SERMONS.












6 X
X::'~~~;7~' G: e




WORKS
OF
REV. LEONIDAS L. HAMLINE, D. D.,
Late one of the Bishops of the Methodist Ejpiscopaal Church.
EDITED BY
REV. F. G. HIBBARD, D. D.
SERMONS.
CIIVCIzVIVA TI:
HITCHCOCK AND WALDEN.
NVE W rORK:
CARLTON AND LANAHAN.
I869.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year I869,
BY HITCHCOCK & WALDEN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of Ohio.




CONTENTS.
PAGE.
INTRODUCTION,....     9
I.
THE DUTY OF BELIEVING AND CONFESSING,    29
II.
CIHRISTIAN ANGER,.... 53
III-.
THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN,                 72
IV.
WHAT IS MAN?.......    92
V.
THE SENTENCE AGAINST UNBELIEF,...  Io6
VI.
FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST,.II8
IS




6                 CONTERNTS.
VII.
PAGE.
GOD THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE,.33
VIII.
THE WAGES OF SIN,                         50
IX.
THE GIFT OF GOD,.                        65
X.
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,... 79
XI.
DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD,             I95
XII.
DEPRAVITY OF THE HEART-First Discourse,.. 213
XIII.
DEPRAVITY OF THE HEART-Second Discourse,  228
XIV.
THE WISDOM OF GOD,.                    250
XV.
THE GOODNESS OF GOD,                     264
XVI.
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM-First Discourse,. 276




CONTENTS.               7
XVII.
PAGE.
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM-Second Discourse,    308
XVIII.
THE SOUL AND THE WORLD,.., 337
XIX.
JESUS REVILED,..                   354
XX.
THE SABBATH OF THE WORLD,.            366
XXI.
THE IMMUTABILITY OF CHRIST,....  382
XXII.
CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM,.. 396
XXIII.
THE INCARNATION,.                     414








INTRODUCTION.
N a graceful swell of the prairie, beside one of the
great ways that thread the rapidly growing West,
and near the wondrous central city of commerce, lies
another equally growing city, into which the slow procession often moves with measured tread and solemn mien.
Here, the pomp, and noise, and rivalry of commercial life
are not known. It is Rose Hill Cemetery. Let us enter
its "Gates of Peace." We pass along its silent avenues,
musing on dread partings and buried hopes, till, turning
from where wealth seeks, by costly monuments, to give
utterance to the heart's affection and disguise the terrors
of the tomb, we seek a less frequented, but not less beautiful spot.  Here let us pause. Filial affection has prepared the place, sweet flowers shed their incense here, and
angel watchers guard the sacred dust.  Here, too, conjugal love in sorrow renews a union which death can not
sever.  Before us is a simple, well-adjusted mound of
earth, with its plain slab of gray syenite, brought from
"old Scotia's" hills of rich minerals, as the last offering
of filial reverence, bearing the inscription, "LEONIDAS L.
HAMLINE."  The inscription is as the sleeper, whose
house it marks, willed it. We search the monument
in vain for any further disclosure-no titles, no history




I0               INTR ODUCTION.
of the labors, honors, triumphs of three-score and ten
years. Stranger, if you would learn his peerage you must
go to living sources, and read other monuments, whose
inscriptions are more indelible, and whose memorial perishes not.
And fitting it is that his name should stand alone upon
his tomb, without date or circumstance of explanation.
What to him are all these trifles? to him of whom one
said-himself the prince of orators —"I have never seen
such dignity in human form before;" and another, "I
count myself to have heard the two men who possess the
greatest power to fix and retain all the reasoning faculties
of men, Rufus Choate and Bishop Hamline;" to him,
upon whose lips hung listening thousands, and whose
voice swept the chords of the human heart, and awoke the
depths of human sensibility? "A burning and a shining
light" was he, and the Church was willing for a season
(alas! that that season was so brief) to rejoice in his light.
We stood by that simple grave, while the multitudes were
thronging the thoroughfares to the adjacent city to hear
now this, now that orator, and our heart sadly exclaimed,
"Alas! the orator, the Chrysostom, the golden mouthed, lies
here!" Mysterious was the providence that suffered his
sun to go down at noon. In the meridian splendor of his
intellectual powers, in the fullness of his labors and usefulness, in the height of his honors and the maturity of his
Christian graces, when he had humbly laid all upon the
altar of the Cross, and, like his Master, had become
"clad with zeal like a cloak," his physical infirmities
gathered like the hurrying clouds of a coming tempest, and
the nightfall of his long and terrible sufferings suddenly
dropped upon him. But his light is not wholly quenched
to us though his sun has set.  The horizon still sends
* Henry Clay.




INTR OD UC TZONV.               I I
back the reflected luster of his example, and the "lessel
light" of his pen shall stand at least as a bright star in
the firmament, with others of the illustrious dead.
It is not our purpose to sketch a monograph, and yet,
from the nature of the case, we can not wholly avoid it.
We call attention to the man, not for the ends of biography, but to explain the character and value of his writings,
and the motive in offering them to the world. Ours is a
delicate office, embarrassed on every hand. For who can
reproduce the great original? The regrets of the world
at the death of a great and good man, naturally enough,
prompt to the effort to restore him to society in some
form —if possible in some characteristic production of his
own mind-that his influence may be perpetuated to other
generations. There are men whom death can not destroy.
They are representative men-men for all ages —" who
being dead, yet speak," and their voice will be heard in
all time, and "their words unto the ends of the world."
Their influence on other generations is scarcely less than
on their own living age. They live in monument, in
story, or in song, or, most of all, by their own genius
through their own writings. The Church has her great
men-great in goodness and gentleness, and not less than
the greatest in the fires of true genius. - She has become
rich in her literature —the accumulation of all ages, the
gathered offerings of every variety of mental type, in every
department of sacred lore. The influence of this literature upon the world is like the prophet's salt cast into the
fountain; like the branch of Moses in the waters of
Marah. It is the influence of men speaking from  the
soul of philosophy and the heart of Christianity, and their
thoughts are the common property of the race. Such
men are the conservators of society.  Their writings
are the genetic growth of the history of philosophy and




I2               IIVTR OD UC TIOAN
religion. In the Church, their example and their writings
are the chief human means of conserving sound doctrine
and wholesome practice. If ever the Church becomes
the "pillar and.ground of the truth," it is chiefly, so far as
the human element is concerned, through the working of
such minds. Like Peter, they become the "rock" on
which the Church is built-not "Simon the son of
Jonas," but Peter, the enlightened believer, the bold confessor, the able defender, and the dauntless martyr. The
writings of such men supply, in the offensive war of the
Church,- the heavy artillery; in the defensive, the impregnable bulwark. They are a legacy of priceless worth,
which they have
"Like the prophet, ere his flight began,
Dropped on the world-a sacred gift to man."
What is it we mean by the term "standard writers," but
writers who have penetrated the essential truth-the absolute philosophy of things-the "mind of the spirit," and
who have, like Solomon, "'given good heed and sought
out and set in order," and have "sought to find out acceptable words," so that that which should be written
should be "words of truth?"
As a branch of the great Christian family the Methodist Church has had no lack of such men. Nay, in all
the life-forms of Christianity, the ages have produced no
equal fruit, in this regard, in any equal time. Her literature has not been the mere product of leisure and culture, but has sprung from the workings of her inner life.
She has not aspired to the supremacy of letters, but to
lead men to Jesus. With letters and philosophy at her
command, she has used them for the higher ends of her
great commission, and has assumed to "know nothing
among men but Jesus and him crucified." This was the




INTR OD UC TION.                13
example set her by her fathers, and in adhering firmly to
this she will fulfill her calling.
Here, then, is the true position for her great men.
Models of Christian meekness, gentleness and humility,
while "not a whit behind the chiefest" of the literati of
their age, they are called, not to teach philosophy and letters, but the truth "as it is in Jesus."  With a thorough
conception of the workings of philosophy, both on the cultivated and popular mind, they see the dangers of their
age, and the fearful driftings of the human thought away
from God, and are the better prepared to set up beacon
fires along the coast, even should they fail "to make all
men see what is the agreement of the mystery, which from
the beginning of the world hath been hid in God "-which
is "Christ in you the hope of glory."
It is from the stand-point of these suggestions that we
are to contemplate the works of Bishop Hamline. Himself gifted by nature with an order of intellect equal to
any calling, he knew no treasure too dear to offer upon the
altar of God, and aspired to no honors which he could
not lay at his Master's feet. With a gift of eloquence of
the highest order —the eloquence at once of the reason
and the sensibility, of argument and of love, of thought
and of diction-it was Christ and not the speaker that
attracted the auditors. All minds were like his own, filledwith his theme; every thing forgotten in the high mental
absorption in the desire to save souls. Literally he fell a
martyr to his burning zeal. Perhaps few men, since
Isaiah's time, could more fitly say, "The Spirit of the
Lord God is upon me, because he hath sent me to
preach."  This was his great calling, and few among the
"stars" of the Redeemer's "right hand" have been more
fitted for the work. His style was chaste and elegant,
showing familiarity with the English classics, and the




I4                INTROD UCTZON.
Latin cultus. It was, however, his own. His intellect
was not imitative. He copied no one; but while his lofty
spirit disdained dependence? he always showed deference
to authority, without being enslaved by it. It was the
habit of his mind to contemplate every dogma in the light
of first principles, and first lay bare its metaphysical
foundations. But in these soundings below the depth of
common vision, he never lost his perspicuity. In all his
manuscripts I have not found an ambiguous or obscure
sentence. He was an admirable debater, and knew, what
is too seldom known, how to conduct a close argument
courteously. His forensic discipline came to his aid here,
and to the pith and point of his diction his synthetic
power added the rarer quality of comprehensiveness.  His
terseness was never harsh, and if his logic was severe,
and his imagination had feathered and even barbed the
arrow, yet it was never poisoned. It was the error, not
the deluded victim of it, against which he aimed the shaft,
and while "the law of truth was in his mouth," the "law
of kindness, also, was in his tongue."  Against certain
errorists only, he sometimes rose to the terrors of his commission in the stern denunciation of the Baptist. Perhaps
the best ideal that could be given of his eloquence, and
of his own ideal model of that divine art, is given by
himself in his admirable address on that subject, found
among his published addresses.
It is not easy to do justice to his character without exaggeration on the one hand, or disparagement on the
other. His individuality is so marked that, after all comparisons, he must stand alone. He possessed the enthusiasm, but not the frenzy; of Whitefield and Chalmers.
He was more terse and pointed than Robert Hall, with
less polish, and with an imagination and an order of intellect of superior adaptations to the ends of oratory. If




INTROD UCTION.                   I5
the reader has ever compared the pictures of Wesley,
Fletcher, and Whitefield, in their characteristic pulpit attitudes, he will obtain some idea of the place we would assign to Bishop Hamline. Between the transport of the
last, and the calm earnestness of the first, there is the
chastened rapture of the second, which speaks, and
breathes, and glows through his animated form, but
never breaks from the restraints of the reflective reason.
It is in this middle realm we would place our author.
His debating talent is unsurpassed, and while his acuteness "divides asunder the soul and spirit, the joints and
marrow," his amenity never forsakes him. He could well
afford to be affable and self-possessed, resting in the calm
consciousness of his power, but more than all, in his exalted conviction that he was pleading the cause of God.
His periods every-where bear the stamp of a classic mind,
but the reader is not oppressed with the elaborate finish
of Hall, or the smooth and faultless monotony of Blair.
There is no rushing to conclusions before the mind is logically prepared for them, and there is no torturing suspense as in the interminable periods of Chalmers. He
never sacrifices the moral effect of the thought to the
finish or ornament of the sentence. The arts of oratory
he never affected, as we so often meet in the French masters; but in the majesty of his person, the simple ease and
dignity of his manner, the earnest and unstudied eloquence of his delivery, he gave the true ideal of pulpit
oratory. The flow of his utterances was like the swell of
the river current, more deep than rapid, yet moving on
without interruption or commotion, always majestic, often
quickened, like hurrying waters impatient of restraint, but
never like the wild rush of the cataract. In this he contrasted with Olin. Hamline was impassioned, never boisterous-Olin was vehement; Hamline was earnest-Olin




I6                AINTR OD UC TION.
impetuous; Hamline was like the even, though often rapid
flow of a beautiful stream, bearing its buoyant burden
safely and gracefully onward-Olin was like the torrent, or
the whirlwind, hurrying all before it. With him the hurricane was inevitable, but he rode upon it in majesty, and,
like the spirit of the storm, directed all its forces. Hamline never suffered the storm to arise, but checked it midway, and if the sweep and force of his eloquence were
less, the auditors were left more self-controlled, and the
practical ends not less salutary. It is beautiful to know
that in their lives, Hamline, with characteristic humility,
though not a whit behind, yields the palm  to his great
compeer.  "What a man!" says he; "his eloquence is all
out of the ordinary course, yet he has no eccentricity, only
greatness.  Could I preach as he does, I would almost
desire never to stop.  He will leave no proper memorial
of his greatness. He can write, but then his thoughts lie
on the paper, like the cinders around the volcano, affording no conception of the scenes of the eruption."  At
another time after hearing him, he said: "It was one of the
grandest exhibitions of intellect I ever witnessed, and as
pious as it was majestic. I doubt not that Dr. Olin is the
greatest man on the continent; simple as great."  Eloquence, like beauty, is difficult to define, having no absolute uniformity of type.  The legal studies of Bishop
Hamline had imparted great discipline of mind, and a
precision and simplicity of language which never forsook
him in the highest flights of his imagination, or the intensest glow of his feelings. The structure of his mind
forbade excess, which his exquisite taste eliminated with
spontaneous facility.
In his attitude he was erect without stiffness, at ease
without negligence. Slightly above the middle size, his
physique was full, not corpulent; in his walk, his step




INTRODUC Y7ZO.                   I7
short and elastic; in the pulpit, his motions ready and
natural, never redundant.  With the rising inspiration of
his theme, his dark, clear eye gathered new luster and
emitted the fire of his thought, his countenance became
suffused with the internal glow of his soul, and his whole
person was animate with the genius of his subject. "His
elocution," says Dr. Lowrey, "was perfect.  His voicehow could the Creator have improved it? like the keynote of well-composed music-just right. Soft, mellow,
full, rich in its grave accents, clear and insinuating in its
higher inflections, tenderly impassioned and melting in its
minor and sympathetic tones, it possessed the power of
self-adjustment to every word, syllable, and sound of his
sentences. I heard him speak twenty years ago, and today many of his words, and his mode of uttering them, live
in my mind with all the vividness that belongs' to the
memories of yesterday. This I attribute largely to the
enchanting effect of his elocution." His imagination was
not gorgeous, not copious; his taste, no less than his
"godly sincerity," would have excluded all excess and
dazzle. He was not a poet, but an orator, and his imagination described and illustrated rather than invented,
and diffused an exquisite tinge of beauty over all his utterances. "His tea-table and parlor talk," says the writer
last quoted, "was always ready for the press; pruned,
punctuated, emphasized, and eliminated of all redundancies." This was due to the easy play of his imagination, no less than the cultivated habit of his mind.
Terrible was the stroke which brought him low, and
forced him to quit the field as a leader of the Lord's hosts,
but in the ruins of his body his restless spirit was still
active for Christ. While residing at Schenectady, after his
retirement from the Episcopacy, among many other labors
and devices to bring souls to Christ, he on one occasion
2




I 8              AINTROD UCTION.
enlisted a visiting brother, Rev. Henry Cox, to hold meetings every afternoon and evening for a week in a grove
near by. At the last meeting, after sermon, writes Dr. Carhart, "the Bishop arose, and though scarcely able to stand
without assistance, made an application of the sermon,
and an appeal to the people,-such as I have never heard
equaled. The Holy Ghost fell on us; weeping was heard
in every direction in the vast assembly; sobs and cries for
mercy followed; and as the speaker continued, and even
before the invitation was given, penitents crowded around
the rude altar, and the whole assembly, rising to their
feet, seemed drawn toward the speaker, and to melt like
wax before the fire. When the invitation was given to
those seeking Christ to come forward, it seemed to me
that the whole audience moved simultaneously, while some
actually ran and threw themselves prostrate upon the
ground and shouted,'God be merciful to me a sinner!'
The memory of that scene can never be effaced from my
mind."
It was herein that his great strength lay. He had
power with God, and hence power with men. Whether
we follow him as editor of the Western Christian Advocate, or afterward as editor of the Ladies' Repository, or
as a preacher, or a correspondent, or a Bishop, or a polemic, or in the privacy of social life, we find him ever true
to his one calling and profession, to bring souls to Christ.
His sermons and sketches are uniformly evangelical and
spiritual. A hasty view might almost account them monotonous for their ever-ready recurrence to the spiritual
and practical, but a closer attention will discover the suggestiveness of his illustrations, the openings of collateral
and connecting trains of thought, the sympathy he takes
in general knowledge and philosophy, and, what is more
rarely found, the depth and originality of his insight.




INVTR OD UCTION.                 19
It was his purpose, upon retiring from the cares of public
life, to devote his leisure hours, as his infirmities might
allow, to the preparation of a volume of sermons, and some
other writings, upon which, in his earlier life, he had bestowed thought. The public expectation had been excited,
through the periodical press, to look for this, and no living
minister would have been hailed through the medium of
the press with a heartier welcome. But even this last
hope was doomed to disappointment. Such was the wreck
of his nervous system, that Nature refused her office to
serve the ever-active spirit, and the Church has lost thereby
much that would have stimulated her faith and piety,
and that would have adorned and dignified her literature.
During his episcopal labors he had little leisure to write,
and with difficulty sustained himself against his physical
infirmities by all the rest and personal care which his
duties allowed. He had attended the General Conference
of I844, at which he was elected Bishop, in compliance
with the earnest demand of his delegation, against the
equally strong remonstrance of his counseling physicians.
His literary productions, therefore, mostly date anterior to
that period. Not being able to write to his own satisfaction, he revised but little.  Indeed, it was even more
difficult to please himself than satisfy his friends. He
generally wrote and preached from the inspiration of an
occasion, with living souls before him, and an immediate
result in prospect. ~ This awoke the fire of his genius, and
the vigor of his mental powers, and style and thought, by
a self-adjusting intuition, shaped to the high standard of
his own mental culture; nay, from the moral height of his
argument he forgot all criticism, and his zeal disdained
this restraint. But in the cool hours of reflective reason,
and the "critically dull" labor of authorship and revision,
he seldom reached his ideal. "It is surprising to me,"




20               VNTR OD UC TION.
said he, to the writer last quoted, "with what facility some
men write books. I do n't think I could write a book, for
the reason I could never satisfy myself; I should have to
write it over twenty times." But this opinion of himself
was the natural result of his profound and unaffected
humility on the one hand, and.his high ideal of excellence on the other. It was beautiful to observe his great
humility. Knowing the acuteness of his mind on abstract
themes, the writer of this once sought his opinion on a
theological point, involving at once metaphysical distinctions and principles of law and government. He replied
with some apparent surprise, "Why, brother, I am no
theologian. I was a poor, wicked lawyer when the Lord
converted me, and I consecrated what knowledge I had
to him, in bringing sinners to Christ."  This was his
highest profession, the ultimate aim of his ambition. At
another time he said, while in conversation upon the missionary work, and the honor of bringing souls to Christ:
"I would rather be Brainerd, wrapped in my bearskin,
and spitting blood upon the snow, than to be Gabriel."
When called to the ministry, like Paul, "immediately he
conferred not with flesh and blood." With a competency
of this world's goods, a beautiful home and family, a thriving profession, and a prospect of political preferment, he
had enough to tempt a selfish mind to decline the call.
As an advocate at law —the point of highest honor in
the profession-no man of his years excelled him. His
talents here were indisputably of the first order, and he
only needed time to make his history among the legal
magnates of the country. A seat in the Senate chamber
of Congress was already in prospect, and would, though
unsought by him, probably have resulted at the next elections. He had become not only a promise, but already
a power in society, and was universally popular.  The




INTR OD UC TIOV.                       2 I
nobility of his soul was born in him-it was nature, not
accident-and he aspired, even before conversion, to the
noble, the generous, and the true. But his call to preach
suddenly  reversed  the  current of his life.  From   the
height of worldly hopes and promises, he at once accepted
a license to preach, and, after a year of local labor, took
an appointment on a circuit with the venerable Jacob
Young.* From his spiritual death he seemed to spring,
fully armed, into the battle-field. To him it was a new
world. All was real as eternity. After ten years' experience he writes, in reply to political friends, from the
General Conference of Baltimore, (I840:) "As to politics,
tell your worthy nephew I scarcely think of them once a
week.  I am  myself a candidate, but it is for eterlzal zife.
* The following, from the Autobiography of Rev. Jacob Young, is
too characteristic to omit. He says of Hamline, when he came to his
circuit to labor as a junior colleague, after his first year's experience as
a local preacher: " While I was preaching, a genteel-looking stranger
stepped into the church. His person, costume, and polite manner of
entering the house, showed plainly that he was a gentleman of high
order. He attracted the attention of the congregation to such an extent, that they could not keep silent till I was done preaching. They
soon began to whisper,'Who is that? Who is that?' Some said it
was a Mr. Greatrake, a Baptist preacher, from Pittsburg, who had come
down there to neutralize Alexander Campbell, they verily believed; only
they thought he was too fine a looking man to be Greatrake. Others
said it was Judge Smith, of that district. They concluded they would
certainly find out when preaching was over; when, to their utter astonishment, the stranger remained to class meeting. We had a noisy time
in class. When I came round to him, he rose and spoke like one who
understood himself and was filled with the Holy Spirit."  After this
humble labor a plan of the circuit was formed, when each preacher took
his part of the field. "Hamline went on, making his own appointments,
and preaching as he went. Before he had finished his second round
there was a general revival on the circuit. All classes flocked out to
hear him-even the Seceders. The Radicals and Campbellites became
silent. Brother Hamline went on preaching, visiting, and meeting class,
as though he knew nothing of such a people; at the same time he
took uncommon pains to preach the pure Gospel. His sermons were




22                    IN TROD UC TIorN.
I aspire to a throne, but I must have one which will not
perish. I labor to secure my election to a sphere high
above all thought of earthly minds. I would rather be
frozen up at the north pole in a globe of ice, and be
doomed to exist there in agony a century, than to be an
ourzr exposed  to lose forever heaven and  God and  all.
How, then, can I stay to be a politician?"
The period of his chief literary labors did not exceed
thirteen  years-from   i831  to  I844-a period  crowded
with events and "labors more abundant" in the active
ministry. His writings are always the product of a practical necessity. Aside from the calls of his vocation, he
carried on no independent literary pursuits, and had no
plan or purpose of authorship. A few sermons were made
theological, experimental, and practical; strengthened by sound logic,
and ornamented with pure rhetoric.
" Awhile after this, the Campbellites had a meeting in Wellsburg, and
they were talking freely about their Church. One of the leading membIers rose to his feet and said:'We have no Church; Hamllne has
preached us out of existence, and yet he has never said any thing about
us.' A conversation took place between Mr. Campbell and Mr. Hamline at a funeral. One of our pious friends died in the vicinity, Mr.
Hamline was called upon to preach a funeral sermon, and Mr. Campbell was one of his hearers. After the sermon was over, they walked
to the grave together. Mr. Campbell professed to be highly pleased
and edified with the sermon. He observed to Mr. Hamline:'I believe
the doctrine you preached to-day.' Mr. Hamline replied:'You surprise me, sir; for if I understand your doctrine, I was preaching against
it.'' It is very likely you misunderstood me,' said Mr. Campbell;'for
I am very often misunderstood, but I can assure you that I believe the
doctrine you preached to-day.'"  The leading topic of the sermon was
the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Ghost. When he
left the circuit, says our author, "he left many spiritual children behind
him, and though twenty-five years have passed, many pious persons still
retain a grateful recollection of the man, his eminent abilities, ardent
zeal, and successful labors."  "We were certainly united in heart.
Nestor never loved Ulysses any better than I loved Hamline; and
Ulysses was never more attentive to Nestor than Hamline was to
me."-Autobiograyhay, _pp. 410-4I 7.




iVTR OD UC TION.                23
ready for the press by his own hand, but his manuscripts
remained almost entirely unedited.  Many of his sermons
and sketches were written for special uses. His admirable
discourse on "The Witnesses," of which unfortunately we
have only the plan, was prepared with special reference to
a skeptical friend of the legal profession, in his earlier
ministry.  His sermons on "Depravity" were to arrest the
attention of Unitarian members. of his congregation, and
are models of close argument and eloquent appeal. Many
of his sermons were aimed at the special forms of infidelity and indifferentism among the people he served. This
applies to his editorial, no less than his pulpit labors.
One can not read his writings without feeling a living
sympathy with their sentiments. They are the workings
of an earnest mind, in a real world, and grapple sturdily
with the great practical duties and destinies of our race.
He comes not to us with abstract or erudite questions to
discuss; in scholarly pretensions many surpass him. It
was not his profession.  A Macknight or a Warburton
might bring to the pulpit more lore, and a John Foster
might, for a sermon, present an elaborate "essay with a
text at top," but with Hamline preaching and writing had
a direct aim at present effect. The salvation of the soul
was his ever-present object. Like a true soldier, he carries into the field only the armor for. use, but his arsenal
stores are never exhausted, and always accessible. His,
indeed, was a camp life, and his writings smell of the
battle. His proper sphere is the life, not the lore of
Christianity. His realm is philosophy rather than erudition. No man was more profoundly versed, than he,' in
the knowledge of mind, whether considered metaphysically
or morally. His sounding line reached the depths of certain knowledge here, and the familiar ease with which he
spoke of its mystic workings, whether as a philosopher or




24               INTR OD UC TOV.
a theologian, was like the "voice of one that can play
well on an instrument."  In the departments technically
termed theology, anthropology, and soteriology, he had few
superiors.
As a logician, he was scholarly and adroit, but upright
and courteous. His mind was naturally logical and orderly in its processes, as it was acute and discriminating
in its perceptions. In his writings, ever and anon, his
knowledge of law comes to his aid, and discovers itself in
defining issues, stating points, (in which he never had a
superior,) conducting the argument, precision of language,
illustrations, meeting objections, estimating evidence, and
indeed almost every-where. The value of this study is
not easily estimated by the student in divinity.  Philology is scarcely more a key to exegesis than is the knowledge of the principles of law and government, and the
course of practice in human courts, to the divine moral
government. It is so because, by the institution of God,
and by his oft-repeated declaration, all just human government, in its essential principles and judicial forms, is but
a transcript of the divine. The advantage of contemplating one branch of science from the stand-point of a cognate branch, is seen in other departments. The nervous
organism of the body stands related to the mind, through
the senses, and is necessarily brought in to explain many
points in mixed metaphysics and psychology, and it is
hence that the study of physiology has modernly become
so indispensably necessary to metaphysical science. But
the study of law is related to the science of mind in another way, not metaphysically but ethically, and sheds
great light upon the relations of mind to God, as a subject
of his government, and an object of his redeeming love.
Sin brings man into penal relations to law; atonement
is a provision for rescuing him from that condition, and




IZTR OD UC TZO.                 25
restoring his lapsed powers. The whole scheme of redemption is of the nature of a juridico-moral process. Here
opens a realm of thought unknown to the human mind till
Revelation dispels the darkness. God, man, Christ; sin,
law, justice, mercy, justification, sanctification-glorious
themes! "Angels desire to look into them." Man's relation to law, his desert as a sinner, God's methods of
judgment, of mercy, remedial agencies, the sphere of the
Church and ministry, the written Word and the ordinances, all arose to view in new and overwhelming visions,
when once our author felt the scales of unbelief fall from
his eyes, and especially when, entering the higher degree
of Christian life, he received the "baptism of the Holy
Ghost." It is impossible to fail to see that he reasons,
perceives, feels, and speaks as a jurist. The principles
of law and evidence, without being named or paraded in
form, are unconsciously applied from the spontaneity of
habit, and the reader is forced to receive his conclusions,
or deny the truth and justice on which human government
and society rest. What the learned Dr. Greenleaf has
done in defense of the credibility of the Gospel history,
in his admirable "Examination of the Testimony of the
Four Evangelists," as a subject of fact, Bishop Hamline
has not inconsiderably accomplished for theology, as a
mixed science of fact and philosophy. By the former,
facts have been "brought to the tests to which other evidence is subjected in human tribunals;" by the latter,
doctrines have been scanned and principles discussed
under the same scrutiny, and with the same application
which courts of equity would give to analogous truths.
We can only regret, if it be lawful to regret any thing
under the reign of Divine Providence, that the lamented
author was not permitted to finish what he had so hopefully begun.
3




26                   INVTRODUCTION.
The value of a writing is not wholly dependent on its
literary finish. This is its dress; the material value is the
thought. Like the diamond, its beauty is inherent, though
enhanced by skillful cutting. Style is the mere cutting
of thought, and it is meet that beautiful things should be
placed in beautiful forms and settings. The style of our
author is an improving model for our youth, and will bear
comparison with any writer in our Church; I may add,
with the better class of English and American authors.
Yet, it is not for this secondary value that his works are
offered to the public, nor do we challenge criticism at
every point, but wish it ever borne in mind that his works
are strictly posthumous, published not by his order or expressed wish, but on the judgment of friends,* in which
the editor must bear a share of responsibility, and at the
solicitation of many. In this we but follow current and
long-established example.
In the works of Bishop Hamline the Methodist Church
and family have one more able witness, not only of the
cardinal truths of Christianity, but of the peculiar characteristics of Methodistic doctrine  and  policy.  Should
that Church ever decline in piety so as to ignore her
characteristic tenets, or should her enemies rally and, as in
* In addition to numerous other calls of a more private character, for
the publication of Bishop Hamline's works, the following is from the
last General Conference, (I868.) On the twentieth day of the session,
Dr. A. Lowrey offered the following preamble and resolution, which
were adopted:
"Whereas, We learn that the manuscript theological, literary, and
religious works of Rev. L. L. Hamline, D. D., late Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, have been placed in the hands of Rev. Dr.
Hibbard, to be edited for publication, and are now nearly ready for the
press; therefore,
"Resolved, That from the known piety, genius, and high culture of the
lamented author, we commend the purpose to publish his literary remains under judicious editorship, believing that they would be valuable
to the Church."




INTRODUC TION.                  27
earlier times, assail her doctrines or endeavor to impeach
her orthodoxy, the works now offered to the Church and
public will be a swift witness against her in the former
case, or a wall of defense in the latter. It is well for any
Church to have such guards thrown around her standards,
and such admonitions to contend earnestly for the faith
once delivered to the saints. These great way-marks of
the generations are not to be viewed merely as monuments of men that have lived, but as guides to men that
are yet to live, and the lapse of ages will but increase
their living power.
F. G. H.








SERMON S.
THE DUTY OF BELIEVING  AND CONFESSING.
" Witil the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation." Romans x, IO.
T is true, as Christ has said, that "Wisdon is justified of her children." Those doctrines of the
Christian revelation which annoy the unregenerate,
become as "marrow  and fatness" to them  who are
born of God. The believer can bear witness. Perhaps, before conversion, nothing perplexed him more
than faith; whereas, after conversion, nothing filled
him with greater admiration. Then he could realize
the force of those words, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life."
Confession, as well as faith, is to many a "stone
of stumbling." Christians attach an importance to
both, which, in the view of unbelievers, is wholly unaccountable. Unsanctified reason is confounded that
righteousness should be wrapped up in faith, and
salvation be made to hinge on confession. Yet God
has so ordained.  And if these connections are
29




30                   SERMONS.
mysterious and even repulsive to the unbelieving,
they are simple as well as grateful to him who enjoys
their saving benefits: "The secret of the Lord is
with them that fear him, and he will show them his
covenant. "
The text presents for discussion FAITH and CONFESSION, with the Scriptural relations or dependencies
of each.
I. FAITH-that faith which is "unto righteousness"-is, in the language of the text, believing
"with the heart."  In other words, it is such a belief in divine revelation as involves not only a conviction of its truth, but a hearty delight in it. As
thus defined, it is,
I. Simple belief. This is an office of the mind.
It is the mere perception of truth as such, regardless
of its bearing on our interests or affections. Applied
to Christianity, it is crediting the Scriptures as a
divine revelation, with all the truths which their just
interpretation inculcates; and especially those Gospel statements which may be aptly called the test
truths of the system, one of which is named in the
context: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from  the dead, thou shalt be
saved." Not that crediting this isolated fact would
save a man, but that the confession of this offensive
feature of the Gospel, in the face of persecution, implied a full Christian faith. But, according to the
text, saving faith is more. than this simple belief.
It is,
2. Believing "with the heart."  It is gust as well




TITE DUTY OF BELIEVING AND CONVFESSING. 31
as vision. It not only credits, but relishes the truths
of revelation. It is not only convinced, for instance,
that Christ is risen from the dead, but, like Mary at
the sepulcher, is joyfidlly convinced; and, in the surprise of rapt affection, cries out with Thomas, "My
Lord and my God!" Let us dwell a moment on
this feature of saving faith.
Propositions addressed to men's understandings
produce a great variety of inward states in the mind;
among others, belief and unbelief; and, in the affections, gratification and regret. How various the effects produced by a series of reports made to an
avaricious merchant concerning one of his ships at
sea-as, first, that she is lost with crew and cargo;
which, believed, inflicts pain.  Second, that she outrode the storm, and is safe, which, disbelieved, produces equal disappointment.  But at last the ship
comes in, and the commander in person reports her
safety and successes. This is credited with joy.
The first is an example of speculative faith like
his who credits Christianity, but feels that it is a
sentence of condemnation to him.  Of such there
are thousands. They are not the absolutely stupid
who scarcely take the pains to believe or disbelieve;
but are persons of more serious convictions, whose
faith disturbs their consciences-who, moved by the
Spirit, concede the truth of Christianity with some
solicitude, but find their tastes and views of interest
at war with their convictions.  Their belief witzout
t7e heart is an important element of faith; but, of
itself, it can neither comfort nor save. It belongs
in common to anxious sinners, undone reprobates,




32                   SERMONS.
and fallen angels -- " Thou believest there is one
God; thou doest well. The devils also believe and
tremble."
It may be questioned if the second example applies to our theme.  Yet there are men who say they
wish to believe the Bible, if they could find reasonable proofs of its divine inspiration. "Wish to believe and can not!" It is possible. For we learn
that men may "resist the Holy Ghost"-may resist
till they are forsaken to blindness of mind, are given
"over to believe a lie." Then light becomes darkness, and darkness light unto them.  They who
"would believe the Bible if they could," should look,
alarmed, into their own religious history, and consider
if they have not armed themselves against believing.
They who first "tzrz away their ears from  hearing
truth," may at last "be turned unto fables."  If we
struggle for years to disbelieve the Gospel, no wonder that, God-forsaken, we at last make it out.
The third example illustrates saving faith, which,
as stated, is the joyful belief of Gospel truth, which
credits Christian doctrine as the testimony of God,
and exults over it as good news from heaven-such
faith as the Psalmist had: "Thy word is very pure;
therefore thy servant loveth it;" "I rejoice at thy
Word as one that findeth great spoil."
3. This faith has spiritual limits. As a speculation, it credits all Bible truth; as an affection, it
relishes or delights in all. The believing heart is
docile. It first seeks to know, and then "receives
with meekness the ingrafted word." There is an
easy faith, which, not content with the old, sets




THE D UTY OF BELIE VING AND CONVFESSING. 3 3
itself to frame a new Bible. It expurgates and adds.
It fondly canonizes one series of texts and sharpens
criticism against another series. It is a bold operator. It leans with composure over the Bible; moves
and cuts, light-fingered, through and through its
pages; and in its progress makes and unmakes
worlds, quenches and kindles hells, or changes the
date and venue of these small things at pleasure!
True faith is quite another thing.  It will not
have a syllable added or blotted in God's book. It
abhors all expurgations. It will not tolerate tradition
as a supplement to Scripture. Its language is, "The
Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible!"
He who has this faith can say, "I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold." "How
sweet is thy word unto my taste! yea, sweeter than
honey to my mouth."
4. This faith embraces self-application.  What it
credits it also appropriates to its legitimate end; otherwise it could not be a hearty faith. How can we
cordially embrace the averments while we decline the
Gospel uses of God's truth?  Does not the same
authority which attests to us the truth assure to us
also its uses and its efficacy?  Take the promise,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved." Here are three particulars. The first is
faith: "Believe." The second is the object of faith:
" On the Lord jesus Christ."  The third is the efficacy
of faith: "And thou shalt be saved."  Must not faith
in this promise embrace each of these particulars?
If it leave out the second-" Jesus Christ "-can it be
a hearty faith? No more can it be hearty if it leave




34                  SERMONS.
out the third particular, "Thou shalt be saved."  To
doubt the efficacy of the promise as much dishonors
God as to doubt its whole truth, seeing both are
vouched for by the very same authority.
But cordially to believe each particular of this
promise is so to believe it as to secure or to experience its efficacy, because the only authorized method
to obtain the virtue of it is to "believe it with
the heart." Observe, however, we say cordially, or
"with the heart," as this qualification is the safeguard of the doctrine. For faith which thus involves
the affections is divinely wrought-is "of the operation of God."
It follows, then, in regard to thus believing with
the heart that it is a state of salvation-not of finishzed salvation, but of "rifhzteousness," which prepares
for, and is an element of it. This is no more than
to say that faith in this promise is such a state as
God has pledged shall be the adjunct of faith. And
here we are brought to
II. THE SCRIPTURAL RELATION OF FAITH AND
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Righteousness, in the text, has its evangelical
import, and means that freedom from guilt which
follows pardon, and that moral purity which flows
from "sanctification of the Spirit." Faith in Christ
is the condition on which these are received. The
text declares, "With the heart man believes unto
[both these branches of] righteousness." Not that
faith justifies by its intrinsic merit, or sanctifies by
its inherent power. The words are, "Believeth unto
righteousness." The merit is in Christ. The right



THE DUTY OF BELIE VING AND CONFESSING. 35
eousness is not in, but through faith, which derives to
the soul a gracious dispensation of God's pardoning
and purifying love. But as faith, and faith alone, can
reach this righteousness, it is known in Scripture as
"the righteousness of faith."
As to pardon, the Bible teaches us, "By Him all
that believe are justified from all things, from which
they could not be justified by the law of Moses."
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness."  "Therefore we conclude that a man
is justified by faith without the' deeds of the law."
In regard to purity the apostle says, "And put no
difference between us and them, purifying their hearts
by faith."  "That they may receive forgiveness of
sins, and inheritance among all them that are sanctified througa,  faith that is in me."  These, with many
other texts, clearly show that both pardon and sanctification are received through faith. We may add,
each blessing is enjoyed whenever the promises
which specifically pledge the one or the other are
believed with the heart.
It should be stated that the words, "nman believeth unto righteousness," have not only an inclusive,
but an exclusive force. Besides proclaiming the efficacy of faith, they enforce the inefficacy of all other
things, except as other things involve or infer faith.
This is plain from the connection. The preceding
verses array the righteousness of the law, as to its
saving efficacy against the righteousness of faith,
and condemn the Jews for going about to establish
the former, called "their own righteousness," instead




36                  SEzRMONS.
of submitting themselves to the latter, called "the
righteousness of God." In this connection the text
clearly and forcibly denies that righteousness can be
attained by any means but faith. God chooses none
to salvation, but "through sanctification of the Spirit,
and belief of the truth."
None, then, can devise a substitute for faith which
has not a concurrent, but an exclusive jurisdiction, so
to speak, over the grace which saves. All merit is in
Christ. All ways of seizing it are one; namely, faith.
We can acquire no merit by any amount of effort or
penance on our part. The holiest saints that live, or
ever lived, are so far behind all works of deserving,
that they have no plea for self-security, to say nothing of those rich supererogations which are cheaply
set over to the credit of the needy, whose recanted
heresies do not yield to the ordinary remedies. All
are needy, and all are guilty. "All have sinned,"
says the apostle, "and come short of the glory of
God."  All, then, must fly to the cross. Looking to
be saved in other ways is to reproach that very cross;
for "if righteousness come by the law, then is Christ
dead in vain."
As to our guilt, so far from being removed, not a
grain's weight can it be lizghtened by the sorest grief
for sin; by reformations the most exact; by selfdenials the most rigid; by penances the most abject,
painful, and protracted.  Should we commence all
these in early childhood, and pursue them unremittingly till death, so far from saving, without faith
they would involve us in growing guilt and ruin; and
the law which we "thought to be unto life," we should




THE DUTY OF BELIE VING AND CONFESSING. 3 7
find "to be unto death."  All such struggles after
life by the law would proclaim our disparaging views
of the Gospel; for, like Judaism, it would be going
about to establish our own righteousness instead of
submitting to the righteousness of God. From these
self-righteous deeds and self-denials, we must turn to
naked trust in Christ; or the Gospel, so full of mercy,
will denounce, in thunder-tones, "By the deeds of
the law shall no flesh be justified;" "He that believeth not shall be damned."
To this wholesome doctrine there is nothing to
object. Other things than faith may seem to be
made conditions of salvation; but they are all so
related to faith as to make the latter really the condition. Sometimes salvation seems to hinge on repentance; as, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish;" but repentance is connected with faith
as its forerunner. So of prayer: the context says,
"Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall
be saved; but," it is added, "how shall they call on
him, in whom they have not believed?" showing that
prayer involves faith. James would seem to teach
that we are saved by works; but he only means that
faith, without works, is simple belief, and not belief
"with the heart."  His doctrine is, that, unless our
deeds indicate our faith, our faith is defective, and
can not save our souls. And here we pass to another
branch of the subject; namely,
III. CONFESSION, which is also named in the text
as a condition of salvation; but which, as we shall see
when it comes in place, has this efficacy simply as
the cherisher and exemplifier of faith. ILet us now




38                   SERMONS.
glance at the  uatuzre, the matter, and the mode of
confession.
I. Its uzature is not determined by the meaning
of the word, which denotes assent to imputations on
our conduct, or the voluntary exposure of our evil
thoughts or deeds. This is a frequent meaning of it
in the Bible. The Israelites thus confessed, under
the reproofs of faithful prophets; and thus we are
told to "confess our faults one to another."
The confession named in the text is not of crime,
but rather of religious grace and virtue; namely,
faith in Christ. Yet it is confession; for it is, by
some, denounced as crime. Moreover, ancient forms
of martyrdom often challenged recantation with the
promise of escape; and to avow faith in Christ,
under such appalling circumstances, might well be
called "confession." But this avowal was confession,
whether with or without challenge; and so it is to
this day. If without, it is sometimes called professiozn; and that from  Scripture warrant.  Thomas
confessed, when he cried, "My Lord and my God!"
as well as Stephen, who testified before enraged foes.
And if the attending trials make it a "confession,"
there are crosses besides martyrdom. Derision and
reproach can wound as well as wild beasts; and
when the former assail us at the sacred fireside, they
may well claim for us the honors of confession.
But, if challenge were necessary, we have it from
God himself, who commands us to "be ready always
to give an answer to every man that asketh a reason
of the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear."
If not the foes, the friends of Christ will want the




THE DUTY OF BELIEVING AND CONFESSING. 39
reason of our hope; and shall we not be as ready
to meet the requirements of Christian love, as the
martyrs were to endure the demands of stern and
wrathful persecution?
2. As'to the matter of confession, the context
seems to limit it to Christ's resurrection: "If thou
confess, and believe in thine heart that God hathz
raised him from  tlze dead."  To understand this we
must regard the spirit of it. Certain acts, in given
circumstances, prove sincere piety, when, in different circumstances, they would prove nothing at all.
Look at Daniel. Kneeling for prayer by his window,
displayed, in the circumstances, heroic zeal for God;
but take away the king's decree and den of lions, and
suppose his prayers offered up in the city of Jerusalem, where the most profane Jew observed the
custom, and this act of Daniel loses all its force.
Another examtnple is the conduct of the three "Hebrew Worthies."  Not to worship idols on Mount
Zion was common to all classes, whether pious or
profane.  But, in Babylon, where nations bowed
down in submission to royal edicts enforced by the
terrors of a burning, fiery furnace, for three captive
strangers to resist, and hurl defiance at the monarch
in the name of Israel's God, was periling every
earthly interest, and afforded the strongest proof of
sanctity and zeal:
In the light of these examples how evident it is,
that confessing one offensive feature of Christianity
may involve a full confession of the system!  What
that feature is must be determined by the state
of public sentiment. In one age or region it may




40                  SERMONS.
depend on "caste;" in another, on the practice of
polygamy; and, in a third, on false histories or "traditions," which cherish national vanity or profane
superstitions, and are in conflict with the doctrines
or chronologies of Scripture.
In Paul's day the resurrection was peculiarly offensive, and concentered on itself the sum total of
the odium which fell upon Christianity. Christ was
slain as a deceiver. Except by his disciples he was
abhorred above mankind.  His resurrection would
not only draw after it his Godhead, but would infer
upon his crucifiers unexampled guilt. It was therefore the question of the times-the point of desperate conflict between Christ's friends and foes. When
persecution raged, it was directed to that point, and
met by the specific testimony of the unresisting
martyrs-a testimony cheerfully sealed in their own
blood. Surely this was a plenary confession, involving faith in Christ's Godhead, atonement, and offices,
in the inward work of the Spirit, in every doctrine
of his Word, and in his promises, even to that "exceeding precious" one, "He that loseth/ his life for
my sake shallfind it."
Thus the brief form of confession in the context
was made all-comprehensive by those existing circumstances which, whenever they return, will stamp
that form with its original force and meaning. But
to confess Christ's resurrection in the midst of present Christendom, would scarcely pledge a man to
decent orthodoxy, and might leave him suspected
of the grossest infidelity.  Of course true confession must be made more explicit. When popular




THE DUTY OF BELIEVING AND CONFESSING. 4!
sentiment moves men not to deny, but acknowledge
Christ, as the true God and risen Savior, if the disciple would bear the cross of true confession, he
must go some steps beyond that unoffensive summary, to those features which now come under the
ban of public prejudice. Maintaining these with the
firmness of a martyr, he will show that he is not
ashamed of Christ or of his Word; for Religion has
still unwelcome features, and always will have to unsanctified minds. Moreover, she will be subject to
that milder persecution which, when it does not bind
and burn, will turn its victim over to contempt and
ridicule.
An ingenious writer hints that religious persecution has passed through several stages, answering
to the progress of Divine Revelation. Its first aim
was God the Father, in that Divine unity which stood
opposed to idolatry and polytheism, and in defense
of which so many prophets gave their lives. Next it
assailed God the Son; first in his own sacred person,
and then in that great "cloud of witnesses" who
"loved not their lives unto the death."  Now it wars
against God the Holy Ghost, by deriding his gracious
work upon the souls of men.
Is there no ground for these distinctions? What
doctrinal test can now separate the true Christian
from an orthodox, guilty world'? The unity of God
was a badge to the Jew, but none to Christ's disciple,
for all Jewry held it; and to Christ's very crucifiers
it might have been said, "Ye believe there is one
God-the devils also believe."  The resurrection was,
in turn, a badge to the apostles, but it can be none
4




42                  SERMONS.
to us; for now to the worst blasphemer it may be
said, "Thou believest Christ is risen-devils also
believe." These ancient tests are obsolete in Christendom, unless sometimes arrayed against a haggard
infidelity which lingers here and there in low and
vulgar haunts.
What, then, is now required?  Confessions of
Christ in the work of the Holy Spirit-that Comforter which he sent to "take of the things of Christ,
and show them unto us" —confessions from living
witnesses that the Spirit reproves, regenerates, and
"sanctifies wholly," through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Jews testified of God's works in their day- the
apostles, of his miraculous deeds in the commencement of Christianity; and what belongs to us? We
can recount no plagues like those which smote Egypt,
nor delivering miracles like those of the exodus. Yet
God has not withdrawn his presence from our world.
He "works a work" in our day. "It shall come
to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour
out of my Spirit upon all flesh." This he now does,
as we have seen and known, convincing and regenerating-" sprinkling clean water upon" us that we may
"be clean."  And of the plagues of sin within us,
worse than the plagues of Egypt-of the rod, not of
Aaron, but of Christ smiting our rocky hearts and
causing the waters of repentance and then of joy to
gush forth —we too are witnesses.
Outward miracles in our day almost cease to
be disputed. Other matters are now drawn into the
issues which separate and antagonize the Church and
the world. Christ's Messiahship is yielded; but the




THE DUTY OF BELIE VING AND CONFESSING. 43
Spirit's gracious work is denied and derided. Not
the advent, but its ainm, provokes man's enmity; and
this has become the issue which must next be settled,
not merely with the world, but with formal Christianity. This in turn is the question-the point at
which persecution aims, with such annoying subtilties as her malice may employ when she dares not
use force; and, as faithful witnesses, we must shape
our testimony to her present modes of assault. Of
what avail is testimony which does not touch existing
issues?
3. The text prescribes the mode of confession;
and the mistakes committed on this point show how
important it is that the question should be settled by
Divine authority.
(I.) Some say, "My position in the Church testifies." Not so. For to this day "they are not all
Israel who are of Israel." The visible Church is not
mainly composed of Christians. It may be that
nineteen-twentieths of her members know nothing
of vital religion; and even her Protestant branches
are fields in which the tares and wheat "grow together until the harvest." Membership in such a
Church will not be received as an explicit avowal of
saving faith in Christ. A Church is condemned as
heartless and Christless for general silence on the
subject of experimental religion; and if an unwitnessing Chzzurch fall under such reproach, an unwitnessing member of it can surely fare no better. And
what if Church membership were a profession of
Christian "hope?" are we not commanded to "give
a reason of that hope?"




44                  SERMONS.
(2.) Others say, "Let your zlife testify."  Testify
what? If well ordered, it may testify the purity of
your morals, and the innocency of your social dispositions. It may prove you honest, industrious, and
neighborly; but all these you may be without regeneration or the love of God. How shall it be known
zw/y you are honest-whether grace or nature, the
love of Christ or the love of praise, makes you so?
Your life testify?  Absurd! As well might the
blameless conduct of a witness at the bar be offered
in reply to fifty cross questions.
(3.) The mode is fixed by God's authority. "With
the mnoutJh confession is made unto salvation;" that
is, in words spoken or written-for in different circumstances they are equal. This has been the usual
mode from the beginning. When Noah built the
ark, he mingled his testimony with his daily toil,
warning a wicked generation of its impending doom.
Those "holy men of old," the patriarchs and prophets,
"spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost;"
some of them enjoying his infallible guidance. The
Psalmist wished to "declare" what God had done for
his soul. He prays, "0 Lord, open thou my dizs, and
my moutth shall show forth thy praise."  In harmony
with the text, which connects faith and confession,
he says, "I believed, and therefore have I spoken."
The New Testament saints followed this example;
for the apostle says, "We also believe, and therefore
speak." Stephen testified with his expiring breath,
and Paul records his experience in its remarkable
details, visions, power, and all-not leaving out his call
to preach, nor even his visit to the third heavens. It




THE DUTY OF BELLE VING AND CONFiFESSING. 45
seems he was wont to relate all in his sermons, and
that before kings; not standing on his own apostolic
dignity, nor anxious about the violations of courtly
etiquette.
We ought to join the Church; else we reject
God's sacraments, and choose the world before God's
people. Like persons brought into court, we are
summoned into the Church to be qualified as witnesses by sacramental oaths. In the Church we
should behave with the utmost circumspection, so
that, our veracity unquestioned, we may testify with
the utmost effect. But all this does not fulfill the demand of the summons. Having the position and the
qualifications of a witness, we must next give our
testimony, and not stand in the Church like "mutes"
before the court.
IV. It remains to notice the relations or dependencies of confession. The text ascribes salvation to
it. But the Scriptures teach, as we have seen. that
faith is the only real or efficacious condition of being
saved, as Christ's merit through the Spirit is the only
efficacious cause. Let us consider, then, more carefully the shapings of the text.
"With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation," may seem  to institute a sort of double
proportion; namely, "as faiti is to rigohteousness, so
is confession to salvation."  But we must be guarded
in our understanding of "so is," not receiving it in
its precise technical force, or we shall do violence to
Scripture. Its force is to define the certainty of resuIts, but not the principle which works those results.




46                   SERMONS.
It may be difficult to illustrate this distinction,
which, metaphysical as it may be in aspect, is vital
both in theology and in experience, as every thing is
which affects our views of faith. If a man should
say to his neighbor, "The fountain by yonder hill
supplies water to the vale, and these minute streams
revive the withered herbage," two relations — connecting the fountain with the vale, and the streams
with the herbage —would be expressed; but two
other relations - connecting the fountain with the
streams, and the fountain with the herbage —would
be implied; and these last, being familiar to our experience, would impress us as forcibly as though
they were expressed. So in the text, the relations
of faith to righteousness, and of confession to salvation, are expressed; but the relation of faith to confession and to salvation is not expressed. Faith, as
a conzdition, bears the same relation to these which
the fountain bears to the streams and the refreshed
herbage: it gathers into the soul, from Christ the
hidden source, the life-waters of salvation; but confession, as an outward act of faith, renders these lifewaters refreshing and beneficent.
In the light of this illustration we may perceive
in how different a sense confession and faith are conditions of salvation. Faith is the real or efficacious
condition; yet, as confession must interpose, like the
streams, to attain the end of faith, it is ordinarily as
indispensable as faith itself.  Even the thief upon
the cross not only believed but confessed, suddenly
as he was hurried into the presence of his Judge.
But what service does confession render which




THE DUTY OF BELIEVING AND CONFESSING. 47
makes it indispensable?  It cherishes and exemplifies our Christian graces.
I. It cherishes them, as light and air do the plants
which must perish without their influence.
(I.) Confession promotes khmility.  Tracing our
pardon and purification to Christ is conceding our
own guilt, pollution, and helplessness. To claim
Christ as a Savior, is to proclaim self a sinner. This
is a cross against' which pride rallies, and which,
borne, lays pride in the dust. Confession glories in
the cross, which is glorying in self-abasement, yea, in
self-crucifixion, as Paul did when the Pharisee was
dead in him: "God forbid that I should glory save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom I am
crucified to the world." What he once thought of
that in which his humility now gloried, is familiar to
us all.. When Peter stood in the judgment-hall and
warmed himself, confession would not only have
humbled, but would have saved him.
(2.) Confession aids self-colsecration, by dissolving
our connection with the world, and breaking up our
union with the creatures. It says, not of the friends,
but of the enemies of religion, " Let us break their
bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."
It yields a public -pledge to Christ and his Church,
and fortifies religious purpose by compelling its worst
foes, such as earthly policy and the sense of shame,
to become its aids and allies. If the Christian would
multiply the cords which bind his sacrifice to the
altar, let him often proclaim his purpose to keep it
there. God will employ our confessions to lead us
out of the world into his closer fellowship. What we




48                   SERMONS.
feebly bind on earth he will be pleased to bind in
heaven, writing on our hearts, "I will receive you."
(3.) Confession strengthens faith itself: Like filial
piety, it nourishes its parent. It is to faith like those
braces which the juices of the stalk throw out for
self-support. Its influence may partly depend on the
laws of mind; for such is our mental constitution that
avowal fortifies and almost creates conviction.  In
this way skepticism has been wrought into atheism;
for men have become confirmed in infidelity by lightly
vindicating it in conversation. And if against evidence a man can talk himself into the belief of fatal
error, how much more may he deepen the impressions
of truth, when he has reason and conscience on his
side to enforce his own avowals? Doubtless, on natural principles, confession strengthens faith.
And so it does evangelically or by the Holy Spirit,
under whose gracious culture the renovated heart is
like a vine which becomes more fruitful for its pluckings.  God will work faith in them who use it for his
glory, by standing up in its strength as his unflinching witnesses: "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me;
and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will
I show the salvation of God."
2. Confession is the represeztative of faith.  It
is true that good works execute the same office:
"Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will
show thee my faith by my works." Thus the apostle.
But important as works are to confirm our testimony,
they fail in some respects to represent our Christian
graces.  They are sometimes unseasonable.  Confession is quick, works are slow. That requires a




THE DUTY OF BELIERVING AND CONFESSING. 49
moment; these consume months or years. The thief
upon the cross had time merely to confess, which, in
his circumstances, was "the cup of cold water;" for
though his faith could only cast one look at Christ,
its confiding exclamation so kindled the Savior's pity
that it blazed into trains of light and guided him to
paradise.
Works can only give a bird's-eye view of faith.
They can not report the minute changes of experience-the trials and assaults, the conflicts, wounds,
and triumphs, of the Christian warfare. But confession can map out every turn in the pilgrim's course
to Canaan; and, for warning and encouragement to
those who follow after, can describe each help and
hinderance he meets with in the way. If works lay
down the heads of our experience, confession fills up
the skeleton.
And we must not forget that confession is itself
one of the most important works of faith. It is the
genesis of them all, and its omission betrays a want
of earnestness in religion, a state of heart unfruitful
of all good works. He whose zeal does not confess,
will limp and lag in other duties. The power which
can not turn her wheels will never move the steamer
As a general rule, the grace which has force enough
to act, will move its subject to proclaim God's saving
mercies.  "I have believed, and therefore have I
spoken," was the experience of early times. And so
under the Gospel: "We also believe, and therefore
speak."  Here the word "therefore" involves a vital
principle; namely, faith speaks. Its very instinct is
to vent itself in words. Its birth is usually not in
5




50                  SERMONS.
silence, but with the voice of groans; and when the
work is finished, and Sabbath calms and raptures now
first betide the soul, no wonder if over the new creation there is a "shouting aloud for joy."  May not
the dying penitent, new-born of the Spirit, be roused
by that which moves the sons of God in paradise?
"There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth."
There is a still-born faith, which should be always
silent, for it would be misrepresented by a show of
roused affections. What has no inward ardors demands no outward signs. There is a way of thinking
which men call faith. As it touches not the heart,
both heart and lip are still.  It moves, like surgery
through a hospital, around the Savior's cross, but
with a colder speculation regards the suffering victim.
The faith which speaks is different. To its renewed
affections the cross is a home-tragedy, where science
is a mockery, but the yielding heart dissolves amid
the groans and death-throes of the atoning Son of
God.  He who has this faith, believing "with the
heart," may sometimes find himself in untoward
moods for silence. His musings may kindle fires not
easily controlled, which, bursting the barriers of his
own false discretion, will remind him of that saying,
"If these should hold their peace, the very stones
would cry out."  The glorious things revealed, the
ardors of his divinely wrought conviction, and the
new creations "unto righteousness," which take his
being captive, may render silence inconvenient. Thus
it seemed to be with David, in the sixty-sixth Psalm.
While his song premeditated joyful offerings in the




THE D UTY OF BELIE VING AND CONFESSING. 5 1
tabernacle, he felt such sudden overflows of rapture
as could not brook the delays and moderations of his
plan; and he seemed disposed to hurry up a lovefeast in the palace: "Come and hear, all ye that fear
God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul."
How vital, then, is the connection between confession and salvation!  Without faith we can not be
saved. And confession, as we have seen, must cherish and prove our faith. And, above all, if our faith
be of the heart as well as of the intellect, it will
speak, even as the breath comes and goes by the urgencies of nature. Then let us beware of silence.
If it has already grieved the Holy Spirit, till confession is no longer easy and spontaneous as it was at
our conversion, let us proceed to enact, as a duty,
that which should have been a privilege, and thus recover what is lost. If it is still a privilege, let us not
"sell our birthright."  Let us be faithful witnesses,
and keep back nothing.  The text is broad, and
covers all experience-not select portions of it which
involve no cross, because they invite no reproach.
Our confession must be of God's grace, whatever it
hath wrought in its regenerating, comforting, and
sanctifying forms; or, unlike the Psalmist, we hide
God's "righteousness within our hearts," and "withhold his loving-kindness and his truth from the great
congregation." We do not " talk of all his wondrous
works."
It is true that circumstances should be regarded
in performing this great duty. To confess perfect
love in a large and mixed assembly would be unseasonable; but to do it in a love-feast would be highly




5'2                 SERMONS.
proper; for there, unless the Discipline has been
grossly violated, it will not be "casting pearls before
swine." Rising in such a place to relate God's dealings with us, we should feel that we are as witnesses
sworn "to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
~but the truth;" or to "declare what he hath done for
our souls." This will edify both ourselves and those
-who hear. The Psalmist not only looked for self-relief, but expected to minister comfort to others. "My
soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble
shall hear thereof and be glad."  "From  you," says
the apostle, "sounded out the word of the Lord;
and in every place your faith to God-ward is spread
abroad, so that we need not to speak any thing."
This at least borders on declaring that even the necessity of apostolic ministrations was waived by the
confessions of the Thessalonian converts.  Nor is it
strange,; for what argument can have the force of
simple testimony?
We may say, then, confession "is twice blessed;"
is blessed in him that speaks and him that hears. It
is a "stream that maketh glad" on every side. Not
only does its outflow refresh the house of God, but
with a reflex force it returns on the confessor, and
sets all inward grace in motion, which occasion the
Holy Spirit seizes to enlarge and fill the channels of
his inward life, and sweetly multiply the volume of
his graces. May God so enrich us with his abounding grace that, as Paul prayed for Philemon, "the
cozmmunnz ication of oaur faith may become effectual by
the acknowledging of every good thing which is in us
ilz Christ yesus!"




CHRIZS TIA  AN GER.             5 3
II.
CHRISTIAN ANGER.
"Be ye anzgy, and sin not." Ephesians iv, 26.
A NGER is commonly reckoned among the vices;
and so seldom, since the fall, is it worthy of
a different classification, that the inspired writings
mostly fall in with the usage. Hence it- is written,:" Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, be put
away from you."  Yet the text represents anger as
of possible innocence and propriety, not only prescribing it a limit, but also affording it a license;
from which the inference is legitimate, that the passion is not evil in itself, but becomes so by the unwarranted forms, or occasions of it.
If this is questioned, we have only to observe how
oppositely the vices are treated in this same chapter,
wherein theft and falsehood are unconditionally forbidden, no possible form of either being allowed.
And in addition to these hints, we must remember,
that while theft and falsehood are prohibited in the
decalogue, anger is not embraced in the preceptive
summary. Connect with these considerations the fact
that our Savior was angry and yet immaculate, and
we are compelled to believe that there are harmless
and praiseworthy forms of this passion.




54                  SERMONS.
But while innocent anger is possible, we shall all
agree that it is difficult. In its best ordered forms
it conducts us into the neighborhood of sin-into a
region full of dangers. The qualifications of unoffending anger are so many and so vital, as amount
almost to a prohibition; which we shall easily perceive as we proceed to discuss the question, "How
can we be angry and not sin?"
Engrossing the principal points of the inquiry,
we propose that Christian anger (by which we mean
such anger as Christ experienced and warrants) has
just PROVOCATIONS, MEASURES, MANIFESTATIONS, and
PERIODS. Let us consider each.
I. CHRISTIAN ANGER HAS JUST PROVOCATIONS.
To assure ourselves of a sufficient provocation, we
should inquire,
I. If the reputed offender has done wrong. This
may prove a perplexing question. Blinded by interest, we can not safely trust ourselves to decide it.
What we call wrong may happen to be right; the
other party may vindicate it-may urge against us
cross-complaints, and set forth himself as the aggrieved person. Differences of opinion, in such cases,
may be expected, and it will be safe to learn the views
of disinterested observers, and, if they decide against
us, abide their verdict. But if the wrong be clearly
and confessedly on the other side, we must proceed
to inquire,
2. Whether that wrong was intended.  If not,
though it may put us to inconvenience and awaken
our regrets, it should not provoke our anger. Let us
view it as a trial of Providence, and study how it may




CHRISTIAN ANGER.               55
subserve a gracious end, by schooling our hearts to
meekness-that most difficult attainment. Our Christian graces need a discipline of this sort to strengthen
and mature them. And while the trial presses on us,
shall we indulge the very tempers which it was sent
to mortify?  It is unreasonable to be angry at an
inadvertent trespasser. A sailor will sometimes curse
the winds, and the currents, and the tides, when they
happen to be adverse; and shall we, Christians, do
worse, by indulging a heat of evil temper at the erring fellow-mortal, who, by mere mistake, has wounded
us? This were unworthy of our zature, vicious as it
is, and were an utter reproach to grace. But if the
wrong seem intended, we must wait to inquire,
3. If that inzte;tionz can be proven.  Nothing can
warrant anger but the most conclusive evidence that
occasions do exist. And if the wrong be indisputable,
malice must not be presumed, lest the charity which
"thinketh no evil" should be wounded. Grant that
malice is probable in the eye of impartial observation,
yet that probability should wait for proof, instead of
which there may come up counter-proofs, dispelling
our suspicions, and opening to our love a way of
peace and fellowship. There is an argument for this
delay in the proverbial carelessness of kind and easy
tempers, which often inflict a wound when they propose to heal one.
If anger thus delay, we are sure to lose nothing.
Let the wrong prove to have been malicious, that
very delay will show that our passion is not blind,
but blends with a fixed and righteous principle far
more formidable than any fretful impulse of our nature.




