i FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DMsioa 'SCO' Section • * ft ♦ « { EXPORT BOOKSELLERS 32. GAY STREET. /^^dr V /% SHORT SERMONS * NOV 15 1934 * HYMNS FOR CHILDREN. ARRANGED FOR EVERY SUNDAY IN THE YEAR. BY A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat 1 Cor. iii.. 2. " And loved He not of heaven to talk With children in His sight ? To meet them in His daily walk, And to His arms invite." LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS AND CO. PATERNOSTER ROW ; J. MASON, CITY ROAD, AND PATERNOSTER ROW; MOZLEY AND SONS, DERBY; RICHARDSON, CLARE STREET, \M» N LOMAS. CASTLE STREET, BRISTOL. 1837. BRISTOL : PRINTED BY N. LOMAS. ADVERTISEMENT. These sermons were originally addressed to Charity-school children ; but the few passages which apply exclusively to such being omitted, they will be found equally suitable for reading to any other children. It has been found useful in keeping up the attention to direct the children to repeat alter- nately line by line any verse of a hymn which is inserted in the sermons. And when a ques- tion occurs, it is desirable to pause, and try whether they can answer, before continuing to read the sermon. With few and slight alterations, such as a judicious reader will easily make, the sermons may be read to the poor, either at their own a2 11. (not even believe) of ourselves, but that the Holy Spirit, the Third Person in the blessed Trinity, takes of the things that are Christ's, and shews them unto us. These are great mysteries, into which the Holy Angels desire to look, and yet the Providence of God has directed me to tell these things to you. But I am not now going to write you a long letter, children: read the sermons you have heard me read, and you shall learn more of these things. Above all, read your bibles, and O, remember, that every time you read a chapter or a sermon, every time you hear or join in a prayer, leaves one time the less. Soon all time for learning will be ended, and you must give account of all that you have done. Have any of you heard all these sermons ? Some have been present at one time, and some at another. Some attentive at one time, and some at another. You may all read these ser- mons. Some who heard them will never read them in this book; they are gone, and their place knows them no more. Yes, I could shew you the graves of some who sat in the class to 111. hear these sermons read. Children, when we and they stand at the judgment seat of Christ at the last day, O may I see every one of you, and may you see your teacher at the right hand of the Great Judge our Saviour ! " Oh that we at last may stand With the sheep at thy right hand, Take the crown bo freely given, Enter in by Thee to heaven." Now, my dear children, remember the in- structions sent by God to you, through Your affectionate Teacher, L. Emra, St. George's Vicarage. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/shortOOemra SERMONS, &c. SERMON I. "This year thou shalt die." Jeremiah xxviii. 16. My clear children, early on the first Sunday in the year, I heard the bell tolling because some one had died during" the night ; it was a very solemn sound, it told me that the person for whom it was tolling had now no longer any opportunity of loving and serving God on earth. Then I thought, Oh ! that the living might lay it to heart ! Oh ! that the young and the old would pray to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for his sake to forgive them all their sins, and to make them fit for heaven. Then, my dears, I thought of you in particular, and earnestly desired that I might lead you to think more about your souls than you have ever yet done. I mean, if God will enable me, to write a little sermon for you for every Sunday in the year, and I pray to God to help you to attend and to understand. This is my first text. "This year thou shalt die." I will divide the sermon into three parts. A3 6 SERMON I I. I will tell you the history in the bible where we find the words. II. I will remind you that it is possible the text may, in the plainest sense, be true as it concerns you. III. I will express and explain my hope that, in one sense, the words of the text may be true respecting you. First then, I will tell you where we find the words in the bible. You have heard, I think, of the prophet Jeremiah, one of those to whom the Lord gave power to foretell things to come. In his days, there was another prophet, called Hananiah; he was a false prophet, and not one really sent by God, for he opposed and contradicted Jere- miah, and Jeremiah pronounced this sentence against him. — " Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord hath not sent thee, but thou makest this people to trust in a lie ; therefore, thus saith the Lord, Behold I will cast thee from off the face of the earth ; this year thou shalt die, because thou hast iaught rebellion against the Lord." That was a dreadful sin, to teach rebellion against the Lord ; not only to sin against the Lord himself, but to teach others to do the same. But, some time passed away; and perhaps Hananiah began to forget the words, or to wish to forget them ; perhaps he continued in good health, and tried not to think of death and of the grave : — but, my dear children, always remember this; whatever God says, surely comes to pass; and it was God who spoke by the mouth of Jeremiah. The seventh month SERMON f. / came, arid the bible says, " So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month." Hananiah died ; this is all I can tell you, for this is all the word of God tells us: he died and was buried ; but where did his soul go? I cannot tell you, for God has not told me; but you, see God gave him warning and time to repent. You know what repentance is — hating- sin, and turning away from it. If Hananiah repented, and believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, (for those who lived before our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, were saved by believing in him, just as we who live after his coming,) if he believed in Him, all his sins were forgiven him, and he was made fit for heaven. But now think of yourselves, for, Secondly, I am to tell you that the words of the text may be true as it concerns you. I cannot say, this year you shall die ; but this year you may die. Many began the last year in health and strength, as you are now ; but where are they P Some of them beneath the green grass in our churchyard, and some of them lying on the bed of sickness, and perhaps of death. My dears, do you know when your time will come ? Has God told you how long you have to live ? Oh, no : then remember Jesus. He died that you may live. Love him ; believe in him ; and then whether you die this year or the next, or many years to come, you will be safe. Thirdly, I must express and explain a hope that you will die this year : that is, I must tell vou that f hope you will die this year, and [ a 4 8 SERMON I. must tell you ivhy I hope it : and now you are astonished, and look one at another wondering- what I mean. My dears, you cannot think that T really wish that you should die this year ; that your cheeks should lose the rosy colour which God's own hand has put upon them ; that your eyes should be dim and closed in death ; that your friends should come and lay sweet flowers on you in your little coffins, and then close your coffins, and carry them away, and sink them deep in the cold earth, and cover the green turf over them ; and then go away to miss you, and to mourn and weep. Do I wish such trouble and affliction to your parents and friends ? God forbid ! All this must be some time or other, but if it please Him, not yet. If it be his blessed will, may you live this and many years to comfort and help your parents, to behave as Christians ought, to adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things, till you come to your grave in a full age like as a shock of corn cometh in its season. But have you never heard of being dead unto sin, and alive unto righteousness. Have you never heard of the Apostle Paul saying, "I am crucified with Christ." This is what I want for you. I wish you to die unto sin. I wish the sin that is in you by nature to be conquered by the grace of God, so that you may reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. And then I wish you to be alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so that whether your bodies live or die, your souls may be the Lords. SERMON II. Lord, make us dead to every sin That we have loved before ; O give us heavenly life within, And glory evermore. And should we die this very year, Then be our sins forgiven ; May we but find that Thou art near, Death changes earth for heaven. SERMON II. " Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." — James iv. 10. Here, my dear children, are two things to be considered. I. A command. IT. A promise. Consider first the command," Humble vour- selves in the sight of the Lord." Others besides God may tell you to be hum- ble, to be patient, to be diligent, or in any other way, to behave as becomes a Christian ; but they can only tell you what you ought to be, they cannot make you do the things you ought : they cannot give you the Christian tempers you ought to show. But my dear children, if God commands you, it is like giving you a gracious permission to do what he would have you. When he says, u Be v a. 5 !0 SERMON II. holy, for I am holy :" " Be ye kind one to another:" " Be ye perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect:" " Humble yourselves ;" he is offering you the grace by which you may obey all these commands. You cannot do these things of yourselves, but you can do all things through Christ who strengthened you. Now say this verse, " The law commands, and makes us know What duties to our God we owe ; But 'tis the Gospel must reveal Where lies our strength to do his will." Yes, the gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, tells you you must come to Jesus, by humble faith and prayer, for his grace and strength. Now, how many reasons there are why you should be humble; I mean, why you should have lowly thoughts of yourselves, and have a meek and quiet spirit. You know you are helpless and sinful creatures. You have no merit to recommend you to God. You have no strength of your own. You depend on God for every thing. You are ignorant; here you are to-day, but where you will be to-morrow, you know not. O my dear children, what have such creatures as we are to do with pride ? Above all other thoughts suited to make you humble is the thought of Jesus. Being in the form of God, and equal with God, he laid aside all his glory. He came down from heaven, where the blessed angels were praising him with their golden harps and their songs of SERMON II. 11 rejoicing, and he took the form of a servant : he humbled himself to death, even the death of the cross. Surely this ought to make us hum- ble. Now observe particularly the words, " In the sight of the Lord." In the sight of your fellow creatures you often humble yourselves ; when- ever you kneel down to pray, whenever you confess with your lips that you are sinners, and say, " We have offended against thy holy laws ; we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us; " I say, whenever you repeat these and such words with your lips, you humble yourselves in the sight of men ; but God only knows when you humble yourselves in his sight. Your hearts must be humbled, and you must confess your sins with your hearts as well as with your lips. O pray to him then to make you humble, to help you to learn of Jesus, for he is meek and lowly in heart. II. Here is a promise in the text — and a beautiful promise it is. Let us consider it. " He shall lift you up ; " this is a great thing — to be lifted up by God ; to be lifted up from the sin and misery in which we are by nature, and to be raised up to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. See, the promise follows the command. . If you humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, then, and not else, " He will lift you up." " He will lift you up " from sin. By nature we are dead in trespasses and sins; this shows 12 SERMON II. that we are sunk very low ; but when we be- lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are lifted up, raised from the depth of sin ; for as the psalmist says, he takes us up out of the horrible pit, out of the mire and clay, and sets our feet upon a rock, and orders our goings. Then, children, he will also " lift you up " from sorrow : you have read and heard that " Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly up- ward." You have seen the sparks of fire going upward ; as surely as they fly upward, so surely you and all your fellow-creatures are born to trouble. But is there no way to escape troubles ? No ! there is no way to escape them ; but there is a way to find them work for good to us, and that is much better. Learn to east all your care upon God, who cares for you, and " He will lift you up " when you are sunk low in troubles and difficulties ; he will lift you up, and put gladness into your hearts. Again — and attend to this, for it is the best news I can give you. " He will lift you up " from earth to heaven. If you humble your- selves before him, feeling that you are helpless and unworthy, then, he will, for the sake of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, lift your souls up to his holy heaven when you die ; and at the last, your bodies too, shall be lifted up, raised from the dust of death, and joined again to your souls. And O, when lifted up to his holy heaven, clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and exalted for his sake, how humble shall we be then ! Yes ! " in the sight of the Lord," in the immediate presence of our God SERMON III. 13 in heaven, we shall indeed feel what we say- when we declare " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake." Lord ! not ours but thine the glory, If in yonder world of light, We declare redemption's story Clothed in raiment pure and white. Thou, who once our nature wearing, Hadst on earth a servant's name, Who the cross of anguish bearing, Didst endure the sinner's shame ; Lift us from the sin and sadness Since the fall, man's earthly lot ; Till we reach thy heaven of gladness, Blessed Saviour, leave us not ! SERMON III. " Come, ye children, hearken unto me ; i will teach you the fear of the lord." — Psalm xxxiv. 11. T shall divide this sermon into three parts : attend to them, my dear children, and try to remember them. I. There is an invitation. II. Something is required of you. III. A promise is made you. First. An invitation is given you. " Come, ye children :" and you, I see, have accepted the invitation ; you were desired to come, and 14 SERMON III. you have come; whereas many of your com- panions who ought to be here with you, are absent. Why have they not come as well as you ? We know they would give many rea- sons, and try to make many excuses; but in- stead of blaming them, remember, my dear children, you have often carelessly stayed away yourselves, when they perhaps have been pre- sent. O, if you could but remember every Sunday morning when you awake, that that might be the last Sabbath day allowed you — that before another week went round, the bell might toll for you, I do hope and think you would be more attentive in coming than you are : the invitation so often given, " Come ye children," come to school, come to church, come to Jesus, come the way to heaven ; this invita- tion would not be so often spoken in vain. " Come" — it is a beautiful word when we think of our Saviour speaking it : " Come children, 'tis Jesus that calls, The voice of your Saviour obey." Secondly, Having come, all is not done. Now there is something more required of you. David in the text, and your ministers and teachers each one says, " Hearken unto me :" how often have you been careless and inatten- tive ; having come to school, you seemed to think you had done enough ; and being there, you have scarcely listened to the voice of your teachers ; you have looked about you, whisper- ed one to another, or thought of your dress. SERMON ill. 15 Children, these things ought not so to be. If you were on the bed of sickness, would not you hearken to the physician who could tell you how you might be cured. If you had lost your way, would you not hearken to any one who could set you right ? and will you not hearken to those who tell you what you must do to be saved ? Will you not hearken when you are told that you are dying sinners in a miserable world, and that there is one Saviour, and that only Saviour is Jesus of Nazareth. " Hearken unto me," says the text, and your teacher takes up the words, " Hearken unto me" — not that I have any wisdom of my own to impart to you, I want instruction from God just as you do; let us then all hearken unto him. " I will teach you the fear of the Lord." This is the third part of my sermon. Now there are two sorts of fear ; there is a dread and terror on the mind, of any thing which we think will hurt us. This fear you might justly expect to feel towards God ; for as he hates sin, and you have often sinned against him, you might expect to be punished ; but " I will show you the fear of the Lord" to be a different kind of fear to this : the fear I mean is such as a child feels towards a kind and wise father— but much greater. If God is your God — I mean if you, loving the Lord Jesus Christ, are loved by God, and are his children, then you will fear God, fear to offend him ; but you will have no slavish terror concerning him. You will be able to say, 16 SERMON III. " Tis that great God whose wrath I fear, That heavenly Father whom I love." It may seem strange to you to hear of both loving and fearing God, and yet these two will agree together. "Perfect love casteth out fear;" but then it is that fear which hath torment that it casteth out. Perfect love does not cast out the fear of offending God, and the reverence due to his name. "Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long." At every moment, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, try to remember that He sees you, and pray to him that that thought may keep you from sin ; then fearing God, you need fear none else. Nothing shall hurt you — even that evil spirit, of whom I have often told you, who, like a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he may devour, shall be a con- quered enemy; for God is stronger than he, and can keep him from hurting you. Fear God, and fear to offend him, and then in life and in death you may rejoice and say, " I will fear no evil." Come, children, come and hear, 'Tis wisdom speaks to you ; Learn your Almighty God to fear, But learn to love Him too. Fear God — and fear no ill — The children of his love Shall worship on his holy hill In that bright world above ! SERMON IV 17 " Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." — Mark xiv. 13. You all know, my children, what temptation is ; you have all heard of that evil spirit who tempts us to sin, who is always watching how to overcome — trying one way and then an- other: — this great enemy of God and man al- ters his temptations from time to time ; when he sees you do not fall into one sin, he tempts you to commit another, and he will not give up tempting you ; there is no place where you can be free from his temptations as long as you are in this world. And did you ever think how dreadful it is for those who enter into his temptations — who give way to them, and are led into sin ? It is a dreadful thought — they become like him ; they go from sin to sin ; and at last to that place of misery and despair pre- pared for the devil and his angels. O ! [ pray this may not be the case with any of you ; and dear children, take comfort that this is not my prayer only. See, by faith, our gracious Saviour interceding in heaven ; praying that you may be safe from this strong and cruel enemy ; and hear, he tells you how you may be kept from entering into the temptations of Satan : he says, " Watch and pray." These two duties are closely joined together, and both must be done at once. Think seriously of the command — "Watch and pray." I. Watch, because Satan watches: he watches to destroy your souls; and will you be less watchful to save them ? You should constantly 18 SERMON IV. remember, dear children, the state you are in ; you are not in a place of rest and safety yet, you are in a world of difficulties. O be on your guard ; " Be sober, be vigilant ; " that is, watch- ful, " because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour." Watch — because Jesus watched. " He was in all points tempted like as we are, but with- out sin :" you know that Satan did not over- come him, when he tempted him in the wilder- ness; and his grace will be sufficient for you if you put your trust in him. " He knows what sore temptations mean, For he has felt the same/' Again — he watched in the garden; his dis- ciples slept, when he was in the agony in the garden ; but he watched. He watches now ; he looks down from heaven on you who are on earth ; he sees how Satan tempts, and whether you give way to him. He sees how Satan brings the temptation, and whether you enter into it, or whether you escape. Again — you are to pray — your ivatching will not do alone. What can you do against Satan and his temptations ? What can a little lamb do against a beast of prey that comes to des- troy it ? The little lamb depends on the shep- herd's care, and so must you. Now when you are told to pray, you cannot think of merely using the words of prayer — that will not do. As to regular times of prayer, I entreat you, as SERMON IV. 19 you wish to go to heaven, never neglect these ; and when you are going to pray, if possible, be alone with God ; pray to him that you may not be interrupted : kneeling down before him, tell him your sins, your wants, your desires ; he knows them all before ; but go and tell them to him. " He loves to hear us pray. ' This is prayer. There is another sort of prayer in which I would have you to abound : there may be a lifting up of the heart to God at any time, in any place, in any company ; at the very mo- ment of temptation, there may be a remem- brance that his eye sees you — that his grace is sufficient for you— this is prayer. O continue in it. Join watchfulness to prayer, and prayer to watchfulness, till you enter into that blessed land where temptation can never enter. " Watch and pray " — for time is flying Swiftly, ne'er to come again : Children ! you yourselves are dying In a world of dying men. " Watch and pray" — the sun declining Soon will tell a day is fled — Even now its light is shining O'er the graves of many dead. " Watch and pray" till life is ended, And your prayer is turned to praise ; To the heaven of heavens ascended V r ou shall join in angels' lays. 20 SERMON V. "Fear God. Honor the king." I Peter ii. 17. These are the words of the apostle Peter. The king who was reigning at the time he wrote was the Roman Emperor Nero, a hea- then prince, and an enemy to Christianity; and yet the apostle says " Honor the king." My intention, dear children, in all the ser- mons I read to you, in all the instructions I give you is, to teach you to fear God ; so I mean, on this occasion, to dwell chiefly on the latter part of the text. But first, on this subject so often dwelt upon, I must say a few words. Fear God then. If you were in heaven, seeing Him face to face, beholding his glory before whom countless an- gels bow down adoring, I am sure you would fear him. If you were in hell, if you could be there but for a few moments, and see what is the dreadful punishment of sin, I am sure then you would fear God. Dear children, do the angels in heaven fear God, not with a slavish fear, but with holy reverence and admiration ? Do the lost in hell fear God, for the very devils believe and tremble ? and will you be the only ones who fear him not ? Will you live as though there were no God ? Will you be careless whether he is pleased or not ? But, children, as I have very lately read you a sermon on the text, " Come, ye children, hearken unto me, I will show you the fear of the Lord," I am now going to say something to you on the other words of my text, " Honor the king." 8ERMO* 21 You know that if we fear God, we shall ear- nestly desire to do all that he commands us ; this then is one thing he has told us to do. "Honor the king." It is God who putteth down one, and setteth up another. u By him kings rule ; " and he who rebelleth against the king, rebelleth against God. Some kings, children, are tyrants ,• I mean that they rule with severity, as though they loved to show their power, and to keep their people in dread of them. You have read of some such in the bible; the very king who reigned when St. Peter wrote this epistle was one of these tyrants. You have read of Pharoah and his cruelty, how when the Israelites were in the land of Egypt, and under his power as his own people were, — how he became envious of them, and commanded that every little boy who was born should be thrown into the river and drowned. You have read in the book of Daniel of king Nebuchadnezzar having a dream, and how, in the morning, having forgotten it, he required the wise men of his kingdom to tell him what the dream was which he had forgotten, (child- ren, did you ever hear any thing so unreason- able ?) and declaring that if they could not tell him his dream, they should be cut in pieces. Again, you have heard of this same Nebuchad- nezzar, making an image of gold, and setting it up in a plain, a large open space where all the people could see it, and saying that who- ever did not fall down and worship it, should be cast into a burning fiery furnace. My child- 22 SERMON V. ren, think of these things, and you will know what I meant when I said that some kings are tyrants. King Nebuchadnezzar was a tyrant. Now I know that you have never worshipped a graven image; but when you hear of the poor heathen, and think how foolish as well as wicked they are, consider for a minute w 7 hat would you do if you saw an image, a false god, and if you saw a great furnace of fire, and were told that you must either worship the image, or be thrown into the furnace: think of these things, child- ren, that you may learn to trust, not in your own strength, which is perfect weakness, but in the strength of God. But I must turn to the text once more. " Ho- nor the king ; " and when you are told this, be thankful that yours is a different king from Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar. Children, you have never heard of such things in our own country, as I have told you came to pass in Egypt and Babylon ; you have never heard of our king commanding little harmless babes to be murdered. You have never heard of our king requiring his people to do something he knew it was impossible for them to do, and threatening to put them to death if they did it not. You have never heard of our king com- manding all his people to bow down to a false god. No ! the king of this country is the fa- ther of his people. Honor the king then, my children : I think you do honor him. I think you would like to see him. You would walk some miles perhaps to see the king; and you would delight to join SERMON V. 23 in the cry " God save the king. ! Long live the king ! " Children, you have never yet been tempted to dishonor your king. Oh pray to God for him ; think how many cares the king of such a great country must have : how many temptations he must have to resist, how much grace and strength he must need ! pray for him then, in the church fall down, and join in the prayer for your king and your country. Our Father, by whose will divine Crowns on the brow of princes shine — Help us, submissive to thy wiJl Our king to love and honor still. Of lords the Lord— of kings the King, Spread thou thy over-shadowing wing — Our church, our king, our country bless, And clothe thy priests with righteousness. " God save the king ! " Be this our prayer, Safe let him be beneath thy care ; To him let grace on earth be given, A crown that fadeth not, in heaven. 24 SERMON VI. "And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph sav- ing, THY FATHER AND THY BRETHREN ARE C0\1E UNTO THEE. THE LAND IS BEFORE THEE; IN THE BEST OF THE LAND MAKE THY FATHER AND BRETHREN TO DWELL." — Genesis iv. 6. You have read and heard the history of Joseph and his brethren so many times, that I hope you all know that Pharaoh was the king of Egypt, and that Joseph, having been sold by his brethren to be a slave, was, by the wonder- ful care and providence of God, kept in safety, and made at length ruler of the land of Egypt under Pharaoh the king. You know too, why Joseph's brethren came into the land of Egypt. When there was a famine, (that is a great want of bread,) in their own land, they heard that there was corn in Egypt, and came there that they might buy some. Then "Joseph knew his brethren, though they knew not him," and sent for his father, and took care of them all in the land of Egypt. Now God had not yet given his ten commandments on Mount Sinai — he had not yet said amid tbnnders and lightenings and a thick cloud and the voice of the trumpet, ■* Honor thy father and thy mother," but he had put his law into the heart of Joseph, and in his mind he had written it. Joseph is a beautiful example of love and honor to his parent. May God give you grace to follow him, for though you are not rich, and set up above your father and your mother, yet watch and see if there are not many ways in which you may show duty and kindness to them. SERMON VI. 25 But the text leads us to speak particularly of Pharaoh the king of Egypt. Who put it into the heart of Pharaoh to be kind to Joseph ?