Parochial sermons

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1

PAROCHIAL SERMONS.

BY

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, M.A.

VICAR OF ST. MARY THE VIRGIN'S, OXFORD,
AND FELLOW OF ORIEL COLLEGE.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTON,

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD,
AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL,

& PARKER, [1834.] OXFORD.

LONDON :

GILBERT & RIVINGTO.V, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.

TO THE

REV. E. B. PUSEY, B.D.

CANON OF CHRIST CHURCH,

AND REGIUS PROFESSOR OF HEBREW IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,

THIS VOLUME

IS INSCRIBED,
IN AFFECTIONATE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

OF THE BLESSING
OF HIS LONG FRIENDSHIP AND EXAMPLE.

CONTENTS.

SERMON I.

HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR FUTURE BLESSEDNESS.

HEBREWS xii. 14.

PAGE

Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. . . 1
SERMON II.

THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.

MATT. xvi. 26.
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? . . . 16

SERMON III.

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL WITHOUT OBEDIENCE.

JOHN xiii. 17.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. . . 30

VI CONTENTS.

SERMON IV.

SECRET FAULTS.

PSALM xix. 12.

PAGE

Who can understand his errors ? Cleanse Thou me from

secret faults 46

SERMON V.

SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS.

ROMANS xiii. 11,
Now is it high time to awake out of sleep 64

SERMON VI.

THE SPIRITUAL MIND.

1 COR. iv. 20.
The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. . . .82

SERMON VII.

SINS OF IGNORANCE AND WEAKNESS.

HEBREWS x. 22.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil con-
science, and our bodies washed with pure water. . . 95

CONTENTS. Vll

SERMON VIII.

GOD'S COMMANDMENTS NOT GRIEVOUS.

1 JOHN v. 3.

PAGE

This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments ;

and His commandments are not grievous. . . . .111

SERMON IX.

THE RELIGIOUS USE OF EXCITED FEELINGS.

LUKE viii. 38, 39.

The man out of whom the devils were departed, besought
Him that he might be with Him ; but Jesus sent him
away, saying, Return to thine own house, and show
how great things God hath done unto thee. . . .129

SERMON X.

PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE.

LUKE xii. 1.

When there were gathered together an innumerable multi-
tude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon
another, He began to say unto His disciples first of
all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy 143

CONTENTS.

SERMON XL

PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY.

GAL. iii. 27.

PAGE

As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have

put on Christ .............. 160

SERMON XII.

PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION.

MATT. v. 14.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill

cannot be hid ............. 175

SERMON XIII.

PROMISING WITHOUT DOING.

MATT. xxi. 28 — 30.

A certain man had two sons, and he came to the first and
said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He an-
swered and said, 1 will not ; but afterward he repented
and went. And he came to the second, and said like-
wise. And he answered and said, I go, Sir ; and
went not ..... . 190

CONTENTS. IX

SERMON XIV.

RELIGIOUS EMOTION.

MARK xiv. 31.

PAGE

But he spake the more vehemently, Tf I should die with

Thee, I will not deny Thee in any wise 204

SERMON XV.

RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL.

ROMANS iv. 20, 21.

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief ;
but was strong in faith, giving glory to God : and
being fully persuaded that what He had promised
He was able also to perform 218

SERMON XVI.

THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES.

JOHN iii. 9.
How can these things be ? 233

SERMON XVII.

THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER.

1 COR. iii. 18, 19.

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you
seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a
fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He
taketh the wise in their own craftiness 247

X CONTENTS.

•

SERMON XVIII.

OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY.

PSALM xxxvii. 34.

PAGE
Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt

thee to inherit the land 263

SERMON XIX.

TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER.

MATTHEW vi. 6.

Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which
is in secret ; and thy Father, which seeth in secret,
shall reward thee openly . 281

SERMON XX.

FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER.

LUKE xi. 1.
Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples . 296

SERMON XXI.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY.

LUKE xx. 37, 38.

Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the
bush, when he calleth the Lord, the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For
He is not a God of the dead, but of the living : for
all live unto Him ... .312

CONTENTS. XI

SERMON XXII.

THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES.

ACTS x. 40, 41.

PAGE

Him God raised up the third day, and showed Him openly ;
not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before
of God, even to us who did eat and drink with Him
after He rose from the dead 324

SERMON XXIII.

CHRISTIAN REVERENCE.

PSALM ii. 11.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling . . 339

SERMON XXIV.

THE RELIGION OF THE DAY.

HEBREWS xii. 28, 29.

Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably
with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a
consuming fire 355

SERMON XXV.

SCRIPTURE A RECORD OF HUMAN SORROW.

JOHN v. 2, 3.

There is at Jerusalem by the sheepmarket, a pool, which
is called in the Hebrew tongue, Bethesda, having five
porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent
folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving
of the water . . .373

XII CONTENTS.

SERMON XXVI.

CHRISTIAN MANHOOD.

1 COR. xiii. 11.

PAGE

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child ; but when I became a
man, I put away childish things 386

SERMONS,

SERMON I.

HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR FUTURE BLESSEDNESS.

HEBREWS xn. 14.
" Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."

IN this text it has seemed good to the Holy
Spirit to convey a chief truth of religion in a few
words. It is this circumstance which makes it
especially impressive ; for the truth itself is de-
clared in one form or other in every part of Scrip-
ture. It is told us again and again, that to make
sinful creatures holy, was the great end which our
Lord had in view in taking upon Him our nature,
and that none but the holy will be accepted for
His sake at the last day. The whole history of
redemption, the covenant of mercy in all its parts
and provisions, attest the necessity of holiness in
order to salvation ; as indeed even our natural
conscience bears witness also. But in the text
what is elsewhere implied in history, and enjoined

2 HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR [SBRM.

by way of precept, is stated doctrinally, as a mo-
mentous and necessary fact, the result of some
awful irreversible law in the nature of things, and
the inscrutable determination of the Divine Will.

Now some one may ask, " Why is it that holi-
ness is a necessary qualification for our being re-
ceived into heaven ? why is it that the Bible en-
joins upon us so strictly, to love, fear, and obey
God, to be just, honest, meek, pure in heart, for-
giving, heavenly-minded, self-denying, humble,
and resigned ? Man is confessedly weak and cor-
rupt ; why then is he enjoined to be so religious,
so unearthly ? why is he required, (in the strong
language of Scripture,) to become " a new crea-
ture ?" Since he is by nature what he is, would it
not be an act of greater mercy in God to save
him altogether without this holiness, which it is
so difficult, yet, (as it appears,) so necessary for
him to possess ?"

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

Yet the question may be asked reverently, and

I.] FUTURE BLESSEDNESS. 3

with a view to enlarge our insight into our own
duties ; and in that case the attempt to answer it
will be profitable, if it be made soberly. I pro-
pose then to examine, what light Scripture throws
upon the reasons why present holiness is necessary,
as the text declares to us, for future happiness.

To be holy is to be separate from sin, to hate
the works of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to
take pleasure in keeping God's commandments,
to do things as He would have us do them, to
live habitually as in the sight of the world to come,
as if we had broken the ties of this life, and were
dead already. Why cannot we be saved without
possessing such a frame and temper of mind ?

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

We are apt to deceive ourselves, and to consider
heaven a place like this earth ; I mean, a place
where every one may choose and take his own
pleasure. We see that in this world, active men
have their own enjoyments, and domestic men
have theirs ; men of literature, of science, of poli-
tical talent, have their own respective pursuits
and pleasures. Hence we are led to act as if it \
will be the same in another world. The only
difference we put between this world and the next,
is, that here, (as we know well,) men are not
always sure, but there, we suppose, they will be

B 2

4 HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR [.SERM.

always sure of obtaining what they seek after.
And accordingly we conclude, that any man,
whatever his habits, tastes, or manner of life, if
once admitted into heaven, would be happy there.
But an opinion like this, though commonly acted
on, is refuted as soon as put into words. For
heaven is not revealed to us in Scripture, as a
place where many different and discordant pur-
suits can be carried on at once, as is the case in
this world. Here every man can do his own plea-
sure, but there he must do God's pleasure. It
would be presumption to attempt to determine
the employments of that eternal life which good
men are to pass in God's presence, or to deny
that that state, which eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, nor mind conceived, may comprise an in-
finite variety of pursuits and occupations. Still
so far we are distinctly told, that that future life
will be spent in God's presence, in a sense which
does not apply to our present life ; so that it may
be best described as an endless and uninter-
rupted worship of the Eternal Father, Son, and
Spirit. " They serve Him day and night in His
temple, and He that sitteth on the throne shall
dwell among them .... The Lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall
lead them unto living fountains of waters." Again,
" The city had no need of the suri, neither of the
moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And

I.] FUTURE BLESSEDNESS. 5

the nations of them which are saved shall walk in
the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring
their glory and honour into it V These passages
from St. John are sufficient to remind us of many
others.

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

Supposing then, instead of being warned that
no irreligious man could serve and love God in
heaven, (or see Him, as the text expresses it,) we
were told that no irreligious man could worship,
or spiritually see Him in church ; should we not at
once perceive the meaning of the declaration?

1 Rev. vii. 15 — 17. xxi. 23, 24.

6 HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR [SEUM.

viz. that, were a man of carnal and worldly mind to
come hither, he would find no real pleasure here,
but would soon get weary of the place ; because,
in this house of God, he would hear only of that
one subject which he cared little or nothing about,
and nothing at all of those things on which his
heart was set. If then a man without religion
(supposing it possible) were admitted into heaven,
doubtless he would sustain a great disappoint-
ment. Before indeed, he fancied that he could
be happy there ; but when he arrived there, he
would find no discourse but that which he ridi-
culed on earth, no pursuits but those he disliked
on earth. He would see that God whom he could
not bring himself to think of on earth. Ah ! he
could not bear the face of the Living God, the
Holy God would be no object of joy to him. None
but the holy can look upon the Holy One ; without
holiness no man can endure to see the Lord.

When then we think to be admitted to the joys
of heaven without holiness of heart, we are as in-
considerate as if we supposed we could take an
interest in the worship of Christians here below
without possessing it in our measure. A care-
less, a sensual, an unbelieving mind, a mind des-
titute of the love and fear of God, with narrow
earthly views, a low standard of duty and a be-
nighted conscience, a mind contented with itself,
and unresigned to God's will, would not feel plea-
sure at the last day, at the words, " Enter into the

I.] FUTURE BLESSEDNESS. 7

joy of thy Lord," more than it does now at the
words, " Let us pray." Nay, much less, because,
while we are in a church we may turn our thoughts
to other subjects, and contrive to forget that God
is looking on us ; but that will not be possible in
heaven.

We see then that holiness is a necessary qua-
lification on our part for admission into heaven,
because heaven is not heaven, is not a place of
happiness, except to the holy. There are bodily
indispositions which affect the taste, so that the
sweetest flavours become ungrateful to the palate ;
and indispositions which impair the sight, tinging
the fair face of nature with some sickly hue.
In like manner, there is a moral malady which
disorders the inward sight and taste ; and no
man labouring under it is in a condition to enjoy
what Scripture calls " the fulness of joy in God's
presence, and pleasures at His right hand for ever-
more."

Nay, I will venture to say more than this; — it
is fearful, but it is right, to say it ; — that if we
wished to imagine a punishment for an unholy,
reprobate soul, we perhaps could not fancy a
greater than to summon it to heaven. Heaven
would be hell to an irreligious man. We know
how unhappy we are apt to feel at present, when
alone in the midst of strangers, or of men of differ-
ent tastes and habits from ourselves. How miser-
able e. g. would it be, to have to live in a foreign

8 HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR [SERM.

land, among a people whose faces we never saw
before, and whose language we could not learn.
And this is but a faint illustration of the loneli-
ness of a man of unholy dispositions and tastes,
thrust into the society of saints and angels. How
forlorn would he wander through the courts of
heaven! He would find no one like himself; he
would see in every direction the marks of God's
holiness, and these would make him shudder.
He would feel himself always in His presence. He
could no longer turn his thoughts another way,
as he does now when conscience reproaches him.
He would know that the Eternal Eye was ever
upon him; and that Eye of holiness, which is joy
and life to holy creatures, would seem to him an
Eye of wrath and punishment. God cannot
change His nature. Holy He must ever be. But
while He is holy, no unholy soul can be happy in
heaven. Fire does not inflame iron, but it in-
flames straw. It would cease to be fire if it did
not. And so heaven itself would be fire to those,
who would fain escape across the great gulf from
the torments of hell. The finger of Lazarus would
but increase their thirst. The very "heaven that is
over their head," will be " brass" to them.

And now I have partly explained why it is that
holiness is prescribed to us as the condition on our
part for our admission into heaven. It seems to
be necessary from the very nature of things. We
do not see how it could be otherwise. — Now then

I.] FUTURE BLESSEDNESS. 9

I will mention two important truths which seem
to follow from what has been said.

1. If a certain character of mind, a certain
state of the heart and affections be necessary for
entering heaven, our actions will avail for our sal-
vation, chiefly as they tend to produce or evidence
this frame of mind. Good works (as they are
called) are required, not as if they had any thing,
of merit in them, not as if they could of them-
selves turn away God's anger for our sins, or pur-
chase heaven for us, but because they are the
means, under God's grace, of strengthening and
showing forth that holy principle which God im-
plants in the heart, and without which, (as the text
tells us,) we cannot see Him. The more numerous
are our acts of charity, self-denial, and forbearance,
of course the more will our minds be schooled into
a charitable, self-denying and forbearing temper.
The more frequent are our prayers, the more
humble, patient, and religious are our daily deeds,
this communion with God, these holy works, will
be the means of making our hearts holy, and of
preparing us for the future presence of God. Out-
ward acts, done on principle, create inward habits.
I repeat, the separate acts of obedience to the will
of God, good works as they are called, are of pri-
mary service to us, as the means of making our
hearts good.

It is plain then, what works are not of service
to our salvation ; — all those which either have no

10 HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR [SERM.

effect upon the heart to change it, or which have
a bad effect. What then must be said of those
who, from having a darkened conscience, think it
an easy thing to please God, and that it is in
their power to recommend themselves to Him ;
who do a few scanty services, call these the walk
of faith, and trust in them ? Such men, it is too
evident, instead of being themselves profited by
their acts of benevolence, honesty, or justice,
may be (I might even say) injured by them. For
these very acts, good as they are in themselves,
are made to foster in these persons a bad spirit,
a corrupt state of heart, viz. self-love, self-con-
ceit, self-reliance. In like manner the mere out-
ward acts of coming to church, and saying prayers,
which are, of course, duties imperative upon all of
us, are really serviceable to those only who do
them in a proper spirit. Because in such men
only will these good deeds improve the heart ;
whereas even the most exact outward devotion
avails not a man, if it does not improve it.

2. But observe what follows from this. If holi-
ness be not merely the doing a certain number of
good actions, but is an inward character which
follows, under God's grace, from doing them, how
far distant from that holiness are the multitude of
men. They are not yet even obedient in outward
deeds, which is the first step towards possessing
it. They have even to learn to practise good
works, as the means of changing their hearts,

1

I.] FUTURE BLESSEDNESS. 1 1

which is the end. It is plain then, that, even
with the influences of grace, no one is able to pre-
pare himself for heaven, i. e. make himself holy,
in a short time ; at least we do not see how it is
possible. Yet, alas ! as there are persons who
think to be saved by a few scanty performances, so
there are others who suppose they may be saved
all at once by a sudden and easily acquired faith.
Most men who are living in neglect of God,
silence their consciences, when troublesome, with
the promise of repenting some future day. How
often are they thus led on till death surprises them !
But we will suppose they do begin to repent when
that future day comes. Nay we will even sup-
pose that Almighty God were to forgive them and
to admit them into His holy heaven. Well, but is
nothing more requisite? are they in a fit state to
do Him service in heaven ? is not this the very point
I have been so insisting on, that they are not in a
fit state ? has it not been shown that, even if ad-
mitted there without a change of heart, they would
find no pleasure in heaven ? and is a change of
heart wrought in a day ? Which of our tastes or
likings can we change at our will in a moment ?
Not the most superficial. Can we then at a word
change the whole frame and character of our
minds ? Is not holiness the effect of many pa-
tient, repeated efforts after obedience, gradually
working on us, and first modifying and then
changing our hearts? We dare not, of course,

12 HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR [SBRM.

set bounds to God's mercy and power in cases of
repentance late in life ; yet judging by the rules
which His holy Word supplies, nothing is more
certain, as a general truth than this, — that, as
no one will find happiness in heaven, who is not
holy, so no one can learn to be so, in a short
time, and when he will. When, then, men
rest their hopes of heaven on the chance of their
repenting at some future time, on their being
saved by a sudden faith, they are resting on a
reed ; for they overlook one most important re-
quisite for entering into life, the power of doing,
and the heart to enjoy, God's service ; and how
do they promise themselves they will obtain
this?

And now, my brethren, if there be any among
you who have made as yet no earnest calculations
how you ,are to make yourselves holy, (and is
there any mixed congregation in the whole
Christian Church without some such ?) set about
it now. I do not speak to you as aliens from
God's mercies, but as partakers of His gracious
covenant in Christ ; nor as having wilfully and
habitually neglected Him hitherto ; for even if
this be the case with some of you, (as I trust it is
not,) it hardly is the case with the greater number.
Yet I fear there are those, who, if they dealt faith-
fully with their consciences, would be obliged to
own that they had not made the service of God
their first and great concern; that their obedience,

I.] FUTURE BLESSEDNESS. 1,'J

so to call it, has been a matter of course, in which
the heart has had no part ; that they have come
hither because they have been sent by others,
and acted uprightly in worldly matters chiefly
for the sake of their worldly interest. I fear
there are those, who, whatever be their sense of
religion, yet have such misgivings about them-
selves, as lead them to make resolves to obey
God more exactly some future day. Such men
know they are wrong, yet they know not how
wrong. To obtain the gift of holiness is the work
of a life. No man will ever be perfect here, so
sinful is our nature. Thus, in putting off the day
of repentance, these men are reserving for a few
chance years, when strength and vigour are gone,
that WORK for which a whole life would not be
enough. That work is great and arduous be-
yond expression. There is much of sin remain-
ing even in the best of men, and " if the righteous
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and
the sinner appear * ?"

Perhaps others may say : — " We know some-
thing of the power of religion — we love it in a
measure — wre have many right thoughts — we come
to church to pray ; this is a proof that we are
prepared for heaven ; — we are safe, and what has
been said does not apply to us." But say not so,
my brethren. One principal test of our being true

1 1 Pet. iv. 18.

14 HOLINESS NECESSARY FOR [SERM.

servants of God is our wishing to serve Him bet-
ter ; and be quite sure that a man who is contented
with his own proficiency in Christian holiness, is
at best in a dark state, or rather in great peril.
If we are really imbued with the grace of holiness,
we shall abhor sin as something base, irrational,
and polluting. Many men, it is true, are contented
with partial and indistinct views of religion and
mixed motives. Be you content with nothing
short of perfection ; exert yourselves day by day
to grow in knowledge and grace ; that, if so be,
you may at length attain to the presence of Al-
mighty God.

Lastly ; while we thus labour to mould our
hearts after the pattern of the holiness of our
Heavenly Father, it is our comfort to know, that
we are not left to ourselves, but that the Holy
Ghost is graciously present with us, and enables
us to triumph over, and to change our own minds.
We are the instruments, but we are only the
instruments of our own salvation J. Let no one
say that I discourage him, and propose to him
a task beyond his strength. All of us have the
gifts of grace pledged to us from our youth up.
We know this well ; but we do not use our pri-
vilege. We form mean ideas of the difficulty of
our duties, and in consequence never enter into
the greatness of the gifts given us to meet it.

1 Phil. ii. 12, 13.

L] FUTURE BLESSEDNESS. 15

Then afterwards, if perchance we gain a deeper
insight into the work we have to do, we think
God a hard master, who commands much from
a sinful race. Narrow, indeed, is the way of
life, but infinite is His love and power who is
with the Church, in Christ's place, to guide us
along it.

SERMON II.

THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.

MATT. xvi. 26.
" What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

I SUPPOSE there is no tolerably informed Christian
but supposes he has a correct notion of the diffe-
rence between our religion and the paganism
which it supplanted. Every one, if asked what
it is we have gained by the Gospel, will promptly
answer, that we have gained the knowledge of our
immortality, of our having souls which will live
for ever ; that the heathen did not know this, but
that Christ taught it, and that His disciples know
it. Every one will say, and say truly, that this
was the great and solemn doctrine which gave
the Gospel a claim to be heard when first
preached, which arrested the thoughtless multi-
tudes, who were busied in the pleasures and pur-
suits of this life, awed them with the vision of the
life to come, and sobered them till they turned to
God with a true heart. It will be said, and said

II. J THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 17

truly, that this doctrine of a future life was the
doctrine which broke the power and the fascina-
tion of paganism. The poor benighted heathen
were engaged in all the frivolities and absurdities
of a false ritual, which had obscured the light of
nature. They knew God, but they forsook Him
for the inventions of men ; they made protectors
and guardians for themselves; and had "gods
many and lords many1." They had their profane
worship, their gaudy processions, their indulgent
creed, their easy observances, their sensual festi-
vities, their childish extravagancies, such as might
suitably be the religion of beings who were to live
for seventy or eighty years, and then die once for
all, never to live again. " Let us eat and drink,
for to-morrow we die," was their doctrine and
their rule of life. " To-morrow we die;" — this
the Holy Apostles admitted. They taught so far
as the heathen ; " To-morrow we die ;" but then
they added, " And after death the judgment ;"-
judgment upon the eternal soul, which lives in
spite of the death of the body. And this was the
truth, which awakened men to the necessity of
having a better and deeper religion than that
which had spread over the earth, when Christ
came, — which so wrought upon them that they
left that old false worship of theirs, and it fell.
Yes ! though throned in all the power of the

1 1 Cor. viii. 5.

c

18 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. [SERM.

world, a sight such as eye had never before seen,
though supported by the great and the many, the
magnificence of kings and the stubbornness of
people, it fell. Its ruins remain, scattered over
the face of the earth ; the shattered works of its
great upholder, that fierce enemy of God, the
Pagan Roman Empire. Those ruins are found
even among ourselves, and show how marvel-
lously great was its power, and therefore how
much more powerful was that which broke its
power ; and this was the doctrine of the immor-
tality of the soul. So entire is the revolution
which is produced among men, wherever this
high truth is really received.

I have said that every one of us is able fluently
to speak of this doctrine, and is aware that the
knowledge of it forms the fundamental difference
between our state and that of the heathen. And
yet, in spite of our being able to speak about it,
and our " form of knowledge 1," (as St. Paul terms
it,) there seems scarcely room to doubt, that the
greater number of those who are called Christians
in no true sense realize it in their own minds at
all. Indeed it is a very difficult thing to bring
home to our minds, and to feel, that we have
souls ; and there cannot be a more fatal mistake
than to suppose we see what the doctrine means,
as soon as we can use the words which signify it.

1 Rom. ii. 20.

II.] THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 19

So great a thing is it to understand that we have
souls, that the knowing it is all one with being
serious, i. e. truly religious. To discern our im-
mortality is necessarily connected with fear and
trembling and repentance, in the case of every
Christian. Who is there but would be sobered
by an actual sight of the flames of hell fire and
the souls therein hopelessly enclosed ? Would
not all his thoughts be drawn to that awful sight,
so that he would stand still gazing fixedly upon it
and forgetting every thing else ; seeing nothing
else, hearing nothing, engrossed with the contem-
plation of it ; and when the sight was withdrawn,
still having it fixed in his memory, so that he
would be henceforth dead to the pleasures and
employments of this world, for their own sake,
thinking of them only in their reference to that
fearful vision ? This would be the overpowering
effect of such a disclosure, whether it actually led
a man to repentance or not. And thus absorbed
in the thought of the life to come are they who
really and heartily receive the words of Christ
and His Apostles. Yet to this state of mind, and
therefore to this true knowledge, the multitude of
men called Christian, are certainly strangers ; a
thick veil is drawn over their eyes ; and, (in spite
of their being able to talk of the doctrine,) they
are as if they never heard of it. They go on just
as the heathen did of old : they eat, they drink ;
or they amuse themselves in vanities, and live in

c 2

20 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. [SEHM.

the world, without fear and without sorrow, just
as if God had not declared that their conduct in
this life would decide their destiny in the next ;
just as if they either had no souls, or had nothing
or little to do with the saving of them, which was
the creed of the heathen.

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

We are from our birth apparently dependent
on things about us. We see and feel that we
could not live or go forward without the aid of
man. To a child this world is every thing : he
seems to himself a part of this world, — a part of
this world, in the same sense in which a branch
is part of a tree ; he has no notion of his own
separate and independent existence ; that is, he
has no idea he has a soul. And if he goes
through life with his notions unchanged, he has
no notion, even to the end of life, that he has a
soul. He views himself merely in his connexion
with this world, which is his all ; he looks to this
world for his good, as to an idol ; and when he
tries to look beyond this life, he is able to discern
nothing in prospect, because he has no idea of
any thing, nor can fancy any thing, but this life.
And if he is obliged to fancy something, he
fancies this life over again ; just as the heathen,

II.] THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. gl

when they reflected on those traditions of another
life, which were floating among them, could but
fancy the happiness of the blessed to consist in
the enjoyment of the sun, and the sky, and the
earth, as before, only as if these were to be more
splendid than they are now.

To understand that we have souls, is to feel
our separation from things visible, our indepen-
dence of them, our distinct existence in ourselves,
our individuality, our power of acting for our-
selves this way or that way, our accountableness
for what we do. These are the great truths
which lie wrapped up indeed even in a child's
mind, and which God's grace can unfold there
in spite of the influence of the external world ;
but at first this outward world prevails. We look
off' from self to the things around us, and forget
ourselves in them. Such is our state, — a depend-
ing for support on the reeds which are no stay,
and overlooking our real strength, — at the time
when God begins His process of reclaiming us to
a truer view of our place in His great system of
providence. And when He visits us, then in a
little while there is a stirring within us. The
unprofitableness and feebleness of the things of
this world forces itself upon our minds ; they
promise but cannot perform, they disappoint us.
Or, if they do perform what they promise, still,
(so it is,) they do not satisfy us. We still crave
for something, we do not well know what ; but

22 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.

we are sure it is something which the world has
not given us. And then its changes are so many,
so sudden, so silent, so continual. It never leaves
changing ; it goes on to change, till we are quite
sick at heart : then it is that our reliance on it is
broken. It is plain we cannot continue to depend
upon it, unless we keep pace with it, and go on
changing too ; but this we cannot do. We feel
that, while it changes, we are one and the same ;
and thus, under God's blessing, we come to have
some glimpse of the meaning of our independence
of things temporal, and our immortality. And
should it so happen that misfortunes come upon
us, (as they often do,) then still more are we led
to understand the nothingness of this world ; then
still more are we led to distrust it, and are weaned
from the love of it, till at length it floats before
our eyes merely as some idle veil, which, not-
withstanding its many tints, cannot hide the view
of what is beyond it ; — and we begin, by degrees,
to perceive that there are but two beings in the
whole universe, our own soul, and the God who
made it.

Sublime, unlooked-for doctrine, yet most true !
To every one of us there are but two beings in the
whole world, himself and God ; for, as to this
outward scene, its pleasures and pursuits, its
honours and cares, its contrivances, its personages,
its kingdoms, its multitude of busy slaves, what
are they to us? nothing — no more than a show : —

II.J THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 23

1 'The world passeth away and the lust thereof."
And as to those others nearer to us, who are not
to be classed with the vain world, I mean our
friends and relations, whom we are right in
loving, these too, after all, are nothing to us here.
They cannot really help or profit us ; we see them
and they act upon us, only as it were at a dis-
tance, through the medium of sense ; they cannot
get at our souls ; they cannot enter into our
thoughts, or really be companions to us. In the
next world it will, (through God's mercy,) be
otherwise ; but here we enjoy, not their presence,
but the anticipation of what one day shall be ; so
that, after all, they vanish before the clear vision
we have first of our own existence, next, of the
presence of the great God in us and over us, as
our Governor and Judge, who dwells in us by our
conscience, which is His representative.

And now consider what a revolution will take
place in the mind that is not utterly reprobate, in
proportion as it realizes this relation between
itself and the most high God. We never in this
life can fully understand what is meant by our
living for ever, but we can understand what is
meant by this world's not living for ever, by its
dying never to rise again. And learning this,
we learn that we owe it no service, no allegiance ;
it has no claim over us, and can do us no material
good or harm. On the other hand, the law of
God written on our hearts bids us serve Him, and

24 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. [SERM.

partly tells us how to serve Him, and Scripture
completes the precepts which nature began.
And both Scripture and conscience tell us we are
answerable for what we do, and that God is a
righteous Judge ; and, above all, our Saviour, as
our visible Lord God, takes the place of the world
as the Only-begotten of the Father, having shown
Himself openly, that we may not say that God is
hidden. And thus a man is drawn forward by all
manner of powerful influences to turn from things
temporal to things eternal, to deny himself, to
take up his cross and follow Christ. For there are
Christ's awful threats and warnings to make him
serious, His precepts to attract and elevate him,
His promises to cheer him, His gracious deeds and
sufferings to humble him to the dust, and to bind
his heart once and for ever in gratitude to Him
who is so surpassing in mercy. All these things
act upon him ; and, as truly as St. Matthew rose
from the receipt of custom when Christ called,
heedless what bystanders would say of him, so
they who, through grace, obey the secret voice of
God, move onward contrary to the world's way,
and careless what mankind may say of them, as
understanding that they have souls, which is the
one thing they have to care about.

I am well aware that there are indiscreet
teachers gone forth into the world, who use lan-
guage such as I have used, but mean something
very different. Such are they who deny the grace

II.] THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 25

of baptism, and think that a man is converted to
God all at once. But I have no need now to
mention the difference between their teaching and
that of Scripture. Whatever their peculiar errors
are, so far as they say that we are by nature blind
and sinful, and must, through God's grace, and
our own endeavours, learn that we have souls
and rise to a new life ; so far they say true, for
they speak the words of Scripture ; which says,
" Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then
that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as
wise, redeeming the time, because the days are
evil; wherefore be ye not unwise, but understand-
ing what the will of the Lord is V

Let us, then, seriously question ourselves, and
beg of God's grace to do so honestly, whether we
are loosened from the world ; or whether, living
as dependent on it, and not on the Eternal Author
of our being, we are in fact taking our portion
with this perishing outward scene, and ignorant
of our having souls. I know very well that such
thoughts are distasteful to the minds of men in
general. Doubtless many an one there is, who,
on hearing doctrines such as I have been insisting
on, says in his heart, that religion is thus made
gloomy and repulsive ; that he would attend to
a teacher who spoke in a less severe way ; and

1 Eph. v. 14—17.

26 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. [SERM.

that in fact Christianity was not intended to be a
dark burdensome law, but a religion of cheerful-
ness and joy. This is what young people think,
though they do not express it in this argumenta-
tive form. They view a strict life as something
offensive and hateful ; they turn from the notion
of it. And then, as they get older and see more
of the world, they learn to defend their opinion,
and express it more or less in the way in which I
have just put it. They hate and oppose the truth,
as it were upon principle ; and the more they are
told that they have souls, the more resolved they
are to live as if they had not souls. But let us
take it as a clear point from the first, and not to
be disputed, that religion must ever be difficult to
those who have neglected it. All things that we
have to learn are difficult at first; and our duties
to God and to man for His sake are peculiarly
difficult, because they call upon us to take up a
new life, and quit the love of this world for the
next. It cannot be avoided ; we must fear and
be in sorrow, before we can rejoice. The Gospel
must be a burden before it comforts and brings us
peace. This is plain from the nature of the case ;
and, however true it be, that this or that teacher
may be harsh and repulsive, yet he cannot mate-
rially alter things. Religion is in itself at first a
weariness to the worldly mind, and it requires an
effort and a self-denial in every one who honestly
determines to be religious.
1

II.] THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 27

But there are other persons who are far more
hopeful than those I have been speaking of,
who, when they hear repentance and newness
of life urged on them, are frightened at the
thought of the greatness of the work ; they are
disheartened at being told to do so much. Now
let it be well understood, that to realize our
own individual accountableness and immortality,
of which I have been speaking, is not required
of them all at once. I never said a person was
not in a hopeful way who did not thus fully
discern the world's vanity and the worth of his
soul. But a man is truly in a very desperate
way, who does not wish, who does not try, to
discern and feel all this. I want a man on the
one hand to confess his immortality with his lips,
and on the other, to live as if he tried to under-
stand his own words, and then he is in the way of
salvation ; he is in the way towards heaven, even
though he has not yet fully emancipated himself
from the fetters of this world. Indeed, none of
us (of course) are entirely loosened from this
world. We all use words in speaking of our
duties, higher and fuller than we really under-
stand. No one entirely realizes what is meant by
his having a soul ; even the best of men is but in
a state of progress towards the simple truth ; and
the most weak and ignorant of those who seek it
cannot but be in progress. And therefore no one
need be alarmed at hearing that he has much to

28 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. [SBRM.

do before he arrives at a right view of his own
condition in God's sight, i. e. o.t faith; for we all
have much to do, and the great point is, are we
willing to do it ?

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

On the contrary, what a blessed discovery is
it to those who make it, that this world is but

II.] THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 29

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

" Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose
mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in
Thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in
the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength1."

1 Isaiah xxvi. 3, 4.

30 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SERM.

SERMON III.

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL WITHOUT OBEDIENCE.

JOHN xiii. 17.
•If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

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

Now, doubtless, many of us think we know
this very well. It seems a very trite thing to say,
that it is nothing to know what is right, unless we
do it ; an old subject about which nothing new
can be said. When we read such passages in
Scripture, we pass over them as admitting them
without dispute ; and thus we contrive practi-
cally to forget them. Knowledge is nothing com-

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 31

pared with doing ; but the knowing that know-
ledge is nothing, we make to be something, we
make it count, and thus we cheat ourselves.

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

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

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

We read a passage in the Gospels, for instance,
a parable perhaps, or the account of a miracle ;
or we read a chapter in the prophets, or a psalm.
Who is not struck with the beauty of what he
reads ? I do not wish to speak of those who read

32 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SERM.

the Bible only now and then, and who will in
consequence generally find its sacred pages dull
and uninteresting ; but of those who study it.
Who of such persons does not see the beauty of
it? e. g. take the passage which introduces the
text. Christ had been washing His disciples'
feet. He did so at a season of great mental
suffering ; it was just before He was seized by
His enemies to be put to death. The traitor, His
familiar friend, was in the room. All of His
disciples, even the most devoted of them, loved
Him much less than they thought they did. In
a little while they were all to forsake Him and
flee. This He foresaw ; yet He calmly washed
their feet, and then He told them that He did so
by way of an example ; that they should be full
of lowly services one to the other, as He to them ;
that he among them was in fact the highest who
put himself the lowest. This He had said before ;
and His disciples must have recollected it. Per-
haps they might wonder in their secret hearts why
He repeated the lesson ; they might say to them-
selves, "We have heard this before." They
might be surprised that His significant action,
His washing their feet, issued in nothing else
than a precept already delivered, the command
to be humble. At the same time, they would
not be able to deny, or rather they would deeply
feel, the beauty of His action. Nay, as loving
Him, (after all,) above all things, and reverencing

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 33

Him as their Lord and Teacher, they would feel
an admiration and awe of Him ; but their minds
would not rest sufficiently on the practical direc-
tion of the instruction vouchsafed to them. They
knew the truth, and they admired it ; they did
not observe what it was they lacked. Such may
be considered their frame of mind; and hence
the force of the text, delivered primarily against
Judas Iscariot, who knew and sinned deliberately
against the truth ; secondarily referring to all the
Apostles, and St. Peter chiefly, who promised to
be faithful, but failed under the trial ; lastly, to
us all, — all of us here assembled, who hear the
word of life continually, know it, admire it, do
all but obey it.

Is it not so ? is not Scripture altogether plea-
sant except in its strictness? do not we try to
persuade ourselves, that to feel religiously, to con-
fess our love of religion, and to be able to talk of
religion, will stand in the place of careful obe-
dience, of that self-denial which is the very sub-
stance of true practical religion? Alas! that re-
ligion which is so delightful as a vision, should
be so distasteful as a reality. Yet so it is, whe-
ther we are aware of the fact or not.

1. The multitude of persons even who profess
religion are in this state of mind. We will take
the case of those who are in better circumstances
than the mass of the community. They are well
educated and taught ; they have few distresses

D

34 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SERM.

in life, or are able to get over them by the variety
of their occupations, by the spirits which attend
good health, or at least by the lapse of time.
They go on respectably and happily, with the
same general tastes and habits which they would
have had if the Gospel had not been given them.
They have an eye to what the world thinks of
them ; are charitable when it is expected. They
are polished in their manners, kind from natural
disposition, or a feeling of propriety. Thus their
religion is based upon self and the world, a mere
civilization of the mind ; and such, (I say,) as it
would have been in the main, (taking the state of
society as they find it,) even supposing Christian-
ity were not the religion of the land. But it is ;
and let us go on to ask, how do they in conse-
quence feel towards it ? They accept it, they add
it to what they are, they ingraft it upon the selfish
and worldly habits of an unrenewed heart. They
have been taught to revere it, and to believe it to
come from God ; so they admire it, and accept
it as a rule of life, so far forth as it agrees with
the carnal principles which govern them. So far
as it does not agree, they are blind to its excel-
lence and its claims. They overlook or explain
away its precepts. They in no sense obey be-
cause it commands. They do right where they
would have done right had it not commanded ;
however, they speak well of it, and think they
understand it. Sometimes, if I may continue

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 35

the description, they adopt it into a certain re-
fined elegance of sentiment and manners, and
then their religion is all that is graceful, fasti-
dious, and luxurious. They love religious poetry
and eloquent preaching. They desire to have
their feelings roused and soothed, and to secure a
variety and relief in that eternal subject which
is unchangeable. They tire of its simplicity, and
perhaps seek to keep up their interest in it, by
means of religious histories, fictitious or embel-
lished, or news from foreign countries, or from
history of the prospects or successes of the Gospel;
thus perverting what is in itself good and inno-
cent. This is their state of mind at best ; for
more commonly they think it enough merely to
show some slight regard to the subject of reli-
gion ; to attend its services on the Lord's day,
arid then only once, and coldly to express an
approbation of it. But of course every descrip-
tion of such persons can be but general ; for the
shades of character are so varied and blended in
individuals, as to make it impossible to give an
accurate picture, and often very estimable per-
sons and truly good Christians are partly infected
with this bad and earthly spirit.

2. Take again another description of them.
They have perhaps turned their attention to the
means of promoting the happiness of their fellow-
creatures, and have formed a system of morality
and religion of their own ; then they come to

D*2

36 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SERM.

Scripture. They are much struck with the high
tone of its precepts, and the beauty of its teach-
ing. It is true, they find many things in it which
they do not understand or do not approve ; many
things they would not have said themselves.
But they pass these by ; they fancy that these do
not apply to the present day, (which is an easy
way of removing any thing we do not like,) and
on the whole they receive the Bible, and they
think it highly serviceable for the lower classes.
Therefore, they recommend it, and support the
institutions which are the channels of teaching it.
But as to their own case, it never comes into
their minds to apply its precepts seriously to
themselves ; they know them already, they con-
sider. They know them and that is enough ; but
as for doing them, by which I mean, going for-
ward to obey them with an unaffected earnestness
and an honest faith, acting upon them, receiving
them as they are, and not as their own previously
formed opinions would have them be, they have
nothing of this right spirit. They do not think
of such a mode of acting. To recommend and
affect a moral and decent conduct, (on whatever
principles,) seems to them to be enough. The
spread of knowledge bringing in its train a selfish
temperance, a selfish peaceableness, a selfish be-
nevolence, the morality of expedience, this satis-
fies them. They care for none of the truths of
Scripture, on the ground of their being in Scrip-

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 37

ture ; these scarcely become more valuable in
their eyes for being there written. They do not
obey because they are told to obey, on faith ; and
the need of this divine principle of conduct they
do not comprehend. Why will it not answer
(they seem to say,) to make men good in one
way as well as another? " Abana and Pharpar,
rivers of Damascus, are they not better than all
the waters of Israel ?" as if all the knowledge
and the training that books ever gave had power
to unloose one sinner from the bonds of Satan,
or to effect more than an outward reformation,
an appearance of obedience ; as if it were not a
far different principle, a principle independent of
knowledge, above it and before it, which leads to
real obedience, that principle of divine faith, given
from above, which has life in itself, and has power
really to use knowledge to the soul's welfare ; in
the hand of which, knowledge is as it were the
torch lighting us on our way, but not teaching
or strengthening us to walk.

3. Or take another view of the subject. Is it
not one of the most common excuses made by
the poor for being irreligious, that they have had
no education ? as if to know much was a neces-
sary step for right practice. Again, they are apt
to think it enough to know and to talk of religion,
to make a man religious. Why have you come
hither this afternoon, my brethren ? — not as a
matter of course, I will hope ; not merely because

38 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SERM.

friends or superiors told you to come. I will
suppose you have corne to church as a religious
act ; but beware of supposing that all is done
and over by the act of coming. It is not enough
to be present here ; though many men act as if
they forgot they must attend to what is going on,
as well as come. It is not enough to listen to
what is preached ; though many think they have
gone a great way when they do this. You must
pray ; now this is very hard in itself to any one
who tries, (and this is the reason why so many
men prefer the sermon to the prayers, because
the former is merely the getting knowledge, and
the latter is to do a deed of obedience :) you must
pray ; and this I say is very difficult, because
our thoughts are so apt to wander. But even
this is riot all; — you must, as you pray, really
intend to try to practise what you pray for.
When you say " lead us not into temptation,"
you must in good earnest mean to avoid in your
daily conduct those temptations, which you have
already suffered from. When you say "deliver
us from evil," you must mean to struggle against
that evil in your hearts, which you are conscious
of, and which you pray to be forgiven. This is
difficult ; still more is behind. You must ac-
tually carry your good intentions into effect dur-
ing the week, and in truth and reality war against
the world, the flesh, and the devil. And any
one here present who falls short of this, i. e. who

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 39

thinks it enough to come to church to learn God's
will, but does not bear in mind to do it in his
daily conduct, be he high or be he low, know he
mysteries and all knowledge, or be he unlettered
and busily occupied in active life, he is a fool in
His sight, who maketh the wisdom of this world
foolishness. Surely he is but a trifler, as substi-
tuting a formal outward service for the religion
of the heart ; and he reverses our blessed Lord's
words in the text, " because he knows these
things, most unhappy is he, because he does them
not."

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

Now to such an one I say, You are in a much
more promising state than if you were contented
with yourself, and thought that knowledge was

1

40 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SERM-

every thing, which is the grievous blindness which
I have hitherto been speaking of; i. e. you are in
a better state, if you do not take too much com-
fort or rely too much on your confession. For
this is the fault of many men ; they make such an
acknowledgment as I have described a substitute
for real repentance ; or allow themselves, after
making it, to put off repentance, as if they could
be suffered to give a word of promise which did
not become due (so to say) for many days. You
are, I admit, in a better state than if you were
satisfied with yourself, but you are not in a safe
state. If you were now to die, you would have
no hope of salvation : no hope, i. e, if your own
showing be true, for I am taking your own words.
Go before God's judgment-seat, and there plead
that you know the truth and have not done it.
This is what you frankly own ; — how will it there
be taken? "Out of thine own mouth will I
judge thee," says our Judge Himself, and who
shall reverse His judgment? Therefore such an
one must make the confession with great and real
terror and shame, if it is to be considered a pro-
mising sign in him ; else it is mere hardness of
heart. E. g. I have heard persons say lightly,
(every one must have heard them,) that they own
it would be a wretched thing indeed for them or
their companions to be taken off suddenly. The
young are especially apt to say this ; i. e. before
they have come to an age to be callous, or have

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 41

formed excuses to overcome the natural true sense
of their conscience. They say they hope some
day to repent. This is their own witness against
themselves, like that bad prophet at Bethel who
was constrained with his own mouth to utter
God's judgments while he sat at his sinful meat.
But let not such an one think that he will receive
any thing of the Lord ; he does not speak in
faith.

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

42 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SEEM.

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

But if a man is in earnest in wishing to get at
the depths of his own heart, to expel the evil, to
purify the good, and to gain power over himself,
so as to do as well as know the truth, what is the
difficulty ? — a matter of time indeed, but not of
uncertainty is the recovery of such a man. So
simple is the rule which he must follow, and so
trite, that at first he will be surprised to hear it.
God does great things by plain methods ; and
men start from them through pride, because they
are plain. This was the conduct of Naaman the
Syrian. Christ says, " Watch and pray;" herein
lies our cure. To watch and to pray are surely
in our power, and by these means we are certain
of getting strength. You feel your weakness ;
you fear to be overcome by temptation ; then

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 43

keep out of the way of it. This is watching.
Avoid society which is likely to mislead you ;
flee from the very shadow of evil ; you cannot be
too careful ; better be a little too strict than a
little too easy, — it is the safer side. Abstain from
reading books which are dangerous to you. Turn
from bad thoughts when they arise, set about
some business, begin conversing with some friend,
or say to yourself the Lord's Prayer with serious-
ness and reverence. When you are urged by
temptation, whether it be by the threats of the
world, false shame, self-interest, provoking con-
duct on the part of another, or the world's sinful
pleasures, urged to be cowardly, or covetous, or
angry, or sensual, shut your eyes and think of
Christ's precious blood-shedding. Do not dare
to say you cannot help sinning ; a little attention
to these points will go far, (through God's grace,)
to keep you in the right way. And again, pray
as well as watch. You must know that you can
do nothing of yourself; your past experience has
taught you this ; therefore look to God for the
will and the power, ask Him earnestly in His
Son's name ; seek His holy ordinances. Is not
thw in your power ? Have you not power at least
over the limbs of your body, so as to attend the
means of grace constantly ? Have you literally
not the power to come to church ; to observe
Fasts and Festivals ; to come to His Holy Altar
and receive the Bread of Life ? Get yourself, at

44 KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL [SERM.

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

Well were it if men could be persuaded to be
in earnest, but few are thus minded. The many

i

go on with a double aim, trying to serve both
God and mammon. Few can get themselves to
do what is right, because God tells them ; they
have another aim ; they desire to please self or
men. When they can obey God without offend-
ing the bad Master that rules them, then and
then only they obey. Thus religion, instead of
being the first thing in their estimation, is but
the second. They differ, indeed, one from another
what to put foremost ; one man loves to be at
ease, another to be busy, another to enjoy domes-
tic comfort ; but they agree in converting the
truth of God, which they know to be truth, into
a mere instrument of secular objects ; not dis-
carding the truth, but degrading it.

When He, the Lord of hosts, comes to shake
terribly the earth, what number will He find of
the remnant of the true Israel ? We live in an
educated age. The false gloss of a mere worldly

III.] WITHOUT OBEDIENCE. 45

refinement makes us decent and amiable. We
all know and profess. We think ourselves wise ;
we flatter each other ; we make excuses for our-
selves when we are conscious we sin, and thus
we gradually lose the consciousness that we are
sinning. We think our own times superior to all
others. " Thou blind Pharisee !" This was the
fatal charge brought by our blessed Lord against
the falsely enlightened teachers of His own day.
My brethren, as you desire to enter into life, see
that you labour, after the two foundations of true
Christian faith, — humbleness of mind and ear-
nestness.

46 SECRET FAULTS. [SERM.

SERMON IV.

SECRET FAULTS.

PSALM xix. 12.

" Who can understand his errors ? Cleanse Thou me from
secret faults."

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

When I say this is strange, I do not mean to
imply that to know ourselves is easy; it is very
difficult to know ourselves even in part, and so
far ignorance of ourselves is not a strange thing.
But its strangeness consists in this, viz. that men
should profess to receive and act upon the great
Christian doctrines, while they are thus ignorant
of themselves, considering that self-knowledge is

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 47

a necessary condition for understanding them.
Thus it is not too much to say that all those who
neglect the duty of habitual self-examination are
using words without meaning. The doctrines of
the forgiveness of sins, and a new birth from sin,
cannot be understood without some right know-
ledge of the nature of sin, i. e. of our own heart.
We may, indeed, assent to a form of words which
declares those doctrines ; but if such a mere
assent, however sincere, is the same as a real
holding of them, and belief in them, then it is
equally possible to believe in a proposition the
terms of which belong to some foreign language,
which is obviously absurd. Yet nothing is more
common than for men to think that because they
are familiar with words, they understand the
ideas they stand for. Educated persons despise
this fault in illiterate men who use hard words as
if they comprehended them. Yet they them-
selves, as well as others, fall into the same error
in a more subtle form, when they think they un-
derstand terms used in morals and religion, be-
cause such are common words and have been
used by them all their lives.

