.^' %' ^. ^ * -t^*-! 'SO _/ #?I2^ \* SEP 15 1904 * > _ BX 7233 .P335 P9 1873 Parker, Joseph, 1830-1902 Pulpit notes PULPIT NOTES "That a man stand and speak of spiritual things to men. It is beautiful ;— even in its great obscuration and decadence, it is among the beautifuUest, most touching objects one sees on the earth. This Speaking man has indeed, in these times, wan- dered terribly from the point ; has, alas, as it were totally lost sight of the point ; yet, at bottom, whom have we to compare with him ? Of aU Public Functionaries boarded and lodged on the Industry of Modern Europe, is there one worthier of the board he has ? A man ever professing, and never so languidly making still some endeavour to save the souls of men : contrast him with a man professing to do little but shoot the partridges of men ! I wish he could find the point again, this Speak- ing one ; and stick to it with tenacity, with deadly energy ; for there is need of him yet ! The Speaking Function — this of Truth coming to us with a living voice, nay in a living shape, and as a concrete practical exemplar : this, with all our Writing and Printing Functions has a perennial place. Could he but find the point again, — take the old spectacles off" his nose, and looking up discover, almost in contact with him what the reai Satanas, and soul- devouring, world- devouring Devil, Now is." — Carlyle. PULPIT NOTES WITH AX INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST BY JOSEPH PAEKEE, D.D. MINISTER OF THE CITY TEMPLE, HOLBOEN VIADUCT, LONDON AUTHOE OF 'ECCE DEUS ' {Reprinted^ with Considerable Additions^ from the ' Citij Temple.' STEAHAN & CO. 56, LUDGATE HILL, LONDON 1873 TAYLOR AND CO., PEINTERS, LITTLE QUEEN STEEET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. ?( y.^S'M INDEX OF SUBJECTS. \^ the anonymous ministeies of life beginning to peeach — chbist's preventive MINISTET . unspoken objections to cheist paul and timothy .... ceime in geem ^. THE fool's VINEYAED. ... LIGHT IN DAEKNE8S .... OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE .... THE MOEAL ASPECT OF PHYSICAL BLESSI>G THE SMITEE SMITTEN , . . THE GUAEANTEE OP SUCCESS IMPERCEPTIBLE CHANGE . . . , THE SUPREME POINT OF ENERGY WHAT CHEISTIAMIY DOES FOE A MAN Page . 15 . 27 . 31 . 3& . 40 . 43 . 48 . 53 . 57 , 60 64 70 . 73 81 . 85 VI INDEX OF SUBJECTS. ISEAEL PUESUED THE PATHOS OP THEOLOGY . PAGAN FOEM AND CHEISTIAN LIFE A WATCHWOED POE LIFE AND POE DEATH AN UNWEITTEN WOED OP GOD . BETWEEN JEEUSALEM AND JEEICHO THE HINDEEEE EHUD : LEFT-HANDEDNESS . SHAMGAE : MEAN INSTEUMENTS . ADONI-BEZEK : THE LAW OP EEQUITAL THE SEEMING EIGHT .... ON SPAEING PEUIT TEEES . THE SPIEITUAL VALrE OF THE NEAE AND VISIBLE THE THEOLOGY OP CEEATION (l.) THE THEOLOGY OP CEEATION (ll.) THE THEOLOGY OP CEEATION (ill.) THE THEOLOGY OF CEEATION (lY.) INCONSIDEEATENESS DISCIPLINE SOLITUDE, NOT LONELINESS . POWEE ANOINTED BUT UNDECLAEED THE DISCIPLINE OF AN ANOINTED MAN THE GEEATNESS AND GENTLENESS OF GOD BLASPHEMER AND MINISTER SAUL AND PAUL FALSE SECUEITIES : AN EXPOSURE AND A CHALLENGE THE RECONCILIATION OP SAUL . SAUL'S SECOND RECONCILIATION . INDEX OF SUBJECTS. vii Page David's atheistic eeasoninq , . . . . . . 230 the seceet peatees of jesus cheist 237 moses at maeah 248 . 258 . 263 PHYSICAL BLESSING FOLLOWED BY EELIGIOUS EXHOETATION . 268 HISTOEICAL NEGATIVES . . . ,° . . . . 273 THE SECOND MIEACLE AT CANA 279 MOEAL COWAEDICE 285 PEIMAEY AND SECONDAEY LIGHT 290 A PAEABLE FOE THE YOUNG 297 ON THE TEEATMENT OF BIEDS' NESTS ON MAKING BATTLEMENTS . THSOLOGICill.^/ AN ESSAY UPON THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST, IN SOME OF ITS BEARITirGS VFON MODERN PREACHING. Jesus Christ was moved ivith compassion. Tliere are no other words wliicli so expressively declare Ms power as a preacher. It would appear from New Testament history that Christian preaching is not a little indebted for its enduring and far-reaching in- fluence to the pureness and intensity of its pathos. As God himself is love, His messages must be lov- ingly delivered if they are to tell upon the deepest life of mankind. That there is a pathos which is little more than physical sensibility is no argument against that true pathos which expresses emotionally all the highest thinking and keenest conviction of the intel- 2 AN ESSAY UPON j lect. Persuasion by logic may shut up tlie moutli of gainsaying^ without touching the viciousness of the moral life, but persuasion by love brings the heart into holy captivity, and burns with unquenchable fire the desires which move towards darkness and evil. There is no coldness in the preaching of Jesus Christ. AVhen He calls to repentance, the tones are more than vocal ; the cry of pain broadens and softens into a voice of hopefulness and welcome, and men's hearts know the voice by its shepherdliness, and by some- thing in it which tells of care and home. Pathos is a universal language. What if preaching become but an angry contention with men who pride themselves in unbelief? Then it attempts to do with the hand what can be done only by the heart, and thus it puts itself to disadvantage where it might establish itself in gracious and beneficent victory. Christianity has, indeed, its great rocks of argument, but it has also pastures where the flock feeds, and woods where the birds make music. Few men can argue, all men can teel. Where one man has difficulties which are purely intellectual, ten thousand men have sorrows that lie beyond the province of logical analysis or solution. Jesus Christ spake the word of hope to the world's heart. Now and again, indeed, (and herein He will be followed by every zealous minister) He dealt with special classes and particular difficulties, but the sub- THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST. 3 stance of His ministry belongs to all men through all time. When it is said that ^^the common people heard Him gladly/^ it is not to be understood that He was a preacher to a distinct class of the community ; it is rather to be understood that His preaching i:ouched the common heart of the world,, and that man as man heard in His voice a tone absent from all other human speech. When Jesus Christ preached to Nico- demus^ the argument soon widened from the appeal made to ^'a ruler in IsraeP^ into the most universal and pathetic of all revelations — " God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son^ that whoso- ever believeth in him should not perish but have ever- lasting life.^^ This universality came out of the compassionateness of Jesus Christ^s heart. He rules most who feels most. The preacher is to attempt a universal work ; — the pastor^ the teacher^ the critic^ may do a work more special, yet of incalculable interest and importance. On going into the presence of a man who is preaching the Gospel, as Jesus Christ preached it, the hearer should soon become conscious that he is expected to take the deepest interest in the spoken word, and that he can only exclude himself from its influence by the most irrational and cruel self-suppression. Is it not possible for a preacher to speak almost wholly in an unknown tongue ? When, in a miscellaneous con- b2 4 AN ESSAY UPON gregation, he speaks of ^^ objective and subjective/'' of tlie ^^ unconditioned and absolute/^ and when lie uses sucb words as liypotliesis, psychology, phenomena, and cognoscibility, is he not talking something else than the language of Englishmen ? Such words, proper enough and most convenient in a book, separate the preacher from the hearer at a time when the current of sympathy should be complete and strong. There IS but one cure for such mischief, — a purification and de&pening of yearning comjpassionateness over human sin, and jpain, and ivant. Where there is strong com- \ passion, there will be simple speech. Love will not wait for a golden chariot of utterance, but will rush out in haste, and tell her story with all frankness and pathos. The preacher who tells his audience that he is about to point out the difference between intuitive and empirical morality does not speak the language of the race, but the jargon of a class. He may be a , philosopher, but he is no preacher. One of the first lessons he has to learn is the lesson of self-denial in the use of words : his tastes lie in the direction of difficult phrases, and those tastes must be put to death / before he can speak to such people as form the majority of all congregations assembled for Christian s^ purposes. The hearers of Jesus Christ often stumbled at the doctrine, but when did they complain of the hardness or obscurity of the mere words ? In this, as THE PREACHING OE JESUS CHRIS! . 5 in all else^ Jesus Clirist says^ — '' I have given you an j example/^ There is a language which is common property _, and there is a language which belongs to a class. How rich is the speech which belongs to the whole world! Take examples: — Grod^ Truths Rights Wrong, Love, Peace, Faith, Trust, Hope, Light, Home, Rest, Joy, Life, Death, — a child can say such words, yet what man can tell all their meaning ! The one sure remedy for the use of unprofitable words in the Christian pulpit is an increase of intelligent and genuine convpassionateness for the spiritual state of mankind. The presence of sin should wound, even to agony and bleeding, the heart of the Christian preacher ; and, on the other hand, the presence of the love of God as seen in the life and work of his Son should move towards speech of entreaty and welcome unequalled for simplicity and gentleness. Compassionateness must not be mistaken for weak- ness. There are tears of the heart as well as tears of the eyes. The compassionateness of Jesus Christ is seen quite as much in the fulness and emphasis of His doc- trine as in the persuasiveness of His manner. Com- passion first expounds and then pleads. When Jesus Christ welcomed men to the hospitality of God's love, He carefully pointed out the nature and scope of that love ; hence we have in the New Testament His won- derful statements and illustrations of doctrine. He 6 AN ESSAY UPON uttered positive doctrines in a tender tone. He re- vealed the Father not as an Indicator but as a Son. It is at this point that Christian preachers are to enter into the mystery of His grace^ — they are to declare the Father not as devout speculators^ but as loving chil- dren. The Christian preacher must realize to himself the solemn fact that he has something to say which is perfectly distinct from the instruction given by the teachers of all other subjects, and that he is called upon to say it, not with petty dignity and self-admiring display, but with tenderness, unction, and all the importunity of love. The preacher who undertakes his work under the impulse of mere feeling will soon reach the end of his ministry. Where there is no depth of earth, the green blade will soon wither away; so where there is no substance of doctrine, the mere trick of emotion will speedily bring upon itself a destructive resentment. The preaching of Jesus Christ was truly theological^ not in a formal but in a vital sense. It concerned itself deeply and eternally with God. The personality of God stands in the very centre of every discourse. When Jesus speaks of a kingdom, it is the Kingdom of Godj ; when He pronounces a blessing, it is the gift of God ; when He speaks of the greatest love. He calls it the love of God. Jesus did not lecture upon morals as a branch of philosophy. He found the source of THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST. » 7 morality in God, Wonderful, too, is tlie cliildlike familiarity with which God is treated in the ministry of Jesus Christ : He is tlie Father ; He is mij Father ; He is ijoiir Father; He is our Father. In Jesus Christ^s preaching, God is not an idea but a life, — not a point to reason from, but a living heart, a sanctuary and a refuge for all creatures, yet infinite in righteous- ness and terrible in judgment ! This familiarity often gave strangeness, amounting even to mystery, to the preaching of the Saviour. His briefest sentences came with all the momentum of eternity. His plainest words pointed towards perspectives on which there lay rather a chastened glory than a concealing shadow. Men felt that such a preacher had but to look upward, and he would see God face to face ! What is the God of the modern preacher ? Is he a God nigh at hand or afar off ? Is he the I WAS, or the I AM ? Is he to be sought by long and oft-desponding prayer, or is he on our right-hand as a light and a defence all the day? Where the heart lays firm hold of God with every energy of its love, the lips will speak of Him in words which may shock the stranger, but which the child mil know as the sweet speech of home. Jesus Christ sets forth God as a man from whose flock of an hundred sheep one had gone astray ; as a woman who had lost one of her ten pieces of silver ; as a father who had been shamefully treated by one of his sous ; 8 AN ESSAY UPON as a liouseliolder who had been despised by his own \ servants; and as a king whose talent had been re- turned to him by an indolent hand. In this sense^ the preaching of Jesus Christ was intensely theological^ — it was suffused and glorified by the very life of God. Hence it was spiritual preaching directed to spiritual ends. It was nothing that men merely listened, they must be born again or the end was lost. It was nothing that men admired the miracles, they must themselves actually become miracles — miracles of re- generation — or they could not so much as see the Kingdom of God. It was nothing, either, that men had kept all the commandments from their youth up, if they had not attained to that last commandment of f all — the microcosm of all law — the spirit of Love. A ! preacher's idea of God will rule his whole ministry. This was so in the case of Jesus Christ ; to Him God was a father, and therefore the Gospel was a message of peculiarly tender love j to Him God was also a King, and therefore under all love lay the eternal righteousness without which life would lose all its security, and the future all the brightness of hope. Yet though spiritual, how vividly pictorial was the preaching of Jesus Christ ! Earth and Heaven com- bined to simplify and enrich that ministry. Jesus Christ theologised everything. He found sermons everywhere. With what startling rapidity and com- THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST. 9 pleteness He dramatised human life ! Tlie old star- 1 making power by which He garnished the heavens^ re- asserted itself in the parable-making power by which He lighted up a still higher firmament. " Never man spake like this man/"* The Prodigal will always find the way home again^ in the 15th chapter of Luke; the philanthropist Avill for ever see his very type in the good Samaritan j and the preacher will find the best report of his labours in the parable of the Sower who went forth to sow. All these^ and many more,, parables are as gates which open into the very Kingdom of Heaven. At these gates even little children have tarried until they have seen that the streets of the cit}' beyond "are pure gold, as it were transparent glass.''"' Jesus Christ assigned imagination a high function in the Christian ministry. Imagination is to be the help- meet of Faith, It will put " lily-work ^^ on the pillars of understanding, and show to Keason many things that are yet afar off. Parables are not to be ')nadbe as the goldsmith makes his jewel. They must be horn ' in the soul if they would add the grace of life to the ( substance of doctrine. The parabolist is more than a miniature-painter ; — like the poet he is " born not made/'' and from those who would borrow of him he must not turn away. In connection with all this depth of doctrine and vividness of illustration there is a peculiar sense of lo AN ESSAY UPON domesticity about the preaching of Jesus Christ. It is marked by all the ease of conversation. Xot one of His discourses^ as regards its structure and tone, would have been out of place if addressed to one individual. The Sermon on the Mount might have been spoken at the fire-side, as the discourse to Nicodemus might have been spoken to a great throng. There is no higher attainment in eloquence than to speak to hu- manitij rather than to mobs and crowds of individuals. In listening to Jesus Christ you were not able to sink your personality in the common mass, for there was a power in His speech that came home to every hearer as if he had been the only man in the presence of the Speaker. The Pentecostal speech of Peter was evi- dently delivered to a great and most excited audience, and would have been absurd if spoken to one man; much the same may be said of PauPs speech on Mars^ Hill; but which of the discourses of Jesus Christ might not have been uttered to one person or a limited circle, if we except the cry on the last day — the great day of the feast, — " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink j'^ and why except even that, when every heart needs it as a special message to itself ? But how can the preacher, who is prepared to copy the Master in this feature of His ministry, escape narrowness on the one hand and indignity on the other ? To speak as if addressing one individual, may THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST, n be to exclude the possible or actual wants of a great number. Undoubtedly so. But who was the one hearer to whom Jesus Christ preached ? It was inan. That was the secret of His power. He spoke to human I nature, and in so doing. He spoke to something (how-( ever depraved and enfeebled) that was in every heart ) that came near Him. And how to escape indignity? For as there is a difference between ^^ the chaffering swallow and the immortal lark/^ so there is a difference between the feebleness of gossip and the ease of con-/ versational eloquence. A right notion of human nocture • ^vill save the Christian speaker from indignity. One man will be to him humanity, and humanity will be as the defaced image of God. Peter spoke to " men and. brethren/' and Paul to ^''men, brethren, and fathers/^ but, without such oratorical introductions, Jesus Christ s immediately addressed Himself to man. We, indeed, are not at liberty to waive the courtesies which may conciliate attention, but the sooner we get to the heart of our work, the better will it be for those who hear us. But '^ Jesus needed not that any should testify of man,. | for He knew what was in man/' what preacher can say \ that of himself ? Not one. Still, human nature may ' " - be studied, and the range and keenness of spiritual in- / sight may be increased. Every man may study himself ^ 12 AN ESS A V UPON I heart thoroughly, has a key that will help him in the I study of all others. A look inward is the best look outward, when the light is from Heaven and the eye is j directed by the Spirit of God. In all human speech j there is surely no language so exasperating and so ^ / mocking as the language of a man who preaches religion without human sympathy, and who utters the truth of God without having first passed it through the ' experience of his own heart. On this matter there is, ha23pily, much wisdom in all congregations. "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.-" The voice of the stranger is easily distinguished from the voice of the shepherd ; and the great, sad, wounded heart of mankind soon turns away from the fluent vocalist in whose tones there is no sigh of brotherliness or sympathy. Whether the preaching of to-day is not in danger of becoming a controversy or an art, is an inquiry which need not be regarded as offensive. That there is a small but influential literary party whose object is to encroach upon the province of Christian preaching, ad- mits of no doubt ; and the danger is that the Christian preacher should keep too conspicuously in view some of the most irritating aspects of that encroachment. ^What will be the consequence ? The consequence will probably be, reference, more or less indistinct, to controversies of which the majority of congregations THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST. 13 know notliing, tnumpliant answers to persons who will never hear them^ and a gradual but sure and fatal allurement from the affirmative and spiritual truths which are the very life of a Gospel ministry. The great bulk of the people assembled for Christian wor- ship have just escaped from the entanglements and cares of a fretful week^ and are^ therefore, in no mood for a mere war of words as between combatants who would be better men if they had less leisure and more sorrow. The people (exceptions being allowed) come up to the house of prayer and rest^ to ask, what are God's messages to the sinful, the faithless, the broken-hearted, and the weary ? They come to " worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker.''^ This, at all events, should be assumed by the Christian preacher, if he would carry with him the most eager interest of such men as know best the pain of the souFs thirst and the emptiness of every earthly well. By taking another course he may make himself the favourite minister of a few, but by this deeper service he will become the messenger of God to multitudes whose life oscillates between the not remote points of mystery and pain. The people will understand his tones where they can- not follow him in his words ; and even when his imagi- nation bears him out of their sight, they will feel quite sure that he will come back with a gift which will add 14 THE PREACHING OE JESUS CHRIST. to their hope and strength. The preacher must be allowed the right of excursion into fields unknown to many who listen to him_, for as the Son of Man was in Heaven even whilst he was upon earth, so the true preacher must, in the course of his plainest utterances, show himself no stranger to the awful eternity which elevates and chastens the meanest of our lives. The true preacher has nothing to fear from any rivalry, for the human voice has no adequate substitute. Even a gospel written is not equal to a gospel spoken. The heart will not disdain any instrument of expression, but the instrument which it loves with all its love is the human voice, — all instruments in one, and all in- spired. To some, indeed, all voices are alike, but so also are all colours, all lights, all landscapes; their spirituality is at zero, and what life they have is mainly in the blood. Jesus Christ said preach the Gospel, and thereby He gave the human voice a special function in the service of His redeeming purposes. What if the vocal powers be in reality spiritual rather than physi- cal ? That they are capable of intense spiritual excite- ment is evident both in music and in speech, and none will deny that a tone will convey a meaning which can never be properly expressed in symbols. Preach the Gospel — preach it with all the tunefulness of ever- varying experience, and specially with the compas- sionateness of Him who was himself the Gospel of Ood. 15 The Anonymous Ministries of Life. And Jacob was left alone ; and there wrestled a man with, him until the breaking of the day. — Gen. xxxii. 24. And there came a man of Grod unto Eli. — 1 Sam. ii. 27. Two men stood by them in white apparel. — Acts i. 11. There stood a man of Macedonia. — Acts xvi. 9. In these passages no names of speakers are given ; yet all the speakers made most solemn and important communications. As a rule_, we properly ask^ Who speaks to us ? We wish to know the name of the speaker^ that we may properly estimate the value and Authority of his words. It appears^ however, from the passages before us_, that there may be occasions when the thing said is of infinitely greater importance than the mere personality of the speaker; and when^ indeed_, any question of mere personality would debase and mar the communication. Some statements require all the help they can get from the individual influence 1 6 PULPIT NOTES. of the speaker ; others come to us with the authority of human nature ; — they calmly yet mightily make their own way, and the speaker becomes to us as God. Strange as it may appear^ there are many instances in which we require personal confirmation of mere trifles, and yet receive the most vital statements without asking for the credentials of the speaker. The reason is that the statements »re vital. They find a witness in our own nature. They are but the articulation of our own thoughts. In preaching the Grospel^ for example^ this is the supreme advantage of the preacher. Any question of the speaker^s name, position, or an- tecedents, is an impertinence compared with the momentousness of his message. So the humblest social position does not detract from the dignity of the servant of Christ. He never calls attention to himself; he is the voice of God to the soul of universal man. The one truth, then, the profound and most solemn truth, suggested by the passages before us is, that human nature as such, apart altogether from all accidents of mere personality, is continually and urgently teaching the highest lessons, and imposing upon men the most imperative obligations. I. There aee anonymous ministries in life which TEACH THE GREAT FACTS OF SPIRITUALITY AND INVISIBLE- ness. Look at the case of Jacob. There wrestled a ANONYMOUS MINISTRIES OF LIFE. 17 man with him until the breaking of the clay. Jacob had no doubt of his humanity. He spoke to him as a man. The strange visitor in his turn spoke to Jacob the language common amongst men. Jacob was in sorrow. The sword of self-accusation was piercing him through and through. He was in that state in which he longed for some human voice to speak one word of kindness to him. He could not live without being blessed. He had reached that well-known point of agony which must end either in a moment of su- preme blessedness, or in the gloom of final despair. Jacob_, having been blessed, inquired the name of his interlocutor ; but the truth of the doctrine on which we are now insisting was illustrated by the instant inquiry, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name ? What are mere names ? Receive the blessing, — '' as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed/'' So it was to Jacob an anonymous ministry ; yet it blessed him ; it drew him close to the limit of the material and visible, and im- pressed him with the solemnity of the spiritual and unseen. ^^ Jacob called the name of the place Peniel : for I have seen God face to face.''^ Of course there is a speciality about this case which marks it as miracu- lous. There is here a hint of the one Incarnation which has given all flesh a new standing before God. Still there are human elements enough in the incident i8 PULPIT NOTES. to justify tlie inference that man is not self-complete and self-terminating : there is something beyond him : again and again^ in the sublimity of his speculation, in the flashes of transcendent genius, in the agony of vehement prayer, he shows that beyond him is life un- attained — around him are mysteries which chasten him by their solemnity, and elevate him by their grandeur. Often through the human we see the divine. It is im- possible to rest upon any theory of human nature which is, so to speak, exclusively human. When the poet sings, we feel that the whole case is not before us ; the man is a mystery ; in him there is an angel ; his notes are not earthly voices altogether; they de- scend from a higher melody. When a mother pours the river of her love upon a poor sick child, we feel that we do not see all. This love is not original, nor is it exhaustive. We dare not say the grave will swallow this up, and death shall triumph over love. A sensation of appalling yet hopeful mystery over- comes us. To the far-seeing poet, to the self-sacri- ficing woman, our heart says, '^ I will not let thee go, except thou bless me,^^ for we feel surely that such light and such love are immediately of God. We get this view of human nature most vividly, of course, when human nature is seen in its highest condition. In the poet there is more of mystery, because more of God, than in the unenlightened Hottentot. We are. ANONYMOUS MINISTRIES OF LIFE. 19 liowever_, to remember the difference between life and tbe mere characteristics of life ; between essences and accidents. If '^Hhe meanest flower tbat blows ^^ could give the poet ^Hhoughts that do lie too deep for tears/^ so the meanest man^ the most neglected child, the most degraded heathen, will reveal to us more of God than we can find in the pomp and wealth of nature. Eegarded in this light, humanity becomes a continual ministry ; anonymous so far as mere personality is concerned, yet bearing the awful signature of God Himself. The less is daily seeking the blessing of the greater. If not actually invoking it in words, mutely pleading for it in every aspect of destitution and every pang of misery. II. Theee aee anonymous ministries in life which PEONOUNCE upon HUMAN CONDUCT THE JUDGMENT OF Almighty Gou. ^^ There came a man of God unto Eli.''^ No name is given. The ministry was anony- mous, yet most personal in its application. The nameless man spoke in the name of God. ^^ The Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever : but now the Lord saith, be it far from me ; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." There are announcements which vindicate their own righteotis- c2 20 PULPIT NOTES. ness. They strike us dumb. Tliey are conj&rmed by a voice within our own hearts. We feel that we should be but trifling with ourselves were we to raise any question of personal name or authority. No moral question lies entirely between man and man. Even the petty contentions of life have an outlook upon absolute righteousness and the eternal fitness of things. Every man who speaks a right word; every man who upholds an honest cause; every man who aims at a pure life; by so much condemns the corruption of the world, and brings sharp messages from God to fallen priests and unfaithful counsellors. Man must judge man ; not carpingly and maliciously, in which case the judgment would recoil upon himself, but with all the dignity and poignancy of a judgment which is jealous for God. " There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understand- ing.^^ It is not difficult, if a man be so minded, to escape the judicial bearing of human nature. Where it is not escaped, it may be resented. The probability is that the resentment will be in proportion to the personality. The man who reproves merely in his own name defeats his own object. It is only when he represents great breadths of humanity, and speaks in the name of common human interests, that he compels attention and rouses conscience. The minister of Jesus Christ is bound to take advantage of this prin- ANONYMOUS MINISTRIES OF LIFE. 21 ciple. He deals with man, not witL. men. He is so to speak, tliat men will answer him as they answered his Lord— "Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth/' He is not to propose little personal theories, or preach narrow sectarian dogmas, which will excite unprofit- able controversies. On the contrary, he is to utter, with all energy and pathos, truths which, whilst they are echoed by human consciousness, constrain men to acknowledge their need of redemption by the precious blood of Christ. The ministry of a godly life, as also the ministry of a holy teacher, is to be a ministry of severe judgment upon bad men. They are to cry out, ^^What have I to do with Thee, Thou Holy One ! '^ The good man is to be the torment of the bad man. Not through pedantic displays of moral superiority, but by the continuous, unobtrusive, penetrating influence of a heavenly life. There are to be sharp collisions in society. Christianity is to be as a sword and a fire. Bad men are more and more to be made to feel that they live by sufierance, that their only safety is in the concealment of darkness, and that even there the avenging hand will afflict them with grievous pain. This, let me repeat, is to be done, not by the person- ality which says, " I am holier than thou," but by the impersonality which merges the crotchets of the indi- vidual in the moral consciousness of the race. 22 PULPIT NOTES. III. Theee are anonymous ministries in life which RECALL MEN FROM USELESS CONTEMPLATION AND REVERIE. The disciples had just witnessed the ascension of their Lord. They had not begun to feel the temptations which arise from social and official equality, nor had they yet felt the chill of solitude. They could almost see the shining path up which their Lord had moved to the seat of universal power. Whilst they looked, as only eager and wondering love can look, " two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? ^' It was but natural that they should so gaze. As it appeared to them, they had lost all that made their life different from the life of other men. The world was now disenchanted and impoverished — why not gaze into the consecrated clouds until they should be called to follow the Lord into His glory ? It was at this point that an anonymous ministry saved them from the perils of religious ecstasy. There is a temp- tation to some minds to live entirely on the mysterious side of religion. Persons who yield to this temptation become contemplatists, idealists, mystics, and the like. They have an upward look, have they therefore a heavenward life ? In the thrill of their own rapture do they remember the pain of the sorrowing world ? Humanity calls us away from what may be described as the luxurious side of religion, and invites us to the ANONYMOUS MINISTRIES OF LIFE. 23 luxury of doing good. A world of want is daily- saying to the cliurcli of Jesus Christ, ^^ Why stand ye gazing into heaven ? ^^ The same world calls men back from transfiguration hills, to re-establish its wandering reason and bind up its broken hearts. It was enough that man needed Jesus Christ. The Saviour did not call for names and addresses. Neces- sity was its own plea. ^^ Behold, there was A man which had his hand withered. ^^ " There came to Him A MAN, saying. Lord, have mercy on my son.^^ ^^ Be- hold, A WOMAN of Canaan cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou son of David.-" These were human calls, and the Son of God answered them as such. It was not because of the name of the individual, or the social position of the applicant; Jesus came to save humanity — to seek and to save whatever was lost. We view human life superficially, if we do not see in its daily history a reason for turning Christian con- templativeness into Christian activity. There is no need to seeh fields of usefulness, they are ready to our hand. The man who is next to us may demand our godly concern and service. A gazing ' church is a useless church. A gazing church is the most obstructive of stumbling-blocks. Christ is most honoured when men are most cared for. When we seek the wandering sheep, we make the heart of the Shepherd glad. 24 PULPIT NOTES. All this is in anticipation of tlie fourtli point, viz., — IV. There are anonymous ministries in life which URGENTLY CALL MEN TO BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY. "Avision appeared to Paul in tlie night : there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. ^^ A man without a name, yet from his speech the apostle '^'^ assuredly gathered that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.^^ All humanity is calling upon the ambassadors of Christ for help. The men of the Cross must assure themselves that they only, as ministers of the Word of Life, have the help which the world needs. ^^ Ye are the light of the world.^^ ^^Ye are the salt of the earth/^ " As ye have freely received, freely give.^^ ^' Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Every man in his unrest is uncon- sciously calling for Christian help. Every inquirer, when he passes out of twilight into darkness, when he nears the limit of his little world, and looks out upon the silent, solemn infinite, sighs and cries for help with all the trembling hope and anxious joy of a soul baffled, yet not in despair. Men cannot be fully satisfied with fragments. They want the fulness of the Godhead — the living, loving ALL ! What is the meaning of the world^s strife, the world^s cry of failure, the world's moan of continual pain ? It is a ANONYMOUS MINISTRIES OF LIFE. 25 sigli for Christ. It is a call to the church.. It is not this man or that man in particular^ known by name ; it is man, the lost child of God_, that cries in his danger and anguish, " Come over and help me ! ^^ Not, indeed, that he does this consciously, or in all cases with an immediately Christian aim. The Christ- ian is called upon to interpret to man the meaning of the hearths hunger and distress. The man himself is the victim of all sorts of delusions ; he hews out broken cisterns ; he consults lying oracles ; he prays to dumb idols ; he yields himself to the base wizardry of false expectations. The man who knows the re- deeming mystery of the Cross must say to him, '^ This is the meaning of your discontent ; this is what you have all the while been vainly struggling to say ; this is what that burdened aching heart of yours wants ; '^ — then must be unfolded the glorious gospel of the blessed God ; salvation through the work of God the Son, who was delivered for our ojffences, and raised again for our justification. Our subject says to us — through man, God sends blessing ; through man, God delivers judgments ; and man cries to the church, ^'^Why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? Come over and help us.^^ The two lessons arising out of this subject are as important as they are obvious. First : We are to view our own position and duty 26 PULPIT NOTES. in the liglit of humanity^ as distinct from mere per- sonality. We are parts of a whole. We belong to one another. One has what another lacks. "Ye then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.^^ The universality of our benevolence most surely consolidates our personal welfare. In watering others^ we are watered ourselves. Second : We are not to wait for calls to service that are merely personal. The whole world calls. Humanity needs us. At home^ in the desert^ on the far-away island^ men appeal to us. He who speaks truth has the whole world for a congregation. He who speaks truth with pathos will bind many hearts to his ministry. Our gospel addresses itself to man. Our own little perishing name is not needed. We do not lift the gospel into dignity. It catches no lustre from our genius. It asks to be spoJcen, that it may vindicate its claim to be the answer of God to the un- rest and the penitence of man. 27 Beginning to Preacli. Jesus began to preachj and to say, Eepent. — Matt. iv. 17. This text invites us to look at two things : I. The Preacher^ and II. The Subject of His Preaching. I. The Preacher. ^^ Jesus began to preacli.^^ Jesus was tlie Son of man and the Son of God. Who, then, can equal Him in sympathy and in wisdom ? It should be understood that very much depends upon the freacher as well as upon the doctrine preached. The same doctrine is not the same thing as delivered by two different men. A thing must not only be said, it must be loell said. As a preacher, Jesus supplied all the great conditions of supreme influence. First : There was more human nature in Jesus Christ than was ever in any other man. He needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what 28 PULPIT NOTES. was in man. He was in all points tempted like as we are, j^et without sin, — without that one defilement which impairs and ruins the finest qualities of human nature. Preachers must be intensely human, if they would reach with good effect the hearts of men. They must know much of human experience; much of sorrow,, of pain, of temptation, and manifold difficulty. This was pre-eminently and most graciously true of the Saviour-preacher. Second : There was more intellectual ability and spiritual insight in Jesus Christ than ever distin- guished any other preacher. Look at the answers which He gave to cavillers ! Look at the keenness of His discrimination as to moral differences, — hypocrisy, falseness, half-heartedness. Look at His love of truth, — simple, pure, eternal truth. How then will such a preacher proceed with his work ? 11. The SUBJECT of His preaching. That subject was Repentance. Hear this marvellous preacher — Rejpent ! This is one of the most solemnly suggestive words in all human language. 