5 6                 SERMONS.
The proof here spoken of must be not only of a
wrong, but of malice in the actor.  And if this be
made out, we must inquire,
4. If the trespasser has repented. Repentance can
not atone for sin, or repair a wrong committed; but
it shows a will for both, if they were possible. Christ
forgives believing penitents without impossible restitution, having himself atoned to justice in their behalf. Shall we spurn whom Christ forgives, receives,
and loves? As we prize the hope of pardon, we
must not, dare not do it. Do we not pray, "forgive
our debts, as we forgive our debtors?" What is the
force of such a prayer to them who spurn the penitent
offender against their peace or dignity? The repentance of our enemy must finish off our anger, or we,
in turn, become malicious.
And we must be forward to perceive the tokens
of his penitence. Our charity must watch with fond
desire for that moral state in him, over which angels
will rejoice. We must not regret, like Satan, to see
repentance in our foe. We must not cavil, like him
who said, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"  Let us, vile and guilty, expecting heaven
by gracious acquittals which will cost the blood of
Christ, be sure to pardon a fellow-servant who lies in
prostrate penitence at our Redeemer's feet. But
suppose the offender betrays an after-malice: we
must then inquire,
5. Whether we have Used due means to bring him to
repentance. This we are solemnly bound to do. And
what are due means is not left to our discretion, but
laid down with great precision in the Word of God:




CHRS TIAN ANGER.              57
"If thy brother offend against thee, go and tell him
his fault."  Hereafter this and cognate Scriptures
will be more fully considered. It is enough to say
at present, that this visit to the offender must go before all anger. The errand may be ungrateful, but
Jehovah has imposed it. And the precept is one of
mercy toward both parties, promising to "save souls
from death, and hide-a multitude of sins." The message is peace-making, and the obedient messenger
may well be "called the child of God."  To mediate
peace in matters which do not involve ourselves, is
well pleasing to the Almighty; but to do it under
wrongs inflicted by him  whose guilty passions we
would pacify, is sublimely meek and Christ-like. It
brings honor to religion. Its utility is past reckoning. Under this Gospel regimen, more than half the
quarrels of mankind might be healed, and seldom
should we see budding mischiefs ripen into cruel
enmities.
And if this measure fail, others must be resorted
to before we can innocently assume the final ground:
"Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." If a man of the world offend against us, to visit
him and urge our claim to restitution or concession,
will show a spirit of forbearance adapted to commend
the religion which we love.
Finally: if these prescribed means move not the
heart to penitence, a sufficient provocation to anger
may be assumed. But with this just occasion, we
must see that our anger be not sinful,
II. IN ITS MEASURES.
Nothing should provoke us to. a burning, blinding




58                  SERAMONS.
passion. Sinless anger is a deliberate, clear-sighted,
strong displacency. In regard to its degrees, we must
observe the following cautions:
I. It must be so moderated as not to hurt ourselves.
In its usual forms, it is a violent, peace-disturbing
passion, and, unrestrained, makes the bosom a volcano. When its fires begin to kindle, we may well
warn the soul as the apostle did the jailer, "Do thyself no harm." There have been instances in which
the hangman's rope was not more fatal than this
passion; for the wrath of the immortal was more
than the mortal could endure. But far short of such
excesses, less suddenly, but not less surely, the passion
is soul-killing. Religion, especially in its higher life,
withers under its blight; and must wither, because
the gracious agency which sustains it, at first withstood, is finally withdrawn. Will the peaceful dove
rest amidst the battle fires? No more will the Holy
Spirit dwell in bosoms convulsed by raging passions.
The heavenly Guest must have a peaceful home. Let
us be sure, then, so to moderate our anger as not to
drive the Holy Spirit from our hearts. Then it will
not wound us. Like some other passions, sinful until
cleansed, let it be crucified with Christ, and with
Christ rise again, and then, untouched by the hand
which nature would put forth to it, it will be always
heaven-ascending, lifting us upward toward the everblessed God. Each sanctified emotion tends to this
result, deepening our devotion, kindling in us warmer
love for man, and for our Maker. Anger which does
it not is sinful, and brings a snare.
2. Anger in just measures does not iajure others.




CHRISTIAN ANGER.              59
To retaliate is always sinful. God reserves that office
to himself: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith
the Lord." Shall we usurp his rod of punishments?
Then he will smite the smiter. Whatever may provoke us, let us observe the mandate, "Neither render
evil for evil unto any man." How exceedingly comprehensive is this precept! Here all methods of revenge are reprobated. Neither openly nor covertlyby violence, nor by the subtilty of sly insinuationmay we molest a foe, except for absolute self-defense.
Some men's anger approaches madness. It unfits
them for society, and makes their going abroad unsafe. Enraged, they do not always distinguish friends
from foes. Their hurricane of passion pours its vengeance upon all, and plunges the offending and the
harmless in one common doom. Yet less to be
dreaded are they still than a noiseless class of enemies, who, like the coiled serpent in your unsuspected
pathway, make sure but silent work of it. There
are ways of mischief-doing, which employ no bowieknife. A sharpened tongue can butcher. The eye
can blink-the lip can curl-making a wound deeper
and more painful than lead or steel can give. All
these methods of revenge we must forever eschew.
Could we conceal them from Omniscience, the question of right would still, or ought to, press upon our
conscience. We must, then, guard our anger with
most industrious vigilance, and pray as well as guard.
It is difficult for anger to do or say nothing wantonly
to molest a persecutor. Our unsanctified nature can
not compass it. As to the world, its very friendship is less kind. 0, what a world it is, through the




60.                 SERMONS.
revengeful, treacherous conduct of mankind!!  What
oceans of misery are supplied by countless streams
from that one fountain!
The first thought of revenge, from whatever provocation, should alarm us; for it is of hell's injection.
If the spark be quenched at once, all is safe. But
for this, the conception must instantly warn us to the
closet, where, in pleadings for our foe, all imbittdred
feelings shall be sweetened into charity. The conclusion is, that whenever our displeasure would inflict
evil on an enemy, it is sinful in its neaszure.
3. Anger, in just degrees, will do good to its object.
It blends with a benevolence so fervent and diffusive,
that not to injure can not satisfy it.  Some. men abstain from injuring a foe, yet feed on his distresses,
inflicted by other hands. They will not throw down
his fence, and waste his harvests, but neither will
they repair a breach, and eject the roving herd. They
will not fire his dwelling, nor mourn if others fire it.
They are not murderers, but cannibals. Others slaythey eat.  Is it sinless?  "This wisdom  cometh not
from above; but is earthly, sensual, devilish." It has
the cruelty without the courage of mature, infernal
malice. When Christ was angry, "being grieved for
the hardness of their hearts," did his passion crave
to feast itself on his erring creature's sufferings?
Nay; his bowels yearned to bless them. Such must
be our anger. It must fulfill that blessed precept,
"Do good to them that hate you, and pray for-them
which persecute you."
As to the measures of our anger, then, it must
be so moderated as not to.hurt ourselves, -injure




CHRISTIAN ANGER.               6I
others, or restrain our kind offices toward the subjects
of it.
III. CHRISTIAN ANGER HAS JUST MANIFESTATIONS.
Here are two things which we will separately
notice.
I. Our anger must be manifested.  Concealment
alone will make it sinful. This should not be forgotten.  Some take concealment to be a virtue, because it veils a wrong from  the public eye which
might otherwise become an element of social discord.
But have they forgotten that our Savior forbids concealment, or at least enjoins a limited disclosure?
"If- thy brother offend against thee, go and show him
his fault."  This language creates a solemn obligation. It binds the injured man to go and state to the
offender the occasions of his displacency or anger.
And lest grief or pride should prevent him, the precept is varied thus: "If thou bring thy gift to the
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath
aught against thee, leave there thy gift before. the
altar and go thy way: first be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer thy gift." These
two precepts cover the whole ground, and leave no
license to either party for delay. Whether more or
less to blame, or not at all, is equal, so far as this interview for peace is concerned. If both instantly
obey, the parties may meet in the public highway, so
intent on making up the difference, that the "sun
will not go down upon their wrath."
"Reconciliation" involves a statement of the offense and its occasions. To secure so good an end,
we are commanded to withhold the sacrifice and




62                  SERMONS.
adjourn religious rites. In the spirit of this precept,
should not the very closet be forsaken through our
haste to pacify, lest our devotions become offensive
unto God?
These directions of our Lord were probably the
basis of that language in the Discipline, "Tell every
one under' your care what you think wrong in his
conduct and temper, else it will fester in your heart;
make all haste to cast the fire out of your bosom."
"It will fester in your heart"-that is a true philosophy. And to conceal our disgust toward a personal adversary will produce the same effect, and
kindle unholy flames within us. The only way to
cast the fire out of our bosoms is to declare our displacency to him who has provoked it.
2. But this manifestation of anger must be just.
We must keep in mind the object of our interview,
namely, reconciliation; or, that we may "gain our
brother."  "Go and be reconciled," says Jesus. We
must go, then, with winning words, and prosecute our
errand with meek but manly gentleness. We must
convince the trespasser that we are not implacably
offended, and that we claim, as grounds of peace, no
more than he can well afford to yield. Toward a
brother in the Church, the Scriptural mode of manifesting anger, though adverted to already, will be
noticed more at length.
(I.) "Go and tell him his fault." TellI him —the
offender. It is a common error to tell others, but not
him. And who can fail to see that this is a "warmeasure?"  If we whisper the wrong to others, it will
soon fly abroad, and the whole town may know it




CHRISTIA N ANGER.              63
before it reaches the wrong-doer. And when the
floating proverb comes to him, through the circles
of social gossip, it must provoke resentment and foreclose the way to peace. It leaves him no hope so to
explain, concede, or vindicate, as to screen the parties
from public reprehension and reproach. Yield him
the advantage of knowing, before.his neighbors do,
the nature of your grievances, so that, without their
intermeddling, he may make you restitution.
(2.) Tell him  his fault "between thee and him
alone." Throw in his way no avoidable embarrassments, or you set him on an effort at self-vindication.
Strengthen the motive to concession by tendering
him a confidential interview, which ought to win his
gratitude and move the hardness of his nature toward
an endeavor after peace.
(3.) Should this fail, "take with you one or two witnesses," and with their aid repeat the effort. They
will testify your zeal for peace, and, if discreetly
chosen, their persuasive mediation may contribute
much toward the healing of the breach. If still unsuccessful,
(4) " Tell it to the Chunrch."  Summon the offender
before her tribunals, and there let him answer to your
complaints. If he refuse submission to the order of
the Church, or slight the decision of her courts, rendered according to her usages or canons,
(5.) "Let him be unto thee as a heathen man
and a publican."  Decline to hold communion with
him as a Christian, and no longer recognize him in
that endearing fellowship. This is the severest form
of Christian anger. It warrants neither hatred nor




64                  SERMONS.
revenge; Ior either would be sinful toward a heathen
man or publican. But it authorizes a display of strong
and spirited displacency. To meet the offender with
flushed cheek, and repel him in a rage, may not befit
the meekness of true Christian dignity. But reproof
can be administered by formal, slight obeisances. And
we not only may, but must (for the phrase is mandatory) withhold from him the tokens of fraternal and
complacent love. To say nothing of ourselves, this
is due to the Church, whose honor is involved in the
obstinate misbehavior of her refractory member.
If not a member of the Church, can we pursue a
better course than that comprising the first three
steps herein laid down? We can not take it before
the Church, whose jurisdiction reaches only to her
members. But if we may, in part, let us adopt the
counsels of our Lord, rather than the devices of an
erring human intellect. Christ's precept is, doubtless, based on reason, or adapted to the human constitution, and should, therefore, be obeyed. If we gain
-no more by this course than salutary restraints on our
own rising passions, it were a vital benefit. But, possibly, our ungodly enemy may see that our religion is
not powerless, but holds in check the impetuous rage
of nature, and subdues the soul to Christ; which may
commend it to his notice, and move him to seek its
renovating grace.
Thus must Christian anger have just manifestations; or, exhibit itself in forms prescribed by Holy
Writ. This is especially binding between members
of the Church, and, as far as circumstances will permit, should be carried out in the Christian's dealings




CHRISTIAN ANGER.               65
toward men of the world, who know, or may know,
what the Gospel requires of us.
IV. CHRISTIAN ANGER MUST HAVE JUST PERIODS.
The heat of it must be quenched, though the principle of it may continue, if need be, through life.
But we will notice more particularly the risings and
the quietings of it.
I. As to the risings of anger, we must carefully
regard the injunction, "slow to wriath."  It is unsafe
to leap suddenly to the summit-level of this passion;
for by such a daring movement the soul must gather
an impetus which will carry it too high. Better try
an inclined plane, and ascend with careful observation, learning where to stop, and preserving enough
of self-possession to make a stand. To get angry as
here proposed, is a deliberate procedure. Waiting
to muster the provocations, adjust the measures, and
mete out the manifestations, must, of course, prevent
haste. And if it seem a slow business to men of
choleric inclination, they should consider that these
necessary haltings guaranty the very thing enjoined
by our blessed Lord. But this deliberation is important, aside from the principle of obedience. It
will save ourselves and others many and great mortifications. A temper which kindles into flashes almost without a touch, is a perpetual self-annoyance.
It is like burning at the stake. The victim of this
irascibility should be pitied. His soul hath a cutaneous disorder, which fills and defiles it with uneasy
inflammations. Or it hath St. Vitus' dance, and for
its own sake should hurry after a cure.
Others, also, are annoyed. It is a spreading, as
6




66                  SERMONS.
well as an uncomfortable sickness, touching with unclean contagions the undiseased around us.  One
petulant spirit in a community of thousands, will
contrive to work half the number into a state of fretful discords. It is a drawback on one's bliss to fall
into a street, or ward, beset by such a nuisance. One
can bear sights and smells of every disagreeable sort
better than proximity to such a moving shell of mischief, overcharged with mortal mixture of missile and
combustible, and ready, you know not when, for unprovoked explosions.  For these, and many more
reasons, how needful the Scriptural caution, "slow
to wrath!"
2. As anger must be slow in its beginning, so nmust
it be quick in its decline. " Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath." That is, hasten to remove the
occasions, or quench the fervor of your displeasure.
Delay here is perilous, and instant resort to prayer
and the means of reconciliation is your only safety.
A just displacency, such as we have already described,
may last as long as the' offender is relentless, but the
fervid heat of displacency will be as fire in your bosom, and must be instantly cast out. The "wrath" of
anger must not stay with us. It is wrong in itself,
and leads to overt acts of wrong. Long continued, it
will turn to a deep and burning malice. Would you
sleep in contact with a battery, whose strong galvanic
-force distorts the very limbs and features?  Make
-haste to pacify thy enemy. Quench these lightnings
of the soul. Cast the fire out of your bosom. Before the sun go down, seek and find that "peace which
passeth all understanding," then go and take thy rest.




CHRISTIAN ANGER.               67
That is sinless anger, whose risings and whose quietings agree with these divine warnings.
Having pointed out the qualifications of Christian
anger, it may be profitable to observe,
I. That such anger is rare. In this all will agree,
even though they should affirm that all other forms
of this passion are innocent. Of the anger here described, where shall we find examples? They may
be more frequent than volcanoes, and may create less
surprise. But shall we, on this account, lower the
standard of Christian affection?  We are aware it
may be urged, that "unless we resent injuries a proud
world will trample on us." Doubtless it will. But
did it not trample on Christ and his Apostles?
Happy for the bleeding cause of Christ, when its adherents shall "have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove them!"  Happy
for the cause, when Christians shall pursue a course
so unlike the world, that the world will find in their
non-conformity a provocation to trample on them as
it did on saints of old!
2. Sinful anger is very common. This, we presume, will -not be disputed. For what a world of rage
this has been, from the days of Cain until now! War
is the grand feature of its history. If all the resentments and wrongs of six thousand years could be
snatched from their oblivion and wrought into living
chronicles, who but demons could endure the mere
recital of them? This is, indeed, an angry world.
Yet if the Church were placable, it would afford a
shade of relief to this dark picture. But is she? As
a general rule, even among professing Christians, is




68                   SERMONS.
not anger a resentful passion, rather than a Christlike indignation?  Her members often forbear revenge; but, alas! it is often more from a dread of
retribution than from the restraints of holy charity.
Perhaps revenge is sought-not tragically, but in the
subtile whispers of detraction, poured into the willing
ears of connivers at the mischief. Forgiveness, full
and free, is little practiced in the Church, except for
selfish ends.  Many seem to forgive; but it is often
the suppression of a curse, not the hearty pouring
forth of blessings, as it should be, to merit that designation.
3. Sinfud anger is a great evil.  It is injurious to
the soul. To this how many backsliders owe their
fall, and how many reprobate apostates their ruin!
Their history warns us of Satan's devices. Well may
the Apostle add, in close connection with the text,
"neither give place to the devil;" for whoever surrenders himself to the dominion of resentful passion,
moves Satan to take the plenary seizin of his heart.
The Church also suffers. How deep her wounds
inflicted by the rancorous altercations of her children!
Schools of theology have waged against each other
wars of wordy wrath, and from the heated dialects of
their ambitious strife have found their way to each
other's bosoms, and finished with bloody steel, or
martyring fires, what was commenced in polemical
disputations.
4. We should watch against anger in our own
hearts. This especially becomes us in the midst of
strong provocations. It is assumed by many, and may
be true, that we have now strong provocations, and




CHRISTIAN ANGER.               69
should be filled with " holy indignation." If the provocations do exist, we need to exercise an answering
care and caution. In quiet seas, trust a careless
helmsman; but on a lee-shore, under the pressure of
a storm, take care who is at the helm.
Let it be granted that this is a day of rebukethat men's passions are let loose, and threaten to lay
waste and destroy, do we not need a calm and
guarded temper to meet so dread a crisis? It may
be safer to stop short, than to reach the utmost limits
of Christian anger. It is said there is a call for "holy
indignation." It may be there is a louder call for holy
caution, lest our indignation become unzoly. And
have we not experimented in holy indignation? Let
us turn awhile to holy self-abasement, and get into
the dust. Prayer may help us where indignation fails;
and prayer is out of the neighborhood of danger;
while they who use that weapon, "indignation," are
like men battling on the brink of a precipice in a
dark and stormy midnight.
Let all men be angry, as Christ was, on suitable
occasions. But is there not, just now, too strong a
tendency in this direction? It is easy to be angry. It
may come of existing provocations; but we must not
forget that Satan is wont to go, and stay, and mnix with
all things; and why not, then, with these very provocations? When in Job's day, the sons of God would
present themselves before the Lord, he must needs
go along, though the errand seemed forbidding. He
went, too, with a bold parable, and sued out a bold
commission.  May not that evil spirit whose work
was then so subtile and so formidable, contrive to




70                  SERMONS.
seize on these many provocations, and use them to
our disadvantage and discomfiture?  "What I say
unto you, I say unto all, WATCH!" is the warning of
our Lord.
5. Sanctified anger is always safe. On the words,
"Looking round about on them with anger, being
grieved for the hardness of their hearts," Mr. Wesley
says, "Angry at the sin, grieved at the sinner-the
true standard of Christian anger. But who can separate anger at the sin from  anger at the sinner?
None but a true believer in Christ." To do it with
assurance, we need mature grace. Feeble faith brings
too small a measure of the Spirit. If any sinful taint
remains in our affections, will it not show itself in
anger? If so, we may not hope to be angry without
sin, unless we are "crucified with Christ." He who
has the mind of Christ-who can say, " I live; yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me," may, like Him whose life
then reigns over a crucified nature, be "angry at the
sin, and grieved at the sinner."
May He circumcise our hearts to this end! May
"the very God of peace sanctify us wholly," and teach
us what changes his almighty power can work in our
very worst passions! Let the whole Church plead for
this as the voice of one man. And let each of her
members look to Christ, and be "healed of whatsoever
disease he has." Look thyself, O reader! look to
the ALMIGHTY SAVIOR! Look to him as ready to
save —ready to "save to the uttermost."  "Say not
in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven."  The
Purifier is near at hand, and not far off. Already his
arm is revealed. "Believe the report," precious soul,




CHRISTIANA ANGER.            7I
believe now and be saved; believe, and thou shalt be
blessed indeed. "Now unto him that is able to do
exceedinJg abundantly, above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us; unto him
be glory in the Church, by Christ Jesus, throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen."




72                   SERMONS.
III.
THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN.
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
Zwhzich are not seen." 2 Cor. iv, I8.
T 0 look at a thing sometimes means to contem1 plate it as an object of desire and pursuit. In
this sense things spiritual and invisible may become
objects of mental vision, and may absorb the attention of the soul.
The text asserts it as a fact in Christian experience that the minds of the pious are engaged in the
pursuit of an invisible good, to the neglect of those
multiplied objects which are soliciting us through the
senses.
"While we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen." The text also
announces facts which justify this habit of a pious
mind: "for the things which are seen are temporal,
but the things which are not seen are eternal."
We invite you to consider:
I. THE DIFFERENCE OF THINGS VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE.
II. THE DIFFERENT AFFECTIONS WE SHOULD BESTOW UPON THEM.
I. The difference of things visible and invisible.




THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEzN.          73
The text affirms that the things visible are "temporal." Arid here there is certainly a vein of true
philosophy, which any one may perceive without the
assistance of revelation. The visible and temporal
are considered as one. And how just is this view of
them  may be seen by a slight observation.  Cast
around and consider the changes which are passing
upon all your eyes can behold.
Human life consists of stages, each of which rejects
many former attributes, and develops those which
are new and strange. From the budding of life until,
matured, it wastes and vanishes into a spiritual invisible form, this is its character. You see, first, weeping
infancy rousing the sympathies of the maternal bosom by its appealing helplessness. Look again, and
infancy has given place to childhood, tripping around
in all the levity of laughing innocence, waiting like
the swelling bud, to spread its beauties to the light
of another morning sun. That sun arises, and the
graces of youth at once supplant the dimpled sweetness of childhood. The opened bud reveals the fullblown flower.  Beauty is penciled on every leaf of
this interesting chapter of human life. There are a
form and mien such as your fancy sketches when you
dream of Eden and its spotless bowers, and its tenants
fashioned in the likeness of God. But it is not merely
a grace of form, and a dignity of mien which enchant
you. These are coroneted with the commingled
beauties of the diamond and the rose. A voice, too,
sweeter than the tones of the lute, pour upon the soul
entrancing melodies, and wakes within it the joys of
time or eternity, of earth or heaven.
7




74A                  SERMONS.
We gaze and listen, and almost exclaim, "This
specimen of God's infinite skill was made never to
fade or perish."
"Age of strength, age of beauty, thou shalt remain
surely forever!"  Alas! we are mistaken.  These
graces are to fade like the rainbow from the cloud,
and leave nothing but night behind, unless the sun of
righteousness arise and diffuse abroad its light and
glory. Smitten by disease or withered by age, they
shall fly like the shadowy figures of a dream when
one awaketh. Yes, child of vanity,
"The roseate flush that dyes thy cheek,
All bright with beauty's glow,
Just like the radiant crimson streaks
Of sunset o'er the snow,"
shall fade forever. Age, like night, is hastening on to
blot with its shadows the fairy scene.
Thus the sweetness of childhood and the graces
of youth are supplanted  by gray, withering age.
Death and the grave follow after, and leave not a
wreck behind.
The works of man, as well as man himself, are
temporal. Among his works we rank many of the
productions of mind. The mind itself is invisible and
eternal. It will take to itself immortal graces, and
bear them to the skies; or it will be clothed in moral
corruption and wear the polluted garment in the
abodes of shame and everlasting dishonor. And alas!
how many reject the ornaments of piety suited to the
society of heaven, and exhaust all the energies of their
lives in seeking immortal ruin and disgrace!




THE SEENV AND THE UNSEEN.          75
But to pass this by. Many of the sciences which
owe their introduction to the inventive powers of
man, have assumed almost as many forms as fable
assigned to the renowned Proteus. Since men began
to examine the phenomena of nature and speculate
upon abstract principles, how many theories have followed each other in succession as rapid as the ocean
waves! Each in its day was honored by an infant
baptism, and consecrated by the name of truth. Each
had its sanguine advocates laughing at the folly of
its predecessors, and demonstrating the errors of their
systems, as we, in turn, now do theirs. We, indeed,
have improved much by adopting the method of induction in our search for truth. Yet a thousand
things which we admire will appear to rising generations monstrous absurdities. Our grandchildren will
laugh at the rudeness of many of our inventions, the
infancy of our sciences, and the blunders of our
boasted philosophy on many points where Ignorance
now sets her bounds to investigation and speculation
has boldly usurped the domain of facts. And thus,
all science and all philosophy, not founded in eternal
truth, shall at length be buried in one common grave,
with none to lament or eulogize them. Even the
provisional forms of the Church shall meet a like
doom. "For whether there be prophecies, they shall
fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away."
The productions of taste and of art are among the
visible temporal things. The decorations of civilized
life, all that can gratify the unholy mind, and much
that ministers pleasure to the sanctified, such as the




76                  SERMONS.
enchanting productions of the chisel and the pencil,
the palace of royalty and the temple of devotion,
which display the skill of architecture; in fine, all
that fancy has conceived and skill has fashioned, as
rare, or useful, or ornamental-all will perish like the
foliage of Autumn beneath the chilling blast. We
think we are building for eternity, and gathering together for endless ages. We purchase and alienate
by the proud words "to him and his heirs forever."
But the very terms are a libel upon the human understanding, and a reproach to Divine Providence.
Look back upon the past and take from its history
an impressive reproof of all this folly.
Where are now those splendid proofs of Grecian
genius which once surprised and delighted half the
world? Where are the breathing statues and architectural glories which sprung up, as by enchantment,
at the bidding of her sons? Time laid his hand upon
them, and they dissolved like vernal snows. They
appear like the waves of the sea-specimens of beauty
transformed to frightful ruins, which the solitary traveler weeps to behold. And will our works defy the
power which has wrought this magnificent destruction
upon the inimitable productions of ancient Greece?
No.  Our monuments of national achievements, the
aspiring to hear of our skill and enterprise, the embellishments of all our rising cities and flourishing
empires, of our temples, capitols, and monumental
columns; our artificial rivers, fraught with life and
freighted with commerce; our railroads, which make
us swifter than the birds of heaven; all these are
perishable, and like the hovel of the slothful poor,




THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN.            77
would soon "drop through" but for the unceasing
care of industry and skill, and must ultimately be
swept by the current of time into the ocean of
oblivion.
Again, riches are temporal.  Nothing is more
-coveted by the corrupt heart, and scarcely any thing
is so uncertain and insecure.  Although avarice is
craving as the grave, the passion is perhaps the most
unwarrantable of all the corrupt passions of mankind.
But few in comparison obtain riches; those who obtain them have seldom the faculty to enjoy them;
and had they this faculty it would be a curse, because
it must soon be left to famish by the loss of all which
gratified it. "Riches take to themselves wings and
fly away." This is the rule-not an exception. And
be assured that God, who uttered this rule, will commission the vindictive agents of his providence to
execute it. He does execute it. Riches are transferred from hand to hand, from family to family, just
like dresses fitted for the stage, and worn by any
actor when suited to his part. What striking examples
are now placed before us! Hundreds of your citizens,
in a distant metropolis, retire from their costly treasures of merchandise, calculating on the gains of tomorrow, and the splendid acquisitions of many a
coming year. They dream, and mountains rise before
them composed of silver and crowned with gold, and
labeled, too, with their own fair names. But hark!
Ten thousand cries of horror suddenly burst upon the
midnight silence. Starting from their dreams, they
rush forth and behold their vast possessions perish in
the flames. They meet the morning in beggary,




78                  SERMONS.
and the pity of their country or the magnanimity of
their friends interposes to snatch them from despair.
The laws of inheritance in civilized Europe, interpose a violent check to this change of property from
family to family. But the laws of society can not
abrogate the laws of Heaven. In the land of our
fathers, the descendants of the ancient thanes are
now among the peasantry, ditching the fields and
manuring the soil. And the children of their ancient
villeins who cringed before their ancestors, now surround the throne of majesty, and look down upon
them from the eminence of peerage as a race of servile blood and name. Such revolutions will continue
to occur. Fortune (forgive the word)-Fortune despises to be the slave of any man. She is the mistress, not the servant. She is jealous of her station.
Whoever presumes that he has her in his power,
either by affection or coercion, will soon find her asserting her prerogative against both her friends and
her foes. She is indeed like a wheel in unceasing
revolution. The rich and the poor occupy the zenith
and the nadir of that wheel; but its revolution will
cast the former from his height and bear the latter
from his depth, and in their children they will both
resume their former station. Let not the rich despise the poor, but rather be ready to bow to them
in turn. Nor do you who are poor envy the rich, for
to-morrow they will be the objects of your pity.
Fame, like wealth, is unstable and perishing.
Thousands outlive their own popularity and become
as conspicuous in their disgrace as they were once in
honorable reputation. How few are the names trans



THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN.           79
mitted to us by the poet's song and the historian's
pen! And how many of these names are associated
with all that is base and execrable! How many of
them have acquired from posterity a fame which consigns them to perpetual disgrace and damns them to
everlasting infamy! I mistake-not everlasting; the
records of their disgrace must perish; for the name
of the wicked shall rot. There can be no lasting
records of human deeds but such as are composed by
the divine skill and preserved by Almighty power.
Tablets of brass and marble will decay. TriUmlphal
arches and towering columns will waste into dishonored dust. Fame is like vapor suspended in the
air. It assumes, and yields, and reassumes a thousand forms, and then at last vanishes forever. To
this vapory, flitting show none can impart a stable
form as a permanent charm. It is a "fashion of this
world which passeth away."
Power and dominion show the same changeful destiny. They are pursued with passionate avidity, as
though, once acquired, they were indefeasible. But,
alas! empires rise and fall, flourish and decay. Revolution sports with the thrones of princes and the dynasties of empires, as winds and waves with a feather
or an insect.  Scepters pass from  hand to hand.
Thrones are demolished and dynasty succeeds dynasty
so rapidly that the records of revolution must be
made with stenographic haste, and a thousand scribes
must labor at the chronicle.
Have you studied the fate of ancient empires?
They were among the most magnificent of human
policies, both as to the extent and the vigor of their




80                  SERMONVS.
compacts. Their foundations were supposed to be
immovable forever.  But where are their boasted
strength and glory?  Where are Babylon, and Persia, and Macedon, and Rome? Where stands in
stately magnificence that image which amused the
prophet's fancy, and entertained his hours of repose?
Where are its feet of iron and clay? its thighs of
brass, and its breast and arms of silver, and its head
of gold? The storm from the mountain has smitten
it into fragments, and its precious elements are scattered by the wind like the chaff of the Siumnner
th/rashinAg-foor.
And in modern times the world is in the same
restless state. Look over the great waters and recollect the changes of half a century.  A  hurricane
from heaven has swept through the forest of European states and policies, uprooting the ancient oak
and towering cedar, and scattering disorder and desolation around. What systems of policy have been
subverted!  What customs and usages gradually
grown into the authority of law have utterly perished!
What armed hosts have been slaughtered by hostile
weapons and hostile elements, until the rivers have
flowed with blood, and the bones of the dead have
bleached the fattened soil or have been gathered in
mountain piles upon the embattled plain, as a monument to prove that man is demonized before his time.
These revolutions, with the bloody strifes which
wrought them, painfully illustrate the affecting truth
that the things seen are temporal.
Last of all, the very globe, with its islands, and
seas, and continents, and oceans, is appointed to




THE SEEAN ND THE UIVSEEIV.          8I
destruction. It has long been the stage on which reptiles, beasts, men, devils, angels, and the supreme
eternal God, have enacted various parts which will
now soon close, and then the curtain will fall, and the
stage will disappear forever.
The earth reveals to the observant eye a thousand marks of physical revolution, probably by the
agency of diluvian waters and volcanic fires. One
more violent change awaits it-a radical and final
change. We know not exactly how it will be effected, nor in what renovated form the world will
finally and forever exist. It may be hurled from its
orbit and located in a remote region of the universe.
It may be transformed into a state of beauty surpass*ing all that our minds can conceive, and become the
paradise of the redeemed. Where Jesus wept, and
bled and died, he may reign with his saints forever.
It may, like the sun, become a conflagrated world,
and be ordained as the burning prison of men reprobate and damned. And where the sinner scorned
and crucified Jesus, he may sigh and weep forever,
"but not in mercy's sight." Lastly, it may be blotted
from the map of being, and no place be found for it.
Either of these hypotheses is perfectly consistent
with the attributes of God's holy providence, though
suggested by no providential facts within our knowledge, on a scale equally grand and terrific. But we
need no analogies or precedents to sustain our faith.
We have God's irrevocable Word, and there we rest.
Noah had no example of such a catastrophe as the
threatened deluge; but the Word of God became his
sure, as it was his sole reliance. But we have some




82                  SERMONS.
apparent provision for an event, which God's Word
announces as sure. The elements of renovation or
destruction seem to be stowed in the bowels of the
earth. Its secret dungeons appear to be magazines
of fire. The atmosphere contains a combustible element circling us around as an omnipotent friend, to
soothe, and cherish, and bless. Water, which covers
three-fifths of the earth's surface, is itself composed
of two substances, one a most highly inflammable
gas, and the other a supporter of combustion. Let
God speak in anger, and in a moment these elements,
now so friendly, whether emboweled in the earth, or
overspreading its surface, or circling round it, will
blend in furious rage to destroy, and will convert the
dust and waters and atmosphere into a mass of blazing terror. "The world and the works that are
therein shall be burned up."
Such, my brethren, is to be the consummation of
this system of change. This temporal is all that our
eyes can behold. This visible universe is not a state
of things. It is the birth and dealth of things. It
scarcely embraces life, but consists of origin and destruction, without a space between the two extremes.
And is there nothing permanent, then? Must man's
immortality, which has been considered his greatest
blessing, prove to be his greatest curse? What evil
can equal this: to possess inalienable, deathless affections, with the prospect of losing every object suited
to absorb and entertain those affections? Unless
there are some deathless objects, subject to our acquisition and enjoyment, we need not inquire for
another hell. Here is hell enough. But, blessed be




THE SEEN AND THE UrvSEEN.           83
God! there is beyond this perishing world another,
superior state, where the mutable shall yield to the
stable, and change shall be succeeded by the unalterable. Yes, there is a world to which we haste, in
which there is neither birth nor death; neither beginning, decline, nor end. It is a state of exquisite
misery or vital joy and rapture. That world is revealed to our faith, as this is to our grosser senses.
And now we will consider for a moment,
II. What affections we should bestow ztpon these
two classes of objects-the visible and invisible, or the
temporal and eternal.
Unless there be a mistake both in the Christian
precept and practice, the visible and temporal are to
be disregarded; and the invisible, eternal are to be
noticed and pursued; yea, in some measure, possessed
and enjoyed, even in this life. Do you ask why?
We will state reasons which shall accord as strictly
with sound philosophy as with the doctrines of revelation. But here let us observe that the invisible and
eternal, much more than the visible and temporal,
embrace every object craved by the human affections
in their uncorrupt or sanctified state.
Has the soul an affection for personal charms?
They abound in the spirits of the just made perfect;
they adorn the first-born sons of light; they crown
the "glorious person" of Him who is full of grace
and truth!
Has the soul an affection for wisdom, or does it
admire the graces of mind?  All classes of celestial
beings blend inevitable grace of person with the
most attractive glories of mind. In heaven dwells




84                  SERMrONVS.
Wisdoml itself, Jesus Christ, who designed and skillfully drafted the plan of this magnificent universe.
Has the soul an affection for honor? It can acquire honor by honoring God. Honor may be found
in heaven in rich abundance. The names of the
sanctified will be inscribed in the book of life. On
their foreheads Jesus will write his new name, and
the name of the city of God. And the songs of
heavenly millions will celebrate their victories and
triumphs.
Has the soul an affection for power or dominion?
The redeemed will sit down with Jesus in his throne,
and will reign with him forever and ever. Has the
soul an affection for scenes of splendor? Does it delight to dwell in the midst of magnificence? In the
city called the "New Jerusalem," the " City of God,"
Jesus, the Divine Architect, is erecting and embellishing many mansions, so that each may have "a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens."
Does the soul delight in social fellowships? In
loving and being loved, trusting and being trustedin the intercommunications of giving and receiving
knowledge, of becoming at once the recipient and
the almoner of social bliss? All this is found in
heaven. There the structure of society is perfect;
the relations of moral and social beings pure, harmonious, and faultless. Blessed place! The true,
the final, the only home of the soul! The fellowship
of kindred souls flows from the fellowship of God.
They are one, as the Father and the Son are one.
Has the soul an affectsion for the beautiful? This




THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN.           85
natural taste and desire, as old and as imperishable
as mind, is fully gratified. We have already spoken
of the persons of the redeemed. But the scenery
itself of heaven is transcendently beautiful, not only
in the charms of moral loveliness, but of external
order, variety, grace, and symmetry. What in art, or
conception, can excel the beauty of that glorious
city, the "New Jerusalem?" What in nature can
compare with the "river of life," "clear as crystal,"
flowing from under the throne of God, fringed with
"trees of life" on either side? And there are "fountains of living waters," and there shall be "no night
there," and the blessed inhabitants "shall hunger no
more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which
is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
But why attempt to enumerate? The invisible
and eternal comprehend every thing which the soul
of man may innocently admire, pursue, and enjoy.
God has not endowed us with faculties to disappoint
their gratification. When he commands us not to
love the world, but set our affections on things above,
he is careful to reveal from above every object which
can entertain and absorb these affections. Do not
for a moment suppose that Paul and his brethren had
become unhappy by ceasing to look at the things
which are seen. No: they were divinely happy in
looking at the things which are not seen.
But to justify this habit of pious minds, consider
that our affections are immortal. We must live,




86                  SERMONS.
admire, and love forever. And such is our constitution,
that the loss of that which we admire or love inflicts
upon the soul the severest misery of which it is susceptible.  Let the affections be wholly surrendered
to an object, until love becomes a habit of the soul.
Then separate the soul from that object, and you
rend it by the violence. You give it a wound too
deep to be healed. It bleeds its lingering life away.
How many a parent, or a widow's heart, languishes
in sorrow through slowly wasting years, for the loved
ones departed, sustained only by the soothing hopes
of heaven! But these alleviated sorrows of a pure
soul bear no comparison to those occasioned by the
loss of eternal things essential to the soul's blessedness. The misguided soul, mistaking the things
which are seen and perishable for the true objects
of its certain happiness, ventures all upon the fatal
choice, and loses all hopelessly and forever.
This is not poetry, or fiction; it is simple, affecting truth. Who can not point to an example? The
miser loved his gold: his gold perished, and he
refused to live. The ambitious man loved fame:
fame forsook him, and he forsook the world. The
mother idolized the child: it died, and she died upon
its grave. The wife, forgetting God, worshiped the
creature; and when she was bereft of the earthly
object of her adoration, devoted herself as the companion of the dead. The man of earth and earthly
pleasure outlives the period of sensual enjoyment,
and dies cursing the power that robs him of his delights.  His appetites remain; but the chosen objects
of their gratification perish forever. The philosopher




THE SEEN AND TIHEE UNSEEN.          87
and the man of science, in the pride of his profession,
having stopped short of God and things eternal; having searched for every thing but God in the works of
God; having sought and welcomed truth only in its
mutable and temporary form of manifestation; having stopped at secondary laws, and refused the heart's
adoration of the invisible Contriver, and Creator, and
Lord, will find at last that such "knowledge will
vanish away," and the latent desires of the soul for
things eternal will awaken into life when there shall
be found no means for their gratification. Man, in
his pride and haughtiness, having laughed at the
terrors of the battle, and mocked the rage of a thousand storms, has perished like the oak which despised the whirlwind, but drooped from the excision
of a branch, or fell before the ax of the feeble woodman, or perished by the sear of age; but his immortal
nature, quickened in its vigor to reason, to desire, and
to feel, still puts forth its powers in search of congenial things to satiate its immortal cravings.  Of all
that the soul has treasured up in its affections-of all
its "much good, laid up for many years"-nothing
will remain for its enjoyment but what has been
treasured up in God.
Then, how dare we love the world?  How dare
we treasure up in the soul, and embrace in our deathless affections, what must soon be snatched away, and
leave the heart torn asunder, to bleed in deathless
agony? Sinner, you are preparing for this bitter
doom. Devoting your affections to perishing objects
is only sharpening the weapons of death, to kill, not
the immortal soul, but its mortal joys, which you




88                 SERMONS.
have preferred to those which are immortal! Cruel
wretch, more cruel to thyself than murder to its
victim, because cruel to thy poor soul! Only bethink
thyself, that soon death will rob thy heart of all its
valued treasures and joys. You can hold on but
a moment longer to the attractive objects which now
sway your heart, and minister to your deceitful delights. All you behold and admire is temporal, and
soon you will behold it no more. The beauty, and
melody, and sweets which now pour in upon the soul
a reflection so pleasant and enchanting, will find no
avenue of entrance when the eye, and ear, and palate
are senseless as the clod and marble which form your
sepulcher, and tell the world that you are gone. But
though your pleasures will die, you must live. You
must live a life of distinct perception, of vigorous action, of vehement affection, of exquisite sensibility.
You must so live that every faculty, formed at first
for enjoyment, but now susceptible only of suffering,
will be more wakeful and vigorous than ever. You
must live a life which death can not assail and destroy-a life inalienable as the throne of God; and,
alas! a life separate from every object you have
learned to love and enjoy-such as the rich man
began to live when he lifted up his eyes in torment,
and found, instead of his palace, stowed with all the
world could give, a hell in which one drop of water
was a luxury never to be enjoyed. 0 who can conceive this misery! To be forced from the region of
all our joys; to find the soul violently cast from its
anchorage, and driven as a wreck upon the shores of
eternity; its treasures lost without insurance or




THE SEEN ANAD THE UNSEEN.           89
recovery, and nothing in the compass of eternity which
it has ever learned to value or enjoy! But stop! It
is a hell too terrible for description. The imagination shudders at the view, and, like the frightened
dove to its home-like covert, returns to more inviting
scenes.
But, beloved saints, who look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen,
we rejoice to signify to you from the Bible the happiness which shall follow the cultivation of devout affections. The Christian forms his habits not for time,
but for eternity. The objects of his pious affections
cluster around the throne of God. He cares not for
this fleeting world, only as the traveler cares for the
craft or the bridge by which he passes to his happy
home. Happy soul! whose relish is formed for the
pleasures of heaven, whose pantings have been after
the living God and the everlasting Son of his love!
Happy soul! which has remained a stranger on earth,
insensible to its dangerous attractions, blind to its
beauty, deaf to its song, and careless both of its
frowns and flatteries!
He who has thus used the world can bid it a
cheerful and smiling adieu. It has only been his
temporary footstool; and, finding it beset with snares,
and ambushed by many a lurking foe, he had longed
to spurn it beneath his feet, and cast away its unfriendly cords. It had been his observatory; and,
from amidst chilling winds, and sleety showers, and
sickening odors, he had gazed and gazed at the celestial glories above. In his right hand he held the
Bible as a telescope, and applied it steadily to the eye
8




9go                 SERMONS.
of faith; with his left he beckoned for a chariot of
fire, to bear him' through the heavens, and drop him
at the foot of the everlasting throne.
Death is the arrival of the chariot, and he glories
at its approach. He shouts as he takes his passage
and soars upward on his departure. He goes to the
home after which he had longed, the home whicfi
contains the treasures of his soul and the friends of
his heart.
Now, do you not perceive a sound philosophy, as
well as piety, in the language of religion? Is it not
as wise as it is dutiful to withhold the heart from the
world, and send forth our affections toward God and
toward heaven? Is it not as foolish as it is sinful
to restrain the affections from God, permit them to
embrace what is perishing, and perish with it? Would
you not pity the child which, born to a fortune and a
throne, should exchange it all for toys and childhood
delicacies, and treasure them for the use of a thousand years? in the purchase of ten thousand suits
of apparel fitted to its infant person, all to become
useless after the lapse of a few years? This is a faint
representation of that folly which relinquishes eternal,
in order to secure and enjoy temporal things. The
child is unwise, but the sinner is mad. The one
wastes a little glittering dust, which the winds would
soon disperse, held by however firm a grasp; the
other devotes his immortal affections, made to expatiate in the fullness of God, and to be charmed with
the raptures of eternity, to the base and beastly objects of sensual gratification. The one profanes an
honorable earthly rank; the other damns an immortal




THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN.           91
soul! Let me entreat you, 0 sinner, to recall your
heart from this vain world. Suffer it no longer to
bow down to the dust. A tempest from heaven will
soon scatter its present treasures like Autumn leaves,
and leave you barren and cheerless. Then how will
the heart turn inwardly upon its own vacancy, in the
bitterness of its anguish, when every green thing has
faded, and every idol shattered, and every hope extinguished; "and thou mourn at the last, when thy
flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, How have
I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof!"
How then shall every affection of your being, formed
at first for God, become armed as with a scorpion's
sting; or, as the fierce sirocco, scorch the soul they
were intended to gladden and refresh! From such a
hell there is but one way of escape. Turn your hearts
from this perishing world to Jesus, who is the Life
and the Truth. Reason, no less than religion, calls
you to look not at the things which are seen. "Rise,
shake thyself" from the dust of earth, and "seek the
things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God."




92                  SERMONS.
IV.
WHAT IS MAN?
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and
tIhe stars which thou hast ordained, wheat is man?" etc. Psalm viii, 3-9.
AVID was a philosopher and a devout man. He
loved to range the fields of nature, and he loved
to recite the praises of nature's God. This Psalm is
a record of his philosophical meditations, and his devotional exercises, on a particular occasion. It was
night., He had probably wandered forth where he
could silently repose under the wide-spreading heavens, and raise his eyes and his thoughts, in quiet
vision and calm contemplation, to loftier regions. He
saw the heavens appareled in the modest effulgence
of night to display the intelligence and omnipotence
of Him who had fashioned the firmament, had decked
it with beauty, and had given motion to its revolving
worlds. After soaring high in vision and in thought
above all earthly scenes, he suddenly comes back
again to man and mortality. He descends to himself,
and with a spirit of anxious curiosity queries concerning his own relative consequence.
His body seems like a fragment of the visible
creation, separate by peculiar composition and organization, and hasting through the process of disease




WHA T IS MAN?                93
and corruption, to resume its original form, and
rejoin the general mass of nature. He seems to balance this form of clay against those unnumbered and
unmeasured worlds; then shrinking from the comparison with self-abasement, he exclaims, "What is
man?"
The modern deist would have stopped here, and
in the pride and vainglory of a superficial and most
false philosophy, would have said, "Man! He is but
the creature of a moment; too insignificant to be noticed by Him who stationed the suns, and who moves
the inferior bodies of heaven. Man! He rises today from the dust, and to-morrow lies down again in
the grave. There his mysterious frame is resolved
into the elements to be recompounded in other forms;
the watery particles to stream in showers or rivulets;
the earthy to enrich the soil or vegetate in plants;
the airy portions to wanton in the breeze; the ardent
to rise and flit in the sun, or to descend into the
earth and warm its heart, or flow in its pulse, or press
in volcano from its bursting veins."
Such is the vile philosophy of the infidel. But
the philosophy of David was nobler and divine. It
looked beyond the surface of things and penetrated
deep into the regions of truth.  For a moment he
had contemplated man in the grossness of his material nature as the creature of sense; but again he
views him in the elevation of his superior nature and
in the promise of an immortal destiny, and then exclaims, in language worthy of himself and of God,
"What is man? Thou hast made him a little lower
than the angels; thou hast crowned him with glory




94                 SERMONS.
and honor; thou hast made him to have dominion
over the works of thine hands; thou hast put all
things under his feet." Let us pursue these meditations of wisdom and devotion by observing,
I. That the text presents man as holding a conspicuous place in the considerations of the Divine
Mind, as sharing in its holy sympathies.
We need not argue in this assembly the truth of
such an assumption.  We address those who are
neither so ignorant of religious doctrine nor so profligate in religious sentiment as to require proof or
illustration of this point. We can agree in this common faith, that God has distinguished man with
attentions bestowed upon no other order of creatures
of whose condition we are advised. Not that His
providence is more beneficent toward men than toward angels; but angels are holy, and are made
happy by the rewards of obedience. The kindness of
God toward them, therefore, does not exhibit so intense and untiring an interest as does the pursuit of
rebel man for the merciful purpose of restoring him
to God and to heaven.
When we contemplate the Almighty God in the
attitude of seeking a victim for our sins; in the attitude of selecting his Son for sacrifice; in the attitude
of directing the sword of justice at that sufferer, and
finally as giving his Spirit to reform the soul, and
restore the departed innocence and honor and blessedness of man, we must confess that the richest
treasures of the Divinity are poured out upon his sinful race. The Scriptures, therefore, speak of God
as having "loved the world," as having "magnified




WHA T IS MAN?                95
man," and as having "set his heart upon him."  It
will be admitted, therefore, that man holds a high
place in the considerations of the Divine Mind, and
shares in its holy sympathies.
We observe,
II. That the Psalmist, in the text, asks for the
reasons of these Divine attentions to man. And
what we propose in this discourse is to reply to this
interrogation. And, in reply, we say,
I. Man is an intelligent being.  We will notice the indications of his intelligence in a rising
series from its lowest to its highest and its noblest
efforts.
(I.) His intelligence is certified by his knowledge
of his own existence. Man knows that he is; and
this knowledge is more than the blind sensualismwe could hardly call it consciousness-of the brute.
True, his body, and the motions of his body, are objects which he perceives, and the states and changes
of his mind are subjects of his own consciousness;
still his inward and outward senses are only employed
as instruments to gather up the materials of instruction. By the exercise of reason, man's knowledge of
his own existence is discriminating, and unlike the
blind instinct of the brute.
Man distinguishes between existence and nonexistence; between life, vegetable and animal; life,
animal and rational; life, rational and moral; and notices the incidents and the issues of each form and
mode of being. His knowledge is not confined to
the present, but views the past and regards the future.
By memory, he takes cognizance of all behind him;




96                 SERMONS.
by vision, of all around, and by expectation, of all before him. His mind blends, then, their estates so as
to give him a conscious identity, and enable him to
know that he existed yesterday, lives to-day, and shall
remain to-morrow the same unchanged being. Thus,
man's intelligence is indicated by his knowledge of
his own existence.
(2.) By man's intelligence he is acquainted with
other beings. He knows that he is not alone in creation. He beholds beings above him and below him
in ranks of gradational existence; and these, with
their relations to him, to one another, to the grand
system of the universe, and the Great Author of all,
open new and vast and ennobling fields of study.
What order of beings below man improves by its
contrast with other orders?  But here reason displays its divine origin and its native superiority.
(3.) The intelligence of man qualifies him for society. He looks with a deep and sympathetic interest
upon the forms of kindred life around him. His
mind is formed for society.
When man communes with man, it is the contact
of minds, the commzunion of souls, the mingling of
spirits. It is interchange of thoughts, sentiments,
affections, joys, raptures, and sorrows. Thus the intelligence of man qualjfies him for society.
(4.) The intelligence of man capacitates him for
enjoyment. All the knowledge, all the objects and
occasions of knowledge, or of enjoyment, whether
from secret or sensible sources, are made through
his intelligence the materials of a refined and elevated pleasure to which the merely sensational nature




WHAT IES MASA                 97
can not attain. Thus the intelligence of man capacitates him for enjoyment.
(5.) The intelligence of man enables him to refer
his origin to its proper cause, and trace his happiness
to its proper source. He knows he is not from eternity, and, therefore, is not self-existent.  He knows
that each member of his race is as dependent as all
or any others; they could not begin to be without a
Creator; and what is true of him is equally true of
every other dependent existence-all must have a
Creator. For an indefinite series of dependent beings could not originate or sustain itself easier than
any one alone. Back of all, and above all, there must
be a causing Power. And as this Cause must be adequate to the effect, it must itself be intelligent, free,
eternal, possessing all the attributes of an infinite and
eternal and intelligent personality. Thus the intelligence of man enables him to refer his origin to its
proper cause.
(6.) The intelligence of man enables him to discover his relation and obligation to the Author of his
being and bliss. He knows that between the cause
and its effect there is an inseparable connection, and
by induction he ascends from the effect to the causefrom the creature to the Creator. He knows, also,
the evidences of that Divine Revelation which gives
certainty and authority to the deductions of his
reason. And having ascertained the Creator, and
his relation to him, the ethical idea of obligation
forces itself upon the mind. Thus is our proposition
proved.
2. Man is a free agent. The term  agent is a
9




98                  SERMONS.
derivative of classic origin, and implies actor or doer.
Negatively,
(I.) Free agency is not moral agency.
(2.) Free agency is not independent agency. An
independent agent is one who can perpetuate his
own being. If man has this power, he must be
either self-existent, or he must have received it as an
endowment from his Creator.
Is vman self-existent? If so, he either existed from
eternity or he is self-created. Neither. Therefore he
does not possess underived power to preserve his own
being.
Is man endowed with the power of independent
agency by his Creator? NVo. But (3) free agency does
consist of the power of voluntary action. It implies
volition and motion-choice and deed correspondent.
"Choose you this day whom you will serve," exemplifies free agency. But choice always looks two ways,
for it not only seeks but avoids. It implies election
and refusal by the agent; for there can be no choice
without preference, and no preference except among
two or more objects. The ground of many divines and
philosophers is untenable, namely, that free agency
is doing voluntarily whatever we do, but implies no
power to do otherwise. They say that man in all
cases acts freely, but yet could not act differently.
They think man can neither originate nor control his
volitions, being, in this respect, under the power of
motives. How, then, can we be sure in any given
case, that we shall act as we think to do, unless we
be sure that setting about it we can originate volitions, which are the only springs of action? We




WHA T IS MVAN?             99
can and do originate volitions every waking hour.
Two books lie before you, a novel and a Bible. About
to take and open one of them, do you doubt your
power to take either? You can not do it without
volition. If not conscious of the power to put forth
this volition, instinct and not reason is the law by
which you do it. We affirm that man can both originate and control his own volitions, and that this
power is essential to free agency.
It is asked, How can man originate or control
them? We answer, We are not concerned how it is;
the fact is certain, and we are not concerned about
the mode. Do we doubt man's ability to originate
and control his thoughts, because we can not perfectly analyze mind and demonstrate all its modes of
action? We conclude, then, that a free agent can
originate and control his volitions.
3. Man is a moral agent. We have said that
moral agency is not essential to free agency. This
is true. On the other hand we can not say that free
agency is not essential to moral agency. Nor is this
without a parallel. A man may be a sinner without
being a murderer, but he can not be a murderer
without being a sinner. A free agent acts voluntarily. A moral agent not only acts voluntarily, but
he acts with moral discernment, in view of a moral
law, and under a weight of moral obligation and accountability.
"Moral good or evil," says Locke, "is the conformity or disagreement of our actions to some law,
whereby good or evil is drawn upon us from the will
of the law-maker." It is certain, then, that man could




I00                 SERMONS.
not discern the moral complexion of actions but by a
knowledge of that law which constitutes and declares
them good or evil. Man, therefore, acts in view of a
moral law. But to perfect his character as a moral
agent, man acts under a weight of moral obligation.
We have endeavored to exhibit the ground of our
obligations to God in the relations we sustain to him
as our Creator.
4. 1anr is a sinner.  A sinner is one who, with
moral discernment in view of a moral law, and under
moral responsibilities, does voluntarily violate his obligations. Such a violation is the transgression of
the law prescribed by the Creator to his creature.
The Scriptures abundantly testify that this sinful
character pertains to our race universally. "All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God."  "There
is not a just man on earth," etc. Such is the testimony of God. "Now, therefore, if we say we have
not sinned, we make Hin a liar, and his word is not
in us."  Thus man stands revealed, and seems to
combine in himself all that is lovely and all that is
hateful; all that is noble and ignoble in rational
being. Free in his sphere as God; bold and sagacious to reason upon the moral fitness and unfitness
of actions; his eye fixed upon the law of his God,
and his conscience acknowledging its equity; he casts
off its restraints, rejects its impositions, and spurns
the authority of him who prescribed it-of him who
will vindicate it though that vindication should demand the annihilation of the universe.  Thus man is
a sinner.
5. Man is a redeemed sinner. God has purchased




/WHA T  AS N1SA<?          I 0
him for the gratification of his own holy mind,
that he may, if possible, repossess him of his lost
purity, and blessedness and glory. In this act the
Deity made an immense sacrifice —a sacrifice which
can never be estimated by the human mind, because it
regarded not only the principles of the Divine government and the profoundest laws of our own being, but
the adorable mysteries of the Divine subsistence, and
the boundless affections of the Divine mind in its
chief and choicest fellowships. But although we are
incapable of valuing the sacrifice in its full extent,
we can know enough concerning it to be overwhelmed
with amazement. In attempting our restoration from
sin and hell, the first act of the Godhead was to exhibit its filial member as a largess in this behalf.
Who would fail to infer the great value of the human
soul, the extreme difficulty of its redemption, the
mercy unfathomable of the Creator from such a provision —the gift to man of his "only begotten Son?"
6. Man is immortal and accountable.  He is immortal, for the Scriptures declare it. Such is man,
and much more. But does not this view of him,
obscure as it is, present him in an attitude of fearful
elevation? Does it not exhibit him as the choicest
specimen of the Creator's skill? The heavens declare
the glory of God, but man was made to be the very
image of that glory. They unfold their magnificent
drapery for a season, and then perish like the useless
scroll. But man was made to be immortal, and was
made to be the image of God's eternity. They shine
in unconscious beauty, and glow with unconscious
ardors, and repose in unconscious harmony under the




I02                 SERMONS.
eye of God. Man lives to see and know, to rejoice
in society and love, and to sweeten his existence by
a consciousness of the Divine approbation secured to
him forever. Wfiat high advantages for enjoyment
are placed within his reach! He takes tribute of joy
from the past by recollections, from the present by
possession, and from  the future by hope.  He demands subsidies from  nature, and nature does not
deny them. When the ray-glit lights the dawn, and
evening blushes in the west, every receding or approaching shadow bears him gifts of homage and
happiness.  Planets roll, the stars are revealed in radiance, the moon unfolds her vestal drapery, and the
sun walks forth in his strength, all to cheer and to
honor man.
Think not, then, that the magnificence of the
heavens can compare, but by way of contrast, with the
superior glory of man. Intelligence disabused is the
criterion of station, and forms the true dignity of being.
We can attach no essential importance to the matter
which surrounds us. It moves when moved, and is
motionless when suffered, without any vital principle
or property. But let it become the seat of intelligence, and we view it with veneration. Matter becomes of essential value and interest when it enshrines a spirit of immortal grace, and is used by that
spirit as a pencil to portray the glory of its origin
and character: and destiny.
Let us cease to wonder, then, that God should be
mindful of mans-that he should forget all worlds, and
systems of worlds, rather than to forget the image of
his Godhead. Let us cease to wonder that his atten



WYHA T IS MAN?             I 03
tions are unremitted, and anxious, and enduring. Let
us keep in mind that God made us to be companions
of his Deity; that he prepared us for this high calling
by fashioning us in his likeness. Let us meditate upon
the resemblance we bore him when he loved to walk
in Eden with our parents. Let us reflect upon our
loss, and ruin, and danger. We have lost our holiness, and are in danger of hell. But we retain our
immortality, our intelligence, our freedom. At this
very moment your actions are as unconstrained as
the actions of Omnipotence. At this very moment
you, in your sphere, perceive truth and error as with
the eyes of Omniscience. Yes, at this very moment
let your future eternity be placed beside the future
eternity of God, and they shall be equal to each other.
At this very moment you have in every thing the
image of God, except his holiness and righteousness.
When we survey man in all his intellectual glory,
we can not cease to admire him. We delight to behold him putting forth his strength, to fly through
earth and heaven, and search out the works of God.
We are ready to believe that such energy of soul
must be the'handmaid of all that should enter into
combination with vigorous and enterprising thought.
We can scarcely realize that a spirit, apparently so
free and aspiring, is repressed with overwhelming
guilt, and is in danger of everlasting shame. Yet
this is, in fact, the case. If man is angel in endowments, he is brute or devil in the perversion of them.
O, what a spectacle is this! An immortal spirit made
to live and rejoice with God, formed in God's image,
and about to inhabit God's eternity, madly laboring




1 04                SERMONS.
to deface that image, and to treasure up for that eternity immeasurable woe! Every thing in, and concerning him, only serves to increase the painful
interest with which a serious mind surveys this
scene.  If man had not been made like God, it
would have been different. If, when he fell, he had
entirely lost that likeness, it would have been different. If he could now efface all the features of that
image, it would be different. If, after some millions
of ages, he could be annihilated, it would, even then,
be different.  If, after passing half eternity in hell,
he could escape and come forth renewed in all the
freshness of that image, it would be different.
But he was made in God's likeness, and retains
many of its striking glories, since the fall.  Think
of this! He is not able fully to destroy the features
of the Godhead.  Think of this!  He never will,
never can be annihilated, and, if finally lost, never
will escape hell and come forth with that abused resemblance of his Creator.  The sinner will carry all,
all his noble powers of soul along with him to hell.
And the more noble his gifts on earth, the more
cursed will be his estate in hell.
Now, look for a moment over this broad world.
Behold millions, such as we have described, just stepping into hell. What are planets, and suns, and systems, and systems of systems spread through all the
spaces of God's universe, compared with such a
scene?
We observe in conclusion:
This subject teaches us the value of redemption.
The glory and blessedness that man has lost by sin




WHAT IS MAXN?              105
he may regain through the blood of the Redeemer.
Jesus now conveys to us instructions, entreaties, and
promises, and affords the offer of spiritual influences
by the Holy Ghost, to create us anew in the image
of God. Jesus is now here, for he is ever found where
sinners are, except in hell. He is now revealed before
us in the attitude of suffering, imploring solicitude;
waiting, watching, weeping to find access to our hearts,
and build up the ruins of our fallen nature. We need
his mercy-we perish without his aid. Come, then,
let us rise, ere we perish, and fly to Him for help?
Let us every one say, "I rest no more in sin. I
walk no more with Satan. I trvz/e no more with my
poor, ruined, suffering, sinking soul." Then let us
plead beneath the cross, that streaming mercy may
wash away our stains and restore us once more to the
bosom of our Father, God. Jesus will hear our cry.
He will enter our desolate hearts by his Spirit, and
breathe health, and beauty, and rapture, through all
the dreary wastes of the soul.
O sinner, listen! For Zion that bringeth good
tidings, bears to you this day the offer of a Savior.
He is mighty to redeem. "The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon him; He is anointed to bind up the
broken-hearted; to proclaim liberty to the captive,
and the opening of the prison to them that are
bound."
O, thou suffering Son of God! Approach, behold
this people!  Open to them  the fountain of thy
mercy, and wash them in its crimson flood. "For
thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood!" Alleluia! Amen!




I o6                SERMO.VS.
V.
THE SENTENCE AGAINST UNBELIEF.
"He that believeth not shall be damned." Mark xvi, I6.
IF this announcement had been made by some
angel from the skies, it were well that we should
pause and consider. But it is the voice of One who
hath the power and the office to judge, acquit, or
condemn, both angels and men. And shall we contemn his authority, or trifle with his word? Shall
we arm the law with terror against the hour of judgment? Let us rather hail with welcome the light of
warning, and timely escape the threatened danger.
That we may better understand these solemn words
of Christ, let us attend to the several points of inquiry involved. What is unbelief? What is it to be
damned? How and why are they so intimately connected?
I. WHAT IS UNBELIEF? It is not so much our
business to define the word, as to illustrate the principle. This we do by tracing its operations and
effects. To change the abstract for the concrete
form, then, we ask, Who is the unbeliever? He is
an unbeliever whose feelings and actions accord not
with the commands, example, and spirit of Jesus
Christ. The object of Christian faith is Christ-his




THE SENTENCE AGAINST UNBELIEF.    I07
commands, doctrine, promises, example, and spirit;
and the office of faith is to produce conformity to
these. Faith is a natural law of action in man. Men
act in conformity to what they believe, in matters of
interest, pleasure, honor, or obligation; in matters
secular or spiritual. The opposite to this is the exception, not the rule.  We assume, therefore, that
where the conduct and character do not accord with
the commands and moral example of Jesus Christ, it
is for want of that faith in the Gospel truths which
is the spring and fountain of all obedience. Were it
necessary, this were easily proved by a process as
simple and as conclusive as science can propose.
Every-where in Scripture the evil character of the
wicked is assigned to this evil cause; as opposites,
obedience and righteousness, are the fruit of faith.
"Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him
for righteousness." But of the disobedient Israelites
God says, "How long will this people provoke me?
and how long will it be ere they believe?" "The people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast,"
and repented, and were saved from the threatened
judgment. But the Hebrew people "could not enter into Canaan, because of their unbelief," and God
"swore in his wrath they should not enter his rest."
But why cite examples? If any truth can be discovered by Revelation, or by argument, it is clear that
unbelief and disobedience stand related as cause and
effect, and that, therefore, transgressors do not believe. They may admit the truth of Revelation in
the abstract. They may not deny its historical evidences, or its inspired authority. But somewhere in




08                 SERMONS.
the chain of causes which govern their practical life
you will find a belief in some error which directly
antagonizes the Word of God, and has the practical
effect to suspend obedience in whole or in part, in
the habit of life, or in exceptional cases, in the overt
act, or in the spirit.  The universal law of human
action is, that men will be governed by what they
really believe.  The sinner believes that except he
repents, he will surely perish, but he believes a future
day will be more convenient, and, therefore, delays.
He is not governed by a universal skepticism in all
revelation, but a specific distrust of that class of commands which makes "to-day" the time to "hear His
voice, and harden not the heart," and warns against a
boasting reliance on "to-morrow."  The Christian
believes he must be holy in order to see God, but
adopts some theory of holiness, as to time, method,
or measure, which suspends the full enjoyment or
compliance to-day. Thus the law of God is made
void through unbelief.
But, to proceed still lurther, to particulars, we say
he is an unbeliever whose conduct does not evince a
uzniversal regard for the law and example of the Savior. Partial virtue is no evidence of faith, but partial
vice is conclusive evidence of unbelief. And, for this
reason, it is convenient for men to omit some sins
which do not suit their taste or condition. One can
refrain from drunkenness, because he has no relish
for alcohol; another can refrain from swearing, because he despises vulgarity; another can refrain from
prodigality, because avarice is the reigning vice and
passion of his soul.




