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 CHILDREN DYING TN INFANCY^ 
 
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 "Alone with God," "Children 
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Scotch Presbyterian Church, 
 Ikksey City, N. T 
 
MEMORIAL VOLUME. 
 
 -ALONE WITH GOD/' 
 
 '* CHILDREN DYING IN INFANCY " 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER SERMONS 
 
 BY 
 
 y 
 
 REV. DAVID MITCHELL, 
 
 Recent Pastor oj the Scotch Presbyteriati Churchy 
 Jersey City, JV. J. 
 
 JERSEY CITY, N. J. 
 
 ALBERT DATZ, PUBLISHER 
 
 87 RAILROAD AVENUE. 
 
TO THE 
 
 Scotch Presbyterian Church, 
 
 JERSEY CITY, N. J. 
 
 In memory of our ten years' happy experience as pastor 
 
 and people, with the prayer for divine blessing 
 
 upon the congregation in all their work 
 
 of faith and labor of love. 
 
 The Author. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Sermon I. Alone with God. 
 
 II. Children Dying in Infancy. 
 
 III. Christ the Truth. 
 
 IV. The Bible and Higher Critics. 
 V. Holiday or Holy Day — Which ? 
 
 VI. The Transfiguration. 
 VII. A Telling Principle. 
 VIII. Too Many Churches. 
 IX. Value of Tears. 
 X. Marriage. 
 XI. The Christian Race. 
 XII. Our Glorious Fourth. 
 
 XIII. Saturday Half Holiday. 
 
 XIV. Learning by Experience. 
 
'Tis midnight, and on Olive's brow. 
 The star is dimmed that lately shone, 
 
 'Tis midnight in the garden now 
 The suffering Saviour prays alone. 
 
 'Tis midnight, and from ether-plains 
 Is borne the song that angels know, 
 
 Unheard by mortals are the strains 
 That sweetly soothe the Saviour's woe. 
 
ALONE WITH GOD. 
 SERMON I. 
 
 '* Alone ; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is 
 with me." — JOHN xvi : 32. 
 
 We might use these words in the treatment of our 
 Saviour's solitariness, but it is our purpose rather to consider 
 them as a general principle. 
 
 In one sense, my friends, it seems natural to think of 
 ourselves as not alone in this world. We are members of the 
 great human family, bound together with the whole by our 
 physical and mental likeness, by our common dependence 
 on each other for support, by our business and commerce, 
 by language and customs and habits, and by the duties 
 we owe to one another. 
 
 How true it is that we are connected with all this life, that 
 we are not alone, that there are multitudes like ourselves 
 on all hands. Such considerations show that we are not 
 alone in this world of life and activity and responsibility. 
 
 " Never, believe me, 
 Appear the Immortals, 
 Never alone." 
 
 But while thus true we are not alone in the world, 
 there are many senses in which we are alone. Solitude 
 
6 ALONE WITH GOD. 
 
 surrounds us and presses upon us all. We are as the 
 words express it, "Alone and yet not alone." 
 
 I. And the first consideration we offer as suggested by 
 the text is there is solitude in our very nature. Although I 
 am a member of the human family, yet my individuality 
 marks me out from all other men. While the branches 
 of a tree afford a striking and beautiful illustration of the 
 union of men in faith and love, yet I am not like a branch. 
 Its union with the tree is necessary to its very life. 
 Separate it from the stem, and no longer does the living 
 sap flow into every leaf and twig, no longer can it bear 
 fruit. 
 
 But every man has a distinct personality. Each of us 
 lives by himself. There is a circle, so to speak, that 
 surrounds the individuality of every man. Into this no 
 one can enter. Even the tender child to whom you have 
 given life and over whom the parent bends with deepest 
 love is separate from you. It has an organization of its 
 own. And within its tiny body, there are the same dis- 
 tinct operations of life, there are miniature forms of the 
 heart and lungs and pulse that beat within yourselves, of 
 the sinews and muscles that knit your frame into manly 
 strength. While therefore that child is so helpless and 
 dependent upon you, so that, if you dealt carelessly with 
 it or left it to itself, it would die, yet how independent of 
 you is its existence. The fondest parental care cannot 
 stay disease. He has no control over the rude hand of 
 death that may in a moment snatch his beloved from 
 him. And so with us all. We are alone in the world. 
 
ALONE WITH GOD. 7 
 
 We are separate from one another in virtue of our 
 physical nature. And how true is this also because of 
 our immortal part ! You may in a sense enter into the 
 soul of another by sympathy. There may be such 
 communion that your very being seems merging into 
 that of another. Yet how unreal is this communion. 
 It is merely a figurative expression. Somewhere in 
 heaven, perhaps, there may be the reality which this 
 figure describes. But it is not here. There is no real 
 communion. As husband and wife sit by the fireside, 
 and speak of the events of the day, or the many interests 
 which bind their souls in one — yet what different paths 
 may their inmost thoughts be pursuing, the one retrac- 
 ing the pathway of his past life and there are presented 
 to him the delightful scenes of youth, or there may start 
 before him the revered forms of parents or friends who 
 have long since passed away, while the imaginaiion of 
 his partner may be filled with the future opening before 
 her with bright prospects Again around the table the 
 members of a happy family may be telling interesting 
 stories, or singing merry songs, yet if we could enter 
 into the soul of each, how differently affected every one ! 
 You would perhaps find the brain of that boy fired with 
 his possible future while the attention of another might 
 be given to the story or song. Or I may be standing in 
 the street before some advertising sheet, which tells of 
 the newest play, or of some great hall of commerce. You 
 come up and stand by my side reading apparently the 
 same words. Yet how far from the truth might this be. 
 
8 ALONE WITH GOD. 
 
 I am looking at the words yet not seeing them all the 
 time. My mind is at the other side of the world or re- 
 velling among the stars, or the cares and sorrows of life 
 are wholly absorbing my thoughts. How true then of 
 our mind — of our heart — that we are alone, that a circle 
 surrounds our thought and feeling into which no other 
 person, not even^our closest friend, can enter. We are 
 
 ' ' A noise like of a hidden brook 
 In the leafy month of June, 
 That to the sleeping woods all night 
 Singeth a quiet tune." 
 
 Yet in respect of existence we are not alone, for the Father 
 is with us. Our bodily life is in His hands, so that when 
 He withdraws his hands we die. It is He who keeps us 
 in health from day to day. Our soul life is also depend- 
 ent entirely upon Him. It is He who gives us the power of 
 vigorous thinking, or of calm judgment, or impulsive 
 earnestness. While no fellow can enter thoroughly into 
 the enclosure of our individuality, God can ever do so. 
 He is present with us in our secret thoughts. He pre- 
 sides over our inward consciousness. And no man can 
 separate himself from his Maker. How wonderful to 
 think of this being true of every human being ! The 
 Father is with him — preserving the individual in life. 
 To think that the power which is keeping us this day in 
 strength is doing so with every one of the multitudes who 
 occupy the globe! Verily, all life is in the hands of God. 
 We might descend into the minute, what we would per- 
 
ALONE WITH GOD. 9 
 
 haps call insignificant objects of creation, and say the 
 same thing of them. The insect that you cannot detect 
 with the eye is supported by God. The Father is with it. 
 Animal life, as we see in its myriad forms, is His work, 
 and ii is maintained by His hand. And we might ascend 
 on the scale of being up to the archangel that is near the 
 throne, and say, that though this Being can furnish you 
 with displays of marvellous power, yet his life is with 
 God, because the Father is with him. God is in truth 
 the King over all, and we should worship Him as present 
 with all His works — making all things work together for 
 good and by His goodness maintaining millions and 
 millions of animal forms in health and strength. 
 
 n. But let us advance to another thought. Solitude arises 
 from our pursuits in life. Every one has his or her own 
 calling, and the work to which this leads must absorb our 
 attention to the almost entire exclusion of the pursuits of 
 others. Even when there are hundreds engaged in the 
 same factory or warehouse, separation arises from the fact 
 that every one has a special service to render. There 
 may be mutual dependence upon each other. The work 
 might be rendered imcomplete or imperfect through 
 the hands of another being thrown idle by the stopping of 
 the machinery or by sickness or neglect. Yet every one 
 has his own work to do which another cannot do for him 
 — which he must either perform or leave off. And so too 
 with all others. While the merchant is brought into touch 
 with many other men, yet he has a work of his own — 
 away from all eyes — which he is carrying on in his office 
 
lo ALONE WITH GOD. 
 
 or exchange. The very term " professional" points to 
 individual work. Our professions are seperating us 
 from all others and compelling us to be alone. Every 
 one has his own ideas and schemes to work out. No man 
 can enter into them. And should he die, they are necessarily 
 left unfulfilled. It is the same with a minister. What 
 solitude arises from his work! He may with others con- 
 cert schemes for the working of his congregation. He 
 may be the means of helping others to discharge their 
 duties. Still he stands alone. The thoughts which he is 
 preparing during the week for his people on the Sabbath 
 compel him to be alone. And in discharging his public 
 duties, separation and isolation necessarily arise. To take 
 the highest example of all — who is more alone than Christ 
 in going about his Father's business ? No other could be 
 the Saviour of men. He came to this world to bear 
 testimony to the truth^ and in this capacity He was alone. 
 He came to take upon Himself the yoke of all men, and 
 here he was alone. While mingling with the busy world 
 — meeting men in the temple, or market-place, or by the 
 sea shore, or on the mountain side — He was yet alone. 
 Yes! my brethren — lone and solitary as He was while pray- 
 ing on the Mount apart from all others — He was also alone 
 in the fulfillment of His office. He went through life in 
 solitude, marked out from all others by the fact that He 
 was the Teacher of the truth. 
 
 But while alone in this sense, we are yet not alone^ for 
 the Father is with us. No man can separate his calling 
 from the presence of God. God is with you my brother 
 
ALONE WITH GOD. ii 
 
 or sister in the work-shop. God is present with your 
 master in the counting house. The Father is beside the 
 minister in his preparation to preach the truth, or as he 
 kneels by the bed-side of the sick and dying. Jesus 
 said, ''Alone, and yet I am not alone, for the Father is 
 with me."" How truly was the Father present with Christ 
 in all his work! Mow truly did Jesus commune with his 
 heavenly Father and thus draw strength and comfort to 
 his wearied body and soul ! And let us learn a lesson 
 from this truth, to be faithful and conscientious in the 
 discharge of our duties. Your master may not see you, 
 the servant, or be aware that you are lazy and indifferent 
 while absent from you. But God is with you, noticing 
 and recording your every neglect. The eye of man may 
 not be turned on the dishonest merchant. He may have 
 the reputation of being fair and upright in his dealings. 
 While building his fortune on the false foundation of 
 injustice or deceit, yet no one would suspect this for a 
 single moment. A minister may resort to clever dodges to 
 make up for earnest and laborious work. His people 
 may be edified and delighted with this way of discharging 
 his duties. But God is present with him — conscious of 
 all his acts of deceit and hypocrisy. And should not we 
 on this account take God with us into all our work ? 
 Should we not do our duty joyously and heartily just 
 because the Father is with us ? And if we seize hold of 
 this truth, may we not from the very presence of God 
 derive daily rich supplies of strength and grace for our 
 work ? O to depend continually on God! O to be near 
 
12 ALONE WITH GOD. 
 
 Him really in faith and love! Would not this make us 
 herculean in strength ? Let us truly fear and love God 
 and manliness will distinquish our work. 
 
 III. A third point that suggests itself as unfolding 
 the thought of our text is that we are alone in regard to 
 salvation. In another point of view the redemption of 
 Christ brings men together and constitutes them a 
 society harmonious, united, happy. The love of God 
 binds them together in love of each other. But in an- 
 other sense we are separate from all other men in the 
 reception into our hearts of the grace of God. If we 
 have not been converted and we are yet to be saved, 
 there must come a moment when we have to bow before 
 God, as though there were none in the universe, but 
 Him and my own self. The feeling will arise that you 
 are the Chief oi sinners. The load of sin and guilt will 
 isolate'you in the world and seperate you from all other 
 men. Nay, the more you seek union with men in such 
 a crisis of your soul you are the less likely to receive 
 benefit from GoJ. We are apt to rush away from this 
 solitude in God's presence and seek refuge in business, 
 or pleasure, or society. We want to drown the thought 
 of our solitariness. We are anxious to get away from 
 our convictions and fears. We would destroy person- 
 ality by rushing away from ourselves. But doing this 
 there is no chance of being saved. The grace of God 
 cannot touch us, because we have fled from the spot on 
 which God in his mercy showered it down. If, on the 
 contrary, we would receive from God the blessings of 
 
 J 
 
ALONE WITH GOD. 15 
 
 pardon and peace, we must get them all alone. Salvation 
 must be preached to an unconverted man as though 
 there were not another person in all the world but him- 
 self. O no, it will not do for anyone to say, that the 
 word so earnestly spoken from the pulpit is well suited 
 for my neighbor, it is not for me. And is it not an awful 
 and strange thought, that, while a mother .'acrifices 
 herself every day for her beloved child, yet she cannot 
 save that child from perdition. What would not many 
 a fond parent give to save her child? The World [ 
 it would be thrown into the balance in a second. 
 Riches ! ! Honor ! ! ! Would they not be cast aside in 
 a moment? She may use means. She may pray earnestly 
 to God for her child. She may impress her sen from 
 his earliest years with the love and goodness of Jesus. 
 She may train him to read the Bible and go to Church. 
 She may labor day and night to make him look to 
 heaven as the end of life. Yet that child must believe 
 for himself, must cling to Christ for himself, must mourn 
 over his sins for himself. It has a burden to bear that 
 no one can bear for it. And so too with every one. 
 We are alone. We must come to God, each man by him- 
 self and learn the simple lessons of faith and love. 
 
 But how true in regard to Salvation that while alone, 
 we are yet not alone, for the Father is with us. Is not 
 our salvation from the Lord? Is it not the will of 
 God, even our sanctification ? Is it not God's work to 
 breathe new desires and holy thoughts into our souls? 
 Does not Jesus say to us as individuals-''/^^ that cometh 
 
1 4 ALONE WITH GOD, 
 
 unto me I will in no wise cast out ?" Does not the Holy 
 Spirit strive with each one to convict him of sin ? And 
 O ! would we be saved, it is not by depending upon 
 ourselves but it is by earnestly seeking God. Let us 
 delight in the presence of the Father. Let us meet 
 God's work in us by earnest efforts on our part. Let 
 us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, 
 and thus receive the benefit of the work which God is 
 ever carrying on within us to make us will and do of 
 his good pleasure, and then truly we will be pardoned 
 by Him and daily sustained by His grace, so that at 
 length we may enter into that blessed presence, when 
 we shall see God face to face and rejoice forever in the 
 society of the redeemed. 
 
 IV. But again, the thought of solitariness arises from 
 considering the sufferings to which we are exposed, and 
 death that must visit every human being, unless the Lord 
 doth come in our day. Is it not true indeed that our suf- 
 ferings throw up a great barrier between ourselves and 
 all others, and leave us alone'^. Let sickness visit me, and 
 while in the overflow of your brotherly sympathy you 
 may visit my bedside, and by the pressure of your hand, 
 and tear in your eye and tender words, you seek to do all 
 for me that a dear friend can, yet — willing though you be — 
 you cannot take my sufferings to yourself and endure 
 them in my stead. I must lie there, separated from you 
 by the feehngs that possess me. Or, again should calam- 
 ity befall me in my business, and while ready to do all 
 that kindness dictates to your loving heart, the depres- 
 
ALONE WITH GOD. 15 
 
 sion that arises from my helpless condition is mine alone. 
 No other can take upon him the burden that weighs me 
 down. Or should death visit your home either by the 
 slow process of known disease or by a shock that pros- 
 trates you to the ground, what solitude there is in your 
 condition ! Warm-hearted friends may visit and condole 
 with you. But you hear them not — you see them not. 
 Were it not they understand you too well, they would 
 think you strangely cold and distant. But, friends, there 
 is a solitude that must come to every one sooner or later 
 — that none of us has any conception of, though we have 
 keenly felt the solitude arising from suffering — and that is 
 when you aftd I come to die, O ! I have often been struck 
 with the strange anomaly presented in the chamber of the 
 dying. Here am I called to visit such and speak with him. 
 Why is it the patient often appears listless and indifferent 
 to what I say ? It is because if he is conscious, he is 
 thinking for himself — it may be — praying for himself. 
 Perchance there comes up at the moment I speak some 
 familiar word of truth, a crowd of old scenes and remem- 
 brances — opportunities come and gone — sins committed 
 and unrepented of — omissions innumerable. Yes, that may 
 be the reason, and I have thought in the midst of such a 
 scene that a dying man is better left alone — that at all 
 events it is only the privilege of dearest and nearest 
 friends — of a wife, or child, or the minister to be pres- 
 ent, and that the crowd of eager and staring and whispering 
 men and women, who come there because of custom or 
 out of curiosity — are only in the way. Let us be deeply 
 
i6 ALONE WITH GOD. 
 
 impressed with this last solitude we must all experience, 
 and not vainly put away the thought from our minds that 
 we too must needs die. 
 
 Jesus, my friends, trod the wine press alone. His was 
 a life of suffering and toil. His career on earth was sad. 
 He was therefore alone. He was often driven from the 
 presence of disciples and dear ones by accusing enemies. 
 With scarcely indeed a friend in the world. He did his 
 work, constantly exposed to persecution. And who can 
 gaze upon His bleeding corpse on the cross of Calvary 
 without feeling how truly He was alone? Still His words 
 ''Alone, and yet I am not alone, because the Father is 
 with me," were spoken just before entering upon the hour 
 of His travail. In that moment He was sustained by 
 God. He had before Him the bitter cup, the view of His 
 enraged foes, — present to Him even then were His suf- 
 ferings on the tree — yet He could say, " I am not alone, 
 because the Father is with me." Yes ! and in the hour 
 of His agony in Gethsemane, although bowed down in 
 solitude and sweating great drops of blood, yet He is not 
 alone, for He said, "Let this cup pass from me ; never- 
 theless not as I will, but as thou wilt." On the cross 
 what solitude is expressed in the bitter words, "My God, 
 My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Yet here we 
 have the moment of His greatest triumph when He 
 prayed for His enemies, " Father forgive them, for they 
 not what they do." At length the awful sentence rang 
 out into the air, "It is finished." With these words 
 breathed from His agonized heart. His pure and innocent 
 
ALOXE WITH GOD, 17 
 
 spirit parted from this world of sin, and ere a moment 
 had gone, attending angels were rising with Him to the 
 Father's presence — there to witness the honors that were 
 in store for the world's greatest martyr, for the Saviour 
 of men. 
 
 And Christ's words, "Alone, and yet I am not alone, 
 because the Father is with me," may be rendered ours 
 by faith. In bodily weakness and mental pain, as 
 children of faith, the Father is with us. When calamity 
 presses sore upon us, we are not alone. When death 
 comes and plucks from our affectionate grasp the beloved 
 form of a parent, or child, we are not alone. The Father 
 is with us. Yes, and vvhen at last we are called to 
 experience the solitude of our own dying moments, when 
 familiar voices no longer touch our ears, when we cannot 
 feel the ^pressing hand of our dearest friend, when the 
 world and pleasure and honor are leaving us forever, yet, 
 believer, you are not alone. The Father is with you. He 
 is with you — to comfort and strengthen — with you to 
 catch your parting spirit, and carry it up to the serene 
 heights of celestial bliss, where there will not be such 
 solitude from sorrow and suffering as we have described, 
 but the companionship of angels, and the just made 
 perfect — the companionship of God and his only 
 beloved Son. 
 
 Let me urge in conclusion that the only awful solitude 
 in the eternal world is that of a Lost Soul ! 
 
IN MEMORY OF DAVID MITCHELL, Jr. 
 
 Strange we never prize the music 
 
 Till the sweet voiced bird has flown ; 
 Strange that we should slight the violets, 
 
 Till the lovely flowers are gone ; 
 Strange that Summer skies and sunshine, 
 
 Never seem one half so fair, 
 As when Winter's snowy pinions 
 
 Shake the white down in the air, 
 Then scatter seeds of kindness 
 
 For our reaping by and by. 
 
 The sudden and terrible death of David makes this sermon of special value. He 
 not only took keen interest in its composition, but helped to put it in shape for the 
 press. He went out well and hearty on Tuesday morning, August 27th, 1S95 — proud 
 of his first day as Assistant Superintendent of Columbia College, New York. The 
 dread summons came at night that our boy was dying at Manhattan Hospital, New 
 York. Sad indeed were our feelings when closing his eyes on Wednesday at 6,30 
 P. M., and saying, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the 
 name of the Lord." As the text really refers to a young lad it is all the more 
 appropriate. Our " wee Davie " was faithful and true. What is loss to us is gain to 
 him. " We shall go to him, but he shall not return to us." We refer with much 
 pleasure to the letter of Messrs. McKim, Mead & White at the end of this sermon. 
 
% 
 
DAVID iVirrCHKLL, )r. 
 
CHILDREN DYING IN INFANCY. 
 SERMON II. 
 
 ''But now the child is dead, wherefore should I fast? 
 Can I bring him back again ? I shall go to him, but 
 he shall not return to me.'' — II. SAMUEL xii: — 23. 
 
 It is my purpose to speak a word of comfort to many 
 parents who have been bereaved' of their off-spring. 
 David, though King of Israel, is not exempt from death 
 approaching his household. Into' the circumstances 
 attending the birth of this child we need not enter. What 
 we have to do with is the death here recorded. It is 
 touching to find the grave overshadowing this young life 
 and showing the child was not for this w^orld. The 
 monarch is on a level with his lowliest subject before the 
 king of terrors. There is mystery about the loss of dear 
 little ones which we can hardly solve. Why in countless 
 cases the babe — so lovely, so fair, — just opening its eyes, 
 begem.med with dimpling smiles, the object of that 
 mother's fondest care, the heavenly jewel vvhich the proud 
 father feels has been put in his hand, should be ruthlessly 
 torn from them, to be placed in the cold and shivering 
 tomb, to become nothing more than a shadowy remem- 
 brance, is beyond our ken. Oh ! what countless numbers of 
 children are thus taken from the gaze and from the hearts 
 
20 CHILDREN D YING IN INFANCY. 
 
 of parents. There is something inexpressibly sad in such 
 bereavements. But we wish, dear friends, while sympathiz- 
 ing with your tears, to turn to the Word for your con- 
 solation in the hour of trial. 
 
 I. Let us consider, in the first place, the conviction of 
 the Psalmist that he ''shall go to his child." David raises 
 no question about the welfare of his son — though now 
 gone and lost to sight. His dear one is not forgotten. 
 He can never die from his heart. It is evident David 
 believes in a future state. He speaks of himself awaking 
 with the likeness of Christ. The safety of the boy is not 
 doubted for a moment. Only one question is with him — 
 of going to his well beloved. And here let us state his 
 ground for this hope. He believes that he himself will be 
 blessed with a place in the Kingdom of glory because of 
 his faith in the coming Messiah. He has learned to trust 
 in God for his happiness after death. The ground of 
 confidence is the sacrifice which was to be completed by 
 the Saviour at some future period. After heart-felt prayer 
 for forgiveness, when feeling that no offering he can make 
 will avail, and saying, "Thou desirest not sacrifice, else 
 would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering," he 
 exclaims, ''the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a 
 broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise," 
 and then turns from this to the death of Christ, which is 
 typified by the sacrifices rendered on earth in faith, 
 "Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifices of right- 
 eousness, with burnt offering, and whole burnt offering ; 
 then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar." This is 
 
CHILDREN D YING IN INFANCY. 21 
 
 just saying, — '<to gain the end of safety there is not any- 
 thing I would not do, but I rely wholly on the merits of 
 another. I depend upon the true meaning of the sacrifices 
 w^e are now rendering. I look to 'Him who shall drink of 
 the brook in the way, who therefore shall lift up his head.' " 
 
 And, my dear friends, who have lost precious children, 
 it is our privilege to ask if you can say, ''we shall go to 
 them." As we shall see there can be not a shadow of 
 doubt about the felicity of your dear ones, on what ground 
 are you assured of going to them ? 
 
 Let us, who know the Gospel in its fullness, realize what 
 is our way to the Kingdom of heaven. It is reliance on 
 the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is altogether 
 different with us from the dear ones who have gone before. 
 AVe must repent of our sins and accept the Saviour. Paul says, 
 "and if Christ be in j^ou, the body is dead because of sin ; 
 but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." This is 
 what Christ teaches all the way through. He makes sure 
 of salvation to those who believe in what He accomplishes 
 in our behalf. Jesus was sent to carry the load of our 
 guilt and to give us rest. The merits of His death are 
 already His by anticipation. He beholds throughout His 
 career the end of all — His cross. Hence he sets himself 
 the task of winning souls on the basis of his finished work. 
 How precious His words about the new birth to Nicodemus, 
 about living water to the woman at the well, about having 
 the inner eye of the soul opened to the Light to the blind 
 man, to whose bodily eyes He restored sight ! Was not 
 Jesus most explicit on this matter to the Syrophenoecian 
 
22 CHILDREN D YING IN INFANCY. 
 
 woman, when He tried her faith, treating her as a Gentile 
 dog compared with the favored children of Israel, and 
 calling forth her wondrous reply, ''Nevertheless, the dogs 
 eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table." 
 Well might He cry in her hearing. '' Oh, woman, great is 
 thy faith." She was one who was saved by faith because 
 of the death which was to end her Saviour's career. It 
 was the thought of saving souls and fitting them for His 
 kingdom above which fired His words with unknown power, 
 which led to His marvellous discourses, which made Him 
 perform miracles of healing upon all manner of sickness 
 and of raising the dead, which were to be taken as symbols 
 of the grander miracles upon the souls of men which were 
 to be accomplished by His death and by the indwelling 
 Spirit. With what confidence Christ endured unto the 
 end ! As a wise Physician He healed in view of the heal- 
 ing which was to be accomplished. And Oh ! why was 
 He so earnest in the contemplation of His death ? He 
 knew upon that hinged the salvation of men. Never was 
 such a task, and never was a task undertaken with such 
 solicitude ! He triumphed, and because of His victory^ 
 there was after His ascension an immediate harvest of 
 souls. Thousands were saved through Peter's discourse. 
 Pentecostal times have continued in the church ever since, 
 and no one can tell the numbers who — filled with the 
 light of faith and hope in consequence of the death of 
 Christ being applied to them by the Spirit's power — have 
 thus passed from corruption into the glory of the skies. 
 
CHILDREN D YING IN INFANCY. 23 
 
 And so it is with us, dear friends. Are we counting on 
 meeting the precious little ones who have been taken from 
 us ? Oh ! are we doing so because Christ died and rose 
 again ? Then we are assuredly being prepared for future 
 happiness in the glorious heavens. Let such as believe 
 rejoice that they are adopted by grace and are become 
 '' children, and if Children then heirs — heirs of God — 
 joint heirs with Christ." If we are to die this very hour 
 we know it is well with our souls, and we shall go to 
 yonder throng amid which our little ones are shining as 
 stars. This hope gives light to our eye, fortifies our 
 steps, puts life into our hearts. We walk as those who 
 already see the glories which have been revealed. On the 
 other hand, what are we to say to parents, bereaved of 
 children, who have not yet taken hold of Christ w4th the 
 hand of faith ? Did you say, as the little coffin was being 
 borne to the grave, "Can I bring back my child ?" no, '' I 
 shall go to him ?" Are you now exclaiming on this wise 
 as you behold the empty crib, as you call up the dear 
 form, as you think of your lost treasure ? Is this with you 
 a mere sentiment ? Are you living in sin and still saying, 
 you are to go to your child ? Remember it is impossible 
 for you to see that loved one, unless you are taking the 
 accredited way to salvation. What to do, is beautifully 
 set before us in that exquisite story of 'MVee Davie," so 
 tenderly told by Norm^an Macleod. There was the 
 mighty blacksmith whose one child Vv^as the pride of his 
 heart and the joy of his hearth. Nevertheless he would 
 
24 CHILDREN D YING IN INFANCY. 
 
 Steal away to the tavern in the nights following his days 
 of toil. He came home at mid-night— often the fiend, his 
 soul turned away from even himself in consequence of 
 these orgies. At last "Wee Davie" took ill. Doctors 
 could do nothing to save the darling. The mother's love 
 did not restrain the hand of death. The child died. 
 He was buried. And then the blacksmith repaired to his 
 workshop. There he got the iron whited to the utmost 
 by making the bellows move with his giant's grasp. Then 
 he placed the iron on the anvil, and as he struck huge 
 blows, and set the hot sparks flying — expressive of his 
 resentment against Heaven for taking the boy from him 
 — all at once he began to think. ''What am I who dare 
 act in this way ? Has not God taken my child 
 because of the life I am leading ? Yes. Let me stop this 
 course HERE, O my Saviour, whom I have so offended, 
 and devote myself to Thee." He became a christian, was 
 chosen afterwards to be an elder, and spent many years 
 for Christ. Who can doubt that man as well as his devot- 
 ed wife could say all along but especially when dying, ''I 
 shall go to my child ?" And so, dear friends, we counsel 
 you to turn from iniquity, seek the Lord, follow Jesus, and 
 your sorrow will be turned into the joy of again seeing the 
 dear one that has been taken from your gaze. 
 
 " Could you too say, my dearest friend, 
 
 If called this hour to die, 
 I'm going straight to my child's arms, 
 
 Up to the Throne on hign?" 
 
CHILDREN DYING IN INFANCY. 25 
 
 II. There is the other conviction of David. ''He 
 shall not return to me." The psalmist feels it is well with 
 his son. The ground of this welfare is the mercy of God 
 in the Saviour who is to come. The blood which is to be 
 shed — in fulfillment of the promises of God and the 
 sacrifices which were continually offered by the priests — 
 would cover all inherited sin, as Vv^ell as in the case of 
 believers the guilt incurred through transgression. There 
 was, therefore, a well defined faith when a child like 
 his was taken away before the time of actual responsible 
 disobedience, that God would freely wash away the in- 
 herited evil, because of His satisfaction with the Messiah's 
 death. Our Lord himself makes this clear in His memor- 
 able address to the disciples. ''Suffer little children to 
 come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the 
 Kingdom of heaven." While without doubt referring in 
 this sentence to the precious truth, that children while in 
 life are peculiarly fitted for His realm of grace, the invita- 
 tion to little children to. come unto Him, along with the 
 added statement, " Of such is the Kingdom of heaven," 
 find their fullest meaning in the examples of babes called 
 by the heavenly Father to their eternal home. Our Savi- 
 our when once more dealing with this subject, we are told, 
 took a little child and set him in the midst of the disciples, 
 and said, "Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, 
 and become as little children ye shall not enter into the 
 Kingdom of heaven." Is it not significant that He adds 
 after a series of warnings, " Take heed that ye despise not 
 one of these little ones ; for I say unto you, That in heaven 
 
26 CHILDREN D YING IN INFANC Y. 
 
 their angels do always behold the face of my Father which 
 is in heaven? " This matter is thus made sure to our 
 minds. The blood of Jesus is shed for the remission of 
 all sins. Those who believe in Him have their guilt re- 
 moved because of His sacrifice. Our dear ones dying in 
 infancy are not responsible, because they are not capable 
 of actual transgression. The sin they brought with them 
 into the world is washed away. Dying then in early life, 
 they go at once to Jesus and are enfolded in His arms. 
 What a comfort have we in this thought! We have lost 
 precious ones when just opening their eyes to the light of 
 day. They have gone with Him who created them. Yes, 
 you should not now mourn as those who are without hope. 
 Your precious off-spring have a location. They are not 
 dead, though the grave hath cast its gloomy shadow over 
 you and your household. They are living because they 
 inherited an immortal nature. To their souls, passing 
 from these tiny bodies at the moment you are hovering 
 over them in their last struggles, God is imparting eternal 
 life which was purchased for them by His son. What a 
 consolation it becomes, when you mourn, you need not 
 weep bitter tears! You may be assured they are now 
 constituting part of the Father's house, and that truly 
 many of the mansions prepared by the risen and ascended 
 Lord are occupied by those you love. 
 
 And would you, then, even if you could, dear father, 
 dear mother, looking upon the little treasures of clothing, 
 of toy?, of helps to feed and nourish — would you, we ask, 
 seek to bring back your child from the home whither it 
 
CHILDREN D YING IN INFANC V. 27 
 
 has gone? Here indeed is a mystery of the human heart 
 that, while you left nothing untried to save the life of 
 your babe, now it has pleased the Heavenly Father to 
 take it away, you would do nothing to bring it back. At 
 least this is the language of faith. ''Itisvv^ell with my 
 child." Having such conviction, you would not have him 
 returned to this world of sin, of trial, of suffering, of tears 
 and anguish. Your little one is now happy with God. 
 You would not rob him of that joy. You can think of 
 your boy, your girl, as now "playing with the children in 
 the streets of the New Jerusalem." You would not have 
 him come back to these crowded thoroughfares, where 
 there is so much wickedness. Think then of the deep 
 meaning which may thus be given your words, — "he shall 
 not return to me." There is acquiescence on your part in 
 the will of God. You have brought your tears and 
 anguish to the point of saying, ''Thy will, not mine, be 
 done," and you would not revoke that sentence for the 
 world. Nor can we fail to notice what even careless 
 parents feel when burying their dead child. They have 
 a notion of the welfare of their son or daughter being 
 made sure. From my experience as pastor, I can say, 
 "it is marvellous hov/ mxuch faith of a general kind shows 
 itself even with drunken, vicious, infidel people at the 
 funerals of their children." Why do they want the 
 minister, then, to say a word of kindness to their hearts ? 
 Is there not, on the part of the wicked, an almost 
 universal testimony to the value of religion given by 
 them in their bereavements ? We have no fear for 
 
28 CHILDREN D YIiXG IN INFANCY. 
 
 Christianity, when it so commends itself in the hour of 
 sorrow to those who in their ordinary conduct despise 
 and reject it. 
 
