M\Vt^i oi *' ^"^''^wif Sc„,.^ IRINCETOIJ. N. J. '% Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. Division .S^,/i,'ii ^^■^esrea. hj-J. 'fflUJlElL Ti^lMi IfQ;-; iTOfliTT or TiAMi SERMONS LIFE OF CHRIST. BY REV. SAMUEL W^ISHER, D.D., LL.D. CINCINNATI : K O B E R T C L A 11 K E & CO, 1877. This volume, publislied by request, is dediciited to the friends and parishioners of the hito Rev. Samuel W. Fisher, D.D. The sermons it contained are a se- lected portion of a course written and delivered while resident in Utica. The final sermon of this course closed his ministry. As these discourses could not have the benefit of his own careful revision, it is hoped that whatever is crude or unfinished will be received with indulgence. Cincinnati, May 5, 1877. (Hi) CONTENTS. I. The preparations for the coming of Christ — the fi'llxess of TIME , 1 IT. The surEUNATURAi 22 III. Mary, the mother ok Jesis 42 IV. The WISE mex 60 V. "Who taught Jesus , 81 VI. John the Baptist 102 VIT. The baptism of Jesus 120 VIII. The temptation (no. I) — the divine and iuman 137 IX. The temptation (no. 2) — Christ led into the wilderness I.'i4 X. Temi'tatfon (no. 3) — the tempter 170 XI. The temptation (no. 4) 1S7 XII. Ox THE TEMPTATION (XO. 5) THE SECOND TEMPTATION 203 (v) VI CONTENTS. XIII. The temptation 222 XIV. His pi..\N , 240 XV. The FiusT disciples^their training 260 XVJ. The calling of the apostles 279 XVII. The apostles (no. 2) 297 XVIII. His teachings (no. 1) — His character as a teacher or PROPHET 317 XIX. The teachings of Christ (no. 2) — the parables 332 XX. His teachings (no. 3) — His conversational discourses 349 XXI. His teachings (no. 4) — His last discourse 367 XXII. The last scenes — IIis agony and his trial 384 XXIII. The crucifixion. , 401 XXIV. After death and before the resurrection 418 XXV. The resurrection 434 XXVI. The resurrection — The direct proof from the narratives.... 449 < OF ■ ■ o:i SERMONS ON THE Lfl^E I. THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMING OF CHRIST — THE FULLNESS OF TIME. " But vhen the fullness of the time was co)iu\ God sent forth his Son." — Galatians. iv, 4. It has often been questioned why the incarnation took place just when it did ; why was not tlie Cross planted in Eden after the fall ? or before the flood ? or in the time c£ Abraham or Moses ? JSTow we are per- fectly sure that for all the divine acts there are good and suflicient reasons — reasons which, when once they arc fairly apprehended, will vindicate the Avisdom of God. There must be reasons for the time of the in- carnation, all-suthcient to warrant it. The text simply declares that, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son. The direct inference from this statement is that there was a process of preparation going on fropi the time of the fall for this event. A series of events was occurring, each occupying a por- tion of time, until at length the scries was completed ; the measure of time needful was tilled up ; the condi- tions essential to the preparation for the event were all met ; then, in this fullness of the time, the incarna- tion took place. Now we know that, in reference to other great events, SERMONS ON THE God made large preparations. The creation of man was a most marked event. But for this God made the most elaborate preparations. He first created the elements of the world ; and then he put these elements through a protracted process of development and organ- ization ; sometimes arresting the process by a divine act ; sometimes producing new organizations; then ming- ling all together again, in seeming chaos ; and thus he ribbed the world with granite and trap ; compacted the limestone out of organic remains ; bedded the coal a little way below the surface of the earth ; injected the gold and silver and iron into the veins of rock ; and when this vast work was accomplished, then he gave the earth its present form, and covered it with grass and trees, and placed upon it the animal life that now roams over it; and then, as the final and crowning act, he created man himself. All this elaborate and mirac- ulous preparation he made for the creation of man. But the incarnation is a grander event than the cre- ation ; and for this, therefore, his preparations extend down through four thousand years, until the fullness of the time had come, when he sent forth his Son. The Scriptures, indeed, do not specify in what these prep- arations consist. But they have left us free to gather from the history of the world what in all probability were some of the reasons for thus delaying the in- carnation. We can not, indeed, exhaust the subject; we may be mistaken in some things ; we may not here reach the fundamental and most urgent reason which exists in the divine mind for this act ; but we may, by looking at the world in its history, reach some conclusions which to us seem conclusive and sufHcicnt. Jesus rebuked the learned men of his day LIFE OF CHRIST. 3 for thoAv blindness to the signs of the times which were to inaugurate the coming of tlie Messiah, and thereby warranted the inference that the providence and word of God sufficiently indicated that the fullness of the time had come. Let us, then, in the spirit of sincere inqui- rers, see if we can not discern some of tliese processes of preparation by which the world was to be prepared for the coming of Christ. Here, at the outset, we state a principle funda- mental to the right understanding of the text — the principle that God rules among all nations, and has done so from the beginning, permitting, control- ing, or directing in all the atfairs of men ; that in all this he has had a direct and primary reference to the incarnation of Jesus. The opposers of Chris- tianity do not deny that his life constituted a great era in the world's history. One of the most popular, if not the most acute of these, says " that all history is incom})rehcnsible witliout him." lUit we differ from them totally in regard to the sense in which this is true. They hold that Christ is only one of the niorst remarkable elements in the development of humanity — a single factor in the account of human progress, himself part of the development of the race, and con- tributing largely to its future. We hold to no such tlieory of development. We hold that God permitted humanity to unfold itself under various influences in order to show the absolute necessity of the incarna- tion for the salvation of man and vindicate Ilis wis- dom in the great plan of redemption. We believe that all the lines of history thus converge on Christ, and that from him history before and since his coming receives its character and its solution : that if you put SERMONS ON THE Christ aside as a supernatural creation on whom, as on a pivot, the divine administration over the race centers, history is a chaos, without light, Avithout order, without any intelligible end. On this subject I propose to dwell more fully in a subsequent discourse, when I come to bring the theory of natural develop- ment under review. And I state it now merely to in- dicate .the position of Christianity as recognizing the whole history of the world previous to Christ as de- signed to refer to his coming. (I siniply state here, without stopping to justify it, that I mainly regard the end of creation to be the harmonious unfolding of the divine attributes in the government of free, intelligent beings, thus revealing the highest wisdom of God, " That even unto princi- palities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.") In addressing you on this subject I shall follow in the main two lines of thought. 1. It was the purpose of God in the history of the world to demonstrate the absolute necessity of the incarnation in order to the elevation and salvation of man. The necessity for the sacrifice on the cross in order that God might be just while He justified the believer, existed in the very na- ture of the divine government; but the feeling of this necessit}^ so far as man was concerned, in order to his personal elevation and salvation, could not have been so plainly demonstrated by the. appearance of Christ immediately after the fall. Hence God sufi'ered the world to pass through all sorts of experiments and try all kinds of methods to purify and save itself. And not until these were exhausted, and the race Avas plunged into utter ruin, did Jesus appear. LIFE OF CHRIST. (1.) Christiaiiity assumes that God originally made a revelation of Himself to man. lie gave him as his heritage the great primary truths of religion. lie taught him at the tirst Ilis pure law. He assured him of pardon through a hloody sacrifice if he would only believe and obey. He instituted sacrifices to hold up this idea before Ids mind. Now what was the result? Did he preserve the truth? Did lie live up to it? Did he rise to and maintain the position to any great extent of a firm believer in it? To ask the question is to answer it. History answers it with wonderful emphasis. The men who mocked Noah when he was building the ark answer it. The gods, the goddesses — 30,000 of them in Greece alone — answer it. The im- pure rites, the damnable untruths and misrepresenta- tions of the Infinite answer it. " Look," says John Howe, "upon the fragments of that curious sculpture which once adorned the palace of that great king; the relics of common nations ; the living prints of some undefaced truth; the fair ideas of things; the yet legible precepts that relate to practice. Behold with what accuracy the broken pieces show them to have been engraven by the finger of God, and how they now lie torn and scattered, one in this dark cor- ner, another in that, buried in hea^is of dirt and rub- bish. There is not now a system, an entire table of co- herent truths to be found, or a frame of holiness, but some shivered parcels. And if any, with great toil and labor, apply themselves to draw out here one piece and there another, and set them together, they serve rather to show how retpiisite the divine work- manship was in the original composition, than for present use to the excellent purpose for which the 6 SERMONS ON THE whole was first designed." So low had the world de- scended, that even Pilate, an intelligent lioraan, could sneeringly ask Jesus, "What is truth?" as if truth were an imagination, a nonentity, which none could possess or demonstrate. This experiment had been tried. The original revelation of God without a liv- ing Christ had failed. Broken up into fragments, overloaded with false human conceits, detiled with monstrous impurities, it ministered only an infinitesi- mal truth to the prodigious structures of error. And the living truth must become incarnate in order to save the soul. This fact is of itself enough to establish the neces- sity of the incarnation with the most thoughtful. Yet with many it has always been a cherished theory that there were other forces that could be made to supplement or take the place of this primitive relig- ious truth. It was necessar}', therefore, in order to a full demonstration of the inca[»acity of man to purify and save his soul without a living Redeemer, that these forces should have a fair trial. (2.) It has been supposed that civil organizations might, in some way, assist men to become truly re- ligious and prepare them for the life to come. This experiment, therefore, must be tried. It has been tried on a large scale, in various forms, extending through many centuries. Governments of all kinds, pure democracies, republics, oligarchies, limited and unlim- ited monarchies, have all tried their hand at the re- ligious and moral elevation of the people. The very principles on which our own government is founded, and which we sometimes assume to be wholly original, have been known and substantially acted upon in the LIFE OF CHRIST. past. !Now you are to bear in mind that all these governments have uniformly aimed to be the conserv- ators of religion, to train the people in religious ideas. The idea of Church and State is not modern. It is as old as the government of the patriarchs. There was not a government in existence, before the coming of Christ, that did not deem it a matter of obligation for it to maintain religious worship and educate the peo- ple in religious truth. What was the result ? So long as the primitive faith remained in force, these govern- ments grew strong and powerful. But in the very process of development, the truth itself was gradually corrupted, the people sunk lower and lower, until the whole head was sick and the whole heart faint. Igno- rance of the true God,'ignoran(!e of the wa}' of salva- tion, idolatr}-, ceremonies, superstition, took the ]>lace of knowledge and piety. The few who retained the simplicity of faith were in despair; the multitude were the slaves of superstition. The experiment of gov- ernment as a supplementary aid to religion was a sad failure. The ruins of those old cities are not more striking witnesses of the decay of their governments than were the people themselves at the coming of Christ of the powerlessness of this force to elevate and save. (3.) But there are other forces relied upon as suffi- cient to assist in the elevation and salvation of men. A knowledge of the arts and sciences, literature and ])hilosophy, will refine and purify the people and raise in them true ideas of God and religion and make them penitent believers. This experiment was to be tried. It has been tried. In middle Asia and in Egypt there was very early a vast advance in in- 8 SERMONS ON THE tellectual development. Then followed Greece and Rome. The line arts, as well as those more practical, attained a perfection never since surpassed. If Athens as she was in the day of her glory could be unvailed before us ; if you could stand in the forum and look round upon the temples, palaces, and statues that cov- ered the hills of Rome, when Christ was born, we should see a beauty and grandeur in art incomparably superior to that presented by any city in Christendom, In the refinements and luxurious accommodations of ordinary life, the palace of Nero surpassed all modern edifices. Men go wild in their admiration of the few specimens of ancient sculpture that have survived the changes of time. In literature, Homer and Virgil still sing. In oratory, Demosthenes and Cicero still thun- der. In history, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Tacitus are still read. In philosophy, the greatest modern in- tellects sit at the feet of Plato and Aristotle. The development of mind in all these directions was amazing. All that mind could do without Christ, they did do. What was the result? In one word, corruption — death. Art and science corrupted the sim- ple faith of the people, and brought in superstition. Then philosophy came and undermined the supersti- tious worship of the ages in the minds of the most thoughtful, without leaving anything to take its place. Literature and art misrepresented and distorted the original revelation of God. 'Philosophy vailed God himself from the world ; corruption of manners kept pace with the corruption of the truth ; until vice, unbelief, and superstition held high carnival among men. All these experiments had been tried. All the forces Avhich could be relied on to give men a fuller LIFE OF CHRIST. knowledge of God, to preserve and make effective that wliich was originally intended for man's salva- tion, liad been tried, and tried on a large and varied scale. They were all failures. The world was sink- ing into utter chaos, night, corruption ; nothing was left for it but to go on degenerating lower and lower. Truth was gone, faith was dying ; and the passions of men, without these, overleaped the boundaries set by a refined selfishness, and the end was death. It was time for a new creation — for a new revelation of God — for the divine Redeemer to appear. The full- ness of time had come. The natural and originally divinely-given resources of men were exhausted. The way to heaven was blocked up; God was a myth, a distortion, a natural law, a nonentity to the soul. The Avhole creation groaned and travailed in pain ; the noblest, minds unconsciously hoped and prayed for his coming. He came. And now, before I state to you the characteristics of this fullness of time, in reference to the world at large, which made it the chosen period of God for sending forth his Son, permit nie to call your attention to tlie special preparations for this event in the Hebrew nation. The promise of ]\ressiah had been made to our first parents immediately after the fall, and sacrifices were instituted to show that without the shedding of blood there was no remission of sin. All along to the deluge, God led his own people who held fast to their integrity. But when, after that event, the pro- cess of corruption had recommenced, he chose Abra- ham, and renewed the promise, giving it this limita- tion, that in his seed the nations of the world were to be blessed. The whole subsequent history of this people 10 SEEMONS ON THE to the time of Christ takes its character from this promise. "Without this you can no more understand or account for it than you can for the vegetation of the workl without the sun. In the fulfillmeut of this promise, you trace a silvery line of superuatural in- terference and revelation to the time of Christ. Taken to Egypt, they swell into the proportions of a nation. Amidst the terrors of ten supernatural plagues, through the parted waters of the sea, mar- shaled h}^ the grandest figure in their wliole history, they escape to the wilderness. Here, in the presence of the pillar of cloud and fire, dwelling for forty years, the new theocratic institutions are imbedded in the heart of the people, and they enter Canaan a strong, com- pact, well-ordered nation. The tendencies to sink down to the level of the idolatrous nations are coun- teracted by the written law, by a succession of in- spired prophets, by fierce judgments, and temporary exile. Meanwhile, the heart of the nation is inspired by the grand promise of a Messiah given to Abra- ham. This promise glows brighter from age ; the faint aurora blushes and glows in anticipation of the morn- ing; John appears, the star that heralds the sun and tells that the night is past. The nation, in fear of foreign subjection, trembles, and looks upward to God for deliverance, and anxiously longs and waits for her anointed king. The prophecies are studied with a fearful interest ; they are discussed on every hillside, and in every habitation. The one vision that fills every eye is the reigning, conquering Messiah. This truth, through all the vicissitudes of national exist- en-ce, has never been lost. Starting in Eden, renewed in Abraham, the grand fact of redemption for the LIFE OF CHRIST. 11 world, to preserve which and prepare the way for its realization this nation was set apart, has held on its course ; has inspired the hopes of millions ; has given voice to prophets ; has been chorused in national psalms ; has tilled with anticipated glory the sacred temple. The hour has come ; the place is prepared ; Jesus is born ; the scepter so long uplifted, waning at times, for a short period lowered to the Assyrians, next in the hand of Ilerod, is seized by the infant king as the sign of a spiritual and universal supremacy. Herod dies, Tiie national constitution, its great pur- pose accomplished, is dissolved. The Roman eagles are on Mount Moriah ; the Roman lictors_ and fasces are in the hall of judgment. The national heart throbs convulsively for a little, and then is still forever. Judah is dead ; but Shiloli has come, and the law goes forth from Jerusalem to till the world with light, JSTow, then, let us look at some of the characteris- tics of this fullness of time, Avhich rendered it spec- ially fit to be the time when God should send forth his Son. And, lirst, you will notice the populousness of it. Had Christ appeared when the earth was unpeo- pled, and but a few hundreds or thousands roamed over it, the main elements of its power would have been wanting. Seen by few, heard by few, the Cross would have been a transient vision ; it could not have planted itself in the heart of a world of living men. But now millions, hundreds of millions, waited for that vision. The light from Calvary could be seen over the earth ; the voice from Calvary could pierce the cities and villages of a vast population, 1, Now, it is a fact most wonderful that the major part of this population, at least the civilized ^jortion 12 SEEMONS ON THE of it, just at this time had been compacted into a great empire. Hitherto the development of nations had been individual, isolated, narrow. Limited in space, provincial in character, passionately attached to its own institutions, bitterly opposed to all others, without inter- communion, without common bonds and interests, differing in language and in customs, each nation was a fortress frowniug defiance against all others, counting foreigners as spies and enemies, and pledged to resist unto the death all institutions and influences alien to their own national life ; war was their normal condition ; peace the exception. Here and there a few conquerors, like i^ebuchadnezzer and Alexander, had grasped a few kingdoms, but death soon dissolved the connection. Had Christ ap- peared at that time, each separate nation would have barred out his disciples ; he would have been to them but a foreign god, a provincial deity, seeking to over- turn their national religion, and on its ruins erect a foreign dynasty. In order that the fullness of time should come, the divine providence must largely in- troduce new conditions into the relations of these worldly nations. More than seven hundred years had passed since an obscure adventurer had laid the ma- terial foundations of his kingdom on the Ca[)itoline hill. His people, possessed of a rare genius for gov- ernment, inspired during all their earlier course by a simple faith in God, and regard for the just rights of man, gradually extend their dominion over their own Italy, and then, with mighty strides, they march to the con- quest of the world. They know it not, but a divine hand is marshaling their legions, to prepare the way for the coming of his Son. Scipio and Caesar are LIFE OF CHRIST. 13 the unconscious soldiers of God. Seven hundred and fifty years have gone. From the gates of Hercules to the banks of Euphrates ; from the deserts of Africa to the Frith of Sohvay their eagles have ilown in triumph, and Home is mistress of the world. This vast aggre- gation of kingdoms she rules with a stern, yet, in the main, a beneliceut scepter. Iler bridges span every stream; her roads, imperial in vastness, net-work this new world. Individual nations are known no more; Konie alone is felt, is heard supreme. From ocean to river, over mountain and valley, her couriers lly ; thought flashes free from Mt. Lebanon to the Alps ; the whispers of Carthage are heard at Corinth ; the voices of Rome echo all round the vast concave. To the Roman citizen the gates of cities, of nations fly open, and the pathway of Prince Immanuel is prepared by pagan hands. Then He came, and on the central spot where these continents unite, the Cross was reared in view of all this people, and from that spot the messengers of truth went forth to proclaim it in every city and village. The temple of Janus was shut for the third time in 750 years ; Rome in her im- perial Augustus rested from conquest and in silence Avaited the coming of her King. (3) It is also a circumstance of no small signiflcance in reference to the fullness of time, that the languages of civilization, the medium of intercourse between all parts of this emi)ire, had been practically reduced to two. The flrst was the language of Greece — -the language of the highest form of literature, the lan- guage of science and philosophy, in which the ripest mental development of the ages was embodied. AVhen Alexander in his meteor-like course swept 14 SERMONS ON THE from the JE^gean to the Nile, and from the Nile to tlie Euphrates, he carried with him the language and the science of Greece; when Rome conquered Greece, she carried westward with her the mental treasures of the vanquished ; and thus the Greek had become the language of the more learned and thoughtful over a large section of the empire. The second was the Latin; the language of the conquerors, the language of law, everywhere spoken among the rulers, and largely among the ruled. In one of these languages the Old Testament was early translated, the New Test- ament originally written. In the other the whole was translated ; and thus the way was prepared for its rapid spread through every part of the empire. A common language makes thought common ; discovery, invention, science, religious truth, on these winged couriers traversed easily, rapidly, every part of the empire. Christ is crucilied to-day on Calvary ; before the week is past it is knoAvn in Rome. Possessed of these two tongues, the Apostles found hearers innumer- able wherever they went; and thus a pathway for the truth was opened all over the civilized world. (4) Another circumstance of vast im[)ortance was that this was the first age, since the promise was made to our first parents, when this stupendous event of the incarnation with all its attendant facts could be most fully attested, tested, and established on foundations that after-refinements of criticism could not possibly overturn. The civilization, the literature, the science, of this age contributed directly to this result, and made it the most fitting of all times for Christianity to com- mence its course. The conquests of Alexander had given a peculiar character to the civilization of the LIFE OF CHRIST. 15 countries around the eastern portions of the Mediter- ranean. The conquests of Home had effected a similar result over the western world. They were terrible in- deed in their progress ; but afterward, like the subsid- ence of a resistless flood, there was deposited a new soil, rich and productive. There was^ remarkable activity of thought; the combination of Grecian learn- ing and Roman law stimulated mind all over the empire. It was the age of history. Men had passed out of the myths and shadows of primeval times. They stood out strong and clear in the light of a questioning, scrutin- izing age. A thousand pens were busy recording the facts which thousands of minds were equally busy gathering up. Authentic history had fully commenced its course; and henceforth all facts of prime import- ance to the race within the circuit of that civilization would be so recorded that all future time should be able to know them. The great historians of the world, outside the Bible, when they reach this period move forward with all the confidence of assured knowledge. The materials for historj' in the form of coins, monu- ments, letters, books, and contemporary records, are all-sufficient to enable the historian to place us in a po- sition from which we can trace out the vital currents in their flux and reflux through the most part of this wide empire. Then God sent forth his Son. Profane history records His life and death ; sacred history re- cords that life and death with all their wondrous con- nections— tens of thousands listened to the attesting witnesses of that sublime career, and faith in Jesus grew strong and began its miglity march through the world. Jt was also an age of doubt and unbelief. There 16 SERMONS ON THE was an immense intellectual fermentation among the educated classes. Men speculated on all subjects, divine and human. Philosophy had gone forth from Athens, and sat enthroned on the capitol. Her scholars were in every city and town of the em- pire ; they thought with amazing acuteness ; they reasoned with a most subtle logic ; they wrote with classic elegance. Yet, outside of the Jewish nation, there was not a single mind that grasped with a firm faith even the truths of natural religion. They questioned, doubted everything, from the mate- rial world on which they trod to the Infinite God in whom they lived. Philosophy proved itself powerless to create ; mighty only to destroy. It had under- mined the superstitious faith on which Polytheism rested; but with it, all true faith had fallen. The multitude were wedded to their idols ; but the lead- ers, the thinkers, the educated minds groped houseless, homeless in utter darkness. They had burned down God's temple ; they had put out the sacred fire on the altar. Hungry, thirsty, benighted, they wandered amidst the ruins and beheld the eternal verities of God as specters and ghosts haunting their unquiet souls. From superstition they swung into natural- ism, into pantheism, into cold, dark atheism. Then God sent forth his Son. At once the armed soldiers of science and philosophy bristled defiance. They questioned, argued, sneered ; their blows fell fast and heavy ; their dialectic arrows sought some vital spot in Christianity to pierce its heart. In vain ! in vain! Its fame enlarged ; its power increased; the cobwebs of their philosophy it brushed away; it silenced their finest intellects: it drew over to itself the noblest of LIFE OF CHRIST. 17 their army. Christianity, tested, opposed, questioned, denied, by the intellect of that age, rose superior to it all. The ark of God, moved by power divine, met all the waves of human opposition, and bore onward to the future the hopes, the redemption of humanit}'. Since then science and philosophy have, again and again, renewed the assault. Every argument they have framed, every conclusion the}' have reached, Christianit}' met, Christianity nnUitied in its cradle. God gave us the incarnate Son in an age when his claims could be tested and tried b}' all the force of human learning and skill. He came forth from the fiery trial triumphant. The kingdom he established, has beneath it the solid rock — all the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (5.) Once more. In estimating this age as one pe- culiarly fitted for the coming of Christ, we must take into the account two closely-related facts. The first is the presence of Jews in the more prominent por- tions of the empire. The great dispersion, five hun- dred years before Christ, left man}- of them in the east. After the time of Alexander we find them in Egypt, in Asia Minor, in Greece, and finally in Rome itself. So numerous and strong were they in Alex- andria, that, three hundred years before Christ, a trans- lation of the Old Testament into Greek was made for their benefit. Wherever they went they held fast to their faith. They built synagogues for Sabbath wor- ship, and as often as they were able sent their delegates with offerings to attend the great feasts and temple ser- vices at Jerusalem. Xow when the disciples, in fulfill- ment of Christ's command, went forth to preach his gospel, they found these synagogues in large numbers. 18 SEEMONS ON THE and every synagogue was to them a pulpit with a tit audience, from which and to which they preached the truth. Thus the providence of God had singularly prepared the w-ay for the diffusion of Cllristianit3^ IvTor is this all. These Jews had influence. The great truth they held, many of the pagans had accepted. It had affected many minds outside of the synagogue. In some way the world at this time had come largely to share with them in the expectation that a great king was to arise, who should restore the world to order. I shall speak more particularly of this when we come to the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. It is enough for me now to state the undoubted fact that such an expectation existed in multitudes of the most reflective and earnest minds. The religions of the world were dying out. Judaism alone was vigorous and strong. Men longed and sighed for some one to arise who could shed light on the great problems of the soul and eternity. Human devices had failed. Human science had failed to tind out God. The wisdom of men conducted only to doubt and despair. The great heart of humanity groaned in anguish for the truth of God. God, the soul, sin, the w^ay of pardon, immortality — these were the great themes about which men always must think ; on which they must feel ; for these involve the value of this life and its destiny beyond the grave. And here all was darkness. Sin and death reigned on every side. "Was there no hope for the hereafter ; was there no way of escape from these terrible evils ? Is death the end of man, or does he live — live to suffer and sin in anotlicr world ? Is there a personal God ? Is he willing to save? How can a man be just with him? LIFE OF CHRIST. 19 Oh! where shall a man go for light on these fearful themes? To histor}'? It is full of fahlcs and follies. To philosojihy ? It knows nothing, it does nothing but to deepen the darkness. How, oh how, from these l)lack depths into which our sinning race had de- scended, did the anguished cry of souls despairing go up to God for light, for truth, for redemption ! Then it was, when a world in darkness felt its need, a babe was born in Bethlehem — a God-man died on Calvary. The light kindled there blazed brighter and brighter. It spread from mountain-top to mountain- top — higher it rose, down into the valleys it sent its beams — millions of eyes were upturned to catch its beams. The dwellers on the mountain-tops and in the vales shouted together — " Praise God, his Son is born — our Redeemer has come — we know — we live forever !" I have thus endeavored to set before you some of the reasons which delayed the great event of the in- carnation ; some of the peculiar preparations for it which, when completed, rendered this period the full- ness of time. Other questions there are connected with this subject, to discuss which would demand a longer time than can now l)e devoted to them. But, so far as we have gone, there is enough seen to iHustrate the wisdom of God in choosing just this time for the send- ing forth of his Son. Through longperiodsGod wrought as it were in the outer circle, among material elements, to prepare tlie world for the abode of man ; then when the fullness of time for this had come, lie reformed the earth, planted it with vegetable and peopled it with animal life, and i>laced man a living soul upon it. When he had fallen, the promise of Messiah is given ; 20 SERMONS ON THE then, through a succession of changes and develop- ments, the process of preparation for its fulfilhnent ad- vances, until, at the end of 4,000 j^ears, Christ the Lord, the mighty God, the Prince of Peace, is born. The event, so grand, so divine, the union of God with man, is worthy of all this preparation. The sublimest event in history, infinitel}' above material creations and natural laws, is the event for which the world waited, the event wdiich now most stirs the hearts and wakens the thoughts, and is the foundation of the noblest hopes of all the race. Every man, who has ever lieard of Jesus, feels in his inmost soul an instinctive anticipation of blessing from his power. Infidel or Christian, hating the doctrines of the Cross or loving them down deep in his soul, there is a felt want of just such a Savior, a half or well formed hope that to him this Christ will open the gates of immortality. You may feel uneasy when we preach to you of the worth of the soul ; that no man can be just before God; that you must love God in Christ more than all earthly friends, because the sinfulness of your hearts resist the spiritual and holy conditions on which alone you can become the sons and daughters of God, the breth- ren and the redeemed of Jesus; because this very uneas- iness, like the excitement which results from the fever in your blood, is the sign of your want of just this spiritual renovation. Yet, in spite of all this, you know that deep in your underlying consciousness is the secret hope that this Christ will become your sal- vation, and that if He were blotted out, the sun would be darkened and despair would settle upon your' soul. Why then, O sinner, when God has made such vast preparations for this sublime event, when this LIFE OF CHEIST. 21 sun in the fullness of time has risen, Avhy, when His beams shine on you and show the path to heaven, why, oh, why, will you criticise and iind fault with the blessed message, with the prescriptions of the heavenly physician? Why, oh, why, will you doubt, deceive 3'ourselves, and linger, and not avail your- selves at once of the wonderful redemption Jesus has wrought out for you ? This alone can bless you here, can save you hereafter. Last Sabbath eve I read to yon, in the opening of the service, the 27th "Psalm — " The Lord is my light and my salvation." A friend who had been in the Christian Commission attending npon our sick and wounded soldiers, remarked to me, that immediately after the battle that necessitated the sur- render of Richmond, among a number of wounded brought into his ward there was one young man from Iowa; he w^as lying on his face, with a terrible wound in his back. The ph^-sician at once pronounced his case hopeless; the nurse spoke to him tenderly, and told him he must soon die. Raising himself on one arm, he said he had a mother and sisters in low^a, but the Lord would take care of them; then,wdth a sweet smile on his countenance, he said, The " Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall I fear ! " and sank down and died. Oh ! who would exchange the blessed confidence of this d^'ing soldier, in the hour when heart and flesh shall fail you, for all the learning, the station, the wealth, of this world ? Come, sinner, come to-night, and put your trust in our Immanuel, and He shall be to you light and salvation evermore ! 22 SERMONS ON THE II. THE SUPERNATURAL. '■^Aiul the angel cmswered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come -upon thee, and the iiower of the Highest shall overshadoiD thee; therefore also thai holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." — Luke i, 35. We are entering on the biography of the snblimest life in history. The origin of one whose character, rank, and influence stand out in such brilliant con- trast with all the greatest and best of the past, is in- vested with tlie deepest interest. Whence came he ? What unseen influence molded and informed this transcendent life? Wns it a happy combination of merely human elements, or was there a divine life coming down into the human, and giving to the world a new birth far above and beyond the product of na- tural laws? The text answers this question ; it intro- duces us at once to the supernatural; it gives to Christ an origin above the course of human genera- tion. God is immediately his father. On one side he is the son of Mary ; on the other, the son of the Highest. On this as a primary fact, Cliristianity is built. This fact and all .kindred facts are opposed and denied by a large class of unbelievers. They as- sume that natural l^ws are never superseded, set aside, or repressed by any special divine influence; that we LIFE OF CHRIST. 23 have uotliing to do in this world with anythiiif)^ but these laws of nature, and tliat these are all-sufficient to produce all the results which have occurred or ever will occur. I^ature with them is the only God with whom we are conversant. Given, matter and a few elementary laws, and the universe is the result. There is no action of a divine mind in controlling or direct- ing these forces ; there is no immediate divine influ- ence from without coming down into this world to affect its destin}' or elevate its inhabitants. Xature is a perfect system, needing nothing, susceptible of no change, subject to no intiuence of a Superior Mind. On the other hand, Christianity holds that the great moving power in the universe is a divine, personal mind ; that all matter and its laws, and all the intelli- gences of the world, and all the life in it, are the pro- duct of His creative will ; that controls all things and supplements all other forces when lie thinks best by His divine power, and so makes all His creatures sub- servient to His own design in creation. I propose in this discussion to set before you some of the grounds b}^ which this opinion of the Christian church is jus- tified, and then show you the special reason for our faith in Christ as the divine incarnation. It will be my endeavor to avoid metaphysical niceties, and limit the discussion to a few points level to the common sense of every man. Those who Avish to see the sub- ject discussed more elaborately should consult the written treatises — such as McCosh's Divine Govern- ment, Coleridge's works, Bushnell's Nature and the Supernatural, Prof. Fisher's work on the superna- tural origin of Christianity, and uiore than all others, 24 SERMONS ON THE the Bible itself, the finest monument of the super- natural. 1. Let me call your attention to the 'presumptive ar- gument. Here we must at the outset discriminate between miracles technically so called, and that divine influence which works in providence, in revelation, and in the hearts of men. The miracle in this limited sense is a visible manifestation of divine power above and beyond the laws of nature or the power of the Jiuman will. It must be open and clear, so as to be fully attested. It must be wrought for an object suffi- ciently great to justify it. On the one hand, we say that a miracle must be sp attested that its falsity would be as great a miracle as its truth. On the other hand, that the object to be accomplished by it must be spe- cial, of great importance, and one that in no other way could be effected. Even with these conditions of a miracle, it is obvious the}^ can not be ordinary events, for this would destroy their efficacy. Besides, the occasions for them can only exist at rare intervals in the world's history. And this corresponds exactly with the facts of the case. The presumption, there- fore, is against a miracle as an ordinary event — a pre- sumption which must be overcome by the two condi- tions already stated : 1. Tlie fullest attestation ; 2. The character of the object to be attained, and the neces- sity for such a divine interference to accomplish it. The presumption is, therefore, not that miracles are never wrought, as some assert, but that they are not ordinary or usual. There is a very strong presump- tion that men of transcendent genius, like Plato, or Taul, or j^apoleon, or Milton, are not/ to be found in every village ; for God rarely endows men with such LIFE OF CHRIST. 25 powers, and raises them up only for great occasions. But this is no argument against their occasional ap- pearance ; it does not prove that such men never have existed. It only i)uts us on our guard against confound- ing mediocrity with genius, and obliges us to wait for the proof before we give credit to any man for the possession of such transcendent endowments. The mo- ment, however, we leave this limited iicld of divine influence and ascend to the broader one of Providence and revelation, the presumption is all on this side. The voice of the world is in favor of it. The belief in an immediate divine influence, above and beyond the laws of nature, working in the world, in man, execut- ing the designs of a great moral Governor, and over- ruling matter and mind to effect His purposes, is as ancient as tradition, as universal as man. So true is this, that even those few philosophers who, here and there in the world's history, have sought to reason a personal, ruling God out of the universe, and reduce everything to nature, can hard4y be deemed excep- tions. They never emancipated themselves from this belief. What IMutarch says of some in his day is true of many, if not quite all. " These men," he says, " fear the gods and fly to them for succor. The}- flatter them and insult them ; they pray to them and com- plain of them." Prayer is the recognition of this be- lief. "For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that dili- gently seek Him." And this involves the whole the- ory of Christianity on this subject. Where, in the past or present, can you find men who, in the crisis of their lives, in the time of their trouble, do not in some way pray, as did the woul(l-l)e atheist, Hume, 26 sermojVs on the on his dying bed. Why, such men would be simply monstrosities, without the instincts, the feelings, of humanity. But if such a belief exists, and has alwaj^s existed among men, how can you account for it? Only, it seems to me, on one or all of these supposi- tions: 1st, On the ground of an original revelation; 2d, for the reason that God has made such manifesta- tions of Himself and His power in the world that men have felt compelled to recognize it ; or, 3d, from the constitution of the soul, vyhich, in its natural working, necessitates such a belief. To one or all of these causes combined yon must trace back this belief in an immed- iate divine influence. A universal efteet must have a universal cause; and, if so, you have an argument which no man, however acute his intellect, has ever been able to meet. It may be said that men are superstitious ; that they have abused this principle; that they multiplied gods, and associated horrible things with their wor- ship. But the abuse of a thing is no argument against the existence or the excellence of that which is abused ; it is an argument in its favor. Men may use powder for good pur})oses, to blast rocks and promote civilization, or they may abuse it in wound- ing the innocent, but they must iirst have the powder. Men may abuse the belief in a present overruling Providence, but the belief must exist before it can be abused. AVhence came it? Answer me this ! Nay, you can not answer it without admitting the power of God in it; and you, like all the rest of the world, are loth to admit the truth, that ^Nebuchadnezzar -found out in his hour of sorrow, that God doeth ac- cording to his will, in the army of heaven and among LIFE OF CHRIST. 27 the inhabitants of the earth, and wliich Darius also affirms : " He is the living God ; He delivereth and rescueth, and He maketh signs in heaven and in earth — wlio hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." Passing from this presumptive argument, let us see what is the testimon}^ of the system of the universe on this point. I say the system of the universe, not the system of nature or matter, for this is no system, it is only the fragment of a system, an inchoate, chaotic, imperfect parcel of the true system of the universe, in which God sits as the central power, and in wliom alone it is complete. This system is a series of ascend- ing existences, the higher existence in each case being invested with new powers that overrule and sometimes supersede those of the lower ; while God causes, sus- tains, and by His immediate influence overrules and perfects the whole. In descril)ing this system we begin with mere mat- ter— naked, inorganic, like a grain of sand. The chief forces or tendencies belonging to it are gravity, which makes every particle tend to the center of the largest mass and momentum, or the tendency when at rest to continue so, or when moved from without to continue in motion. I^ow we find that on this dead mass there are certain agencies acting which more or less counteract or override these laws of mo- mentum and gravity. Take a drop of water — left in a certain state it would remain forever the same. But change the conditions around it, withdraw the heat that is in it, and it forms itself into solid crystals ; or, place it in a dr}- atmosphere and it flies oil' in vapor. Its apparent nature and form are wholly changed. 28 SEEMONS ON THE And thus, in this lowest part of the system, nature works against nature, and one law is superseded by another. Ascend a little to another existence of the series. Here is an acorn. It is apparently nothing but organ- ized matter. Put it in the ground. Presently it swells ; it grows; it rises above the ground ; it takes to itself the sun, the air, the moisture, the particles it needs from the ground; it forms roots under ground; it forms branches and leaves above it; month after month, year after year, for hundreds of years, it lifts itself into the air, it holds ton upon ton of solid mat- ter scores of feet above the ground, and spreads its branches over half an acre. The law of gravity tries to pull it down ; it fails. The winds try to upset it ; they fail. In direct violation of the primary law of matter, it pushes away from the centre of the earth. It overrides, supersedes, nullifies, violates one of the most universal of natural laws, and in its majesty lift- ing its trunk to heaven proclaims to all that nature's laws are not inviolate. But, says the materialist, this is the result of the laws of nature. Then we must admit that one law of nature may violate or super- sede another. But I deny that nature is the same in both cases. Why does the tree grow? He says, in consequence of certain chemical or natural laws. I deny this, and atfirm that there is here a new order of existence which has life, and it is this life that is the real cause. This higher existence overrides and ap- propriates or disregards the laws of nature. Crush the acorn, will it grow? Why not? Because its life is destroyed. Kill the tree ; at once leaves, branches, and finally trunk yield to the law of gravitation and LIFE OF CHRIST. 29 fall. What is this life? Can you see it? Can you detect it by chemical analysis ? If it is some inherent force of nature, chemists may get hold of it, may pro- duce it. They are all as blind, as helpless as the child you hold on your knee. It is life, a new existence in- vested with power above naked matter to overrule some of the laws of nature. Talk about nature pro- ducing, originally from its own bosom, the infinite forms of vegetable life and beauty that lill the world ! Why, you might as well talk of the law of gravity as sufficient to fire a cannon ball against its own proper nature to the moon. God is love ; he created every seed, and gave it power to assimilate or counteract nature, according to the w^ants of its new life. As- cend to another existence in the series. Take animal life, instinctive, invested with powers above dead mat- ter, above the tree and flower. The horse, how he balances himself and leaps against the force of grav- ity ; how he runs and stops against the law of mo- mentum; how he hears your voice and tames himself to your will. Here is a new kind of life ; not forces of nature; not chemical laws; but life self-poised, and maintaining itself against some of these very laws; life, not self-originated, not born of nature, but life created originally by God himself. And now we must make another ascent. Man ap- pears. A new life beams high above the others; Moses says he is made in the image of God. Look at him. You see that rational soul that takes in all ideas : time, space, spirit, systems of things, God himself; that moral nature that realizes obligation and knows what rectitude and holiness and divine love are; that causative will that originates, moves, acts in his own 30 SERMONS ON THE personality ; that turns his powers hither and thither on matter, on mind ; that articulate man, speaking over centuries, hearing over ages ; that inventive man, combining new forces out of old ones ; that dominating soul, changing the face of nature, subject- ing the brutes and all life and all dead matter to do his bidding ; that far-seeing spirit, looking into and anticipating the future. Here is a new life. Natural powders are the instruments with which mind works out its grand results. These he violates, supersedes, sets one against another, combines as he thinks best. Surely this being, in his noble personality, is a faint image of the personal God. Here is a new power, which is not nature, but which takes nature and uses it to advance high interests. Talk about the inviola- bility of the laws of nature ! Why, every house he builds, every steam engine he constructs, every movement of his arm is a violation of some law of nature. While the whole science of medicine is just the efibrt to counterwork and neutralize one law of na- ture by another. Every steamship that, against the wind, against the tide, carries its precious freight above the waves is, in some respects, a violation of nature. In this realm of the rational and the spirit- ual, God invests this living soul with powers superior to nature — supernatural in some respects. The faint image of God, he exercises power in a low degree like God : the power of thought, of will, of action ; thrust in among these powers of nature, he asserts a quali- fied supremacy over them, and moves in a sphere, in some respects, far above them. Have we now reached the crown of the system of the universe ? Is man the highest point in it? So say LIFE OF CHRIST. 31 the atheist, tlio pantheist. But not so says tlie Chris- tian. The system, as yet, is no system ; it is incom- plete ; it has beginnings, but no endings ; justice and injustice; sin and holiness; light and darkness; ideas, thoughts, emotions that anticipate another sphere, but do not reach it, all mingled together in chaos and confusion. The building is only half erected. The relation of the soul to God and the object of its exist- ence are undctined and unreached. The courses of things are out of joint. They shock the noblest and best feelings of our higher nature. Tiie world groans and travails in pain for the manifestation of the sons of God. There is, there must be another and a still higher sphere of existence, where wrong shall be righted ; where the good and the evil shall be sepa- rated ; where retribution shall complete its work ; where the soul shall realize its chosen destiny, where the divine government shall be vindicated alike in its love and its wrath ; wiiere, out of all these confusions, crimes sorrows, perversions of time, God shall bring forth order, and harmonize all parts of his government, and show the inlinite wisdom that has ever guided him. In this higher sphere there arc already superior beings. This has its own laws, and from it influences come down into this lower sphere, superior to nature, aiding the good, opening truth to the ignorant, working all through the mass of humanity. Here Christ reigns, and from this as his throne he is at work building up his kingdom here, according to his own wisdom, and preparing for a final demonstration that will show that God's moral government is as perfect and finished as any of the most exquisite works of his hand in the material world. 32 SERMONS ON THE Now let us gather up the elements of this argument. In the system which God has made, we see him first creating dead matter and giving it certain laws. Then "we see him creating life ; vegetable life, \vith powers superior to dead matter, and able to overcome its laws. Next he creates brute life, superior to all the rest. Then he places man upon the earth, and gives him poAvers over all other kinds of matter and life ; power to combine and use and counteract the forces of nature. Then we ascend to the higher sphere of fu- ture existence, from which influences descend superior to all those at such line — supernatural influences, mighty to suspend or quicken the laws of mere na- ture and much in harmony with the higher nature of man. Now I say that, by the necessity of the case, by the inexorable laws of logic, by the necessary infer- ences warranted by man's constitution and the state of the divine government here, it must be that God is per- petually controlling, overruling all parts of his creation so as to accomplish his purposes in respect to man ; that he is not only able, but that it is a necessary part of his complete system to supplement the laws and influences of the lower by the laws and in- fluences of a higher sphere of action, and that in all this he is acting in harmony with his own method as we see it revealed in nature around us. From this higher sphere above us God must be perpetually at work through mightier powers in governing, control- ling all things, so as to vindicate at last his inflnite wisdom. And instead of supposing that God had finished his work in creation and in man, Ave are driven by the sternest facts to the opinion that he is ever working in man and around him, by means natural LIFE OF CHRIST. 33 and supernatural, in preparing him for another sphere of being, in wliich his system shall find its per- fection and his attributes shall appear illustrated most gloriously to the highest intelligences of the universe. Let us now consider some of the facts in the his- tory of the earth itself, which proves that God has put forth upon it special supernatural powers. The first fact is creation itself. The second is that, subse- quent to the creation, in the process of the prepara- tion for the abode of man, changes have taken place which necessitate the direct interference of the crea- tor— changes for which no natural laws can possibly ac- count. These changes are written in tlie structure of the earth itself. And here permit me to say that I greatly honor those men who for the last forty years have been engaged in investigating the facts connected with the structure and constitution of the earth in which we live. Geology is yet in its infancy. And it is not at all strange that some of the explorers in this new field should reach conclusions which a broader induction from a larger mass of facts would not warrant. Like every other science, it builds and then pulls down in order to erect a more substantial structure. In reference to this, as to every other science, Christianity has only to abide the results of time and patient research in in- dicating the essential harmony between creation and revelation. Long before geology began its investiga- tions, some of the ablest interpreters of the Bible were of the opinion that long periods intervened be- tween the creation as described in the first verse of Genesis and the subsequent formation of the earth, and the final fitting it up for man in the six days. There is one class of men, however, for whose hearts. 34 SERMONS ON THE to say nothing of their understanding, we have no sort of respect ; men who, when a fact of natural sci- ence seems to militate against the Bible, are loud in the demonstrations of their infidelity, like the croak- ing of frogs on a warm spring night; but when a fact makes in favor of the truth of revelation, are as silent as those frogs when the sun rises. But to the point before us. Geologists almost unanimously affirm that the earth has undergone vast changes — changes that preceded the present creation and form of things around us. During some of these periods there was an im- mense vitality of both the animal and the vegetable. Then, again, there are great cataclysms, breaks in the order of things, in which all animal and vegetable life perished. There are periods of heat when they could not exist, and then of cold, when the earth, or large parts of it, were covered with ice and snow. !Novv, the point reached by these facts is this : That all the life we now see on the earth must have been produced by a direct act of divine power. Immense remains there are of old species that died in these changes, but they are totally distinct from anything we now see on the earth. There are no transmuta- tions from them to our present creation, but a dead blank, necessitati)ig the divine interference to produce that which is now. All the powers of natural phil- osophy could not give us the simplest shrub. Now, ac- cording to the testimony of the earth itself, God has been at work by his direct, intelligent, personal, su- pernatural power preparing the earth for its present inhabitants, and then, when the time came, when the earth was left after all these changes without power and void of all life, his divine spirit went forth, as LIFE OF CHRIST. 35 Moses has described it, and gave forth life in all its forms, and man as the lord of the world. Where now is the ar- gument against miracles ? To the celestial visitants who watch the formation of the earth, what a glorious series of miracles was there all over this earth ! Spinoza said that if you could prove to him the resurrection of Christ, he would break his system to pieces. Well, here is the earth itself demonstrating any quantity of crea- tions. Here is God himself, instead of leaving the world to develop itself, by certain natural laws, thrust- ing his almighty hand right down into them, arrest- ing their operations, changing all things, and giving a new life to the world. Where is pantheism now ? 1^0 consistent deist, admitting the existence of a per- sonal God and creation, can deny the probability of a direct supernatural agency in the world wherever there may be a necessity for it. Such men as Theodore Parker, half pantheist, half deist, now believing in mere natural development, and then, forced by his higher nature to go to God in prayer, and thus re- cognize a direct divine influence upon the world, are simply illogical and inconsistent. The true, consist- ent deist at once adriiits these things, and only asks for a necessity for divine interference and [)roper proof of the fact. Now, if God did thus interfere in the preparation of the material world for man, the in- ference is irresistible that, in this higher sphere of training man for eternity, he will interfere just as often and as constantly as the necessity of the case re- quires. He is shown to be a providential ruler over the world, working all after the counsel of his will, maintaining his government, natural and moral, over the world and man, and carrying forward his own 36 SEEMONS ON THE plan to its grand conclusion. You may pray to God, for he is not deaf nor afar off', nor unconcerned, but ever near thee, 0 man ; he is administering his gov- ernment over thee, and his power is with all nature and in thy own soul. I state as another argument for a supernatural in- fluence the actual necessities and wants of man. It has been contended with great force that man, with- out the supernatural communication of certain orig- inal truths and knowledge, could not have continued to exist on the earth ; and Dr. Livingstone, from his observations in Southern Africa, affirms the same truth. (1.) But, be this as it may, it is certain that, left to himself in a mere state of nature, man, with- out a supernatural revelation of some kind, never could develope his intellect or rise from the lowest state of barbarism. In point of fact all the great de- velopments of the race have taken place under the in- spiration of religious ideas and a knowledge originally communicated supernaturally. And the moment the supernatural ceased to influence them they have degenerated both intellectually and morally. (2.) Man needs in this world the influence of a su- pernatural government in order to keep him from utter self-destruction and enable him to live as a member of civilized society. Government of some kind is essential. What is the state ? It is not a government of mere nature. Men are not left to do as they please, to suffer or enjoy solely as they shall keep or violate natural laws. The state comes in and rules supernaturally, outside of and above nature, makes its laws and affixes its penalty. And all ex- perience shows that there is and can be no civilization LIFE OF CHRIST. 37 ■without this. Yea, more than this is true. It is fouud that state goverumeut and well-ordered society can not exist without the divine sanctions of a super- natural government that shall reach the consciences and hearts of men. Warhurton has shown by a vast array of evidence that all successful governments from the foundation of the world have been built upon and maintained by the aid of a divine, moral government, ruling and influencing man supernaturally, and that as soon as faith in such a spiritual and mighty governor ceases to exist, then civilization and order cease, and brute passions rule. (3.) Man needs, more than all, special light on his future destiny. He naturally desires to know whether he is to die like the brutes, or exist hereafter. This is an awfully momentous question. Nature is silent concerning it. God alone can directly answer it. He desires to know how, as a sinner, he can be justified and saved. ]^ature is silent. God only by supernat- urally inspiring men can reveal the answer, and then, he must by miracles attest the authority of the prophet who declares to us the truth. And thus, without at- tempting to exhaust this subject or present it fully, it will be found that man's highest welfare in this life demands that he shall be aided by a present, su- pernatural government, and that all his nature cries out for a present, ruling, speaking God. I con- dense into a few lines here thoughts that demand vol- umes fully to unfold them. Man, society, civilization, eternity, demand, authorize, necessitate a living, per- sonal God, ruling and exerting his divine power con- stantly in this world. I now ask your attention to the Bible itself as an ar- 38 SERMONS ON THE gument for the supernatural. In doing this, I do not beg the principle at issue. For here is confessedly the most wonderful book in the world. Look at it in what light you please — the age when it was written, its actual contents, its position and character in com- parison with all other books, sacred or profane. There is nothing like it, nothing to be compared with it, any more than you compare the moon with the sun. Its statements of facts that only God could have re- vealed ; its prophecies ; its clear inculcation of the divine law, the only true basis of morality and relig- ion ; its sublime revelations of the divine character in its unity, its justice, and its love; the relations of man to God, and the way of pardon and life hereafter set forth in such varied lights ; the holy breathings of its psalms ; its blessed promises of hope and assistance to men in their attempts to serve God, and in their sorrow and care ; its own wonderful consistency and unity, though uttered by different voices through two thousand years ; yea, all its sublime lessons, covering the life of every man here, and opening to him the gates of a glorious heaven hereafter ; these set it above all other books ; these show it to be divine. All through this book, from Genesis to Revelation, a personal, ruling God, doing supernatural works, rest- ing upon some supernatural inHuence, promising su- pernatural assistance, throbs and glows. Eliminate from it all that is above nature, all that is directly di- vine, and you have nothing left; you have blotted the most wonderful of books out of existence. To sup- pose that such a book is the product of merely natu- ral impulses is too absurd for refutation. It is prac- tically assigning to it no cause at all. It is just as LIFE OF CHRIST, 39- goocl logic as that which makes this great universe the product of chance or natural law. Nor have we the book alone; we have one nation with all its institntions as its partial exponent and monument. The Jewish nation, in its history and marked character, as it existed in Palestine, is the direct product of this book. The existence and char- acter of this nation is an unsolved and unsolvable enigma on any other supposition than the truthful- ness of this book. There is no other possible reason why the Jews ditfered so totally from all the rest of the world in their grand religious ideas and institu- tions save this one, that God spoke to them and wrought among them supernaturally. As surely as every event infers an adequate cause, so surely does this book and this nature unitedly infer a present God supernaturally inspiring His people, etc., working Ilis miracles, guiding their great leaders, fixing their re- ligious constitution, and using them to prepare the way for the grandest manifestation of Himself in his incarnate Soji. And now we have reached the crowning fact in the supernatural government of God over our race — the Incarnation. Xo consistent deist will deny the possi- bility of this event. We will only ask, tirst, for an object worthy of such a union of the divine and hu- man, and, second, for a suitable attestation of the fact. And that which he asks for Ave have. The object of the incarnation is : (1.) To exhibit a perfect humanity in its obedience to the divine law ; (2.) By an actual sacrifice on the cross to answer the question how God can be just and yet justify the believer; and (3.) To constitute a living Redeemer, who, as the head of the 40 SERMONS ON THE church, should from himself carry forward a system of influences through which man should be brought into union with God and prepared for an immortal life. These are the grand objects of the incarnation, wide as the race, vast as the soul of man. Whoever admits these objects as necessary and legitimate jus- tifies the incarnation. "Whoever denies them has in his hands a task that as yet no man or body of men since the creation has been able to perform — the task of showing how without such an incarnation these vital objects can possibly be accomplished. Millions on millions have accepted them in accepting Jesus as the Savior of man. Man's heart everywhere longs for just such a living, divine Redeemer. He meets the deepest, highest wants of the soul here and in the life to come. 2. The attestation of this event. Originally it could be known only to those at first most interested in it. But here how beautiful, how chaste, how sublime, is the annunciation to Mary. How unlike anything else in history! How befitting the great event! How impossible that it could be imagined or invented! Then how the life, the character, the works of Christ attest it! This being, superior to humanity, yet con- centrating,in himself all the noblest traits of human- ity, standing out from the ages immeasurably above all their highest minds, radiating from himself light on all the highest questions the soul asks; sending out influences that renew the heart, enlighten, purify, save it; gathering round his cross myriads who in joy and hope trust him and follow him in the paths of love and obedience, and would lay down their lives for him ; establishing a spiritual kingdom that triumphs LIFE OF CHRIST. 