van. Ion, tnR "BRITISH PULPIT A COLLECTION OF SERMONS THE MOST EMINENT DIVINES OF THE PRESENT DAY. IN SIX VOLUMES. VOL. VL LONDON: PRINTED FOR THOMAS TEGG, 73, CIIEAPSIDE. 1844. liONDON t J. HADDON, PBINTEn, CASTl/B 8TIIBET, PINSBURy. CONTENTS. XJ SUBJECT. ^^The Walk of Faith a Way of Pleasautneus PREACHER. Rev. J. H. Ev.iNS, A.M. PAGB . 1 . 13 . 23 . 41 . 53 . 65 . 85 . 101 . 121 . 131 T. BlNNEY 141 and Peace Prorerbt, iii. 17 The AccountablenesB Incurred by the Mi- nistry of the Gospel 2 Cor. ii. 15, 16 . . S. Robins, A.M. . Serving the Lord Christ CoIosb. liL 23, 24. . H. Melvill, B.D. The Children of the World and the Chil- dren of Light Luko, xvi. 8 T. Dale, A.M. . . . The Earthly Tabernacle and the Heavenly Inheritance 2 Cor. v. 1 F. W. Meadows . The Claims of Ireland { l' Cot. XT.^25" ! ! } ^- «• Cooper ... Hearers Judged by Sermons John, xii. 47, 4^ . . H. Melvill, B.D.. Christ Manifested to Destroy the Works of the Devil 1 John, iii. 8 T. B. Baker, AM. Believers CoWiplete in Christ Coloss. ii. 10 .... J. Shermah , ^ The Tares of the Field Matt. xiii. 36-^44 F. Ellaby, A.M. ., The Church a Testimony for God to the World Isaiah, xliii. 12 . . The Beatitudes — Evidences of Poverty of Spirit Matt. t. 3 God's Goodness Recalled to Mind Jer. iii. 19 The Lord the Christian's Inheritance .... Deut. x. 9. The Minister's Farewell Entreaty Ephesians, iv. 1 — 6 The Best Gifts of God Bestowed on his People Gen. xlvii. 3, 6 . . Sorrow for the Departed Vindicated Luke, viii. 52 .... Every Baptized Man a Priest of God 1 Peter, ii. 9 .... The Renunciation of Evil Habits Contem- % poraneous with the Application for Mercy Isaiah, i. 16 — 18 . . TheKingdomofGodandHisRighteousness Matthew, vi. 33 .. Unspirituality, its Signs, Evils, and Remedy John, iv. 24 Christian Doctrine, Duty, Privilege, and Hope 1 John, ii. 24, 25.. The Minister's Parting Prayer Judges, xvi. 28 . . The Nature and Design of a Divine Reve- lation Luke, i. 70 The Character Described in the Seventh Chapter of the Romans Rom. vii. 22— 25. . J. Leifchild Sermon to Sunday- School Children Psalm xxxiv. 11 . . J. Sherman The Concurrent Testimony of the Spirit and the Believer Romans, viii. 16 . God Honouring the Righteous 1 Samuel, ii. 30 . J. RuDOE, D.D Hon. & Rev. B. W. N oel, A.M. Rev. H. Hughes, A.M T. Mortimer, B.D J. H. Evans, A.M J. W. Pearson, A.M. . . H. Mel vill^ B.D Hon. & Rev. B. W. Noel, A.M. Rev. T. Mortimer, B.D S. Robins, A.\L — T. Mortimer, B.D. 151 159 169 180 189 201 213 229 239 245 257 265 J. Blackburn 273 H. Melvill, B.D.. . . T. Myers, A.M 28C 300 309 32£. JV CONTKNTS. SUBJECT. TEXT. PREACHER. PASE Tho Claims of England upon Christians, and Specially upon Churchmen 1 Peter, iv. 10 . . . . Rev. J. Williams, A.B 335 The Spiritual Nature of True Religion .... ■ — ii. 5 .... J. Burnet 345 Fellowship with Christ Philippians, iii. 10 A.Pope SSg "Called" of God Romans, viii. 30 . , J. Sherman 365 The Believer's Present Ignorance and Fu- ture Illumination 1 Cor. xiii. iJ ..,. T.Dale, A.M 381 The Missionary's Message Suited to All . . Acts, xvi. 32, 33 . . HoN. & Rev. G. T Noel, A.M. .393 Yielding Ourselves unto God Komans, vi. 13 .. B.W.Noel, A.M. 405 The Beatitudes— Persecution for Righteous- nesB'Sake Matthew, v. 10 .. Rev. J. Ruoge, D.D 417 THE BRITISH PULPIT. THE WALK OP FAITH A WAY OF PLEASANTNESS AND PEACE. REV. J. H. EVANS, A.M. JOHN STREET CHAPEL, KING'S ROAD, JULY 9, 1836. " Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." — Proverbs, iii. 17. The wisdom of God plainly shows itself in the consideration of those ways which he has marked out in his word, and in which he leads his people to walk ; even his own ways — ivisdom's ways, so called, because they are designated and marked out by infinite wisdom and because they who walk in them, are they who alone are wise in God's sight. You remark in this passage, that they are termed, " ways of pleasantness, and paths of peace." " Her ways" — wisdom's ways — " are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." It is not said, " Wisdom's way is a pleasant way," but " wisdom's icays''' — various ways ; and n^Dt merely that " her paths are peace," but " all her paths are peace." Blessed truth ! none of wisdom's ways but are the ways of pleasantness, and paths of peace. In the consideration of this subject, I shall regard it in a threefold point of view. I shall, in the present sermon, speak of wisdom's ways more immediately referring to the way and walk of faith. If I am spared for two Lord's-days to come, I shall then, on the first, speak of the way of repentance as a way of pleasant- ness ; and, lastly, the way of Jilial obedience as a way of pleasantness and peace also. In this sermon, I shall confine my mind and your attention to one point, namely, that the way and walk 01 faith is away of pleasantness and a path of peace May VOL. Vi. B V 2 THE WALK OF FAITH the Holy and Eternal Spirit graciously lead us into such a holy contemplation of his truth as shall be for our edification, the manifestation of the divine glory, and the exaltation of our beloved Lord who is our only hope. In considering this subject, I shall, in the first place, observe, why it is that all the ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace ; and, secondly, I shall endeavour to show (and this will more peculiarly and especially refer to faith^ why it is that the walk of faith is pre-eminently a way of pie? santness, and a path of peace. With regard to the first point, if it be asked, why we should think that the ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness and peace, it is because they are the appointment of an infinitely tender Father for his covenant children to walk in. Surely if infinite love has originated it, and infinite wisdom has devised it, and infinite power has achieved it, then the way must .be a way of pleasantness, and a path of peace. It might have been that all the path-way of the traveller towards Mount Zion might have been full of bitterness ; it might have been devoid of comfort, peace, joy, delight: and even if it were so, we reduce the world to a low point when we say, we should have been worse than fools not to walk in the way of safety : for if our path be a path of safety — if there be no other safety but in this path — yea, if all others be paths of inevitable ruin and destruction, then the true wisdom which God imparts would induce them to walk in these paths, even if there had been no pleasure in them — if all had been bitter, if all had been dark, if all had been cheerless — if there had been no rest, no quietness, no enjoyment in them. But infinite wisdom has designed it otherwise ; for the ways that begin in this world, are ways that shall never end ; they are openings of what shall be, the com- mencement of eternity. My dear hearers, hell has its buddings in M/s world. We live in such soft days, that for a man to speak much of hell offends many. Why are not such ashamed of God's word, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself? for this I will say — never did I hear or read such awful statements as came from the lips of Jesus, and never so much in any sermon on the subject as in some of his sermons. Hell, I say, with awe on my mind, and, I trust, A WAY OF PLEASANTNESS AND PEACE. 6 with some feeling of compassion towards those of you who see not the tendency of your own ways — hell has its buddings here ; the aching heart, the restless mind, the perpetual disappointment, the dread of tlie soul, the misgivings of the conscience, and the anticipations at times of what shall be, the fear of looking into it — that awe on the mind that sometimes makes a man who can smile in health, look very pale when he is upon his sick-bed — that state of mind which can make a man, who can trifle and laugh in the midst of a laughing world, tremble in the very anguish of his soul, when he looks eternity in the face : these things, I say, are the beginnings of what shall be. They are like the faint distant flash, so indistinct and feeble as scarcely to be noticed at the first ; but by and bye it lightens up every object ; and then comes the thunder, deep, awful, and terrible. There is such a thing as the commencement of what shall be in the midst of a poor dying world. And heaven has its openings too. This at once detects you whose religion just lies on the surface. The peaceful mind, the heart that rests in the love of God, the conscience sprinkled with the precious blood of atonement, the will that lies passive in the hands of the Father, or would desire to do so : these form some little openings of what shall be — foretastes of what shall be ; these are the little beams of the future day of glory, where night shall never come. Now infinite wisdom hath designed this, and infinite power ac- complished it : and if conscience were faithful, every one at this moment would have the witness at this moment whither he is going. I say not as to the dark unfoldings of what the mind of God shall be ; I speak not of the mysteries of his secret counsel ; because not one of his redeemed shall be left in Egypt — not one of his ransomed ones shall be lost. But, I say, in yourselves there is enough at this present moment to assure you whither you are going, if the light of heaven shone in upon your con- sciences, and made you faithful as before God. The infinite wisdom of Jehovah has given his saints some little commence- ments in this poor world : and, therefore, I say, if infinite love could conceive it, and infinite wisdom could devise it, and infinite power could achieve it, we might well expect that " wisdom's ways" would be " ways of pleasantness, and all her paths peace." b2 THE WALK OF FAITH There is another point of view in which I would consider it. It is pleasant to walk in those ways which those who have tried and walked in them before us have found pleasant. Could we have the testimony of God's saints on earth, could we collect their testimony into one, could we concentrate their witness, could we bring them all to one focus and one point, they would all give us this one testimony : — I found the ways often mysterious, dark, and painful ; I found them often a great deep : but this I say still, the real happiness of my soul is in them, and no real happiness is out of them. And when we think of the pure spirits made perfect; when we think what their testimony would be — clear, lucid, direct, without the least infringement or diminution — with one voice bearing testimony to this truth, we may, indeed, believe that wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths peace. Did not the apostle Paul find it so when he was on earth ? " I know in whom I have believed :" " I hnow it." " O how I love thy law," says David ; " " thy testimonies are my rejoicing more than fine gold." What did Jeremiah say ? " Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and they are the rejoicing of my heart." If we could look at those who -are gone, if we could look at those who are present, if we could collect the testimony of all into one point, we should have but one evidence, that " wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her ])aths are peace." Perhaps, some of you have parents who walked in this way before you. They knew what it was to " water their couch with their tears ;" they knew what it was to plead with God on your behalf; they knew what it was to walk closely with God, and to realize the power and substance of truth in their own hearts. My dear young friends, you who are just rising into life, it is a happy thing if you are led to walk in ways which you find to be pleasant, and in paths which you experience to be peace. But, above all, there is this consideration : Those paths must be pleasant and peaceful in which the Lord Jesus Christ has gone before us. Of course he has not taken out trial and chastisement from the path ; he has not taken out affliction, and poverty, and sickness from the path ; he has not even taken out death, that last dread foe, from the path : but, having a regard to our interests for an eternal world rather than to our comfort in the present life, he has done far more and better for us than this, he has taken A WAY TO PLEASANTNESS AND PEACE. A out all curse from the path, and turned all these trials into mercies. The very grave is perfumed by him : the path that we walk in is marked by his boundless love, and the steps that we take are consecrated by his blessed example. Though you know what trials are, and what sufferings are ; yet it is sweet for you to look on the print of his Divine footsteps, and lean upon him all tlie way. But observe, secondly, that the path or walk of faith is IN ITSELF A MOST HAPPY WALK. . Faith looketh to Jesus ; and as it looks upon Jesus, it walks in a pleasant path, rests upon him for wisdom : He is our wisdom. My dear hearers, ours is oftentimes a dark and mysterious way : it is always a straight way, though it is sometimes a rough and painful way : and you who are running smoothly in a summer path, if you meet with an experienced saint who is tasting the bitter things of life, he will not say to you, " I envy you." But how great and how inesti- mable is the mercy of having a guide to our feet in such a way ; one who can cheer us when we sink, comfort us when we faint, lift us up when we despond, restore us when we are going out of the way, bind up that which is broken, enter into all our trials, sympathize in all our sorrows, and having the wisdom that knoweth how to deliver the timid out of all their temptations. It is not only wisdom which we look to, but it is the wisdom of tender sympathy ; and this path is, therefore, a most happy, peaceful, blessed path. I open my heart to my friend ; I tell him my sorrows : he listens to me — mourns as I mourn, weeps as I weep : I bless God for it ; it is very sweet to have such a friend. Again I tell him my sorrows : he is still enabled to sympathize with me ; he weeps as I weep, he mourns as I mourn : it is very sweet, and I bless God for it. I tell him again of my sorrows, and I find him occupied ; he has his own cares, his own sorrows, and troubles, and vexations ; they are quite enough for him ; he is scarcely able to go on in his own path : how then can I expect him to take my place, and stand where I stand ? It is beyond man. But supposing he is willing to do this, what can he do ? He can mourn with me, and sympathize with me, but can he deliver me'' But it is not so with our heavenly Friend to whom we look ; who says, " When tiiou passest tlirougn the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, tnev 6 THE WALK OF FAITH his members shall sink beneath them. He is not only one who can sympathize, but one who can deliver, who knows how to de- liver, and when to deliver ; one who, by means as contemptible as blowing of ram's horns, can bring down our greatest troubles, and place our feet firm in our path. But still further : supposing I had a friend who could sympa- thize and could deliver — who could not only weep and mourn with me, but find a way of escape for me. Sometimes God does, in his mercy, work by tender sympathizing friends a real deliver- ance ; but when I look at him, I reason thus : This dear friend, this beloved friend, this self-denying friend, must die; the hand I take must soon be cold in death ; he will soon pass away, and I sliall see him no more. But when I look at Jesus, I look at one who never dies — one who has enough of tenderness and sympathy, and one who has enough of life for time and for eter- nity. O, my dear hearers, you who, when trouble comes, endeavour to avoid it by change of scene, going to the sea-side, trying this friend and that friend ; poor wretched creatures, I must call you, for resting your souls upon such broken reeds, which one moment may annihilate and reduce to nothing. Thus we have the advantage over the poor lovers of the \\ orld he7-e. They have nothing to show that will stand by them in their trying moments, but we have that which will stand by us in the most trying moments, and be found most substantial when every thing else is found weakness : and just as faith looks otV circumstances, and rests upon a living Saviour, in that degree it triumphs above itself, and is made strong in the midst of feebleness. Faith looks to Christ for a complete, perfect, and glorious righteousjiess ; standing before God, not with tlie ebb and flow of my prayers, not with my strength, but with the ebb and flow of nothing, because, blessed be God, all that believe " are justified" (not '' shall be'') " from all things." Now this is pre-eminently a way of pleasantness, and a path of peace. At the first sight it is so, and in all the after stages of our eventful journey. Behold a man standing before God self-condemned ; ho has been chased out of the region of vain excuses ; he has had his self-sufficiency taken from him ; his sejf-power has had a fall ; his sclf-wisdora has deserted him ; he finds himself wretched, and poor, and miserable, and blind : he K WAY OF PLEASANTNESS AND PEACE. 7 nas no defence to make, and he pretends to require none. But wliat does he now say ? All who are saved and justified will say, " God be merciful to me, a sinner ! " And he says it, not because he must say it, but because the Holy Ghost teaches him to say it ; and he confesses himself a sinner, not because he ought to confess it, but from an inward conviction of it. He is in this state hoping, and praying, and believing that by and bye he may enter into rest ; but God takes him off himself, and draws him to Christ. O that it were my mercy, if so it pleased my heavenly Father, to see more of what I think forms the very glory of our Gospel — a direct view of Christ the Son of God ; not looking at Christ through the medium of my graces, but through the medium of his own work. Now suppose this case. Here is a man poor in his own eyes, but in the midst of all his poverty hoping that, by and bye, he shall present something : but the Holy Spirit lays him in the dust ; and he feels himself utterly poor ; and in that moment Christ is revealed to him as a gracious and complete Saviour. He doei not begin to reason, Did he die for me ? He does not go into the depth of the covenant, wondering whether his name is written in the Lamb's book of life. God the Spirit teaches him better, shows him Christ the Saviour of sinners, the Saviour of tlie vile, who came into the world to save sinners, the vilest and the very worst. As that truth is brought to his heart by the power of the Holy Ghost, then it is, that believing, he enters into rest ; then he says, " He loved me, and gave himself for me." My brethren, thousands have thought so who were deceived in their thoughts. But when this poor soul, brought down to the dust, laid low, is brought by the power of the Eternal Spirit to look at once to Christ, to look off himself, to look off his convictions, his prayers, and his attainments, and to look at once to the great finished work of the Son of God, through that medium God the Spirit brings pleasantness and peace into his soul, and he walks by faith. This is, indeed, a path of pleasantness and peace through a region of doubt aud hesitation, of anxiety and endless disappoint- ment — labouring in the fire, ploughing the rock, and counting the sand — leading from that desolate region towards a peace that passeth all understanding, in the contemplation of the finished work of Jesus. O, if some poor burdened sinners who hear me 8 THE WALK OF FAITH to-day, who have been waiting and hoping, expecting and doubting, have been led to look off from themselves to Christ, and to stay their hearts on what he has done ; they shall go out of the chapel in pleasantness, praising and thanking God. If you think this ought to make a man careless about evidences, I would rather preach a thousand sermons on evidences, than be negli- gent of them : look at them in their right place, and this proves itself to be of God, because it leads the soul to God. But, my dear hearers, as this is the way of pleasantness and peace in the commencing stages of our journey, so it is all through the journey. I confess to you that I know nothing that can give the soul five minutes, or five seconds, of real peace, but as I look in the finished work of Jesus. Such is the holiness of God's law, such is the sanctity of God's precepts, such is the purity of the divine Being, such is the immaculate holiness of his character, that if I could look at him off the cross one moment, I should beofin to sink. Therefore the first thinff in the second stage must be that basis which was our all in the first stage. To rest my soul on what Christ has done and suffered, upon what he has finished and accomplished, upon his great atoning blood, upon his glorious righteousness, upon his infinite merit, upon his perfect intercession in the presence of Jehovah — this forms the ground-work of our happiness, the foundation of all our hope. And this I will dare to say, that no man can walk in pleasantness and peace, but as he looketh upon Christ, and loseth sight of the immaculate purity and perfection of the holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty. Faith also looks to Christ for sandification. This is a pleasant path and a happy way. I need hardly say, what I would wish to say if my coffin were before me, that without holiness no man can see God. I preach it living, and I would preach it dying ; I Avould desire to lay it on your hearts — I would desire to have it laid on my own heart, that it may pervade all my sermons, go through all my engagements, and be made manifest, not only by my lips, but in my spirit, my temper, and my conduct, before God and before man. But while this remains an important truth never to be lost sight of, yet we would not forget how all the true blessedness and happiness of our lives is bound up in looking to Clirist for sanctification. This is the head, the life-spring, the grejit source of all. The stream runs low enough — too low. A WAY OF PLEASANTNESS AND PEACE, 9 alas ! in you and me. Is there any thing of which we can say, " The good I would, I do ?" Is there any thing of which we can say, " The evil I would not, that I do not ?" Are we not con- strained at the close of every day to take the place which the apostle himself took — " less than the least ?" The more we know of ourselves, whatever others may think of us, are we not con- strained to say, " Look not upon me, but look upon the face of thine Anointed?" Do I deny the indwelling of God the Holy Ghost in our hearts? I glory in it: I believe his indwelling is the true source and the maintenance of his work in our spirits, moment by moment. If there be that in us which tends to evil continually, blessed be his name, there is that which tends to holiness ; for " that which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." But when I look at the little stream, and see how thick and dense, and how complicated the difficulties through which it has to pass, sometimes hardly marking with a tinge of green the banks along which it flows ; how blessed is the thought that fulness is in Christ, all fulness of grace and strength — the residue of the Spirit, the great treasury ; that we might receive out of his fulness, and in his strength be strong ! This is a way of pleasantness and a path of peace. Look at our individual circumstances. Do not imagine me excluded from some of your trials. I believe it is one of Satan's devices that you should think I am free from all worldly trials. Who told you so ? Be assured of this, there is not one of God's saints whom he would bless but he will try him ; and there is not a single grace which belongs to him which God will not try : and you will join with me when I say, it is a dense crowd through which we have to pass, and the more you and I are bent on going fairly through it, not making excuses, not throwing blame on corruption, not giving the opiate to our consciences ; the more we are bent in the strength of God to go through the crowd, and turn neither to the right nor to the left — to mortify sin, to fight with the world, to oppose Satan — the more you and I shall find that this is the only path of pleasantness and peace ; that we have all sanctification in Christ ; that he has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ; and that he has them for us, to im- part to us in the hour of our need, in the way of faith and prayer. Faith looks upon Christ in the way of glorification. This is a hapjiy way, a pleasant path. We shall not long be here. I 10 THE WALK OF FAITH know God's saints are sometimes much tried in the anticipation of death ; but I know there is not one of them has any cause for it. I ttink it is a testimony of Cecil's, that among the thousands he had seen in the course of his life who had gone to the banks of Jordan discouraged, he never saw one go through the waters whom the Lord did not uphold, and make strength of his weak- ness, and put a peaceable quietness into the heart of his believing one. Do you ask the secret of all this ? It was looking oif from themselves to their risen, ascended, and glorified Lord. There is my Saviour and my Advocate ! He has taken possession of heaven on behalf of his people ; and here am I, the weakest, the meanest, the poorest, and the feeblest : but his strength is my strength, his merit is my merit ; and his ascension will bring up all his members safe to glory at the last. I remember once reading, " Treasure up evidences, because in the day when you come to die they will stand you in good stead." I have visited many of God's saints when they have come to die ; I have seen some high in doctrine, some low in doctrine ; I have seen some rejoicing, and some who have been peaceful and quiet : but I never found one of God's saints who ever looked back and said, " What a devout saint of God I have been !" I have always found that, in the contemplation of eternity, every thing seemed to faae but the merit of the great Atoner, the satisfaction of the great Sacrifice, the intercession of the Son of God, the mediation of Jehovah Jesus. It seems as if everything did then fade from the mind, and nothing seemed to be sprinkled on the heart but the precious blood of Immanuel, What shall I say of the man who has been hitherto turning his back on this way — walking not in the King's highway, but in his own way of pleasure, money, ambition, intellect ? I would prefer being one of those who have bowed the knee to Juggernaut, than stand in that man's stead who hears the gospel sound, and is hardened in trespasses and sins. You think I harp upon one subject : the Lord know^eth, before whom I stand, how he lays these things on my heart, by what I see, and hear, and read concerning those who profess the name of Christ. How awful is the state of those to whom I have alluded ! What way are they walking in ? Is there an aged one here — an old man or an old woman ? I speak not now regarding the distinctions A WAY OF PLEASANTNESS AND PEACE. 11 among men, but I look at them only as standing on the brink of eternity. Whither art thou going ? Since thou last didst hear me, hours have passed on, days have passed on ; but have they not brought thee nearer to thine own destruction 1 Who has been thy guide ? Has it not been he who did seduce our first parents, through whose power it was that the world at the time of the flood was a destroyed world ? Who is it that cajoles thee, week by week, that it shall be better by and bye, that a more convenient season will come ? Will a more convenient season come than the present, when the next moment may waft thee into eternity ? Is there here a poor, burdened soul, a wearied spirit, a contrite sinner, stripped of his self-confidence, laid low in the dust? Has he been hitherto seeking rest, and finding- none — toilino^ for peace, and experiencing none ? What a way would that be to thee, if thou wert led to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ! This shall be the pleasant walk to thee — to step out of thyself, and ])ut thy trust on the finished work of Immanuel, God with us. If a man in that street who was before a slave of the world, were to turn into this chapel, and lift up his hands in prayer, would not the change seem marvellous in thine eyes ? And is it not a change almost equally marvellous if thy poor burdened spirit were by one glance, looking off' from self to Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to enter into the way of pleasantness and jieace ? Is there not enough in Jesus ? His blood can make sins that are deep as scarlet, white as wool. Canst thou point to one case he has ever rejected — an instance of one too vile for the power of his blood to atone for ? Not one such can be found, because his name is faithfulness and love. O that my words may be laid on thine heart ! Then shalt thou find wisdom's ways to be ways of pleasantness, and paths of peace. It requires wisdom to discern these ways. The ways of wisdom are often very deep and mysterious, very rough and painful ; yet the issue of them is pleasantness, the end of them is peace. What a poor worm must thou be when we can say the tears of a broken heart have more happinesi in them than all thy laiighter and enjoyment ! Add gold to gold, title to title, influence to influence*; take a man from the lowest walks of life ; give him all that this world can give, and we say, the tears of a broken hi-art have more substance in them, than all the flash, and the 12 THE WALK OF FAITH, ETC. fire, and the treasure of this world, with all its pomp and cir- cumstance. And, as Rutherford says, " If the ploughed side of our field be so much brighter than thy bright side, what must our bright side be ?" If we can turn to our tears, and say, " They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" — " sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" — " having nothing, yet possessing all things," what must thy state be when compared with that state which is all cloudless and bright, in the regions of perfect holiness and perfect happiness 1 It requires wisdom to discer7i the paths of wisdom in the midst of this poor dying world, and it requires wisdom to walk in them. My dear brethren, my heart's desire for you is, that you may walk near to God ; but the conviction of my spirit is, that in order to do it, thou must live on the Lord Jesus Christ. I go to him with my sins, and he gives me righteousness ; I go to him continually, but I never weary him. It should be the busi- ness of life in all its emergencies to go to him '/or holiness, for support, for the continual upholding of his grace. Live in him for sympathy ; be very jealous of looking to the Creator for sym- pathy. I think sometimes, I lose a blessing by going to the creature first, instead of going to my Lord first. What husband, do you think, likes his wife to go and open her heart to a stranger instead of to himself? Art thou wrong in using the means of grace ? No. Art thou wrong in looking to him for sympathy ? No : but thou art wrong in not going to him first. Need I say how this involves the very substance of a holy life ? What is it that weakens faith ? What is it that strengthens un- belief? What is it that grieves the Spirit of God? "Your sins have separated between you and your God." This is the cause of separation : O avoid it, and walk near to God. As faith is the cause of all nearness, so close walking is the ap- pointed means whereby God strengthens faith. Therefore avoid all laxity of walk, all coldness and want of watchfulness unto prayer. May you realize in your own souls the very substance of these words ! In every trial, in every emergency, m every want, look to Him ; and you shall be more than conquerors through Him who hath loved jou. THE ACCOUNTABLENESS INCURRED BY THE MINISTRY OP THE GOSPRL REV. S. ROBINS, A.M. CHRIST CHAPEL, NORTH BANK, REGENT'S PARK, JULY 17, 1836, " For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that arc saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" — 2 Corinthians, ii. 15 — 16. If ministers of the gospel were appointed to labour only amongst willing hearts — if they never spoke a word for Christ but it found its way immediately to the understanding and to the affec- tions, then would this world be blessed far above the condition of our fallen state. But it is not so: we have to deliver this message to many who will not receive it, to many who resist it, to many who set themselves in opposition to it; yet all the while the minister of the gospel knows that if that which is spoken to his people does not lead them near to God, the delivery of the requisition increases the distance of their separation from God ; and hence it is that such a burden is continually laid on him, that he may quote the words of the apostle, and use them in application to his own re- sponsibility and his own labour : " Who is sufficient for these things?" There never was known so worthless a thing as a careless minister of Christ, the man who shall take upon his lips solemn words, who shall deal forth exhortation and Avarning, and speak of encourage- ment and of threatening unto others, while his own heart remains frozen in its indifference, and he speaks to his people of things which he had never felt, and towards which his life bears no corresponding testimony. It may be well pardoned if the minister of the gospel shall seem over-earnest and over-anxious ; if he shall reiterate to his people the solemn things of judgment ; if he shall bring before them again and again the matters which concern their souls as well a.s his. He remembers that he has to deal, not with one class; or with another class alone, for then were his task comparatively an easy one. He must speak to the believer, of all the rich and tho 1:4 THE ACCOUNTABLENESS INCURRED srracious consolations which the Word of God doth furnish forth to for them ; or he might speak to the hardened and the ungodly, of the terrors of the last day, of the misery of an undone eternity ; and of the certainty of God's threatenings as well as the certainty of his promises. But the minister hath to deal with those who are mino-led in their character — those who include in their numbers the advanced believer, such as are taking their first step in the Gospel, those who are just beginning to give heed to the words of life, those who are pausing on the threshold of the Gospel, and those who are altogether indifferent and careless, if not hardened and settled down in a carnal worldly spirit. It is, therefore, very reasonable and opportune that he should sometimes tell them of their danger; that he should sometimes forewarn them that by every word he deals forth, and every message to which the heart has not yet borne witness, they are increasing their responsibility, and enlarging the amount of their spiritual danger. Now so, beloved, would we deal with this present passage of God's Word: and we would speak of it, in the first place, as it respects the accountableness incurred by the ministry of the Gospel ; and, secondly, as it affects the spiritual condition of those amongst whom it is delivered. As to the first head of our subject, we have to speak to you con- cerning THE RESPONSIBILITY WHICH ATTACHES TO THE HEARING OF THE Gospel. There are three separate and distinct conditions, and only three, which we can conceive men to occupy spiritually in respect to God ; either the condition of those who have no direct revelation : the condition of those who have a direct but an incom- plete revelation ; and the condition of those to whom it is direct and entire. Now the first of these is the condition of the heathen. They en- joy no direct revelation from God ; they are left to other means ; not being irresponsible, not out of the province of accountableness, but occupying other ground, and having a different standard before God. The Lord gave them conscience ; he established conscience as his own vicegerent in every human heart ; so that among all the diversity of circumstances in the midst of which men have lived, in all the variety of their condition, stdl there hath been this aroiter to pronounce upon all moral questions, to guide them into the truth, and to lead them unto righteousness, except just so far as its au- thority was contravened and hindered by the power of the carnal BY THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. nature. Now conscience we do believe to have ever been that wide- spread principle which hath attained dominion over every thinking, living, and immortal creature, so that no man hath been born out of the region of conscience. But this is not all whereby God hath made the heathen respon- sible. He hath spread before them the fair works of his creation. Now we might speculate very unsatisfactorily and very inconclu- sively concerning the amount of information which the heathen should obtain out of the volume of nature, unless God himself had given us information thereupon. But the Bible tells us expressly concerning this matter, that " that which is known of God is mani- fest in them" — that is, the heathen — " for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible thinors of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are without excuse." But supposing that this information thus to be gathered by the exercise of man's reason on the works of nature, were altogether insufficient to give information of God's nature and attributes, he has opened unto them another book, the book of/)rov/c^ence, and there, by a continual and most kind manifestation of himself, he hath been directing them into a spiritual knowledge of Him who made them and sustains them. And here, again, would we fall back on Bible testimony: God '• hath not left himself without witness in that he did us good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." These are words ad- dressed (mark you) to the heathen : but this was insufficient for them. Therefore God dealt still further with the heathen: he sometimes came out of his dark chamber, and did manifest himself so to the world that one would suppose it could hardly have missed to recog- nize his interposition. He poured forth his judgments on them ; he rained down fire from heaven, so that the cities of the plain were consumed thereby ; he opened the windows of heaven, and he broke up the foundations of the great deep, so that the world, because of its apostacy and its atrocious wickedness, was overflowed by the deluge: and herein was God giving to all after-times testi- mony of his interposition as the Governor, as well as the Maker, of the universe. Now when all these trials had been made during a long series of ages, and had altogether failed, and man knew nothing of his 16 THE ACCOUNTABLENESS INCURRED Maker, and recognized none of the foot-prints of Deity, and paid no service, and offered no worship, to the Holy One ; then God commenced the making of a direct revelation of himself, and he began to deal with one separate nation upon new and formerly un- tried principles. He came as at Sinai, and there, visibly and with all »lory and solemn accompaniment, did he deliver the book of his law, and there did he prescribe rites and observances, pregnant with meaning, and all giving information concerning the great plan which God had devised for the restoration and the eternal glory of man's fallen race. Henceforth the Jews did not take their place with the surrounding nations, and had not a common lot with the people about them ; but they became distinguished and parted off, and surrounded by a hedge of privileges. There God committed to them his own truth, and they became the depositaries of revela- tion ; and all the services which were bound upon them, and all the burdens and ceremonials through which they had to pass, were just so many visible and legible books wherein they might read what God had ordained for their posterity. But all the while they did not understand these things ; they were far away from all spiritual worship, they were far away from all spiritual intelligence of the law ; and they made to themselves a mere idolatry of external things : they were as superstitious as their neighbours, but in a different way. Then did God commence a new way with mankind, not only by a direct revelation, such as the Jews enjoyed, but one that was complete , not consisting in type, imagery, and prediction, but having all the fulness and the substance of the entire accomplishment. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God hath given us full information upon these two points: he has told us concerning sin, what is its true nature, that it consisteth in the transgression of the divine law, that it has nothing to do as to its character with more or less, that it is a thing hideous in itself, and hateful unto God. He hath sur- rounded it with the utmost solemnities, so that we no longer dare trifle with sin, no longer deal with sin as though it were a small matter ; for God hath taught us, in the Gospel of his grace, how it caused the Eternal One to come down from his glory, to become as one of us, to be subject to all distresses and all dis- graces, to anguish, agony, and death, just because sin was so tremendously evil that in no other way could it be atoned for and trampled under foot. Then, God having given us information concerning the way of pardon and peace, and havin|T exhibited BY THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, 17 himself in a new character, he has shown himself, not, as under the Old Testament dispensation, the Lord of Hosts, mighty and powerful, putting down all hinderances and opposition ; but he has exhibited himself as a kind and gracious Father, ^'earning over his poor wandering children, who has spared no expense, but who is infinitely liberal in the dispensation of the treasures of his grace, that he might reconcile them to himself, and keep them evermore in the circle of his own unchanging favour. Now herein God hath been completing that which was imperfect unto the former dispensation ; for in the Gospel of Jesus Christ we find the substance, whereas the Jews possessed only the shadow. They had books of revelation, written by the mind of the Spirit, and, as it were, with the very finger of God: but we have the canon of inspiration complete ; we have our Bible, wanting no part, having the New Testament as well as the Old ; having the life of Jesus, all the circumstances concerning the office, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus, before us ; having the full promulgation of the truth by the servants whom he sent forth to teach by word of mouth, and to leave their letters unto the church, to be as a perpetual and a most precious inheritance to all God's believing people. But, beloved, mark you, all the while, how there hath been an increase of responsibility. All this while God hath been applying clear information of himself; hath been coming down, as it were, to the level of our darkened understanding ; hath furnished us with all truth, and with all evidence. He hath given us the external and llie internal evidence : he hath shown us, in the history of the world, a confirmation of his own word; and he shows, in the inner cham- ber of our own heart, the suitableness of the remedy, and a full and a complete knowledge of the disease. Now, we cannot stand at the judgment as the heathen would, nor even upon the low level which was occupied by the Jeu : but we must go to judgment with all our accountableness upon us ; we must go to judgment as those unto whom God hath committed the perilous blessing of a preached Gospel ; perilous to the unheeding, the careless, and the unconverted, for it will just go to the mighty enhancement of their everlasting condemnation. They cannot plead that they were ignorant ; they cannot plead that, they received imperfect communications ; for God hath given to them all that they needed to know, and hath richly and abundantly bestowed on them all the means of grace. With the gathering of these external privileges to themselves, they have risen to a new standard of judg- VOL. VI. c 18 THE ACCOUNTABLENESS INCURRED ment; for, with the imparted gift, there hath come an increased accountableness ; and they must be judged according to the cha- racter of that which God hath imparted to them. At the great assize, when Jesus, unto whom all judgment hath been committed^ shall occupy the prepared seat, and before whom the books shall be opened, then shall stand forth these witnesses : Providence — all providential gifts and bestowments ; the kind, gracious, and liberal things which God hath been doing to all the race of man : so that there shall not rise up one from the face of this broad earth but hath been a recipient of bounty, hath been sustained with food ; and whose breath-drawing has been under the care and kindness of the Lord. But not general providence only, in which all have participated, but the biography of every man shall furnish forth instances of special interposition ; the hand extended to supply and to relieve ; the arm outstretched to defend and to deliver ; mercy coming most opportunely, at a most unlooked-for time, and under circumstances the most unexpected : these, forgotten by us, shall be remembered by the Lord, and they shall occupy page after page in that book that shall be opened to the confusion of the unbelieving and unrepenting. But this is not all. It would be well for those who shall stand in judgment if this were all they have to account for — lost privileges and neglected mercies, God will call forth, not only his own inter- ventions of providence, but his interventions oi grace : the sermons they have heard, the Sabbath days they have spent, the messages God hath sent to them, and all the words of kindness which have come down from their Father ; these will be the witnesses against them. And if, all the while, the heart hath been unchanged; if it hath remained in its obduracy ; if there hath been no turning to God ; no yearning after the things of heaven, then, that which should have been " the savour of life unto life," shall, in the fear- ful language of our text, be unto such an one " the savour of death unto death." But let us go on, as we proposed, in the second place, and speak of this matter as it respects the spiritual condition of every ONE UNTO WHOM THE GosPEL IS PREACHED. We are surc that none of God's people shall be lost : that which in his eternal coun- cils he hath devised must go forward, unhindered and unchecked by all human opposition, to its final accomplishment. BY THiS MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 19 The apostle testifies concerning himself and those who were his colleagues in the work of preaching the word, " We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life." The purpose of God shall be accomplished ; the preached Gospel shall effect its design. Now, concerning the purpose of mercy, concerning the word being " life unto life," we do not now speak. We know very well that those whom God is bringing unto himself, those who are to be the heirs of eternal glory, shall, by these means, be brought to glory; that saved souls shall attribute all their blessedness unto the word that was ministered to them through the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is with respect to the more awful words of the message, whicli come in the way of wann?}g, that we desire to fix your attention. If it be not received it is " i/ie savoto- of death imlo death:' It is something separate and distinct from the responsibility of which we have spoken. In the first place, it is something altogether separate and distinct from that enlarfjed amount of accountableness which belongs to those who live, not only as heathen having conscience, or as Jews having an imperfect revelation, but as Christians, having the entire communication of God's purposes. It is something separate from this, namel}', the icorse condition in which the preached Gospel leaves those icho have heard it. Now this belongs, in some sort, to all the inhabitants of the land in which Christ has been preached. It belongs in some sort to those who have their dwelling-place in christianized countries. They can hardly miss to hear something of the Gospel, if they have ever, in all their life long, wandered into a church ; though the minister shall not preach Christ, though his sermon shall have been a cold piece of barren morality, yet they cannot have remained during the service without hearing something of salvation. Therefore, they do not go forth from that hearing the Gospel, imperfect and circum- scribed though its amount be — they do not go away just what they were. But this is a very rare case. It is seldom indeed that a man shall hear the Gospel but once in his life-time: he has grown up in a certain familiarity with an established form of faith ; it is not with him as it is with the heathen, who has been taught by his father to bow down to the idols of wood and stone, and has bounded all his privileges within the little compass of his country's super- 20 THE ACCOUNTABLENESS INCURRED stitions. In this respect we are inclined to believe that the condition of the missionary who goes forth and speaks for the first time to the heathen, to preach concerning things altogether strange to him, has necessarily, therefore, a different position to occupy from the minister who is to preach Christ among people to whom his message is fa- miliar. In the former case there will be opposition enough in the savage nations with which the man has to encounter; there will be hinderances enouofh from the strangre modes and fashions of their lives ; but when he speaks to them, the very novelty of his message will cause it to be fastened on their minds. They may argue against him; they may set themselves to put away his words from them; but at the same time the very newness of the subject will, in some sort, tend to fix it on their attention. The progress he makes among them may be slow, gradual, and almost imperceptible; but we scarcely believe that the missionary can go forth in simplicity of heart, carrying the Gospel in his hand, labouring for souls, ready to spend and be spent, and yet that he should pass many years and find no good result. But, many a minister hath known, to his heart's bitter sorrow, how he may toil, and how there may be gathered round him a circle of listening people, indifferent and careless; and how he shall proclaim the Gospel day after day, and year after year, and they seem frozen up in a deep and utter apathy of their souls. And wherefore this ? Because we believe, in this latter case, that this is a special hinderance: that it is an old subject; there is no novelty. The people have assumed that they participate in the joint stock in the common religion of the land. They have been baptized in their infancy, and therefore they assume Christianity to themselves: they have participated in the external means of grace ; sabbaths have been observed by those around them ; Bibles have been read, per- haps, in their hearing; therefore they come to the wrong con- clusion that they are not and cannot be unconverted. But, perhaps, to the ordinary means of grace, furnished forth through all the towns and villages of an evangelized kingdom, they may have possessed peculiar, and separate, and enlarged privileges. It may be that the minister whom God hath set over them, hath dealt very fiiithfully, tenderly, and affectionately with their souls: it may be that he hath proclaimed all the message, and in a form the most winning and the most subduing. It may be that they lacked none of those opportunities and means of grace which one would ante- cedently suppose must so tend to convert them. Yet what hath BY THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. ' 21 been the result' Truly, where the Gospel hath been rejected, there are proofs enough of the evil results of such a condition — the ministry of the word in all faithfulness amongst unchano-od hearts. It hath often happened that a minister hath to occupy a parish sphere, perhaps, the most hopeless and destitute which man could take up; a place where the Gospel hath been faithfully preached, and hath been rejected by the people ; so that he labours on heartlessly and hopelessly, because he sees that there is no results of the labours of his predecessor who had toiled among the people, and prayed over them, and wept for them, and gone down to his grave broken-hearted because he saw no change ; and how shall a new servant of the sanctuary find his way unto their souls? How shall he make them anxious about Christ ? The terrors of the law have been proclaimed among them already, but their hearts have not been broken-up by the ploughshare of conviction. The seed hath been scattered abroad among them, but hath found its way to no fertile furrows. It hath been watered by prayers ; the minister hath again and again asked the divine blessing ; but there w^ent up no corresponding prayers from the untouched and unchanged hearts of those to whom he ministers ; and he seeth no results. It is as though he had exhausted all the arrows of its weapons, as though there were no arguments he could fetch in from the Bible but hath been familiar to them, and no resources drawn from the tenderness of God's compassion. They have heard it again and again ; and by these very repetitions of the plan which God hath formed for man's salvation, their condition hath bv each reiteration, and by all these repetitions, their condition hath be- come worse. But let us suppose that to all this there has been added something over and above the circumstances of common life — early discipline and education, which appeared at the first sight to tend directly to the changing and the saving of the soul ; let us suppose that even from infancy the mother's heart hath been anxious for her child, that she hath spent her faithful and thoughtful hours in leading him to Jesus ; and as he grew up he was familiar with the observances of a pious household, and the morning and evening prayer were never strange to him, the word of God being expounded by the paternal voice, and listened to with attention by the circle of the family ; and the boy grown up, yet unconverted — baptized with water, but unbaptized by the Spirit — hath submitted 22 THE ACCOtJNTABLENESS INCURRED to these things, which he could not well avoid during his time of discipline, but eager and glad for his emancipation into the world on which his thoughts and his hopes have been fixed : and we will suppose he has fallen into many a snare, and he has come home spirit-wounded, and bitter remorse laid upon him ; and it findeth him out upon his bed of sickness and suffering, where he is reaping the fruit of his sin ; and the minister comes to his bed-side : we do believe that the dealing with such a one would be far less hopeful than the dealing with one who had never heard the Gospel. For one should tell him of sin, and how it hath wrought these bitter works, and these miserable results ; but all this he heard in his father's house : we tell him of mercy, and the word, one would think, would fall, almost like the sweetness and melody of a familiar voice upon his soul ; but it is a thing with which he has been familiar, and it awakens no new thoughts, and enkindles no new feelings within him : they are things he has heard again and again, and therefore, by the very hearing of the Gospel, and by the very re-echoing of its message, by the very bringing the tidings of mercy unto him, while he hath resolutely stood out in the rejection of them, he has made his own condition just in so far more hope- less. And yet God's word is working its result ; it shall not return unto him void, but it shall accomplish that which he pleases, and shall prosper in the thing whereto he sent it. It must be either of life or of death ; the preached Gospel must be unto him the " savour" of the one or of the other. Now what is contained in that single word, life? Who can comprehend it 1 We are yet acquainted only with the outskirts of the existence. We know of life only a broken and an isolated fragment. We might take all that is most attractive on earth, all that does most engage the young heart, all the success, and all the glory which were ever enjoyed by the human heart ; and we say of all this glory, and all this success, Ichabod! " Departed glory" is written over all. Nay, we must affirm, concerning the most advanced believer, concerning the man who has made the greatest progress in divine things, who has had the clearest and most intimate com- munion with Jesus ever enjoyed on earth — he yet knows not tlio meaning of the word ; he yet understands not what life is. The prisoner in the deep dungeon might listen with delight to words that told him of liberty, and hope, and free companionship, and KY Tt!E MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 2t3 rommunion witli lainiliar nature, and the bright morning sun, and the quiet evening shade ; and his imagination should be wrought, and his heart would be gladdened, and he would seem almost to present unto himself a po'-fect portraiture of that whereon his hopes were fixed. But when the day cometh that his prison-door is unlocked, and his fetters are removed, and he goes forth to breathe the free breath of heaven on the mountain-top, and to look abroad jn the scenes whereon the hopes of his earliest years were fixed — O, then he sees that imagination never rose to the truth, and that the pleasant dreams of his heart, in the days of his captivity, never half told him of the delight and the blessedness which he now experiences. Even so is it with the believer now. He is in the prison-house, from which he is not and shall not be set free till death, and his soul evermore fretteth herself af^ainst the bars of her caoe. But God doth not let such an one be spirit-broken, does not let his heart be crushed; but tells of future times; tells him of a brighter and better state, where sin shall be known no more, and where sor- row shall never set its foot : and, by and bye, when God takes him out of his imprisonment, and brings him into the land of liberty and light, all the anticipation wherewith he hath sustained his mourning spirit was as nothing ; for " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." We tell you this for your comfort : we tell you this because we do believe that to some of you the preached Gospel is the " savour of life unto life." But we have to speak of death : and concerning this we have as little power of giving information as concerning life. It is not the mere breaking-up of the tie that bindeth the material and the spiritual nature; this we do conceive: but it is the second death; the extinction of hope, but not the annihilation of being. It is the destituteness of the heart ; the desolation in which the condemned shall live for ever, when they have launched upon the ocean of dark waters, to which there is no shore. Now, when we look on the departed, the mantle of mortality spread over them, the composed limbs, and the quenched light of the eyes, we do say " Weep not for the dead." If they " died in the Lord," there is hope, there is peace, and there is joy ; there is the angels' song, and the mar- tyr's crown ; there is the companionship of the blessed for those 24 THE ACCOUNTABLENESS INCURRED, ETC. But we speak of that concerning which there is no comfort, and for which no redemption has been provided, which is to last onward and onward : and we beseech you by these things, if there be death, if there be the sentence of righteous condemnation against the sinner. God hath provided a Saviour: "seek him while he raav be tbund ; call upon him while he is near." SEHVINCf THE LORD CHRIST. REV. H. MELVILL, B.D. CAMDEN CHAPEL, CAMBERWELL, JULY 24, 1836. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance ; for ye serve the Lord Christ. ' — CoLOSSiANS, iii. 23, 24. We have had frequent occasion to remark to you, how little Christianity interfered with the institutions of society, and how carefully its Founder abstained from all attempts at prescribing or altering the form of civil government. It was not because there was not much which required to be changed ; for the social system was then but ill-arranged, the relation of man to man was little understood, and the mutual dependence of ruler and subject imper- fectly recognized. But the religion which Christ came to teach, was a religion equally adapted to all forms of government and all conditions of society ; and which, therefore, though it introduced principles which, thoroughly followed out, would act upon the politics as well as the morals of a land, made it no part of its busi- ness to excite prejudice by any appearance of an endeavour to re-model the state. The religion took nothing for granted, except the sinfulness and helplessness of man ; that sinfulness and help- lessness which are precisely the same beneath a republic or a monarchy ; the same, whether the man be a king or a slave. Hence it was not essential to the progress of Christianity, nor required for the performance of its duties, that there should be any political revolution, or any alteration in the form of society. A state could not, indeed, as we have already hinted, receive Christianity, and not find that it had taken to itself a great, though silent, corrector of abuses, and regenerator of institutions ; but nevertheless, Christi- anity needed and demanded no change, as either preliminary to its admission or necessary for its advancement. The bondsman, for example, might as well be a Christian as the freeman ; and there- fore, Christianity made no direct attack upon the system of slavery : it opened to all men the gloi-ious liberty of the Gospel, and left it to be inferred, as it has gradually been, that where all are freemen none should be slaves. 20 SERTfNG THE LORD CHRIST. And it is yet further observable, that the religion of the New Testament not only abstains from direct interference with much that is opposed to its spirit, but even sets itself to the support of existing institutions^ by requiring of its disciples that they be con- tent, whatever their condition. The slave is not taught to labour for the acquisition of freedom. If he have his choice^ then, indeed, St. Paul bids him prefer liberty ; but the general rule was, that every man should abide in the same calling wherein he was called, and make it his great effort to adorn the doctrine of his Saviour in all things. And to reconcile men to the inequalities in human condition — inequalities which, so far as they are inconsistent with the genius, must be gradually removed by the march of Christi- anity — the inspired writers insist on the truth, that there is no respect of persons with God, but that all were on the same level, and all possessed the same privileges, when considered as candidates for a home beyond the grave. In this respect, but in no other, Christianity might be said to interfere with the distinctions of human society, making them of no moment, and even inverting, as it were, the position of the several ranks. Thus, in St. Paul's address to a slave, to which we have already referred, you find he speaks as though, through this opera- tion, the master and slave had actually changed places : " For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman ; Hkewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant." The freeman, you observe, is declared to become a servant, and the ser- vant z. freeman. And why, then, should those differences in station, which exist only for this temporary scene, and have nothing corres- ponding when men are verging on immortality, why should they minister to pride in the exalted, or cause uneasiness in those in lower ranks ? St. James takes much the same course, in reference to the rich and the poor : " Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away." Christianity, he seems to say, has conferred such dignity on the mean man, that he may regard himself elevated, and has so taught the mighty his own nothingness, that he ought to feel himself depressed. Thus, in a certain sense, wealth and poverty, like freedom and slavery, changed places when men embraced the religion of Jesus : that religion made such compensation to the poor, and so showed the rich their worthlessness, except as used to God's glory, that it might be said to have brought the two to equality, or even to have transfeired the one into the position of the other. Now this is a very beautiful, and should be a very effectual, SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. 27 mode of reconciling men to the inequalities of human condition and repressing all those murmurings which oppression and hardship are likely to excite. If, indeed, there had been differences in spiritual advantages, corresponding with the differences in external circumstances ; if servit"ude or poverty extended to another world, so tiiat distinctions were perpetuated, and men's position for eter- nity were determined by their position upon earth ; why then there might be just grounds of complaint, and we could not treat as unimportant the distinctions in society. But if all are on the same level, as probationers for another world, each station having its appropriate duties, and the recompenses of eternity being equally attainable by the occupants of each, certainly there ought not to be repining among those who fill the lower offices in life : they have the same prizes within reach, as though they filled the higher ; and if they walk a rougher road, they may possibly reach a loftier emi- nence hereafter. This is, in fact, the sum of St. Paul's statement in our text ; or rather, it is by this kind of reasoning that St. Paul urges on serv- ants the being diligent in their calling. It is to servants, or rather to slaves (for such were the servants of antiquity), that he s})eaks in the words on which we discourse. In the verses preceding our text, he had said, " Servants, obey in all things your masters ac- cording to the flesh ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God." He then carries on the admo- nition : " And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily" (or, from the soul), " as to the Lord, and not unto men." This was placing duty on high ground ; they were to lose sight of men, and have respect only unto God ; and lest the lowly and mean nature of the offices they had to perform should be thought to incapacitate them for having so lofty a regard, the apostle adds, " knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance ; for ye serve the Lord Christ." You observe, at once, that the motive to diligence and faithfulness in their calling- is here derived from their boino- the servants of Christ, and from their having consequently the same rewards proposed to them as though they had moved in a higher sphere of life. And there is much in this statement and reasoning of the apostle, which deserves our most serious examination. It is not necessary that we confine our thoughts to the precise instance of servants or slaves ; we may rather extend them to all classes of the community ; for if it can be said of the lowest, that in perform- ing the duties of their station, they " serve the Lord Christ," wo may fairly regard that the duty was rightly discharged, as dis- charged in the service of the Saviour. It is not merely that every 88 SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. employment is to be considered as an employment under God (foi this might be true, and yet the men differently employed have dif- ferent advantages) ; it is yet further that the reward of the inherit- ance is equally set before the various servants, however dissimilar the offices they respectively fill We say again, that there is much in these assertions demanding and deserving our most careful consideration ; and this we now proceed to give them, arranging our remarks under the divisions which have already been indicated ; considering, that is, in the first place, the fact that servants " serve the Lord Christ ;" and, in the second place, the inference, that " of the Lord they shall receive the reward of the inheritance." Now the first assertion is not wholly without its parallel in the case of a human household or kingdom. There may be many gra- dations of rank in the establishment of a great and mighty prince — gradations descending from the noble to the ignoble : but it may with equal truth be said of each rank in succession, that it is in the service of the sovereign ; the dignity of the high not raising him above being a servant, and the meanness of the one of low parent- age not disqualifying him from the bearing such office. It is alto- gether possible that those who serve in the inferior places are never brought into contact or association with the prince, that he is unac- quainted with their persons or names, and that thus they may be the servants of his servants, so obscure is their station in his house- hold. But all this evidently interferes not with what we have affirmed ; the men are in the prince's service ; the duties they dis- charge are duties in whose performance he has direct interest, and the neglect of which would as rapidly tell on his comfort and well- beingf as that which devolves on the highest of his functionaries. The labourer who tills the ground, is as actually serving the king as the nobleman who is assisting at his councils ; and if this lowest of his servants were to neglect his occupation, and refuse to be the cultivator of the soil, all the higher servants would soon be forced to the vacating their posts, and confusion of the worst kind would pervade the whole kingdom. Now if the church be regarded, according to the scriptural imagery, as a kingdom or household, of which Christ is the head, we may argue, in like manner, that all the members of which it is composed are the servants of Christ ; so that, however diverse their occupations, they all belong to the same master. It is but enlarging the household, and supposing it to comprehend the Christian com- munity, and then we have the Saviour occupying the place of the SV.RVING THE LORD CHRIST. 29 universal ruler, and every individual, whether exalted or despised amongst men, employed by the ruler in some appointed capacity. And we may say, yet further, that such is the connexion between the duties of the several servants, so thoroughly do they conspire to the making up one harmonious obedience, that you could no more spare the Christian usefulness of the humblest individual, than the minute labour of the tiller of the soil, and would as much unhinge the church by diffusing infidelity, as a kingdom by diffusing rebel- lion through the lower classes. The parallel, however, altogether fails, when we come to observe the knowledge which the master has of his servants. We may contend, and we may prove, that the lowest in the royal establish- ment is as truly the servant of the king as the highest ; but only the higher servants are at all known to the king ; the others are strangers, of whose labour he makes use, but with whom he holds no intercourse. But the beautiful thing which we can affirm in reference to the church is, that the eye of the master is as much on one servant as on another, and his acquaintance with one as actual as with another ; so that when we declare of a man, that he " serves the Lord Christ," we mean a great deal more than when we make the assertion of the various retainers in an overgrown household. We do not merely mean, that the duties which the man discharges, are duties by whose performance the cause of Christ js advanced or upheld ; we mean that the man is as actually employed by Christ, and as actually working for Christ, as though he had received directions from his lips. We cannot infer less than this, from the statement in our text. The parties there spoken of have masters upon earth, who both possessed and enforced the right to their service ; but nevertheless, however they might have appeared to serve only men, it was the service of Christ in which they were all along engaged. The apostle thus takes away, as it were, all intermediate grades, and brings the servant into direct communication with the master ; in place of supposing that his ministration only reaches him through a long and intricate channel, in ftict substitutes Christ for man, and represents every duty as a duty to the Saviour, rather than to our fellow-men. And here is the great principle on which we wish to fasten and which we wish to illustrate. We are quite accustomed, it may be, to the regarding certain men as employed in the service of Christ, and certain occupations as of wholly a spiritual character. But the question is— for it is to this length that we are carried by our text — whether we are wont to regard all Christians as his servants, 30 SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. and every occupation as assigned by him in his capacity as uni- versal master. We readily allow the title in question to the sell- denying missionary, who has gone forth to the deserts of heathenism, carrying with hira the precious seed which can alone cover them with moral verdure. As we hear of the intrepid man, wrestlino^ with the barbarism and idolatry of centuries, and sparing no toil and foregoing no sacrifice, that he may turn benighted tribes from the error of their way, every tongue gives him the name of a servant of Christ, or declares that he is labouring for a master in heaven. The same is often done in reference to ministers, who, with apparently less to surrender than the missionary, but with frequently full as much to endure^ are struggling against the ignorance of a home population, and devoting all their energies to introducing practical Christianity in a dark and profligate parish. There is something about the ministerial occupation, which se manifestly associates it with the work which Christ himself was exalted to finish ; it is so evidently designed and constructed for the furthering the cause of Christ, that none will hesitate when they see it faithfully discharged, to regard and describe it as emphatically the service of the Redeemer. But if we take any of the ordinary businesses of life, of the merchant, of the tradesman, or of the lawyer, do we view in each of these an employment in the service of Christ, so that we are pre- pared to say to each man, so engaged, " Whatsoever ye do^ do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the revi'ard of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ?" Are ye not rather disposed to thmk that the secular nature of the business quite detaches it from connexion with the heavenly ; so that while we cheerfully allow that the men whose business it is may be true servants of Christ, we sup- pose that the service which they render their Redeemer is a service unconnected with their ordinary employment, performed almost in spite of that employment, in place of being identical or even associated with it ? When we speak of an active merchant as also a faithful and zealous servant of Christ, are we not practically regarding him under two different considerations ? Do we not separate the man in his religious capacity, from the man in his mercantile capacity ? And though we may be persuaded, that rehgion exerts a certain influence over the transactions of Hie, yet, when we speak of an individual as engaged in the service of Christ, are we not referring to what he does when he is away from his merchandize, rather than to what he does in his character ot a trader? We call him a servant of Christ, because we know him SERVING THE lORD CHRIST, 3] diligent and ready to do all in his power to further the cause of the Gospel, and anxious to minister, with an unwearied generosity, to the relief of his suffering fellow-men. But, do we also call him a servant of Christ, in reference to the occupation in which his days and his nights are consumed ? In other words, are we prepared to say to him, when we behold him immersed in all the engage- ments of his commerce, " Remember, you serve the Lord Christ ?" It cannot be denied, that our text requires of us thus to regard all the businesses in which Christians can be lawfully engaged, as included under the definition, " the service of Christ." The parties whom the apostle addressed filled the very meanest offices in the state. If any employment might seem devoid of all religious character, their's was that employment : if it could be affirmed of any occupation, that it was too secular, too earthly, too grovelling, to be considered as discharged in the service of heaven, their's was that occupation. Yet, even to slaves St. Paul could say, " Ye serve the Lord Christ." And this he says, not as meaning that they might serve the Lord Christ, notwithstanding they were slaves, but, as slaves of man, they were the servants of Christ. He does not console them under their bondage, by telling them that, in spite of all the disadvantages of their condition, they might find opportunities of doing something for Christ, as a master : on the contrary, he exhorts them to diligence in their calling, on the very principle that, in serving their earthly master, they were actually serving their heavenly. Whatsoever they did, they were to " do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men ;" a most plain intima- tion, that the Lord was served by and through the very act of that service which they render to man. And this is putting an ennobling and encouraging character on the various businesses of life. We are well aware that many pious individuals feel as though their worldly occupations were necessa- rily lets and hinderances to the growth of vital godliness; so that if they could be let loose from secular engagements, they should make far more rapid progress as servants of Christ. They are dis- posed to regard the time which they are compelled to spend in the haunts of trade, as so much time lost to the concerns of eternity ; and only those few hours which they can occasionally steal from pressing labours, to devote to public and private worship, the study- ing of the Bible, or the visiting the sick, seem to them employed for a Master in heaven. This must be here altogether a mistake, or St. Paul is incorrect in his address to the Colossian slaves. It is as much the appointment and fixed ordinance of God that you should labour for the subsistence of yourselves and your 32 SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. households, as that you should assemble in the sanctuary, hear tlie preached word, and receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. You are quite as much submitting yourselves to the known will of your Maker, whilst carrying forward your week- day employments, as when abstracting yourselves from the din and bustle of the world, that you may enjoy the hallowed rest of the Sabbath. We know too well there may be practically too little, or nothing, of thus serving God in the occupations of the week ; but then we equally know that there may be little or nothing of the serving God in the occupations of the Sabbath : and just as a worldly-minded man may go through the Sabbath, and yet not engage in the service of God, so may a spiritually-minded man pursue in the avocations of the week, and never for a moment be withdrawn from its service. The only thing required is, that he strive to do whatever he does " as to the Lord, and not unto men." If he will consider himself as in all places equally the servant of Christ ; if he will allow such considerations to exert their natural influence in repressing inordinate desires, withholding him from any conduct which might dishonour his profession ; we should have as little hesitation in saying to this man, in his shop or counting-house, " Thou art a servant of Christ," as when we found him in the church, or at the bed-side of the sick. And we do heartily rejoice that the Bible contains such portions as this on which we now meditate. We feel that the majority of those whom it is our duty to address, have to give themselves throughout the week to secular occupations ; they must rise up earlj^ and late take rest ; and that, except when the Sabbath comes round, and sheds its blessed silence along the avenues of traffic, they have but few moments wherein to perform religious duties. And we feel how probable it is that these ingrossing occupations will tell injuriously on your spiritual interests, that your very souls will become wholly secularized ; and therefore are we often earnest in warning you against covetousncss and the deceitfulness of riches, and in beseeching you to remember, that over and above providing for our wants in the present world, you have to secure your well-being through the ages of eternity. But with all our consciousness that worldly business may become a great snare, we have no desire, even if we had the power, of with- drawing you from that business. We know of no worth which it would necessarily be to your practical Christianity, that you should cease to be obliged to labour for your livelihood ; on the contrary, we should consider the peril to be mightily aggravated, if, in place of the necessity of toil, you had the option of being idle. And then comes in, as a refreshing and animating truth, that it is altogether SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. 