 But, my dear friends, there is much more than this in 
 the words, "he shall not return tome." These children 
 going to God in their infancy, you know, are to live in 
 His presence. Do you imagine, when you go to heaven 
 yourself, you will know your own child? You remember 
 how Joseph knew his brethren, but they knev/ him not, 
 and why ? Just because they were full grown men when 
 cruelly selling their brother to the Ishmaelites. They had 
 now almost the same appearance as then, but Joseph the 
 laddie was matured, changed — he was the full-grown 
 man. And so methinks it will be when you reach 
 the other shore. It may be that many years have to 
 pass before you die. And do you think these infants 
 are to remain babes all through eternity ? No. We regard 
 a child dying as a seed planted in the soil of Heaven and 
 sure to grow. Indeed, it is my own feeling they will 
 attain a loftier stature and sooner there than here. For, 
 you must remember, the conditions will ihen be far more 
 favorable to growth. You know well that the tree, which 
 in a cold and barren soil is stunted, poor in foliage, and 
 fruitless, transplanted to a garden enriched with fertilizmg 
 substances and enjoying genial sunshine and plentiful 
 rain, will then become mighty in its stature, be clothed 
 with beauty, and will yield abundant fruit. So I believe 
 it to be with these infants going thus to God. They 
 could not know anything while with you, but now they 
 
CHILDREN D YING IN INFANCY. 29 
 
 have become mighty intelligences — full of wisdom. They 
 never learned what faith meant, bat think of the assurance 
 with which they take part in the services of the Sanctuary 
 above. However much you loved them, they could not, 
 like the glassy lake, return your light to you, but now 
 their hearts are enlarged, their capacity for devotion has 
 widened, their praise of God is far more real than ours. 
 And withal being not only free of sin, but made holy and 
 reflecting the light of Christ's countenance directly shin- 
 ing upon them, imagine their power of thought, of 
 meditation, of discovery! Think you, they will be ignorant 
 of the laws of nature as they bask under the Sun of their 
 souls ? Do you fancy they will not know God, even as 
 they are known, now that they can gaze into the very 
 countenance of their Father ? All our knowledge of the 
 Truth as it is in Jesus is as nothing compared with theirs 
 who are continually enjoying His presence. The 
 mysteries of the Holy Ghost are being more fully disclos- 
 ed to them than to us. And if society improves us — if 
 we grow intellectually, morally, spiritually, when with 
 good men, what will it be with your beloved ones enjoying 
 day and night — as we say — the blessed company of the 
 redeem.ed ? Nay more, we have no proper conception of 
 the angelic throng, of the hosts of mighty intelligences in 
 the Kingdom of heaven, of the vast range and orders of 
 the glorified, but all this is familar to those awakened — as 
 your children — with the likeness of God. I believe that 
 at first you will not know your own child. 
 
30 CHILDREN DYING IN INFANCY. 
 
 But there is far more in the words, " he shall not re- 
 turn to me," than even this. I spoke of the awful mystery 
 of children dying and in such multitudes. Go to the 
 cemeteries and behold the vast throng of tiny graves. 
 What does it all mean ? Ah, now I see. It means that 
 heaven is not to have a small number of the saved. 
 However much discouraged as we look upon the few who 
 are entering in at the strait gate and pursuing the narrow 
 v/ay, and the many taking the wide gate and the broad 
 road that leadeth to destruction, imagine not the inherit- 
 ance above is going to be a sort of failure for want of 
 souls saved by Christ. We have no means of seeing the 
 multitudes who have been brought out of darkness into 
 marvellous light ; but this we do know, the children who 
 haved passed away in early life are going to constitute 
 countless millions themselves. Think of it, not only your 
 babe will be there, but the many children you know to 
 have been removed. Think of the little ones thus dying 
 in our own city during this generation, but what of those 
 of other generations saved by the blood of Christ ? Try 
 to conceive the many dear ones passing away at this very 
 moment throughout the earth ! They are entering into 
 the light beyond. Nay, think of the children of all lands 
 and all times thus redeemed and now glorified ! We need 
 not fear for the countless throngs of children thus dying 
 in countries we call heathen, still wanting in Gospel 
 privileges. They have been bought back with the pre- 
 cious blood. They are now in the Kingdom above. Let 
 us take courage with the mystery of life thus so far solved. 
 
CHILDREN D YING IN INFANCY. 31 
 
 and lift up our e3'es from this side of the Jordan, and behold 
 in the Kingdom, where Jesus is the centre, the company 
 of the redeemed little ones which no man can number. It 
 is a perfect inspiration to one's soul who thus gazes into 
 eternity, sees the reality and has the vision of the almighty 
 King, the author of the life and glory of these vast 
 multitudes. 
 
 Ah those little ice-cold fingers, 
 
 How they point our memories back 
 To the hasty words and actions, 
 
 Strewn along our backward track. 
 How those little hands remind us, 
 
 As in snowy grace they lie. 
 Not to scatter thorns but roses 
 
 For our reaping by and by. 
 
 New York, August 29th, 1895. 
 Rev. David Mitchell, 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 We cannot adequately express to you our sympathy in the great 
 grief which has entered your family in the sudden death of your boy. It has removed 
 from our office circle one who as an example of pure character and high sense of duty 
 could not well be spared. He came into our office with no especial claim to our 
 interest, and yet by doing well whatever he was asked to do, he soon attracted ihe 
 attention of older men who were always glad to have David assist them. In this way 
 he was detached to the Columbia College work at the request of the Superintendent, 
 Mr. Vanderbent. It seemed to be a great opportunity for him, and while we should 
 have been glad to have kept him in the office, we considered it directly in the line of 
 promotion for him to learn something of actual construction at this time. That this 
 disaster should follow so closely is a great blow to us all and has made a great 
 impression upon this office, where he was universally esteemed. While it is perhaps 
 no great consolation in your present grief, it must surely be a satisfaction to you to 
 feel that your son was in every way worthy, and that his example of an upright, 
 faithful life will not be lost upon the j'oung men with whom he has been associated. 
 With assurance to you and your family of our most hearty sympathy, we are 
 
 Very sincerely j'ours, 
 
 McKIM, MEAD & WHITE. 
 
I've found the pearl of greatest price ! 
 
 My heart doth sing for joy ; 
 And sing I must, for Christ is mine, 
 
 Christ shall my song employ ! 
 Christ is my Prophet, Priest, and King ; 
 
 My prophet full of light, 
 My great High Priest before the throne, 
 
 My King of heavenly light. 
 Christ Jegus is my All in All, 
 
 My comfort, and my love ; 
 My life belovi^ ; and He shall be 
 
 My joy and crown above. 
 
CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 SERMON III. 
 
 ''Pilate said unto hi/n, what is truth? Jesus said unto 
 him, I AM THE TRUTH. — JOHN xviii: 38. — JOHN xiv: 6. 
 
 There is something very striking in this expression, 
 "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life." In these 
 words we have the beginning, the middle, and the ending 
 of a christian's career. When he begins his new course 
 it is through Christ the Way. When he is found continu- 
 ing, it is by Christ the Truth. And when after conver- 
 sion he enters into the joys of life or after death he 
 becomes the possessor of heaven, it is by Christ the 
 Life. While, however, these three thoughts may be 
 viewed as separate, they are so much one that they can- 
 not be severed from one another. Christ is the Truth 
 and therefore He is the Way as the teacher to the Truth. 
 He is the Life because He is the truth which gives life. 
 Like a river, the Messiah or the Christ is three in one. 
 The river is the way to the ocean whither you are bound. 
 It is also the element bearing up the vessel as she 
 advances on this way. And it is that which, being con- 
 nected with the ocean or really becomes part of it, brings 
 the ship at length to the mighty deep. So Christ is the 
 
34 * CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 
 Way to the many mansions of which He speaks. He is 
 the Truth which supports you while advancing on this 
 Way. And He is the Life in as much as being thus up- 
 held while proceeding on such a path — that of honorable 
 service — He will at length bring you to the deep sea of 
 eternal joy, — to the quiet and happy rest which remains 
 for the people of God/ 
 
 Taking these words — ''I am the Truth " — as the 
 answer to the question, ''what is Truth ?" we will this 
 day make them the subject of our mutual and prayerful 
 consideration. 
 
 I. Now, we remark, in the first place, that Christ is 
 the Truth, because He taught the truth respecting God. 
 There are three great e^rrors into which men have fallen 
 with regard to God. The first sets up many false gods 
 to be worshipped by men. The second represents Him 
 to be a being of stern, unrelenting, inexorable justice 
 who can have no sympathy with the sins and frailties of 
 mankind. The third speaks of Him as one who will 
 readily overlook our iniquity and demand no adequate 
 punishment for our sins. Now Jesus Christ was opposed 
 to all these views, i am the truth. He says, because 
 He taught the truth respecting God. 
 
 As to the first error — idolatry — this receives no coun- 
 tenance from the Saviour. He was equally opposed to 
 the teaching of pagan philosophers on the subject, and 
 to the practices of idolatrous nations. It had ever been 
 the tendency of men when left to themselves to multi- 
 ply their gods. Even the Jewish people, notwithstanding 
 
CHRIST THE TRUTH. 35 
 
 their exalted and valuable privileges as the children of 
 God, were prone to fall in with the idolatrous practices 
 of other countries. The Greeks aided by a highly 
 cultivated imagination seemed to make every object 
 around them breathe with deity. Their groves became 
 sacred spots, where deity manifested itself in artistic 
 forms. Their temples were filled with idols. Their 
 great men w^ere elevated to the distinguished position of 
 being divine. The Romans, too, were degraded by their 
 idoj worship. They copied their imaginative neighbors 
 the Greeks. And the gods of the one country were often 
 transported to the other — to be added to their own list 
 of deities to be held in homage. All nations at the time 
 of Messiah's advent may be said to have been— either in 
 spirit or form or both — idolaters, worshipping the works 
 of their own hands, or regarding the objects of creation 
 as their gods. But Christ came to this world to convey to 
 men the true conception of God as father, friend. It is 
 very noticeable that Jesus does not attack idolatry open- 
 ly and directly. With reverence be it spoken, it would 
 have been out of- place to have made such an onslought 
 in Judea where the temple of Jehovah was built and 
 where the worship of the living and true God was con- 
 tinually observed. But He ever seeks to imbue the 
 minds of his hearers with reverence and affection for the 
 Father above. And then v/ithout formal instruction on 
 the subject, He leaves this principle to speak for itself to 
 the hearts and consciences of men. He thus seeks to 
 impart that law or principle which when carried out 
 
36 CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 
 would prevent the Jewish people from falling back into the 
 idolatrous practices of other countries, and which when 
 preached to Gentiles would gradually turn them from the 
 absurdities of idolatry to the worship and service of the 
 living God. For example when He observed in the 
 woman at the well of Jacob, that superstitious spirit 
 which would confine the worship of God to some con- 
 secrated place, such as the mount on which she said her 
 fathers had worshipped. He uttered these deep words, 
 *'God is a spirit, and they v»'ho Vvorship Him must wor- 
 ship Him in spirit and in truth." When by His miracles 
 He revealed that the Divine power was within himself, 
 He did not set himself up as opposed to the God of 
 Abraham, but rather as that God manifest in the flesh. 
 Christ and the Father are not two Gods, but He says, 
 ''land the Father are one." And then as man — ever 
 communing with the Father, ever realizing the presence 
 as of one in heaven, ever praying to the Father, thanking 
 the Father for the countless and unceasing bounties of 
 His providence, — all this is so vivid and striking that, 
 when it has been made our example, it must banish all 
 idolatrous feelings from our hearts, and the reality of 
 Christ's reverence for one Father and of his love for Him 
 will set forth the true worship more powerfully than ever 
 could the profoundest speculations regarding the nature 
 and attributes of Deity. 
 
 As to the second great error that represents God as a 
 being of stern, unrelenting justice who can have no 
 sympathy with the sins and frailties of mankind, Jesus 
 
CHRIST THE TRUTH. 37 
 
 sets forth that God is earnestly desiring the salvation of 
 men. The distinguishing merit of His teaching is the 
 love and sympathy of God for those who had broken and 
 despised His laws. He says in the memorable address 
 which arose from His conversation with Nicodemus, 
 ''God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
 Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but 
 have everlasting life." He himself as the beloved Son of 
 the Father left the heavenly mansions, and thus as the 
 apostle says, " for our sakes became poor that we through 
 his poverty might be rich." The grand doctrine which 
 ■distinguishes the Bible above all other books is that 
 of God's mercy towards sinners. It is where the truth 
 has been wholly obliterated or partially obscured we find 
 men fancying their gods will not favor them, or give 
 heed to their prayers, until they have torn their own 
 flesh, or offered some victim to appease their wrath. The 
 ■poor heathen tearing his hair, or inflicting so many 
 •lashes upon his body, the deluded seeker after a right- 
 eousness of his own lying naked on a bed of nails, or 
 starving his body, or giving to priest craft the pence which 
 he has earned by the sweat of his brow ; aye too, the 
 self-righteous amongst ourselves who goes through the 
 services of his church as if doing some meritorious work 
 ^-all with the notion of pleasing God — gives a most de- 
 grading view of the deity. If we would learn the truth, 
 let us look to Christ. Here is the God of heaven and of 
 earth — manifest in the flesh — visiting sinful men in the 
 fullness of his mercy. Let those who tell us God is stern 
 
38 CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 
 regard Christ as he sojourns upon the earth. Let 
 them say, Is God hard, unrelenting when He, who is 
 His own everlasting Son, is seen sitting at the same table 
 with publicans and sinners ? He who gave a brother's 
 hand to a Magdalene, who would not comdemn another 
 poor sister whom all the Pharisees scornfully called a sinner, 
 who would not turn a deaf ear to the blind when they 
 earnestly asked to receive their sight, who had compass- 
 ion on the multitude when without bread in a desert place; 
 He who continually shone with the pure beams of benev- 
 olence; He who at last gave himself up to the awful 
 death of the cross that poor sinners like us might have 
 a way of access unto God ; He who, to save others could 
 not save himself, is the great Teacher enlightening men: 
 regarding the Divine compassion. Ever from His lips 
 pours forth the voice of mercy. For the first time in the 
 clearest light, not only by words, but through the per- 
 sonality of the Saviour, God is set before men as their 
 heavenly father, as their brother — the husband of the 
 church, the dresser of the vineyard, the shepherd of his 
 flock. What precious figures these are ! They set forth 
 God strikingly and simply in the attitude of mercy. And, 
 therefore, Christ authoritatively says, I AM THE TRUTH,, 
 because having shown himself merciful to sinful men He 
 thus teaches that loving compassion is an attribute of the 
 divine character. 
 
 The tJiird error sets forth God as a being who will 
 readily overlook our sins and demand no adequate punish- 
 ment upon the guilty. So dark by nature are the hearts o£ 
 
CHRIST THE TRUTH. 39 
 
 ' men with respect to the character of God that a sort of sen- 
 timental belief in his mercy has become almost universally 
 current. The heathen, scourging himself at one moment 
 to please his gods, fancies after such religious service he 
 is free to do what he likes best — to commit even the 
 terrible crime of murder. Then while the blood of the 
 victim is yet reeking on his knife, he may go back to his 
 temple and do penance as before. Nor is this view con- 
 fined to pagans. Amongst many others the doctrines of 
 penance and absolution are openly avowed. In all our 
 churches what numbers who are lulling their consciences 
 to sleep, allowing themselves to dwell only upon the 
 goodness and mercy of God to the exclusion of Infinite 
 Justice which necessarily inheres in his character. It is 
 from Christ, in truth, we derive a knowledge of the Divine 
 justice. He reveals how justice blends and harmonizes 
 with mercy, how God is just and yet the forgiver of sin, 
 . but how He cannot forgive transgression if His justice 
 will thereby be impaired. To Christ's life we must look 
 as furnishing many examples of this. We cannot point 
 to one case of him forgiving sirf at the expense of that 
 infinite justice which belonged to him. There is not the 
 case of a man having had his sins blotted out by Christ 
 without first coming to Him^ and believing upon him. 
 That Jesus claimed the right to forgive must be conceded, 
 and that He grounded that right upon his own personal 
 merits — tipon the merits above all of His sacrificial death — 
 must be apparent to every one who studies his life and 
 discourses. Why then does He demand personal faith in 
 
40 CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 
 himself as the basis on which forgiveness of sins may be 
 pronounced ? The simple answer is, because His life and 
 death were a sacrifice for sin. AVhat the Saviour sets 
 before us is that (rod is merciful and ready to forgive, 
 that He hates sin. He loves the sinner. Accordingly 
 while those who come to him simply believing in Him 
 have invariably their sins forgiven, see, how differently 
 He treats the hypocritical — those who are grievous sinners 
 in the sight of God, but who make light of their sins and 
 assume at the same time a sanctimonious aspect. He 
 cannot help showing his scorn of them. He calls them by 
 the right name. Here then in Christ we have exhibited 
 that justice which cannot allow mere compassion to 
 interfere with its rightful exercise. Thus Christ 
 reveals to man what God is. On account of the perfect 
 Sacrifice which was made to satisfy Divine justice, He 
 presents himself a merciful God to his erring children. 
 He will forgive if we come to him sincerely in the name 
 of His Son. But He can never overlook the conduct of 
 the unrepenting wicked. Those who love their evil and 
 will not come to Him, must remain where they are — 
 outside of God. God's justice is a hedge of thorns around 
 his own character. Just as surely as Christ condemned 
 the Pharisees, so are all those condemned who say to 
 themselves regarding their iniquities. ''God will not 
 be so exacting as all that. Surely He w^ill have mercy 
 upon a poor sinner like me. Surely He cannot punish 
 one who in other respects is so amiable and good." But 
 this, my friends, is bidlding upon the sand. 
 
CHRIST THE TRUTH. 41 
 
 II. ^\q YQvndir^, in the second place, that Christ is the 
 Truth, because as man He showed forth mans true 
 condition. 
 
 He was true, since in him as man there is exhibited 
 all that is noble and good. Christ is the man. His is 
 ideal manhood. He lived the truth. There was ever a 
 harmony between his words and deeds. There is not 
 one sermon spoken throughout the whole course of his 
 life that jars with one single work. He was before men 
 just what He was in the presence of God. He was 
 ''holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." 
 The thought of God's presence was joy to him. That 
 elevated, but did not depress him. He could go from the 
 midst of men to God, He could come back from prayer 
 to the very midst of men, without as it were casting off 
 one coat and putting on another to fit him for the 
 change. What, think you, drew that poor weeping 
 sinner to Jesus, what drove from him the wicked and 
 false but this — that here was One before them whom 
 every person felt to be //-//^ ? The penitent knew they 
 could trust him. The false at once saw that his eye 
 pierced to the depths of their souls. Heaven smiled 
 upon him. Hell frowned. Ah ! how fearfully was 
 Christ's trueness of character tried. He had to sail the 
 journey of life amid storms atone time — with false lights 
 seeking to misguide him at another. But he sails 
 securely, and reaches the end of his life without one 
 stain on his character, without one false word ever 
 
42 CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 
 having been breathed from his lips, without ever — even 
 in thought — being faint or traitorous in the service of 
 God. 
 
 What a contrast is Christ in life and character to this 
 false and miserable world ! Now, the truth which is 
 seen in Christ's life is this, that for a man to be happy 
 he must be at one with God. Under the furrowed brow 
 — deep down in his soul — there was tranquil peace. What 
 a foundation of peace was expressed in the words — / and 
 the Father are one. And He teaches by his experience what 
 is precious truth for our souls that — if we would attain his 
 peace and happiness — we must be united to God and 
 living in harmony with Him. Christ teaches us that 
 without this one needful thing — union with God — we can 
 never attain his tranquility. Do what we will, without this 
 union, we will ever be far from true happiness. That is 
 no unmeaning picture of life which represents men in 
 their various pursuits after happiness — some trying social 
 pleasures, others climbing the ladder of ambition, others 
 following lust with keen desire — and the life of every one 
 ending like the bursting of a bauble. But let us begin 
 by putting ourselves in a right relation with God — loving 
 Him as a father, obeying Him as our master — and we will 
 be at rest. This is the teaching of Christ's life. He lived 
 this truth that union with God is man's true condition. 
 
 But let us here remark that Christ comes to us and finds 
 men everywhere without union with God. We are all in a 
 wrong state, like a river out of its channel and producing 
 waste marshes, instead of imparting richness to the soil as 
 
CHRIST THE TRUTH. 43 
 
 it would were it flowing in its right course. As evidence of 
 this Jesus came to the world, but the world knew him 
 not. It regarded him a stranger rather than a friend, and 
 so turned its back upon him. Men by nature are 
 condemned in God's sight. They are His enemies. But 
 now Christ as the Truth comes to man and points the way 
 to union with God — points him to the prospect of becoming 
 true to God, to his fellow-creatures, and to himself. 
 What keeps man from the state for which he was 
 originally intended — from union with God ? It is sin — 
 sin unpardoned. It is guilt not washed away. Christ 
 comes and solves the deep problem of human life, as to 
 how man's sins shall be pardoned, as to how his guilt shall 
 be washed away. He the pure and holy Son of God 
 must needs die. That Divine justice which in his life He 
 showed forth demands a perfect sacrifice to be offered 
 before man can be restored. Here is the Truth which man 
 needs. " No man can come unto the Father except by 
 me." On our believing Christ depends whether we shall 
 realize the Truth. The truth of the Gospel is this — Faith 
 in the Saviour makes him your substitute. Your sins will 
 then be blotted out. You will be justified as though you 
 had not sinned. From this seed there will grow up within 
 you a renewed nature. Thus changed and growing in grace 
 God's smile will be upon you. Here will be union with 
 your Father in heaven. From this union you will have 
 peace. Then you will become true in life and character. 
 Your prayer to God will not be a mockery. It will 
 harmonize with your life. You will deal in love with your 
 
44 CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 
 fellow-creatures. Your children you will train in the 
 fear and love of God. Your neighbours you will love, and 
 you will seek to do them good. And you also will be true 
 to yourself — employing your noble talents aright — having 
 the foundation of truth, and seeking to grow more and 
 more in the knov> ledge of it. 
 
 III. In the tJiird place we have to remark that Christ 
 as the TriitJi reveals man's true destiny. There is one 
 thing must strike us when regarding the Saviour and that 
 is the authority with which He speaks of the future. He 
 does not labor to prove to his hearers that there shall be 
 an eternity. He speaks of the future in a natural manner 
 as though it were already present with him. With regard 
 to that eternity awaiting all men, He teaches there are 
 two states in which men shall be found — the one of misery, 
 the other of joy. Here are his own words. " He that 
 believeth hath everlasting life; he that believeth not shall 
 not see life, because the wrath of God abideth on him." 
 Instead of mocking Christ when teaching this as the truth, 
 just ask your own hearts. '' Is Christ one likely to 
 declare anything which He did not know to be true ? " 
 Remember He does not give it forth as a matter of 
 opinion, that there is to be a future state. He gives it 
 forth authoritatively as a matter of experience. Now, for 
 a moment just ask, "Is He one likely to declare this 
 unless he knew it to be truth.'" Even though Christ had 
 not declared the truth regarding the state beyond death, 
 yet the Spirit of his teaching would point it out to a 
 reasoning and reflective mind. liut the point is having so 
 
CHRIST THE TRUTH. 45 
 
 declared, it is on our peril that we do not receive it. 
 Christ is the first who teaches this truth from the personal 
 ground of having been with the Father, of having come 
 from the Father, and now going to Him. He comes to 
 you not only with such words addressed to you, but with 
 the fact of his own resurrection. And there — we can add 
 — is a wonderful teaching of this great truth. The diffi- 
 culty we have in receiving the doctrine of a future life is 
 that we cannot see beyond death. We may not be able to 
 conceive of a man coming to life again. But Christ is a 
 case in point. The days He spent with his disciples after 
 his resurrection were the true beginning of his reign as 
 King. There was the future life of one begun as we regard 
 it. And so He teaches shall all rise. He speaks of the 
 many mansions in his Father's house, and He speaks no 
 less authoritatively of the awful perdition of the wicked. 
 
 Here then we have the sum and substance of the Truth 
 which Christ Jesus exemplified and taught. / am the 
 Truths because the Father dwelleth in me, and His charac- 
 ter is seen in my life. / am the Truth, because as man I 
 have shown His right condition as at one with God. I am 
 the Truth, because having shown man's right condition to 
 be one with Him, I tell you this, such union shall never be 
 severed. Those who are at peace with Him now shall be 
 at peace with Him for ever. 
 
 Brethren we have before us principles which it well 
 becomes us to prize. If we have them in our hearts we 
 will be led to adore God, to be true to our elevated 
 nature and to live in vievv' of the dawn of that morn when 
 
46 CHRIST THE TRUTH. 
 
 the congregation of the redeemed shall swell the notes 
 of heaven with their praises of Christ the Truth. Here 
 are principles which shall secure our freedom from many- 
 forms of bondage, more surely than a slave delivered by a 
 friendly hand from chains and prison is free; so is the 
 Christian called to rejoice in a liberty that is lasting and 
 is the beginning of all true happiness. It may be thought 
 we can do little to clear up such a subject as we have 
 before us. But then our small knowledge of the precious 
 gospel of Christ is but a lantern in the hand. While 
 of no use in the midst of the blaze of day, when 
 the sun's light penetrates every spot of earth, yet of what 
 advantage the lamp in the darkness of night. And what 
 does our feeble light do ? It does not open the scenery, 
 or reveal the river or mountain at a distance. It shoW'S 
 us one step to be taken. When we take that one step v/e 
 do not pitch aside our lantern but, having found benefit 
 from it, we carry it with us. Then the lantern shows our 
 next step. And there is the great law. Ever having 
 Christ our bright lamp by night we are led to our first 
 step, and still carrying Him to every succeeding step — to 
 every new effort, to every added word, to each separate 
 undertaking. 
 
PRAYER. 
 
 O God, in our sorrow let thine illuminating Truth come into our 
 hearts. Cheer us with Thy presence, our covenant keeping Redeemer. 
 Thou, O Jesus, art the truth, revealing the true nature of our 
 Father. Thou art opposed to idolatry, Thou art full of mercy. Thy 
 revelation has the back-bone of eternal justice. " Mercy and truth are 
 met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. " We thank 
 Thee, O God, for the unspeakable Gift as the reconciler of man with 
 God, as our high and bright example, and as that One who brings us 
 from sin to the lofty platform of redemption and ability to accomplish 
 holy purposes. O, thou Almighty, grant us the Spirit of Truth to dwell 
 within our hearts — to brighten our lives — to cheer our sorrows. Let us 
 not readily forget that Christ the Truth hath authoritatively taught, 
 " In my Father's mance are many mansions." For Christ's sake, 
 O Father, forgive and bless us. Amen. 
 
" When quiet in my house I sit, 
 Thy book be my companion still; 
 
 My joy thy sayings to repeat, 
 ^'alk o'er the records of thy will, 
 
 And search the oracles divine, 
 
 Till every heart-felt word be mine." 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 
 SERMON IV; 
 
 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my 
 path. — Psalm cxix: 105. 
 
 We believe there is in this verse an endorsation by 
 David of most of the books of the Bible v\-hich go before 
 the Psalms. This writer refers to the Pentateuch, the 
 book of Job, and the histories of the peculiar people which 
 bring us to his own time. When Christ commands, 
 ''Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have 
 eternal life and they are they which testify of me," He 
 has before his mind the writings of the Old Testament 
 very much as we have them in the Hebrew Bible. He 
 quotes again and again the words of Moses, as well as of 
 the psalms and the prophets, and we have therefore to 
 conclude these Scriptures to be stamped with the greatest 
 authority. 
 
 Here indeed is our argument for the Bible. Christ, who 
 is the highest known Teacher, quotes from the Sacred 
 Volume and from no other. In His estimation it is 
 divine. That is enough for me though countless able 
 critics should have something to say against it. We have 
 the greatest minds treating these pages as true. They 
 look upon them as gold, tried in the fire, purged, and 
 
50 THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 
 
 becoming all the purer for the process. This is what we 
 have to say to men, like modern agnostics, former infidels, 
 ho matter what the objection you have to Scripture, "There 
 it stands accepted by the best and most genuine critic the 
 world has yet seen. " Let me say, we welcome learning to 
 the task of expounding the word of God — provided it is 
 reverential, thorough, and conducted with the view of 
 making what is difficult plain and comprehensive. We 
 know how little priest-craft did for even the circulation 
 of Scripture, and that it was rather owing to the earnestness 
 of certain men, who translated it into the English language 
 in spite of persecution, that we have the book in its 
 received shape. Priest-craft bitterly opposed its transla- 
 tion into the ordinary language, its circulation, and 
 faithful exposition. It is certain to us the day has gone 
 by for preventing the Word having free course. Whether 
 we will or not the Bible is bound to be investigated and 
 made clear. For our part we say give the scholars the 
 utmost freedom within common sense. The more of such 
 scholarship we have the better. We have the two schools 
 of critical minds and they must have their way. They 
 may appear in different proportions, but votes of the 
 majority are not going to set aside the minority. We are 
 sure in the long run of good coming from such controversy. 
 While — being conservative — disposed to hold to the views 
 of our fathers, we say let us give scholarship every 
 opportunity, let us not oppose learned investigation, let 
 us not try to crush the enquiring spirit. The Bible is 
 certainly not to be put down because of scholarly criticism. 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 51 
 
 We must abide results. We see how many inexplicable 
 matters have become plain because of such enquiries. 
 Take, for example, the appendix chapter of the Pentateuch, 
 containing an account of Moses' death. To the difficulty 
 raised as to the authorship of the books, because Moses 
 must then have written his own funeral oration, we have 
 to say of course it was added by another hand. The 
 story of Joshua and the Sun standing still may appear 
 absurd to literal expositors, especially as with the aid of 
 Science they can say it must rather have been the earth 
 that stood still, seeing the relation of the Sun to our globe 
 is caused by the motions of the latter. It is surely 
 evident we have here a poetic description of the continu- 
 ance of a day into the night, such as we have often 
 witnessed. Whether the theory is to be applied of Moses 
 not being the actual writer may be seen in the course of time, 
 but to us there is no practical difficulty in regarding him the 
 author even if proved that some other pen in an after time 
 wrote the Pentateuch. If these writings were handed down 
 from one to another in atraditional form until they were 
 committed to writing, in our view they are no less the works 
 of Moses. And so with other questions which have been 
 started, such as whether there be two Isaiahs. While 
 clinging to the old view of there being one writer filled 
 with his glorious theme and growing in ardour and 
 eloquence as he contemplated from afar the advent of 
 Him who was " The Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty 
 God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace," we yet 
 can see no change in the book itself, even though a double 
 
52 THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS, 
 
 authorship were established. It is to the merit of the 
 book itself we have to look rather than its authorship. So 
 in our view it is with regard to the life of Christ — if it can 
 be proven that John did not write the fourth gospel, what 
 difference does it make ? The gospel of John speaks for 
 itself. We do not think any other could have written 
 such a marvellous product of the human mind. But even 
 allowing that another was the author, is not the book true 
 in itself ? The one evil that results from pushing the alleged 
 discoveries of Critics before the public mind, is that of 
 leading ignorant persons to say, ** surely if the scholars 
 are themselves disagreed, the books are not worthy of 
 credit." That this has largely resulted no one can deny. 
 There is danger of undermining merely traditional convic- 
 tions. Men are apt to seize every difficulty and say, ''the 
 idea of a revelation is absurd." We want to utter a word 
 of what we call common sense on the subject before 
 allowing such a conclusion. We deeply regret the alarming 
 tendency of condemning the Bible on the mere ground of 
 contradiction among the Critics, and as for us be it 
 understood that having such a backing as that given by 
 Christ to the Old Testament, we will stick to reading and 
 admiring it as long as life lasts, and we hope to show that 
 the New Testament is far too much a living gem to let it 
 lightly go from our grasp. No, brethern, our old Bible 
 which has an honored position in our churches, schools 
 and colleges, is used as a symbol in taking oaths before 
 courts of law, enjoys a foremost place in many societies,, 
 and is regarded as '' a lamp to the feet and a light to the 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 53 
 
 path" by a vast number of God-fearing men and women, is 
 too precious to be thus set aside. It is more in demand 
 to day than ever, and we are not saying too much in 
 expressing the beUef it is destined as the years come and 
 go to more and more regard. Let us look to its contents 
 — to what it says — rather than puzzle over merely surface 
 questions. 
 
 We remark God's word is ' a lamp unto our feet and a 
 light unto our path," because, in the first place, it reveals 
 the true nature of sin. With human depravity it deals as 
 an entrance wedge. The teaching of the Bible is clear on 
 this subject. Were the story of the Fall told only once 
 in the beginning of Genesis, we might doubt the matter. 
 But it is often repeated in the books of Scripture. 
 David expresses- the whole truth when he says, ''Behold I 
 was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive 
 me." What have we in all these writings but the repetition 
 of the doctrine that '* sin is a reproach to any people" and 
 that '* the way of transgressors is hard " ? We maintain 
 the integrity of Scripture because its teaching on this point 
 calls forth response from the human heart. There is 
 correspondence between its doctrine and the universal 
 experience. The moral law stands strongly and firmly in 
 its place because the condition of men reveals its necessity. 
 Its commands are not to do the very things we find in 
 existence and which we believe came into the world 
 through disobedience. The history of the Jewish people 
 shows the necessity for the deliverance of such a code of 
 morality. What is that history ? Not only do murders. 
 
54 THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 
 
 and crimes against chastity, and the vilest deeds immedi- 
 ately appear, but we are told of wickedness attaining such 
 a cumulative force that it reached its climax in the almost 
 total destruction of the race by the flood. While that 
 awful visitation swept away the iniquity which abounded^ 
 it did not destroy it. So that we find Noah, the chosen 
 one who with his family was preserved from destruction^ 
 committing crimes too loathsome to name. And on we 
 go with the history until the evil appears again in intensest 
 forms, until anarchy and bloodshed and war are seen as its 
 consequences. Many say they cannot believe there is a 
 God because of the permission of wars which to them seem 
 unjust. But what are such strifes and death and destruc- 
 tion but the logical issue of the sins which abounded ? 
 Do we think God can endure the horrors of idolatry, 
 profanity, immorality, cruelty ? Can a supreme Intelligence 
 look calmly on such scenes and not let them come to their 
 fit conclusion ? Does not the extermination of races 
 result because of their iniquities ? Does God prosper the 
 rebellion — leading to confusion — , the destruction of hosts^ 
 and the turning of all things upside down ? Do we find 
 the people of God victorious when taking part in wars that 
 are wicked and unjust ? Are they not conquerors when 
 honoring the principles of the Divine government, and are 
 they not defeated and scattered when fighting against God 
 and truth ? And for what are the prophets sent forth but 
 to proclaim the evil which abounds and denounce it in 
 God's name? Does not Isaiah cry. ''Let the sinner 
 forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts .'' '* 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 55 
 
 Is not Jeremiah a doleful book because dealing with human 
 perversity ? What is the burden of all prophecy but the 
 rebellion of men ? And -who teaches sin as an all prevail- 
 ing evil more thoroughly than Christ ? He came to 
 convict men, to lift the vail, and show the horrors which 
 abound. While loving men, He hates their sins. He 
 denounces the Pharisee and hypocrite. The Bible doctrine 
 concerning sin culminates in the apostle's declaration, *'By 
 one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so 
 death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." 
 Rom. V. 12. Were not the biographies of the 
 saints given for the purpose of showing them to be 
 sinners ? There are a few no doubt on whom there is 
 no mention in Scripture of stain or guilt, such as Abel, 
 Enoch, Isaac, Joseph, Jonathan, Nathaniel, but in 
 their very offerings, were they not confessing their 
 unworthiness ? But what a story is told of Abraham, of 
 Jacob, of Moses even, of Eli, of David and Solomon, and 
 how few of the kings appear other than monsters of crime? 
 What of the New Testament ? Does not Paul confess 
 himself, "the chief of sinners ? " What of the apostles but 
 the narrative of their desertion of Christ ? Behold, Peter 
 intimidated by a maiden and led to the denial of his Lord! 
 What a testimony to the prevalence of sin in death which 
 with two exceptions — Enoch and Elijah — has dug a grave 
 for all mankind ! Do we not feel that death is our lot 
 because we have sinned and come short of the glory of 
 God ? The Scripture as a *' light to the feet " presents to 
 the believer the awful contrast of the darkness of sin from 
 
56 THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 
 
 which he has escaped, while it describes the gloom of a 
 wicked course to rouse the sinner to repentance. 
 