41 over superstition and sin, and brings salvation to the lost — a kingdom which, as it advances in tliis dark world, everywhere renews it and turns its vile deserts, its corrupt Sodoms, into Sharon vales and temples of the most High. This is the attestation of the incar- nation. Miracles there were indeed at its opening, but the mightiest miracle of all is the manifold super- natural power that everywhere attends' its progress, and lifts humanity into closer union and likeness to the heavenly Father. Christianity in its true history attests the incarnation, No wonder the greatest minds, as they contem[)late Christ in his wondrous in- fluence, cry out with the Roman soldier, "Surel}^ this is the son of God." 'No wonder Napoleon affirmed in this view, " Christ is divine." Oh ! to-night I bear the glad tidings to you, the tidings of a divine Savior for your souls. Ask na- ture, how can I be saved? She is silent. Ask pro- fane history. All is silence. Ask philosophy. Silent still. Ask Jesus, and a voice comes to you in love : " I bore thy sins on the tree. I opened the gates of heaven for you. I proclaimed life and immortality. Believe on me." 42 SEEMONS ON THE III. MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS. ^^ And the iwgel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women." — Luke i, 28. It is remarkable how little is said in the Scriptures of many of the most eminent saints. They are never miagnified and lauded as men eulogize their great ones. Sometimes their biography is given in a single line. " Enoch walked with God, and Avas not, for God took him." Occasional!}^ their faith is commended and held up for imitation. And this is all. One Being alone who bore our nature is exalted; one alone dwells in the radiance of glory more than human — Jesus, the incarnate Son of the Highest. Mary is no exception to this rule. As the mother from whom His human nature is derived, her person is illumined by the glory which distinguishes His incarnation ; but the moment He assumes His own individuality she retires into the common mass of the faithful, and, with the excep- tion of three or four brief allusions, is heard of no more. All this is profoundly instructive. It enables us at once to determine her position and relationship to the Church of God. She is simply a faithful be- liever, chosen of God to be the happy mother of whom Christ according to the flesh should be born, and un- der whose influence His early life should be spent. LIFE OF CHRIST. 43 This i)Osition, the most exalted ever conferred on ■vvoimin, is hers. But to the churcli she sustains no official relation ; she is invested with no special power. Here she is simply a believer ; redeemed by the same blood ; subject to the same infirmities ; exposed to the same trials, with every other one of her sex. The dogma of her immaculate sinlessness is nowhere so much as hinted at in Scripture. The terms "highly favored" and " blessed," applied to her, contain no such impli- cation. Indeed, they are used elsewhere in Scripture in reference to those who were confessedly sinful. The argument from the necessity of the case is equally fallacious. If it was necessar}^ that Mary should be sinless in order that Christ might be sinless, then it would be neces?:ar3' that her parents should be sinless ; and so on, ascending through the entire race. There is no such necessity. Christ is to be possessed of our human nature in all its heiglit and depth of passion, and exposure to fierce temptation, to sorrow, and to death. One thing alone distinguishes that nature from all the other sons of Adam, and that is the spirit of obedience that enabled Him to be tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. This, divine grace, working above and beyond the ordinar}- laws of gener- ation, accomplished in Ilim. But Mary is no excep- tion to the race. She belonged indeed to a theocratic race. A long line of pious ancestors exerted over her its peculiar elevating power. But this distinctiou she enjoyed in common with Elizabeth, and Anna, and many others, who devoutly waited for the coming of their Lord. Her peculiar distinction, her high honor, her crown of blessedness among Avomen, is not what she was in herself, but in the fact that from her pro- 44 SERMONS ON THE ceecled that human nature in which the divine became incarnate to redeem the world. In common with every other mother, she must sit at His feet, he puri- fied by His spirit, and be ransomed by His blood. Let us now review her life and character in accord- ance with the brief notices given us in this book. Of her early life, in distinction from others of her class, we know absolutely nothing. The silly legends framed in after centuries are not worthy of a moment's attention. She grew up at Nazareth. Her culture was Jewish ; her literature, her science, her religion, were all contained in the Holy Scriptures. These were her daily study ; these the influence that pervaded, purified, exalted her afi:ections. The clear expositions of divine law ; the holy breathings of the psalms, the sublime utterances of the prophets, the origin, history, and destiny of her race so brilliantly illuminated by the presence and power of Jehovah, molded and inspired her whole soul. Whatever may be said of natural science as an educating force, it is weakness beside these grand spir- itual thoughts and sublime truths in imparting ele- vation, power, self-reliance to a human soul. Even when received only in the intellect, what prodigious effects they have wrought ! But when they are as- similated, and the heart yields itself to them, then they constitute a faith Avhich is inspirative, intelligent, firm ; strength almost sublime. Man is in alliance with God, and all the powers of this world and eternity are liis possession. These truths were her study from child- hood. She yielded herself to their influence ; faith in God and in his promises sprang to life in her soul. In common with her nation, the prophecies of Mes- siah were her faith. In common with the female LIFE OF CHRIST. 45 descendants of David, she, too, may have cherished the hope of being his mother. In the full maturity of her sweet maidenhood she is betrothed to her kins- man Joseph. The truly devout Jews spent much time in secret prayer and study of the Bible. In many of their houses there was a special place set apart for this object. Mary, doubtless, was much in prayer and in the perusal of the Scriptures, i^or is it unnatural to suppose that it was at such an hour of rapt contempla- tion and holy communion with God that Gabriel ap- peared to her. " Hail ! highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed among women art thou." The ap- pearance of the angel, his words so remarkable, sur- prise and trouble her. She fears lest this gracious salutation be only the prelude to some great trial. Gabriel reads in her countenance the emotions that agitate her breast; he assures her of the favor of God, and then announces the sublime fact, of all others the most desired by every female of the house of David, that she is elected to be the mother of Messiah. But she is unmarried; the thought of pollution is intoler- able ; she can not rise at once above the idea of natu- ral law to the mysterious inworking power of Him who created nature; and, in her perplexity and maiden innocence, she asks, how ? how shall this be ? Nothing can be more natural, nothing more guileless, nothing more significant of her virgin purity ! The question is answered. Lifting her soul out of the sphere of the natural into the higher realm of the spiritual, Avhere God works according to laws that prevail among nobler beings, Gabriel says, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore also that holy thing which 46 SERMONS ON THE shall be born of thee, shall be called the Sou of God." " With God nothing is impossible." And as a sign and evidence to assure her faith, he informs her that her cousin Elizabeth in her old age is about to bear a son. She hears, she believes, she submits; "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word!" The event, so grand in itself, jxt so strange, so unexpected in its accomplishment, accord- ing to all human calculations, must cover her future w^ith darkness. Repudiation by her betrothed ; dis- grace the most agonizing to her pure spirit, and death according to human law, awaited her. How shall she vindicate her innocence ? Who will believe her simple story? Then the faith which animated her father_ Abraham when he laid Isaac upon the altar, the faith which made Daniel mightier than the lions, lifted her above this horrible darkness, these appalling anticipations, into the serene light of God's presence. The Lord will in his time vindicate his own work ; calmly she will trust, unreservedly she will commit herself to Him. "Be it unto me according to thy word!" And so here, and elsewhere in this divine book, but nowhere else on earth, we find ourselves among those exalted souls, who, though compassed about with human infirmities, heard the voice of a present God, and, grasping his promises by a living faith, trod upon the world with all its attractions and its terrors. Let us pause a moment and look upon this scene. The grandest event in history is described in language the most remarkable ever recorded by mortal hands. The words of Mary, how artless ! how truthful! how befitting her circumstances ! how expressive of her LIFE OF CHRIST. 47 character! how brief and simple! The language of Gabriel, how beautiful ! how supernatural ! how sub- lime ! how it lifts the soul above the gross and the sensual into the serene presence of God ! how like a transparent robe of light it reveals while it adorns the majesty of the Highest ! How could the incarnation of the Son of God be announced to us in terms more justly expressive of the simple grandeur of his nature, or the unspeakable importance of his mission T Bring hither to-day the most remarkable classics of the world, select from them the brightest jewels that sparkle in the crown of genius ; compared Avith this treasured memory of a Jewish maiden they are as the composites and pastes of the jeweler to the Koh-i-noor, the crown jewel of the world. But so it ever is. When God speaks, though it be through human or angelic lips, the voices of human genius sink into the insig- nificant babblings of childhood; they are as the ex- plosions of man's mightiest gunnery in the presence of the lightning flashes and thunder-roll of the artil- lery of the skies. The divine message is given ; the human response received ; Gabriel departs. Then Mar}', eager to see with her own eyes the truth of the sign given her ; eager to communicate to Elizabeth the news of this wondrous annunciation ; eager to hold communion with her on these themes, the loftiest and most com- prehensive ever made known to man, hurries Avith char- acteristic energy, upborne by this new inspiration, to the hill country of Judah, south of Jerusalem, and to Jutta, the priestly city, where Zachariah dwelt. It is distant from iSTazareth, directly south, a journey of three or four days as men traveled it then and now. 48 SEKMONS ON THE She enters the house of her cousin, but ere she can open her lips, her message is anticipated. In a sudden burst of inspiration, Elizabeth exclaims : " Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of th}'' womb ! " Mary instantly responds in that hymn which, from that day to this, has echoed and re-echoed in all the oratories and temples of the Christian world : " My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hatb rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his hand-maiden ; for behold, from, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things ; and holy is His name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him, from generation to generation," etc. This is the first Christian hymn, called the magnificat, from its opening : " My soul doth magnify the Lord." Parts of it are found in the Song of Hannah, and in other Scriptures ; for Mary's mind was filled with the sublime thoughts and beautiful imagery of the Old Testament. But she has here combined them in one concrete whole — pervaded by her personality; illustrative of her experience; and expressive of her sense of the wonderful goodness of God to her and to all His people, Israel, in the anticipated coming of the great Messiah. What lofty faith ; what heavenly love ; what visions of mercy flashing back to Abra- ham and the promise, and forward to the oncoming generations of lowly believers, does it reveal to us ! So pure, so spiritual, so expressive of her experience, yet so in sympathy with the heart of Christianity, that it has fired and exalted the souls of the faithful in every age. This sweet hymn breaks upon us as a choral from the heart of universal love and faith. LIFE OF CHRIST. 49 Here these devout kinswomen, elected to be the moth- ers of Messiah and his forerunner, dwelt together, communing on sacred themes, and studying those pre- cious prophecies and promises which through them were to attain their fultillment. How iittins: and how beautiful that these two lives should, just at this time, run together and mingle their thoughts, their prayers, their aspirations, in anticipation of these great events. At length months have passed, and Mary returns to Nazareth — returns strengthened and refreshed in spirit to take up her cross and encounter the fearful trial which might be in store for her. Yet hear how her present Lord gently lifts up the cross, and the fear and tlie terror vanishes from her heart. Instead of repudiation, disgrace, a public trial, perhaps death^ there is only love and sacred marriage. Joseph, in- structed from on high, turns from his natural purpose, and takes her joyfully to his home and his heart. Oh ! thus, in instances without number, when the cross we must bear looked so heavy, and the lions we must face seemed so ferocious, has faith triumphed ! The dear Lord has made the cross lighter than a feather; the lions became Iambs. Another sacrifice has been sub- stituted in place of the beloved Isaac; and, instead of sorrow and tears, the heart has been filled with glad- ness, and the lips have been opened in songs of praise. Christian, when the future seeniB darkest, and thou seest no hope, no brightness emanating from earth, fear not ! Above the clouds shines serenely the un- changing sun, and in an instant through the rift his beams may fill thy heart with light ! Mary now appears at Bethlehem, and Christ is born. r O 50 SEHMONS ON THE Amidst all the wondrous scenes which distinguished that event, but one thing is recorded of her, and the same is said of her again on a subsequent occasion. She kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. She photographed them in her memorj^, to be repro- duced in due time, when the sacred record should be made up for the use of the future church. They dwelt there as blessed coniirmations of all that the angel had foretold. She was not a talkative, nor a very demon- strative woman. She loved to retire into herself and commune wnth God. She, the most honored among women, shrank with true w^omanly modesty from thrusting herself out of her sphere or into public no- tice. True piety, where it is deepest, is most quiet, SThe shallow^ brook rushes with noise and foam over its rocky bed. The deep stream moves on calmly, fer- tilizing broad acres. It is self-contained, steady, pro- gressive ; it sounds no trumpet; it beats no drum; it aspires not after worldly notoriety ; it seeks not to have its name on every lip ; it frets not at the seeming narrowness of its sphere. Content with God's ordina- tion, it diffuses the fragrance of its presence as the beauteous flower gently breathes its perfume upon the passer-by. As a wife and mother, Mary retires from public view. In the seclusion of J^azareth, she rounds out her domestic life in fulfilling all wifely and moth- erly duties. Her faith, her love, lightens the daily burden of care, cheers her husband's heart, and fills her home with the serene atmosphere of piety and j)eace. Her precious Son, informed with a divine grace, growing in favor with God and man, brightens -with his love and cheerful obedience every hour of her life; already he Avho is to be the Savior of the LIFE OF CHRIST. 51 world slieds upon her the benediction of liis holy jtresence. From this time the allusions to her in the Scriptures are few and brief; and, what is most remarkable, three of these contain an implied reproof. Once, before the commencement of his ministry, Jesus is taken by his parents to Jerusalem. On their return, the child, now passing into youth, tarries behind, and, the conscious- ness of his divine life revealing itself, attracted to tlie temple, he discusses with the learned teachers of tlie law those themes of which he is to be at once the chief subject and most magnificent exponnder. His parents, missing him after a time, return to Jerusa- lem. His mother, disturbed, alarmed, sorrowing, re- lentingly questions Him : " Son ! why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." And he said unto her: "How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business ?" Oh ! Mary, where is thy faith in God ? thy faith in thy divine Son ? Thy weak heart has failed thee. And thus hast thou taught us how often we, like thee, imperfect, sinful, are disturbed and care-burdened for those whom with a holy faith we should trust to the keeping of Him whose promise never fails. Oh ! parents, who in holy baptism have consecrated your little ones to God, and are seeking to train them with a Avise and gentle nurture for a useful life and happy immortality, see here mirrored thy Aveakness ! See here, too, the sure ground of a contented, quiet coniidence ! Ye are troubled about their future ; troubled if sickness conies upon them ; troubled if, for a little, they are absent from vou : Trust ye in Jesus ! Hold these 52 SERMONS ON THE precious ones fast to the mercj-seat. Hope ou, trust on, though not at once ye find them in the kingdom. Days, years, may pass; pray still; and then, at length, ye may see them sitting joyfull}- in the temple of your God. The next allusion to Mary is on a very different occasion. There is a marriage at Cana, a few miles north of J^azareth. Mary is there and Jesus. It is shortly after the commencement of his puhlic min- istry. During the festival the wine is exhausted. Then Mary, as his mother, and unquestionably presuming upon that fact, says to Jesus, " They have no wine," indicating that he could and ought to supply it. The answer is direct reproof of her presumption. " "Woman, what have I to do with thee ? Mine hour is not yet come." Consult the cases in which the iirst part of this answer is used in other parts of scripture, and you will find that it is of the nature of a reproof. Jesus as Messiah has now entered upon his work. It belongs to no human being to dictate to him when he shall use his divine power to work a miracle. Mary has thrust herself out of her sphere. She has made more than a mis- take— she has sinned, and that too in respect to a matter of the gravest magnitude; nor is it any justi- fication that her motive was one of kindness. The sphere of Jesus was infinitely above hers. She knew it. It was for her to sit at his feet and quietly wait till he should deem it best to act. Here, too, we see how the faithful and the devoted children of God are still compassed about with infirmity, — why David prays to be delivered from presumptuous sins. How at times wc all feel as if we could dictate to God, and LIFE OF CHRIST. 53 tluit our will and our way must be the best I Kind and generous impulses are noble, but a man may in- dulge them so as to violate other rights, and bring guilt upon his own soul. God is greater than man ; and if to please man we infringe upon the authority of God, we shall not be held guiltless. Mary feels the reproof and humbly retires. She is uot angry ; her humility shines out, the moment she is sensible of her sin. And so the Christian, under the divine re- proaches, quietly submits, and in lowliness leaves all to the disposal of his heavenly father. Onl}' once again docs Mary appear as an actor during the ministry of her Son. Christ is pressed on all sides by eager listeners. He is incessantly engaged in his great work. In the midst of his labors Mary seeks an interview — Matt. xii. 4G. Chrysostom thinks she was impelled by a desire to show her authority and relationship; but this is not consistent with Mary's character. Rather would we suppose with others that her maternal anxieties and love for her son, sought to induce him to take some repose. But, what- ever the motive, Jesus refuses to see her, and in so doing announces a fundamental idea of his kingdom. " Then said one unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren ? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said. Behold, my mother and niy brethren ! For who- soever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." My kingdom is not founded on family or earthly relationship. It is a kingdom of faith and love alone. 54 SERMONS ON THE Here all are on a level — all brethren and sisters in me by faith. Once again we see Mary before the cross when the sword has pierced her soul, and Jesus commits her to the tender care of the beloved John. Then when he is risen and ascended, she is seen among the faithful few, who in prayer await the pentecostal baptism. Here she vanishes from our view. Of her after life and death no authentic record remains. This brief review of her life is specially instructive in view of the claims which have been set up for her. We see her to have been a devout Jewish maiden, a faithful wife, a loving mother, illustrating in her life a true womanhood. Her faith, her study of the scriptures, her humility, her modesty, her fidelity — all commend her as an example of the character pro- duced by the grace of God. ISTot a single hint is given of her sinlessness, or that she difi'ered in her nature from Elizabeth or Anna, or any of those devout and loving women who folloived Christ to the cross and early visited his sepulcher. Her honor, her peculiar blessedness consisted in this, that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. As woman in Eve bore her part in the fall, so woman in Mary bore her part in giving birth to him who is the Redeemer of the world. To the church she sustains no official relation what- ever. Christ himself expressly disclaims all such human relationship in his kingdom. The moment he appears, she retires. A few allusions, and she vanishes from the scene. The apostles never once allude to her. She is put as entirely aside as if she never had existed. To those inspired men she is utterly uu- LIFE OF CllllIST. 55 known in any other relation to the cliurcli than that of a simple believer, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the early records, nothing in the early fathers of the church for the first five centuries, which indicates that Mary was anything more than an honored member of the church. When an heretical sect attempted to exalt iier into an object of worship in the fourth century, Aphiphanius de- nounced tliem and expressed the opinion of the whole church when he said, " The whole thing is foolish and strange, and is a device and deceit of the devil. Let Mary be in honor. Let the Lord be worshiped. Let no one worship Mary." It was not until after five centuries iiad passed that this monstrous and wicked sentiment began to show itself in the church. During the middle ages, when so many heathenish customs and rites were adopted, the worship of Mary, like the worship of Venus among the pagans, was introduced into the church. First they made her perfect, without a shadow of evidence, because it was becoming. Then they made her sinless at her birth, and this opinion was solemnly ordained by the Pope and his council in 1854 as a dogma of the Romish church, and all believers were bound to receive it. To show you a little the religious regard in which she is hekl in the south of Europe, I will quote a few of the titles given to her in a work by Liguori, whose authority no one who understands the subject will venture to question. She is called the Queen of Mercy ; our Life ; our only Refuge, Help and Asylum ; the Propitiatory of the whole world — (^ueen of Heaven and Ilell ; our Protec- tress from the Divine Justice, and from the Devil ; the Mediatrix of grace; the Dispenser of all grace; omui- 56 SERMONS ON THE potent ; the great Peacemaker ; the throne prepared in mercy ; the body of Salvation ; the Mediatrix of angels; the Way and the Door; the Mediator; the Intercessor; the Advocate; the Redeemer; the Savior; she is invested with a title archetypal ; with a crown of light as the morning star ; a glory issuing from the eternal throne ; robes pure as the heavens, and a scepter over all. I mention these things with shame and sorrow — shame to see to what heights of absurdity and blasphemy our poor human nature tinder seeming religious impulses can proceed, when once it sets its foot outside of the living word, and begins to add to that record its OAvn inventions ; sorrow that by multitudes, Jesus, the only Redeemer, should be practically discrowned and a feeble woman exalted to his throne. And I read with a new light, and a more fearful emphasis, the closing words of the Revelation : " And if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book ; and if any man shall take away from the words of this book, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." May God keep our weak hearts from being led astray by human inventions ; may he shed light upon the blinded mul- titudes from whose eyes these baseless imaginations hide the glorious mercy of Jesus and the bounteous love of God, and who feel that they need some medi- ator— some name by which they may be saved, other than' the one mediator, the one name given under heaven by which all may be saved. - Let us pass out of these mepliitic shadows into the liHit of Christ's own truth. It has been said that tlie LIFE OF CHRIST. 51 fact that Mai-y was the mother of Jesus has given to Avomaii under the reign of Christ her exaltation, and lifted her above the degrading conditions to which the world at large had subjected her. I would not diminisli the just influence of this fact. The thought is to me delightful that she was the mother and the nurse of Jesus, and by that association is forever houored. But, after all, the real power that has ele- vated the sex springs not from Mary, but from the very nature and genius of the kingdom of her divine Son. When he, refusing to recognize his earthly rela- tionship, declared that whosoever did the will of his heavenly father, the same was his brother, and sister, and mother, then he struck the key-note of his divine system ; then he proclaimed that in his king- dom there should be neither male nor female, bond nor free ; that in his blessed family all should stand on the same level ; all should enjoy the same privi- leges; all should be brethren and sisters united in Christian aft'cction. This is the secret force that has emancipated and exalted woman. This has not in- deed destroyed the distinctions of nature, but it has freed them from all sign of inferiority and degradation ; it has given her an exalted position in the church of Christ a§ a minister of blessing — a co-worker with him in advancing his kingdom. This has consecrated while it has purified her tenderness, her emotions, her love, her intellect to the noble work of elevating- man. Some ignoble souls there are who perpetually depreciate woman. The answer once given by one of a company thus employed is enough to silence them. " Gentlemen, I had a mother ! " Yes ! we have had mothers, and some of us will bless God forever for 58 SERMONS ON THE their heavenly influence in refining our rude natures and drawing- us to Jesus. Mothers, sisters here to- night, rememher your high calling; remember that Jesus has put the crown on your head, and the scep- ter in your hand ; that he has delivered you from the ferocious and degrading passions of man, and lifted you up to the heights of Zion, and strewn your path with his blessings. Oh ! well may you believe in Jesus of Nazareth. Oh ! well may you go to him as your dear brother and Lord amidst the sorrows and trials through which your earthly journey leads. Have you the faith, the love of Mary and Elizabeth ? Have you that secret of strength which the divine word alone can impart ? Can ye all look away from the vanities of earth, entranced by the glorious bright- ness which he sheds around the loving heart ? Is it possible that you can turn away from such di- vine love, from this friend of friends, to immerse your- selves in those fleeting pleasures which so soon must vanish and leave your soul desolate and dark forever ? Yes! woman loved and followed Jesus. At Pilate's bar no voice of hers cried crucify him. In sorrow and tears she stood by his cross; with tender and loving hands she brought the precious and costly spices to embalm his lifeless body ; with eager footsteps she hasted to his sepulcher with the opening light; with elevated faith and prayer she waited for the bap- tismal spirit, and ever since, Christ hath honored her in the church and used her influence to spread his light and love through the world. Joyfully she hath ministered to his disciples ; exultingly she has braved the fires of martyrdom ; and, mightier still, she has stood firm amidst the rushing tide of earthly attrac- LIFE OF CHRIST. 69 tions, Avith her eye serenely fixed upon tlie cross, and her soul bathed in the light of heaven. Oh ! daughter, sister, mother, will you turn your back on Jesus, when he is leading up these heights ofliglit and love, when such illustrious example pleads with you to forsake your sins and bedew his blessed feet with your tears? Oh ! woman, shall the Divine Son of Mary attract you not, while the world and sin shall lead you on to death ? 60 SERMONS ON THE IV. THE WISE MEN. " Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Jiidah, in the ddijs of Herod the King, behold, there came loise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews'? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to ivorship himi." Matthew ii, 1, 2. Who were the Magi ? " Historically, they are chiefly conspicuous as a Persian religious caste, Herodotus mentions them among the six tribes of the Medes." In the Old Testament, they are presented to us as learned men, the counselors of kings, the interpreters of dreams, and especially informed in respect to mat- ters of religion. After the conquest of the East by Alexander and the Romans, many of them migrated westward, and professed divination, sorcery, and a spe- cial familiarity with the secret powers of nature, if not an alliance with evil spirits. In the West, in conse- quence of these associations, the name Avas applied to designate a class at once "hateful and contemptible." It is so used occasionally in the New Testament. In the East, however, they seem to have maintained their position for a long time as a body of men learned in religion and science. Astronomy was one of their studies, and astrolog}', or divination by the stars, was connected with it. These men were evidently of this class, and are to be distinguished from those strolling LIFE OF CHRIST. 61 sorcerers, who employed magic arts for gain, in the AVest. They are said to have come from the East — in all probability from Persia or Parthia, their original home. Their language is truthful and frank, lle- garding their mission as at once dignified, important, and perfectly legitimate, they address themselves to Ilerod, the king of the country, as men accustomed to courts, and acquainted with the proper method of procedure in such circumstances. They came proba- bly with a large retinue and considerable state. They came not for traffic, nor for gain, nor for an ordinary political purpose. Their object is higher and more noble. They came to see and present their offerings to the new-born king of the Jews. To ascertain where he is to be found, they have an interview with Herod himself. He summons the chief priests and scribes, men learned in the Law. They inform him that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. Then Herod, with his usual craft, and concealing his real object, privately questions them respecting the time when .the star appeared, sends them to Bethlehem, and enjoins it upon them to return, and inform him of the result. They proceed to Bethlehem, iind the child, offering Him the usual royal gifts, gold, frank- incense, and myrrh; then, warned of God, they return to their home by another way. This is the simple, short, unadorned narrative of this remarkable visit. In itself, it is direct, clear, and eminently truthful. The subsequent events — the anger of Herod, the mur- der of the young children of Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt — follow naturally from this visit, and are its consequence, connected logically as cause and effect. That such a narrative as this should be fictitious, 62 SERMONS ON THE mythical, invented wholly out of nothing, is incredi- ble. It never could have entered the brain of a sane man, unless, debauched by the spirit of unbelief, skep- tical in regard to the supernatural in religion, he felt compelled, by the necessities of the case, to forge a theory that might remove this, in common with all the other remarkable facts of the life of Christ, out of the domain of history. The same method of pro- cedure— for there is no logical sense in it — would make all history a lie, and the best authenticated facts of the past an illusion and a dream. To show the absurdities of these methods of our modern rational- ists. Bishop Whately, taking their principles, has actually proved that ISfapoleon Bonaparte was a myth, and his whole history a falsehood, and that, when sound of the cannon of Waterloo had hardl}^ ceased to echo around the walls of Brussels, over Europe. Josephus does not mention these facts, neither does he allude to the crucifixion. It was his policy to de- preciate Christianity, to flatter the Eomans, and to avoid everything which would excite their suspicion, or the fears of the Emperor. Besides, among the vastly more exciting scenes which attended the last days of llerod, it is more than probable that these minor events were either unknown or forgotten. It is more remarkable that Luke, who dwells much on the early history of Christ, should have omitted all mention of it. But this is easily accounted for on these principles : 1. Luke seems to have his eye most directly on what concerns the humanity of Jesus, and so has recorded things connected with this, omitted by the other Evangeli.sts ; Matthew, on the other hand, is intent on his royal messiahship, and seizes readily LIFE OF CHRIST. 63 on all the events which, like this narrative, bear directly upon his kingship. 2. Tiie sources from which each one drew the materials of his narrative are unknown to us. Facts which may have been accessible to one, ma}' not have been to another. This is common to all histories, and the life of Christ is no exception to the general rule. 3. The grand principle, and the most important of all, is, that it was not the divine purpose to have the life of Christ written by a single mind, and thus stand singly by itself; but by different minds, selecting different facts, or grouping the same facts in different order, each according to his own mental habitudes, so as to afford in the result a more complete picture of the Savior, and at the same time, from their undesigned coinci- dences and diversities, place this life on the most impregnable basis. Now, this principle gives its pecu- liar character to the gospel histories; it accounts for all omissions, for the peculiar manner in which each one makes his own statement, for the abridged narra- tive of one in some parts and its fullness in another — it gives to each his proper position, and accounts for nine-tenths of all the difficulties, which an honest in- quirer meets in the study of the gospels. Amidst the amazing wealth of these divine utterances, and the thousand miraculous deeds which Jesus performed, it would have been impossible to have given to us the whole, or, if given, they would have swelled the gos- pels into ponderous tomes, tit only for the shelves of the student's library, and not to be sent out and read by all the world — never there to be of any use. Selections from them would have had to be made by uninspired men for the people, while the commentaries 64 SERMONS ON THE upon them woold have filled more folios than those of the old lawyers on the civil law. The divine wisdom in the peculiar form of the gospels is revealing itself with wonderful hrilliancy as time passes on. The essential things for the information of the world — the life of Jesus in its real power, as the gospel of redemption — are all there; available by all, sufiicient for all, who in humble faith seek light on the w^ay of salvation, and strive, by obedience to His commands, to live a life of faith, and attain final salvation. A great river, though it pass through the center of a continent, could not alone supply the wants of the millions that people it. The springs that gush up on every hillside, the little brooks that flow^ through every valley — these fertilize the earth, these supply the wants of individual men. The gospel, written in hundreds of volumes, like that river, would be acces- sible to few or to the mau}^ only at a vast expense of time and means. The gospel as it is, copied, printed, on the table of every house, in the pocket of every believer, is the same pure spring of the water of life, at every man's door, and he may drink and live for- ever, while the confluence of the life it nourishes in individuals forms the mighty stream of Christianity that is to encompass the world. We come now to speak of two points in this narra- tive, which will occupy us for the remainder of this discussion. The first is the conduct of Herod, and its historic probability. Herod was of an Idumean fam- ily, from a captured Jewish province on the south of Palestine. Nominally a Jew, he was in heart a Phi- listine, as his family are said to have been originally. Early placed in }>ower, he evinced considerable genius LIFE OF CHRIST. 65 as a general and executive. Bold in his designs, art- ful, unsernpnlous, and decisive in executing them, he Avas successful in winning the favor of Home, and maintaining his authority over a discontented people. His throne was a usurpation; the Asmonean d3'nasty he had crushed with a bloody hand. To propitiate the favor of the people, chafing under the loss of their ancient kings, and to aggrandize his own government, lie enlarged and beautitied the Temple, and adorned Jerusalem with splendid edifices. In moral character, he reached the summit of infamy. Ambitious to the last degree, rapacious, cruel, the slave of hateful pas- sions, jealous, and irascible, he hesitated at no means to accomplish his purposes. With a remorseless hand he sacrificed alike the noble and the base, the innocent and the guilty, when they stood in the path of his ambition or his lust. His deeds of blood-thirsty vengeance among the noblest of the people rival those of Cffisar Borgia, and put to the blush a Rich- ard the Tliird. In his own family, the glow of natu- ral and social afiection Avas quenched in blood by the insane jealousy of this incarnate demon. His own house became a slaughter-pen, and his beautiful wife, Marianne, and his children were the chosen victims. His wife, the granddaughter of a Jewish king, and whom he loved as tenderly as his capricious and jeal- ous heart could love, twice, when he went to Rome, he destined by secret orders to death, in case he should not return. About this very time, he had mur- dered his son Antipater, and during the illness under which he was suffering, and of which he soon after died, he left orders that, in the event of his death, all a 66 SERMONS ON THE the nobles of Jerusalem should be shiin, in order that Jerusalem mi^^ht be compelled to mourn over his de- parture. It was to such a man the wise men came with the inquiry, "Where is he who is born king of the Jews?" It is no Avonder. that the jealous, ambi- tious heart of this monster was troubled. His throne and that of his descendants was in danger. With his usual craft, he instantly formed his plans. Cloaking his purpose under a desire to see and worship this royal child, he ascertains the time when his star ap- peared, and then enjoins it upon them to return and in- form him where he is to be found. And when they do not return, then he issues orders to slay every child in Bethlehem under two years of age. Given the char- acter and position of Herod; given the suspicion that a child is born in Bethlehem who is to thrust him or his children from the throne, and the massacre of the innocents follows as fitly as any effect from a natural cause. For him not to have taken the course he did, would have belied his whole character and life. Jose- phus says: "That Herod did not spare those who seemed most dear to him, but slew all those of liis ow^n family who sided with the Pharisees in refusing to take the oatli of allegiance to the Roman Emperor, while they looked forward to a change in the royal line.''' Macrobius, another historian, has preserved this characteristic anecdote of Augustus. Y\^hen lie Jieard that among the boys of two years old Herod had or- dered to be slain, one of his own sons w^as a victim, he said, "that he had rather be Herod's hog than his son." We are startled and amazed at the depths of depravity to which this man descended. He may in- deed have won a peculiar infamy, but he does not LIFE OF CHRIST. 67 stiiiul isolated and alone in all these respects in the world's history. The sultans of Tui-key, for ages, sys- tematically slew all their nearest and dearest kindred who might possibly thrust them from the throne. There is scarcely in Europe, or the world, a royal house of any long standing, against which the voice of crime, monstrous and unnatural, does not cry to God for vengeance. Scliish ambition, the s})irit of a seliish aggrandizen^ent, with tit opportunity for its development, and uncountcracted by religious })rinci- ple, is among the mightiest influences to debauch the manhood of its possessor, and curse the world. It has turned patriots into traitors; men of a gentle and kindly nature, into the most ferocious and cruel. Un- scrupulous in the means it uses, it treads upon the rights and hearts of the people, as if they were beasts of prey. Nine-tenths of all the wars which have deso- lated the earth have sprung from its seliish lust of aggi'andizement. It marches with lire and sword through peaceful and populous provinces, utterly in- sensible to the pleadings of innocence or the agony of broken hearts. It plunged this peaceful nation into all the terrors of civil conflict, and slew hundreds of thousands of your sons on its bloody altar. Alike in all ages, among all peoples, its presence is seen in every village and city of our land. It makes the proud man court the favor of those he despises; the moral man pander to the ai)petites of the depraved, that he may use them as stepping-stones to power. It ascends the steps of the capitol ; it waves its wand ; governors, representatives, senators, presidents, arc transformed. The consistent man denies his princi- ples; the honorable man debases himself to mean 68 SEEMONS OX THE and degrading acts; the clear intellect, the inge- nuous mind, that once looked straight into the eye of truth and right, sees only a huge figure of his own personality looming up in the future. This fearful passion, which made Herod a fiend, Arnold a traitor, and ISTapoleon a despot — which has shed blood enough to float all the navies of the world since ISToah built his ark — lurks in you and me; is part and parcel of our depravity; to be repented of in dust, to be fully counteracted and changed into a healthful stimulus toward noble objects, only by the indwelling grace and ti-ansforming power of this royal child, whom Herod sought to destroy among the infants of Beth- lehem. The second point to be discussed relates to the star wdiich guided these men to Bethlehem, and the reason which led them to seek out the infant Jesus. 1. To account for the appearance of this star, several theo- ries have been advanced. Many of our modern com- mentators have been disposed to- adopt the opinion of the astronomer, Kepler, that it was a conjunction of planets. He observed such a conjunction of the plan- ets Saturn and Jupiter in the autumn of 1603, and in the following spring Mars was added to them. In the autumn of 1004, a new star of remarkable brilliancy appeared, which soon began to fade, and finally van- ished. Calculating backward, he found a similar con- junction of these planets three times, in the year of Rome 747 and 748. They were so near, that to an imperfect vision they might seem as one. Alford, assuming this to be the case, then shows that if the Magi saw the fi-rst of these conjunctions, it would ap- pear to them on the 20th of May, in the east, shortly LIFE OF CHRIST. 69 before the rising of the sun. If they then set out on their journey, and occupied five months in it, they would reach Jerusalem about the time of the conjunc- tion in November. If they left Jerusalem in the even- ing, these stars, in the sign Pisces, would be before them in the direction of Bethlehem, coming to the meridian about 8 o'clock. Prof. Addison Alexander, one of the ripest scholars of this century, and one re- markably distrustful of mere theories, says of this : "The concurrence is in this case so remarkable, and the explanation recommended by such high scientific authority, that it would probably have been univer- sally adopted, but for the foregone conclusion that tlie birth of Christ took place in a different year. But that assumption is so doubtful, and the views of the best writers so discordant, that it can scarcely be allowed to decide the question before us, but may rather be decided by it." Another theory is founded on the fact that in some Chinese astronomic.il records it is affirmed that a luminous body or comet appeared in 749 and 750 at Rome. This would accord with the more general opinion as to the time of Christ's birth. Others again, rejecting these theories, think "that the whole tenor of Matthew's narrative points strongly to some extraordinarj' luminous appearance in the form of a star, which, having served its purpose of guiding the Magi to Jesus, vanished forever." The first two theories explain the appearance of the star according to natural laws ; the last makes it wholly supernatural. On this sul)ject I offer the following remarks: 1st. There is nothing in the narrative before us which necessitates the supposition of a supernatural pheno- menon. It simply states the fact, and leaves every 70 SERMONS OX THE one free to form his own conclusions. 2d. Where a fact is stated which might liave occurred in virtue of natural law — and there is nothing in the statement contrary to this idea — then we are bound to suppose it did thus occur. God does not go outside of nature, to do that wdiich he can do as "well in accordance with nature. 3d. The fact that it was natural or super- natural, does not account for the connection of this star wMth the new-born king in the mind of the Magi. If this could be eftected as w^ell by an extraordinary conjunction of stars or a comet, then there w^ould be no necessity for the creation of a special star. After all, the narrative is so framed as to leave every one free to form his own opinion of the character of this remarkable phenomenon ; nor does it become any one to dogmatize in the matter. But the main question now meets us, and demands an answer. It is not whether this star was an extra- ordinary natural phenomenon or a special luminous appearance created expressly for this purpose, but how in either case it came to be connected with the birth of Jesus in the minds of these Magi, and how^ it was they were led to take so deep an interest in a King of the Jews, as to take this journey in order to present to him their royal oiferings, and do liirn^ homage. This is evidently the chief question, and to the solution of it w^e must now address ourselves. It is clear from this narrative that in the minds of these men a more than usual interest attached to the birth of this infant. It is no ordinary King of the Jews whose star tbey have seen. Judea is but a speck on the map of the w^orld. Its kings had risen and disap- peared, unnoticed by the surrounding nations; even LIFE OF CHRIST. 71 now the shadow of that vast empire, that had changed nearly all the kingdoms of the civilized world into snbject provinces, rests upon it. It was the smallest, and in the opinion of men, one of the least important of the kingdoms. Why should these men, dwelling in distant and hostile regions, be deeply moved by the birtli of one of its future kings, and journe}' hundreds of miles to offer their royal homage to the infant in its cradle ? The case is most extraordinary — most won- derful. It is all out of the common course of things. It can be explained only on the supposition that this infant was to be no ordinary king; that his influence and his rule was to extend far beyond the petty pro- vince of Judea ; that all the nations of the world were, in some way, to feel his influence and recognize his sovereignty ; that he was to stand out in history as the most remarkable of kings ; that even the empire of the Ciiesars was to bow to his influence, and the world to behold a king of a new order, of high and noble attributes, guided even by the divine hand, ascend the throne. Such ideas as these must have filled the minds of these eastern sages ; such thoughts must have kindled their enthusiasm, and moved them to make this most extraordinary visit to Bethlehem. How, then, came they to entertain such views and associate them with the infant Jesus ? This opens to us a wide field of inquiry, and one as yet only par- tially investigated, but every step in which is full of deepest interest — every step in which sheds new light on that wonderful }>rovidence of God which prepared the nations for the coming of Immanuel. The promise made right after the fall of a Savior who should bruise the serpent head of sin, was not 72 SERMONS ON THE wholly latent and inoperative. A central idea like this, so grand, so universal, once lodged in the minds of men, was not likely to vanish entirely away. Dis- torted, dimly apprehended, misconceived it might be, but in many a thoughtful mind it passed down from ]N"oah, and in every nation it would find those who cherished it as a prophecy of some undefined good, to be realized in the appearance of some one who should stand in relation to redemption as Adam had to the fall. The institution of sacrifices was the expres- sion of this idea in a symbolical form. For they were based on the truth that man by sin had forfeited his life, and that only by blood cotdd he be redeemed. But the blood of bulls or of goats could not possibly secure the remission of sin. C?esar, himself a free- thinker, says that for the life of man, the life of man must be offered, since only thus could the immortal gods be appeased. Sacrifices were thus a standing memorial of the fall ; a proof of man's utter inability by himself to atone for sin ; a perpetual prophecy of the coming of Him in whom the symbol should find its substance — in whom sin should find its true sacri- fice, and man should find access to a pardoning God. And, in addition to this, the felt want of one whose w^ords should enlighten men on the vast concerns of the soul, and whose power should deliver them from the indwelling power of sin, naturally inspired the hope of such a deliverer, and helped to perpetuate the prophecy of Eden in thoughtful minds. Thus Socrates labored, as he says, to be a helper of men to be new born, to rise above the power of sin ; thus Plato affirmed that, in order to enlighten and deliver man from sin, some one must be sent from heaven. All LIFE OF CHRIST. unconsciously did these men echo the original promise given to Adam ; all unconsciously did they prophesy, out of the heart of our distressed humanity, of one who in the likeness of man incarnate should wield divine power to purify the heart and lift man up to communion with God. I might multiply indefinitely testimonies on this subject from all t!ie religions of the world. I might show you how Zoroaster and his followers anticipated the coming of such a deliverer ; how in the far East the same thought holds its place ; how Sibyline oracles in the West shadowed it forth, so that it was no figure of speech, no exaggeration of a fact, and no figment of the imagination, when the sacred writers call Christ the desire of all nations. Archbishop Trench, in one series of his Hulsean lec- tures, has followed out this thought at great length ; yet even he has not begun to exhaustit. It is a mine into which many a learned man will sink his shaft here- after, and out of the depths of the religions of, the world bring forth still mightier testimonies to the di- vine preparations for the coming of Messiah. But the great influence which breathed new life into these traditions and memories of the nations re- specting a Messiah, which gave a definite form to those longings and unconscious prophecies of the heathen, sprang in the age immediately preceding this from Judea itself. The wonderful providence which scattered multitudes abroad over the world, not onl}^ rooted out the tendencies to idolatry- in themselves, but intensified and quickened their esti- mate of and love for their own Scriptures. The love of counti-y on one side, the amazing purity and sublimity / 74 SERMONS ON THE of their sacred writings coutrasted with the debasing superstitions of the pagans on the other, exalted their enthusiasm for their own religion, impelled them to study their prophets with profonuder zeal, compelled them to dwell on the coming and glories of their Mes- siah, and to anticipate the hour as near when Jerusa- lem should be exalted above the mountains, when all nations should flow to her, when Greek and Roman and Oriental should bow to the scepter of her king, and they should be the nobility and their priests the hierarchy of tlie world. For this they prayed; with these sublime voices their synagogues resounded every Sabbath day. These voices were heard by multitudes without. They were the fit expressions of distressed and longing hearts. They found an answering echo in many a thoughtful mind. They were heard in the palaces of kings, in the libraries of the learned. They raised expectation; they excited curiosity. So that Tacitus at Rome is compelled to recognize them; Virgil immortalizes them in song, but applies them to a child of Rome. All over the West, the expecta- tion is that in the East a king is to arise who shall rule the world ; all over the East, the expectation is that in the West he is to be born. Jerusalem is the center, and there Messiah appears. These Magi were thoughtful men. They shared in these expectations of this coming king. They may have been in personal connection with the Jews, and learned more definitely of the Messiah ; for Daniel, the chief of these men at the court of Babylon, must have left his impress upon them, while multitudes of the dispersion were still scattered through all that re- gion. But they were astrologers; the}' constantly LIFE OF CHRIST. 75 connected the birtli of great men and important events with the stars, ^o matter if the science was false. They acted on what seemed to them to be true. And it is all folly to sui)pose that God may not make even the errors of men the occasion for accomplishing Ilis purposes. In expectation of this great event they waited and watched. The star appears. To them it is the star of Bethlehem. Then, like others, they might have recorded it and waited the result. But no ; there is an inward impulse which urges them toward Jerusalem. Here is the finger of God. Who that believes that God works in human hearts b}' influ- ences and in ways known only to Himself denies it? How often in the world's liistory do men feel these unaccountable impulses, overriding all obstacles and leading them forth to action ? How often are men thus affected and saved by it from some great calam- ity on which they were unknowingly rushing? What Christian but who recognizes this inward influence that has turned his feet away from the path that would have led to misery and death ? God designed the visit of these men to the infant Savior. It was connected Avitli Herod and with the flight into Egypt and the deliverance of Jesus. And it was His influ- ence, and His alone, that brought them on their toil- some journey to pay their otterings to our King Immanuel. It was no accidental conjunctive circum- stance, no mere mistake in respect to the stars and their language and meaning, that brought them to Judea. It was all arranged in the divine mind, and was part of that sublime plan of which the incarna- tion was the iHgiiming of the end. The neighing of a horse once decided who should occupy a throne. 76 SEEMONS ON THE The destiny of a nation often hinges on events as slight as that. But above them all God rules. The mistakes, the errors of men are all known to Him. His providence reaches to them, foresees them, uses them to advance His final purpose in respect to this world. That star, that conjunction of stars, had an oifice to perform in reference to the infant Jesus; and God used it to bring about this visit of the wise men to his cradle. The connection between it and the birth of Christ may not have been what they imag- ined, but it Avas real in God's purpose and fulfilled its office. So in a thousand ways God subordinates man's mistakes to the advancement of His kingdom. It is His sublime prerogative to bring good out of evil, and out of error to bring forth the more j^erfect knowledge of and establishment of His truth. Thus out of alchemy comes the beautiful science of cliem- istry — a science which, analyzing the composite nature of all material things, is revealing new wonders of di- vine wisdom, long hidden from the eje of man, and multiplying his resources for advancement all over the earth. Thus out of war, w^ith all its savage ferocity, has sprung the law of nations, which one day maj' be- come the law of harmony when Christ shall have breathed into them more perfectly his spirit. And thus out of astrology came the sublime science of astronomy, introducing man into that universe of worlds which nightly holds its silent march around our planet. AVe might illustrate this thought from every department of knowledge and religion, and we should see how God is thus making error contribute to truth, and the tran- sient misconceptions of sincere inquirers, the fore- Tunners of still hiji'lier advances. LIFE OF CHRIST. 77 It was peculiarly fitting that these foreign Magi should lay their ott'eriiigs at the feet of Jesus. Angels had heralded him ; devout Jews had recognized him, and now in them the Gentile world presented its homage to him who was to be their God. For that world he was to live and die ; his words were to give light to the nations and scatterthcir darkness; his life and death were to be their salvation. It was fitting, too, that science, in the persons of these scholars, should stand humbly at the cradle of Jesus and bend its head in lowly reverence. For he was in- carnate wisdom ; the light that blazed from Calvary was mighty to scatter a thousand superstitions which science had essayed in vain. He was to make man conscious of his immortality, and reveal to him the na- ture and wisdom of God in all its sublime comprehen- siveness. He was to pierce the darkness of the grave, and bring life and immortality to light. He, lifting man above the mephitic gloom of things earthly, bring- ing down into the soul the elevating truths of true re- ligion, was to give impulse and guidance to the human mind in the study of the works of God, and the provi- dence of God, and the laws tliat rule in matter and mind, that should make the future all resplendent with light. Of all this, Christ is the center and God the circumference. Science, to be real and advancing, must start from Calvary and get its true impulse from the cross, and make the Bible its inspiration, and then bring back its trophies and lay them humbly at the feet of Jesus. One thought more and I have done. These ^lagi were men, sinful men, groping in darkness, longing for light, for truth, for deliverance from sin. The 78 SEEMONS ON THE heavens above them were studded witli stars. They looked upon them and studied them, hut the darkness still encompassed them; the soul still longed for a guide to immortality. But when this star rose upon them heralding the sun, with impulsive, eager footsteps they hurried to Bethlehem and recognized their king. They came to Jesus and were blest. That toilsome journey issued in the most glorious event of their lives. That sincere act of homage God approved ; he gave them special manifestations of his presence, and taught them how to return. They brought gold and precious spiccry as the expression of their homage to the infant king; they carried back with them a spiritual benisou in comparison with which the riches of earth are as dust and ashes. They came as inquirers to the most wonderful teacher in the world, and they carried away thoughts and impressions that would quicken their love and deepen their faith all through life. "When the storms came, they saw through the gloom the star of Bethlehem. We hear no more of them, for their mis- sion to Christ was accomplished. But we may sup- pose, that if they survived to see the hour when that infant was crucified, and when his disciples, entering Mesopotamia, and Babylon, and Persia, preached a risen Savior^ these devout men would listen to the first words of message. It would come to them as the ex- planation of the mystery and the glory that compassed that royal infant, and, lifting their eyes from earthly kings to Jesus on God's right hand, they saw in him their Redeemer and their incarnate God. You, too, are walking in darkness, seeking some guide to immortality. Stars of nature shine down upon you, but they are cold, and distant, and decep- LIFE OF CHRIST. 79 tive. Long have some of you been following earthly guides. In vain. In vain. One star alone heralds tlie sun that is to shed the light of immortalitv upon your perturbed and anxious spirits. So Kirke White watched and waited in darkness, tossed on the unquiet waves of earthly passions, and no harbor of rest opened its glad quiet and its sunlit skies to his soul. His pas- sionate nature broke forth in song; he ranged through all the realm of literature; he ascended the hights of human science, but the wind still roared; the waves still dashed around his frail bark. Then when despair had settled on his heart, he saw a star, this star of Beth- lehem. It guided him home to rest, to peace, to light, to God. Oh! thus have millions, journeying through the desert, looked to the stars around for some guide to an immortal rest. Out of that trackless waste no certain star shone in which they could recognize the true guide. They followed now one and then another, but no cit}' of light and rest lifted its walls and pin- nacles of beauty and glory before them. The night was on them and no morning came. Then they saw the star of Bethlehem ; then came the glorious sun of righteousness, and then at length they reached that citj^ whose builder and maker is God. And now, dear friends, what will you do? Will you go with us reverently to pay your homage to the infant Jesus? We'll go with you. Come with us in penitence and faith and go to Calvary. Will you watch with us at the sepulcher? Will you on Mount Olivet see Jesus ascend to his seat of power? Will you sit })raying with us in the placo of prayer, wait- ing the baptism of the spirit? Will you go forth with us to bear the cross of Jesus and proclaim his 80 SERMONS ON THE gospel to the perisliing and ignorant? Will you walk with ns in the joyous and blessed company of our Savior? "Will you with us enter the gates of death, sustained by faith in him who makes those gates the portals of life? Will you enter with us those heavenly mansions he hath prepared for all his people ? The spirit and the bride say come, and let him that heareth say come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely* LIFE OF CHRIST. 81 V. AYIIO TAUGHT JESUS? "And JesHS increased in wisdom and. stature, and in favor with God, and man" — Luke ii, 52. ^''Whence hath this man this icisdomf — Matthew xiii, 54. "How knoioeth this man letters, having never learned,'? Jesus ansioered them, and said, 31y doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me" — John vii, 15, 16. More than eighteen centuries ago, the traveler who visited Nazareth might have seeti a youth quietly passing through its streets, or climhing the hills on the sides of which it is built, to gaze on the magnifi- cent panorama which, from that, embraces the Medi- terranean on the Avest, the great plains of Esdralon and the hills of Judea on the south, Tiberias and the mountains beyond it on the east, and Lebanon and snow-crowned Hermon on the north. A little later he might have entered the carpenter's shop of Joseph and seen him there working as a mechanic at his re- puted father's trade. This youth is distinguished from all around him by his manly grace and beauty, and especially by his countenance, radiant with the calm spirituality of his pure nature. Galilee, in which he dwells, contains a mixed population of Phoenicians and Jews, proverbially uncultivated and rude. Naza- reth, in Galilee, is pre-eminent for its boisterous and 82 SERMONS OX THE unenlightened population. No molding inflnence of Grecian intelligence was known to it. 