Now (I repeat) unless we have some just idea
of our hearts and of sin, we can have no right
idea of a Moral Governor, a Saviour, or a Sanc-
tifier, i. e. in professing to believe in Them, we
shall be using words without attaching distinct
meaning to them. Thus self-knowledge is at the

48 SECRET FAULTS. [SERM.

root of all real religious knowledge ; and it is in
vain, — worse than vain, it is a deceit and a mis-
chief, to think to understand the Christian doctrines
as a matter of course, merely by being taught by
books, or by attending sermons, or by any out-
ward means, however excellent, taken by them-
selves. For it is in proportion as we search our
hearts and understand our own nature, that we
understand what is meant by an Infinite Governor
and Judge ; in proportion as we comprehend the
nature of disobedience and our actual sinf illness,
that we feel what is the blessing of the removal of
sin, redemption, pardon, sanctification, which
otherwise are mere words. God speaks to us
primarily in our hearts. Self-knowledge is the
key to the precepts and doctrines of Scripture.
The very utmost any outward religion can do,
is to startle us and make us turn inward and
search our hearts ; and then, when we have expe-
rienced what it is to read ourselves, we shall profit
by the doctrines of the Church and the Bible.

Of course self knowledge admits of degrees.
No one, perhaps, is entirely ignorant of himself;
and even the most advanced Christian knows
himself only " in part." However, most men
are contented with a slight acquaintance with
their hearts, and therefore a superficial faith.
This is the point which it is my purpose to insist
upon. Men are satisfied to have numberless
secret faults. They do not think about them,

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 49

either as sins or as obstacles to strength of faith,
and live on as if they had nothing to learn.

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

1. Now the most ready method of convincing
ourselves of the existence in us of faults unknown
to ourselves, is to consider how plainly we see the
secret faults of others. At first sight there is of
course no reason for supposing that we differ
materially from those around us ; and if we see
sins in them which they do not see, it is a pre-
sumption that they have their own discoveries
about ourselves, which it would surprise us to
hear. E. g. how apt is an angry man to fancy
that he has the command of himself! The very
charge of being angry, if brought against him,
will anger him more ; and in the height of his
discomposure, he will profess himself able to rea-
son and judge with clearness and impartiality.
Now, it may be his turn another day, for what we
know, to witness the same failing in us ; or, if we
are not naturally inclined to violent passion, still
at least we may be subject to other sins, equally
unknown to ourselves, and equally known to him
as his anger was to us. E. g. there are persons
who act mainly from self-interest at times when
they conceive they are doing generous or virtuous

E

50 SECRET FAULTS. [SERM.

actions ; they give freely, or put themselves to
trouble, and are praised by the world, and by
themselves, as if acting on high principle ;
whereas close observers can detect desire of gain,
love of applause, shame, or the mere satisfaction
of being busy and active, as the principal cause
of their good deeds. This may be our condition
as well as that of others ; or, if it be not, still a
similar infirmity, the bondage of some other sin
or sins which others see and we do not.

But, say there is no human being sees sin in
us, of which we are not aware ourselves, (though
this is a bold supposition to make,) yet why
should man's accidental knowledge of us limit
the extent of our imperfections ? Should all the
world speak well of us, and good men hail us as
brothers, after all there is a Judge who trieth the
hearts and the reins. He knows our real state ;
have we earnestly besought Him to teach us the
knowledge of our own hearts ? If we have not,
that very omission is a presumption against us.
Though our praise were throughout the Church,
we may be sure He sees sins without number in
us, sins deep and heinous, of which we have no
idea. If man sees so much evil in human nature,
what must God see ? "If our heart condemn us,
God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all
things." Not acts alone of sin does He set down
against us daily, of which we know nothing, but
the thoughts of the heart too. The stirrings of

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 51

pride, vanity, covetousness, impurity, discontent,
strife, these succeed each other through the day
in momentary emotions, and are known to Him.
We know them not ; but how much does it con-
cern us to know them !

2. This consideration is suggested by the first
view of the subject. Now reflect upon the actual
disclosures of our hidden weakness, which acci-
dents occasion. Peter followed Christ boldly,
and suspected not his own heart, till it betrayed
him in the hour of temptation, and led him to
deny his Lord. David lived years of happy obe-
dience while he was in private life. What calm,
clear-sighted faith is manifested in his answer to
Saul about Goliath : — " The Lord that delivered
me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw
of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of
this Philistine V Nay, not only in retired life,
in severe trial, under ill usage from Saul, he
continued faithful to his God ; years and years
did he go on, fortifying his heart, and learning
the fear of the Lord ; yet power and wealth weak-
ened his faith, and for a season overcame him.
There was a time when a prophet could retort
upon him, " Thou art the man2" whom thou
condemnest. He had kept his principles in
words, but lost them in his heart. Hezekiah is
another instance of a good man bearing trouble

1 I Sam. xvii. 37. 2 2 Sam. xii. 7.

E2

&> SECRET FAULTS. [SERM.

well, but for a season falling back under the
temptation of prosperity ; and that, after extraor-
dinary mercies had been vouchsafed to him ]. And
if these things be so in the case of the favoured
saints of God, what (may we suppose) is our
own real spiritual state in His sight? It is a
serious thought. The warning to be deduced
from it is this : — Never to think we have a due
knowledge of ourselves till we have been exposed
to various kinds of temptations, and tried on every
side. Integrity on one side of our character is no
voucher for integrity on another. We cannot
tell how we should act if brought under tempta-
tions different from those which we have hitherto
experienced. This thought should keep us
humble. We are sinners, but we do not know
how great. He alone knows who died for our
sins.

3. Thus much we cannot but allow ; that we
do not know ourselves in those respects in which
we have not been tried. But farther than this ;
What if we do not know ourselves even where
we have been tried, and found faithful ? It is a
remarkable circumstance which has been often ob-
served, that if we look to some of the most
eminent saints of Scripture, we shall find their
recorded errors to have occurred in those parts of
their duty in which each had had most trial, and

1 2 Kings xx. 12—19.

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 53

generally showed obedience most perfect. Faith-
ful Abraham through want of faith denied his
wife. Moses, the meekest of men, was excluded
from the land of promise for a passionate word.
The wisdom of Solomon was seduced to bow down
to idols. Barnabas, again, the So?i of consolation,
had a sharp contention with St. Paul. If then
men, who knew themselves better than we doubt-
less know ourselves, had so much of hidden in-
firmity about them, even in those parts of their
character which were most free from blame, what
are we to think of ourselves ? and if our very vir-
tues be so defiled with imperfection, what must
be the unknown multiplied circumstances of evil
which aggravate the guilt of our sins ? This is a
third presumption against us.

4. Think of this too. No one begins to examine
himself, and to pray to know himself, (with
David in the text,) but he finds within him an
abundance of faults which before were either alto-
gether, or almost entirely, unknown to him. That
this is so, we learn from the written lives of good
men, and our own experience of others. And
hence it is that the best men are ever the most
humble ; for, having a higher standard of excel-
lence in their minds than others have, and know-
ing themselves better, they see somewhat of the
breadth and depth of their own sinful nature, and
are shocked and frightened at themselves. The

54 SECRET FAULTS. [SERB.

generality of men cannot understand this ; and if
at times the habitual self-condemnation of religious
men breaks out into words, they think it arises
from affectation, or from a strange distempered
state of mind, or from accidental melancholy and
disquiet. Whereas the confession of a good man
against himself, is really a witness against all
thoughtless persons who hear it, and a call on
them to examine their own hearts. Doubtless
the more we examine ourselves, the more imper-
fect and ignorant we shall find ourselves to be.

5. But let a man persevere in prayer and watch-
fulness to the day of his death, yet he will never
get to the bottom of his heart. Though he know
more and more of himself as he becomes more
conscientious and earnest, still the full manifesta-
tion of the secrets there lodged, is reserved for
another world. And at the last day, who can
tell the affright and horror of a man who lived to
himself on earth, indulging his own evil will,
following his own chance notions of truth and
falsehood, shunning the cross and the reproach of
Christ, when his eyes are at length opened before
the throne of God, and all his innumerable sins,
his habitual neglect of God, his abuse of his
talents, his misapplication and waste of time, and
the original unexplored sinfulness of his nature,
are brought clearly and fully to his view ! Nay,
even to the true servants of Christ the prospect is

;

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 55

awful. " The righteous," we are told, "will
scarcely be saved1." Then will the good man
undergo the full sight of his sins, which on earth
he was labouring to obtain, and partly succeeded
in obtaining, though life was not long enough
to learn and subdue them all. Doubtless we
must all endure that fierce and terrifying vision
of our real selves, that last fiery trial of the soul2
before its acceptance, a spiritual agony and se-
cond death to all who are not then supported by
the strength of Him who died to bring them safe
through it, and in whom on earth they have
believed !

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

And yet how many are the chances, that a
number of those who now7 hear me have no suffi-
cient knowledge of themselves, or sense of their
ignorance, and are in peril of their souls ! Christ's
ministers cannot tell who are, and who are not,

1 1 Pet. iv. 18. 2 1 Cor.iii. 13.

56 SECRET FAULTS. (_SERM.

the true elect ; but when the difficulties in the way
of knowing yourselves aright are considered, it be-
comes a most serious and immediate question
for each of you to entertain, whether or not he is
living a life of self-deceit, and thinking far more
comfortably of his spiritual state, than he has any
right to do. For call to mind the impediments
that are in the way of your knowing yourselves,
or feeling your ignorance, and then judge.

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

2. And then comes in our self-love. We hope
the best ; this saves us the trouble of examining.
Self-love answers for our safety. We think it
sufficient caution to allow for certain possible un-
known faults at the utmost, and to take them
into the reckoning when we balance our account
with our conscience ; whereas, if the truth were

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 57

known to us, we should find we had nothing but
debts, and those greater than we can conceive,
and ever increasing.

3. And this favourable judgment of ourselves
will especially prevail, if we have the misfortune
to have uninterrupted health and high spirits,
and domestic comfort. Health of body and mind
is a great blessing if we can bear it ; but unless
chastened by watchings and fastings,1 it will
seduce a man into the notion that he is much
better than he really is. Resistance to our act-
ing rightly, whether it proceed from within or
without, tries our principle ; but when things go
smoothly, and we have but to wish and we can
perform, we cannot tell how far we do or do not
act from a sense of duty. When a man's spirits
are high, he is pleased with every thing; and with
himself especially. He can act with vigour and
promptness, and he mistakes this mere constitu-
tional energy for strength of faith. He is cheer-
ful and contented ; and he mistakes this for
Christian peace. And, if happy in his family,
he mistakes mere natural affection for Christian
benevolence, and the confirmed temper of Christ-
ian love. In short, he is in a dream, from which
nothing could have saved him except deep humi-
lity, and nothing will ordinarily rescue him ex-
cept sharp affliction.

1 2 Cor. xi. 27.

58 SECRET FAULTS. [SKRM.

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

4. Next, we must consider the force of habit.
Conscience at first warns us against sin ; but if
we disregard it, it soon ceases to upbraid us ; and
thus sins, once known, in time become secret
sins. It seems then, (and it is a startling reflec-
tion,) that the more guilty we are, the less we
know it ; for the oftener we sin, the less we are
distressed at it. I think many of us may, on
reflection, recollect instances, in our experience
of ourselves, of our gradually forgetting things to
be wrong, which once shocked us. Such is the
force of habit. By it, e. g. men contrive to allow
themselves in various kinds of dishonesty. They
bring themselves to affirm what is untrue, or what
they are not sure is true, in the course of business.

1

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 59

They overreach and cheat ; and, still more pos-
sible is it for them to fall into low and selfish
ways, without their observing it, and all the while
to continue careful in their attendance on the
Christian ordinances, and bear about them a
form of religion. Or, again, they will live in self-
indulgent habits ; eat and drink more than is
right ; display a needless pomp and splendour in
their domestic arrangements, without any mis-
giving ; much less do they think of simplicity of
manners and abstinence, as Christian duties.
Now we cannot suppose they always thought their
present mode of living to be justifiable, for others
are still struck with its impropriety ; and what
others now feel, doubtless they once felt them-
selves. But such is the force of habit. So again,
to take as a third instance, the duty of stated
private prayer ; at first it is omitted with com-
punction, but soon with indifference. But it is
not the less a sin because we do not feel it to be
such. Habit has made it a secret sin.

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

60 SECRET FAULTS. [SERM.

at another, a laxity of morals ; at another, disre-
gard of the forms and discipline of the Church.
The most religious men, unless they are especially
watchful, will feel the sway of the fashion of their
age, and suffer from it, as Lot in wicked Sodom,
though unconsciously. Yet their ignorance of
the mischief does not change the nature of their
sin ; — sin it still is, only custom makes it secret
sin.

6. Now what is our chief guide amid the evil
and seducing customs of the world ? — obviously,
the Bible. " The world passeth away, but the
word of the Lord endureth for ever1." How
much extended, then, and strengthened necessa-
rily must be this secret dominion of sin over us,
when we consider how little we read Scripture.
Our conscience gets corrupted, — true ; but the
words of truth, though effaced from our minds,
remain in Scripture, bright in their eternal youth
and purity. Yet we do not study Scripture, to
stir up and refresh our minds. Ask yourselves,
my brethren, what do you know of the Bible ?
Is there any one part of it you have read carefully
and as a whole ? One of the Gospels, e. g. ? Do
you know very much more of your Saviour's
works and words than you have heard read in
church? Have you compared His precepts, or
St. Paul's, or any other Apostle's, with your own

1 Isa. xl. 8. 1 Pet. i, 24, 25. 1 John ii. 17.

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. fil

daily conduct, and prayed, and endeavoured to
act upon them ? If you have, so far is well ; go
onto do so. If you have not, it is plain you do
not possess, for you have not sought to possess,
an adequate notion of that perfect Christian cha-
racter which it is your duty to aim at, nor an
adequate notion of your actual sinful state ; you
are in the number of those who " come not to the
light, lest their deeds should be reproved."

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

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

62 SECRET FAULTS. [SERM.

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

IV.] SECRET FAULTS. 63

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

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

1 James ii. 14.

SERMON V.

SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS.

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

BY " sleep," in this passage, St. Paul means a
state of insensibility to things as they really are
in God's sight. When we are asleep, we are
absent from this world's action, as if we were no
longer concerned in it. It goes on without us,
or, if our rest be broken, and we have some slight
notion of people and occurrences about us, if we
hear a voice or a sentence, and see a face, yet we
are unable to catch these external objects justly
and truly ; we make them part of our dreams,
and pervert them till they have scarcely a resem-
blance to what they really are ; — and such is the
state of men as regards religious truth. God is
ever Almighty and All-knowing. He is on His
throne in heaven, trying the reins and the hearts ;
and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, is on His
right hand ; and ten thousand angels and saints

SERM.V.] SELF-DENIAL, &c. 65

are ministering to Him, rapt in the contemplation
of Him, or by their errands of mercy connecting
this lower world with His courts above ; they go
to and fro, as though upon the ladder which
Jacob saw ; — and the disclosure of this glorious
invisible world is made to us principally by means
of the Bible, partly by the course of nature, partly
by the floating opinions of mankind, partly by the
suggestions of the heart and conscience ; — and all
these means of information concerning it are col-
lected and combined by the Holy Church, which
heralds the news forth to the whole earth, and
applies it with power to the minds of individuals ;
partly by direct instruction, partly by her very
form and fashion, which witnesses to them ; so
that the truths of religion circulate through the
world almost as the light of day, every corner
and recess having some portion of its blessed
rays. Such is the state of a Christian country.
Meanwhile how is it with those who dwell in it ?
The words of the text remind us of their condi-
tion. They are asleep. While the Ministers of
Christ are using the armour of tight, and all
things speak of Him, they " walk" not " becom-
ingly, as in the day." Many live altogether as
though the day shone not on them, but the sha-
dows still endured ; and far the greater part of
them are but very faintly sensible of the great
truths preached around them. They see and hear
as people in a dream ; they mix up the Holy

F

66 SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SERM.

Word of God with their own idle imaginings ; if
startled for a moment, yet they soon relapse into
slumber ; they refuse to be awakened, and think
their happiness consists in continuing as they
are.

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

The circumstances of these times render it very
difficult to answer this question. When the
world was against Christianity it was compara-
tively easy. But (in one sense) the world is now
for it. I do not mean there are not turbulent
lawless men, who would bring all things into
confusion, if they could ; who hate religion, and

V.] RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS 67

would overturn every established institution which
proceeds from, or is connected with it. Doubtless
there are very many such, but from such men
religion has nothing to fear. The Truth has ever
flourished and strengthened under persecution.
But what we have to fear is the opposite fact,
that all the rank, and the station, and the intelli-
gence, and the opulence of the country is pro-
fessedly with religion. We have cause to fear
from the very circumstance that the institu-
tions of the country are based upon the acknow-
ledgment of religion as true. Worthy of all
honour are they who so based them. Miserable
is the guilt which lies upon those who have at-
tempted, and partly succeeded, in shaking that
holy foundation. But it often happens that our
most bitter are not our most dangerous enemies ;
and greatest blessings, on the other hand, are the
most serious temptations to the unwary. And
our danger, at present, is this, that a man's hav-
ing a general character for religion, respecting the
Gospel and professing it, and to a certain point
obeying it, so fully promotes his temporal inte-
rests, that it is difficult for him to make out for
himself whether he really acts on faith, or from a
desire of this world's advantages. It is difficult
to find tests which may bring home the truth to
his mind, and probe his heart after the manner of
Him who, from His throne above, tries it with an
Almighty Wisdom. It can scarcely be denied

F2

68 SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SERM.

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

And further than this, it is necessary to remark,
that, in spite of this general profession of zeal for
the Gospel among all respectable persons at this
day, nevertheless there is reason for fearing, that
it is not altogether the real Gospel that they are
zealous for. Doubtless we have cause to be
thankful whenever we see persons earnest in the
various ways I have mentioned. Yet, somehow,
after all there is reason for being dissatisfied with
the character of the religion of the day ; dissatis-
fied, first, because oftentimes these same persons
are very inconsistent ; — often, e. g. talk irreve-
rently and profanely, ridicule or slight things
sacred, speak against the Holy Church, or against
the blessed saints of early times, or even against
the favoured servants of God, set before us in
Scripture ; — or act with the world and the worse

V.] RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS. 69

sort of men, even when they do not speak like
them ; attend to them more than to the Ministers
of God, or are very lukewarm, lax, and unscru-
pulous in matters of conduct, so much so that
they seem hardly to go by principle, but by what
is merely expedient and convenient. And then
again, putting aside our judgment of these men
as individuals, and thinking of them as well as
we can, (which of course it is our duty to do,) yet,
after all, taking merely the multitude of them
as a symptom of a state of things, I own I am
suspicious of any religion that is a people's reli-
gion or an age's religion. Our Saviour says,
11 Narrow is the way." This, of course, must not
be interpreted without great caution ; yet surely
the whole tenor of the Inspired Volume leads us
to believe, that His Truth will not be heartily re-
ceived by the many, that it is against the current
of human feeling and opinion, and the course of
the world, and so far forth as it is received by a
man, will be opposed, first by himself, i. e. by his
old nature which remains about him, next by all
others, so far forth as they have not received it.
11 The Light shining in darkness" is the token of
true religion ; and, though doubtless there are sea-
sons when a sudden enthusiasm arises in favour of
the Truth, (as in the history of St. John the Bap-
tist, in whose " light" the Jews " were willing for
a season to rejoice1," so as even "to be baptized of

1 John v. 35.

70 SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SERM.

him, confessing their sins1 ;") yet such a popula-
rity of the Truth is but sudden, comes at once and
goes at once, has no regular growth, no abiding
stay. It is error alone which grows and is re-
ceived heartily on a large scale. St. Paul has'
set up his warning against our supposing truth
would ever be heartily accepted, whatever show
there may be of a general profession of it, in his
last Epistle, where he tells Timothy, among other
sad prophecies, that " evil men and seducers
shall wax worse and worse2." Truth, indeed,
has that power in it, that it forces men to profess
it in words ; but when they go on to act, instead
of obeying it, they substitute some idol in the
place of it. On these accounts, when there is
much talk of religion in a country, and much
congratulation that there is a general concern for
it, a cautious mind will feel anxious lest some
counterfeit be, in fact, honoured instead of it ; lest
it be the dream of man rather than the verities
of God's word, which has become popular, and
lest the received form have no more of truth in it
than is just necessary to recommend it to the rea-
son and conscience ; — lest, in short, it be Satan
transformed into an angel of light, rather than the
Light itself, which is attracting followers.

If, then, this be a time, (which I suppose it is,)
when a general profession of religion is thought
respectable and right in the virtuous and orderly
1 Matt. iii. 6. 2 2 Tim. iii. 13.

V.] RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS. 71

classes of the community, this circumstance should
not diminish your anxiety about your own state
before God, but rather (I may say) increase it ;
for two reasons, first, because you are in danger
of doing right from motives of this world, next,
because you may, perchance, be cheated of the
Truth, by some ingenuity which the world puts,
like counterfeit coin, in the place of the Truth.

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

How then shall we try ourselves ? how shall
we examine ourselves whether we be in the faith ?

72 SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SBRM.

Can any tests be named which will bring certainty
to our minds on the subject ? No indisputable
tests can be given. We cannot know for certain.
We must beware of an impatience about knowing
what our real state is. St. Paul himself did not
know till the last days of his life, (as far as we
know,) that he was one of God's elect who shall
never perish. He said " I know nothing by
myself, yet am I not hereby justified1," i. e.
though I am not conscious to myself of neglect of
duty, yet am I not therefore confident of my ac-
ceptance. Judge nothing before the time. Ac-
cordingly, he says in another place, " I keep
under my body and bring it into subjection, lest
that by any means, when T have preached to
others, I myself should be a castaway2." And
yet, though this absolute certainty of our election
unto glory be unattainable, and the desire to obtain
it an impatience which ill befits sinners, never-
theless a comfortable hope, a sober and subdued
belief that God has pardoned and justified us for
Christ's sake, (blessed be His name!) is attainable,
according to St. John's words, " If our heart con-
demn us not, then have we confidence toward
God3." And the question is, how are we to attain
to this, under the circumstances in which we are
placed ? In what does it consist ?

Were we in a heathen land, (as I said just now,)

1 1 Cor. iv. 4. 2 1 Cor. ix. 27. 3 1 John iii. 21.

V.] RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS. 73

it were easy to answer. The very profession of the
Gospel would almost bring evidence of true faith,
as far as we could have evidence; for such profes-
sion among Pagans is almost sure to involve per-
secution. Hence it is that the Epistles are so full
of expressions of joy in the Lord Jesus, and in the
exulting hope of salvation. Well might they be
confident who had suffered for Christ. " Tribula-
tion worketh patience, and patience experience,
and experience hope1." "Henceforth let no man
trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of
the Lord Jesus V " Always bearing about in the
body the dying of the Lord Jesus; that the life also
of Jesus might be made manifest in our body V
" Our hope of you is stedfast, knowing that as ye
are partakers of the suffering, so shall ye be also
of the consolation V These and such like texts,
belong to those only who have witnessed for the
Truth like the early Christians. They are beyond
us.

This is certain ; yet since the nature of Christ-
ian obedience is the same in every age, it still
brings with it as it did then, an evidence of God's
favour. We cannot indeed make ourselves as
sure of our being in the number of God's true
servants as the early Christians were, yet we may
possess our degree of certainty by the same kind

'Rom. v. 3, 4. 2GaL vi. 17.

3 2 Cor. iv. 10. 4 2 Cor. i. 7.

74 SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SERM.

of evidence, the evidence of self-denial. This
was the great evidence which the first disciples
gave, and which we can give still. Reflect upon
our Saviour's plain declarations, " Whosoever
will come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross and follow Me1." "If any
man come to Me, and hate not his father and
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren,
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be My disciple. And whosoever doth not bear
his cross and come after Me, he cannot be My
disciple V "If thy hand offend thee, cut it off,
.... if thy foot offend thee, cut it off .... if thine
eye offend thee, pluck it out, .... it is better for
thee to enter into life maimed . . . halt . . . with
one eye, than to be cast into hell V

Now without attempting to explain perfectly
such passages as these, which doubtless cannot
be understood without a fulness of grace which is
possessed by very few men, yet at least we learn
thus much from them, that a rigorous self-denial
is a chief duty, nay, that it may be considered
the test whether we are Christ's disciples, whe-
ther we are living in a mere dream, which we
mistake for Christian faith and obedience, or are
really and truly awake, alive, living in the day,
on our road heavenwards. The early Christians
went through self-denials in their very profession

* Mark viii. 34. 2 Luke xiv. 26, 27. 3 Mark ix. 43—47.

V.] RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS. 75

of the Gospel ; what are our self -denials, now that
the profession of the Gospel is not a self-denial ?
In what sense do we fulfil the words of Christ?
have we any distinct notion what is meant by
the words "taking up our cross?" in what way
are we acting, in which we should not act, sup-
posing the Bible and the Church were unknown
to this country, and religion was merely a fashion
of this world ? What are we doing, which we
have reason to trust is done for Christ's sake,
who bought us ?

You know well enough that works are said to
be the fruits and evidence of faith. That faith is
said to be dead which has them not. Now
what works have we to show of such a kind as to
give us " confidence," so that we may "not be
ashamed before Him at His coming ! ?"

In answering this question I observe first of
all, that according to Scripture, the self-denial
which is the test of our faith must be daily. " If
any man will come after Me, let him deny him-
self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me 2."
It is thus St. Luke records our Saviour's words.
Accordingly, it seerns that Christian obedience
does not consist merely in a few occasional efforts,
a few accidental good deeds, or certain seasons
of repentance, prayer, and activity ; a mistake,
which minds of a certain class are very apt to

1 1 John ii. 28. 2 Luke ix. 23.

7G SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SBRM.

fall into. This is the kind of obedience which
constitutes what the world calls a great man, i, e.
a man who has some noble points, arid every now
and then acts heroically so as to astonish and
subdue the minds of beholders, but who in pri-
vate life has no abiding personal religion, who
does not regulate his thoughts, words, and deeds
according to the law of God. Again, the word
daily implies, that the self-denial which is pleas-
ing to Christ consists in little things. This is
plain, for opportunity for great self-denials does
not come every day. Thus to take up the cross
of Christ is no great action done once for all, it
consists in the continual practice of small duties
which are distasteful to us.

If then a person asks how he is to know whe-
ther he is dreaming on in the world's slumber, or
is really awake and alive unto God, let him first
fix his mind upon some one or other of his beset-
ting infirmities. Every one who is at all in the
habit of examining himself, must be conscious of
such within him. Many men have more than
one, all of us have some one or other ; and in
resisting and overcoming such, self-denial has its
first employment. One man is indolent and fond
of amusement, another man is passionate or ill-
tempered, another is vain, another has little con-
troul over his tongue ; others are weak, and can-
not resist the ridicule of thoughtless companions ;
others are tormented with bad passions, of which

V.J RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS. 77

they are ashamed, yet are overcome. Now let
everyone consider what his weak point is; in that
is his trial. His trial is not in those things which
are easy to him, but in that one thing, in those
several things, whatever they are, in which to do
his duty is against his nature. Never think your-
self safe because you do your duty in ninety-nine
points ; it is the hundredth which is to be the
ground of your self-denial, which must evidence,
or rather instance and realize your faith. It is
in reference to this you must watch and pray ;
pray continually for God's grace to help you, and
watch with fear and trembling lest you fall.
Other men may not know what these weak points
of your character are, they may mistake them.
But you may know them ; you may know them
by their guesses and hints, and your own obser-
vation, and the light of the Spirit of God. And
oh that you may have strength to wrestle with
them and overcome them ! Oh, that you may
have the wisdom to care little for the world's re-
ligion, or the praise you get from the world, and
your agreement with what clever men, or power-
ful men, or many men make the standard of
religion, compared with the secret consciousness
that you are obeying God in little things as well
as great, in the hundredth duty as well as in
the ninety-nine ! Oh that you may (as it were)
sweep the house diligently to discover what you
lack of the full measure of obedience ! for be

78 SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SERM.

quite sure, that this apparently small defect will
influence your whole spirit and judgment in all
things. Be quite sure that your judgment of
persons, and of events, and of actions, and of
doctrines, and your spirit towards God and man,
your faith in the high truths of the Gospel, and
your knowledge of your duty, all depend in a
strange way on this strict endeavour to observe
the whole law, on this self-denial in those little
things in which obedience is a self-denial. Be
not content with a warmth of faith carrying you
even over many obstacles in your obedience,
forcing you past the fear of men, and the usages
of society, and the persuasions of interest ; exult
not in your experience of God's past mercies,
and your assurance of what He has already done
for your soul, if you are conscious you have neg-
lected the one thing needful, the " one thing"
which " thou lackest," — daily self-denial.

But, besides this, there are other modes of
self-denial to try your faith and sincerity, which
it may be right just to mention. It may so
happen that the sin you are most liable to, is not
called forth every day. E. g. anger and passion
are irresistible perhaps when they come upon
you, but it is only at times that you are pro-
voked, and then you are off your guard ; so that
the occasion is over and you have fallen, before you
were aware of its coming. It is right then to find
out for yourself daily self-denials ; and this, be-

1

V.] RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS. 79

cause our Lord bids you take up your cross daily,
and because it proves your earnestness, and be-
cause by doing so you strengthen your general
power of self-mastery, and come to have such an
habitual command of yourself, as will be a defence
ready prepared when the season of temptation
comes. Rise up then in the morning with the pur-
pose that (please God) the day shall not pass with-
out its self-denial, with a self-denial in innocent
pleasures and tastes, if none occurs to mortify sin.
Let your very rising from your bed be a self-
denial ; let your meals be self-denials. Deter-
mine to yield to others in things indifferent, to
go out of your way in small matters, to inconve-
nience yourself, (so that no direct duty suffers by
it,) rather than you should not meet with your
daily discipline. This was the Psalmist's method,
who was, as it were, ''punished all daylong, and
chastened every morning1." It was St. Paul's
method, who " kept under," or bruised "his body,
and brought it into subjection2." This is one
great end of fasting. A man says to himself,
"How am I to know I am in earnest?" I would
suggest to him, Make some sacrifice, do some
painful thing, which you are not actually obliged
to do, (so that it be lawful,) to bring home to your
mind that in fact you do love your Saviour, that
you do hate sin, that you do hate your sinful

1 Psal. Ixxiii. 14. 2 1 Cor. ix. 27.

80 SELF-DENIAL THE TEST OF [SERM.

nature, that you have put aside the present world.
Thus you will have an evidence (to a certain
point) that you are not using mere words. It is
easy to make professions, easy to say fine things
in speech or in writing, easy to astonish men
with truths which they do not know, and senti-
ments which rise about human nature. " But
thou, O servant of God, flee these things, and
follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
patience, meekness." Let not your words run
on ; force every one of them into action as it
goes, and thus, cleansing yourself from all pol-
lution of the flesh and spirit, perfect holiness
in the fear of God. In dreams we sometimes
move our arms to see if we are awake or not, and
so we are awakened. This is the way to keep
your heart awake also. Try yourself daily in
little deeds, to prove that your faith is more than
a deceit.

I am aware all this is a hard doctrine ; hard to
those even who assent to it, and can describe it most
accurately. There are such imperfections, such
inconsistencies in the heart and life of even the
better sort of men, that continual repentance
must ever go hand in hand with our endeavour
to obey. Much we need the grace of Christ's
blood to wash us from the guilt we daily incur ;
much need we the aid of His Holy Spirit ! And
surely He will grant all the riches of His mercy
to His true servants ; but as surely He will vouch-

V.] RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS. 81

safe to none of us the power to believe in Him,
and the blessedness of being one with Him, who
are not as earnest in obeying Him as if salva-
tion depended on themselves.

SERMON VL

THE SPIRITUAL MIND.

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

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

SRRM. VI.] THE SPIRITUAL MIND. 83

1, Now first, if we would form a just notion
how far we are influenced by the power of the
Gospel, we must evidently put aside every thing
which we do merely in imitation of others, and
not from religious principle. Not that we can
actually separate our good words and works into
two classes, and say, what is done from faith, and
what is done only by accident, and in a random-
way ; but, without being able to draw the line, it
is quite evident that so very much of our appa-
rent obedience to God arises from mere obedience
to the world and its fashions, or rather, that it is
so difficult to say what is done in the spirit of
faith, as to lead us, on reflection, to be very much
dissatisfied with ourselves, and quite out of con-
ceit with our past lives. Let a person merely
reflect on the number and variety of bad or fool-
ish thoughts which he suffers and dwells on in
private, which he would be ashamed to put into
words, and he will at once see, how very poor a
test his outward demeanour in life is of his real
holiness in the sight of God. Or again, let him
consider the number of times he has attended
public worship as a matter of course, because
others do, and without seriousness of mind ; or
the number of times he has found himself un-
equal to temptations when they came, which be-
forehand he and others made light of in con-
versation, blaming those perhaps who had been
overcome by them, and he must own, that his

G 2

84 THE SPIRITUAL MIND. [SERM.

outward conduct shapes itself unconsciously to
the manners of those with whom he lives, being
acted upon by external impulses, apart from any
right influence proceeding from the heart. Now,
when I say this, am I condemning all that we
do, without thinking expressly of the duty of obe-
dience at the very time we are doing it ? Far
from it ; a religious man, in proportion as obe-
dience becomes more and more easy to him, will
doubtless do his duty unconsciously. It will be
natural to him to obey, and therefore he will do
it naturally, i. e. without effort or deliberation.
It is difficult things which we are obliged to think
about, before doing them. When we have mas-
tered our hearts in any matter, (it is true) we no
more think of the duty while we obey, than we
think how to walk when we walk, or by what
rules to exercise any art which we have thoroughly
acquired. Separate acts of faith aid us on while
we are unstable. As we get strength, but one
extended act of faith, (so to call it,) influences
us all through the day, and our whole day is but
one act of obedience also. There then is no
minute distribution of our faith among our par-
ticular deeds. Our will runs parallel to God's
will. This is the very privilege of confirmed
Christians ; and it is comparatively but a sordid
way of serving God, to be thinking when we do a
deed, " if I do not do this, I shall risk my salva-
tion ; or, if I do it, I have a chance of being

VI.] THE SPIRITUAL MIND. 85

saved ;" — comparatively a grovelling way, for it is
the best, the only way for sinners such as we are,
to begin to serve God. Still as we grow in grace,
we throw away childish things ; then we are
able to stand upright like grown men, without
the props and aids which our infancy required.
This is the noble manner of serving God, to do
good without thinking about it, without any cal-
culation or reasoning, from love of the good, and
hatred of the evil ; — though cautiously arid with
prayer and watching, yet so generously, that if
we were suddenly asked why we so act, we could
only reply " because it is our way," or " because
Christ so acted ;" so spontaneously as not to know
so much that we are doing right, as that we are
not doing wrong ; I mean, with more of instinctive
fear of sinning, than of minute and careful ap-
preciation of the degrees of our obedience. Hence
it is that the best men are ever the most humble ;
as for other reasons, so especially because they
are accustomed to be religious. They surprise
others , but not themselves ; they surprise others
at their very calmness and freedom from thought
about themselves. This is to have a great mind>
to have within us that princely heart of innocence
of which David speaks. Common men see God
at a distance ; in their attempts to be religious,
they feebly guide themselves as by a distant
light, and are obliged to calculate and search
about for the path. But the long practised

86 THE SPIRITUAL MIND. [SERM.

Christian, who, through God's mercy, has brought
God's presence near to him, the elect of God, in
whom the Blessed Spirit dwells, he does not look
out of doors for the traces of God ; he is moved
by God dwelling in him, and needs not but act
on instinct. I do not say there is any man alto-
gether such, for this is an angelic life ; but it is
the state of mind to which vigorous prayer and
watching tend.

How different is this high obedience from that
random unawares way of doing right, which so
many men consider to be religious obedience !
The excellent obedience I have been describing
is obedience on habit. Now the obedience I con-
demn as untrue, may be called obedience on
custom. The one is of the heart, the other of
the lips ; the one is in power, the other in word ;
the one cannot be acquired without much and
constant vigilance, generally not without much
pain and trouble ; the other is the result of a
mere passive imitation of those whom we fall in
with. Why need I describe what every man's
experience bears witness to ? Why do children
learn their mother tongue, and not a foreign
language ? Do they think about it ? Are they
better or worse for acquiring one language and
not another? Their character, of course, is just
what it would have been otherwise. How then
are we better or worse, if we have but in the same
passive way admitted into our minds certain reli-

VI.] THE SPIRITUAL MIND. 87

gious opinions ; and have but accustomed our-
selves to the words and actions of the world around
us ? Supposing we had never heard of the
Gospel, should we not do just what we do, even
in a heathen country, were the manners of the
place, from one cause or other, as decent and
outwardly religious ? This is the question we
have to ask ourselves. And if we are con*
scions to ourselves that we are not greatly con-
cerned about the question itself, and have no
fears worth mentioning, of being in the wrong,
and no anxiety to find what is right, is it not
evident that we are living to the world, not to
God, and that whatever virtue we may actually
have, still the Gospel of Christ has come to us
not in power, but in word only ?

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

2. I will go on to affirm that we may have re-
ceived it in a higher sense than in word merely,
and yet in no real sense in power; in other words,
that we may have some sort of religion, and yet
hardly deserve the title of Christians. This may be
at first a startling assertion. It may seem to some
of us as if there were no difference between being
religious and being Christian ; and that to insist
on a difference is to perplex people. But listen
to me. Do you not think it possible for men to

88 THE SPIRITUAL MIND. [SERM.

do their duty, i. e. be religious, in a heathen
country? Doubtless it is. St. Peter says, that
in every nation he that feareth God and worketh
righteousness is accepted with Him l. Now are
such persons, therefore, Christians ? Certainly not.
It would seem, then, it is possible to fear God and
work righteousness, yet without being Christians ;
for, (if we would know the truth of it,) to be a
Christian is to do this, and to do much more than
this. Here, then, is a fresh subject for self-
examination. Is it not the way of men to dwell
with satisfaction on their good deeds, particu-
larly, when, for some reason or other, their con-
science smites them ? Or when they are led to the
consideration of death, then they begin to turn in
their minds how they shall acquit themselves be-
fore the judgment-seat. And then it is they feel
a relief in being able to detect in their past lives
any deeds which may be regarded in any sense
religious. You may hear some persons comforting
themselves that they never harmed any one ; and
that they have not given into an openly profligate
and riotous life. Others are able to say more ;
they can speak of their honesty, their industry,
or their general conscientiousness. We will say
they have taken good care of their families ; they
have never defrauded or deceived any one ; and
they have a good name in the world ; nay, they

1 Acts x. 35.

VI.] THE SPIRITUAL MIND. 89

have in one sense lived in the fear of God. I will
grant them this and more ; yet possibly they are
not altogether Christians. I will grant that these
virtuous and religious deeds are really fruits of
faith, not external merely, done without thought,
but proceeding from the heart. I will grant they
are really praiseworthy, and, when a man knows
no more, really acceptable to God ; yet they de-
termine nothing about his having received the
Gospel of Christ in power. Why ? for the simple
reason that they are not enough. A Christian's
faith and obedience is built on all this, but is only
built on it. It is not the same as it. To be
Christians, surely it is not enough to be that which
we are enjoined to be, and must be, even without
Christ; not enough to be no better than good
heathens ; not enough to be in some slight mea-
sure just, honest, and temperate. We must be
just, honest, and temperate before we can have
Christian virtue, and to be practised in such vir-
tues is the way, the ordinary way, in which we
receive the kingdom of God ; and, doubtless, any
man who despises those who try to practise them,
(I mean those conscientious servants of God,
who have not yet clearly seen and welcomed the
Gospel system,) and slightingly calls them " mere
moral men" in disparagement, such a man knows
not what spirit he is of, and had best take heed
how he speaks against the workings of the
inscrutable Spirit of God. I am not wishing to

90 THE SPIRITUAL MIND. [SERM.

frighten these men, but to lead them on ; to make
them bear in mind that they have a great work
before them, and must not be contented with
themselves, or stand still and relax their efforts ;
but must go on unto perfection ; that till they
are much more than they are at present, the
Gospel has not come to them in its full power ;
they are not spiritual men ; and that they must be
much more than they are at present, if they would
be saved ; for of whom much is given, of him is
much required.

What is it, then, that they lack ? I will read
several passages of Scripture which will make it
plain. St. Paul says, " If any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature : old things are passed away ;
behold all things are become new." Again :
" The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
gave Himself for me." " The Jove of Christ con-
straineth us." "Put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-
suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another, if any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye ;
and above all these things, put on charity, which
is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of
God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are
called in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom."

1

VI.] THE SPIRITUAL MIND. 91

" God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into
your hearts." Lastly, our Saviour's own memo-
rable words, " If any man will come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily
and follow Me V Now it is plain, that this is a
very different mode of obedience from any which
natural reason and conscience tell us of; — diffe-
rent not in its nature, but in its excellence and
peculiarity. It is much more than honesty, jus-
tice, and temperance; and this is to be a Christian.
Observe in what respect it is different from that
lower degree of religion which -we must possess
without knowing the Gospel. First of all, in its
faith ; which is placed, not simply in God, but in
God as manifested in Christ, according to His
own words, " Ye believe in God, believe also in
Me2." Next, we must adore Christ as our Lord
and Master, and love Him as our most gracious
Redeemer. We must have a deep sense of our
guilt, and of the difficulty of securing heaven ;
we must live as in His presence daily, thinking of
His holy commandments, imitating His sinless
pattern, and depending on the gracious aids of
His Spirit ; that we may really and truly be
servants of Father, Soft, and Holy Ghost, in
whose name we were baptized. Further we must,
for His sake, aim at a noble and unusual strict-
ness of life, perfecting holiness in His fear, de-

1 2 Cor. v. 14. 17. Gal. ii. 20. Col. iii. 12—16. Gal. iv. 6.
Luke ix. 23. 2 John xiv. 1.

92 THE SPIRITUAL MIND. [SERM.

stroying our sins, mastering our whole soul, and
bringing it into captivity to His law, denying
ourselves lawful things, in order to do Him
service, exercising a profound humility and an
unbounded never- failing Icve, giving away much
of our substance in religious and charitable works,
and discountenancing and shunning irreligious
men. This is to be a Christian ; — a gift easily
described, and in a few words, but attainable only
with fear and much trembling ; not even in a
measure secured till after many years, and never
in this life fully realized. But be sure of this,
that every one of us, who has had the opportu-
nity, and yet does not in some good measure pos-
sess it, every one who, when death comes, has
not gained that gift which it requires a course of
years to gain, and which he might have gained, is
in a peril so great and fearful, that I do not like
to speak about it. As to the notion of a partial
and ordinary fulfilment of the duties of honesty,
industry, sobriety, and kindness, " availing l "
him, it has no Scriptural encouragement. We
must stand or fall by another and higher rule.
We must have become what St. Paul calls " new
creatures2 ;" i. e. we must have lived and wor-
shipped God as the redeemed of Jesus Christ, in
all faith and humbleness of mind, in reverence for
His word and ordinances, in resignation, in mer-
cifulness, gentleness, purity, patience, and love.
' GaL vi. 15. 2 Ibid.

VI.] THE SPIRITUAL MIND. 93

Now, considering the obligation of obedience
\vhich lies upon us Christians, in these two
respects, first, as contrasted with a mere outward
and nominal profession, and next contrasted with
that more ordinary obedience which is required of
those even who have not the Gospel, how evident
is it, that we are far from the kingdom of God !
Let each in his own conscience apply this to him-
self. I will grant he has some real Christian
principle in his heart ; but I wish him to observe
how little that is likely to be. Here is a thought,
not to keep us from rejoicing in the Lord Christ,
but to make us "rejoice with trembling1;" to
wait diligently on God ; to pray Him earnestly
to teach us more of our duty, and to impress the
love of it on our hearts ; to enable us to obey both
in that free spirit which can act right without
reasoning and calculation, and yet with the cau-
tion of those who know their salvation depends
on obedience in little things ; from love of the
truth as manifested in Him who is the Living
Truth come upon earth, " the Way, the Truth,
and the Life2."

With others we have no concern ; we do not
know what their opportunities are. There may
be thousands in this populous land who never had
the means of hearing Christ's voice fully, and in
whom the virtues of a heathen will hereafter be

1 Ps. ii. 11. 2 John xiv. 6.

94 THE SPIRITUAL MIND. [SBRM. VI.

accepted as the fruit of faith. Nor can we know
the hearts of any men ; and cannot tell what is
the degree in which they have improved their
talents. It is enough to keep to ourselves. We
dwell in the full light of the Gospel, and the full
grace of the Sacraments. We ought to have the
holiness of Apostles. There is no reason except
our own sinful will, that we are not by this time
walking in the steps of St. Paul or St. John, and
following them as they followed Christ. What a
thought is this ! Do you cast it from you, my
brethren, but take it to our homes, and may God
give you grace to profit by it !

SERMON VII.

SINS OF IGNORANCE AND WEAKNESS.

HEBREWS x. 22.

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

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

96 SINS OF IGNORANCE [SBRM.

not by one act of faith establish ourselves for ever
after in the favour of God. It is going beyond
His will to be impatient for a final acquittal,
when we are bid ask only for our daily bread.
We are still so far in the condition of the Israel-
ites ; and though we do not offer sacrifice or ob-
serve the literal washings of the Law, yet we still
require the periodical renewal of those blessings
which were formerly conveyed in their degree by
the Mosaic rites ; and though we gain far more
excellent gifts from God than the Jews did, and
by a more spiritual means, (the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, and our own inward prayer,) yet
means we still need, and continual means, to
keep us in the justification in which baptism
first placed us. Of this the text reminds us. It
is addressed to Christians, to the regenerate ; arid
yet so far from their regeneration having cleansed
them once for all, they are bid ever to sprinkle
the blood of Christ upon their consciences, and
so continually appear before the presence of Al-
mighty God.

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

1. First consider our present condition as
shown us in Scripture. Christ has not changed
this though He has died ; it is as it was from the
beginning, — I mean our actual state as men. We
have Adam's nature in the same sense as if re-

VII.] AND WEAKNESS. 97

demption had not come to the world. It has
come to all the world, but the world is not
changed thereby as a whole, — that change is not
a work done and over in Christ. We are
changed one by one ; the race of man is what it ever
was, guilty; — what it was before Christ came;
with the same evil passions, the same slavish will.
The history of redemption, if it is to be effectual,
must begin from the beginning with every indi-
vidual of us and be carried on through our own
life. It is not a work done ages before we were
born. We cannot profit by the work of a Sa-
viour, though He be the Blessed Son of God, so
as to be saved thereby without our own working ;
for we are moral agents, we have a will of our
own, and Christ must be formed in us, and turn us
from darkness to light, if God's gracious purpose,
fulfilled upon the cross, is to be in our case more
than a name, an abused wasted privilege. Thus
the world, viewed as in God's sight, can never
become wiser or more enlightened than it has
been. We cannot mount upon the labours of our
forefathers. We have the same nature that man
ever had, and we must begin from the point man
ever began from, and work out our salvation in
the same slow persevering manner.

(1.) When this is borne in mind, how important
the Jewish Law becomes to us Christians ! impor-
tant in itself, over and above all references con-

H

98 SINS OF IGNORANCE [SERM.

tained in it to that Gospel which it introduced.
To this day it fulfils its original purpose of im-
pressing upon man his great guilt and feebleness.
Those legal sacrifices and purifications which are
now all done away, are still evidence to us of a
fact which the Gospel has not annulled, — our cor-
ruption. Let no one lightly pass over the Book
of Leviticus, and say it only contains the ceremo-
nial of a national law. Let no one study it
merely with a critic's eye, satisfied with connect-
ing it in a nicely arranged system with the
Gospel, as though it contained prophecy only.
No ; it speaks to us. Are we better than the
Jews ? is our nature less unbelieving, sensual, or
proud than theirs ? Surely man is at all times the
same being, as even the philosophers tell us.
And if so, that minute ceremonial of the Law pre-
sents us with a picture of our daily life. It im-
pressively testifies to our continual sinning, by
suggesting that an expiation is needful in all the
most trivial circumstances of our conduct ; and
that it is at our peril if we go on carelessly and
thoughtlessly trusting to our having been once
accepted, — whether in baptism, — or (as we think)
at a certain season of repentance, — or (as we may
fancy) at the very time of the death of Christ, (as
if then the whole race of man were really and at
once pardoned and exalted,) — or (worse still,) if
we profanely doubt that man has ever fallen

VII.] AND WEAKNESS. 99

under a curse, and trust idly in the mercy of God
without a feeling of the true misery and infinite
danger of sin.

