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PLAIN VILLAGE SERMONS 
 
 LORD'S PRAYE R. 
 
 ^fff 3$jattttta«s. 
 
 HENRY ALFORD, A.M., 
 
 Vicar op wymeswold, Leicestershire, and late fellow of trinitt 
 college, cambridge. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON. NOTTINGHAM, 
 
 DE ARDE N. 
 
 1 846, 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 These sermons, most of which have appearedtin a series entitled 
 " The Nottingham Church Tracts," are published in the humble and 
 sincere hope, that they may, by their plainness and simplicity, (for 
 they have no other pretension,) lead their readers to Him, Who gave 
 us this Divine Prayer, and spoke these Blessings. If any be by them 
 induced to put on the spirit which was in Him, and be thereby made 
 partakers of these blessings, the Author's purpose will have been 
 abundantly answered. 
 
 Wym^swold, December Ath, 1846. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON T . 
 Continuing instant tn praver." — Rom. xii. 12. 
 
 S E R M O N 1 1 . 
 
 Ask, and it shall be given you." — St. Matt. vii. 7. 10 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 "After this manner therefore vray YE.'St. Matt. \i. 9. 18 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 *' Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy 
 name. thy kingdom come. thv will be done in 
 
 EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN." — St. Matt. vi. 9, 10. 26 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our 
 
 DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS." St. Matt. vL 11, 12. 34 
 
 SERTMON VI. 
 " And lead cs not into temptation, but deliver us from 
 evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
 
 THE GIORY, for EVER. AMEN." St. Matt. Vl. 13. 41 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their's is the 
 
 KINGDOM OE HEAVEN." — St. Matt. V. 3. 49 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their's is the 
 
 KINGDOM OF HEAVEN." — St. Matt. V. 3. 59 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 Blessed ^^re they that mourns for they shall be 
 
 COMFORTED." — St. Matt. V. 4, 70 
 
 SERMO N X. 
 
 Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the 
 earth." — St. Matt. V. 5. 79 
 
 SERMON X 1 . 
 
 " Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after 
 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS : FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED." — St. Matt. 
 
 V. 6. 87 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain 
 mercy."— 5"^. Matt. V. 7. 95 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see 
 GOD."— 5^ Matt. V. 8. J 03 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 " Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be 
 
 CALLED the CHILDREN OF GOD." — St. Matt. Y. 9. Ill 
 
 SERMO N XV. 
 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteous- 
 ness' sake: for their's is the kingdom OF heaven, 
 blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and per- 
 secute YOU, AND shall SAY ALL MANNER OF EVIL AGAINST 
 YOU FALSELY, FOR MY SAKE. REJOICE, AND BE EXCEEDING 
 GLAD ; FOR GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN : FOR SO 
 PERSECUTED THEY THE PROPHETS WHICH WERE BEFORE 
 
 Yov."— St. Matt. V. 10, 11, 12. 1 18 
 
PLAIN VILLAGE SERMONS 
 
 LORD'S PRAYE R, 
 
 Zf>t ^tatit\xtit&. 
 
 HENRY A,LF0IID, A.M., 
 
 Vicar of wymeswold, Leicestershire, and late fellow of trinity 
 college, cambridge. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON. NOTTINGHAM, 
 
 DE AEDE N. 
 
 1 846. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 These sermons, most of which have appeared? in a series entitled 
 " The Nottingham Church Tracts," are published in the humble and 
 sincere hope, that they may, by their plainness and simplicity, (for 
 they have no other pretension,) lead their readers to Him, Who gave 
 us this Divine Prayer, and spoke these Blessings. If any be by them 
 induced to put on the spirit v^hich was in Him, and be thereby made 
 partakers of these blessings, the Author's purpose will have been 
 abundantly answered. 
 
 Wymeswold, December 4th, 1846. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 CONTfNUING INSTANT IN PRAYER." — Rom. xii. 12. 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 "Ask, and it shall be given you." — St. Matt, vii.l. 10 
 
 SERMON III. 
 After this manner therefore pray ye."— .9*. Matt. vi. 9. 18 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy 
 name. thy kingdom come. thy will be done in 
 earth as IT IS IN HEAVEN." — St. Matt. vi. 9, 10. 26 
 
 SERMON V . 
 Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our 
 
 DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS." — -S^. Matt. vi. 11, 12. 34 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 " And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
 evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
 
 THE GTORY, FOR EVER. AMEN." St. Matt. VI. 1.3. 41 
 
 SERIMON VII. 
 " Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their's is the 
 
 KINGDOM OE HEAVEN." — St. Matt. V. 3. 49 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their's is the 
 
 KINGDOM OF HEAVEN." — St. Matt. V. .3. 59 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 ♦'Blessed are they that mourns for thet shall be 
 
 COMFORTED." — St. Matt. V. 4. 70 
 
 SERM ON X. 
 "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the 
 
 EARTH." — St, Matt. V. 5. 79 
 
 SERMON X 1 . 
 " Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after 
 
 righteousness : FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED." — St. Matt. 
 
 V. 6. 87 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain 
 
 MERCY." — St. Matt. V. 7. 9.5 
 
 SERMON XIII . 
 " Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see 
 
 GOB."— St. Matt. V. 8. 103 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 " Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be 
 
 CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD." — St. Matt. V. 9, 11 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 Blessed are they ■which are persecuted for righteous- 
 ness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven, 
 blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and per- 
 secute you, and shall say all manner of evil against 
 you falsely, for my sake. rejoice, and be exceeding 
 glad ; for great is your reward in heaven : for so 
 persecuted they the prophets which were before 
 YOU."— -Sf. Matt. V. 10, 1 1, 12. 1 18 
 
©n i^e Horn's Eraser. 
 
 SEKMON I 
 
 " CONTINUING INSTANT IN PRAYER." — Rom. xii. 12. 
 
 If there be one duty which makes more frequent or more urgent 
 calls upon a Christian than any other, it is that of prayer. 
 Any one who has entered in earnest upon the divine life, will 
 not be long before he perceives this. As a natural man, indeed, 
 he owes a debt to his good and gracious God, which he can never 
 acknowledge often enough, or be too mindful of; he is also 
 dependent on God every day for every thing, being merely the 
 creature of His hands, to do with as He thinks fit. What then 
 can be more proper or more seemly, than, if for these reasons 
 only, to fall down before the Lord his Maker, and while he 
 acknowledges himself to be one of the people of His pasture 
 and the sheep of His hand, to beg for a continuance of that 
 upholding care which has hitherto preserved him ? So that, if 
 this were all — if the air which we breathe, and the raiment 
 which clothes us, and the food which we eat day by day, were 
 all we received at God's hands, common gratitude would require 
 that we should thank Him for it ; and a common sense of our 
 dependence on Him, that we should request the continuance of 
 it. But we are not alone in the world — God has placed each 
 of us here, surrounded by others of the same form and blood 
 with himself; He has appointed that each of us should be 
 brought into the world, not by a sudden and particular creation 
 from Himself, but by the means of others on whom we are im- 
 
 B 
 
2 SERMON I. 
 
 mediately dependent : and thus we find ourselves, as soon as 
 we can discern good from evil, placed in a situation in which 
 we have many duties to fulfil towards those about us, which 
 duties continually increase as we grow in years : and it has 
 pleased His good Providence, that those towards whom we owe 
 these duties should also he the persons to whom we are most 
 attached, and from whose society we derive the greatest plea- 
 sure. Here then, again, is a mercy which requires at our 
 hands a distinct acknowledgement — and a duty, to whose ful- 
 filment finding ourselves inadequate, we are led to look to a 
 higher source for support to enable us and give us strength. 
 But yet more than this might be gathered from looking at us 
 merely as the creatures of God's providence. If we cast our eyes 
 around us, we plainly see that those who best fulfil the duties 
 which are required of them by their stations in life, are not al- 
 ways the most prosperous; that evil men are often permitted to 
 obtain the mastery and oppress the righteous. We also may 
 see, that frequently the more the righteous are brought low and 
 in misery, the clearer does their righteous dealing shew itself, 
 and the more are they purified. Hence we learn to conclude, 
 that worldly goods and prosperity are not the great objects of 
 desire or of prayer — that we have something within us which is 
 better than they, and which they are only employed as the 
 means of trying, and preparing for something after this- life. 
 Hence we are led to suppose, that our chief care should be 
 about our souls, that superior part of us which is better than the 
 things about us. Here then is a fresh set of duties laid upon 
 us, and a far more difficult one than any of the former ; and a 
 n\ercv also conferred upon us, a treasure committed to us, far 
 more precious than the others were : and both of these call 
 upon us for continual acts of drawing near unto God — the one 
 for help, the other for gratitude's sake. Therefore, if this were 
 all, if we merely knew ourselves as the creatures of God's pro- 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 3 
 
 vidence, according to what we have seen, the duty of prayer 
 would be more and more urgent upon us, the more we came to 
 know of our state and circumstances. Every fresh discovery 
 of God's dealings with us and those around us, would open to 
 us new mercies, and new duties arising in consequence of them ; 
 and thus, the more knowledge we had, the more occasion 
 should we have to seek God— both to acknowledge His mer- 
 cies and to seek His assistance. Now add to all this the sense 
 which we must have that our thoughts and actions very fre- 
 quently are in opposition to God— that we must be offending 
 Him continually— which would lead us to Him to obtain pardon 
 for the past and strength for the time to come, and would not 
 allow us to trust to ourselves, but in our actions, as well as our 
 being, to see our dependence upon Him ; and you will see, upon 
 looking back upon what has been said, the great force with 
 which this duty of prayer presses on us, considered merely as 
 in a natural state, with no revelation from God. Mind, I do 
 not now speak of the difficulties which would attend prayer in 
 this case, only because I am at present engaged in shewing you 
 the duty of it, and arguing, that if our only grounds for it were 
 God's mercies of providence, they would be powerful enough to 
 engage us to it continually. And why am I doing this ? That 
 I may beg of you to bear this in mind, while I go on to shew 
 you on what other grounds the command to be instant in 
 prayer is made to us.— If we could conceive a person not only 
 created into life and being by God, but after that creation, un- 
 dergoing another birth equally wonderful with his former one— 
 so that, as by that he was brought from being nothing to be 
 that human form which he now is, so by this fresh birth, he is 
 brought from bein.i? the man that he now is, into a life which is 
 as glorious in comparison to his former one, as that was in 
 comparison to not being at all ; would not such a jierson have 
 the claims on him to acknowledge God's niercies, and to pray 
 
4 SERMON I. 
 
 for sustenance in this new life, vastly increased ? If we sup- 
 pose, also, that with this new being a great accession of know- 
 ledge had been made to him, that many ways of God which 
 were before dark to him, were now made clear — will it not be 
 the case, that as we saw before the duty of prayer increase as 
 knowledge of God's ways increased ; so now also, by this fresh 
 knowledge, it will press more forcibly on the newly-enlightened 
 person ? Suppose also, that in this new life the way of prayer 
 was made clear, the difficulties removed, the person brought 
 into a state in which he could have constant access to God, and 
 a promise that his requests should always be heard and consi- 
 dered ; would not this also greatly increase the obligation ? In 
 short, if the man were in his former life bound to pray, will he 
 not now, in his fresh life, be tenfold more bound ? 
 
 I need hardly say that I have now been describing the state 
 of all who hear me. We, my brethren, are all baptized mem- 
 bers of the Church of Christ. When we were children we 
 were brought to the laver of regeneration, and then and there 
 were solemnly admitted into a fellowship with the sufferings of 
 Christ, and made parts of His spouse and His body. The joyful 
 words were said over each of us, " We yield Thee hearty 
 thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased Thee to 
 regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit, to receive him 
 for Thine own child by adoption, and to incorporate him into 
 Thy Holy Church." Here is our new life, our new state of 
 duty, mercy, and obligation. God who brought us out of a 
 state of nothingness and death into the world, hath also 
 brought us out of the death of sin, and caused us to be bom 
 into a life of righteousness. Now, therefore, let us turn and 
 see on what grounds the duty of prayer presses on us. Firsty 
 we need continually sustaining in this our new life ; as in 
 our natural life, if it were not for God's preservation of us we 
 should be overtaken by death, so in this, our spiritual life. He 
 
ON THE LORD S PRATER. O 
 
 must continnally hold us up, or we shall become those who 
 have a name to live and yet are dead. For this, then, we 
 must continually be having recourse to Him for supplies of 
 His grace ; for as His providence was the upholding power 
 in the former life, so is His grace in that into which we are 
 ]-)Qrn, — by grace we were brought into it, and by grace we 
 stand in it. And connected with this, is the duty of giving 
 Him thanks who hath thus begotten us anew in Christ Jesus, 
 — thanks, as far as we are able, proportioned to the greatness 
 of the blessing, — earnest, constant, and unfeigned. These, 
 then, constitute our fiist matter for prayer in our Christian 
 state, and I cannot sum them up better than in the words which 
 you all know, — " I heartily thank my heavenly Father that 
 He hath brought me into this state of salvation through 
 Jesus Christ our Saviour. " And 1 pray unto God to give 
 me His grace that I may continue in the same unto my life's 
 end." The second ground for an increased obligation to 
 prayer in the Christian life is, that we are, by it, brought into 
 new relationships and new duties towards others, which cir- 
 cumstance, as before, calls for a special acknowledgment of 
 mercy, and a special petition for help. In this state, God is 
 our reconciled Father; we had before fathers of our flesh, 
 and we were in subjection to tliem ; now, we are brought 
 into subjection to the Father of spirits ; and all that we 
 owed to them, reverence, love, obedience, more deeply do we 
 owe to our new Father, in proportion as the new life to 
 which of His own will He hath begotten us, is of a higher 
 kind and more glorious than our earthly one. For all this 
 we need His continual help, and because this help is pro- 
 mised to us constantly, and we may always have access to 
 His glorious presence, we are therefore bound to yield Him 
 most humble and hearty thanks for this His fatherly care 
 towards us; And our mother in the spirit is the Church of 
 B 2 
 
6 SERMON I. 
 
 Christ; in and from her we received our life, and by her 
 we are fed and nourished, and with her we shall be presented 
 in the great day of joy, when she shall say, " Behold ! I and 
 the children whom God hath given me." This mercy we are 
 bound to acknowledge in prayer, in the courts of the Lord's 
 house, in the midst of His people when they are assembled 
 together in His name ; where also help is to be sought to 
 perform all that we owe to her, help to value her ordinances, 
 help to keep her commands, help to preserve her purity, help 
 to maintain her unity. And not only are we her sons and 
 daughters, but we are parts of her, and as such are the spouse 
 of Christ; — and here is anew relationship, we are united to 
 Him as our head and Husband, and He loves us and looks 
 favourably on us, — here is one more mercy to be acknowledged ; 
 —and His command to us is, be thou faithful:— here is our duty 
 and need of help. Our brethren in the new life are those who 
 are brought into it like ourselves, whoever they may be in the 
 world. We are refreshed and encouraged by their counsel and 
 presence, and we owe them brotherly love and kindness, — a 
 mercy and an obligation requiring prayer also in this case. 
 Thirdly, we are bound to pray in our Christian life, to help for- 
 ward the work of our sanctifi cation. An active progress in 
 holiness is required of all who are baptized into Christ, and 
 there can be no progress in holiness without a frequent com- 
 munion with God, without realising His presence and setting 
 Him at our right hand. This is our preparation for our state 
 of glory, aTid, therefore, will be much occupied in the com- 
 pany, as far as we can now enjoy it, of Him who is to be the 
 delight and crown of that state. And the more we advance in 
 this blessed progress, the more we see the fruits of faith 
 springing up in our lives and thoughts, the more we are 
 bound to render humble and hearty thanks to Him of whom 
 Cometh every good thought and deed. So here again are our 
 
ON THE LORD S PRAYER. 7 
 
 thanksgivings and our petitions for help requiring us to be 
 instant in prayer. Next, we are called in our state of salva- 
 tion constantly into the presence of God to confess and bewail 
 our manifold sins and transgressions against Him. The 
 carnal promptings of our mortal bodies are perpetually 
 drawing us back from knowing our high vocation of God in 
 Christ Jesus, and we are tempted by our great spiritual ad- 
 versary to disbelieve and distrust our state in Him, and to 
 look to ourselves, as if it were a state that we had to put 
 ourselves into, or to get admitted to. All these backslidings 
 and shortcomings from the simple truth as it is in Jesus need 
 to be often and deeply bewailed before God, and solemnly re- 
 pented of, as unworthy of our state in Christ and a denying of 
 the Lord that bought us. Now besides all these calls to 
 prayer on us as members of Christ, there is another which 
 should and may be as powerful as any, — nay, the most so of 
 all, — but which requires, in order to its exercise, active and 
 unceasing practice of the requirements of the rest. It is 
 the duty of giving God thanks and praise for all His glorious 
 character as shewn forth to us in His word. '* We give Thee 
 thanks for Thy great ;-;lory," are the words we use in our 
 Communion Service after we have fed on Christ, have been 
 admitted within the veil of His flesh, have drunk of His 
 blood, and have become possessed and filled with holy things. 
 The Church, the spouse of the Heavenly King, loves Him 
 for Himself, and every member of that Church will not allow 
 His love to God to stop with gratitude for the blessings he has 
 received, but will be drawn out in active love to God as He is 
 in Himself, in all His wonderful manifestations of love. And 
 this love will call him to continual communion with God, — to 
 continual searchings of His word with prayer, that he may 
 trace His footsteps and the wonders of His hand wherever 
 he turns. 
 
8 SERMON I. 
 
 So many, so powerful, are the Christian's calls to prayer ; 
 and surely he who neglects them, or thinks lightly of them, can 
 hardly deserve the name. We are apt to attach pleasant 
 thoughts to the sound of the hells that call us to these our 
 public prayers ; and I have heard of some who, I fear, cared 
 little for prayer, — that could not bear to stay at home when the 
 bells were going for Church ; but in the ears of the man who 
 loves His Saviour and values His grace and ready help, bells 
 are always sounding to prayer. When He rises before the 
 daylight to His work, before he leaves his chamber, he hears 
 the call within him, 'Come to prayer;' when in his daily hours 
 evil thoughts rise in him, or ungodly companions tempt him, 
 that sweet sound comes to him again, as it were upon the 
 wind, *Come to prayer ;' when he meets his family safe by God's 
 mercy in the evening, there is the well known chime in the 
 midst of them, 'Come to prayer ;' and when he is preparing to 
 lay himself down in the confidence of sleep, since God will 
 not remove, the same welcome call is still at his heart's door, 
 " Come to prayer !" By prayer he lives, in prayer he hopes to 
 die. Prayer is his only cordial, his surest medicine, his only 
 key to his best treasure. His Saviour spent whole nights in 
 prayer, and he prays that he may be able to pray like Him. 
 
 And now, with all this before you, will any soul in this 
 Church go home, and live from day to day and night to night 
 without a prayer or thought of God ? I fear many will — for I 
 know too well the hardness of the human heart, to think that 
 any thing 1 can say will break it, unless the powerful arm of 
 God descend to further His Word and give efficacy to it. All 
 of you who really care for the souls of others, here is another 
 great call to prayer on you —pray that what we speak in Gods 
 name, may in His name be received, and by His Spirit ren- 
 dered fruitful. 
 
 You have heard now the duty of prayer — how it presses on 
 
ON THE LORD S PRAYER. 9 
 
 US as men, but how much more forcibly, as we are Christians 
 and inheritors of heaven. I hope, if God spare us, to set before 
 you next Sunday the efficacy of prayer : and both these dis- 
 courses will be a preparation to explain to you the divine 
 prayer which our Saviour has given us. 
 
 Meanwhile I earnestly beseech you, as one who very deeply 
 cares for your souls, to lay to heart what I have said. Let 
 those who pray be more constant and more earnest in prayer, 
 remembering how it is their refuge and strength in all cir- 
 cumstances ; and let those who do not pray — I tremble to say 
 it — seriously consider what an awfully dangerous state they are 
 falling into, — no less than that of rejecting the state of sal- 
 vation into which they are brought by Christ. Let them begin 
 this very day this their bounden, but neglected, duty, with 
 humble acknowledgment of their grievous omission, and cries 
 for forgiveness and grace for the time to come. 
 
SEEM ON II. 
 
 *'ask, and it shall be given you." — 5"^ Matt. vii. 7. 
 I ENDEAVOURED last Suiiday morning to prove to you, and 
 impress upon you, the duty of continuing instant in prayer : 
 how it bears upon us as men, as the creatures of God's provi- 
 dence ; but how much more forcibly it bears on us as His 
 creatures of grace and the new birth, inasmuch as our obliga- 
 tions to be fulfilled are greater, our causes of thankfulness 
 more numerous and of a higher order, and consequently our need 
 of assistance greater also. Now I need but refer to what I then 
 said, to make it clear, that even if prayer were nothing but the 
 performance of a required duty, if it were attended with no re- 
 sults, but were merely a simple act of obedience to God, it 
 would not lose any of its claims to our observance, but would 
 retain them all in full force. 
 
 But now I am to enter on another branch of my subject, 
 and to shew you that not only are we bound to pray because 
 God has required it of us, but also because our own best 
 interests demand it ; that not only is prayer the performance 
 of a duty and an act of obedience, but an appointed means 
 of acquiring blessings from the Giver of all good. And then 
 surely, if I can make this manifest to you, the ties which bind 
 us to God in this matter will be incalculably strengthened, and 
 it will appear not only to be our bounden duty, but also our 
 chief interest to continue instant in prayer. I have chosen to 
 head our meditation on this subject with a direct promise of 
 our Blessed Redeemer, in Whom alone and through Whom any 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 11 
 
 prayers can be received by God, " Ask, and it shall be given 
 you ; " because he who knows what is in man, knows also the 
 mind of God ; and therefore has a full right and power to 
 make such a promise ; because He is our great Head and our 
 Master, and our common bond of union, in whom we live and 
 move and have our being ; and therefore we are bound to 
 receive such a promise from Him in full confidence of its 
 performance. Now I am fully aware that at the very outset 
 I shall have to meet an objection which the natural heart is 
 apt to raise against prayer. Some of you will say to me, you 
 tell us much about the duty of prayer and its efficacy : — but 
 you never can make me think that anything we can say will 
 persuade God one way or the other — what He sees fit to give 
 us for our souls' good He will give us, and what He sees fit to 
 withhold from us He will withhold, whether we tell it to Him 
 or not. Now I mention this objection, because it is one that 
 I have very often heard made, not because I wish to suggest 
 objections to you. You remember in my last discourse on 
 this subject, that I spoke to you of two distinct births we 
 have undergone, and two distinct lives that we have been 
 brought into — and I shewed you how much likeness there was 
 between our wants and our duties in each of them ; only 
 that our spiritual birth and the life which follows it, was of a 
 higher order than the other, accompanied with wants which 
 lie deeper in our nature and duties which are more difficult to 
 perform. I shewed you that the upholding power is God's 
 providence in our natural life, and His grace in our Spiritual 
 life, and that so near is their resemblance that for all the cir- 
 cumstances and operations in the first, we may find corres- 
 ponding ones in the second. 
 
 Now let us see how your objection will apply to our duties 
 as creatures of God's providence. You say, that God will 
 give us what He thinks fit, and withhold what He sees bad 
 
12 SERMON II. 
 
 for us, whether we take any means for it or not. How is it 
 then that we see men from morning till night labouring for 
 their daily bread ? Why do not they sit still in idleness and 
 trust that God will bring it to them ? but we see they do not 
 — and I suspect that we should think the person beside him- 
 self who did. You see then that your objection is one which 
 does not influence men in their actions ; if you go and tell a 
 man it is of no use for him to work, that God will take care 
 of him, he will not listen to you, but will rise up to-morrow 
 morning and go to his work as usual. Now in the life into 
 which you were admitted when you were brought to be bap- 
 tized, as we have said, your wants lie deeper — your food is of 
 a sort more difficult to be obtained ; and you yourselves can 
 surely furnish me with the conclusion of my sentence, — your 
 labour must be therefore greater. Prayer in your spiritual life 
 answers precisely to labour in your natural one. In the same way 
 as God has appointed in the order of His providence that you 
 should go and labour with your hands and receive your bodily 
 sustenance on account of your labour, exactl}'' so has He 
 ordained in the dispensation of His grace that you should go 
 and pray and receive your spiritual sustenance on account of 
 your prayer. If it be madness to neglect the labour in the one 
 case, it is madness also to neglect the prayer in the other : and 
 so much the greater madness of the two in proportion as 
 your spiritual life is more important, more worthy your care, 
 more glorious than your natural one. Now God is not a 
 master who defrauds His servants; He who said "the labourer 
 is worthy of his hire," also hath said, *' ask, and it shall be 
 given you." If then men, being evil, yet give to those who labour 
 for them the meat that perisheth, much more shall our 
 heavenly Father give to them that ask Hiui the meat that 
 endureth unto everlasting life. Having shewn to you then 
 the reasonableness of prayer; that it is just as reasonable to 
 
ON THE LORD S PRATER. 13 
 
 pray as Christians, as it is to labour for our daily food as men ; 
 and that we may just as reasonably look for an answer to 
 prayer in the one case, as for that which our labour has pro- 
 cured in the other : we will now go on to notice a few of the 
 methods in which our souls are fed and refreshed by prayer, 
 First, then, it is a direct method of fetching down blessings 
 from God, " ask, and it shall be given to you." But then take 
 good heed how you understand this ; remember, it is spoken 
 to you as members of the spiritual life, as branches of the 
 vine, Christ — as persons whose anxieties and whose requests 
 are concerning the wants and necessities of that spiritual life. 
 "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name," says Christ, " I will 
 do it ; " that is, whatsoever ye shall ask as members and parts of 
 Me ; as named by the same Name that I am named with, I 
 will do for you ; or, as it is elsewhere exprest, it shall be done 
 for you of My Father which is in heaven. Now this is a 
 point which requires particular explanation, and I would illus- 
 trate it in this way. It is very clear that in our natural lives 
 we all labour for the means of preserving life and making it 
 better and more prosperous. We have all a pretty clear 
 notion of the sort of things which will tend to do this ; such 
 as increased means, better fare, and the like. And we never 
 hear of such a thing as a man labouring for the means of 
 destroying life, — it is impossible he should, unless he be a 
 madman, who cannot distinguish what is good for him from 
 that which is evil. And if we should see such an one, we 
 should not furnish him with the destructive materials surely, 
 but should place him under the care of others who know 
 better than he does what is his interest. Now, although we 
 are not so blind as to labour for what will tend to destroy 
 our natural lives, we are very often so blind as to pray for 
 what would destroy our spiritual life. " The children of this 
 world are in their generation wiser than the children o^ light." 
 