 We remark the Bible to be ''a lamp unto our feet, and a 
 light unto our path," because it presents Him who is **the 
 Light that cometh into the world." Whether we accept 
 Scripture or not, we cannot reject the Messiah Jesus is a 
 historical character. Countless writings other than the 
 New Testament prove this. We say, further, had we no 
 Bible, had it been possible to destroy it out of sight, we 
 would still have had the Christ, and His sayings and doings 
 would have been currently reported from mouth to mouth. 
 The critical questions, referred to at the outset, settle 
 nothing. The Saviour is the factor. Everything goes to 
 show that He lived and took part in human affairs. Why do 
 we date letters, newspapers, books 1895 ? Every time we 
 write these figures^ it is acknowledging Christ. If John's 
 gospel had never been written, these words in some form 
 would have been ringing in the air, '^Hadye believed Moses, 
 you would have believed me; for he wrote of Me." Could 
 the description of Christ's person, words, character and 
 death ever have been written, had no such person lived ? 
 We say that the invention of the Christ as a story without 
 an actual person who dwelt on earth would have been 
 superhuman, and the author or authors of it would be 
 entitled to worship. No. Let us by criticism set aside the 
 Bible, and there is still this person to be dealt with. Now 
 what is the claim of this Jesus ? It is that Moses wrote of 
 Him. He tells us the prophets spoke concerning Him. 
 And so, trying to grasp His words, we are led to see the 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 57 
 
 Old Testament presents Him as a person. We have to do, 
 then, not with Moses, or David, or Isaiah, but with what 
 is said, just as we have to do with Mathematics whether 
 Euclid be the author or not. Endorsed by Christ the 
 books of the Old Testament are to be read to discover 
 this person. The form of the promise given in Genesis, 
 '■'■ The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," 
 is very striking. We have the object-lesson of Abraham 
 offering his own son to be read with the words of the 
 Saviour, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day and was glad," 
 and we must feel the ram which took the place of Isaac 
 was one of the sacrifices by the patriarchs looking towards 
 the coming Christ. What remarkable words uttered by 
 dying Jacob — we believe — referring to this very person, 
 ^* The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver 
 from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him 
 shall the gathering of the people be." What a title Shiloh, 
 meaning according to some. Peace, and how appropriately 
 applied to Him who said, ''Peace I leave with you, my 
 peace I give unto you." Moses wrote of some one 
 individual when he said, 'The Lord thy God will raise up 
 unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, 
 like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken." Deut. 18:15. 
 This was at once confirmed by God himself. That these 
 words were fulfilled in Christ alone is evident from the 
 fact that none of the prophets was a lawgiver, and Peter 
 is not far wrong when applying them to the Saviour in the 
 Temple after the miracle on the lame man. David and 
 all the prophets from Samuel according to Peter speak of 
 
58 THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 
 
 one person as the coming Saviour. To whom does the 
 King of Israel refer in his words but unto Him seen by all 
 believers from afar, "I will declare the decree; the Lord 
 hath said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I 
 begotten thee." " I have the Lord always before me — 
 for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou 
 suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." ''The Lord said 
 unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make 
 thine enemies thy footstool." We have such remarkable 
 phrases in Proverbs and the Song of Solomon, as "a friend 
 that sticketh closer than a brother," " my beloved is mine 
 and I am his," which are fulfilled in Christ better than any 
 other. Isaiah is full of this single personage. We are 
 familiar with his 53rd chapter, which, applied to Christ as 
 we find Him in the gospels, is wonderful. They cannot be 
 referred to any other. "A man of sorrows and acquainted 
 with grief." What remarkable language in the 59th 
 chapter, "For he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, 
 and an helmet of salvation upon his head " ! The prophet 
 Jeremiah cries, "Is there no balm in Gilead ? is there no 
 physician there?" and surely in doing so the One is before 
 him. "I was wounded in the house of my friends," 
 exclaims Zechariah applying his words to the Messiah. 
 What a striking sentence uttered by Malachi, " But unto 
 you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise 
 with healing in his wings !" We are not trying skillfully 
 to make out a theory of this one person being proclaimed 
 by all the prophets, but accounting for the fact of there 
 being long before Christ came an expectation with the ^ 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 59 
 
 people that a certain individual would come to deliver them 
 from sin and every malady. This was the earnest belief 
 of the spiritual-minded. It only amounted with the mass 
 to an expectation of a future king who would reign over 
 them and deliver them from the foe. It was none the less 
 a general anticipation of an important personage. So 
 that about the time of the actual birth of our Lord, the 
 people were looking for One to deliver them from the 
 Roman authority. This cannot be questioned and hence 
 we have to give weight to the meaning of the Saviour in 
 applying the prophecies to himself and of the apostles in 
 uttering many such words as we find in Hebrews, "This 
 man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable 
 priest-hood." What a splendid title is this which Jesus 
 claims when he says, ''I am the Light of the World" ! 
 
 And now let me say, in conclusion, no matter what the 
 opposition of men to the word of God, no matter what 
 alleged errors and difficulties critics may suggest upon 
 mere questions of authorship, or as to certain passages 
 which they assert to have been added to the original 
 manuscripts, the Bible is to be esteemed "a lamp unto 
 our feet and a light unto our path," because of what its 
 revelation does for man. I believe we can never settle 
 questions about original manuscripts, because all we can 
 have is found in the books of Scripture as they are. But 
 this we know from the Word that it "restores men to the 
 joy of Salvation." And by this I understand it brings 
 back our lost condition. What are we to think of restor- 
 ation to complete manhood ? The Bible tells us. He 
 
60 THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 
 
 who is the Light enforces this as the royal road to 
 redemption, — ''Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ." These two things are concurrent. You cannot 
 separate the one from the other. It is just turning away 
 from sin to God. The moment we look to Jesus we turn 
 from sin. The first thing we can do and which is at once 
 intimately associated with faith is to repent. The truth 
 of Scripture shows my sinfulness. The voice of conscience 
 ■exclaims, **Thou art lost so long as thou continuest in 
 wickedness." There is only one thing to do in the presence 
 of that light. It is repent Depart with loathing from 
 thine iniquity. The very hour in which a man turns from 
 sin and believes on Jesus, he experiences the fact that he 
 is *'a new creation of God, old things are passed away, 
 behold all things are become new." He is then ''a man 
 in Christ Jesus." And what is meant by this ? He is now 
 in the Saviour what he would have been had he never 
 fallen. Whatever remaining sin, after his guilt is purged 
 and his heart is purified, there is now no condemnation. 
 He is ''justified by faith and has peace with God." Fancy 
 what must be the state of one whose soul is flooded with 
 the light because the Holy Ghost is " working within him 
 to will and do of God's good pleasure." A moral revolu- 
 tion has taken place in his heart His affections are 
 turned to higher and better things. Because risen with 
 Christ he is now, " seeking those things which are above." 
 His thoughts are entirely changed. There may with many 
 be honesty and fidelity towards their fellow-men before 
 conversion. But what powers these become because now 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 61 
 
 consecrated to God ! But think of the mass of men who 
 'Move darkness rather than Ught." What lusts occupy 
 the breast ? What passions are in force so that crimes of 
 every name are done under the sun ! Now such are 
 transformed, and the very energy, and determination and 
 perseverance, with which they pursued their evil courses, 
 are turned in the direction of virtue and honorable dealing 
 and benevolence. The world becomes new to them. 
 Instead of looking at it in the light of ministering to their 
 pleasure and ambition, it is now seen to be the creation of 
 God. Its stones, and streams, and lakes, and mountains 
 speak to them with other voices. They can now con- 
 template God in creation with restful satisfaction. They 
 have a restored character — basking in the rays of that 
 Light. They are living for a purpose — to glorify God and 
 serve the interests of others. Having learned to love the 
 Father they can exercise love to their fellow men. They 
 lead unselfish lives. Their object is to do good — not 
 abstractly — but in their business, in their homes, and in 
 every possible way as they come in touch with others. 
 They live a new life, breathe the fresh atmosphere, they 
 are feeding themselves day by day on Him who is the bread 
 of life. Their spiritual thirst is quenched because they are 
 ever drinking the water of life from its perennial source. 
 The Light of God does for them what the sun does for 
 trees and flowers. It causes them to grow in wisdom and 
 knowledge. They do not stop where they were, but are 
 attaining heights of which formerly they were unconsicous. 
 Heaven is begun within them. They have now a "name to 
 
62 THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 
 
 live. " They cannot have written upon their brows — 
 failure, ruin, death. For they are conspicuously active 
 in the true directions of man's energies. They are 
 aiming to be like Christ. And what does the Light do 
 for them ? They are ''brought to life and immortality 
 through the Gospel " Their inward consciousness of 
 life, not ending with death but passing into God's 
 presence for judgment, is turned into peace and joy 
 indeed. For they now see their immortal nature 
 becoming enriched with the gifts and graces of the Holy 
 Spirit, and they feel themselves to be ''children of God — 
 then heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ." What 
 must it be when a genuine manhood realizes itself not to be 
 for the day, or the few years of this world's history , but 
 forever\ The floods of light coming from Christ and the 
 Holy Ghost assure him of being begotten unto "an 
 inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not 
 away." He who was but immortal is now deeded with 
 Eternal Life. He knows that death means for him the 
 crown of glory. 
 
 But what of thee, O sinner, who lovest darkness 
 rather than light — who art still in the gall of bitterness 
 and in the bond of iniquity ? It is for thee not to settle 
 such matters as are raised about the Scripture, but to 
 deal /r^/ with the question, "why am I not a child of 
 God?" It will be time to turn to original manuscripts 
 when thou are sure of the new birth. Surely it is 
 miserable carping with vital things to be practically 
 denying the Saviour because of difficulties in or about the 
 
THE BIBLE AND HIGHER CRITICS. 63 
 
 Word. We do not act thus in regard to other sciences. 
 Do we say there is no truth in astronomy, or geology, 
 because of the contradictory statements of students of the 
 one or the other ? No, we wish to see every one firmly 
 planted on the Rock and then we make bold to say that 
 every book of Scripture will become illuminated and 
 every sentence will prove a living gem. 
 
All hail the glorious morn, 
 That saw our Saviour rise, 
 
 "With victory bright adorned, 
 And triumph in his eyes ; 
 
 Ye saints, extol your risen Lord, 
 
 And sing his praise w^ith sweet accord. 
 
HOLIDAY OR HOLY DAY— WHICH ? 
 SERMON V. 
 
 The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the 
 Sabbath, therefore the Son of jnan is Lord also of 
 the Sabbath. — MARK ii. 27-28. 
 
 We do not feel like discussing such a question as that 
 concerning the change of the Sabbath from the last to 
 the first day of the week. The Jew, who has not come to 
 the acceptance of the Messiah, is of course bound on 
 grounds of patriotism to maintain the seventh day 
 observance. He will be all the nearer the ancient standard 
 of piety if scrupulous on this matter. For the words still 
 stand on the Book, " If thou turn away thy foot from the 
 Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and 
 call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable 
 — then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." We hope 
 for the conversion of such in proportion as they are 
 mindful of the day which the Lord hath made. If those 
 calling themselves Christian insist upon observing the 
 Seventh, and not the first, we regard them going back 
 rather than forward. If they have time on their hands 
 and can observe both days in the public sense, well and 
 good. But with the vast multitude, whose one day in the 
 week is ever in danger of being torn from their grasp, it 
 
66 HOLIDA V OR HOL V DA Y— WHICH? 
 
 is a matter of clinging to that which they have rather 
 than attempting the impracticable and going back to the 
 letter of the law. As our purpose is vastly other than 
 that of dealing with the question, why there came the 
 change from the seventh to the first, let us touch upon 
 this just for a moment. We see the day was not altered at 
 the whim of pope or priest, for there it is right before us 
 in the New Testament. The resurrection of our Lord 
 was evidently an event of such import as to involve many 
 transformations, and amongst them the setting apart of one 
 day to be its memorial. We can readily understand how 
 the Jewish Christian, while keeping up a weekly remem- 
 brance of the Lord's resurrection, would yet stick to the 
 old law of the seventh as much as possible. But the 
 Resurrection so completely overshadowed creation that 
 it became the absorbing thought. In searching for 
 reasons for the change to the first day and demanding no 
 less than words of Christ to authorize this, we forget it 
 was made under His own supervision. For how else 
 explain the appearances of our Lord to his disciples on 
 the first day of the week — on the one occasion to all the 
 disciples except Thomas and on the next to the eleven, 
 demonstrating to the astonished doubter the fact of His 
 resurrection. These we cannot help connecting with 
 Paul's injunction to the Corinthians, (i Cor. xvi. 2) 
 **Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay 
 by him in store, as God hath prospered him." There 
 seems no doubt of the observance of the first day by 
 meetings and worship, and so the Lord's day became a 
 
HO LI DA V OR HOL V DA Y— WHICH? 67 
 
 distinctive title, as when John says in Rev. i. 10. *' I was 
 in the Spirit on the Lord's day." It seems clear that with 
 the sanction of the Lord himself a special emphasis was 
 put upon the first day, and that under direction of the 
 Holy Ghost the first day was from the beginning employed 
 in some public manner to memorialize Christ's rising from 
 the dead. From Polycarp downwards it is the first day 
 of the week which is observed for worship. There is no 
 mention in history of any time when this day became of 
 special significance. The practice grew. It grew out of 
 the circumstances. The Sabbath has been observed 
 through all the centuries on the first day, and it is 
 interesting to learn from Missionaries throughout Asia 
 Minor this day has the sanction of the ages in its favor. 
 Whatever may be said, the first day is our Sabbath. If 
 we are to contend for anything it is the first day. It is 
 the Sabbath as we have it — the people's inheritance — 
 our most blessed possession. We observe, in the 
 first place, that the Sabbath was made for man. 
 If asked, to whom are we indebted for this day, 
 we might reply — the church. It is an important fact that 
 Protestant Christendom is almost a unit in this matter. 
 We either are or ought to be united in regard to the day. 
 The Roman Catholics are with us to a certain extent — 
 contented for the most part with a few hours for worship 
 and devoting the rest to pleasure. But do we imagine 
 that the Church of herself would have thought of such 
 an institution in its regularly recurring weekly observance? 
 We have to go back of the Church to God himself as the 
 
68 HO LI DA V OR HOL V DA V— WHICH? 
 
 Author of Sabbath. The origin of the day is beautifully 
 told in Genesis. We have in the first chapter an inspired 
 ode — setting forth the order of events in creation. Some 
 contend from their geological discoveries that each day 
 
 represents an indefinite period. While not disposed to 
 favor this theory, it does not affect the question of the 
 Sabbath. For if Monday is a symbol of countless years 
 during which one layer of earth was constructed, then the 
 Sabbath would stand for the illimitable time during which 
 God is revealing his Salvation. The world's history since 
 the Fall would be the Sabbatic age of which the seventh 
 day until the resurrection of Christ was made the type. 
 The Sabbath would then be as authoritative as any one 
 of the six days. But we rather think the account of the 
 world up to the week which closed with the creation of 
 man is contained in the ist and 2nd verses of Gen. i, and 
 that the division into days marks the preparation of the 
 earth as an abode for man. The Lord then is set forth as 
 giving light one day, and separating the water from the 
 dry land another, and so on with the rest. At last the 
 work fittingly terminates with the formation of man, and 
 we are told, ** God blessed the Sabbath and haliowed it. " 
 Thus the seventh day was secured to man by none other 
 than the Creator. He foresees all things needed for our 
 race, and so He guards the day for worship and service. 
 Had man not fallen it would have made no difference. 
 The six days would have been employed in working the 
 soil and turning to account the earth's products. And 
 there would have been a day of complete rest at the close 
 
HOLIDA V OR HOL V DA Y— WHICH? 69 
 
 of each week, when the souls of men would have been 
 lifted up in praise. There would in that case never have 
 been question raised concerning the Sabbath. But it is 
 clear to the Bible student the Sabbath is continued after 
 the fall, and while the children of Israel in their Egyptian 
 bondage had to toil on with no day of rest and were 
 compelled to double their tasks and make bricks without 
 straw, yet during the wilderness period there is by Divine 
 command the resumption of the Sabbath, and the observ- 
 ance of the day is made imperative by the incorporation 
 of the fourth commandment into the moral law,"Remember 
 the Sabbath day to keep it holy." While the other nations 
 might be groaning in their bondage and forced to labor 
 on all days alike, the Jewish people were, when obedient 
 and loyal to God, faithful in honoring their Sabbaths, and 
 you can readily see the horrors of slavery and corruption 
 which followed the neglect to keep God's day. 
 
 The two features of the day thus made for man — were 
 rest and worship. ''Even them (i. e. who keep the Sabbath) 
 will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful 
 in my house of prayer, their burnt offerings and their 
 sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar, for mine 
 house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." 
 The Maker of the Sabbath had in view rest from toil. 
 What tender solicitude on the part of the Creator for his 
 creatures, that He thus appoints this weekly rest ! What 
 must life be without Sunday but a weary, toiling, 
 monotonous round ! God protested all along against 
 labor — continuous, depressing. But let us try to conceive 
 
70 HOLIDA Y OR HOL V DA Y— WHICH? 
 
 the blessings of the Sabbath when Saturday night comes, 
 ** Beneath the milk-white thorn that scents the evening 
 gale," the weekly rest is intended to begin. Then the 
 Sabbath itself is to be marked by cessation from labor, 
 except what may be necessary. But would man at his 
 best be satisfied with merely resting his body ? Is it 
 intended he should sleep all day ? Nay, you must read 
 the injunctions to attend to the duties of religion on that 
 day as on no other. While God is to be worshipped 
 every day in the family according to Joshua, ''As for me 
 and my house, we will serve the Lord, " it is peculiarly fit- 
 ting to have one day in which to be glad, when they said, 
 "let us go up to the house of God." Yes ! there is the 
 true idea of rest, for after sufficient sleep and enjoyment, 
 the soul of man cannot be satisfied with other than the 
 Bread of life. 
 
HO LI DA V OR HOL Y DA V— WHICH? 71 
 
 PART II. 
 
 We wish to speak briefly, in the second place, of the 
 tendency to make our Lord's sentence read, *' man was 
 made for Sabbath, and not the Sabbath for man." What 
 would that mean ? It would signify that man can do just 
 as he pleases on Sabbath, or on the Lord's day, — or 
 Sunday as they prefer to call it. It is my weekly holiday 
 and I can do with it what seems to me best. I do not 
 know why holy day has become holiday^ (that is spelt with 
 an i instead of y), unless it is by reason of the claim made 
 by many to spend the day as they choose. The word thus 
 spelt — holiday — seems to fit in with this idea — although 
 we cannot see it is different from holy day, except in 
 sound. The words are the same. We have, however, to 
 do with this assertion of right to use the day according to 
 caprice. In our view the orevalent non-observance of 
 Sabbath as a time for rest and worship is alarming. We 
 have to acknowledge, while mourning what may be called 
 secularisation of the day, or departure from its proper 
 purposes, what a small number, relatively, who are 
 attending the churches! Contrast with this the throngs 
 flocking to the piers on our hot Sundays and crowding 
 steam vessels which ply to the different places along our 
 sea coasts and on our rivers. We know well what is 
 taking place when they get there — to Coney Island or 
 Rockaway for example. All the saloons are doing a 
 rushing business. Merry-go-rounds and every other means 
 of amusement are in demand. A vast business for the 
 
7i HO LID A V OR HOL V DA Y— WHICH? 
 
 sale of every imaginable thing is being carried on. Of 
 course, the less objectionable recreation from bathing, 
 boating is carried on to an immense extent. The results 
 we feel certain are not satisfactory even to such as behave 
 well. They are often delayed in their return to the city. 
 The boats are dangerously overcrowded. Conversation 
 for the most part is about the day's experience or other 
 subjects of a secular kind. Those well behaved are 
 compelled to witness scenes which are far from edifying. 
 When they reach home they are weary and worn, and on 
 Monday feel in anything but good condition for resuming 
 their work. But what shall we say of the drunkenness 
 which manifest itself, of the profane swearing, of the 
 sweat and toil of sin? It is a sad sad tale. Monday sees 
 the multitude of pleasure — seekers in no fit shape for the 
 toils of the week, and the debauch is too frequently 
 continued. What do we witness in our City life ? Is it 
 not the claim of man being made for the Sabbath showing 
 itself in countless forms of pleasure seeking. Our cars are 
 crowded from morn till eve. The people are determined 
 to enjoy themselves, and every conceivable conveyance is 
 in demand. They are rushing from the City in every 
 direction to get the fresh air, as they say. But the saloon 
 again is the popular resort, and we know the results. The 
 travellers jostle and selfishly struggle for the best places. 
 There are continual confusion and wars of words and 
 disturbance. Behold them jaded, worn out, far from 
 rested, at the close of the day! Is this the best way of 
 spending Sabbath as preparation for the week's require- 
 
HO LI DA V OR HOL V DA Y— WHICH? 73 
 
 "merits ? There is a large class — playing base ball, running 
 races on the bicycle, indulging in all sorts of bodily exercise. 
 They say, they are doing it to promote health — to enjoy 
 the out-door exercise they are denied during the week. 
 There is no secret about side-doors by which to enter 
 saloons in this and many another city. The business is 
 openly done. We have no knowledge of the actual 
 number resorting to these for drink and amusement, but it 
 must be very large. The question is being agitated what 
 to do with the saloon. Shall we allow it to be open as in 
 London during certain hours of the day ? Well, all this 
 means that large masses of people are resolved to make 
 what use of the Sabbath they like best. 
 
 They say it is their weekly holiday and theirs to do with 
 as they will. But we maintain it is not their day in that sense. 
 It is God's day to be spent as He would have it. We owe it 
 largely to our churches that we have such a period. No one 
 can deny this who thinks on the subject. We certainly do 
 not owe the Sabbath to worldly men. These may talk 
 eloquently about the working men's Sunday, but have 
 never lifted even their little finger on behalf of the toilers. 
 Whether allowed or not by those most interested in the 
 weekly holiday, we maintain it to be absolutely certain 
 they owe the day to religion or in a word to God. 
 
 At the same time, we do not plead for a severe 
 puritanic Sabbath. We do not come upon a single passage 
 of Scripture encouraging such a notion. Let us not think 
 ourselves doing God service because we close down our 
 blinds and shutters, hermetically seal our pianos, entertain 
 
74 HOLIDA V OR HOL V DA V— WHICH? 
 
 the idea of laughter being sin. We believe the Sabbath 
 was made for man — to give him needed rest — to allow 
 sufficient bodily exercise, to enjoy the free air and bright 
 sunshine readily within reach. But we cannot believe that 
 pleasure seeking is other than laborious. We would have 
 Sunday a specially happy family day. The parents have 
 time to spend upon the intellectual and spiritual training 
 of their children. Innocent amusements, looking to Bible 
 instruction, could be had by these little ones. We rejoice 
 in Sunday Schools, while deprecating the notion of parents 
 being thereby relieved of the duty of teaching their 
 offspring. The Sabbath School is indeed a grand factor. 
 Think what these teachers are doing for our young — not 
 merely taking them from the streets and places of 
 questionable resort, but giving instruction. 
 
 One word more. By turning away from God's 
 Sabbath, paying no regard to the purposes for which it 
 was given and making it a day of pleasure, we are in 
 danger of losing it. On the one side the Lord gives 
 inspiring promise to those who observe His day, saying, 
 " Thus saith the Lord unto them that keep my Sabbath 
 will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a 
 name. I will give them an everlasting name that shall 
 not be cut off." Isa. Ivi. i6. On the other side God says, 
 ''Did not your fathers thus profane the Sabbath, and did 
 not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this 
 City ? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning^ 
 the Sabbath." Neh. xiii. i8. And again, "The Lord caused 
 the Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion, '*Lam. ii. 6. and *1 
 
HOLIDA V OR HOL V DA V— WHICH? 75 
 
 will cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new 
 moons, and her Sabbaths^ and all her solemn feasts." Hos. 
 ii. II. But you say, this severity and such a sentence 
 have passed away, because we have not the Sabbath as 
 Israel had it. The day is changed and has become one for 
 enjoyment. For our part, the Lord's day is our Sabbath, 
 It has attached to it not only all the sacredness pertaining 
 to the original day of rest, but reverence and love toward 
 the Lord Jesus, of whose resurrection it is a fitting 
 memorial. Moreover, God^s commandments are not a 
 burden. The path of true enjoyment lies in keeping them. 
 On the one hand, it is evident as daylight that the proper 
 observance of the Sabbath ensures its continuance. Let 
 us walk and keep the day as the Lord would have us and 
 we need not fear losing it. When men are alive to the 
 privileges of the day, they will strenuously resist every 
 attempt on the part of worldly men to wrest the Sabbath 
 from the toiling multitude. 
 
 But what, let me ask, is to be expected from turning the 
 day into one of pleasure — and forgetting the hallowed end 
 for which it was instituted ? The results of this are before 
 our eyes. What a vast number forced to labor on the 
 Lord's day, because of this demand for enjoyment! You 
 cannot sail these steam vessels, you cannot run these 
 cars, without compelling others to work. It is alarming to 
 think of the inroads on Sabbath already made, and the 
 mass who have to toil to satisfy the general desire for 
 sensuous, if not sensual, gratification. We can hardly 
 exaggerate on this matter. It is not only New York and 
 
76 HOLIDA V OR HOL Y DA Y— WHICH? 
 
 neighboring cities upon which our eye is set, but behold, 
 how this pleasure seeking covers the entire land. Consider- 
 ing the saloons and places of amusement open on the Lord's 
 day, the actual number laboring must be indeed great. 
 We must remember this evil thus appears at the present 
 moment in spite of the continual efforts of the Church and 
 State to preserve the day of rest. What would it be if 
 there was no restriction whatever and those who run 
 theatres, concert rooms and various place of resort were 
 allowed to do as they list ? The wickedness is undoubtedly 
 :growiilg in this very direction. Attempts to throw the doors 
 of these places wide open on Sabbath have been made 
 again and again. By and by, if such encroachments are 
 permitted we will have our New England Sabbath turned 
 into a Sunday as it is in France. God forbid we say, for 
 what does this mean ? 
 
 It signifies the obliteration of distinction between 
 Sunday and Saturday. It means open stores on 
 Sundays — the carrying on of all kinds of business, 
 until we have the two classes — the one, the pleasure 
 seekers, compelling fellow-men and women to toil on the 
 holy day, and the other, the toilers themselves — those 
 obliged to go through a perpetual, unbroken cycle of labor 
 during all the seven days of the week. That means the 
 hallowed day becoming one of intemperance on a vast 
 scale, of unbridled lust, of servile work for the multitude. 
 And do you think that men will ever concede to giving a 
 holiday now and again as a substitute for the loss of 
 Sunday, or so arrange the time of service as to make work 
 
HO LI DA Y OR HOL V DA Y— WHICH? 77 
 
 on this day only occasional ? That is not our experience, 
 working men. What we now see — the chains holding your 
 bodies to suffering and anguish becoming thicker, the 
 pressure upon your liberty becoming severer, life getting 
 to be a sad burden through over-work, until hope is gone 
 from you and despair seats itself proudly over you, — these 
 will become your lot in still severer forms. There is the 
 logical issue of what is now going on before our eyes, and 
 the question before the laboring classes is, whether by due 
 observance of the Sabbath they will secure its privileges, 
 or by yielding to passion and libertinism they will permit 
 the day of rest for them to become a thing of the past. 
 
O Master, it is good to be 
 
 High on the mountain here with Thee, 
 
 Where stand revealed to mortal gaze 
 
 Those glorious saints of other days. 
 
 Who once received on Horeb's height 
 
 The eternal laws of truth and right, 
 
 Or caught the still small whisper, higher. 
 
 Than storm, than earthquake, or than fire. 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 MATT, xvii., 1-8. MARK ix., 2-8. LUKE ix. , 2-8. 
 
 The very first expression in the passage of Scripture 
 now read connects the transfiguration with the declaration, 
 which the Lord made concerning his approaching suffer- 
 ings. **And after six days,'' (the Evangelist narrates), 
 " Jesus taketh Peter, James and John, his brother, and 
 bringeth them up into a high mountain." St. Mark says 
 the same thing ; and St. Luke with a slightly different 
 expression, "It came to pass about 2iX\ eight days 2S.X.^x. 
 these sayings," signifies the same thing. There is no 
 contradiction between St. Matthew and St. Mark on the 
 one hand and St. Luke on the other — Matthew and Mark 
 recording six clear days as having elapsed, and St. Luke 
 taking into his summation the day preceding and the day 
 following this hiatus of six days, as the days on which the 
 two events which are connected respectively occurred. We 
 know not what happened between the prophecy the Lord 
 made regarding His final doom, and the event of' the 
 Transfiguration. But it is one of the examples with which 
 the Scriptures are filled, of the human and divine nature of 
 our Saviour being placed side by side in vivid contrast. 
 
8o THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 At one time we find Him showing " unto his disciples, 
 how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many 
 things of the Elders and Chief Priests, and Scribes, and 
 be killed," and then we have to follow the footsteps of our 
 Lord and His disciples as they strike into the solitudes of 
 the mountain, on which the wonderful event of the Trans- 
 figuration took place. Let us draw near and gaze with 
 reverence upon the scene so strikingly depicted by the 
 three Evangelists. 
 
 St. Luke states the purpose of the Saviour in thus retir- 
 ing into the mountain. "He went," he says, "to pray." 
 This should be borne in mind in considering the Trans- 
 figuration, for we think it goes far to explain it. It would 
 seem that Christ was in the habit of going into the 
 mountains for prayer and meditation. It was on a 
 mountain He preached to His disciples the greatest of 
 sermons, and there He taught them to pray after the 
 manner of His own model prayer. The sacred historian 
 informs us that after performing the miracle of feeding 
 the multitudes, "When He had sent them away, He went 
 up into a mountain apart to pray, and when the evening 
 was come He was there alone." And so on many other 
 occasions we have reason to believe that Christ secluded 
 himself in the deep recesses of the mountain sides, and 
 there unseen by human eye, let His hearts' desires and 
 meditations ascend to His Father. It is probable that 
 the solitariness of the Redeemer was brightened by many 
 Transfiguration scenes, and that in the event before us, as 
 recorded, we have a glimpse of what He was in His spirit- 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 8r 
 
 ual exaltations. At all events we should not overlook the 
 important lesson here presented, viz : that Jesus Christ 
 was in fullest sympathy and accord with nature, that the 
 mountain side, or wilderness, or lonely sea-shore afforded 
 Him a congenial retreat where He might pour out His 
 heart before the Father, and that with Him it needed not 
 the cloistered cell or some sequestered or consecrated 
 spot, to commune with heaven. This habit of the Saviour 
 we should regard as a worthy example. There is without 
 doubt great value in stated seasons and places for retire- 
 ment and solitary thought. We are the creatures of habit, 
 and must ever associate the routine of duty with fixed 
 appointments. But there is danger connected with this, 
 that we become cold, methodical, and crush within us 
 those human impulses which give to prayers and medita- 
 tions the zest of genuine enjoyment. If we cannot pray 
 but in the closet, if we cannot meditate except in the 
 hermitage, we suspect we are still at some distance from 
 the Kingdom of God. We will substitute monasticism for 
 devotion, penance for penitence, works for faith. But let 
 us have the spirit of the Master, and all nature will present 
 herself as a Temple in which we may offer the incense of 
 prayer ; the lonely mountain-peak may become a conse- 
 crated altar; the solitudes of the wilderness will be 
 enjoyed as our confessional ; the stars will be regarded by 
 us as the very windows of heaven, through which minister- 
 ing angels are watching us ; the winds and the waves will 
 sing to us with celestial strains. Wherever we are placed 
 the still, small voice will be always whispering in our ears. 
 