1. Repent, — then men are in a wrong moral condition. But for this Jesus would never have come ! " Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.^^ 2. Repent, — then there is a luorh which men must do BEGINNING TO PREACH. 29 ihemselves. One man cannot repent for another. See tlie power and the weakness of human nature in this particular. One man can suffer for another : can pay for another : can luorh for another : can even die for another, — but never can one man rejpent for another ! 3. Repent,, — tlien until this special ivorlc is done every tiling else that is seemingly good is ivorthless. Men may go far into a certain kind of theological thinking, and yet be profoundly irreligious. We pro- fess to know the truth, but have we repented ? The first thing to be done is to put ourselves into a right moral condition. There is an artificial care about re- ligion. What of our hearts ? What of our conceptions of sin ? Where all has been so practical, there may be the less need for a formal application of the truth ; there are some inferences, however, which ought to be plainly stated. 1. If Jesus preached repentance, all true preachers will do the same ^^ Behold I have given you an example."''' 2. If Jesus urged men to repent^ it is certain that repentance is vitally necessary for all mankind. 3. If repentance is the first act needed, it is vicious and absurd to attempt to make religious progress without it. Repentance is not one complete and final act. It 30 PULPIT NOTES. may be the exercise of a lifetime. We need to repent every day. Even after our prayers we may have to plead for forgiveness of tlie sin which has marred their purity. Repentance will not be concluded until Death itself has been overthrown. 31 Christ's Preventive Ministry. I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. — Matt. xv. 32. These words supply an illustration of wliat may be called tlie Freventive Ministry of Christ : not only does the Saviour deliver us from actual suffering_, He guards us also fvom. ^possible danger. Thus He saved this great multitude from fainting : He did not wait until the people really did faint^ and then glorify Himself by an ostentatious display of restoring energy; He antici- pated the possibility^ and so showed another aspect of His universal and benign power. I. This peeventive ministry was originated by Christ Himself. The disciples had not suggested it, nor had the multitude desired it. This blessed and all blessing love sprang spontaneously in the heart of 32 PULPIT NOTES. the Redeemer. Changing the figure,, it was a primary ray, not a secondary light. The action was in its impulse as independent as the sun, and in its operation as condescending as the morning : we did not light the brilliant flame, yet its brightness smiles familiarly through our windows, plays laughingly on every tender leaf, and turns the stream and the sea into spangles of silver. It is even so with Christ : He combines a solemn independence with a gracious familiarity, — the loneliness of the sun with the friend- liness of light. The thought was His. It did not come from the friction of mind with mind. It was all Christ's. What then? First, J5e must have been thinhing about the people ; Second, He must have been thinking about the people in those aspects which would seem to he farthest removed from Sis ^mission amongst men. Did He not come to reveal God, to teach truih, and to show the way to higher worlds? Yes. Yet He stooped to save men from bodily faintness ! He did not say, " The sooner these people die, the sooner they will go to heaven :'' He cared for their bodies as if their bodies were to live for ever. . II. This preventive ministey was begun by Cheist WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MULTITUDE. He did not address the croivd, He addressed the disciples. The four thousand men were not aware that the CHRIST S PREVENTIVE MINISTRY. n Saviour was planning sometMng for tlieir advantage on the way home. Is He not ever working for us in ways that we know not ? We know the great fact of His mediation^ but what do we know of the subtle variations of that great fact ? its loving devices, its little aside plans, its collateral and incidental service ? We do not know all that summer does, how can we know all the doings of God, ? We know that summer brings light and heat and beauty; but what of the drooping hopes which it cheers, the lonely lives which it gladdens, the anxious hearts which it soothes, and the innumerable little ministries which it exercises in unexpected ways ? So with God. We do not know the evils from which he saves us hy prevention. The railway accidentia reported: the shipwrecJc is published: the explosion is recorded in every journal : but what of the accidents, the shipwrecks, the explosions the col- lisions, the disasters of all kinds by night and by day, which are prevented ? Is not every respiration a narrow escape from death ? Is not the heart sur- rounded by deadly dangers in every beat ? All this is unknown to us, but is not the less surely under the gracious control of the Redeemer. In this view of the Saviour's ministry we see a new occasion for incessant and loving praise. III. This preventive ministry was the form in D 34 PULPIT NOTES. WHICH Christ expeessed His compassion. '^I have compassion on tlie multitude.^^ He did not say lie wished to perform a miracle. Had the bread been equal to his compassion, no miracle would have been wrought ; but compassion will move into the region of the miraculous rather than be thwarted in its gracious purpose. It has no particular wish to do the miracu- lous^ but it ivill do it if needful. It is so amongst ourselves. The mother's love does miracles every day. When we yield ourselves to the best impulses of our hearts,, we surprise ourselves by our energy, our un-> selfishness, and spirituality. Look at all human enjoyments through the me- dium of this suggestion. Jesus says, ^^I have compassion upon the multitudes," — so I call them nightly to rest and oblivion; '^1. have compassion upon the multitudes,'^ — so I send the sun to make the earth fruitful for them, lest they faint by the way -, ^' I have compassion on the multi- tudes," — so I bid all nature work with them and for them, that they may have enough and to spare. Thus *^^it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.^^ The subject gives us a point or two of urgent application. First : If Christ has given us all we have, what do tue owe in return ? Second : if Christ's ministry is ^preventive as well as redemptive, why not CHRIST'S PREVENTIVE MINISTRY. 35 surrender ourselves fully to His care ? Tliird : if Christ would do so much for the body, is it not like Him that He should do infinitely more for the spirit ? All miracles dwindle into nothingness in presence of the miracle of the Cross ! D Z 36 Unspoken Objections to Christ. When Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts ? — Mark ii. 8. Ceetain men who liad been hearing and watching Christ, not only, on various occasions, spoke against Him loudly, but, as in this instance, sometimes kej)t their objections within their own hearts, and so set themselves silently, but not less resolutely, against Him. The point of the subject is this very silence. Objec- tion may be in feeling, not in speech ; it may be strong enough to harden the heart, but not bold enough to express itself in argument. There are amongst ourselves men who never say a word against Christ, who have unspoken doubts, difficulties, and objections, in their hearts. Not for the world would they say one damaging word, yet their inward life is UNSPOKEN OBJECTIONS TO CHRIST. 37 a continual struggle against the appeals and claims of tlie gospel. The text shows — I. An impoetant aspect of human power : Secrecy. — Having two lives. — Speech not always sincere or complete.— Mental reservations. — These considerations make us mysteries to each other. II. A STARTLING INSTANCE OF DiVINE INSIGHT. We hide our thoughts from each other j our silence is as loud as thunder in the ear of God ! — The terrible- ness of a bad man living always in the light_, — in such light, — the light of infinite purity ! — Never having a thought we can call exclusively our own ! — Our heart-talk overheard ! — Our thoughts turned into language, and pronounced in the hearing of the universe ! III. A SPLENDID MANIFESTATION OF ChRIST's FEAR- LESSNESS. — He need not have answered more than was spoken. He would, if an untrue and incompetent teacher, have reasoned, " If they say nothing, I shall say nothing.^^ Instead of this. He penetrated the secret thoughts of those who heard him, and answered more objections than were addressed to His ear. This should not be overlooked in estimating his claims as 38 PULPIT NO TES. a teacher. The wonderfulness of the expression — " When Jesus perceived in His spirit : " Elisha said to Gehazi;, ^^ Went not my heart after thee ? " Every movement in the universe seems to touch a chord in Jesus Christ^s being. ^^ There is not a word in my tongue, there is not a thought in my heart/^ etc. The fearlessness of Jesus Christ^s challenges to the human heart is a splendid element in the Christian argument. It is infinitely appropriate to the dignity of His person and the universality of His appeals. He was never afraid of coming upon something for which he was unprepared. Nor did he ever make his work less than he might have done. Literally, He spared not Himself. IV. A SOLEMN EXAMPLE OF THE CONFUSION WHICH WILL FALL UPON ALL ChRISt's OBJECTORS. Thougll not in the text as a recorded fact, it is necessarily in the text as a spiritual reality. Wliat must it be to have your heart's thoughts spoken aloud by another voice than your own ! Apply this (1) to vain self-excuses ; (2) to secret love of iniquity ; (3) to social insinceri- ties. The application of the whole forces upon us the inquiry, What manner of heart can hear the scrutiny of Christ ? Looking at the whole history of Jesus Christ, we UNSPOKEN OBJECTIONS TO CHRIST. 39 are entitled to declare tliat it is impossible to liave any objection to His person, doctrine, or claims, vjhich He cannot answer. Whatever there may be in our hearts, which we have never mentioned to our most trusted friend, Christ can answer it. The question is not whether a minister can answer it, but whether the Master can answer it. What is your unspoken ob- jection ? Doctrinal ? Disciplinary ? Philosophical ? Ethical ? Grammatical ? Where is it that you strike your foot against a stumbling-block ? Take your objec- tion or difficulty boldly to Christ Himself, and pay no heed to the voices of self-displaying debaters. 40 Paul and Timothy. Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ. — Phil. i. 5. In the text we have age and youth, autumn and spring, the golden eventide and the fair light of early day. Let us see what can be gathered from this remarkable conjunction. I. In the text we see age and youth together. Not separate, — not looking askance at each other, — not divided by incompatibilities or jealousies, but in union. The young often flee from the old. The old are often impatient with the young. We say that the old like the old, and the young the young. Here is an instance of union. The advantages are obvious. (1) The old will contribute the wisdom of experience ; (2) the young will quicken the animation of hope. No doubt temporary difficulties will arise. PAUL AND TIMOTHY. 4r II. In the text^ though age and youth are together, yet age takes 'precedence of youth. It is Paul and Timotheus, not Timotheus and Paul. A principle of right settles all questions of priority. It is not beauti- ful, because it is not right, that youth should take precedence of age. There are many ways of taking virtual precedence ; (1) Contradiction ; (2) Imj)atience ; (3) Neglect. III. In the text, though age takes precedence of youth, yet both age and youth are engaged in common service ; Paul and Timotheus are both servants ; it is not Paul the master, and Timothy the servant, they are both included under one name. See how one great relationship determines all minor conditions and attitudes ; as between themselves, Paul was father, and Timothy was son ; Paul was renowned, and Timothy was obscure ; Paul was senior, and Timothy was junior; but looked at as before Christ the one Lord, they were both servants. Many reflections arise out of this regulating power of one absorbing relationship or union. The Alps and Apennines are great mountains in themselves; yet they are less than pimples when looked at in their relation to the whole world. The earth itself is a '' great globe " to its own inhabitants ; it is a mere speck of light to the nearest star. A man who is a very im- 42 PULPIT J^OTES. portant tradesman in a small town, may not have been so mucli as heard of in the great city. Through and through life we see how relationships supremely im- portant as between themselves^ are modified by one great bond. The right way to take our proper measure, and to chasten our ambition, is to look at the highest relation- shijps of all. The great citizen dwindles into his right proportions when he looks at the Creator ] the mighty potentate, when he looks at the King of kings; the philanthi^opist, when he looks at the Saviour. The noisy, rushing, furious train seems to be going fast ; let it look at the flying stars, and be humble ! Com- pared with them it is a lame insect toiling in the dust. Life should never be looked at as merely between one man and another. Look at it as between the finite and the infinite, — between the momentary and the eternal, between the ignorant and the omniscient. It will thus be elevated. No man will then think of himself more highly than he ought to think. The Alps will not scorn the molehills. '' One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren.^' 43 Crime in Germ. Thou shalt not kill. — Exodus xx. 13. Out of the heart proceedeth murders. — Matt. xv. 19. Thou shalt not steal. — Exodus xx. 15. Out of the heart proceedeth thefts. — Matt. xv. 19. Thou shalt not bear false witness. — Exodus xx. 16. Out of the heart proceedeth false witness. — Matt. xv. 19. As addressed to a Christian congregation^, these com- mands would seem to be out of place. Taken broadly, in tlieir ordinary sense, we are glad to believe tliat we need no such exhortations. No man here ever com- mitted murder; no man here may have ever picked a pocket, or forced a lock feloniously ; no man here may have committed legal perjury. Having, therefore, escaped these vulgarities of crime, why should we study the merest elements of morality ? These com- mands would form excellent texts for a prison chap- lain, who has around him the very outcasts of society. 44 PULPIT NOTES. but surely uot for a Cliristian preacher who addresses the most established respectability of the age^ — the respectability of distinct Christian profession. What if, after all^ we be convicted of the very crimes which we shudder to mention ? What if there be a murder which belongs strictly to a region which lies beyond the clutches of the law ? What if there be a theft of the tongue, as well as of the hand ? What if in daily talk we commit perjury in the court of God ? It is only possible^ to some people, to get a clear idea of the spirituality of God^s law, by moving backwards, step by step, from broad, vulgar, detestable crimes, to the passion which inspired them, and from the passion to the secret unspoken motive, which is, in the sight of God, the crime itself. ^^ Thou shalt not hill ; '' ^' Out of the heart proceed murders.''^ '^'^Thou shalt not steal;'' "Out of the heart proceed thefts." ^^ Thou shalt not bear false witness ; " " Out of the heart pro- ceedeth false witness." When is a man a thief? When he is in the act of picking your lock, or not until he has quite got into your house ? Or was he a thief even a point before he came to the lock ? Say, for example, when he took up his tools in his own house? Or even a point before that? When, in the secrecy of his own heart he resolved to rob you ? Not until he tooh your property was he a social thief; but he was a spiritual thief the moment he resolved to take CRIME IN GERM. 45 it. Human law takes notice of ads, not of disposi- tions ; God's law determines everything by the motive or purpose which leads to action. I. '^ Thou shalt not kill.''^ Killing is not mere bloodshedding. Anger ivitliout cause is murder. Opjpression of the iveaJc is murder. Depriving a man of the means of getting a livelihood, to gratify revenge j is murder. '^ Whosoever hateth his brother is a mur- derer.^' II. " Thou shalt not steal.'' A man may rob Godj as well as his neighbour. He who wastes his em- ployer's time is a thief. He who witholds just praise is a thief (Social : Literary). He who detracts from the just honour of his fellow-man is a thief. (^''He who filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, but makes me poor indeed.") He who vowSj and does not pay, is a thief. III. ^''Thou shalt not bear false witness." False witness is lying. But what is lying? You may repeat the very words of a speaker, and yet mis-report him ! How ? By putting upon his words an emphasis not his own. You infuse into the emphasis your own passion or purpose. The luords are his, the tone is 3^ours ! (Take the words — '"''When I come, I will 46 PULPIT NOTES. come witli a rod ; " they may be spoken with tender- ness and reluctance ; they may also be so emphasised as to denote pettishness or even vengeance.) He who tells an incomjylete tale involving the reputation of another, bears false witness. So does he (negatively) who lacks courage to defend an injured man, for whom he could say a word of explanation. Now, strange as it may seem, the three crimes of which we have been speaking are spiritually similar, and almost identical. He who kills, steals life ; he who steals life is prepared to bear false witness j he who bears false witness both steals and kills. As, therefore, sin is, in the sight of God, a question of the heart, and not merely a question of the ha7ids, there arises an inquiry of the keenest practical inter- est: — How are ive to reach the disease which is consum- ing our sjoiritual life ? We cannot reach it. Is it, then, never to be reached ? When we put this question in earnest, we are prepared to hear the glorious gospel. So long as we think we can wash the evil off our hands in any one of the world^s rivers, we do not feel our ivant of a gospel. That want is felt only in proportion to our conviction that sin is in our very souls, that it penetrates every fibre, and poisons every spring and energy of our being. Seeing what is meant by the spirituality of sin, we shall feel our need of divine help. Nay more than CRIME IN GERM. 47 /leZp : God must undertake the whole case for us. He lias done so. See tlie Cross ! There is a Sacrifice which touches sin before sin comes into action, — touches it in the hearty — touches it as a germ. Then see the ministry of the Holy Ghost ! That ministry operates upon the very life of life, upon the first pulsa- tion and breathings of our spiritual nature. We have only to see ourselves as we really are, to see our need of the Sacrifice, and our dependence upon the Spirit. 48 The PooPs Vineyard. I went by the field of the slothful, and hy the vineyard of the man void of understanding ; and lo, it was all covered over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof ; and the stone wall thereof was broken down : then I saw and considered it well : I looked upon it, and received instruction. — Prov. xxiv. 30-32. By such allusions the Bible constantly shows us how mucli the generations of mankind resemble one another. In every age the sluggard and the fool have had a place, as well as the labourer and the wise man. In this respect the village has been as the great city, the great city as the greater kingdom, and the king- dom itself bas been a world in miniature. Truly, then, we may go back to old scenes and read the unequal and troubled story of our own life. That ' which is now hath already been; and as for our origina- lities, the ancients knew them, and pronounced them stale. Let us see if many modern experiences have THE FOOrS VINEYARD. 49 not been anticipated by this dreary scene of tbe foors field. I. The scene shows that if we will not have ELOWERS AND EEUITS^ WE SHALL CERTAINLY HAVE THORNS AND NETTLES. Understand^ we cannot set aside the laws of nature ! We cannot say to nature, " I am going to sleep, so you must stand still until I awake." There is a law of growth in the very ground : we may co-operate with it, and turn it to our advantage ; we may, so to speak, throw the reins of our discipline upon it, and turn it to our uses ; but, though we sit down, and fold our hands slumbrously, that great law will go steadily on, and thorns and nettles shall show how inexorably it proceeds. It is the same with the character of man. We cannot simply do nothing. Life has its laws. We may pay them no heed, but they will assert them- selves notwithstanding, and show by painful proofs that neglect is crime. 1. A man may resolve not to cultivate his mind. What then ? Is his mind simply a blank ? Impos- sible ! The weeds of false notions, the thorns and nettles of prejudice will prove his intellectual indo- lence, and he who would not carry the generous bounty of harvest shall be weighted with noxious and worthless plants. 50 PULPIT NOTES. 2. A man may neglect to cultivate Jus moral nature. He despises religious service and exhortation ; he holds in contempt all ideas of self-control ; he derides the suggestion that he should consider the religious aspects of the uncertain future ; he says in one deci- sive sentence that he will have nothing to do with reli- gion. What then ? Can he keep himself in a strictly negative condition ? Is he at the end of ten years the innocent man that he proposed to himself to become. Look at his false ideas_, his superstition^ his narrow- ness, his want of veneration, his superficial judgments, and see how far he has succeeded. II. The scene shows that the sluggard and the FOOL CANNOT HIDE THE EESULTS OF THEIE NEGLECT. The results were observed and reported. We must see more or less of each other^s work. We are in the eame world — a small and crowded world it is, too — we belong to one another — we hold mutual rights of inquiry — in short, we cannot hide ourselves from our fellow-men. 1. We cannot confine the results of a masted life within our own hounds. Look at the case of the drunkard, the spendthrift, the demoralised liver of any and every name. 2. This being the case, we Imve not a right to do with tuhat we call our own as we jplease. First of all, there THE FOOnS VINEYARD 51 is notMng wliicli we can strictly call our own. Life itself is not. It is a trust. We have to account for it in some cases even to our fellow-men. In ordinary- intercourse we see again and again proofs of the fact that society will not allow us to do what we please with our own. Let your garden become covered with weeds, let those weeds come to seed, and when the seed is blown into other people^s gardens, see if they do not protest, etc. So with all other nuisances. Society claims a right of judgment. Public sentiment insists upon being respected. III. The scene shows how possible it is to be right IN some particulars, and to be grievously wrong in others. The legal right of the slothful man to the possession of the field might be undisputed. The vineyard might have fallen into the hands of the fool by strictly lawful descent. So far so good. The case is on this side perfectly sound. Yet possession was not followed by cultivation. It is not enough to possess ; we must increase. The man who had 07ie talent J etc. You ought not to allow even a house to fall into decay. There is no right of abuse. Is that dog yours ? Society will protest against its starvation or other cruel treatment. You have not a right to be dirty, to be ignorant, to be careless of life ; on that line no rights have ever been established. e2 52 PULPIT NOTES, IV. The scene shows that even the worst abuses MAY be turned TO GOOD ACCOUNT. " Then I saw and considered it well. I looked upon it_, and received instruction.^^ The good man is an example ; the bad man is a warning. Keep your eyes open^ and you will read moral lessons everywhere. 1. You will see that the finest possessions may he wasted: property^ talent^ influence^ opportunity. There is no wealth which may not be absolutely frittered away. Beware ! even mountains may be levelled, — even rivers may be dried up. 2. You ivill see that wickedness always moves in the direction of destruction. It must do so. Remember that '^ The soul that sinneth, it shall die.^^ " He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall sud- denly be destroyed, and that without remedy .^^ All indolence must go down. All sin forces itself in the direction of perdition. How did the wise man know that the man was void of understanding ? By the state of the vineyard ! Know a man by his surroundings, know him by his habits ; there is character in everything. 53 Light in Darkness. Even in Sardis. — Rev. iii. 4. These words^ occurring in the course of a general condemnation_, are peculiarly suggestive. " Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead/^ " I have not found thy works perfect before God/^ ^^ If thou wilt not watch^ I will come on thee as a thief/^ It is iu connection with such words that we find the expres- sion, "even in Sardis ;^^ — "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments/^ The text will be useful to us as showing God^s view of the worst and feeblest, and opening up some consid- erations which should cheer the mind in times of doubt and sadness. What then is the teaching of such an expression ? I. "Even in Sardis.^^ — Then it is possible to be 54 PULPI2 NOTES. TEUE AND FAITHFUL UNDER THE MOST DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES. The general coudition of Sardis was most corrupt. The moral air was poisonous. The name of LIFE was written upon the chambers of DEATH. There was hardly any occasion for hy- pocrisy, for men gloried in their shame. Yet even in Sardis there were a " few who had not defiled their garments/^ It is possible, then, for a few to be faith- ful, even when the majority are sons of Belial. It is something to hioiv this. History thus becomes to us a strong tower to which we may continually resort. *^ Lives of great men all remind us, we may make our lives sublime.^^ (1) Young man with bad companions. (2) Solitary Christian in household. II. ^^Even in Sardis.''^ — Then even in the worst CONDITION THERE MAY BE SOME REDEEMING FEATURES. Before the flood there was a Noah ; in the cities of the plain there was a Lot ; in the most corrupt times there have been some who have stirred up themselves to take hold upon God. The same thing holds good — (1) in relation to personal character — in the worst man there is surely something divine; (2) in relation to families ; (3) in relation to communities. Look for the best features. , III. " Even in Sardis.^^ — Then God never confounds LIGHT IN DARKNESS. 55 THE GODLY FEW WITH THE UNGODLY MANY. Tllillk of the profane being in the proportion of a thousand to one ! Is there not a temptation to hurl judgment upon such a community indiscriminately ? Who could have patience to find the one true heart amongst a thousand rebels ? God does not start His processes from the side of the ivicked, but from the side of the good. Illustrative instances : — Abraham and Sodom ; Joseph and Poti- phar; Paul in the storm; when Jericho perished^ Eahab was saved from the common ruin. When the Lord whom we seek shall suddenly come to His temple — the messenger of the covenant who is like refiner^s fire and like fuller^ s soap — they that fear the Lord shall be gathered up like jewels which are above price, and they shall be spared as a man spareth his own son that serveth him (Mai. iii. 11). With these three general truths before us it is plain that they themselves suggest other truths of equal importance : — First : If it is possible to be true and faithful under the most discouraging circumstances, what manner of men ought ive to be who live under the most favoiirahle conditions ? Where the garden is industriously culti- vated, what ought the flowers to be ? "V^H^iere every possible facility is afforded, what ought the progress to 56 PULPIT NOTES. be ? Kemember that prosperity has its temptations. Persecution has its noble martyrs. Indulgence has its inglorious suicides. Second: If in the ivorst conditions there may be some redeeming features, in the hest conditions may there not be some repulsive defcrrmjities ? — in personal character ? — in family intercourse ? — in church rela- tions ? — it ought not to be enough that we are good in the main. We should not rest upon excellences. There is wisdom in the sajdng — No man is stronger than his ivealiest jpoint. Third : If God never confounds the godhj few with the ungodly many, neither will the ungodly few es- cape for the sake of the godly many. God will watch ! His own eye will be upon the gate ! He will trouble the camp until Achan be cast out. He will send storm upon storm until Jonah be delivered. '' Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go un- punished.''^ 57 Outside the Temple. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beau- tiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple ; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes on him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said. Silver and gold have I none ; but such as I have give I thee : In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted Mm up : and imme- diately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising Grod : And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple : and they were filled with wonder and amaze- ment at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch tbat is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. — Acts iii. 1-11. Look at this miracle in the light of what has already- taken place. There is great enthusiasm in the church. The divine life is^ so to speak^ at its highest point. The church, though on earthy has been brought very 58 PULPIT NOTES. nearly to the gate of lieaven. Confining onr observa- tion within tlie limits of the churchy we should con- sider that the age of human unity and love had come in all its golden glory. We are now invited to go beyond the church-line^ and at our very first step we find a man who appeals to our sympathy in his pain and helplessness. See how world lies within worlds and how misleading are all the inferences drawn from a limited set of facts : (a) The man who has access to every means of mental and spiritual culture may think all the world as highly privileged as him- self: {b) The healthy and prosperous family may forget that other households are afflicted and de- pressed. Look beyond your own sphere. You have not far to look : there is but a step between thee and the world which is either higher or lower than thine own. The lesson has a double application : the prosperous man is to look doivn that he may help ; the unsuccessful man is to look up that he may hope. Look (1) at the Social side_, and (2) at the Apostolic side of this incident. I. The Social Side. (1) We may be able to carry the cripple J when we are unable to lie«il him. Do what you can. Human helplessness is a continual appeal to human power. There are secondary services OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE. 59 in life. We cannot always do the great deed; nor can we always stand in the full light that we may be seen of men : sometimes we can only carry, we cannot restore. (2) The commonest minds_, as well as the highest, have always associated the idea of charity with the idea of religion. This is right. This is a high com- ^liment to any form of religion. See how it has been paid to Christianity above all ! The theology that has no philanthropy is its own vain god. (3) Look at the compensations of the poorest life. The man was carried daily by friendly hands. The man had the temple as his daily hope. The sun shines even on the poorest lot. II. The Apostolic Side. {a) The apostles never attempted to do without fuhlic ivorship. Such wor- ship has distinct advantages. (1) Provocation of thought]; (2) Development of sympathy. (h) The apostles never neglected human want in their anxiety to render Divine worship. Some people are one-sidedlj religious. (c) The apostles never attended even to physical necessities in their oivn name. The incident as thus regarded suggests two ques- tions : (1) Are we too pious to be philanthropic ? (2) Has the name of Jesus lost its power ? 6o The Moral Aspect of Physical Blessing. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this ? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk ? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus ; whom ye delivered up, and de- nied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Mm go. — Acts iii. 12, 13. The reply of Peter to the astonished crowd is in thorough consonance with the miracle which had just been wrought. The people were excited, the apostles were calm; the people clamoured in darkness,, the apostles spoke from the serene elevation of cloudless hght; the people were startled by a spectacle, the apostles were controlled by law. Was it not almost a mockery to ask the people why they marvelled ? Are great works to be regarded without surprise ? Are men to become familiar with the outstretched arm of God, and to be calm in the presence of His chariot and MORAL ASPECT OF PHYSICAL BLESSING. 6i spear ? The power tliat can restore is a power tliat can destroy : wliat if tliat dread power be preparing itself to strike ? It would strike but once, — its stroke would be deatli ! The speech of Peter may be regarded in four aspects : — I. As SHOWING THE FALSE METHOD OF LOOKING AT HUMAN AFEAiES. " As though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk." 1. The visible is not the final. 2. Second causes do not explain life. There is a false method of looking at the results (1) of preaching ; [2) of business ; [^) of tlmiking . The man who does not look beyond second causes lives in distraction^ — in chaos ! II. As SHOWING THE TRUE METHOD OF REGARDING THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS. ^' God hath glorified His Son Jesus.-" *^^ Faith in His name hath made this man strong." That is the sublime explanation of all recovery^, all progress^ all abiding strength and comfort. Forget God^ and society in every phase and movement be- comes a riddle without an answer : its happiness is but a lucky chance^ — its misery an unexpected cloud. -62 PULPIT NOTES. Regard liamau life as controlled and blessed by tlie mediation of Jesus Christy tlien — 1. There is discipline in every events — design, meaning, liowever untoward and unmanageable tlie event. 2. A purpose of restoration runs through all human training. See how new, how beautiful, life would be, if after all its happy experiences we could say, " God hath glorified His Son Jesus '' ! ( Physical recovery : spiritual forgiveness : special interpositions : even death itself.) III. As SHOWING THE ONLY METHOD OP SETTING MAN EIGHT WITH God. *^'' Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.^^ The men who worked Christian miracles spoke plain words about men^s souls. There is no ambi- guity hereM Are the old rousing words "Repent,^^ '^'Be con- verted,'^ being allowed to slip out of Christian teaching, and are we now trifling with the character and destiny of men ? 1. Every man must repent, because every man has sinned. 2. Every man must be converted, because every man is in a false moral condition. MORAL ASPECT OF PHYSICAL BLESSING . 63 TV. As SHOWING THE SUBLIME OBJECT OF JeSUS Cheist^s incarnation. " To bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.''^ 1. Where iniquity is, there is no blessing. 2. Physical restoration is but the type of spiritual completeness. Two practical lessons arise out of the subject. (1) It is not enough to wonder at the migJity luorlis of God. (2) God^s glory is ever identified with the icell-heing of man. '' Restitution : ^^ " Refreshing : "'^ '^ Blessing.-" Peter^s appeal rested upon a solid biblical basis : Moses, Samuel, all the prophets. God^s message is the summing up of all the voices of holy history. 64 The Smiter Smitten. Saul made havoc of the church. — Acts viii. 3. Having stoned Paul, they drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. — Acts xiv. 19. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. — Ezek. xviii. 25. Saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the dis- ciples of the Lord. — Acts ix. 1. Certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. — Acts xxiii. 12. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not EauAL. Beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it. — Gal. i. 13. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep. — 2 Cor. xi. 23. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Many of the saints did I shut up in prison. — Acts xxvi. 10. And when they had laid many stripes upon Paul, they cast him into prison. — Acts xvi. 23. Yet ye sAy, The way of the Lord is not equal. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. — Gal. vi. 7. All these experiences were undergone by the same man : tlie persecutor was persecuted ; lie who shut up THE SMITER SMITTEN. 65 others in prison^ was shut up in prison himself; he who breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the saints was himself stoned^ beaten with rods^ and pursued by the vengeance of furious men. What are we taught by such facts ? I. That a man^s life comes back upon him. — - '^ Whatsoever a man soweth^, that shall he also reap.^' One feels in reading such experience that the sense of justice is satisfied. Suppose that Saul had after his conversion settled down into a state of Christian com- fort and enjoyment ; in such a case there would have been a want of moral completeness. Paul himself would have been injured. To have allowed him to wash the blood of the saints off his hands, and to enter upon a course of personal luxury, would have been to demoralize human nature. He must reap what he himself had sown ! Such is the severe but beneficent law ! This law keeps things equal. If any man could mingle bitter cups for others, and never be compelled to drain their dregs himself, he would soon become a devil. God shows him that his turn is coming. Every blow he strikes will be re-delivered upon himself : every pain he inflicts upon others will sting his own heart : every harsh word will come back to him : his mockery, his pitilessness, his selfishness, will return to him, and vex him like a plague com- F 66 PULPIT NOTES. manded of God. All history lias shown this. Adoni- bezek said, ^^As I have done, so God hath requited me;^' Samuel said to Agag, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. ^' The testimony of holy writ is con- sistent and emphatic : " He shall have judgment with- out mercy that showed no mercy.^^ " Wlioso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry him- self, but shall not be heard.-'^ ^^ The Lord of recom- pences shall surely requite.' ' '^'' Be not deceived ; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.-*' See how literally and terribly this was fulfilled in the case of Paul. He made havoc of the church ; he persecuted and wasted it ; many of the saints did he shut up in prison ; his breath was hot with threatening ; his hand was heavy upon the church of God : but turn to his Christian history, and see whether God had forgotten one of his misdemean- ours, or allowed one of his own rods to be overlooked ! In reading Paul's Christian experience, we feel that justice is satisfied, and that honour is vindicated ! " Having stoned Paul, they drew him out of the city supposing he had been dead.'' ^^ And when they had laid many stripes upon Paul, they cast him into prison." "Five times received I forty stripes save one : thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned; thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have THE SMITER SMITTEN. 