14 SERMON II. 
 
 In being brought into the light of Christ, we are like persons 
 led out of a dark place into excessive brightness, — our eyes 
 are dazzled, and we cannot discern things clearly, our state 
 is one above our nature, and no wonder then if we go wrong 
 in it and stumble. Therefore it is that we are very apt to 
 pray for things which are hurtful to our spiritual lives. But 
 yet you say it is promised, " Ask, and it shall be given you ;" 
 very true, but do you not clearly see by what follows, to whom, 
 and with what meaning, this is spoken ? Our Saviour goes on 
 to say, '* What man is there of you, whom if his son ask 
 bread, will give him a stone ? or if he ask a fish will give 
 him a serpent ? If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
 Sfood gifts to your children, how much more shall your 
 Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask 
 Him." You see all the things spoken of are good things, 
 things necessary to the support and well-being of the natural 
 life in one case, and the spiritual one in the other. Prayer, 
 then, is a direct means of fetching down blessings from God, 
 and as such it never has failed and never can fail, for nothing 
 can be called a blessing which does not conduce to our good. 
 Observe the direct promises which God has given respecting 
 this point. He has declared He will be found of them that 
 seek Him with all their heart, that He will fulfil the desire of 
 them that fear Him ; He will hear their cry and save them : 
 that they who seek Him shall not want any good thing — that 
 whatsoever we ask in prayer, believing, we shall receive. There 
 is nothing beyond the reach of prayer : even if it be in heaven 
 in Gods treasure hoi\se, prayer can ascend and fetch it. Are 
 we distrest, outwardly or spiritually ? Prayer shall relieve us. 
 Are we in need ? Prayer shall supply us. Are we in sorrow or 
 sadness ? Prayer shall comfort us. Are we in doubt and dark- 
 ness of mind ? Prayer shall satisfy us. Are we in temptation? 
 Prayer shall help and strengthen us. 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 15 
 
 Secondly, Prayer is an instrument by which good is worked 
 in us. Besides the direct answer promised and vouchvafed to 
 prayer, it has a beneficial and blessed effect upon oin-selres ; 
 God by it conveys spiritual light into our minds. When we 
 retire with God into our closets alone, and lay bare our souls 
 to the bright shining of His countenance, which is ten thousand 
 times more glorious than the sun, how can they be otherwise 
 than overflowed with a flood of that heavenly light — yea, and 
 warmed too with the comfort of His presence. 
 
 By prayer all holy dispositions of soul and resolutions of 
 practice are nourished and encouraged, all pious affections ex- 
 cited and quickened. By prayer alone can the love of God be 
 kept alive and vigorous in our hearts, or a constant reverence 
 and awe of Him, and sense of His presence maintained : every 
 moment stolen from prayer is a step back from God's love and 
 fear. By prayer alone can our faith be strengthened and 
 exercised, or our hope enlivened ; or, that taste for and relish 
 of divine things begotten and kept up, by which our thoughts 
 are purified, and our lives sanctified. In prayer alone can 
 strength be acquired to subdue our bad inclinations, to restrain 
 our sensual appetites, to compress our irregular passions. In 
 short, prayer is the great bulwark against sin, and safeguard of 
 our spiritual life. 
 
 Thirdly, Prayer is a most high privilege and advantage to 
 us. The being allowed to fly to so great a God and so kind a 
 Father, to unbosom all our cares, all our wants, all our sorrows, 
 all our joys to Him, to Him who knows all that is best for us, 
 who is our only true and perfect friend, — how blessed a thing 
 it is, and of how great a price should it be to us. We are apt 
 to think those in a high and enviable situation, who sometimes 
 have the ear, and enjoy the presence of kings and princes ; 
 but what is this compared to our condition, who always are 
 allowed the audience and presence of the great King of all 
 the world ? 
 
16 SERMON II. 
 
 In Scripture, in history, in our own experience and 
 memory, examples are not wanting of the efficacy of prayer 
 By prayer, Abraham, when the Lord spoke to him of the des- 
 truction of Sodom, prevailed that for the sake of ten righteous 
 the city should he spared. By prayer, Moses, when Israel was 
 sore vexed by their enemies, got for them the victory from 
 God, his hands being held up in prayer till the going down of 
 the sun. By prayer, Joshua obtained that the sun should 
 stand still till the enemies of the Lord were overtaken and 
 punished. By prayer, Hannah, when she poured out her 
 heart in great bitterness of soul, obtained a son from the 
 Lord. By prayer, Elijah, a man subject to like passions as 
 we are, earnestly besought that it might not rain; and it 
 rained not upon the earth by the space of three years and 
 six months : and he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, 
 and the earth brought forth her fruit. By prayer, Elisha rais- 
 ed up the son of the Shunamite when he stretched himself over 
 him and said, " O Lord, I beseech Thee, let this child's soul 
 come into him again." By prayer, David, when he had griev- 
 ously sinned in the matter of Uriah, besought God, and the 
 Lord forgave the iniquity of his sin. And what shall I more 
 say ? for the time would fail me to tell of Hezekiah, and 
 Manasseh, and Daniel, and Jonah, — who through prayer 
 obtained deliverance from the jaws of death, were brought 
 out of prison and distress, were preserved from the mouths 
 of the lions, and were shewn things to come. 
 
 Need 1, after recounting so many instances of answered 
 prayer, repeat to you the promise, "Ask, and ye shallreceive," 
 and press upon you, as I did before, the duty, so now, the 
 exceeding benefit and blessed effects of prayer ? Need I tell 
 you what a treasure you are throwing away by neglecting it — 
 how you are despising your spiritual state of salvation in 
 Christ, and going near to fall away from it, by thus omitting 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 17 
 
 to nourish it and improve it ? Need I say how you are 
 showing contempt of God, by not availing yourselves of the 
 rich treasures which he has set before you ? 
 
 Let prayer be your constant employ, your continual refuge. 
 Draw near in faith, nothing doubting that what is asked in 
 faith, shall surely be done for you of God. This is the way 
 to shew that we believe in God — by going to him for supplies 
 of grace and strength. This is the way to purify onr hearts 
 and lives ; for we cannot long and frequently commune with 
 God in prayer, while we incline unto wickedness with our 
 hearts. In God's house, in your families, in your closets, 
 this is your proper employment; and I conjure you, never 
 let a possible opportunity pass, without presenting yourselves 
 here in public before God, — and never let a day pass in which 
 you have not, both in the midst of your families and in pri- 
 vate, sought Him earnestly and faithfully for pardon for the 
 past, and grace for time to come ; and thanked Him for His 
 mercies, which are every day renewed to us. Thus shall you 
 be blessed in all your undertak ings — and the more you pray 
 here, the more glorious will be your joy, when there shall be 
 no more prayer, but songs of praise for ever and ever. 
 
 c 2 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 "after this manner therefore pray ye." — fi'^ Matt. vi. 9. 
 
 Having shewn you the duty of prayer, and its effects in pro- 
 curing blessings from God, I proceed now to say something on 
 the form and manner of making our requests before the throne 
 of grace. Not as though the form or the manner were the 
 principal matter to be considered, for God regards not the 
 words but the heart: and the most laboured words are not 
 acceptable to Him if the heart go not along with them ; nay 
 they are a mere mockery of Him, and are so far from pleasing 
 Him, that the act of thus praying is sinful. But when the 
 duty of praying has been explained, and the reasons which 
 bind us to it have been laid before you, and when you have 
 heard how great things the prayers of the faithful have been the 
 means of accomplishing, you must be well aware, that the 
 only exercise which can be called prayer is the opening and 
 pouring out of the soul before God. And, bearing this well in 
 mind, let us now go on to enquire what behaviour becomes us 
 when we are doing this, and how it should be done. In the 
 first place, the infinite majesty and power of Him whom we 
 address, require that we should come before Him with humility 
 and reverence. He is our God, we are His people: He our 
 Creator, we His creatures : He our Shepherd, we the sheep of 
 His pasture. When therefore we draw near to Him let this 
 be in our minds, let our thoughts be concerning our depen- 
 dence on Him and his power over us. He hath no delight in 
 the multitude of offerings : He receives no benefit from our 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 19 
 
 adoration ; what He requires of us is that we should acknow- 
 ledge Him and look up to Him for help and guidance. There- 
 fore let all our behaviour, and even our outward posture and 
 appearance, shew this feeling, that we are dependent creatures. — 
 This would become us, even if we were innocent before Him, 
 and had nothing to reproach ourselves with. But, besides 
 being the work of His hands, there is another and a deeper 
 cause why we should humble ourselves and be abased before 
 Him ; we are not only His creatures, but rebellious and fallen 
 creatures. He is holy and pure, above all defilement and 
 blemish ; no thought of sin, none of the dark passions which 
 reign in us ever approach the supreme light where He dwells : 
 all sin is an abomination to the Lord. " He putteth no trust in 
 His servants, and He charge th his angels with folly : how 
 much less then in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose 
 foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth ? " In 
 how many respects has sin separated between us and God — we 
 were created glorious creatures, not subject to death and change ; 
 but now we may take up the lamentation of the prophet, 
 " How is the gold become dim and the fine gold changed ! 
 the crown is fallen from our heads, woe unto us that we have 
 sinned, we are become subject to corruption, and cannot be justi- 
 fied in His sight. How can man be justified with God ? or how 
 can he be clean that is born of woman ? behold even to the 
 moon and it shineth not, and the stars are not pure in His 
 sight ; how much less man that is a worm, and the son of 
 man which is a worm ? " When Job of old saw the glory 
 and power of God, and the wonders of His works were laid 
 open to him by the divine voice which there was no resisting, 
 the presence of God struck him down and abased him, and 
 he said, '* I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, 
 but now mine eye seeth Thee, wherefore 1 abhor myself, 
 and repent in dust and ashes." When Simon Peter had 
 
30 SERMON III. 
 
 seen the power of Christ, how that the creatures of the great 
 deep obeyed him, his own weakness and defilement struck for- 
 cibly on him ; he trembled in the presence of divinity and fell 
 at Jesus' knees, saying, *' Depart from me, for I am a sinful 
 man, O Lord." These should then be our feelings on approach- 
 ing the divine Majesty — a sense of our own sinfulness and 
 wretchedness, and of the high and holy Being whom we are 
 addressing — an act of humility, and renouncing of ourselves, and 
 confessing our sins to Him. " The sacrifices of God are a 
 broken spirit — a broken and a contrite heart, God, wilt not 
 thou despise." Thus saith the High and Holy One who in- 
 habiteth eternity, whose name is holy : ** I dwell in the high 
 and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble 
 spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart 
 of the contrite ones." This was the spirit in which Abraham 
 prayed to God, " Behold, I have taken upon me to speak unto 
 the Lord, which am but dust and ashes. Thus did holy Daniel 
 begin his prayer, ''0 Lord, righteousness belongeth to Thee, 
 but unto us confusion of face." This spirit then becomes us, as 
 we are God's fallen creatures : but thanks be to the eternal 
 mercy of our gracious Father, we are not his fallen creatures 
 only, for then would our approach to Him be cut ofi', for He can 
 have no fellowship with unrighteousness. We are also His 
 redeemed creatures. His reconciled children in Christ; He 
 hath made a covenant with us, and we are His people. Through 
 the death and resurrection of our Saviour a way of access is 
 opened for us to the Father ; and therefore feeling ourselves 
 such, we must draw near with a thankful remembrance of that 
 His so great and unspeakable mercy, and with lively faith 
 come boldly to the throne of grace in His name, who is our 
 great Redeemer, and ever maketh intercession for us. The 
 feeling produced by our state as sinners is one of abasement and 
 contrition ; that produced by our state as sinners reconciled to 
 
ON THE lord's PRATER. 21 
 
 God by Christ, is one of thanksgiving, deep and heartfelt. 
 Thus we find these feelings coupled together by the Apostle, — 
 " In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, 
 making your requests known unto God." Coining then before 
 Him with this mind and these impressions, with what words 
 are we to address Him, and how to express our wishes with an 
 acknowledgment of His majesty and our weakness, of His purity 
 and our sinfulness, of His covenant mercies and our relation to 
 Him in Christ ? Surely if it behoves us to weigh our words 
 when we come before an earthly prince, much more should we 
 be careful and keep a watch over our lips, when we address the 
 King of Heaven ; and therefore He has told us by His servant 
 Solomon, in Eccles. v. 2. " Be not rash with thy mouth, and 
 let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God : 
 for God is in heaven and thou upon earth : therefore let thy 
 words be few." 
 
 It is a great mistake to suppose that we want many and 
 various words to express our wants to God : our spiritual 
 necessities are almost always the same; and the spirit of 
 prayer is often lit up in our hearts by the use of well known 
 and accustomed words, more than by striving to supply them 
 ourselves, from any present feeling. For not to mention other 
 hindrances, so apt are our feelings and our sense of spiritual 
 need to deceive us, so apt are we to feel least disposed to open 
 our hearts to God at those very times when we would most 
 willingly do so, and to be most bound down and riveted to the 
 earth when we would fain rise nearest heaven, — that to have 
 our wants ready made out for us, to be able to avail ourselves 
 of the prayers of others who were in like need with ourselves, 
 is frequently a great help to devotion ; and though at first the 
 words may fall dead from our lips unaccompanied by the 
 thoughts, yet soon will the heavenly fire descend upon our 
 sacrifice, and cause the flame to ascend up before God. In 
 
22 SERMON III. 
 
 mercy to these our infirmities, our blessed Saviour has been 
 pleased to tsach His disciples how to pray, giving them a 
 form to use, and saying *' after this manner pray ye." As 
 man like ourselves, He knew all our weaknesses. He was able 
 to succour us who are tempted, having Himself been tempted. 
 He knew what prayer was, for He retired into the lonely moun- 
 tain to pray, aiid spent whole nights in fervent devotion ; and 
 in His agony the night before His crucifixion. He prayed as 
 never man prayed. And as God He knows our wants — He can 
 see into the depths of our hearts — and those necessities which 
 we attribute to the wrong causes, and for the relief of which we 
 should ask amiss. He can trace to their right sources, and in- 
 form us how best we may unfold them, and beg a remedy of 
 them of God. Happy indeed are those petitioners to whom 
 the King Himself prescribes the form of their petition, and pro- 
 mises He will grant it ; but such is our case, for the sum and 
 substance of those things which we have need of has been pre- 
 scribed to us by God himself, and He has promised to hear the 
 prayer of those that call upon Him faithfully. This form of 
 prayer which we call the Lord's prayer, I purpose, if it be His 
 will to spare us, to explain to you in some of my future dis- 
 courses. I will introduce this explanation with a few general 
 remarks on it, which may be profitable to point out its use and 
 its peculiar excellency. First, then, I would have you notice 
 its shortness — '* When ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the 
 heathen do," was the command of our Saviour, *' for they think 
 they shall be heard for their much speaking — Be ye not like 
 them, for your heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have 
 need of before ye ask Him." And He on another occasion 
 blames the Pharisees, who for a pretence made long prayers : 
 and He has accordingly given us a prayer which, while it com- 
 prehends every thing our hearts can desire for our spiritual or 
 temporal welfare, is comprised in a few short sentences. The 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 23 
 
 man who can truly pray these, shall be more blessed of God 
 and comforted in his own soul, than he who speaks ten thou- 
 sand words in the unknown tongue of formal and hypocritical 
 
 worship. 
 
 Next observe its simplicity. There are in it no ornaments 
 
 of speech, no useless or difficult language — nothing but what the 
 veriest child among us can understand and heartily join in. 
 God wants not to be worshipped with the pomp and pride 
 of our carnal acquirements ; " When the poor and needy seek 
 water and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I, 
 the Lord, will hear them, I, the God of Israel will not for- 
 sake them." Let then those be of good courage who have 
 no laboured words to go to God with ; let them remember 
 that the Lord delighteth not in words, but in the simple 
 putting forth of the desires of the heart; and let them cry 
 unto God, assured that He will hear and deliver them, 
 though their speech may be rude, and their desires ill ex- 
 pressed. My dear Brethren, whatever difference circumstances 
 may have made among men in our estimation, there is very 
 little in the eye of God. He who prays loud and long, and 
 makes much of what he calls the gift of prayer, only differs 
 from the little child who lisps his morning and evening 
 prayer on his mother's knees, by more sorrows, more sins, 
 and more pride ; and well would it be for many rich and 
 mitrhty, if, from their abundance and refinement, they sent 
 up to God petitions as humble and sincere as the cries of 
 the poor ; at any rate, if you have no words to speak with 
 when you come before God, if your caraal minds and your 
 spiritual enemy have so blinded your hearts that you cannot 
 find any spiritual wants to bring to Him, there is this 
 prayer of our Saviour ever ready; you have been taught it 
 in your youth, you have joined in it with His people, many 
 times, it may be, you have passed the words through your 
 
24 SERMON III. 
 
 lips when your hearts were far away, let it be your en- 
 deavour for once to pray it from your heart. Draw nigh 
 to God and He will draw nigh unto you ; and when, not 
 only in His appointed way but in His appointed words, you 
 seek Him, when you endeavour to frame your mind to the 
 pattern of those petitions for wants which He knows all of 
 us possess, surely, if no other effect follow, you will have 
 your spiritual blindness cured, your inward disease will be 
 laid open to you, and you will find Him who has promised 
 that He will be found of them that seek Him. And in 
 your endeavours to express your peculiar personal wants to 
 Him, to acknowledge His mercies to you individually, and 
 to beg for a continuance of them, let this prayer be your 
 pattern and model; imitate its simplicity, its order of 
 address to God, its proportions; and the nearer you ap- 
 proach them, if I mistake not, the more you will find those 
 blessed effects to result from prayer on your hearts, of which 
 I have before spoken to you, — effects of strengthened faith, 
 fresh kindled love, livelier hope, and stedfast looking for of 
 glory. I have often thought that when we come to the 
 other side of the water, and look back upon our lives, as I 
 think we shall, with memory of past things strengthened 
 and renewed, and see all the times of intercourse with heaven 
 which were vouchsafed to us, all God's ordinances of prayer, 
 reading the Word, and the holy Sacraments, like so many 
 bright spots in our course ; though there njay be many times 
 when we mounted higher in spirit, and came nearer to the 
 angels, and had nearer sights of the glory of Christ and the 
 throne of God, this little prayer of " Our Father," will appear 
 to be the instrument with which we often est took hold on 
 God, and drew down most plentiful showers of spiritual re- 
 freshment. Other seasons come less frequently, and require 
 more preparation, and a certain raising of our weak souls 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 25 
 
 and putting them into frame, and as the occasion was ahove 
 us, so we are apt to sink helow it afterwards, and many 
 drops of grace fall outside the fertile places of our hearts 
 and work no deliverance ; but this gift of our Lord is like 
 the daily light and common air, when we rise up it is with 
 us, when we lie down it is with us still, it is said over us 
 at the font, and in the grave, in the festive day, at the altar 
 of marriage, and when we are visited on our beds of sickness ; 
 in our solemn services it bears its part, and when we go up 
 to join the blessed communion of our Master, His prayer is still 
 our prayer. May He grant that we who use it so often with our 
 lips, may as often join in it with our hearts, and become partakers 
 of the blessings which it asks for. 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 " Odr Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy -will be done in earth as it is in 
 heaven."— 5^ Matt. vi. 9, 10. 
 
 We are now come to the beginning, the address, of that prayer 
 which our Saviour has left us for our use. The first thing to 
 be noticed in it is the name by which we are taught to 
 approach God : that of Father. When we come before Him, 
 we are not advised to begin with an address suited to His 
 glorious perfection, one whicb recounts what He is in Him- 
 self, though this might tend to impress us with holy fear and 
 reverence for the great Being into whose presence we are 
 come ; but we are rather taught to call Him by some name 
 which expresses His relation to us, to bring down as it were 
 His glory and majesty and mix them up with a little consid- 
 eration of humanity, and the great earthly family of our 
 common and weak nature. By the opening word " Father," we 
 bind as it were God and ourselves together with the cords of 
 love and relationship. It might be well for angels and spirits 
 made perfect to stand forth and say : " Holy, holy, holy. 
 Lord God Almighty ;" but for us who are infirm and sinful, 
 and troubled with the voice of His wrath, and turned into dust 
 at His displeasure, it is gracious and kind of Him to allow 
 us to approach Him by a dearer name, one which ensures 
 us mercy and protection — "Our Father" — as much as to say 
 — though we are rebellious yet we are Thine, though we are 
 sinful children yet we are Thy children, though Thou slayest 
 us, yet will we tnist in Thee, How compassionate and consider- 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 27 
 
 ate to us was our master Jesus, who has taught us to call our 
 glorious and holy Lord God by the first word we learnt to 
 pronounce, the word which brought relief to our little wants, 
 and got for us kind smiling looks and fond embraces when 
 we were yet babes on the breast; and to connect our thoughts 
 of the great Ruler of heaven and earth, with that earthly 
 parent who has worked for us and fed us before we were able 
 to do either for ourselves. And because to call God my 
 Father ; as a single helpless child of man to stretch forth the 
 hand to the Holy One might have appeared to us almost pre- 
 sumptuous, and made us shrink from going to Him, He has 
 spared us this and put us all in company, all the brothers and 
 sisters of this great family; He has allowed us to shelter our- 
 selves in the crowd of petitioners from the too great splendour 
 of the Divine majesty — so that when even in our closets we 
 make our prayer to Him alone, we do not say. My Father, but 
 " Our Father," and then we should think of our thousands and 
 thousands of fellow creatures who want blessings as well as we ; 
 and we should think of ourselves not as of some great ones who 
 are permitted to make our wants known to God, but only as 
 one of the common inhabitants of the earth — sharing the flesh 
 and blood of others, and having the same wants as they have. 
 Lord, look upon me, I am one of those whom thou hast begot- 
 ten. But who is this Father, and where is His dwelling-place? 
 Where must we go to His presence ? He is in heaven — and 
 where is heaven ? We know not — He has not told us where 
 His dwelling-place is, but He has said that He is every where 
 present and sees all things — that He can hear us when we call 
 upon Him — that He is not far off from every one of us. And 
 this unknown and mysterious word " heaven," is used to remind 
 us of His exaltation above us, and of the frame of mind in 
 which we should approach Him. Lest these words, " Our 
 Father," should seem of too familiar an import and bring down 
 
28 SERMON IV. 
 
 our conception of Him whom we address too near to the level 
 of flesh and blood, we are reminded that He is in heaven — high 
 above the earth, high above and exceeding in power and beauty 
 all the things that we admire most and fear most, high above 
 all that we see and feel, and. are conversant with — and far re- 
 moved from any spot of sin or impurity. These words, " which 
 art in heaven," should withdraw him who prays them from 
 earth, and fasten him to the mansions above ; should introduce 
 him into the immediate presence of God sitting on His throne, 
 and yet our Father encircled by the heavenly powers, and yet 
 calling His children round Him and permitting them to come 
 near to Him. And in this spirit — as having now made our en- 
 trance and being before God's throne, and introduced to make 
 our petition, we are struck with a sense of His great glory and 
 His wonderful power and majesty; and we forget our own 
 wants with which we came, and our thoughts are about His 
 Holy Name — we become very zealous for the Lord God of 
 Hosts ; and our first prayer is, that He would cause His Name 
 to be hallowed — that He would make it a name esteemed holy 
 among men, and had in reverence : that He would subdue His 
 enemies who will not have Him to reign over them, and make 
 His name glorious to the ends of the world. Wonderful things 
 are said of the name of God in His word — His name of Jeho- 
 vah was only gradually revealed to the patriarchs ; Abraham 
 knew it not, and the Jews never pronounced it, — nor did our 
 Saviour Himself when on earth, in all that we have recorded of 
 Him. Let it then be hallowed— and let that name which shall 
 fill the songs of the redeemed to all eternity, beheld sacred and 
 reverenced by us, the creatures of dust — let it not be unmean- 
 ingly and thoughtlessly uttered by us in our common talk, but 
 when ever it passes our lips, let us call to mind whom we are 
 mentioning — that we are speaking of Him whose name is ex- 
 cellent in all the world, and who has set His glory above the 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 29 
 
 heavens. Next to our petition for the hallowing of His name, 
 is that for the coining of His kingdom. We have sent our 
 thoughts up to the power and majesty of our Father in heaven, 
 and the ha])py and peaceful reign of His perfect government 
 there, and we long for the time when His kingdom shall also 
 be established on earth. His kingdom in one sense is come — 
 for the Lord Jesus, when he ascended up from the grave and 
 overcame the powers of darkness and death, received the 1 ing- 
 dom — as He declared " All power is given to Me in heaven and 
 in earth," all things are delivered into His hand?, and He is the 
 Judge of the earth and its ruler. But in another sense it is not 
 yet come, for we see not all things yet put under His feet — evil 
 men and evil practices yet lift their heads amongst us, and there 
 is war, and envy, and jealousy, and bloodshed in the earth. 
 But we are told in the Word of God of a glorious time when 
 all these things shall have ceased ; when nation shall not lift up 
 sword against nation, nor shall learn war any more, — when they 
 shall not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy mountain — when 
 the knowledge of Him and the fear of His Name, shall be widely 
 spread over the earth. This is the kingdom we pray for when 
 we beseech Him to accomplish the number of His elect, and 
 hasten His glorious kingdom — for this is the kingdom in which 
 we shall see Him as He is, and enjoy His kingly presence, and 
 serve Him as we would — freed from all the hindrances of our 
 mortal flesh. And in praying for the coming of this, we pray 
 that all things may be put down and done away, which oppose 
 themselves to it — and among the chief of these the imaginations 
 of our own carnal and rebellious hearts, which exalt themselves 
 against God — we pray that these may be brought into subjec- 
 tion to His rule, and that we may be obedient subjects of His 
 kingdom. Moreover we declare by praying that God's kingdom 
 may come, our willingness and resolution to do every thing that 
 
 lies in our power to promote its spread and increase ; and both 
 D 2 
 
30 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 by our example to glorify our God, and by our words and in- 
 fluence to set forward among men His fear, and obedience to 
 His laws. For, love to His kingdom is surely best shewn in 
 being ourselves loyal and peaceable subjects of that kingdom, 
 and walking in His commandments and ordinances blameless. 
 