— Yes, it was God who gave Joseph favour in the eyes of Pharaoh, and who inclined Pharaoh to shew kindness to his father and brethren for his sake. Now when they had taken the long journey into Egypt, see how kindly Pharaoh received them: he said unto Joseph, "thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee ; the land of Egypt is before thee, in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell. "See how God gives his people favour in the sight of men. It is said, " they shall not be afraid in the perilous time, and in the days of dearth, (that is of want,) they shall have enough." Children, if your parents are poor, think of this ; if sometimes they find it difficult to give you as much bread as you could eat, pray to God to be your father and your friend. He will feed you with the bread of life, and " he that spared not his own son," (and he is the bread of life) " how shall he not with him also freely give us all things." Now for whose sake was Pharaoh the king kind to Joseph's father and his brethren ? Do you not know that it was for Joseph's sake ? Now I want you to hear this beautiful history of Joseph and his brethren, and other histories in the bible, not only as pleasing stories, but as lessons for yourselves. I have often told you that Joseph was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know I mean that he was in some resp< 26 SERMON VT. like him, and that when we read or hear of him, we are to think also of the Lord Jesus. Like Joseph, the Lord Jesus was sold for a price of silver. Like Joseph, he is gone before to provide a place for them that shall come after him. Like Joseph, it is for his sake that we hope to be accepted and blessed. He is gone into the presence of his father to prepare a place for them that love him ; and now think of this— as Pharaoh said to Joseph, " Ln the best of the land, make thy father and brethren to dwell," so will God himself say to Jesus our Saviour, " In the best of the land ;" not this earth that shall be burnt up, but in the best of the land of Canaan, in the best of the heavenly Canaan make thy brethren to dwell. Prepare for them mansions, and make them fit to inhabit them in my presence and in thy presence for ever and ever. Thou who for a slave wast sold Thy people's price to be, By every piece of silver told, Hear us, and set us free. Thou who art gone to heaven Our mansions to prepare, O be thy grace in mercy given To bring us safely there. Thou for whose sake alone, The Father's love we claim ; O let thy blood for sins atone, Our trust be in thy name. SERMON VII. 27 "IF I SAY, SURELY THE DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME, EVEN THE NIGHT SHALL BE LIGHT about me. — Psalm clxx. 11. Perhaps, my dear children, there are few persons who really think the darkness shall cover them from the eye of God ; but how many are there who act as though they thought or as though they hoped, that the eye of God would not notice their sins. Now the text leads us to think of the wickedness and folly of this. Remember, u the fool hath said in his heart there is no God." He must be a fool indeed who can look on the wonderful works that God hath made, and will not confess that none but God could make them. Now, if it is the fool who says " there is no God," it must be the fool who says or thinks the darkness shall cover him. The darkness does sometimes cover sin- ners from the sight of their fellow creatures. " It is a shame even to speak of the things that are done of them in secret ;" there are sins hidden from the eye of man, sins for which the darkness of night is chosen, and sins which, unless repented of, the blackness of darkness must punish for ever. I\ly dear children, may God keep you from such sins, yea, from all sin. But now, have you never when alone done things which you would not have done, had an earthly parent or friend been near ? O chil- dren, did you forget that God saw you P that God is about your path and about your bed, and spieth out all your ways ? Again, have you never thought evil in your 28 SERMON VII. hearts, while there has been no reason to com- plain of your words or of your actions ? Chil- dren ! did you forget that though your fellow creatures could only see your actions and hear your words — did you forget that God under- standeth your thoughts afar off ? O how dif- ferently would you very often behave, did you but remember that God sees you — sees you all, at all times, in all places and in all company ! Now if this thought should be a warning against sin, it should also be a comfort in trou- ble : how delightful to find God always present, and to trust in him ! If one who really loves God, says, surely the darkness of affliction shall cover me, then shall that person trust in God, and find that the night of trouble shall be light about him, for God is comfort in trouble, and light in darkness. There is another kind of darkness which must cover us all. Children, have you thought of the darkness of the grave ? and that your bodies, now so lively and so healthful must lie down there ? — Yes, Jesus the Saviour, God and man, he lay in the grave. Love him, believe in him, follow him ; and the darkness of the grave shall be but for a little while, till the brightness of the judgment morning is light about you. But there is a night which shall never be turned into day — a darkness on which light shall never break. My dear children, I just now spoke of the " blackness of darkness for ever." O did you ever think of that darkness? the darkness of hell — the darkness of the pit II. of destruction. Did I say light should nevei break upon it ? O yes ! the light of the judg- ment morning" will shine even there, and hell shall deliver up the dead that are in it : but that light will pass away again, and the wicked who are turned into hell, and all the people who forget God, will be again in darkness and misery for ever. My dear children, I cannot end with this dreadful scene ; and I remember that though I have spoken to you of the darkness of night, the darkness of affliction, and the darkness of hell, I have not spoken of the darkness of sin. In that darkness you are by nature, but remem- ber, Jesus who is called the Sun of Righteous- ness, is the true light, and having come into the world, can enlighten every man.* He can enlighten you. If you feel that you are sinners, and that by nature the darkness of sin covers you, then look to him to be your light, and the night shall be light about yon. Shine, Sun of Righteousness ! For dark our earthly way ; O come thy helpless ones to bless, The light of heaven display. Sad sorrow's darkest night O let thy beams illume, And let thy shining render bright The darkness of the. tomb. * O 0a>ri£« iravTa avOoojTrov epx H- evov €l G T0V koqjjlop, Which coming into the world enlighteneth every man. Doddridge. " C'etait la veritable lumiere, qui eclaire tous les hommes en venant au monde." — French Translation. 30 SERMON VHT, Shine on ! for erer sliine In glory bright and fair, In yonder holy heaven of thine, And bid us enter there* SERMON VIII. "And all Israel shall mourn tor him and bury him ; for he only of jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam." — 1 Kings xiv. 13. After the death of Solomon, who, you know, was king oyer God's own people Israel, the kingdom was divided into two parts. Reho- boam, who was the son of Solomon, had two tribes, which were called the kingdom of Judah ; and Jeroboam the servant of Solomon had ten tribes, which were called the kingdom of Israel. Now I am going to tell you something of Abijah, who was the son of this king Jeroboam. The first thing we read of him was that he fell sick. Learn here that sickness and sorrow come to palaces as well as to cottages. You have heard of the prophets — holy men to whom God gave power to say what should come to pass; and you may think that this being the case, persons were very ready to go to them for comfort and advice when in trouble. Now at this time there was a prophet called Ahijah, and the king Jeroboam desired his wife to go sermon vnr. 31 to tliis prophet to enquire of him whether the child should recover of his sickness. The queen was to disguise herself, that is, to put on some dress, by means of which she should not be known : but what can hide from the eyes of God ? God saw her, and showed who she was to the prophet, who was blind by reason of his great age. So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said, "Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; w r hy feign- est thou thyself to be another P for T am sent to thee with heavy tidings." Then followed threatenings of the anger of God upon the king and the people of Israel, for they had for- saken God, and worshipped false gods — images of wood and stone. But now we must turn to the rest of the history of Abijah : the prophet desired his mother to go home, and told her that as soon as she came to the city her son should die. O well might the prophet say he was sent to her with heavy tidings : she had had a mournful journey, all the way from her own home to the prophet, thinking of her son — her eldest and her best son, whom she had left at home in his sickness — but oh ! how much more mournful her going back again, when she knew that as soon as she came into the city he should die ; that by the time she reached the palace and came into the room where she had left him, and stood by the couch where she had smoothed his pillow, she should find him, not as she had left him — weak and ill indeed, yet able to look up and smile, and thank her for her kindness — but pale and cold in death, RMON VJII. and his eyes just closed for ever. O children, if evea you have envied the rich and great, re- member that they have sorrows and troubles as the very poorest. The mother of Abijah was a queen — yet think of her bitter anguish. Well, this is a melancholy subject, and yet there is something pleasant and comforting in the text. Listen to it again. " And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam." It is said that he only of the family of his father Jeroboam should come to the grave — that is, he only should die in peace, and be buried quietly in his grave. Of the rest it was said " Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat, for the Lord hath spoken it." O ! if it makes the very heart ache to stand by the safe and quiet grave of a dear dear friend, what must it be to lose a friend by violent and sudden death, and for the precious corpse never to be laid in the tomb ! There would be but one comfort under such an affliction. " The Lord knoweth them that are his," and watches over their dust be it where it may. Now it is said of Abijah, " In him there was found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel." Children, can the same be said of you ? Abijah, you have seen, lived among the worshippers of false gods : he lived in a palace, where he saw evil examples set before him : what advantages have you that he had not! SERMON VIII. 33 what instructions have you received that he never received ! what prayers have been offered up for you that were never offered for him ! Yet there was some good thing found in him. Who put that good thing in him ? God, by his Holy Spirit. Pray then to God to work that which is good in you, and then he will find some good thing in you also. Abijah was young — but he was not too young to die ; he was young ; but he was not too young to begin to love and serve God. Thus may it be with you. Since there is in you by nature no good thing, pray to God to work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Lord ! we shall soon be lying Pale on the bed of death ; O look upon us dying, Receive our latest breath. O be thy work with power Wrought all our hearts within — And in our dying hour Let endless life begin. We plead the life-blood flowing On Calvary's lifted tree — Our blessed Saviour knowing, We die to live to thee. 34 SERMON IX. " And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "take, eat, this is my body," and he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, " Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed por many for the remission of sins." —Matthew xxvi. 26—28. My dear children, you have learnt in your catechism that our blessed Lord appointed two sacraments. You know the one is baptism, and the other is the supper of the Lord. You know that you were baptized when you were infants ; water was sprinkled upon you, and prayers were offered up that God would, in a spiritual sense, sprinkle clean water upon you that you might be clean ; he was entreated to pour his Holy Spirit upon you. Now remem- ber, the water of baptism was, as you have very often been reminded, only the outward sign — the inward and spiritual grace, the death unto sin, the new birth unto righteousness — dear children, have you received that? O pray that you may, if you have not yet received it. The other sacrament you have not received yet ; but though you are young, you are not too young to understand what I am going to say to you respecting it; and it is right you should hear and think of it, before the time comes when you shall receive it. SERMON IX. 35 When God by the hand of Moses and Aaron brought his chosen people out of the land of Egypt, he appointed that in each family a lamb should be killed and eaten — this was called the feast of the Passover, for God said, " I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born of Egypt ; " but he passed over his chosen people, and they were not destroyed, but were all kept in safety. Now this lamb slain was the type of Jesus Christ. Jesus, you remember, is called " the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world." Now you have sins. Ask him to take them quite away. We read in the text that " Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you." Afterwards, he gave them wine, and said " This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Now if you were weak and hungry, eating bread and drinking wine, would, you know, strengthen your bodies. Children, your souls want to be strengthened and nourished ; and can you tell how they are to be strengthened and nourished P Jesus has said " I am the bread of life;" you must come to him by faith. You believe in him, I think. I suppose you all believe that the Son of God, equal with the Father, came down from heaven, and lived and died to save sinners. But I want you to have a living faith in him. I mean, that you should feel that you are sinners, and come to him, 36 SERMON IX. humbly praying him to have mercy on you. See how beautifully it is said in the text that his blood is shed for many for the remission of sins. Yes, children, it is shed for many — for all of you if you believe in him, for " He casteth out none that come to him. Now why was his blood shed ? " For the re- mission," that is for the forgiveness of sins. God will forgive sins for his sake. When you have sinned, you know you can- not make any amends for your sins — " But Christ the Lamb of God Takes all our sins away." O children, attend to these things ; think of the ]ove of the Lord Jesus in dying upon the cross ; in giving his body and his blood, that your souls might be nourished by them — by receiving them in faith, even as your bodies are nourished by the bread you eat. O Lord ! the bread of life art Thou, And we by faith, would seek thee now : Thy body and thy blood are given To nourish all our souls for heaven. For many sins thy blood was poured, By many songs art thou adored ; And we would join the hymn of praise, And thank and bless thee all our days. SERMON X. " For in that hi: himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted." — Hebrews ii. 18. It is Jesus of whom the text speaks ; and we must consider two things. I. He suffered being tempted. II. He is able to succour them that are tempted. You, my dear children, have been told to " watch and pray lest you enter into tempta- tion." Now in the history of our blessed Sa- viour is an instance of one being tempted, and not entering into the temptation, that is — not giving way to it — not committing the sin to which he was tempted. It is wonderful to think of the King of kings and Lord of lords being an infant in a man- ger, a child under his parent's care, a wanderer not having where to lay his head ; but it is more wonderful to think of him as being tempted by that same evil spirit who tempts us to sin. Let us consider this. Let us now go even into the wilderness, and see this great sight. You know what kind of place a wilderness is — a wild, solitary place unfit for men to live in ; here our Saviour was alone 3 this temptation was a part of what he was to suffer when on earth ; and at the appointed time, he was led into the wilder- derness by the Spirit of God, and the tempter came unto him. We need not ask how he came ; whether he appeared in any form, or whether he tempted Jesus as he tempts us ; alas ! we D 38 SERMON X. know too well that he tempts us, by putting evil thoughts into our hearts. I need not tell you all the particular ways in which he tempted Jesus ; but some of them I will mention. He tempted him to command the stones to be made bread ; but Jesus an- swered, " It is written man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Then he tempted him to fall down and worship him — but Jesus answered " Get thee hence Satan, for it is writ- ten, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Now observe — it is not only said, he was tempted, but " he suffered being tempted." It is dreadful to those who love and fear God to have sinful and evil thoughts brought to their minds; but how much more dreadful to him who was perfectly holy, and free from every degree and kind of sin himself. He sufferedbeing tempted. Yes ! we may be sure that to the holy Saviour the temptations of Satan brought more suffering than the thorny crown that tore his brows, or the nails that fixed him to the cross. And why was he tempted ? Why did he suf- fer being tempted ? O children, remember the last part of the text, and you will know, " he is able to succour them that are tempted ; " he mourned that we might rejoice ; he was crown- ed with thorns that we might be crowned with glory ; he died that we might live, and he was tempted that we might have grace to resist temptation. I am afraid you do not always observe when SERMON X. 93 you are tempted : Satan, that great enemy who tempted the Lord Jesus, and now tempts you, is so watchful for opportunities when you are not watchful, that he often overcomes even be- fore you are aware he is going to tempt you. O give yourselves up then to the care of the Lord Jesus, for He is always watching*. He knows all Satan does, and all you cannot do ; He knows Satan's strength and your weakness ; He is able to help you — the text tells you so, and many parts of scripture tell us that he is willing also. Only try, children; his arms are open to receive you, and his heart is warm to love you. If you do not know how to come to him, ask him to take you ; if you do not know how to pray, ask him to teach you : if you feel you do not love him as you ought, pray that he would love you, and cause you to love him because he first loved you. Thus go on, dear children, till by his grace, you are brought safely to that world where the tempter can never come. Save us in temptation's hour, Thou who knewest the tempter's power ! Thou like us, hast tempted been ; Keep us, Lord, from every sin. O by all thy heart-felt woe When a pilgrim here below — From thy cradle to thy grave, Hear us, Lord, and bless, and save. Saviour, make us watchful still Till we reach thy holy hill — From temptation's power set free, There may we abide with thee. 40 SERMON XL " Thou renewest the face or the earth/' —Psalm civ. 30. There is no change in heaven, for there is no winter there ; no change from day to night, for " there is no night there." But this is a world of change, and now that the snow is gone, and the flowers are come instead ; now that the cold of winter is past by, and we feel the plea- sant warmth of spring once more, let us think of these changes. The psalmist speaks to God in the text, and says to him "Thou renewest the face of the earth." You know when God at first made the earth out of nothing, he looked upon it new and fair as it then was, and said that it was very good ; but sin came into this beautiful world that God had made : here was a change indeed — because of the sin of man God said to him, " Cursed is the ground for thy sake ; thorns also and thistles it shall bring forth unto thee." You have heard of the flood. Now when the wickedness of man was great in the earth, God sent rain from heaven for forty days and forty nights, till every living creature perished, ex- cept the few that were safe with Noah in the ark. After the flood, God renewed the face of the earth. I do not say that he made it as beautiful again as he had made it at the first. No — a world into which sin had come, could not be as beautiful as a world where sin had never been — but God renewed it — made the sermon xi. 41 trees and plants to bud forth again, and the pleasant green of the fields to be seen once more, and promised that he would not again curse the ground any more for man's sake. God renews the face of the earth every spring, his hand spreads the snow over it in the winter, and his hand removes it : he causes the trees to lose all their leaves, and he makes them to spring forth again. He has promised that "while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease." u While the earth remaineth ;" but children, this earth is not to remain for ever ; a little while longer, a few more years, we do not know how many or how few, and it will have been renewed for the last time, then it shall be destroyed. " He who sit- teth upon the throne saith, ' Behold I make all things new: I create new heavens and a new earth ; and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind.' ' We read besides in the Revelations that " from the face of Him who sat on the throne, the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them." Now, children, is there no lesson for you to learn from this subject ? When you find that God renewed the face of the earth, after the flood, and that he renews it now every spring, pray to him to renew your souls; you are by nature dead in trespasses and sins ; the trees, you know, look dead in winter, but they wait only for the word of the Lord to burst forth in- to new life and beautv. So if the Lord send d2 42 SERMON XII. his Holy Spirit upon you, you. will be made alive, and be " trees of righteousness which the Lord hath planted." When you are told that soon this earth shall be renewed no more, but a new earth and new heavens being created (that is, made out of nothing,) the former shall pass away, and no place be found for them, then children, pray that you, being renewed in the spirit of your minds, may be made fit to in- habit " those new heavens and that new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." See where late the snow was spread, Many a flower lifts up its head : Who has made them bright and fair ? Who has bid them blossom there ? God, who every thing can do — God, who can our hearts renew, Raise us from the death of sin — Give us heavenly life within. SERMON XII. "And I saw the dead small and great STAND BEFORE GoD ; AND THE BOOKS WERE OPENED, AND ANOTHER BOOK WAS OPENED WHICH IS THE BOOK OF LIFE, AND THE DEAD WERE JUDGED OUT OF THOSE THINGS WHICH WERE WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS, ACCORDING TO their works."- — Revelations xx. 12. I am now going, my dear children, to speak sermon xir. 43 to you of the day of judgment. I know thai no words of mine can give you a fit idea of the glory and the awful solemnity of that day ; but I pray that the Holy Spirit of God may cause you to think of the great account you will then have to give, and make you to live in the love and fear of God, that that day may be to you a day of glory and triumph, and not of grief and shame. The text gives us in a few words a striking account of the day of judgment. The holy apostle John saw a vision; that is, by the power of God, things not yet come to pass were brought before his mind. He saw the dead small and great stand before God ; the young and the old were there — the rich and the poor, the high and the low — think of the thousands and thousands of thousands who in all the years since the world was made have lived and died — they will all be there. But think of what concerns you much more, every one of you will be there, and every one will have to give an account of the things you have done while in this world; for "the books will be opened." Did you ever think, when you have been going to sin, of the sin being written in God's book, and have you forgotten the verse of your hymn which says " And must the crimes that I have done Be read and published there ? Be all exposed before the sun While men and angels hear?" Think how manv sins have been committed 44 SERMON XII. which the eye of man has never seen ; but at that great and solemn day, they will all be brought to light. We read that "the dead were judged according to their works." Our Lord said " this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" The works or behaviour of man show whether they believe in Jesus Christ or not; and though the reward of heaven is undeserved by them, and purchased by the blood of Jesus, and given to his people for his sake, yet it is given to those only whose faith in him has been proved by their works. Children ! how shall we stand then ? how shall we appear before God ? Thanks, and blessing, and honour and glory be to his name, the text tells us something more of this awful day of judgment — for we read " another book was opened, which is the book of life." In another part of the book of the Revelations, we read of those blessed and holy ones " whose names were written in the Lambs book of life from the foundation of the world." I believe you all know that the Lamb means the Lord Jesus Christ, the saviour of sinners. In this book of life, then, are written the names of those who turn from their sins and believe in him. That is a blessed book indeed. We cannot look at it now, and see whose names are written there, but O pray to God with all your hearts and all your souls that your names may be among them. Children, learn to think more of the day of judgment. You often say and sing SERMON XII. \~) " Teach me to live that I may dread The grave as little as my bed ; Teach me to die that so I may With joy behold the Judgment day ! " But do you think of the day of Judgment when you speak of it? O pray to God that sin may appear to you as it will then, exceeding sinful and exceeding dreadful. Pray that all the things of the world and all the glory of them may appear to you now as they will appear when they are passing away for ever. Pray that the Lord Jesus Christ and his full and free salvation may appear to you now as they shall appear when you find that they only who loved him and believed in him while on earth, are placed on his right hand, while all the rest are at his left hand. When the world is all in flames, when the sky is rolled away, and the stars fall from heaven, what will you do, children P To whom will you look that you may be saved ? O you will look to Jesus 1 I know very well you will look to the glorious Judge then — but O look to him now. It will be too late to begin to look to him then. Would you not like the Judge to be your Saviour ? then ask him who shall be the Judge then, to be your Saviour now. Now ask him to forgive all your sins, to wash you in his blood, to clothe you in his righteousness. Now ask him to make you think of death, judgment, and eternity, and to make you fit to stand at his right hand at the last day, and to ascend with him that you may be in his holv heaven for ever and ever. Amen. 46 SERMON XIII. When the judgment trumpet pealeth, And the judgment throne is set ; And the Judge himself revealeth, And the countless dead are met : When the world is round us flaming, Trembling every sinner's heart, And the Judge his people claiming, Bids his enemies depart : Saviour ! while thou dost behold us, And we know as we are known ; May thy spotless robe enfold us, May we trust in thee alone ! SERMON XIII. " Charity seeketh not her own. I. Corinthians xiii. 5. You know that charity means love ; and there are many beautiful things said of it in the chapter from which the text is taken : on reading the account we cannot but feel a wish that all people in the world had " this most excellent gift of charity :" we think how plea- sant and how comfortable it would be if all were long-suffering and kind, and free from envy — if no persons in the world were apt to be provoked, to take offence, and to think evil of others. But, my dear children, if all people in the world were such as we could wish they were, there would then be no opportunity for some of the exercises of charity — if no one ever injured you, you could not have the op- SERMON XIII. 47 portunity of forgiving; if no one ever took that which is, or appears to be your right, you could not have the opportunity of giving it up. Now one of the most remarkable things said of Charity is in the text, where we read that " Charity seeketh not her own." It is easy to think we should be pleased and satisfied if others acted reasonably by us, and always did to us as we think we reasonably expect they should — but say this verse. " Jn vain by reason and by rule We strive to bend the will — For none but in the Saviour's school Can learn the heavenly skill." We are apt to think " this or the other thing is my right, and I will either have it, or have the credit of giving it up." My dears, there is a deeper lesson for christians to learn — a difficult lesson. May God teach it to us ! Do to others as you would have them do to you ; but if they do not act to you as you reasonably expect they should, do not resist, do not revenge yourselves. If you can do this you will be called mean and poor-spirited, but O ! remember the Lord of heaven and earth, the meek and lowly Jesus hath said, u Blessed are the poor in spirit." Now children, there is an instance in which you often have an opportunity of showing that charity that " Seeketh not her own." You wish for the highest place, and you strive to 2^et it, whether it is your right or not ; but do 48 SERMON XIII. you remember that you are told in one of our Lord's parables "Go, and sit down in the lowest room, for whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Think more of charity — often turn to the thirteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, and read what is said of her. I can add nothing to the beau- tiful description. " Charity suffereth long, and is kind : charity envieth not ; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; re- joiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." What a blessed world, we are led to think again, when all possess this heavenly grace : but as that is not yet, O pray each one that in your heart charity may be planted by the Holy Spirit, and may grow up and increase, and think of your hymn when you so often say it. Low at the cross let envy fall, Pride, anger, and self-will ; The world is wide enough for all, And heaven is wider still. Our Saviour took the lowest place, And we would choose a seat, Blest by his love, taught by his grace, Low at the Saviour's feet. Lord ! keep us low in our own eyes And gentle let us be ; And seek our honour in the skies Where dwell thv saints with thee. SERMON XIV. FOR GOOD-FRIDAY. 