67 been in tlie deep : in journeyings often^, in perils of water^ in perils of robbers^ in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heatben, in perils in the city, in perils in tbe wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painful- ness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness/^ It is enough ! Justice, spare the rod, for the most terrible of perse- cutors has received the measure of his own fury ! II. That a man^s christian experience must be AFFECTED BY THE UNCHRISTIAN LIFE HE HAS LIVED. This is the most remarkable thing in connection with the subject. One would suppose that after conversion ail the former life would be done away. Such is not the case. Tliysically it is not so; why should it be so spiritually ? The man who has physically abused himself will feel the effects of his sin after conversion ; old age will come upon him swiftly ; his energies will decay before their time ; his memory will betray him ; and even trivial difficulties will fill him with dismay. Look at the reasonableness of the doctrine. A man has lived a self-indulgent life : he has been careless of the rights of other people : he has sneered at the piety of his own family, it may be : he has offended his conscience, and profaned every relation of life : after all this he becomes converted ; is he then to f2 68 FULPIT NOTES. complain of the trials of the Christian way, as if some strange thing had happened unto him ? Were there no old judgments to be satisfied ? Were no old in- juries unredressed ? After we have worn out our best powers in the service of evil, are we to complain that Christianity is sometimes almost a burden to us^ and sometimes quite as much a pain as an enjoyment ? You say that Christian discipline is often severe. What then ? Is there not a cause ? Old neglects have to be made up : old wrongs have to be avenged ; old wanderings, riotings, and wastes, have to urge their accounts, and insist on settlement. Is not the way of the Lord equal ? We complain of the arduousness of the christian way. There are many duties, many trials, many mountains pierced with caverns in which beasts of prey wait the approach of man. What then? In all this is there not something of our past life ? Was the devil's way easy ? What of the carousals which lasted beyond midnight ? What of the costliness of vicious luxuries ? What of the aching and torment which quickly followed the shameless debauch or the public scandal ? We were selfish, peevish, tyrannical, inconsiderate, defiant, and is it likely that all this can have passed away without leaving deep eflPects upon our life ? Across our very prayers there will be b lown the bitter wind of the land we lived in so long ; THE SMITER SMITTEN. 69 and throngh our tenderest charities there may be breathed somewhat of the old selfishness which once enclosed us in its prison. Let us_, in honesty, trace many of our trials to the life we lived in the flesh rather than to any arbitrariness of divine grace. In reviewing these statements in the light of history and revelation, we see — First : Tliat the distrihution of penalties is God's worlij and not man's. "Vengeance is mine/^ etc. Second : That under all the ajoparent confusion of human life there is a principle of justice. Third : That the greatest sufferings may he home ivith patience and hopefulness. When did Paul com- plain of his lot ? When did he say that he had suf- fered more than his share ? From him let us learn '^ how good a thing it is to suffer and be strong.''^ 70 The Guarantee of Success. Certainly I will be with thee. — Exodus iii. 12. The thoughts which arise in connection with this in- spiring assurance are such as ought to touch our life at every point. God is the unchanging one. As He had been with Moses, so He promised to be with Joshua ; and so from age to age He is the inspiration and strength of His moral creatures. Take this as- surance as applying to the whole service of sanctified life, and it entitles us to draw four [practical in- ferences : — I. ^^ Certainly I will be with thee.'^ — ^Then man is SERVANT, NOT MASTEE. He sliould kuow his placo, or he can never keep it. As servant, he should (1) con- stantly consult his Master ; (2) constantly s^eah in the name of his Master ; and (3) constantly be jealous of the honour of his Master. THE GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS. 71 II. ^^ Certainly I will be with tliee/^ — Then the WORK MUST SUCCEED. What is the guarantee of suc-^ cess? (1) Not human cleverness; ministers may be clever^ so may churches,, etc. ; we may have learned sermons, ahle sermons, ingenious sermons, etc. ; (2) not shilfid organisation. Cards, bazaars, registers, circulars, etc., all useless as ends. (3) The tvord of the Lord is the guarantee of success. ^' The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it j'^ " My word shall not return unto me void.^^ III. ^^ Certainly I will be with thee.^^ — Then the SEEVANT IS TO BE EECEIVED FOR THE MaSTER^S SAKE. '' He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me.'*^ The true minister carries a blessing mth him. The Romans were to receive Phebe in the Lord. What a .lesson to ministers — they are representatives of God ! IV. " Certainly I will be with thee.''^ — Then there NEED BE NO LACK OF GRACE OR POWER. " If any man lack wisdom,^^ etc. " Lo, I am with you alway,^^ etc. " Ye have not because ye ask not, or because ye ask amiss." The servants may take counsel of one another, but not to the interruption of continuous and trustful prayer to the Master. (1) God is with 72 PULPIT NOTES. His servants for their comfort ; (2) for their guidance ; (3) for their safety. Application — Notice (1) the individuality of the promise^ " I will be with thee ^' — with the one man ; (2) the emphasis of the promise — '^ Certainly." Who is with us in our life-ministry ? 73 Imperceptible Change. Grey hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. — HosEA vii. 9. You know wliat it is to find tlie first grey hair in your head ? It quite startles you : in fact^ it amuses you so much that you hand it around the family circle, that each member may laugh at the comical circum- stance that a grey hair has been found where a grey Tiair was not so much as suspected ! Young people look at you with a new feeling, hardly knowing, in- deed, whether to address you as a stripling or a patriarch. You have put one foot into that sombre but not unbeautiful borderland which lies between summer and autumn, and there is no going back again ! All the gates are locked, and God has taken the keys away A grey hair ? It is the signature of time ! A grey hair ? It is the beginning of the end ! 74 PULPIT NOTES. It is a hint tliat you liave lost something, — it is a flake whicli tells of the hastening snow ! It was a very funny thing in the family when your little girl who was playing joyfully with you exclaimed, '' Why, father, what do you think I see ? "— " Well, what do you see, my dear ? ^^ '^Wait a moment, — now don^t stir, and I shan^t hurt you,^^ — twitch ! there it is, — a grey hair ! Never ! Yes, it is though. Ma, is it not ? Johnny, look here, and tell us the colour of this hair ! It is held up to the light, then laid upon a black sleeve, then there is no doubt at all about it, — father had a grey hair in his head, and did not know of it ! Even so. Take care of it. It is a lesson-keeper put into the book of your life. It is a ticket which entitles you to a seat amongst the elders ! Yet you did not know of it ! That is the point to be kept in view. We are all undergoing imper- ceptible change. The alteration is not violent : it is silent, gradual, sure ! Our strength wastes, but we see not the process of decay. Our blood cools^ and we know it not, moment by moment. We get round from east to west, and are yet hardly conscious of a movement, — the shadow makes no noise as it an- nounces the approach of eventide. What is true of grey hairs is true of many other changes in human life. Before you can see the hymn IMPERCEPTIBLE CHANGE. 75 some Sunday you draw your hand over your eyes_, and put tlie book a little nearer or a little further ofif, as the case may be. What is the matter ? Nothing ! Oh^ no. Nothing ! Pass your hand over your eyes once more^ and all will be right. No ! So you change your hymn-book. You can no longer read nonpareil type^ but you think you can manage with brevier leaded. In a year you will want bourgeois ; then yon will ask for small pica middle leaded ; and then you will want brevier Egyptian. At first you will buy yourself a smart eyeglass^ for whose use you will half apologise to your friends^ and by-and-by you will settle down to the use of any kind of spectacles you can lay hands upon ! So we ripe and ripe^ and so we rot and rot ! We slip down the easy incline^ and know not how far we have slipped until we are told to take care lest we slip off. Our inquiry is, To what practical uses can we turn the fact of man's imferceptihle decay ? I do not ask you to moralise upon change or death, but exclusively upon such thoughts as arise out of the imjpercejptible- ness of human transformations. I. Do NOT SUCH CHANGES EEMIND US IN THE GENTLEST POSSIBLE MANNEE THAT THIS IS NOT OUE EEST ? The night does not close in suddenly. The common end is not with violence and terribleness. We go 76 PULPIT NOTES. graduaihj down tlie steep, and as a general rule time is given for reflection. Your first grey liair says, Think ! You liave come to a turn in your life, Think ! This grey hair is a notice to quit, Think ! It is not a keen weapon which cruelly cuts us down, ^tis but a grey hair, and it says mournfully, Thinh ! I hardly ever go out to walk in park or field but some one asks to be told the time of day. Little ones come smilingly to ask, and labourers call from their work. The grey hair tells us that the hours are getting on, and that presently the night cometh ! Yes, presently ! One grey hair seems soon to become two ; the two four • the four a sprinkling; and the sprinkling a thick snow ! I charge men with having had gradual and most gentle warnings from the hand of time ! There was your first grey hair; there was your first day's sickness ; there was your first consciousness that your power of endurance was failing ! What, indeed, is all life, from the sunny laughter of childhood to the mellow solemnity of old age, but a succession of re- minders that our days are few and our strength a bruised reed ! II. Ought not the impeeceptible changes of life TO MODIFY THE ESTIMATE WHICH WE FORM OF OUR OWN POWERS ? Other people could see the grey hairs upon Ephraim, but Ephraim himself could not see them. IMPERCEPJIBLE CHANGE. 77 Epliraim would have told you that lie was as young and strong as ever, — so little did he know himself and the reality of the case ! ^^ wad some power the giftie gie us, to see oursels as others see us ! ^■' The application of this inquiry is obvious : — First : To ^ninisters who are unconscious of the decline of their poiuers. They will fervently assure you that they preach now better than ever they did ! But do they know that grey hairs are here and there upon them ? Not they ! Second : To men who are officially called upon to adopt old agencies to neiu circumstances. To trustees of public property, to directors of educational institu- tions, to office-bearers in christian Churches. The in- fluence of the unknown grey hair lays hold upon them ; keeps them back from enterprise ; tells them that what has done for the fathers may well do for the children -, and so the cause of progress is arrested. Sometimes, then, it may be well for us to consult other people as to our position and ability. They may see grey hairs which are hidden from our view. May they mention the fact gently, and not as though they rejoiced in our declining power ! It takes consider- able moral genius to name the presence of a grey hair dehcately. Do not pull it out, and make an ex- hibition of it. Do not get behind a man, and point out his grey hair to other people. Consider thyself. 78 PULPIT NOTES. for with wliat measure thou metest it sliall be mea- sured to thee again ! III. Ought not such changes to suggest serious INQUIRY AS to the POSSIBLE DECLINE OF SPIRITUAL POWER? It does not follow that physical decline necessitates spiritual decline. The apostle teaches us the right doctrine when he says, " Though the outward man perishj the inward man is renewed day by day.^^ Though there is outward winter, there is sammer in the soul. The snow is all over the stooping head, but the voice of the turtle is sounding in the glad and hopeful heart. Yet some men wither first in the soul ! Outwardly, they flourish exceedingly : their eyes stand out with fatness : they have more than heart can wish : but their souls have no thought, no hope, no heaven in foretaste. A grey head does not mean a withered heart. A man may be old in body, yet young in soul. True life is never old. No man's age is to be told by his mere birthdays ; they tell the age of his flesh, but not of his spirit. The good, the pure, the wise, " flourish in immortal youth.''' In connection with this part of the subject we must remember two things : — First : Tlie spirit must resist the decay to which it is drawn hy the flesh. The spirit is called to a daily struggle. The flesh says. You have done enough ; it IMPERCEPTIBLE CHANGE. 79 is now time to sleep : leave work to others^ and enjoy repose. Tlie spirit must resist tlie plausible reasoning of the flesli : to tlie last it must vindicate its suprem- acy, — on its day of translation it must be more vigorous tlian on the day of its birth. Second : A beneficial moral influence is exerted hy such resistance. Men have a right to look to grey- haired Christians for illustrations of the tendency of Christianity. Are you sullen, crabbed, impracticable ? Are you self-involved, peevish, ungrateful ? Or are you sunny, thankful, kind ? These inquiries show how possible it is to hinder or help the Christian cause by the spirit in which we receive the intimations of our declining time upon the earth. The grey-haired Christian should be a tower of strength to the Chris- tian cause. No beauty should exceed the beauty of his charitablenesss and hopefulness. See your calling, ye veteran saints, and be young in heart evermore ! There is, then, in our members a law of decay. The outward man perisheth. Do what we may. Time will conquer ! None can stand before that silent Victor. He corrodes the storied brass : he moulders away the consecrated marble : he drinks the juice of the great tree : he digs graves for giants, and causes the haughty to show their weakness to hirelings. We dye our hair, and paint our flesh ; we pay Art with a lavish hand to repair the waste of Nature ; we practise 8o PULPIT NOTES. deceit in dress, and mimic well the airs of vanished youthfulness j yet Time goes on conquering to con- quer, until we confess in death what we were loth to own in life. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ! The opportunity will soon be gone ! The right hand will forget its cunning ! The evening bell will call thee home. " The night cometh, when no man can work.^^ " Time is earnest, passing by, Death is earnest, drawing nigh." You will never be so young on earth as you are this day ! Now is the accepted time. Give God your best strength, the bloom of your power, the pride of your life, and when you are old and grey-headed He will forsake you not. Blessed are they who have lived in the way of godliness even unto old age. ^^ The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.^' The Supreme Point of Energy. Put on tliy strength. — Isaiah lii. 1. Men can rouse themselves to action. In every man there is more or less of latent energy,, unknown under ordinary circumstances^ and flaming out in exceptional hours to the sm^prise of the man himself. We cannot live continuously in ecstasy; we must live under our- selves^ so to speak^ or life will become a pain and a failure. We are, however, to have periods of special effort, hours of rapture, times of inspiration and sense of mightiness beyond all that is ordinary. In the text the captive daughter of Zion is exhorted to put on her strength ; that is, to rouse herself and claim her whole dowry of privilege and influence, — there is strength in her, and she must rouse it ; there must be an efi*ort of luillj — life must conquer circumstances. In view of these reflections it is proposed to insist upon the sug- G 82 PULPIT NOTES. gestion that iliere is more poiver in man than he may he aware ofj and that he should inquire what objects and pursuits are worthy of his enthusiastic devotion. Take an illustration of one side of the idea from the inferior animals. Drive a horse from home^ and in the course of the day he will show weariness which you may regard as a sign of utter exhaustion; but turn his head homeward, and see what a change takes place ! How willingly he runs ! How swiftly ! He has put on his strength. Work for a person who is not a favourite; and the hands soon tire : every effort is a weariness to the flesh : every thought wears the mind : on the other hand, serve a person who is heloved, etc. Undertake any engagement which does not excite the interest of the heart, and how soon it becomes irksome, etc. The mother waits upon her sick child, and wonders how she can endure so much, etc. The mystery is in the love. "We are strong when we work in the direction of our will. Where the will is right, the strength will assert itself. The question is not one of muscle but of purpose. What objects, then, are worthy of ^' all our strength, all our mind, and all our heart '^ ? We may get at the answer negatively as well as positively. THE SUPREME P0IN2 OF ENERGY. Z^ I. No OBJECT WHICH BEAES UPON THIS WOELD ONLY IS WOETHY or THE SUPEEME ENEEGY OF MAN. Eveil in secular affairs we work by laws of proportion and adaptation. If a man employed a steam-engine to draw a cork, we should justly accuse kim of wasting power. If a man spent his days and nights in carving cherry-stones, we should say he was wasting his life. We have a common saying — ^^ the game is not worth the candle/^ — showing that in common affairs we do recognize the law of proportion, and the law that results do determine the value of processes. If, then, in the lower, how much more in the higher ? etc. Think of a being like MAN spending his lifetime in writing his name in the dust ! There is a success which is not worth securing. Suppose a man should get all the money he can possibly accumulate, etc. ; all the fame, etc. ; all the hixury, etc. What does it amount to ? II. Spieitual objects aee alone woethy of the SUPEEME ENEEGY OF MAN. ^^ Thou shalt lovo the Lord thy God with all thy heart,^^ etc. (1) They are akin to his own nature; (2) They touch every point of his being ; (3) They prepare him for the solemnity and service of the future. Boundless are the prospects of the spiritual thinker ! His library, the universe ! His companions, the angels ! His teacher, God ! In g2 84 PULPIT NO TES. view of such prospects^ liow time dwindles, and liow earth passes as a wreath of smoke ! The spiritual thinker is independent of all the influences which make up the small world of the materialist, — his citizenship is in heaven. III. The fact that spiritual objects alone are worthy of the supreme energy of man should impel to deci- sive ACTION. 1. Put on thy strength, — -for tJie fime is short. 2. Put on thy strength, — -for the enemy is on the alert. 3. Put on thy strength, — for the Master is worthy. The text addresses a call to the Church. The call is to activity. He who gives the call will give the grace. The Church is not to be feeble and tottering ; it is to be strong, valiant, heroic. The Church has too long spoken with doubtful emphasis in her doc- trine, her avowals, and her prayers. Tn her case, firmness of tone is itself an argument; it shows the streno'th of her conviction and the earnestness of her purpose. Put on thy strength is an exhortation equal to " use thy whole influence, concentrate thy designs, be equal to the occasion.'^ He who can do without the help of the strongest is graciously pleased to accept the service of the meanest. 85 What Christianity does for a Man. I will tarry at Ephesus . . . there are many adversaries. . . . If Timotlieus come, see that he may he with you without fear. . . . As touching- our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren. — 1 Cor. xvi. 8-12. These sentences^ casually thrown in, as it were_, at the end of letter, reveal incidentally, and therefore really, the spiritual quality and tone of the writer. It is one thing to make a formal statement of what Christianity has done in the purification and refinement of cha- racter, and another to show its results without any attempt at composition or effect. An incidental touch will show the whole man. A single word may be a great revelation. Looking, then, at the words before us, what did Christianity do for Paul, so far as his social relationships were co];icerned ? I. Christianity made Paul courageous. ^' There are S6 PULPIT NOTES. many adversaries/' A very good reason for leaving Ephesns, but^ some of us would have thought^ a bad one for remaining there. Paul knew_, as we can never know, what the word ''^ adversary " really means. Paul looked at the " door " first, and at the ^' adver- sary '' next. Some men see the adversary, but not the door, hence there is but a feeble and trembling life. Are ive courageous ? How do tve show our courage ? II. Christianity made Paul considerate. " See that Timothy be with you without fear." He did not leave Timothy to do the best he could for himself. Paul knew that no man can show his best qualities when under the influence of fear. He wished the young man to have a good start at Corinth, knowing how much depends upon the beginning. Great men are always considerate. Christianity stoops to human weakness and consults human feeling. Do lue speak kind words for men ? Do we make the young wel- come to the use of our wisdom and our strength, without burdening them with our exacting patronage ? As saints we belong to one another, and in the highest sense we are therefore to have all things common. III. Christianity made Paul magnanimous. '^I WHAT CHRISTIANITY DOES FOR A MAN. 87 greatly desired ApoUos to come unto you/^ ApoUos was '' an eloquent man and mighty in tlie Scriptures/' yet Paul wished tlie Corinthians to hear him. Paul was " in speech contemptible '^ as in bodily presence he was " weak/' but he honoured the eloquence of his brother, and desired to extend his influence and his fame. It is sometimes hard to be magnanimous. Magnanimity is in the case of some men equal to martyrdom. Ministers have something to learn here ; so have tradesmen ; so have all rivals. Ajp^lication. — We cannot put on Courage, Consider- ateness, and Magnanimity from the outside. They are the result of an inward and spiritual work. The Holy Ghost must be Inspirer and Guide, else will all our efforts be the flutters of ambitious impotence. 88 Israel Pursued. And when Pharaoh drew nig-h, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them. — Exodus xiv. 10. Protesting against the liabit of spiritualizing things in Scripture^ we may yet without violating the spirit of our vule, show some analogies between the flight of Israel from Egypt and the progress of the sinner from the captivity of the devil. In both cases we have a debased condition of mankind^ a powerful enemy, a pursuing foe, a perilous road, a human ministry, and an omnipotent and gracious Redeemer. I. The state or Israel in Egypt was a state oe THE UTMOST ABASEMENT. The children of Israel were in a state of slavery : there was not a free man amongst them : every one of them feared the eye and the stroke of a cruel taskmaster. No hour could ISRAEL PURSUED. 89 they claim as tlieir own j nor could they lay their hand upon any possession and claim a right in it; not a man in the land of Egypt but could point the finger of scorn at the captives. Loss of liberty is loss of man- hood. The political condition of Israel is but a dim type of the spiritual condition of mankind. Every sinner is a slave. The wicked man serves a cruel master. He is watched on every hand ; all his move- ments are understood ; every desire or aspiration after liberty is turned into an occasion of augmented suf- fering. Wickedness reduces the volume and quality of manhood. Every bad thought and every wicked deed is so much taken from the completeness and dignity of human nature. II. The enemy op Israel was poweeful. There was no struggle upon equal terms. Israel was under the foot of Pharaoh, and could only turn at the ex- pense of inexpressible suffering. One word of remon- strance from Israel would have brought down the heavy hand of the oppressor. So with the great enemy of man. His resources are all but inexhaust- ible. He is not confined to one series of temptations. The diabolic genius in luring and seducing men to evil dispositions and courses is fertile beyond all parallel. He assaults us through the flesh ; he insinu- ates ruinous ideas into the mind ; he secretly touches 90 PULPIT NOTES. tlie very fountains of life. He can toucli our nature witli a liglit liancl^ or he can smite us witli tremendous force. A^^ien it suits liis purpose^ he can whisper in persuasive tones^ and anon he can thunder his com- mands and his threats until we obey through intoler- able fear. III. Israel was pursued,, — so is the redeemed MAN. This is confirmed by every experience^ yet, strange to sayj it is often forgotten in our estimates of human character and progress. It is too frequently expected that when a man forsakes his evil ways, he will at once become an exemplary saint. The mocker is ready with his cruel taunt if the man who but yesterday left the land of darkness should hesitate or stumble for a moment. It is forgotten that the devil relinquishes his hold reluctantly. Years upon years after our conversion to Grod we are conscious of the presence of the old nature ; there are sudden uprisings of forces which we supposed to be extinct ; and again and again there is a breath of poison in the air which tells us that our footsteps are tracked, and that the enemy is not far behind. We should be gentle with one another, because though we are moving in the right direction, yet we suffer from the old weakness, and often tremble lest the foe should get an advantage over us. ISRAEL PURSUED. 91 IV. There is an omnipotent and geacious Redeemer — not only omnipotent^ but gracious. We could not be led and trained in tbe better life by mere stress of 2:)oiverj — there must be beauty as well as strength^ — grace in addition to energy. See how this is illus- trated in the case of Israel from the 13th verse to the end of the chapter. Israel was exhausted so that contention could not have been the solution of the difficulty in which they were placed. What then was to be done ? This ! — '^ Stand still and see the salva- tion of the Lord '^ ! This was precisely the ex- hortation needed by injured and weary men. They could not have responded to a call to arms^ but they could stand still while the Lord fought for them. See how beautifully the case of another difficulty was met : the angel of the Lord had hitherto gone hefore the camp of Israel to show the way of march, but now that Pharaoh and his chariots were closer in their rear, the angel of the Lord removed and went beliind the camp of Israel, and the pillar of cloud also removed and stood behind the children of God. A double object was thus served : the pillar was a cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but it gave light by night to the camp of Israel. The comfort of Israel was the terror of the Egyptians, — for " the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians." 92 PULPIT NOTES It is so with tlie followers of tlie good to-day : to tliem God is love ; to those who pursue or do wickedly^ our God is a consuming fire. In the course of our Chris- tian experience we are often called upon simply to stand si ill. Herein is shown the tender grace of the living Redeemer. We are weak_, we are weary^ and there is no more strength left in us ; at that point he says. Waiting shall be accounted as serving, and standing still as the progress of triumphant strength. Israel was not self-redeemed ; nor are we ; Jesus Christ is the angel of our redemption, — trusting to His leadership, neither mountain nor sea shall keep us back from the Canaan of God. 93 The Pathos of Theology. My father's God. — Exodus xv. 2. These words are taken from the song wlncli Moses and tlie children of Israel sang when they saw Pharaoh and his hosts overthrown in the Red Sea. It was surely an era in their history to see the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. Such epochs in human life should have some moral meaning. They should not be allowed to pass without celebration. There is a time to sing, — surely it is the hour of de- liverance from the terrible foe. Music is the natural expression of joy. A song is the proper conclusion of a victory. Fasting is the worship of sorrow ; singing is the worship of joy. The words specially chosen for meditation show that the victory did not end in itself; it touched the holy past ; it consummated the promises and hopes of ages ; — in this song, therefore, the voices 94 PULPIT NOTES. of the sainted dead are heard as well as the voices of the triumphant and joyous living. What are the ideas with which this expression is charged ? I. " My father^s God/^ — Then eeligion was no new THING TO THEM. They Were not surprised when they heard the name of God associated with their victory. Eeligion should not be an originality to us ; it should not be a novel sensation ; it should be the common breath of our daily life^ and the mention of the name of God in the relation of our experiences ought to excite no mere amazement. II. '^^My father^s God.^^ — Then their father''s re- ligion WAS NOT CONCEALED FROM THEM. They knOW that their father had a God. There are some men amongst us of whose religion we know nothing until we are informed of the same by public advertisement. It is possible not to suspect that a man has any regard for God until we see his name announced in connection with some religious event. We cannot read this holy book without being impressed with the fact that the men who made the history of the world were men who lived in continual communion with the spiritual and unseen. Religion is the exception in some of our lives,, — it was the great and beneficent rule of theirs. THE PATHOS OF THEOLOGY. 95 Is it possible tliat your child is unaware that you have a God ? Is it possible that your servants may be ignorant of the existence of your religion ? III. ^^ My father^s God/^ — Yet it does not follow THAT THE FATHER AND THE CHILD MUST HAVE THE SAME God. Religion is not hereditary. You have power deliberately to sever the connection between yourself and the God of your fathers. It is a terrible power ! Let that be clearly understood^ lest a man should torment himself with the thought that he must inherit his father's God as he inherits his father's gold. You may turn your face towards the heavens, and say with lingering and bitter emphasis, "Thou wast my father's God, but I shut Thee out of my heart and home ! " lY. '"''My father's God." — Then we aee debtors TO THE RELIGIOUS PAST. There are some results of goodness we inherit independently of our own will. This age inherits the civilization of the past. The child is the better for his father's temperance. Mephibosheth received honours for Jonathan's sake. The processes of God are not always consummated in the age with which they begin. Generations may pass away, and then the full blessing may come. We are told that some light which may be reaching the earth to-day, started from its source a thousand years 96 PULPIT NOTES. ago. What is true in astronomy is also true in moral processes and events ; to-day we are inheriting the results of martyrdoms, sacrifices, testimonies, and pledges which stretch far back into the grey past of human history. The text should convey a powerful appeal to many hearts. It is a pathetic text. Say "My God/' and you have solemnity, grandeur, majesty, and every element that can touch the reverence and wonder of man ; but say " My father's God,'' and you instantly touch the tenderest cord in the human heart : God is brought to your fireside, to your cradle, to the bed of your affliction, and to the core of your whole home -life. The text impels us to ask a few practical questions : — 1. Your father was a Christian, — are you so much wiser than your father that you can afford to set aside his example ? There are some things in which you are bound to improve upon the actions of your father ; but are you c[uite sure that the worship of the God of heaven is one of them ? 2. Your father was a holy man, — will you under- take to break the line of a holy succession ? Ought not the fame of his holiness to awaken your own re- ligious concern ? Are you prepared to make your- THE PATHOS OF THEOLOGY. 97 self the turning-point in tlie line of a pious ancestry ? Beware lost you say in eflfectj ^^ For generations my fathers have trusted in God, and looked to him for the light of their lives^ but now I deliberately disown their worship^ and turn away from the God they loved/^ This you can say if you be so minded ! God does not force himself upon you. You may start a pagan posterity if you please. 3. Your father was deeply religious^ — will you in- herit all he has given you in name^ in reputation, in social position, and throw away all the religious elements which made him what he was ? Many a battle has been fought, even on the funeral day, for the perishable property which belonged to the dead man; what if there should be some emulation re- specting the worship he offered to the God of heaven ? You would not willingly forego one handful of his material possessions ; are you willing to thrust out his Saviour ? 4. Yovir father could not live without God, — can you ? Your father encountered death in the name of the Living One. How do you propose to encounter the same dread antagonist ? When your father was dying, he said that God was the strength of his heart and would be is portion for ever. He declared that 98 PULPIT NO TES. but for the presence of liis Saviour lie would greatly fear the last cold river which rolled between hini and eternity, but that in the presence of Christ that chilling stream had no terror for him. When the battle approached the decisive hour, your father said, " Thanks be unto God which giveth to us the vic- tory,^ ^ — how do you propose to wind up the story of your pilgrimage ? A word must be spoken for the encouragement of a class which cannot but have its representatives in any ordinary congregation. Some of you have had no family religion. Your hearts ache as you turn to the past and remember the atheism of your house- hold and the atheism of your training. Not a single Christian tradition has come through your famity. To-day you are asking whether it be possible for you to be saved. I return an instant, emphatic, and impassioned YES to your hearths inquiry. Seek ye the Lord while He may be found ! Our relation to God is strictly j^jersoiial. Every heart must make its own decision in this grave matter. See to it that though you cannot speak of your father^s God, yet your children shall be able to associate your name with the God and Saviour of mankind. 99 Pagan Form and Christian Life. Do not even the publicans tlie same ? — Matt. v. 46. What do ye more than others ? — Matt. v. 47. Jesus Christ did not come to confirm old usages and forms, but to introduce a new life into mankind. There is, of course, a common moral sentiment, and a common sense of honour and courtesy in civilized society ; and the danger is that we should accept them as the measure and standard of Christian obligation and dignity. We look at pagan formalities rather than at the principles of the Christian Cross. Jesus Christ acknowledged that the pagans loved the people who loved them, and scrupulously returned the saluta- tions of all who saluted them ; but He insisted that, after all, this was a poor thing to do, — it was complete paganism, but very defective Christianity : it had no relation to the Cross, — it w^as artificial, and altogether h2 loo PULPIT NOTES. witliout moral value. Undoubtedl}^^ it looks verj well. A man salutes you^ and you salute liim in return : a man esteems you^ and you return his esteem. Jesus says ihcd is not enough. It is good so far as it goes j but it may be mere formality^ and even at best it is a low and poor rule by which to regulate human life. Here then is a principle wider_, of course, than the illustrations which are given in the context, — the principle that Christian discipline is quite distinct from everything else, and that Christian people should, in some way or other, now to be pointed out, be dis- tinguishable from all other people. They are to do more than others. They are to be better than the best pagans. He that is least in the kingdom of Christ is greater than the chief subject of any other kingdom. ^^ Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.''^ I. First of all, let us clearly understand that people who are not Christian do many things that are good and even admirable. There is, as a matter of fact, a pagan virtue, — an excellence minus Christ. Take a man of the world : he makes no profession of Chris- tianity j he may not even enter a church ; yet that man may be most courteous in manner, most honour- able in all business transactions^ faithful to his bonds. PAGAN FORM AND CHRISTIAN LIFE. lor forbearing under provocation^ fearless in danger, dig- nified in sufiering, — so mucli so, tliat many who judge by appearances only may be led to say, ^^ If Christian professors were like that man, tbe world would be a good deal better tban it is/^ And there seems to be some reason in the statement. Viewed from the out- side,, the case may, in exceptional instances, be taken as not unfairly put. It is too often thought that Christians regard ^^ the world ^' as destitute of every good feature. It is by no means to be so regarded. Jesus looked upon a young man and loved him, yet told him that one thing was lacking. There are men of '^^the world ^^ with whom it is pleasant to do business ; they are fair, prompt, and even considerate, and perhaps generous in their arrangements ; whilst on the other hand there are professors with whom it is best to have very little to do. All this is frankly though not gladly acknowledged. II. Now look at some things on the other side. There is a natural goodness; there is also a relative goodness. Some men are naturally good-tempered; it costs them nothing to be amiable; it would be difficult for them to be severe even in the judgment of wrong, — they would excuse it, or wink at it, or in some way escape the duty of branding it. Other men are constitutionally more generous than others. They 102 PULPIT NOTES. like to give ; they like to lighten burdens, and to help the blind and the weak over difficult roads. This, indeed, is beautiful, charming, as are also other wild flowers often found in hedgeroots or in rocky places. Even the tvorst man has the seal of God upon him somewhere. We must not forget that man is man,, whatever be his creed or his status ; and that his very inanhood should be the guarantee of some excellence. The men of the world and the men of the church are God's j the barren rock is His, as is the glowing gar- den of the sunniest summer, — the worm crawling on the outermost edge of life, and the angel shining above the stars are both under the care of God. Do not, then, speak of one man as if he were created by the devil, and another as if descended from heaven. Let us even in the worst expect to find some broken ray of former glory, as in the best we shall find some evil which makes us mourn that he is not better still. Then there is a relative goodness. An action may be bad in its motive, yet good in its result. Charity may be given from a corrupt motive ; behaviour before the world may be regulated by a system of selfish calculation ; self-control may be the price paid for social promotion. Goodness is in reality a question of the heart, rather than a sign of the hand. III. Wliat, then, does Jesus Christ require in men ? PAGAN FORM AND CHRISTIAN LIFE. 103 What is that something " more ^^ which is by imphca- tion insisted upon in the text ? ^^ What do ye more than others ? ^^ Look at the word ^' do/^ it occurs in both texts. ^''DO not even the publicans the same?