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

Or consider the sacrifices necessary according
to the Law for sins of ignorance2 ; or again, for the
mere touching anything which the Law pronounced
unclean, or for bodily disease,3 and hence learn
how sinful our ordinary thoughts and deeds must
be, represented to us as they are, by these outward
ceremonial transgressions. Not even their thanks-

1 Vide Scott's Essays, p. 166.

2 Levit. iv. 3 Levit. v. 2. 6. xiv. 1 — 32.

H2

100 SINS OF IGNORANCE [SERM.

giving might the Israelites offer without an offer-
ing of blood to cleanse it ; for our corruption is
not merely in this act or that, but in our nature.

(2.) Next, to pass from the Jewish law, you will
observe that God tells us expressly in the history
of the fall of Adam, what the legal ceremonies
implied; that it is our very nature which is
sinful. Herein is the importance of the doctrine
of original sin. It is very humbling, and as such
the only true introduction to the preaching of
the Gospel. Men can without trouble be brought
to confess that they sin, i. e. that they commit
sins. They know well enough they are not per-
fect ; nay, that they do nothing in the best
manner. But they do not like to be told, that
the race from which they proceed, is degenerate.
Even the indolent have pride here. They think
they can do their duty if they would ; they like
to believe, (though strangely indeed, for they
condemn themselves while they believe it,) they
like to believe that they do not want assistance.
A man must be far gone in degradation, and has
lost even that false independence of mind which
is often a substitute for real religion in leading to
exertion, who, while living in sin, steadily and
contentedly holds the opinion that he is born for
sin. And much more do the industrious and
active dislike to have it forced upon their minds,
that, do what they will, they have the taint of
corruption about all their doings and imaginings.

VII.] AND WEAKNESS. 101

We know how ashamed men are of being low
born, or discreditably connected. This is the
sort of shame forced upon every son of Adam.
" Thy first father hath sinned ;" this is the
legend on our forehead which even the sign of
the Cross does no more than blot out, leaving the
mark of it. This is our shame ; but I notice it
here, not so much as a humbling thought, as
(believing you to be already humbled,) with a
view of pressing upon your consciences the neces-
sity of appearing before God at stated seasons,
in order to put aside the continually renewed
guilt of your nature. Who will dare go on day
after day in neglect of earnest prayer, and the
Holy Sacrament of the Atonement, while each day
brings its own fearful burden, coming spontane-
ously (so to say), springing from our very nature,
but not got rid of without deliberate and direct
acts of faith in the Great Sacrifice which has been
set forth for its removal ?

(3.) Further, look into your own souls, my bre-
thren, and see if you cannot discern some part of
the truth of the Scripture statement, which I have
been trying to set before you. Recollect the bad
thoughts of various kinds which come into your
minds like darts ; for these will be some evidence
to you of the pollution and odiousness of your
nature. True, they proceed from your adversary
the Devil ; and the very circumstance of your ex-
periencing them is in itself no proof of your being

102 SINS OF IGNORANCE

sinful, for even the Son of God, your Saviour,
suffered from the temptation of them. But you
will scarcely deny that they are received by you
so freely and heartily, as to show that Satan
tempts you through your nature, not against it.
Again, let them be ever so external in their first
coming, do you not make them your own ? Do
you not detain them ? or do you impatiently and
indignantly shake them off? Even if you reject
them, still do they not answer Satan's purpose in
inflaming your mind at the instant, and so evi-
dence that the matter of which it is composed
is corruptible? Do you not, e. g. dwell on the
thought of wealth and splendour till you covet
these temporal blessings ? or do you not suffer
yourselves, though for a while, to be envious, or
discontented, or angry, or vain, or impure, or
proud ? Ah ! who can estimate the pollution
hence, of one single day ; the pollution of touch-
ing merely that dead body of sin, which we put
off indeed at our baptism, but which is tied about
us while we live here, and is the means of our
Enemy's assaults upon us ! The taint of death is
upon us, and surely we shall be stifled by the
encompassing plague, unless God from day to
day vouchsafes to make us clean.

2. Again, reflect on the habits of sin which we
superadded to our evil nature before we turned to
God. Here is another source of continual defile-
ment. Instead of checking the bad principles

VII.] AND WEAKNESS. 103

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

104 SINS OF IGNORANCE [SKRM.

3. Further, consider how many sins are involved
in our obedience, I may say, from the mere
necessity of the case ; i.e. from not having that
more vigorous and clear-sighted faith which would
enable us accurately to discern and closely to
follow the way of life. The case of the Jews will
exemplify what I mean. There were points of
God's perfect Law which were not urged upon
their acceptance, because it was foreseen that
they would not be able to receive them as they
really should be received, or to bring them home
practically to their minds, and obey them simply
and truly. We, Christians, with the same evil
hearts as the Jews had, and most of us as un-
formed in holy practice, have, nevertheless, a
perfect Law. We are bound to take and use all
the precepts of the New Testament, though it
stands to reason that many of them are, in matter
of fact, quite above the comprehension of most of
us. I am speaking of the matter of fact, and will
not go aside to ask why or under what circum-
stances God has been pleased to change His mode
of dealing with man. But so it is ; the Minister
of Christ has to teach His sinful people a perfect
obedience, and does not know how to set about it,
or how to insist on any precept, so as to secure it
from being misunderstood and misapplied. He
sees men are acting upon low motives and views,
and finds it impossible to raise their minds all at
once, however clear his statements of the truth.

VII.] AND WEAKNESS. 105

He feels that their good deeds might be done in a
much better manner. There are numberless
small circumstances about their mode of doing
things which offend him, as implying poverty of
faith, superstition, and contracted carnal notions.
He is obliged to leave them to themselves with
the hope that they may improve generally, and
outgrow their present feebleness ; and is often
perplexed whether to praise or blame them. So is
it with all of us, Ministers as well as people ; it is so
with the most advanced of Christians while in the
body, and God sees it. What a source of conti-
nual defilement is here ; not an omission merely
of what might be added to our obedience, but a
cause of positive offence in the eyes of Eternal
Purity ! Who is not displeased when a man at-
tempts some great work which is above his
powers ? and is it an excuse for his miserable
performance that the work is above him ? Now
this is our case ; we are bound to serve God with
a perfect heart ; an exalted work, a work for
which our sins disable us. And when we attempt
it, necessary as is our endeavour, how miserable
must it appear in the eyes of the angels ! how
pitiful our exhibition of ourselves ! and, withal,
how sinful ! since did we love God more from
the heart, and had we served Him from our youth
up, it would not have been with us as it is. Thus
our very calling, as creatures, and again as elect
children of God, and freemen in the Gospel, is

106 SINS OF IGNORANCE [SEEM.

by our sinfulness made our shame ; for it puts
us upon duties, and again upon the use of privi-
leges which are above us. We attempt great
things with the certainty of failing, and yet the
necessity of attempting ; and so, while we at-
tempt, need continual forgiveness for the failure
of the attempt. We stand before God, as the
Israelites at the passover of Hezekiah, who de-
sired to serve God according to the Law, but
could not do so accurately from lack of know-
ledge ; and we can but offer, through our Great
High Priest, our sincerity and earnestness instead
of exact obedience, as Hezekiah did for them.
" The good Lord pardon every one, that prepareth
his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers,
though he be not cleansed according to the purifi-
cation of the sanctuary1 ;" not performing, i. e. the
full duties of his calling.

And if such be the deficiencies, even of the
established Christian, in his ordinary state, how
great must be those of the penitent, who has but
lately begun the service of God ! or of the young
who are still within the influence of some un-
bridled imagination, or some domineering passion,
or of the heavily depressed spirit, whom Satan
binds with the bonds of bodily ailment, or tosses
to and fro in the tumult of doubt and indecision !
Alas, how is their conscience defiled with the

1 2 Chron. xxx. 18, 19.

VII.] AND WEAKNESS. 107

thoughts, nay the words of every hour ! and how
inexpressibly needful for them to relieve them-
selves of the evil that weighs upon their heart by
drawing near to God in full assurance of faith,
and washing away their guilt in the Expiation
which He has appointed !

What I have said is a call upon you, my bre-
thren, in the first place, to daily private prayer.
Next it is a call upon you to join the public
services of the Church, not only once a week, but
on Fast days and Festivals ; that is, whenever
you have the opportunity ; knowing well that
your Redeemer is especially present where two or
three are gathered together. And, further, it is
an especial call upon you to attend upon the cele-
bration of the Lord's Supper, in which blessed
ordinance we really and truly gain the pardon
and spiritual life which is the object of our daily
prayers. The Body and Blood of Christ , give
power and efficacy to our daily faith and repent-
ance. Take this view of the Lord's Supper ; as
the appointed means of obtaining the great bless-
ings you need. The daily prayers of the Christian
do but spring from, and are referred back to, his
attendance on it. Christ died once, long since ;
by communicating in His Sacrament, you renew
the Lord's death ; you bring into the midst of
you that Sacrifice which took away the sins of
the world ; you appropriate the benefit of it, while
you eat it under the elements of bread and wine.

108 SINS OF IGNORANCE [SERM.

These outward signs are literally the means of an
hidden grace. You do not expect to sustain your
animal life without food ; be but as rational in
spiritual concerns as you are in temporal. Look
upon the consecrated elements as necessary to
your continual acceptance ; approach them as the
salvation of your souls. Why is it more strange
that God should have appointed means for the
health of the soul, than that He makes means
necessary for bodily life, as He certainly has
done ? It is unbelief to think it matters not to
your pardon, whether you communicate or not.
And it is worse than unbelief, it is utter insensi-
bility and obduracy, not to own your need of par-
don. Rather thank God, that, whereas you are
sinners, instead of His leaving the mere general
promise of acceptance through His Son, which is
addressed to all men, He has allowed you to take
that promise to yourselves one by one, and thus
gives you a humble hope that He has chosen you
out of the world unto salvation.

Lastly, I have all along spoken as addressing
true Christians, who are walking in the narrow
way, and have hope of heaven. But these are
the " few." Are there none here present of the
"many" who walk in the broad way, and have
upon their heads all their sins, from their baptism
upwards ? Rather is it not probable that there
are persons in this congregation, who, though
mixed with the people of God, are really unfor-

VII.] AND WEAKNESS. 109

given, and if they now died, would die in their
sins ? First, let those who neglect the Holy Com-
munion, ask themselves whether this is not their
condition ; let them reflect whether among the
signs by which it is given us to ascertain our
state, there can be, to a man's own conscience, a
more fearful one than to know he is omitting
what is appointed as the ordinary means of his
salvation. This is a plain test, about which no
one can deceive himself. But next, let him have
recourse to a more accurate search into his con-
science ; and ask himself whether (in the words
of the text) he " draws near to God with a true
heart," i. e. whether, in spite of his prayers and
religious services, there be not some secret, unre-
sisted lusts within him, which make his devotion
a mockery in the sight of God, and leave him in
his sins ; whether he is not thoughtless, and reli-
gious only as far as his friends make him seem
so, — or light-minded and shallow in his religion,
being ignorant of the depths of his guilt, and
resting presumptuously in his own innocence (as
he thinks it), and God's mercy ; — whether he is
not set upon gain, obeying God only so far as
His service does not interfere with the service of
mammon ; — whether he be not harsh, evil-tem-
pered,— unforgiving, unpitiful, or high-minded,—
self-confident, and secure ; — or whether he be not
fond of the fashions of this world, which pass
away, desirous of the friendship of the great, arid

110 SINS OF IGNORANCE, &c. [SERM. VII.

of initiation into the refinements of polished
society ; — or whether he be not given up to some
engrossing pursuit, which indisposes him to the
thought of his God and Saviour.

Any one deliberate habit of sin incapacitates a
man for receiving pardon. All such states of
mind as these are fearful symptoms of the exist-
ence of some such wilful sin in our hearts ; and
in proportion as we trace these symptoms in our
conduct, so must we dread, lest we be repro-
bates.

Let us, then, approach God all of us, confessing
that we do not know ourselves ; that we are
more guilty than we can possibly understand,
and can but guess whether we have true faith or
not. Let us beg Him to enlighten us, and com-
fort us ; to forgive us all our sins, teaching us
those we do not see, and enabling us to overcome
them.

SERMON VIII.

GOD'S COMMANDMENTS NOT GRIEVOUS.

1 JOHN v. 3.

" This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments ;
and His commandments are not grievous."

IT must ever be borne in mind that it is a very
great and arduous thing to attain to heaven.
" Many are called, few are chosen." " Strait
is the gate, and narrow is the way." " Many
will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
" If any man come to Me, and hate not his
father and mother, and wife and children, and
brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also,
he cannot be My disciple." On the other hand,
it is evident to any one, who reads the New
Testament with attention, that Christ and His
Apostles speak of a religious life as something
easy, pleasant, and comfortable. ThusT in the
words I have taken for my text : — " This is the
love of God, that we keep His commandments ;
and His commandments are not grievous." In

like manner our Saviour says, " Come unto Me

1

112 GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SERM.

.... and I will give you rest .... My yoke is
easy and My burden is light V Solomon also,
in the Old Testament, speaks in the same way of
true wisdom : — " Her ways are ways of pleasant-
ness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree
of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy
is every one that retaineth her . . . When thou
liest down, thou shalt not be afraid ; yea, thou
shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet2."
Again, we read in the prophet Micah : "What
doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
God 3 ?" as if it were a little and an easy thing so
to do.

Now I will attempt to show how it is that these
apparently opposite declarations of Christ and
His Prophets and Apostles are fulfilled to us.
For it may be objected by inconsiderate persons
that we are (if I may so express it) hardly treated ;
being invited to come to Christ and receive His
light yoke, promised an easy and happy life, the
joy of a good conscience, the assurance of pardon,
and the hope of heaven ; and then, on the other
hand, when we actually come, as it were, rudely
repulsed, frightened, reduced to despair by severe
requisitions, and evil forebodings. Such is the
objection, — not which any Christian would bring
forward ; for we, my brethren, know too much
of the love of our Master, and only Saviour in

1 Matt. xi. 28—30. 2 Prov. iii. 17—24. 3 Micah vi. 8.

VIII.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 113

dying for us, seriously to entertain for an instant
any such complaint. We have, at least, faith
enough for this, (and it does not require a great
deal,) viz. to believe that the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, is not "yea and nay, but in Him is yea.
For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and
in Him amen, unto the glory of God by us1."
It is for the very reason that none of us can se-
riously put the objection, that I allow myself to
state it strongly ; to urge it being in a Christian's
judgment absurd, even more than it would be
wicked. But though none of us really feels, as an
objection to the Gospel, this difference of view
under which it is presented to us, or even as a
difficulty, still it may be right, (in order to our
comfort,) that we should see how these two views
of it are reconciled. We must understand how it
is both severe and indulgent in its commands, and
both arduous and easy in its obedience, in order
that we may understand it at all.

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

Now it must be admitted, first of all, as matter
of fact, that they are grievous to the great mass
of Christians. I have no wish to disguise a fact
which we do not need the Bible to inform us of,
but which common experience tells us. Doubt-

1 2 Cor. i 19, 20.
1

114 GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SERM.

less even those common elementary duties, of
which the prophet speaks, " doing justly, loving
inercy, and walking humbly with our God," are
to most men grievous.

Accordingly, men of worldly minds, finding
the true way of life unpleasant to walk in, have
attempted to find out other and easier roads ; and
have been accustomed to argue, that there must
be another way which suits them better than that
which religious men walk in, for the very reason
that Scripture declares that Christ's command-
ments are not grievous. I mean, you will meet
with persons who say, " After all it is not to be
supposed that a strict religious life is so necessary
as is told us in church ; else how should any one
be saved ? nay, and Christ assures us His yoke
is easy. Doubtless we shall fare well enough,
though we are not so earnest in the observance of
our duties as we might be ; though we are not
regular in our attendance at public worship ;
though we do not honour Christ's Ministers and
reverence His Church as much as some men do ;
though we do not labour to know God's will, to
deny ourselves, and to live to His glory, as en-
tirely as the strict letter of Scripture enjoins."
Some men have gone so far as boldly to say,
" God will not condemn a man merely for taking
a little pleasure;" by which they mean leading
an irreligious and profligate life. And many there
are who virtually maintain that we may live to

1

VIII.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 115

the world, so that we do so decently, and yet live
to God ; arguing that this world's blessings are
given us by God, and therefore may lawfully be
used ; — that to use lawfully is to use moderately,
and thankfully ; — that it is wrong to take gloomy
views, and right to be innocently cheerful, and so
on ; which is all very true thus stated, did they
not apply it unfairly, and call that use of the
world moderate, and innocent, which the Apostles
would call being conformed to the world, and
serving mammon instead of God.

And thus before showing you what is meant
by Christ's commandments not being grievous, I
have said what is not meant by it. It is not
meant that Christ dispenses with strict religious
obedience ; the whole language of Scripture is
against such a notion. " Whosoever shall break
one of these least commandments, and shall teach
men so, he shall be called the least in the king-
dom of heaven1." "Whosoever shall keep the
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all2." Whatever is meant by Christ's
yoke being easy, Christ does not encourage sin.
And, again, whatever is meant, still I repeat, as
a matter of fact, most men find it not easy. So
far must not be disputed. Now then let us pro-
ceed, in spite of this admission, to consider how
He fulfils his engagements to us, that His ways
are ways of pleasantness.

1 Matt. v. 19. 2 James ii. 10.

I 2

116 GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SERM.

1. Now, supposing some superior promised
you any gift in a particular way, and you did not
follow his directions, would he have broken his
promise, or you voluntarily excluded yourselves
from the advantage ? Evidently you would have
brought about your own loss ; you might, indeed,
think his offer not worth accepting, burdened (as
it was) with a condition annexed to it, still you
could, in no propriety, say that he failed in his
engagement. NOWT when Scripture promises us
that its commandments shall be easy, it couples
the promise with the injunction that we should
seek God early. il I love them that love Me, and
those that seek Me early shall find Me V Again :
" Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy
youth V These are Solomon's words ; and if
you require our Lord's own authority, attend to
His direction about the children: "Suffer the
little children to come unto Me, and forbid them
not, for of such is the kingdom of God3."
Youth is the time of covenant with us, when He
first gives us His Spirit ; first giving then, that
we may then forthwith begin our return of obe-
dience to Him ; not then giving it, that we may
delay our thank-offering for twenty, thirty, or
fifty years ! Now it is obvious that obedience to
God's commandments is ever easy and almost
without effort to those who begin to serve Him

1 Prov. viii. 17. 2 Eccles. xii. 1. 3 Mark x. 14.

VIII.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 117

from the beginning of their days ; whereas, those
who wait a while, find it grievous in proportion
to their delay.

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

And, while on the one hand his range of duty
is very confined, observe how he is assisted in
performing it. First, he has no bad habits to
hinder the suggestions of his conscience ; indo-
lence, pride, ill temper, do not then act as they
afterwards act, when the mind has accustomed
itself to disobedience, as stubborn, deep-seated
impediments in the way of duty. To obey re-
quires an effort, of course ; but an effort like the
bodily effort of the child's rising from the ground
when he has fallen on it ; not the effort of shaking
off drowsy sleep ; not the effort (far less) of violent

118 GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SERM.

bodily exertion in a time of sickness and long
weakness ; and the first effort made, obedience
on a second trial will be easier than before, till
at length it will be easier to obey than not to
obey. A good habit will be formed where other-
wise a bad habit would have been formed. Thus
the child we are supposing, would begin to have
a character ; no longer influenced by every
temptation to anger, discontent, fear, and obsti-
nacy in the same way as before ; but with some-
thing of firm principle in his heart to repel them
in a defensive way, as a shield repels darts. In
the mean time the circle of his duties would
enlarge ; and, though for a time the issue of his
trial would be doubtful to those who (as the
angels) could see it, yet should he, as a child,
consistently pursue this easy course for a few
years, it may be, his ultimate salvation would be
actually secured, and might be predicted by those
who could see his heart, though he would not
know it himself. Doubtless new trials would
come on him ; bad passions, which he had not
formed a conception of, would assail him ; but a
soul thus born of God, in St. John's words, " sin-
neth not, but he that is begotten of God, keejeth
himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not1."
" His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God 2." And so he would

1 1 John v. 18. a 1 John iii. 9.

VIII.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 119

grow up to man's estate, his duties at length
attaining their full range, and his soul being
completed in all its parts for the due performance
of them. This might be the blessed condition of
every one of us, did we but follow from infancy
what we know to be right ; and in Christ's early
life, (if we may dare to speak of Him in connexion
with ourselves,) it was fulfilled, while He increased
day by day sinlessly in wisdom as in stature, and
in favour with God and man. But my present
object of speaking of this gradual growth of holi-
ness in the soul, is, (not to show what we might
be, had we the heart to obey God,) but to show
how easy obedience would in that case be to us ;
consisting, as it would, in no irksome ceremonies,
no painful bodily discipline, but in the free-will
offerings of the heart, of the heart which had
been, gradually, and by very slight occasional
efforts, trained to love what God and our con-
science approve.

Thus Christ's commandments, viewed as He

njoins them on us, are not grievous. They would
grievous if put upon us all at once ; but they
not heaped on us according to His order of

lispensing them, which goes upon an harmonious
id considerate plan ; by little and little, first
one duty, then another, then both, and so on.
Moreover, they come upon us, while the safeguard
of virtuous principle is forming naturally and
gradually in our minds by our very deeds of

120 GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SEEM.

obedience, arid is following them as their reward.
Now, if men will not take their duties in Christ's
order, but are determined to delay obedience
with the intention of setting about their duty
some day or other, and then making up for past
time, is it wonderful that they find it grievous and
difficult to perform ? that they are overwhelmed
with the arrears (so to say) of their great work,
that they are entangled and stumble amid the
intricacies of the Divine system which has pro-
gressively enlarged upon them ? And is Christ
under obligation to stop that system, to recast
His providence, to take these men out of their due
place in the Church, to save them from the wheels
that are crushing them, and to put them back
again into some simple and more childish state
of trial, where, (though they cannot have less to
unlearn,) they, at least, may for a time have less
to do?

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

VII!.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 121

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

When then men allege their bad nature as an
excuse for their dislike of God's commandments,
if indeed they are heathens let them be heard,
and an answer may be given to them even as

GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SEEM.

such. But with heathens we are not now con-
cerned. These men make their complaint as
Christians, and as Christians they are most un-
reasonable in making it ; God having provided
a remedy for their natural incapacity in the gift
of His Spirit. Hear St. Paul's words, " If through
the offence of one many be dead, much more
the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which
is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto
many .... Where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound ; that as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righte-
ousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our
Lord1."

And there are persons, let it never be forgotten,
who have so followed God's leading providence
from their youth up, that to them His command-
ments not only are not grievous, but never have
been ; and that there are such, is the condemna-
tion of all who are not such. They have been
brought up ' ' in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord2 ;" and they now live in the love and " the
peace of God which passeth all understanding3."
Such are they whom our Saviour speaks of, as
" just persons which need no repentance4." Not
that they will give that account of themselves, for
they are full well conscious in their own hearts

1 Rom. v. 15—21. * Eph. vi. 4.

3 Phil. iv. 7. 4 Luke xv.

VIII.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 123

of sins innumerable, and habitual infirmity. Still
in spite of stumblings and falls in their spiritual
course, they have on the whole persevered. As
children, they served God on the whole ; they
disobeyed, but they recovered their lost ground ;
they sought God and were accepted. Perhaps
their young faith gave way for a time altogether ;
still they contrived with keen repentance, and
strong disgust at sin, and earnest prayers, to
make up for lost time, and keep pace with the
course of God's providence. Thus they have
walked with God, not indeed step by step with
Him ; never before Him, often loitering, stum-
bling, falling to sleep ; yet in turn starting and
" making haste to keep His commandments,"
" running and prolonging not the time," Thus
they proceed, not however of themselves, but as
upheld by His right hand, and guiding their
steps by His Word ; and though they have no-
thing to boast of, and know their own unworthi-
ness, still they are witnesses of Christ to all men,
as showing what man can become, and what all
Christians ought to be; and at the last day, being
found meet for the inheritance of the saints in
light, they " condemn the world" as Noah did, and
become " heirs of the righteousness which is by
faith," according to the saying, " this is the vic-
tory that overcometh the world, even our faith l."

1 I John v. 4.

124 GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SKRM.

And now, to what do the remarks I have been
making, tend but to this ? to humble every one
of us. For, however faithfully we have obeyed
God, and however early we began to do so,
surely we might have begun sooner than we did,
and might have served Him more heartily. We
cannot but be conscious of this. Individuals
among us may be more or less guilty, as the case
may be ; but the best and the worst among us
here assembled, may well unite themselves toge-
ther so far as this, to confess they " have erred
and strayed from God's ways like lost sheep,"
" have followed too much the devices and desires
of their own hearts," have " no health" in them-
selves as being " miserable offenders." Some of
us may be nearer heaven, some further from it ;
some may have a good hope of salvation, and
others, (God forbid ! but it may be,) others no
present hope. Still let us unite now as one body
in confessing, (to the better part of us such con-
fession will be more welcome, and to the worse
it is more needful,) in confessing ourselves sin-
ners, deserving God's anger, and having no hope
except " according to His promises declared unto
mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord." He who
first regenerated us, and then gave His command-
ments, and then was so ungratefully deserted by
us. He again it is must pardon and quicken us
after our accumulated guilt, if we are to be par-
doned. Let us then trace back in memory, (as

VIII.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 125

far as we can,) our early years ; what we were
when five years old, when ten, when fifteen,
when twenty ; what our state would have been,
as far as we can guess it, had God taken us to
our account at any age before the present. I will
not ask how it would go with us, were we now
taken ; we will suppose the best.

Let each of us (I say) reflect upon his own
most gross and persevering neglect of God at
various seasons of his past life. How considerate
He has been to us ! How did He shield us from
temptation ! how did He open His will gradually
upon us, as we might be able to bear it1! how
has He done all things well, so that the spiritual
work might go on calmly, safely, surely ! How
did He lead us on duty by duty, as if step by
step upwards, by the easy rounds of that ladder
whose top reaches to heaven ! Yet how did we
thrust ourselves into temptation ! how did we
refuse to come to Him that we might have life !
how did we daringly sin against light ! And
what was the consequence ? that our work grew
beyond our strength ; or rather that our strength
grew less as our duties increased ; till at length
we gave up obedience in despair. And yet then
He still tarried and was merciful unto us ; He
turned and looked upon us to bring us to repent-
ance ; and we for a while were moved. Yet,

1 1 Cor. x. 13.

GOD'S COMMANDMENTS [SERM.

even then, our wayward hearts could not keep
up to our own resolves ; letting go again the
heat which Christ gave them, as if made of
stone, and not of living flesh. What could have

' O

been done more to His vineyard, that He hath
not done in it1? " O My people! (He seems to say
to us,) what have I done unto thee, and wherein
have I wearied thee? testify against Me. I
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and
redeemed thee out of the house of servants;. . .what
doth the Lord require of thee but justice, mercy,
and humbleness of mind 2 ?" He hath showed us
what is good. He has borne and carried us in
His bosom " lest at any time we should dash our
foot against a stone3." He shed His Holy Spirit
upon us that we might love Him. And "this
is the love of God, that we keep His command-
ments, and His commandments are not grievous."
Why then have they been grievous to us ? why
have we erred from His ways, and hardened our
hearts from His fear? Why do we this day stand
ashamed, yea, even confounded, because we bear
the reproach of our youth ?

Let us then turn to the Lord, while yet we may.
Difficult it will be, in proportion to the distance
we have departed from Him. Since every one
might have done more than he has done, every

1 Isaiah v. 4. 2 Micah vi. 3—8.

3 Psalm xci. 12.

VIII.] NOT GRIEVOUS. 127

one has suffered losses he never can make up.
We have made His commands grievous to us,
we must bear it ; let us not attempt to explain
them away because they are grievous. We never
can wash out the stains of sin. God may forgive,
but the sin has had its work, and its memento is
.set up in the soul. God sees it there. Earnest
obedience and prayer will gradually remove it.
Still, what miserable loss of time is it in our brief
life, to be merely undoing, (as has become neces-
sary,) the evils which we have done, instead of
going on to perfection ! If by God's grace we
shall be able in a measure to sanctify ourselves in
spite of our former sins, yet how much more
should we have attained had we always been
engaged in His service !

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

If any one who hears me is at present moved
>y what I have said, and feels the remorse and
shame of a bad conscience, and forms any sudden
jood resolution, let him take heed to follow it up
it once by acting upon it. I earnestly beseech
lim so to do. For this reason ; — because if he
does not, he is beginning a habit of inattention
and insensibility. God moves us in order to make
the beginning of duty easy. If we do not attend,
He ceases to move us. Any of you, my brethren,

128 GOD'S COMMANDMENTS NOT GRIEVOUS.

who will not take advantage of this considerate
providence, if you will not turn to God now with
a warm heart, you will hereafter be obliged to do
so, (if you do so at all,) with a cold heart ; — which
is much harder. God keep you from this !

SERMON IX.

THE RELIGIOUS USE OF EXCITED FEELINGS.

LUKE viii. 38, 39.

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

IT was very natural in the man whom our Lord
had set free from this dreadful visitation, to wish
to continue with Him. Doubtless his mind was
transported with joy and gratitude ; whatever
consciousness he might possess of his real wretch-
edness while the devil tormented him, now at
least, on recovering his , reason, he would under-
stand that he had been in a very miserable state,
and he would feel all the lightness of spirits and
activity of mind, which attend any release from
suffering or constraint. Under these circum-
stances he would imagine himself to be in a new
world, so to say ; he had found deliverance ; and
what was more, a Deliverer too, who stood before
him. And whether from a wish to be ever in

130 THE RELIGIOUS USE [SERM.

His divine presence ministering to Him, or from
a fear lest Satan would return, nay, with seven-
fold power, did he lose sight of Christ, or from an
undefined notion that all his duties and hopes
were now changed, that his former pursuits were
unworthy of him, and that he must follow up
some grand plan of action with the new ardour
he felt glowing within him ; — from one or other,
or all of these feelings combined, he besought our
Lord that he might be with Him. Christ im-
posed this attendance as a command on others ;
He bade, e. g. the young ruler follow Him ; but
He gives opposite commands, according to our
tempers and likings ; He thwarts us that He may
try our faith. In the case before us He suffered
' not, what at other times He had bidden. " Re-
• twrn to thine own house," (He said,) or as it is
ki St. Mark's Gospel, " Go home to thy friends,
and tell them how great things the Lord hath
done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee1."
He directed the current of his newly-awakened
feelings into another channel ; as if He said,
" Lovest thou Me ? this do ; return home to your
old occupations and pursuits. You did them ill
before, you lived to the world ; do them well
now, live to Me. Do your duties, little as well
as great, heartily for My sake ; go among your
friends; show them what God hath done for thee ;

i Mark v. 19.

IX.] OF EXCITED FEELINGS. 131

be an example to them, and teach them1." And
further, as He said on another occasion, "show
thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses
commanded for a testimony unto them2 ;" — show
forth that greater light and truer love which you
now possess, in a conscientious, consistent obe-
dience to all the ordinances and rites of your
religion.

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

But here the question meets us, " But what are

'Col. iii. 17. 2 Matt. viii. 4.

K2

132 THE RELIGIOUS USE [SERM.

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

The help I speak of is the excited feeling with
which repentance is at first attended. True it is,
that all the passionate emotion, or fine sensibility
which ever man displayed, will never by itself
make us change our ways, and do our duty.
Impassioned thoughts, high aspirations, sublime
imaginings, have no strength in them. They
can no more make a man obey consistently,
than they can move mountains. If any man

IX.] OF EXCITED FEELINGS. 133

truly repent, it must be in consequence, not of
these, but of a settled conviction of his guilt, and
a deliberate resolution to leave his sins and serve
God. Conscience, and Reason in subjection to
conscience, these are those powerful instruments
(under grace) which change a man. But you
will observe, that though Conscience and Reason
lead us to resolve on and attempt a new life, they
cannot at once make us love it. It is long prac-
tice and habit which make us love religion ; and
in the beginning, obedience, doubtless, is very
grievous to habitual sinners. Here then is the
use of those earnest, ardent feelings of which I
just spoke, and which attend on the first exercise
of conscience and reason, — to take away from the
beginnings of obedience its grievousness, to give us
an impulse which may carry us over the first
obstacles, and send us on our way rejoicing.
Not as if all this excitement of mind were to last,
(which cannot be,) but it will do its office in thus
setting us off; and then will leave us to the more
sober and higher comfort resulting from that real
love for religion, which obedience itself will have
by that time begun to form in us, and will gra-
dually go on to perfect.

Now it is well to understand this fully, for it is
often mistaken. When sinners are led to think
seriously, strong feelings generally precede or
attend their reflections about themselves. Some
book they have read, some conversation of a

134 THE RELIGIOUS USE

friend, some remarks they have heard made in
church, or some occurrence or misfortune, rouses
them. Or, on the other hand, if in any more
calm and deliberate manner they have com-
menced their self-examination, yet in a little time
the very view of their manifold sins, of their
guilt, and their heinous ingratitude to their God
and Saviour, breaking upon them, and being
new to them, strikes and astonishes, and then
agitates them. Here, then, let them know the
intention of all this excitement of mind in the
order of Divine providence. It will not continue,
it arises from the novelty of the view presented to
them. As they become accustomed to religious
contemplations, it will wear away. It is not reli-
gion itself, though it is accidentally connected
with it, and may be made a means of leading
them into a sound religious course of life. It is
graciously intended to be a set off in their case
against the first distastefulness and pain of doing
their duty ; it must be used as such, or it will be
of no use at all, or worse than useless. My bre-
thren, bear this in mind, (and I may say this
generally, not confining myself to the excitement
which attends repentance only, but all that
natural emotion prompting us to do good, which
we involuntarily feel on various occasions,) it is
given you in order that you may find it easy to
obey at starting. Therefore obey promptly; make
use of it while it lasts ; it waits for no man.

IX.] OF EXCITED FEELINGS. 135

Do you feel natural pity towards some case which
reasonably demands your charity ? or the impulse
of generosity in a case where you are called to
act a manly self-denying part? Whatever the
emotion may be, whether these or any other, do
not imagine you will always feel it. Whether
you avail yourselves of it or not, still any how
you will feel less and less, and, as life goes on,
at last will not feel such sudden vehement excite-
ment at all. But this is the difference between
seizing or letting slip these opportunities ; — if you
avail yourselves of them for acting, and yield to
the impulse so far as conscience tells you to do,
you have made a leap (so to say) across a gulf,
to which your ordinary strength is not equal ;
you will have secured the beginning of obedience,
and the further steps in the course are (generally
speaking) far easier than those which first deter-
mine its direction. And so, to return to the case
of those who feel any accidental remorse for their
sins violently exerting itself in their hearts, I say
to them, Do not loiter ; go home to your friends
and repent in deeds of righteousness and love ;
hasten to commit yourselves to certain definite
acts of obedience. Doing is at a far greater dis-
tance from intending to do than you at first sight
imagine. Join them together while you can; you
will be depositing your good feelings into your
heart itself by thus making them influence your
conduct; and they will " spring up into fruit."

1

136 THE RELIGIOUS USE [SERM.

This was the conduct of the conscience-stricken
Corinthians, as described by St. Paul ; who re-
joiced " not that they were made sorry, (not that
their feelings merely were moved,) but that they
sorrowed to change of mind . . . For godly sorrow
(he continues) worketh repentance to salvation
not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the
world worketh death1."

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

1 2 Cor. vii.

IX.] OF EXCITED FEELINGS. 137

this luxury of feeling for some time, the excite-
ment of course ceases ; they do not feel as they
did before. This (I have said) was to have been
anticipated, but they do not understand it so.
See then their unsatisfactory state. They have
lost an opportunity of overcoming the first diffi-
culties of active obedience, and so of fixing their
conduct and character, which may never occur
again. This is one great misfortune ; but more
than this, what a perplexity they have involved
themselves in ! Their warmth of feeling is gra-
dually dying away. Now they think that in it
true religion consists ; therefore they believe that
they are losing their faith and falling into sin
again.

And this, alas, is too often the case : they do fall
away, for they have no root in themselves. Having
neglected to turn their feelings into principles by
acting upon them, they have no inward strength
to overcome the temptation to live as the world,
which continually assails them. Their minds have
been acted upon as water by the wind, which
raises waves for a time, then ceasing, leaves the
water to subside into its former stagnant state.
The precious opportunity of improvement has
been lost; and " the latter end is worse with
them than the beginning1."

But let us suppose, that when they first detect

1 2 Pet. ii. 20.

138 THE RELIGIOUS USE [SBRM.

this declension (as they consider it) they are
alarmed, and look around for a means of recover-
ing themselves. What do they do ? Do they at
once begin those practices of lowly obedience
which alone can prove them to be Christ's at the
last day ? such as the government of their tem-
pers, the regulation of their time, self-denying
charity, truth-telling, sobriety. Far from it ;
they despise this plain obedience to God as a
mere unenlightened morality, as they call it, and
they seek for potent stimulants to continue their
minds in that state of excitement which they
have been taught to consider the essence of a
religious life, and which they cannot produce by
the means which before excited them. They have
recourse to new doctrines, or follow strange
teachers, in order that they may dream on in this
their artificial devotion, and may avoid that con-
viction which is likely sooner or later to burst
upon them, that emotion and passion are in our
power indeed to repress, but not to excite; that
there is a limit to the tumults and swellings of
the heart, foster them as we will ; and, when that
time comes, the poor mis-used soul is left ex-
hausted and resourceless. Instances are not rare
in the world of that fearful ultimate state of hard-
heartedness which then succeeds ; when the
miserable sinner believes indeed as the devils
may, yet not even with the devils' trembling, but
sins on without fear.

IX.] OF EXCITED FEELINGS. 139

Others again there are, who, when their feel-
ings fall off in strength and fervency, are led to
despond ; and so are brought down to a supersti-
tious piety, when they might have been rejoicing
in cheerful obedience. These are the better sort,
who, having something of true religious principle
in their hearts, still are misled in part, so far, i. e.
as to rest in their feelings as tests of holiness ;
therefore they are distressed and alarmed at their
own tranquillity, which they think a bad sign,
and, being dispirited, lose time, others outstrip-
ping them in the race.

And others might be mentioned who are led by
this same first eagerness and zeal into a different
error. The restored sufferer in the text wished to
be with Christ. Now it is plain, all those who in-
dulge themselves in the false devotion I have been
describing, may be said to be desirous of thus
keeping themselves in Christ's immediate sight,
instead of returning to their own home, (as He

t would have them,) i. e. to the common duties of
life ; and they do this, some from weakness of
faith, as if He could not bless them, and keep
them in the way of grace, though they pursued
their worldly callings ; others from an ill-directed
love of Him. But there are others, I say, who,
when they are awakened to a sense of religion,
forthwith despise their former condition alto-
gether, as beneath them ; and think that they are
now called to some high and singular office in the

140 THE RELIGIOUS USE [SEEM.

Church of Christ. These mistake their duty, as
those already described neglect it ; they do not
waste their time in mere good thoughts and good
words, as the others, but they are impetuously
led on to wrong acts, and that from the influence
of those same strong emotions which they have
not learned to use aright or direct to their proper
end. But to speak of these now, at any length,
would be beside my subject.

To conclude ; — let me repeat and urge upon
you, my brethren, the lesson which I have de-
duced from the narrative of which the text forms
part. Your Saviour calls you from infancy to
serve Him, and has arranged all things well, so
that His service should be perfect freedom.
Blessed above all men are they who heard His
call then, and served Him day by day, as their
strength to obey increased. But, further, are
you conscious that you have more or less neg-
lected this gracious opportunity, and suffered
yourselves to be tormented by Satan ? See, He
calls you a second time ; He calls you by your
roused affections once and again, ere He leaves
you finally. He brings you back for the time
(as it were) to a second youth by the urgent per-
suasions of excited fear, gratitude, love, and
hope. He again places you for an instant in that
early unformed state of nature when habit and cha-
racter were not. He takes you out of yourselves,
robbing sin for a season of its in-dwelling hold

IX.] OF EXCITED FEELINGS. 141

upon you. Let not those visitings pass away " as
the morning cloud and the early dew1/' Surely,
you must still have occasional compunctions of
conscience for your neglect of Him. Your sin
stares you in the face ; your ingratitude to God
affects you. Follow on to know th'e Lord and to
secure His favour by acting upon these impulses ;
by them He pleads with you, as well as by your
conscience ; they are the instruments of His
Spirit stirring you up to seek your true peace.
Nor be surprised, though you obey them, that
they die away ; they have done their office, and,
if they die, it is but as seed changes into the herb
which bears that fruit, which is far better. They
must die. Perhaps you will have to labour in
darkness afterwards, out of your Saviour's sight,
in the home of your own thoughts, surrounded by
sights of this world, and showing forth His praise
among those who are cold-hearted. Still be quite
sure, that resolute consistent obedience, though
unattended with high transport and warm emo-
tion, is far more acceptable to Him than all those
passionate longings to live in His sight, which
look more like religion to the uninstructed. At
the very best these latter are but the graceful be-
ginnings of obedience, graceful and becoming in
children, but in grown spiritual men indecorous,
as the sports of boyhood would be in advanced

1 Hosea vi. 4,

THE RELIGIOUS USE OF EXCITED FEELINGS.

years. Learn to live by faith, which is a calm,
deliberate, rational principle, full of peace and
comfort, and sees Christ, and rejoices in Him,
though sent away from His presence to labour in
the world. You will have your reward. He will
"see you again and your heart shall rejoice, and
your joy no man taketh from you V

1 John xvi. 22.

SERMON X.

PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE.

LUKE xii. 1.

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

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

I say, we are accustomed to consider the hypo-
crite as a character of excessive wickedness, and
of very rare occurrence. That hypocrisy is a
great wickedness need not be questioned ; but
that it is an uncommon sin, is not true, as a little

144 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SERM.

examination will show us. For what is a hypo-
crite ? We are apt to understand by a hypocrite,
one who makes a profession of religion for secret
ends, without practising what he professes ; who
is malevolent, covetous, or profligate, while he
assumes an outward sanctity in his words and
conduct ; and who does so deliberately and with-
out remorse, deceiving others, and not at all self-
deceived. Such a man, truly, would be a portent,
for he seems to disbelieve the existence of a God
who sees the heart. I will not deny that in some
ages, nay in all ages, a few such men have ex-
isted. But this was not what our Saviour seems
to have meant by a hypocrite, nor were the Pha-
risees such.

The Pharisees, it is true, said one thing and
did another ; but they were not aware that they
were thus inconsistent ; they deceived themselves
as well as others. Indeed it is not in human
nature to deceive others for any long time, with-
out in a measure deceiving ourselves also. And
in most cases, we contrive to deceive ourselves
as much as we deceive others. The Pharisees
boasted they were Abraham's children, not at all
understanding, not knowing, what was implied in
the term. They were not really included under
the blessing given to Abraham, and they wished
the world to believe they were ; but then they
also themselves thought that they were, or, at
least, with whatever misgivings, they were, on the

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 145

whole persuaded of it. They had deceived them-
selves as well as the world ; and therefore our
Lord sets before them the great and plain truth,
which, (easy as it was,) they had forgotten. " If
ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the
works of Abraham 1."

This truth (I say) they had forgotten ; — for,
doubtless, they once knew it. There was a time,
doubtless, when in some measure they knew
themselves, and what they were doing. When
they began (each of them in his turn) to deceive
the people, they were not at the moment, self-
deceived. But by degrees they forgot, — because
they did not care to retain it in their knowledge, —
they forgot, that to be blessed like Abraham, they
must be holy like Abraham ; that outward cere-
monies avail nothing without inward purity, that
the thoughts and motives must be heavenly,
'art of their duty they altogether ceased to know;
another part they might still know indeed, but did
tot value as they ought. They became ignorant
>f their own spiritual condition ; it did not come
mme to them, that they were supremely influ-
enced by worldly objects ; that zeal for God's
;rvice was but a secondary principle in their
conduct, and that they loved the praise of men
better than God's praise. They went on merely
talking of religion, of heaven and hell, the blessed

1 John viii. 39.
L

146 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SERM.

and the reprobate, till their discourses became
but words of course in their mouths, with no true
meaning attached to them ; and they either did
not read the Holy Scripture at all, or read it
without earnestness and watchfulness to get at its
real sense. Accordingly they were scrupulously
careful of paying tithe even in the least matters of
mint, anise, and cummin, while they omitted the
weightier matters of the Law, judgment, mercy,
and faith ; and on this account our Lord calls
them " blind guides ;" — not bold impious de-
ceivers, who knew that they were false guides,
but blind1. Again, they were blind, in thinking
that, had they lived in their fathers' days, they
would not have killed the prophets as their fathers
did. They did not know themselves ; they had
unawares deceived themselves as well as the
people. Ignorance of their own ignorance was
their punishment and the evidence of their sin.
" If ye were blind," our Saviour says to them, if
you were simply blind, and conscious you were so,
and distressed at it, " ye should have no sin ; but
now ye say, We see," — they did not even know
their blindness — " therefore your sin remaineth V
This then is hypocrisy ; — not merely for a man
to deceive others, knowing all the while that he
is deceiving them, but to deceive himself and
others at the same time, to aim at their praise by

1 Matt, xxiii. 24. Luke xi 39 — 52.

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

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 147

a religious profession, without perceiving that he
loves their praise more than God's, and that he
is professing far more than he practises. And if
this be the true Scripture meaning of the word,
we have some insight (as it appears) into the
reasons which induced our Divine Teacher to
warn His disciples in so marked a way against
hypocrisy. An innumerable multitude was
thronging Him, and His disciples were around
Him. Twelve of them had been appointed to
minister to Him as His especial friends. Other
seventy had been sent out from Him with miracu-
lous gifts ; and, on their return, had with triumph
told of their own wonderful doings. All of them
had been addressed by Him as the salt of the
earth, the light of the world, the children of His
kingdom. They were the mediators between
Him and the people at large, introducing to His
notice the sick and heavy-laden. And now they
stood by Him, partaking in His popularity, per-
haps glorying in their connexion with the Christ,
and pleased to be gazed upon by the impatient
crowd. Then it was that, instead of addressing
the multitude, He spoke first of all to His disci-
ples, saying, " Beware of the leaven of the Pha-
risees, which is hypocrisy;" as if He had said,
" What is the chief sin of My enemies and perse-
cutors ? not that they openly deny God, but that
they love a profession of religion for the sake of
the praise of men that follows it. They like to

148 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SERM.

contrast themselves with other men ; they pride
themselves on being a little flock, to whom life is
secured in the midst of reprobates ; they like to
stand and be admired, amid their religious per-
formances, and think to be saved, not by their
own personal holiness, but by the faith of their
father, Abraham. All this delusion may come
upon you also, if you forget that you are hereafter
to be tried one by one at God's judgment-seat,
according to your works. At present, indeed,
you are invested in My greatness, and have the
credit of My teaching and holiness : but l there is
nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nei-
ther hid that shall not be known,' at the last
day."

This warning against hypocrisy becomes still
more needful and impressive, from the greatness
of the Christian privileges as contrasted with the
Jewish. The Pharisees boasted they were Abra-
ham's children ; we have the infinitely higher
blessing which fellowship with Christ imparts.
In our early youth we have all been gifted with
the most awful and glorious titles, as children of
God, members of Christ, and heirs of the king-
dom of heaven. We have been honoured with
the grant of spiritual influences, which have over-
shadowed and rested upon us, making our very
bodies temples of God ; and when we came to
years of discretion, we were made partakers of
the mystery of a heavenly communion with the

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 149

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

Perhaps, however, it will be granted, that
there are vast numbers in the Christian world
thus professing without adequately practising ;
and yet denied that such a case is enough to con-
stitute a hypocrite, in the Scripture sense of the
word ; as if a hypocrite were one who professes
himself to be what he is not, with some bad motive.
It may be urged that the Pharisees had an end
in what they did, which careless and formal
Christians have not. But consider for a moment ;
what was the motive which urged the Pharisees to
their hypocrisy ; surely, that they might be seen of
men, have glory of men l. This is our Lord's own
account of them. Now who will say that the

1 Matt. vi. 2. 5.

150 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SERM.

esteem and fear of man's judgment, and the ex-
pectation of worldly advantages, do not most
powerfully influence the world at present to pro-
fess to be Christian ? so much so, that it is a hard
matter, and is thought a great and noble act, if
men who live in the public world are able to do
what they believe to be their duty to God in a
straightforward way, should the opinion of men
about it happen to run counter to them. Indeed,
there hardly has been a time since the Apostles'
day, in which men were more likely than in this
age, to do their good deeds to be seen of men, to
lay out for human praise, and therefore to shape
their actions by the world's rule rather than God's
will. We ought to be very suspicious, every one
of us, about the soundness of our faith and vir-
tue. Let us consider whether we should act as
strictly as we now do, were the eyes of our ac-
quaintance and neighbours withdrawn from us.
Not that a regard to the opinion of others is a
bad motive ; in subordination to the fear of God's
judgment, it is innocent and allowable, and in
many cases a duty ; and the opportunity of acting
by it is a gracious gift given from God to lead us
forward in the right way. But when we prefer
man's fallible judgment to God's unerring com-
mand, then it is we are wrong, — and in two ways ;
both because we prefer it, and because, being
fallible, it will mislead us ; and what I am asking
you, my brethren, is, not whether you merely

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 151

regard man's opinion of you, (which you ought to
do,) but whether you set it before God's judgment,
which you assuredly should not do ; and which, if
you do, you are like the Pharisees, so far as to be
hypocrites, though you may not go so far as they
did in their hollow self-deceiving ways.