 And now having prayed for the increase of God's kingdom 
 and for the arrival of the complete and blessed state of it upon 
 earth, we request a yet higher thing, one which shews a yet 
 nearer apprehension and sight of His glory and of the service 
 of those blessed beings who are about Him where He is. ''Thy 
 will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." In heaven God's 
 holy will is perfectly and entirely done. No murmur against 
 Him is ever heard there; no refusal to serve Him in His 
 appointed way, but at His bidding His holy angels go every 
 way to perform His pleasure, and we pray that it may be so 
 on earth also. Now what does this little petition "Thy will 
 be done " imply ? It implies praise of God's dealings — it 
 testifies that we join in our hearts that blessed company in the 
 Revelation who sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, " Great 
 and wonderful are Thy works Lord God Almighty : just 
 and true are Thy ways King of saints." We renounce our 
 own judgment of the things that happen, as far as they are at 
 variance with the determination of God's wisdom ', and hum- 
 bly acquiesce in all His providences and ordinances as best 
 for us and for all. We also express our desire that as God's 
 will is perfectly done in heaven, so here on earth, those 
 who oppose themselves to the gracious design of God, may 
 have their hearts turned and all things subjected to it, that 
 His holy will may have free course and be the rule of all. 
 It also implies a prayer' that God would enable us to perform 
 willingly whatever He requires of us, perfecting us in His 
 will as the Apostle says, and working in us that which is well 
 pleasing in His sight: that He will enable us to bear con- 
 
ON THE lord's PEAYER. 31 
 
 tentedly whatever He is pleased to lay upon us, and com- 
 pletely to give up our own wills unto His will, and only have 
 that and none of our own. We pray for a contented and 
 cheerful demeanour, in that state of life in which He has 
 been pleased to place us, and a quiet earnest endeavour to do 
 the duties of it : for a submissive patience and meekness in 
 all adversities which it pleases Him to bring upon us, and 
 grace to receive them as coming from Him and according 
 to His blessed will ; in short to live continually as in God's 
 hands, to do what He chooses with us, and to acknowledge 
 His wisdom. His justice and goodness in all His dealings 
 with us ; according to that saying of Eli, " It is the Lord, 
 let Him do what seemeth Him good:" of David, ''Behold 
 here I am, let Him do unto me as seemeth good unto Him : " 
 of Job, "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away : 
 blessed be the name of the Lord : " and of our Lord himself 
 in His severest trial, " Father, not My will but Thine be 
 done." Oh that we could utter these words with the warmth 
 and with the sincerity with which they were uttered by Him. 
 Many times to-day have they past our lips ; but has our heart 
 truly felt or wished to feel (which is the same in God's sight,) 
 bowed down to His holy will and re^^igned into His hands ? 
 And have we said them with a determination that by us at 
 least His will shall be done, and that we will do our endeavour 
 to promote that which we pray for, the doing of it in earth 
 as it is done in heaven ? When we prayed "Thy kingdom 
 come," did we so with clear ideas of what we were seeking, with 
 a going forth of the heart unto God, and above all with an 
 inward wish and determination to ourselves, to " seek first 
 the kingdom of God and His righteousness ?" When we 
 said " Hallowed be Thy name," had we a just conception of 
 what we were saying and to whom we were saying it — 
 had we really that wish which we professed for the honour 
 
32 SERMON IV. 
 
 of God's name ardently implanted in us ? and as in the 
 former cases, did we say the words with a devout intention 
 of hallowing it ourselves ; of not speaking, or thinking, 
 or suffering others to speak or think lightly of that sacred 
 name? And when we said '* Our Father," were our hearts 
 drawn out in a sense of our relationship to God, and our 
 state as His children by creation and by redemption, and in 
 love and reverence to Him for His mercies in Christ abun- 
 dantly bestowed upon us? And did His dwelling place — 
 heaven, with its glories, pass before us when we called Him 
 our Father in heaven, and affect us with a deep sense of our 
 weakness and un worthiness to approach Him ? 
 
 Brethren, to be mockers of God is an awful thing at any 
 time, and in whatever form it shews itself: but when in prayer 
 itself we mock Him, and when that prayer is the one He 
 Himself gave us to sum up our wants in, out of compassion to 
 our weakness, surely the sin becomes aggravated ten-fold. "But be 
 not deceived ; God is not mocked ; for what a man soweth that 
 shall he also reap :" when we thus come before God it is not 
 Him but onr own souls that we mock ; by depriving them of 
 the great benetit and privilege of having these feelings raised 
 towards God, by depriving them of the inestimable benefits 
 which fervent effectual prayer procures for us. 
 
 Observe the order and pattern which this prayer sets us in 
 our other addresses to God. The first petitions, those which 
 we have now been considering, concern His praise and glory, 
 and the establishment of His kingdom. Before a word of 
 our own wants come the petitions '' Hallowed be Thy name. 
 Thv kingdom come. Thy will be done." Let this teach us 
 that as in all other things so in our prayei-s also, the first 
 object is the glory of God. What are we in His sight but 
 worms of earth ? and what are our interests and our very 
 being but the smallest possible drop to Him who made the 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 33 
 
 worlds and upholdeth all things by the word of His power ? 
 Let His glory and the reverence due to His great name 
 swallow up all consideration of ourselves, and let that have 
 our first and best works and petitions, and there will be time 
 and strength enough to serve ourselves afterwards. Too 
 many persons are apt to make religion a selfish thing, and 
 though they often say " Our Father, " and often repeat these 
 petitions, they still have self interest at the bottom of their 
 prayers. Alas, that this noxious weed, not content with spring- 
 ing up in the fallows and neglected places of our hearts, 
 should spring up even in our holy and choice ground, and 
 twine itself about our sacred things. Let God be our first 
 thought — Eiis glory our first care — to do His will our only 
 anxiety ; let our neighbours be next — their pleasure, their 
 comfort, their liking and disliking, let them be consulted ; and 
 then we may, when these conditions have been satisfied, turn 
 to our own wishes and consult our own convenience. But 
 let no scheme, no desire, come to the test of our own liking, 
 before it has been previously submitted to this examination, 
 and has not been found wanting. 
 
 May this explanation of the prayer of our Lord tend to call 
 our thoughts to its true meaning, and its depth and beauty ; that 
 when we use it before God, we may not be offering the sacrifice 
 of fools, but seeking Him with all our hearts. 
 
SEEM ON V. 
 
 ** Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, 
 AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS." — St. Matthew, vi. 1], 12. 
 
 After our petitions for the promotion of God's glory SiXiAfear 
 in ourselves and in others, we go on to make request for our 
 own necessities. And we ask not for wealth, honor, or riches, 
 but simply for our daily bread, for food suflScient for our sus- 
 tenance, for so the word imports. He who lives to God, as 
 he does not set his heart on the pleasures of the world or 
 its comforts, so is not over anxious, or making many words 
 about its provision ; the same gracious Father who has given 
 him a body, and brought him into life, will support him in it, 
 if he diligently use the appointed means; and He who clothes 
 the lilies, and gives increase to the grass in its season, and 
 feeds the birds when they cry to Him, will not be unmindful 
 of His people, or suffer them to lack any good thing. And 
 therefore it is that " Give us this day our daily bread " is a 
 sufficient expression of our wants according to that prayer of 
 Agur in Prov. xxx 7, " Two things have I required of Thee, 
 deny me them not before I die ; Remove iar from me vanity 
 and lies : give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with 
 food convenient for me : lest I be full, and deny Thee, and 
 say. Who is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and steal, and 
 take the name of my God in vain." Let the simple words 
 and spirit of this petition, *' Give us this day our daily bread" 
 be a lesson to us in our acts of dependance upon God ; let 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 35 
 
 our care and solicitude be confined to those things which are 
 necessary for us, on the one hand not enlarging our desires or 
 being covetous of more, and on the other hand let us make 
 sure°that God will give us so much, and not neglect us. It 
 seems a sort of setting ourselves oat of God's great family 
 when we are anxious to be independent and to have resources 
 of our own, and to live, as it were, on ourselves ; where He 
 sends such circumstances He means them as talents to be 
 employed,— but they are not to be sought after. I often think 
 those persons are most happy into whose lot, morning and 
 evening, there comes the visible hand of God dispensing food 
 and blessing. In this spirit do all His creatures depend on 
 Him ; in this spirit is it written in the Psalms, - Put thou 
 thy trust in the Lord and be doing good ; dwell in the 
 land, and verily thou shalt be fed." And such a petition as 
 this is most proper for those who having sought first the 
 kingdom of God by praying -Hallowed be Thy name. 
 Thy kingdom come," and His righteousness in pray- 
 ing "Thy will be done" are now putting up their re- ^ 
 qu'est for those things which they believe, according to His 
 promise, shall be added to them. So far we open our wants 
 to God as the creatures of His providence,— Thou hast made 
 us, and may it please Thee to save us alive and give us all 
 needful things. But after this, standing as we do, before 
 our Father in heaven, having spoken of that name which is 
 holy, and that pure and perfect will of His which is done by 
 happy spirits, and that blessed kingdom of His which He will 
 accomplish, and with all these in our minds, having besought 
 a continuance of His gifts of providence, we bethink ourselves 
 of our manifold sins and infirmities. "Give us our daily 
 bread ;" but for what, Lord ? to serve Thee with, to glorify 
 Thee with, to spend and be spent in Thy service ? Keep 
 us in life and health ; but for what. Lord ? to be menu- 
 
36 SERMON V. 
 
 ments of Thy grace and reflexions of Thine own image, epis- 
 tles of holiness and mirrors of purity. Oh Lord, thou 
 knowest we are prone to sin, born in iniquity, and liable to 
 fall, and offending Thee every hour, we ask for Thy gifts, 
 and then we take them, and abuse them, and spend them on 
 our lusts, and blaspheme and deny Thee, we are not upright 
 before Thee ; oh then, if it may be so, forgive us these 
 l^reat things which we have committed against Thee ; look 
 not on them, but for Thy goodness sake remember Thou us 
 according to Thy mercies, O Lord. '* Forgive us our tres- 
 passes," our debts which we have incurred to Thee. The 
 request '' Have patience with us and we will pay Thee all" 
 might be well if we had anything to bring unto Thee, any 
 satisfaction to make, but we have nothing to pay ; — if Thou 
 be extreme with us we cannot stand, if Thou enter into judg- 
 ment with us we cannot be justified. We ask not then for 
 time, — for that would avail us nothing, — we ask not for Thy 
 long-suffering, for however long Thou bear with us, our ac- 
 count would come at last, and we could not bear it, — but we 
 ask for full forgiveness, nothing short of entire forgiveness, and 
 putting our sins out of Thy remembrance. If God Himself 
 had not given us permission, who would have dared to ap- 
 proach Infinite Justice with this request ? How could a sin- 
 ner lift up his eyes to heaven, and pray God to be unjust, 
 (for how could He pardon sin without it) and not fear the 
 swift vengeance of Him who is jealous of His honour, and 
 will by no means clear the guilty ? But God who has al- 
 lowed us to use this petition, has also (blessed be His name) 
 thereby declared that a way is open for forgiveness of sins. 
 And if we consider the world and all things therein, and look 
 around us, we cannot but find this great and comforting word 
 '* Sin is pardoned " every where written and every where 
 sounding. For when one man yielded to temptation, and the 
 
ON THE LORD 8 PRAYER. 37 
 
 evil serpent of sin crept up under his heart, and the creation 
 of God became impure in His sight, how could it have lived 
 for a moment in the clear light of His countenance if there 
 had not been devised a way by which transgression might 
 be atoned for, impurity covered, and disobedience removed, 
 as soon as the first sin was committed ? If the Lamb had 
 not been slain from before the foundation of the world, how 
 could the sun have kept his light, or the moon been left to 
 rule the night, or the creatures of God have rejoiced in His 
 presence any more ? Therefore when we say " Forgive us 
 our trespasses," we speak as those who are by the sacrifice of 
 Christ allowed to approach near to God, and as persons who 
 are sensible of the virtue of that sacrifice to put away all our 
 sins. Bat something else is added, " As we forgive them 
 that trespass against us." " 1 will," says St. Paul, ** that 
 men every where lift up holy hands, without wrath or doubt- 
 ing," and our Lord Himself in this same sermon on the 
 mount, tells us to be reconciled to our brother before we 
 come to present our offering to God. This addition then 
 means, forgive us our trespasses as truly and entirely as we 
 do now from the bottom of our hearts forgive every persoa 
 who has at any time trespassed against us. Now this is aii 
 awful petition, and one which requires sincere dedication of 
 heart before it can be uttered. For if when we come before 
 God we bear ill will against any, or grudge to any, if we 
 nourish in our hearts any desire to do any person an injury, 
 or are not on good terms with any body, not only do we 
 grievously mock God when we thus ask Him to forgive us 
 as we forgive others, but be not surprised when I tell you 
 that we have actually been praying God never to forgive our 
 sins at all. For if when we say, forgive us our trespasses in 
 the same manner that we forgive others, we do not forgive 
 others, we are saying to God, forgive not our trespasses, we 
 
38 SERMON V. 
 
 beseech Thee, — than which a more awful request cannot be 
 imagined perhaps, except that of the profane swearer and 
 curser, who spends his days in calling on God to give him 
 that punishment which is most justly in reserve for him. 
 Now remember this, for it is no light matter, — as often as 
 vou have come up before God and said this prayer with un- 
 forgiving hearts, so often have you solemnlv and deliberately 
 called down His curse upon you." And do not mistake the 
 nature of the forgiveness and Christian charity which we owe 
 to others. It is very easy indeed just to look hack upon 
 our hearts when we begin to pray, when the tempter takes 
 care to hide away our wicked thoughts, and make all appear 
 as it should be, and to say I feel no malice nor hatred ; this 
 is part of the system which judges us by our feelings, but 
 this is not after God's method of judging, which is by our 
 fruits. Do we go out from the presence of God when we 
 have been praying " Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
 them that trespass against us," and then in private to our 
 families, or to our friends, do we s])eak ill of, tell tales of, or 
 injure in any way whatsoever, — for 1 know ])ersons are apt to 
 find loop-holes to slip out of such charges as this — the cha- 
 racter of our neighbours ? Do we endeavour to raise envy 
 against them by magnifying any advantages God may have 
 given them, or to lessen them in the esteem of others by ex- 
 posing their imprudence, or their faults real or imaginary ? 
 This is the way an unforgiving spirit is shewn, and whoever 
 makes a habit of doing any or all of these things, however 
 forgiving they may be deluded into feeling when they are at 
 their pravers, do not forgive others their trespasses, and there- 
 fore, as often as they say the Lord's prayer, pray that they 
 may not be forgiven their own ; — and the more God hears 
 their prayers, the worse Will it be for them. 
 
 Our Lord adds to the prayer a special commentary on this 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 39 
 
 petition, enforcing the .neaning of it, and implying that God 
 only vouchsafes pardon on tliese terms; " Fur if ye do not 
 forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father 
 forgive you." Happy and blessed must he be who can say 
 this is his daily prayer, with a clear conscience in this matter, 
 knowing the guilt of his heart, knowing that angry and ma- 
 licious thoughts have arisen in his heart, and remembering 
 such times with grief, and in the number of his trespasses; 
 but knowing also that he has endeavoured by God's assistance 
 to check them in their birth, and destroy them when they 
 arose, without letting his tongue utter or his hand execute 
 them. Happy is he who, knowing the great and deep need 
 which he has of forgiveness before God, how much more 
 loathsome and vile he is in the sight of God's Holiness than 
 any of his neighbours can be hi his sight, is led to self- 
 abasement and a contrite heart, which are the surest preser- 
 vatives against the rankling of pride within us, and the desire 
 to exalt ourselves above others, which are after all the causes 
 of a bitter and unforgiving spirit. Now do not escape out 
 of these exhortations, I beseech you, by saying we are im- 
 perfect creatures,— we do our best,— we cannot be perfect,— 
 it is natural to our hearts to take offence at some things, and 
 we should not have any spirit if we did not,— we are not to 
 submit to insult and injury, and sit still and say nothing. It 
 is astonishijjg, my Brethren, how persons in a Christian land, 
 with Christ's Gospel in their hands, can make such excuses 
 and such confessions as these, which are not invented by me 
 in order to say something about them, but are what we hear 
 as often as we speak on the subject to any one. I can- 
 not forgive him, I ought not to forgive him, are most 
 common expressions when any one has injured our worldly 
 welfare, our character, or what acts closest of all, our vanity. 
 Well, be it so ; you cannot, you ought not to forgive ; then 
 
40 SERMUN V. 
 
 you are plainly the subjects of that kingdom whose laws order 
 you not to forgive, you have some power which you obey 
 which makes it improper for you to forgive. And what king- 
 dom is that ? The kingdom of Christ and God ? Clearly 
 not ; but the kingdom of him who brought hate and murder 
 into the world, even of the devil, the enemy of God and 
 His people. If you think it your duty not to forgive, you 
 belong to this kingdom, you are a citizen of it, and to it 
 you must go. But meantime I solemnly command you not 
 to take the prayers of God's servants on your lips, or play 
 the hypocrite before Him ;~but if you will thus serve the 
 pride of the world, the lust of the flesh, and the laws of the 
 devil, serve them with a whole heart ; depart from our Churches, 
 and pollute not our solemn assemblies with your offerings. 
 Are you astonished at your situation, thus laid before you ? 
 Then never make such an assertion as that you ought not to 
 forgive, or cannot forgive, for as often as you do, you plainly 
 declare whose servant you are. Very different is the spirit of 
 God's servants, and the command of the laws of the kingdom 
 of Christ. Instead of the haughty dark rising of the fleshly 
 heart in the breast, and the sullen look and hurtful wish, 
 love is the universal law ; God Himself is love, and His 
 new commandment, which, according to the recorded saying of 
 His Apostle, if we perform, we need do nothing more, is 
 " Little children, love one another." 
 
SERMON VI. 
 
 "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: 
 
 FOR thine is the KINGD >M, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, 
 
 FOR EVER. Amen." — St. Matthew, vi. 13. 
 
 After these petitions for the forgiveness of our past sins, na- 
 turally are placed those in which we pray to be kept from of- 
 fending in future. And therefore, we beseech God to remove 
 from us all occasions and incitements to sin, " Lead us not into 
 temptation ; " that is. Thou who dost govern and direct all 
 things by Thy divine providence, may it please Thee so to 
 order our steps, and so to overrule the accidents which shall 
 happen to us, that we may not be brought into circumstances 
 where we may be solicited to fall from Thee or to dishonour 
 Thy name. Persons who are watchful and anxious for the 
 honour and fear of God in their souls, dread the approach of 
 temptation — their weakness and extreme carelessness in God's 
 work is too manifest to them not to make them shrink some- 
 what from the trial, and pray not to be led into temptation. 
 How then is it, you may say, that the Apostle says, " My 
 Brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations ?" 
 and yet we are taught to pray, " lead us not into temptation." 
 Why in the same way precisely that we pray in the Litany 
 "that we, God's servants, being hurt by no persecution, may 
 
 evermore give thanks to Him in His holy Church ;" — and yet 
 E 2 
 
42 SERMON VI. 
 
 when persecutions have come, we count those persons happy 
 and blessed who have undergone them, and have confest their 
 Saviour boldly and entered into His glory. The weakness of 
 our nature shrinks from severe trial — nor would it be consistent 
 with true humiliiy and selfdistrust to court temptation, this being 
 to tempt the Lord our God. But when He is pleased to send the 
 trial of our faith, it shews us that He designs to raise us up to purer 
 degrees of His love, and make us live nearer to Himself, and 
 improve in the divine life : and the heaviness which Christians 
 are in through manifold temptations, increases the joy in which 
 they rejoice by faith ; and their trial of faith being much more 
 precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with 
 fire, will be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the 
 appearing of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Such are the uses of temptation, to prepare us for God's 
 service and make us see our dependence upon Him. Thus we 
 see that Christ Himself was tempted before He begun the greal 
 work of His ministry. Now, my Brethren, if it becomes us as 
 frail creatures to pray not to be led into temptation, distrusting 
 pur own power, and fearing that our poor weak faith will not 
 stand ; how much more is it our bounden duty not to cast our- 
 selves into temptation, to avoid every place and time which, 
 may be to us an occasion of sin. We are hindering the effi- 
 cacy of our prayers, and making them surely a mere dead form, 
 if, when we pray not to be led into temptation, we leave the 
 presence of God and of our own accord seek it. And many 
 more of our actions are comprehended in this seeking occasions of 
 sin than we are generally given to imagine. When we incautiously 
 OK vpadvisedly thrust ourselves into stations of life which we 
 are not calculated to fill, and thereby bring upon ourselves 
 poverty or disgrace, what can it be called but leading ourselves 
 into temptation ? When, which is a case too common, person.s 
 settle themselves in life without counting the cost, and find 
 
ON THE LOKD's VRAYKK. 43 
 
 families growing about them without the means of providing for 
 them ; have not th« temptations and distresses which arise out 
 of this state of things been of their own creating — and have they 
 not, by want of foresight and prudence, cast themselves into a 
 snare ? 
 
 I know I am touching upon points which are thought lightly 
 of, and are hardly esteemed matters of religion or duty to 
 God in these our days ; but as in other things so in this, it is 
 the bounden duty of God's ministers to oppose that spirit 
 which separates religion from the common concerns of life, 
 and to teach you that every thought, every word, and every 
 action of your daily existence, is measured by your duty 
 to God. Those then who act in the manner I have men- 
 tioned are no doubt tempting God ; and from what we 
 know of Hig ways of dealing with men, they cannot expect 
 His blessing upon what they have thus undertaken without 
 His warrant. Of course it is of no use for those who are 
 in such circumstances to cast back sad reflections on the 
 past ; their trial is now upon them, and they must look 
 to God and beseech Him in His mercy, not to visit upon 
 them in full measure the consequences of their imprudence; 
 but I say it by way of prevention and caution, and beseech 
 all whom it may concern to consider the matter in this 
 serious light, both with regard to themselves and to those 
 whom God may have subjected to their influence. But if 
 we tempt God in worldly matters, much more are we prone 
 to do so in spiritual ones. There are persons who are 
 extremely cautious, and providing, and thrifty, in things 
 concerning the body, but who run up awful accounts to 
 the charge of their poor souls, and willingly and perversely 
 run into spiritual temptation every day. Do you suflTer 
 )fyorsel.ves to ^ighl in the company and conversation of 
 
44 SERMON VI. 
 
 those who fear not God ? Do you of yonr own accord seek 
 it — or remain in it any longer when you are compelled to 
 be in it than that occasion requires ? Nay to come closer 
 still — do you suffer in your own heart bad thoughts of God 
 and His dealings to arise, or if they should arise, do you 
 permit yourself to give way to them and be entangled in 
 their falsehood ? Do you let your mind be carried away by 
 impurity into a train of unclean and wanton thoughts ? Be 
 sure as often as you do any of these, you are leading your- 
 selves into temptation ; you are calling out to the tempter 
 to come to you, and be sure he will obey your call, for he 
 never omits an occasion of doing God's cause an injury or 
 weakening the faith of His saints. Once more, do you by 
 the neglect of constant private prayer suffer your heart to 
 be overgrown \vitli evil weeds, and your conscience which is 
 always most awake and active while you are at prayer, to 
 become seared and deadened so as to lose the sense of right 
 and wrong according to the will of God ? This is by 
 neglect and sinful forgetfulness to fall into a great snare, to 
 absent one's self from the presence of that God of Whom 
 it is said, *' draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh unto 
 you;" and thereby to give our adversary great advantage 
 against ns. Those who have long neglected private prayer, 
 have a long road to go to get back to Christian peace and 
 a sense of God's love. By neglect of family and public 
 prayer too, the same evil consequences are risked, and the 
 same temptations run into. The omission of seeking God 
 in our families will be as it were putting away His blessing 
 from our family connexions and duties; and we cannot but 
 fear to fall into sin in these matters, where we do not take 
 the most plain and obvious means to be kept from it. Those 
 who stay away from the public worship of God, bring upon 
 
ON THE lord's prayer. 46 
 
 themselves a snare, besides that of breaking the Sabbath, of 
 forgetting Him and His worship ; and when the sun of God's 
 fear sets in our hearts, be sure the evil beasts of sin and dark- 
 ness are abroad within us, raging for their prey. Be careful 
 then not in any of these ways to tempt God, so that when you 
 pray, " Lead us not into temptation," you may not be mock- 
 ing Him, and that you may be comforted with the thought 
 when any trial does come on yon, — this is of my heavenly 
 Father's sending, He will enable me to bear it. 
 