49 " In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that god sent his on- ly-begotten son into the world that we MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM." — 1 John iv. 9. I hope some of you remember, my dear children, that when Philip the servant of the Lord met with the Ethiopian Eunuch on his way, and got up with him into his chariot and rode with him — and inquiring what part of the bible he was reading, found it to be the prophet Esaias, " he began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus;" and so we may sup- pose he would have done had he found him reading any other part; for the errand on which God sent Philip to the Eunuch was to tell him of Jesus, to bring him acquainted with that gra- cious Saviour. And suppose, my dears, the sky above us should open, and a bright and blessed angel come down to teach you, what do you think he would tell you of? perhaps you think he would talk to you of heaven, and of the per- fect happiness which the people of God enjoy there ; perhaps he would explain to you what St. John meant by the foundations of precious stones, and the gates of pearl, and the streets paved with pure gold like unto clear glass; perhaps he would tell you more about the crowns and the harps of gold, and the green palm branches, and the white robes, and what spiritual honor and happiness we are to under- stand by these things — or perhaps, dear child- ren, you think this blessed anjrel would stand E 50 SERMON XIV. among you, and sing- you the new song of hea- ven, and teach you the very words and the very tune. Ah my dears, what use would all this be unless he told you of the way to heaven, and how you may reach there ; how Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and how he has promised, " Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." Do you remember when our Saviour was in the mount, and Moses and Elias appeared to him, (and they were angels from heaven,) what they talked of? Not of heaven, not of glory, not of happiness ; but they talked of death, of the death of the Son of God. O children, listen to this, for nothing more wonderful could be told you by an angel from heaven. The Son of God died. He was born into the world a little infant, and he lived thirty years, and he was nailed to a cross, and he died. Now listen to the text once more. " In this was manifested," that is, " In this was shown the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through him." W e have seen the love of God in many other things ; in all the beauties of the world that he has made; in the sun, and the moon, and the stars ; in the clothing, and the food, and the homes that he has given us ; in the care that he takes of our health and strength and comfort ; you know your hymn says " Soon as your infant years began Your life was crowned witli love ; And every blessing you receive Is given you from above." SERMON XIV. 51 But you can all, I hope, tell me, what is the one great proof of the love of God. O yes ! It was his sending his Son into the world that we might live through him. You have heard much of Jesus, how he spent his childhood and youth, how he went about doing good ; but to-day, we will think most of his death. Let us go now to Calvary, and see this great sight. Now can you think what it must have been for him to have had his hands and his feet nailed to a cross, and then to hang there till he died ? When we speak of the death of Jesus Christ, always remember that it was his own will to suffer and to die. He said of his life, " No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." He had no sin of his own ; being holy, harmless, and. equal with the Father, but he bore the sins of his people, and he bore the punishment. When he was crucified, there was darkness over all the land in the midst of the day ; the earth shook, and the strong rocks were broken in pieces, and the very graves were opened, and the dead arose. When you hear of this, think of the time when all the graves shall open, yes ! yours — and yours — and mine : and all of us shall stand before God in Judgment. You have heard how they crowned the bles- sed Saviour with a crown of thorns because he said he was a King, and how they put on him a purple robe in mockery, and a reed in his right hand instead of a sceptre, which kings hold to show their power; and when the agony 52 SERMON XIV. he suffered on the cross caused him to thirst, they gave him vinegar to drink mixed with bit- ter gall ; and they mocked him and told him to come down from the cross — but, no ! That he would not do : he loved us too well to come down from the cross ; and there he hung and bled, and died, to make our peace with God. Now say with your lips and with your hearts " For sinners 'twas he bled, i\nd all in torture died ; 'Twas love that bowed his fainting head, And ope'd his gushing side. ,, Dear children, hate sin; when you are tempted to sin, (and you know what sin is,) when that wicked spirit who is always watch- ing to do you evil, tempts you to steal, or to tell lies, or to be rude to your parents or teach- ers, or to do to your brothers or sisters or school-fellows what you would not have them do to you, or when you are tempted to any other sin, then, at that very moment think of the Lord Jesus Christ ; think that we are told that " He bore our sins in his own body on the tree** (that is the cross,) and pray to him with your hearts to keep you from sin. You cannot keep yourselves from sin. That evil spirit is stronger than you — but the Lord Jesus Christ is stronger than he is, and he can make you more than conquerors. Let us go to Calvary, For a wondrous sight is there ; There our God and Saviour see; Listen to his dying prayer. SERMON XV. 53 " Father, holy, just, aad true, These my enemies forgive ; Since they know not what they do, See, I die that they may live." Let thy blood's all-cleansing power Wash our every sin away ; Let us from this very hour Live thy glory to display. SERMOiY XV. FOR EASTER DAY. •'Come, see the place where the Lord lay." — Matthew xxviii. 6. Some persons, my dear children, when they have seen a beloved friend laid in the grave, have taken pleasure in going often to the place where they laid him; you have perhaps seen in some church-yards, briars or willows twisted neatly round the graves, and sometimes pretty shrubs or flowers planted around them: these are marks of attention and love in the friends of those who are dead and gone. Now to-day you are invited to pay a visit to a grave, but not the grave of an earthly friend. My dears, it is an empty grave, you need not be afraid to look into it : there is no dead corpse lying there; there are no worms; there is no cor- ruption — but we must consider more of these wonders. The text teaches us two things. I. Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, the blessed Saviour of sinners, was laid in the grave. II. He is not there now. 1. Jesus lay in the grave, Come and see E 2 54 SERMON XV. the place. Jt was not such a grave as we see in our church-yards, a pit dug in the earth. It was a cave, a hollow place made in a rock. You know there were two thieves crucified with Jesus; and you might have expected that his body and theirs would all have been buried together in the same lowly grave — but no ! the Saviour was indeed " despised and rejected of men/' but not of all men ; and there was one Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, who came and begged the body of Jesus, and buried it in his own new tomb in a garden. A beautiful place, no doubt, that garden was, for they have in that country, grand and beautiful flowers such as you have never seen ; and we may sup- pose this garden, as it belonged to a rich man, to have been adorned with much care. Here they laid him, and ie there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sitting over against the sepulchre.'' They had loved him while he was with them, and now they loved to stay near him when he was dead. * Thus you have seen that Jesus lay in the grave. Consider, II. That he is not there now. " He is not here, for he is risen as he said ; " there was a stone over the grave, but a mighty angel came down from heaven and rolled it away. His countenance was like lightening, and his rai- ment white as snow ; (yes ! there are white robes in heaven all unstained by sin) for fear of this angel, the keepers who had been set to watch that no one stole away the body of SERMON X\ . DO Jesus, did shake and became as dead men, but to the women who were watching there, the angel said " Fear not ye, 1 know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified." My dear children, do you seek Jesus which was crucified ? then to you I say "Fear not ye." Fear not death, if you believe in him who conquered it. Fear not the grave, if you believe in him who lay there. Fear not hell, if you believe in him who can keep you from going down into that pit. Fear nothing but sin, and pray to Jesus Christ again and again to forgive you your sins, and to say to you "Go, and sin no more." Do you seek Jesus ? then look away now from the grave, for he is not there. Where is he ? Yes ! he is in heaven ; we cannot see him now as they did who were with him on earth ; we cannot go and hold him by the feet as they did, and worship him ; we cannot prepare food for him to eat as Martha did ; we cannot pour the precious ointment on his head as Mary did, to show that we love him : but we can think on him, we can believe on him, we can pray to him to take away all our sins, and to set up his throne in our hearts, and to reign there. Lamb of God, for sinners slain, Pleased we see thee rise again ; Pleased we hail thy empty grave, While we own thee strong to save. Many crowns are on thy brow, Many voices praise thee now ; While we join our humble lay Never wilt thou turn awav. 56 SERMON XVI. "And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." —Matthew x. 16. You know that there are four books in the New Testament called the gospels of St. Mat- thew, St Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. Each of these four blessed servants of God wrote an account of things that took place when our Saviour was upon earth ; they do not all relate exactly the same things; some remembering particularly one of his wonderful and gra- cious works, and some another ; but three out of the four have given an account of the story you all know so well, I mean the story of his taking the little children up in his arms and blessing them. It is a beautiful story, and there are many things for you to observe in it. Now try to attend to these things. Consider, I. The conduct of the parents. II. The conduct of the disciples. III. The conduct of Jesus. IV. Consider the case of the children them- selves. Consider, First, the conduct of the parents. They loved their children ; they delighted in them, they laboured and provided for them, and prayed for them; but they knew that their children wanted more than they could do for them, so they brought them to him who was able to do exceeding abundantly above all that lhey could ask or think ; they brought them to SERMON XVI. 51 Jesus that he should touch them : they knew that with his touch he could cure diseases, and with his word he could bring the dead to life ; and they, being strong in faith, doubted not but that his touching these little children would be the means of bestowing great blessings upon them. The evangelist St. Matthew says they brought them that he might put his hands on them and pray. How wonderful, children ! Jesus Christ is God, how wonderful that God should pray. Can you explain this wonder P — Jesus was God, but he was man also ; he took our nature, and as man he prayed to his Father and our Father who is in heaven. Consider, Secondly, the conduct of the dis- ciples. They rebuked those that brought them. Our blessed Saviour went about doing good ; in the first verse of the chapter we read of the people coming to him again ; and as he was wont he taught them again. Then, the Phari- sees had come tempting him, that is, trying to disturb and confound him. After all this, he was in the house, perhaps willing to rest a little time, but still instructing his disciples. At this moment it was that the parents brought the lit- tle children to him, and all this will account for the disciples reproving them, not wishing their master to be again disturbed. It is most likely they did not know that any particular good would be bestowed on the children, but they were taught afterwards that instead of reproving those that brought them, they ought to have done all they could to encourage them to bring them to Jesus : this we shall see if we 58 SERMON XVI. Consider, Thirdly, the conduct of Jesus. — Children, the blessed angels in heaven look with wonder on his condescending mercy to- wards poor sinners, and well may we delight to read of it; well may we rejoice that " He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," as ready to save and bless now as he ever was. Now see his love to the little children ; it had been foretold of him by the Prophet Isaiah " He shall gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom;" and see how he did as it had been foretold of him. He first instructed the disciples that they ought to have encouraged others to come to him, saying, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not." There was also another lesson for them, for Jesus said, " Who- soever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein ; " here he taught the disciples to lay aside all pride, and all high opinion of their own wisdom, and be humbled before him. Having thus instructed his disciples, he turn- ed to the children ; he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. But this leads us to consider, Fourthly, the case of the children themselves. Happy and honored children indeed to be taken up in the arms of the Son of God; safe children, when the hand that stretched out the heavens was spread over them. Blessed children, when the lips of the God of heaven pronounced the blessing upon them ! Your friends and parents may be said to bless you, that is to pray to God SBRMOli XVI. -59 to bless you ; but Jesus can give you the bles- sing himself, and whom he blesses is blessed for ever. Surely the children when they were grown older, often thought of that happy time , some perhaps were just old enough to remem- ber it, and others would be told of it, by those who had brought them, and it must have been their prayer that the blessing might continue — that Jesus would again and again bless them. Now, my children, is there no lesson for you ? Do you think these children were happier than you ? Certainly, if Jesus was now upon earth it would give great delight to your parents and ministers and teachers could they take you to him, and see him do for you what he did for those little ones : but now you may come to him, by believing in him and praying to him ; now the arms of his mercy are open ; now his own blessed word says, u Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not." Yes ! as long as these words are in the bible, you may come, for you are invited. O ask him to receive you, to love you and to bless you for ever and ever. Amen. See, the hand the heavens that spread Rests upon an infant's head — Hark ! the voice that woke creation Promises a child salvation. We may come as others came, Jesus Christ is still the same ; We may tell as sweet a story Safe in yonder heaven of ylory. 60 SERMON XVII. Mindful of our earthly way, How he led us cay by day, We may join the angels' chorus While his hand is still spread o'er us. SERMON XVII. " Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with him." — Isaiah iii. 10. This is good news indeed to those who are strangers and pilgrims upon earth — good news that it is well, and shall be well with them ; but observe, my children, to whom the message is sent, and then observe what the message is ; v and then examine yourselves whether you may take the comfort of it. I. To whom is the message sent ? To the righteous : and who are the righteous ? Now it is said, "There is none righteous, no not one." There is not one upon earth who can say he has no sin, or who can stand before God accepted, and be admitted into heaven for his own sake. Now this I wish you very much to think of, and firmly to believe. Think of God : he is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity; and you were all born in sin, and by nature there is in you no good thing. Children ! how can you appear before God ? I want you to consider this ; I want to tell you good tidings, how you may be made righteous before God. Do you not know then the name of Jesus, and do you not know that that name means a Saviour ? SERMON XYll. til Do you not remember and believe that he bore our sins in his own body on the tree, and that his righteousness (his goodness) is accepted for all who believe in him ? It is as though you were without clothing, and some kind friend should come and put clothes upon you, and tell you they should be your own. Do you understand this P Remember, the righteous mean those who wear the righteousness of Christ. May God by his Holy Spirit make you understand this, that you may say, " And lest the shadow of a spot Should on my soul be found, He took the robe my Saviour wrought, And east it all around." Now to such as are righteous, what is the message ? " It shall be well with him." Think of what you have read in your bibles, and see if any trusted in the Lord and ever were con- founded, see if ever God forsook the righteous. Remember Noah. Was it not well with Noah when he found a safe shelter in the ark when the world was destroyed by a flood of waters. Remember Lot. Was it not well with him when God sent his angels to deliver him from the wicked city, on which the fire from heaven was to descend ? Remember St. Peter, of whom you read in the New r Testament. Was it not well with him when God sent his angel to bring him out of prison, and the chains fell off from his hands, and he was set free ? I might tell you of many more, but I know you will F 62 SERMON XVII. confess it was well for them whom God has saved with a great deliverance ; but the ques- tion is, is it well with all the righteous, and well with them at all times P Yes ! Was it well with those who were persecuted for the name of Christ ? Was it well with those of whom we read in the eleventh chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews, that they had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea moreover of bonds and imprisonments, that they were stoned, were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword ? Was it well with these ? And is it well with the people of God now, when they suffer affliction and trouble ? Is it well with parents when they see their dear children taken from them and laid in the cold grave ? or is it well with children when they are left orphans ? O remember it is said of God " He doeth all things well ;" and he has promised that " All things shall work together for good to them that love him." " It shall be well with them." It is well for those who are now in heaven ; and it shall be well for those who are following after them. Now — little children, is it well with you ? but before you answer this question, you must answer another. Are you righteous ? O it is a solemn question. It is a dreadful thing to be unrighteous, to stand before God with all your sins upon you, unrepented and unforgiven. It is a glorious thing to be righteous — to have the robe of Christ's righteousness thrown over you, and then to be looked upon with pleasure by the eye of God. Which are you, dear chil- SERMON XVII. 3d dren? unrighteous or righteous? I do not ex- pect you to tell me now : but when you are alone, kneel down before God, and entreat him to look upon you with mercy ; ask him to blot out all your sins, and to accept you for the sake of Jesus. Is it well with you ? Yes ! in some sense it is well with you all. You have kind friends to take care of you, clothes to cover you, food to eat, a place to live in, and a bed to rest on ; you may each say " I was not born a little slave To labour in the sun ; And wish I were but in the grave, And all my labour done." It is well with you. You have ministers to teach you and to pray for you, schools where you may come and be taught, bibles that you may read, churches that may be to you as the house of God and as the very gate of heaven. But children, consider you may have all these advantages, but one thing is needful : you must come to Jesus, you must sit at his feet, you must believe in him, and hate your sins, and trust in his righteousness, that it may indeed be well with you for time and for eter- nity. Amen. Say ye to those who wear the dress Of Christ's all-perfect righteousness ; It shall be well while here they stay, And well in heaven's eternal day. Here it is well; if sorrows rise, The Christian on his God relies ; And blessings numberless are spread By God's own hand upon his head. 64 SERMON XVIII. But oh ! an angel's tongue must tell In yonder holy heaven how well, When entered through the glorious door The saints of God go out no more. SERMON XVIII. u For the living know that they shall die." — Ecclesiastes ix. 5. How do the living know this ? how is it that those who are young, and full of health and spirits, are as certain that they shall die as those who are aged and diseased ? They know that there is one appointed lot to man upon the earth, that the very end of life is death, that the very reason why life is given is to prepare for death. This the living know. — Whether they act as though they knew it, is anothei consideration; however thoughtless or care- less they may be, they have enough to remind them of death. In their gayest and gladdest moments, they will often hear the bell tolling for some one of their fellow-creatures; and they do not know but that it may toll next for them. They need but open their eyes, and look around them, they will see places where others are buried ; some of these burying-places, hundreds, or (it may be,) thousands of years old ; some over which the earth was spread yesterday ; they will see withered grass and fading flowers; they will see young leaves blighted or torn off by the east wind, and leaves that had borne the storms of spring, and the SgftMOM Will. 65. beat of summer, turned brown with age, and fallen from the tree and withered ; they will see these things ; and their own heart and conscience will echo to the sound, — " It is ap- pointed unto man once to die/' It is a solemn thought too, that though the " living know that they shall die," this is all : they do not know when they shall die. It may be twenty, or thirty, or fifty years to come. It may be in a twelvemonth, or in a week, or this very night, or this very hour. They do not know how they shall die. They may lie for months and years in a consumption, sometimes feeling a little better, sometimes so ill that life seems just about to leave them; they may die in a fever insensible to all around them, not knowing the nearest and the dearest friend who smooths their pillow, or brings a refreshing draught to cool their fever; and, (more melancholy thought,) not knowing the state in which they are, not able to think of God, or to raise one prayer to him. They may die by some sudden and awful stroke, scarcely having time to say " God be merciful to me a sinner." They may be put to death by the hand of their fellow -creature ; dreadful in- deed that one man should take away the life of another, but this may be; they may be cal- led to martyrdom, to lay down their life for the sake of their religion, if times of persecu- tion should again come upon the church. They do not know where they shall die. They may die on the bed of death in stillness and quietness, oj they mav die on the field of bat- f 2 <56 SERMON XV II I. tie, having been called to fight for their coun- try; and the sound of the trumpet, and the noise of the rushing of the war-horse, and the clang of the armour may mingle with their dying sigh. Now there is a sense in which the living know that they shall not die. Do not think I am going to contradict the words of holy scripture ; I am only going to show you another meaning of the word living. Come then to Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha, and stand by the grave of their brother Lazarus, and hear Jesus the Lord of life and glory say, " Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this ?" I ask each of you, my children, as Jesus the compassionate Saviour, asked poor Martha, I ask you " Be- lievest thou this ? " Whom do you think our Saviour meant by the living ? Surely he meant those whose souls were raised from a death of sin to a life of holiness ; he explains what he said by the other word he uses when he speaks of their believing in him. Those who do not be- lieve in him and love him are dead in sins ; those who do love him are made alive, and that life shall last for ever ; their bodies indeed shall be laid in the grave, and see corruption, but their souls shall live for ever in perfect glory and happiness. Now, how sad it is, children, that though the living know that they shall die, they act as though they did not know it; they love the world and the things of the world, though the world and they must part so soon : they care SERMON Will. (>7 for the body that will soon be cold and dead, and forget the soul that must live in happiness or misery for ever. O children ! what do you think you ought to do, since you know that you shall die P Surely you should look to him who comforted Martha at the grave of Lazarus her brother. He was living once on earth, as you and I are now, and he knew that he should die — and what a death was his. Was there ever sorrow like unto his sorrow ? Was there ever a death-bed like the cross on Calvary ? He sees us living now, and he knows that we shall die : where, and when, and how, he knows. O ask him to bless vou, and to be with you. We want him while we live. We shall want him when we die. At every moment, Jesus, thou Lord of life and glory, we would trust in thee ! The living know that they must die, Their pulse must cease, and close their eye ; Dear friends will stand their graves around, And listen to the bell's sad sound. But they who in the Lord believe, And all his saving grace receive, Shall live where angels are above In endless light and endless love. Thou who hast died upon the tree, O let us live by faith in thee ; Till opens heaven's eternal door, And saved, we shall go out no more. 68 SERMON XIX " That I might preach him among the heathen." — Galatians i. 16. I wish you at this time, my dear children, to think of two things. I. The state of the heathen. IT. Our duty towards them. I. The text calls our attention to the state of the heathen. St. Paul speaks of them ; the heathen are the same as the Gentiles who knew not God. Think, children, what it would be to live in a place where the light of the sun could not enter; to be in darkness. Such is the state of the heathen. Jesus Christ is the Sun of Righteousness, who giveth light to a dark world ; but the heathen never heard of Jesus, never heard of God the Father who made them, and of God the Son who became man, and died on the cross at Calvary to save them, and of God the Holy Spirit who maketh holy the people of God by taking the things that are Christ's and showing them to them; and instead of worshipping the blessed Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, what do they wor- ship? Some of you know that the heathen wor- ship wood and stone, images that their own hands have made; some of them worship the sun and the moon, and the stars ; and some, (O this is very dreadful,) sacrifice their sons and their daughters unto devils. Such is the folly and ignorance of the poor heathen ; but think also of their misery. Think of the wretched parents, who, when old age has come upon SKIIMON XIX. 6fl them, are often put to death by their own chil- dren that they may be out of the way : think of the little infants thrown by their very fathers and mothers into the river Ganges, in hopes that such a sacrifice may give pleasure to their false gods: think of the poor widow, seated on the funeral pile that is burning the ashes of her dead husband ; seated there till she too is burnt. Children ! think of these things; and bless God more than you have ever yet blessed him, for schools, and churches, and bibles; bless him ahove all for the Saviour to whom they all bid you look that you may be saved. But is it you only who are to look to him ? O no, hear the words of the Saviour himself; hear them; they sound from Gethsemane, and from Cal- vary, and from heaven — "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth." Now this leads us to the second part ; namely, having thought of the state of the heathen, to think of what we can do for them. What does St. Paul say ? "That I might preach him among the heathen." You know St. Paul meant Christ Jesus, the friend of sinners, the light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel. This Saviour St. Paul was glad to preach among the heathen ; to this end he consented to be u in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by his own coun- try-men, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren :" to this end, he was "in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in 70 SERMON XIX. cold and nakedness:" to preach Christ among the heathen, he travelled from one country to another; it is the opinion of many that he came even to our own country, even to the shores of England, England now called a Chris- tian country, (would that all her children were Christians ! ) England that then lay among the heathen " in the darkness of the shadow of death." I have stood on the very spot where many think he stood ; I have sat on the very rock on which it is supposed he sat by the sea- side, while thousands of our then heathen fel- low-countrymen came round to hear of Jesus and of his salvation. This much we know, my dears, that if St. Paul did not come himself, his Master came. I do not mean in the days when he was in the form of man upon the earth ; but he came in spirit and in power to reign in the hearts of his people, and he sent some ser- vant of his to bring the news of his salvation. St. Paul preached Christ among the heathen; this shows us our duty : " But we cannot do this," you will say ; Children, if you cannot go yourselves, there are those who can and will : there are servants of God, who leave their homes and their friends, and the graves of their dear ones, and the churches where they were bap- tized and confirmed, and they go with their lives and their bibles in their hand, far away over the deep and dreadful sea, that they may stand in distant lands, and tell the heathen that Jesus came a Missionary from heaven to earth, and died to save them all. Children ! I charge you, if ever it is in your SERMON XIX. 4[ power, give something to this blessed work. Give money to supply the wants of these mis- sionaries, to pay the expenses of their long journies and voyages, to buy the bibles that they give to the poor heathen; if you have much, give much ; if you have little, do your diligence to give of that little. Learn another lesson — though there are not here men who bow down to wood and stone, there are, in some sense, many heathen in our own country, many who know not God, and love not Jesus the Saviour. O pity, and pray for such ; and if ever you have an opportunity, speak to them, and tell them what they must do to be saved. One thing you can all do. Can you not pray for the heathen ? pray, I mean, with all your hearts ! Now then, if you have never prayed for them before, begin by singing your hymn with your hearts as well as with your lips. And didst thou come from heaven to earth, Saviour ! our souls to save ? O hear us by thy wondrous birth, And by thy cross and grave ! Still there are thousands bending low To gods of wood and stone ; O teach them, Lord, thy grace to know ; O choose them for thy own ! Bring all the wanderers to thy fold Thou, Shepherd, who hast died— Till all thy glory they behold Who once wast crucified. 