth,  it  would  be, 
"  Read  your  Bible."  So  said  Dr.  Johnson  to  his  friend  Joshua 
Reynolds  ;  and  so  sings  Dr.  Young, 

"  Read  your  Bible  and  be  gay  ; 

There  truths  abound,  of  sovereign  aid  to  peace. 

Ah,  do  not  prize  it  less  because  inspired," 

but  indeed  on  that  account  prize  it  the  more  ;  and  if  on  thy  soul,  as 
thou  dost  read,  a  ray  of  purer  light  break  in,  give  it  full  scope  ;  ad- 
mitted, it  will  break  the  clouds  which  long  have  dimmed  thy  sight, 
and  lead  thee  till  at  last  convictions,  like  the  sun's  meridian  beams, 
illuminate  thy  mind.  "  Prize  it,  as  an  immortal  being,  for  it  guides 
to  the  New  Jerusalem  ;  prize  it,  as  an  intellectual  being,  for  it  giveth 
understanding  to  the  simple  ;  prize  it,  as  the  only  perfect  standard  of 
truth  known  among  men,  and  which  nothing  else  can  supersede  or 
substitute ;  before  whose  majesty  science  must  bow,  councils  fall,  and 
fathers  veil  their  heads,  and  one  text  of  which  outweighs  all  the 
opinions  and  traditions  of  all  Christendom."  Prize  it,  as  that  which 
was  written  for  our  learning,  reproof,  correction,  instruction  in 
righteousness,  that  we,  through  patience  and  comfort  thereof,  might 
have  hope,  by  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  Prize  it,  as  that  which 
alone  has  the  power  of  awakening  intense  moral  feelings  in  man, 
under  every  variety  of  character — learned  or  ignorant,  civilized  or 


THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  439 

savage — of  malcing  bad  men  good  ;  and  of  sending  a  pulse  of 
healthful  feeling  through  all  the  domestic,  civil  and  social  relations, 
i'rize  it,  as  it  will  teach  you  to  aspire  after  a  conformity  to  a  Eeing 
of  infinite  holiness,  and  fill  you  with  desires  and  emotions  and  hopes 
infinitely  more  purifying,  more  exalted,  better  suited  to  thy  nature 
than  aught  else  this  world  has  ever  known,  and  which,  in  the  last 
mortal  conflict,  will  enable  you  to  say,  as  did  a  distinguished  saint 
of  holy  memory,  "  The  Bible  has  done  more  for  me  than  all  the  men 
on  earth  or  angels  in  heaven  could  do." 

"Oh !  precious  Bible,  we  could  forever  enlarge  on  thy  praise. 
Read  it,  ye  mourners  in  Zion,  it  will  wipe  away  your  tears.  Read 
it,  ye  bereaved,  it  will  assure  you  that  "  a  father  of  the  fatherless, 
and  a  husband  of  the  widow,  is  God  in  his  holy  habitation."  Read 
it,  ye  poor,  it  will  soothe  you  under  your  privations.  Read  it,  ye  rich, 
it  will  sanctify  your  abundance.  Read  it,  ye  old,  it  will  support 
your  tottering  age.  Read  it,  ye  young,  it  will  preserve  your  giddy 
steps,  and  save  you  from  many  dangers,  seen  and  unseen."  "Where- 
withal shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?  by  taking  heed  thereto, 
according  to  thy  word."  Then,  my  young  friend,  bind  it  about  thy 
neck ;  write  it  upon  the  table  of  thine  heart ;  so  that,  when  thou 
goest,  it  shall  lead  thee ;  where  thou  sleepest,  it  shall  keep  thee ; 
and  when  thou  awakest,  it  shall  talk  with  thee  ;  for  the  command- 
ment is  a  lamp,  and  the  law  is  a  light ;  and  length  of  days,  and 
peace,  and  favor  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man,  shall  it  add  to  thee. 
"  More  to  be  desired  is  it  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold  ; 
more  precious  than  rubies  ;  and  all  the  things  thou  canst  desire,  are 
not  to  be  compared  unto  it."*  Yea,  it  is  all-important,  all-essential  • 
our  standard,  our  rule,  our  medicine,  our  shield,  our  sword,  our 
bread,  our  water,  our  sun ;  the  charter  of  our  everlasting  privilege  ; 
our  support  in  life,  our  comfort  in  death,  our  light  in  the  grave, 
revealing  amidst  its  gloomy  desolations,  Him  who  is  the  "  resun  ec- 
tion  and  the  life,"  and  thence  shedding  its  far-extending  radiance 
upon  the  scenes  and  triumphs  of  the  spirit-home  of  the  blessed 
above.  Who  can  tell  what  it  has  done  for  individuals,  for  communi- 
ties, for  nations  ■?  Who  can  tell  what  it  will  do  in  the  ages  to  come  1 
Let  us  quote  it  as  authority  in  all  matters  of  doubt  and  of  disputa- 
tion. Let  us  bless  God,  that  he  has  placed  it  in  our  hands.  Let  us 
conscientiously  follow  its  wise  counsels  in  all  our  works  and  ways. 
Let  us  be  thankful  for  a  ministry  which  explains  and  applies  it  with 