 Now, we proceed with the prayer ; — having besought God 
 not to lead us into temptation, we seem, as it were, to recollect 
 that He may see it good for us that we should be tempted ; and 
 therefore we next beg of Him in temptation to " deliver us from 
 evil." If it please Thee, suffer us not to be tempted ; but if 
 Thou bring upon us for wise reasons the trial, oh, suffer us not 
 to fall into sin, but of Thy mercy carry us through it pure and 
 spotless from any stain of evil. Also, this petition begs of God 
 to deliver us from all outward evil to which, by reason of the 
 frailty of our nature, and the evil passions in ourselves or 
 others, we are liable ; and in general, as we had it exprest in 
 the collect for the Second Sunday in Lent, " from all adversi- 
 ties which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts 
 which may assault and hurt the soul." And so we have 
 summed up all our requests, and made known all our wants to 
 God our Father in heaven — lor His glory, for others and for 
 ourselves. And now, what remains but to ascribe unto Him 
 the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever ? 
 We have prayed, " Thy kingdom come," — now we say, *' For 
 Thine is the kingdom ;" others rise up and rule in the world, 
 and claim to be kings, and seem to order things as they will — 
 but Thou Lord reignest ; others raise up disturbances in the 
 earth, and turn things upside down and establish themselves—^ 
 
46 SERMON VI. 
 
 but Thou, Lord, sittest between the Cberubims be the earth 
 never so unquiet: and therefore Thine is the ])o\ver also. We 
 have asked niany and great things— we have taken upon our- 
 selves to speak unto God— and now we say, " Lord, if thou 
 wilt thou canst, Thine is the power." Our foes in the spirit, 
 our fleshly lusts, our worldly hearts have great power over us, 
 and other lords have had and have dominion over us ; but 
 Thine is the power — one word from Thee and they all are 
 brought to nought. Thine is the power to make Thy name 
 hallowed, for Thou hast said, " I will sanctify My great name," 
 — Thou hast written, " from the rising of the sun, even to the 
 going down of the same. My name shall be great among the 
 Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto My 
 name, and a pure offering for My name shall be great among 
 the heathen, saith the Lord of Flosts." Thine is the power to 
 bring about Thy kingdom, for Thou hast written, " The king- 
 doms of the world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
 His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever." Thine is 
 the power to give us our daily bread — for Thou openest Thine 
 hand and fillest all things living with plenteousness. Thine is 
 the power to forgive our trespasses — for Thou hast proclaimed 
 Thyself*' the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow 
 to anger, forgiving ini(piity, transgression, and sin.'' Thine is 
 the power to keep us from tem])tation, for ''Thou dost not wil- 
 lingly afflict nor grieve the children of men ;" and Thine is the 
 power to deliver iis from evil, for the Lord " knoweth how to 
 deliver the godly out of temptation; and He shall give His 
 angels charge concerning them, to bear them in their hands 
 lest they dash their feet against a stone," and He has promised 
 '^ there shall no evil befal them, neither plague come nigh their 
 dwelling." And since Thine is the power to do all this, and 
 ours is Thy promise that Thou wilt do it, we look forward to 
 
ON THE lord's PRAYER. 47 
 
 the glorious accomplishment of it all and give Thee all the glory. 
 Thine is the glory — not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto 
 Thy name give the praise. All the glorying of men shall be put 
 down, and the high looks ofmen shah be humbled, and the haughty 
 looks of man shall be pulled down; and the LORD alone shall 
 be exalted in that day. And even then, when Tiiy glory shall 
 be ours, yet all the glory shall be Thine, for Thou wilt fill all 
 in all. And this for ever and ever . This last is the only part 
 of the prayer which we shall lake with us to heaven — all the 
 rest are petitions for the supply of temporary wants, and for 
 blessings which belong to this state of time ; but this part is for 
 eternity. 
 
 When the kingdom of God is come, and His name is 
 mightily sanctified, and His will jjerfecily done ; when there 
 shall be no more need of daily bread, but the food of angels 
 shall be our food ; when there shall be no more trespasses to 
 forgive, none that trespass against us, no temptation to try us, 
 and no evil to approach us : these words shall be our song to 
 all ages, " Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
 for ever and ever." They are part of that new song which the 
 redeemed sing before the throne — the song of Moses and the 
 Lamb ! 
 
 And now, by God's help, we have explained to you this 
 divine prayer, and endeavoured to enforce upon you the duties 
 and the states of mind which the use of such words implies. 
 May the words which have been spoken on it not have been 
 mere empty sounds, which have not reached your hearts ; but, 
 may they have made such a lasting impression, as to produce 
 the fruits of good living towards God. 
 
 He only knows how much we each of us regard His name, 
 and who there are among us that walk with His fear before 
 their eyes. And when He shall make manifest to all who those 
 
48 SERMON" VI. 
 
 persons are ; may very many of those who now hear me, appear 
 among them, to the unspeakable joy of themselves and of Him 
 who is appointed their Minister, and to the glory of God's 
 holy name. 
 
0tt ti&e Beattttttics* 
 
 SERMON VII 
 
 "blessed are the poor in spirit; for their's is the kingdom 
 OF heaven." — Matt. v. 4. 
 
 Our Blessed Saviour, in His divine discourses, always places 
 humility at the entrance of the spiritual life of man. — "Except 
 ye become as little children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven." ''He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 
 And here, when making, as it were, the proclamation of His 
 mission and the nature of His gospel. He places this grace of 
 humility first in the catalogue of blessings : '' Blessed are the 
 poor in spirit; for their's is the kingdom of heaven." So that 
 you see, humility seems to be indispensable to a man's being a 
 partaker of the blessings of the gospel; and our time, this day, 
 will be well employed in meditating on that which it should be 
 so great an object with us to cultivate, if we have really any 
 love for Christ or our own souls. May God the Holy Spirit, 
 by Whose blessed influence alone this and all other christian 
 graces are implanted in the heart, grant us such a measure of 
 His assistance, that we may be able truly to describe the nature 
 of it, and to shew how necessary it is for those who would come 
 to Christ or enjoy His kingdom. 
 
 When St. Paul was asked by the Jailor at Philippic '' What 
 I- 
 
50 SERMON VII. 
 
 must I do to be saved ?" his answer was, " Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shah be saved." It will assist us in 
 the consideration of our subject, if we examine what sort of a 
 belief it is which is here spoken of. It clearly means some- 
 thing more than a general belief in the truth of gospel history 7 
 it implies a belief, not merely that Christ came down and took 
 our nature, and died for sin, but that it was for o^lr sins that 
 this was done, and that we are removed from the guilt and power 
 of them by the virtue of that sacrifice. Now the first step 
 towards this belief is to feel the burden of sin, and a desire to 
 be relieved from it. Till this is felt, we shall not believe on 
 Christ, for we shall not be sensible of our need of Him. And 
 what is it to feel the burden of sin ? why, to feel that we are 
 being led captive against our wall, and drawn on to our misery 
 and ruin — that we cannot save ourselves — that we are utterly 
 without strength, whereas our enemies are mighty and press 
 heavily upon us. Then also comes upon the soul a sense of 
 the holiness and purity of God, a sense of His power to punish 
 and also of His foicer to save us ', but a doubt of His willing- 
 ness. We are ourselves placed at an infinite distance, by our 
 rileness and impotence, from an all pure and Almighty Being ; 
 we see that we have nothing to approach Him with, no plea to 
 put up before Him, and fear that His \'ery presence will strike 
 us dead ; so much do we dread His wrath. But we have 
 heard that Jesus Christ died for sinners, yea, for the greatest; 
 we have been told that we have been planted in the likeness of 
 His death ; we cling hold of this as a sentenced man to his 
 hope of pardon — we know not how, but it seems to give us new 
 life and strength ; the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth makes 
 us, as it did the lame man of old, rise up, and leap, and walk, 
 and praise God. And the cross of Christ, which we before 
 despised, becomes our joy, and our glory, and onr object of 
 reverence — v,e love to speak of Him, love to glorify Him, seek 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 51 
 
 to imitate Him, and in all our actions to go where He has led 
 the way and left his footmarks and learn to despise all things 
 for Him. This is the helief in the Lord Jesus Christ which 
 brings salvation. Now let us see what changes in our thoughts 
 of ourselves this produces. What were we in this respect 
 before all this begim ? or, iu other words, what is it our natural 
 inclination to be now ? Is it not, to be contented with our- 
 selves, and living in a state of self satisfaction — not feeling our 
 need of anything, but thinking we are well furnished for our 
 soul's wants, and comforting ourselves that in this matter we are 
 not worse off than our neighbours — and continually looking 
 out for something that may minister to our vanity and good 
 opinion of ourselves ? But when God has opened our eyes to 
 our real state, how different will our estimation then be ; the 
 bubble is now burst, the false colouring taken o ; and we see 
 how less than nothing itself all our fancied stock of goodness 
 is — and we perceive ourselves to be wretched, and miserable, 
 and poor, and blind, and naked. Now this is being poor in 
 spirit. Just as being outsvardly poor is to be deprived of the 
 means of subsistence, and its extreme slate is, to be obliged 
 to ask of another the necessaries of life ; so being inwardly 
 and spiritually poor is to feel ourselves void of all means of 
 sustaining spiritual life ; and its extreme state, a state which 
 every Christian has gone through, is, to throw ourselves 
 at the feet of Jesus, acknowledge ourselves utterly destitute, 
 and beg of Him in a spiritual sense to give us day by 
 day our daily bread. Now is it not easy to perceive that this 
 poverty of spirit is absolutely necessary before we can em- 
 brace the salvation of Jesus ? Do you not see that this is 
 the narrow entrance which leads to the path of life ? And 
 as it is narrow so is it also difficult : few there be that go in 
 at it. Poverty of spirit and low thoughts of self are directly 
 opposed to the tendencies and inclinations of the natural 
 
52 SERMON VII. 
 
 heart. If we examine half the joys that we feel, half the 
 motives that actuate us, we shall find that pride in one 
 shape or other is at the bottom of them. How seldom do 
 we perform a duty without some self-applause, and saying 
 '* well done " in our hearts ; and how seldom do we omit one, 
 without self-excusing, and trying to keep together our good 
 opinion of ourselves ! And if we would trace half our sorrows 
 and inconveniencies to their source, we should find wounded 
 pride at the bottom of them. Are we envious at another ? 
 It is because we think we deserved as well as he, and suppose 
 ourselves undervalued. Are we discontented with our rank 
 in society ? This was the very sin that caused the angels to 
 fall : and there is no one sin that is so direct a blasphemy 
 against the providence of God, or renders all spiritual im- 
 provement more utterly hopeless; yet this is begotten by 
 pride. All that the world tells of the sense of honour ; all 
 that it praises as proof of high spirit ; all that it proposes 
 for imitation by those who would rise in its favour, are but 
 different ways of serving up the same favourite morsel, pride. 
 We may suppose then that it is no easy task to pull down 
 this high imagination, which exalts itself against God; to 
 see our meanness and wretchedness, and to be feelingly con- 
 vinced that we have nothing to be proud of. It is easy 
 enough to profess this before men ; but can we meekly 
 endure to be told so by another ? can we bear reviling and 
 evil speaking, without returning it, and feel that it is true 
 without malice toward him who reviles us ? It is easy to go 
 down on our knees before God, and confess that we have 
 done the things that we ought not to have done, and left 
 undone the things that we ought to have done, and there is no 
 health in us; but can we in spirit and in truth from the 
 bottom of our hearts, acknowledge ourselves vile and miser- 
 able sinners ? It is easy in times of sickness and affliction 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 63 
 
 to throw away our pride, when we have no occasion to use it, 
 and humhle ourselves, because we are afraid of God ; but 
 can we day by day in our intercourse with men, habitually 
 lay it aside and be content to be thought meanly of for our 
 Master's sake ? It is easy to persuade ourselves in a care- 
 less and general way that we think lowly of ourselves and 
 highly of Christ; but do we really and sincerely find that 
 He holds the foremost place in our thoughts and esteem 
 and that in all our schemes and plans we make it the first thou<^hC 
 and object to please Him, before we think of ourselves ? If 
 we be truly poor in spirit and not only in profession, all 
 these things will be our endeavour and our practice. As this 
 poverty of spirit is so important and so difficult to attain, it 
 may not be amiss to lay before you a few considerations 
 which may serve to produce and cherish it, with the assistance 
 of Him from whom comes every good and perfect gift. 
 
 I. — Let us think much on the character of God as shewn to 
 us in His holy Word. Let us not compare ourselves with 
 our fellow-men, for we shall not be judged by them ; but be 
 more studious to set in contrast one against the other God's 
 purity and holiness, and our own unclcanness and sinfulness. 
 It was the sense of the presence of Divine Power which made 
 St. Peter exclaim, ''Depart from me for I am a sinful man 
 O Lord." Let us set our secret sins in the light of His 
 countenance, that they may be reproved and made manifest 
 by it. Let us endeavour to think what we should be if we 
 were doing His will on earth as it is done in heaven, and then 
 turn to the real state of our hearts : the more we draw such 
 strong contrasts as this, the more will our guilt and wretched- 
 ness and cause for humiliation appear. 
 
 II. — Let us be careful to separate any good intentions or 
 designs which we may find springing up in our hearts from 
 ourselves; and to ascribe them immediately to God's Holy 
 
54 SERMON VII. 
 
 Spirit. For though the workings of that divine Comforter 
 are carried on in a way of which we often are not aware at 
 the time, nothing is more certain than that we have no 
 power of ourselves so much as to think a good thing, and 
 that every desire of serving and loving God comes from 
 Himself. 
 
 in. — Let us be very watchful against occasions of pride. 
 If God has made us better than other? who have not the 
 knowledge of His Name, and has enabled us to live with 
 Him before our eyes, let us avoi 1 all self-congratulation when 
 we think on this difference; lei us break down the thoughts 
 that ai'e apt to rise in our hearts, and cast ourselves humbly 
 at God's footstool saying, " What am I, O Lord, that Thou 
 shouldst come and dwell with Thy servant ? " and let us care- 
 fully abstain from judging others. How do we know that 
 the Holy Spirit is not carrying on even now a work in the 
 hearts of many whom we deem ignorant of Him ? Nothing 
 ministers more to spiritual pride than this habit — and no 
 habit are we so apt to indulge in. Far better it would be, 
 to count all around us to be God's people, till we have very 
 open and undeniable proof to the contrary ; this is the right 
 side on which to be mistaken : this is far more agreeable to 
 that charity which hopeth all things, and covereth a multitude 
 of sins, than the course more usually pursued among 
 Christians, of counting all aliens from Christ till they have 
 a proof of their being His. There will be many a surprise, 
 at the day when we shall wake up and see things as they are, 
 to behold persons far above us in the kingdom of glory, whom 
 we in our uncharitable pride deemed excluded from the 
 kingdom of grace. 
 
 IV. — Another great step to the attainment of humility is, to forget 
 those things which are behind, and press on \ard to those which 
 are before. It is dangerous to employ ourselves too mUich 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 66 
 
 in looking back on God's dealings with us ; we are very apt 
 to lose sight of Him in our search, and find we are looking 
 at our own doings all the time. Besides, how little, how 
 very little can we know in this onr imperfect state, of the way 
 by which He has been leading us ! If any remarkable provi- 
 dence befall us ; or any extraordinary lesson have been con- 
 veyed to our souls, it is our duty to lay hold of it, and improve 
 it, and retain it in our memory ; but I cannot help thinking 
 it is very hurtful to our spiritual life to be perpetually looking 
 back on our progress ; — our concern is with the things which 
 are before : there is our hope, there our crown of rejoicing, 
 there are the subjects we should be thinking on — even the 
 glory which is to be revealed, that exceeding weight of glory, 
 to which otu' light afflictions are not to be compared. Here 
 is matter enough for deep self-abasement, when we think of 
 our own unvvorthiness to inherit the great things which He 
 has prepared for them that love Him; and matter too for 
 trust in His goodness and power, who we hope is preparing us 
 for the enjoyment of them. 
 
 And let us beware how we look for evidence in ourselves of 
 God's disposition towards us ; how we trust to any frame oi 
 mind, or feelings of our own, for proofs of His work on our 
 souls. Nothing can be more uncertain, nothing more false 
 than such feelings ; they may be the result of bodily consti- 
 tution ; they may be the offspring of our own corrupt hearts, 
 or even the work of the enemy of our sjnrits in order to 
 deceive us. The truly poor in spirit will cast oiT all such 
 grounds of reliance ; will count him^-elf as nothing in the 
 matter, and cling to Christ alone, on Whom he can trust, 
 both when He hides His face, and when He shines graciously 
 on him. Our prayer should be, " Lord let me enjoy Thy 
 sweet presence if Thou seest it good for me ; but if not. Thy 
 will be done." All we are required to examine and prove 
 
56 SERMON VII. 
 
 ourselves in, is, whether we he in the faith : and this is easily 
 ascertained : the lines of distinction of our motives, thoughts, 
 and actions, whether we be, or be not, the children of God, are 
 clearly drawn ; clearly enough for any one to see who will 
 but honestly look into his own heart. It seems to me to be 
 the most hopeless form of self-righteousness, when a person is 
 perpetually requiring in his own feelings proofs of his growth 
 in grace. We are not told to see whether ive have groimi in 
 grace, but to grow in grace. When we have once believed 
 in the sufficiency of Christ, and committed our souls to Him, 
 holiness must be our desire and end ; we must strive to shew 
 our love to Him by keeping His commandments. His Holy- 
 Spirit is given us not that we may see how far we have gone, 
 but that we may be able to go further. And if we still will be 
 anxious to know what progress we have made in the spiritual life, 
 we have one certain way; we have only to apply to ourselves 
 the rule which Christ gives us respecting others, "By their fruits 
 ye shall know them." In proportion as we deny ourselves, 
 and do His work, we love Christ ; and not in proportion as 
 we are happy or miserable at different times. And with 
 respect to His love to ns, He can never change; and it is 
 wronging Him as well as doing an injury to ourselves, to 
 estimate it by our own changeable feelings. Always remem- 
 ber that God's people may lose the sense of His love, but 
 His love itself they can never lose. 
 
 The truly poor in spirit will also be endeavouring to with- 
 draw his thoughts and affections from worldly things. Such 
 objects of trust are indeed but false riches; for he v/ho is rich 
 to this world, that is, he who puts his trust in anything here 
 below, is poor toward God. Oh tuat we could sufficiently see 
 the miserable, the contemptible short sightedness of leaning 
 on such supports ! They may be withdrawn from us in a 
 moment — five minutes pain may make us insensible to them 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 57 
 
 all ; and death must separate between us and them for ever. 
 The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of 
 life, are hut poor and pitiful ornaments for one whose adorn- 
 ment should be the bright garment of spiritual holiness. All 
 such must be laid aside, we must deny ourselves, take up our 
 cross, and follow Him ; we must be ready to leave every thing 
 for His sake : thus becoming poor, in order that we may be 
 rich indeed. 
 
 And lastly and principally, if we would become truly hum- 
 ble, we must be ever looking at the Cross of Christ. There is 
 nothing that will draw us out of ourselves so much as medita- 
 tion on the love and glory of our Saviour ; we shall be more 
 fully sensible of our own unworthniess, when we have tasted 
 His sufficiency ; we shall learn more and more to distrust 
 ourselves, when we become accustomed to look up to Him 
 for daily supplies of grace and strength. We shall not then 
 be much taken with anything which the world has to offer. 
 We shall count every thing empty which He does not fill 
 with His presence ; we shall turn from it, as Mary did from 
 the sepulchre, to seek our Lord, and not rest till we have 
 found Him; we shall love His ordinances of praise and 
 prayer : for where two or three are gathered together in His 
 name, there is He in the midst of them. We shall love His 
 Sacraments, for they are done in remembrance of Him, and 
 are means of grace in which He manifests Himself to the 
 soul. We shall love His people, for they bear His im.age. 
 We shall love to think on all He did for us ; His Birth of 
 humiliation ; His Baptism of condescension ; His Life of 
 sorrow, and Death of pain ; and as the seasons come round 
 in which the Church commemorates all these, we shall be 
 ever ready to bear our part, ever joyful to have an opportunity 
 set apart for meditating on Him. He will be to us the chief 
 among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. This is true 
 
58 SERMON yii. 
 
 poverty of spirit, to see that we have nothing in ourselves, 
 and be led to look for all things in Him. 
 
 And I need not say that to acquire this we want other help 
 than our own. The evil spirit of pride is of that kind that 
 Cometh not out but by prayer and fasting. But it is one 
 which must be cast out, before we can sit at the feet of Jesus 
 in our right mind. O let us then cultivate the spirit of 
 prayer. Let us come before the throne of God, and fall 
 down before Him ; for the very sense of His presence may be 
 the means of humbling us : and more than this, let us pray 
 without ceasing, that is, let us be continually in a state of 
 communion with Him, walking with Him, as a man walks 
 with his friend. 
 
 Thus shall we be kept in a continual fear of offending Him ; 
 thus will our words and our thoughts become chastened down, 
 and we shall be watchful that nothing escapes us which may 
 bring disgrace on our Christian profession, or discredit on 
 His Holy Name. And thus by the help of His Spirit, which 
 is continually supplied to them whom He brings up in His 
 fear and love, we shall be growing in grace, and going on 
 from strength to strength, ripening for that kingdom of glory 
 which is said in our text to belong to the poor in spirit. 
 
 Of that kingdom and the blessed effects of the expectation 
 of it on our Christian life, I. hope, by God's blessing, to 
 speak to you in another sermon. 
 
 Meantime, may we all have grace to profit by this declara- 
 tion of our blessed Saviour; may He enable us to deny 
 ourselves, take up the cross and follow Him ; may He strip 
 us of all fancied goodness of our own, and shew us our need 
 of being clothed wiih His most spotless and perfect righteous- 
 ness. And may He at length present us before the presence 
 of His Father faultless with exceeding joy, to be with Him 
 ior ever. 
 
SERMON VIII. 
 
 BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT i FOR THEIr's IS THE KINGDOM 
 OF HEAVEN." — Matt. V. 4. 
 
 I HATE already endeavoured to point out to you a few things 
 concerning the poverty of spirit which is declared in the text 
 to be blessed. I spoke of its nature, — of its importance, — 
 of its difficulty, — and gave you a fev/ hints which I hoped, 
 by God's blessing, might prove useful towards its attainment. 
 But I said nothing on the latter part of the verse. We will 
 now, therefore, resume the subject, and meditate this evening 
 on the blessedness of the poor in spirit. Blessed are the poor ! 
 How different a judgment from that which men generally 
 pronounce ! If we may gather anything from what we see 
 going on around us, " Blessed are the rich " is by far the 
 more general opinion. Worldly wealth, and the good opinion 
 of men seem the objects of universal pursuit ; a poor-spirited 
 person is one whom the world esteems very little, or rather, 
 casts out altogether. The spirit of the man who prefers 
 others in honor before himself, — who suffers evil, not returning 
 it again, — who gives place to wrath, — who continues quietly 
 in the station where God has placed him, because he views 
 {he least blessings as coming from Him, and does not count 
 himself deserving even of the least, is not a spirit much calculated 
 to push his way in the world, or make him very conspicuous 
 among his fellow men. It seems, then, that it is not in what 
 
60 SERMON VIII. 
 
 men commonly account happiness that we are to look for 
 that of the poor in spirit. And it is well that it is so; for 
 worldly happiness would he hut a poor set-off against the 
 difficulties, and trials, and struggles through which those who 
 are anxious to hecome poor in spirit must pass. But Christ 
 Himself tells us plainly what this blessedness is, — it consists 
 in the possession of the kingdom of heaven. Let us examine, 
 then, what these words import ; and may He who dwells and 
 makes His temple in the humble heart, grant that we may 
 approach so great and high a subject with becoming humility 
 and distrust of ourselves, trusting in His enlightening power 
 to open our eyes to see the riches of this blessedness, and 
 the glory of his inheritance in Christ Jesus. 
 
 The words, " The kingdom of heaven," are frequently 
 used in the New Testament to denote the Christian religion, 
 — that new dispensation, by which life and immortality were 
 brought to light, and the kingdom of heaven opened to all 
 believers. Thus in Matt. iii. 2., we read that St. John the 
 Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and 
 saying, " Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," 
 that is, the time for the Christian dispensation to be revealed 
 is now arrived : and in Matt. xi. 11., Christ says, "Among 
 them that are born of women there hath not risen a 
 greater than John the Baptist; but the least in the kingdom 
 of heaven is greater than he," that is, the least of those who 
 have been made partakers of the Gospel is greater than the 
 greatest of those who lived before it was revealed. If, 
 therefore, we take this meaning of the words, the blessedness 
 mentioned in the text will mean, " Their 's are the promises 
 and the privileges of the Christian religion ; " and it is in 
 this view that I shall principally consider it. 
 