33 your own faults if your secular occupations have nothing of a spiritual character, and that the industry that is turned on the gain- ing subsistence is not accompanied by industry in the working out your own salvation. You may be — and, if not false to yourselves and your God, you actually are — engaged in a work of obedience to the divine appointment, submission to the divine pleasure, and faith in the divine promises, whilst engaged in drawing up deeds as lawyers, making shipments as merchants, or dealing out goods as tradesmen. " Ye serve the Lord Christ." Aye, it may be a wonderful thing, that He who is exalted far above all principality and power, on Avhom the heavenly hosts wait as ministers to do his will, should be served by and through the various transactions of trade, and handicraft, and agriculture ; there may be a suspicion afloat, that it is derogatory to his greatness to regard the various businesses with which the minds of men are engaged as so many departments of occupation appointed and presided over by himself. But the just light in which to view the matter is, not that of the Master degraded by the meanness of the servant, but of the servant ennobled by the majesty of the master. It is no degradation to a divine Being, unto whom the only great thing in the universe is necessarily himself, that he can be served through our trades and professions. But it puts a vast dignity on those trades and professions, that a divine Being condescends to account them his service. And there needs nothing but that the occupation be law- ful in itself, and pursued with that sobriety of mind which proves that men are not burying the future in the present ; and, forasmuch as those engaged therein are submitting themselves to an ordinance of God, they are fairly to be reckoned as performing their duty " heartily, as to the Lord." We would have you, therefore, put away from you the thought that your worldly employments are necessarily withdrawing you /"rem the service of Christ. It may be a convenient notion to enter- tain, because, since you feel the engagements unavoidable, you may fancy a slow growth in religion excusable. But God does not allow one of his appointments thus to thwart another. Having made it incumbent upon you to toil for subsistence, and having also made it incumbent upon you to toil for salvation, we can be quite sure there is no contrariety between the two, but that, in rightly doing the former you may be doing also the latter. We have only, therefore, to ask, as we have already intimated, whether it is your effort, " whatsoever ye do," to " do it unto the Lord, and not as to men ?' and if you can answer in tlie afTirmative, we can pronounce you serving Christ whilst busied in your week-day employments. VOL. VI. i> 34 SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. And you may easily judge what is meant by acting as to the Lord, and not to men. He cannot be acting as to the Lord, who is not acting most conscientiously, most honourably, and with desires duly regulated by thoughts of the account which he must render up at death. The common mode of acting, is to act as to men, as though men alone were to be feared and consulted : hence all the trick . and evasion, and grasping, of which, indeed, it were monstrous to say, that those who practise them can be serving the Lord Christ. But the Christian merchant, the Christian lawyer, the Christian tradesman — the men, that is, who carry the principles of Christi- anity into their respective professions — they are as truly working in the service of Christ, while working in their callings, as the Christian minister when addressing his congregation, rousing the unconverted, and confirming the wavering. And this should be an encouraging truth to those of you who feel the pressure of worldly occupations. It should be further an elevating truth, to those who fill the lower stations of life. Why should any station be despicable, when it is one in which Christ may be served as in the highest and most illustrious 1 Let us take the very case suggested by our text. I can quite believe of servants, that they may be galled by the apparent inferiority of their condition ; their menial employments may seem to them degrading, and they may indulge a wish that they were placed in another sphere where their business would be such as would be honourable to perform. But these servants are vastly underrating their position. If the apostle speaks correctly in our text, there is nothing which it is their duty to do, which they may not so perform as thereby to render a service to Christ. And what more can they desire ? Can they be degraded by that by which the Lord Christ is served ? Is an employment too menial, when the master, for whom it is undertaken, is the Mediator by whom they were redeemed ? O it should cheer the heart, and raise the spirit of the poorest, the meanest amongst you, to think that, however base his oflSce in society, he is actually in the service of the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is Christ who has given him his place to fill, and his work to do. And we could come with confidence into the midst of those on whom the world may be looking down haughtily, between whom and the great ones of the earih there is the widest separation that there can be between man and man, and who seem to live only to wear away life in drudgery for others ; and we could feel that we were surrounded by the domestics of Him, all the members of whose household are kings and priests to the holy and living God ; and we could say to them, SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. 35 when temp{eci to repmc at their low estate, " Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord, and not to men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance : for ye serve the Lord Christ." Now all our foregoing statements will be illustrated and con- firmed by what we have to advance under our second head of dis- course. We have considered the fact asserted by the apostle, that even slaves, while performing the duties imposed by their slavery, were to be regarded as engaged in the service of Christ : we have now to consider the inference which he derives from the fact, " knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance." It is clear that the argument of the apostle, if we so call it, not only supposes that slaves as well as free men may gain entrance into heaven, but that higher recompenses may be reached through the patient discharge of the duties of one station as of another. The duties that devolved on the free-man might be very different from those which devolved on the slave ; but forasmuch as one was not more in the service of Christ than another, both had the same power of obtaining the rewards of eternity. The apostle's- argument must be considered as going to this length : if it stops short of this it holds that the distinctions in society have an influence on man's future portion : and this advances little or nothing to show the unreasonableness of dissatisfaction in those placed in an inferior condition. If the case was the same as in a kingdom or a household, where no amount of diligence on the part of those who hold the inferior, Avill make them equal with those who enjoy the superior, the slave might feel that he was injured by his slavery- — yea, injured irreparably, because for eternity. But if the inheritance of another life lay as open to the slave as to the sovereign — if the position of the master gave him no advantage over the servant so far as the future was concerned, but both had the same recompense placed within their reach, St. Paul might well treat as unimportant the ditTerence in human conditions, and exhort every class to the like diligence in performing its duties. Those whose duties in life are of a menial description may gain as high recom- pense hereafter as any who move in the first walks of society. There is a wide separation between the king and the peasant, but there is no reason to infer that such separation exists hereafter, supposing that both king and slave enter heaven. The king and the slave may cither receive the same crown, or that on the head of the servant outshine that which the potentate wears. And ought we to be surprised at such a statement as this ? We 36 SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. must perceive at once that if there be no respect of persons with Gotl, he must afford different opportunities to different classes of securing to themselves the glories of immortality. If it be through fus appointment that one man fills one situation and another anotlier, there would be a manifest pai-tiality ; an undeniable respect of persons, if the higher recompenses of eternity were confined to those Avho had occupied the higher places in life, and the lower only were within reach of those who had filled the lower. We seem obliged to adopt one of two suppositions — either that there is no difference in future rewards (which is contradicted by the whole tenor of scripture), or that the difference has no con- nexion with the difference in present rank, but that the rewards are proposed equally to all, and are equally attainable by all. The least consideration would suffice to show the truth of this latter supposition. The degrees of greatness and happiness here- after will surely be proportioned to men's attainment on earth in the Christian character. The holier a man has become, the richer and more exalted will be his portion. It is holiness which con- stitutes his meetness or fitness for the inheritance of the saints, and it must be as the fitness increases that the recompense grows. And what is there to prevent the Christian, who fills the meanest place in society, from becoming as holy and as far advanced in the graces of the Gospel as another, more prominent in station and more dignified in office ? It certainly cannot be thought that influence, and rank, and wealth have a tendency to the fostering of holiness, or that they place their possessor in a more advantageous position for the culture of those graces which are loveliest and of best report. It might be readily shown that these things have all their attendant dangers ; so that if in one sense they open the paths to Christian eminence, in another they throw obstacles in the way. Thus there is in the divine dealings what we may call a system of balancing ; if the situation affords greater opportunities for labouring for God, it has greater temptations : and thus, on the whole, it may be no more advantageous to personal holiness than one far more retired, and presenting a far narrower field of action. Hence we can readily understand that those who occupy these very different situations may be active and watchful, as candidates for heaven : so that the man of large resources who can give his tliousands towards the endeavour to evangelize the globe, and the minister whose constant employment is in sacred things, and the merchant who must spend large portions of his time in worldly concerns, and the servant completely at the will of another, and whose every day ia consumed m drudgery and toil — O all these have each equal SJSRVING THE LORD CIIRiST. 37 opi)ortntiitics and equal means of winning a liigh plate iii the celestial assembly. It is the truth which was affirmed by Christ, when he said, " He that recei\ eth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward ; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward." Our Lord here plainly intimates that there shall be a difference in future rewards, for he speaks of " the prophet's reward," and " the righteous man's reward ;" .evidently meaning that they will not be the same. But then he just as plainly intimates that the reward may as well be attainable by others besides those who had borne the particular office. The prophet's reward might be won by a man who had not himself been a prophet : if he received a prophet in the name of a prophet, then, whatever his own office in life, he became entitled to the prophet's reward. He might be a slave ; one of that despised class to whom St. Paul addressed our text, and who stood, therefore, apparently the furthest removed from those invested with the high dignity of being prophets of the Lord. But never- theless, it was equally within his power, by an act of Christian faith and compassion, to annihilate at once the vast separation, and to place himself on a level with the prophet, as a competitor for the recompenses of heaven. And thus has the clergyman no necessary superiority over the very meanest in his congregation, when once judged by the everlasting prizes which are set before each. All the duties of the one are indeed of a high and spiritual character ; whereas those of the other have no visible connexion with religion: yet may any amongst you, though nothing more than a servant, gain as great eminence in heaven as any of the ministers of the church, whose high employment it is to publish the Gospel of re- demption. O, it is not necessary for a man's spiritual advancement, that his profession in life requires him to be conversant with spiritual things, and that his very trade as much obliges him to familiarity with theology, as the profession of the lawyer with jurisprudence. The risk is not to be computed that a clergyman will gradually sink into a mechanical Christianity ; that, having constantly to handle great truths, he will grow insensible to their greatness ; and that, called frequently to visit sick beds, he will acquire a sort of professional apathy, and be little moved by what would stir others to the most serious inquiry. They know nothing of human nature who do not acknowledge that we are apt to grow indifferent to that to which we are most accustomed ; and that the very circumstance of our being, as a matter of business, in contact with what is solemn, i^i likely to weaken the thinking powers. And we are sure that of all 38 SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. avocations there are few fraught with more peril to the soul than the clerical. The fear is, that the Bible may become to the clergy- man nothing more than a repository of texts ; and that, in con- tinually searching it for subjects of public address, he may overlook the materials for his own personal instruction. In his zeal to exhort others to amend their lives, he may be very apt to neglect his own ; and ihough engaged in exhorting others to trimming their lamps, he may never suspect how applicable to himself are those words of the church — " They made me keeper to the vineyards ; but mine own vineyard have I not kept." We speak of the dangers attending the call of the clergyman, in order to show that if he had ampler opportunities for labouring for God than the servant with whom we bring him into contrast, he has also greater difficulties and temptations ; so that there is no reason, from the professions of the different individuals, why the one should advance further and faster in holiness than the other. If the reward is to be proportioned to the holiness, the prophet's reward may be reached by the meanest of those among whom he prophesies. And this is not the alone reason why the recompense of the master is within reach of the servant. The master may be vastly helped and sustained by the servant : the servant has apparently nothing to do with preaching the Gospel ; but it may be in answer to his prayers that the Gospel is faith- fully and successfully preached in the neighbourhood. We have so great a confidence in the prevalence of prayer, that we reckon it in the power of the poorest of our hearers to aid us in our preparation for the pulpit, to strengthen us for every pastoral visit, and to uphold us in every effort for the spread of Christian knowledge. And if the servant can thus do so much of the prophet's work, why should he be excluded from the prophet's reward? There is a beautiful community of employment, which ought to prepare us to expect a community of recompense. The servant may be instrumental by his prayers to the enabling the clergyman to cast down tlie strong holds of ignorance and unbe- lief; and thus he may be acting silently through every sermon and through every labour of his minister. The clergyman, by his prayers and instructions, on the other hand, may be supporting the servant in all the duties of his station ; so that the minister may have much to do with those straight-forward habits and that con- scientious industry of the servant, which are winning the approval and the confidence of his employer. In this manner, it is not too niucii to say, that the servant works as the clergyman, and tlic cler- gyman works as the servant ; and, therefore, neither is it too much SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. 39 to say that the clergyman and the servant may strive for the same recompense, and thus the prophet's reward be attained by those who never bore the prophet's office. In this way it is that Christianity, though altogether opposed to those levelling theories which disaffected men industriously broach, places the highest and the lowest on a par in the competition for eternity. Christianity is the best upholder of the distinctions in society : and he can have read his Bible to little purpose who does not see the appointment of God that there should be rich and poor in the world, master and servant ; who does not perceive that want of loyalty is want of religion, and that there is no more direct rebellion against the Creator than resistance to any constituted authority, or the endeavour to bring round that boasted equality in which all shall have the same rights, or, to speak more truly, in which none shall have any. But if Christianity makes it sinful to repine against servitude, it gives a dignity to the servant who would still remain in servitude. It tells the servant, that if faithful here, he may rank with his master hereafter, even though the employment of the master has been the advancement of Christ's cause on earth. And O, it should be a surprisingly cheering thing to those who have to wear away life in the meanest occupations, that, as immortal beings, they are not one jot disadvantaged by their temporal posi- tion, but may make as much progress in the Christian race as those placed at the very highest summit in the Christian office. And the cottager who is never heard of, except in his own petty village, and whose only business is with the spade and the plough ; and tlio artisan, who, week after week, must pursue the same dull routine, turning the wheel or throwing the shuttle ; and the servant, whose days are consumed in the drudgeries of the kitchen ; there is not one of these who need envy the missionary who is diffusing the blessings of the Gospel in heathen lands, or the philanthropist, whose charities are spreading happiness in the parish : for so fixed is the principle that others besides the prophet may win the pro- phet's reward, that if the missionary or the philanthropist were to visit the cottager, or the manufacturer, or the servant in the kitchen, he would be bound to regard them as his rivals for the prizes of eternity, and to say to them with a fine confession of spiritual equality—" Wliatsocver ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance." There is little that we can have to add in bringing to a con- clusion this ofreat subiect of discourse. It has been our endeavour to show that there is a sacred character around every lawfui 40 SERVING THE LORD CHRIST. employment, inasmuch as it is in conformity with the servica:> Christ that you may be religiously occupied when occupied with your worldly calling, and that it is to close your eyes to the ordinance of God, to imagine that in working for the body you cannot also be working for the soul. We have further endeavoured to put forth the truth, that the distinctions of men in their temporal capacities have no corresponding distinction in their eternal ; but that however various the situations which Christians occupy, the reward of the inheritance is proposed equally to all. The prac- tical wferences from these several truths have been either arawn as we proceeded, or will suggest themselves to your own minds without any formal deduction. We wish you to feel what an every day thing religion must be if it be any thing but a name. It must wind itself into all the businesses of life ; and since baptism hath made every Christian man a priest, it must consecrate the haunts of commerce, and hallow the toil for subsistence. It is an interesting thought to those whose occupations are most oppressive and incessant, that Christ is the master by whom the occupation is imposed — that St. Paul was serving him when making tents as well as in preaching sermons — and that he has recorded the integ- rity of the Christian minister and the faithfulness of the Christian domestic as suitable examples of the beautiful and encouraging truth to the inhabitants of a globe on whose soil rests the malediction of God, and to whom therefore labour is the most common lot. The ploughman in tilling land may be breaking up the fallow of his own heart ; the mariner in steering the vessel may be making his way towards the haven of everlasting rest ; the tradesman as he weighs out his goods may be poising and trying himself in the balances of eternity ; yea, the very servant as he attends his master, or prepares his meal, may be waiting upon God, and securing his own place at the marriage-supper of the Lamb. Be it ours, then, to strive with all diligence to serve Christ in our respective vocations. If the vocation be humble it presents ifo impediments but does not oppose its growth in Christian graces: if it be more exalted it has its perils to admonish us as well as its dignities to ennoble ; and we require the greater circumspection that we be not outstripped by those who are our inferiors in every thing but wrestling for chief places in the kingdom of heaven. Qod grant to all of us so to use the present world as not to abuse it — so to pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal — to do whatsoever we have to do heartily, or from the soul ; and then our Redeemer who is in heaven will account it as done to himself 41 THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD AND THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT REV. T. DALE, A.M. ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, HOLBORN, JULY 31, 1836 ' And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely : for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." — Luke, xvi. 8. Both the order of these words, and the translation, differ from those in the original ; and as the variation will be of considerable importance in the view which we propose to take of the subject, we are anxious that it should be noted in the outset. The text will be preferably arranged and rendered thus : " The children of this world are wiser than the children of light according to their own generation :" according, that is, to their own manner and form of life, to the principles which they have adopted, and to the objects which they pursue. Wisdom, as understood in this passage, is of a two-fold character : it may consist either in the judicious selection of the end, or in the exact adaptation of the means. Perfect wisdom is the combination of the two — the selection of the best possible end, and the prose- cution of it by the best possible means. Those therefore are but partially wise who disparage appropriate means by the unworthiness of the end, or who detract from the excellence of an adequate and becoming end by the unsuitableness or inadequacy of the means. From these premises we readily attain to a complete understanding of the characters which are opposed to each other in the text. The children of this world pursue an unworthy object, but they are quicksighted in their policy, and unwearied in their diligence, while they pursue it. The children of light, engaged in a matter ot the highest importance that can be conceived, too often in the pursuit of it shew little judgment and less diligence. Consequently, the children of this world are wiser than the children of light ac- cording to their own generation : in other words, the toys, and the baubles, and the vanities of time, are pursued with a strength of purpose worthy a better cause ; energies and efforts are wasted on • For the benefit of tlie St. Ann's Society Schools. 42 THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD things which perish, which, rightly used, would avail to the saving of the soul. It will be proper here, and may be profitable (God grant it !) that we on the present occasion discriminate accurately between the two characters — that we examine into the conduct, principles, and object of it ; and that we, in conclusion, apply the standard of Scripture to ourselves, in order to determine whose we are, and whom we serve — what we are pursuing, and what we may expect : for wisdom will in the end be justified of all her children ; and as the children of light will have their portion in unfading and un- measurable day — so the ruin of the ungodly will afford through all eternity a fearful demonstration of the solemn truth, that the wisdom of this world is too often foolishness with God. In regard to the great object of life, man, in every age of the world, and under every variation of life, of moral and intellectual light, does and will differ ; but it seems to be universally admitted that he who lives without a specific and decided object is unworthy the name of man. Animal existence he shares in common with the brute ; and when intelligence, which is man's peculiar glory, is used for no better purpose than to direct or to diversify the indulgences of appetite, what is this but to turn his glory to shame ? So we speak regarding man only as a rational being. How far such a view will be confirmed when respo7isibility is also taken into the reckoning will come before us more appropriately in a sub- sequent portion of the discourse. We simply insist at present on the necessity that a reasonable being should live to some definite purpose : and if there are those with whom the intelligence of the man goes little further than the intellect of the brute, who are proof against all argument, and insensible to all persuasion, it is evident that they fall into the very lowest ranks of the children of this world ; they possess not even the shadow of that apparent wisdom which, however plausible, is found to be delusive and deceptive. Our argument with the children of this world will be, not that they are without an object, but that they have erred in the choice of it ; that they have merged the concerns of eternal duration in the interests of time, and the indulgence of sense ; that as to the only portion which can be adequate to the wants of a spiritual and immortal nature, they are walking in a vain show, and disquieting themselves in vain. Were this world all, and were man the only judge, they might do wisely ; but the wisdom of the generation that passes is one thing, and the wisdom of eternity ANU THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT. 43 that endures is another ; for in eternity God is judge, not man, and the world is not everything, but nothing. The children of this world, then, as opposed to the children of light, are those with whom the main object of life has an exclusive reference to the present precarious existence, and whose minds are occupied and engrossed by the concerns of the world that passeth away. Nor is the principle of this definition at all affected by the measure of their aspirations and their aims. One, for example, who is engaged in traffic, may profess to be engaged in a bare competency, while another may be bent on the accumulation of more than princely wealth. One who is aspiring after honour may confine himself to a local or partial pre-eminence ; another may seek to control a nation, or agitate the world. One who is ambitious of fame may court the ephemeral distinction of popular applause, which dies on the breeze that it swells; another may spend his days in solitude, and occupy his nights in meditation, that his name may be pronounced with reverence in distant lands, and go down to remote ages with the honour which a grateful posterity will pay to those who have enlightened or improved mankind. In these there is no essential evil : the evil arises from the fact that they are misapplied, and that, consequently, the preferment of them is the virtual degradation of that which is intrinsically far more valuable and important ; honour, fame, or affluence, being pursued to the forgetfulness of the soul, and He whom the soul ought first to serve being dishonoured and defrauded thereby. It is true this line of reasoning does not apply to all the children of this wor^-i; for there are some, strange as it may seem, in these evil days, whv, will exercise all the power and all the intelligence of the soul to piove that the soul itself has no existence. There are some who will contend, with an unholy vehemence, for the dignity of dust, and argue that man was created, or that he created himself, or that he sprung fortuitously into existence — no matter which — merely to fret and fume his hour on the stage of life, and then to moulder into nothingness. With such there can be no true enjoyment of life, or, if weighed in the balance, is too often com- jjrehended in the one brief maxim, " Let us eat and drink, for to- morrow we die :" and all the brilliancy of genius, and all the refinement of taste, can find in such no worthier employment than to wreathe the bowl with flowers, and decorate their passage to the grave. Too many must be ranked among the children of this world who would shrink from the profession of impiety and absurdity like 44 THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD this ; who would neither impute folly to God as thougli he maae all men for nought, nor debase themselves by imagining the ma- terialism of mind ; many who pursue an unworthy object from the absence of reflection, and who are practically serving Mammon only because they would defer their obligation to serve God. It is these last alone who are generally to be found amongst the assembly of sabbath worshippers ; and to such shall we only now address ourselves ; to men whose conduct would seem to infer the superiority of the body, while their creed acknowledges that supe- riority of the soul which distances all reckoning — its immortality ; men who are strangely content with the short-sighted policy of substituting the means for the end, never considering that a time is approaching when the end will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and if it be found wanting will become the source of irremediable woe. How can it be otherwise, when men " choose darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil ?" i. Here, however, it may be objected by some, that the lord com- mended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely. Yes, but it is the lord who speaks in the parable — the rich man who was the master of the unjust steward ; and who may be supposed, without doing any violence to the context, to have shared his views of worldly policy, and to have spoken in reference to them alone : the text is the comment of Jesus himself, and we must beware of con- founding the two. The ground of the commendation is expressly stated and explained : " The lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely." But there is limitation in the comment which completely justifies the view which we have taken : *' The children of this world are wiser than the children of liffht, according to their own generation." And what is " their own generation ?" What was it in the day of Christ ? The Lord describes it, in the most emphatic terms of reproach, as " an evil and adul- terous generation :" " a perverse and wicked generation :" a ge- neration which was about to reject the Son of Man, and consequently to reject also the counsel of God against themselves ; a generation on which already rested the curse of blindness, and on which will come down hereafter the curse of blood. But these vehement expressions may be thought to require some qualification in the present day, because the temptations presented to the corrupt nature of man is now of a different character — because there is now more of sensual indulgence, and less of sanguinary and ma- lignant persecution — whose wisdom, according to the generation of this world, is a wisdom which does not extend its views beyond AND THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT. 45 that which is palpable and perishable. A man, for example, who absorbs existence in the pursuit of wealth does not expect to carry it with him to the grave : he knows, when he reflects, that naked as he came out of his mother's womb, naked must he return thither again. He only puts away the contingent nearness Stfld iAe eventual certainty of that return. He calculates on the continu- ance of life, that he may not be compelled to think of the probability of death. In every such case, therefore — every case in which the mind, with all its energies, and the body, with all its appetites, and the heart, with all its affections, are engaged, or rather merged, in the concerns of time — since one alternative is unavoidable, either the testimony of scripture is null and void, or that which appears wisdom in the present moment to man, who judges by the outward appearance, will be transformed into foolishness by the touch of death, when he who lays up treasure to himself finds, to his utter consternation and despair, that he is not rich towards God. Nor is this to be asserted only in reference to the pursuit of wealth ; it applies to every variety of pursuit in which men engage, to the forgetfulness of God, and the detriment of their own souls. It applies to every age and to either sex — to the trifling of the child, and the toiling of the man — to the petty feeling which lives in the applause of the vulgar, and to the lofty ambition that aspires to rule a nation and to shake the world. The bubbles that men blow with the breath of life vary in the dimensions and the colours which they exhibit, but they are alike in this, that sooner or later they must all burst. Man may attain to that for which he laboured, or he may not ; but taking the brighter side — putting out of sight the thousands who are disappointed, and the tens of thousands who are discontented — supposing the desired object not only attained, but meeting, fully meeting, while it lasts, the most sanguine anti- cipations of the possessor, who shall warrant its continuance ? Who shall make a covenant with death, and so enter into a covenant with the grave that when he has laid up much goods for many years, and is saying to his soul, " Eat, drink, and be merry," he shall be secured against the sudden and startling summons, " Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee ?" Who shall ensure that when the body is resplendent with the garniture of luxury, the gold will not become dim, and the fine gold changed ; that joy fulness of spirit will not be turned into heaviness ; and the summer friends of prosperity be scattered in a moment, and the daughters of music be brought low by the alarm of sudden death? At last the end must come when the dust shall return to the earth 46 THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD as it was, and the spirit return unto God that gave it. On every sepulchral stone, on every monumental tablet, are inscribed the words of the preacher, " Vanity of vanities ! all is vanity," We feel as we gaze that the wisdom of their own generation is extinct ; and where is the wisdom for eternity? Where is that wisdom that was taught by Him who said, " Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness ; that, when ye fail, they may receive yovi into everlasting habitations ?" Thus, then, we see the object, and with it the principle and the conduct of the children of this world. Their object is at once uncertain as to its attainment, and precarious as to its duration. Their principles of right are modified, and too often distorted by the relation of the means to the end, conscience being too often unnaturally driven out that it may run parallel with interest or with convenience. Their conduct, if not glaringly defective in a moral sense, is at least marked by the prolific cause of all practical for- getfulness of God. We see, however, that putting aside the unworthiness of their present object, there is often much to admire and to approve in the means by which they follow it: there is much of wise policy, of prudent forethought, of persevering diligence, of patient endurance. They are content to rise up early, and late take rest, and to eat the bread of carefulness. Inclination and indulgence are not allowed to traverse the purpose that has been deliberately formed. Whatever interferes with the accomplishment of their main object will be prescribed as hurtful, or disregarded as superfluous. The ascent up which they are toiling is steep and rugged, but they will never rest until they have attained the summit of their hopes. Such, then, are the children of the world. Look now on the children of light ; on those who are the pro- fessed disciples and followers of Him who came as a Light into the world ; who believe that with Him are laid up riches that are in- corruptible, and honours that cannot be removed, and crowns that cannot fade ; while we recognize their two characters — stranofers and pilgrims on earth ; and who avow that they are seeking a better country, that is, an heavenly ; that they are looking for a city, and hastening to a city, which hath foundations, whose maker and builder is God. These are wise, not according to their oicn.^ but to cdl generations. They are wise, at least if Scripture be admitted as the judge between them and their opponents : they have chosen the only end that is consistent with the dignity of the rational, and commensurate with the destiny of the immortal : because they have recognized the pre-eminence of the soul, which is the breath of AND THB CHILDREN OF LIGHT. 47 God, over the body, which is the dust of the earth ; because, having lield the balance with even hand, and placed in one scale all that Scripture promises, and in the other all that the world can give, they have preferred " the good part" which is not to be taken from them. With regard to the professed purpose of their conduct, they are truly wise ; for it is, that they will seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness ; it is that which is neither uncer- tain as to its attainment, for " every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth" — nor yet precarious as to its duration, for " we know that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dis- solved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Now in what, it may be demanded, consists the superiority of the children of this world ? In the judgment, we answer, with which they select their means- in the diligence and perseverance with which they employ them. The unjust steward, unable to labour, and ashamed to beg, thought only of providing himself a refuge when ejected from his master's service : and this refuge his policy secured at the expense of his integrity ; effectually preventing others from revealing his delinquency by making them partners in the fraud. The wisdom of such conduct in reference to the sole end in view, the provision of a temporary shelter, cannot be dis- puted ; though tjiis seeming wisdom would be folly, stark folly, when we reckoned on encountering, face to face, a heart-exploring Judge — one with whom there could be no secret, and one from whom there could be no appeal. Now to such a judgment the children of light look forward, and by the anticipation of it they profess to shape their course : but how rarely do we see them acting in apparent remembrance of this now; walking as beneath the eye of God ; fighting the good fight of faith, as though guarded and preserved by his almighty power ; continuing instant in prayer ; preventing the night watches, or the morning dawn, that they may meditate on the Word of God ! How rarely do we see them ade- quately intent on that one object which they profess to desire beyond every other ; giving all diligence to make their calling and election sure ; forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before, and pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus ! They are cold and languid when compared with the busy hive who are swarming all around them, and who pursue the sweets and the flowers of this world — flowers that fade, and sweets that pall and cloy. They are listless in collecting, and neglectful in guarding. 48 THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD the store that is laid up for eternity. They do not, as they should, anxiously expect and eagerly embrace all opportunities of occu- pying their talent to its most and only profitable purpose, and glorify their Father who is in heaven. They are content, if not with a negative^ with a negligent service ; concerned to avoid con- demnation, but not to attain to holiness ; to escape the penalty of the slothful servant, but not to aspire to the honour that cometh only from God. They are loitering by the way, when they ought to be running in the race : they are putting on their armour, when they ought to be warring a good warfare : they are reclining luxu- riously beneath the shade, when they ought to be bearing the burden and heat of the day. They pray, but devotion languishes on their lips : they unclose the sacred volume, the eye glances over its page : and too often the living word makes no impression on the memory, and effects no lodgment in the heart. The duty performed, they are as though they had not been engaged in it : and did not the breath of the Spirit keep alive the slumbering embers of vital religion in the heart, their light would be extin- ouished in utter darkness. We look on them, and acknowledore how truly it was said of the apostle (and alas ! we acknowledge it most feelingly when we look most searchingly into ourselves), " The righteous are scai-cely saved." We acknowledge that it is of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, because his com- passions fail not, though too often our obedience fails. And yet, with all that is thus to be acknowledged and lamented, as to the comj^arative supineness of the children of the light, it is at least an unspeakable blessing to have made a right choice as to the end ; to have put the hand to the plough, and, though making but slow advances, not to be looking back ; to feel, amidst all our deficiencies and imperfections, that we are seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness ; that though we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, still we do run, not as uncertainly ; for the prize of immortality is reserved to us beyond the goal of death : this still can be a solace in those afflic- tions which are inseparable from the condition of human existence — those troubles to which all are born as sparks fly upward ; and by which, sooner or later, all will be encompassed as the sparks fly around. This consciousness can alone impart support to the soul amidst all vicissitudes, and build the hope for eternity fast and firm on a foundation that cannot be moved : this alone, when the shadows are lengthening the eve of our days, and the clouds are condensing fast around the setting sun of life, can hold forth the hope and AND THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT. ^19 promise of a brighter dawn, which shall know no eclipse or over- shadowing while eternity shall endure. To the godly there arises light in the darkness ; and it is then they vindicate their proper appellation of " children of the light*' when all besides is wrapped in gloom. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all ; and they look for an eternal habitation with him in the light which no man can approach unto, that no man hath seen nor can see ; but which they shall behold with unaverted eye when raised above the frailties, and released from the encumbrances of the flesh : they shall in the end be made like their Master, and shall see him as he is : for here is the warrant for the perseverance of those whose hearts are indeed sincere with God : the desire of a soul who has respect unto the end is from Him ; the infirmity which attends on the employ- ment of the means is all its own ; and the hour is comino- when all the infirmity shall be forgiven, and all the desire shall be fulfilled. How, then, in the last place, are we to determine what is our state and condition in regard to the all-important choice of the end in life; \vhether we are at this moment living to the only purpose which is worthy of rational and immortal men ; whether we are so walking in the light that our end, come when it may, shall not be darkness, but that we shall abide for ever in glory, honour, and immortality, with the God whom we have honoured, and the Saviour whom we have loved, and the souls which, as feeble and unworthy instruments, we have helped to save ? Many tests might be proposed ; but that to which we are led more immediately, on the present occasion, not only by the object of our assemblage, but by the words of the Lord himself on the employment of what we mistakenly call our substance, but which Jesus more properly designates as " the mammon of unrighteousness." For it is here that men too frequently fall into a signal and serious error ; they reckon that they have a property, when in truth they have only a stewardship : they reckon that they are vested with absolute power, when in fact they are only put in trust : they reckon they have a right of expenditure, when they will be called to render an account. They forget that their substance is their Lord's, not their's ; and that to misapply is virtually to defraud. But this error will be scattered at once when we dwell for an instant on the conclusion drawn by the Lord — with which also we will conclude. He asks, with a power against which no unseared conscience can be proof, " If ye have not been faithful in the unrijjhteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches ? VOL. VI '■ 50 THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD And it ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own ?" Accordingly, two motives will weigh, and ought to weigh with every true believer, in the right disposal of that which God has given him to dispense : first, that he is to honour the Lord with all his substance ; next, that of his stewardship he must give an account. These motives apply equally to every grade and condition of life, to every variety of circumstances and of ability : for " he that is faithful in that which is least will be faithful also in much." God may be as eminently and as signally honoured by the mite of the widow or the orphan, as by the costly offering of the noble and the princely. " A man is accepted according to that which he hath, and not according to that which he hath not." There is the same equality in judgment as in death. The lord of millions and the children of the soil lie side by side in the place of sepulchre ; the only difference is, that the one rests beneath moulderinor marble, the other beneath the indestructible sod : and side by side will they stand also, amidst the multitudes which no man can number, when all nations shall be gathered before the tribunal of the descending Judge. For what will be the distinction in that hour at which we must all be confronted with each other, and with our Judge ? What will be the distinction then, think you ? Not who had most, but who loved most : not who possessed they^ve talents, or the one ; but who so occupied \\\% allotted fortion as in largest measure to glorify his God therewith. He will then take the pre-eminence who, roused into the love of man bv the love of God, and freely giving for Christ's sake of his abundance, or of his need, is receiving freely of the blood of Christ, did most, in proportion to his power, to lighten the load of human wretchedness, to scatter the dark cloud of human wretchedness, to rescue from impending destruction the souls that were ready to perish, to reclaim the wanderer from the error of his way, to bring back those who were as sheep going astray, to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. Light will then condense around him as her favoured child, though on earth he may have been lodged in a hovel, or languished in a hospital. Though not a stone may have pointed to his un- buried dust, nor a tear have been dropped on his tomb, light will condense around the head of him who did most to demonstrate his sense of the love that passeth knowledge, his high and deep estimate of the salvation that was beyond all price ; who followed most clearly in the steps of his divine Master, who drank most deeply into his spirit, who was conformed most entirely to his ways. Such shall AND THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT. 51 then stand forth amidst the countless multitudes who are to be judged as the true children of light : and though it was a cup of cold water only that they were able to give in the name of a disciple, verily they shall not lose their reward. How the subject bears upon the case of that institution for which I am here to plead, why need I detain you to observe ? Who does not know the principle upon which it was established is the love of Christ, and that the practice which it exhibits is the love of man ? Who does not know that it is numbered at once amongst the most extensive and most meritorious of those institutions which are the redeeming glory of the land, which has averted many of the curses of the Omnipotent from deluging this guilty metropolis in blood ? Who needs to be informed that this institution not only affords to two hundred children the benefits of Christian instruction (for in this it is equalled by many), but that to more than three-fourths of that number — many of them orphans, all of them necessitous — it extends not only the benefits of a refuge, but the comforts and the tendernesses of a home ? Who does not know, too, that it has expanded to its present ample growth under the fostering influence of Christian benevolence, called forth in great measure by appeals like these ? • . For what purpose will you be cited there but to give an account of your stewardship ? and how can you expect to have done wisely unless you have done liberally ; unless you have so dispensed the unrighteous mammon as that He who will not overlook the slightest act of mercy to the meanest of his little ones, shall approve your fidelity, and commit to your trust the true riches ? You cannot expect a worthier cause, or desire a more urgent and more affecting appeal, than that which is this day presented to your eyes and to your hearts. You are called to bestow a two-fold benefit. How can you confer a greater blessing upon those children, who by their appearance plead more powerfully than any advocate can plead for them — how can you confer a greater blessing upon them than by aiding to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ? And how can you better pour consolation into the hearts of afliicted parents — of the widowed, or perhaps worse than widowed, mother — of her, it may be (such cases do occur, and we know them) — of her who is a wife, and yet not a wife — for the body of that which was once an intelligent being, is but the sepulchre of the mind when the light of reason is quenched for ever : I ask, then, how can you better console these bleeding hearts — bleeding, it may be, with remembrance of brighter and happier days — than by sheltering 62 THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD, ETC. in this friendly asylum the more than orphan, and therefore the worse than fatherless ? Brethren, I cannot but persuade myself that I speak to those who know how to value the blessing of him who is ready to perish, or those who are concerned to lay up against the time to come, that balm of memory, the thankful overflowings of a grateful heart, and thus to " make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness:" I cannot but believe that I speak to such. But if there are those who will not do what we ask for the sake of humanity and com- passion and sympathy and brotherly love ; if there are those who, adjured in the name of their God, will not do it for the sake of helpless infancy, and desolate orphanhood, and destitute widowhood, and that they may temper the iron of misery entering into the souls of those who have fallen from a higher state, and perhaps having given charity to the offspring of others, come hither to ask it for their own : if, I say, there are those who will not do it for the sake of any or all of these, O let them do it for Chrisfs sake ; nay, let them do it for their own sake. For unless you give much, how can you know you love much 1 and if you do not look with love and pity on those little ones of Christ, how can you love Christ at all ? And when those who do love Christ are received into everlasting habitations, where will be the portion of those who love him not, or whom he has loved in vain ? But you, children of light, imitate for once the wisdom of the children of this world. Provide now against the day of adversity. Record in this hallowed place a proof of your sincerity, a proof of your love. Lay up in store a good foundation against the time to come, that you may lay hold on eternal life. For here is a question from the Word of God — and let us all look to it how we answer, for it will one day be asked again, and asked not as I now ask, collectively, but of each separately and singly : " He that hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him ?" O brethren, let him, that is, who holds his hand (if there be such), let him who shall harden his heart (if there be one such), only ask of himself, " How dwelleth the love of God in me ? and if the love of God dwelleth not in me, how can I expect to dwell in that heaven of glory which consists in the fulness of the love of God?" THE EARTHLV rABERNACLB AND THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. REV. F. W. MEADOWS, SHEPHERD'S MARKET CHAPEL, JUNE 26, 1836 •. • For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." — 2 Cor. v. 1. The connexion which the late Mr. Thomas Hancox held with this place of worship, as well as his own private worth to us as a friend, make it proper and our duty to notice his death thus pub- licly. As brother Leach took for his text this morning, so say we, " He was a faithful man and feared God above many. He might with much consistency be called the father of the cause of Christ as at present existing within these walls ; for but for him, under God (to whom as the Great First Cause we trace all things), these doors had remained closed, and the ninety-six now constituting this church been strangers to the communion of saints, and for- giveness of sins. But whilst we devote this hour to the specific object of a funeral sermon for one to whom this society owes its existence and part of its maintenance, we dare not entertain for a moment, as any of our plan in this evening's discourse, a wish to eulogise. Were we so far to transgrees the known mind of the de- ceased, we should fancy before us the spirit of the departed beaming a frown from his dignified face whilst his honest tongue exclaimed, ** Not unto us, not unto us, but unto God be all the glory." We shall therefore do on this occasion as we believe our deceased friend your benefactor would have wished had he been aware that his death would have received such public notice in this place. We shall try to preach not ourselves but Christ. May the Holy Ghost, by whom Mr. Hancox was converted and made highly useful in his day and generation, (for " he was a faithful man and feared God above many,") give a word to speak in season, of which we may say in leaving the sanctuary, " How good is it !" Well might it be said, " Life and immortality are brought to • A Funeral Sermou for the late Mr. Thomae Hancos, of Oxford-street. 54 THE EARIHLY TABERNACLE light through the Gospel:" for what know we of man's origin, pre- sent condition, or future destinies, but by the Gospel ? Without this Book, in vain the most profound mind dives into the mysteries of things past, present, or to come : but by this Book *' He who runs may read " how " the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." It is to this book we are indebted for a solution of the cause of present calamities, of the misery, grief, and death which every where surround us ; and to it we owe our knowledge of those brighter scenes where " God shall wipe all tears from off all faces." Man's immortality, then, is the swnmum honum of the text, and that immortality in connexion with the far " more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." It is evident that to recommend the Gospel and to set forth its truths, God the Holy Ghost led the various penmen to employ figurative terms. These figures were of limited correctness, and but of limited, as all figures must have about them that which is unapt as well as apt. Figures, therefore, must not be pushed too far, nor examined too minutely, but taken upon the broad primd facie intention. So would we strive to handle the figures employed in the text ; where, first, we have presented a tenant occupying two distinct and dissimilar residences ; secondly, to notice why the tenant is called upon to quit the one and enter the other ; and thirdly, how superior the latter residence is to the former. First, The text presents the figure of a tenant occupying two DISTINCT AND DISSIMILAR RESIDENCES ; a tabemacle^ a house, or earthly house of tabernacle, and " a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." But as we have no less to do with the tenant than the tenement, a passing word is first requisite relative to its character. The tenant is the soul whose nature is such that, though susceptible of various changes, it is capable of dissolution. It can be a soul dead in sin, and dead to sin ; but it cannot be a soul dead by sin. It can be a soul in a state of death as a figure, but not as a fact ; dead to God, happiness, goodness, peace, and the like. Original sin has made the soul dead to these things, and in this state being from our birth possessed by us, we are disposed to grow up hardened and wicked characters, " in whom, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing:" for the tenant being evil, the tenement becomes as a nest of unclean birds. Now power divine can raise that soul so that a AND THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 55 new impetus being given, it can glorify God here, and live with him hereafter. The soul, the tenant, proves its capability of change of state by change of disposition, as thus : God made man upright, but in Adam all die as to moral goodness, yet in Christ all the redeemed live as to moral excellence, and through the grace thus given after the death of the body reign with him for ever and ever. God made man in fact a living soul. Sin makes man, in a figure, an insensible soul. Grace renews that soul, so that we are not dead but sleep, and sleep sweetly, dreaming of the glories of that resurrection morn when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God. The soul, or spiritual and therefore eternal part of man, is the tenant. This tenant occupies two distinct and dissimilar residences : first, a tabernacle and a tabernacle made of earth ; secondly, a building or house immaterial and eternal. First, a tabernacle and a tabernacle made of earth ; the body, of which the soul is the tenant. A tabernacle well sets forth this tene- ment, and earth literally describes its origin (Adam, i.e. red earth) : for dust we are, and to dust we shall return. As a tabernacle our bodies are feeble, fading, temporary, tottering, portable, and in- secure, like the tabernacle set up by Moses in the wilderness. We were designed for the in-being and worship of God : but like that tabernacle we are prostituted to mere secular purposes ; the glory is departed, the gold has become dim, and the fine gold is changed; yet, like as the tabernacle was once, so there is much of glory and grandeur about man ; and as a tabernacle to worship in, these bodies may serve for the whole journey; yea, even after we get into the church on earth, of which Canaan was a striking type. But this tenement will not last for ever : it is of the earth earthy, and must give up that which is of heaven heavenly. Our bodies in their present., or in their first state, present not perpetuity ; they are material. Now that which is material must wear out : therefore Adam himself was made to be a probationer, and then to be changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of God. The immortaj soul occupies this tabernacle, which by time must wear out ; but is now com- monly taken down before worn out, and in a state of apparent vigour folded together and deposited in the grave. Five days be- fore his death Mr. H. was in excellent health ; the tabernacle seemed to bid fair to stand for many years : but the tenant was wanted, and when gone the temporary residence fell. Secondly, this tenant is next called upon to inhabit a house, // .50 THE EARTHLY TAnKRXACI.E which thought presents as a stationary, secure, permanent, elevated, and diversified habitation — almost every way opposite to that from which the tenant has escaped. Our future home will be our final home : wherever our souls are found after death they will go no more out for ever, but will inhabit eternally a fixed, secure, per- manent, and elevated, though diversified situation. They will be eternally with God or devils — secure in heaven or hell ; see all the way by which they reached their home, and reap a crop of joy or woe, proportionate to the seed sown in the days of the flesh. I do not mean to say that any in heaven will be other than completely happy, or in hell other than completely miserable ; yet still hold there are degrees in both, as the vessel by sin or grace has been expanded to receive quantity. Heaven and hell, like earth, are places of order and not of confusion, as far as God is concerned ; and every disembodied soul ranks in its own order: Judas went to " his own place," and Lazarus was " carried by angels into Abra- ham's bosom," I can never separate in my mind heaven or hell being places as well as states ; and whilst I cannot answer the inquiry, Where are they ? I can suppose God in Christ is the centre of hoaven's house, and saints, according to the measure of their fa.! til, near to that centre or far off from it. Scripture says " One star difFereth from another star in grandeur ; so also is the resur- rection of the dead." 1 Cor. xv. 41, 42. And when John saw the second tenement of the soul, the " house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," " round about the throne were four and twenty seats : and upon the seats four and twenty elders sitting clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold." Rev. iv. 4. Wliy should we object to the doctrine of degrees of glory ? Did not our Lord say, " In my Father's house are many mansions ?" John, xiv. 9 : and are we not convinced that indivi- duality renders a local abode indispensable ; that as our Saviour will ever retain his individuality and we ours, they must be the most honoured, and most happy, because most capable of happiness, who more immediately surround his glorified humanity ? I fear the reason we object is through selfishness, or Satan, perhaps both, uniting to teach us to carry earthly feelings into this house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Yet I think there are even earthly scenes and earthly circumstances which exhibit man as conscious he could be happy in one place, whilst he has no capacity for happiness in another, and yet that other more honourable, had he capacity for enjoying it. Take, for instance, an amateur chorus AND THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 57 singer, and an amateur prima donna — could the former vie with the latter, and be happy ? Take children who die in infancy — can they know the pain or the bliss of an adult ? I think not, and shall beg the question. But without compromising the opinion I coUect from scripture and analogy, whilst I believe they that have the most faith in this world will be most capable and possess the most happiness in the world to come, I would venture a harmless flight of fancy, in which, if we conclude aright, all objections to these facts may perhaps cease. We are to " know as we are known," as well as " be for ever with the Lord." Is not man's knowledge to pro- gress with eternity ? What soul, when just delivered from the tabernacle, could bear the full blaze of all the Godhead dwelling bodily in Christ 1 May not the idea of a circle (we have already supposed it), and our Lord Jesus Christ the centre of that circle, be a fact ; infinite space the house not made with hands ; eternity bringing forth more of the glories of the Lamb that was slain ; and as these glories develoj) themselves, the circle, the inner circle spreading wide, goes on admitting from the outer circle to its gaps, until all glorified flesh see him together, and they of little faith, and they of strong faith, join in the song of Moses and the Lamb before the throne. It may be so : of this we are sure, there is no jealousy in heaven, no domination in heaven, no lording it over God's heritafje in heaven : but each does that which here ought to be done amongst the brethren of our Lord — " esteem others better than himself" The second tenement occupied by the soul is a permanent, stationary, secure, and elevated, if diversified tenement ; called therefore in the text, " a house," and because the comforts of saints are contemplated by the passage, " a house in heaven." But as Abraham said to Dives, so say we to the unconverted : " Son, remember." This house is only for God's friends, his children, who believe in Christ, walk not after the flesh, but after tiic Spirit, taking up the cross and following Jesus. For should you die without a change of heart, there is prepared a house not made with hands, eternal in hell ; a prison house, a house of madness and despair : where every forked flame, and every shriek, will have appended to it, " This is for eternity !" O, sinner, what a game of hazard you are playing ! You have staked your immortal soul against pleasure •, and if you win, what is your gain ? A bubble tliat will burst just as you grasp your longings ; leaving a strong poison in your hand, wherewith the finger of conscience will inscribe ujx)n your hearts. " Vanity of vanities ! this also is vanitv." I SS THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE charge you, in the name of God, to give up a vain pursuit after happiness apart from godliness, declaring, in the name of my Master, " Sin shall not go unpunished," and that they who " sow unto the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption " — accursed from God, and a home where all exclaim, " We are tormented in this place." O, thoughtless sinner, bear in mind your end : think on the day of judgment, on standing before God, and hearing the righteous sentence of, " Take these my enemies" — yes, you are God's enemies — " and cast them into outer darkness, prepared for the devil and his angels." Your soul lives, but in a tabernacle, a feeble, fading, temporary, tottering building. This night that soul may be required of thee ; turned out of thy tabernacle, and turned into hell, " with all the people that forget God." What will you do there ? There is no pleasure in hell : " The smoke of their tor- ment ascendeth up for ever and ever." Rev. xiv. 11. No parties for sabbath excursions there ; no evening boon companions there ; no houses of lewdness and intemperance there; no merry song or lascivious jest ; no plays, balls, or cards ; no people that mean to repent, for they do repent; no people that meafi to become godly, for they cannot become godly ; no people that hope to be saved there, for they are shut up in black darkness and despair for ever. Jude, 13. What will you do in hell? You will think, and think, and think, " Woe is me, for I am lost ! — lost — for ever lost !" What a mercy you are not lost yet ! for " While the lamp holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return." That excellent man, whose death calls us to these thoughts, was once an inconsiderate sinner, such as you are. He broke the sabbath, much as you do ; loved what is called pleasure, much as you do ; went sometimes to the house of God, much as you do ; thought dissenters too rigid, much as you do ; yet did not doubt but that he should get to heaven, much as you do. But God opened his eyes : when about seventeen years of age he went to hear the late Rev. G. Burder preach, and whilst the sermon made little or no impression, the hymn was ordered of God to his conversion. May you be arrested by the lines which stopped him, and led to his becoming a member, deacon, and warm friend in the Church of Christ. These were the lines : " Come ye wretched souls to Jesus, Weak and wounded, sick and sore : Jesus ready stands to save us. Full of pity joined with power. He IS able — He is willing : doubt no mora. AND THB HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 59 And we add, Delay no more ; so that, if suddenly overtaken by the arrow of death, your end might lead us to say, " He was a faithful man, and feared God above many." I proceed, seeing our souls are as tenants, occupying two distinct and dissimilar buildings, to note, secondly, why this tenant is CALLED UPON TO QUIT THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE, AND OCCUPY THE HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS. First, Because the lease is run out. ** The days of our years are threescore and ten :" that is what we call the allotted period : after that we are living on sufferance, or may be said to hold by trespass rather than leas(! ; whilst during the prescribed term we are subjected to a clause which declares " we know not what a day or an hour may bring forth ;" and another, " that in the midst of life we are in death." Mr. Hancox did not reach sixty, whilst more than half of those born die before they are twenty-five. God has said how long man may live, but not promised he shall live to those days. Secondly, Because the strength is rwi out. The body is incapable of perpetuity ; its very living prepares it for dying. It is like the soil of the globe ; however good, crop after crop exhausts it : and I scarce know which is the most to be dreaded evil, an exhausted body with an active mind, or a paralyzed mind in an active body. This we believe a reason why the tabernacle gives up the tenant — the tenant wears out the tenement. Thirdly, The design is ru7i out: " it is finished;" and we give up the ghost. They have been preserved in unity for a specific purpose, and when that purpose is accomplished, the tabernacle must mingle with its kindred earth, whilst the soul must go and tell of the deeds done in the body, whether good or evil. Without a body we cannot act, though we can both suffer and enjoy ; therefore God giveth to every man his own body, that by that body he may shew forth nature or grace, and so become meet for a future state. The spiritual cannot be fit for eternal companionship with the material ; for the material is gross, and cannot become pure but by filtration through death : whilst the soul may become even in time renewed after the image of Christ, and meet for the " inheritance incorruptible, un- defiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved for you who are kept by the power of God, through faith, ready to be revealed at the last day." The tenant, then, is called to leave the tabernacle, because it is but a tabernacle in which we " see through a glass darkly," and ** groan, being burdened." The tenant is called to leave the taber- 60 THE EARTHLY TABEUNACLE nacle, that it, the tabernacle, may suffer the unmitigated part of the curse, and die; which it cannot until the soul be separated from it. The tenant is called to leave the tabernacle, because God has pre- pared some better thing for us who through grace believe ; and a worse state for those who have not fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel. The tenant leaves the tabernacle because, at length, it finds an aperture through which it can escape and go to God, which is far better. Oft, in its sojourn in this tabernacle, it has said, " O that I had the wings of a dove ! for then would I flee away and be at rest." Now the door of the cage is opened by stern, yet friendly death, and swift as the passing thought we rise to the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Need I say more on the subject why the soul is called to leave the body ? I can but add, It is done because in the body we cannot fully enjoy God ; or because in the body we cannot fully experience the wrath of God: for the same means which raise a saint to the pos- session of the heavenly, all sink the sinner into possession of his hellish inheritance. Death bears me to such joys as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard; or to such griefs as eye hath not seen, ear heard, or the heart of man conceived. We that are in the body can but guess, and poorly guess, the change effected by death, the rapture or the woe which instantly succeeds : for this we thank God, and in it take courage, that " absent from the body we are present with the Lord." Man of the world, hast thou ever seen Arabia's sands ? League after league they stretch their withering arms ; nor can the traveller comprehend its boundless waste, or fathomless depth. Let your imagination rest on this vast mass of atoms, and in comparison with it consider one grain of sand ; and believe us when we say, All you have known of misery on earth compared with that of hell, will be as insignificant as the latter is to the former. Man of God, have you seen the sea? Your happiest moments at a throne of grace, or in the sanctuary, or under the full assurance of faith, have, only been what a drop of water is to the sea. Cheer up, tried Christian ; we are going by a right way to a country whore sighing and sorrow flee away, and God wipes all tears from all faces : where there shall be " no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve hira, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be tio night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever." Rev. xxii. 3 — 5. AND THE HEAVENLY INIIEMTANCE. 