1. That even decently conducted Christians
are most extensively and fearfully ruled by the
opinion of society about them, instead of living by
faith in the unseen God, is proved to my mind
by the following circumstance ; — that according
as their rank in life makes men independent of the
judgment of others, so the profession of regularity
and strictness is given up. There are two classes
of men who are withdrawn from the judgment
of the community ; those who are above it, and
those who are below it : — the poorest class of
all, which has no thought of maintaining itself by
its own exertions, and has lost shame ; and what
is called (to use a word of this world) high fashion-
able society, by which I mean, not the rich
necessarily, but those among the rich and noble
who throw themselves out of the pale of the
community, break the ties which attach them to
others, whether above or below themselves, and
then live to themselves and each other, their
ordinary doings being unseen by the world at
large. Now since it happens that these two
ranks, the outlaws (so to say) of public opinion,
are (to speak generally) the most openly and

152 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SERM.

daringly profligate in their conduct, how much may
be thence inferred about the influence of a mere
love of reputation in keeping us all in the right
way. It is plain, as a matter of fact, that the great
mass of the men is protected from gross sin by the
forms of society. The received laws of propriety
and decency, the prospect of a loss of character,
stand as sentinels, giving the alarm, long before
our Christian principles have time to act. But
among the poorest and rudest class, on the con-
trary, such artificial safeguards against crime are
unknown ; and (observe, I say) it is among them
and that other class I have mentioned, that vice
and crime are most frequent. Are we, therefore,
better than they ? Scarcely. Doubtless their
temptations are greater, which alone prevents our
boasting over them ; but, besides, do we not
rather gain from the sight of their more scanda-
lous sins a grave lesson and an urgent warning
for ourselves, a call on us for honest self-exami-
nation ? for we are of the same nature, with like
passions with them ; we may be better than they,
but our mere seeming so is no proof that we are.
The question is, whether, in spite of our greater
apparent virtue, we should not fall like them, if
the restraint of society were withdrawn; i. e.
whether we are not in the main hypocrites like
the Pharisees, professing to honour God, while
we honour Him only so far as men require it of
us?

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 153

2. Another test of being like or unlike the
Pharisees may be mentioned. Our Lord warns
us against hypocrisy in three respects, — in doing
our alms, in praying, and in fasting. " When
thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet
before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues
and in the streets, that they may have glory of
men . . . When thou prayest thou shalt not be as
the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing
in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men . . . When ye fast,
be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance, for
they disfigure their faces that they may appear
unto men to fast1." Here let us ask ourselves,
first about our alms, whether we be not like the
hypocrites. Doubtless, some of our charity must
be public, for the very mentioning our name en-
courages others to follow our example. Still I
ask, is much of our charity also private ? is as
much private as is public ? I will not ask whe-
ther much more is done in secret than is done
before men, though this ought to be the case.
But at least, if we think in the first place of our
public charities, and only in the second of the
duty of private alms-giving, are we not plainly
like the hypocritical Pharisees ?

The manner of our prayers will give us a still
stronger test. We are here assembled in worship.

1 Matt. vi. 2—16.

154 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SERM.

It is well. Have we really been praying as well
as seeming to pray ? have our minds been ac-
tively employed in trying to form in ourselves
the difficult habit of prayer ? Further, are we as
regular in praying in our closet to our Father
which is in secret, as in public !? Do we feel any
great remorse in omitting our morning and even-
ing prayers, in saying them hastily and irreve-
rently ? And yet, should not we feel excessive
pain and shame, and rightly, at the thought of
having committed any open impropriety in church ?
Should we, e. g. be betrayed into laughter or
other light conduct during the service, should not
we feel most acutely ashamed of ourselves, and
consider we have disgraced ourselves, notwith-
standing our habit of altogether forgetting the
next moment any sinful carelessness at prayer in
our closet ? Is not this to be as the Pharisees ?

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

1 Matt. vi. 6.

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 155

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

We see then how seasonable is our Lord's warn-
ing to us His disciples, first of all, to beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy ;
professing without practising. He warns us against
it as leaven, as a subtle insinuating evil which
will silently spread itself throughout the whole
character, if we suffer it. He warns us, His dis-
ciples, lovingly considerate for us, lest we make
ourselves a scorn and derision to the profane mul-
titude, who throng around to gaze curiously, or
malevolently, or selfishly, at His doings. They
seek Him, not as adoring Him for His miracles'
sake, but, if so be, they can obtain any thing
from Him, or can please their natural tastes while
1

156 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SBHM.

they profess to honour Him ; and in time of trial
desert Him. They make a gain of godliness, or
a fashion. So He speaks not to them, but to us
His little flock, His Church, to whom it has been
His Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom1 ;
and He bids us take heed of falling as the Pha-
risees did before us, and like them coming short
of our reward. He warns us that the pretence of
religion never deceives beyond a little time ; that
sooner or later, " whatsoever we have spoken in
darkness shall be heard in the light, and that
which we have spoken in the ear in closets, shall
be proclaimed upon the house-tops." Even in
this world the discovery is often made. A man
is brought into temptation of some sort or other,
and having no root in himself falls away and
gives occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blas-
pheme2. Nay, this will happen to him without
himself being aware of it ; for though a man
begins to deceive others before he deceives him-
self, yet he does not deceive them so long as he
deceives himself. Their eyes are at length opened
to him, while his own continue closed to himself.
The world sees through him; detects, and triumphs
in detecting his low motives and secular plans
and artifices, while he is but very faintly sensible
of them himself, much less has a notion that
others clearly see them. And thus he will go on

1 Luke xii. 32. 2 2 Sam. xii. 14.

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 157

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

Do not think I am speaking of one or two men,
when 1 speak of the scandal which a Christian's
inconsistency brings upon his cause. The Christ-
ian world, so called, what is it practically, but
a witness for Satan rather than a witness for
Christ? Rightly understood, doubtless the very
disobedience of Christians witnesses for Him who
will overcome whenever He is judged. But is
there any antecedent prejudice against religion so
great as that which is occasioned by the lives of
its professors ? Let us ever remember, that all
who follow God with but a half heart, strengthen
the hands of His enemies, give cause of exultation
to wicked men, perplex inquirers after truth, and
bring reproach upon their Saviour's name. It is
a known fact, that unbelievers triumphantly
maintain that the greater part of the English
people is on their side ; that the disobedience of
professing Christians is a proof, that (whatever
they say) yet in their hearts they are unbelievers
too. This we ourselves perhaps have heard said;
and said, not in the heat of argument, or as a
satire, but in sober earnestness, from real and
full persuasion that it was true ; i. e. the men
who have cast off their Saviour, console them-
selves with the idea, that their neighbours, though
too timid or too dull openly to do so, yet in secret

158 PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. [SERM.

or at least in their real character, do the same.
And witnessing this general inconsistency, they
despise them as unmanly, cowardly, and slavish,
and hate religion as the origin of this debase-
ment of mind. " The people who in this country
call themselves Christians, (says one of these men,)
with few exceptions are not believers ; and every
man of sense, whose bigotry has not blinded him,
must see that persons who are evidently devoted
to worldly gain, or worldly vanities, or luxurious
enjoyments, though still preserving a little decency,
while they pretend to believe the infinitely mo-
mentous doctrines of Christianity, are perform-
ers in a miserable farce, which is beneath con-
tempt." Such are the words of an open enemy
of Christ ; as though he felt he dared confess his
unbelief, and despised the mean hypocrisy of
those around him. His argument indeed will
not endure the trial of God's judgment at the last
day, for no one is an unbeliever but by his own
fault. But though no excuse for him, it is their
condemnation. What indeed will they plead
before the Throne of God, when on the revela-
tion of all hidden deeds, this reviler of religion
attributes his unbelief in a measure to the sight
of their inconsistent conduct? When he men-
tions this action or that conversation, this violent
or worldly conduct, that covetous or unjust trans-
action, or that self-indulgent life, as partly the
occasion of his falling away ? " Woe unto the world

X.] PROFESSION WITHOUT PRACTICE. 159

(it is written), because of scandals ; for it must
needs be that scandals come, but woe to that
man by whom the scandal cometh1." Woe unto
the deceiver and self-deceived ! " His hope shall
perish, his hope shall be cut off, and his trust shall
be a spider's web, he shall lean upon his house,
but it shall not stand ; he shall hold it fast, but
it shall not endure2." God give us grace to flee
from this woe while we have time ! Let us exa-
mine ourselves to see if there be any wicked way
in us ; let us aim at obtaining some comfort-
able assurance that we are in the narrow way
that leads to life. And let us pray God to en-
lighten us, and to guide us, and to give us the
will to please Him, and the power.

1 Matt, xviii. 7. 2 Job viii. 13—15.

SERMON XL

PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY.

GAL. iii. 27.

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

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

But here some one may ask, whether, in saying

1 Vide Sermon X.

SERM. XL] PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. 161

that hypocrisy is professing without practising,
I am not, in fact, overthrowing all external reli-
gion from the foundation, since all creeds, and
prayers, and ordinances, go beyond the real
belief and frame of mind of even the best Christ-
ians. This is even the ground which some men
actually take. They say, that it is wrong to
baptize and call Christians, those who have not
yet shown themselves to be really such. " As
many as are baptized into Christ, put on Christ ;"
so says the text, and these men argue from it,
that till we have actually put on Christ, i. e. till
we have given our heart to Christ's service, and
in our degree become holy as He is holy, it can
do no good to be baptized into His name. Rather
it is a great evil, for it is to become hypocrites.
Nay, really humble, well-intentioned men, feel
this about themselves. They shrink from retain-
ing the blessed titles and privileges which Christ
gave them in infancy, as being unworthy of
them ; and they fear lest they are really hypo-
crites like the Pharisees, after all their better
thoughts and exertions.

Now the obvious answer to this mistaken view
of religion, is to say, that, on the showing of such
reasoners, no one at all ought to be baptized in any
case, and called a Christian ; for no one acts up
to his baptismal profession ; no one believes, wor-
ships, and obeys duly the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, whose servant he is made in baptism.

M

162 PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. [SERM.

And yet the Lord did say, " Go, baptize all na-
tions ;" clearly showing us, that a man may be a
fit subject for baptism, though he does not in fact
practise every thing that he professes, and there-
fore, that any fears we may have, lest men should
be in some sense like the Pharisees, must not keep
us from making them Christians.

But I shall treat the subject more at length, in
order that we may understand what kind of dis-
obedience is really hypocrisy, and what is not,
lest timid consciences should be frightened. Now
men profess without feeling and doing, or are
hypocrites, in nothing so much as in their prayers.
This is plain. Prayer is the most directly reli-
gious of all our duties ; and our falling short of
our duty, is then most clearly displayed. There-
fore I will enlarge upon the case of prayer, to ex-
plain what I do not mean by hypocrisy. We then
use the most solemn words, either without attend-
ing to what we are saying, or, (even if we do
attend,) without worthily entering to its meaning.
Thus we seem to resemble the Pharisees ; a
question in consequence arises, whether, this being
the case, we should go on repeating prayers
which evidently do not suit us. The men I just
now spoke of, affirm that we ought to leave them
off. Accordingly, such persons in their own case
first give up the Church prayers, and take to
others which they think will suit them better.
Next, when these disappoint them, they have re-

XL] PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. 168

course to what is called extempore prayer ; and
afterwards perhaps, discontented in turn with this
mode of addressing Almighty God, and as un-
able to fix their thoughts as they were before, they
come to the conclusion that they ought not to
pray, except when specially moved to prayer by
the influence of the Holy Spirit.

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

1. First, take the case of not being attentive to
the prayers. Men, it seems, are tempted to leave
off prayers because they cannot follow them, be-
cause they find their thoughts wander when they
repeat them. I answer, that to pray attentively is
a habit. This must ever be kept in mind. No
one begins with having his heart thoroughly in
them ; but by trying, he is enabled to attend
more and more, and at length, after many trials
and a long schooling of himself, to fix his mind
steadily on them. No one (I repeat) begins with
being attentive. Novelty in prayers is the cause
of persons being attentive in the outset, and

164 PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. [SERM.

novelty is out of the question in the Church
prayers ; for we have heard them from childhood,
and knew them by heart long before we could
understand them. No one, then, when he first
turns his thoughts to religion, finds it easy to
pray ; he is irregular in his religious feelings ;
he prays more earnestly at some times than at
others ; his devotional seasons come by fits and
starts ; he cannot account for his state of mind, or
reckon upon himself ; he frequently finds that he
is more disposed for prayer at any time and place
than those set apart for the purpose. All this is
to be expected ; for no habit is formed at once ;
arid before the flame of religion in the heart is
purified and strengthened by long practice and
experience, of course it will be capricious in its
motions, it will flare about (so to say) and flicker,
and at times seem almost to go out.

However, impatient men do not well consider
this ; they overlook or are offended at the neces-
sity of humble tedious practice to enable them to
pray attentively, and they account for their cold-
ness and wanderings of thought in any way but
the true one. Sometimes they attribute this in-
equality in their religious feelings to the arbitrary
coming and going of God's Holy Spirit ; a most
irreverent and presumptuous judgment, which I
should not mention, except that men do form it,
and therefore it is necessary to state in order to
condemn it. Again, sometimes they think that

XL] PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. 165

they shall make themselves attentive all at once
by bringing before their minds the more sacred
doctrines of the Gospel, and thus rousing and con-
straining their souls. This does for a time ; but
when the novelty is over, they find themselves
relapsing into their former inattention, without
apparently having made any advance. And others
again, when discontented with their wanderings
during prayer, lay the fault on the prayers them-
selves as being too long. This is a common ex-
cuse, and I wish to call your attention to it.

If any one alleges the length of the Church
prayers as a reason for his not keeping his mind
fixed upon them, I would beg him to ask his con-
science whether he sincerely believes this to be at
bottom the real cause of his inattention ? Does he
think he should attend better if the prayers were
shorter ? This is the question he has to consider.
If he answers that he believes he should attend
more closely in that case, then I go on to ask,
whether he attends more closely, (as it w,) to the
first part of the service than to the last ; whether
his mind is his own, regularly fixed on what he is
engaged in, for any time in any part of the ser-
vice ? Now, if he is obliged to own that this is
not the case, that his thoughts are wandering in
all parts of the service, and that even during the
Confession, or the Lord's Prayer, which come
first, they are not his own, it is quite clear that
it is not the length of the service which is the real

166 PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. [SERM.

cause of his inattention, but his being deficient
in the habit of being attentive. If, on the other
hand, he answers that he can fix his thoughts for
a time, and during the early part of the service, I
would have him reflect that even this degree of
attention was not always his own, that it has
been the work of time and practice ; and, if by
trying he has got so far, by trying he may go on,
and learn to attend for a still longer time, till at
length he is able to keep up his attention through
the whole service.

However, I wish chiefly to speak to such as are
dissatisfied with themselves, and despair of at-
tending properly. Let a man once set his heart
upon learning to pray, and strive to learn, and no
failures he may continue to make in his manner
of praying are sufficient to cast him from God's
favour. Let him but persevere, not discouraged
at his wanderings, not frightened into a notion
he is a hypocrite, not shrinking from the honour-
able titles which God puts on him. Doubtless he
should be humbled at his own weakness, indo-
lence, and carelessness ; and he should feel, (he
cannot feel too much,) the guilt, alas ! he is ever
contracting in his prayers by the irreverence of
his inattention. Still he must not leave off his
prayers, but go on looking towards Christ his
Saviour. Let him but be in earnest, striving to
master his thoughts, and to be serious, and all
the guilt of his incidental failings will be washed

XI.] PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. 167

away in His Lord's blood. Only let him not be
contented with himself; only let him not neglect
to attempt to obey. What a simple rule it is to
try to be attentive in order to be so ! and yet it is
continually overlooked ; — i. e. we do not systema-
tically try, we do not make a point of attempting
and attempting over and over again in spite of
bad success ; we attempt only now and then, and
our best devotion is merely when our hearts are
excited by some accident which may or may not
happen again.

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

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

Here a tender conscience will ask, " How is it
possible T can rightly use the solemn words which
occur in the prayers ?" A tender conscience alone
speaks thus. Those confident objectors whom I
spoke of just now, who maintain that set prayer
is necessarily a mere formal service in the gene-
rality of instances, a service in which the heart ha&
no part, they are silent here. They do not feel this
difficulty, which is the real One ; they use the most
serious and awful words lightly and without re-
morse, as if they really entered into the meaning of
1

168 PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. [SERM.

words which are beyond the intelligence of Angels.
But the humble and contrite believer, coming to
Christ for pardon and help, perceives the great strait
he is in, in having to address the God of Heaven.
This perplexity of mind it was which first led
convinced sinners in former times to seek refuge
in beings short of God ; not as denying God's
supremacy, or shunning Him, but discerning the
vast distance between themselves and Him, and
seeking some resting places by the way, some
Zoar, some little city near to flee unto \ because
of the height of God's mountain, up which the
way of escape lay. And then gradually be-
coming devoted to those whom they trusted,
saints, angels, or good men living, and copying
them, their faith had a fall, and their virtue
trailed upon the ground, for want of props to rear
it heavenward. We Christians, sinners though
we be like other men, are not allowed thus to
debase our nature, or to defraud ourselves of
God's mercy ; and though it be very terrible to
speak to the Living God, yet speak we must, or
die ; tell our sorrows we must, or there is no
hope ; for created mediators and patrons are for-
bidden us, and to trust in an arm of flesh is made
a sin.

Therefore let a man reflect, whoever from ten-
derness of conscience shuns the Church as above

1 Gen. xix. 20.

XL] PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. 169

him (whether he shuns her services, or her sacra-
ments), that, awful as it is to approach Christ, to
speak to Him, to " eat His flesh and drink His
blood," and to live in Him, to whom shall he go ?
See what it comes to. Christ is the only way of
salvation open to sinners. Truly we are children,
and cannot suitably feel the words which the
Church teaches us, though we say them after her,
nor feel duly reverent at God's presence ! Yet
let us but know our own ignorance and weakness,
and we are safe. God accepts those who thus
come in faith, bringing nothing of their own, but
a confession of sin. And this is the highest ex-
cellence which we can attain ; to understand our
own hypocrisy, insincerity, and shallowness of
mind, — to own, while we pray, that we cannot
pray aright, — to repent of our repentings, — and
to submit ourselves wholly to His judgment, who
could indeed be extreme with us. but has already
shown His loving-kindness in bidding us to pray.
And, while we thus conduct ourselves, we must
learn to feel that God knows all this before we say
it, and far better than we do. He does not need
to be informed of our extreme worthlessness.
We must pray in the spirit and the temper of the
extremest abasement, but we need not search for
adequate words to express this, for in truth no
words are bad enough for our case. Some men
are dissatisfied with the confessions of sin we
make in Church, as not being strong enough ;

170 PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. [SERM.

but none can be strong enough ; let us be satisfied
with sober words, which have been ever in use ;
it will be a great thing if we enter into them.
No need of searching for impassioned words to
express our repentance, when we do not rightly
enter even into the most ordinary expressions.

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

XL] PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. 171

fashion of that divine image which in baptism
was outwardly stamped upon us.

I have spoken only of our prayers, and but
referred to our general profession of Christianity.
It is plain, however, what has been said about
praying, may be applied to all we do and say as
Christians. It is true that we profess to be saints,
to be guided by the highest principles, and to be
ruled by the Spirit of God. We have long ago
promised to believe and obey. It is also true
that we cannot do these things aright ; nay, even
with God's help, (such is our sinful weakness,)
still we fall short of our duty. Nevertheless we
must not cease to profess. We must not put off
from us the wedding garment which Christ gave
us in baptism. We may still rejoice in Him
without being hypocrites, i. e. if we labour day
by day to make that wedding garment our own ;
to fix it on us and so incorporate it with ourselves,
that death, which strips us of all things, may be
unable to tear it from us, though as yet it be in
great measure but an outward garb covering our
own nakedness.

I conclude by reminding you, how great God's
mercy is in allowing us to clothe ourselves in the
glory of Christ from the first, even before we are
worthy l of it. I suppose there is nothing so
distressing to a true Christian as to have to

1 Matt. xxii. 8. Col. i. 10.

172 PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. [SERM.

prove himself such to others ; both as being con-
scious of his own numberless failings, and from his
dislike of display. Now Christ has anticipated the
difficulties of his modesty. He does not allow such
an one to speak for himself ; He speaks for him.
He introduces each of us to his brethren, not as
we are in ourselves, fit to be despised and rejected
on account of the temptations which are in our
flesh, but as messengers of God, even as Christ
Jesus l. It is our happiness that we need bring
nothing in proof of our fellowship with Christians,
besides our baptism. This is what a great many
persons do not understand ; they think that none
are to be accounted fellow-Christians but those
who evidence themselves to be such to their fal-
lible understandings ; and hence they encourage
others, who wish for their praise, to practise all
kinds of display, as a seal of their regeneration.
Who can tell the harm this does to the true mo-
desty of the Christian spirit ? Instead of using the
words of the Church and speaking to God, men
are led to use their own words, and make man
their judge and justifier 2. They think it neces-
sary to tell out their secret feelings, and to
enlarge on what God has done to their own souls
in particular. And thus, making themselves
really answerable for all the words they say, which
are altogether their own, they do in this case

' Gal. iv. 14. 2 1 Cor. iv. 3—5.

XL] PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. 173

become hypocrites ; they do say more than they
can in reality feel. Of course a religious man will
naturally, and unawares, out of the very fulness of
his heart, show his deep feeling and his conscien-
tiousness to his near friends ; but when to do so
is made a matter of necessity, an object to be aimed
at, and is an intentional act, then it is that hypo-
crisy must, more or less, sully our faith. "As
many of you as have been baptized into Christ,
have put on Christ;" this is the Apostle's deci-
sion. " There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
Our Church follows this rule, and bidding us
keep quiet, speaks for us ; robes us from head to
foot in the garments of righteousness, and exhorts
us to live henceforth to God. But the disputer of
this world reverses this procedure ; he strips off
all our privileges, bids us renounce our depend-
ence on the Mother of saints, tells us we must
each be a Church to himself, and must show
himself to the world to be by himself and in him-
self the elect of God, in order to prove his right
to the privileges of a Christian.

Far be it from us thus to fight against God's
gracious purposes to man, and to make the weak
brother perish for whom Christ died !. Let us
acknowledge all to be Christians, who have not

1 1 Cor. viii. 11.

174 PROFESSION WITHOUT HYPOCRISY.

by open word or deed renounced their fellowship
with us, and let us try to lead them on into all
truth. And for ourselves let us endeavour to
enter more and more fully into the meaning of
our own prayers and professions ; let us humble
ourselves for the very little we do, and the poor
advance we make ; let us avoid unnecessary
display of religion ; let us do our duty in that
state of life to which God has called us. Thus
proceeding, we shall (through God's grace) form
within us the glorious mind of Christ. Whether
rich or poor, learned or unlearned, walking by
this rule, we shall become at length, true saints,
sons of God. We shall be upright and perfect,
lights in the world, the image of Him who died
that we might be conformed to His likeness.

SERMON XII.

PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION.

MATT. v. 14.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid.

OUR Saviour gives us a command, in this passage
of His Sermon on the Mount, to manifest our reli-
gious profession before all men. "Ye are the
light of the world," He says to His disciples ;
" A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle and put it under a
bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in hea-
ven." Yet presently He says, " When thou
doest alms, . . . when thou prayest . . . when ye
fast . . . appear not unto men . . . but unto thy
Father which is in secret1." How are these

1 Matt. vi. 2—18.

176 PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. [SERM.

commands to be reconciled ? how are we at once
to profess ourselves Christians, and yet hide our
Christian words, deeds, and self-denials ?

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

1. Now, first, much might be said on that
mode of witnessing Christ, which consists in con-
forming to His Church. He who simply did
what the Church bids him do, (if he did no more,)
would witness a good confession to the world, and
one which cannot be hid ; and at the same time,
with very little, if any, personal display. He
does only what he is told to do ; he takes no re-
sponsibility on himself. The Apostles and Mar-
tyrs who founded the Church, the Saints in all
ages who have adorned it, the Heads of it now
alive, all these take from him the weight of his
profession, and bear the blame (so to call it) of
seeming ostentatious. I do not say, that irreli-
gious men will not call such an one boastful, or
austere, or a hypocrite; that is not the question.
The question is, whether in God's judgment he
deserves the censure ; whether or not, in obe-
dience to Christ's command, he is really and
truly , (whatever the world may say,) joining hu-
mility to a bold outward profession ; whether or
not he is, in thus acting, preaching Christ without
hurting his own pureness, gentleness, arid mo-

XII.] PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. 177

desty of character. If indeed a man stands forth
on his own ground, declaring himself as an indivi-
dual a witness for Christ, then indeed he is
grieving and disturbing the calm spirit given us
by God. But God's merciful providence has
saved us this temptation, and forbidden us to
admit it. He bids us unite together in one, and
to shelter our personal profession under the autho-
rity of the general body. Thus while we show
ourselves as lights to the world far more effec-
tively than if we glimmered separately in the
lone wilderness without communication, at the
same time we do this with far greater secrecy and
humility. Therefore it is, that the Church does
so many things for us, appoints Fasts and Feasts,
times of public prayer, the order of the sacra-
ments, the services of devotion at marriages and
deaths, and all accompanied by a fixed form of
sound words ; in order, (I say,) to remove from
us individually the burden of a high profession,
of implying great things of ourselves by inventing
for ourselves solemn prayers and praises, — a task
far above the generality of Christians, to say the
least, a task which humble men will shrink from,
lest they prove hypocrites, and which will hurt
those who do undertake it by making them rude-
spirited and profane. I am desirous of speaking on
this subject as a matter of practice ; for I am sure,
that if we wish practically to spread the know-
ledge of the Truth, we shall do so far more

N

178 PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. [SERM.

powerfully as well as purely by keeping together,
than by witnessing one by one. Men are to be
seen adopting all kinds of strange ways of giving
glory (as they think) to God. If they would but
follow the Church ; come together in prayer on
Sundays and Saints' days, nay every day ; honour
the rubric by keeping to it obediently, and conform-
ing their families to the spirit of the Prayer-book,
I say, that on the whole they would practically
do vastly more good than by trying new religious
plans, founding new religious societies, or striking
out new religious views. I put out of account
the greater blessing they might expect to find in
the way of duty, which is the first consideration.
2. One way of professing without display has
been mentioned ; — obeying the Church. Now in
the next place, consider how great a profession,
and yet a profession how unconscious and modest,
arises from the mere ordinary manner in which
any strict Christian lives. Let this thought be a
satisfaction to any uneasy conscience, which fears
lest he is not confessing Christ, yet dreads to dis-
play. Your life displays Christ without your
intending it. You cannot help it. Your words
and deeds will show on the long run (as it is said),
where your treasure is, and your heart. Out of
the abundance of your heart your mouth speaketh
words " seasoned with salt." We sometimes
find men who aim at doing their duty in the
common course of life, surprised to hear that they

XII.] PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. 179

are ridiculed, and called hard names by careless
or worldly persons. This is as it should be ; it
is as it should be, that they are surprised at it.
If a private Christian sets out with expecting to
make a disturbance in the world, the fear is, lest
he be not so humble-minded as he should be.
But those who go on quietly in the way of obe-
dience, and yet are detected by the keen eye of
the jealous self-condemning yet proud world, and
who, on discovering their situation, first shrink
from it and are distrest, then look to see if they
have done aught wrongly, and after all are sorry
for it, and but slowly and very timidly (if at all)
learn to rejoice in it, these are Christ's flock.
These are they who follow Him who was meek
and lowly of heart, His elect in whom He sees
His own image reflected. Consider how such
men show forth their light in a wicked world, yet
unconsciously. Moses came down from the mount,
and " wist not that the skin of his face shone" as
one who had held intercourse with God. But
" when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw
Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and
they were afraid to come nigh him1." Who can
estimate the power of our separate words spoken
in season ! How many of them are recollected
and cherished by this person or that which we
have forgotten, and bear fruit ! How do our good

1 Exod. xxxiv. 29, 30.

N2

180 PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. [SERM.

deeds excite others to rivalry in a good cause, as
the Angels perceive though we do not ! How are
men thinking of us we never heard of, or saw but
once, and in far countries unknown ! Let us view
this pleasing side of our doings, as well as the
sad prospect of our evil communications. Doubt-
less, our prayers and alms are rising as a sweet
sacrifice, pleasing to God ] ; and pleasing to Him,
not only as an office of devotion, but of charity
towards all men. Our businesses and our amuse-
ments, our joys and our sorrows, our opinions,
tastes, studies, views, and principles, are drawn
one way, heavenward. Be we high or low, in
our place we can serve God, and in consequence
glorify Him. "A little maid," who was "brought
away captive out of the land of Israel, and waited
on Naaman's wife2," pointed out to the great
captain of the host of the king of Syria the
means of recovery from his leprosy, and "his ser-
vants" spoke good words to him afterwards, and
brought him back to his reason when he would
have rejected the mode of cure which the prophet
prescribed. This may quiet impatient minds, and
console the over-scrupulous conscience. "Wait
on God and be doing good," and you must, you
cannot but be showing your light before men as
a city on a hill.

3. Still it is quite true that there are circum-

1 Acts x. 4. 2 2 Kings v. 2.

XII.] PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. 181

stances under which the Christian is bound openly
to express his opinion on religious subjects and
matters; and this is the real difficulty; viz. how to
do so without display. As a man's place in society
is here or there, so is it more or less his duty to
speak his mind freely. We must never coun-
tenance sin and error. Now the more obvious
and modest way of discountenancing evil is by
silence, and by separating from it ; e. g. we are
bound to keep aloof from deliberate and open
sinners. St. Paul expressly tells us, " not to
keep company, if any man that is called a
brother, (i. e. a Christian,) be a fornicator, or
covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard,
or an extortioner ; with such an one, no not to
eat1." And St. John gives us the like advice
with respect to heretics. " If there come any
unto you, and bring not this doctrine, (i. e. the
true doctrine of Christ,) receive him not into
your house, neither bid him God speed ; for he
that biddeth him God speed, is partaker of his
evil deeds2." It is plain that such conduct on
our part requires no great display, for it is but
conforming to the rules of the Church; though it
is often difficult to know on what occasions we
ought to adopt it, which is another question.

A more difficult duty is that of passing judg-
ment, (as a Christian is often bound to do,) on

1 1 Cor. v. 11. 2 2 John 10, 11.

182 PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. [SERM.

events of the day and public men. It becomes
his duty, in proportion as he has station and
influence in the community, in order that he may
persuade others to think as he does. Above all,
clergymen are bound to form and pronounce an
opinion. It is sometimes said in familiar lan-
guage that a clergyman should have nothing to
do with politics. This is true, if it be meant that
he should not aim at secular objects, should not
side with a political party as such, should not be
ambitious of popular applause, or the favour of
great men, should not take pleasure and lose
time in business of this world, should not be covet-
ous. But if it means that he should not express
an opinion and exert his influence one way rather
than another, it is plainly unscriptural. Did not the
Apostles, with all their reverence for the temporal
power, whether Jewish or Roman, and all their
separation from worldly ambition, did they not
still denounce their rulers as wicked men, who
had crucified and slain the Lord's Christ l ? and
would they have been as a city on a hill if they
had not done so ? If, indeed, this world's concerns
could be altogether disjoined from those of
Christ's kingdom, then indeed all Christians,
(laymen as well as clergy,) should abstain from
the thought of temporal affairs, and let the
worthless world pass down the stream of events

1 Acts ii. 23. iii. 13—17. iv. 27. xiii. 27.

XIL] PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. 183

till it perishes ; but if, (as is the case,) what hap-
pens in nations must affect the cause of religion in
those nations, since the Church may be seduced
and corrupted by the world, and in the world
there are myriads of souls to be converted and
saved, and since a Christian nation is bound to
become part of the Church, therefore it is our
duty to stand as a beacon on a hill, to cry aloud
and spare not, to lift up our voice like a trumpet,
and show the people their transgression, and the
house of Jacob their sins1. And all this may be
done without injury to our Christian gentleness
and humbleness, though it is difficult to do it. We
need not be angry, nor use contentious words,
and yet may firmly give our opinion, in proportion
as we have the means of forming one, and be
zealous towards God in all active good service,
and scrupulously and pointedly keep aloof from
the bad men whose evil arts we fear.

Another and still more difficult duty is that of
personally rebuking those we meet with in the in-
tercourse of life who sin in word or deed, and
testifying before them in Christ's name ; i. e. it is
difficult at once to be unassuming and zealous in
such cases. We know it is a plain and repeated
precept of Christ to tell others of their faults for
charity sake ; but how is this to be done without

1 Isa. Iviii. 1.

184 PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. [SERM.

seeming, nay, without being, arrogant and severe?
There are persons who are anxious to do their
duty to the full, who fear that they are deficient
in this particular branch of it, and deficient from
a blameable backwardness, and the dread of
giving offence ; yet, on the other hand, they feel
the painfulness of rebuking another, and, (to use
a common word,) the awkwardness of it. Such
persons must consider that, though to rebuke is a
duty, it is not a duty belonging at once to all
men ; and the perplexity which is felt about it
often arises from the very impropriety of attempt-
ing it in the particular case. It is improper, as a
general rule, in the young to witness before the
old, otherwise than by their silence. Still more
improper is it in inferiors to rebuke their supe-
riors ; e. g. a child his parent, of course ; or a
private person his natural and divinely-appointed
governor. When we assume a character not
suited to us, of course we feel awkward ; and
although we may have done so in honesty and
zeal (however ill-tutored), and so God may in
mercy accept our service, still He, at the same
time, rebukes us by our very feeling of perplexity
and shame. — As for such as rudely blame an-
other, and that a superior, and feel no pain at
doing so, T have nothing to say to such men, ex-
cept to express my earnest desire that they may be
led into a more Christian frame of mind. They

XJL] PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. 185

do not even feel the difficulty of witnessing for
God without display.

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

186 PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. [SERM.

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

To conclude. — The question is often raised,
whether a man can do his duty simply and

XII.] PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. 187

quietly, without being thought ostentatious by
the world. It is no great matter to himself
whether he is thought so or not, if he has not
provoked the opinion. As a general rule, I
would say the Church itself is always hated and
calumniated by the world, as being in duty
bound to make a bold profession. But, whether
individual members of the Church are so treated,
depends on various circumstances in the case of
each. There are persons, who, though very strict
and conscientious Christians, are yet praised by
the world. These are such, as having great
meekness and humility, are not so prominent in
station, or so practically connected with the world
as to offend it. Men admire religion, while they
can gaze on it as a picture. They think it lovely
in books ; and as long as they can look upon
Christians at a distance, they speak well of them.
The Jews in Christ's time built the sepulchres of
the prophets whom their fathers killed ; then
they themselves killed the Just One. They "reve-
renced" the Son of God before He came, but
when their passions and interests were stirred by
His coming, then they said, " This is the Heir,
come let us kill Him, and the inheritance shall
be ours V Thus Christians in active life, thwart-
ing, (as they do,) the pride and selfishness of the
world, are disliked by the world, and have " all
manner of evil said against them falsely for Christ's

J Mark xii. 7.

188 PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. [SERM.

sake1." Still, even under these circumstances,
though they must not shrink from the attack on
a personal account, it is still their duty to shelter
themselves, as far as they can, under the name
and authority of the Holy Church ; to keep to
its ordinances and rules ; and, if they are called
to suffer for the Church, rather to be drawn for-
ward to the suffering in the common course of
duty, than boldly to take upon them the task of
defending it. There is no cowardice in this.
Some men are placed in posts of danger, and to
these danger comes in the way of duty ; but
others must not intrude into their honourable
office. Thus in the first age of the Gospel, our
Lord told His followers to fly from city to city,
when persecuted ; and even the heads of the
Church, in the early persecutions, instead of
exposing themselves to the fury of the heathen,
did their utmost to avoid it. We are a suffering
people from the first ; but, while on' the one
hand, we do not defend ourselves illegally, we
do not court suffering on the other. We must
witness and glorify God, as lights on a hill,
through evil report and good report ; but the
evil and the good report is not so much of our
own making as the natural consequence of our
Christian profession.

Who can tell God's will concerning this
tumultuous world, or how He will dispose of it ?

1 Matt. v. 11.

XII.] PROFESSION WITHOUT OSTENTATION. 189

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

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

1 Rev. xix. 6—8.

SERMON XIII.

PROMISING WITHOUT DOING.

MATTHEW xxi. 28 — 30.

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

OUR religious professions are at a far greater dis-
tance from our acting upon them, than we ourselves
are aware. We know generally that it is our duty
to serve God, and we resolve we will do so faith-
fully. We are sincere in thus generally desiring
and purposing to be obedient, and we think we are
in earnest; yet we go away, and presently, without
any struggle of mind or apparent change of pur-
pose, almost without knowing ourselves what we
do, — we go away and do the very contrary to the
resolution we have expressed. This inconsistency
is exposed by our Blessed Lord in the second part
of the parable which I have taken for my text.

SRHM.XHI.] PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. 191

You will observe, that in the case of the first son,
who said he would not go work, and yet did go,
it is said, " afterward he repented ;" he under-
went a positive change of purpose. But in the
case of the second, it is merely said, " he an-
swered, I go, Sir, and went not;" — for here
there was no revolution of sentiment, nothing
deliberate ; he merely acted according to his
habitual frame of mind ; he did not go work,
because his general character was against work-
ing ; only he did not know this. He said, " I go,
Sir," sincerely, from the feeling of the moment;
but when* the words were out of his mouth then
they were forgotten. It was like the wind blow-
ing against a stream, which seems for a moment
to change its course in consequence, but in fact
flows down as before.

To this subject I shall now call your attention,
as drawn from the latter part of this parable,
passing over the case of the repentant son, which
would form a distinct subject in itself. " He an-
swered and said, I go, Sir, and went not."
We promise to serve God, we do not perform ;•
and that, not from deliberate faithlessness in the
particular case, but because it is our nature, our
way not to obey, and we do not know this ; we do
not know ourselves, or what we are promising.
— I will give several instances of this kind of
weakness.

1. E. g. that of mistaking good feelings for
1

192 PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. [SBRM.

real religious principle. Consider how often this
takes place. It is the case with the young neces-
sarily, who have not been exposed to temptation.
They have (we will say) been brought up religi-
ously, they wish to be religious, and so are objects
of our love and interest, but they think themselves
far more religious than they really are. They
suppose they hate sin, and understand the Truth,
and can resist the world, when they hardly know
the meaning of the words they use. Again, how
often is a man incited by circumstances to utter
a virtuous wish, or propose a generous or valiant
deed, and perhaps applauds himself foV his own
good feeling, and has no suspicion that he is
not able to act upon it ! In truth, he does not
understand where the real difficulty of his duty
lies. He thinks that the characteristic of the
religious man is the having correct notions. It
escapes him that there is a great interval between
feeling and acting. He takes it for granted he
can do what he wishes. He knows he is a free-
agent, and can on the whole do what he will ;
but he is not conscious of the load of corrupt
nature and sinful habits which hang upon his will,
and clog it in each particular exercise of it. He
has borne these so long that he is insensible to
their existence. He knows that in little things,
where passion and inclination are excluded, he
can perform as soon as he resolves. Should he
meet in his walk two paths to the right and left,

XIII.] PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. 193

he is sure he can take which he will at once,
without any difficulty ; and he fancies that obe-
dience to God is not much more difficult than to
turn to the right instead of the left.

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

So very difficult is obedience, so hardly won
is every step in our Christian course, so sluggish
and inert our corrupt nature, that I would have
a man disbelieve he can do one jot or tittle more
than he has already done ; refrain from borrow-
ing ought on the hope of the future, however
good a security for it he seems to be able to
show ; and never take his good feelings and

194 PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. [SBHM.

wishes in pledge for one single untried deed.
Nothing but past acts are the vouchers for future.
Past sacrifices, past labours, past victories over
yourselves, — these, my brethren, are the tokens of
those in store ; and doubtless of greater in store,
for the path of the just is as the shining, growing
light1. But trust nothing short of these. "Deeds,
not words and wishes," this must be the watch-
word of your warfare and the ground of your as-
surance. But if you have done nothing firm and
manly hitherto, if you are as yet the coward
slave of Satan, and the poor creature of your
lusts and passions, never suppose you will one
day rouse yourselves from your indolence. Alas !
there are men who walk the road to hell, always
the while looking back at heaven, and trembling
as they pace forward towards their place of doom.
They hasten on as under a spell, shrinking from
the consequences of their own deliberate doings.
Such was Balaam. What would he have given
if words and feelings might have passed for
deeds ! See how religious he was so far as profes-
sion goes ! How did He revere God in speech !
How piously expressing a desire to die the death of
the righteous ! Yet he died in battle among God's
enemies ; — not suddenly overcome by temptation,
only on the other hand, not suddenly turned to
God by his good thoughts and fair purposes.

1 Prov. iv. 18.

XIII.] PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. 195

But in this respect the power of sin differs from
any literal spell or fascination, that we are after
all willing slaves of it, and shall answer for fol-
lowing it. If " our iniquities, like the wind, take
us away1," yet we can help this.

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

1 Isaiah Ixiv. 6.

196 PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. [SERM.

human virtue ; — reminding us to call no one
Master on earth, but to look up to our sinless
and perfect Lord ; reminding us to humble our-
selves each within himself, and to reflect what we
must appear to God, if even to ourselves and each
other we seem so base and worthless ; and show-
ing clearly that all who are saved, even the least
inconsistent of us, can be saved only by faith, not
by works.

3, Here I arn reminded of another plausible
form of the same error. It is a mistake concern-
ing what is meant by faith. We know Scripture
tells us that God accepts those who have faith in
Him. Now the question is, What is faith, and
how can a man tell that he has faith? Some
persons answer at once and without hesitation,
that " to have faith, is to feel oneself to be
nothing, and God every thing ; it is to be con-
vinced of sin, to be conscious one cannot save
oneself, and to wish to be saved by Christ our
Lord ; and that it is, moreover, to have the love
of Him warm in one's heart and to rejoice in
Him, to desire His glory, and to resolve to live
to Him and not to the world." But I will answer,
with all due seriousness, as speaking on a serious
subject, "that this is not faith." Not that it is
not necessary (it is very necessary) to be con-
vinced, that we are laden with infirmity and sin,
and without health in us, and to look for salvation
solely to Christ's blessed sacrifice on the cross ;

XIII.] PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. 197

and we may well be thankful if we are thus
minded ; but that a man may feel all this that I
have described, vividly, and still not yet possess
one particle of true religious faith. Why? Be-
cause there is an immeasurable distance between
feeling right and doing right. A man may have
all these good thoughts and emotions, yet, (if he
has not yet hazarded them to the experiment of
practice,) he cannot promise himself that he has
any sound and permanent principle at all. If he
has not yet acted upon them, we have no voucher,
barely on account of them to believe that they are
any thing but words. Though a man spoke like
an angel, I would not believe him, on the mere
ground of his speaking. Nay till he acts upon
them, he has not even evidence to himself, that
he has true living faith. Dead faith, (as St.
James says,) profits no man. Of course ; the
Devils have it. What, on the other hand, is
living faith ? Do fervent thoughts make faith
living ? St. James tells us otherwise. He tells
us works, deeds of obedience, are the life of faith.
" As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also V So that those
who think they really believe, because they have
in word and thought surrendered themselves to
God, are much too hasty in their judgment.
They have done something, indeed, but not at all
the most difficult part of their duty, which is to

1 James ii. 26.

198 PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. [SERM.

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

My object has been, as far as a few words can

1 Prov. xxiv. 33.

I

XIIL] PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. 199

do it, to lead you to some true notion of the
depths and deceitfulness of the heart, which we
do riot really know. It is easy to speak of
human nature as corrupt in the general, to admit
it in the general, and then get quit of the sub-
ject ; as if, the doctrine being once admitted, there
was nothing more to be done with it. But in
truth we can have no real apprehension of the
doctrine of our corruption, till we view the struc-
ture of our minds, part by part ; and dwell upon
and draw out the signs of our weakness, incon-
sistency, and ungodliness, which are such as can
arise from nothing but some strange original de-
fect in our moral nature.

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

I

200 PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. [SKRM.

forlorn Hagar in the wilderness. He knoweth
whereof we are made, and He alone can uphold
us. He sees with most appalling distinctness all
our sins, all the windings and recesses of evil
within us ; yet it is our only comfort to know
this, and to trust Him for help against ourselves.
To those who have a right notion of their weak-
ness, the thought of their Almighty Sanctifier
and Guide is continually present. They believe
in the necessity of a spiritual influence to change
and strengthen them, not as a mere abstract doc-
trine, but as a practical truth daily to be fulfilled
in their warfare with sin and Satan.

2. And this conviction of our excessive weak-
ness must further lead us to try ourselves con-
tinually in little things, in order to prove our own
earnestness ; ever to be suspicious of ourselves,
and, not only to refrain from promising much, but
actually to put ourselves to the test, to keep our-
selves wakeful. A sober mind never enjoys God's
blessings to the full ; it draws back and refuses a
portion to show its command over itself. It de-
nies itself in trivial circumstances, even if nothing
is gained by denying but an evidence of its own
sincerity. It makes trial of its own professions ;
and if it has been tempted to say any thing noble
and great, or to blame another for sloth or
cowardice, it takes itself at its word, and resolves
to make some sacrifice (if possible) in little
things, as a price for the indulgence of fine speak-

XIIL] PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. 201

ing, or as a penalty on its censoriousness. Much
would be gained if we adopted this rule even in
our professions of friendship and service one to-
wards another ; and never said a thing which we
were not willing to do.

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

Lastly, we see from the parable, what is the
course and character of human obedience on the
whole. There are two sides of it. I have taken
the darker side ; the case of profession without
practice, of saying " I go, Sir," and of not going.

PROMISING WITHOUT DOING. [SERM.

But what is the brighter side ? Nothing better
than to say, " I go not," arid to repent and go.
The more common condition of men is, not to know
their inability to serve God, and readily to answer
for themselves ; and so they quietly pass through
life. Their best estate, what is it, but to rise
more or less in rebellion against God, to struggle
with His ordinances, and but poorly to make up
for the mischief they have caused, by repenting
and obeying ? Alas ! to be alive as a Christian,
is nothing better than to struggle against sin, to
disobey and repent. There has been but One
among the sons of men who has said and done
consistently ; who said " I come to do Thy will, O
God," and without delay or hindrance did it.
He came to show7 us what human nature might
become, if carried on to its perfection. Thus He
teaches us to think highly of our nature as viewed
in Him ; not, (as some do,) to speak evil of our
nature and exalt ourselves personally, but while
we acknowledge our own distance from heaven,
to view our nature as renewed in Him *, as great
and wonderful beyond our thoughts. Thus He
teaches us to be hopeful ; and encourages us
while conscience abases us. Angels seem little
in honour and dignity, compared with that nature
which the Eternal Word has purified by His own

1 " That which quickeneth us is the Spirit of the Second
Adam, and His flesh that wherewith He quickeneth." Hooker.
Eccl. Pol. v. 56.

XIIL] PROMISING WITHOUT DOING.

union with it. Henceforth, we dare aspire to
enter into the heaven of heavens, and to live for
ever in God's presence, because the first fruits of
our race is already there in the Person of His
Only-begotten Son.

SERMON XIV,

RELIGIOUS EMOTION.

MARK xiv. 31.

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

IT is not my intention to make St. Peter's fall the
direct subject of our consideration to-day, though
I have taken this text ; but to suggest to you an
important truth, which that fall, together with
other events at the same season, especially enforces ;
viz. that violent impulse is not the same as a firm
determination, — that men may have their religious
feelings roused, without being on that account at
all the more likely to obey God in practice, rather
the less likely. This important truth is in various
ways brought before our minds at the season
sacred to the memory of Christ's betrayal and
death. The contrast displayed in the Gospels
between His behaviour on the one hand, as the
time of His crucifixion drew near, and that both
of His disciples and the Jewish populace on the
other, is full of instruction, if we will receive it ;

SEBM. XIV.] RELIGIOUS EMOTION. 205

He steadily fixing His face to endure those suf-
ferings which were the atonement for our sins, yet
without ought of mental excitement or agitation ;
His disciples and the Jewish multitude first pro-
testing their devotion to Him in vehement lan-
guage, then, the one deserting Him, the other
even clamouring for His crucifixion. He entered
Jerusalem in triumph ; the multitude cutting
down branches of palm-trees, and strawing them
in the way, as in honour of a king and conqueror1.
He had lately raised Lazarus from the dead ; and
so great a miracle had given Him great tempo-
rary favour with the populace. Multitudes flocked
to Bethany to see Him and Lazarus 2 ; and when
He set out for Jerusalem where He was to suffer,
they, little thinking they would soon cry, " Cru-
cify Him," went out to meet Him with the palm-
branches, and hailing Him as their Messiah, led
Him on into the holy city. Here was an instance
of a popular excitement. The next instance of
excited feeling is found in that melancholy self-
confidence of St. Peter, contained in the text.
When our Saviour foretold Peter's trial and fall,
Peter at length " spake the more vehemently, If
I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in
any wise." Yet in a little while both the people
and the Apostles renounced their Messiah ; the
ardour of their devotion had run its course.