*  Psalm  xix,  12i). 


440  THE   nOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

fidelity,  and  let  us  so  bring  our  hearts  along  with  it,  as  to  strain 
every  nerve,  pour  out  unceasing  earnest  prayer,  and  be  lavish  with 
our  silver  and  our  gold,  until  the  tidings  which  have  made  us  glad 
shall  have  echoed  on  every  mountain  and  on  every  plain,  by  the 
oceans  and  the  rivers,  over  the  islands  of  the  sea,  in  the  frozen 
north,  and  the  fruitful  valleys  of  the  sunny  south,  until  every  home- 
Btead  and  habitation  of  man  throughout  the  whole  earth  shall  bo 
cheered  and  brightened  by  God's  own  word,  diffusing  richly,  right- 
eousness, and  holiness,  and  peace,  and  joy,  and  gladness.  Then  the 
13ible  will  be  seen  and  felt  to  be  the  best  gift  of  God  to  a  guilty 
world;  the  mighty  lever  for  upheaving  the  long  deeply  imbedded 
massive  systems  of  idolatry,  and  every  false  religion ;  aye,  the 
divinely  appointed  agent  of  earth's  moral  renovation,  and  of  man's 
deliverance  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and  the  wrath  to  come  Ah, 
brethren !  we  are  swiftly  passing  away  ;  the  world  recedes  and  dis- 
appears, but  our  eyes  being  opened  by  this  Word  of  Light,  we  behold 
the  glories  of  our  heavenly  inheritance.  The  promises  of  the  Word, 
which  are  faithful  and  true,  remove  our  fears,  and  enable  us  to  meet 
our  last  enemy  with  Christian  courage.  With  this  lamp  and  light 
we  will  pass  safely  through  the  dark  vale  of  death,  and  then  with  tri- 
umph enter  into  the  promised  rest.  Looking  and  hastening  (as  we 
trust)  unto  this  great  reward,  let  us  set  a  proper  estimate  on  this 
blessed  Word  of  Life.  Let  us  esteem  it,  like  Job,  "  as  more  than  our 
necessary  food ;  "  or,  like  David, "  sweeter  than  honey  to  the  mouth ;  " 
and  like  him,  rejoice  in  it  as  one  that  findeth  great  spoils  ;.  yea,  as  he^ 
seven  times  a  day  praising  God  because  of  his  testimonies,  which 
he  loved  exceedingly,  they  being  his  constant  delight  and  counsellors. 
Or  say,  like  the  great  and  pious  Boyle,  "  I  prefer  a  sprig  of  this  tree 
of  life,  to  a  whole  wood  of  bays." 

Exerting  thus  its  power,  going  oh  conquering  and  to  conquer,  it 
shall  never  cease  in  its  career,  until  it  shall  have  triumphed,  ulti- 
mately and  completely,  over  all  opposition  ;  never  until  it  shall 
have  extended  its  dominion  throughout  the  world,  and  having  en- 
gaged the  general  assent  of  mankind  to  its  truth,  and  itself  in- 
stalled in  the  place  of  undisputed  authority,  shall  become  the  rule  of 
every  man's  faith  and  the  guide  of  every  man's  life  ;  then,  shall 
every  man,  binding  it  to  his  heart,  bo  seen  bowing  before  the  God  of 
the  Bible,  and  singing  in  concert  wHh  all  the  dwellers  of  earth, 
"  Alleluia,  Salvation  !  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth    " 


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