72 SERMON XX. "And it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these command- ments before the lord our god, as he HATH COMMANDED US." — Deilt. vi. 25. You have heard and learned the ten com- mandments which God gave in thunder and lightening upon Mount Sinai. You know that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good, and it was said by him whose word is truth "The soul that sinneth it shall die." The laws of God are very strict, reaching not to the outward conduct only, but to the inmost thoughts of the heart. Now who can keep all these commandments ? Who can stand before this holy Lord God ? Do you understand the text ? " And it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us " Some have ex- plained it in this way ; if the Israelites really could have kept the law of God, perfectly, without breaking one commandment, then they would have been righteous, then they would have been accepted by God. Now I have met with another explanation of the text, which I will try to make you understand. You must remember, then, what I have often told you about the sacrifices which the Jews were commanded to offer up. Now these sacrifices were types of Jesus Christ: you know the blood of bulls and goats and sheep could not take away sin. Every one of you can answer when I say, what is it that SERMON XX. 73 cleanseth from all sin? You all say "The blood of Jesus Christ." May that precious blood cleanse you from your sin ! Now some think the text means that if the Israelites observed to do all these commandments, that is, if they observed to offer up these sacrifices in obedience to the will of God, in faith, looking to Jesus who was represented by the sacrifices, and repenting of their sins, that then their faith would be accounted unto them for righteousness. In whatever sense we understand the text, it teaches us that the Jews could not depend on their own righteousness to save them ; they were taught that they could not keep the law of God perfectly and constantly ; and even if they could, that would have made no amendment for their past sins, and they were taught to look on the sacrifices they offered up as types and shadows of him who was to come, even Jesus Christ. And now, my dear Children, may God himself, by his Holy Spirit, teach you the lesson which all the scriptures join \o teach you, namely, that this is the very name where* by Jesus Christ is and shall be called, "The Lord our Righteousness." You have heard of the scribes and pharisees at the time when our Lord was upon earth ; they (as the Apostle says) being ignorant of Christ's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righ- teousness, had not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God : but " Chrirt is the end of the law for righteousness to every one 74 SERMON XX. that believeth." O that you may be among that number! If you owed a large sum of money, and could not pay it, suppose just as you were going to be put in prison for debt, some kind friend should come and pay the money, would you not love that friend ? And will you not love the Lord Jesus who payed the debt we owed to God, who made atone- ment for our sins ? Now perhaps, you say you love him; then hear his own word, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Seek his grace continually, and strive more and more to know what his commandments are, to know your own weakness, and look to him for strength. Should we sin no more for ever, Past offences would remain — Vain and useless our endeavour To wash away the crimson stain. How shall we appear before Thee, Lord of Lords and King of Kings ! Even angels who adore Thee Veil their faces with their wings. Therefore, on our Lord depending, All His righteousness we claim ; Every prayer to heaven ascending Shall be offered in His name. SERMON XXI. "AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHILE HE BLESSED THEM, HE WAS PARTED FROM THEM, AND CARRIED UP INTO HEAVEN." — Luke XXIV. 51. Do you know that last Thursday was Ascen- SERMON XXI. 75 sion day ? It is so called because, as on that day, our blessed Lord ascended, or went up to heaven. You have heard of his coming down from heaven; you remember Christmas- day, the birth day of the Lord of life and glory. You have heard of his dying on the cross; the day on which he did so, is, you know, called Good Friday ; then on Easter- day we rejoiced in thinking of his rising again from the dead. Forty days he remained on earth after that, instructing and comforting his disciples; then he left theru: he had told them before, that he should leave them, or their grief at parting with him would have been too great ; he had told them it was expedient for them that he should go away : it was need- ful for them, and for their good that he should go away, because he was to send unto them the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. Of this we shall consider more on Whitsunday, the day on which the Holy Ghost was given. But now I mean to consider I. Our Saviour's last act upon earth. II. His ascension, or going up to heaven. From this subject we shall have to learn some lessons for ourselves. Now, my dears, try to think of our Saviour : he thinks of ycu ; try to remember who he is; the Eternal and Equal Son of God, God of Gods and Lord of Lards. Many who saw him when on earth, could not believe this, could not understand this : they looked upon him, and they saw that he wore the form of a servant, that he was "a man of sorrows, and 76 SERMON XXI, acquainted with grief," and they could not understand how he was with God, and ivas God ; these things the angels desire to look into, (i And yet a child may ask his care, And call upon his name in prayer." He came from heaven to save sinners; he went about doing good ; he healed the sick, he raised the dead., he comforted the mourners, he taught the ignorant, he blessed the miser- able ; and what was the last thing he ever did ? O kind and gracious Saviour ! it could be but one thing — he blessed them ; the last words he ever spoke were words of blessing, the last time he lifted up the hands that had been nailed to the cross, they were lifted up to bless his disciples. O let us share his blessing ! Here we are ; we were not led out by thee as far as unto Bethany, but we have been led by thee thus far on our journey through life; and though we cannot see thee, thou seest us; though these ears cannot ear thee, thou canst hear us : O lift up thine hands and bless us ! When he had blessed them, what came to pass next ? " He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." Partings are sad things, children. You may not have known many of them, but you will, if it pleases God you should live long in this world of changes. There is one melancholy word in this beautiful account, the word SERMON XXI. 77 parted : but Oh ! when we can say of any one from whom we are parted, " he was earned up into heaven," then it is well; then good comes out of evil, then we glory in tribulations also. Was there ever such a parting in this world of changes, in this world of which it has been beautifully said, that its very motto is "we part." Was there ever such a parting as this P the God of heaven leaving his people ! It must have been a beautiful sight, children, of which you can have but little idea ; to see a bright cloud hovering above them, a brighter cloud than those you admire so often, near the setting sun, of purple or of crimson, fringed with gold, — this was a brighter cloud, a cloud of angels, " and it received him out of their sight." Yet amidst all the glory and the beauty, must they not have mourned at parting ? Should we not expect to hear of their deep sorrow at losing their friend and Saviour ? Can we not suppose each one of them saying " But /am weaker than a child, And Thou art more than mother dear ; Without Thee heaven were but a wild ; How shall 1 live without Thee here ? No! they were "strong in faith, giving glory to God," they believed his own word, that it was expedient for them that he should go away ; they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were contin- ually in the temple, praising and blessing God." g 2 78 SERMON XXII. Now I meant, as I told you in the beginning, to derive from this subject some lessons for ourselves, but I find this sermon is as long as you are used to attend to at one time, so we will leave off now, and you shall sing your hymn. Hear the Lord His people blessing, Hear His gracious parting words, While they worship Him, confessing Jesus is the Lord of Lords. See the clouds above them hovering, Clouds of angels bright and fair, Heaven's own glory there discovering, See the Saviour enters there. Spread Thy lifted hand above us, Bless us as we journey on, Pity us, and guide, and love us, Though from earth, dear Lord, Thou'rt gone. SERMON XXII. u He shall glorify me, for he shall re- ceive OF MINE, AND SHEW IT UNTO YOU." — John xvi. 14. This is Whit-Sunday. I have heard that it was so called, because, in the earlier ages of the church, those who were to be baptized on the eve of this day, appeared drest in white. As on this day, the Holy Spirit of God was given to the disciples. You remember, chil- dren, that our blessed Redeemer told his disci- SERMON XXIJ. 19 pies that it was expedient for them Unit he should go away, and so they found it, when, according to his promise, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, was given to them. It is a short but a beautiful account which we read in the second chapter of the Acts; "they were all in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." Now consider the words of the text, they are the words of Jesus Christ himself. He is speaking of the Holy Ghost, and he says, " He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." Now I have often told you that there are three persons in one Godhead ; and if it please God that we should meet next Sunday, which is called Trinity Sunday, I will endeavour to tell you particu- larly of this mystery. Now these three persons are called the Fa- ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. The Son, the second person, says of the Holy Spirit, "He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." Now my dear children, how shall I speak to you of mysteries, in considering which the holiest and the wisest men that ever lived have bowed down silently to adore ? May God himself teach you. We are told that Jesus Christ is made of God unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctifi ca- tion, and redemption. Now we want all these ; 80 SERMON XXII. we want wisdom, for we are ignorant ; and righteousness, for we are, by nature, condem- ned before God ; and sanctifi cation, that is holiness, for if God viewed us as we are in our- selves, he would see us to be full of all impu- rity ; and we want redemption, or we should be lost for ever. If you, my dear children, know that we cannot have all these by nature, you must pray to understand how the Holy Spirit takes of the things that are Christ's and shows them to us. You have learnt to say that we can do no good thing of ourselves, that we must look to the Holy Spirit of God to teach, to help, and to direct us. Now remem- ber what Jesus said; "He shall glorify me-" the Holy Spirit humbles the sinner, but glori- fies the Saviour. I would gladly, dear children, make this plain to you. Did you never look at a landscape, and see it dark and shady ? then the sun broke out, and shone on you, and shone on the landscape, and you saw it all bright and beautiful. So you may hear and read of the Lord Jesus, of his love and mercy, of his cross and thorny crown, of his tomb in the garden and his throne in heaven ; and all these things may take little effect upon you — but, if the Holy Spirit come and shine upon you, and shine on these wonders of redeeming love, then will you see by faith what great things Jesus has done for you; then the things which were like a landscape in the shade will become bright, and be clearly seen by you. Here is a lesson for you to learn Does the Holy Ghost glorify Christ ? and ought you not SERMON XXII. 81 to glorify him ? but how can we do this ? you will say. Indeed it is a wonder ! Can a poor child glorify the God of heaven P Can dust and ashes bring any glory to the Almighty King of kings and Lord of lords ? Yes, chil- dren, wonderful as it is, it is true. The religion of the gospel of Christ is full of wonders, and this is one — " He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe;" and you, my children, may believe; and then he will be admired in you ; you may be saints, and then he will be glorified in you, but the Holy Spirit must glorify him before you can. While the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ by receiving the things that are his and shew- ing them unto you, you must glorify Christ by beholding these things, and accepting them with joy and thankfulness. Pray to the Holy Spirit then, for he is God ; ask him to take of the things that are Christ's and show them unto you ; and to take of the merits and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and show them to you that they may be accounted yours, and you " accounted right- eous before God only for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not for your own works cr deservings." Spirit of our God, descend ! Guide, and Comforter, and Friend ! Lead us in the narrow way- All our Saviour's grace display ! As the sun-beam warm and bright Shines, and makes the landscape light, On our Saviour's work divine, Holy Spirit ! come and shine ! 82 SERMON XXIII. Take the work that He hath done, Take the victory He won, Show us that for us He fought, Righteousness/or us He wrought. SERMON XXITI. "go ye therefore, and teach all na- tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." — Matthew xxvii. 19. This text teaches the duty of instructing all nations; of going to the poor heathens, and telling them of the Saviour ; but I have chosen the text at this time to speak to you on another subject, namely, on that which the very name of this day calls us to consider. This is called Trinity Sunday. Trinity means three in one, and the text leads you to remember that though there is but one God, there are three persons in one Godhead — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. How do we know from the text that these three are one ? You observe it is only one name in which persons are to be baptized, and that name is the name of the One God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Now you know that you have a body and a soul, yet you are not two, but one. So we are told there are three that bear witness in heaven — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; these three are one. Now we SERMON XXIIT. 83 must pray to believe in all that God has told us in his holy word. I think you know the meaning of the word mystery; it means a great wonder; something beyond our under- standing. My dear children, if you believe in God the Father, who made you, and come for salvation to Jesus who redeemed you, and look to the Holy Spirit to sanctify you, then shall the time come when you shall know as you are known, and see as you are seen. In the meanwhile Learn two things. How great a work must be the salvation of sinful men, since all the persons of the blessed and glorious Trinity are engaged in that work. See the part which each takes in the work of our redemption. God the Father spared not his only Son, but delivered him up for us all. " God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus loved us! "behold how he loved us ! ' think of the manger for his cradle, and the cross for his death bed ; think, my dear children, how he took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion like a man, he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Then the Holy Spirit has a part to perform in this work of saving sinners. I told you of that, last Sunday ; how he takes of the things that are Christ's, and shows them unto us. We cannot love God, we cannot believe in 84 SERMON XXIII. Jesus of ourselves ; we must have the grace and teaching of the holy Spirit of God, before we can do any thing to please him. Now learn to pray to this blessed God, this wonder- ful and glorious three in one. And learn, children, to long for the time when we shall know as we are known, and see as we are seen. — How little do we know at present ! how little do we know of our bodies, which are so fearfully and wonder- fully made ; and of our souls which we cannot see, and which must live for ever, and which are joined to our bodies for a little time, how short or long we know not: how little do we know of this world, which our God made out of nothing, the dust of which.he comprehended in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance : how little do we know of the heaven of heavens where he dwells, and where are many mansions for them that love him; how much less do we know of God himself! O it will be a glorious, blessed time, when, as he has promised, we shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying know the Lord, for " all shall know him from the least even unto the greatest." God Almighty ! Three in One ! G^d the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, light and love, Hear us from Tliy throne above. Sinful, weak, and helpless we, All we want we ask of Thee — Grace to lead our souls aright, Glory in the world of light. SERMON XXIV. "This same Jesus which is taken up Mlom you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into hea- VEN."— A cts i. 11. Do you remember that in my sermon con- cerning our Saviour's going- up into heaven, I told you of the last thing he ever did upon earth P he blessed his disciples ; and I told you of the cloud of angels that received him out of their sight. Then I said that from this subject we must learn some lessons for ourselves ; now try to think of these lessons — We should learn to a?cend up with him to heaven. Now I do not mean that we should go up into heaven in the same way that he did ; this we cannot do — there is no cloud of angels come yet to take us up ; we must-stay in this A\orld as long as it pleases God; and then these bodies will be laid in the dark, cold, narrow grave : but how is it, my dear children, that, even now, our hearts may ascend or go up to heaven ? Can you not think of heaven P Can you not think of the throne of God and of the Lamb ? of the white robes that the happy spirits wear, for they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb ? Can you not think of the delightful music from the harps of the angels, while they sing " worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive honor, and power, and glory and bles- sing." Do you think of these things? Now the prayer in our church Collect is, "that we may in heart and mind thither ascend and 86 SERMON XXIV. with him continually dwell." Child en, it is "i only in spirit that you can yet asct id up to heaven. Now if you think of hea en, you must pray for such tempers as are fit for hea- ven ; " there shall in no wise enter ini, heaven any thing that defileth" — that is, ar r thing that is sinful in itself, or would lead o iers to sin. Think then whether you really h te sin, and pray to God that you may hate t, and that he will keep you from it, that so yc i may be made fit for heaven, where your th ughts and your heart and mind even now ov ht to be. Learn another lesson. — Learn to loc : for- ward to our Saviours coming again ; ho the disciples must have been comforted whe the angels told them such good news ; whei he said " this same Jesus which is taken up \ om you into heaven, shall so come in like mar. ler as ye have seen him go into heaven." You do not know when this will be — but, children, j )U should be looking forward to it. You may e dead and in the grave before that time, and \ t you shall see him ; " they that are in the grav 3 shall hear his voice, and shall come forth . think what it must be to look up to the sk above us, and to see it open, and far as we cai look up, to see beautiful and blessed angels, thousands of thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand : and to see Jesus — Jesus the friend of sinners, Jesus, the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely. One descends among the rest Fairest, brightest, loveliest ! SERMON XXIV. 87 And w .at is he coming for, my clear children ? not to >e an infant in a manger, and a prisoner at the >ar; not to wear a purple robe of mock- ery, i id to be nailed to a cross ; but to judge the a orld, to take vengeance on his enemies, and estroy them that hate him, and to bless and ive his people. O what have we to live for, ' ut to be ready for that day ? Ts he your Savi ur now? then you need not be afraid to see im as your Judge then This Jesus who is gone away Shall come again another day ; A day of glory and of power — Welcome the awful judgment hour! Look on the glorious angel traiu Around the Lamb who once was slain, Look on the brow that wore the thorn ; How many crowns that brow adorn ! Judge of the world Thy fearful name ! — And yet our Saviour we would claim ; O wash our every sin away, And fit us for the Judgment day ! SERMON XXV. " O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee." — Psalm lxiii. 1. David knew that the Lord was his God ; but i astead of being content with this, he resolved o seek him more and more. If any one has ound God, he will seek to know more of him ; 88 SERMON XXV. if any little child begins to love and serve God, that child will go on trying and praying to love God better : and never till we wake up after his likeness in heaven shall we be able to say " I am satisfied/'that is " I have enough.'* Just think how blessed it was for David to be able to say "O God, thou art my God." Can you say it ? Yes ! He is your God be- cause he made you, and because he preserves you : but so also he is the God of all the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air; so also he is the God of the heathen, and of the poor idiot, and of the little infant who never knew him. Can you say, "O God, thou art my God." Have you prayed to him, my dear children, that there may be no idols in your heart, that you may have no God but the Lord ? and remember, he asks, "if I be a father, where is mine honour, and if I be a master, where is my fear ?" If he is your God, do you act as though he were your God ? Think of these things, and make the same blessed resolution that David made. " Early will I seek thee." In the first place, seek God early in the morning. Many grown people there are, and many children too, (you know whether this is your case) who get up so late in the morning that they have not time to pray to God. How dreadful this is ! not time to pray to him who gives them all their time to prepare for eter- nity ! not time to pray to him who watches over them, never slumbering nor sleeping ? SERMON XXV. 89 Not time to pray to him who can, when lie will, send his angel to say that "there shall be time no longer." How often do you, children, even you who are here present now, stay from school, and make as an excuse that you were not up in time ; and how often have you come in late, and neither prayed to God at home in private, nor been at school in time to join in the prayers offered up. Again, seek God early in the week* This, you know, is the first day in the week ; and very early in the morning-, on the first day in the week, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother ol James, and Salome, came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun ; but, early as they were, he was before them ; he, the Sun of Righteousness, rose before the material sun ; he, the Lord of life and glory, was not there, but he had risen, risen early from the grave. O do you rise early the first day of the week, and seek your risen Saviour ? Seek God early in the month. Many Christ- ians, while they receive the sacrament when- ever they have an opportunity, make it their custom to receive it on the first Sunday in the month, thus beginning the month by devoting themselves anew to God. Seek him early in the year : let every new year remind you of the goodness of God who has kept you, and can keep you to the end. Seek God, my dear children, ear/?/ in your lives. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." " Remember now thy Creator in the a of thy youth." I! 2 90 SERMON XXV. " When we devote our youth to God, 'Tis pleasing in his eyes ; A flower when offered in the bud Is no vain sacrifice." You are flowers in the bud, but you may not live to open ; many a one have I seen cut off like the young rose-bud by the east wind. Now — now — begin to love and serve God. Now I have one or two things more to tell you of; so try to attend a little longer. First. Those who really seek God early, will seek him late. If you begin the day with prayer, with really lifting up your heart to God, 1 mean, not with the outward form only, then you will end the day in the same manner: if you begin your lives with the service of God, then he will be your God, and will say to you, " even to your old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you." Mind one thing more ; those who seek God early and late, will seek him always. It is always early, for whether you have sought him before or not, this is the earliest time you can seek him now. It is always late, for this is the last time you have yet had, and it may be the last time you may ever have ; therefore, seek God noiv, seek him always; "pray without ceasing ; in every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I'll seek Thee when the morning sun First lights the eastern hill ; Soon as his journey is hegun, 111 seek to know Thy will. 'ON XXVI. IM Spring, summer, autumn, winter Shall find me seeking Thee — Happy that e'er my God I know, That e'er lie sought for me. And when the heavenly gates unfold, Lord ! I shall lind Thee then ; Thy perfect glory shall behold, Nor need to seek again. SERMON XXVI. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun LIGHT ON THEM NOR ANY HEAT." — Rev. vii. 16. This is a beautiful promise respecting hea- ven ; now you should love to think of heaven : if you were away from home, would you not often think of home P would you not often long to be there ? would you not like to talk of home, and its pleasures, and its employments, with those who, like yourselves, were on the way thither ? Thus it should be with respect to heaven. Let us consider then some things that the blessed apostle John tells us of it. John had been greatly favoured by God, per- mitted to behold glorious visions of heaven, and to foretell things to come : he tells us in one part of the book of his revelations how glori- ous and beautiful a place heaven is ; he speaks of gates of pearl, and pavements of gold, and foundations of precious stones. In another part he tells us (A' the water of life, and of the 92 SERMON XXVI. tree of life, and of the throne of God. Here in the text, he places the delights of heaven in an- other light ; he rather tells us what that place of happiness is not than what it is ; he calls our thoughts to what we suffer here, and tells us how different it will be with us in heaven. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; " all want shall be supplied, all suffering shall be done away. You have all felt hunger and thirst; but think how glorious this promise must be to those who, being in the lowest state of poverty, are actually in want of a bit of bread to eat — think what this promise must be to a weary traveller over those dreadful deserts of which you may have heard in hot countries, where they see no trees, or plants, or flowers ; where are no fountains nor wells of water, nor pleasant fields, but hot burning sand to tread upon, and the^vind of the desert like the heat of a furnace burning them. We should always, my dear children, observe the various seasons as they pass along, and in the hot summer wea- ther, we perhaps think more of such a promise as that in the text than at other times. You have been taught to say " I was not born a little slave To labour in the sun ; To wish I were but in the grave And all my labour done." And you may well say this with joy and thankfulness. But the blessings we read of in the scriptures are often the representations of spiritual bles- SRUO.N XXVI. 93 sin^s likewise. And when we hear that in heaven we shall he for ever free from sufferings by hunger and thirst and burning heat, let ns remember likewise that we shall be free from the sufferings of the mind which those of the body represent to us. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more." Remember one of the blessings our Saviour pronounces is this — "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." But in heaven they shall hunger and thirst no more after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied, they shall have enough. " Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." There are many heats that light upon the christian now ; there is the heat of temptation ; it is spoken of in the scriptures as a fiery trial — then there is the heat of affliction ; affliction is spoken of as a furnace. "I have chosen thee," says God, "in the fur- nace of affliction." All this will be ended when the Christian comes to heaven ; but though the sun shall not light upon him nor any heat, there is a sun that never burns and that never sets, shining upon the believer: that sun is the Son of Righteousness, Jesus Christ," the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person." O that you and L, children, may learn to think more of heaven, to long more for heaven, and to pray more that we may become fit for heaven. Well, we must entreat Him who is the sun of heaven to shine upon us even now while we are upon earth. If we wish for the 94 SERMON XXVI time when we shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, we must be content to hunger now for the bread of life, and to thirst now for the water of life. If we would at last be in a place where the sun shall not light on us nor any heat, we must now attend to the Apostle's exhortation ; we must not think it strange con- cerning the fiery trial which is to try us, as though some strange thing had happened unto us; and we must submit to be proved in the furnace of affliction, even as silver is purified seven times, knowing that our gracious God and Father, in Christ Jesus, will sit by us, as a refiner sits by the furnace in which the silver is placed, and will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able to bear, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it. When once within the heavenly fold The Christian may his God behold — Temptation's sun shall burn no more, Affliction's fiery trial's o'er. Hunger and thirst no more they know ; See where life's chrystal waters flow, And blooming fruits on life's fair tree ; Believer ! they grow there for thee. The Lamb to living fountains guides ; Mansions and thrones His care provides; And burning tears are all wiped dry By God's own hand, from every eye. SERMON XXVII. 