1 Matt. xxi. 8. John xii. 13. 2 John xii. 1 — 18.

206 RELIGIOUS EMOTION. [SERM.

Now it may, perhaps, appear as if the circum-
stance I am pointing out, remarkable as it is, still
is one on which it is of little use to dwell, when
addressing a mixed congregation, on the ground
that most men feel too little about religion. And
it may be thence argued, that the aim of Christian
teaching rather should be to rouse them from
insensibility, than to warn them against excess of
religious feeling. I answer, that to mistake mere
transient emotion or mere good thoughts for obe-
dience is a far commoner deceit than at first sight
appears. How many a man is there, who, when
his conscience upbraids him for neglect of duty,
comforts himself with the reflection that he has
never treated the subject of religion with open
scorn, — that he has from time to time had serious
thoughts, — that on certain solemn occasions he
has been affected and awed, — that he has at
times been moved to earnest prayer to God, — that
he has had accidentally some serious conversation
with a friend. This, I say, is a case of frequent
occurrence among men called Christian. Again,
there is a further reason for insisting upon this
subject. No one (it is plain) can be religious
without having his heart in his religion ; his
affections must be actively engaged in it ; and it
is the aim of all Christian instruction to promote
this. But if so, doubtless there is great danger
lest a perverse use should be made of the affec-
tions. In proportion as a religious duty is diffi-

XIV.] RELIGIOUS EMOTION. 207

cult, so is it open to abuse. For the very reason,
then, that I desire to make you earnest in religion,
must I also warn you against a counterfeit earn-
estness, which often misleads men from the plain
path of obedience, and which most men are apt
to fall into just on their first awakening to a
serious consideration of their duty. It is not
enough to bid you serve Christ in faith, fear,
love, and gratitude ; care must be taken that it is
the faith, fear, love, and gratitude of a sound
mind. That vehement tumult of zeal which St.
Peter felt before his trial failed him under it.
The open-mouthed admiration of the populace at
our Saviour's miracle was suddenly changed to
blasphemy. This may happen now as then ;
and it often happens in a way distressing to the
Christian teacher. He finds it is far easier to
rouse men to earnestness in religion, (hard though
this be,) than to rule the spirit which he has
excited. His hearers, when their attention is
gained, soon begin to think he does not go far
enough ; then they seek means which he will not
supply, of encouraging and indulging their mere
feelings, to the neglect of humble practical efforts
to serve God. After a time, like the multitude,
they suddenly turn round to the world, abjuring
Christ altogether, or denying Him with Peter, or
gradually sinking into a mere form of obedience,
while they still think themselves true Christians,
and secure of the favour of Almighty God.

208 RELIGIOUS EMOTION. [SERM.

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

Now that perfect state of mind, at which we
must aim, and which the Holy Spirit imparts, is
a deliberate preference of God's service to every
thing else, a determined resolution to give up all
for Him, and a love for Him, not tumultuous
and passionate, but such a love as a child bears
towards his parents, calm, full, reverent, con-
templative, obedient. Here, however, it may be
objected, that this is not always possible ;
that we cannot help feeling emotion at times ;
that, even to take the case of parents and children,
a man is at certain times thrown out of that quiet
affection which he bears his father and mother,
and is agitated by various feelings ; again,
that zeal, e. g. though a Christian virtue, is
almost inseparable from ardour and passion. To
this I reply, that I am not describing the state
of mind to which any one of us has attained,
when I say it is altogether calm and meditative,
but that which is the perfect state, that which we
should aim at. I know it is often impossible,
for various reasons, to avoid being agitated and
excited ; but the question before us is, whether

XIV.] RELIGIOUS EMOTION. 209

we should think much of violent emotion, whe-
ther we should encourage it. Doubtless it is no
siri to feel at times passionately on the subject
of religion ; it is natural in some men, and under
certain circumstances it is praiseworthy in others.
But these are accidents. As a general rule, the
more religious men become, the calmer they be-
come ; and at all times the religious principle, as
viewed by itself, is calm, sober, and deliberate.

Let us review some of the accidental circum-
stances I speak of.

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

2. Next, there are, besides, particular occasions
on which excited feeling is natural, and even
commendable ; but not for its own sake, but on
account of the peculiar circumstances under which
it occurs. E. g* It is natural for a man to feel

p

210 RELIGIOUS EMOTION. [SERM.

especial remorse at his sins when he first begins
to think of religion ; he ought to feel bitter sorrow
and keen repentance. But all such emotion
evidently is not the highest state of a Christian's
mind ; it is but the first stirring of grace in him.
A sinner, indeed, can do no better ; but in pro-
portion as he learns more of the power of true
religion, such agitation will wear away. What
is this but saying, that repentance is only an
introductory duty ? Who doubts that sinners are
bound to repent and turn to God ? Yet the
Angels have no repentance ; and who denies their
peacefulness of soul to be a higher excellence
than ours ? The woman, who had been a sinner,
when she came behind our Lord shed many
tears, and washed His feet with tears l. It was
well done in her ; she did what she could ; and
was honoured with her Saviour's praise. Yet it
is clear this was not a permanent state of mind.
It was but the first step in religion, and would
doubtless wear away. It was but the accident of
a season. Had her faith no deeper root than this
emotion, it would have soon come to an end as
Peter's zeal.

In like manner, whenever we fall into sin, (and
how often is this the case !) the truer our faith is,
the more we shall for the time be distressed and
agitated. No doubt ; yet it would be a strange

vii. 38.

XIV.] RELIGIOUS EMOTION. 211

procedure to make much of this mental anguish.
Though it is a bad sign if we do not feel it, yet if
we do, what then ? It argues no high Christian
excellence ; I repeat, it is but the virtue of a very
imperfect state. Bad is the best offering we can
offer to God after sinning. On the other hand,
the more consistent our habitual obedience, the
less we shall be subject to such feelings.

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

Now all this may be illustrated from Scripture.

1 Psalm cxii. 7.
p2

RELIGIOUS EMOTION. [SERM.

We find the same prayers offered, and the same
resolutions expressed by good men, sometimes in
a calm way, sometimes with, more ardour. How
quietly and simply does Agar offer his prayer to
God! "Two things have I required of Thee;
deny me them not before I die. Remove far from
me vanity and lies ; give me neither poverty nor
riches ; feed me with food convenient for me."
St. Paul, on the other hand, with greater fervency,
because he was in more distressing circumstances,
but with not more acceptableness on that account
in God's sight, says, " I have learned in whatso-
ever state I am, therewith to be content. I know
both how to be abased, and I know how to
abound ;" and so he proceeds. Again, Joshua
says, simply but firmly, " As for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord." St. Paul says as
firmly, but with more emotion, when his friends
besought him to keep away from Jerusalem :—
" What, mean ye to weep and to break mine
heart ? for I am ready not to be bound only, but
also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord
Jesus." Observe how calm Job is in his resigna-
tion. " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken
away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." And on
the other hand, how calmly that same Apostle
expresses his assurance of salvation at the close
of his life, who, during the struggle, was acci-
dentally agitated :— "I am now ready to be offered.

XIV.] RELIGIOUS EMOTION. 213

.... I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is
laid up for me a crown of righteousness V

These remarks may suffice to show the relation
which excited feelings bear to true religious prin-
ciple. They are sometimes natural, sometimes
suitable ; but they are not religion itself. They
come and go. They are not to be counted on, or
encouraged ; for as in St. Peter's case, they may
supplant true faith, and lead to self-deception.
They will gradually lose their place within us
as our obedience becomes confirmed ; — partly be-
cause those men are kept in perfect peace, and
sheltered from all agitating feelings, whose minds
are stayed on God 2 ; — partly because these feel-
ings themselves are fixed into habits by the power
of faith, and instead of coming and going, and
agitating the mind from their suddenness, they
are permanently restrained so far as there is any
thing good in them, and give a deeper colour
and a more energetic expression to the Christian
character.

Now, it will be observed, that in these remarks
I have taken for granted, as not needing proof,
that the highest Christian temper is free from all
vehement and tumultuous feeling. But, if we
wish some evidence of this, let us turn to our
Great Pattern, Jesus Christ, and examine what

1 Prov. xxx. 7, 8. Phil. iv. 11, 12. Josh. xxiv. 15. Acts
xxi. 13. Job i. 21. 2 Tim. iv. 6—8.

2 Isaiah xxvi. 3.

214 RELIGIOUS EMOTION. [SERM.

was the character of that perfect holiness which
He alone of all men ever displayed.

And, can we find any where such calmness
and simplicity as marked His devotion and His
obedience ? When does He ever speak with fer-
vour or vehemence ? Or, if there be one or two
words of His in His mysterious agony and death,
characterized by an energy which we do not com-
prehend and which sinners must silently adore,
still how conspicuous and undeniable is His com-
posure in the general tenor of his words and con-
duct ! Consider the prayer He gave us ; and this
is the more to the purpose, for the very reason
that He has given it as a model for our worship.
How plain and unadorned it is ! How few are the
words of it ! How grave and solemn the petitions !
What an entire absence of tumult and feverish
emotion ! Surely our own feelings tell us, it
could not be otherwise. To suppose it otherwise
were an irreverence towards Him. — At another
time when He is said to have " rejoiced in
spirit," His thanksgiving is marked with the same
undisturbed tranquillity. " I thank Thee, O
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast
hid these things from the wise and prudent, and
hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in Thy sight." — Again,
think of His prayer in the garden. He then was
in distress of mind beyond our understanding.
Something there was, we know not what, which

XIV.] RELIGIOUS EMOTION. 215

weighed heavy upon Him. He prayed He might
be spared the extreme bitterness of His trial.
Yet how subdued and how concise is His petition !
" Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee :
take away this cup from Me ; nevertheless, not
what I will, but what Thou wilt1." And this is
but one instance, though a chief one, of that deep
tranquillity of mind, which is conspicuous through-
out the solemn history of the Atonement. Read
John xiii., in which He is described as washing
His disciples' feet, Peter's in particular. Reflect
upon His serious words addressed at several times
to Judas who betrayed Him ; and His conduct
when seized by His enemies, when brought before
Pilate, and lastly, when suffering on the cross.
When does He set us an example of passionate
devotion, of enthusiastic wishes, or of intemperate
words ?

Such is the lesson our Saviour's conduct teaches
us. Now let me remind you, how diligently we
are taught the same by our own Church. Christ
gave us a prayer to guide us in praying to the
Father ; and upon this model our own Liturgy is
strictly formed. You will look in vain in the
Prayer-book for long or vehement prayers ; for it
is seldom, (comparatively speaking,) that agitation
of mind is right, but there is ever a call upon us
for seriousness, gravity, simplicity, deliberate trust,

1 Luke x. 21. Mark xiv. 36.

216 RELIGIOUS EMOTION. [SERM.

deep-seated humility. Many persons, doubtless,
think the Church prayers for this very reason,
cold and formal. They do not discern their high
perfection, and they think they could easily write
better prayers. When such opinions are ad-
vanced, it is quite sufficient to turn our thoughts
to our Saviour's precept and example. It cannot
be denied that those who thus speak, ought to
consider our Lord's prayer defective ; and some-
times they are profane enough to think so, and to
confess they think so. But I pas? this by. Grant-
ing for argument's sake His precepts were inten-
tionally defective, as delivered before the Holy
Ghost descended, yet what will they say to His
example ? Can even the fullest light of the Gospel
revealed after His resurrection, bring us His fol-
lowers into the remotest resemblance to our Blessed
Lord's perfect holiness 1 yet how calm was He in
His own obedience !

To conclude : — Let us take warning from St.
Peter's fall. Let us not promise much ; let us
not talk much of ourselves ; let us not be high-
minded, nor encourage ourselves in impetuous
bold language in religion. Let us take warning,
too, from that fickle multitude who cried, first
Hosanna, then Crucify. A miracle startled them
into a sudden adoration of their Saviour; — its
effect upon them soon died away. And thus the
especial mercies of God sometimes excite us for a
season. We feel Christ speaking to us through

XIV.] RELIGIOUS EMOTION. 217

our consciences and hearts ; and we fancy He is
assuring us we are His true servants, when He is
but calling on us to receive Him. Let us not be
content with saying, " Lord, Lord," without
" doing the things which He says." The hus-
bandman's son who said, " I go, sir," yet went
not to the vineyard, gained nothing by his fair
words. One secret act of self-denial, one sacrifice
of inclination to duty, is worth all the mere good
thoughts, warm feelings, passionate prayers, in
which idle people indulge themselves. It will
give us more comfort on our death-bed to reflect
on one deed of self-denying mercy, purity, or
humility, than to recollect the shedding of many
tears, and the recurrence of frequent transports,
and much spiritual exultation. These latter feel-
ings come and go ; they may or may not accom-
pany hearty obedience ; they are never tests of
it; but good actions are the fruits of faith, and
assure us that we are Christ's ; they comfort us
an evidence of the Spirit working in us. By
them we shall be judged at the last day ; and
tough they have no worth in themselves, by
reason of that infection of sin which gives its
character to every thing we do, yet they will be
iccepted for His sake, who bore the agony in the
len and suffered as a sinner on the cross.

SERMON XV,

RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL.

ROMANS iv. 20, 21.

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

THERE are serious men who are in the habit
of describing Christian Faith as a feeling or a
principle such as ordinary persons cannot enter
into ; a something strange and peculiar in its very
nature, different in kind from every thing that
affects and influences us in matters of this world,
and not admitting any illustration from our con-
duct in them. They consider that, because it is
a spiritual gift, and heavenly in its origin, it is
therefore altogether superhuman ; and that to
compare it to any of our natural principles or
feelings, is to think unworthily of it. And thus
they lead others, who wish for an excuse for
living irreligious lives, to speak of Christian Faith
as extravagant and irrational, as if it were a mere

1

SERM. XV.] RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL.

fancy or feeling, which some persons had and
others had not ; and which, accordingly, could
only, and would necessarily, be felt by those who
were disposed that certain way. Now, that the
object on which Faith fixes our thoughts, that the
doctrines of Scripture are most marvellous and
exceeding in glory, unheard and unthought of
elsewhere, is quite true ; and it is also true that
no mind of man will form itself to a habit of Faith
without the preventing and assisting influences of
Divine Grace. But it is not at all true that Faith
itself, i. e. Trust, is a strange principle of in-
fluence ; and to say that it is irrational is even
an absurdity. I mean such a Faith as that of
Abraham, mentioned in the text, which led him
to believe God's word when opposed to his own
experience. And it shall now be my endeavour
to show this.

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

It is obvious we trust our memory. We do not
now witness what we saw yesterday ; yet we have
no doubt it took place in the way we remember.
We recollect clearly the circumstances of morn-

RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. [SERM.

ing and afternoon. Our confidence in our me-
mory is so strong, that a man might reason with
us all day long, without persuading us that we
slept through the day, or that we returned from
a long journey. Thus we have faith in our me-
mory ; yet what is irrational here ?

Again, even when we use reasoning, and are
convinced of any thing by reasoning, what is it but
that we trust the general soundness of our reason-
ing powers ? From knowing one thing we think
we can be sure about another, even though we do

' O

not see it. Who of us would doubt, on seeing
strong shadows on the ground, that the sun was
shining out, though our face happened to be
turned the other way ? Here is faith without
sight ; but there is nothing against reason here,
unless reason can be against itself.

And what I wish you particularly to observe,
is, that we continually trust our memory and our
reasoning powers in this way, though they often
deceive us. This is worth observing, because it is
sometimes said that we cannot be certain our faith
in religion is not a mistake. I say our memory
and reason often deceive us ; yet no one says it is
therefore absurd and irrational to continue to
trust them ; — and for this plain reason, because
on the whole they are true and faithful witnesses,
because it is only at times that they mislead us ;
so that the chance is, that they are right in this
case or that, which happens to be before us ; and

XV.] RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. 221

(again) because in all practical matters we are
obliged to anticipate, not what may be possibly, but
what is likely to be. In matters of daily life, we
have no time for fastidious and perverse fancies
about the minute chances of our being deceived.
We are obliged to act at once, or we should cease
to live. There is a chance (it cannot be denied)
that our food to-day may be poisonous, — we can-
not be quite certain, — but it looks the same and
tastes the same, and we have good friends round
us ; so we do not abstain from it, for all this
chance, though it is real. This necessity of
acting promptly is our happiness in this world's
matters ; in the concerns of a future life we, alas !
have time for carnal and restless thoughts about
possibilities. And this is our trial; and it will
be our condemnation, if with the experience of
the folly of such idle fancy ings about what may
be, in matters of this life, we yet indulge them as
regards the future. If it be said, that we some-
times do distrust our reasoning powers, e. g. when
they lead us to some unexpected conclusion, or
when another's memory contradicts ours, this
only shows that there are things which we should
be weak or hasty in believing ; which is quite
true. Doubtless there is such a fault as credulity,
or believing too readily and too much, (and this,
in religion, we call superstition,) but this neither
shows that all trust is irrational, nor againjthat
trust is necessarily irrational, which is founded

222 RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. [SERM.

on what is but likely to be and may be denied
without an actual absurdity. Indeed, when we
come to examine the subject, it will be found
that, strictly speaking, we know little more than
that we exist, and that there is an Unseen Power
whom we are bound to obey. Beyond this we
must trust ; and first our senses, memory, and
reasoning powers ; then other authorities : — so
that, in fact, almost all we do, every day of our
lives, is on trust, i. e. faith.

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

Let us, then, understand faith in this sense of
reliance on the words of another, as opposed to
trust in oneself. This is the common meaning of
the word, I grant; — as when we contrast it to
sight and to reason ; and yet what I have already
said has its use in reminding men who are eager

XV.] RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL.

for demonstration in matters of religion, that
there are difficulties in matters of sense and rea-
soning also. But to proceed as I have proposed. —
It is easy to show, that, even considering faith as
a mere trust in another, it is no irrational or
strange principle of conduct in the concerns of
this life.

For, when we consider the subject attentively,
how few things there are which we can ascertain
for ourselves by our own senses and reason !
After all, what do we know without trusting
others ? We know that we are in a certain state
f health, in a certain place, have been alive for
certain number of years, have certain principles
nd likings, have certain persons around us, and
rhaps have in our lives travelled to certain
laces at a distance. But what do we know
ore ? Are there not towns (we will say) within
fty or sixty miles of us which we have never
een, and which, nevertheless, we fully believe to
e, as we have heard them described ? To extend
ur view ; — we know that land stretches in every
irection of us, a certain number of miles, and
en there is sea on all sides ; that we are in an
land. But who has seen the land all around,
nd has proved for himself that the fact is so ?
What, then, convinces us of it ? the report of
thers, — this trust, this faith in testimony which,
when religion is concerned, then, arid only then,
e proud and sinful would fain call irrational.

224 RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. [SERM.

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

Consider how men in the business of life,
nay, all of us, confide, are obliged to confide,
in persons we never saw, or know but slightly ;
nay, in their hand-writings, which, for what we
know, may be forged, if we are to speculate and
fancy what may be. We act upon our trust in
them implicitly, because common sense tells us
that, with proper caution and discretion, faith in
others is perfectly safe and rational. Scripture,
then, only bids us act in respect to a future life,
as we are every day acting at present. Or,
again, how certain we all are, (when we think on
the subject,) that we must sooner or later die !
No one seriously thinks he can escape death ;
and men dispose of their property and arrange
their affairs, confidently contemplating, not in-
deed the exact time of their death, still death
as sooner or later to befal them. Of course they
do ; it would be most irrational in them not to
expect it. Yet observe, what proof has any one of
us that he shall die ? because other men die ?
how does he know that ? has he seen them die ?
he can know nothing of what took place before
he was born, nor what happens in other countries.
How little, indeed, he knows about it at all, except
that it is a received fact, and except that it would,
in truth, be idle to doubt what mankind as a

XV.] RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL.

whole witness, though each individual has only
his proportionate share in the universal testimony !
And, further, we constantly believe things even
against our own judgment; i. e. when we think
our informant likely to know more about the
matter under consideration than ourselves, which
is the precise case in the question of religious
faith. And thus from reliance on others we
acquire knowledge of all kinds, and proceed to
reason, judge, decide, act, form plans for the
future. And in all this (I say) trust is at the
bottom ; and this the world calls prudence, (and
rightly) ; and not to trust, and act upon trust,
imprudence, or (it may be) headstrong folly or
madness.

But it is needless to proceed ; the world could
not go on without it. The most distressing event
that can happen to a state is (we know) the
spreading of a want of confidence between man
and man. Distrust, want of faith, breaks the
very bonds of human society. Now, then, shall
we account it only rational for a man, when he
is ignorant, to believe his fellow-man, nay, to yield
to another's judgment as better than his own,
and yet think it against reason when one, like
Abraham, gives ear to the Word of God, and
sets the promise of God above his own short-
sighted expectation ? Abraham, it is true, rested
in hope beyond hope, in the hope afforded by a
Divine promise beyond that hope suggested by

226 RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. [SERM.

nature. He had fancied he never should have a
son, and God promised him a son. But might
he not well address those self-wise persons who
neglect to walk in the steps of his faith, in the
language of just reproof? " If we receive the
witness of men" (he might well urge with the
Apostle,) " the witness of God is greater V
Therefore, " he staggered not at the promise of
God through unbelief, but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded
that what He had promised He was able also to
perform."

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

This objection brings us to a very large and
and weighty question, though I do not think it
is, generally speaking, a very practical one ; viz.
what are our reasons for believing the Bible
came from God ? If any one asks this in a

1 1 John v. 9.

XV.] RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL.

scoffing way, he is not to be answered ; for he is
profane, arid exposes himself to the curse pro-
nounced by St. Paul upon the haters of the Lord
Jesus. But if a man inquires sincerely, wishing
to find the truth, waiting on God humbly, yet
perplexed at knowing or witnessing the deeds of
scorners and daring blasphemers, and at hearing
their vain reasonings, and not knowing what to
think or say about them, let him consider the
following remarks, with which I conclude.

Now, first, whatever such profane persons may
say about their willingness to believe, if they could
find reason, — however willing they may pro-
fess themselves to admit that we daily take things
on trust, and that to act on faith is in itself quite
a rational procedure, — though they may pretend
that they do not quarrel with being required to
believe, but say that they do think it hard that
better evidence is not given them for believ-
ing what they are bid believe undoubtingly,
the divine authority of the Bible, — in spite of
all this, depend upon it, (in a very great many
cases,) they do murmur at being required to be-
lieve, they do dislike being bound to act without
seeing, they do prefer to trust themselves to trust-
ing God, even though it could be plainly proved
to them that God was in truth speaking to them.
Did they see God, did He show Himself as He
will appear at the last day, still they would be
faithful to their own miserable and wretched

Q2

228 RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. [SERM.

selves, and would be practically disloyal to the
authority of God. Their conduct shows this.
Why, otherwise, do they so frequently scoff at
religious men, as if timid and narrow-minded,
merely because they fear to sin ? Why do they
ridicule such conscientious persons as will not
swear, or jest indecorously, or live dissolutely?
Clearly, it is their very faith itself they ridicule ;
not their believing on false grounds, but their
believing at all. Here they show what it is which
rules them within. They do not like the tie of
religion ; they do not like dependence. To trust
another, much more to trust him implicitly, is to
acknowledge oneself to be his inferior ; and this
man's proud nature cannot bear to do. He is apt
to think it unmanly and to be ashamed of it ; he
promises himself liberty by breaking the chain,
(as he considers it,) which binds him to his Maker
and Redeemer. You will say, why then do such
men trust each other if they are so proud ? I
answer, that they cannot help it ; and again,
that while they trust, they are trusted in turn ;
which puts them on a sort of equality with others.
Unless this mutual dependence takes place, it is
true, they cannot bear to be bound to trust an-
other, to depend on him. And this is the reason
that such men are so given to cause tumults and
rebellions in national affairs. They set up some
image of freedom and liberty in their minds, a
freedom from the shackles of dependence, which

XV.] RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. 229

they think their natural right, and which they aim
to gain for themselves ; a liberty, much like that
which Satan aspired after, when he rebelled
against God. So, let these men profess what
they will, about their not finding fault with Faith
on its own account, they do dislike it. And it is
therefore very much to our purpose to accustom
our minds to the fact, on which I have been in-
sisting, that almost every thing we do is grounded
on mere trust in others. We are from our birth
dependent creatures, utterly dependent ; — de-
pendent immediately on man ; and that visible
dependence reminds us forcibly of our truer and
fuller dependence upon God.

Next, I observe, that these unbelieving men,
who use hard words against Scripture, condemn
themselves out of their own mouth ; — in this way.
It is a mistake to suppose that our obedience to
God's will is merely founded on our belief in the
word of such persons as tell us Scripture came
from God. We obey God primarily because we
actually feel His presence in our consciences
bidding us obey Him. Arid this, I say, confutes
these objectors on their own ground ; because,
the very reason they give for their unbelief, is,
that they trust their own sight and reason, because
their own, more than the words of God's Minis-
ters. Now let me ask, if they trust their senses
and their reason, why do they not trust their
conscience too ? Is not conscience their own ?

230 RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. [SERM.

Their conscience is as much a part of themselves
as their reason is ; and it is placed within them
by Almighty God in order to balance the in-
fluence of sight and reason ; and yet they will
not attend to it ; for a plain reason, — they love
sin, — they love to be their own masters, and
therefore they will not attend to that secret
whisper of their hearts, which tells them they are
not their own masters, and that sin is hateful and
ruinous.

Nothing shows this more plainly than their
conduct, if ever you appeal to their conscience in
favour of your view of the case. Supposing they
are using profane language, murmurings or
scoffings at religion ; and supposing a man says
to them, " You know in your heart you should
not do so;" how will they reply? They imme-
diately get angry ; or they attempt to turn what
is said into ridicule ; any thing will they do,
except answer by reasoning. No ; their boasted
argumentation then fails them. It flies like a
coward before the slight stirring of conscience ;
and their passions, these are the only champions
left for their defence. They in effect say, " We
do so, because we like it;" perhaps they even
avow this in so many words. "He feedeth on
ashes ; a deceived heart hath turned him aside ;
that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, is there
not a lie in my right hand l ?"
1 Isa. xliv. 20.

XV.] RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. 231

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

For ourselves, let us but obey God's voice in our
hearts, and I will venture to say we shall have no
doubts practically formidable about the truth of
Scripture. Find out the man who strictly obeys
the law within him, and yet is an unbeliever as
regards the Bible, and then it will be time enough
to consider all that variety of proof by which the
truth of the Bible is confirmed to us. This is no
practical inquiry for us. Our doubts, if we have
any, will be found to arise after disobedience ; it is
bad company or corrupt books which lead to

RELIGIOUS FAITH RATIONAL. [SERM. XV.

unbelief. It is sin which quenches the Holy
Spirit.

And if we but obey God strictly, in time
(through His blessing) faith will become like
sight ; we shall have no hesitation in knowing
what to do to please God any more than we have
in moving our limbs, or in understanding the
conversation of our familiar friends. This is the
blessedness of confirmed obedience. Let us aim
at attaining it ; and in whatever proportion we
now enjoy it, praise and bless God for His un-
speakable gift.

SERMON XVI.

THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES.

JOHN iii. 9.
How can these things be ?

THERE is much instruction conveyed in the cir-
cumstance that the Feast of the Holy Trinity
immediately succeeds that of Whit Sunday. On
the latter Festival we commemorate the coming
of the Blessed Spirit, who is promised to us as
the source of all spiritual knowledge and discern-
ment. But lest we should forget the nature of
that illumination which He imparts, Trinity Sun-
day follows to tell us in what it does not consist ;
not in the mere light of the reason, the gifts of
the intellect ; inasmuch as the Gospel has its
mysteries, its difficulties, and secret things, which
the Holy Spirit does not remove.

The grace promised us is given, not that we

may know more, but that we may do better. It is

;iven to influence, guide, and strengthen us in

performing our duty towards God and man ; it

234 THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. [SERM.

is given to us as creatures, as sinners, as men, as
immortal beings, not as mere reasoners, disputers,
or philosophical inquirers. It teaches us what we
are, whither we are going, what we must do, how
we must do it ; it enables us to change our fallen
nature from evil to good. But it tells us nothing
for the sake of telling it ; neither in His Holy
Word nor through our consciences has the Blessed
Spirit thought fit so to act. Not that the desire of
knowing things for the sake of knowing them is
wrong. As knowledge about earth, sky, and sea,
arid the wonders they contain, is in itself valuable,
and in its place desirable, so doubtless there is no-
thing sinful in gazing wistfully at the marvellous
providences of God's moral governance, and wish-
ing to understand them. But still God has not given
us such knowledge in the Bible ; and therefore to
look into the Bible for such knowledge, or to
expect it in any way from the inward teaching of
the Holy Ghost is a dangerous mistake, and (it
may be) a sin. And since men are apt to prize
knowledge above holiness, therefore it is most
suitably provided, that Trinity Sunday should
succeed Whit Sunday ; to warn us that the en-
lightening vouchsafed to us is not an understand-
ing of "all mysteries and all knowledge," but
that love or charity which is " the fulfilling of
the Law."

And in matter of fact there have been very
grievous mistakes respecting the nature of Christ-

XVI.] THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. 235

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

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

1. Let us consider such difficulties of religion,
as press upon us independently of the Scriptures.
Now we shall find the Gospel has not removed

1

236 THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. [SERM.

these ; they remain as great as before Christ
came. — How excellent is this world ! how very
good and fair is the face of nature ! how pleasant
it is to walk into the green country, and with
Isaac " to meditate in the field at the eventide * !"
As we look around, we cannot but be persuaded
that God is most good, and loves His creatures ;
yet amid all the splendour we see around us, and
the happy beings, thousands and ten thousands,
which live in the air and water, the question
comes upon us, " But why is there pain in the
world?" We see that the brutes prey on each
other, inflicting violent, unnatural deaths. Some
of them, too, are enemies of man, and harm us
when they have an opportunity. And man tor-
tures others unrelentingly, nay condemns some of
them to a life of suffering. Much more do pain
and misery show themselves in the history of
man ; — the numberless diseases and casualties of
human life, and our sorrows of mind ; — then
further, the evils we inflict on each other, our
sins and their awful consequences. Now why
does God permit so much evil in His own world ?
This is a difficulty, I say, which we feel at once,
before we open the Bible ; and which we are
quite unable to solve. We open the Bible ; the
fact is acknowledged there, but it is not explained
at all. We are told that sin entered into the

1 Gen. xxiv. 63.

XVI.] THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. 237

world through the Devil, who tempted Adam to
disobedience ; so that God created the world
good, though evil is in it. But why He thought
fit to suffer this, we are not told. We know no
more on the subject than we did before opening
the Bible. It was a mystery before God gave
His revelation, it is as great a mystery now ;
and doubtless for this reason, because knowledge
about it would do us no good, it would merely
satisfy curiosity. It is not practical knowledge.

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

238 THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. [SERM.

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

Another difficulty to a thoughtful Israelite
would arise from considering the state of the
heathen world. Why did not Almighty God
bring all nations into His Church, and teach
them by direct revelation, the sin of idol- worship ?
He would not be able to answer. God had
chosen one nation. It is true the same principle
of preferring one to another is seen in the system
of the whole world. God gives men unequal
advantages, comforts, education, talents, health.
Yet this does not satisfy us, why He has thought
fit to do so at all. Here, again, the Gospel re-
cognises and confirms the mysterious fact. We
are born in a Christian country, others are not ;
we are baptized ; we are educated ; others are
not. We are favoured above others. But why ?
We cannot tell; no more than the Jews could tell

XVI.] THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. 239

why they were favoured ; — and for this reason,
because, it is nothing to us to know it ; it would
not make us better men to know it. It is in-
tended that we should look to ourselves, and
rather consider why we have privileges given
us, than why others have not the same. Our
Saviour repels such curious questions more than
once. " Lord, and what shall this man do1?"
St. Peter asked about St. John. Christ replied,
" If I will that he tarry till I come, What is that
to thee ? Follow thou Me. "

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

3. Nay, we may proceed to say, further than
this, that it increases our difficulties. It is indeed
a remarkable circumstance, that the very revela-
tion that brings us practical and useful knowledge
about our souls, in the very act of doing so, nay,
(as it would seem) in consequence of doing so,
brings us mysteries. We gain spiritual light at
the price of intellectual perplexity ; a blessed ex-
change doubtless, (for which is better, to be well
and happy within ourselves, or to know what is
going on at the world's end ?) still at the price of
perplexity. For instance, how infinitely impor-
tant and blessed is the news of eternal happiness ?
but we learn in connexion with this joyful truth,

1 John xxi. 21, 22.

240 THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. [SERM.

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

XVI.] THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. 241

made Himself the son of man, and that men are
made the righteousness of God1."

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

Hooker on Justification.
R

THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. [SERM.

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

4. Such being the necessary mysteriousness
of Scripture doctrine, how can we best turn it to
account in the contest we are engaged in with
our evil hearts ? Now we are given to see how
to do this in part, and, as far as we see, let us be
thankful for the gift. It seems, then, that diffi-
culties in revelation are especially given to prove
the reality of our faith. What shall separate the
insincere from the sincere follower of Christ?
When the many own Christ with their lips, what
shall try and discipline His true servant, and
detect the self-deceiver? Difficulties in revela-

XVI.] THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. 243

tion mainly contribute to this end. They are
stumbling-blocks to proud and unhumbled minds,
and were intended to be such. Faith is unas-
suming, modest, thankful, obedient. It receives
with reverence and love whatever God gives, when
convinced it is His gift. But when men do not
feel rightly their need of His redeeming mercy,
their lost condition, and their inward sin, when,
in fact, they do not seek Christ in good earnest,
in order to gain something, and do something,
but as a matter of curiosity, or speculation, or
form, of course these difficulties will become
great objections in the way of their receiving His
word simply. And I say these difficulties were
intended to be such by Him who " scattereth
the proud in the imagination of their hearts."
St. Peter assures us, that that same corner-stone
which is unto them that believe "precious," is
" unto them which be disobedient, a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offence," " whereunto also
(he adds) they were appointed V And our Lord's
conduct through His ministry is a continued ex-
ample of this. He spoke in parables 2, that they
might see and hear, yet not understand, — a righ-
teous detection of insincerity ; whereas the same
difficulties and obscurities, which offended irreli-
gious men, would but lead the humble and meek
to seek more light, information (i. e.) as far as it

1 1 Pet. ii. 7, 8. 2 Vide Mark iv. 11—25, &c

R2

244 THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. [SERM.

was to be obtained, and for resignation and con-
tentedness, where it was not given. When Jesus
said, . . . " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of
man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.
.... Many of His disciples .... said, this is a
hard saying : who can hear it ? ... and from that
time many .... went back, and walked no more

with Him Then said Jesus unto the twelve,

Will ye also go away ? Then Simon Peter an-
swered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou
hast the words of eternal life ?" — Here is the trial
of faith, a difficulty. Those " that believe not"
fall away ; the true disciples remain firm, for
they feel their eternal interests at stake, and ask
the very plain and practical, as well as affec-
tionate question, " To whom shall we go, if we
leave Christ1?"

At another time our Lord says, " I thank Thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou
hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
(those who trust reason rather than Scripture and
conscience,) and hast revealed them unto babes,
(those who humbly walk by faith.) Even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight2."

5. Now what do we gain from thoughts such
as these ? Our Saviour gives us the conclu-
sion, in the words which follow a passage just
read to you. " Therefore said I unto you, that

1 John vi. 53—68. 2 Matt. xi. 25, 26.

XVL] THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. 245

no man can come unto Me, except it were given
him of My Father." Or, again, " No man
can come to Me, except the Father which hath
sent Me, draw him." Therefore, if we feel the
necessity of coming to Christ, yet the difficulty,
let us recollect that the gift of coming is in
God's hands, and that we must pray Him to give
it to us. Christ does not merely tell us, that
we cannot come of ourselves, (though this He
does tell us,) but He tells us also with whom the
power of coming is lodged, with His Father,
that we may seek it of Him. It is true, religion
has an austere appearance to those who never
have tried it ; its doctrines full of mystery, its
precepts of harshness ; so that it is uninviting ;
offending different men in different ways, but in
some way offending all. When then we feel
within us the risings of this opposition to Christ,
proud aversion to His Gospel, or a low-minded
longing after this world, let us pray God to draw
us ; and though we cannot move a step without
Him, at least let us try to move. He looks into
our hearts, and sees our strivings even before we
strive, and He blesses and strengthens even our
feebleness. Let us get rid of curious and pre-
sumptuous thoughts by going about our business,
whatever it is ; and let us mock and baffle the
doubts which Satan whispers to us by acting
against them. No matter whether we believe
doubtingly or not, or know clearly or not, so that

246 THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES. [SERM. XVI.

we act upon our belief. The rest will follow in
time ; part in this world, part in the next.
Doubts may pain, but they cannot harm, unless
we give way to them ; and that we ought not to
give way our conscience tells us, so that our
course is plain. And the more we are earnest to
" work out our salvation," the less shall we care to
know how those things really are, which perplex
us. At length when our hearts are in our work
we shall be indisposed to take the trouble of list-
ening to curious truths, (if they are but curious,)
though we might have them explained to us. For
what says the Holy Scripture ? that of specula-
tions " there is no end," and they are " a weari-
ness of the flesh ;" but that we must " fear God
and keep His commandments, for this is the whole
duty of man1."

1 Eccles. xii. 12, 13.

SERMON XVII.

THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER.

1 COR. iii. 18, 19.

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

AMONG the various deceptions against which St.
Paul warns us, a principal one is that of a false
wisdom ; as in the text. The Corinthians prided
themselves on their intellectual acuteness and
knowledge ; as if any thing could equal the ex-
cellence of Christian love. Accordingly St. Paul
writing to them says, " Let no man deceive him-
self. If any man among you seemeth to be wise
in this world," (i. e. has the reputation of wisdom
the world,) let him become a fool, (what the
world calls a fool,) that he may (really) be wise."

For," he proceeds, " (just as real wisdom is fool-
ishness in the eyes of the world, so in turn) the

risdom of this world is foolishness with God."

1

248 THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. [SERM.

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

The world's wisdom is said to be foolishness in
God's sight ; and the end of it, error, perplexity,
and then ruin. " He taketh the wise in their
own craftiness." Here is one especial reason why
professed inquirers after Truth do not find it.
They seek it in a wrong way, by a vain wisdom,
which leads them away from the Truth, however
it may seem to promise success.

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

Now, when it is said that to trust our own no-
tions is a wrong thing and a vain wisdom, of
course this is not meant of all our own notions
whatever ; for we must trust our own notions in
one shape or other, and some notions which we
form are right and true. The question therefore
is, what is that evil trusting to ourselves, that false
self-confidence, or self-conceit, which is called in
the text " the wisdom of the world," and is a
chief cause of our going wrong in our religious
inquiries.

These are the notions which we may trust with-
out blame ; viz. such as come to us by way of our
conscience, for such come from God. I mean
our certainty, that there is a right and a wrong,
that some things ought to be done, and other

XVIL] THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. 249

things not done ; that we have duties, the neglect
of which brings remorse ; and further, that God
is good, wise, powerful, and righteous, and that
we should, try to obey Him. All these notions,
and a multitude of others like these, come by
natural conscience, i. e. they are impressed on
our minds from our earliest years without our
trouble. They do not proceed from the exertion
of our own minds, though it is true they are
strengthened and formed thereby. They proceed
from God whether within us or without us ; and
though we cannot trust them so implicitly as we
can trust the Bible, because the truths of the
Bible are actually preserved in writing and so
cannot be lost, or altered, still as far as we have
reason to think them true, we may rely in them
and make much of them, without incurring the
sin of self-confidence. These notions which we
obtain without our exertion will never make us
proud or conceited, because they are ever at-
tended with a sense of sin and guilt, from the
remembrance that we have at times disobeyed
them. To trust them is not the false wisdom of the
world, or foolishness, because they come from the
All-wise God. And far from leading a man into
error, they will, if obeyed, of a certainty lead him
to a firm belief in Scripture ; in which he will
find all those vague conjectures and imperfect
notions about Truth, which his own heart taught

250 THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. [SEEM.

him, abundantly sanctioned, completed, and illus-
trated.

Such then are the opinions and feelings of
which a man is not proud. What are those of
which he is likely to be proud ? those which he
obtains, not by nature, but by his own industry,
ability, and research. Every one is in danger of
valuing himself for what he does, and hence
truths (or fancied truths) which a man has ob-
tained for himself after much thought, labour,
or reading, such he is apt to make much of, and
to rely upon ; and this is the source of that vain
wisdom of which the Apostle speaks in the text.

Now, (I say,) this confidence in our own rea-
soning powers not only leads to pride, but to
"foolishness" also, and destructive error, because
it will oppose itself to Scripture. A man who
fancies he can find out Truth by himself, disdains
revelation. He who thinks he has found it out,
is impatient of revelation. He fears it will inter-
fere with his own imagined discoveries, he is un-
willing to consult it ; and, when it does interfere,
then he is angry. We hear much of this proud
rejection of the truth in the Epistle from which
the text is taken. The Jews felt anger, and the
Greeks disdain, at the Christian doctrine. " The
Jews require a sign, (according to their pre-con-
ceived notions concerning the Messiah's coming,)
and the Greeks seek after wisdom, (some subtle

XVIL] THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. 251

train of reasoning,) but we preach Christ crucified,
unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the
Greeks foolishness 1." In another place the Apos-
tle says of the misled Christians of Corinth,
" Now ye are full of your own notions, now ye
are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us2;"
i. e. you have prided yourselves on a wisdom,
4 * without," separate from, the truth of Apostolic
doctrine. Confidence then, in our own reasoning
powers, leads to (what St. Paul calls) foolishness,
by causing in our hearts an indifference, or a dis-
taste for Scripture information.

But, besides thus keeping us from the best of
guides, it also makes us fools, because it is a
confidence in a bad guide. Our reasoning powers
are very weak in all inquiries into moral and reli-
gious truth. Clear-sighted as reason is on other
subjects, and trust- worthy as a guide, still in
questions connected with our duty to God and
man, it is very unskilful and equivocating. After
all, it barely reaches the same great truths which
are authoritatively set forth by conscience and by
Scripture ; and, if it be used in religious inquiries
without reference to these divinely-sanctioned in-
formants, the probability is, it will miss the Truth
altogether. Thus the (so called) wise will be
taken in their own craftiness. All of us, doubt-
less, recollect our Lord's words, which are quite

1 1 Cor. i. 22, 23. 2 1 Cor. iv. 8.

252 THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. [SERM.

to the purpose ; " I thank Thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, (those who trust
in their own intellectual powers,) and hast re-
vealed them unto babes1," those, ^i. e. that act by
faith, and for conscience-sake.

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

It begins within us, when childhood and boy-
hood are past ; and the time comes for our en-
trance into life. Before that time we trusted our
divinely-enlightened sense of duty and our right
feeling without a doubt ; and though (alas !) we
continually transgressed and so impaired this
inward guide, at least we did not question its
authority. Then we had that original temper of
faith, wrought in us by baptism, the spirit of
little children, without which, our Lord assures

1 Matt. xi. 25.

XVII.] THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. 253

us, none of us, young or old, can enter the king-
dom of heaven l.

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

A murmuring against that religious service
which is perfect freedom, complaints that Christ's
yoke is heavy, a rebellious rising against the
authority of conscience, and a proud arguing
against the truth, or at least an endurance of
doubt and scoffing, and a light, unmeaning use

1 Matt, xviii. 3.

254 THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. [SEHM.

of sceptical arguments and assertions, these are
the beginnings of apostasy. Then come the affect-
ation of originality, the desire to appear manly
and independent, the fear of the ridicule of our
acquaintance, and an undue admiration of intel-
lectual gifts, all combining to make us, first
speak, and then really think evil of the supreme
authority of religion. This gradual transgression
of the first commandments of the Law is generally
attended by a transgression of the fifth. In our
childhood we loved both religion and our home ;
but as we learn to despise the voice of God, so do
we first affect, and then feel, an indifference,
towards the opinions of our superiors and elders.
Thus our minds become gradually hardened
against the purest pleasures, both divine and
human.

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

XVIL] THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. 255

How far each individual proceeds in this bad
course, depends on a variety of causes, into the
consideration of which I need not enter. Some
are frightened at themselves and turned back into
the right way before it is too late. Others are
checked ; and though they do not seek God with
all their heart, yet are preserved from any strong
and full manifestation of the evil principles which
lurk within them ; and others are kept in a cor-
rect outward form of religion by the circumstances
in which they are placed. But there are others,
(and these many in number, perhaps, in all ranks
of life,) who proceed onwards in evil ; and I will
go on to describe in part their condition, — the
condition (i. e.) of - those in whom intellectual
power is fearfully unfolded amid the neglect of
moral truth.

The most common case, of course, is that of
those who, with their principles thus unformed,
or rather unsettled, become engaged (in the ordi-
nary way) in the business of life. Their first
simplicity of character went early. The violence
of passion followed, and was indulged ; and it is
gone too, leaving, (without their suspecting it,)
most baneful effects on their mind ; just as some
diseases silently change the constitution of the
body. Lastly, a vain reason has put into disorder
their notions about moral propriety and duty,
both as to religion and the conduct of life. It is
quite plain, that, having nothing of that faith

256 THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. [SERM.

which " overcomes the world," they must be
overcome by it. Let it not be supposed I am
speaking of some strange case which does not
concern us ; for what we know, it concerns some
of us most nearly. The issue of our youthful
trial in good and evil, probably has had some-
what of a decided character one way or the other ;
and we may be quite sure that, if it has issued in
evil, we shall not know it. Deadness to the
voice of God, hardness of heart, is one of the
very symptoms of unbelief. God's judgments,
whether to the world or the individual, are not
loudly spoken. The decree goes forth to build
or destroy ; angels hear it ; but we go on in the
way of the world as usual, though our souls may
have been, (at least for a season,) abandoned by
God. I mean, that it is not at all unlikely that,
in the case of some of those who now hear me, a
great part of their professed faith is a mere matter
of words, not ideas and principles ; that what opi-
nions they really hold by any exertion of their
own minds, have been reached by the mere exer-
cise of their intellect, the random and accidental
use of their mere reasoning powers, whether they
be strong or not, and are not the result of habitual
firm and progressive obedience to God, not the
knowledge which an honest and good heart
imparts. Our religious notions may be on the
mere surface of our minds, and have no root in
them ; and (I say) from this circumstance, — that

XVIL] THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. 257

the indulgence of early passions, though forgotten
now, and the misapplication of reason in our
youth, have left an indelibly evil character upon
our heart, a judicial hardness and blindness.
Let us think of this ; it may be the state of those
who have had to endure only ordinary temptations,
from the growth of that reasoning faculty with
which we are all gifted.

But when that gift of reason is something es-
pecial,— clear, brilliant, or powerful, — then our
danger is increased. The first sin of men of supe-
rior understanding is to value themselves upon it,
and look down upon others. They make intellect
the measure of praise and blame ; and instead of
considering a common^a^ to be the bond of union
between Christian and Christian, they dream of
some other fellowship of civilization, refinement,
literature, science, or general mental illumination
to unite gifted minds one with another. Having
thus cast down moral excellence from its true
station, and set up the usurped empire of mere
reason, next, they place a value upon all truths
exactly in proportion to the possibility of proving
them by means of that mere reason. Hence,
moral and religious truths are thought little of by
them, because they fall under the province of
conscience far more than of the intellect. Religion
sinks in their estimation almost altogether ; they
begin to think all religions alike ; and no wonder,
for they are like men who have lost the faculty of

258 THE SELF- WISE INQUIRER. [SEEM.

discerning colours, and who never, by any exer-
cise of reason, can make out the difference between
white and black. The code of morals they ac-
knowledge in a measure, i. e. so far as its dicta
can be proved by reasoning, by an appeal to
sight, and to expedience, and without reference to
a natural sense of right and wrong as the sanction
of them. Thinking much of intellectual advance-
ment, they are much bent on improving the
world by making all men intellectual ; and they
labour to convince themselves, that, as men grow
in knowledge, they will grow in virtue.