61 The tenant, then, is called upon to quit the tabernacle, because, if God's, it is not good enough for him whom the Lord delighteth to honour; and if Satan's, it is not miserable enough for him that is of your father, (O, wicked man) even the devil. With each the present is a temporary abode — the best or the worst that we are to know. May it prove the worst, that so, when the dissolution comes, we may find our souls in " the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." I have now to consider, thirdly, how superior the latter resi- dence IS to the former ; and this I think will be best effected by noting carefully the phraseology employed. First, it is " not made with hajids^'' but is a place, as well as a state, rising as the spontaneous consequence of God's presence. This makes heaven, as we are sometimes favoured with a knowledge of, during our worldly pilgrimage. Paul once could not tell whether in the body or out of the body, because he saw things it were impossible to utter : and every glimpse we get of the glory hereafter to be revealed, shows it is not made with hands. Of some things we read, " God said let there be," and there " was ;" and of others, " God made them also :" but the house in heaven wants not the word or act to call into being ; for there emanates that from the Divine glory which constitutes all space a heaven, save where sin is. Therefore the su- periority of the latter residence to the former is, that no hand, human or divine, is requisite or employed for its creation. God is there in all the glory, holiness, and peculiarities, of his nature, which must constitute it a house not made with hands — a permanent, stable, secure, elevated, dignified, and diversified home ; of which St. Paul says (Heb. xii, 21), " Wherefore we receive a kingdom that cannot be moved," and we add from the text, because " not made with hands." ^ecox\6\y. Its superiority is its perpetuity. Eternal. Had any man lived from the creation to the end of time, he had lived through many dispensations, ages, and centuries ; had seen vast sights, but at last must behold what constitutes the visible heavens " pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein burnt up." But the house not made with hands remains eternal ; time cannot affect it, for it is not within time's domains. It is beyond, above, without the reach of time. Is no more affected by time than God is, and can no more c(>ase to be, than God can cease to be. Its character is eternal. 62 THE E^^RTHLY TABERNACLE What a wonderful and what a desirable state in which to have a dwelling, especially when you consider, Thirdly, Its superiority lies iji this, that the house is not only not made with hands and eternal, but is in heaven, or in the heavens, in joy, happiness, purit}', light, peace, love — " nothing there that de- iileth or worketh a lie." It is where God is, with whom we want to be ; where sin is not, from which we long to flee. Where our brethren who died in the faith are, with whom we long to join in swelling forth that anthem of praise which has grace for its key- note, and " Christ the substance of the song." In the heavens ; we are going to the house not made with hands ; what an exhila- rating thought ! To die is gain ; for at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord ; but absent from the body, present with the Lord. Present with him in heaven, and for ever present. Who fears to die ? Who but must desire mortality were swallowed up of life 1 And who but would exclaim, " Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ?" Wait, and while you wait " watch and pray, that no man rob thee of thy crown. Wait, I say — " Yet a little, and you know Joyful entrance shall be given, All your sorrows left below. And earth exchang'd for heaven." I conclude then by observing, first, the country to which the re- deemed of the Lord go is superior to this, for it is heaven. Let us not then selfishly mourn when our dear friends are called to those regions. We do not find this world a heaven. No ; as the child's hymn says, " Here we suffer grief and pain." There pain, mental or physical, is a weed that cannot grow ; none say they are sick or sad, but are as the angels. Our dear brother Hancox is, we believe, removed to that better country, " for he was a faithful man and feared God above many ;" whilst we, in secular and spiritual things, as well as that church of which he was deacon, shall often miss him. Yet for his gain we will rejoice, "bless God, and" (in faith upon Him who raised up for this cause our departed friend), " take courage." We cannot think that the Head of the church will suffer the candlestick to be removed out of this place, because this faithful agent is no 1 mger here to guarantee our expenses. May we rather think he means to raise up many who, when they hear of our loss, will find a voice behind them, saying, " Go and do likewise." Secondly, Not only the country is better, but the building is better. AND THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 63 This mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruptible incorrap- tion, and we shall be changed into the image of Christ : for we are again to see our bodies, claim our bodies, regain our bodies ; not as tabernacles, but as spiritual bodies — bodies like unto our Lord's glorious body ; bodies that are all mind, in which there is no dark- ness ; bodies that hunger and thirst not, decay not, but are like the second Adam's, the Lord from heaven. Our tabernacle must be dissolved ; our flesh must be refined, must sleep and moulder in the grave, until the angel stand with one foot on the earth, and the other on the sea, to proclaim, by the authority of Him that sitteth on the throne, " There shall be no more time." Then our identical but immaterial bodies shall come forth ; they that have done good to the resurrection of the just, and they that have done evil to the resurrec- tion of God's curse. Then spirit shall know spirit, and perhaps not until then. Then Satan's chains of darkness will be taken off, and he with the wicked will sink lower and lower into the bottomless pit ; whilst the righteous will rise higher and higher into the mind, knowledge, and enjoyment of God. You then will again see brother Hancox, and be able to comprehend with all saints, " the height, and depth, and length, and breadth, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge" — love which raised him up to be the first step to some of your hearing the Gospel, and so hearing as to live — love which would not let him rest by day or night until these doors were re- opened, and the walls resounded with the news of " God reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing their sins." It was the love of Jesus burned in his breast, not suffering him to give sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, until he opened this house for the Lord, as a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob (Psalm cxxxii. 3). The country will be better, and the building better, and. Thirdly, The tenure will he better — eternal. Every thing here is mutable and transient ; this building is leasehold, this world is but leasehold, these bodies are leasehold. But the saints' last home is freehold, and, like the possessions of the Jews in their best days, unalienable. We cannot wear it out, nor live it out : it is exhaust- less, imperishable, and incapable of deterioration. It waxes not old, but wears perpetual freshness on its face ; dressed in the vigour of perfection — everlasting heaven is its name. Finally ; the death of a dear friend has led us to consider what are a sainfs prospects in view of a change of worlds., and his gains in leaving this. Have we " stirred up your pure minds by way of remembrance?" Are you coveting earnestly that rest which re- 64 THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE, ETC. maineth for the people of God? Wliat I say unto you I say unto myself: *' Strive to enter in at the strait gate." Keep near to Christ in creed and conduct. Live the Christian, that when Christ, who is your life, shall appear, ye also may appear with him in glory, and join the general assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven, and whose employment is singing, " To Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Our brother Hancox had a sweet voice ; but O, could we hear it now, the tones are so improved that we should exclaim, " What hath God wrought !" and long to quit this house of clay to give our powers wholly to these things. Be thankful that " we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Cherish this knowledge, nor becloud it by sin, but holding fast that which you have, reach to that which is before; that faith may cheer your souls whilst in this tabernacle, and give you an abundant entrance at death to your glorious final home — your state of perpetuity — your building of God — the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. " Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dommiou and power, both now and ever. Amen " THE CLAIMS OP IRELAND. REV. W. H. COOPER, HOXTON ACADEMY CHAPEL, AUGUST 14, 1836' " He shall reign."— Luke, i. 33. " He must reign." — 1 Corinthians, xv. 25. The difference between these two. statements is merely verbal, but even in verbal differences there is sometimes a significancy. We have the assertion of the reign of Christ in the former of these passages given us as a simple, though a sure and certain, intima- tion of prophecy. Wo have it again in the latter of these passages, as usual with the apostle Paul, in the still more energetic language of positive declaration, that, in spite of all the hinderances that might take place, the event would be accomplished, and that, by an irresistible necessity, the Redeemer would attain his ultimate and universal power. The Lord Jesus Christ is the great subject of the scriptures from their commencement to their close. He, in tiis various offices, and the predictions made concerning him, has ever constituted the centre point of attraction to the mind of the people of God. Before he came in the flesh they were directed to the fact of his coming as that which was to be overruled for the consolation of Israel, the event that was to be the salvation of the people of God. And while we are still called upon to remember his first coming as the great event that is to prepare us for his second ; to us his second coming constitutes the object of attraction and of interest to which our minds are continually directed forward in the inspired pages. But when we say that Christ is every thing in the Bible, we say not all of our Lord and Master that we are warranted to say. How- ever Satan may imagine that he has obliterated from this world every impress of the Saviour's image in the way he has inundated it with sin and crime, Christ is still every thing in the world : for Christ, as well as hy him, that world was created : and when by the master-stroke of the policy of hell, Satan had imagined that he • For the London Hibernian Society. f VOL. Vi. ' 66 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. had wrested this world from the authority of its Great Owner and Lord, he found to his confusion that he had only constituted it a more conspicuous theatre on which the glory of that Lord was to be exhibited in triumph over all the wiles and the artifices by which Satanic malignity thought to hinder or destroy it. The world exists for Jesus ; and when his last triumphs are completed, and his last trophies won, the trumpet of his waiting angel is to sound at his mandate the blast of dissolution, and the comely fabric is to crumble into ruin. It was but the scaffolding for the building to his praise, which is to last throughout eternity : it was but the theatre on which he was to exhibit his triumphs over the powers of darkness. It shall last till he reigns with his foot upon the neck of the last enemy that he shall conquer ; and when that triumph is achieved, " then cometh the end." We have not separated the words of the text and insulated them from the connexion in which they are to be found, with any idea of concealing from your view those connexions, or of passing them by unnoticed in the progress of the evening's discourse. We have wished simply to fill your minds, in the first instance, on the annunciation which these words give of the promised reign of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, of which they so positively and distinctly assure us. We may not only read those words, but many others of similar import, from the inspired volume, as corroborating our views as to this subject, and with definite re- ference to Ireland. " He shall reign," says the evangelist Luke in the verse from which part of the text is taken — " He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." In the preceding verse — to trace the connexion back a little — he says, " His name shall be called Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest : and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father David ; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever :" or as the apostle Paul expresses it — " He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." We say, the simple announcement of these words in the various points of view in which that simple announcement is presented, we desire to fix your minds upon : and as the object of this evening's appeal is particularly Ireland, we fix your minds on the wide and general subject which these words present, with a special bearing of the subject, and reference of it throughout, to the cir- cumstances of Ireland, and the prospects of those who labour there. Dear friends, we have difficulties to contend with, even those of us THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. Q>f who labour in the most highly favoured parts of the land, of which you know comparatively little in your more favoured circumstances and multiplied means of grace. While you assemble in listening multitudes in the house of prayer — while you sit under your own vine and fig-tree, none daring to make you afraid — while you raise your song of praise in your highways and in your fields, and lift up a testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus in your highways and streets without molestation ; you know not what it is to breathe the atmosphere of a land where popery reigns in its power — where it stifles the liberty which religion is calculated to impart — where re- ligion is one of the most dangerous and stirring topics that you can attempt to dwell upon ; where it seems almost impossible to dis- entangle it from the meshes of politics with which it is entwined and twisted, and where, to attempt such open proceedings in the ad- vocacy of religion as you are familiar with kere, would be deemed an insult to the profession of the millions around us, an act of out- rage and persecution against the religion tbey profess, and which would be considered an act of political aggression. You know not the chilling difficulties that in various ways — which, lest I occupy too much of your time, I must not dwell upon — lie in the course, wliich prevent and fetter the efforts, which often disjsappoint the hopes, of the labourer for Christ who is engaged in prosecuting the interests of God's kingdom there. But let the difficulties be such as they may, we look not on the obstacles, we do not calculate the chances and probabilities of success according to human modes of computation ; we read the record, "He shall reign" — "He must reign," and we ask no more, but desire to go boldly forward. Let us consider, then, this promise, in order to understand it fully, under the divine blessing ; and O that while we do so, we may be able to understand it by the actual experience of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ being established in our hearts ! View the kiagdom which is here promised to the baviour, the reign it is predicted he shall exercise, in the first place in its CHARACTER. And here we do candidly assure you that in the an- ticipations which we form, we desire not to give way to visionary and carnal views. We anticipate not a kingdom which shall be carried forward from some earthly palace, or the sway of some earthly sceptre where the centre of that kingdom may be fixed. We dream not of a monarch who shall array himself in robes oC human state, and deck himself with a majesty that shall be sur- 68 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. rounded by either Jewish or Gentile courtiers, or reign in the peculiar manifestation of his presence in one more highly-favoured spot of earth than another. We expect not the coming down of that Saviour whom the heavens must retain till the time of the res- titution of all things which have been foretold in the Word ot God. We expect not the personal coming of that Saviour in order to avenge his people on earth. But v\hat vve understand — and we imagine we have the authority of Scripture for our views on the subject — and what we expect from the predictions of the Word of God is, the prevalence of spiritual and holy principles ; the preva- lence of intelligence directed by the light of the Word of God ; and the prevalence of the peace and happiness which will be the natural result of the presence of such principles as these. In anticipating the reign of Christ we anticipate a spiritual reign. We remember he has said, " My kingdom is not of this world." We expect not that Christ shall robe himself in the garments of human splendour, that he shall invest himself with the trappings of human dignity, that it shall be distinguished by the accumulation of human wealth, or that it shall sway the sceptre or the sword of human power. AVe expect it will shine forth in the beautiful sim- plicity and glory of its Lord and Master ; that in the energies of its truths, and in the exercise of its influences over the hearts, it will every where and gloriously prevail. We expect a holy reign, a kingdom oi piety, a period in which the principles of true holiness, as they are revealed in the Word of God, shall be every where made known, and every where established with a divine and spirit- ual authority ; when hearts which have been once impure shall be brought to bow to the authority of the pure and holy commands of the Word of God ; and when the precepts of that Word shall be the standard to which every individual shall seek a marked and grow- ing conformity. We expect a reign of intelligence, a kingdom of hnoioledge^ of the best kind of knowledge, of knowledge derived from the Word of God ; of knowledge that will guide to the path which leads to eternal happiness ; of knowledge that will bring the soul savingly acquainted with the only Saviour, and fix it on a foun- dation which can never be moved. We expect a peaceful kingdom, because we anticipate the reign of Him who is the Prince of Peace ; a kingdom when, under the influence of true religion, nations shall learn the art of war no more ; when they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning- hooks ; and when, reconciled to God by the blood of the everlasting covenant, by TFUi; CLAIMS OF IRELAND. 69 the same reconciling blood they shall be made brethren for ever more. Nor are these prospects visionary ; though the scene that, in few words, we have thus endeavoured to bring before you is one so different from what tlio earth exhibits at present to the view, that, if we had not the best authority for it, you might treat it as vision- ary. This is the description that is given of the full establishment of the reijrn of Jesus in the Word of God : and this is what is in- tended to be conveyed when it is declared in the visions of prophecy that " he s/«a// reign," that " he wjz^.f^ reign." This is the kingdom. Christian friends, which we wish to see established ultimately and permanently in the sister island. We seek not the establishment of any religion by whatever name it may be called, under circumstances of human pomp, or by the ex- ercise of human authority or power. We call not on you, as your forefathers once established popery in Ireland to establish the cause ■ of true religion, the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who taught us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty, through God, to the casting down the strong-holds of sin and Satan. And we urge upon you the necessity for the establish- ment of this spiritual kingdom of , Christ in Ireland, because she has too long seen anj'thing but a spiritual kingdom there. In the various efforts that have been made to promote religion in that land, there has been too much of an unscriptural, too much of an abso- lutely secular, worldly, and unchristian character prevailing : and what the inhabitants of Ireland may be now considered as waiting for is, the establishment of a spiritual kingdom by spiritual and scriptural means. We seek for the establishment there of a king- dom of holiness. With the name of C/iristian, the religion which that land possesses, is not a religion of holiness. We refer you to its accredited books, and we tell you that in the pages of those books you will see recorded enough to show that it is an unholy religion. In the very attempts that are made to investigate the feelings of the human heart, and to direct the examination into the conscience, you find what is calculated to pollute, instead of what is calculated to instruct and inform. Nor should we require to turn to the pages of Dens' Theology — though there is reason enough to fasten that document on the church of Rome — in order to show that in that church the interests of holiness were compromised, yea, and were sacrificed, to the interests and carnal welfare of designing men : we would only speak of the ordinary books of the devotion of that church, and particularly those that are designed for the use of the 70 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND, priesthood : and from those accredited documents, without attempt- ing to dive into the depths of depravity from which they derive their theological instructions, we should find enough to show you that though the church of Christ is a holy church and the kingdom of Christ a holy kingdom, the kingdom of holiness has yet to be es- tablished in Ireland. We wish the establishment of the reign of intelligence, and of knowledge, and of sanctified knowledge, in the sister island. For ignorance has been the mother of its devotion ; ignorance has sent its wretched children to their sacred mountains (as they have supposed them to be), and to their holy wells : and if you visit them on any of the occasions of resort to them, those that the voice of the public has not already put a stop to, and that still linger in some of the darker recesses of the island, you will see that the kingdom established by what is called religio7i in Ireland is a kingdom of ignorance, and not of knowledge, and sends the vota- ries of superstition to seek in the mudded waters of their sacred wells healing which those waters never could give to the body, and healing for the soul which is only to be found in the waters of life that are communicated to us in the Gospel. And though the priesthood, and many of the advocates of the church of Rome, tell you in England that we deceive you with stories on the subject, when we represent to you some of the gross superstitions of the country, we rejoice that, in the course of divine providence, the different modes by which travelling has been accelerated has enabled some of your intelligent and impartial countrymen to come among us and see things as they really exist. We rejoice at the testimony of an Inglis and others, who cannot be suspected of partiality in the matter, though the steps of the traveller are not necessarily directed to the worst scenes of superstition — that even he has recorded enough to show you that Ireland wants yet the religion of intelligence ; and that though her priesthood, and others who ought to know better, and to consult the interests of her perishing community better, do close from her the Sacred Volume, and tell her poor perishing children that it is not fit for the perusal of Irishmen— a lesson (blessed be God !) that they are obliged to begin to recal, and we hope ere long they will be compelled to revoke ; yet when you see that while they close this book against them, they shut up from them a day-light that would let such ablaze in upon their superstitious practices, that, had they but this Book of God, and would they read it carefully through, under the blessing of the Spirit of God, scarcely a peasant in the land but would disclaim THE CLAr?IS OF IRELAND. 7/ nis superstition. We plead for Ireland : and is it the reliorious part of her community alone that pleads ? Do not the groans that even you hear rising from the various scenes of murder and outrage throughout the extent of that land, cry most piteously in the same way for a religion of peace ? This she has not, this she never will have, till she has the pure and unadulterated Gospel : and send her what Lord Lieutenants you please, send her what political expedients you may, until you pervade her with the Gos- pel, she will never know peace. This is the character of the kingdom we wish to establish, of the kingdom we expect yet to exist in Ireland. ,«, >.-.^ * > . In the second place we call upon you to consider the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ in its extent. The extent of this reign, as to its outward and visible extent, I mean, is set before us in various strong and remarkable expressions in the word of God. It is sometimes said that he shall reign, " from sea to sea, and from the river unto the end of the earth." We confine ourselves more par- ticularly to the expressions that are used in immediate connexion with this evening's text : " He shall reign over the house of Jacob :'' " He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." These expressions are by no means different in their import from the class of expressions we have already cited, and spoken of, and which intimate that the Lord Jesus Christ is to reign over the whole extent of the world. " The house of Jacob," is a figurative term in the Old Testament prophecies for the church of the living God : and in the days to which the universal establishment of the reign of Christ refers us, the church of God is to be commensurate in its boundaries with the world on which you are now to look for it as but a speck existing on and struggling against it. Over this house of Jacob, having extended its boundaries thus widely, and in- cluding the then existing world within the limits of its communion, regenerated and sanctified by divine grace, the peaceful and peace-giving sceptre of the Saviour is to be extended. In the other passage which we have brought forward from the epistle to the Corinthians, it is clearly intimated that he shall reign over all his enemies ; and if there be left an exception in the de- claration that " he shall reign over the house of Jacob," that exception is abundantly met in the declaration, that he shall reign over all his enemies. The world, as even at present existing, must be divided into two grand classes, in which are to be ranked the 72 THli CLAIMS OF IRELAND. friends and the enemies of God. To one or other of these classes all mankind are to be referred ; over both these classes the Saviour shall ultimately and gloriously reign. He shall reign " over the house of Jacob " with the powerful sceptre of his word : he shall reign " over his enemies" with a rod of iron; and as a potter's vessel shall he break them in pieces. The result of the conversion of the one, and the overthrow of the other will be, the universal diflflision of true religion wide as the limits of the globe. We cannot enter into the calculation whether, in those days, every individual shall be savingly acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ or not : but we may safely hazard the assertion, upon the authority of various testimonies of the word of God, that in those days religion shall so universally prevail in its purity and in its power, that the exception shall not be worth the noticing — they shall be so small in proportion to the general aggregate of prevailing good. We do expect the period when this world, rolling round, as it now does, apparently under the curse of its Maker, on account of the burden of crime and sin which rolls along with it, shall present a smiling aspect to the eye of the God that made it, and, as it roUs, being in every part of it vocal with its heartfelt praise. We antici- pate the period when the shout of victory shall be heard, asserting that "the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ ;" when every nation, and tongue, and tribe, and people, shall worship and fall down before him. I imagine there are few, at all familiarized with the Word of God, and particularly few, at all connected with the visions of prophecy, who would for a moment hesitate as to the truth of this conclusion. You, too, in particular. Christian friends, anticipate the coming of such a period as this : and often in your prayers you implore that the world may be covered with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the face of the mighty deep. Is Ireland to be an excep- tion to the extent of the Redeemer's victories ? Is she to be left out of the bovmdaries of the Redeemer's kingdom? O! the most preju- diced against her, the most hopeless about her, will surely not hazard such an assertion as this. And if Ireland is to be included in that extent, is a spot where more than seven millions of souls are yet to be won to the Redeemer unworthy to be looked at as you stand and form your calculations of those blessed schemes by which the world itself is to be subdued to Christ ? From the island that you are privileged to inhabit, from the white cliffs of your beloved Albion, you seem to stand in the spirit of Christianity, and, in some THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. 73 sense, in the spirit of prophecy ; and, anticipating the victories of the latter clay, you already prepare to claim the world for your Redeemer. Distance seems lost in the anticipations and the efforts of the Christian. You stretch out the hand of benevolence, and it rests upon the head of the poor Hottentot in the southernmost wilds of Africa. You jmt out again the hand of your Christian bene- volence, and it affectionately grasps the Hindoo as he roams in his errors in the plains of Hindoostan. You stretch out again the hand of your benevolence, and it strikes the fetters from the arms and the limbs of the West India slave. The world. Christian, you are already feeling it to be your privilege to occupy for Christ ; and we ask you, Is Ireland the only spot of it where it is not to be his destiny to reign, or that you are to omit in your calculations ? Surely when you go to the Hottentot or to the Hindoo, or when they come to visit you, and find that there are seven millions of your fellow- countrymen lying at your very shores without sufficient means having ever yet been adopted of bringing them to the knowledge of the Saviour, they will not see much consistency in the matter, and they will wonder at the benevolence that has laid hold of them, and forgotten the perishing nearer at home. We call your attention, in the third place, to the kingdom of the Redeemer in its duration. With reference to that duration, the expressions used in the context by the evangelist, Luke, are strong and emphatic : " He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." In the immediate con- nexion of the words, as they occur in the epistle of Paul, there seems to be some discrepancy from the statement* made by the evangelist, " Then," says the apostle, " cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he shall put down all rule, and all authcvity and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." We reconcile these pre- dictions by considering the expression " for ever," and the declaration that there shall be "no end" of the kingdom of Christ, as referring to the boundaries of the existence of this world, and intimating that the existence of the kingdom of Christ shall continue to the end of time. There shall bo no further dispensation, no change of dispen- sation, no substitute for the Christian dispensation, no giving up the kingdom of Christ to another, or doing away witn that order of things which has set in since the first promulgation of the Gospel Him and his apostles. Thit Gospel shall make growing progress, 74 THE CLAIMS OF ♦rELAND. shall obtain growing influence, shall work growing wonders, and accomplish, under the blessing of the Spirit of God, extraordinary and many changes. But it shall be the same instrumentality, the same principle, the same pervading power, the same dispensation in all its characteristic features still. There shall be no end to it, as there was of the Jewish ; and instead of waning away, as the Jewish dispensation did, it shall be for ever. Nor shall this mediatorial kingdom of our Lord and Saviour be resigned till the last enemy of it is conquered. We look around us, and we behold many enemies still existing to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and though we venture not to state pre- cisely the years during which the establishment of his kingdom is to be delayed, and that shall roll away before the last of these enemies falls, yet we stand prepared to watch the downfall of one and of another, and to calculate as each retires before the King of kings and the Lord of lords, that the time is coming when he shall reign over all. We know that antichrist shall give way before the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming : we know that after antichrist, the last enemy that shall then be destroyed is death; and that having asserted the glories of his reign, and the wonders of the grace of the Gospel, in his victories over antichrist, and having reigned over the world in the powers of the principles of the Gospel, by the bringing in of the morning of eternity, and by the blessings of the glorious and happy resurrection, he shall triumph over death, and, one with the Father and the Spirit, reign for ever in the world above. It is in the issue of this mediatorial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ ; it is in the eternity of bliss in heaven with which his king- dom on earth stands connected as its result ; it is in the destruction of death, and every thing that is known and called by the name, that we expect to reveal the fulness of the promise in the predicted duration of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And that kingdom shall no longer be administered as it is at present : /lOugh we shall not then be called to preach at the footstool of the majesty of heaven in prayer in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, because there will be no necessity for prayer ; and though the Holy Spirit, as a distinct agent, will no longer manage a separate part of the affairs of that kingdom ; though the Mediator, as Mediator, will give up the sceptre of his vice-regency (if I may use the term) ; and though the Spirit of God will resign the distinct administration which he has been carrying forward under the THK CLAIMS OF IRELAND. 75 Gospel dispensation ; one in the recognition of his people, one in the understanding of his nature in a way in which we never could have fathomed the mysteries of that nature whilst here below, we shall recognize the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, as reigning unitedly God over all blessed for ever. In the very terms in which the duration of that kingdom is expressed, we see again a circumstance that calls our mind to the circumstances of the sister land. You anticipate the reign of the Saviour, and you speak of its enduring till his enemies are put under his feet. There reigns one of Christ's greatest enemies, marked in revelation by the name of antichrist, which must be destroyed root and branch before the kingdom of our Redeemer can be established. In giving the designation of aw^/c^m^ to the superstition that reigns in Ireland, we make no apology for so doing: it is the name that God has branded on the brow of Popery, and it is the name that Popery must wear until, by the power and the grace of God, the antichristian system is destroyed. In using the term, however, we mean no enmity or anger to the votaries of that system : and would that, in speaking of it in the language which scripture warrants us to employ, they would ever feel that we do so simply because scripture uses that language, and we must call things by the names that God gives to them, that it is without a feeling of anger against them, but, on the contrary, pity for them, that under the name of Christians, they should embrace a system that is so contrary to Christ. But we are speaking to Protestants ; we are speaking to Pro- testants whom we presume to be acquainted with the scriptures. They, in the labours of our early reformers, have been taught that this system is emphatically so called ; and if they will be at the trouble of studying the language of the scriptures on the subject, they will find the description to be accurate. Now, shall the grand enemy continue ? Shall the enemy that bears such a name as this reign there with infinitely greater power than he does in France, with greater power by far than he does in Italy ; and in some degree, with greater than even in Portugal or Spain ? Shall anti- christ continue to reign and to triumph in Ireland ? English Christians ! if you leave it unmolested and undestroyed, you are willingly neglecting that which is essential to the universality of the Redeemer's kingdom. That which the Redeemer speaks of in such strong language must not be overlooked ; and if you wish to proceed with energy in your foreign missions, and to attack tri- 76 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. umpliantly other foes of the Redeemer, this enemy to the souls of the children of men, existing under the shadow of your wing, and through your neglect of the spiritual efforts by which it might have been overturned long ago, must be put under our Redeemer's feet. The fourth circumstance to which we would direct your attention relative to the Redeemer's kingdom, is its certainty. You have already, perhaps, anticipated us in this idea from the very annun- ciation of the language of this evening's text. Ah ! friends, we may be disappointed in our looking to England for aid ; we may cry in vain to you, in the midst of your religious privileges, " Come over and help us." Year after year may pass away, and no British minister may visit our shore, in order to explore for himself and to report to his Christian countrymen the darkness and the superstition of Ireland. Year after year may pass away, and no student in youi numerous seminaries for training up young men for the work of the ministry, may say to the privileges of Great Britain and the com- munion of British churches, " I leave you in hands that will not be neglected : Ireland ! with thy poverty and thy discouragements, I will take thee as my lot.'* Years may pass away, and though we urge you that, when you are resolving this year and another to send out fifty missionaries to the heathen, you ought at length to come to the determination that you will not fling on the barren surface of poor Ireland a few scattered drops which only raise her dust, and proclaim her barrenness ; but that you will turn upon her the streams of salvation in their fulness and in their richness, till, under the Divine blessing, you have irrigated the whole. In vain we may plead, in vain we may cry, that any one year, by some noble effort of British bounty, fifty missionaries at once will be planted among the seven millions of Ireland. But if we turn from you disappointed, and in answer to the claims of the sister land you stir not in those works which her necessities and ignorance require ; we trust in the living God : we know that " he sliall reign " — that " he must reign ;" and in sure and certain depen- dence upon the promises given to us, we desire to go forward. We are not calculating any mere chance as the result of the warfare in which we are engaged: we are not looking to any contingencies that may hang over the result of the battle, and that may yet await the issue of the fight. Though the ie^ labourers that there are may drop at their posts, and there should seem none ready to supply their places in the field of battle, we know that God, from the very THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. 77 stones of Ireland (to use parabolical language), can raise up la- bourers, \{ yoit send them not into the vineyard. In the language which I have employed, let none think that t am merely using declamation, and making an appeal from your feelings, for the sake of effect : I am using the language of bitter and serious fact; For several years back we have waited in vain toreceivethe visitor that I have spoken of, from our brethren in the mmistry in this highly favoured land. We would simply ask as one thing, that you would raise up among yourselves a society, to send some of your most eminent ministers to do good by a short sojourn (say six weeks) in traversing some parts which we may direct them to in the sister island. We have waited durinor the time that I have spoken of, and in vain, for such visits as these. In reference to our congregational visit from this land, I said from another pulpit where I had an opportunity of stating its claims, that while America, distant America, was greeted, the secretaries of our union had not time to sit down to write even anoteof ofreetinn- to Ireland. I repeat the assertion — not to blame the men (for I know and love them), but to show you, friends, that you are too much in the habit in this country, that it is left out of your prayers, left out of your correspondence, and left out of your greeting. Last year our Scottish brethren sent over one whose addresses en- livened and encouraged our hearts, as he told us of the former weakness of the cause in Scotland^ and of the way in which it had gained strength, and gone forward mightily up to the period at which he was addressing us. But we had no visitor from Encrland: we had not a single minister, though invited, to cheer our hearts from that which is the native land of some of us ; men who came, when our brethren were gathered, from the hack of Ihe worlds as they emphatically expressed it ; from the remotest corners in Ire- land, in order that they might be cheered and animated by their kind and salutary favour. I mention it, and I do it thus publicly, that such may never be the case again. O dear friends, stir up one another to think of Ireland, and to visit, especially, by a depu- tation of those who may cheer us and do us good, the sister island ; that they might come back, and tell on your platforms and in your pulpits, the wants they have seen, and the miseries which they wish you to relieve. Durmg the period that I have been adverting to, we have heard that your academies are overstocked with students, and that in your land ministers are treading on the heels of ministers ; but though 78 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. these statements meet our eyes repeatedly, through your missionary and other publications, we have looked, and we have longed, and not one of this overplus, not a single overflowing of your bounty in this way, has ever found his solitary path to Ireland. Through years that I retrace at this moment, and from the period when the institution for the education of our young men was put a stop to, under the idea that the overflowings of your English seminaries would supply us — I repeat it, not one English student has ever come to settle in the land. During the last year death has removed two of our ministers, and their congregations are consequently va- cant : circumstances have removed others : and after years of waiting, and some of toil, we have been able to turn out one solitary student as the fruit of our labours. Till the beginning of next year another cannot be suffered to depart from the institution ; and, without speaking of new spheres of labour, there are at present four, if not five, vacant churches, where individuals, did your bounty supply the means, might be usefully occupied in Ireland. Under such discouragements from the land from which we do not expect them, it is a comfort to know that Christ shall, and that Christ must reign. The last particular to which I would earnestly and affectionately request your regard is, the use of proper and necessary means for the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. Without entering into a minute specification of the various instrumentalities that ought to be employed with reference to Ireland, we would just remind you of the sentiment we have just advanced in reference to the character of the kingdom we would wish to establish there, and we would say that the kingdom of Christ which we are desirous of establishing must be established in the use of means conformable to the character of that kingdom. It is therefore that, in adverting to those means, on the very threshold we disclaim every interference with every political instrumentality. I have received this day from a friend of Ireland a letter, the writer of which seems anxious to be informed, amongst the conflicting statements which are made respecting Ireland, as to the actual condition of the country, and the means which must be employed for its spiritual renovation : and two names are classed together in this letter which I regret to see classed together, though I acknow- ledge that some circumstances may lead to, and seem to warrant, such a classification. I am asked whether the statements of the Rev. Mr. M'Ghee or those of Mr. O'Connell are to be believed on th THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. 79 subject. I regret that a good and faithful minister, such as the former Is — one who has at heart the interests of true religion, and would never knowingly stoop to any unworthy means for its pro- motion — should ever have committed himself, unthinkingly, by the production of a document which he did not suflSciently examine, when he had authentic documents enough to establish the point he was anxious to illustrate and to support. I regret that circumstances should, in the least degree, give a political character to the objects of an individual who, I am sure, has the spiritual welfare of Ireland at heart, however I may differ from him on some details as to the best mode of its promotion. I would say unhesitatingly, that the statements which that excellent minister of the Establishment has given, and continues to give, of the darkness and unholiness of the superstitions which he has been exposing, are statements which may be regarded as just and true, and however they may be contradicted never can be disproved. As to the other individual who has been named, I have no busi- ness to express political feelings or sentiments, or to interfere with public or private character in any way in the pulpit. I would only say to any friend who may build on the authority of a name, that whatever justice may be attached to the name in question, surely a Roman Catholic is not the judge at whose tribunal popery is to be arraigned, if you expect the trial to be a fair one. Nor is it to the special pleading of one who has surrendered his own reason and judgment, in appearance, to the system In question, and to debase himself so far as to kneel In the muddy street before a bishop of the church to which he professes to belong ; surely it is not to such an authority as this that you look for the true character of Ireland In a religious point of view. He may tell you of her politics ; he may be an oracle about her " wrongs :" with his opinions upon that subject, one way or another, we have nothing to do ; but as to her religion, take the evidence of the Book of God, and compare what that says with the religion that you find In the country, and out of its own mouth will it be condemned. Though we may seem presuming In some of the language we employ on this occasion, we must candidly say, that we regret th admixture of political questions or feelings on the one side and on the other, with any of our religious societies, or with any Interposi- tion of British Christians feeling on her belialf Be they Tory politics, or be they Whig politics, they have no business with the questions of Ireland's welfare, if by religious means you wish to do 80 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. that country good. It is by means, as we have said, conformable to the character of the Gospel of Christ, that you must seek her evangelization; and our societies that allow the introduction of politics, unwisely, I conceive, on their platforms, give a testimony in favour of the necessity of this. Whether it is the instrumentality of the " Irish Evangelical Society " on the one hand, with politics their missionaries have nothing to do ; and on the other, the " Hiber- nian Society " would as little like its schoolmasters to interfere witb them in one way or the other. It must be by spiritual mean* by holy means, by intelligent means, by peaceable means, that Ii'e- land is to be evang^zed : the great mystery of her evangelization is, the full, the free, the diffusive application of the Gospel of Christ. We might call, did your time permit, in review before you the various agencies which the Hibernian Auxiliary Society in this place of worship embraces, and as we pass each in review before you, we might test them as to their conformity to this character, and call on you to decide the question, whether the character of these means does not correspond with what we have said ought to be the character of the means used for evangelizing Ireland. Look at those peaceable scholars which the Hibernian Society has collected under the thatched roof of some lowly cabin by some bog side, and in some sequestered corner of the neighbouring island : and when you see the group of ragged children, learning in their native tongue to read the Book of God, surely you will say, theisi* are likely men to do good to Ireland. Some of your travellers have returned from among us, and said, We never met with these schools. If it were our object to post them like the public houses and the inns upon the road side, for the purpose of attracting, they might wonder that they never met with them. But if travellers who study ease, and do not like to penetrate into sequestered valleys, or to travel by the side or even in the midst of bogs — if there be large tracts of country which they in their routes have never yet visited, it is not to be wondered at that those schools have seldom met their eye. They do exist, and they do good. They have already ope- rated to the formation of friends among the peasantry in the We.stof Ireland, who now receive and welcome the scripture readers • so that when the scripture reader is particularly well treated in the house of any young couple, we may immediately come to the con- clusion, which is soon confirmed by his statement, that such and such Individuals were educated in the London Hibernian Schools. THE CLAiMS OF IRELAND. 81 I mention that society, not because there are not others, but because those schools your auxiliary particularly embraces. I ask you again, If we cannot Induce our English or Scottish friends to settle in any numbers amongst us, may we not be allowed to choose from among ourselves young men of intelligence and piety, and to express the hope that you will feel for Ireland, and by her own children shall the land we love be evangelized at last, in instructing them in the Irish language, in enlisting their sympathies for their own countrymen, in their knowledge of the country over which they have to travel, and in their willingness to submit to privations which an Englishman would think it too great an hardship to submit to in that country. We may anticipate from a supply of native ministers what the experience of the past has demonstrated, that they are almost the only men who will stop with us ; and though we educate others in the country, it is only Irishmen whom we can prevail upon, generally speaking, to continue their labours among the people. We ask you again whether scripture readers are not a means scriptural in its character, peaceable in its aspect, and calculated to do good in the land in which it is employed ? Could I bring before you on the present occasion some of these plain, but useful, individuals, you might almost be tempted to smile at the humble instrumentality. But what would provoke the smile of Englishmen is that which commends the poor scripture reader to his fellow- countrymen's heart. I could place before you, in the person of one of our readers, who has probably been more useful than many ministers have been — a mean, ragged-clothed, almost peasant, from the province of Connaught, between whom and the reapers who visit your shores you would see but little distinction as to attire or personal appearance ; but then he is not afraid of soiling his clothes as he goes from cabin to cabin among the poor inhabitants of the land that he traverses. When he sits down on their little stools, and takes in his hand the potatoe, and eats it with the butter-milk, or it may be only the salt, which is all the fare to which they can welcome him, and to which they do heartily welcome him in many of the cabins which he visits ; where he is provided with such fare as this,^ he is not a man to feel inconvenienced by it, much less a man to treat with contempt the fare on which human beings subsist with satisfaction. From his conformity to the prejudices of the country, to the customs of the country, and to the poor circumstances of the people, his willingness to come among them as one of them- selves, and to talk with them on a footing of perfect equality, the VOL. VL G 82 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND, scripture reader has been allowed to lift the latch where another stranger would not be permitted to enter : the scripture reader has been allowed to speak with confidence where the minister would be heard, if listened to, with suspicion ; has been sometimes permitted to draw out his Book, hlach as it is (for such is the name which has been given to the Bible), black as it is, to the inhabitants of the cabin ; or, if awed by the authority of the priest, they tell him to put his book in his pocket, and that they cannot suffer him to read it, they will yet listen to him as he talks ; and when the Irish accents, in their sweetness and richness, flow from his tongue, the ear is chained to listen to the message of mercy ; and " the story of peace," as the Gospel is beautifully called in Irish, finds its way to many a poor sinner's heart. Besides this instrumentality, that of preachers of the Gospel stationed in districts, or of itinerant labourers traversing the length and breadth of the land, has been eminently useful. Did time per- mit, or were it the object of the present address to enter into details, I might present many which we receive almost daily, in illustration of the suitability of the means to the establishment of that kingdom with which I have been endeavouring to occupy your attention. We cannot always speak of success ; we must often speak of trials and disappointments : yet still this instrumentality in its varied character is finding its way, and already giving an indication that " He shall reign," and that " He must reign," whose right the kingdom is. Since coming among you on this occasion I have been urged from Ireland, by my fellow-labourers in the city of Dublin, to impress on the friends of that country here how much men and means are wanting for Ireland. We could find employment for many labourers if we could but receive from your liberality (and we are ready to throw in along with it our mite to support them), or could find the men who were willing to be employed in those labours. We have some of them already engaged in different parts of the country ; but what are these among so many ? I have been often challenged with what has been done for Ireland, and with the little degree of success which has attended it. All that has been done for Ireland ! Have you ever calculated all that Britain has done for Ireland at the utmost ; and then all that Britain ought to do, with respect to its duty to God and its duty to Ireland likewise ? And will you again repeat the question ? If you do, we can only candidly tell you that England never yet has done its duty to Ireland, and never will until she has sent an active and faithful missionary into every THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND, 83 large town, at all events (to say no more), of the sister island ; and if this was done with diligence and promptness, the effect is incal- culable, and would be undoubtedly great. But the success has been great : the revival of religion that has taken place in Ireland has been most satisfactory and glorious. You are not to calculate the good done by one denomination, but by various denominations of the people of God, and in the stirring up and rousing of Christians of all denominations in Ireland. The means already employed have been eminently useful and eminently blessed. There is every encouragement to go forward : we sin against the God who has blessed our efforts already if we do not ; and with all the discouragements and disadvantages, much land yet remains lo be possessed. When we see the numbers that God has already brought to- know the truth, and stirred up to usefulness in different denominations in the sister island, we see enough to lead us to thank God and take courage. Will you bear with me (though yonder clock warns me to have done) whilst I venture to suggest to you that, while pleading with you for means, in connexion with the denominations which are united, though in no sectarian spirit, you are to remember that our episcopal friends have the wealth of government for their support; you are to remember that our presbyterian friends have the Regium Domini for their support, in sums of from fifty to one hundred pounds for every minister settled in the land ; but that those who labour on the voluntary principle, and are the men on that account more particularly suited to meet the Roman Catholic on the principles he has lately adopted — they have no support but what they derive from British liberality. Is it too much, then, whilst you plead for the voluntary principle, that we call on you to give a noble demonstration of its efficacy under God to evan- gelize Ireland ? I take up Ireland with its millions ; I take up Ireland with its spiritual miseries and wants ; I plead with Christian brethren and sisters, and I say she is your neighbour, she is your sister, she has lived for centuries vinder your govern- ment ; you confess that you have wronged her ; I plead for no political justice ; I simply ask, give her the Gospel, give it in pro- portion to her wants, in proportion to the abundance that you enjoy. I throw the cause upon your liberality ; and from what I have previously experienced when pleading the cause of Ireland, 1 am sure I throw it not on that liberality in vain. But tliough I have trespassed, it may be the last time I shall be 84 THE CLAIMS OF IRELAND. permitted to address some of yo\i — and before we part, therefore, the text has personal reference to you. In one way or other Christ " must reign" with respect to you. Have you ever felt the power of his grace in your hearts ? Have you ever been converted by that Gospel which we wish you to send to the sister island ? If not, that kinhich you are able to bearP It is vain to plead the strength of temptation in excuse for being overcome, while superhuman help was offered, through which victory might have been secured. Another man will acknowledge that attention should be given to the HEAREUS JUDGED BY SERMONS. 97 ksavino" tlie soul, but he reckons on after opportunities, and screens his present neglect by the promise of future carefulness. " The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." The word emphatically announces to him, that " 7ioiv is the accepted time, that Jiow is the day of salvation!''' It offers man all he needs of to-day ; it gives no pledge for to-morrow : therefore shall it take away all excuse from those who, through daring to procrastinate, have died without repentance. A third relies on the unbounded benevolence of God, arguing that a being so full of tender compassion will never be extreme in exacting punishment from his creatures. But " the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." That word hath ex- pressly declared, " The loiched shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God!'' It hath stated, w^ithout reserve, and without equivocation, that " God is righteoiis i?i tahing vengeance P and that while he is a reconciled Father to all who seek him through Christ, he is a consuming fire to such as reject him and put contempt on his Gospel. And this word will judge the man who presumes on the divine mercy. It could not have been in ignorance that he thus presumed after having heard, and therefore will that Gospel take away all excuse, and leave him defenceless at the judgment. It is thus with every instance of self-deceit, every species of apology, every subterfuge. We defy you to invent, to imagme the plea which a man might offer, why sentence of death should not be passed upon him hereafter, which will bear being brought to the test of the preached word. If you can suppose a man who heard the Gospel, but died without repentance, excusing himself at God's bar, you cannot devise the excuse which might not be instantly invalidated by a reference to that Gospel. We will dare to throw an awfulness over our present assembly by associating it most closely with the transactions of the last day. We will not allow that, because a few minutes hence you will be dispersing to your several homes, and the business of public worship will be suspended till another sabbath comes round — we will not allow that the services of this day, of this evening, are about to pass away for ever. We believe that the sermon which has done its part as a froclamaiion, has yet to do its part as a witness. What 1 now speak has again to be heard — heard on that day in wonder and in terror, when the dead, small and great, are to stand before God. And if there is one among you who has been a stranger to the Gospel, he will not go hence VOL. VI. " 98 HEARERS JUDGED BY SERMONS. with any excuse that will avail him on his trial. We tell this individual that he has sinned, and come short of the glory of God. We tell him that no penances, no morality, no benevolence, no up- rightness, will suffice to gain his pardon, and save him from a worm that dieth not, and a fire that is not quenched. But we go on to tell him that God, in the exuberance of his love, hath provided a ransom, given his own Son to die in his stead ; and that, by virtue of this marvellous substitution, he can and will pardon you, aye, crown with eternal felicity all who are ready to be free from the power, as well as the punishment of sin. And we entreat him that without a moment's delay he would devote himself to the seeking God through the Mediator Christ. We assure him that he cannot seek in sincerity, and fail to find ; we assure him that he cannot refuse to seek, and fail to perish. A thousand promises of God bear us out in the one statement — a thousand threatenings in the other. And now our task is done. The man will depart ; perhaps to- morrow he will be on the great deep ; and he will soon forget in distant scenes what is pressed on his attention by the minister of Christ. But can our words perish ? Is there no marble, no brass, on which they are graven, though they have not imprinted themselves on the heart of the hearer ? They have not perished -, it is impossible they should perish. These very words are to vindicate the righte- ousness of God, when, in the presence of the congregated universe, this rejecter of the Gospel receives his sentence for eternity. Let him stand forward. The charge against him is, that of living as a rebel, thousfh there had been blood shed for his reconciliation : he has been told of his rebellion ; he has been told of the blood shed for him. If he attempt to plead ignorance, there will arise before him this very sabbath-meeting ; aye, and the words which I have just addressed to him will crowd on his memory, for there shall then be no forget fulness, but every moment of time will return as though the past became the present, that it might give its canker to the future. And if ignorance cannot be pleaded, how will the promises and threatenings of God, to which he had been directed, spring forward, as accusers, and overwhelm him by their testimony ! It is but too possible that this present ministration will thus furnish evidence, condemning evidence, at the last assize : and though, if I could single out the individual whose case I have supposed, I would plead with him earnestly and affectionately, beseeching him again and again to hearken to the tidings of for- giveness, and arraying before him the awfulness of final retribution ; HEARERS JUDGED BV SERMON&. Wi yet if I know him not till we meet before the great white throne^ and he be then among those who shrink away from the face of the Lamb, O there is nothing which can prevent me from appearing as a witness against him when he is standing at the bar ; and " the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him at the last day." We do not know, brethren in the Lord, that a more affecting truth can be presented to the minister of the Gospel, than that of his thus furnishing the evidence on which some, at least, amongst his hearers will be finally condemned. It must, I think, be one of the most painful of duties, (and all of you, I am persuaded, will agree with me in this), to come forward as a witness when a fellow- creature is put upon trial for his life, and to state facts which will ensure a fatal verdict. I am sure there is not one of us, whatever the wrong he had sustained, or the injury he had suffered, who could go unmoved into the court, and deliver, without a pang, testimony which must number the days of the prisoner. And what is this to the being witnesses against men who have never harmed you, men from whom you may have received many kindnesses, with whom you may have lived upon terms of friendship, and who are on a trial whose issue will decide whether they are to be incon- ceivably happy, or inconceivably wretched for ever and for ever ! It is vain to say, that the period will then be over during which human feeling can then have pUy, and that he who gives the evidence will give it without sorrow, because the possibility of grief must terminate with life. We are not sure of this. We are sure that when the judgment is concluded, and heaven entered, there will be place only for gladness and exultation : but we are not sure that, while the business of trial is still going on, and ministers see their congregations, and parents their families, divided and broken up, one taken and another left ; we are not sure that there will be nothing of agony, no burst and no gush of human sympathy. And why not sure ? So soon as in the mystic vision of St. John there had been the gathering of the dead from the sea and the land, and the sentencins: of all men accordinor to their works, there arose before the evangelist a new heaven and a new earth, the abode of the righteous. But what is among the first things then said in regard of the inhabitants of this magnificent creation ? " God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Is it not as though there will be weeping at tlic very instant of entering the eternal citv, so that tears will be carried even into heaven itself? O ! I 100 HEARERS JUDGED BY SERMONS. could almost believe from this that human feelmgs will have power throughout the awful transaction of severing the just from the unjust, and that those who have had to bear witness against others, and who have seen many, whose happiness they ardently wish, given over to the destroyer, will then know for the last time something of anguish of spirit — that they will go away to their own glorious heritage mourning for the lost, and that their gaze will be dimmed by the dew of human sympathy till God himself hath comforted them, and dried up their tears by manifesting his own splendours. And /would not be a witness against any of yow, and I would not that any oiyou should be a witness against me. In leaving you as I do this night, for a period of relaxation from public duty, I would earnestly pray that God of his mercy would pardon whatever has been faulty in my last year's ministrations, and bless whatever has been spoken according to his will ; and thus cause, that, when we meet at the judgment, no words of mine may be produced to convict me of unfaithfulness, and none to condemn you of wilfm impenitence. We must meet — meet in the relation of pastor and people ; but, blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us be earnest in obeying the Gospel, and there is nothing to prevent our meeting with gladness, and go in, an undivided company, to the marriage-supper ot" the Lan\b, CHRIST MANIFESTED TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. REV. T. B. BAKER, A.M. WOBURN CHAPEL, TAVISTOCK-PLACE, AUGUST 28, 1836. * Fo;r this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." — 1 John, iii. 8. Not only may it be said of Jesus Christ that he came to destroy the works of the devil, but, with respect to the elect of God, to destroy the devil himself I do not mean to say, to make an entire conclusion of him, but that he has taken from him all his power, and has moreover divested him of all authority and influence in reference to the church of God : so that, however he may tempt, annoy, and disturb them, he is incapable of destroying a single one of their souls. This you will find to be the case respecting them, by turning to what is said in Luke, x. : " The seventy returned again with joy, saying. Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." What a strong expression, beloved! But was that peculiar to the apostles ? Was this power merely theirs, and not ours ? We may use the same language in the exercise of faith upon Christ to-night as they did, and we may say, " Even the devils are subject to us through thy name :" for Paul says, " I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me :" and our Saviour moreover said, " I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven ;" a corresponding passage with my text — " He was mani- fested to destroy the works of the devil." " Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy : and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you ; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven," that you are the elect of God, which is a far greater subject of joy to true believers than having power over devils. This corresponds also with what is said in Revelations, xx. where Jesus Christ is said to have bound Satan " a thousand years," (meaning the Gospel aiST'ensation'), "and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him 102 CHRIST MANIFESTED up, and set a seal upon him, that he shouid deceive tho nations," or the Lord's people scattered up and down the world — '* "« more." My method of interpreting the passage for you this evening Is, first, by advancing some things in reference to the illustrious per- sonage mentioned in my text — the Son of God ; secondly, the powerful foe and his works which Christ came to destroy ; thirdly, the manifestation of Christ — giving you a diversified interpretation of the same ; fourthly, the end of the manifestation of Christ ; and lastly, I shall make a short application, or, rather I ought to say, pi-ay that the Spirit of God may nuke an application of what I am about 4o say to your hearts. First, I am to advance some things in reference to the illus- trious PERSON mentioned in my text — the Son of God. And what shall I say of him ? Is it possible that a worm of the earth, such as the man who stands before you, shall say any thing adequate, worthy the consideration of any of you, in reference to this person ? All our ideas fail, and our language is inadequate to express the glory of that blessed Jesus who is the head, the representative, and the Saviour of his church. And yet it is necessary, in order to excite our hearts to love, that we say a few words in reference to him. If we had the knowledge of an angel, and the tongue of a seraph, we should be totally inadequate to express one thousandth part of the excellences of Him in whom we have salvation. If you ransack the whole kingdom of man, and collect in one aggregate the whole of the excellences of the human race that ever have, do, or shall exist, and place them to the account of one individual, together with all power, authority, dignity, and so on, such an amalgamation of excellences would not make up a single person any thing like Him to whom I call your attention. All the excellences of the inhabitants of the world, with their honours, dignities, immunities, and gifts, could not, if centred in the person of one man, make up such another as the illustrious person mentioned in my text. I will give you one idea which the scripture affords, and that is, in respect of Ms noble extraction : he is called " the Son of the Eternal God." So excellent a person was this, that even Jehovah the Eternal Father brought himself into a state of poverty in order to enrich him Hence it is said, he was "the brightness of the Father's glory, the express image of his person, and overcame ali TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 103 things by the word of his power." I say, speaking after the manner of men, we are given to understand that the Eternal Father divested himself of all his excellences, placing them in the person of his Son : and that is the person who is said in my text to come and "destroy the works of the devil." "Although he was rich, yet for our own sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich." Hence he is the Son of God — the eternal, co-equal, everlasting Son of God. Another remark I would make in reference to this great person is, that having all power to help and succour them who are in a state of degradation and death, he^ as it were, matches and j?iar7-ies oicr nature in order to accomplish his purposes. God was manifest in the flesh ; and as it was in the flesh that the church had sinned against the goodness and mercy of God, so it was in the person of the church that Jesus Christ fulfilled the divine law, and made perfect satisfaction to Almighty God: and thus he marries our nature and becomes a part of the body, he being the head, and we being the members. In consequence of this, it appears from the holy Scriptures, that he succeeds in all his enterprises. Never did the Lord Jesus Christ take any thing in hand and was obliged to give it up for want of success : being perfect God and perfect man, he accomplished all that which he came to perform. He has rendered perfect satisfac- tion to Almighty God, and consequently has the crown of victory placed on his head, and that in reference to his body the church. So that Paul says, in Ephesians, iv. 8. " Wherefore he saith. When he ascended upon high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." He is mcomparable, moreover, for wisdom, power, and courage. He is incomparable for tvisdom, and knows all things in reference to time past and time to come, from eternity to eternity. There- fore he devised, in conjunction with the Eternal Father, a plan for the salvation of the church : infinite wisdom was requisite for the plan and the accomplishment thereof And omnipotence was only just enough to accomplish that which Jesus Christ wrought out, and which was a part of that plan which originated in the mind of the Eternal God. Moreover he has all courage to do what his wisdom suggests ; and courage that nothing could damp. Satan with all his power could not prevent him from the accompliiihmant of his design : and he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever never having undertaken a battle but what he won, never having 104 CHRIST MA^'IFESTED set himself to the accomplishment of any particular purpose but what he fulfilled the same, bringing glory to the triune God, and happiness to the church. These are a tew particulars in reference to Jesus Christ the Son of God, whose love led him to fulfil the divine law on behalf of his people, substituting himself in their place, and dying the death of the cross, entirely removing their sin, and wiping them out from the book of remembrance with his own blood, seated at the rio-ht hand of the Great Jehovah, interceding for his people and sending them day by day every necessary supply for the support of their hearts, the comfort of their minds, and the present and final salvation of their souls. I call your attention, secondly, to the powerful foe and his WORKS WHICH Jesus Christ came to destroy. " For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." I would give you a short history of the arch-enemy, and of the malignity, subtlety, ingenuity, and power, which he possesses, and which he is continually exercising against the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I do this in order that you may see afresh what I have asserted under the first head of dis- course. The first remark I make in reference to Satan is, that we are told in Holy Scripture that /le was formerly cm angel of light, created perhaps during the first six days, and stationed among those blessed spirits who are continually before the throne of God. We are told in IIolv Scripture that not beinof one of the elect ansfels he fell into sin ; and Jude tells us that "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." Beloved, does not this for one moment remind you of that state of eminence from whicli you have fallen ? Conceive, for one moment, Satan and all his crew, created as blessed, holy, and in- telligent spirits, presenting themselves before the throne of the Eternal Father, together with cherubim, seraphim, and all the blessed spirits in heaven, all those who worship God, "the morning stars," as Job calls them, who " sung together" for joy when the world was created ; conceive, I say, for one moment, Satan with all his adherents presenting themselves before the throne of the Father. Contrast their present with their past condition. They are TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 10«5 how shut up in everlasting chains and darkness, suffering under the punishment of an offended God, and although this is the case, determining never to give up their opposition to him who has shown tliem that he will have, and has had, and will continue to have a signal victory over them. And consider from what you have fallen. Our first parents were created in the image of God — holy, happy, pure beings. Adam disobeyed the commands of God, and involved himself and all his posterity in guilt ; and now you see the whole human race gone astray, following the imaginations, desires, and passions of their own hearts, living the life of the devil on earth for the gratification of self, denying God and the Lord Jesus Christ, denying the Holy Scriptures, and every thing which tends to the promotion of their happiness. And consider, in addition to this, the issue of it all — that ere long, all who repent not, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, together with him who is said to have been overcome by Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are ready to ask. What was the cause of his fall ? Why did not he who was such a bright intelligent spirit before the throne of God, continue in that state ? Paul gives us to imdcrstand that it Via.?, pride, the most accursed sin of all. Hence, he says, in his epistle to Timothy, " Not a novice, lest being filled with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil.'''' It appears from this that we may draw an inference that pride was the cause of the condemnation of Satan. And, beloved, it is an accursed sin ! How often it prompts us to much zeal in the cause of Christ, zeal without knowledge, and which is not good! How many a time it puts us on prayer, and study, and diligence, and the exercise of all our passions, for the purpose, if possible, by mechanical means of accomplishing what his Spirit alone can perform. The pride of our hearts would lead us out of the track of accomplishing the purposes of Almighty God, and would advance us to the throne of the great Jehovah. Pride is the cause of all this : it is Satan's device, and has been the cause of the downfall of many individuals, states, and nations. Let us beware that pride is not the downfall of any of us. I do not mean to say that this, or any other sin, can destroy the Lord's people ; but it may be the means of bringing us into much distress and uneasiness of mind. It appears again from Holy Scriptures, that being cast into hell, although he was incapable of dethroning the great Jehovah, he foiirnl means of leading oitr first parents into sin. Shall I give you 106 CHRIST MANIFESTED a description, for a moment, of the cunningness of this our spiritual enemy ? Did he not come into the garden to our first parents, holding a conversation with them, saying, " I know God hath said that ye shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of the garden ; but God doth know that ye shall not die, although he has declared this to be the case :" insinuating thus much ; that God having created so beautiful a tree, and loaded it with such enticing fruit, they could not but suppose it was his intention they should eat it. " You shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil :" presenting, as it were, to the minds of our first parents, temptation to the same sin which brought him to his own ruin. " Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil ;" whereas now you only know good, but hereafter you shall only know evil. The bait was enough ; our first parents took it ; they fell into sin, and brought on themselves and their unhappy pos- terity guilt, ruin, and damnation. Thus is Satan most dangerous to us : and this will appear, first, from his being a powerful enemy. Peter says of him, that " as a roaring lion he goes about, seeking whom he may devour." Take this as an example of the enemy you have to contend with. Fancy any one of you walking in the streets of London at night, un- armed, unprotected, without a single individual in your company, to secure you from a lion that might have broken from the Zoolo- gical Gardens. He might have met you in one of the streets, and YOU know you would be totally incapable of grappling with the beast ; he would soon overcome you, and destroy you ; and it is a thousand to one if you were not destroyed on the very onset. This is just a representation of Satan, passing from street to street, from house to house, from church to church, from city to city, entering and presenting himself in every situation and circumstance of life as a roaring lion, for the purpose of destroying immortal souls : and nothing can secure him from you but the mighty power of the eternal God. Yet men seem satisfied with their present pleasures, careless of the salvation of their souls ; and the consequence is that they are destroyed with an everlasting destruction, though they perceive it not till the moment they are brought into that place, where weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, will be their portion for ever. Satan is powerful from his ingenuity. Hence he is called the tuhtle enemy of the children of God. Paul says, in 2 Ccr. xi. 14, TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 107 he is " an angel of light.