^^ ^^ What DO ye more than others ? ^^ So long as men look merely at their actions, they will have no true and proper mastery over life. Actions are deceptive when looked at in certain lights. Fruits are different from actions : fruits are natiiral, they really represent the quality of the trees by which they were produced; and herein is that saying true^ ^^ A good tree cannot bring- forth evil fruit.''^ An action may be done for an object : an action may be seemingly good, yet essen- tially bad, and the reality, not the relativity, must be taken as proving the quality of the tree. In the texts, Jesus uses the word Bo ; immediately "afterwards He uses a word which throws light upon His meaning : Instead of Bo, He says BE ! Between these words there is all the difference that there is between the mechanical and the spiritual. " Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Jesus insists upon life. He goes to the fountain. He first calls us to Be, and afterwards to Do, Where the heart is right, the hand will be right. The stream may travel a rough course; it may be impeded, dis- coloured, and otherwise vitiated; but these are the accidents of the way, not the defects of the source. ^'^ As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." 1 04 PULPIT NOTES. We are, tlien^ to do more, because we are to he more. The natm^al daisy does more than the artificial rose, because it is more. The poorest little child does more than the most elaborate marble statue, because it is more. The least in the kingdom of heaven does more than John the Baptist, because he is more. "Ye must be boen again : " there must be a new worker before there can be new works : the spirit is the mwn. IV. We shall see still farther into these principles if we look a little into their possible applications. The principle is, that in Jesus Christ we are called to spiritual life rather than to outward form, and that this spiritual life is to prove itself by a behaviour superior to the best conduct of the best pagans. First : Peesonal behaviour is to be spiritual. We are to act from Christianised or sanctified motive. We are to deny ourselves pleasures and gratifications for Christ's scike. We are to appeal to spiritual judg- ments when reviled or misunderstood. Second : Chuech discipline is to be spiritual. If a man be expelled for drunkenness, or falsehood, or any gross crime, what do we more than others ? do not even the publicans the same ? There should be a discipline of the heart. Third : Oue whole view and treatment of the WOELD is to be spiritual. We are to use the world as PAGAN FORM AND CHRISTIAN LIFE. 105 not abusing it. We are to have riclies as if we had them not. If we hoard them and trust them^ do not even the publicans the same? If we covet the honours of the world and fear its frowns^ do not even the publicans the same ? If we go to its wells to quench our soul^s thirsty what do we more than others ? We are called to high life. " Love your enemies_,'' etc. Cause your sun to rise on the evil and the good, and the rain of your grace and help to fall on the just and on the unjust. Ye are the light of the world ! Ye are the salt of the earth ! Make your calling and election sure ! ^^ Arise, shine, for thy light is come.'' io6 A "Watchword for Life and for Death. Into Thy hand I commit my spirit. — Psalm xxxi. 5. Into Thy hands I commend my spirit. — Luke xxiii. 46. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. — Acts vii. 59. David said in his lifetime j " Into Thy hand I commit my spirit : " in the hour of torture and dissolution, Jesus Christ and His servant, Stephen, used almost the same expression. It is, then, not necessarily a dying speech. It is as appropriate to youth as to old age ; to the brightness of life as to the shadow of death. These are words which stretch over the entire expanse of human existence, adding brightness to the silvery morning, and enhancing the pomp of the gor- geous sunset. The greatest concern of man should be a concern about his spirit. His clothes wear out : his house crumbles away : his body must return to the dust : it is in his spirit alone that man finds the supreme possi- A WATCHWORD I^OR LIFE AND DEATH. 107 bilities of liis being. Care for the spirit involves all other care. When the spirit is rights the whole life is righteous and strong. Hence the importance and the interest of this subject^ — commending and committing the spirit to the one God and Father of all life. Here is David^ an Old Testament saint, committing his spirit to God : here is Jesus on the cross commending His spirit to the Father ; and here is Stephen, the first of Christian martyrs, giving up his spirit to the Saviour. What they did we may do. We are not invited to put our feet on untried ground, — we are asked to join the general assembly and church of the first-born in an act of the deepest trust. I. Regard the words as supplying — the teue watch- WOED OF LIFE. Life needs a watchword. Our energies, purposes, hopes, should be gathered around some living and controlling centre. We stray far from the right line when we take ourselves into our own keep- ing. When we commit our spirit into the hand of God, three results accrue : — First : We ccp^roach the duties of life through a series of the most elevating considerations, [a) We are not our own : (6) We are parts of a great system : (c) We are servants, not masters : {d) The things that are round about us are beneath our serious notice, except for momentary convenience or instruction. io8 PULPIT NOTES. Second : We accept the trials of life ivith the most hopeful patience. Tliey are disciplinary. They are under control. They are needful. "I said in my liaste^ I am cut off from before Thine eyes : neverthe- less thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto Thee.^' The whole psalm is a commen- tary upon this doctrine. Third : We recognise the mercies of life with the most joyful thanhfulness. The name of God is upon the smallest of them. " I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy/' etc. (ver. 7, 8). " Oh^ how great is Thy good- ness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee ! '' etc. (ver. 19). To the atheist the morning is but a lamp to be turned to convenience ; to the Chris- tian it is the shining of the face of God. All things are ours, if the spirit be Christ's. What is your life's watchword ? You have one. What is it ? Self-enrichment ? Ease ? Indulgence ? Money? The one trioe watchword is, ^^Into Thy hands I commit my spirit, — my case, — my controversies — my disappointments — my whole discipline and destiny.'' II. Regard the words as supplying — the true WATCHWOED OF DEATH. If the Uviug man requires a watchword, how much more the man who is dying ! How strange is the country to which he is moving ! How dark the path along which he is travelling ! A WATCHWORD FOR LIFE AND DEATH. 109 How short a way can the dearest and strongest of his acquaintances accompany him ! All this^ so well understood by us all, makes death very solemn. This watchword as spoken by Jesus and as spoken by Stephen shows — First : Their helief in a state of being at present in- visible. Was Jesus Christ likely to be deceived in such a matter ? Read His life : study the character of His thinking : acquaint yourselves with the moral tone of His teaching ; and then say whether He was likely to die with a lie in His mouth. And Stephen? What had Stephen to gain if no world lay beyond the horizon of the present and visible? Jesus and Stephen, then, must at least be credited with speaking their deepest personal convictions. It is something to ■fts in our ignorance and weakness to know who have believed this doctrine of a future state. Second : Their assurance of the limitations of human malice. The spirit was free ! Ye evil ones, ye cannot touch the divine side of human nature : your cruel sword cannot strike its way into the soul^s sanctuary ; ye may murder, but ye cannot annihilate ! " Fear not them that kill the body,'^ etc. In view of these considerations there are four points of practical application : (1) Where the spirit is fit for I lo PULPIT NOTES. * tlie presence of God, there is no fear of death. (2) All who have died in the faith are iwesent with the Lord. (3) Jesus Himself knows what it is to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. (4) The prayer for entrance amongst the blest may come too late. We have no authority for the encouragement of death-bed repentance. It is but poor prayer that is forced from a coward^ s lips — it is not prayer, it is the groan of mortal fear. II An unwritten Word of God, For He hath said, I -will never leave thee nor forsake thee. — Heb. xiii. 5. Wheee has He said so ? If tlie cliapter-and-verse theory be insisted upon^ there is no proof that these precise words were ever uttered by God. Yet if the doctrine be withdrawn from the Bible, the Bible will be , impoverished by the withdrawal of its richest solaces. There are luovdsy too, marvellously like the very words of the text : for example, '' I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of^^ (Gen. xxviii. 15) : ^''He will not fail thee nor forsake thee ^^ (Deut. xxxi. 6, 8) : "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee " (Josh. i. 5) . There are words spoken to the soul in secret. The heart remembers them, attests them, clings to them with tenacious love. There are loaraylirased revelations, — holy doctrines' 1 1 2 PULPIT NOTES. expressed in the words wliich. tlie heart loves raost ; translations made by the heart itself; seed-revelations grown into blooming flowers of assurance. Such unwritten promises are really indelible^ for they are written on the living tablet of the heart_, and absorbed by the very being of the soul. The ink- written Bible must perish; the heart- engraven Word shall abide through the waste of ages. Let us take it_, then, as the most assured fact in spiritual history that God never forsakes the man whom he has undertaken to guard and nourish, — it is the unwritten and eternal law which comes out of the very nature of the Divine Being : to discuss it would be to doubt it : we may not analyse it, but we may, for our comfort and hope, trace its practical applications and advantages. I. This word is Sufficient — because God has spoken IT. We say of some men, " their word is their bond.^^ Shall we say less of the Living One, of whose eternity our life is but a spark ? II. This word is Insjpiring — because it pledges the PEESONAL T"ELLOWSHiP OF GoD. I will never leave thee : not, angels shall be sent to thee, etc. Enoch walked with God. To Moses God said, '^ Certainly I will be with thee.^^ To the Church Jesus says, '' I am with you always,^ ^ etc. AN UNWRITTEN WORD OF GOD. 113 III. This word is Complete — because it embraces ALL TIME : " I will NEVER leave thee/^ The child becomes free of the parent : the apprentice is liberated from his bonds : the hireling fulfils his day, — but union with God is perpetual, and its joy is an ever- augmenting sum. ly. This word is Condescendi^ig^-^hecsLU&e it is per- sonal IN ITS APPLICATION. It is uot a pledge given to the universe as a whole; it is spoken to the individual heart, and is to be applied by each heart according to special circumstances. The whole exists for the part, as well as the part for the whole. ^^ All things are yours." Every flower may claim the sun. Y. This word is Assuring — because it is redundant IN" its expression. " I will never leave thee," would have been enough for a merely technical bond : more is added : we have word upon word, so that the heart cannot escape the golden walls of protection and secu- rity. Love does not study terseness. It must be emphatic ; it must be copious. Regarding this promise as Sufl[icient, Inspiring, Complete, Condescending, and Assuring, what should be its practical effect ? 1. We should inquire ivhether ive are entitled to apply it to ourselves. It is not for all men. The I 1 1 4 PULPIT NOTES. question is one of sinritiial character. Are we the children of God ? 2. Being entitled to it, ive should live as if we truly realized if : not gloomily : not self- trustingly : not fretfully : but joyously _, devoutly, thankfully. 3. Living as if we realized it, we should ask ivhat we can do m return. " Glorify God in your body/' etc. '^ Were the whole realm of nature mine/' etc. ^^ Pre- sent your bodies a living sacrifice/' etc. 115 Between Jerusalem and Jericho. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was ; and "when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and hoimd up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. — Luke x. 33, 34. Instead of looking at the incident as a whole, we shall confine attention to the condition of the injured man. The great point of the parable is to show who is our neighbour; apart, however, from that point there are some lessons bearing upon the general scheme of human life, and the special treatment of individuals, which may be profitably- gathered. I. A certain man fell among thieves — here is the BLACK MARGIN WHICH SURROUNDS CIVILIZED SOCIETY. It is perhaps only a man here or there who may T ^ 1 1 6 PULPIT NO TES. fictnally fall amongst thieves ; but it is from individual men that we learn the true condition of the society which lies beyond us. If we look only within our own narrow circle^ we may suppose that things are tolerably orderly and satisfactory. But, listen ! The voice of one who is in distress reaches us ! He is only one, that is true; but from him, though lonely, we may learn that beyond the sunny circle of our own comfort there is a dark rim of wicked conspiracy against all rights and joys. Think that around British society to-day there is a huge circle of enemies, conspirators, spoilers, — prisons, magis- tracies, restrictions, and penal ministries ! There is a boundary beyond which if a man step he will pass into the most aggravated form of bar- barism. II. There came down a priest that way, as also a Levite and a Samaritan — so the escape op some IS NOT TO BE TAKEN AS A CONDEMNATION OF OTHEES. A.11 the four men went down the same road, yet only one of them was unfortunate ! What a temp^ tation for the three who escaped to say, ^*'It must have been his own blame : we passed down the very same road, and did not hear so much as the fluttering of a leaf; we have no patience with men who are always getting into scrapes.''^ Want of BETWEEN JERUSALEM AND JERICHO. 117 patie;ice is no proof of virtue. Society is often curt witli its unfortunate men. Yoii have passed safely down the roads of Business : Sociality : Affliction : do not turn your escape into a whip with which to scourge less fortunate men. III. The priest passed by on the other side, so did the Levite— the thing which is always being DONE BY A NEGATIVE AND DO-NOTHING EESPECTABILITY. There are two sides in life. (1) The side on which men are dying ; and (2) '^ the other side.'' We can choose our side ! On the first side we shall find (1) something to shock our sensibilities; (2) something to interrupt our speed; (3) something to tax our resources. On the opposite side we shall find a clear path to infamy and the hell of -eternal remorse ! IV. The priest passed by, and so did the Levite so SACRED NAMES AEE NO GUARANTEE FOR SACRED SERVICES. It is a terrible thing for the nature to fall below the nanne ! Thou hast a name to live, and art dead. This is the most corrupt and the most mischievous of falsehoods ! A name is a promise. A profession is a responsibiUti/. With what force of appplication does this suggestion urge itself upon a Christian ? By assuming the name 1 18 PULPIT NOTES. of Christ we entitle necessitous and suffering so-- ciety to entertain certain expectations,, and urge certain claims. There is no escape from this reason- ing, and no escape from the consequences, except by perjury. V. But a certain Samaritan had compassion on him THERE ARE UNEXPECTED SOURCES OP HELP IN LIFE. You have found it so in business ; others have found it so in symjpatliy : others in periods of great perplexity. This reflection is of great practical value as showing (1) that we all need help; (2) as protecting men from despair ; (3) as showing that we ourselves may become the unexpected helpers of others. In the distribution of help we are not to be limited (a) by theological creeds; (h) nor by national pre- judices; (c) nor by personal dislikes. We are to help humanity as such. The more we enter into those tragic circumstances which lie far away from the region of mere controversy, the more will our hearts be drawn towards each other as the sliarers of a common nature. The Christian application of this study is ob- vious. 1. Life is a perilous journey. 2. Lost men will never be saved by formal piety. -V BETWEEN JER USA LEM AND JERICHO. 1 1 9 3. The true Helper is the very Being whom we have offended. The teacher of this parable is the Exemplar of its beneficent doctrine. The teacher should always be the explanation of his own lesson. 120 The Hinderer. Satan hindered us. — 1 Thess. ii. 18. It may be profitable to remind ourselves of two or three things bearing upon the non-fulfilment of our best purposes. We have schemes which come to nothing ; wishes which perish in disappointment ; and even vows and oaths which fall so far short of realiza- tion that they afflict our hearts with a sense of self- perjury and self-contempt. What is that malign power which encircles us with hindrances whensoever we would set forth on the holy errand of sympathy or instruction ? Why is there not a clear path to our sou?s feet^ so that we may even 7mn in the way of the Lord without obstruction and without difficulty ? The question is of infinite importance to spiritual beings. If we know the hinderer^ we may address ourselves to the speciality of his power ; on the other hand^ if we THE HINDERER. 121 misconceive his individuality or his resources, we may exhaust our strengtli in labour without profit. I. There is a Hinderer. — Not only are there hin- drances ; there is a personal liinderer. He is not visible, he is not 'persuadable — {resist is the word, not jpersuade) — is the tiger ever jpersuaded to spare the prey? GOD can be entreated; the devil must be resisted ; he is spiritual. One man says there is no devil. Who is that one man ? Where does he live ? What has he done for the race ? Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who is this ? The devil '^ tempted '' Jesus ; the devil " entered into '' Judas ; the devil " desired '' to have Peter ; the devil ^^ hindered ^^ Paul, I prefer that my faith should run in the line of these statements, not- "withstanding all their mystery, than that it should espouse the suggestions of speculators who have not yet, by any revelations of wisdom or agonies of sacri- fice, established their claim to the supreme confidence of souls. I shall trust them wherever they cannot by any possibility deceive me ; but when they oppose Jesus and Paul, I shall, without curtailing their liberty, decline their leadership. This being so, I must repeat as the first head — There is a personal hinder er in the spiritual life of men. 1 2 2 PULPIT NO TES. II. This Hinderer assails the most eminent WORKERS IN THE Church. — He assailed the Saviour Himself ! In tliis case lie hindered Paul. We are apt to think that the greatest men in the church escape temptations which fall to the lot of others. The greater the man, the greater the temptation. It is so in other things. The more refined the taste, the more sensitive to vulgarities. 1. Our temptations show our unity as members of a common race. 2. Our temptations should awaken our sympathy as partakers of a common suffering. III. This Hinderer seeks to eoil the aggressive intentions of the Christian. — In being a hinderer, the enemy has a decided advantage : 1. It is easy to hin- der; that is_, easy to do mischief, to suggest difficulties,, to magnify obstacles, etc. 2. It is easier to hinder than to counteract. Once let the seed be sown, etc. Once let a good impression be produced, etc. Did Satan ever hinder a man from doing a had action ? When we were about to give a pound to a 'good cause, did Satan ever say, ^' Give tiuo ^' ? Remember that the enemy deals with the purposes of man, and not only with the performances. He fights battles in the mind. What a wreck is the inner life of some of us ! Application: 1. Satan comes to us sometimes THE HINDERER. 123 through the medium of had men, 2. Sometimes through the gratification of apparently harmless wishes. (" There is no harm in it/^) 3. Sometimes through friendly but incapable advisers — men who are so far below our level as utterly to miscalculate and misunderstand us. ' The concluding word must be one of hope : there is a Heljoer ! " Jesus, refuge of my soul/^ etc. The Holy Spirit can alone overcome the spirit of evil. "If ye being evil/^ etc. 124 Ehud : Left-handedness. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man left- handed. — Judges iii. 15. According to tlie Septuagint^ Eliud was an Ambidexter , tliat isj a man who could use both hands with equal facility. Hector boasted — ^^ Many a Greek hath bled by me^ and I can shift my shield from right to left.'' Of the children of Benjamin we read, " Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left- handed; every one could sling stones at an hair- breadthj and not miss.^^ — Judges xx. 16. Plato re- commended all soldiers to acquire equal facility in the use of both hands. It is evident from all this, as well from what is known amongst ourselves, that left- handedness has always been considered peculiar, otherwise it would not have been pointed out as a EHUD: LEFT-HANDEDNESS. 125 feature in any case. We never say of a man that lie is ri^A^-lianded^ but we do remark upon any man whom we see using his left hand for purposes which are usually assigned to the right. The text gives several points of interest. I. The text shows that itnany men may be depen- dent upon one man. The children of Israel were many. Why did they not work out their own deli- verance ? As soon as Ehud was raised up they were liberated from the hands of Eglon_, King of Moab. For eighteen years they served the stranger,, and then they cried unto the Lord for a deliverer. 1 . The one man may be in a better position than the many, and this may account for his influence. Take the case of a be- sieged city : one man outside the walls may work out 4he deliverance of the whole, etc. 2. The one man may be able to move about more quicMy than the many. Crowds cannot be hurried to any wise action. They soon lose themselves in confusion. They need leadership to give unity and precision to their move- ments. Even a wise man is in danger of losing his wisdom when he mingles with a crowd. Still, with these explanations fully valued, it is pro- foundly true that one man may be stronger than the many, and therefore that the millions may be kept together by special units here and there. Specially is 126 PULPIT NOTES^ one good man more tlian all tlie liosts of evil. For tlie sake of the oney God preserves the many. (Sodom, Potiphar, Paul in the storm, etc.) "There was a little city and few men within it.^' — Eccles. ix. 14, 15. II. The text shows that the instruments chosen of God may often siirjprise and disappoint men, God sent a left-handed man to deUver Israel ! It seemed like a mockery. We are often very dainty about our instru- ments, and our daintiness does next to nothing for us. I have heard men, who ought to have known better, pray to God in this fashion for ministers : — " Raise up, we beseech Thee, educated men, men of talent and culture, for this work.^' I could never say "Amen^^ to such a prayer. I pray God to make his own choice, and to send whom he will — king or peasant, man of stammering tongue or eloquent speech, — no matter. I use no qualifying or limiting words, — whom thou WTLT, is prayer enough for me. In view of this apparent eccentricity of the divine method, we should remember — 1. That a man is not a ^reat man merely because he is left-handed. Bunyan was a tinker, but it does not follow that every tinker is a Bunyan. George Whitfield was cross-eyed, but it does not follow that squinting is a condition of good preaching. I say these things because there is a EHUD: LEFT^HANDEDNESS. 127 danger of mistaking an eccentricity for a law, and setting up false or inadequate standards of judgment. On the other hand we should remember — 2. Tliat no man should be condemned merely because he does not talce hold of things in the common ivay. We say about some men that apijearances are not in their favour. Sometimes we decide by the very first look. Occa- sionally we think we show our sagacity by exclaiming — " Why the man is left-handed ! '' All this shows that we may be mistaken. " Look not on the height of his stature." Give every man an opportunity of proving himself. III. The text shows that some good use may be made of the most unlihely qualifications. The text thus becomes a word of encouragement. One has no diffi- -culty in supposing that many persons are secretly lamenting some peculiarity of temperament, some defect of body, or some circumstance which seems to shut them off from the general band of workers. Let such persons look at the text, and take heart again ! Look at some of the instruments whom God has chosen. Moses , a man of slow speech ; Davids yo^iig and disdained of the Philistine ; Ehud, left-handed ; Shamgar, a labouring man ; Paul, weak in bodily pre - sence and in speech contemptible ! Look at the Son of God himself. He had no form 128 PULPIT NOTES, nor comeliness, and tliere was no beauty tliat men should desire him. He was as a root out of a dry ground. He was a Nazarene. Look at all these things, and let no man's heart fail him because of mere left-handedness. 129 Shamgar : Mean Instruments. Shamgar the son of Anath, slew of the Philistines six hundred men •with an ox goad. — Judges iii. 31. Shamgar was the third judge in Israel. He was at the beginning a labouring man^ a tiller of the ground^ and probably on account of the exploit recorded of him in the text he was raised to dignity. According to the song of Deborah^ life was very insecure at that time. She says — ^^In the days of Shamgar the son of Anathj the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways ^^ (Judges v. 6.) The ox-goad may be best described by one who has seen it. '' It was observable that in ploughing they used goads of an extraordinary size ; upon measuring several I found them about eight feet long, and at the bigger end six inches in circumference. They were armed at the lesser end with a sharp pricMe for driving the oxen, K 13© PULPIT NOTES. and at tlie other end with a small spad.e or paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay which encumbers it in working.'^ Shamgar was working in the field with one of those goads when six hundred Philistines made their appearance, and so vigorously did he wield it that not a man of the whole crowd escaped with his life. Note first, in gathering up the lessons of the in^ cident, how absurd it is for any man to blame his TOOLS FOR BAD WORK. Shamgar used an ox-goad ; Samson wielded the jawbone of an ass ; David had but a sling and stone. Sometimes we think what wonders Ave could do if we had better instruments. The bad writer blames his pen. The unskilful carver grumbles at his knife. The unsuccessful preacher says that he could get a congregation if the pew doors were half an inch lower, or if the organ had another stop added. No ! Again and again, No ! Look at yourself more and at your tools less. What about your spirit? your intelligence ? your devotedness ? your enthu- siasm ? Note secondly, how important it is that men should USE those instruments which they can handle most SKILFULLY. Shamgar knew how to use the ox- goad, and David knew how to use the sling and stone. Other SHAMGAR : MEAN INSTR UMENTS. 1 3 1 instruments may be far heavier, keener, and likelier altogether, but if we are not accustomed to them, why- should we run the risk of a failure ? When some natural orators try to " talk finely, ^^ they lose all their ease and power. Note thirdly, how rooLiSH it would be to ridicule THE INSTRUMENT WHEN THE RESULTS ARE SO OBVIOUSLY good. Look at the six hundred dead men ! Look at the slain giant ! Look at the prostrate walls of Jericho ! The rule applies to every department of life. It applies to preaching. It applies to foreign missions. It applies to every Christian effort. Note fourthly, how victories are sometimes won in THE FACE OF THE GREATEST IMPROBABILITIES. One man against six hundred ! Some men would have suc- cumbed under the mere pressure of numbers, but Shamgar fought the crowd. This is a lesson to all good men who fight for liberty and truth. ^^Not by might, nor by power, but my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. ■'^ "All this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not by sword and spear ; for the battle is the Lord^s and he will give you into our hands.^' He who fights for the right has God upon his side. " If God be for us who can be against us ? '' K 2 1 3 2 PULPIT NO TES. Do not let us blame men for working witli instru- ments that have not been oflficially or technically approved. The one great object is to do good. What meaner instrument can there be than the Cross ? Hath it not pleased God by " the foolishness of preach- ing '^ to save them that believe ? Were not Peter and John accounted " unlearned men ^^ ? Are not the highest things hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes ? Such is the way of God that no flesh should glory in his presence ! 133 Adoni-bezek : The Law of Requital. As I have done, so God hath requited me. — Judges i. 7. Adoni-bezek (King of Bezek) had conquered seventy of the little kingdoms in and around Palestine, and had shown their kings the rough hospitality of cutting off their thumbs and their great toes, and so allowing them to gather their meat under his table. In due time Adoni-bezek himself was overthrown by Judah, and his own thumbs and great toes were cut off, and in his humiliation he acknowledged that God had done to him as he himself had cruelly done to others. This fact is an illustration of a severe yet most holy law. ^^ The Lord of recompenses shall surely requite.^' " With what measure ye mete, it shall be measm^ed to you again. ^^ This is the law under which we are now living. Let us study some of its bearings, that we may live with religious wisdom. 134 PULPIT NOTES. I. As I liave done, so God hatli requited me, — then THE LIFE OF MAN CANNOT ESCAPE THE JUDGMENT OF GOD. ^^Be not deceived; God is not mocked/^ etc. Man may de'wy it : may theoretically disregard it : but cannot escai^e it ! At the heart of things is the spirit of judgment. Human life appears to be confused, but, before the Almighty it has shape, and plan, and pur- pose. II. As I have done, so God hath requited me, — THEN LET NO MAN TAKE THE LAW INTO HIS OWN HANDS. '•' Yengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.^' Adoni-bezek acknowledged his punishment as a divine visitation. He did not look upon it as a petty resent- ment on the part of his enemies. He took a high moral view of his condition. Why have lue S2iffered loss in business ? May it not be that we have oppressed the poor and needy ? Why are our schemes delayed and thwarted ? Probably because we have been ob- stinate and unfriendly towards the schemes of others. Why are we held in disesteem or neglect ? Probably because of the contempt in which we have held our brethren. So, we are to look at the rno^^al working of things, and to see in the results which are forced upon us, not the petty anger of men, but the holy and righteous judgment of God. ADONI-BEZEK: THE LAW OF REQUITAL, 135 III. As I liave done^ so God hatli requited me, — O^HEN" EVEEY GOOD DEED WILL BE HONOURED WITH APPKO- PRIATE REWARD. The law is equally effective on both sides. '^ God is not unrighteous to forget your work of faith and labour of love/^ etc. ^^ Whosoever shall give a cup of cold water only/^ etc. "The liberal soul shall be made fat.'^ " Give, and it shall be given unto youj good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.^' ''^ He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.^^ Remeraber, (i) Goodi deeds are their oivn reivard ; (2) Deeds done merely for the sahe of reward cannot be good. IV. As I have done^ so God hath requited me, — THEN THOUGH JUSTICE BE LONG DELAYED, YET IT WILL BE VINDICATED EVENTUALLY. Adoni-bezck had run a long course of wickedness. Seventy kings had suffered under his cruel knife. It seemed as if all power had been given into his hands. Yet, see him in the grip of the law and learn that the time of punishment is with the Lord and not with man ! Do you think that you have outwitted the law of retribution ? God^s hour is coming ; a stormy and terrible hour ! Adoni- 136 PULPIT NOTES. bezek acknowledged his punishment to be ^ust ; he saw it to be God's act ; so at last every wicked man will own that hell is his proper place. Brethren, be comforted ! Life is not so haphazard a movement as in some aspects it may appear. Above it all is seated the ever-watching and incorruptible Judge. " 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 but he could not be found.'' Give yourselves no uneasiness about the punishment of offenders : do your work honestly and straightforwardly whoever may oppose, and in the long run you will see that there is a rod for the wicked, and a crown for those who do well. But what of those who having done evil, hate both themselves and their wickedness ? There is a gospel for such, — " Eepentauce towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," will destroy the evil of the past, and satisfy the inexorable law of retribution. 137 The Seeming Right. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. — Prov. xvi. 25. OuE difficulty in life is often with tilings tliat seem to be right. Where they are obviously ivrong there is no need for hesitation^ but where probabilities are in Tiheir favour we must pause and consider. How far does our own experience confirm the doctrine of the text? (1) Does not the way of self-protection seem to be right ? To a certain extent it is right. Pressed unduly it becomes practical atheism. (2) Does not the way oi physical persecution fov truth^s sake seem to be right ? If a man is teaching error why not burn him, or otherwise put a forcible end to his ministry ? (3) Does not the way of self-enjoyment seem right ? (4) Does not the way oi judging by a'ppearances seem right ? What can be better ? What can be simpler ? 138 PULPIT NOTES, (5) Does not the way of self-redemjption seem riglit ? Is it not brave and spirited to say tliat we take our own recovery into our own hands ? This is the fated error of manMnd. ^^ Israel thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help.^' Application : (1) Lean not to thine own understand- ing. The coiled scorpion may be mistaken for an Q^%. (2) Seek higher than human counsel. Be religious. Put thy whole life into the keeping of God. " The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.^^ Walk with God ! Distrust appearances. Even when the way seems right, stand still and commune with heaven. '^ Except Thy presence go with me, carry me not up hence.^^ 139 On Sparing Fruit Trees. When thoti slialt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them; for thou mayst eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege. — Deut. xx. 19. In going to war against any city tlie Jews were for- bidden to cut down fruit trees. Trees that did not bear fruit might be used in war, but fruit trees w€re specially interdicted. What are the lessons touching our own life which are suggested by this exemption ? 1. Spare the fruit trees, — then men aee to be self- controlled UNDER the most EXCITING CIRCUMSTANCES. Observe that the Jews were to bear this restriction in mind at a time when they were most intensely excited. It was not something to be remembered in their moments of tranquillity, it was to be set before them when their fiercest passions were ablaze. We I40 PULPIT NOTES. have been taught " that all is fair in war/^ but this law contradicts that proverbial morality. We are not to excuse our wantonness by pleading the excitement of circumstances. When the city was to be taken and the cutting down of one fruit tree would appa- rently secure the end in view, even in that critical hour the law was to be remembered and obeyed. In time of war men are in danger of becoming mad alto- gether. How beautiful then the provision that in the keenest contest there was to be a recollection of law ! It ought to be so in our own lives. This is a day of fierce competition, and men are in danger of giving themselves up to passion rather than to judgment, and pleading the pressure of circumstances as an excuse for doing some things which they would never think of doing in calmer moments. Such a plea is vicious. Even in battle men are not to lose their reflectiveness, and even in the presence of death they are to re- member the law of God. 2. Spare the fruit trees, — then do not foece a PEESENT VICTOEY AT THE EXPENSE OF FUTUEE SUFPEEING. Victories may cost too much. What, if after having secured a conquest, we have cut ofi* the sources of supply and left ourselves without bread and water? The question which ought to be put frequently inhuman life is not *^^.Can I reach yonder point ?^' but, "Can I reach that ON SPARING FRUIT TREES. 141 point without sacrificing my obedience to Divine law?^' You may get your own way in life^ but what if you have to burn an orchard in doing so ? It may appear to be a small things that a fruit tree should stand between you and victory^ but that apparently small thing represents the sources at which life renews itself. What if a man gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? What if a man should surround him- self with all that is beautiful in form and colour and give up his sight as the price of the pleasure ? 3. Spare the fruit trees^ — then judge all things by THEIR HIGHEST USEFULNESS AND NOT BY THEIR TEMPORARY ADVANTAGES. The wood of the fruit tree might have been useful for hulwar]i:s, but there was a higher use to which the 4;ree could be put, and it was by that higher use that its treatment was to be determined. Things are not to be judged by their meanest, but by their highest possibilities. A man be able to clean a boot, but if he be also able to paint a picture, the time which is spent upon the boot may be time wasted. You may be able to carve a face upon a cherry-stone, but if you can also teach a child, all your carving, how- ever exquisite, is but a proof of your frivolousness. What are we doing with ourselves ? Are we living along the line of our highest capabilities, or consulting 142 PULPIT NOTES. the conveniences of the passing moment ? Who can think of a fruit tree being cut clown to help a man over a brooklet^ when the meanest gate-post would have done just as well? Yet there are men who are lying down in the dust when they might be exerting the most beneficial influence upon society. " Aim highj for he who aimeth at the sky shoots higher far than he who means a tree/^ 4. Spare the fruit trees_, — then man has it in his POWER TO inflict GREAT MISCHIEF UPON HIMSELF AND UPON SOCIETY. You cmi cut down a fruit tree ! You have the fovjer to do mischief, but not the right, A man may show his strength in cutting down a fruit tree, but did he know it, he would be showing far greater strength in not doing so. Forbearance is often the last point of power. What is the Christian application of all this ? 1. All who are in Jesus Christ are expected to bear fruit. 2. Only in so far as Christians hear fruit will they be spared by Jesus Christ Himself. The fig-tree was a fruit tree, yet because it disappointed the hunger of Christ, it withered away under His frown. We are not saved by the name but by the reality. 3. Only in so far as Christians bear fruit ought they to receive toleration at the hands of society. "Not every one that ON SPARING FRUIT TREES. 143 saitli unto me. Lord, Lord/^ etc. Profession often aggravates disappointment. Ornamental cliurclies, ministries, and institutions generally, how bold and loud soever their professions, must perish under the condemnation of the society they have mocked by false appearances. 