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

And all these inducements to live by sight
and not by faith are greatly increased, when men
are engaged in any pursuit which properly belongs
to the intellect. Hence sciences conversant with

XVII.] THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. 259

experiments on the material creation, tend to
make men forget the existence of Spirit and the
Lord of Spirits.

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

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

How shall a sinner, who has formed his cha-
racter upon unbelief, trusting sight and reason
rather than conscience and Scripture, howr shall
he begin to repent ? What must he do ? Is it
possible he can overcome himself, and new make
his heart in the end of his days ? It is possible, —
not with man, but with God, who gives grace to
all who ask for it ; but in only one way, in the
way of His commandments, by a slow, tedious,
toilsome, self-discipline ; slow, tedious, and toil-

260 THE SELF- WISE INQUIRER. [SERM.

some (i. e.) to one who has been long hardening
himself in a dislike of it, and indulging himself in
the rapid flights and easy victories of his reason.
There is but one way to heaven ; the narrow
way ; and he who sets about to seek God, though
in old age, must begin at the same door as others.
He must retrace his way, and begin again with
the very beginning as if he were a boy. And so
proceeding, — labouring, watching, and praying,
— he seems likely, after all, to make but little
progress during the brief remnant of his life ; both
because the time left to him is short, and because
he has to undo while he does a work ; — he has to
overcome that resistance from his old stout will
and hardened heart, which in youth he did not
experience.

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

Thus it happens, that men who have led profli-
gate lives in their youth, or who have passed their
days in the pursuit of wealth, or in some other
excitement of the world, not unfrequently settle
down into heresies in their latter years. Before, per-
haps, they professed nothing, and suffered them-

XVII.] THE SELF- WISE INQUIRER. 261

selves to be called Christians and members of the
Church ; but at length, roused to inquire after
Truth, and forgetting that the pure in heart
alone can see God, and therefore that they must
begin by a moral reformation, by self-denial, they
inquire merely by the way of reasoning. No
wonder they err ; they cannot understand any part
of the Church's system, whether of doctrine or
discipline ; yet they think themselves judges ;
and they treat the most sacred ordinances and
the most solemn doctrines with scorn and irre-
verence. Thus, "the last state of such men is
worse than the first." In the words of the text,
they ought to have become fools, that they might
have been in the end really wise ; but they
prefer another way, and are taken in their own
craftiness.

May we ever bear in mind that the ' ' fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom1;" that obe-
dience to our conscience, in all things, great and
small, is the way to know the truth ; that pride
hardens the heart, and sensuality debases it, and
that all those who live in pride and sensual in-
dulgence, can no more comprehend the ways of
the Holy Spirit, or know the voice of Christ, than
the devils who believe with a dead faith and
tremble.

" Blessed are they that do His commandments,

1 Prov. i. 7.

262 THE SELF-WISE INQUIRER. [SERM. XVII.

they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city "...
where there is " no need of the sun, neither of the
moon to shine in it ; for the glory of God doth
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof1."

1 Rev. xxi. 23. xxii. 14.

SERMON XVIIL

OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY FOR RELIGIOUS
PERPLEXITY.

PSALM xxxvii. 34.

Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee
to inherit the land.

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

Doubtless the Church is in great darkness and
perplexity under the Christian dispensation, as well
as under the Jewish. Not that Christianity does

264 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [SKHM.

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

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

The use of difficulties to all of us in our trial
in this world, is obvious. Our faith is variously
assailed by doubts and difficulties, in order to
prove its sincerity. If we really love God and
His Son, we shall go on in spite of opposition,
even though, as in the case of the Canaanitish
woman, He seem to repel us. If we are not in

1 2 Cor. iv. 4.

XVIII. J FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 265

earnest, difficulty makes us turn back. This is
one of the ways in which God separates the corn
from the chaff, gradually gathering each, as time
goes on, into its own heap, till the end comes,
when He " will gather the wheat into His garner,
but the chaff He will burn with fire unquench-
able1."

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

'Lukeiii. 17.

266 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [SERM.

with doubts and misgivings, and are oppressed
with gloom.

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

Let us apply this exhortation to the case of
those who have but lately taken up the subject of
religion at all. Every science has its difficulties
at first, why then should the science of living
well be without them ? When the subject of reli-
gion is new to us, it is strange. We have heard
truths all our lives without feeling them duly;
at length, when they affect us, we cannot believe
them to be the same we have long known. We
are thrown out of our fixed notions of things ; an
embarrassment ensues, a general painful uncer-
tainty. We say, " Is the Bible true? Is it
possible ?" and are distressed by evil doubts,
which we can hardly explain to ourselves, much
less to others. No one can help us. And the
relative importance of present objects is so altered
from what it was, that we can scarcely form any
judgment upon them, or when we attempt it, we
form a wrong judgment. Our eyes do not ac-
1

XVIII.] FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 267

commodate themselves to the various distances of
the objects before us, and are dazzled ; or like the
blind man restored to sight, we " see men as trees,
walking V Moreover, our judgment of persons,
as well as of things, is changed ; and, if not every
where changed, yet at first every where suspected
by ourselves. And this general distrust of our-
selves is the greater, the longer we have been
already living in inattention to sacred subjects,
and the more we now are humbled and ashamed
of ourselves. And it leads us to take up with the
first religious guide who offers himself to us,
whatever be his real fitness for the office.

To these agitations of mind about what is truth
and what is error, is added an anxiety about our-
selves, which, however sincere, is apt to lead us
wrong. We do not feel, think, and act as religi-
ously as we could wish ; and while we are sorry
for it, we are also (perhaps) somewhat surprised
at it, and impatient at it, — which is natural but
unreasonable. Instead of reflecting, that we are
just setting about our recovery from a most serious
disease of long standing, we conceive we ought to
be able to trace the course of our recovery by a
sensible improvement. This same impatience is
seen in persons who are recovering from bodily
indisposition. They gain strength slowly, and
are better perhaps for some days and then worse

1 Mark viii. 24.

268 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [SERM.

again ; and a slight relapse dispirits them. In
the same way, when we begin to seek God in
earnest, we are apt, not only to be humbled,
(which we ought to be,) but, to be discouraged at
the slowness with which we are able to amend our
nature, in spite of all the assistances of God's
grace. Forgetting that our proper title at very
best is that of penitent sinners, we seek to rise all
at 'once into the blessedness of the sons of God.
This impatience leads us to misuse the purpose of
self-examination ; which is principally intended
to inform us of our sins, whereas we are disap-
pointed if it does not at once tell us of our im-
provement. Doubtless, in a length of time we
shall be conscious of improvement too, but the
object of ordinary self-examination is to find out
whether we are in earnest, and again, what we
have done wrong, in order that we may pray for
pardon and do better. Further, reading in Scrip-
ture how exalted the thoughts and spirit of
Christians should be, we are apt to forget that a
Christian spirit is the growth of time ; and that
we cannot force it upon our minds, however de-
sirable and necessary it may be to possess it ;
that by speaking religiously we do not become
religious, rather the reverse ; whereas, if we strove
to obey God's will in all things, we actually
should be gradually training our hearts into the
fulness of a Christian spirit. But, not under-
standing this, men are led to speak much and

XVIII.] FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 269

expressly upon sacred subjects, as if it were a
duty to do so, and in the hope of its making them
better ; and they measure their advance in faith
and holiness, not by their power of obeying God
in practice, mastering their will, and becoming
more exact in their daily duties, but by the
warmth and energy of their religious feelings.
And, when they cannot sustain these to that
height which they consider almost the charac-
teristic of a true Christian, then they are discou-
raged, and tempted to despair. Added to this,
sometimes their old sins, reviving from the slum-
ber into which they have been cast for a time,
rush over their minds, and seem prepared to take
them captive. They cry to God for aid, but He
seems not to hear them, and they know not which
way to look for safety.

Now such persons must be reminded first of
all, of the greatness of the work which they have
undertaken, viz. the sanctification of their souls.
Those indeed, who think this an easy task, or
(which comes to the same thing,) who think that,
though hard in itself, it will be easy to them, for
God's grace will take all the toil of it from them,
such men of course must be disappointed on find-
ing by experience the force of their original evil
nature, and the extreme slowness with which even
a Christian is able to improve it. And it is to be
feared that this disappointment in some cases
issues in a belief, that it is impossible to overcome

270 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [SERM.

our evil selves ; that bad we are, bad we must
be ; that our innate corruption lies like a load in
our hearts, and no more admits of improvement
than a stone does of life and thought; and,
in consequence, that all we have to do, is to be-
lieve in Christ who is to save us, and to dwell on
the thoughts of His perfect work for us, — that this
is all we can do, — and that it is presumption, as
well as folly, to attempt more.

But what says the text? " Wait on the Lord
and keep his way;" and Isaiah? "They that
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles ; they
shall run and not be weary ; and they shall walk
and not faint 1." And St. Paul ? " I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me2."
The very fruit of Christ's passion was the gift of
the Holy Spirit, which was to enable us to do
what otherwise we could not do — to work out our
own salvation 3. — Yet, while we must aim at this, *
and feel convinced of our ability to do it at length
through the gifts bestowed on us, we cannot do
it rightly without a deep settled conviction of the
exceeding difficulty of the work. That is, not
only shall we be tempted to negligence, but to
impatience also, and thence into all kinds of un-
lawful treatments of the soul, if we be possessed
by a notion that religious discipline soon becomes

1 Is. xl. 31. 2 Phil. iv. 13. 3 Phil, ii, 12.

XVIII.] FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 271

easy to the believer, and the heart is speedily
changed. Christ's " yoke is easy 1," true, to those
who are accustomed to it, not to the unbroken
neck, " Wisdom is very unpleasant to the un-
learned, (says the son of Sirach,) he that is
without understanding will not remain with her."
" At the first she will walk with him by crooked
ways, and bring fear and dread upon him, and
torment him with her discipline, until she may
trust his soul and try him by her laws. Then
will she return the straight way unto him, and
comfort him, and show him her secrets2."

Let, then, every beginner make up his mind
to suffer disquiet and perplexity. He cannot com-
plain that it should be so ; and though he should
be deeply ashamed of himself that it is so, (for
had he followed God from a child, his condition
would have been far different, though, then,
perhaps, not without some perplexities,) still he
has no cause to be surprised or discouraged.
The more he makes up his mind manfully to bear
doubt, struggle against it, and meekly to do
God's will all through it, the sooner this unsettled
state of mind will cease, and order will rise out of
confusion. " Wait ,on the Lord," this is the rule ;
" keep His way," this is the manner of waiting.
Go about your duty ; mind little things as well
as great. Do not pause, and say " I am as I

1 Matt. xi. 30. 2 Ecclus. vi. 20. iv. 17, 18.

272 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [SERM.

was, day after day passes and still no light;" go
on. It is very painful to be haunted by wander-
ing doubts, to have thoughts shoot across the
mind about the reality of religion altogether, or of
this or that particular doctrine of it, or about the
correctness of one's own faith, and the safety of
one's own state. But it must be right to serve
God ; we have a voice within us answering to the
injunction in the text, of waiting on Him and
keeping His way. David confesses it. " When
Thou saidst, Seek ye My face ; my heart said
unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek V-
And surely such obedient waiting upon Him will
obtain His blessing. " Blessed are they that keep
His commandments." And besides this express
promise, even if we had to seek for a way to
understand His perfect will, could we conceive
one of greater promise than that of beginning
with little things, and so gradually making pro-
gress ? In all other things is not this the way to
perfection ? Does not a child learn to walk short
distances at first? Who would attempt to bear
great weights before he had succeeded with the
lesser ? It is from God's great goodness that our
daily constant duty is placed in the performance
of small and comparatively easy services. To
be dutiful and obedient in ordinary matters, to
speak the truth, to be honest, to be sober, to

1 Psalm xxvii. 8.

XVIII.] FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 273

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

To take one instance, out of many which
might be given ; suppose we have any perplexing
indescribable doubts about the Divine power of
our Blessed Lord, or concerning the doctrine of the
Trinity ; well, let us leave the subject, and turn
to do God's will. If we do this in faith and
humility, we shall in time find that, while we
have been obeying our Saviour's precepts, and
imitating His conduct in the Gospels, our diffi-
culties have been removed, though it may take
time to remove them ; and though we are not,
during the time, sensible of what is going on.
And so as regards all our difficulties. ' ' Wait on
the Lord, and keep His way." His word is sure ;
we may safely trust it. We shall gain light as to
general doctrines, by embodying them in those
particular instances in which they become ordi-
nary duties.

But it too often happens, that from one cause or
other men do not pursue this simple method of
gradually extricating themselves from error. —
They seek some new path, which promises to be
shorter and easier than the lowly and the cir-

T

274 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [^EKM.

cuitous way of obedience. They wish to arrive at
the heights of Mount Zion without winding round
its base ; and at first (it must be confessed) they
seem to make greater progress than those who
are content to wait, and work righteousness.
Impatient of " sitting in darkness, and having no
light," and of completing the prophet's picture
of a saint in trouble, by " fearing the Lord, and
obeying the voice of His servant1,'' tney ex-
pect to gain speedy peace and holiness by means
of new teachers, and by a new doctrine.

Many are misled by confidence in themselves.
They look back at the first seasons of their re-
pentance and conversion, as if the time of their
greatest knowledge ; and, instead of considering
that their earliest religious notions were probably
the most confused and mixed with error, and
therefore endeavouring to separate the good from
the bad, they consecrate all they then felt as a
standard of doctrine to which they are bound to
appeal ; and as to the opinion of others, they
think little of it, for, religion being a new subject
to themselves, they are easily led to think it
must be a new and untried subject to others also,
especially since the best men are often the least
willing to converse, except in private, on religious
subjects, and still more averse to speak of them
to those who they think will not value them
rightly.

i Isaiah 1. 10.

XVIII.] FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 275

But, leaving the mention of those who err from
self-confidence, I would rather lament over such
as are led away from the path of plain simple
obedience by a compliance with the views and
wishes of those around them. Such persons there
are all through the Church, and ever have been.
Such perhaps have been many Christians in the
communion of the Church of Rome ; who, feeling
deeply the necessity of a religious life, yet strive
by means different from those which God has
blessed, to gain His favour. They begin religion
at the very end of it, arid make those observances
and rules the chief means of pleasing Him, which
in fact should be but the spontaneous acts of the
formed Christian temper. And others among our-
selves are bound by a similar yoke of bondage,
though it be more speciously disguised, when they
subject their minds to certain unscriptural rules,
and fancy they must separate in some irregular
way from the world, and that they must speak and
act according to some fixed and technical form of
doctrine, which they try to set before themselves,
instead of endeavouring to imbue their hearts
with that free, unconstrained spirit of devotion,
which lowly obedience in ordinary matters would
imperceptibly form within them. How many are
there, more or less such, who love the truth, and
would fain do God's will, who yet are led aside,
and walk in bondage, while they are promised
superior light and freedom ! They desire to be

T2

276 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [SERM.

living members of the Church, and they anxiously
seek out whatever they can admire in the true
sons of the Church ; but they feel forced to
measure every thing by a certain superstitious
standard which they revere, — they are frightened
at shadows, — and thus they are, from time to time,
embarrassed and perplexed, whenever, i. e. they
cannot reconcile the conduct and lives of those
who are really, and whom they wish to believe
eminent Christians, with that false religious sys-
tem which they have adopted.

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

It sometimes happens, from ill health or other
cause, that persons fall into religious despond-
ency. They fancy that they have so abused
God's mercy that there is no hope for them ;
that once they knew the truth, but that now it is
withdrawn from them ; that they have had warn-
ings which they have neglected, and now they
are left by the Holy Spirit, and given over to
Satan. Then, they recollect divers passages of
Scripture, which speak of the peril of falling
away, and they apply these to their own case.
Now I speak of such instances, only so far as
they can be called ailments of the mind, — for
often they must be treated as ailments of the

XVIIL] FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 277

body. As far as they are mental, let us observe
how it will conduce to restore the quiet of the
mind, to attend to the humble ordinary duties of
our station, that walking in God's way, of which
the text speaks. Sometimes, indeed, persons
thus afflicted, increase their disorder by attempt-
ing to console themselves by those elevated
Christian doctrines which St. Paul enlarges on ;
and others encourage them in it. But St. Paul's
doctrine is not intended for weak and unstable
rninds l. He says himself: "We speak wisdom
among them that are perfect ;" not to those who
are (what he calls) " babes in Christ 2." In pro-
portion as we gain strength, we shall be able to
understand and profit by the full promises of the
Christian covenant ; but those who are confused,
agitated, restless in their minds, who busy them-
selves with many thoughts, and are overwhelmed
with conflicting feelings, such persons are, in
general, made more restless and more unhappy,
(as the experience of sick beds may show us,) by
holding out to them doctrines and assurances
which they cannot rightly apprehend. Now, not
to speak of that peculiar blessing which is pro-
mised to obedience to God's will, let us observe
how well it is calculated, by its natural effect, to
soothe and calm the mind. When we set about
to obey God, in the ordinary businesses of daily

1 2 Pet. iii. 16. 2 1 Cor. ii. 6. iii. 1.

278 OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY [SERM.

life, \\e are at once interested by realities which
withdraw our minds from vague fears and uncer-
tain indefinite surmises about the future. With-
out laying aside the thoughts of God, (the con-
trary,) still we learn to view Him in His tranquil
providence, before we set about contemplating
His greater works, and we are saved from taking
an unchristian thought for the morrow, while we
are busied in present services. Thus our Saviour
gradually discloses Himself to the troubled mind ;
not as He is in heaven, as when He struck down
Saul to the ground, but as He was in the days
of His flesh, eating and conversing among His
brethren, and bidding us, in imitation of Him,
think no duty beneath the notice of those who
sincerely wish to please God.

Such afflicted inquirers, then, after truth, must
be exhorted to keep a guard upon their feelings,
and to control their hearts. They say they are
terrified lest they should be past hope ; and they
will not be persuaded that God is all-merciful, in
spite of all the Scriptures say to that effect. Well,
then, I would take them on their own ground.
Supposing their state to be as wretched as is con-
ceivable, can they deny it is their duty now to
serve God ? Can they do better than try to serve
Him ? Job said, " Though He slay me, yet will
I trust in Him1." They say they do not wish to

1 Job xiii. 15.

XVIIL] FOR RELIGIOUS PERPLEXITY. 279

serve God, — that they want a heart to serve Him.
Let us grant, (if they will have it so,) that they are
most obdurate; still they are alive, — they must be
doing something, — and can they do ought better
than try to quiet themselves, and be resigned,
and to do right rather than wrong, even though
they are persuaded that it does not come from
their heart, and is not acceptable to God ? They
say they dare not ask for God's grace to assist
them. This is doubtless a miserable state ; still,
since they must act in some way, though they
cannot do what is really good without His grace,
yet, at least, let them do what seems like truth
and goodness. Nay, though it is shocking to set
before their minds such a prospect, yet, even
were they already in the place of punishment,
will they not confess, it would be the best thing
they could do, to commit then as little sin as
possible ? Much more than now, when even if
they have no hope, their heart at least is not so
entirely hardened as it will be then.

It must not be for an instant supposed I am
admitting the possibility of a person being thus
rejected by God, who has any right feeling in his
mind. The anxiety of such persons shows they
are still under the influence of Divine grace,
though they will not allow it ; but I say this, to
give another instance in which a determination to
obey God's will strictly in ordinary matters tends,
through His blessing, to calm and comfort the

280

OBEDIENCE THE REMEDY, &c. [SERM. XVIII.

mind, and to bring it out of perplexity into the
clear day.

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

1 John xiv. 21.

Matt. v. 19. xiii. 12.

SERMON XIX.

TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER.

MATTHEW vi. 6.

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

HERE is our Saviour's own sanction and blessing
vouchsafed to private prayer, in simple, clear, and
most gracious words. The Pharisees were in the
practice, when they prayed by themselves, of
praying in public, in the corners of the streets ; a
strange inconsistency according to our notions,
since in our language prayer by oneself is even
called private prayer. Public private prayer, this
was their self-contradictory practice. Warning,
then, His disciples against the particular form of
hypocrisy in which the self-conceit of human
nature at that day showed itself, our Lord pro-
mises in the text His Father's blessing on such
humble supplications as were really addressed to
Him, and not made to gain the praise of men.

TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

Those who seek the unseen God, (He seems to
say,) seek Him in their hearts and hidden
thoughts, not in loud words, as if He were far off
from them. Such men would retire from the world
into places where no human eye saw them, there
to meet Him humbly and in faith, who is " about
their path, and about their bed, and spieth out all
their ways." And He, the searcher of hearts,
would reward them openly. Prayers uttered in
secret, according to God's will, are treasured up
in God's Book of Life. They seem, perhaps, to
have sought an answer here, and to have failed
of their object. Their memory perishes even in
the mind of the petitioner, and the world never
knew of them. But God is ever mindful, and in
the last day, when the books are opened, they
shall be disclosed and rewarded before the whole
world.

Such is Christ's gracious promise in the text,
acknowledging and blessing after His own con-
descension those devotional exercises which were
a duty even before Scripture enjoined them ; and
changing into a privilege that work of faith,
which, though bidden by conscience, and autho-
rized by reason, yet, before He revealed His
mercy, is laden, in every man's case who attempts
it, with guilt, remorse, and fear. It is the Christ-
ian's unspeakable privilege, and his alone, that he
has at all times free access to the throne of grace
boldly through the mediation of his Saviour.

XIX.] TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 283

But I shall not now consider the privilege of
prayer, but the duty ; for till we acknowledge and
practise it as a duty, we cannot receive it as a
privilege ; and I fear most men have not advanced
in any true sense to this simple and elementary
view of it.

Now, we know well enough that we are bound to
" pray without ceasing," to use St. Paul's words.
All through the day our meditation must be upon
heavenly things. The question then arises, are
we to pray in any other way ? Is it enough to
keep our minds fixed upon God through the day,
and to commune with Him in our hearts, or is it
necessary, over and above this habitual faith, to
set apart particular times for the more systematic
and earnest exercise of it ? Need we pray at cer-
tain times of the day in a set manner? Public
worship indeed, from its very nature, requires
places, times, and even set forms. But private
prayer does not necessarily require set times, be-
cause we have no one to consult but ourselves,
and we are always with ourselves ; HOY forms, for
there is no one else whose thoughts are to keep
pace with ours. Still, though set times and forms
of prayer are not absolutely necessary in private
prayer, yet they are highly expedient, or rather,
times are actually commanded us by our Lord in
the text, " Thou, when thou prayest, enter into
thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy

284 TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER.

Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee
openly."

In these words certain times for private prayer,
over and above the secret thought of God which
must ever be alive in us, are clearly enjoined ; and
the practice of good men in Scripture gives us an
example in confirmation of the command. Even
our Saviour had His peculiar seasons of commun-
ing with God. His thoughts indeed were one
continued sacred service offered up to His Father;
nevertheless, we read of His going up " into a
mountain apart to pray," and again, of His " con-
tinuing all night in prayer to God1." Doubtless,
you well recollect that solitary prayer of His, be-
fore His passion, thrice repeated, "that the cup
might pass from Him." St. Peter too, as in the
narrative of the conversion of Cornelius the
Roman centurion, in the tenth chapter of Acts,
went up upon the house-top to pray about the
sixth hour ; then God visited him. And Natha-
nael seems to have been in prayer under the fig-
tree, at the time our Saviour sent upon him a
blessing, and Philip called him 2. I might mul-
tiply instances from the Old Testament, which
are of course applicable to us, because, though
the Church then, was under a divine government
in many respects different from the Christian, yet
personal religion is the same at all times ; " the

1 Matt. xiv. 23. Luke vi. 12. 2 John i. 48.

XIX.] TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 285

just" in every dispensation " shall live by faith,"
and whatever reasons there were then for faith to
display and maintain itself by stated prayer, remain
substantially the same now. Let two passages
suffice. The Psalmist says, " Seven times a day do
I praise Thee, because of Thy righteous judg-
ments1." And Daniel's practice is told us on a
memorable occasion: "Now when Daniel knew
that the writing was signed, (the impious decree,
forbidding prayer to any but king Darius for
thirty days,) he went into his house, and his
windows being open in his chamber toward Jeru-
salem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a
day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God,
as he did aforetime 2."

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

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

The following are two chief reasons for its im-
portance.

1 Psalm cxix. 1G4. 2 Dan. vi. 10.

286 TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

1. It brings religious subjects before the mind
in regular course. Prayer through the day, is
indeed the characteristic of a Christian spirit, but
we may be sure that, in most cases, those who do
not pray at stated times in a more solemn and
direct manner, will never pray well at other times.
We know in the common engagements of life,
the importance of collecting and arranging our
thoughts calmly and accurately before proceeding
to any important business, in order to the right
performance of it ; and so in that one really need-
ful occupation, the care of our eternal interests,
if we would have our minds composed, our de-
sires subdued, and our tempers heavenly through
the day, we must, before commencing the day's
employment, stand still awhile to look into our-
selves, and commune with our hearts, by way of
preparing ourselves for the trials aud duties on
which we are entering. A like reason may be
assigned for evening prayer, viz. as a time of look-
ing back on the day past, and summing up (as it
were) that account, which, if we do not reckon,
at least God has reckoned, and written down in
that book which will be produced at the judg-
ment ; a time of confessing sin, and of praying
for forgiveness, of giving thanks for what we have
done well, and for mercies received, of making
good resolutions in reliance on the help of God,
and of sealing up and setting sure the day past,
at least as a stepping stone of good for the
1

XIX.] TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 287

morrow. The precise times indeed of private prayer
are no where commanded us in Scripture ; the
most obvious are those I have mentioned, morn-
ing and evening. In the texts just now read to
you, you heard of praying three times a day, or
seven times. All this depends of course on the
opportunities of each individual. Some men have
not leisure for this ; but for morning and evening
prayer all men can and should make leisure.

Stated times of private prayer, then, are useful
as impulses (so to say) to the continuous devotion
of the day. They remind us and engage us in
what is ever our duty. It is commonly said, that
what is every one's business is practically no
one's ; this applies here. I repeat it, if we leave
religion as a subject of thought for all hours of
the day equally, it will be thought of in none.
In all things it is by small beginnings and ap-
pointed channels, that an advance is made to
extensive works. Stated times of prayer put us
in that posture (so to say) in which we ought
ever to be ; they urge us forward in a heavenly
direction, and then the stream carries us on.
For the same reason it is expedient, if possible,
to be solemn in the forms of our private worship,
in order to impress our minds. Our Saviour
kneeled down, fell on His face, and prayed 1, — so
did His Apostles 2 ; and so did the Saints of the

1 Matt. xxvi. 39. Luke xxii. 41.

2 Acts xx. 36. xxi. 5. Eph. iii. 14.

288 TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

Old Testament. Hence many persons are accus-
tomed (such as have the opportunity,) to set
apart a particular place for their private devo-
tions ; still for the same reason, to compose their
minds, — as Christ tells us in the text, to enter into
our closet.

2. I now come to the second reason for stated
private prayer. Besides its tending to produce
in us lasting religious impressions, which I have
already enlarged upon, it is also a more direct
means of gaining from God an answer to our
requests. He has so sanctioned it in the text : —
" Shut thy door, and pray to thy Father which
seeth in secret, and He shall reward thee openly."
We do not know how it is that prayer receives an
answer from God at all. It is strange, indeed,
that weak man should have strength to move
God ; but it is our privilege to know that we can
do so. The whole system of this world is a his-
tory of man's interfering with Divine decrees ;
and if we have the melancholy power of baffling
His good-will, to our own ruin, (an awful, an
incomprehensible truth !) if, when He designs our
eternal salvation, we can yet annul our heavenly
election, and accomplish our eternal destruction,
much more have we the power to move Him
(blessed be His name !) when He, the Searcher of
hearts, discerns in us the mind of that Holy
Spirit, which " maketh intercession for the saints
according to His will." And, as He has thus

XIX.] TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 289

promised an answer to our poor prayers, so it is
not more strange that prayers offered up at parti-
cular times, and in a particular way, should have
especially prevailing power with Him. And the
reason of it may be as follows. It is Faith that is
the appointed means of gaining all blessing from
God. " All things are possible to him that be-
lieveth1." Now, at stated times, when we gather
up our thoughts to pray, and draw out our peti-
tions in an orderly and clear manner, the act of
faith is likely to be stronger and more earnest ;
then we realize more perfectly the presence of
that God whom we do not see, and Him on whom
once all our sins were laid, who bore the weight
of our infirmities and sicknesses once for all, that
in all our troubles we might seek Him, and find
grace in time of need. Then this world is more
out of sight, and we more simply appropriate
those blessings, which we have but to claim
humbly and they are really ours.

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

Other reasons, doubtless, may be given ; but
these are enough, not only as containing subject

1 Mark ix. 23*
U

290 TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

for thought which may be useful to us, but be-
sides as serving to show how wise and merciful
those Divine provisions really are, which our
vain minds are so apt to question. All God's
commands, indeed, ought to be received at
once upon faith, though we saw no reason for
them. It is no excuse for a man's disobeying
them even if he thinks he sees reasons against
them ; for God knows better than we do. But in
great condescension He has allowed us to see
here and there His reasons for what He does and
enjoins ; and we should treasure up these occa-
sional notices as memorials against the time of
temptation, that when doubt and unbelief assail
us, and we are perplexed at His revealed word,
we may call to mind those former instances in
our own experience, where, what at first seemed
strange and hard, on closer consideration was
found to have a wise end. Now the duty of
observing stated times of private prayer is one of
those concerning which we are apt to entertain
the unbelieving thoughts I have been describing.
It seems to us to be a form, or at least a light
matter, to observe or omit ; whereas in truth, such
creatures are we, there is the most close and
remarkable connexion between small observances
and the permanence of our chief habits and prac-
tices. It is easy to see why it is irksome ; be-
cause it presses upon us and is inconvenient. It
is a duty which claims our attention continually,

XIX.] TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 291

and its irksomeness leads our hearts to rebel ; and
then we proceed to search for reasons to justify
our own dislike of it. Nothing is more difficult
than to be disciplined and regular in our religion.
It is very easy to be religious by fits and starts,
and to keep up our feelings by artificial stimu-
lants ; but regularity seems to trammel us, and
we become impatient. This is especially the
case with those to whom the world is as yet new,
and who can do as they please. Religion is the
chief subject which meets them, which enjoins
regularity ; and they bear it only so far as they
can make it look like things of this world, curious
or changeable or exciting. Satan knows his ad-
vantage here. He perceives well enough that
stated private prayer is the very emblem and
safeguard of true devotion to God, as impress-
ing on us and keeping up in us a rule of con-
duct. He who gives up regularity in prayer has
lost a principal means of reminding himself that
spiritual life is obedience to a Lawgiver, not a
mere feeling or a taste. Hence it is that so many
persons, especially in the polished ranks of society,
who are out of the way of temptation to gross
vice, fall away into a mere luxurious self-in-
dulgent devotion, which they take for religion ;
they reject every thing which implies self-denial,
and regular prayer especially. Hence it is that
others run into all kinds of enthusiastic fancies ;
because, by giving up set private prayer in writ-

u2

292 TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

ten forms, they have lost the chief rule of their de-
votion. Accordingly, you will hear them exclaim
against regular prayer, (which is the very medi-
cine suited to their disease,) as a formal service,
and maintain that times and places and fixed
words are beneath the attention of a spiritual
Christian. And others, who are exposed to the
seductions of sin, altogether fall away from the
same omission. Be sure, my brethren, whoever
of you is persuaded to disuse his morning and
evening prayers, is giving up the armour which
is to secure him against the wiles of the Devil.
If you have left off the observance of them, you
may fall any day ; — and you will fall without
notice. For a time you will go on, seeming to
yourselves to be the same as before ; but the
Israelites might as well hope to lay in a stock of
manna, as you of grace. You pray God for your
daily bread, your bread day by day ; and if you
have not prayed for it this morning, it will profit
you little that you prayed for it yesterday. You
did then pray and you obtained, — but not a sup-
ply for two days. When you have given over
the practice of stated prayer, you gradually be-
come weaker without knowing it. Samson did
not know he had lost his strength till the Philis-
tines came upon him ; you will think yourselves
the men you used to be, till suddenly your adver-
sary will come furiously upon you, and you will
as suddenly fall. You will be able to make little

XIX.] TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 293

or no resistance. This is the path which leads
to death. Men first leave off private prayer ;
then they neglect the due observance of the
Lord's day (which is a stated service of the same
kind) ; then they gradually let slip from their
minds the very idea of obedience to a fixed eternal
law ; then they actually allow themselves in
things which their conscience condemns; then
they lose the direction of their conscience, which,
being ill used, at length refuses to direct them.
And thus, being left by their true inward guide,
they are obliged to take another guide, their
reason, which by itself knows little or nothing
about religion ; then this their blind reason forms
a system of right or wrong for them, as well as it
can, flattering to their own desires, and presump-
tuous where it is not actually corrupt. No won-
der such a scheme contradicts Scripture, which
it is soon found to do ; not that they are certain
to perceive this themselves ; they often do not
know it, and think themselves still believers in
the Gospel, while they maintain doctrines which
the Gospel condemns. But sometimes they per-
ceive that their system is contrary to Scripture ;
and then, instead of giving it up, they give up
Scripture, and profess themselves unbelievers.
Such is the course of disobedience, beginning in
(apparently) slight omissions, and ending in open
unbelief; and all men who walk in the broad
way which leads to destruction are but in differ-

294 TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

ent stages of it, one more advanced than another,
but all in one way. And I have spoken of it
here, in order to remind you how intimately it is
connected with the neglect of set private prayer ;
whereas, he who is strict in the observance of
morning and evening devotion, praying with his
heart as well as his lips, can hardly go far astray,
for every morning and evening brings him a
monitor to draw him back and restore him.

Beware then of the subtilty of your Enemy,
who* would fain rob you of your defence. Do not
yield to his bad reasonings. Be on your guard
especially, when you get into novel situations or
circumstances, which interest and delight you ;
lest they throw you out of your regularity in
prayer. Any thing new or unexpected is dan-
gerous to you. Going much into mixed society,
and seeing many strange persons, taking share in
any pleasant amusements, reading interesting
books, entering into any new line of life, form-
ing some new acquaintance, the prospect of any
worldly advantage, travelling, all these things
and such like, innocent as they are in themselves
and capable of a religious use, become means of
temptation if we are not on our guard. See that
you are not unsettled by them, this is the danger ;
fear becoming unsettled. Consider that stability
of mind is the chief of virtues, for it is Faith.
" Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in

XIX.] TIMES OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 295

Thee1;" this is the promise. But " the wicked
are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest,
whose waters cast up mire and dirt ; there is no
peace, saith my God, to the wicked2." Nor to
the wicked only, in our common sense of the
word, " wicked," but to none is there rest, who in
any way leave their God, and rove after the goods
of this world. Do not indulge visions of earthly
good, fix your hearts on higher things, let your
morning and evening thoughts be the points of
rest for your mind's eye, and let those thoughts
be upon the narrow way, and the blessedness of
heaven, and the glory and power of Christ your
Saviour. Thus will you be kept from unseemly
risings and fallings, and steadied in an equable
way. Men in general will know nothing of this ;
they witness not your private prayers, and they
will confuse you with the multitude they fall in
with. But your friends and acquaintance will
gain a light and a comfort from your example ;
they will see your good works, and be led to trace
them to their true secret source, the influences of
the Holy Ghost sought and obtained by prayer.
Thus they will glorify your heavenly Father, and
in imitation of you will seek Him ; and He who
seeth in secret, shall at length reward you openly.

1 Isaiah xxvi. 3. 2 Isaiah Ivii. 20. 21.

SERMON XX.

FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER.

LUKE xi. 1.

Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

THESE words express the natural feelings of the
awakened mind, perceiving its great need of God's
help, yet not understanding well what its parti-
cular wants are, or how they are to be relieved.
The disciples of John the Baptist, and the disci-
ples of Christ, waited on their respective Masters
for instruction how to pray. It was in vain that
the duty of repentance was preached to the one,
and of faith to the other, in vain that God's mer-
cies and His judgments were set before them, and
their own duties ; they seemed to have all that
was necessary for making prayers for themselves,
yet they could not ; their hearts were full, but
they remained dumb ; they could offer no peti-
tion except to be taught to pray ; they knew the
Truth, but they could not use it. So different a

SERM. XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 297

thing is it to be instructed in religion, and to have
so mastered it in practice, that it is altogether our
own.

Their need has been the need of Christians ever
since. All of us in childhood, and most men ever
after, require direction how to pray ; and hence
the use of forms of prayer, which have always ob-
tained in the Church. John taught his disciples ;
Christ gave the Apostles the prayer which is dis-
tinguished by the name of the Lord's Prayer ;
and after He had ascended on high, the Holy
Spirit has given us excellent services of devotion
by the mouth of those blessed saints, whom from
time to time He has raised up to be overseers in
the Church. In the words of St. Paul, " We
know not what we should pray for as we ought1;"
but "the Spirit helpeth our infirmities;" and
that, not only by guiding our thoughts, but by
directing our words.

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

Now it has so happened that in these latter
times self-wise reasoners have arisen who have
questioned the use of forms of prayer, and have
thought it better to pray out of their own thoughts

1 Rom. viii. 26.

298 FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

at random, using words which come into their
minds at the time they pray. It may be right
then, that we should have some reasons at hand
for our use of those forms, which we have adopted
because they were handed down to us. Not, as
if it were not quite a sufficient reason for using
them, that we have received them, and, (in St.
Paul's words,) that ' ' neither we nor the Churches
of God have known any other custom1," and
that the best of Christians have ever used them ;
for this is an abundantly satisfactory reason ; — nor
again, as if we could hope by reasons ever so
good, to persuade those who inquire of us, which
most likely we shall not be able to do ; for a man
is far gone in extravagance who deliberately de-
nies the use of forms, and is likely to find our
reasons as difficult to receive as the practice we
are defending ; — so that we can only say of such
men, as St. Paul speaks in the epistle just re-
ferred to, "if any man be ignorant, let him be
ignorant," there is no help for it. But it may be
useful to show you how reasonable the practice is,
in order that you yourselves may turn it to better
account ; for when we know why we do a thing,
we are likely, (the same circumstances being sup-
posed), to do it more comfortably than when we
obey ignorantly. ,

Now, I suppose no one is in any difficulty

1 1 Cor. xi. 16.

XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 299

about the use of forms of prayer in public worship ;
for common sense almost will tell us, that when
many are to pray together as one man, if their
thoughts are to go together, they must agree before-
hand what is to be the subject of their prayers,
nay, what the words of their prayers if there is to
be any certainty, composure, ease, and regularity
in their united devotions. To be present at
extempore prayer, is to hear prayers. Nay, it
might happen, or rather often would happen, that
we did not understand what was said ; and then
the person praying is scarcely praying "in a
tongue understanded of the people," (as our
Article expresses it ;) he is rather interceding
for the people, like a priest of Rome, than pray-
ing with them, and leading their worship. In the
case, then, of public prayer the need of forms is
evident ; but it is not at first sight so obvious that
in private prayer also we need use written forms,
instead of praying extempore, (as it is called) ; so I
proceed to show the use of them.

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

1 Eccles. v. 2.

300 FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

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

2. In the next place, forms of prayer are neces-
sary to guard us against the irreverence of wan-
dering thoughts. If we pray without set words
(read or remembered), our minds will stray from
the subject ; other thoughts will cross us, and we
shall pursue them ; we shall lose sight of His
presence whom we are addressing. This wander-
ing of mind is in good measure prevented, under
God's blessing, by forms of prayer. Thus a chief
use of them is that of fixing the attention.

3. Next, they are useful in securing us from

XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 301

the irreverence of excited thoughts. And here
there is room for saying much ; for, it so happens,
forms of prayer are censured for the very circum-
stance about them which is their excellence.
They are accused of impeding the current of de-
votion, when, in fact, that (so called) current is in
itself faulty and ought to be checked. And those
persons (as might be expected) are most eager in
their opposition to them, who require more than
others the restraint of them. They sometimes
throw their objection into the following form,
which it may be worth while to consider. They
say, " If a man is in earnest, he will soon find
words ; there is no need of a set form of prayer.
And if he is not in earnest, a form can do him
no good." Now that a man who is in earnest
will soon find words is true or not true, accord-
ing to what is meant by being in earnest. It is
true that in times of strong emotion, grief or joy,
remorse or fear, our religious feelings may outrun
and leave behind them any form of words. In
such cases not only is there no need of forms of
prayer, but it is perhaps impossible to write forms
of prayer for Christians agitated by such feelings.
For each man feels in his own way, — perhaps no
two men exactly alike ; — and we can no more write
down how men ought to pray at such times, than
we can give rules how they should weep or be
merry. The better men they are, of course the
better they will pray in such a trying time ; but

302 FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

you cannot make them better ; they must be left
to themselves. And, though good men have be-
fore now set down in writing forms of prayer for
persons so circumstanced, these were doubtless
meant rather as patterns and helps, or as admoni-
tions and (if so be) quietings of the agitated mind,
than as prayers which it was expected would be
used literally and entirely in their detail. As a
general rule, forms of prayer should not be written
in strong and impassioned language ; but should
be calm, composed, and short. Our Saviour's own
prayer is our model in this respect. How few are
its petitions ! how soberly expressed ! how re-
verently ! and at the same time how deep are
they, and how comprehensive ! — I readily grant,
then, that there are times when the heart outruns
any written words ; as the jailor cried out, <c What
shall T do to be saved ?" Nay, rather I would
maintain, that set words should not attempt to
imitate the impetuous workings to which all
minds are subject at times in this world of change,
(and therefore religious minds in the number,)
lest one should seem to encourage them.

Still the question is not at all settled ; granting
there are times when a thankful or a wounded
heart bursts through all forms of prayer, yet these
are not frequent. To be excited is not the ordi-
nary state of the mind, but the extraordinary, the
now and then state. Nay, more than this, it
ought not to be the common state of the mind ;

1

XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 303

and if we are encouraging within us this excite-
ment, this unceasing rush and alternation of feel-
ings, and think that this, and this only, is being
in earnest in religion, we are harming our minds,
and (in one sense) I may even say, grieving the
peaceful Spirit of God, which would silently and
tranquilly work His Divine work in our hearts.
This, then, is an especial use of forms of prayer,
when we are in earnest, as we ought always to be ;
viz. to keep us from irreverent earnestness, to still
emotion, to calm us, to remind us what and where
we are, to lead us to a purer and serener temper,
and to that deep unruffled love of God and man,
which is really the fulfilling of the law, and <the
perfection of human nature.

Then, again, as to the usefulness of forms if we
are not in earnest, this also is true or not, as we
may take it. For there are degrees of earnest-
ness. Let us recollect, the power of praying,
being a habit, must be acquired, like all other
habits, by practice. In order at length to pray
well, we must begin by praying ill, since ill is
all we can do. Is not this plain ? Who, in any
other work, would wait till he could do it perfectly,
before he tried it? The idea is absurd. Yet
those who object to forms of prayer on the ground
just mentioned, fall into this strange error. If,
indeed, we could pray and praise God like the
Angels, we might have no need of forms of prayer ;
but forms are to teach those who pray poorly to

304 FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

pray better. They are helps to our devotion, as
teaching us what to pray for, and how, as St.
John and our Lord taught their disciples ; and,
doubtless, even the best of us prays but poorly,
and needs the help of them. However, the per-
sons I speak of, think that prayer is nothing else
but the bursting forth of strong feeling, not the
action of a habit, but an emotion, and, therefore,
of course to such men the very notion of learning
to pray seems absurd. But this indulgence of
emotion is in truth founded on a mistake, as I
have already said.

4. Further, forms are useful to help our memory,
and to set before us at once, completely, and in
order, what we have to pray for. It does not
follow, when the heart is really full of the thought
of God, and alive to the reality of things unseen,
that then it is easiest to pray. Rather, the more
exalted view we have of His Majesty and our
innumerable wants, the less we shall be able to
draw out our thoughts into words. The publican
could only say, " God be merciful to me a
sinner ;" this was enough for his acceptance ; but
to offer such a scanty service was not to exercise
the gift of prayer, the privilege of a ransomed
and exalted son of God. He whom Christ has
illuminated with His grace, is heir of all things.
He has an interest in' the world's multitude of
matters. He has a boundless sphere of duties
within and without him. He has a glorious

XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 305

prospect before him. The saints shall hereafter
judge the world ; and shall they not here take
cognizance of its doings ? are they not in one
sense counsellors and confidential servants of their
Lord, intercessors at the throne of grace, the
secret agents by and for whom He guides His
high providence, and carries on the nations to
their doom ? And in their own persons is for-
giveness merely and acceptance, (extreme bless-
ings as these are,) the scope of their desires ? else
might they be content with the publican's prayer.
Are they not rather bidden to go on to perfection,
to use the Spirit given them, to enlarge and
purify their own hearts, and to draw out the
nature of man into the fulness of its capabilities
after the image of the Son of God ? And for the
thought of all these objects at once who is suffi-
cient ? Whose mind is not overpowered by the
view of its own immense privilege, nor eagerly
seeks to pray for itself and others, in words care-
fully composed according to the number and the
nature of the various petitions it has to offer ? so
that he who prays without plan, is in fact losing
a great part of the privilege with which his
baptism has gifted him.

5. And further, the use of a form as a help to
the memory is still more obvious, when we take
into account the engagements of this world with
which most men are surrounded. The cares and
businesses of life press upon us with a reality

x

306 FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

which we cannot overlook. Shall we trust the
matters of the next world to the chance thoughts
of our own minds, which come this moment,
and go the next, and may not be at hand
when the time of employing them arrives, like
unreal visions, having no substance and no perma-
nence ? This world is Satan's efficacious form, it
is the instrument through which he spreads out in
order and attractiveness his many snares ; and
these doubtless will engross us, unless we also
give form to the spiritual objects towards which
we pray and labour. How short are the seasons
which most men have to give to prayer ! Before
they can collect their memories and minds, their
leisure is almost over, even if they have the
power to dismiss the thoughts of this world, which
just before engaged them. Now forms of prayer
do this for them. They keep the ground occu-
pied, that Satan may not encroach upon the sea-
sons of devotion. They are a standing memorial,
to which we can recur as to a temple of God,
finding every thing in order for our worship as
soon as we go into it, though the time allotted us
at morning and evening be ever so circum-
scribed.

6. And this use of forms in prayer becomes
great, beyond power of estimating, in the case of
those multitudes of men, who, after going on well
for a while, fall into sin. If even conscientious
men require continual aids to be reminded of the

XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 807

next world, how extreme is the need of those who
try to forget it ! It cannot be denied, fearful as it
is to reflect upon it, that far the greater number
of those who come to manhood, for a while (at
least) desert the God who has redeemed them; and,
then, if in their earlier years they have learned
and used no prayers jor psalms by which to wor-
ship Him, what is to keep them from blotting
altogether from their minds the thought of reli-
gion ? But here it is that the forms of the Church
have ever served her children, both to restrain
them in their career of sin, and to supply them
with ready utterance on their repentance. Chance
words and phrases of her services adhere to their
memories, rising up in moments of temptation or
of trouble, to check or to recover them. And
hence it happens, that in the most irreligious com-
panies a distinction is said to be observable be-
tween those who have had the opportunity of
using our public forms in their youth, and those
whose religious impressions have not been thus
happily fortified ; so that, amid their most reckless
mirth, and most daring pretence of profligacy, a
sort of secret reverence has attended the wan-
derers, restraining them from that impiety and
profaneness in which the others have tried to
conceal from themselves the guilt and peril of
their doings.

And again, on their repentance, (should they
be favoured with so high a grace,) what friends

x 2

308 FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

do they seem to find amid their gloom in the
words they learned in their boyhood, — a kindly
voice, aiding them to say what they otherwise
would not know how to say, guiding and com-
posing their minds upon those objects of faith
which they ought to look to, but cannot find of
themselves, and so (as it were) interceding for them
with the power of the blessed Spirit, while nature
can but groan and travail in pain ! Sinners as they
are by their own voluntary misdeeds, and with a
prospect of punishment before them enlightened
by but few and faint gleams of hope, what shall
keep them from feverish restlessness, arid all the
extravagance of fear, what shall soothe them into
a fixed resigned waiting for their Judge, and
such lowly efforts to obey Him, however poorly,
as become a penitent, but those words, long
buried in their minds, and now rising again as if
with the life of their uncorrupted boyhood ? It
requires no great experience of sick beds to verify
the truth of this statement. Blessed, indeed, is
the power of those formularies, which thus suc-
ceed in throwing a sinner for a while out of him-
self, and bringing before him the scenes of his
youth, his guardian friends now long departed,
their ways and their teaching, their pious ser-
vices, and their peaceful end ; and though all
this is an excitement, and lasts but for a season,
yet, if improved, it may be converted into an
habitual contemplation of persons and deeds

XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 309

which now live to God, though removed hence, —
if improved by acting upon it, it will become an
abiding motive to seek the world to come, an
abiding persuasion, winning him from the works
of darkness, and raising him to the humble hope
of future acceptance with his Saviour and
Judge.