*' Just consider the character of Satan, for one moment, as an " angel of light." He presents himself to you as a child of God, m the shape of some hypocrite or other. Do you not remember what is said in Job, i. ? When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came amongst them, and presented himself before the Lord, and, I understand from the passage, as a son of God. He was not discerned by the other individuals presenting themselves, but the eye of Jehovah could discover him. Hence he said, " Whence comest thou V Satan replied, " From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." " Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil ?" And, like an angel of light, endeavouring to persuade God that there was not purity in the heart of Job, nor genuineness in his religion, and endeavouring to show to God himself, that he was moved to indignation against Job from just motives and right principles ; and he treated Job as a base hypocrite, and he said to God, " Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side 1 thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land : this is the sub- stance of Job's religion ; but put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face." Here he appeared as an an angel of light, seemingly with a heart full of hatred to hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Observe what is said in the prophet Zechariah respecting Joshua the high-priest. " And he shewed me Joshua the high-priest standing before the anffel of the Lord, and Satan standinor at his right hand to resist him." What was the conversation which then occurred between God and Satan ? Satan came for the purpose of preventing the introduction of Joshua into heaven, because of his filthiness. It is said that " Joshua was clothed with filthy gar- ments" — ^just as you and I, beloved, are clothed by nature; we stand before God just as filthy as Joshua did. W^hat was the ex- pression that God used in reference to Satan ? He said, " The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan ; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee : is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ? " Thou hast come here to prevent me receiving Joshua into heaven ; thou art endeavouring to persuade me that Joshua is not a fit object for eternal glory ; I will show you that he is : " Take away the filthy garments from him." And he said to Joshua, " Behold, I have 10b CHRIST MANIFESTED caused thme iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with chanore of raiment." And Satan was silenced. Is not this often the case ? Does not Satan many a time endeavour to tempt you, by inducing you to believe you are not a child of God; by infusing into your mind exalted notions of the principles of purity, and en- deavouring to persuade you to bring your experience to these principles ; thereby endeavouring to condemn you in your own conscience, and bring you into a state of desperation ; though he hates purity with all his heart ? Does he not often say to some of you, " You are exceedingly good and praiseworthy in the sight of God : you prayed to God as soon as you left your couch ; you have been in the spirit of prayer during the day, and have mani- fested yourself as a man of prayer even at the close of the day ?" Do you not feel some kind of complacency in consequence of having attended to this duty, leading you from trusting in Jesus Christ to trust in something of your own 1 To another Satan says, " There is no doubt of your salvation because of the extensiveness of your knowledge : you comprehend the whole book of God ; and inasmuch as it is said that some men perish from lack of knowledge, t/ou shall be saved in consequence of your knowledge." Thus he tempts man to depend on himself, and to forsake the righteousness of Jesus Christ, being ignorant thereof So in reference to regu- larity of life. Some men lead a regular, praiseworthy life in the sight of their fellow-creatures. Satan appears as an angel of light, and knows that the pride of the man's heart is ever delighted with self-gratification, he immediately suggests that the regularity of their lives is a sufficient passport to glory. You are not to suppose (and I know many of you will agree with this sentiment) that Satan always tempts man with contraries. This is seldom the case : he endeavours to invent something as much like the words of God as he can ; to present something like the Spirit's work as much as he can : he will try to bring forward something that shall have the appearance of religion, and so, in consequence, make men satisfied with the appearance instead of the substance. Take care lest Satan tempt any of you to fall into this sin, or to come short of salvation, through his subtlety. How necessary it is that we be on our guard lest Satan invent something like the work of God, and we be thereby led astray ! Moreover he is an experienced enemy. Do not imagine you have to deal with a person who has just commenced his opposition to the Gospel of Christ, or the salvation of men's souls: he has had TO DESTROV THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 109 great experience ; and you cannot but suppose, therefore, that he is well qualified to act his part. And he is such a cunning con- triver of all those things which seem to gratify men's carnal lusts, whether in the way of self-righteousness, or fleshly gratifications. He is well experienced in these things ; and what has passed leads him to succeed to a very considerable extent in what is present, and what is to come. I would represent to you his vigilance also. He is always in his parish ; he never leaves his congregation ; he is ever employed in doing the most he can to damn men's souls : and he is much more diligeht in this work than we who profess to be the ministers of God. We stand up before you from time to time endeavouring to snatch your souls as brands from the burning ; but Satan is always employed, without the intermission of a single moment, en- deavouring to draw away men's souls after lust, sin, sensuality, and self-righteousness, never for a moment ceasing his employment: with an inveterate hatred against God, he is doing all he can against the souls of men. He is, moreover, a persevering enemy. He does not commence a work, and then give it up if he cannot succeed. He comes to the engagement with all his powers, bringing all his faculties into play ; every power he possesses is brought into exercise in this one great engagement to ruin the souls of men. Does he not shame many of us when we examine ourselves ? Is he not more diligently engaged and exercising greater power to ruin men than we are to save them ? You may take an example even from the devil. He is diligently employed, exercising all his powers in order to destroy ; and shall we not exercise our powers to save ? Shall we be deterred from " spending and being spent," as Paul says, in the service of Christ ? Shall we see men ruining their souls, and bringing on themselves swift destruction, and yet remain silent and inactive a' out it ? Impossible, beloved : if we have tasted that the Lord is gracious — if we know any thing of the mighty power of God in the salvation of our own souls, we cannot, we dare not, we will not, remain inactive spectators of men who are running the road to de- struction, without attempting to snatch them from the ruin towards which they are rushing. Let us remember to use our power and ingenuity against the power and ingenuity of Satan. He is a very numey-ous enemy : and although he is spoken of in the text in the singular number, there is a very remarkable passage where he is spoken of in the plural number: his name may be 110 CHRIST MANIFESTED called a noun of multitude; and I would that you would carry that name with you. When our Saviour was speaking to a man pos- sessed witn a devil, he asked him what was his name, and he said, " Z^egion, for we are many." A legion of devils in one man ! You have to contend with a most numerous enemy, and are sure to be overcome, were it not for the exceeding greatness of the power of God as exhibited in Jesus Christ and applied to our hearts by the blessed Spirit Hence the truth of my text : " The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil :" and if he had not been manifested for this purpose, the devil would have destroyed us. I would now speak a little of the works of the devil. His first work is, dishonouring God's law. He hates God's law, and he is determined to dishonour it. Hence Whitfield, in one of his prac- tical sermons, speaking of Satan, says, that previous to Satan pre- senting the apple to our first parent he ate one himself; else how could it be said that when " she saw that the tree was good for food ?" And he concludes from that, that she perceiving Satan to break the command of God, was thereby led to break the same command. I do not undertake to vouch for the truth of such an interpretation ; I only throw it out to show you how Satan is ever engaged in dishonouring God's law, and how he will, if he can, present something which may draw men after him. Look at the work of Satan in disordering the whole imivei^se. For a specimen of this I only ask you to examine the state of the metropolis. Do you not see two sins exhibiting themselves in every street you pass through — drunkenness and debauchery ? — the first of which is leading men to conduct that debases them below the beasts ; and the latter is such that they are ever thirsting for gratification of the same. Do you not remember the Shechemites, how they committed the sin to which I am calling your attention, and the sons of Jacob entered into that city and destroyed them all ? Do you not remember the curse of the Sodomites, how they brought on themselves swift destruction, and may be considered as going down to hell for that sin ? Do you not remember the case of Cozbi, in the early part of the Old Testament? Can you not recall to your minds how it made David to sin, and caused the heart of Solomon to depart from the Lord ? These sins are now reigning to an almost unprecedented extent ; and shall we allow Satan thus to disorder the whole world, carrying his point in almost every engagement he exercises himself in, and we remain silent and TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. HI inactive spectators ? Rather let us engage ovirselves, hand and heart, to put down the work of Satan, and as far as we can to exhibit the standard of the Gospel of Christ, which shall issue in the defeat of Satan. Let me digress here for a moment, in order to show you the consequences of sin. You may, when you walk the streets of London to-morrow, see many an individual whom you are ready to think is in the possession of happiness. Health may smile on their cheek, and vivacity seem to be in their conversation ; and yet, because they are living in sin, they cannot be happy ; or if they fancy thej are, only think what is to be their condition ; ere long, their bodies and their souls shall be in the fire of hell, far from an opportunity of hearing the Gospel of Christ to bring them peace, the bowels of divine mercy closed, their consciences eternally condemnino- them, all their talents and opportunities wasted, and they themselves pic- tures of eternal despair. Shall we allow Satan to be thus depopu- lating the world, and, as it were, colonizing hell, and yet remain inactive spectators ? That must not be the case ; and I will shew you, in as far as I can, the remedy for it. Another work of Satan is, taking away the sight of men. Paul says he blinds men's eyes, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine into their hearts. Satan is, as it were, blind- folding men in the world. How does he do this ? It is by pre- senting something to their view by which, if possible, to deter them from looking at the excellences of the religion of Christ. Satan does not tie a handkerchief round their eyes in order to secure them as his own ; but the way in which he blindfolds poor souls is by presenting some fascination, some sin, and he endeavours to cover that over in a way that is most likely to succeed in drawing aside their souls into eternal perdition. He blinds them with lust, sensuality, self-righteousness: something or other Satan is con- tinually presenting before the eye of the mind, in order that Christ may be kept out of sight. Another work of Satan is, rohhing us of our beauty. You were created like to God himself, and God looked on the works of his hands, pronounced it all very good. But Satan has robbed us of our beauty : we are said to be " children of Avrath, even as others ;" as " fallen into the condemnation of the devil ;" and that " out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, forni- cations, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Do you not perceive that Satan has robbed the whole creation of God of its beauty ? 112 CHRIST MANIFESTED And now, instead of being created in the image of God, we are said to be created in the imao^e of the wicked one : for the Psalmist declares that we are born in sin and shapen in iniquity ; and our Saviour says, " Ye are of your father the devil." This is the case with reference to the children of God in their nature state. Again, Satan robs us of our clothing. Our first parents, though they were naked, did not experience any shame when they used to converse in the garden of Eden, before they fell into sin : but on sooner had they rebelled against the commandment of their Creator, than Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. And the Lord God called unto Adam, " Where art thou?" And he said, " I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked ; and I hid myself" And Satan hath robbed us of our clothing : we would rather hide ourselves from God than go to him by our own inclinations : so true is it that men naturally, rather than drag their bodies under the hearing of the Gospel of Christ, will run into any other place ; they are so afraid of God and the word of God, that like Adam and his wife, they hide themselves from the Lord. He has robbed us of our strength. " Of our strength ?" say you. " Have we no power against Satan? Can we not do any thing to oppose him V He has totally robbed you of your strength ; and will you serve hmi still ? If he has robbed you of your beauty, of your sight, and of your strength, will you still give yourselves to his service '^ Will you still devote all your energies to a person like this ? Will you be robbed, and yet bless the hand that plun- ders you of your property ? Will you have your eyes put out, and yet kiss the hand that is doing it ? Will you have all that is worth possessing taken away fi-om you, and yet at the same time devote yourselves to the destroyer ? I could almost say, in the language of the Psalmist, " Do I not hate them that hate thee ?" Is it not painful to the souls of the Lord's people to see men thus blinded, robbed, destroyed, murdered, as it were in the streets, and yet that they shall even bless and praise the hand which does it ? But you would be just the same, were it not for the grace of God: for " what hast thou that thou hast not received ? and who made thee to differ ?" And so ive may say with respect to ourselves : we are just the same, and we profess before you we are not a whit better than these by nature. You have not the power of liberating your- selves from your bondage. What a blessed declaration, then, is the TO DESTROi' THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 113 text to tliose who feel what they are ; seeing that if you have not the power to do any thing for your own liberation, Jesus Christ has done it for you! He has robbed you of your peace. Perhaps there is some person ready to deny this : " Satan has not robbed me of my peace : I enjoy much peace ; you can scarcely imagine how happy I was last week at the theatre (or some other synagogue of Satan). You will not persuade me that Satan has robbed me of my peace ; I enjoy much happiness ; I spend many pleasant days and evenings in what you call the service of Satan : I have the proof that Satan has not robbed me of my peace." If I had an opportunity, I could prove to thee that Satan has robbed thee of thy peace ; and if not in thine own experience now^ there is a day coming when thou wilt acknowledge the truth of what I assert, when thy present peace shall issue in eternal damnation, when your temporary enjoyment shall be ex- changed for everlasting misery, when you shall go from the delightful service of Satan on earth to the miserable service of Satan in hell. Reflect-on this, and see if you can enjoy yourselves the next week. He has robbed you of your peace with God and your own con- science ; and however you may endeavour to persuade yourselves that you are not guilty of sin, try yourselves by the word of God, and if you can in your consciences approve what you do, and the manner in which you live, I should almost (I was going to say) despair of your salvation. But inasmuch as I know God has said he is capable of saving the most hardened and ungodly wretch, if he is the object of his everlasting love, therefore we are encouraged in preaching the Gospel to those who are hardened in sin, knowing that the power of the Spirit, can apply the truth of the Gospel to the hearts of such. Hence Paul says, " Where sin hath abounded, grace doth much more abound." In a word, the works of Satan may be summed up in one short sentence : he is labouring with all his power, ingenuity, and skill, to establish his own kingdom, and to put down that of Jesus Christ: and this leads me to The third head of discourse : the manifestation of Christ. I shall call your attention to the spiritual manifestation of which the Scriptures speak in reference to Christ. The first you find in Genesis, iii. 15, immediately after the fall ; and it was a blessed manifestation. You have in this an exhibition VCI>. VI. 114 CHRIST MANIFESTED of the love of God to his elect children. Immediately after theit sins, God introduced himself into their presence, and having expostulated with them, he immediately manifests Christ as a Saviour from the consequences of their sin. Was Christ, say you, manifested then in the garden of Eden ? He was, beloved : the same Christ who is preached to you to-night was preached to our first parents im- mediately after the fall ; and no other name has ever been preached by God or God's ministers as the way of salvation. It was Christ who was preached as the remedy for that sin which our first parents committed in the garden of Eden : " The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent." He was moreover manifested in his human nature. God was manifested in the flesh ; and the manifestation of Christ in his human nature constitutes the great blessing of salvation ; fulfilling the divine law which we had broken ; having all the sins, without exception, of the Lord's elect people laid to his charge, and making a full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction on the cross for those sins. He was manifested when, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, he was lifted up on the crdss, that whosoever believeth m him as God manifest in the flesh, shall receive everlasting life : and the only manifestation of Christ to which we would direct your attention as being saving in its efficacy, is, that of a perfect atone- ment or sacrifice presented to the Eternal Father as a satisfaction for the sins of those who believe. He is manifested in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. The prophets spoke of Christ : Paul says in Hebrews, i., " God at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past to the fathers by the prophets .•" and every rite, and every type, and every shadow, which was exhibited in the temple worship, was only as a glass through which the mind was directed to the great sacrifice, Jesus Christ our living- Head : and he was manifested in the Old Testa- ment, that the Old Testament saints might believe in Him who destroyed the works of the devil. But he is especially manifested in the New Testament. He says himself, " Search the Scri})tures, for they are they which testify of me." You must search the Scriptures if you want to see Jesus Christ : it is necessary that you search God's holy word con- tinually : and in your search be like the man who bought a piece of ground, understanding there was a treasure hid in it ; selling all that you have to purchase this field, because of the treasure con- cealed therein. You should read the Word of God to discover the TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 11.*) Lord Jesus, for there he is so clearly maiiifested that you cannot fail, if under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to discover him. You must remember the woman who having lost a piece of money, lio-hted a candle, and swept the house diligently: and when the Spirit of God enlightens your understanding, and brings you to feel that you have lost the salvation of your souls, light the candle, take the Scriptures, open the book, and pray to God that you may discover in the reading of the book that which you have lost : for Christ says, " Search the Scriptures, for they testify of me ;" and Paul writing to Timothy says, " Give thyself to reading." Christ is manifested in both the Old Testament and the New, and both correspond, and unite in the manifestation of Christ to the church. I now come to the manifestation of Christ personally, in the preaching of the word, and in the heart of the believer. First, Christ has personally appeared on earth. You should nevet have your minds directed from this subject by any other man. I know Satan will try, if he can, to lead you to the consideration of the second coming of Christ. It is necessary that you consider this, but take care that he does not invent any false ideas respecting his econd coming. Never let the second, or any other coming, imaginary or real, keep you from looking at Christ already come ; for this is your salvation. God was manifested in the flesh ; and it was when he appeared on earth that he overcame the works of the devil ; and what is necessary that you understand and experience is, that he has destroyed them in your behalf. It is not enough that you hear and believe that he destroyed the works of the devil, but it is necessary that you feel in your hearts that he has destroyed them in reference to you. Christ is manifested in the preaching of the Gospel. If we speak not of the Gospel it is because there is no light in us ; and if we speak of any other Gospel it will not save your souls. Hence it is your bounden duty to come before with none other than Christ; nor to present to you any other remedy for sin than the blood of Christ; nor to exhibit any thing before you as the justification of your sins than the justification of Christ. There is a declarative manifestation of Christ in the faithful preaching of the Gospel : and we endeavour to exhibit him before you, that your eyes being directed to him, and withdrawn from all other objects, you may be transformed into his image as by the Spirit of the Lord. We are bound, as ministers of the Gospel, every time we present ourselves ilG CHRIST MANIFESTED before you, to declare nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified for the salvation of souls. There is a sacramental manifestation of Christ. When we pre- sent to you the symbols of our Saviour's dying love, in the language of our church (which is a good interpretation of the subject), we present " the outward and visible sign." But has not God promised that, whatsoever means of grace you engage in, if engaged in with faith, prayer, and humility, you shall not only be partakers of the symbol, but of the thing signified % And if when you are pressing the bread with your teeth, and receiving the wine into your lips, you are enabled by faith to look to Jesus Christ, whose Lody was broken on the cross, and whose blood was spilt for his church — if you are enabled to look through the symbol to Him whom it signifies, you shall experience that not only are you par- takers of the outward sign, but that you are strengthened by the application of the inward and spiritual grace. With respect to my own people, I would just say, Whenever you come to the table of the Lord, and it is my privilege to administer the symbols of my Saviour's dying love, let me beseech you to come in the spirit of prayer and faith, and your service shall never be in vain. 1 must not omit to tell you that the only manifestation of Christ which can do any of you good is, the manifestation of Christ to your hearts by the Spirit of God. I may speak to you of divine matters ever so clearly, I may well arrange ray arguments, and endeavour by the dint of human logic to confirm all I say ; but it is in vain unless the Spirit of God be with me. You are assembled here to-night to hear God's word explained ; and I must tell you, one and all, that my preaching cannot do you the least good, and your hearing will not be of the least advantage, unless you have the Spirit of God to apply it to your hearts, and seal it on your consciences, that, like bread cast upon the waters, it may be seen in ^^our lives and experienced in your hearts. I mention this to show the necessity of continual supplication at the throne of grace, for the teaching, guiding, and sanctifying power of the Spirit of God. The works of the devil must be destroyed in your hearts by the formation of Christ in your souls, and you must have the experience and the evidence for yourselves that sin does not overcome you, that the world does not destroy you, and that the devil does not lead you into eternal ruin. " Sin shall not have dominion over you:" " Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world :" Christ has destroyed * death, and him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil :" TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 117 " His name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." Now this is the manifestation of Christ which 1 wish to impress upon you — that you should have Christ in your hearts preserving and saving you. I'liis brino:s me to the fourth head of discourse — the end of fHib! MANIFESTATION — to dcstroy the works of the devil. Did Satan dishonour God ? Certainly he did, you say. Christ came to destroy the dishonouring service of Satan by honouring God. However God might be by the work of Satan, he is honoured by Jesus Christ in the salvation of a spiritual race, or the elect of God. Did Satan disgrace God's law by breaking it and misleading others to break it ? Christ has honoured that law, he is " the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." He has satisfied the demand of God on behalf of us who had dishonoured his law, and in reference to Satan who has disgraced it. Has Satan destroyed the government of God in the world ? To a great extent he has : many of us see it, and it is a painful sight. Our relatives, our dearest and best friends are given up to the service of the wicked one; and Satan seems so far to have destroyea the government of God in the world, that even many of us have in our own families sharp experience because of our attachment to th truth of God's word, and the doctrines of our holy religion ; and we experience what our Saviour said should be the case — " A man's foes shall be those of his own household," and that he " came not to send peace on earth, but a sword." Nation is rising against nation ; and we see, as it were, men rioting upon the destruction of men ; one human being living to the gratification of self at the expense of the misery of another ; and there is such a diversified manifestation of the ruinous, destructive power of Satan, that we are ready to conclude there are very few vestiges left of the go- vernment of God in the world. But yet if Satan has disturbed the government, it is said with respect to Christ that " the government is laid on his shoulders," and that " his name shall be called Won- derful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." I know with respect to the wicked they will not acknowledge this ; but what will they think when I assert that they are constituted and made a means of promoting God's glory : that even Satan in his self-destroying power, and the wicked in their self-gratifying propensities, all are overruled by a wise and powerful God for the advancement of his glory and the salvation of them that 118 CHRIST MANIFESTED , are his, that the government of Christ is established on the earth, and Satan shall not by any means destroy it ? Thus Satan appears continually engaged in the establishment of his kingdom, and Christ engaged in pulling it down. I might run through all the particulars to which I have called your attention, as to Christ being said to be made our peace, our strength, our beauty, and so on : Satan has cursed us — Christ has saved us : Satan has effaced Christ from our hearts ; the Holy Spirit impresses his image on our souls. Hence you see that this is all accomplished for us by virtue of Christ's death ; so that our sins and iniquities are en- tirely removed from the book of God's remembrance by the precious blood of Christ. We are assured, where the Holy Spirit has enabled us to experience the application of the word to our own souls, that Christ has overcome Satan and destroyed his works, to promote our happiness and eternal glory. It was his Father's will that this should be the case ; and hence it is that he was sustained in it. His love for his people enabled him to persevere in the arduous work : and the divine purposes would have been frustrated if Jesus Christ had not succeeded in the undertaking. And what shall I say by way of conclusion ? I know, as I said before, I cannot change your hearts ; that is out of my power : al- though we talk of application, we know at the same time it is the province of the Spirit to do this. But I would say. See the inde- 'pendent Deity of Jesus Christ. Could a mere man have overcome Satan, such as I have represented him to you ? Could a mere man have atoned fOr the sins of so many millions composing God's church ? Could a mere man have sustained the weight of iniquity which Christ sustained ? Could a mere man have fulfilled God's divine law ? Hence it was necessary that Christ should be perfect God and man in order to the accomplishment of this wonderful salvation, which it is our privilege to enjoy here, and hope to participate eternally hereafter. See how the love of God the Father hath appeared unto men. Could he have exhibited it in any way more calculated to direct our affection towards him ? Could there have been any exhibi- tion of the love of God like to this ? Do not the Scriptures say that " a man may die for his friend ;" but " God commendeth his love towards us in that while we loere yet sinners Christ died for us." Bee the exceeding love of Christ. You cannot get an exhibition TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. 119 of it from any other quarter. You may read the writings of all the sages that have lived ; you may dip into all the works of theology that have been written ; you may hear all the sermons which have been preached ; all are incapable of giving you an exhibition of God's love equal to that which the Spirit gives, when he shows you Jesus Christ as a Saviour. Consider the designation of sin in this passage — the works of the devil — and I ask if you will adhere to it ? Whose servant art thou, O sinner ? The servant of the devil. Whose work dost thou do ? Thou art doing the devil's work. Is thy situation an honourable one, and enviable ? Is it any thing of which thou canst boast ? Thou art the servant of the devil, and doing the work of the devil ; and thou shalt live with the devil hereafter, if not brought to believe in Christ. It is not merely a departure from some rule of morality — not merely defects in conversation or practice ; but thou art engaged in the service of the worst master, the most dishonourable being in the universe of God — ^the most hate- ful, debased, and accursed: every thing that language can ex- press I would append to the designation of him whose servant thou art. Canst thou live in it? Canst thou continue in it ? x4rt thou determined to go away to-night with an intention to fulfil thy desires in the gratification of sin ? If this is thy determination, go thy way ; but remember that the end of thy way is death — everlasting death. See the blessed state and condition of believers. The works of the devil are destroyed in reference to him : there is " no condem- nation to them that are in Christ Jesus " — those who prove them- selves to be such — because they '• walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." All their sins are forgiven, for Christ has pardoned them ; they are sanctified or set apart by the Father. They are " complete in Christ Jesus," and looked upon as without a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing :" the works of the devil, and the works of themselves, all that they have done, are entirely remitted to them, and they are enabled to experience in the reception of Christ that they are one with God by faith in Christ, and shall live and reign with him eternally hereafter. My dear hearers, let me impress upon you this subject : when you return home to-night consider what you have heard, and propose this question to yourselves — Shall I for the time to come live in the service of God, and rely on Jesus Christ and the finished work of salvation wrought out hy him, and be blessed with ever- l20 CHRIST MANIFESlfcD, ETd- lasting blessedness? May God the Holy Spirit enable you to decide of the Lord that you may live in the enjoyment of the peace of God here, and that we may have the happiness of seeing you in heaven hereafter, that we may cast our crowns at the feet of Jesus Christ, and say, " Thou art worthy, for thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." 121 BKLlEVEttS COMPLETK IN OHWST REV. J. SHERMAN, SURREY CHAPEL, OCTOBER 2J, 1835. Ye are complete in him." — CoLOSSIANS, ii. 10. One would suppose, ray brethren, that in apostolical davrf tJjert? would be enough to warn the church that she should not receive new doctrines or false teachers. We, naturally enough, think that the influence which accompanied their messages to their congrega- tions, the numerous converts which were made to their ministra- tions, and the simplicity and truth with which their testimony was delivered, were enough to assure their hearers that they were from God, and that therefore the message which they brought must necessarily be attended to. Yet such was the love of novelty, such the " itching ears," such the wandering of men's minds, that the apostles themselves could not please some people. They were often, the apostle tells us, " in peril amongst false brethren ; " and we are assured, from his fellow-apostles, they were in peril among erring brethren, weak brethren. It required, therefore, the utmost watchfulness on their part, as well as the most tender and pathetic exhortations, especially with regard to the weak of their flock, to keep them from the dissimulation of those who would preach " another Gospel." This was necessary even in the Colossian church — a church that was much beloved of Paul, and dear to his heart ; so that he had to exhort them to " beware lest any man spoil you through phi- losophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudi- ments of the world, and not after Christ.'* Some of these preachers preached philosophy ; that is, they endeavoured to reduce the truths of the Gospel to the false rules of their philosophy, and followed those men who were fond of their own talents and endowments. Thus they put mere eloquence in the place of Christ, and philosophy in the place of the simple truths of the Gospel. They could not endure to hear plain truth in plain language, but it must b^^ 122 BELIEVERS COMPLETE IN CHRIST. adorned with the flowers and figures of rhetoric. There were others who attempted to " spoil" the people " through vain deceits ;" that is, they gave them excitement instead of spirituality, noise for truth, declamation for application of the truth to their consciences. The consequence was, that the hearers were never confirmed, never established, in the truth ; and whatever teacher came and mani- fested these things to the people, he was the man, and they were immediately running after him, and siding themselves with him as a partisan. The apostle tells us they were " like children, tossed about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cun- ning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." And is there not still as much reason for caution as ever? Men still love the same degree of novelty, still have the same itching ears, still are characterized by the same wandering minds. It is difficult to find a congregation any thing like the Bereans, who will not take any thing we say for truth, but are determined, each for himself, to take the Bible when they go home, and compare the sermon with it. People are careless of comparing what they hear with the Word of God, and of bringing it to that standard. It is therefore the more necessary to exhibit to believers the neces- sity of their stability in the truth ; and the apostle offers two reasons for this necessity. One is, the glory and dignity of Christ. It is not meet to see them perpetually wavering in the doctrines of the Gospel ; for " in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." The next reason is, their completeness by that alliance. They are " complete in him ;" and therefore (as if he said) you need no better Saviour ; you can have no better escape ; ye are already complete in him : why, therefore, look after something new ? I know not that this is a sin chargeable on any who hear me this morning — I know not that any individual present has itching ears, is desirous of hearing new truths in eloquent language, adorned with the beauties of rhetoric ; but I know that one way to prevent it in the church of Christ is to present the benefits and the excel- lences which they derive from this association with the Lord Jesus. I now publish this to every believer present, whether he be stronger or weaker, whether he be a babe, or a son, or a father in Christ. I am aware that multitudes of teachers have gone over to the Antinomian school, and have exhibited the power and the blessed- ness of some of the distinguishing truths of the Gospel, unconnected with their practical effect upon the hearts and lives; and that, in consequence of this, many teachers, extremely fearful that the BELIEVERS COMPLETE IN CHRIST. 123 people would run with them, have gone to the opposite extreme, kept those truths in the back ground, and introduced nothino- but doctrines of a practical nature. Now, I believe, with your late venerable pastor, that the only way to destroy Antinomianism is to exhibit good sound Calvinism. I believe the only way to take from the spirits of the people any itch for novelty is to exhibit to them the fulness of the blessedness of their state in Christ, and then to draw from that state the powerful motives which would induce them to walk honourably, humbly, and actively in the world. I beg, therefore, to lay particular emphasis on the sentiment, that this text does not refer to advanced Christians only. Some may be induced to suppose, that it would do well for an aged father, standing on the brink of eternity, and about to enter another world; but it is a text which applies to every believer in the whole family of God, be he weak or strong, poor or rich, trembling, and " fearful to launch away," or with the full assurance of hope, and the brightest prospects of the heavenly world. Therefore, let all who are interested in the Saviour give audience this morning, and pray that the Spirit may enable me to exhibit this blessedness. First : Believers are complete in Christ by union to his person. There are four figures by which this most delightful union is set forth in the Scriptures. It is compared to a vine. The branch is not tied to the stem ; it is not dependent on some foreign support for its existence : the branch naturally grows out of the vine to which it is allied, forms part of the vine itself, is nourished and grows up by sap derived from it, and bears fruit by virtue of its union with the vine. This doctrine is beautifully set forth in John, xv., and you need only to be reminded of the chapter, that you may read the verses when you go home. " Without me," says the Saviour, that is, separated from me, " ye can do nothing." How secure, how blessed is such a union ! The union is exemplified by the stones of a building resting on a foundation : " Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, that ye should offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Believers are stones, but Christ is the liveli/ stone ; and they are made living stones by being built upon him. What can be more completely safe ? " Upon this rock will T build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." How many attempts have been made to dissever Christians Irom the living stone, and the life imparted to their spirits by union to 1?4 BELIEVERS COMD^ETK IN CHRIST. Ctrist! The fire, the sword, chains, imprisonments, and confisca- tious, have all been instruments by which men have attempted to destroy this union ; but they could not. When the magistrate told Polycarp that he had beasts of prey which would devour him, " Do your best," he said, " I will not deny my Lord and Master. Four-score years and six have I served him, and he has never said an unkind word to me ; and shall I deny him now ? " When poor Jane West, the blind woman, who used to pay people to teach hei the Scriptures, because she could not read, was condemned at Derby for her attachment to Christ, the poor young woman, led by the hand of her brother, said, " I go to the stake with cheerfulness, because I am going to Christ." And when John Knight and Brad- ford were united together to be burnt in Smithfield, and poor John Knight, the apprentice boy, only nineteen, was a martyr for Christ, and his heart began to faint, Bradford said, " Cheer up, brother, we shall have a merry supper with Christ our Lord to-night." It is not possible to break or divide this union. This union is compared to the marriage union. " Thy maker is thy husband ; the Lord of Hosts is his name." Now this is the closest of all living unions and friendships upon earth ; but it is often unhappily, sometimes speedily dissevered ; and, at the very best, this union only reaches to the most distant period of the longest life ; imperfection is attached to every part of it. But this to which it is compared is infinitely above it : the flame of Christ's love can never be quenched ; many waters cannot quench it, nor can the floods drown it. Nothing in his bride shall ever produce a divorce ; he hateth putting away ; and, strange to say, ere he united himself to his bride, he foresaw all her iniquities, rebellions, backslidings, hardness of heart, and wanderings ; and yet he says, " I love thee with an everlasting love ; therefore with loving kind- ness have I drawn thee." All unions among men are imperfect : this is complete. It is compared to the union of the members with the head. We are said to "grow up in Him who is the living head," to be mem- bers one of another, attached and united to Christ as the great Head of the church. How firmly united is every member to the head ! What sympathy has the head with every part 1 How the head influences, directs, and governs the whole ! How impossible to sever the head from the members without the destruction of both ! " Because I live, ye shall live also." The head cannot say to the feet, not to the smallest member, " I have no need of BELIEVERS COMPLETE IN CHRIST. 125 tbfe." ITiink of this, Aveak Christian, that the completion of tho hocly of the church to Christ would not be perfect without you ; that the meanest member of Christ's church must get to heaven, or else heaven itself would be deficient of one for whom Christ shed his blood. " He that toucheth them toucheth the apple of my eye.'* O ! how completely safe, blessed, and happy, must this union be ! Friendships shall be dissolved, unions shall be broken, contracts shall be set aside by death, those on whom you have leaned, die, and be no more for ever, and Jonathans, and those on whom you have trusted, depart to another world. But of this union you may ask, with triumph, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Secondly . Believers are complete in Christ by justification THROUGH HIS BLOOD. It is to be uotcd that they were the children of wrath, even as others ; the penalties and curses of a broken law were their portion as well as the portion of others, the sentence was issued against them, and they, like others, were in the prison of justice until the reprieve of mercy should be expired, and then be cast into the dungeon of hell. This was their state ; they were in themselves anything but complete ; they owed ten thousand talents, and they had not a farthing to pay ; they were debtors to the crown and dignity of heaven, and yet obstinate, and unwilling to submit. But when God, by his Spirit, discovered to them their true condi- tion, their danger and misery, they saw, for the first time, that they had nothing which could make them complete before him. If for the future they attempted to be perfect, and said, " I will resolve never to commit sin any more," then there were the sins of their past lives ; how can these be atoned for ? If they said, " I will endeavour to atone for them by some perfect acts of obedience for the future," then this Scripture met them, " By the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified." The very discovery of their guilt obliges them to cry, like the leper, " Unclean ! unclean !" And what was to be done ? Must they lie in this state of guilt, and perish ? No — everlasting glories crown' the brow of Jesus of Nazareth ! — though they are incomplete in themselves, they are complete in him. When Jacob hesitated to send Benjamin into Egypt, in order that corn might be bought for the family, Judah said, '• Send him, my father, I will be surety for him :" and these words satisfied Jacob's mind, and he entrusted the child to Judah. And so Jesus presented himself to his Father for us, and said, *• J will be surety for them ; I will take their debts on myself; 126 BELIEVERS COMPLETE IN CHRIST. their curse shall fall on nie, their punishment shall be mine." The terms were accepted: in the fulness of time Christ came, " made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." " Made under the law," that is, made under its commands, its penalties, its cursings. And when he came in our flesh, in the same nature that sinned, then justice demanded of him all our debt. Jehovah laid upon him the iniquities of us all: " Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts." Now those sins he bore, those curses he endured; and being God as well as man, he suffered all the punish- ment his people would have endured through all eternity. In the strong language of Erskine, " With one great draught, he drank hell dry." There was sufficient in this atonement to be an acquittal for all the sins and iniquities which we have committed. Now hearken to the result. Christ offered himself a sacrifice to God, a sweet-smelling savour, and the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake, because he has magnified the law and made it honourable. He " became sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God through him." " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us :" so that now when the sins of Judah are inquired for there are none ; and when the sins of Israel are inquisitorially sought after they cannot be found ; the great scapegoat on whom the sins of the people were laid, carried them into the land of everlasting forgetfulness. " I have cast their iniquities behind my back ;" and he will never turn to look on them again ; he has cast them into the depths of the sea, and not one of them shall ever rise up against them. The moment a convinced sinner believes this, the moment he receives the atonement of the Lord Jesus, and the righteousness he wrought out, his guilt is removed, his innocency is declared, his sentence is reversed ; and he is not only a candidate for heaven, but is actually permitted to have a foretaste of it. The merits of Christ are imputed to the sinner, and are as if he had wrought them himself; he is complete, therefore, in Christ, without any addition of good works. He has a righteousness, and what is it? A full righteousness, adequate to the satisfaction of the Eternal Father : an only righteousness ; for there is " no other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved :" an everlasting righteousness, which shall endure as long as his immortal spirit shall endure. It BELIEVERS COMPLETE IN CHRIST. 127 is the righteousness of God ; the righteousness which God the Father, in infinite wisdom, devised ; the righteousness whicli God the Son, in unutterable goodness, wrought out ; the righteousness which God the Holy Ghost, in unspeakable mercy, applies to the conscience. It is the only righteousness which God requires, and which man needs ; and the moment it is embraced, God and con- science are satisfied. All the attributes of God are reconciled and harmonized ; justice and truth meet together, righteousness and peace embrace each other. " Ye are complete in him." Think of this with joy, ye who are justified by faith, and do not let Satan deprive you of the joy. What has the law to do with you as it respects condemnation? It is magnified. What has justice to do with you as respects his demands ? They are satisfied. Wliat has sin to do with you as respects its condemning power ? It is put away by the sacrifice of Christ. What has Satan to do with you as respects his condemning influence in the soul? Christ has obtained a victory over, and destroyed him that has the power of sin, that is, the Devil. There- fore, lift up your heads with joy, and sing, " I will greatly rejoice; I will glory in the God of my salvation." Believers are complete in him by receiving from his fulness. " It hath pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell." All the fulness of the Godhead bodily, all the goodness of the man- hood visibly, all the fulness of the Mediator mediatorially ; this is the fulness which he possesses; and he possesses it in consequence of the completion of his work, and of satisfying the Divine justice. When the people were present on the day of Pentecost, they were astounded at the things which they saw and heard. Peter explained it, and said, '* All this has happened because Christ has ascended to heaven, and has received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, and shed forth this which ye now see and hear." He " as- cended up on high, and received gifts for men, even the rebellious." Now it is every believer's privilege to receive out of this fulness, and grace for grace ; and what a fulness must it be to supply a believer's wants ! I have seen a little paper, called, " Fifty-two Wants of the Believer in Jesus." They might as well be called fifty-two thousand, or fifty-two million. Fifty-two wants ! Why, fifty-two wants will never fill up his mind : these will never reach his desires and his necessities. But his fulness is able to satisfy the most enlarged desires of the most enlarged mind. Does he want 128 BELIEVERS COMPLETE IN CHRIST. spiritual blessijigs ? "It has pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell ;" " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ." Does he want life when he feels himself faintino- ? " Ye are dead, but your life is hid with Christ m God." Does he want to realize and lay hold of eternal life ? This is the record, " that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." Does he want peace ? We have " peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Does he want communion with the Father^ and fellowship with his Spirit ? By him " we have fellowship with the Father," " access by one Sjiirit unto the Father." Does he want joy? " We joy in God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Does he long for forgiveness ? " We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." Does he want acceptance? We are " accepted in the beloved." Does he want adoptio7i? We have " the adoption of sons" through Him who is the first-born Son of the Father. Does he want heaven ? There is union with him : " Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am." He sustains to all the offices which constitute the felicity of his saints. When our friends are dead, or when they are unkind to us, where can we go but to Christ ? He is a brother born for adver- sity, a friend that loveth at all times. He is an everlasting Father, that pities his children, and comforts his weak and mourning saints. He is the husband, the physician, the friend, the guide, the prophet, the priest, the king, the portion, the inheritance, the all and in all, of his saints. You have afflictions sanctified to you, mercies granted to you, graces upheld within you, and heaven to receive you. Tell me what you can want beside. O that I could this morning impart the comfort of this most precious truth ! You may, according to the flesh, be in want, but you have abundance in Christ ; in pain, but you have health in Christ ; in outward affliction, but you have comfort iu ( 'hrist ; on the verge of eternity, but you have happiness in Christ. Fourthly : Believers are complete in Christ in their sanctifi- CATiON AND GLORIFICATION. I put these two together, because neither are at present perfect, and may be considered incomj)lete. Still, even in their sanctification, believers are " complete in him." •' WTio of God is made unto us sanctification ,•" which, though progressive as to its nature, is complete in Christ their head A sculptor, when he commences his work upon a figure, begins it the feet, or perhaps the head ; he forms an arm, or a foot, or the head BELIEVERS COMPLETE IN CHRIST. 129 it is all incomplete. But when a child of God is regenerated, it is all perfect ; all the parts are perfect — perfect in their kind, thoiip-h not in their degree : as an infant when it is born is perfect in its parts, and only wants growth that it may arrive to maturity ; so a child of God, when renewed in the spirit of his mind, the new man formed within him is as perfect as to its parts as it ever will be ; it has only to be perfected in its degree through grace and boundless mercv. So of glonyicatio?/. As in the Saviour while he was on the earth there were some glimpses of his glory manifested, the tabernacle not hiding the shekinah, but there being some glimpses of light pervading the tabernacle of the flesh ; so the saint, while on earth, has not glory in perfection, but he has a taste of it. And what a taste of it has been sometimes had ! By and bye you are to have its fulness : your glorification is complete in him : " Where I am there shall also my servants be." The head will not live without the members : as Moses said, " Not a hoof shall be left behind;" so none that he redeemed by his blood, none that have trod in his steps, none that have sought for residence in glory, shall be left behind. Let me say, in conclusion, love this blessed Savioin- i?i whom you are so blessed. All your salvation is by him, all your comfort is from him, all 3'our joy derived from him, all your hopes centred in him, all your happiness from him ; and will you not love him 1 Mcthinks it is unnecessary to ask a saint to love his Lord and Master : can he do otherwise ? Not love Christ ! Not delight in Christ ! Shame on the wretch that would not love him ! But a saint who is allied to him by such bonds, who has received such blessings from him, and is in expectation of heaven from him, far be the thought from you ! Why, his name is like ointment poured forth, "as music in the ear, jubilee in the heart, and honey in the mouth :" and will you not love him ? Yes, I think I hear some who are coming to his table to commemorate his love, say, " Vi's ! I love thee, and adure : I O for grace to love tliee more !" Be it so: and if you wish to love him more, take these three direc- tions, that you may get a little more of this love : Be alive in his com- pany : meditate on his love : and employ yourselves in his service. Let your completeness in Christ comfort you under your own hn- parfections and incompleteness. What a contrast does the saint form to his Saviour ! How incomplete, beloved, are your joy, your love, your comfort ; what want of perfection ! What room is thrre for 130 BELIEVERS COMF'lETE IN CHRIST. lamentation over your temper, over the order which you maintain in your houses, over the want of time for devotion, over the lamentable deficiencies of a consistent and humble walk with God ! Now Christ is your pattern, and you are not to aim to copy this believer or that believer; but to aim at the perfections oi your Lord and Master. Finally, the Saviour invites those who are sensible of their in- completeness to come to him for 'perfection. Have you ever con- sidered that it would be impossible for a holy God to receive a spirit in heaven that Avas not perfect, and that it is necessary that the individual who enters heaven should be perfectly holy \ The Deity could not associate but wdth such ; and the individual could not associate with Deity if he were not such. Heaven would be hell itself to the ungodly mind ; there would be nothing like a paradise to the wicked man in heaven : all his companions on earth differ from the saints ; all his employments and enjoyments differ froih those of saints. What would such a man be in heaven unless re- newed, changed, and completed in Christ? You have no title to heaven till you get it through the Lord Jesus Christ ; and there is no entrance but by faith in his blood. You are incomplete in your happiness. Look at it : what is it ? You have perhaps some few relishes of pleasure, rolling it like a sweet morsel under your tongue : but then the bitter reflection, the lying down at night and thinking of the day, the ruminating over past life, and seeing where sin has left you ! All these leave stings on your conscience, which nothinsf can extract but the virtue of the Saviour's blood. And what are your prospects ? You are hastening on fast to the eternal world, and very soon must enter on it : and what prospect have you ? The man who is going a long journey and does not prepare, is surely a foolish traveller : and you are travelling from earth to heaven, and have no preparation for it, nothing that shall give you entrance into glory, no prospect but that of the lost, no portion but that of the damned ! But I have good news and glad tidings to tell you this morning. Though, sinners, you are incomplete in your- selves, multitudes may be made complete in Christ. There is no barrier to your acceptance of his grace and mercy but your own unwallingness. It is a sad thing to think of the multitudes who attend the Gospel ministry in this place who know nothing of God ! My heart yearns over you, dear hearers ; and I feel for your state, if yon will not feel for yourselves. May God have mercy on you and enable you tc feel the wretchedness of your condition, that you may not rest one single moment till you find rest in Christ ! THE TARES OF THE FIELD. REV. F. ELLABY, A.M. PERCY CHAPEL, CHARLOTTE STREET, FITZROY SgUARE, SEPT. 4, 1S39. " Tnenlesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples cane unto him, saving, Declare un!o us the parable of the tares of the field," FOU GOD TO TllU. WORLD. religious engao-ernents, aiul the cognizance that God takes of them ; that there is not only a God, not only a Creator and Governor of the world, out that he is observing and noticing the conduct of men, and that men are at liberty to come to him, to present supplications and praises to him, and that it is not a vain thing to wait upon God. By the ordinances of the church — the preaching of the Gospel, the reading of the lessons of scripture, and the exposition of God's word, there is a perpetual testimony delivered with respect to the nature of religion, the condition of man, the claims of God, the principles on which God and man are to be harmonized and recon- ciled to each other. In the Lord's supper there seems to be a per- petual testimony with respect to the nature of the atonement, and its reality, the efficacy of the pouring out of the precious blood of Christ, and the necessity of faith, by which we spiritually eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man. By the exposition of the Scriptures there is a perpetual testimony of the conviction of the individual who delivers this testimony respecting its truth. In a court of justice a witness testifies to his conviction : bj^ the very act of reading the Scriptures and listening to them, we testify to our belief that these are the words of God : and we speak to wise men, and wish them to judge what we say, to receive our testimony and examine for themselves. In the j reaching of the Gospel there is set forth the condition of man, his danger and guilt ; the manner in which God can be reconciled, the setting forth the great propitiation ; the willingness, mercy, benevolence, and compassion of God, in calling on men to be reconciled to him. There is a testimony given to the world by the services of the church with respect to all these princi])les to which I have referred. But we will refer to an individual Christian man. What a very striking figure is that of the Apostle Paul, when he speaks of Christians being " living epistles ;" having inscribed upon them by the finger of God legible characters respecting God's truth, at- tributes, and so on : living epistles, which are walking about, moving in society, that they may be read and known of all men, and that they may be giving perpetual testimony on behalf of God. A pro- fessing Christian man may be viewed in that light. It is a very affecting consideration, and ought deeply to impress our consciences, that by our habitual conduct we are giving a faithful or unfaithful testimony respecting God. An individual Christian may sometimes be called to give testi- mony for God ill ivord — a private testimony into the ear of a friend, THE CHURCH A TESTIMONY FOR GOD TO THE WORLD. 14.3 or, it may be, into the ear of an enemy ; for ho is to be ready always to give a reason for the hope that is in him, and to do it with meekness and fear. It may, therefore, be sometimes necessary for an individual Christian to deliver, by word, testimony as to the reality of the power and operation of the truth and grace of God. A man may say to him, " What is it you profess ? What do you think ? What do you suppose to have felt?" " Why, I have felt, handled, tasted, known (as I think), spiritually, so and so. I have received these truths, had the evidence of them laid before my understanding, and I am conscious that I am another man. I know you cannot understand this, because you have not stood on my ground, and have not gone through the moral and spiritual transi- tion which I have ; but I am simply delivering to you what I think I have felt under the influence of the Spirit of God; that I have seen my own character in such and such an aspect ; I have seen such and such truths presented in the Gospel ; I have received them, and have found their advantage and their benefit ; I rejoice in the faith of Christ ; I feel a repose of mind in his sacrifice, and the joy of God shed abroad in my heart ; and I feel that with respect to morals, with respect to conduct, with respect to all the principles by which my conduct is regulated, that I am another man." It may sometimes be necessary for a Christian to give a testimony like this ; and blessed is the man who has such a testi- mony to give for God, who can refer to his own consciousness that once he was blind, and now he sees; and feels that by comparing himself with himself he has become a different creature in the sight of God. It may be necessary for an individual Christian to be a iviiness for God's faithfulness in his promises. He may be a witness for God as the hearer and the answerer of prayer : he may be able to refer to the happiness which he has experienced, and habitually experiences, in fellowship with God, and the habit of observation that all providences around him are working in connexion with this habitual experience ; and to refer to some particular periods when he feels perfectly conscious that the prayers which he offered have been manifestly answered. Men may not believe this, and may despise it : never mind ; the individual can say this is his deep conviction as a man before God ; and he knows not what mfluence a calm, simple testimony of that kind may have on those who, at the moment, may even profess to despise it. So with respect to the habitual conduct of the man. The indivi- VOL. VI. 146 THE CHURCH A TESTIMONY FOR GOD TO THE WORLD. dual believer, by mingling wUh the world day by day — without ever speaking a word about rehgion, it may be — by what he is, and by what he does, is bearmg witness for God. By the holiness that marks the man's life, others may learn something of the holiness of the God whom he serves : by his integrity, by his high appre- ciation of the great principles of eternal justice, he may learn some- thing of the justice of God : by the benevolence of the man, by the mode and kind of that benevolence, by his yearning anxiety over the souls of men and the moral misery of the species, by the de- votion of his abilities to the removal of these, by his benevolent attachment to those great institutions which are intended to diffuse the knowledge of God's word, men may learn something of that God who would have all men to be saved and to come to the know- ledge of the truth : by his superiority to worldly motives and things, and mere sensual gratifications, by his living above the world, by enjoying a blessedness and placidity which worldly men can never penetrate, they may learn something of the spirituality of God, and the blessedness which God can communicate to those whom he makes his own. I consider that many a Christian man, by the consistency of his life, by his moral integrity and justice, by his benevolence, by the purity of his motives and actions, and his sepa- ration from the world while in it, without speaking a word about religion, shall yet produce a religious impression, which shall make men think about religion : they will see there is reason in it ; and in that reason is a testimony, a witness, for God. Men learn some- thing of God by what they see in his servants. Let us make one or two general observations suggested by the subject In the first place, what a great, I had almost said, august, duty is that lohich lies icpon the church of God, and upon Christian men individually! What a grandeur there is about the idea that God, so to speak, has committed his character into our hands ! God says to his professing church, " The world lieth in wickedness: the men that love the world are enemies to me ; they are all gone after their vanities, their idols, and their covetousness : they have thrust me from my own domain ; they refuse me my due. I put my character into your hands ; I expect you to stand up and assert my right to reign — assert, by all you do, that I am God, and by showing that I have your hearts, give a testimony that I have a right to every heart. I leave the matter with you ; I put myself in your power and hands: stand up ; be my witness before the world." There is THE CHURCH A TESTIMONY FOR GOD TO THE WORLD. 147 something august about this duty, which is an obligation positively binding on the church. It is bringing us into a wonderful resem- blance to the Lord Jesus Christ liimself. He is termed " the faithful and true witness." While he lived and moved on earth he gave a perfect testimony. He said himself, " He that hath seen me hath seen the Father: " I have given such a representation of God, I am moving about and exhibiting such a view of the cha- racter of God, that he that looks on me looks on God. He delivered a testimony, such as we can never deliver; but what a glorious thing it is to be placed, in some measure, side by side with Christ, so to live, that we may give a testimony for God, and appear, as those who are faithful and loyal on his part, against all those who are disloyal and disobedient. We should be animated, methinks, by the grandeur of this duty, by the greatness of the cause, by Him whom we are to serve, by the confidence which he has in us hy calling us to this duty ; by all these we should be animated to faith- fulness. Let us remember the very many obstacles^ temptations^ and dangers by which we are surrounded with respect to this matter. We are perpetually bribed to give a false evidence, bribed by our own depravity, by indulgence, by shame, by selfishness ; bribed by the world, and tempted at times to be frowned down by the opposi- tion of the world, or to be seduced over to the other side by its blandishments. We must be careful, and on our guard against the enemies that are without, and the enemies that are within, that we may be faithful and steadfast in our testimony for God. Now, brethren, impress also on your minds the guilt of that pro- fessing Christian man, who gives by his inconsistencies z, false wit- ness for God, so that men, looking at it, can see nothing at all of the divine character. They have no testimony as to the divine truth, purity, and rectitude; and they ask, " Is this religion ? Am I to judge of the God you profess to serve by yourselves ? If so, happy am I that I profess no such thing.'* How often have men of the world been hardened by witnessing the false testimony which in- consistent Christians give! Now, my dear friends, lay this matter to heart. I would have every one of you ask yourselves very solemnly to-night this question : " The persons with whom I habitually mingle observing the daily current of my habits, conversation, and character — what can they learn, what do they learn, from all that of God ?" Supposing a reflective, a thoughtful man, whose mind is frequently dwelling on the great subjects of religion and eternity, l2 14S THE CHURCH A TESTIMONY FOU GOD TO THE WORLD, were to live with you for a week, habitually, night and day, ob- serving you for a week, would he learn any thing of God? Would he learn even God's existence ? Is there any thing about you, any thing you ever do or say, which would prove to this continual ob- server that there was a God, that you believed there was one? Would he learn any thing with respect to the character of that God, or the nature of his religion, or what he expects of men, or what he expects his people to do for him ? I believe some of you must feel that your habitual character and conduct are such that that indivi- dual would learn nothing at all of these great subjects from ob- serving you most closely and accurately. Well, then, are you witnesses for God ? No ; but you are witnesses against him ; you are saying as much as you can, there is no God, and that you have been an infidel, by your whole habitual behaviour; that would be the testimony which you would convey. Now this is a serious consideration : lay it to heart ; and may all now in the presence of God to whom this remark applies, be led to serious consideration and prayer ! What would be the consequence of an universal faithful testi- mony in the church on behalf of God — an universal faithful testimony to the world by the church connectedly and individually? O the consequences would be great and blessed indeed! Our Lord has referred to it in his intercessory prayer for the church, when he prayed that they all might be one, that the world might believe in the divinity of himself, his mission, and his religion. But by the distractions, and the separations, the coldness, the indifference, and the hostility between church and church, and between Christian and Christian, there is a broken, distorted, false testimony given to the world of the loveliness and beauty of our faith ; and the world cannot, therefore, receive the testimony which the church ought to give with respect to the nature of religion, because there is altogether a defect in its presentation. If there is, therefore, to be a union and a communion, a real and actual fellowship among all who hold the Head, there is then a public open testimony to the world of the reality and power of our faith, which will produce an impression on the world. So in respect to the exhibition of the truth in every way, and the holiness and zeal of individual Christians. The world not only does not believe us, but does not believe that we ourselves believe what we say: on account of the inconsistencies of many of us, they not only reject and deny what we say, but say THE CHURCH A TESTIMONY FOR GOD TO THE WORLD. 