82 THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John into an 
 exceeding high mountain. With the question as to 
 whether this was Mount Tabor or Mount HenfWfi^ we will 
 only say that the balance of evidence seems to be in 
 favor of Hermon. Hermon is an exceeding high moun- 
 tain, while Tabor was inhabited to the very top. Hermon 
 lay close to where Jesus was at the time of the Trans- 
 figuration, while Tabor was at a considerable distance. 
 Hermon's lofty peak was crowned with the snows of ages, 
 suggesting evidently St. Mark's description, ''His 
 raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow." 
 Turn from this to the persons by whom our Lord was 
 accompanied on the occasion of the Transfiguration. 
 These were three of His disciples, who by their differing 
 tempers and mental qualities were peculiarly fitted to act 
 the part of witnesses of the grand transactions about to 
 take place. Here we have not only the number of wit- 
 nesses required by law, but so constituted that if the 
 event had not occurred, and was only imaginary or a 
 mere vision, they must have contradicted one another in 
 their account of it. Without having been present at an 
 actual occurrence, Peter — the fearlessly honest — could 
 not have written as he afterwards did concerning it, 
 ** We were witnesses of His Majesty, for He (Jesus Christ) 
 received from God the Father, honor and glory, when 
 there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory. 
 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,' and 
 this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we 
 were with Him in the Holy Mount." James was the first 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 83 
 
 martyr, who died for his faith in Christ. He is thus to 
 be esteemed for his bold and unwavering truthfulness. 
 John, again, as the disciple whom Jesus loved and who 
 lived to the age of upwards of a hundred years in faith- 
 ful and affectionate witnessing to Christ, furnishes testi- 
 mony most precious to all who, like him rest on the Sav- 
 iour's breast. These three witnesses severally commend 
 themselves to the Heathen, the Sceptic, and to Believers, 
 and their united testimony is of great value in determi- 
 ning the realty of the Transfiguration. May we not well 
 exclaim, in view of the special favor conferred upon 
 them, what a privilege to accompany Jesus and see Him 
 in the act of praying! It was night; and now that deep 
 shadows had wrapped the mountain and the sublime 
 silence of the hour was felt — unbroken except by the 
 rustling leaf, the whirl of the startled bird, or the drip- 
 ping of water from the projecting crag — what a precious 
 opportunity was afforded for beholding Christ in the 
 highest exercises of His soul! Yet, strange to say, as St. 
 Luke tells us, that '■ Peter and they that were with him 
 were heavy with sleep." What! exclaim some of you, 
 asleep in such company! Yes, the frailties of the flesh 
 are indeed great, that sleep should overtake one when 
 about to receive the greatest boon. But they were 
 doubtless worn out with the fatigues of the day. They 
 were overcome with the journey. They shared not the 
 spiritual exaltation of the Master. The sweet breath of 
 a summer's wind, and the gentle rays of stars — as well as 
 the holy engagements of the Lord — all sung with monot- 
 
84 THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 onous cadence their souls into deep sleep. Meanwhile 
 the praying manner of their Lord is lost to sight. 
 Precious words fell soundless on their slumbering ears. 
 While it was natural to sleep at such an hour, yet it 
 involved the loss of those lofty thoughts which were 
 poured into the Heavenly Father's ear. What a contrast 
 between the sleeping disciples and the vigilant Master! 
 But let us not blame them — who when our souls are 
 blunted with worldly engagements and our bodies drag on 
 our jaded minds — sleep away the valuable moments of 
 divine worship, or become unconscious while v^e are 
 listening to the words of some valued friend. Jesus does 
 not rebuke them by word or look, and perhaps it was 
 because He. feeling for them, allowed them to rest awhile 
 that they might be well prepared to witness the sublime 
 spectacle that was about to pass before them. 
 
 St. Luke informs us, ** that as He prayed the fashion of his 
 countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and 
 glistening." The words of St. Matthew are, " He was 
 transfigured before them ; and His face did shine as the 
 sun, and his raiment was white as the light." While St. 
 Mark says, " his raiment became shining, exceeding 
 white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them." 
 The disciples, awaking out of sleep, now witness this 
 wonderful change. We are to remember in attempting to 
 explain this event, that Jesus went up to the mountain to 
 pray, and that he was thus employed when sleep fell upon 
 the eyes of his three followers. If we connect the Trans- 
 figuration with the fact that He was praying, we will at 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. • 85 
 
 once concede the change was not brought about by some 
 external cause. The rationalist makes easy work of the 
 explanation by saying that the rays of the setting or rising 
 sun fell upon Him, and lit up His face, and were reflected 
 from his garments. But the apostles would not have been 
 awe-struck as they were at sight of their transformed 
 Master, though it must be confessed that light at certain 
 seasons is followed by strange and startling results. We 
 have seen it throwing a weird like mantle of beauty over 
 scenery, which at another time would scarcely attract 
 attention. Has it not to the eye of the traveller changed 
 the desert into a sea of glass, or robed the barren moun- 
 tain with garments of silver and gold ? But something 
 more than this is involved in the Transfiguration of our 
 Lord. He had risen through his praying moods, from one 
 degree of spiritual intensity to another, till all that was 
 Divine within Him was expressed in His countenance and 
 form. We have seen some of our fellow-beings passing 
 through intense excitement of sorrower joy, and they were 
 so changed to our eye that we could hardly recognize them. 
 Does not conversion often produce a marvellous change 
 in the appearance — imparting a new light to the eye and 
 irradiating the countenance ? Take the Christian as he is 
 engaged on the Lord's Day in the exercises of the Sanct- 
 uary, and it may be that in the sacred hymn, or by a 
 thought from the preacher, his soul is wafted upwards, and 
 catching the light of Heaven, there is given to the eye a 
 peculiar brilliancy, which it knows not in its ordinary 
 moods. Let any one engage in some ennobling work of 
 
86- THE TRANSFIGURATION, 
 
 charity, and all his love seems to settle upon his counte- 
 nance, and to impart to it a new expression. Or look at 
 the transforming power of mind in the artist at the moment 
 he conceives the living idea which his skilled hand will 
 afterwards impress on canvass or on marble ; or in the 
 poet when words give wings to his thoughts, and these 
 are poured forth in forms that will live forever ; or in the 
 inventor as he discovers some hidden principle in nature, 
 and applies it to the machine or instrument. They are 
 changed for the time from their ordinary look and ex- 
 pression. Their thoughts, looking out at the windows of 
 the eyes, fill them with a wondrous light. Now, apply 
 this well recognized principle to the Saviour, and suppose 
 Him to have been, as some persons say, a man namely, 
 but the noblest and the best of men, — a man reaching in 
 his Transfiguration prayer the loftiest altitudes of 
 spiritual excitement, a man whose one thought was to ful- 
 fill in his lifetime the mission of doing good, now approach- 
 ing the throne of God in the utterances of his soul. At 
 such a moment would he not be transformed indeed ! We 
 cannot imagine the appearance He would have presented — 
 his eyes turned heavenwards and enkindled with the light 
 of God's love, his countenance irradiated by the intensity 
 of an inward joy, his frame electrified with emotional 
 excitement. What a sublime spectacle! But when we 
 add to this that He was the Beloved Son of God, that He 
 was the brightness of the Father's glory, that in Him the 
 human and the divine existed in perfect harmony, that 
 when at such a moment all that was Divine in Him rose 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION, 87 
 
 through the spiritual law of affinity to the Father on His 
 throne, when for the time He was reinvested with all the 
 glory He had from the beginning with the Father, when 
 His soul exulted in the comtemplation of that infinite Love 
 which gave Him to this world, when before His aspiring 
 mind there rose the grand and glorious kingdom of 
 redeemed souls He was to conquer and make His own, when 
 there was presented to His gaze the honor and glory that 
 would be gained from His completed work, when for the 
 time being the spirits of enmity could not touch Him, and 
 He was ministered unto by His heavenly legions, we may 
 well conclude it is no exaggerated description which the 
 Evangelist gives when he says, "His face did shine as the 
 sun, and His raiment was white as the light." Was it not 
 tliis heavenly light that shone in the face of Moses when 
 he came down from the mount, and that made Aaron and 
 all the children of Israel afraid to come unto him ? Was 
 not this tne holy light that was reflected from Stephen when 
 all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw 
 his face as it had been the face of an angel? But how 
 much more startling and brilliant must it have been with 
 Jesus, when the rays of the Divine Glory fell upon Him 
 from heaven, and there was enkindled to its highest point 
 of intensity the divine light that was within Him. It was 
 the one view these disciples had of what the Lord was in 
 His divine nature, of the honor and glory which belong to 
 Him, and of the greatness and majesty that would be His 
 forever after His redeeming work was done. It was a rev- 
 elation of what the angels and redeemed in heaven were 
 
8S THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 at that moment, of their exalted rank, of their glorified 
 countenances, and it was a foretaste to them of the happy 
 time when they "as the righteous would shine forth as the 
 sun, in the kingdom of their Father.**' Some may require 
 the aid of physical light to help them realize the spectacle 
 of the transfigured Lord ; but surely we may conceive it 
 to have been for these disciples a passing glimpse of what 
 Christ is now in the kingdom of glory, seated at the right 
 hand of the majesty on high, surrounded with attending 
 legions of angels, bearing in His hand the sceptre of 
 righteousness, and crowned with the everlasting crown of 
 countless ransomed souls saved by the precious blood of 
 Calvary. 
 
 Immediately upon this manifestation of the glory of 
 Christ, ''behold there appeared unto him Moses and 
 Elias talking with them." This may be viewed either 
 as an actual occurrence, or as a vision. Considered as 
 merely a vision, the lesson conveyed is appropriate and 
 significant. Indeed, it is the very same lesson that would 
 be taught on the theory of this being a real occurrence. 
 The objection to this being considered a dream is, that 
 the disciples were now wide awake, having probably 
 been aroused out of sleep by the extraordinary light. 
 We incline rather to the explanation that in this uni- 
 verse of sublime mysteries there are ever near and 
 around us the beings of another world, who might be 
 perceived by us were there given to us an increase of 
 spiritual vision. Samuel after death appeared to Saul 
 the king. Angels visited our earthly scenes during a 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 89 
 
 large portion of Old Testament history and held inter- 
 course with many of God's children. It was no vain 
 boast that Christ could summon to his aid twelve 
 legions of angels, for had they not ushered in His advent 
 by their swelling song, " Glory to God in the highest, 
 and on earth peace and good will amongst men?" 
 Angels came and ministered unto Him after the signal 
 triumph he gained over Satan. Were there not bright 
 heavenly messengers watching the holy place where 
 his body lay ? In the same way Stephen beheld the 
 Lord Jesus when he was being stoned to death, and 
 he cried to him, ' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And 
 what of Saul when with rage and hatred he pursued his 
 way to Damascus to put to death all who professed to 
 believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and he suddenly be- 
 held the eye of Jesus looking upon him, and heard a 
 voice, saying, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" 
 We prefer, then, the interpretation that Moses and Elijah 
 were really present with Christ in the midst of the 
 scenes of his transfiguration. Had this visitation not 
 occurred, the tableau of Christ attended by Moses and 
 Elijah must be viewed as a grand conception of the 
 human mind. But as we doubt not its reality, let us 
 now endeavor to point out its purpose. Let us for a 
 moment imagine the group as they appeared to the 
 eyes of the disciples. There is Christ the central figure 
 in a blaze of heavenly light. Here, Moses, whose body 
 was spirited away from the idolatrous Israelites, and 
 there Elijah, who tasted not of death, but mounted up 
 
90 THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 to the Heavenly Kingdom on a flaming chariot of fire \ 
 Moses and Elijah shining with light which fell from the 
 Lord's countenance and garments ! These are fit com- 
 panions for the Lord during His transfiguration glory ; 
 Moses, on the one hand, the illustrious lawgiver, in his 
 meekness and wisdom, a striking type of Christ; Moses 
 and Christ in loving counsel, the exponents of John's 
 suggestive commentary, "The law was given by Moses, 
 but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Moses, 
 Christ and Elijah in happy concourse, an embodiment 
 of what the Lord uttered in His sermon on the mount, 
 .'Think not that I am come to destroy the law ; I am 
 not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Moses in this group 
 pointing to Christ intimates that, the law which he 
 declared from God, is fulfilled in the Messiah. Elijah, 
 as the worthy representative of all the prophets, gives 
 Peter scope to say in his memorable address to Cornelius, 
 *'To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His 
 name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission 
 of sins." For you will notice, my brethren, the im- 
 portant words in the description of St. Luke, ** and 
 behold there talked with him two men, which were 
 Moses and Elias ; who appeared in glory, and spake of 
 his decease which he would accoi7iplish at Jerusalejfi.'* These 
 words explain the joy and glory of Christ at this 
 moment, as reflected in his face shining and his gar- 
 ment white as light. It was the death which He was to 
 accomplish at Jerusalem, which during the past week 
 he had so clearly intimated to his disciples, that was 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 91 
 
 filling his soul with holy excitement and ennobling 
 desire. It was his death which was the theme of his 
 converse, the death that had been prefigured in the sacri- 
 fices made under the appointment of Moses when he 
 was in the flesh. It was that death which had inspired 
 the souls of prophets when they sung as did Isaiah, 
 " He was wounded for our transgressions; He was 
 bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our 
 peace was upon him; and with his stripes .we are 
 healed." If the angels desire to look into these things, 
 what more lofty theme could have occupied the atten- 
 tion of Jesus, Moses and Elijah than the death which 
 was to accomplish the deliverance of mankind from sin 
 and guilt ? And it is a most suggestive part of this 
 narrative which tells us that after the voice of God was 
 heard, saying, ''This is my Beloved Son," Moses and 
 Elijah disappeared, and left the central figure standing 
 alone in all the conscious dignity and majesty, which 
 had been inspired in Him in his manifested glory. The 
 light of the Lawgiver and Prophet merges in the bright 
 shining of the Saviour, and is no longer seen in pres- 
 ence of Him who is the Light of the World; even as the 
 feebler rays of the stars can no longer be discerned 
 when the sun has risen in his splendor. The grand 
 central truth of the Transfiguration scene may be summed 
 up in these words. *' This is Christy who is far above all 
 principality and power and might and dominion^ and every 
 name that is named, not only in this worlds but also in that 
 which is to come" 
 
92 THE TRANSFIGURATION, 
 
 It is characteristic of Peter that he can speak at such a 
 moment as this. James and John were of a different 
 mould, and were too deeply impressed by the Transfigur- 
 ation glory to think of uttering a single word. Thus was 
 Peter all through his career — forward, impulsive, ever the 
 first to break the silence with his tongue. Who was the 
 foremost to confess that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of 
 God, without thinking on the full meaning of his words? 
 Which of the disciples rebuked the Master as he prophe- 
 sied of His death at Jerusalem ? Was it not Peter ? And 
 it was Peter, when Christ came to the disciples walking on 
 the sea, who asked to be permitted to walk also. It was the 
 same disciple who made the strongest protestation that he 
 wouldfoUowChrist to the bitter end. It is true St. Mark 
 and St. Luke state that on the occasion of the Transfigura- 
 tion scene Peter did not know what he said. He is, there- 
 fore, a fit type of all those who speak without thinking, 
 who must always be talking, and who do not know what 
 reverential silence means. And yet his words had surely 
 some intention in them. What did he say? "Then answered 
 Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be 
 here ; if Thou wilt let us make here three tabernacles ; one 
 for Thee ,and one for Moses, and one for Elias." He wanted 
 an impossibility, — that this scene should last forever, that 
 Christ should continue always in this Transfiguration 
 glory, and there was the mistake that such glorified beings 
 required for this purpose the ordinary dwellings of men, 
 such as tents or tabernacles. The Transfiguration was 
 not intended to last forever. It was a single event, given 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 93 
 
 for the purpose of confirming the disciples' faith, and of 
 strengthening the Lord himself. It would have unfitted 
 these disciples for taking part in the affairs of the world. 
 As it was, it was an earnest of the glory that was reserved 
 for Christ after His redemption work was finished. It was 
 a revelation to these disciples of the majesty of Him whom 
 they were permitted to serve, before He would come to 
 the last act of His life's drama, and put off His divinity 
 that He might stoop to shame and death. It was also an 
 interpretation of that death which they would afterwards 
 remember when their Lord had risen to His everlasting 
 glory, of which the Transfiguration was a symbol and fore- 
 taste. To have stayed on the mount and been made 
 spectators of a whole panorama of Transfigurations, would 
 have demanded an unwarrantable number of miracles 
 whic'i would have answered no real good purpose. 
 Besides, there was selfishness in the request. Peter thought 
 not of the disciples who were left behind. He did not 
 reflect upon the wonderful hold Christ had on men's hearts, 
 and upon the continued benefaction he was to the world's 
 sufferers. He did not realize that Christ had a mission, 
 and that mission was to be fulfilled not on the mountain 
 tops, but in the lowly plains and in the crowded thorough- 
 fares where men dwelt. He was the kind and good 
 Physician who must be amongst His patients. He was the 
 Teacher who must be surrounded by listeners. He came 
 to this world not for the glorification of Peter, but for the 
 salvation of sinners. Peter's latent thought was for 
 himself, as it was all along, as it was when he desired to 
 
<34 THE TRANSFIGURATION. . 
 
 walk on the water, and when he too rashly vowed he would 
 not deny his Master. There is a valuable lesson read to 
 us here. When we are enjoying the calm and rest of our 
 transfiguration mount, the holy Sabbath day, when our 
 souls are borne upwards with the inspirations of God's 
 house, when we feel that God's Sanctuary is a banquetting 
 chamber, and that "in this mountain the Lord of hosts 
 makes a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of 
 fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well 
 refined," we are apt to say let us make here our tabernacles 
 for a perpetual residence. We think how much better it 
 would be to be exercised uninterruptedly with spiritual 
 things. We would pray always. We would be always 
 singing. It would be a constant communion of the saints. 
 Men have tried this on a small scale, and as individuals, 
 and have failed. Men have tried it on a large scale, and 
 as communities, such as the monks, and have failed. If 
 the Church could be made a perpetual dwelling-house, 
 there would be no need of heaven. The services of God's 
 house are intended for rest and refreshment, and to fit us 
 for the practical duties of life. We must go down from 
 the mount of ordinances to our homes and stores and 
 factories — the mother to her routine cares, the child to his 
 tasks, the husband to the sweat and toil of life. What a 
 blessing indeed the Sabbath ! but it would be without 
 meaning were there not the six days of toil. What a 
 happiness the Church, but it would pall upon our dull 
 spiritual senses were we not obliged to earn our bread. 
 We are to sing and pray that we may work all the better 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 95 
 
 for it. And we have to remember that while we might be 
 standing on the mount, what of our brothers and sisters 
 toiling below ? We must go out from the church that we 
 may draw in others. We must leave our pews and do as 
 Andrew did — bring his brother to Christ. We must leave 
 our home in the Church, and take our journey, that like 
 the good Samaritan we may be in the way of doing good — 
 helping the feeble, soothing the suffering, and throwing 
 our arms around the dying. 
 
 It was sufficient rebuke of Peter's forwardness that no 
 answer was made to his request. The scene was not 
 completed. There was more of wonder in store for these 
 favored witnesses. ''While Peter yet spake, behold a 
 white cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice out 
 of the cloud, which said, ' This is my beloved Son in whom 
 I am well pleased, hear ye Him.' " We understand by 
 these words that for the time the cloud came between the 
 transfigured form of Christ and the three disciples — 
 overshadowing them and hiding Him from their gaze. It 
 was a bright cloud, as if the whole Divinity were concen- 
 trated on one point. Let us remember that a cloud was 
 the chosen symbol of God. It was in the cloud of pillar 
 and fire that God moved forward, leading the hosts of 
 Israel. We read the Lord said unto Moses, "I come unto 
 thee in a thick cloud." The prophet Isaiah says, "The 
 Lord rideth on a thick cloud." And the Saviour, in refer- 
 ring to His second coming, declares that "the Son of IMan 
 shall be seen coming in a cloud." God thus veiled him- 
 self, because no sinful man could look on his face and 
 
96 THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 live. Behind that cloud all that was divine in Christ 
 merged into the divinity of the Father, and they were 
 one, as they had been from all eternity, and as they would 
 continue to be, after the sacrifice of the cross was ac- 
 complished. It was a sight which these three witnesses 
 could not have beheld and lived. It is the glorious spec- 
 tacle which is reserved for God's children in heaven, when 
 they shall be like God and see Him as He is But while 
 God cannot show Himself to fleshly creatures, He can 
 make Himself heard. He spoke to Adam in Paradise. 
 He gave special directions to Abraham. He addressed 
 Moses from the midst of the burning bush. He imparted 
 to him the two tables of commandments. He broke the 
 silence of the heavens at the baptism of our Lord, saying, 
 ''This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." 
 In almost the same words God now addressed these 
 disciples, adding, ''hear ye Him," that is, listen to my 
 Son's instructions. Be obedient to His commandments. 
 Follow Him. Be His witnesses. We may explain the 
 voice of God speaking to men in either of two ways; 
 either, first, as God expressing Himself by means of 
 particular sound, or as God teaching us His thoughts 
 through our consciousness. If the latter, the impression 
 is so vivid to those who are accustomed to employ speech 
 and language that we think it is a voice speaking to us. 
 I am sure some of us have felt at times as though God 
 were calling to us. In the silence of the night, as we lie 
 awake, thinking of God, of heaven, and eternity, who has 
 not felt as though someone were speaking? We are some 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 97 
 
 times startled by apparent sounds which we afterwards are 
 convinced were but the fancies of the mind. In reading 
 the works of some well known preacher, I seem to hear 
 his voice as a distinct aural sensation. Let the words of 
 some familiar hymn come into your mind, and the tune 
 to which it is sung will seem as still sounding in your ear. 
 God is speaking to us every day, and some of us are so 
 constituted that we cannot help thinking we now hear His 
 voice. But while this is true, and while this theory does 
 not in the least militate against the Scriptural statement 
 that a voice was heard, it is obvious to remark that there 
 is no well known reason why God may not speak to men,, 
 as they speak to one another. He commands the lightning 
 and thunder. He created the air by which sound is con- 
 ducted. He constructed that most delicate organ the ear, 
 and adapted it to the atmosphere. He made the voice, 
 and gave to it all its wonderful variety of tones. And can 
 He not speak, who made His creatures speak > These 
 words of the Father, ''This is my beloved Son," give 
 . meaning to the whole scene. It is a second declaration of 
 the Sonship, and spoken to these three that in aftertimes 
 they might be impressed by it, and that they might be able 
 to interpret to others the meaning of His death. But for 
 the voice the vision might have faded from their minds. 
 The words fixed upon them the transfiguration scene. 
 These words were instructive— revealing to them the 
 mystery of the incarnation— preparing them for the recep- 
 tion of the Gospel of Christ, and giving them vantage 
 ground as preachers of that Gospel. 
 
98 - THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 But the immediate effect of the voice was that the 
 disciples fell on their face and were sore afraid. How 
 true this is to human nature. Men are more affected by 
 sounds than by sights. They are more readily startled 
 by words. Peter was silent enough now, though he was 
 not restrained by reverence from breaking in upon the 
 grandeur of the transfiguration scene by unseasonable 
 words. He could not have spoken any more. They fell 
 on their face — surely a becoming attitude for humble and 
 sinful men. They were sore afraid, because of an experi- 
 ence so unwonted. And yet they had stood beside Christ 
 as he turned the water into wine, as he raised the dead, 
 as he fed the multitudes, and had no fear. 
 
 Long would they have lain on the ground had not 
 Jesus come and touched them, and said, ''Arise, and be 
 not afraid." It is the same gentle companion that speaks 
 now as spoke to them all the time. It is the same loving 
 friend. It is He who strengthens and comforts them 
 in the midst of their fears. It is He who rose up in 
 the majesty of His strength and rebuked the winds and the 
 sea. It is He who came walking to them on the waters, 
 at each step treading down the boisterous wave, and saying 
 **Be not afraid. It is I." It is He who promised 
 them where two or three should be gathered together in 
 His name. He would be with them. It is He who said, 
 before He ascended up on high, ''LoIIam with you 
 alway, even to the end of the world." And it is this 
 Jesus who comes to us now in our sorrows, and says, 
 ''Arise, and be not afraid." Let us keep in mind that 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 99 
 
 His promise is to be with us in all circumstances, and 
 that, in faith of this we, with the apostle Paul, may be 
 able to say, '*I can do all things through Christ which 
 strengtheneth me." 
 
 Comforted and assured by the loving words of their 
 Master, "they lifted up their eyes and saw no man, save 
 Jesus only." The transfiguration scene was over. 
 Moses and Elijah were no longer visible. The strange 
 voice had ceased. There was Jesus only. That is, only 
 Jesus as He was. He is the very same person still, not- 
 withstanding that so much honor had just been given 
 Him. But Christ is no less a king before, than He 
 was after. His kingly enthronement. He who took 
 sinners by the hand down amongst the dwellings of men is 
 still the same after His coronation glory, and will be 
 more a helper of the suffering than ever. And He is the 
 same Jesus to these disciples, that He had been before 
 and always. They might feel it is well with us that, the 
 strange sights and sounds and personages having pass- 
 ed away, we have Jesus only with us. I think this 
 is very suggestive. We are now on the holy mount — 
 witnessing to one another our love for the Saviour — 
 there are wafted into our ears the sweet sound of 
 praise. We have had Moses and Elijah present to 
 our thoughts, and maybe some of you have been 
 looking up into other scenes, of which this Church and 
 its services are emblematical. Perhaps God has spoken 
 to you from out of His cloud ! And in a few moments 
 more this congregation shall have parted — these sounds 
 
100 THE TRANSFIGURATION. 
 
 of music shall have died away — the vision of the glori- 
 fied beings who sing round the throne of God shall have 
 gone — the ladder we have seen going up from this altar 
 to the throne of Heaven, on which we beheld angels 
 ascending and descending, shall have disappeared, and 
 well for us if, then we see Jesus only — have Him with 
 us for our companion and guide. I remember on one 
 occasion being deeply impressed with this thought. 
 The Academy of Music in Philadelphia was crowded to the 
 doors, speakers stood upon the platform, and in uttering 
 their thoughts, it seemed none other than the still small 
 voice of God addressing men. It was a dazzling spectacle. 
 At length the meeting closed, and I remember waiting till 
 these thousands had melted out of sight, and standing alone 
 in that immense chamber with but few of the lights still 
 burning, methought Jesus only is here to bless and keep 
 me. Yes, brethren, it is our comfort to know, when 
 dear ones have passed away from us, that Jesus is ours. 
 May we not say of ourselves as was said of the disciples, 
 "And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no 
 man save Jesus only?" 
 
PRAYER. 
 
 Thou, O God, hast brought us thus far. We have by Thy goodness 
 been carried up Transfiguration Heights, and permitted to see Jesus 
 with Moses and Elijah ministering to Him. For the second time we 
 have heard the voice, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased, hear ye him." Oh, sink this utterance deep in our souls. 
 And when the Heavenly Glory has passed from sight, give us the feeling 
 of having Jesus — Jesus only. Then we have what will suffice in ever}'- 
 sorrow, in every joy, in all our bereavements and exaltations. Let 
 each of us have Jesus only, and we are armed with God. Eternity is 
 on our side. We are impregnable. Amen. 
 
Help us, O Lord, thy yoke to wear. 
 Delighting in thy perfect will; 
 
 Each other's burdens learn to bear, 
 And thus thy law of love fulfill. 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 SERMON VIL 
 
 Remember the zvords of the Lord Jesus, hoiu he said, It 
 is more blessed to give than to receive. — ACTS xx. 35. 
 
 So thought Paul. In some such words the Lord Jesus 
 taught. But the world does not believe in the principle 
 contained in this sentence. It reverses the words and 
 says, ''It is more blessed to receive than to give." At 
 least, every man, who is actuated by the worldly spirit, 
 thinks of gain, profit, accumulation of property, as the end 
 and aim of life. To tell such a person that to give is 
 human, that to give rather than receive yields the greater 
 profit, that to sacrifice self for the sake of humanity is to 
 follow the noblest example the world has seen, would be 
 to address him in an unknown tongue. He receives as 
 first principles, as axiomatic truths, such proverbial sayings 
 as these, ** mind your business," ''make money honestly, 
 if you can, but make money,'' " honesty is the best policy," 
 as much as to say that something else may be good policy. 
 Texts like these carry the greatest weight. Such maxims 
 are by no means disregarded. They are common to all 
 countries and languages. They express a general thought — 
 thank God — not the universal idea. Accordingly men are 
 
104 A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 everywhere taking advantage of one another. The clever 
 man, according to the popular notion, is he who makes the 
 most money in the shortest space of time, and with the 
 fewest scruples. No wonder such terms as beiievole?ice, 
 sympathy^ self-sacrifice have lost their deep meaning. Are 
 we astonished that men no longer listen with reverence to 
 such words as, '' Let us labor, working with our hands the 
 thing which is good, that we may give to him that needeth," 
 or, *'We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities 
 of the weak, and not to please ourselves," or ''Bear ye one 
 another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ,'' or "The 
 words of the Lord Jesus, how he said. It is more blessed 
 to give than to receive?" 
 
 The text implies that it is less blessed to receive than to 
 give. We are not, therefore, to conclude it is not blessed 
 to receive. Circumstances may indeed rob receiving of its 
 blessedness. There may be a total want of appreciation 
 on the part of the mere receiver. He may lack gratitude 
 for the gifts bestowed and render railing and cursing for 
 blessing and praise. In such circumstances a man cannot 
 receive as a Christian. Again, the necessity that calls for 
 help from others may be of our making. If brought to 
 starvation and beggary through our own misconduct, or 
 sloth, or envy and hatred, so long as these sins are not 
 repented of, we cannot in a Christian spirit receive the 
 kindly gifts, with which others may be ministering to the 
 wants which we ourselves have created. Through hardness 
 of heart the benefactions which are bestowed upon us do 
 not stir our souls into love and esteem. How many on this 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 105 
 
 account, on whom the blessings of charity are poured, 
 never exhibit humble gratitude, but rather turn upon their 
 benefactors as though they were their worst enemies. Alas! 
 it is so. But on the other hand there is a Christian 
 receiving as well as giving. And when so placed that the 
 good deeds of others are seen to be substantial mercies 
 sent to us in the kind providence of God, we will show 
 ourselves to be the children of God by thanking Him as 
 the giver of every good and perfect gift, and by turning 
 with fond gratitude to those who have been kindly 
 instrumental in bringing to us such a portion of Heavenly 
 blessing. This brings us to the topic of our discourse 
 — the co7nparative value of giving and receiving. ''Remember 
 the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, * It is more 
 blessed to give than to receive.' " 
 
 I. We remark, in the first place, that to give implies 
 maturity and power that are wanting in the mere receiver. 
 The one occupies a higher place than the other. The one 
 has fullness to compare with the other's emptiness. He 
 has accordingly in himself the happiness of possessing 
 those thmgs with which he freely parts. 
 
 Perhaps the most striking example of giving and 
 receiving, which we can take from our human life, is that 
 which is seen in the relation of parent and child. An 
 infant brings nothing except a mother's love with it into 
 the world. On being ushered into life, how helpless and 
 dependent! But the mother takes the child into her 
 warm bosom, and feeds it from the perennial fountain of 
 her love. She gives away her strength — her very life — to 
 
io6 A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 another. Then think of all the fostering care which must 
 be bestowed upon that babe long before it can utter a 
 responsive word or move about the room. Imagine the 
 weary labors, the anxieties, the fastings, sleepless'ness, the 
 yearning love of that father, who is honestly proud of the 
 angel God has put in his hands, — all that he may earn 
 bread and comfort for the little one. Having provided 
 for the body then there come harassing cares and 
 strenuous persevering efforts to cultivate the mind and 
 direct the heart of the child. Here is a work to strain the 
 strength of these loving parents. How it often furrows 
 the brow and whitens the hair of such toiling ones ! 
 Follow these parents as their children are growing from 
 infancy and leaving boy and girlhood behind, and witness 
 their sacrifices to get them an honorable place in the 
 world. Well, while praising such self-denying efforts, is it 
 not true that these parents are thus showing they occupy 
 a higher platform in the scale of life than their children? 
 They have what their dear ones want. Into the exquisite 
 enjoyments they have in giving their children cannot enter. 
 Alas ! alas ! has it not cost many painful thoughts to look 
 back upon the cares and anxieties of our parents when 
 shielding and protecting our childhood, and upon our 
 want of gratitude as we received the very best they had to 
 give And yet there is some comfort in thinking their 
 very power to give argued enjoyments and possessions that 
 were then above our experience. Children receiving 
 cannot rejoice as parents who give. The smile that 
 dimples the rosy cheek only points to the fountain of joy 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 107 
 
 in the father's heart. The food which nourished the 
 babe, the clothing which gave warmth and protection — 
 these are but symbols of the love glowing in the mother's 
 heart. The simple lessons portraying the love of God, 
 the self-sacrificing spirit of Christ, and setting forth the 
 duties of their little ones towards God and man, were but 
 finger-posts pointing to the deep-piety, reverence, the 
 spirit of filial obedience to God, existing in the hearts of 
 father and mother. What through their instrumentality 
 was but germinating in the tender souls of their offspring, 
 had already been developed in their own hearts and lives. 
 No, the child can never be as the parent until he comes to 
 the same responsibility. The child cannot be as the man. 
 And so it is seen that the man or woman enjoying the 
 matured power which ministers to the weakness and wants 
 of the child is an illustration of the words of our Lord, 
 " It is more blessed to give than to receive. " 
 
 To illustrate further the thought now before us, let us 
 look to the philanthropist. He is eminently the giver, — 
 the poor, the wretched, the ignorant, the orphan and 
 widow — as the case may be — are the receivers. It is not 
 imagination speaking when we picture in brilliant colors 
 the lives of the loving-hearted. History is full of them. 
 We believe that every age has given birth to men and 
 women devoting themselves and their means to benefit 
 their fellow-men. Our own age is not wanting in many 
 illustrious examples. Ragged schools, orphanages, 
 hospitals, as well as countless private benefactions, are 
 evidence of this. Wherever there has been distress, or 
 
io8 A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 want, or suffering of a special kind, there is some one raised 
 to meet the case and with kindly heart and skillful hands 
 relieve it. The cruelties practiced upon slaves, and the 
 degradation in which they were involved stirred the soul 
 Wilberforce and led him to devote his life to the cause of 
 emancipation. The barbarous and savage treatment 
 meted out to inmates of prisons, to convicts of the galleys, 
 to victims of insanity, gave work to Howard, the philan- 
 thropist. The orphan and — worse than that — the child of 
 the beggarly drunkard or convicted criminal, have given 
 rise to noble institutions by which Muller and Guthrie will 
 ever be remembered. The name of Peabody, who devoted 
 millions to the cause of education, to build homes, to 
 found museums and churches is a household one. There 
 are besides hosts of givers, whose works are not heralded, 
 shaded in obscurity, yet going through toil and sacrifice to 
 help their fellow — creatures. While all these are seemingly 
 throwing themselves away, how truly the words apply to 
 each one, "It is more blessed to give than to receive!" 
 The wonderful means required to accomplish such bene- 
 volent purposes, for the most part accumulated through 
 their own industry and talents; — above all, the heart, the 
 love they have to give, argue fullness and power — placing 
 them on a platform far above not only the recipients of 
 their kindness but even the generality of fellow — men. 
 A man who lives amid squalid filth and beggary and 
 disease, and does nothing to lift his fellows from deep 
 degradation shows he is no better nor higher than they; 
 but he who labors and sacrifices to lift them out of the mire 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 109 
 
 not only enjoys light, air and cleanly rooms himself, but 
 has a mind to appreciate the very blessings he gives. He 
 who can dwell amid ignorance and prejudice, and never 
 feel any stirrings of soul to aid in the education of his 
 fellow-men, must be ignorant and brutish himself. But 
 he who gives money and influence to educate and civilize 
 men must have a mind to appreciate truth and goodness. 
 The person who is well contented to live amongst 
 Godless, Christless people without the desire to win their 
 souls must be Godless and Christless too. But he, who 
 goes forth carrying precious seed, must have it growing 
 in his own heart. In his soul the knowledge of God 
 and Jesus Christ must be life and peace and joy. The 
 fountain not flowing must be exhausted and empty — the 
 tree not yielding must in itself be barren. But what 
 fullness in the fountain that is ever flowing, what health 
 and maturity in the tree whose branches are bending with 
 fruit ! And so what maturity and power in him who is 
 giving for the good of mankind ! Compared with the 
 weakness and ignorance and degradation that call forth 
 his efforts, how much better is he ! As the stream is but 
 a miniature form of the lake from which it flows, as the 
 fruit is small and imperfect, compared with its yielding 
 trees, as the ray is but the infinitesimal fragment of the 
 Sun's light, so the receiver at the hands of the benev- 
 olent is weak and helpless compared with him from whose 
 fullness he has received. Does not the life of every one 
 who has a heart to give and love exemplify the meaning 
 of the Saviour's words, 'Tt is more blessed to give than 
 to receive?" 
 
no A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 II. But let US advance to another thought, and observe, 
 in the second place, that receiving is after all only a 
 preparation for giving. ''Freely ye have received, there- 
 fore freely give," is the great law of life. It is the more 
 blessed, then, to give as the grand end and aim of all 
 receiving. This is seen to be a law of nature. The tree 
 gets from the earth those nourishing substances which are 
 by and by changed by the mysterious chemistry of light 
 and heat into precious fruits. It is ready to pour these 
 into the husbandman's lap in the season of maturity. 
 The landscape receives the bright light of the sun, and its 
 rivers and trees and mountains give it back in rich and 
 dazzling colors. Rivers and lakes are supplied with 
 waters pouring from the dark clouds of the heavens, and 
 then give them forth by gushing fountain, or roaring 
 cataract or by the calmer flow of the level plain, to 
 replenish and refresh the mighty deep. So it is with man. 
 His childhood and youth are periods of receiving and are 
 preparatory to the time of activity and labor. He has 
 received health and strength — his mind has been supplied 
 with stores of knowledge — his heart has been exercised 
 with faith and love, and now in entering upon manhood 
 it is to expend what he has obtained upon others. It is 
 to devote himself to the advancement of truth, to the 
 service of God. When he does this he is a faithful 
 servant. But when we see a young man upon whom so 
 much care and love has been expended, devoting him- 
 self to idleness and sinful pleasure, why, what is this 
 but an abortion of life? He is not answering the true 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. iii 
 
 end of life. He has turned the blessedness of receiving 
 into degradation of his being and does not occupy 
 the higher platform of giving for which his gift of life, 
 his health, his training were all a preparation. And 
 so too, when any one receives help in the time of distress, 
 when he feels the value of a friend who gives him 
 a timely helping hand, when in sickness he is visited 
 by those who are ready to aid and comfort him, if he 
 is permanently relieved through these means being 
 blessed of God, O ! will he not go forth to comfort 
 the afflicted, to relieve the poor, or wait upon the 
 sick and dying with all needful help and prayers ? Yes, 
 brethren, that is the Christian's law of life, — to give and 
 to give freely, because he has received and received freely. 
 He will impart help because he has received help ; he will 
 forgive, for he has forgiven ; he will love, because he 
 has been loved ; he will minister in return for the minis- 
 'trations which were rendered him. It is more blessed 
 then to give, because to receive and never to give has not 
 the promise of blessing at all, and it is less blessed to 
 receive than to give, for we have not yet reached the grand 
 purpose of our life — to devote ourselves heart and soul to 
 the good of others. 
 