THE SENTENCE AGAINST UNBELIEF.    I09
Now, it is easily perceived, that in these cases,
faith in God is not the root fi-om which such virtues
spring. Faith is a medicine which, applied to the
soul, heals the part diseased, and to ascertain whether
it is operating, we must examine the state of our
wounded members. Or, in other words, we must inquire whether a firm persuasion of God's justice and
mercy, as revealed in His Word, and by his Spirit,
sways the whole soul, rules all the heart, and brings,
not some, but all the tastes and appetites of the soul
into subjection before God.
In wicked men, one vice may triumph over another, and expel it from the outward life, but it is
only to establish the dominion of sin in another form.
It is a change of tyrants, but the tyranny remains.
No sin can cure the heart of the love of sin. No
commutation of sinful appetites can subdue the dominion or lessen the malignity of sin.  But faith
vanquishes every vice, and presents the subordinated
spirit of Jesus, inviting him to enter and reign there.
Inthroned in that heart, the Savior gives his law; and
the subject spirit obeys. The Savior commands the
believer to arise and follow him, and the believer follows him, forsaking all. Into his life he weaves deeds
of devotion, and charity, and holiness of the same
moral texture as those which were wrought by his
blessed Lord. This man is worthy of the name of a
believer. He shows his faith by his works. He
whose fruit is different, deserves a different name.
He whose fruit is corrupt, who habitually practices
any sin, performs any act which Christ forbids, or
omits any duty which Christ enjoins, is an unbeliever.




I IO                SERMONS.
He discredits Jesus in his precepts, in his authority,
in his royalty, and is an unbeliever and an infidel in
the sight of Heaven. One act of disobedience, woven
into the habit of life, is sufficient to give character to
the whole life.' One sin may class you in the category of unbelievers. It may suffice as a standard of
rebellion under which the claims of the just Sovereign may be successfully contested. It may suffice to
show the heart corrupt. "A good tree can not bring
forth evil fruit."  "By their fruits ye shall know
them."
But further, if we could suppose it possible that
any man could practice all the precepts of Christ
which concern the life and conduct, and yet be destitute of the spirit of Christ, then we must still pronounce him an unbeliever.  For he is an unbeliever
whose feelings do not ascend with the spirit of Christ.
The spirit and conduct of Jesus were the result of
his knowledge and approbation of truth; and no intelligent being, whether finite or infinite, can discern
and approve of truth, but it will create or occasion
the same spirit and conduct as in him. Whenever
truth is approvingly received into the understanding
it works its own appropriate effects, and breathes its
own native spirit there.  It is this which "sanctifies"
and "makes us free."  Want of clear discernment of
spiritual things, or want of hearty acceptance of truth
when perceived, will mar and defeat the intended result; but otherwise "we are changed into the same
image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of
the Lord."
Christ discerned and credited the truth that sin is




THE SENTENCE AGA INST UNBELIEF.   I I I
an evil-the source of all evil in the universe. He
believed that man was suffering that evil. He believed that redemption was possible and infinitely
desirable, both for God's glory and man's happiness.
He believed that his own incarnation was the proper
mode to effect it. He believed that means of grace,
and the gift of the Spirit, were necessary as the instrumental and efficient causes of moral regeneration.
Now, how evident is it that the clear cognition and
hearty approval of these truths were essential to the
benevolent scope of the Savior's feelings and actions
by which our redemption was actually accomplished!
All along through his life of marvelous activity and
suffering he was sustained by his confidence in this
plan of redemption which the wisdom and counsels
of the Godhead had projected. This was founded in
eternal truth, and none other could be given. If God
could deny or reject truth, then he could, by the same
law, become not only inconsistent, but malicious, and
more to be dreaded than all other beings in the universe. If Christ had discredited any truth, or admitted any error, or credited any falsehood, he would
have been changed in all the feelings of his heart and
in all the conduct of his life. Had he not believed
that sin is an evil, he would not have hated it with
such hatred, would not have labored with such zeal
to destroy it, would not have suffered to deliver us
from it. Had he not believed there was a heaven
of ineffable glory, he would not have spoken to us of
salvation in such earnest words of love. Had he not
believed there was a hell, he would not have warned
us to flee from the wrath to come, even at the loss




I 12                SERMONS.
of all things, declaring it is better for us "to enter
into life halt or maimed, rather than having two
hands or two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
So true it is that Christ himself was moved in all
his holy sympathies and enterprises by his belief in
the truth. And so true it is that nothing but living
convictions of eternal truth could have wrought such
results. Even in God himself truth is the basis of
his moral rectitude, as it is the law and measure of
his beneficence. In God himself, notwithstanding the
infinite virtue of his attributes, distrust of truth or
the adoption of error, would transform the infinite
rectitude of holiness and the infinite beauty of benevolence into infinite malevolence and deformity.
And if it would thus affect the moral features of
the Godhead, can man indulge with innocence? Can
that which would waste and annihilate the virtue of
Deity be innoxious and harmless to man?  Go to
Eden and see. Behold the fruits of unbelief in the
mother of our race. What led her to the fatal tree,
when she ate and damned the world? It was unbelief. Search the history of mankind. Whence came
the curses and blasphemies, the hypocrisies and
treachery, the war and the bloodshed, of six thousand years? They have all sprung from the same
fruitful source-unbelief. Men have cast away the
truth and have believed lies. They have rejected
the counsels of God, withdrawn their reliance upon
truth, and have followed the devices of their own
hearts. But if such are the effects of unbelief, let
us inquire,
II. WHAT IS IT TO BE DAMNED? It is just the




THE SENTENCE AGAINST UNBELIEF.   I  3
reverse of what it is to be saved. " He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned."  Faith and salvation;
unbelief and damnation —these are the opposites.
The word literally denotes the rendering of the sentence
of the law; the giving judicial judgment against any
one; condemning;, and if salvation is taking the believing sinner from under the sentence of the law
and exalting him to a state of honor and felicity,
damnation is the rendering and executing of that sentence, leaving the unbelieving sinner to all the miseries consequent upon the act. The causes leading
to the two states differ, and in like manner do the
states themselves. What is the difference between
believing and disbelieving? The same that there is
between light and darkness. What is the difference
between being saved and being damned? The same
that there is between light and darkness. Belief and
unbelief are the causes; being saved and being
damned are the effects, and the difference of these
is at least equal to the difference of those. Keep
this in mind and you will not dispute when we say:
I. To be damned, precious soul, is to be deprived
of your probation. Probation means a state of trial
for the purpose of forming a character fitted and
suitable to some coming state. This life is our probation. We are warned, therefore, " Whatsoever thine
hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Damnation and probation are not concurrent states. The
latter precedes the former, and its abuse or misuse is
the very ground and measure of that ruin denounced
in the text. When Adam and Eve were placed in
IO




I 114               SERMONS.
Paradise, their state was probationary. A law was
given and sanctioned by the reward of life and the
penalty of death. The law and liability were a test
of character, and constituted their probation. They
sinned, and the curse succeeded. But by the interposition of Jesus, they, and we, their children, were
put again upon trial under an administration of grace.
The terms of their first probation were, "In the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," with
the implied reward of life if obedient. The terms of
our probation are, "He that believeth shall be saved,
and he that believeth not shall be damned."  For
Adam, indeed, there was found a sacrifice for sin; but
for us the Scriptures affirm of him that believeth not
in Jesus, "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sin,
but a certain fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery
indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." God
forbid, then, that we should look for another probation. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment." Our final hope is suspended
upon the issues of the present life. God has placed
our race upon two probations-one of law and the
other of grace. We live under the latter. It is the
last trial of humanity. Be mindful, therefore, of this
affecting truth. When the terror and pains of this
damnation come upon you, they will find no alleviation in the chance or possibility of escape. Seedtime will be gone forever, and all that remains will
be a harvest of unmingled vengeance. But,
2. To be damned, is to be excluded from all the
pleasures and comforts of the present life. This, if
you will reckon it correctly, is no trifling evil. You




THE SENTENCE AGAINSTT UNBELIEF.        I 5
have seen no example of such wretchedness on earth,
much as you have seen of sorrow and suffering. Who
is there upon the broad earth that hath not some food,
though scanty or coarse? some friend to speak a word
of comfort? Who has not the privilege of sunshine
and shade, and sightly scenes to rouse and refresh,
and cheer? Who, at least, has not the air to breathe,
and a drop of water in the midst of a raging thirst?
But the subjects of this threatened cause are deprived
of all.  Your hearts would sink within you if God
should take from you but a small part of your blessings. If your wealth were scattered, and you were
reduced to abject poverty, how would that grieve you,
and bow your heads to the earth! If your friends
should turn from you in scorn, and hide their faces
from you in trouble, yet the world would be before you
a spacious field for action and for enterprise. Suppose
that world should turn with demoniac zeal to haunt
your life, setting upon you the mark of reprobation;
yet yours is the privilege to fly from your persecutors,
and yours is the comfort of hope at least. But what
comfort can remain for him whose wealth, whose
friends and strength, and hopes all die to be buried
in one common grave! It is the purpose of God, in
his long-suffering mercy, now for a time, and during
probation, to leave the unbeliever, the atheist and
blasphemer even, in the possession of varied measures of earthly good. If conscience suits, if the law
condemns, if retrospections are bitter, and the future
overhung with threatening clouds, yet the ungrateful
wretch finds alleviation in the solace of earthly comforts, and may partially forget himself in sensuous




II6                 SERMONS.
engrossment with perishable things. But what will
he do when deprived of all these, and left under the
naked action of sin upon a moral nature created only
for the enjoyment of God, and to which sin is like fire
to the flesh! The doom of unbelief is banishment
from all the blessings of this life, and like the gateway of Paradise, the flaming sword of wrath, turning
every way, forever prohibits the return of the exile, or
any participation of the forfeited pleasures.
3. To be damned is to be excluded from heaven;
to be "banished from the presence of the Lord, and
from the glory of his power." It is enough to know
that it is the opposite of salvation, the opposite of
heaven, the opposite of holiness, and of happiness; in
short, the condition of the whole being exactly opposite to that for which we were created, and for which
we were redeemed by Christ.  It is that which both
the law and the Gospel warn us against, and wherein
both are arrayed against us. It is not a merely negative state. What is death but the opposite of life?
Or sickness but the opposite of health? The absence
of humility is pride; of obedience, transgression; of
love, hatred, and all the kindred sisterhood of infernal
furies. It is to be left of God, forsaken by his Spirit,
separated from the means of grace, withdrawn from
the society of the pure and the good, and left to the
soul's own choice-unbelief-and to its idols forever.
It is, as the word denotes, to be left under condemnation, when the last offer of remedial mercy is withdrawn. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: but he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."




THE SENTENCE AGAINST UNBELIEF.           I 17
Whether the punishment of the wicked is by positive infliction, or by the operation of constitutional
laws in a moral condition of the soul exactly opposite
to that for which it was created, it may not be proper
for us here to discuss, but a careful examination of
Scripture, in connection with the providential government and the moral constitution of man, afford a
strong presumption, if not a decided proof, that the
latter is the case.  The elements of punishment are
within us. So are the capacities of angelic happiness. Fearful or glorious is the operation of this
wondrous machinery of mind. In holiness and righteousness it is adjusted to the most exquisite delights.
In a reversed condition it becomes the seat and instrument of the profoundest suffering. Through faith
in Christ we attain the former; but unbelief reverses
the action of all the moral and intellectual powers,
and they are turned into ministers of death. Conscience becomes penal only in its action; memory,
judgment, perception, imagination, and reason, all
affect the sensibilities, through the conscience, like
the touch of fire! Alas! what being can endure its
own existence when, self-condemned, self-corrupted,
self-destroyed, it beholds the law, the'Gospel, the attributes of God, arrayed in just, and truthful, and
holy, and everlasting condemnation of its character,
and in the light of that law, that Gospel, those attributes, left to this self-abhorred character as its everlasting heritage!
The remainder of the sermon wanting.-ED.




I I8                SERMONS.
VI.
FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST.
A SACRAMENTAL SERMON.
"But I have called you friends." John xv, i5.
WERE not this the language of Jesus himself,
we should pronounce the sentiment incredible, and the speech presumptuous.  But as it proceeds from His own blessed lips, we are to receive it
as one among the many examples of that condescension which leads us to exclaim, " Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us." Let us,
with deep humility, receive this saying, and compose
our minds for a few minutes' meditation on a theme
so full of delightful interest.
Man is so constituted that society is necessary to
his happiness. Let him command every thing else;
let the abundance of the world be his; let the sea
and the dry land accumulate their treasures, and
pour them at his feet; let him subsidize the riches
of the universe, and hold them (if possible) by an
immortal tenure, and still he must be inconceivably
wretched, unless he can find one friend, at least, to
whom he can speak of his prosperity, and communicate the intelligence of his happiness.
"The fi-iendless master of a world is poor."




FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST.           I19
But friendship, however necessary to our happiness,
exists only in a very defective form among the children of this world. Here it is incident to many
irregularities, suspicions, and interruptions which mar
its comforts, and sometimes transform its sweet into
bitter, its bliss into the pain of severe disappointment. Sometimes it is only in word. It is commenced and carried on by deceitful professions which
conceal the selfishness or malice of a heart as empty
of love as is the sepulcher of life and beauty. Or, if
it be sincere it is impotent as childhood, and shortlived as the vapor of the morn. If not destroyed by
some trifling offense, it terminates in death. The
ties which unite the ungodly in this life will be severed by the king of terrors, and there will be no
friendship in hell.
But how pleasant it is to know that we can obtain a Friend whose love is sincere, efficacious, and
everlasting; one from whom nothing can separate us;
one from whom death can not remove us, but will
only serve to transmit us to his immediate presence,
and promote us to an intimacy unspeakably delightful, such as we can not, eve6n now, conceive!  Some
of you, beloved, already know this Friend, and have
had sweet communion with him. And you, like his
disciples who surrounded him when he spoke these
blessed words, find him not ashamed to own you as
his friends. For to you he has said this day, while
you gathered around the board to feast in his presence, "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the
servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth; but I
have called you friends."




120                SERMONoS.
We shall consider
I. HOW THE FRIENDSHIP OF CHRIST AND HIS
DISCIPLES IS UNLIKE THE FRIENDSHIP OF MEN.
II. THE RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THEM.
I. Tzeir differences. They differ,
i. In their origin. This union between man and
man commonly arises from some supposed congeniality of temper; or from the imprudent ardor of
youthful passion; or from the interchange of kind
offices, or from  some community of interest. But
the friendship of Jesus had no such origin. We were
his enemies. We hated him with cruel hatred. We
were as unlike him as hell is unlike heaven. WVe
were rebels against his government. When, by incarnation, he came within our reach, we abhorred his
person, as well as his authority, and persecuted him
with cruel wrath, until our hands were wreaked in his
blood.  And yet, on his part, there was nothing but
friendship and love. While we hung, with fiendish
joy, around his cross, and feasted on his agonies, affection sprung, spontaneously, from the immeasurable
goodness of his own pure and spotless soul. If we
now love him, it is because he first, even while we
were enemies, loved us.
2. The friendship of Jesus differs from that of
man in the degree of its affection. In earthly loves
that of Jesus can find no parallel. We may have felt
the glow of fraternal, parental, and even conjugal
love; but neither of these can afford us any just conception of that boundless, fathomless ocean of love
which dwells in the bosom of Christ.
So far from comparing it with any thing earthly,




FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST.           121
we should say, let history be silent. Let not the profane exhibit Damon and Pythias, nor the pious speak
of David and Jonathan in connection with the sacred theme of Jesus' love for man. If angels desire
to understand it, let us not suppose that from amidst
a race polluted by sin, we can find any thing to
shadow forth this everlasting and all-glorious mystery.  "Greater love hath no man than this, that
a man lay down his life for his friends." Look well
to the meaning of these words. No man has any
greater love thawn this.
The man who will die to save his friends, will
die also to be revenged upon his enemy. Here is
the grand distinction between the love of Christ and
the love of sinful creatures. Christ commendeth his
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, he
died for us.
This is an example of love which stands isolated
in the universe of God. Heaven itself has furnished
but one solitary example of a love like this.
3. The friendship of Christ differs from that of
man in its efficiency. However sincere and ardent the
friendship of man, in a thousand cases it is impotent
and useless. In our most pressing need, the one who
loves us may be far away. Our cry for help will not
reach him, and he will not come to support or save
us. Even if near at hand, he can not always disperse our gloom, nor ease our pain, nor heal our
wound. In our distressing cry for some anointing
hand to touch the wounds of sin and heal them, that
our conscience may find some peace, and our heart
some crumb of comfort, what can man do for us,
II




22                 SERMONS.
though he were to die in our behalf. What could
his friend do for him, who, in the paleness and agony
of death, exclaimed, " Remorse, remorse, remorse!"
Alas! he could only listen, and sigh, and suffer, and
resign the suffering victim to the cheerless meditations of his dying hour.
Not so with our gracious heavenly Friend. He is
ever present. Our softest whisper of grief reaches
him in a moment. He listens and he flies to our relief. He can shed light upon the regions of death,
and perfume the very grave.  He can anoint the
wounded soul with the oil of joy and gladness, and
bring peace and assurance of hope to him who folds
his hands in death.  His rod and staff can comfort
us, even in the gloomy vale, and his almighty arm
can seat us on the hills of Zion forever. He is a
very present help in time of need.
4. The friendship of Jesus will endure forever.
That event which consigns other friendships to oblivion, serves only to the consummation of this. The
Church is the espoused of Jesus Christ, waiting for
the hour of death, to be decked in bridal robes, and
introduced to her well-beloved. The Christian, in
this world, is somewhat like one who waits knocking
at the door of his friend, till he shall be heard and
bid to enter. And, while he waits, darkness surrounds him, and the piercing winds chill his frame.
Death, at last, opens the door, and behold the glory
of the mansion revealed. A living splendor is all
around him. The banquet is spread. Heavenly harmonies swell in ten thousand times ten thousand
voices through all the courts of bliss, and welcome




FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST.            123
him into the presence of his everlasting friend, with
whom he is to dwell, loving and beloved forever.
II. Having seen the difference between the friendship of Christ and that of man, let us now consider
their resemblance.
I. Friendship, in its perfect form, implies a harmony of sentiment between theparties.  Although Jesus loved us when we were enemies, yet we can have
no comfort of this love, and no benefit can accrue to
us unless we love him in turn. Where there are opposite views, and warring opinions, and hostile sentiments, there can be no peaceful fellowship, nor true
friendship. Christ has revealed to us his views and
feelings, and these views and feelings must be ours,
or we must be his eternal foes. This enables us to
test the sincerity of our professions as disciples of
Christ. Do we think and feel as he did on the subject of sin? Do we view it as an evil so dreadful as
to deserve the punishment of hell? Do we view it
as an evil so dreadful that to stamp it with merited
reproach and reprobation, it was wisdom in Christ to
die as its victim, and thus proclaim its exceeding malignity to all the creature universe? Do we feel as
Christ does on the subject of holiness?  Do we view
~it as the crowning attribute of Godhead, as the true
honor and happiness of his creatures, without which
"no man can see the Lord?"  Do we view this world
as Jesus viewed it? vain and transitory; unworthy to
be made the portion of the soul, and the love of it
fatal to our everlasting happiness?
Do we possess the Savior's views of death, judgment, heaven, and hell; both as to their certainty and




I24                 SERMONS.
their awful import, and the necessity, also, of being
ready for that judgment and that heaven? Do these
solemn truths influence our whole conduct and lives,
making us men of one enterprise, namely, the pursuit of everlasting life?  These sentiments do not
possess the worldly mind. But if we are the friends
of Jesus, they are our sentiments as they were his,
and they exert an influence upon our hearts and lives.
2. A second principle in friendship is LOVE; or a
sincere and mutual admiration. There may be forms
of civility without any personal esteem. But all the
customs of polite life are unproductive of the pleasures of friendship. They are as cold and cheerless as
the grave, unless they be attended by the light and
heat of love. Love imparts life and bliss to the
union of Christ and his disciples. Jesus has manifested his love for his people in a manner which
forms the joy of earth and the wonder of heaven.
Let us, my brethren, never forget that he expects
us to reciprocate the sentiment. Our affection is to
correspond with his.  He loves us with an everlasting love. With all his infinite affections, he sets his
heart upon us. We are, in return, to love him with
supreme ardor. With all our finite affections we are
to set our heart upon him.
3. A third particular, in this Divine friendship, is
an identity of interest. There is a friendship which
endures so long as prosperity lasts, but withers under
the frosts of adversity.  Thousands will smile upon
us when Fortune smiles, who will frown also when
she frowns.  But, alas! who would value a friendship
which ebbs and flows in all its sympathies, obsequi



FRIENVDSHIP WITHH CHRISTS          125
ous to the waxing and waning influence of changeful
and treacherous fortune? Yet, such are often the
friendships of the world. From such friends we may
pray to be delivered. Where friendship is sincere and
virtuous, adversity does not separate, but binds the
faster. The parties will cleave more closely together
while they drink the cup of sorrow. They will clasp
each other with a more vigorous embrace, as they sail
down some rushing current, and realize the danger of
being dashed upon the rocks, or buried beneath the
angry waters.
So it is with Christ and his true disciples. The
interests of the Christian are identified with those of
Christ. The Savior delights to have it so. As he
and his Father are one, so are he and his people one.
In all their joys he rejoices; in all their afflictions he is
afflicted. He feels a tender interest in all their movements, wants, and sufferings. Do they present petitions to God? He joins them in their intercessions,
perfumes their prayers with his precious blood, and
bears them  to the presence of a propitiated God.
Have we formidable adversaries, the world, sin, and
the devil to oppose?  He, as the Captain of our salvation, assumes the van of battle, spreads over us the
banner of the Cross, inspires our hearts with heavenly
courage, teaches our hands to war, and our fingers to
fight, and leads us forth to glorious victory. Are we
to bear a cross?  He inspirits us with courage and
strength, till the cross seems to rest lightly upon us.
Must we drink the cup of bitter bereavement? He
sustains us with precious promises, and consoles us
with tokens of his gracious sympathy as he did the




126                  SERMONS.
mourners at the grave of Lazarus. Are we cast into
the fires of affliction and persecution? He comes to
us as he did to Shadrach and his brethren, loosens our
bands, and walks with us in the midst of the flames.
Do we long after the glories of heaven?  He has
purchased for us the blessed inheritance, as our forerunner has for us taken possession, and is preparing
its mansions for our reception, waiting with smiles to
see us arrive. And while Jesus is concerned in our
interests, we, too, are concerned for his.
The salvation of immortal souls lies near the Savior's heart.  For this he wrought the wonders of
redemption. For this he toiled, and wept, and died.
For this he sustains this lower universe, and administers its high concerns.  For this he has published
His Word, appointed the holy Sabbath, and raised
up the ministers of his truth.  For this the Holy
Spirit is come to convince the world, and sanctify
believers. Some of his professed friends feel no interest in this enterprise, and care not for the salvation of the million who sigh in darkness and sink to
despair. But the real friend of Christ, knowing how
the soul of his gracious Benefactor "travails" for the
salvation of man, is led by every principle of grateful
love to travail also in the same behalf. The true
friend of Jesus asks with Saul, " Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do?"  He longs, with ardent zeal, to see
the lost gathered into the fold of Christ. His labors,
prayers, substance, and influence are all placed at the
command of Heaven. And, in all this world, he tastes
no joy equal to that of seeing the pleasure of the
Lord prosper in his hand.




FRIENDSHIP WITH CHIRIST.           127
4. Another requisite of true friendship is mutual
confidence between its parties.  To say that a man is
talented, amiable, and interesting; that his morals are
pure, his manners polished, and his conversation
agreeable, is saying much of him as a candidate for
friendship. But it is not enough. If he lacks firmness and decision of character, he lacks almost every
thing. What avails it to admire if we can not trust?
One of the most delightful privileges of friendship is the communication of secrets. And this is
one of the privileges of that divine friendship which
subsists between Christ and his disciples. Mark the
language of the context: "Henceforth I call you not
servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord
doeth; but I have called you friends, for all things
that I have heard of my Father, I have made known
unto you."  Sweet are the expressions of confidence.
Divinely precious are these tokens of the Savior's
confidence in his disciples. It is not surprising that'
the Christian should repose confidence in his Savior,
that he should retire from the world and even from
his family to commune with Christ in a manner too
intimate and familiar for the observation of his nearest earthly friend; exploring all the secrets of his
own heart, and presenting them, both in his confessions and prayers, before the Holy One.  It would
be surprising if he did not seek to unburden his
soul by spreading all his sins, and weakness, and
wants, in undisguised simplicity before his compassionate, bleeding Savior.
But the friendship of Christ and his disciples implies more than this. There is a communication of




128                SERMONS.
secrets on the other side. Jesus opens his mind to
his disciples. Even the things which he has heard
friom his Father, he makes known to his disciples.
To those that fear him, he imparts the secret of the
Lord. "The secret of the Lord is with them that
fear him." Sometimes this is true in a very open
and miraculous sense. When God resolved to overthrow Sodom, and the cities of the plain, he could
not hide it from Abraham the faithful. He became
the Patriarch's guest, and while conversing with his
beloved child, he says, "Shall I hide from Abraham
this thing which I do?"  No, he could not withhold the secret, because Abraham was his friend..
Look at Enoch and Moses; at Elijah and Elisha; at
the three Hebrews in the midst of the fire; at Daniel,
watched by the angels of God.  Look at Paul and
Silas in the dungeon, and at Stephen, as he kneels
to die with all heaven open before him; and the
throne of God, and the lovely Savior all revealed to
his delighted gaze.
Every friend of Christ possesses secrets of greater
worth than any of these-secrets which a thousand
worlds could not purchase from him, even if the alienation were his privilege. The secret of the Lord
is still with those who fear him-a deep knowledge
of the things of God, of the import of his Holy
Word, of the nature of sin, the blessing of pardon,
the power of faith, and the bliss of love, such as the
renewed in heart obtain from God through the blood
of Jesus. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him; but God




FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIS T             I 29
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." The Spirit
which "searcheth the deep things of God" makes
known to us the "hidden wisdom" of God, which
"none of the princes of this world knew," which the
natural man neither understands nor receives. To
the real friends of Jesus only the Spirit reveals this
"secret wisdom."  To them  also he gives "a new
name, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." "They have the mind of Christ," not only
in the sense of possessing his disposition and spirit,
but of understanding his will, his purposes, his
thoughts. The friend of Jesus exclaims, in reverent
wonder, "How precious are thy thoughts unto me,
0 God!" To none others are these loving tokens
given. Thus the friendship of Christ and his disciples is confidential.
Sinner, let me entreat you to cast around, and,
convinced of your true condition, see your need, and
secure Jesus- for your eternal friend. You now exult
in your youthful associations, but, alas! these will
soon give place to others, and these to others still,
until death shall bury, in everlasting oblivion, all the
friendship of this vain life.
The changes which tend to such result are passing
upon you in rapid succession.  Already your early
friends are gone, and their places are filled by others.
"Where are the elves that your children caressed,
And the friends that in boyhood attended your way.?
They are sunk like the bubble on ocean's rough breast,
Like the mists of the morn they are vanished away!"
And other revolutions are just before you till there
remains no room for another. And when you have




130                SERMONS.
selected your friends for the last time, and these
shall also have gone, what then? Can you look forward from that point and not tremble? The gloomiest scenes of your existence will then lie before you.
And must you encounter them in lonely and friendless solitude? in the hour of death, when deserted by
the gay, and forgotten by the ambitious, and lamented by the pious, and abhorred by an abused,
insulted Redeemer, what wouldst thou not give to
have Jesus for thy friend? What wouldst thou not
give, when heart and flesh fail thee, and thy farewell
look upon all thou hast here loved is turned away
downward to the valley of death, there to meet the
Savior, there to lean thy fainting head upon his
bosom, and smiling, say, "Lord Jesus, into thy hand
I commit my spirit?" I now offer thee this Divine
Friend, and stand up, in the name of Christ, to entreat
your acceptance of his overture. We plead with you
by all his tears and blood, and agony, cast away the
weapons of your rebellion, and receive him who is
all-merciful to pardon and all-powerful to deliver.
Receive him and you shall not be friendless in time,
nor shall you be friendless in eternity.
My brethren, we have this day made new covenants with Jesus.  We have been in his heavenly
society at the table of his love. We have eaten and
drunk in his presence, and to seal our friendship forever, he gave us his flesh to eat, and his blood to
drink.  Shall we violate our engagements, and be
guilty of a breach of this covenant? Let us beware
how we dip our hand with Jesus in the dish, and
then hurry forth to betray him. Let us go forth to




FRIENDSHIP WIT  CHRIST.           13 I1
the world exclaiming, "The vows of the Lord God
are upon me."
That we may retain the friendship of Christ, let
us repudiate the friendship of the world. We can
not retain both, for the friendship of the world is enmity with God." And can we be willing to take the
world and be severed from  Jesus?  Have we not
been already sufficiently deceived and abused by the
world? And who of us will be deceived again? How
nobly did it promise us before? And which of its
promises was finally fulfilled? It flattered us with the
prospect of rest, and peace, and joy. Where are all
its exquisite satisfactions, and when did we possess
them? Alas! The world has been to us a deceiver,
alluring us from scenes lovelier than Eden with all its
charms. And when she promised us a couch of down,
we found ourselves on a bed of scorpions. When
we laid ourselves down to repose, stings and terrors
assaulted us on every side. We felt the poison of the
wounds, and waking from the delusion, exclaimed,
"Avaunt sorceress," and fled her presence.  And
then followed the gloomy wanderings of our stricken
souls, through dry places, seeking rest, and finding
none, till One from heaven met us in the way, and
poured upon our wounds the oil of gladness, took us
into his banqueting house, called us his friend, his
bride, his best beloved; watched us with the eye,
soothed us by the voice, and breathed upon us with
the breath of love. And now shall we turn from this
Divine Friend and go back to the dungeon whence we
came out? God forbid! No, thou most adored One,
lovelier than the sons of men, "chiefest among ten




I32                 SERMONS.
thousand," we will still hear thy voice, and behold thy
smiling countenance. We will still weep at thy cross,
watch at thy sepulcher, and worship at thy gracious
throne. And when death shall chill these hearts, and
distill its dews upon these foreheads, let us, like Stephen, behold thy face, and yield our departing spirits
into thine arms of everlasting love! Like Asaph,
may we say, "My flesh and my heart faileth; but
God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."




GOD THE RIGHTEOUS _7UDGE.         I33
VII.
GOD THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE.
" Shall not the 7udg'e of all the earth do riht?" Genesis xviii, 25.
THESE words relate to one of the most memorable scenes in the history of man. That spot
which is now covered by the odious waters of the
Dead Sea, once revealed one of the most pleasant
and fertile valleys in the world. Lovely hamlets and
flourishing cities decked its sun-lit fields, and proudly
looked down upon its waters which then sparkled
like the eye of childhood in all the purity of curseless innocence.  But sin prevailed, and the wrath of
God followed in its train. The inhabitants of those
regions became the most abandoned and guilty of the
human race. Long did offended Heaven hush to
sleep its disturbed vengeance, and repeat its missions
of mercy to save them. At last their iniquities went
up over their heads, their cup of transgressions was
filled, and the uplifted thunder would no longer delay.
In an hour the God of battles overwhelmed them in
death, and commissioned his curse to dig their grave.
The caves of the sea are their sepulcher, the waters
are their winding-sheet and monument, and the bitter
curse rests upon them, even to this day.
This retribution was as righteous as it was ter



I34                SERMONS.
rific and severe. It was preceded by an open inquisition of the abominations which provoked it. In
verses twenty and twenty-one, God is represented as
instituting an investigation of their conduct and
crimes. And this is intended to show us that he
acts in the, character of a judge, whose business it
is to know before he condemns.
In those days the Patriarch had pitched his tent
upon the plain of Mamre, while before him lay the
doomed cities of the plain. He was the friend of
God. Jehovah came unto him as he sat in his tent,
accompanied by two angels, and after receiving the
hospitalities of Abraham, and having sent the angels
forward toward Sodom, he communicated to his servant the purpose of his holy mind which had devoted
to destruction the surrounding cities. Abraham interceded with his Almighty Friend for the salvation
of his abandoned neighbors. "And Abraham drew
near and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous
with the wicked?" And thus continues the strain of
his earnest intercession. And how strangely does
the prayer of this righteous man prevail! While he
pleads, Jehovah listens. While he presses his suit
with persevering importunity, enlarging his request
at every repetition of it, Jehovah yields, step by step,
until the promise is given that ten righteous persons
shall save the city. And here Abraham paused; or
Sodom might have remained to this very day.
Observe the argument of the Patriarch's prayer.
He pleads the righteousness of Jehovah, as the judge
of the whole earth. "That be far fiom thee to slay
the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous




GOD THE RIGHTEOUS _UDGE.            135
should be as the wicked; that be far from  thee!
Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?"
We proceed to invite your attention to the rectoral
character of the Supreme Being as the righteous
Governor of the whole earth, in the following propositions:
I. SOME EVIDENCE THAT GOD GOVERNS THE
WORLD.
II. A  CONSIDERATION OF THE GROUND OF HIS
AUTHORITY.
III. THE NATURE OF HIS ADMINISTRATION.
I. Wthat evidence, thein, have zee that God g'overns
the world?
I. We infer it from his nature. God is a Spirit,
incorporeal, intellizgent, and active. We conceive that
a pure spirit, an unincumbered intelligence, must be
unceasingly active. Such a spirit is God. We infer,
therefore, that God is unceasingly active. Again, it
will not be disputed that wherever God is, there he
acts.  But God is every-where.  He lives in heaven,
he lives on earth, he lives in hell. All creatures are
filled with his presence. And as his presence fills all
things, it follows that in all things and in all places
he is an active spirit. Once more, wherever God acts
his actions are regal and supreme, or they are loyal
and subordinate.
One of these must be the case, because there are
other agents in the universe besides God, and either
he or they must be in subjection. But is God in subjection? Certainly not, as we infer from the fact
that God is
2. The Creator.  The Creator is incapable of




I 36                SERMO.NS.
subordination to the creature. God, therefore, is not
subordinate to his creatures, nor are his actions subordinate to theirs, but they are supreme, and constitute government.
But it is sometimes urged that this world is of too
little account to engage the attention and secure the
supervision of Jehovah. If this be true, why then
did God create this world? Surely if it be beneath
him to govern, it were equally beneath him to create
such a world. But if its plan were of sufficient interest to employ his energies to create it, it may,
when created, be of sufficient interest to secure his
regal notice. Or, must it be presumed that he who
made the world, lost all interest in it the moment it
was formed? Must it be credited that God created
life in a thousand forms and even endowed a portion
of it with the noble attributes of intelligence merely
to pass it by and yield it to any influences which
chance or ambition might usurp over it? Would
God bestow such powers and not be interested to
watch their exercise and gather the fruits? Would
he adjust such a system and disregard its operation?
Would he people a world with intelligences, and teach
them that he is their common Father, and then forsake them to the desolations of such a dreary solitude as this world must be if God is not present
to cheer, and rule, and save it? No. If the creation of the world and its inhabitants were not beneath the dignity of God, neither is its control or
government. If their creation was for his glory, so is
the supervision.  If, for his pleasure, he formed
them, so also for, his pleasure he still sways his scepter




GOD THE RIGHTEOUS 7UDGE.           I37
over them. If he brought them into being through
the impulse of his benevolence, his benevolence is
equally gratified in sustaining, guiding, guarding, and
perfecting his creation. From the fact, then, that
God created, we infer that he governs the world.
Again: It is generally allowed, either by open or
by implicit concession, that the world is under government of some sort. Thousands, we know, profess
to deny it, yet in a multitude of instances you find
them ascribing to the world a subordinate station,
and placing chance or;zature as a sovereign upon the
throne. In some such forms of speech does the sentiment declare itself that the world is under government. And we ascribe its government to God for
this reason, namely: he alone has been proclaimed
and confessed to be its governor. They who deny
him this character and refuse to acknowledge his authority, ascribe subordination to the world, and then
either invest nature, or chalce, or fate with the attributes of supreme divinity, or, more properly, provide
none to govern or control. We, therefore, ascribe to
God that office of supremacy, and we do this with
the greater confidence from the fact that there are in
the order and the motion of things around us what
appear to us certain tokens that there is an efficient
system of government in operation over this world.
Observe the good order which prevails, and the delightful harmony which obtains so far around as your
eye can behold. How came these powers so nicely
adjusted; these systems so skillfully balanced; these
worlds revolving noiselessly through the fields of immeasurable space, without the least interference or
12




13 8               SERMONS.
pause, or disorder, amidst machinery so vast and so
complex that no finite mind can admeasure or trace?
Look upon it! Could such harmony prevail without
some agency to secure it? Must not some power
continue it as well as originate it? Does it require
less power to preserve the worlds in safe and orderly
motion than it did to start them in their sublime
career?  Does it require less power to reproduce
Summer and Winter, and seed-time and harvest now
than it did to produce them at first?
Much is said of the laws of nature; and much
to proclaim the folly of those who say it. Let it be
granted that Nature hath laws by which her operations are now conducted. Then it must be conceded
that God upholds these laws, makes them efficient,
and that their force or efficiency is naught but his
power.  If these laws be the instruments of Divine
power in ruling the world, they only serve to remove
the Divine hand a little farther off. And is God less
the governor of the world because, instead of laying
his naked hand upon it, he moves a spring which
produces all other motions around us? Assume the
extremest position consistent with the lowest type
of Theism-the theory of development and order in
nature from the operation of laws impressed upon
primitive monads of matter-and still, if we reject
atheism on the one hand and pantheism on the other,
and adhere to the doctrine of a personal God,.we are
forced to acknowledge him as the Creator, and the
wise Being who gave to matter these laws, and that
his intelligence foresaw an end, and his benevolence
determined that end to be good, and thus he pro



GOD THE RIGHTEOUS yUDGE.           139
jected the entire scheme of government for beneficent
ends for which we plead. The distance of time, or
the multiplication of subordinate agencies between
the efficient cause and the final end of things, can
make nothing against the wisdom, power, goodness,
and glory, much less the reality of the government of
all things by the one originating and supreme God.
From the evident fact, therefore, that the world is
under government, we infer that God is its governor.
We proceed to inquire
II. By what right God governs the world?
Men acquire authority over' their fellows in several ways, as
I. By usurpation, when the crafty boldness of
one man triumphs over the pusillanimity and simplicity of many.
2. By inheritanee, which is a covert usurpation;
but yet is of a conciliatory character, and claims to
be by a tacit consent of society.
3. By popular suffrage, which alone creates right,
and confers an innocent and valid authority. But on
neither of these grounds does God exercise authority
over the world. To say he is an usurper were profane and blasphemous.  Inheritance implies predecession, which God's eternity must of course exclude.
The suffrage of his creatures is necessary for their
holiness and comfort, but not for the purpose of conveying to him authority. He has an equal right to
govern with or without their suff:age. God's authority is more sacred than even suffrage itself can bestow. It arises from his creative acts, by which all
things are made that are in the heaven or upon th(




140                SERMONS.
earth. Creation confers upon God an absolute and
indefeasible property in all things, so that he may
possess them, use them, and derive from them the
utmost satisfaction, praise, and glory. Usurpation
and suffrage both imply the acquisition of authority
and the investiture of office.  There can be no
such thing implied concerning God. God was always
sovereign from necessity, and by necessity he must
always be sovereign, not by assumption or suffrage;
not by usurpation, or by hereditary right. His sovereignty is inherent in his nature. It is inalienable
as his own essence. He can not divest himself of
the attributes of sovereign any more than he can of
the attributes of Creator.
Were he to vacate his throne, and cast away his
crown, and resign the government of the universe, or
any portion of the universe, it would be treason, and
by that treason the universe must perish. So high
and holy, and awful and glorious is the authority by
which God governs the world! We shall now proceed to consider
III. The nature of the Divine administration.
Generally, it may be said to abound in all that is
considered excellent in government, namely: Wisdom, energy, and beneficence.
I. The Divine administration displays wisdom.
It proceeds upon a perfect knowledge of every thing
that transpires within his vast dominions. Human
dominion is exercised in absolute ignorance of much
that transpires within its limits. It often mistakes
the innocent for the guilty, condemning the former
and acquitting the latter; depressing the worthy and




GOD THE RIGHTEOUS 7UDGE.          I4I
exalting the vile. But no such errors are committed
by the universal Judge. Under his administration,
innocence has nothing to fear, guilty impenitence has
nothing to hope. He leaves no secret places empty
of his presence, or veiled from his eye, where crime
may be concealed, unnoticed, and unpunished. He
fills the universe, extending in all space, moving in all
motion, enduring in all eternity, animating all that
lives, thinking in all that thinks, imparting energy to
all that acts; and can any thing be concealed from his
omnipresent mind?
2. Another trait in the Divine government is energy. Omniscience and omnipotence are blended in
Godhead. When Deity has laid his plans in infinite
wisdom, nothing can defeat or retard their execution.
There is no device against the Lord God Almighty.
When he arises to battle it is vain to contend; when
he pursues it is in vain to flee.
By a word he spoke the worlds into being, and
raised up the dwellers upon the face thereof. By a
word he can undo the mighty work, and resume the
solitary station of his own primitive eternity. By his
omnipotent energy the obedient of his subjects are
sure of a reward, and the disobedient are sure of
punishment. For these his treasures of wrath, and
for those of his love are inexhaustible. A spacious
heaven and a spacious hell are prepared and wait
his purpose of retribution. Do you ask for some
signs of his power? You have it in the diluvian
tempests which drowned the world, and in the fiery
deluge which whelmed the cities of the plain. You
have it bursting up beneath your feet in all the vernal




142        -        SERAMONS.
charms and glories which surround you. You have
it in the lightning's flash, in the thunder's peal, in
the volcanic blast, and in every shock of the terrific
earthquake.
3. Beneficence is conspicuous in the Divine administration.  God seeks the highest good of his
creatures in all his acts of government. True, there
are examples of punishment frequent and severe, under his administration. Such examples will remain
forever to testify his veracity and answer the demands
of justice. But, in judging and in punishing, God
will be clear and irreproachable. In the destruction
of the old world he sought to purify our race from
corruptions so prevalent, and deep, and damning that
no hope of reformation or salvation remained. In
the destruction of Sodom and her sister cities he
proceeded upon the same ground. In the former instance only a solitary family remained uncorrupted,
and the whole world besides was filled with violence.
In the latter instance ten righteous persons could not
be found among the thousands who crowded and defiled the cities of the plain. Why, then, should they
be spared? Were it better that they should live to
prepare for a deeper hell, and to transmit their corruptions to succeeding generations as long as time
should last?  Doubtless benevolence dictated their
destruction, and there was mercy in the wrath which
consumed them. But it may be queried by some
mind why God, in the exercise of omnipotent energy,
did not reform rather than destroy them; and why
he does not uniformly prefer reformation to punishment, correction to destruction?  This query goes




GOD THE RIGHTEOUS yUDGE.           143
upon the supposition that the Divine government operates mechanically or physically, and that matter and
mind are subject to its influence.  But this is error.
God's government is adapted to mind, and cautiously
counsels its attributes that it may commit no invasion
upon its sacred prerogatives, but may rather preserve
and confirm them. Whatever influence he can exert
for the reformation of the depraved, without invading
their prerogatives, that he will exert, but no more.
He can not interpose his power for moral reformation in a way to derange or destroy the Godlike freedom of the human will. This would be to infract his
own laws written in the constitution of his noblest
creatures, and for the purest and noblest ends. He
can not contradict himself. This would be to ruin
the universe. Innocency itself could not be safe in
the hands of a supreme ruler who could change or
infract his fundamental laws at will to accommodate
the guilty.
It is very pleasant to contemplate the Eternal
God as the Father and friend of his creatures. It is
very cheering to view him as a being of infinite benevolence; as a fountain of mercy; as guiding the
steps, supplying the wants, and alleviating the sorrows of man; in a word, as clothed in all the attributes of gentleness, condescension, and love. But
were we to view God only in these aspects and characters, we should betray a thoughtless mind or a
vicious heart, and should be guilty of a dangerous
and fatal error. We should behave like children who,
pleased with the brilliancy of the flame and ignorant
of every thing but its luster, rush into the midst of it,




144                 SEROAtONS.
and find, too late, that its beauty hath power to torture and consume.
God is indeed our Father and Friend. But he is
also our Governor and Judge. In each character the
Scriptures reveal him  with equal certainty.  The
history of the world, no less than Holy Scripture,
proclaims the same truth. All the records of his
providence, all its observed provisions and tendencies,
all the monitions of conscience, pure and unseared,
join with the uniform testimony of Scripture to prove
that God is the Judge of the whole earth. That
which proves the existence of a Divine government
proves also its rectitude. "Shall not the judge do
right?" How closely here and elsewhere do the sacred
records blend the sovereignty and the righteousness of
God!  To affirm one is to affirm both. Like depth
and heigzht, they correlate. One can not exist, even in
idea, without the other. But it is the justice of God
as expressed in penalty to which men most object.
They profess difficulty in reconciling punishment
with love, especially sore punishment. But what is
penalty? Is it the offspring of vindictive feeling?
It may be so in the hands of a capricious tyrant.
But in the righteous government of the universe, it
is the offspring of benevolence. It is the office of
penalty to guard the precept, first, by deterring from
sin; or, secondly, by correcting and reforming, or
finally by placing the offender beyond the power of
injuring the innocent, and where his condition shall
fitly express the evil of transgression and the Lord's
hatred of offense. The punishment, in its essence, in
a moral government, must consist in leaving the




GOD THE RIGHTEOUS yUDGE.o          45
offender under the action of those principles which he
has voluntarily chosen for himself, and in that condition to which those principles, by their tendencies
and consequences, would consign him. And this, in
any government, after suitable corrective discipline
had failed, would not only be just to the offender,
but the dictate of love to the obedient, and loyal, and
for the well-being of society in general.
Such only is the penalty of the Divine government. It assumes the accountability of men, and
supposes all those actions to be free which commend
men to the praise, or expose them to the censure of
their judge. The world harmoniously reprobates that
judicial iniquity which condemns for that which is
inevitable. Those actions which are subject to judicial inquisition must have been free and avoidable.
It were monstrous to suppose that God would preappoint the crimes of the Sodomites, and then visit
them with overwhelming ruin for those very crimes.
He avoids the imputation of such tyranny by representing himself as coming by his messengers into the
midst of the city to examine the morals of the people and decide by holy inquest as to the course he
should pursue. If God had determined all their
moral conduct. surely this language would exhibit him
in the unlovely aspect of affectation and hypocrisy.
In forming an estimate of the beneficial tendencies and results of the Divine administration, it is
necessary to refer to its principles, and if these are
pure, and reasonable, and excellent, it only remains
to inquire whether God does strictly adhere to them
in the details of his regal conduct. Now it is claimed
I3




1 46                SERMONS.
in the Scriptures that God "governs the world in
righteousness, and the people with his truth." It is
claimed that "justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne."  Will any dare to challenge the
Almighty and charge him  with a departure from
righteousness?  Can any, by searching the records
of his administration, sustain so bold a charge?
But God has claimed, in his government of this
world, to have done more for it than sheer justice
demanded. He has not, according to his own showing, rendered unto sinful man his due. He has
studied successfully to avert from our rebellious race
that overflowing wrath which justice had directed.
In his government of man, "mercy and truth are met
together, righteousness and peace have embraced each
other." He not only acquits innocence and sustains
and blesses it, but by the Gospel of his grace, even
the penitent guilty are made partakers of the same
life and blessedness with the unoffending. God forbears with men. Forbearance is a suspension or delay
of the penalty for the purposes of grace and reformation. "The long-suffering of the Lord is salvation."
It is for this end. The principles of law and obligation laid down in Holy Scripture he departs not from
in judgment and in rewards.  Yea, he overpasses
the strictly legal aspects of the case, and with the
pitying heart of a Father, he condescends to entreaty
and expostulation, and reformative methods, and longsuffering, in order to win back the revolted soul to
obedience and love. Such is the beneficence of the
Divine government. Infinite goodness proposes the
end; infinite wisdom determines its model and meth



GOD THE RIGHTEOUS yUDGE.          147
ods, and infinite energy sustains it, while in awful
array the moral attributes of Jehovah are drawn up
as solemn guards and pledges of the eternal rectitude
of its administration.
CONCLUSION.-My hearers, if these views of God
and of his government be just, we entreat you to
consider the affecting relation you sustain to him as
his dependent subjects. Surely, if God be your judge,
if he be present to you in your deeds, words, and
thoughts; if his eye is never, for one moment, removed from your hearts; if such be his almighty
energy that he is only to will it and all moving nature pauses in her course, chaos succeeds to the
harmony of innumerable spheres around us; if he
will by no means suffer the guilty to escape condemnation, but will pursue them by the ministers of justice until they are destroyed; surely if God be such
an one, and you have served against him, it is no time
for us to rest fearless of the awful curse, and unmoved by the lightning of his vengeance. To leave
upon your minds a distinct and deep impression of
your accountability to this judge, and of the measures which he proposes toward those who profane
his holy name and trifle with his majesty, we invite
you to look at Sodom in its glory and in its ruins,
and be admonished.
Uniformity is an important characteristic of good
government, and it belongs emphatically to the Godhead. So that by ascertaining the course of the
Divine conduct in given examples, we learn its course
in all similar circumstances. Let us examine then,
the history of those cities here referred to.




I48                SERMONS.
I. Consider the partial history of tze Sodomnites.
They were of a high and holy lineage. A few generations bring them back to their righteous progenitor, Noah, whose godly example was sanctioned by
the forbearance and the judgments of Heaven.
Sinners in this assembly may boast an equal advantage, may claim an honorable and Christian birth
and culture.
2. Those inhabitants were as highly favored in
condition and fortune as they were nobly descended
by birth. Their dwelling was almost a paradise.
The spot which is now covered by the waters of
the Dead Sea was doubtless among the most pleasant and fertile valleys of the whole world. Moses,
whose eye for the beautiful was as correct as his
heart was devout, says of it, that "the plain of Jordan was well watered every-where, before the Lord
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden
of the Lord," or Eden. And this is but an emblem
of your prosperity under the smiles and blessings of
Heaven. But sin grew up and prevailed over all those
scenes of loveliness which were designed by Providence to draw the heart toward God. So, sinner, it
has been with you. Goodness has superabounded in
order that thus you might be led to repentance.
3. But the inhabitants of those fair regions became
thoughtless, and vicious, and profane. With them
lavished mercies and delayed judgments became only
new occasions of impiety and self-corruption. Still
God repeats his messages of grace, but still they refuse to hear. So, sinner, it has been with you. At
last their cup was full. "Their iniquities went over




GOD THE RIGHTEOUS 7UDGE.           149
their head."  The wrath of God followed close in the
train of their sins. God awoke to vengeance, and the
impatient thunder-bolts could no longer be restrained.
The elemients were summoned as executioners, and a
sulphurous sea of death became at once their winding
sheet and sepulcher, even to this very day.
O sinner, darker clouds impend over thee this
day, than ever lowered over those regions of death.
And they are charged with lightnings fiercer than
those which glared upon the doomed cities of the
plain. Hear your sentence from the lips of the Judge.
"It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than for thee" who hast
trampled under foot the Son of God, and counted his
blood unholy. God has spoken it. The word is gone
out of his lips, and let it be according to his Word.
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
O sinner, flee speedily to some sheltering Zoar or
the tempest must overtake thee. The wrath of God
as a sea of fire rolls its angry floods just behind thee;
make haste, or all its waves and billows will go over
thee forever.




50o                        SERMONS.
VIII.
THE WAGES OF SIN.
[Some years before his death, the lamented author attempted to prepare this sermon for the press, but was unable, from ill health, to accomplish it. The present
form, excellent as it is, gives little idea of the wonderful effect of its oral delivery.
An infidel who had heard it from the glowing lips of the author, remarlked to a friend,
in allusion to the closing words of the sermon, that "for days after nothing rang in
his ears but wages! wages! wages!"-ED.]
" For the wages of sin is death."  Romans vi, 23.
EVERY portion of Holy Writ is worthy of the
name of Gospel. Though it has curses for its
foes as well as blessings for its friends, yet it is a
system of pure benevolence. Like the colors of the
rainbow, its variety of truth betokens and tenders
peace to the world. But the covenant which stipulates the terms, consults not only our wants but our
faculties, approaching  us as parties, and  persuading
us as rational. Even in the last resort, refusing to
invade the grand prerogative of mind, it proceeds no
further than to enjoin us as agents, God himself
conceding that our liberty is sacred.
The Gospel proffers happiness. It is the sealed
instrument to convey "joy unspeakable," and is waiting for delivery-waiting, not because the Holder is
slow to alienate, but because the alienee does not
approach and take it. Why then the difference in
men's moral states?  Not from  God's partiality.  His




THE WAGES OF SIN.              5 
Gospel offers its benefits to all-to all on equal terms.
But some will not accept its benefits; and such, like
the sluggard who will not sow and reap, remain in
that condition of destitution and distress which that
same Gospel is commissioned to relieve. And refusing that "gift of God" which "is eternal life," they
inherit the "wages of sin," which is the second
"death."  The text leads us to consider,
I. SIN IN SOME OF ITS PECULIAR ASPECTS;
II. THE PUNISHMENT OR PENALTY OF SIN;
III. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN ITS INFLICTION.
I. Let us consider sin under the aspect which the
text intimates by the term "wages," which suggests,
I. That sin is a service. And why? Because it
enlists the energies-the physical, mental, and moral
powers of the agent. What single sin can you think
of, which, in its conception, growth, and development
does not oblige us to effort and action? Not one.
And it is servile action, in the employment of Satan,
who "works in the children of disobedience," led captive by him at his will. Surely this is a service. If
holiness is serving God, sin is serving the enemy of
God. If the former involves labor and effort to obey
God and persuade others to obey him, having for its
precept, "strive to enter in at the strait gate," the
latter involves more painful struggles to oppose and
dishonor God. It employs the whole unregenerate
man, the hand, the head, the heart. In other words,
it engages the members of the body, the powers of
the mind, and the ardor of the affections. The whole
being is enlisted for its inception and enactment.




I 52                SERMONS.
Religion is called a service, because it calls its
votaries to a noble and blessed employment; but sinl
requires at least an equal degree of energy from those
who seek its pleasures and pursue its ways.  Was
not the life of Cain as full of toil as that of Abel?
Were the men 6f Sodom less laborious in their war
against God and his servants, and his truth, than was
Lot, the friend of God, in his righteous calling?
Was not the service of Saul, the fickle and faithless
king of Israel, more exhaustive of the powers of soul
and body, than that of David, the "man after God's
own heart?"  Did not the course of Balaam, the
apostate, in serving Mammon, cost him  labor more
severe than would have fallen to an honest prophet
of God? Were not the priests of Baal, in their contest with Elijah, when bowing before their god from
morning till noon, with loud, unheeded cries, cutting
themselves with knives to propitiate an answer, in
greater distress and labor than the calm and truthfil
prophet of God?
But leave the sacred history, and look out upon
the world. Observation will convince us that sin is
a most painful service.  Inspect the different classes
of the worldly and the vicious, and see if their pursuits require no toil. Can pleasure pursue its course
of lawless gratification and not reduce the noble, the
mighty, and the wise to the mere wreck of that which
was magnificent in manliness? Can avarice reach its
aim without a painful struggle?  Can- ambition win
its honors without fiery contest? Can intemperance
allow indulgence without a fearful sacrifice of health,
comforts, and constitutional strength? Worldly and




THE WA GES OF SIXT             I53
wicked men are the greatest drudges in the world.
The excesses of worldly and selfish appetites, of carnal and unsanctified desires, are simply martyrdom
in sin. Those sins which a wicked world agrees to
pardon or applaud are never venial, as is seen by
consequences. To say nothing of a future but certain retribution, they exhaust the powers of life, and
reduce the strong and gifted to the mere wreck of all
that is noble in humanity.
Thus you perceive that sin deserves the name of
service. The sinner and the saint has each a work
to do. Both devote themselves to laborious occupations. The Christian's work is in the sanctuary; the
sinner's at the assembly room, the theater, or gambling house. The former seeks the closet, the latter
his debauch. Pass down the stream of life and watch
them in their course, and you will behold them encountering rough and smooth, always actively employed as the friends or foes of God.  Nor could we
easily determine whether it be more difficult to sustain  the Christian's toils or endure the sinner's
drudgery, were it not for the blessed fact that the
Christian's course is aided by heavenly succor, and
that his toil is relieved and sweetened by heavenly
consolation.
2. Sin is a volusztaSry service. By this I do not
mean that the human will begets man's wicked dispositions as they appear in the infant mind. To affirm
this would be neither philosophical nor Scriptural.
If the will of infancy beget its unlovely dispositions,
what originates that uniform bias of the will by which
it produces only sinfuil or corrupt states? The ques



I 54               SERMONS.
tion is unanswerable. But we avoid the difficulty by
holding that Scripture truth, "Behold I was shapen
in inquity "-a truth which we believe inculcates moral
doctrine and not a mere physical fact.
We hold that moral depravity is man's natural inheritance-that he enters the world subject unto sin,
whose early dominion over him is without his let or
hinderance. We hold that its first working in the
members confers no guilt, and that all its concupiscence of whatever sort, requires no condemnation till
the eye of conscience is opened, and its monitory
voice warns him of a right and a wrong in human actions. But while we hold these sacred truths, we
neither deny nor doubt that sin is a voluntary regard
and pursuit of things forbidden by God's commandment.
But this voluntariness of freedom of the will in
things pertaining to God we hold again to depend on
the aid of God's Spirit, which, by well-invented and
prescribed means, such as the study of the Scriptures,
prayer, and the ordinances of the Church, "helps our
infirmities," and imparts a gracious power to choose
eternal life, to adopt a course of seeking by which we
surely may attain it. With the diligent and persevering use of means, God has connected eternal life;
in the habitual and persevering neglect of means
prescribed, we are sure of final ruin. The former we
attain only through Divine grace helping us; the
latter we reach by the proclivities of our own nature,
when grace is spurned.
Now it is plain that the use or disuse of these
means of grace is voluntary with man, as would be




THE WA4 GEs OF SIN             I155
the adoption or the rejection of a remedy for sickness,
from which it differs only in the certainty of its results. Adopt the means of grace and their end, salvation, is sure; reject them and it is impossible. We
voluntarily choose or reject the means; and by the
same suffrage we voluntarily choose or reject the end.
Thus sin is a voluntary service.
3. Sin is a fruitful service.  It requires a reward.
So says the text. The Scriptures reiterate the same
alarming truth. They teach us that man's probation
is prolific-that in it he prosecutes a sort of moral
husbandry, which will bring a following harvest.
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap;
he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption."   Not only they who have done good,
but they also who have done evil, shall come forth to
a resurrection of just retribution.
"Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death"produces that which is well suited to its devices and
its deeds. Yes, brethren, sin hath wages. It merits
and will meet its due reward.
The word rendered "wages" was used to designate the pay of a Roman -soldier for services performed. We are called to be soldiers.  The soul of
man may be considered the seat of war. The contending armies which occupy the field are recruited
from heaven and hell. Satan and his legions preoccupy the ground. The Captain of man's salvation
invades this cursed encampment.  War rages. The
soul in this position is forced from her neutrality.
The issue of the conflict depends on her behavior.
At first her powers divide. The passions, earthly,




56                 SERMONS.
sensual, and devilish, declare for the prince of darkness and arm against the Spirit. Reason and conscience with earnest protestations condemn the unworthy deed, and commence to plead the cause of
Truth and Righteousness.  Celestial and infernal
powers stake all upon the issue. Yet both abet the
onset. Satanic charms inspire the passions and fire
them  for the conflict.  A  heavenly influence imparting light, and pressing truth upon the conscience,
rouses the nobler powers to maintain the cause of
God.  The Savior's strength and promise assure
victory to conscience, unless, transformed to traitor,
she betray her sacred trust. Does she betray her
trust, go over to the passions, and join the standard
of God's enemy?'Tis treason, and under the authority of the King of Kings, the traitor in the camp of
Israel, as well as under the Roman eagle, is sure of
his award; for " the wages of sin is death."
II. The punishment of sin-"death."
Let us consider the natzre of this death.  The
word death has various meanings. Its most natural
and of course its common signification is the separation of soul and body. Is this its meaning in the
text? By no means. Because the death here mentioned is something from which the Gospel proffers
us deliverance. But the Gospel proffers no deliverance from dissolution and the grave. The separation
of soul and body is the common lot of all. It is an
event which comes on the righteous and on the
wicked. Would Justice prescribe that as a punishment for treason which comes also on the most faithful and patriotic soldier? Surely not. That death,




7THE WAGES oE SIN.             I57
then, which is the common lot of all the sons of men,
can not be a penal dispensation toward the wicked;
for such a dispensation must bear peculiarly and exclusively on the wicked, and not involve the righteous
also. The death threatened in the text is not, therefore, the separation of soul and body merely.
Death sometimes denotes the separation of the
soul from God-its destitution of the graces and comforts of the Holy Ghost. This is sometimes called
spliritual dealti. Is this what it means in the text?
Certainly not. For this spiritual death is the very
offense for which punishment is threatened; and it
can not, therefore, be the punishment itself. Let us
attempt an illustration. A traitor is arrested, tried,
found guilty, and waits his sentence. The Judge
proceeds to pass that sentence, and in the progress
of his remarks uses some such words as these: "The
commission of this high offense proves that you are
dead to all sentiments of patriotism for your country
and of attachment to your king; that you are dead to
all those generous emotions which can render you a
worthy and useful citizen, fit to enjoy the sacred privileges which the laws and constitution secure to the
loyal and patriotic. Thus, dead to every ennobling
virtue of humanity, it is not fit that you should live
to annoy and curse the land which you will no longer
adorn and bless.  Most justly, therefore, does the
law which you have violated award the penalty of
deat/z which I shall now pronounce upon you." He
then proceeds to sentence him. Here you perceive
the word death, in its grammatical variations, is applied: first, to describe the guilty and depraved state




I 5 8               SERMONS.
of the vile malefactor; and, second, to designate the
penalty of his crime. And would the officer of public executions be in any danger of confounding the
two, or mistaking them for one and the same thing?
Could he so misinterpret the sentence as to infer that
the criminal's death to honor and to virtue is the
only death he is to suffer under the sentence of the
court? Now apply this illustration.
The Bible teaches that the sinner is spiritually
dead-that is, dead to every sentiment of love and loyalty to God. This, it teaches us, is his crime, alleges it
as a matter of accusation against him. And for this
it pronounces sentence of death upon him. And will
any but profane lips affirm that the death threatened
as a punishment is no more than the very same death
which constitutes the crime? Surely not. It is most
evident, then, that the death mentioned in the text
is not spiritual death. What, then, is meant by death
in the text?  Undoubtedly it is eternal death, or the
retribution which overtakes the impenitent in another
world. Eternal death is not a Scriptural phrase, but
it is a Scriptural doctrine.  Death, like the word
corruption, is evidently considered, by inspired writers,
as implying, of itself, perpetuity. This is evident from
the fact that they often place it in antithetical relation to the phrase "everlasting life;" and also use the
words "everlasting punishment" in the same connection.  For example, "The wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life," etc. Here the
opposition is of eternal life to death.  But again,
"These shall go away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into life eternal." Here the opposi



THE WAGES OF S.Az             z159
tion is of "life eternal" to "everlasting punishment."
Now, as "death" and "everlasting punishment" are
both used in this construction, or are indifferently connected antithetically with the phrase eternal life, the
principles of fair criticism clothe them with the same
signification and force as to duration. In other words,
they are, in this respect, synonymous, or exactly parallel. But it may be asked, what is the import of
"everlasting pinishment?"  I answer, the exact opposite of "everlasting life."  And further than this I
need not reply. Why should I argue that it signifies
endless misery? Could I prove it, the phrase endless
misery is just as liable to cavil as the other phrase.
I could not come to any conclusion as the result of
my argument, which is not just as equivocal as the
phrase "everlasting punishment," with which I set
out. Should a man argue that white means white,
or that black means black, how could he conclude his
argument with a statement more plain than that
which he defends?  No word in Greek literature
could more definitely set forth duration without end
than that rendered everlasting and eternal in the
passages we have quoted.  I leave you, therefore,
with the declaration of Jesus, "these shall go away
into everlasting punishment," as my exposition of the
nature of this "death."
III. But is this view of the subject consistent
with the revealed character of God? Is God herein
righteous? Can we reconcile it with his attributes
of wisdom, power, and goodness, that he should
award to the sinner everlasting punishment?  In
reply to this question we must be mindful of these




I6o                 SERMONS.
things: I. He has procured for us a most unmerited
probation.  2. God wants us to spend it in his
service, and stipulates its reward in the spirit of infinite benevolence and love. 3. In view of our disrelish of divine things, he supplies us with the. Holy
Spirit to help our infirmities, and renew in us a holy
admiration and relish of his service. 4. He warns us
that unless we serve him we oppose him, and ally
ourselves to his enemies. 5. He admonishes us that
by this course we increase our opposition to him, and
render it impossible for him to make us happy by
his society and fi-iendship, because, in this state, these
can not, in the eternal nature of things, be pleasant
to us. 6. He teaches us that all our privileges are
bought by the death of Christ, and that their neglect
or abuse involves the heinous crime of scorning that
rich grace thus dearly purchased, and the madness of
rejecting the only method for our salvation.
Now, in all these things it will doubtless be confessed that God displays his goodness. When we
turn to the analogy of his earthly administration, we
acknowledge God's goodness to be properly displayed
in those arrangements which place security and happiness within our reach, and then permit us freely to
apply the kind provision. For instance, we call it
goodness in him to cause the.sun and rain to fructify
the soil; and we never presume to charge upon him
the misery of man who suffers nakedness and hunger
as the fruit of indolence in seed-time or harvest. We
acknowledge his goodness in setting his bow in
heaven, as a token of his covenant that he will no
more drown the earth. But we never charge it to




THE WA GES OF SIN.            i6i
malice that he does not interpose and force the
wretch to live who resolves to drown himself.
We acknowledge his goodness in supplying plants
and minerals whose virtues, prudently exhibited, restore the sick to health; but we do not say he is
malevolent, because these salutary remedies are often
made the instruments of suicide and murder. In
such cases as these we acquit the Almighty of wrong,
and credit him as good and wise, because he has
placed security and comfort within our reach, and
instructed us to apply the benevolent provision.
Why can we not judge with righteous judgment
on other subjects also, in which the same principles
are involved, and where the course of the Divine administration proceeds upon the same rule? God has
placed us upon trial for eternity, and in circumstances,
too, most friendly to the acquisition of a holy and
happy mind. He reveals the bow of mercy. Jesus
and the Spirit shed rain and sunshine on the soul.
He charges all his truth with a healing virtue, and
every believing application approves its efficacious
power. Does'not this display his goodness and his
wisdom? And after all, shall we charge it to his
malice that he does not force the wretch to live, who
madly drowns himself in destruction and perdition?
or who has resolved to make the medicine of the
Gospel the perverted instrument of the soul's eternal
ruin? Little will it avail us in the day of retribution
to have passed the time of probation, given for repentance, in censuring our Judge. We shall wonder
why we did not lay it to heart that we were made
subjects of so holy an administration, that our whole'4




I62                SERMONS.
probation was a display of love on his part, and of
enmity on ours.
In these circumstances, supposing, as we do, God
to be good and wise, and mighty, we still ask how
is he to display these attributes toward us? We
have been active, moral beings, under his dispensations of law and grace, and our whole probation has
been crowded with displays of love ungratefully applied by us. In the close of this scene God must
change his measures with us, or resign his dignity as
governor of all worlds. He can not treat us as obedient, worthy subjects without disregard to truth, for
we have not been obedient or worthy. He can not
treat us as sinful, but pardoned subjects, because we
treated the Gospel and its Savior with neglect and
contumely, as well as the law and its Author with
scorn. In addition to this, we have not moral taste or
capacity for one single pleasure which blooms in all
the regions of the celestial world.
What disposition, then, will he make of those who
have reduced themselves to a condition so forlorn that
nothing can bring them joy, because they have ruined
every faculty for the fruition of it? Were God to
introduce them into the heavenly world, and recall to
every sense its choicest good, the eye, and ear, and
taste, and all would be in anguish worse than hell.
His courts on earth were disagreeable, though the tokens of God's presence were but feebly discerned.
IHow, then, could heaven be borne, where God dis
plays his glory in intense, eternal splendor to all its
gathered hosts?
Do you say that Omnipotence can still create the




THE WA GES OF SIT.V            163
soul anew, and form it for the pleasures of that holy
world? I answer, he zuill not do it. God could do
many things as an Omnipotent Being that he never
will do as a wise and holy Being, even though it
might seem that in doing them he would afford striking evidence of goodness. The wretch who drinks
his poison may say with perfect truth that God can
counteract it and save his periled life. The monster
who kills his neighbor may affirm with equal truth
that God can, by his act, resuscitate the dead. But
God will do none of these things. It would be poor
encouragement to virtue, and poor discouragement to
vice, if God were to busy himself, not in arresting
the spread of sin, but in averting its fatal consequences from the guilty. His wisdom and his goodness assure the universe that it needs to apprehend no
misfortune of such a magnitude. What the law of
moral fitness requires is as essential to Deity as his
perfection or his existence.
Do you still say that God can, in eternity, renew
the ruined Soul and fashion it for pure and heavenly
entertainments? I answer, yes, and in the same instant he can, if it be a mere question of power and independence, transform the sainted spirits who, through
tears, and pains, and blood, have entered into heaven,
and fashion them for all the woes and agonies of hell.
But lhe will nzot do eithzer. One event is just as probable as the other with the self-assumed obligations
of his eternal truth.  He car not do it. Once he
sought the privilege at your hand of effecting your
renewal. He sent his Word, and sent his ministers,
and his providence, and his Son, and his Spirit to




64                 SERMONS.
perform this blessed work. These waited all the time
that probation lasted. He bounded that probation,
and warned you of the fact. You mocked his gracious offers till you had passed its limits, and as he
proved to you his goodness and mercy while you
lived, he will now prove to you his decision and his
justice. How? He will suit your wages to your
work, and your reward to your capacity. The universe shall see and approve it, and shall adore. The
lost shall see it, and feel to all eternity that hell is
the wages paid by justice to the reprobated soul. A
sense of this will kindle fiercer all its lurid fires; and
if, amid its flames, the soul should cry out, "What
meaneth this great wrath?" a hand, scarred with
wounds of cruel crucifixion, shall come forth and
write, "THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH!" and every
sheet of fire shall reveal the startling truth, "thie
wages of sin is death."  And the smoke of their torment shall ascend forever and ever, and on each
convolving cloud, as it curls upward from the pit, that
hand shall write in blood, WAGES! WAGES! WAGES!