149 tAat we ourselves do not believe it. I remember a very striking circumstance which a neighbouring minister mentioned to me in proof of this. There was in the town in which he preached a determined and avowed infidel, believing in neither Christianity nor God. He saw this man one Sunday evening in the place of worship. He was preaching on some of the great verities of the faith, and the duties resulting therefrom. As he was the next morning passing the door of the man, he was standing at it. He said, " I saw you at worship last night, and was rather surprised to see you there, because you don't believe what I was saying." " No," says he, " nor you either." « Indeed !" « No. Why, if I were to believe" (he went on to say), " if I were to believe the things you affirm to be true, which you set forth, and which are written in your books, I should not know how to contain myself; I should feel their importance so much that I should exhibit them wherever I went ; I should not know how to hold in the enthusiasm which they would excite. But I don't believe them, nor do you, or you would be very different people from what you are." This infidel said to the minister of God, to his face, that there was such a defect about the conduct and consistency of Christians that led him to think they did not themselves believe the testimony which they gave. Well, then, if there was real, downright consistency of conduct and character in the church, what an influence it would have on the general belief of the world, by persuading the world of our own sincerity, and thus lead them to a more serious consideration of the duties we have adverted to. Let us dwell for a moment on the reward which awaits the indi- vidual who gives a faithfid testimony for God. There is a reward in the present world : the individual who consistently and faithfully testifies for God, has the privilege of mourning if the church be depressed in her fortunes and character. He has " delivered his soul;" he has given his testimony; and if the church is in darkness and sorrow, in persecution and oppression, it is his privilege to be permitted to mourn. If he had not given his testimony for God faithfully, that would not have been his privilege; and if he mourned over the ashes and depression of Zion, God would say to him, " Be silent ; thou hast been silent with respect to testimony for me; and now be silent with respect to the condition of my church : thou shalt not have the privilege to mourn ; thy silence, which was before thy guilt, let it be thy duty and thy punishment." So the Christian might be permitted to rejoice and to celebrate the 150 THK CHURCH A TESTIMONT FOR GOD TO THE WORLD. triumphs of the church, if the church were successful, because his testimony would have contributed, in some measure, to that ; and at the day of judgment he will be recognized before men and angels as a good and faithful servant and witness, and would enter into the joy of liis Lord, And when the cause of God triumphs (for it will triumph : God will not always be excluded from his rights and dominion ; he will assert those rights, and will reign), then he will be permitted to share that triumph, and to participate in the reign. One word, in conclusion, with respect to the character^ the duty, and the doom, of those who render this testimony of the church neces- sary : I mean all sinful, unbelieving, worldly, impenitent men. Your character is, opposers of God, deniers of God ; refusing his claims and his rights, and expelling him from the very earth that he has made. Your dicty is, immediately to receive the testimony given by the church ; to be led by it to examine the record, to see the foundation upon which the church rests, and the hope and blessedness which the church enjoys ; to repent and to believe the Gospel ; to unite yourselves to the church ; to come forth to the world and give your testimony against your present associates, by telling them you have seen your error, your delusion, your guilt, and rejoice in having passed from that darkness iiito God's mar- vellous light. It is your duty to receive the Gospel, and to receive the church's testimony respecting its truth ; and if you do not do this — if you remain opposers of God, impenitent, unbelieving, unaffected by a sense of your guilt and danger, unaffected by the exceeding mercies of God, unaffected by his exhortations and beseechings that you would be reconciled to him, unaffected by the testimony given in every Christian assembly, and by every Chris- tian man, then your doom will be, that God will triumph over you ; his cause will triumph against you ; and he will glorify himself, his own power, and his own justice, in your eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. God forbid that this shall be the case with any of us ! Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way : take hold of his strength, and so make peace with him. Receive the testimony which God has given, and which the church is perpetually pre- senting : thus accept the mercy, and take the blessing, which in the Gospel is provided. Stand forth, testifying to the ungodly world what you have found, and what they have lost ; and thus rejoice in living to the glory of God. Amen. THE BEATITUDES— EVIDKNCES OF POVERTY OF SPIRIT.. REV. J. RUDGE, D.D. ST. SEPULCHRE'S CHURCH, SNOW HILL, NOVEMBER 21, 1824. Blessed are the poor in spirit ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." — Matthew, v. 3. In the two preceding Sermons on this beatitude, I have explained its true nature and character, and have analyzed that heavenly temper of mind, and disposition of soul, to which the gracious pro- mise of the kingdom of heaven has been annexed by our blessed Lord. The present exercise will be devoted to a consideration of the marks, or signs, by which all may be able to ascertain, whether they possess this grace, or beatitude, of our holy religion. Continue, we beseech thee, O God, to assist us in these exercises : and as nothing is holy, nothing is rich, without thee, so, in a proper humility of spirit, we implore thee to vouchsafe the dews of thy grace, that the word preached may be fructified and enriched to thy glory and to our good ! Why the divine preacher began his sermon with pronouncing a blessing on poverty of spirit, rather than on any of the other graces, may thus be explained. Poverty of spirit is the basis and founda- tion of all the other graces which he afterwards enumerates, and on which he pronounces the other beatitudes. Without it they could have no existence or efficacy. It is, then, the root of all religion. It is the acorn, from which the sturdy and most magnificent oak of the forest ariseth. It is the seed which gives the magnificent pro duct of all that God delighteth to behold in the temper and conduct of his creatures. Without poverty of spirit, which gives to a man a sight of his sinful deformities, how could he mourn for his crimes, and apply to his Saviour for that healing power, and hardening mercy, with which he is ever ready to absolve and purify the heavy laden smner, and the deeply polluted criminal ? Without poverty of spirit, which makes a man sensible of his want of holiness, how can he " hunger and thirst after righteousness ?" This poverty ot 152 THE BEATITUDES : spirit, then, being the chief and most indispensable of these graces our Lord hath placed it first ; and after having laid it like a skilful architect as the first stone in the building, he then adverts to the other ornaments of the beauteous and polished Christian temple, and enumerates the other decorations and " corners" with which the Christian soul is to be strengthened and embellished ! One sure sign of that blessed poverty of spirit is a diffidence ; yea, such a humhling opinion of our own selves^ that like David, " our souls are even as a weaned child." Though content with our worldly circumstances, though satisfied with the lot in which we have been placed by a wise and gracious providence, yet, if there be one drawback on the contentment of our minds, and the resigna- tion of our souls, it is, that our spiritual attainments are not greater, that our graces are not more abundant, and our progress in Clmstian perfection and holiness more apparent. Now permit me to ask, is this your case? Do you ever in a meek and rational spirit thus commune with your hearts, and languish under the sense of }Our besetting infirmities ; of vows frequently violated, of resolutions not always realized, and of virtues not always carried on to perfection ; yet, notwithstanding, do you strive against sin, and if you do not always bear the laurels of victory, do you so run as to deserve, in humble dependence on Christ, to obtain them ? Then permit me to assure you, you have no cause for alarm. You are not far from the kingdom of heaven, not far from the prize of your high calling in Christ Jesus, not far from that beatitude of religion, which is the comfort, the hope, the blessing only of the poor inspirit. Furthermore, your difllidence is the sign by which you may ascertain that this invaluable blessing is yours in reality ; for absolute perfection is not within the grasp and attainment of any human being in his present state of imperfec- tion, though the progress towards it should be the every-day endeavour of man even with his present limited powers. And here I am reminded of that beautiful passage of the accomplished Addison, in which, speaking of a subject, upon which he says he always meditated with great delight, the immortality of the soul, he observes, that considered with its Creator, the soul is like one of those mathematical lines that may draw nearer to another for all eternity without a possibility of touching it : and can there be a thought so transporting as to consider ourselves in these perpetual approaches to him, who is not only the standard of perfection, but of happiness ! The man by whom this progress is continually EVIDENCES OF POVERTY OF SPIRIT. 155 Ynade, is, of all created beings, the most likely to bewail the hard- ness* of his heart, the coldness of his love, and the blackness of his ingiatitude, and with the poor publican to strike his breast, and pray to God to be merciful to him as a sinner. But the case of the h} pocrite is widely different. Every view which he takes of his condition corresponds exactly with the feelings of the Pharisee. He is perfectly satisfied with his own goodness, and boasts of his own attainments ; and in the same proportion as he looks with disdain upon the pretensions of others, he regards his own claims to be accounted righteous as fully established in his own sight. He is as loud in commendation of himself as he is in reprobation of others. How alien from this unsound and unwholesome state of mind is that of the " poor in spirit !" Are .any of the riches of this world denied him? Is his worldly condition lowly? Are his temporal prospects disheartening? Is the aspect of every thing around him sad and cheerless ? And are his own enemies even those of his own household ? To his other worldly misfortunes, is that of domestic strife and family discord to be added ? Is it the bitter portion of a parent to know what a daughter's shame and the heartless con- duct of a reprobate son meaneth ? These are, indeed, the worst of human ills, the very bitterest gall and wormwood that parental experience can know, that can empoison the streams of parental endearment, and make the grey hairs of an aged father or mother to descend with sorrow to the grave ! But even here the influence of this divine beatitude is felt; and not a murmur escapes the lips of him in whom this heavenly temper dwelleth. He is full of resig- nation to the divine will ; and, notwithstanding his " tribulation," what our Lord said of the church at Smyrna may be applied, with truth, to him, that he is " rich" — rich in the consolations of God, and in the comfort, that though his afflictions may endure for a season, the joys of eternity will succeed to the sorrows of time^ and he will be amply recompensed by the glorious prize of the kingdom of heaven in the morning of the resurrection. If he com- plains, it is only that this mind has not been sufficiently formed, and this view has not been sufficiently cherished, heretofore, within him. He prays, therefore, daily for grace, that its stock may be increased, and that the lamp may hourly be replenished with fresh oil; and his best endeavours are so to trim his lamp that it may ever burn in a bright and enduring flame. But why should you breathe this complaint, my Christian friends? Is it because your 154 THE beatitudes: graces are so few, and your progress in holiness so small f If this be tne case, then, be of good cheer. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid ; for know ye, " There is that raaketh himself poor, yet hath many riches!" Many there are of the glorious fellowship of saints militant on earth — hereafter, we humbly hope, to be triumphant in heaven — who, during their earthly pilgrimage, have lain as humble beggars at the door of mercy, subsisted wholly on the alms of free grace, and yet have died possessed of great riches, rich in faith, rich in all the graces of the Spirit, and heirs of the heavenly kingdom. Like Lazarus, destitute of this world's wealth and conveniences, yet rich in the approbation of God, and in the blessed anticipation of enjoying the bosom of Abraham, and the felicities of angels in glory. The man who is poor in spirit is of a meek and quiet mi7id ; lowly in heart, and esteeming others better than himself. He sees excel- lences in others, but deformities in himself Hence his chief solici- tude, is to pluck out the mote that is in his own eyes, and to cast from him the vileness that is in his own heart. His loathing is, respecting his own corrupt and diseased nature ; and with Job he is ready to exclaim, " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." And, however strange it may appear, the fact is certain, that his humility is in the exact ratio to the excellency of his graces, and the multitude of his virtues, in other words, the higher his attain- ments, the deeper his humility ; and the more he acts up to the elevated and hallowed character of a saint, the more prompt and sincere is his confession, that he is the chief of sinners, not, I mean, in the canting phraseology of the term, but in true meekness and sincerity of soul. If there be any good thing in him — any distin- guishing grace or particular excellency, he vaunts it not forth in the ears of the people, or in the public assemblies of the multitude, to win their transient applause, and attract their wondering gaze : no, no ; in the silent and acceptable oratory of his heart, he blesses the giver of the gift, and prays that it may alone be a means of grace to himself, and an instrument of usefulness to others, in turning himself and many from the vanities of time to the things of God and eternity. Does he perform any acceptable service, and dis- charge any important duty ? He acknowledges that the strength by which he was enabled to do the one and the other, is not his own, but Christ's that strengthened him When he examines his own graces, it is with no feeling of proud and lofty exultation, but with a meek and candid admission that they are so deficient in cha EVIDENCES OF POVERTY OF Sl'IUIT. 15,'J racter, and so disproportioned in quality. He arrogates to himself no merit on account of his best doings and most signal services to God and his fellow-creatures ; but in the view of them, he confesses, as enjoined by his alone meritorious Lord and Master, that he is but an unprofitable servant, and has done only what it was his bounden duty to do. He labouiS, he strives for higher attainments; yet not he, but the grace of God which is in him. He liveth, yet not he, but Christ that liveth in him. He prays, he pleads for more plentiful supplies of grace, and for more conformity in life and temper to that divine Head, from whom the spiritual machinery derives all its being and strength, and in whom, by the Spirit, all his members move in beauteous order, and with admirable consis- tency. He is continually knocking at heaven's gate ; and with sighs, and tears, and groans, which cannot be uttered, importuning for the alms of charity, and suing for the beatitudes of religion ; nor does he cease until, like the poor supplicants in the Gospel, he has moved the compassion of David's son, and the portals have been opened for his admission to the mercy and bounty of his Lord and Saviour. Now, let me ask, my orethren, whether you have these signs and marks, by which you can identify yourselves as " the poor in spirit ?" Another sure and infallible evidence of your having attained to this divine and indispensable temper of mind is this : Is the Lord Jesus Christ precious to you ? Do you feel how suitable the Saviour is to supply your every want, to cure your every wound, and to pardon your every sin ? And hence do your hearts overflow with gratitude, with love, and with adoration ; and is the " chosen of God," in the mightiness of his undertakings, the splendour of his miracles, the mercies of his salvation, and in the power and glories of his resurrection, precious to your views, and the " elect" of your souls ? He, who is poor in spirit, knows, as the Church of Laodicea was admonished by the great preacher of truth, that he is " wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Hence he goes to Christ to have his wretchedness removed, his misery re- lieved, his poverty made rich, the eyes of his understanding opened, and the shame of his nakedness covered. He feels his soul pining through hunger, and dymg through thirst, and he hastens to Christ, who is represented in the Scriptures of truth, under the elegant similitudes of bread and water, of which whosoever eateth and drinketh, he shall never hunger nor thirst. By the bread is signified his body, and by the water his blood, of which, whosoever is weary 156 THE BEATITUDES. and heavy laden, and who knows wherein his true happiness and duty consist, he will never refuse to partake, in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for the nourishment of his body, and the refresh- ment of his soul. He perceives that his wounds are mortal, and his application is directed to Him whom the Scriptures describe as the Physician of the soul. And why is this description given, but for our good and instruction, and to teach us that, in the failure of all earthly applications for corporeal relief, here is one whose pre- scriptions never fail to cure the more inveterate and desperate maladies of the soul? The day of visitation must and will come to all of you ; and then will the force of this great truth be pressed upon your acceptance : and in the blasting of your strength, and the ruin and disorganization of your corporeal machine, the loosening of the silver cord, and the breaking of the golden bowl of these corruptible bodies of yours, your minister will have to expatiate upon the virtues and efficacy of the Redeemer's medicines, that they never fail to reanimate and invigorate the soul in the dreariest season of her languishment and ailing, that for every mortal wound there is an efficacious cure, a reviving cordial, a healing balm, and that one leaf even plucked from the tree of life, affords a sovereign remedy and a successful medicine, however inveterate your disease and malignant your sins. In a strictly scriptural sense, it may be said, that he bathes in his Saviour's blood, is clothed in his Saviour's robe, and convinced that in him all fulness d^vells ; he seeks to find in him, " wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." Being thus fully persuaded, that all the riches of grace and glory, that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, are to be found in Christ, the " poor in spirit'' is willing to receive him on the terms in ivhich he is fresented in the Scriftures. And this is a point of infinite importance to be considered. If, then, the New Testament be truth, and not a cunningly-devised fable, which it is the delirium of the human intellect to think, we must thus conclude. Without Christ, in whom are all our strength and sufficiency, we are lost and undone. Our solicitude, therefore, will be to accept of him in simplicity and sincerity of soul, not standing on this or that point, as is the case with the proud sinner, but submitting to him wholly as our Prince, and receiving him heartily as our Saviour. I observe, that this we shall do unreservedly if we be poor in spirit ; we shall deem no work too hard, no sacrifice too great, in order to win Christ. There is not a besetting sin, to which we are addicted, which we shall not renounce; there is not a beloved lust, to which EVIDENCES OF POVERTY OF SPIRIT. 157 we are prone, which we shall not abjure, for Christ's sake, and for the Gospel's. In a mind thus enlightened and informed by scrip- tural truth, nothing will be put in competition with duty; and instantaneously will the sacrifice be made, though we should sustain the loss of what is as dear to us as a right eye, or valuable as a right hand. There will be no compromise with sin, no alliance with Belial, no treaty with the prince of this world. We must divorce ourselves from every bad habit and criminal indulgence ; cut them off, pluck them out, and nail them to that accursed thing whereon the Redeemer bore his bitter passion, and poured out his righteous soul ! Yea, like Peter, we shall not hesitate to adventure ourselves upon the tempestuous sea, so that we may go to Christ; and of this we may be. assured, that, however boisterous may be the winds to which we are exposed in this world, we shall not sink, if our courao-e fail not, our faith wax not faint, nor our Christian principles desert us in the hour of peril, and in the season of temptation ! There is another mark, or sign, of this blessed poverty of spirit, to which I shall, lastly, advert. Those by whom it is possessed are invariably thankful. Like the poor leper, who returned to give thanks to God after the cure that had been wrought, their hearts are always attuned to the song of gratitude, and their tongues are incessantly occupied in magnifying the praises and mercies of God, particularly that astonishing display of his goodness, the gift of a Saviour, mighty and willing to save. He who believes himself to be in extreme indigence, will be grateful even for the smallest favours conferred, This we find verified in the Apostle of the Gentiles. He no sooner tasted mercy, than he thus expressed himself: " The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant;" and, having been a vessel of mercy himself, in all his writings he speaks of it with rapture, and exalts, in the highest strains of a grateful soul, that free and sovereign grace, of which he was so singular a monument. Nor shall we, if we possess the heavenly grace and temper of which I have been so solicitous to press the nature and importance on the minds of all of you, be behind the Apostle m the fervour of our gratitude, and in the intensity of our love, to Almighty God for the inestimable gift of a Saviour, by which the means of grace have been vouchsafed, the hope -of glory has been given, and the kingdom of heaven has been opened, to all believers! " Humility of soul is a noble poverty," saith one of the fiithers (Austin). It renders those who ]iossess it persons of rank and eminence in the eyes of God, and is the true nobility which obtains 1.58 THE beatitudes: — EVIDENCES OF POVERTY OF SPIRIT. in the courts of the great king. Moses was a distinguished example of it, who was great in the sight of God in nothing more than in his possessing poorness of spirit, and in his preferring the poverty and affliction of the people of God before the treasures in Egypt, and the honours and distinctions of Pharaoh's court. In a word, the lower we abase ourselves in our own sight, the higher we are exalted in the approbation of God. Humility is not only the surest road to the honours and distinctions of eternity, but, as it respects ourselves in our present walk and pilgrimage to heaven, it is the road also to peace and comfort, to that which beguiles the tedium of the journey in the wilderness, which diminishes much of its difficulties, and reconciles us greatly to its privations and wants'! The world is an inn, of which the accommodations are few in number, and despicable in quality ; and think with what contentment we shall put up with them ; what calmness and serenity will pervade our souls, if, with Moses, we bear in mind the end of our pilgrimage, and respect only the recompense of the reward ; and what perfect resignation will possess our minds if we cast all our cares upon Christ, and rest only upon him, whose staff will support, whose spirit will guide, and whose consolations will cheer us, as we journey on to that heavenly Canaan, where are pleasures for evermore, and satisfactions which will ever last, for the people of God! Though conscious of our own meanness, and sensible of our own wants, our comforts will be in some such pleasing reflections as these : I am poor, but the Lord careth for me ; I am in indigence and want, but in Christ " all fulness dwells ;" and my God will be a very present help in my necessities, and supply all my need, according to his " riches in glory !" I am sinful and unworthy; but my Redeemer is righteous and altogether precious. With a sense of his love and acceptance, I am now blessed on earth, and, according to his gracious promise, shall be superlatively blessed with him hereafter ; for to such as are thus " poor in spirit" pertains the " kingdom of heaven!" " Blessed, therefore, are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven !" GOD'S GOODNESS RECALLED TO MIND. HON. AND REV. B. W NOEL, A.M. ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL, BEDFORD ROW, AUGUST 28, li36. But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me. My fathor; and shalt not turn away from me." — Jeremiah, iii. 19. In the earlier part of this chapter we find the Lord complaining of the backsliding and treachery both of Judah and Israel, especially Judah ; and yet combined with this was a promise that he should be at last restored ; that an elect remnant should be restored to Zion, after they were scattered among the nations. It was further prophe- sied that they should increase and multiply in the land, as we know from their history they did ; and further, that the house of Judah should walk with the house of Israel ; that the ten tribes should be restored to their own land ; which I believe took place on the return of the Jews from Babylon : and then it was said further, that "they should say no more. The ark of the covenant of the Lord : neither shall it come to mind : neither shall they remember it ; neither shall they visit it ; neither shall that be done any more ;" that is, after that multiplication of the nation, the Saviour should come, and a new series of mercies should be to them the praise of all the believers in the nation ; it was when they " multiplied the nation, and in- creased the joy," as the prophet Isaiah says, at the coming of the Saviour, that they were no longer to recal former mercies bestowed on their nation, as much richer blessings from that time should call forth the united praises of all the believers among the re-assembled tribes of Israel. It was further prophesied, " At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord ; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem ;" that is, if I understand the prophet rightly, an elect remnant of the two nations, those who were God's spiritual Israel, should become the foundation of the universal church, and all the nations should be gathered to that apostolical church, which was especially termed Zion. because its first seat was at Jerusalem. 160 GOD*S GOODNESS RECALLED TO MIND. But in the anticipation of these great promises, that not only were the ten tribes to be restored with the two from their captivity, but that the Gentiles should be added to this spiritual Israel, the Lord, considering the greatness of the blessings and the rebellion of the people, says, " How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations ?" They were to be scattered among the nations ; how should they again be dealt with as the children of God? " How shall I give thee a pleasant land ?" — restore thee to that land which thou hast forfeited. And further than this — for this was only the antecedent and introductory mercy, the recovery of their own land — " How shall I give thee a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations ?" making the nations become the delight of the church, and adding to her, as the heritage of his spiritual and elect people, " a goodly (elect) heritage of the hosts of nations :" a promise not clearly fulfilled to its utmost extent yet, but fulfilled far beyond the expectation of the most sanguine believers then, by the vast numbers that have been added to the church through grace. " And I said. Thou shalt call me, My father, and shalt not turn away from me." This answer determines the method which the Lord would take to fulfil these great blessings to his spiritual Israel, to those to whom the spiritual promises were exclusively made ; that is, to them, and that host of nations that should be added to them, as the true Israel of God, and for whom, I apprehend, nearly all, if not all, the spiritual promises of the Old Testament are primarily, pioperly, and exclusively intended. It declares, in other words, the spirit of Gospel religion : these prophecies, with reference to Chris- tianity, shall be fulfilled to that elect remnant in this manner, " Thou shalt call me. My father, and shalt not turn away from me :" that is, the church in general, and therefore each individual member of that church, shall be led to look on the Lord God as his father, and, having obtained this filial spirit, should never again lose it. In examining this passage, I do not so much desire to bring before you any truths with which you are not familiar, or to prove that which your own minds have often fed upon as ascertained truth ; but rather to recall it as that which may furnish subject for much profit- able meditation and examination to us all. And, permitted in the good providence of God again to find myself among you, I desire to exercise my own heart, and yours, by recalling the extreme goodness of God in thus having brought us, if indeed we are true believers, into this marvellous relation to himself, the great and glorious majesty OOD*S GOODNESS RECALLED TO MIND. 161 of the universe, that we may call him our Father, and believe in the permanence of the relation and the spirit he has communicated. The first point brought before us is, the character of true RELIGION : " Thou shalt call me, My father." It was in this way that those who were under bondage among the Jews became his spiritual people : it was in this way that every Gentile sinner, and every sinner in our own day, must come to God : *' Thou shalt call me, *' My father." Every false religion, and every corruption of the true, is characterized by a spirit of bondage : I never met with any account of a false religion of which this was not obviously and un- deniably the characteristic. All religions but that of Christ, and every corruption of this religion, every thing that is not true religion, IS characterized by the fear of God rather than by love, by a servile -ather than a filial spirit, by the spirit of a slave, and not of a child. False religion has never yet taught men to love their Creator, and seldom has proposed it as a point at which to aim. But the cha- racter of God's religion, of that which alone deserves the name of religion, is, " Thou shalt call me. My father." It is not the spirit of irreverence and contempt, but that of reverence : it is not the spirit of alienation and ingratitude, but that of affection and delight : it is not the spirit of distrust and doubt, but of obedience and hope. This is the very spirit which the Lord would have all his people cherish, and which he communicates to those who are true believers. " Thou shalt call me. My father." A child should look with reve- rential regard on his parent, as well as affection ; and when a sinner is taught to call God his father, there is a disposition to admire his perfections that previously was not known. Before, he could sin, as far as he dare, with impunity ; he would sin to the utmost, as far as he hoped to be able to escape the punishment attached to sin. But when a man has learned to call God his father, then it is the full and firm purpose of his heart to do the will of his father, to keep his laws, and to honour his name. It is the spirit of gratitude instead of alienation. Before a man is brought by grace to love the Lord, there is nothing in his heart but alienation from God, as revealed in the Scriptures ; but this must fully pass away before the man is the subject of true religion. As long as the creature is alienated from the Creator, can he be his son, his heir '( Can he be on his way to share in the glory which God gives to his redeemed ones in another world ? " Thou shalt call me. My father:" thou must have a feeling of gratitude and VOL. VI. M 162 god's goodness recalled to mind. delight in me before thou sharest in the glory which my children shall receive. It is the spirit of the Christian to rejoice in the goodness and power and wisdom of God, in conjunction with his promises. Has not God taught us to take pleasure in his gracious promises, to look on them with thankfulness as our own, to trace them to his sovereign compassion, to realize every blessing as sprino-ing from his bounty as the token of his love ? Is it not sweet to see God reconciled to us in Christ, and commimicating to us every moment the enjoyment of every blessing by the way, as a pledge of higher blessings included in the covenant of grace, all of which are promised, if we are his children 1 This, and this only, is piety : and if any one here has not attained to any thing more than the spirit of a slave, the dread of punishment, the desire to escape it, or the wish to obtain personal reward ; if this is all a man has attained, has he ever said, " Abba, Father !" has he ever been brought into that relation to God which all believers enjoy, and of which the proper fruit is the assurance and the joy that come from God ? Of all Christians Paul says, " Therefore thou art no more a slave, but a son." If we are on our way to heaven, we are no more servants, but sons ; he has brought us into the relation of those whom he provides for, and whom he will eternally bless. In some sense, the term applied to God as the Universal Parent of Mankind, is not to be blamed ; but if it is to benneant to extend thus far, that he looks with regard on all his creatures as the objects of his favour, they who make use of such expressions do err, not knowing the Scriptures ; the language of Scripture is, that till this great change pass on us, which the Lord Jesus said must pass on all before they can enter the kingdom of heaven, we are slaves and not sons ; we are not brought back to a reconciled father ; or, to remove the figure, instead of' being the objects of the favour of God, we are the objects of his malediction, obliged to obey the law under the penalty of being punished for every transgression, but having no interest in his favour, no promise of his love. Bat when a man is changed by grace, he is no more a servant, but a son ; he is brought into this relation, and rejoices in proportion to the grace given to him, in the consciousness and assurance of his eternal happiness. This leads me to consider the mode in which this change has BEEN EFFECTED, " I Said, Thou shalt call me, My father." Re- liofion is the love of a child to a father felt by the believer towards GODS GOODNESS RECALLED TO MIND 163 God. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," in the very essence of piety, and to accomplish which the Lord Jesus Christ came into our world. Now how is this to be effected? How shall the slave be changed into a child — the spirit of bondage into the spirit of a son ? "I said, Thou shalt call me, My father." Two things were obviously necessary. It was necessary that faith should come into the relation itself; and no change in the disposition could have effected the change in the relation. The child must ])e in the rela- tion itself antecedent to the change in the feeling: of our mind. " Thou shalt call me, My father." This implied that this people should be brought into the relation of his children, as well as enjoying their spirit. Paul has told us (if indeed it be necessary to cite any passage in illustration of it), that the Jews were in bond- age under the elements of the world ; but " when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." The Jew, then, as well as the Gentile convert, was, anterior to faith in the Lord Jesus, a bond-slave rather than a son ; and though he inherited the privileges of a Jew, and was a member of a nation in covenant nationally with God, yet he was in bondage under the elements of the world ; and it was only by redemption made known to him in the Gospel, that he could receive the adoption of a son. Christ came to redeem them that were under the law. We, as well as the Jews, are under the law ; that is, bound to obey the whole of the moral law — bound to fulfil all its precepts, and abide by all its sanctions ; and thus to be in bondage until redemption by Christ Jesus brings us back to the relation of children. " Thou shalt call me, My father." This does not express, I apprehend, the change of the spirit and temper, but the change of relation, in making us really children, whereas before we were exposed to the divine displeasure. When the Lord promises by his prophet, " Thou shalt call me. My father," he indeed promises that he would bring them into this relation by bringing them a Saviour. *' You shall have the Son of my love to bring me back to my favour, to make you as my children." The change in that relation we owe exclusively to the sovereign love of God ; we owe it to that faithful, patient, unparalleled kindness wherewith our Lord condescended to suffer in our room, and to " bear our sins in his own body on the tree." Yet this was not sufficient to bring us back to fulfil this great 104 god's goodness recalled to mind. promise. A change in the disposition is promised when it is said, " Thou shalt call me, My father :" as surely as God has declare(f it, which is an unalterable truth, so surely must this chano-e be effected in the dispositions of those whom he would bring to himself. For this it was necessary that the cross should be exhibited to us; that Christ Jesus should die, and his death be made known to us ; that we should be told and assured, as God thus unequivocally assures us, that of his having accepted that atonement in our room. And then, finally, all these powerful motives to reverence and gratitude must be rendered effectual by the o'peration of his Spirit on our hearts. " Ye are the children of God," says the apostle, '" by faith in Christ Jesus.'* Now that faith is itself the communi- cation of God's love: he of himself has bestowed it, if we are believers, and receive the truth as it is in Jesus, But after having made us his children by faith in Christ, we must receive the spirit of children ; we must overcome that disposition to self-righteous- ness, that distrust of our God, which are wholly at variance with the spirit of children. Therefore when the apostle says we are " justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ;" he adds, " Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." The relation must be bestowed first, or the spirit could not be enjoyed. How could we look on God our Father, if we knew him to be angry with us, and ourselves exposed to his eternal displeasure ? But it was his will to effect a change in the relation first ; to make us his children through faith in the Lord Jesus, and then to send forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, " Abba, Father." He has not left his work incomplete ; he has abundantly fulfilled to each one of his children this gracious promise, " Thou shalt call me, My father." Indifference, alienation, and distrust, are pro- gressively and successively swept away ; his people are brought to desire his favour beyond all things ; divine gi'ace unites them to their father in heaven, in a manner which before they conceived not to be possible ; and they are brought to that peaceful relation, by nis goodness and power and care, which is the peculiar felicity of God's own children. " I said. Thou shalt call me. My father." This gracious promise contains still another clause, which is ne- cessary to your comfort, and which completes the manifestation of God's goodness : " And thou shalt not turn away from me." If our first parents were placed, in some respects, in more favourable cir- GOD S GOODNESS RECALLED TO MIND. 165 cumstances than we are, inasmuch as they had no temptations to struggle with as we have, and were surrounded with all that might induce them to continue faithful to God — if they fell from their steadfastness through that strange introduction of temptation into his heart, it was far more likely that Ave, even we, having known and loved God, and rejoiced in the salvation he has provided for us in Christ — that each of us, misled by some transient and seducing ob- ject, have turned away from him who is our God, should have for- saken the fountain of living waters to hew out to ourselves cisterns that would not hold the consolation that we hoped. But He who gave us a Saviour, He who gave us his Spirit to induce us to ap- preciate his love, would never again lead us to self-destruction. It had been much if our gracious God, having brought us into covenant with himself, had declared, " You shall never perish ; you shall never die." It would have been a vast mercy to tell us that we should eventually rise to glory if we became the members of his living body. But God in this promise has done far more ; he does not say to his people, " Ye shall not die," but, " You shall not turn away from me ;" by this securing a double blessing — the continuance of a right principle, as well as the continuance of a state of safety. They must have given little heed to the constant language of God's word who can find in this doctrine of the perseverance of God's saints — which should be rather called the 'perseverance of the love of God — they must have looked with little carefulness to the various statements made in God's word, if they find occasion there to imagine that his people could live in transgression, could continue careless, could grow hard in heart, and yet hope to be eventually happy. The promise is not that you shall be saved while living in dis- obedience, but " Thou shalt not turn away from me ;" and it was as easy to our covenant God to secure the one as the other. It could not enter into his councils that an unholy being should be happy, whatever his previous experience : and as sure as Adam, once holy and rejoicing in the favour of God, became a miserable and abject being, cast off' from his favour, and the heir to eternal wrath, when he chose to seek a false happiness, contrary to the will of God ; so surely shall all who have been bought by the blood of Christ, changed by iho grace of the Spirit, and made to love God with a spiritiial affection that should grow on till they loved God perhaps better than Adam loved him — so surely would they, each and all, have turned from every manifestation of his grace, if left to themselves. But it was the completeness of the love of God that he would maintain the 166 god's goodness recalled 'I'o mind. principle once implanted ; and there is not in all the works of God any thing that seems to me so great, so godlike, so passing all the bounds of language to express its worth and majesty, as that the Lord God should take the poor crushed spirit, that was bound down by sin, while unrestored to its lost perfections, exposed to all manner of solicitations to depart from God, and enable him to live on still obedient to his will, growing in gratitude where almost all are alien- ated, growing on in devotedness where almost all are disobedient, and looking on to the eternal reward where the hearts of all around him, and his own naturally, are inclined to be fastened to the things of time, and limited to the short interests on this side the grave. The ship is kept secure in the midst of the ocean ; the taper is kept alive in the midst of the storm ; still it burns brighter and brighter, till it is assimilated to the lustre of that love which fills angelic breasts, and shall glow on in the presence of God to all eternity. " Thou shalt not turn away from me." Not, " Thou shalt be happy in sin, in levity, in pride, and in disregard of my will :" no, " Thou shalt be diligent in duty, firm in temptation, mortifying self-will, living alone amidst wicked men : thou shalt dare to be singular in an evil world : thou shalt examine earnestly that thou solicitously pursuest all the known precepts of my word : thou shalt live by the word of God, when others live by the rule of fancy ; thou shalt call me. My father, when all men are alienated from me : thou shalt live a spiritual and heavenly life in the midst of earthly corruptions, and among those who are devoted to time." This is contained in the blessed promise, " Thou shalt call me, My father, and shalt not turn away fi"om me." The grace of God, which secures our eternal happiness, secures our eternal principle too ; and when his people depart from him (as, alas ! depart they may), he lacks not the means, as he certainly lacks not the inclination, of bringing them back, and they are chastened back to their duty. They feel an uneasiness and a restlessness in departing from God ; he sends them affliction on affliction ; he drives the arrow of conviction deep into their hearts ; he makes his precious promises to beam on them ; and he suffers not his erring child to find any happiness, till, brought back to his God, he says, with gra- titude unspeakable, as the Psalmist of old, " He restoreth my soul : he leads me into the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake." This blessed promise is not given to one of God's children, but to all : it was the language addressed to his church at the beginning, and is meant to be their consolation through all days ; your ex- perience and mine, if we are believers in Jesus, and know anything god's goodness recalled to mind. 167 of that love which passeth knowledge. I address you to-day as the followers of Christ. Have you not a song of thanksgiving to Him who has granted you this unspeakable mercy ? And if he has done it at the cost of the death of his only Son, and with the unspeakable condescension of the Spirit of God inhabiting your hearts as a lowly temple ; and if he has led you to say with confidence, " My father, my father," O what gratitude ought to be ours ! How ought we to spend our lives in honouring and glorifying God ! How ought His law to be written on our hearts who has done such wondrous things for those who would have fallen finally, as well as fully, if the Lord Jesus had not redeemed us from our sins, and the Spirit of his love taught us to appreciate that redemption ! Let me impress on your hearts and my own, that since religion consists so peculiarly in this filial spirit, we must cherish that spirit in our hearts from day to day. Have we, since we last assembled all of us together for worship — have we, since it was last my pi-ivi- lege to address you, been cherishing this spirit of children towards God ? Ten thousand blessings have been poured out on the least happy among you ; have you traced them all to God ? Have those who have been favoured with many mercies blessed God that he has given them these mercies in Christ ? Did you, for the nearness of the relation into which he brought you, love him more and more ? Have these weeks of absence been spent in the spirit of children 1 Have you experienced the fulfilment of this promise, " Thou shalt call me. My Father ?" If not, cherish it from this day forth : I pray God that it may be the spirit peculiarly amongst us all : I pray to God that the spirit of slaves may be chased away for ever ; and that instead of finding the service of God irksome and burden- some to our spirits, it may be the joy of our souls. May God grant that our obedience may be henceforth a most willing service, and that we may rejoice in his promises with most abundant hope. But I am addressing some who are not at all conscious that God has given them the spirit of children ; who cannot say that God has taught them to call him their father ; but who know that all their religion (if it deserves the name), is the fear of, and the desire to escape, the punishment which they know their sins desei-ve. Is that religion ? What do you more than others 1 What is there in a disposition like this beyond those in whose hearts there reigns bitter enmity towards God 1 If you have no wish but to secure some enjoyments in another world, the nature of which you little understand, and which, if they were fully explained, you would not 168 O0D*S GOODNESS RECALLED TO MIND. relish, is that religion ? There is no piety in it ; there is nothing that should afford the slightest blame to those doubts which some- times harass you ; nothing which should induce you to suppose you have passed from death unto life. To have the arrow of conviction driven deep into our hearts, and the links of bondage rivetted fast upon our limbs, is better than to be careless. It is better to hear the clanking of the chain, and to feel its burden, than to suppose we are free when we are bound down to sin, and the bond-slaves of Satan, But it is not piety. To have no love for God's ways, to have no delight in God's perfections, to taste no sweetness in calling him your father — is this religion 1 Is this the character of those who are fit for heaven 1 Is this the employment to which the children of God are destined hereafter ? There must be something far, far better : and I would impress it on all who feel that this change has not been given to them, that the spirit of slaves has not been exchanged for the spirit of children, I would impress it on your memory — and it is essential to salvation because it is essential to true religion — that you will never know anything of God in Christ till this spirit is imparted. Seek it, then, as one of the greatest blessings, in all those means with which you are favoured, and to which the word of God may prompt you : seek it through Christ by the Spirit : and never rest till, with a joy of heart far better than any earthly good ever did or could bestow, you can say, " My father," belienng that you shall never turn away from him. THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCB. REV. H. HUGHES, A.M. BEDFORD CHAPEL, CHARLOTTE STREET, SEPTEMBER 11, 1836. The Lord is his inheritance." — Deuteronomy, x. 9. As it is out of the power of any but those who have experienced them, to comprehend aright the blessings which God bestows upon the real Christian, so is it impossible that, when experienced, any language can be found by which they may be adequately described. As there are some natural scenes, of which, owing to their wonder and sublimity, or the intricacy and minuteness of the detail, it is impossible to convey a correct idea by any representation of art, so the Cliristian's hidden life, after all the efforts of description, and all the powers of language have been exhausted on the subject, to the worldly man is a hidden life still ; the eye must have pierced behind the veil which separates the visible from the invisible, and have fathomed the deep things of God, ere we can understand all that is meant by the privileges of the true believer, and the promises vouchsafed to him by the Almighty. Accordingly, the promises of Holy Scripture are for the most part presented to us under general statements, and couched in general terms ; calculated, indeed, from their manifest excellence and beauty, perceptible to the most superficial observer, to influ- ence the heart and captivate the affections; but only in fact ex- hibiting a broad outline of splendour and glory, which the believer fills up from the treasures of his own experience, and touches into completeness with a pencil enriched from the resources of actual enjoyment. These observations will apply themselves to a promise which, under different varieties of expression, is not seldom presented to the real Christian in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, namely, that " the Lord is his inheritance." It is evident that some great and unusual 170 THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE. blessing is signified, when we are said to be in possession of the Eternal One, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain ; hut it is only by the woMt of the Spirit of God, actuall}^ ap])lying this blessing to the heart, that we can really know all that the })romise contains, and become acquainted with the infinite abundance of its mercies. We are obliged to declare most explicitly, that it is with this as with all other promises, they can only be adequately known by those by whom they are experienced and felt, and language is utterly powerless to convey them in anything like their reality to the dead and unconverted soul ; still, however, to this, as to others, there is attached a general meaning which it may be useful to all to ascertain, and I earnestly pray that the Spirit of God may be with us in the inquiry, that it may be to us for awakening, for consolation, or for strength. " The Lord is his i?ihe?'ita?ice^^ The obvious meaning of having the Lord for our inheritance is, that we have dedicated ourselves to his service, that we have surrendered ourselves altogether to him, the energies of the body and the faculties of the mind, to do his will and advance his kingdom and glory ; again, that we have secured him as our own for ever, that we are attached to him as a man to a possession which he cannot alienate ; further, that we have, as it were, the use of the Lord God Almighty, that his perfections and his grace are guaranteed to us to be employed for our personal interest and advantage ; and, lastly, that we are in the actual enjoyment of those blessings which belong to living in a state of favour with the righteous Governor of the universe. " The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup ; thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage," Now to have the Lord for his inheritance is a privilege that attaches itself to a man the moment that he becomes interested in the promises of the Gospel. As soon as he hears, believes, and obeys the message from on High, separates himself from the world, and is added as a member to the true Church of Christ, that moment does God sur- render himself to him as his portion : " Thou art my portion, O Lord ; I have said that I would keep thy words." And it is a pri- vilege that goes on into eternity ; it is not interrupted by the separation of the soul from the body, nor by its passage into the scenes of an untried existence : " My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever." I?i life THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE. 171 a7id after death, i?i time and in eternity, the true believer has the Lord for his inheritance, and we shall attend to these two divisions in endeavouring, by the blessing of God, to make an edifying and practical application of the present text. First, In life the true believer realizes the promise, and has the Lord for his inheritance. First, Because he deliberately chooses him in preference to the charms and allurements of the ivorld. We know well there is another inheritance more obviously presented to our view: even the world with its allurements, its vain and shadowy delights. With every persuasive argument it commends itself to our choice. It presents an unreal image to our view, decks it with all the fairy colours of imagination, and pushes it forward to our embraces. It excites the senses, and promises them gratification'; it subdues the understanding, and makes it believe that there is something really good and substantial in those things which it so lavishly promises ; it enlists the reason in its service, supplies food to the passions, and captivates the affections. And all the while it is leading us away from God, and godly things. The natural sin and irreligion that have their seat in every heart, being combined into one mass of action and of opinion, and deriving ten-fold strength from the accumulation, rush on in rebellion against the Almighty with fearful impetuosity, and hurry us along in an almost irresistible torrent. If it does not commit us to gross sins, though even these are too much countenanced by the world, it yet produces deadness of feeling, a dislike of all serious religion, and a total disregard ot the interests of the immortal spirit. It solicits the young and amiable, to whom the hopes and fears, the joys and promises of religion more particularly address themselves. It establishes its dominion over the old, even when every thing connected with it is just escaping from their grasp. We are aware that efforts are often made to combine these two inheritances, the Lord Jehovah and an ungodly world ; or to possess the one here, and to establish a claim to the other in eternity. But the two are utterly incompatible, they cannot co-exist, nor can the things of this world be to us an intro- duction into glory. " The portion of Jacob," says the prophet, " is not like them : for he is the former of all things, the Lord of Hosts is his name." The lesson is emphatically repeated by our divine Master : " Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." Again it 172 THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE. is announced by his inspired servants : " The friendship of the World is enmity with God." Before the eye of the true Christian there is extended another and a far different portion, even the service of God ; to labour in the cause of Jesus Christ, to dedicate his life to him, and to worship him in spirit and in truth. On the calmest deliberation, the most mature reflection, and on reasons grounded on the truest principles, he makes his choice for the Lord God. He gradually renounces the world ; day by day he becomes less absorbed in its pleasures and pursuits, and lives more and more continually for a better and a higher end. In proportion as he is separated from the world, does the Lord become his in- heritance ; he is more closely united to him, and more exclusively employed in his service ; he perceives the wisdom of his choice, tastes of the blessings that are at God's right hand, and finds a supply of all his wants from the fulness that is in Christ Jesus; that the Lord is his portion and his sole inheritance, he has taken him for his own, and eveiy other less perfect and substantial he has absolutely and utterly renounced. Again : The Christian has the Lord for his inheritance^ in thai all things are working together for his final salvation. I know not that there can be conceived a greater privilege than to be able to take such a view of God's Providence, as to be convinced that all events and circumstances are so ordered as to be working together for the final salvation of our souls. Thus every, thing that God ordains to befal his chosen servant in this world of trial, is seen to be directly tending to one point. Each peculiarity of circumstance, the state of life in which he is placed, the men by whom he is surrounded, his hours of prosperity, the disappointment of his wishes, the heaviest afflictions, even the hinderances he meets with in his Christian course and exclusion from relioious advantages, all are doing the divine work, and tending, with unerring certainty, to his final happiness and glory. That such a privilege belongs to the real Christian is not left to conjecture, nor to the conclusions of human reasoning on the government and providence of God. " We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose." Such was the experience of Paul, under circumstances perhaps more trying than any other to a faithful and zealous minister of the word, when the loving and peaceable Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached in a spirit of envy and strife in order that it might add THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE. 173 affliction to his bonds : " I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." The confidence that animated the breast of the apostle need not be absent from our own. Every thing is contributing to build up the servant of Jesus Christ, and to create in him a fitness for heavenly places. Things indifterent in themselves, by this become of un- speakable importance. Things, in themselves grievous and afflicting, by this are invested with glory and unutterable joy. They are divine instruments, separating him from the world, uniting him to Jesus Ciirist, vanquishing the carnal mind, overcoming the dominion of sin, infusing a spirit of holiness, conforming him to the Gospel ])attern, and raising up the man a new creature from the ruins of the fall. Thus to him God is in every thing. In all events he beholds his inheritance, for the Lord is with them all. They are sanctified by the presence of Jehovah. In every one of them " he bows his heavens and comes down." " The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him." But again : The true believer has the Lord for his inheritance, because he has the peace of God shed abroad in his heart. The search after a real and abiding peace is one in which we are all engaged. By a thousand different paths men pursue one and the same object. And all are agreed in this, in hopes and anticipations of its attainment. The worldly man anticipates the day when, his present toil and difficulty at an end, he shall enter into rest and happiness as yet unknown. He does not believe his present dis- quietude will last for ever, and it would make him miserable if he did. He has a scene in his mind's eye, which, removed from the objects of his care, will leave his soul at liberty to take advantage of all the means of enjoyment within his reach. Alas ! he is un- conscious that to change the scene and vary the circumstances of existence is not to change the heart, and make that world of rest- lessness and agitation the abode of happiness and peace. Not thus can he still the cravings of diseased nature, nor satisfy the legitimate desires of an immortal spirit. He carries the sting within in his own heart, and the poison rankles in his veins independently of the beauty or deformity of the external scene. Unconverted and still alienated fi'om God, he asks a happiness he will never find. God is the sole fountain of bliss, and Christ alone is able to satisfy the soul, and his peace is pledged to no one but the true believer, while to him it is guaranteed ])y the word and promise of the 174 THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE. Almighty. It is the express assurance of the great Head of the Church : " My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, n6t as the world giveth give I unto you." The assurance is repeated by his apostle : " The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." Its faith- fulness has been proved by every son of man who has sought his pleasures at God's right hand, and become personally interested in the merits and perfections of the Saviour. In every such case, without exception, has there been a discovery of the peace of God. The voice of Christian experience is unanimous. God does not hide himself from those whom he has given to his beloved Son. They have a " joy with which the stranger cannot intermeddle :" a joy independent of, and superior to, all outward circumstances. It is poured down into the heart from the bosom of Jehovah. It is the saint's inheritance, the presence of God, the foretaste of that bliss which will be shed around and upon them, in its perfection, in the world of eternity. But further The true believer has surrendered to him the Lord Christ himself as his hiheritance ; he has him for his ow?i. It is the assurance of St. John that " he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life." Thus, having the Son is made the distinguishing characteristic of the true Christian, for ever}' true Christian is an inheritor of life eternal. He has, therefore, the Son, for if he had him not he would be yet dead, dead in trespasses and sins, and iwnransomed from the second death ; but now he was dead and is alive again, he liveth and believeth in Jesus, and shall never die. He, therefore, hath the Son, for he that hath not the Son hath not life. Again, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul prays for the Spirit for his converts, " that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith." And it is the promise of Christ himself unto those that love him, that he and the Father " will come unto him, and make their abode with him." The believer is united to the Son of God by a mysterious union, but not on that account less real and actual. He is united to him by a living faith. He has him by that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, and which therefore puts him in an anticipated possession here of all that he is to enjoy in fulness and in perfection hereafter. He has him as the propitiation for his sin, his substitute in the sight of God, for wisdom, for righteousness, for sanctification and redemption. He accepts him as his prophet and teacher, he submits himself to THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHEniTANCE. 175 his guidance, and forms himself by his precepts. He knows him as his ruler and his king, and walks in obedience to his commands. Above all, he takes him for a principle of holiness, to sanctify his heart, and prepare him, by an entire conversion, for heavenly abodes and the immediate presence of Jehovah, In a word, he has him for all the ends for which he is revealed in Scripture. 1 ask, then, whether the true Christian may not be said to have the Son of God ? Does he not dwell in his heart by faith ? Does he not come and make his abode with him ? He has the Son. The Son is possessed, in the highest and most important sense, not by the world that is guided by his providence, not by the heavens that behold his glory, not by the devils that feel his power, but by the lowly and contrite heart that bows at his footstool, and rejoices in his salvation. Thus, then, is the Lord the Christian's inheritance in this life. He has deliberately chosen him for his own, in preference to the charms and allurements of the world : all things are working together for the final salvation of his soul ; there is shed abroad upon his heart the peace that passeth understanding ; and he possesses the Son of God by a living and abiding faith. And the believer actually feels all this ; It is not a mere theory ; he knows it by the undoubted testimony of his own secret but sure experience. As surely as there is a spirit within him capable of being invigorated and re- freshed by the Spirit of Almighty God : as surely as the Christian life is altogether different from that of a world lying in ignorance: as surely as he has found the events and trials of his earthly pil- grimage building him up and preparing him for his eternal home : as surely as he has ever felt within his heart God's unutterable peace : as surely as he knows himself personally interested in the work of his dying and risen Saviour, so surely does he feel that the Lord is his inheritance ; the Lord is his portion, and he is a portion which no power in the universe can rend away. But not only in this life, but also after death — not only in time, but also in eternity, has the Christian the Lord for his inheritance. He is not deprived of his portion by the separation of soul and body, by the change of scene, nor the commencement of a spiritual existence. Not only is it his own now, but also in the world to come. For, first, He is eternally with him. Wherever is the heaven 176 THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE. where Christ lives and reigns, there is the habitation of his chosen people. They are with him where he is, they see him as he is, they walk in the light of his countenance. " Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." Whenever death summons us to leave this earthly tabernacle, we " depart, and are with Christ, which is far better." Wlien the day of judgment comes, we " meet him in the air," and " so shall we ever be with the Lord." It is not within the compass of death itself, nor the powers of darkness, nor the tribunal of God, to separate those from Jesus whom he has once loved. In eternity he is theirs for evermore. No veil shall then obscure from the longing vision the everlasting brightness of his presence ; no envious distance interfere to bar us from personal intercourse with the beloved ; no earth-born languor shall control the rising spirit. Never again shall the face of God be hidden from us, or the heart seek him in vain. Praise shall be offered at the very foot of the eternal throne ; the heavenly harps must be swept in the presence of Him who has placed them in our hands, and homage shall be paid to the personal effulgence of the Deity. But the great truth stands out m all its excellency when we find it is the -presence of the Lord that constitutes the believer'' s happiness and joy. Every joy and blessing of those blessed places originates in the fact, that we are to dwell in the presence of the Lord. His presence is the fountain and spring of happiness to every individual of his glorified Church. Hence it is the prayer of Christ in behalf of his accepted servants, " Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me." He knows that to behold his gjory is sufficient for the perfect blessedness of every immortal spirit. In the same beatific vision rests the unlimited perfection to which it is our hope that we shall attain : " When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." The image of the great God, seen, beheld, and actually enjoyed, shall at once exalt the creature to the highest excellence of which it is capable. Every thing also that is essential to a perfect and eternal existence shall be supplied from the same source : " The city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it ; for the glory of God does lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" Thus the Lord IS the believer's inheritance in the highest and most important sense. He not only possesses liirn, but he fills all his desire. Hj THE LORD THE CHRISTIAX's INHERITANCE. 177 is his life, his stiength, his joy, liis everlasting blessedness. All other things are now become worthless and without price. All his being is occupied with this glorious portion, and not one faculty of the soul wanders unsatisfied for want of an object great and good enough to fill ;t. In these several ways, in life and after death, in time and in eternity, is the Lord the inheritance of the true believer : an in- heritance, my Christian friends, secured to the meanest of us all, to the poorest, the most lowly, and the most ignorant among us, by a more binding instrument than earthly charter ; more boundless than the ocean, and brighter than the patrimony of kings : an inheritance which we possess now, but of which the full use is reserved to another life ; which is ah*eady in our hands, and awarded by the supreme judicature, but which will shew forth all its splendour and all its excellence only at that moment when we are most capable of enjoying it. There are some remarks grounded on the foregoing inquiry, which before I conclude I would, with the grace of God, leave to the solemn consideration of all who hear me this day. Let us ther bear in mind. First, That whether we have made the Lord our inheritance must be the criterioti of our hopes. He is the portion of every real Christian, of every one who has an interest in the mercies of a covenant God. To have no part in him is to be an outcast from the promises, to live with the divine wrath upon our heads. This, then, is a question which we may urge upon you without an}^ charge of enthusiasm, whether you have secured the Lord for your inherit- ance. Have you chosen him in preference to the charms of a vain and deceitful world ? Have you found this life a scene of preparation for that which is to come ? Do you know anything of the peace of God, which passeth understanding ? Are you personally interested in the work of Christ, as your Redeemer from the penalties of the law and the power of sin — in the work of his Spirit as the sanctifier of your heart and your affections ? Have you appropriated this by a Hving faith? Has he become your wisdom, your righteousness, your sanctification and redemption ? These are questions which mjist be answered, and answered in the affirmative, or else we are still in our sins : to us a Saviour has been preached in vain. Secondly, Let us also seriously inquire, what mil be the state of VOL. VI. N 178 THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE, those in the next world who have not made the Lord their inherit- ance ? Can their souls be conceived in any way capable of partici- pating in heavenly joy ? Is there anything in the circumstances or employments of redeemed spirits which can fill up the measure of their cup, "and make them perfectly and for ever blessed ? Eternity is to be spent in the presence of the Lord Jehovah, and from that fact the joy of heaven is derived ; every part of its anticipated blessedness is rested on that single circumstance. Will the sensualist, the ungodly, or any one of those who have laid up their treasure upon earth, or any one who, in habits and pursuits, in desires and affections, is essentially worldly, and of the things of this world, find a heaven in this 1 Will those who are alienated fi-om the life of God here, rejoice in it hereafter ? Shall those who are averse to spiritual things now, find their joys made mfinite by their full effulgence 1 No ! tell their expectant spirits that they are to dwell for ever in the unveiled presence of the Almighty, that they are to be employed for ever in the utterance of those praises to which here their lips were strangers, that the eye of God is to be fixed for ever on those hearts whose sms have never been re- pented of nor washed away, and you have said enough — it would be a very hell to them in heaven. We cannot believe that the mere act of dying will effect any change in the habits and inclina- tions, the affections and desires of the soul. We know of no purgatorial fires by which the spirit may be cleansed, and prepared for the association of angels and the Mediator of the new covenant. Allowing that God could so far forget his purity, his faithfulness, and all the essential attributes of his character, as to admit to his society and his blissful habitation those who would have none of him on earth, and what have you done 1 Have you provided for them any probable means of enjoyment, or anything to allay and sooth the stings and anguish of remorse ? Do you not, even on this supposition, consign them to a miserable eternity 1 Let me then beseech you, by the mercies of God, and all that yourselves hold most dear, to make the Lord your own now, and enter upon the everlasting possession. It is true there are many things exclusively belonging to this world eminently calculated to arrest and engage the inclinations and affections of the soul. But exactly in proportion as you surrender yourselves to these, exactly in proportion as you are absorbed in them, do you renounce the Lord as your inheritance. And then, when you have made for- THE LORD THE CHRISTIAN'S INHERITANCE. 179 feiture of all the promises of the Gospel, and all the riches of God's eternal kingdom, for the pleasures or the interests of this little scene ; then, when you have barte'red away the richest and the fairest inheritance that was ever offered to the acceptance of an immortal spirit, to follow the imaginations of your own hearts ; what remains but the bitterness of regret, and to find too late that you have taken to yourselves lamentations, and mourning, and woe 1 O ! may God, of his great mercy, grant that such may never be the portion assigned to us by the irrevocable sentence of the Judge. Amen. THE MINISTER'S FAREWELL ENTREATY. REV. T. MORTIMER, B.D. ST. LEONARD'S CHURCH, SHOREDITCH, SEPTEMBER 26, 1836. '• I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, for- bearing one another in love : endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." — Ephesians, iv. 1 — 6. St. Paul was a wise master-builder ; he built for eternity : he took care to lay the doctrine of the cross as the great foundation- stone ; and having laid it, he built upon it, and he built a super- structure which shall outlive time — spiritual temples, living tem- ples, holy, consecrated to God, We have now, through the goodness of our God upon us, been spared to preach among you the word of life for nearly fifteen years. Well can I call to mind the feelings with which I preached my first sermon as your lecturer : they were feelings of fear rather than of hope : there were many, many fears ; but I trust, there were many, many prayers : and having obtained help of God, we continue until now. Some, who then were active and useful, are sleeping in the vaults beneath us, or in the graves around us. Fifteen years make a great change among all classes ; they make a gi-eat change in you, and they make a great change in me. But our God remains the same, eternally the same — the hope, the refuge of his people, even to the end of the world. I have often had occasion, when standing here as one of your parochial clergy — I have often had occasion to speak boldly, to denounce vice, to threaten the sinner, to tell the guilty of his doom, and to speak without fear in the face of any living being, in the discharge of my duty. But I now speak with authority among you no more; I this day lay down my office among you : I speak no longer, I say, with authority, in denouncing the sinner ; I have done with that ; but I may speak with entreaty, for the comfort and edification of the church ; I may entreat you in the language of the apostle, " I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, THE minister's FAREWELL ENTREATY. 