 III. — In the third place, we observe that to give is 
 Divine. God ever gives and never receives. In His work 
 of creation He is seen to be the Giver. He is the grand 
 source — the everlasting fountain. To the heavens above 
 He has given the starry host. To these countless orbs 
 suspended in space He has given the light with which they 
 
112 A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 shine. To our solar or planetary system He has rendered 
 symmetry and order, its wondrous motions and its glorious 
 beauty. Upon our earth He hath lavished His wondrous 
 benefactions. The land and water, the air and light, He 
 has made secret reservoirs of nourishing substances from 
 which flowers and herbs and trees derive beauty and pro- 
 ductiveness. His limitless power of design He has dis- 
 played in the almost infinite variety of vegetable and 
 animal forms. To the stream He has given its soft mur- 
 muring music — to the avalanche and cataract their sonor- 
 ous roar — to the birds their variegated plumage and gift 
 of song, and to browsing animals quiet waters and pastures 
 green — to beasts of prey their rapidmotion, their unflinch- 
 ing boldness, their keenly sensitive organs. All these He 
 has placed under the dominion of man. This world, with 
 its supplies of food and clothing, with its laws of cohesion 
 and gravitation, with its steam and electricity, with its light 
 and heat, is His vast inexhaustible donation to man. 
 And has He not bestowed upon man his beautiful and 
 agile form, his strength of limb and muscle, his senses to 
 enable him to derive pleasure or warning from the world 
 of matter, his gift of song, his articulate language, above 
 all is not the soul of man God's special creation ? It was 
 in the likeness of God man was made. From whence has 
 the mind its power of thought, of reasoning, of imagination, 
 of memory, of affection ? And can God receive from the 
 starry firmanent, from our system of sun and planets, from 
 this earth, from its oceans and continents, from its moun- 
 tains and valleys, from its trees and animals and more 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 113 
 
 than all from man, in the sense in which He has given ? 
 No, these and man included can only give what they 
 received and nothing more. God gives what He has never 
 received. It is the Divine prerogative then to give. It is 
 the grandeur of God's nature to give. And we, brethren^ 
 in serving our day and generation, in giving our healthy 
 our strength, our very life to our children, to society at 
 large, are in the only conceivable way approaching the 
 character of Him who is the author of every good and 
 perfect gift. 
 
 That to give is Divine is exemplified in the life of 
 Jesus Christ. The Apostle in our text says, " Remember 
 the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said. It is more 
 blessed to give than to receive." We do not find these 
 very words recorded by any of the Evangelists. He often 
 gave expression to similar language. But, brethren, action 
 speaks more forcibly than words — a life is better than a 
 book, better than a thousand sermons. And it was Christ's 
 life that said, *' It is more blessed to give than to receive." 
 When did the Saviour ever receive ? Yes, the Angels min- 
 istered unto Him. His mother gave Him her heart, her 
 fondest love, her tender solicitude. A forgiven sister washed 
 his feet with sacred tears and wiped them with the hair of 
 her head, that which is a woman's pride and glory. A 
 convicted publican took Him to his house. Lazarus and 
 his two sisters sheltered Him under their friendly roof. 
 A few women stood by His Cross. That is about all which 
 can be said concerning Christ receiving. It was blessed 
 without doubt for Him to receive such ministrations. 
 
114 A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 But O, these never gave, never could give as they received 
 from Him. Did not his mother drink from the ever flow- 
 ing fountain of His wisdom and love, did not the poor 
 sinning woman receive forgiveness and a new heart, did 
 not the disciples enjoy His friendship. His protection, His 
 teaching ? Was not Zaccheus made a new man by his 
 contact with the Saviour ? Did not the sisters receive 
 Lazarus their lost brother back from the dead, were not 
 the faithful women at the cross rewarded with the last 
 touching expression of His heavenly countenance, did not 
 John get the most tender charge, when Jesus said from the 
 Cross, '* Behold thy mother," and Mary receive a son in 
 lieu of the well beloved one now in agony ? Yes, Christ 
 gave more than He ever received. And what shall we say 
 of the gift of Himself to the world from which He received 
 nothing but cursing and railing ? He gave the world a 
 life — grand in its simplicity, beautiful in its devotion to 
 mankind, lovely in its spiritual qualities. He gave a life 
 inexhaustible in its meaning, a life more suggestive and 
 sacred than the most original poem. It was a life of con- 
 stant giving. It was a center from which emanated rays 
 of virtue. Wherever He went His footsteps left their 
 mark. And there is a vitality in that life which has not 
 expended itself during these nineteen centuries. It is 
 reproducing itself every day. It is, if possible, a more 
 interesting study and profounder problem to-day than it 
 was to those from whose sight he was taken up into the 
 heavens. To that life the world owes all its good, its 
 emancipation from spiritual bondage, its knowledge of God, 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 115 
 
 its benevolent institutions, its works and deeds of charity. 
 Did Christ give more than this to the world ? Could He 
 give more ? Yes, He gave himself a ransom for sin. In 
 place of His holy life He substituted a righteous death. 
 He completed the work of man's deliverance by dying a 
 death and thus shedding precious blood which involved 
 pardon to the sinner, restoration to God's favor, the en- 
 joyment of peace and endless felicity in the kingdom of 
 heaven. The continual utterance of Christ's life was, ** It 
 is more blessed to give than to receive." If these words 
 were not, as they well might have been, written on the 
 Cross, they were written in His every pain and groan, they 
 were written in His dying agonies, they were written in 
 His last utterances. O who can rightly appreciate that 
 memorable moment in Christ's dying struggle when He 
 said, ''It is finished," without reading it in the light of the 
 principle of our text, * It is more blessed to give than to 
 receive?" 
 
 If this be so, that Christ's giving himself is our example — 
 seeing I feel sure the words are true, " It is more blessed 
 to give than to receive" — need you wonder that the Church 
 as a whole is earnest and solicitous about its missionary 
 work and that you are called to give what you can afford 
 for the cause? Some have the notion, if they support the 
 particular church with which they may be connected, 
 they are doing all that is required of them. On the con- 
 tary your congregational expenses are in the relation to 
 benevolence and missionary enterprise, what the expenses 
 of a store from rent, heating, lighting, service, are to the 
 
Ii6 A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 expenditure required for the manufacture of the goods, 
 their delivery throughout the country and world, and the 
 enlargement of the business. In other words one does not 
 keep open store merely to pay necessary expenses, but to 
 make money to be spent on improvement and increase, 
 and upon personal and family purposes and to lay up 
 some capital besides. This Church is, so to speak, our 
 store, it is a spiritual mart, and is not instituted barely 
 to carry on itself and then fold its arms and say, '* how 
 well we have done." If it is not sending out its goods, 
 its gospel of salvation to bless a multitude with forgive- 
 ness, and impelling forces to lead in new directions, and 
 to reduplicate itself by building churches, disseminating 
 the Bible, planting schools and colleges and hospitals, 
 creating in fact new colonies of Christians, it is not good 
 for anything and its worship without being a workshop 
 becomes a farce. I love to think of our Home and 
 Foreign mission work as like unto the Railway system., 
 beginning with a few miles of road, and spreading and 
 spreading till it covered Great Britain and Ireland, and 
 leaping across the straits to Europe, and then to America, 
 Australia, Africa even — to all the Continents and Islands 
 of the seas — and not only so but carrying its millions of 
 passengers and enriching every land and city with the 
 products of the earth. This is what has been seen with 
 the Church. It began in Jerusalem, but behold ! how 
 it has increased and spread till now it has churches and 
 missionaries and schools planted throughout the world. 
 We question whether any congregation shutting itself tight 
 
A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 117 
 
 against the call to spread the Gospel throughout the world 
 ever reaches the point of paying its expenses. Here is 
 our commission from the Saviour, ''Go into all the world 
 and preach the Gospel to every creature." Jesus virtually 
 says, if you want to make your congregational expenses 
 appear a mere trifle, go heartily into my work. Send forth 
 your missionaries-your church travellers-your Bibles, your 
 books. Build for me a Sanctuary in every needful place. 
 Multiply agencies. Be full of ingenuity for the spread of 
 my good news. We do not distinguish between Home 
 and Foreign missions, except as regards languages, and the 
 special means adapted to the circumstances. They are one 
 work. But they should go on in due proportion. I can 
 easily see what to give to each by studying the work of the 
 Church as a whole to which I belong. Our church is 
 aiming — say, at a million for each of these — not to speak 
 of the requirements of education, ministerial relief. Sabbath 
 school work, church and manse erection, the evangelisation 
 of our colored people and other forms of christian work. 
 Let me endeavor to give even above the measure or 
 standard — and lo, what an increase to the missionary 
 revenue of the church! But strange to say, I find myself 
 no loser. My own resources grow in endeavoring to lay 
 out for my Lord. He blesses me. He increases my 
 basket and store. Let us give out our gospel freely, let 
 us send ministers with unstinted hand, let us bestow 
 unsparingly upon the needs of others at home and abroad, 
 and, explain it as you will, you are none the poorer, but are 
 enriched with growing means for more and more enterprise, 
 
H8 A TELLING PRINCIPLE. 
 
 while your heart is made happy in view not only of 
 accomplished results but of taking your part in the work 
 which honors the Lord and Master and in laying founda- 
 tions for still greater enterprise. Let us give as the 
 widow gave her mites, and we will lay ourselves and all 
 that we have at the feet of Jesus. 
 
PRAYER. 
 
 O God, alone art Thou Creator. Thou art distinguished from angels, 
 from men, in this that no other can create a single particle of dust, or 
 one ray of light. Whilst making man on the earth partner with Thyself, 
 he cannot make out of nothing a drop of water or grain of gold. Yet 
 Thou dost give thy child the imitative faculty, so as to ally himself with 
 God and invent and produce instruments, engines, vast structures, 
 factories to make every conceivable article for common use, books to 
 discover Thy profound secrets. Thou art the only One who in the 
 creative sense of the words canst say, " It is more blessed to give than 
 to receive." Thus too, O Lord, is it with the Gospel of Salvation. 
 Thou art the Author. All that we can do is to make it known. But 
 oh ! how honored and blessed are we in being permitted to sow the 
 precious seed which our Saviour has given. Let us be earnest in telling 
 others the words of the Lord Jesus, " Freely ye have received, freely 
 give," Amen. 
 
Blest be the tie that blinds 
 Our hearts in Christian love; 
 
 The fellowship of kindred minds 
 Is like to that above. 
 
TOO MANY CHURCHES. 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 Behold, hoiv good and how pleasant it is for brethren to 
 dwell together in unity ^ — psalm cxxxiii. i. 
 
 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which 
 shall believe on me throtigh their word, that they 
 all may be one. — John xvii: 20-21. 
 
 Why there should be so many denominations is a puzzle. 
 The essence of Christianity is love, but its forces are 
 divided. Even those who call themselves by the same 
 name are split into separate organizations. It would be 
 hard to say how many Presbyterian sects there are in the 
 world. In Scotland alone besides many smaller bodies of 
 the one name, there are the three great churches. 
 Established, Free and United Presbyterian. On my word 
 from our point of view in America the difference between 
 one and another is so infinitesimal as to require a large 
 magnifying microscope to see it. These three have the 
 same confession, catechism, polity, psalms and tunes, and 
 prayers and sermons are on one plan. You could not say 
 you were worshipping in the Free or United Presbyterian 
 church as against the Established from anything occurring. 
 We would defy you to say the service was Free Church 
 because of the form, or the doctrine, or the preaching. 
 
122 TO MANY CHURCHES. 
 
 There they are with the one round of singing, prayer and 
 sermon, and yet in many parts of the country the ministers 
 are scarcely on speaking terms, and the din and strife 
 amongst the people once so prevalent have hardly passed 
 away. We understand why Episcopalianism may keep 
 aloof from Presbyterianism, but why so many organizations 
 having one name and in the same country should do so 
 from one another, it is difficult to explain. Those 
 nformed know that the first is the State Church, having en- 
 dowments. Churches and Manses outside of voluntary effort; 
 that the Free represents the struggle which was carried on 
 for years on questions of State interference and patronage; 
 and that the United Presbyterian is apart from the others 
 as accepting only the voluntary principle of support. Why 
 so many Presbyterian bodies should be found in Canada, 
 in the United States, and all over the world, is a problem 
 indeed. The churches in Canada were from the start free 
 of State interference, and yet in spite of several unions 
 there are still Church of Scotland and others as against the 
 great Presbyterian Church, which has covered the land, is 
 most progressive, whose missionary enterprises at home 
 and abroad are wonderful. But look to our own Country 
 at this moment, and besides a variety as pertaining to every 
 denomination, what a number of sects we have ! In 
 addition to a few smaller ones, and not including Roman 
 Catholics, there are these large bodies — Episcopalian, Con- 
 gregational, Baptist, Reformed, Methodist, Presbyterian. 
 Why is this ? We have this condition from the fact of 
 immigrants coming from the countries where these 
 
TO MANY CHURCHES. 123 
 
 Churches are found and bringing each their form of 
 polity and worship. To the Scotch and Irish we owe 
 Presbyterianism, to England Episcopalianism and largely 
 the Congregational and Baptist and Methodist bodies, to 
 Holland the Reformed Church. Excepting in external 
 from they are almost identical as to government, doctrine, 
 and practice. But there they are stubbornly rooted side 
 by side on our soil. We are to ask, applying what is to 
 be said to our own land, why should there be such a state 
 of things ? Is it healthy to have it so ? If Christ's prayer 
 were answered in full, would this continue ? With all 
 these orders of Churches, do we begin to know the meaning 
 of the words, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is 
 for brethren to dwell together in unity ? 
 
 I. In the first place, supposing we are right as to the 
 true meaning of these words and say that the grandest 
 spectacle on earth would be a United Christendom, let us 
 ask where this would land us? 
 
 When Christ prayed that the disciples might all be one^ 
 He either meant them to continue as a single organization, 
 or if ever divided to exhibit brotherly love, and thus lead 
 spectators to exclaim, *' Behold ! these brethren, how they 
 loved one another." We can hardly think the Saviour had 
 other before His mind than for one loving, united people 
 to be His. It does look, not only at first and second 
 sight too, to be at the least unfortunate to have Christendom 
 broken into fragments. We have witnessed the benefits 
 arising from the union of various branches of one and 
 the same demonination. We remember Methodism in 
 
124 TO MANY CHURCHES. 
 
 Canada was divided into four bodies. It was felt by all 
 that these should be one. The only obstacle to this was 
 the fact that one was Episcopal in its polity. It was 
 marvellous how quickly the difficulty was got over. They 
 all agreed to change the name of bishop to superintendent 
 — superintendents henceforth overseeing the work. 
 These four became completely one in no time. Can any 
 one doubt it was better for the cause? The spirit of union 
 had been in the air for a long time previous. In 1875 the 
 Church of Scotland and the already powerful Canadian 
 Presbyterian Church had become one — there being no need 
 to keep up in a Colony the microscopic differences that were 
 separating the Churches in Scotland. Is not such a union 
 far better adapted to the work of the Church than when 
 we are broken up and carrying on unhealthy competition? 
 What a grand movement was that which culminated in the 
 new and old schools of the Presbyterian Church becoming 
 one! There was no difference really between them and 
 their marriage was a happy one, as seen in the spread of 
 Presbyterians throughout the United States and the work 
 done in Missions. Who can doubt that the day is surely 
 coming when the Presbyterian bodies north and south, the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Reformed and 
 United Presbyterians will unite into one vast body? They 
 are practically one in doctrine, polity and the spirit in 
 which they do the work, and what in the name of common 
 sense keeps them apart ? The devil must have some hand 
 in it. But we have now to turn to the union of Episco- 
 palians and the other religious bodies. Is there any thing 
 
TO MANY CHURCHES, 125 
 
 too hard in this? At first sight the former looks far 
 removed from the others — with its surplices and rubric 
 and altar and the emphasis put upon the word priest. 
 The High Church with its confessional and insistance* 
 upon so much rite and ceremony — turning to the East and 
 all the rest — would present to union an insurmountable 
 difficulty in our opinion. But boil all these things down^ 
 and we see there is only one point of difference between 
 Episcopals and the rest. That is the matter of Bishops. 
 While rejoicing in liberty to pray as we choose, we would 
 not object to prayers being in part read by the minister. 
 The.thirty-nine articles are the same in doctrine with our 
 confession. Christ and Him crucified is the recognized 
 theme in both branches. There is no longer a difference 
 as to the use of instruments, and look the matter straight 
 in the face, the only point between us is that of Bishops. 
 If this could be solved by these bishops becoming 
 superintendents, there would be nothing to prevent 
 union to-morrow. The difference between the Baptists 
 and the rest looks to be serious. The one holds to 
 immersion of adults at baptism, and in this country ta 
 inadmissibility to membership without immersion. The 
 rest baptize infants, and are not thus ejcclusive as to 
 admission of members. Is this a lasting barrier to union 
 between Baptists and the rest ? We think not. When 
 enjoying a holiday in London in 1889, Mr. Spurgeon in 
 person invited us to his Communion and to take part in 
 the preparatory service without raising question about our 
 immersion. In this country, however, close communion 
 
126 TO MANY CHURCHES, 
 
 does present a difficulty. But why the Baptists should 
 insist upon this here, and in England they should not, is 
 beyond our comprehension, unless it is that the English 
 Baptists were close when their representatives came to our 
 shores, and that, while the former have advanced, the 
 latter have kept where they were. There is only the 
 matter of immersion of adults to deal with. Whether that 
 could be got over we cannot say. This we know that 
 certain Baptist clergymen go through a form of blessing 
 little children when dying as a comfort to parents. There 
 could be no hindrance to union if the immersionists were 
 left alone to do as they like, and would permit the rest to 
 baptize children according to custom. As to Congrega- 
 tionalists. Reformed, Methodists, Presbyterians, there are 
 but mere shadows between them. Go in blindfold to 
 worship with these in succession and you could not tell 
 the one from the other. The day for their union cannot 
 be long postponed in presence of the manifest growth 
 towards each other in polity, and the frequency with 
 which pastors are called from one to another. In concluding 
 the point before us we say, God speed the cause of 
 union. May we have as much of it as possible. " Let 
 brotherly love continue." May all differences be looked 
 at in their true light. We pray these may disappear, and we 
 feel the millennium shall have set in, when all our denomi- 
 nations will see eye to eye, and become one vast Church 
 to represent Christ on earth, and that in their union we 
 shall have a glorious exemplification of the words, 
 ^'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to 
 dwell together in unity." 
 
TO MANY CHURCHES. 127 
 
 II. We have to consider, in the second place, the 
 disastrous tendency of the sectarian spirit. Whatever may 
 be said about denominations which differ in polity building 
 and carrying on work with others in the same place, we 
 feel it to be a mistake unduly to multiply congregations 
 of the same name. We know a large number of towns in 
 which too many Churches have been built, but let me refer 
 to one prominent example with which we are all familiar. 
 In the place referred to there are four Methodist Churches, 
 which could be made two. There- are two or three 
 Presbyterian Churches doing work that one could perform. 
 There are several Baptist organizations where one would 
 suffice. Supposing Baptists and Presbyterians would join, 
 and Episcopalians and Methodists do the same, and the 
 Congregational and Reformed Churches follow suit, all 
 the better for Christianity. 
 
 But at all events why not the Christians of the same 
 denomination become one? What would be the immediate 
 effects ? There would be a large and powerful congrega- 
 tion, worthy of the place. There could be a pastor and 
 evangelist set over the same Church — one to do preaching 
 and the other parochial work. The running expenses 
 would be so reduced as to set free large sums for the proper 
 equipment of the individual Church and to carry on 
 missionary enterprise at home and abroad. There would 
 not be a continual depression upon the heart of the pastor 
 at losses of well-to-do parishioners through no fault of his, 
 but because of removals elsewhere and deaths, and at the 
 non-protestant character of the incoming people, for there 
 
128 TO MANY CHURCHES. 
 
 would always be sufficient to make one good Church. 
 Remember we are speaking of down-town Churches. It 
 would no longer be said, " How the cause of Christ is 
 going down." For instead of homoeopathic doses of religion 
 in a variety of buildings and localities we would have 
 concentration, gathering around a point, the union of 
 forces otherwise scattered. To what would this lead ?" 
 Well, properties rendered useless could be turned into- 
 endowments. The money saved from supporting buildings 
 not required, from having too many pastors, from overflow 
 of agencies, would be enormous, and could be spent in 
 proper salaries, in reading rooms, in missionary work. 
 
 For our part we have to rejoice in the splendid work 
 done by Sunday Schools, Christian Endeavorers, Epworth 
 League, Women's Temperance and Missionary Societies. 
 We have to think of all these as being in answer to 
 Messiah's prayer — " that they all may be one. " The 
 International Series of lessons has accomplished much in 
 the line of union. We now see the teachers of a town or 
 section of a city gathered together weekly for the study 
 of the passage to be taught the following Sunday. Look 
 at Sabbath School Conventions in our day, what a 
 marvellous outgrowth of brotherly love ! Missionary 
 enterprise has brought the women of our Churches 
 wonderfully together. The results are beyond calculation. 
 But our point is, what a loVely sight woman when thus 
 consecrated! Is she not in her corporate capacity the 
 mother of orphans, of the poor, of the suffering, of the 
 ignorant ? She has a perfect genius for benevolence. She 
 
TO MANY CHURCHES. 129 
 
 is at her best when stooping to be merciful. We owe to 
 her a living exemplification of our words, " Behold, how 
 good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together 
 in unity." Compared with miserable gossip to which idle 
 mouths are accustomed, contrasted with mere talk about 
 dress to which thoughtless ones are prone, put side by side 
 with pleasure after which so many are flying with 
 unquenchable thirst, think of the noble occupation, of the 
 high purpose, of the good example of our sisters when 
 giving themselves to the work of extending the Lord's 
 Kingdom in any form. How much again do owe to the 
 Christian Endeavor movement ? That thought of Dr. 
 Clarke passed like a lightning flash around the world, and 
 now what a result ! If carried out consistently it must 
 revolutionize the world, for it is securing the young for 
 Christ; it is joining them in one for the study of Scripture; 
 it is engaging them in works of mercy in behalf of the 
 poor, the ignorant, the dying; it is firing their hearts with 
 the missionary spirit. What may be the outcome of this 
 in twenty years? It is our prayer to revolutionize the 
 world in that time. The Christian Endeavor movement 
 was the one thing of which we could think as purely 
 unsectarian — uniting us all in one. And so we are not 
 sure about the wisdom of establishing the Epworth League. 
 That is to separate one branch of the Church from the 
 rest. It puts a hedge around the Methodists. It excludes, 
 and that is not the thing we are after in these days. It 
 may be all right, but we do not think it is. And we can 
 only imagine a real benefit coming from it in the future 
 
I30 TO MANY CHURCHES. 
 
 when such will be the spirit on the part of all Churches 
 toward union as lo lead to the Christian Endeavor and 
 Epworth League becoming one — as they really are so 
 now. There is no essential difference in the thing 
 recently set up. Why should it be is the question 
 troubling us in the presence of Christ's prayer, " that they 
 all may be one?" 
 
 We do not want to see the Church becoming political. 
 There would be only evil in that. It would lead to parties, 
 contests over Candidates, divisions. But we believe in 
 Christian union — if not in the corporate capacity, yet in 
 accordance with the Gospel that Christians should love 
 one another. Because then we shall have strength from 
 union successfully to fight our foes. There are the two 
 questions before us — How to preserve the Christian 
 Sabbath, and how to repress the rum traffic in general but 
 especially as this encroaches upon our Rest Day. The 
 people in their mad folly after pleasure on the Lord's Day 
 do not see it now, but they will be made to feel it by and 
 by, that there is no greater insanity than that of throwing 
 away the one day upon mere indulgence, for it comes to 
 that — this awful violation of God's command, * 'Remember 
 the Sabbath day," and what a curse upon our land not 
 only the saloon every day, but open on the Lord's day, and 
 running a business that wastes the wages of the working 
 man and brings misery and famine into many a home. It 
 is in union that we will see what we are to do in the 
 premises. It is from genuine sympathy we shall ever be 
 able to deal with the open saloon on the Sabbath. And so 
 
TO MANY CHURCHES. 131 
 
 with other great public questions affecting 'our welfare. 
 Let us be one in the work. Let our Churches be united 
 in the bonds of holy love, and with the common prayer for 
 wisdom and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we may yet 
 •see the day when the cause of Christ shall triumph, and 
 •hold the reins, and secure the world's good in every 
 possible aspect. 
 
 Note — This sermon on "Too Many Churches'' it will be seen is 
 addressed " To Many Churches." 
 
FEAR NOT" 
 By Maggie J. Mitchell. 1886. 
 
 Through all the changing scenes of life, 
 
 There is one happy thought, 
 That He, who answers every prayer, 
 
 Says to us all, " fear not." 
 
 Whene'er in sorrow, toil, or pain, 
 
 We should not be distressed, 
 For, He who rules in Heaven above. 
 
 Is our eternal rest. 
 
 If e'er temptations come to thee, 
 
 " Fear not," for He is nigh; 
 And waits to hear and answer prayer, 
 
 Addressed to Him on high. 
 
 " Fear not, " when death comes to thy door, 
 
 'Tis God who says be bold. 
 For thou hast done thy work on earth, 
 
 I take thee to my fold. 
 
 And, oh ! how happy it will be, 
 
 When all His lambs go home, 
 And sing His everlasting praise 
 
 Beneath Heaven's vaulted dome. 
 
THE VALUE OF TEARS. 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul' s neck, and kissed 
 him. — ACTS XX. 37. 
 
 Is it manly to shed tears ? Is it becoming one priding 
 himself on a courageous and daring spirit? Would you 
 encourage weeping in your boy ? Somehow we have 
 grown to think that crying is a womanish business. We 
 are not surprised at the rain as it pours from a girl's 
 eyes. While we would not encourage tears at the 
 slightest cause, is it disparaging to a woman to say she 
 is easily made weep ? If she is readily moved in this 
 way, what does it show? Let it be said that here we 
 have a prime difference between the sexes, can you 
 truly say that our sisters are on that account inferior to 
 men ? Would it not prove a difference of nature ? Yes, 
 we think the woman is superior in her very tenderness, 
 that she is angelic because of the sweetness of her dis- 
 position. And after all I feel not sure but that a man is 
 most manly when like his mother or wife or sister the 
 dew drops on occasion stand glistening in his eyes. 
 
 This depends. It depends on the man himself — of 
 what sort of stuff he is made. On first consideration 
 
134 
 
 THE VALUE OF TEARS. 
 
 you would not look for a man like Paul actually weep- 
 ing almost in any circumstances. Well, why do we- 
 think this of Paul ? It is because we imagine him to be 
 a person of a different temperament. The more we 
 read of his writings and sayings we fancy before us one 
 of strong reasoning faculties rather than of a suscepti- 
 ble nature. Follow him in his course, there is he of 
 mighty mind always before you. There are scenes in 
 which Paul comes out just as we would expect. He can 
 denounce in no measured terms when some wicked fox 
 or mean liar is before him. ''His spirit was stirred in 
 him when he saw the city (of Athens) wholly given ta 
 idolatry." In the midst of the storm, which swept over 
 the island of Mylete, he remains calm. He fortells 
 what will certainly befall the men, if persisting in 
 leaving the boat. Paul seems strikingly at home stand- 
 ing at the bar before Felix and Agrippa. He knows 
 not fear nor what it means. He looks more like the 
 judge than anything else as he reasons of temperance 
 and righteousness and judgement to come. What a 
 noble attitude we find him in when writing Timothy 
 from his prison cell in Rome. He does not utter mere 
 sentiment. He does not appeal to the pity of anyone. 
 He is like a rock in mid-ocean-stern, rugged, unimpress- 
 ible, when the tempest is urging the waves in fury upon 
 him. One would almost think he courts imprisonment. 
 He fears not death certainly, though it has to come in 
 the worst form. It is not merely the consciousness of 
 being innocent, but there is the brave spirit within his 
 
THE VALUE OF TEARS. 135 
 
 breast. It shudders not at the executioner's boast of being 
 commissioned to take his life. And then let me turn to the 
 imperishable writings which this man has left behind him. 
 They are the strong utterances of a man dead in earn- 
 est. Such a one cannot weep as a rule. There are 
 oftener seen on such the smile of the hero, the daring of 
 the warrior, the intense gaze of one who has set his 
 heart on victory. Such and more was Paul and we are 
 surprised, therefore, to find him classed with those who 
 wept. Methinks it makes these drops precious indeed 
 falling from such a face. 
 
 But we do not wonder at the scene here described 
 when we look into the words immediately preceding. 
 