 First then, the promises of the Gospel belong to the poor 
 in spirit. "Come unto Me," says Christ, "ye that are 
 
ON tHE BEAtlTCDES. 61 
 
 weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." As bodily 
 weariness, and a heavy burden, are not things of which the 
 rich in this world have to complain; — in like manner the 
 spiritually weary here spoken of, and the heavy laden here 
 invited, are not those who fancy themselves well furnished 
 with store for their souls, but the spiritually poor, those who 
 are wearied with the labors which that hardest of masters, sin, 
 exacts of them, and heavy laden with the burdens which he 
 puts upon them. Such persons, we are told, shall find rest 
 unto their souls ; for rest is not desired, till fatigue has been 
 felt, nor would it be sweet without being previously toiled 
 for. Again, " I came not," says He, " to call the righteous, 
 but sinners to repentance," — not those who fancy their own 
 righteousness a sufficient claim to the divine favour, but those 
 who are sensible of their state as sinners, cast out from it, and 
 needing to be restored. All the benefits, then, which Christ 
 came down from heaven to purchase for us, belong to the 
 poor in spirit,— the 'privileges of the Gospel belong to him. 
 One of the most eminent of these privileges is the being 
 permitted to call God his Father, and trust with an implicit faith 
 in His care and love of him. This is the proper efiect of 
 true humility of spirit, this is that true childlike submission 
 of which Christ spoke when He set a little child in the 
 midst of His disciples, and said, " Of such is the kingdom of 
 heaven." This is that true renouncing of ail self-will and 
 perverseness, which was so eminent in our Saviour Himself 
 in His hour of humiliation, when He cried and said, " Father, 
 if Thou wilt, let this cup pass from Me ; nevertheless, not 
 as I will, but as Thou wilt." Here it is that the humble 
 man possesses such a great advantage over the proud and 
 self-trusting; when the dark days come, and the bitter waters 
 of trouble are given Him to drink, he can quietly submit, 
 for he knows Whom he has trusted ; he has long ago deter- 
 
62 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 mined, by divine grace, to give up himself into the hands 
 of God for better or for worse, knowing that He will bring 
 him safe home at the last; and let a wise Providence send 
 what stroke it will, he knows that it is still a loving Provi- 
 dence, and that all such distresses are but thorns and briars 
 in his narrow way to glory ; whereas the man who confided 
 in himself has his confidence taken away from under him 
 and nothing put in its stead, — he knows not whither to turn 
 for succour, — he has never been accustomed to look out of 
 himself for help, and it is hard, when the storm is raging, 
 for them to build up a shelter, who have neglected to do it 
 in the time of peace beforehand. What the w^orld calls an 
 independent spirit may do very well as long as God pours 
 down worldly blessings upon us, and we rejoice in the abun- 
 dance and fancy it our own ; but when He withdraws these, 
 and leaves us with nothing between ourselves and Him, thus 
 bringing us into His immediate presence — if we have not been 
 walking humbly with Hitii before, our state is most awful ; to 
 have, at such a time, to make ourselves acquainted with God, 
 and be reconciled to Him, when we want all the comforts of 
 His gospel. Here, then, the poor in spirit is indeed blessed — 
 having the great gain of godliness with contentment. 
 
 Another great privilege is the enjoyment of the means of 
 grace. None but the truly humble can enter into communion 
 with God in them. Observe the feelings required and professed 
 at the very beginning of our daily service, — " The sacrifices of 
 God are a broken spirit," — " Rend your hearts, and turn unto 
 the Lord your God," — " Enter not into judgment with Thy 
 servant ;" — all expressions of deep contrition and humility. 
 Then, in the office of the Holy Communion, " We do not 
 presume to come to this Thy table, merciful Lord, trusting 
 in our own righteousness, but in Thy manifold and great mer- 
 cies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 63 
 
 under Thy table." Who but a man truly humbled and poor in 
 spirit, could enter into the full meaning of these expressions so 
 as to apply them to himself? And in private prayer, without 
 which whosoever livetli is counted dead before God, all who 
 liave any experience in it (and I sincerely hope that will in- 
 clude most of us) will bear me out in saying that, till we have 
 come before God in the situation of helpless and needy crea- 
 tures, till we have emptied ourselves of all that we pride 
 ourselves in, and thrown ourselves at His feet to wait for 
 His mercy, we can never put that earnestness of spirit, that 
 full expression of our desires in prayer, which seems almost 
 to bring its own answer in the very uttering; till this has 
 been the case, we can never have that due sense of all His 
 mercies, which will make us unfeignedly thankful for them. 
 Here then the humble man must have gTeatly the advantage ; 
 even to the extent implied in the assertion, that God resisteth 
 the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 
 ' Another great privilege of the gospel is the knowledge of 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; that knowledge for which 
 the blessed Apostle Paul was willing to count al] things but 
 dross: the excellency of the knowledge of Christ his Lord. 
 Here too the poor in spirit will make the greatest advances. 
 Even in human knowledge it has been remarked, that the 
 further a man advances, the more he sees he has to learn, 
 and the less he seems already to have mastered ; how much 
 more then will this be the case with the learners of that 
 heavenly wisdom, whose length, and breadth, and height, none 
 can ever fully know ; which shall be the study and delight of 
 purified spirits to all eternity ? The more we have been in 
 the depth of humility, the lower shall we be able to descend 
 with Christ in meditating on His humiliation for our sakes ; 
 the better shall we be able to understand the nature of His 
 sufferings, and to appreciate and follow the example of His 
 
64 SERMON VIII. 
 
 most holy life ; and to draw comfort in our trials from the 
 consideration, — " all this, and more, my Saviour went through 
 before me." 
 
 In the Christian conflict too, and the gi'eat business of a 
 holy life, the humble man has all the advantajje. We are 
 exhorted by St. Paul to lay aside every weight, and run with 
 patience the race that is set before us. Now this is the very 
 aim and employment of humility. The proud man carries 
 many encumbrances in such a contest, which the poor in 
 spirit is without. It is difficult for him who puts his trust 
 in anything this world affords, to part at God's call with his 
 darling object of reliance, and yield up that which he had 
 valued as his right hand or his right eye : but it must be 
 done ; and bitter is the sorrow, and violent the wrench, which 
 tears asunder friends who had made idols of one another ; or 
 separates a man suddenly from all his thriving possessions : 
 whereas the poor in spirit has no such drawbacks as these:— he 
 has a friend, it is true whom, he loves with more than th© 
 strongest earthly love ; but that Friend can never be taken 
 from him ; he has, it is true, riches, over which he is more 
 watchful, and on which he thinks more, than the worldly man 
 of his gold and his crowded barns ; but then they are laid up 
 where moth and rust do not corrupt, and where thieves do 
 not break through nor steal 
 
 But we have a nobler privilege, a higher advantage, a more 
 complete blessing, yet behind. We have proved the humble 
 man to be the possessor of the promises : but he shall also 
 inherit their fulfilment. We have shewn that he can call God 
 hk Father : but he also can call heaven his home. We have 
 seen that he is readiest to bear the cross: but he shall alsa 
 wear the crown. He enjoys most the means of grace : but 
 he possesses also the hope of glory. He sufiers with his 
 Saviour : he shall also reign with Him. Ever since thQ 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 65 
 
 appearance of Christ upon earth, humility and glory have 
 sone together. In His own life we find that the times of 
 His greatest humiliation were the times of His greatest 
 glory also. When He lay a helpless child in the manger 
 at Bethlehem, a great company of the heavenly host pro- 
 claimed His birth to the shepherds, and His star appeared in 
 the East to guide the wise men to come and worship Him. 
 When He submitted to receive baptism at the hands of him 
 who was not worthy to unloose His shoe latchet, the heavens 
 were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and 
 the Father declared Him to be His well beloved Son in 
 whom He was well pleased. When His person was put for 
 a season under the power of the adversary, and He was in 
 all things tempted like as we are, angels came and ministered 
 unto Him. In the garden when they came out as against a 
 thief with swords and with staves for to lake Him, He spake 
 but a word, and they went backwards and fell to the ground. 
 And at that great and final humiliation on the cross, when He 
 cried out, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me," 
 the rocks were rent, and the earth opened, and the veil of the 
 temple was rent, and the Centurion who saw what was 
 done, said : " Truly this was the Son of God." And so also 
 it is with His people. Their times of deepest humiliation 
 and abasement are the times when God most clearly manifests 
 to them the hope of the glory that shall be revealed. And 
 because they have been led to see that they have nothing in 
 themselves to trust to, and nothing in this world worth lean- 
 ing upon in confidence, they are more wedded to Christ ; more 
 one with Him, and in consequence look more for His glorious 
 appearing. They feel more than others the hindrances and 
 temptations which the flesh throws in their way, and therefore 
 they long more for the time when Christ shall change our 
 vile body, that it may be fashioned like to His glorious body. 
 G 2 
 
66 SERMON V1II„ 
 
 They are more sensible than others of their great ignorance in 
 spiritual things, and their blindness to the glory of Christ by 
 reason of sin ; and therefore they desire more to come to the 
 day when they shall see Him iliee to face, and know even as 
 they are known. They are *'poor in spirit," and in conse- 
 quence crav^e more earnestly the riches which are at God's 
 right hand : they have not where to lay their heads, no spiritual 
 rest or peace here below, so ihey think more of those many 
 mansions where their Saviour is preparing a place for them. 
 And this is the strict sense of the words also, '' theirs is the 
 kingdom of heaven." 
 
 And now, with all these advantages in view; the possession 
 of the promises and privileges of the gospel ; the enjoyment of 
 the means of grace, and the hope of glory ; assistance in your 
 conflict, and blessedness at the end of it : does not this 
 humility, this poverty of spirit appear desirable in your eyes ? 
 or does it still, like Him who pronounced it "blessed," and 
 furnished the bnghtest Example of it, seem to have no form 
 nor comeliness, and when you see it, no beauty that you 
 should desire it ? B,elieve me, it is of great price in the sight 
 of God : I have not told you, nor can I tell you, one tenth 
 part of the blessings that attend upon it ; for could I do so, 
 I should be recounting things that eye hath not seen, nor ear 
 heard, nor halh it entered into the heart of man to conceive. 
 Its root is indeed low ; it strikes in the quiet and sheltered 
 places of the earth : but its blossom and fruit are in the 
 heavens, hard by the throne of God. It is but poorly 
 thought of here ; but is of great account and estimation there. 
 The highest angel, he who sees most of the glory and the 
 providence of God, is also the humblest; then how much more 
 cause have we for humility, who in addition to owing our being 
 to God as we do, have so great and manifest sins to be 
 iibased for ; and such undeserved mercies of redemption put 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 67 
 
 before us, to shew us, that when we loved not God He loved 
 us ; and to set off the more our rebellion and ingratitude 
 towards Him. 
 
 But I cannot conclude without reminding you, that the 
 main end and object of all this, is to biing you to Christ. 
 Seeing your own emptiness and renouncing yourselves is 
 indeed the first step ; but it is nothing, unless you make it 
 accessory to that other, which is, to see the fulness of Christ, 
 and His willingness to save you ; to see your baptismal privi- 
 leges and your baptismal duties; to accept Him by faith for 
 your Redeemer; to commit your souls into His keeping; and 
 to yield yourselves up, souls and bodies, to Him as a living 
 sacrifice, which is your reasonable service. Humility is only 
 valuable as it leads to all this ; and all the blessings which I 
 have enumerated only belong to it, as it is the introduction to 
 a life of faith on the Son of God, and of progressive holiness 
 under the teaching of His Spirit. This is the light in which 
 I wish to recommend it. 
 
 Are there any here who feel their spiritual energies deadened, 
 and their souls cleaving to the dust, for want of animation and 
 fervour in the things of God ? To you this subject is pecu- 
 liarly applicable. You have tried perhaps to lift up your 
 hearts and affections by thinking of the glory that is to come, 
 and of the love of your Saviour ; but all will not do. Try 
 another method, for in these cases we must trv everv thin^- 
 that may rouse and awaken us : look into yourselves, examine 
 and see what you have in you that has deserved the common- 
 est mercies of God; make your deadness towards Him a mo- 
 tive for humiliation and abasement in His sight, and He will 
 ere long make His goodness pass before you, and look on 
 you with the light of His countenance. 
 
 Are there any who seem to have the hope of Christ's salva- 
 tion in them, and vet dare not think on death ; but shrink 
 
68 SERMON VIII. 
 
 from it, they cannot tell why, as if they had no hope beyond ? 
 Be sure you want humbling ; you are too much wrapt up in 
 something here in this world : pray God to shew you what 
 it is, and even to remove it from you, rather than suffer it 
 any longer to stand between you and your desire to be with 
 Christ. 
 
 Am I addressing any, who after the fashion of the religion 
 of the present day, are walking in the sight of their own eyes, 
 and selecting their own path, disregarding the great duty of 
 simple obedience to the Church in which God hath placed 
 them, in all things lawful and good ? Persons to whom the 
 sacred seasons of the Christian year are no times of profit ; the 
 Holy Sacraments no means of grace ; to whom baptism brings 
 no assurance; the Lord's Supper no refreshment; Lent and 
 Advent no earnest repentance; Easter and Christmas no 
 holy joy ? Let me remind them how much they are losing; 
 let me entreat them to cultivate poverty of spirit, and cast out 
 this inward pride, the very essence of schism which makes 
 them unwilling humbly to walk by the course of God's ordi- 
 nances. Let all try then to cast off the hard yoke of rebellion 
 and self-seeking, and take on them the easy rule ,of Christ, 
 even the blessed ordinances and helps of His Holy Church : so 
 shall they find rest unto their souls. 
 
 Are there any here who are utterly careless about the whole 
 matter, who neither see, nor wish to see, how all this affects 
 them, or what it has to do with their thoughts or practice ? 
 It is the hardest duty Christ's ministers have, to speak to such 
 persons. What language shall we use, or how shall we make 
 you understand your own sinfulness, or the desirableness and 
 sufficiency of Christ ? Alas we know not, — we can only pray 
 you, which we do most seriously and earnestly, to enquire of 
 yourselves whether all this be not worth a thought or two ; 
 whether as you value peace on your dying bed, or after it. 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. ^ 69 
 
 you are not bound to take these things to heart, and to think 
 very differently oft hem, from thatuhich has been your manner of 
 thinking in times past. 
 
 Thus have I endeavoured to explain to you, in reliance on 
 the blessing of God, and the help of His Holy Spirit, this 
 most important declaration of our blessed Saviour. 
 
 In a few years time we shall all of us be summoned before 
 the throne of God : I, to give an account of my ministry ; 
 you, of your opportunities. May God grant that these ser- 
 mons may not, at that solemn hour^ rise up in judgment 
 ©gainst either of us. 
 
SERMON IX 
 
 " BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN : FOR THEY SHALL BE COM- 
 FORTED." — Matt. V. 4. 
 
 I HAVE begun explaining to you some of the peculiarities and 
 excellencies of those characters whom our Saviour pronounces 
 blessed. I need not say, that such an enquiry and explanation 
 .are very instructive : for these declarations were made by Him 
 in the very out-set of His ministry, and seem to have been 
 intended to set forth the distinguishing marks which made 
 His doctrine differ from other systems which had been given 
 £o the world. And they form, therefore, a short list of those 
 dispositions and graces which will be more particularly mani- 
 fested in the christian life. I have on two former occasions 
 explained to you the blessedness of the poor in spirit. We 
 now come to the second class in that goodly company, who 
 are the sharers of the promises and the privileges of the gospel. 
 ** Blessed are they that mourn." This seems an extraordinary 
 declaration ; for the very idea of mourning implies misery : 
 and yet, those who mourn are blessed. In our former medi- 
 tations, we saw that God's thoughts were different from man's 
 thoughts ; that the strength of the world was weakness in His 
 sight ; and that persons who were poorly esteemed by the 
 world, were of high price in the sight of God. Thus He 
 casts contempt on the world "s pride : we shall now see that 
 the joy of the world, is as different from that of God's people, 
 
SERMON IX. 71 
 
 as its glory is from theirs. "Blessed are they that mourn." 
 But then you will say all men are blessed; for all have 
 mourned. Man is born to sorrow, as the sparks fly upward. 
 There is not one who has arrived at the years of manhood, 
 who has not suffered some painful reverse, or wept over some 
 bitter bereavement, or languished in some severe disease, or 
 had the pride of his spirit wounded by some cruel neglect ; 
 and then we have all of us mourned. But we shall search 
 in vain to find any blessedness connected with onr times of 
 mourning, considered only as such. In fact, what is our life 
 but a continual occasion for mourning ? every day something 
 is going wrong, something is reminding us of our mortal lot 
 of uncertainty and suffering. Our very occasions of greatest 
 joy are accompanied with mourning ; our days of marriage 
 are days of parting from our fathers' homes ; a wished-for 
 increase to our families, is accompanied with anxiety and 
 danger for those we love: the joy of inheritance begins in the 
 mourning for a near relation ; and there is no where that we 
 can cast our eyes, where the cry of the mourner does not go 
 up from the world. 
 
 In such a state of things as this, the assurance, 
 ''Blessed are they that mourn," must be a comforting 
 one indeed. But are all these mourners blessed ? May 
 every one who mourns lay to his heart this comfort, and cure 
 his inward pain ? If so, all the ways of sin and profligacy 
 would be blessed : for they lead to mourning. It becomes 
 therefore, important to distinguish, and clearly to ascertain, 
 what sort of mourners they are who are here called blessed. 
 
 And notice first, that there is a sorrow which is unto death : 
 the sorrow of this world. And there is a sorrow unto life : a 
 sorrow of a godly sort. We will first consider those mourners, 
 who are not entitled to the blessing here mentioned. 
 
 And first among these, because the most common, those who 
 
72 SERMON IX. 
 
 indulge the sorrow o( discontent cannot be blessed. Whetheronr 
 station in life, our means in that station, our lack of some 
 advantages we might possess, or the presence of some incon- 
 veniencies we might be without, be the subject of our murmur- 
 ing, we cannot look for a blessing with it, for it must be in 
 direct opposition to God's providence, and whoever opposeth 
 Him shall not prosper* 
 
 And nearly related to this, is inordinate sorrow for 
 worldly losses. I do not mean to reprove that natural 
 sorrow, which will arise when God sends us afflicting 
 strokes of His providence, and removes li'om us the desire of 
 our eyes; but that ungodly despairing sorrow, which arises 
 from want of trust in God; and which consumes the heart, 
 and has the more power, the longer it holds a m.an. 
 
 Again, sorrow for disappointed worldly schemes is not a blessed 
 sorrow. For he tliat indulges it, is guilty of iwo sins against 
 God ; in the first place, he trusted too much to his own fore- 
 sight and skill to accomplish his schemes, and did not commit 
 his way unto the Lord ; and in the second place, he does not 
 see the hand of God in what has happened to him ordering all 
 for the best ; but thinks, if so and so had been mine, how 
 much happier should 1 be ! 
 
 Next to this, comes sorrow for wounded pride ; 
 and I am sure all who have felt it, will bear 
 me witness, that there is no blessedness in this sorrow. This 
 is that which more than any thing else embitters life; some 
 one has spoken slightingly of us, or done an unkind act 
 towards us, or even conferred a favour on others, wliich we 
 fancy we deserved as v,ell, and we are grieved at heart, and sit 
 in sullen self-tonnenling— and why ? because peihaps for the 
 first time in our lives we are permitted to be like our Master, 
 and to suffer with Him. This sorrow is, perhaps, the farthest 
 from blessedness of them all ; nav, it mav be called a foretaste 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 73 
 
 on earth of the eternal torments which await persons who in- 
 dulge it after this life. 
 
 I must add to this list of those mourners who 
 are not blessed, those who mourn from a despairing 
 spirit as to their acceptance with God. No jov 
 ever came out of such sorrow as this. Careful as God's 
 ministers should he to bind up the broken hearted, we must 
 not conceal the truth from you; but must tell you plainly 
 that this distrust of God not only carries no blessedness with 
 it, but is mentioned in scripture as a positive sin; and the 
 contrary to it, entire trust in Him for all spiritual blessings 
 is enforced as a binding duty upon all believers in His dear 
 Son. 
 
 All these descriptions of mourners then are not blessed. 
 And yet our Saviour says, " Blessed are they that mourn." 
 We will then examine some other classes of mourners, and 
 see whether they have any title to this heavenly benediction. 
 
 There is a mourning arising from a se)ise of having offended 
 God, and which causes us to humble ourselves before Him. 
 Now this mourning is blessed ; this is the beginning of the re- 
 pentance unto life not to be repented of, spoken of in Scripture ; 
 this is the sorrow which even in Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, 
 met with its comfort, for when Ahab repented, and put on 
 sackcloth and w^ent softly, at hearing the judgments of God 
 denounced against him, the Lord said to Elijah, " Seest 
 thou how Ahab humbleth himself before Me ? because 
 he humbleth himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in 
 his days." So that you see even in such a case as this, this 
 sorrow was precious in God's sight; how much more then 
 when it produces its proper fruit, even that of leading men 
 to Christ for salvation, and to the Holy Spirit for assistance 
 to lead a holy life. This is the reason why mourners for sin 
 are blessed; — because they shall be comforted, — because they 
 
74 SERMON IX. 
 
 are in the way towards comfort : they have begun well, and 
 they will soon find One who will pardon the guilt which gives 
 them such cause for grief, and put a new song in their 
 mouths, even a song of thanksgiving to their God. 
 
 But do not, I beseech you, view this sorrow for sin as a thing 
 only belonging to those who are just turning from dead works to 
 serve the living God ; the case is very different : as we are 
 the creatures of sorrow through life in our outward circum- 
 stances, so are we in every step of the Christian life ; we 
 are continually finding fresh occasions for being shame- 
 stricken and humbled before God; are continually grieved 
 to see so much of the unsubdued and corrupt nature within 
 us ; and cut to the heart to think that we should be cruci- 
 fying our Lord afresh by our rebellion against Him. And 
 the more we feel all this, — the more pain it gives us, — the 
 m.ore we mourn lor it, — the more blessed we are ; for it 
 shews that God is carrying on a blessed work in us, and 
 leading us on by His grace, when we become so anxious 
 to please Him, and to be conformed to the image of our 
 Saviour. So you see, such mourning shews that we are in 
 a blessed state, and the future inheritors of a blessing. 
 And w^hoever you are that thus mourn, you shall be com^ 
 forted; and the more and deeper your grief now, the more 
 welcome and sweet will be the joy when it shall come ; 
 your burden of sin shall be removed from you, and you 
 shall be like Jesus, for you shall see Him as He is. 
 
 Again, those who mourn under afflicting dispensations of 
 God's Providence, \n'ov\de(\. that mourning be submissive, and not 
 murmuring, are blessed. God intends us to mourn when 
 He afflicts us. Not to do so, would shew a proud and 
 perverse spirit, unwilling to acknowledge His hand. But 
 we may mourn and yet submit; our tears may flow from 
 the pressure of mere distress upon our souls, without any 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 75 
 
 repining thought. Such mourning onr blessed Lord Himself 
 hallowed often by His presence, and once by His example, 
 when He wept over Lazarus. He is touched with the 
 feeling of our infirmities ; — and let no man think for a 
 moment that the religion of the Gospel checks the exercise 
 of the social affections and feelings of the heart; it rather 
 points out to them their proper designs and objects, and 
 thus puts them into their best exercise. »St. Paul, in his 
 first epistle to the Thessalonians, exhorts them not to 
 sorrow without hope for those who had departed, and gives 
 them words wherewith to comfort one another. 
 
 Are there any of you who are mourning because God's hand is 
 laid heavily upon you, because He has sent His ministers of 
 disease or affliction into your houses ? only take care that 
 you soiTow after a godly sort, that you are not betrayed 
 into doubting His love, or repining at His providence, — 
 and by His authority we 'pronounce you blessed. Yes, 
 blessed ; although your heart and flesh seem to fail within 
 you, and your spirits may be cast down very deep, and His 
 sad visitations may be frequently repeated upon you, you 
 are blessed, for you shall be comforted ; all this is His 
 way of preparing you to receive that comfort which He is 
 preparing for you. Have you never heard that they whom 
 the beloved apostle saw in white robes, with palms in their 
 hands, had come out of much tribulation P Have you never 
 heard that luhom Ike Lord loveth, He cha^leneth? oh if 
 you have the eternal weight of glory before you, and the 
 love of God within you, you have indeed, both now and in 
 prospect, exceeding great comfort, — comfort with which your 
 present affliction is not to be compared. 
 
 Are there any here whom God has been pleased to deprive of one 
 whom they have loved, and whose loss made a sad gap in their 
 family circle, and a deep wound in their hearts ? to you 
 
76 SERMON IX. 
 
 this sound, " Blessed are they that mourn," must be precious 
 Indeed. If your mourning be that of persons fearing and 
 loving God, viewing Him as a reconciled Father in Christ, 
 and your bereavement as His con-ection, you are blessed 
 also, for you shall be fully comforted ; not only shall you 
 meet your beloved departed ones who have died in the 
 Lord, — but one day or other, when you will awake and see 
 things as they are, this your loss will appear to you one of 
 your greatest mercies; and while the presence of God and 
 the Lamb is shining on you, and the harps of the angels 
 are sounding about you, you will say, " Lord if thou hadst 
 not sent me this my affliction, I never should have come to 
 this blessed place." 
 
 Are there any here who are mourning because they 
 are absent from their heavenly home, and confined 
 in this mortal body, far from the joys which are at 
 God's right hand, — who are weary and heavily laden, and 
 longing for the day when they shall appear before God, 
 when they shall wake up after his likenesss, and be satisfied ? 
 O ! that there were more such among us, for they are 
 indeed happy mourners ; they are in the condition of the 
 Psalmist, who says in the fifty-fifth psalm, " Then I said, O 
 that I had the wings of a dove, for then would I flee 
 away and be at rest," and of the blessed St. Paul, who says 
 " I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better." 
 You are indeed sure of being comforted ; nay, your very 
 sorrow itself carries comfort with it, for it causes you to 
 look ofif from the things which distress the children of this 
 world, and to be continually in the contemplation of the 
 glory that shall be revealed in you ; and your comfort shall 
 be perfected hereafter, when the full enjoyment for which 
 you have been hoping shall be abundantly ministered to you^ 
 and no man shall take your joy from you. 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 77 
 
 A few words to these who are enjoying security and worldly 
 contentment. You are no mourners ; you have no wish to 
 be mourners ; you think all such unhappy, and pray, if you 
 ever pray, that it may never be with you as it is with them. 
 But vou can never be blessed till you be like them, for of 
 such is the kingdom of God. Observe that Christ says 
 "Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted :" that 
 is, those who have mourned and are comforted, are more 
 blessed than they who have never mourned at all. So that 
 you are losing a great blessing in order to retain a very 
 small one, or rather, one that is really none at all; for 
 some day you will find your fancied security give way under 
 you, and then you will mourn indeed, when perhaps it will 
 be too late to seek for comfort. If you say you have nothing 
 to mourn for, — that God has not afflicted you, and therefore 
 you cannot mourn, — I answer, so much the rather have you 
 cause to humble yourselves, and to mourn before Him, for 
 afflictions are the marks of His love, they are His tokens 
 to His children ; and if you have none of these, you may 
 well doubt whether God beholds you as a father does the 
 children whom he loves. Make your very security and want 
 of affliction a cause of deep sorrow. " Before I was afflicted," 
 says David, " I went astray, but now I keep thy command- 
 ments." You have plenty of cause, daily and hourly, for 
 humiliation before God. " Turn ye even unto Me," saith 
 the Lord, " with weeping, and mourning, and fasting, and 
 praying :" and take care that you do not delay this work 
 of true repentance and godly sorrow, till He leave you to 
 your false and miserable peace, to enjoy it while you 
 may, and then be carried away without remedy. 
 