THE GIFT  OF GOD.                    I65
IX.
THE GIFT OF GOD.
[This, as well as the preceding, of which it forms the counterpart and completion, is found only in the rough sketch from among the Author's MSS. Yet, like
that, though the less complete of the two, its rich suggestiveness stamps it with
value.-ED.]
"The gift of God is eternal life, tzroughoz  esus Christ our Lord,"
Romans vi, 23.
N  our last discourse we attempted to explain and
enforce the first clause of this text. We then
remarked that every portion of Holy Writ is worthy
the name of Gospel. For though it has curses for
its foes as well as blessings for its friends, it is a system of pure benevolence. We then directed your
attention to some of its darker shades. We now
propose to your meditation more cheerful, if not more
salutary  views.   Then  our text introduced  us  to
scenes of death, of wrathful retribution.   Now  we
may speak of Christian life and Christian joy, of
Jesus and heaven.'The Gospel is a system of pure
benevolence. Infinite love speaks by its voice, infinite light shines through its doctrines, infinite munificence adopts it as an instrument to convey eternal
riches to the sons of men.
Merciful God, assist us by thy Spirit to listen to
this voice; to rejoice in this light; to take through




i 66                 SERMONS.
this sacred instrument an inheritance incorruptible,
undefiled, and that fadeth not away!
Let us consider the tenor of this instrument by
noticing,
I. ITS DONATION.
II. THE METHOD OF ITS SEIZIN AND ENJOYMENT.
I. Its donation-eternal life.  By this we are not
to understand perpetual being merely. If so, it might
imply an evil, not a good; a curse, not a blessing.
To perceive the excellence of this life we must advert
to the nature of that death which constitutes the
wages of sin.  The wages of sin is not annihilation.
Man was made to be immortal.  He was made to be
the image of God's eternity. This purpose of his creation will be fulfilled. Man must live forever. Sin, if
it could annihilate, would be comparatively a trifling
evil. Annihilation would be an effectual, though a
mournful remedy for the wounds it gives the soul.
But though sin can not annihilate, it can kill. It can
convert all the light of our existence into darkness;
all its sweet into bitter; all its joy into agony; all its
immortality into an eternal dying. It can fill the
living soul with anguish more intense than all the
pains of dissolution in its severest forms. This is
Scriptural doctrine, but it is taught by Providence as
well as Scripture; by experience as well as Providence; by observation as well as experience; by
history as well as observation.
Inspect the scenes which history has rescued from
oblivion, and in them you will perceive such sufferings
as illustrate this truth, that "sin has power to kill."
Look at the scenes of life as they spread around and




THE GIFT OF GOD.              I67
pass before you, and in their crime and misery you
may read the fearful truth, that "sin has power to
kill." Look into your own heart, and in its corrupt
and painful passions you have affecting proof that
"sin has power to kill."
The Scriptures in this instance serve to confirm,
and not reveal, a doctrine which history, and consciousness, and God's instructive providence do, by
fair interpretation, suggest to every mind, and impress on every heart. While the Scriptures assure
us of the malignant power of sin to destroy our
peace and murder all our joys, we can perceive, if we
examine, that it has already commenced this dreadful
work. Can you not perceive it?  Are you not witnesses to yourselves that it has disturbed your hours
of rest; transformed your pleasures into pain, armed
conscience with a scorpion's sting, and inflicted worse
than serpent wounds upon your bleeding, poisoned
hearts? And while these scenes, composed of sin and
suffering, of crime and anguish, are within and all
around you, will you dispute or doubt that Scriptural
statement which confirms the vision of your eye and
the consciousness of your souls? Surely not; and if
not, you will believe that sin is working death within;
that it can and will, if permitted to take its course,
convert your endless being into immortal pain and
agony. It is inveterately hostile to the happiness of
man.  It assails his pleasures in their bud; blasts
them in their blossom. It sows the seeds of care
and pain in the Spring-time of his being, matures
them in its Summer, and stores the poisoned fruit as
the bitter treasures of the soul's eternal Autumn.




I68                    SERMONrS.
This is death: that death of which the Scriptures
warn us; and which they do assure us is in its milder
form the condition of our souls, uninfluenced by the
reviving virtue of the Gospel.
Miserable condition! Dreary, terrifying prospect!
How does it sicken all the soul, and make it cry
with earnestness, and struggle with utmost energy
for the devouring gulf of dark annihilation! And still
it finds, as it struggles, that its energies are immortal, and its very struggles after death proclaim its
painful doom to live forever, and live the victim of an
immortal dying.
" 0, wretched State of deep despair!
What! to be banished from my Lord,
And yet forbid to die!
To linger in eternal pain,
Yet death forever fly!"
Yes; the wages of sin is death.
"But, lo! a voice of sovereign grace
Sounds from the sacred Word."
For though the wages of sin is death, and we have
all begun to taste the bitterness of its remuneration,
yet the Gospel interposes and proclaims a joyful rescue. The same communication which reveals our
true condition displays to us the method and means
of blessed deliverance.  The ultimate aim  of this
Gospel, in all its representations of man's sinfulness
and wretchedness, is to save him from so forlorn a
state.
The information it communicates is painfully
affecting, but the object which it seeks is divinely




THIE GIFT OF GOD.               I69
benevolent. Like those medicines which are bitter
but salutary, the Gospel bears, under the cover of
severity, the elements of heavenly life to ruined,
dying souls. True, it teaches man his ignorance, but
it is to make him wise. It proclaims to him his
misery, but it is to make him blessed. It indicates
his sickness, but it is to bring him  health.  It- displays to him his poverty, but it is to make him rich
in the possession of the gift of God through Jesus
Christ our Lord.  It paints in striking colors the
doom of the transgressor, but it is to warn us of his
ways and turn us from  his paths.  Last of all, it
exhibits in impressive figures the rewards of Christ's
religion, to attract us to its altars and enlist us in its
service.  Here, that reward is called "eternal life."
Eternal life! How sweet it sounds to the soul that
has enjoyed the least experience of it!
That soul was dead, but is revived. Its present
life is found to be the very opposite of that dying
state which was its birthright and its curse until, by
new creation, it partook of the enjoyment of this
most blessed life. This, then, is a general description of eternal life, namely: It is the very opposite
of that death which we have just described as constituting the wages or the punishment of sin.
For, if sin kills the soul, the gift of God revives
it. The gift of God imparts a consciousness of energy for holy action, and this is life eternal.  It
imparts fortitude for patient suffering, and this is
life eternal. It inspires the soul with holy raptures,
and this is life eternal. Does sin convert the light
of man's existence into darkness, religion transforms
I'5




1 70                 SERMONS.
its darkness into light. Does that convert his sweet
into bitter, this converts his bitter into sweet. Does
that convert his comfort into pain, this transforms
his pains into pleasure.  Does that fill the living
soul with worse than dying horrors, this inspires the
dying with raptures all immortal. And religion, like
sin, begins its work on earth. Experience is the
Christian's demonstration of those Scripture statements which announce this life eternal as the gift
of God to man. The Christian has blessed admonitions, from what he feels in his own heart, that the
book of God is true.  He finds that life, eternal life,
has commenced its blessed reign, and in its swelling
raptures he is then satisfied.. Now he can exult in
the prospect of immortality.  The gift of God is
boldly counteracting the power and work of sin.  It
restores that rest which sin disturbed, disarms the
conscience of its sting, heals all the wounds of his
aching, bleeding heart; while peace and purity, joy
and holiness, spread all abroad within him, confirm
the blessed doctrine of man's eternal life.
Well may he triumph in the thought that man
must live forever. For religion converts his endless
being into immortal joy and rapture. It nips his
sorrows in their bud and blasts them in their blossom. It sows the seeds of peace and bliss in the
Spring-time of his being; matures them, and treasures them  as the riches and the glory of the soul's
eternity.
Such, my brethren, is the precious gift of God.
So excellent and lovely is that eternal life into which
your souls have entered by the second heavenly




THE GIFT OF GOD.              17I
birth.  You are now, in the peace and comfort of
your faith, enjoying the infancy of an eternal life.
You have yet attained but little of that which is in
store for you, yet this little is more than this vain
world can give. Your life, though just commencing,
is sweeter far than all the joys of sense. And if the
bud of this new life affords such strange delights, 0,
what may we expect from its blossoms and its fruits!
II. We shall proceed to inquire by what method
we may possess this eternal life.
I. This inquiry is very necessary, as we learn, not
only from the tenor of God's Holy Word, but from the
fact that thousands of the human family exist without this life, and even pass from this world without
any signs of its enjoyment. And why? Surely not
because it is limited by the Donor's partiality to a
few of this great family? No! The instrument which
proffers it urges its acceptance upon all the sons of
men. The Gospel, in strains as sweet as those of
Heaven, invokes a suffering world to seize these everlasting riches. In many varying tones it appeals by
turns to every passion which sways the human heart,
to every principle which prompts to human action.
With a voice of wisdom it speaks to the understanding, with words of promise it rouses expectation. Its
fearful threatenings are addressed to our fears, and
its tender invitations to our hopes.  Conscience is
assailed by its bold accusations, while our gratitude
is moved by a thousand indications of its kind and
tender purpose.
But, alas! to thousands its voice of wisdom and
of promise, of warning and entreaty, is like the idler's




7 2                SERMONS.
tale, unheeded and despised. And this is the reason
that men have not this life eternal. Gospel manna
is rained down to them from heaven, but they refuse
to eat it. The water of life flows in floods all around,
but they refuse to drink it.
Sinners, are any of you now otherwise disposed?
Do you look upon this divine life as a gift not unworthy to be sought and cherished, and preferred to
all that the world can promise or present you? If
there be one such present, let him diligently consider
that this eternal life is an absolute gratuity. In the
language of the text, it is a "gift."  It is a gift in the
simplest, least qualified sense. There never was a
benefit conferred in which the beneficiary was so
undeserving.  Undeserving, did I say?  Call it illdeserving. Nay, that is insufficient. Call it helldeserving. This donation is not like that of A, who
owed B nothing, but capriciously presented him with
one hundred dollars. Nor is it like C, (though this
is nearer to it,) who forgave D a debt of one hundred
dollars, and added another one hundred dollars as a
largess.
The Gospel benefice has not a parallel in earth
or heaven, and why do we present one? The degradation of the beast and the malice of the devil
combine in the wretch whom Jesus died to save. I
say the wretch, that it may rouse, not your pride, but
your humility. I say the wretch, and this may prove
the fitness of the name. He had not only fallen,
but he was averse to rise again. He had not only
sinned, but he refused to cease from  sinning.  He
had not only warred with God, but the zeal of his




THE CIFT OF GOD.            173
hostility waxed warm, and bold, and devilish, while
God was seen descending with him, intent to pacify
him. Yes, the zeal of his hostility waxed hot against
Immanuel, till its cursed, cruel wrath wrought the sanguinary horrors of the cross; and weep, 0 Heaven!
blush, 0 Hell! the God who came to save was made
the victim of a tragedy! Jesus died, and rising from
the tomb, all pale in the visage and attire of the
sepulcher, he presents to his murderers the gift of
life eternal. He presents to you, and all the world,
the same gracious offering. You, and all the world,
are fallen, depraved, and enemies to God, just like
those who arrested Jesus in the Garden, and cried,
with one accord, "Crucify him! crucify him!" A
thousand times our hearts have felt the same, and
thousands of our deeds have been as sacrilegious as
the taunt and the blasphemy which mocked his dying
pains. Yet he bears to us the offer of everlasting
life. And well is it denominated the "gift of God."
2. But you may say, what are we to understand
by the conditions of salvation?  I answer, by the
conditions of salvation you are not to understand any
performances whose merit moves the Gracious Donor
to kindness toward his creatures. These conditions
are scarcely conditions, either in the legal or popular sense. They are rather the method, or the mode,
of possessing the gift of God. In every thing there
is a method. There is a method of allaying thirst,
namely, by swallowing fluids. There is a method of
allaying hunger, namely, by eating food. There is a
method of nourishing the body, namely, by digestion. There is a method of making the atmosphere




1 74                SERMONS.
contribute to the Immediate support of life, namely, by
inhaling it into the lungs. But God does not bestow
water on condition that we drink, nor food on condition that we eat, nor air- on condition that we
breathe. Fruits grow, whether we eat or not; fountains abound, whether we drink or not; the globe is
girt with atmosphere, whether we breathe or not.
The gift of food, and drink, and atmosphere is absolute, and independent of all conditions. And so it is
with the provisions of grace. The bread of Heaven,
the water of life, the atmosphere of truth fall, and
flow, and circle all around us, whether we eat, drink,
breathe, or not. And do you, then, conclude that all
is safe, and that you have nothing to do but sleep
your way to heaven?   Pause and consider!  Will
the fruits of the earth nourish you unless you eat
them? Will the gushing fountains revive you unless
you drink of them? Will the pure air invigorate you
unless you breathe it? No! And so, although the
bread of heaven and water of life are spread and
poured around in profusion as rich as the mercy
which bestows them, yet you must eat and drink or
perish in the midst of the abundance.
3. To meet this view of the subject, then, we propose to speak of the metlhod, not the condition, of
enjoying the gift of eternal life.
This method is described by the Instrument
which offers to us the gift. And what does it affirm?
"He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life." "Now the just shall live by faith."
Faith is the method of enjoying life eternal. By
faith, the soul eats the bread and drinks the water of




THE GIFT OF GOD.              175
life. By faith, it breathes the atmosphere of heaven.
Faith fills the soul with heavenly light and love,
and communicates unto it the joys of fellowship with
God.
But this faith is in Jesus. "lhe that believeth on
the Son of God hath," etc. The text affirms that
"the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ."
Faith in him, whose nature is like our own by the
everlasting mystery of Deity incarnate, unites the
soul so closely to God, manifest in flesh, as to diffuse
his life divine throughout our being. "Jesus lives,"
" in him is life," and whoever is vitally joined to him
lives also by the quickening energy of his Spirit.
Faith constitutes the soul a branch of Jesus Christ,
who is the living vine, and communicates to every
branch a living vigor, a divine and heavenly beauty.
But how may this faith be exercised.? How may
its blessed operations be commenced in the unbelieving soul? If you will keep in mind that by faith the
soul feeds its inward life, our answer to this question
may seem more readable. Birth must precede the
full development of life. It must precede the voluntary use of food, and drink, and atmosphere. So the
soul must be regenerated, must be born of the Spirit,
before it can, by faith, partake of the elements which
nourish this new life.
By birth the child is introduced into this world
and all its scenes of sorrow or of joy. By birth, a
second birth, the soul is introduced to the rapturous
experience of the new and heavenly life.
Except a man be born he can not see the light
nor enter into the scenes of this checkered mortal




176               SERMONVS.
life. So, except a man be born again, he can not see
the kingdom of heaven. Would you, then, have this
blessed life? I say to you, in the words of Christ
to Nicodemus, "ye must be born again."  Do you
ask "how shall a man be born when he is old?"  I
answer, "seek, and ye shall find; ask, and ye shall
receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
Adopt the method and God will secure the result.
And now let us close this discussion by entreating your attention to this gift of life eternal. We
earnestly persuade you not to reject a donation so
incalculably precious, purchased by such suffering,
and offered in such pity, to souls so needy, so fallen
and distressed. What objection can you have to be
partakers of this life, to seek that regeneration which
will introduce you to it, and that faith in Christ
which will nourish and consummate it? Array before
us your most formidable difficulties, and let them be
examined by the light of truth divine.
Do you say that the doctrine of spiritual birth is
a dark, forbidding mystery? And does your judgment slight it because your reason can not trace it?
I answer, this mystery is not more difficult than
the origin and development of that vital animation
which is displayed by man in the commencement of
his being. Do you say that the work. of faith is a
mystery, and that you can not perceive how its influence does serve to nourish this holy, heavenly life?
I answer, the office of food, and drink, and atmosphere is a mystery to me, and I do not perceive how
they operate to nourish thevigor of my frame. If
you will, by any demonstration, solve my difficulty,




THE GIFT OF GOD.              I77
I will, by fair analysis, solve yours. Do you say that
you are witnesses of the fact that meat, and drink,
and air, administer life to your bodies, but you know
nothing, by experience, of the nourishing powers of
faith upon the souls-? I answer, on this principle,
we might array against you the lily and the oak, as
witnesses that yours is but a vegetative life, and that
the idea of your possessing vital animation is dispersed
by the condition of the whole vegetable world. Do
you insist that all the living are conscious of a life superior to that of the lily and the oak? I answer, all
the pious are conscious of a life superior to that which
they lived in the flesh. Yes, you know by experience, (though you can not explain it,) that food, and
drink, and air, are grateful to your appetites, and
nourish your frail bodies. And we know, by experience, that faith in Jesus Christ nourishes us in
this eternal life; a life grateful as happiness and
glorious as heaven. Do you still doubt, take not our
word, but test our proposition by one fair experiment, and if false, then cast it from you.  Seek this
birth, and faith, and life with half the diligence with
which ambition toils, and you shall know whether
this doctrine be of God, or whether it be of man.
If you neglect this life under the impression that
it is an idle fancy, and it should prove at last to be a
blessed reality which thousands have enjoyed, and
will enjoy forever, but which you in folly have despised, and in madness have rejected, what then, I
pray, awaits you?  Death-death, never past, but
always present-a death which implies the corruption of an immortal spirit-a corruption of all that




I 78               SERMONS.
was designed to be holy, and lovely, and godlike in
the soul —a corruption which will render our nature
base, according to its dignity; which will render what
was purest the most loathsome; what was freest, the
most servile; what was loveliest, the most hateful;
what was healthful and attractive and altogether blissful, the most sickly, and disgusting, and distressinglike those forms of life which, the more delicate and
lovely they seem amid the charms of health, the more
unsightly are they in their lifeless putrefaction. O sinner! will you devote yourself to a destiny so horrible?
To the sincere and humble Christian we would say,
Child of God! life is yours. You have not now to
win this excellent possession. It is yours simply to
cherish and retain it.  The joy of this life is now
thrilling in your soul. And yet this is only life in
embryo. What, then, shall we expect from its blessed
consummation? Look beyond you and above you,
and rejoice with joy unspeakable. Here you have
life in the midst of death, whose gloomy scenes
spread in terror all around you. Soon you will have
life in the midst of life, whose unwithering beauty
will pervade the heavenly regions, and crown with
everlasting glory the immortal heirs of God. Here
you are confined to the inferior manifestations of this
Divine life. A moment of endurance will bring a
mighty change. Another step and you may launch
upon the blissful ocean. Another gasp and your impatient.spirit may spread the pinions of immortality.
Be thou, therefore, faithful unto death. "For we are
not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of
them that believe to the saving of the soul."




TIHE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.           179
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
A SERMON PREACHED AT A COMMUNION SEASON.
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the wlust,
that he mi ht bring nzs to God." I Peter iii, IS.
IT is believed by serious minds that God is righteous, and that the perfect development of his
righteousness is reserved for a future state. It is
also confessed that its development involves man's
immortal interests, and that man whose interests are
thus involved is depraved and guilty.
The belief of doctrines, sustained as these are by
ample and conclusive evidence, is not surprising. But
it is surprising that such doctrines, believed, produce
no more effect upon the heart and life. What-! can
we believe that we have sinned, and that God is just,
and yet remain indifferent to our present condition
and future prospects? Yes, and in doing it we claim
the rank of Christians! But would not any other
name suit us better than that of Christ?
Atheism is the child of folly; but not an only
child. To waive all solicitude with regard to our
future state, and do it in the confession of God's
righteousness and man's sinfulness, is the twin sister
of atheism. Their names should designate them as




I 80        SE       RMNOS.
of common parentage and birth. Yet in some respects they are unequal. Atheism is confined by
narrow limits, and operates mostly upon the vulgar
and profane. Speculative levity prevails every-where,
and its victims are the noble, the modest, and the
worthy. To such we address ourselves this day, beseeching Almighty Goodness to sharpen the arrows
of his truth, and direct their unerring flight.
Reason and conscience, with revelation, pronounce
that the wages of sin is death. But neither reason,
nor conscience, nor the works, nor the providence of
God can discover the means or warrant the hope of
escape. Do you doubt? make the experiment. Retreat into thine own bosom, and ask, "Can God
justify the ungodly?" Reason, abashed, declines to
answer, and conscience replies, in the language of
accusation, and points to the wrath to come. Turn
from reason and conscience, dark and guilty as they
are, and explore the works of God, they reveal to you
a thousand examples of order, magnificence, and utility, but not a trace of pardon. Search the abodes of
rebel-spirits who lost their first estate, and you shall
behold chains of darkness and vials of wrath, but not
a glimpse of mercy. Search the fields of light which
angels occupy before the throne of God. Ask them
if the Holy One can save a sinner without prejudice
to his glory. Silence seals up their lips of love, and
ye are driven back within yourself, in solitude and
despair to waste the span of life in the agonizing
dread of its eventful issues.
But while you sit, chilled with the ague or
scorched by the fever of despair, God sheds upon




THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.          I181
your path the light of his blessed Gospel. It dispels
those forms of horror which stalk around us in Nature's gloom. It reveals to us the "Word made
flesh," as an angel of peace, and a minister of life to
immortal minds. The Word made flesh presents us
overtures of peace, and invites us to be the purchase
of his blood.
The language of the text exhibits Christ as suffering in just that character which meets and sustains
the views of orthodox Christians. It exhibits his
sufferings,
I. As PENAL-He suffered for sins.
II. As vIcARIOUS-the just for the unjust.
III. As PROPITIATORY-that he might bring us
to God.
I. The text asserts the pe;al sufferings of Christ:
"hat/h suffered for sins."
If there be a God such as the Bible reveals, sin
can not go unpunished. Its impunity is inconsistent
with God's nature and government.
It is inconsistent with his nature. He is intensely
holy. He loves holiness in his creatures, and is
eternally opposed to every thing which is contrary to
holiness. Sin is an abominable thing which he hates.
It shall not dwell in his sight. He abhors transgressors as well as transgression. He sets his face
against them. Wherever sin is found, there the curse
of God is seen, proclaiming his unchangeable opposition to sin, and his inflexible purpose to punish it.
He sets his name, his glory, his attributes, yea, his
very being, against it, and pledges all these to secure
its punishment.




182                  SERMO.IVS.
But the government of God secures the punishment of sin. God is a sovereign, ruling the whole
universe and governing all worlds. His will is law
supreme, and his omnipotence secures its fulfillment.
Sin is rebellion against the will, the law of God. It
is an expression of hostility toward him and toward
his creatures. If it pass with impunity it can not
harm God, but it can harm and does vitally injure
him who is guilty, and those who are affected by its
example.  Sin is an effort on the part of the creature
to throw off his dependence upon God; and could he
sin with impunity he would effect his object and become independent. But independence in a creature
is an absurdity.  The punishment of sin, therefore,
results, necessarily, from the Divine supremacy of the
universe.
God is a righteous sovereign, as well as supreme.
He sitteth upon the throne judging right. But a
righteous governor must punish crime or he is no
longer righteous. To punish vice is as essential to
rectitude as it is to reward virtue. Righteousness
consists in rendering to every one his due. And to
be exact in this rendering is the perfection of righteousness. If God punish no sin he is destitute of
every principle of righteousness. If he punish for
some sin, but not all, his righteousness is imperfect,
and entirely defective as to the ends of supreme and
universal government. Sin must be punished, because its punishment is intrinsically righteous, and
can not, therefore, be remitted by a righteous God.
Its punishment is not a question of political expediency, but of moral rectitude, and it must be




THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.         I83
inflicted, or the administration of moral government
must be dishonored and denounced.
Again, one of the principal ends of right government is the protection of the innocent. Justice owes
this protection to the obedient subjects. This protection requires the punishment of transgressors. To
indulge a spirit of rebellion against the lawgiver,
inflict upon the rebel no tokens of displeasure, would
most certainly provoke universal defiance of God's
authority, and the invasion of his rights. It would
encourage the desolating march of sin; would give
efficacy to the contagion of its example; would facilitate its conquests and multiply its triumphs, till its
influence, uncontrolled and unchastised, would blot
out from the minds of creatures the impression of its
wrong, and annihilate the distinction between sin and
holiness in the moral world. And would that be the
protection of innocence which legalizes sin, places it
on an equality with holiness, affords to its agents
all the good, and comfort, and benefit which are generally supposed to constitute the peculiar rewards
of devotion and obedience? It is impossible for God
to afford protection to the innocent, and, at the same
time, screen the guilty from reprobation,
These views of the opposition of God's nature and
government to sin are sustained by the system of
administration adopted toward man. The law of
morals prescribed to our race is armed with a vigorous penalty, which nature itself is commissioned
faintly to indicate, and which God has expressly announced by his Word. The Divine administration is
in this world singular and without a parallel. In other




I84                 SERMONS.
worlds, whether obedient or rebellious, there has
either been no preparatory state, or otherwise it has
been allotted to holy beings, whose first transgression
converted their probation into a state of retribution
and punishment.
Man, on the other hand, has a sinful probation, and
God has undertaken to provide and apply a system
morally restorative in its effects. But in prosecuting
the glorious experiment he evidently resolves upon
no sacrifice of the vital principles of his government.
He still exhibits to the sinner the prospect of punishment, unless the plan of mercy be carried into
execution in a manner so peculiar that the interests
of his throne shall suffer no detriment, and his glory
no disparagement. This plan merely embraces in
itself an exhibition of deeper hostility to sin than the
universe had ever witnessed.  It proclaims more
impressively than the pains of hell could do it, the
uncompromising integrity of the Godhead and the
inflexibility of his restored justice.
But by what expedient does God make manifest
the rigor of his justice in the pardon of sinners? It
is announced in the text, "For Christ also suffered
for sins." His sufferings were endured that the penalty might be remitted to the penitent guilty. He
made satisfaction to that law and justice which
threatened the offender. Atonement is not an abandonment of law, nor of the purpose to sustain its
honor, but it is a support of the law on the ground
of a satisfaction, instead of penalty.
II. The penal nature of his sufferings being established, the question is whether these sufferings are




THE SUFFERVINGS OF CHRIST.        185
vicarious, or endured in man's behalf? This is also
affirmed in the text: "He suffered, the just for the
unjust."
He did not suffer on his own account.  He
could not, because he is here called "jzust." He is
every-where represented as holy; as having done no
evil, practiced no guile; as being the likeness of
God's glory and the express image of his person.
Surely, then, we are forbidden to suppose that he was
wounded for his own transgressions, and was bruised
for his own iniquities. No; he was wounded for our
transgressions, and was bruised for our iniquities; he
bore our griefs and carried our sorrows; he was
made a curse for us; the Lord laid our iniquities
upon him.
But to this procedure we often hear objections.
It is said to be inconsistent with the Divine righteousness to inflict the punishment of sin upon an
innocent substitute.  Of this God is probably the
best judge. The fact is susceptible of the clearest
proof from the unequivocal declarations of Scripture.
We might simply say, "Nay, but, O man! who art
thou that repliest against God?" He has declared it,
that "Jesus has borne our sins in his own body on
the tree;" that "he has made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
But we may venture to scan this proceeding of
Divine Wisdom, and inquire if it be so utterly at
war with the nature of justice and the providence of
God, as some suppose. Justice, as we have argued,
demands the punishment of sin. But justice has no
I6




I 86               SERMONS.
further demand than that every transgression receive
a just recompense. Ordinarily the offender is her
victim. And why? Simply because in no other way
can she express her abhorrence of the offense, and
be secure from the repetition of it. Her quarrel is
with sin, and not with the sinner, except it be on
account of sin. If, by any means, the sinner can be
separated from his guilt, Justice has no more to do
with him, for she can not war with the guiltless.
The sin which provoked her indignation may remain
and demand a retribution, but not upon the person
of one who is innocent in the estimate of the law.
Now, in every pardoning act of God toward sinners, there is a separating of the sin from the sinner.
Pardon remits the guilt for which the sinner is
threatened, and pursued, and arrested, and condemned
by the justice of God. Such pardons are believed to
be extended to many souls by those who object to
the doctrine of vicarious atonement. But pardon
without atonement appears to us an express violation
of the principles of justice, because, in such case, sin
passes with impunity; guilt escapes rebuke; no
homage is paid to the stern principles of justice;
and the law takes no vengeance of the offense. Now
let it be granted that Christ died for the pardoned
sinner, and you at once waive every such difficulty.
In the sufferings of Christ atonement is made, because guilt is rebuked, condemned, and an equivalent
to its literal punishment offered to God. Justice takes
a full satisfaction, government is sustained, the law
is honored and magnified, God exhibits testimony
against sin, and all this in a more striking manner




THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.         I87
than if a world had sinned and sunk beneath the
curse of an offended God.
The principle involved in this doctrine of vicarious
atonement is often introduced into the operations of
society, and is never regarded as unjust. The business transactions of life proceed by it in a thousand
forms, and no man challenges its propriety or utility.
The merchant reaps the gain or loss resulting from
the wisdom or folly of his agent, and never objects
to that principle by which his fortunes are thus controlled. A nation is blessed with prosperity or involved in disaster by the policy of its government at
home or of its representatives abroad, and never
reprobates the principle upon which her liabilities
depend. This is the very principle involved in the
interesting facts that, by the transgression of the first
Adam we were made liable to sin and death, and
that by the suffering of the second Adam we become
partakers of holiness and heaven.
The providence of God allows, perhaps establishes,
this liability to good and evil on the principle of
representation. It will not be disputed by the pupil
of the Bible, at least, that the world fell in Adam;
that.its generations became subject to sin and misery by his transgression. God announces to Israel
that his curse or his blessing awaits their children,
according as they, their fathers, obey or disobey his
word. The murderers of Jesus said, " Let his blood
be on us, and on our children."  And to this very
day his blood is on the descendants of Israel, and is a
curse more fearful than that which lighted upon Cain,
or blasted the fields of Sodom.  The patriarchal




I88                 SERMONS.
malediction which fell upon Canaan for the offense
of Ham, his father, has descended upon every succeeding generation, and cleaves unto them to this
very day.
In all these examples the very principles which
are objected to the vicarious sufferings of Christ are
evident and indisputable. Providence approves and
adopts them. And if we die in Adam, why may we
not live in Christ? If the former ruined us by transgression, why may not the latter save us by his
obedience to death? If, without any let or hinderance,
we be partakers of Adam's curse, why may we not,
by faith, be partakers of Christ's blessing? If ruined
by one representative, may we not be restored by another? The sin of our first parents was vicarious
to procure our offense, and the sufferings of Christ
are vicarious to procure our expiation. We conclude,
then, that the sufferings of Christ are vicarious.
III. The text teaches that the sufferings of
Christ are propitiatory. That is, they turn away the
wrath of God from the sinner and invite toward
him the pity and, if he repent, the complacency of
the Godhead.  Several Scriptures, besides the text,
ascribe this attribute to the atonement. "And he is
the propitiation for our sins."  " Herein is- love, not
that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins." "Whom
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith
in his blood."  It is objected to the doctrine of propitiation that it assumes facts derogatory to the dignity and glory of God.  It assumes that God is
angry with the sinner. No, brethren, it does not




THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.            189
assume, if assumption signify unsupported assertion.
The Scriptures tell us that God is "angry with the
wicked;" that "the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness;" that the "wrath of
God abideth upon unbelievers." The day of judgment is called "a day of wrath."
We do not suppose that the wrath of God is like
the rage of man. We do believe that God is just;
that his justice is punitive as well as distributive;
that his holy mind is displeased with sin, and that
such displeasure is essential to his perfection. Though
we do not believe that God is ever moved by any
wrathful or revengeful passions, we believe he is disposed to vindicate his law and maintain the rights
of his throne and the principles of his government,
and when these are violated, the protection of his
honor and the support of his government lie in the
enforcement of the penalty. If he loves the precept
for its perfect symbolization of his own eternal
purity, and the only condition of moral happiness and
perfection in his creatures, he must hate, with inverse intensity, all violation of that precept. If his
holiness, benevolence, and truth forbid him to abrogate or relinquish the precept, so do these same
attributes, and all the moral attributes of his nature,
bind him to uphold the penalty as the awful guard
of the precept, and to express the evil of sin and
his eternal hatred of it, by the certain punishment
of all iniquity. He excludes the offender from his
fellowship, and withdraws from him the tokens of
his love. And his fellowship and love are not regained but by the mediation of Christ; nor without




I 90                SERMONS.
his mediation as an atoning high-priest, whose blood
is an offering acceptable to God.
And now, brethren, is there not a wonder in this
doctrine, a wonder full of beauty, and comfort, and
glory? Consider the history of all society where this
doctrine is not revealed, and see in what gloom and
misery its absence involves the soul. Such is the
effect of heathenism, Islamism, and Judaism, whose
wretched sons, goaded by conscience, wounded by
guilt, deceived by false tradition, and abused by base
imposture, attempt a thousand vain expedients to propitiate their gods. The Pagan and the Papist would
attract the smiles of Heaven by an ablution, or a pilgrimage, or the penance of a strange and blind asceticism. Others lavish wealth in costly sacrifices, and
inflict pain upon the body for the good and safety of
the soul. But, O, how vain! "Will the Lord be pleased
with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of
oil?" "Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
Alas! the evil lies deep, and these remedies can not
approach it. Neither men nor angels can offer a
sacrifice that will be to God of a sweet-smelling savor.
The offering is for man, and he can not be the priest
to make that offering. The offering is man, whose
nature must be sacrificed according to the curse, and
angels have no such nature to present as an offering
to God.
Who, then, shall be the victim, who the priest,
and what shall be the manner of the sacrifice? The
priest must be holy, the victim spotless, and each
must possess such a merit and a dignity as becomes




THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.           I9I
the honor of God's government to accept in behalf
of the sinner; such as will offer a safe ground of
pardon. The principles of God's government admit of our release on no other ground. 0 for some
friend able to supply it-able to lay his hands on
both parties and make them to be at one again! But
behold! Who is this that cometh from Edom, with
dyed garments from Bozrah? It is one who "speaks
in righteousness mighty to save."  He is the son of
God, in dignity; in humiliation, the son of man. He
is full of grace and truth.  He comes with ample
offerings for atonement, and commissioned for the
work of our salvation.
The offering is made. The Lord is well pleased
for his righteousness' sake. "He hath set him forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, that
he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." Forgiveness is now proffered to
the sinner, and peace shall be the fruit of its acceptance; for God is in Christ reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses.
Here is an atonement which well assorts with the
majesty of the violated law and the glory of its insulted Author. Here is a victim pure and spotless
as the law whose demands it honors-pure as the
throne whose rectitude it sustains. Here is an exhibition of mercy, but not at the expense of truth, of
justice, of righteousness. Here, "mercy and truth
meet together; righteousness and peace embrace
each other." The creature can not guess
" Which of the glories brighter shines,
The justice or the grace."




192                SERMONS.
Each is displayed in brilliant colors, as an object of
delightful admiration to eternity.
My brethren, forget not the aim and the possible
result of Christ's sufferings, as announced in the text.
They are designed "to bring us to God." We have
known the unhappiness of being alienated from God;
for this is the uniform condition of the soul unregen-'erate by the Holy Ghost. We have all been separated from the Divine life; we have all been excluded
from the Divine presence.
0 most gloomy and miserable state! to live in a
universe filled with God, and yet neither know, nor
behold, nor enjoy him; to feel that he is our enemy
and not our friend; to dread his frown and not
hope for his favor.  What state so much to be
deprecated? What blessing can compare with our
escape from this condition?  And then to take its
opposite; to possess the life and feel the presence
of God within; to find ourselves resting beneath his
shadow and his smile; to realize his presence everywhere, converting all our seasons and abodes into
resemblances of heaven; and to know that we travel
in a path which will soon conduct us to his immediate presence, and establish us in possession of "joy
unspeakable and full of glory."
All this is proposed in the propitiatory offering
of Christ.
But be not deceived.  This atonement can not
take effect for our salvation unless it be applied by
faith. It does not place us in a condition of safety
without any care or action on our part. If we have
no anxiety for the pardon of our sins or the sancti



THE SUFFERIVNGS OF CHRIST.       I93
fication of our hearts, we are not proper subjects
either for the one or the other. Christ distributes
pardons to those who anxiously apply for them, and
sanctifies the heart which diligently seeks him. He
feeds the hungry and refreshes the thirsty soul.
"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness."
This is the language of his lips, and the rule Ey;
which his holy charities are dispensed. Do we hunger
and thirst after righteousness? Do we wait this day
at our Savior's feet, with earnest longings to be baptized by the Holy Ghost? Are we now opening our
hearts to Christ and imploring his triumphant entrance there?
Be comforted. He for whom you wait is not afar
off. The Lord whom you seek shall come to his
temple. Be comforted. He will reveal his presence
to your waiting soul. He has suffered that he might
save you. He has commenced the blessed work. He
has already convinced you of sin. He has forgiven
your iniquities. He is even now working in your
hearts to subdue all sin, and impress upon you the
beauties of his holiness. And this is but a preparatory work. When his mercy has accomplished it,
there remains for you a lot unspeakably desirable.
Prepared as a bride adorned for the bridegroom you
shall be conducted to "a house not made with hands,"
and introduced to the presence of the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Ghost.
We are about to celebrate the sufferings of this
Jesus. He has taught us to be familiar with certain
symbols, expressive of the mournful scenes of the
i7




I94                  SERMONS.
cross. These symbols are soon to be exhibited that
we may behold them and weep; that we may handle
them and taste them, as a token that we hope to be
healed by the virtues and sustained by the strength
of our crucified Lord.
Would you have this feast graced by the presence
of the blessed Jesus? Make haste, then, and prepare
a place in your hearts. Draw near to this communion with contrition and faith, and you shall depart
with holy exultation, and exclaim, in the fullness of
your soul:
"Blest Jesus, what delicious fare!
How sweet thine entertainments are!
Never did angels taste above
Redeeming grace and dying love."




DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.          195
XI.
DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.
A DEDICATORY SERMON.
"For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather
be a door-keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness." Psalms lxxxiv, Io.
SUCH are the feelings of the devout soul, long
exiled from  the house of the Lord, and now
panting with enlivened. hope once more to tread
the "holy courts." The whole Psalm is a lively
description of the feelings of those pilgrims to Zion,
who went up to the house of the Lord to worship in
his holy hill. Of them it might be said, "the highways are in their hearts," (verse 5,) so that, although
their way be rough and desert-like, as through the
"valley of weeping," yet their cheerful songs, and
buoyant hopes, and devout aspirations transform it as
into a land of "wells" and "pools" of water and fertilizing showers. (Verse I6.)
And' having arrived at Zion, the joyful soul drinks
in the holy delights which God has prepared for them
that love him, and sitting at the gate of the holy
place, exclaims, "I would rather sit at the threshold
of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness." (Verse Io.) To him all is holy. With




I96                 SERMONS.
Jacob he exclaims, "Truly, God is in this place."
And the summing up of all his blissful experiences
in the worship of God is thus given: "0 Lord of
Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."
These are but tastes of the pleasures which are
enjoyed in their fullness in the heavenly sanctuary.
We will speak,
I. OF GOD'S HOUSE.
II. OF THE GODLY MAN'S DELIGHT IN IT.
I. Of the house or courts of the Lord. Certain
things, common of themselves, are made sacred by
Divine appointment. The Holy Sabbath is an example. Originally all days were equal, but God pronounced the seventh day holy, commanded us to
consecrate it to religion. And that authority which
made time sacred, can impart to places and other
objects an equal grace or dignity. He who sanctified
and gave to man a Sabbath-who sanctified Israel
and made them a holy people-who sanctifies bread
and wine for sacramental uses, has also been pleased
to sanctify altars and temples. And by God's approbation, some of these sanctified edifices have been
called " the house or courts of the Lord."
For example: First. God revealed himself to Jacob
in night visions, who, when he had received the Divine communications, roused from  his slumbers, exclaiming, " How dreadful is this place! This is none
other than the house of God!"
Second. God commanded the preparation of the
tabernacle in all its details of construction, furniture,
and religious ritual, and it was called his tabernacle.




DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.         I97
Third. The building of the temple was by his
ordering. He selected Solomon as the chief agent,
inspired him with a purpose for the enterprise, gave
to him wisdom, and to his servants cunning, for so
great a work, and finally received the edifice at the
hand of Solomon, baptized as his own house, and
proved his seizin of it by the kindling lights and
glories of his presence. But it may be asked, Wfhere
is God's temple now?  I answer, its site is profaned,
and unholy structures rear their turrets upon the
sacred mount. Yet God has not forsaken Zion. The
Church is built upon a rock which hell shall never
move. She therefore still lives and battles with her
foes. She is unconquered and unconquerable. In
her the God of Israel "still has his abode"-still
"he loves the gates of Zion."
But can the Church still claim her sacred edifices,
and are the tokens of God's presence in them as of
old? It might seem discreet to raise no such question; but circumstances call for it. We are here to
dedicate this house, and the services of this hour
associate this humble edifice with the temple which
Solomon consecrated to Jehovah. True it is that
circumstances differ. Solomon was explicitly enjoined from heaven to build. We plead no direct
behest. His edifice, with its splendors, seemed worthy
of God's notice; while ours can pretend to nothing
like such rare magnificence. His was the chosen
spot for national sacrifice and worship. Ours will
secure the partial regards of but one or two city
wards. His was openly possessed by the great God
of heaven, who kindled fires on its altar and shone




198                 SERMON.S.
forth between the cherubim. Ours will display no
proof to sense that "Jehovah hath desired it to set
his name there."
We might pass these differences by, in the hope
that our hearers would lose sight of them. But silence
would almost savor of a fraud, which we would choose
not to mix with sacred things. We say, then, though
this house is built by no specific Divine mandate, is
very modest in its show, will accommodate but few,
and will be graced by no visible Shekinah, yet will it
be God's house, the container of his presence, graced
with his own lights, while oracles of power, such as
Israel never knew, will sound forth from its most
holy place. To justify this faith, we will now offer a
brief hint, and then adjourn the argument to the
close of this discourse.
God sometimes moves his servants to particular
deeds and duties by direct outward mandates. At
other times he guides them by general principles and
inward monition. In the earlier dispensations, calls
to duty were more commonly external and specific;
but as the canon of -Scripture enlarged into the
Christian Dispensation, these calls became more general, by "the sure word of prophecy," and in word by
the Holy Ghost.  In the Biblical notices of the patriarchs and prophets, and early kings of Israel, we
have examples of the former, while past and current
Christian times afford instances of the latter. Under
the former, if God would have a temple reared to his
name, he gave a special order and commission for the
work; but under the Christian regimen we are left
to infer our life warrant from his Word, in its plain




DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.         I99
principles or examples, or other forms of teaching.
Now, in building Christian churches we profess no
special order like that imposed on Solomon, but we
claim a Scripture warrant: "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together."
Omitting further explanation, we shall proceed to
inquire,
II. Why the devout man delights in God's house.
i. He delights in it because it is God's house.
Such it is-called, and, he believes, with God's approval, who, in a glorious sense, takes it for his own,
and sets his holy name there. It is God's house;
and because it is his, the devout man delights in it.
For this word "his," in such an application, refers
not to those ideas of meum and tuum which prevail
among men. For in this last sense-the common
sense-all space and all worlds belong to God.
Hights and depths, clouds and caverns, the limitable
and the illimitable, bear his all-pervading presence;
which led Solomon, amazed, to cry, "The heavenseven the heaven of heavens, can not contain thee."
What, then, is the higher significancy of these
possessives, as ascribing property to God? What
does Solomon mean with these possessives on his
lips, in his prayer of dedication just read? What
does David mean in the reiterations of this Psalm,
pleading all along God's ownership of the Tabernacle,
as earnestly as though it were all the estate that God
can claim  on earth?  Is it fiction, or is it an unmocking claim set up for God, and well-pleasing in
his sight? It is not fiction. It is not fancy. This
special claim of God to an altar-to a temple-and




200                 SERMO.ArS.
we will add to the ten thousand Christian churches
which grace our land and other lands, is a sweet and
savory principle, "exceeding full of comfort."  Let us
briefly trace that principle.
God owns the soil as truly as he owns the altar.
All the tents of Israel are his as truly as the tabernacle. All the dwellings of Zion are his as truly as
its temple. Our private habitations are his as truly
as the churches which we so devoutly consecrate.
So also the universe is his. Nay, we may go farther.
Hell is his, and its thrones are his-if it be a question of ownership —as truly as heaven and its glories
are his. But what then? Does the word "his," as
applied to heaven, mean no more than when applied
to hell? The question unlocks the gate to meditation. The universe is God's —space is his-hell is
his.  But 0 how differently how gloriously true it
is, "heave  is his is"  Let us apply the principle.
The world is his, for he made it-the pirate's
haunt is his —yonder vile drunkery is his. But how
different the meaning when we say, Yonder house of
prayer and praise and holy sacramental services are
his! And having explained, we now simply repeat
that the godly man delights in the house of the Lord
because it is the house of the Lord-his Father's house.
It is his by an act of special, approving acceptance,
for his worship and his holy habitation.
2. He delights in God's house for the instruction it
affords.
There, like the children of a parent who administers prompt and wholesome admonition, he is
"taught of the Lord."  Instruction is made a special




DEZIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.        201
order of God's house. In the ancient worsnlp both
the tabernacle and the temple were graced with the
ark of the covenant, in which was carefully preserved
the "law of the Lord," and the testimonies of Israel,
out of which priests and prophets were to feed the
people with knowledge. From the times of Ezra", instructed scribes became the teachers of the law. In
modern times the house of God is well provided with
the offices of instruction. True the ark of the covenant is removed, but the covenant remains; for the
Bible now being in every man's hand, needs not so
close a custody, lest it should be blotted from being
and from memory. Yet the chief ornament of the
pulpit, in every well-ordered chapel, is the HOLY
BIBLE, resting in simple majesty where every eye can
see it, as it seems to announce, "Lo, God is here!"
This book is the source whence the minister of
Christ is to borrow all the saving truths which he
proclaims to the worshipers. He. is commanded to
"preach the Gospel to every creature."  The apostles
began to do it in streets and prisons, and, when permitted, in the synagogues. And their successors in
spirit and vocation-not after the law of a carnal
commandment-follow their example and proclaim
this Gospel. They who are called of God and faithful, set forth the following doctrines as of Divine
authority, and as vital to salvation:
(I.) Original sin, or lhuman depravity, which lies at
the foundation of the Christian system. The view
taken of this doctrine generally infers a sound or
a lax theology through all depending departments.
Probably no statement of the doctrine is more precise




202                 SERMOVS.
than that which constitutes the seventh Article of
Religion in our Discipline: "Original sin standeth
not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do
vainly talk,) but it is the corruption of the nature of
every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from
original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined
to evil, and that continually."
This doctrine is opposed to Pelagianism. The
former teaches that man is inherently and totally defiled: the latter assumes that he is radically pure.
One looks for a new creation to start man on a career
of piety; the other claims that mere cultivation in
the sense of development can fit him for heaven. On
this point the seventh Article, above recited, states
the thesis which will be maintained in this pulpit, as
the basis of all the peculiar doctrines of Christianitythe religion of fallen man.
(2.) The doctrine of the Trinity, which involves
also the Godhead of Christ, (as well as his incarnation
and atonement,) is cardinal in this system of salvation,
their shadows being partly found in the tabernacle
and temple services, but their glorious realities being
ministered to us. All these, as before suggested,
stand or fall with the doctrine of original or birth sin.
Diverging from the Bible on this last point, none
will fall back upon the Bible in the view which he
shall take of Christ and his death. Lost man and
a restoring Christ infer both incarnation and atonement. He who agrees to the former will permit the
untortured Scriptures to hold their own language
in regard to the latter. On this point our Church




DELIGHT IzV THE HOUSE OF GOD.        203
confession is: "The Son, who is the Word of the
Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance
with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of
the blessed virgin; so that two whole and perfect
natures, that is to say, the Godhead and manhood,
were joined together in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very man,
who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to
reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not
only for original guilt, but also for the actual sins of
men."
(3.) In close alliance with this doctrine of atonement is that of justification and sanctification by faith
alone. We say in close alliance, because they are not
often separated in Church creeds. It is difficult to
sunder them; for if Christ died for our sins it constitutes a violent presumption that we can not merit
pardon, and by unequivocal declarations of the Bible
that presumption is made a certainty. On the other
hand, if Christ has not thus, died, why should we not
propose to be saved by works, seeing there is no
foundation for faith? But Christ declares "he that
believeth shall be saved."  In regard to jutstification
our Church confession runs thus:  "We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by faith, and not
for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that
we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome
doctrine, and very full of comfort."
(4.) The doctrine of divine in fluence by the Holy
Spirit to regenerate and sanctify is vital in this gracious system. Man is morally defiled as well as




204                  SERMONS.
legally guilty. He must be inwardly purified as well
as relatively vindicated. Justification removes a legal
hinderance to his salvation, but it does zot save him.
The fires in his own bosom must be quenched, and
on its altars, instead thereof, holy flames must be
kindled by the indwelling Spirit, or he is not saved.
The first stage of this inward work is called regeneration-which is the birth of holy affections into a
soul, where, until then, all was unholy. "The carnal
mind is enmity against God." But as this new birthlike the breaking of day, when light and darkness
intermingle-is not the destruction of all unholy desires,
a further work of the Spirit is necessary to fit the
soul for heaven. This is called sanctification, which
is mostly gradual for a time, but is instantly accomplished in those who come fully to believe. The
faithful minister always looks for the Holy Spirit to
regenerate and sanctify the heart.  It is a work for
Omnipotence.
(5.) The doctrine of final, eternal retribution belongs to this Biblical system.  It unfolds a hell for
Dives as well as a heaven for Lazarus. Christianity
abhors "partialism," and therefore maintains that
there is a " reward for the rigzteous," that " there is a
God who judgeth in the earth."  In the same line of
doctrine with depravity, atonement, and salvation by
faith alone, we find the doctrine of future, endless
punishment.
(6.) Finally, that these Christian doctrines may be
taught and urged on man's attention, a ministry is
provided and a class of men are divinely called and
authorized to state and vindicate them, and persuade




DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.        205
the children of men to receive them into good and
honest hearts as the seed of life, and their only preparation for, and their only hope of, heaven.
In these and kindred doctrines God has thus provided that his children should be taught, and should
be grounded in the truth. As a son over his own
house, Christ has ordained the preaching of the
Word as the ordinary method of impressing these
doctrines on docile and believing hearts. For this,
devout souls love the house of God, and under such
ministrations they can often exclaim —" How sweet
is thy Word unto my taste, yea, sweeter than honey
to my mouth!"
3. The devout have great delight in the sacraments of God's house, namely, baptism and the Lord's
Sulper. These are not only signs, but also channels
of grace; for when properly received God is pleased
by them so to work in us as to quicken and confirm
our faith in him.
Baptism is a sacrament of regeneration, shadowing forth birth by the Spirit. It is also a sacrament
of. admission into the Church of Christ. It is the
right of parents and of children, and should be ministered to both. As our birth is one this sacrament
should be but once and finally administered to all
the subjects of it.
The Lord's Supper is a sacrament of refreshment,
or nourishment; and as life depends on frequent
refections, this sacrament should be often repeated.
These are the only sacraments of Christianity. Some
fond superstitions have been profanely styled sacraments, for since Satan contrived to appear among the




206                 SERMONS.
sons of God in Job's day, we shall not marvel if he
multiplies sacraments until himself is honored with
a "host."
How "exceeding full of comfort" are these authorized sacraments they know who rightly enjoy them.
What reliefs they have been to thousands on thousands of God's misgiving saints! How often has
Jesus met the weary at his table and they have felt
their loins fresh-girded! While we refuse to add unazuthorized sacraments, let us beware that we neither
despise nor neglect the instituted.
4. The devout delight in the fellowship of God's
house. It is their Father's house, and is the home of
their Father's children, with whom they love to commune. Home, with its fraternal fellowships, is sweet.
The meeting of separated brethren at the parental
board is a scene for a monarch. David had an eye
to it when he sang "I was glad when they said unto
me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." He loved
a plurality in the tabernacle. "Our feet," he says,
(not mine only,) "shall stand within thy gates." Ps.
cxxii. God's courts seemed doubly attractive when
he saw "the tribes go up, even the tribes of the
Lord, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord."
How  amiable the scene when this comely temple
shall invoke to God's worship many scores of whom
it can be said "this and that man was born there!"
Hasten the time, blessed Jesus! Move by thy Word
and Spirit on many hearts, and bring in hither the
poor, the maimed, and the blind, yea, and the rich and
the honorable, if they will yield to come, that a great
family may surround thy table, and as a holy broth



DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.         207
erhood, take sweet counsel, together, and walk to the
house of God in company.
5. The devout love God's house because God himself is there. The Father here dwells among his children. (Ps. lxxxiv, 2,) David "thirsted for God," and,
therefore, for his tabernacles, where he expected to
find God. All about the tabernacle were seen the
token of God's presence.  Over the door was the
cloud of glory-a sensible mark of God's inhabitation
there. Other symbols gave to the tabernacle, and
afterward more especially to the temple, a very
glorious appearance. "Yes," says one, "and if such
lights would now kindle up before us, and those mysterious oracles could be heard in these courts, we
would confess this edifice to be the house of God.
But where are the furniture and graces of God's ancient courts?"
This question throws us back on our deferred
argument, namely, that the present Church of God
has truly sacred edifices inhabited by the Most High,
though they be without the symbols and shows of the
tabernacle.  Yes, it is true that God's presence is
now revealed in his earthly sanctuaries, if not openly
yet more effectually than it was in ancient times.
We confess that both the altar and the ark are gone;
but a sacrifice remains without the altar, and the
covenant without the ark is doubly sure. The sacrifice remains, and is of perpetual force and virtue,
without daily or yearly repetitions. The covenant
remains, is enlarged, and is established on "new and
better promises." It includes a second testament,
and, sealed in blood, is delivered over with solemn




208                SERMONS.
forms, into the hands of us all, the Testator having
died to give it everlasting effect. The instrument is
not confined in the ark of testimony.  Here it is,
openly adorning the courts of God's house, and is
being published to the nations that they may be our
fellow-heirs.
The ritual sacrifices, to be sure, are ended, but
were they not mere symbols? Some have taught
that the altar was significant of the cross, and its sacrifice a picture of Christ crucified; that the consuming fires from heaven report Christ to be accepted as
a true offering for sin. Be it so. Then shadows yield
to substance. Then, too, atoning blood, which can
never lose its power, always pleads for your pardon
and mine. Then you and I may enter daily (unlike
the high-priest, who entered once a year) into the
holiest of all. The mercy-seat and cherubim no
longer meet the eye. The Shekinah shines not outwardly. But these mere shadows are supplanted by
realities. We have now a surer light. The "Day
Star" himself has risen on our hearts. The wings of
the cherubim overspread our souls, and the Shekinah
burns within us.
In the absence of "Urim and Thummim " do you
demand of us the responses of an oracle? You shall
have them. But what would you inquire? Do you ask
for man's state by nature? The oracle announces,
"Dead in trespasses and sin." Do you inquire if he
can live? It answers, "I am the resurrection and the
life."  Do you ask how? It answers, "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live."  Full of grief, and heavy laden, would you




DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.         209
inquire for rest?" The oracle replies, "Come unto me,
and I will give you rest."  Do you ask for happiness?
It declares, "Blessed are the pure in heart." Or for
hope beyond the grave? It answers, "Blessed are
the dead that die in the Lord."  Encouraged to press
the inquiry for the particular state of the soul, what
are its utmost bliss and dignity in that beatific state?
The oracle upbraids not, but pointing upward with a
glow of holy charity, exclaims, "To him that overcometh will I give to sit down: with me in my
throne."
This is the true oracle. That voice proceeds from
a "more excellent glory" than dwelt within the veil.
It is a voice from heaven. " In these last days God
has spoken unto us by his Son." The faithful Gospel minister, standing in God's courts, catches the
very syllables from  his heavenly Master's lips, and
reverently announces them to the listening multitude.
And now shall we be challenged when we may
claim that this very edifice is become the house of
God? Surely not by Christian lips. The antiquated
ritual, with its altar and its victim, with its duller
lights and scanty oracles, is gone. But these fading'shadows of good things to come" yield to brighter
glories than Mount Zion ever saw.
In God's house are three degrees of growing light
and privilege, until all are supplanted by an approaching perfect day.
The first is the degree of shazdows already pointed
out, which, with its yoke of labored rituals, neither
the children nor the fathers were well able to bear.
And yet it was so good, as David thought, that he
I8




210 IO               SERMOS.
was all in raptures over it; for the gleanings of the
tabernacle seemed to him a joyful harvest.
The second was the degree of outward substances,
when  Shiloh came-when Christ, in person, took
possession of the temple, and- made it "to excel the
former house in glory." For then was seen (affecting
vision) God inflesh!-in servile meanness!-in sorrow
and in DEATH!
The third degree is the Spirit's; that is, the degree of power-of new creations, which the Spirit
only could dispense. For Jesus, in his earthly lifetime, laid up his power to rest. Or his deeds, like
characters in sympathetic ink, were to be warmed
into fruitfulness by the Comforter which he sent,
who should "take the things of Christ and (as flames
the pen-marks) should show them  unto" us. This
third degree is ours. It is the ripest stage of mercy.
Our temples entertain, and our anthems echo it. It
should cause every springing heart to leap for joy.
Surely we may say that the halleluiah part of all the
songs, the creeping notes of David's day, belongs, of
right, to us. They sang, we swell the chorus. For
on us fall the Gospel culminations of that glory
whose overrunning measures not only fill God's
house, but turn each believer into a living sanctuary,
and make us all to be " the temples of the Holy Ghost."
Moses longed for the cleft, where God should veil
and hide him as he caught a glimpse of the insupportable glory. We, strengthened for greater things,
behold not merely God's retiring train, but the front
of all his graciousness in the face of Jesus Christ,
and gaze thereon day and night. We, "with open




DELIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.       211
face beholding," "are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord."
Prophets longed to see this day. Kings sighed
after it. David knew that it should come, and as the
sun the stars, quench the glory which went before it,
though that glory seemed to him so great. For even
then the tabernacle had a show and beauty which
made his royal eye to stare, and his furrowed cheek
to swell with holy smiles and gushing praise. And
if he half forgot himself at sights like these, what
would he do in our day? If he fell to dancing then
at the movements of the ark, what would he contrive
to do if he could be here among us, and could look
upon the Bible, hear a thousand tongues proclaim its
good news, and could fall in with a baptism like that
of Pentecost? Would he begin to question whether
this is the house of the Lord? Would he fall heartsick at the absence of brazen altars, and long for the
flares of Zion's temple to make his soul content?
No, my brethren. David would feel that he had lost
a rill, but gained a river-" the river of God, which is
full of water;" that he had exchanged one of his pools
for an unbounded ocean; that a lamp had gone out in
the sanctuary, but a sea of light had drowned it.
In David's time the revelations of God's glory
seem to have been gathered into the corners of one
small tent, and then into the temple, not half filling
it. This was not because Heaven begrudged the diffused and brighter glory, but because the world was
not prepared to entertain it. But now the veils are
lifted. Glory after glory opens on mankind, which




212                 SERMONS.
tabernacles and temples by no means contain. It
bursts these narrow bounds. It flashes over seas
and continents, and is about to flood the world. Hlow
glorious its effects in these broad and full diffusions!
It makes every vale a pool, and every hill a Zion. It
stamps the very soil as holy. Nor need we any more
search after sacred places, as though this zwere, and
that were not "tze hill of the Lord."  Neither in such
a "mountain, nor in Jerusalem" need we worship.
Wherever we may choose a spot and rear an edifice,
thither comes "the man of sorrows," and brings the
Father with him, to take a full possession, saying,
"They that worship the Father must worship him in
spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to
worship him."
Thus is this house erected, to the honor of his
name, and to edify his worshipers. We are met to
dedicate it to his service.
In the name of Jesus Christ we hereby consecrate
it to the ever-blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost!  In all its materials, and parts, and forms,
from apex to foundation, we yield it up to thee, 0
Lord, JEHOVAH! "Arise, 0 God, into thy rest, thou
and the ark of thy strength." "The Lord is in his
holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before
him!"




DEPRA VITY 0F THE HEAR T.          213
XII.
DEPRAVITY OF THE HEART.
FIRST DISCOURSE.
"The heart is deceifidl above all things, and desperately wicked."
Jeremiah xvii, 9.
THE moral character of man has been a subject
of deep and exciting interest to the wise and
studious of every age. It has provoked discussion
and dispute in almost every school, and has produced
sectarianism among philosophers of old as well as
among polemics of modern times. But until a heavenly Teacher appeared, and gave us infallible decisions on this subject, the exclamation of the poet
was just, which assumed that "man was a miracle to
man."
As to the philosophers, it is not strange that they
studied and disputed in vain. They had lost the only
light which could illuminate the secret chambers of
the soul, and display the sources of its ever-flowing
griefs and joys. Or if, in solitary instances, they did
press through every obstacle, arrive at some discoveries, and detect some of the soul's disorders, they
could only gaze and wonder at the moral ruin, without the least conception of a remedy for wounds so
deep, and dangerous, and painful.




214         SERMONS.
But whatever may have been the condition of the
ancients, our ignorance can not be winked at. God
has supplied to us the means of self-knowledge in
the rich revelations of his Word. From  that Word
we can infer the faculties with which he originally
endowed us, the duties and prerogatives to which
they designated us, and the woe which came upon us
through their sad perversion. That holy book advises us of a safe and happy course, of the obstacles
we must encounter in its pursuit, and of the means
by which those obstacles may be surmounted or removed. It exhibits our moral state in fair analysis,
and proposes regeneration as the method of exchanging that unhappy state for one of ultimate holiness
and blessedness.
In order to avail ourselves of the sanctifying virtue of the Gospel, we must study it for instruction
and conviction. We must labor to detect the.base
elements of our fallen nature. We must receive the
testimony of Him whose guileless tongue proclaims,
as the result of omniscient inspection, that the "carnal mind is enmity against God."
We propose in this discourse AN EXPLANATION OF
THE DOCTRINE. In our effort to explain we will commence by protestation. That is, we will, if possible,
separate this doctrine from certain principles which
have too often been considered as its theological adjuncts, or rather as constituting the doctrine itself.
Many objections to this doctrine are founded upon an
entire misconception of it. They are, in fact, not so
much objections to the doctrine itself, as they are to
certain fancies which men have substituted in its place.