 That giants can weep is evident when we read that, 
 ''Joseph fell upon his father's neck and wept on his neck 
 a good while." Gen. 46.29. How impressive is the 
 parting scene between Jonathan and David ! Forced to 
 separate for the time they warmly embrace, and there 
 seems to be contention as to which will shed tears the 
 most until it is said that David exceeded. There you 
 have two mighty men in agony at the thought of leaving 
 each other. There are no two words forming a more 
 deep and suggestive sentence than these, ''Jesus wept." 
 They occur in the narrative of Christ raising Lazarus. 
 Why weep is a question forced upon us as we read, for 
 there appeared rather to be every reason to rejoice. 
 Would not the thought of conquering the grave and 
 death, and restoring a beloved brother to his sister's 
 fond arms, rather give rise to triumphant expectation* 
 
136 THE VALUE OF TEARS. 
 
 than to deepest grief? Oh ! if our thoughts run in this 
 line, how little do we know the tender, sensitive heart 
 of the Saviour! For did He not weep because of the 
 spectacle before him of the unbelieving multitude ? It 
 was because of the reign of iniquity in human hearts 
 that he was indeed *'a man of sorrows and acquainted 
 with grief. " We witness this feeling welling from his 
 breast when He cries, **0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou 
 that killest the prophets and stonest them which are 
 sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy 
 children as a hen gathereth her chickens under her 
 wings, and ye would not?" It is the wicked opposition of 
 men to what will do them the most good, that opens the 
 fountain of the Saviour's heart. No wonder his was a life 
 of grief. There might be indignation at times, aye and 
 wrath, such as is becoming the divine nature in view of law 
 and right trampled under foot by wicked men. But on 
 the whole, sorrow pressed him down, for there was ever 
 present to his mind the view of what the world might 
 have been had not men dared to oppose their God and 
 of what the world had become through dire opposition 
 to the truth. There was the moral waste. There was 
 the blight upon earth's fair fields. The multitude were 
 lying in wretched despair because of guilt and sin. 
 Satan rather than God seemed supreme, if one would 
 judge from the abject subserviency to his will shown by 
 the vast majority of men. And if the same spirit that 
 was in Christ be in us, we too will be in a sweat of an- 
 guish at sight of our fair earth under the ban of Satan, 
 
THE VALUE OF TEARS. I37 
 
 and of the crimes and degradation everywhere preva- 
 lent. Need we wonder that Martin Luther was moved 
 to compassion at sight of the ecclesiastical thraldom 
 in which the people were held? Should we be aston- 
 ished to be told that John Knox, while indignant at the 
 oppression by queen and priests, was melted into ten- 
 derest grief in view of the condition of the people ; or 
 that the tender heart of Hamilton, as he stood firm amid 
 the fires of martyrdom, was deeply affected with the 
 spectacle of his country's slavery ; or that Wilberforce, 
 while spurred to greatest activity at the thought of the for- 
 lorn slave, felt the tenderest sympathy on his behalf? Are 
 we surprised when we behold the suffering experienced by 
 Howard in presence of prisoners in agonizing tortures 
 and condemned to dark and filthy cells ; or to behold 
 Abraham Lincoln through his bleeding heart realizing 
 the duty of the hour — to give freedom to the slave ; or 
 to witness the brave Kossuth roused to energy and en- 
 terprise because of his sympathy with the oppressed ? 
 It brings the Christ to a level with ourselves that we 
 find him bathed in sorrow, and it lifts us somewhat to 
 his standard that like him, realizing the sin and misery 
 which everywhere abound, our hearts are stricken with 
 keenest pain. You cannot help feeling that the brethren 
 of Miletus ''wept sore, " because they were parting from a 
 brother so well beloved as Paul. Just bring to mind the 
 scene. It was not in some consecrated building the 
 apostle uttered the beautiful discourse here recorded. 
 But it was by the seashore where he was about to step on 
 
138 THE VALUE OF TEARS. 
 
 board the crude vessel waiting to carry him to his owix 
 country. For our Lord and these earnest disciples were 
 ready to preach at any moment and in everyplace. They 
 did not linger ere pouring out their loving message until 
 they would be arrayed in priestly garb and be surrounded 
 with the insignia of office. They were on fire — anxious to 
 draw their net and catch men. From the discourse re- 
 ported in this chapter, which is evidently but a bare 
 outline of what was said, one can readily imagine the im- 
 pressive speaker Paul was, though he himself exclaims that 
 men counted his bodily presence weak and his speech 
 contemptible. But we suppose he thus speaks of himself 
 as truly great men are apt to disparage their own talents 
 and exertions. But here is a powerful presentation of the 
 Gospel concluding with the eternal principle, ''Remember 
 the words of the Lord Jesus how he said. It is more blessed 
 to give than to receive. " Think of Paul, as he spoke, 
 '* weeping" as he says of himself on another occasion. 
 It is not the sermon of a preacher addressing the uncon-^ 
 verted and seeking to arouse in men the great question, 
 "What must I do to be saved ?" But it is the instruction, 
 needed by the elders of the already formed Church at 
 Miletus. It is a most valuable message to the Church m 
 all ages. With what earnestness does he declare himself 
 free of the blood of every man ! With what intensity does- 
 he enjoin them ** to feed the church of God which he hath 
 purchased with his own blood ! " To what an eloquent 
 height does he rise, when knowing they are not to see one 
 another's face again, he commends them "to God and to 
 
THE VALUE OF TEARS, 139. 
 
 the word of his grace!" Try to think of Paul, while 
 speaking, with what fatherly tenderness he addressed 
 them ! All the love that was in him shone from his 
 countenance. The rugged features were lit with a 
 heavenly radiance. And these men felt they were parting- 
 with their father in Christ. The thought rushes upon them,, 
 "they will never see his face again." He is going forth to 
 unknown trials and dangers. They felt sure of his 
 martyrdom, for a man with such fervid words at a time 
 like that could not be tolerated. No wonder they fell on 
 his neck and kissed him. The scene was worthy of men- 
 of faith like these. It was indeed honor done to a man of 
 noble bearing like Paul. The departure of the Apostle 
 from them could never be forgotten. It was indelibly 
 written on their hearts that, next to God himself, they were 
 indebted to their friend now leaving them for the last 
 time, for their high standing in the household of faith, and 
 the bright prospects beyond this life that were before 
 them. As the ship sailed away behold these men standing 
 on the shore waving a fond farewell ere they set their feet 
 to accomplish their return journey. And think of Paul 
 returning their salute in token of the blessing he was- 
 leaving for them ! It is indeed a touching scene. 
 
 Such a spectacle can hardly be witnessed in our times^ 
 For the continents are bridged by mighty steamships, and 
 the nations are brought together by means of railroads, 
 telegraphs, and superior postal service. Yet were you- 
 bidding good bye to your son or daughter called to 
 service in a foreign country, and leaving you it may be for 
 
140 THE VALUE OF TEARS. 
 
 a long term of years, you could hardly help taking account 
 of death — either your own or your child's coming between 
 you and the realization of your hope of meeting again. 
 We can not think of one being so placed without being 
 intensely moved. What must it be to bid good bye to 
 your son obeying the mandate of his country to go forth 
 to war in defence of her liberty ? One can sympathize 
 with the well of grief opened up at sight of the missionary 
 leaving father and mother, sisters, brothers and friends 
 to carry the message of salvation to the savages of Africa 
 or the islands of the Pacific. Yet such scenes have been 
 often witnessed. For what a proud page is that of 
 history which tells of the self-sacrificing devotion of the 
 noble band who have planted the cross in heathen lands 
 and laid deep and wide the foundations of Christian 
 •civilization. We are told of Dr. Geddes of Nova Scotia, 
 who after twenty years of pastoral service in his own 
 •country, felt the call of God to go to the Pacific Islands 
 so strongly that he had to tear himself from his beloved 
 flock. These fell on his neck and kissed him as they 
 were forced to let him go. What a proud thing they had 
 to say of him after another twenty years that when he 
 went to his island field there was not a single Christian 
 and when he died there was not one savage ! Imagine 
 what it was for this very Dr. Paton, who has been 
 electrifying Britain with his thrilling description of the 
 cruel death of his beloved wife in these very islands, and 
 of the superhuman deliverances from wreck and massacre 
 which he experienced — try to conceive what it must have 
 
THE VALUE OF TEARS. 141 
 
 been to leave his native city of Glasgow where he was 
 honored and loved as a home missionary. Think of the 
 great Dr. Duff leaving Scotland at a time when to go to 
 a foreign country as a missionary seemed to be worse 
 than a cruel death — think what it must have been to tear 
 himself from beloved friends, and above all from his 
 native Scotland, which would have taken pride ia 
 doing honor to her eloquent son. See him ship-wrecked 
 on the way — his library, all but a Bible which was tossed 
 to his feet by a friendly wave, swallowed up by the angry 
 ocean — himself diverted from Africa to India in conse- 
 quence. But he was spared to come back and thrill all 
 Scotland with his fervid descriptions of heathen darkness 
 and the need of gosepl light. Just put yourselves in the 
 place of David Livingstone, leaving his native Blantrye, 
 discouraged from his task by parents and friends, bathed 
 in tears as he bade them farewell. Think of his laborious 
 career, of wasted physical life, dying in a jungle. But 
 was it not worth all the agony of parting to have such a 
 son of Scotland now a household name, and his body 
 borne with reverent touch by his own converts to the 
 shore of Africa to be carried to England and at the 
 command of the noble Sovereign to be laid reverently 
 away in Westminster Abbey? The story of Missions is 
 one which takes thousands of volumes to narrate. But 
 who knows the inward grief — the strong crying — the 
 broken hearts — caused at the parting of these noble men 
 and women from their beloved ones at home? 
 
142 THE VALUE OF TEARS. 
 
 But you know, my dear friends, there are tears of joy as 
 •well as sorrow. It seems from the lofty tone of the narrative 
 that the grief felt by Paul and his friends was caused at the 
 thought of never again in this world seeing each other's 
 face. But there was triumph in the gospel of Christ, 
 that it would win its way by their or other human 
 instrumentality. These elders might feel there was a 
 cruel fate before their beloved friend. But they willingly 
 gave him to his work, knowing that the salvation of 
 multitudes was involved in such an outlay. And Paul's 
 tears glistened with the light of triumphant joy as he 
 gave them his blessing with which to return to their 
 labor. It seems to me that were I called to give a child 
 to the cause of God abroad, that the dew drops from my 
 ^eyes would sparkle with joy in the very act of thus 
 dedicating my child to God. We might part with the 
 conviction of never seeing one another again, but would 
 not my grief be assuaged by the thought of our meeting 
 in Heaven and there learning in all its details the story 
 of consecrated love ? Yes, had one of you the prospect 
 of losing your child for such a cause, I would counsel 
 you to let your tears be those of joy. What honor would 
 be done you ! What a sacrifice to be sure, but think of 
 the gain ! ! 
 
 Yes, let us remember that God will at last wipe all 
 tears from our eyes in Heaven. There will be no more 
 sorrow nor crying, when at length we come to die. No 
 •doubt there will be anguish in the thought of departing, or 
 of the loss" those who are left will sustain. But if the friend 
 
THE VALUE OF TEARS. 143 
 
 we are losing be one with his heart set on Jesus and 
 lieaven, and if we ourselves are firmly built upon the 
 Rock our sense of bereavement will soon become a 
 blessed inheritance of expectation. God will put our tears 
 in his bottle — to preserve them as a blessed memorial of 
 iidelity to truth. And while there will be no such thing 
 as sorrow in heaven it seems to me that our tears shed on 
 ■earth on worthy objects will be a blessed memory 
 throughout the ages. 
 
 The only awful thought which comes into one's mind in 
 dealing with this subject is the tearless anguish of a lost 
 soul. Conceive of one who cannot repent, or rather whose 
 repentance can never signify penitence, whose hatred can 
 never be turned into love, whose memory of deeds of 
 darkness will become more intensified, what would not 
 one give for sorrow to soften the hardened heart ? Think 
 of the cry of the rich man in hell when he said, ** Father 
 Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he 
 may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my 
 tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. " Oh no 
 — I believe that the worst feature of that terrible fate, 
 which awaits the wicked in another world, is that there is 
 no place for tears. 
 
" God bless these hands united. 
 
 God bless these hearts made one; 
 Unsevered and unblighted 
 
 May they through life go on : 
 Here in earth's home preparing 
 
 For mansions bright, 
 And there, for ever sharing 
 
 Its joy, where ' God is love ' " 
 
 J 
 
MARRIAGE. 
 SERMON X. 
 
 Therefore shall a 7nan leave his father and fuother, and 
 shall cleave tinto his wife ; and they shall be one 
 flesh. — Gen. ii. 24. 
 Marriage is honorable in all. — Heb. xiii. 4. 
 
 Marriage is one thing in which men and women will 
 never cease taking the deepest interest. It is next to the 
 mountains and oceans and rivers in respect of antiquity. 
 It takes us back to the very week following that of crea- 
 tion. We have in the formation of man from the dust of 
 the ground and of woman from his side a well defined 
 plan. In contemplating these two — the first in the order of 
 our race — we behold the powerful and skillful hand of the 
 Almighty. These are results of the touch of the Author 
 of all. We can see the wisdom of the Divine mind in 
 establishing a unity in man and woman. Man is before 
 God, and woman taken from his side stands beside him. 
 The Framer of their bodies, who breathed into them life 
 and gave them mind and heart, exclaims, ''Therefore shall 
 a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto 
 his wife: and they shall be one flesh." He thus per- 
 formed the first marriage ceremony. What a value it puts 
 upon marriage that it is commended again and again in 
 
146 MARRIAGE. 
 
 Scripture! Long after this union between our first parents 
 had taken place, these were the words of King Lemuel as 
 recorded in the last chapter of Proverbs, ''The heart of 
 her husband doth safely trust in her. " It was a reau- 
 thorization of marriage when our Saviour attended one at 
 Cana of Galilee and" honored it with his first miracle of 
 turning water into wine. Need we wonder to find in 
 Heb. xiii. 4. the words, ** Marriage is honorable in all," 
 showing how high it stood in the estimation of thought- 
 ful men, and so it is to this day and will be to the end of 
 the world's history. We can never grow tired of it. For, 
 I. In the first place, it is evidently that for which man 
 and woman were created. There was a likeness 
 between them at the start in point of both body 
 and mind, yet such difference as not to make the 
 one a reduplication of the other. Man had physical 
 qualities that woman did not possess — so that 
 merely glancing at the face you could tell the one 
 from the other. On the other hand, woman was the 
 helpmeet. She possessed something that man had not — 
 discernible in form, in look, in voice. They could under- 
 stand one another. Together they were able to enquire 
 into the wonders around them. Their tasks lay along- 
 side. Co-operation was the necessary result. They tilled 
 the land in common. And yet there was dissimilarity 
 between them — one finding in the other something not 
 in him or her. There was more than companionship. 
 These hearts joined in love, and there was no need of 
 ceremony to join them together. Mere marriage form 
 
MARRIAGE. i47 
 
 -could not do that. They were already one. Their hearts 
 had flown together. And so it has been ever since. The 
 only difference now is that there are not two beings only 
 standing before us. They are brought mysteriously to- 
 gether out of the multitudes. There is the young lad now 
 growing to maturity. Hitherto he has acted as though 
 there were no difference between himself and the girls 
 around. They have played together — perhaps quarrelled 
 — without awaking other thought than of companionship. 
 All at once he feels himself separate. He becomes con- 
 scious of needing some one to flow into his very being to 
 constitute manliness in its highest form. It may seem 
 strange there is always one ready to respond to these 
 feelings, and long before word or thought of engagement 
 has passed from mouth to mouth, there is an unconscious 
 inclination of one to the other. They know not what it 
 is, but a want grows within each heart. They are drawn 
 together until they find themselves necessary to one 
 another — until the man discovers what is wanting in him- 
 self to be in that other, and the woman feels herself 
 drawn within the circle of another's personality. They 
 are thrown together in the providence of God. We are 
 not prepared to say that every marriage is ordained of 
 God, so that one certain woman is laid out for every 
 man. The number of uncongenial marriages — or mere 
 legal unions — seems to argue against this. God of course 
 knows beforehand every case of man and woman des- 
 tined to be united. But in what we call the normal 
 union, or the example of a man finding in a woman just 
 
148 MARRIAGE. 
 
 what he wants, and of a woman discovering in a man him 
 to whom she feels specially fitted, there is surely design 
 on the part of their Creator. So that we can say they 
 are fitted for each other. The one may be born in Eng- 
 land, the other in America. It is the same thing when 
 they come together. There is the consciousness of ten- 
 dency towards each other — of each fiiling a vacuum in 
 the other. And spectators will notice how well suited 
 they are long before a feeling of this kind takes root 
 within their breasts. There comes the moment when 
 love makes itself felt. They may have walked together, 
 talked in each other's hearing, gone to church for years, 
 without such feeling asserting itself. When they become 
 thus conscious, then they know themselves to be for each 
 other. There is the union formed. They have merged 
 into one another's being. They are really one — long be- 
 fore marriage ceremony can be pronounced. They are 
 more than companions, more than friends, they are part 
 of each other. And when at length the question is put — 
 a wholesome method enforced by Divine example — ''What 
 is to hinder?" ** Therefore shall a man leave his father 
 and mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall 
 be one flesh," they are thenceforth one in the eye of 
 the law — one flesh before the world. Each has an indi- 
 viduality, but it is lost in their blending love. They 
 have but one life to live, although each has a separate 
 existence. The streams of their being, hitherto flowing 
 apart yet being on the same level or plain, now merge to- 
 gether and become a mightier flow — a greater volume. 
 
MARRIAGE. 149 
 
 II. Notice, secondly, the end God has in view in thus 
 creating man and woman for each other, and instituting 
 their marriage. The Divine purpose of this is to create 
 the household. In the case of Adam and Eve the home is 
 constituted. It is obvious that this was done before sin 
 entered into the world, or the appearance of the malicious 
 tempter to evil. From which we are to conclude it to 
 have been the design of the Almighty to build up the 
 race into society and nations from the household centre. 
 Had there been no sin, the original home would have been 
 multiplied into thousands, and the kindred thus growing 
 into national life and dimensions would have been the 
 scene of endless felicity and prosperity. As with well 
 ordered families to this day their blessedness is secured by 
 keeping the Gospel covenant of Salvation, it would have 
 proved with the multiplication of families into one grand 
 nationality that they had the blessing of God upon them, 
 and their growth was continually in the direction of 
 health and strength. With the normally constructed 
 household of to-day, it is the same thing. Husband and 
 wife start out having in and upon them God's blessing. 
 This means everything. The Divine favor may appear 
 to' many to be something impalpable, upon which we can- 
 not lay our hands, that we cannot hear with our ears. 
 But it is none the less real for all that. It is not the 
 things we can see and touch that are the realities of life. 
 These are for the most part ever fading and are destined 
 to pass out of view. But those things which last are the 
 riches and honors which our Maker imparts. With this 
 
I50 MARRIAGE. 
 
 reality, with which to commence married life, the man 
 and woman we are considering are wealthy beyond 
 compare. It is evident God has in view their supreme 
 happiness. With what joy in one another they begin their 
 married life! Henceforth they are to live for each other. 
 It maybe that humble cot in the country, or the dwelling 
 in the city, is but small. But what of that ? It is home. 
 The husband brings to it the earnings he acquires from 
 the work of his hands. These are expended wisely and 
 well to secure comfort. The wife lends skillful hands and 
 industrious ways to the common weal, and behold the 
 bright fireside, the well lighted room, the table spread 
 with dainties — everything which skill and labor can 
 command to secure comfort and peace. We generally find 
 the well ordered couple growing in prosperity until the 
 cottage or city dwelling becomes larger in size, and by 
 and by through industry and good management they have 
 no less than a palace to live in, and luxuries at their 
 command. Such increase is not necessary to true 
 happiness, but with these persons there is ever a growing 
 delight in one another. Even though it be nothing but 
 the cot still, you can see their lot is to lie on pastures 
 green and by waters still, and to rejoice in their common 
 welfare. The home is appointed by God for happiness. 
 What a moment is that when the Unseen Hand places the 
 little babe in the mother's bosom, and the father is more 
 than ever atracted homewards by the magnet lying in that 
 small crib ! What a wonderful gift is a child ! The home 
 is indeed enlarged, though its rooms remain the same. 
 
MARRIAGE, 1511 
 
 There is an incentive given to husband and wife they did* 
 not feel before. More than ever they give themselves to 
 the task of building their household with the Creator's 
 substantial mercies. As now they chant His praise, they 
 are impressed with the duty before them, of caring for that 
 tiny one, of shielding and protecting the child, and by and 
 by of training their young with their enlarging powers in 
 the way in which to go. In t'iC narrative of the model wife 
 in the last chapter of Proverbs, the happy home is beautifully 
 pictured. Tnere is not one child — there are many children, 
 the objects of this excellent mother's care. She scrupul- 
 ously attends to her family duties. She gives not sleep to 
 her eyelids during the night of suffering and distress. She 
 is diligent in bringing their food and clothing from afar. 
 In her bosom lies her babe for protection and nourishment. 
 With superior ability she conducts her merchandise. Her 
 nimble fingers are never at rest. Withal there is room 
 for the stranger at the gate. You will notice the honored 
 place her husband has among the rulers of the land. He 
 is known in the streets. As he passes along spectators 
 instinctively say, "Wliat a good wife that man has at 
 home." If ever living epistle were known and read of all, 
 it is the husband who comes daily from a well kept house. 
 He is known by every look and gesture, by the step he 
 firmly plants on the ground, by his entire bearing when at 
 business. What a household that becomes, when at length 
 the sons and daughters are attaining maturer years — when 
 their education is going on — when father and mother are 
 interesting themselves in their children's books and music 
 
152 MARRIAGE. 
 
 and usefulness, in their habits of skill and perseverance. 
 If anything on earth is an approach to heaven, it is a well- 
 regulated family. It lies in the joy which parents have in 
 their children, and in the obedience and love which reign 
 in their home. 
 
 Let us feel that "marriage is honorable in all," — for it 
 is by its means God builds up the state, the country, the 
 race at large. There will never be nation to compare for 
 health and prosperity with that in which the home occupies 
 a distinguished place. What are we as a people but so 
 many families related to one another by ties of kindred and 
 fellowship? We make bold to say that it is where marriage 
 is regarded as an holy estate the country is being lifted up 
 to health and comfort. Should war ever come upon a 
 land like this — war that arises from the ambition of tyranny 
 and cruelty — the one thought of all patriots would be to 
 defend their homes. The humble dwelling as well as the 
 palace is sacred. There is not a man amongst us but 
 would shed his last drop in defence of the home, nor a 
 woman who would not follow her heroic husband or son 
 to the battle field with her prayers for God to overshadow 
 the household with His loving and protecting hands. Give 
 us home in its true sense — with the meaning God lends to it 
 — and we need not fear for national prowess. Yes! are 
 we not patriots the moment our homes are attacked — 
 when our wives and children are in danger ? 
 
 III. You will observe, dear friends, thirdly, the meaning 
 given to marriage when viewed as a symbol of the union 
 between Christ and believers. The words of Paul (Rom. 
 
MARRIAGE. 153 
 
 xv:5.6) apply as a general principle to husband and wife 
 more than to any other relationship. ** Now the God of 
 patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded to 
 one another according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with 
 one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." With these words before us we 
 do not need go far till we come upon the thought of this 
 Apostle, (i Cor. vii. 25.-27.) "Husbands love your wives, 
 even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for 
 it . . . that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, 
 not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it 
 should be holy and without blemish." Nay, such is 
 Christian influence that even '* the unbelieving husband 
 becomes sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife 
 by her husband . . . else were their children unclean, but 
 now are they holy." If so, then a loving husband and wife 
 are a type of the marriage of Jesus Christ and all believers. 
 Do we want to know the closeness with which Christ is 
 knit to them ? Behold the man and woman in their 
 endearing nearness. Would you have the love of Christ 
 pourtrayed in living colors, look upon that husband gazing 
 with fond rapture upon her who is thus brought nigh ? 
 Do you want to see in what union between the Saviour 
 and those who love him consists? Think of the self — 
 sacrifice — the devotion — with which the husband waits 
 upon the footsteps of his wife. Would you know the 
 eternal duration of Christ's love, witness the man enduring 
 to the end — faithful in every word and action — none the 
 less reliable when absent, all the more precious when 
 
154 MARRIAGE. 
 
 present. Thus we can gaze into eternity as we behold 
 the lovely sight of a husband maintaining his fidelity amid 
 the abounding allurements. On the other hand, how learn 
 the ardour with which believers look to Christ their 
 husband, then see the deep attachment the wife reveals — 
 behold her footsteps in the husband's interests. Would 
 you know what it is to be a faithful follower of Jesus 
 Christ, then look on the unswerving faithfulness of that 
 noble wife. If we would see how a believer is to wait on 
 his Lord, regard the mother thinking not of self but 
 carefully tending her husband and children. If you 
 desire more than a picture of the zeal you should show in 
 Christ's cause, turn with me to this living letter presented 
 in that companion dear and true waiting upon her husband 
 on a sick-bed — knowing not day from night — only caring 
 to watch the face of her beloved. Yes ! think of this, you 
 the husband and you the wife, exhibiting an imperishable 
 bond which you are hardly conscious of but is none the 
 less real, are teaching those around you what that mystical 
 union between Christ and his followers means. As 
 exemplifiers of "the love which suffereth long, and is kind, 
 which envieth not . . . which beareth all things, believeth all 
 things, hopeth all things, endureth all things," you are 
 but a dim reflection of the light and glory radiating from 
 the tie which binds in one all believing persons to the 
 Lord. It is my privilege, it is yours — dear husband and 
 wife — to look with honest pride on Him who is our staff and 
 stay — our rock and fortress. 
 
MARRIAGE, 155 
 
 While true that marriage is to be commended, we can- 
 not help touching, in conclusion, the awful problem of 
 multitudes bound in marriage yet far from reflecting the 
 unity of Messiah and his beloved Church. Here is not 
 the picture but the realty — hundreds and thousands^of 
 couples living in sin — transgressing common-sense — 
 bidding defiance to Providence. Oh what tears, what 
 agonies, what distresses, are seen on all hands ! Think of 
 men cursing, striking the children they are bound to love, 
 nay, dealing to a wife the murderous blow. Turn to these 
 women — drunken, filthy, bitter — striking and cursing 
 their children and husbands. But what is less endurable, 
 think of the petty temper, of jealousies, of idle words, 
 passing from one to another among those calling them- 
 selves Christians. And we see how much has to be 
 achieved ere marriage reaches its high ideal, viz; the 
 fitting symbol of the marriage of Jesus to his well- 
 beloved spouse and makes us exclaim, ''Let us be glad 
 and rejoice ; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and 
 his wife hath made herself ready. " Rev xix. 7. 
 
 This leads to consider Divorce. It is evident how far 
 we are from ideal marriage when we turn to our Courts 
 of Law and behold the number of couples separating on 
 grounds other than that which is laid down in the Old 
 Testament and reiterated by Jesus Christ. We cannot 
 but think of the welfare of Society constructed on the 
 principle of true and faithful conduct. But now Divorce is 
 obtained in one State and set aside in another — even when 
 decreed on the ground of violated chastity. It is not a 
 
156 MARRIAGE 
 
 healthy principle for society to separate husband and wife 
 for the thousand and one reasons which are given. To 
 think of the maiital tie set aside for alleged desertion, 
 cruelty, want of support, intemperance! This is the 
 entrance wedge to social disintigration and destruction. 
 The law of marriage throughout the United States should 
 be one and the same. 
 
 For one thing, our fair sisters are to be congratulated 
 on the wonderful progress they have made in trades and 
 professions which enable them to lead useful, honorable 
 and independent lives, if travelling their journey alone. 
 ^'The new woman" is in our days an accomplished fact. 
 The girl can be educated to be independent. She can 
 be bookkeeper, physician, teacher. She occupies a high 
 level compared with her sisters of former times. In view 
 of what is taking place before our eyes, we should say to 
 those who are not intended for matrimony — be ready for 
 work— for duties especially of the higher kind— and your 
 career to the end will be one of usefulness aud honor. 
 
PRAYER 
 
 Our Heavenly Father, accompany with Thy blessing our meditation' 
 on marriage. Teach us from the deep meaning of the words, "Therefore 
 shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and 
 they shall be one flesh," to reverence home, to regard it as the centre 
 point of Christian civilization, to look upon it as the garden in which the 
 young olive plants grow to beauty and fruitfulness. As the husband 
 and wife are one, so let us behold with delight the unity subsisting 
 between Christ and the fair and beautiful spouse — his pure and loving 
 people. Amen. 
 
STAY THOU NEAR BY. 
 
 By Rev. David Mitchell. 
 
 Stay Thou near by, O God above, 
 Look on thy child with tender love. 
 May help to me be always given 
 To lead me on the way to Heaven. 
 
 Stay Thou near by, let grace be mine, 
 To make me pure and keep me thine, 
 Through all life's way shine thou on me 
 That I may ne'er depart from thee. 
 
 'Mid toil and care, stay Thou nearby. 
 Be thou my Rock more high than I, 
 In which my soul will find her rest 
 And be with thee for ever blest. 
 
 Stay Thou near by, that when my foes 
 Would cast me down to lasting woes, 
 My bleeding heart will then be free 
 With hope and joy to look to thee. 
 
 Stay Thou near by, that work be done 
 To honor thee my God alone. 
 Such work that I lost souls may win 
 From darkest woes, from hell of sin. 
 
 Saviour dear, stay Thou near by 
 That when to death I'm drawing nigh; 
 
 1 may not fear or doubting be. 
 But still find peace and joy in thee. 
 
 And then on wings of faith I'll rise 
 To thy pure mansions in the skies. 
 No more my soul shall need to cry, 
 Oh loving Friend, stay Thou near by. 
 
 From the Observer, 
 
THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 
 SERMON XI. 
 
 This one thing I do, forgetting those things zvhich are 
 behind, and reaching forth unto those things which 
 are before, I press toivard the mark for the prize 
 of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. — 
 Phil. iii. 12-13. 
 
 The Grecian games furnished the apostle Paul with 
 some of his most striking illustrations and powerful 
 arguments. As a traveller through various cities and 
 regions of Asia Minor, he had frequent opportunities of 
 mingling with the crowds that eagerly gathered to witness 
 the contests for victory in boxing, running, leaping. To 
 his own eye, which was that of a keen observer and 
 profound moralist, such games were ever suggestive of his 
 strivings after victory in the race and battle of life. It is 
 thus interesting to think of Paul in the midst of those 
 eager crowds that were swaying to and fro or throbbing 
 with the quick beating pulse of excitement, as the fight or 
 race went on before them. While they were straining 
 with eye and nerve to catch every movement of the 
 contestants, the scene, and the motions of the combatants 
 or runners, and the cloud of witnesses, were to him all 
 expressive of the race or battle of life, of his own efforts 
 
i6o THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 
 
 after victory, or of the countless numbers who from Heaven 
 were interested spectators of his struggles and warfare. 
 As a preacher we may well imagine the Apostle illustrating 
 his discourses with vivid, impressive descriptions of the 
 strivings and races of which his auditors had often been 
 willing spectators — urging upon them as immortal beings, 
 with all the earnestness and eloquence of which he was 
 capable — at one time, to fight the good fight of faith, at 
 another, '*to run with patience the race that is set before 
 us," or at another in such language as that of our text, ''I 
 press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of 
 God." 
 
 The words — " forgetting those things which are behind, 
 and reaching forth unto those things which are before " — 
 are highly descriptive of the attitude, the eagerness and 
 the determination of the contestant. At the end of the 
 race course is the pole or mark, and upon it the eye of the 
 runner is keenly fixed. His body is so placed as to 
 secure the safest, the easiest, and the most rapid motion. 
 He turns not to the right hand or to the left. The things 
 that are behind, the point from which he started, the 
 spectators of the commencement of the race, the feelings 
 and passions that move them as they watch with eager 
 gaze the progress of the runners, the shouts and cries of 
 the multitude, the stumbles and falls that have already 
 impeded his flight, the obstacles and difficulties he has had 
 thus far to meet and overcome, all the strivings and efforts 
 he has put forth to gain his present point in the race 
 course, nay, everything about himself or others, that 
 
THE CHRISTIAN RACE. i6i 
 
 formerly occupied his time and attention, are all completely 
 forgotten. He who turns for one moment to think of any 
 one of these things retards his progress. The successful 
 contestant is unconscious of all such things. His whole 
 body and mind are bound up in one thing. He sees only 
 the mark. He has but one aim and that is to reach it — to 
 reach it before he falls down from exhaustion, to touch it 
 first in order of those who started for the goal. Here was 
 complete absorption in one idea. And all this, which the 
 Apostle had probably witnessed frequently, suggests to his 
 mind the true principle of success in the Christian career. 
 He too forgets the things which are behmd; he too reaches 
 forth towards the things that are before; he too has his 
 eye fixed upon the mark for the prize which is ever before 
 him in the race course of life. 
 