 Finally, may God give us grace, so to mourn, that we may 
 be comforted ; so to feel the weight of our sins here, and 
 confess them before God, that we may be led by a sense 
 H 2 
 
78 SERMON IX. 
 
 of our need of pardon to take Christ for our Savionr, who 
 is the source of all mercy, and the God of comfort ; and 
 so to go softly, and in lowliness of spirit before God, and 
 walk humbly with Him all our time here below, that we 
 may rejoice in His presence hereafter, and walk with the 
 nations of the redeemed in the light of His glory. Grant 
 it. Heavenly Father, for Thy dear Son's sake. Amen. 
 
SERMON X 
 
 BLESSED ARE THE MEEK: FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH. 
 —Matt. V. 5. 
 
 We have lately been led to notice, from this passage, the character 
 of the religion of Christ, as encouraging tempers and habits of 
 mind very different from those which usually gain reputation 
 and celebrity in the world. We have seen how, under its in- 
 fluence, the poor in spirit and the mourners are blessed. We 
 are now called to notice another class of persons equally unlikely, 
 one would think, to be put in the foremost ranks, or thus pre- 
 eminently favoured with a blessing — ''Blessed are the meek." 
 We will proceed then to examine what this meekness is. 
 You may think, at a first view, that meekness and poverty of 
 spirit are much the same ; but there will appear a difference if 
 we examine them closely. Poverty of spirit implies low and 
 humble thoughts of one's self; meekness is a lowly and quiet 
 demeanour and behaviour to others and towards God. Poverty 
 of spirit has more to do with our thoughts ; meekness with our 
 actions. Poverty of spirit ensures our not being liable to pride ; 
 meekness, our not giving way to it. Meekness, therefore, ex- 
 tends to the government of our tempers, the controlling of all 
 improper anger, all discontent, all contempt, all harshness shewn 
 towards others, all murmuring against God or man. And as 
 there is a difference in the nature of the excellence, so also is 
 there in the blessing. The poor in spirit are blessed, because 
 
80 SERMON X. 
 
 theirs is the kingdom of heaven ; the meek are blessed, for they 
 shall inherit the earth. Meekness is that part of godliness 
 which has more particularly the promise of the life that now is. 
 We will go through the points which we have noticed as be- 
 longing to meekness, and shew how this blessing pronounced 
 by our Saviour is attached to each of them. The meek man 
 governs his temper — he is at peace within himself — he has 
 been led to see his need of, and to wish to imitate, his Saviour 
 — he sees how ill it becomes one who has no strength in him- 
 self, but depends wholly on another, to let the overflowings of 
 pride and self-justifying carry him away. He sees how ill it 
 becomes one who professes a wish to be like his Saviour, to h^ 
 betrayed into feelings which He never gave way to ; and to set 
 an example so little resembling His, who, when He was reviled, 
 reviled not again. He strives to attain the liberty of the chil- 
 dren of God, and is therefore unwilling to be led captive by the 
 lusts of his carnal mind. He wishes to enjoy God — and he 
 sees that God looks to him who is of an humble spirit, and that 
 the still small voice of His comforting promises is apt to be 
 drowned by the stir and tumult of unruly passions. He loves 
 communion with God ; — and he finds peace with men and an 
 unruffled temper, the only paths to undisturbed and unhindered 
 prayer. He hopes for future glory — and remembers that it is 
 written, " He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Now, 
 in all these points does he not truly inherit the earth ? Is not 
 he the man whose enjoyment of jife and of society, to say no- 
 thing more, is the most complete ? Where others seek quarrels, 
 he spreads love and good will ; happy himself, and making all 
 happy around him. He is the true possessor of empires, and 
 the greatest conqueror, for it is written ; " He that is slow to 
 anger, is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, 
 than he that taketh a city." He only rules in his own body, 
 and exercises dominion there ; and he only inherits the good 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 81 
 
 opinion and favour of all, in the only way in which it can be 
 sought by a Christian ; by preferring others in honour before 
 himself, and, as much as lieth in him, living peaceably with all 
 men. The meek man is courteous and respectful to all ; does 
 not make himself enemies by a contemptuous and haughty 
 demeanour, but is gentle, and treats his fellow creatures as 
 brethren. His Saviour died for all : how then can he bear to 
 insult any ? The meek man forgives injuries when real — for 
 God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven him ; and he thinks his 
 own debt to God to be far greater than any that a fellow-crea- 
 ture can owe to him. Nor is he ready at fancying and hatching 
 injuries out of unintentional expressions, looks, or accidents ; 
 for he seeks not offence, but peace and love. Is it not clear 
 that this is the man who enjoys all the blessings of society, and 
 the delights of intercourse with friends ? Blessings await hira 
 at every turn of his life ; the Lord shall make even his enemies 
 to be at peace with him. If he have but little of this world's 
 good for them who are about him,]yet he is more blessed than 
 many who abound ; for " better is a dinner of herbs where love 
 is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." He is poor, and 
 yet better off than the rich — for it is written, " Better is it to 
 be of an humble spirit with the lowly ; than to divide the spoil 
 with the proud." Moreover, the meek man is contented — the 
 secret of true meekness is a sense of our own un worthiness of 
 any of God's mercies ; and therefore, to the meek man, every 
 common blessing comes like a shower of gold — more than he 
 deserved or expected. Here, indeed, is great gain, — godliness 
 with contentment: the only end of every man's labour, and toil, 
 and desire, is to have enough ; but the meek man always has 
 enough. Others are so taken up in the pursuit of riches, and 
 pleasure, and vanity, that they have no time to look about 
 them, and meditate joyfully on God's works of creation, — or 
 within them, to burst into thankfulness for what he has done 
 
82 SERMON X. 
 
 for their souls. But the meek man goes on his way rejoicing; 
 within and without he has abundant cause for thankfulness ; he 
 is thankful for a house to shelter him, a bed to rest him, food 
 to nourish him, raiment to clothe and protect him, and friends 
 to converse with and cheer him : but, above all, he is thankful 
 for the blessings of grace, for God's house of prayer. His 
 Word, His sacraments. His throne of grace always open to his 
 supplications. Here then, too, he is the person who truly in- 
 herits the earth. Thousands of things which others pass by 
 unnoticed, draw out his heart in thankfulness and joy : he finds 
 treasures where others can perceive nothing valuable. The 
 means of grace are to him full of precious improvement to his 
 soul ; the book of providence is to him full of instruction and 
 example ; and from the ever open book of creation, he is con- 
 tinually reading lessons which interest him, and give him joy to 
 remember, and fill him with gratitude to the Creator. 
 
 But the highest blessedness of the meek, the highest sense in 
 which he inherits the earth, is yet to be considered. He is at 
 peace with himself, at peace with his neighbours, at peace with 
 his lot ; but he is also at peace with God. 
 
 And this lies at the root of the whole matter. Mistake not, 
 I entreat you, the meekness of which I have been speaking for 
 a mere worldly quality — a natural amiableness of disposition. 
 The Christian knows of no virtues, no excellencies, except such 
 as spring from christian motives ; other things are but valuable, 
 as they tend to this. Except the cross of Christ be first taken 
 up and borne — except the pardon of sin be first sought and ob- 
 tained — there is no such thing as virtue, no such thing as piety, 
 no such thing as humility or meekness. A man may be lowly 
 and courteous, and forgiving, and slow to anger, and may 
 master his temper and desires, — out of a mere regard to his 
 character, or the custom of society, or the wish to please others; 
 it has been done, and is done every day, here and in heathen 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. S3 
 
 lands alike. But this has nothing to do with the meekness of 
 which I have been speaking; nay, the man who does thus in 
 a christian land, is acting in opposition to God and disobedience 
 to His will — for He has commanded him to act from one mo- 
 tive, and he chooses to go and act from another. God's com- 
 mand. His summary of all motives, for all actions, is, " Deny 
 thyself, take up thy cross, and follow Christ :" his motive is, 
 " Indulge thyself and follow gain." Darkness and light are not 
 more distinct, than the meekness of such an one and that of 
 which I speak. To return, the meek man of whom I am 
 speaking, is at peace with God. This is the root of the matter. 
 No one can be truly meek without it: for as long as men are 
 sensible that God is against them, there always will be a certain 
 larking opposition to Him, which is the nourishing source of 
 pride, discontent, and fretfulness under affliction. On the con- 
 trary, the meek man has learnt where to repose his trust — has 
 put his soul out of his own keeping into that of his Saviour. If 
 afflictions come, they come from his loving Father, who is pu- 
 rifying him, and trying the sincerity of his trust in Him ; and 
 therefore he does not murmur under them, for enduring afflic- 
 tions is part of his blessing — '* Blessed is he that endureth 
 affliction, for when he is tried he shall receive a crown of glory." 
 He is not liable to mistake God's chastisement for his wrath ; 
 but is kept in peace, and so has power given him to turn it to 
 its right use. He is not liable to be over anxious or distressed 
 about worldly matters ; for his heavenly father who careth for 
 the lilies of the field, will not neglect him. Do you not see 
 how his blessing follows and haunts him, as it were, through 
 every step of his life ; how, in every thing, the true inheritance 
 and enjoyment of God's favour belong to him ? 
 
 But he has also another precious treasure, which is valuable 
 enough to redeem a thousand losses, toils, and afflictions — a drop 
 of honey mixed in every cup which his heavenly Father gives 
 
84 SERMON X. 
 
 him to drink — even the hope and certain expectation of future 
 glory. He only inherits the earth as it ought to be inherited, or 
 enjoys it as it should he enjoyed, who feels it not to be his rest, 
 and looks for something beyond. If we make the soil of our 
 earthly portion too rich, we shall have much labour to keep 
 under the weeds that will spring in it. If we build our souls 
 too splendid a mansion here below, we shall spend our resources 
 in its repairs. It is only by regarding the earth as a state 
 of passage to a better world, that we can provide for our real 
 comfort or true enjoyment. This sense of the uncertainty of 
 his stay here, makes the meek man be continually thinking of 
 his other home, where he shall abide for ever — and the more 
 this world changes, the more will he desire the next — the more 
 he is hindered from his communion with Christ here, the more 
 will he long for the state of eternal and undivided communion 
 hereafter. 
 
 Thus truly does the meek man inherit the earth, and his 
 inheritance of it is blessed — for all God's mercies are means of 
 grace ; and he who truly, in the spirit of meekness, enjoys most 
 of them, will be found furthest advanced in the spiritual life, 
 most zealous for his Saviour, and most ripe for His glory. 
 
 But, to whom do all these blessings belong ? Think once 
 more — to the meek. And who are they among us ? Are they 
 persons whom we all know — who stand forward among us and 
 lead our little band in its journey to the promised country ? 
 No ; they are concealed, humble, quiet, simple-hearted. We 
 have considered three classes of persons who are blessed, the 
 three first classes mentioned by our Lord, and strange to say, 
 we have not found among them our fonvard professors of reli- 
 gion, our high-spirited ones that will not submit themselves, 
 but follow ways of their own devising, and are not content to 
 " stand in the old ways, and enquire for the ancient paths." 
 The poor in spirit — the mourners — the meek — such have been 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 85 
 
 our blessed ones as yet, and such they will continue to be : for 
 God hath no delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, and a 
 variety of services and unmeaning differences ; but His delight 
 is in him that is of an humble and quiet spirit, and trembleth at 
 His word. 
 
 And as I have warned you before, so let us take warning 
 now again — not to despise any. Are they evidently not 
 brethren in Christ ? by which I mean, are they living in open 
 sin ? do they indulge in habitual, unchecked, and unrepented 
 evil tempers ? do they, as a habit, take God's name in vain ? 
 We must pray for them and be gentle with them. No one 
 was ever despised or scolded into religion. This concerns our 
 own meekness. Are any of doubtful character in this point, 
 not saying much, backward to communicate about spiritual 
 things ? Exercise towards them, I beseech you, that charity 
 which hopeth all things, — and till very decided cause be given, 
 do not set down any as the enemies of Christ. Take heed ye 
 who are thus forward to judge, that you be not found, when the 
 secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, to have despised as 
 worthless some of the lord's choicest jewels. 
 
 Finally, let us lay close to our hearts the great duty and 
 blessedness of this truly christian habit of mind. We are not 
 without an example, even the same in whom the other two 
 shone so eminently — the Lord Jesus : " Take my yoke upon 
 you and learn of Me," said He, " for I am meek and lowly, 
 and ye shall find rest unto your souls." His life is full of in- 
 stances of meekness — His subjection to His parents, His 
 coming to John for baptism. His checking the vindictive spirit 
 of His apostles, when they wished to call down fire from heaven 
 to consume His enemies. His patient endurance of insult, and 
 cruelty, and death, when He had all things in His power, to 
 have commanded them as he pleased ; all these are fit subjects 
 of meditation to encourage a spirit of meekness. But, above 
 
86 SERMON X. 
 
 all, and especially at this season of Advent, let us be continually 
 thinking on that great and principal instance of meekness — His 
 incarnation in our flesh and birth into our world, as a helpless 
 babe — He, who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 
 being found in the form of a servant. 
 
 I cannot repeat too often, that we cannot acquire this or any 
 other christian grace without beginning with Christ, that is, 
 without renouncing self dependence, and going about every 
 thing we do in His power. We require spiritual strength of 
 soil for our roots, before we can bring forth the fruits of right- 
 eousness to the praise of God. The barren fig tree was to be 
 cured, not by attention to particular blossoms, but by digging 
 about it and enriching the ground. Let us take care that we 
 be stedfast in faith, joyful in hope, and rooted in love — for, if 
 these things be in us and abound, they will make us that we be 
 not barren nor unfruitful in the day of Jesus Christ. To this 
 end we must be constant in prayer and in the reading of God's 
 Word ; for these are the ordinances in which we must look for 
 His assisting Spirit, without which all is vain — both our ex- 
 horting to holiness and your striving after it. 
 
 May God grant us all His grace, that we may profit by our 
 present meditation, that we may walk worthy of the vocation 
 wherewith we are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with 
 long-suffering, forbearing one another in love ; gentle unto all 
 men, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose them- 
 selves ; that we may receive with meekness the engrafted word, 
 which is able to save our souls ; with meekness give a reason 
 of the hope that is in us : and being clothed with the ornament 
 of a meek and quiet spirit, may at length be exalted to that 
 blessed place, where the Lord will beautify the meek with sal- 
 vation, — for His dear Son's sake. Amen. 
 
SERMON XI 
 
 ** BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH DO HUXGER AND THIRST AFTER 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS: FOR THEYT SHALL BE FILLED." — Matt. V. 6. 
 
 The three blessings which we have already considered, con- 
 cerned the habit and temper of our minds, as regarded our 
 thoughts of ourselves, or our behaviour towards others : the 
 one contained in the text refers to the desires and affections, 
 — for the spiritual religion of Christ will have our desires, as 
 well as our tempers, subject to it, will not be content with 
 holding out blessings for mere abstinence from offence, which 
 poverty of spirit and meekness rather consist in, but will 
 have a progress made towards perfection, by advances in 
 active holiness. I need scarcely tell you that all these quali- 
 ties here mentioned, and therefore their accompanying bles- 
 sings, belong to one and the same character ; that we might, 
 instead of considering them separately, have seen how they 
 all belong to, and flow out of, one another; how the poor 
 in spirit, the mourner for sin, is necessarily meek, and 
 hungers and thirsts after righteousness. This part of the 
 subject we may treat on a future occasion, if God permit : 
 meantime you will have no difficulty in seing how all these 
 depriving and emptying qualities of spirit should naturally 
 lead it to require something to fill and sustain it ; how 
 poverty of spirit should breed a desire for spiritual riches; 
 holy mourning for holy joy; meekness and patience under 
 
88 SERMON XI. 
 
 injuries, for justice and right judgment. All these desires 
 are comprehended in the expression ''hungering and thirsting 
 after righteousness ; " and the peculiar blessing attributed to 
 it by Christ is, that, contrary to most of the desires of men, 
 it shall never fail of its end, but they who thus hunger and 
 thirst shall be filled. We will trace it through its different 
 branches and degrees, and endeavour to shew how this bles- 
 sing accompanies it in all of them. 
 
 He who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, desires, in all 
 his dealings and converse with men, that the strictest integrity 
 and purity may be shewn ; he desires to give his neighbour his 
 strict right, in word as well as in deed, and his wish, (rather than 
 his hope,) is, for the day when every man shall deal with 
 his neighbour as in the presence of God, thus tiuly acting in 
 the spirit of the petition, " Thy will be done in earth, as it is 
 in heaven." Now, even in this, the lowest form of the 
 desire, does not it meet with its accomplishment ? Do not 
 all men put confidence in him in whose lips there is found 
 no guile, and who is true and just in all his dealings •* 
 And does not the selfishness and overreaching spirit of the 
 world receive a check in his presence, and, at least while he 
 is by, put on the appearance of disinterestedness and truth ? 
 Thus, in some measure, even here is his pious desire fulfilled. 
 But it is not in the dealings between man and man that we 
 must look for his reward, or suppose his endeavours after right- 
 eousness to rest. If it were so, he would fall short of his object, 
 and his reward of its preciousness. His desire that God's will 
 may be done begins in the world of his own heart, in that 
 inward council chamber where schemes of action are formed, that 
 great place of traflic, where so many men buy the world and lose 
 their souls. He is anxious that there should be none but fair 
 dealings there — that the worth of objects should not be estimated 
 by their present desirableness to his passions, but by their 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 89 
 
 entire and well considered influence on the interests of his soul; 
 not by the standard of man's varying judgment, but by the 
 certain rule of God's unerring word. But he quickly finds that 
 he is often deceived — that however careful he may be, his eyes 
 are blinded by self-interest, and want of zeal for God, and a 
 spirit of yielding to the world ; and therefore it is to these 
 defects that he applies his correcting hand. But he finds this 
 work too great for him ; it often baffles and defeats him : it may 
 be easy to keep back the outward acting of our feelings, and 
 call our hands back when we would have put them forward ; 
 but to turn inwards upon one's self, to set bounds to a rising 
 desire, to call up that confidence in God and His truth, which 
 may enable us to stand firmly against the solicitations of the 
 world, out of the barren unbelief and unsteadiness of our hearts,— 
 this the hungerer and thirster after righteousness may try in 
 vain, unless he has been made partaker of a righteousness of a 
 higher nature than his own. Besides which he will consider 
 his frequent failures in these endeavours, not only as evidences 
 of his want of strength, but as bars and hindrances to his success 
 in future : he will set them down to the score of his sins, and 
 his progress will rather be to despair, than to enjoyment of his 
 desire after holiness — such a hunger and thirst as this cannot 
 be filled, but must consume itself away in empty cravings. 
 Thus we come to that point to which I led you in our other 
 meditations on these divine texts, where I shewed you that it 
 was only of christian humility, christian mourning, and cki'is- 
 tian meekness, that these blessings were pronounced. But 
 now, what a rich feast opens before us for the hungry and 
 thirsty soul ! we are no longer confined to the duties and cir- 
 cumstances of our intercourse with our fellow men, nor are our 
 desires fixed in the fulfilment of our relation to them merely, 
 or the mere balancing and governing our own feelings and 
 
 judgment according to the will of God's law : we are now 
 I 2 
 
90 SERMON XI. 
 
 taught to look to One who has been made to us wisdom, right- 
 eousness, sanclification, and redemption ; — even to Christ, in 
 Whom are contained all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, 
 in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the 
 forgiveness of sins. Now observe, as in the former cases, how 
 every thing is altered. He who hungers and thirsts alter 
 righteousness is indeed blessed now. He has been received 
 into the Church of Christ, which He hath purchased with His 
 own blood — he can look on himself as one of His little ones, 
 to whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom. 
 Instead of putting his progress towards holiness in the place of 
 his Saviour's sacrifice, he makes that his foundation — he sees 
 himself in Him crucified to the world, with Him risen unto 
 God, and created anew unto good works. This new creation, 
 this being received into the benefits and privileges of Christ's 
 resurrection, is his ground of confidence and pillar of strength. 
 Now this his Saviour is made unto him wisdom — a right 
 judgment in all things is His gift to His people, and comes to 
 them not suddenly or with observation, but like all his gifts, in 
 the course of humble striving after holiness ; he who distrusted 
 his own judgment and found himself continually going astray, 
 now can judge rightly without fear: from his meditations on 
 his Saviour's most holy life and blessed death, from this dis- 
 trust of himself and looking to Him, he has learnt such lessons 
 of heavenly meekness and discretion, that his spiritual sight is 
 refined and sharpened, and we wonder how one who once, per- 
 haps, fell indiscriminately on right and wrong alike, — now, by 
 some marvellous power, is enabled to distinguish accurately the 
 nicest difi'erence of conduct ; and, under the influence of that 
 Spirit whose office is to guide into all truth, can mark out 
 clearly his path of christian duty, through the obscure and 
 tangled wilderness of this evil world. Here, then, his way to 
 holiness is plain before him. 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 91 
 
 But Christ is also made to him rif/htconsness. He is not 
 only the blessed object of his tboughts, the means of clearing 
 his spiritual sight, but also the pattern of his imitation — the 
 very righteousness after which he strives. In hungering and 
 thirsting after righteousness, he hungers and thirsts after 
 Christ. His love to the fallen race oi man. His condescension 
 in taking our nature and submitting to be as a man. His cross 
 and passion, His death and burial. His resurrection and ascen- 
 sion ; — these are the objects to which he endeavours to attain — 
 continually striving that the same mind may be formed in him, 
 which was also in Christ Jesus. 
 
 This same Christ is made unto him sanctification. The 
 object of his meditation, the pattern of his imitation, is also the 
 means whereby he is helj)ed on towards it : it is not only his 
 righteousness, but his holiness also. He has heard in Scripture 
 of such a thing as the measure of the stature of the fulness of 
 Christ, as the growing up to a perfect man in Christ: and 
 therefore, he is not content with remaining always at the 
 threshold of the spiritual life, doubting whether he may go in 
 or not ; but knowing that he may have boldness to enter in by 
 the blood of Jesus, he goes boldly through the outer courts and 
 those where the common daily sacrifices are offered, even to the 
 holiest place of all, nothing fearing or doubting. Christ is 
 made unto him sanctification — here is the promise fulfilled to 
 him at once. The same blessed object who raised his desire is 
 Himself the fulfiller of it — in Him are his hunger and thirst for 
 righteousness, and in Him he shall be filled. But Christ is 
 made unto him redemption — here is a greater fulness still. 
 The enjoyment of his Saviour here is partial and interrupted, 
 compared to that which awaits him after the change of his 
 mortal body. Although he meets Him, even here, at every 
 turn of his way, — although His example, His command, and 
 the gratitude due to Him are ever being brought before him ; 
 
92 SERMON XI. 
 
 yet he longs for the time when he shall walk with Him as a 
 man with his friend ; the blessedness of not having seen, and 
 yet believed, does not hinder him from desiring to see Him as 
 He is, — but rather makes him desire it the more, that he may 
 hear that blessedness pronounced over him. The scanty fare of 
 the wilderness will not satisfy him, but he hungers and thirsts 
 after the rich feast of good things which the Lord will make at 
 the day of His appearing. And doubt not that he shall be 
 filled — for of that day and of that country it is written, that 
 ''they shall not hunger anymore, neither thirst any more — 
 they shall have awoke up after Christ's likeness, and be satisfied." 
 And so we have risen from the lowest measures of this holy 
 desire to its highest fulfilment. This blessing is larger and of 
 more extent than the former ones, for as there is no limit to the 
 treasures of righteousness, and wisdom, and sanctification, and 
 redemption ; so neither is there to this hunger and thirst, nor 
 to the enjoyment wherewith it shall be satisfied. But now let 
 us turn to ourselves, and lay all this to our own hearts. What 
 I have been telling you, are not things which may or may not 
 be, things on which you are at liberty to have an opinion when 
 you are asked for one, but act and live as if you had none ; but 
 they are, and will be, either the life or the condemnation of every 
 one of us here present. These blessings of our Saviour's are 
 like the pillar of cloud which divided Israel and Egypt of old ; 
 they have a bright and a dark side — they are bright and full of 
 comfort to those who believe in Him, but dark and full of terror 
 to His enemies : how much worse then, if those very enemies 
 be in His Church — if the light that is among us be darkness to 
 any of us. Beloved, let us not think such things of you, — but 
 let us stir each other up to this blessed hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness. Fulness is set before us ; there is none to make 
 us afraid or to stint us ; opportunities for gratifying it are ever 
 at hand : God's creation is ever before us, sanctified to our use 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 93 
 
 by the death und resurrection of Christ ; — the things that lie 
 about us are full of subjects of meditation and instruction in 
 righteousness. In our daily conversation, our turning about in 
 the world, we may constantly find occasions of glorifying our 
 Saviour ; and let those who are living a spiritual life in Christ, 
 beware that they be not led by any temptation of inward pride 
 to despise and set aside these humble ministers of His provi- 
 dence and ordinances of grace. " What God hath cleansed, 
 that call not thou common." And truly in our spiritual Church, 
 in these our solemn times of worship, in our offerings of prayer 
 and praise, and our reading of the Word, we may come and 
 with joy may draw water out of the wells of salvation. And 
 above all, in that sacred feast of the body and blood of the Lord 
 to which I often bid you in His name, He sets before us 
 freely to partake, by faith, of that which prophets and kings 
 desired, and have not attained unto. But let it be our care, 
 to whatever source we apply for the relief of our spiritual wants, 
 to apply in faith, nothing doubting — that is, to come as part of 
 Christ's flock, and inheritors of His kingdom ; for this, and 
 this only, is that faith by the victory of which we overcome the 
 world ; and which enables us to put forth our hands, and take 
 freely of the tree of life. Till this faith be in us, we may strive, 
 but we cannot attain ; our own imperfections and sins, instead 
 of making us long for glory, will make us doubt our accept- 
 ance with God, — the very end for which our tempter is labour- 
 ing : our hunger and thirst will not be after righteousness, but 
 will spend itself in an idle and sinful curiosity of enquiry into 
 God's unsearchable purposes — and our works for God will not 
 be done from the love by which faith is shewn, but from a vague 
 imperfect sense of duty, weaker as a motive than even the 
 striving after salvation of the self righteous and self-confiding. 
 All such mistrust and unbelief let us carefully avoid, and pray 
 
94 SERMON XI. 
 
 God, whatever we fall into, to keep us from doubting in this 
 matter of the life and death of our souls. 
 