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.          2 I5
I. Let it be remembered, in the first place, that
moral depravity is not physical disability.  It refers
not to. the state of the body, but to the condition of
the soul. Man, as a sinner, has become the victim
of a withering curse, whose influence extends to the
tabernacle without, as well as to the immortal tenant
within. But by moral depravity we mean not to
designate the effects of the curse, but the provocation
by which it was procured. Whatever the body suffers, is consequential upon sin; but is, in no wise, sill
itself. Such sufferings have come upon the innocent.
The blameless, unspotted Lamb of God was made a
curse, drank the bitter waters of dissolution, and tenanted the cheerless grave. Yet in him was no moral
defilement. Corporeal states, therefore, are not designated by the phrase, moral depravity. It follows, of
course, that our animal appetites are not directly
implicated in the charge of moral depravity. They
may be made the ministers of this depravity, but in
themselves they are neither virtuous nor vicious.
They become the one or the other, only as they are
the means of expressing, and the instruments of executing, the holy or impure purposes of the heart.
2. Moral depravity is not seated in the intellect. It
is true that the mind is a sufferer in the wide-spread
ruin wrought by sin. Its suffering, however, is, as in
the case of the body, a consequence of sin, not sin
itself. It is in the character of retribution, rather
than of moral offense, that mental weakness and disorder come upon us, and make us blind to the charms
and insensible of the salutary power of truth. This
is indeed a partial, not a perfect retribution.  It is




2 6                 SERMONS.
such as is permitted by the all-wise God toward
offending probationary beings, whose recovery to holiness is sought by an administration of forbearing
mercy.
This one fact distinguishes moral depravity from
all mental states. The most depraved in morals are
not the most imbecile in intellect. The vile in heart
are often the greatly gifted in genius. The moral
and mental graces do not flourish and decay together.
The former often deteriorate, while the latter rapidly
improve. Thousands of our race pursue the wrong,
with their eyes steadily fixed upon the right. The
profligate generally become what they are by the
gradual formation of corrupt and vicious habits while
the youthful mind is in process of development.
Moral depravity, therefore, does not consist of peculiar mental states or attributes. From this the inference is authorized, that in asserting the moral
depravity of man, we assert nothing inconsistent with
the manifest excellences of the human mind.
3. Moral depravity is not in action or deed. Its
development in action is very common, but not universal. Among the unholy passions of men there is
one, and that the unholiest of them all, which dictates
the concealment of this depravity, and the show of
moral purity in the place of it. That passion is
pride. When pride becomes dominant, and rules the
sister vices of the heart, it compels them to retire
from  observation.  Like a prince ashamed of his
subjects, or a parent of his offspring, pride blushes
for its associates, and strives to hide them from
the world. It ingeniously contrives to convert the




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.          217
outward life into a deceitful token of inward rectitude
and purity.
It is an interesting fact that a depraved heart is
occupied by antagonistic passions. Were it otherwise, its vile passions would combine uninterruptedly
to war against God and against his creatures. But
the contest of the passions with one another, in some
degree, prevents it; and instead of uniform, naked
wickedness, produces many of the apparent virtues of
mankind. Pride has done more for the world than
all the world's virtues have done, setting aside the
religion of the Cross. Yet pride is sin. It is one of
the most odious vices of our fallen nature. Its utility
is not from its own tendency to good, but from its
hostile relations to other vices, which it aims to suppress; and, by so doing, without any good-will to the
world, rescues it from  that utter ruin which must
follow the uncurbed indulgence of sinful lusts.
Pride not only conceals other base passions, but
itself loves to be concealed.  It seeks to fashion each
evil of the heart, itself included, into an imitation of
that which is good. This would be difficult under
the scrutiny of a clear and cautious vision. But in
the presence of erring man, whose prejudices unfit
him to observe and to judge, it is an easy task. Besides the world does not test the actions of men by
Scripture rules of moral purity. It claims that some
vices are necessary to our comfort and our dignity.
Pride is one of those "necessary vices." How often is it
said, "we must have some pride, or what will become
of us?"  Starting thus, no wonder that a "necessary
vice," should soon come to be ranked among the
I9




218                 SERNMONS.
virtues and "darkness be put for light, and light for
darkness." When right and wrong are thus confounded, actions the most unworthy, and flowing from
the worst passions of the heart, will pass without
censure, and even with praise. Let the world be convinced that I am honest in my business, generous in
my charities, honorable and amiable in my intercourse
with men, and though I be proud as Lucifer of these
shining attributes, my pride shall be no drawback on
my virtues. I shall be called a good man, and he
will gain but little credit for his labor, who shall strive
to convince the world that my heart is depraved.
But I seem to wander.
Although moral depravity is often displayed in
action, yet pride sometimes restrains it. And this
pride is not always apparent. When it has cast a
veil -over all the heart, so that none of its vices are
exposed, itself last of all withdraws behind the curtain, and leaves every thing without fair and beautiful
as a "whited sepulcher."  It is true that wicked actions, like waters from the fountain, flow from a
wicked heart. They are, as the Scriptures teach us,
the evidence of its corruption. But they are not the
only evidence.
4. Moral depravity lies not in principle. By principle here I do not mean a constitutional tendency,
but a speculative or factitious law of human actiona conventional rather than a constitutional law of
action-a rule of conduct which custom and the
common sentiments of society may approve, without
regard to constitutional tendencies.
Thousands, mindful of public sentiment, and re



DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.          219
garding their evident utility, adopt worthy rules of
life, and observe them with great caution and diligence. And they finally form such habits as render
the observance of these rules tolerable, or perhaps
agreeable. Indeed, these habits are finally so confirmed, and so fully sanctioned by reason, that to
violate them would be painful. This we call principle. Moral depravity may pervade the heart, when
these principles are, as it respects man, unexceptionable and commendable.
These principles may owe their origin and primary influence to the mere result of that contest
which is carried on between corrupt, antagonistic passions. A man may be charitable in the sense of
almsgiving, because the love of fame is with him a
more violent passion than the love of money. Another may withhold alms because his avarice conquers
his ambition.  In the estimation of the world the
former is a man of pure principles; but wherein consists his essential excellence? It seems that his apparent benevolence results from the peculiar strength
of one base passion, or the peculiar imbecility of another.  The example might be varied in several
forms; but this is sufficient for illustration.
The most depraved of our species may, by this
warring of the passions, adopt rules of life, which,
were their motive pure, would do honor to the saint;
and this may create habits, which confirmed, constitute worthy principles of action. But these principles
owe their origin to some of the imjurest passions of
the heart. It may be said of such a man, that a storm
of passion drove him upon the ground he occupies.




220                 SERMONS.
By accident, rather than by moral preference, he embraced righteous principles.  Could his dominant
passions find gratification in other modes by the adoption of different principles, he might not hesitate to
abjure the right and adjure the wrong. Without
religion, the grand moral features of the heart are the
same. Whether our principles be liberal or restrictive; whether they license or restrain the passions,
the difference is superficial, not radical. It is like
the different shades of complexion among men, not
like the specific animal distinctions. It leaves all
within the man, of which moral action can be predicated, impure, and unsightly in the eye of God.
The murderer reveals his depravity to the world; the
anfgry mans reveals his to God. The former permits
the evils of his heart to grow early into a state of maturity; the latter checks his in their growth. But he
does not eradicate them. Without the renovating
power of religion, they can not be extirpated. They
may be, for a time, artfully concealed, and even coerced into partial submission to reason or to principle.
But like serpents in a den, they will live; and when
factitious restraints are taken off, they will come
forth from their concealment and do the work of
death.
5. Moral depravity is not the imputation of Adam's
transgression to the sinner. As depraved beings we
are intimately connected with the fallen progenitor
of our race; and severely suffer by his fall. He involved himself and his descendants in one common
ruin. But his sufferings were personal and present
as well as relative and prospective. They consisted




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEART.           22I
in the defilement of his heart, as well as in a condemned estate. So we, when born, are tainted with
sin, as well as subjected (without a Savior) to the
penalty of the Divine law. It is this personal defilement by sin that constitutes our moral depravity.
And this is evidently communicated-not imputed.
When communicated, it is ours, not Adam's. It is a
disease, coursing with violence through all the moral
system, and working death within; and not a name
or relation appendant, merely subjecting us to danger
or ruin from without.
When we assert the moral depravity of human
nature, therefore, we do not assert the imputation of
Adam's transgression to his posterity.
6. By moral depravity we do not intend the guilt
of sin. Guilt is the just liability to punishment, and
always implies moral accountability. Depravity is in
the human nature, whether of infant or adult age;
guilt is in the human condition, and is contracted by
the violation of God's law. There may be depravity
when there is no knowledge of God's law and no conscience to accuse the offender. But when there is
guilt, there is knowledge of God's law and consciousness of wrong. That there is a difference between
guilt and depravity is evident from the fact that their
removal is not by one act or in one form. The removal of guilt is by justification; the removal of depravity is by sanctification. The former is the work
of the paternal Godhead,' the latter is by the Holy
Ghost. By moral depravity, then, we do not mean
the guilt of sin.
7. This depravity is not in the conscience. We




222                 SEAR'OV.S.
have before stated that it is not in the mind or intellect,
and this would lead to the presumption that it is not
in the conscience.  For conscience is the exercise of
the intellectual powers in relation to moral truths
and actions, with the result self-applied; that is, it
is an intellectual operation accompanied with moral
emotion or feeling-the feeling of approval, or disapproval,; of complaisance, or remorse. So far, therefore,
as conscience is an intellectual faculty, it partakes of
the nature of all intellectual powers, so that whatever
does not primarily affect the mind or intellect, would
not primarily affect the conscience.  But the office of
conscience is also judicial and retributive, to enforce
upon the mind practical conformity to its best perceptions of right and duty, and herein it is allied to,
yea, the source of the moral sensibilities. But as this
function of conscience was not designed to supply a
rule of action, but only to secure obedience to the
best knowledge of duty the mind possessed, and as
its action is never bribed, though often overruled by
passion, it can not be the seat of man's depravity, however it may suffer by it.
Moral depravity does not imply an incapacity to
discover duty and to discern or feel the consequences
of its neglect or violation, but it does rather consist
in a violent disinclination to discharge duty, and in an
incorrigible attachment to the pleasures that it prohibits.  It is plain, then, that moral depravity is not
seated in the conscience.
8. This depravity is not in the social sentiment.
By the social sentiment, we mean the affectional dispositions of mankind, considered as an endowment




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEART.         223
of our nature. These are a bond of union and a law
of social order and relation. Such tempers abound,
and are both useful and praiseworthy in society. They
impart almost the only charm to irreligious life, and
without them the unregenerate world would be diabolical and wretched. But amiable as these dispositions
are, they have no moral excellence whatever. They
are common to man and brute, but, though enjoyed
by man in a more refined degree, are yet of too low
a character, allied too intimately with the involuntary
and instinctive qualities of our nature to be accounted
morally virtuous.
The mild and affectionate carriage of the brute is
never considered as forming any thing like moral excellence. And why? Evidently because the brute
does not act under any moral responsibility, and
does not meditate the discharge of moral duties. But
at the same time, the brute is not morally depraved,
because he has not the capacities of a moral agent,
and therefore violates no moral obligations. Now, to
apply these remarks in illustration. The affectionate
tempers and amiable manners of the natural heart
are not morally virtuous. And why? Because they
do not blend with attachment to God, and to his Son,
and to his law, and are not associated with a holy
and joyful obedience to the Divine precepts. But in
this state man is morally depraved, because, unlike
the brute, he acts under moral responsibility, with
the capacities of a moral agent and with the privilege
of a moral subject, and violates his most sacred obligations, which are commensurate with the total powers
of his being.




224                 SERMAOAS.
This view of the subject is justified in the Scripture history of a young man, who came to inquire
of Christ for salvation.  He was so amiable in character and manners that "Jesus, beholding him, loved
him." It was only necessary to prove that his excellencies were the fruit of attachment to God and his
law. The Savior tested him and discovered at once
that his heart concealed all the elements of fierce
rebellion against his Maker. All this leads us to
conclude that the affectionate dispositions of human
nature are only praiseworthy when men are viewed
as mere animals, and not when they are regarded as
moral agents.
In asserting the moral depravity of man, therefore, we assert nothing inconsistent with all the enchanting exhibitions of natural and social loveliness
which so often appear in the history of unregenerate
humanity.
Having endeavored to show in what the moral
depravity of man does not consist, we shall now proceed to show in what it does consist, by affirming,
9. That moral depravity is in the heart.  The affirmation of our text is, that the "heart is desperately
wicked." Here a question arises as to the significancy of the word "heart" in the holy Scriptures.
The word literally signifies the seat of life in the
human body. Upon the action and office of the physical heart depend the circulation of the vital fluids,
and the growth, vitality, and active functions of all
the members of the system.
Now, what is there in the soul of man that sustains such an important office, and operates such an




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.          225
essential influence as this?  What is that which may
justly be called, morally, the heart? We incline to
the opinion that the affectionzs sustain this office. We.
know it is a common opinion that the term heart is
used for the whole soul, and embraces the understanding, conscience, will, affections, and even the
memory; in short, the total power of the intellect
and moral being. And it may often be so under-stood
without any doctrinal error, or detriment to truth.
But in discoursing on a theme like the present, it
does seem necessary to explain with more critical
caution, and qualify the term with more exact precision. And in attempting this we know not how to
define the word better than to confine it to the affections. For certainly the affections, taken in the
larger sense as comprehending the desires, passions,
and the whole emotional nature, are the exciting
cause of action, the seat of sensibility, and the fashioning power of character. If reason discovers the
rule, the affections alone supply the stimulus, we
might almost say the propelling power, of action.
This signification of the word heart, in its figurative and theological use, is confirmed by the fact that
the sum of the moral law is comprehended in the
right state and exercise of the affections, making all
moral virtues to consist of a twofold manifestation
of love, namely, first, loving God with all our heart;
and, second, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Our Savior declares that all the law hangs on
these two commandments.  They do undoubtedly
divulge in spirit all the moral duty of man, and embrace the sum of all his obligations. "The end of




226                SERMONS.
the commandment is charity."  This is a fundamental principle of ethics. Injury may result from an
erring judgment and a consequent misdirected action;
but crime-transgression in the moral sense-can
never attach to actions flowing from pure love to
God and man. It is in this purely moral sense that
love fulfills, and the want of it violates the whole law.
"Love is the fulfilling of the law." All the law is
fulfilled in one word, even in "love."  "He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love." Whosoever does not love God, then, and his neighbor,
according to this great commandment, is morally
depraved. For he is in a state of mind which the
law of God does absolutely abhor; and in a state,
too, which disqualifies him for any acceptable actions
as a moral agent.
Let it be considered here, that although we place
this depravity primarily in the affections, yet it can
not be confined there, but quickly diffuses itself
throughout the soul. Corrupt affections will rule the
will into a corrupt choice, because the will is easily
swayed by the affections, and in the natural heart
exerts an agency accordant with their unholy dictation. He, therefore, who is not actuated by the love
of God, will generally exhibit a careless inattention
to religious duty, and an obstinate devotion to the
pursuits and vanities of the world.
If this is moral depravity, we must see that the
several negative propositions advanced for the purpose of explaining the doctrine of moral depravity
are not opposed by the view we have here taken of
that doctrine. If this depravity is in the affections,




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEART.           227
it is not primarily in the body or in the intellect. It
is not primarily in action or in principle. It is not
imputed sin, nor is it guilt. It is not in conscience
or in the social sentiment, considered as a law of
relation and action of our social nature, but lies
farther back and deeper down in our nature, at the
fountain-head of all activity and character, in the
moral agent, in our affectional being, and consists in
want of supreme love to God-or, as expressed in
positive terms, "enmity to God," and the want of
expansive, pure, universal love to man. This wrong
state of the moral affections is sufficient to account
for the darkness of the understanding, the obliquity
of the will, natural selfishness and perversion, and
the deadness to God of our whole nature. Like the
fatal worm at the root of the vine, it withers every
green leaf.
Pause, then, vain boaster, and from thy pride of
reason and the lofty conceit of thy natural goodness,
humble thyself to consider thy true condition. Behold thyself in the light of the inspired Word, corroborated by philosophy and conscious experience.
In this doctrine of our common depravity is grounded
the necessity of our regeneration by the Holy Ghost.
"Marvel not that I say unto you, ye must be born
again." This is the only way of salvation. "If we
say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and
his word is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness."




228                 SERMONS.
XIII.
DEPRAVITY OF THE HEART.
SECOND DISCOURSE.
"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked."
Jeremiah xvii, 9.
I N this discourse we shall proceed to offer some
proof of the doctrine of the moral depravity of our
race. This proof we shall attempt,
I. FROM THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN FAMILY.
We do not mean the history of human manners in
detail; but we refer to the genzeral history of man as a
being-I. Originally holy; 2. Afterward fallen,; and
3. Finally restored. By examining him in these three
estates we shall be inevitably conducted to the conclusion that the middle or fallen estate is one of desperate moral depravity. Let us proceed to examine
them.
I. As to the primitive state of man, we observe, it
was the state of Adam before the fall. He is represented as having been made in the image of God.
" Let us make man," said the Divine Creator, " in
our image, after our likeness. So God created man
in his own image, ini the image of God created he
him."  What image was this which adorned the person of our progenitor and crowned Eden with glory?
It may have consisted of these seven particulars:




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEART.           229
(I.) The spirituality of the soul.
(2.) The intellectual and moral capacities of the
soul, including the freedom of the will.
(3.) The affections or dispositions of the soul.
(4.) The perfect holiness of those faculties and
affections.
(5.) The dominion of the soul over the world.
(6.) The spiritual happiness of the soul.
(7.) The immortality of the soul.
Adam, possessed of these magnificent endowments, might justly claim to be in the image or likeness of God.  And no argument is necessary to
convince those who read the Bible with common attention, that he did possess these features of the
Divine image.
2. The second state of human nature, to which
we invite your notice, is its lapsed or fallen state.
The fall of man is, with one exception, the boldest
and most affecting feature of his general history, as
presented in Holy Writ. The history teaches us
(I.) That a law was prescribed by his Creator for
his government-" And the Lord God commanded
the man saying," etc.
(2.) That law is sanctioned by a most fearful penalty-" In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die."
(3.) The history records the violation of that
law-" And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave
also unto her husband with her, and he did eat."
(4.) The consequences of the fall are announced




230                 SERMONS.
in the Divine curse; are developed in man's woeful
experience; are exhibited in the didactic Scriptures;
and sound forth in the prophetic denunciations of
both Testaments of God.
(5.) The Scriptures assume and proclaim an intimate connection between Adam and his posterity in
the loss sustained by this act of transgression. Instance such expressions as the following: "As by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;"
"For if by one man's offense death reigned by one;"
" By the offense of one, judgment came upon all men
to condemnation;" "By one man's disobedience many
were made sinners;" "Through the offense of one
many be dead;" "As in Adam all die." In these
texts the fall of man, of his species, is plainly exhibited, and evidently attributed to the act of one man as
the representative of the race. This fall, we presume,
must have defaced that Divine image which at first
adorned the human nature, for we can conceive of no
degradation or fall but by the loss of that image.
We proceed to inquire, then, in what respect has
man lost the image of God?
i. He has not lost the spirituality of the soul.
The soul is now, as ever, immaterial. It is a spiritual substance, like the Divine essence, and retains,
in this respect, the Creator's image.
2. He has not lost the intellectual or moral faculties of the soul. He retains the powers of perception, of memory, of reasoning, of imagination, and of
conscience.  He retains, also, the power of will, or
choice. His constitutional faculties, as a moral agent,
remain. They are impaired, indeed, and corrupted,




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEART.          23 I
and depend for their right action upon grace, but as
faculties they are still retained.
3. He retains the affections. He loves and hates
with a surprising vigor of attachment or aversion,
and might as well cease to be as to cease from these
ardent emotions of the soul.
4. The soul retains its immortality, and looks forward with prospects as boundless in duration as does
the Creator upon his everlasting throne.
If man retains the Divine image in these four
particulars, his loss must be in one or more of the
three remaining, namely,
I. In the holiness of the soul's affections.
2. In its dominion over the world, or,
3. In its spiritual happiness.
The Scriptures represent that in all these respects
the fall has ruined us. From the time of the transgression and of the expulsion from Eden, all the
direct descriptions and indirect allusions of Scripture
advisory of man's condition, do indicate this threefold loss. From this moment the history of man
becomes little else than record of crime, and degradation and woe. Instead of looking down upon a
world filled with holy and happy beings, such as he
had delegated to a joyful and immortal reign on
earth, God looked upon the earth, and behold! it was
corrupt, (Genesis vi, 12) "for all flesh had corrupted
his way upon the earth." "And God saw (Genesis
vi, 5) that the wickedness of man was great upon the
earth." The heart, whose affections were formed in
purity like God's, had become deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked. Moses, and David,




232                 SERMO2VS.
and Isaiah, with Jesus Christ and his apostles, all
harmonize in their descriptions of human nature, and
the preceding quotations from some of them fairly
exhibit their views on this subject.
We can not doubt, then, that Adam, and in him,
his whole posterity, lost, by the fall, the holiness of
the soul's affections.  Inspired history settles the
doctrine as a fact, whatever may be the theories or
speculations of men.
As to the loss of the soul's dominion over the
world, it is plainly signified by the same sacred
authority, and abundantly corroborated by observation. The malediction pronounced upon the sinning
pair immediately after the fall, must, of itself, have enforced the abdication of that dominion on the part of
Adam. That curse dissolved the throne and scepter
of the rebel, and placed the earth forever beyond his
traitorous control. From sitting as a prince on nature's throne, to receive homage from all that moved
in height above, or in breadth around, or in depth beneath, he is doomed, by a fierce warring with nature,
to subdue the vices of the soil, the ferocity of beasts,
the venom and hostility of lesser creatures, and forcibly possess himself of the stinted bounties of the
harvest, and the diminished revenue of the earth. At
the same time, one of the meanest of the reptile race,
made to submit with the nobler orders to his dominion, now heads the rebellion of the brute creation
against their fallen lord. Thus, the lord of nature
becomes her servant-the monarch of ten thousand
tribes sat down a slave upon the dung-hill. And the
forfeiture which reduced the traitorous parent to




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.        233
poverty and shame has entailed upon us, his children,
beggary and woe.
That the soul.has, by the fall, suffered the loss of
her spiritual enjoyments is also rendered certain by
Scripture and by fact.
How evident is it that the transgression in the
garden immediately introduced disquiet into the bosoms of guilt! The Almighty had, till then, met his
unoffending children in all the peace and glory of
their innocence.  But now, when they listen to the
approach of God, they hide themselves among the
trees of the garden. The voice of God called them
from  their covert, and in answer to the question,
"Where art thou?" they answer, "I heard thy voice
in the garden, and was afraid." See, I pray you, how
early this symptom of mental agony succeeds the
tragic deed which blasted and condemned a world!
Till that moment, think ye that this now trembling
creature had ever quaked in any presence? Think ye
that till then paleness had ever blanched his visage?
Never. Till that moment there was music without
and peace within. All was harmony on earth as
in heaven. The hills were girt with beauty and were
crowned with light and joy. The vales were filled
with song, and ran down in floods of libation, which
were nature's offerings to God.
Eden was dressed in richest robes and was filled
and crowned with the presence and glory of God.
Heaven looked down as upon some goodly scene,
attractive to the eye and enchanting to the soul.
And angels sung on high and the echo went up from
earth. At this moment the serpent prevails. The
20




234                 SERMONS.
hand is put forth. They pluck-they eat.  Earth
trembles. The songs of angels are hushed. Light
and beauty fade from the hills, and there is neither
song nor incense in the vale. Eden is in mourning
robes, and there is woe and wailing in her bowers.
God's presence and wrath are there, and the curse
of his mouth rests upon all.
Such is the Scripture representation of man in
his fallen estate. It is no myth, or allegory. It is
God's record of a great event, lying far back beyond
the origin of nations or of secular history, yet preserved by human methods in primeval simplicity, for
the instruction of mankind and the settlement of a
primary doctrine of revelation.
3. The third state is one of renewal or restoration.
And a glance at this estate will confirm the view we
have taken on this subject. Man is raised to this
estate only by a radical change. This is indicated by
the figurative descriptions of the sacred writings. It
is called "a crucifying of the old man," and a "putting on of the new man," a "dying unto sin and a
living unto holiness," a "resurrection with Christ," a
" being born again," a "renewal in the image of God."
And if any doubt remains respecting the signification
of this last text, it may be determined by referring to
Ephesians iv, 24: "And that ye put on the new man
which after God [after the image or pattern of God]
is created in righteousness and true holiness." This
Scripture must convince us that in man's original
state he possessed righteousness and true holiness;
that he lost these by the fall, and that they are restored to him when he puts on the new man in




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.        235
regeneration. Now, by receiving man in this threefold estate, we certainly must be convinced that the
middle, or fallen estate is one of complete sinfulness
and depravity. The account of his fall and of its
consequences, of his recovery and its happy effects, is
unintelligible, and even deceptive and farcical, unless
it be conjoined with the doctrine of moral depravity
in the unregenerate.  Thus, from the general history of man, we argue the moral depravity of human
nature.
II. THIS DOCTRINE IS SUPPORTED BY OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE. By comparing the actions
and avowed sentiments of the unregenerate with the
law of God, we can plainly discern the constant
workings of this depravity.
We have seen that the Divine law requires us to
"love the Lord our God with all our hearts; and our
neighbors as ourselves."
I. Now, from our Savior's exposition of this law,
it seems that the love we all bear to our friends and
associates does not, in itself, carry us one step toward its fulfillment. He makes our enemy, as well
as our friend, our neighbor-and if we withhold our
love from the former, we need not account our love
to the latter as worthy of the least reward. "Love
your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to
them that persecute you."
"If ye love them that love you, what reward have
ye? Do not even the publicans the same?" "If ye
salute your brethren only, what do ye more than
others? Do not even the publicans so?" Now, let
us examine the unregenerate of our race by this rule




236                 SfRMONS.
of the Divine law, explained as it here is by our
Savior, and we shall immediately perceive that all the
warm and amiable affections of our animal nature
do combine with the most abominable depravity of
heart. For the sentiments and actions of the natural
heart, so far as we can observe them, indicate the
love of friends, and the hatred of enemies. Yes, corrupted nature blesses those who love and curses those
who hate us. It returns kindness for charity and
revenge for injury. And what then? Why, the love
and benediction which we give our friends show us
to be, in animal nature, equal to the forest tribes;
while the hatred and malediction with which we follow our enemies proclaim us to be, in our superior
character, as moral subjects, morally and radically
depraved  or, in other words, we are proved to be
wholly destitute of the spirit, and obstinately averse
to the demeanor which this part of God's law requires of us.
2. But, again, the conduct of the unregenerate
toward God is equally reprehensible when compared
with the superior precept of the Divine law. That
precept, as already stated, requires us to love God with
all the heart. Now, the unregenerate never do love
God. On the contrary, observation and experience
here also corroborate the Scriptures, which represent
them as even cursed with a heart of aversion to the
great Creator. This aversion is manifested by the
following facts:
(I.) Such men have no curiosity to be acquainted
with God, or his truth.
Curiosity, or the desire of knowledge, is an ardent




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAl' T.        237
passion of the human mind. It is as natural as the
appetite for food, and belongs to all intelligent beings
as such. In a healthful state of the soul it craves
and relishes only that knowledge which tends to the
purity and elevation of our being. It is wakeful and
enterprising in the pursuits of science and of true
philosophy. It rouses the soul to adventurous efforts,
and enlists all its energies in the search for knowledge. But propose religion as the subject of study,
or the theme of meditation, and how stupid and unaspiring is the irreligious soul! How impatient is it
of the labor; how easily discouraged by the difficulty
of obtaining heavenly wisdom!  The most trifling
objects in nature will engage the attention, and excite
the mind to action; but nature's God exhibits nothing
in the estimation of the sinner.worthy the attention
of his stupid, diseased soul. The structure and habits
of the minutest insect; the class and order of the
humblest weed of the dung-hill; nay, the analysis of
an ounce of water from the fountain, or dirt from the
hillock, is a matter of more interest to the wisdom of
this world than are the discovery and adoration of all
that wisdom, and goodness, and omnipotence which
sustain and adorn the worlds of this wide-spread universe. This want of curiosity to know God, and
become acquainted with the glory of his nature, especially the wisdom, justice, holiness, and goodness
of his moral government, and above all, of redemption, indicates an entire absence of that supreme
affection demanded by the holy commandment. The
moral history of the heathen world is contained in
the single statement, " And even as they did not like




238                 SERMOArS.
to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them
over to a reprobate mind."
(2.) Our aversion to God is indicated by a manifest disrelish of religious truth, when made acquainted
with it. Truth has a thousand charms, and exhibits
them, in rich variety, to the children of science. The
philosopher, the poet, and the statesman, live and
feast with ever-flowing delight in her halls and bowers.
But the poet, the statesman, and the philosopher will
starve and die, rather than seek refection from the
truths of our holy religion. For they are not willing
to suffer the exposure of all the real poverty and
misery of their souls, to cast away the dear-bought
monuments of their intellectual glory, and come, like
little children, to the feet of Jesus to be taught true
wisdom there. That truth which will operate an
effect like this, is not welcome to the spirit of pride,
and when it is the subject of the mind's speculation,
it awakens no harmony in the soul, unless the sanctifying Spirit has formed the man in newness of heart
and life. The natural man "discerneth not the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him."  This disrelish of religious truth when brought
before the eye of the mind, distinctly indicates aversion to God.
(3.) The unregenerate evidence their want of love
to God by their neglect of his communications. Every
friend is a favorite author in the circle of those who
love him, especially if his productions are affectionate
epistles. If there be no harmony in his periods to
others, yet doubtless there is to them.  If all the
world besides would trample his letters in the dust,




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.          239
yet they will not do it. Now, do the unregenerate
claim to be the friends of God? Then for the proof
of this friendship. God has sent to them epistles of
mercy, which display the richest charms of language,
and exhibit a thousand expressions of regard, and ten
thousand offerings of love. Who among the irreligious open these epistles with haste, peruse them
with holy pleasure, and treasure them up in affectionate remembrance?
Is not the Bible, which embodies these letters of
fi-iendship, generally exhibited as the mere ornament
of the library?  Is it not permitted to repose in
dusty quiet in its alcoves, while novels and other
frothy effusions of shallow and vain minds are sought,
and devoured, and relished?  Can any higher evidence be adduced of the vicious appetites of sickly
souls? Be assured such neglect of God's Holy Word
and such preference of the faulty, vain tattlings of
fiction do furnish but a poor and disheartening evidence that we "love God wit/h all the heart."
(4.) That the unregenerate do not love God, is shown
by their disinzclination to commune wit/h hinm. God has
offered to all men this privilege, in the most direct and
satisfactory form. He has erected the palace of his
love within our reach, and there he has located the
courts of his grace; adorning them with sweeter imagery than wings of cherubim, or mercy-seat. Love
invites, mercy urges us to this sanctuary. It is entered
by prayer. Corrupted nature refuses to approach, refuses to enter it; refuses all intercourse with the God
who reared, and opened, and sanctified it, for holy conference between the creature and the Creator! How




240                 SERMONS.
is this? If human nature be not hostile to God, if it
cherish any affection for that spirit which so earnestly
pleads for this communion, how is it, that with inclination for society, and with fervent devotion to the
friends we love, we never seek, never accept the privilege of communion with this condescending and
waiting God? The only reason that can possibly be
assigned-the only reason that the Scriptures themselves asszgwn, is a want of attachment to God.
III. Many questions have been raised in the theological world concerning the degree of human depravity.  It has been strenuously maintained that
human nature is totally depraved. Now the question
arises, what is human nature, and what does the word
totally mean? Human nature, taken without qualification, signifies the whole man; and the word totally
signifies wholly. Now this is affirmed of human nature only in its relation to the claims of the holy and
perfect law of God. It falls wholly short of meeting
these claims. It can not renovate itself, nor raise
itself out of its own ruined and sinful state. It can
not of itself do works pleasing to God. Its total
power of recuperation and holy obedience is in the
assisting and renewing grace of God, not in itself.
Yet it may perform  many acts consistent with the
higher animal, the social and intellectual laws of our
being, without renewing grace. On the other hand,
some have maintained that the corruptions of human
nature are very slight, are contracted by education,
and are easily removed by the unaided exertions
of the moral delinquent. This mistake is radical,
dangerous, and fatal error.  Without borrowing any




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.          241
qualifying terms from the theological vocabularies,
we are willing to submit to Scripture, and believe
what it teaches. Let us resort to the Bible, then,
and see if it will not aid us in settling this question of strife and war.  It pronounces the heart
(meaning, undoubtedly, the human heart in its natural state) wicked, in qualified terms; but in terms
so qualified as to render every shade of the picture
gloomy in the extreme. It is pronounced desperately
wicked. This qualifying word is very significant. It
means rashly; so as to set reason and prudence at
defiance, and rouse the soul into the most presumptuous opposition to God's authority and omnipotence.
It means furiously; so that the soul is in a moral
rage, is wrought into absolute madness. It means
hopelessly and irrecoverably; so that we may yield
up all expectations of its being changed or improved
if left to itself, as nothing can restore it except for-.
eign influence. Such is the meaning of the significant
word selected by the inspired philologist, to paint the
moral state of the unregenerate.  And it will be
seen that this is no slander of human nature, if we
consider:
I. How  forward we are to sin.  Unless God's
grace prevent, we yield to the earliest and slightest
solicitations. The least temptation will provoke our
appetite.  It needs no deep plot to betray, no captivating charm  to allure us.  Temptation is to our
corruption like sparks to tinder.  If it touch, it
spreads without resistance, and in combustibles all
prepared to facilitate its progress.
2. Our natural, inveterate opposition to holiness.
2I




242                SERMONS.
We are wise to do evil, but to do good we have no
understanding. We exhibit an aversion to God that is
absolutely invincible to every thing but his own omnipotence. As citizens of the world, motives of happiness will direct us into various courses of action, and
will induce changes of sentiment and pursuit. But
among all changes of sentiment and action, heart and
hand will always cautiously turn away from the love
and service of God. Though the motives to such
service and love actually burden three worlds; though
they are revealed to the suffering spirit from heaven,
and earth, and hell, yet they can not tempt human nature to be holy. No condition of life, no apprehension
of evil, no promise or prospect of bliss, can bring the
natural heart to consent to an amicable alliance with
God. Reason may declare for it, conscience may
urge it, fear and hope may demand it, all else that
belongs to man may offer zealous suffrage in its favor,
and yet the heart will not yield. In such a heart,
any thing can maintain successful rivalry with God.
All that man hates shall become lovely to him, when
it approaches him in company with God. When
Pilate and Herod consumed their enmity upon the
altar where the Lamb of God was slain, they sketched,
with more than Raphael's skill, the abiding traits of
human nature. We say abiding traits, because they
can not be separated from the native character. They
live or die with it. The heart of man can never be
cursed, can never be blessed into any change essentially for the better, while the native moral elements
remain. Curse may follow curse, till the suffering
spirit refuses all alliances with the world, and still it




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEART.           243
will reject all overtures of friendship with God. Blessing may follow blessing, till Providence can give, or
the subject can receive no more; and while the soul
is buoyant upon floods of mercy, she will proudly set
her sails, and hold her repulsive course away from
the generous fountain which supplies the ample and
overflowing stream. Why all this inveterate opposition to society and communion with God, if the
heart be not wicked; desperately, rashly, furiously
wicked?
3. It may be objected that this doctrine is inconsistent with a state of conviction and the desire of salvation. What is conviction? Is it not a feeling of
discovery of this very depravity? Conviction implies
self-knowledge. Is the conviction of the sinner the
knowledge of his own purity? None will assert it.
It must be, we conceive, the knowledge of sin existent and dominant within. So the apostle hints in
that language, "When the commandment came, sin
revived."
Now, if this is the conviction of the sinner, it is so
far from being inconsistent with moral depravity that
it is inconsistent with every state of heart except
moral depravity.  Conviction of sin is, in fact, very
inconsistent with a state of moral purity. How could
holy angels or holy men be convicted of sin? Moral
depravity, then, is not inzconsistent with conviction.
Conviction of sin is no virtue, but a painful knowledge of the want of Virtue.
Is it inconsistent with a desire of salvation? Salvation is the delivery of a sinner from the guilt, the
pollution, and the punishment of sin.  The very




'244                 SERMONVS.
desire of salvation, then, on the part of the sinner implies that he now lies under the guilt, and suffers the
dominion and is exposed to the punishment of sin.
The desire of salvation, like that conviction which
creates the desire, is so far from being inconsistent
with depravity of heart, that it is inconsistent with
every other state of heart but depravity. Desire of
salvation in the unregenerate heart is not the possession of salvation. It arises from an intellectual perception of the excellency of holiness on the one hand,
and a painful consciousness of sin on the other, and
is the harbinger of reform, but not in itself holiness.
The doctrine of moral depravity, then, is not inconsistent with a desire of salvation.
But the question may be urged, "Are not conviction and a desire of salvation rigizt?"  We answer, in
a certain sense they are. If you judge them in comparison with a former and worse state of heart, they
are right, as offering promise of reformation. It is
right that the stupid sinner should awake and be
convicted; and it is right that the worldly sinner
should turn from the world and desire salvation. In
this sense conviction and the desire of salvation are
right.
But in another sense they are wrong. If you
refer them to the law of God, which demands supreme
love and perfect holiness now, it is certain that no
state of mind can be absolutely right which implies
the present want of love to God, and of holy tempers
in the soul.
It is, in one sense, right for the assassin, who
lies in wait to murder, to deliberate, to consider that




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEAR T.          245
the law of God and the laws of the land abhor the
crime he meditates; but if at this moment his victim approaches, and dies beneath his thrust, who
gives him credit for his moralizing? He did, for a
moment, cast a wishful eye toward the temple of virtue, but the temple he did not reach, and the goddess
he did not worship, and the oracle he did not obey.
The law and his peers will say that his deliberations
aggravated his offense, and consigns him to a surer
and severer punishment. Now, as this deliberation
is to the murderer, so, in a manner, is the desire of
salvation to a sinner. The deliberations of the one,
and desire of the other, are both, in a sense, right.
But in each case, unless the deliberation and desire
be connected with the purpose and the act of virtue
and religion, they are abhorred by God and by man;
and are so far from savoring of moral goodness that
they only seem to betray the violent opposition of
the heart to virtue and to piety.
We proceed, lastly, to improve this subject by
observing,
I. That it casts zig/ht, as we have already suggested, on the doctrine of regeneration.
The remedy should be adapted to the disease.
The disease is sin in the heart. What can cure it?
The Scriptures prescribe a new birth, or regeneration. But what is this? One tells you it is acquiring a knowledge of the Scriptures, or improving
the mind in theological science. This is a mistake,
or else the wisdom of the Divine Physician has erred
in the prescription, for the disease is not in the
mind, but in the heart.




246                 SERMONS.
Another tells you regeneration is immersion in
water, into the Name of the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Ghost; while others, still, would propose
sacramental and ceremonial observances. But here
is a mistake again; for the disease is not physical,
and applications to the body afford but a discouraging promise of efficacy. Away with such moral
quackery! You might as well poultice the head to
cure a wound on the foot as to exhibit such mediums
for the sicknesses of the soul. You might as well
apply color to the palate, for refection, as to apply
water to the body, or instruction to the mind, with
the expectation of thus removing sin from the heart.
That regeneration which the Scriptures propose, is a
being "born of the Spirit" of God. The heart of
man is the seat of this moral disease, and spiritual influence alone can reach and heal the spiritual disease.
2. This subject should warn the mere moralist of
his danger. His hopes are vain. The heart must be
changed or the soul must perish. Outward conformity to the Divine law will avail us nothing unless the
inner man be adorned with the spirit of obedience.
The stream  can not be pure while the fountain is
corrupt.
Vainly do we hope to impart to the grapes of
Sodom the sweetness of Eshcol's fruit. The vine is
bitter and its root corrupt, and the fruit must be
deadly. Believe not that the whiteness of the sepulcher without betokens any thing better than foulness and loathsomeness within. You, sirs, possessed
of generous minds, and rich in the display of all
that can adorn and exalt the irreligious soul in the




DEPRA VITY OF THE  EAR T.        247
circles of the worldly, even you, unless changed in
heart, are like the sepulcher, which, appearing outwardly adorned in beauty to the eye, conceals the
most sickening abominations within. For how can
the flatteries of a world, which is at enmity with
God, commend your virtue before that law by which
we all must be judged, and which prescribes love to
God as your first duty?
No refinement of sentiment or of conduct can
be of any moral worth in the sight of God while it
sets aside, or makes no reliance upon, his law, his
judgment and counsel, his will and doctrine. How
can that be religious which makes no necessary recognition of God and his will? How can that be
truly moral which is not approved by the Holy Law
of God? How can that be amiable and refined, in
any truthful sense, which grieves and offends the
Spirit of Grace? We may be every thing admirable
in human esteem and every thing abominable in the
sight of God —"The friendship of the world is enmity with God;" "What is highly esteemed among
man is abomination in the sight of God."
Alas! while the world acts upon us with its flatteries and witcheries, to persuade us that we are
happy, and shall be hap/py, all things demonstrate our
hostility to God, and all hell waits to reward us for
that hostility. Were we, who are in an unchristian
state, to see ourselves as we are; were we fully to
discover that our carnal minds are "enmity against
God," according to his Word; were we to catch the
reflection of our moral image from that Word, as
from a mirror which neither flatters nor deforms, do




248                 SERMONS.
you believe we could endure it? No, we could never
endure it! Let us, I beseech you, hold this glass
before the irreligious of this assembly, and see what
images the light will paint upon its bosom! Lamb
of God, what have we here? I see a beaten path,
smooth and slippery as the fused glass, surrounding
the pit of despair. And here, on the very verge of
hell, Pride tosses her head with scorn, and Vanity
trips in airy giddiness, and Pleasure wantons in poisoned relishes, and Avarice grins and grasps its gold,
and Rage pursues its abhorred victim, and Drunkenness, and Perjury, and Blasphemy, descend half-way
down the precipice, look up from amidst the smoke
of the pit, and cry "come on!" See here, sirs; do
you know these features? O pass not these images
by because of their unsightliness! Study the piece
awhile with your best diligence, and, after all, if you
doubt "what this meaneth," each one of you may
read for label in front of the piece, "gzot/zi sezauton,"
knoze thyself. And now, to gain some quiet to thyself, wilt thou close thine eyes, or put aside the
mirror, or complain of its injustice and say, like
faded beauty, that the image owes its deformity to
the vices of the reflector, and not to the gracelessness of the original?  Alas! do not so wickedly, we
beseech you! Seek no false quiet this' day by closing thine eye, or turning it askance, or accusing the
Word of thy God and Redeemer of injustice. There
is a region of better prospects beyond you, if you
will but step into the path which conducts the wanderer thither. And, blessed be God, it is the happy
office of the pulpit to direct, to persuade, to beseech




DEPRA VITY OF THE HEART.            249
you to fly to those regions of peace. We are commanded not only to spread before you the canvas on
which God has sketched the gloomy features of your
corruption and woe, but also to point you to that
blood whose application will transform the darkest
shades into beauty and loveliness. Yes,
"There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains."
Ruined and dying souls, we point you to those
arms of mercy where the lost are saved. We urge
you to that bleeding bosom where the weary sweetly
repose. 0, to be embraced in th6se arms, to lie down
upon that bosom is sweeter than all that Paradise
contained, when our parents rested in its bowers and
ate its choicest fruits! May you soon enter this region of life and love, and learn what is the exceeding
greatness of His power to usward who believe, and
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints!




250                 SERMONS.
XIV.
THE WISDOM  OF GOD.
"0 the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God!" Romans xi, 33.
XWA7ISDOM and knowledge are kindred attributes.
They may be blended, therefore, in discussion,
without impairing that simplicity and unity which are
demanded by the canons of pulpit discourse. At all
events, they are associated in the text, from which
may we be enabled not only to derive instruction, but
to catch the very spirit which breathes forth in the
apostolic exclamation. Let us introduce this text to
your notice by some general observations.
Knowledge is the apprehension of truth. Truth
is reality. The shining of the sun is reality. The
vision of its light is a reality. The emotion which attends its perception is a reality.  And all these,
namely, the light, the vision, and the emotion, are
for truth; reality is truth. The perception of these
realities, or the mental apprehension of these truths,
is knowledge. We have said that wisdom and knowledge are kindred attributes. Yet they are not the
same. Knowledge is an essential element of wisdom,
and benevolence is its sister element. Knowledge
and benevolence, then, combined, constitute true wisdom. God tells us in his Word, that the knowledge




THE WISDOM OF GOD.            25 
of the holy is understanding, that is, wisdom. But how
different simple elements appear in different combinations!  Blend knowledge with holiness, and it is
wisdom; combine it with sin, and it is the most extravagant and fatal folly. Of the holy it may be said,
the more knowledge the more wisdom; but of the
wicked it may be said, the more knowledge the more
folly-like stagnant pools of putrid flesh, whose loathsomeness is always increased by the accumulation of
the fluids or solids which constitute the source of the
offense.
Wisdom belongs to all holy minds; to angels in
heaven, and in a lower degree, to the pious on earth.
But there is only one example of perfect wisdom in
the universe. That example is referred to in our
text. Infinite knowledge and benevolence constitute
God perfect in wisdom. The apostle, as he dwells
upon this theme, and contemplates the knowledge
and wisdom of God in the gracious providence which
is over mankind, bursts forth in this exclamation, "O
the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God!" Let us mark this language;
and, as we have, in a former discourse, spoken of
God's goodness, let us now inquire, What are the
riches of his knowledge?
I. First, then, the knowledge of God is rich iiz
extent. We can not say how extensive it is; for we
can not admeasure the interminable field within which
it expatiates. True, we can talk of the universe; but
we talk about that of which we know almost nothing.
Could the snail speak, it might discourse of the
world; but the theme would scarcely suit its habits




252                 SER1MONVS.
of confinement to one square foot of earth, without
an eye even to survey the dusty bed whereon it rests.
Man, as a sublunary dweller in this vast universe, has
a vision so confined and imperfect, that the things
unseen are as the world to a reptile; while the field
of his survey is, in comparison, like that reptile's foot
of earth.
The universe must be supposed to have an inconceivable extent. From what we behold with the
naked eye, from what we discern by magnifying instruments, and, more than all, from what we perceive
of the active tendency of the infinite mind, we have
an ample warrant for the opinion that the universe,
though not absolutely infinite, is so in relation to
creature minds. Bold speculations there have been
on this interesting subject.  But the most daring
curiosity is best suited to the theme. Here fancy
needs no reins. The fervid imaginations of Milton
and Chalmers are tame and stupid in such a field,
though they carry us far beyond our customary walks.
Taking from one of them a simple hint, let us not so
much suppose as believe that the solar system is
only one among millions of systems, formed into one
superior, with its own remote invisible center; and
then, again, that this superior system is but the fragment of another still superior, composed of millions
like itself; and then, again, that a thousand other
systems rise in succession, one above another, each
succeeding one embracing its antecedents, and bearing to them the same relation as a genus to its species, till at last the thousandth, embracing all circles
around God's everlasting throne, whose omnipotence




THE WISDOM OF GOD.             253
binds together its solid forms, preserves its everlasting harmonies, and moves it in its everlasting course
through the infinite space of the universe.  In the
midst of such a universe, where is man?  In the
midst of such a universe, what is man? Of such a
universe can he see or can he'know any thing that
deserves the name of knowledge? Alas! it is more
than he can do to meditate even the existence of
these worlds, and set them forth with some orderly
reckoning.
But what then? Is this universe an unsurveyed
and solitary waste? Do you fancy that there is no
presence to cheer it, nor eye to look upon it forever?
Ah, brethren! there is an eye whose vision is spread
all over this amazing scene. There is a mind present
unto it in all its illimitable extent. A majestic and
awful presence is familiarized to every portion of it.
The eternal One, at the same moment, converses
with its immeasurably remote extremes. Yes, sirs;
there is a mind to whose intelligence all this amazing
vast of worlds on worlds, and suns on suns, and systems on systems, is more distinctly apparent and
familiar than are to you the features of the landscape,
as its shadings are thrown from your pencil on the
canvas. Is such the unlimited vision of the Godhead? Well, then, may we exclaim, in the language
of the apostle, "0 the depth of the riches of this
knowledge!"
II. The knowledge of God is rich in compjrehension. Although it is as extensive as the universe, and
reaches to both actual and possible existence, yet it
comes not from hasty glances; it does not consist




254                 SERMONS.
of confused visions and superficial discoveries.  It
is not a knowledge of -open forms and prominent
principles, to the neglect of secret qualities and
concealed attributes.
It is difficult not to judge our Maker by ourselves.
We lose in confused vision what we sought to gain by
amplifying its range. The more we multiply the
subjects of our study, the less we know of any one
of them, for we can not carry our attention to several
without diverting it, by turns, from all. But the mind
of God is just as familiar with each minutest portion
of the universe as though he were employed in its
exclusive and everlasting survey. His eye is always
on each portion of the boundless whole.  His attention is at once and forever fixed on every point of
its distant verge, and on every point of each circling
line which Omnipotence might describe, between
its remote circumference and its glory-beaming center.  This is not all.  To his eye all things are
transparent. Before him all depths are uncovered.
His vision penetrates through them and beyond them.
To him darkness itself is light. Egyptian and infernal glooms yield to his omniscient glance, the
forms, and motions, and properties of all which they
vainly sought to immask or disguise. Every atom in
this magnificent immensity, whether sinking in its
depths, or aspiring in its heights; whether resting at
its axis, or whirling on its verge, is watched by the
intense and eternal scrutiny of the omnipresent and
omniscient God. "0 the depth of the riches of this
knowledge!"
III. The knowledge of God is rich in variety. This




THE WISDOM OF GOD.             255
might be inferred as a corollary from the preceding
heads. If Divine knowledge is so rich in extent and
comprehension, it must consist of an opulent variety.
And this variety regards things material and spiritual with all that rank under their respective heads.
As to things material, God perceives all natural
truth; such as inheres in the millions of systemsrather, in the millions of generations of systemswith the millions of worlds appendant to each. In
all these, what swarming varieties must rise to that
mind whose subtile vision detects all that belongs to
their physical aggregation, constitution, arrangement!
God surveys them all. All the grand and minute, in
the posture, relations, impulses, and movements of
things created; in systems superior and subordinate;
in worlds and their satellites, and in their separate
and composed elements-all, from their maximum to
the minimum, are presented in naked exposure before the eye of God.
And the universe of mind is equally'familiar to
Him. Of mind, how little does man know; of its
substance, nothing; of its attributes, enough to give
them names and rouse this world to a ceaseless war
of words; of its connection with matter, the interesting fact unexplained, and full of mortifying mystery.  But here every thing is familiar unto God.
He knows the very substance of mind, the nature
and purpose of its society with matter, and the secret of its active and passive sympathies in virtue of
its mysterious union. God looks upon the soul as a
thing of form, of countenance, of expression. By his
sagacious mind its secret energies are traced to their




256                 SERMOANS.
source, as well as followed out in streams of creature
action.
God is equally familiar with the endlessly varied
schemes of mnorial life. He not only discerns that
sin and holiness are at everlasting variance, and produce variant effects upon mind, in the pains of the
one and the peace of the other, but he perceives
what constitutes their difference, and from what
principles flow their contrary effects. He clearly apprehends how and why a consciousness of guilt
associates with sin, and a consciousness of innocence
with purity and righteousness. He perceives, too,
why a consciousness of guilt stings with remorse,
and why a consciousness of innocence solaces with
rapture. Now, consider what a multitude of forms,
and elements, and principles, give variety incalculable
to a small portion of matter in its senseless and unorganized states; consider what a variety of mental
action is presented to a solitary mind in the space of
one solitary hour; consider what changeful successions of passion, in the form of love and hatred, of
desire and aversion, of fear and hope, of regret and
gratulation, of ambition, jealousy, and rage, or of
penitence, meekness, and charity, by turns possess
one heart and yield it up again, like current waters
which leave the shore behind; and consider, again,
that though the subjects in which these unstable
passions and principles inhere are countless as the
earthly atoms, yet God beholds them all in their infinite and minutest shades of variation. Consider,
that not an attribute of mind or of matter, in its
ever-changing operations and tendencies, has ever,




THE WISDOM OF GOD.             257
for a moment, escaped the all-pervading vision of the
Godhead, that in the universe of mind not a thought
or passion has ever occurred, but he has noticed it in
its generate, rising, and waning stages, with every
circumstance tending to aggravate or palliate the
vice, and to heighten or deteriorate the virtue. Consider that by a permanent and boundless vision he
discerns all states of all that is, of all that breathe,
of all that think, of all that feel, of all below, above,
around; of all that dwell on earth, or sigh in hell, or
sing in heaven; of all that occupy the unreckoned
worlds which trespass upon the boundless void and
journey around the Eternal Throne. Consider this,
and you may join in the'exclamation of the apostle,
" 0 the depth of the riches of the knowledge of God!"
IV. Divine knowledge is rich in accuracy. In our
childhood we were taught that "to err is human;"
but reason teaches us that to err is also superhuman.
The liability to false impressions is doubtless not
confined to human beings, but is common to all creature minds as such. This seems to be implied in the
very capacity to increase knowledge.  The acquisition of knowledge implies its pursuit; its pursuit
supposes inquiry; inquiry is a confession of ignorance, and proclaims a liability to misconception, or
false conjecture. The purest creature intelligences
doubtless err by innocent misconceptions. But as
no error would be harmless in God, the, universal
and supreme Governor, so God is not liable to err.
He can not err. He acquires no knowledge, pursues none, inquires for none. He conjectures nothing and, therefore, can not conjecture wrong. He
22




258                 SERMONS.
conceives nothing in relation to things that are, as to
what or how they are; but he perceives all things.
His knowledge consists of simple perception, and is,
therefore, unmixed with error. It is light without
darkness. It is pure, intense, perpetual light, without
an obscuring cloud or shadow.
V. Divine knowledge is rich iv permaznency. Man
acquires knowledge with toil, retains a portion of it
with difficulty, but loses far more than he retains.
Three. things, like banded enemies, commit successive
invasions upon his mind, and divide between them
the spoils of their success. These are sleep, forgetfulness, and old age. Either of these can reduce man
to partial or absolute idiocy. When the wise man
is wrapped in slumber, search for the glances of the
eye of fire; listen for the notes of spirit-stirring eloquence. You see no token of his wisdom, nor hear
any thing but incoherent folly. The slumbers of
Solomon stultified his mind and reduced a third of
his life to idiocy.
Old age ravages the intellect, and sometimes renders it a frightful desolation. The palsy-smitten patriarch will tell you that he has forgotten more than
he now knows; that time, whose hand has plucked
off his locks, and bleached the scanty remnant with a
snowy whiteness, has wrought beneath them a sadder
desolation, because it fell upon that which is immortal.
Memory is man's only store-house of truth. Attention is the guard or sentinel which keeps it; and,
while the sentinel is drowsy, or the guard is seeking rest, time steals in upon the treasures, and, by




THEE  WISDOM O F GOD.         259
repeated larcenies, robs him of his jewels, and leaves
him to poverty, perhaps insolvency of mind. Knowledge among men is like health or riches; it ebbs and
flows, and sometimes takes to itself wings and flies
away.
We conceive of Divine knowledge very differently.
Let us speak with modesty, however, when we differ
from one most eminent and worthy, whose opinion
our remarks here call in question. Blessed be the
memory of Adam Clarke, whose very errors are almost hallowed by the purity of his motives, and the
sanctity of his life. But it is not necessary to hallow
his errors. His virtues alone are sure to win as much
of human admiration as a mortal should receive, and
his errors are all needed to temper it. He suggests
that God's omniscience consists not in actually knowing all things, but in the ability to know them; just
as his omnipotence consists, not in actually doing all
things, but in an ability to do them. As God can do
many things which he does not choose to do, so he
supposes that God can know many things which he
does not choose to know. We reply to this suggestion:
I. The Scriptures never assert that God does all
things; but they do assert that God knows all things.
2. The Scriptures proclaim the suspension of
God's acts; but they nowhere hint at a suspension
of God's knowledge.
3. The word omniscience, in its etymology, does
not signify ability to know, but actual knowledge;
whereas the word omnipotence, on the contrary, does
not signify actually doing, but mere ability to do.




260                 SERMONS.
4. Omniscience and omnipotence are, therefore,
improperly compared, for the purpose of illustrating
the former by the latter.
5. Omniscience and Omnipresence should be compared, as they are resembling attributes. None will
for a moment suppose that God can withdraw his
essential presence from any portion of the universe,
by choosing to be no longer Omnipresent. But the
science and presence of God are coextensive. He
can no more limit the one than the other. His science
depends on his presence; and so long as he is Omnipresent, he must be Omniscient also. These attributes can not be severed. It follows, therefore, that
God's knowledge is as permanent as it is extensive.
It is not only infinite, but it is immutable. All states
are present to his mind. Past and future, temporal
and eternal, are known by a vision as clear and certain as that which scans the passing present. With
God the past is not remembered. With God the
future is not anticipated. To God all things are
near-nothing is remote.  He is every-where, and
of course all things are equally proximate to him in
place. He fills all eternity, and of course all events
are equally proximate to him in period. His knowledge, then, unlike the creature's, hath no change by
loss or recovery. It ebbs not while he sleeps by
night, to flow again when he wakes by day. It is
subject to no waning or waxing influences. This
ocean is tideless and eternal. It embraces and retains forever and ever the infinite of space and the
infinite of duration.  "O the depth of the riches of
this knowledge!"




THE WISDOM OF GOD.            26I
VI. The method of the Divine knowledge constitutes it rich. On such a theme it behooves us to
entertain no thoughts unless they are devout and
reverent. Yet it is not profane to infer from the
Bible and from God's omnipresence, that God knows
all things by direct perception. His knowledge is
not by effort of mind. It is spontaneous, like his own
existence. It is acquired by no reasoning process.
To reason is to seek for unknown truth; and as no
truth was ever hidden from God, he can have no
occasion to reason. The glance of his eye demonstrates and analyzes every thing.
How different is it with man! Our knowledge is
sought with painful diligence, and is acquired by
gradual discoveries. We creep like the sloth, through
fields of truth, scarcely perceiving the diamond treasures which sparkle around like lights from eternity.
If we gather them up, it is so unskillfully that their
gems are obscure in the multitude of rubbish; and
the acquisition is so scanty and impure, that we almost doubt the utility of our toil. We climb the
steeps of Science by the toilsome paths of demonstration and induction. And often, as we are entering the vestibule of her temple, a careless step
precipitates us from the height, into a depth proportioned to our giddy elevation. Or that temple scenery
is the creation of a dream, and, just as we hoped to
see the beauty of its courts, the vapory show vanishes
away, scornful alike of our hopes and our toils. When
the artisan would. erect a splendid mansion, he proceeds to the wood or the quarry, selects his materials,
and fashions them for use. Then he lays his broad




262                 SERMONS.
foundation, and upon it erects the superstructure.
So do we, in building up the soul. We go for materials
to the fields of nature; draw out, by intuition and analysis, the facts and postulates which constitute our firm
foundation. Demonstration, induction, or slow-progressing argument, rears the superstructure, ornate,
perhaps, with decorations of a chastened eloquence.
Did God proceed thus in the creation?  He said,
"Let there be light, and there was light." All his
creative acts were as simple as this. For six successive periods, mandate followed mandate; and the
firmament above —the earth with its gathered waters
and fruitful soils-its animated surface, atmosphere,
and oceans-crowned at last with its new-born heir
and lord, arose by the enchantment of a Divine invocation, such as called to its birth the bright morning of the universe. And be assured that the vision
of the Godhead is as simple as his action. As he
made he saw and pronounced all very good; not from
any experiment of their merit, but by the mere analysis of vision. He saw all things. Seeing, he knows.
His omnipresence explains, as far as possible, the
fact of his universal intuition. He is present to all
things-present in all things, and must, therefore,
know all things by a direct and most intimate apprehension of them. "0 the depth of the riches of this
knowledge!"
VII. The knowledge of God is rich in utility.
Divine knowledge is not a fruitless field-a barren waste. It affords ample and infinite productions.
But its fruits are neither poisonous nor bitter. They
are sweet and wholesome, like the pure and balmy




THE WISDOM OF GOD.            263
air, which bears upon its wings both health and fragrance. The boundless treasures of Divine knowledge
are all subsidized by infinite benevolence, in the glorious work of diffusing happiness. God's benevolence
is the source of all the happiness which the universe
contains; and his knowledge is the channel for its
dispersion over the fields of the universe.
We call that man merciful whose charities relieve
the sufferings of the distressed.  This relief God
could accomplish by blotting the miserable from the
fair creation, and terminating their pain and their
existence together. But Divine charity seeks to do
more than relieve distress. It would impart unutterable joy, and render the states of creatures not
merely tolerable, but unspeakably and eternally blissful. This is what the apostle means by the wisdom
of God. Knowledge and benevolence commingled,
flowing forth in confluent streams, prolific of life, intelligence, and rapture, in constant: and boundless
diffusion, constitute the wisdom of the infinite mind.
And now, who can contemplate such a mind?rich in the knowledge of all that can be known,
conversant with all that is fixed or moving, magnificent or minute, in the illimitable circle of this creation. Who can contemplate that mind, diffusing
raptures pure as God's nature, and lasting as God's
eternity, among the intelligences which swarm in
worlds around the everlasting throne-who can contemplate such a mind in its infinite beauties, attractions, and glories, and not exclaim, with emotions of
unutterable transport, "O the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God?"