4. It is possible to bring forth evil fruit ! Think of that. The question, therefore, is not ''^ Are we bearing frivit ? '^ but '^ Are we bearing good fruit ? ^' Such fruit we can bear only as we are in Christ. " As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,^^ etc. 6. Fruit trees must be pruned. To cut off su- perfluous wood is really to spare the tree in the best sense. God takes away friend, helper, counsellor, health, prosperity, and all that we value, but in doing so he spares the life. Why ? That lue may bring forth much fruit. 144 The Spiritual Value of the Near and Visible. If I may but touch His clothes, I shall be whole. — Mark v. 28. Apart from tlie general treatment which the incident invites J a practical turn may be given to the thought involved in this particular way of stating the case. The afflicted woman did not invoke the whole jpower of the Godhead ; she said that a mere touch was enough. To her simple trust, God was close at hand. She believed that the Divine element penetrated and vitalized the outward and visible covering, so much so that to touch the clothes was to touch God Himself. The idea is that we need far less proof of God's existence and beneficence than lue often demand. We may go too far. We may attempt too much. We seek to convince or silence the gainsayer by elaborate argu- ments respecting infinitude, immateriality, almighti- ness, and the like. Thus theology becomes a great THE NEAR AND VISIBLE, 145 intellectual effort. It strains men's thinking : it tran- scends and overwhelms all that is ordinary; it esta- blishes itself in the secrecy of the clouds. There is something better than all this. God is accessible from a much lower point. He is nigh thee^ man; the shadow of His presence lies around thy whole life ! Think not to lay a line upon the courses of His infinitude^ or to gather into one thunderous note all the voices of His eternity. Do not strain thy poor strength or endanger thy feeble brain by long- continued and ambitious effort to find out God. Be simple in thy methods^ be trustful in thy spirit. Pluck a spike of grass, a wild flower, a tender leaf of the spring — touch the hem of His garment, and thou shalt find health. There are great globes of fire; there are also little globes of water : begin with the latter, — thou wilt find God even in these frail crystal habitations. I. Apply this thought to spieitual existences. If I touch but a grain of sand, I find the Mighty One. Who made it ? Who can destroy it ? Who can send it away to some other world ? If I touch only a bud, I touch the King's garment. Who can make one like it ? Who can improve its beauty ? Whose hand is cunning enough to add one charm to its shape, or one tint to its colour ? We need not dazzle the atheist's 146 PULPIT NOTES. eyes witli the light of other worlds ; we can show him God^s signature in every limb of his own body, in every hair of his own head. II. Apply this thought to the scheme of spiritual PROVIDENCE. Limit the view to one life, — touch but the hem of the garment. Review your own life from infancy, through youth, along the tortuous paths of manifold experience, up to the vigour of full manhood. What of extrication from difficulties ? What of un- expected turn s and hair-breadth escapes ? What of concessions yielded without argument, of helps ren- dered by unlikely hands ? The theory of chance is a theory of difficulty, not to say a theory of absurdity. III. Apply this thought to the processes op SPIRITUAL education. Somc of us can never get be- yond the hem of the garment. Meanwhile, it is enough. Others are admitted to high intercourse : they know the secret of the Lord : finding their way far beyond the limitation of the mere letter, they see the spiritual purpose of Divine government, and enjoy the inexpressible communion of the Holy Ghost. It is possible that the former may have as true and as efficient a faith as the latter. May they not have even a stronger faith ? Is it a great thing to see God in heavens rich with systems of suns ? Shall they be THE NEAR AND VISIBLE. 147 praised for their faith who hear God in the thunder^ or who say of the lightnings ^^ Lo ! this is the eye of the Lord ^* ? It is a grander faith^ surely, which can see going from home, bodily afiliction, oversights and mis- calculations, losses, etc.). II. The value op discipline depends upon its eight ACCEPTANCE. We may become desperate under it : "as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.^^ Men may mourn, complain, rebel ; they start arguments against God ; they justify themselves ; they become lost in secondary agencies and incomplete details. Then, there is a better way : Ephraim bemoaned himself, repented before God, and said, " Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned.-'^ In this state of mind see (1) self- renunciation ; (2) devout and joyful confidence in God's sovereignty and graciousness. Application: — (1) There is a yoke in sin. ^^The way of transgressors is hard.'' (2) There is a yoke in goodness. It is often difficult to be upright, noble, holy. God helps the true yoke-bearer : " My yoke is easy," etc. We must bear a yoke ; say, shall it be the bad yoke, or the yoke of Jesus Christ ? 177 Solitude, not Loneliness. •Go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. — Ezek. iii. 22. Why not talk witli Mm in tlie city ? Is tlie city with- out divine messages? Are tlie countless throngs upon tlie city streets very far from God ? Not necessarily. God speaks as surely in the city as in the desert. By unexpected events^ by labour and strife^ by the various fortunes of vice^ and the amazing struggles of virtue^ God speaks to men with distinctness and solemnity. The point is that busy men may hear God in "solitude^ and solitary men may hear Him in the city. Change of mere position may have moral advantages. In the great temple of the sea we may offer peculiar worship ; in the quiet sanctuary of the wilderness we may hear the softest tones of heaven. This should be insisted upon so as to destroy the fallacy that in the absence of any one N 178 PULPIT NOTES. set of outward circumstances worsMp is impossible. In the text tliere are three points of deep interest : (I.) The speciality of God's appointments. He ap- points places_, times, methods. He appoints, in this case, the plain. " Where two or three are gathered together,^^ etc. ; " Wheresoever my name is recorded," etc. Where the appointment is special, the obedience should be instantaneous, cordial, punctual. (II.) The joersonality of God^s communication : " I will talk with thee." We should know more of God if we held closer intercourse with Him. We may go to God directly. Every devout meditation brings us into the Divine presence. Exjoect this ; believe it ; realize it. In the sanctuary we are not hearing the voice of man, but of God. In nature we hear the Divine voice. God talks with man in the garden in the cool of the day. (III.) The familiarity of God^s condescension : '^ I will talJc with thee." It is a friend's appointment. It is not, " I will lighten and thunder," or '^ I will overpower thee with my strength/^ but, '' I will talk with thee," as a father might talk to his only son. Though the prophet was at first thrown down, yet the Spirit entered into him, and set him upon his feet. Application : — (1) God has ever something to say to man. Must have — (a) as 2^, Ruler; (b) as a Father. His word is ever neiv. (2) In seeking solitude, man should seeJc God. Solitude without God leads to madness. SOLITUDE, NOT LONELINESS. 179 Solitude with Grod leads to strength and peace. Tin devout solitude is the wilderness where the devil wins his battles. (3) Man himself should often propose to commune with God. In this case God proposed : in other cases man may ^^seek the Lord." Communion with God shows (a) the capacity of our spiritual nature ; {b) the infinite superiority of the spiritual as compared with the material. When Moses talked with God^ his face shone ; when we commune with Him_, our life will be full of brightness. Divine fellow- ship may be kept silent, but it cannot be kept secret, Jesus Christ Himself went away from men to commune with God. If the Master required solitude^ can the servant safely do without it ? " Not that I mean t' approve, or would enforce . A superstitious and monastic course ; But leisure, silence, and a mind released From anxious thoughts how wealth may be increased ; How to secure in some propitious hour The point of interest, or the post of power. A soul serene, and equally retired From objects too much dreaded or desired ; Safe from the clamours of perverse dispute, At least are friendly to the great pursuit." n2 i8o Power Anointed but Undeclared. I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. — 1 Sam. xvii. 58. That is a very simple account for a man to give of himself^ yet it answered tlie question wliicli elicited it. Though but a stripling, David knew where to stop in his answers. On this occasion he could have startled Saul as Saul was never startled in his life, yet he hfeld his peace. Truly, there is power in moderation ; and truly, discretion is the supreme beauty of the valiant man. Notice with special care the exciting circum- stances under which the answer was given. David stood before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand ! Call up the scene ! Look at the sinewy hand grasping the bleeding head of the boastful barbarian ! see the flush upon the cheek of the young conqueror ! then listen to the quiet answer ! To be self- controlled under such circumstances ! Standing before the king. POWER ANOINTED BUT UNDECLARED. i8i grasping tlie head of a man who made Israel quake, a nation looking at him_, yet he speaks as if a stranger had accosted him in some peaceful retreat of the pasturage ! Then look at Saul. His position is very touching. Occasionally insane_, he is to-day sober-minded and tranquil. Little does he know to whom he is speaking ! David might have said_, " Samuel came to my father^ s house in search of a king. He passed by my brethren one by one ; I was sent for at length from the sheep- fold,, and Samuel anointed me king of Israel. Behold in this bleeding head the first sign and pledge of my kingly power ! ^^ Instead of speaking so, he merely saidj with a child^s beautiful simplicity, ^^ I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.^^ Learn that men may be anointed, long before their power is officially and publicly declared. God may have put his secret in their heart long before He puts the diadem upon their brow. We do not know to whom we are speaking. The child who looks so simple, almost so insignificant, may become the man who shall render us the greatest service, or bring upon us the most appal- ling ruin. You speak to the little one some gentle word, or bid him God-speed, not knowing that in after years he may repronounce to a hushed world the con- victions for which you could get no hearing*, or, may honour your memory by a successful vindication of its claim upon grateful regard. 1 82 PULPIT NOTES. Learn J therefore^ that God^s arrangements are not extemporaneoiis. The men who shall succeed to all good offices are known to Him from the beginning to the end. Often in oar impatience we concern ourselves to know what will be done in the event of this man dying, or that — the king, the preacher, the prime minister, the commanding soldier. To us the prospect may be dark, but to God the whole course is clear ; the successor is anointed, but not yet declared. Our morning is to be spent in looking at the period in David^s life which is contained between his anointing and the slaughter of Goliath ; we shall look at it for one purpose only, namely, for the purpose of finding out some qualities in David which are imitable by ourselves. Confining attention to this object, we shall of course leave many points of deep interest unnoticed, because they do not come immediately within our plan. Soon after his anointing, David became harp- player to the king. This seems to be a descent. Are there not many apparent anti-climaxes in life ? Is this a conspicuous example of them ? '^ Play the harp ! Why, I am king," David might have said. " AVhy should I waste my time in attempting to prolong the life of a man who is upon my throne ? The sooner he dies, the sooner I shall reign ; not one soothing note will I evoke from my harp ! " Had POWER ANOINTED BUT UNDECLARED. 183 David spoken so_, lie would have dropped from tlie higli elevation whicli becomes tlie spirit of a king. There are two ways of looking at this harp-playing. David saw it in its right aspect, and therefore to him it lost all its apparent humiliation and vulgarity. To a mere outsider it was harp-playing ; to David it was an attempt to liel^ a man by driving away an evil spirit. In playing the harp David was doing a great Sjpiritual work. He was not trying to please the merely musical ear; he was not the paid servant of taste j he was a spiritual minister, and as such he was as the angel of God to the tormented man. We might all help ourselves in our work by looking at its spiritual rather than at its merely outward aspect. The influence of a spiritual worker never ceases. David^s harp is being played still, and its strains are 'expelling many an evil spirit. Had his work been merely so much manipulation upon a musical instru- ment, his work would have perished with his physical existence ; but David played with his soul as well as his fingers ; hence his strains linger in the air that is around us, and find their way into our hearts when weary with much sadness or beclouded by unusual fear. Learn, then, that how high soever be the office to which we are anointed, there is no anti-climax in our attempts to redeem men from the power of evil spirits, or in any way, possible to us, to bring men out 184 PULPIT NOTES. of the horror of great darkness into the sweet light of hope. Art thou skilled in music ? Help those who are sad. Hast thou this world^s goods ? Seek out the poor^ that they may bless thee as the messenger of God. Hast thou power to say beautiful words ? Speak to men who are weary of the common tumult which is around them. To help a man is the honour of true kingliness. After this engagement as harp-player, David went home to pursue his usual avocations. How well he carried the burden of his prospects ! We see no sign of impatience. He did not behave himself as a child who, having seen a toy, cries until it is put into his hands. David had the dignity of patience. He carried the Lord^s secret in a quiet heart. Was it not a trial to him to go back to the sheepfold ? Had it been so, he would have wrested the word of the Lord to his own destruction. He would then have worked from the point of his own desires rather than from the point of the divine will. In little things as well as in great men show their temper and quality. One sign of impatience at this point would have shown that David^s pride had overcome his moral strength. Would you Tide ? Learn to obey. Would you like to be master? Learn first and well the duties of a good servant. Are you conscious of superior powers ? Show their superiority by the calmness of your patience, and POWER ANOINTED BUT UNDECLARED. 185 by tlie repression of every wish tliat is marred by one element of selfishness . When David came to see his fighting brethren^ by the express instructions of his father Jesse^ he disclosed a feature in his character in true keeping with what we have just seen. When he had become acquainted with the case^ he at once looTxed at outward circum- stances in their moral hearing. Other men^ including Saul himself, were talking about mere appearances. They did not see the case as it really was. Their talk^ in fact^ was strongly atheistic. They whispered to one another^ in hot and panting breathy " Why that stafi'of his is like a weaver's beam; look at his spear's head_, it must weigh at least six hundred shekels of iron : I am told that the weight of his coat is five thousand shekels of brass ; as for his height, it must be a span Taore than six cubits ! '' This was the talk that was proceeding when David ran into the army to salute his brethren. It is barbaric talk after all, is it not ? It is external, mechanical, superficial. Now for another tone ! David called Goliath, not a giant, not a soldier, but an uncircumcised Philistine, who had defied the armies of the living God ! This is a moral tone. This is precisely the tone that was wanted in the talk of degenerate Israel ! As used by David, the very word uncircumcised involved a moral challenge. In efiect_, David said : ^' I do not look upon his height ; I ask no i86 PULPIT NOTES. questions respecting tlie strength of liis muscles, the length of his staff, the circumference of his chest, the swing of his arm; he is an uncircumcised Philistine, and has defied tine armies of the living God ; it is none other than God Himself whom the barbarian has defied ; therefore shall judgment fall upon him swiftly, and the hand of the Lord shall tear him in pieces/' This tone retrieves the honour of any controversy. It brings strength with it, and hope, and dignity. Israel had fallen away from the right elevation ; the conten- tion had become one of muscle against muscle, of number against number ; David said it is a contention between light and darkness, between right and wrong, between God and the devil; to your knees, Israel, and call upon the name of the living God ! Oh, for one David in every controversy ! Men lose themselves in petty details, they fight about straws, they see only the surface ; David sees the spiritual bearing of all things, and redeems a controversy from vulgarity and atheism by distinctly and lovingly pronouncing the name of God. The atheist counts the gimSj the saint looks up to God; the atheist is terrified by the size of the staff, the saint is inspired by his faith in right and purity. Such a man cannot fail. I wish I could lay still stronger emphasis upon the word CANNOT. If he could fail, life would be a continual mockery, and hope would be only a variety of despair. Sooner or later POWER ANOINTED BUT UNDECLARED. 187 what is rifjlit miist slay what is wrong ; lose faith in that doctrine,, and you lose everything in life worth having ; creation itself is unsafe : — " The pillared firmament is rottenness, And earth's base built on stubble." The moral is the true standard of measurement. Look not at GoHath's fleshy but at his soul, and learn how soon that arm withers which is not supported by spiritual strength. Copy the moral tone of David ! We cannot copy it mechanically, remember ; it must come out of our heart of hearts, or it will perish in the very act of its expression. David interpreted the 'past so as to qualify himself for the future. When Saul doubted his ability to cope with the Philistine, David recounted some of his re- cdllections as a shepherd: "Thy servant kept his father's sheep,'^ etc.; "the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear will deliver me out of the hand of this uncir- cumcised Philistine, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living Grod.^' The Past should be our prophet. David confided in the unchangeableness of God. Forms of danger might vary; but the delivering jpower re- mained the same. Sometimes danger comes as a lion, sometimes as a bear, sometimes as a Philistine, some- times as a devil. David did not ask what the special i88 PULPIT NOTES. form was ; lie knew tliat God never changed^ and that His power was tlie same in all cases. As for ourselves, we know this right well ; our own path is strewn with lions and bears slain in the name of the Lord, yet we are as afraid of the next lion or the next PhiUstine as if God had never enabled us to smite an enemy ! "Lord, increase our faith/^ When our theology is right, our power over circumstances will be complete. WJien is our theology right ? When the hearths whole trust is in the living Father, and our love goes out towards Him through His one Son, Jesus Christ the Saviour. When our hold upon the true idea of God is lost, our life is disorganised and weakened ; when our hold of that idea is firm, we '^ plant our footsteps on the sea, and ride upon the storm. ^^ The great fight of life is a contention between the material and the spiritual. Goliath represents the material : he is towering in stature, vast in strength, terrible in aspect. David represents the spiritual : he is simple, trustful, reverent ; the merely fleshly side of his power is reduced to the lowest possible point, — he fights under the inspiration of great memories, in a deeply religious spirit, not for personal glory, but for the glory of the living God. This leads us to say, in the last place, that — David went to his work in the name and fear of God. '^ I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts."*' POWER ANOINTED BUT UNDECLARED. 189 In that one word David disclosed the secret of his power. His mere personality ceased, and he became the minister of God. As a contest between strength and strength, the scene was simply ridiculous. Viewed materially, the Philistine was perfectly right when he disdained David, and scornfully laughed at the weapons which the stripling produced. Goliath showed a most justifiable contempt; as a materialist, he could indeed have adopted no other tone. David made no boast of his weapons. He pronounced the name of God, and put his life in the keeping of the Most High. It is as if David had said, " My fall will be the fall of God; it is not a fight between thee and me, great strong man; it is a fight between earth and heaven; the victory will not be given to the weapon, but to the hand that wields it; God shall htirl this stone at thee, thou uncircumcised boaster, and before it thou shalt be as a helpless beast.''^ In the expression, " I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts,^^ we have a watchword which may be used by true men in all crises. Use it in temjptation, in times of unjust opjpositiofij in solemn trials of strength and patience ; yes, and use it when Death itself challenges you to the combat ! That grim monster will one day invite you to contest. He will call you out, that in the open field you may try your strength together. Go not in thine own name, or thou wilt be 1 90 PULPIT NOTES. worsted in tlie fray ; to Death itself say, '^ I come to tliee in tlie name of the Lord of hosts/^ and death shall be swallowed up in victory. The application of the truths of this lesson is easy as a matter of inference, but hard as a matter of realiza- tion. Some men save, others are saved. Such is the law of sovereignty. This law of sovereignty penetrates the whole scheme and fabric of life. David saved, Israel was saved ; activity and passivity make up the sphere of this life. Without any attempt at fanciful spiritualizing, we see in David the type of the one Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, who bruised the serpent^s head, and won for us the one victory through which we may have eternal life. '^ Crown Him Lord of all." igi The Discipline of an Anointed Man. PRAYER. Almighty God, who can bear the scourging of the rod that is in Thine hand ? Thou dost not willingly grieve or afflict the children of men. Thy purpose is directed by eternal love, though Thy stroke be sometimes heavier than we can bear. Thou rememberest that we are dust. Our breath is in our nostrils : we hasten away like a cloud in the morning : our days are few before Thee. Be merciful unto us, through Jesus Christ, our infinitely sufficient and precious Saviour, and grant that the end of all discipline may be our likeness to the beauty of His holiness. Chasten us, that we may be good, but slay us not with the sword. "When we are in the furnace, be Thyself our Refiner. When earthly things are plucked out of our hands, may it be that our hearts may be enriched with heavenly treasure. Lord, hear us. Son of God, come to us. Holy Spirit, dwell in us. May the holy word be to us a word of gracious explanation, lest we faint imder the mysteries of Thy providence. "Whilst we pray, our hearts are waiting and watching at the Cross. Amen. And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. — 1 Sam. xviii. 9. We now enter upon scenes wMcli sliow tliat long and most painful discipline is compatible with divine elec- 1 9 2 PULPIT NO TES. tion to higli office. David had been anointed^ yet lie afterwards was hunted as a beast of prey. The secret of the Lord was in his soul^ yet the hand of an enemy Avas madly against him day and night. The inference of mere reason was obvious^ it was this : — " Samuel has deceived me ; the old prophet has mistaken me for another man -, and now through his blunder I am exposed to intolerable vexations and injuries : had God chosen me_, He would have set me on a high mountain, where no evil hand could have reached me, or hidden me in a defence far away from the storm.''' This reasoning, as a mere intellectual effort, would have been sound and unanswerable. Yet David never uttered words so reproachful and distrustful. He accepted his ill-fortune in a spirit of wisdom, and went in and out before his enemy with a circumspection more terrible than anger. " Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him.'' Saul himself could see the divine presence. There is an indefinable something about elect men which guards them without display, and announces them without ostentation. Our object is to gather what instruction and com- fort we can from a study of the severe discipline which David underwent immediately after his victory. Keep in mind the undoubted anointing of David, and then see what untoward and heart-breaking experi- ences may befall men whom God has sealed as the DISCIPLINE OF AN ANOINTED MAN. 193 special objects of His favour and tlie liigli ministers of His empire. Given a man called of God to a great work, and qualified for its execution^ to find the provi- dences which will distinguish his course. A child might answer the easy problem : His career will be brilliant^ his path will be lined with choice flowers ; he will be courtedj blessed^ honoured on every hand. Look at the history of David for a contradiction of this answer. We shall find persecution^ hatred, diffi- culty, hunger, cold, loneliness, danger upon danger; yet he who endures them all is an anointed man — a favourite of heaven. The history, so far as we shall be able to trace it, shows four things respecting the discipline of an anointed man : — -I. That geeat honours aee often followed by great TRIALS. The graciousness of this arrangement in human training-. These trials not to looked at in themselves, but in their relation to the lionours which went before. Imagine a garden discussing the year as if it were all ivinter. Look at the temptation assailing David, in the fact that he alone had slain the enemy of Israel. Something was needed on the other side to chasten his feeling. Men must be taught their iveak- ness as well as their power. o 1 94 PULPIT NOTES. II. That great trials generally bring unexpected ALLEVIATIONS. '^^ TliG soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.-'^ ^^ Jonathan and David made a covenant,, be- cause he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow and to his girdle.^^ The love of one true soul may keep us from despair. Love is fertile and enersfetic in device. See what Jonathan did. Jjove is more than a match for mere power. Love is most valued under such circumstances as David^s. '^^ There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.^' III. That no outward trials can compare in SEVERITY WITH THE SELF-TORMENT OF WICKED MEN. We are apt to think that Saul did all the mischief, and David suffered it. That is an incomplete view of the case. Saul was himself the victim of the cruellest torment. When the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music, they said, " Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." Then there entered into Saul the cruellest of all infernal spirits, the spirit of jealousy. " Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him, and he said. They have ascribed DISCIPLINE OF AN ANOINTED MAN. 195 unto David ten tliousands^ and to me they liave ascribed but thousands ; and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward/'' And truly, even in suffering, Saul had the worst of it. See how unjust is jealousy, — the great work of David undervalued. Saul was the slave of jealousy, and as such all his ]jeace was destroyed. There was bitterness in his wine : the charm of sleep had perished : the bloom of summer had faded : there was a cruel serpent gnawing at Iris heart. " The way of transgressors is- hard. ■'^ Do not suppose that unjust opposition or enmity has an easy life. Better be the martyr than the persecutor — the oppressed than the oppressor. Read Saul^s inner life, — anger, envy, mad- ness, murder, evil scheming, chagrin, hell I " lY. That geeat trials, though calling for self- scrutiny, MAY NOT CALL FOE SELF-ACCUSATION. TlllS is a point which should be put with great delicacy, because we are too apt to exempt ourselves from self-reproach. David would be utterly at a loss to account for his treatment, so far as his own behaviour was concerned ; foi he had the distinct consciousness that God was with him ; and as to his outward relations, it is upon record that ^^ David behaved himself wisely in all his ways,^^ and that Saul was afraid of him because of the wisdom of his behaviour. o2 196 PULPIT NOTES. The question whicli the tried man generally asks himself is, ^'^ What have I done ? '^ Days of misery have been spent in brooding over that inquuy. The question is only good so far as it goes. It should be succeeded by another — " What is God doing ? '' Imagine the silver in the rejfining fire asking, '' What have I done ? " not knowing that it is being prepared to adorn the table of a king ! Imagine the field ask- ing, '"'^What have I done, that the plough should cut me up ? ^' We are strong only so far as we see a divine ptirpose in the discipline of our life. "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." " Let patience have her perfect work." We are polished by sharp friction. We are refined by divine fire. Sorrow gives the deepest and sweetest tone to our sympathy. We should be driven mad by uninterrupted, ever-augment- ing prosperity. Over every jealous soul the hand of the Lord is omnipotent. Look at Saul, and the case of David is hopeless : look beyond him, and see how by a Avay that he knew not the shepherd was being trained to be mighty among kings, and chief of all who sing the praises of God. T9: The Greatness and Gentleness of God. The Lord doth "build up Jerusalem ; He gathereth together the out- casts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars : He calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power : His understand- ing is infinite. — Psalm cxlvii. 2-5. EvEEY revelation of the nature or attributes of God must be of supreme value to men wlio are not utterly debased in thouglit and feeling. God must ever be tlie one object about which, our highest faculties are excited to their most resolute and vehement endea- vours to know the truth. Granted that it is possible for the creature to know the Creator, then every other subject must have its value determined by its relation to that one sublime possibility. There are subjects which clear for themselves large spaces, so to speak, and define the proportions and limitations of a great many other subjects. See how this is constantly 1 98 PULPIT NOTES. illustrated in ordinary life. A man proposes to build a house in a most lovely situation : tlie scene is varie- gated by hill and dale ; it is quiet, simple, and charm- ing altogether. He will build. His heart is set upon the project. Already in imagination he sees the edifice which is to be consecrated as his home. Tim- ber is at hand, stones are within reach, the painter and decorator await but a call. But, hut, but what ? Why, there is no ivciter ! Not a well can be found. To sink for water would cost him more money than he can alBPord; so, though everything else be forthcoming, the scheme must be abandoned for want of one thing ! What if a man should attempt to build a house upon principles contrary to geometry ? Suppose he should discard the square, the plumb-line, and the rule? Every inch of his progress would be one inch nearer ruin. In building the meanest hovel you must work according to the laws which unite creation ; if you quarrel with astronomy or geometry, you build a structure which no mortal ingenuity or strength can prop ; the worlds are against you ; the stars fight for God. In building a life he only is wise who consults the Creator : who reverently inquires into His nature and sovereignty, and prays the infinite to protect and teach the finite. History is the revealer of God. Ex- perience, wide and deep knowledge of truth in actual GREATNESS AND GENTLENESS 01^ GOD. 199 life, teaches man the spirit and method of God^s pur- pose and government. We cannot find out God abstractly ; we cannot know Him as He is, except through the medium of what He does ; and herein is the value of spiritual testimony, the worth and power of the experience which has tested the mercy and wisdom of God. Take the text as an example. This testimony is more than an abstract argument, it is the solemn oath of men who have livecL this most blessed experience, or have so watched the ways of God as to speak as emphatically of the stars as of hearts that have been healed. It is the heeded heart that most clearly sees the hand of God amongst the stars. The heart teaches the intellect ; the heart says, " See ! the God who cares for thee cares also for the frail lily, the flut- tering bird, the shining star.^^ So the life of man becomes the practical interpreter of God, and experi- ence sees his presence everywhere. Let us read the text in the light of our own con- sciousness and experience, that we may see how un- changeable is God in the might of His arm and the tenderness of His heart. The text reveals the constructive side of the Divine government. I. As SHOWN IN THE BUILDING UP OF THE ChURCH. 200 PULPIT NOTES. '' The Lord dotli build up Jerusalem/' etc. That He should do so shows (1) that the church is self- demolished ; (2) that it is self -helpless ; and (3) that God is the gatherer^ the redeemer, and the builder of the church. It is not God's purpose to destroy. It is His very- nature to preserve, extend, complete, and glorify. He does destroy, but never willingly. His arm does not become terrible until His heart has been grieved, until His patience has been exhausted, and until the vital interests of the universe have been put in peril. II. As SEEN IN THE GENTLE CARE OF HUMAN HEARTS. ^^ He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.'' Still, you see how constructive and preser- vative is God. His work is edification, not destruction. Who cares for broken-hearted men ? Who has patience with the weak and faint ? The greater the nature, the greater the compassion. ^^ It is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands of men." Learn from this gentle care of human hearts. First : The loersonalUy of God's hioiuledge. He knows every bruised reed. Hearts suffer in secret; there is nothing hidden from God ! Second : The infinite adaptations of Divine grace. Every heart, whatever its grief, may be healed ! There is ^' a, sovereign balm for every wound." Are we GREATNESS AND GENTLENESS OF GOD. 201 wounded on account of sUi'^ are we writliing under the agonies of 'penitence ? are we tortured by circum- stances over whicli we liave no control — the wayward- ness of children^ physical prostration^ the opposition of bad nien_, and the like ? For every wound there is healing in the grace of God ! Third : The ^erfectness of Divine healing. Other healers say^ '^'^ Peace, peace, where there is no peace. '^ Others " heal the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly/^ God complained to Ezekiel, " One built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar.''^ We are not healed until God heals us. God offers to heal us ; our disease and our sorrow are challenges to prove His grace. What of the responsi- bility of refusal ? - III. As SEEN m THE ORDER, THE REGULARITY, AND THE STABILITY OE CREATION. ^'' He tcllcth the number of the stars ; He calleth them all by their names. ^' Creation is a volume open to all eyes. Read it, and see the might and gentleness, the wisdom and patience of God. '^ Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number : He calleth them all by names by the greatness and His might, for that He is strong in power; not one failetli." Jesus Christ taught us to reason from the natural to the spiritual : " Consider the lilies,^^ etc.; ^^ Behold the fowls of the air,'^ etc. 202 PULPIT NOTES. (1.) God takes care of the great universej may I not trust Him with my life ? (2.) Where God^s will is unquestioned, the result is light,, beauty, music : why should I oppose myself to^ its gracious dominion ? In the grandeur, stability, perfectness of the universe, we see what God would do in our lives, did we call Him to the thrown of our love. The subject has applied itself as we have proceeded from point to point ; still we may linger one moment more on flowers laden with such honey. Let the church be of good courage : '^ When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.^^ " The gates of hell shall not prevail.''^ Are we truly broken in heart ? Hear, then, the Saviour : ^^ He hath sent me to bind up the broken- hearted,^^ — sent His Son to heal us ! Are we contrite, humble, penitent ? ^^ Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy : I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.^^ Our brokenness attracts Him. The cry of our sorrows brings Him down from Heaven. ^^ Ah, Lord God ! behold. Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched- GREATNESS AND GENTLENESS OF GOD. 203 out arm^ an4 there is notliing too hard for Thee : Thou showest loving-kindness unto Thousands, and recom- pensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them : The great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts is His name j great in counsel, and mighty in work ! " 204 Blasphemer and Minister. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry ; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious : but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. — 1 Tim. i. 12, 13. The intellectual argument in support of Cliristianity should always be attested by the pathos of personal experience. The apostle Paul not only argued his Christian positions, and made them logically invin- cible_, he also drew upon his experience, so as to clothe his doctrinal and controversial statements with the attractiveness of a lioly and unassailable example. The apostle was never afraid or ashamed to speak of his own Christian experience. Again and again he recurs to what Jesus Christ did in his own heart, and never hesitates to use the language of exultant thankfulness when reviewing the work of grace in his soul. He never thought that the BLASPHEMER AND MINISTER. 205 dignity of an argument was impaired by an abrupt exclamation of personal thanksgiving for personal mercies. A Christian should always be an argument to himself in respect to the validity of the Christian faith. Strong in his own convictions, he will also be strong in all his social relations and services when attempting to enforce the claims ^of Christian truth. In the text we have — I. A HUMILIATING AND PAINFUL RECOLLECTION. — "Who was before a blasphemer,, and a persecutor, and injurious.'^ Men should diligently study tlie true uses of the past. The past is rightly used (1) when it deepens our sense of personal guilt ; (2) when it illustrates the greatness of Divine mercy; (3) when, it inspires with courage in relation to the future. A man should never allow himself to forget that, however exalted his present spiritual state, he was a sinner when Jesus Christ found him. II. A humiliating and painful recollection relieved BY THE HIGHEST CONSIDERATION. '^^ I obtained mercy.^^ Not, "I recovered myself; ^^ not, "I outgrew my moral blemishes ; " not, " I saw the intellectual error of my way,^^ — but, "I obtained mercy J' The fact that sin must be met by the mercy of God shows (1) that sin deserves punishment; (2) that escape 2o6 PULPIT NO TES. from sucli punisliment can only be secured through the sovereign mercij of God ; (3) that there must be a personal realization of this Divine mercy. The work of Jesus Christ does not form the basis of a universal amnesty. Every man must go to the cross for himself, as if he were the only sinner in the universe. III. A humiliating and painful recollection suc- ceeded BY A HOLY AND SUBLIME VOCATION. '''Putting me into the ministry.''