'No teacher of the law from Jerusalem condescended to take up his abode there. N'estled in that quiet valley, apart from the influences of the great world, it maintained its bad pre-eminence in ignorance among the towns of Palestine. The question, " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth," gives a wonderful significance to the title which Pilate wrote on the cross, " Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews." In these rude circumstances, his mind unaffected by the discipline of the schools of Athens or Jerusalem, he grows from childhood to youth, from youth to manhood. An occasional visit with his parents to Jerusalem, to celebrate the great feasts, is all the in- tercourse he has with the outer world. But when the full maturity of manhood is reached, this young man emerges from the vale of Nazareth and presents him- self to Ills countrymen as the Messiah, and stands forth a perfect teacher of the sublimest truths. For three years he speaks and writes as never man before or since has taught or wrought ; then, dying on Cal- vary, he rises from the grave and ascends to heaven. The system of truth he taught and illustrated in his life, wherever it has gone, wherever it is received, ele- vates man into a liigher region of knowledge and life. It became the inspiration of millions; it overturned the religions of heathenism; it introduced a new era of progress ; it has grown stronger in the numbers who accept it from year to year ; it moves forward to the conquest of the world. Whence did he derive that truth ? How came he to be informed with such knowledge ? How comes it to pass that this young LIFE OF CHRIST. 83 man, roared in such adverse eirennistaiices, in the short si)acc of three years, has done that which all the greatest intellects of the world, trained in the finest schools, working their protracted lives, have been ut- terly nnahlc to approximate unto, so that in compari- son with him and his work they are as babbling in- fants to the angel standing in the sun! But in order to show yon the absolntcly immeasurable difference between Christ and all other teachers, and to justify more fully the answer which must be given to these questions, I ask you to consider with me his peculiar character as a teacher, and the character of the truths he uttered. 1. Christ as a teacher condenses and combines all that is true, real, and important for man to know in all the religions of the world. There is nothing vital and permanent in any system of faith, nothing in them that is essential to Inuuan elevation or spiritual progress, that is not to be found in the teachings of Christ in form free from all error and infinitely better adapted to bless man. Truth has always been in the world ; God gave man a revelation of it to a certain extent at the lirst. Ilis conscience responded to it; the law was written on his heart. But his passions were antagonistic, and often got the better of con- science. They obscured the truth ; they led men to mix it with error, to substitute imaginations and human reasonings in its place. Once in a while a devout soul, with tine powers of thought, seized upon isolated portions of it and proclaimed it anew, and taught it to a circle of disciples. They in turn added to it something of their own, distorted it, obscured it. And thus the truth was only here and there a grain 84 SERMONS ON THE of gold in the midst of sand and nibbish. The fair sys- tem of truth was broken up. Isolated fragments only remained, and those welded into systems of monstrous error and superstition. Then Christ arose. Out of the mind of this Galilean peasant it came fortli, the pure gold, stamped with his image, to be the spiritual currency of the world. The error, the imagination, the superstition have vanished. Refined of its dross; bright in its pure luster; henceforth the world recog- nizes it as his truth — as the truth of God. It is here ; it is in Europe; it is spreading over the world in its original, pristine purity. "Whence came it ? How is it that he alone in all history, unlearned in human phi- losophies, unlearned in human religions, unveils the truth of God in all its perfection, undimmed by a par- ticle of the dross of error ? Who is this being who thus walks in heaven's own brightness- — whose utterances are the utterances of God himself out of that region of light where there is no darkness at all ? Who is this whose words no mind, however great, can add to, can take from, without marring their beauty and their vitality ? Who is this whose eye, glancing through history, and into man, and up to God, detects all that is pure, and real, and vital in the past and present, and, separating.it from all that is impure or doubtful, stamps it as God's pure truth, and gives it currency forever ? 2. Jesus unfolded the true nature of the Mosaic economy, and brought out the true spirit of the doc- trines and precepts of the Old Testament Scriptures. His conceptions of the Mosaic economy were radical, clear, and definite. The Jews, without an exception, regarded this system as permanent. It was divinely LIFE OF CHRIST. 85 appointed; it was designed to exalt and purity their nation ; it was meant ultimately to bless other nations ; but this blessing was to reach the world at large onl}^ through them ; the Gentiles were to come to them for light; but they were to be the favored nation ; Jeru- salem was to be exalted above the hills; they were to be the nobles, and Messiah the king of the world ; the same ritual, the same civil statutes were to continue, everything was to proceed in the same general course ; but their influence was to ditfuse itself and leaven the heathen. The glory that was to rest on Zion was tem- poral, and Messiah was to rule as a civil as well as a religious king over all men. This view all their great and learned men supported. There is no evidence that a single one of them all entertained a different opinion. But Christ, when he entered upon his Mes- sianic work, propounded a view entirely antagonistic to this. He declared that this whole system was only educational, and preparatory to another and a grander system which he announced. Its ceremonial, its pro- vincial, its purely national arrangements were all to pass away. Jerusalem was no longer to be the center of worship. The Mosaic system w^as only the chrysalis in which the church was [»repared to assume another and nobler, a more universal, form. Nay, he advanced be- yond this; he not only announced that this was the real purpose of that ancient system, but he afhrmed that in him personally it had reached its fulfillment. He was the appointed Messiah, whose reign Avas to be spiritual, universal, eternal. In him types and proph- ecy were to have their fulfillment. He was to break the shell of the chrysalis, and the imprisoned church, now ripe in the fullness of time, was to spread its 86 SERMONS ON THE wings for a world-wide conquest. Think a moment, how radical, how sweeping, how practical, was this announcement! The distinctive characteristics of this nation were to be obliterated at a blow ; its religious institutes divinely established ; cemented by blood ; consecrated by ages of devotion ; associated with all that was good, and grand, and inspiring in the past ; the crown and glory of the whole people ; to snstain wliich, patriotism and religion united; the perpetua- tion of whicli alone could exalt them as a nation among nations, and kindle their enthusiasm, and breathe in- to them the inspiration of hope — were all to be swept away forever. Do you wonder now at the intense an- tagonism which they instinctively felt toward Jesus, and which so soon culminated in the cry — " Crucify him ! Crucify him ! " But this is not all. While he swept away the Mosaic economy as a national and preparatory system, he un- veils the true spirit which breathes through it the preci- ous truths and holy doctrines which lay at its found- ation, and gave it all its vitality. These were the spiritual forces that maintained the life of true relig- ion ; these were the trutlis which were permanent and eternal; these must enter into his new kingdom of righteousness and peace. At this time the nation as a whole was settling into a rigid formalism. Two schools of somewhat different tendencies were training the people for this sad eclipse of true faith. One, rep- resented by the Pharisees, and by far the largest and most powerful, professed to receive not only the Law and the Prophets as inspired, but with these a multi- tude of traditions as almost of equal authority. They held the truth, but it was so overlaid with these often LIFE OF CHRIST. 87 puerile, absurd, and eontradictory traditions, as to ob- scure, distort, and practically nullify it. Some of you may have seen what is called a palimpsest — that is, an old parchment on which the original writing has been rubbed over, and something else written on it. Thus the Pharisees, like the Church of Rome, had written their traditions all over the original word of God, so that man lost sight of it. But when Jesus came, he denounced their whole traditional system ; he rubbed it out, and restored the original word just as inspira- tion wrote it. lie tore the masks from their faces, and denounced them as corrupters of the truth ; and held up before men tlie simple word in its original in- tegrity and purity as the true and only guide to life. This man, confronting the most powerful sect of his countrymen, and the masses who sympathized with them, restored the word of God to its true place. The other school, represented by the Sadducees, professed to hold only to the Mosaic law, and to this mainly as a civil and moral code. They lost sight of its true, profound, religious significance. They were afraid to step their foot into the spiritual world. Their religion was outward and material. They pro- fessed to be led by reason. They not only rejected tradition, but heart religion itself. They left the word of God as dry and barren and juicclcss as a squeezed orange. Their religion was art, and taste, and litera- ture, and intellectual refinement. They were the infi- dels of that age, as they would have been the rational- ists of this. Jesus deals with them, too. He points out to them the profound spirituality, the vital meaning in the word which they overlooked. He brought forth before both these classes the intense spirit of religion 88 SERMONS ON THE which pervaded and vitalized every pai't of it. He scattered the superstitions of the one and the skepti- cism of the other with the same hreath. He revealed the fundamental system of truth which was in the Old Testament and which they either misconceived or doubted. Aud thus he affirmed all that which was permanent aud abiding, aside from the forms and cere- monies, the types and the civil statutes. Thus this youth of Nazareth comprehends what no mortal be- fore him or since understood ; he holds in his mind an original conception of the whole Old Testament dis- pensation ; he takes in at a glance the truth that was designed for educational preparation ; the truth that is essential to all religion and is eternal. He scatters the fog of tradition and the darkness of skepticism. He stands up as in himself the fultillment of all that is temporary and the vital center of all that is perma- nent and spiritual, and the result justifies his wisdom. The law, which he pronounced evanescent and tempo- rary, is gone forever ; its mission is accomplished, and it remains to us as only as the luminous history of that stage of the church, shedding light on the provi- dence and wondrous wisdom of God in the training of this nation. But what he made permanent, remains and enters into our experience as Christians. See now how grandly, under his wonderful tuition, the old text harmonizes with the new — how the old is illuminated b}' the new, and the new is connected with the old as part of one sublime system, animated by one spirit, originated by one mind, and unitedly filling up the circle of truth for the salvation of men. When I read the Old Testament in the light of the I^ew, I seem -not to be passing into another atmosphere or another LIFE OF CHRIST. 89 region of thought ; it is the same ; the same God, the same Savior in prophec}-, the same Christian life and experience. When I read the New, I sec in it only a fultillment of the Old ; the same system more fully de- veloped ; the same truth set forth in clear light; and I clasp this whole Bible to my heart as the living AVord of God, all of it profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction, for edification in righteousness. Now how did it come to pass that this young Nazarene stood so immensely above all his predecessors and con- temporaries ? IIow did the fullness of this vast scheme, known only to the mind of God, only par- tially shadowed forth in the Old Testament, possess his intellect as defined, clear and comprehensive as if he had stood at the fountain-head of wisdom and himself originated it? Whence did he derive that transcend- ent insight which detects the transient and the per- manent, the substance in the form, the entire relations of this sublime scheme to God, to the Jewish nation, to universal man ? Nay, more ; how came he, a 30uth, of lowly parentage, with no prestige of scholarship, or wealth, or station, to make himself the grand object of all the transient arrangements of the Mosaic econ- omy ? To assume a character the most exalted and the most important in the world ? Answer me these ques- tions, ye who believe only in natural law and the or- dinary development of the human mind under the conditions essential to the progress of all other intel- lects? What are the natural conditions necessary to develope such a mind? Or can you conceive of any human being in the circumstances in wiiich Christ was placed, solely from himself, originating such 90 SERMOT^S ON THE thoughts and iixing them as a blazing sun in the heavens to shed light upon the Avorld ? 3. Passing now to another point; see with what wonderful vividness he presents old doctrines only dimly aiDprehended, and advances new truths ! He proclaims the fatherhood of God, in terms the most remarkable and comprehensive. God is not merely a sovereign, but a father, feeling a father's interest in all his intelligent creation ; loving them with God-like intensity ; not the Jew only, but the Gentile ; not a class, but the race. Hear that wonderful announce- ment: God so loved the world as to give his only be- gotten Son that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life ! This is the most ■ sublime, most loving, most divine truth, the ages have ever heard. This is the brightest illustration of God's fatherhood, and the mightiest appeal to the hearts of men, seen or heard in all the centuries. It is a sub- lime revelation of love flashed down amid the deprav- ities, and misconceptions, and hatreds, and darkness of the race. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, is the seraphic opening of that compre- hensive prayer he taught his disciples. Our father, thy father, my father, to whom as a child I may come, in all my want and sorrow. See, too, how he dignities the soul! with what infinite value he invests it! how, beside it, the wealth of time, the glory of material things, suns, stars, the whole universe of nature fades, vanislies in the darkness of utter emptiness ! See how the human heart is set forth as the temple of God or devils; the true throne of God, the usurped seat of Satan. Forms are nothing, earthly distinctions are nothing, intellectual attainments are nothing, the LIFE OF CHRIST. 91 lietirt, where riglit or wrong, love or selfishness, holi- ness or sin originate and live, and give man his true character for eternity — this is all in all. Then how sin and holiness are set forth — sin in its guilt, its horrible pollution, its intrinsic evil, the only evil in the universe; holiness in its purity, its har- mony, its blessedness, likening man to God, and fitting him for heaven. Sin is damnation; holiness is salva- tion. The new birth through which all must pass ; the holy spirit, the regetierator, the comforter, the guide, the ever-present divine assistant; the self-de- nials, the crosses to be endured and taken up in the Christian life ; the strait gate, the narrow way, and all their cognate ideas connected with man's deliverance from sin, how bright, clear, defined, they appear in his teachings! And then, behold! how the divine dispo- sition to forgive sin in the repentant sinner is made real, intense, practical ! The parable of the prodigal son; what a picture of divine, ineffable love, tender- ness, mercy to the ruined yet penitent child has he painted for the world to look upon! And what a world of meaning is condensed into its crown of thought — there is joy in the presence of God, among the angels of heaven, over one sinner that repenteth ! Oh ! ye philosophers, 3^0 prophets, ye poets, ye theolo- gians of all the ages, who of ye ever gave to man such living revelations of divine forgiveness as this youth of Nazareth? Can we wonder that the heart of all the good on earth and in heaven throbs at the name of Jesus, when he illustrates in his own person such mercy as this! For here we must ascend Calvary to see this truth realized in action, revealed in agony, when he, as the Lamb of God, became a sacrifice for 92 SEEMONS ON THE the sins of man, and henceforth altars and priests and brute victims give phice to the cross as the altar, and Jesus as priest and victim to atone for man. Then right alongside of tljis unspeakable love, see how he unveils the future world ; how he paints retribution ; sin in its final ruin ; the sorrow awaiting the sinner who rejects and despises God's mercy; the torment, the worm that never dies, the fire that never shall be quenched ; and how he draws aside the veil that hides theglory of heaven, and immortality, holiness ineffable, burst upon us ; Dives in hell ; Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, and the inexpressible pity of the saved patri- arch— Son, remember ! remember! These are scenes transcending the highest heaven of human invention. These are truths which only he who dwelt in the high- est heaven of divine thought could thus unfold. Then comes the resurrection ; those words, I am the resur- rection and the life, echoing in hope over the dear Christian dust, and opening to the sorrowing heart re- unions in glory, when we too shall be no longer dwel- lers here. But time would fail me to speak of all these teachings; to tell you how he taught that love and unselfish devotion to man is the golden life of his followers and the inspiration that is to save the lost; and how all these truths constitute harmonious parts of one great system, men saw not, men felt not, till he revealed them in all their completeness. 4. I ask you now to notice the universality and vitality of Christ's teachings. Everywhere he lays down principles that pertain to God and man in all ti-me. There is nothing one-sided, nothing partial, nothing incomplete. Christianity is the universal re- ligion. Its foundation and superstructure are built LIFE OF CHRIST. 93 for all men. Take his conception of the kingdom of heaven ; it is not of this world; if it were, it would of necessity be local and partial. It is spiritual, and hence universal. Worship is not local ; it may be rendered as truly in the log cabin of a frontier settler, as in Je- rusalem with its magniticent temples. Places arc not sacred ; wood and stone are not holy ; the heart of man is God's temple. Whenever a soul cries to him Abba, Father, there is acceptable worship and an ac- cepted worshiper. Take his conception of the brother- hood of man ; it is not family ; it is not the nation ; it is not color; it is simply humanity. Just so his idea of brotherhood in the church. Whosoever believeth in me, the same is my brother, mother, and sister. All ye are brethren. Or look at the conditions of pardon and acceptance with God. It is not go to Mecca, to Jerusalem, Rome ; it is not offer sacrifice in this place or that ; it is not go wash in Jordan or the Tiber ; it is not receive absohition at the hands of a mere mortal like yourselves ; but simply repent and believe. Now re- pentance and faith are universal. They are exercises which any man and all men in all places may put forth. And thus I might carry you through all the teachings of Christ, and you would see in them all how the ad- ventitious, the local are lost sight of, while the every- where true, important, and essential are alone held forth. The gospel is a code of fundamental principles, based on the idea of a spiritual and universal kingdom. It was designed for all men, and its parts like the work of God are exactly fitted for this end. His last com- mand is universal. Go preach my gospel to every crea- ture. It ie not go preach a particular form of church government, but just this: Proclaim this transcendent 94 SEEMONS ON THE evangel of peace and love, of faith and hope, of re- pentance and salvation, to all nations. My gospel is the air which all men must breathe ; the water all men must drink; the true bread all men must eat if they would live forever. !N"ow, my friends, how came this young man to possess in his mind such complete, such infinite, such universal ideas? How came he to rise in his conceptions heaven high above all the prophets and the wise men of all ages ? Where did he s^et this magnificent, this vital, this eternal, this compact, this perfect system of thought; just the one for all men ; one in whom no man has been able to detect a flaw, to find anything superfluous, anything wanting? And why in mere human philosophy there never has been a perfect system, or one that could stand the adverse criticism of a single age ? Yet here is a system of re- ligion that vindicates its integrity from age to age ; that triumphs over all opposers and compels their in- voluntary homage; that blesses all men, and is preached to-day in nations civilized and uncivilized, and is just as fresh, just as vital, as it was when thousands heard it and believed it on the day of Pentecost. 5. "When next we look at the form and manner of Christ's teachings, we are struck with the same un- questioned superiority to all other teachers. The hu- man mind, by a necessity springing from its limited and imperfect powers, reaches truth, especially any- thing beyond the simplest elements, by slow processes of reasoning, by the observation of phenomena, put- ting this and that together, and from them at length inferring something else is true. You find the greatest minds subject to this law as well as those which are inferior. Even genius has been defined as simply the LIFE OF CHRIST. 95 power to hold tlio iiiiud long fixed on a single subject, so as to follow out its various parts and connections; and when 3'ou consider the great teachers of the world, you see how true this is of them. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, grope their way along, reasoning out this point, then that, feeling for a foothold like men in the dark treading a morass. And when they pre- sent their conclusions there is the same doubtful air, and more or less uncertainty attending all they say. Socrates was unquestionably one of the greatest as well as one of the most devout of the ancients. Yet how limited are his views ; how cautiously he reasons ; and even when he is about to die, he expresses great uncertainty in regard to the character of the future. But when you turn to Christ, how different is his whole character, how immensely superior in form and manner his teachings! There are no plausible speculations, no turning aside to gather flowers of rhetoric, no long process of reasoning, no uncertainty in regard to these very questions which transcend the limits of the human intellect. His thoughts are in- tuitions; they break forth from a full mind as the sun through the clouds. They come with a divine author- ity. As one who knows all things, to whose vision the past, the present, the future, heaven and hell, time and eternity are present; whose divine mind ranges through all the universe, and knows every angel's form and every sinner's destiny ; to whom facts are philosophy, and reasoning is superfluous; to whom the mind of God and the mind of man are equally well known; he speaks truth with a divine certainty ; he teaches with an authority that compels his hearers to say, Who is this, for he teaches with authority, and 96 SERMOXS ON THE not as the Scribes and Pharisees? Has the world ever seen another teacher like him ? another who ap- proaches him in the sublimit}^, the fulhiess, the cer- tainty, the authority of his instructions? How came this man, just out of youth, to assume such authority, to possess such knowledge, to deviate from all others in the manner of his teachings? What model did he form himself after ? Who molded this extraordinary character? Who helped to fill his soul with such a world, a universe of intuitive thought ? 6, I have reserved to the close of this discussion the most remarkable characteristic of these teachings of Christ. He makes himself the center and original of all this wonderful system of religious truth. This spiritual kingdom is his kingdom, and all parts of it stand related to him as its head. He is the sacrifice for sin, from which pardon and peace come to the world. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He has all power. He is to jadge the world. Men are to believe on him as their Savior. In his name they are to pray. He is to come in his glory. He is the resurrection and the life. He opens the gates of heaven. He pre- pares mansions for his followers. He draws all men unto him. He sends his spirit to renew and inspire his followers. He is the Living Lord who after death is to be with his people all over the world. And thus, in ways manifold and various, he constantly assumes divine functions and makes himself the center around which Christianity revolves. It may be said, indeed, that he sometimes distinguishes between himself and God. But this is a fundamental mistake. He distin- guishes between his human nature and his divine. He must do this. He had the mind, the heart, the LIFE OF CHRIST. 97 soul, the body of a man. They in their blindness at- tributed to the human what did not belong to it. He cori'ects this error. It was not as man he said and did these things. He had a broader personality ; he was the divine word inearnate. And it was in this divine character, this higher, more real personality that he did his mighty works and spake his mighty words and as- sumed such sublime functions. It was not as Jesus the man, but as Christ the incarnate God he spake and acted. Otherwise he is the most horrid blas- phemer the world ever saw. Slowh- this idea entered and took possession of his disciples ; slowly the real divinity of his nature, overspreading the human, en- throned itself in their minds. This wonderful truth, that he is now and forever the centre, the life of the Church, has taken possession of the minds of his fol- lowers in all ages. It is this that lifts him above the prophets of the Old Testament ; it is this that makes the apostles of the !N'ew his mouth-piece — his expo- nents. Moses is the most remarkable prophet of the previous ages. Inspired of God, he laid the founda- tions of the system that was to abide till Christ came. But Moses is imperfect ; no where does he assume such authority; he originates nothing permanent ; he speaks what has been given to him ; now elevated by hope, and then depressed by doubt, he fails at last to enter Canaan. Moses is but a servant, and Christ the Son and heir. Moses is a star shining by reflected light; Christ is the Sun, the light of the world. Moses foretold his coming and in spirit sat at his feet and listened to his voice, as did Al)rahani before him, and 1» 98 SEEMONS ON THE all the prophets after him. Christ is more than a prophet; he is the central iigure of all prophecy since the first promise to Adam and down to the last chap- ter of the Revelation, where he says, "I, Jesns, have sent mine angel to testify of these things." The place that he assumes as the center of Christianity and the head of this spiritual kingdom Avas prepared in the ages for him ; he fits into it as natnrally and as neces- sarily as the sun does into the center of our planetary system. He takes the throne not only as one born to it, but intrinsically fitted for it, and as the only one in the universe capacitated for it. 'No one rises to dis- pute it; no one stands a moment in comparison with him, the Lord of lords and King of kings. And now, having thus briefly reviewed some of the characteristics of Christ's teachings, the question, Avhich puzzled his Jewish hearers, returns to us: "Whence hath this man this wisdom?" It is a ques- tion which naturalists and unbelievers are bound to answer on their own principles. On their principles let us see if it can be answered. There are but three sources from which Jesus, according to their ideas, could have derived it. The first is the Grecian phil- osophy. There is not a particle of evidence that ho ever read a Greek book or had the least acquaintance personally with a line of this philosophy. He is in no accepted sense a philoso|)her. In all his teachings there is not a word that betrays the least approxima- tion to Grecian culture. His thoughts, his doctrines, are heaven high above their finest intellects. This supposition is simply incredible, far more incredible than the assertion that an ignorant Hottentot, born in kraal, and without a particle of instruction, should LIFE OF CHRIST. 99 have written IN^ewton's Principia. The second source of knowledge is the Jewish or rabbinical schools of learning. But the very question of the text and the previous life of Jesus proves that he never had been a scholar under these teachers. Besides, how came it tiiat, instead of following their lines of thought, he soars far out of their sight, that he condemns them, and dashes their whole method of interpretation to pieces? How comes it that he alone stands forth as their antagonist, and sweeps away all their traditions and all their cunning sophistries with a single sen- tence ? You might as well say that light is the pro- duct of darkness, truth of error, power of weakness, knowledge of superstition and skepticism, as that rabbis and Sadducees taught Jesus things they them- selves knew not. The mystery remains. Well, then he learned his wisdom from the Old Testament, for this is the only remaining source. Doubtless he had studied this inspired volume, and so had hundreds and thousands of the most intellig-ent Jews in all ages since it was written. But how came it that he alone of all its students penetrates at once to its essence, compasses the divine mind and method of its author, separates the permanent from the tran- sient, reveals conceptions of the kingdom of God un- known to others, and out of the prophecies brings forth the true idea of Messiah, and then presents him- self as that Messiah and the fultillment of all that was preparative and educational and typical in the law and prophets ? This question can no more be an- swered on natural principles than the others ; it can only be answered in part by making nature herself supernatural. 100 SERMONS ON THE But, leaving the naturalist to his incredible hypoth- esis and his infantile skepticism, let ns change our question. Let us ascend to the position of those who helieve in inspiration, and who will at once sa}' Jesus was unquestionably inspired of God. No man could stand on such a height of knowledge and do such mighty works unless God was with him. Here, then, we are in another region ; the atmosphere is clear, and the sunlight falls all around us, and illumines this new and wondrous life. There is no imposture, there is no self-deception, there is no mistake in all that this in- spired one utters. Now, then, our question assumes another form. Is this merely a prophet, inspired like any other prophet or apostle to reveal the will of God, or is he organically distinct and different from all who before or since have spoken truly in the name of God? In order to settle this question, I ask you to go over the characteristics of Christ's teachings, lay- ing aside all preconceptions ; then consider the nature arid character of the assumptions respecting himself and the position which he holds in relation to God and man, and then candidly answer whether there is any inspired prophet or apostle who ever did teach as he taught, Avhether there ever was a mere created being that did or could justly assume to be what he assumes to be? Assumption with him is fact; and what he assumes to be and to do in this new spiritual kingdom involves every attribute of the divine nature, natural and moral. He assumes functions that neces- sarily involve infinite wisdom and goodness, omnisci- ence, omnipresence and omnipotence, self-existence. "What answer then will you, must you give to the question, Whence has he this wisdom ? What but LIFE OF CHRIST, 101 this: He organically is unlike all other beings. What answer but that which Joliu gives: "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." In hiui was life, and the life was the light of man. lie is both God and man. He is in our nature to suffer; he is divine to make that suffering salvation. In him as its center, Chris- tianity is perfect — the highest wisdom of God. In him I see the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person. Here stood the apostles, and this was the inspiration of their preaching: "Christ in them the hope of glory." Here has stood and still stands the church which Jesus bought with his blood and redeemed by his spirit. Here to-day we stand on the foundation of prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- stone. I come to this liedeemer with all my most precious interests, and commit them into his hands. I would not commit my immortal soul to seraphic cherubs. I come to him a sinner, and he forgives my sins. I come to him in sorrow, and he sends me the Comforter. I come to him in temptation, perplexity, and weakness ; he strengthens and guides me into the paths of righteousness and peace. I come to him when the cold sweat of death is on my brow, and heart and flesh fail me, and he gently puts his arm beneath and opens the gates of immc^rtality for me to enter. O Christ, my suffering and ascended Lord ! Ave praise thee, we trust thee, we hope to worship thee on the sea of glass as our Incarnate Saviour and Ke- deemer for ever and ever. 102 SERMONS ON THE VI. JOHN THE BAPTIST. ^'And he confessed, and denied 7iot: but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then ? Art thou EUas ? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that Prophet ? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him. Who art thou ? that loe may give an answer to them that sent us : What say est thou of thyself? He said, I am the VOICE of one crying in the wilderness, 3Iake straight the loay of the Lord, as said the Prophet Esaias." — John i, 20, 24. "We have come now to the last and greatest prophet of the Hebrews. Foretold in prophecy, born snper- natnrally, out of due time, antedating, by some six months, the birth of our Lord. At the ripe age of thirtj'' 3^ears, he suddenly, and for a brief period, be- comes the central figure on which all eyes are fixed ; as a flaming star, he appears above the horizon fore- telling the dawn, and then is lost in the overwhelm- ing splendors of the sun. His early training corres- ponds with the great work he is to perform. His par- ents were of the priestly race — among the most de- vout of those who prayed and waited for the coming of Messiah ; their minds were specially informed and elevated by the supernatural circumstances and influ- ences attending the birth of this child. They com- prehended the exalted position he was to occupy. He LIFE OF CHRIST. 103 was not to succeed Lis father in the priestly office. It was his nobler destiu}^ to be the Prophet of the High- est; to announce the coming of Him who is to be the High Priest of the world. Under such parents his earl}' culture corresponds with the peculiar office he is to fill. His mind is early imbued with the sublime truths of religion. Destined in prophecy to be a Naz- arite, he is trained to self-control and the sternest self- denial. He is not to be a man of tlie world; it is not for him to illustrate in the social relations, as the head of a familj', the virtues of religion. He is to be a man by himself; to fulfill an office solitary and unique. As his mind matures, he enters into the sphere of those supernatural ideas which filled the souls of his parents. He comprehends his destiny ; his heart re- sponds to it. He takes on him naturally the investi- ture of this sublime office. His whole character de- velopes in harmony with it. This family is not like other families. It is the highest ty^-e of intense Hebrew tliought and feeling. Father, mother, son, live in a world of loftiest spirituality. Their prayers, their praises, their thinking, their fellowship, their lives, are exalted by a divine enthusiasm, of which the Messiah and this, his Prophet, are the perpetual inspir- ation. They live amidst the opening glories of the 'New Dispensation. Under these influences the child grows to manhood. Then, one by one, in all proba- bilitj', these aged parents pass to their home in heaven. Their house, his home, is desolate. No domestic ties bind him to the hearthstone. His work is not among the ordinary avocations of men. Society has no charms for him. AVliere shall he abide until the time comes for him to enter upon the high office to which he is 104 SERMONS ON THE destined ? Leaving the town of Jutta, where it is sup- posed Zacharias dwelt, a few hours' walk brings you to the summit of the limestone ridge which, like a huge backbone, runs along the center of Palestine, from the desert on the south to the great plains of Es- draelon on the north. From this point you look down eastward on the mountains of Moab ; and this side of them, sleeping in quiet unconsciousness of that terrible storm of lire which once swept Sodom and Gomorrah from existence, is the Dead Sea. As you descend to- wards this spot, vegetation grows more scanty ; the white rocks push themselves up more boldly ; the ra- vines grow deeper; eaves pierce the rocks in all direc- tions ; and the whole scene changes to one of weird and rugged desolation. Here David dwelt in these caves to escape the vengeance of Saul. Here Jesus was led by the spirit to be tempted of the devil. In portions of this region dwelt the ascetic Essenes; and hither John retired from the world to await the hour for action — wrapped in a robe of camel's hair, living on the simple diet supplied by nature, he communed with God, and studied the prophecies which respected the Messiah and himself, his forerunner. ISTor are we to suppose that this wilderness life was without its effect in assisting to form him for his work. There are some souls that grow deeper and stronger for action, when the lit time comes, in comparative solitude. Amid the quiet of his forty years' exile, Moses acquired a special preparation for leadership. Cromwell, in his country home, learned to think broadly ; nourished that sturdy independence which lifted him above the whole line of British rulers, as the man for his age. Wash- ington, at Mount Vernon, developed a strength of judg- LIFE OF CHRIST. 105 ment and power of command he would never have gained amidst the excitement of cities. Men who are to act great parts in the world need sometimes to isolate themselves, to let their individual nature grow in its fullness, to stand face to face with God, with his works, and with themselves. Trees in the forest grow straight, tall, and almost branchless, and when you cut down their surroundings a fresh breeze will level them. But the trees that grow separate, root them- selves deeper, develope the true fullness and richness of their life ; while the hurricane is hardly strong enough to tear them from their moorings. Society refines and rounds oti:' the rough peculiarities of men and assimilates them in character and manners; while its superficial excitements often destroy with individ- uality the very power of profound thought. Away from the masses, men develope a ti'uer individuality and a strength of independence, which prepares them to lead and elevate their fellow-men — provided with this tliere is ever associated the needful stimulants to thought — the presence of great objects adapted to call out their powers. As a discipline for action in society retirement has its uses. John, under its influence, unquestionably developed these remarkable traits which fitted him for his work. For remember he was no mere ascetic, designing to spend his life in solitude and waste his powers in doing nothing. lie had a grand object before him ; a great work for which he was preparing. This counteracted the otlierwise de- basing influence of inaction. lie was in training for his work. This fired his enthusiasm ; this exalted his whole being. And now the time has come. The season of prep- 106 SERMONS ON THE aratioii is past; the hour for action is at hand. " The word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." The Spirit of God that had dwelt Math him and formed him for his Avork now moves him to go forth among men. God holds the heart in his hand. When he calls his servants to do some special and great work for him — a work against which nature rebels — he not onl}^ orders his providence so as to lead in this direction, but gives secret impulses to the soul itself. Then men feel " woe is me if I preach not the gospel." The world offers them its prizes : a thousand earthly forces draw them away; still the deeper impulse, the divine force in the soul, moves them into the path chosen of God. So Paul, Chrysos- tom, Augustine, Bernard, Luther, Whitfield, and thou- sands more, abandoning the brightest worldlj^ pros- pects, have obeyed this heavenly voice, and for Christ and his kingdom have preached and prayed and lived a consecrated life. To John this word came with irresistible j^ower. What conflicts he endured ! Whether his sensitive nature shrank from the path bo- fore him, we know not. Only this we know, he obeyed. The prophet power was upon him ; like his great pro- toty[>e, Elijah, amid the solitudes of Sinai, when he heard the still small voice, he listened, he obej-ed. He takes his j^lace at once as God's commissioned repre- sentative, and fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, " the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord." The river Jordan is one of the most remarkable, both for its liistorical associations and its peculiar character, in the world. Kising at the foot of Leba- non on the north in a full stream, it passes through LIFE OF CHRIST. 107 the Lake of Geunesareth, and descending, in a course of less than two hundred miles, two thousand feet, it loses itself in the mephitic waters of the Dead Sea. Across its waters, since the time of Joshua, armies had passed. No cities, nor towns, rose on its lone banks ; but the hills on either side were crowned with villages and towns, in which dwelt a vast population. Along its western side ran the great higliway from Galilee to Jerusalem, along which multitudes journeyed to at- tend the great feasts. We can not do justice to the truthfulness of this narrative, without attempting to imagine the scene. The feast of the Passover is near. In companies of hundreds, in companies of thousands, the devout Israelites are moving to Jerusalem. The sun is in the west ; the day's march is over, and en- camped not far from Jericho, the host, singing the songs of Zion, are preparing for rest. Issuing from his desert home the prophet appears among them. His peculiar garb arrests a momentary attention, but it was too common then, as it is in that section at this day, to awaken more than a transient interest. Reaching a suitable position, where all could readily gather around him, he commences his discourse. His voice rings full and clear, and startles the most stupid. At once all other thoughts and interests are forgotten. Silently, in groups, they move near the speaker. His rapt utter- ance, his words of burning intensity, his thoughts, grand and majestic, convince them that no common entiiusiast is before them. Curious, at first, with half- awakened minds, they listen. Now he strikes an an- swering chord ; the heart-beat quickens, the eye flashes ; he dwells upon their sublime history ; he paints the scenes of the past; prophet after prophet marches 108 SEEMONS ON THE before him in long procession ; their victories and their captivities ring out in triumph or wail in sadness ; then he describes the sins of the people, their blind- ness, their ingratitude, their hypocrisy, in words of terrible severity ; he preaches the necessity of refor- mation and repentance, and every conscience answers, Amen. Then, rising to a sublime hight, he dwells on the prophecies of Messiah ; step by step he advances, from the earliest to the latest; he tells them how un- changeable is God ; how sure his promises ; how all along from the call of Abraham he had chosen and trained that nation for the manifestation of this glori- ous personage; how their captivities and conflicts were only preparations for this event ; and then, when he has brought their whole souls into sympathy with this great expectation, he flashes upon their astonished minds the very thought which leaps to every lip as he utters it : The kingdom of heaven is at hand ! Messiah is born! Messiah is to ajjpear! The sun is gone down ; they heed it not ; darkness spreads its raven wing over them, but they know it not ; and then when the last words have been spoken, they linger and then slowly retire, not to sleep, but to think over the glori- ous announcement — Christ's messenger has come ! Henceforth John, the last, is the greatest of Hebrew prophets. As on the morrow they journey to Jerusa- lem, they hear the news of this new and wonderful prophet. Among the myriads that gather at Jerusalem, it flies from lip to lip — the prophet of the Lord ! Then men begin to recall the memories of thirty years be- fore— Zacharias and the angel in the temple and the supernatural birth of John. And soon the roads to the Jordan are croAvded with all classes, eager to hear LIFE OF CHRIST. 109 these words of the Lord — this grand prelude to the grander scene. All Jerusalem and Judea and the region round about ilock to listen. I now request your attention, iirst, to the special mission of" this prophet, and, second, to his character as fitting him to perform this mission. Four hundred years had passed since Malachi, the last prophet, had died. The words which closed the Old Testament scriptures predicted the coming of Messiah and his messenger, John. This intermission of prophetic teachers is explained by the fact that the lesson taught by the captivity of the unity and sovereignty of Jehovah had taken full possession of the nation. The establishment of synagogues, in large numbers, all over the land, secured to the people regular Sab- bath worship and instruction in the Scriptures them- selves. The necessity for the order of prophets was by this fact removed, and God, in the gift of spiritual powers, never employs the supernatural when natural agencies are sufticient for the accomplishment of his objects. Meanwhile the nation has flourished. Amidst some terrible scenes it has repeatedly asserted its true nationality and practical independence. But now the total destruction of that nationality seemed imminent. Home, like a mighty anaconda, had wound its folds around the life of tiie state and gradually tightened them, crushing it out. Pontius Pilate sat as Rome's representative in Jerusalem; Ilerod Antipas in Galilee, and Philii) on the east of the Jordan, held their otiices at the will of the Emperor. The nation was divided; the priestly functions were made the prices of submis- sion to the ruling power. The al^omination of deso- lation was already in the courts ot the temple. The 110 SERMONS ON THE help of man was vain. The nation, writhing, uneasy, longing for deliverance, waited the coming of a Mes- siah, who at the head of the state and the church should hurl the Roman from the throne and restore the nation to the splendor of its ancient reigns. A prophet issuing from the wilderness suddenly presents himself to the people. Two ideas characterize his preaching. The first and the vital point was the speedy coming of Messiah. Couched under the sen- tence, " The kingdom of heaven," was the idea of a spiritual dynasty, a heavenly ruler, a true theocratic state. He does not attempt to detine this kingdom. It was not revealed to him in its fullness. It belonged to the Messiah himself to announce the plan of this kingdom. John's work was simply that of prepara- tion. He felt he knew that the functions of the Mes- siah were to be grandly spiritual ; that he was to re- store the true Avorship in the hearts of the people ; that he was to purify unto himself a peculiar people, and punish with summary destruction all who opposed his reign. But that he had been led up to the Chris- tian stand-point and saw the church as a power out- side of and independent of the state, we have no reason to suppose. He spake of the Messiah as a mighty king who would sift the nation of its impure and evil elements, and gather about him the true worshipers of God. But he nowhere intimates the destruction of the state itself. In this respect, greatest of prophets though he was, the least of the Christian host is greater than he. He did no miracles ; for they were not nec- essary to the success of his work. It was not for him to unfold and establish the new kingdom, but to pre- pare for its coming. Isaiah's description of him as LIFE OF CHRIST. Ill "the voice of one crying in the wihlerness, prepare ye the way of the Lord," characterizes hiiu and his work with wonderful exactness. He announces the coming Messiah. That voice, ringing out from the valley of the Jordan over the hills of Judea, touched the chords of national feeling, heightened expectation, stimulated millions to thought, quickened the spirit of prayer and hope in the devout, and thus prepared the imme- diate coming of the Anointed Son of God. Such is the first and most vital fact in his preaching. The second characteristic of his preaching was the injunc- tion of something to be done by the people in order to prepare themselves for the advent of Messiah. He knows well their condition. There is a vast amount of outward religion, and very little practical religion. Like parrots they repeated prayers at the corners of the streets, but the heart was untouched by divine love. Formalism and traditionalism had usurped the throne of God in them. Can darkness dwell with light? Will impurity and pride receive the holy Mes- siah ? He treats the assumption of multitudes, that as children of Abraham they were specially sacred, with most magniiicent scorn. I say unto you, that of these stones God can raise up children to Abraham. The pride, the hypocrisy, the worldliness of the Pharisee and Sadducee he denounces with the most terrible invective. He treats them all, from the highest to the lowest, as impure ; he exhorts them to repentance and a hearty reformation. He strikes right at their sins, as unlitting them to enter this kingdom of heaven. He virtually excommunicates the whole nation, and declares that repentance, a new heart, a new life, was 112 SERMONS ON THE essential to enable them to become followers of Mes- siah and true children of God. The Jews had long been familiar with the use of water as a symbol of purification. Sprinklings, and pourings, and washings, were prescribed in the Mosaic law as parts of ceremonial purilication, and every pros- elyte received into the church from other nations was baptized to signify his repentance, his putting on a new life, his consecration to the pure service of Jeho- vah. And so John, treating this whole people as for- eigners, baptized them as penitents, about to put on a new life and be converted to the service of Messiah. It was not Christian baptism. They w^ere not bap- tized into the faith of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It was Jewish baptism for uncleanness, with the superadded idea of their faith in a Messiah soon to appear. His preaching was eminently practical. He did not tell them to become ascetics, to go out of the world ; but in the world to be faithful. To the soldiers he said. Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages. To the publicans he said, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. To others he enjoined liberality and kindness. He that hath two coats,, let him impart to him that hath none ; and he that hath much, let him do likewise. And thus unveiling sin, denouncing wrath to come on the impenitent, kindly guiding the sincere inquirers into the path of dut}^, he roused and instructed the nation and lifted up before them the banner of a coming Messiah. Such was the work of this great prophet. Such the mission of preparation he accomplished. Let ud consider now the man and his character. For LIFE OF CHRIST. 113 ill the election of God tlicrc is usually a real harmony and fitness between the agent he employs and the work to be accomplished. And this man was trained and fitted by his peculiar character to give a decided impulse to the mind of the nation in preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. You will notice at once his marked independence and intense individuality- He stands out clear, well-defined, unique ; not more distinct and separate in his dress and mode of life than in his individual character. lie is no copy of other men. The only child in his father's family, he is sub- ject there to a peculiar discipline. Passing into the wilderness, communing witli God, conversing witli the minds of prophets, unrestrained and unaffected by the artificial influences of society, Ids original traits de- veloped strongly and barmoniously. Simple in his numner of life, he felt not the want of wealth and cared nothing for it. With his faith rooted in God and his soul nourished by the sublimest truth, he was utterly- indittcrent to station or power. Pleasure had no attractions for hiin. The opinions of men neither excited nor influenced him. Self-contained in the mastery of his own passions, and the deep convic- tions which possessed him, he moved in a sphere of his own. Just such a man was needed at this time to perform this work: a man who sympatliized with neither Pharisee nor Sadducee, with neither Essene nor Komaii — a man who, nurtured on the simple truth of Scripture, should see through all the falsities and hypocrisies of the times, and, rising above them all, should proclaim that truth in its application to the want of the age. 10 114 SEEMONS ON THE Connected witli this is the singleness of his purpose and the intense enthusiasm with which he pi'oseeut^s his work. One grand idea possesses him — the mani- festation of Jesus Christ to IsraeL To make this tlionght a living, operative power in the minds of the people, he bends all his energies. He turns not aside even to visit Jerusalem; he enters into no discussions of the minor opinions that divide the nation. The sects, the divisions are nothing to him; for Christ is coming, whose kingdom- is to absorb all others, and in whose light all men are to see higher truths. Here is one secret of his power. Men who scatter their eftbrts over a variety of objects seldom succeed in any one. Life is too short and the mind of man too limited in its powers to admit of this. And John, with a true philosophy, has but one purpose, and to effect this he gives himself with a divine enthusiasm. Day by day, for weeks, for months, men crowed around him. He preaches, he prays, he baptizes. 'No man can number the multitudes that from all parts of Palestine flocked to see and hear this prophet. His work was short, but it was fully accomplished. The voice from the wil- derness ceased not its call to repentance until Christ himself had entered upon his ministry and the night was past. Springing out of this independence and this intense unity of purpose was a third characteristic, his bold- ness. In his character of prophet he meets all men ^vith the same imperturbed and imperturbable s[»irit. Proud rabbis and priests are there with ecclesiastical power in their hands to try and condemn him when the time shall come. Pharisees are there with their phylacteries and ritualistic holiness on their foreheads. LIFE OF CHRIST. 115 Sadducees are there witli their doubts and rationalistic theories. He sees through them all ; he holds up the mirror to their faces ; he hurls upon them the most terrible rebukes. Herod Antipas, the seducer of Herodias, and then her incestuous husband, can not escape him. His palace Avails are not thick enough to shut out the voice of this prophet of the Lord as it accuses him of sin and crime. Fearing the face of no man, he hesitates not to uncover the individual and national corruption which is preparing the nation for its doom. The ax is already laid at the root of the tree, and if repentance follows not, and good fruit be not speedily borne, there is a power in reserve ap- pointed of God to cut it down, A fourth characteristic of John is the spirit of self- abnegation which he evinced. This is most extraor- dinary. Men of great enthusiasm, of intense purpose, of great power over the masses, consciously or uncon- sciously, in most cases become intent on self-aggran- dizement. They may begin as reformers, but they end as originators of policies and schemes of which they are to be the recognized head. In the state they form parties; in the church sects, or societies, or schools, the purpose in every case being to bolster up their power or perpetuate their i)rinciplcs. Men nat- urally cling to power; power while they live, and power in some form which is to survive and perpet- uate them when they are dead. But John commenced his ministry on the one fixed principle that he was but the messenger of one greater than he ; one whose shoe- latchet he was not worthy to unloose. On this prin- ciple he acted consistently. In the midst of his most wonderful triumphs, as a preacher, he organized no 116 SERMONS OX THE society, lie founded no school or sect ; for that which afterward took his name had no sympathy with his spirit and no authority from him. And when Christ appeared there he pointed him out to the assembled multitude. He was the one who was to baptize, not with water, but with the Holy Ghost and with tire. Then when Christ had fairly entered upon his work, he says plainlj^ to his immediate disciples, jealous for the honor of their master, He must increase and I must decrease. And thus, his work accomplished, he retires practically from the field. He is notliing; Jesus is to be henceforth all in all. The last grand characteristic of this second Elijah is sublime faith in God and the comins^ Messiah. This is the root of all his peculiar life; this the source of his self-abnegation, his boldness, his enthusiasm, his singleness of purpose, his holy eloquence. Faith in God's word animated his whole soul and made him the fit forerunner of the Messiah. I know it has been that even he wavered in his faith in reference to Christ as the actual Messiah ; that when he saw that Jesus did not begin to teach a visible kingdom, in the soli- tude of his prison, his faith, for a time, like that of all other men, like that of Elijah when he fled from Aliab into the w-ilderness, declined — and then he sent his disciples to Jesus w'ith the inquiry, " Art thon he that shonld come, or look we for another?" But, while I would not arrogate to John immunity from the weakness incident to all mere humanity here in the flesh, yet it strikes me that a nobler, a better explana- tion of this act is found in his desire, now^ that he is about to depart, to ground his disciples themselves in the faith which sustained his own soul ; and that to LIFE OF CHRIST. 117 do this he took occasion to send tlieni to Jcsns to con- verse with liim, to hear his instructions and witness liis miracles, and tlius enable him finall}' to abnegate all authority over tliem and show them the true Mes- siah. This course is all in harmony with liis life ; this vindicates his faith ; this puts the seal upon the liumil- ity of his spirit, and consecrates the close of his mis- sion with an act of rare moral heroism. And now w^e come to the sad and yet fitting close. His work is done — the noblest work of all the proph- ets. Jesus has appeared. It is not for him to be uu apostle; he must learn the secret of redemption in the world of light. It is fitting that he, like many of his predecessors, should seal his faithfulness by a martyr's death. The foul Ilerodias, like another Jezebel, thirsts for his life; and the weak Ilerod, tascinated by the dancing of Salome, imbrues his hands in the prophet's blood. Oh, you sceptered and mitred ones, what a terrible account is yours to give for the holocausts of God's saints ye have slaughtered ? Oh ! lust and ambi- tion, what monsters ye have begotten ! Oh, where in this earth shall faith and love hold the scepter of power, and right and might be joined in the triumphal reign of our king Immanuel ? Such is the mission and the character of John. How grandly fitting it was that such a prophet, with more than the boldness and eloquence and light of Elijah, should close the long and splendid array of Hebrew prophets and usher in the Christian dispensation ! He is not a human product. Unlike the mass of great leaders in history, he is not the product of his age ; he stands forth unique and largely antagonistic. A supernatural power rests upon him, and lifts him 118. SERMONS ON THE above the multitude. The voice that lie utters is di- vine. Yet aside from his special work you see that he is still a Hebrew prophet. The spirit of the Mosaic law breathes in him. Compare John the Baptist with John the apostle. What an immense, I had almost said, an immeasurable difference ! What makes this difference? Christ the Messiah has intervened. John, the greatest prophet, is but a child beside John the apostle. Both are formed and inspired by the same divine Spirit. But one is of the law, the other is of the gospel. One is molded and trained to prepare the way for Christ, the other to preach the new kingdom of light and love already come. And so the words of Christ ffnd their exDlanation, " The least in the kino;- dom of heaven is greater than he." It is a thought to be ever remembered, that the value of life is to be measured by deeds, not by years. For thirty years John is in training; his work occu- pies but a few months. Yet what a value attaches to that short life of action ? Spencer, Summerlield, Mills, Mrs. Kewell, Young, Hume, Tyng, die in the very opening of their manhood and womanhood ; what myriads even of Christians live to three score years, whose lives, measured by deeds, by influence for good exerted, can compare with theirs ? Young Chris- tian, dwelling under this brighter light of the cross, gird thyself for work in tlie Master's service. Die, you may, early ; but die with the harness on ; let the faith of this Hebrew, illuminated by the words of Jesus, animate you to lead men to repentance. Be bold, be single-hearted, be enthusiastic in the great cause you have espoused. Pray and work ; work and LIFE OF CHRIST. 119 pray. Tlic night coineth ; starless and dark to the sinner; to you, if faitliful,thc harbinger of eternal day. Nor let ns forget to-night that the dispensation of rites and forms has closed. Now a free gospel calls all men to repentance and faith, offers them a Kedeemer, opens to them immortality. Who here will leave this place and turn him.self to the world and make up his mind to live and die a gospel-hardened sinner? This morning I pled with you by the compassion of Jesus to consecrate yourself to his service. To-night I hold up before you the illustrious example of a prophet who had not your light, yet lived and died faithful , to the truth of God. By all the blood of martyrs and prophets before Christ came ; by all the pains and sor- rows of multitudes of Christian souls since then ; by the richer blood of our Great High Priest ; by the won- drous light ye enjoy; by the shortness of time rush- ing by and the shades of night soon to gather round you ; by that hour when you shall stand before Christ in judgment; by all the pains and Avoes and harms of a sinful life lost forever, and all the holiness and joy of a life saved forever, I intreat you, flee from the "wrath to come. 120 SERMONS OX THE VII. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. ^'■Then cometh Jesus from Galilee unto JoJin, to he baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering, said unto him, Suffer it to be so now ; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightu'ay out of {or from) the water, and lo ! the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, lighting upon him, and, lo! a. voice from, heaven, saying. This is my beloved Son in whom I well pleased." — Matthew iii, 13-17; Mark i, 9-11 ; Luke iii, 21, 22 ; John i. John lias now been engaged in his ministry of prep- aration for some months, probably nearly a year. The effect of his preaching was wonderful. Thousands had heard him ; and, in all probabilit}', there was scarcely an Israelite of mature age who had not lieard of him and the truth he proclaimed. He had re- awakened and given a delinite form to the slumbering expectations of the Messiah in the whole population of Palestine. The work of preparation is accom- plished. The hour for the manifestation has come. Jesus, now about thirty years of age, leaves his home in l^azareth, and journeying east and south, not far from the lake of Genncsareth, and along the Jordan, LIFE OF CHRIST. 