95 "He answered \m> said, a man that is called Jesus made clat? and anointed my eyes, and said unto me, f go to the pool OF SlLO AM AND mash/ AND I WENT \NI) MASHED, AND I RECEIVED SIGHT." — John ix. 11. I am afraid you do not quite understand a verse of a hymn you often repeat, " From Jesu's side a fountain flows Of water and of blood, More healing than Bethesda's pool Or famed Siloam's flood." I will endeavour to instruct you respecting both the pool of Bethesda and the pool of Siloam. To-day the text leads us to speak of the pool of Siloam. We Mill consider the his- tory of the blind man mIio became able to see by means of Mashing in the pool; and then learn some lessons for ourselves from his history, "As Jesus passed by he saM r a man which Mas blind from his birth, and his disciples asked him saying, Master, mIio did sin, this man or his parents, that he Mas born blind ? Jesus ansMered, neither hath this man sinned; nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." Now you knoM r it is said, " all have sinned and come short of the glory of God/' and you are not to think our blessed Saviour, who knew what was in man, meant to say that this blind man and his parents had never sinned ; he meant that his blindness was not sent as a judgment for their sin; but Mas appointed, 96 SERMON XXVII. as he tells them, for this purpose, that the works of God might be made manifest in him. Then he said what is a striking lesson for lis all — " I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day ; the night cometh when no man can work." As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam. You see Jesus could use whatever means he pleased for the performance of his wonderful works. Now when the poor blind man having wash- ed in the pool of Siloam, came back, rinding himself enabled to see, you will readily believe that all who saw and knew him were astonished. Some would not believe he was the same; some said, this is he, others said he is like him, but he put it out of doubt, saying, I am he. Now w r hen they asked him, how were thine eyes opened ? attend, my dears, to the answer — it is our text, " A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, go to the pool of Siloam and wash, and I went and washed, and I received sight." There is something very wonderful in the beginning of this sentence. "A man that is called Jesus." — Now what does Jesus mean? Can either of you tell me P — Yes— it means a Saviour. A man that is called Saviour, — how can this be ? A Saviour must be almighty. — A Saviour must be God. This is the great mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the Hesh. God became man. SERMON XXVII. 97 Now we must endeavour to apply this sub- ject; the verse of your hymn tells you of a fountain flowing from the side of Jesus; that means his precious blood when the spear pierced his side ; it tells you that that fountain is more healing than the pool of Siloam of which you have been hearing. Jesus who sent the bjind man to the pool of Siloam, can lead you to the fountain open for sin and for uncleanness, so that the eyes of your mind, which are by nature, blind to your own state as sinners, and to his excellency as a Saviour, shall be open to perceive both. Now he is no more a man that is called Jesus ; but he is now a God that is called Jesus : he has laid aside one name, but he has not laid aside the other. He is still called Jesus the Saviour. Still he can open the blind eyes, and brin^ many out of darkness into his mar- vellous light. Go to Siloam's wave And wash — and thou shalt see — And bless the gracious Lord who gave Its healing power for thee. The poor blind man obeyed, Then was his sight restored ; Here own the mighty Saviour's aid, And be His name adored. There is a fountain still Can open our blind eyes ; () come and wash whoever will, For Christ the stream supplies. 98 SERMON XXVIII. "now there is at jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the he- brew tongue, bethesda. haying f1ye porch- es i in these lay a great multitude of im- potent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water: for an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water; whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. and a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. when Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now^ a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole ? The impotent man answered him, Sir, i have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while i am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk. and immediately the man WAS MADE VVHOLE, AND TOOK UP HIS BED AND walked." — John V. 1 — 9. You must fancy you see this place. You know what a porch is — a place covered over the top, but without a door, and sometimes supported by pillars; now here were five of these porches, most likely very large, for we find that in them lay a great multitude of peo- ple ; these people you must think of as being afflicted with various diseases: then you must SERMON XXVIII. 99 fancy the pool; a large piece of water near this portico: and now you cannot fancy any more; you have never seen an angel, and yon cannot think how beautiful and glorious those blessed spirits must be, nor in what form this angel might appear. We conceive of angels, and we see pictures of them like the most beautiful human beings we can think of, with light and swift wings: but till we see them, till we are like them, children, we can little think what they are. But whatever the angel appeared like, we may be sure that he came a willing messenger; that he delighted to do good, and to help and com- fort these poor diseased sufferers lying in the porch near the pool of Bethesda. And how did he help them P He troubled — that is moved the waters of the pool; and then whosoever first stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. O how anxiously they must have watched for his coming. Do you not think they longed for the time, and each tried, if possible, to get nearest to the pool ; and then came the friends and relations of the poor afflicted ones, and lifted them up, and tried to help them. And when the angel had troubled the water, and was soaring up- wards again on his light swift wing toward heaven, blessed and happy was the one who first stepped into the pool ; he went in diseased, and came out whole, — came out rejoicing, and perhaps staid to give one word of coirffort to those with whom he had waited and watched — told them that the angel would soon come 100 SERMON XXVIII. again, and it might be their turn to be healed ; and then went home, rejoicing and praising God. Children, these were blessed waters, though only the diseases of the body were cured there; though only one at a time could be cured there. But what would your ministers, what would your teachers do, could they tell you only of such a pool as this P Children! there is a fountain more healing than Bethesda's pool ; it heals more dreadful diseases ; it heals a greater number of sufferers. Suppose I were obliged to say, only one of you may come to Jesus Christ for salvation this day ; the one who first believes shall be saved, but none else; O children, it would be a mournful as well as a joyful message. It would be joyful indeed to say that one of you might be saved, but it would be mournful to think that all the rest must wait till some other time, and could not be saved now. My dear children, listen to the message, " Let him that heareth say come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him come, and take of the water of life freely." But my dears, perhaps none of you will come; perhaps not one this day will believe in Jesus as the Sa- viour of your never-dying souls. O children ! it was not so at the pool of Bethesda ; the angel did not come down in vain and trouble the wa- ter, and then go back to heaven and say that not one had stepped in. No! they were all ready; and one did step in and was healed. Now, one after another had beeu cured ; some perhaps, almost as soon as they were diseased ; SERMON XXVIII. 101 bo me who had the use of their limbs, and so could easily get near the pool ; but we read of one who bad been diseased thirty eight years; bow long be bad lain near tbe pool ot'Bethesda do not know ; bul only think how Ion- a time thirty eight years was to have an infirmi- ty; the length of your life many times repeated — a time longer than perhaps some of your parents have lived. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that be bad been now a lono- time in that case, he saith unto him, " wilt thou be made whole P " What a gracious question ! Who could have asked it but one able and willing- to cure him P Hear the poor mans answer. " Sir, I have no man when tbe water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me." While he was giving this mournful an- swer be must have remerrnbered all that he bad suffered when he saw others helped into the water by their kind friends, and he was left alone, suffering year after year, and beginning to despair: but O ! hear the gracious answer of our divine and merciful Saviour. "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked." Now you see here was a new miracle performed — but there will be nothing like this in your case; if you refuse to come to the foun- tain opened for sin and for uncleanness, you know I mean the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanseth from all sin, there will be no other way for you to be made whole. If this poor man had been able to step into the pool, [2 102 SRMON XXV III. and not willing, or if some friend had offered to help him and he had refused help, do you think that in that case, any other way of cure would have been provided for him ? Now do you understand how you may be healed ? Do you believe that the blood of Jesus Christ that flowed upon the cross on Calvary cleanseth from all sin ? Come to the opened fouutain ! Its streams can healing give : It flows on Calvary's mountain, Come, wash ! and you shall live. Let no one doubt and tremble, There's room for all who come ; Though thousands may assemble, i The Lord rejecteth none. SERMON XXIX. "O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! thou that KILEST THE PROPHETS, AND STONEST THEM THAT ARE SENT UNTO THEE, HOW OFTEN WOULD I HAVE GATHERED THY CHILDREN TOGETHER, EVEN AS A HEN GATHERETH HER CHICKENS UN- DER HER WINGS, AND YE WOULD NOT." — Matthew xxiii. 37. This is our blessed Saviour's lamentation over Jerusalem, in which we will consider three things. I. The charge he brings against Jerusalem. LMON \ \ I \ II. The account he gives of what he was willing to have done for the children of Jeru- salem, that is, for the people of the Jews. III. Their conduct towards jjim. First, what is the charge our Saviour brings against Jerusalem P He says the people of Jerusalem had killed the prophets, and stoned them which were sent unto them. This was a dreadful sin — not only to refuse attention to the warning message of the prophets, but even to persecute and kill them : but when our blessed Saviour spoke, the greatest sin of all was not yet committed ; they had yet to fill up the measure of their ini- quities by putting him to death. O what a sin was that ! Jesus was indeed appointed to be a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, but that does not excuse the sin of those who nailed him to the cross. Children, have we no part in that sin P " Yes ! our sins have done the deed, Drove the nails that fixed him there, Crowned with thorns his sacred head, Pierced him with a soldier's spear, Made his soul a sacrifice ; For a guilty world he dies !" Secondly, what does our Saviour say he was willing to have done for the Jews notwithstand- ing all their sins P " How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." . What a picture of love and kindnesses the 104 SERMON XXIX. hen, not minding the beating rain herself, but only trying to save her chickens from it ; how she spreads out her wings, and invites them to come. And this, and more than this, would our Saviour have done for the people of Jeru- salem : "How often" he says, would he have gathered them together. Remember, (for you have often read in the Old Testament, of his dealings with the children of Israel,) how often he would have saved and blessed them ; how he chose them from among all other nations, kept them in the time of famine, brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with a stretched-out arm; how he appointed Judges to govern them, and delivered them from their enemies ; how he gave them prophets to teach them, and spoke to them himself from heaven ! " How often" the time would fail us to tell, but the record is in heaven. And thirdly, what was their conduct towards him P How did they receive and repay his kindness ? Here is a charge against them, and a warning to us, " Ye would not." O what an example are the birds of the air and the beasts of the field very often to him unto whom dominion has been given over them all. No such charge is brought against the lit- tle chickens : when the hen spreads out her wings, and calls them to shelter them from the raging storm, they gladly obey her call. And so " the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's cribb, but" saith God, " Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." " They would not;" they had their choice; MlON \\l\. 105 but they chose false gods when they might have had the Lord Jehovah for their God : they chose the raging storm of God's anger when they might have had a safe shelter from the storm and a shadow from the heat : and where are they now P Not in their own land of Canaan, that glory of all lands — that land (lowing with milk and honey ; now they are scattered in all lands, strangers and sojourners and outcasts. Now you should learn to take warning by them, that it may not be said of you, ye would not come to Jesus Christ and have life; and as this is the principal lesson you have to learn from this subject, I mean to employ another sermon in endeavouring by the blessing of God to teach it you ; but in the mean time there is a lesson with respect to the Jews that I wish you to learn. When you see a Jew, lift up your heart in prayer to God for the blessed time when the Jews shall be received again into his favor. It is written, " there shall come out of Zion a De- liverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." There are Missionaries gone out to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel ; there are the scriptures written for them in their own language — their beautiful, expressive, poetical Hebrew language; there are schools for the little Jewish children where they may learn once more to sing Hosannah to the Son of David ! Yon must learn to pray for God's blessing 106 SERMON XXIX. on these attempts ; you must, (if ever you can,) give, whether of your abundance or of your poverty, to help in bringing God's an- cient and beloved people home to him. Begin to pray for them now. O David's Lord, and David's Son, Thy kingdom come : Thy will be done ; The sons of wandering Israel bring, And hide once more beneath Thy wing. Let little children learn once more To cry " Hosannah i" and adore, Till Jews and Gentiles all shall raise One song of holy, joyful praise. SERMON XXX. " O JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM, THOU THAT KILLEST THE PROPHETS, AND STONEST THEM THAT ARE SENT UNTO THEE, HOW OFTEN WOULD I HAVE GATHERRD THY CHILDREN TOGETHER, EVEN AS A HEN DOTH GATHER HER CHICKENS UNDER HER WINGS, AND YE WOULD NOT." Matthew xxii. 34. Our blessed Saviour's lamentation over Je- rusalem, contains, as I told you, lessons for ourselves. May the Lord himself teach us those lessons. We will consider that he may say the same to us as he said to the Israelites. It cannot in- deed be said to you that you have actually SERMON XXX. 107 killed the prophets, and stoned them that arc sunt unto you; but children, have you not often despised the message given you in this blessed book the bible ? Have you not often disregarded the message of those sent to you to be your teachers? xYIay not the Lord Jesus say " How often would I have gathered you together, and you would not come?" Remember that at the time of your baptism •u were presented to him, and prayer was offered up for you. How many warnings and invitations have you since had ! How often have friends prayed for you, and ministers in- structed you, and your, teachers' encouraged you by rewards and by kind words and looks. How often has the school-bell rung, and the seats been made ready, and the places been found in your books, and the teachers been waiting to instruct you. u How often !" More than a hundred times in a year, children : did you ever think of this? More than a hun- dred sermons in a year have been preached in the church near, and you might have come and heard them all. And where have the chil- dren been ? May it not too often have been said to them as it was to the children of Je- rusalem, "Ye would not." Where are the children who should now fill their places in this very class ? When are you all here to- gether, except perhaps, when you expect to be rewarded ? Where are many when the bell calls them on the morning of a Sabbath-day ? Some perhaps carelessly asleep, whereas the Saviour rose very early from the dead. Some 108 SERMON XXX. idling about the streets or fields. Some (this is a sad account,) going on errands; going to the shop to buy something they should have bought before, or for which they ought to wait till another clay. Where are the children whose names year after year were written down on the list of the class ? Where are they ? Some are dead and gone ! Often has the teacher seen the young and healthy ones fade away and die, and watched them beiug carried away to their graves. Often has the solemn tolling bell said to her, "Work while it is called to-day, for the night cometh when no man can work." Where are the children who ought still to attend at school, and give the best comfort and encouragement to their teacher ? They are gone. What? had they learnt all she could teach them ? had they practised all they had already learnt ? How many children leave the school because of some slight offence, of- ten too trifling to speak of, an offence too not taken against their teacher, though she is the one to suffer from it. — A child — still a child though growing old enough to give some lit- tle help in the school, is offended because she is asked to assist in teaching the voun^er ones, or directed to sit in this or the other place at church or school ; and then she goes quite away, grieving her teacher, and losing the op- portunity of further instruction. " Where are they!" The teacher often asks the question as she looks round on the remaining ones, and thinks of those who are gone. Some dead and seumo>: XXX. lOfl in the grave. Some wasting the Sabbath day in sinful pleasures, some in the service of those who, it is to be feared, allow them no time for school and church, and the concerns of their souls. O children ! you who are yet here, attend before it is too late, before the Saviour says for the last time, "How often Mould I have gathered you together, even as a hen doth gather her chicken under her wings." " Where are they ? " Some, we will hope> safe in heaven ! Some few, wherever they are, however separated, we will hope, still learning to love and serve God ; for we must be ever learning, dear children. My dears, there is room in heaven for you. Jesus Christ, the saviour of sinners, is yet ready to save you. He who stretched out his arms on the cross still stretches them out to receive and welcome you. O may he never say u ye would not come — ye would not come from sin, and sorrow, and death. Ye would not come to Christ, ye would not come to happiness, ye would not come to heaven!" Thank God, whatever has been said of others, this has not yet been said of you ! How often the Saviour's divine invitation Has called you to pardon, to rest, and to peace ! How sweetly the offer of life and salvation Has bid all your wandering and misery cease ! How blest are the children on Jesus believing-, How sheltered and safe when temptations arise ; On earth, his free mercy and kindness receiving, Ami fitted to share his bright home in the skies. K 1 10 SERMON XXXI. O come then, dear children ! the'Saviour is waiting, His arms are still spread to embrace you in love, And angels shall hear you your story relating, When safe you rejoice in His presence above! SERMON XXXI. " And they told him that Jesus of Naza- reth passeth by." — Luke xviii. 37. It was a poor blind man to whom they told this, and you will see that it was good news to him. Think of his affliction : it is sad indeed for any one to be blind ; but how great is the affliction when one is in poverty also : and this man was so poor, that he was compelled to beg for his daily bread. Children ! learn to pity the poor and afflicted, and not care- lessly to pass them by without thinking how you may help them. This poor man, we read, sat by the way- side, begging ; and hearing a great many peo- ple pass by, he asked what it meant. "And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." Now see the poor blind man's faith ; he had heard of Jesus before, and knew that he was able to save ; so he cried saying, " Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Now what should you have thought the people would have done ? Should you not have thought they would have been glad to hear him praying to Jesus, and would have pointed SERMON XXXI. 11 I him out to the blessed Saviour, and joined in entreating him to have mercy on him ? Instead of this, they rebuked him, — they blamed him, and required him to be silent. O chil- dren, let not this poor blind man rise up in judgment against you; how different is your lot ! Instead of being blamed when you would pray to Jesus, you are taught, you are encouraged to pray to him ; and others pray to him for you. But the poor blind man was not discouraged ; " he cried so much the more ;" and well he might : he found others would not pray for him, so he prayed the more for himself: he found men would not pity him, and could not help him ; so he cried the more to one who, being God as well as man, was able and willing to help him. And Jesus, full of mercy and kindness, " stood and commanded him to be brought unto him, and when he was come near, he asked him, What wilt thou that 1 shall do unto thee ? And he said Lorcl, that 1 receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee." Now learn two things : I. Jesus of Nazareth is here ready to save you now. II. He will not always be here ready to save you. I. Jesus is now ready to save you. He is passing by even now. When you are invited to school and to church, when you are taught the wonders of salvation, then Jesus of Naza- reth is passing by; and you, like the poor blind man have but to say with all your heart, 1 12 SERMON XXXI. Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me ;" and he will stand still to hear you, and will grant your prayer. And when he opens your eyes, and you see that you are great sinners, and that Jesus is a great Saviour, then think of the poor blind man again, for when he had received sight, he followed Jesus, glorifying God : so you must pray for grace to follow Jesus, to walk even as he walked — thus you will glorify God, But learn, secondly, that Jesus will not always be waiting to bless and to save you. He is passing by ; — Then He is going away : the day of grace is passing by, the time of salva- tion is going away. A few more lengthening and shortening days, a few more summers and winters, and there will be time no longer. Now while Jesus is passing by, now pray unto him that you may receive your sight. Jesus is passing by ; Come all ye poor and blind : O lift in faith your eye, And sight and blessing find : And when the Saviour sight bestows, O learn to follow where he goes. Jesus is passing ly> He will not always stay ; Come, then, at once draw nigh, This is salvation's day : Now pray again " so much the more" Before the day of grace is o'er. SERMON XXXII. 113 " Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.'' — Exodus xx. 8. You know that God made the world in six days; and on the seventh day he rested from all his work which he had made; and com- manded that that day should be kept holy. One day out of seven is to be kept holy ; and since the time when our blessed Lord rose from the dead, which was on the first day of the week, that day has been kept for this holy rest ; this is the day now called Sunday, and sometimes the Lord's day, because he then rose from the dead. Now when you are told to keep one day holy, it does not mean but that every day is to be kept holy in some sense. You know you can do no good thing of your- selves, but God is willing to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him : that blessed Spirit sanctifies, or makes holy; and surely those who are made holy by him, will strive to spend every day to the glory of God. But here is the difference; on six days we may, and oug^ht to labour-, and do all that we have to do, still remembering God, still thinking of his eye ever upon us, and praying that all we do, may be done to his glory ; but on the seventh day, the day of rest, employ, ments in the things of this world must be set aside, that we may think the more of that rest in heaven which remaineth for the people of God: there is to be no work done, no buying or selling, no travelling about on business or pleasure And remember, it is not a part k 2 114 SDRMON XXXII. of the Sabbath clay only, but the whole of it that is to be kept holy. There are many who go to school and to church, perhaps one part of the day, but spend the rest of it in idleness or folly : this would not be if they really loved God; they would then really love his day, and value every hour ; and not try to shorten it, as many do, by getting- up later, and going to rest earlier on that day. You all have books iit to read on this day, at such times as you are not at church ; read the bible, God's own book, and read other books, too, on this day, such books as explain the bible, and lead your thoughts to heaven, and teach you how you may be made wise unto salvation. Learn, too, to pray much to God ; begin and end every day with prayer ; but do not think it enough to repeat a few words of prayer then, at times too, when, most likely, others are present, and you may be interrupted. Strive to be alone, and to spend your time in prayer. I mention this as an employment for the Sabbath-day, not but that it is fit every day, but because on the Sabbath you may find the best opportunity for it. Think of the great kindness of God in giving us the day of rest ; true, we ought to think of him, and pray to him every day, but how re- freshing to have one day entirely for this pur- pose. And it is most delightful to think of the day of rest upon earth as a type or pattern of an eternal rest in heaven : it should make us think of heaven, and long for heaven. Here the Sabbath -davs end : a few hours of rest, SERMON XXX11. 1 lo and then into the busy world again; again man must go forth to his work, and to his labour until the evening, and that for six days together — hut children, it is not so in heaven: "There the assembly ne'er breaks up, The Sabbaths ne'er shall end." Should you not like to join that assembly ? Should you not like to keep that Sabbath ? O then love these earthly Sabbath-days, which are a preparation for that eternal rest. The busy week is o'er, Its labours all are past, The Sabbath day is come once more, And it may be the last. Lord of the Sabbath day ! These sacred hours we love ; But since they pass so soon away, We seek a rest above. O teach us, Lord, to live Here in thy faith and fear ; And thou an endless rest wilt give When toils are ended here. 116 SERMON XXXIII. " Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." — Exodus xx. 12 You can all, I hope, repeat the ten com- mandments, and you know that this is the fifth : the first four teach us our duty to God, and the last six our duty to man. Now there are two parts in the text : — I. The commandment, which shows us what we ought to do. II. The promise dependent upon it. I. Honour thy father and thy mother. — Con- sider what your father and your mother have done for you : through them you were brought into the world ; before you knew any thing, they had to labour for you, and to take care of you. There is an honour put upon the name of father, when we consider that God himself takes the name, and calls himself our father. Now to honour them, means to pay them respect; and the explanation in your catechism adds also, that you must love and succour, that is, help them. You should be ready to obey them, to do as they tell you. I say this, hoping that they will not tell you to do any thing contrary to the laws of God : if they should, you must obey God rather than man; but I hope you will find that what your parents desire you to do is according to the will of God. And children, you must love them, and return their love to you ; you must help them, too — very young children RMON xxxjii. 