^ Look at the contrast — " blasphemer^ ^^ ''^ minister. " The past is ahused when it is regarded as a disqualification for the highest service. The fact that Jesus Christ employs converted sinners in the ministry of His Gospel serves three important purposes. (1) It puts the minister into moral sympathy with his hearers; he knows their condition^ their temptations, their excuses, their susceptibilities, etc. (2) It exemplifies the power of the Gospel to do what it irroposes. The preacher is Itimself an argument and an illustration. He goes into his own experience as into a strong tower. To every objector he can say, " Once I was blind, now I see.'"' (3) It stimulates the study of Divine things. We are to search the Scriptures, etc. ; we are to admonish one another, etc. ; we are to be wise householders, bringing out of the BLASPHEMER AND MINISTER. 207 treasury tilings new and old. Advantage may pos- sibly be taken of tlie apostle's words, ^^ Because I did it ignorantly in unbelief/' Tlie apostle did not regard tliis as a justification_, otherwise lie would not liave needed to refer his spiritual change to the mercy of God. These are words which no man ought lightly to use. Where is there a man who can honestly say that he sins in ignorance ? Who can say that he is without power to distinguish between right and wrong ? When this plea is withdrawn, the sinner is left absolutely without justification or excuse before God. What then ? The mercy of God, as shown in our Lord Jasus Christ, invites him to a new standing ground, and offers him the conditions which can meet the torment and weakness of his depravity. Application : — (1) This text appeals to the worst of men, — blasphemer, persecutor, injurious ; (2) ex- plains the vehemence and urgency of an earnest ministry — men like the apostle, who realize a sense of their obligation to the mercy of God, cannot hold their tongues or regulate their services by the standard of common proprieties; (3) exalts and illustrates the infinite mercy of Jesus Christ. If the Saviour has done so much for one man. He can do the same for all. His mercy is a great sea, receiving the impurities of all, yet remaining itself untainted and undiminished. 2oS Saul and Paul. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church. — Acts viii. 3. Feed the church of God which He hath purchased with His own "blood. — Acts xx. 28. The Saul who made havoc of the church became the Paul who said^ ^^Feed the church of God." Remem- ber well the identity of the man^ if you would under- stand fully the import of the doctrine. Saul had not been a merely indifferent spectator of the christian movement; he had been the foremost persecutor of Christians, he had entered every house, and had committed men and women to prison : '^ Many of the saints did I shut up in prison, and when they were put to death I gave my voice against them : and punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme -, and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities." " Beyond measure I persecuted the church SAUL AND PAUL. 209 of Godj and wasted it.'''' '^A blasphemer^ a persecutor, and injurious.''^ Such is the account which Paul gives of himself, as he was in heart and conduct before his conversion. Nothing is absent which could add to the blackness and hideousness of the picture. Truly, Paul was right in saying that he was chief of sinners ! What he afterwards became we remember well. Foremost of persecutors, he became foremost of apostles ; chief of sinners, he became chief of saints 1 All lives may be divided thus broadly. We should leave our former selves behind us. Our life should be a daily resurrection. We shall now meditate upon this great change, in the hope that we may find in it much that will encourage us in the way Christward. This change in the heart and life of Paul shows : — I. The maevellous power of the grace of God. The marvellousness of this power is not always so conspicuous. Every operation of grace is beautiful, but in some cases it is startling and most sublime. When a child of godly parents lays its young and loving hand upon the holy cross, it is a sight most touching to the heart, yet it is in the right course of things, as is the dawn or the early spring-flower : it is like the realization of the divine promise which is hidden in the hoping heart of saintly parents. But p 2 lo PULPIT NOTES. when tlie madman prays — wlien the persecutor's heart is softened — when the ferocious enemy repents in tears and agony of self-remorse^ — heaven itself thrills under the announcement, " Behold, he prayeth/' In the one case you have the growth of a flower : in the other you have the winning of a great fight : in the gentle child you have a home-sick voyager turning his skiff into the sunny bay where his father and his mother have been waiting for him ; but in the case of the persecutor you have the pirate turning his deviPs ark into a house of prayer. " With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible/' Herein let us magnify the grace of God. "By grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." " Ye who sometime were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."" " You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.-" This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. The occurrence of such marvellous instances is most valuable on two grounds : — 1. It inspires liope even for the luorst. Pray on! Hope on ! The hardest rocks have been broken. The most battered and torn ships have come to port. — 2. It renews our sense of the sufficiency of divine grace. Great victories gladden nations. Great conversions SAUL AND PAUL. 211 make tlie cliurcli joyful. Put on tliy strengtli^ arm of the Lord ! This change in the heart and life of Paul shows — II. The difference between sanctifying human ENERGIES AND DESTROYING THEM. Saul was undoubtedly characterised by peculiar energy^ what will Taul be? You will find that the Christian apostle retained every natural characteristic of the anti- christian persecutor. "V\Tio so ardent in lovO;, who so unswerving in service^ as the apostle Paul ? Was he an active sinner^ but an indolent saint ? How did he himself bear the treatment which he had inflicted upon others ? Hear his words, and feel if they do not quicken the flow of your blood : — '^ Are they ministers of Christ ? I am more ; in labours more abundant,, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I sufiered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep ; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings p2 2 1 2 PULPIT NOTES. often, in cold and nakedness." How a man's sins come back upon him ! How sure is tlie discipline, and how terrible is the judgment of God ! Can a man step easily from the rank of persecutor to the honour of apostle ? Never ! Hear Paul : '^ Even to this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place : being reviled, we bless \ being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we intreat; we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day/' We feel in reading such words, how inexorable is the law — " With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again/' But notice the energy of the apostle as being the same as the energy of the persecutor. Christianity does not destroy our natural temperament. We become sanctified, not deadened. 1. Christians ivill differ in the tone and measure of their service. He who has had much forgiven will love much. How does an escaped slave talk about liberty? So with preachers. The memory of their past lives will determine their preaching. Do not bind down all men to the same style. 2. Is our christian energy equal to the energy with which we entered upon the service of the world ? How often were you weary of indulgence ? How much did you spend upon horse-racing, amusement, fine living. SAUL AND PAUL. 213 vicious pleasure ? Wheu were you kept back from gay engagements by wet, damp,, or foggy nigMs? When did you complain that you could never go to the theatre without paying, or tell the devil that his service was costly ? In the light of such mquiries let us examine our christian temjper and service. This change in the heart and life of Paul suggests — III. The possible geeatness of the change which AWAITS EVEN THOSE WHO AEE NOW IN ChRIST. The moral distance between Saul and Paul is immense, but what of the spiritual distance between Paul the ivarrioTj and Paul the crowned saint ? It is the distance between earth and heaven. ^^Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.^^ ^'^Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.^^ "As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness : I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.^'' Great as was the change which took place in Paul, he did not stand still, saying, "It is enough.^^ On the contrary, he said, " Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended,^^ etc. (Phil. iii. 13, 14.) 214 -^^ False Securities: An Exposure and a Challenge. Therefore shall evil come upon thee ; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth : and mischief shall fall upon thee : thou shalt not he able to put it off; and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth ; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the as- trologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble ; the fire shall bum them ; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the fiame : there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth : they shall wander every one to his quarter ; none shall save thee. — Isaiah xlvii. 11-15. Can you find a solitary instance in which God approved iniquity ? Was ever his sword sheathed in presence of evil ?. From the beginning until now has not the Holy ne thundered against siu^ and have not His liglit- FALSE SECURITIES. 215 nings been launclied against the kingdom of darkness? This constancy of judgment upon corrupt ways is itself an argument. One act of moral hesitation would have destroyed God ! Evermore has His frown rested upon sin: evermore has His smile descended upon virtue. The solemn words of the text, directed against Babylon and Chaldea, might — such is the constancy of Divine anger against sin — have been spoken yester- day against presumptuous and corrupt London. Time cannot modify Divine judgments. What was wrong in Babylon is wrong here : what was right in the most ancient time will be right on the world's last day. We should remind ourselves of these elementary principles ; for their very simplicity may cause us to neglect their claims. It is because of these first principles and universal applications that the Bible is for ever a new book to us : it is the voice of God addressed to the men of to-day _, — it has a message to us, if so be the ear of our heart be open. We shall regard the solemn denunciations of the text as if spoken to our own cit3\ Suppose the language to have been dictated to me this morning by the Living One, Father and Judge of all men, and that I have been entrusted to speak it to ourselves : this will give appalling vividness and point to the words, and we shall be the better for so close an approach to God. Forget Babylon and Chaldea, yea, forget all that is beyond the walls by which we are 2 1 6 PULPIT NOTES. now enclosed^ — and let us feel that God is speaking to us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come. Truly, this will be the house of God ; and truly, by shame of heart on account of sin, and by faith in the saving Christ, it will presently become beautiful as the gate of heaven. I. Look at this picture of utter and most painful BEWiLDEEMENT. " Evil shall como upon thee ; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth : and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly _, which thou shalt not know." There are times when the wind seems to be blowing from all quarters at once. There are times when all things seem to have a controversy with us. We set down our feet, and, lo, they are fastened to the ground : we put forth our hand, and an invisible weapon smites it : we look round, and behold the path is ploughed up, so that there is no way of retreat. We lose our own sagacity. Our wit fails us. Once our mind was quick, now it is dead or helpless. We lose confidence in ourselves ; substances become shadows ; the strongest of our fortresses melt away ; and in our friend's face there are discovered lines of suspicion or of mortal hate. Tliis is the necessary and inevitable result of sin. (1) We have been warned of it. (2) A way of escape has been made. FALSE SECURITIES. 217 II. Hear the Divine challenge addressed to the EALSE POWERS IN WHICH WE HAVE TRUSTED. ^^ Stand now witli thine enchantments^ and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail/' Think that we are now called upon to set out in order the false securities in which we have trusted ! Set them forth ! Put them in a hideous row. Let us count them. There is one, — Money : there is two, — Chance : there is three, — Self-confidence : there is four, — Atheistic speculation. Now let them do for us all they can. God has challenged them ! (1) They ought to be most useful when most needed ; (2) They should show their suf- ficiency by their fearlessness. Come now ! It is a challenge. I heard the whirl- wind coming, — get out your money. You thought something would happen — something is happening, — God's judgment is descending; where is your god Chance ? You have confidence in yourself; be it so ; make bare your arm, — see, it is but lightning, — it is but flood upon flood, — it is but world dashing against world; etc. ^'Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.'' 2 1 8 PULPIT NOTES. (1) There is to be a great collision. (2) In tliat collision only the true can stand. III. See the doom of false securities. ^^ Behold, they shall be as stubble ; the fire shall burn them ; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame : there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it." (1) Let no man complain of want of opportunity of estimating the value of his moral securities. (2) Let no man complain of having been allowed to live umvarned. (3) Think of so living that at last a man shall be left without a coal at which to warm himself! This is the end of sin, — this the worthlessness of false gods ! So far as w^e have had experience of life, we have seen the terrible failure of all false things. We have seen the judgment of God in ].mrts. It is not all left to be revealed. We are entitled to reason from the past to the future ; and when our own experience has, as a matter of fact, confirmed the revelation of God, we may know that future to be a terrible one to the servants of unrighteousness. What is the duty of man as dictated by mere common sense ? It is to seek and trust that which is tr2ie. (State the Gospel plan.) In looking to the future : — FALSE SECURITIES. 219 (1) We cannot esca'^e the trial of our securities. (2) If we set ourselves against God^ we challenge all the forces of His creation^ ^re^ ivind, flood, "pestilence, etc. ^^ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God/'' 220 The Reconciliation of Saul. Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David ? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. — 1. Samuel xxiv. 16. David, the deliverer of Israel, was liated and pursued by the very man who should have honoured and loved him most. ^^ Saul said, I will smite David even to the wall ; '' " Saul said. Let the hand of the Philistines be upon him j ^^ " Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines ; ^^ ^' Saul became David^s enemy continually ; ^^ ^^ Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David ; ^^ and whensoever Saul heard of the course of David's wandering, his heart burned with the fury of vengeance. This is a glimpse of the life of an anointed man ! Truly, there be mysteries in human life which seem to shut out as with a wall of darkness the whole idea of God and spiritual government. In winter it is THE RECONCILIA TION OF SA UL. 221 difficult to believe that in a few weeks tlie land will blush with the glowing colour of sweet flowers; in the blackness of night it is not easy to suppose that pre- sently there will be a great flame in the heavens, and the sunny air will be full of singing birds. It is so with our poor life. God gives one great conquest into our hands, and then drives us away as with a furious wind of anger or contempt, — a wind which often blows out the lamp of our hope, or throws down the tree whose shadow promised rest. It is in such hours that the hearths pain is turned into questions, and those questions are made bitter by the hopelessness, not of philosophical, but of experimental atheism. David says to us this morning — Study my life ; look how God dealt with me ; put your trials into one scale, and mine into the other. ^^I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivereth me from all my fears.^^ " This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles ! ^^ Thus one man lives for many, and the sorrow of one soul gathers up the felt but unspoken woe of many generations. Let us try, as reverend students of divine mysteries, to find out something in the bitterness of Da^dd^s ex- perience which will help us more manfully and hopefully to live out our own few days. 1. Whilst the good man sees his own perils, let him also see the restraints luhich are put upon the wicked. 2 2 2 PULPIT NOTES. Saul is miglity; Saul has servants; Saul is accus- tomed to dip his sword in human blood \ yet he cannot hit David ! Sau?s javelin is shivering in the wall there. He meant it to pierce David^s head! Saul was just on the point of slaying David_, but that fact shows the nearer presence of spiritual defence. ^^ The same nighty when Herod would have brought him forth/' etc. (Acts xii. 6). Why should we always look at the peril ? Why not look at the escape, and find in its very narroivness the clearest proof of divine care ? 2. Let the had man put to himself some serious ques- tions respecting tlie restraints which limit his power. Saul should have learned a good deal from the failures which followed each other in rapid succession. If enmity could have killed the Church, where would the Church have been this day ? Fire^ sword, bondage, hunger, torture, darkness, — all have been tried. 4 " Quenched the violence of fire,'' etc. (Heb. xi. 36, 37). And still their life rose up before men, a temple of God's building, beautiful as light, high as heaven ! Why do the heathen so furiously rage ? Evil is a gigantic failure : is there not a cause ? 3. Though mediation may fail in carrying out its purposes, yet let no wise mediator suppose that his ivorh is in vain. Jonathan was mediator between Saul and David. — His repeated and severe discouragements. — THE RECONCILIATIOJSi OF SAUL. 223 Looking at it on one side_, lie might well liave aban- doned his work as a failure. — What of its influence upon David ? How it cheered him like a light ! how it soothed him like the music of a better world ! Be some man^s true friend. No word of love is lost. No true ministry is a failure^ though it may have aspects which are discouraging. 4. Observe the infinite sujperioritij of power that is MORAL, as compared ivith poiver that is physical. Saul went to seek David upon the rocks of the wild goats. In his pursuit he came to the sheepcotes where there was a cave, and into that cave he entered, little knowing who was there ! (ch. xxiv.j Describe the scene. Saul lifted up his voice and wept ! What a difference between this and a mere fight of hostile weapons I (1) In the worst men there is something that may be touched ; (2) In every life there is at least one oppor- tunity of showing the real quality of the heart. David seized it ! This is the sublime appeal of the Gospel ! God does not crush us by mere power. Love, truth, persuasion, — these are the weapons of God^s warfare ! Day by day we are in the power of God. We enter no cave where He is not : on the high, silent mountain ; in the deep, shadowy valley ; in the den of the wild beast, and in the nest of the eagle ; there He is ! When the lightning flashes. He says to 224 PULPIT NOTES. the wicked manj See, witli this I could have struck thee blind ! Wlien the storm howls madly across sea and desert and forest^ He says, See, with this I could throw down thy dwelling-place, and bury thee in its ruins ! But as I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the sinner \ turn ye, turn ye ; why will ye die ? 225 Saul's Second Reconciliation. PRAYER. Almighty God, seeing that we are reconciled to Thee by Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our infinite Saviour, we will be glad in the house of Thy choice, and sing aloud in the quiet sanctuary. Thy mercies surround us like a water of defence, and as streams that nourish the soul's life. Where they are, no drought can ever be. "We praise Thee for goodness upon goodness, higher than the great mountains ; for blessing upon blessing, like the waves of the deep sea. Thou nourishest us, therefore are we strong : Thou watchest as, therefore the enemy is kept at bay. When we sin against Thee, Thou dost weep over us like a grieved parent : and when we do that which is right. Thou beamest upon our hearts more than the sun beameth in his strength. We praise Thee : we love Thee : our love is even deeper than our sin : purify us by the blood of the One Sacrifice, and fill our whole life with the sanctifying power of God the Holy Ghost. Amen. Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David : thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. — 1 Saml'el xxvi. 25. We have spoken of the reconciliation of Saul, and have had some reason to believe^ from the tender 226 PULPIT NOTES. words which Saul said, that he and David would be friends evermore. " Saul lifted up his voice and wept; and he said unto David, Thou art more righteous than I ; for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil/' When a man like Saul has wept, and spoken words so morally noble, it is but fair to credit him with sincerity and permanence. I have no hesitation in crediting him with sincerity. At the time of his reconciliation he meant every word he said. Yet in a brief period we find Saul going do^sm to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men to seek David, who had been reported as hiding himself in the hill of Hachilah. Then came the gush of emotion upon the part of Saul. The weapon which conquered him in the first instance conquered him also in the second. Forbearance was mightier than weapons of war. The sword has slain its countless thousands, but love holds the universe in sweet and glad captivity. ^^Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day : behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly .'' David knew the king better than the king knew himself. He knew too well that Saul was under the dominion of an evil spirit, so he said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should SA UBS SECOND RECONCILIATION. 227 speedily escape into tlie land of the Philistines; and when it was told Saul that David had escaped to Gath, he sought no more for him. Our business this morning is to read the lessons^ applicable for ever, in the strange and sorrowful story of human life. I. It is proved that the deepest and sincebest EMOTION MAY BE TEANSIENT IN ITS MORAL EFFECTS. We left Saul reconciled; we find him again in arms. There are two things which are often mistaken for christian feeling : (1) Selfish gratitude for unexpected preservation; (2) Admiration of moral nobleness in others. See how this is applicable to hearei^ of the Gospel. Men hear of Jesus Christ^ s sympathy _, love, beneficence, etc. Feeling may be exhausted. " Past feeling.^' II. It is shown that self-control is in proportion TO the estimate formed of the divine ELEMENT THAT IS IN MAN. How was it that David withheld his hand when Saul was delivered over to him as lawful prey ? Human nature said, Strike : another voice said. For- bear ! Twice David might have slain Saul, and twice he spared his Hfe. We want to know the secret of this most marvellous self-control. We find it pithily stated in the interview between Abishai and David. Ahishal Q 2 i2S , PULPIT NOTES, said, "Thine enemy:" Bavid said, "The Lord's ANOINTED.'^ Two different views of tlie same man ! The one narrow, selfish, superficial ; the other profound and true. So it is with every man : he is not to be measured merely by Ms 'personal relations to ourselves. True, he may be our enemy, yet he may bear another aspect. Pray to see the highest and divinest aspect of every man^s character. We shall thus be enabled, (1) to hope something even of the worst; and (2) to do something in the negative work of sparing, even where we cannot do anything in the positive work of reclaiming. Paul had respect even for a weak man, not because he was weak, but because Christ died for him. By taking the highest view of mauj he was enabled to do many things for the sake of the Christ that was in him. " But when ye so sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.''^ III. It is shown how much better it is to trust our INTERESTS TO THE WORKING OUT OF DIVINE LAWS THAN TO' CARE FOR THEM WITH NARROWNESS OF SPIRIT. " As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him : or his day shall come to die : or he shall descend into battle and perish." Why fight with thy own poor weak fist ? etc. A^^iy prefer murder to divine retribution ? Why narrow down human life to a paltry duel ? etc. SAUrS SECOND RECONCILIATION, 229 > The battle is not yours, but God^s. Sliall not God avenge His own elect wbicli cry day and night unto Him, tliougli He bear long with them ? Dearly beloved^ avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath : for it is written. Vengeance is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord. " Kill your enemies ? Kill a fool's head, of your own ; They'll die of themselves if you let them alone." If thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink ; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. lY. It is clearly shown that flight feom dangee IS PEEFECTLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE HIGHEST COUEAGE. David was never chargeable with cowardice, yet he escaped like an affrighted man. ^^If they persecute you in one city,^' etc. There is a time to fight (Goliath); there is a time to fly (Saul). The one was an uncircumcised Philistine, the other was the Lord^s anointed. Understand that there are differences of conquest. David conquered Saul as surely as he conquered Goliath. God sees His own image in us. To recover it, He sent His Son. 230 David's Atheistic Reasoning. The lords favour thee not. — 1 Sam. xxix. 6. The people spake of stoning him. — 1 Sam. xxx. 6. The trials whicli David underwent at tlie hands of Saul having been reviewed, we now come to a different class of trials,, viz., tlie afflictions which were laid upon David by the Philistines. When David was so severely persecuted by Saul, he went over to the Philistines; specially he allied himself with Achish, tlie Philistine king of Gath, and fouglit under his direction. David succeded in winning the confi- dence of Achish, so much so that on one occasion Acliisli said to David, ^^ Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.'^ It came to pass, however, that wlien tlie Philistines saw David in tlie army of Achish, the princes of the Philistines were wroth, and said, '*' Make this fellow return again to his DA VIUS A THEISTIC REASONING. 231 place wliicli tliou liast appointed liim. ... Is not this David_, of whom they sang one to another i]i dances, saying, Sanl slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands ? ^^ So David^s honour became the occasion of David^s persecution and sore trial. That very song roused the jealousy of Saul, and now it excited the hatred of the princes of the Philistines. When Achish told David the decision of the princes, David pathetically expostulated, ^^But what have I done, and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king ? ^^ To this inquiry, so full of genuine feeling, Achish returned a noble reply : ^^ I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God : notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. ^^ Remember, David was an anointed man ! Saul hated him, and the Philistines cast him out. Samuel had anointed him with oil, and, lo, he was despised of men ! He had slain the enemy of Israel, yet Israel spat upon his name. He had served the Philistines, yet their princes drove him away with bitter reproaches. Nor was this all. When David came to Ziklag, he found that the A.ma- lekites had burned the city with fire, and taken all the people into captivity. So terrible was the feeling of the men, that they spoke of stoning David, because 232 PULPIT NOTES, the soul of every man was grieved for his sons and for his daughters. Saul hated him : the Philistines thrust him away : his own men spake of stoning him : — yet David was an anointed man ! Some very serious questions are forced upon us by this condition of affairs. Where was God ? Where was the pro- phecy of Samuel ? What was the value of Divine election ? Would it not have been better for David to have broken away from old vows and old hopes, and to have plunged into com-ses which would have given him instant pleasure ? First of allj let it be clearly understood that the story, viewed as illustrative of providential care, is by no means so bad as it looks. Somewhere we shall find an explanatory word. In reading history, always seek for the moral liey. In estimating personal life, never forget to searcli the heart. The mysteries of providence are sometimes only the shadows of our own misjudgments and immoralities. I. We find the secret of David's ill-fortunes amongst the Philistines in these words : — " And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul : there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines ; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel : so shall I escape out DA VID'S A THEISTIC REASONING. 233 of his hand.-'^ This is the first piece of atheistic reasoning which we have met in the life of David. The old tone is wanting. This is the talk of a Phi- listine^ so to the Phihstines let him go. David takes his own case into his own hands — let him_, then^ learn the folly of his wisdom and the weakness of his strength ! There are three things in life which must lead to disappointment^ shame, and ruin : — (1) Atheistic self-trust; (2) Immoral and unnatural associations ; and (3) Duplicity and equivocation. All these we find at this period of David^s life. *^ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,, and lean not Tinto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him/'' etc. ^^ Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.''' A standard of judgment is thus supplied to every man. Where did we break down ? It is a moral collapse, — at what point did it set in ? We may not be able to charge ourselves with a violent apostasy, but what of imjperceptible decay ? 11. David having brought himself into difficulties with the Philistines, the question was how to get out of those difficulties, and resume the old relations ? The way of error is never easy. David thought he had found a nest of comfort, but behold there was a 234 PULPIT NOTES. serpent in the nest, and it threatened his very life ! These atheistic nests are very uncertain dwelling- places. They look inviting, but the wind will surely tear them in pieces. How did God deliver His servant ? Through the tvrath of David's enemies. Suppose the Philistines had been pleased with him ! Imagine for a moment the state of affairs if the princes had promoted him to honour, and laid him under the spell of their cruel blandishments. David complained of their treatment, not knowing that God was blowing'^ up the rock in order to make a way of escape. Understand three things : (1) God does not easily or willingly cast off His erring children; (2) Social injustice or cruelty may have a meaning never in- tended by its perpetrators; (3) The destruction of present securities may prepare the way for complete and enduring rest. III. Though David had experienced severe trials manifestly sent by the hand of God, he was to be saved from ruinous conclusions by seeing what it was to fall into the hands of men. We sometimes suppose that if we could get clear of God, things would go easily with us. We think that by giving up religion we can escape difficulty. Be a materialist, and all will be well. Join the Philistines, and put an end to your miseries ! Let us correct our reasoning by look- DA VIUS ATHEISTIC REASONING. 235 ing soberly at facts. How was it with David ? The Philistines thrust him away^ and his own men spake of stoning him. How false is the supposition that in escaping religion we escape trial ! The case of a minister giving up his ministry to make money^ etc. The case of a good man quenching his religious con- victions and uniting with evil-doers, etc. IV. A better spirit came unto David. ^^ He came unto himself.^^ He was even as a returning prodigal. Hear the music of his better mood : " But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.^^ From that hour the light came, and deliverance, and victory upon victory. For a time David had taken his life into his own hand, noiu he returned unto God, and made his peace with heaven. Woe unto the troops of Amalek in that day ! ^' David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day.^^ To ourselves there is a lesson. Come, let us return unto the Lord ! We have wandered amongst enemies, and felt the bitterness of their treatment : we have strayed from the sanctuary, and gone into the land of idols and strange gods, and have seen how lifeless and powerless are the images carven by the cunning of men : we have broken our vows and forgotten our deliverances : we have taken charge of our own life, and it has perished in our keeping : come, let us 236 PULPIT NOTES. return unto tlie Lord^ — let us say, " We have sinned, and are no more worthy to be called Tliy cliildi'en ; ^^ let us get back to the old foundations, tlie rock of righteousness and the stone of Zion, and who can tell how much of heaven we shall enjoy on ■earth ! 237 The Secret Prayers of Jesus Christ. And when He had sent them away, He departed into a mountain to pray. — Mark vi. 46. Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me : nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. He went away again the second time, and prayed, sajong, my Father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done. — Matthew xxvi. 36, 39, 42. 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. — Matthew vi. 6. PRAYER. Almighty God, Thou hearest the voice of common prayer : Thou hearest also the sighing of the heart in secret. Thine eye is upon us in the house which is called the house of prayer : it is also upon us when we seek Thee in solitude, and speak to Thee without word or sound. Our heart cannot alway utter itself, for love is older and deeper than speech ; yet Thou knowest the meaning of our silence, and the design of our tears. Teach us, by the life of Thy dear Son, how near Thou art ; how deep is the condescension, and how tender is the pity of God. Help each heart to say, IIij Father, as Jesus did, then in assembling 2sS PULPIT NOTES. ourselves togetlier we can say, Our Father, as w-ith the voice of many- waters. Watch us in company and in solitude. Nourish our hearts with Thy grace. Fill us with the peace of Jesus Christ, God the Son, through whose blood alone we have the forgiveness of sins. Amen. Sometimes Jesus Clirist prayed publicly ; in the cases before us He prayed in secret. The Lord^s prayer was probably pronounced in the hearing of a great multitude ; His intercessory prayer was offered in the presence of the disciples ; His prayer at the grave of Lazarus was heard by ^^them that stood by ;" and in other cases He was a public suppliant at the throne of heaven. It is clear, however, that Jesus Christ did not live upon His public prayers. He was religious in secret. He had much to say which none might hear but His Father. For this reason He moved away to the lonely and silent mountain, or passed into some secret shade in the garden. Think of a man holding God in secret converse ! Having God all to himself ! Surely the place of such converse must be holy — it must be fresh with eternal verdure — it must catch many a breeze from heaven ! It is in this way that spots become consecrated ; lonely spots, unknown to the fame of romance, but held in imperishable remem- brance by the heart. You know the turn in the rugged hill where you said your first prayer to God ? You remember the bush behind which on many a summer day you fought the decisive battles of your SECRET PRAYERS OF JESUS CHRIST, 239 life ? You remember tlie little green grave^ yourself on one side and God on the otlier^ beside wbicli you renounced the world as nothingness, and accepted heaven as home ? Such places seem to hallow the whole earth. When we visit them_, we live our lives over again : when we think of them, our slipping feet recover their steadiness : when we are far ofiP in the wilderness, they send after us the fragrance of blossoms, and remind us that even the desert may be turned into a garden of delight. This morning, gathered though we be in the centre of London, where all languages blend in tumultuous and confusing sounds, we are to pursue the footprints of the Saviour away up the mountain, and through the shaded paths of Gethsemane, that from His own example we may learn the meaning of Eis own words — ^^Pray to thy Father which is in secret.''^ I. Look at the first case to which the texts call attention. ^^And when He had sent them away. He departed into a mountain to pray.'^ Look at the circumstances in order to understand the meaning of this retirement. A great multitude had been following Jesus Christ in a desert place; they had nothing to eat, and in this extremity the 240 PULPIT NOTES. disciples proposed that they should be sent away to buy themselves victuals. Jesus Christ bade the disciples supply Him with such resources as they themselves had, and having distributed these amongst the multitude, the hunger of every man was appeased, and many fragments remained. Having done this wondrous miracle. He retired to the mountain that He might hold secret fellowship with His Father. How many of us fail precisely at this point ! We do a cjveat deed, and mistake it for the greatest. Having fed a multitude, what more can possibly be required at our hands? Men pride themselves on the acquisition of theu' laurels, and imagine that they show their discretion by refusing- to put those laurels in peril. The common reasoning* of the world says : ^^ Let well alone ; we have this much, and we shall not make any further attempt lest we undo what we have already accomplished.''^ If Jesus Christ had finished His whole ministry with the miracle of feeding the five thousand, it would undoubtedly have been, so far as the miraculous element is concerned, a brilliant termination. Having, however, wrought the marvellous deed. He retired into solitude that he might pray. Our temptation is to mistake the intermediate for the final — to mistake the feeding of the multitude for the redemption of the w^orld. Is it not a temptation to which many a SECRET PRAYERS OE JESUS CHRIST. 