 And may He grant that we all may so strive, that we may 
 get the mastery — so run that we may obtain — so hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness, that we may be filled. 
 
SERMON XII 
 
 " BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL : FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY. — 
 
 Matt. V. 7. 
 
 Many of the benefits which we ask at the hands of God, are by 
 our Saviour connected with our own granting them in our turn 
 to our fellow creatures ; not that the act of doing so is in itself 
 any claim to the favour of God, any more than any other of 
 our acts, but because it is an evidence of a temper of mind 
 which indicates, in him who possesses it, a state of acceptance 
 with God. If we do not forgive, we cannot expect to be for- 
 given — because an unforgiving spirit cannot bear rule in the 
 breast of him who has been led to see his own need of pardon, 
 and to place his dependence on Christ as a Saviour, and en- 
 deavour to adorn His doctrine in all things. In this same 
 manner it is said in the text, that the merciful are blessed, for 
 they shall obtain mercy. A truly merciful spirit is a sign of 
 that low opinion of self, and sense of gratitude to Christ, which 
 belongs to those who shall obtain mercy of God. 
 
 That this is the sense, is manifest from other passages of 
 Scripture, in which we are exhorted to be charitable and mer- 
 ciful ; not that we may obtain mercy, but because we have 
 obtained mercy. Christ Himself elsewhere says, *' Freely ye 
 have received, freely give ; " and St. Paul exhorts, " forgiving 
 one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." 
 And in the parable of the unmerciful servant, the words with 
 
96 
 
 aiiKMOls XIl. 
 
 which his master reproaches him are, *' O thou wicked servant, 
 I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me : 
 shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow- 
 servant ?" I have mentioned this before passing to the other 
 senses of the promises in the text, lest while 1 am treating of 
 them, any of you should have considered wrongly this its 
 highest sense. 
 
 Let us now then consider the character of the merciful 
 man, and the blessedness of it. Surely, you will say, 
 this blessing only belongs to princes, and judges, and magis- 
 trates, — to those who have the lives or families of others in 
 their power, or have large sums to distribute in feeding the 
 hungry and clothing the naked ; — surely this blessing cannot 
 concern us, who have no power over others, — who are not lifted 
 into any responsible situation; — we are not judges or rulers 
 over our neighbours, and therefore, what does the duty of being 
 merciful concern us ? 
 
 Brethren, it concerns us much : — every one of us, even the 
 most retired and lowly among us, is constantly called upon to 
 exercise mercy. Not to mention the calls we have upon us from 
 those creatures, which by God's appointment, serve us and 
 minister to our wants, — the constitution of human society has 
 put the character and the comfort of our neighbours very much 
 in our power. Our thoughts of them and our words respecting 
 them, are often very material parts of either their joy or their 
 sorrow. The merciful man, then, to begin at the root of the 
 tree, is merciful in his thoughts of others. He would rather 
 keep out of view, if possible, that dark side of a thing of which 
 so many are fond — giving credit, in all cases which will admit 
 of it, for christian motives. And he does this even at the risk 
 of being esteemed shortsighted, and dull in seeing characters ; 
 for his aim is, not to be thought clever, but to be a christian. 
 He checks the rising of uncharitable thoughts in his heart, — he 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 97 
 
 prays against them, and wishes to think of others as he would 
 they should think of him. When all have despaired of a per- 
 son, the merciful man is the last to give him up : he knows 
 (for he has felt) the long-suffering of God, he knows our igno- 
 rance of each other, and even of ourselves, — and therefore he 
 will judge nothing hefore the time, till the Lord come. He is 
 also merciful in his words ahout others. He knows that an ill 
 word of any one, an evil surmise respecting them, when once 
 spoken, can never be recalled — but quickly spreads among the 
 idle lovers of vain talking who abound every where ; gaining 
 in every mouth it passes through, till it come, perhaps, to the 
 ears of the injured person, or of those whom he loves more 
 than himself, or of those on whom his welfare depends, swelled 
 into a serious charge against him, and the cause perhaps to 
 him of very much undeserved misery. He remembers how 
 great a matter a little fire kindleth ; and therefore sets a watch 
 over the door of his lips, that he offend not with his tongue. 
 Thus anxiously does he watch over that charge which God has 
 committed to all in society — and thus rightly does he admi- 
 nister the power which is given to the lowest, over the highest 
 among men. 
 
 But thoughts and words are not the whole of his life, nor the 
 half of his Christianity. His exercise of mercy extends it to 
 those more solid and substantial proofs of it, which are the 
 fruits of its health and growth. He is merciful in deed to 
 others : he is careful to do nothing that may wound the feelings 
 or hinder the faith of any. He consults even the prejudices and 
 
 whims of others, and denies himself, if he think he is indul"-- 
 
 o 
 
 ing in anything that may offend them. In his worldly dealin^^s 
 with them he is not exacting or over-straining, but gives in as 
 much as he can. Are any sick or needy ? he comforts them 
 after his power ; silver and gold he may have none, but such as 
 he has he gives them, — his presence to comfort them, his ad- 
 
98 SERMON XII. 
 
 vice to benefit them, his prayers to help ihera. And the truly 
 merciful man does not rest with doing good to the bodies of 
 his fellow men — but endeavours, by God's blessing, to be mer- 
 ciful to their souls also : this is true christian mercy — to snatch 
 a poor perishing sinner from death, and lead him to Jesus 
 Christ: this is the true mercy, because it is not seen of men — 
 because his motive is the will of God — his only witness the 
 presence of God— and his success in the hands of God. He 
 may have much unpleasantness, much that is discouraging 
 to go through ; but he has learnt to be merciful like his hea- 
 venly Father, and he now learns to be long-suffering like Him 
 also, — patient, not easily defeated, but persisting unto the end 
 in endeavouring to rescue the poor deluded sinner from the 
 grasp of the enemy, and place him in a sure refuge. Tins, 
 brethren, we may all of us do — those about us and our acquain- 
 tances are all so many trusts committed by God to us, to bring 
 to the knowledge of Himself. By reminding them of their 
 need of a Saviour and the value of their immortal souls, we are 
 doing them the greatest kindness — being truly merciful to them. 
 He is moreover merciful in entering into and attending to the 
 wants of others — not shutting himself up in selfishness, imagi- 
 ning that every one has but; himself to care for ; but sharing his 
 lot with those about him, and endeavouring to gladden their 
 hearts by taking an interest in their wishes and schemes. 
 
 Now need I explain to you how this character calls down a 
 blessing on it wherever it is found, in whatever rank of life or 
 situation ? Need I sny how, even in this world, which is not 
 the place of recompense, the merciful obtain mercy — how they 
 let their light shine and glorify their heavenly Father, and so 
 prepare the Lord'.s way, by turning the disobedient to the wisdom 
 of the just? how they become blessed in their own souls, by 
 the holy and heavenly frame of mind which this habit of shew- 
 ing mercy produces ? how kindness on their part, begets 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 9? 
 
 kindness in others towards them ; and from gently dealing with 
 others, they are gently dealt with themselves; thus truly ob- 
 taining mercy, according to the promise ? 
 
 But as before, so now, we must go deeper into the heart, and 
 see whence the merciful man gets this his disposition, and what 
 IS his motive towards exercising it. And as we have always 
 found, so we shall find now, that this disposition comes direct 
 from the gospel of Christ. He may be naturally of a merciful 
 disposition : let him bless God for it, and use it as a furtherance 
 in His work and labour of love. But remember, that only 
 those dispositions and those actions are acceptable to God, 
 which spring from an unfeigned intelligent belief in what 
 Christ has done for us, and a sense of our obligations to Him, 
 A naturally compassionate disposition is no more acceptable t<i 
 God, till it be thus sanctified, than natural strength or beauty 
 of body. And not only is the love of Christ the only motive 
 which God will accept, but it is also the only one sure to pro- 
 duce the effect, — the only one upon which we can depend that 
 it will not be set aside by circumstances or self interest, but 
 will continue, in spite of our own corruption, and the hindrances 
 of a wicked world. happy indeed is he into whose heart 
 his Saviour's love has sunk so deep, as to spread within him 
 this heavenly grace of a pitiful, a courteous spirit; — a spirit 
 \vhich leads him to weep with them that weep, and mourn with 
 them that mourn, — to view God as his Father, and all the 
 Church of Christ as his brethren and sisters, members of one 
 family, and inheritors of one home. happy indeed would 
 that Church be, if we were all of this mind— if we felt ourselves 
 to be one body in Christ, and members one of another, — if a 
 wound given to any member of it afflicted the whole — if we 
 bore one another's burdens, and so fulfilled the law of Christ. 
 How gladly should we travel on to our rest, and anticipate it 
 by the way, if this were the case — how joyfully should we meet 
 
100 SERMON XII. 
 
 here in our earthly sanctuary, our tabernacle in the wilderness, 
 to acknowledge the hand of our Lord God in all the way that 
 he is leading us. What fervent wishes and warm devotion would 
 ascend up to God when, in that wonderful service, the Litany, 
 we make mention before Him of all members of His Church, 
 in all circumstances, from the least to the greatest, — from the 
 Queen on her throne, to the desolate and oppressed, the prisoners 
 and captives. We should not have the chilling and melancholy 
 reflection to make, when the faint answers at the end of the 
 petitions seem to tell us, that three-fourths of the congregation 
 have no fervent wish for it to be granted, — that the voices which 
 we then hear, pitiably few as they are, are perhaps more than 
 the hearts engaged with us in the blessed work of mercy : for 
 here, as always, blessed are the merciful, — here, as always, they 
 shall obtain mercy, — and the merciful are those who deeply 
 feel and heartily beseech the good Lord to hear us, when we 
 recount the distresses, and ignorance, and sins of the members 
 of His Church, and pray that they may be healed. 
 
 Are we not all baptized into one faith ? do we not inherit 
 the same blessing ? are we not all partakers of the same bread 
 and the same cup ? have we not all the same hope ? then 
 let us be of the same mind and think, the same thing : let us lift 
 up the hands that hang down, and confirm the feeble knees ; let 
 us be diligent in building up one another in our most holy faith. 
 liCt us lay aside wrath, and bitterness, and evil speaking; but 
 above all, let us lay aside pride — that is the bar to our union — 
 that prevents us from exercising the offices of christian love to 
 one another. Beloved, we have none of us any thing that we 
 have not received ; let us not, then, boast one against another : 
 the Church has plenty of enemies, the storm beats hard upon 
 her from without: surely, surely, we have a better employment, 
 than by hard and unmerciful conduct to be dividing her against 
 herself. I would to God that we could often meet to exhort 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 101 
 
 one another, and press these points — that we were more given 
 to drawing together to share our common hopes and fears — 
 that we had somethhig more constantly to hold up to us out 
 blessed and adorable Saviour, walking meekly in all endurance, 
 through scorn, through bujffeting, through sufferings even unto 
 death, quiet, gentle, merciful, full of grace, full of prayer, full 
 of humility and patience. But it seems that it must be so — 
 the cold hearted custom of the world has bound us down in 
 formality and hypocrisy; we have no zeal for God, no heart for 
 heaven ; and those who love the Lord and His service, must 
 take to their knees and their closets, and pray for better days. 
 The humility of the poor in spirit, the gentleness of the meek^ 
 the subdued carriage of the mourners for sin, the eager desire 
 of the hungerers and thirsters after righteousness, the compas- 
 sionate heart of the merciful, seem to be things which belong to 
 some other age, or some other place than our own; they seem 
 most scarce among us— and when we name the opposites to 
 them, the overbearing spirit of the proud, the unhallowed dis- 
 cord of carnal joy, the haughtiness of the fretful, the cold 
 heartedness of those who have no desire for God, and the 
 closed heart of the unpitying ; we speak of things which meet 
 and grieve us at every turn in this christian land. This I at- 
 tribute to the general neglect of prayer, private, family, and 
 public, but especially these two latter, which have the effect 
 beyond any thing I know, of uniting our hearts together and 
 making us one in Christ. Oh let us strive to stay our steps in 
 the downward progress to irreligion and forgelfulness of God, 
 which I fear people in general are making. Let us stand in 
 the old ways and enquire after the old paths, and turn unto the 
 Lord with all our hearts. And let us make provision, under 
 God's blessing, for the continuance of His peo})le among us, 
 by training up the little ones of the flock in His faith, and fear, 
 and knowledge of their Saviour, and godly simplicity, and love 
 K 2 
 
102 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 of all good works ; — that being found in this work of merer, 
 we may be blessed with the merciful. 
 
 I dismiss you with the words of St. Paul ; " Put on therefore, 
 as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kind- 
 ness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering ; forbearing 
 one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a 
 quarrel against any : even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 
 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond 
 of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts 
 to the which also ye are called in one body ; and be ye thank- 
 ful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; 
 teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the 
 Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father 
 by Him." 
 
SERMON XIII 
 
 " BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART : FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD.' 
 
 Matt. V. 8. 
 
 When Christ set a little child in the midst of His disciples 
 as a pattern to them what manner of spirit they were to be of. 
 He thereby pointed out to them several dispositions and tem- 
 pers which must be exercised by His followers. As He 
 teaches us to follow the meekness and simplicity of children, 
 so also does He their purity. We must be simple in our 
 intentions, single in our purposes : not dividing our affections 
 between two masters, but wholly on God's side, set entirely 
 to serve and please Him. This simplicity also requires that 
 we be not ready to suspect evil of others, and at the same time 
 most watchful against it ourselves ; that we be, as the apostle 
 expresses it, " blameless and harmless, the sons of God in 
 the midst of a crooked and perverse generation." Now such 
 a simplicity as this implies purity of heart. A corrupt foun- 
 tain cannot send forth sweet waters. The poverty of spirit, 
 the meekness, the desire after righteousness, the merciful dis- 
 position which we have before considered, all spring out of 
 this purity of heart. This is expressly stated by St. James i 
 " the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, 
 gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, 
 witiiout partiality, and without hypocrisy." Impurity of 
 
104 SERMON XIIT. 
 
 thought, is sure to shew itself in the words and in the Hfe of a 
 man. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak- 
 eth, and the hand worketh ; and he that attempts to maintain 
 a consistent course of action without having fixed principles in 
 his heart, may be assured that sometime or other his hypocrisy 
 will betray itself. Purity of heart, then, lies at the root of true 
 earnestness in the service of Christ ; but forasmuch as we are 
 all full of imperfection, and cannot command our hearts to be 
 pure at our will, but must be continually striving to attain this 
 blessed state, — purity of heart is represented as a christian grace 
 of itself, a work in which there is a progress, and the exercise 
 and practice of which carries a blessing with it. Let us then 
 consider in w^hat it consists, and of what sort is the blessing 
 attached to it. In the first place then, that we may lay our 
 our foundation rightly, there can be no purity of heart without 
 faith in the redemption which Christ has wrought for us ; for 
 all holiness is the work of the blessed Spirit on the souls of 
 those who are in a state of union with Christ. There can be 
 no desire of holiness till this union have taken place ; for the 
 natural man has no discernment either of the need or of the 
 nature of purity. Offences against public order he may avoid, 
 for fear of punishment, or for expediency's sake — open acts of 
 sin he may abstain from, out of a regard to his own interests ; 
 nay, he may even see the necessity of checking the risings of 
 evil desires in his mind, but it is only on account of the 
 results which he fears from them ; but of the duty of holiness 
 out of gratitude and love to his Saviour, the only motive of all 
 christian duties, he neither has nor can have any idea. 
 
 And the christian's purity of heart consists, first, in an entire 
 and unmixed devotion of himself to his heavenly Master ; set- 
 ting aside worldly motives and selfish ends, and endeavouiing 
 to rid himself of every thing which hinders him from being 
 like Him. There are many thoughts which we are apt to in- 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 105 
 
 dulge in, which belong to this last mentioned list. All covetous 
 thoughts are auiong the very foremost : *' the love of money is 
 the root of all evil," and the christian will soon find that the 
 love of money and the love of God are affections that will not 
 and cannot exist together ; he must either let go one or the 
 other. There is nothing hinders his enjoyment of God, his 
 progress in holiness, or his communion with God in prayer, 
 so much as this. All of us, under whatever circumstances we 
 may be, feel it a drawback upon us ; but it will go very hard 
 with those who are under the influence of it, so as to let it be a 
 ruling motive in their actions. This is the first and great bar 
 to purity of heart. 
 
 And the next to this, or rather the same under a more 
 general form, is the allowing any thing in this world to divide 
 our affections or draw them from Christ. If we think of any 
 thing more than of Him, allow any thing to draw us away 
 from our duty to Him, in however slight a degree, our Tempter 
 will lay hold of it, and make it an engine of assault to our souls. 
 In our times of doubt and difficulty he will present it before us, 
 to try to persuade us we have no hope in Christ : in our times 
 of pouring out our hearts before God in prayer, he will be ready 
 with this same stumbling block to place before us, to obstruct 
 our spiritual sight, to hinder our faith, and to cool our love. 
 He who would be pure in heart knows this, and therefore he is 
 careful to let all his schemes and his attachments be formed 
 with a reference to Christ, and with a single view to His glory. 
 
 Another set of thoughts to be checked are, hard thoughts of 
 God. A few minutes' indulgence in such thoughts will damp 
 our christian zeal and hinder our prayers, for we know not how 
 long ; for they fix and root themselves in the heart, and take 
 such hold of our minds, that it is long before we can banish 
 them from us, and be as we were before they arose within us. 
 
 I scarcely need mention how purity of heart is opposed and 
 
106 SERMON XIII. 
 
 hindered, by giving way to thoughts which are strictly speaking, 
 impure. But one thing I will say; so enticing are they, that 
 unless resisted promptly at their very first suggestion, they are 
 nearly sure to gain the mastery over us; and when they have 
 done so, their effect is like the last mentioned ; not only during 
 their continuance are we resisting the Spirit of God, but we are 
 letting in a flood of mischief on our souls, whose injury will 
 long survive its presence. In this work, as well as in the rest 
 of our christian trial, we are like men striving against a strong 
 stream, every moment that we relax our efforts, we are carried 
 rapidly backwards. Purity of heart, then, comes not without 
 strong endeavours and a great struggle ; and what are the 
 means of attaining it ? 
 
 First and most important among them is earnest prayer. 
 Nothing acts so much on the heart as this ; when we are 
 brought into the immediate presence of God, our fear of 
 offending Him is increased, our desires after holiness quick- 
 ened, our faith in Christ strengthened. His public ordinances. 
 His merciful appointments of family and (above all in this 
 matter,) of secret jDrayer, are all so many fountains of purity, 
 whence we may be refreshed and cleansed. Those who desire 
 to be pure in heart are olten in prayer, — often 1 mean in actual 
 prayer — for they are always in the spirit of prayer. They find 
 these times particularly useful and delightful to them ; they 
 find they return from them into the world with fresh strength, 
 to contend against the ])ollution that is in the world through 
 sin. 
 
 Another great help to purity of heart is, the continual study 
 of God's Word : there every thing is pure — " wherewithal," 
 says David, " shall a young man cleanse his way ? even by 
 taking heed thereto accorduig to Thy Word." And he also 
 testifies that " the undefiled in the way are they that walk in 
 the law of the Lord." And though he who desires purity will 
 
us THE BEATITUDES. 107 
 
 stiidv the whole law of God, he will more especially make his 
 delight, and lay to heart, those parts of the Scripture which 
 relate the wonderful love of God in sending His Son, that 
 blessed Lamb without blemish or spot, Who was separate from 
 sinners, holy, harmless, and iindefiled. The redemption 
 wrought by Him and in Him, will be his great subject and the 
 theme of all his praise. Moreover, he will love to look upon 
 himself as in Christ, to look upon Christ as made to him his 
 wisdoin, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 
 
 This leads us to consider another great means of inward pu- 
 rification, — the hope of glory with Christ hereafter. "Every 
 man who hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as He is 
 pure." And why ? Because the time of future glorification 
 will he the time of beholding Christ ; the blessing of it will be 
 being in the likeness of Christ: and therefore, the more he medi- 
 tates on this, the more his knowledge of and desire after 
 that likeness is increased; — as St. Paul saith, " We all, with 
 open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are 
 changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as bv 
 the Spirit of God." 
 
 But, in considering the means of acquiring it, we have come 
 to the blessing attending it — "Blessed are the pure in heart : 
 for they shall see GodS' This is indeed a high, glorious, and 
 comprehensive blessing; the worth of it is inestimable; for one 
 sight of the glories of Jehovah in Christ, as the ransomed soul 
 wishes to see Him, will be more than enough to balance a Ions 
 life of toil and pain ; yea, will work a change on the spirit, 
 which is beyond our limited conception. " Beloved, now are 
 we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be ; but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like 
 Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 
 
 But this blessing has the promise of this life, as well as of 
 that which is to come. God is purity, and therefore, those who 
 
108 SERMON XIII. 
 
 are increasing in purity are becoming like Him : God is liglit, 
 and in Him is no darkness at all ; the strivers after purity are 
 called the children of light ; they are daily, as they advance in 
 their holy work of inward puri6cation, blest by the light of the 
 presence of His Spirit — that Spirit which, we are told, takes of 
 the things of Christ, and shews them unto us ; that Spirit which 
 is all powerful to dispel the darkness of our souls, to enlighten 
 the spiritual understanding, to quicken the conscience, to ma- 
 nifest the most secret sins, by putting them in the light of His 
 countenance. Thus then they continually increase in the 
 knowledge of God ; and even in this poor blind state, they may 
 be said to have a sight of Him — not in occasional glimpses or 
 ecstasies, not in particular frames of mind or extraordinary 
 manifestations ; but in their quiet steady progress towards holi- 
 ness and towards the likeness of God. They increase also in 
 their knowledge of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and become 
 thus better able to meditate on the love of Christ who gave 
 Himself a ransom for the sins of the world. Moreover, as 
 worldly motives and corrupt affections lose their hold on the 
 heart, they see the majesty and glory of God opening before 
 them ; they begin to see further into the mystery of redemp- 
 tion, 10 see how it behoved Christ to suffer, and enter into His 
 glory ; and to enter somewhat into the meaning of that con)- 
 prehensive and wonderful sentence, " For this end Christ both 
 died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the 
 dead and of the living." Observe how in Scripture, purity of 
 heart is described as the way to spiritual knowledge, — *' Who 
 shall ascend up into the hill of the Lord," says the Psalmist, 
 "or, who shall stand in His holy place ? Even he that hath 
 clean hands and a pure heart." And again, " Whoso ordereth 
 his conversation aright, to him will I shew the salvation of 
 God." 
 
 Tftus have 1 set before you the excellence and the blessing 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 109 
 
 which attends it, a spiritual excellence and a spiritual blessing. 
 But who, you will say, can attain such a state as is here de- 
 scribed ? is it of any use to describe and set forth to us such 
 high models of imitation, when we find it the work of a life to 
 subdue one unholy lust, to check one improper desire ? 
 Brethren, blame me not; — I only speak the words and follow 
 the example of Him who said, " Be ye perfect, even as your 
 Father in heaven is perfect." The effect of setting out before 
 you so lofty a pattern to imitate, should not be to discourage 
 you, but rather to urge you forward in your Christian course. 
 And, thanks be to God, the blessing which belongs to purity 
 of heart does not belong only to the perfectly pure, for then 
 would none among us inherit it, but it accompanies those who 
 strive after it from their first attempt all through, increasing as 
 they go on. It is not reserved till we reach a certain step in 
 the holy progress, and then bestowed ; but when we begin to 
 seek Christian purity, that moment we find the blessing ; 
 there never was a person who in God's strength, and in God's 
 appointed way, became conqueror over an impure or worldly 
 temptation, who was not increased in spiritual strength and 
 knowledge on account of it. Let none, therefore, think that 
 the work which I have been speaking of is too high or too diffi- 
 cult an one for them. Brethren, this is an unchristian way of 
 viewing the subject. Hear what the Apostle says, " I can do 
 all things through Christ which strengtheneth me;" so that 
 our source of strength is one and the same for all ; and we 
 are all on an equality as respects our strength in ourselves, — we 
 none of us have any. Begin then, I beseech you, ye of 
 Christ's visible flock, ye who have been baptized into His death 
 and become partakers of His resurrection, to walk in newness 
 of life, to examine your own thoughts and motives, and try 
 whether they be nndefiled before God. Begin with prayer, 
 any whatever you do, pray always ; it is your chief defence 
 
SERMON XIII. 
 
 against the attacks of your spiritual and impure foes. You 
 desire to see God ; you strive after His likeness : study then 
 His holy Word, and especially the character of Christ 
 as there manifested to us, and meditate on the wonders of 
 redemption, and the blessings brought to you by it, and the 
 exaltation and glory of Christ ; and these, by taking posession 
 of the thoughts of your hearts, shall drive out worldly impuri- 
 ties ; your new desire will expel the old ones, and that will 
 be, to be changed into the image of Christ, and finally to 
 behold His face in glory. 
 