1 17 can find something in which they may help their father or their mother. Remember too, that this fifth commandment, like all the other commandments of God, is exceeding' broad, and the explanation of your catechism shows you that it is; for in the answer to the question " What is your duty to your neighbour ? you are taught, in refer- ence to the fifth commandment, to say that your duty, besides being to love, honour, and puccour your father and mother, is also to honour and obey the king, and all that are set in authority under him ; to submit to^all your teachers, spiritual pastors, and masters ; to order yourselves lowly and reverently to all your betters. You must learn to honour all who are set above you in any way; those children who have not parents living, have, some one who takes the place of a parent to them — a nurse, or uncle, or aunt, or grand- father, or grandmother : whoever they may be, remember to show duty to them ; to help them, obey them, to pray for them. Now what is the promise in the text to those who obey this commandment ? This is called in the New Testament, " the first commandment with promise — that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long upon the earth." But if one of you die young, am I to think that that child did not love and honour his father and his mother ? I do not understand it so: this commandment, remem- ber, was given to the Israelites when they were in the wilderness, on their way to the promised 118 SERMON XXXIII. land of Canaan ; and it seems that they were promised if they kept his commandments, their days should be long in the land which the Lord was about to give them. How often do we see children who love and honour their parents and their God, taken away from this world, cut down like flowers just coming into blossom, and removed to a better world. So we must have some other meaning for the text, than that all who honour their parents shall live to be old. Though life is a blessing from God, and we are to thank him for it, and to enjoy it while we live, yet death is a greater blessing; "To depart and be with Christ, is far better." So, children, think of another land that the Lord your God will give you, freely give you, not for your own works or deservings, but because of the merits of the Lord Jesus : he will give it you if you believe ; and if you believe, you will love him ; and if you love him, you will keep his command- ments ; this one, and all the rest. What country do I mean ? Yes — heaven, the hea- venly Canaan, the Jerusalem that is above. There is a better land on high, A land beyond the changing sky ; And children who their parents love, Shall dwell in yonder world above. Believe in Christ, and love Him still, And strive to do His blessed will ; And He will soon an entrance give, That you with him may ever live. Thou who wast subject when on earth To her who gave thee wond'rous birth, SERMON XXXIV. 1 19 O let our days in heaven be long, And full our joy, and sweet our song. SERMON XXXIV. "Many are the afflictions of the righ- teous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all."— Psalm xxxiv. 19. We are told that " man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward." It is the lot of all men to have troubles and afflictions in this world ; not the righteous only, nor the wicked only, but all — for it is a world of sin and misery. But the text leads us to think of afflictions which the righteous have peculiar to themselves, besides those which they have in common with others. Now, my dears, who are the righteous ? for the bible says " There is none righteous : no, not one." All are born in sin; but the righteous mean those who, coming by faith to the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and trusting in him, are clothed in his right- eousness: remember, these have the same troubles as others; they are subject to sickness, disease, and poverty; and to the loss of their dear friends and relations, — but consider that they have troubles besides. I. One of the afflictions of the righteous arises from their seeing sin in others : if a person who does not love and fear God, hears another take God's name in vain, it does not 120 SERMON XXXIV. trouble him ; but they who love God., and who pray, " Hallowed be thy name/' are troubled at this ; they are greatly distressed when they see those who are near and dear to them, perhaps their own parents or children, or their own brothers or sisters, sinning against God ; and when they think of the end of all these sins, they can say, " Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy law." Then again — there is the affliction of persecu- tion. We do not know much of this now in our country, but we may read in the bible and many other histories, of the sufferings of believers, for the name of Christ. Of these, the apostle tells us the world was not worthy. Have you not heard of Daniel cast into the lion's den, because he prayed to God ? and of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, cast into a burning fiery furnace, because they would not worship a golden image ? Have you not heard of the noble army of martyrs, some slain with the sword, some stoned, some sawn asun- der, some crucified like their blessed master ? If you remember these things, surely you will see that " many are the afflictions of the righ- teous." But I have not yet mentioned the greatest of all the afflictions of the righteous ; — I mean sin ; the Christian often says he longs for the time " When death shall set me free from sin, Free from the only thing I hate/' Children ! if you do not hate sin, you are not SERMON XXXIV. 121 among' the righteous. Men in the state in which they are by nature, sin against God, without regarding it; they live in sin, and it does not disturb them : Satan tempts them, and they give way to the temptation ; but it is not so with the christian, with one who loves God ; " O ye that love the Lord, see that ye hate the thing that is evil." They do hate it, and therefore sin is a trouble to them. But now for the pleasant and comforting part of our text. "The Lord delivereth him out of them all." " O love the Lord, then, ye that are his saints." When the christian is in sickness, or sorrow from the loss of friends, he looks to the Lord, and is comforted. When he sees others sin, the Lord delivers him from that trouble : he thanks the Lord for having made him to hate sin, and then he prays that others may hate it also. When he is persecuted for the name of Christ, he remembers that Jesus said, " Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake." " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all mauner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." When he sins (and all other afflictions are little to that) then he knows that there is no deliverer but the Lord ; he prays that he may hate sin more and more ; he comes to the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, even the blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin. But it is in heaven that the text will be entirely fulfilled ; then the Lord will indeed L 122 SERMON XXXV. have delivered the righteous out of all their afflictions ; then shall it be seen that all things were made to work together for good to them that loved God. Many are our sorrows here, Loss of friends, and pain and fear ; We must bear the cross and shame If we love our Saviour's name. But the greatest evil, sin, Dwells our very souls within ; We would hate it and forsake ; Lord ! forgive, for Jesu's sake. God the Lord, delivers still Every saint from every ill : Soon in yonder heaven above We shall praise delivering love. SERMON XXXV. " And he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount/' — Exodus xxxii. 19. Attend, my dear children, while we consider for a short time, four things. I. What Moses broke. II. What we have broken. III. What was done to restore that which Moses had broken. IV. What is done to make amends for what we have broken. You have often heard of the tables of stone, SERMON XXXV. 123 on which the ten commandments were written. You know that God called his servant Moses up into the mount, and gave him these tables, and he was to go down again, and teach the commandments that were written upon them, to the children of Israel ; but do you know what a sight he saw when he came down from the mount ? The people had committed a great sin, and Aaron, the brother of Moses, himself, bad joined them in their sin, for he had made for them the image of a calf, in gold ; and they all were so foolish and so wicked as to worship it, and to say, "These be thy Gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." When Moses came nigh to the camp, then he saw the calf and the dancing, Moses's anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. The people had broken the laws written on these tables ; and Moses, grieved at their sin, you find, threw down the tables, and brake them in pieces. Now consider what you have done your- selves. I have heard of wicked persons, who, not believing .the bible to be true, have taken that blessed book and burnt it, and stood to watch. the flames. O children, this is very dreadful to speak and to hear of. You have never done such a thing as this ; and I do not think you ever will. You have seen the ten commandments written in lar^e letters in the church, near the communion table; I do not think you would like to see them broken or destroyed :*but now consider — have you never 124 SERMON XXXV. in any other way broken the commandments of God. Yes ! all have sinned — all have broken his laws. You have often broken the Sabbath, taken God's name in vain, by repeat- ing* your prayers with your lips when your hearts were far from him. But L need not dwell on every separate commandment, but only remind you that the bible says, " he who offends in one point, is guilty of all;" he who has broken one commandment, has broken all. Now the third thing we are going to consider is, What was done after Moses had broken the tables of stone ? We read that after Moses had prayed to God to forgive the sin of the people, the Lord commanded him to hew two tables more, like unto the first, and to come again into the mount, and present himself before the Lord. Then the Lord again talked with him, and instructed him, and told him the words that he should write ; and we read that he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Now since Moses had broken the tables on which the commandments were written, you see that it was needful that something should be done to repair the evil ; — and since you have broken the commandments, something must repair the evil you have done. Children ! at whatever scripture we begin, we would preach unto you Jesus. We would tell you continually the one thing needful for you to know, that you are great sinners, but SERM09 XXXVI. 125 that Jesus is a great Sa\i< ur. The law of God which we broke, he has fulfilled; he came to fulfil all righteousness. He bore our sins, you know, in his own body upon the tree, and his righ- teousness is accounted unto all them that believe. This, children, is all that we have to put our trust in; then, if we believe in him, he will write his law, not on tables of stone, but on fleshly tables of the heart : he will put his law in our hearts, and we shall be his peo- ple, and he will be our God. Father ! we own before Thy face Our sins of crimson stain ; And yet we come to seek Thy grace, And shall not seek in vain. The Saviour did the law fulfil, And honour every part ; And he will write His holy will E'en now upon our heart. Lord ! in Thy righteousness we trust, For we have none beside : Holy thou art, and good, and just; Forgive, for Thou hast died ! SERMON" XXXVI. "The \ allies, also, are covered oveb with corn; they shout for joy, they also >i\g." — Psalm lxv. 13. David said, my dear children, that it is a joyful and a pleasant thing to be thankful : I l2 128 SERMON XXXVI. hope you will always find it so ; then, as you look round, and see the changes of the seasons, observing the different appearances of nature at the different times of the year, you will be always rinding new reasons for praising and blessing God. Now, in the season of harvest, our hearts should be filled with thankfulness to our heavenly Father for providing corn to make us bread. The 65th Psalm, from which our text is taken, may be called the harvest psalm ; it is very suitable to be read (as I have heard it read) at the time of family prayer, when the harvest has been gathered in : how different would such a meeting for prayer and praise be from the folly, and merriment, and waste, often known at the time of harvest home. You have been in the corn-fields, perhaps ; and did they not look very beautiful, early in the summer, when every ear of corn was of a bright soft green ; and afterwards, when a beautiful golden colour was spread over the field, and the ears were so heavy that they bent down among the bright blue and red wild flowers ? Have you been in a corn-field since the corn was cut down ; and seen how many were busily engaged in gathering it together, and binding the sheaves, and making the wheat ready to be gathered into the garner ? If you are poor, my dear children, there was still more to interest you in the corn-fields ; perhaps you were among the gleaners ; perhaps, like Ruth, who, you know, left her own country, that she might SERMON XXXVI. 127 servo the true God, you went to glean and gather after the reapers, amongst the sheaves: I do not think it likely that they were told to let fall some of the handfuls on purpose for you, and leave them, that you might glean them, and rebuke you not: but still there was some for you ; and I hope that while you took no more than that to which you were welcome, you were content and thankful. Children, think of the wickedness and mad- ness of those of whom we have heard that they set fire to the barns and store-houses of corn ; pray to God to forgive them, and to make you thankful for the harvest he has now given us. You have heard of our blessed Saviour feed- ing many thousands with a few r loaves and fishes, and this we call a miracle ; but let us not think it less wonderful, because we see it every year, that he should cause the seed sown in the earth to spring up and bear fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty, and some thirty-fold, to supply our wants. Now when you see the corn, and the bread which God gives us, think of the better food, with which he feeds the soul ; think of our Saviour calling himself the bread of life, show- ing by that comparison, that we must live on him by faith. The body cannot live without food, and the soul cannot live without Christ. Many, indeed, have a name to live, while they are dead ; may you never be among them, but pray to God to feed you with the bread of life this and every day. And before we quite end the harvest-sermon, 128 SERMON XXXVI. think of another harvest : the harvest I mean is the end of the world ; and the angels are the reapers, the tares are the wicked, and the wheat, the people of God ; aud the garner — it is heaven. O I need not stop to ask you, would you like God to gather you as wheat into his garnef ? I know you would ; I know you would tell me you hope to be saved, you would like to go to heaven. O my dear chil- dren, are you among the tares or the wheat now ? God forbid that you should hear the sentence upon you, " bind them in bundles to burn them." It will be a glorious harvest home in heaven ; may you be safe then : then shall the angels shout for joy, the ransomed ones shall also sing. Father in heaven ! whate'er we see Should lead our grateful thoughts to Thee ; We thank thee for the plenty round ; The sun, the rain, the fertile ground. Father ! we thank Thee, who hast given The living bread come down from heaven ; O give us faith, and we are fed With food from heaven, with angels' bread. And when the world shall pass aWay At the last judgment's harvest day, Among the wheat O let us be, Safe in the garner stored by thee. SERMON XXXVII. 121) "So Moses the servant of THE Lord DIED THERE, IN THE LAND OF MoAB, ACCORD- ING TO THE WORD OE THE LORD." DeiUd'OllO- my wxiv. o. In the thirty second chapter of this same book Deuteronomy, and the forty ninth verse, God had told Moses to get up into the moun- tain, and had said to him, " Die in the mount whither thou goest up." Now, as I have often told you, my dear children, whatever God says must come to pass : he had said that Moses and Aaron should not go into the promised land of Canaan; and why was this ? Have you forgotten that they had both sinned against God ? Aaron, you know, had made the golden calf which the people worshipped, (that was a great sin.) Moses had been provoked by them, and though meek and patient, had given way to anger. Now we see in the history God's dis- pleasure against sin. When Moses was in the mountain with God, that mountain where he was to die, the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all the lands in which the tribes were to live, and the city of palm- trees, and he told him that was the land which he had promised to give Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob : and while Moses was admiring the beautiful view from the mountain, for it was a most glorious land, the Lord said, "I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither." Then Moses must have remembered all the troubles he had pas- 130 SEMRON XXXVII. sed through in Egypt, and how the waters of the Red Sea were divided for him and the children of Israel to go over, and how they had wandered forty years in the wilderness, hoping and longing for the promised land ; and then when he was come so near to that land, when he even saw it with his eyes to be told that he should never go into it, never call it his country and his home ! There he died in the mount : we read of no pain, no disease, no suffering ; but he died ; the living body became a corpse. There was no earthly friend with him, none even to bury him ; but the Lord, we read, buried him in a valley, and no man knoweth of his sepulchre until this day. Now you have perhaps known some very old people ; but how old was the oldest you ever knew ? The oldest person I ever knew, lived one hundred and six years, and that we call a great age now ; but Moses lived to be one hun- dred and twenty six years old, and yet " his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated ;" he could see as well as he ever saw, and was as strong as he had ever been. Now perhaps you think this is a mournful history, that Moses the servant of God should be led up into the mountain, and die there, and never come into the good land to which he was leading the people, and of which he had so often described the beauty and fruitfulness, and told them how safe and happy they would be there. O my dear children, if you think it a mournful history, lift up a prayer for your SERMON XXXVII. 131 teachers and your ministers,, that their case may never be any thing like this ; that having talked to you of heaven and its happiness, they may not fail to go thither themselves. But there is a bright side to this history : it would be mournful indeed if there had been an end of Moses when his body died, and the Lord buried it ; it would be mournful indeed if God had said of heaven, "thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither." O that would be dreadful — could we get close to the very gates of heaven ; could we see that land, a fairer land than the fairest earthly land that ever that bright sun in (he sky shone upon ; could we see the holy city, the pure river, and the tree of life, and hear the voices of the angels, and the harpings from ten thousand times ten thousand harps, and yet not go over thither, not enter into heaven, O that would be mournful, that would be dread- ful]. But blessed be His name, the Prophet whom Moses foretold, and in whom Moses be- lieved, and whose obedience and righteousness were accepted for him, and whose blood washed out his sin — this was not the lot of Moses ; he is gone, children, we doubt it not, into a better Canaan, even an heavenly one. Learn how God hates sin, and pray that you may hate it ; and think much of heaven, and pray that you may be made fit to dwell there for ever. Lift up thine eyes and see How glorious is the land ; Is there a mansion there for thee Built bvthe Saviour's hand? 132 SERMON XXXVIII. Hast thou a home on high In yonder heaven so fair ? Then think, as thou dost lift thine eye Sin cannot enter there. Saviour ! our sins forgive O let thy blood atone — Fit thou our souls with Thee to iive Tor evermore Thine own. SERMON XXXVIII. " What shall it profit a man if hf should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul." — Mark viii. 46. The youngest child amongst you will be able to answer this solemn question when you have considered First, what is meant by gaining the whole world. Second, what is meant by losing the soul ? Now we cannot conceive of the whole world belonging to any one man ; but we can think of a man gaining all that he could wish in the world : you can think of a man being king over a great many countries, having great riches, so that he can buy every thing he de- sires, having a great many servants to obey his commands ; you may suppose a person not knowing what affliction is, seeing every thing in prosperity, his friends around him in health and full of kindness to him ; such a man may SERMON xxxvnr. 133 not liavi a wish unratified ; then as far he is able to enjoy it, he may be said to have gained the whole world, to have that which is all the world to him. You cannot conceive all the riches of the world, all the stores of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and diamonds; think if one man could possess them all, what would he do with them ? Where would he keep them that they might be safe ? What would they profit him ? But now think what is meant by losing the soul. The soul can never die. Your bodies will die, but the part within which thinks and feels and understands, will live forever; and how will it live, and where will it live P Think, children, Jesus the Equal Son of God, Jesus who is himself God over all, died that the soul might live for ever in heaven ; and can the soul be lost P What— when he died to save it ? It is dreadful to think of this, but it is possible. If the soul is saved, it is happy for ever in heaven; but if the soul is lost, it must be for ever in hell, in a place of misery beyond any thing we can conceive. And mind, children, this i&for ever : there is no returning from that dreadful place; there is no coming back into this world to try again. O, if you could see a happy soul in heaven, and if you could see a miserable soul in hell, then children, you would attend more, and you would understand better what it must be to save or lose the soul ; but little as you can conceive the happiness of M 134 SERMON XXXVIII. heaven, and the misery of hell, [ am sure you can answer the question, " What shall it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?"' You must answer, " No- thing ;" and all the angels in heaven and all the lost in hell would answer, " Nothing :" and God who sent his Son to die for you, and Jesus who died upon the cross, and the Holy Spirit who waits to sanctify you, the Almighty Three in One would answer, " Nothing." Think of this answer to the question when you are tempted to love the world and the things of the world, when you are tempted to think you cannot he happy without some earth- ly thing on which you have set your mind. Then think directly of your soul, think what must be done to save the soul. — " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Let the thought of your soul being lost or saved be ever present to you ; the thought of the great love of Jesus in dying upon the cross for you, will then be a delightful thought. When you are tempted to sin, when you are in any affliction, ask the question in the text, and give the answer. Pray that your soul may be saved, and remember, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." O if the world were all for me The treasures of the earth and sea — What would they profit in the day When death shall call my soul away ? And shall my soul be saved or lost ? Jesus has paid the heavy cost : SERMON XXXVIII. 135 He bore the cross, He sought the grave,. My never dying soul to save. Now will I seek Him in the hour Of His almighty love and power ; Before Salvation's day is o'er, Let me repent, believe, adore. SERMON XXXIX. "And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened upon h)\i." Lake iv, 20. Synagogue was the name given to the place of worship among the Jews. Now in the tenth verse of this chapter we read of our blessed Lord, that as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day. What an ex- ample this was. We know that our Savionr, being God as well as man, could not want the outward means of grace as we do, yet he went into the synagogue to worship God : how sad it is, children, to see how many neglect to attend a place of worship ; how many rise on the morning of the Sabbath day either to go about their usual employments, or to spend the pre- cious hours in folly and idleness which they call pleasure : but oh ! if they once knew the plea- sure, the real happiness of loving and serving God, they would call that sinful idleness by a very different name. Now when our Lord was in the synagogue, I 136 SERMON XXXVIII. the book of the prophet Esaias was delivered to him : you have heard of Esaias before ; in the old Testament he is called Isaiah ; he was one of the holy men of old to whom Gojl gave the power to foretel things to come ; he wrote before of the coming of Christ, and of his glori- ous kingdom. Jesus found the place where it was written, " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken- hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the ac- ceptable year of the Lord." And he closed the book, and gave it again to the minister, and sat down. "And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened upon him." No wonder— many, no doubt, began to think and to enquire whether the wonderful prophecy was fulfilled in him, — whether He was the glorious Saviour of whom Isaiah had written. Now if Jesus was here among us in the form of man, if we had but to look up and see him, " the chief among ten thousand, and the alto- gether lovely :" could we see the hands and the feet that were nailed to the cross, and see as Thomas did, the marks that the cruel nails had made ; could we see the head, to lay which he had no place; could we see the face which he hid not from shame and spitting ; could we see him clothed in the coat without seam, upon which the soldiers cast lots whose it should be, —-or, could we see bin in the purple robe with SERMON wxix. -137 which they clothed him in mockery. O children, there would be no need to tell you to look at him ; I am sure that your eyes and mine would all be fastened upon him. We should eagerly observe him, we should watch all he did, we should hear all lie said : children, Jesus is here; the eye of faith can see him. O " look unto him, and be ye saved." Look " unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith." Do you recollect St. Paul says, "We are ambassadors," that is messengers, " for Christ." Now your ministers and teachers are messen- gers from Christ to you, and so are in the place of Christ. Are your eyes fastened upon them ? No — very often you are looking about, looking at your clothes, looking one at another, instead of looking at your teachers and minis- : now if I could see your eyes fastened upon those who would tell you of Jesus, and lead you to him, then I should begin to hope that the eye of your mind, the eye of your faith was fastened upon Jesus himself. Children, a time is coming when "every eye shall see him," every eye must be " fastened upon him." At the day of judgment when he cometh in the clouds of heaven, when he sitteth on the great white throne, and before him are gathered all nations, we shall see him as a judge: O that we may see him as a Saviour too ! Lord ! we believe that Thou art nigh ; Fix on Thyself each wandering eye, And till our souls with joy to see Those who would teach the way to Thee m2 138 SERMON XXXIX. O ! we shall see Thee when at last All earthly cares and changes past, Thou dost thy judgment throne ascend — Then be our Saviour and our friend. And in the world of glorious light When faith and hope are changed tojBight, A sure and certain dwelling place, May we behold Thee face to face ! SERMON XL. "And many believed on him there. "—John x. 42. There will be four parts in this sermon. I. What is meant by believing ? 1L In whom did they believe of whom we read in the text P III. Who were they who believed P IV. When did the circumstances of which we read in the text take place P First, what is meant by believing P You may be quite certain of a thing which you have never seen. You may be sure that there is a queen in this country, whom it is your duty to honor, though you have never seen her. You may be sure that there are in differ- ent parts of the world, poor heathens who bow down to wood and stone, and for whom you ought to pray to God, though you have never seen them ; this is believing. Now on whom did they believe of whom we read in the text P SERMON XL. 139 On Jesus Christ. Now to believe on Jesus Christ so that the soul may be saved, is not only to know that Jesus the Son of God came down from heaven, and took our nature upon him, and lived and died to save sinners, not only this, but to have a heart-felt trust in him, really to come to him, and depend on him for pardon and grace and salvation. Thirdly, who believed in him P "Many" — You will think, no wonder when he was upon earth, when they saw the miracles that he did ; no wonder when he healed the sick, walked upon the water, and raised the dead. " Many believed in him." We may think of the young and the old, the rich and the poor, all learning that they wanted a Saviour, all believing in him ; great multitudes even perhaps as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, when three thou- sand were converted in one day. But now we have to consider where was this. " Many believed in him there." Many, in some particular place, learned to believe in Jesus Christ the Saviour. Children, there are many places in which many believe on Christ the Saviour. Many believe on him in this 'sinful world. Many, feeling they should perish with- out him, come to him, firmly trusting him, and warmly loving him. Many believe on him in heaven. O, I cannot tell, and you cannot con- ceive, of the thousands and thousands of thou- sands there who believe on him, and love him, and adore him. Many believe on him in hell. Do you tremble at hearing this? the devils also, we read, believe and tremble. 