241 jparent is exposed ? I have lieard i:)arents reason in this fashion : ^' We have given our children a * good education — now they must do the best they can for themselves ; we have spared no money upon their schooling, we have supplied their physical wants, we have set our children in the midst of good surroundings, and now we relinquish our hold of them, and throw them upon their own responsibility/^ Beware ! You have now reached the moment that is critical. You have undoubtedly done nobly, yet "by the cessation of your effort at this moment you may turn the whole of the past into failure and mortification ! You have exhausted yourselves on the physical side of your obligation, now betake your- selves along the foot-prints of the Saviour far away up the lonely mountain, that you may in secret com- munion with God renew the strength which another struggle will so much require ! Does not the same reflection also apply to the minister of the Gospel ? Is he not tempted to say, when he has preached the best sermon which it is in his power to compose, that now he will retire from the field in the flush of triumph, and leave everything else to take its own course ? There are moments in our ministry when we feel with peculiar effect the consciousness of spiritual power; there are moments in which we are filled with the very spirit of victory; we fear E 242 PULPIT NOTES. that furtlier trial would reveal our weakness rather than discover some new phase of our power, so we are tempted to withdraw from the field whilst our arms are unquestionably in the ascendant. There is infinite danger here. True, we may be unable to continue the splendid service in which we have been so signally honoured before the eyes of men; we are therefore to retire from the field of strife, and the sphere of beneficent activity, that in secret prayer we may become qualified to retmm to work, which has not only taxed but exhausted our powers. Life is not to be one great stretch of doubtful or successful activity; it is to be broken in upon by seasons of religious quietness, periods of the closest fellowship with the One Father. ' II. Look now afc the case of Gethsemane. The end is at hand. What if there be failure at the very last ! The repeated prayers make one very fearful. It seems as if Christ might after all be worsted in the struggle. We become excited when we see Him going away from time to time, that he may be quite alone. In some of the most solemn and glorious moments of His ministry He iias taken with Him Peter, James, and John. They accompanied Him up the Mount of Transfiguration : they went with Him into the chamber of death : but now He begins to SECRET PRAYERS OF JESUS CHRIST. 243 leave even tliose favoured disciples behind, and to be mucli alone. Wliat is the meaning of such secrecy? When physicians retire from the sick chamber, and consult in whispers, terror may well strike the hearts of those who have long been watching by the bed of sickness. Such retirement has deep, sad meaning. In a moment the chief watcher will be called from his watching to hear that the light of hope has been put out ! So when Jesus goes away from us, and is overheard praying in the solitude of Gethsemane, may we not tremble lest He be about to relinquish the work which He came to accomplish, and to return to tell us that at last he has yielded to the weakness of the flesh and the importunity of the devil, and that the world^s hope is destroyed ? See from the secret prayer of Gethsemane how far we are at liberty to put before God our own view of the circumstances in which we are placed. Jesus Christ said, "Let this cup pass from me." This has justified us in many a crisis, in telling our Father what we ourselves would like to be done. We have told Him what lives we wish to have spared, what mountains to have removed, what rivers to have dried up, and with childlike simplicity have declared our own will respecting the issue and destiny of our own life. God knows r2 244 PULPIT NO TES. liow it lias relieved our breaking hearts to be permitted to tell Him just wbat we wish to be and to do. The mere telling has been rest to the soul. If we could not have spoken according to our ignorance and weakness,, we should have been overburdened, mayhap destroyed; but when in the grace and pity of God we have been allowed to state our case and show the direction of our imperfect will, we have been healed by our own speech, and the sound of our own voice has prepared us to listen the more reverently to the voice of God. See how elevated are the considerations which are brought to bear upon the case — ^'^if it be possible.''^ Observe that God Himself is made the judge of the possibility. God''s possibility is one thing, man^s is another. What may appear to be easily possible to man, may in the view of God be impossible. Possibility is one thing in physics, and another in morals. We may be mighty with the arm, and yet powerless in moral force. When therefore we use the word possible in connection with our prayers, we only use it wisely when we remit the question of possibility from the region of our own ignorance and incapacity to the hand of God Himself. See from the example of Jesus Christ how we SECRET PRAYERS OF JESUS CHRIST. 245 may enlarge or amend our prayers. ^^ He prayed a second time/^ We cannot always get to the higliest point at one step. Prayer helps prayer. Prayer is a strengthening and ascending process. Our first prayer may be very feeble and tremulous, but we gather courage from it to pray again. Some of us have astonished ourselves by the growth and urgency of our prayers. Comparing the prayers of to-day with those which we offered twenty years ago, we are conscious of having increased in reverent familiarity with God, and in power of expressing the greatest wants of our life. This should encourage many hearts. You hear a man pray in public, and are amazed at the richness and fervour of his petitions, and may probably feel proportionately discouraged : remember that the man whose prayers have so excited your astonishment did not himself pray in this manner at the beginning of his Christian career. Then his heart was doubtful, his voice trembled, his manner indicated the utmost fearfulness of spirit; he has grown to trust — go thou and do likewise. See through the whole of Jesus Christ's prayers how he persistently calls upon God as His Father, In His deepest sorrow the name of Father is stil? upon His lips. When He addresses the Almighty in terms of personal distress and terrible shrinking from 246 PULPIT NOTES. deaths He still uses tlie most endearing of names. Jesus Christ did not say Eternal^ Infinite, Everlasting, — He used the sweet and tender name which child- hood may use when asking a father's blessing. III. In the last place, how Christ's experience bears upon Christ's doctrine. '^^ And He shall reward Thee openly." Was Jesus Christ openly rewarded after He had breathed His prayers to His Father in secret ? Follow Him to the Cross ! As He hangs upon that tree, what word is it that breaks from His lips ? Hear Him ! " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ? " There is here a great discrepancy. Jesus expected an open reward ; He boldly declared that if men prayed to their Father in secret, they would be rewarded openly in the face of day. Yet look at His own experience in the face of this teaching ! The m^n who prayed in secret confessed Himself /or^a/je?? on the Cross. What are we to make of a difficulty of this kind ? We are to do with this difficulty as with all others in the government of God — we are to luait. The Cross was not the full stop in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Presently the forsaken one will return and when we see Him again we shall ask Him concerning this tremendous contradiction. See, He comes to meet us upon a mountain in Galilee — there is fire glowing in His eyes — His attitude is majestic and SECRET PRAYERS OF JESUS CHRIST. 247 commanding — listen ! ^^ All 'power is given unto me in Heaven and on earth. ^' Now we see that the discre- pancy was but momentary ; the reconciliation is profound and eternal. Wait ! God^s work is not finished in darkness. We shall meet on the mountain ! Our handsj our feet^ our temples, may bear the marks of cruelty ; battle stains may be upon us ; but in our hearts there shall be a great victory ; and as for our power, it shall be as unwasting as the strength of Grod. 248 Moses at Marah. And -when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the Avaters oi Marah, for they were bitter : therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, "What shall we di'ink ? And he cried unto the Lord ; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. — Exodus xv. 23-25. The cliildren of Israel had just concluded their song of thankfulness for deliverance from the hand of Pharaoh and his hosts. A very wonderful song too had they sung. It might have had the thunder for an accom- panimentj so solemn was it and so majestic. It rises and falls like the great billows of the sea. Now it roars by reason of its mightiness^ and presently it subsides into a tone of tremulous pathos. The chil- dren of Israel had been made ^^more than conquerors/' they had not simply conquered by the expenditure of every energy, as is sometimes done in hotly-contested MOSES AT MAR AH. 249 fields,, — tliey had actually stood stilly and in tlieir standing liad seen the salvation of God. Their refer- ences to Pharaoh and his hosts were made in a tone of derisive victory. '^ Pharaoh's chariots and His horses hath He cast into the sea : his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.'' " Thou didst blow with Thy wind^ the sea covered them, they sank as lead in the mighty waters." " Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously ; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea/' — thrown, as a child might throw a pebble into the deep ! After singing such a song, Israel will never again know the meaning of doubt or fear. The singing of such a song marks an epoch in the history of life. In the presence of difficulty Israel will remember this hour of holy triumphing, and under the inspiration of such a recol- lection will surmount every obstacle. Is not this a reasonable supposition ? Will not the greatest event in life rule all secondary events, and determine all subordinate considerations ? Surely, if this hour could be forgotten, the fear of death might return upon those who have already conquered the grave. Alas ! we soon find how much difference there is between singing a hymn and living a life. The people had not gone more than three days into the wilderness of Shur when they showed the fickleness of the most intensely religious passion, and the inconstancy of the profoundest religious homage. 250 PULPIT NOTES. I. They could not drink of tlie waters of Marali_, for tliey were bitter — so the greatest triumphs or life MAY BE SUCCEEDED BY THE MOST VEXATIOUS INCONVENI- ENCES. God had divided the Red Sea for His people, yet He suffered them to go into places where there was no water to drink ! For their sakes He had destroyed Pharaoh and his hosts, yea, his chariots and his chosen captains, yet He allowed them to suffer the pain of thirst ! It is specially to be observed that the children of Israel were actually in the right way when they found themselves exposed to this inconvenience » Could we have found that the people had strayed but one yard from the appointed path, we should have found in that fact an explanation of this trial. We should have exclaimed as men who have suddenly found the key of a great difficulty, ^^ See what comes of disobedience to the Divine voice ! If the people had walked in the way marked out for them by the Almighty, their bread and their water would have been sure, but now that they have taken the course into their own hands, they come to bitter streams which they cannot drink ! ^^ The contrary, however, is the fact of the case. The people marched along the very road which God intended them to occupy, and in that very march they came upon waters that were bitter. Is it not often so in our own life ? We have been delivered from some great trial, some over- MOSES A T MAR AH. 251 whelming affliction wliich brought us to the very gates of deaths some perplexity which bewildered our minds and baffled our energies^ and then we have lifted up our hearts in adoring songs to the Deliverer of our liveSj and have vowed to live the rest of our days in the assured comfort arising .from the merciful inter- position and gracious defence of Grod; yet we have hardly gone three days^ march into the future until we have come upon wells which have aggravated the thirst we expected them to allay. Compared with the great deliverance^ the trial itself may seem to be trifling, yet it becomes an intolerable distress. Suffer not the tempter to suggest that the trial has befallen you because of disobedience. History has again and again shown us that the field of duty has been the field of danger, and that the way which has conducted directly from earth to heaven has been beset by temptations and difficulties too great for human strength. You may be right even when the heaviest trial is oppressing you. You may be losing your property, your health may be sinking, your prospects may be beclouded, and your friends may be leaving you one by one, yet in the midst of such disasters your heart may be steadfast in faithfulness to God. If, however, we are able to trace our trial to some outward or inward sin, then indeed it well becometh us to bow down before the God of heaven, and to utter 252 PULPIT NOTES. the cry of penitence at tlie cry of Jesus Christ, if haply we may be forgiven. II. The people murmured against Moses — so the GREATEST SERVICES OF LIFE ARE SOON FORGOTTEN. In- stead of saying to Moses, " Thou art our leader, and we will trust thee; we remember thy services in the past, and we believe thee to be under the inspiration of God/^ the children of Israel turned round upon Moses and openly treated him as incapable, if not treacherous. A¥here was their recollection of the overthrow of Pharaoh? "VYliere was the memory of the thunderous and triumphant song which they sang when the sea covered the chariots and horsemen of the tyrant king ? The people murmured and whimpered like disappointed children, instead of bearing their trial with the fortitude of men and the hope of saints. So soon do we forget the great services which have been rendered by our leaders. Moses was the states- man of Israel, yet see how he was treated when he came upon difficulties over which he had no personal control ! It is so that we deal with our own patriots : they think for us, they scheme for us, they involve themselves in the most exhausting labour on our account ; so long as they repeat our sentiments, and give effect to our wishes, we laud them and write their names upon the bright banner, but let them turn MOSES A T MARAH. 253 round and utter a conviction with whicli we cannot sympattiise,, or propose a sclieme with which we are but ill-fitted to grapple, so comprehensive is its scope and so numerous its details, and in a moment we will strike them in the face and trample their reputation in the dust. We do the same with our preachers. We want our preachers to be but echoes. So long as they will say from the pulpit the things which we have been saying with cuckoo-like regularity for many years, we call them excellent preachers, and pay them their paltry dole with as much enthusiasm as small natures can feel ; but if they attempt to lead us into unwonted tracks, if they do but suggest in the most remote and delicate manner that possibly there are some truths which we have not yet mastered, the probability is we shall in an hour forget the pastoral solicitude and the ministerial zeal of years, and treat as enemies the men who have been our wisest and gentlest friends. III. And Moses cried unto the Lord — so magnani- mous PRAYER IS BETTER THAN OFEICIAL RESIGNATION. Think what Moses might have said under the circum- stances ! With what indignation he might have answered the murmuring mob ! ^^ Am I God that I can create wells in the desert ? Are we not moving under the express command of heaven, and has not God some purpose in leading us this way ? Do I 254 PULPIT NOTES. drink at a secret well of pure water, and leave you to be poisoned by waters tliat are diseased ! Avauntj ye unreasoning and ungrateful reptiles, and learn the •elements of civility and tlie first principles of mo- rality." Instead of speaking so, what did Moses do ? S.e cried unto the Lord ! All great leaderships should be intensely religious, or they will assuredly fail in the patience without wliich no strength can be complete. The question was not between Moses and Israel, — the question was between Moses and the Almighty One, revealed by the gracious names of. the God of Abra- ham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ; hence to that Almighty One Moses directed his appeal. Did the chief relations of life subsist wholly between the human parties involved, there might be a ready way of escaping from difficulty and vexation ; such however is not the fact; the relation of parent and child, or of pastor and church, or of strong and weak, is not a relation complete in itself, — it has a religious basis, and it involves religious responsibility. What then are men to do when they are assailed by murmur- ing and distrust from those who are under their care ? They are not to take the high and mighty plan of standing on their so-called dignity, nor are they at liberty to enter the chariot of their own proud indigna- tion, that they may pass away into quieter realms; they must take the case to Him who is Lord and MOSES A T MARAH. 255 Master,, and must wait the indication of His will. I cannot tMnk of tlie patience of Moses, or of any man or woman who has ever been concerned in the best training of life, without seeing in such patience a faint emblem of that higher patience which is em- bodied in the life and ministry of the Saviour of man- kind ! Were He not patient with us beyond' all that we know of human forbearance and hope. He would surely consume us from the face of the earth, and so silence for ever the voice of our petulant and unreason- ing complaint ; but He cares for us. He yearns over us ; when we strive most vehemently against Him, when we smite His back and pluck the hair from His cheek. He inquires with agony of wounded love, '^ How can I give thee up ? ^^ " Kindled His relentings are ; Me He still delights to spare ; Cries, ' How shall I give thee up ? Lets the lifted thunder drop." Parents, instead of resigning the oversight of your children, pray for them ! Pastors, instead of resign- ing your official positions, pray for them that despite- fully use you ! All who in anywise seek to defend the weak, or lead the blind, or teach the ignorant, instead of being driven off by every unreasonable murmuring, renew your patience by waiting upon God ! 256 PULPIT NOTES. IV. And the Lord showed him a tree — so where THERE IS A BANE IN LIFE, THERE IS ALSO AN ANTIDOTE. The water was bitter, but there was a tree of healing at hand ! Things are never so bad in reahty as they often appear to be. Undoubtedly there are bitter experiences, but quite as undoubtedly there are remedies precisely adapted to these experiences. The tree was not created in order to meet the case : it was actually standing there at the time of the complaint. The cure is often much nearer us than our irrational distrust will allow us to suppose. Eemember that the tree was not discovered by Moses himself; it was specially pointed out by the Lord. God is the teacher of true methods of healing the body, as well as the only source of spiritual salvation. We may divide the spheres amidst which we live, and may for the sake of convenience call one Agriculture, another Medicine, another Architecture, and others by dis- tingaishing names, but, regarded profoundly and truly, human life is still under a Theocracy. Theo- logy contains all that is true in art and in science as well as the doctrines which apply to our highest capabilities and aspirations. An ancient saint looking upon the ploughman and upon the sower, and observing how they prepared the earth to bring forth and bud, that there might be bread for the world, exclaimed, ^' This also cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts, who MOSES AT MARAH. 257 is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working/^ The true physician is inspired of heaven ; so is the true poet; so is the true painter; so also is the true preacher. We must not narrow theology until it becomes a sectarian science j we must insist that within its expansiveness are to be found all things and all hopes which minister to the strength and exalt the destiny of human life. My friend^ hast thou come in thy wilderness way to the place of bitter waters ? Canst thou not drink of the stream, even though thy thirst be burning and thy strength be wasted ? Know thou, there is a tree the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations ! A tree ? Truly so ; but a tree as yet without a leaf, — a tree bare as the frosts and the winds of winter can make itj — the great, grim, dear sad, wondrous Cross of the Son of God ! Some of us have sought to touch the wells of life with other trees, but we have only aggra- vated the disease which we sought to cure. By the grace of heaven we have been enabled to apply the Cross to the bitter wells of our sin and grief, and behold the waters have become clear as the crystal river which flows fast by the throne of God ! 25« On the Treatment of Birds' Nests. If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young : But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee ; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest i:)rolong thy days. — Deut. xxii. 6, 7. The minuteness of divine law is here very beautifully illustrated. God does not finish great breadths of work and leave the details to be filled in by other hands. He who guards the planets guards the bird's nest_, though in the latter case His defence may be broken down by wanton hands. Our own life is to be a life of exactness in detail. It is not enough to keep the law in those great aspects which appeal to the public eye^ and by keeping which a reputation is sometimes unjustly gained^ but by attention to those minute and hardly discernible ON THE TREA TMENT OF BIRDS' NESTS. 259 features of cliaracter wliicli indicate the real quality of the man. The henejiceace of divine law is also illustrated by this protection of the bird's nest. God is kind in little things as well as in great. The quality of His love is one^ whether it be shown in the redemption of the race^, in numbering the hairs of our head^ in ordering our steps, or in giving his beloved sleep. Did we but know it, we should find that all law is beneficent; the law of restriction as well as the law of liberty. The law which would keep a man from doing injury to himself, though it may appear to impair the prerogative of human will, is profoundly beneficent. Was not man to have dominion over the fowls of the air ? Truly so, but dominion is to be exercised in mercy. Power that is uncontrolled by kindness soon becomes despotism. Power belongeth unto God, — unto God also belongeth mercy; this is completeness of dominion, not only a hand that can rule but a heart that can love. A proliibition of this kind shows that there is a right and wrong in everything. There is a right way of appropriating the contents of a bird^s nest, and there is a way that is equally wrong. So also there is a right way of chiding, and there is a chastisement which becomes mere malice. Morality goes down to every root and fibre of life. In ofiering a salutation s 2 26o PULPIT NOTES. in opening a door, in uttering a wish, in writing a letter, in using titles of deference, in every possible exercise of human thought and power, the moral element is present. The principle of this prohibition admits of wide ap- plication to human life. For example : He who can wantonly destroy a bird^s nest may one day cruelly break up a child^s home. We cannot always stop our wantonness just when we please. We are all apt scholars in a bad school, and learn more in one lesson there than we can learn through much discipline in the school of God. The little tyrannies of childhood often explain the great despotisms of mature life. Is not kindness an influence that penetrates the whole life, having manifold expression, alike upward, down- ward, and laterally, touching all human beings, all inferiors and dependants, and every harmless and defenceless life ? We are to beware of the possibility of being merely pedantic in feeling. It is possible for a man to be very careful of his horse, and to hold the comfort of his servant very lightly. Are there not men who would not on any account break up a bird^s nest, who would allow a poor relation to die of hunger ? Birds' nests may be preserved, merely as a matter of taste, without the spirit of kindness entering at all into the preservation. What if in all our carefulness for dumb ON THE TREA TMENT OF BIRDS' NESTS. 261 animals we think little of breaking a human heart by sternness or neglect ? Kindness to the loiver should become still tenderer kindness to the higher. This is Christ^s own argument, when he bids us behold the fowls of the air, that in their life we may see our Father's kindness, he adds, ^' Are ye not much better than they ? '' When he points out how carefully a man would look after the life of his cattle, he adds, " How much better is a man than a sheep ? ^' It ought to be considered a presumptive argument in favour of any man's spirit, that he is kind to the inferior creatures that are around him. If this presumption be not realised in his case, then is his kindness the bitterest wrong. It is true that all such injunctions are not repeated in the Christian economy. We have not, in the Christian church now, to guard ourselves by sections and subsections of technical precepts. How, then, does the case stand with us, who have come into a complete inheritance of so-called liberty? We have passed frora the letter to the spirit. God has put within us a clean hearty so that we are no longer true, or kinch, or noble, merely because of a literal direction which is guarded by solemn sanctions, but because the Holy Ghost has sanctified us and made our hearts His dwelling-place. It is utterly in vain for us to attempt to satisfy even our own sense of right, by attending 2 6 2 PULPIT NO TES. merely to wliat is known as duty or propriety. If we have not within us the Holy Ghost as our teacher and ruler ^ the efforts of our hand will but disappoint and mock our expectations, This Holy Spirit is the gift of Jesus Christ. We must,, by faith and love^ know the Son before we can know the Spirit. 26 On Making Battlements. When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence. — Deut. xxii. 8. This is surely an extraordinary statement. May not a man please himself in building a house which he is able to pay for? No. God himself says nofc^ and society itself has in many particulars confirmed the divine word. There is nothing which a man may do merely to please himself. We are surrounded by other people^ and it is one of the most gracious appointments of divine providence^ that we are obliged to consider the effect of our movement upon our fellow-creatures. In this way self-will is limited, the gracious side of our character is strengthened, and all that is highest in friendship is purified and established. 264 PULPIT NOTES. It is easy to see how objections to such an appoint- ment as that indicated in the text might arise. For example : "My neighbour will call upon me only now and then : why should I make a permanent arrangement to meet an exceptional circumstance ? ^^ We are in reality to build for exceptional circumstances. Granted that the average temperature of the year is mild^ that for most of the twelve months the wind is low and the rains are gentle ; yet we build our houses not for such averages,, but for the possibility of severe elemental trials. The ship-builder builds his vessels not for smooth waters and quiet days only^ but for the roughest billows and the fiercest winds. Our neigh- bour may call to-morrow — see^ then^ that the battle- ment be ready ! Though his visits be uncertain, yet that very uncertainty constitutes a demand for a permanent arrangement on our part; as the un- certainty is permanent, so also must be our means of meeting it. Be prepared for crises, and expect the unexpected, and be sure of the uncertain ; he who is so defended, for his neighbour's sake, will be found to be equal to the severest emergencies of life. " But will it not be time enough to build the battle- ment when anything like danger is in prospect V^ No. Life is to be regulated by the doctrine that prevention is better than cure. We should not feel ON MAKING BATTLEMENTS. 265 ourselves at liberty to try first whether people will fall off the roof. Life is too short and too valuable to justify such experiments. He who prevents a life being lost^ actually saves a life. The preventive ministries of life are not, indeed, so heroic and impressive in their aspects as ministries of a more affirmative kind, yet are they set down in the book of God as most acceptable services. If you prevent your boy from becoming a drunkard, it is better than if you were to save him from the extremest dissipation, though it will not carry with it so imposing an appearance before the eyes of society. ^^ But ouq-ht not men to be able to take care of themselves when they are walking on the roof, without our guarding them as if they were little children ?^^ No. We are in all things to study the interests even of the weakest men. This is the very principle of Christianity. " If eating flesh or drinking wine,^^ etc. " Him that is weak in the faith receive ye.^^ " Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." The house may be strong, but if the battlement as a sign of grace be not above it, it is wanting in that beauty which is pleasant to the eye of the Lord. You may be able to walk upon your roof without danger ; but another man may not have the same steadiness of head or firmness of foot ; and it is for that other man that you are to regulate your domestic arrangements. ^^ Love thy neighbour as thyself." 266 PULPn NOTES. See wliat the CMstian application of tliis is. If we are so to build a house as not to endanger the men who visit us, are we at liberty to build a life, which may be to others the very snare of destruction ? Is there not to be a battlement around our conduct ? Are our habits to be formed without reference to their social influence? Eemember that children are looking at us_, and that strangers are taking account of our ways, and that though we may be proud of our strength, they may be lured from righteousness by a licentiousness which we call liberty. Am I then to abstain from amusements and delights, which I could enjoy without personal injury, lest a weaker man should be tempted to do that which would injure him ? Precisely so. This is the very essence of Christian self-denial. Perhaps a man may say, in self-excuse, " I am so little known, or of so little account, that my example can do no harm to any one.''^ Is it to his credit that, as a Christian man, his example is of so little moment ? If he had been more faithful to his Master, in the circle in which he moves would he have been so little known ? The very fact of his not being known as a Christian man, may itself constitute a very heavy charge against his fidelity. Has God given directions for the building of a liouse, and forgotten to give instructions for the building of a life ? Is it like him to do the little but forget the ON MAKING BATTLEMENTS. 267 great ? Is lie not more careful about tlie tenant tlian about the bouse ? He bas given tbe most elaborate and urgent exbortations upon tliis matter of life- building. ^^ With all tby gettings_, get understanding/^ ^^ Tbe fear of tbe Lord is tbe beginning of wisdom/^ " Wisdom is tbe principal tbing/^ etc. If you would know bow carefully God bas given instructions for tbe formation and development of a strong life, read tbe book of Proverbs and tbe sayings of Jesus Cbrist. " He tbat bearetb tbese sayings of mine^ and doetb tbem/^ etc. Tbe instructions are to be found in tbe Holy Book. Gro to tbat Book witb an earnest desire to discover tbe way of salvation and tbe secret of vital growtb^ and God will assuredly put tbe mystery inta tbe beart of tbe devout and diligent man. 268 Physical Blessing followed by Religious Exhortation. Sin no more, lest a -worse thing come unto thee. — Johx v. 13. Jesus went about doing good, — that is to say_, he did not ever stand in one place waiting for people to come to Him_, but He found out cases of need and proposed to undertake their relief and cure. He did so in this case. The impotent man did not go to Jesus ; Jesus went to the impotent man. Thus Jesus worked in both ways : He stood still that people might come to Him^ and He went about that He might find the weary and the lost. The great act of Salvation is an act of approach on the part of God. '' When there was no eye to pity/"* etc. ; " God so loved the world,^^ etc. ; " The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.^' I. Sin no more, — it is cleae, then, that there is SIN NO MORE. 269 A CONNECTION BETWEEN MOEAL LIFE AND PHYSICAL LIFE. Jesus did not seek to change tlie mere habits of the sufferer. He did not give the man a scale of diet. Nothing is said as to sleeps exercise^ ablution^ or any- other physical discipline. The exhortation is pro- foundty religious — Sin no more ! Where the spiritual is wrongs the physical cannot be right, — even when it is outwardly prosperous it is so but for a moment : its prosperity is threatened by a sword already poised. On the other hand physical discipline has a religious side. Cleanliness is a religious duty. Moderation is a command of God. Early rising may be necessary to the completion of the whole idea of worship. In a word_, all oitr life is to he religious : '^ Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.^^ II. Sin no more, — it is possible, then, to leave THE PAST, AND TO BE GOOD FOE THE FUTURE. A solemn yet inspiring word is this ! We may turn over a new leaf. We may bury our dead selves. In the face of this declaration made by the Son of God, what becomes of our excuses and pleas, such as " we cannot help it;^^ ^^circumstances are against us;" '^ the flesh is weak." The first step to be taken is the formation of an earnest resolution. '^ Choose ye this day \" Then will come all the helps of study, compa- 2 7 o P ULPIT NO TES, nionsliip, liealthful service in tlie cause of goodness^ all conducted in a spirit of believing and hopeful prayer. But suppose we cannot reach, the sinless state in this life ? Let that be granted^ still we may be moving in the right direction. "1 count not myself to have apprehended,, but this one thing I do^ I press toward the mark for a prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus/' As it is possible to sin tuith the will^ is it not also possible to sin against the will ? God will judge the motive^ and His mercy will triumph wherever triumph is possible. III. Sin no more^ — then it is possible to poeget THE GEEATEST DELIVEEANCES AND BLESSINGS OF LIFE, AND TO GO BACK TO SIN. The man had been healed. A mighty hand had lifted him out of the pit of despair and set him in the sweet light of hope : his youth had been renewed : his heart had gotten back all its best hopes ; yet it was possible that all might be forgotten ! The shipwrecked mariner may forget the agonies of the sea when his voice of prayer pierced the very storm, and forced itself into heaven. We say we shall never forget a mercy so great as this, yet behold in our prosperity we forget God ! There is no spiritual eminence from which we cannot retire. There is a way back to hell even from the very thi^eshold of heaven ! SIN NO MORE. 271 IV. Lest a worse tiling come unto thee, — then it is right to appeal to fear in speaking religiously to men. This is distinctly an appeal to fear. Some men are inaccessible except through the mediam of terror, and they must be approached accordingly. " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.^^ To those who have rejected the Gospel there is a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. Y. Lest a worse thing come unto thee,— then how ma:ny must be the punishments which God can inflict ! Looking at this case one would have thought that even the wrath of heaven had been exhausted. Recall the facts : (1) Tioncj continued suffering, — " thirty and eight years : '^ (2) friendlessness, — " I have no man : '^ (3) continuous disappointment , — ^''another steppeth down before me : '' yet in view of all this, Jesus speaks of the possibility of a "worse thing. ■'^ Who can number the arrows of the Almighty ? Who can tell the temperature of His indignation ? Who hath sounded the pit of darkness so that he can sui^ely tell the depth thereof? Cannot God go beyond our imagination in the infliction of penalty ? After He has touched our skin with a loathsome disease, and made our bones tremble; after He has sent a chill to our marrow, and made our pulses stagger in their beat; 2 7 2 PULPIT NO TES. after He lias struck us blind so that we cannot see the suUj and stopped our ears so that the storm cannot be heard; after He has loosened our ankle joints^ and taken the cunning from the hand of our power ; after He has withdrawn the light from our eyes, and caused our brain to wither : is there more that He can do ? Yea ! Xo man can number all His weapons^ or tell where the confines of hell are set. Ap^Dlication : — If we would sin no more^ ive must prcuj for a daily haptism of the Holy Ghost. 273 Historical Negatives. And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar ; and he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. Tbzan of Bethlehem judged Israel seven years. And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel ten years. And after him Abdon judged Israel eight years. — Judges x. and xii. I. Geeat deeds do not always go with great NAMES. All these names are the names of Judges_, great men for the time being in Israel^ and yet we read next to nothing of them except the number of their children_, the length of their administration^ and the place of their bm'ial. It is not a good sign when a man^s name is the greatest part of him. The office may be greater than the officer. Kingship may be merely honorary and ornamental. It is but a poor thing to relate of any man of high degree how many T 274 FULPIT NOTES. days in tlie week lie spent in shooting, wliicli theatre he attended on Saturday^ and wliat minister lie listened to on Sunday. The same doctrine applies to heads of houses^ to pastors and office-bearers of churches,, and to all men in positions of trust and honour. II. It does not follow that because deeds aeb NOT GEEAT. THEREFOEE THEY AEE NOT USEFUL. Tola, Jair, Ibzan, and other judges of the same obscurity^ may have been amongst the most useful of all the leaders of Israel. The danger is that some of us may sacrifice the useful to the impracticable and the romantic. Fighting is far more tempting than sowing, but the sower has his work as well as the soldier. We cannot live on romance. But for the great breadths of commonplace in our daily course, human life would be too much for some of us. Wellington would find Waterloo a little too strong for him if he had to repeat his excitement there once a week. The world would soon come to ruin if it had nothing in it but heroes and heroisms of the earthquake and volcano type; it needs the quieter heroisms of patience, self-denial, and homely loves and industries, to make it steady and reliably strong. Tola has no name, and Ibzan is a stranger in the earth, but who can tell what mischief they jprevented HISTORICAL NEGATIVES. 275 and what broad acres they surprised into verdure and fruifcfulness ? My young friend, do you want to be a liero ? First try to be a man. III. Human history when looked at in great BREADTHS IS SEEN TO HAVE A PLAN AND TO BE UNDER THE MOST BENEFICENT CONTROL. Who COuld judge anything of the shape of the earth from a single handful of mould ? Give me licence of speech in this matter, and you will see my meaning. I will take a handful of mould into another world, the world where the angels are, and show them what the earth is like : or a tree ; or even a mountain ; what would they know of our world from any such specimen ? But could I invite them to a point whence they could catch one glimpse of its movement round the sun, how instantly would they know it to be of the family of stars in the household of their Father ! So with human life. We know nothing of it from any one day or year : we must look at it broadly if we would see the shaping hand of Glod amid all its confusion. Look at Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, and you will say how spiritless and commonplace must have been the history of Israel ! From those judges alone you would draw utterly mistaken conclusions respecting the whole history of the people. Even in the period of the Judges there could be found poetry and parable, t2 276 FULPIT NOTES. statesmanship and fighting, of no mean order. Deborah sang an immortal hymn amongst the people whom she judged : Gideon smote the Midianites as one man r Jephthah, the soldier of the mountains, has made the very pathos of history ; as for Samson, his name is the property of the world, — and what shall we say of Eli and Samuel but that they kept the very door of heaven. We must look at the whole of the fifteen judges if we would be just to the period which lies between the ministry of Moses and the kingdom of Saul. We see hill and dale : war and husbandry : straight lines of work and sharply turned curves of mystery. In our own lives there are events which stand up like mountains, and there are also quiet periods beautiful as an orchard or a wheatfield. Look at life in its connections and relationships, and see how God is shaping it into a sanctuary for his own Presence. IV. Do NOT SHRINK FEOM DUTY BECAUSE YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW AN ILLUSTRIOUS PREDECESSOR. Who would like to follow Gideon, or Jephthah, or Samson ?