121 reaches Bethabara, or Bethany, on the other side of the Jordan. This- precise locality has never been ascertained. It was probably near one of the fords of the Jordan, and some distance above Jericho. At the point opposite Jericho, where pilgrims usually bathe, the water is too deep to be crossed, except in boats — here Jesus presents himself for baptism. Just here a question arises, which it is necessary for us to answer before we proceed to the baptism itself: Did John know Jesus personally before this ? Matthew says that when Jesus presented himself, John forbade him, saying, " I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ?" But in the account given by the Evangelist John, the Baptist affirms that he knew him not. Two suppositions are made to account for this apparent difference. The first is that John did know Christ personally, but not officially as the Mes- siah ; that Avhile he knew and reverenced him as his superior in piety, yet that, until he had received some direct instruction from heaven, it was not for him to recognize him in his Messianic character. The testi- mony on this point must be direct and supernatural. And, until that was received, he could not recognize and point him out as the one to prepare the way, f(n- whom he had come. The second supposition is that John did not know Christ, neither personally nor officially, until the spirit made him manifest. There Avas that in the appearance of Jesus which, filling up the anticipations of his own prophetic spirit, and har- monizing with the silent suggestions of this spirit, armed and disarmed him — as in the presence of a supe- rior being ; and, laying aside his official dignity, he says, 11 " 122 SERMONS ON THE in the deep consciousness of his own sinfuhiess : " I have need to be baptized of thee." Either of these suppositions will harmonize the two Evangelists. But the second seems to me, on the whole, most per- fectly in accord with the spirit of the whole scene. On this subject, I make three points. The first is that John must have been perfectly familiar with the su- pernatural origin and early history of Jesus. His own birth, so intimately connected with it ; the relation- ship of Mary and Elizabeth ; the marked character of those events, and the anticipations they inspired, must have necessitated this knowledge. Those an- gelic appearances ; those songs on the fields of Beth- lehem ; the visit of the wise men ; all must have been known to him. In connection with his own history, they must have been familiar themes of conversation, and topics of profound thought from his earliest years. His life, his character, receives its form and some of its inspiration from these events. He knew, too, that his life and that of Jesus Avere to be mysteriously con- nected. To him, too, in his heart, he looked as the promised Messiah, and out in the wilderness he felt himself in the presence of this one who was to be in- finitely greater than himself. The second point is that their early homes were widely separated. His own parents were aged; Mary' was surrounded by a family and burdened with its cares. There is no record of a visit from one to the other after that Jirst memorable abode of Mary in the house of Elizabeth, and after the final settlement of Joseph at I^azareth there is no probability that such an event occurred.^ Zacharias and Elizabeth soon pass away. John retires into the wilderness. If, before LIFE OF CHRIST. 123 this, tlicy may have met, Jcsns and John, at the feasts in Jerusalem, it was in early youth, and could have heen but for a brief season ; meanwhile they have grown to mature manhood; the lineaments of early life have changed, so that certain recognition would have been difHcult, if not impossible. In point of fact, whatever suppositions wc may imagine, there is not a single Avord in the sacred nar- ratives to authorize the idea that the Baptist and the Savior had ever met, or ever consciously known each other. The mediaeval painters delight to represent the boy John along with the infant Jesus ; but, how- ever beautiful this may be in painting and poetry, such a representation derives not a particle of author- ity from the inspired record. My third point is that these two lives in their development were never de- signed to be coincident, and were not so in fact. The only points where they meet are in infancy and at the final manifestation. John is a solitary child in the family of aged parents, trained in the strict discipline of a Nazarite, early leaving all society and in the wil- derness nourishing his lofty aspirations and preparing himself for his special work. Jesus is reared in a family with 3'oung associates, calling into free play all the iinerand lovelier sensibilities of his nature. Then he is in the carpenter's shop, in contact with toil and in sympathy with its trials. He is in a busy town, where human nature reveals itself in all its diverse peculiarities. And under these free and open circum- stances his humanity has full play for all its affections, and grows up in favor with God and man. Both study the same inspired record ; both are full of the spirit. But in their distinctive and peculiar charac- 124 SERMONS ON THE teristics they stand at opposite poles. IsTow, notice how in this independent development two widely dif- ferent things are effected. (1.) The work of each is totally different, and the method of their lives fits each for his own work. John is to be simply the prophet- preacher — the prophetic voice — the messenger of the Lord to summon the Israelites to repisntance and prep- aration for the coming Messiah, and for that work and that alone the discipline of his life gave him a wonder- ful fitness. Jesus is to be Messiah ; in sympathy with humanity, bearing its burdens, suffering for its sins, redeeming it from its guilt; and for this work no bet- ter discipline for his human nature can be imagined than that through which he passed. (2.) This entire independence of their lives and opposition of charac- ter precludes all idea of collusion between them. They do not even know each other personally. John is influenced by no direct intercourse with Jesus. Jesus is wholly unaftected by the I^azarite's solitary life. The idea advanced by one or two rationalists that Jesus had borrowed from John, and had been specially influenced by him in forming his plan for the future church, is too absurd for refutation. You can not find in history, nor can you imagine, two persons a.nimated by the same spirit, whose development, char- acteristics, and plans were more thoroughly diverse. There is a divine unity in spirit, while in their human developments there are the most striking contrasts. This independence in character reveals the wisdom of God in their preparation for the work appointed to each. The hammer and the sword both may be of the same material, forged in the same fire ; but how divine in form and how different the work thev arc fitted for ! LIFE OF CHRIST. 125 John was the prophetic haiiuiicr to break down the pride and formalism of the Jew ; Christ, the divine sword, whose word was to separate the false and tl.e true and divide asunder soul and spirit. Thus the separation of these two lives in their development subserves an important purpose in the introduction of the kingdom of heaven. We come now to one of the most remarkable scenes in history — the meeting of Messiah and his i)rophe*. Most men are, at iirst, more or less impressed hy per- sonal appearance. To coarser nations, apparent size, physical strength, attracts admiration. Their idea of greatness is a C^'clops. Among these, Paul, Luther, Napoleon, Hamilton would pass unnoticed. Others, accustomed to analyze character and trace the signs of true power, detect its developments in the expres- sion of the countenance and the lines which thought or an intense purpose has drawn. Washington pos- sessed a peculiarly commanding presence, which for- tunately was sustained by his singular balance of mental powers, his clear judgment, his quiet decision and self-control. Yet the greatest men in history would at iirst have passed unnoticed in the crowd. It is not till their great thoughts and deeds have kindled admiration, that the imagination transfigures themwith the glory of their innate greatness. What was Christ's personal appearance we have no satisfactory means of determining. The epistle of Lentulus describes him as grave, with a benign expression of countenance. No portrait of him was ever drawn. We are thank- ful for it. For what pencil, wielded by what master of his art, could fix to the eye of sense so as to interpret to the soul the mingled beauty, grandeur, love, sever- 126 SEEMONS 0?f THE ity, intelligence of Him to whom all other men are but fragments and wrecks of a perfect humanity. I care not, for this reason, to look upon a painting of Jesus. The soul of every truly Christian man knows they are but the sensual imagery of some one, the conditions of his moral being aiiecting his mental ac- tion, so that he gives us only a transcript of his own moral poverty, ignorance, and stupidity. Divine good- ness, benignity, love, a soul bearing the sins of men are its heart, an intelligence that brings into darkness man's highest conceptions and thoughts, the sense of justice hallowed by mercy, who of mortal men can paint these? Yet these are the grand characteristics that must have impressed themselves on that divine countenance. Oh ye artists, paint Mary, if ye choose, as Raphael paints a pretty young German mother, without one distinctive line of a Jewess in her face, and we will applaud the success ; but approach not Jesus. Had you seen him, his unapproachable grand- eur would have paralyzed your hand ; you coukl not even then have limned the expressions of the divine. And how now can ye create out of your poverty of soul an image that shall express him who is the express image of God himself ? Standing in that crowd he is unknown ; all eyes are turned, all thoughts are intent on John, the most striking figure in Judea. One by one they are baptized and pass aside. Then Jesus approaches. As John's eye falls upon him his soul takes in the spiritual majesty of that countenance. The prophet's soul is sensitive to the slightest indica- tions of character. A proud Pharisee, a flippant Sadducee are discords in his heart. With e^^^e, ear, soul awake in expectation, he is waiting for His coming. LIFE or CHRIST. 127 As his eye meets the calm look of Jesus, a voice thrills through the silent chambers of his heart — lie is come! He is here! Awe-struck, speechless, he stands for a moment. A divine afflatus breathed, as it were, from the silent Savior into his soul, answers, I am He, thy long-expected Messiah. Instantly his official authority, his prophet-dignity, his unquestioned superiority, fall from him. A trembling sinner, he stands before the king of kings. The noblest, grandest character in Palestine, the greatest prophet of the Hebrews bend- ing in lowly worship, cries in plaintive, almost piteous tones, " I have need to be baptized of Thee — comest Thoa to me !" In this sublime scene the old and the new — the dis- pensation of Moses and the direct dispensation of Jesus — stand face to face. Moses and Samuel, David and Isaiah, and the mighty train of prophets are there in- carnate in John, their last and greatest ; Aaron and his priestly sons gather at the river's side in wonder and worship. The tabernacle, the temple, with all their gorgeous ceremonial and sacrificial altars, soon to give place to the cross and the simpler rites of a spiritual chui'ch, are round us in that hour. He, whom they all proclaimed, prefigured, waited for, has come ! The Redeemer is here to be manifested to Israel, and leave all these servants and these arrangements of the past in the person of John. Then He speaks, " Suf- fer it to he so notn ; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." What righteousness? The ceremonial righteousness of the Old Testament. This baptism of John was just as much a part of that as sacrifice and offerings and circumcision. They were all parts of a system of things designed to prepare the way for the 128 SERMONS ON THE coming of Christ. John, a prophet, moved of God, as Moses was before him, instituted this rite as a special ceremonial preparatory to the immediate com- ing of Jesns. It rested on precisely the same founda- tions as every other rite already prescribed in their ritual, and it became the Messiah to submit to it for two reasons. First, it became him to honor this system in his person, which he, through his servants, had in time past established, to accomplish a glorious purpose. This system had done its work. For centuries it had preserved the knowledge and maintained the worship of the one living and true God. Everywhere else idolatry and gross superstition had settled upon the world. At one point, among one people, in one temple alone, there was light, there was pure truth, there was true worship. From that point it radiated out into the dense surrounding darkness. It had formed the historic and prophetic preparation for the develop- ment of Christianity. It perpetuated the true church until Christ came to open its doors to the world and send forth the law from Jerusalem. This system was now about to pass away into history. Its living power — the divine spirit which had originated, sustained,- and used it for purposes so immensely important — was to be withdrawn; and the church, with Christ no longer enshrined in forms, in anticipation, but with a living, crucified, risen Christ, with a fuller revelation of truth, was to move forward to the conquest of the world. iSTow it was to be expected, because it was ■fitting, that the hidden Christ, when he came, should recognize this system as his work, should honor it as divine, should put the seal of his testimony to the LIFE OF CHRIST. 129 work it had accomplished. The last of the prophets sent forth under this system has instituted, in counec- tion with his work, baptism as a special ceremony and symbol of purification, preparatory to the manifesta- tion of Messiah. And as Jesus had honored all the ol>servances of this house of the Lord hitherto, so now he honors this his prophet and recognizes his great mission as divine, by submitting to his baptism, as one of the people. But there is another reason which justifies and sets forth in a clear light the fitness of Christ's conduct. In the work of redeeming men he humbled himself to the assumption of their nature ; further than this, he proceeds — he is made under the law. He takes upon himself all its duties, all its observances, for the very purpose of illustrating the excellence of the law and, by his own humiliation under it, satisfying all its provis- ions, even to the endurance of death itself. If you ask why did Jesus, who was immaculate purity, submit to the symbol of purification as if he were a sinner, I ask with equal pertinency, why was he circumcised ? Why was he, the redeemer of man, redeemed as a first-born son by the offering in the temple ? Why did he, who w^as himself the great sacrifice, consent to offer sacri- fices and eat the pascal lamb, which was a t3'pe of himself? And the answer comes full and clear, be- cause he had identified himself with man as if he was a sinner ; because, in order to fulfill the law and per- fect himself as the captain of salvation and the sym- pathizing high priest of the human soul, he had under- taken to bear all its burdens, and submit to all its trials, and discharge all its duties. To-day, O sinner! as you study this life of Jesus, you will mark, with wonder, 130 SERMONS ON THE how he never claimed exemption, on account of his di- vine dignity, from one single observance of tlie law, or a single duty devolving u[»on him as a being clothed with your nature. And, therefore, you see him approach the prophet, as before he had approached the priest, and saying to the trembling John, astonished that he who was to baptize men with the Holy Ghost should submit himself to the baptism of a sinful man : " Suf- fer it to be so now ; for so it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." This voice, which no man ever heard with indifference, now, for the first time, heard by him, thrills through the prophet as the voice of God. In- stantly he obeys. Meekly the Savior, standing a little way in the stream, receives from his own servant's hands the symbol of purification. Ascending the bank of the river, he prays. His whole soul, filled with the fearful yet glorious mission he has undertaken, and in which he is now about visibly to enter, is absorbed in communion with God. All the past, all the dread, solemn future, with its after glory, held possession of him, as he feels liimself irrevocably committed to the amazing work of human redemption. This is the hour, this the moment, chosen for the full manifesta- tion of his Messiahship to his appointed messenger. His appearance, his words, attended by the inward witness of the spirit, have dee[)ly impressed John with his superiority to himself. Now he is to receive the unmistakable evidence that this is indeed the long-ex- pected Messiah whose speedy coming he has with such intense earnestness proclaimed. Suddenly the heavens seemed to open, as if through a vista the splendors of the upper world shone down upon the Savior, and the Spirit of God, as in the form of a dove, descends LIFE OF CHRIST. 131 slowly and rests upon liim, and, while his eyes are tilled with this wonderful vision, a voice proceeds from that central glory: " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." That opened heaven, with its shiniug glory, is brighter than the sun; that dove, with its gentle motions, as clearly defined as the form of Christ himself; that voice as full, as distinct, as ever entered mortal ears. Henceforth John i)roclaims no more a Messiah to come ; but the Messiah come. Various questions have been raised in reference to this scene. The rationalist endeavors to account for it on natural principles. It is difficult to deny that this scene occurred. All the Evangelists record it. But then it is supposed that it \vas somehow the product of a heated imagination, representing to John rather the creations of his own fancy than actual facts. This class of people are afraid to step a foot into the apiritual world. They shudder at the idea of the supernatural. In their gross materialistic philos- ophy, God is nothing more than natural, physical force, bound up in it, as a galley slave is chained to the oar. And to get rid of the facts, which stand out bold, clear, unquestioned by any just historical criti- cism, they resort to the most extraordinary hypothe- sis, such as in common life an idiot, much less a wise man, would hardly receive. A heated imagination im- poses upon the stern, clear-minded, matter-of-fact John such a scene as this ! And John henceforth acts upon it as the supernatural testimony of God ! Jesus, too, is w^holly mistaken ! He, too, is imposed upon ! And he and John continue to impose a fiction upon the world as a great truth ! I do not see why, in the same way of false assumption, every fact in history may not 132 SERMONS ON THE be juggled out of existence. The little corporal, Napo- leon, at twenty-six years of age did not shake the thrones of Europe to their foundations by his cannon. It 's all a fiction that three millions of people successfully resisted fifteen, some eighty years ago, in this land. I^ay, it is not necessarily a fact that you are hearing me preach to-night supernaturalism, for there is no such thing ; and when you leave this house it will all be a matter of mere memory, about which you may be mistaken. For remember that there is no more reason why a man should be mistaken about a visible fact or heard word, whose origin is supernatural, than there is that he should be mistaken about any other facts in his daily life. Facts are facts, and testimony is testimony, however the facts be originated. And when men assume that God has never done anything supernat- ural in this world, they are compelled to deny the plainest facts, authenticated by the highest testimony man can receive. Now, dismissing this false and de- grading assumption, let us look at this scene from the Christian stand-point. It is a fact that Jesus is Mes- siah, and is about publicly to enter upon that work which all men see and know has changed the character and destiny of the world. It is a fact that John is his prophet-messenger, whose words have already moved the hearts of millions with hopes of Christ's speedy coming. It is a fact that at some time, in some way, Christ was made known to John, and by him mani- fested to Israel. And this is the time ; this, the way. The appearance of Jesus ; the recognition of his supe- riority by John ; the words of Christ, in keeping with his whole character; the feelings of John, in perfect consistency with his character; Christ in prayer; the LIFE OF CHRIST. 133 open heavens ; the Holy Spirit symbolized in the form of a dove, gentle, pure, lovely ; those wondrous words mortal man never originated : " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased " — and how grand and fitting an inauguration is this of Messiah in his office l)efore men! How all the parts harmonize with the characters, the purpose, and the result! When I study the w^orks of God, a flower, a tree, the human body or the soul, I see design and wisdom in this adaptation of part to part, of means to ends, and I be- hold here the flnger of a personal God. And where, in this higher realm of the spiritual, I see the same harmony of all the parts, the same adaptation of means to ends, I am compelled to recognize here the special handiwork of God. Human reason, however affected, can not of itself create these sublime harmo- nics, harmonies deeper and higher than those of na- ture, any more than man can create a star, a sun, a universe of harmonious orbs. Here is the fit inaugura- tion of Jesus in his public Messianic w^ork. JSTothing more fitting, nothing more grand, nothing more un- like the work of man in all history. There com- menced the formal public ministry of him whose name henceforth is to be more potent than armies; whose words are to be the world's light; whose works are to bear at every point the impress of divine wisdom, love, and power; whose kingship untold millions are to recognize, and whose death is to be the Ijirth throes of redemption for our lost humanity. A question has also been started as to the time when the full consciousness of his mission took pos- session of the humanity of Jesus. And some have not hesitated to affirm that here at the baptism the 134 SERMONS ON THE Holy Ghost for tlie first time rested upon him in full- ness, and to his sonl communicated the knowledge of his real nature and the premonitions of his great work. With most men who have been called to a ministry of special richness and power in the church, you can dis- cover a period in their lives when the consciousness of their jDower blazed up within them, and anticipa- tions of their future suddenly filled and lightened through their minds. Luther at Erfurt, Calvin, Knox, "Whitefield, Wesley, and others of the reformers, greatly successful ministers of the truth, pass through such an experience, when the fullness of a divine baptism is poured upon them, and they rise to the consciousness of a special consecration to a special mission. But in the case of Jesus there is not in all his history the least intimation of any such experience. They were sinful men, renewed by the divine spirit, and animated by his presence to labor for their Lord. But in Christ the sinless, the divine worked in mys- terious harmony with the human, awakening, as the soul was fitted for it in its successive growth, the con- sciousness of the wonderful union and the intinite purpose, till it was filled with all tlie conscious fullness of God. There could be here no sudden il- lumination of a precedent darkness, for the darkness never existed. Rather must it have been the light brightening with the expanding powers until those powers w^ere fully developed. He, who, at tw^elve years of age, felt that he must be about his Father's work, did not wait till, he w^as thirty years old to know wdiat that work was. No ! It w^as with him from the cradle ; it mingled with his earliest thoughts and aspirations; it filled him at his daily toil with the LIFE OF CHRIST. 135 consciousness of liis mysterions mission, and ho only waited tlie iitting hour and way to take liis position and accomplish the fulfillment of prophecy. Not for him was the baptism, and the open heavens, and the descending dove, and the voice of God. These were the divine attestations to John, his prophet, that he, in fnltilling his mission, might point him out to the people, with all the authority of prophetic inspiration, as the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. Thus assured, in all his subsequent ministry he bare record, this is the Son of God, Here, then, in this scene is the tirst supernatural manifestation of Christ as Messiah subsequent to his birth. But it is not the last. We are now to trace the life of this wonderful being, illuminated at every step by truths of divine wisdom and works of divine power. We shall see him as man triumphing over" temptation, weeping and praying, suffering. We shall see him as God, teaching, organizing, working mira- cles. We shall see the light go out, seemingly forever, in the darkjiess of the cross; w^e shall see this life, bursting the bars of death and leading captivity cap- tive, ascend to heaven. And oh ! when the angel of deatli darkens the door of our dwelling and bears from us the brightest ob- jects of our earthly affections — yea, not only the aged, ripe in years for the garner of the Lord, but the youthful Christian, when the cup of earthly happi- ness mantles to the lips, ere the bridal wreath has faded, and the brightness of the sweetest of earthly unions is undimmed by a single sorrow, oh! then the heart in its agony turns for help to him who Avas baptized Avith our suffering, and went down into the 136 SERMONS ON THE darkness of the sepulcher, and, leaving there all our sins, came forth triumphantly, crying, as he rose, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me shall never die." Last Sabbath eve I preached to you of the gain of death to the Christian; for the day before we had laid the dust of one strong in Christian manhood to rest until the resurrection. Yesterday again, with heav- enly melodies soft and sweet, and words of divine hope, we laid the fair form of the young bride down among the flowers, and amidst the singing of birds, to await the hour when Jesus shall call the already sainted spirit, reanimate it, and raise it to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is amidst such scenes we realize the preciousness of faith in him on whom the dove descended, and the voice from heaven declared, "This is my beloved Son." Oh! while we sympathize with those who mourn the departure of the loved, while we feel the nearness of death, let us I'ejoice that Jesus only took to himself our precious fold, already prepared for glorj^ Let us gird on our armor, and go forth with a more intense solicitude to bring to Christ the multitude who, living without faith, are only ripening for the sorrows of a death that knows no end. LIFE OF CHRIST. 137 VIII. THE TEMPTATION (nO. 1) — THE DIVINE AND HUMAN. " And the Word icas made flesh and dwelt among us {and ive beheld his glory ^ the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) fall of grace and truth." — John i, 14. In discoursing to j-ou on the life of Christ, wo have ])asscd from his supernatural birth up to the time Avhen at his ba[>tism he was fully recognized as the Messiah. At this point he appears before us in his full maturity. From this time his public ministr}', as the divine Redeemer, commences. Henceforth and forever he is to be the living center of humanit3\ From him history is to take its departure. In him religion lias its true life; an'^d by liim all systems of human faith are to be tried. From this time the true light, that is to enlighten ever}' man that cometh into the world, breaks forth in its divine splendor. The life of Jesus now opens to us the astonishing paradox of the divine Son in our iiumanit}' ; of two natures, in- finitely removed from each other as the separate poles of being, yet brought together and acting as one per- son— the inlinite word dwelling in flesh. We can not now take a step forward in this life without seeing these two natures revealing themselves. This often strikes us strangely, m^'steriously, as it did multitudes who saw and heard Jesus. The outward contest bc- 12 138 SERMONS ON THE tween infinite power and human weakness; infinite knowledge and limited intelligence"; a nature divine that can neither be tempted nor suffer, and a human nature subject to both, at first perplexes; because we see not the secret harmony of this union, nor the mode in which it is constituted. Yet we have the Ivcy that unlocks the secret of this unique person in our text — Tlie word made flesh. Just here, as we are entering upon this mysterious phase of Christ's life — his temptation — it seems to me fit we should dwell on this subject, and, as far as we can, attain clear views of the sphere of these two na- tures, their relations to each other and their mutual action and reaction on each other. If we are success- ful in this, then much of the perplexity and vagueness that embarrass the minds of many Christians will be removed, I do not mean by this tliat we can under- stand the mode of tliis union, any more than we can fathom the mystery that envelopes the union of spirit and body in man, or the mystery of life anywhere. But there are certain facts characteristic of this union which we can understand, and other analogous facts which may throw some light on the operation of these two natures in one person. Starting now with the human side, the first fact to be noticed is, that Christ's humanity was complete. lie possessed the body and the soul, the intellect, the affections, tlie will, the activities, and the passivities ; the entire constitution of a man. In himself he sub- stantiates the perfect ideal of our humanity. This fact is so fully declared in Scripture, and so generally accepted the world over, that I need not dwell upon it. 2. I must remark, that this humanity must unfold LIFE OF CHKIST. 139 itself in liannony with the hiws uiid under the liuiita- tioiis rio^htly belonging to this human nature. There is nothing in this union of the divine with the human that supersedes this kind of development or renders it unnecessary. Indeed, it was essential to the very ob- ject for wliich God is manifest in flesh, since only thus could Christ fully take upon him our nature and he made subject to law and suffering. lie was an in- fant, nourished at his mother's breast, like any other infant, and displaying all the artless ways and gleams of new-born intelligence that shed such tenderness, sweetness, and attractiveness around our infancy. So his body grew to the ripe stature of manhood, just as other bodies grow, gradually develo[)ing all physical powers in accordance with the same laws and condi- tions that regulate and limit our growth. His intel- lect and his affections ripen in the same way ; not l>y a sudden leap, springing into maturity, but quietlv ad- vancing, idea added to idea, conclusion to conclusion, meeting and overcoming difRculties, exercising the will in application, in study, in tiie regulation of all powers of mind and heart, and in all the aiipropriate duties and labors of his condition. This kind of growth is expressly affirmed of him in Scripture, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." So far as his humanity was concerned he was subject to the same laws of growth and life that characterize human nature everj'where. 3. Christ, being thus constituted, was liable to suffer. His hody, like any other human body, was sensitive to pain. Fire would burn him; the nails driven into his hands and feet would cause exquisite suffering. His wliole physical organism was alive with nervous sen- 140 SERMONS ON THE sibility. He was equally capable of suffering in bis soul. His moral and social sensibilities were most acute and tender. The sight of evil and of sin pained him, revolted him. The grief, the misery of others stirs his compassion. The tears that he shed at the grave of Lazarus, that he wept over Jerusalem, reveal the sensitiveness of his soul to suffering. To suffer was essential to his mission, and so his whole humanity lay open on every side to its assaults. Its very per- fection, its pure and delicate nature, enabled him to become the chief sufferer of all the sons of Adam, 4. I remark now, that Christ in his humanity was / liable to temptation. He had in himself all the original appetites, passions, and desires belonging to our na- ture. As a complete man, these were in him in their full, original perfection. He was gifted with a will free to indulge them. There was nothing in him that thrust him out of the sphere of our nature and com- pelled him to move in another. His mission obliged him to occupy our sphere, and he did occupy it with, all its trials and exposures. This is expressly asserted w^here it is said " He was tempted in all points like as we are." This involves the possibilities of sin. For a temptation, without the possibilitj^ of sin, is no tempta- tion at all. There must be desires to be addressed and / a will able to comply, or you might as well offer food to a stone, Jesus Christ in his human nature came for the express purpose of being one with us in our temp- tations ; to feel with us all these natural impulses, and to illustrate before our eyes the conquest 'which a jjure soul gains over sin. 5. To complete this summary of Christ in his hu- manity, I add the perfection of his character. Tempted LIFE OF CHRIST. 141 as wc are, " he is without sin." lie dwells habitually in the presence, and is tilled with the love of God. His life is the loftiest ideal of a perfect humanity. All the perfections, the grandeur, and the simplicity, the inward emotions and the outward manifestations of them, which man can imagine as characteristic of a holy being, are combined in him. AVith singular unanimity, friends and foes for two thousand years have placed him above ail others of the race. The ex- ceptions are so few tliat they are not worth mentioning. Even Theodore Parker, ready enough as he was to as- sail the living and the dead, even when in his pitiful self-conceit he imagined himself superior to Jesus in knowledge, never ventured to asperse Irts character. Where the Scri[itures place him in unapproachable purity of life, the world places him. Time, that tries all things, joins with Pilate in the solemn affirmation, " I find no fault in him." Here, then, we have in Christ a perfect humanity ; he is your brother, prepared to sympathize with and suffer for you. In his mission to this world he took not on him the nature of angels, but the nature of man. The word was made ilesh. He was in the form of God; took the form of a servant. I pass now to consider the other side of our subject — The dwine nature in its union, with our nature in the person of Jesus Christ. The word that was God is made flesh. The divine Son of God is united to our nature. This is a true, real union, constituting one harmonious person. Language can not make this more emphatic than it is made in the text. The word is actually made flesh, made one or- ganically with our humanity. The mode of this union is wholly beyond our reason now, and therefore we are 142 SERMONS ON THE not called upon to believe anything- about it. Bnt the fact of such a union is easily apprehended, and its re- lations to our redemption readily understood and have been by millions since Christ appeared. Fifty years ago Unitarianism in Boston refused to recognize Christ as the divine Son of God, ostensibly because this doc- trine did not accord with their reason ; really, because they could not comprehend it. As if a man could live in this world without believing ten thousand thinc^s wholly beyond his comprehension, i^ow, however, a large class of philosophers, following this same reason as they think, have swung clear round to the opposite 23ole, and are ready to believe anything because it is incomprehensible. Nay, so far have they gone in their sublimated reason, that instead of one divine person incarnate, they count all men divine, yea, even the brutes and the trees and the world, all, with man, are the only God. One of these men, living not a thousand miles from Boston, imagines that when he walks abroad the trees nod to him, the divinity in them salutes the divinity in him ; and he might, on the same principle, have added, that every donkey he meets brays to him in recognition of a common brother- hood. To such enormous extravagancies do men pro- ceed when they reject the Scriptures as the true rule of faith and practice, and set up reason as superior. Let us ever remember these facts : 1st. That reason has its own sphere, and that every man is responsible for its right use within this sphere. 2d. That reason apprehends as facts, and acts upon them daily, a thou- sand things in nature and life which it can not fully understand. The existence of God as a wise, holy, omnipotent, omniscient sovereign; creation ; the union LIFE OF CHEIST. 143 of soul and body ; generation and reproduction all over the eartli ; time; eternity; life; ]iliysieal and mental organization ; yea, almost everything the eye sees or the ear hears or the hands handle are of this character. And it is worse than a mistake, it is the most atrocious folly and Avickedness to accept this principle as funda- mental to our earthly life and reject it in reference to the vastly higher subject of our spiritual life — to de- mand that God in his word shall make known to us no fact that reason can not fully understand, while in creation he has acted uniformly on an opposite prin- ciple. If he should do so, these persons would turn round and affirm that the Bible was the work of a simpleton, and oidy meant for babes. Now, this grand fact, the AVord made flesh, meets us at the opening of the gos[»el, meets us at every step as we advance in it; in various ways it flashes upon us, and without it the life and words and mission of Jesus are an unsolved enigma, without purpose and without end. I accept this fact as revealed to the world b}^ God himself, and rejoice unspeakably in the results which flow from it to me and to all who be- lieve. In observing this union, and the peculiar manner in which it is manifest, there are some things we may say, without attempting to be wise above what is written ; in other words, we nuiy endeavor to interpret the facts as they come out in the life of our Savior. I feel, indeed, that great modesty and caution becomes us in conducting such a discussion ; that when \ye enter the divine sanctuary of this inner life of Jesus, we must take ott' our shoes, tread softly and reverently, while we pray Ilim that no word may be uttered or 144 SERMONS ON THE tlionght expressed that is not in perfect harmony with the truth. Feeling thus our need of divine guidance, we ven- ture upon this unusual discussion, in the hope that while it stimulates thought, it ma}^ also assist in dis- embarrassing this subject of some difficulties that are felt by many in practically recognizing this divine union in Christ. First, then, I remark that in such a union of dis- tinct natures it is self-evident that the inferior is wholly dependent upon the superior for the manifest- ation of itself; in other words, to use a philosophical expression, the superior conditions the inferior. The human nature of Christ is dependent upon the divine for such revelations as the latter may see fit to make. This union did not make the human soul divine ; it did not take awaj- its humanity; it left it in its own sphere, to receive such peculiar revelations and such light, such power as the divine Son in it saw to be best. This, I say, is self-evident; it is a universal law. The little child has a special dependence, in many respects, upon the parent. It is for the mother or father to give it such sustenance, such instruction, as in her or his judgment is suited to the age and ca- pacities of a child. They are, in a sense, one — one family, one blood — peculiarly, though not organicallj', one in life. And it is God's constitution that the in- ferior in power and knowledge shall be dependent upon the will of the superior. A mere workman is in the same manner relatively dependent upon the man of genius and mental power to plan and organize what he may execute. Nor would it make a particle of dif- ference if the soul of a Michael Angelo should be LIFE OF CHRIST. 145 united with the soul of one of his workmen in one body. God could put two souls of different capacities into one bod}' as easily as he could one. In both cases the inferior would be dependent upon the superior. In dead matter, the larger mass has greater attractive power than the smaller. And so through all the realm of mind and matter this law holds good. Now, what I mean to affirm is, that the union of the divine nature with the luiman did not necessitate an absorption of the one into the other; that it left the humanity free in all its own proper action, while, as the inferior, it receives only such light and power as the divine Son chooses to impart. This point being evident, then it follows that at one time there may have been a full communication of the divine nature to the human consciousness of Jesus, and at another a withdrawal of it. Such is the nature of this union, the divine thus conditioning and limit- ing the human, that the manifestation of the one to the consciousness of the other must have been wholly in the power and at the will of the former. Thus at one time it was true that the soul of Jesus was so full of this divine nature, his consciousness was so intcrper- meated and exalted by the sense of this blissful union, tliat he dwelt in heaven, in the immediate presence of God, in his bosom, and felt the divinity revealing itself to the innermost depths of his soul, and tilling all its powers with its light and power. Then, again, this sense of the divine may have been withdrawn from his consciousness, and in deep darkness he may have felt the terror and the woe of an abandonment to his own poor, unsustaincd hunianily. All the facts IS 146 SERMONS ON THE in this m3'sterions life show that this must have been the character of the relation of the divine and human ; and, as we shall soon see, on this supposition every part of it, and all its most wonderful scenes, find a beautiful illustration. To this I now add another remark — that the time and extent of this manifestation of the divine in the human consciousness of Jesus would be determined by the needs and necessities of his soul in view of the great purpose for which the word is made flesh. This purpose is to constitute him the Savior of the world. But in order to this, the humanity of Christ must pass through all stages of development, through tempta- tions, trials, suft'erings, victories ; for thus only is the great Captain of our salvation made perfect for his work. In this progress from ignorance to knowledge, from sorrow to joy, from the night and blight of earthly scenes to the triumphant day of the flnal gh)ry, the necessities of his soul would greatly vary. Sometimes it must be left to its own naked self- determination, and sometimes it might be invigorated by the conscious union of God with man, and so all through it the varying discipline demands a corres- ponding variety in the conscious intercommunion of the divine nature with the human. And thus ever the necessities of this human soul in its preparation to be, and its actual work in becoming, the Savior of men, would be the measure of the divine communication to his conscious spirit of knowledge and strength. And, finally, I remark, that the individual self, con- scious of Christ's humanity, remains ever perfect. It is not lost nor absorbed but only exalted when it is tilled with the sense of this union with the divine. LIFE OF CHRIST. 147 The Son of Man docs not vanish in the Son of God, even when he is tilled with the divine fullness and his nature is consciously pervaded and interpenetrated by the divine essence. If it were so, then his exaltation to the right hand of God would strip him of his con- scious brotherhood with us, and he would cease to be the sympathizing brother and mediator who liveth forevermore. Before I proceed to show you how the facts in the life of Christ warrant the statements here made and are in harmony with them, suffer me to say that the position of the objector to this doctrine of the word made ilesh, is that of ignorance and not of knowledge. N^o man is authorized to say, from any knowledge he has of God or the soul, that such a union of the divine nature with our humanity might not take place, or that for the accomplishment of an object worthy of God, such as the illustration of his mercy in the salva- tion of men, it ought not and would not take place. It becomes us to be very modest in our assertions on this subject. Why, how little we know even of our souls and their capabilities ! Facts come out now and then that, a few years ago, mental philosophers would have pronounced incredible. Take the fact that one person placed in contact with another, in certain conditions of the system, can will his thoughts into the mind of the other and yet both retain their own individual self-consciousness. Take the facts of double conscious- ness. Ask Dr. Gray, or Kelly, and he will tell you that, in certain diseased conditions, the same individual has one consciousness of a certain kind and another underlying it of a totally different kind. Take the case of Miss Jieynolds, of Meadville, Penus3-lvania. 148 SERMONS ON THE The facts were related t© me thirty years ago, by a classmate, her nephew, and have since been published by Dr. Plumer, in Harper's Magazine for 1860. When a girl, of some sixteen years of age, she awoke from sleep having lost all memory and all consciousness of her past life. She was a woman in body and capacity, but an infant in knowledge. She had to be retanght every thing. Again in sleep she passed back into her former state and awoke in the full consciousness of her former life. Thus she passed backward and for- ward from one state of consciousness to another, until she finally settled in her abnormal or secondary state ; and the most remarkable fact attending it was that on her return to one state she entered into the same train of thought and feeling and act which she was following when she passed out, although months had sometimes intervened. Now what do you say to such facts? and how does it become you to be modest in talking about the nature of God and your own soul. That soul has capacities and powers you dream not of. Made in the image of God, it will live and develope forever. And if God has seen fit to become incarnate in humanity, by what light or power of reason can you afiirm that it is false ? Let us now recall the points I have stated, and see how they harmonize with the life of Christ. Remem- ber that we have in this union a complete sinless hu- manity, subject to the same laws, temptations, and sufierings which control and att'cct all our race, and that here the inferior is dependent upon the superior for divine manifestations to itself. Jesus in his in- fancy and childhood is truly and simply a sinless in- fant, a sinless child, though Lord of all. For then the LIFE OF CHEIST. 149 necessities of" his lite deniaudecl, uot the conscious presence of tlie divine, bnt the full and free play of all his human powers, according to the laws of growth and development. How soon the superior nature diffused the consciousness of this union through the young soul we can not tell. It may be that as the babe gradually Avakcs to the consciousness of a mother's love, as God sends the dawn before the sun, so this wonderful fact gradually dawned upon it. His answer to his mother in the temple indicates the consciousness of something unusual in his relation to the Father. But as his nature ripens into manhood, his heavenly, his divine part unfolds itself within him, until he comes to dwell in the very bosom of God. Here, then, is a hoi}' soul in conscious union with the divine nature. It is here on earth; sin, pain, disease, death, are all round it. Look wliere he will, the baleful form of sin is there. It throbs in the air; it walks the earth ; it nestles in the heart. Listen when he may, the cries of suffering are in his ear. Standing in God's presence, he knows the course and end of justice. He is exquisitel}' sensitive to it all. He loathes, jat he pities. He feels this world of evil all round him ; in his mind and heart he holds the in- finite love of God. Then breaks in upon him the magnificent scheme of redemption, from his own di- vine nature. He is to suffer, he is to die,' for the sins of men. The human soul, now irradiated by the light of God, freely consecrates itself to the work, and the Messiah is manifested to the world. Henceforth he bears about with him, on one side, the conscious dignity of God ; on the other, the consciousness of a sufferer for the sins of men. jS"ow he is led hither and thither, 150 . SERMOTs^S ON THE through the mightiest temptations, by the Prince of Darkness ; and now he speaks, and demons fly from him. Kow he is wearied, and sleeps, and hungers; and 'now he stills the winds, and creates the food of thousands. Now he prays as a dependent ; and now he afiirras that he is in heaven. Now he weeps at the grave of Lazarus ; and then he hids that grave give its dust back to life. Now he washes his disciples' feet ; and then he says : " He that liatli seen me hath seen the Father." Now he declares that some things are hidden from him ; and then that all power is com- mitted to him. Now he weeps in agony in the garden ; and then he heals with a touch the cleft ear of an en- emy. Now he stands thorn-crowned and silent be- fore Pilate ; then he declares he has but to ask, to will, and legions of angels would flash their terrible bright- ness upon his foes. Now he is on the mount of trans- figuration; and now he is girt round with the terrors of hell. Now he hangs a tortured, bleeding sufl[erer upon the cross ; and then he converts a malefactor, and opens paradise to his departing spirit. Now he feels the consciousness of divine abandonment as he sinks under the sins of men; and now he cries in triumph "it is finished." Now his body lies in the embrace of death ; and now, with divine life, he re- enters it. Now he walks to the top of Olivet ; and then he rises to the right-hand of the Majesty on High. Thus, all through his wonderful life, these two natures, that formed this one person, God made flesh, appear in sublime 'contrast. These contrasts incessantly re- j)eat themselves; you can not get round them, you can not ignore them, and be just to the original. You can not reconcile or harmonize the life of Jesus, except LIFE OF CHRIST. 151 on tliu }»riiic'i[)lc of the text, thut liis pei*.-?on is com- posite, divine and human. All attempts to write or comprehend this life, from one side of it alone, alwaj's have been, and must be, failures; just as a physician who treats man as wholly animal, or wholly spiritual — or a philosopher who writes of Immanity as subject to and developing under only one class of laws, and takes no notice of the action and reaction of the intellectual, the moral, and the physical — will fail in the compre- hensiveness and the linal truthfulness of his conclu- sions. The life of Christ is not a tissue woven of thread of silver alone, or gold alone. It is the com- mingling of the intense brightness of divinity and the intense darkness into which humanity sometimes sinks. The assumptions and the exercise of divine attributes are shaded oft" into the weakness and sor- row of the iinite soul. To be in a position to attain just views of such a life, three things are essential : 1st. The recognition of the fact that he who was in the form of God took upon him the form of a servant, constituting the divine and human in one person. 2d. The relations of these natures to each other ; the one as the superior, the other as the dependent. And 3. The grand object for which this union was consummated, the redemption of men. Lose sight of citlier of these things, and this life of Christ is not truly apprehended nor really known ; the temptation in the wilderness is meaningless ; the agony in the garden inexplicable, and the entire life of Christ a fearful discord in the universe. But take this posi- tion, on which the church has ever stood since he as- cended, and this life is the life and light of the world, the source of human redemption, the sublime liar- 152 SERMONS ON THE mony of law, justice, and mercy, a living power of renovation descending into the corruption of the race, the radiant center of influence for the remolding man in the image of God, comforting him amidst his sorrows, purging away his pollutions, correcting his errors, enlarging and glorifying his intelligence, min- istering a living impulse to his elevation and pro- gress in a sublime life, giving supremacy to the kin- dred powers of love and faith in society, opening to him the gates of heaven and the final perfection of the sons of God. The wonders which the life of Christ has already wrought in the world, the revolutions it has inaugurated, the idolatries it has broken, the phil- osophies it has exploded, the darkness and supersti- tion it has enlightened, the science it has created, the new and wondrous religious life it has breathed into millions, and the enterprises of faith for the conquest of the world it has started and maintained, the con- flicts it has fought with all human and Satanic forces, and the amazing victories it has won, demonstrate this glorious fact in history — "The Word made flesh." Here to-night are many who, in their own rich expe- rience, aflirm the blessedness of this truth, "God manifest in flesh." To you and to me Christ holds a personal relation in his divinity and humanity; the one consecrating, ennobling, giving saving eflicacy to the temptations, the obedience, and the sufterings of the other. Here to-night you feel the wondrous har- mony, sublimity, and glory of this living Christ, and 3'ou say : " My Lord and my God ! Henceforth my life shall be a sacrifice of faith and love to thee." And to you, men and women of the world, Jesus appeals to- night. Remember that only to those who received LIFE OF CHRIST. 153 liim (lid he give tlic l)Icssednoss of becoming sons ot God. Kemeinber how the world in its pride and self- conceit knew him not, spat upon him, trod in wrath npon him, nailed him in midhcavens to the tree — /(«/», the loving, compassionate, suffering Son of God! Oh, my blessed, divine liedeemer ! I was there witlO the world. I helped to drive the nails that pierced. And yet thou prayed for them. Thou hast forgiven me! And yon, impenitent soul, standing here amidst the light of the gospel, yet rejecting the crucitied, you too he waits to receive, to forgive, to bless "with peace and joy and hope. The world is all 3'ou have or seek — a workl that despises and deceives while it may flatter you ; a world that M'ill vanish away and leave you dark, hopeless, oppressed with sin, hastening to meet the appalling vision of judgment and a Savior rejected. AVhat power of evil, what Satanic influence holds you fast in the chains of unbelief, and blinds your poor soul to the amazing realities of sin, judg- ment, redemption. Oh, sin ! sin ! how awful thy ty- ranny. Oh, Christ, my Lord! thou, thou only canst break its power, and draw these earth-bound souls to , thy cross. 154 SERMONS ON THE IX. THE TEMPTATION (NO. 2) — CHRIST LED INTO THE WILDER- NESS. ^^And immediately the Spirit driveth him into tJie wil- derness. And lie was there in the ivilderness forty days, tem2-)ted of >SV/to?^."— Mark i, 12, 13; Mattli. iv, 1-11; Luke iv, 1-13. The baptism is over. Instantly the scene changes. Manifested to John as the Messiali, and thus seem- ingly ready for his work, instead of at once entering upon it, Jesus is removed from the eyes of men. Lying between the valley of the Jordan and Jerusa- lem tliere is a wild and rocky region. Wild beasts find a refuge in it. Human habitations are not there. Robbers sometimes haunted it. A place of desolation, of wild, rugged grandeur, terrible in aspect. From the excited throngs that gathered around the Baptist, Jesus passes into this lonely wilderness ; he is hidden here as effectually as if he were in another land. For forty days he abides here in solitude before he again emerges into the world. This change startles by its abruptness ; it is something no man would have ever thouglit of inventing. It puzzles exceedingly our humanitarian philosophers; it is so out of harmony with their preconceived notions of what the character of Jesus is or ought to be ; the facts stated in connec- tion with it are so evidently above their reach, that LIFE OF CHRIST. 155 tliey are driven to get rid of tliem as far as possible without dcstrojiiig utterly the scene itself. As the silk worm spins his delicate fiber out of his bowels, so these men out of their brains spin beautiful theories to account for the temptation. Fortunately, like all men who take partial views, their speculations carry their own antidote. You read one, and it seems plau- sible, particularly if you do not compare it with the Scripture narrative ; you road another, and it too is very pretty, but entirely different; you read another and another, and by that time you conclude they know nothing of Christ, for it would take a dozen different Christs to answer all the conditions of their diverse theories. They are clearl}' men out of position ; you would think from their assumed confidence that they had been with Jesus when he discoursed with his dis- ciples on tiiese subjects, and had fairly seen the inner- most Avorkings of his soul. But when you compare the results they reach witli each other and with the Scripture, you are perfectly convinced that they know nothing of the subject they are writing about. They are outside and in too low a position to understand Jesus at all, A parcel of idiots under Dr. Wilbur's training, at Syracuse, could attain more truthful views than these cultured and able minds, for this reason : they have not the key and the door is shut. A man outside of one of our factories sees men and women spinning, all in utter confusion. But let him once enter the building; see the great wheel communi- cating its im[iulse to every other wheel and spindle, and men and women each in his or her own place, and at once the confusion vanishes; order rises. The simple facts, seen from the right position, are 156 SEKMONS ON THE wortli a thousand theories. These men have phxnted themselves outside the great facts of Christianity; they do not believe in the supernatural ; they reject the divine mission of the Son of God: and from such a position they may busy themselves to all ctertiity in spinning theories like that of "Ecce Homo," or Schenkel, or Strauss, or Hume, and the result will be only confusion, disorder, falsehood. Our business is to take the facts as we iind them in the sacred narra- tives, and interpret them in the harmony of their re- lations and the grand end of Christ's life. These are the evidence, and all the evidence. If, in a court of law, a witness should draw on his imagination for his facts, he would be condemned to the state's prison for perjury, and rightly too. And when, in these matters of inlinitely greater interest, a man deliberately puts aside the facts and substitutes his own baseless imagi- nations, he incurs the guilt and will receive the con- demnation of him who both adds to and takes from the inspired word. Let us, then, warned b}^ the errors and failures of others, take the facts of this wonderful life, and en- deavor to interpret them in harmony with themselves and the whole character and work of Christ. 1. The first point that demands attention is the peculiar influence under which Jesus makes this sud- den transition from the Jordan to the desert. Matthew and Luke use substantially the same terms in describ- ing it. He was led or conducted by the Spirit — the Holy Ghost. But Mark, more grapliic, as is his wont, employs a more intense word — He is driven, or di- vinely impelled into the wilderness. A divine force is put upon him in opposition to his natural inclina- LIFE OF CHRIST. 157 tion. He uses the same term wliieli is elsewhere em- ployed ill reference to the expulsion of demons from the bodies of men ; so that here in the beginning of this scene we have the stamp of a divine power ex- erted to accomplish a divine purpose. It is to be accounted for wholly on supernatural principles. The key to its meaning is found in the single fact which meets us at the outset. This, however, puzzles and con- founds the natural theorists. On their principles, the divine Spirit has no place here. They must account for everything on the low plane of human nature ; and losing sight of this first and most significant fact, their speculations are worth no more than the paper on which they are written. It is obvious that when you set aside this divine influence, necessitating this scene in the wilderness, it is impossible, on natural principles, to account for it. It is said that at his baptism the idea first took possession of Jesus that he was to be a great reformer of the church, and he re- tired into the Avilderness to mature his plans and j)re- pare himself for his work. l>ut the facts here arc all assumed to harmonize with preconceived notions. How do they know that now for the first time such an idea entered the mind of Jesus ? No such fact is stated in the narratives; the op[)Osite is very plainly indi- cated. But why should Christ enter into the wilder- ness for forty days ? He was no ascetic ; his life and temperament and training were wholly unlike those of the Baptist. He mingled with men ; he was free, genial, social, delighting in all the sweet relationships of human society. His nature was all attuned to the tender harmonies of social life. He had, indeed, Jiis hours of retirement and devotion, just as every human 158 SERMONS ON THE soul that would live near to God in this world must have ; but they were short, and he soon returned to society. In his whole life tliere is nothing like this wilderness scene. On natural principles we should suY)pose that when he had once been publicly recog- nized by his forerunner, he would immediately have addressed himself to his work. As the bugle call to the warrior, so the woes of humanity, in its sor- row and corruption, would have summoned him to enter at once upon the conflict. This would have been the natural impulse of his warm and earnest soul. But nature is overruled by the divine Spirit* A power mightier than nature, in opposition to all its tendencies, drives him out of the world of man into the wilderness. And this, utterly unaccountable on merely human principles, we shall see at length, is in entire harmony with the divine character he possessed and the divine work he was to perform among men. The divine power and purpose attends him at every step of his mission, and it is only by recognizing it we shall be able to unlock the mysteries and hear the harmonies of his grand life. 2. I^ow let us look at t)ur second point — the immedi- ate purpose for which he is thus driven into the wilder- ness. This is explicitly stated to be — temptation, trial. On this point the sacred writers are unanimous and emphatic. They leave nothing to be inferred and nothing to be added. It was not to form his plans for the future; it was to be tempted. It was not for the direct purpose of prayer and communion with God; it was trial. The divine act in compelling him to go there, and the divine purpose in it, flames forth distinctly in the sacred record and gives it a divine LIFE OF CHRIST. 159 liiirinony. i\o\v, it is impossible that a pure being, independent of any call of duty, could, with his eyes open, have thns courted temptation. Jesus expressly makes part of the prayer he taught his disciples, the I)etition, " lead us not into temptation." He exhorts his disciples to Avatch against it. He could no more have gone self-impelled into such a scene tlian he would have entered, without cause, a furnace of iire. It was the divine will that bore him thither, for this one object. Our natural theorists and speculators see this clearly enough, and they deliberately proceed to get over it by putting it out of sight. Jesus goes into the wilderness merely to meditate and think over his future plans ; and then, while thus emplo^-ed, he is exposed to temptation. The temptation is not the purpose to meet which he is taken there; it is only an incident of liis presence there. iS"ow, this is to falsify history in order to suit a theory. It is to make your facts conform to your theory, and not your tlieory to the facts. It is as if a man should suppose the moon was made of cheese, and then pronounce the testimony given by the telescope to be worthless. It is as if a man should say the suspension bridge at Cincinnati was built on boats, and not hung on stone piers at either side of the Ohio. It is more than all this ; it is a deliberate and wicked falsification of history ; it is foisting into the life of the Redeemer human imagin- ations that do not belong to it, and jiutting out of it the very facts which the inspired witnesses record as essential to it. The witnesses, and the only possible witnesses in the case, tell us Christ went into the wil- derness under the controlling and impelling influence of the Divine Spirit ; these men say he went there on / 160 SERMONS ON THE his own motion. They say he was driven there ex- pressly in order to be tried ; these affirm he went there to meditate his plans of future action. Christ's life is treated very much as he was when on earth. Then Pharisee and Sadducee joined in misinterpreting his words, in crowning his head with thorns, and hanging his body on the cross. Our moderns crucify his historic life, spiking it to the cross with their mis- erable assumptions, and thrusting into it the spear of falsehood. Such conduct is simply atrocious. There is neither honesty, nor manliness, nor truthfulness, in it. JSTeither learning, nor wit, nor refinement of style, can redeem its authors from the guilt of dishonesty, insincerity, and moral perjur3^ Let us remember that the only authority in the world capable of testifying declares that the divine purpose in taking Christ into the wilderness was that he might be tempted. Here we rest on our second point. 3. I pass now to our third point — the temptation — with the design, hereafter, of discussing the several temptations by themselves. I shall limit myself here to some observations on the general subject : (1) This is a true temptation. Anything that is adapted to move the heart of man away from God, or that tends to lead us to sul)stitute our will in the place of the divine, is a temptation. When a young man is con- sidering the duty of personal religion, and the world with its present attractions urges him to take a course independent of God — this is a temptation. It is God's will that every person shall keep his thoughts and heart pure, and hold the family relation sacred ; when then, 0[tp()rtunitics present themselves for the indulg- ence of passion in \ioUitiun ul' this law, llicy eonsti- LIFE OF CHRIST. 