 We are by no means to understand by the Apostle's 
 words that it is our duty as Christians to obliterate all the 
 past from our minds. Were this the Apostle's meaning, 
 that we should by some means annihilate the past, and 
 enter upon every day as if it were our birthday, or 
 commencement of life, such a course would not only deprive 
 us of the pleasures of the past which can by memory and 
 association be enjoyed over and over again, but also of the 
 lessons of wisdom which it is clearly intended we are to 
 derive from experience. Were this possible we would 
 greatly be the losers. There are times when we love to 
 linger on our childhood's days and youthful years, on the 
 days when we knew but little of those dangerous forces of 
 evil that are in the world, when innocence shone from our 
 
l62 THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 
 
 laughing eyes and happy voices. Our memory sheds a 
 haloof glory around the time when we learned our prayers 
 at a mother's knee, or looked up with obedience to the 
 authoritative words of a loving father. Our early lessons 
 at school, our choice of a trade or profession, all the steps 
 by which we advanced from one stage of life to another, 
 the friendships we formed, the tears of childhood, the 
 trials of youth, the difficulties that met us in our onward 
 path, must leave their various traces behind, so that 
 though desirable we will find it impossible to obliterate 
 the past. We are just what the past has made us. The 
 circumstances of our birth, the influences that surrounded 
 our youth, our education at school or college, — such things 
 are traceable in our present features and habits and 
 opinions. As you and I stand before each other at this 
 moment we are — so to speak — the photograph of our past 
 lives. We judge each other by the habits and opinions 
 which we have been forming through many years. And 
 even in the case of a man who has completely changed 
 from a vicious to a virtuous life, or from unbelief and 
 hatred of God to true piety, there are traces of the dark 
 and terrible past which can never be obliterated. Our 
 deeds of wrong, our departures from truth, our pursuit of 
 pleasure, have made indelible marks on our hearts, which 
 certainly in this life can never be wholly removed. We 
 understand the Apostle to mean by the words, "forgetting 
 those things that are behind," not a conscious, determined 
 effort to obliterate from memory the many traces of the 
 past, but that unconsciousness of the things that are 
 
THE CHRISTIAN RACE, 163 
 
 behind which results from the mind being engrossed in one 
 object. We need not confine the illustration of this 
 principle to the domain of religion, for the men who attain 
 success in life — success even in the worldly sense of the 
 word — will be found forgetting the things that are behind 
 in their pursuit of those that are before. Your own 
 experience shows that your most successful efforts have 
 been made when everything seemed to be shut out from 
 your mind, but the present task in which you were 
 engaged. What is the reason of such prosperity attending 
 certain merchants, and failure and ruin marking the 
 career of others? The former are men who are not 
 occupied with a past dead and gone, but who are reaching 
 forth to the things that are before. The student who 
 would master a science or language must not be contented 
 with the acquirements he has made in the past, but he 
 must strive after higher attainments. It is told of a 
 skillful surgeon of our day, that he is so occupied with the 
 operation in which he is engaged that there is nothing 
 else present to his mind. His eye is centered upon the 
 one object. Every motion of his body is made with a 
 view to the purpose before him. His mind is alive only 
 to one thing, and he is so completely absorbed, that he is 
 not aware of the efforts he has put forth, until the 
 operation being over his nerves and muscles relax, and so 
 great is the reaction that he lies down on his couch, and 
 large drops of sweat fall from every pore, and his hands 
 tremble like leaves shaken by the wind. It is in this way 
 all great ends are accomplished. The battle that is to 
 
1 64 THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 
 
 decide a nation's freedom is won as the result of deep 
 concentration on one point. The discoveries of science 
 are made by men who, forgetting the things that are 
 behind, are reaching towards those that are before. The 
 men who have ascended Alpine heights, the summits of 
 which seemed far from reach of human effort, have climbed 
 on, all unconscious of the dangers of ravines and 
 precipices behind, and not thinking of the hard labor they 
 have undergone to bring them thus far. Such examples 
 then bring before us the meaning of the Apostle's words, 
 "forgetting the things behind." In these words we have 
 the principle of all true success. They set before us an 
 earnest concentration on one object, excluding everything 
 else from our mind, as the only way by which to forget 
 the things that are behind, and secure the end we desire. 
 Now, apply this to religion. When we begin the 
 Christian race, there are many things to draw away our 
 attention. Before the period of conversion, ours may 
 have been a dark and terrible history. Unlike Paul, 
 whose opposition to Christ was done ignorantly in 
 unbelief, we have sinned against light and against the day. 
 In spite of the warnings and tears and prayers of parents 
 and friends, we have feverishly drunk the cup of pleasure 
 to the very dregs. Our pathway in life may have been 
 throuoh the slime and mud of iniquity. We have been 
 eating the husks the swine did eat. We have thus starved 
 our minds out of their proper food. We have"" verily 
 revelled in the service of sin and Satan. Now, one 
 turned from all this shame and folly to the love of God, 
 
THE CHRIS TIA N RACE. 165 
 
 has this great difficulty to surmount, viz: of not marring 
 his zeal for God's service by a too frequent and morbid 
 remembering of the past. That dread past has so indelibly ■ 
 put its marks upon us, that every time we see these we are 
 seized with an inward horror. This paralyzes our action. 
 The current of our lives flows sluggishly on. Oh in despair 
 we are ready to cry — '■■ Could I but extinguish that horrible 
 past — could I kill the phantom out of my brain — how 
 differently would I follow the Master." Yes, my brother, 
 it is true. It is true you would have presented a different 
 type of fellowship, and therefore every time the thought 
 presses upon your mind, learn to look to Christ the more 
 steadfastly. It is by becoming engrossed in the service of 
 Christ you will forget the past of guilt and shame. But 
 by no other means will you wipe out the sins of youth or 
 unconsecrated manhood. By no effort of mind can you 
 forget the past. All effort to forget only rouses to a higher 
 consciousness. By no sacrifice will you obliterate the past. 
 That will only be putting fuel on the fire that feeds morbid 
 despair. It is only by a true consecration to Christ, it is 
 only by being actuated by one ennobling purpose, that the 
 past will fade from view. ''Reach forth to the things that 
 are before." Struggle to attain some worthy end. No 
 longer will the view of the past paralyze your energies. 
 With your mind going forward, everything that is behind 
 will be lost sight of. * 
 
 But for one who like the Apostle is far advanced 
 in the Christian race, the words " forgetting the 
 things behind" have a very different meaning. There is 
 
1 66 THE CHRISTIAN RACE, . 
 
 a fatal tendency with men to rest with satisfaction upon 
 the efforts they have gained in the past. Had Paul 
 allowed himself thus to dwell upon his past career, how 
 much was there in it to take his mind away from Christ ? 
 He had sacrificed position, the pleasures of home, the 
 prospect of worldly advancement. He had travelled far 
 and wide, and had thus endured manifold trials. He had 
 made successful advances upon the strongholds of heathen- 
 dom. He now stood high in the estimation of his fellow- 
 apostles. Had he contemplated all this with satisfaction, 
 would it not have retarded his progress ? But for the 
 Apostle to think of his own sufferings or conflicts or 
 victories was impossible, for his mind was ever filled with 
 an animating and ennobling purpose. Ahd so, brethren, 
 with us who have been for years — it may be — the disciples 
 of Christ. Let us beware of looking with delight on the 
 past. Let us not congratulate ourselves on our past 
 progress. If our hearts are truly fixed upon a worthy 
 object, let the word ''forward" be our cry. Let us be so 
 bound up in the progress we are making each moment, 
 that we shall never think of past victories. Oh ! Remember 
 the past can do nothing for us. It is gone from us and all 
 the efforts we made, all the difficulties we surmounted, all 
 the points we gained, these are past and gone. They have 
 been stepping stones, but our feet are now planted on 
 Steps higher up. The waters we have sailed over, it is true, 
 once bore up our bark in their bosom, but we are supported 
 by other waters now. The bread which kept us in life 
 yesterday will not keep us in life to-day. So long as 
 
THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 167 
 
 progresses to be made, so long as new points are to be 
 attained, so long as the race is not run, there are new 
 efforts called for, new difficulties to be overcome, there is 
 ever a strain upon our body and mind. These words are 
 truly descriptive of a Christian's life, *' forgetting the 
 things that are behind and reaching towards those 
 things which are before." 
 
 "Reaching forth unto those things which are before," 
 express then not insensibility to the past, or a mere 
 inert forgetfulness, but unconsciousness of the things that 
 are behind, arising from the mind being animated by one 
 object, and bound up in it. Those things that are before 
 and the mark for the prize do not express one and the 
 same idea. The mark — it is true — is one of the things 
 that are before, but there are other things that lie along 
 the line of race which are helps and guides to the runners. 
 ''The foot race was run in the stadium, an oblong area,- 
 open at one end and rounded in a semi-circular form at 
 the other, along the sides of which were the tiers of seats 
 on which the spectators sat. The judge was stationed by 
 the goal, which was clearly visible from one end of the 
 stadium to the other." The goal was generally a long 
 pole on which the laurel crown was hung. So that as 
 well as this pole, there would be a variety of objects in the 
 line of the race course, that would easily be taken in by 
 the eye of each contestant — these diminishing in number 
 as he advanced towards the goal. The pole marked the 
 end of the course, but to an eager runner it would not give 
 an accurate idea of distance. Objects immediately before 
 
i68 THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 
 
 him, such as stones lying on his way or small poles 
 indicating degrees of distance, would be a considerable 
 aid. Then again between two equal competitors, the 
 principal mark would not supply a sufficient test of strength 
 and speed, but as they hurried past an object on the course, 
 their relative speed would be instantly known, and greater 
 force and strain be applied. We are all familiar with the 
 influence which intermediate stages have upon us as we 
 are pursuing our way towards some more distant place. 
 Every mile stone on the road, although it cannot impart 
 life or strength, speaks to us of progress. As the eye 
 catches it in the distance, we insensibly put 'more force 
 into our steps. As we ascend a mountain, every peak 
 becomes our guide. The sailor even has imaginary lines 
 drawn across the ocean by which to measure distance and 
 speed. In striving to attain these points, we may be said 
 to be "reaching forth towards those things that are 
 before." 
 
 What, then, my brethren, is analagous to this in the 
 Christian race ? To answer this we must endeavor to 
 understand what the Apostle means by the mark for the 
 prize. You at once see that the mark and the prize were 
 two distinct objects. In the Grecian game the one was a 
 pole and the other a crown. And in all contests we 
 distinguish between the mark and the prize. At school 
 the mark for the prize is a certain amount of knowledge. 
 The prize may be anything you like — book or medal. In 
 business the mark for the prize of success is knowledge, 
 experience and integrity. The prize may be money or 
 
THE CHRIS TIA N RACE. 169 
 
 influence. And in the same way the mark for the prize of 
 the Christian imperfection of character. In this case the prize 
 is the blessedness of Heaven. That perfection of character 
 is the mark, and the blessedness of heaven the prize, is 
 evident from the context. In the nth verse the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead is a term denoting the happiness of the 
 saints. That in the Apostle's estimation is the end to be 
 gained. But the means to attam that end is following 
 after Christ, ''that I may apprehend that for which also I 
 am apprehended of Christ Jesus." This is prefaced with 
 the words, ''not as though I had already attained, or were 
 already perfect." But such perfection is only before the 
 Apostle's mind. He does not possess it. "Brethren, I 
 count not myself to have apprehended, or to be thus 
 perfect, but this one thing I do. I press toward the mark 
 for the prize." 
 
 If then the mark for the prize is perfection of character, 
 the things which are before us, and are marking interme- 
 diate stages between our present point and the goal that 
 lies at the end of the race, are the various degrees and 
 qualities of Christian character that are steps toward 
 ultimate perfection. We should be ever reaching forth 
 towards more love, greater devotion, profounder wisdom, 
 higher knowledge of the truth. The Christian runner can 
 never be satisfied with his present attainments. What he 
 has gained this day is now one of the things that are 
 behind, and which will be immediately forgotten as his eye 
 fixes itself upon another point that is yet to be attained. 
 So long as he is in this life it must ever be a progress. As 
 
170 THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 
 
 he conquers one sin, it only reveals another to be overcome. 
 As he feels the delightful influence of the first rays of the 
 love of God that have fallen upon him, it only makes him 
 still open his heart to receive more and more of that love. 
 As to the knowledge of God he will feel as Newton felt 
 with regard to the knowledge of God's works in nature, 
 that he has but picked up a pebble here and there on the 
 sea shore, while on that shore itself there are possibly 
 countless pearls lying all unseen by human eye, and in 
 that ocean there are myriads of precious stones entirely 
 beyond his reach. As to his faith in Jesus, he will truly 
 realize that all his past acts of faith are nothing, that as 
 he endeavors to exercise more faith how needful is the 
 prayer, ''Lord, help mine unbelief," and that before him 
 lie countless opportunities for exercising a faith, the 
 strength of which he has never yet even conceived. As 
 he rejoices in the spirituality of feeling with which he can 
 now draw near to God in prayer, he will remember with 
 humility how many Christian brethren have attained to 
 heights of spiritual thought and feeling that tower far 
 above him. And as he strains to advance the name and 
 kingdom of Christ Jesus, other work will press upon him. 
 New powers will seem to arise within him. A field of 
 large enterprise, of new possibilities, will spread out before 
 him. He will feel that as yet he has done nothing, and 
 that every moment he must be up and doing. ''Forward,'* 
 not "backward," is the christian's motto. "Reaching 
 forth unto the things which are before," is not only 
 characteristic of him, but as a phrase it is suggestive of 
 
THE CHRISTIAN RACE, 171 
 
 his life and work. ''Reaching forth towards the things 
 which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize." 
 
 The degrees and stages that mark a Christian's career 
 are all pointing to their ^^^6^— perfection. Now, whence 
 does the Apostle derive the idea of perfection of character? 
 Evidently, not from himself, nor from any of his fellow- 
 apostles, nor from his brethren in the Church. Looking 
 at himself and all others he can only see imperfection, 
 failure, debts. But the ideal of perfection is the life and 
 character of the Lord Jesus Christ. To be perfect even 
 as He was perfect, is the mark for the prize. In Christ is 
 the highest possible pattern of human excellence. He not 
 only exhibited in the greatest degree those qualities of 
 honesty, truthfulness, zeal, which men at all times admire 
 and value. But a heavenliness of purity and goodness 
 shone from him, such as no man had ever witnessed 
 before. His was the highest form of devotion. His 
 communion with the spirits of the upper world was perfect. 
 His sympathy with men was so subtle and sensitive that at 
 the touch of a woman his manhood or virtue sensibly 
 went out to her. While the very presence of the mere 
 professor or hypocritical Pharisee seemed to influence Him 
 as sensitively as the touch of the operator does the 
 magnetic wire. In Christ was purity incarnate — transcend- 
 ing all the maxims and speculations of philosophers. Here 
 was holiness of character and conversation, such as had 
 never been witnessed upon the earth. 
 
 What the Apostle conceived Christ to be, he resolved to 
 become. He knew that Christ became like unto men in 
 
1 7 2 THE CHRIS TIA N RACE. 
 
 all points, saving that of sin, in order that His followers in 
 turn might in every particular become like unto Him. To 
 attain likeness to Christ, he determined to press forward. 
 We must notice here, my brethren, the grand difference 
 between the mark in the Christian race and that of the 
 text. The latter is at a well known and easily defined dis- 
 tance from the starting point. But as perfection of char- 
 acter can only be attained at the end of life — when death 
 shall separate us from sin and all its woes — the race of 
 each believer will continue throughout his earthly career. 
 We must remember that, just as in certain lights, to the 
 traveller a mountain or tree, or house seems near at hand, 
 when it is really many miles away ; so every step 
 toward Christ, every advance we make in likeness to Him, 
 will only reveal how far we are from His character. As 
 we journey on the object upon which our eye is fixed will 
 seem always to recede from us. Sometimes we will lose 
 sight of it altogether, and when in despair we think we 
 have lost it, again it will burst upon our view. In the 
 days of health and vigorous manhood, as we may be but 
 half way on the journey, the goal will sometimes seem 
 far away. And yet the Christian does not despair, for so 
 long as he sees the mark he may be sure he is advancing 
 towards it. If he is laid low on a bed of sickness, from 
 which he does not hope to recover, strange to say that 
 mark towards which he had ever been striving, appears to 
 have been brought near him, and should he in God's mercy 
 be spared to rise up once more he need not wonder 
 that, as he walks forth into the world again with new life 
 
THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 173 
 
 and hopes, the goal or mark for the prize will appear now- 
 far in the distance. And when at last the Christian dies, 
 the experience he will have will be akin to that of the 
 disciples when, after the storm had been allayed at the com- 
 mand of their Master, their ship was brought suddenly to 
 the shore. As the Grecian runner at length caught the 
 pole on which the garland was hung, so the Christian dying 
 in the arms of Jesus will seem to have caught hold of him 
 at last Clasping the mark for the prize, the spirit of a 
 man, as soon as it leaves this world, will mount to the 
 skies, to receive from the JUDGE — who had watched the 
 race all along, who had secretly supported and cheered the 
 runner — the never fading crown of life. 
 
 Brethren, let us comfort ourselves with this thought that 
 not as in the Grecian game only one or at the most two 
 or three of the contestants received the prize ; in the 
 Christian race every one who presses forward will be sure 
 to get from day to day the blessing of God's strengthening 
 grace, and will in the end attain to likeness of the holy 
 Jesus. We need not despair that others, who started 
 along side of us in the Christian race, are now apparently 
 far before us. Be it ours still to press forward, sure that 
 in the end we will gain the victory. There will be honor 
 for the child who has commenced the race. Dying in the 
 Lord, he will have the likeness of Jesus. There will be 
 victory for the young brother or sister, called in darly life 
 from this world of sin and tears, for such will have become 
 like the Saviour. There will be victory for the aged and 
 bowed down. The features of Christ may not be seen for 
 
174 THE CHRISTIAN RACE. 
 
 the scars with which life's battle has marred their visage, 
 or for the decay and weakness of age ; but when they 
 shall awake, it will be with the likeness of God, and then 
 they shall see him as He is. Let us make the Apostle's 
 words our own, *'I press towards the mark for the prize 
 of the high calling of God.*' You see he seems to put the 
 prize second in importance to the mark for the prize. As 
 much as to say, make it your one object to attain the 
 mark which will entitle you to the prize. Do not think of 
 the prize only. Think first and foremost of the mark. Be 
 earnest about attaining to perfection. The time will come 
 when you will consider with satisfaction the prize. But 
 you have nothing to do with the prize just now. As it is 
 unworthy the scholar to study for the sake of a mere 
 prize, and as he ought to work only with the view of acquir- 
 ing the knowledge that is requisite for the prize ; as it 
 would bemean a soldier to think only of the glory arising 
 from victory, and not to give himself heart and soul to 
 the work to be done to gain the battle ; as it degrades a 
 merchant, or physician, or minister of the gospel to be 
 ever striving for wealth, fee or reward, and not to have a 
 single eye to the special object of his profession; so it is 
 dangerous for the follower of Christ to be ever thinking 
 of Heaven only — of future joys — of everlasting honors. 
 Let him remember that in setting his mind upon rewards 
 he may overlook what is necessary to obtain them. In 
 thinking only of Heaven he may forget the way to reach 
 it. In dwelling constantly upon the blessedness, to 
 which the service of Christ leads, he may fail to remem- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN RACE, 175 
 
 ber that following Christ demands earnest effort, a close 
 walk with God, and many deeds of self-sacrifice. May 
 it be ours then to be able to say — ''This one thing I do — 
 I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling 
 of God in Christ Jesus." 
 
My country, 'tis of thee, 
 Sweet land of liberty. 
 
 Of thee I sing; 
 Land where my fathers died, 
 Land of the Pilgrim's pride. 
 From ev'ry mountain side, 
 
 Let freedom ring. 
 
OUR GLORIOUS FOURTH. 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord. — Ps. 
 
 XXXIII. 12. 
 
 Such words coming from the lips of a king have a 
 special significance. It is well for us to .give heed to 
 their meaning. Many a one in David's circumstances 
 would have thought of the nation as blessed in her 
 rulers, her statesmen, warriors, navies, armies, or in her 
 laws, her education, her riches. But the king of Israel 
 looked away from these to God. He could conceive of 
 no strength, or wisdom, or nobility, if God were blotted 
 out of men's thoughts. 
 
 Accepting this as true that, "Blessed is the nation 
 whose God is the Lord," it is an important question for 
 every nation to consider and answer, "Who is our 
 Lord ?" Are we a Christian nation ? 
 
 '* Are WE, the people of these United States, a Christ- 
 ian nation ?" is being agitated in many quarters. You 
 will remember the society which was formed many 
 years ago, whose object was to obtain the insertion in the 
 Constitution of the United States of an expression of 
 faith in God. Whether this will ever succeed is doubt- 
 ful, but it is one of the straws which indicate how the 
 
178 OUR GL OR 10 US FO UR TH. 
 
 wind blows. " Are we a Christian people ?" are words 
 on every one's lips in presence of the fearful disclosures 
 that fill our public prints Let us put this question to our- 
 selves. The crimes that are being committed can only be 
 compared with the worst times of Rome, when monsters 
 in human shape occupied the throne and the high 
 offices of the State. Sodom and Gomorrah have 
 become bywords as expressive of the grossest gratifi- 
 cations of the animal passions, but in our country we 
 have evidence of the existence of all the different grades 
 of sensuality ^rom forms most refined to those most 
 brutal and loathesome. There is not a day but we hear 
 of horrible murders, of suicides from despair, of daring 
 burglaries, of incendiarism, of forgers and counterfeiters. 
 It is impressed upon us by our recent experiences that 
 there is a large class in every city who are restrained 
 from violence only by the strong arm of the law, and 
 who are ready at any moment to pillage property and 
 attack our liberties. ''Are we a Christian Nation?" 
 with such a record as this, presses itself upon the atten- 
 tion of every right thinking man and woman in the 
 land. With the stench of these crimes going up to 
 Heaven, how must we appear before Heaven's King ? 
 How do the pure and unfallen angels regard us ? What 
 are we in the eyes of other nations ? And especially 
 when as is the case the vast mass of our people, to whose 
 door cannot be layed such crimes as we have depicted, 
 are still the worshippers of mammon thinking not of 
 God, or of laying up eternal riches in Heaven, who are 
 
UR GL OR 10 US FO UR TH. 1 7^ 
 
 laboring without thought of the necessities of their 
 spiritual being. It seems rather more appropriate to ask 
 ourselves, *' Are we not an idolatrous people ? Have we 
 not set up mammon in the place of God ? Are we not 
 in the grand race for riches rudely jostling one another 
 out of the way, trampling under foot our brothers 
 and sisters, and thinking only of what will minister to 
 our pride and ambition ? " 
 
 In answer to the question, ''Are we a Christian nation," 
 we have to point first of all to the origin of this people. 
 There were, it is true, various centres in the country 
 occupied by representatives of different nationalities, but 
 still these representatives were more or less subjects of 
 Christianity. The national mind turns to New England 
 as having been the nucleus from which this great people 
 has grown. The story is widely known and quickly told 
 of how a Puritan settlement, escaping from religious 
 persecution, sought a home away from their native soil, 
 where they could enjoy spiritual liberty — the right of 
 worshipping God according to conscience, and of observing 
 their own form of Church polity without fear of the face of 
 man. We should remember of what stuff these men were 
 made. They were not merely loyal to Christ, but they 
 had inherited a system of doctrine and a rigid practice of 
 morals, which, while exciting the derision of the thought- 
 less, made them feared and respected on all hands. They 
 were men of the true martyr spirit. They would rather 
 die than yield to any encroachment upon their rights. 
 Their system of doctrine, which recognized in God the 
 
1 8o OUR GL OR 10 US FO UR TH, 
 
 righteous disposer of all events, gave them a faith in 
 Providence which made them strong to resist their 
 spiritual foes. It was in the martyr spirit they came to 
 this country, and encountered unheard of difficulties and 
 surmounted impassible barriers. They suffered banishment 
 from their native land — from their home and kindred — 
 rather than suffer the tyranny of their spiritual rulers. 
 These men were Christians in a way in which few to-day 
 are Christians. The Bible meant something with them. 
 They regarded it as the inspired word of God — the 
 book for daily nourishment, the guide of their lives, the 
 comfort of their dying moments. They judged the 
 worship oi, God a necessity of man's nature, and that it 
 was incumbent to adore Him in a Sanctuary. They loved 
 Zion and her ordinances. ''How amiable are thy taber- 
 nacles, O Lord of Hosts," was the burden of their song. 
 These were the men who would travel miles amid snow 
 and storms rather than their seats in God's House should 
 be empty. Their first thought was where shall we build 
 a home for the Lord, They put the construction of the 
 Sanctuary in importance before the building of their 
 .dwellings, or the sowing of their fields. They realized 
 the meaning of the Saviour's command, **Seek ye first the 
 kingdom of God and his righteousness." And then the 
 Sabbath was their delight. Whatever toil and danger they 
 had to undergo during the week — in the night and the 
 day — in the cold and the heat — in storm and pestilence, 
 there was nothing that would interfere with their observ- 
 ance of the Lord's day. '' Remember the Sabbath day to 
 
UR GL OR 10 US FO UR TH. 1 8 1 
 
 keep it holy," meant with them a command from Heaven. 
 Only at the cry for mercy, or in view of a pressing 
 necessity, would they swerve from the path trodden in 
 faith by their fathers. The hours of the Sabbath were 
 ■sacred in their eyes, and they were spent in a manner 
 wholly incomprehensible to the wise-acres of the present 
 age — they were spent in praise and prayer and in 
 meditation on God's word. The morals of this people 
 were of course severe. But they were a noble generation. 
 These were men to do battle with wild animals, with fires, 
 with pestilences, with droughts and famines. These were 
 men to lay the foundations of an empire broad and 
 majestic — to give laws and legislation in accordance with 
 the Bible — and to build up a nation of God fearing 
 children — of stalwart sons and virtuous daughters. In 
 the same way, we may enquire concerning the origin of 
 New York and the surrounding country. It. was a Dutch 
 Colony that first unfurled the banner of civilization. What 
 were these Hollanders in religion ? Were they Pagan ? 
 Were they idolaters ? Were they not children of the 
 covenants and the promises? Did they not bring with 
 them their precious Bibles, their Catechisms, their Confes- 
 sions, their Church ? We have their noble representatives 
 still in many churches and congregations throughout the 
 land. They may have been somewhat philosophic in 
 temperament, but they were sound in the faith. They 
 bequeathed to their children a noble inheritance of truth. 
 Nor was the rich and fertile state of Pennsylvania without 
 her religious foundation. It has not happened to her as 
 
1 82 OUR GLORIOUS FOURTH. 
 
 to New York to have her original settlers borne into 
 oblivion by the accumulating pressure of heterogeneous 
 nationalities. There to this day *^the friend" is to be seen 
 walking the street with solemn step, the representative of 
 a race of men simple in their manners, charitable in their 
 deeds, reverential towards God, and sensitive a^ to 
 insidious temptations from the world. They are a noble 
 race— raised up by Providence as a protest against civil 
 and religious corruption — an austere class of men living 
 apart from their fellows, because they had a conscience, 
 and would not be ruled by king or faction in matters 
 pertaining to the soul. 
 
 This nation we thus see was founded in Christianity. 
 What has been its history? A certain class of Historians 
 and Philosophers behold in it nothing but the history of 
 political faction. And certainly there is much truth in 
 the observation. But if political faction is to be brought 
 as an objection to the Christian character of a nation, then 
 what people under the sun can be Christian ? What is 
 the history of Great Britain but that of faction, strife, 
 of political and religious creed ? What is the history of 
 France but the alternations of despotism and democracy ? 
 The truth is that all society is very imperfect, only 
 reaching lofty ideals through failure. But at the same 
 time there may be along side the history of revolution, 
 of corruption, and of immorality, that of progress in all 
 that refines and elevates man. Blots on the body cor- 
 porate of the nation do not disprove that it is essentially 
 Christian. Christianity has never given a people absolute 
 
OUR GLORIOUS FOURTH. 183 
 
 perfection, but only the conditions that are necessary to 
 the attainment of perfection. And hence while the history 
 of the United States has been one of party — showing a 
 constant friction between opposing factions, and ever 
 revealing an awful depth of moral and political corruption, 
 yet it is the history of Christian progress. The life of 
 the Church has kept pace with that of the people. At no 
 period can we say that the nation dethroned God, and 
 set up the abstractions of reason in His place. Protest- 
 antism in this Country found new fields for her energy 
 and enterprise, and freed from the forms, the prejudices, 
 and denominational strifes and jealousies of the old 
 countries, her progress has been one of triumph and 
 success. The soil of America was congenial to Protest- 
 ant truth, and there without depending upon the smiles 
 and favor of the great, or fearing the persecution of her 
 foes, this truth took deep root, and during an eventful 
 history, has ever been sending out strong and mighty 
 branches laden with rich and precious fruits. It is true 
 the Church has not been one, and like the Church in 
 Britain and every protestant country, has been divided 
 into different sects. But this we regard as an evidence 
 not of weakness, but of the way in which Christianity has 
 adapted herself to the various tastes and constitutions of 
 men, and resulting largely from all peoples and sects com- 
 ing to these shores. In other countries denominations 
 have grown out of persecutions, and corruptions. But 
 in this country they have rather been the forms of growth 
 in which spiritual life has manifested itself. We rejoice 
 
1 84 OUR GL OR 10 US FO UR TH. 
 
 in the triumphs of all the Churches other than our own. 
 We are glad to witness in the Methodists an army of 
 valiant soldiers, who with spiritual songs gird themselves 
 for the battle of life. It is no sign of weakness in 
 Christianity to see the Episcopalian Church ministering 
 to large numbers who might not find the Presbyterian 
 congenial and edifying. We rejoice to behold the 
 advances made by Baptists, and all the sects who 
 hold by the cross of Christ. We are not unmindful, 
 too, that Churches which we may not regard as sound 
 in doctrine, are found not retarding, but advancing 
 the Christian cause. All these Churches have been 
 growing silently and steadily during the years gone 
 by. They have been spreading themselves over the 
 length and breadth of the land. They have been saturat- 
 ing the nation with Gospel truth and Gospel influences. 
 While thus speaking warmly of the work accomplished by 
 sister Churches, we may well be pardoned if we say a 
 word of the wonderful progress of the Congregational, 
 and more especially of the Presbyterian Churches. There 
 is not a city in the land, but where they are represented 
 by beautiful buildings and large congregations. There 
 is scarcely a village or hamlet but what has its humble 
 Church, and its flock of Christian men and women. We 
 look to Scotland not merely as a Presbyterian but as a 
 Christian nation, and yet the Presbyterian Church of 
 America alone has more churches and pastors than all the 
 denominations in Scotland put together. We say it not 
 in pride or boasting. We remember with delight the glo- 
 
UR GLORIO US FO UR TH. 185 
 
 rious work accomplished by the Presbyterians of Ireland 
 and of Scotland. We love to think of hfer noble army of 
 martyrs, who have suffered and died to preserve their 
 sacred rights and privileges. We speak with reverence 
 of their great preachers, giants in Isreal, who have de- 
 clared with power the whole counsels of God, who have 
 not been afraid to call Jesus Christ their Master and 
 Lord, and preach His salvation to a dying world. But we 
 also rejoice that the off-spring of the Presbyterian Church 
 of the mother countries has not been weak of body and 
 puny of mind, but that she is now a giantess of comely 
 proportions, and is doing in every part of the land 
 valiant work for the Master. 
 
 This nation has thus been Christian in her history. 
 Has she only been Christian in name ? is the grand 
 question which meets us here. It may be said of a people 
 as it was said of the Church of Sardis, **Thou hast a 
 name that thou livest, and art dead." As a person may be 
 Christian in everything but the reality — in parentage, in 
 baptism, in knowledge ; so we as a nation may point 
 with pride to our Christian progenitors, to our Churches, 
 and Bibles and Sacraments, and yet be far from Christian 
 at heart. In the outward sense we are without doubt a 
 Christian country. We acknowledge Christ. We prize 
 the Bible. We believe in immortality, in Heaven, and 
 also in Hell — one would say from the constant use of the 
 word by profane swearers — ; yet who will say that we are a 
 Christian people in the sense of loving God universally, 
 and living according to his laws? How many thousands in 
 
1 86 OUR GLORIOUS FOURTH. 
 
 our midst are the sworn enemies of religion — of law and 
 order? In one part of the country we see the great blotch of 
 polygamy, in another the dark spot of political corruption. 
 The vice of intemperance like a cancerous disease has its 
 roots in the heart of the people, and its ramifying branches 
 all over the body corporate. Dishonesty in trade is 
 known to exist on all hands. There is — we hope it is 
 passing away — an open, professed admiration of clever 
 scoundrels. All this, and much more than can now be 
 named, would almost lead us to conclude that our 
 Christianity is a sham and reproach. And yet it would be 
 most unfair to reason in this way. It would be as unjust 
 as to conclude that the Continent of America is a barren 
 and miserable land, because here the bare rock rises to the 
 surface, and there lies the marshy waste. Notwithstanding 
 rocks and marshes innumerable, we know that this Country 
 is the most productive on the globe, that here with the 
 soil we have we could raise food sufficient for the 
 inhabitants of the World. And so too in spite of the 
 crimes and vices that are as scars and sores on the body 
 of the nation, we are a Christian people in the true sense. 
 God has not left himself without witness amongst us. 
 There are ever the 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to 
 Baal. A deep sense of right moves the heart of the 
 people. One of the most healthy signs of the Times is a 
 Nation's righteous indignation. Woe be to that land so 
 sunken in idolatry and crime that it has no heart left. 
 There the wicked may rule without let or hindrance. But 
 woe be to the wicked when their conduct rouses a nation's 
 
UR GL ORIO US FO UR Til. 187 
 
 wrath. Who can resist the national sense of right? There 
 comes a moment in the history of a people, that is sound 
 at heart, when it rises as one man to wipe out its disgraces. 
 Then it is felt to be true that the voice of the people is 
 the voice of God. We seem now to be approaching such 
 a moment, and, in the fact that there is a«deep sense of 
 right, we perceive an evidence that we are a Christian 
 people. Our religious observances show the same thing. 
 The Bible is held in reverence by the nation. It has 
 inspired our laws. It has moulded our thoughts. It is 
 the leaven of our Literature. It is the Book on which we 
 imprint our lips as we swear to tell the truth, the whole 
 truth and nothing but the truth. Its poetry we employ 
 for praise. It is the companion of our solitude. It is our 
 friend in affliction. Neglected as it may be in the midst 
 of our active life, how widely is it prized in the hour of 
 affliction and death ! And what shall we say of the 
 observance of the Lord's day' True and sad to tell, it is 
 trampled under foot in the most shameless manner, 
 nowhere more than in the city where we dwell. But why 
 have we one day in seven for rest ? Answer that, you who 
 are clamoring for its repeal. Answer me, you who will 
 not guard the day with restrictions Answer me, all ye 
 who spend it in dancing, drinking, gambling, and the 
 thousand other devil-inspired modes of. its observance? 
 Do we owe it to political influence ? Do we owe it to the 
 superior wisdom of men ? Nay, it is God's day — and we 
 have this day for rest, because the Christian people have 
 cherished it and remembered to keep it holy. It is 
 
1 88 OUR GLORIO US FO UR TH. 
 
 wonderful when we think of it that notwithstanding the 
 wickedness which prevails within our borders, the Sabbath 
 is observed in every State, and by millions of our 
 population; that it is prized not only for its rest from 
 labor, but also for its spiritual privileges; and that it 
 is employed so extensively for training the young and 
 rising generation in the knowledge and service of God. 
 With our American Sabbath as it is, can we be said not to 
 be a Christian nation? Nor would we forget our 
 Thanksgiving observance-a day truly used by many for evil 
 purposes, but a day hallowed in the hearts of the people — 
 a day handed down to us from the Pilgrim fathers — a 
 day for remembering God with praise for the bounties with 
 which He has crowned the year. And in recounting the 
 evidence that shows we are a Christian nation, I am not 
 unmindful of our educational and charitable institutions 
 — of our Homes for orphans, our Resting Places for 
 wayfarers, our Asylums for the afflicted and the aged. 
 *' Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord" — whose 
 God inspires it with brotherly love. And what shall we 
 say of the Charity which has so frequently stretched out 
 its arms to the untold numbers suffering from famine, 
 fire, and pestilence. True the nations have again and 
 again sent offerings for the relief of poor and starving ones. 
 Yes ,the world, by our Chicago, Boston, St. John fires and 
 on account of devastations by storm and drought, has been 
 moved by an electric sympathy towards these towns and 
 territories in their waste and ruin. Yes, thanks to God 
 Almighty for such grand out-bursts of heart ! But how 
 
UR GL ORIO US FO UR TH. 1 89 
 
 describe the benevolence prompting our own people 
 everywhere to sublime sacrifices of money, of property 
 and in actual service. Where such charity or rather 
 love reigns Christianity is not dead. It is not even 
 asleep. America has also been a Missionary nation. 
 From all our Churches ministers have gone forth to win 
 souls to Christ. They have scattered the Bible and its 
 magnificent literature throughout all lands. With the 
 national Standard — with the Stars and Stripes — they have 
 not failed to plant the banner of the Cross — everywhere — 
 amid Lapland snows as well as the most favored and 
 cultivated spots of the earth. 
 