• The judgeship in Israel was not hereditary. Who, then, would voluntarily be nominated to an office which had been glorified by the services of such mighty men ? Look to Godi for the grace which is strength. Illustrious talents are not intended to be HISTORICAL NEGATIVES. 277 stumbling-blocks^ but encouragements even to the Iiumblest. It is not good for us to live always upon the same food. A change of ministry is good for the €hurch. The people may have had eloquence long enough ; a little plain common sense may now be use- ful : they may have had share enough of prose, they will be the better for an infusion of poetry : they may have had sufficient experience of the staircase of sentences that are all steps and no landings ; it is time that somebody should take them into a room and offer them rest. Art thou called to service ? Do thy best, for God is thy strength and thy defence. Y. Greatness will be abused if it be taken as a DISCOUEAGEMENT OP HUMBLE USEFUL SERVICE. It SeemS a pleasant thing to be Gideon, to have the strength of Samson, or to be as famous as Jephthah, but where there was so much honour there was corresponding temptation. So with statesmen, with philanthropists, with preachers. Great gifts mean great trials. Art thou but a doorkeeper ? Keep the door well. Dost thou but light the lamps of the sanctuary? The congregation could not do without such service. Dost thou but play the bellows of the organ ? How could the organist make music were the raw material not supplied by the bellows ? Are these reflections very remote from the supreme 278 PULPIT NOTES. topic of the Cliristian ministry, — tlie Cross of Atone- ment and Reconciliation ? Not one step ! Because (1) tliere we learn that the greatest name is servant; (2) there we learn that the humblest deed will be re- warded ; (3) there we learn that submission must precede exaltation ; and (4) there we learn that self- denial is necessary to the growth of the best life. Q Cross of Jesus, without thee life is a crime and success a blunder ; but through the atonement, which is best expressed by thy name, men find the pardon which is the beginning of purity, and the holiness which is the gate of heaven. 279 The Second Miracle at Cana. So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where lie made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into G-alilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down and heal his son : for he was at the point of death. — John iv. 46-54. An incident which had occurred within a comparatively small circle had made itself felt in a wider area. This principle of self-extension is most noticeable through- out the whole ministry of Jesus Christ. Philip found Nathanael^ the woman of Samaria ran into the city to tell that Messias had come, and his miracles were re- ported by many who had been healed by his power. It is interesting, too, to observe how wonderfully a sense of the comjpleteness of Christ^s power had seized the people. That he had turned water into wine was proof enough to the nobleman that he could also turn disease into health. Yet what parallel is there between 28o PULPIT NOTES. the two ? There is not a shadow of resemblance obvious to the eye of mere reason, whether trained to poetry or criticism, but to the eye of rehgious faith there is indivisible unity in divine power as essentially as in divine goodness. Men are skilful in this branch or in that, and utterly unskilful in branches which are but a little distance off: as, for example, a man who has made a study of the eye, may have little know- ledge of the ear, and an acute physician may be but a clumsy anatomist ; so much for the necessary imjper- fedness of human power; but in the case of Jesus Christ, his ability was equal at every point of the cir- cumference, — and the circumference was the universe ! 1. A nobleman whose son was sick, — Then disease finds its way into every rank. We need to remind ourselves of this lest we slip into scepticism by doubt- ing the equality of divine rule. There are no magical lines beyond which death cannot come. The great sea of trouble roars and foams over every line of latitude, and the bleak wind strikes the traveller in every land. Does the poor man suppose that pain cannot find a chink in the strong walls of the palace or the castle ? Does he suppose that great advantages have made a wall of defence around the man of wealth and learning ? Then he knows nothing of human history, nor can he be expected to know that the very advantages which he covets are themselves the sources of the great man^s THE SECOND MIRACLE AT CANA. 201 fiercest temptations. The poor man thinks that the high spire is a long way from the flood ; so it is, but how much nearer the lightning ! 2. Besought Jesus that he would come down and heal his son, — Thus where there is faith in the poiuevj there may be soraething of dictation as to the method. A very pardonable dictation surely ! There is always some blemish on our prayers, is there not ? Think of a prayer without a flaw ! Not that the flaw always shows itself, for it may be deeply hidden in the heart. More than that, it may be a flaw beyond the con- sciousness of the man who is praying ! The noble- man did not see that the power which could heal, was independent of time and space. He needed to be taught this, and the lesson was given him under cir- cumstances which would save it from oblivion. Where is your child ? On another shore ? The Healer is there ! Is the child sick ? The Healer is at his side ! Wouldst thou make all the universe a home ? Then have faith in God. 3. For he was at the point of death, — So, Jesus Christ may not be sent for until the very last. In this case, probably the delay was unavoidable. But what of other cases ? There comes a time in human life when men want more help than is to be found in their own arm, — a time when a strange giddiness seizes them, and spectral presences fill the air with cold and 282 PULPIT NOTES. unfriendly shadows. Then man puts out his arm and cannot draw it to him again, — he shouts_, and his cry is turned into laughter ! In every history this point comes, viz., ilie 'point of death ! No man can so curve his way as to avoid it. It is a point at which none but fools can be flippant. The Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ can turn the point of death into the point of immortality ! He hath abolished death, — it is but the shadow of the gate of life. 4. Jesus saith unto him. Go thy way; thy son liveth,. — Thus every promise of God challenges the contradiction of gainsayers. Mark the boldness and unreservedness of Christ's word. It was in no sense provisionaL There was no parenthesis cunningly arranged for escape. It was, too, a word whose truthfulness could be soon tested. Words of this kind abound in the speeches of Je'sus Christ. He set very brief trial times, and risked many opinions which every hearer could test for himself. He told NathanaeFs character to men who could have confounded him with disproof in a moment : he told the woman of Samaria all that ever she did : He told Simon where to find money for the tax : He told the disciples where to find the ass and the colt : and He took but three days to vindicate his promise of self-resurrection. All these patent and testable things were the first rounds of the ladder whose head reached beyond the stars. THE SECOND MIRACLE AT CANA. 283. 5. Then inquired tlie nobleman of his servants when his son began to amend, and he knew that it was at the same hour in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth, — So, things that are understood should give the mind calmness and reverence in the presence of things yet unrevealed. Some parts of the divine way are known : study them ; and if Socrates could say about human character — ^' What I know is excellent, therefore, what I do not know is likely to be excellent too,^^ we can have no diflB.culty in carrying the criticism to its highest spiritual applications. My friend, hast thou a trouble in thy house ? Have all helpers told thee that there is no more skill or strength in their hands ? Is thy hope at the point of death ? I congratulate thee ! Out of weakness thou mayest be made strong. Jesus Christ the Son of God, God the Son, has the Key of the grave itself, and, as for Death, it cannot bear the light of his eye. If thou wilt but sigh for him he will come, and when he comes he brings all heaven as his gift. Have some of you been healed ? You know not how much you may be indebted for your health to the prmjers of others. You cannot tell who prayed for you in the extremity of your weakness. Your father paid a special visit to Jesus Christ on your behalf: unknown 284 PULPIT NOTES, even to your fatliei\ your mother crept away in silence unexplained to seek tlie Saviour : and one from whom you expected no sucli service, sent, from a troubled heart, a prayer which took the kingdom of heaven by force. Think of this, and spend thy health as a talent ]ent thee by the King. 285 Moral Cowardice. The wicked flee when no man pursueth. — Prov. xxviii. 1. This is declared as a fact, and as a fact that may be accounted for on moral grounds. There is a vengeance wliicli is more than human. In the case of the wicked in the text there is ^Uio man '' pursuing^ yet the flight of the wicked is eager and violent. Conscience is the tormentor of the bad man. It shakes his fancied security. Wickedness is weakness. The motion of a straw startles a burglar in the midst of his evil work. We are not speaking of physical cowardice,, for even the best of men may sufier from physical defect^ but of moral cowardice, — the cowardice that is wrought by conscience. I. The wicked flee when no man pursueth^ — then THE FINEST FACULTIES OP MEN MAY BECOME TEREIBLE 286 PULPIT NOTES. scouRaES. Fancy, imagination, spiritual sympathy, instead of bringing strength and comfort to the heart, may continually be turning blessings into curses, may be filling the air with avenging presences, and throw- ing over the future the gloom of apprehension and dismay. When fancy is not the brilliant servant of love, it is the most inexorable ally of conscience. Fancy — the very poet of the soul — turned into a scourge of life ! The bad man is the victim of fancy. He hears steps that are not human, and sees presences which fill him with terror. It is rightly so. The bad man cannot keep any of his faculties for their highest uses : those faculties take up arms against him, and plague him with hell before the time. II. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, — then NO DEPENDENCE IS TO BE PLACED UPON THE WICKED IN THE TIME OP DANGER. Their words are loud and ^boastful, but they are always the first to see the ghost. The young man is charmed with bravado, and is glad to cast in his lot with men who curse with a will and do evil with both hands. He mistakes fury for strength. But the day of trial is coming ! The mocker will leave his victim in the lurch, and his last curse will fall on the head of his dupe. III. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, — then MORAL COWARDICE. 287 THE WICKED ARE ALWAYS MAKING FOOLS OP THEMSELVES. Fleeing wlien there is notliing to flee for ! Look at yonder bad man running downhill in violent haste; when he has sat down_, go to him and ask the reason of his speed, and if he be frank he will say — "I heard a noise; I am sure I was seen : in another moment a hand would have been upon me/'' He is sure of all this ! Did the fool but know it, the noise which he heard with terror was made by the wing of a bird in the tree near which he stood ! In the summing up of things, it will be found that the sinner is a fool as well as a criminal. The bad man is his own cojistable, his own ghost, and his own devil. lY. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, — then IF THE WICKED CANNOT BEAE THE JUDGMENT OF MAN, HOW CAN THEY ENDURE THE VENGEANCE OP GoD ? '"'■ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Men shall cry unto the rocks and the mountains to hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the face of the Lamb. Adam said, '^ I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked.'^ Truly for the wicked there is a fearful looking-for of judgment ! Can a man hide himself from God ? Is there anywhere a chamber the key of which is not on the girdle of the Almighty ? Sinner, if thou canst not turn aside the hand of man. 288 PULPIT NOTES. how canst thou avert the sword of the living God ? " Who may abide the day of His comings and who shall stand when he appeareth ? For He is like a refiner^s fire, and like fuller^s rope.^^ " The day Cometh that shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud, yea and alt that do wickedly, shall be stubble ; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch/^ The wicked man is his own accuser. The hope of escape through a mere technicality may embolden him to plead " Not guilty,^' but when technicalities are overcome by facts that can be no longer evaded, there rises from his heart a cry of self- conviction. Escape by techiiicalify is but a postponement of suffering, — it lays up wrath against the day of wrath. Escape by atonement destroys at once the dominion and the pain of sin. Such escape has been provided in the media- tion of God the Son. " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thought ; let him. return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.-'^ '^ There is no peace saith my God to the wicked.^^ The universe offers no hospitality to the bad man. A fire shoots out of the earth to plague him : the sea is angry at his presence : the cemetery is desecrated by his bones, — he is nowhere welcome, — he must go MORAL COWARDICE. 289 where lie can neitlier see nor be seen, even into OUTER DARKNESS,— the jail of night. V. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, — then MAN MAT COME TO BE EEGARDED AS THE ENEMY OE MAN. A man may dread the drawing nigh of his own brother ! Ought not the human family to be united by the bonds of friendship and trust ? Yet wicked- ness makes men afraid of each other's footsteps; so much so that the coming of a man may be more terrible than the approach of a ravenous beast ! Sin loosens the bonds of society^ and sets man against man in deadly array. u 290 Primary and Secondary Light. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came imto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name : Which were bom not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. — John i. 6-13. The Jolin spoken of in the first verse of the text is John the Baptist. The evangelist says that John was sent from God, Ordinary biography begins at another point. In this case, parentage, birth, training, are omitted altogether, and the very beauty of God lights up the face of the man. Men have different ways of looking at themselves. In some cases they look down- ward towards ^' the mire and the clay," that they may PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LIGHT. 291 keep in memory "tlie hole of tlie pit out of which they were digged : ^^ in others, they view human life religiously, and claim the dignity and privilege of the sons of God. The influence of this view upon the uses of strength and upon surrounding life must be intense and salutary. We degrade life when we omit God from its plan. On the other hand, we descend upon our work with fulness of power when we realise that it is God that worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. What is our view of life ? Have we but a physical existence, or are we the messengers of the most High ? When Moses went to his work he was enabled to say — ^^I AM hath sent me unto you:'' So when John undertook his mission he boldly claimed to be the appointed servant of God. Our greatest power is on the religions side of our nature : physically, we are crushed before the moth ; religiously, we have omnipotence as the source of our strength. ^^ TJie same came for a witness,^' — God reveals him- ^ self to us Uttle by little as we may be able to bear the light. He has set forth a long and wonderful proces- sion of witnesses, from Moses even until John, who was the last of the illustrious line. It is well when a man distinctly knows the limit of his vocation. We are strong within our own bounds. John, as a pro- fessed Saviour, would have been weak and con- temptible j but as a Witness he was a burning and a u 2 292 PULPIT NOTES. * sliming light. Jolm the Baptist was as the morning star. Or (changing the figure) he was a man standing on the highest mountain, who, catching a glimpse of the first solar ray, exclaims ^'^ Behold the day cometh!^' And is not such an exclamation the only originality of which we are capable ? There is no originality, except that which is relative, in any ministry or in any church. '^ He ivas not that light/' — he was but a temporary ray : the brightest light which the hand of man can enkindle is instantly paled when the sun shineth in his strength, — beautiful indeed, is that secondary light when shining alone, and not beautiful only, but pre- cious exceedingly to men who without it would be in darkness ; yet could it speak, it would say, — ^^ I am but a spark of another fire ; your admiration of my splendour will cease when you see the sun.^' Such is the speech of the most luminous men. Our light is lunar, not solar ; or solar only because Christ is in us, and according to the measure of our capacity He sheds His glory through our life. " That was the true Light which lighteth every man that Cometh into the world.'' As the sun shines for every man, so Jesus Christ lives for every man. The lamp in the house belongs to the householder : the lamp in the street is a local convenience : but the sun pours its morning and its noontide into every valley. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LIGHT. 293 and into tlie liumblest liome ; tliat is the true light : the freehold of every man^ — the private property of none ! And every man "knows that the sun is the true light, — -feels it to be such, — and without hesitation affirms it to be supreme. There is no debate as to whether the sun or the moon is the light of the world. Imagine a dark night, and an observer who has never seen the sun : a star suddenly shows itself, and the observer hails it with delight : presently the moon shines with all her gentle strength, and the observer says, — ^^ tliis is the fulfilment of the promise; can ought be lovelier, can the sky possibly be brighter ? ^' In due course, the sun comes up ; every cloud is filled with light : every mountain is crowned with a strange glory : every leaf in the forest is silvered : the sea becomes as burnished glass : and secrecy is chased from the face of the earth : under such a vision, the observer knows that this is the true light, — the sovereign all- dominating flame. It is so in the revelation of Jesus Christ. When the eyes of men are opened to see Him in all his grace and wisdom and sympathy, — in all the sufficiency of his sacrifice, and the comfort of his Spirit, — the heart is satisfied, and every rival light is lost in the infinite splendour of God the Son. "He came \mito his own and his own received him not.'' — He came unto his own things {thua) and his own peoiole (^hioi) received him not. There was no room 294 PULPIT NOTES. for his motlier in the inn. He himself had not where to lay his head. He was as a householder coming to his own house, and being kept out by his own servants. What is the earth but one apartment in the great house of God ! Its furniture, — (its hills and valleys and rivers, fruits and flowers and harvest fields), — is Jesus Christ^s, for apart from him was not anything made that was made, yet when he came to his own house his ownership was denied by the servants who had been put into temporary possession by his own power and grace ! '' Hear, O heavens, and give ear earth ; for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.'^ '^ But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.'' — Having believed on His name they entered upon a new relation to their Father in heaven. They had been living a life of mere creature-hood : the sense and the joy of sonship had been lost, and had become irrecoverable except by faith which is the gift of God. Regeneration is as much the work of God as was Creation. A man may un^ malie himself, but the power of restoration is not in his own hand. ISTor is there either mystery or injustice in this. The same law holds good in the physical as in the spiritual world : a man can kill himself, but can he take back his life again ? or he can crush a flower, but can he heal it, and make it as perfect and beautiful a& PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LIGH2. 295 before ? or lie may destroy his siglit^ but can be recover bis vision ? We can only destroy ; we cannot create. ^*^0 Israel^ tbou bast destroyed tbyself^ but in me is tby belp/^ Let us give personality to two flowers, and from tbeir talk let us learn something on tbis matter : ^^ I stand in tbis window from montb to montb, and I declare tbat every possible attention is paid to me j as regularly as tbe morning comes my roots are watered, and not a day passes without the window being opened that I may be revived by the fresh living air; so if ever flower had reason for contentment and joy I am that flower/^ So far, so good. Now, the second flower, luxuriant and beautiful exceedingly, says, ^^Look at the difi'erence between us ! I am of the same stock as yourself ; we are called by the same name ; we live on the same elements \ yet I am strong and blooming, and you are weak and colourless." How is this, then ? The one flower has been standing in a sunless window, the other has been living in the sun ! Preach the gospel of light to that flower, and if your gospel be received with faith, the light will give it '' power '' to become as strong and beautiful as any member of the same family. It is even so with mankind. We are trying to live without the light, — the true light which lighteth every man that Cometh into the world, — and our trial gives us over more and more to the power of death. Without light no soul can live ! 296 PULPIT NOTES. ^^ Which were horn, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, hut of God.^' — This, again, is most empliatically in tlie style of John. Never can he lose sight of the perfect spirituality of Jesus Christ's work. John shows the very religious- ness of religion. Christianity is to him more than a history, more than an argument, more than a theology, — it is a spiritual revelation to the spiritual nature of man. On the part of man it is to be not an attitude, but a life, — the very mystery of his spirit, too subtle for analysis, too strong for repression, too divine to be tolerant of corruption. 297 A Parable for the Young. He tliat Cometh to God must believe that He is. — Heb. xi. 6. My subject is the existence of God ; and as it is rather a hard one,, I propose to make it as easy as possible by giving what I Iiave to say upon it in the form of a parable. I shall hold a conversation with a boy of about fifteen years of age^ whose name, for the sake of convenience,, shall be Richard. We used to have many a long and bearty talk upon subjects that boys do not generally care to go into, but Ricbard was so sprightly a boy that we did not feel at all gloomy or sad, even when we talked about the most serious questions. Richard liked to begin at the beginning of things, and he was not easily put off with answers. He asked me to tell him what I wished him to believe, and then he would tell me in return whether he could believe it or not. I was glad 298 PULPIT NOTES. ta have sucli a good listener^ so I went to work in real earnest. I told Richard that I wanted him to believe in God, — to believe that there is a life higher than any life we have yet seen^ — a life out of which all other life comes, and upon which all other life depends. I told him that I myself believed this with all my heart, and that if I did not do so everything would seem to me to be dark and very sad. Richard wanted to know how I could make that out. I told him that I made it out in this way : — Things coming from nothing, and going back to nothing, seemed to me to be a most absurd notion ; there the things are, at all events, — there is the sun, the sky, the sea, the dry land, — how did they come to be there ? Did they put themselves there ? If they did, they must have some life and sense, because they did not throw themselves into a heap, but set themselves at proper distances from one another, and the sun knew exactly how much light and heat the world could bear without being dazzled and burned. Now all this seemed to me to be absurd. As I was going on in this way, Richard saw a most beautiful machine upon my table, made for the purpose of doing sums in arithmetic; in shape it was some- thing like a musical box ; it could multiply, add. A PARABLE FOR THE YOUNG. 299 subtract^ and divide figures in a very wonderful way. ^^ Who made it ? ^^ said Richard. ^'Nobody,'' I immediately replied. When Richard had laughed at the idea of a machine making itself, I said — '^Now tell me whether it is more difficult for you to believe that this machine made itself, or that a man made it ? Or I will go still farther : whether it is more difficult for you to believe that this machine made itself^ or to believe that it dro]pped out of the clouds just as you see it upon my table?" This was a puzzler for Richard. " I don^t see how it could drop out of the clouds,^^ said he, ^^but I am quite sure it never did and it never could make itself.^^ That was very fair. Now it is very much the same with the sun. If you ask me hoiv God made it, I cannot explain how he did it ; but if you tell me that the sun made itself I laugh at you. No candle ever made itself; no lucifer-match ever made itself, and therefore I cannot believe that the sun made itself. " Now, Richard,^' said I, " here is an offer for you, an offer of a great deal of money : there is a town in Ireland which made itself; it has a large market- place, seven beautiful churches, in every one of which there is a clock which regularly winds itself up every 300 PULPIT NOTES. Saturday morning, a large post-office, five banks, and a hundred and fifty shops ; nobody built the town ; nobody saw it being built; it built itself every inch without any hand of man laying one stone upon another, — now go to school to-morrow morning, tell this story to the boys, and for every boy that believes it I will give you a sovereign at night ! ^^ ^^ I don't believe it my self,'' said Richard, ^^ and no other boy in his senses will believe it." ^' But some of the boys might believe the piece about the seven clocks ? " ^^ Say it again, if you please." "There are seven beautiful churches in the town, and in every one of them there is a clock which regu- larly winds itself up every Saturday morning, — if you can get them to believe that, I shall give you a sovereign a-piece for all the boys you can persuade." Richard said he did not want to make a fool of himself amongst the boys, *^^but," he added, "who made God?" That was the point ! I knew that Richard was a sharp frank boy^ who would ask any question that first came into his mind, and here was a proof of it. " That,'' said I, " is the very point where what is called faith comes in : so far, whilst we have been talking about things making themselves, reason has come in, and put the notion out of our heads; but now something higher than reason comes in, and that A PARABLE FOR THE YOUNG. 301 sometliing is faith. We cannot understand God mak- ing himself; for my own part I don^t pretend to do anything of the sort ; I believe that God is, and^ be^ lieving that^ all the rest is simple and beautiful. It does a man good to believe in what he cannot see and in what he cannot explain, provided, of course, that it is something great and wise and good. Now this is just what the idea of God is, — it is great, it is wise, it is good, and the more we think of it the more pure and beautiful we become." '' But suppose we just take things as they are and don^t care about how they were made or who made them?'' " Then we ^ake them just as dogs take them,'' said I. " But ive can get more good out of them," Eichard replied. "A cannibal gets no more good out of them," I answered, " and if we do, it is because we are in- debted to men who have believed in God, and who have taught us, and saved us from becoming worse than wild beasts. It is not fair to look at things as they now are, and to say we need not care who made them. Things never would have been as good as they are, but for the men who believed in God and loved Him, and worked for the good of His creatures." "But suppose we do believe that God made all things, what then ? " ^02 PULPIT NOTES. ^' A good deal. We cannot believe this and stop there. Once admit tliat God lives, and you must go farther. God cannot live without ruling; He cannot have made us without caring something for us ; if He cares for us. He seeks our love in return ] if we do not love Him, we must grieve Him; if we do not obey Him, we sin against Him ; and if we sin against Him, how can we rub out the sin and make ourselves as if we had never done any wrong? So you see, if we believe that God made all things, a very great deal comes out of it.^^ " But why should God care anything about what we do?^^ '^'^Why, Richard, even a watchmaker cares how his watches go ; a gardener cares how his plants thrive : and you know well enough how anxious your father is that you should be good and happy ; if God thought it worth while to make us, it is not surprising that He should care about what we do.^^ E/ichard said that he was quite willing to believe that God lives, that God made everything, and that everything belongs to God, but he thought people might be left to enjoy themselves just as they pleased, without troubling much about religion. " But what do you mean by the word ^ believe,' when you say that you are quite willing to believe that God lives ? '' A FA li ABLE FOR THE YOUNG. 303 Richard tliouglit that I had asked a useless question, for everybody must know the meaning of the word ^^ believe.^^ '"'^But that is exactly what they do not know, Richard^, so I want you to tell me/^ Richard gave it up. He said he knew what he meant, but could not explain it. He hinted, however, that believing was believing, and that the thing was simple enough without being explained. To draw him out a little, and to show him that " the thing,^^ as he called it, was not quite so simple as he imagined, I talked to him in this way : — "A man may say he believes, but if he does not carry out what he believes, it can never do him any good. A man may believe that a certain kind of medicine will cure his headache, but if he does not take the medicine his headache will not be cured, and he cannot expect people to pity him if he knew the cure, and yet would not take it. A man may believe that the train is going to London or to Edinburgh, but if he does not get into it, his belief will not take him to either of these cities. You may believe that if you work hard, you will win a prize at the next examina- tion, but unless you do work hard your mere belief will do nothing for you.^^ Richard saw that, and said, ^^ Perhaps the best thing, then, is not to believe anything about it, and 304 PULPIT NOTES. then if you don^t believe^ you cannot be expected to do- anything/^ ^' Tou may not be expected to do anything/^ said I, '^ but some things do not depend upon our believing them or not believing them. You may believe that fire will not burn^ but if you put your hand^ into the fire^ your belief will not save you. You may do as you please about believing whether the tide is coming in or not_, but if you don^t get out of the way_, you ^vill be drowned. You may please yourself whether you believe in seed-time or not^ -but if you let that time pass without sowing seed in the fields you will never have a crop of anything but weeds. So a man may not believe that God lives^ but that will not save him when God comes to reckon with men, and give every one of them the proper reward of his actions.^' " Then what is believing ? ^^ said Eichard. ^^ Believing is Kving-by/^ I replied. ''^ What a man really and truly believes, he will live by. A man may saxj he believes something, but it may be something not worth believing, or it may be of no consequence whether he believes it or not. You may tell me that a man died in China last week, and I may believe you, but the event is absolutely of no importance to either of us : you may tell me that a ship is going to New York to-morrow and I may believe what you say. A PARABLE FOR THE YOUNG. 305 but if I do not wish to go to New York_, I shall very likely think no more about the matter. But if I tell you that the foundations of your house are giving way^ if you believe me you will see about them at once^ and you will have no rest in the house until they are made secure. All wise men live as nearly as they can accord- ing to what they helieve : they first thhik, then they act : they consider^ they go over things carefully in their mindSj and when they think they see the right way, they walk in it with pleasure and hope. Wise people do not go about without a plan : they first believe and then they ccirry out what they beheve. Now suppose I believe that God sees me, that God cares for me, that God loves me; that belief will have a happy efiect upon my whole life. If I really and truly, with all my mind and heart, believe that, I shall have much joy and peace. I can then say — God knows my heart. He knows just what I need. He watches me all the day long. He will help me when I cannot help myself. He knows exactly what I can do, and He does not expect me to work beyond my strength ; I will please Him ; I will pray to Him ; I will love Him for all His care and goodness. You can see that in this way a man''s faith sways his whole life; if his faith is good, his life is good ; if his faith is bad, his life is bad.^^ I have said that Richard was very frank in his way X 3o6 PULPIT NOTES, of speakings and he gave me a second proof of it at this point. " Some people who believe in God are not very nice people/^ said he. ''^That may be true enoughj^' said \, ^'^and easy enough to explain. You must not blame their belief in God for their not being nice^ for they would not be even as nice as they are if they did not believe in Him. Perhaps they have a wrong notion of God : they do not live much in the sunshine of His love : they think of Him as great and righteous and mighty, but not as loving and tender and fatherly. Everything depends upon one^s way of looking at God, and when we look in the right way the sight of His love makes us some- thing like Himself.^^ Richard said he had sometimes puzzled himself a good deal about these things, but he really could not understand them. I smiled at the idea of a boy not quite fifteen understanding such things. Yet are we not all about the same age when we set ourselves against the days of the Eternal ? There seems to be a great gap between fifteen and seventy, and so there is when we think of one life only, and one small world. But what is seventy as compared with a thousand, a thousand as compared with a million, a million as compared with eternity ? What is our life here but a spasm, and what- our habitation but a handful of sand ! A PARABLE FOR THE YOUNG. 307 The inland child who has seen only a river^ though the broadest of English streams, knows nothing of the great sad sea that lies a few miles beyond. What has the oldest man seen but a sunrise and a sunset, a cradle and a grave, a spring flower and an autumn sheaf ! What are his grey hairs but the snows of one brief winter, and what are the furrows of his brow but the graves of his strength ! We speak of understand- ing as if we could lay a compass upon that which is infinite, and of rejecting mysteries as if we could find our way in the dark. Is it not decent to wait, to hold one^s self in check awhile, and to believe that there may be something more in the universe than we have yet found out? Can we see round the corners of things ? Does not a man believe some things at fifty which seemed incredible at thirty, and at seventy does he not speak of fifty as immature and incomplete ? Truly our self- corrections may well humble us, for what page is there in all the record of our life that is not marked by many an erasure, and by interlinea- tions which tell of improvement and progress ? Believe in God if you would have solidity, pureness, and comfort of life. But God ! The idea dazzles the vision and confounds the mind ! What, then, is wanted ? Mediation. Where is mediation to be found? In Jesus Christ. ^^ There is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ o 08 PULPIT NOTES. Jesus/' ^^He that hatli seen me liatli seen tlie Father/' Thus we are driven to the right quarter. We cannot bear the primary light. By-and-by we may be old enough and strong enough to look upon it and live^ but now we must see the glory as it is subdued by a human medium. We see Jesus ! Suppose that we could never get farther than the mere conception of the possihility of such a life as is denoted by the term God, that conception must ever stand at the head of our thinking, determining the quality of our manhood and the range of our hope. It is the sum of all other ideas. To work up to it must tax our best ambition, and attemper all the aspirations which move the soul. Nor is it a conception which stands apart from all intellectual lines, throwing a haughty scorn upon all the dull and blind thinking of man. It is the last point in the intellectual ascent, — the point without which there would be a firmament without a star, an immensity without a heaven ! It is something, then, in my estimation, to get a man to admit that the innermost secret of the whole spiritual world, including judgment, conscience, sympathy, imagination — may be God. Admitting that, he can- not be flippant : he must have at least intervals of soberness nearly akin to reverence, and of wonder hardly distinguishable from worship. Again and again the idea will flash upon him amid the gloom A PARABLE FOR THE YOUNG. 309 of life^ and give him unexpected hope in the un- mapped and wild deserts which lie around the inevitable grave. A human life without this divine idea is sunless, and all its growths are starved and dwarfed. Were this divine idea mere jpoetry, it would refine and elevate life beyond all other ideas. It would speak to the heart when other voices could not reach it. It would help poverty to overcome the temptations which are born of hunger and want. It would kindle a lamp in the darkest hours of waiting, of disappointment, of fear. And when the last hour came — the last l)lack, cold, grim hour — it would at least roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and smooth the road into the eternal darkness. But, believe in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ : the living God : the God of the Cross : the God of Calvary : the sin-pardoning and the prayer-hearing God : then life is flooded with the light of immortal hope, and there remains nothing between us and heaven but — ^^the pain — the bliss of dying ! ^' Printed by Taylor and Co., Little Queen Street, Lincoln' s-Inn-Fields. ^ Date Due :^.5#^^i .'3^ .^■•»