181 beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbear- ing one another in love ; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace " To these words, then, we direct your attention. Let me consider, first, the Christian's calling ; let me consider, secondly, the unity of the Christian church • let me consider, thirdly, the entreaty of the Christian minister. We are, first, to consider, the hope of the Christian church. " One hope of your calling :" what is that ? Does it relate to any- thing on earth? I think not : I think it relates to a larger assembly than this ; I think it relates to a better meeting in a better world ; I think it regards the assembly in that " house not made with hands, etemal in the heavens." From the moment of our conver- sion to God by the power of the Holy Ghost, we long to get pre- pared for that house which is in heaven ; we long to get a meetness for, and, at last, an abundant entrance ministered unto us into, the joy of our Lord. What has been our grand object in preaching to you ? It has been to try to win you to heaven. We have often spoken very plain tilings ; we have often spoken things at which a vain and wicked Av orld thought proper to sneer. We never cared for that : through the grace of God enabling us, we have endeavoured to speak the truth; and, as far as we knew it, the v)hole truth; and, as God Almighty helped us, nothing hut the truth. Ah ! we did not come among you — God is witness — panting, desiring to be enriched by you : but we came among you very earnestly desiring to do you good ; very earnestly desiring that whensoever we shall be called to give up our stewardship, it might be with joy, and not with sorrow. Ah, brethren ! this was our prayer, and, I trust, with some it will be answered : I trust there are those who connect with these sacred walls every thing that is dear, every thing that is hallowed, every thing that is blessed. Here your Saviour met with you ; here he spoke to you, first a word of warnings bidding you flee from the wrath to come ; and then a word of mercy, when he said, " Him that Cometh unto me I will in nowise cast out;" and then a word of encouragement to the weary pilgrim, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." And you shall have it by and bye. Yet a little longer struggling in a world of sin, yet a little conflict with the grand enemy of God and man, both without and 182 THE minister's farewell entreaty. within you ; and your pilgrimage shall terminate ; you shall be called to take off the shield from your arm, to lay down the sword, to take the helmet from off your head, and lay them down as trophies at Immanuel's feet. O ! I glory in it — the hope of our calling is " the inheritance of the saints in light." We are now sent to preach to people, and to try to turn them " from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God," that all the benefit should not end with their lives, or with our lives ; but we are sent to preach to them that word of everlasting life which, if attended by the power of the Holy Ghost, and brought home to the heart of man, shall issue in eternal glory, shall issue in his being a partaker of the inheritance of saints, before the throne of God : " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Ah ! I do hope in God to meet some of you at the right hand of the Judge, who shall have to bless God Almighty to all eternity that you ever entered these church doors. I do hope that at that great day, for which all other days were made, when the judgment shall be set, and the books shall be opened, and the dead, small and great, shall stand before God, I do hope there are those in this parish, who will have to thank God that this house of mercy ever was built, that these doors were ever opened to them, and that here the word of God was faithfully preached, and his sacraments duly administered. But let me turn to the second thing, and that is the unity of the Christian church. Look at the number of times that the little monosyllable one occurs in the text. " There is one body, the church ;" the church is the body of Christ. " There is one Spirit :" by which Spirit the whole body of the church is governed and managed — a directing, sanctifying, comforting, and strengthen- ing Spirit. One body, the church ; one Spirit, the Holy Ghost ; one blessed hope of eternal life, issuing in eternal glory. One hope : all the saints of God through all the world, at this very hour are influenced by the same Spirit, and animated by the same hope : they are looking forward to the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, hath promised in Christ. Talk we of the Christians in the most distant parts of the world? Think we for a moment of those in Bengal, in Calcutta, in Madras, in any of our Indian pre- sidencies ? Think we of the Christians in New South Wales, or in any part of the habitable globe 1 Think we of the members of the ancient Syrian church still remaining in the East? Or think we of THE minister's FAREWELL ENTREATY. 183 the members of our own apostolical church scattered throughout the world 1 Or think we of all the members of Christ's holy catholic church throughout all the world ? All are influenced by one Spirit, all depending upon one Christ's blood, upon one Christ's intercession with the Father, enjoying the blessed influences of one Spirit, and all pressing onward and rising up to the hope of eternal life. " 0?ie Lord, o?ie faith, one baptism ;" only one Saviour ; only one holy catholic faith, including the grand fundamentals of religion ; (and no church under heaven, no church under God's heaven, holds the catholic faith in more purity than does our own church of England.) " Owe Lord, o?ie faith, o?ie baptism,''^ by which we are admitted into Christ's church, by which we were admitted as the children of God, and which, attended by the power of the Holy Ghost, in cases innumerable was the beginning of our everlasting life. But mark : " Owe God and Father of all ;" to whom we come as children to a father ; not in the spirit of the slave, but in a filial, child-like spirit. " My God is reconciled," may the Christian say— " My God IS reconciled ; His pard'ning voice I hear : He owns me for his child ; I can no longer fear ; But now with confidence draw nigh, And ' Father,' ' Abba, Father,' cry. " This is part of the Christian calling ; this is part of the unity of the Christian church ; in this all the faithful throughout all the world are interested. And mark, it is added, " 0?ie God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all :" who by his superintending providence orders and governs all things throughout the world ; who by his superintending grace influences the whole body of Christ's people, pervading the universal church with an unseen, but not unfelt, influence ; and finally, who is " in you all" — God dwelling in the heart of man, there taking up his abode. " But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth ? Behold, the heavens, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain Thee; how much less this house:" and every Christian may add, this heart ! But I come, in the third place, having considered the hope of tht Christian's calling, having noticed the unity of the Christian churcV; I come, in the third place, to point out the entreaty of 184 THE minister's farewell entreaty. THE Christian minister. I come not now to command. Often, as youi* minister, as one of your parochial clergy, though the least and the most unworthy among them, it was my duty to command you to give yourselves unto God; it was my duty to speak with authority ; it was my duty to speak with boldness, unflinchingly and fearlessly. But now those days are over : I cease this day to have any connexion with you, though God forbid I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. But I have to entreat you; I have a request to make : I don't say to worldly men, for they cannot understand it, and if they could they would not comply with it : I make the request to those who, through the grace of God, have believed. ', And what is it ? It is this : " I beseech you" — I beseech you — " I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." I speak now no longer with authority ; but I beseech you. O do not go and dis- grace me and disgrace yourselves by unholy Hving ! " I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." I have done with the sinner now till the day of judgment; I have done with denouncing the sinner, standing in this pulpit; but I have not done entreating you — " I beseech you." And the apostle brings it in very touchingly : " I therefore the prisoner of the Lord." He was in trouble at the time ; and God knows so am I. My poor dying wife said to me, only a few Sundays back, " I have one request : pray resign Shoreditch before I die, for it will kill you if you go on." In trouble, then, and in affliction, I come among you ; and I come, and I entreat you to " walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Think you, Christian, O what a stab it would be to my heart if I were told, " Ah, sir, there is one of your professed converts, and he is living a very unholy life ; and there is another, he is very proud ; and there is another, he is given to drink ; and there is another, he is given to covetous- ness ; and there is another, he is wallowing in sensuality." O ! I think I could bear a good deal, but I don't think I could bear that. No, I would rather hear you were dead in Christ, and rather hear of those who, through God's mercy, had been given me as the children of my prayers — I would rather you were dying in the Christian faith, in a holy consistency of life, and in the full triumph of the Gospel, and gone to heaven : but I could not bear to hear you were walking in an unholy, in an unchristian, in an unbecoraiyig manner. THE MINISTER S FAREWELL ENTREATY. 185 Now, then, if you wish, beloved, if you wish thus to walk — you have your prayer-books often in your hands, and, I trust, your Bibles oftener still — look at these little passages which our old dear Church brings forward to her members for their spiritual sustenance and comfort. O how beautiful, how touching, how excellent they are ! Look at the passage before us. Do you wish to walk worthy ? You must walk lowly; you must be vei-y lowly : you must avoid pride ; you must pray for the grace of humility : and if you want a pattern, behold the blessed Redeemer, who, though he was rich, for your sakes became poor. " Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus : who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God : but made himself of no reputa- tion, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men : and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." If you want to walk " worthy of your vocation," you must walk very meekly, and with a great deal of long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, trying to bear each other's burdens, and to bear with each other's failings. We are not angels ; we are m,e7i : we are fallen, we are degraded, we are prone to what is wrong ; but if we have the true grace of God, we shall seek to bear with one another. " Forbearing one another," says the apostle HI another place, " and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any : even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." But mark, you are to make a vigorous effort to be a united people, to preserve " the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." I do not like — and I say it honestly, much as I wish to live in peace with all men — I do from my soul regret the alteration that has taken place in part of the Christian Church during the last few years; an alteration which I greatly regret and deeply lament. The time was, and was when I entered on the duties of this lec- tureship, that our dissenting friends regarded the Church of England with kindness : they differed from us on points of doctrine — some few of doctrine, and some few of discipline ; but they said (and they were true to their saying), " We wish you well : we have no desire to pull down the Church ; we have no desire to injure the episcopal Church of the land : we wish you well in God's name, and to do all the good you can, and pray the Lord to be with you :" and we then could shew brotherly union to such men. But I cannot, and I will not, and I dare not, as a minister of the Church of England, shew a spirit of union with those who say concerning 186 TrtK minister's farewell entreatk, our dear old Church, " Down with her, down with her, even to the ground." J regret to hear such a spirit has shewn itself. 1 say not that all our nonconforming brethren have acted thus ; but many have : and when one leading member of their body has dared to tell us in public that the Church of England has damned more souls than she has saved, I say such an assertion is an egregious falsehood ; it is a falsehood before God and man ; it is a falsehood for which the lips that uttered it, unless the party deeply regret it, shall give an account before Him that is ready to judge quick and dead. At the same time, I will not hesitate to say, that it has given me unfeigned delight and pleasure to behold, that, while some of our noncon- forminof brethren have thus attacked the Church, and attacked her in the day of her distress, and have joined with the infidel and the Papist in endeavouring to pull her down, others, who had been long looking on, and it was dubious what they would do, returned to their own principles, and shewed themselves on the side of sound order and real religion. The Wesleyan Methodists, as a body, when the Church established in this land was attacked by every scoffer, was attacked by sneers, and taunts, and ill-will on one hand and another — the Wesleyan Methodists declared — " Our founder was a member of that Church, was a clergyman of that Church : we will not have anything to do with insulting that Church ; we will not have anything to do with pulling down that Church, or attacking that Church in the day of her distress." Now, brethren, endeavour to keep " the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." You find it sometimes a hard task : but when you hear cruel speaking against that Church you love ; when you hear those who know nothing of what that church is doing, and abusing it, and speaking of it as useless, then endeavour to preserve the unity of the spirit, and contend for the faith in the spirit of the faith. Let it be " in the bond of peace :" let there be no railing (railing for railing does no good) ; but contrariwise, blessing. The Church of England has been latterly a persecuted church : the Church of England has had to suffer from the Papist, from the Socinian, from the political dissenter, and those who would have been glad to have pillaged her property, and taken it all away from her, and left the Church to take care of herself But I do not hesitate to say (and T say it in the face of God), I believe the Church of England was never in so sound and healthy a state since the period of the Refor- mation : I believe, in my soul before God, there never was sucJi a body of holy, devoted men amongst the clergy, such a body of holy, THE minister's FAREWELL ENTREATY. 187 self-denying men amongst the laity, as there are at present. Keep, then, a united people. Hold up your clergy by your prayers. Show your love to Christ by your love to his Church. Endeavour to walk consistently with the rules of that Church to which you belong : but, remember, one rule is, charity to those that differ from you. You never gain any thing for the Church of England by abusing those who differ from us, or by justifying every thing, right or wrong, that is done amongst us. There are abuses that need to be rectified ; and which are fast being rectified, thanks be to God : but, I repeat it, the Church of England is at this hour God's great instru- ment for the conversion of these realms, and the preservation of true religion in the world. While, then, I say. Endeavour to show brotherly love to all who really love your Lord and Master in sincerity, I do not say. Hold out your hand to the Socinian ; I say. Refuse it : I do not say, Hold out your hand to the Papist ; I say. Refuse it. Yes ; contend for the Christian and the Protestant faith : and if some, who ought to have known better, and of whom we believe that they are good men, will cruelly speak against the Church established in these realms; then be this your spirit — being reviled, do you bless ; being persecuted, do you submit. And now, beloved brethren, I hasten to bid you farewell in the name of the Lord. I have much to be thankful for that I have been spared to preach God's word amongst you so many years. I received, last week, a very kind, and courteous, and truly fatherly letter from your kind old vicar (whose life I pray God to spare), a letter from a father to a son, expressive of the greatest kindness towards me on my retirement from this lectureship. Well, by and bye all earthly connexions must be brought to an end ; sooner or later one, and another, and another will have gone : and what do you think when I tell you, what you know already as well as I can tell you, concerning the assembly of the last day, that, compared with that assembly, this is nothing ? No ; every individual now present must die ; every individual must, sooner or later, be com- mitted to the dust. But man does not sleep in the grave for ever • there is the resurrection of the dead ; there is the life everlasting. T have to acknowledge many infirmities, many failings : but, thank God, my conscience does not accuse nic that I ev(ir kept back a faithful truth, were it ever so displeasing. My conscience does not smite me this day that I ever kept back anything that was profitable 188 THK minister's farewell entreaty. for you, for fear of offending you : God is witness, and you also, that I have endeavoured, according to my feeble ability, to speak the word in love. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace ; praying him to keep you from falling, and present you faultless at last before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. THE BEST GIFT'S OP GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. REV. J. il. EVANS, A.M. JOHN STREET CHAPEL, KING'S ROAD, OCTOBER 4, 1836. ' And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy hrethren are come unto thee : the land of Egypt is before thee : in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell." — Genesis, xlvii. 5, 6. If we were on a journey, a journey towards our home, our long- thought-of, fondly-beloved home, and were told that the whole of that journey was wearisome, that the roads were rocky, the hills steep, all the accommodations by the way wretched and miserable ; if we were told we should have no comfort in our way thither, that nothing was before us but storm and tempest ; yet the thought of home, the blessedness of the anticipation, the consciousness that soon it would all be over, and that then we should experience the full enjoyment of the long-thought-of, fondly -beloved home — how this would cheer us ! Now if the Lord God Almighty were so to deal with us, and place before us, as indeed he does place before us, eternal life, eternal glory, the full enjoyment of himself in heaven, and all our journey tnither be painful, wretched, and miserable ; if we had no pleasant- ness by the way, nothing to mitigate our sufferings by the way, nothing to look forward to but storm, and tempest, and calamity ; yet the thought of home, the thought of the glory, ought to be enough to cheer our spirits, to animate our hopes, and make us travel on the way almost as if there were no roughness in it. Now God /lath so dealt with us ; he has not only given to his Israel the promise and the beginning of eternal life ; he has not only given to them the glorious anticipation of opening glory hereafter, and the full enjoy- ment of himself in that glory ; but he has given them all blessings bi/ the way. The ways of obedience are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace : even upon earth, we may say, the true Israel of God have " the best of the land :" they have the best by the loay ; and what shall we say of the termination of the way ? We may well 190 THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. say of every poor, careless, thoughtless worldling here, this evening, that they are toilers up the hill — toilers " all the night," and "have taken nothing." O, if such a one did but know for one moment, if he had but one glimpse of, what there is in the possession of Christ, and what there is in the real substance of the Gospel when really experienced by the power of God ; then would his poverty and wretchedness stare him in the face as an armed man, and he would feel that to this moment he had been living in worse than nothing and vanity. I will not to-night take up your time by endeavouring to prove, because most who are present feel quite assured, that Israel of old was typical of the true Israel of God ; but I shall content myself with presenting three points for your consideration : and may the Holy Ghost lay them upon your consciences, and open them to your understandings ; open your understandings unto them, and then give you a spiritual love of them, a purified affection towards them, that they may be exhibited in your life, your conduct, and your temper, to the praise and glory of the God whose grace it is. In the first place, then, I would endeavour to show, that God's best blessings are towards his true Israel; secondly, consider why it is so ; and, thirdly, place before you some of the great practical tendencies of the truth. In the first place, God giveth the best unto his true Israel. He gives them a land of rest, he gives them a land ol safety, he gives them a land of abundance, and he giveth them the best things in that land. He not only pardons them, but his pardon is a costly pardon. What a poor idea the Socinian has of pardon, to suppose that God forgives us for our wretched tears' sake, for our repentance' sake, and for our good works' sake. Supposing it is so, what a wretched view of pardon he has ! It is not worthy the name of pardon. But God, in pardoning his true Israel, pardons them in the way of the most unsullied justice, and the most perfect purity : their redemption cost him his own Son, the life of his own Son ; Jesus himself died in order that his church might live ; he took the cup of suffering that they might take the cup of blessing ; he drank it to the dregs that they might have the cup of blessing to taste by the way, and drink of its fulness to all eternity. When God pardons, he pardons as God ; it is a costly pardon : and when you and I come to die, and look eternity fair in the face, perhaps this one truth may suffice (and nothing else will suffice at that THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. 191 moment), that our sins — black as they are, and we know not their blackness — ajrgravated as they are, and we know but little of their ag- gravation — our sins may be so brought to our view in a dying moment as we have had no conception of during our lives; and yet, notwith- standing what they are, the blood is the blood of Jesus, and every drop of that blood had the whole glory of Jehovah therein : it is the blood of Him who is infinite. That is the basis of our confidence : take it away, and I have no confidence. The pardon is a costly pardon ; the i ighteousness wherewith he justifies is a costly righte- ousness — the righteousness of God. My dear hearers, what poor conceptions we have of these great truths ! As they pass my lips from time to time, I have sometimes the inward reproach, " What, talking of them again, and yet so little improved in them !" What poor superficial views one seems to have of the truth, that though the believer is what he is, and though he has done what he has done, and though his own righteousness cannot answer God's law for orte of a thousand of the transgressions that he has committed, yet that ho stands complete in the righteousness of God ; that the saints in heaven are not more justified than he is ; that he stands, not in the righteousness of the first Adam, but in the righteousness of the second Adam ; and that the righteousness of Christ is as much im- puted to him, and as much accounted his, as if belonging to himself originally, by his own obedience in life and in death. Now this is the best of the land : God giveth his own his best. He not only gives them 'pardon^ it is a costly pardon : he not only gives them righteousness, but he gives them a glorious righteous- ness. Does he supply their wants ? It is all fulness he gives them ; even for the supply of the little ones, as you observe in the twenty- fourth verse : " And it shall come to pass, in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh ; and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones :" unfolding this great truth — that the supply which is in Christ, is not only for the least, but for the least wants of the least ; that there is nothing minute in God's sight, tha#there is nothing trifling in his eye, and that he has laid up an abundant supply for the most minute of all circum- stances in the Lord Jesus Christ; for helplessness of body, for nervousness of spirit, for a distracted mind, for strong inward temp- tations, for outward trials, for domestic afllictions, for every thing that concerns us in that straight way, the straightness of which at times no one can enter into but the Lord Jesus Christ himself: and 192 THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. yet, such is the goodness, and the blessedness, and the largeness of God's heart, that he has treasured up all fulness in Jesus, for the supply of all our wants, so that the true understanding of all our wants is, that there is a supply for this very want in the fulness of Christ, and that I am made to know it and to feel it, that I may take it to him for the supply of it, and honour him by going to him with my emptiness to receive out of his fulness. O, we do then honour him much more than by our poor complaints dis- honouring him, and distrusting instead of casting our cares upon him. Does he command us to pray ? He sits on a throne of grace, and he will never have his people look at him in any other view than as on a throne of grace ; he will not have them approach him on any other throne. And how would he have them to approach him ? With all boldness : let us draw near with boldness : having this great High Priest, this merciful High Priest, who cannot but be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, " let us di-aw" near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith :" " let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." And I may put one little comment upon that verse : The more we go there with holy boldness, the more we re- ceive. For there is a sort of preparedness of the spirit for the reception of the blessing, just as the ploughed furrow is prepared for the falling seed. Now in this God is giving the very best to his Israel : why do we wonder at it ? He has given them his Son ; he has given them his Spirit ; he has given them himself: and had we time, and did the subject seem to require it, I might lay before you this most blessed truth — that so vast is that gift of God, and so great is his bestowment of the best on his people, that thei-e is not a perfection of his nature but he would have you have communion with him in that perfection ; and the more you so live, the more you will live above circumstances. Bat when he giveth them temporal blessings (I say, when he givetk them, because sometimes he withholdeth many to them who are dear to him as the apple of his eye ; but no *good thing will he withhold ; and if it were a real blessing wliich thoii requiredst, he would never deny it thee, my brother and my sister), but whenever he giveth temporal good, he giveth his people the knowledge of the real enjoyment of that temporal good; and just in proportion as they are led by the Holy Ghost to see him in that good, they have the real enjoyment of that good. Here are two persons, both I'HE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. 193 healthy ; health is a great blessing ; one receives it as a good thing, but the other receives it from God's loving heart : " My father gives it to me," he says; "he vouchsafes it to me; and this health would I dedicate to him to use in his service : the health that he gives I would consecrate to his service, and lay at his feet ; the money that T have I would consecrate to his service, and lay at his feet also." The world has wrong views of this : they think that rehgion robs us. What does it rob us of? It robs us of nothino- ; it gives us a//, but it robs us of no good thing. Does it mar do- mestic happiness? If the pious parent looks on the child who loves him, does it diminish his enjoyment of his child's love ? Does it mar even his understanding ? Who does not see how much there Is of turmoil even in the regions of learning, and what mortifications a man stands exposed to who fastens his happiness on what men say concerning him ? But if a man is led to say, as a saint of God, " The measure of talent that I have, God bestowed it upon me ; I cannot give myself more ; and all I have must be used to his praise : it is but little that I have, but what I have I would con- secrate to his service, and lay at his feet ;" has he not learned the true secret of enjoyment ? Yes, beloved : there is, even in temporal things, the best that is given in what God bestows on his people ; and when he removes what they consider good from them, he gives them the best sub- stitute for it. How many have found this out in the region of domestic trial ; in the region of bodily ailment ; in the region of perplexed circumstances ; in the region of bitter disappointment ; in the region of real, actual sorrow : how many of God's dear people have found this to be a truth — " I came closer to Jesus, and Jesus is better in it all. The Holy Ghost did open to me clear views of the Son of God : the objects of sense did sink, but the Lord Jesus rose : I was brought down, and he had heard me ; I was laid low, and he helped me. My earthen vessel was shivered to dust ; but the Lord came, an overflowing fountain, and filled my heart with his love." Is not this giving his people the best ? Who can say what are the blessings connected with a holy frame ; when the mind is enabled to mount up by faith in Christ Jesus, and to go through the cloud ; to go through the press, to go through the daily care, to go through the weekly occupation, to go through the enemies on the right and on the left ; and often to rise above it all, believing in Jesus, to cast our care upon him in patient submission, to yield up the soul to him in a willing surrender ? Who can say VOL. VI. o 194 THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. what there is in the holy region of being the means of good to others ? O, what the world is robbed of! What blessings does the Lord bind up in the obedience of his child ! Which of you who have ever gone to the abodes of wretchedness and misery, who have ever been the means in God's hand of binding up the broken heart, of administering to the poor out of your abundance, have given out of your necessities, the widow a mite out of her poverty, when you have been led to deny yourselves for Christ, to walk after Christ, and find it pleasant to put your feet where his feet have been before you — which of you cannot say there has been good conveyed to your souls ? Even in self-crucifixion, even in the mortification of the old man, even in bearing evil, even in returning good for evil, turning the left cheek when smitten on the right cheek ; who does not say, as the Lord enables him, '* What blessings are bound up in that !" We may truly say, then, that enough has been brought forward to prove that God bestows the best on his people in this world, to say nothing of the land beyond: to say nothing of the heavenly home, of the unclouded skies, of the region of perfect holiness and perfect happiness ; to say nothing of the blessedness of that state where tears shall be known no more, where there shall be the full fruition of God and of Christ, and that for ever ; to say nothing of all this, we can truly affirm of God's Israel, that, let it be bleak winter or pleasant summer, bright or dark, day or night, prosperity or adversity, God gives the best unto his Israel ; he gives the best to his people. But now observe, secondly, "why it is God does this. Wherever God acteth, he acteth as God — greatly ; what he doeth, he doeth as God, worthy God. You and I act below ourselves ; God never can act below himself. The great God in his forgiveness is great : in his righteousness he is great ; in the abundant supplies of his grace he is great; in the freeness of his salvation he is great ; in the sympathies of his love he is great ; and that because he is God. There are two passages that oftentimes cheer my own soul, and ' perhaps the Lord may make them cheering to your souls. The first is Isaiah, Iv. 7 — 9 : " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the un- righteors man his thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will abund- antly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are THE BEST GIFTS OF COD BliSTOWKD ON IIIS PEOPLE, 195 your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts :" which, if I understand aright, means this : you have no conception what there is in the forgiving power of God ; you have no idea how it floweth out from the very greatness of God : and as the heavens are high above this earth, so high are his ways above your ways, and his thoughts above your thoughts : you are as nothing compared with him, and your thoughts are as nothing compared with his doings : you have no conception of what that forgiveness is which is with God. My dear hearers, it is well that we have not, for if God had no more forgiveness in him than you and I have of conception of his power, half our days, it would be wretched for our souls indeed. We want a forgiveness that is worthy of him — great, gracious, glorious, unsearchable, infinite, absolute, eternal : and all this we have in God. Are you walking in peaceable paths now ? They may be rough to-morrow. Are you sailing in smooth water now ? It may be a storm to-morrow. But when that storm cometh, and, perhaps, you are ready to say — and numbers wiser than you, and more acquainted with God, have said it — " I wonder whether any are quite so bad as I am on the face of God's earth;" if such a thought should be laid on your soul, if such a conviction should enter your conscience, perhaps it may be like sweet music in your ears if thou art reminded of these words : Look at the heavens, how high they are ; so high are even God's ways above your ways, and his thoughts above your thoughts. l-VHmtever God does, he does as God ; he never acts below himself; he does not, for he cannot. He cannot love more than he does ; he can- not be more powerful tl ">.n he is ; he cannot be more wise than he is; neither can he forgive sin more than he does: those whom he forgiveth, he forgiveth as his glory requireth, because he is God. There is another passage to which my mind is sometimes led, and I find that 1 have comfort in it. It is in Hosea, xi. How sweet are those words ! God hath sent them to you and to me, if I may so speak, scores of times. " How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ? how sball I deliver thee, Israel ? how shall I make thee as Adniah ? how shall I set thee as Zeboim ? Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim : for I am God, and not man; the holy One in the midst of thee ; and I will not enter into the city.'* Now, then, if you ask, why it is that God 196 THE BEST GIFTS OF OOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE, giveth the best unto his Israel, it is because what he doeth, he doeth as God ; and as he has given them his Son, the greatest of all gifts, the most inestimable of all bestowments, he never acts below him- self, but giving his Son, he gives them all in his Son, to the praise of the glory of his own abounding grace. The apostle refers to this : " He that spared not his Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not with us freely give us all things :" what greater inconsistency would there be in giving us the greater, and withholding the less ; in giving the Gift of gifts, and withholding from us that which is, after all, the lesser gift ; heaven is a lesser gift than the gift of Jesus. But there is another reason ; that is, the love which he bears to- wards his Israel. Who can describe what that love is ? The Holy Ghost doth use every figure that we may here and there catch a little (and it is all that we can do) from all the varied metaphors and figures in God's word, of the love of God. " As a hen gathereth her chickens :" " as an eagle stirreth up her nest :" as a mother yearneth over her sucking child : as a father pitieth his son. O, it seems to let one into the very bosom of God : as if he said, " I know you are nothing; it is but a heap of dust, weakness, insufficiency, no- thingness : I never forget it." " Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." It is the love of his heart that leads him to give the best to his true Israel : he will withhold nothing from them to whom he has given his Spirit, given them his Son, and given them himself Thus we have a second reason, my dear hearers, wherefore the Lord gives to his Israel the very best of the land. He never acts below himself; but he acte out all his love towards them for the abundance of his grace and kindness towards them. But there is another reascm, and I think, if I were to lose sight of that, I should lose sight of the Gospel itself: evei-y blesshtg that the Israel of God enjoy, they enjoy for the true Joseph's sake. It is not for their sakes, but it is for Christ's sake : it is not because they deserve, but be- cause He deserves it ; it is not in their worthiness that they inherit, so much as in his worthiness : it is because he deserveth all things, that they have all things. O, how sweet is divine truth, and how beautiful it is in its proportions ! How lovely is the economy of grace too ! Grace itself is inestimable, because it cometh out of the loving heart of a loving father, in all its greatness. It comes endeared to us in all its communications, because it cometh through THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. 197 the infinite merit of Jehovah-Jesus, the Saviour. O, how needful to bear this in mind continually ! We may, as I before hinted, say of ourselves, " I am so insignificant, because of ray meanness, and I am so vile, because of my sinfulness; is it possible that I can ex- pect any great thing from God?" Yes, because Christ deserved it: he obtained all for you. I do not speak oi purchasing them; but this I will say — though I object to the word — in the true sense of it, they come to us through his redemption ; and there is not one single blessing in the covenant of grace but what it comes throuo^h the redeeming blood of the Son of God : and that endears the grace, and lifts us up while it casts us down, because it leaves us without an atom of worthiness in ourselves, and lifts up Jesus as the alone worthy. I must hasten to a few remarks on the practical bearing of THIS important SUBJECT. Important I conceive it to be ; how far the Lord may so lay it on your hearts, as to leave a lasting and permanently sanctifying influence on them, is a solemn considera- tion. Pray that it may so be : pray that, as it is spoken, the Holy Ghost may, in all its personal application, discover the truth to each of your hearts and consciences, for Christ's sake. In the first place, I see great cause for deep thankfulness. I would never forget, dear brethren, that whatever there may be in the sacred service of supplication, and whatever there may be in pouring out our heart in confession to God (and I would confess to you, that some of the choicest blessings of my life, I think, are always found in the region of confession), yet, I would say, that there is an especial honour put upon thanksgiving. Sometimes one rises from one's knees after earnest supplication, feeling but little consciousness of communion ; but, I think, that we are never in a praising state of mind, but there is a special conscious nearness to God. It seems as if we were in that frame of mind which, coming from the Holy Spirit under a sense of mercies received, God setteth his seal on that truth, " He that offereth praise, glorifieth me." Is there anything more touching to a parent's heart than the acknow- ledging spirit of his child ? Is it pleasing to him for his child to come to him with the language of continual want, and yet not ac- knowledging past mercies ? Is there not base ingratitude in that state of mind that will always say, "Give me more grace," and yet never acknowledge what God has already so abundantly vouch- safed ? While I would not influence your thankfulness, nor my 193 THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. own, by warmth of expression, nor by ecstacy of manner, nor by ex- cited feelings, I would dare say this, that never are you in so spiritual a frame of soul, as when most deeply conscious of God's most undeserved mercies. Sometimes we are quite unable to enter, it may be, into our sins ; there seems a coldness upon our spirits, and a deadness in our frames ; yet, whenever one is led to retrace the mercy of God, to look back and see what God hath been unto us, in delivering us from the paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear, then we are led to consider that, though we are in this frame of mind, there is no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus ; that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin ; and that while the great Intercessor at the right hand of God still liveth there, and never maketh intercession in vain ; when our souls are brought up to that point, when they are brought to retrace God's loving- kindness and mercy, I ask you whether there is not conscious nearness between your souls and God ? Let me remind you again, God seemeth to set his seal on that truth, " He that offereth his praise, glorifieth me." Then there is in the subject that which should lead to great stirring up of desire. We should desire that we may enter into the best of the land. If God has given it us in Christ, the pledge of it in his word, the substance of it in his Son, then we should pray, that under the teaching and drawing of his blessed Spirit we may enter into the best of the land ; that we may go through the land ; that Christ may dwell in our hearts, not as the way-faring man, in a place for a night, but that he may dwell in it in the path and on the bed, and that we may be " rooted and grounded in love, and be enabled to comprehend what is the height, and depth, and length, and breadth, and to know the love of Christ which passeth know- ledge, that we may be filled with all the fulness of God." My dear hearers, if God has given us the best of the land, the earnest prayer of our souls should be, that we may enter into the best of the land, and not live, as so many of us do, so much on the borders ; rooted and grounded in Christ; not driven about with every wind of doc- trine ; not living just on our frames and our enjoyments ; but living on the great work, on the atoning blood, on the unchangeableness of God, on the covenant ordered in all things and sure ; and that these things may be in us not barren things, but things let into the secret recesses of the soul ; that we may find substance there ; that we may live on them, and die in them, and find them to be sweet- ness in the midst of all the bitters of the present world. If God THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. 199 gives SO large a promise, we should pray for large faith, for the hand to grapple with the promise, and bring the great blessing into our bosom, simply taking God at his word. I am sure we have great cause for deep abasement as we think of the subject. God has given us the best; what have we given him ? I know we can give nothing to him but what we have received: the utmost that the Psalmist could say, in answer to the question, " What shall I render to the Lord for all his mercies ?" was, " I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord :" I will take the cup of acknowledgment of his mercies (that is what he means), and pray for greater mercies still. The more God gives, the more we should pray for ; and whilst we acknowledge past mercies, we should urge him for the future. We should ofteia think what a feeble return we make to God ; that he has given us the best, and we have, perhaps, given him the dregs of our time, our influ- ence, our talents ; we have given him our hard hearts. If the Lord gives us the best, we should give him the best : he requires the fat and the blood — the most precious and the most costly^ he would have the first-fruits of our time and our influence, but, above all, the first-fruits of our affection : " Give me thine heart." Is there any thing concerning which the Lord God feels more jealousy, than about your aff*ections ? Why is it, fond mother, that that dear child is taken from you ? Loving wife, why is it that thy dear husband is taken from you ? Why was it, thou who didst, perhaps, make an idol of tliy character, that there thou wast touched the most closely ? Why was it, that that stone which thou didst hew out and polish with so much care, was broken and shivered to pieces ? Why did that gourd, which thou didst so admire, sitting beneath its shade, perish because it was smitten, though it bred its own worm and died. Wliy was all this, but because thy Father wanted thy heart ? Nothing will satisfy him but thy heart ; nothing will satisfy him but the best of thy affections, that he may reign there, the all of thy spirit, and the all of thy life. O, that the God of heaven may so condescend to bless his own word, and give to the subject a comforting, edifying influence to our souls, that we may give to God our hearts, and be enabled to say, "Well, Lord, if there be an Isaac, if there be an Absalom, if there be a right hand, if there be a right eye, if there be an Achan in the camp, if there be any thing that would keep me from thee here on earth; thou art my Father and my God: thou hast given me tokens of ihy love, costly, precious, inestimable • and here am I, thy 200 THE BEST GIFTS OF GOD BESTOWED ON HIS PEOPLE. Wood-bought child, do with me as seemeUi good in thy sight. Cause me to be honest and upright in all my walkings before thee, and do what thou wilt with me, only draw me closer to thyself, that as thou hast given me the best, thou mayst be my best." Amen and Amen. SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED REV. J. W. PEARSON, A.M. gr. MARK'S CHURCH, PENTONVILLE, OCTOBER 9, 1836*. " And all wept, and bewailed her : but he said, Weep not ; she is not dead, but aleepeth. Luke, viii. 52. With the interesting story of which our text contains the particu- lars, you are all, no doubt, familiar. Jesus Christ had acceded, with his wonted benevolence, to the urgent entreaties of one Jairus, a considerable man among the Jews, that he would accompany him home to heal his young and only daughter, who seemed at the point of death. Their progress, however, was retarded by the multitudes which thronged the path, and by the attention of the Saviour to an afflicted woman whom he stopped to cure as he passed along. Owing to these interruptions they had not yet arrived, when a messenger came to apprize Jairus that his daughter had expired, and the aid of the great Physician would come too late. But the Lord Jesus at once assured the broken-hearted father, and then pro- ceeded to the house. On entering the room where the corpse lay, a melancholy scene presented itself: the relations of the deceased were all assembled, weeping and bewailing her. Moved with this spectacle of woe, the compassionate Saviour addressed them in the latter words of our text, " Weep not ; she is not dead, but sleepeth." Having given this brief outline of the circumstances which intro- duce my text, I have done with the narrative in the Gospel. You know, brethren, the solemn event which occasions my appearance before you this morning ; and I conceive, that I shall best discharge my office and meet your expectations, by devoting the bulk of my discourse to an account of our departed friend, in hope that you may gain from the humble sketch a lesson of piety and wisdom. I shall, however, premise a few remarks in vindication of the tears that are often shed over the tomb of deceased friends and relations ; and you shall not be dismissed without a word of consolation derived • Funeral Sermon for the late Mrs. Mortimer, wife of the Rev. T. Mortimer, B.D. 202 SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. from the Christian's prospect of an immediate entrance into rest, to be followed, ere long, by a glorious resurrection of the body, and by the fulness of life everlasting. Heavenly Spirit, help us; for all our sufficiency is of thee. The first point to which I would call your attention is this : that our Lord^s address is not to be taken for any thing like reproof of the grief evinced by the mourners around him. Their sorrow may have been intemperate ; it may have been mingled with feelings which piety disclaims — feelings of impatience and anger under this providential visitation. But such a conclusion cannot fairly be drawai from our Lord's words, the meaning of which is to be sought in the sentence immediately following : " She is not dead, but sleepeth." He does not, you will take notice, reproach the mourn- ers with culpable sorrow, but he cheers them that its cause is on the point of being removed. Yes, truly, the blessed Jesus was a man of like passions with ourselves, except that sin never mingled with them ; and on more than one occasion, he allowed himself to discover the tenderest sensibilities for the benevolent purpose of con- solation, and thus proving to his people, that it was not required of them to smother their affections, and violently to force the anguish from their hearts. There is scarcely a verse in the New Testament which has brought more relief to the hearts of mourners than the shortest in the volume : " Jesus wept." He wept over the grave of his friend Lazarus ; he wept on witnessing the agony of the two desolate sisters : affection for this once happy family was, I doubt not, the principal, if not the sole cause, of the Redeemer's groans and tears : and I am content to look no further ; I view with no complacency the ingenuity that is sometimes exerted to detect more subtle, and, what are termed, more spiritual reasons, for this beautiful effusion of tenderness. O no ; our Redeemer was a man like our- selves, and he felt and acted accordingly. It is natural to weep over the breathless remains of beloved connexions : it is natural to feel a pang when the dearest ties, strengthened by many a tender associa- tion, are for ever snapped asunder : it is natural to sit down and weep when the eye that used to beam kindness and love upon us, is closed in death ; when the hand which has a hundred times pressed ours in warm friendship, is cold and stiff, and makes no return to the kindest grasp ; and when that heart is motionless which has long beat in perfect unison with ours. If this is natural, brethren, then it cannot be wrong in the abstract ; and, we are sure, that it is a pure impulse of our nature, because, had it been a sinful infirmity, SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. 203 it could never have appeared in Christ Jesus. Your tears and sorrows, when they flow from natural grief, will not displease your heavenly Father, and will be healthful to yourselves, provided they are sanctified with the spirit of our great Master, who, in giving vent to the pangs which almost tore his heart in sunder, still exclaimed with the purest dovotion, " Abba, Father ; not my will, but thine, be done." I observe, next, that sorrow, especially that wliich springs from family bereavements, is one of our LorcVs approved instruments for our sanctification. Tlius he visited Abraham, the father of the faithful, and Jacob, and Job, and David, and many other of his saints. It is certain, I think, that nearly all whom God proposes to carry to a high point of sanctity and spiritual efficiency, are passed through this troubled furnace, heated seven times more than common. Instead, therefore, of RTapping ourselves up in stoical apathy, or striving to drown sorrovi^ by drowning thought and reflection, we should meet the blow, and endeavour to realize its gracious inten- tion. Have you, my dear hearers, been thus chastened ? Has the desire of your tears been taken away with a stroke ? Has the lonely grave closed upon your sight your friend, your brother, your sister, the wife of your bosom, the child of your old age 1 Then God by that affliction has called upon you to weep. O, lament : look sorrow in the face ; regard it as an angel sent to admonish you (there is nothing really magnanimous in braving it), to induce you to ascertain its design and purport, and to co-operate with God. Accordingly, this is the aim of true Christian philosophy; and if it be your aim, the wisdom that is from above will help you. To pursue another course were neither dutiful nor wise. When God smites, he means that we should feel. Should you therefore succeed, once or more, in eluding the smart, wliich for some good purpose the scourge was intended to produce, God may judge it right to smite you again more heavily, unless he should decide on the dreadful alternative o* leaving you to that obduracy which defies correction. "Tliey have made their faces harder than a rock ; they have refused to return :'* " why should they be stricken any more?" On the principle, then, that a foolish heart often learns in the house of mourning, is there freed from earthly vanities, and cleansed from base affections, and made to see that Jesus Christ is the only God ; on this principle, I would dissuade you from being in haste to draw from the sorrow which is felt more than the legitimate fruit of divine chastisement. No ; rather keep it in your memory, not to brood over it in sullen 204 SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. despondency, but as a salutary, though bitter medicine, a sharp, but a monitory thorn. Detain it till it hath, by God's blessing, accom- plished its proper end, of impressing you with more spiritual views of man's sinfulness and misery, and of drawing your souls from temporal things to things eternal. Once more: we are justified in weeping lohen eminent servanU of God are removed. It was a heavy charge against the Jews in Isaiah's days, that when " the righteous were taken away, no man laid it to heart." To see with unconcern the removal of those who are the spiritual salt of the earth, the extinction of those lights by which the Lord is glorified, and his children advantaged, would argue a sad want of devout sensibility in ourselves. And, surely, honour is due from us to those whom God has honoured. It is on record, that the children of Israel wept for Moses, on the plains of Moab, fiirty days. The same people united in lamenting over Samuel. And in 2 Chroni- cles, after the statement, that all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah, it is expressly added, that Jeremiah lamented for him. A holy prophet is deeply affected, and testifies his grief, when a gracious king, a friend to religion and the state, is cut off. I am aware that it is the prerogative of almighty wisdom to deduce good eventually from the stroke which deprives the church of some noble pillar or some beautiful ornament. That stroke, however, is not the less a calamity in itself, and sometimes is a sign of God's special wrath against a people who have not appreciated the blessing. Have none of us reason to reflect upon ourselves for having tunied to little account the converse and example of some excellent Christian who was long permitted to go before us like a guiding star ? Have we not slighted that guidance, and turned our faces from that bright- ness, because error was more to our taste than truth, and darkness more convenient than light ? O, the bitterness of that compunction which pierces the hearts of wayward children like a two-edged sword, when the pious parent, the guide of their youth, whose wings have been long spread over them, is snatched from their side before his tried and favoured tenderness has met with any regard! And how sharp the remorse of many individuals, in a Christian congrega- tion, when deprived of the minister who had poured out his very soul for them in the awful dispensation of the Gospel, while they continued hard and impenitent ! Surely, such recollections may well provoke tears, and sobs, and wringing of hands. The fountain that God opened for your refreshment has ceased to flow before you have filled your vessels with its water: and to make up the advau- SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. 205 tages which you have so deservedly forfeited, may not accord with the wise arrangements of a God most just, most holy. But I forbear reaping the useful lessons suggested by our text; and I turn to the sad event that has covered the parish with mourning. 1 know the consolations with which that event is en- compassed : still I must call it sad ; for when has a death occurred in our neighbourhood which has been felt as a greater disaster, or drawn forth more genuine sorrow ? Most truly can it be affirmed, not with respect to the members of one family only, but to a vast population, that all wept and bewailed her. I well remember when our beloved friend, at the close of the last and the beginning of the present year, was in the crisis of a malady that was hourly expected to prove fatal — I well remember how deep a sympathy for her family, and how acute a sensibility to your own threatened loss, were universally displayed. It seemed as if there was a temporary suspension of all ordinary interests, a pause in the common busi- ness and bustle of life ; while every one waited in breathless anxiety to see which way the wavering balance would ultimately turn. But no, it was not a breathless anxiety, for thousands of prayers were incessantly breathed up to the throne of grace ; and they did obtain a respite, which to some of you will hardly appear a mercy, but which I know has been an unspeakable mercy, and to have answered important ends. To this assertion, the individual who can best pronounce on its truth, is he on whom this dispensation has fallen with its keenest edge, and for whom you must earnestly pray with- out ceasing that he may be strengthened and sanctified under it. To this assertion, your honoured minister, my beloved and valued friend, will emphatically set his seal. But to render this affliction a source of religious benefit, I must remind you of the qualities and conduct which draw down on our departed sister so extraordinary a measure of respect and affection. And in doing this I shall be forced to attempt the language of eidogy : be it far from me to bestow upon the portrait a single line or hue not taken from the life ; but who can delineate an eminent Christian, without exhibiting a form of singular beauty ? It is im- possible, since the Christian's character is the impress of God's own Spirit, and a likeness — faint and defective, indeed, yet a real like- ness — of Jesus Christ. For those who are rich in spiritual gifts to think humbly of themselves, is seemly and right; but it becomes those, amidst their pious conversation, to glorify God even then. It is, moreover, incumbent on ministers of religion, to reflect on a 206 SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. dark, ungodly world, the rays of such spiritual luminaries as have just sunk below the horizon : and this will be most generally useful when the departed one has filled a private station, and was not, in the scale of worldly estimation, an extraordinary person. When the effects of pure and undefiled religion on such persons are displayed, a model is set up, which numbers may try to imitate with benefit. Many of you, my dear hearers, might form yourselves, to a consi- derable extent, by the pattern of her whom we have lost : there is nothing, I mean in externals, to make it impracticable. I advert, in the first place, to the humility of this admirable woman, for that lay at the root of, and richly nourished, all her other graces. Her self-abasement before God can be known to God only ; but its counterpart (or shall I rather say '\i% fruit ?^ in that lowliness of mind which gives its tone to the whole social life, and makes us really to esteem others better than ourselves, in her was exceedingly conspi- cuous. We meet sometimes with a feigned humility, which is ill- favoured : at other times we meet with a humility, sincere, it may be presumed, yet sustained with so much labour and effort, that it can hardly be termed lovely. But when it sits upon a person quite naturally, as if it actually corresponded with the inward frame and secret movements of the soul, O then it is indeed a rich adorning ! Of our dear sister's original temper I know little, and I have not forgotten that pride is born with us, and adheres tenaciously to our faulty nature : but this I can safely affirm, that for many years humility had been so wrought into her soul by the Holy Ghost, that it had all the agreeable bearing of a native quality. The rare simplicity of her character struck every one on the slightest ac- quaintance ; and I recollect to have said of her, after our first inter- view, many years ago, " Truly this is an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile :" and the impression was confirmed by every subsequent communication. There was a transparent candour in all her pro- ceedings, which made it impossible to suspect her of any thing that wore in her heart a disguise : there was not a tinge of falsehood in her composition. Perhaps I speak too strongly : I may be reminded how much of deceit there is in the human heart at best ; and therefore some modi- fication of my statement may be called for. Cut I do believe that hers was a mind exempt, in no ordinary degree, from obliquity of motive; and going straight forward in its objects in the fear of the Lord. I do believe that, as far as is compatible with human perfection, she was a model of ingenuousness and truth. Where such simplicity of SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. 207 character exists, there can hardly be much seljishiiess ; and those most tlioroughly intimate with our deceased friend, and who stood in the most convenient position for detecting this master vice, have declared that no one less under this sin ever came within their ob- servation. Ilcr dearest connexion said to me, that were he called on to name the virtue by which she was chiefly characterized, he would do it in these words : "• She pleased not herself." Some affecting instances that have come to my knowledge, of her utter disregard of self-indulgence, I would here have gladly intro- duced, were I not withheld by the reverence due to domestic privacy. No sacrifice appeared too great — I had almost said, appeared any sacrifice at all — if recommended and imperatively prescribed by duty and conscience. Her benevolent and assiduous attentions to the poor and afflicted were unremitting; to their bodies and to their souls she acted the part of a tender mother. On this feature of her character, however, it is unnecessary for me to expatiate, to you who have witnessed her practice as a district visitor, and recollect how her alms, and prayer, and counsel, and comfort, went hand in hand. You are well aware that she followed in the track of that Saviour who went about doing good, and that she aspired to nothing more than to be the channel of great mercies to all with whom she was connected. But can you overlook the singular /cmdfiess of her disposition ? Some people are benevolent without being kind, and the absence of the latter quality detracts not a little from the value of the former. She was both. Her manifest solicitude to make all about her happy, gained every heart, and went far to accomplish its object. " I found her always my friend," said one of her domestics, " as well as my mistress." And this benignant temper shewed itself in a thousand ways. She w^as remarkable for sympathy with others, not in son-ow only, but likewise in joy : and to rejoice with the prosperous is a higher test of generous love, than to condole with the afflicted. Now this virtue was remarkably hers. Under sharp domestic trials she would please herself with the reflection that this and that person were exempt from it, and would exclaim with a smile of grateful joy, " Wliat a mercy it is that the burden we are bearing has not fallen on those dear friends !" I know those who can testify, from ample experience, that it were difficult to imagine her superior in the qualifications of a friend — such steady attachment, such disinterest- edness, such equability of temper, such indulgent tenderness. Another exercise of charity with which she was familiar — and 208 SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. wliicli is always arduous, especially to females of a silent, timid dis- position — was, the reconciling of persons who were at variance ; she was eminently a 'peacemaker ; and in this employment she would expose herself to ridicule, which is well known by whoever takes this walk of benevolence to be the usual recompense of pacific mediation. Still she persevered ; her blessed Lord hath enjoined it. Her abhor- rence of strife, and her desire to see others happy, carried her through the labour of love, which was crowned in several instances with a success that must be mainly attributed to her unquestionable purity of purpose. Now bear in mind, my brethren, that our sister was not a woman of brilliant parts and showy accomplishments. Excellent sense, and a clear, decisive judgment, arising very much from that singleness of heart and that absence of all petty feeling on which I have already dwelt, she did indeed possess ; and her mind was' stored with much valuable and well-adjusted knowledge. Still there was nothing in her general discourse and manner to dazzle and captivate, except what sprung from the exquisite charm of her moral character. It was the meekiiess of wisdom impersonated in her that gave her a peculiar facility of winning hearts to herself first, and then to God. Now why am 1 at pains to exhibit her under this aspect ? It is because I am most desirous to impress on you that nothing renders a person so amiable, so attractive, as religion ; I mean, the pure religion of Jesus Christ, the religion of humility, of gentleness, and love. Where the spirit of our blessed Lord is produced, like a fra- grant ointment, over the whole character — when it dwells in the heart, and is incorporated with all the words and actions, it will produce, not the manners of the world, indeed, but a more refined and noble result. Such a religion, so genuine and consistent, impresses those who come in connexion with it most beneficially. Perhaps they can hardly tell what it was that touched and overcame them : they cannot recal any striking words, or any remarkable action : yet the combined effect, the resulting influence is wonderfiil. The difference between such a mind and one of the ordinary stamp is strongly felt ; and thus, perhaps, a service is rendered to the cause of the Gospel and of souls, beyond what is achieved by far higher endowments, and a more fervid zeal, where there is not the same entireness of Christian principle, and where the heart and the out- ward man are not equally bright with the lustre of holiness. It were inconceivable that such a woman as I have been des- cribing should not excel in the relations of a wife and a mother SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. 209 On the former of these particulars, her conjugal virtues, I shall not, for oDvious reasons, enter at large : but I am not apprehensive of bemg charged by my dear friend, her afflicted but rejoicino- husband, with indelicacy or a breach of confidence, if I mention, that, both in her lifetime and since her decease, he has declared to me with many tears, that he deemed himself unworthy so saintly a wife, and that he deeply felt how much his responsibility to God was increased by the advantage he had many years enjoyed of having such a helpmate — one so kind and judicious, so dead to the world, so ripe in Christian knowledge and holiness, and whose spirit was so constantly in frame for heavenly feelings. How ardently she was attached to him was evinced throughout their union, and was testified in a way most affectingly gratifying to him on her death-bed. Yet much as she delighted in his society, she delighted more to go forth in the service of his Master, and to gird on (so to speak), by her counsels and encouragements, his spiritual armour ; and she would willingly consent to pass weeks and months from him when the higher claims of evangelical duty called him away. In the management of her children I am told that she was singularly happy ; and this I can easily believe of one whose character is so appropriately described in that sentiment of Solomon, when speaking of a virtuous matron : " She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness." But this is not the place for detailing her plan of education ; I would only say that it was begun, continued, and ended, in the Lord. Nothing- more can be desired or asked for those dear children than to see them such as their mother's prayers and teaching would make them. But our time, not our subject, is nearly exhausted, and I must hasten to the concluding stage of her pilgrimage, I will first inform you, however, that having been content in early youth with that superficial religion which is misnamed ChistianitT/, she was mercifully led, by the perusal of one of Mrs. Hannah Moore's works, to a more scriptural view of her state before God, and her relation to him in Christ Jesus. Not long after this important change she was united to your dear minister — whose praise let the church speak, and not a private friend : and while shedding upon him the most benevolent influence, she grew up beneath his shadow to that proficiency in the divine life for which we have been glorifying God. Observe, my friends, for this is a capital point — she was VOL,. VI. J" 210 SORROW FOR THE DKPARTED VINDICATED. from first to last of her religious profession, a diligent and pro- gressive Christian. She walked closely with God by patient con- tinuance in well-doing. In common with the faithful she took delio-ht in her Bible, in public worship, in the communion of Christ's body, and in secret intercourse with him in prayer: but what she possessed in common with few Christians was, that pre- dominant principle which led her uniformly, and one may say instinctively, to take the course pointed out by religion, when all human considerations were against it. She was of quick under- standing in the fear of the Lord. Now this I take to be the secret of that unclouded peace which illumined her chamber. It is not so much, I have been led to believe — it is not so much those who have achieved the greatest feats, and made the most notable sacrifices on behalf of the Gospel, that assuiTince is granted on their death-bed. As to those, perhaps humbler individuals, who have trod the narrow way with the fewest deviations, and with most of that simplicity of spirit, that singleness of love, which in God's sight is of great price ; these are the Chris- tians who are enabled to say, as our sainted friend did to one who inquired whether she was happy, " O ! perfectly happy ; no fear, no care, no doubt." I find, that from the time of her severe attack in the winter, she felt persuaded that her life was drawing to its close ; and nothing but an habitual sentiment of submission to the divine will prevented her from praying that it might be so. Yes, truly, she had a desire to depart and to be with Christ, as better far than remaining here : though her journey, as she gratefully owned, was sweetened with many mercies. She had been long concerned about the welfare of sinners ; but now, when she experienced the unspeakable importance of having " a good hope through grace," this holy passion of her soul flamed forth with redoubled energy. While resident in a country village, to which the physician had sent her, to try what the pure air would do to revive the expiring ashes, she was continually addressing herself to one and the other on the things that accompany salvation, explainingthe grounds of her own confidence, andexhort- ing them not to postponethe preparation fora dying hour. Here, also, she wrote very faithful and touching letters to some of her nearest kindred, for whose spiritual improvement she was deeply solicitous. Having been accustomed to put herself in the lowest place, she was quite overcome with the assiduities of the friend under whose roof she spent a few weeks after her removal from Dorking, and would SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. 211 shed tears at the many tokens of affection which she received. But her heart yearned for home, and she earnestly desired that it might be her last earthly resting-place before her flight to heaven. This desire was granted, and nothing could be more beautiful than the simple, easy, cheerful manner, in which she gave herself to household duties, and to making provision for the comfort of her family, so soon to be deprived of her maternal superintendence : the welfare of others still engrossed her then. Do you wonder at her being able, when standing on the verge of eternity, to busy herself with her ordinary duties, and with the utmost calmness to make arrangements which all hinged on the fact, that a few weeks or days must termi- nate her earthly course ? Is this a mystery that you cannot solve ? I will give you the solution. Death was not strange or terrible to her: at the outset of her Christian life, the thought of death used to agitate her ; but having found the perfect peace that is hid in Christ Jesus, she came at length to regfard death as the friend who was to usher her into the presence of her God and Saviour. It was not on her own virtues and graces that she rested ; she was fixed by faith on the foundation laid in Zion, the atonement of the cross. Dear brethren, if I have enlarwd on her excellences in this dis- course, it has not been for the purpose of clothing a fellow-sinner with unmerited honours, but to show what a mighty efficacy resides in true religion, and what dignity God imparts to frail earthen vessels by the spirit of his Son. Our dear sister saw herself to be nothing ; she loathed whatever savoured of self-righteousness : her rejoicing was that in Christ, and him crucified, she had found wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. One word on the closing scene. When she perceived herself actually dying, her joy was very great. Her Father's purpose to receive her to himself he now certified, and it was now observed he filled her soul with the blissful prospect. Not many hours previous to her dissolution, she inquired whether she might count on being in heaven before night, and seemed rather disappointed on being told that her release could not be looked for so soon. But God was more gracious to her than appearances allowed us to expect. And now occurred a circumstance extremely affecting, and that invests with a sort of sacredness the death-bed of this eminent Christian. About a quarter past six on Friday, the thirtieth of last month, she suddenly turned to her attendants, and with an earuv^st look, and with all the power of voice she could summon, exclaimed, " Sin^ ; 212 SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. sing; 'why don't you begin to smg?" In comphance with her re- peated desire they began the hymn, " Come, let us join our cheerful songs, With angels round the throne :" and though herself no singer, yet she made almost supernatural efforts to articulate the words, and to give out that melody of her voice with which her heart was overflowing. Brethren, what shall we say ? Can we help supposing that an angel's voice had already reached her ears, a note of those blessed anthems in which she was just about to join ? I presume not to dogmatize on this mysterious subject; but my soul owns little communion with those Avho scoff" at the opinion, that God does, on some rare occasions, s-toop very near to his dying children, indulge them with a glimpse of that world to which they are in the act of transition, and grant them before they are quite delivered from the burden of the flesh to enter the porch of heaven. So many accounts have been handed down to us of saints who are said to have been favoured with similar manifestations, that I cannot assent to that unkind philosophy which rejects them all as fables and delusions. The result, however, in the case before us, of this remarkable effort to sing the praises of God, was most happy, and you will recognise in it the tender loving-kindness of the Lord. Great fears had been entertained that our dear friend's last struggle might prove very protracted and painful ; but after singing two stanzas of the hymn she had called for, she seemed quite exhausted : the music ceased ; she turned her head on the pillow, and her hand was clasped in her husband's, when a gentle sigh escaped her, and in that sigh her spirit mounted up to God. Happy saint ! Thy struggle was finished, thy heavenly rest attained! With thy last breath, and in the final agony of nature, thou hadst been sending up hosannahs to the Lamb ; and in a moment thou wast joined to that innumerable company of the church triumphant, which is evermore singing in the fulness of that bliss which is enjoyed through the blood of the Redeemer, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." My dear hearers, we have all wept and bewailed her. We have wept for our own severe loss, but we sorrow not as those without hope, for we know that she fell asleep in Jesus ; and he watches over her precious dust, and will come in due time to wake her out of sleep. Let us dry up our tears, and see her, sleeping in the grave indeed as to her mortal body, but alive to God in her spirit, SORROW FOR THE DEPARTED VINDICATED. 