7. Such is the force of association in undoing
the evil of past years, and recalling us to the
innocence of children. Nor is this all we may
gain from the prayers we use, nor are penitent
sinners the only persons who can profit by it.
Let us recollect for how long a period our prayers
have been the standard forms of devotion in the
Church of Christ, and we shall gain a fresh
reason for loving them, and a fresh source of
comfort in using them. I know different persons
will feel differently here, according to their dif-
ferent turn of mind ; yet, surely there are few of
us, if we dwelt on the thought, but would feel it
a privilege to use, (e. g. in the Lord's Prayer,) the
very petitions which Christ spoke. He gave the
prayer and used it. His Apostles used it; all
the Saints ever since have used it. When we use
it, we seem to join company with them. Who
does not think himself brought nearer to any
celebrated man in history, by seeing his house,
or his furniture, or his handwriting, or the very
books that were his ? Thus does the Lord's
Prayer bring us near to Christ, and to His dis-

310 FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. [SERM.

ciples in every age. No wonder, then, that in
past time good men thought this form of prayer
so sacred, that it seemed impossible to them to
say it too often, as if some especial grace went
with the use of it. Nor can we use it too often ;
it contains in itself a sort of plea for Christ's
listening to us ; we cannot, so that we keep our
thoughts fixed on its petitions, and use our minds
as well as our lips when we repeat it. — And what
is true of the Lord's Prayer, is in its measure true of
most of those prayers which our Church teaches
us to use. It is true of the Psalms also, and of the
Creeds ; all of which have become sacred, from
the memory of saints departed who have used
them, and whom we hope one day to meet in
heaven.

One caution I give in conclusion as to using
these thoughts. Beware lest your religion be
one of feeling merely, not of practice. Men may
speak in a high imaginative way of the ancient
Saints and the Holy Apostolic Church, without
making the fervour and refinement of their devo-
tion bear upon their conduct. Many a man likes
to be religious in graceful language ; he loves
religious tales and hymns, yet is never the better
Christian for all this. The works of every day,
these are the test of our glorious contemplations,
whether or not they shall be available l to our

1 Gal. vi. 15.

XX.] FORMS OF PRIVATE PRAYER. 31 1

salvation ; and he who does one deed of obedience
for Christ's sake, let him have no imagination
and no fine feeling, is a better man, and returns
to his home justified rather than the most eloquent
speaker, and the most sensitive hearer, of the
glory of the Gospel, if such men do not practise
up to their knowledge.

SERMON XXL

THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY.

LUKE xx. 37, 38.

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

THESE words of our Saviour show us how much
more there is in Scripture than at first sight
appears. God spoke to Moses in the burning
bush, and called Himself "the God of Abra-
ham;" and Christ tells us, that in this simple
announcement was contained the promise that
Abraham should rise again from the dead. In
truth, if we may say it with reverence, the All-
wise, All-knowing God, cannot speak without
meaning many things at once. He sees the end
from the beginning ; He understands the num-
berless connexions and relations of all things one
with another. Every word of His is full of in-
struction, looking many ways ; and though it is

SERM. XXL] THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 313

not often given to us to know these various senses,
and we are not at liberty to attempt lightly to
imagine them, yet, as far as they are told us,
and as far as we may reasonably infer them, we
must thankfully accept them. Look at Christ's
words, and this same character of them strikes
us ; whatever He says is fruitful in meaning, and
refers to many things. It is well to keep this in
mind when we read Scripture ; for it may hinder
us from self-conceit, from studying it in an
arrogant critical temper, and from giving over
reading it, as if we had got from it all that can be
learned:

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

When God called Himself the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, He implied that those holy patri-
archs were still alive, though they were no more
seen on earth. This may seem evident at first
sight ; but it may be asked, how the text proves
that their bodies would live ; for, if their souls were
still living, that would be enough to account for
their being still called in the Book of Exodus,
servants and sons of God. This is the point to
be considered. Our Blessed Lord seems to tell
us, that in some sense or other Abraham's body
might be considered still alive as a pledge of his
resurrection, though it was dead in the common
sense in which we apply the word. His an-

314 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. [SERM.

nouncement is, Abraham shall rise from the dead,
because in truth, He is still alive. He cannot in
the end be held under the power of the grave,
more than a sleeping man can be kept from
waking. Abraham is still alive in the dust,
though not risen thence. He is alive because all
God's saints live to Him, though they seem to
perish.

It may seem a paradox to say, that our bodies,
even when dead, are still alive; but, since our
Lord seems to countenance us in saying so, I will
say it though a strange saying, because it has an
instructive meaning. We are apt to talk about our
bodies as if we knew how or what they really were ;
whereas we only know what our eyes tell us. They
seem to grow, to come to maturity, to decay ; but
after all we know no more about them than meets
our senses, and there is, doubtless, much which
God sees in our material frames, which we cannot
see. We have no direct cognizance of what may
be called the substantive existence of the body,
only of its accidents. Again, we are apt to speak
of soul and body as if we could distinguish between
them, and knew much about them ; but for the
most part we use words without meaning. It is
useful indeed to make the distinction, and Scrip-
ture makes it ; but after all, the Gospel speaks of
our nature in a religious sense, as one. Soul and
body make up one man, which is born once, and
never dies. Philosophers of old time thought the

XXL] THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 315

soul indeed might live for ever, but that the body
perished at death ; but Christ tells us otherwise,
He tells us the body will live for ever. In the
text He seems to intimate that it never really dies ;
that we lose sight indeed of what we are accus-
tomed to see, but that God still sees the elements
of it which are not exposed to our senses.

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

You will see this more clearly by considering
what our Saviour says about the blessed Sacra-
ment of His supper. He says He will give us His
flesh to eat *. How is this done? we do not know.
He gives it under the form of bread and wine.
But in what real sense is the consecrated bread
His body ? It is not told us, we may not inquire.
We say indeed spiritually, sacramentally, in a hea-
venly way ; but this is in order to impress on our
minds religious, and not carnal notions of it. All

1 John vi. 51.

316 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. [SJSRM.

we are concerned to know is, the effect upon us of
partaking this blessed food. Now observe what
He tells us about that. " Except ye eat the flesh
of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have
no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh and
drinketh My blood, hath eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day1." Now there is no
distinction made here between soul and body.
Christ's blessed Supper is food to us altogether,
whatever we are, soul, body, and all. It is the
seed of eternal life within us, the food of immor-
tality, to " preserve our body and soul unto ever-
lasting life2." The forbidden fruit wrought in
Adam unto death ; but this is the fruit which
makes us live for ever. Bread sustains us in this
temporal life ; the consecrated bread is the means
of eternal strength for soul and body. Who
could live this visible life without earthly food ?
And in the same way the Supper of the Lord is
the means of our living for ever. We have no
reason for thinking we shall live for ever unless

1 John vi. 53, 54.

2 " In the Supper of the Lord there is no vain ceremony, no
bare sign, no untrue figure of a thing absent ; but, as the Scrip-
ture says, .... the communion of the Body and Blood of the
Lord, in a marvellous incorporation, which, by the operation of
the Holy Ghost .... is through faith wrought in the souls of
the faithful, whereby not only their souls live to eternal life, but
they surely trust to win their bodies a resurrection to immor-
tality."— Homily on the Sacrament, Part I.

XXL] THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 817

we eat it, no more than we have reason to think
our temporal life will be sustained without meat
and drink. God can, indeed, sustain us, " not
by bread alone ;" but this is His ordinary means,
which His will has made such. He can sustain
our immortality without the Christian Sacra-
ments, as He sustained Abraham and the other
saints of old time ; but under the Gospel these
are His means, which He appointed at His will.
We eat the sacred bread, and our bodies become
sacred ; they are not ours ; they are Christ's ;
they are instinct with that flesh which saw not
corruption ; they are inhabited by His Spirit ;
they become immortal ; they die but to appear-
ance, and for a time ; they spring up when their
sleep is ended, and reign with Him for ever.

The inference to be drawn from this doctrine is
plain. Among the wise men of the heathen, as I
have said, it was usual to speak slightingly and
contemptuously of the mortal body ; they knew
no better. They thought it scarcely a part of
their real selves, and fancied they should be in a
better condition without it. Nay, they consi-
dered it to be the cause of their sinning ; that the
soul of man was pure, and the material body was
gross, and defiled the soul. We have been taught
the truth, viz. that sin is a disease of our minds,
of ourselves ; and that all of us, not body alone,
but soul and body, is naturally corrupt, and that
Christ has redeemed and cleansed whatever we

318 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. [SERM.

are, sinful soul and body. Accordingly, their
chief hope in death was the notion they should
be rid of their body. Feeling they were sinful,
and not knowing how, they laid the charge on
their body ; and knowing they were badly cir-
cumstanced here, they thought death perchance
might be a change for the better. Not that they
rested on the hope of returning to a God and
Father, but they- thought to be unshackled from
the earth, and able to do what they would. It
was consistent with this slighting of their earthly
tabernacle, that they burned the dead bodies of
their friends, not burying them as we do, but
consuming them, as a mere worthless case of what
had been precious, and was then an incumbrance
to the ground. Far different is the temper which
the glorious light of the Gospel teaches us. Our
bodies shall rise again and live for ever ; they
may not be irreverently handled. How they
will rise we know not ; but surely, if the word of
Scripture be true, the body from which the soul
departed shall come to life. There are some
truths, addressed solely to our faith, not to our
reason ; not to our reason, because we know so
little about "the power of God," (in our Saviour's
words,) that we have nothing to reason upon.
One of these, e. g. is the presence of Christ in the
Sacrament. We know we eat His Body and Blood ;
but it is our wisdom not curiously to ask how or
whence, not to give our thoughts range, but to

1

XXL] THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 319

take and eat and profit thereby. This is the
secret of gaining the blessing promised. And so,
as regards the resurrection of the dead, we have
no means or ground of argument. We cannot
determine in what exact sense our bodies will be
on the resurrection the same as they are at pre-
sent, but we cannot harm ourselves by taking
God's declaration simply and acting upon it.
And it is, as believing this comfortable truth, that
the Christian Church put aside that old irreve-
rence of the funeral pile, and consecrated the
ground for the reception of the saints that sleep.
We deposit our departed friends calmly and
thoughtfully, in faith ; not ceasing to love or re-
member that which once lived among us, but
marking the place where it lies, as believing that
God has set His seal upon it, and His angels
guard it. His angels, surely, guard the bodies of
His servants, Michael the archangel, thinking it
no unworthy task to preserve them from the
powers of evil l. Especially those like Moses,
who fall " in the wilderness of the people," whose
duty has called them to danger and suffering, and
who die a violent death, these too, if they have
eaten of that incorruptible bread, are preserved
safe till the last day. There are, who have not
the comfort of a peaceful burial. They die in
battle, or on the sea, or in strange lands, or as

1 Jude 9.

320 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. [SERM.

the early believers, under the hands of persecu-
tors. Horrible tortures, or the mouths of wild
beasts have ere now dishonoured the sacred
bodies of those who had fed upon Christ ; and
diseases corrupt them still. This is Satan's work,
the expiring efforts of his fury, after his overthrow
by Christ. Still, as far as we can, we repair
these insults of our Enemy, and tend honourably
and piously those tabernacles in which Christ has
dwelt. And in this view, what a venerable and
fearful place is a Church, in and around which
the dead are deposited ! Truly it is chiefly sacred,
as being the place where God has for ages mani-
fested Himself to His servants ; but add to this
the thought, that it is the actual depositary of
those very servants, through successive times, who
still live unto Him. The dust around us will
one day become animate. We may ourselves be
dead long before, and not see it. We ourselves
may elsewhere be buried, and should it be our
exceeding blessedness to rise to life eternal, we
may rise in other places, far in the east or west.
But, as God's word is true, what is sown, is
raised ; the earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to
dust, shall become glory to glory, and life to the
living God, and a fit incorruptible image of the
spirit made perfect. Here the saints sleep, here
they shall rise. A great sight will a Christian
country then be, if earth remains what it is; when
holy places pour out the worshippers who have

XXL] THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 321

for generations kept vigil therein, waiting through
the long night for the bright coming of Christ !
And, if this be so, what pious composed thoughts
should be ours when we enter Churches ! God
indeed is every where, and His angels go to and
fro; yet can they be more worthily employed in
their condescending care of man, than where good
men sleep ? In the service of the Communion we
magnify God together with Angels and Archangels,
and all the company of heaven. Surely there is
more meaning in this than we know of ; what a
" dreadful" place would this appear if our eyes
were opened as those of Elisha's servant ! * ' This
is none other than the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven."

On the other hand, if the dead bodies of Christ-
ians are honourable, so doubtless, are the living ;
because they have had their blessedness when
living, therefore have they in their sleep. He
who does not honour his own body as something
holy unto the Lord, may indeed revere the dead,
but it is then a mere superstition not a piety.
To reverence holy places (right as it is,) will not
profit a man unless he reverences himself. Con-
sider what it is to be partaker of the Body and
Blood of Christ. We pray God, in our Church's
language, that " our sinful bodies may become
clean through His body ;" and we are promised
in Scripture, that our bodies shall become temples
of the Holy Ghost. How should we study then to

THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. [SERM.

cleanse them from all sin, that they may be true
members of Christ ! We are told that the peril
of disease and death attends the unworthy taking
of the Lord's Supper. Is this wonderful, consi-
dering the strange sin of receiving it into a body
disgraced by wilful disobedience. All that defiles
it, intemperance or other vice, all that is unbe-
coming, all that is disrespectful to Him who has
bought our bodies with a price, must be put
aside1. Hear St. Paul's words, " Christ being
raised from the dead, dieth no more . . . likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin ....
let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that
ye should obey it in the lusts thereof V " If the
Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by

His indwelling Spirit If ye, through the

Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall
live V

Work together with God, therefore, my
brethren, in this work of your redemption.
While He feeds you, prepare for the heavenly
feast; " discern the Lord's body" when it is
placed before you, and suitably treasure it after-
wards. Lay up year by year this seed of life
within you, believing it will one day bear fruit.
Glorious, indeed, will be the spring time of the

1 1 Cor. vi. 20. 2 Rom. vi. 9—12. 3 Rom. viii. 11.

XXL] THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 323

resurrection, when all that seemed dry and
withered will bud forth and blossom. The glory
of Lebanon will be given it, the excellency of
Carmel and Sharon ; the fir tree for the thorn,
the myrtle tree for the briar ; and the moun-
tains and the hills shall break forth before
us in singing. Who would miss being of that
company ? Wretched men they will then ap-
pear, who now for a season enjoy the pleasures
of sin. Wretched, who follow their own selfish
will, instead of walking by faith, who are now
idle, instead of trying to serve God, who are set
upon the world's vanities, or who scoff at reli-
gion, or who allow themselves in known sin, who
live in anger, or malice, or pride, or covetous-
ness, who do not continually strive to become
better and holier, who are afraid to profess them-
selves Christians and take up their cross and
follow Christ. May the good Lord make us all
willing to follow him ; may He rouse the slum-
berers, and raise them to a new life here, that
they may inherit His eternal kingdom hereafter !

SERMON XXII.

THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES.

ACTS x. 40, 41.

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

IT might have been expected that, on our Saviour's
rising again from the dead, He would have shown
Himself to very great numbers of people, and
especially to those who crucified Him ; whereas,
we know from the history, that, far from this
being the case, He showed Himself only to
chosen witnesses, chiefly His immediate followers ;
and St. Peter avows this in the text. This seems
at first sight strange. We are apt to fancy the
resurrection of Christ as some striking visible
display of His glory, such as God vouchsafed
from time to time to the Israelites in Moses'
time ; and, considering it in the light of a public
triumph, we are led to imagine the confusion

SEKM. XXII.] THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 325

and terror which would have overwhelmed His
murderers, had He presented Himself alive be-
fore them. Now, thus to reason, is to conceive
Christ's kingdom of this world, which it is not ;
and to suppose that Christ then came to judge
the world, whereas that judgment will not come
till the last day, when in very deed those wicked
men shall " look on Him whom they have
pierced."

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

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

After His resurrection, He said to His disciples,
" Go, convert all nations * ;" this was His especial
charge. If, then, there are grounds for thinking
that, by showing Himself to a few rather than to
many, He was more surely advancing this great
object, the propagation of the Gospel, this is a

1 Matt, xxviii. 19.

326

THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES.

[SERM.

sufficient reason for our Lord's having so willed
it ; and let us thankfully receive it.

1. Now consider what would have been the
probable effect of a public exhibition of His
resurrection. Let us suppose that our Saviour
had shown Himself as openly as before He suf-
fered ; preaching in the temple and in the streets
of the city ; traversing the land with His Apos-
tles, and with multitudes following to see the
miracles which He did. What would have been
the effect of this ? Of course, what it had already
been. His former miracles had not effectually
moved the bocly of the people ; and, doubtless,
this miracle too would have left them as it found
them, or worse than before. They might have
been more startled at the time ; but why should
this amazement last ? When the man taken with
a palsy was suddenly restored at His word, the
multitude were all amazed and glorified God,
and were filled with fear, saying, " We have seen
strange things to-day1." What could they have
said and felt more than this, when " one rose
from the dead ?" In truth, this is the way of the
mass of mankind in all ages, to be influenced by
sudden fears, sudden contrition, sudden earnest-
ness, sudden resolves, which disappear as sud-
denly. Nothing is done effectually through un-

1 Luke v. 26.

XXII.] THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 327

trained human nature ; and such is ever the con-
dition of the multitude. Unstable as water, it
cannot excel. One day it cried Hosanna ; the
next crucify Him. And had our Lord appeared
to them after they had crucified Him, of course
they would have shouted Hosanna once more ;
and when He had ascended out of sight, then
again they would have persecuted His followers.
Besides, the miracle of the resurrection was much
more exposed to the cavils of unbelief than others
which our Lord had displayed, than that, e. g.
of feeding the multitudes in the wilderness. Had
our Lord appeared in public, yet few could have
touched Him, and certified themselves it was He
Himself. Few, comparatively, in a great multi-
tude could so have seen Him both before and
after His death, as to be adequate witnesses of
the reality of the miracle. It would have been
open to the greater number of them still to deny
that He was risen. This is the very feeling St.
Matthew records. When He appeared on a
mountain in Galilee to a number of His disciples,
(five hundred as it would seem,) " some doubted.'9
How could it be otherwise ? these had no means
of ascertaining that they really saw Him who
had been crucified, dead, and buried. Others,
admitting it was Jesus, would have denied that
He ever died. Not having seen Him dead on
the cross, they might have pretended He was
taken down thence before life was extinct, and so

328 THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. [SERM.

restored. This supposition would be a sufficient
excuse to those who wished not to believe. And
the more ignorant part would fancy they had seen
a spirit without flesh and bones as man has.
They would have resolved the miracle into a
magical illusion, as the Pharisees had done be-
fore, when they ascribed His works to Beelzebub ;
and would have been rendered no better or more
religious by the sight of Him, than the common
people are now-a-days by tales of apparitions and
witches.

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

2. Now, on the other hand, let us contemplate
the means which His Divine Wisdom actually
adopted with a view of making His resurrection
subservient to the propagation of His Gospel. — He
showed Himself openly, not to all the people, but
unto witnesses chosen before of God. It is,
indeed, a general characteristic of the course of

XXII.] THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 329

His providence to make the few the channels of
His blessings to the many ; but in the instance
we are surveying, a few were selected because
only a few could (humanly speaking) be made
instruments. As I have already said, to be
witnesses of His resurrection it was requisite to
have known our Lord intimately before His death.
This was the case with the Apostles ; but this
was not enough. It was necessary they should
be certain it was He Himself, the very same
whom they before knew. You recollect how
He urged them to handle Him, and be sure that
they could testify to His rising again. This is
intimated in the text also ; " witnesses chosen
before of God, even to us who did eat and drink
with Him after He rose from the dead." Nor
were they required merely to know Him, but the
thought of Him was to be stamped upon their
minds as the one master spring of their whole
course of life for the future. But men are not
easily wrought upon to be faithful advocates of
any cause. Not only is the multitude fickle ; but
the best men, unless urged, tutored, disciplined
to their work, give way ; untrained nature has
no principles.

It would seem, then, that our Lord gave His
attention to a few, because, if the few be gained,
the many follow. To these few He showed Him-
self again and again. These He restored, com-
forted, warned, inspired. He formed them unto

330 THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. [SERM.

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

3. I have already suggested, what is too ob-
vious almost to insist upon, that in making a
select few the ministers of His mercy to mankind
at large, our Lord was but acting according to
the general course of His providence. It is plain
every great change is effected by the few, not by
the many ; by the resolute undaunted zealous

XXIL] THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 331

few. True it is that societies sometimes fall to
pieces by their own corruption, which is in one
sense a change without special instruments
chosen or allowed by God ; but this is a disso-
lution, not a work. Doubtless, much may be
undone by the many, but nothing is done except
by those who are specially trained for action.
In the midst of the famine Jacob's sons stood
looking one upon another, but did nothing.
One or two men, of small outward pretensions,
but with their hearts in their work, these do great
things. These are prepared not by sudden ex-
citement, or by vague general belief in the truth
of their cause, but by deeply impressed, often
repeated instruction ; and since it stands to reason
that it is easier to teach a few than a great num-
ber, it is plain such men always will be few.
Such as these spread the knowledge of Christ's
resurrection over the idolatrous world. Well
they answered the teaching of their Lord and
Master. Their success sufficiently approves to
us His wisdom in showing Himself to them, not
to all the people.

4. Remember too this further reason why the
witnesses of the resurrection were few in number ;
viz. because they were on the side of Truth. If
the witnesses were to be such as really loved and
obeyed the Truth, there could not be many chosen.
Christ's cause was the cause of light and religion,
therefore His advocates and ministers were neces-

1

332 THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. [SERM.

sarily few. It is an old proverb, (which even the
heathen admitted,) that " the many are bad."
Christ did not confide His Gospel to the many ;
had He done so, we may even say, that it would
have been at first sight a presumption against its
coming from God. What was the chief work of
His whole ministry, but that of choosing and
separating from the multitude those who should
be fit recipients of His Truth ? As He went the
round of the country again and again, through
Galilee arid Judea, He tried the spirits of men
the while ; and rejecting the baser sort who " ho-
noured Him with their lips, while their hearts
were far from Him,'' He specially chose twelve.
The rest He put aside for a while as an adulterous
and sinful generation, intending to make one
last experiment on the mass when the Spirit
should come. But His twelve He brought near
to Himself at once, and taught them. Then He
sifted them, and one fell away ; the eleven
escaped as though by fire. For these eleven
especially He rose again ; He visited them and
taught them for forty days ; for in them He saw
the fruit of " the travail of His soul and was
satisfied ;" in them " He saw His seed, He pro-
longed His days, and the pleasure of the Lord
prospered in His hand." These were His wit-
nesses, for they had the love of the Truth
in their hearts. " I have chosen you, (He
says to them,) and ordained you that ye should

XXII.] THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 333

go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain V

So much then in answer to the question, why
did not Christ show Himself to the whole Jewish
people after His resurrection. I ask in reply, what
would have been the use of it? a mere passing
triumph over sinners whose judgment is reserved
for the next world. On the other hand, such a
procedure would have interfered with, nay de-
feated, the real object of His rising again, the
propagation of His Gospel through the world by
means of His own intimate friends and followers.
And further, this preference of the few to the
many seems to have been necessary from the
nature of man, since all great works are effected,
not by a multitude, but by the deep-seated reso-
lution of a few ; — nay, necessary too from man's
depravity, for alas, popular favour is hardly to be
expected for the cause of truth ; and our Lord's
instruments were few, if for no other reason, yet
at least for this, because more were not to be
found, because there were but few faithful Israel-
ites without guile in Israel according to the flesh.

Now, let us observe how much matter both for
warning and comfort, is supplied by this view.
We learn from the picture of the infant Church
what that Church has ever been since, i. e. as
far as man can understand it. Many are called,

John xv. 16.

334 THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. [SBRM.

few are chosen. We learn to reflect on the great
danger there is, lest we be not in the number of
the chosen, and are warned to " watch and pray
that we enter not into temptation," to " work out
our salvation with fear and trembling," to seek
God's mercy in His Holy Church, and to pray to
Him ever that He would " fulfil in us the good
pleasure of His will," and complete what He once
began.

But, besides this, we are comforted too; we
are comforted, as many of us as are living humbly
in the fear of God. Who those secret ones are
who in the bosom of the visible Church live as
saints fulfilling their calling, God only knows.
We are in the dark about it. We may indeed
know much about ourselves, and we may form
somewhat of a judgment about those with whom
we are well acquainted. But of the general body
of Christians we know little or nothing. It is our
duty to consider them as Christians, to take them
as we find them, and to love them ; and it is no
concern of ours to debate about their state in
God's sight. Without however entering into this
question concerning God's secret counsels, let us
receive this truth before us for a practical purpose ;
that is, I speak to all who are conscious to them-
selves that they wish and try to serve God, what-
ever their progress in religion be, and whether or
not they dare apply to themselves, or in whatever
degree, the title of Christian in its most sacred

XXII.] THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 335

sense. All who obey the Truth are on the side of
the Truth, and the Truth will prevail. Few in
number, but strong in the Spirit, despised by the
world, yet making way while they suffered, the
twelve Apostles overturned the power of dark-
ness and established the Christian Church. And
let all " who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sin-
cerity" be quite sure, that weak though they
seem, and solitary, yet the " foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
stronger than men." The many are " deceitful,"
and the worldly-wise are " vain ;" but he " that
feareth the Lord, the same shall be praised." The
most excellent gifts of the intellect last but for a
season. Eloquence and wit, shrewdness and dex-
terity, these plead a cause well and propagate
it quickly, but it dies with them. It has no root
in the hearts of men, and lives not out a genera-
tion. It is the consolation of the despised Truth,
that its works endure. Its words are few, but
they live. Abel's faith to this day yet speaketh1.
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
Church. "Fret not thyself" then " because of evil
doers, neither be thou envious against the work-
ers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down
like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord and do good . . . delight thy-
self also in Him and He shall give thee the de-

1 Hebrews xi. 4.

336 THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. [SERM.

sires of thy heart ; commit thy way unto the Lord,
trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. . .
He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the
light, and thy judgment as the noon -day ... A
little that a righteous man hath is better than the
riches of many wicked. For the arms of the
wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholdeth
the righteous .... I have seen the wicked in
great power, and spreading himself like a green
bay-tree, yet he passed away, and lo, he was not ;
yea, I sought him, and he could not be found V
The heathen world made much ado when the
Apostles preached the resurrection. They and
their associates were sent out as lambs among
wolves ; but they prevailed.

We too, though we are not witnesses of Christ's
actual resurrection, are so spiritually. By a
heart awake from the dead, and by affections set
on heaven, we can as truly and without figure
witness that Christ liveth, as they did. He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in
himself. Truth bears witness by itself to its
Divine Author. He who obeys God conscien-
tiously, and lives holily, forces all about him to
believe and tremble before the unseen power of
Christ. To the world indeed at large he wit-
nesses not ; for few can see him near enough to
be affected by his mode of living. But to his

1 Psalm xxxvii. 1 — 6. 16, 17. 35, 36. •

XXIL] THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 337

neighbours he manifests the truth in proportion
to their knowledge of him ; and some of them,
through God's blessing, catch the holy flame,
cherish it, and in their turn transmit it. And thus
in a dark world Truth still makes way in spite of
the darkness, passing from hand to hand. And
thus it keeps its station in high places, acknow-
ledged as the creed of nations, the multitude of
which are ignorant, the while, on what it rests,
how it came there, how it keeps its ground ; and
despising it, think it easy to dislodge it. But
" the Lord reigneth." He is risen from the dead.
"His throne is established of old; He is from
everlasting. The floods have lifted up their voice,
the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high
is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea,
than the mighty waves of the sea. His testimo-
nies are very sure ; holiness becometh His house
for ever1."

Let these be our thoughts whenever the pre-
valence of error leads us to despond. When St.
Peter's disciple, Ignatius, was brought before the
Roman emperor, he called himself Theophorus;
and when the emperor asked the feeble old man
why he so called himself, Ignatius said, it was
because he carried Christ in his breast. He wit-
nessed there was but One God, who made heaven,
earth, and sea, and all that is in them, and One

1 Psalm xciii.
z

338 THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. [SERM.XXIL

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

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

SERMON XXIII

CHRISTIAN REVERENCE.

PSALM ii. 11.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

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

Christ, in like manner, when exalted as the
Only-begotten Son of God, did not mix with the
Jewish people, as in the days of His humiliation.
He rose from the grave in secret, and taught in
secret forty days, because " the government was

z2

340 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SERM.

upon His shoulder." He was no longer a ser-
vant, washing His disciples' feet, and dependent
on the wayward will of the multitude. He was
the acknowledged heir of all things. His throne
was established by a divine decree ; and those
who desired His salvation, were bound to seek His
face. Yet, not even by those who sought was He
at once found. He did not permit the world to
approach Him rashly, or curiously to gaze on
Him. Those only did He call beside Him who
had been His friends, who loved Him. Those
only He bade " ascend the hill of the Lord," who
had " clean hands and a pure heart, who had not
worshipped vanity nor sworn deceitfully." These
drew near, and " saw the Lord God of Israel,"
and so were fitted to bear the news of Him to the
people at large. He remained " in His holy
temple ;" they from Him proclaimed the tidings
of His resurrection, and of His mercy, His free
pardon offered to all men, and the promises of
grace and glory which His death had pledged to
all who believe.

Thus are we taught to serve our risen Lord with
fear, and rejoice with trembling. Let us pursue
the subject thus opened upon us. — Christ's second
sojourn on earth (after His resurrection,) was in
secret. The time had been when He " preached
openly in the synagogues," and the public ways ;
and openly wrought miracles such as man never
did. Was there to be no end of His labours in our

XXIII.] CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. 341

behalf? His death " finished " them ; afterwards
He taught His followers only. Who shall com-
plain of His withdrawing Himself at last from
the world, when it was of His own spontaneous
loving-kindness that He ever showed Himself at
all?

Yet it must be borne in mind, that even before
He entered into His glory, Christ spoke arid acted
as a King. It must not be supposed that, even
in the days of His flesh He could forget who He
was, or " behave Himself unseemly" by any
weak submission to the will of the Jewish people.
Even in the lowest acts of His self-abasement still
He showed His greatness. Consider His conduct
when He washed St. Peter's feet, and see if it
were not calculated, (assuredly it was,) to humble,
nay, to awe and frighten the very person to whom
He ministered. When He taught, warned, pitied,
besought, prayed for, His ignorant hearers, He
never allowed them to relax their reverence or to
over-look His condescension. Nay, He did not
allow them to praise Him aloud, and publish His
acts of grace; as if what is called popularity
would be a dishonour to His holy name, and
the applause of men would imply their right to
censure. The world's praise is akin to contempt.
Our Lord delights in the tribute of the secret
heart. Such was His conduct in the days of His
flesh. Does it not interpret His dealings with us
after His resurrection ? He who was so reserved

342 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SERM.

in His communications of Himself, even when He
came to minister, much more would withdraw
Himself from the eyes of men when He was ex-
alted over all things.

I have said, that even when a servant, Christ
spoke with the authority of a King, and have given
you some proof of it. But it may be well to dwell
upon this. Observe then, the difference between
His promises stated doctrinally and generally, and
His mode of addressing those who were actually
before Him. While He announced God's willing-
ness to forgive all repentant sinners, in all fulness
of loving kindness and tender mercy, yet He did
not use supplication to these persons or those per-
sons, whatever their number or their rank might
be. He spoke as one who knew He had great
favours to confer, and had nothing to gain from
those who received them. Far from urging them
to accept His bounty, He showed Himself even
backward to confer it ; inquired into their know-
ledge and motives, and cautioned them against
entering His service without counting the cost of
it. Thus sometimes He even repelled men from
Him.

E. g. When there went " great multitudes with
Him .... He turned and said unto them, If any
man come to Me and hate not his father and
mother . . . yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be My disciple." These were not the words of one
who courted popularity. He proceeds ; — " Which

XXIIL] CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. 343

of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not
down first, and counteth the cost, whether he
have sufficient to finish it ? ... So likewise, who-
soever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he
hath, he cannot be My disciple 1." On the other
hand, observe His conduct to the powerful men,
and the learned Scribes and Pharisees. There
are persons who look up to human power, and
who are pleased to associate their names with the
accomplished and cultivated of this world. Our
Blessed Lord was as inflexible towards these, as
towards the crowds which followed Him. They
asked for a sign ; He named them " an evil and
adulterous generation," who refused to profit by
what they had already received 2. They asked Him
whether He did not confess Himself to be one
with God ; but He, rather than tell such proud
disputers, seemed even to abandon His own real
claim, and made His former clear words am-
biguous 3. Such was the King of Israel in the
eyes both of the multitude and of their rulers ; a
" hard saying," a " rock of offence even to the
disobedient," who came to Him " with their lips,
while their hearts were far from Him." Continue
this survey to the case of individuals, and it will
still appear, that, loving and merciful as He was
most abundantly, yet that He showed both His

1 Luke xiv. 25—33. 2 Matt. xii. 39. xxi. 23—27.

3 John x. 30—37.

344 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SERM.

power and His grace with reserve even to them
as well as to the fickle many or the unbelieving
Pharisees.

One instance is preserved to us of a person
addressing Him, with some notions, indeed, of
His greatness, but in a light and careless tone.
The narrative is instructive from the mixture of
good and bad which the inquirer's character dis-
plays. He was young, and wealthy, arid is
called " a ruler;" yet was anxious for Christ's
favour. So far was well. Nay, he <£ came run-
ning and kneeled to Him." And he seemed
to address Him in what would generally be con-
sidered as respectful terms. " Good Master,"
he said. Yet our Saviour saw in his conduct a
deficiency; — " One thing thou lackest;" viz.
devotion in the true sense of the word, — a giving
himself up to Christ. This young man seems to
have considered religion as an easy work, and
thought he could live as the world, and yet
serve God acceptably. In consequence, we may
suppose, he had little right notion of the dignity
of a Messenger from God. He did not associate
the Ministers of religion with awful prospects be-
yond the grave in which he was interested ; nor
reverence them accordingly, though he was not
without some kind of respect for them. Doubtless
he thought he was honouring our Lord when he
called Him, " Good Master ;" and would have
been surprised to hear his attachment to sacred

XXIIL] CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. 345

subjects and appointments called in question.
Yet our Saviour rejected such half homage, and
rebuked what even seemed piously offered. —
" Why callest thou Me good?" He asked,
11 There is none good but One, that is, God ;"
as if He said, " Observest thou what words thou
art using as words of course ? i good Master ' — am
I accounted by thee as a teacher of man's crea-
tion, and over whom man has power, and accosted
by a form of honour 5 which, through length of
time, has lost its meaning ; or am I acknow-
ledged to come and have authority from Him
who is the only source of goodness ?" Nor did
our Lord relax His severity even after this reproof.
Expressly as it is told us, " He loved him" and
spoke to him therefore in great compassion and
mercy, yet He strictly charged him to sell all he
had and give it away, if he would show he was
in earnest, and He sent him away " sor-
rowful."

You may recollect too our Lord's frequent
inquiry into the faith of those who came to Him.
This arose, doubtless, from the same rule, — a re-
gard to His own Majesty as a King. " If thou
canst believe, all things are possible to him that
believeth V He did not work miracles as a mere
display of power ; or allow the world profanely
to look on as at some exhibition of art. In this

1 Mark ix. 23.

346 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SERM.

respect, as in others, even Moses and Elias stand
in contrast with Him. Moses wrought mira-
cles before Pharaoh to rival the magicians of
Egypt. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal
to bring down fire from heaven. The Son of
God deigned not to exert His power before Herod,
after Moses' pattern ; nor to be judged by the
multitude as Elijah. He subdued the power of
Satan at His own seasons ; but, when the Devil
tempted Him and demanded a miracle in proof
of His Divinity, He would do none.

Further, even when an inquirer showed ear-
nestness, still He did not try to gain him over by
smooth representations of His doctrine. He de-
clared, indeed, the general characteristic of His
doctrine, " My yoke is easy ;" but " He made
Himself strange and spake roughly" to those
who came to Him. Nicodemus was another
ruler of the Jews, who sought Him, and he pro-
fessed his belief in His miracles and Divine
mission. Our Saviour answered in these severe
words ; — " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.1'

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

No man saw Him rise from the grave. His
Angels indeed beheld it ; but His earthly fol-

1

XXIIL] CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. 347

lowers were away, and the heathen soldiers were
not worthy. They saw, indeed, the great Angel,
who rolled away the stone from the opening of
the tomb. This was Christ's servant ; but Him
they saw not. He was on His way to see His
own faithful and mourning followers. To these
He had revealed His doctrine during His humi-
liation, and called them "His friends1." First
of all, He appeared to Mary Magdalene in the
garden itself where He had been buried ; then to
the other women who ministered unto Him ; then
to the two disciples travelling to Emmaus ; then
to all the Apostles ; separately, besides, to Peter
and to James, and to Thomas in the presence
of them all. Yet not even these, His friends,
had free access to Him. He said to Mary ;
" Touch Me not." He came and left them
according to His own pleasure. When they saw
Him, they felt an awe which they had not felt
during His ministry. While they doubted if it
were He. " None of them," St. John says, " durst
ask Him, Who art Thou ? believing that it was
the Lord 2." However, as Kings have their days
of state, on which they show themselves publicly
to their subjects, so our Lord appointed a meeting
of His disciples, when they might see Him. He
had determined this even before His crucifixion ;
and the Angels reminded them of it. " Hegoeth

1 Matt. xiii. 11. John xv. 15. 2 John xxi. 12.

348 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SERM.

before you into Galilee, there shall ye see Him ;
as He said unto you1." The place of meeting
was a mountain ; the same (it is supposed) on
which He had been transfigured ; and the number
who saw Him there was five hundred at once, if
we join St. Paul's account to that in the Gospels.
At length, after forty days, He was taken from
them; He ascended up, "and a cloud received
Him out of their sight."

Are we to feel less humble veneration for Him
now, than His Apostles then ? Though He is
our Saviour, and has removed all slavish fear of
death and judgment, are we, therefore, to make
light of the prospect before us, as if we were sure
of that reward which He bids us struggle for ?
Assuredly, we are still to " serve the Lord with
fear, and rejoice with reverence," — to " kiss the
Son lest He be angry, and so we perish from the
right way, if His wrath be kindled, yea, but a
little." In a Christian's course, fear and love
must go together. And this is the lesson to be
deduced from our Saviour's withdrawing from
the world after His resurrection. He showed His
love for men by dying for them, aud rising
again. He maintained His honour and great
glory by retiring from them directly. His mer-
ciful purpose was attained, that they might seek
Him if they would find Him. He ascended to

1 Mark xvi. 7.

XXIIL] CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. 349

His Father out of our sight. Sinners would be
ill company for the exalted King of Saints.
When we have been duly prepared to see Him,
we shall be given to approach Him.

In heaven perfect love will cast out fear ; but
in this world fear and love must go together. No
one can love God aright without fearing Him ;
though many fear Him, and yet do not love Him.
Self-confident men, who do not know their own
hearts, or the reasons they have for being dis-
satisfied with themselves, do not fear God, and
they think this bold freedom is to love Him. De-
liberate sinners fear but cannot love Him. But
devotion to Him consists in love and fear, as we
may understand from our ordinary attachment to
each other. No one really loves another, who
does not feel a certain reverence towards him.
When friends transgress this sobriety of affection,
they may indeed continue associates for a time,
but they have broken the bond of union. It is
mutual respect which makes friendship lasting.
So again in the feelings of inferiors towards supe-
riors. Fear must go before love. Till he who
has authority shows he has it and can use it, his
forbearance will not be valued duly ; his kindness
will look like weakness. We learn to contemn
what we do not fear ; and we cannot love what
we contemn. So in religion also. We cannot
understand Christ's mercies till we understand
His power, His glory, His imspeakable holiness,

350 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SEEM.

and our demerits ; i. e. until we first fear Him.
Not that fear comes first, and then love ; for the
most part they will proceed together. Fear is
allayed by the love of Him, and our love sobered
by our fear of Him. Thus He draws us on with
encouraging voice amid the terrors of His
threatenings. As in the young ruler's case, He
loves us, yet speaks harshly to us, that we may
learn to cherish mixed feelings towards Him. He
hides Himself from us, and yet calls us on, that we
may hear His voice as Samuel did, and believing,
approach Him with trembling. This may seem
strange to those who do not study the Scriptures,
and to those who do not know what it is earnestly
to seek after God. But in proportion as the state
of mind is strange, so is there in it, therefore,
untold and surpassing pleasure to those who par-
take it. The bitter and the sweet, strangely
tempered, thus leave upon the mind the lasting
taste of Divine truth, and satisfy it ; not so harsh
as to be loathed ; nor of that insipid sweet-
ness which attends enthusiastic feelings, and is
wearisome when it becomes familiar. Such is
the feeling of conscience too, God's original gift ;
how painful ! yet who would lose it ? "I opened
my mouth and panted, for I longed for Thy com-
mandments1." This is David's account of it.
Ezekiel describes something of the same feeling,
when the Spirit lifted him up and took him away,
i Psalm cxix. 131.

XXITL] CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. 351

" and he went in bitterness, in the heat of his
spirit," " the hand of the Lord " being " strong
upon him V

Now how does this apply to us here assembled ?
Are we in danger of speaking or thinking of
Christ irreverently ? I do not think we are in
any great danger of deliberate profaneness ; but
we are in great danger of this, viz. first of allow-
ing ourselves to appear profane, and, secondly, of
gradually becoming irreverent, while we are pre-
tending to be so. Men do not begin by intending
to dishonour God ; but they are afraid of the
ridicule of others ; they are ashamed of appearing
religious ; and thus are led to pretend that they
are worse than they really are. They say things
which they do not mean ; and, by a miserable
weakness, allow actions and habits to be imputed
to them which they dare not really indulge in.
Hence, they affect a liberty of speech which only
befits the companions of evil spirits. They take
God's name in vain to show that they can do
what devils do, and they invoke the evil spirit, or
speak familiarly of all that pertains to him, and
deal about curses wantonly, as though they were
not firebrands, — as if acknowledging the Author
of Evil to be their great master and lord. Yes ! he
is a master who allows himself to be served with-
out trembling. It is his very art to lead men to
be at ease with him, to think lightly of him, and

1 Ezek. iii. 14.

352 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SERM.

to trifle with him. He will submit to their ridi-
cule, take as it were their blows, and pretend to
be their slave, that he may ensnare them. He
has no dignity to maintain, and he waits his time
when his malice shall be gratified. So it has
ever been all over the earth. Among all nations
it has been his aim to make men laugh at him ;
going to and fro upon the earth, and walking up
and down in it, hearing and rejoicing in that light
perpetual talk about him, which is his worship.

Now, it is not to be supposed that all this care-
less language can be continued without its affect-
ing a man's heart at last ; and this is the second
danger I spoke of. Through a false shame, we
disown religion with our lips, and next our words
affect our thoughts. Men at last become the
cold indifferent profane characters they professed
themselves to be. They think contemptuously
of God's Ministers, Sacraments, and Worship ;
they slight His Word, rarely looking into it, and
never studying it. They undervalue all religious
profession, and, judging of others by themselves,
impute the conscientious conduct they witness to
bad motives. Thus they are in heart infidels ;
though they may not formally be such, and may
attempt to disguise their own unbelief under pre-
tence of objecting to one or other of the doctrines
or ordinances of religion. And should a time of
temptation come when it would be safe to show
themselves as they really are, they will, (almost

XXIIL] CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. 353

unawares,) throw off their profession of Christ-
ianity, and join themselves to the scoffing
world.

And how must Christians, on the other hand,
treat such heartless men ? They have our Lord's
example to imitate. Not that they dare pre-
cisely follow the conduct of Him who had no
sin. They dare not assume to themselves any
honour on their own account; and they are bound,
especially if they are His ministers, to humble
themselves as the Apostles did, and " going out to
the highways and hedges (as it were) compel l
men to be saved. Yet, while they use greater
earnestness of entreaty than their Lord, they must
not forget His dignity the while, who sends them.
He manifested His love towards us, " in deed
and in truth," and we, His Ministers, declare
it in word ; yet for the very reason that it is so
abundant, we must in very gratitude learn re-
verence towards Him. We must not take advan-
tage (so to say) of His goodness ; or misuse the
powers committed to us. Never must we solicit-
ously press the Truth upon those who do not profit
by what they already possess. It dishonours
Christ, while it does the scorner harm, not good.
It is casting pearls before swine. We must wait
for all opportunities of being useful to men, but
beware of attempting too much at once. We

1 Luke xiv. 23.

A a

354 CHRISTIAN REVERENCE. [SERM. XXIII.

must impart the Scripture doctrines, in measure
and season, as they can bear them ; not being
eager to recount them all, rather, hiding them
from the world. Seldom must we engage in
controversy or dispute ; for it lowers the sacred
truths to make them a subject for ordinary de-
bate. Common propriety suggests rules like
these at once. Who would speak freely about
some revered friend in the presence of those who
did not value him ? or who Would think he could
with a few words overcome their indifference to-
wards him ? or who would hastily dispute about
him when his hearers had no desire to be made
love him ?

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

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

SERMON XXIV.

THE RELIGION OF THE DAY.

HEBREWS xii. 28, 29.

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

IN every age of Christianity, since it was first
preached, there has been what may be called a
religion of the world, which so far imitates the one
true religion, as to deceive the unstable and un-
wary. The world does not oppose religion as such.
I may say, it never has opposed it. In parti-
cular, it has in all ages, acknowledged in one
sense or other the Gospel of Christ, fastened on
one or other of its characteristics, and professed
to embody this in its practice ; while by neglecting
the other parts of the holy doctrine, it has in fact
distorted and corrupted even that portion of it
which it has exclusively put forward, and so has
contrived to explain away the whole ; — for he who

A a 2

356 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM.

cultivates only one precept of the Gospel to the
exclusion of the rest, in reality attends to no part
at all. Our duties balance each other ; and
though we are too sinful to perform them all
perfectly, yet we may in some measure be per-
forming them all, and preserving the balance on
the whole ; whereas, to give ourselves only to
this or that commandment is to incline our minds
in a wrong direction, and at length to pull them
down to the earth, which is the aim of our adver-
sary, the devil.

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

Even in the first age of the Church, while per-
secution still raged, he set up a counter reli-
gion among the philosophers of the day, partly
like Christianity, but in truth a bitter foe to it ;
and it deceived and shipwrecked the faith of

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. 357

those who had not the love of God in their
hearts.

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

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

What is the world's religion now ? It has

358 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SEEM.

taken the brighter side of the Gospel, — its tidings
of comfort, its precepts of love ; all darker,
deeper views of man's condition and prospects
being comparatively forgotten. This is the reli-
gion natural to a civilized age, and well has
Satan dressed and completed it into an idol of
the Truth. As the reason is cultivated, the taste
formed, the affections and sentiments refined, a
general decency and grace will of course spread
over the face of society, quite independently of
the influence of revelation. That beauty and
delicacy of thought, which is so attractive in
books, extends to the conduct of life, to all we
have, all we do, all we are. Our manners
are courteous ; we avoid giving pain or offence ;
our words become correct; our relative duties
are carefully performed. Our sense of pro-
priety shows itself even in our domestic ar-
rangements, in the embellishment of our houses,
in our amusements, in our religious profession.
Vice now becomes unseemly and hideous to the
imagination, or, as it is sometimes familiarly said,
" out of taste." Thus elegance is gradually made
the test and standard of virtue, which is no longer
thought to possess intrinsic claim on our hearts,
or to exist further than it leads to the quiet and
comfort of others. Conscience is no longer re-
cognised as an independent arbiter of actions,
its authority is explained away ; partly it is
superseded in the minds of men by the so-called

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. 359

moral sense, which is regarded merely as the love
of the beautiful ; partly by the test of expediency,
which is forthwith substituted for it as the rule of
conduct. Now conscience is a stern gloomy prin-
ciple ; it tells us of guilt and of prospective punish-
ment. Accordingly, when its terrors disappear,
then disappear also, in the creed of the day, those
fearful images of Divine wrath, with which the
Scriptures abound. They are explained away.
Every thing is bright and cheerful. Religion is
pleasant and easy ; benevolence is the chief
virtue ; intolerance, bigotry, excess of zeal, are
the first of sins. Austerity is an absurdity ; — even
firmness 'is looked on with an unfriendly suspi-
cious eye. On the other hand, all open profligacy
is discountenanced ; drunkenness is accounted a
disgrace ; cursing and swearing are vulgarities.
Moreover to a cultivated mind, which recreates
itself in the varieties of literature and knowledge,
and is interested in the ever-accumulating dis-
coveries of science, and the ever-fresh acces-
sions of information, political or otherwise, from
foreign countries, religion will commonly seem to
be dull, from want of novelty. Hence excite-
ments are eagerly sought out and rewarded.
New objects in religion, new systems and plans,
new doctrines, new preachers, are necessary to
satisfy that craving which the so-called spread of
knowledge has created. The mind becomes
morbidly sensitive and fastidious ; dissatisfied

360 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM.

with things as they are, and desirous of a change
as such, as if alteration must of itself be a relief.