140 SERMON XL. But the text refers to some particular spot on earth where many believed on Christ. Of one place we read that he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief; but here we have a very different account. The exact spot was a place beyond Jordan, where, for a time, Christ abode. See how this place is pointed out by the Holy Spirit of God, and remembered in all ages of the Church. O that it might be said of this very place where you are now, " Many believed on him there" Man\ children, in that school room, believed in Christ, came to him as their Saviour, and having believed in him in one place, they con tinned believing in him : they believed in him every where ; they saw proofs of his power and goodness wherever they went; and having be- lieved on him while on earth, they were taken up to heaven, where for ever, they shall see as they are seen, and know as they are known. The saints in heaven are bending Low at our Saviour's throne, Their joyful hymns ascending To make His glory known. And wretched ones assembling Down in the place of woe, E'en they believe with trembling ; E'en they His wonders know. And we in Thee believing Dear Saviour, claim Thy grace ; Thy mercy here receiving In this appointed place. Here, where the gospel meets us On every Sabbath day, And many a friend entreats us To turn, repent, and pray. SERMON XLI. 141 u Behold how he loved him." — John xi. 30. The Jews said this of Jesus, the blessed Sa- viour, when they saw him weep at the grave of Lazarus. I will tell you a little of the history of Laza- rus, and then we will consider the text. La- zarus lived at a village called Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem; he had two sisters called Martha and Mary, and they were a very happy family, for it is said of them that Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus. But it is not the love of Jesus that can prevent sorrow from entering into a family, for " whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth ;" and so as he loved these his servants, he chastened them : he sent a great affliction upon Martha and Mary, for he took away from them their brother. O children, if ever you have lost a brother whom you loved, and who loved you very dearly, you will un- derstand their trouble : Lazarus then was dead, and they buried him. I shall not have time to tell you all the particulars : I should have told you, however, that as soon as Lazarus was taken ill, his sisters went to tell Jesus; so re- member, when any trouble comes upon you, go directly to Jesus in prayer, and tell him of it, and be sure he will pity you and help you. Jesus, having received the message, did not go to Bethany immediately : he was perfectly wise, and he waited even till Lazarus was dead, and then, saying to his disciples, " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may 142 SERMON XLI. awake him out of sleep/' he prepared to go to the place where Martha and Mary were. Many people had come to these two poor afflict- ed women to comfort them, but none could help them but Jesus. They stood by the grave where their dear Lazarus was laid ; Lazarus, who had played with them in their childhood, and comforted them when their parents died : no wonder they wept at the grave ; and falling down at the feet of Jesus, said each of them at different times, but in the same deep affliction, " Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." Now comes a wonderful cir- cumstance in the history ; " Jesus wept." We are told to " weep with them that weep," and here is an example. " Jesus wept," the God of heaven, "God blessed for evermore," wept: at one time he thirsted, at another he hungered ; then he was wearied, then he fell asleep through weariness ; here we read of his weeping, and yet he was God, God with man, God in the form of man. Now comes the text : the Jews said, " Behold how he loved him." How he loved Lazarus, they meant, that he should weep at having lost him ; but perhaps the bles- sed Saviour had other reasons for weeping than they knew of: perhaps he was thinking, not only how sad it was for Lazarus to be taken from his sisters and friends who loved him so well ; but also of all the misery that sin had brought into the world. Now if they said, "Behold how he loved him," because they saw him weep at his grave, we will think of some still greater proofs of his love. SERMON XLL 143 One greater proof of love they soon saw, when, having commanded that the grave-stone should be taken away, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth !" there was a proof of love and of power too when he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, and Jesus said, " Loose him, and let him go." A yet greater proof of love the blessed Jesus had shown to Lazarus long before; I mean, my dear children, when he first enabled him to believe, when he first made him fit for death and fit for heaven. Behold how Jesus loved Lazarus when he died upon the cross for him. He laid down his life for his sheep, and Laza- rus was one of them. "Behold how he loved him." Never shall it be fully known how he loved him till he raises him once more; for Lazarus is dead and in the grave now, — but like all the saints of God he shall rise first, and tell of his Saviour's love for ever and ever. My dear children, behold not only his love to others, but how he has loved us, how he has loved you. Behold the Saviour's love, He thirsted, hungered, wept, Far from the heaven above, Then in the cold grave slept, That sinners, all their sins forgiven, Might rise and reign with Him in heaven. See how He loved His own ; O they would love Him too, Till standing near His throne His glorious works they view, 144 SERMON XLII. Then shall loud songs of joy be poured, And Christ for evermore adored. SERMON XLII. "And the children of Israel did evil AGAIN IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD." — Judges xiii. 1. How often, dear children, do we read of the wickedness of the children of Israel — and who were they? God's chosen people,you know; those on whom he set his love, and whom he chose from among all other people to be his own people; they were the children of Abraham., who is called the friend of God ; the children of Israel were those whom he delivered out of the land of Egypt, and of whom he took care in the wilderness ; for whose sakes he made the waters of the Red Sea and the river Jordan to stand on an heap, that they might walk through on dry land ; the people for whom he destroyed many nations, and to whom he gave the land of their enemies to be their land. Think of his love to the people of Israel yet more, in giving them laws from heaven, and sending them the ten commandments to teach them what they ought to do ; think of all these things, and then see the wickedness of man, that these very people should do evil in the sight of the Lord ; do evil again, go on doing evil, after all his threatnings, and all his pro- ur. after all his puni and all his ben< is. But observi ularly ii did evil. — "In , 'it must hiv in* his sight I u to think of this whene^ r the sin maj wherever it is to he c cl, wh of it or not, it si i< lit of the Lord, for his in every place, beholding 1 the evil and the g< darkn< ;s to him, but the night is as clear as the clay; the darkness the light to him are both, alike. O children, what other thought shall make you afraid of sin, if this does not? yes! there is thought still more suitable to make us hate the thought of dying on the cros save sinners. I would begin at this scripture, and preach unto ; for who are the •1, the people of Even those who believe in the Lord Jesus C Xow chil- dren, what a dreadful thing- it is to be said of such, ''They did evil again in the sight of the Lord." True, it is said of them, "they are y are justified, they are sanctified;" "they cannot sin, because I e born of God :"" y • of sin, t : temptation to sin, is dreadful to them: tl g " for ( " tern free from sin, free tiling they ha1 wilfully or deliberat imit sin. and love sin as they did once; hut they are o ■ serve him 146 SERMON XLI. diligently as they ought : the children of Israel again do evil in the sight of the Lord. Learn, then, to long and pray for the time when this shall be said no more ; pray to be made fit for heaven ; then it shall never more be said that the children of Israel did evil again in his sight— think much of heaven : what shall those who have believed in Jesus, and trusted in his blood to cleanse them, do there ? Instead of doing evil, or being tempted to do evil any more, they shall serve him clay and night in his temple; they shall do his will perfectly, continually. And they, and all that they do, shall not only be in his sight, but he shall be in their sight for ever and ever; and they shall be like him, for they shall see him as he is. O "sin no more," for God's own eye Can every thought of sin descry; Learn then each path of sin to shun, And in the Lord's own way to run. O " sin no more," but look and see The sacred Cross on Calvary ; There Jesus poured His life-blood's stream, God's chosen people to redeem. O " sin no more," but hasten on To the bright heaven where He is gone — There all temptation shall be o'er, Nor thought of sin disturb us more. SERMON XLIII. 147 "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."— Ruth i. 16. In my sermon on the harvest, I mentioned the name of Ruth : and I now mean to tell you something* of her history, and to entreat you to be like her. There was once, during the time that the people of Israel were governed by judges, a famine, that is, as you know, a great want of bread, in the land. And a man named Elime- lech, with his wife Naomi, and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, went into the country of JNIoab, because there was bread there. They continued in Moab ten years; but affliction followed this family, for Elimelech died : think of his wife Naomi being left a widow in a strange land, and think of her sons being left without a father. In the course of time, these young men married ; the wife of one was named Orpah, and the wife of the other was named Ruth. Now you cannot understand the history well, unless you remember that the Moabites, among whom Orpah and Ruth lived, were heathens : they did not know the only true God, whom Elimelech, and Naomi, and their sons, knew. In a little time, these two young men both died ; and Naomi, being left without a husband or a son in a strange land, thought it would be better for her to return to her own country. Her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, both went with her a part of the way, but she 148 SERMON XLU!. entreated them to turn back to their own peo- ple : they loved her, and did not like to leave her; but Orpah thought of her own mother perhaps, of her own dear friends ; and she took leave of Naomi, and went back. " But Ruth clave unto her." She said, " Entreat me not to leave thee, for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge ; thy peo- ple shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God; where thou diest L will die, and there will I be buried." So she went with her mo- ther-in-law to Bethlehem, whence Naomi had come, and lived there with her. I will just tell you the end of the history, and then make a few remarks for your instruction. Ruth was afterwards married to Boaz, from whom des- cended David the King of Israel. Now what do you think made Ruth willing to leave her own country, and go with her mo- ther-in-law ? You will say perhaps, Love to poor Naomi, and pity for her. But Orpah had these reasons too. Orpah seems to have loved Naomi very well, and to have felt much for her. But yet she turned back; it was natural, it was quite right that, much as she loved Naomi, she should love her friends in her own country still more, perhaps her own father and her own mother were there ; so she kissed Na- omi, and went back to them. If Ruth had near and dear relations in Moab, as it is most likely she had, I do not think she would have been right in leaving them even to go with Naomi, unless she had a stronger reason than love and pity for Naomi— and this she had. Observe the SKRMON XLllf. 149 words of Naomi to her. " Thy sister is gone back to her people and to her gods" — gone back to her gods— gone to worship idols, gone to bow down to the graven image. Children, this makes the difference between Orpah and Ruth ; we do not say which loved Naomi best ; we do not blame Orpah for loving her own friends in Moab still better, but we see which loved the God of Israel, the One True God. Learn that it is better to give up any thing else than the opportunity of loving and serving God: the best 'place for you is that in which you will hear most of God. If you trust in him, he will direct you ; he will shew you where you shall live; he will choose compa- nions for you: learn to say with Ruth, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Learn another lesson : it is a world of part- ings ; you may be parted from the clearest friend you have ; you may not be able to say, " Whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge : where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried ;" but may you and your dearest friends all say, (< Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." So shall all things w r ork together for your good, and at last you shall be able to ad- dress the same words to the very angels in heaven. — Their people shall be your people, and their God your God. int to our friends to say 1 will ever with ihee stay; N 2 150 SERMON XLIII. Where thou diest I will die, In thy grave I wish to lie. But how many a parting word "While we dwell on earth is heard — O then we would lift our eyes, And our hearts from earth should rise. On our God our souls depend; Gracious, ever present Friend ; He will join us here in love, Raise us to his throne above. SERMON XLIV". "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, THROUGH FAITH WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS."— 2 Timothy iii. 15. These are the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy ; and they are words which may be said to many of you. From children, you have known the holy scriptures. I do not suppose you have any idea of a time when you did not know there was such a book as the bible. I do not suppose one of you can recollect when first you were taught to kneel down and pray to God, the Father, and the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit who makes holy all the chosen people of God. I do not suppose you can recollect when you did not know that there is a heaven, and that there is a SERMON XL1V. 151 hell, and that he who came to save sinners will come to judge them: I say, you have known these and many other things in the scriptures, aa long as you have known any thing. Well then, it may be said to you as it was said to Timothy, that from a child you have known the holy scriptures. But now here is a solemn question to be asked. Have these scriptures which you have known from children, made you wise unto salvation ? The text says, " they are able," but have they done so ? Are you wise unto salvation ? Do you hate sin ? Do you remember that God's eye is always upon you ? Do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for sinners ? And do you pray to him, " Lord, save, or I perish ? M Now Timothy was made wise unto salvation : the Apostle Paul who wrote to him had this blessed hope concerning him, which your teachers desire to have con- cerning you. When the Apostle thought of him, he was fdled with joy, remembering the true faith which was in him. Now you have the same scriptures which Timothy had, and many more too; for several of the books, (this very epistle to Timothy, for instance,) have been written since ; they " are able to make you wise unto salvation." But rve how they are able to do this: "through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Now comes another solemn question, Have you faith in Christ Jesus ? Eves little children may have this faith. It is easy to say you believe; but do not deceive yourselves ; you have not real faith unless you hale sin: sin nailed him to J 52 SERMON XLIV. the cross : can you believe in him and love him, and yet go on in sin ? Children, it cannot be. Can you have faith in Jesus Christ, and yet not listen when your teachers and ministers try to tell you more of him ? Can you have faith in him who was meek and lowly, and yet yourselves be proud, and quarrelsome, and un- kind ? O children, it is a great thing, a bles- sed thing to have faith in Jesus Christ. If you have faith in him, then the holy scriptures, which you have known from your youth, will make you wise unto salvation. And only think of the word salvation ! Life and safety for ever and ever ! O, it is worth while to learn these scriptures, worth while to believe in him of whom we read in them. If you do believe, O pray continually, "Lord, increase our faith." Lord ! we have known Thy holy word From childhood's earliest days! Of heaven and hell we oft have heard, And wisdom's pleasant ways. O give us all a living faith, Increasing, firm, and true, To hear whate'er our Saviour saith, And all His will lo do. Let free salvation, Lord, be given ; And then for evermore, Blest in Thy high and holy heaven Thy name we shall adore. SERMON XLV. 153 the chief pru ibe8 the wonderfi l : ii! \t he did, the children crying in the templ1 sa^l wg, hosannah to the son of david, they were sore di 1), and sail) unto him, hearest thou what these say ? and jl them, Yea, have ye never kead, OUT OF rilF MOUTH OF BABES AM) SI THOU HAST I'EUFECTFO PRAISE." Matthew X\i. 15, 16. You would have liked to be there, dear chil- dren, in the temple at Jerusalem, when that blessed Saviour, who was " a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," who had laid aside his glory, and endured so much contradiction of sinners, enjoyed a time of triumph. He went into the temple of God, and he himself being God equal with the Father, that was his house; there he reproved the people for buying and selling in the temple ; they bought and sold the doves and other animals which were used to be offered up as sacrifices. Learn here, children, that the house of God is set apart for his service, and is to be considered as a holy place. The- blind and the lame, we read, came to him in the temple, and he healed them. I have seen a beautiful picture of this. You must fancy as well as you can, how gracious our blessed Saviour looked, how kindly he laid his hands upon one and another as they were brought to him; how anxious the friends of these poor sufferers were that Jesus should 154 SERMON XLV. touch and heal them. And here, my dears, it was not, as I hope you remember hearing it was at the pool of Bethesda, that only the first who came was cured ; here, every one that came to him was cured, and so it is now. Only try — only come to him by faith; think of your sins, and say, "Lord, if thou wilt thou canst make me clean." And be sure he will — this is his will. " This is the will of God, even your sanctification," even your being made holy. But now, I want you to attend to the ex- ample of the children ; they cried in the temple, saying, " Hosannah to the son of David." Hosannah means praise; and well might they praise him, for he had been born a little helpless child, and had gone about doing good, and soon he was going to die upon the cross to save children. Well may you praise him, and say " Hosannah to the son of David," till, as we hope is now the case with these children, you are taught to praise him better in heaven. Perhaps you wonder at the chief priests and scribes being displeased at the children's song : yours is a very different case; instead of re- proving you when you attempt his praise, your teachers and friends encourage you; they choose the simplest tunes for you, and en- courage you to sing them ; they think of the easiest hymns, that you may understand and learn and remember them ; they put the very words of praise into your mouth, (O that they could put the very spirit of praise into your heart :) they think of every plan to make you SERMON MA. \66 attentive when you are learning to praise God. Remember, that though your friends en- courage you to praise Gud, you may some time or other meet with those who would blame and laugh at you for loving and serving God ; if ever this should be the case, think of these children; they were not discouraged from singing the praises of God. And observe, that though the chief priests and scribes were dis- pleased, Jesus was not: and though your friends and teachers love to hear you sing the praises of God, your Saviour loves it still more. He listens ; you do not see him as those happy children did, but he sees you, he hears you. He is gone to heaven, into a better temple than that one at Jerusalem ; and if you love him here on earth, you shall, in his good time, be made pillars in that temple of God, and go no more out for ever. Now then, begin the song of praise with your lips and with your hearts. Hosannah to the King of kings Who laid His glory by ; A thousand harps of golden strings Are praising Him on high. Hosannah ! we would join the sound, We love the Saviour's name ; It echoes earth and heaven around, The hymn is still the same. Hosannah ! Thou the tune wilt own, Though weak and faint the lays, ( ) take us to Thy glorious throne, \nd perfect there our praise. 156 SERMON XLVI. "We all do fade as a leaf."— Tsaiah ixiv. 6, Do not let the changing- seasons of the year pass round without learning a lesson from them : there is a lesson written on every fading leaf that strews the path, and on every flower that withers, smitten by the cold autumnal wind. "God halh made all things beautiful in their season," but he hath made all earthly things to perish and to fade away. He who made the mild spring and the beautiful sum- mer, who renewed the face of the earth, and who made the vallies to stand so thick with corn that they laughed and sang, has now made the mournful autumn : the fruits of the earth are now gathered in, the latest flowers are blossoming, and they will not blossom long; the leaves are changing colours upon the trees, while many are already fallen to the ground, and many, wherever we look, floating for a moment in the air, and then falling like those that fell before. Now we should not learn the lessons they have to teach us, except the word of God taught us the same: think of the text again then ; that is the lesson written on every leaf. "We. all do fade as a leaf." We all are like them ; we were made by the same hand that made them ; we were placed in an ap- pointed station by him who chose where every leaf should stand ; and when he chooses, he will send death to remove us from our place, just as he sends the wind to shake down the es Iron.' SERMON XL VI. 157 Now the leaf that grew on some low plant close to the ground, and the leaf that was on the very top of the highest tree, both alike fall on the ground ; so the richest and the poorest, the highest and the lowest, all fall alike, all must go into the grave, " the house appointed for all living." Have you never seen the leaves in the au- tumn turn of a beautiful colour, bright yellow, or purple, or red ; so that, though we knew they were withering, and would soon fall and perish, we could not call them faded leaves, for they were brighter than before. I think we may compare these to the aged Christian who cometh to his grave " in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season ;" his path is as "the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day :" his graces shine brighter and brighter : their case resem- bles that of the leaves ; every storm that blew upon them, every sun-blast that scorched them, only made them of a brighter and brighter colour, and they fell when the time was come, more beautiful than ever. But see in a path strewed with leaves, how many are unchanged in colour, still of a bright fresh green, just as they were in spring and summer. Why did they fall P Not because they had decayed gradually, and must fall in the course of na- ture; but because some rough blast of wind came across the tree, and rudely tore them from the branch. Now what are these like ? O, are they not like the young and the healthy snatched away by a sudden stroke ? Children, o 158 SERMON XLVT. " we all do fade as a leaf;" not the aged, not the sickly alone — but all— the youngest, the healthiest, the rosiest, the merriest, have the seeds of decay within ; and as little as we can look upon a tree, and say which leaf will fall next, as little can we say which of you shall next fall into the grave. Then I must not end my sermon without reminding you of another text. St. Peter says, and they are comforting and blessed words, "The grass withereth, and the flower thereof fad eth away, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." Now the gospel is the good news of salvation ; this word, this message which is preached by the gospel endureth for ever. Children, have you heard the gospel ? have you believed the gos- pel ? Have you heard of Jesus, how he hath died that you might live ? Did you ever think of endless life ? The withered leaves had a short life, and as you fade like them, yours will be a short life on earth ; but children, attend, and remember, there is eternal life in heaven, there are no changing seasons, no withering flowers there. O believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who is gone there to prepare a place for them that love him. ei We all do fade" — the old, the young, The rich, the poor must die; The life may be but just begun, The dying hour is nigh. SERMON XLV1I. 150 The grass may wither, and the flowers Be lowly laid in dust, Yet shall eternal life be ours If in the Lord we trust. SERMON XLVIT. "Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better."— -Philip- pians i. 23. Persons will sometimes say when they think of any thing very dreadful, that they would rather die than suffer it ; and sometimes when they speak of sin, they say it would be better to die than to sin : thus they make death ap- pear to be something very terrible. But the Apostle Paul, in the text, shews death in a very different light ; for departing and being with Christ means dying. This the Apostle had a desire to do. We will say a little I. Concerning departing and being with Christ. II. Consider the Apostle's desire. III. The reasons for that desire. First, think of the words, "to depart and to be with Christ." When you are asked, "where is Christ now 3 " you answer, "He is alive again, and gone to heaven." 'So then, " to de- part and to be with Christ," is to be with him in heaven. " I ascend," he said, " unto my 160 SERMON XLVII. father and to your father, unto my God and your God:" and we address God as "our Fa- ther which is in heaven." Now for this happiness the Apostle tells us he had a desire. He longed for the time of his departure ; he was not afraid to die, though his was to be the cruel death of a martyr ; he was not only willing but ready, not only ready but desirous to leave this world. But we must ob- serve that this desire was quite in submission to the will of God : he said he was " in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, nevertheless to abide in the flesh," that means, to continue in this world, was more needful for his people : so he could say, " Thy will be done." The Apostle's expression being " in a strait betwixt two," not knowing which to choose, shews that it is well for us that we have not our choice. We may have a desire for death, and yet be willing to stay here as long as it pleases our heavenly Father. Now we come to the Apostle's reasons for " having a desire to depart and to be with Christ" — he says it "is far better." You know the bible was not first written in English ; in the language in which this epistle was first written, there are three words which are expres- sed by these two English ones, and the mean- ing of each is very strong and full : the Apostle used as strong expressions as possible to shew, if he could, how much better departing and being with Christ is, than staying here. And now why is it far better to depart and to be SERMON XLV1I. 161 with Christ ? O, there are so many reasons that I do not know which to give you first — because, u in his presence is fulness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore :" because they who are once admitted into the temple of God are made pillars there, and go out no more for ever : because there is no wish unsatisfied, no restless diseased body, no un- kind word ever heard, no unkind feeling- ever known there; because there is no parting- friend, no finding of a secret enemy ; because " the sun shall not light upon them nor any heat," neither shall the inhabitants ever say, "I am sick." It is far better to depart and to be with Christ, because where he is, there is no sin and no temptation ; there shall never enter into that world any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie. It is far better to depart and to be with Christ, because they who are with him see him as he is; "they see his face, and his name is in their foreheads:" and "the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever." Now if it is not far better to depart and to be with Christ, tell me what better enjoyments than all these are there in this world. Think how dreadful it must be to depart and not to be with Christ: it would be far better to be in the greatest misery on earth than to de- part and not to be with Christ. We should inquire whether we are ready for that blessed o2 162 SERMON XLV1I. world of which we have been thinking. None are fit for heaven who live in sin ; none are fit for heaven who trust in their own righteous- ness. We must love Christ now, we must dwell in him and he in us now, we must be his servants now, if we would find that when we depart, we are with him for ever and ever. Lord ! how blessed must it be To depart and be with Thee ! Earthly things for ever past, O how sweet to rest at last ! Ever while we dwell below Teach us all Thy ways to know, Then how glorious to depart And to see Thee as Thou art ! SERMON XLVIII. "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you." — John XV. 14. Consider here, my dear children, two things. T. What does Jesus Christ require of us ? II. How will he treat us if we do what he requires ? First. We are to do whatsoever he com- mands us. Now this is a great thing; he com- mands us to believe in him, to honor him, to serve him. We are not only to do some things that he commands us, but all things. Now we cannot keep one of God's commandments, and despise another; if we do one thing that is SERMON XLVIII. 