161 tiitc a temptation. Now what the sacred narratives affirm is, that Christ was placed in just such circum- stances ; that there was brought to bear upon liimintlu- ences adapted to lead liim to substitute liis human will and pleasure in the place of the divine will and pleas- ure. In other words, this is no imaginary, but a real temptation ; just such as humanity is called to meet everywhere. In him our hunuinity, without sin, was tried by the temptation to sin. The second Adam is tried as was the Urst. (2) Consider next the special conditionsof the temp- tation. These are two : the practical isolation of Christ from human society, and the fasting for forty days. These conditions arc bound up with the temptation, so as to form with it a connected Avhole. Mark and Luke expressly state this when they speak of Christ as being tempted for forty days. You can not separate this wil- derness life of fasting from the temjitation. Christ could have fasted elsewhere ; he could be and subse- quentl}^ was tempted in the midst of human society. But now both these conditions must bo united with the temptation. There is a divine signihcance in them. I only bring out this significance. I only logically and fairly interpret these facts, when I say they were designed to give full effect to the temptation ; to place the humanity of Christ in a position to be tried and tested in the fullest manner. Every one knows that the power of temptation varies indefinitely with the circumstances and conditions of life. A beggar might be mightily tempted to do that which the same person in the possession of thousands would scorn; a miser may let go his gold to save his life; a profligate may 14 U / 162 SERMONS ON THE be virtuous amidst scenes of sorrow and death. The conditions in which a man is placed give force or weakness to temptation. Hazael is loyal enough be- fore the prophet ; when circumstances changed, he be- came a traitor and a regicide. I might speculate here on the influence of these conditions on the jjure soul of Jesug; but I will not. As an interpreter of the facts, all that is needful for me to state, or you to know, is, that they found the conditions for the most effective trial of our humanity in Christ Jesus. God ordered this temptation in just these circumstances for the pur- pose of making it most efiective. To this end tliey were essential, and so, in the sacred narrative, they are all logically and fitly bound together, as one compre- hensive whole. Our Sadduceean theorists separate them — ignore the first and speculate only on the second. In so doing, they only illustrate the falsity of their criticism, and the willfulness of their unbelief. (3) Here let us notice that the specific temptations recorded are all addressed to natural principles, or to susceptibilities and desires that belong to our nature.' The bodily appetites ; the desire of reputation ; the love of power, and the desire to exercise it ; all enter into our humanity. They were all in Adam before he fell. They constitute in part the happ}'' elements of our orig- inal nature. In itself, that constitution is just as pure, just as good, as that of the angels. I^either the pos- session nor the indulgence of them is necessarily sinful. God made man upright, and his handiwork is per- fection. Sin lies in the indulgence of them contrary to the divine will; it is man assuming the right of supremacy, and putting himself on God's throne ; it is self-will carrying it over the will of the Creator, LIFE OF CHRIST. 163 and making man himself his law and his end. Holi- ness is just the opposite. It is man submitting his will to that of his Heavenly Father; man controling and directing all his powers in harmony with this divine constitution. Neither sin nor holiness is in the desires ' and susceptibilities of his nature. Sin, indeed, in its reflex influence, has aftected them, exaggerating, in- tensifying them into uncontrolable lusts. But orig- inally it was not so; in Christ's pure nature it was not so. These were in him in all their original purity and harmony. He was not an angel lifted above our sphere. He was here in our nature, possessed of our humanity. And just here was the poiijt of assault for temptation ; just here man at first was assailed, and here he fell. Here, on those human susceptibilities and desires, Satan concentrates all his devilish power. He does not address him as angel ; he comes down to his humanity ; and recognizing in him the Son of God in our nature, he aims to defile and dishonor that nature by enslaving its pure and innocent desires to his own devilish yoke. And the conditions in which Christ was placed gave the highest power to those temptations. His utter isolation, his protracting fast- ing, the pangs of hunger, the sense of weakness in his humanity while yet united with that which was di- vine, opened his soul to the assaults of the tempter. This fact diminished, if it did not annihilate, the dis- tance created by his holiness between his nature and ours in respect to the susceptibility of temptation. It placed him more perfectly on our level, and thus, while standing erect in his sublime purity, it brought him more perfectly into sympathy with our fallen humanity. He was tempted just as we are; he felt 164 SERMONS ON THE tlie same solicitations to evil iiidulgoiico tliat we feel ; the same subtle temptations assailed him that are at ■work in us. But this is the amazing difference be- tween us — we yield, while he repels ; we let sin enter, while he puts his foot upon the tempter and treads him in the dust. In this connection permit me to notice a form of statement on this subject which seems to me adapted to make an erroneous impression. It is sometimes said that the temptation was not inioard ; that it was wholly without the soul of Christ. Now, there can not be a temptation that is not inward ; otlierwise, it is no temptation at all. If it is meant that the tempt- ation did not originate in Christ himself, the sentiment is true, but the form of statement exceedingly defect- ive. Sin lies in the disposition or the purpose. And the very design of Satan was to create this disposition and form this purpose in the pure mind of Jesus. The temptation came from without. Eut if it is meant that in Christ there were no desires which temptation could address, the statement is false. The appetites were innocent, the desires were innocent, and their objects were good in themselves. And the whole purpose of Satan was to lead Christ to gratify them independently of the divine will ; to make that which was good minister to sin. Jesus penetrates the design ; he repels the temptation ; he will not have the good unless it is stamped with the divine signature. lie crucifies self-will. He denies himself. He moves not the shadow of an inclination off from the appointed path of obedience. And thus he be- came to us our leader, the Captain of our Salvation. 4. We come now to the discussion of our fourth LIFE OF CHRIST. 165 l)oiiit, and the oiil}- one remaining for ns to consider at this time. A\^hat is the object or import of this scene in the wilderness? To comprehend tliis, we must rise above the low and limited conception of earthly minds to those grand and comprehensive views which Jesus unfolds in his teachings and illustrates in his life. There is a kingdom of heaven, and there is a kingdom of this world. The one is a kingdom of light, the other of darkness; the one is full of holiness, the other of sin ; one is harmony, the other is discord ; one is life, the other is death ; one is divine, the other is devilish. Christ represents to the spirit, the aims, the life of one, and Satan those of the other. These kingdoms are in perpetual conflict. One is struggling to lift man nearer to God, the other to keep him separate forever. One opens the portals of heaven to our fallen humanity, the other opens the gates of hell. One seeks to bring the human will into obedience to and harmony with that of God, the other enthrones self-will, and would make man the slave of his own rampant and misdirected passions. One is redemption from the power and punishment of sin ; the other is slavery, condemnation, death eternal. Jesus Christ represents redemption, holiness, life, the kingdom in which God is supreme, and man and angels his harmonious, loving, trusting, happy, sub- jects. For this he became incarnate in our humanity. To win this victory for us he assumes our nature. For it is Christ as man who is to fulfill all the condi- tions of a full deliverance. It is in and through the same nature that has fallen, resistance is to be nuide to the powers of darkness that preci[)itated the fall. Christ, in a pure human soul, is to fight the battles of 166 SERMONS ON THE humanity, suffer its condemnation, endure its strug- gles and sorrows, in order to triumph over the Prince of this world, and, as the Captain of Salvation made perfect tli rough sufferings, lead many sons to glory. Here in the wilderness, at tlie opening of Christ's pub- lic ministry, in circumstances most favorable to the tempter, the representatives of these two kingdoms stand face to face. There is here a marshaling of forces for the determination of a question of world- wide interest; the beginning of a personal conflict which, in its final issues, involves the salvation of mill- ions. Milton, in his grandest descriptions, never rose to the sublimity of this scene. There is here no shout of soldiers rushing to battle, no sulphurous cloud of smoke and flame, no clash of deadly steel. This bat- tle is within the soul. l!^ature, in her wild and rugged forms, is silent. Alone, all alone, Jesus, conscious of his wondrous mission, meets the might}^ prince of darkness, repels his every assault, and presents his whole humanity a living sacrifice to God. Legions of angels watch with breathless interest the progress of the conflict. Then Jesus began that succession of vic- tories over the powers of darkness, which culminated after the agony on the cross in those words of lofty triumph — " It is flnished." Let us now descend from this general view to some of its more important elements. (1.) Christ here illus- trates obedience to the laio of God. The aim of the tempter is to induce him to substitute his own will in ^ place of the divine. This he eftected in the case of our flrst parents. This ruined the race ; this accom- plished in Jesus, redemption is impossible; the Mes- siah is the subject of Satan; the supremacy of the LIFE OF CHRIST. 167 kingdom of the world is cstidilished. But Christ stands erect in his obedience ; he yiehis his whole life to God. He refuses independence. He is God's child ; God's will is his law now and forever. Then that broken, outraged law of the kingdom of heaven as- serted its supremacy over a loving, obedient human- ity. Then its mission as man's rule, the harmony of his powers, the inspiration of his life, was gloriously illustrated. Henceforth one human soul, amidst all the temptations of earth, shines forth in all the loveli- ness, the harmon}' of a perfect obedience. I say one human soul illustrates resistance to sin and perfect obedience to God. Bear in mind what I sought to impress upon you in my last discourse, that in the union of the divine and human, the superior nature miist leave the inferior free to do all the work assigned it. And so our humanity, represented in Christ Jesus, in the full enjoyment of its own self- conscious freedom, with all its susceptibilities to tempt- ation, with all our original powers and aiiections in free play, intelligently comprehending the relations of man to God, indulgence and self-denial, independence and submission, stood erect in its integrit}', and, in the power of a will lixed in obedience, bid the tempter de- fiance. The relations of this temptation to the law and redemption are fundamental. Christ in a perfect humanity obeys the law for us ; Christ, in an obedient humanity, suffers the penalty for us. Here begins the triumph of law, the preparations for the satisfaction of justice. And as it begins so it ends. This life through all its varied scenes and contrasted states is a sublime harmony. Its key note is redemption, its sub- lime air is obedience ; its deep bass is suffering ; its \ 168 SERMONS OX THE ins[)ir;itiou is love ; and millions of the redeemed around the throne spontaneously celebrate it in the song of the Lamb. (2.) But tliere is one other thought which shows the import and purpose of this scene in light to us pecu- liarly encouraging and bright. There is one passage of Scripture it illustrates most vividly — a passage which once instilled in our experience abides in the heart as a spring of refreshment amidst all the trials of life. "For we have not an high priest that can not be touched (sympathize) with our infirmities, but who was tempted in all points like as Ave are, yet Avithont sin. Wherefore let lis come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time of need." Here in the wilderness he ob- tains part of that experience which made him yoiir sympathizing brother and high priest. Here, in the hour of his weakness, he is assailed by all the arts of the prince of darkness. For you he is tempted ; for you he is tried ; for you his soul passes through these stern experiences ; for you he is beset by enemies fiercer than bulls of Bashan, more ravenous than wolves, more deadly and malignant than adders. He hore your humanity, your weaknesses, your trials in his soul. You, in all your appalling wretchedness and sin, were in his thought and in his heart when he sub- jected himself to this conflict. For you he fought this battle ; in your place he endured temptation ; you with all your trials were with him in the wilderness ; for you he won the victory. Temptation was not nec- essary to develope his character in holiness; it is for you. He is tempted that he may succor and sympa- thize with you in your temptations. These are the LIFE OF CHRIST. 169 conditions of your life on eartli ; solicitations to sin meet j-ou at every step. They spring up within ; full armed thej^ assail us from without. They steal into our chambers in the hour of sorrow; and the stricken heart accuses God. They mingle in our social joys ; and eternal things are veiled. They are in our studies-, in our shops, in our stores, ever saying tons: thou shalt not die. Through these you must pass ; over these to heaven, or with these to hell, you must march. How shall thy poor, faint, silly heart triumph over such antagonists led on by Satan ? Only as he who led captivity captive — as he, who in this wilderness fought the battle and won the victory, puts his arm around you and breathes his spirit into you, will j^ou lind the strength that conquers, and win the crown of life. Some here to-night feel not the full force of this truth. Ye are young; ye are strong ; ye are hopeful. Ditficulties you scorn. In manly independence, ye are resolved to fight your own battle of life. Ah ! ye know not who and what ye have to meet ; how subtle, how strong are 3'our enemies without ; how great is the enemy within your own deceitful heart. 15 170 SERMONS ON THE X. TEMPTATION (no. 3) — THE TEMPTEK. '■'■Being forty days tempted of the devil." — Luke iv, 2. The idea of the existence of fallen, evil spirits, out- side of humanity, is not peculiar to the Christian Kevelation. This truth has been recognized in all ages and among all peoples. It matters not what was their condition, whether civilized or barbarous, learned or ignorant, in some form this doctrine has had its place in their convictions, and has exerted a decided influence upon their worship. The form in which the conviction was clothed may and does differ, but the conviction itself, so far as we can know, is universal. You find it alike among the nations settled around the original centers of civilization, and in those that have wandered into the forests of this continent. InTow all universal beliefs must be traced to one of two sources — either (1) to the constitution of the human mind, which, in the ordinary working of society, necessitates their formation ; or (2) to an original revelation, made to the race at its beginning, and preserved with more or less vividness by tradition. According to the first, the condition of mankind, the outbreakings of evil from it, generates infallibly or inevitably the belief that there are powers of evil superior to man invested with a certain influence upon him. According to the second, the fall itself, known to all nations, was at- LIFE OF CHRIST. 171 tended with the revelation of the fact that this fall was in consequence of man's yielding to this evil influence, which he might have resisted. It seems to nic the latter is the true supposition, because it both harmon- izes Avith the word of God and fully accounts for all the facts to which history testifies. But on either suppo- sition the doctrine must be true, or either God or na- ture is a lie. Given the idea of evil spirits, whether by original revelation or by the necessary operations of the human mind, and you can at once account for all the forms in wdiich it presents itself. For while thediuman mind has no power absolutely to ci-eate an idea, since it must be either native to itself or pre- sented by the phenomena of nature, when once an idea has been given, then it may exaggerate, or diminish, or multiply, or combine it with other ideas. Thus the idea of God, once given, no matter how, then the mind can change, or multiply, or clothe it with human passions, just as it has done. The unbeliever, therefore, has, at the outset, to account for this universal belief in evil spirits, and that, too, on some principle as broad as the facts themselves. The Christian recognizes in it the truth of revelation, in the statements with which it opens, the first leaf of that divine liistory of the origin and fall of man. To the existence of a superior order of intelligences, there never has been, and there never can be, any just objection made. The creative power of God is adequate to the peopling of the universe with beings as various as the infinite variety of material objects. Only the divine wisdom limits the divine power. That wisdom is its own judge of what is fit and best for this power to accomplish. The reason of man has no foothold in 172 SERMONS ON THE tliis superior sphere. It can only receive the indica- tions, hints, the partial gleams of light, suggesting to it the existence and some of the transactions of that sphere. It is out of its power to sit in judgment upon it; as much so as it wonld be to measure the size of the apocalyptic angel, who is to stand with one foot on the land and one on the sea and pronounce the knell of Tiiiie. Man may, as I have already hinted, from the systematic and gigantic developments of evil on earth, infer that there are some superior powers in alli- ance with the sinful hearts of men, but he can only know this from the direct assurances given him in a divine revelation. These intelligences, whether for evil or good, assume no sensible forms, unless specially permitted of God ; they move among us noiselessly in their ministrations ; and though we may feel their in- fluence, yet it breathes itself upon us so quietly that it seems often to be only the product of our own cre- ative energy. Here man can not judge of what God may or may not rightly do, and it is only from a di- vine revelation he can fully know. Now, on this subject this book, which we accept as the word of (^rod, is singularly clear and decisive. It declares to us the existence of such a class of intelli- gences. It describes them in their personality, dis- tinguishing them broadly from man and the powers of nature. It attributes to them all the attributes of personality and intelligence, will, atfections, powers. It gives some of their names, expressive of their characters — Michael, who is as God, a prince ; Satan, the adversary ; the Devil, the accuser. It tells of the love and joyful obedience of one class; of their delight in God and holiness ; of their interest in the LIFE OF CHREST. 173 progress of the Redeemer's kingdom, and tlieir out- burst of pruisc at his birth; and of their joy over the conversion of sinners ; their worship of God and the Lamb, and their agency in the final de- struction of this world. It describes to us the mal- ignity of another class ; their opposition to man ; their evil influence; their fall; their condemnation; it tells us of those wlio kept not their first estate, who through the indulgence of pride fell, who ever since the creation of man have been engaged in con- stituting the kingdom of the world in opposition to the kingdom of heaven. So wicked are they and so intent on the ruin of man, that the names of their chiefs have become synonyms of evil, expressions for intense Avickedness ; to say that a thing is satanic or devilish, is to say that it is worthy of the devil and IS most intensely wicked. And the attempt to inter- pret these superior intelligences out of the Bible, and crowd legions of fallen and unfallen spirits into every human soul, is if they were only good and bad thoughts and feelings, is the merest juggleiy of words. Such a process would exorcise all sin, all pain out of the world. It would prove that there is no punish- ment and no Christ in the Bible ; it might equally well demonstrate that there is no God there ; yea, it could go so far as to show that the Bible itself was never written at all, and is after all only an appearance. People who can swallow such an enormous imposition as this, wouhl worship Simon Magus if he were here, and instal an Indian conjuror as theirhousehold deity. Oh ! for a little manhood in man ; a little, only a little common sense and common honesty in the treatment of this holy book! Yes, here God opens to us a vista 174 SERMONS ON THE into another sphere of his vast kingdom ; he gives us glimpses of other beings and powers above and around ns, that the eye of sense discerns not ; he re- veals personal forces of light and darkness struggling for dominion ; antagonistic angels in a spiritual world, interested in man, and, within the limits set by his divine wisdom, influencing him for good or evil. There are, however, t\AO points on which the objec- tors take their stand, and from which tliey seek to discredit this part of the revelation of God. How, say they, could angels fall ? How could pure spirits, intelligent and happy in their boly sphere, break away from the love of God and assume an attitude of oppo- sition to one infinite in power? Suppose we answer, we can not tell ; what does this prove ? Only our ig- norance. Does it disprove the asserted fact ? Has any man risen to such a comprehension of these an- gelic natures; has any one of us attained such an in- sight into the process of thought and motive in these high intelligences as to warrant him in affirming that it was impossible for them to sin ? And is our ignor- ance a fit argument to set oflT ngainst a fact of divine revelation? Why, men of undoubted science once afiirmed that if this earth revolved we should all be thrown off into space ; men of science once said you never could traverse the ocean with steamships ; and these were subjects properly within the sphere of hu- man knowledge. But the earth does revolve, and our houses do not fly ofi" into space ; steamships do tra- verse the ocean and compass the globe. And shall our Ignorance of things in another sphere, of which no human science can teach us anything, stand for an instant as an opposing argument, when God sees fit to LIFE OF CHRIST. 175 part the clouds above us and let us see a little of these wondrous transactions which have occurred, and are now occurring there? AVhen will men learn to treat God and his word with common honesty, and cease to take leave of the ordinary principles of reasoning the moment they enter the vestibule of his spiritual temple ? But this is not the whole of our answer. There is one stubborn fact in the world ; a fact which meets us everywhere; a fearful, sad fact; it is sin. Here it is in every heart, speaking from millions of tongues, burning in millions of souls and cursing their bodies. How came it here? The only answer, unless you make God the author — a blasphemy too horrible to think of for an instant — the only answer is, that man fell ; fell from the estate of holiness and purity in which he was created ; fell when life eternal was offered him ; fell amidst the beauty and the glory of a virgin ^vorld. And if man could fall, w^hy not angels? If an incarnate soul may fall, why may not a pure spirit ? The fact is, that all the most stubborn and nnresolvable difficulties in theology center at last in the existence of sin ; and this is a fact which Christian and infidel," men of all creeds or of no creed, have to ^li^^ ^ meet. It is not a matter of revelation merely ; it is a matter of experience and observation, as much so as . '''"^"'" pain, or disease, or death. The atheist, in consequence of it, denies the existence of God ; the pantheist de- nies his personality, and makes sin itself a part of his natural development ; the Christian refers its permis- sion to a wisdom which now he is too ignorant and too nnduvclopod and on too low a plane fully to com- pass. This fact, however, sweeps away all the theo- 176 SEEMONS ON THE logical or philosophical objections to the fall of angels. That fact God's word affirms; and it is with the fact alone and not with the how, that we have any thing to do. If we were inclined to speculate on this general sub- ject, we might suppose with a late writer that the pre- adamite world, the world whose history is folded up between the first and second verses of the first chapter of Genesis, but a part of which is written on the structure of our present earth ; we might suppose, I say, that that world had a spiritual as well as a physi- cal history. It was a world of enormous vegetable production, of gigantic animals, of titanic forces. It may have been the locality, the home of the angels, where they passed their probation and where a portion of them fell ; there may have occurred scenes ot terri- ble antagonism between the evil and the good, such as Milton's imagination in its sublime creations has failed to conceive. Then wdien they who stood firm in their glorious allegiance were transported into the upper sanctuary, the terrible edict went forth, the sub- terranean fires upheaved, burst forth ; then in turn the ocean rolled its waters over continents ; then chaos came, and night, and death, till tlie creative spirit again moved upon it, and order, and light, and life re- sumed their reign, and man entered upon his domain and began his probation. And then and since these gigantic spirits of evil have lived in the fires of their malignity, in the darkness of despair, in the chains of their fore-doomed perdition, permitted by a wisdom, one day to be vindicated sublimely, to tempt the race of humanity, and to fight another battle in which the incarnate Christ shall bring forth judgment unto vie- LIFE OF CHRIST. ] 77 tnvj. This, however, k-ki-part a speculation, and wo have mentioned it only to indicate the fact that in the future there are histories of the past for man to read, of which in this stute of bein^c we have oidy here and there a broken fragment — yet fragments such as couh.l only belong to a grand and wondrous system, a mag- nificent and sublime edifice, and a history replete with interest and full of the wisdom and glory of God. The second point assailed by the objector is the power possessed by these evil spirits to influence, in any manner, the souls of men. But this, too, is the objection of ignorance. Who knows enough on this subject to warrant such an assumption ? All the anal- ogous facts are directly opposed to it. Whoever be- lieves in the immortality of the soul and the existence of pure spirits in another world, must believe that they hold interconrse, and, in some way uidcnown to us, exert over each other a reciprocal influence. Even here there are facts which indicate a peculiar power of spiritual influence possessed by some and not by others. There are those who are endowed with special power to aftect others, and there are those who seem to be possessed of peculiar susceptibilities of being attected. From some persons there goes forth a singular spirit- ual efiluence that, all unconsciously to themselves, pre- pares others to be influenced by their words and acts. This influence may repel or attract according to the latent sympathies of the persons brought in connec- tion. In some families a single person is a constant element of distrust, of disorder, of pain. In the same family another becomes an element of harmony and peace. Some persons have a native fascination about them, which, according to their character, is a power 178 SERMONS ON THE for good or evil. Goethe, in his Faust, represents Margaret as unable to pra}^ in the presence of Mephis- topheles. The doctrine of sjMnpathies and antipathies, which our modern spiritualists make so much of, ex- alting it into a divine law of life, is nothing but this power of spiritual influence possessed by one in a higher degree than another. It is not the mere words that are spoken, nor the thoughts conveyed by these words, that can account for the effects produced. It is something above and beyond these sensible things, proceeding from the spirit of the man himself, that makes his words more effective than when uttered by another. The unconscious influence of men is a mighty element of social elevation or depression. In one presence you feel depressed, powerless, all the evil emotions seem to be alive and rampant; in another you are exalted, strengthened, the good purposes stand on their feet, you are bold as a lion in the way of truth. Now I might extend tliis discussion indefi- nitely. I could cite instances of leaders in church and state, of the great fanatics and impostors who have possessed this power, and have exerted it for good or evil, so as to astonish the world. This, however, is the use I make of these known aud admitted facts. The whole subject of spiritual influence is as yet only partially known to us ; but enough is known to make us modest and cautious in our statements concerning it. In the face of such facts, it is preposterous for any man to affirm that it is either unreasonable or impos- sible for these fallen angels to influence us. Igno- rance of the law is no argument against the fact, where that fact is asserted by competent authority and the attending consequences fully justify it. LIFE OF CHRIST. 1T9 Now, having looked at this subject a little from a position outside the Bil)le, let us consider the manner in which it is there discussed and represented. And here there are two facts which at once meet us. The first is that in the Old Testament the subject of evd spirits is not brougiit forward and made prominent. It is kept mostly ^out of sight, only occasionally al- luded to, and then in general terms. The second fact is that in the New Testament it stands forth in avou- dcrful prominence; Satan and his associates assume at once a position of power, and play a most impor- tant part in the exciting drama of the Savior's life. This is most extraordinary. On the ordinary princi- ples of historical development it is wholly unaccount- able. On the principles which Parker and Kewman, and their teacher, Hegel, announced, it is impossible; for thev contend that in the early ages men were sav- ages, and then they indulged in all sorts of supersti- ti'^us worship; gradually they worked themselves out of this by a natural law, and then, as truth revealed itself to them, these superstitions vanish. But here is a nation among which for ages this worst form of superstition, according to these writers, was almost unknown, kept down, and rarely alluded to by then- religious teachers. But when they had become won- derfully advanced in refinement and knowledge— in an age when Grecian and Roman civilization, carry- ing with it the finest science and literature of all time, had spread over the world— then all at once this super- stitious l)elief in evil spirits assumed prodigious pro- portions ; and even Jesus Christ, admitted to be the greatest teacher the world ever saw, gave it his ex- press sanction. Now, I afiirm that this fact of history 180 SEEMONS OX THE condemns tlie theories of these men as utterly false- They are just as untrue as the old Ptolemaic system of astronomy has heen shown to be by modern sci- ence. How, then, it is asked, do you account for it? I an- swer, on the clearest principles contained in this reve- lation itself. The grand object designed in setting apart the Jewish nation was to prepare the waj' for the coming of Messiah. To effect this, true religion, the true knowledge and worship of God, must be pre- served among them. Their chief danger w^as on the side of idolatry. They w^ere surrounded by idolatrous nations — nations who w^orshiped all sorts of gods, and the devil among them; worshiped in great splendor, surrounding their rites with all the fascinations of revelry and pomp and everything that could appeal to the lusts of men. The whole Mosaic system is ar- raigned in direct antagonism to this very tendency. And, on this very principle, the doctrine of the fallen angels is kept in the background, lest it should fur- nish a point of attraction and a motive to idolatry. The form which Satan was allowed to assume in the temptation of our first parents is cursed and made loathsome; and had this not been done, the worship of the devil under this form would have been irresist- ible. You see this tendency illustrated in another case. The brazen serpent which Moses reared in the wilderness, to whicii the bitten Israelites might look, became in the time of Ilezckiah an object of wor- ship, and was on that account destroyed. Thus God guarded his chosen people on every side, and even held back the fuller knowledge of the fallen angels until he should come who was to destrov the works LIFE OF CHRIST. 181 of the devil. Then there was an expansion both of the [lower and manifestation of this great adversary. Then Jesns met and vanquished him for all who trust in him. The fact that Jesus was to triumph over all the powers of darkness, that he was to lead captivity cai)tive, that he was to bruise the serpent's head, that he was to exalt humanity over the power that had been accessory to its degradation, gives us the clue to the divine permission, in consequence of which these evil spirits concentrated their malign influence upon the bodies and the souls of liundreds and thousands in that land and at that time. The explanation of the demoniacal influence under which so many then suffered is found in the fact that the true Messiahship of Christ must be manifest b}' the power which he exercised over these malignant enemies of man. This subject, however, will come under distinct review when we reach that period in this life of Jesus where he met and cast out these fallen spirits. Now I turn to two other points with which we are more immediately concerned in tliis stage of his life. First, I wish here to meet the assumption that Jesus and his apostles, in speaking of these evil spirits, only accommodated themselves to the prevailing false no- tions of the time. This is a most extraordinary as- sumption. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, and he sanctions a falsehood — nay, presents it in so many ways, and that too without tlie least necessity, as if it were true — that the great mass of his followers have ever since believed it. Jesus Christ 0{)posed the popu- lar notions of Pharisees and Sadducees; he broke down ruthlessly and forever all their systems of faith ; he spared neither great nor small; he spake the truth 182 SEEMONS O^ THE which emancipates the world from the slavery of error and sin ; he flashed the light in upon the secret hearts of men; he established the principles which exalt hu- manity ; he unveiled the powers of life and death, ever antagonistic, that are working among men ; he set forth the truth all men are to receive, he blasted the error all men are to reject. He moved resolutely for- ward amidst all the powers of hell in his work of mercy, until he was nailed to the cross. The word he spake, the work he did, shattered the temples of idolatry, scattered the superstition that darkened over the people, brought millions out of darkness into light, and opened the pathway for humanity to enter the gates of heaven. Now point me, if you can, to an instance in which Jesus sanctioned by word or act a superstition or a falsity ; show me an ele- ment in all his teachings that is not to-day one of the pure and lit stones in the temple of Christianity. The supposition that he allowed himself to speak, and his disciples to write, that which he knew to be a mere superstition, is monstrous. It belies his whole character; it vitiates his life. Better say he was mis- taken ; better assume that you are his superior in knowledge ; better, in your self-conceit, claim to know more than he 'did about the powers of the spiritual world ; for, in so doing, while you sacrilice his divine intelligence, you at least save his honesty and sincerity. We stand on higher ground ; we take him to be our divine teacher respecting this unseen world ; we fol- low him with perfect confidence into the realm of the unseen and spiritual ; we hail the light he flashes on the dark profound of this untraversed and unfathomed ocean ; we accept him as the expounder of mysteries LIFE OF CHRIST. 183 concealed since the foundation of the Avorld ; we see in his doctrine of the fallen angels the key to the sad history of our race, and in his victory over these fallen spirits the pledge and assurance of our victory over Satan, sin, and death. I shall reserve a full discussion of the power of the Devil until we take up the suhject of the demoniacs; only remarking here, that he possessed the power of temptation; that he could exert a seductive iniiuence ; that he could so address the natural desires of men, and so disguise the evil, as to appeal powerfully to the soul in favor of self-indulgence. He could force no man's will ; but he liad access to all the motives which craft and cunning and devilish malice could suggest, to carry his points. Nor will I speculate on the question whether he revealed his personality to Christ in visible form, or whether he presented himself to the Savior in that spiritual presence to which the soul of Jesus would be acutely sensitive. For the record informs us of none of these things ; it decides nothing in re- spect to these points; it only gives us the fact of his presence with Jesus, and his ettbrts to tempt him into sin. This brings us, however, to a point of fundamental importance. The temptation of Jesus must come from an external agency. AVe, in our corruption, experi- ence the spontaneous rise of evil passions. The un- derlying strength of our sellishness breaks forth of itself in exaggerated desires which we have not the will to control. The heart, already evil, is disposed to yield to temptation when it comes, and often to create it. But in Christ there was ever the calm resting of his soul on God ; the most complete sub- 184: SERMONS ON THE jection of bis will to that of the Father. In him there was no spontaneous combustion of desire, no tumults or fierce tempests of passion. Dwelling ever in the bosom of God, this human soul, in harmony with itself, holding all its powers under strict control, in- dulged not of itself the conceptions or the desires of evil. The power that could tempt must be wholly from without. His temptation was no self-created imagination, no self-produced visions of personal am- bition or selfish gratification. It mut«t be an external agent that must make the appeal and present the motives to his sensitive spirit. And who so fit an agent, or so mighty to assail his virtue, as the prince- leader of the fallen angels ? Who like him in craft, in cunning, in the power of approaching and influenc- ing the soul ? Who like him, of all created beings, had so thoroughly sounded the depths of and com- passed the avenues to the heart of man? Who like him knew so well how to take advantage of the most favorable conditions of both body and spirit? Who so successful as him who had seduced our first parents — who through four thousand years had plied his arts and directed his emissaries in the work of debauching humanity and building up his kingdoms on the ruins of the fall? The prince of darkness sufli^ers no sub- ordinate agent to undertake this work. Face to face he meets the Son of God. Summoning all his art and power of influence over spirit, he enters upon the con- flict. Jesus feels the presence ; knows it to be the pre- sence of a superior intelligence. Cunningly, with con- summate yet devilish wisdom, the tempter conducts his approaches, but conceals his end. At every step the appeal is met. The shadow of a dark thought is not LIFE OF CPIRIST. 185 suffered to rest in the Savior's heart. Quick as the tliunder responds to the lightning's flash, he resists, he foils, he triumphs over the tempter. Then Satan, baf- fled, defeated in his damned work, slinks awa}^ ; know- ing: now that he is to be dethroned and cursed forever In this victory of Christ is contained the assurance of our victory. The development of our humanity'- advances through all kinds of trials, of temptations, of scenes joyful and sorrowful. This is a divine or- dinance which all the art and will of man can not re- verse. Character is to be formed, results as lasting as eternity are to be reached along this patli. No man can escape from this discipline of temptation and trial. No one can nullify an ordinance established by God himself. Whether he wishes it or no, pass through it he must. Jesus in his purity passed through it without the shadow of a stain. We, in our weakness and cor- ruption, need divine strength to make it a discipline of life, a means of developing our characters in love and faith, in goodness, purity, and truth. Christ is our strength. Grasping his hand, looking to him in prayer, trusting to him as a present Redeemer, temptation and the tempter are already vanquished. Oh ! never does a soul in conscious weakness, in child-like confi- dence, seek to hide under the shadow of his wing, commit itself fully to his protection, but power from on high comes down into it ; swift-winged ministers of love from his side descend to guard us, and in the agony of our deepest sorrow save us from murmuring and whisper words of consolation and hope. Oh! never does a young soul choose Christ for his leader, and resolve to obey his sacred law and so stand up 16 186 SEEMONS ON THE amidst the forces of evil that assail him, confident in his protection, but he is lifted on eagle wings above the pollutions of earth, and this wicked one touches him not, and his pestiferous breath enters not within the charmed circle within which Jesus is enthroned. But let him seek to stand in his own strength ; let him think that Christ and his victory has no vital relation to his deliverance ; let him summon only his own man- hood, already tending to sin, to the work, and the wily adversary is sure of his victim ; he knows that none but Christ can vanquish him, and this poor soul shall yet become his subject, his slave forever. LIFE OF CHKIST. 187 XI. THE TEMPTATION (nO. 4). ^^ And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, ' If thou he the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.' And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, ' Tha,t man shall not live by bread alone, but by every loord of God' " — Luke iv : 2, 3, 4. We come now to the struggle. The decisive hour has come, which gave to this sojourn in the wikleruess a vital interest for humanity. It is to be demonstrated that this sinless soul will maintain its stainless integ- rity amidst the most subtle forces of evil. For it is one thing to be holy in one class of circumstances, and quite another to continue holy in all circumstances. Satan was sinless for a time ; but he fell. Adam walked for a time in obedience, but then he yielded to temptation. And now, at the opening of his public ministry, the circumstances in which Jesus had lived in perfect communion with God were entirely changed. The hour of a special trial had come. On the results of this trial hung suspended the redemption of the world. Jesus, victorious, now wins the earnest of a complete and final victory. Darker hours of suft'ering he may see ; but never more a power of temptation more subtle and eitective than this. Let us look first at his situation. What was his ex- 188 SEEMONS ON THE perience during the forty days preceding is not on record. But there is nothing in this record to forbid the supposition that they were of the holiest and most blissful character. It is natural to suppose that during this time he dwelt in the very bosom of the Father, and was conscious of the fullness of God. This reve- lation of the divine nature to his consciousness exalted and intensitied all his powers ; this made him insensi- ble to loneliness and hunger; this opened to him the height and depth, the length and breadth of the won- derful work he was to perform for humanity. But now these hours are passed. There is a with- drawal of this supernal brightness. It is not darkness that succeeds ; it is the pale moon-light after the sun has gone. He is amidst the dim light and mocking shadows in which mau lives. For now, as man, he is to encounter temptation ; in his naked humanity he must meet the tempter. To him, conscious of the full- iXuu Jb o-V possible ; and only thus can it be a real trial, and the (Tvco/vv result a real victory. He feels now his loneliness ; he realizes his manhood; his state as a creature. How often, when dear friends leave us, in whose presence we have felt strong and bright as angels, is there, in spite of the blessed memories of that intercourse, a vacancy of the heart, a sense of loneliness, of weak- ness, of almost dread to meet the inevitable trials be- fore us and drink the cup of bitterness that is presented to our lips. Jesus is constituted like us ; Jesus, in his humanity, experiences these same exaltations and de- pressions, these reactions after the withdrawal of the divine manifestations and blissful consciousness of -^-^-Q^ LIFE OF CHRIST. 189 union with tlie divine in liis human nature; with this diiiereuce, that in him there is no stain of corruption, and these inward trials are taken upon him in order that he ma}' be for us a s^-mpathizing High Priest and Savior. This is the key that unlocks the mystery of all the sorrow of his holy soul. And, judging of him from this stand-point, and in harmony with all the analogies of his life, it is doing no violence to the scene before us, it is but carrying out the most nat- ural train of thought suggested b}^ it, to suppose that after the ecstatic consciousness of the divine fullness came the sense of loneliness, of dependence, of weak- ness, a vision of tlie suffering he is to endure, and the fearful trial through which his soul must pass in ef- fecting our redemption. In his simple, naked hu- manity he meets the tempter. Then, with this withdrawal of the divine con- sciousness, another most significant fact meets us. For forty days he has eaten nothing ; sustained by this divine power within him, he cares not for food. But now^ that state of exaltation and spiritual affluence is past. The body, long deprived of its accustomed nourishment, asserts its claims. They are not to be trifled with. As a stream dammed up and long gather- ing head, when it breaks away, how impetuously it rushes — with what violence it moves onward! So these appetites of the body, long held back, break forth Avith fearful power. They cry, they clamor for indulgence. There is a deep meaning in those words : "He was an hungered." Hunger drives men mad! Hunger has slain its dearest friend, to feed upon his body! Hunger has stifled natural affection, and made the mother forget her offspring, and prey upon her 190 SERMONS ON THE babe! Who that has known its extremit}', or Avho that lias seen it, as it met their cjes when onr poor, noble boys were landed at Annapolis from the prisons of Andersonville and Salisbury, looking out of their hollow eyes and emaciated forms, will fail to have im- pressed upon him a vivid, an eternal sense of its ap- palling, fearful significance? But Jesus was human like these men. Jesus felt these natural desires cry- ing for bread ; his body, in its weakness, craved the same sustenance, clamored for it, imperiously de- manded it. Then the tempter came. He chose the hour of lone- liness, of weakness, of hunger, for his assault. Doubt- less he had waited and watched for his opportunity all through this forty days' sojourn in the wilderness ; but while the divine presence filled and shone out of the soul of Jesus, he dared not approach him. IsTow, however, he is quick to perceive that his time has come. ISTow, while the soul embraces itself after these days of intense excitement, and the body is weak through fasting, and the gates through which tempta- tion may enter the citadel are open, the crafty adver- sary seizes the opportunity, and, like a skillful general, at once approaches to the assault. Whether he assumed a visible form, or made himself known only in his spiritual personality, to the soul of Jesus, sensitive to and quick to feel such influences, is- not of the smallest consequence. The great deceiver comes not in his true character, as the arch-adversary ; he blow^s no trumpet; he announces not his evil purpose. It is as an angel of light; as one invested by God with poAver and authority; as a minister of kindness, in sympa- thy w^ith the weak and depressed condition of Jesus. LIFE OF CHRIST. 191 Tl)is is ever the master stroke of his polic}' ; as a friend pleading for liberty ; for safe and natnral in- dulgence; for the seeming interests of body and soul. So came lie to our iirst parents. The tree is fair; the fruit is good to eat; ye shall be as God himself. So came he to Jesus, as an angel of strength and blessing. Let us attend now more particularly to the assault. Here you will notice two points : First, the basis of the temptation, the jjoint of departure, is the appetite for food. The exciting cause, of which the tempter avails himself, is hunger. This desire is nat- nral ; it is part of the original and innocent constitu- tion of the body. These desires arise in the healthy operation of our physical system. They are given to be gratified. The proper indulgence of them is a source of daily pleasure. God's goodness is seen in them. He never meant that man should eat his food with a wry face, as if it were medicine; but with a glad and thankful heart, as an evidence of the divine wis- dom and goodness. Jesus had a body just like ours, and appetites like ours. He could feel the pangs of hunger, and he could enjoy the pleasure which a healthy appetite properly gratified gives to a health}^ body. In all this he was as sinless as the angels them- selves. Here, then, on the gratification of this natural and innocent appetite, asking for food, Satan plants himself. Why should not the Savior take measures at once to appease his hunger? And this brings us to the second point — the real point of the temptation. For it is not the hunger or the appeasing of it that is in itself sinful or holy. The virtue or the evil is in the means, the time, the way. 192 SERMONS ON THE the spirit in which it is sought to gratify the appetite. The point of the temptation is in the way in which Satan attempts to induce Jesns to satisfy his hunger : " If tliou be the Son of God, command that this stone be made bread." Satan's knowledge is more or less limited; it is not broad and comprehensive; it is art- ful and cunning ; but he would be ignorant indeed if he had not made himself familiar with the extraordi- nary history of Jesus. His devilish instincts taught him that here was a holy soul over which as yet he had no power. The scene at the baptism and the forty days in the wilderness had informed him of Christ's remarkable character as the Son of God. His natural forecast w^ould apprise him that in some way this being might wrest from him his kingdom and thrust him down to the lowest hell. And so, in his efforts to win him over to his side, he uses the very title given Christ by the Holy Ghost at the baptism, '' H thou be the Son of God." jSTow, you may take this in one of two ways — either, it may be an assertion. Since thou art, or assuming thou art the Son of God, and then it is a flattering recognition of the true character of Christ; or, If thou art the Son of God, if thou claim to be the Son of God, and then it is a sort of half challenge to him to prove himself such. I prefer, in view of the special character of this temptation, to take it in the first sense ; the other harmonizes least, as we shall hereafter see, with the second temptation. Taking it, then, in that sense, it may be paraphrased thus: Since thou art the Son of God, all power is given to thee. Why, then, should you suffer the pangs of hunger? You have but to speak and this stone will become bread. It is right for you to indulge your LIFE OF CHRIST. 193 appetite ; there is no sin in eating. Food is necessary to sustain the bod}'. Why should you, the Son of God, sutter thus, when you are abundantly able to avoid it ? Only command, and this desert will be full of bread. Now, all this seems exceedingly plausible. What harm can result from such an indulgence here in the wilderness? Why may not Jesus relieve himself from suffering by the immediate exercise of that power which is vested in him? What sin can there be in creating and eating the' food needful for the suste- nance of his body ? But if we look at this point more carefully, we shall see that this plausibility is all superficial, that it is nothing but a deception, that it involves enormous error and guilt, that underneath this appeal of Satan are fundamental principles of right action which he seeks to nullify and destroy. Power in human hands is always a dangerous posses- sion. Power of wealth, power of official station, and that grander power of a great intellect, all exaggerate the liabilities to evil and enhance the seductive forces of the world. This possession lifts a man above the ordi- nary limitations which have fenced him round against the assault of self-indulgence. With the ability to in- dulge them freely, the inferior propensities arc quick- ened into new life, the passions clamor for larger scope and field, the power of self-gratification infuses itself into the very excitements which clamor for it. Or if power does not work in this direction, it reacts on the soul itself; it stimulates the tendenc}'' to inde- pendence and self-exaltation ; it makes man his own God ; it impels him to exalt his authority, to magnify 17 194 SEEMONS ON THE his importance, to depress and scorn or envy others, to perpetnate and increase itself, and make himself the center of all his aims and efforts. Hence it is that power is full of danger. Hence virtue is so rare a thing in a monarch, true patriotism in an official, sterling piety in connection with great possessions or the consciousness of high intellectual power. Hence, too, the checks and limitations which men in power need to curh their ambition, and which we all need to remind us that we are not gods but creatures, and that responsibility keeps pace with power and stands sentinel over it, and demands of it a just use, and will exact from it a final and strict ac- count. The assault of Satan, therefore, is upon a vital point. He struck at the very heart of religion ; for power is connected in some form with all these temp- tations, and power in some form is associated with all the indulgences of sin in this world. Men are not ambitious to build railroads to the moon ; a hind will not lust after a queen ; an idiot will not seek to wield the scepter of Milton ; no man thirsts for the meter of Homer's gods. It is the power of self-indulgence that creates the temptation or enhances vastly its force. Jesus was w^eak in bod}^ : Jesus was suflering the pains of hunger; Jesus has all power committed to him, and can command the very stones to minister to his wants. Here are all the elements of a real and tremendous temptation — i. e., the natural appe- tite, the power to gratify it, and a seeming friend ui'ging him to use his power for this purpose. Such ' is the assault. 3. Now let us consider the resistance. Bear in mind what I have already stated, that Jesus is here left to LIFE OF CHRIST. 195 the naked working of his own pure liiimaiiity ; that the knowledge of the tempter's true cliaractcr is not given, and that, on the contrary, Satan comes to him as aft exalted friend in sympathy with his trials and seeking to minister to his wants. Then consider these points in the resistance to the temptation. (1.) It is instantaneous. There is no hesitation, no parleying. Heat once discerns the evil principle involved; in- stantly he repels ; he flashes upon it his condemna- tion. Hunger he may, but sin never ! Sutter he may, but the shadow of guilt must not rest on him for an instant. (2.) But he not only repels the temptation in his heart; he expresses the ground of his rejection in words. It is written — written in that Old Testa- ment some men seek to put away as a tiling of the past — divinely written by God's inspiration in Deuter- onomy viii, 3: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Man lias a higher life than this of the body. It is not in the indulgence of his appetites as he may choose consists his true life. The soul is his nobler part, his chief possession, his characteristic humanity. This lives only in harmony with God's word, expressing the divine will ; this lives only as it recognizes and obeys the divine authority. To disobey is to die ; sin is self-destruction. To love, to reverence, to serve the heavenly Father ; to listen to His voice, to yield itself wholly to His control, to follow His word in sutfering as well as in joy, in hun- ger and satiety, this is man's true life, this is eternal life ! "You say I am the Son of God, and that power is given me to create sustenance for my body out of these stones. As Son of God I come to redeem and save men from sin and death. As son of man I come 196 SEEMONS ON THE to suffer and be tried in their stead. The power given to me as Son of God I am to use only in the advance- ment of the kingdom of God. It was not to relieve my bodily wants, it was not to be appropriated to my personal ease and aggrandizement, that I receive it. It was to vindicate my mission as the Savior of men, to establish the authority I represent, to prepare the way for and authenticate the words I utter, that it is given me to work the works of God. This body is to sufl'er; my life is to do the will of Him that sent me." This is the sublime answer Jesus gives to the tempter. His whole life, from this hour to that in which he cried, "It is finished," embodies, illustrates, echoes, sounds it forth and down the generations of men. We hear it here to-night, as full and clear and convincing and vital as when uttered in that wilderness two thousand years ago. It is the fun- damental principle of religion for man. It is the assertion (1) of the dignity, the value of the soul, its superiority to the body, and to the accidents of time and sense. It has its own life, even though the body suffer and die. It is the assertion (2) of its direct responsibility to God. It holds to him the relation of subject. It can never lay aside this responsibility for its acts. It is bound to this by a chain stronger than fate. It is not made independent. Every attempt to put self on the throne is suicidal. God is the only sovereign. Resist that truth; fight against it ; sum- mon all your powers against it ; you have not nullified it, you have not weakened it, your chain is unbroken ; infinite power holds you in its grasp ; infinite authority asserts its claims to your obedience. This responsi- bility is on you because you are not mere body, but LIFE OF CHRIST 197 soul ; not a brute, but a man ; not a god, but a poor finite creature, living and moving in God alone. (3) It asserts that God's word, received, loved, obeyed, is the 'soul's true life. It is not bread and meat and drink ; it is not self-indulgence of those bodily appe- tites which the brutes share in common with you, that makes your real life. It is love, it is faith, it is obedi- ence, it is communion with God ; this is the life the soul is to enjoy ; this is the life that trium[)hs over temptation, that sings in the hour of pain, that feels angelic joy and hears angelic symphonies in the hour of death. Thus Jesus puts aside the temptation to sensual indulgence. Food was desirable, but truth and obedience were infinitely more desirable. Power was in his hands, but it was not given for personal indulgence. This high trust, the most dangerous in the world, the most liable to be abused, he held sacred for its high ob- jects. Never through all his life, amidst his darkest hours, did he work a miracle to relieve himself from one pain or gratify one earthly passion, lie fed thousands, but never a loaf created he for himself. He saved thousands, but never a word spake he and never an exertion of divine power to save himself did he put forth. Led into this wilderness for a great purpose, he calml}' waits God's time for its accomplishment. He who fed Israel in the desert will, in due time, feed him. Amidst depression and weakness and hunger, assailed by the prince of darkness himself, he stands upon the mount of faith, serene, patient, obedient. Where, in all history, is there another like him ; such power, and yet such self-control ; such temptation, and yet such decisive resistance; such depression from outward circumstances, and yet such serene, unclouded 198 SERMONS ON THE faith ? Behold, O man, in Christ the exemplar for yon ! Behold in him the victor for you ! This whole scene is full of interest for all men. This temptation is no idle and fruitless imagination ; it is not a theoretic abstraction — something in the clouds, far above the practical lives of men. It has a direct and vital connection with one of the most pregnant sources of demoralization and sin in society. It is a temptation which every one has to encounter; which meets us at the threshold of onr active life, and by its fascinations has seduced and ruined millions. The sensuous appetites are absolutely essential to our ex- istence in these bodies and the perpetuation of the race. God has given them their office, and though it is not the highest nor the most honorable, yet it is necessary to the higher operations of humanity, and is neither degrading nor sinful. Their sphere is nar- row, accessory, temporary, in comparison with that of those desires which spring more directly from the intellect and the heart ; but the pleasure attending in- dulgence, while it is short, is often more intense. Kept in their true sphere, restrained within the limits God himself, by a law both natural and moral, has fixed, they subserve man's elevation and happiness. Breaking over those limits, loosened from the control of conscience, allowed to become supreme, they brutify, debauch, dishonor, and ruin the whole man. No mat- ter how grand and noble may be the mental capacities, no matter how near an angel the soul may be in its moral constitution and capabilities, subjection to these sensual appetites defiles, degrades, and wrecks in utter ruin all that is noble in intellect, all that is angelic in the spiritual constitution. When the tempter says : LIFE OF CHRIST. 199 " You liavo the power ; use it as you list for the grati- fication of these sensuous appetites," if the man yields, he has put on Satan's livery, and with it bis chain, and must march with him to perdition. There are three lines of sensual indulgence along wdiich the tempter plies his arts of seduction. The iirst, and perhaps the least hurtful, is the desire for food ; this he exaggerates, makes the victim a gour- mand, who counts the pleasures of the table the chief joy of life. The second is the desire for ph^-sical ex- citement, begetting an unnatural appetite for strong- drink. The third is sexual desire. I^ow the point where temptation comes in with en- hanced power, where the tempter finds the gates open for his entrance, is usually where the full power of selt-indulgeuce is obtained. If thou be the Son of God, command this stone to be made bread. Give a man power, opportunity, secresy ; let nothing stand between him and indulgence but the invisible law of God ; let him not stand in fear of the loss of reputation or of health ; take all- social restraints away ; and then see, unless he is fixed by long habit or is under the control of divine principle, the tremendous power of this temptation. It is foi-tunatc for men to be early trained where their very circumstances limit these sensuous indulgences, or where the high moral standard of society, and social life exert a perpetually restraining influence to keep the strong passions of 3'outh from overleaping their lit bounds. But when this is not so, there profligacy becomes the rule, and morality the exception ; vice ascends the throne, and virtue retires to lowly places. See how a youth entering the city, before his habits 200 SERMONS ON THE and principles are formed and settled on a right basis, is exposed to almost irresistible temptation. Here in this city of Utica his love of excitement iinds un- healthy stimulants on every side. He is free to enjoy? to indulge; no father's eye is upon him; no sweet, pure social circle is around him ; a city government, more intent on getting a few dollars into its treasury than in guarding its young citizens from the contami- nation of vicious public exhibitions, w^orthy of Sodom ; vile theatrical displays of half-nude women; saloons for play and drink ; the open doors of her whose guests are in the depths of liell; companions already con- taminated; these facilitate his descent while they so- licit it; his own heart hungering for something, he knows not what ; his passions vivid, strong, impetu- ous ; power to indulge them in his hands — all help on the tempter's work. What wonder so many fall ! More wonderful that any stand ! Power to indulge is, I repeat it, the very point of temptation. If the telegraph could sound the secret messages it flashes to New York, when some men of fair outside among us are going there on business, it would show prepara- tions for self-indulgence in the secresy of the great city, which circumstances, not moral principle, put out of their reach here. And so shading upward through society from these darker scenes to the social gather- ings where the delicate viands and the wine-cup con- stitute a greater attraction than the interchange of thought and friendly conversation, you find tempta- tion to sensual indulgence with all its fascinations, and the appetites that should be humble servitors placed in the seat of honor. And so true manhood and woman- hood are degraded, and all the refinements of dress and LIFE OF CHRIST. 201 nianiuTs can not veil the coarse and sensual devil they worship. This temptation in the wilderness is repeated every day and hour the world over. Every man, every woman, every child in this house has had to meet it, has yet to meet it in some form. How shall we resist it; how rise above it? Just as Jesus met it. Parley not ; hesitate not ; look not on the wine when it moveth itself aright; treat your body as a servant and not as your master. Rising up to the heights where Jesus would lead you, think of the value and true life of your soul — its eternity to be made holy and happy by your course in time. Take God's word as your rule, your guide, your armory of defense ; strike at temptation with the SAvord of the spirit. The world helps you not. David's pebble slung in faith is mightier than Goliath's sword. Give your heart to God. Take Christ himself, who fought through this temptation for 3'ou — take him to be your strength and your helper. Here alone, as a true, humble, penitent, be- lieving Christian, are you safe. Oh ! what a blessing it is to become a child of God j'oung; to learn to live as man should live while you are yet in youth. What temptations you avoid ; Avhat power to resist tempta- tion you obtain ! For God and Christ, and Christians and angels are on your side against Satan and his worldly allies. See that man who, instead of serving Christ while young, yielded to temptation, debauched his soul years ago; now he strives to rise above it in his own strength ; his imagination is defiled, his will is weak, the fire c.f passion smolders in his soul. Oh ! what a judgment day is before him ! 