Now I would have you put Christianity for an
instant out of your thoughts ; and consider whe-
ther such a state of refinement as I have attempted
to describe, is not that to which men might be
brought, quite independent of religion, by the
mere influence of education and civilization ; and
then again, whether, nevertheless, this mere re-
finement of mind is not more or less all that is
called religion at this day. In other words, is it
not the case, that Satan has so composed and
dressed out what is the mere natural produce of
the human heart under certain circumstances, as
to serve His purposes as the counterfeit of the
Truth ? I do not at all deny that this spirit of the
world uses words and makes professions which it
would not adopt except for the suggestions of
Scripture ; nor do I deny that it takes a general
colouring from Christianity, so as really to be
modified by it, nay, in a measure enlightened and
exalted by it. Again, I fully grant that many
persons in whom this bad spirit shows itself, are
but partially infected by it, and at bottom, good
Christians though imperfect. Still, after all,
here is an existing system, only partially evange-
lical, built upon worldly principle, yet pretending
to be the Gospel, dropping one whole side of
it, viz. its austere character, and considering it
enough to be benevolent, courteous, candid, correct

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. 361

in conduct, delicate, though it has no true fear of
God, no fervent zeal for His honour, no deep
hatred of sin, no horror at the sight of sinners, no
indignation and compassion at the blasphemies
of heretics, no jealous adherence to doctrinal truth,
no especial sensitiveness about the particular
means of gaining ends provided the ends be good,
no loyalty to the Holy Apostolic Church of which
the creed speaks, no sense of the authority of reli-
gion as external to the mind ; in a word, no
seriousness, and therefore neither hot nor cold,
but (in Scripture language) luke-warm. Thus
the present age is the very contrary to what are
commonly called the dark ages ; and together
with the faults of those ages we have lost their
virtues. I say their virtues ; for even the errors
then prevalent, a persecuting spirit, (e. g.) fear
of religious inquiry, bigotry, these were, after all,
but perversions and excesses of real virtues, such
as zeal and reverence ; and we, instead of limit-
ing and purifying them, have taken them away
root and branch. Why ? because we have not
acted from a love of the Truth, but from the in-
fluence of the age. The old generation has
passed, and its character with it ; a new order of
things has arisen. Human society has a new
framework, and fosters and develops a new cha-
racter of mind ; and this new character is made
by the enemy of our souls, to resemble the Christ-
ian's obedience as near as it may, its likeness all

362 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM.

the time being but accidental. Meanwhile, the
Holy Church of God, as from the beginning, con-
tinues its course heavenward ; despised by the
world, yet influencing it, partly correcting it,
partly restraining it, and in some happy cases re-
claiming its victims, and fixing them firmly and
for ever within the lines of the faithful host mili-
tant here on earth, which journeys towards the
City of the Great King. God give us grace to
search our hearts, lest we be blinded by the de-
ceitfulness of sin ! lest we serve Satan transformed
into an angel of light, while we think we are pur-
suing true knowledge ; lest, overlooking and ill-
treating the elect of Christ here, we have to ask
that awful question at the last day, while the
truth is bursting upon us, " Lord, when saw we
Thee a stranger and a prisoner," when saw we
Thy sacred word and servants despised and op-
pressed, u and did not minister unto Thee 1 ?"

Nothing shows more strikingly the power of
the world's religion, as now described, than to
consider the very different classes of men whom
it influences. It will be found to extend its sway
and its teaching both over the professedly reli-
gious and the irreligious.

1. Many religious men, rightly or not, have
long been expecting a millenium of purity and
peace for the Church. I will not say, whether

1 Matt. xxv. 44.

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. 363

or not* with reason, for good men may well differ
on such a subject. But, any how, in the case of
those who have expected it, it has become a
temptation to take up and recognise the world's
religion as already delineated. They have more
or less identified their vision of Christ's kingdom
with the elegance and refinement of mere human

O

civilization ; and have hailed every evidence of
improved decency, every wholesome civil regula-
tion, every beneficent and enlightened act of state
policy, as signs of their coming Lord. Bent upon
achieving their object, an extensive and glorious
diffusion and profession of the Gospel, they have
been little solicitous about the means employed.
They have countenanced and acted with men who
openly professed unchristian principles. They
have accepted and defended what they considered
to be reformations and ameliorations of the exist-
ing state of things ; though injustice must be per-
petrated in order to effect them, or long cherished
rules of conduct, indifferent perhaps in their origin,
but consecrated by long usage, must be violated.
They have sacrificed truth to expedience. They
have strangely imagined that bad men were to
be the immediate instruments of the approaching
advent of Christ; and, (like the deluded Jews
not many years since in a foreign country,) they
have taken, if not for their Messiah (as they did,)
at least for their Elijah, their reforming Baptist,
the Herald of the Christ, children of this world,

1

364 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM.

and sons of Belial, on whom the anathema of the
Apostle lies from the beginning, declaring, " If any
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be
Anathema Maran-atha 1."

2. On the other hand, the form of doctrine,
which I have called the religion of the day, is
especially adapted to please men of sceptical
minds, the opposite extreme of those just men-
tioned, who have never been careful to obey their
conscience, who cultivate the intellect without
disciplining the heart, and who allow themselves
to speculate freely about what religion ought to be,
without going to Scripture to discover what it
really is. Some persons of this character almost
consider religion itself to be an obstacle in the
advance of our social and political well-being.
But they know human nature requires it ; there-
fore they select the most rational form of religion,
(so they call it,) which they can devise. Others
are far more seriously disposed, but are corrupted
by bad example or other cause. But they all
discard (what they call) gloomy views of religion ;
they all trust themselves more than God's word,
and thus may be classed together ; and are ready
to embrace the pleasant consoling religion natural
to a polished age. They lay much stress on
works on Natural Theology, and think that all
religion is contained in these ; whereas in truth,

1 1 Cor. xvi. 22.

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. 365

there is no greater fallacy than to suppose such
works in any true sense, to be religious at all.
Religion, it has been well observed, is something
relative to us ; a system of commands and pro-
mises from God towards us. But how are we
concerned with the sun, moon, and stars ? or
with the laws of the universe ? how will they
teach us our duty? how will they speak to sinners?
They do not speak to sinners at all. They were
created before Adam fell. They " declare the
glory of God," but not His will. They are all per-
fect, all harmonious ; but that brightness and ex-
cellence which they exhibit in their own creation,
and the Divine benevolence therein seen, are of
little moment to fallen man. We see nothing
there of God's wrath, of which the conscience of a
sinner loudly speaks. So that there cannot be a
more dangerous (though a common) device of
Satan, than to carry us off from our own secret
thoughts, to make us forget our own hearts, which
tell us of a God of justice and holiness, and to fix
our attention merely on the God who made the
heavens; who is our God indeed, but not God as
manifested to us sinners, but as He shines forth
to His Angels, and to His elect hereafter.

When a man has so far deceived himself as to
trust his destiny to what the heavens tell him of
it, instead of consulting and obeying his con-
science, what is the consequence ? that at once
he misinterprets and perverts the whole tenor of

366 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM.

Scripture. It cannot be denied that, pleasant as
religious observances are declared in Scripture to
be to the holy, yet to men in general they are
said to be difficult and distasteful ; to all men
naturally impossible, and by few fulfilled even
with the assistances of grace, on account of their
wilful corruption. Religion is said to be against
nature, to be against our original will, to require
God's aid to make us love and obey it, and to be
commonly refused and opposed in spite of that
aid. We are expressly told, that " strait is
the gate and narrow the way that leads to life,
and few there be that find it;" that we must
"strive" or struggle " to enter in at the strait gate,"
for that "many shall seek to enter in," but that
is not enough, they merely seek, and do not
find it ; and further, that they who do not obtain
everlasting life, " shall go into everlasting punish-
ment1." This is the dark side of religion; and
the men I have been describing cannot bear to
think of it. They shrink from it as too terrible.
They easily get themselves to believe that those
strong declarations of Scripture do not belong to
the present day, or that they are figurative.
They have no language within their heart re-
sponding to them. Conscience has been silenced.
The only information they have received con-
cerning God has been from Natural Theology,

1 Matt. vii. 14. Luke xiii. 24. Matt. xxv. 46.

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. 367

and that speaks only of benevolence and harmony ;
so they will not credit the plain word of Scripture.
They seize on such parts of Scripture as seem to
countenance their own opinions ; they insist on
its being commanded us to " rejoice evermore ;"
and they argue that it is our duty to solace our-
selves here, (in moderation of course,) with the
goods of this life,— that we have only to be thank-
ful while we use them, — that we need not alarm
ourselves, — that God is a merciful God, — that
repentance is quite sufficient to atone for our
offences, — that, though we have been irregular
in our youth, yet that is a thing gone by, — that
we forget it, and therefore God forgets it, — that
the world is, on the whole, very well disposed
towards religion, — that we should avoid enthu-
siasm,— that we should not be over-serious, — that
we should have enlarged views on the subject of
human nature, — and that we should love all men.
This is the creed of shallow men, in every age,
who reason a little, and feel not at all, and who
think themselves enlightened and philosophical.
Part of what they say is false, part is true, but
misapplied ; and why I have noticed it here, is
to show how exactly it fits in with what I have
already described as the peculiar religion of a
civilized age ; it fits in with it equally well as
does that of the (so called) religious world, which
is the opposite extreme.

One further remark I will make about these

368 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM.

professedly rational Christians ; who, be it ob-
served, often go on to deny the mysteries of the
Gospel. Let us take the text : — " Our God is a
consuming fire." Now supposing these persons
fell upon these words, or heard them urged as an
argument against their own doctrine of the un-
mixed satisfactory character of our prospects in
the world to come, and supposing they did not
know what part of the Bible they occurred in,
what would they say ? Doubtless they would
confidently say that they applied only to the
Jews and not to Christians ; that they only de-
scribed the Divine Author of the Mosaic Law ;
that God formerly spoke in terrors to the Jews,
because they were a gross and brutish people, but
that civilization has made us quite other men ;
that our reason, not our fears are appealed to, and
that the Gospel is love. And yet, in spite of all
this argument, the text occurs in the Epistle to
the Hebrews, written by an Apostle of Christ.

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

Here I will not shrink from uttering my firm
conviction that it would be a gain to this country,
were it vastly more superstitious, more bigoted,
more gloomy, more fierce in its religion, than at
present it shows itself to be. Not, of course, that
I think the tempers of mind herein implied desir-

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE I>AY. 369

able, which would be an evident absurdity ; but I
think them indefinitely more desirable and more
promising than a heathen obduracy, and a cold,
self-sufficient, self-wise tranquillity. Doubtless,
peace of mind, a quiet conscience, and a cheerful
countenance are the gift of the Gospel, and the
sign of a Christian ; but the same effects, (or
rather what appear to be the same,) may arise
from very different causes. Jonah slept in the
storm, — so did our Blessed Lord. The one slept
in an evil security ; the Other in the " peace of
God which passeth all understanding." The two
states cannot be confounded together, they are
perfectly distinct ; and as distinct is the calm of
the man of the world from that of the Christian.
Now take the case of the sailors on board the vessel ;
they cried to Jonah, " What meanest thou, O
sleeper?" — so the Apostles said to Christ, " Lord,
we perish." This is the case of the superstitious ;
they go between the false peace of Jonah and the
true peace of Christ ; they are better than the one,
though far below the Other. Applying this to the
present religion of the educated world, full as it is
of security, and cheerfulness, and decorum, and
benevolence, I observe that these appearances
may arise either from a great deal of religion, or
from the absence of it ; they may be the fruits of
lightness of mind and a blinded conscience, or of
that faith which has peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. And if this alternative be

B b

370 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM.

proposed; I might almost leave it to the common
sense of men, (if they could get themselves to
think seriously) to which of these it is to be re-
ferred. For myself I cannot doubt, seeing what
I see of the world, that it arises from the sleep of
Jonah ; and is therefore but a dream of religion,
far inferior to the real and waking terrors, the
well-grounded alarm, of the superstitious, who see
indeed their danger, though they do not attain so
far in faith as to embrace the remedy of it.

Think of this, I beseech you, my brethren, and
lay it to heart, as far as you go with me, as
you will answer for having heard it, at the last
day. I would not willingly be harsh ; but know-
ing that "the world lieth in wickedness," I think
it highly probable that you, so far as you are in
it, (as you must be, and we all must be in our
degree,) are, most of you, partially infected with
its existing error, that shallowness of religion,
which is the result of a blinded conscience ; and,
therefore, I speak earnestly to you. Believing in
the existence of a general plague in the land, T
judge that you probably have your share in the
sufferings, the voluntary sufferings, which it is
spreading among us. The fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom ; till you see Him to be a
consuming fire, and approach Him with reverence
and godly fear, as being sinners, you are not
even in sight of the strait gate. I do not wish
you to be able to point to any particular time

XXIV.] THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. 371

when you renounced the world (as it is called),
and were converted ; this is a deceit. Fear and
love must go together; always fear, always love,
to your dying day. Doubtless ; — still you must
know what it is to sow in tears here, if you would
reap in joy hereafter. Till you know the weight
of your sins, and that not in mere imagination,
but in practice, not so as merely to confess it in a
formal phrase of lamentation, but daily and in
your heart in secret, you cannot embrace the
offer of mercy held out to you in the Gospel,
through the death of Christ. Till you know
what it is to fear with the terrified sailors or the
Apostles, you cannot sleep with Christ at your
Heavenly Father's feet. Miserable as were the
superstitions of the dark ages, revolting as are the
tortures now in use among the heathen of the
East, better, far better is it, to torture the body
all one's days, and to make this life a hell upon
earth, than to remain in a brief tranquillity here,
till the pit at length opens under us and awakens
us to an eternal fruitless consciousness and re-
morse. Think of Christ's own words : — " What
shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?"
Again, He says, " Fear Him, who after He hath
killed, hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say
unto you, fear Him." Dare not to think you
have got to the bottom of your hearts ; you do not
know what evil lies there. How long and earn-
estly must you pray, how many years must you

Bb2

372 THE RELIGION OF THE DAY. [SERM. XXIV.

pass in careful obedience, before you have any
right to lay aside sorrow, and to rejoice in the
Lord ! In one sense, indeed, you may take com-
fort from the first ; for, though you dare not yet
trust you are one of Christ's true elect, yet from
the first you know He desires your salvation, and
will help you ; and this thought must cheer you
while you go on to examine and prove your
hearts, and to turn to God in self-denial. But,
at the same time, you never can be sure of sal-
vation while you are here ; and therefore you
must always fear while you hope. Your know-
ledge of your sins increases with your view of
God's mercy in Christ. And this is the true
Christian state, and the nearest approach to
Christ's calm and placid sleep in the tempest ; —
not perfect joy and certainty of heaven, but a
deep resignation to God's will, a surrender of our-
selves, soul and body, to Him ; hoping, indeed,
that we shall be saved, but fixing our eyes more
earnestly on Him than on ourselves ; i.e. acting
for His glory, seeking to please Him, devoting
ourselves to Him in all manly obedience and stre-
nuous good works ; and, when we do look within,
thinking of ourselves with a certain abhorrence
and contempt as being sinners, mortifying our
flesh, scourging our appetites, and composedly
awaiting that time when, if we be worthy, we
shall be stripped of our present selves and new
made in the kingdom of Christ.

SERMON XXV.

SCRIPTURE A RECORD OF HUMAN SORROW.

JOHN v. 2, 3.

There is at Jerusalem by the sheepmarket, a pool, which is
called in the Hebrew tongue, Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind,
halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

WHAT a scene of misery this pool of Bethesda
must have presented ! of pain and sickness tri-
umphing unto death ; the " blind, halt, withered,
and impotent," persuaded by the hope of cure to
disclose their sufferings in the eye of day in one
large company ! This pool was endued, at cer-
tain times, with a wonderful virtue by the descent
of an Angel into it ; so that its waters effected
the cure of the first who stepped into it, whatever
was his disease. However, I shall not speak of
this wonderful pool ; nor of our Saviour's miracle,
wrought there upon the man who had no one to
put him in before the rest, when the water was

374 SCRIFJTURE A RECORD [SEEM.

troubled, and had been for thirty-eight years
afflicted with his infirmity. Without entering
into these subjects, let us take the text as it stands
in the opening of the chapter which contains it,
and deduce a lesson from it.

There lay about the pool " a great multitude
of impotent folk, of blind, halt, and withered."
This is a painful picture, such as we do not like
to dwell upon, — a picture of a chief kind of human
suffering, bodily disease ; one which suggests to
us and typifies all other suffering, — the most
obvious fulfilment of that curse which Adam's
fall brought upon his descendants. Now it must
strike every one, who thinks at all about it, that
the Bible is full of such descriptions of human
misery. We know it also abounds in accounts of
human sin ; but, not to speak of these, it abounds
in accounts of human distress and suffering, of
our miserable condition, of the vanity, unprofit-
ableness, and trials of life. The Bible begins
with the history of the curse pronounced on the
earth and man ; it ends with the book of Revela-
tions, a portion of Scripture fearful for its threats,
and its prediction of judgments; and whether the
original curse on Adam be now removed from the
world or not, it is certain that God's awful curses,
foretold by St. John, are on all sides of us.
Surely, in spite of the peculiar promises made to
the Church in Christ our Saviour, yet as regards
the world, the volume of inspiration is still a

XXV.] OF HUMAN SORROW. 375

dreary record, " written within and without with
lamentations and mourning and woe." And,
further, you will observe that it seems to drop
what might be said in favour of this life, and
enlarges on the unpleasant side of it. The history
passes quickly from the Garden of Eden, to dwell
on the sufferings which followed, when our first
parents were expelled thence ; and though, in
matter of fact, there are traces of Paradise still
left among us, yet, it is evident, Scripture says
little of them in comparison of its accounts of
human misery. Little does it say concerning the
innocent pleasures of life ; of those temporal
blessings which rest upon our worldly occupa-
tions, and make them easy ; of the blessings
which we derive from "the sun and moon and
the everlasting hills," from the succession of the
seasons and the produce of the earth ; — little
about our recreations and our daily domestic
comforts ; — little about the ordinary occasions of
festivity and mirth, which occur in life, and
nothing at all about those various other enjoy-
ments which it would be going too much into
detail to mention. Human tales and poems are
full of pleasant sights and prospects ; — they make
things better than they are, and draw a sort of
imaginary perfection ; but Scripture (I repeat)
seems to abstain even from what might be said in
praise of human life as it is. We read, indeed,
of the feast made when Isaac was weaned, of

376 SCRIPTURE A RECORD [SKRM.

Jacob's marriage, of the domestic and religious
festivities of Job's family ; but these are excep-
tions in the tenor of the Scripture history. " Va-
nity of vanities, all is vanity;" " man is born to
trouble :" these are its customary lessons. The
text is but a specimen of the descriptions repeated
again and again throughout Scripture, of human
infirmity and misery.

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

Now why have I thus spoken of this general
character of the .sacred history ? — in order to
countenance those who complain of it ? — let it
not be imagined ; — far from it. God does nothing

XXV.] OF HUMAN SORROW. 377

without some wise and good reason, which it
becomes us devoutly to accept and use. He has
not given us this dark view of the world without
a cause. In truth, this view is the ultimate true
view of human life. But this is not all ; it is a
view which it concerns us much to know. It
concerns us (I say) much, to be told that this
world is, after all, in spite of first appearances and
partial exceptions, a dark world ; else we shall
be obliged to learn it, (and, sooner or later, we
must learn it,) by sad experience ; whereas, if we
are forewarned, we shall unlearn false notions of
its excellence, and be saved the disappointment
which follows them. And therefore it is that
Scripture omits even what might be said in praise
of this world's pleasures ; — not denying their ex-
cellency, such as it is, or forbidding us to use
them religiously, but knowing that we are sure to
find them out for ourselves without being told of
them, and that our danger is on the side, not of
undervaluing but of overvaluing them ; whereas,
by being told of the world's vanity, at first, we
shall learn, (what else we should only attain at
last,} not indeed to be gloomy and discontented,
but to bear a sober and calm heart under a
smiling cheerful countenance. This is one chief
reason of the solemn character of the Scripture
history, and if we keep it in view, so far from
being offended and frightened away by its notes
of sorrow, because they grate on the ear at first,

378 SCRIPTURE A RECORD [SERM.

we shall stedfastly listen to them, and get them
by heart, as a gracious gift from God sent to us
as a remedy for all dangerous overflowing joy in
present blessings, in order to save us far greater
pain, (if we use the lesson well,) the pain of
actual disappointment, such as the overthrow of
vainly cherished hopes of lasting good upon earth,
will certainly occasion.

Do but consider what is the consequence of
ignorance or distrust of God's warning voice and
you will see clearly how merciful He is, and how
wise it is to listen to Him. I will not suppose a
case of gross sin, or of open contempt for religion ;
but let a man have a general becoming reverence
for the law and Church of God, and an unhesi-
tating faith in his Saviour Christ, yet suppose
him so to be taken with the goods of this world,
as (without his being aware of it) to give his
heart to them. Let him have many good feel-
ings and dispositions ; but let him love his
earthly pursuits, amusements, friends, too well ; —
by which I mean, so well as to forget that he is
bound to live in the spirit of Abraham's faith,
who gave up home, kindred, possessions, all his
eye ever loved, at God's word, — in the spirit of
St. Paul's faith, who " counted all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus his Lord," to win whose favour " he suffered
the loss of all things." How will the world go
with a man thus forgetful of his real interests ?

XXV.] OF HUMAN SORROW. 379

For a while all will be enjoyment ; — if at any time
weariness comes, he will be able to change his
pleasure, and the variety will relieve him. His
health is good and his spirits high, and easily
master and bear down all the accidental troubles
of life. So far is well ; but, as years roll on, by
little and little he will discover that, after all, he
is not, as he imagined, possessed of any real sub-
stantial good. He will begin to find, and be
startled at finding, that the things which once
pleased, please less and less, or not at all. He
will be unable to recal those lively emotions in
which he once indulged ; and he will wonder
why. Thus, by degrees, the delightful visions
which surrounded him will fade away, and in
their stead, melancholy forms will haunt him,
such as crowded round the pool of Bethesda.
Then will be fulfilled the words of the wise man.
The days will have come, " when thou shalt say,
I have no pleasure in them ; the sun and the
light and the moon and the stars shall be dark-
ened, and the clouds return after the rain ; then
they who look out of the windows shall be dark-
ened, the doors shall be shut in the streets, all
the daughters of music shall be brought low,
fears shall be in the way, and desire shall fail1."
Then a man will begin to be restless and discon-
tented, for he does not know how to amuse

1 Eccles. xii. 1—5.

380 SCRIPTURE A RECORD [SEHM.

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

XXV.] OF HUMAN SORROW. 381

Now should the above description appear over-
charged, should it be said that it supposes a man
to be possessed of more of the pleasures of life
than most men have, and of keener feelings, —
should it be said that most men have little to
enjoy, and that most of those who have much,
go on in an ordinary tranquil way, and take and
lose things without much thought, not pleased
much in their vigorous days, and not caring much
about the change when the world deserts them, —
then I must proceed to a more solemn considera-
tion still, on which I do not like to dwell, but
would rather leave it for your own private reflec-
tion upon it. There is a story in the Gospels of a
man who was taken out of this life before he had
turned his thoughts heaven-ward, and in another
world he lift up his eyes being in torments. Be
quite sure that every one of us, even the poorest
and the most dull and insensible, is far more
attached to this world than he can possibly ima-
gine. We get used to the things about us, and
forget they are necessary for our comfort. Every
one, when taken out of this world, would miss a
great deal that he was used to depend on, and
would in consequence be in great discomfort and
sorrow, as a stranger in an unknown place ; every
one, i. e. who has not, while on earth, made God
his Father and Protector, — that Great God who
alone will there be found. We do not, then,
mend the matter at all, in supposing a man not to

382 SCRIPTURE A RECORD [SERM.

find out the world's vanity here ; for, even should
the world remain his faithful friend, and please
him with its goods, to his dying day, still that
world will be burnt up at the day of his resurrec-
tion ; and even had he little of its comforts here,
that little he will then miss. Then all men,
small and great, will know it to be vanity, and
feel their infinite loss if they have trusted it, when
all the dead stand before God.

Let this suffice on the use we must make of the
solemn view which the Scripture takes of this life.
Those disclosures are intended to save us pain, by
preventing us enjoying the world unreservedly ;
that we may use it as not abusing it.

Nor let it seem, as if this view of life must make
a man melancholy and gloomy. There are, it is
true, men of ill-constituted minds, whom it has
driven out of the world ; but, rightly understood,
it has no such tendency. The great rule of our
conduct is to take things as they come. He
who goes out of his way as shrinking from the
varieties of human life which meet him, has weak
faith, or a strange perverted conscience — he wants
elevation of mind. The true Christian rejoices in
those earthly things which give joy, but in such a
way as not to care for them when they go. For
no blessings does he care much, except those
which are immortal, knowing that he shall receive
all such again in the world to come. But the
least and the most fleeting, he is too religious to

1

XXV.] OF HUMAN SORROW. 383

contemn, considering them God's gift ; and the
least and most fleeting, thus received, yield a
purer and deeper, though a less tumultuous joy.
And if he at times refrains, it is lest he should
encroach upon God's bounty, or lest by a constant
use of them he should forget how to do without
them.

Our Saviour gives us a pattern which we are
bound to follow. He was a far greater than John
the Baptist, yet he came, not with St. John's out-
ward austerity, — condemning the display of strict-
ness or gloominess, that we, His followers, might
fast the more in private, and be the more austere in
our secret hearts. True it is, that such self-com-
mand, composure, and inward faith, are not learned
in a day ; but if they were, why should this life
be given us ? It is given us as a very preparation
time for obtaining them. Only look upon the
world in this light ; — its sights of sorrow are to
calm you, and its pleasant sights to try you.
There is a bravery in thus going straightforward,
shrinking from no duty little or great, passing
from high to low, from pleasure to pain, and
making your principles strong without their be-
coming formal. Learn to be as the Angel, who
could descend among the miseries of Bethesda,
without losing his heavenly purity or his perfect
happiness. Gain healing from troubled waters.
Make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining
a certain measure of pain and trouble in your

384 SCRIPTURE A RECORD [SERM.

passage through life ; by the blessing of God this
will prepare you for it, — it will make you thoughtful
and resigned without interfering with your cheer-
fulness. It will connect you in your own thoughts
with the saints of Scripture, whose lot it was to
be patterns of patient endurance ; and this asso-
ciation brings to the mind a peculiar consolation.
View yourselves and all Christians as humbly
following the steps of Jacob whose days were few
and evil, and David who in his best estate was as
a shadow that declineth, and was withered like
grass ; and Elijah who despised soft raiment and
sumptuous fare, and forlorn Daniel who led an
Angel's life ; and be light-hearted and contented,
because you are thus called to be a member of
Christ's pilgrim Church. Realize the paradox
of making merry and rejoicing in the world be-
cause it is not yours. And if you are hard to be
affected (as many men are,) and think too little
about the changes of life, going on in a dull way
without hope or fear, feeling neither your need nor
the excellence of religion ; then, again, meditate
on the mournful histories recorded in Scripture, in
order that your hearts may be opened thereby
and roused. Read the Gospels in particular ; you
there find accounts of sick and afflicted persons
in every page as mementos. Above all, you there
read of Christ's sufferings, which I am not now
called upon to speak of ; but the thought of which
is far more than enough to make the world, bright

XXV.] OF HUMAN SORROW. 385

as it may be, look dark and miserable in itself to
all true believers, even if the record of them were
the only sorrowful part of the whole Bible.

And now I conclude, bidding you think much
of the Scripture history in the light in which I
have put it, — that you may not hereafter find that
you have missed one great benefit which it was
graciously intended to convey.

c c

SERMON XXVI.

CHRISTIAN MANHOOD.

1 COR. xiii. 11.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child J but when I became a man, I put
away childish things.

WHEN our Lord was going to leave the world and
return to His Father, He called His disciples
orphans ; children, as it were, whom He had been
rearing, who were still unable to direct them-
selves, and who were soon to lose their Protector ;
but He said, " I will not leave you comfortless
orphans, I will come to you1;" meaning to say,
He would come again to them in the power of
His Holy Spirit, who should be their present all-
sufficient Guide, though He Himself was away.
And we know, from the sacred history, that when
the Holy Spirit came, they ceased to be the
defenceless children they had been before. He

1 John xiv. 18.

SERM. XXVI.] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD 387

breathed into them a divine life, and gifted them
with spiritual manhood, or perfection, as it is called
in Scripture. From that time forth, they put
away childish things ; they spake, they under-
stood, they thought, as those who had bee a taught
to govern themselves, and who, having " an
unction from the Holy One, knew all things."

That such a change was wrought in the Apos-
tles, according to Christ's promise, is evident from
comparing their conduct before the day of Pente-
cost (when the Holy Spirit descended on them,)
and after. I need not enlarge on their wonderful
firmness and zeal in their Master's cause after-
wards. On the other hand, it is plain from the
Gospels, that before the Holy Ghost came down,
i. e. while Christ was still with them, they were
as helpless and ignorant as children ; had no
clear notion what they ought to seek after, and
how, and were carried astray by their accidental
feelings and their long-cherished prejudices. —
What was it but to act the child, to ask how
many times a fellow-Christian should offend
against us, and we forgive him, as St. Peter did ?
or to ask to see the Father, with St. Philip ? or to
propose to build tabernacles on the mount, as if
they were not to return to the troubles of the
world ; or to dispute who should be the greatest l ?
or to look for Christ's restoring at that time the

1 Matt. xvii. 4 ; xviii. 21 ; xx. 20. John xiv. 8.

c c 2

388 CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. [SERM.

temporal kingdom to Israel l ? Natural as such
views were in the case of half-instructed Jews,
they were evidently unworthy those whom Christ
had made His, that He might " present them
perfect " before the throne of God.

Yet the first disciples of Christ at least put off
their vanities once for all, when the Spirit came
upon them ; but as to ourselves, the Spirit has
long since been poured upon us, even from our
earliest years, yet it is a serious question, whether
multitudes of us, even of those among us who
make a profession of religion, are even so far
advanced in a knowledge of the Truth as the
Apostles were before the day of Pentecost. It
may be a profitable employment to-day to con-
sider this question, as suggested by the text, — to
inquire how far we have proceeded in putting off
such childish things as are inconsistent with a
manly honest profession of the Gospel.

Now, observe, I am not inquiring whether we
are plainly living in sin, in wilful disobedience ;
nor even whether we are yielding through thought-
lessness to sinful practices and habits. The condi-
tion of those who act against their conscience, or
who act without conscience, i. e. lightly and care-
lessly, is far indeed from bearing any resem-
blance to that of the Apostles in the years of their
early discipleship. I am supposing you, my bre-

Acts i. 6.

XXVI.] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 389

thren, to be on the whole followers of Christ, to pro-
fess to obey Him ; and I address you as those who
seem to themselves to have a fair hope of salva-
tion. I am directing your attention, not to your
sins, not to those faults and failings which you
know to be such, and are trying to conquer, as
being confessedly evil in themselves, but to such
of your views, wishes, and tastes, as resemble
those which the Apostles cherished, true believers
as they were, before they attained their manhood
in the Gospel ; and I ask, how far you have dis-
missed these from your minds as vain and trifling ;
i. e. how far you have made what St. Paul
in the text seems to consider the first step in the
true spiritual course of a Christian, on whom the
Holy Ghost has descended.

1. E. g. Let us consider our love of the pleasures
of life. I am willing to allow there is an innocent
love of the world, innocent in itself. God made
the world, and has sanctioned the general form
of human society, and has given us abundant
pleasures in it ; I do not say lasting pleasures,
but still, while they last, really pleasures. It is
natural that the young should look with hope to
the prospect before them. They cannot help
forming schemes what they will do when they
come into active life, or what they should wish
to be, had they their choice. They indulge them-
selves in fancyings about the future, which they
know at the time cannot come true. At other

390 CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. [SERM.

times they confine themselves to what is possible' ;
and then their hearts burn, while they dream of
quiet, happiness, domestic comfort, independence.
Or, with bolder views, they push forward their
fortunes into public life, and indulge ambitious
hopes. They fancy themselves rising in the
world, distinguished, courted, admired ; securing
influence over others, and rewarded with high
station. James and John had such a dream when
they besought Christ that they might sit at His side
in the most honourable places in His kingdom.

Now such dreams can hardly be called sinful
in themselves, and without reference to the par-
ticular case ; for the gifts of wealth, power, and
influence, and much more of domestic comfort,
come from God, and may be religiously improved.
But, though not directly censurable, they are child-
ish ; childish either in themselves, or at least when
cherished and indulged in ; childish in a Christ-
ian, who has infinitely higher views to engross
his mind ; and they are only excusable when
dwelt upon by the young. They are an offence
when retained as life goes on ; but in the young
we may regard them after the pattern of our
Saviour's judgment upon the young man who
was rich and noble: He is said to have "loved
him ;" pitying (i. e.) and not harshly denouncing
the anticipations which he had of happiness from
wealth and power, yet withal not concealing from
him the sacrifice of all these which he must make,

XXVI.] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 391

"if he would be perfect," i. e. a man, and not a
mere child in the Gospel.

2. But there are other childish views and
habits besides, which must be put off, while we
take on ourselves the full profession of a Christ-
ian ; and these, not so free from intrinsic guilt as
those which have been already noticed ; — such as,
the love of display, greediness of the world's
praise, and the love of the comforts and luxu-
ries of life. These, though wrong tempers of
mind, still I do not now call by their hardest
names, because I would lead nersons, if I could,
rather to turn away from them as unworthy a
Christian, with a sort of contempt, out-growing
them as they grow in grace, and laying them
aside as a matter of course, while they are
gradually learning to ' ' set their affections on
things above, not on things on the earth."

Children have evil tempers and idle ways which
we do not deign to speak seriously of. Not that
we, in any degree, approve them or endure them
on their own account ; nay, we punish some of
them ; but we bear them in children, and look
for their disappearing as the mind becomes more
mature. And so in religious matters there are
many habits and views, which we bear with in
the unformed Christian, but which we account
disgraceful and contemptible should they survive
that time when a man's character may be sup-
posed to be settled. Love of display is one of

392 CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. [SERM.

these ; whether we are vain of our abilities, or
our acquirements, or our wealth, or our personal
appearance ; whether we discover our weakness
in talking much, or love of managing, or again in
love of dress. Vanity, indeed, and conceit are
always disagreeable, for the reason that they in-
terfere with the comfort of other persons, and vex
them ; but I here observe, that, besides this, they
are in themselves odious, when discerned in those
who enjoy the full privileges of the Church, and
are by profession men in Christ Jesus, odious from
their inconsistency with Christian faith and earn-
estness.

And so with respect to the love of worldly
comforts and luxuries, (which, unhappily, often
grows upon us rather than disappears from our
character,) whether or not it be natural in youth,
at least, is (if I may so say) shocking in those who
profess to be " perfect," if we would estimate
things aright ; and this, from its great incon-
gruity with the spirit of the Gospel. Is it not
something beyond measure strange and mon-
strous, (if we could train our hearts to possess a
right judgment in all things,) to profess that our
treasure is not here, but in heaven with Him who
is ascended thither, and to own that we have a
cross to bear after Him, who first suffered before He
triumphed, and yet to set ourselves deliberately
to study our own comfort as some great and suf-
ficient end, to go much out of our way to promote

XXVL] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 393

it, to sacrifice any thing considerable to guard it,
and to be downcast at the prospect of the loss of
it ? Is it possible for a true son of the Church
militant, while "the ark, and Israel, and Judah
abide in tents," and "the servants of his Lord
are encamped in the open fields," to " eat and
drink" securely, to wrap himself in the furniture
of wealth, to feed his eyes with " the pride of
life," and complete for himself the measure of this
world's elegancies ?

Again, all timidity, irresolution, fear of ridicule,
weakness of purpose, such as the Apostles showed
when they deserted Christ, and Peter especially
when he denied Him, are to be numbered among
the tempers of mind which are childish as well
as sinful ; which we must learn to despise, — to be
ashamed at ourselves if we are influenced by
them, and, instead of thinking the conquest of
them a great thing, to account it as one of the
very first steps towards being but an ordinary
true believer; just as the Apostles, in spite of
their former discipleship, only commenced (surely)
their Christian course at the day of Pentecost,
and then took to themselves a good measure of
faith, boldness, zeal, and self-mastery, not as
some great proficiency and as a boast, but as the
very condition of their being Christians at all, as
the elements of spiritual life, as a mere outfitting,
and a small attainment indeed in that extended

394 CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. [SERM.

course of sanctification through which the Blessed
Spirit is willing to lead every Christian.

Now in this last remark I have given a chief
reason for dwelling on the subject before us. It
is very common for Christians to make much of
what are but petty services ; first, to place the
very substance of religious obedience in a few
meagre observances, or particular moral precepts
which are easily complied with, and which they
think fit to call giving up the world ; and then to
make a great vaunting, about their having done
what in truth every one who is not a mere child
in Christ ought to be able to do, to congratulate
themselves upon their success, ostentatiously to
return thanks for it, to condemn others who do not
happen to move exactly along the very same line
of minute practices in detail which they have
adopted, and in consequence to forget that, after
all, by such poor obedience, right though it be,
still they have not approached even to a distant
view of that point in their Christian course, at
which they may consider themselves, in St. Paul's
words, to have " attained" a sure hope of salva-
tion ; — just as little children, when they first have
strength to move their limbs, triumph in every
exertion of their newly-acquired power, as in
some great victory. To put off idle hopes of
earthly good, to be sick of flattery and the world's
praise, to see the emptiness of temporal greatness,

XXVI.] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 395

and to be watchful against self-indulgence ; these
are but the beginnings of religion, these are but
the preparation of heart, which religious earnest-
ness implies ; without a good share of them, how
can a Christian move a step ? How could Abra-
ham, when called of God, have even set out from
his native place, unless he had left off to think
much of this world, and cared not for its ridicule ?
Surely, these attainments are but our first manly
robe, showing that childhood is gone ; and, if we
feel the love and fear of the world still active
within our hearts, deeply must we be humbled,
yes, and alarmed ; and humbled even though but
the traces remain of former weaknesses. But
even if otherwise, what thank have we ? See
what the Apostles were, by way of contrast, and
then you will see what is the true life of the
Spirit, the substance and full fruit of holiness.
To love our brethren with a resolution which no
obstacles can overcome, so as almost to consent
to an anathema on ourselves, if so be we may
save those who hate us, — to labour in God's cause
against hope, and in the midst of sufferings, — to
learn to read the events of life, as they occur, by
the interpretation which Scripture gives them,
and that, not as if the language were strange to
us, but to do it promptly, — to perform all our
relative daily duties most watchfully, — to check
every evil thought and bring the whole mind into
captivity to the law of Christ, — to be patient, cheer-

1

396 CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. [SERM.

ful, meek, honest, and true, — to persevere in this
good work till death, making fresh and fresh
advances towards perfection, — and, after all, even
to the end, to confess ourselves unprofitable ser-
vants, nay, to feel ourselves corrupt and sinful
creatures, who, (with all our proficiency,) would
still be lost unless God bestow on us His mercy
in Christ ; — these are some of the difficult realities
of religious obedience, which we must pursue,
and which the Apostles in high measure attained,
and which, we may well bless God's holy name,
if He enable us to make our own.

Let us then take it for granted, as a truth
which cannot be gainsaid, that to break with
the world, and make religion our first concern, is
only to cease to be children ; and, again, that in
consequence, those Christians who have come to
mature years, and yet do not even so much as
this, are " in the presence of the Angels of God,"
an odious and unnatural spectacle, a mockery of
Christianity. I do not say what such men are
in God's sight, and what are their prospects for
the next world ; for that is a fearful thought, —
and we ought to be influenced by motives far
higher than that mere slavish dread of future
punishment to which such a consideration would
lead us.

But here some one may ask, whether I am not
speaking severely in urging so many sacrifices at
the beginning of true Christian obedience. In

XXVI.] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 397

conclusion, then, I observe, in the first place, that
I have not said a word against the moderate and
thankful enjoyment of this life's goods, ivhen they
actually come in our way ; but against the wishing
earnestly for them, seeking them, and preferring
them to God's righteousness, which is commonly
done. Further, I am not excluding from the
company of Christians all who cannot at once
make up their minds thus vigorously to reject the
world, when its goods are dangerous, inexpedient,
or unsuitable ; but excluding them from the com-
pany of mature manly Christians. Doubtless
our Lord deals gently with us. He has put His
two Sacraments apart from each other. Baptism,
first, admits us to His favour ; it is His Holy
Supper brings us among His perfect ones. He
has put from fourteen to twenty years between
them, that we may have time to count the cost
and make our decision calmly. Only there must
be no standing still, — there cannot be ; time goes
slowly yet surely from birth to the age of man-
hood, in like manner, our minds though slowly
formed to love Christ, must still be forming. It
is when men are mature in years, and yet are
" children in understanding," then they are into-
lerable, because they have exceeded their season,
and are out of place. Then it is that ambitious
thoughts, trifling pursuits and amusements, pas-
sionate wishes and keen hopes, and the love of
display, are directly sinful, because they are by

CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. [SERM.

that time deliberate sins. While they were
children, "they spake as children, understood,
thought as children ;" but when they became
men, "it was high time to awake out of sleep,"
and "put away childish things." And if they
have continued children instead of " having their
senses exercised to discriminate between the ex-
cellent and the base," alas, what deep repentance
must be theirs, before they can know what true
peace is ! — what self-reproach and sharp self-
discipline, before their eyes can be opened to see
effectually those truths which are " spiritually
discerned."

So much on the case of those who neglect to
grow betimes into the hope of their calling. As
to the young themselves, it is plain that nothing
I have said can give encouragement to them to
acquiesce in their present incomplete devotion of
themselves to God, because it will be as much as
they can do, even with their best efforts, to make
their growth of wisdom and of stature keep pace
with each other. And if there be any one who,
as thinking the enjoyments of youth must soon
be relinquished, deliberately resolves to make the
most of them before the duties of manhood come
upon him, such an one, in doing so, is rendering
it impossible for him to give them up, when he is
called to do so. As for those who allow themselves
in what, even in youth, is clearly sinful, — the de-
liberate neglect of prayer, profaneness, riotous

XXVI.] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 399

living, or other immorality, — the case of such
persons has not even entered into my mind,
when I spoke of youthful thoughtlessness. They,
of course, have no " inheritance in the kingdom
of Christ and of God."

But f there be those among us, and such there
well miy be, who, like the young ruler, " wor-
shippirg Christ," and " loved" by Him, and
>beyinr His commandments from their youth
ip, ye cannot but be " sorrowful" at the thought
>f givng up their pleasant visions, their boyish
(idolatries, and their bright hopes of earthly hap-
piness, such I bid be of good cheer, and take
courage. What is it your Saviour requires of
you, more than will also be exacted from you by
that hard and evil master, who desires your ruin ?
Christ bids you give up the world ; but will not,
at any rate, the world soon give up you ? Can
you keep it, by being its slave? Will not he,
whose creature of temptation it is, the prince of
the world, take it from you, whatever he at pre-
sent promises ? What does your Lord require of
you, but to look at all things as they really are, to
account them merely as His instruments, and to
believe that good is good because He wills it,
that He can bless as easily by hard stone as by
bread, in the desert as in the fruitful field, if we
have faith in Him who gives us the true bread
from heaven ? Daniel and his friends were
princes of the royal house of David ; they were

400

CHRISTIAN MANHOOD.

[SERM.

" children well-favoured and skilful in all wis-
dom, cunning in knowledge, and understanding
science1 ;" yet they had faith to refuse even the
literal meat and drink given them, becausdit was
an idol's sacrifice, and God sustained then with-
out it. For ten days of trial they lived o: pulse
and water ; yet " at the end (says the sacred
record) their countenances appeared fairr and
fatter in flesh than all the children which id eat
the portion of the king's meat." Doul; not
then, His power to bring you through am diffi-
culties, who gives you the command to enounter
them. He has showed you the way ; Hi gave
up the home of His mother Mary to " be about
His Father's business," and now He but bids you
take up after Him the cross which He bore for
you, and " fill up what is wanting of His afflic-
tions in your flesh." Be not afraid, — it is but a
pang now and then, and a struggle ; a covenant
with your eyes, and a fasting in the wilderness,
some calm habitual watchfulness, and the hearty
effort to obey, and all will be well. Be not afraid.
He is most gracious, and will bring you on by
little and little. He does not show you whither
He is leading you ; you might be frightened did
you see the whole prospect at once. Sufficient
for the day is its own evil. Follow His plan ;
look not on anxiously ; look down at your present

Dan. i. 4.

XXVI.] CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 401

footing " lest it be turned out of the way," but
speculate not about the future. I can well be-
lieve that you have hopes now, which you cannot
give up, and even which support you in your
present course. Be it so ; whether they will be
fulfilled or not, is in His hand. He may be
pleased to grant the desires of your heart ; if so,
thank Him for His mercy ; only be sure, that all
will be for your highest good, and " as thy days,
so shall thy strength be. There is none like
unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the
heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the
sky. The Eternal God is thy refuge, and under-
neath are the everlasting arms V He knows
no variableness neither shadow of turning ; and,
when we outgrow our childhood, we but approach,
however feebly, to His likeness, who has no youth
nor age, who has no passions, no hopes nor fears,
but who loves truth, purity, and mercy, and who
is supremely blessed because He is supremely
holy.

Lastly, while we thus think of Him, let us not
forget to be up and doing. Let us beware of
indulging a mere barren faith and love, which
dreams instead of working, and is fastidious when
it should be hardy. This is only spiritual child-
hood in another form ; — for the Holy Ghost is

1 Deut. xxxiii. 25—27.
Dd

402 CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. [SERM. XXVI.

the author of active good works, and leads us
to the observance of all lowly deeds of ordi-
nary obedience as the most pleasing sacrifice to
God.

THE END.

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SERMONS. By HENRY MELVILL, M.A. Late Fellow and Tutor of
St. Peter's College, Cambridge, and Minister of Camden Chapel, Camber-
well. Second Edition. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

BOOKS PUBLISHED BY J. G. & F. R1VINGTON.

VI.

A TRANSLATION of the EPISTLES of CLEMENT of ROME, POLY-
CARP, and IGNATIUS; and of the APOLOGIES of JUSTIN MARTYR
and TERTULLIAN ; with an Introduction, and Brief Notes, illustrative of
the Ecclesiastical History of the First Two Centuries. By the Rev. TEMPLE
CHEVALIER, B.D. Late Fellow and Tutor of Catharine Hall. In 8vo. 14*.

VII.

PRACTICAL SERMONS. By the Rev. R. C. COXE, M,A. Curate of
St. James's, Westminster, and formerly Fellow of Worcester, College, Oxford.
I2mo. (JA-.

VIII.

The DIFFICULTIES of INFIDELITY. By GEORGE STANLEY
FABER, B.D. Master of Sherburn Hospital, and Prebendary of Salisbury.
Second Edition. 12mo. 5s.

IX.

RECAPITULATED APOSTACY the true Rationale of the CON-
CEALED APOCALYPTIC NAME of the ROMAN EMPIRE. By
GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B.D. Master of Sherburn Hospital, and Pre-
bendary of Salisbury. 12mo. 3s.

X.

EIGHT SERMONS, Preached before the University of Cambridge
1830 and 1831. To which is added, a Reprint of a Sermon preached
before the University on Commencement Sunday, 1826. By HUGH JAMES
ROSE, B.D. Joint-Dean^of Bocking. Second Edition. 8vo. 7*. 6d.

XI.

FAMILY WORSHIP. A COURSE of MORNING and EVENING
PRAYERS for every Day in the Month. By the late Rev. JAMES BEAN,
M.A. One of the Librarians of the British Museum, and Assistant Minister
of Welbeck Chapel, St. Mary-le-Bone. Eighteenth Edition. 8vo. 6s.

XII.

The Third Edition of the BOOK of PSALMS: Translated from the
Hebrew; with Notes, Explanatory and Critical. By the late SAMUEL
HORSLEY, LL.D. F.R.S. F.A.S. Lord Bishop of St. Asaph. 8vo. 12s.

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