213 crowned with immortality and glory. Yes she has rested from her labours ; her conflict with sin and Satan is ended ; she has traversed this vale of tears ; she has reached the heavenly Canaan ; she has put off her garments of corruption, and in the bosom of her Saviour she awaits the consummation of her blessedness on the morning of the resurrection. She is not dead, or if dead, yet speaks with the strong endearing voice of her holy example. By that she tells you that true religion is true happiness: she tells you that nothing but a pious life can ensure a peaceful end: she tells you that a spiritual walk is the secret of being real benefactors to man- kind, and of converting natural endowments, not greatly exceeding the common standard, to qualities most useful and loving, the most noble and sublime. I have SkOmetimes noticed epitaphs in our church-yards, in Avhich the deceased are made to exhort their friends not to weep for them ; and I could not repress a bitter sigh, when I thought within myself, " Alas ! it may be that some whose remains lie beneath these grave-stones are now in a condition the most pitiable. It may be that we could not bewail them enough, though we wept tears of blood : for unless they lived in friendship with Christ they cannot have fallen asleep with him : and then where are they V But as I stood by the grave of our dear sister yesterday, how different my feelings ! For in her divine grace shone so brightly, and had so nearly moulded her into the image of Immanuel, that to doubt of her being a child of God were impossible. And therefore how mucli soever we deplore our loss, we cannot weep for her. O no ; let us rejoice and be glad : let us adore that omnipotent goodness which enabled her so to live as puts it beyond a question that she is now in Paradise : and let us pray for grace so to follow her steps in the path of evangelical obedience, that, when the quick and dead are gathered together before the judgment-seat, we all, being found of one spirit with her, may be united to her in glory ! 214 EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GODt REV. H. MELVILL, B.D. ST. BRIDE'S CHURCH, FLEET STREET, OCTOBER 16, 1836*. " But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people' that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." — 1 Peter, ii. 9. We shall not attempt, on the present occasion, to examine at length each of the titles by which the apostle here designates tiie Christian community. This would be to propose far more than could be compassed in a single discourse ; and we shall therefore confine your attention to such part as seems the best adapted to move you to exertion and liberality in the service of your God. You observe that St. Peter represents it as strictly the design of all the privileges into which Christians were admitted, that they should " show forth the praises" of God. If they were placed in so noble a position, and endowed with advantages so illustrious, that they might be designated as " a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people," it was not that they might live an inactive life, and repose idly on their blessings ; it was rather that they might be " as lights in a world" " sitting in darkness," and exhibit the glories of the great Author of redemp- tion. And, of course, if this might be affirmed when Christians were described by an accumulation of titles, it must be equally true when any one title is detached from the rest. If, for example, we simply address you as " a royal priesthood," if we make good your claim as Christians to an oflSce which unites the regal and the sacerdotal, we shall be thoroughly justified from our text, in using the fact that you are " a royal priesthood," as a motive to your being diligent in " showing forth" God's praises. It is not an ordinary cause which we have this day undertaken to advocate. We are not to appeal to you on behalf of a school or a hospital. We are to entreat you to come forward with a more than common liberality, and provide funds for the erection of a new * In a'^ of the fund for building a New Church. EVEKY BAPTIZKD MAN A PUlJiST OF GOD. 2i5 church ill this important and populous parish. The school or the hospital brings glory to God ; and therefore, after proving you " a royal priesthood," we might justly demand from you, that you should support such institutions. But a church, in which the pure Gospel may be preached, and the Christian sacraments duly ad- ministered, to a population which at present has little or no access to the public means of grace — assuredly in providing this, you " show forth," in a far higher degree, the praises of God. And therefore, whatever the obligation imposed on you by your being *' a royal priesthood," it never can be more binding than when a sanctuary is to be reared for those perishing in ignorance. We waive, however, for the present, further reference to the work towards which we are to solicit your contributions ; and we proceed to discourse to you on that very remarkable title, " a royal priesthood," which we have selected from those which St. Peter gives as descriptive of Christians. We can hardly doubt, that, in applying these titles, the apostle refers to a promise, which God made through Moses to the Jews : " If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people : for all the earth is mine : and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." " A royal priesthood" corresponds accurately to " a kingdom of priests," whilst in both cases " an holy nation " follows the title. And since both Moses and the apostle clearly connect the " royal priesthood," or the being " a kingdom of priests," with the being " a peculiar people," we seem warranted in concluding that it is the circum- stance of being separated by religious privileges from the rest of the world which gives the power and opportunity of assuming and discharging sacerdotal functions. This will sufficiently indicate what we desire to make our chief subject of discourse ; and we now, therefore, proceed to address you, in the first place, on the fact that the Christian Church ought to be " a kingdom of priests," or " a royal priesthood," and, in the»second place, on the consequences which would follow if th*- priestly character were thus universally recognized. Now it is amongst the most common, and certainly not the least dangerous, of the mistakes of th(> present day, to identifv the church with the clergy, as though the laity were not to the full one of its constituent parts. If you gather the popular opinion from the popular discourse, you must concluiie that the church is regarded 216 EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD, as a corporation, made up of bishops, priests, and deacons, but including absolutely none who do not bear one of those titles. Our common forms of speech both encourage and prove the mistake ; for we speak of a man as " designed for the church" when pro- paring for the clerical profession, and as " entering the church" when he takes holy orders. And if it were a mere verbal inaccuracy, it might be scarcely worth our while to point it out and correct it : but there is a vast deal more than an impropriety of speech ; for from talking of the church as though composed wholly of the clergy, men come practically to forget that it is composed equally of the laity: and, when once this is forgotten, their own duties will be forgotten ; and we shall hear of laymen coming forward in support of the church, just as though they were the generous and chivalrous defenders of a cause which had no claims for their succour, in place of being bound, by their own position and their own vows, to uphold that of which they are sworn members. The thing, therefore, of which we would remind you is, that I did not enter the church when I took holy orders, and a bishop set me solemnly apart as a minister of the sanctuary : I entered the church when my parents and sponsors brought me to the priest, and he baptized me in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. I have never been made more actually a member of the Christian Church than I was then : and though ordination, with its mysterious sacredness, gave me special duties to perform in the church, on which otherwise I could not have entered, yet it did not, and it could not, engraft me more thoroughly into the church, nor give me a stricter fellowship than I already possessed. It follows, therefore, that every one of you, if he have duly received Christian baptism, is as thoroughly a member of the church as myself, who have been appointed to ministering in holy tilings. I am indeed a minister of the church, but not on that account more a member of the church than any of those amongst whom I officiate. And so soon as you possess yourselves of this, the correct and simple idea of the church, you must perceive the propriety of de- signating a Christian community as " a kingdom of priests," or " a royal pi'iesthood." We are not speaking of what that commu- nity may be by practice, but only of what it is by profession; of what it ought to be, and of what it loould be, if it acted faithfully up to the obhgations taken on itself When settled in Canaan, the Jews were far enough from proving their right to the title which EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. 217 was promised them in the words which we quoted from Moses : they turned aside after false gods, and dishonoured, in place of magni- fying, the name of Jehovah. But supposing them to have been a nation of righteous men, not only outwardly in covenant with God, but consecrated in heart to his service ; then it is easy to perceive that they would have stood, to all surrounding countries, in the very position in which the tribe of Levi stood to themselves ; they would have been witnesses for the Almighty to the rest of the world, standing in the midst of the vast temple of the earth, and instructing the ignorant in the mysteries of truth : and as the family of Aaron officiated in the presence of the children of Israel, directing and upholding the true worship of God, and delivering intimations of his will, so would the chikh-en of Israel, as a body, have officiated in the presence of the whole heathen world, and their land would have been as an altar, whence pure incense went up in the sight of other tribes of human kind : and thus would they have been a nation, as manifestly set apart and devoted to God, as the tribe invested with the Levitical priesthood ; discharging to all the inhabitants of the earth the mighty functions of teacher and guide. And all we ask of you is, whether, if the Jews had assumed this position — the position for which God designed them, and to which he strove to lead them — they would not have been what was promised as the reward of their obedience, " a royal priesthood," or " a kingdom of priests ?" But what the Jewish nation might have been, that may the Christian Church be — that loould it be if every member acted up to the vows which were made at his baptism. Let a parish of nominal Christians be converted into a parish of real Christians, so that there should not be one within its circuit who did not adorn the doctrine of the Gospel ; and what should we have but a parish of priests to the high and living God ? We call it a parish of priests, because we can feel that it would be as a kind of little sanctuary in the midst of a country or city, which might elsewhere be deformed by great ignorance and profligacy. Just as, in the midst of this parish itself, would rise its church, more sacred than any other structure, so would the parish stand in the midst of sur- rounding parishes, a holier spot, and fuller of the presence of Deity. And as fresh lessons in the truths of religion would be continually delivered to the dwellers in this parish, from their own pulpit and by their own priests, so would those dwellers themselves be examples and instructors to all by whom they were encompassed, and thua 218 KVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. practically discharge a noble part of the ministerial office. There would be no trenching upon functions which belong exclusively to men who have been ordained to the service of the temple ; but nevertheless there would be that fine and thorough exhibition of Christianity, which is amongst the most powerful of preaching, and that noble presentation of every energy to God, which is far above tlie costliest of sacrifices and burnt-offerings. And without dealing in exaggerated terms, we should not hesitate to declare of the parish we have described, that it would be as an altar, or rather a shrine, from which would issue divine messages to every neighbouring district; and that every dweller in this parish, seeing that his individual piety contributed to the general demonstration of godli- ness, miofht be reo^arded as standino- at that shrine, with all the insignia and all the solemnity of the priesthood. Such would be the aspect and the bearing of a whole parish of real Christians ; of men who felt (for this is the simple account of the matter) that, as members of the Christian Church, they were bound to be to the rest of mankind exactly what the ministers of Christ are to them. And you will easily see that, in passing from a parish to a nation, we introduce no change into our argument; we only enlarge its application ; for a kingdom is to other kingdoms what a parish is to other parishes. We cannot tell you what a sj^ectacle it would be in the midst of the earth, if any one people, as a body, acted on the principles, and fulfilled the vows, of Christianity : but we are sure that no better title than that of our text could be given to such a people. You know that, however the influences of Christianity may have been counteracted by the corruptions of the nature with which it has to deal, they are admirably adapted to promote present happiness, so that, if allowed full scope, they would banish all discord, and rapidly cover a land with peaceful and contented families. It seems to us impossible, that a thoroughly Christian nation should do otherwise than advance with the greatest speed to the summit of prosperity : for having in itself none of those causes of weakness and dissension which must exist wherever vice pervades great masses of a population, it would concentrate unbroken energies on every undertaking ; and seeking always the guidance of God, and adventurmg on nothing in its own strength, would never be engaged in what might issue disastrously. And the prosperity of the kingdom would immediately draw upon it the notice of the whole world ; and then would its Christianity, the producing cause of its prosperity, become the object of universal attention. The men EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. 219 jf other lands would observe, with amazement and admiration, what a charter of purest liberty had been framed from the Bible ; what a high road to all that is stable in civil institutions, splendid in national greatness, and beautiful in domestic relations, had been found by those who walked only by the light of God's word. It must, there- fore, come to pass, that the nation in question would be as a temple to all surrounding tribes, and that the result would be the same as though from the east and west, from the north and south, men flocked to its portals, that they might receive instruction from a consecrated priesthood. Neither is it only through the example they would set, and the ex- hibition they would furnish of the beneficial power of Christianity, that the inhabitants of this country would be as the priests of the Most High. You cannot doubt that such a nation would be, in the largest sense, a missionary nation, that its ruling desire would be to procure admission to the Gospel in all districts of the earth. Conscious of the inestimable blessing which Christianity had proved to its own families, and moved by a sense of freely giving what it had freely received, this people would not send forth a single ship on any enterprize of commerce, without making it also a vehicle for trans- mitting the principles of religion ; and as the stately thing walked the waters, to freight itself with the produce of far-off* climes, it would can-y the sowers of that seed of life which is to restore the verdure to a fallen creation. We are not aware that we, in the least degree, overdraw the de- portment and conduct of a people, amongst whom godliness should universally prevail ; we introduce no feature which would not be brought, as we think, into the sketch of every painter who knows what Christianity is, ana wno supposes it to reign in every household and in every heart ; and if you combine these features, you will find no more appropriate title than that furnished by our text for the people whose portrait the combination would give, O, we again say, of the land in whose every habitation the religion of Jesus had thorough dominion, that it would be as a great temple in the midst of the earth, in whose recesses God visibly dwelt, and from whose altars ascended flames which fixed the gaze of men of other tribes. If you could occupy that land with the walls of one mighty sanctuary, and crown them with a dome whose span should be that of the over- arching sky, and bring within them the mysterious shekinah that hallowed the structure which Solomon reared ; there would not be so sublime an edifice, and so manifest an indwelling of Deity, as 220 EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. when the temple is builded of all the hearts in the land, and the Most High shines himself in the secrecies of every spirit. And what shall we say of the dwellers in such a land, of those who in- Iiabit the temple which, as it were, they constitute 1 Serving God with all the assiduousness of a cheerful and unwearied devotion, and acting in their every proceeding on the principles of religion, they are as " stewards of the mysteries of the kingdom," and dispense the law, and publish the proclamation. Earnest in impai'ting the privileges they enjoy, and desiring to show their gratitude by en- larging, if possible, the kingdom of the Redeemer, they are as ministers of the faith, and spread far and wide the offer of salvation. And thus are they filling to surrounding nations the very office which is filled to themselves by those whose special business it is to teach in their churches ; they are keeping up a sacred fire on the altar, that those " sitting in darkness" may " see a great light;" they are blowing the silver trumpet of the jubilee, that those ready to perish may hear it and live ; they are offering themselves a living sacrifice to the Almighty, that pagans may learn to cast their idols to the moles and to the bats. And what then is to be said of them, as their practical Christianity thus turns their country into one magnificent sanctuary, from whose pulpit the Gospel-summons goes forth to all the ends of the earth, and whose walls so echo the praises of the Saviour, that distant islands are roused by the symphony — - what is to be said, but that in them are fulfilled the words of Jesus Christ by the apostle, and that they are, emphatically, " a royal priesthood," or " a kingdom of priests ? " Now you will sufficiently gather from what has been advanced, that Christian nations stand in the same position, taken with heathen nations, as Christian ministers to Christian congregations ; they have much the same duties to perform, the same power of witnessing for God, the same opportunities of supporting the great cause of truth. And Avhat vve most earnestly wish to impress upon your minds is, that every Christian man, every man who has been re- ceived by baptism into the Christian church, has been invested with a priestly office, and shall be hereafter dealt with according to the manner in which that office was discharged. If the church, as a body, is to be a kingdom of priests, it follows, that every member of that church, in his individual capacity, can be nothing less than a priest. And when you demand the sense in which this can be true, we do not tell you, that every Christian man is to be a priest to other Christian men ; for in each Christian church there is a conse- EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF COD. 221 crated priesthood, whose special office it is to minister to their fellow-Christians ; but we do tell you, that what the clergyman is to you, that should you be to the world. If he be set amongst you as a witness for God and an instructor in truth, you also are set in the midst of the world witnesses for God and instructors in truth. I have, indeed, received a two-fold ordination, and you only a single one; mine that of baptism and the laying on of hands, and yours that of baptism alone ; and, we confess, that there are obligations imposed by the double ordination, which are not by the single. But the single ordination, the ordination of baptism, bound you all to the being as " a city set upon a hill," and thus appointed you, as it were, to a pulpit ; and to the " letting your hght shine before men," and thus appointed you to an altar, on which celestial fire should ever burn brightly. You cannot then avoid the conclusion, that, as members of a Christian church, you are members of " a royal priest- hood." You cannot say, that our text is nothing more than a figurative expression. The priestly office, indeed, is no longer what it w'as in Jewish times, as regards the ministers of the church : but it is not one jot altered as regards the members. It is not what it was as regards the ministers, because they have not to make atone- ment by the offering up of sacrifice ; but it is what it was as regards the members^ because their ministrations are still to be those of a holy life, and consistency and steadfastness in the maintenance of truth. And inasmuch as any combination of righteous individuals must, by their example, reprove the wickedness of the world, and, by their influence, do much towards advancing the cause of piety, the apostle only describes what would necessarily be the office discharged, and the aspect borne by a thoroughly Christian community, when he declares us ordained to " a royal priesthood," that we might " show forth the praises of God." But we propose to consider, in the second place, certain of the consequences which would follow, if the priestly character were universally recognized. And here we wish to ply you with practical considerations, to show you what your conduct would be, if you kept steadily in mind your own priestly character. We begin with observing to you, that the members of the church watch its ministers with singular jealousy, and that faults, which would be comparatively overlooked, if committed by a merchant or a lawyer, are held up to utter execration, when they can be fastened on a clergyman. We are not in the least disposed to plead against 222 KVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. this method of procedure, or to ask for gentler dealing with the offences of the priesthood. We are quite agreed with the most keen-eyed observers of the clerical order, and with the most indig- nant reprovers of their every inconsistency, that pride, or immorality, or covetousness, is more hateful in a clergyman than in any other ; that his profession gives a heinousness to his sin; and that whenever he turns aside from the paths of rectitude and virtue, he may justly be visited with an odium and a scorn, such as were not to be incurred had he been engaged in a less sacred calling. The vows of his baptism were full and energetic, for he bound himself to the re- nouncing " the world, the flesh, and the devil ;" but when his faculties were matured, in the ripeness of his manhood, he voluntarily vowed the yet stronger vows of ordination, bound himself, with all solemnity, as in the presence of God, to make himself an example and a pattern to Christ's flock: and if he be unmindful of these accumulated vows ; if a sordid avarice, or the fires of base passionSj or the lust of advancement, deform and desecrate one who has thus isolated himself from the world and worldly things; we will not ask you to deal with him by any light measure; we will rather be amono- the first to own, that there cannot come down upon him a heavier than the just weight of public reprobation ; and that if there move one upon the earth who deserves more than another to be a mark for the finger of scorn, it is the perjured priest, who, having sworn to be faithful in the priesthood, joins the worshippers of Mammon, or the slaves of sensuality. But now let us suppose, men and brethren, that a case of clerical delinquency is engaging the attention of a company of members of the church, and that they are passing an unqualified condemnation on the offender who has flagrantly disgraced the sacred profession. It will not matter what has been the particular character of his offence ; but we should like to be placed in the midst of that com- pany, whilst one tongue after another delivered the indignant and sarcastic rebuke. We should not wish to be there in order to arrest or mitigate the vehement condemnation ; but we should wish to be there, that when men's feelings were strongly excited, and strongly impressed — the great aggravation of the offence on which they were commenting being that the offender was a priest — we might press them home with the question. Are not ye priests ? It would be a fine opportunity, just when the bearing the priestly office was de- duced as incontrovertible evidence that pride, or covetousness, jr immorality, should draw down on an individual unmingled detesta- i EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. 223 tion — it would be a fine opportunity for turning round upon many of the company, who might not themselves be clear in these matters, and saying with Nathan, " Ye are the men." Their answer might be, ** We belong to the laity, we belong not to the clergy; and there- fore, whatever our sins, they want that special aggravation which, on your own admission, attaches to the crime which we now reprobate and condemn." But our reply would be, " You may be forgetful of your high calling, you may be ignorant of your high calling ; but nevertheless, inasmuch as you belong to a Christian church, you belong incontrovertibly to ' a royal priesthood ;' and if there be avarice amongst you, it is the avarice of a priest ; if there be pride amongst you, it is the pride of a priest ; if there be sensuality amongst you, it is the sensuality of a priest." We would thus take advantage of that very merited scorn of which clerical inconsistency, or clerical profligacy, is sure to be the object. The men who manifest this scorn may be little aware, but it is our duty and our desire to make them aware, th^t they are passing sentence on themselves, and that all that strong and un- measured rebuke which they pour on an offending priest is virtually falling on their own heads, unless the power of Christianity be visi- ble in the whole of their conduct. And we are quite persuaded that men vastly underrate, even where they do not wholly overlook, the injury which the vices of any private individual work to the cause of God and religion. They are alive to the injury wrought by the vices of a clergyman ; but they shelter themselves under their lay character, and think their own sins comparatively harmless, per- haps comparatively lawful. This is only because they do not or will not observe, that every nominal Christian does his part towards keeping his country from taking its place as a witness for God, and a preacher of righteousness to the yet unevangelized world. O if we have drawn no exaggerated picture of the influence which a nation of real Christians would wield on the surrounding people, we have shewn you that their country would be nothing less than a temple to the whole earth, and themselves the ordained men who held therein the sacerdotal office. And what then is it, but the avarice, and the fraud, and the voluptuousness, and the impietj-^, which are found amongst the members of the Christian community, that interferes with the ministrations of that community to the tribes which are yet " sitting in darkness ?" What is it, in other words, but tlie fact that the crimes of the priesthood bring disgrace on the religion which they were anointed to teach, that prevents a nominally 224 EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. Christian people from being the great regenerators of the globe ? And have we not, then, a right to come down on every unconverted man amongst you, and to charge him with working that very injury to religion which a clergyman works when notoriously immoral, and all this on the simple principle derived from our text, that it is the high calling of a Christian people to be " a kingdom of priests," or " a royal priesthood" to the Lord God Almighty. Now we would impress on you, in bringing our discourse to a conclusion, that you feel nothing what you ought to feel when indignant at hearing of the wickedness of the clergyman. Again and again would we tell you, you are quite right in considering that the circumstance of the man being a priest^ lays on him addi- tional obligation to the fleeing every vice, and the practising every virtue ; and that where the obligation is disregarded, the blame can hardly be greater than is deserved : but will you also bear in mind that you are yourselves invested with the office of the priesthood ; that you cannot sin merely as lawyers, or merchants, or tradesmen ; you must sin as priests, and therefore incur that heaviei" condemna- tion which you are ready enough to award to a man of my profession. The anger which breaks promptly forth on any report of clerical iniquity, will then be equally ready to blaze out in your own case and that because the layman is as much a clergyman to the world as the clergyman is to the church; and you will be more than ever "a peculiar people," and more than ever on the watch against all that is forbidden by the Gospel of Christ. There could not be the money- grasping, the dishonourable trick, the fraudulent dealing, the pride, the licentiousness, which it is impossible to overlook in a professedly Christian community, if the members of that community regarded their households, and their counting-houses, and their shops, as so many churches in which they had sacred functions to perform, and kept always in mind that a heathen may offend merely as a man, but the Christian must offend as a priest. And we yet further think, that if you were to regard yourselves as the ordained priests of Qod, you could not be indolent with respect to any enterprise of Christian philanthropy. We now re- mind you, from the statement of our text, that you have been appointed to the priesthood on purpose that you may " show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous liglit." And is it not to show forth these praises, to diffuse the knowledge of redemption, that mighty scheme by which EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. 22i) every divine attribute is magnified, and every human want satisfied? If ye be priests, the priests of Christianity, for what end can you have been consecrated, if not that you may disseminate the religion which you have embraced as the true ? If it be my part, as a priest to the Christian church, to labour at instructing the ignorant, and confirming the wavering, in the mysteries of our faith ; it must be 3'our part, as priests to the world, to labour at providing the means of instruction for the neglected and destitute. It is therefore to men invested with the priestly office, and pledged, by that office, to the devoting themselves and their substance to the great work of propagating Christianity, that we address our appeal on the present occasion. Members of " a royal priesthood," ye must be ready to arise at our summons, and aid in rearing a church in which the Gospel may be preached, and the sacraments administered. There are hundreds perishing around you — perishing through lack of that very bread of life which you have been ordained to distribute. Priests of the living God, can you throw your vows to the wind, and make no effort at rescuing those whose blood will be required at your hands ? It is not possible that a clearer case should be made out than that of the necessity for another church in this parish. Eminently favoured as the parish is in being the scene of most active and zealous ministration, its church accommodation is, never- theless, far below the demand. With a population of more than eight thousand^ it has church-room for only fifteen hundred ; so that there are thousands who have no access to the house of God, and who can scarcely, therefore, in the least degree, be brought under pastoral superintendence. And of this multitude, there is the strongest ground for believing, that a very large proportion would be ready at once, if opportunity were offered, to attend the ordi- nances of religion. At all events, we can be quite certain, that if a church were built in the midst of them, and an active servant of God placed as its minister, there would be a speedy thronging up to the sanctuary of the now half-heathen population, and a rapid regene- ration would pervade many wild and destitute families. We speak of this as cerfai7i, because the experiment has often been made, and never made but with success. Our land has become covered with masses of profligate men, just because, unhappily, our system of parochial ministration kept not pace with the augmenting popula- tion : there were no means of grace provided for the teeming crowds ; and what marvel if they sunk deep in ignorance and vice 1 But in the very proportion that parochial ministrations have been made VOL. VI. « 226 EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. commensurate with the moral wants of a district, has that district risen in virtue and respectabihty. So that we can confidently say of many of our metropohtau parishes, that they have become the homes of order, of industry, and of loyalty, in the exact degree that they have been more brought under ministerial care ; as though the churches which have been built have hallowed their labours, and been the ministers of civilization by being the rallying points of Christianity. And what we now earnestly entreat of you is, that you will con- tribute liberally and cheerfully towards making this always success- ful experiment, in the parish of St, Bride. There is nothing needed but your liberality : the land will be granted, the Church Commis- sioners will meet a large part of the expenditure, but only on con- dition that you come forward with sufficient subscriptions to ensure the completion of the work. I know not what more to say to you. I speak to you as members of the Established Church — that church which is said to be m danger^ though I believe it not ; for threaten- ing has but strengthened the devotedness of her sons. Never was that church more efficient, never more laborious ; and I have no fears for what I know to be apostolical in constiiuiion^ when I can see (thanks to God !) that it is increasingly apostolical in fraciice. I call on you, as members of this church, to throw up around her another rampart. Every temple that is ^ built is like a new wall. Give us temples enough in which to minister, and we ask no other bulwark against infidelity, or popery, or dissent. Thus, by such an appeal as the present, we bring to a touchstone your professed attachment to the Established Church. We canno*' be satisfied with such a demonstration as may be given at " Con- servative Meetings," where resolutions are passed breathing the warmest zeal on behalf of the church. There is a vast deal of support now tendered to the church, the motives of which are purely poli- tical, and not at all religious. Men who can scarcely be said to have at heart the interests of Christianity, are shrewd enough to per- ceive that if in any hour of infatuation, or of dark and desperate policy, the legislature of this country should renounce its connexion with the Established Church, there would be in consequence such an undennininof of the foundation of good order and genuine civil liberty, that it would be doubtful whether the dislocated system would ever again settle into strength and security. Therefore are many pressing forward in defence of the church, whose anxiety to sustain her is not the anxiety produced by the consciousness that the church EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OP GOD. 227 IS God's great instrument for reclaiming the moral wilderness, and that to increase her efficiency is to save many souls from death. This is the consciousness with which we trust you are fraught ; for we speak to you as the priests, sworn, as it were, on the altar of Christianity. Baptized with its waters, and bearing its banners, come forth to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Tlie summons is not mine. I do but echo to you the cry of thousands suffering the consequences of long and cruel neglect, and who now wait the ad- vance of the priesthood of the Lord, to bring them the blessings of the Gospel of Christ. They shall not wait in vain ; I feel that I speak to those whose souls are stirred by the summons, and who are already resolved that, to the full of their ability, they will contribute to the erection of the church. Already I see that church arising ; I hear many of those who are now the profligate and the ignorant, blessing God that he ever put it into the hearts of his priests to provide them a sanctuary and a teacher. I hear the old and the young — the healthful in their occupations, the dying in their strug- gles — invoking a rich recompense on the liberal men who compas- sionated their destitution and resolved that it should end. Is there — O there cannot be — ^the individual amongst you, who will refuse to take part in a work for which the call is so urgent, and of which the reward is so great ? All will give liberally and cheerfully, not as though it were an ordinary charity sermon for a school or a dis- pensary, but proportionably to the magnitude of the undertaking. Remember as you give that you are giving to provide means of Christian instruction for hundreds now living, and for thousands yet unborn ; and then give in scant measure if you can. And finally, we again address you as " a royal priesthood," trust- ing that there are many of you who feel that they have undertaken the priestly office, and will endeavour to honour God by its due discharge. Persevere, beloved brethren, in your holy ministrations ; continue to offer up yourselves a living sacrifice, to preach to the world with the beautiful eloquence of a righteous life, and to waft towards heaven the fragrant incense of your prayer and your praise. You shall soon enter within the veil ; and there, in the presence of the great Minister of the sanctuary, discharge a loftier priesthood, and walk a nobler temple. You shall be kings and priests for ever and ever : kings^ seeing that those who suffer with Christ here, are to reign with him hereafter ; priests^ inasmuch as you shall not rest day nor night, presenting the oblations of your thankfiilness, and proclaiming the worthiness of the Lamb to all orders of intelligences. 228 EVERY BAPTIZED MAN A PRIEST OF GOD. And be ye sure that it shall add mightily to the blessedness of heaven, that there are many around you who learned the way to glory in the church which you assisted to build ; many who would have sunk into the lake of fire, had they not been snatched as brands from the burning, through the instrumentality which you provided and sustained. I can add no more. I pray God to bless what has been spoken in weakness, to the honour of his own rrr^^at name. 229 THE RENUNCIATION OF EVIL HABITS CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH THE APPLICATION FOR MERCY. HON. AND REV, B. W. NOEL, A.M. ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL, BEDFORD ROW, OCTOBER 23, 1836. Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." — Isaiah, i. 16 — 18. Of the nation to whom these words were immediately addressed, the Lord said by his prophet, in the commencement of this prophecy, " I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." It was the aggravation of all their sin that they had rebelled against tender mercy and bounty, still rejecting all the goodness of God, and his invitations to them. They had perversely sought, in the independence of their own hearts, a happiness which could not last, and which was as corrupt as it was transient, God had" punished them for their wilful transgressions, and their punish- ment had only proved yet more the obduracy of their minds. Filled with trouble and diminished m the kingdom, their comforts des- troyed, and themselves exposed to their enemies, it was said of them, " Why should ye be stricken any more ? ye will revolt more and more : the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint." These judgments, though they had not led them in their hearts to God, had induced them, at the time when the prophet wrote, to multiply their religious observances, fearful of still further chasten- ings ; and in the hope of averting them, led them to a form of repentance when there was no reality. In the multiplication of these religious observances they sought the pardon of their sins ; and it was in this state of mind — seeking pardon and salvation at the hands of God, multiplying their religious observances with that view, and making many prayers — that they received the admonition in our text : " Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings froin before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; loam to do well , seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead 230 THE RENUNCIATION OF EVIL HABITS for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord : • though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Here was, notwithstanding their many sins, the declaration that God was ready to forgive ; here was the promise of mercy and of salvation when they sought him in his own way : but, as preliminary to pardon, as' contemporaneous with every application for pardon which should be at all successful, the Lord bade them renounce every evil habit. The application in their case was 'particular^ the injunction itself is general. It describes the way in which every sinner must return to God, no less than the command that they were to return. It assures us that the Lord is ready to forgive, really and truly, through the Son of his love : but those who will seek that forgiveness through the cross must, as contemporaneous with every successful application, renounce ev ry evil habit in the sight of God. " Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn to do well." This one point last mentioned will be enough for our considera- tion upon the present occasion. Let us observe that the Lord is here intimating to every sinner who would receive his mercy and his blessing in Christ, that he must, in application for that mercy, re- nounce with all his heart every evil habit. The passage distinctly assures every one who would be a servant of God and an heir of heaven, that it is impossible he should be either, while resolved that he will not renounce his evil ways. He who is resolved to cherish his evil habits, whatever they may be, whether more or less condemned by the world, whether approved and applauded even amonor men : he who is not resolved to make the declared, re- vealed Word of God his rule, and to renounce every evil, is not, never can be, a servant and a child of God. Not unfrequently, when God, in his own overruling providence, has chastened man for his sin, he is brought to such a dread of the divine displeasure, such a fear of still further chastening, that he will renounce some iniquities : but what the Lord calls for is, the un- resei ved ■&\\xxQu^cx of them all; and that he is unwilling to make. Further chastenings extort from him yet larger concessions : but the Lord asks for the unreserved surrender of every evil habit ; and thai the sinner will not make. He will multiply religious obser- vances ; be will make many prayers ; he will consent to extensive reform of his outward conduct ; but the Lord asks him to surrender CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH THE APPLICATION FOR MERCY. 231 every evil habit, and the stout-hearted transgressor refuses to make the surrender. Herod heard John the Baptist preach gladly, and did many things, but he would not renounce Herodias. When Pharaoh M'as writhing under the divine chastening, and fearing yet greater punishment, he made one concession after another to the divine will, but the ivhole of that divine will he would not accom- plish : and when at last there was extorted from his own and his subjects' fears, a full acquiescence in the divine commands, his re- bellious heart immediately afterwards withdrew the extorted consent ; and he would pursue with his hosts the people whom, at the divhie command, he had permitted to escape his hand ; and so he perished in his wickedness. And so the Jews, in the case before us, following precisely the same steps with those of the people from whose iron hands they had been delivered, were willing, when God chastened them for their offences, to do many things : but still when they mul- tiplied their prayers, there was this answer given : " When you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you : yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear : your hands are full of blood." They could not renounce the oppression, and the injustice, and the gain which had become sweet to them ; and though they were ready to consent to do many things in obedience to divine commands, this they could not do. And while a sinner is found in this state of mind, compelled to relinquish much that is evil, but still unwilling to relinquish all, resolved in some things to transgress, though he dare not in many things in which he formerly indulged; so long he cannot be ac- cepted by the majesty of heaven ; and certain it is he never will. Yet when the jailer at Philippi asked what he a sinner must do to be saved, tlie answer was, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Was there any direction here for washing and making clean, and forputtiuN away the evil of his doings, as pre- liminary to acceptance with Christ ? When the multitudes that surrounded our Saviour asked him what they should do that they might do the works of God, he answered, " This is the work of God, that ye believe in him whom he hath sent." Was there any direction to wash them, to make them clean, as preliminary to that ? Assuredly there is none : assuredly the sinner who believes on the Saviour shall, in that very act, be welcomed, blessed, and saved ; assuredly he who amidst this assembly shall to-day with his whole heart welcome the Son of God, shall be pardoned, accepted, and saved. But what is it he is called on to believe ? In whom is he 232 THE nENUNCIATlON OF EVIL HABITS bidden 19 trust ? Jesus came as a Saviour from hell ; but not alone IVom hell, but from sin : he came to rule over a willing heart, and to restore the disobedient sinner to allegiance and fidelity. For this he died : for this the Spirit works in the heart of the sinner : lor this was the whole machinery of the Gospel (if I may so speak) contrived. It is the very end of redemption : and in believing in Christ he must believe all this ; and can he then resolve not to re- nounce sin ? O no ; there is an obvious contradiction. Could Pharaoh, in the state of mind which led him to pursue the Israelites against the command of God, have sought pardon and salvation through the Son of God 1 You see it was impossible : there was an unconquered disobedience of will, which was incompatible with belief in the Saviour ; he was trampling at the very moment on the authority wliich Jesus came to establish ; there was in him that rejection of the law of God which Jesus came to dethrone from the human heart; he was pursuing a course incompatible with the reception of the Saviour : and could such a man ask for pardon and salvation in the Son of God 1 He would be a hypocrite in the very act. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," is addressed to every sinner : but he who resolves to continue in sin is resolved not to welcome the Saviour, and so must perish. I'herefore compliance with the language of the text must be con- temporaneous with every act of application for mercy through Christ : there must be an explicit renunciation of every evil habit, or the sinner will be rejected ; for he is at that very moment trampling on the blood of the covenant, and treating with contempt the very end for which the Saviour of men came into the world. If therefore any one asks for pardon and salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, still resolved not to forego the evil habits in which he has indulged, can he hope to be accepted of God ; accepted for that which is hypocritical ; accepted while he pretends to seek a pardon for which he cares so little that he will not for it renounce some favourite habit ? Will he be blessed with a salvation which cost the death of the Son of God incarnate, while he cares so little for that salvation, that he would rather lose it than forego some darling sin t He condemns himself in the very application : he asks for mercy in terms which are insulting to Jehovah ; he would be saved in a way which treats with ineffable scorn the whole work of redemption ; he is resolved to defeat the ends of redeeming love, and yet obtain the mercy which redeeming love came to communi- cate. Shall he be acceptea 1 No ; there is a message to him frou; CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH THE APPLICATION FOR MERCY. 233 the Gospel, that should convince him that salvation is impossible until he complies with its requisitions : " Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes : cease to do evil ; learn to do well." Till that resolution, implied in the scriptural language of the absolution pronounced in our service every sabbath, be adopted — " He pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent^ and unfeignedly believe ;'' the sinner is only treating with contempt, levity, and indifl'erence, the great work of salvation ; and, alas ! instead of being accepted and blessed, there is but one answer will meet every petition : " Wlien ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you : yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear : your hands are full of blood." It might be oppression and injustice — which is a cherished sin with hundreds ; but if it be not that in which a man indulges, if, instead of it being said to him, " Your hands are full of hlood^'' it was said, " Your hands are full of 5m," is his condition changed ? What if it were injustice or dishonesty in any of its multiplied forms, would not this declaration meet him still—" When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear : your hands are full of dishonesty i'" Or if it be not dishonesty which is cherished, if it be intemperance in any of its forms ; if the sinner seeking to be saved will not renounce his in- temperance ; is he not equally rebellious against the declared will of God, equally trampling under foot the blood of the Son of God ; and must not the language be addressed to him, "When you make many prayers I will not hear V Or suppose he be not chargeable with these more obvious breaches of the divine law, yet if, while he seeks to be happy in Christ, he is cherishing the society of those who, as he finds from daily experi- ence, prevent him from prosecuting with earnestness the work of his salvation, draw his thoughts from God, and fill him with indifference to salvation ; if he allows frivolous amusements to take precedence of religious exercises, preventing dedication and prayer, thereby wasting the means which he has at his disposal, destroying his health, and occupying his mind; and all this because he asks himself, What harm is there ? Still defeating the very end of all the means of grace, he must expect, when he holds forth his hands, the Almighty will " hide his eyes" — that when he makes many prayers the Al- mighty " will not hear ;" his hands are full of sin. Or if it be only this — that, while he has a general conviction of the evil of his doings and the misery of his state, and that he can be saved through 234 THE RENUNCIATION OF EVIL HABITS Christ only, still there is an unconquered carelessness and alienation from a spiritual state, a neglect of the word of God and of prayer heedlessness of the counsel and example of the best of his fellow- men, and a disregard of many of the means of grace, is he, in that criminal disobedience to the divine will, to expect that he should be met and drawn by the Saviour, and made an heir of glory 1 Never: such prayers as his must pre-eminently meet a refusal ; he has not yet taken the first step that may bring him to eternal blessedness. And if there are any in this assembly who know that hitherto they have not had their hope founded on the Rock of ages, and that as yet they have never come to God in sincerity through Christ ; let me ask, Do you not perceive that all the evil habits to which I have alluded, and every other of which your conscience is convinced, must be unreservedly forsaken 1 If you would give the evidence which it is in your power to give, of the sincerity of your desire to be saved through Christ; if you are convinced that the hypocrite cannot be welcomed by the Searcher of hearts ; if you know that he who is resolved to be rebellious cannot be blessed with the salvation which implies the renunciation of rebellious acts ; if you do not hope to receive from God a mode of salvation which shall disappoint the very end of that costly work for which the Redeemer came into the world; then " wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings before the eyes of the Lord ; seek to do evil ; learn to do well." There is another point in the text w-hich demands our attention ; and that is, that if it is needful to renounce evil habits at all, it is well to renounce them directly. Let each man, woman, and child, in this assembly, who feels or fears that he is not yet saved in Christ Jesus, take it as the Lord's command to-day, to be done to-day. Sometimes when the half- conquered mind is disposed to seek sal- vation through Christ, there is this impediment in his way : ." I know not whether I am one of God's elect people, and therefore my efFoi-ts may be in vain : I know not that I shall obtain divine grace, and without it my efFoi'ts must be in vain : I will do nothing." Depressed, therefore, disheartened, discouraged, and seeking to relieve the oppression of the spirit in some other way (a w ay, the end of which is death) these vain reasons for delay arc permitted to triumph over every appeal that is made to the understanding, the conscience, and the heart, and the sinner seems contentedly to embrace destruction because there are apparent difficulties in his way. But let such remember that, for the most part, these reasons for delay are, in reality, the reasons of a slothful, indifferent, and but half-convinced CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH THE APPLICATION FOR MERCY. 235 mind : they are at the best but pretexts for delay. But if there should be one in any measure involved in these difficulties, let me beg him to remember, that just as a sinner's salvation is purposed by God, so every common operation of our lives has been foreseen and purposed too. The omniscience of God is entire, the purposes of God are universal ; every thing is under the unsearchable and awful control of his mind ; and all the details of our ordinary lives are as much liable to every sort of perplexity as the grand work of working out our own salvation : God is as truly the author, disposer, and controller of all events as he is of this. Therefore, my brethren, if you are not diverted from pursuing the engagements of life ; if you are not cnecked at every step in the operations of your lives by prying into the divine purposes concerning them; be consistent with yourselves, and no more be diverted or discouraged from this. The divine purpose does not hinder you in the ordinary pursuits of the ends of life ; the divine purpose will not, be assured, in this : if God has purposed the salvation of a man, he has equally purposed all the steps he must take for that salvation : and if you are not found washing you, making you clean, and putting away the evil of your doings before the eyes of God, you are taking the most effectual means of proving that yoit at least are not the object of his forgiving love, of his electing grace ; you are doing that which renders it impossible that you should be saved, because any one who is saved must be saved in this way an.d no other. Besides, you remember this, that while this way of seekfng salvation is essential to each, so he that takes it offers the best proof that he is one of the children of God, that he is under those drawings of the Holy Spirit which would bring him to everlasting happiness : and so, on this account, the more he considers the divine sovereignty and power in the work, the more he thinks of his own absolute helplessness, the more ought he to be urged to delay no longer ; to persevere in humble and earnest entreaty, that that great work may be accomplished in him to which he thinks he is alone unequal. So it is still more futile for a man to stay the progress of this blessed work, because he is not sure that he should i-eceive the con- verting grace of God. My dear hearers, you are sure of this, that as long as you refuse to renounce evil habits, you cannot receive God's converting grace : you are sure of this, that if the gi-ace of God is ever poured into your hearts, the very first effect must be, to renounce all evil. Seek, then, to renounce the act of evil 7iow; seek not to dishonour the work of God by leaving that which you can do 236 THE RENUNCIATION OF EVIL HABITS undone because you cannot do all. Forego the habit of evil, if still the propensity is unconquered. Show that thus far you honour the divine authority, that you respect the divine law, that you wish for the divine favour, that you will not set yourselves to those ways which you know are forbidden by God, and which must, as far as they are cherished, set you as far from God as hell is far from heaven. But perhaps these are not the obstacles in your way. Not unfre- quently the sinner, half-convinced but yet leaning to the world, rt'ill say, " There is enough of reason in this appeal to make me ask which of the numerous professors of religion are right. There are many sects in the Christian church, and each sect has its im- portant subdivisions ; and there are vast differences in doctrine as well as discipline among them. There is quite enough in these people to make me inquire which of them is right, and amongst whom truth is to be found." The inference is altogether false : the appeal I make to you is not with a view to induce you to inquire which sect of the church of Christ is right ; it is not to make you ask whether in other respects the doctrines which I preach are scrip- tural or not. Of this you may doubt : I may be wrong in many, and it may be important, points : but this of which I speak as preliminary is certain ; all parts of the church agree in this, that you must " wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before the eyes of the Lord; cease to do evil ; learn to do well." Is it your business, then, to look into disputed doctrines, to determine whether this is true, or that is false ? O my friends, there is some- thing to be done entirely preliminary. You know that you should renounce every evil habit ; you know that you should be brought into conformity with the will of God : do not, on vain pretences, delay that necessary work ; and then probably all your other doubts will vanish in that consciousness. If you would give your heart to the service of God, forego at once the evil habit that you have loved : trace it back in your past history ; find it out, and sacrifice it before the Lord; give up that thing which is evil, whatever it may be ; seeking no more the resolving of any doubts or difficulties which may occur to your mind, but surrendering to God what you know ought to be surrendered : and for the most part, when the truth is embraced in love — unquestionable truth ; the truth of man's ruin, and his salvation through Christ; the truth in which all Christians, really so, are one ; the truth which can take the sinner to heaven ; then all other doubts and difficulties about which there is so much CONTEMPOUANEOUS ^YITH THE APPLICATION FOR MERCV. 237 perplexity melt away, and the man wonders where they are. From that master-truth the other blessed truths of religion flow in beau- tiful harmony, and in such suitability to the sinner's wants, that, when the soul is renewed and is panting after holiness and heaven, he wonders where all the doubts and difficulties that once beset him are gone. Or if there are still doubts about many things of which he hears, they occupy their proper place ; they are most subordinate, and sink, if not into absolute insignificance, into most secondary importance ; they disturb not his faith, they interfere not with his practice ; they destroy not his peace ; he is still walking with God : and if he have not light enough on this side the grave to come to a certain conclusion on these disputed topics, he is quite content to leave the solution to a world where all will be wisdom as well as peace. Again, then, I beseech you to fasten this on your minds, that you are called to-day to a duty which is preliminary, to that which admits of no doubt, to that on which all are agreed, to that which you must do at once if you would ever be happy in Christ Jesus. In conclusion, then, I would apply this to each individual con- science : I beseech every one in this church to-day, who has any reason to apprehend that he is not in Christ Jesus safe for eternity — through the grace of God's Spirit, through the merit and mediation of the Redeemer, through the love and unchanging favour of God — that he would now listen to this exhortation from the divine word made to him. Let him now explicitly, in the presence of God, re- nounce all known evil habits ; let him forego them now; note, let the Searcher of hearts see that the sacrifice is made : nou\ thouo-h it be like the Isaac of his heart, while the place of sacrifice seems yet distant, may the Lord see that he has belief enough in his word, and desire enough in his Saviour, to make that sacrifice, and go stead- fastly forward to make every renunciation in the week that follows, in all his actions and his habits, as well as his purpose now, in conformity with the demand of Almighty God. Seek God's salva- tion ; seek it thus : you cannot hope, if you shrink from it, if you will not renounce evil, that the Lord will make you his servant ; and it may be, alas ! that, after some years of a very useless profession, or after some years of very painful conflict, you shall find yourselves just what you now are — unsanctified, unpardoned, unsaved ; with this difference, that all your moral energies have been yet more wasted, that you have yet less power to renounce sin than you he ve now, and salvation placed at a far greater distance. God grant it 238 THE RENUNCIATION OF EVIL HABITS, ETC. n ay not be so ! May you, my clear children who hear me, know that this is the first step to religion, to renounce every evil habit before God ; and then, I had almost said, the work is certain. Helpless, nopeless sinner, cast yourself on the power that is in- finitely beyond your wants, and which says to each returning trans- gressor, " Come now, and let us reason together : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." 239 THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. REV. T. MORTIMER, B.D. ST. MARK'S CHURCH, PENTONVILLE, SEPTEMBER 11, 1S36. 'Cut seek yc first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." — Matthew, vi. 33. If there is one great bm-den which is more frequently than another found assailing the people of God, under which they are ready to sink, and which seems enough to crush them, it is, being careful and troubled about many things ; carrying burdens which their divine Master never intended they should bear ; and then, in- stead of their peace flowing as a river, and their righteousness as the waves of the sea, the opposite to all this would be a more correct description of their state and character. But our blessed Master came, not merely to shew us the way of salvation through his blood, but to teach his people how, through his grace, to live, as well as how through the same grace to die. My text is a very important one ; it contains the words of the Son of God. May he be pleased to assist us by the Holy Spirit, that we may understand and feel them. Let us notice, first, the command and the promise of Christ ; secondly, the test and the confidence of the church : it seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and it shall want no manner of thing that is good ; He who bought it with his blood will supply all its wants, according to the riches of his fulness in glory by Christ Jesus our liOrd. First, THE COMMAND AND THE PROMISE OF Christ. The Com- mand is to " seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness." The term " the kingdom of God," implies authority in Him who rules, subjection in those who obey, and the protection of all the subjects of his mediatorial kingdom ; and not only protection, but privilege; all the blessings that the Son of God purchased with his own blood, when he hung on the cross ; all those blessings which, as the great Intercessor of the church before the throne of Deity, he asks for us. Now this we are to ^cek. 240 THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. But why does man need to seek the righteousness of God, if he is the innocent creature which most persons think he is ; if it be true that he comes into the world in perfect innocence; if it be true that his heart in its natural state is perfectly pure ? Some people tell us that it is the force of bad example ; that as to there being any thing like innate depravity, it is a libel upon humanity ; and that if it were not the force of bad example, men would be perfectly pure and holy. But what leads to the bad example, to the evil heart ? What but a corrupt principle within ? What has caused all the sin and misery that are to be found in the world 1 Our Lord gives us the answer: "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adul- teries," and all that long black catalogue which no mere man would ever have given : but our Lord needed not that any should testify to him of man, for he knew what was in man. If, then, we are to seek the righteousness of God, it is because there is no other righteousness : we must have this or none. It is a two-fold righteousness — imputed and imparted. It is a righteousness imputed through the infinite merit of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, whereby we appear before God clothed in the immaculate robe of the Saviour's spotless righteousness. But it is not only unto all, but upon all, them that believe ; it is not merely something which is imputed, but something what is imparted. We are not permitted to behold God, and to see his excellences, and then told that we are under a curse ; that we must worship infinite purity, and ourselves continue impure ; that we are to admire the perfections of God, and yet remain at a distance from him. No ; Christianity comes down to man in all his misery, and helplessness, and insufficiency, and by offering to him the righteousness of God which is by faith in Christ Jesus. " If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins." Now, it is said, we are to " seek " this : here is the command. God takes care that It shall seek us. What mean the services of the Sabbath ? What mean the ordinances of religion, the solemnities of public worship, the declarations of God's holy book ? What means all the calls of providence, all the movements of the Holy Spirit upon tlie heart of man ? It is God seeking man. But if man is to be saved he must seek God : " Seek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness:" not merely seek to promote religion, but seek per- sonally to enjoy its experience, and to know something of its personal comforts, a well of water springing up within you unto everlasting life. THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 24i And hoio are you to seek this ? Amid the busy haunt of" com- merce, of business, and merchandize? No ; you are to go to God's nouse, to mingle with his people ; you are to go to your closet, to your knees ; where no eye is upon you ; where you can tell to the God who made you by his power, to the Christ who bouglit you with his blood, and to the Holy Ghost who comforteth and sanctifieth all the elect people of God — where you can tell to the adorable Trinitj all you feel and all you wish. It is said, " the kingdom of God is within you." What are sinful thoughts but so many rebels which must be taken into custody, and kept in prison ? " Yet," says one of our Christian poets, " Yet can 5'ou of the terms complain ? Where Jesus comes, he comes to reign : To reign, and with no partial sway ; And evon t'.iut-^'hts must die that disobey." When we want to learn a language we get a tutor ; when we want to attain a science we get an instructor : when we want to go to heaven we must have a guide. Man is fool enough to think he can be his own guide: he thinks, " I have only to read a few chapters, say a few prayers, and turn over a new leaf before I die, and all will be well, or at all events I shall do as well as others." Yes, you will do as well as others : but how do they do ? O the thou- sands that perish every year through neglect of the holy Gospel ! O the thousands who imagine they can be their own guides, and neglect the teaching and grace of the Holy Ghost, and perish in their sins ! But we have left out a little monosyllable in the command, which is of mighty weight here. " Seek ye the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" — when ? When you have sought every thing else ? When you have found the world a waste and a wilderness ? When you have tried created good and been disappointed ? When you are about to die, and the world appears to be hung in mourning and in sorrow ? No ; " Seek ye the kingdom of God, and his righte- ousness," and seek them^;-s/. Why first ? Because they deserve it : because if you don't seek them first^ the danger is, you will not seek them at all: because they are worth the seeking; they are grand, they are great, they are glorious and divine. All heaven has been in labour for man : and shall man throw awdy the mighty energies of his mind upon the baubles of this poor world ? I have often quoted those Ihies of Young, and may quote them again, perhaps : VOL. >'I. K , V'4'xi 'illK KINGDOM OF GOD ANJ) ISIS RIGHTEGU.SNKSS " A soul immortal, spentling all her fires, 'Wasting her stre gth in strenuous idleness, Thrown into tumult, raptur'd or alarm'd At aught this scene can threaten or indulge, Uesenibles ocean into tcmpe t wrought, To wait a leather or to dr,jwn a fly." O how contemptible are all tbe pursuits of earth when put ui com- petition with the pursuit of an infinite God 1 How soon does life pass away ! How soon do all our enjoyments cease ! But /ie7e is something which is of infinite value, Lecause of eternal duration. 7'here is another reason ; because no man ever obeyed this com- mand and repented it : one more ; because no man ever disobeyed it and did not repent. Here then is the convyiand. Now for ihe proviise. ]My Master is a noble Master ; my Lord and Saviour is a noble Lord and Saviour ; and he never gives a command without accompanying it with a promise. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness ;" and what then ? " All these things w ill be added unto you :" food, raiment, home, all you want in yoxu- passage from this world to another. Godliness hath the promise of this life ; not of riches, but of a sufficiency of food and raiment — the bread given, and the water made sure. Look at tlie prophet in the wilderness, more likely to be robbed than fed by the ravens, who live on prey : but when the Lord's people have need, his goodness can find out the way. O ye careful, sorrowful, burdened ones, look at the text, and be ashamed of your unbelief: " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto you." Our Lord speaks like one who knows that he can do it. Always read the words under the blessed feelinor that he has done it for thousands, and is doino' it for us. But it is not said, " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;" and then, as your reward, as the blessing, he will give you this world's goods. No ; our Lord takes care, when he speaks of temporal good, to put it in its proper place ; and, there- fore, the expression deserves to be noticed. '•' All these things shall bea^/rfe/," shall be given into the bargain, shall be added (if neces- sary) to make up what shall be given over and above: the great treasure is a heavenly one; but in addition to that, there will be thrown into the scale just what you w ant, in your passage from this world to another, of temporal good. What a noble promise ! But there is something more noble; and that is, \\\q ftiljihnent of it How many a Christian heart, if the decencies of public worshi]) THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 243 would permit it, would rise up from tliis congregation, and testify one after another, " How surely my blessed Master has kept that promise true !" And another would say the same, and another, and another. I once gave that promise to a suffering widow : I had done what little I could for her, though it was very little ; but I gave her my Master's promise, and told her to present it to her Lord in prayer. I remember meeting her two years afterwards ; and upon inquiring how matters stood — " O, sir," said she, " that promise has been well paid to me from the day you gave it to me till now." O try the promise : the more you press upon it, the more you fulfil the command ; and sooner shall heaven and earth pass away than the promise shall fail. These promises are like mighty arches ; and we are told in architecture, that the greater the weight upon a good arch, the stronger that arch will stand. Some of you lay no stress upon the promises, you do not believe them, and, therefore, do not enjoy them. I propose to notice very briefly the test and confidence of THE CHURCH. You may try what you are by this test ; you may know the true church fi*om the false ; you may know the real Christian from the mere pretender by it : Do you habitually seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness ? Is it your feelings, when the day begins, "I have matters of high importance to transact with the King eternal, immortal, invisible f Do you endeavour to use the language of good old Richard Baxter — to " dip your fingers in the oil of God's grace, before you meddle with the bird-lime of the world ?" If ye do ; if the grand desire of your soul is, that you may be subjects of the kingdom of God, and be clothed in the righteous- ness of God at the last day ; if in your family arrangements you look first to your children's principles before you look to their property ; if you endeavour to bring them up in the fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the Holy Ghost ; then you give proof that you " seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." But if there are any here who know such a description would be a false one — who seek for wealth, for honour, for what this world can give, but who never seek after those things which are infinitely important beyond the grave — such persons are living in the habitual neglect of this command and this promise. Will any object, and say, " Sir, we must live in the world ; we are called to buy and sell, and get gain ; we are to provide for our children and for old age?" You have, and do it in the fear of the 244 THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Lord: but " seek^rst the kingdom of God, and his righteousness ;"" then all the other will be attended to in the fear of God, and will /lare his blessing. Seek the z^o?