163 right from love to our blessed Saviour, we shall earnestly desire to do all his will, and to keep all his commandments. All things that he commands you are written in the bible; you must read them there, for I cannot tell you all of them, but I will tell you a few : you must " set your affections on things above ;" you must do to others as you would wish them to do to you ; (now while I tell you these things, examine yourselves, and think whether you do them, and lift up your hearts to God in prayer for his pardon and grace ;) you are to love and help your parents, to continue in prayer, to strive against sin, to resist the evil spirit who tempts you to sin. Can you do these things of yourselves ? No more than a little infant can take care of itself; no more than a dead body can get up and walk. No — we cannot do these things of ourselves ; we cannot keep one part of the law if we are left to ourselves: but now observe, one of the things that Christ has com- manded us is to abide in him, to depend upon him, to look up to him for grace and strength. He says, "without me ye can do nothing:" think of these words ; then you will begin to know what a blessing it is to have a Saviour ever present, full of power, and love, and pity, and able to make all grace abound towards you. O learn to trust in him, and to pray to him continually for grace and strength. Secondly, how will Jesus Christ treat us if we keep his commandments ? He will call us friends. Now if some one of whom we think very highly, and whom we 164 SERMON XLVIII. admire very much, calls us a friend, we are pleased ; if we are walking in the way to hea- ven, we love to be called friends by those who are walking in the same way. This is an honor, but how much greater an honor to be called the friends of Jesus ! My dear children, think who Jesus is, the Equal Son of God, One with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Angels and archangels fly to do his will, and yet he stooped down to earth. And who are we ? poor, weak, sinful creatures in a world of temptation, and he calls us 'friends. He does not say, ye shall be my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you ; if you love and serve me on earth, I will take you to heaven when you die, and there, being made like unto the angels, ye shall be so honored that ye shall be fit companions even for me, and I will call you my friends. This would be glorious, and this will be your portion if you love him ; but the text promises some- thing more; it offers us the blessing even now ; " ye are my friends," it says, " if ye do whatso- ever I command you." " Ye are my friends" even now; and think of this, children, you need not go to heaven to have the glorious blessedness of being the friends of the. Lord Jesus Christ. You may be his friends even now. Now friends love each others company; if you are his friend, you will love to think of him and to pray to him. Think what it is to have the Lord Jesus Christ for your friend. All power is given to him in heaven and in earth ; so that if he in whose hands are all things, is on your side, no evil can come to SEMRON XLVIII. 165 you. But now, if he is your friend are you his? If you are, you will seek his glory : you may think this difficult, and even impossible but you must pray to him to enable you; pray -that you may act always as in his sight, so shall they who see you take knowledge of you that you are with Jesus. " Ye are my friends," the Saviour said, If in my narrow path ye tread ; My promised grace your strength secures, Ye are my friends and I am yours. " How great the honor," we reply, The name how sweet, the love how high ! O we would keep the narrow way, And all our Lord's commands obey ! SERMON XLIX. "Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord." — John XX. 20. You could all tell me, I hope, the particu- lars of our Saviours death and of his being buried : but you know he did not continue in the grave; he rose the third day, and showed that he had conquered death and the grave. In this chapter, the 20th of St. John's gospel, we have an account of his glorious rising from the grave, and showing himself to his disciples. The verse before my text contains a wonderful history. " Then the same day at evening being the first day of the week, (that is the day we 166 SERMON XLIX. call Sunday, and are to keep holy as the Lord's-day ;) when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, ' Peace be unto you.'" The doors were shut, you find, for fear of the Jews; many of the Jews did not believe in Jesus, and would have come to persecute those who assem- bled to worship him. Children, how thankful should we be every time that we meet together in our churches in peace and quietness. How wonderful for Jesus to come and stand in the midst of his disciples, the doors being shut. O, let us lift up our hearts to him in prayer that he would come in now, and be in the midst of us, and say as he did to them, " Peace be unto you." And when he had so said, he showed them his hands and his side ; those hands in which were the marks of the nails that, you know, fixed him to the cross ; and that side which was pierced by the soldier's spear. "Then," we read in the text, "then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord." Yes ! they were glad even though they saw where the nails and the spear had been, glad to see him alive again, glad to hear him bless them, and give them peace. Now, my dear children, have we seen Jesus, and are we glad when we see him ? That we may be able to answer these questions, we will consider that his people still see him, though not as they did who were with him on earth ; they see him with the eye of faith when they first believe in him. If you know that you are SERMON XLIX. 107 sinners, in danger of eternal death, and then are taught that Jesus is the Saviour, and that if you believe in him you shall be saved, then we may say you see him ; not with your bodily eyes indeed, but by believing in him, as I have often tried to explain to you. Do you see him as he was nailed to the cross to save sinners ? Do you see him bearing your sins, your very own sins in his body on the tree? If you do, I am sure you must be glad, you ought to be glad; O that we could all see him thus, and think more of the great love wherewith he loved us. Now his people, when once they have seen him in the manner I have told you, see him often; they wish to see him continually ; but they are in a wicked world, and Satan, their cruel enemy, tries to make them forgetful of him. Then they must pray, "Lord, turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity :" they say to the Lord Jesus, u Fix my heart and eyes on Thine, What are other objects worth ?" Yes ! they wish to see him, they wish to be as the scripture says, "Looking unto Jesus;" they wish to see him in all the ways of his providence, and all the works of his hand. And they are glad when they see him. But an awful and a glorious time is coming, I mean the day of judgment; then every eye shall see him. But O, my dear children, who shall be glad v. hen they see him P Not the wicked, not 168 SERMON XLIX. those who on earth disobeyed him and despised him ; they shall call on the mountains and the hills to hide them from him, but in vain : he will see all, and all will see him at one mo- ment. O, think often of this. Some will in- deed be glad to see Jesus then. When every thing around is confusion and terror, when not one house alone, nor one street of a city alone is on fire, but all the world is burning-, and all the heavens rolling away like a scroll, O chil- dren, then how glad will believers be to see Jesus, to look at him who made their peace with God. And observe, those who see him with glad- ness at the day of judgment, shall see him through all eternity ; they shall see him as he is, and be like him for ever. My dears, I need not ask you, I need not tell you whether they shall be glad then. I cannot describe, and you cannot conceive the glory and the blessedness; but O may we share it. IMay we be among his disciples now, glad to see him as our Saviour, making our peace with God, glad to see his ways and bis works, glad to see him at the day of judgment, as the blessed Saviour and Peace- Maker; then through all eternity we shall see him, and we shall indeed be glad when we see the Lord. See the Saviour lives once more, Own Him, thank Him, and adore ; Glad at heart ye well may be When your risen Lord you see. SERMON XLIW 166 Children ! you may see Him too, Come ! your glorious Saviour view ; He has died that you may live, He will full salvation give. When the world shall have an end, See Him as your Judge and Friend ; Then in heaven your souls shall rest, Ever with his presence blest. SERMON L. "And my people shall dwell in a peace- able HABITATION, AND IN SURE DWELLINGS, AND IN QUIET RESTING PLACES."— Isaiah XXxii. 18. My dear children, this is a beautiful pro- mise ; and 1 will tell you three ways in which it is fulfilled. First. In some cases, we find the words true as it respects earthly things: the people of God have safe and comfortable earthly dwel- lings; thus it is said in one of the psalms, "He maketh peace in thy borders." All the earthly things we have come from God. ' You may hear of the madness and the wickedness of men, how they will come and set fire to the houses of their neighbours, and burn them to the ground ; you may hear of houses being destroy- ed by stormy wind and tempest; think of such things, and consider why is one safe when ano- ther suffers ' J It is because God in his great 170 SERMON L. mercy is pleased to save and to bless. Many pray to him, thank him for the homes he has given them, and ask him, if it be his will, that they and their dwellings may be preserved ; and if he hears and grants this prayer, then every time we rise in the morning in peace and comfort, we should think of this text, and how he fulfils it (as he does all the promises.) " My people shall dwell in a peaceable habita- tion, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet rest- ing places." Secondly. But sometimes God does not grant the earthly blessings his people wishes for. Those who trust in him, love him, and pray to him, may see their earthly homes destroyed. Children, what becomes of the promise of the text then ? Is it still true that his people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places ? O yes ! God is the home of all his people ; they shall dwell in the secret place of the Most High. Do you understand me ? Have you heard of dwelling in Christ ? He is compared to a rock; — a rock, you know, is very strong; and here is a glorious thought — tlie rock opens, and we may enter in, and be safe there: thus, you know, the beautiful hymn says, " Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee." The Rock of Ages means Jesus Christ ; and the word cleft means opened or divided. O may the Saviour, the Lord Jesus be to you what the SERMON L. 171 ark was to Noah, into which he entered, and was safe. May you "find Jesus your home, so that whatever earthly troubles you may meet with, you shall find that the text is true; you shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. Thirdly. There is yet another sense in which the text is most fully proved to be true : think of the end then; there is indeed a peaceable habitation, and a sure dwelling", and a quiet resting place to which I would direct you, for u we know that if our earthly house of this ta- bernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens:" that is the safe home, the ever- lasting home. Children, think of heaven ; the thought should make us contented upon earth, and yet willing to depart and to be with Christ: but are we fit to go there ? this ques- tion should be often and seriously asked. We are not fit, unless we come to Jesus now as our safe dwelling place. See the scriptures testify of Jesus ; whatever text we take, we must speak to you of him. Come then to him by earnest prayer, and you shall find him a refuge from the storm, and a shadow from the heat. Lord ! in our earthly homes we dwell. Blessed and preserved by Thee ; Thy love secures Thy people well, From fear of danger free. Our earthly homes may pass away. But changeless is Thy grace, 172 SERMON L. To Thee we look, with Thee we stay, Our sure abiding- place. O lead us on the pilgrim road To mansions that endure ; How safe, how peaceful heaven's abode Heaven's resting-place how sure) SERMON LI. " Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your lord doth come." — mat- thew xxiv. 42. I shall take the last part of the text first, and say a few words to you on the solemn thought that we do not know when the Lord will come. Secondly, we must consider what we are to do because we know not when the Lord will come. First. The text says, "ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." That he will come, we know, because it was told those who watched him when he went up into heaven, " This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." The dis- ciples did not know that he would go up from them that day; he went up in a sudden glo- rious manner, and in like manner he will come again, but we know not when : think of the solemn words, my dear children, and believe them ; " they shall see the Son of man coming SERMON LI. 173 in the clouds of heaven :" think of those who are living in sin ; how glad they would he to know exactly the time when this shall he, thinking that they would leave off their sins, and he ready for him : hut children, we should search the word of God in vain to find out this. Christ will come, but we know not when : ob- serve it is said, " your Lord ♦" But ask, child- ren, how is he your Lord ? Is it only because he is Lord of all things, for he made all things and they are his ; or is he your Lord in ano- ther sense, because he redeemed you by his blood, and makes you holy by his Spirit ? Is it thus that he is your Lord ? If so, you must be his servants. Now since ye know not the hour when he will come, what are you to do ? w Watch therefore," that is, for this very reason. If we were sure that robbers would come some night, and did not know when, should we not watch ? And what is it to watch ? You would know if you had heard it threatened that the house in which you live should be burnt, you would know then how you thought not of fatigue or of rest : how you sat listening to every sound, and preparing to escape for your life. Child- ren, watch, for the Lord is coming ; we know not when : the book of God tells us not the hour, nor the day, nor even the year. O be ye ready also ! To watch for his coming is to expect it, to be prepared for it, to be ready for it. I will tell you who are ready ; they who as sinners, have come to* the Cross of Christ that they may be saved, who believe his word, and p2 174 SERMON LI. do his will. To such it is not a dreadful, dif- ficult task to watch. O, it is delightful to think, we do not know when he will come, but we know that his coming 1 is nearer now than it was a year ago, nearer now than it was yesterday. What are you thinking of? Of this world onlv, and its amusements and em- ployments P or are you remembering how soon it will pass away ? Are you thinking of Jesus, how he loved you, and died for you ? Will you like to see the sky divide, and the Saviour com- ing in the clouds of heaven ? O glorious hour ! Do you long for his appearing ? then you are watching. O watch still. Do not go away and forget that Jesus is coming again, and that you do not know when he is coming. Do not for- get to pray to him to watch over you, or you cannot watch for yourselves. He is the shep- herd of Israel ; and he neither slumbereth nor sleepeth. Watch ! for ye know not when The day or hour shall be ; The Son of man will come again, And every eye shall see. Soon will the sky divide, The glorious Judge descend, Once for His people crucified, Now their almighty friend. O, are we ready found ? Is Christ our only stay ? Then we will hail the trumpet's found, And bless the Judgment day. M SERMON LI J. 17o "I HAVE FED YOU WITH MILK, AND NOT WITH EAT." — 1 Corinthians iii. 2. T told you, my clear children, I hoped to write a sermon for you for every Sunday in the year. It has pleased God that we should live through all the past months, and we are now come nearly to the close of the year; look back and remember the instructions you have re- ed : the apostle says to the Corinthians, "I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear it." Milk is food suited to the young and weak; and by saying" that he had fed them with milk, he means that he had given them such instructions as were easy for°them to receive and to understand. I have tried to do the same, my dear children; I have chosen such words as I hoped you could understand. I have not fed you with meat, that is, I have not attempted to teach you dif- ficult things ; try to remember what has been taught you. I have told you wonderful things indeed, things which the angels desire to look into, of the love of God the Father, the Son, and 'the Holy Spirit; but I have told you that if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Saviour, God himself will open your understandings to understand things hidden from those who trust to their own wisdom. I have told you of Jo- seph, and Abijah, and Ruth, and Timothy, who began to fear God when they were young ; and I have told you that God will give his Holy Spirit to you if you ask him, that you top may 176 SERMON L1I. be made wise unto salvation. I have told you of death, that though you are young and healthy, another year or another day, may find you pale and cold in death. I have told you of the day of judgment, that most awful day when the heavens shall roll away like a scroll, and the earth shall be burnt — then I have told you of heaven and hell, that those who, with all their heart, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and leave off their sins, shall, for his sake, be taken to heaven, and be there with God for ever; but that " the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Now have I not often told you how willing Jesus the Saviour is to redeem you, how he w r aits to be gracious, and stretches out his arms as he did to the little ones when he was on earth ? Thus I have endeavoured to feed you with milk : the apostle Peter exhorted those to whom he wrote to desire the sincere milk of the word that they might grow thereby. Now the question is, have you grown by the milk ? have you gained any wisdom ? have you grown in grace/ 3 You must pray, children, you must pray not with the lips only, but with the heart, that you may be made wise unto sal- vation. I want to teach you that you can do no good thing of yourselves ; your teachers can but tell you the things that concern your souls. God can give you the hearing ear, and the un- derstanding heart. O pray to him more ear- nestly than you have ever yet prayed. Say to him, SERMON LI I. If fliine are the grace and power, () Lord 1 And now we come to Tli- Thy Spirit give, thy help afford, For helpless souls are we. We hear of death, of heaven, and hell. Yet careless oft remain ; O let Thy Spirit in us dwell, Lest still we hear in vain. O let us grow in grace and love, Till on Thy heavenly hill, With songs that angels sing above, We praise Thy mercy still. SERMON LIII. "Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy." — Luke ii. 10. Christmas-day is a glorious and a happy day. Well may christians rejoice when it comes, and assemble with their friends and neighbours in the house of God. Well may they adorn those houses of God with ever- green branches, looking cheerful and beautiful in the midst of the cold and gloomy winter. Children, you know the story of the Saviour's birth, but never be tired of hearing it. Do you know who first spoke the words of the text, who first said, " Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy." It was not one man to another, it was a blessed angel from heaven ; and the news he brought was indeed iit for an angel to 178 SERMON LT1I. bring. He spoke to shepherds who were in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night." "The angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. But the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people." Well might he call it good tidings — good news. Could any other news be so good ? What do sinners want but a Saviour P What did the poor shepherds want ? Suppose they had had great riches given to them, so that they might have left their wearisome employment of keeping sheep, and lived among the rich and great, what would it have profited them? In a few years they must die, they must leave all earthly things and appear before God. What then did the shepherds want? What was the one thing, the very thing, the only thing' they wanted ? Was it not a Saviour, that so they might be safe, safe in death, safe in judgment, safe in eternity ? and what do we want, child- dren ? Is it not a Saviour ? What is the best news our ears can ever hear, and our hearts believe ? Is it not that there is a Saviour, and that this Saviour is Jesus of Nazareth, and that he will be our Saviour now if we ask him ? "Behold," children, "I bring you good tidings of great joy." I who want this Saviour myself, tell you of him. What a mercy that the angel was not the only messenger who could bring this good news. Men may bring it one to another; ministers bring it to the people: SERMON LIU. 179 missionaries go the ends of the world to tell it to the poor heathen. Is ic not a wonder that we are not all more willing to believe it, and to tell it one to another. O let our lips be si- lent no more! "Behold I bring you good tidings/' I have told you before of Jesus, but now yet again, now hear and believe, my dear children, I bring you glad tidings of great joy. I tell you that the Son of God, He who was with God, and was God, took the form of man, was born into the world, his mother be in pure and holy virgin, and lived and died upon earth that you might be saved. If this is not good news, I can tell you nothing better : angels from heaven could tell you nothing bet- ter ; God himself could tell you nothing better. O believe in it ! O rejoice in it ! Think of the manger for a cradle, where the Saviour lay; think of the cross on Calvary on which he died. Think of the heaven of heavens 'where he reigns, and ask yourselves, Is it not good tidings that this Jesus is our Saviour ? Beliold I bring you news To make your souls rejoice, Let not the sons of men refuse To hear an angel's voice. To you is born the Lord, Your glorious Saviour view, Jesus, by heaven and earth adored. Is come to dwell with you. Hear how the tidings sound O'er all the listening earth, One to another spreads it round And hails the Saviour's birth. 180 SER " S© TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS, THAT WE MAY APPLY OUR HEARTS UNTO WISDOM."— Psalm xc. 12. It is the hist Sunday in the year, my child- ren, and this is the last sermon ; now even if you have heard all the others in vain, it is not too late to hear this one with profit to your immortal souls. The text speaks of numbering our da^s: we are very apt to do this; children generally know how old they are, and they are pleased when a birth-day comes, and like to reckon themselves one year older than they were be- fore. Can you remember all your days ? Can either of you tell me how many days you have lived ? Some of you have lived three or four thousand days. O, do you ever think of having to give an account for all these days ? Now how many days of holy rest, how many Sun- days have you lived ? four or five hundred, some of you ; even in the last year, fifty-two of these blessed and holy days have been given you. How have you spent them ? What have you done with them ° How seldom have you all been here together ! Sometimes there have been a great many of you present, and I have thought, shall I ever see them all together again P I thought not, but then I remembered the day of judgment. O children, we shall see each other then ; not you only will be there, but all whom I have ever taught, all who have left the school because they wanted change, or SERMON LIV. 181 because they thought they were too old or too tall to come and stand in the class, all will be seen together. O, if the last Sunday in the year is a solemn day, how solemn is the day of judgment. Now we can "number our days;" we can reckon how many days there are in a year, and how many Sabbath days, and how many days even in our whole lives ; but how do we number our days ? how does the text pray that we may number them ? So that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. I do not think I have neglected to tell you what wisdom means, but have you forgotten it ? I will tell you again: "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;" and not the beginning only, but the whole of wisdom, for in the book of Job it is said, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." Now have you the fear of the Lord ? You may fear God, and yet love him : indeed if you do one, you will be sure to do both ; if you really love God, you will fear to offend him. Do you think at every moment, that the eye of God is looking at you ? If once you trust in the Lord Jesus for the pardon of all your sins, and think of God as your friend, the thought of God's eye being always upon you, will be most delightful to you. You will then indeed be in the fear of the Lord all the day long, and that is wisdom. Now it is a strong expression, to apply the heart unto wisdom. It means really to devote oneself to the work of the salvation of the soul, really to think and to make that the one thing needful. And mind, Q 182 SERMON LIV. it is the one thing needful, whether you think it so or not. But I suppose you do think it so ; I suppose you think it of more consequence that the soul should be saved, than any thing that can occur to you in this world; but do you act accordingly, and do you behave as though you remembered that every day may be the last ? Now think of the goodness of God ; think how he has led you through this year, and through all the years of your life, and will you not love him ? Will you not pray for grace, that you may be his for ever and ever. Lord ! month by month, and day by day, Thy love has been our guide and stay — Humble and thankful hearts bestow, Till ends our journey here below. How swiftly pass our years along ; O crown them with a grateful song ; From Thee how many gifts bestowed Refresh and cheer us on our road ! The race must end — the day be past On Thee our every hope is cast : O lead us on, till safe in heaven Adoring thanks to Thee are given. T N D E X SERMON I. Page. This year thou shalt die. Jeremiah xxviii. 16. 5 SERMON II. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, ar "i he shall lift you up. James iv. 10. 9 SERMON III. Come ye children, hearken unto me : I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Psalm xxxiv. 11. 13 SERMON IV. Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. Markxiv. 13. 17 SERMON V. Fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter ii. 17, 20 SERMON VI. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph saying, thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee. The land is before thee ; in the best of the land make thy father and brethreu to dwell. Genesis iv. 6. 24 SERMON VII. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. 27 SERMON VIII. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him ; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing 184 INDEX. Page, towards the Lord God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboa/n. 1 Kings xiv. 13. 30 SERMON IX. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body ; and he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for the remission of sins. Matthew xxvi. 26 — 28. 34 SERMON X. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempt- ed, he is able also to succour them that are tempted. Hebrews ii. 18. 37 SERMON XI. Thou renewest the face of the earth. 40 SERMON XII. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. Revelations xx. 12. 42 SERMON XIII. Charity seeketh not her own. 1 Cor. xiii. 5. 46 SERMON XIV. (For Good Friday.) In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 1 John iv. 9. 49 SERMON XV. (For Easter Day.) Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 53 SERMON XVI. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. Matthew x. 16. 56 INDEX. 185 Page. SERMON XVII. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him. Isaiah iii. 10. 60 SERMON XVIII. For the living know that they shall die. 64 SERMON XIX. That I might preach him among the gentiles. Galatians i. 16. 68 SERMON XX. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. Deuteronomy vi. 25. 72 SERMON XXI. (For the Sunday after Ascension Day.) And it came to psss that while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. Luke xxiv. 51. 74 SERMON XXII. (For Whit Sunday.) He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shew it unto you. John xvi. 14. 78 SERMON XXIII. (For Trinity Sunday.) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew xxvii. 19. 82 SERMON XXIV. This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Acts i. 11. 85 SERMON XXV. O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee. Psalm lxiii. 1. 87 186 INDEX. Page. SERMON XXVI. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. Revelations vii. 16. 91 SERMON XXVII. He answered and said, a man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash ; and 1 went and washed, and received sight. John ix. 11. 95 SERMON XXVIII. The pool of Siloam. John v. 1—9. 98 SERMONS XXIX & XXX. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children to- gether, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Matthew xxiii. 37. 102 SERMON XXXI. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. Luke xviii. 37. 109 SERMON XXXII. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Exodus xx. 8. 113 SERMON XXXIII. Honor thy father and thy mother. Exodus xx. 12. 116 SERMON XXXIV. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Psalm xxxiv. 19. 119 SERMON XXXV. And he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. Exodus xxxii. 19. 122 SERMON XXXVI. The vallies, also, are covered over with corn ; they shout for joy, they also sing. Psalm lxv. 13. 125 INDEX. 187 SERMON XXXVII. ' So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. Deuteronomy xxxiv. 5. 129 SERMON XXXVIII. What shall it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul. Matthew viii. 46. 132 SERMON XXXIX. And the eyes of all them that were in the syna- gogue were fastened upon him. Luke iv. 20. 135 SERMON XL. And many believed on him there. John x. 42. 138 SERMON XLI. Behold, how he loved him. John xi. 36. 141 SERMON XLII. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. Judges xiii. 1. 144 SERMON XLII1. Thv people shall be my people, and thy God my God." 147 SERMON XLIV. And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy iii. 15. 150 SERMON XLV. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosannah to the Son of David, they were sore displeased. 163 SERMON XLVI. We all do fade as a leaf. Isaiah lxiv. (>. 156 188 INDEX. Page. SERMON XLVII. Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better. Philippians i. 23. 159 SERMON XLVIII. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever 1 command you. John xv. 14. 162 SERMON XLIX. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. John xx. 20. 165 SERMON L. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habita- tion, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. Isaiah xxxii. 18. 16D SERMON LI. Watch, therefore : for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Matthew xxiv. 42. 172 SERMON LII. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat. 1 Corinthians iii. 2. 175 SERMON LIII. Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. Luka ii. 10. 177 SERMON LIV. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm xc. 12. 180 Printed by N. LOMAS, Castle Street, Bristol, ♦ * ♦ * * i