264                 SERhMOlS.
XV.
THE GOODNESS OF GOD.
" There is none good but one, that is God." Matthew xix, I7.
THIS  is, probably, the most interesting truth in
the universe. It is interesting in all minds, and
will be interesting in all eternity. Yet the thousands
who accredit this truth are indifferent to its appeal,
and resist its sanctifying influence. They confess it
with the very lips which are accustomed to disparage
and blaspheme Jehovah. Such persons are unhappy.
"God is good;" his providence is merciful, his'redeeming Son bears to them the blessings of the
cross, yet they are unhappy. But it is not so in all
places of God's dominion. There is another world,
filled with life and intelligence, where this doctrine
in its illustrations forms a perpetual heaven. And
why does not that which is the parent of beauty and
blessedness before the throne of God, imparadise this
world?  Has not the same Almighty goodness created earth and heaven? Are not men, as well as
angels, the production of God's hand? Why, then,
does this blessed attribute, shining in brilliant revelations upon both these worlds of life, inspire the
one with overflowing rapture, and affect the other
with painful and wrathful retributions? This question shall not escape our notice; but that we may




THE GOODNESS OF GOD.              265
approach it in proper order, and be prepared for its
discussion, we will proceed to the following inquiries:
I. WHAT IS INTENDED BY THE GOODNESS OF GOD?
II. WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE OF HIS GOODNESS?
III. How MAY HIS GOODNESS PROFIT US?
I. By the goodness of God we understand, generally, his benevolezce, or good-will.  It consists of a
disposition to promote the happiness of his creatures.
This disposition is, by theological writers, called benevolence, and in the Scriptures is generally denominated goodness, or love. In the present discourse
we shall, for convenience, and without regard to philological precision, use the terms goodness, benevolence, and love as synonymous.
That we may better understand the nature of this
attribute, we will observe that God is essezntially good.
His creatures are some of them in possession of
moral goodness. But their goodness is an accident.
They can exist without it. They can reject it, and
assume another and an opposite moral character, and
still live. But God is essentially good; moral goodness is essential to his very being. It is a vital principle in the constitution of the Godhead. He must
cease to be if he would cease to be good.
Again, God is pejetually good. If his'goodness is
essential it can not be subject to intermission, else
his very being would be subject to intermission.
Take away that which is essential to life, and you
take away life itself. But the goodness of God is essential to his being; therefore, take away his goodness and you take away his being; that is, you annihilate him. But God is immortal, and, therefore,
23




266                 SERAMONTS.
the universe professes in him a sovereign of perpetual
goodness or love.
God's goodness is blended with unerring wisdom.
Creature benevolence often fails to accomplish any
thing toward the happiness of those whom it seeks
to serve and to bless. Its aims are charitable, but
its plans are indiscreet. But the goodness of God is
as suitable in all its plans as it is generous in all its
aims. It is said, "Cursed is the man that trusteth in
man."  Why cursed? Because the treachery of man
renders him unworthy of confidence, and his ignorance incapacitates him for a safe and judicious exercise of even good intentions. It is said, "Blessed
is he that maketh the Lord his trust." Why blessed?
Because God always sincerely desires our happiness,
and is infinitely wise to detect the means of promoting it. But the ultimate trust seems here more especially intended, of which infinite goodness and
wisdom alone are worthy.
The goodness of God is always associated with his
power. What he is disposed to do he can do. What
his love prompts, his wisdom provides for, or his
power executes.  Not so with man.  His goodness
is often allied to impotence, and his yearning desire
to avert evil or impart happiness may waste itself
in empty wishes and regrets.
The goodness of God is diligently active. Creature benevolence is often unproductive.  It is sometimes checked and smothered by base passions, and
is often palsied by unworthy indolence. It says to
the hungry, "Be ye fed," and to the naked, "Be ye
clothed," and there pauses. But God hath a beneficent




THE GOODNESS OF GOD.            267
hand, as well as a benevolent heart. That hand is
constantly employed in liberal ministrations to his
creatures. It dispenses food to the hungry and vestments to the naked. It busies itself in a thousand
enterprises to multiply and magnify the joys of all
obedient creatures.
Once more, the goodness of God is exclusive. The
text declares "There is none good but God."  All
the goodness or love in the universe is his. It flows
from him as its source, and returns to him as its
end. All holy affection depends on him for its motive and its inspiration. Blot out the moral goodness
which is in God, and from God, and what would
there be to inspire it-? Creature goodness is constituted of streams from God, the infinite fountain. Destroy the fountain and the streams perish with it,
and nothing of the nature of moral goodness remains
in the universe.
II. Having considered, in a few words, the nature
of this attribute, we shall proceed to notice some
evidence of God's goodness.
And here let us commence at home. Man himself bears about him an impressive inscription of this
truth, an inscription of such curious and wondrous
execution, that the storms and ravages of six thousand years have not been able to efface it; an inscription wrought upon his body, written on his mind,
and impressed upon his heart. How is it that this
outward frame, composed with such delicacy, displays
such strength?  How is such apparent simplicity
blended with such capacity for such various action,
and posture, and suffering? Whence came unto it




268                 SERMONS.
the power of the muscle, the sensibility of the nerve,
the convenience of the members; the ear, drinking
in the melodies of the universe; the eye, refreshed by
its divinely penciled beauties; the palate, regaled
with its ten thousand sweets; and all these blended
with the breathing of its everlasting fragrance?
Whence came the gift of sweet discourse, by which,
in words, or anthems half divine, fancy sketches a
thousand glowing scenes, and pours back upon the
soul a new and reflex rapture? "Whence came
they!"  They are the mere dispersions of infinite
benevolence.
But these are only the mechanism of the temple,
with its decorated openings and outer courts. Enter
its retreats and survey the occupant of the unconsecrated mansion.  Here dwells immortal mind, and
displays by its rich inventions and enchanting combinations the generous character of its Author. How
comes it that this mind is not uniform, nor yet
confused in its perpetual and unguarded actions?
Wherein consists its strange capacity for blessing and
for bliss? How is it that memory gathers joys from
the past, that hope pursues and seizes those in prospect, and that these, joined to the fruition of the
present, swell the raptures of the soul to overflowing?
Is not this a benevolent economy, and does it not
display affecting proof of the goodness of God?
But enter the most holy place of this temple.
Approach the altar of human affections. 0, could
you have seen it in its original splendor! But as it
is, polluted, profaned, and prostrate in the dust, it
indicates the kindness of its Architect. Half con



THE GOODNESS OF GOD.           269
cealed beneath the rubbish which profanes it, you
may still trace the image of the Godhead in the constitutional structure, ardor, and high adaptations of
man's affectional nature. How violent and raging
are the passions of the soul!  Contemplate the
mighty energies of its love and hatred, its desire and
aversion, its sordid covetousness, its soul-consuming
envy, its restless vengeance, its towering ambition
whose vigorous arm grasps earth, grasps heaven, and
longs to hold in the vassalage of conquest the thrones
below and the thrones above.
Do you say that passions, so base in tendency,
and in vigor so infernal, betray the malice, not the
love of the Creator? O sirs, you are now forgetting
that God formed them "in the beauty of holiness,"
and gave to them a tendency as pure and blissful as
he did a strength efficacious and ennobling. You
are now forgetting how that purity was solicited by
Satan and yielded up by man, or all the energy of passions, foul and base, and painful, would have been the
energy of a Godlike virtue, pure, and blissful, and immortal. You are now forgetting that such they may
become, through the power of the Gospel, and of that
renewing Spirit which applies the Gospel to the heart.
Remember this, and then say, what can more plainly
indicate the goodness of God than to find in ourselves, fashioned in our very constitutions, channels
deep, and broad, and abiding, supplied, if we solicit it,
with streams of holy rapture gushing from the fullness of God's benevolence and love?
But pass to other scenes. Need we tell you that
the whole visible creation bears impressive testimony




270                 SERMONS.
to the Divine goodness? True, man's rebellion has
provoked a curse from heaven to derange its order,
to blast its beauty, and to draw a veil over its dazzling glory. But in its very fadings there is a charm,
in its manifest disorder a purpose and an aim; and a
veiled but awe-inspiring glory is forever seen beaming through the cloud. There are a charm, a purpose,
and a glory in the light, which sets forth creation to
the eye, in the still, or stirring air, which, through the
several senses, pours rich perfumes and sweetly swelling harmonies in upon the soul, to entrance it as
with visions of a heavenly paradise. There are a
charm, a purpose, and a glory, in nature's changeful
moods, which thrusts out the elder seasons from the
family of time, and bring in by sure and faultless
birth infant Spring, youthful Summer, and matronly
Autumn, pouring their varied graces around, till
morose Winter intrudes again, not to stay and frown
forever, but to melt and fly at the return of vernal
smiles and ardors. The cheerful day uttereth speech,
and the gloomy night showeth knowledge of God's
eternal love. For in action and in rest there is a
blessing for the creature, and in that blessing there is
a proof of God's benevolence.
But while traveling through creation for proofs of
God's benevolence we alight upon a scene at which
we pause-a scene which arrests not only man, but
angel and archangel-a scene which attracts the
seraph from his height, and the demon from his
depth-a scene which fixes the gaze of every world
but this-a scene which will forever challenge the
devout or profane attention of heaven and hell. Ap



THE GOODNESS OF GOD.           27I
proach and behold-while I draw aside the curtain
and unveil the sacred mystery.  See there!  The
altar, the victim, the agony of sacrifice, the sprinkling
blood and water gushing from a heart all pure and
palpitating in the writhings of death, the rays of
God's benevolence circling and converging to intense
and overpowering ardors till the victim is consumed!
Creation groans! But on his bloody cross, and on
his crimsoned vestments, and on his dripping hands,
and on his gory heart, I read in flaming characters,
"God-so-loved-the-world!"
III. Having offered some evidence of the goodness of God, we proceed to inquire how his goodness
may profit us.
Do not suppose that because God is good we must
inevitably be happy. Nothing is more evident than
that God may be benevolent, and yet his creatures be
inexpressibly miserable. If otherwise, if the benevolence of Deity is inconsistent with the misery of his
creatures, then the doctrine of God's benevolence is
false. If they are inconsistent, it is far less absurd
to infer the malevolence of God from the misery
of man, than it is to infer the happiness of man from
the benevolence of God. If they are inconsistent, we
must contradict the benevolence of God, for the
misery of creatures can not be contradicted.
But they are not inconsistent. We know both
from what we see and what we feel, that creatures
are miserable. Of God's benevolence there is sufficient proof not only to convince, but to overwhelm
us, and induce our cordial devotion to his service.
And this is God's design in all the displays of his




272                SERMONS.
love toward us. His "goodness is to lead us to
repentance," to rouse in us the same affectionate
regard for him which he feels toward us. If it can
accomplish this, if the love of God can beget in us a
love for him in return, then it will have made us
happy. But in no other way can the goodness of God
affect us with any choice delights. His love can
benefit us but little unless we reciprocate the sentiment. His goodness can profit us but little unless
we reciprocate the principle.
How vain is it for the sinner to boast of the love,
of the goodness of God! How vainly do any of us
hope for any permanent advantages from that love,
unless we love in return! By the constitution of our
nature, if love be not reciprocated, if it awaken in us
only enmity or disgust, or aversion, it becomes a
source of disquiet and unhappiness. Especially is
this the case when the rejection of proffered love involves a rejection of moral obligation. In such a case
it needs no positive inflictions to produce wretchedness; it results from the laws of our being.
Did you ever chance to be loved by one of your
peers, and feel your heart all chilled and pained by
the unwelcome tokens of that affection for which you
could return only silence and indifference? And was
there to you any comfort of that love?  Comfort!
No. When that love sought you out; solicited your
attention, craved your communion, and exhibited its
sincere, and ardent, and deathless offerings, it was to
you an irksome state. You were burdened and distressed by those offerings. Willingly would you have
escaped from the society of your lover to the com



THE GOODNESS OF GOD.            273
pany of your bitterest foe on earth, and welcomed all
his malicious persecutions. Now consider the eternal
God in the place of that loving, but rejected friend.
If such is the heart of man with man, such is the
heart of man with God.
True it is that " God is good"-is pure and everlasting love. Even you, sinner, are an object of his
intense concern. But mark the fruits of his love.
If God will allow you the means of profane gratification, a gratification which implies perfect hostility
toward him on your part; if he will keep himself
aloof, never intruding upon you his claims, his presence, or his fellowship, you are well pleased with so
convenient a love as this. In *such circumstances
you fully consent that God is good. But let the Almighty insist upon your tolerating his presence, and
choosing his society and service, and his love will become the object of your utmost aversion. He will be
to you like the discarded suitor, whose rich donations
were highly prized and gracefully encouraged until he
offered himself also, and then it was conceived that
this incumbrance exceeded the value of all the gifts.
Worse than this. You are like the unloving child of a
loving parent. You loathe his presence and scorn his
friendship, and requite hatred for his love. Thus do
you entreat Almighty God. He of whose goodness
and love you boast, presses himself on your notice by
his Word, his ministers, his providence, his Spirit;
but does his love delight and charm you? Alas! his
love is to your soul bitter as death, whenever its expressions become near and intimate. If he will just
keep himself out of sight, will afford to you the means




274                 SERMONS.
of impure indulgence, will permit you to be a brute
in the midst of pleasures, earthly, sensual, and devilish; if this, your "divine friend and lover," will never
solicit from you the least attention or regard; if he
will permit you to prosecute a course of treachery
and rebellion toward his person and government
without retribution or rebuke, you are charmed with
such a love as this. But let him approach you, (as
soon he must in one form or another,) and propose to
you a pure and everlasting fellowship, which shall exclude all base and sensual delights, and you shall be
miserable. Yes, the society of that God whose love
you boast shall be to you, as a sinner, a sort of hell.
And now we are prepared to answer the question
proposed in the exordium of this discourse. It was
asked, "why the Divine goodness, revealed so brilliantly to earth and heaven, should inspire the one
with overflowing rapture, and affect the other with
painful retributions?" The reason may now be evident. Two things produce the choicest raptures of
the heavenly state, namely, mutual love, and its resulting fellowships. In that happy world God loves and
is beloved. This is what makes heaven so desirable.
This is what renders it essentially superior to this
world. But this world is painfully affected by the
goodness, or love of God, because here God is not
beloved. He is here. He displays his presence all
around us. "In him we live." He makes us sensible
of his presence and love. But he is not beloved.
This surely is enough to curse and torture our sinful
race. To be compelled to accompany with God, to
see his everlasting beauty, and feel his everlasting




THE GOODNESS OF GOD.            275
presence, and yet not love, but hate him! It is a
kind of hell. And such a hell is earth, for here God
is not beloved. Not beloved! God infinitely lovely,
yet not beloved! God infinitely loving, yet not beloved! God loving us in heaven, loving us on earth,
seeking us, suffering, agonizing, bleeding, dying, rising,
interceding for us, and yet not beloved! Be silent,
tongue. Though all is true, it is truth too horrid to
be uttered. 0, sinner, its consequences will be too
horrid to endure!
Let the Christian remember that God is goodlet the Christian remember that God is love. Let
the sinner, too, remember that God is love; but let
him not forget that love unrequited, abused, scorned,
becomes only a " consuming fire."




276                     SERMONS.
XVI.
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.
FIRST DISCOURSE.
THE MINISTERS-THE SIGNIFICANCY —THE SUBJECTS.
"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to
observe all thinis zohatsoever I commanzd yonz." Matthew xxviii, I9, 20.
"And he said unto them, Go ye inzto all the zoorld and preach the Gospel
to every creature. He that believe/h and is baptized shall be saved, and he
that believeth not shall be damned." Mark xvi, I5, I6.
O UR aim, in this discussion, will be practical
utility, and we shall invite your attention to
the ministers, the significancy, and the subjects of
baptism, and
I. THE MINISTERS OF THIS ORDINANCE.
This has become important on account of the
views recently inculcated by a gentleman of respectable talents and acquirements, and a public teacher
of religion. It has been urged, as you very well
know, that all the baptized are qualified and- authorized to baptize others-that the Christian ministry
belongs in common to all the members of Christ's visible Church. Nothing, then, but a loose and changeable policy forbids the most ignorant disciple to act
as a public proclaimer of the Gospel and administer
its sacred ordinances.  In opposition  to  this disor



CHIRSTZAN BAPTISM.             277
derly opinion and practice, I array the language of
the text. It contains the commission to teach and
to baptize. This commission was not delivered to
the body of the disciples. The narrative represents
Jesus as in the midst of the eleven apostles, and of
them, only, saying, " Go ye into all the world."
By consulting all the evangelists the reader will
be convinced that the commission was limited to the
apostles, and to such others, in subsequent ages, as
should be sent by Jesus, especially moved by his
Spirit. The method by which our Savior preserves
in the Church an authorized ministry is exemplified
in the case of Paul. He declares that God, counting
him faithful, "put him into the ministry."  From that
day to this, God has continued to call some to this
arduous service. They, like Paul, can vindicate their
apostleship by declaring that God met them in the
way, and by appealing to the fruits of their laborsthe visible seals of their ministry. Christ is now
the only source of all authority to teach and baptize.
It flows not fiom his Church or others of his ministry, though it may and should be recognized and
accredited by them. The lofty claims of some reputed ministers to confer this authority are unfounded.
The commission in the text warrants the exercise of
no such functions as of Divine right, and when they
are exercised it should be considered, as in our own
Church, a matter of discreet ecclesiastical policy, and
not by a Divine warrant. The commission in the
text does not read go, teach, baptize, and confer on
men of another generation authority to do the same.
No such provision is made by the commission to




278                 SERAIMONS.
preserve a line of apostolic succession, and found and
edify hierarchy, prelacies, sees, or papacies. Neither
Peter, nor any one of his fellows, is endowed by this
commission with any peculiar prerogatives. The
commission sends them all to one work, and dismisses
them on terms of equality. When Paul joins them,
he is their peer. As this is the perpetual commission of Christ's ministers, how could the meekness
of sanctified minds infer from it the essential imparity of those ministers, so that while some are to
go and baptize, others are to sit in the seat of Christ
and make apostles for the service of the Church. I
am aware that some in favor of so gross a heresy
urge those words —"As the Father hath sent me,
even so send I you." But from these words they
might as well infer that as the Father sent Christ to
be crucified, so t/ey must be crucified.
The heavenly oracle will guard the docile on this
point against both extremes. It will show us the
folly of that religious plebeianism which puts the vessels of the sanctuary in every man's hands, yet it
will betray the unfounded pretensions of lofty dignitaries, who, by a reckless torturing of Scripture,
have originated distinctions among Christ's ministers
which subserve no other end than the gratification
of an ambition so profane that it stops not to glut
itself upon the sacramental provisions of the sanctuary. We insist, then, that none are authorized to minister baptism but such as are called and sent of God.
But here the question may arise, "Suppose I have
been baptized by one not sent of God, is the baptism
valid?" I answer, not if the fault was yours, If




CHRIS TIAN BAPTISM.           279
you were of age, and sought baptism from an administrator who did not bear along with him the credentials of his office, you are guilty, and your baptism
is invalid. You are bound to use due discretion in
seeking, both for yourself and for your children, a minister of the ordinance who you had reason to believe
was duly authorized by Christ. You may ask by
what rule you are to judge? I answer, the Church is
to be his voucher to you. You are to seek that minister, in some branch of the Church, which holds to a
divinely authorized ministry. For where Christ by
his Spirit calls and moves a man to his work, he generally moves the Church to recognize him as a laborer
in the vineyard. When, therefore, you apply to such
a one for baptism, you have used your best discretion, and are acquitted of all blame. "But suppose,
after all my precaution, it should turn out that I was
deceived, and that the administrator was not an authorized minister of Jesus Christ?" I answer, while
you remained in ignorance of this fact, your sincerity
and good intention would be accepted of God in lieu
of legal formality; but, upon better information, it
would become your duty to seek baptism according to
the due form and order. David's first attempt to remove the ark to Zion was not accepted, though done
in good intention, because they did it not "after the
due order." I Chron. xv, I3. The sin of ignorance
brings no guilt while the ignorance remains and is
involuntary, but when knowledge of the fault comes,
then instant reparation must be made, or guilt fastens
upon the conscience. In the law of Moses, in such
cases, "where the sin was known," (Lev. iv, I4,)




280                SERMOZNS.
the offender was required to bring his sacrifice of
expiation.
But if you go into communities (called Churches)
which deny that there is a divinely appointed order
of ministers in the Church, and where baptism is administered (as it often is in a society of recent origin)
by laymen, or lay-children, (as for any principle among
them which forbids it,) and submit to the ordinances
among them, your baptism is doubtless invalid, and
of no more religious virtue than the Summer ablutions of playful boys.
Christ's institution gives baptism its validity. It
must be administered, therefore, by such as he appoints. The water and the words of the sacrament
are of no more importance than the authority of the
administrator. The conclusion is, therefore, that none
can lawfully administer the sacrament of baptism
except those who are called and authorized as were
the apostles.
II. THE SIGNIFICANCY OF BAPTISM.
Baptism is a sacrament, and as such it has two
intentions or uses. It is a sighz and a seal. As a sign
it indicates that inward cleansing, which is accomplished by the blood and Spirit of Christ. Thus we
read in Hebrews x, 22, where the blood of Jesus is
represented as a purifier of the conscience, and is
connected with baptism. And again, Titus iii, 4-6:
"But after the kindness and love of God our Savior
toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness
that we had done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the
renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us




CHR ISTA N B A P TISM.         2 8 I
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior."  Here
is an allusion to baptism by water, and its signification is declared to be the purification of the soul by
the Spirit shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ.
Again, Isaiah, in a strain of evangelical prophecy,
chapter xliv, says, "I will pour water upon him that
is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will
pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon
thy offspring."  The first clause of this text is a
plain reference to the emblem, water baptism, the
second unequivocally promises the inward cleansing
or the baptism of the Spirit.
Of the same import is Ezekiel, chapter xxxvi:
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
shall be clean. And I will put my Spirit within you
and cause you to walk in my statutes." The blood
and the Spirit of Christ-that to cleanse from guilt,
and this, from corruption-are always spoken of as
the agents of man's moral purification. Both were
prefigured in the Jewish ritual, and both are signified
in the sacrament of baptism. Hence the exhortation,
"Arise and be baptized, and wash away (that is, symbolically) thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord,"
(that is, that the thing itself, shadowed forth by that
emblem, may be accomplished.) Here baptism is certainly viewed as a sign of remission by the blood of
Jesus Christ, which cleanseth from all sin. We think
this sufficient to show the candid hearer that baptism
is significant of inward purification by the blood and
the Spirit of Christ.
But we said that this sacrament is a seal as well
24




282                 SERMONS.
as a sign. What, then, is its sealing efficacy? We
answer, unhesitatingly, that in receiving it by faith,
and in a due regard to the obligations which it imposes, the receiver, or subject, is secured of the blessings which it shadows. A seal implies a covenant,
and is the confirmation of the covenant by its parties.
When thus confirmed, the obligations of the covenant
are sacredly binding on the parties, and can not be
unfulfilled but by a tortuous breach of the covenant.
God will not break that covenant which is sealed by
the sacrament of baptism. If from thenceforth the
baptized person "renounces the devil and all his
works," and unreservedly "takes the Lord to be his
God," the blood and the Spirit will be applied to his
heart. The consequence is, that baptism invariably
insures the blessing which it signifies whenever it is
partaken in faith, and its obligations are sacredly regarded. The only reason why the spiritual regeneration is not always experimentally connected with the
symbolical-the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the
baptism of water-is because the water baptism is not
mixed with faith. When the Eunuch received baptism he believed with all his heart. What was the
consequence? He was so blessed that he "went on
his way rejoicing."
We do not doubt, however, but it is with baptism
as with prayer-its blessings are often held in abeyance, or are reserved awhile, being confirmed indeed,
but not immediately conveyed to the possession of
the baptized. In multitudes, also, the great blessings
shadowed by the sacrament are first sought and obtained, and the sacrament is received by the appli



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            283
cant, in token of a purification already accomplished.
So it was with Cornelius and his associates, of whom
Peter said, "Can any man forbid water that these
should not be baptized, who have received the Holy
Ghost as well as we?" As to the sealing efficacy of
baptism, then, we repeat that it iiszsurs to the Scripturally baptized, who believe and who keep the covenant, all the blessings which the sacrament shadows
forth.
This, however, is the invisible efficacy of baptism.
It has besides a visible use. As it shadows inward
purification, which is a prerequisite of admission into
the invisible Church, so it very properly stands in the
Christian system as an open initiatory ordinance, introducing its subject into the visible Church, and
making him, in the sight of men, no longer an alien,
but "a fellow-citizen with the saints and of the household of God." Then, as a citizen of Zion, he can
claim all its privileges. He is subject to its laws,
must yield to its discipline, must treat its economy,
and the ministers of that economy, with due regard,
and watchfully subserve its interests, as knowing that
they are his own interests, and that the covenant
which he sealed with his God in baptism demands
this at his hands. And, above all, he must embrace
all opportunities to partake of the remaining sacrament, the Lord's Supper, so that, as by baptism he
was born, emblematically, into the holy kingdom, he
may, by feeding mystically upon the blood and body
of Christ, grow up into him in all things. For by
these symbols, two covenants, the one for our birth
and entrance upon life, the other for our growth and




284                SERMONS.
the perfection of that life, are sealed; and if we
proudly and wantonly despise the covenants and its
seals, our pride and wantonness may prove our undoing.
III. THE SUBJECTS OF THIS SACRAMENT.
The subjects of baptism are plainly indicated in
the New Testament. "All nations," and "every creature," are the two phrases designating these subjects.
These phrases, it will be perceived, are of great, and,
indeed, of universal extension. They include every
thing that hath the form and the attributes of humanity.
But great efforts are made to narrow it down to
a portion of the human family. We shall, for the
sake of an immediate approach to a point of so great
interest, lay down the following proposition:
The commission warrants the ministers of Christ
to baptize, as well as to teach, men, women, and
children. From the language of the commission, by
which the ministers of Christ are directed to bestow
the ordinance upon "all nations," and upon "every
creature," one would think it impossible to question
this proposition. And yet it is questioned, and they
who embrace in "the nations" little children are
deemed, by some true Christians, derelict in doctrine
and in practice. As men and women are admitted
by all to be embraced in the commission, we shall
not speak of them, but will proceed to consider the
claims of children to the sacrament of baptism.
I. We urge their claims from various Scriptures:
(Matt. xxviii,) "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them "-" teaching them." It has been




CHR ISTIA N BAPTISM.           285
objected to infant baptism that in this text the disciples are commanded to teach all nations, and then
to baptize them; and, as infants can not be taught,
they must not be baptized. This difficulty is easily
disposed of. Whoever will obtain a Bible with marginal translations, or philological notes on the common translation, will find that the text reads thus:
"Go ye, therefore, and disciple all nations, baptizing
them," etc. This is the correct rendering from the
Greek. The English reader, who finds the verb
"teach" before baptize, and the participle " teaching"
immediately after it, would conclude that the same
word was used in the Greek Testament in both
places. This, however, is not the case. Go ye, therefore, and "disciple" — (in Greek, matheteusate,)- or
" initiate as pupils," all nations, baptizing, etc. Then
" didaskontes," " teaching," not matheteuontes, as it
would have been if the same thing was to be done
after as before baptizing them; but "didaskontes "teaching them. The word, improperly rendered teach
in the first part of the text, means to admit as a pupil; that in the middle of the text means to instruct
the pupil thus admitted. How exactly is this direction suited to the condition of infancy? "Go and
disciple them," " matheteusate," "put them into Christ's
school," then "' didaskontes," teaching them the science
of that school. That is, as the minds open and enlarge, occupy them with the truths of the Gospel, and
give every rising thought, as far as possible, an inclination toward the cross. No language could be invented better suited to convey the impression that
children are the objects of the apostolic commission,




286                SERMONS.
are to be initiated as pupils by baptism, and then be
taught the lessons of Christ's school..' If the term
nations does not embrace children, we would ask what
generic term in the language does embrace them?
Another text from the Gospel by St. Mark xvi, I5,
I6: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel
to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be
damned."
The terms of the commission embrace "every
creature."  As to the objection so often -raised by
the opponents of infant baptism, that inasmuch as
infants can not believe they must not be baptized,
there is this. to be observed. The language does not
-propose faith as a condition- of baptism, but it proposes faith and baptism as two conditions of salvation. Analyze the proposition: "+Ie that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved."  Here is not a series
of conditions and promises. It is one promise with
two conditions. The text does not read, "He that
believeth shall be baptized, and he that is baptized
shall be saved."
To illustrate the independence of baptism as it
regards faith, suppose a teacher should say to his
pupil, "Get a lesson in geography and a lesson in
arithmetic and you shall have a medal." The medal
would depend on both lessons, but the lesson in
arithmetic would not depend on that in geography.
Nor need the child get the lesson in geography first
because it happens to be mentioned first.  Now,
faith and baptism are to salvation what the two
lessons are to the medal. - You may say that baptism,




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.             287
then, as well as faith,. is essential to salvation. I
answer, he who denies infant baptism is accountable
for that. They are necessary to salvation on his
principles, not on mine. His principles carried out,
will send all that die in infancy to hell;.but mine
will not. Mine will admit them to heaven, and, of
course, will admit them to baptism; but his excludes
them from baptism, and, much more, from heaven.
If he shrinks from the inevitable consequences of his
own principles and says, "These words only mean that
the adult must believe in order to be saved"-I rejoin,
these words mean that the adult only must believe in
order to be baptized.. And he must not use this text
to guard the font of baptism against little children,:unless he will use it also to guard heaven against
little children.  If it shuts them out of any thing, it
is certainly heaven. What! when one speaks of
baptizing infants, shall I seize this text with polemic
greediness, and forbid him, because the child has not
faith? And again, when he talks of children being
damned for want of faith, shall I reject'this fext as
the greedy do a scalding mouthful, and insist that it
has "nothing to do with infants?"
"We all agree
To call it freedom when ourselves are free."
Surely you may perceive, without any severe
study, that if these words subject any person, young
or old, believing or unbelieving, to any loss, it is the
loss of salvation much more than of baptism. The
pupil might get his lesson in arithmetic without
getting his lesson in geography; but without both




288'::   SARMONS.
lessons he could not receive the medal.'So in regard
to this text, (and we now speak of this without reference to other Scriptures,) an infant might be baptized
without'faith, even though he could not be saved
without it.'How much more may the infant be baptized without faith, when without faith all agree that
it may be saved! And here I have the best opportunity which my brief compass will afford to apply
the principle contained in this text and its exposition to many portions of Scripture. The principle
is this: Faith is a Scriptural condition of baptism
and of salvation in all adults-in all who are capable of believing-but it is no condition of either
baptism or salvation in infants who are incapable of
believing. Take this principle along with you, and
apply it to any example in the New Testament, and
it will clear up all objections to infant' baptism. For
example, Philip said to the Eunuch who sought baptism, "If thou believest with all thine heart'thou
mayest."  To whom did he say this? To an adult.
And because he was an: adult, and' was capable of
believing, he could say no less, according to the.principle which we have laid down. But would you infer
from this that infants may not be baptized because
they can not believe?  Then consider another case,
and see how you will maintain consistency.  On a
certain occasion'the jailer who had kept "Paul'and
Silas, being roused by an earthquake, fell down before
them and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
They answered, "Believe on the' Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved." Now, would you infer from this
that infants must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            289
order to be saved? If you urge the objection to infant baptism in the former case, you must admit the
objection to infant salvation- in the latter case. These
examples serve to illustrate the satisfactory result of
applying the principle laid down above, namely, that
"faith is a condition of baptism and of salvation, in
adults, but is not a condition of either baptism or salvation in infants."  Now, as "all nations " and " every
creature" are the terms which denote the objects of
the apostolic commission, you must find some language in Holy Writ to exclude infants specifically, or
you are bound to consider them as embraced in that
commission. Who ever heard it questioned that infants were a part of the nation to which they belonged?  Did not God consider them  a part of
Nineveh, when, mostly on their account, he spared
the whole nation? Were they not considered a part
of Israel when God entered into covenant with that
people in the land of Moab? (Deut. xxix, Io-I2.)
2. This leads us to argue the validity of infant
baptism, secondly, from the fact that in all the leading
covenants made with mankind, infants were embraced,
and shared in all the benefits of those covenants.
The first covenant was with Adam in his state of innocence. It secured to him and to his posterity the
Divine blessing on condition of obedience. We find
the blessing recorded in the first chapter of Genesis:
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful and multiply," etc. This with the subsequent
prohibition as a condition of retaining the blessing,
formed a covenant between Adam and his Creator.
That covenant had a seal or sacrament, namely, the
25




290                SERMONS..fruit. of the Tree  of Life. This was consecrated by
the will of God to. some very sacred use. It was not
like the other trees of the garden, for the common
purpose of reflection. That it was sacramental we.
learn from. the fact that it was too pure and excellent
for the profane to approach and feed upon; therefore,
after this fall, the sinning pair were driven from the
garden, lest they should partake of its fruit and live
forever.
A second. covenant was made with Noah before
the building of the ark. (Genesis vi, I8.) And the
ark itself, which Noah built by the direction of God,
seems to have had a sacramental import and to have
been the seal of this covenant. (I Peter iii, 20-22.)
Another covenant was made with Noah after the
Flood, and its sacrament was the rainbow. It pledged
security from a second deluge. To this very day that
covenant is of binding force; and to this very day
nature in one of its- aspects is a holy sacrament for
the eye to feast upon. Never should we gaze at that
celestial -sign but we should view it, not merely as
the most beautiful phenomenon in nature, but also as.a-perpetual seal of the bond which secures to us an
immunity from the horrors of a universal deluge.
The' next was the covenant made with Abraham,
which was a covenant of grace, the very covenant
under which we live, and by which we receive all the
blessings of the grace of Jesus. The sacrament of.this covenant was circumcision.
The. next covenant which we shall mention is that
which spared the first-born of Israel when the angel
of death passed through the land and slew all the




CHRISTIAV BAPTISM.            2,9 1
first-born of Egypt.: Its sacrament was the Passover.
And now, to go.no further,. from which of these covenants are children'excluded, and which of their seals
or sacraments was not designed for them? If Adam
had remained obedient in Paradise, would his children have been excluded from.the sacramental Tree
of Life?
Were. the children' of Noah excluded from  the
ark, and from the benefits of the covenant?  They
were admitted for Noah's faith. Genesis. vii, I: "And
God said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house
into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before
me." -.Were the children of Abraham excluded from
the covenant of grace, and from the. sacrament of
circumcision? > Genesis.xvii, Io: "This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you, and
thy seed after thee:. Every manchild among you shall
be circumcised."  Were the children of the.Israelites
excluded from the Passover? Certainly not. So. far
from this, that every child who was of sufficient age
to partake of food, was compelled. to observe the
Passover. This was the command. of God: "Seven
days shall there be no leaven found in. your houses.
For whosoever eateth.that which. is leavened, even
that soul shall be cut off from the congregation. In
all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
And.ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to
thee and to thy sons forever."
But we invite your attention,. more particularly,
to Ithe passage already referred.to in Deuteronomy
xxix, Io-I 5: "Ye stand this day all.:of you: before
the Lord; your captains of your tribes,:your':elders,




292                SERMONS.
and your officers, with all the men of Israel, your
little ones, your wives,..  that thou shouldst
enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and
into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh
with thee this day...   that he may be to
thee a God.... Neither with you only do I
make this covenant and this oath; but with him
[children as well as others] that standeth with us
this day before the Lord our God."
Whatever men may say, one thing is conclusively
proven by the history of God's covenants with mankind; namely, that infants can stand in a covenant
relation to God by the act of their parents. In the
last instance, they did assume such a relation, for the
fact is unequivocally asserted by God himself.  So
also in regard to the Abrahamic covenant, God commands that the seal of the covenant shall be imposed
on the infant at eight days old. If the circumcised
infant could not be a party to the covenant, this was
as improper as it would be to write a deed on one
sheet of paper, and in executing it, affix the authenticating seal to a different and to a blank sheet of
paper. Or to change the illustration, it was like
drawing up a covenant between A and B, whose
names are inserted in the instrument, and then, in
executing it, using the name of F, who is not a party
to the covenant.
Would it be proper to use the royal' seal of
France on parchment which records a treaty between
the United States and the Russian Autocrat? No
more proper would it have been to put the seal of
the covenant with Abraham upon the children of




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            293.
the family, when these children were not parties to
the covenant.
Circumcision was the seal of a covenant which
was fundamentally and essentially our covenant-the
covenant of grace. This is positively affirmed by
Paul in Romans ii, 17-24: "And if some of the
branches be broken off, and thou being a wild olivetree, wert graffed in among them, and with them
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive-tree:
boast not against the branches. But if thou boast,
thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou
wilt say then, the branches were broken off, that I
may be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they
were broken off, and thou standest by. faith. Be not
high-minded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God:
on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise thou
also shalt be cut off. And they also if they abide not
still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to
graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the
olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and wert graffed
contrary to nature into a good olive-tree, how much
more shall these, which be the natural branches, be
graffed into their own olive-tree?"
What could more strikingly exhibit the unity of the
Church and the identity of its covenants, from Abraham to the times of the apostle? The Abrahamic and
Christian covenants are one olive-tree. The falling
away of the Jews is the excision of a branch from that
tree, and the conversion of the Gentiles is ingrafting




294                SERMONS.them into the same stock from which the Jews were
broken off. The Church and its covenants are one
in the days of Abraham and of Christ, and as in the
days of Abraham, so in the days of Christ and his
apostles,'. children' are: to be'brought within the purview of that covenant'.by the:imposition of the sacramental seals;'.namely, by. circumcision then, and
by baptism now..
But. if the identity of the Abrahamic and Christian: covenants.be denied, it matters not. Infant
baptism, even then,' stands on an immovable'foundation. If the' Christian covenant be' a new covenant,
differing ever so much from the Abrahamic, it contains the same provision in regard to children as did
the Abrahamic. In proof of this, consider the language and behavior of Jesus toward children. "He
declares them to be members of..the Church, Mark
x, 13-16:' For of such is the kingdom  of God."
The kingdom of God, among the Jews, meant the
Church'on earth, or-the Church in heaven. If Christ
mean't the: Church in heaven, -that was no reason why
he.should- say, " Let them come unto me;" for it implied no: attraction'in their present character that
those among them who died in infancy, or were converted'in. old age, would occupy seats in heaven. No.
He meant that the'Church on.earth was composed
of:little: -children'.'':The. children..which he then took
in  his arms bore in their bodies the token of his covenant. They were. the.'children of the promise. made
to Abraham.. The language, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven,"' must have been remarked by all of
you,.-as implying. that the kingdom  of heaven is




CHRIST, AN B APTISM.          295
composed exclusively of children. Now, this is not
the case with the beatific heaven, but it was a declaration which assorted most perfectly with the kingdom,
or Church, on earth in our Savior's day. Then the
subjects of that kingdom all assumed their citizenship
in it by circumcision at eight days old. None of the
children of Israel could defer their token of fealty
later than this. To do so was fatal, and excluded
them from the congregation of God's people. Now,
in saying, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven," he
does not mean that all in the Church are infants,
but he means that all were infants at their entrance
into the kingdom of heaven. He refers to their
initiation, which always (except in some few  instances of proselytism) occurred in their infancy.
As if the husbandman should say to his servants,
take care of the tender blades, for of such is the harvest; or as if the fruitist should say, guard and train
the young shoots of the nursery, for of such are the
fruits of the orchard. In the Church were none but
such as had taken their membership -therein during
their earliest infancy-and infancy, therefore, was the
hope of the Church. Well might Jesus rebuke those
who proposed to shut out these infant disciples from
his notice, and veil these budding honors of his vineyard from  his eyes. Well might he say, "Suffer
little children to come unto me,.for of such- is the
kingdom of heaven."  So far as I have read, this is a
novel exposition of this passage.; but it is certainly
the most natural exposition, and strong reasons must'be urged to set it aside.
Now recollect, that at the time Jesus uttered these




296                 SERMONS.
words, and claimed for the circumcised children the.
immunities of the Church, or kingdom of God, whatever in the Abrahamic covenant was (as some will
affirm) contrary to,. or inconsistent with, the Christian covenant. had passed. away. John, the forerunner
of Christ, had accomplished his work, and the kingdom of Immanuel was then being set up. If the dispensations essentially differed, the Abrahamic was.
expiring, and the Christian was assuming its place.
Yet, just then, to his own disciples who were to follow his words and example in their future ministry,
he most solemnly, and in opposition to their apparent
wishes, confirms the membership of little children in
the Church; He rebukes their unadvised interposition, takes the children ion his arms, and, laying his.
hands on them, pronounces the blessings of the covenant, sealed by circumcision, upon these infant disciples. Turn now to these very disciples who, in regard
to children and the treatment they were to experience
under the regimen of the Gospel, had received a lesson which they were most unlikely ever to forget.
The vivid recollection of. Christ's displeasure, when
they rebuked the parents who brought their children.
to Jesus, would be likely to remain with them forever.
If Peter, that rash man, who was so apt to commit
indiscretions, was the offending disciple, as is probable, he would remember an occurrence which had so
displeased his Lord, and he would remember, too, the
saying of Jesus after the resurrection: "Feed my
sheep and feed my lambs." Let us go forward, then,
to the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached his
first sermon, and see if there are any indications that




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            29-7
these circumstances dwelt upon his mind. Should a
Baptist minister, as has been the case, discover his
error concerning children, and find that, like Peter,
he had been laboring to keep them away from Christ,
when Christ himself was striving to call them to him,
he would make amends by preaching infant baptism
in every sermon. So does Peter. The very first
sermon contains provisions, not only for the sheep,
but for the lambs: "Repent and be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you [here
is food for the sheep] and to your children" [this is
for the lambs.] Doubtless,' at that moment, the scene
recorded in Mark was before him. In his mind's eye
he saw Jesus hold the infant disciples in his arms,
and with the authority of Godhead vindicate their
claim to the. covenant by which the Church had its
very being. If you will substitute covenant for promise, and seed for children, in this language of Peter,
you will have the declaration of an inspired apostle concerning Abraham and. his children: "The
covenant was to Abraham and his seed." So under
the preaching of Peter: "The covenant is to you
and to your seed;" for covenant and promise, as well
as children and seed, mean the same things.
Now consider that God directed the seal of circumcision to be extended to infants because the covenant extended to them. The seal and the covenant
must be coextensive, and as the covenant was to
Abraham and his seed, both must be circumcised.
But under the Gospel, Peter declares, "The cov



298                  SERMONS.
enant is- [still] to you and' toyour seed." What, then,
would be the inference?  If the Gospel covenant is
to.our children, (would the Jew say,) then the Gospel
seal (baptism) is to our children also. For where is
the validity of a covenant without a seal? And -who
would ever think of inserting the name of a person
in the body of a covenant: as one of'; its -parties, and
then'refuse that person's seal in executing the inst:rument?. That' baptism is the Christian circumcision,
that is, performs the'same sealing office -in the, cov
enant of grace now as circumcision did formerly, is
plain from the language of Paul, in Colossians ii, II,
I2.- Here baptism  is expressly called the circumcision of Christ, that is, the circumcision instituted
by Christ-the Christian circumcision.
3. Our last argument in favor of infant baptism is
the example'of the apostles, as illustrated by sacred
and ecclesiastical history.
(I.) Sacred history is principally that portion of
the' New Testament called the Acts of the Apostles.
There we' have.several baptisms'recorded..If you
will carefully examine them  you.will find that about
one-third: of the whole are family baptisms; that is,
baptizing men and women, with their households or
families. In Paul's ministry with one:.Church (Corinth) the proportion between the' individual and' family: baptisms -is not as. stated above, namely, one-third,
but::two-thirds.. He baptized at Corinth,. Crispus and
Gaius, and the household'of Stephanas." But we learn
from: the Acts.that the family of Crispus, also,'was
baptized.. Now we must judge of, the' apostles'.unrecorded acts by'.what are recorded.  If there.are




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            299
twelve' baptizings noticed in' Acts, and:four of the
twelve are family baptisms, then we may calculate
that in I,200 baptizings 400 would be family baptisms. Some of these families are said to have heard
the Word and to have believed, but of other families
it is expressly declared that the parent believed, and
all the family was baptized. See the case of Lydia,
Acts xvi, 15. I have no dry criticisms to make on
these facts of sacred history. There is a surer way
to understand them  and apply them  in argument.
The apostles were missionaries. As they went from
one heathen city to another some were converted.
In the Acts you have a brief register of things that
transpired in their missionary tours. Now we have
missionaries abroad, and so -have Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Baptists. Suppose now it were announced that a missionary from abroad would give an
account of his labors in the First Presbyterian Church
to-night. Suppose you should go, and on the way
should learn that he is not a Presbyterian minister,
but is either'a Baptist, an Episcopalian, or a Methodist, you know not which. Suppose he should go on
to state that there had been a glorious revival in the
field of his:labor, in. which thousands of. poor heathen
cast away their idols, and were baptized into the
Christian: faith. "I will give you," he says,." some
examples of the conversion.of heathen. The- work
commenced in such a:city. Myself. and my colleague
commenced' preaching there without any special encouragement,. and,.to our surprise, thousands who
gathered around and.listened to us, became so affected
that theydrowned our voices. We directed them to




300               SERMON'S.
the Lamb of God, and before night 300 of them
were baptized. This great work was noised abroad
among the heathen all about the country, and, when
we left that city, go where we might, the poor heathens were full of curiosity to see us, and many among
them were disposed to listen to our instructions. For
example, one day on a journey a man overtook me
and invited me to ride with him. He had heard about
the strange upturning in the city, and began immediately to question me. I explained to him and pre.
sented Jesus as a Savior. He listened and wept, and,
as we happened upon a place where there was water,
he wished to be baptized, and I baptized him on the
spot.. On another occasion, a savage wretch, to whom
I spoke a few words, became so infuriated that I was
in danger; but a sudden change came over him: the
Holy Spirit found way to his heart, he became meek
as a lamb, took me to his house, called all the family
together, and, after a short exhortation, I baptized the
whole family. On another occasion I. found a company of women on the bank of a river, where I had
been accustomed to seek retirement and pray with
the converts. I took advantage of it and preached
Jesus to them. One respectible woman was converted, and I baptized her and all her family, and
afterward found a very pleasant missionary's home at
her house. Another very interesting family in the
same neighborhood I also baptized, and its members
have been devoted Christians ever since."
Here he finishes his narrative. As you turn away
from the Church would you take that man to be a
Baptist missionary? If you have been accustomed




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            301
to read the reports of their missionary from foreign
lands, you certainly would not. They give no account
of baptisms performed the very day that the persons
were struck under conviction, nor scarcely any of
the baptism of families. We do not believe that you
can find ten instances upon record among all the
Baptist missionary reports, where a whole household
or family is reported to have been baptized either
with or without conversion. The language which describes baptisms by the apostles is just such as might
be expected from a Methodist missionary in giving an
account of conversions among the heathen. Now we
have in this form of narrating baptisms, which embraced whole families, strong presumptive proof that
the apostles baptized infants.
(2.) But we do not rest on presumptions, however
violent. We have confirmation strong.  Ecclesiastical history pours a flood of light upon this subject.
It renders the baptism of infants by the apostles just
as certain as it is that the apostles baptized at all.
We can. trace the practice of infant baptism up to
the first century, and find it was then spoken of as a
universal practice which had never been called in
question.
Justin Martyr is our first witness. He was born
during the first century.  He doubtless conversed
with old persons in -his youth who had seen the
apostles themselves. He speaks of disciples who
were then sixty or seventy years old, and says they
were made disciples in their infancy. If made disciples they were baptized in their infancy.
Irenaeus was born in the year 97. Polycarp, who




302                 SERMOXlS.
was a disciple of the Apostle John, instructed
Irenaeus, and.doubtless informed him what John himself had said and done in regard to infants. -:.When
you hear Irenaeus speak, then you hear his teacher
Polycarp; and when you hear Polycarp you hear his:
teacher, John, the beloved disciple. But this Irenmeus.says: " Christ. came to save all persons who by him
are born again unto God; infants and little ones, and
children, and youths, and elder persons."  By "being
born again," Irenaeus shows in others of his writings
that he means being baptized.
Clement of Alexandria was born about fifty years
later, and he says, "If any one be a fisherman let him
think of an apostle and children. taken out of the
water."  Clement is here directing Christians what
sort of images to engrave on their seal rings, and
directs fishermen to choose the image of an apostle
baptizing infants.
Tertullian was the first person who ever urged
the delay of baptism in the case of infants.. He was
contemporary with Irenaeus, and the manner in which
he urges the delay of baptism proves that the common practice was to baptize them..  He does not
pretend that the apostles did not baptize them, and,
of course, implicitly grants that they did. For if they
did not it was as well known to him, as it is known
to..us whether or not Mr. Wesley baptized them.
Tertullian's language on this subject proves that the
apostles and their immediate successors baptized infants very young, for he does not speak. against baptizing children, but urges that it should -be delayed..Origen, who was the most learned of all. the




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.             303
fathers,  was born I84' years, after Christ, He says,
first, "that infants are baptized for the remission of
their sins," and, secondly, "that the Church has received the tradition from the apostles that baptism
ought to be administered. to infants."
Cyprian, who lived and wrote at the same time
with Origen, says that "sixty-six bishops, being convened in a council at Carthage, had the question.
referred to them, whether infants might be baptized
before they were eight days old, and decided unanimously that no infant is to be prohibited from the
benefit of baptism. although but just born."
Now, consider for a moment the testimony of
these two'men. Their writings are in our hands,
and are just as well authenticated as the writings of
the New Testament. That is, we are as certain that
they wrote what passes for their writings as we are
that, Matthew wrote one of the Gospels, or Paul the
Epistle to the Romans. It was impossible for them
not to know with moral certainty whether infant baptism  was.practiced by the apostles.  They lived
much nearer to the times of the apostles than we do
to the times of Luther, and Calvin, and Knox. Now,
is it possible for us to be ignorant of Calvin's views
on the subject of infant baptism? It is not possible.
Yet Origen.and. Cyprian lived one hundred years
nearer to the:apostles and to.the Savior than we do
to John Calin..And one of them has left'it written
with his own.::hand that infants are baptized for'the
remission of.. sins,'.and that. the Church has received
the usage from the apostles; while the other testifies
that. a council:f si y-six s.bishops, when the question




304                SERMONS.
was put to them whether infants might be'baptized
before they were eight days old, decided without one
dissenting vote, that no infant is to be prohibited
from the benefit of baptism, although but just born.
A man who can get rid of this proof of the apostolic
origin of infant baptism can get rid of dying.
Now let us come down the stream of ecclesiastical
history, touching at different points, and see how the
Church in different centuries stood affected on this
subject.
Gregory Nazianzen was born 330 years after
Christ. He exhorts parents to offer their children to
God in baptism.
St. Augustine, whose name as a writer of'prodigious industry and of great eminence is familiar to
many of you, was born about 354 years after Christ.
He says: "The whole Church practices infant baptism; it was not instituted by councils, but was always in use."  Another remark of this celebrated
father should be inscribed in the memory of every
Christian parent. He says that he does not remember
ever to have read of any person, Catholic or heretic,
who maintained that baptism ought to be denied to
infants. This baptism, he says, the Church has always
maintained.
Pelagius, a contemporary and learned antagonist
of Augustine's, says that "he never knew a heretic so
impious as to deny that infants are to be baptized."
This testimony was from one who denied the doctrine
of native depravity. And when Augustine inferred
an argument in proof of that depravity from the
baptism of infants, Pelagius, instead of avoiding the




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            305
argument by denying infant baptism, which he would
have done, if possible, declares that he never knew
one so impious as to deny baptism to infants. You
will readily perceive that he did not live in our day.
~ In the first four hundred years of the Church,
Tertullian was the only solitary person who objected
to infant baptism generally, and he only wished it delayed. For nearly I200 years after our Savior's crucifixion, the baptism of infants was uiniversal and
uninterrupted, and not a society or an individual, except Tertullian, suggested its inutility, nor did he
dispute its lawfulness or its apostolic origin.
In the year I120 a small sect of Waldenses opposed it, but they soon came to nothing, and for 400
years there was no opposition. Then, at last, in 1500
years after our Savior's death, and after infant baptism had been so long an undisputed usage in the
Church, the settled opposition arose, and for three
hundred years past has produced no little opposition
to this practice.
And now, if, as we have seen, the commission
given by Jesus to his disciples embraces all nations
and every (human) creature; if infants are capable of
their sustaining a covenant relation to God, by the
act of parents; if they have been embraced in every
leading covenant which God has made with mankind;
if the seals of these covenants have always been put
upon them; if Jesus Christ pronounced them members of the Church, what presumption is it in mortals to shut the door of the Church, which he left
so wide open, saying, "Suffer them  to come unto
me!" Do they who take on themselves this respon26




306                SERMONS.
sibility imagine that they will succeed? When the
millennium shall have come, and all nations shall be
gathered in —when all the ends of the earth shall
turn to the Lord, and all shall know him, from the
least unto the greatest-when the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the
seas, and all the kingdoms of this world shall become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; shall
infants alone be then excluded from the visible kingdom of God? Without baptism they. must be excluded. None can enter that kingdom without being
born of water as well as of the Spirit. And while all
the world is admitted, shall the innocency of childhood be excluded?  Shall all be permitted to approach the tree of life-shall all be permitted to
survey with holy exhilaration the splendors of that
goodly scene-shall all be the seed of the promise
and the circumcised of the Lord except little children? Was it left to the Gospel alone-that Gospel
which was intended to be the most. expanded and
catholic covenant of God with man-that. Gospel
which was intended to- break over the contracted
bounds of all former covenants, and embrace a worldwas it left to this Gospel of mercy to do what none
of the partial and exclusive covenants had ever done
before, namely, shut out from its purview and sacraments the sinless portion of our race-those that
were unfortunate, but not actually guilty-those whose
natures are defiled but whose wills have not. transgressed? Is it true that the good news announced
at the advent, embraced the disfranchisement of
helpless and suffering infancy, which till then had been




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.           307,
embraced in every covenant of mercy? Is it true that
the Star of Bethlehem stood over where Immanuel
was,.to warn the nations that the slumbering babe
whose birth had just awakened the jubilee of the universe, (like the dragon which drew the third part of the
stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth,) was
about to sweep from the spheres where the God of
Abraham had placed them, constellations upon which
at that moment his own infant glory shed a new and
unfading luster? Blessed Jesus! thou who hast sanctified infancy by passing through all its stages and
assuming all its weaknesses and prerogatives! have
mercy on those who would select the objects of thine
unconditional complacency, as the only beings in this
redeemed world, who may not share in thy covenanted smiles, who may not claim those exceeding
great and precious promises which were intended as
crowning tokens of thy universal and everlasting
love.!




308                     SERMONS.
XVII.
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.
SECOND DISCOURSE.
THE CEREMONY.
"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing ihem in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to
observe all thitgs whatsoever I command you.". Matthew xxviii, I9, 20.
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel
to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he
that believedt not shall be damned." Mark xvi, 15, i6.
N  our former discourse we spoke of the ministers
of baptism, its significancy, and its subjects; we
come now to invite your attention to the ceremony of
baptism, or to the  manner in which  the  element
should be applied. Here the difference which exists
between us and our opponents should be understood.
It is briefly this:  We believe that the word baptixe
is generic, or directs the application of water to the
person in any convenient form, especially by sprinkling, pouring, and immersion. They believe that the
meaning of the word is specific, or directs the application of water in one form only, namely, immersion.
We shall endeavor to vindicate our views from the
following considerations:
I. THE ANALOGY OF GOSPEL ORDINANCES.
II. THE EMBLEMATIC SIGNIFICANCY OF BAPTISM.




CHRISTIAAN BAPTISM.           309
III. THE MEANING OF THE WORD BAPTIZE.
IV. THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST'S APOSTLES.
I. We vindicate our views, first, from the analogy
of Gospel ordinances.
The Jewish rites were burdensome. An apostle declares that neither they nor their fathers were
able to bear them. Christ intended to introduce in
the place of onerous ceremonies, a yoke which is
easy and a burden which is light. But if he commanded his disciples to go and immerse all nations,
he laid on them a more embarrassing service than
any which belonged to the priests of the tabernacle,
or temple. He imposed on the people of many nations'a greater outward burden than any Jewish
ceremony from which the Gospel relieved them. Remember that there are nations toward the poles, and
in'the deserts, as well as in temperate climes, and in
watered and fertile regions; and as the millennium
dawns, all these dwellers at the poles, and in the
deserts, are to "catch the flying joy." Are they to
be immersed? It is impossible, and, therefore, the
command would be unreasonable. In Labrador, Winter continues nine months in the year. During six
of these months the streams are congealed to their
bottoms, and a minister of the Gospel could scarcely
collect wood from the scanty shrubs of the country
to thaw ice enough to immerse a penitent.  Could
he do this,:the water poured from a kettle into a font
would freeze faster than he could heat it. Without
a miracle his baptistery would congeal before he could
fill it and. prepare for the ceremony. In parts of
Asia and Africa whole tribes wander in Saharas, and




310                SERMO.V'S.
make the sands of the desert their homes. Their
whole country would scarcely accumulate a fountain
large enough to bathe the person. There, if the religion of the wanderers require ablutions, the ceremony is often performed by using the sands of the
desert, sprinkling it over them instead of water.
To such,'has Christ left a command which obliges
them  to be immersed? You may say that in the
Polar regions they must baptize in Summer. I answer, the apostles did not delay. They almost invariably baptized their converts on the day that they
were struck under conviction. One waited a few
days and was reproved for doing it. "And now why
tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized," etc. Again,
our opponents can not delay baptism through our
short Winter, and how can they expect others to delay
two or three times longer? Will you say, again, that
the desert tribes must travel into well-watered regions for baptism? I answer, how would it suit our
poorest people to travel with their families from fifty
to one hundred miles to obtain baptism?  Is. this
the "easy yoke" of Christ?  Is this the spirit of
Christ's declaration to the woman of Samaria-" The
time is coming when neither at Jerusalem, nor in
this mountain shall men worship-but they that
worship the Father shall worship him in spirit and
in truth."
You may say, again, that all the people of Jewry
went to Jordan, unto John,' to be baptized of him. I
answer, that was the baptism of penance, or repentance, and not Christian baptism; whereas, after the
resurrection of Christ, no man or woman is repre



CHRISTIAVN BAPTISM.           31 1'
sented ever to have moved one step from the spot
where they were converted to obtain baptism. Now,
as the command to immerse the nations would have
been unreasonable, because often impossible, every
presumption is against it.
But presumption is not proof. It only prepares
the way for proof. It inclines a judicious mind to
receive and to be satisfied with proof when it comes.
And yet this presumption:approaches near to proof,
for this reason. All other Gospel ordinances, except
this, are easy and attractive. The sacrament of the
Supper is so. It does not consist of costly feasts
and flowing libations. A few ounces of bread and a
gill of wine will serve a man in this sacrament, for
his life-time. If all other Gospel ordinances are so
easy and expenseless, if -the other sacrament -is so
well adapted to every condition and every clime, analogy claims that baptism, the sister sacrament, be
equally facile and accessible to all-to the dwellers at
the Equator and at the poles, in the desert and on
the seas; to the strong and active, and to the timid,
the sick, and the dying.
II. We vindicate sprinkling and pouring by referring to the symbolic significancy of baptism.
On this point we shall say but a few words. We
introduce it to relieve ourselves of one or two objections frequently urged against aspersion or affusion.
One is founded upon Romans vi, 3, 4: "Know ye not
that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were'baptized into his death? Therefore we are
*buried with him by baptism into death; that, like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of




3 12                SERMONS.
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
of life."  The second is Colossians ii, 12: "Buried
with him in baptism, wherein also we are risen with
him, through..the faith of the operation of God, who
hath raised him from the-dead."
They who urgethese texts in opposition to pouring" and in favor of immersion, suppose that by descending into. the water and rising out of it again,
they copy the blessed Savior's burial and resurrection.
How strange it is that they do not pause to look at
the history of Christ's burial and resurrection, and
thus correct an impression which has no other foundation than.their own fruitful fancies! How, I pray
you,. was our Divine Redeemer buried?  Have you
supposed that the earth overwhelmed him';- that the
clay, like waters, closed over his sacred person? His
burial was much more like our repose in a chamber,
than it was like the-usual interring of -the dead. We
are told in the history that Joseph wrapped the:body
in linen and laid it in a sepulcher. This sepulcher
was so spacious that, on the morning of the: first day
of the week, it was occupied by two angels, who
were sitting, the one at the head and the other at the
foot, where the body of Jesus was laid. What is there
in'immersion which bears the least resemblance to
such a burial? The resemblance is just as striking as
it is between immersion and crucifixion, or immersion
and planting, in the next verses. The apostle represents us as buried with, as planted in, and as crucified:with Christ, by baptism. If immersion resembles
Christ's burial, how does it represent the planting
or crucifixion?