 My brethren, we all love the glorious Fourth. While 
 warning against the careless use of fire and against mere 
 frolic, yet we feel as boys and girls when the Day 
 comes round. We go in for a good time. We love to 
 spend the day with the children. It is our delight^to 
 fire crackers, to send rockets into the skies, to have a 
 jolly time around the family board, with friends dropping 
 in without ceremony. It is a day for right royal welcome 
 to the best we have. The National flag floating every- 
 where in the breeze rouses the patriotic spirit within our 
 breasts. God forbid we should ever have another war, 
 either amongst ourselves, or with other people. But 
 every time the Fourth comes it rouses the National 
 enthusiasm and makes us rise to heroic feelings the 
 moment an enemy stepping upon our shores is spoken of. 
 Who would not sacrifice life and limb to protect our soil, 
 our homes, every shred of our civilization? What an army 
 
igo OUR GLORIOUS FOURTH. 
 
 of dear young people who love their country well and 
 would not grudge to give their lives at any moment to 
 save her honor. Think of these Christian Endeavorers 
 gathered in Boston — of their spirit, of their pluck. Think 
 of "the New Woman" brave and Godly as seen in these hosts 
 of blooming beautiful girls ! Think what war would 
 mean with these young, pure, courageous hearts enthused 
 with words like these, **Am I a Soldier of the Cross ?" 
 ^' All hail the power of Jesus name ? " '' My faith looks 
 up to Thee." Their march forward would be the tread 
 of faith. Their fighting would be done with the Sword 
 of the Spirit. Their feet would be shod with the gospel of 
 peace. Yes, let righteous war come and we feel the bone 
 and sinew are ready. Courageous hearts would be up and 
 domg. But we are rather thinking of Spiritual war and 
 strife. ** Righteousness exalteth a nation." Let the 
 American people look their dangers in the face. Let 
 them think of temptation in the light of the prodigious 
 v^ealth God has given them. Let them remember our 
 warfare with Satan and sin must lie in the line of Church 
 and Sunday School work. May we ever be brave to do 
 our work — to look duty in the face — to go forward with 
 one thought of honoring King Jesus and thus securing 
 lasting benefits for our beloved land. 
 
My native Country, thee 
 Land of the noble free, 
 
 Thy name I love ; 
 I love thy rocks and rills, 
 Thy woods and templed hills, 
 My heart with rapture thrills. 
 
 Like that above. 
 
 Let music swell the breeze, 
 And ring from all the trees 
 
 Sweet freedom's song ; 
 Let mortal tongues awake. 
 Let all that breathe partake. 
 Let rocks their silence break, 
 
 The sound prolong. 
 
 Our fathers' God, to Thee, 
 Author of liberty, 
 
 To Thee we sing ; 
 Long may our land be bright, 
 With freedom's holy light, 
 Protect us by Thy might, 
 
 Great God, our King ! 
 
Rest for the toiling hand, 
 Rest for the anxious brow, 
 
 Rest for the weary, way-sore feet, 
 Rest from all labor now. 
 
SATURDAY HALF HOLIDAY. 
 SERMON XHL 
 
 And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath 
 drew on. — LUKE xxiii. 54. 
 
 This verse relates an interesting incident. The 
 day on which the crucifixion of Christ took place 
 was that immediately preceding the Sabbath. It was 
 Friday. The Jews held this as a time of preparation 
 for the Sabbath. This custom had been handed down 
 from antiquity. Jehovah so hallowed the day of rest 
 and worship that, when the Children of Israel were 
 miraculously fed with manna in the wilderness, they were 
 commanded and enabled to gather a double portion on 
 the preceding day, to have sufficient to carry them over 
 the Sabbath. As the Passover took place in the year of 
 the death of Messiah on the day preceding the Sabbath, 
 there were on this account special duties to be perform- 
 ed, making the preparation of more than ordinary 
 importance. We conjecture that, besides doing what 
 was requisite for the due observance of the Sabbath, the 
 Jews prepared their victuals, and attended to everything 
 necessary to enable them to observe the Seventh Day 
 without labor or interruption. This was evidently a 
 
194 SA TURD A V HALF HO LI DA Y. 
 
 wise and necessary provision; else many of the things 
 required to be done on the Friday, to secure the proper 
 remembrance of the Sabbath, must needs be transferred 
 to the Sacred Day itself, and thus sadly mar its religious 
 exercises. . 
 
 Having discussed elsewhere the question of the 
 change of the weekly period of rest and worship from 
 the seventh to the first day, we at once see it to be 
 expedient and proper for us to devote the spare time at 
 our command, on the day preceding the Lord's day, in 
 attending to a variety of duties and thus make sure of 
 our Sabbath being unaccompanied with toil and care. 
 This would imply the vast multitude of workers being 
 set free from" labor on Saturday at an early hour. Were 
 we to realize the particular ends for which the one day 
 in seven is given, it would be felt by us to be of para- 
 mount importance to do everything in our power to make 
 it a period of repose and give due heed to that public 
 worship which is enjoined. It may seem to be impracti- 
 cable, finding it hard as it is to set apart twen4:y-four 
 hours in the week, to make further demands upon the 
 time of the workers. To enjoy, however, the ideal 
 Sabbath it would be necessary to have a part of Saturday 
 to ourselves. For one thing much could be done to 
 save work on Sunday. We could provide our food, have 
 wood and coal at hand to light the fire, and a good deal 
 might be done to reduce cooking to as small an item as 
 possible. Requisite purchases, might be made so as 
 not to infringe unduly upon the time of stores. "The 
 
SA TURD A V HALF HO LI DA V. 195 
 
 Cottar's Saturday Night" is one of the best productions 
 of Robert Burns, not merely because of the beauty of 
 its expression, but for the reason that it describes a 
 reality. The work of the week is done, and nothing 
 except what is required is left for the morrow. The 
 cows have been milked. All the animals are fed. The 
 cheerful supper is spread. The farmer — proud man — 
 takes his accustomed seat. His wife has tinished her 
 task of cooking. The table is all laid. Around the 
 board there are the children, ranging from young 
 womanhood down to the lads and lassies in or not yet 
 in their teens. There is — I am certain — the bright babe 
 on the mother's lap. A young lad is noticed there, 
 whose big and bashful glances towards the modest 
 daughter, utter volumes of meaning in regard to her 
 future career. The father reverently bows his head — 
 all doing likewise — while he utters heartfelt gratitude 
 to the Heavenly Father for granting him and his so 
 much store, and blessing them with the food spread on 
 their board. The meal is, amidst much fun and laughter, 
 brought to a close. But all is not ended yet. For the 
 husbandman, the priest of his family as every father 
 ought to be, brings out the big Ha' (hall) Bible and 
 after chanting the praise of God, 
 
 " He wails a portion with judicious care. " 
 
 The passage chosen is one concerning some of the heroes 
 of Scripture. He reads it solemnly. His manner is that 
 of reverence. Then they all bend their knees, and the 
 
196 SA TURD A Y HALF HO LI DA Y. 
 
 priest-like father pours out his soul in earnest prayer to 
 the Almighty. That prayer is couched in no false 
 words. It is genuine as the air, pure as the crystal fount,, 
 true as gold. When they have risen, what a sweet pathos 
 is seen in their well contented happy faces! The young 
 lad, scarcely looking to the lassie before them all 
 yet heartily made welcome, bids them good bye; but as 
 a sort of accident is followed by the maiden coy, and 
 doubtless something passes betwem them as pledge of 
 mutual love. No wonder the poet exclaims, 
 
 " From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs. 
 That makes her loved at home, revered abroad. 
 
 Princes and lords are but the breath of kings, 
 An honest man's the noblest work of God.'' 
 
 They retire early, and oh how deep the repose of that 
 family — uninterrupted save by the dream of being in 
 church and awaking its echoes with melodious praise*^ 
 We could describe many a scene similar to this taking 
 place in our cities too. In the course of my ministry I 
 have known many an artisan whose one thought, after 
 faithful attention to work, was of his family. There is 
 the house in the crowded tenement — it may be — neat, 
 tidy — a palace indeed to him and his. It is the custom 
 of the employers whom he serves to let their men go 
 free at two in the afternoon. He walks home, and on 
 the way his eye falls upon a top with string and he buys 
 it for little Johnnie, with other things in the line of food 
 and clothing he brings with him. He is received with 
 
SA TURDA Y HALF HOLIDA Y. 197 
 
 loving kiss, not only from his young and lovely wife, but 
 from the circle round. The purchases for the morrow 
 are made at an early hour. Then comes the family 
 meal. He may not be rich, but there is wealth of love 
 on that table. What merriment as the wife hands round 
 dainties made by her skillful hands! Then what a night 
 is that of Saturday in a proper working-man's home! 
 There is nothing but fun with the children till sleep 
 gently closes their eye-lids. The father is employed in 
 some task — elaborating an invention of his ow^n. How 
 he deftly deals blow on blow upon the iron! How 
 patiently he works out his thought! And all the time 
 the mother is carefully ironing tiny clothes, and sewing 
 garments, and scrubbing floor, and shining stove, and 
 thinking of the calm of the morrow. When they too 
 close the day with worship, have they not made fitting 
 preparation for the Lord's day and for Church and 
 Sunday School? Yes! indeed, it is beautiful. 
 
 But I am thinking at this moment of another scene 
 witnessed by me. Called on Saturday night to a home 
 made sad by sickness, I spent some time with them, and 
 as it was drawing near mid-night my thought was to 
 gather them around me for prayer. But where was the 
 the head of the house ? Not yet returned. How could 
 that be ? Oh, his wife replied, " He works in a dry-good's 
 store and it does not close till midnight, or even later. " 
 And where is Tom ? I ask, '*He is with a grocer who 
 keeps open as long as he can. Tommie never gets home 
 till one in the morning." '*0h, how sorry I am for him!" 
 
iqS sa turd a y half ho lid a y. 
 
 I cry in distress, "but where is Jeannie, ?" "Oh! you 
 know, Jeannie, is a dressmaker, and she is sewing hard 
 in the other room to have a e;own ready in the morning 
 for a grand lady who must have it for Church. " "Why 
 is it possible, " I ask, "that the lady you refer to would 
 keep your young daughter slaving at this rate?" There 
 they are, these suffering ones. For them no half holiday, 
 not even "letting up" at ten o'clock! But they must toily 
 TOIL, TOIL, making two days really of Saturday. And 
 when one thinks it is not much better with the rest of 
 the week, the wonder is how that sterling man heading 
 his fam ly can be in his pew so punctually every Lord's 
 day. His absence would create alarm in me. And yet 
 these are two or three individuals taken at random out of 
 the laboring millions, for whom there is no refreshing 
 holiday, for whom there is not a ray of light, or the least 
 cheer. But it is work^ work, WORK, not only all day 
 long on Saturday, but through the week — life is nothing 
 but slavery. There is something fearful in the thought — 
 the difference between the wealthy and leisurely, whose 
 time is their own, rolling in their splendid equipages, 
 seated in their divan chairs or luxurious sofas, their walls 
 dazzling with pictures, and rooms filled with costly 
 ornaments, their floors luxurious with rich carpets. What 
 beds to lie in ! What meals to partake of 1 ! What clothes 
 to wear ! ! ! And turn down another street a little farther 
 east or west, and can it be ? These tenement houses 
 crushed and crammed! They are built tier on tier up into 
 the skies. There are houses to the rear — a crowd of 
 
SA TURD A Y HALF HOLIDA K. 199 
 
 suffering humanity. Here are toilers indeed — the mass 
 coming to these squalid houses later and later as the week 
 goes on, until the end of the week when it is a sad, long 
 unbroken day — a day of toil and anguish. And think of 
 the fevers, pestilences, whooping-coughs, measles, going 
 on all the time. No wonder that floor is dirty, that 
 room filthy, the walls black and slimy. There is no half 
 holiday for them. In such places there is no thought of 
 Sabbath. Not one in 10,000 goes to church. The Sunday 
 comes, and then there is the debauch continued from 
 Saturday night. Crowds flock from such misery to steam- 
 boats and railroads on Sunday. The taverns are doing their 
 biggest business. There is nothing but wretchedness and 
 despair. What of the children — dirty, ragged, bare-footed 
 even in winter? How can we get such people to Church? 
 How have these young ones to Sunday School ? No. In 
 the wretched round of labor, and drunkenness, and sickness, 
 the thing is almost impossible. 
 
 Now, let us say here we go in heartily for a Saturday 
 half-holiday being well established in behalf of all these 
 classes. With regard to the mass of laboring men and 
 women there is many a problem to be solved before this 
 ideal can be reached. How to attack the fort of darkness 
 and sin is the question. We feel that much good to this 
 end could be done were all thoughtful men and women 
 giving themselves to the task of alleviating the suffering 
 condition of the masses. The work must begin with an 
 attempt to regulate the house-accommodations of the 
 people. It is obvious that the multitude are too closely 
 
200 SA TURD A Y HALF HO LI DA V. 
 
 huddled together. They have to be scattered in some 
 way. Houses not overcrowded would be one important 
 step gained. Then there should be some way of educating 
 the people. Not only must the air and light and water be 
 let into these congested tenements, but there must be a 
 path opened for them to acquire knowledge of themselves, 
 of the laws of nature, of what will contribute to mental 
 and moral improvement. We do not believe much can 
 be done without religion being taught and impressed upon 
 them. How to reach this is the difficulty before us. What 
 could be done in restraining intemperance, the certain 
 cause of so much harm? What could be accomplished by 
 missionaries being sent in their midst to instruct, to turn 
 away the obstacles of ignorance, prejudice and evil habits? 
 What might now be gained by well equipped nurses going 
 to hovels where sickness, poverty and wretchedness 
 abound? What might result from our noble women taking 
 in hand the task of giving friendly aid to the needy? How 
 to get the children and young men and women to Sunday 
 School? How to bring these crowds under the influences 
 of the Gospel? All these and many others are matters 
 demanding earnest study on the part of true patriots. 
 The policy of letting well — or rather ill — alone has been 
 too long followed. There must be inroads by Christian 
 agencies upon such dens. The line of separation between 
 the Churches and people must be done away with. If 
 Christians could be set to work, not to talk, but to do 
 something in the way of genuine, discriminating benevo- 
 lence, we might begin to feel some confidence as to the 
 
SA TURD A Y HALF HO LI DA V. aoi 
 
 removal of obstacles in the way. For one thing, it is 
 certain that the masses must be taken hold of, improved, 
 encouraged, elevated. They must be lifted up to the 
 point of doing for themselves. Meanwhile, granted that 
 a Saturday half-holiday for the mass of toilers is far from 
 reached, yet could there not be something done to 
 shorten hours of labor? To cease work at nine or even 
 ten o'clock would be felt to be a great result. No matter 
 how little the relief at first, there would be something 
 gained. It is evident the evil piesses upon us now. Clear 
 it is that it is growing as the years pass. It must be 
 manifest that the chronic condition of the poor is 
 becoming more intense. There is danger to society itself 
 from all this. We know not when the hidden fires will 
 burst into flames. The terrible pressure has to be 
 lessened, or there will be eruptions from which we all 
 must suffer. For our part there is the evil. It must be 
 dealt with. If not, we are in danger of going back to a 
 state worse than any we have on record. There is the 
 awful thought pressing upon us that the time is coming — 
 if it has not yet appeared — when we must sink back in 
 despair from the task of reform, and let the mischief 
 magnify itself beyond relief or remedy. There are 
 questions underlying which ought to receive attention 
 from our municipal governments, from our State legisla- 
 tures, from Congress! 
 
 With regard to the large class of skilled workers the 
 remedy against prolonged toil is in their own hands — 
 aided by public sentiment, by philanthropists, by the 
 
202 SA TURD A V HALF HOLIDA V. 
 
 press. How much indeed has been gained in the past, 
 till now in many fields of work, the Saturday half-holiday 
 has become an accomplished fact. Many businesses, 
 particularly wholesale, have greatly shortened their 
 hours. Law offices and banks close early on Saturday. 
 In Great Britian this matter has long since taken positive 
 shape. The period of work during the week is curtailed. 
 The half-holiday on Saturday is largely secured. We are far 
 from having — strictly speaking — the half-holiday. Many 
 who are enjoying a respite have still to labor far in the 
 afternoon. We want to see the working-classes free 
 from their tasks at an early hour. 
 
 Were this universal, what a time there would be for 
 recreation! In the summer, well regulated excursions 
 both on water and land could be enjoyed. There would 
 be freedom to engage in many of our popular games — 
 base ball, tennis, croquet, and all the re>t. Now that the 
 bicycle has come to stay, what nice, pleasant journeys 
 could be had to distant places — imparting the glow of 
 health to the cheek of youth, giving muscular strength 
 to the man and woman escaped from work. Our children 
 have such leisure in abundance, but what delightful 
 recreation their parents might have in their company! 
 In winter there might be out-door sport on the ice — 
 skaters meteor-like glancing along the frozen surfaces of 
 rivers and lakes — curlers shooting their stones with 
 unerring eye towards the goal. What opportunity for 
 repairing to the public library which should be open for 
 the purpose, to the reading-room, or to the quiet nook 
 
SA TURD A Y HALF HO LID A Y. 205 
 
 at home where the treasures of literature can be readi 
 The ways and methods of genuine enjoyment cannot be 
 numbered. And our workers would be all the better for 
 it at their tasks. We do not believe business would 
 suffer, but rather the reverse. The experiment on a large 
 scale is certainly worth while trying. 
 
 And, then, we would have the desired result. The 
 Sabbath observed as it is set before us in the Bible — the 
 Lord's day not a holiday, but a holy day for worship and 
 instruction — the Sabbath School not doing limited work 
 as at present, but becoming a national institution. There 
 would be time for friendly intercourse. The country 
 would be at its best. We are so attracted to this side of 
 the matter, that we shudder at what we read in our 
 papers — of steamboats, of railways, of saloons crowded. 
 What is to be our gain from turning the sacred day into 
 one of pleasure, we fail to see. It is secularizmg the 
 Lord's day. It is turning it away from its purpose — 
 from the design God had in appointing it. What does 
 this bicycle-mania in God's hours signify? Do we 
 imagine we can retain the day in its integrity and thus 
 turn it to glaring enjoyment? No, Let us keep to the 
 good old ways which our fathers trod, and seek rest from 
 toil, and repair to God's House for refreshment, and we 
 have taken a step in advance towards reaching a high 
 point of civilization. 
 
*' Thy mercy heard my infant prayer, 
 Thy love, with all a mother's care, 
 
 Sustained my childish days ; 
 Thy goodness watched my ripening youth, 
 And formed my heart to love thy truth, 
 
 And filled my lips with praise." 
 
LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE. 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 / have learned by experiehce . — GEN. xxx, 27. 
 
 There is nothing more obvious than the actual difference 
 between the knowledge gained by learning, and the 
 knowledge resulting from experience. Laban may have 
 known a good deal concerning the blessing of the Lord^ 
 but was this knowledge worth anything until he was made 
 to see and feel what it was to be blessed of God for the 
 sake of Jacob his guest? We find in regard to all matters 
 of interest that there are two sorts of knowledge — the one 
 acquired from study, the other from experience. It is felt 
 at once that the first is speculative, it lies in the mind, and 
 is difficult of application. The second arises from turning 
 science into art. I may have profound wisdom regarding 
 engineering, be able to draw the bridge or machine on 
 paper, be deeply read in regard to the principles concerned, 
 but only a child in the matter of spanning the river as a 
 high-way of travel. I may understand all about the con- 
 struction of an engine, and yet be unable to plan, and 
 make the parts, and join them as one. What more obvious 
 than the information we may acquire at college in reference 
 to chemistry, and our inability to analyze substances and 
 
2o6 LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE, 
 
 resolve them into their constituent parts. Is it not equally 
 clear that I may be deeply read about electricity, be able 
 from attainments to admire the mysterious and hidden 
 force, and have wonderful conceptions concerning the 
 lightning that flashes from the clouds, and lays prostrate 
 before it man and beast, or pulverizes huge rocks, or rends 
 the mountain's side ; yet I might not be able to run an 
 electric car, it is impossible for me to control the wonder- 
 ful current so as to light up the palatial building at a 
 thousand points, or to propel the ship at sea. It is a sure 
 thing, the difference between speculative and practical 
 knowledge, the distinction between science and art, the 
 possibility of taking medals and high prizes at college, and 
 yet being verily a child in ordinary, every day business. 
 We are to enquire this morning whether, as regards relig- 
 ion, one may not have learned its science, whether I may 
 not be a profound theologian, acquainted with the Bible, 
 learned in its histories, know the creeds, yet wanting in 
 the knowledge of those things to be gained by actual 
 experience. Is there not a very deep and useful lesson to 
 be taught by such considerations ? 
 
 I. Let me speak, first of all, of what is meant by learn- 
 ing religion by experience. We may have a practical 
 knowledge of Christianity without much or in truth any of 
 that which is gained from the study of books, or listen- 
 ing to the instructions of competent teachers. We may 
 be Christians without being scholars and mastering the 
 Bible, or the Catechism, or the mass of theological works. 
 It is a comfort to know we are really followers of the Lord 
 
LEARNING B V EXPERIENCE. 207 
 
 Jesus. The first thing is our conversion. It may happen 
 we know little of Biblical truth, and Jesus comes to us 
 with one or more of His precious invitations. A single 
 verse like, "He that believeth in me hath eternal life," 
 may suffice to save from sin and death. How often has it 
 occurred that one may be turned from wrath by the singing 
 of a gospel hymn, such as, '* Jesus lover of my soul," or 
 ''Just as I am without one plea." Nay, we may not even 
 have heard so much, but we may have been blessed 
 by listening to the learned words of some preacher; 
 perhaps the sermon treated such a text as, " Abide in me, 
 and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 
 except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye 
 abide in me." The preacher presented before me the 
 original condition in which I was found, and urged with 
 such intensity of purpose the necessity of my connection 
 with Christ, as a branch is joined with the vine, that I 
 have yielded my heart to the Saviour and found peace in 
 Him. It is possible for the Redeemer to place himself so 
 vividly before the sinner, even without writteti word or 
 powerful speech— that He becomes to me the living Christ, 
 the bearer of my sin. What an inspiration it is to- think 
 that a Christian may become such a clear exposition to me 
 of the soul being saved through, faith in the great sacrifice, 
 that I am led to yield my heart to the blessed Son of God! 
 It is possible for a man to be rescued from perishing at 
 the last moment before yielding up his soul, and with but 
 little effective instruction. There is the soldier struck 
 down in battle. His wounds are fatal. He has but a few 
 
2o8 LEARNING B V EXPERIENCE. 
 
 moments to live. But there comes into his soul the 
 memory of a mother's example. He sees her as he was 
 wont in other days bent down in prayer. Some few words- 
 are recalled. Although long since dead, he hears her say^ 
 "I am safe in the arms of Jesus." He knows but little. 
 The name of Jesus comes sweetly to his ear, and all he is 
 able to say is, '* Lord, have mercy on me." From the 
 moment the words pass his lips, he is a Christian. It may 
 be as I remember to have occured in a railroad accident of 
 which I was a witness. There was a man with both legs 
 broken through. The lower part of each limb hung only 
 by a piece of skin. The blood had poured from his body, 
 He was quite conscious, and I remember him to have cried 
 for his mother. Who knows the flood of saving recollection 
 that flowed from his heart ? There are many men and 
 women who have not enjoyed much advantage in the way 
 of Christian instruction, who are not able to read and 
 write, and yet Jesus has come to them by His Spirit. 
 They see Christ the living Saviour. They cry, *' Lord be 
 merciful." In that moment there comes into the soul a 
 deep sense of God's pardoning love. They give their 
 heart to Jesus. They know how to commune with Him. 
 They lean upon their beloved. Their prayer is real. They 
 come to a knowledge of what the Lord can do for them. 
 The offer of salvation is accepted. Henceforth they yield 
 their hearts to the beloved Messiah. They walk with Him. 
 The consciousness arises of Christ being with them. They 
 may not know the contents of the Pentatuch, or the Psalms,, 
 or the Prophets, and yet they know Christ. Nor can tney 
 
LEARN IN G BY EXPERIENCE, 209 
 
 repeat the commandments, yet they are within the blessed 
 arms of the Great Physician. Such may have never heard of 
 any one of the creeds, and yet there is the assurance within 
 their breasts of a loving, pardoning God. It is evident 
 many are lacking spiritual knowledge, and yet they know 
 the Saviour. We may feel assured of there being many 
 persons suffering from want of early training, who never 
 can acquire much information concerning the history and 
 development of God's people, and still their walk and 
 conversation are right. How comforting to feel oneself 
 in the clefts of the great Rock that is higher than we are, 
 though unable to narrate correctly the events recorded 
 by the Evangelists. We have seen many sweet examples 
 of Christians even in childhood. There is something in 
 the young and tender heart responsive to the Christian 
 influences around, and the babe learns to whisper softly 
 the dear Name. Oh how beautiful is religion in the young 
 lad or girl who has not as yet acquired much knowledge of 
 Scripture ! It should stir the heart of every parent to 
 think how greatly he may influence his child to close with 
 Christ's importunate invitations simply by means of his 
 own example. Let your 'household see you are a man or 
 woman of prayer, that you are one who delights in com- 
 munion with God, though you have not had much chance 
 of acquiring the learning of the schools, and you may have 
 reason to shout for joy at beholding the beautiful spectacle 
 of y^ur family coming one and another to Christ long 
 before they could attend to knowledge of books. Is it 
 not an assuring thought to those who make it their business 
 
210 LEARNING B V EXPERIENCE. 
 
 to preach Christ to others — they may succeed in bringing 
 even the drunkard, or profane, or worlding to the Lord, 
 without being able to state in carefully worded proposi- 
 tions what faith in Christ means. They may learn to pray 
 before they can say the Lord's prayer. They may utter 
 praise in crudest manner before any of the hymns are 
 familiar to the mind. Let us then take courage and 
 present Christ in the first instance. Let us think of a man 
 knowing by experience the love of God which passeth all 
 knowledge. Let us remember that a single word may be 
 a revelation, that immediately on hearing the Gospel 
 message, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," a man, aye 
 and his entire household, may be delivered from bondage. 
 IL Let me, secondly, speak a warning not on this 
 account to think meanly of theoretical knowledge. Every- 
 thing has its place. While rejoicing in the assurance of 
 one being saved and learning much by experience without 
 culture, yet there is great advantage in being learned in 
 the Scriptures. It is possible to be a professor of 
 theology and not be a Christian. One might have the 
 Bible by heart and yet not be a follower of Jesus. This 
 is so obviously true we need not dwell on it. But it does 
 not follow there is no good in theological attainments. 
 We should set a child at earliest moment to acquire a 
 fair and useful knowledge of the Bible. Here we have 
 indeed a beautiful science. The Scriptures are simply 
 wonderful in themselves. I do not know a more interesting 
 book. Think of the personages which come before us.. 
 Adam, Abel, Seth, Abraham, Rebekah, Joseph, Moses^ 
 
LEARNING B Y EXPERIENCE. 2 1 i 
 
 Miriam, Joshua, Ruth, David, Solomon, the host of 
 prophets. It is a never failing and ever absorbing story 
 — the revelation of God to his creatures. Remember the 
 countries, the rivers, the lakes, the mountains— in a 
 word, the scenery of the Bible. To how many valuable 
 works has this given rise ! Just recall the endless 
 dictionaries, geographies, histories, which are to be 
 studied in order to acquire a knowledge of the Bible. 
 Away from the saving character of the Scriptures, think 
 of the admirable contents in the shape of interesting 
 human events, incidents most suggestive, providences 
 leading men onwards and upwards. What remarkable 
 literature there is in the word of God I There is nothing 
 outside of it to equal the writings of Moses. What a gem 
 is the book of Ruth ! How instructive the histories of 
 Israel's people, of their journeyings, of their battles ! 
 Can you place before me a more lovely or original, or 
 profound book of poetry than the Psalms ? They are 
 admired in all lands and in every age. Children delight 
 to commit them to memory. Older people learn to see 
 in them jewels of thought, of comparison, of illustration. 
 Is there any work to match the book of Proverbs ? 
 There is not a wrong utterance. The sentences are 
 complete. Every one has some precious gem of truth. 
 How striking are the prophets — one and all, but let me 
 say more especially the minor ones, who are but little 
 read or thought about. Jonah, Joel, Micah, Malachi, — 
 these are excellent reading. Their thoughts are impressive. 
 You can quote from any one of them sparkling gems. 
 
212 LEARNING B V EXPERIENCE. 
 
 The New Testament as a whole is perfect in its human 
 • touches, in a delineation of the lofty Person, in beautiful 
 odes, in deep widsom. As a work of literary value, I am 
 sure, there is nothing to compare with it. But try to 
 conceive the immense libraries to which this old Scripture 
 has given rise — how the Gospel has fired the souls of 
 poets of all centuries till now we have the fullest and 
 rarest collection. Think of the vast tomes of theology. 
 See the miles of volumes in our great libraries on Church 
 history, biography of Christians of the various centuries; 
 consider the endless creeds, catechisms, books of 
 instruction. Such is the knowledge we are to acquire. 
 It is all important in itself. No one can afford to despise 
 it. He shows his ignorance who attempts to do this. 
 What an intellectual loss would it be, if all these books 
 were burned ! Could we possibly make up for the want 
 of them ? No, let us emphasize this aspect of our 
 subject. It is all important. Even infidels have to 
 confess their appreciation of our books of learning and 
 works of art. He is foolish indeed who will deliberately 
 set himself against this view. Let us rather strive to 
 learn all we can. 
 
 III. Let me speak, thirdly, of turning the science of 
 theology into the art of holy living — or how to make 
 Bible doctrine a matter of practical experience. For 
 illustration let me refer to the physician's career. Study 
 of the great principles of bodily life and of the laws of 
 nature becomes in the first place the bounden duty of 
 the student of medicine, and of the physician all through 
 
LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE. 213 
 
 his career. When he has mastered this knowledge he 
 enters upon his second course of learning — making a 
 practical application of what he has gained in the schools. 
 If he is wise and determined to grow to usefulness and 
 honor, this two fold learning will mark his entire course. 
 So it is with the Christian. Before conversion he may 
 have learned much from Bible reading, hearing sermons, 
 or Sabbath School instruction. From the moment of his 
 call by God the value of his scholarship will at once 
 appear and be felt. Let me speak of the doctrine 
 concerning sin. We can see its origin in the fall of man. 
 As we read the Bible we are ever coming into touch with 
 sinners. The burden of iniquity is upon David. He 
 says, '* Blessed is the man whose sin is covered.^' He 
 speaks of **his mother conceiving him in sin." He 
 cries, *' Create in me a clean heart and renew a right 
 spirit within me." According to the book of Proverbs, 
 •*Sin is a reproach to any people." How impressive are 
 the words of Isaiah, "Let the wicked forsake his way, 
 and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return 
 unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ! " 
 Jesus pourtrays the sinner in vivid colors when He speaks 
 of the prodigal as going into a far country and there 
 bestowing his goods upon riotous living. What a picture 
 of human degradation ! The Apostle Paul goes into the 
 subject thoroughly when he shows sin to be reigning in 
 the heart, that a man is dead in sin, that there is fearful 
 condemnation for the wicked. '' The sting of death is 
 sin, and the strength of sin is the law." One cannot read 
 
214 LEARNING B Y EXPERIENCE. 
 
 the Romans without feeling that he is naturally a 
 heinous sinner, for the Apostle asks, ' What fruit had ye 
 then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?" He 
 says, "The wages of sin is death." It is obvious that a 
 person may know this doctrine to perfection. He may 
 be able to set it forth effectively in sermon, or book. And 
 yet he may not feel that sin is warring in his members. 
 When, however, he is made feel himself to be a sinner by 
 the Spirit of God, then the knowledge of the Divine 
 teachings on this subject floods his mind. When he is 
 cast down like Saul of Tarsus, whose knowledge of the 
 Old Testament rose in rebellion against him as he cried 
 for mercy, then the word of God stands up as his 
 reprover. He utters himself in the language of Scripture 
 in all his cries for pardon, in his confessions of guilt, in 
 his petitions for a new heart and a new life. So it is, my 
 brethren, with the correlated doctrine of justification by 
 faith. How beautifully consistent is the word regarding 
 the relationship of the creature to the Creator when he is 
 considered now as made righteous because of his trust in 
 the merits of the Saviour! , One may grasp the subject as 
 presented in the Bible. He may speak fluently concerning 
 the mercy to pardon and the grace to help. He may 
 discourse eloquently upon the righteousness of Christ and 
 utter deep thoughts concerning the sinner as now covered 
 with the Saviour's seamless, spotless, holy robe. But the 
 doctrine is merely clothed in words. He feels not the 
 truth that is in it. He knows nothing of relationship with 
 God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is 
 
LEARNING B V EXPERIENCE. 215 
 
 like a car detached. It is motionless, dead, or, if on the 
 main track, is an obstacle, or it may be a source of danger. 
 But when he becomes attached to God by believing in 
 Christ and feels that his Father is now treating him as a 
 son, he can turn to his store house of Scriptural learning, 
 and pour out his heart in the appropriate utterance, ''Bless 
 the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his 
 holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not 
 all his benefits;" or he can resort to the language of Paul 
 to express himself, "Who hath saved us, and called us with 
 an holy calling, not according to our works, but according 
 to- his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ 
 Jesus before the world began." How clear does the meaning 
 of the Spirit appear when the words of Scripture are now to 
 be illustrated by his own deep feelings! The thought of a 
 man being justified by grace is now understood in the 
 light of experience. He stands redeemed before God. 
 The real difference between him and the man who has 
 only the knowledge of experience is, that the condition of 
 him who knows the doctrine is an illumination of the 
 word of God. And so it is with the precious teachings of 
 the Bible regarding sanciification. Jesus says, ''Howbeit 
 when He the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you 
 into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but what- 
 soever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show 
 you things to come." The Apostle speaks of '' being in 
 Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us sa7ictificatio7i'' 
 He says 2 Thess. ii. 13. "But we are bound to give thanks 
 to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because 
 
2i6 LEARNING B Y EXPERIENCE. 
 
 God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation 
 through sanctification and belief of the truth. " What an 
 important part of the teaching of the New Testament, 
 **even our sanctification!" But it is only like a poem 
 which fills the air with melody as it is read, and yet the 
 hearer fails to catch its meaning. But how precious is this 
 truth when the Spirit dwells in me ! How inspiring to 
 know that I am become holy through my faith in the 
 righteousness of Christ and by the presence and blessing 
 within and upon me of the Divine Spirit ! The Apostle 
 intensely realizes this vital matter when saying, "The 
 Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and preserve 
 me unto his heavenly kingdom; to whom be glory for ever 
 and ever." And in the same degree, though possibly not 
 to the same extent, am I able now to declare myself as 
 set apart by God for a holy purpose, henceforth to give 
 my life in humble service, and to await with confidence my 
 passage into the glories of the skies, or the coming of my 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with great power of 
 illumination. 
 
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