202 SERMOiS\S ON THE See that man, still young ! A few years ago he was bright and prosperous; friends praised him; he was on the high road of advancement towards honor and fame; trusted and loved. ISTow he is a slave; he yielded to the tempter, and he wears his livery ! See how^ he struggles, resolves, and re-resolves. In vain ! in vain ! the chain eats into his soul. He is despised, distrusted; friends leave him; Death, on his pale horse, in all his terrors, is moving toward him. Oh ! can nothing save hira ? Yes ! one, and one only, can. save; for him Christ died; for him Jesus conquered the tempter. Oh ! if he will but come, a pool', lost sinner, and lay hold of Christ; if he wnll but say to him, in ever so feeble accents, Lord, save, or I perish ! there is help, there is mercy even for him. LIFE OF CHRIST. 203 XII. OX THE TEMPTATION (nO. 5.) — THE SECOND TEMPTATION. " Then the devil toketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, ' If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down : for it is written. He shall give his angels charge concerning thee : and in their hands they shall bear thee iqj, lest, at any time, thou dash thy foot against a stone.' Jesus saith unto him, '■It is vrritten again. Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God: "—Matt, iv, 5-7. The order in wliieli the temptations are recorded is different in Luke. He places this temptation last. The natural explanation is that Matthew follows the order of time, Luke that of place. Luke puts the temptations that occurred in the wilderness together, and then gives the one that took place at Jerusalem. Matthew's is clearly the order of time, and harmonizes better with the linal statement, that the angels came and ministered to him. We shall find all through the life of Christ these diversities, showing the dilferent principles on which the narratives are constructed. Chronological accuracy is rarely sought for — the great object being to present the life of Jesus in his teach- ings and miracles, rather than to trace out his progress from day to day. This, indeed, would not have been possible without incumbering the narrative with a vast amount of local and statistical information of no 204 SEEMONS 0?^ THE special importance. The gospels in this case would have assumed the form of ponderous volumes. Hence each writer fixed upon those parts and events iii the life .of our Lord which seemed to him best, and grouped them together according to a plan of his own. The result is we have four narratives, concise and yet full, differing from each other in form and manner and material, furnishing to the world the most complete picture of the words and acts of Jesus, and evincing everywhere the independence, the sincerity, and the faithfulness of the writers. There is no life of any of the great men of antiquity that possesses a tithe of the evidence of its historical reality that attaches to this. And instead of being troubled at the diversities which exist in these narratives, we should thank God for the wisdom that wrought them into one harmonious whole. In this second temptation the scene is apparently laid in Jerusalem. Some commentators suppose it occurred in the wilderness, and that it was wholly spiritual; or, in other words, imaginary. Satan by his peculiar power raised these ideas in the mind of Jesus, so that he seemed to himself to stand on the temple. In opposition to this theory, it seems clear to me that we must take the description literally. Christ actually went to Jerusalem, and then the temptation occurred just as it is described. In sup- port of this opinion, the following reasons are conclu- sive : 1. It is obvious from the language of both Mat- thew and Luke that they believed Jesus Avent to Jerusalem. They state the occurrence positively, in language adapted to convey this idea. They give no hint of any kind on which to base an opposite opinion. LIFE OF CHRIST. 205 Tliej are our sole authorities. Jesus, in liis conver- sations with his disciples on tliis subject, must have authorized them to make such a statement, with the design of having it understood literally. In every case where a parabolic or imaginary scene is given in order to illustrate a spiritual truth, there is always something in the representation to indicate the fact. Here there is nothing of the kind. Ko one, in reading it, unless he had some special theory to support, would ever sus- pect that it was not a literal statement of a simple his- torical fact. The language employed by both writers is very clear. Matthew says the devil took Jesus, as- sociated him with him as a companion, like two per- sons traveling together. For this is the meaning of the Greek word 7Tar>ala[t^dvec. Luke says he led or conducted him to the holy city — Yfayev. Both describe a literal fact in unequivocal terms. Jesus came into the wilderness to be tempted, and after the forty days he was designedly left to the influences of this prince of deceivers. Under his influence he went to Jerusalem. On the plain and simple statement of these sacred writers it is safe to stand. According to the only au- thority we have in the case, Jesus actually \vent to Jerusalem and was tliere tempted. But, 2. The eutire scene when taken literally is in harmony with itself and with all the known facts in the case. The wilderness, where Christ spent his forty days, pushes up to within a few miles of Jerusalem. No sooner are you over Olivet, and past Bethany, than you plunge right into it. It was only a short walk from this point to the city. There is no antecedent improb- ability, therefore, from the distance, against this opin- ion, but everything in favor of it. Then the position 206 SERMONS ON THE in which Christ is said to have been placed corresponds exactly with the known facts. He is said to have stood on a pinnacle of the temple. The term, ''hftov, is temple is general, and includes not only the central building, which was called Nao:;, or temple proper, but the courts and surrounding structures. The central building was covered with spikes to prevent the birds from resting upon it. ISTo man could stand there. But around this there were courts or cloisters resting on pillars, some of them quite lofty, rising from thirty to fifty feet, and two hundred feet above the temple area. And as they were built against the outer wall there was in some cases a sheer descent of more than one hundred feet. They were built with flat roofs and with towers in the corners and other points. It seems probable from their construction that the people as- cended to the roofs and walked upon them. The view was magnificent, and in the cool of the day the posi- tion most delightful. Now the Greek term, translated pinnacle, means literally a wing, or a little wing. For these cloisters were folded round the main temple like the wings of a bird. We use the same term in the same way in modern architecture. We speak of the wing of a building. Now it is clear that Satan could easily have conducted Jesus on to one of these wings, and then to one of the towers or points, or termina- tions, like that near the gate Beautiful on the south side "of the temple area. Standing.here, on what seems to have been a peculiar eminence, he would have below him on one side the temple area crowded with wor- shipers, and on the other the street leading up to the gate thronged with people ascending and descending. If from such a point he threw himself into the court LIFE OF CHRIST. 207 below, the lieiii;lit was great enough, unless snpernatu- rally sustained, to have killed him. If he fell outside the wall, death was naturall}^ inevitable. Here, then, you have all the elements of this second temptation, and they harmonize perfectly with the descri^jtions given by the sacred writers. (See Porter's Giant Cities of Bash an.) In addition to those reasons for accepting the state- ment in the text as a literal account of the fact, I mention still another. This view enhances the realify and the force of the temptation. It gives it its true real- ity, life and power. jS'othing is vague, cloudy, ab- struse ; we see at once how the time, the place, the circumstances, all contribute to its power. Compare it with some other views. Take the account as given by Dr. Furness. Christ is wandering in the desert — "Absorbed in thought, heedless of his steps, his foot strikes against a stone and he stumbles. Perhaps he is in danger of a serious full. Instantly there occurs to him a passage of scripture, ' He will give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy w^ays, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone,' and then "^it occurs to him that since he has angels attending him at every step saving bim from the slightest hurt, why may not he go to the city, the great city of Jeru- salem, and ascend one of the pinnacles of the temple and cast himself olf, and dis[ilay to the astonished crowd below his power of securing his owm safety by means of these invisible attendants." Here he first takes out of the narrative what the sacred writers put there, Satanic agency. Here he imagines that Christ struck his foot against a stone and was in danger of a fall ; then he inuigines that Christ recollected a par- 208 SERMONS OX THE ticiilar text of scripture; then he imagines that Christ imagined that he might go to Jerusalem and fling himself from a pinnacle of the temple. And this is a temptation which it cost Jesus a struggle to overcome ! What a delightful and effective art is this refined sci- ence of criticism! It can take out of a narrative the main facts in it; then it can put in it entirely new facts at its pleasure, and on these assumed facts erect a building to suit its own fancy. We have heard of a ) man who contended, after he had put a new blade into an old handle and then a new handle to the new blade, that it was the same identical old knife, although every part was new. We laugh at the man's stupid simplicity, and we might laugh at the equally stupid simplicity of these modern critics, were the subject not so serious, and did we not know that this falsification of history the most sacred, stupid and wicked as it is, destructive as its principles are of all his historic faith, is yet accepted by many who wish to bring down Christ to their level and reduce all religion to mere naturalism. But leaving these bold deniers of the truth, let us turn to such men as Lange, Keander, and others, whose faith in the divine Christ and the inspiration of his word is undoubted. In their opinion, this second temptation occurred in the wilderness. Satan, by his peculiar power, placed Christ in spirit on the pinnacle of the temple, and tempted him to cast him- self down. N'ow, without denying the power of Satan to do this thing, we affirm that such a tempta- tion could not possibly have the same force and reality as it would were Christ actually standing on the wing of the temple. In the one case the senses would tend LIFE OF CHRIST. 209 constantly to correct and nullify the satanic influence ; in the other they would necessarily heighten it. His position in the wilderness, his sight, his hearing, are in one case all opposed to the influence exerted upon him and tend to counteract it ; in the other his position on the dizzy height, the sounds around him, the swarm- ing multitudes, all give a special force and reality to the temptation. It is a remarkable fact, that in both^he other temptations Satan starts from a material stand- point, and uses that to give effect to his own power. In the flrst it is the stone before Jesus ; in the third it is the view from a mountain. And it would be strange indeed if, with Jerusalem so near, he did not make the pinnacle of the temple the material stand-point to heighten the force of the second temptation. And thus, without attempting to develope this argument further, it seems clear to me, from the explicH state- ments of the sacred writers, from the harmony of all the supposed facts in the case, and from this, the greater effectiveness of the temptation, that Christ was actually led to Jerusalem, and there tempted. IS^ow, let us come directly to the temptation. Leav- ing the wilderness, Satan conducts Jesus through Bethany up to the summit of Olivet. Jerusalem,1u all its pride and glory, is below him. Jerusalem, the city of the great king. Jerusalem, discrowned and subject to imperial Eome. Jerusalem, with all its sacred memories and thrilling associations, fills his eye and touches his heart. For he is its rightful king ; yet there he is to suffer as a malefactor. They descend to and cross the Kidron, enter the city, pass into the inclosure of the temple, ascend the south-eastern 18 210 SEEMONS ON THE cloister and the lofty tower or pinnncle or wing, at the point where the walls unite. Standing here, what a scene of varied splendor and busy life meets the eye! The city itself, with its palaces on Mount Zion, and its lofty habitations stretching to the west and north. Around and inclosing the whole are the mountains in their vernal beauty, like a glorious setting for this jewel of the world ; below and opposite are the temple proper, in its gilded magnificence, and the cloisters in their pillared beauty ; while on the east and south are the deep gorges of Kidron and Himraon. It is the hour of evening prayer. The area below, the bridge leading from Mount Zion, the street up which they pass through the Beautiful gate, are crowded with people thronging to and around the holy temple. The Pharisee is there, with his broad phylacteries, going over, in a loud voice, his endless repetitions of formal prayers ; here and there a poor publican, with down- cast eyes, smites upon his breast and from his heart prays, "God be merciful to me, a sinner;" wliile others, with little of either the form or reality of de- votion, are mingling in converse or trafficking with the sellers of things for sacrifice. Yet among all the multitude there is not one heart that does not antici- pate the coming of Messiah, that has not been stirred by the annunciations of the Baptist, or that does not thrill with the hopes of his speedy coming to cast down the Roman from yonder tower of Antonio and make Jerusalem again the seat of the most glorious sovereignty iu the world. Unknown, hardly noticed, on that lofty pinnacle, stands this very Messiah, look- ing with a serene eye upon this wonderful people. And now there is a hush of the many- voiced multi- LIFE OF CHRIST. 211 tudc ; out of the gates of the temple swells the solemn chant of the Levites ; clearer and louder it falls upon the ear ; one, and tlien another, take up the words of the triumphant 72(1 psalm, until, like the voice of many waters, like the majestic harmonies of Niagara, peal forth from every voice in unison the sublime strains of that grandest Messianic anthem : " lie shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river nnto the ends of the earth. All kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him ; his name shall endure forever ; his name shall be continued as long as the sun ; and men shall be blessed in him ; all nations shall call him blessed." And as the psalm ends and the last notes die away in lingering echoes among the surrounding hills, every heart beats quickl}', every eye is sparkling with the anticipated vision of the speedy coming of their long-expected triumphing Messiah. Now, Satan, thy hour is come. For the Messiah himself stands there, thrilled by that sublime rehearsal of the prophet's vision of himself and his kingdom, and longing to reveal himself to Israel. With con- summate art he approaches him. He does not now appeal to his personal power ; he does not say : Cast thyself down, and by thy own divine strength hold thyself up from destruction. lie tried this in the first temptation, and failed. But now he strikes another chord. He quotes scripture. He does it often in the persons of wicked men, when he thinks it will serve his pur[)ose. The 91st psalm is one of the most beau- tiful and consolatory descriptions of the divine care and protection over all true believers. It breathes sublime contideuce and peace into the pious heart 212 SERMOXS ON THE amidst the dangers and trials which are round it in the path of duty. He who is lilled with its spirit is calm amidst excitement, bold amidst dangers, confident and strong amidst the earthquakes and hurricanes of nature, or the wild rage of the embattled passions and forces of wickedness in its assault upon the truth and kingdom of Jesus. From this noble psalm, the devil quotes a promise of protection and support. If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down ; reveal thyself to this waiting multi- tude ; has not God said, He will give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone ? Surely, if thou art his son, he will do for thee what he promises to do for every true believer. This is the fit hour and place to test his faithfulness. In so do- ing, you will make yourself known as Messiah to this people ; they will at once hail you as their king. Is not this an object worthy of the putting forth of the divine power, according to promise? Such is the temptation. The time, the place, the people — all en- hance its force. See, now, how the temptation is met. If Christ had been a mere enthusiast, if he had assumed a char- acter which did not rightly belong to him, or attempted a work for which he was unfitted, he would, like mul- titudes of others, have seized upon the first plausible warrant of scripture that suited his personal aims, and the temptation would have been irresistible. Suit- ing the action to the apparent promise, he would have cast himself headlong to destruction. But Jesus was no enthusiast; he was not blindly to be led to do an act which involved sin. He sees at once that the act LIFE OF CHRIST. 213 he was tempted to perform was based not upon a])rin- ciple of legitimate faitii, but of wicked presumption ; that Satan has made a confessedly poetic description of the divine protection a literal basis for acts God never warranted. Oh ! when the soul is in full sym- j)athy with God's will, how almost instinctively it de- tects the seminal principles of error ; how easily and grandly it rises above the misconceptions of passion, the misinterpretations of satanic and worldly influ- ences, to a clearer vision of the simple truth, as it is in Jesus. The Savior's answer is given in the words of divine truth. He quotes from Deut. vi, 16, but changes ye into tJiou — Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. He repels the artful temptation based upon a designed misapplication of one part of scripture, by another clear and authoritative enunciation of scripture. He does not oppose scripture to scripture, as if there could be a contradiction between them. He only interprets one scripture by another. lie puts together the truths which stand related to each other and conjointly form the perfect whole. Truth is many-sided ; especially these grand truths of God's Word. If you look only at one side, and neglect the others, you have but an imperfect conception of the wdiole. In a building of noble proportions, there are parts which, taken singly, seem awkward and practically false ; but, when seen in position, they rise to the beautiful and true. Jesus says, at one time: Ye can not come to me. Taken by itself, men would say : Then we are bound iu the chains of fate ; and how can we believe ? He says again : Yq will not come to me that ye might have life. Put the two together and you have the whole truth ; one explains the other; one shows the true meaning of 214 SERMONS ON THE the other. Three-fourths of all the theological contro- versies in the world have resulted from this narrow, one-sided method of interpretation. There is a beau- tiful harmony, a wonderful justness of proportion, in the Word of God. The Old Testament and the New illustrate each other. And the broad-minded, clear student of the Word soon learns to trace out truth in its relations, and then, with every step, it swells into harmony, and he hears the voices of prophets and apostles mingling in one glorious anthem of praise. Jesus here flashes upon his tempter a fundamental truth, which is the base melody of that glorious 91st psalm. The inspired writer describes, in bold figures, and with that symbolic exaggeration which is one of the most impressive elements of true poetry and sep- arates it widely from literal prose, the protection which God gives to the good man. But through it all there is presupposed the harmony of his life with the will of God. The devil, in his cunning, drops out of his quotation that sentence in the original which would have suggested this. For it is not. He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee, as if it were absolute ; but to keep thee in all thy ways — the ways in which as a man of God you ought to walk. Here is the mighty difference between presumption and a just confidence in the divine support. Presump- tion plans for itself without reference to God's will ; true faith lays its plans in harmony with the principles of true wisdom, and then looks to God with holy con- fidence for support. Presumption adopts unwar- Tanted measures to test God's faithfulness; true faith never tests God's, promises at all, but, in the path of duty, quietly commits itself to the divine LIFE OF CHKIST. 215 guidance. Presumption says, now I will see whether God means what he says ; and there is always a latent reservation that if he does not prosper me in this plan of mine, I will trust him no more. Faith knows God is true ; walks in the dark as well as in the light; says: Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Tlius Christ discriminates between faith and presumption. If the motive was to test God's fiiith- fulness, he needed n(j such test, for his faith was always strong and clear. If it was to display the di- vine power, and thus, as Messiah, put himself at once at the head of the Jewish hierarchy, the time had not yet come; the people were unprepared for such a manifestation ; it would have been a mere vain dis- play, issuing in nothing, to be treated as the trick of a juggler, exciting wonder and excitement, without one good result. For the kingdom of Christ was to be established on his life and his teachings, as well as on the manifestation of supernatural power. He, as man, was subject to law, and this required that his life should be in perfect accord with the will of God. His course was ever guided by wisdom. How cautious is he in exposing himself to danger, or in placing him- self in the hands of the people, when they wi'shed to make him king. How he often veils his Messiahship for the time, and retires into secret places. iSTever does he work a miracle, except for some beneficent end. When solicited by the Pharisees to show them a sign of his authority, he persistently refuses, and gives them only a prophetic description of his death and resurrection. Thus he holds the fuller displays of his divinity in reserve, while, by his life and teacliings, he was laying the broad foundation for his kingdom, 216 SERMONS ON THE in obedience to the divine will. Then, when his hour is come, he goes to Jerusalem ; he marches right into the lions' den ; he submits to the divine purpose in the assured confidence of final victory. Yet, even when in the hall of Pilate, and on the cross, he will not pray for the legions of angels to rescue him ; be- cause it was through suflTering he was to triumph, and by death he was to win immortal life for millions of souls. This divine man here stands erect before the fierce temptation of the adversary, and conquers him again for us ; we w^ere in his eye and in his heart at that hour. And for two thousand years his sublime victory has been the inspiration of innumerable souls in their trials and temptations. Let us learn the lesson he teaches us to-day. 1. We see the wide difference between true confidence in God and a presumptuous trust. Faith is always as- sured that God reigns ; that he is ever pledged to order all events so as to promote the highest good of all true believers. Faith obeys; faith is wise and cautious in the use of the appointed means ; faith compares scripture with scripture to ascertain the whole truth ; faith is subject to law, and impels us to the use of the best means to gain good ends. And then it calmly commits the future to God. If trials come, if sorrow, bereavement, loss of property, loss of health, death come, in the path of duty, it trusts, with absolute as- surance, the divine promise; and rising above these ex- ternal trials, it triumphs even before it enters the pearly gates. But presumption is blind ; it is self-seeking ; it trusts without Avarrant; it does not seek fully to know and do the divine Avill ; it makes an imagina- tion to be reality, because it is not willing to see as it LIFE OF CHRIST. 217 ought ; it is not cautious, nor wise ; it lays its plans without reference to the divine will, and then hopes God will prosper it. If it is a man's duty to go to England, he looks out for the best and safest means of conveyance, and then faith commits the issue to God; but presumption goes blindly, without the highest ref- ence to duty, boards a crazy craft, and still hopes God will send a safe deliverance. But, 2d, presumption is both wicked and dangerous. It is always founded in sin, and ends in death ; for what- ever is not of true faith, is sin. A man once had some religious emotion — once indulged a hope of acceptance with God; now his soul is full of the world ; there is no love for God ; no spirit of prayer ; no penitence for sin ; no cross-bearing for Jesus ; no delight in God's service ; yet he clings to that dead hope, and goes through a round of cold, formal duties, and expects somehow to be saved. Oh ! sinful, lost soul ! Did not Christ warn thee against the indulgence of such presumptuous hopes, when he told thee how many who had eaten and drunk in his presence, would knock at the gate of heaven, crying: Lord! Lord! open to us ! And he would answer: Depart; I never knew you ! Faithless professor, here see how Christ resisted the temptation to presumption, and come to- night, and cast yourself at his feet, confessing your sin, or you are a lost soul. Parents will sometimes allow their children to grow up disobedient — train them to be selfish, to prize the riches, and honors, and pleasures of life as the chief things — and then hope that God will prosper them, and save them at last. Oh ! how many curses 19 218 SERMONS ON THE will be heaped on faithless parents, at the judgment- seat, by such children, when they see who have ruined them for eternity ! Oh ! such foolish and wicked presumption, refusing to obey God, has ruined souls innumerable. And so there is oftentimes a great deal of sinful presumption in the way men use their bodies and their minds. They act as if health was secure to them, however much they violate its laws. And they do this without the least necessity, or only an imag- inary necessity, under the undue stimulus of personal gain. There may be cases where the highest obliga- tion rests upon a man, for a time, to work his body and mind up to the full limit of his powers ; yea, where he must call upon the latent energies and re- served forces of his being ; there maj^ be exigencies in life when, for the good of others, a man must sacri- fice himself as freely as he would go to a marriage festival. The physician must, in times of pestilence, expose himself to peril, and ply all his energies in ministering to others; the minister of Jesus at times has no right to consult ease, or health, or life in the work of saving men ; the soldier must at times endure exposure and hardship and peril of life. But if all this is done in obedience to the voice of God clearly S23oken, then whether health be broken or life itself laid on the altar, faith may grasp the promises and angels will bear up the self-sacrificing spirit, and no real harm shall touch it, but a glorious victory shall be awarded it, and a crown shall deck- its brow and "the blessed saints on high shall greet it with halle- lujahs, and Jesus will say to it, "Forasmuch as you did it for one of these least, you did it unto me." But LIFE OF CHRIST. 219 tlic cases to which I allude are not of this character. Wlien, to gain fortune rapidly or win worldly honors, the man, regardless of God's physical and mental laws, stretches the line to its full tension, and, under the spur of some splendid worldly prize, tasks all his powers to the uttermost, presuming that somehow God will hring him through all the same, then he acts Avitliout warrant, presumptuously, and when he goes down, he has no consolation of faith to sustain him and no assurance of God's favor. There is abroad at this time a feverish desire for I'apid accumulation, an eager and rabid thirst for riches, which leads men to forsake the old, beaten paths and launch into boundless speculations, and put their future on a single stroke of fortune. Our young men, debauched by the spectacle of here and there one who has won a prize at a single turn of the wheel, are discontented with the slow gains and old fogy ways of their fathers ; they must at once ascend to the topmost round ; they must at once take the reins and drive the horses of the sun. Under this impulse they regard not the plainest laws of integrity and success wrought out in the experience of all the past ; they can not see that life is something grander than riches ; they tread fearlessly amid pitfalls and snares, and by and by they go down. These temptations to pre- sumption are round them on every side. But they see no Christ resisting them ; they hear not the voice, " Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." They will live lives of transient excitement, and with broken constitutions and broken fortunes descend to an early and a dishoiiorcd grave. So in another di- rection this Satanic inlluence impels the young into 220 SERMONS ON THE vicious courses, with the expectation after a while of becomiug moral, able, and useful men and women. "I must sow my wild oats now, and then for work and vii'tue and domestic life !" I tell you, my friend, these are the devil's oats. He knows better than you do that as you sow, so shall you reap. Has God or- dained that a debauched, frivolous, misspent youth shall be the stable foundation for an honorable and useful life on which you can build domestic virtue and happiness? Oh! vain presuraer, it is Satan who is wdiispering in your heart his miserable, false, wicked temptations to sin, knowing that he is conducting you to ruin. But there are other ways in which the danger and wickedness of presumption reveal themselves. Yon- der is a man who scorns and repels the imputation of either immorality or infidelity. He believes in God ; he believes in the Bible ; he believes that man can only be saved by repentance and faith in Christ. Is he a Christian? Has he made this truth the life of his soul? Has he repented? No, no ! But then he expects to become a Christian. Some day — he has not fixed the time — he will repent, and take up his cross and follow Christ. On wliat does he base this expec- tation? On life, on health, on opportunity, on the supposition that to-morrow shall be as this day. Who induced him to live in sin with that expectation ? God? ITo, the devil. The devil whispered, "Thou shalt not die." Time enough yet; a little more sleep, and he has yielded. Sabbath after Sabbath he has been tempted, and he has yielded. He presumes without a particle of warrant that he will have the time and the opportunity to repent, though he neglects LIFE OF CHRIST. 221 the present hour. Is it not so ? If you were sure death would knock at your door, would you not cry out, "What shall I do to be saved?" Oman! thou art presuming wickedly on the long-suffering patience of thy God. Tempt him not again to-night. Look to Jesus, as he endured this and all other temptations for you, and he will give you the victory now over your great adversary. Has not God spoken to you in a voice of thunder the last week ? Hear you not still ringing in your ears the cries of those agonized souls as in that wrecked and burning car they went in an instant to their account ? * Beware, or your feet stand- ing on slippery places will slide in due time. But time would fail me to bring out all these cases of wicked presumption, to show you how men tempt God by acting on the supposition that He is too good to damn the wicked; and therefore somehow, no mat- ter how clear Christ is in his threatenings, somehow all men will be saved. Temptations to a presumptuous contidence in the future unwarranted by God, are daily addressed alike to God's people and the world. It is a field where Satan sets his subtle snares to catch unwary souls. But Jesus has taught us to resist him. Only one arm can help us; only one mind is wise enough to teach us. * Nearly fifty passengers killed in the wreck of car on Lake Shore road, at Angola, December 18^ 1867. 222 SERMONS ON THE XIII. THE TEMPTATION. '^ A7id the devil, taking him up into an high mountain., showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a mo- ment of time {ev otyfrq -/^povoo). And the devil said unto him, 'All this power will I give thee and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever Iivill I give it. If thou, therefore, wilt worship me, all shall be thine.' And Jesus answered and said unto him, ' Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, 21iou shall wor- ship the Lord thy God, and him only shall thou serve.' " — Luke iv. 5-8. It was remarked, in my discoarse on the second temptation, that Matthew followed the order of time, and Luke of place, in the record of the temptations. In the order of time, this temptation is the third and last. The same question respecting the literalness of the temptatioji occurs here as in the second tempta- tion. One class of interpreters suppose that Satan acted directly on the mind of the Savior, exciting the same ideas which would have been obtained by a di- rect vision of the world's power, as if he were on some lofty eminence, while in reality he might have been anywhere in the desert. The view which seems to me best to harmonize with the narrative is that the devil actually took Christ to the top of a mountain from which he could obtain a wide view, and then, with this LIFE OF CHRIST. 223 natural advantage as a basis, excited the idea of tliis vast world-power. The devil could unquestionably use all the advantages he possessed to make this temp- tation effective. ]S"ow, it is one of the most common laws of the mind that the direct view of an object, even in part, suggests ideas connected with it, and en- ' fuces the force of these ideas, however excited. The > lew which Nebuchadnezzar had of Babylon from his palace raised in him ideas of his own power and skill, and gave a wonderful expansion to his pride. Napo- leon's visit to Egypt gave special power to the idea of a vast oriental empire, if it did not excite it. The fa- miliar case of the young man, who, after he had wasted his patrimony by intemperance, ascended an eminence overlooking it, and there resolved to reform his life and win it back, illustrates the same law. His posi- tion on that eminence, the sight of the lands once his, but his no more, was the decisive point in his life; the influence of that view strengthened the desire, which then and there ripened into the purpose never to rest till they were his again. Every one knows how a po- sition in the national councils and the vision of power stirs and enhances ambition ; how mingling with men successful in winning large fortunes fires thousands with a passion for such large accumulations; how lis- tening to a man of eloquence kindles the desire to be eloquent. If a person has a gold mine in which lie wishes others to take stock, he brings home a few nuggets of gold, and straightway the sight of the lit- tle excites a vision of the great. This is a common principle; men everywhere act on it in appealing to their fellow-men. The devil knows this law of action thoroughly ; he has always acted on it, and does now, 224 SERMONS ON THE in seducing men into sin. In the effort to tempt our Savior, he would have acted foolishly and unlike liim- self not to have availed himself of it. Taking him to the summit of a commanding eminence, with a vast prospect of towns and cities around him, then, how easily could he have excited ideas of the world be- yond ; how easily could he make the vision of the present swell out into and mingle with the vision of what was beyond. Thus, in an instant, on this visible basis, did he construct in the mind of Jesus a pano- rama of the world's power and glory, and make it a living reality — the mightiest temptation ever addressed to a human soul. It is said the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The human mind has immense capabilities of thought, of which now and then in actual life we get a glimpse. In moments of peril, as in drowning, the vision of a whole life is sometimes present; and Satan, in order to do his work effectually, possessed and used this power of develop- ing in the mind of Jesus instantaneously a view of all the great powers of the world in their most attractive form. Let us now pass directly to the temptation. " All this will I give thee." Ambition for power is said to be the infirmity of noble minds. History shows that it is just as often the vice of the ignoble and the base. The desire of power to effect good ends may exist in the heart of an unfallen angel. It is just as innocent as the natural desire for food. But in all the truly good it is qualified and limited by a sense of responsi- bility to God for its use ; by a perpetual reference to him as its source, and to his will in respect to its po- LIFE OF CHRIST. 225 session. In llicni it never overpasses the limits of his luithoritative i)ei-mission ; it is kept in snbjection to his command, and in harmony with every otlier right principle. When it goes beyond this, it becomes self- ish ; it ministers to personal exaltation ; it disavows the moral principles ; it is the most fruitful principle of evil in the universe. Then it becomes a satanic power; then it curses and desolates alike the possessor and those over whom he exercises it. Power is the greatest prize that can be offered to man ; power brings the world to your feet ; power lays its hand on all earthly possessions and gratifications ; power con- trols and subdues minds and hearts; power combines in itself everything in the whole range of enjoyment that can appeal to the corrupt heart. This desire of power, thus perverted to purposes of self-aggrandize- ment, tends ever to infinite mischief. This perverted ambition makes a law for itself, and overrides the law of God and the rights and interests of men, whenever that law or those interests are in conflict with its spirit of self-aggrandizement. All down through the ages, to the unconvicted traitor who incarnated in himself the forces of the late rebellion, bloody and terrible illustrations of this fact reveal themselves at every step. And when you ascend from the little prizes that tempt most men, to the great power of a kingdom, and from one kingdom to the universal sovereignty of the w'orld, then 3'ou aggregate together all the things w^hich men most desire, into one grand tempta- tion, beyond wiiich in this world it is impossible for you to go. This was the glory and the power which the tempter now ofiers to Jesus. Vastly less tem[)tations than this had prevailed over the highest virtue ever 226 SERMONS ON THE possessed by men ; their price was easily paid ; but now that he is dealing with the Son of God, now that his skill and force had been so far resisted, he must ascend to the summit of human ambition ; he must combine in one temptation all earthly power and glory, and with all his diabolic ingenuity and force of will press it upon the heart. Consider, now, what this temptation involved. 1. The gift of Satan carried with it the visible sove- reignty of the world ; it carried with it the world- power with all its glory; it made Christ the imperator of the world, and all its kings and princes his lieu- tenants ; it brought to him at once, without any change of heart, all the powers of earth. Judea would have installed him king ; Rome would have made him em- peror ; China and Hindostan would have acknowl- edged his supremacy, and all kings and kingdoms would at once have become visibly his. All the art, all the intellect, all the beauty, all the wealth, all the powers of the earth would have done him homage. Can you conceive a temptation addressed to humanity mightier than this ? This was the very motive-force with which Satan, failing to seduce our Lord, has ever since attempted, and with fearful success, to corrupt his disciples. This spirit created prelates, archbishops, cardinals, and the pope as a universal monarch, claim- ing supremacy over all kings and kingdoms ; this led to the abandonment of the original simplicity of wor- ship, and developed a religion of outward pomp and show and form, assimilating the church to the visible giory and power of world-powers ; this is the spirit of antichrist, called by the apostle, with condensed energy, the " wicked," as if it were the very essence of evil, LIFE OF CHRIST. 227 Avliicli everywhere seeks to substitute man's power and visible glory and personal distinction and aggrandize- ment for the power of faith and prayer and the simple preaching of the gospel of Jesus. It matters not that this spirit veils under spiritual authority and nominally recognizes Jesus ; for in its essence it is a world-power which Jesus refused to take ; it is the pride and glory of this world baptized wnth the name of Christianity. This has ever been, since Christ essablished his king- dom on earth, the grand artiiice of the Devil to ruin it. Kings, for doing its behests in the slaughter of millions of innocent people, have been styled by it " defenders of the faith," " most Christian majesties." Good men have been seduced by the glare of prido of a state establishment to yield to its influence. The visible ever has a tremendous power over men. And Satan, when he tempted Christ, raised that power to its loftiest altitude, infused into it the condensed force of which it was susceptible, and wielded it with all his Satanic art to win him over to his side. Yea ! had not prophecy declared that all kings should fall down before him, and all peoples should serve him? And was he not, in accepting this gift, actually ful- filling prophecy, and securing the very position of power long promised to him of right ? I^ow, you are to bear in mind that Jesus was left in his naked hu- manity— the same humanity which you and I possess, yet without sin — to grapple with this temptation as Adam grappled with and fell before the first, lie was susceptible to just such temptations as have laid low the whole race. He was enduring in his person the concentrated force of all the powers of evil that assail our entire humanity. If you say that Christ was aim- 228 SEEMONS ON THE ing at spiritual objects, and could not be tempted by the attractions of this world-power, you virtually deny his humanity. For in the long list of souls you can not find one, not one, insensible to such appeals, nay, not one who has not fallen before a power of tempta- tion no more to be compared with this than the tread of an insect with the crushing force of an elephant. 2. This temptation involved an appeal to the fears of Christ, and to his feelings of kindness to his own disciples. Christ could not fail to be moved by the sufferings which in himself and afterward in the per- sons of his disci[)les were to be endured. His kingdom was to advance against the depravity of the human heart and with Satan in opposition, against all the art and malice by which that depravity would be excited, aggravated, and directed. Jesus himself had an imme- diate future of darkness and suffering before liim. At each step of his progress, he was to be met by opposition. His sensitive soul was to be harassed and troubled by the outbreaking depravities of men ; while at the close of his mortal life, a death the most horrible, ever stood clearly defined awaiting his coming. His church, his people were to pass through all forms of trouble. He declares that his advent was like the sending forth of a flaming sword among men. Families would be divided ; there would be strifes and conflicts among states and nations around his cross. Soon the predic- tion began to be fulfilled. In Judea, in Greece, in Rome, in all parts of the world, true piety has been met by princes and people with a malignity of oppo- sition and a cruelty of persecution unknown to Pa- ganism itself. All forms of torture, all kinds of sufr feriug have been meted out to men and women inno- LIFE OF CHRIST 229 cent of crime, guilty of nothing but believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Millions have suffered death, millions have been disfranchised, despoiled of prop- erty, their name made a hissing and a by-word, for confessing Jesus to be their Redeemer. So steady, so varied, so remorseless, so artful and systematic has been this opposition, that every man at once feels the truth of the apostle's words — we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. There is a Satanic power of stimulation and direction that has been at work to corrupt the church itself and turn it into an engine of oppression against the true disciples of Jesus ; there is a mind at work with peculiar force, rousing the malignant opposition of the world against the doctrines and the person of Jesus. Looking down the ages, Christ distinct!}- foresees these sad pages of the history of his church written in the tears and blood of his own people. He heard even there the souls of martyrs crying from under the altar, How long, O Lord ! A vision such as this, of scenes the most hor- rible, in the long travail of all the centuries never be- fore presented itself in one lurid painting, all alive with suffering, to the mind of man. Jesus alone takes it all in at a glance ; the divine vision passes before him ; he sees, he knows, he feels it through and through his sensitive soul. And now the tempter comes to blot out that vision, to join forces with him, to act as his friend rather than his enem}' ; to abate if not wholly remove all this outward opposition ; to make this force of evil decent and submissive ; to save the church from corruption; to quench the fires of martyr- dom ; to oi)en the dungeon and l)roak the rack in 230 SERMONS ON THE pieces, and convert the world-power into a friendly assistant ; malignity into friendship ; scoffs into kisses ; war into peace; the slow, lingering, painful advance of his kingdom into a triumphal procession. Ah ! tell nie not there ever has existed a soul sensitive to its own suffering, more sensitive to the sufferings of those it loves, that would not be affected by such a change as this! The father has said. Slay me, but save the mother and children ! Filial love has laid itself on the altar for parents ! And is not Jesus moved by such a future for his own people, and could there be a temptation of mightier power addressed to his pure soul, awake to all the horrors impending over his peo- ple, than this which promised them a peaceful life, and himself a peaceful Held on which to advance in his conquests over the hearts of men ? In the prepara- tions and conditions favorable to the advance of the gospel in the hearts of men, can you conceive of any- thing more desirable than the abatement and total withdrawal of the opposition of that gigantic mind and his arraj^ of subalterns, who have excited and organized the depravities of mind into systematic effort against the kingdom of Jesus ; who have cor- rupted the original religion of the world into a minis- tration of sensuality and sin ; who have tired the hearts of rulers with the spirit of persecution ; who have brought about the subjection of the outward church to the state and introduced into it the corrupt hierar- chies and pomp and glory of a world-power, and turned it into an engine for the destruction of all true Chris- tian liberty and simple piety, and who, it is declared, would, did God permit it, deceive with their infernal plausil)ilitics the very elect themselves? Is it not LIFE OF CHRIST. 231 given in })ropliecy that when Jesus sliiill have entered upon his highest triumph in this world, and the time shall come when the lion and the lamh shall lie down together, and the true people of God shall be in the vast majority, and the scepters of kings shall all be lowered to the cross, and peace, and intelligence, and piety, shall till the world with the fragrance of Eden, tliat for a decade of centuries this power of darkness shall be chained and his minions confined in their ap- propriate prison, and Christ shall reign over him and all the powers of evil ? And is it possible to concen- trate in one temptation motives more affecting, con- siderations of vaster moment this side the throne of God, than Satan himself here presents to the heart of Jesus? For be it remembered that, in the terms of this con- tract, Satan is not to interfere with or prejudice the grand object of Jesus, the salvation of men, and the illustration of the wisdom of God in the gospel f he is to withdraw his opposition and unite his forces with those of the Savior to clear the field of those malignant powers which have ever been at work to destroy the souls of men. All fair enough this for the devil ; all plausible enough ; so plausible that the same tempta- tion presented in inferior forms has availed to debauch the loyalty of unnumbered millions. It has been said, indeed, that Satan promised to give what he did not possess. In the sense of right this is true, but as a fact it is not true. Usurpation is a crime, but it may be a fact. Louis Napoleon may be a usurper and a perjurer, but he is emperor and wields the power of France for all that. The devil lied when he implied that God had committed to him this world 232 SERMONS ON THE as its ruler. In that infinite wisdom which one day will vindicate itself, he had been permitted to usurp this power, just as wicked men are allowed to live and perpetrate crimes that shock humanity ; but he really possessed it for the time. The fact is written all over the world's history ; the world-power has been largely Satanic, and is to this day. The Scriptures distinctly recognize it ; Jesus himself and his apostles every- where recognize it, and recognize it as a power of op- position to his truth — a power to be dethroned and destroyed as the Gospel advances to its final triumph. And when Satan proposed to abandon his opposition and use his power in favor of Christ, he did what he was apparently able to do. Whether he really meant to do it, is another question. We must look now at the condition of this extraor- dinary proposition. And here we shall see the Satanic spirit in its consummate flower — "If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." This involves three things. (1.) The term translated is sometimes used to express the homage of an inferior to a supe- rior. Satan would have Jesus acknowledge his infe- riority. This is its lowest sense. (2.) In the circum- stances it involved the recognition of the legitimacy of Satan's claims to the possession of the world. Jesus must do fealty to him as the original sovereign, and hold the world as his gift. Satan is the real prince, and Christ his dependent. (3.) It involved something more than even these things. Tlie term worship is used in its highest sense as a recognition of the divine. F^r Jesus to w^orship Satan was to give divine hom- age. This is clearly implied in the Savior's answer. lie sees at once the enormous pride, pretension, and LIFE OF CHRIST, 233 wickedness of the tempter. He sees through all his plausibilities and his robes of light the hideous form of tlie malignant chief of the fallen angels. Up to that moment he may not have been full}' assured who this person thus engaged might be ; but the proposi- tion to worship him tears the veil from the face of the deceiver. The thought is horrible ; the wretch who makes it, loathsome. At once, in the majesty of a pure soul, of the Son of God, with divine authority, he breaks forth upon him: "Get thee behind, Satan! it is written, -Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Our translation falls short of the condensed energy of the original '■'■"Y-ayB^ o-t(Tio fw'j, Maraud." Avaunt, Satan ! Away wnth you ! Out of ray sight, opposer of God and man ! God, thy God, is the only object of true worship. Thou art a vile impostor, a malignant monster. Away from me! Your words are deceptive ; your breath pollution. Get you gone to the regions of darkness where j'ou belong. Jesus has met and baffled the mightiest powers of darkness. Jesus, erect in the consciousness of love and loyalty to God in his humanity, repels the highest temptations that can ever assail the soul. The taint, the shadow^ of sin rests not upon his heart. He comes forth from his great conflict pure as love and strong as faith. Henceforth, with intense malignancy, the baffled tempter, conscious of defeat and foreseeing that his time is short, will rage and plot and stir up the world-power, which Christ refused at his hands, to retard the progress of the gospel. He will enter the councils of the scribes and Pharisees, and excite and spur them on to nail him to the cross. He will 20 234 SERMONS ON THE enter the hearts of emperors and kings to thunder against the coming kingdom. He will seduce the Christian church into heathenish rites and worklly pomps to corrupt its life. He will rear inquisitions to rack and burn simple believers. He will put new en- ergy into his legions everywhere, by all means, to oppose this Jesus of ITazareth. But he is a defeated usurper. And he who has risen victorious over his temptations will conquer and advance until the full time appointed of God has come, when he shall be chained forever in the hell he has deserved. And now, after the conflict and victory, comes rest. Other beings had watched this scene with intense in- terest; for Matthew tells that as the devil retires, an- gels ministered to him. They supplied the wants of his body; they communed with his tried spirit. They breathed round* him heavenly peace and joy, and from this victory they gathered the foretokens of a greater victor}^ when on the cross expiring he should cry, "It is finished !" Here behold the issue of resistance to evil ; here see how he who gives all to God gains all; how he who braves all for this, his Master's favor, shall win for his soul in the hour of trouble the ministrations of angels and the eternal favor of his Lord. And now let us look at some of the points which this part of the life of Christ illustrates. 1. The world-power is the strongest of all the temp- tations which can assail the heart of man. Satan re- serves it for his final efibrt, because he knew how ir- resistible it had been to man in every age ; for this power is not one, but many. He who has it, has all other worldly things at his command. To be able to LIFE OF CHRIST. 235 say to tliis man go and lie goeth, and to tliat man come and he cometh — to wield consciously a power that governs and controls others — has to most minds a wonderful fascination. But when to this is added personal security, honor, and glory; when to these are added the ability to gratify every taste and lust, then the fascination, is to any man un- aided by the spirit of God, irresistible. The influ- ence of this power to break down virtuous prin- ciples is among the saddest and most marked triumphs of Satanic cunning. As a world-power it is not in harmony with Christ. Ambition for self- aggrandizement is its real principle; the methods which are employed to win and maintain and use it harmonize with its corrupt source. I say not that a good man may not desire and use power for noble ob- jects ; but it is a fact that this world-power has ever been so thoroughly constituted of impure elements, and springs usually from such evil sources, and finds itself compelled so often to accommodate itself to the corrupt i)assions and maxims of those with whom it has to do, that it has become practically a possession of the devil. He did not lie when he asserted his power over these governments and kingdoms. To him more than to any other power have their scepters been lowered ; his spirit has been worshiped here, and his maxims followed with more intense enthusiasm than anywhere else. He has been the great contract- ing party on one side, and kings and princes and courtiers and legislators on the other. He asks for worship; they ask for power. Courts have ever been unfavorable to piety ; men in power, or men seeking for power, have rarely ever hesitated to crucify Christ 236 SEEMONS ON THE and e'nthroDe Satan, l^ow and then one appears of this sort, anomalous, strange, a wonder among men. In our own land, where power is given but for short periods, and our rulers pass right up to its possession from the bosom of the people, it would seem as if it would be stripped of half its corrupting influence. Yet let any one mingle with our legislators at Albany or Washington ; let him watch the intrigues, the rival- ries, the jealonsies, the influences at work in molding legislation ; then let hiin uncover the secret lives of those who pass at home for honest and virtuous people, and he will be convinced that even here the trail of the serpent is seen in the capitol, and the world-power, true to its instincts, has no surer ally than the prince of darkness. In courts or congress, in emperors' palaces or papal vaticans, everywhere this dark spirit is felt to be present, and his secret snggestion is ever this or that will I give thee, only worship me. The history, the brief history, of this republic of ours is strewn all over with the wrecks of moral character — wrecks not merely of the little and the weak, but of the stalwart, the great, the once noble, the eloquent, the clear-minded, fitted by all natural gifts and train- ing and discipline and high attainments to lead this people up to the heights of national prosperity and re- nown. Such is that power of the world which Jesus resisted and trode beneath his feet. 2. This scene teaches Christ's kingdom comes not by alliance Avith the world — that it is not identical with its form or method or spirit, Jesus affirmed this prin- ciple when he refused the Jewish crown, and declared, " My kingdom is not of this world." The world- power is visible ; its glory is in outward show, in LIFE OF CHEIST. 237 pageantry, in dress, in wealth, in stately palaces, in armies and retinues, in feasts and earthly indulgence. But Christ's kingdom is not visible, save in the pure excellencies it creates. It is not in a palace or a hovel ; it asks for no army, with its sword of steel. It moves forward l)y no earthly power. Christ's kingdom was in the hearts of his apostles and early disciples. It is in the heart of that man, be he poor or rich, who ga- thers his household about him daily to read liis word lovingh% and pours his soul out in grateful, trustful, penitent prayer. It is in the heart of that young man who, conscious of his sinfulness, casts himself on God's mercy in Jesus Christ, and seeks from hence- forth to do his holy will in all his life. It is every- where, in every heart where there is love and faith and obedience. His kingdom cometh not with observation, as does the world-power. No trumpet's blare heralds it. No earthquake, no tempest's shock attends it. It is in the still, small voice that speaks to the soul ; it is in the sweet promise tliat tills the mourner's heart with submission and holy joy ; it is in the solemn appeal that thrills the spirit and nerves it for self-denial and prayerful effort, go preach my gospel to every creature ; it is that home where a faithful servant of the Re- deemer ministers heavenly consolation to the dying; it is in the heart of the young soldier who exclaims as he is departing, Jesus is mine, I am going home ; it is in the meeting for pra3'er, when Christ is present and his spirit moves upon the heart, and he reveals him- self a forgiving, loving, prayer-answering Jxedeemer. Oh! not in splendid cathedrals hath Christ his home. Oh ! not by gorgeous rites and costly offerings is he attracted. His home, his kingdom, is in the living 238 SERMONS ON THE temple of the heart renewed by his spirit and purged by his blood from the pollution of sin, and made meet in offered love and faith for his indwelling. 3. Jesus, in resisting this and the former world-wide temptations, became the source of power to all who will believe on him. His victory is not for himself alone. These temptations, this tempter, meet us all. The Christian life is conflict. Fight the good light of faith, is our motto ; In Christ we conquer, our battle cry. Our nature defiled by sin, our passions and lusts ex- aggerated by indulgence, the power of the visible world-power and its fascinations enhanced by past subjection to it, we are ever in the cgndition of Peter venturing to walk upon the water, and must, like him, ever cry, Lord save, or I perish. He who trode the water as the land has an arm mighty to save. ISTot for himself alone did he conquer; it was for you, for me ; in our weakness he came forth victorious. You feel the power of some secret lust, you fear the power of some sinful habit, the love of the world, ambitious desires for its pride and pomp of power are strong in you, perhaps the intoxicating cup has poured its venom through your veins, or the world's amusements wreathe their gilded chains around you, and how can you escape ; oh, how can you be and live the Christian? How can you resist these temptations and consecrate yourself to the heavenly service and self-denial of Christ's kingdom ? Look up, oh soul ! See thou one mighty to save ! One who has rescued men from debauchery and crime of every dye, and carried them in his arms, and given them strength for their day ; yea, even in martyrs' flres has made them sing the song of heaven ! When Theodore Frelinghuysen en- LIFE OF CHRIST. 239 tered the senate chamber, Judge Wayne said he came with a reputation for sincere piety ; but, said he, we thought we could langh that out of him. The force of ridicule is great ; the force of the world-power there greater still. Did he succumb, did he cease to be the Christian because he was a senator ? No ! said the judge; his quiet Christian manhood disarmed; we could not touch him. Every man respected him. Political opponents made him the arbitrator of their difficulties. His Christian integrity, his Christ-like spirit inspired even the utterly ungodly with profound esteem. Why was it? He looked to Jesus; he started the congressional prayer meeting ; he led not a few of those ambitious men to know Jesus. He worked for his master while he loved and trusted him. Unharmed, without the smell of fire, he passed the fiery ordeal, for one like the Son of Man was by his side. And you too, weak and sinful, in conflict with temptation, you too, may have this Christ to be your strength. 240 SERMONS ON THE XIV. HIS PLAN. " TJiiiik not that I am. come to destroy the law, or the prophets ; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verdy I say unto you, TUl heaven and earth jyuss, one jot or one tittle shall in no ivise jyass from the law, till all be fulfilled:'— Matthew v, 17, 18. This passage settles at once, and forever, with all who receive the words of Christ as divine truth, the fact that he had a plan of life, thoroughly understood, from the commencement of his ministry. These are not the words of one seeking after truth, or feeling his way through the world, and accommodating his con- duct to varying circumstances. They are the lofty and confident assertions of a mind that surveyed alike the past, the present, and tlie future ; that knew the precise point at which he stood — the precise relation he sustained to the kingdom of God in the special work, in all its parts, which he was to perform. The supposition that Christ was the outgrowth of the spirit of his age, as Confucius and Homer were of theirs ; that he was the creation -of circumstances, and formed his plans as did Alexander or Buddha, is not only false to his own declarations, but makes his life a sublime enigma, infinitely less susceptible of faith than the plain and consistent historic record. The greatest and the wisest men who have lived on earth and LIFE OF CHRIST. 241 wrought groat reformations, or established new sys- tems of religion, or founded great kingdoms, have never realized at the outset the work before them, or formed a well-digested plan to which they adhered with inflexible tenacity until it was executed. An idea of some kind they have had, but it was an idea looming up in fog, ill defined, and not embodied in the means by which it would ultimately become a fact. The moment they attempt to attain their object, then the providence of God comes in, and, working above them, alters, modifies, or changes entirely their pre- conceived notions of means and ends. Their plans change to suit circumstances over which they have no control, and which they could not foresee. In one di- rection, and that the very direction in which they had planned to move, obstacles insurmountable by all their genius suddenly spring up, while in another direction, never contemplated by them, a wide path is opened, facilities for progre^^s come to their assistance, and they have but to go forward to insure success. Thus divine Providence perpetually baffles the cherished plan, and forces them into new lines of action. AVhen their work is done, then we often attribute to them a wis- dom and a foresight which they never possessed ; we give to them the credit which belongs alone to the mind and power of Him in whose hands they were mere agents, blind and foolish in respect to the real work performed. Napoleon is the most remarkable intellect of the past or present. Intellectual power reached a height in him never surpassed. It was the force of abstract reasoning combined with a clear per- ception of the relation of means to ends, and a penc- il 242 SERMONS ON THE trating insight into the future, and a prodigious en- ergy of will, and a magnetic influence over men, that fitted him to plan and execute with the highest proh- abilit}^ of success. Yet how did his magniiicent ideals vanish ! How did his wisest plan issue in failure ! How did the star of his destiny — in recognizing which he blindly recognized the power of a providence above, he could neither foresee nor control — set in cloud and storm ! "When Luther nailed his theses to the church- door in Wittenberg, did he foresee the mighty re- formation that act inaugurated? When Calvin was passing through Geneva, intending to hide him- self where he could pursue his studies at leisure and mature his system of theology, Farel and Viret arrested him, kept him there, changed his plans for the future; and thus, without designing it, he became the restorer of the church in its primitive and apostolic simplicity, and organized the forces that were to save the world. When Wesley began his career he had no thought of establishing a church outside of the establishment of England; God subverted his plans and made him the organizer of a new monument to Christ, whose pro- gress and results he never foresaw. Thus in all the great leaders of the world you see mere working and planning, Avith little foresight, with but faint concep- tions of their true relations to the past or the future, altering, amending, or wholly changing their plans to meef and accommodate the providential circumstances which they could not anticipate. This is the uniform course of all these human leaders, no matter how vast their learning, how searching their intuitions, how great their force in action. But when you turn to Jesus the comparison brings LIFE OF CHRIST. 