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            313
-Suppose I should undertake to prove sprinkling
from these texts of Scripture, by seizing on that particular passage: "Knowing this, that our old -man is
crucified with him," etc. When our Savior was crucified, his blood, pouring from his wounds, was sprinkled
upon his ow-n raiment. The crown of thorns, the
nails in his hands, and. the soldier's spear, stained his
limbs, and countenance, and vesture. This was probably the very baptism to which he referred when he
said: " I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how
am I straightened," etc. Much more plausibly may I
plead for sprinkling, then, because it resembles the
crucifixion of Christ, than for immersion, because it
resembles his burial, that is, his reposing in a spacious
sepulcher.
You may ask what is the meaning of these texts?'I answer, if you insist, that baptism represents certain states in which the body of Jesus was at different
times, as: his crucifixion, death, burial, etc. I should
conclude that some of the Romans' were immersed,
some were sprinkled, some were poured upon, and
some stood in the water while the ceremony was performed. Those who were immersed, you may'say if
you choose, were buried with Christ-though that is
the most awkward comparison of all. Those who
were sprinkled were crucified with him by water aspersion, resembling the blood from the wounds inflicted by the thorns and the nails. Those who stood
in the'stream to be thus sprinkled were Iplanted with
him in the likeness of his death, like the roots of a
tree planted in the soil. Thus the baptisms in the
Church at Rome must have been as various, if this
27




314                SERMONS.
is the meaning of these passages, as they are among
the Methodists. But, although we doubt not that
their baptisms were various in mode-though all one
in regard to the name into which they were baptized,
as it is said, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism"- yet
we do not believe that these passages have any regard to external mode. They teach us simply that in
our baptism we profess to be dead and buried to sin
and to the world, and to be alive to holiness and to
God. This is the foundation of a special claim upon
us to "walk in newness of life." The import of the
words is much the same as those in Galatians iii, 27:
"For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ, [that is, by water and the Spirit,] have put on
Christ"- that is, have put on the profession, and have
assumed the tempers of love and loyalty to Christ.
Having disposed of these objections to pouring
and sprinkling, I infer from the signification of water
baptism as an emblem, the propriety of these modes.
The signification of baptism, as a religious ordinance,
is purzfication. In almost all religions, washing with
water, to signify inward purity, was thought a suitable
preparation for sacrifice and worship. Purifications,
under the law of Moses, were multiplied; and these
were not for the cleansing of the body; for, however
free this might be from defilement, there were legal
cleansings, which had no other aim than to shadow
purity of mind. In the times of John the Baptist it
was expected that the Messiah would baptize, and
that his baptism would be an emblem of purification.
We find that a question arose among some, of
John's disciples and the Jews about "purifying," and




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            315
from  the conversation which immediately followed
with John himself, (John iii,-25, 26,) we learn that
this purifying was baptism. Here, then, all -disputes
about the. emblematic signification of baptism are at
an end. Baptism is an emblem of inwardpurification.
But inward purification is procured by the blood and
the Spirit of Christ. If, then, we can ascertain how
the blood and the Spirit are applied to the soul and
the conscience, from their application we can infer a
strong presumption in regard to the mode or modes
of water baptism. As to the blood of Christ, it is
represented, first, as "sprinkling" our hearts, etc.,
second, "unto Him who hath loved us and washed us
from our sins in his own blood." The Spirit is represented as "poured out."  From the sprinkling, and
washing, and pouring, we infer that either of the
three modes is warranted and is perfectly satisfactory.
III. But we proceed to consider the meaning of
the word baptize. If, as immersionists fondly insist, it
means, in the New Testament, to immerse, and nothing else, then all argument for any other mode is
good for nothing. This is a point which involves
philological criticism, but if the speaker were prepared for this, his audience is not prepared to go
along with him. There is a more instructive and a
surer method. It is an appeal to Christ, and to the
inspired philologists. They sometimes used Greek
words and phrases in a sense in which they were
never used before. How else could they have spoken
truths which had never entered into the conceptions
of Greeks, or other Gentiles?  Even Nicodemus
could not, at first, receive the sublime import of the




3 16                SER'MONS.
Savior's use of the Greek words "born again." "As
the New Testament doctrines and ordinances have a
higher and often. different significancy from any thing
known -to the.heathen world, so the New Testament
writers must have. used'the Greek language often in
a higher and: even. distinct!sense from what native
Greeks assigned it.. " The question' for the Christian,
and the Christian minister, is not what is the classical
import of a word, but what is its Biblical and evangelical import. The.question. is not how Homer, and
Plutarch, and Sophocles used them, but how did -our
Savior and the sacred writers use them? And we
shall always find that the Bible explains its own use
of terms.
If'there is no occasion to change the meaning of
words, and the Scriptures do not require any change,
they are to be used in their usual and classical sense.
But if there be undoubted tokens that the inspired
penman, or the Divine Redeemer, used a word in an
unusual or unclassical sense, to array proofs to the
contrary from the ancient usages of speech is irrelevant, skeptical, and profane. The, only question for
us, then,' is what Christ and his disciples mean by
the word baptize. These baptisms are spoken of by
John.'These are distinguished by the elements with
which they are performed. The first is by water,
the second is:.by;the" Holy Ghost,'the third. is by fire.
Two of these, water and fire, are symbolical,:and are
merely designed -to: shadow forth or signify what'is
real and substantial.  Now  we- can determine the
meaning of the'word baptize, in the: Scriptural sense,
if'we can ascertain -how either: of' these baptisms- was




CHRISTI AN BAP TISM.           3 I 7
performed. In- each, case, an element is. applied to
the person of the baptized. We -say to the person,'for the soul and' body: both belong to the person.
How, then, is' the element used? Water -is one element. The Scriptures are examined- to ascertain how
it was used, and a controversy arises. Some say it
was used in one form, some say in.- another. Ninetenths of the Christian.world insist it. was.applied in
any.convenient form and quantity; one-tenth, more
or less, say it was applied only by immersion. Who
shall settle'the question, and'how?. Any one:. may
settle it by traveling on through the New Testament
and ascertaining how the" other.baptisms were performed. What was' the.'mode of baptism'  by':the
Spirit?  To ascertain'this, you: must- go to Peter's
sermon on the day of Pentecost.'" A'fter the company
of the apostles had:been baptized:. by the Spirit, and
were filled with. the Holy.Ghost, Peter stands up,
and says to the' wondering multitude, who accused
them of wine-bibbing, "These are not drunken, as
ye suppose; but this is that spoken by the prophet
Joel, And -it shall come. to pass'in the last days,
saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and
your sons and- your daughters shall prophesy. And
on. my servants' and on  my handmaidens I will: pour
out, in' those days, of my Spirit, and- they shall
prophesy."'Acts ii, I 7, I8. "'And-this is repeated in
another form, verse 33:: "Therefore [Jesus]- being
by the right hand'of::.Go.d exalted, and having received of the Father th:e'promise of the Holy Ghost,
hath shed forth -this which'ye now see and hear."
There are two other portions of Scripture which




318                 SERMONS.
we wish you to connect with these -passages, and we
are- sure that you can scarcely again, without great
weakness, not to say irreverence, doubt whether pouring is valid baptism: The first is in Matthew iii, I I
"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance;
but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Boly Ghost and with fire."  This is
an early announcement of Christ's future office, when
he should ascend upon high to give gifts unto men.
The other is in Acts i, 5: "For John truly baptized
with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy
Ghost, not many days hence." This is the language
of Christ himself, uttered after his resurrection. And
just as he was about to ascend into heaven, he said
as his last words, "It is not for you to know the
times and the seasons which the Father hath put in
his own power; but ye shall receive power after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you."  Thus, three years
before our Savior's crucifixion, John says that Jesus
shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
Then, only ten days before Pentecost, Christ says:
" Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many
days hence."  And then, again, in the eighth verse,
Christ signifies the form of that baptism, which was
so near: "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy
Ghost is come uzpon you "-not when it has immersed
you. Ten days after, Pentecost arrives, the promised
baptism comes, and Peter, in the language of the
prophet Joel, says that this baptism is the "pouring
out" of the Spirit-that "Christ, having received of
the Father the:-promise of the Holy Ghost, has shed




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.             319
forth this which you now see and hear." In these
passages we have the testimony of John, of Peter,
and of Jesus Christ, to say nothing of the prophecy
of Joel. Jesus was to baptize, His baptism was to
be spiritual. He never did baptize with water in
any one instance. If he did not baptize with the
Holy Ghost, and with fire, he never baptized at all.
But, unless pouring is baptizing, he never did baptize
with the Holy Ghost. Every prophecy and every
narrative in all God's Holy Booki that speaks of any
manner or mode of giving the Holy Spirit, uses language which signifies the descent of the Spirit upon
the subject.
Now, did Christ, or did he not, baptize? If he did,
his only mode of baptizing was by pouri'ng. And while
he thus baptizes we shall be glad to follow his example. The efforts of our opponents to escape the force
of this argument are enough to relax the muscles of
grave logic into a smile. We will notice two of them:
First, they say that the disciples were really immersed in the Holy Ghost, for the narrative states
that the Spirit filled all the house where they were
sitting. This is a mistake. "The sound as of a
mighty rushing wind filled all the house where they
were sitting;" but the Holy Ghost is not mentioned
till the second verse after. The order of events was
as follows: I. The miraculous "sound as of a rushing mighty wind," as the precursor of the baptism; 2.
The appearance of the "divided tongues, as of fire,
sitting upon each of them," as the symbol both of
the mode and the reality of the baptism: the
mode "sitting upon."-the reality, spiritual purifying,




320                 SERMONS.
symbolized by "fire;" 3. The plain, historic account
of the meaning and the effect, "they were all- filled
with the Holy Ghost."
The other evasion is, that this is a mere figurative
baptism. A figurative baptism! And who drew the
figure? The Lord Jesus Christ. And he pictures
himself as shedding down and pouring out the Holy
Ghost on the people to baptize them! How do our
opponents sketch the same scene?  Instead of the
element being poured out from above, they insist
that we must drop the baptized into the element beneath. As they picture it, all flesh is poured out
into the Holy Spirit, instead of the Holy Spirit being"poured out upon all flesh."  Christ says the Holy
Spirit shall come upon the disciples, but they will have
it that the disciples come upon (into) the Holy Spirit.
Now, whose authority shall we prefer, theirs or their
Savior's? Indeed, we will not hesitate. If our Savior's baptism be a figure, we thank him for a figure
which reveals the true mode of baptism, and sets our
hearts at rest forever. But it is not a figure. It is
the prototype, the substance shadowed forth by a
figure, and that figure is water baptism. This doctrine is carried out upon the face of all those announcements of John Baptist and Jesus, above
noticed, whose baptism  by water and by the Holy
Ghost are conjoined. And if spiritual baptism is the
thing signified, water baptism, which signifies it,
should conform to it in mode as well as idea, in order
to be a perfect type.
There is another baptism mentioned by John and
narrated in Acts. That is by fire. "Ye shall be




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            321i
baptized with. the Holy' Ghost and with. fire."' And
what is the mode? "Cloven tongues like as of fire
sat upon each of them."  They were not immersed in
fire.: If our opponents insist that the baptism of the
Spirit was a figure, they ought to yield that the baptism of fire was not. Here, at last, the element -was
material. The form of human tongues which the fire,
or the semblance of fire, took, symbolized the'many
languages in which they were to proclaim the'Word
of God; also the new power of the tongue, now. to be
imparted for the general preaching'and teaching of
the Gospel. The fire symbolized the intensity of"
that spiritual'purification which they were now to
receive, and also the energy and searching power.of
the words which their tongues should utter.  - But the
manner of this'baptism by fire was identical with that
of the:: Holy:Ghost. Here, then, we should' expect
that controversy would end, and that the meaning of
the! word baptize, as used by our blessed Savior,' would
be settled'forever.'I would as soon think: of carrying
a Greek Lexicon up to the throne of God, to teach
the Almighty Savior what he does not understand, as
to trifle with his holy Word and: example by opposing
the -classical meaning of baptizo to his perpetual'baptizing by pouring.
This example of our Savior's baptizing has less
weight with weak minds, because the Holy Spirit'is
invisible. -But we should- consider that the action of
the Spirit is as -exactly described as though we saw'it
visibly descend like rain from the cloud. His emblem, fire, was -visible. Suppose you could see it' descend like falling light, or' like gentle showers'on: an




322               SERMONS.
assembly of Christ's worshipers, and, at the same
moment, should hear the voice of Jesus, like the sound
of many waters, proclaim, "I baptize you with the
Holy Ghost,'" would you meet. the Son of God with a
contradiction? Would the voices of those who plead
for immersion break out amidst the pauses of the Redeemer's benediction, and say, "Stop, Savior. Thou
art mistaken. This is not baptizing. This is what
we call on earth rantizing, or sprinkling, and thou art
wrong, either in thy deed or in thy word."  0 how
often, in the midst of revivals, may this folly have
been committed!
In a communication narrating a revival of religion,
I have found a man writing in one clause, " God has
poured out his Spirit in showers, and numbers have
been converted," and in the next clause he has
thoughtlessly added, "I have baptized thirteen, while
our pedobaptist friends have rantized [sprinkled]
twenty-five.' Did this brother perceive how that word
rantize bore on his own description of the baptism of
the Spirit?. He had just said, " God has poured out
his Spirit in showers." This was Christ's baptism.
Then, a moment after, he ridicules the -sprinkling or
pouring of another branch of the Church, and denies
it the name of baptism, though it is the very act
which he ascribes to'Jesus in baptizing with the Holy
Ghost. We lament the ways and means which good
men sometimes take to guard indefensible positions.
If the baptism of the Holy Ghost is indeed by immersion, let our opposing brethren -adapt their phraseology to that fact. Let them  always say, "God
has -immersed a multitude in the Holy Ghost, and we




CHR IS'TIAN BAPTISM..323
have immersed so many in water."  If they will thus
adhere to their opinions, we will adhere to ours, and
describe our revivals by saying, God poured out his
Spirit on the people and baptized them with the Holy
Ghost, and we poured out water- on the people and
baptized them for admission into the Church. This
would hold up our several views in undisguised features before the world, and all men could discern
what is attractive and what is repulsive in each. But
I close this head by remarking, that after all the
efforts of our opponents to prove that baptize means
nothing but immersion, in almost every notice of
revivals of religion, they yield the point and- make
that word mean pouring. They do this just as often
as they say, "God has poured out his Spirit," and
revived his work.
IV. Lastly, we infer sprinkling or pouring as valid
water baptism, from  the practice of the apostles.
It seems most remarkable that it should be necessary to resort to the example of the apostles to
vindicate pouring, when we have, without the least
dispute, the example of Christ himself. That he always baptized by pouring-by no other method —we
have clearly seen. And if Christ and his apostles
differed, if he baptized by pouring and they by immersion, we should unhesitatingly follow the example
of the Savior. But I believe that the apostles generally, after the crucifixion, baptized by pouring.
There is a foundation laid by our opponents
themselves to prove this point very satisfactorily.
This you will learn from the sequel.
In arguing for immersion exclusively, it is custom



324                SERMONS.
ary to resort to:the ministry of John, and- show from
the circumstances that he must have: immersed. The
circumstances are supposed to be such as would not
have existed without painstaking; and such as would
have provoked no pains but for the fact that John
wished to immerse.  For instance, the Evangelist
informs us that "there went out all Judea and Jerusalem, and all the regions round about Jordan,
and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their
sins."  This, our opponents say, was by immersion;
else why did they go all the way to Jordan? If they
were sprinkled or poured, a. bowl. of water would'have
answered, and this could easily have been procured
without resorting to Jordan. Now recollect this comment, for it is of great importance in the remarks
which follow. It embraces two reasons for resorting
to Jordan to baptize. One is that there was water
in Jordan to immerse, and the other is that..there was
not water in the cities for that purpose. Very. well,
so let it be. We are content to have.it understood.
that John immersed, and that he went to Bethabara,
beyond Jordan, because he could find water there for
that ceremony; and that he was also in AEnon, near
to Salem, for the same reason, namely, because water
could not be found in the cities to immerse, but was
abundant in.AEnon. All'we ask is that our opponents will abide by their own positions.  -
But, finally, John is beheaded, and Christ is crucified. The office and the baptism of Christ's herald,
or'forerunner, are superseded. The baptism of Jesus
Christ by the Spirit is introduced, and in one day
three thousand who have received that baptism by




CHR ISTIA N BAPTISM.         325
the shedding of the Holy Ghost upon them, believe,
and wish to be received into the visible Church.
This, is done, and on one'afternoon three thousand
are baptized and admitted.
But where.is this wonderful. scene laid? It was
undoubtedly the greatest "baptizing " ever witnessed
in one half day. John baptized for months, but
probably he never baptized so many in any one week
as were baptized on that occasion. Suppose it had
been done in Jordan. This would have been very
convenient. The place where John dipped the multitudes was known to many, and this would have saved
some hours of searching after a good place where the,
minister and candidates could get down the steep
bank, find still water and good bottom. But here are
difficulties. First, Jordan was twenty miles distant;
and, secondly, one man could not baptize three thousand in half a day.'And if all the disciples helped, they
would want a great many places-some say a hundred
and twenty. Now, it would puzzle any man to find
places on the Ohio in one afternoon where one hundred and twenty ministers could baptize at once.
And Jordan was less convenient still, being a small
stream, with bold banks, and generally rocky bed, and
rapid.. Even in Jordan, then, the baptism of three
thousand by immersion would have been difficult, at
least for the time allowed.
But this occurrence was not at the Jordan, nor
among the many waters of Anon. It was at Jerusalem itself that the three thousand were baptized, and
this fact is alone: a moral demonstration that they
were not immersed. We know as well as we know




326                SERMONVS.
any thing that can not be otherwise, that they were
not immersed.
First, there is not a city in America where three
thousand persons could, in the same time and circumstances, be immersed. To convince you of this,
we will suppose Cincinnati to be the place of trial.
Say, then, that it was now Conference time, and a
meeting had been appointed in one of the churches
at nine o'clock in the morning. Soon after the meeting commences a great excitement takes place among
the people.  The city is aroused, and thousands,
mostly strangers, flock to the chapel, and fill it, and
crowd around it. Suppose the sermon is finished by
ten o'clock, and then, while the people are crying out
in every direction, "What must we do to be saved?"
the preachers begin to exhort them to repent, believe, and be baptized. At twelve o'clock it is ascertained that a great many wish to be baptized, and in
the end: they prove to be three thousand in number.
How shall we proceed? If we send for water and
shed it forth upon them as Jesus shed his Spirit on
their hearts, by the aid of eleven ministers they may
be all baptized by twelve o'clock at night. But if
we go to the river and immerse, then the case is- different. Then it will take three times as long to prepare for the baptism as it will to perform it. If we
all start to the river together, and go to one spot, not
more than from one to a half dozen ministers could
officiate. Then it would take about twenty hours to
baptize three thousand, allowing three minutes for a
baptism. If we stop to take the names of the three
thousand converts before we start to the river, that




CHRISTIA N BAPTISM.           327
will occupy at least two' hours. But if one hundred
ministers are to baptize, it will be necessary to divide
the three thousand into one hundred equal companies,
and give each minister his quota, and that will take
till sundown. You could not in two hours divide the
congregation into one hundred such companies.
Suppose, then, that the three thousand be reckoned out, as some suppose the Pentecost converts
were, to the one hundred and twenty disciples, twentyfive persons to a minister. Now, if each minister
had a separate place to baptize, all would do nicely,.and the business could be gotten through with in a
short time. But where shall we find one hundred
and twenty baptisteries, in churches, or brooks, or
canals, or rivers, or reservoirs?  We scarcely know
where to go. for one good place to baptize these persons, and, after examining a day, have scarcely succeeded. But, having divided the three thousand into
one hundred companies, by sundown, suppose ten,
or fifty, messengers are sent out to seek one hundred
and. twenty places to immerse. Water flows all
around our city, and' they have a fine chance. But I
will venture to say, notwithstanding, that they will
not in three days find the one hundred and twenty
places. What, not in. Cincinnati? No, indeed! If
we had known a week beforehand, that such an exigency would have happened, we might have been
prepared for it; but in an occurrence so unexpected
as was' that at Pentecost, - even here, we could not,.
if all the ministers in the Conference were to assist,
immerse three thousand persons in the fragment of a
day. But why do I talk of this city?  It was in




328                 SERMONS.
Jerusalem  that the three thousand were baptized!
And'how unlike this city is Jerusalem! This is one
of the best watered, that one of the most thirsty cities
in the world. 
It had one small brook in the valley of Jehoshaphat, near to the east wall of the city, called Kidron.
In addition, it had the fountains of Siloam and Gihon,
and the pools of Bethesda and Hezekiah. In the
rainy season these were about equal to Deer Creek,
the reservoir, and one small bath-house. But, on the
day of Pentecost, they were not half equal. The
brook Kidron had no water but in the rainy season.
The rainy season closes, in Palestine, in March, soon
after the Passover. The feast of Pentecost comes
fifty days after the Passover, at the beginning of
wheat harvest. The channels of the Winter torrents
were dry, the grass upon the hills of Judea brown
from heat and drought, the fountains already began
to run low, and the people were thrown back upon
their artificial cisterns and tanks for supplies of
water for the use of man, and for irrigating their
gardens and vineyards.  Kidron, therefore, was dry.
The fountains of Upper Gihon, Siloam, and'Bethesda,
were a mile apart. Besides, the sewers of the temple
and east part of the city emptied into Kidron, and
made it unfit, at any time, for baptism. These statements are from various and unimpeachable sources.
Ancient history and modern tourists confirm them.
Siloam, Gihon, and Bethesda, then, were the chief
waters that were available. The:waters of Bethesda
could not have been extensive. It was a pool near
the "sheep-gate,'"': no'w' called the "' St. - Stephen's



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            329
gate," of the city, at the north-east corner of the temple. It was under the control of the priests, for
temple uses, and its few porches- crowded with sick
people. It is not likely the priests would have conceded the apostles the use of this pool for baptism.
Siloam  and Gihon were each about a mile distant.
Indeed, such was the scarcity of water in the city,
that one of Solomon's greatest works was taking supplies by an aqueduct from Bethlehem, and one of the
distinguished acts of King Hezekiah's reign was to
turn the waters of Upper Gihon fountain, by a subterranean channel, inside the city wall, and stop the
outer fountain, so that a besieging army should not
find supplies of water, while the city might still sustain itself against a siege.
But our opponents talk of private baths as being
very numerous and very convenient for immersing.
It is all fancy. There is not the least evidence that
Jerusalem was remarkable for private baths. Luxuriant fancies have built them, and easy imaginations
have conveyed the three thousand to their brink and
dashed them in. We have historical proof that the
more eastern cities had numerous baths. The voluptuous Persians, for example, abounded in them.
But it does not follow that what is mentioned as a
luxury in a voluptuous city, situated on both sides of
the ample waters of the Euphrates, must also have
been a characteristic of Jerusalem, an inland city,
nestled among the mountains, with inadequate natural supplies of water, and with rarely a shower of
rain from the last of March till the first of October. It is true that the houses generally, according
28




330                 SERMONS.
to, the -"ability of:the owners,. or occupants,''were
supplied "with private cisterns, or tanks, which were
filled in the rainy season,.. (between October and
March,). and used: to patch out. the supplies of stern
necessity for Ithe: year.: But these were all absorbed
by the actual. demands -of animal.and vegetable life,
and! not. constructed.. for.:the convenience of immersion.  But suppose they were as numerous as some
fruitful:.: fancies have. imagined," were the disciples of
the abhorred and crucified Jesus likely to find ready
access to the privacies'of citizen's houses?  If! the
Mormons'.-were':to meet a vagrant multitude in this
city on some public festival,,.and were to succeed in'
making some, hundreds of converts, would our citizens
admit them to their bathing rooms? If not, remember that whereas.we. might: pity as well as. censure.the Mormons,' the citizens of Jerusalem looked with
unmingled abhorrence upon Christ, his doctrine, and
his disciples..They not merely despised, but hated
-them.: with a fierce.and bloody. hatred. And the convrerts".on the day. of Pentecost. were not citizens, but
mostly' strangers,; who'had.no dwellings in the city.-to. resort to.
Such was Jerusalem, and such the circumstances
of.:the apostles. and -their converts. And now, if, with
all our brooks, canals, and rivers, it is rather difficult
to. immerse': a few, with days and weeks of previous
preparation, imagine three' thousand here, all convicted and converted in.. one day, and all to be baptized the' same day.:"Then imagine Deer Creek, and
Mill'.Creek, and the canal, and Licking, and the Ohio
to be dried up, and all the. city to be: in: an uproar, and




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.            331
its citizens crowding upon us in a rage, mocking us,
and railing at us, as a company of drunkards, telling us
that even the ministers are full of new wine, and you
have a picture of that scene amidst which the apostles
baptized their three thousand recruits. And now, if
you can believe that the baptism was by immersion,
you can easily believe in the story of the golden
bible and the promised land.
But could you believe that all these persons were
immersed? I do not see how our opponents can believe it, according to their views of John's baptism.
They tell us that John left the cities of Judea and returned to Jordan, because there they could find water
to immerse. Now it seems to me that a place where
three thousand can- be immersed- in six hours, or
thereabout, and that, too, in the dry season, when water was always scarce, could not have been so badly
supplied with water as to render it necessary for the
whole city to go twenty miles to be immersed.
If one hundred and twenty disciples could find
one hundred and twenty baths on the day of Pentecost, how happens it that John could not find one?
A few minutes since, this John was said to be. baptizing in Jordan because there was not water in Jerusalem; and all Jerusalem went twenty miles to Jordan
for the same reasons to find water deep enough to be
immersed. But now all Jerusalem seems to be turned
into a pool, and one hundred and twenty disciples
can not go amiss for places to immerse in. Strange
that John could not be admitted to baptize the owners
of these baths, and yet the hated disciples and the
three thousand strangers found ready admission!




3 3 2              SER2MONS.
Strange that John, the most popular public teacher
that Judea ever saw, whom " all counted as a prophet,"
and to whose baptism all resorted, should not find one
baptistery in all the pools and mansions of Jerusalem;
but these drunken disciples, as the Jews represented
them, should find one hundred and twenty, and that
without any time to search for them! But I can not
pursue the theme. My heart sickens while I trace
the logic by -which it is proved, first, that John went
to Jordan to baptize, because he could not immerse
in Jerusalem; and secondly, that the apostles immersed in Jerusalem, because John immersed in Jordan. These circles of convincing sophistry will not
always pass for genuine argument. Men will, sometime or other, read their own Bibles, and not trust to
neighborhood commentaries.
And now, my brethren, if the baptism of three
thousand on the day of Pentecost was by pouring, if
it was performed, first, by the descent of fire, secondly, by the descent of the Spirit, and third, as we
think we have shown, by the effusion of water, thus
copying. the example of the baptism by fire and by
the Spirit, we invoke these examples as a perpetual
vindication of our' own catholic. practice. These examples are our sufficient warrant. While they stand
on record, men must busy themselves in vain to convince us that our baptisms are invalid. To all objections we make but one reply. Pointing to the day
of Pentecost, we present the baptized thousands, and
say, by the mouth of two or three witnesses, are we
vindicated? First, the apostles effused the water. If
you deny this, then we affirm what none will or can




CHR STIAN BAPTISM.            333
deny: Jesus effused the fire and the Holy Ghost.
He still pours out his Spirit on the nations to baptize.
" It is sufficient for the disciple to be as his Master,
the servant as his Lord."
As to other baptisms recorded in Acts, we need
not examine them. If the Eunuch was immersed,
we have no objection. If Paul and the jailer were
sprinkled, it is equal. If the rebaptized, mentioned
in Acts xix, were poured; if, as the apostle effused
the water, he dropped his hands on their heads, and
the Holy Ghost came upon them, there was a very
beautiful analogy between the shedding of the water
and the shedding of the Spirit upon them.
And now the question -may arise in the minds of
some persons whether the speaker is opposed to immersion. I answer, no. I am not opposed to it on
the ground that it is not valid baptism. It is exclusiveness that I oppose. We argue this question, not
to oppose others, but because we are opposed. We
merely vindicate, not impugn. We do not say immersion is wrong, but we do say effusion is right.
We believe that Christ prescribes no definite ceremony in baptism, and does not oblige us to infer any
definite ceremony, either from his own or the apostles'
examples. God is not wont to suspend the interests
of the soul on an external form, -and leave that form so
uncertain as to expose the sincere to mistakes. Had
he intended baptism to be performed with an outward
exactness of this sort, he would have prescribed the
form as cautiously and definitely as he did the furniture and ceremonies of the Jewish tabernacle.
How different from this is the Christian ritual!




334                  sERMO:MS.
It was intended'to'dismis's from the Church:of Christ
a: minute carefulness about.'ceremonies. And, yet
some of- its teachers. will:exact -precision in forms
which our Savior has left in designed uncertainty.; 
But I must not forget that there are those in.- this
house who are expectants of the sacrament of baptism
this day.*  I lament, my'friends, that: it, should be
necessary to argue such questions before'you'this
morning. It is a poor preparation for a; service:which
God designed should be. eminently spiritual. It is
like accumulating weights upon.-the.. racers in the
games.  But it is on our part an imposed service;
imposed by the uneasiness of your own minds on a
subject which, we pray, may never invade, and vex
another mind in this assembly.   -:Do you say, nay, we ought to investigate this
obscure subject?  No, you ought not to investigate.
Do you ask why?  I answer, because it is obscure.
If to know  it certainly *were of any importance,
Christ would never have left.it obscure.., Some
things need to be investigated.  But: outward, forms
are not those things.  The moment. these.'are.luncertain, you may dismiss anxiety, for God attaches
no importance to. them.  If important they are plain.
As complex and multiplied as are.the. ceremonies of
the -Jewish ritual, not one tittle can be mistaken.
Must you study hard to know how to place your
hands. or incline your.person in prayer?:how much
bread and wine you must partake in the Lord's Sup*This sermon was preached at Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati, in the
morning, and in the afternoon Mr. Hamline baptized, by immersion' in
the Ohio River, about twenty candidates for this solemn ordinance.-ED.




CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.           335
per?  These things are indifferent; and therefore not
to be sought in the Bible. So with the ceremony of
baptism. How much water you shall use, how it shall
be applied,: in what position you shall stand, or kneel,
or incline, are things indifferent and therefore not prescribed. Were they not indifferent they would have
been commanded in language which none could possibly mistake. No man ought to read the Testament
but once to prepare for baptism. And then he should
read it to get the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and to
be persuaded to receive. the external token that the
Holy. Ghost is given. You may ask whether you are
not.to. inquire at all about the- mode. I answer,. when
you seek the baptism  of the Holy Ghost, do you
think about the mode? Would you in prayer be fastidious on that point? Would you tell your Savior that
you wish to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and
add, "Blessed Jesus, my conscience is tender. I
have doubts about having thy Spirit poured upon me.
I am a great sinner. It will take much to cleanse
me. I fear that the pouring out of the Spirit will be
a superficial-work. I must be immersed in the Holy
Ghost." Say, my friends, have you ever offered such
a prayer?  If not, if you are thoughtless about the
mode of the spiritual baptism, why do you perplex
yourself about the symbolic? You fear in regard to
that which is the least important of all. You care
more for the shadow than for the substance which
must fashion the shadow.
Ah, my beloved friends, go now to the place of
baptism, but carry not one thought along with you
about the manner, as though it were of the weight of




336               SERMONS.
a silken fiber. Be henceforth as thoughtless of the
mode as you are of the mode of the Spirit's operation, when you feel his healing virtue like balm upon
your wounded consciences. To study the mode of
the Spirit's operation is one sure method to grieve
him from the heart. So to study the mode of applying
water to the person, since Christ has not prescribed
it, is sure to rob you of the sacred benefits which the
baptismal seal was designed to convey and confirm
to you forever.
May he who has received the promise of the
Father, shed down his Holy Spirit, causing you to
"grow as the lily, and to cast forth your root as Lebanon!"




THE SOUL AND THE WORLD.            337
XVIII.
THE SOUL AND THE WORLD.
" For what shall it profit a man, i f he shall gai the whole zworld, and
lose his own soul?"'Mark viii, 36.
"'WHAT  shall it profit?' Nothing!" you exV    _Vclaim. "There is no ground for such a
query. At least its terms should be wrought into a
suggestion of loss, and not of gain; for who can
associate the -idea of advantage with a contract in
which the soul is to be exchanged for a world?"
Your theory is orthodox; and were your life as
rational as your moralizing, I might pause, your
Christian friends might dry their tears, and our humble expostulations might be superseded by grateful
songs and praises. But. do you really esteem the
soul to be worth more than the world? Is this your
firm  conviction?  Does it agree with what your
friends observe in your behavior? Is there no discord between your language and your life?  Alas!
while you affect surprise at the query of the text,
does not your own conduct suggest that query? We
fear your life is an example of that folly which, in
words, you seem so willing to reprobate? Whatever
you may now profess, as to the value of the soul, you
have in practice contemned it; and with mad ambi29




*338               SERMONS.
tion have pursued this fleeting world. And now, to
moderate this madness, we invite you to consider,
I. THE INTRINSIC VALUE OF THE SOUL AND THE
WORLD.
II. THE ESTATE WE MAY ACQUIRE IN THEM.
III. THEIR USUFRUCTUARY BENEFITS.
IV. THE CONSEQUENCES DEPENDING ON OUR USE
OF THEM.
I. As to their intrinsic value, we shall be brief.
It is a very familiar topic, and nothing new can be
said upon it. The soul is a spirit like unto God-intelligent and active, endowed with strong emotions,
capable of the very holiness of Deity, and of his
happiness, constituted with tendencies as deathless
as the Godhead, and destined to an equal term of
being. Who can pretend to estimate the value of
such a soul? God alone can set a price upon it.
Nothing short of infinite intelligence can survey its
rich capacities, can forecast its destiny.
We ask you to turn and glance a moment at the
world. Is the soul a spirit, subtile and indissoluble as
the essence of the Godhead? The world is gross in
all its elements, and, in its fairest forms, is doomed
to foul corruption. Is the soul intelligent and active?
Has it an eye to search for truth, and a wing on
which to soar, in its pursuit, to the very throne of
God?  Earth has no eye nor hand to employ in a
work so ennobling and delightful. Is the soul rich
in heaven-inspired affections? Does it feast on created and uncreated beauty? By its pathetic powers
does it reach after and appropriate the very joys
of Deity? The world is unconscious. It has no




THE SOUL. AND::THE WORLD.:339
capacity for happiness.:It. can:neither smile nor
weep. Is the soul.immortal?  Thelworldiseven now.the victim of gradual dissolution, by fires half-concealed within its tortured bosom.  Soon those fires
must rage throughout its melting mass, till it forms
a.universal conflagration..
The history.of creation presents. man in an attitude of glorious preeminence.  It advises us of the
commencement of the work without any note of deliberation on the part of the Creator.. No stage of
its progress appears to have been of sufficient moment to induce delay, till:it approached its. consummation. It was prosecuted with unfaltering assurance
till the heavens and earth were finished, and all' the
irrational host thereof.  It seemed a trifling work to
reduce chaotic ruins into order, and lift the everlasting curtain which concealed them from the light. To
build up earth and heaven, and beautify and garnish
them, was scarcely a.serious enterprise: for an Almighty hand. It was. the pastime of Omnipotence.
When it was accomplished.-when the sun was
stationed to diffuse his splendors all abroad upon
creation; and the moon to shed her silvery beams
upon the night; and the stars to repose like diamonds
in their airy, ocean beds-when earth commenced
her course around the spacious heavens, and bore
aloft her verdant vales and hills, her flowery char-ms
and forest glories, her flowing streams and crystal
fountains, her ocean depths and terrene heights, and,
last of all, her animated tribes in all the fresh glowing beauty of their first natal hour —then, indeed, the
morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God




340                 SERMONS.
shouted for joy. Then,. too, God looked forth to survey his handiwork, and pronounced it "very good."
Yet all these required no pause-no formal counselings between the persons of the Trinity. They were
the unstudied efforts of an unhesitating mind, apparently engaged in a familiar avocation. But how
different when man was created! This was a work
of such signal interest as involved a consultation between the persons of the everlasting Trinity. Mark
the Scripture record of this mysterious procedure:
"Let us make man in our own image,.after our likeness;" so "God created man in his own image."
Observe, first, that the soul of man, unlike any thing
besides, has the likeness of the eternal Spirit; and
second, to form the soul with such divine features,
was a work so momentous that it was preceded by a
pause, and was prosecuted by the Trinity in counsel,
and in concert. So great was the difference between
the soul and the world. The world was merely a
residence for man-a house which God did build and
furnish for his use. Its soil was his footstool-its appendages his furniture-its living tribes his servile
ministers. Its darkness was the curtain of his balmy
midnight hours-its light his harbinger, announcing
to creation the appearance of its elected and its
anointed lord. Man was to the world like the sun to
the system which he cheers, and binds, and regulates.
That world was destined to receive beauty and blessings from.his presence and his smile. From man the
world derives its value, and without him has no excellence. To him it is like the stage to the actorlike the canvas to the colors which combine in




THE SOUL AND THE WORLD.          34I
enchanting imitations of what is seen or fancied. Let
man be exiled from the world and -it may be buried
in the profoundest abysses of the universe, and none
will lament its everlasting ruin.
II. We proceed to consider what estate we may
acquire in the soul and in the world. Two things constitute riches; namely, great possessions, and a liberal tenure. And now, although in themselves the
soul is so precious and the world so worthless, yet, if
we reflect, our relation to them may reverse their
values-may make the first last, and the last firstthe precious vile, and the vile precious. Ten acres
of land in fee simple are worth a thousand by lease,
with heavy and consuming rents. A shilling of one's
own is worth thousands deposited with us for an
hour. One loaf of bread is of more value to a hungry man than a crown of gold to the dying. Thus
do circumstances increase or diminish the value of
objects around us.
In our second division we use the word estate
in its legal acceptation, to designate the interest a
man has in that which is his by just possession.
This interest depends on covenant engagements,
or on the law of the land. The most valuable estate
is termed, in legal phrase, a "fee simple."  This is
where property is assured to a man and his heirs forever. It is conveyed in the strongest terms, and is
intended to be like the Median and Persian lawsunalterable. If a man were to gain the whole world,
he could expect no more than to hold it by this tenure, and must rest in the security of a mere human
warranty.




342                 SERMONS..
-Butt the grant is sure to b'e defeated; first, by'the
failure of' the warrantor, or, second, by the death of
the warrantee, or, third, by the destruction of the
thing warranted.  How vain is that security which is
derived from man! He pledges to his neighbor an
estate "forever," and writing'it on parchment, drops
the pen and dies; or he who takes the'pledge:gains
a- title to that which is worth very little, except it be
as a. purchased burial spot, where it is. doubtful if. his
bones will be permitted to repose through two generations.:But; were the parties to survive,. and were
death itself destroyed, the world would perish. Then
where would be the mountain which seemed to stand
so strong?  What is a fee simple in that which is
doomed to dissolution?  Man can not properly thus
convey nor take, because: the world will be subject
to no such disposition.. The lofty word "forever" is
unsuitable to every thing but that which is inscribed
with the characters-eternal.
Again: As we. can not have a fee simple in the
world;- so.'neither:can we hold in it a " life estate."
While we journey through the world, we need its
ministrations.:But these are not secured to us.
Millions die without them. How often, by the malice
of a foe, or the' envy of a friend-by some popular
convulsion,' or by s.ome unexpected providence of
God, do we lose; in one brief hour, what an impotent
conveyancer had assured to: us forever! We can not
have a life estate in this fading world.
What, then, can we have.?  Nothing but the lowest estate. of all, namely, an estate at will. And the
law recognizes no other interest so worthless. Orig



THE SOUL AND THE WORLD.          343
inally it was so insignificant as not to be the object
of covenant provision.  It was an estate dependent
on the mere will of another. To omit its modern
qualifications, we hold all we have on earth by this
humble tenure. Multiply your warranties to infinityhold them with ever so firm a grasp-spread them
on the public parchments, that they may evidence
your rights, and defend you in the undisturbed enjoyment of them, and after all you gain nothing but
a mere estate at will.
Whose will?  His who claims the world-who
"raiseth up one, and putteth down another." God
has said, "The world is mine and the fullness
thereof." He waits to take its reversion at our hand.
He teaches us to look for no extended term-for no
warning of its termination. He tells us to- be always
ready to resign to him his own; because his claim is
absolute, and his seizin will be sudden.  Thus God
controls our fortunes. What we bind on earth he
does not bind in heaven. Should we gain the whole
world, it is a mere estate at will, too cheap for wise
ambition to covet or pursue. The technical precautions which a thousand years have furnished, can
secure to us no higher interest. We might as well
hold the winds and vapors in fee simple, as the world
in its most stable, solid forms. The rainbow hues
which deck the shaded skies, are an emblem of the
fitful fortunes of poor mortals.
But what estate may we have in the immortal
soul? I answer, more than an estate at will. A covenant, faithful and unchangeable, secures to us a
higher interest. More, also, than an estate for life.




344                 SERMONS.
The soul survives the ravages of death. At that
awful hour we must resign our worldly interests.
But the process which ejects us from all temporal
treasures will only consummate our seizin of those
inward energies, of which we now possess the mere
germinating seeds. At death all the moral tendencies of the soul will be retained-all its aptitudes
strengthened-all its powers invigorated-all its efforts liberalized, by its escape from the clay which did
enshrine- and incumber it. These will form, thenceforth, outr everlasting treasure of weal or woe-of
curses or of blessings.
This leads us to say that our estate in the soul
will be strictly a fee simple-assured to us "forever"-not by the covenant of feeble man, but by
the warranty of Heaven. This estate will be indefeasible by the act or wrong of others, and will be
to the holder an inalienable property. It seems, then,
that an interest in the world is of the cheapest kind,
and an estate in the soul of the very highest nature.
The former is contingent, may terminate at any moment, and must, at all events, soon yield to the stern
demands of death. The latter is certain-has for its
security the pledge of God's own covenant, and will
last while God shall live. We proceed to notice the
soul and the world in regardIII. To their usufructuary benefits. By this law
term we mean the advantageous uses to which both
may be appropriated. The world is useful to us. Its
ministrations we much need in probationary life. We
must breathe its air, bask in its sunshine, drink at its
fountains, and feed on its fruits, or we wither like the




THE SOUL AND THE WORLD.          345
seared leaf. Yet we need but little, and all beyond
that'little is a mere incumbrance to us, because it
imposes care, and -can impart no real satisfaction.
But, more particularly, the world is not subject to
man's actual, but only to his constructive or nominal
possession. We divide society into the rich and
the poor; but how great is the difference between
them? Has not the poor man air to breathe, and
food to eat, and shelter and raiment to protect him?
What else do riches furnish? Can the "whole world"
supply any satisfactions but such as it pours in upon
us through the senses? There was one to whom history ascribes the conquest of the world. And what
did he derive from his vast acquisitions? Could he
possess what he had conquered? Could he "with one
hand touch the east, and with the other the west?"
and breathe at once the odors of every clime which
his sanguinary hand had seized and trodden under
foot? Could" he set his right foot upon the sea, and
his left foot upon the earth," and spread the folds of
his royal garments over their broad wastes? Were
the regions which confessed his prowess, and yielded
to his sway, transformed, as by enchantment, into
Edens, to cheer and imparadise the conqueror?
Could he carry Persia into Egypt, or convey both into
India, or transfer them all to Greece, and there eat
them, or teach them how to sing or dance, or shine
like suns, and entertain'him?  No.  He held, by
actual occupancy, the spot on which he stood, or sat,
or slept, and all else he was compelled to resign to
the vagrant multitudes whom Providence might present to the vacant benefice.




346'         SERO.NS.,
As with the great so with the little. He who has
one hundred acres of land, well tilled and innocently
appropriated, possesses all' he can possess; for actual
seizin is by the senses.' What we see, and hear, and
feel, and taste, and smell, we properly possess, and
nothing more.  Man has no capacity for the world.
He may claim, but can not hold it.: And where, then,
is its value? He may also point to the moon: and
all the planetary worlds, and call them his; and-these
would be as useful to him as the world.
Not so with regard to the soul. Here our possession is not nominal or constructive, but actual and
intimate.  Here every element, pure and impure,
blissful and painful, alluring or repulsive, is so held by
us as to be a portion of ourselves.' In the soul are no
wastes unoccupied, no desert unfrequented and forgotten.'We are related to our souls as God is to the
universe which is pervaded by his omnipresence.
With regard to our souls, we are omnipresent. Consciousness, as an all-pervading  spirit, dwells. and
breathes in all its chambers, attending it in all its
outward excursions, and returning to watch its secret
retirement. What God possesses he eternally pervades. He dwells in the bright and the obscure-in
the low and the lofty of his vast dominions. So do we
in regard to our souls. Do we fly backward and hover
over the graves of buried scenes? Consciousness is
there. Do we soar upward on the wings of expectation
and gaze at reversionary treasures?  Consciousness
is there.  Do we unloose an excursive imagination,
and yield it to the pastime of a thousand unrestrained
wanderings? Consciousness is there. Consciousness




THE SOUL AND THE WORLD.            347
dwells amidst.:all the powers, and intermingles with
all the elements, and flows in all the affections. of the
soul; sees all, and -reports all to the reflecting mind.
Thus intimately do we possess the soul.
But there: is a difference, not only in regard to the
intimacy, but also in regard to the constancy of these
possessions. The world is capricious.  She gives and
takes away by turns.: Her modes are mutable as the
lunar phases.. At one moment the world is all love
and beneficence.' She can scarcely bestow enough
upon her'children.  Her ministrations seem as they
began to be toward unsinning Adam  in Paradise.
She sends to caress us all her sweet and smiling ministers.. She. shines upon us with her light, warms us
with.her'fires,: and fans us by her gentle breezes.
She spreads before us the verdure of Spring;':feasts
us with: Summer dainties, and enriches us with Autumn harvests. She waters us from her cloudy canopy,
wreathes the gloom with rainbow charms, and spreads
over us the bow of the covenant to assure us that her
love is everlasting. But we soon find her in another
mood, and, experience from her another dispensation.
She yields up her smiles and meets us with frowns.
She puts- out; her lights and blinds us. She quenches
her fires and freezes us. She rekindles them like a
furnace, and scorches us.' She blots out the beauties
of Spring, snatches from our lips the fruits of Summer,
and consumes from our garners the stores of Autumn.
She.converts her dews into frosts, her calms into
storms,- her temperate ardors into torrid heats, and,
from caressing, frowns upon and persecutes us.
The soul is not thus affected.  If. we seek aright,




348                 SERMOXNS.
we shall find it overspread with a perpetual calm, and
cheered by constant sunshine. We shall feel the refreshing dew, and dread no blighting frost. We shall
find its climes all temperate, its aspects all fair, its
moods all amiable. The charms of a moral Spring,
and the sweets of a moral Summer, and the riches of
a moral Autumn, all blend in its Divine constitution.
And no morose'Winter will come to despoil it of
these glories, and chill and freeze the spirit. Christ
is become a sun to the sanctified soul, and his beams
will always cheer it-Christ is become its shield, and
he will guard it-Christ is become its food, and he
will fill it-Christ is become its heritage, and he-will
enrich it with everlasting treasures. Thus, all that
belongs to the soul may be possessed without interruption. The apostle says, "Rejoice evermore."
Again: The world depreciates-the soul improves
by use. The world does not bear acquaintance. The
more we have to do with it the less it satisfies us.
At first its novelty attracts and entertains us. Familiarity diminishes these attractions, and spoils our
entertainment. In the mean time Death is on the
way to dismiss us from these scenes of hope and disappointment, and transfer us to the judgment, and to
an eternal retribution. We hold the world as the
lessee does his premises. The term is every day approaching its close, and, of course, every day lessens
its value. But in the soul we have a reversionary interest, whose value is increased in proportion to the
depreciation of the leasehold.  Let the sinner lay it
to heart, that all he has, and all that he can obtain, is
of less and less value every day and every hour.




THE SOUL AND THE WORLD.           349
Each moment steals. a jewel from his treasures, and
soon time will take all. Letthe Christian realize,
that while the world depreciates, the soul may every
moment enrich itself by fresh acquisitions.
The soul is formed for improvement. It is projected for an everlasting progress-if holy, a progress
upward toward God and the heights of his throneif unholy, a progress downward into the depths of sin
and misery. Rising or sinking, it must advance, in
the vigor of every faculty, in the reach of every
thought, and in the measure of every capacity for
ecstasy or agony. All may see that the powers of
the mind are feeble in the morning of life. A ray of
light first flits in its tabernacle. The breath of God
fans and kindles it. At last, from a spark of intelligence, without system of thought or effort, it becomes
a vigorous spirit, aspiring to the heights of the eternal throne, and watching the developments of its
lofty administrations.  Do you seek for evidence?
Watch the prattler in its playful moods, and then the
youth in the glow of opening genius, and then the
man in his maturity of wisdom, and you shall find the
evidence.
If the soul improve on earth, it will improve in
heaven. There it will be free from a thousand embarrassments which now check its pursuit of truth,
and detain it in its march through the fields of science. A glorious destiny awaits it. Sanctified by
grace, it will journey on forever, through floods of
light and fields of bliss, still nearing the throne of
God, and happier still in the sweet approximation.
Each discovery will become a new point of enlarged




350                 SERMONS.
observation more entertaining. than the last., And
she will pass from  one point to another- from the
summit of one discovery to another —forever extending the range of her vision, and forever increasing
her raptures by the rapid ascent and enlarged survey.
Thus the soul improves.and the world deteriorates by
use. If they were now of equal value, it would be
madness to choose the.world. If the world.be. silver,
it' will depreciate to dross-to sordid dust.. If the soul
be as iron, it will, by transmutation, become as silver-as gold-a diamond so precious that Christ will
delight to set it in his everlasting crown.
Again: The world is- useful only in certain conditions-the soul in all conditions. The world suits
the caprice of childhood, the gayety of youth, and the
cheerfulness of bright and prosperous states. It answers not in declining age, or in the hour of death.
Take the whole world to the dying man, and tell him
all is his. Can the world allay the rage of fever?
Can it assuage the pains of dissolution? Can it
anoint for burial, and animate him with the joys of
eternity? No. When man needs help, when he seeks
support for a sinking frame, and demands cordials for
a fainting spirit, then the world falters and forsakes
him. But these are the times-for inward triumphs to
the soul which spurned the world in anxious care for
its own choice interests. Now that soul hath a light
within, and beareth through the vale of death sweet
and reviving cordials, and maketh music as it passes
along, leaning on the rod and staff of the Almighty.
Having glanced at the usufructuary benefits of
these estates, we shall,




THE SOUJ. AND i THE WORLD.        351
IV. Consider the consequences. depending on: our
use of them. These are. summed up in the "gain"
or the "'loss" of the soul. Here we-doubt some may
object that. the soul can not be lost. We reply to
such a suggestion, that. the soul is lost already. If
not, why came the Son of man to seek and to save it?
The soul whose security you boast, is not only in
peril from  future events, but is already forfeited to
justice; and. by God's unerring sentence is doomed
to punishment. " He that believeth not is condemned
already, and the wrath of God abideth on him."  We
are not to rest. in security already acquired, but we
are yet to acquire security. The soul is to struggle
from darkness into light, from slavery into liberty.
*  The Gospel is:asystem  of recovery, not of preservation. It seeks to change, not to confirm.. It
bears a commission to effect a new creation, not to
proclaim  the'beauty and excellence of the old. It
descends to be our angel guide from darkness to
light; from. midnight glooms and perils to midday
calms and splendors. Let this. be granted, and does
it not follow, that to recover what is lost requires
greater effort than to preserve what is already safe?
And heaven has, with correspondent effort, com-.
menced the work of our salvation. We, in the same
spirit of effort, are to prosecute and consummate it.
And it leaves no. time to pursue the world. Heaven
is to be gained not by the conquest. of this world,
but by victories over our own hearts, and their affections, by cleansing the base and impure, and seeking
-in prayer the gracious sympathies of a renovated,
heaven-born nature. To accomplish this, so great a




35 2                SERMONS.
work, much need we have to let the world alone, and
resign it to those who seek no greater good. Much
need we have to follow His example, who, absorbed
in the glorious enterprise of man's redemption, so
earnestly prosecuted it that he lacked food to stay
his hunger, and couch to rest his weary frame.',He
saw  the world only as an object of God's wrathful
indignation, which he' longed to rescue. and to save.
So we must see it. In the same spirit we must live,
and toil, and die. In our zeal for salvation the world
must be forgotten. If we waste our energies in digging for its treasures, we shall inevitably lose our
souls.
What is it to lose the soul? To lose the world is
to be deprived of it. To lose the soul is quite another thing. The loss of the soul is not deprivation.
It is not the loss of perception and reason, and memory and consciousness. It is infinitely worse. It is
the perversion of all its'faculties, moral and intellectual. It is not the destruction of the noble edifice-vacating its site to the rose, the lily, and the
fragrant air. It is the desecration and pollution of
the temple, till it becomes a scene of loathsome and
abhorred abominations, which none can bear to look
upon.
But we must abruptly close. Turn back to the
commencement of this sermon, in which we present
you —as' if startled at the language of the Saviorinsisting that the interrogation of the text is preposterous-that its suggestion should be of loss, and not
of gain, in a contract where the soul is to be exchanged for the world. Review that opening par



THE S OUL AND THE WORLD.          353
agraph. Consider well whether, at some former
period, the sentiments therein expressed were not
your own. If, as we supposed, you deem the query
of the text unfounded, then we entreat you, in the
spirit of your theory, live, and act, and die,'and live
for ever. Steadily survey these objects till the value
of the soul appears in striking opposition to this
fleeting world. Set the former, in all -its grace and
durability, against the latter, in all its corrupt and
wasting forms. But why should we exhort you? We
persuade you that the soul is superior to the world,
and you acknowledge it. You confess that the soul
is a diamond, precious as God can make it, and the
world a mere bed of dust on which that gem reposes,
till God shall select it from such unworthy rubbish,
and set it, in all its sparkling beauty, among the
jewels of his crown.
But, alas! "While your tongue talks of wisdom,
your hand dealeth foolishly."  And that immortal
soul, enstamped with God's own image, and made to
"drink of the river of his pleasures,"' is each hour
exposed to sale, and the most trifling earthly good is
buying all its interests. Satan would fain possess it.
He strives to outbid the Son of God; and with some
he does succeed. Jesus has paid his blood,' and offers
heaven to purchase it. Satan holds up the world,
and says, " This will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down
and worship me." Do it. Take the price. Serve the
world. And that jewel which Jesus intended to ornament his crown shall soon grace the coronet of
the triumphant prince of hell.
30




354                  SERMONS.
XIX.
JESUS REVILED.
"He saved others; himself he can not save." Mark xv, 31.
TEVER  was there more of truth and falsehood
uttered in one sentence than in this. Of truth,
because in its letter it asserts the necessity of Christ's
suffering; of falsehood, because in its spirit it denies
his omnipotence. Let us consider,
I. THE TRUTH OF THE TEXT.
II. THE FALSEHOOD.
I. First, then, it is wholly true that "Christ saved
others."
I. He saved them from temporal calamities.  It is
common for infidelity to charge Christianity with apathetic indifference to the sufferings of this life.  It
questions the purity of that benevolence which busies
itself in anxieties for the soul, but overlooks the pains
of the body.  It denies the sobriety of that faith
which impels us to seek the treasures of another
world, while we seem indifferent to the comforts of
this.
The genius of infidelity addresses Christ's disciples
thus: "You talk of two worlds, the present and the
future.  When you speak of this, your terms are intelligible, for this world is visible. By a thousand




yEsUS REVZLED.                355
influences it impresses on the soul sensations of pain
and pleasure. But what you say of a future is altogether mystery. That world is invisible. It has no
beauty for the eye, no harmony for the ear; no fragrance or sweets to charm  the waiting senses. If
there be such a world, man is placed without the
sphere of its soul-affecting influences. You plead for
a religion which is said to be compounded of truth
and love; but, alas! it has no eye to see, no heart to
feel, no'hand to relieve the sorrows which now assail
the victims of misfortune. Its Quixotic zeal anticipates evils which may never come, and guards against
ills which probably are visionary.  Such charity is
graceless. It shows no credentials of its virtue and
utility.' It hinders, rather than promotes the bliss
of man, by diverting his attentions from the means of
real happiness, to seek fictitious joys which he hopes
to seize hereafter. This religion will not answer. Its
charities are reprobate. It wants the proper evidence
of sincerity and worth, namely, consistency. True religion must breathe a love whose deeds shall be
suited to the exigencies of this present suffering life,
and not to a future and an uncertain state of being."
Such are the expostulations of infidelity. And
what can an accused religion answer to the charge?
She can propose a prompt denial; and among a host
of witnesses summoned for her defense she can point,
first, to him who gave her being; who nursed her
helpless infancy; whose tutelary doctrines and precepts and example fashioned her fair form, and molded
all her manners-to Him whose meek and loving
spirit has possessed, impelled, controlled, all her legit



356                 SERMONS.
imate, unwavering disciples. Religion can silence
such complaints by conducting her. accuser to the
fields of Palestine, and pointing to those scenes which
rise as sacred monuments, or spread like shaded canvas, to commemorate the Savior and his deeds of
healing mercy. Judea's hills and brooks and groves,
her battle-heights and plains, her fissured rocks, her
very dust, could it become reanimate and vocal, would
join to vindicate our faith, by proclaiming the history
of its Patron and its Lord.
That history informs us that Christ was never
weary in his works of saving mercy. "He went
through all Galilee," not only to teach in their cities,
but "to heal all manner of sickness and disease among
the people." His pity for the distressed spread abroad
his fame, and "they brought unto him all sick people
that were taken with divers diseases and torments,
and those possessed with devils, and those who were
lunatic, and such as had the palsy; and there followed him great multitudes." The maimed, the blind,
the dumb, the halt, the bowed together, waited his
healing mandate. Nor did they wait in vain.
He did not stay till friendship sought him out, or
flattery courted him from his retreats. He preferred
not the mansion of the magistrate to the cottage of
the poor, or the hovel of the vile. He did not spurn
abject misery, and seek the sickly victims of luxury
and pride. In a word, his charities were not human,
but divine, and therefore divested of' all partiality;
falling upon the wretched like rain upon the field, or
like sunlight upon the bright meridian. All, from
the wisest to the simplest, from the courtly ruler to




yESUS REVILED.              357
reprobate publican, from refined and queenly delicacy
to the seven-times cursed Mary, were welcome to approach, and sound, if possible, the depths of his compassion. Childhood, youth, and hoary age, were alike
precious to the Savior of a world.. His word calmed
the rage of madness-his look rebuked the demon's
fury-his touch restored unclouded vision to the eye
of melancholy blindness-his Ephphatha waked. the
ear of deafness'to listening, joyful life-his mandate
roused the dead, and despoiled the frighted sepulcher. But these were not his fairest trophies. He
performed a work of still greater glory, however the
world may view it.
2. He saved others from the curse of ignorance.
When Christ appeared on earth, the light of useful
knowledge had fled to other worlds. That which- was
called philosophy served no other purpose but to render darkness visible. With sighs and lamentations
the best of heathen teachers held up their glimmering tapers, trimmed them with anxious care, fed them
with watchful diligence, and invoked the wandering
multitudes to come to them for. guidance through the
glooms and storms of life. But, alas! the light was
too feeble to attract the multitude, and too obscure
to guide them. The guides themselves grasped it
with an uncertain hand, watched its fitful gleamings
with alternate hopes and fears, and paused, at last, to
doubt, despair, and die. At the advent, darkness.coyered the earth, and gross darkness the people.
The world was: not insensible to the wide, withering
curse.'It felt the blasting'scourge, and was groaning
for deliverance. It even showed the signs of a near




358                SERMONS.
regeneration, in the piteous throes and wailings of
some approaching birth. Then the heavens revealed
the tokens of a glad deliverance. The Savior was
announced. He came as a light to bear witness to
the truth, and "enlighten every man that cometh into
the world."  His doctrine was from heaven, and he
impressed it with convincing energy on the conscience. He lifted up the veils which conceal the
worlds -invisible, and displayed to human vision scenes
of death and retribution. Man was no longer left to
the guidance of an obscure or. erring light. The Sun
of Righteousness arose, and mortals were permitted
to bask and triumph amid enchanting scenes, which
rose like paradise beneath the first bright sun of
Eden. Go up.'to patriarchal ages, then turn down
the stream of history, and see how the light of saving
knowledge grows dim and dark in all your course,
till you reach the time of Jesus. Then pause and
wonder at the gloom. Do you say it was an era of
scientific splendor? Alas, the splendor shone from
hell!  It was an intense reflection from the fires
which light perdition.  It was the science of falsehood, not of truth-of that which pains, not comforts-of that which kills, not revives-of that which
brutalizes and damns the soul, not purifies and adorns
it for the supper of the Lamb. The Son of God
alone could supplant this baleful science, extinguish
these false lights, and diffuse that saving knowledge
which has half transformed the world,. and is leavening its moral mass into holiness and bliss.
3. But Christ saved others from sin. He saved
them from its guilt. He redeemed the race from the




_7ESUS RE VILED.             359
curse pronounced on Adam. He procured for helpless infancy, in every age and clime, judicial innocence.  As his justified subjects, defiled but not
condemned, polluted but not malicious, he received
children to his arms, pronounced them blessed, and
confirmed their sacred title to an inheritance in
heaven. He also saved from guilt acquired by actual
transgression. Millions in heaven and on earth, like
the thief upon the cross, have enjoyed by faith this
sweet deliverance. With a voice of benediction, Christ
has announced their sins forgiven.
He saved from its power.  Sin defiles the heart,
and renders it a fountain of corrupt and painful passions. What base desires and purposes proceed from
within this fountain! No creature power can cleanse
it. Its stains are like the leprosy till Christ commands, "Be clean."  He cures the vile disorder. He
is anointed to heal the broken-hearted, and release the
dying captive from sin's most cruel bondage.
He saves from the punishment of sin. Where its
guilt is remitted and its pollutions are cleansed away,
nothing hinders the free and full effect of Mercy,
which may then work as pleases her, for Justice will
not hinder. Hence her power is redeeming, and
transfers the immortal spirit to the paradise above.
Thus, as the text declares, Jesus Christ saved others.
But while he ministered thus to others, what befell
himself? While he healed others, did he not heal
himself?  While he ruled the winds and calmed the
seas, and roused the dead, did he not defy his enemies? In conscious self-security, did he not scorn
their wrath? No. In a sense most moving to the




360                SERM~ONS.
heart of humble piety, "himself he could not save."
He must not evade the terrors of the cross. He
could not for three reasons. Covenant, prophecy, and
charity forbade him.
First, his covenant forbade it. He had conferred:
with the persons of the Godhead, and the work he
was then accomplishing was necessary, as the execution of what he had stipulated in concert with the
Father and the Holy Ghost. He had pledged himself
to justice as a sufficient victim to satisfy her claims,
secure her holy interests, and exhibit all her sacred
excellencies to the view of heaven, and earth, and
hell. He had for four thousand years been receiving
upon credit the travail of his soul; and now the
travail of his soul was upon him in all its horrors,
and he might not turn away from the passion and the
agony. The covenant he had made and partly executed, rendered it impossible for the true and faithful
Jesus to contradict its claims, or annul its plain provisions. He must fulfill its fixed conditions, and bleed
upon the cross. The taunting multitude might cry
to him and say, "If thou be the Son of God, now
come down from the cross, and we will believe." The
reviling scribe might say, "He saved others, himself
he can not save.": The Savior, taunted and reviled,
must, to prove his Godhead, remain upon the cross,
and yield himself to death. Having covenanted, he
ought to have suffered all these things, and then have
entered into his glory.
Second, Christ could not save himself, because
prophecy forbade it.  The covenant to redeem had
been published to the world; and that which was at




yESUS RE VLED.             36I
first a stipulation in heaven between the persons of
the Trinity, had become a covenant on earth, between
Jehovah and his creatures. The world, accursed as
it was, corrupt and guilty as it was, could demand
this deep humiliation of the suffering Son of God.
The pledge was in the hands of his crucifiers; for
they held the types and promises which constituted a
record obligation upon Jesus to "pour out his soul
unto death." This obligation, self-assumed by the
blessed, bleeding Savior, now bound him by bonds
strong as the truth of Jehovah, to hang, and bleed,
and die.
Third, Jesus could not save himself, bvecause his
love forbade it. His love of holiness and righteousness prompted him to do what should honor all their
principles, and maintain their sacred and supreme
dominion.  This required.their vindication in the
punishment of man, who had aspersed and contemned
them by transgression. His love of man impelled
him to an effort to deliver him from those eternal
pains, which the vindication of these principles would
inflict upon him. To accomplish both these objects,
he becomes man, vindicates his law, and saves the
rebel subject, by enduring in his own sacred. person
the agonies of the cross. And his love for the righteous law of God, and for the race which it condemned, never once forsook him. It moved him to
form the covenant to redeem. It bore him on the
wings of mercy to our degenerate world. It urged
him on, in the midst of all his labors, to their final
consummation. It swelled and overflowed his bosom
in the hour of final conflict, pouring forth its aspi3I




362                 SERMONS.
rations in the memorable words, "Father, forgive
them!"  This love for man warmed his heart in
death; and the sneers of the profane and the weapons
of ungodliness did not restrain, but feed it. The
more corrupt and demon-like the world he came to
save, the more his bowels yearned to effect its renovation. The depth of its debasement and completeness of its ruin were the fuel of his pity, so deep,
and pure, and glowing, that it bound' him to the cross
with force indissoluble.  "Love is stronger than
death," is a truth illustrated in the crucifixion of the
redeeming Son of God. Thus it is true that Christ
"could not save himself."
II. In the second place, let us consider the falsehood of the text.
Its falsehood lies in the intention of those who
uttered it. How  blind were these foul scoffers!
What tokens could they covet of Christ's divine mission-of his proper Godhead, which his deeds did not
afford them? Well might some of them exclaim,
"When Christ appears, shall he do greater miracles
than these which this man doeth?"  Yet with sacrilegious blasphemy they stand around his cross and
say, "Let him  now descend, that we may believe!"
Why believe? He had invoked dead Lazarus from
the grave, while they stood gazing; yet the miracle
only served to exasperate their hatred, and provoke
crucifixion. Could they, without satanic instigation,
believe that he who, by a word, had healed Judea of
its sicknesses, fed thousands on five small loaves,
calmed the stormy seas, and restored the dead to life,
was the helpless victim of their malice?  But their




7ESUS'REVILED..363
labored incredulity was; a service to religion.  Little
did they dream -that their malicious taunts contained
in them' the virtue of a'most: convincing testimony to
prove what they denied. Behold, boasting infidelity,
an example of thy folly, and of God's mysterious
wisdom!'The'seers of ancient times had announced
the striking truth, that:Christ should be a Savior, but
yet himself should suffer. And it is even so.'He
comforts all around him, but is himself a man of sorrows.  Healing all, himself is wounded. The sword
aimed by force immortal at a world of graceless: sinners, diverted by. his arm, is bathed in his own blood.
He chose this lot of grief for the joy that was to
follow. Little did the crafty scribe:and plotting
priest suspect it, or they would not have declared the
prophecy'fulfilled, which, because it was unlikely, required the attestation of enmity to prove it. Why
did they not perceive that Jesus chose to die, otherwise death had no dominion over him?'Had he not
throughout his ministry mocked all the rage of death,.defied its fatal. weapons, and reseized its trembling
~victim from its frightful, cold embrace? Had he not
entered its dark. domains and. borne back to life and
loveliness the profaned.and putrid tenants of its most
secret chambers.? Yes,'and they were witnesses.
Why, then, do they exclaim, "Himself he can not
save?"  The Lord insnares the wise in the net of
their own craftiness, and this is an example. The
malice of his foes is the Savior's testimony-their
contradiction his credentials, their reproach his honor,
their slander his bright fame, to live, and'spread,
and bless the world till it burn and sink forever.




364,               SERMONS.
Having considered the truth and falsehood.of the
text, we urge the application of its doctrine:
I. The necessity of Christ's sufferings affectingly
appeals to the sinner and the saint. To the sinner,
because transgression occasions that necessity. Had
not man sinned, Christ had never died. Sin brought
the blessed Jesus from the skies. Sin enrobed him
in weak and suffering flesh. Sin imposed on him
hunger: and thirst, nakedness and weariness. Sin
drove him to the mount for prayer, to the field or the
wilderness for dwelling and for shelter. He must be
tempted, persecuted, denied, and betrayed, because
we had sinned. He must endure the garden agony,
must be buffeted and spit upon, must be crowned
with thorns and dragged with thieves to shameful
crucifixion, because we had sinned. And shall we
sin still? Behold him in his glory before the world
was, and trace him in his passage to the garden and
the cross, then say-shall we siin still?
2. This subject contains an appeal to Christ's
disciple. Why could not Jesus save himself? Because he loved you, Christian, with an everlasting
love. Let this melt your heart into humble, contrite
thankfulness. Rejoice with tears, that in the hour of
deepest anguish his love for you was stronger than
death. Rejoice that he held to his gracious purpose
of redeeming you. With anthems, let heaven and
earth celebrate that hour. Let both concert eternal
melodies in memory of the cross. Let the taunts of
crucifixion form the chorus of that song. Let it echo
and reecho- HI MSELF HE CAN NOT SAVE.
But if the blessed Jesus, for your sake, could not




7ESUS REVILED.               365
save himself from the ignominy of the cross, can you,
who hear his name, and profess his doctrine and
spirit, shun that same cross hallowed by his death?
If your salvation could be wrought out in no other
way, can you now be saved in any other way? Has
he died upon the cross that he might release us from
the cross? Nay, he has said, "If any man will come
after. me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and
follow me."  O let these words and this example of
Christ reverberate their solemn tones through all the
chambers of the soul of every worldly minded disciple
of the suffering Lamb of God!
He died, and all is well.'T is well on earth —'t is
well in heaven.'T is well for you, sin-sick soul, burdened, faint and dying-well for thee, suffering pilgrim, who, like Mary, watchest beside his sepulcherwell for you, backslider, who, like Peter, bewail the
denial of your Lord-well for you, faithful soul, leaning, like John, upon his bosom-well for you, aged
disciple, who hold him, like Simeon, in your trembling
arms! Well was it for you, ye spirits of the just
made perfect, whose robes are washed in his bloodand well for you, ye angels that excel in might, desiring to look into these holy and blessed mysteries-well
for thyself, Father, Son, and Spirit, whose covenant
and word, and love are now assured and everlasting,
that Jesus could not save himself and come down
from the cross!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be, Amen!




366                   SERMONaS.
XX.
THE SABBATH OF THE WORLD.
"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for: the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea." Isaiah xi, 9.
THIS  prophecy is very significant.  It is worthy
to be inscribed on all the high places of Zion,
that.her eye may see it, and  her spirit receive
strength.  It presents to the mind images of the
world as it has been, as it shall be, and in its progress from  the past to the future.  I shall invite you,
therefore, to survey the world —
I. IN ITS MORAL RUIN.
II. IN ITS MORAL RENOVATION:
III. IN ITS TRANSIT' FROM  THE FORMER TO THE
LATTER.
I. For'six thousand years'this world has suffered
the curse of Heaven, and: bears, even'now, the deep
impress of crime and:reprobation.  It is replete with
sin, and:. shame, and misery.  It is the theater for the
display of the: basest: passions and rankest'crimes
which pollute and deform the universe of God.:
It is vexed by the fury: of diabolical passions.  It
is the. seat. iof' pride..: Unfitting: as this passion is for
man, he not merely indulges,: but cherishes it.  He
accounts it not his shame, but his honor.  He wears




THE SABBATH OF THE WORLD.         367
it as a robe, and displays it in all the walks of life,
as though it possessed some divine attraction. That
abomination which heaven could not tolerate-which
roused to flame Almighty vengeance-which doomed
angels to chains of darkness, is esteemed the beauty
and the glory of this world. Earth grasps with eagerness what heaven repels with loathing.
In close alliance with this passion is envy, its
eldest born. Envy is a sort of famine in the soul;
nothing but universal misery could relieve it. It
matters not what it has devoured, it is in agony because its capacity is filled ere it has consumed all the
bliss of conscious being. From envy springs slowmoving malice, with the genius both of the serpent
and the tiger, and with more methods and instruments of mischief than man can reckon up.
Pride, envy, and malice are among the prominent
evils of the heart. Their malignity must be ascertained by their effects. No analysis can expose it.
It could not have been conjectured by any finite
mind, that pride and envy are so potent as to produce
revolution first around the throne of God, where all
was pure and stable, and then in this fair world,
which came a paradise from the hand of the Creator,
and was designed a residence for new-born, holy
spirits, to repair the breach in heaven. And yet, by
the energy of these malicious passions, the beauties
of Eden became a frightful desolation, heaven itself
was blemished, and its choicest moral riches were
transformed into the elements of a new, infernal
world.
But let us confine our vision to this world, and




368                 SERMONS.
examine more minutely its enormous crimes and miseries. Could I skillfully portray the tragic scenes of
all its sanguinary ages, your hearts would recoil. Let
your imaginations summon from the grave the dead
of sixty centuries. From the hundred thousand millions select, first, the disciples of true wisdom. They
form so small a portion of the whole, that their sub-,
traction will not sensibly affect the vital mass. Next
proceed to separate that mass. Give to these millions a discreet'classification, into the moral, who concealed and restrained their vicious appetites; and the
profligate, who indulged and exposed them. The
former never suffered their base passions to transform them into demons; but glossing into decency
the grossness of their vices, acquired the esteem and
reverence of mortals. What relation do these bear
to true moral excellence on the one hand, and to extreme moral turpitude on the other?
As to moral excellence, charity itself would confess their alienage from all its attributes and charms.
Their seeming virtue was an accident, not the intention of any purity of heart. It resulted from the peculiar combination of their vices, which, like blended
shades, produced a hue of character unlike any of its
elements. What, then, is the real value of that character? It depends on its constituents, and.these
were impure and destructive. It is a character which'
the world has treated with some equity in baptizing
it morality, thereby denoting an outward form as distinct from inward sentiment, as is the garnish of the
sepulcher from the foul abominations contained
within its bosom. To moral excellence, then, these




THE SABBATHN OF THE WORLD.         369
persons are related as is the putrefaction to the
polish-of that sepulcher. On the other hand, to extreme moral turpitude, their relation is like that of
the egg to the serpent, which crushed, breaketh out
into a viper. Development alone was necessary to
constitute them destroyers-murderers. Latent energies of a most pernicious tendency slumbered deep
within, and were harmless, like the tiger in its cage,
because they were controlled by other vices, or by the
restraints of Providence or circumstance.
From the devotees of virtue and the decently depraved, let us glance at the flagitious. Spurning all
restraint, and surrendered up to appetite, they become
the interpreters of the human heart —the expounders
of corrupt human nature. These are not a small
minority of mankind. We are not to judge of ages
past by what we now behold, nor of what we now
behold without careful observation. Hasty judgment
would decree to more than half the world the meed
and praise of virtue; whereas the true history of the
world would be a history of crime, and the recital of
its virtues would scarcely form an episode. Is it extravagant to affirm that half the adult world, throughout its generations, is involved in the-guilt of heinous
crimes'? God himself shall be the judge, "Being
filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters,
haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors
of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection,
implacable, unmerciful."