-/^ first, its riches, and its honours ; and then, in your dying moments, when friends and medical at- tendants tell you you have but few hours to live, " seek the king- dom of God and his righteousness " lasl — and what then ? Ten thousand to one you will never find it at all ; ten thousand to one that you perish in your sins ; ten thousand to one that you lift your eyes to heaven, and ask of God to help you, and God will not help you. He tells you why : " Because I have called, and ye refused ; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh." But I spoke of the matter as exhibiting the confidence of the true church. O ye of little faith (you ought to have more, but thank God you have got any : a little faith is infinitely better than having none') — O ye of little faith, wherefore do ye doubt ? Why cast down ? Earthly resources and enjoyments may fail, and the world may in some respects be becoming to you a waste-howling wilderness ; many may be your trials, and those that used to share them with you may either be gone or going : but the Saviour never fails ; he remains with the church ; he continues with his people. Take, then, the promise of the text : " Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added^unto you :" all you want in your pilgrimage from earth to heaven shall be merci- fully afforded ; and in this confidence learn to say even beforehand, " He hath done all things well." 24.' UNSPIRITUALITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. REV. S. ROBINS, A.M. CHRIST'S CHAPEL, NORTHWICK TERRACE, REGENT'S PARK, OCT. 30, 1836. " God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John, iv. 24. It was a remarkable instance of the condescension of the Lord Jesus Christ that he should stop in his way to converse with the humblest. Although he had objects of inconceivable importance before him, and although his mind was occupied, and his soul en- gaged, with things of the loftiest concernment, he was willing to stay and converse with the poor Samaritan woman, who desired to receive instruction from his lips. It is a somewliat remarkable thing, that in this conversation, our Lord declared himself with a clearness and a directness which Ave do not find that he used upon any other occasion. The woman said to him, " I know that Messiah cometh:" Jesus said unto her, "I that speak unto thee am he." It seems as if the Lord intended to leave on record a most memorable example of the catholic spirit of his Gospel, and to put to shame all those mean distinctions wherewith men would bind round, and fence in, the freeness of heaven's own mercy. I need not stay long to remind you of the relative position of the Samaritans and the Jews. They hated each other with a hatred as cordial as that wherewith the sects of religionists amongst ourselves do hate each other. And the causes of their animosity are very easily discovered. In the first ])lace, the Samaritans did not receive the Scriptures; they admitted the authority only of the five books of Moses ; the canonical scriptures amongst them were contained in the pentateuch. In the next place, they liad a temple amongst themselves, rival and antagonist to the temple at Jerusalem : it was built (as probably you remember) by Sanballat on mount (jerizim I»Jow in this conversation, the woman claimed antiquity for the Samaritans • " Our fathers worshipped in this mountain." It was 246 XJNSPIRITUALITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDV. a tradition amongst them that Abraham and Jacob had each had an altar upon this very spot : and that these patriarchs, in this very situation, poured out their prayers, and rendered their ofFerino-s before the Lord Most High. And yet we find that antiquitv and tradition may sometimes be in the wrong : therefore we would learn a lesson from this part also of this very instructive history. Our Lord, in the course of his communication with the woman, corrected her erroneous opinions upon two special matters. First, there was a 'particular error. The woman said, " Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Our Lord said in reply to her, " Ye w^orship ye know not what: we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews." He shows her the error into which she had fallen, in supposing that salvation would emanate from any other place than that which the Lord had specially chosen. " Salva- tion is of the Jews ;" because He who was to preach it, and to seal it with his blood, was himself a Jew; and because the means of grace, in all their entireness and extent, were, to this period, cir- cumscribed and limited to the Jewish people. Our Lord then corrects a more general error into which she had fallen: " But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worship- pers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth : for the Father seeketh such to worship him." "The hour cometh;" a new dis- pensation was on its way ; something more full, and more complete : the shadows were departing, and the very substance had arrived, "Yea, now is;" for the new dispensation had already begun; and this pure and holy faith was now being proclaimed by its great Author unto the world. Now on these two points we would fix our thoughtfulness for a moment. We would be thankful to God that salvation is now not any longer restricted within its ancient limits ; that it has gone far beyond that territory which was occupied by the descendants of faithful Abraham ; that it has been borne forth by the wings of every wind ; so that upon the people who sat in darkness and the shadow of death hath the light shined. And we would remember, moreover (and it is a matter of exceeding moment to us), that there hath been introduced upon the world an evangelical worship; so that the sacredness of place and of outward things hath in great measure departed. The blessing of the Lord is not confined to localities ; but it extendeth wheresoever his people are gathered, UNSPIRITUALITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. 247 and wheresoever there is rendered unto him the worship of humble and faithful hearts. '''God is a Spirit." Now this is the great truth unto wliich human reason seems never to have attained. It is a matter of the ])laincst and the most distinct revelation ; and, moreover, it is a matter of the utmost importance to right worship. All idolatries wheresoever they have appeared, amongst whatever people, and at whatever times, have been the consequences of low, and gross, and material notionsof Deity ; and, therefore, it is, that God in his own blessed word hath so continually guarded his people against any forms of image w^orship. You re- member that warning, for instance, in the book of Deuteronomy : " Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves ; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire." Hence the injunction of the second commandment, which was not only directed to warn the people against the worship of false gods, but against the worship of the true God under an outward and visible emblem. " God is a Spirit," and he requires that the worship which is rendered to him sliould be akin and congenial to his own nature. Now this is a subject which we feel to be of perpetual importance in the handling of it we would take up these two points of con- sideration : first, the signs and evils of an unspiritual condition ; and, secondly, the remedy of such a condition. As to the first head, then, of our present discourse: we have to speak to you concerning the signs and the evils of an un- spiritual CONDITION. Man, in the completeness of his original formation, consisteth of two separate, yet united, portions — the spiritual and the material. Now as long as he remained in the presence and in the favour of God, as long as he stood fast in his loyalty and obedience, there was preserved the rightness of his con- stitution : so that the spiritual did continually exercise and maintain lordship and sovereignty over the material part, and the body waited upon the soul, and was its servant, and did its bidding, and went upon its errands, and executed all its commands. Then the constitution of man was, according to the original decision of God ; and then there was a harmony and a fitness in all that he did, and in all the tendencies and issues of his being. But the fall pro- duced a most dismal change in these respects, so that the loftier and the better part was brought into subjection and subserviency to the lower and the baser: and if we wanted to express in a very i'ew 248 UNSPIRITUALITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. words the evil which the original transgression hath wrought upon man's nature, we would say it consisted in this — that it elevated the lower part, and advanced it unto the place of headship ; and it brought down that which was heavenly, and ethereal, and immortal, and bound it down to drudge for the low and the carnal portion : so that henceforth there was not presented to the view of the admiring universe, the spectacle of a creature guided in all his decisions, and directed and kept in all his doings, by that which was akin to Deity itself; but the mournful and the lamentable spectacle of all that was great, and noble, and God-like, bound and bent to the earth, and made to labour for very vanity. Yet though the fall has introduced such sad corruption into man's nature, and such fearful disorder into his complex constitution, yet there remaineth all the nobleness, and all the superiority of his bette> part ; it hath yet its noble endowments ; it hath yet such faculties as may well cause the marvel of all intelligent creatures as they think upon tliem. Faculties doth the soul yet possess whereby it can rise to the contemplation of God himself, and can feed, and feast, and delight itself in all the attributes of the Deity. And it hath an endurance, too, so that when all these fair forms of material subsistence have mouldered and decayed, and gone down to the sepulchre of all things, when worlds, and statesmen, and all the nobles of this external creation have perished, when the heavens and the earth have been folded up like a worn-out garment, the soul of every man shall still subsist ; and far beyond the wreck of the ma- terial, it shall have its undecayed, and unchangeable, and incorrup- tible being. And the soul of man, bound in, and fettered, and burdened as it is, hath a kindred and a brotherhood with every spirit ; so that in the greatness of its relationship, it can rise above the things that we see, and touch, and lay hold upon, and are con- versant with — the soul can rise above them all, and can claim kindred, and brotherhood, and relationship with the loftiest archangel before the throne of God. And think ye, too, of the destiny of the spirit of this immortal, in- corruptible being, which God hath formed for himself for ever. When all present things are departed, when the place of our present habitation hath sunk into nothing, then all the mighty multitude that have ever peopled this world will live on, either in happiness with God and his saints, or outcasts and in torments for ever and for ever. And then, think you, what inconceivable importance do these con- ;piderations stamp upon the soul of man. It must subsist for ever ; UNSPIRITUALITV, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. 249 it must be in happiness unchangeable, or in misery unspeakable. And yet we do verily believe, that the main evil of the present time, the giant danger wherewith we are all afflicted is, the unspirituality of the condition in which men are living ; the forgetfulness of that immortal and incorruptible tenant which is imprisoned now in the tabernacle of the flesh, and whom our desires and our baser appetites are so conspiring together to chain and to keep down and withdraw from its supremacy. Now this is plain enough in respect of the way of life and the condition of some classes : we can understand it perfectly well in respect of the poor people. When we see them go into those places of base and brutal drunkenness, and see them come forth, having put away the form and aspect of manhood, and having taken to themselves the likeness, the odious and the disgusting likeness, of the beasts that perish ; we can see well enough that there is nothing of spirituality in such a condition. But we are little enough inclined to press hardly upon the state and condition of the poor, and to spare the rich : for we think there is just as much of this low and debasing aspect to be found in well -furnished dining-rooms, and well-appointed tables, where men and women do, with infinite thoughtlessness, con- gregate themselves, and so convert their houses into one great human sty. For whether it wear a coarser, or whether it wear a more re- fined aspect, just so long as the mortal part hath the dominancy, just so long as the one object is to gratify the sensual part, we are departing from the loftiness for which we were made, and we are descending to something inconceivably below our destiny. But to pass away from the sensiulity of the great or the little vulgar (for they are by a very small limit indeed distinguished from each other) we will charge this unspirituality upon a larger class that promises fairer and better ; men who are cultivating intelligence ; men who will not suffer the fields of the mind to lie fallow, but send into it the plough of a most severe and pains-taking discipline: yet the soul may be starved all the while, and there may be an utter famine in the house of the heart. And it secmeth as if this were the special danger — and one unto which the young, and the ardent, and the aspiring, and the intellectual, are particularly exposed — ■ that they should consecrate themselves, with whatever stores they have gained and laid up from other men's minds, or whatever they have achieved in the workinj; out of their own minds, that thcv should consecrate it all to the ])resent. And this seems to be the special danger of the period on which our lot is cast ; and heieiu 850 UNSPIRITUALITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. seemeth mainly to consist the peril of an unspiritual state. Aliu(jh^:t all thQ efforts, for instance, of men's minds at the present moment, are absorbed in physical science, or that which tends to the enlarge- ment of present comfort, to the aggrandizement of present interests, to the adorning and decorating of life, and bringing its commodities down as low as we can within the different classes. Noav we would not say one word against all this ; yet we would contend, that, worthy as it maybe, deserving of praise, and deserving of imitation and devotion of mind, yet still being of the intellect it is a lower part. Men are not very fond now to expatiate in regions of pure abstraction, and to deal with mental topics, which are away from all these present joys, which are separated from all these earthly in- terests. Poetry, that which hath to do with the imagination, and with the better and brighter form of thinsrs — ^how hath it become debased, and haw is it of the earth, earthy ! It seemeth to us as if the harp of David were silent long, and were hung upon the willows by the water-side, and as if poetry had come down from its regions of imagination just to open up to us a little more of the carnal and the worldly. And all this time there is a most lamentable departure from that which was our original destination. But that which seems the most fatal symptom is this — that men who are living, in one way or another, for the present, having no thought beyond the circle of this world, will assume high ground, and will represent that theirs is the only fit business in which man's intelligence is to be engaged : and so with all smiling self-compla- cency, they turn human life into one great balance-sheet of profit and loss ; and every question is to be carried into the court of human expediency, and argued out upon the score of present gainfulness; and thus the free spirit is bound down to the earth, and its soaring wing is stinted and fastened to earth ; and man, formed for higher and better things, doth settle himself down in the present, and try to content himself in the little sphere of his present hopes and enjoy - ments. But it will not do : men may try to deceive themselves > • c - they have deceived the world; and they may even carry it with a high hand, and they may tell you that all beyond these things which we have described are but a vain delusion, and that all which we tell them of religion and the Gospel and the concerns of the soul are just a matter of priestcraft, and fit for womanhood and the nursery. But yet they cannot always impose upon themselves ; for there come the days of alarm ; the day when the pestilence is abroad, and knocks at one door and another door; the day when their UNSPIRITUALITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. 251 strength faileth ilicm ; tlie day when, in the process of declining nature, death, and the grave, and eternity, come into view ; and then they can play the cheat upon themselves no longer. Yes, and there are other times, too, we do verily believe, in the life of the basest of men, even of the most engrossed in this world's cares, when memorv will carry him back to the days of his boyhood ; and he remembereth the quiet times of family worship, and the seasons when the white- headed patriarch took his children along with him to the house of the Lord ; and then, albeit the simple-minded village-boy hath been changed into a busy, careful, worldly man, he remembers that there was in former times something far better than all this, something so fair, and so holy, and so engaging to his better part, that he loveth to get away from all the din, and stir, and confusion of the Babel in which he liveth, and bethink him of his better part. And well for him if God doth so cause him to think of higher matters — truth, holiness, and the love of God — as that he shall be detached, ere it be too late, from the carnal and the earthly condition of life into which he hath fallen. Now before we dispatch this part of the subject, we say one word concerning the unspiritualness which* hath crept into the church. We use the term in no restrictive sense ; we mean that which hath come upon the great body of the Lord's professing people. These are times, perhaps, when the science of theology is better understood than it ever hath been : these are times when there are put forth the most able defences, and the most correct systems of Christianity : and yet we are not — no, with all our flattery we cannot persuade ourselves, that we are — ^the most spiritually-minded generation. For religion hath gone out of her secret closets, and out of her chambers of prayer, and hath flaunted it in the world, and hath been found in your religious meetings, in the crowd, and in the stir, and in the excitement of huge assemblies ; but she hath suffered, we deliberately believe, she hath suffered enoraious evil thereby : and there hath been an end of the quiet profitable Bible-reading ; there hath been an end of the holy, heaven-ward prayers ; there hath been an end of that calm, and quiet, and peaceful communing with our- selves and with God ; and the devil, in all his subtilty, has gained his ends, and, by an exceeding craftiness, he hath made us to flow on in the stir and the bustle of a busy religion, imtil the heart and soul of spirituality hath been well-nigh plucked out of our own hearts. Let me just remind you, as I have again and again tried faithfully 252 UNSPIRITUALITV, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. to tell you, that the religion which God loveth is tliat of the heart. Men may battle, and strive, and contend from year to year, spending their strength, and their though tfulness. and their learning about forms of church government and ecclesiastical discipline ; and they may learn to hate those who differ from them with the most orthodox enmity ; and yet all the while their own hearts may be as hard as the nether mill-stone, and as cold as the grave into which they are goino- : there may be all the while the outward forms and appliances of worship — all the dignity of the cathedral, or all the affected sim- plicity of the meeting-house; and, yet, neither in the one nor the other may there be any thing of a pure and holy worship. There is somethino- altogether independent: and this, we believe, doth con- tain within itself the very history, the very concentration of our present dangers — ^that in religious matters, as much as in mere worldly matters, we are Ibrgetting that which containeth the very heart and soul of all profit. It is neither on the one hand nor on the other hand, neither in this nor in that form of government, that we should find spiritual-mindedness : it may be absent from the one or the other, and we are to seek it in higher, and better, and holier things : these are only the frame-work : as far as they go we have no manner of question that the one is right and the other is wrong ; but we must not, and we dare not, exalt them above their due measure : we remember that an unspiritual state of the human heart may consist entirely with the one and the other. " God is a Spirit : and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth." And now let us go forward to the second head of our subject, and speak to you concerning that which is the remedy. Now the remedy of this unspiritual condition w^hich doth at this time so pervade the various classes of our community, which doth so infect and so endanger our days, is not to be found in any mere ex- position of truth : is not to be foimd in any softness of persuasion, in any force of denjionstration or of conclusive argument. For it would be very possible indeed that the preacher, whom God hath gifted for his work, might open the Bible, and therein expound to the people, on the authority of God himself, how that the only value which belongeth to human existence consists in preparation for another world. He might shew how vain and slippery are all the paths of this world's advancement, and the hearts of the people would bear testimony to the truth of it ; they would be utterly unable UNSPIRITUALITV, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY, 253 to deny it, and they would feel tliat (hey liad been " toihng in the fire," and that nothing hut " vanity" had come forth. And then after all this exposition of the truth, and all this pains-taking argu- ment, and this apparently inevitable conclusion, they do go back again, and be just as little spiritual, and just as entirely worldly, as ever before. It would be possible for a minister to speak of heaven, so as to seem as if the hearts of the people must be touched, and their spirits must be moved within them. I do not mean those representations of heaven, poor and mawkish as they are, which derive all their at- tractiveness from earthly imagery ; which draw upon the stores of the imagination, and dress out a future paradise very like indeed to something we have been looking for here. But I mean those scriptural representations which set before us heaven as the place of holiness and love, and the intelligent service of the blessed as the place where God is, and where his people are like him ; and this might be so explained to the people, that they could not but be arrested ; but, perhaps, they would not understand^ because what was preached to them was spiritually discerned, and " the carnal mind receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." Or perhaps they might please the intellect, and there might be something singularly satisfactory in the representation, and they would rest upon it, and delight, perhaps, to recur to it : but all the while it remained in the head, and never came down to the region of the heart. But we will suppose something better than this : we will suppose that they were touched and affected, and that it did not pass away like the morning cloud or the early dew ; and that, perhaps, for the first time in their lives, they passed the threshold of the church with no word of light and easy salutation for their acquaintance on the right hand and on the left : and they went home with pensive thoughts, and some newly-awakened and enkindled desires for heaven, and holiness, and happiness. But then, if this were all, the next day there would come the world with its biting and absorbing cares ; and it would dress out its attractions in such loveliness, and it would speak its delusions in such a syren voice, that the heart which seemed to have been impressed would be rendered back again, and all its former objects, and its affections, and its desires, and its hopes, would be again devoted to the world. Beloved, there wants something beyond all this to drive us from our unspiritnal condition : there requireth the. manifestation of God 254 UNSPIRITU^LITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. to the spirit ; there requireth the opening up to us of this great text — " God is a Spirit." " No man hath seen God at any time : the only- begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Therefore, if you would be weaned from a worldly condition, if you would be brought out of the bondage of an unspiritual state, you must seek to know God as he is revealed in the Gospel of his dear Son ; you must seek to know Him whom to know is eternal life. Now it was the great object and purpose of redemption, to bring man out of his carnal into a spiritual state ; to lift him out of the desperateness of that condition into which he had fallen, and to restore him to communion with God, and to elevate him, and to bless hun, just by bringing hope to dwell again in the habitation of his heart. The only way in which this is ever accomplished is by the work of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit which Jesus poureth out upon his chosen ones, that Spirit which taketh of the things of Jesus and sheweth them unto us, that Spirit which bringeth us away from all carnal, and formal, and pharisaical services, and shows us what God is, and what God requires. And so does the Spirit take us, as it were, by the hand, and lead us to the courts where better worship is rendered to the Lord ; delivering us from the darkness and the bondage of our original state ; opening up to us clear and spiritual views of God, of his providence, of his grace, of the ulti- mate tendency of all his designs ; unveiling to us the glories of heaven — not as a vao^ue thinof not as a matter of mere abstract contemplation — but telling us that all that is is ours, for we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. In short, the change which thus taketh place, whereby a man passeth from a carnal to a spiritual state, is nothing else but that regeneration whereof Jesus spake, and concerning which men have fallen into such mistakes. It is neither more nor less than that of which the apostle speaks, when he assures us, that " he that is in Christ is a new creature :" and until that hath been commenced, and is carried on in the heart, man remaineth carnal and unspiritual ; and all the means, and all the opportunities of grace are wasted ; they fall like the dew upon the face of the earth. God, by the operations of his word and the ministration of his Gospel, attended by the in- fluence of that Spirit whereby his church is edified, doth bring his people into the expectation of higher and better things : and when a man hath once had heaven opened to his view — when he hath once had his conversation there, having felt that his citizenship is in the New Jerusalem, and that earth and hell might combine together, but UNSPIRITUAI.ITV, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. 255 ihoy could not deprive him of his inheritance ; then there is a cliaracter of poorness cast on all the world's attractions, its opinions, its interests, and enjoyments ; they have lost all their power over him, because he hath put on him the character of pilgrim, and he is going straight forward to the place which God hath appointed for him, and he does not linger, and he will not turn to the right nor to the left, lest he j^oril that which is so precious. And it is also in respect of the present that this chano-e doth evi- dence itself. Show me the man whose heart is evil — show me the man who hath so disciplined his spirit in a bad schooling, that he is content to take up with the fragments of pleasure which he hath, and to put up with the crumbs of present enjoyment ; and I will pronounce of that man, that concerning all that is loftiest and greatest in the human mind, it is that which lieth beyond his present attainment, something which he cannot reach till he hath been de- tached from the earth, and till his conceptions have grown lofty by becoming heavenly. And now, brethren, we commend this matter to you, especially on these three points. First, self-examination. There subsist in the whole world but two families — the family of the carnal, and the family of the spiritual : j/ou must belong to the one or the other. You call yourselves by the name of Jesus, and you vindicate a parti- cipation in his Gospel, and you, at least, would have on your dying beds, the enjoyment of that which he hath pledged to his people. But the Gospel is spiritual ; the object of Gospel- worship is spiritual ; the heaven, where the Lord's people shall finally be gathered, is a spiritual place. Therefore examine yourselves upon this head : mark to the which you belong, for be assured of this as an eternal and unchanging truth, that there shall be no passing away from the family of the carnal into the condition, and the enjoyment, and the worship of the spiritual, when this present dispensation hath closed upon it. Use it for discipline. Even God's people, those who in truth are joined unto him, and are living a life of faith in the Son of God, are in perpetual danger ; there is peril to them even in the house of the Lord, that they shall be satisfied with external things ; that they shall be content with lip-service and a form of worship ; and that which doth captivate and attract the understanding may be enough for them. Let them bethink them again and again of this—" God is a Spirit." 256 UNSIMRITUALITY, ITS SIGNS, EVILS, AND REMEDY. Lastly, use it for comfort. We feel sometimes that our sorest trial is, that we cannot be altogether spiritual, that the soarings of the spirit are hindered, and that we are chained down to the things of time. There cometh a day when all this shall be ended, " God is a Spirit :" it will be the joy of his people to dwell with him ; they shall worship him in spirit and in truth ; and they shall need no more the beggarly elements whereunto now they are so much indebted. They shall need no more a formal observance of external worship. They shall want no more these poor sanctuaries to be built in which they may assemble only at stated times for the service of the Lord ; but every day shall be a sabbath unto them, and all eternity shall be their period of worship. In that heavenly Jerusalem ^vhercunto they are tending there shall be no temple, " for tiieLora God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, DUTY, PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE REV. T. MORTIMER, B.D. ST. MARK'S CHURCH, PENTONVILLE, SUNDAY MORNING, NOV 6. 183€. " Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life."— 1 John, ii. 24, 25. Had there not been a promise made by the Great Head of the church to liis faithful but feeble disciples in all ages — " Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world " — the [)reacher might well falter and hesitate in addressing you for the last Sabbath. He feels, however, that his blessed Master, according to his most true promise, having never left him, never will; and though unworthy of that grace and mercy which he has received while ministering amongst you the word of eternal life, he feels still that his Master is with him, his joy, his refuge, and his strength, in the day of his sorrow, and amid the difficulties of his present position. I have endeavoured, br<;thren, for my last Sunday morning's text, not to select what I thought would please you, but what I thought would profit you. There was a text which I quoted to you some very short time ago, and which I had thought of taking, though it was at first deferred for a season : it still expresses the feeling of my heart. But I can dare to quote it, though I don't think I could bear to preach upon it, and I don't think you could bear to hear a sermon upon it. The words you already know : I wish to introauce them in the present sermon ; I wish them to stand as a record of your love to your unworthy minister, and of his love to you : " The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me." But when I came to consider that we were on the present occasion more to look at your edification than at your gratiti- cation — that we were more to regard what was profitable than what was pleasant ; pleasing as it might be to tell of all the kindness received, and to acknowledge it with gratitude to God, I felt that VOL. VI. ■ 258 CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, DUTY, PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE. something more important demanded our notice on our last Sabbath morning — on the last Sabbath morning that we are to appear to- gether as a minister and his people, as a pastor and his flock. Let me then beg your attention to these words : " Let that there- fore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life." The Christian doctrine^ the Christian duty and privilege^ and, lastly, the Christian hofe — these are the three points which my text will naturally suggest. First, THE Christian doctrine. It \s the doctrine of the Father mid of the Son. There are many who think they are Christians, who, to a certain extent, do honour the Father, but who do no honour to the Son. Christianity, while it by no means robs the Eternal Father of his honour, at the same time promulgates the Saviour's declaration, that it is the pleasure of the Father that all men should do honour to the Son even as they do honour to the Father. Here, then, is the grand peculiarity of the Christian scheme : it not merely leads us unto the Father, but it leads us to the Son It is a dispensation ot which Christ is the head, is the chief subject is the principal person, to whom all eyes are to be directed ; while all honour, and glory, and majesty, and worship, and thanksgiving, and praise, are poured out upon the Father in all ages, at the foot of the mediatorial throne. Brethren, what is the doctrine of the church — of the church uni- versal ; the doctrine which Paul, and Peter, and James, and John, and all the college of the apostles preached ? It is salvation through the blood of the adorable Immanuel : out of Christ no salvation : approach to the Eternal Father through the merits of tlie Son, and in no other possible way : every other approach to the Eternal Father on the part of sinful man on earth is daring impiety and blaspheming mockery ; a man has no right to draw nigh to God the Eternal Father but through the merits and mediation of God the Son. Brethren, this is the doctrine of the primitive church ; this is the doctrine of the Protestant Church , this is the doctrine of our own episcopal church : and I trust in God that I look you boldly in the face this day, and say, this is the doctrine which from the first hour that this church was opened until now hath been preached in it Yes, brethren, these things you have heard from the beginning: I never asked a man to stand in this pulpit who I did not think CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, DUTY, PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE, 259 would preach to you that doctrine : no ; if I had, the Apostle tells you what to do with such a person : " If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed : for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker o( his evil deeds." Here, then, is the Christian doctrine : it is the doctrine of the Father, and the doctrine of the Son : and it involves in the union of the two the doctrine of t^e Holy Ghost. Brethren, we have laid stress upon this ; you know we have. We have sometimes annoyed some of you, and grieved some of you, because we told you that morality was one thing, and Christianity another ; because we told you that morality never saved any man — never did and never could. He who is going down to the grave, who is looking forward to the grave, trusting to this — that he has been very moral, that he has been very amiable, that he has been very kind, that he has sought to do good to others, that he has been a pattern of justice and uprightness, and all that the world calls excellent, and is resting on this for acceptance with his God, when his disembodied soul shall be ushered into the divine presence ; that man is holding a lie in his right hand, and a lie which, unless he give it up, will sink his immortal soul lower than the grave. Brethren, the doctrine of the church, the doctrine of the primitive church, the doctrine of the reformed Protestant Church, the doctrine of our own church, is, salvation from the Eternal Father, through the purchase and mediation of the second person in the Trinity, the adorable Redeemer, and brought home to the heart by the power, and work, and office of God the Holy Ghost. Our own church sets this forth to us, when she teaches, even in the days of our infancy — " I believe in God the Father, who hath made me and all the world ; in God the So?i, who hath redeemed me and all mankind ; and in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me and all the elect people of God." Will you, then, bear with me if I say, that, as I cannot but be aware, painful as it is to me to say it, yet I cannot but be aware that there are many before me who have statedly attended the wor- ship of God in this place, but who, alas ! to the present hour have never yet received the doctrine of the Father and of the Son ; have never fled to the adorable Redeemer for salvation through his blood. I shall never as your pastor in this place have another opportunity of battling the matter with you. I have often done that: I have ^hex\ come in the character of a combatant; I have drawn upon you the sword of the Spirit, the word of God : and I have sought in 260 CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, DtTT f PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE. the streno-th of Israel's God, to slay this Goliah, this chief error, this delusive, this damnable doctrine, that there was any salvation for man at all through his own merits, through his own works,, through his own goodness ; while I have set before you that all salvation must come through the merits and mediation of our adorable Lord. I appeal, then, from you (for I shall soon now have finished my work amongst you : I hope this afternoon, at three o'clock, to ad- minister, with my fellow-labourer in the Gospel, the holy supper of the Lord, and in the evening to preach my last sermon in this pulpit) — I appeal, then, from your censure to the opinion of my great Master and your great Judge at the last great day, I appeal, too, against your present indifference, your present hesitation, your present opposition, to what you yourselves shall think when you turn your pale face to the wall, and when medical attendants whisper to anxious friends, " It will soon all be over :" then some of you will think of your faithful though unworthy minister, who used often to tell you some very plain truths, who used often to bring these matters before you, and did not care a straw to please you, but would almost have laid down his life for you. This, then, is the doctrine of the Father and of the Son, involving in it the work, and glory, and agency, and offices, and grace, of the third Person in the adorable Trinity ; to whom, with the Father and the Son be glory everlasting. But having considered the doctrine of the church, let me, secondly, consider the duty and privilege of the church. You have heard these things repeatedly. What is the duty? "Let them abide in you." And what the privilege ? *' If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall con- tinue in the Son, and in the Father," Let it " abide in you :" but it must first obtain admission ; it must get into the heart before it can abide there. Ah ! and not only so, my brethren ; it must get into the heart, and it must take its mighty grasp of the heart ; it must take a mighty hold upon the soul. And so it does wherever it comes in truth ; wherever the doctrine of the Father and of the Son, preached in its simplicity, and applied by the power of the Holy Ghost, enters the soul, it enters there to have its own way, to turn out the power of sin ; first, to resist sin, and then to imprison sin, and ultimately, by the grace of God, to cast it out; and though in this world the Christian is never perfectly like his Lox-d, until he is delivered from the burden of the flesh, and has entered into God's CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, DUTV, PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE. 261 perfect joy and felicity : yet the grand object, the grand effort, the grand feeling and spiritual desire of every real Christian, is to be a saint indeed ; to be truly, deeply, increasingly, permanently, de- voted to God. It abides in him ; the doctrine of the Father and of the Son abides in him. But it does not abide in him as an uninfluen- tial dogma, as a sentiment unconnected with his feelings or with his practice. No ; wherever the doctrine of the Father and of the Son really enters the soul, it takes hold of the heart, it set up the throne of its Lord, and it commands subjection. Brethren, let this doctrine abide in you ; not merely abide with you. I thank God, I feel assured that it will ; for I am not going to make way for some cai-eless priest, who will care nothing about your souls : no ; my successor, already appointed to exercise this office, is a man of God, who will watch for your souls, as one that must give account. That text touched my heart before I came to church : " Watch for souls as those that must give account :" and I could not help re- membering last Sunday evening's text — " Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward." We have watched you, thank God, from the beginning, though with many in- firmities, though amidst much imperfection. The preacher can say with truth and honesty, he never preached a sermon to you which he thought came up to the grandeur, and glory, and excellence of the subject itself: but the doctrine has been with you, and see to it that it abide within you. These grand truths, these solemn, simple truths, involving the whole outline of scriptural truth, the sacred doc- trine of revealed religion, the depravity of the human 'heart, the necessity of an atoning sacrifice, and of the divine Spirit to assist our infirmities, to enlighten our understandings, to soften our hearts ; all this is included in the doctrine of the Father and of the Son : let it abide within you. And what a blessing it will be, if that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you ! You also shall continue in the Son and in the Father : and there you are safe ; and there you are blessed. Your privilege is to feel that your inheritance is in God. Your privilege is to challenge your spiritual enemies, while abiding in the doctrine of the Father and of the Son, and to say in the language of the apostle, " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? shall tribulation, or dis- 262 CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, DUTY, PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE. tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? As it is written. For thy sake we are killed all the day long ; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." But having considered, first, the Christian doctrine, and,'secondly, the Christian duty and privilege, we come, lastly, to consider the Christian hope. "This is the promise, even eternal life." When I first entered this church after its consecration, it was a solemn moment. I got into it alone ; there was not a soul here, but God and myself I remember very earnestly praying that God would give a special blessing upon the commencement of my ministry. I re- member well this hope that I had ; that some in this parish might have to bless God to all eternity that this church was ever built, ever opened, ever dedicated to God's service. Brethren, between that time and this, many changes have taken place amongst us. I have seen the pews change again and again those who were seated in them: I have seen the same families greatly changed: 1 have seen the garb of mourning go round from pew to pew, and only last Sunday I saw it in another. But where are some of our friends who used to worship with us here ? They are not with us, but they are with God : " This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life." They walked up and down in this world of sin as the servants of God, and candidates for immortality ; they went in and out amongst us as Christians ; they received the word of God in its power ; they brought forth the fruits of holiness : but where are they now ? I repeat it, they are in eternal life : and we, I trust, are on the way. How long our pilgrimage may be, or how short, we know not, nor would we care to know : the Lord is still with his people ; the Lord whom we serve is still with his children : "This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life." We are not content, we could not be content, to live here always. No ; we know there is a better land, a land of peace, of purity, and perfect bliss ; a land where the inhabitants feel no pain ; where none say, " I am sick ;" where the people are delivered from sorrow ; the land where the Lord shines forth in all his glory, where his people behold his face, where his people reflect his light, and where CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, DUTY, PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE. 2G3 his people sing of his salvation ; and there is no more death tnere, neither sorrow, nor sighing ; for the former things have passed away. Brethren, for God's sake and for your own, think what is implied in eternal life. It means something more and something better than this poor world can offer to your notice or for your acceptance. What is the world with all its pomp, with all its joy ? ,^ " A little sun, a little rain, And tlien night sweeps along the plain, And all things pass away : Man soon retires, yields up his trust; And all his hopes, and all his fears Lie with him in th e dust." This is true if he is not a Christian: but it is not true if he is one ; all his hopes then do not lie with him in the dust. No ; his hopes ascend with him into the eternal world, pierce through that veil which separates this world from a better, and press before him into the presence of his God. "This is the promise which he hath pro- mised us, even eternal life." If then, beloved people (I call you so for nearly twelve hours longer), if, my beloved flock, we have sometimes told you of the absolute necessity of receiving the Christian doctrine, and leading the Christian life, and fighting the Christian warfai-e, it has been for this reason : we believed that there was no other way of enjoying the peace of God ; and I believe there is no other way: there is no other path that leads to everlasting joy. Weigh, then, this matter ; dwell upon the Christian doctrine, upon the Christian duty and privilege: and often again may you be satisfied, in your sojourning through the wilderness, by the Christian hope ! And, now, gladly should I have had nothing to say on any other subject : glad should I have been, on this occasion, to have had not to ask you for any contributions : glad should I have been to bear the whole expense connected with the worship of God in this place, to have said at leaving you, " There, I will gladly bear the whole, and you shall have nothing to bear." This I had thought of; but after weighing it solemnly and seriously, I felt this : " No, it is not my duty to my motherless children ; it is not what m}' affectionate flock would wish." It has been so, beloved, that in carrying on the worship of God in this place, there have been some very consider- able expenses ; for which, when our churchwardens stated to me, very properly, that they had no funds in hand, I felt it my duty to say, "• I will be responsible," believing that my affectionate people 264 CHRISTIAN DOCTRlNli;, DUTV, PRIVILEGE, AND HOPE, will bear me out in the expense. I shall not enlarge on the nature or the amount of those expenses, except further to say this; that a large sum, somewhere about two hundred and fifty pounds, will be necessary, in order to liquidate certain outstanding expenses for this church. These I was anxious to see discharged before I left. Let it not be supposed for one moment, that this has been owing to any thing excessive on the part of those who have had to do with it. The professional persons engaged in it gave us their services in the most handsome manner ; the architect rendering us his help free of any expense ; and the builder, one of my dear congregation, gene- rously contributing altogether what would amount, I suppose, to about one hundred guineas, in order to show his love to the church where he worshipped, and to the minister upon whose ministry he attended. I mention this, that we may endeavour to follow his ex- ample, and, according to our ability, do what we can. ' But I am not going to press the matter : I never had to press you, and you never shall have to say that I do this day. Give what you can, but give it with a thankful and prayerful spirit ; give what you can to assist us in this work of the Lord. One thing I ought to mention, as, perhaps, some may wonder at the amount; but so it was that we were anxious, if you remember, to be all ready for the visit of our respected diocesan, when he came to confirm last year. It was found that what was undertaken would take considerably longer than we had anticipated ; and the men had to work night and day to get everything ready. I felt anxious that nothing should be wanting, that when our chief ecclesiastical officer came to visit us, he should see all in order, and not have to tell us of things that were wanting. Brethren, my object while I have been with you has not been to enrich myself, but to enrich you. God knows it, and I know it, and I trust you know it too. We can say with truth, " We have not sought yours, but you." We have not sought how we might enrich ourselves, but how we might, through the blessing of God, enrich you unto eternal life. We shall now, after contributing to the cause of our God, return home to our respective habitations ; and at three o'clock meet together to commemorate the dying love of our Lord and Master. And we hope, by and bye, amid the services of the upper world, amid the chaunts of angels, and cherubim, and seraphim, to look back upon all the way which the Lord our God hath led us here in the wilderness; and, I trust, we shall have then to say, " He hath done all things well." THE MINISTER'S PARTING PRAYEtt. REV. T. MORTIMER, B.D. ST. MARK'S CHURCH, PENTONVILLE, NOVEMBER 6, 1836. " And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God." — Judges, xvi. 28. We are often greatly mistaken in our calculations respecting sermons. That sermon does the most good which God is pleased to crown with the greatest blessing : and therefore, beloved brethren, as in the good providence of God, I am come to my last sermon among you, I am anxious to do this : I am anxious to set the pious praying in reference to those that are not pious. I know that it is little that one poor sinner can do ; but if I can set five hundred or a thousand, who really love and serve God, this night, if I can set them at prayer — fervent, ardent, earnest prayer to God, to crown this, my feeble, but last effort in this place with his blessing, then you may never know the good that will be done till the day of eternity. There is no telling what the God whom we serve may be pleased to do in answer to the prayers of his people. Vain is the help of man ; man's best efforts are useless and inefficient : but when God sends down his Spirit, and crowns the feeblest efforts with his blessing, who can calculate where the good shall end ? Let me, in directing your attention to this subject, consider, first, some points of similarity, and then some points of dissimilarity : and may the Holy Ghost assist us, and bless us, enabling us to speak and you to hear, to our mutual edification, and to the glory of his name. I was much struck with the second lesson : it was the proper chapter appointed as the second lesson by the church for this even- ing's service ; it was not one of my selection : but had it been of my selection, had 1 felt myself at liberty to have taken any chapter in the Bible, on such an occasion, I know not where I could have found a more suitable one. The Gospel of Jesus is the same in all ages: ministers and their people are united by the same ties: ministers are sent forth by the great Head of the church ; they are 266 THE MINISTER'S PARTING PRAYER. the labourers in word and doctrine, to do their patient work, to finish their allotted labour, and then to render up an account of their stewardship when they are to be no longer stewards. But I turn to the text. In the first place, here is the effort of a man under deep affliction. Samson was now, and had been for some time, in a state of deep affliction : the Philistines had treated him most cruelly; he felt the loss that he had been called to suffer; he was placed under circumstances most discouraging, most de- j.ressing. But a Christian always knows where to look in the day of trouble ; a servant of God is never left to himself in the day of affliction : banish him where you will, send him into exile, send him even among the enemies of the Lord, send him even from his own dear native land, place him even in Patmos — the Holy Ghost, as lie did with St. John, can visit him there ; and there, hearing the words of mercy and truth, he shall be enabled to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But, secondly, it was an effort of a man v^ho felt that his time was sho)'t, and wished to improve the short time that remained. He loved the people of Israel ; he longed to strike a blow upon their enemies ; he felt that his time was short: he was a man in deep affliction, but he felt no time was to be lost. O that we were always anxious to improve our opportunities! Here is an opportunity given me for which I must give an account before the Judge of quick and dead. Here is a mass of human beings passing hastily through this world in their passage to another; some prepared to meet their God, many totally unprepared, far from Christ, unacquainted with the knowledge of salvation, or the remission of sins ; and if they die as they are, they will be totally undone. O, brethren, behold the state of the case, and offer up your fervent prayers that the effort may not be in vain in the Lord. But, thirdly, here is the effort of a very hold and daring faith; I say of a very bold and daring faith. There appeared nothing but difficulties : true, he himself was to be sacrificed if the effort suc- ceeded ; but mark, it was by a supernatural agency that he was assisted, I doubt not, in this matter. It was a bold and daring act of faith ; and, in his blindness, while the Philistines were making sport of him, while they had him out in order that they might treat him with ridicule and with contempt, there was a secret intercourse going on between God and his soul. Here are the very words that he used in his approach to Jehovah; here is the very request that he made of the great and the infinite God. Brethren, I am quite sure, if we THE minister's PARTING PRAYER. 267 were more daring for God, we should be more successful. We are often pale-faced cowards : we are thrown in the way of worldly men ; we have an opportunity of speaking for God ; the occasion demands it ; the men of the world expect it from us ; they know what our principles are, they know what our conduct ought to be; but we are afraid of giving offence. Is a skilful surgeon afraid of giving offence when he tells the patient that such and such means must be instantly adopted or life is in jeopardy, that life is good for nothing, that it will be sacrificed if such and such means are not instantly adopted 1 And why is he listened to so thankfully 1 Why is he listened to so thankfully ? And why are his means, however dis- tressing and painful, readily submitted to ? For this reason ; that men know the value of their bodies; but, God knows, they don't know the value of their souls. No ; men do not know the value of the never-dying soul — the soul that must exist to all eternity in conscious happiness or in conscious woe ! Why then are we not more valiant for truth in the world ? Why are we not more bold and daring to take a decided step, whatever may be the consequences to ourselves — a decided step, when called to do it in the way of duty ? Lastly, with regard to the similarity of the case, let us hope that our attempt in the name of the Lord may also be crowned with success. If Samson asked for help from God, it was a peculiar iuncture ; it was a crisis in the history of the man and in the history of the nation. He called upon God to help him ; God heard his prayer, and endowed him with supernatural strength : he made the mighty effort, and God gave the mighty blessing. Such, then, was the case of Samson. He did not go, trusting in nimself. It was a day of great trial and of great difficulty, but it was a day of daring faith, of mighty effort in entire dependence upon God. Brethren, what a solemn spectacle do we present, assembled for the last time as a pastor and a flock! Behold, here we are gathered together. We must meet again ; but where ? At the bar of the final Judge of quick and dead. We must meet together, but for what purpose ? To pray and to preach ? No ; to be judged for the deeds done in the body. The great white throne shall descend ; the dead, small and great, shall appear before God ; the judgment shall be set, and the books shall be opened ; and every soul of man now present, and every soul of man that hath ever lived, shall be there : you and I shall consequently be there. Brethren, are there not some who, if they were to die to-night, would be eternally lost ? I would to God I could think that wore not so : it would rejoice my 206 THE minister's parting prayer, soul to leave a people, all of whom 1 could hope, in the judgment of charity, were devoted to God. But I pray you remember the words, " Examine yourselves whether ye be of the faith." Do not be content except with satisfactory evidence. Go into the matter thoroughly ; try your own hearts ; judge your own selves ; for, if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged of the Lord. The effort on the present occasion you know, and I know, is one made under deep affliction. At first I thought that one sermon this day would be as much as I ought to preach ; but I considered that time was short, and eternity was long. I began to think, " Who knows but some who have never before listened to the word may listen to it now ? Who knows but some that have turned a deaf ear hitherto, may now, in answer to my people's prayers, receive the Holy Spirit, and begin to live a new and a holy life ?" But let me turn to the points of dissimilarity, Samson, led by the Spirit of God to punish the wickedness of the Philistines, was seeking their destruction : heaven knows that we are seeking your salvation. We do wish indeed to bring you down, but it is in order to raise you up : we do wish to alarm you, but it is in order subse- puently to comfort you : we do wish to shew you your danger, but it is in order to lead you to flee for refuge to the hope set before you in the Gospel. Again, Samson came to avenge injuries that had been offered unto him : we come to return thanks for many acts of kindness shown to us : and yet why do we not spend the greater part of our sermon in acknowledging those things ? Because we feel we have something more important to do. Many a soul is at stake now within these sacred walls. I could go up to some persons, if it were proper, if the decencies and proprieties of life permitted it, I could go up to some persons, and I could say to some, " You are the man that I have been seeking to bring down in the sense of sin, and to lead you to call upon God," I could go up to another, and I could say, " I have watched you narrowly ; I have seen how you have been going on, and I am forced to report this ; that I leave you with a heart as hard as a rock ; I leave you with a heart as cold as ice ; I leave you as far from God almost as it is possible to be on this side the grave," I could say so to some ; and I could say so to some who have been very kind to me ; I could say so to some who have been most respectfCil to me ; I could say so to some who have sorught to make my cup overflow with comfort : and O what do I want ? To see them drinking of the cup of salvation ; to see them THE minister's PARTING PRAYER. 269 tasting of the waters of life ; to see them receiving the consolations of the Holy Spirit, I come then to make the effort : I know that all that man can do is in vain, and therefore I say, " Strengthen me, O strengthen me this once, O God." It is the last effort. Yes, there are many in this church of whom I believe they will never hear my feeble voice any more as long as they live, warning them of their danger, and telling them where to look for help and salvation. Ah, brethren ! if God do not help us, we are met together in vain. I have lived long enough to learn this, that the good that is done on the earth, the Lord doth it himself; and unless it please Almighty God to send down his Holy Spirit, all our efforts are in vain. Further, Samson, in offering up the prayer that he did offer, and in making the effort that he did make, spread death and desolation around him ; we wish to spread life and salvation around us. We believe, that if our people pray for us, our God will bear testimony to the word of his grace. We believe that, inefficient as we are, our God is able to send down such a rich effusion of his Holy Spirit as we have never known before in this place. Come, lift up your hearts. Are there not some parents whose children are here, but they are growing up without religion ? Pray for their conversion now. Is there not one case — more than one, two, three, five, or ten — is there not the individual who is deeply interested about some beloved relative — the husband for the wife, or the wife for the hus- band — the parent for the child, or the child for the parent — the brother for the sister, or the sister for the brother ? The word of God has been preached ; they have heard sermons delivered ; but, alas ! alas ! there they are as far from God as ever. Can I reach them to-night ? No ; but if you pray God for me I may. If the truly devout, the truly sincere and consistent Christians will lift up their hearts for a special blessing, and for the parting blessing, I believe before God that a parting blessing and a special blessing Avill be given. O, it may be replied by the man of the world, " Why need you put yourself so much out of the way for us ? Don't be concerned about our souls." No, I would not, if you could be concerned about them yourselves. I could be much more easy, I could be much more peaceful and happy, if I knew that all were under real concern about their everlasting welfare. But how many do I leave just as worldly as ever ! At church to-night — at cards to-morrow; in the house of God to-night — in the theatre, perhaps, within twenty-four hours. Gay, trifling, thoughtless crea- tures, passing rapidly through this world in their way to another, 270 THE minister's parting prayer. unconvinced, unconverted, and then, by and bye, the stroke of death comes; they feel themselves prisoners under his grasp; they trv to shake it off; but there is no shaking it off: and what then ? Then the clergy are sent for ; then, all in a few hours, the work of conversion is to be hurried through ; persons are to be satisfied of their eternal state ; they then look for the consolations of religion. Ah ! my dear hearers, don't deceive yourselves ; if you live a worldly life, YOU must expect to die a dreadful death ; if you turn away your ears from listenino- to the Gospel now, don't expect consolation from the Gospel in the hour and moment of your deepest horror. " Because I have called, and ye refused ; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh ;" and you know whose words they are. They are, perhaps, the most dreadful words in the Bible ; because they are words of Almighty God, the God of infinite pity and of infinite mercy — making mock of the sinner who had long refused this mercy before, making mock of the sinner in the day of his distress, and refusing to listen to his prayer. Brethren, do not trifle with God ; do not trifle with the preached Gospel. Remember, this is a matter for your life : God give you grace that you may listen to it. But here is my hope : I do anticipate that some who have hitherto been careless and unconcerned, and to whom I have been able to render no spiritual good, may from my successor receive the word of life and truth. Yes, you are not going to be deprived in this place of a faithful ministry. Let me give you this as my parting advice: stand by your minister ; hold up his hands, cheer his heart : he will preach the better for it : let him see a united people, and he will come among you with the greater delight. Let him find that you are ever glad to support the varied and various objects of religious charity which he brings before you : I hope I shall never hear that the collections of St Mark's decline : I hope I shall always find this report concerning you, that you keep up your good character, your good character for Christian liberality. But above all, pray for him ; above all, I say, pray for him, if you want to get a blessing for youi own souls. Pray for your minister : I will engage he will come among you in the spirit of prayer. A truly Christian letter, which I had from him when first the matter was announced to him, told me the spirit and temper of the man of God who is coming to labour in this place. At the same time I doubt not your prayers will follow my dear fellow-labourer in the Gospel who is going to THE MINISTERS PARTING PRAYKR. 271 oe curate at the mother churcli. I am sure we all must feel under great obligations to him for the faithful and laborious manner in which he has discharged the duties of his ministry while he has been amongst you. It istsomewhat distressing to think that we have both been recently called to suffer the same affliction ; and our sorrows and our trials have called forth the sympathy of our people in away that I believe we shall both never forget to the day of eternity. Yes, so hold up your new minister ; comfort his heart, sympathize with him in his sorrows, if God visits him with them ; and show him that he has a people on whose love and whose liberality he may calculate But to turn back to the subject before us : the eiFort of Samson was a last effort. How many Sunday nights, when that clock has stood whereabouts it now stands, approaching the hour of eight — how many Sunday nights for nine years have I looked round upon this conorresration, or at le,a5iit the conffrejjation assemblingr in this place, and thought thus : Wliat has been done this sabbath-day ? What wanderers have been reclaimed ? What mourners have been comforted 7 What saints have been edified in their most holy faith ? What has been done ? And then, as we have usually con- cluded at the hour of eight, I have thought thus — Another sabbatli is over : and thus — Another sabbath is over. There came first our sabbaths for eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, and then for twenty-nine, and then for thirty, and so on even until now : and how many who used to worshirwwith us have gone to their eternal reward ! O that it may please God to grant that some might this nio-ht be called effectuaJly by the power of the Snint to forsake their sins, and to turn to God. How many young people do I leave behind me without any thing like saving religion ! You who are to be the pa- rents of another generation, and to rise before long to take the place ot fathers and mothers going off the stage of life. O my dear young friends, often have I in this place tried to seize hold of the youthful heart ; and, thank God, it has not been told you in vain. I was yesterday looking over a large packet of pastoral letters received from my flock, and I could not help shedding tears of joy and gra titude for the number of young men whose religious history was therein brought before me, who once were darkness, but who now are light in the Lo'rd — who once were afar off, but are brought nigh by the blood of Christ. Samson made his feeble effort ; and what was the consequence ? Some who came to make sport were the very persons who fell in consequence of his prayer. And who can tell but that some pooi scoffer who came within these sacred walls 272 THE minister's parting prayer. to-night with the intention, if it were possible, to make some dis- turbance, but he found the people too devout, he found the people too prayerful, he found the people too attentive to observe it — who can tell but that such an one may be taught the error of his way 1 what joy would it be to me to know that some scoffing infidel had, in answer to your prayers this night, been led to seek foi mercy ; this night led, as he goes out of the church, to say from the bottom of his heart, " God be merciful to me a sinner !" Well, brethren, I have done ; I have finished the work that God in this place has given me to do. I have finished it with many in- firmities : I have all along had to cast myself upon your indulgence. 1 never came to you upon the stilts of professional importance : 1 always had to tell you that I was a poor helpless sinner, as helpless and as sinful as any of you : but I tried " to hold up a large cross" — (to borrow a term which a dear friend of mine in one of his pub- lications makes use of) — a large cross ; not a large crucifix — no, but full salvation through the blood of Jesus, a rich, and a free, and a mighty Gospel. Well, may we all meet in a blessed eternity ! May none of you at the last day have to wish that God had never set me here ! I have spoken plain things : I have never sought to please you — I have sought to save you ; and I hope to hear good tidings of your faith and charity ; that you are a united people. O don't be a divided people. I don't know any thing more painful than that to a faithful minister. When I found, some few years ago, that there were divi- sions, and heart-burnings, and jealousies among my flock, I wept over it in secret; and so did that dear sainted woman who was then the companion of my sorrow, and the joy of my heart. And it was then that I determined, if the good providence of God opened me a way, that I would go from a scene of division and party-spirit. Let my successor come to enjoy better things : let him come to find a people rallying around him, praying much for him to God, and holding up his hands : and then I will engage for him, he shall be found to come to you in all the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace. Long years be granted to him ! Great success rest upon him, and upon all labouring in this district, and upon all faithful ministers of Christ throughout the world ; tilt at length the last sinner is brought to God, the last soul converted from the error of his way, the trumpet sounding, the dead rising, the saints meeting the Lord in the air, and the faithful servants of God going to be for ever with their Lord ! 273 THE NATURE AND DESIGN OF A DIVINE REVELATION.' REV. J. BLACKBURN, SILVER STREET CHAPEL, OCTOBER 6, 1836. " He spake by the mouth of his lioly prophets, which have been since the world began." Luke i. 70. That there exists in the universe by which we are surrounded an intelligent first cause of all things — the immortal, independent, and unchangeable Jehovah, is a proposition which, I suppose, there is scarcely any one in this assembly who will dispute. The more we study the works of that blessed Being in the scenes of nature, the more we shall be impressed with a deep and profound veneration, not only of the power, the sagacity, and the wisdom, but of the goodness of the great Father of all. But whilst we are thus taught by the contemplation of his works, that he is powerful, wise, and benevolent, we learn little of his moral perfections, and nothing> of his spiritual. We know not what service he requires at our hand, nor what we must do to secure the favour which he alone can bestow. Our own eternal destinies, also, are alike uncertain and obscure, for we are but of yesterday, and know nothing. It is obvious, indeed, that one generation passes away, and another cometh ; but whither they go, and how they shall return again, and what is their final destiny, are all matters of perfect uncertainty on the principles of natural religion ; clouds and darkness rest upon them. We may therefore attend with gratitude to the subject we are this evening called to contemplate — thenature and design of a divine revelation. The word "revelation," which is used to express the supernatural communication of truth to the minds of men, properly signifies the throwing back of the veil. This is the very idea that we shall now seek to illustrate, because we believe that Jehovah, by the inspiration of his holy servants, " the prophets who have been since the world began," has unveiled to our view the mysteries of Ills nature and government, or in other words, has employed men • First of a Course of Thirteen Lectures, by ministers in connexion with the Christian Instruction Society. vol.. VI. T 274 THE NATURE AND DESIGN OF A DIVINE REVELATION. to be the channels of communicating his mind and will to their fellow-men from the apostacy of our race. It is my intention, to-night, with all possible brevity, to show you that such a revelation is most desirable ; that such a revelation is actually possessed ; and that such a revelation is truly beneficial. In the first place, I am anxious to show you that a revelation FROM God was most desirable. It is so on many accounts, but T will only present to you two considerations. First, because the uncertainty of human opinions has been realized. When the notions of men are examined concerning the nature of God, and the principles by which their own conduct is to be governed, it is obvious that they are at once vague, contradictory, and absurd. We find in many barbarous nations that the existence of the Creator is unknown. It has, indeed, been often affirmed, that all men believe that there is a God ; but among the African and Indian tribes individuals have been found who appeared to have no conception of a great First Cause at all. The majority of man- kind, however, have such a conviction ; and how they have obtained it is an interesting question which we need not at the present moment discuss. It is obvious, that where men have the knowledge of the existence of the sreat Parent of the universe, it must either be by the traditions of their forefathers, handing down the fact which had been known by preceding generations from the primeval age, or else by a process of induction from the works of creation which they contemplate on every hand. Now it is very certain that individuals may know something about the existence of God, who know nothing about the duty they owe to him and their fellow-men. It is said, that these may be ascertained by the inductions of reason. That is at best a very precarious, and, I think I can show you, is a hopeless process. Men, you say, are to deduce the principles of their duty to God and their fellows from the testimony of nature. But how is this to be done? Men are confessedly diversified in their powers of reasoning: some have a natural acuteness, and others are remarkably obtuse ; some have had their intellectual faculties sharpened by discipline and an extended education, and others have had no educational advantages at all. Now, it is said, Let men infer their duty from the works of God. But how is it possible that men who bring to the process such a great diversity of intellectual power can effect this ? It is like assigning to a company of men the performance of a certain THE NATURE AND DKSION OK A DIVINE lUiVELATION. 275 mechanical operation ; for which one man may possess some skill, n hile the others arc perfectly ignorant of the art ; one may possess tools, and the rest n6t have an instrument wherewith to work. It scarcely appears sane, then, to imagine that men, characterized by such extradi-dinary diversity of intellectual power, can, by the pro- cesses of reasoning, obtain a just knowledge of God, and their duty to him and their fellow-men. Again, such a j^rocess requires leisure. Now in the state of society on which we are thrown, every man has his daily occupation; one is going to his farm, and another to his merchandize ; and most individuals find they have not leisure for the ordinary occupations of life, much less for those profound inquiries which might engross their time and attention for years. To say, then, to a labouring mechanic, who has to toil twelve or fourteen hours every day to provide an honest maintenance for himself and his family. You must read, and examine, and reason for yourself, in order to ascer- tain from the works of creation your duty to God and men, is alike impracticable and absurd. How can he do it ? Then it is to be remembered, that if men had the leisure, they have not the dispo,