 Begin this holy work, I beseech you, without delay. For it 
 ill befits servants of Christ to be unprepared for their Master's 
 bidding, as you assuredly will if He should send for you 
 before this be begun. Regard yourselves as ever in the pre- 
 sence of God, accustom yourselves to consider your thoughts 
 as deeds ; when reproving yourself for wrong thoughts, say not 
 yhat am I thinking ? but what am I doing ? for thus it is 
 that God regards them. 
 
 Oh may He grant my prayer for you, that ye may be filled 
 with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual 
 understanding: that ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto 
 all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing 
 in the knowledge of God : that ye being pure in heart may 
 inherit the blessing prepared for such, — that of seeing the Lord. 
 
SERMON XIV. 
 
 "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called 
 
 THE children OF GOD." — St. Matt. V. 9. 
 
 When the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds in the fields 
 near Bethlehem, to announce the birth of our Redeemer, perhaps 
 their joyful tidings was, peace on earth. The gospel is the 
 religion of peace ; wherever its true influence prevails, it pro- 
 motes and sets forward gentleness and quietness. The servant 
 of the Lord must not strive, says St. Paul, describing the 
 duties of a Christian minister. And most aptly does this 
 blessing come after that belonging to the pure in heart. The 
 wisdom which is from above is first pure, then peaceable. But 
 this duty is perhaps attended with more difficulties than any 
 of the others which we have considered. There are many men 
 with whom it is impossible to make peace, if we would ; many 
 with whom it would be wrong to be at peace, if we could. 
 And, therefore, we find the duty of peaceableness laid down in 
 the gospel with a qualification. St Paul says, " If it he possiblcy 
 as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men ; " and the 
 expression in the text, ** blessed are the peacemakers y' seems 
 to imply that peace is not easily found ; that it is not the usual 
 state of things in the world; that the children of God make it 
 around them, and by their influence spread it abroad ; and that 
 it is not the natural growth of human nature. Need we look 
 far to see instances of it ? Where can we cast our eves, or 
 
112 SERMON XIV. 
 
 our thoughts, that we do not see neighbour with neighbour, 
 nay, often the members of the same family, falling out and 
 making discord and enmity ? where can we look that we do 
 not see the seeds of malice springing up in the heart of 
 men ; where there are not open quarrels existing ? yet we 
 hear people depreciating one another, using spiteful words of 
 another's character, insinuating evil things of others, all which 
 are just as true signs of enmity at heart as an open and 
 avowed breach between the parties. Brethren, none of these 
 last mentioned acts, none of the dispositions which occasion 
 them, belong to the children of God. They are marks of 
 carnal bondage to the fleshly body, not of the glorious liberty 
 of the sons of God. They belong to persons who have set 
 their rest and built their home in the pride and vanity of the 
 world ; not to those who are seeking after a better and a hea- 
 venly country. He who is united to Christ, who is living to 
 Christ in the world, and striving after conformity to Him, is a 
 peacemaker. 
 
 Now, give me your attention while I endeavour to lay before 
 you some of the points in which this peacemaking spirit will 
 shew itself. I shall place first, because it is a thing hardly 
 regarded as a Christian duty, b}^ many who are called Chris- 
 tians in these times, strict, conscientious, and undeviating obe- 
 dience to the authorities by which the peace of human society 
 is preserved ; and the promotion of such obedience within the 
 whole circle of our influence. This is the lowest form of the 
 duty ; for it is rather abstaining from creating disturbance than 
 making peace, — which, however, may almost be called making 
 peace, when the business of so many is to make disturbance. 
 But, however inadequate a peacemaker a person who merely 
 observes the laws of the land is, it is hidispensably necessary 
 to his bearing the character at all, that he should do so. And 
 I mention this, the rather because a strange and monstrous 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 113 
 
 opinion has been suggested by the Devil to men's minds in 
 these our days, that they may be servants of Christ, and yet 
 despise and disobey the authority of those whom He has set 
 over them. He that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordi- 
 nance of God. There is no surer way of lending a hand to 
 promote discord in Society than to set the example of contempt 
 of those ordinances by which the peace of society is secured. 
 And, therefore, the peacemaker in his great work of setting for- 
 ward, as much as in him lies, quietness, peace, and love among 
 all Christian people, is most careful in his own person to pay all 
 deference and respect to human laws ; thus shewing that He 
 is anxious for peace, by affording none, in his public character 
 as a member of Christian society, matter of quarrel against 
 him. But as obedience to human laws is not his great work, 
 but forms a part of his obedience to the law of Christ, so his 
 abstinence from offending against peace, goes further than 
 human laws prescribe ; it extends to those common dealings 
 between man and man in which jealousies and quarrels so often 
 arise. In these he is careful not to give offence by hastiness, 
 ill temper, overreaching another, or taking any advantage of 
 his failings ; and should the offence be given by another, he 
 is not easily provoked, not ready to take affront at a word or a 
 slight put on him, for he knows that from such habits dissension 
 ensues oftener than peace In his own family he observes the 
 same conciliating manner and temper, avoiding by every means 
 in his power, the breaking out of a quarrel, or, what is infi- 
 nitely worse, the nourishment of secret malice, rather letting 
 his pride be wounded, which is good for him, than his temper 
 ruffled, which is most hurtful to his soul. And because he 
 finds that this is a matter in which he must play the hypocrite, 
 that angry thoughts in the heart will make themselves a way 
 out in violent words, or hasty and intemperate actions, he 
 
 begins by pacifying his thoughts, making them quiet, and 
 L 2 
 
] 14 SERMON XIV. 
 
 gentle, and peaceable, not apt to stir within him at every little 
 slight or provocation, but long suffering, and easy to be in- 
 treated. 
 
 But this last is a comprehensive and a difficult work. For, 
 as I have here stated it, he might as well try to turn the sun 
 from liis course as to work this mighty change in his spirit. 
 I have purposely come to this difficulty to shew you, as in the 
 former instances, how utterly vain is the attempt undertaken 
 merely as men, and in our own strength to arrive at any of 
 the blessed states of mind described here by our Lord. You 
 see that even in the lowest form of this duty, we are stopped at 
 a certain point as before. What is called our natural character, 
 may be one averse from strife and fond of peace, and all that 1 
 have mentioned up to this point we engage and delight in ; but 
 it will be imperfectly and uncertainly done, and any extra- 
 ordinary occasion which overcomes our gentleness of dispo- 
 sition, will cause us to leave our character of lovers of peace, 
 and become promoters of confusion. Now all this takes place 
 even in the lowest form of the duty, that only of avoiding 
 quarrel ourselves. We must betake ourselves then at once to 
 the gospel of Christ for strength to go on with this work, and 
 the disposition truly to begin it. That gospel teaches that we 
 are made partakers of Christ, made complete in him, and 
 teaches us as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [or for our 
 Lord,) even so to walk in Him ; conformity to Him is the 
 great business of the Christian's conduct in life. In Him he 
 has strength and guidance ; He is made unto him sanctifi- 
 cation and wisdom ; he is led to view himself as created anew 
 in Christ Jesus unto good works ; as bound, in fact, as created, 
 to glorify him ; and he sees His bright example before him 
 wherever he turns, and His word shining about him to direct 
 him in the way. Now, how sure and steady will be his en- 
 deavours after peace, yes, and his victory over his own thoughts 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 115 
 
 and desires too ; for the spirit of Him who knows what is in 
 man dwells in him, enlightning the dark chamber within him, 
 and enabling him to cast ont every thing that offendeth, and 
 every root of bitterness. Now, by means of this change, this 
 new direction of the thoughts and affections, we come to the 
 higher form of the duty, — that oi making peace, of healing the 
 breaches which are made in Christian unity. As the office of 
 healing others is higher than that of merely preserving health 
 in ourselves, so is this method of making peace than those 
 which we have been considering. There are many occasions in 
 every man's life, on which the duty of making peace between 
 contending parties is most urgent upon him ; and a person 
 influenced by Christian motives, will take all these opportu- 
 nities of glorifying his Saviour, and shewing the influence on 
 himself, and all around him, of the gospel which he professes. 
 I know it is a hard duty, and one in the exercise of which 
 much ill will may be incurred, and dislike earned ; but this is 
 not enough to make4he Christian shrink from the duty. Be- 
 sides, much of this is owing to the manner in which attempts 
 at conciliation are often made. The servant of Christ, as he 
 makes peace, also does it in a peaceable way and manner, not 
 hastily, or as assuming anything to himself, but humbly and 
 gently. He must expect trials in doing it, for in what Chris- 
 tian duty are there not trials ? And this will be his trial, that 
 he will be accused of taking too much upon himself, and wish- 
 ing to be better than his neighbours. This was the case when 
 Moses saw two of his brethren at variance, and attempted to 
 separate them;— the one that did the wrong said, " Who made 
 thee a judge or ruler over us?" But there will come a day, 
 even in this life, when the righteousness and pure motives of 
 the servant of God shall be manifest ; his heavenly Father 
 will not let him be put to shame before men ; his light shall 
 so shine before them that they shall glorify his Saviour in 
 
116 SERMON XIV. 
 
 Whose strength he doeth all his work and labour of love. He 
 shall be acknowledged as the child of God, and that God Whom 
 he serves, shall be acknowledged by men ; and from his in- 
 fluence, and the blessed effects of his loving and peace-making 
 spirit, shall arise a harvest of glory to the Lord in the acknow- 
 ledgment of the work of His Spirit on his heart, and the win- 
 ning of many to see what is required of them as the redeemed 
 of Christ. This is the fruit of righteousness which is said to 
 be sown in peace by them that make peace. 
 
 Let me then exhort you as a part, and a very important one 
 of your Christian calling, to undertake the blessed work of 
 peace-making. It is first to be begun in yourselves, and your 
 own matters, — for it is not for him that is living in enmitv 
 himself to endeavour to reconcile others, or to see the way to 
 do it, till he have had experience in his own matters. Besides, 
 it will be continually cast in his teeth, and will be an effectual 
 hindrance to his doing good around him. Begin then in hu- 
 mility and prayer, by renouncing this temptation of the flesh 
 in your own persons, making reparation to all whom you have 
 injured, and forgiving from your hearts all who have injured 
 you, and endeavouring to promote a like spirit on those around 
 you, and over whom you have any influence. So shall ye be 
 the children of your Father which is in heaven, and the mem- 
 bers of your Redeemer, Who is the Author and Prince of 
 peace. 
 
 I cannot dismiss this subject, without reminding you how 
 frequently a peaceable and a quiet spirit is recommended and 
 enforced on those who profess to be united to the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. How earnestly does our Lord pray in His petition for 
 His Church, that they all may be one, that the world may 
 know that Christ is sent of the Father, and acknowledge Him. 
 Nothing shews forth the beauty and glory of Christ so much 
 as unity among Christians ; nothing brings greater shame and 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 117 
 
 discredit on the profession of His religion than divisions among 
 them. Let no minor considerations, no trifling objections, be 
 the means of leading you to break the beauty and unity of that 
 Church which Christ has purchased with His own blood to 
 be holy and blameless in Him. Whatever your duties may 
 be to men in general, those to your fellow-members in Christ, 
 and fellow-citizens of His heavenly kingdom, are the most 
 important. " Put away," says the Apostle to his converts, 
 " from among you, all wrath, and bitterness, and clamour, and 
 evil speaking." Let there not be the sound heard among us of 
 an angry word, or a contentious spirit. 
 
 May you have grace to see how this duty of peace-making 
 presses upon you in the capacity of members of Christ ; how 
 it glorifies your Saviour ; and as you pray to be forgiven as 
 you forgive others, so may you promote peace among others, as 
 you wish to be found of your Saviour in peace at the day of 
 His coming. So shall you be called, and be, the children of 
 God ; and see the blessed fruit of your labours, when the secrets 
 of all hearts shall be disclosed, and you enter on your glorioua 
 inheritance. 
 
SERMON XV 
 
 "blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' 
 sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaten. blessed are 
 
 YE, when men shall REVILE YOU, AND PERSECUTE YOU, AND 
 SHALL SAY ALL MANNER OF EVIL AGAINST YOU FALSELY, FOR MY 
 SAKE. REJOICE, AND BE EXCEEDING GLAD ; FOR GREAT IS YOUR 
 REWARD IN HEAVEN: FOR SO PERSECUTED THEY THE PROPHETS 
 WHICH WERE BEFORE VOU." — St. Matt. V. 10, 1 1, 12. 
 
 Besides the blessings which are poured into the cup of 
 Christ's people, on account of those graces which he plants in 
 their hearts, there are others coming from the natural and 
 necessary temper of others towards them, and the situation of 
 affairs with respect to them. 
 
 Now, they are described as a peculiar, a separated people ; 
 as citizens of a kingdom which is situated in another country, 
 and having their affections fixed, and their rule of conduct laid 
 down, not here, but in a place far away. Moreover, it is said 
 that they are not com formed to the world in which they live, 
 that they not only do not run with its inhabitants to that excess 
 of riot and surfeiting ; but that they do not, even in things 
 seemingly innocent, suffer their hearts to be bound down to 
 this lower world. Nor is this all : — they are transformed in the 
 image of their minds, they are all united by faith to one living 
 Head — even the Lord Jesus; and are all members of His 
 body. They are begotten anew in Christ, and therefore they 
 have lost their relish and tasie for the old and cast off things of 
 this vain world. What, then, is the consequence ? The 
 
ON tas BEATITUDES. Il»> 
 
 children of the world, those who are living well contented to 
 enjoy their present life, and caring for nothing beyond, think it 
 strange that there should be those among them, who do not 
 care for the life of which they make so much ; and more than 
 this, — they are moved by their holy and constant lives, to 
 envy them, and to endeavour to remove them, if possible, out of 
 the way; for their own evil deeds cannot abide the light of 
 truth and justice which these persons, by their presence, cast 
 upon them. This same motive leads them also to speak evil of 
 the saints of God, and to endeavour to reduce them down to 
 their own level, that they may be able to carry on their bad 
 practices, without the purity of the christian character ever 
 giving warning to them to consider their path, and amend their 
 ways. And add to all these reasons the enmity natural to the 
 heart of man, against every thing that is of God, or belongs to 
 the new nature, of which the members of Christ are partakers, 
 and you will see abundant reason, independently of circum- 
 stances, why the servants of God should be held in hatred and 
 contempt by the children of this world. At times these feelings 
 have broken out openly, and they have been subjected to 
 violent persecutions, and loss of goods and life; but in all 
 times the world is of the same mind towards them — therefore 
 the world hateth them, because they are not of the world, as 
 He Himself was not of the world. And this has not been 
 concealed from us by Christ ; He has not held us out any 
 prospect of ease and luxury. He has told us plainly, " In 
 the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good cheer, I 
 have overcome the world." Nay so far from concealing it 
 from them, He makes it, as in the text, a part of their blessed- 
 ness, that they are persecuted for righteousness' sake. We 
 have seen in the other blessings, that they belong to persons 
 and qualities not highly esteemed by the world : but this seems 
 the strangest blessing of the whole, that those should be bless- 
 
120 SERMON XV. 
 
 ed, who are persecuted — who are forsaken of their nearest 
 friends, and made a gazing stock for all men. We are 
 naturally fond of the quiet and comfort of society, — of the 
 smiles of our friends, and their confidence, and all the little 
 advantages of friendly intercourse ; we are fond of sharing our 
 worldly advantages with those ahout us, and heing counted 
 as peaceful members of society, and respectable persons ; we 
 are jealous of our characters, and wish to keep them without 
 slain among men, and our own advantage we consult, and 
 eagerly pursue our own profit. But here is a man who is cast 
 out from society and comfort, — whose enemies are even those 
 of his own household ; who has few, and perhaps those, distant 
 friends — and is left alone in the world : advantages he seems to 
 have none, much less any with whom he can share them ; ow- 
 ing to the malice of his adversaries, he is represented as a 
 disturber of peace, and disreputable, his fair character in the 
 eyes of men is blctt3d by their slanders, — he seems to neglect 
 his own advantage, and seeks but little after that profit which 
 all around him are going after, — he appears like one who has 
 a mark set upon him that men should hate him, and cast him 
 out from. their company. One would think his very heart 
 would sink within him, and that he wouM perish under the 
 accumulated load of slight and injuries. But this is the very 
 person who in the text, is pronounced blessed. There must 
 then be some upholding power, some mighty inward comfort 
 which must work against the attacks of the enemies from with- 
 out. If we examine the nature of the blessing, we shall find 
 that such does indeed exist : theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 They are the sons of a king, waiting for their inheritance ; 
 nay, it is already theirs, they are counted in the Church, who 
 is the body and spouse of that King, — even of Christ. He 
 came down upon earth to purchase the Church to Himself; 
 He staid with her awhile here below; and He is gone up into 
 
OJi THE BEATITUDES. 121 
 
 heaven to prepare the heavenly mansions to receive her in. 
 Meanwhile He has left her on earth deprived of His bodily 
 presence, but living on His precious promises, fed with His 
 spiritual flesh and blood, to try her faithfulness to Him. She 
 is espoused, betrothed, given in marriage to Christ, the King 
 of heaven ; and in her all His faithful ones, so that already, 
 signed and sealed with a sure promise, the kingdom of heaven 
 is theirs. And He has sent down to His earthly bride this 
 mem-orable sentence, " To him that overcometh will I grant 
 to sit with Me in My throne, even as I overcame, and am set 
 down with My Father in His throne." Earthly power, riches, 
 or kingdoms, belong not to the servants of Christ ; yet how- 
 ever poor, however despised they are, they are princes in dis- 
 guise : even now their royalty shews itself in an exalted and 
 heavenly mind, in affections raised above the earth, in sub- 
 duing their stubborn wills, and bringing every thought into 
 subjection unto the righteous law within them : and they have 
 their attendants too, — the ministering spirits who are sent 
 forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation ; the 
 angels of the Lord tarry round about them that fear Him, and 
 if our eyes could be opened, and we could see the goodly com- 
 pany of heavenly guards which surround the head of the 
 faithful servant of God, — if we could behold him in his most 
 forsaken moment, when all are turned against him, thronged 
 with bright ministers of joy and defence, we should see that 
 not even Solomon in all his glory was attended like one of 
 these. When men revile them, and taunt them with lifting 
 themselves above their neighbours, and cut them to the heart 
 with bitter reproaches, they can hear the sweet voice of the 
 heavenly Bridegroom saying to His Church, " Behold, thou 
 art all fair My love, there is no spot in thee." When the sons 
 of the earth deprive them of their possessions, they can hear 
 the same voice saying, " Fear not little flock, for it is your 
 
122 SERMON XT. 
 
 Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." And when 
 they are put under severer trials than these, which are 
 hard for flesh and blood to bear, cruel mocking 5 and scourg- 
 ings, yea, moreover bonds and imprisonment; when their 
 flesh and their heart fail, He who is the strength of their 
 heart and their portion for ever, is a very present help for 
 them ; and His golden words, " Be thou faithful unto death,, 
 and I will give thee a crown of life," disarm all their tortures, 
 and fix their eyes on Him who is waiting to receive their 
 souls. Thus great, thus exalted, is the blessing of those who 
 are persecuted for righteousness' sake. And there is yet more 
 of it behind. " Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great i» 
 your reward in heaven." If a cup of cold water given in 
 Christ's name shall not lose its reward, surely those who suf- 
 fer for Him, and are made ontcasts for His sake, shall have 
 great and worthy reward in His kingdom. It is one of the 
 marks of God's people, to *' have respect unto the recompense of 
 the reward ; " to be fully assured that works done in Christ 
 and for His name's sake shall not be forgotten ; but are all 
 recorded before Him. There is no surer sign of an humble 
 spirit and one subjected to the will of God, than a clear and 
 practical view of the nature of our christian reward for works 
 done in Christ, While some vainly suppose that our own 
 works can effect our salvation ; and some on the other hand 
 seem almost to forget that such a thing as the christian reward 
 is mentioned in Scripture ; he ^who loves Christ by faith, fully 
 assured of his union with Christ and salvation in Him, is 
 also fully assured that not the meanest work done in His 
 name shall be unrew^arded ; for he has the word, the eternal 
 unalterable word of his Saviour for it ; and long as the seal 
 on that bond of the Scripture remains, — long as those words 
 remain which thougli heaven and earth pass away, shall not 
 pass away,— so long shall the work and labour of love of 
 
ON THE BEATITUDES. 123 
 
 Christ's justified people not be forgotten, but be surely 
 and gloriously rewarded. To those who are in Christ sin is 
 3iot imputed : being received into Him their sins are cancel- 
 led by His satisfaction ; and therefore all that they do and suffer 
 for, and in Him, is accepted by God the Father, and will be 
 rewarded by Him. *' Rejoice and be exceeding glad ; for 
 great is your reward in heaven." 
 
 But there is another source of comfort still ; indeed they 
 seem inexhaustible and never ending to those who are united to 
 Christ " So persecuted they the prophets which were before 
 you." Ye that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, lift up 
 your eyes and look on the stars, and see if you can tell their 
 number and names. Far more in number is the company who 
 are gone before you from affliction like yours, to glory brighter 
 than the brightest of those heavenly bodies. Once, and once 
 ony, are we told that any of them descended and were seen by 
 men, — and then, even our Lord Himself put on for a moment 
 the brightness of His glory to meet them ; when He was trans- 
 figured on the mount, Moses and Elias, two of those that were 
 persecuted for righteousness' sake, appeared in glory and talked 
 with Him : and the Apostles trembled as they entered into the 
 cloud which surrounded them — so bright and so heavenly was 
 their appearance. But, as we advance in this divine subject, 
 grounds of support and joy seem to thicken upon us, and the 
 seed time of persecution and tears appears, indeed, to lead to a 
 rich harvest of rejoicing ; — " Beloved, think it not strange con- 
 cerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some 
 strange thing happened unto you ; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye 
 are partakers of Christ's sufferings, — that when His glory shall 
 be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." Our 
 profession is, to have been buried with Him by baptism into 
 death ; if therefore, we find ourselves made partakers visibly of 
 His sufferings, we see accomplished in us what every christian 
 
124 SERMON XV. 
 
 desires — likeness to Him ; and the visible sign and participa- 
 tion of His death is openly shown forth in us. "If ve be 
 reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye — for the Spirit 
 of glory and of God resteth upon you ; on their part He is evil 
 spoken of, but on your part He is glorified." 
 
 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast in the Lord. 
 If you live united to Christ, you have trials and severe ones 
 too ; it is equally true in all times, that those who live godly 
 in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Let not the neglect, 
 the scorn, the taunts of men, turn you aside from the steady 
 serving of God and cleaving unto Christ. Be not ashamed of 
 His name in the ])resence of men : what are their taunts and 
 scorn to you ? You are kings ; surely it is not for you to 
 tremble at these poor foolish slaves of worldly thoughts — surely 
 it is not for God's ransomed ones and the heirs of glory, to 
 tremble at the presence of an ignorant scoffer of this world. 
 Look forward but a few years, and where are all their taunts 
 and bitter words, and scornful looks ? Whenever you feel 
 tempted to deny or to compromise Christ, look^straight to that 
 day when you hope to awake up after His likeness ; look to 
 the great day of recognition and account, and as you wish to 
 be acknowledged by Him at that day, so now let your acknow- 
 ledgment of Him be. And if you fall into persecution, if un- 
 godly companions ridicule you or hinder your faith ; for this 
 you are all the more blessed — for you will be, by a visible 
 rikeness, shewing forth your Saviour, — you will be by their 
 persecution driven to cling closer to Him, to commune with 
 Him more in prayer, to grow in grace and in the knowledge of 
 Him. 
 
 One word more. God knows whether I be now speaking to 
 any who have been, or are, the persecutors of the children of 
 God — who by deed, word, look, or thought, have attempted to 
 hinder the faith and progress hi holiness, of ;i neighbour. If I 
 
SERMON XV. 
 
 125 
 
 be, however weak, however inconsistent that neighbour might 
 be, you have been, as far as in you lay, destroying the sheep of 
 Christ whom He bought with His blood. And, as one of those 
 appointed to watch over His fold, I solemnly tell you in His 
 name, that " it had been better for you never to have been 
 born. " *' Whosoever ofTendeth (they are His own words) one 
 of these little ones that believe on Me, it were better for him 
 that a millstone were hung about his neck, and that he were 
 cast into the sea." You may well tremble before that king 
 whom you have so grievously angered. Turn then to the Lord 
 and to His people, with weeping, and mourning, and praying, 
 if perchance, this thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 
 Far better is the state of those you persecute and despise, than 
 your own ; with all your scoffs and reproaches they are happier 
 than you — they have no hurt from without, and what is more, 
 they have no worm gnawing within. Here I leave the com- 
 parison, for I tremble to think of you, if I look forward any 
 further. May God give you a better mind, even the spirit of 
 true repentance. Oh shame and sorrow, that we should have 
 to turn in a christian Church to address such as these ! When 
 will the Lord come and purify His temple, and present us to 
 Hi's Father^ an acceptable people, a pure and blessed Church ? 
 Pray, ray brethren, for that glorious time, when the number 
 of the elect shall be accomplished, and those who are persecuted 
 [OX righteousness' sake now, shall have entered on the possession 
 of the ktngdom ! 
 
 AMEX : EVEN SO COME, LORD JESUS.