243 out a difference ubsolutely astounding. In every aspect in wliicli lie is viewed, in the object, in the plan, in the means, and in the execution, the compar- ison ceases, and the difi^'ercnce rises into a most start- ling contrast. At a single step we ascend from the natura Ito the supernatural — from the human to the divine. The more profound and varied our investiga- tions the grander and more divine does Jesus appear, until, like Thomas, touching his pierced body after the resurrection, we exclaim, My Lord and my God ! My object, to-night, is to illustrate this thought. I feel, however, that in the brief limits of a discourse it is impossible to do justice to a subject so vast and profound. I can but indicate a few of the main points in this discussion, trusting that they may assist your personal investigations into this wonderful life. I will now state, in a few words, the position which Jesus occupies, and which exalts him and his plans infinitely above all prophets, apostles, reformers, or leaders of any kind that have ever lived on earth. He assumes that he is essentially, centrally, and vitally related to the whole church in the past and in the future. He assumes that all the arrangements of God for the establishment and preservation of true religion and for the salvation of men, from the fall to that hour, had a direct reference to him as the being whose appearance they anticipate, and in whom they were all fulfilled and completed. He assumes that the vital force of redemption was all derived, during those long ages, in anticipation, from his life and death. He assumes that the Church of God in the future derives its character and its saving power wholly from him. lie stands before us 244 SERMONS ON THE with a divine comprehension of all the past, as the end of the law, its sublime fulfillment for righteousness. He stands before u« with an equally divine compre- hension of all the future, as the source of all reli- gious life and salvation to the church in all time to come. All this is involved in the text. This he de- clared in a great variety of forms ; this he taught his disciples and inspired them to unfold ; this harmonizes alike his teachings and his life ; this is justilied by the history of the old dispensation, which he closed, and the history of the law, which he opened. Let us look, now, more in detail at this subject, and see how the plan of Jesus rises right out of this dou- ble and vital relationship to the church in the past and the future. First, his relation to the past. " The law and the prophets " stand for the Old Testament dispensation. They include the history of the church from its origin; the revelations of God; the means appointed for producing and preserving religious faith, and all the preparations in the line of the Jewish peo- ple for one grand event. At the outset our first pa- rents are placed under the divine law in its simplest form. They disobe}^ this law and incur its penalty. Then commences a singular and wonderful history. They are spared and permitted to live under a proba- tion of mercy. But this exercise of mercy is based upon a remarkable fact — the fact that one should arise, who, in his own person, should vindicate the dishonored authority and law of God. Couched under the figurative language of " the seed of the woman that is to bruise the serpent's head," lies that great doctrine of a Redeemer, who in our stead is to die and bear our sins. Now, from this point we have two LIFE OF CHRIST. 245 great agencies designed to keep up and impress this idea of a Redeemer upon the minds of men and pre- pare the way for its realization, and then, after a time, a third is added to these. One of these is the prophet preacher, raised up at intervals and inspired by God himself — Adam, Enoch, ISToah, the great preacher of righteousness, Abraham, and all the long line, cul- minating in John the Baptist. These held up the idea of true religion, of faith in God and the prom- ises, of a Kodeemer-Mossiah in whom all the nations arc to be blessed. The other is the institution of blood}' sacrifices. These were given to the world in direct connection with the promised Messiah. These held forth the idea that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. These impressed upon all men the connection between a sacrilicial death and the atonement for sin. These evinced that something more than penitence was necessary to justify God in forgiving sinners. These were everywhere the types of, and the propai'ation in the minds of men, for the atonement on the cross. Then, after the flood, God separated the family of Abraham to himself, declaring to him expressly that in one of his descendants all the nations were to be blessed, and that he chose him and his posterity for the purpose of preserving his worship until that time should come; and when this family assumed the pro- portions of a nation ho gave them national laws, a national priesthood, and a separate country, expressly to isolate them from other nations and prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Then Jesus appears. lie takes into his mind this whole vast system, its prophetic teachings, it sacrilicial 246 SERMONS ON THE types, its national institutes. His mind iiashes lio^lit upon every part of it. The glosses, the traditions, the false, narrow, crude interpretations that have distorted and obscured it vanish before the suldime simplicity of his annunciations. Its grand idea with all the related ideas instantly reveal themselves. Its mysteries, its ob- scurities, its indications, its faint outlines, its sacred words are clear and full, as the whole tracing and life of the world are distinct and visible wlien the sun has risen. Nor is this all. He assumes that for his appear- ance all these preparations of the ages were made ; that this great system of agencies, laws, and revela- tions, was instituted expressly with sole reference to him and his work on earth. He assumes that he is the seed of the woman who is to bruise the serpent's head and repair the ruins of the fall; that he is the great sacrifice by whose shed blood sin is to be atoned ; that he is the seed of Abraham in whom all nations are to be blessed ; that he is the great prophet of whom Moses wrote; that he is the Son of David, who is to rule all nations and found an everlasting kingdom; that he is the sufferer of whom Isaiah prophesied, who is to bear our sins in his own body; that he is the Lord that should suddenly come into his temple, spoken of by Malachi ; and that he is the Messiah come, whom John preached. In him the. design of all the law and the prophets is completed ; up to this point all the conditions they represent, all the work they were designed to accomplish, are substantiated and an- swered and accomplished in his life. Sweep them all awa}^; prophets, laws, sacrifices, national institutes; let them perish from the earth ; their work is done, LIFE OF CHRIST. 247 their purpose fulfilled ; for lie, the Messiiili, is come who is to make all things new. Now it is obvious that this position which Christ oc- cupies in reference to the past history of the church determines liis character, his work, and tlie entire plan for its accomplishment. Just as the fruit of a tree is determined by its roots, its trunk, and its branches, so what Jesus was to be and to do was determined by his relation to all these preparations for his appearance. He must be divine as well as human, for only a divine intellect can compass this whole scheme in its infinite wisdom. His work and the plan for its execution must correspond with these vast preparations; for only thus will they completely fulfill the law and the proph- ets, and answer all the ends they design and anticipate. Christ's character and work are the central, the essen- tial part of a magnificent scheme of religion that reaches from Adam to the conflagration. But to unfold this thought more fully, we must now look at his rela- tion to the future church. In doing this, we must give the outlines of his plan and work as the Redeemer. First. He establishes a kingdom which is spiritual and universal. The fundamental idea of this kingdom is a renovated heart. At the outset of his ministry he declared this in terms the most positive and ex})licit. " Except a man be born again, he can not see the king- dom of God." " Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye can not enter the kingdom of heaven." Renewed, penitent, believing hearts are the elements and the sole elements of this kingdom. The Jew was born into the outward church; he became a member of it by inheritance. His standing in that church was determined solely by his parents. As a 248 SEEMONS ON THE Jew he was entitled to all its rights and privileges, whether he in heart truly loved God or not. Jesus abolishes this whole national system of religion. To them and to them only who "received him, gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them which - believe on him ; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Henceforth there are to be no more purely na- tional or state religions, but one church, of which only they are true members who have been born from above, who have felt and yielded to the power of a divine spirit, who, penitent for sin, have heartily re- ceived him as their Redeemer. We have seen him in the last temptation, putting away from him a visible world-kingdom, and now we see him building a purely spiritual kingdom, with no reference to blood, or rank, or nationality. Wherever in this world a soul shall be taught and heartily receive the truth as it is in Jesus, that soul has entered his kingdom. The child black- ened by an African sun, the Hindoo, the Indian, yea, whoever of our lost race, hearing the stor}^ of his life, shall believe in his heart and confess with his lips that Jesus is his Savior, is a true member of his one living, spiritual, and universal church. Forms are nothing; state lines are gone; nations, as such, are unknown. Jesus reigns over loving, believing hearts, and where these are, there is his kingdom, and over them he wields his beneficent scepter of righteousness, peace, and salvation. This universal kingdom is contemplated in the Old Testament, and associated with the coming of Messiah. But no mere prophet ever saw it in its true nature and simplicity. The wisest of the Jews ever held on to LIFE OF pHRTST. 249 their formal and \ isildo cliuri'h as the central form around which the Gentiles are to gather, and in some undefined way contribute to its glory and magnifi- cence. No mere man could have dared to abrogate and put it awaj'. For this would have been treason against God who had established it. But Jesus, the divine man, holds in his mind the true idea; he dares to announce it, and to make it a leading feature of his plan of" redemption. lie unfolds the nature of that kingdom, dimly seen in the visions of pro[»hets, and, in establishing it, revolutionizes the worship of the world. The second point in the plan and work of Christ is a life which should constitute the just basis of such a kingdom. Logically, this thought precedes the other; but I follow the order of Christ himself in his annun- ciation of it. A kingdom such as this must have a basis as broad as the world to render it possible. The life of Jesus furnishes this foundation. This divine- human life is full of weakness and power, suffering and trial on one side, almighty force on the other; tempta- tion to sin on one side, perfect obedience on the other ; hatred, malignity, all the powers of hell arrayed against it, met by divine love and compassion ; the sins of men laid on him in his last agony ; death for man taking possession of his body, followed by his tri- um})hant resurrection and ascension to glory. Jesus in his life and death, a sacrifice of obedience and suf- fering, answers the claims of the divine law, makes pardon possible, regeneration possible, a spiritual kingdom, all whose members rest on him in faith for salvation, })0ssible. This is the foundation of his king- dom. Christ lives, obeys, suffers, not as a Jew. but as a 250 SERMONS ON THE man; not for the Jew alone, but for the world. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God ; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemp- tion that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to de- clare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Here now behold the significance and the life of those bloody sacrifices instituted when man fell and flaming up to heaven for four thousand years ! Here see the grand fulfillment of the law and the prophets, as all down the ages they point with unerring finger to this divine man who is to bear sin by the shedding of his blood for the world. Where now are the bloody altars ? the priestly sacrifices ? the hierarchy of Aaron ? the temple service ? They heard the cry from the cross, " It is finished !" The real sacrifice for sin is oft'ered and bled forever. Altar, priest, temple, all crumbled to dust, while the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world, proclaims to all men free forgiveness and eternal life for every one who in hum- ble faith will receive and obey him as the Redeemer. Now a spiritual, universal kingdom is possible ; for humanity is redeemed, and faith, repenting, receiving, loving him is the sole condition of citizenship. Third. The next prominent feature of the plan and work of Christ is the revelation of truth correspond- ing to the nature of his kingdom and essential to its advancement. The Old Testament scriptures contain the germs of the future kingdom, because in efl'ect it is the same at all times. The elements of truth and LIFE OF CHRIST. 251 piety are all there. Bat as the system of Moses was itself elementary and preparative, involving many thino-s connected with the form of the chnrcli as a national institution which must pass away before the full development of the spiritual and universal church, so the scriptures must conform to that system in order to render it effective. The germs of the Messianic kingdom are there : they anticipate a better state of the church; they constantly force upon us the idea that a higher and purer life is to come. But their teachings must necessarily correspond with the imper- fect and preparatory state of the church in anticipa- tion of the appearance of Christ. Now, however, that Christ has come and his spiritual kingdom is to be established ; now that the old structure, built around the church to protect its infancy and youth, is to be taken down, there must be a new, an additional reve- lation ; the germs in the old must be unfolded in the new, and the harmony of both illustrated ; the princi- ples and constitution of this fully developed kingdom of heaven are to be revealed ; the relations of men one to another and to Jesus Christ the head are to be un- folded; tlie position of the church and its members in the world ; tlie practical doctrines and duties which belong to this higher state of universal religion; the means and agencies by which it is to be advanced and its future prospects must be set forth. Especially must Jesus Christ in his character, work, and relation to men as the chief object of faith be declared ; while the position and influence of the Holy Spirit in the new kingdom are fully implied. In execution of this plan we have four distinct records of the life of Jesus, constituting a unique and sufficient exhibition of his 252 SERMONS ON THE words, his works and his snfleriiigs; a brief history of tlie organization and establishment of the church; various epistles unfoMingthe doctrines of Christianity and their relation to Christian experience and prac- tice, and all crowned by the sublime visions of the future history of Christianity in the world of the seer of Patnios. This Kew Testament embodies the con- stitution and the laws, the faith and the practice of the kingdom of Jesus. It corresponds with the Old Testament, just as the fruit corresponds with the bud, part of which having done its work is removed, part of which as vital reiiiains. And thus this Bible is given to man by Jesus, as the only infallible and all- sufficient rule of faith and practice. Whatever is not found here, or whatever can not be legitimately de- duced from tliis, is of no binding obligation upon men ; whatever is thus found is divine truth, which the new- born citizens of this heavenly kingdom receive into their hearts as the teachings of their divine Lord. Fourth. One other feature of Christ's plan and work remains. In this kingdom Jesus himself is the immediate and living head. He is not a dead Christ, nor an abstract Christ, nor a mere prophet in heaven ; he is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the living source of all power and life to the church redeemed by his blood. In his name all his followers present their petitions to the Father. The divine Son is the only mediator between God and man. He sends the Spirit to renew and sanctify and comfort all who come to God by him. He draws man to him. lie, as once suffering in our nature, holds us in sympathy near his heart in all our trials. He gives strength to the weak and wisdom to the foolish. He sits on the LIFE OF CHRIST. 253 mercy-seat full of compassion, ami whoever comes to him as a little child never fails of success and support. In him the faith of men is to center for the pardon of their sins. Faith pleads all the promises in his name. Love swells up to him in warmest afiection. lie is the daily, hourly, ever-present, sympathizing, power- ful Redeemer of his people. By faith in him they enter his kingdom ; in faith they take up his cross and follow him as their Lord; in penitence they con- fess their sins to him and through him receive pardon and peace in their souls ; and when the waters of death rise dark and sullen around them, faith cries in tri- umph. Lord Jesus receive my spirit! Thus as the liv- ing head of his church, present to faith, he is the Captain of salvation, leading his sons to glory, guiding his people through the perils of the earthl}' life and bringing them at last to worship him on the sea of glass as the Lamb in the midst of the throne, who hath washed them white in his own blood and made them kings and jtriests unto God. These four points characterize the plan and work of Christ — a spiritual and universal kingdom, embrac- ing only the truly penitent and believing ; a life and death vindicating the law in the place of the sinner, and furnishing the basis on which this kingdom rests; a full revelation of the truth necessary to illustrate the nature and the laws of this kingdom ; and Christ himself as the only living head of this kingdom in his divine human })crson. Now, with this wonderful plan of his kingdom in view, you will see at once how it determines the gen- eral plan of his ministry and personal life on earth. (1.) Holding in his mind the idea of a spiritual and 254 SERMONS ON THE universal kingdom, he puts away from him all thoughts of a visible, temporal power. He rejects the offer by Satan of a world-crown. He will not suffer the people to make him king. He will not allow himself to be entangled in political alliances, and answers the de- ceptive questions of the Pharisees, "Render unto Caesar the things that be Caesar's, and unto God the things that be God's." He will not use the weapons of the world-power to advance his cause. " Put up thy sword. He that taketli the sword shall perish by the sword." His kingdom is spiritual ; its armor is faith ; its weapons truth and love. What has he to do with earthly crowns ? What to him is the tem- poral kingship of Judea ? The nationality of the Jew was only one of the preparations for his coming. His hand is to dash it in pieces. Its work was accom- plished in preparing the place and the people for the demonstration of his messiahship. Steadily, clearly, strongl}^ he pursues the plan of unfolding a purely spiritual kingdom, in the face of temptation, of peril, of the clamors of the people, and the indignant pro- tests of his own disciples. (2.) Holding in his mind the idea that he was to obey and suffer as the Lamb of God for the sin of the world, we see his life shaped and limited by this thought and the work it involved. Knowing, feeling that he was to be the propitiation for sin, shadowed forth by four thousand years of sacrifice, he does not hesitate to an- nounce the fall of the temple and the priesthood. " Those great stones on which the temple rested, shall not be left one upon another." This idea colors and shapes his whole life. The sadness, the tears, the deep compassion for the people in their ignorance, all LIFE OF CHRIST. 255 testify to it. lie anticipates death from the begin- ning; lie foretells it; when the fit time came, he de- liberately offered himself to it ; he institutes the sup- per ; he is sore distressed in Gethsemane ; he, who had passed through the enraged multitude at Nazareth, when they sought to cast him down the precipice, fol- lows Judas and his band to trial and the cross. This was part of the plan of his life; this the most prom- inent idea that controlled his movements; under its dark shadow he taught and prayed and suffered until the sacrifice was fully offered. (3.) But these were not all the ideas that entered into and shaped the plan of his life. For this king- dom he was to establish must have its beginning in some souls ; it must have a foot-hold, a place, an ac- tive agency, and a beginning on earth. Eejecting the priesthood, the ral)bis, the agencies of the old sys- tem, he must create all things new. He must have chosen disciples, in whom his divine authority must be thoronghly established; to whom he will teach the great principles of his new kingdom, and fit them to be the exponents of his truth, the witnesses of his life and works, and the agents for the unfolding of his gospel and the organization of his church, when he has passed into the heavens. These ideas largely shape his plan. This work requires time. Choosing his apostles at the outset of his ministry, he instructs, he elevates, he leads them up to the high position they are to occupy. Full of Jewish prejudices, narrow and limited in their views, he teaches them as little children, he lives with them, he works mighty miracles in their sight ; gradually they rise into the light. He opens 256 SERMONS ON THE to them step by step the pure and spiritual nature of his kingdom; he unveils to them as they are able to bear it the divinity of his nature; gradually, as their faith and knowledge increase, he approaches the sub- ject of his death as a sacriiice for sin, and his resurrec- tion from the grave. For months, for years, he abides with tliem, in private and iu public, making them the witnesses of his life and his miracles, and the recipi- ents of his truth. For this he often shunned public- ity ; for this he retired from the vengeful toils of the Scribes and Pharisees; for this he partially and for a time veiled the full brightness of his Messiahship. Then, when his life had a real historical foundation ; when his truth had taken possession of living men, prepared to expound it and stand by it; when his divine human nature as Messiah, shining through his life, his words, his miracles, had established itself in their faith never more to be shaken, then the time for the final scenes in the momentous tragedy and the equally momentous triumph had come; then, and not till then, he goes up to Jerusalem and ascends the cross, and, dying, works the grandest miracle of time in his resurrection and ascension. These are the ideas that shaped his whole life ; this the \)]ixn of action he orig- inates at the commencement of his ministry and fol- lows with divine prescience to its close. If, now, it should be asked whether all the little as well as the great points of his life ; whether every step, and every place, and every work, and every scene were all present in order before his humanity at the commencement, I answer that the knowledge of this fact, whatever it may be, is of no consequence. Taking the principle which I stated in discoursing to LIFE OF CHRIST. 257 you oil the divine and human, that the inferior is de- pendent on the superior, it is enough for us to know that the divine nature ilhiminated the human just so far, and only so far, as to fit liis humanit}^ for its own work. One tiling is clear. Only a divine prescience could flash ligiit on the vast [treparatory system which found its fulfiUment in him, and onl}' a divine presci- ence could open the wondrous plan of his future kingdom. In his life with divine intuition he moves forward, never changing his plans, never foiled, al- ways the same, until his work is done. There are no afterthoughts, no unforeseen obstacles, no hesitations, no stop]>i ng to reason out the best course, none of the weaknesses to which the greatest human intellects are subject. As in his teachings all is intuitive, profound, fresh, bright with divine light, so in his action all is clear, direct, each step contributing something to the final result. How grand, how sublime, how divine, does this life appear! Here is one to whom the wis- dom of God for the redemption of the ages past and the ages to come is as familiar as the alphabet of child- liood. Here is one who assumes to be the object of all the preparatory agencies and institutes of religion since the fall, and who in his life and death and resur- rection vindicates the assumption. Here is one who holds in his mind the sublime idea of a spiritual and universal kingdom, unknown to, unthought of by the wisest of men, and who in these years establishes this kingdom on real, historical foundations, Avhich its after progress and present position declare to be divine and eternal. Here is one iust enteriiiij into full man- hood, surrounded by institutions of religion divinely 22 258 SERMONS ON THE originated, consecrated by time, imbedded in tbe beart of the nation, who, rejecting all temporal power, trust- ing only to the force of truth and the spirit of God, declares their end and dooms them to utter extinction. From him as its foundation, its leader, and its life, a new kingdom of heaven rises into existence, comes forth out of the mists and concealments and sensuous coverings of the Mosaic economy, arrayed in robes of love and compassion and faith and truth, breathing only glory to God, peace on earth, and good will to rnen. This, O fallen man, is our Christ, the Christ of prophecy, the Christ of history ; the living, reigning Christ whom we adore as divine, whom we love as the incarnation of all perfection, whom we believe in as the savior of our souls from the power and penalty of sin. By his side, standing in childlike confidence, the law has no curse, death no sting, the grave no victory. Our life, hidden in his life and deriving from it new life, is purified, exalted, strengthened, comforted, pro- tected, and made victorious over all the powers of the world and the devil. Here in him is the sacrifice for sin and the way of pardon and peace ; here in him is the power which will make the weak strong for the ascent up the narrow way of life; here in him is light on all the dark scenes of time, light to scatter the gloom and darkness of the grave, light opening to us the secrets of immortality. Looking on him in faith, I find all I want to elevate, purify, enlighten, and save. In him the mighty promises are all yea and amen. He is the Captain of our salvation, leading us to glory. No wonder the four and twenty elders praise ; no won- der the saints on the sea of glass ascribe dominion and power and glory to him ; no wonder heaven rings with LIFE OF CHRIST. 2-59 the praises of the Lamb in the midst of the throne ; no Avonder martyrs and confessors liave trusted him and rejoiced in him amidst the fires; no wonder liis people in their sorrow and trials look to him for com- fort and joy; no wonder sin-convicted souls, turning from the world, cry to him for salvation ; no wonder poor penitents love him who is the end of the law for righteousness. Here, O Christian, is your prophet, priest, and king. Here, O sinner, burdened, tossed, and uneasy, full of sad anticipations, is thy cure, thy comfort, thy Savior ! Believe on him now to the sal- vation of thy soul ! 260 SERMONS ON THE XV. THE FIRST DISCIPLES — THEIR TRAINING. " Again, the 'next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples, and looking ujpon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." — John i : -35-37. The commencement of Christ's ministry contrasts strangely with its close. Unknown he emerges from the wilderness, and, mingling with the crowd, hears John testifying to his Messiahship, At his death his name is on every lip, and the heart of the nation, from Jerusalem to its remotest hamlet, throbs with tumultuous passion. He appears at the Jordan singly and without pretension. So the rill breaks from the mountain side unnoticed in its quietness — the rill that is shortly to become the mighty river, refreshing all lands and bearing on its bosom«the treasures of the world. The Urst object of Jesus in his ministry is the selec- tion and training of a band of disciples. Until this is done, nothing is really done. According to his divine plan, the organization of a society embodying his principles, and prepared to proclaim them through the world, is absoluteh^ essential. He must die, he must ascend ; the headship of the Church is divine and spiritual, in him, as dwelling at the right hand of Majesty on high. His disciples on earth are to form LIFE OF CHRIST. 261 the organic elements of liis Cliurc]i, and through them^it is to be constituted and advanced. Fully to prepare them is his first work. The general subject, therefore, on which I propose now to discourse is this : the choice of his chief disciples, and the method of Christ in training them, 1. It is an interesting fact that the selection of his first disciples was made from those who had attended on John's ministry, and were, by his instructions, pre- pared at once to attach themselves to Christ as the Messiah. Among the disciples of the Baptist there were many of the superficial, of the narrow-minded, obstinate in their prejudices, incapable of entering into the profounder views of the coming kingdom. These followed iiim as a prophet, and clung to him to the last. But there were others of broader views, of deeper religious insight, of larger receptivity, who bet- ter understood the aim of his preaching, and whose minds rested not on him but ou Him who was to come. The eti:ect of his instructions on them was, not to make iiim the center of their thoughts and hopes, but to awaken deep longings and anxious expectations in respect to Christ himself. When, then, Jesus appeared and was identified by John, they immediately attached themselves to him, " We have found the Messiah," say they, John had done his work with tliem. Their thoughts, their hearts, were full, not of John, but of Christ, They had begun to enter into the deeper meaning of tlie prophecies, and were waiting with tremulous expectation for his coming. Of these first five who seem to have been under the special tuition of the Baptist, all became subsequently apostles, and 262 SERMONS ON THE two of them, Peter and John, rose to peculiar emi- nence. There is something beautiful and fit in the fact that John should have thus prepared some of those who were to he the chief agents in the organization and establishment of the kingdom of Messiah. Jesus honored his forerunner in selecting his first disciples from those whom John had thus instructed. The prophet's work is vitally connected with the Savior's work. And while the preaching of the Baptist did much to awaken general expectation, yet if you ex- cept his direct prophetic testimony to Jesus as Messiah, the preparation of such men as Peter and John the Evangelist and their associates to receive him as Christ seems to us a work more vital and efiective than all the rest. In this world it is not popularity or fame that determines the extent and power of a per- son's real influence. It is rather the individual minds which, under his teachings, become in turn powers of light, great forces acting on others, enlightened agents in moving and molding multitudes. Monica, the mother of Augustine, gave him, her only son, to Christ. His father would have him educated to be a philosopher, a rhetorician, a man to be known in the world. Augustine passes through the schools, wins fame as an orator, becomes a philosopher, goes from one system to another, tries all, surrenders himself to pleasure, seeks rest and finds it not. His mother fol- low^s him with prayer, with gentle, winning influence, never discouraged, ever trusting in God. At length he is brought to the feet of Christ ; he enters with sublime earnestness upon the work of the ministr}- ; he speaks that which is blest to the conversion of mu- LIFE OF CHRIST. 263 titudes; he writes, and the ages listen. The influence of that mother is mightier than that of any Caesar who ever sat upon the imperial seven hills. So in the Sabbath school, in our class, some one or more minds are being formed to brighten many minds, to brighten the whole Armament of thought for hun- dreds of souls. This is man or woman's highest mis- sion, to aid in preparing human hearts to receive Jesus Christ. This was John's mission, and thus he stands vitally connected Avith the kingdom of Christ. 2. Let us now dwell briefly on the manner in which the disciples of Jesus were first drawn to him. You will notice at once that this varies in the case of al- most each individual. In the free, spontaneous life of the new kingdom there are no fixed and rigid methods in which sinners are converted. And here, at the very outset of Christ's ministr}', we have an epitome of the ways in which the power of the spirit works in bringing men into this kingdom. In the first instance, Jesus is Avalking, waiting, in holy communion with God, for the commencement of his work. The Bap- tist sees him, and })oints him out, as the Lamb of God, to two of his own disciples, Andrew and John the Apostle or Evangelist. They approach Jesus ; lie turns and asks them. What seek ye? They answer, Master, where dwellest thou ? Their hearts are full of another question ; they want to ask. Art thou the Messiah? But, in their embarrassment, they change the question to one of mere courtesy; such as they might have asked of any other person. Men are alike in the world. The things most vital to the soul, they fear to ask about ; tlie things which concern the body or this world, they are free to speak of, even to 264 SERMONS ON THE strangers; but the thoughts, the anxieties, that con- cern the soul, they bury deep in their own bosoms; they fear to converse about them ; they are unwilling to ask of a Christian friend, or their pastor: How can I find Christ, and be saved ? Jesus sees their embar- rassment. He has been waiting for them; with gentle courtesy, he bids them come and see. They follow him, and abide with him till the stars shine out. But from that hour the sun of righteousness, brighter than all the stars, the source from which all prophets re- ceived their light, has risen upon them. Henceforth they abide with Christ forever. Then appears an- other person on the stage. These disciples, full of the Savior they have found, are fired with zeal to make him known to others. For true religion is ever dif- fusive ; it is not content wiih possessing Christ alone ; it burns to win others, and put them in possession of the same precious treasure. Its element is love ; and love is like light, penetrating everywhere, seeking to give what it possesses, to make salvation common to the Avorld. And so Andrew seeks out his brother Simon ; tells him the joyful tidings : We have found Messiah ! brings him to Jesus. Then ensues a char- acteristic scene. Jesus at once apprehends his char- acter, and deals with him accordingly. Peter is bold, impetuous, strong. Christ addresses him directly with divine authority and prophetic words: Simon, son of Jonas, thou shalt be called Cephes, or a stone. To change the name is an exercise of authority. Henceforth he is no more Simon — Cephes, Petra, a -stone-man, the same. The Latin is Petra, and we angli- cize it, Peter. The church and the world ever since have known him by that name. Jonas means a dove ; LIFE OF CHRIST. 265 Peter, a stone. Simon, son of the dove, thou art henceforth a rock, on which I will build the church. Peter recognizes and bows to the master's authority. Another character appears. As Jesus moves to- ward Galilee he linds Philip. At once he issues his command : Follow me ! These words strike right in- to the heart, as if a thunderbolt had smitten him, and henceforth he is Christ's forever. He Unds Nathanael, and tells him that in Jesus of I^azareth they had found the Messiah. But I^athanael is a man of a dilterent sort from Philip — calm, cool, thoughtful ; he is incredulous. Can any good thing come out of ^Nazareth ? The idea was absurd, that out of so debased a village the true Messiah should rise. Philip says: Come and see. So says the true convert to the incredulous world : Come and see Jesus. Nathanael came. See now howdift'er- ently Jesus treats this cautious soul : Behold an Is- raelite indeed, in whom is no guile. This is no flattery ; it is simple truth. Natlianael answers : Whence knowest thou me? Jesus says: Before that Philip called thee; when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee ! He sees at once that Jesus knows him, discerns his thoughts; hath a divine intuition that searches through him. His incredulity is gone, and he exclaims: "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God ; thou art the king of Israel ! " Now here are the tirst five disciples won to him in a few hours, and by no less than four different methods. Does not this prove what I have said : that Jesus is - limited to no fixed method in the conversion of men ? This thought comes out with increasing clearness in all his subsequent life, and when we come to the his- 23 266 SERMONS ON THE tory of the Christian Church we see it everywhere illustrated in times and ways and persons innumer- able. In these days men often bind round themselves a set of rigid formalities and notions, beyond which they can see nothing good. They mark out for the Spirit of God a single path, along which He must move in the conversion of sinners. They distrust all methods of Christian activity for the salvation of men that do not harmonize with their narrow peculiarities. One thinks that conversion is the result of a long pro- cess of education ; another, that there must be a pro- tracted attendance on preaching; another, that it must be associated with certain ecclesiastical forms and manipulations ; another, that sudden conversions are always suspicious; another, that in a revival of re- ligion such results can only be expected. Now the Spirit of God is bound down to no man's method, and conforms His operations to no man's ideas of titness. The church is the product of the Divine Spirit, in- linitely free and wise, using all sorts of agencies, and bringing men into the kingdom by just such methods as He sees best; sometimes in revivals, and sometimes when there is no wide-spread interest in religion ; sometimes after years of labor, and sometimes sud- denly— like the call to Philip, flashing into the heart : Follow thou me; sometimes by means of the regular preaching of the truth, and sometimes by the regu- larly spoken truth of some seemingly feeble instru- ment. And thus it is enforced upon us that we must sow our seed by all waters; with strong hands and feeble hands ; in the church and in the sabbath-school, and in the family, and out by the waysides of life. Only we must sow in prayer; sow in tearful love; sow LIFE OF CHRIST 267 in liuniblc conlidenco in Jesus; not knowing wliether this or that shall prosper, but confident that in the end we shall return with rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us. 3. We come now to our principal subject in this discussion : the training of his disciples. And here there are two points on which we must dwell — the object and the method of this training. The object is the first; for this will control and give cliaracter to the entire process. And this is peculiar. It is noth- ing less than to secure and establish their faith in him personally. All other true teachers and reformers labor to make their schohirs proficient in science, to show them truth and how to attain it. But Christ aims at making his disciples proficient in the knowl- edge of himself. They sink themselves and exalt sci- ence ; Jesus exalts himself and sinks science. They make truth the center, and themselves only inquirers after it. Jesus makes himself the center, the way, the truth, and the life. Paul had a gigantic intellect, highly cultivated and informed with all the science of the age. But he is content to be accounted nothing, if -only Jesus may be received as embodjing in, himself the sum of all things most needful for men to know. The author of Ecce Homo has grasped this thought; but ho fails in developing the true ground on which it rests; his method of incpiiring and the limitations he places upon himself prevented a full discussion of this vital point. The answer to the question, in what re- spect and to what extent did Christ train his disciples to have faith in him, will bring us right into the heart of our subject. The answer given by his teachings, 268 SERMOiVS ON THE and by the subsequent exposition of his disciples, com- prises the following points : (1.) He sought to establish their faith in him person- ally as divine and human. This was a fact wholly per- sonal ; it was not an abstraction, not a mere tbeory, not a creation of the imagination to be inquired into and discussed as a possible or a probable thing. It was a living, concrete fact. He embodied it in his own constitution. He was the Son of Mary and the Son of God. He was divinity incarnate ; in human- ity, the Son of Man and Immanuel, God with us. This was in itself the grandest truth ever revealed to the mind of man — infinitely greater than all the facts and laws of natural or moral science, for it involved the source of all science, divine and human; it stood at the summit of all knowledge. Christ's feet were on earth, but the grandeur and glory of God himself crowned his head. No such thing as this had ever before appeared on earth. Pretended incarnations there had been, but they only revealed the longing of the noblest minds for such a being to new create and enlighten and save the world. They were but shoot- iilg-stars, meteors of a moment, flashing upon the dark- ness and then fading into night. This incarnation was the true Son rising on men, to be fixed forever in the heaven of his highest thoughts and feelings, and lighten all the race. This twofold nature in Christ was the basis of everything vital in Christianity. It invested him with supreme authority ; it imparted to all he did and suffered divine efficacy. It made him personally the proper object of faith, obedience, and love. To train them, his disciples, to revere this faith and understand its real ground, was the first great ob- LIFE OF CHKIST. 269 ject before him. Whatever else might fail, this point, the most difficult, the vital heart of all his work, must be gained. He must be established in their deepest convictions as the true and only Immannel — the Son of God and the Sou of Man. (2.) It was an important object in the training of the disciples to inform them respecting the precise relation in which Christ stood to the whole prophetic and Mosaic system of faith and practice. They were Jews ; animated by faith in their religion as divine ; incrusted round with the habits and modes of thonglit and feel- ing created by its observance. Now their sphere of thought was to be vastly enlarged ; the barriers which shut them in must be broken down; life-long habits and prejudices must be leveled. The}' are to see the past in a new light in order to appreciate their posi- tion in the present and the future. Only thus can they be prepared for the kingdom of Jesus. They are to learn that the Jewish church was but a stage in the progress of true religion, established for a special pur-, pose; that Christ himself was its end and fultillment; that he was the center of the whole system of religion ; that all the past dispensations, the Adamic, the patri- archal, the Mosaic, were only preparatory to his com- ing. They are to learn that Christ himself gave vital- ity and saving efficacy to the faith of prophets and the sacrifices of the law. Christianity in its essence was not a new thing in the workl; it was not a ne'w world just created. It was hidden in Christ at the heart of the old system of faith. It was respecting him the prophets inquired diligently when their sublime prophecies were to be fulfilled. lie was the Mes- siah of prophecy, answering in his person, life, and 270 SERMONS O^ THE work to all the demands and descriptions of centuries of inspiration. He was to fulfill every prediction and meet every purpose of the ages. All the seemingly contradictory attributes and works ascribed to liini by the prophets were to be reconciled in his person and life, l^ow that he had come, the old scaffolding was to be taken down ; national distinctions in religion are to be obUterated. The true temple is to rise in spir- itual beauty, by spiritual agencies emanating directly from him. This object was of great importance. This gained, and Christ's relation to the church of the past and the churcli of the future appeared in all its real harmony and glory. This gained, and then the way is open for the church to take its new position as em- bodying a religion for all men, while it is built upon the foundation of both prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. 3. The third object to be gained in the education of his disciples was to establish them in the faith, that his life as divine and human, and his obedience unto death constitutes the sole foundation for the redemp- tion of men. This truth, as I have said, lay hidden at the heart of the old system of faith. But now it is to come forth into light. It is to become -a fact in his- tory, and not a dimly apprehended fact in prophecy. Christ appears and lives under just the conditions suit- able for effecting this great object, dies on the cross and ascends to heaven. Henceforth not what he is to do, but what he is, and has done, is to be ground of faith in him for salvation. This fact broadens Chris- tianity and makes it cotern^inous in its provisions with the race. This truth is the vital power of all true re- ligion. This gave the temple to the torch, and Jeru- LIFE OF CHRIST. 271 stilem to the sword and plowshare of the Roman le- gions. This was the inspiration of its earliest and all its true victories. This gave a new civilization to the world. This single truth, that to the believer Christ Jesus is made of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi- cation, and redemption, throbs in the air and shines in transforming, quickening light, wherever the gospel is preached. When this truth enters the heart of a sinner, when Christ comes home to him as his Re- deemer, he sees all things in a new light, the scales fall from his eyes, the chains from his limbs ; new strength nerves his soul ; the world takes its true position, and Christ as the sun of salvation and light and power is in the center of the whole system of thought and life, around whom planets and stars and the earth all move in blessed harmony. And when once this fact was es- tablished in the convictions of his disciples, then they became soldiers of the cross ; then to live was Christ, and to die was inetiable srain. ■ 4. Then a fourth object was to train the disciples to look to him as the source of all power necessary for them iu their work. He is the head, they are the body ; he is the bridegroom, they the bride ; he is the vine, they the branches; he is the king, they his sub- jects; he is the light and the truth, they his scholars; he the Redeemer, th^y his ransomed people. All prayer is to be offered in his name. He is to send them the spirit to guide them into truth, prepare them to expound it, and give them a personal victory over sin and death. He is the captain of salvation, leading many sons to glory. He is the author and finisher of taith to whom they must look. He is the sympathizing High Priest, ever making intercession for them and 272 SEEMONS ON THE calling them to the mercj-seat, that they may obtain mercy and find grace in every hour of need. All power in heaven and earth is given to him, and in him they have all things. In such variety of forms is the head- ship of Christ over the church expressed. Types, fig- ures, metaphors, language itself seems almost exhausted in the etfort to describe his vital relation to his dis- ciples in all the conditions of their life. They were to learn this truth, learn it experimentally; it must be established in them as firmly as the heart itself. They must breathe this faith as their vital air; they must live in it as the source of all their power. These were the objects Jesus purposes in the training of his dis- ciples. Christ as divine and human. Christ as the end and fulfillment of the law and prophets. Christ as the Redeemer of the world. Christ as the ever liv- ing bead of the church. Now all these objects are personal. They all center in the nature, relations, and work of Christ himself. You see why he trains his disciples to exercise faith in him personally ; why he is the way, the truth, and the life. Other men, philosophers, taught their disciples to interrogate nature and discover its laws. Jesus, rising infinitely above them, teaches his disciples to know him^ — him the superior of nature, the center of a sphere of knowledge beyond nature, the life in the soul, the power on the throne, who held all natural forces as his servitors, who dwelt in the light of God and brought it down to men, who solved the great problems of man's destiny, illustrated the divine laAV, atoned for sin, revealed the future life, and gave power to all who received him to become sons of God. The author of " Ecce Homo" could not have gone into the LIFE OF CHRIST. 273 real reasons why Christ differed from all other teachers in training his disciples to have faith in him and make him their Lord, without at once emerging into the sunlight of his divinity. No other being ever existed ■who dared make such demands upon the faith of his disciples. No other being, if lie had done so, could have justified them on grounds which millions of re- deemed souls feel to be infinitely worthy. Such then is the great object of Jesus in training his disci[)lcs to establish their faith in him personally in all these re- spects. Let us look now at the method of his training. First, the principles of discipleship he laid down were most strict and exclusive. Supreme loyalty to him in all circumstances must be exercised. If a person became his disciple, he must yield himself absolutely to his au- thority in all things. He claimed not only the right to control the outward life, but the heart itself. A man must love him more than father or mother, wife or child. He must be prepared to meet all difliculties in his service, even to the sacrifice of life ; he must deny himself daily, and take up his cross and follow him. No general ever exacted such faith and obedi- ence from his soldiers as Jesus demands from his dis- ciples; for the general's commands reached only to acts — Christ's reach all through and around the soul. AVhen one came to him professing a readiness to fol- low him, after he had buried his father, he said, "Let the dead bury their dead;" and in another case he rebuked the divided spirit which sought to combine otljer concerns wiih his service, saying, "No man ha\ ing placed his hand to the plow and looking back, is tit for the kingdom of God." This w^as the princii>le 274 SERMONS ON THE that sifted out the frivolous, the time-servers, the peo- ple who followed him only to see his mighty deeds, with no just appreciation of his character and no true faith in him as Messiah. He placed himself and his service on a divine platform at once. He thus edu- cated his disciples up to a strong living faith in him as their real king and spiritual head. He placed himself above Moses and the prophets, above the high priest and sanhedrim, above Pilate and the Caesar, and made the relation of a disciple to him more vital, com- manding, and obligatory than any other in the world. And this was then, as it is now, the only true and fit position for any person to occupy who is to live and be saved by Jesus Christ as a divine Redeemer. A man must follow Jesus as a little child; he must put away his self-dependence and worldly attachments. He must hold all his earthly relations in subordination to his relation to Christ. This is the path of faith; this the point up to which Jesus is educating every one who receives him ; and by at once magnifying their relations to him as supreme, he placed discipleship on the only true ground ; he put them in a condition to attain fuller faith in him and learn of him the truth respecting his person, character, and plans, and the real nature of his kingdom. To see still further the process of training we must look at his manner of life. He did not do as the rabbis and philosophers did — gather a number of pupils in one place, and then from day to day exercise their minds on hard intellectual problems. He was a man of the people; his mission was to save souls and not to amuse or cultivate the intellect. The truth was in his life, and this life was the life of the world. He LIFE OF CHRIST. 275 liad no fixed and permanent abode. Ills headquarters may have been at Capernaum, but his Hfe was mainly spent out among tlie people. He preaches the gospel all round the Sea of Galilee, in all the towns and vil- lages of northern Palestine ; he goes to Jerusalem, and discourses to the crowds collected at the great feasts ; he does not disdain to visit the Samaritans and win some souls among that ruined people. He declared to one who offered to follow him: "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." In all these journeys his chosen disciples accompanied him ; they shared his fare ; they walked and rested with him, and witnessed all his life. (1.) Here, then, at the outset, we may say, the}' were brought into the closest intimacy with him and were subject to his unconscious ~ influence ; for there flows from ever}- person an unconscious influence, the result of his spirit and life, that aftects those intimate with us. This influence is often mightier in molding others than even our spoken words and prominent acts. You can not define, 3'ou can not lay hold of it and analyze it, any more than you can the influence of the breath of spring. You can only feel it. And Christ designed, by thus keeping his disciples by his side, to make them thoroughly acquainted with himself. He has no mock official dignity, which hides the native weakness from the view of men. He is open, simple, accessible, descending to their level. He is brotherl}', affectionate, gentle, heavenly. They hear him pray; they sec him weep. They feel the beatings of his compassionate heart. They seem to be almost con- scious of the divine fullness of power and benevolence 276 SEEMONS ON THE and wisdom that flow from him. Thus they come to know him and feel his influence in the most intimate relations of life. (2.) In connection with this you see how Clirist in- ducts them into the true method of advancing his kingdom. His kingdom is to he set up in the hearts of the people; it is to he a salvation for all men. And Jesus does not confine himself to one class or place; he goes round from village to village, healing the sick and preaching his gospel. He does not wait for them to come to him; he carried the gospel to them. He repels no one ; the publicans and the har- lots are as dear to him as scribes and priests. He goes into their houses, reclines at their tables, heals their loathsome diseases, spreads beneflcence and light all round them. Thus did he train his disciples to un- derstand how the gospel is to be spread among men. And this method they afterward adopted, and the world feels their power. The church at this day has, to some extent, forgotten her Master's example. But when she shall gird herself for this work of preaching Christ persistently to the poor, then the millenium will come. (3.) Another advantage this method aftbrded, was that his disciples heard all his public discourses. These were called out by various occasions, and thus they have such variety. (4.) Then this intimacy of life enabled him to give them in private such special instructions and such ex- planations of his [tublic discourses as otherwise they could uot have obtained; and in these ways a vast amount of truth is given to them. (5.) Walking thus with Jesus, they witnessed his LIFE OF CHRIST. 277 miracles ; they knew the occasions on which they were wronght ; they saw the divine power and love mani- fested in them. (6.) Then, in addition to all this, Jesus occasionally sent them forth to preach the truths they had begun to learn. lie would have them try their powers. As the eagle thrusts a fledgling from the nest, and, when its little wings fail, flics under it and bears it up and then lets it try again, so Jesus taught them, tested them, sustained them in preparation Ibr the time when he should be taken from them. (7.) Walking thus with him, taught thus by him, molded by his deity, brought into most intimate knowledge of his character, at length they follow him to Gethsemane, to Calvary, to Olivet, and the discip- line is complete. Behold the result ! These once unlearned Jews, full of national prejudices, narrow- minded, of no account, without power, suddenly ap- pear on the stage of action powers of light. Iiitellec-, tual, fervid, bold, broad-minded ; they begin to preach a crucitied and risen Savior. The attention of the world is arrested. At Jerusalem flrst, thousands arc converted ; then, scattered by persecution, they carry the light of redemption through the realms of pagan- ism and science, everywhere planting churches, and sowing the seed of future harvests. And thus Christ's choice and discipline of his early disciples is vindicated as divine wisdom, and, like all his words and works, proclaim him to be in truth the Son of God, the Savior of the world. And now let us learn the lessons taught us in this rapid survey of our subject. 1. God uses .one person to prepare those who may 278 SEEMONS ON THE be converted by the agency of another — parents, teachers, private Christians, ministers. 2. The whole discipline of Christ is designed to lead us to have faith in him personally. 3. The Gospel is to be applied to the poor of his Clmrch. 4. Jesus now calls each of you to follow Ijim. LIFE OF CHRIST. 279 XVI. THE "CALLING OF THE APOSTLES. " And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God; and ivhen it ivas day he called unto him his dis- ciples, and of them he chose ticelve ivhom also he named apostles."— Luke vi : 12, 13 ; Mark iii : 13 ; Matt, x : 2. The choice of his apostles was one of the most important steps taken by our Savior in the establish- ment of his kingdom. On them his kingdom is to be built in a high sense. They are to constitute the ex- position of his life, the organization of his church, the standard-bearers of his elect host ; through them his church is to receive its form and life. They must be men pre-eminently iitted for this great work. Dis- ciples he had of various characters, of different de- grees of knowledge and faith. But it is not every disciple that is iitted, or that can be fitted to be an apostle. These men must be cbosen from the mass after a deep insight into their capabilities and characters. Most of them had been with him for several months, perhaps for more than a year. The time had come when they must be set apart to their office and fully trained for its momentous responsibilities. Precedent to this, we get a glimpse of the inner life of Christ himself He will not take this step without prayer. He retires alone into a mountain. It is night. The 280 SEEMONS ON THE multitudes that daily thronged his path are buried in sleep. Away from the eyes of men, he is closeted alone with God. The stars come out and look down upon him with their mild and tranquil light. All nature is hushed into repose. Jesus alone wakes; Jesus alone prays. Humanity, with all its sins, its sorrows, and its future woe, is present to his heart; the future of his church, struo-gling ever like himself with hostile inHuences ; a light of love and faith, amidst storms and darkness, is in his eye. The disci- ples he is about to select to sustain to this church relations vital and fundamental, pass before him in their history. Their living testimony, their perils, their sorrows, their success, and their bloody end are all before him. Ah! who shall unfold either the rap- ture or the sorrow ; the purity, the fervor, the nearness of that approach to God, when the man Christ Jesus thus held communion with the Father. The silent stars roll on, the hours fly by, and still the divine man is in heaven, breathing forth his soul in prayer. Then, as the sentinels of night retire, and the light of morn flashes on snow-crowned llermon, and one by one the lesser hills catch the coming radiance, he comes forth wnth a divine light in his heart, and on his brow a spiritual radiance, to perform the duty of the hour! Oh! ye who scoft" at Christianity! ye wdio never pray ! would that ye could but look, for an instant, into the heart of this sublimest man as he com- munes with God. Oh! methinks that one glance, but one, would soften your stony hearts, would open to you the sad and fearful state of him who never prays. Jesus returns to his disciples. With a thorough LIFE OF CHRIST. 281 . . . A . knowledge of their characters and capacities, he selects twelve to be liis apostles. The number chosen is not indifferent. He recognizes in this the funda- mental organization of the Jewish state into twelve tribes. This number is sufficient for the object in view; a larger number could have accomplished no more. It was a convenient number for him to train and keep near his person and instruct privately. Double or thrice the number would only have embar- rassed him. These were to be his private family, and hence the limitation of the number to suit the pur- pose. They were to be apostles — the sent — the mes- sengers of the Lord. The term is, in two or three instances, applied to others. Paul, in his second epis- tle to the Corinthians, viii : 23, calls the brethren with him apostles, your messengers. In the epistle to the Philippians, ii : 25, he terms Epaphroditus your mes- senger or apostle. But with these exceptions the term is applied specially to denote those chosen directly by Christ himself. This is the ground on which Paul bases his claim to be an apostle. He had been super- naturally called and set apart by the Savior for his Avork. "Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus Christ, our Lord?" "Paul, an apostle not of men, neither by men, but by Jesus Christ." — 1 Cor. ix ; Gal. i: 1. These twelve persons then are chosen by Christ to be his apostles. A special responsibility is at once laid upon them. They may not, at first, have realized the extent of this responsibility or the full character of the work they are to perform. As yet they but imperfectly discerned the true character of their master ; they saw not yet the nature of that king- 24 282 SEEMONS ON THE doni he was to establish, and in the establishment; of which they were to be most prominent as his agents. But they feel the responsibility of a peculiar relation- ship to him and his work. They were chosen for some high object, and this object would unfold itself as time passed on. What was this object. We gather it from the de- clarations of Christ and his apostles afterward, and from the work they actually performed. Mark states ]t in part, yet in substance. First, he says that they might be with him. This implies that they were to constitute his family, his special attendants, who were to care for his wants and keep him from the rude con- tact of the people. But it means vastly more than this. In attending Jesus they would witness all his mighty deeds, the outgoings of his benevolence in works of supernatural power. They would listen to his public discourses ; they would see his spirit and manner in his interviews with all classes of the people, Pharisees and Sadducees, publicans and sinners, devout believers waiting for the consolation of Israel, and scofMng scribes waiting to catch something objectionable from his lips. His public life, his intercourse with the world, they would witness. But something more than this is contained in these words. Almost every man has two lives, or two phases of life. Before the public he is one thing; in private he is another. He has a cos- tume for outdoors which he puts oS in the house. Per- fect transparency of life is exceptional in this world. Men are not generally what they seem. The same man who is the life of business and the social circle, when shut up with a few individuals for weeks becomes stu- pid and tiresome. How often marriage dispels the LIFE OF CHRIST. 283 brightness of antenuptial life! Sometimes, indeed, it reveals hidden excellencies we liardh- suspected. It is a common remark that a long voyage, where a few persons are tlirown together for months, gradually brings out this inner life, and it is only after this most intimate intercourse that all the aspects of a person's character and his deepest spirit are revealed. These chosen ai)Ostles were to be with Jesus for this very purpose. They are to hold the most intimate and cher- ished intercourse with him under all circumstances, by night and by day, as he walked and as' he rested, sur- rounded by multitudes or retired from the woi-ld. Above all tilings it was essential that they should know Christ. His nature was peculiar, his character excep- tional. It was not a formal creed they were to learn, but Jesus himself. Kenan has well said, that Jesus "did not preach his opinions, he preached himself." He was their creed. His nature, his spotless character, his words and acts outflowing from them, were the truth and the life. Unlike any other teacher, he taught them to know himself. Other men might be worse or better than their creed. The creed might be true, the man false. But Jesus Christ in his nature and life is the sum of all Christianit}'. To understand this nature and appreciate this life were essential to qualify them to be his apostles. They must be with him in intimacy just as close as it was possible to be here on earth ; they must breathe the atmosphere of his spirit; they must see the outflashings of his soul; they must feel the beatings of his heart; the}' must sit at his feet sur- rounded by the tempered glories of the divine nature; they must have unvailed to theyi the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person; 284 SERMONS ON THE they must see all round this wonderful, iiiiiqiie person. In such tender intimacy, amidst all the circumstances of public and private life, circumstances at times try- ing and fearful, if there was a defect they would see it; if there was a discord in the harmony of this di- vine man they would hear it; if there was anything that was not sincere, real, pure, they would know it. Here in this same tender, varied, constant communion with Jesus, was the secret of apostolic knowledge and strength. The knowledge of himself was the highest attainment they could make. You recollect how this thought is brought out at the last supper : " Philip saith unfo him, Lord, show us the Father and it sufiicfeth us. Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father !" Was there ever on earth another being in human form that could truth- fully make such an assertion and appeal? Oh ! Philip, hast thou been living so long amidst this supernal brightness and yet has not thy dull spirit opened to take in the sublime fact that in this Jesus the express image of God in his infinite perfectness is revealed to thee in the only way in which the finite can see the infinite? The time came when all this was clear to the amazed disciple ; when all this treasured knowl- edge of the life of Jesus opened itself to these apostles in all its sublime proportions, its vast significance, its perfect harmony; when, instinct with this truth and informed with this life, they preached an incarnate God, a crucitied, risen, and ascended Eedeemer. iSText, you will noti^^e Mark says he ordained them, that he might send them forth to preach. To LIFE OF CHRIST. 285 preach is to testify, to declare the" truth. Jesus shortly after this sent them forth to preach in the towns and villages of Israel. But this preaching was limited to the announcement of the fact that the Messiah had come. It was little more than a repetition of the Baptist's testimony. They could not enter into the nature and work of the Messiah. They were as yet ignorant of that nature and work. They were still in the twilight. Indeed the grand facts on which the kingdom of Christ rested were yet in the future. It was not until the cycle of these facts were comj^lete in the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord, that they were able fully to understand the truth as it is in Jesus — the truth which constitutes the glorious gospel of the grace of God. Even this truth, an- nounced to them by Jesus in words, they could not appreciate until it became a fact ; they could not tes- tify to it, though they had believed it, any more than Columbus could testify to the existence of a western continent, however strong his conviction of it, until he had set his foot upon it. But the grander facts of redemption entered slowly their minds and hearts when Jesus declared them. It was not till they had witnessed them they were prepared to testify to them. Then they stood forth loitnesses for Christ. Then their real mission as preachers of the Gospel commenced. As witnesses of his life, his character, his teachings, his miracles, his death, his resurrection and ascension, twelve men were better than twelve hundred. Their testimony would be clearer, more definite, more con- clusive. As tlie preaching witnesses of Christ, they declared the truth and laid the foundations of that Church which now advances to possess the world. 286 SERMONS ON THE And this is one of the great objects for which they were chosen. To these two objects Mark adds a third : and to have power to heal diseases and cast ont devils. This means that they were to be the special recipients ©f supernatural power to qualify them for their work. This power was given them to a limited extent during Christ's life. You remember how they returned from one of their preachiug tours with joy and informed the Master of the miraculous works they had per- formed. But all this was only to educate them to ex- ercise faith in Jesus as the source of this power. And sometimes, when faith was weak, their power was gone. Then they ask, " Why could not we cast him out ?" and the answer is, " Oh ! ye of little faith 1" This was the school in which Christ was teaching them confidence in him as possessed of divine power. Step by step he was advancing them in the knowledge of himself; day by day he was laying the foundations of faith in him broader and deeper. The supernatural power he gave them was just sufficient for this object- This power is never given superfluously. A fearful responsibility goes with it, which only a strong faith can sustain. But when Christ's work was done, and all this preparatory training was finished, then there was given to them supernatural endowments of the most wonderful character. These were threefold. First came a special mental illumination, the gift of super- natural discernment, knowledge, and wisdom. You recollect how Jesus had promised them, in view of his own departure, the presence of the Paraclete, the Com- forter, the Holy Ghost ; how he had told them that this divine Spirit should bring all things he had taught them to their remembrance, and guide them into all LIFE OF CHRIST. 287 truth, Kow this was one of the most remarkable promises ever uttered ; the fulfillment of it most essen- tial to the successlul establishment of the kingdom of Jesus. It is one of those parts of the life of Christ which most men pass lightly over ; but it was in itself the very force that was necessary to give form and vitality to the whole scheme in the minds of men. There is nothing in the life of Jesus that brings out his prescience and his power more luminously than this promise and its fulfillment. The inspiration of the New Testament all R[»rings out of this promise ; the earl}^ victories of the truth are all due to it. Jesus would not have his apostles commence their ministry until they had received it. "Tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." They were plain men, uneducated in worldly science. Their memories were treacherous ; tjieir views of truth fragmentary and imperfect. But when this super- natural power rested on them, then the thoughts, the teachings, the works of Jesus came back to them and ranged themselves in divine order round the Savior, ministering each something to the completeness of his Avisdom and the object of his life. Parables, predictions, mysterious declarations respecting himself and iiis kingdom, all at once stood revealed in a divine light. The wondrous scheme of redemption, so dark before, and he, its source and center, so mysterious in the paradoxical union of attributes divine and human, now are all flooded with a heavenly radiance. His birth, his life, his deatii, his resurrection, are enigmas no more. They are all consistent parts of the divine truth foretold in proiihecy, revealed in Christ as the Savior of the world. Associated with this endowment 288 SERMONS ON THE was the gift of utterance. This had been specially promised. Jesus had dechired that lie would be to them a mouth and wisdom whicli the adversaries could not gainsay — they were not even to consider what answer they would make when put on trial be- fore magistrates, for he would teach them in that hour what to say. This gift of utterance is wholly distinct from the gift of knowledge. Many- a man has pro- found science who is incapable of so presenting what he knows as to interest and impress the people. Many a lawyer is able in liis office but utterly fails before a court and jury. Jeflerson was an able writer, but a miserable speaker. Washington had a solid judg- ment, but no power in utterance. The power of speaking impressively demands a combination of qual- ities— the right temperament, quick susceptibilities of emotion, a creative imagination, clear perceptions of truth and of the best mode of presenting it, the gift of language, and all these iield in command, like well- trained and spirited coursers, obedient to the slightest wish of the driver. . And when this power is possessed in large measure and is united with a clear and pro- found intelligence, then its possessor wields a more than regal power, a power the highest ever given to men ; then his utterances move the people, lead them on into action or knowledge, inspire new ideas, illus- trate the iiistory of nations, and live as elements of thought and influence long after he has gone from the scene. Few such men, endowed in the highest degree with these associated gifts, have lived on earth. But their names are written broadly on the history of the world. Now, without this gift, the apostles, with all their LIFE OF CHRIST. 289 knowledge, would have been utterly incompetent for their work. They were to preach Christ and him crucilied. They were to teach publicly thousands. They were to combine, illustrate, enforce truths novel, profound, unheard of, foreign to all science, opposed to the depravities, the philosophies, the religious habits and systems of the age. It w^as the pulpit, the living voice, the clear utterance, that was to infuse the ideas of the gospel into the minds of men. These men, inspired with a new spirit, filled with the divine knowledge of Jesus, gifted with an utterance fitted to the thoughts that possessed them, were to come in living contact with human souls, stand face to face with the powers of darkness, speak the truth before nobles and peasants, before philosophers and supersti- tious" slaves, before Jews and pagans. This truth is to be uttered, not as philosophers reasoning, not ditfi- dently, hesitatingly, blindly, but in bold, clear state- ments, in fervid addresses, with an intense earnestness and confidence and adaptation to these various classes befitting the great salvation. Yet this gi4"t was not theirs by nature. They had not been trained in the schools to exercise what native talent they possessed. But when the hour for the bestowment of this special gift came, they found a new^ power developed within them. Tongues of sacred flame rested on them, and no orator, however gifted, however carefully trained, ever spake with such power as these fishermen of Galilee. And thus another great object of Jesus in ordaining them to be his apostles w^as accom- plished, and they became pre-eminently preachers of his gospel. 25 290 SEEMONS ON THE To seal all these endowments and attest their truth, and awaken attention to their words and confirm be- lievers, the special power to perform supernatural works directly affecting others, like the healing of dis- eases, Avas conferred upon them. All these things prepared them to be witnesses of Christ, preachers of his truth, the organizers of churches, the propagators and defenders of the faith, the foundations on which the church is built, Christ himself being the chief cor- ner-stone. We come now to the remaining point of our discus- sion, the persons chosen to be apostles. They all lived in Galilee, and most of them around and near to the sea of that name. Their education, was provincial, their manners rude, their culture limited, their habits simple, their very speech defective. They were out- side of the literary and religious center of the nation. Galilee was a name of reproach. They spoke the language of the time with a provincial accent. Peter is charged with being a Galilean because his speech beti"ayed him. The apostles were all spoken of as unlearned men. None of them had sat at the feet of Gamaliel; they had access to none of the chief sources of culture. They were neither familiar with the elab- orate legal learning of the Pharisees, nor with the more secular science of the Sadducees. They were neither priests nor rabbis. They were simply plain, unlettered countrymen. Some of them, and of those most of the leading minds, were fishermen. Now sailors, the world over, are remarkable for simplicity, boldness, rudeness of speech and manners, and inde- pendence of thought and action. That miniature ocean was the school for hardy, fresh, self-denying LIFE OF CHRIST. 291 natures, where, outside of the schools in their solitary avocation, they nourished simple thoughts, and gained boldness and independenee in conflict with the forces of nature. And the question at once challenges an answer, why did Jesus select such men for his work, instead of some of the masters in Israel like Xicodemus? Why did he pass by the men of social and literary culture; men familiar with the whole circle of Jewish knowl- edge, able in speech, elevated in position, and capable of bringing to any cause they might espouse not only the force of their own high attainments, but an influ- ence already strong in the nation ? The answer to this question displays, like all the other works and words of Jesus, his profound wisdom. What was his object in the choice of his apostles ? Was it to ally to himself men already fllled with the forms of a system he came to overthrow ? or was it not to make a new creation; to establish himself, his life, his words, his character; his thoughts in minds prepared to receive them ? They were to be witnesses to facts, and those facts were largely in opposition to the whole current of the theology and science of the time. They were to be the expounders of these facts, and not of effete traditions and philosophical speculations. The}' were to be men of faith, and he was to be the center, the substance and the life of that faith. He could teach them more true science than all the world knew. His object was to fit them to put the science of himself into the minds of men, and in the process to nullity and put away as useless nine-tenths of what the world called -science. And for this purpose he must have minds simple, fresh, receptive of truth, ready to re- 2^2 SER3I0XS OX THE ceive, bold to avow, strong in faith, hardy in maintain- ing it. But these master-minds, these cultured Jews, were tilled with false ideas, and these ideas impeded faith and distorted the tnith he announced. They were too wise in their own conceits to come down to the simple love of a disciple of Jesus. And when faith began it was so battered and deadened by their false method of reasoning and their habits of resting on human traditions that it had only a sickly existence. These, too. were the minds that in their literary pride and exclusiveness were deficient in the humility, the boldness, the self-deuial which Christ demanded of his apostles. See Xicodemus slinking round by night to converse with Jesus: see him reasoning on his natural principles about the new birth I Was such a man, with his habits and timidity, fit to be an apostle ? Xo. It is the simple-hearted, the fresh, untainted natures in which Christ must install himself and the grand facts of his redemption. Using such agents for the establishment of his Church, he demonstrated its in- dependence of all forces save those animated directly from himself. He took his stand outside of all exist- ing organizations ; he borrowed neither light nor power from the existing theologies and sciences ; he shone himself as the true light, and he gave his apostles power to reflect this light on the world. And just here I may say in passing that Christ's method of advancing his kingdom is quite analogous to his plan in choosing his apostles to lay the founda- tions of this kingdom. With rare exceptions, the men who have been most distinguished as successful ministers of Christ were early called to his service, be- fore their habits of thoutrht and feeling had become in-' LIFE OF CHRIST. 293 durated and embarrassed by time. Paul is taken in his youth, when his passionate nature was receptive of new truth ; when his cultured mind was susceptible of new ideas, and his whole fervid soul could take the im- pression of the divine image. And so all down the Church's history ; the mighty reformers, preachers, the men who gave an impulse to multitudes, were early brought under the power of divine truth. These apostles themselves, with the exception of Peter, were still young, and all of them were like children under the influence and teacliing of their divine Master. They were not the men to master a system of scientific theology, and Christ wrote no such system. But they were just the men to receive the full impress of the life and teachings of the Master: they were just the men to take in and attest the facts of this life ; and when the gifts of divine illumination and utterance were given to them, these were better fitted than rabbis and priests and Gamaliel would have been to preach those grand facts in all their simplicity. There is one other aspect of this subject which in- dicates the peciiliar wisdom of the choice of these men to be apostles. There was a marked diversity of natural endowments among them. Some were pas- sionate and inifietuous, like Peter; some were profound and philosophic, like John ; some had peculiar exec- utive power, like James; and some were cautious and prone to doubt, like Philip and Thomas. Xow, in a body of men who were to be the witnesses of truth and its preachers, it was of great importance that they should not be all of the same stamp ; that diftbrent natures should receive the impress of Christ, and thus reflect the diflerent aspects of his character and life. 294 SERMONS ON THE One was the complement of another, and the whole together formed a perfect representation of humanity in its divine aspects. When such men testified,- as they had seen and heard Jesus, their testimony is the strongest, the most complete conceivable. And here, too, we see the wonderful wisdom of the Master in selecting just such men to be the foundation of his Church. One there was, indeed, one whose dark char- acter brightens all the rest ; one of whom I must speak more at length hereafter ; one, too, whose remorseful testimony, wrung from his tortured soul, stands out as a witness for the immaculate purity of the Son of God. And now, leaving this course of thought, look at the wonderful contrast exhibited by these men before the crucifixion and after the ascension. How w^eak and blind they are ; how slow to take in the sublime teachings of the Master; with what difficulty faith rises to lay hold of his promises and predictions ; how they doubt and tremble at the pros})ect of his de])art- ure; how dim is that kingdom he declares is to come; how Peter, the stoutest heart of them all, can deny him in the Hall of Caiaphas. But look a little further. The day of Pentecost has come. Who is that facing thousands ; charging home the guilt of having cruci- fied the Christ of God ; preaching salvation through his blood to convicted souls? The same Peter who, a few days ago, denied his God, with coward lips. I^ow the night and the twilight are gone ; now the life, the words of Jesus assume their true position and glory ; the kingdom has come. Henceforth they preach, they pray as in his presence; they move fearless amidst all earthly perils. Faith is triumphant, love is tri- umphant; the world hears their voice and feels a new LIFE OF CHRIST. 295 life breathed into' its dead soul. Churches rise east, west, north, and south ; for Christ is risen, and Christ is in them the hope of glory. Last Sabbath we cele- brated the crucifixion ; to-day millions rejoice in the resurrection. Christianity founded by these apostles, under the guidance and inspiration of their divine Re- deemer, still lives. It has encountered fierce antago- nists ; it has passed through fearful corruptions ; it has borne the burden of many a pagan superstition laid on it by false friends to crush out its life. It lives still ; it has come forth refined and pure and mighty from all its conflicts. The burning bush is not consumed. The word of God is the same light, and Jesus is the same mighty Redeemer. Who are you that think the scoffer's aha! aha! the skeptic's sneer, the traitor's kiss, the monarch's scepter, the sciolist's science, shall avail to brand these apostles as imposters and discrown the Messiah of God? As well stay the rushing cur- rent of the Mississippi, as well freeze the sun in its orbit and darken its light forever. The power that chose and trained and endowed these apostles is mighty still. The days of Pentecost will yet be renewed ; yea, even now, thousands in our own and other lands are crying— What shall we do to be saved ? Here in this house some of you arc trembling under the burden and beginning to ask for Jesus of Calvary. It is time you trifled no longer with a divine Redeemer; it is time you began to realize that you have an immortal soul to be damned or to be saved; it is time you knew how terrible a life of unbelief is in the dark, swift ap- proaching future : it is time you ceased to halt between two opinions; it is time you began to think of the wrath as well as of the mercy of the Lamb, of the 296 SERMONS ON THE justice as well as the merey of GocL It is time you listened to that voice which doomed Capernaum and Bethsaida to a deeper hell than Sodom and Gomorrah. It is time you understood that your prayerless respect- ability and morality: and intelligence are preparing you for a deeper plunge into perdition. It is time you un- derstood that man's chief end is to obey God and enjoy Jxim forever. It is time you renounced this world as your portion, and as a penitent sinner opened youF heart to Christ as your only and all-sufficient Savior. Hei'e I leave you. A power mightier than mine must bring you into the kingdom or you are lost forever. LIFE OF CHRIST. 297 XVII. THE APOSTLES (nO. 2). " Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God: and are built iipo7i the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- stone.''— Ephesians ii : 19-20 ; Matthew xviii : 18 ; John XX : 23 ; Rev. xxi : 14 ; Luke xi : 52; 1 Pet. ii : 5, 6. The object of these discussions on the " Life of Christ" has been to unfold bis real character, life, and work; to show historically just what he was, and in the liglit of facts evince the superhuman, the divine character of Christianity as a system of salvation. My object has not been controversial. Limiting myself to facts admitted by all who accept the Bible as a fully inspired revelation, whether they belong to the Grreek, the Eoman, or the Protestant Church, I endeavor to show how these facts justify the faith of all Christians in the divine wisdom and power of Jesus as the Re- deemer of men. The facts themselves are clear, and must be accepted by all who claim to be Christians. The deductions which I make from these facts, every man exercising the true lil)erty of a rational being must judge of whether or not they are just. Early in the life of Christ we came upon his choice of disciples ; a little later we tind him selecting twelve apostles. And as I have discoursed to you on both these topics. 298 SERMONS ON THE it seems to me best to fiuisli what I have to say on these, and then return directly to the history of the Savior. The position and work of the apostles enters largely into the wisdom of Christ in the establishment of his church and connects itself with his whole life. In my last discourse I spoke more particularly of the object of Christ in calling the twelve apostles. I pro- pose in this to show j^ou their true position in relation to the future church. In doing this, it will be no dis- advantage to US to restate some things I then said. The apostle Paul states, in the text, the general po- sition of the apostles. Ye are built upon the founda- tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. Here you will notice three things : (1.) Christ is the chief. He is the true, ultimate foundation. He is the primary authority, the inspiring and vital power of Christianity. He is ■^ the Son in his own house; Moses, one of these proph- jjJ>^, '. ets, is a servant. He is the true builder ; apostles are jjj^^ ^ his workmen. He is the vine ; apostles, like all Chris- yfy^^ ■ tians, are only branches. He is the beginner and Hn- isher of faith. They only exercise faith in him. (2.) The apostle connects the prophets with the apostles. He does not join the priests with them, but the prophets. He teaches these converted Ephesians that the church in the past and present is one ; that Jesus is vitally re- lated to it in all its history ; that it has not grown up suddenly in that age, but that its roots strike down far back in the past. And (3.) He says of both prophets and apostles that they constitute the foundation on which all Christians are built. !N^ow we know well what the prophets did and what they were empowered to do ; we know how thev stood as witnesses for God; how LIFE OF CHRIST. 299 they proclaimed the truth ; how they prophesied of Christ; how they settled the constitution of the Jew- ish church ; how they wrought miracles in attestation of their message ; how they kept alive the true faith in the midst of the wild sea of idolatry that perpetu- ally threatened to submerge the people of God. And in this way, as the repositories and preachers of divine truth, especially in connection with a coming Messiah, they laid the foundations of religion. But what power did the apostles possess and what work did Jesus in- spire them to do, that they should hold to the church the fundamental relation of its foundation? I. The apostles were the confessing witnesses of the life, teachings, work, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was unquestionably the primary and essen- tial characteristic of their offtce. The apostles them- selves so understood it, and have left their opinion on record. Shortly after the resurrection, Peter, after stat- ing the defection and death of Judas, says, " Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, be- ginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be or- dained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." Here it is stated as explicitly as language can do it, that these apostles were to be confessing witnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The person to be chosen must be one who had companied with them all the time from the baptism of John. He must be personally cognizant of all the chief facts of Christ's life, and of his resurrection and ascension as the final seal of the whole. The language is minute and com- prehensive. He must have companied with them all 300 SEEMONS ON THE the time of Christ's going in and ont among them, from the baptism to the resurrection, for the express pur- pose of being able to give a personal testimony to the whole life of Christ. The resurrection is directly men- tioned, because in that the work of redemption cul- minated, and the divine mission of Jesus was conclu- sively attested by God himself. ISTow the importance of the apostolic office in this respect can not be over- rated. It is fundamental. If you take away the apostles as the confessing witnesses of Christ, you de- stroy -the very foundations of Christianity. Chris- tianity is, objectively, a series of historical facts. In distinction from the older dispensations, these facts are all embraced in the life of Christ. These facts must be made known to the Avorld and attested precisely as any other facts, that is by human testimou}'. It is not a system of human creation. It is not the product of human beings. It is not a series of poetic imagina- tions ; it is not wrought out by profound reasoning, like the philosophy of Plato. It does not swing in the air. It has its roots somewhere ; it lias its basis and anchorage somewhere. It professes to be a simple narrative of one life ; it consists of a series of facts in connection with this life, the most remarkable, the most affecting, and the most universal and important in their relations to human destiny in all history. These are and must be attested to the world by human testimony. There is no other Avay in which they could be made known to and become obligatory on the faith of all men, unless God should make a special revelation to every individual. Every argument in proof of the divine mission of Christ or the truth of Christianity presupposes the facts as attested by these apostles. LIFE OF CHRIST. 301 The argument from the immense vitality, the amazing progress of Cliristianity in the face of tlie deepest cor- ruptions and most powerful oi)position of our fallen humanity only prepares you to appreciate the facts attested by these apostles. The argument, from the .nature of the scriptures themselves, their intrinsic purity, their sublime views of God, their adaptation to meet the deepest wants of our minds and hearts in reference to our salvation, prepares you to ask the question : Whence came all this ; and then you arc conducted back to this life of Jesus as testified to and unfolded by these apostles. The lawyer who studied the moral law was compelled to ask : Where did Moses get this ? And the answer came with the force of demonstration from Moses himself as the witness : " From God." If you saw only the top of a tree flourishing in beauty, you would he sure it iiad a trunk and roots below it. And if some one should tell you, " Oh ! that is all in your imagination ;" you would examine it and find trunk and roots. So, from what- ever point you approach Christianity, you are con- ducted back to these apostles as the personal confessing witnesses of the life of Christ, and on their testimony your faith must rest. And if this is true now that Christianity has a his- tory and has accumulated around itself so many inde- pendent collateral evidences of its divine origin, much more was it true when it commenced. Then all was new, strange, hostile. Then, for the first time, the facts were declared ; then these apostles stood forth as personal witnesses of that which they aflirraed. There was no peradventure, no fancy, no maj- be, about it. They spake what they knew ; they testified 302 SEEMONS ON THE to what they had seen. They had been Avith Jesus ; they saw liis miracles ; they heard his discourses ; they saw him on tlie cross ; they saw him after his resur- rection ; they witnessed his ascent to heaven ; they were the hving, personal witnesses of these facts ; they were prepared to stand b}' them in the face of all perils ; they did stand by them amidst persecutions and tortures, until most of them won a< martyr's, crown. Here I wish you to notice a broad distinction be- tween the attestation of facts and the attestation of opinions. Men have died all the world over for their opinions, and opinions of the most opposite character. The records of the inquisition alone will show you thousands of Turks, Jews, and Christians put to death for their opinions. Their willingness to die for their faith proved the sincerity and depth of their convictions, not the truth of their opinions. But when a man says he saw certain things, and that he personally witnessed certain facts ; when he main- tains this testimony in the face of loss and persecution, and against all the ordinary motives that influence men ; when, in short, he will die rather than deny them, then you have the highest attainable human testimony that these facts are true, or that he is thoroughly convinced that they are true. That these apostles could have invented this life of Christ, and all his wondrous teachings, is utterly incredible on the face of it ; and that they should have conspired to im- pose upon the world as facts a series of falsehoods, right in Jerusalem itself, and maintain their imposi- tion in the face of terrible persecution, and the loss of life itself, is a proposition it would seem hardly pos- LIFE OF CHRIST. 303 slble for the most credulous fool siii ever debauched to admit for an instant. These apostles stood forth as confessing witnesses of what thev had seen and known. On their personal testimony thousands then believed. On that personal witnessing for Christ millions be- lieved in him. And thus an apostle could say of the Ephesian Christians, and of all others, "Ye are built on the foundation of the apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." 2. The apostles were empowered to declare the con- ditions of salvation, or the relations of Christ to men in respect to the forgiveness of sin. This power is expressly given to them. John records the words of Christ in the 20th cliapter of his Gospel : " And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them : receive ye the Holy Ghost ; whosesoever sins ye remit, the}^ are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." Some have supposed that these words conferred on them a personal power to forgive sins, such as Christ himself possessed. But this is simply impossible. God only can forgive sins. Christ, only as divine, exercised this prerogative. This power in exercise supposes another divine power — that of infallibly dis- cerning the real state of the heart. Jesus, as divine, possessed these attributes, and therefore he could say, " Son, daughter, thy sins are forgiven thee." But the apostles never assumed this prerogative. They could not see the heart, as their conduct proved. There is not an instance on record where they assumed to do this. They refer everything to Jesus, and never as- sume to act independently of him. The power given to them is broader, and has relation to the whole 304 SEEMONS ON THE Church they were to establish. It was of infinitely more importance to the world that the conditions on which sin might be pardoned should be known than that a dozen individuals should have the personal power poAver to forgive sins. The one is broad and universal ; the other is contracted and narrow. The first corre- sponds with the genius of Christianity, which is a relig- ion for all men; the other is even more limited than the old system of Moses. These apostles were specially empowered to declare the conditions of salvation — to unfold the relation of the life and death of Christ to the forgiveness of sins. They had the key that unlocked the gates of the kingdom of heaven. They stood be- tween Jesus and the world, as the divinely authorized medium through whom He and his truth are to be made known to men. He is the way, the truth, and the life. They are appointed to open that w^ay, un- fold that truth, declare that life, so that all men might walk in it, embrace it, enjoy it. Jesus himself, so far as we know, never left a single written line. All that the world knows of him and his salvation comes through them. The truth that is the power and the wisdom of God unto salvation they declared. The whole scheme of redemption, the forgiveness of sins, the conditions of repentance and faith, the relation of Christ to those who believe on him, in short, the whole Gospel, in all its converting, comforting, sanctifying, and saving power, is given to us by these witnessing apostles. Without them Jesus would be unknown to us; his life a secret drama, his death a tragedy with- out significance; his resurrection a story with no historic foundation, connections or meaning to justify it to the faith of the world. When, then, the resurrec- LIFE OF CHRIST. 305 tioii had taken place and Jesus had ascended, they be- gan at once this ministry of the forgiveness of sin. They declared tlie holy character and life of Jesus, the nature of his death and resurrection, the guilt of man. And, when convicted of sin, the multitude inquired what they should do to obtain the remission of sin, they did not say, come to us apostles and we will in- dividually pardon you — but, repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved. And thus in all their ministry and their writings they taught the world the method of forgiveness; they showed tbeni Christ as the onl}^ and all-sufficient Redeemer ; they opened to them the myster}- of the cross ; they de- clared to them this divine man living and dying and rising to fulfill the law in all its claims and all its penalties in their stead ; they unfolded to them the truth that without the shedding of blood there was no remission, and that Christ had shed his blood that God might be just and yet justify those who believe in him. This was the way in which, as Christ's chosen apostles, they pronounced nmn's sins forgiven or unforgiven. And this ministry of theirs has given us the gospel; the truths they taught under the inspiration of Christ's spirit are to-day the only chart of salvation for the world. He who receives them now into his heart is forgiven ; he who rejects them rejects Jesus, and is lost forever. And thus, as they gave to the world the knowledge of salvation by Jesus, it is iitly said of us and all believers that we are built on the foundation of the apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. 3. Let us now advance to a third point, peculiar to 26 306 SERMONS ON THE the apostolic ofBce. The apostles were empowered to declare the fundamental principles and rules, in har- mony with which the Church is to be constituted. This power is given explicitly to all the apostles in the 18th chapter of Matthew and the 18th verse : " Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be l)ound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." In the context the subject of discipline is mentioned. There is no vital difference of opinion among Pro- testants or Papists or Greeks as to the general mean- ing of this passage, whatever there may be as to its special applications in the inferences drawn from it. The power is given in general terms, and the full meaning is explained by the acts of the apos- tles themselves. When a person is converted and his sins are forgiven through faith in Christ, he is from that moment a member of Christ's spiritual kingdom and an heir of heaven. But he is yet imperfect. He is in a world of sense, surrounded by adverse influ- ences, and in direct opposition to the moving influ- ences that are working around him. Jesus did not mean that his people should stand thus isolated, with- out union, without the comfort and the power that springs from the association of kindred minds. He designed they should associate together in churches, and to this end that they should have common Avor- ship and common ordinances. But in order to this they must have some common rules of action, definite relations to each other, and adopt similar principles in reference to the world without ; they must have officers of certain kinds to conduct their worship and celebrate the ordinances and enforce discipline ; they LIFE OF CHRIST. 307 must be able to act together in all ways suitable to their own growth in Christian knowledge, the educa- tion of their children, and the spread of the gospel in the world. Now these lay at the foundation of the progress of the church. These things were absolutely essential to the editication of the believers. And the apostles were specially empowered to do these things. They gathered the isolated believers into individual bodies, or directed them so to unite. They establish the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper. They direct each church to appoint elders and dea- cons. They give rules for the conduct of their otti- cers. They declare who ought to be admitted to the church and what class of persons should be excluded. They prompt them to send out evangelists as mission- aries to preach the gospel where it had not been heard. They take intinite pains to instruct these members of the church in their duties to each other and to the world. They visit them in order to enlighten their minds and correct their errors of doctrine and prac- tice. The}' write epistles that are full of divine wis- dom on all these subjects. They thus covered the whole ground of duty and faith in these relations of Christians one to another and to the world. And while they left the churches free to act in many things according to the necessities of their position, yet in all things fundamental to the constitution and action of a Christian church, in all things essential to a pure and holy life, they have left to us instructions full, clear, and sufficiently definite. Thus they have done just what Christ empowered them ; what they declared to be binding, is binding on us to-day ; what they left free, we are free to do or not, as circumstances may 308 SERMONS ON THE render expedient. For us, as Christians and as churches, the authority of these apostolic utterances is paramount. We allow no traditions, no utterances of uninspired men, however excellent, to take their place. We are built on the foundations of prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. When we abandon this position, we surrender the right of private judgment, we put away from us the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free, and the end must inevitably be the transfer of all authority over conscience from Christ, speaking through his apostles, to an ecclesiastical despotism as corrupt, as domineering, as selfish, as it is frail and fallible. A fourth qualification for 'the apostolic oflSce was the possession of the supernatural and superhuman power of working miracles. This power was given to them when they were first chosen, in a limited de- gree ; but at the day of Pentecost it was granted in larger measure. It was held by them not as an inde- pendent power, but in cormection with their whole ministry and in constant dependence on Christ. When Peter healed the lame, impotent man in the temple, he said to the people: "Ye men of Israel, why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?" Then, after preaching Christ to them, and his resur- rection, of which they were witnesses, he adds : " His name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong." And in another case he says : " Eneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole." This power attended them in order to attest their authority as the true witnesses of Jesus Christ. It was God's seal to their LIFE OF CHRIST. 309 apostolic mission. It authorized them, in the view of men, to fultill their mission in the establishment of the new kingdom of Jesus. 5. There was one other power given them from time to time in answer to prayer. It was the power of bestowing the special influences of the Holy Ghost. When many had been converted by the preaching of Philip in Samaria, the apostles sent to them Peter and John, who, when they were come, prayed for them that the}' might receive the Holy Ghost ; then laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. Tlius did the disciples receive gifts of power. They came into the possession of the gift of tongues, of prophecy, of healing; and they in turn went forth everywhere preaching the gospel and attesting its truth by mighty works. Wherever these apostles went as confessing witnesses for Jesus, they were at- tended by these divine attestations of Christ's power and presence. Thus the word of God grew mightily and prevailed. Thus, amidst a blaze of light and power, the Christian church was established; its fun- damental statutes enacted and adopted ; its solid foundations were laid in and through these living servants of the Lord. Multitudes, repenting of sin, believed in Jesus, and walked heavenward, sustained by their faith in a risen Redeemer. If now I have stated correctly the chief charac- teristics of the apostolic office — and I know of no Christian Church that will not accept this as a true statement — then it settles the question whether or not the apostles left behind them official successors. If they were the personal confessing witnesses of Christ's resurrection, and so of his life, person, and character; 310 SERMONS ON THE if they were to declare the relation of Christ to the salvation of men ; the conditions of forgiveness and ^acceptance with God ; if they were to constitute the Church, prescribing its laws and rules of life ; if to perform this they possessed special endowments of the Holy Ghost, and, to attest their authority, were em- powered to work miracles ; then it is impossible they should have official successors, as well as totally un- necessary. It was impossible, since only they who had seen Christ after his resurrection could bear Avitness to it. Paul, who speaks of himself as an exceptional case — one born out of due time — bases his claims to the apostleship not only on his miraculous call and his special endowment of gifts by the Holy Ghost, but also upon the fact that he had personally seen Christ. It was unnecessary, since they were appointed to be the foundations of the Church, and they did their work, fulfilled their office, and now the work to be done is not to lay over again the foundation, but to build upon it living stones, a spiritual temple of holi- ness and light. Moreover, there is not a particle of evidence that they ever appointed a person or persons to succeed them in their office. The only appointment ever made was of one to succeed Judas in order to till up the original number. And even then the choice of Matthias was determined by lot, and not by the apostles themselves. Nor is there a single line or intimation in all the scriptures that it was the divine purpose that they should have official successors. From the beginning to the end of the sacred record they stand alone as the personal witnesses of Jesus, on whom the Church is built. The only succession possible is that of simple LIFE OF CHRIST. 311 ministers of Jesus, preachers of his Gospel, elders of his Church. In this sense every pastor, every elder who is true to his office, the world over, is their successor ; just as every humble Christian man and woman is the successor of Dorcas and Priscilla and Aquila. This is the ground taken almost universally by the Protes- tant Church at the Reformation, and which Arch- bishop Whatcly and Dr. Alford, Dean of Canterbury, have more recently so well established. The apostles appear l)efore us at the commencement of the Christian Church the authoritative witnesses of Jesus, sealing tlieir testimon}^ to the great facts of Christianity in their blood. For any man to claim equality or x>ar- ticipation with them in their official character is as presumptuous as it would be for a lark to claim to be an eagle. Among the apostles there were two whose ciiaracters and works claim special attention. These were Peter and John, I propose before closing to speak a few moments of the character and position of the first of these. Peter's natural qualities tittcd him in some respects for pre-eminence among his associates. Nur- tured on the sea of Tiberias, he was bold and energetic. Of great simplicity of character, he was destitute of art and policy. What he believed he held to with un- flinching tenacity and avowed with equal directness. He moved directly to his. object, without considering the best means of attaining it. His perceptions were quick and his zeal intense. His decision and prompt- ness'gave great force to his character. He was ready in utterance ; he anticipated others in action. He had neither the philosophic power of tliought possessed by John nor the clear, profound logic of Paul ; but he 312 SERMONS OX THE had those qualities which at first make a deeper im- pression aud create influence — vast energy, nnconquer- ahle will, a soul possessed by a few great ideas, fiery zeal, and perfect singleness of purpose. But these very qualities were associated with defects that sprang out of them. His boldness sometimes degenerated into presumption, and drew on him the severest rebuke Jesus ever administered to a disciple, " Get thee be- hind me, Satan ; thou savorest not the things that be of God, but of man." His self-confidence betrayed him into sin, and led the way to the denial of his Lord in the hall of Caiaphas. Yet even here ^the instant repentance of the man evinces his utter sincerity aud real faith. His quickness in action sometimes led him to act inconsiderately, as in cutting ofl' the ear of the servant ; while his conduct on one occasion exposed him to the just censure of Paul. He was the third of the disciples called by Jesus. There are various indi- cations of the prominence given to him by Jesus and the apostles. We find him one of the three chosen to witness the raising of the daughter of Jarius ; one of the three who witnessed the transfiguration ; and one of the three who witnessed the agony in the garden. He is frequently addressed by Christ as representing the apostles, and he frequently speaks in their name. On one occasion, when the apostles had returned from their first missionary tour, and Jesus questions them as to their views of him, Peter, as their representative, answers, '' Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.'* It was on this occasion, and partly with refer- ence to the depth of his own personal conviction in making for himself and the others this confession, that Jesus uttered those remarkable words : " Blessed art LIFE OF CHRIST. 313 tliou Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father -svliich is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound U) heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." Here, Peter appears as the representative of the apostles — a confessing wit- ness of the Messiahship of Jesus. This was the uni- form interpretation of the early church. He, in com- mon with them, was to constitute the foundation on which the church is to be built. Xor ueed we deny that in this work he was to bear a speciall}' prominent part. This whole promise was fultiUed when, on the day of Pentecost, he first proclaimed the gospel of his risen Lord; it was still further fulfilled when he was chosen to open the kingdom of heaven to the Gentiles and admit the centurion Cornelius to its hopes and pardons. But that Peter had any proper oflicial su- premacy over the apostles, the early church denied ; and the whole record shows that he neither claimed nor exercised any such supremacy. For (1) the same promise of power which is here addressed to him was subsequently addressed to all the apostles. (2.) Tiiere is no admission or intimation of any such official su- premacy to be found in the sacred writings. (3.) When anything of sj)ecial importance is to be done, it is not Peter, but the apostles, that do it. (4.) When the judgment of the synod, assembled to determine certain questions touching the Gentiles, is to be given, 27 314 SERMONS ON THE Ave find it is James, not Peter, who announces it. (5.) Precisely the same powers, endowments, and du- ties are given to and imposed upon all the apostles. (6.) And, finally, neither Matthew, nor John, nor James, nor Paul, nor Peter himself, ever allude to such an idea. Paul, on the contrary, expressly de- clares that he was not inferior to tlie chietest of tlie apostles. But if we should suppose it to he true that Peter was invested with some kind of official supremacy, of what vahie would that be to the church unless it could be shown that he was empowered to appoint a suc- cessor, and the world should be informed who that successor was, and that Jesus designed tliis succession should be perpetual ? Yet on all these points there is not a word of proof in Scripture, The idea itself did not originate until centuries after Peter had gone home to his rest. God's people for hundreds of years knew nothing of it; and when it did arise, the whole Eastern Church refused to admit it, and have done so ever since. It was the product of the same ambition that had made Pome the capital of the world, and which thence sought to make it the source of a higher and broader authority than Rome ever knew. Legiti- mately the prince who rules on the seven hills is the successor of Cresar, but in no just sense of Peter. Nay, the idea itself is false and inconsistent with the genius of Cliristianity. The unity of the church is in its spirit, its doctrines, and its holy lives, not in an outward form or a visible head. Everywhere through the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the sole head of his kingdom. lie has no vicegerent on earth. It is to him alone every knee shall bow ; it is to him alone LIFE OF CHRIST. 315 every tongue sliall confess, thut he is Lord, to the glory of God the Fatlier. Paul, Peter, James, John, perpetually sink themselves, while they evermore ex- alt Christ. Peter himself rebukes the self-confidence and pride which would exalt the individual, and ex- horts the elders, y)utting himself on their level as an elder, not to act as lords over God's heritage. Jesus is the only head of the body, the church, and to him all must look as the source of all light, all pardon, all salvation. These apostles, thus chosen and trained and en- dowed for their special work, evince the profound wisdom of Jesus. His great work could not be fin- ished until it had been attested by his resurrection from the dead. Then these disciples stood forth as confessing witnesses of his life, death, and resurrec- tion. Supernaturally endowed, the}' proclaimed the great truths of redemption. They were scattered abroad ; but everywhere they preached the same gos- pel. Paul was added to them for a special purpose. But from them all the same light, the same grace, the same power proceeds. Between them and the indi- vidual pastors and writers of the ages following, there is an amazing diflerence. Compared with the writings of the apostles, the compositions of the early Christian fathers are as the productions of children. They stood alone. They opened to us the knowledge of Christ, the gates of the kingdom of heaven. Here is the book they wrote, and the world is full of the work they did. These once unlettered fishermen and tax- gatherers, in connection with that young student of Gamaliel, laid the foundations of Christ's kingdom under the direct ins[»iration of his spirit. John saw 316 SERMONS ON THE in vision the wall of the holy city, and it had twelve foundations, and in each foundation was the name of an apostle. We praise God for the work they did ; we honor them as our teachers in Christ, but we exalt Christ above them all as the Prince of our and their salvation. For us they lived, they preached, the}'- wrote, tliey suffered, and on them hath Christ built his church. Their work is finished ; their crowns are won ; all that Jesus promised to do through them has been done. And now it is for us to build on these foundations of apostles and prophets, and be ourselves living stones in this glorious temple. Let us see to it we seek to put in there no wood, hay, stubble, to be burnt out at last. Let us build in only the precious stones — souls full of faith and love, of zeal and self- sacrifice. Then shall we meet these servants of our Lord with joy, and together rejoice in Jesus as the chief and head of all. LIFE OF CHRIST. 317 XVIII. HIS TEACHINGS. (XO. 1). HIS CHARACTER AS A TEACHER OR PROPHET. '■^ Never man spake like this man" — John vii : 46. This was the answer of the officers sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Jesus. There must have been something wonderful in the appearance and speech of Jesus, when officers of the hiw were thus disarmed and powerless in his presence. But in the words themselves there was a living power that ever since has moved the hearts of men. As we are about to consider the teachings of Jesus, permit me in this discourse to remark of liim as a teacher — the teacher of the world. There were some things about the Savior which, to those who saw and lieard him, made his teaching peculiarly iujpressive. 1. Jesus in his personal appear- ance must have been singularly attractive; we have no account of this, if we excejit the letter of Lentulus. The apostles were too intent on the grand thoughts he uttered, and the works lie performed, to record for us that personal appearance, which at the best was transitory. Yet we are sure that a noble manhood expressed itself in a perfect jdiysical form; that as Jesus harmonized in himself tlie forces of nature and grace, so he must have possessed the perfection of manly grace and beauty. There was no distortion 318 SERMOJ^S ON THE nor imperfection of form or feature, but that namele.^s proportion which constituted him tlie finest physical type of man. You know also how the intellectual activities and the inward dispositions of men, when long indulged, give a peculiar csist to the countenance ; photograph themselves upon it. You remember the story of the painter who portrayed upon his canvass a child of great natural beauty, and years afterwards a man whose countenance expressed all the base passions of the soul in their horrible deformity. He hung them side by side — innocence contrasted with vice. And you remember how it came out that the child had grown into that man. So avarice early begun and long continued ; so vice in all all its forms, impresses itself unmistakably upon the countenance. And, on the other side, how amiability, kindness, love, give a peculiar sweetness to the countenance ; how consciousness of power puts its impress upon us; how devotion to great and noble pursuits reveals itself, and how the face takes on thus the hue and color and character of the soul. Jesus could have been no ex- ception to tliis law. His matchless purity ; his inborn love; his conscious nobility of nature and purpose; hisgreat woi'k of redemption ; his spirit of prayer and holy communion with the Father — these gave a sub- lime attractiveness, of beauty, power, and love to his countenance above that of every other man. This we see not. They saw it, felt it, knew it. 2. And then there is the eloquence of Jesus ; for there is an eloquence of words — words that even when read in your closet rouse and thrill through your soul ; and there is an eloquence of voice which, in its varied intonations and expressions, acting upon the nervous LIFE OF CHRIST. 319 system, kindles or calms, stirs and moves men. AVliit- field would often pronounce the word eternity in such a manner that it seemed like the voice of the arch- angel summoning the world to judgment, and thou- sands who heard it remembered it to their last day. And Jesus unquestionably spake thus as never man spake, and they who did but listen to that wonderful voice never forgot it. We have in part his living words; they lighten, move, and bless our souls; but the living voice thnt thrilled alike friends and foes we shall hear not till we j>ass up to his presence chamber. But leaving these accessory elements of his power as a teacher, let us dwell on those which reveal them- selves in his recorded life. 1. One of the first things that impresses you in his teachings is the authority/ with which he utters them. God, in speaking from Sinai, says, " I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other gods before me." This is the grandest iieight of authority. Listen to Jesus. It is the same voice; the circumstances only are altered, lie is the divine teacher of the world. He never modifies, qualities, as if apologizing for imperfections. His words go forth as perfect, direct and tinished as a flasli of lightning right from the bosom of God. This man speaks with an author- ity above Scribes and Pbarisees, above all other men. Ilis voice is the voice of God ; his words are universal commands, or promises, or threatenings, or principles for the world's salvation. He is a king — yea, the king of kitigs in his authoritative utterances. 2. Notice his profound originality. He copies no one, neither in manner, style, nor method. You can not comjiare him with any teacher in history. Even 320 SEEMONS ON THE the richest prophets of the Old Testament take off their crowns and then* golden vestments, and lay them at his feet; for they were but the reflection of his rays, while he is the full-orbed sun. True originality in thought is the rarest of all rare things among men. We grow up in a certain atmosphere of thought; we receive suggestions, ideas, opinions, from parents, teachers, books, society, nature. Most men are like a door swinging backward and forward on its hinges in a given track and on a limited scale, while the most original thinkers are only cisterns receiving and re- producing the rain that has fallen from the clouds. Jesus Christ is the only specimen of a true originality in all history. He is the self-fed, the self-creating fountain of all thought. Ideas of infinite value break forth from his mind in streams of original light. This we shall see illustrated in a hundred ways as we ad- vance. Take now simply two specimens of this fact. Look at his conception of the kingdom of God. God is the king; himself, the atoning mediator ; the divine Spirit, the regenerator; truth, the instrument; souls renewed, pardoned, consecrated to a living divine ser- vice and sustained by his power, their bodies to be raised from the grave, and all to be gathered at last into one heavenly kingdom forever. See this grand scheme ! How consistent in all its parts ! How unique in design! How remarkable in its development! Where do you find anything like it in all the past? K you say its elements are in the Old Testament, we answer, Jesus himself placed them there. But admit- ting this, yet here is the scheme in its fullness, its real- ity, its majesty, stripped of all types and figures, un- LIFE OF CHRIST. 321 folded ill its sublime richness and greatness, and made a living force in the world. Then see how even the old becomes new, and the obscure becomes clear, in the mind of this great orig- inal, lie takes the truth right out of its earthly asso- ciations and reveals it in its naked simplicity. The old, battered coin, on which the superscription is al- most illegible, he recoins, stamps it with his own image, sends it forth bright from the mint to be the spiritual currency of the world for all time. What a body of fresh, living, operative truth he has issued for the guidance of man evermore! Ah! look which way you will over the past and the present, take in your view the greatest, most original, most profound thinkers of the world, put them beside him, and your verdict will be the same with that of the ages, never man spake like this man. 3. Another characteristic of Christ as a teacher is his radicalness. This term is so used and abused in politics that I must define it. A radical in politics is often stigmatized by one side as a destructive — a man reckless of constitutions and time-honored usages. A conservative is as often stigmatized, on the other side, as a conservator of abuses, of shams and frauds. But the true radical seeks only to reform abuses and do away with eftete or mischievous laws. The true con- servative seeks only to conserve what is really good in the past. The one has his face forward toward progress; the other has his face backward toward the real and the true already gained. In this sense a man may be both, and both ideas may be necessary and - both sorts of people essential in an imperfect condi- tion to make reform just and secure real progress. 322 SERMONS OX THE The Pharisees and priests were examples of the con- servative in the bad sense; Theudas and the false Christs of the radical in the same sense. But Jesus Christ unites in himself the best meanins: of the two. Yet in viewing him as a teacher, in reference to that time and the world at large, the radicalness of his character comes chiefly before us. For (1) he pene- trates right down to the spii-it and heart of what was right and true in the old system; he goes down to the pregnant germs of truth and takes off the incumbent mass of traditional observances that had prevented their full development. If the law said, thou shalt not kill; he says, if you hate, you are guilty of mur- der. If the law said, thou shalt not commit adultery ; he says, if you look at a woman to lust after her, you commit adultery. If the law said, thou shalt have no other God before me ; he says, if a man love father or mother, wife or children, or his own life more than me, he is not worthy of me. Everywhere he pene- trates to the vital spirit of religion, and stripping oft* the glosses and coverings and superstitions of men, he brings the hearts of men right into the presence of God himself. (2.) Nor is this all ; for he came with the express design of putting an end to the whole Mosaic system— of laying it aside as a worn-out gar- ment that had served its purj^ose and its time. The priesthood — the hierarchy — the sacritices, the ritual, the feasts, the entire national system, he put away for- ever. In this respect he w^as apparently the most radical and destructive reformer that ever lived. (3.) But then all this was in order to the introduction of the true kingdom of God. If he put away the priest, it was because henceforth he was the onlv vriest of LIFE OF CHRIST. 323 the new churcli ; if" he put away tlie sacrifice, it was to substitute liis own death as the true, original Lamb of God ; if he abolished the temple, it was because he as tlie medium of mercy had his seat in the heavens and the world were to look no longer to a sacred place on earth, but to him in the heavens. If he put away their ritual and forms of prayer, and various obser- vances, it was that religion, in the freedom of the spirit and the truth, might go forth untramnieled, and men might be taught to worship God, not in forms of prayer, but in the S{)ontancous upliftings of the heart — wor- shipping God in spirit and in truth — and in doing this, while he brought the okl to an end, as having fulfilled its purpose, he introduced the most radical and aggres- sive of all systems. A system of thinking, and feeling, and action, that was adapted not only to reform the Jew, but to i)ut away from the earth all other forms of religion and bear aggressively upon the world-spirit, and world-customs, and world-excesses of life and amusement, and time-wasting, everywhere and for all time. So that to-day it is just as aggressive, just as reformatory, just as intent on uprooting sin in the heart and sin in the life, as when he promulgated it. Here, to-night, if a man will love this world, the love of the Father is not in him; if he will not renounce all that is sinful, he hath no part in tlie salvation of Jesus. And so here, again, in tlie thorough radicalness of his teaching, we say, " Never num spake like this man." 4. Another characteristic of Christ's teachings is their unrivalled richness. His sentences are condensed expressions of living, germanent truths. There is a wonderful atlluence of meaning in them; they are the seed of intinite harvests ; they break forth on every 324 SERMONS 01^ THE side iu exhaustless thought. ISTo teacher ever has be- gun to approach him in this condensed fulhiess and life-producing energy of his teachings. His sentences are volumes; his parngraphs are often long prophecies. His principles, stated in a few words, are living truths that take possession of humanity, and move as powers of light through all after history. Take any one of them at random — "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw- all men unto me." There is the divinity, the atone- ment, the life-giving energy, that are the elemental powers of the church of Jesus. "Ye are the light of the world." Wonderful ! Obscure, unlearned, de- spised disciples; ye are to radiate me and my gospel through all coming ages! And so in scores and hun- dreds of passages, you find tbese thoughts pregnant with a world of meaning. Nor are they dreamy specu- lations; abstractions glittering in the air, without re- lations or productive influence on society. They are connected with the life, the character, the success of the church ; they are all of life there is in the world. "We begin to think out any one of them; it runs out in all directions and opens an amazing field of tiiougbt in the church and the world — in the past, present, and future. The more we seek to enter into and compass and gather up the richness of these living teachings, the more we are compelled to sa}^ "Never man spake like this man." 5. See, now, how as a teacher he adapts himself to times, places, and persons. There is a wonderful va- riety in his manner, and in the spirit of his discourse. He has an exquisite sense of the true proprieties of life. There is in his conduct manifest a delicate per- ception of fitness, adaptation, and harmony. He ad- LIFE OF CHRIST. 325 dresses the multitude in oue strain; tlie Scribes and Pharisees in another, his disciples privately in another. At times, too, there is great gentleness, at times se- verity, and at times a repression of the impulse to speak, which is more eloquent than words. The apostle Paul besought Christians by the gentleness of Christ! And you find this loving tenderness manifested again and again in his life. What a deep an