37~                  SERMONS.
- Here is a picture of the nations, sketched.not by
man, but by Him who can not err.  It presents them
in an attitude of murderous rage. and murderous
deeds.  Let your fancy- behold them  reeinact the
tragic scenes of their guilty, living hours.  Come up,
ye blood-stained tenants of the grave'! As sands of
the sea for multitude, disspread yourselves-.over:: a
thousand hills and a thousand vales... From::iterrene
heights'and ocean, depths, and, whithersoever:the
winds and waves have! borne your scattered' dust,
come ye murdered-mingle now as once ye mingled,
to curse and kill, to' shriek and:die! What sights:!
what sounds! what a fearful blending of fury and dismay, of curses and entreaties, of reeking hands and.
gory hearts! The rage of six thousand. years. swells
like. angry oceans in yonder mass of life.'  The collected blasphemies of six thousand years are now
floating on the'breeze, and ascending up to heaven.
Millions of'faces writhe distorted; millions of eyes
glare fury.'Every lip is: compressed by the power: of
stern and bloody resolution.  For an instant all.is
wild confusion, and death'gleams o'er all the; scene.:
His victims quail.. The winds of heaven are burdened with their groans, and earth sickens as she
drinks up their blood! 
Here is a faint picture of the crimes' and' miseries
of past generations. It reveals half a world. murdered in your presence,' while'the agents and accomplices in this infernal work survive in:agonies of'
conscience, to curse both their being and their Maker.: But':.you may wonder that we' dwell on past..generations, and not rather on the present state of:




THE SABBA TH OF THE WORLD.         37I
things.' My friends, cease to wonder. In its essential:features, the world remains unchanged.' Just
around -.us its bitter waters have been sweetened."
But while a few small fountains have been cleansed,
the seas and oceans are full of putrefaction. - Of eight
hundred millions of souls now on earth,. one hundred
millions have been slightly tamed by the Gospel. Of
these, perhaps one-fourth have submitted to the restraints of Gospel principle from conviction and servile fear. A twentieth part may have been radically
changed, and blest with the purity and consolations
of Christian life. But where are the seven hundred
millions that remain? They inhabit regions gloomy
and repulsive as. death and hell. Bloodshed is the
fashion of their lives. It is not a fashion of mere
revenge, or even.of pastime; but 0, blasphemy! it is
used for, religious sacrifice and worship. With them,
bloodshed is not rare. Nature in their.bosoms does
not abhor it. There are nations in which scarcely
an adult could be found whose hands are unstained,
perhaps with blood of child or parent! We rejoice
that in Christian lands there is commenced a renovation.. It points us to that period which is usually
termed millennial, which is the theme of the second
head of this discourse.
II. It is believed and declared by many persons
that these prophecies were uttered under the influence of ardors which were unfavorable to exact description, and that fancy,. rather than sober vision,
moved and.guided the prophetic pencil. We object
to this hypothesis. It depreciates. too much the
prophetic character; it reduces to scorn the Scrip



372.                SERMONVS.
ture revelation; and last of all, it reproaches God
himself. To mention these objections is sufficient.
They will bear in every impartial mind the force of
irrefutable argument. The chapter which contains
the text refers to the millennium. In the first five
verses'the Messiah is described in the same glowing
style as obtains throughout the chapter. And are
we to assume that this description of the Savior is
also a fancy-piece? that the prophet in his ardor exaggerated the beauties and glories of Immanuel?
The thought is profane. In speaking of this "rod
from: the stem of Jesse," crowned with the wisdom,
and girded with the strength of Godhead, we agree
that:the prophet uttered sober truth. And why
should we suppose that he who spoke with such sobriety concerning Zion's King, became a prophet of
mere fancies in speaking of Zion's kingdom? We
believe that the philologist as well as the prophet
was inspired, and that the phraseology employed in
this description is intended to shadow forth a perfect
moral state.
In this the prophet confirms us. He teaches us
that the world will suffer so great a change as to be
worthy of a name of honor utterly unsuited to its
~present character.  In expectation of that change,
God calls it "his holy mountain." The appellation
is high and glorious. It could scarcely be applied to
that which bears the slightest impress of sin and suffering. It would form a proper designation of heaven
itself, with its glorious hierarchies and its everlasting
thrones. When applied to less than heaven, it must
at least point to objects in which all pure and lofty




THE SABBATH OF THE WORLD.          373
attributes possible to creatures are made to concentrate, and from which all others are excluded. And
such shall be this world.
It is called mountain, which indicates that God
will place it high in his affections, will exalt it among
the worlds, and will station around it the guards of
his omnipotence. It is called holy, and that in a
sense not negative, but positive-not: merely to indicate its freedom from defilement, but as a dwellingplace of holiness-as the home of spotless beings who
will adore their Maker with seraphic ardors, and will
extol him  with everlasting anthems.  It is called
God's holy mountain, not merely to designate his
property therein, but in token of his purpose to dwell
and reign there, and make it glorious as the place of
his rest.
The language indicates that the whole earth will be
sanctified, and will become the mountain of God.
The islands and continents; the rivers, seas, and
oceans, shall aspire to this Divine honor, and shall
not aspire in vain. God will impress a comely uniformity upon every thing terrestrial-a uniformity- not
of outward aspect, but of moral, spiritual grace. The
inequalities which now obtain between nations, civilized and barbarous, Christian and heathen, will disappear. The " Sun of Righteousness" will rise on all
the nations. Every valley shall be exalted, and every
mountain shall be brought low; the crooked places
shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
The state of the world will then be one of perfect innocence. There shall be nothing to hurt or destroy.
What a picture is this. of the happiness of a reno



3 74                SERMONS.
vated world:- a picture without one gloomy shade, fair
as light and comely as heaven! Now, almost' every
thing is charged with some malignant influence.
Whatever may attract us, we approach dreading some
latent evil.'- When we: pluck the.rose, we watch for
the thorn; when we recline in bowers, we dread the
serpent; when we gather sweet fruit, we select the
salutary from the. poisonous; when we breathe the
most fragrant atmosphere, we are apprehensive of the
wandering pestilence.  Human associations,' which
seem to promise security and rapture, are found to be
both perilous and painful.' Even friendship deceives
us. It invites our -confidence, betrays our weaknesses, and triumphs in our agonies. The strongest,
purest love, such as glows in the maternal bosom, has
been known to turn back its streams, or to be dried
up in its fountains. In fine, every thing, animate'and
inanimate, rational and irirational, is less our. friend
than our foe-is more to be dreaded than to be desired-is more to be avoided for its probable malignity, than to be sought for its possible advantages.
So true is -this, that experience teaches us to assume
a repulsive attitude toward every thing around us,
and either bid defiance to the world, or yield ourselves its despairing victims.
Such a world as this God has adopted as his own,
and has purposed by regeneration it shall.become the
seat of unoffending innocence and of universal love.
After a few more generations, ours will become a
sanctified race. All will be holy. Not a thought, a
sentiment, or an agent of evil, will be found in all
these regions of terror, pain, and death. Where all




THE SABBATH OF THE WORLD.         37.5
will be.,holy, there can be no need of suffering, for the
purposes either of discipline or punishment. Every
bosom will then overflow, not as now, with malignant passions, but with charities pure as the love, and
refreshing as the mercy of'Godhead. Frequent and
joyous, then, will be the communion between earth
and heaven. No more will angel messengers bear
from paradise commissions of vengeance. They will
descend as ministers of mercy, to adore Immanuel in
this, his holy habitation, and to salute with pure embraces the redeemed of his love.  No more shall
pestilence and death go before Jehovah; but he shall
lay his hand upon the nations to bless them, and
from his rainbow smile shall distill diffusive: rapture,
to crown the bliss of this new-created world.
While:.earth and heaven will be so intimately
blended, powers infernal shall dread the holy concord,
and quake at their affiance. Earth and hell shall be
divorced.  Their league against Jehovah shall be
broken, and all their ancient covenants shall be dissolved. The devil and his angels shall be exiled to
the pit, and not come forth to vex the nations. The
omnipotent dynasty of Zion's King will guard the approaches to that holy mount, which will then be the
seat of an empire secure and impregnable as the
barriers of heaven.
And now, can you scarcely anticipate the approach of these scenes? Do you deem it almost too
much to be believed, that out of materials so unsightly as the world now contains, there should arise
a beauty so perfect? that from such vile discord there
should arise such harmony? that from a universe of




376                 SERMONS.
groans and tears there should arise a'universe teeming with bliss and flooded with rapture?  We know
it is a matter in which doubt is facile and faith is
difficult; yet we have at hand a cure for skepticism.
God has pledged this blessedness to the world, and
his covenant is begun to be fulfilled. The testimony
of his lips and the evidence of our senses are a sufficient confirmation. Whoever suspects his naked
word, his covenant, his oath, may behold the world in
its gradual transition from a lower to a loftier moral
station. He may witness the working of meliorating
influences, or, rather, of regenerating energies, which,
from their effects, are known to be of sufficient force
and virtue to complete the new creation.
But we shall amplify this thought as -we proceedIII.. To consider the world in its transit from a
ruined to a renovated state. On this topic we shall
confine ourselves to the power, the mode, and the instruments of its renovation.
I. The power is Divine. The same Almighty
energy which reared the stately fabric is engaged to
reidify. the whole. This truth must never be forgotten.. On it we must build our high expectations of
the coming grace and glory. Faith would be folly
did it look to any arm but that of Omnipotence to
effect so great a change. Our labor to advance it
would be almost profane, were it not bestowed in reliance on God. The enterprise is his own. All its
parts bear the impress of his hand. Every new-born
soul is begotten by his word, and can trace its heavenly life to the quickening influence of his Spirit. At
that moment when the world shall be wholly sancti



THE SABBA TH OF.THE WORLD.         377
fled, it will form. a; richler illustration of. his: wisdom,
power, and love, than when the'"morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God-shouted for joy."
2. Although Divine power will effect this new
creation, it will not be by miracle. It will be -a
gradual, not an instantaneous work. It will'be, not
like the springing up of worlds from chaos, but like
the stealing dawn or the cautious tread of Spring, its
march will be" clandestine, and -its gentle, noiseless
conquests will be almost unobserved among the nations. And thus the text: presents it. The knowledge
of God, or of his truth,: diffused throughout the earth,
is to transform it into holiness and beauty. The Bible
is the source of Christian knowledge. This blessed
volume, attended by the Holy Ghost, is charged with
energy divine. The power of God is in it. You may
perceive, then, that the world is now suffering tranisformation and improvement'. 
Within half a century'the'Bible has been translated into'a multitude of languages.: It is'now: rendered accessible to a hundred'tribes and nations,
which were lately excluded from  all its hopes and
joys. And more than' this, the preaching of the Gospel is ordained to give it impression and effect... And
its ministers -are multiplied.  Many are running to
and fro, and' knowledge'is increased.'The world,
which had for centuries looked with nausea upon the
proffered Word -of life, now displays a craving' appetite
for its teachings and-. its "blessings.  Once the heathen waited for the.:Gospel -to search them: out; but
now, like the hungry multitudes which followed after
Jesus, they come to seek the Gospel.. Their sighs,
32




378                 SERMONS.
borne on the breezes of the wilderness; die away upon
our ears, and fall like' death-sounds on our hearts.
They traverse arid plains- and ocean wastes, and, like
the Athenian messenger from  Marathon, sink, faint
and dying, at our thresholds.   But in their agony
they raise -their -withered hands, point us to their
country, and whisper' the "name of the Christian's
God!".
What mean these tokens?'They admonish us
that God, by his. Spirit, has created a' universal thirst
among the nations, and.that they are turning everywhere-to find the springs of life'. The whole earth is
convulsed by: the movement. An earthquake shakes
the glqbe-.not to bury in'its ruins the dwellers on
its surface, but to rouse their sleeping consciences,
to display God's. awful power, to reveal the reeking
wonders of'the Cross, and to- impel its streams of
healing  mercy to a universe of broken, bleeding
hearts.: Then earth shall' be like heaven.
3. But: in the regeneration of- the world there are
not only power and method,. but. instruments. Such
is God's plan.'of working, that the instruments-are as
indispensable as the power.  Without them God will
not exercise his power..His chief instruments are
the ministers of Jesus, and' the -members of. his militant Church..To his ministers he:says, " Go ye' into
all the world, and preach my Gospel to'every creature."  The. Church he warns to' pray. for his-ministers, to reciprocate temporal good for spiritual, and,
more generally,'to "distribute to the necessities of
the.saints."..
The preachers of God's Word are his instruments




THE SABBATH OF THE WORLD.         379
in executing the most beneficent enterprise ever conceived by infinite wisdom. This is enough to overwhelm  them.  To think that they, frail earthen
vessels, are made the depositories of the treasures of
Gospel truth, and are commanded at their peril to
distribute those treasures, not to a few, nor to many,
but to all, is enough to raise the dead. It may well
allay their worldliness, chasten all their pleasures,
annihilate ambition, root out pride, and blot from
their hearts the love, and even memory of every thing
but duty.
Their condition is embarrassing. Moved by the
high behest of Heaven, they take on them the ministry; yet they feel that to accomplish its full purpose,
the Church must minister to them also. In the name
of a disciple she must bestow a crumb of bread and
a cup of cold water. She must freight them on shipboard, and send them forth.as wanderers, to pray, and
preach, and die, in barbarous climes. She must furnish them with copies of the Scriptures, that they
may sow the seeds of truth in pagan soils, and leave
it to a happier generation of Christ's servants to reap
what they have sown.
We say their position is embarrassing. And do
you ask why? Because it involves both responsibility and dependence. God commands them to visit
all the world. He enjoins it on the Church to empower them to do it. They depend on the Church.
But if she prove craven, her dereliction is no excuse
for them. If the Church will feed them, they can go
and live and labor; if she will not feed them, they
must go and suffer and die.




380                    SERMONS.
And  now  I am  at that point of this discourse
which appeals to -the Church's sense of duty, to her
humanity, to her ardent Christian charity and sympathy. To preserve unity in this appeal I will reject
all other topics, and press on your attention the sufferings of the missionary. You know that many of
the'ministers of Jesus are turning their faces from
the delights of home and country, to the arid wastes of
paganism. Some are already enshrouded in its gloom,
some are buried in its bloody soil.  Some are on the
ocean seeking for, and hastening to, the deserts which
are to drink their flowing tears, and expose their
bleaching bones. Some seek the equator, some the
pole; some bear the standard of the Cross into' the
heart of bleeding Africa; some unfurl it on the shores
of Ceylon, others at the bases of the Andes, and others
still on the plains of Oregon.
"From shores where freedom dwells, and Gospel lightWhere holy Truth unveils her radiance bright,
Glides the proud vessel to the distant strand;
With eager footstep, on that stranger land,
Alights the messenger of peace-his eye
The index of his heart's philanthropy.
How changed the scene! The savage, nursed in blood,
Impure, and treacherous as the changeful flood,
Circles his exile home; enslaved to sense,
Degraded outcasts from intelligence."
While he suffers in cold exile, you dwell at home.
You greet your friends by day, and your own hearth
becomes a paradise by night. You have found the
blessed Savior. His presence cheers your dwelling,
sanctifies your joys, calls forth aspiring hope, will
guide you to the tomb, and will transport you to




THE SABBA~,O: O  THE WORLD.      38 
heaven. Consider all these circumstances of comfort, hope, and joy, then turn to the wandering minister of Jesus. Array your ease against his toil, ybur
joys against his sorrows, your sweet associations in
the midst of Christian life against his frightful solitude, or his more frightful- fellowships. Set'your
means of comfort, your' competency, your wealth,
against'his''destitution,'his poverty, his vagrancy.
Place the pictures before you in their shades of striking contrast, and then, for the sake of Jesus Christ,
spare him from your abundance one little morsel. I
ask'not your dwellings, or'furniture, or treasures-I
ask no more-than you give in one short year to
gew-gaws and sweetmeats for your children.' They
for whom I ask it are holy men of God.'Their names
are; written in'heaven, and they: will shine as the
stars forever and ever; yet they will gladly eat the
crumbs that fall around your tables. Surely you will
not spurn them; you will grant them this poor privilege. But as you can not send them fragments of
-bread and flesh, bestow'a little silver in their place.
A dollar from your hand may relieve the hunger. of
-an apostle of the Lord, and purchase for him the
privilege of pointing the savage eye of some proud,
expiring pagan to the bleeding Lamb of God!




382                 SERMONS.
XXI.
THE IMMUTABILITY OF CHRIST.
" yesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, andforever." Hebrews
xiii, 8.
I MMUTABILITY  belongs only to God.  It is
claimed by him  in the Scriptures of truth as
one of his distinguishing attributes-an attribute in
which he differs from all creatures, and by which he
is elevated infinitely above them. To the immutability: of his nature he teaches us to trace the stability
of his purposes, and the moral uniformity of-his government over the world. To his immutability we
must ascribe that deliberation: of his providence which
neither his: friends nor his foes can disturb-a deliberation which prevents all haste to reward and to
punish, and which accomplishes the work of moral
correction, and of ultimate retribution wisely, both in
regard to their methods and their periods,: "I am the
Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed."
The text ascribes immutability to our Lord Jesus
Christ. Of course, it presents him as clothed with an
incommunicable attribute of Jehovah.  No language
can be found, in the Jewish or Christian Scriptures,
which -less equivocally or more forcibly asserts




THIE IMMUTABILITY OF CHRIS7        383
absolute and eteirnal unchangeableness, than does the
language of the text-" Yesterday-to-day-and forever."  Yesterday denotes eternity past; to-day designates the present; forever points to eternity future.
In these three states, embracing with an impressive
particularity and emphasis a whole eternity, Christ is
declared to be the same. And the declaration proceeds from authority which it were impious to discredit, and profane to contradict.
The inevitable'inference is, that Christ is the "true
God."  This is.the conclusion to which the language
of the text would naturally conduct the mind of a
docile disciple. Can we apply its affirmation to creatures the most. exalted?  Enoch, and David, and Paul
were very eminent men. Substitute either of those
names, or that of Michael or Gabriel, for Jesus Christ,
in the text, and you can better determine the propriety of reducing our blessed Lord to an equality with
angels, or to a level with mere man.
The apostle inculcates patience under trials, by an
argument drawn from the unchangeableness of Christ.
Let us briefly dwell on this encouraging theme, by
considering,
I. What'is implied in the DIVINE IMMUTABILITY.
II.; The: peculiar support which the believer derives
from.THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF CHRIST, as blending
in himself the Divine and human natures.
I.: Let us inquire what is implied in the Divine
immutability.:. On this point we must be cautious,
and not include in the idea of Christ's immutability
that. which does not.properly belong to it. When we
say that he is unchangeable,'we do. not mean that




384                 SER-MONS.
whatever may be predicated of him is- unchangeable.
Action may be predicated of Christ. But his actions:
are not invariably the same. He employs his agency
in new scenes of creation and providence, and with
variations adapted to the purposes of his infinitely inventive and benevolent mind. To speak more plainly,
he begins to do things which he had never done, and
ceases to do them when: his work is finished.  He began to make this world, and having accomplished it,
as the history declares, he "rested from all his work."
The time will come when he will begin to destroy
this world, and having done it, he will cease. It'is
evident, then, that there are variations in Christ's
agency. And such variations we shall find to be in
perfect harmony with his immutability.
The immutability of Christ does' not imply an unchanzging providence.  His government. must always
suit the moral states-the holiness or the sinfulness
of his creatures. If his subjects are immutable, his
providence must be so; but if they change, his' dispensations toward them -must be varied. His creatures have changed. The'holy have become sinful,and the sinful holy. Therefore, his providence, toward
them  has also changed.' The'Divine smiles,'which
originally constituted the bliss of the unsinning"pair,
have been turned into frowns. Curse has succeeded
blessing at the mouth of-the Lord. Paradise, with
its charms, has been blotted out, and: earth has become a depository of plagues and.curses, to distress
and to destroy her rebellious children. This is an
example of the innumerable variations of providence
toward capricious: moral subjects. Christ's immutable




THE IMMUTABILITY OF CHRIST.        385
rectitude requires that his providence should be, thus
varied, and adapted with infinite skill to the moral
states'of his creatures.
Christ's immutability does not require that he
should so adjust his providences to the moral states
of his creatures, as to render their harmony apparent
to us in this life. He is pledged to the ultimate vindication of all his actions. But the time is not now,
At present he permits his ways to be involved in
much obscurity, so far as man is concerned. We are
left to wonder at the; -sufferings of the innocent, and
the prosperity of the guilty; and must wait until
"every secret thing is brought into judgment," for the
clearing up'of; the mysteries which are involved in
the Divine administration. ~ To us it. would seem that
there is partiality in the controlling energy which
-sends the Gospel to one nation and not to anotherwhich produces a revival in one city and not in another-which bears present conviction to the conscience of one sinner and not of another. Without
the Bible to guard us, and without faith in its assurances, we might infer from such dispensations that
God is exceedingly caprieious, and that he is as free
from the control of firm and righteous principle as
the most unstable and unreasonable of his creatures.
But all these temptations to misconceive and misjudge the Divine administration grow out of our ignorance; which God will sometime disperse, and show
us, to our admiration, that he was unchangeably wise
and righteous in his government of mankind.
Christ's immutability does not imply a circumstantial uniformity in the revelations which he makes of
33




-386               SER4MONS.
himself to his creatures.  His countenance may
change-may be veiled and unveiled by turns, while
he remains the same.  He, therefore, appears and
disappears among men, as suits the purposes of his
infinite wisdom. In ancient times he exhibited the
tokens of his presence to the senses-as to Adam, to
Jacob, to Abraham, and to Moses. He revealed himself in the groves of Paradise, in the pillar of fire, and
in the lightnings of the stormy mount. Sometimes
his presence was a form exhibited to the eye, sometimes a sound falling on the ear, and sometimes an
impression resting on the soul, and overwhelming it
with the tokens of his anger or his love. He came
also as angel or as man, to hold converse with his
degenerate children. But he did not always walk in
Eden, nor glow in the burning bush, nor thunder on
the mount of terrors, nor shine amidst the tents and
tabernacles of Israel. Yet veiled or unveiled, seen
or unseen, revealed in fire, in thunder, irn the form of
man or angel, or not revealed at all, Christ himself is
the same.
But how. is he the same? He is the same in his
attributes, in his purposes, and in his promises.
He is the same in his attributes. He is unchangeable in his omnipresence, his omniscience, and his
omnipotence. These are involuntary and necessary
attributes. He can no more dispense with them than
with his being. They are his yesterday, to-day, and
forever. They were employed in the creation. In
originating and cherishing the forms of universal life,
they will be employed forever. He is infinitely and
unchangeably wise. He knows the end from the




THE IMMUTABILITY 0F CHRIST.         387
beginning, and makes an infinitely equitable use of his
knowledge. He is infinitely and unchangeably holy.
This is a voluntary attribute, in which he exceedingly
delights, and which flows in streams of ceaseless beneficence to.the myriads of his creatures.
He is unchangeable in his purposes. These have
always existed under the influence of unmingled benevolence, and thus they always will exist. It is now,
always was, and always will be, his purpose to punish
sin, and to reward obedience. Never for a single
moment has he relaxed this holy and righteous purpose.  It is as inflexible as the pillars of his throne.
~.When that purpose changes, Christ will cease to be
Jehovah.
Lastly, he is unchangeable in his promises. His
promises are mere records or publications of his purposes, and as these are stable, those must be sure.
All his promises, both to the good and to the evil,
will be fulfilled in showers of blessings or in storms
of wrath. He has said that heaven and earth may
pass away, but that his Word shall not pass away.
He has added oaths to promises, that, doubly assured,
we may be warned or comforted-warned, as obdurate
sinners, that there is no hope of escape; and encouraged, as contrite believers, that no wrath awaits us.
Thus is Jesus Christ, in the language of the text, " the
same yesterday, to-day, and forever."  In his essential
attributes, in his holy purposes, and in his unfailing
promises, he is the unchangeable Jehovah.
II. The doctrine of Christ's immutability affords
support to believers under trials. The unchangeableness of Jehovah, viewed separate from Christ, can not




388                SERMONS.
comfort-can not strengthen. It is when Divine immutability blends with the condescending sympathies
of humanity in the person of Christ, that it becomes
available to our support.
That we may appreciate our Christian privileges,
we must consider that in Christ-we have a new manifestation of Jehovah. We have noticed the various
forms in which he formerly revealed his presence to
mankind. In ancient times, these revelations were
made to select individuals or communities. But when
Christ came in the flesh; the revelation was intended
for the world. He who blessed Abraham, wrestled
with Israel, and talked with Moses face to face-he
who associated with Shadrach and his brethren in the
furnace, and guarded Daniel among the lions, came at
last on a visit less transient, and far more public, and
gracious, and merciful. For four thousand years, a
mysterious sympathy for our fallen race had occasionally brought the Holy One of Israel into the midst of
us. At last he comes to fix the "habitation of God
amongst men." But he does not appear in cloud or in
flame —in the vesture of lightning or of storm. Nor
does he come in the form of angel, or with the mere
countenance of man. His last advent of mercy is inz
theflesh, and is assumed by ordinary forms. Like any
of his creatures, he goes to the wardrobe of nature,
seeks his attire, casts it around him,:and presents his
humbled humanity to the world. Why was not that
humanity assumed by some open and attractive miracle? Because he:;would not avert its reproach, and
invest it with a dignity not properly its own. He
chose to appear in. servile'form, uncomely as a root




THE IMMUTABILTY' OF CHRIST.        389
out: of dry ground.: To the eye of ambition his was a
repulsive, not an attractive presence. Whatever was
exotic to human nature, he seemed resolutely to exclude; while all that was indigenous - except its
moral taint —he seemed;resolutely to claim. Nativity,
infancy, childhood, youth, and mature: age, were his
chosen states. He practiced submission in domestic
and social life. He had the innocent appetites of
man, and sought their sinless gratification. His lot
was poverty and reproach. Privation, with its hunger
and thirst, its houseless. vagrancy and weariness and
painfulness, was his heritage. Can -we contemplate
him in these aspects of depressed:humanity, and accredit him -as the immutable God.?  While- we look
upon his visage, "marred more than any man," can
we feel that we look: upon Jehovah?
We often derive. false impressions from outward
show, even when we know that' show to. be, deceitful.
Virtue in a ragged livery is slighted, while vice in
princely robes is half adored. So it is with persons.
Royalty enthroned is feared and obeyed-in exile, is
pitied and despised. When David issued his. mandates from the palace, they'were obeyed with diligent
dispatch; but in-reproach and exile his royal order
was forgotten,. and his wretched son was slain. We
are strongly moved by outward appearances, and
slightly affected by objects of faith —unless that faith
be of the operation of God. In our views of Christ,'the text should correct this tendency. From  the
manger and the cross, it should direct our attention
to the glory which Jesus "had with the Father before
the world was.", In his humiliation his judgment is




390                SERMONS.
taken away-his character is misconceived, unless
from the point of observation which discloses the
scenes of his suffering, faith looks upward and surveys his forsaken throne. In his mere agony, can we
perceive any thing to impress us with reverence or
adoration? Is there dignity in a: crown of thorns?
Is there honor —is'there glory in the Roman cross?
Alas! unrestrained by a divinely wrought faith, how
promptly does nature rise up in us, as we take our
station at the cross of the sufferer, and demand-" If
this Christ be God, where now is his Deity? Where
is his wisdom-where his strength, that he eludes
not-resists not his sanguinary foes?' If this Christ
be God, whence these throes, these convulsive pangsthe wail bursting from a spirit overwhelmed with terrors, and confessing its exile from the Father?"
Faith must respond to these interrogatories. They
rise in the minds of all, and sometimes to the disquiet
of the sincere. It must be settled in our hearts, that
in his humiliation the divine glories of Christ-like
the sun behind the clouds-are not quenched, but
veiled. And do we not see his Godhead now and
then beaming through the concealment which.surrounds him? Sometimes the tokens of his humanity
and his Deity blend in most convincing concert.
Consider his birth. At the mention of it, do the
manger and its rude associations suddenly present
themselves?  Do you seem  to behold the ejected
parent, driven out, like Adam from Eden, to implorefrom nature a shelter for' its exiled God-or with the
embarrassment of meek-eyed modesty,. seeking to
fraternize him with.the tenants of the stall?. While




THE IMMUTABILITY OF CHRIST.           391
you remember these things, do not forget that other
events belong to the history of his birth. No prince
or potentate was ever honored with such rare pageantry as attended the natal hour of the Son of God.
Earth disregarded, but heaven was moved-all its
harps were strung, and untried melodies flowed to
other worlds:
"Swift through the vast expanse it flew,
And loud the echo roll'd;
The theme, the song, the joy was new,'T was more than heaven could hold.
Down through the portals of the sky
The impetuous torrent ran;
And angels flew with eager joy,
To bear the news to man."
The nativity of Jesus was heralded by the prophets
of four thousand years, and by messengers of God
out of heaven.
Our Savior's life, as well as his birth,. displays both
his Godhead and his manhood.  True, as man, he
suffers the pangs of hunger; but as God, he feeds
thousands upon a few loaves. As man, he seeks
fruit from the tree; but as God, his word blasts the
tree from  its root.  Does he ride into Jerusalem  on
an ass? He also rideS upon the wings of the wind,
and makes the waters his pathway, transporting himself from the mountain to Gennesaret, and walking
on its stormy waves. Was he derisively robed in
scarlet, and.crowned with thorns? At his transfiguration he was clothed in raiment white as snow, and
his face did shine as the sun. Did he yield to the
power of death, and give up the ghost? Even the
grave was his empire, and he held its keys.  In his




392                 SERMO NS.
own good- time he spurned its dominion and cast
away its cords.
Such are some of the tokens of Christ's supreme
Divinity.  And now, standing by the cross, and
watching the scene of his deep humiliation, let us
realize that we behold the true God. Let us never
forget that the expiring Nazarene is infinite'in glory.
Those very eyes which pour out floods of sympathy
at the grave of Lazarus, look through heaven, earth,
and hell. Yonder victim of human impotence formed
the worlds, marked their courses, and impels them in
their flight.  He who cries, "I thirst,'? laid earth's
broad foundations, reared its massy mountains, delved
its vales, and hollowed the beds of its seas and
oceans. Is it so?'In that weary sufferer are there
concealed the energies which impress this fair creation with its charms? To that fainting form may we
trace the hidden source of all that ever ewas, or is, or
shall be? Yes. He who is now gasping out his life,
once breathed on chaotic ruins and marshaled them
in order. He breathed again,. and earth forsook her
chambers to greet the new-born light. He breathed
again, and verdant charms and flowery graces: curled
and waved upon her surface. He breathed again, and
from her teeming bosom sprang all that animate her
dust, shelter in her vales, or flood with life her watery
depths and airy heights.
Deem not these views of the character of Jesus
irrelevant to my theme. They will prepare us better
to appreciate the doctrine which the text inculcates.
Immutability, of itself, has no value. Its excellence
as an element of character depends on other asso



THE IMMUTABILITY OF CHRIST..393
ciated attributes.: Let wisdom, power, and benevolence
be stamped with the seal of immutability, and they
constitute.infinite perfection.. In Jesus Christ we
have: all..- But- we:have: them, too, in forms of-revelation, which assort most strangely with' our'own state.
That -God in all his persons' is unchangeably wise,
strong, and good, we might possibly have perceived
without -their manifestation by Christ as our incarnate
Redeemer.-' But'whether without'Christ we could
have availed ourselves of that knowledge for saving
purposes, is more than doubtful. In such a case we
should- have regarded God's wisdom as strictly. judicial,'his'power- as the minister of stern equity,, and
his goodness as the: almoner of bounty and of bliss to
those only who:yield a sinless and perpetual obedience
to:his'declared will. We should have' inferred;from
these attributes of Jehovah, the inevitable destruction
of all -moral offenders, and the preservation of the unsinning, in states of perfect enjoyment. If, as sinners, we had in, such circumstances fondly looked for
the' favor of God, it would have been an unreasonable,
because an unwarranted expectation.
Who now can fail to perceive the nature of our
gains, as.sinners, by the sufferings of Christ?. He is
not only:: wise,.but he has become our wisdom.  He
is not only righteous, but he has become our righteousness..:  He is not only holy, but he. has. become
our sanctification.  And "to draw  us by the..sweet
violence of a subduing faith to these, his treasures of
wisdom, strength, and beauty, he makes out. to us
the evidence:of three things: First-that he hath
borne in himself our weaknesses and woes, and of




39o4 f             SERMONS.
course feels a quick sympathy for our sorrows, and a
deep concern in our destinies. Second-that these
benevolent sympathies are armed with the strength
of omnipotence, in our behalf. Third-that these
sympathies of his manhood, and this energy of his
Godhead, are immutable; -so that we can fear no
change in the blessed Savior's willingness and ability
to bring " off conquerors, and more than conquerors,"
all who enlist under his banner, and cleave to him as
the Captain of their salvation. This last is the doctrine of the text.
How can the believer indulge a servile fear, when
he is taught thus to apprehend Christ? Entering
his closet, he bows down between the cross and, the
throne. There, are pledged to him the sympathies
of the humanity, and the energies of the Divinity.
He pleads with him who not only occupies the throne,
but with him who -also reposed in the manger-with
him who not. only commands the winds and waves,
but with him who also wept over Jerusalem-with
him who not only will judge the worlds, but with him
who also felt the agonies of dissolution, and bowed
himself submissive unto death.
In the language of the context, then, consider him
who is "the end" of the -believer's "conversation "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.
Consider him in his states of humiliation and exaltation-of weakness and of power-of suffering and of
triumph. Especially, when grief and temptation, with
all their waves and billows, go over thee, keep thy
steadfast eye on him who has made the passage of
this sea of sorrows before thee, that he might, as an




THE IMMUTABILITY.OF CHRIST           395
experienced voyager along its stormy passes, keep
thee from harm, guide thee in safety, and bring thee
to the haven:
"While he is intimately nigh,
Who-who can violate thy rest?
Sin, earth, and hell, thou mayest defy,
Leaning upon thy Savior's breast."
Finally-if we would know what Jesus is, let us
search the records of his life. From his condescension while on earth-from his tender solicitude for
his followers, from  the compassion with which his
bosom overflowed toward the sick and the suffering,
and from the prompt exercise of. his power to relieve
those who believingly and reverently sought his.mercy, we are to judge of his. present character.
How many. and how wonderful were the examples of
his charity!'Whose hunger did, he not relieve?
Whose infirmities did he not bear.?. Whose sickness
did he not heal? And has he divorced himself from
pity? He bore his humanity to heaven, and has
he left his sympathies behind?  No. We have not
an High Priest who can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.  He will:still. bear our weaknesses.  He was already ascended. when the apostle
said, "Cast all your care upon. him, for he careth for
you."  Blessed be his holy name, he still knows, as in
the days of his flesh, "how to succor them  that are
tempted," and still he speaks to us, and says: "I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee."




396                 SERMONS.
XXII.
CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM.
A DISCOURSE OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT
HARRISON.
"Pray for the peace of yerusalem." Psalm cxxii, 6.
XAJE  are brought just now to a solemn pause.
An unexpected and deplored event.assembles
millions in the temples of religion, to humble themselves devotionally before God, and to consider the
meaning of his providences. Thus:we are assembled. The tenor of the proclamation which convenes
us must govern' our -meditations. It calls us, not to
pronounce eulogies on the illustrious dead, but to
offer prayer to the supreme Governor of nations: for
our country-for its government, so much the object
of our solicitude and prayers-for its surviving rulers,
burdened with such delicate and vital trusts, and for
ourselves, under God the sovereign guardians -of its
integrity and welfare.
Prayer is helped by meditation. To Contemplate
the good which our prayers are intended to.secure,
will feed the fervor of our, devotions.  Let.us, then,
while performing acts of national humiliation, glance
at those social interests whose perpetual preservation
we anxiously implore. The genius of our Federal




CHRISTiAN PA TRIO TISM.         397
Constitution demands that we institute frequent and
solemn inquisitions to assure us of the integrity of
its ministers and of its beneficent operation. And it
is in harmony with the event which has convened
us, and with the patriotism which glowed in the
bosom of our lamented Chief Magistrate, that our
thoughts and sympathies should travel forth, and be
busied in devices for the welfare of the nation. Assembled as we are, to implore blessings on our country, how meet it is to inquire what will make that
country blest!
I shall invite your patient but brief attention to
the following questions:
I. WHAT BLESSINGS SHOULD WE SEEK FOR.OUR
COUNTRY?
II.; WHY SHOULD WE SEEK THEMi BY PRAYER?
I. Among the national blessings which we should
seek for our country, I will enumerate
I. A beneficent form of civil government. Government is necessary. This is implied in the Jewish and
Christian Scriptures, and has been confessed in all
ages. A few years since it could not have been believed. that an American would rise up and denounce
all human government. It remained for recent times,
with its unprecedented ultraisms-its neological advances in religion, in philanthropy, and in social improvement, to commence crusades against all political
institutions. It has been justly held that the worst
government is better than none, because without it.
society could not exist. Let religion reach the point
of perfect and universal sanctification, and it would
not render civil government unnecessary or inexpe



398                 SERMONS.
dient. It would modify our political constitutions by
relaxing the rigor of their provisions and rendering
penalties useless. But national distinctions would
remain, and would perpetuate the bonds of civil compacts. Before government can be dispensed with,
men must be infallible in understanding as well as
immaculate in purpose. I repeat, therefore, that civil
government is necessary, and its worst form is better
than none.
But all forms are not of equal utility. Some governments are evil, though less evil than anarchy.
Good government is among the choicest donations of
Providence. It is good in itself, and it enhances the
value of every other gift. Whether government
shall be a blessing or a curse, or both by turns, or
both with subtractions and mitigations, depends much
on the provisions of the civil constitution.  By constitution I mean those written instruments, or those
cherished usages which create the depositories of
civil power. The constitution prescribes that the
supreme power shall be in one, in many, or in a majority. It dictates how much power public officers
shall sway-whether they shall be-elective or hereditary-whether the legislative, judicial, and executive
departments shall be blended or severed, and other
cardinal principles of equal and of vital moment.
The constitution, then, has much to do with the
prosperity or adversity of any nation. It is true that
under the worst constitution the people may enjoy
prosperous periods. In an absolute monarchy, where
the will of the sovereign is law, and where the most
cruel mandates are unquestioned, tyranny can not




CHRIS TIAN PA TRIO TISM..   399
always -occupy the throne. It will now and'then
leave an interregnum to be filled by a gentler spirit,
under whose generous scepter. the oppressed'may
breathe. But these are only accidental or providential intervals in the career of tyranny. Government should secure something to its subjects.
Men should so fashion it as to enforce its contributions to their peace and happiness. God has nowhere commanded us to erect thrones, invest them
with the indefeasible prerogatives of tyranny, and
yield them  to the possession of whomsoever the
issues of war or stratagem may place thereon. Nor
has he called us.to construct governments whose
principles shall subject us to the ministry of mercy:or of malevolence, according as good or evil men
shall chance to ascend the seats of power. So far
from this, we are morally obliged to secure, if possible, -forms of government which shall not only yield
brief periods of prosperity, but which shall secure -to
us unremitted thrift and happiness-forms which
shall not render tyranny facile and protection difficult; but such as shall make equity and clemency
inevitable, and oppression, as nearly as may be, impossible. Under the influence of such governments,
society assumes new and attractive forms. Where
they exist, they should be cherished with almost as
much solicitude as was the fire.upon the Jewish altar.
In all these respects no government excels our
own. Its prominent features are so nearly what we
might desire, that there is small chance for improvement. It places the supreme power in the hands of
a popular majority, who exercise it through represent



400                 SERMONS.
atives of: their own enlightened choice.- It extends
the franchises of the citizen to the utmost limits of
safety, and guards his acknowledged rights by the
strongest possible defenses. Under so benign a regimen we have prospered beyond example, and have
reason to be satisfied with our national compact.
We should desire no radical change in our federal
or state constitutions. As to the former, Heaven
forbid that it should yield to any substitute! -Let its
slight blemishes be cured, but in its essential features
may it endure forever.
It is easily inferred that we have no acquisitions
to make on this score. Yet there is something for
us to do. -Our office is to preserve, not to create.
This last our fathers did. Sacred be the work of
their hands! Heaven grant us the wisdom and the
grace not to destroy what they constructed!
2. Another blessing which we should covet for
our country is a righteous and skillful administration.
For the time:being, the best administration makes
the best government. Despotic officers can render
the mildest and most guarded polity tyrannical; for
against the cunning and unmerciful, no constitutional
guards can prove a perfect and sure defense. But
clemency in rulers can render the worst form of government tolerable.
I use the word administration in its generic import, as embracing the legislative, the judicial, -and
the executive functions. These should be exercised
in harmony with the Constitution, which must be
sacredly guarded at whatever sacrifice. The Constitution is supreme.  It is above the magistrate-it is




CHRIS TIAN PA TRIO TISM.        40 I
above the judge-it is above the law and the lawmaker"; and,' finally, it: is above the people, unless
they reach it by the violence of revolution, or touch
it gently with its own consent, and in the manner
which itself prescribes. This supremacy of the Constitution can not -be too much: insisted on. The
popular sentiment should confess and vindicate it.
The nation's heart should feel" it, and - the nation's
pulse should quicken with jealous indignation at the
least approach towards it infringement.
The administration must.be beneficent as well as
constitutional. It must promote the interests of the
people, which it does when it places them in the best
possible circumstances to acquire wealth, knowledge,
and virtue. To secure' such- an administration, honest
and wise men must'be placed at its head-men whose
patriotism will prompt them to'seek the public good,
and whose skill will. devise'the proper means to promote it.' Intimrlately connected, therefore, with the
character of the administration is the.power of election' to office.- Sometimes the Constitution elects, as
in hereditary monarchies and aristocracies. But in
our Government the elections are mostly democratic.
They depend upon the people. Consequently, another element of prosperity is,
3. Popular intelligence'and patriotism,  In the
United States every man who has the, right of suffrage is a sovereign.  He is invested with some of
the highest prerogatives that pertain to the British
throne. In him-are blended legislative, judicial, and
executive functions, By representatives of his own
selection- he makes the law, interprets the'law, and
34




402                 SERMONS.
administers the law.  How dangerous it is to invest an ignorant and profligate man with such lofty
powers!  Every American citizen possesses them.
In proportion, then, to the intelligence and moral integrity of our citizen population is our Government
secure and the nation prospectively prosperous and
happy.
4. A fourth blessing which we should earnestly
crave for our country is the prevalence of Christian
principles which, more than all other causes combined,
contribute to the prosperity of nations. This they
do, not merely for the conservative tendency of such
principles, but because a religious veneration for God
secures his friendship, and enlists the energies of
Omnipotence to build up and to defend. To convince
us of this we need only to consult the history of the
Jews. Popular intelligence is no blessing to society
without popular integrity, and incorruptible integrity
can not exist without the precepts and practice, of the
Christian religion.
These are the moral and political elements of national prosperity. It will be seen that they are of
domestic growth. They arise from internal development. There are others, external or foreign, depending on the civil or militant acts of surrounding nations. But I shall not discuss them. I think, with
Mr. Randolph, that "so long as all is well at home,
nothing can be dangerously wrong abroad." And
what seems wrong, as something often does, might
generally be reached and remedied by prayer.
Another class of inherent elements of prosperity
may be denominated natural or physical. They are,




CHRISTIAN PA TRIO TISM.         403
extent of territory, amount of population and wealth,
climate, soil, and productions; and mercantile facilities, such as sea-coast, harbors, lakes, and navigable
streams. But these are familiar statistics; and as
they are mostly independent of moral influence, I
merely enumerate and pass them by.
Having briefly noticed the elements of national
prosperity, or the blessings which we should crave
for our country, I proceed,
II. To show why we should seek them by prayer.
We should thus seek them,
I. Because these elements of prosperity, and the
agents who control them, are at God's disposal. This
will be admitted. At least, to deny it requires a
great stretch of infidelity. What does it imply? It
implies that the. minds of public men can be so controlled' by Jehovah, that in constructing a government
they shall prefer an aristocracy to a monarchy, or a
republic to both. It implies that executive officers
can be so influenced by the fear of God, or by moral
preferences, that they shall be faithful and just. It
implies that Providence can direct the attention of
nations to the pursuit of truth, and can dispose them
to successful efforts for mental and religious improvement. And, lastly, it implies that he can control the
policy of other nations toward this, and incline them
to be at peace with us; or by withdrawing his merciful restraints, can leave them' to turn their wrath
and weapons against us. Will any- deny that God
can do these things? Whether he does them is hereafter to be inquired. At present I only affirm that
he can do them; although by " can," I mean not an




404                SERMONVS.
ability of power, but an ability of right; that is, he may
do them consistently with his moral rectitude. But,:
2. We should seek these blessings by prayer, because national interests are affected by Divine provideuce. To the believer in revelation the proof is
direct and conclusive. Let us advert to Scripture
examples. Consider the chain of events which planted
the Jews in Palestine, and made them the wonder of
nations. When Abraham. was called into covenant
with God-when Joseph-was sold into Egypt, and
made its lord,.and became the savior of his breth-'
ren-when Moses was rescued from the Nile, adopted
by the princess, taught in the wisdom of the Egyptians, fled to Jethro, and returned as the minister of
God's mercy to his countrymen, and of God's wrath
to their oppressors,.was not Providence'preparing to
build up Jerusalem? When the dust, and the waters,
and the cattle, and the first-born of Egypt were
cursed by the newly commissioned prophet, did not
God curse? When the sea was divided asunder, and
the rock poured out water, and the heavens rained
manna, and the tables of the law were delivered at
Sinai, was it not by God's own providence? When,
with so many and great miracles, Joshua, at the head
of the tribes, entered the promised land, had the:
Lord nothing to do with it? When David went, with
stone and sling, against the proud Philistine, and returned with trophies of victory-when Samuel anointed and Jonathan protected him, till at last he
ascended the vacant throne, was God a mere specta-,
tor?  When'he sinned, and. his enemies' became:
strong —when his own house was against him-when'




CHRISTIAN PA TRO TSM.           405
he fled' from'. the fury of Absalom, and the- nation
was' humbled in the dust, was God afar off?  Had
he no hand in the death of the rebel, in the. return of David, and in the.restoration of'peace to
distracted. Jerusalem? Had he none in the destruction of the'Assyrian hosts, in the captivities of'his
people, and. in the;marvelous proceedings of Cyrus
to rebuild Jerusalem  and restore the tribes?' And,
finally, had he none in those incidents.of. prophesied
vengeance which'brought on Jerusalem her: ultimate
doom,n and has made her peeled and scattered children
a by-word and. a -hissing to this very day?
*  You may say the Jews were God's people, and
Jerusalem was the place of his rest-the city which
he had. chosen to place his name there. I answer,
under the'Gospel dispensation, every nation that fears
God is his peculiar people. Let us, then, turn to..our
own country,:and see if neither the past nor the
present supplies any tokens of God's gracious interference. In the events which preceded and.attended
the settlement of these States are there no certain
indications of a Divine purpose to rear the American
colonies and establish them'a:nation?  I appeal. to
those: who have read the history, and can call to mind
its wonders.: Had Providence nothing to do with the
glorious Revolution?. Who: provided' the men and
the muscle:' thee minds and the- means —the; national
repulsions and:the political affiliations for that period
of trials, and treacheries, and tragedies?.. Were' no
ministers. of.Providence. hovering over. Braddock's
Field, to guard the youthful hero, in whose life were
garnered' the interests of: unborn nations-the'fran



406                 SERMONS.
chises of a continent, if not of a world?  Was that
life the sport of fortune through years of-peril, in
which the sword cut down his fellows on his right and
on his left? Turn from this grateful theme to the city
of brotherly love. Fancy yourself, on the Fourth of
July,'76, in that venerable edifice where the charter
of our freedom, framed without the leave of masters,
received the pledges of our Hancocks, and Jeffersons,
and Harrisons, who devoted life, property, and honor
for its defense. Was no God there? Was there none
to guard the ark which contained that sacred covenant, during eight years of assault, pursuit, and
slaughter? Was there none to control those deliberations that gave to this nation a Constitution, which,
amidst severe conflicts of opinion, was scarcely
adopted by the members of this confederation? Let
Franklin, standing among his peers, and urging them
to pause and implore Jehovah's blessing, answer.
But in later times were there no tokens that God
cared for us? Let land and sea bear testimony.
Lakes and oceans are God's speaking witnesses. Go
to Tippecanoe, to Fort Meigs, to the Thames, and to
New Orleans, and you will light upon the monuments
of Jehovah's care for this rising nation. Go any
where within our borders; for almost every stream,
forest, and prairie within the broad circumference of
the land records some gracious deliverance from
open assault or covert mischief, which, except for
God's timely mercy, had betrayed us or ours to ruin.
In sanguinary conflicts where thousands fought, how
often was the battle ours because Heaven made it
ours! In those border struggles, kept up, with slight




CHRISTIAN PA TRIO TISM.        407
intermissions, since the settlement of Jamestown and
Plymouth, the traces of which have not yet faded
from our Western fields and habitations, what sanguinary horrors have our fathers *escaped by the
watchful providence of Jehovah!
God was with our ancestors beyond the sea; and
he moved them to adventure hither, and dwell in this
vast wilderness. He made for them a highway of
waters, guided them and brought them to these shores.
Where they pitched their tents he erected his pavilion. He saved them from famine and the tomahawk. In peace he blessed them with harmony and
increase. When necessary, he taught their hands to
war and their fingers to fight, and covered their
heads in the day of battle. He inspired their hearts
with the love of holy freedom. He controlled the
minds which framed our excellent Constitution, and
gave that sacred instrument the impress of his wisdom. To say nothing of the living, he bestowed on
us a civic Washington and a Harrison, to bear the
burdens of Government and defend our Constitution.
And in view of these facts, infidel he is-infidel in its
grossest name and measure-who denies that we, as
well as Israel, have had our Moses and our Joshuaour rod of miracles and angel savior. Looking back,
Christian citizens, and reviewing the merciful ways
of Jehovah, we should be ready to exclaim as with
one voice, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of
Jacob is our refuge!" And let me ask if these gracious interpositions of Providence do not infer prayer
for our country? That they do will be more evident,
3. From the fact that such interpositions of Provi



408                 sE RMONS.
dence in behalf of nations are known to have occurred
in answer to prayer. Not to linger on this head; were
not Moses, and Hezekiah, and Daniel men of prayer?
Did they not supplicate blessings on their country?.
Did not God regard them?  Was not their country
blessed, and blessed in answer to their prayers?  Has
not God commanded us to'pray for all men,' especially
for all that are in authority?  Surely he would not
command it unless he were resolved to hear; for-'he
has never said, "Seek ye my face in vain."
-Our Pilgrim' fathers were men of'prayer.  With
prayer they journeyed to these shores,'and raised
their Ebenezer.  With prayer they met their savage
enemies, and found them  as stubble beneath -their
feet. With prayer they subdued the' wilderness, and
turned it into a fruitful field. With prayer the children of Robinson, Winthrop, and Penn breasted the
storm of Revolution, and secured to us freedom and
happiness.
Prayer, then, for our country is reasonable; and it
is the most efficient act of patriotism.  Every thing
else may fail. Counsel may fail-combi.nations of
virtuous citizens may fail-the ballot-box may fail —officers of the Government may desert their principles, and'become recreant to the Constitution, and
to the rights of their constituents.  Thusall'earthly
policies and struggles may be in vain. If there be
any thing that can not: fail to right public wrongs and
correct public abuses, it is: prayer.'. Prayer offered by
one man has done more'for a.nation than' the best
appointed armies. When the wisdom of senators and
the'prowess of heroes have failed, prayer'has -done




CHRISTIAN PA TRIO TISM.        409
the work. It has turned the counsel of the enemy
into foolishness, and slain thousands in a night. No
wonder; for where the faithful pray, there are the
counsel and the sword of Jehovah.
But prayer is a catholic mode of procuring blessings for our country. It can be practiced by all. "I
can not argue for my blessed Savior," said an unlearned, pious martyr, " but I can die for him." Some
of you may say, "We can not fight or make laws for
our country, but we can pray for her prosperity.'  Old
age, leaning on its staff, can cry to God for his blessing on the nation. And this is almost the only proper
sphere of direct effort for female patriotism.  The
mothers and daughters of the land can in this way
wield an influence far-reaching as the presence, and
strong as the omnipotence of Jehovah. Little do we
know how much the supplications of our Revolutionary mothers contributed to the acquisition of our independence. Then, woman was a patriot. She did
not mount the rostrum nor the war-horse; but she
threw away her luxuries; and while her warrior husband grappled with the foe, she was shut in to plead
with God. Washington prayed; and he defended a
praying people, and led praying hosts to battle, or we
should have been, this day, the vassals of our foethe victims of unsuccessful revolution.
Christian citizens, you must be aware that this
land is full of patriotism. If all that boast their love
of country should come by any means to love God,
who gave that country being and is the source of all
its blessings, this would be a pious as well as a patriotic people. -But while you hear so much from men
35




41.0                SERMONS.
of all sorts, about the. love of country, look a little at
their conduct. Does their patriotism mix its breathings with frequent oaths and blasphemies? They
love their country as Satan loved the Savior when
they stood together on a- pinnacle of the temple.
When such men talk about their love of country, the
good may blush to be called patriots. Such patriotism is cheap. It costs little, and yet it always passes
for its value.
If we love our country, let us publish it by our
deeds, not by sounding a trumpet before us. As
Christians, let us never display our patriotism by assuming the air of the demagogue, and contributing to
the tumult of popular conventions. Let us not dishonor God's holy religion by public or private orations, made up of strange admixtures of eulogy and
slander, both as vulgar as can well be invented, and
expressed in terms better suited to the genius of
Robespierre than to the temper of a lowly Christian.
Railing is not a Christian service, even though it be
at unworthy public officers. We may assail them in
our closets with far better success, and this will be
religious opposition. A Christian demagogue is next
to Satan in uncomeliness of character.  His deformity defies description. If we will abandon ourselves
to this earthly drudgery, let us throw off our religious garb, and not involve Christ and the Church.
The Christian who thus seeks to benefit his country
has lost sight of his calling, or never understood it.
He has laid. aside spiritual for carnal-weapons. However good his cause, he does neither guard nor grace
it. He is as much out of character as Gabriel would




CHRISTIAN'PA: TR IO TISM.       411
be, bearing about with him the Weapons of an.'assassin. An angel of light, disrobed of his celestial and
Divinely appointed panoply, reepresents the Christian
who, in attempting to serve his country, forgets:to
pray for its prosperity but.yields himself up to partisan affiliations and rash'political enterprise.' Such
professors of religion are a scourge to any country.
I rejoice that prayer still ascends to' God in behalf of this republic.  Happy for us that the altars
on which our fathers offered incense are not all fallen
down.  Happy, that a few of them  remain in high
~places. I rejoice to remind you that Harrison prayed.
Among the virtues which the nation unitedly accord
him, let this be placed foremost. I confess my admiration for his patriotism, his heroism, and his unostentatious benevolence in private life. But while I
cheerfully acknowledge these, most of.all I'venerate
his efforts at devotion.  I regret his death.for many
reasons, but chiefly because in: him we had a praying
President, who, each morning and each evening, commenced and closed his public labors, by imploring
God's assistance in the execution of his trusts and
pleading for the Divine benediction upon his country.
As a nation we needed this example.  Let'it- not be
lost upon us. While we.treasure in our,. memories
-his dying words, let us be mindful of his manner of
life during'his brief Executive career. It silently invokes us, in the language of. David, to ".pray.for the
peace of Jerusalem.". It testifies that he deemed the
supreme Governor of nations worthy to be sought
unto by. subordinate. rulers.  Let us imitate his confessions of dependence on Jehovah.




412                 SERMONS.
We may watchfully regard the institutions of the
land, but without God's aid we can not defend them.
We may strive to resist assaults upon our civil Constitution; but without his aid our strength shall be
as chaff. We may aim to heal the breaches in that
sacred instrument; but unless God undertake for us,
they will not be healed. We may boldly offer to
withstand the shock of battle when it comes; but
unless he defend, we perish in the conflict. In all
things we are dependent upon Him who setteth up
one and pulleth down another, and who as easily
controls nations as he does men.
Finally, there is no hope for this nation but in
prayer. When we become undevout, we shall be
scattered and peeled.  Nations originally ungodly
may, for a season, survive a state of profligate infidelity and depravity; but a nation originally devout, can
not part with its religion and retain its national honor
and prosperity. Greece and Rome, with all their
-foul idolatries, were not quickly destroyed; but Jerusalem was suddenly and fearfully overwhelmed. So
will it be with us. Surrounding nations may sin and
survive. But if we turn to idols, we rush to fearful
ruin. The foundations of this Government were laid
with pious hands; It was reared with solemn invocations to Jehovah, and was defended by the supplications of devout, warring hosts. When it shall come
to shelter the prayerless and profane, its office will
cease. Then God will blot it from the earth, and
commission holier men to rear up millennial institutions in its place. Let us not suppose that the piety
of our ancestors will save their degenerate children




CHRISTIAN PA TRIO TISM.        413
from this.deserved doom. Remember the Savior's
warning to the Jews, "Think not to say within yourselves,' We have Abraham to our father;' for God is
able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."  No wrath is so consuming as that.which falls
on a people whom God has blessed in vain. The
Jews are an example. Like them we are blessed-in
mercy may we never share'their withering curse!




4I14                SERMOSS.
XXIII...
THE INCARNATION.
"The Word was made fesh and dwelt among us." John i, 14.
THE incarnation is the first among the series of
wonders in  redemption. Whoever seeks to
know the Gospel, must, as a learner, commence here.
The first lesson must be the nativity. Let us, then,
compose our thoughts to meditation on the origin,
the mode, the mystery, the motive, and the benefi-:
cence of the incarnation.
I. Its orzgin is the love of God. Not the love of
the Father only, but the love of Father, Son, and
Spirit. An affection of the Trinity moved Christ's
incarnation. It will mar and quench the beauty and
the fire of our devotions to trace this gift exclusively
to either divine person. It is true that "God gave
the Son to be the Savior of the world;" and it is
equally true that the Son gave himself. The several
persons of Jehovah were consenting, and it was a
common sacrifice-a sacrifice not only on the part of
the Son who was crucified, but also on the part of
the ever-blessed Trinity, who gave him to be crucified.
It is usually understood that Deity is impassive;
or, in other words, is unsusceptible of suffering. This
doctrine may be taught in the Bible, and may be confirmed by reason; but I suppose it does not imply




THE INC-RNA TION.             4.5.
that God.can not exercise compassion. If so, I, for
one, reject it. I know that the lament of Jesus over
Jerusalem, and his tears at the grave of Lazarus, are
ascribed to his humanity; and that may be according
to truth-but certainly his language and behavior on
those occasions scarcely equal in pathos the following
exclamation of Jehovah over his ancient people:
"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall. I
deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? My heart is
turned within me, my repentings are kindled together."  Hosea xi, 8.
Is not this the language of compassion?  It may
be said that "it is accommodated to our conceptions."  Then it surely teaches us that God is not all
intellect; for it expresses "to our conceptions" the
most benevolent and intense -sympathies.  If he is
susceptible of no such emotions, how are our conceptions aided by language which indicates them?.I feel warranted by this and many similar texts to
maintain, as an article of my creed, that the infinite
God is susceptible of compassion; or at least of a
sentiment which can be designated by no better word
in our language. I mean by compassion, in this: instance, a benevolent state of the divine affections,
under:the hinderance of God's charity or-mercy, through
the perverse tempers of free moral agents. To speak
of "the- hinderance of God's mercy" may startle some,
but not if they will study and fairly interpret such
language as, " How often would I have gathered thy
children together as a hen gathereth her brood under
her wings,-and ye would not!" Surely, if words can




416                 SIERMONS.
unequivocally indicate the "hinderance of mercy by
perverse tempers," here.is an example. I conclude,
therefore, that they who inculcate the impassive nature of Deity do not thereby exclude him from compassion. But if: God exercises compassion, when, in
the progress of his universal government, was there
the greatest occasion for its exercise? Doubtless
when he gave his. only begotten and well-beloved
Son to bear the sin of a reprobated world.
Though the Father, Son, and Spirit are one divine
essence, yet they are three divine persons; and the
persons as well as the essence are eternal. The
plurality of this Unity is. such that it forms society.
Of course, God is not solitary; nor was he before
he commenced his creation. As far back as when
no creature existed, God enjoyed fellowships infinitely blissful. This is an argument in the mouth
of philosophy, to confirm the Scriptural testimony in
favor of the Trinity. To..-suppose that before his.
first act of creation. God had existed in a state of
eternal solitude, is.exceedingly repulsive to reason;
and those who hold the doctrine of a Trinity need
not suppose it. They may claim  that there was,
always communion on the throne of God, and to corroborate the sentiment, may refer to Christ's words
in John xvii, 5: "And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was."  And again, in verse
24: " Father, I will that they also whom thou hast
given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; for thou
lovedst me before the foundation of the world."




THE JNCARNA TZON.             4I7
These texts unfold interesting particulars in regard to Christ's preexistence. They not only confirm.the fact that he did exist before his incarnation,
that is, from  eternity, but they teach us that such
was. the distinction (of persons) between the Father
and the Son, that the Son could be the object of the
Father's love. They teach us also that such was the
exalted equality of these two persons, that. the divine
glory was common to both.
The second particular'is what immediately concerns us. The.Father loved the Son before the
foundation of the world; that is, eternally.  Mutual
love constitutes fellowship. Parental'and filial love
form the most blissful of all fellowships. Such love
there was between the Father and the Son. And it
was eternal.: 0, then, what oceans of bliss must have
attended these eternal fellowships -between the persons
of the Trinity!  The Father loved the Son with a
parental love, and, of course, with affections as intense
as was possible to the Infinite Mind; for the Divine
perfections of the Son warranted such an intense love.
But,'in compassion to our race, the Father "gives
his Son," "delivers him  up,"- " spares him  not,"'bruises him," "puts him to grief," "makes his soul
an offering for sin."  Here is a sacrifice (not in the
sense of penal sufferings, like those of the cross)..on
the part of the Father. The Son consents to be
"delivered," "bruised," "put to grief," and suffer the
hidings of his Father's face for a season. Here is a
preliminary sacrifice on the part of the Son. And
doubtless the Holy Ghost shares in these counsels of
pity. That the gift of Jesus was a sacrifice on the




-418                SERRONS.
part. of the Father, we'can: not but:infer..from.the
language of Scripture: " He' that spared not his own
Son, but freely gave him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also: freely give us all things?" That -'it
was:a sacrifice on the part of the Son we lea'rn' from
the agony in the garden, and from the expiring cry,
"My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken: mne:?"
That the Holy Spirit joined in this sacrifice we may
infer from.the fact that God,: in all his sacred persons,
consented to the incarnation-the' Holy. Spirit, especially, having "prepared a body for the Son."
From all this I would conduct you to a conclusion
which I conceive to: be of practical iImportance.: It is
that the three persons of the Godhead,' moved:by one
common affection, namely, compassion for our fallen
race, made a common effort to restore us to purity and
happiness. The Son is the atoning victim, and the
formal sacrifice is made by: him. Yet his chief agony
did not consist in overt persecutions, or in- pains inflicted by mortal hands, but in the -'hiciings of:his
Father's face;: and this last was' a deprivation:to th'e
Father who' inflicted, as - ell as to the Son who endured it, The Father:"spared" the Son to be thus
"bruised"' by the Almighty Hand.::Those infinitely
blessed'fellowships which. had':eternally subsisted: between the persons of the Trinity, were' now, as to their
usual form,; interrupted; and mingled in their felicities
were the'agonies of the filial and ethe compassions' of
the paternal God. It follows that, so far as tokens of
compassion for our fallen state may provoke our penitence and adoration, we should worship not merely
one but the' three persons of Deity with equal ardors




THE INCARNAT rON.             419
of gratitude'and praise. We owe our redemption to
God'- to Father, Son, and Spirit. It is true that. in
Jesus we see: "the fullness of the Godhead"- the fullness of the Divine compassion for our race. And it. is
not to be wondered at that when we adore, our grateful hearts should- be turned to the cross, and should
yearn over the. Victim of our transgressions. But enlightened devotion, such as the holy on earth and in
heaven experience, recognizes the overwhelming presence and mercy and power of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.'
-..  aving thus considered the.origin of the incarnation, and traced it. by the Scriptures to the compassion
of the Trinity, let'us,
II.'Contemplate its mode. First, it was a real incarnation.  There was nothing. illusory or merely
apparent in Christ's humanity. His physical sensibilities and wants were strictly those of flesh'.and
blood-were such as all men. experience, except as
sin and: habit may have modified them. The -Scriptures testify that Jesus. Christ was made of a woman;
that there is one God and one Mediator between God
and men, the -man Christ Jesus; that, as by: man
came death, by man also shall' come the resurrection
of the dead.  To become man he is represented:as
having "emptied'himself" of the form of.God." All
these hints and declarations are in direct opposition to
a sentiment which early obtained among certain heretics who taught that Christ was not born of a woman,
nor was in reality man; but that his birth, and sufferings',: and: death' were illusory-in a word, that all pertaining to his'earthly state was a mere apparition




420                 SERMONS.
from  heaven.,  It was necessary, if we credit the
Scriptures, that the Redeemer should partake of the
nature of the redeemed.  Jesus therefore became
man. He assumed not only a body, but a human
soul, with its proper susceptibilities and infirmities.
He became familiar with all the innocent weaknesses
and woes of our nature; and purposely so, for to feel
and suffer like us were essential to the perfect fulfillment of the mediatorship which he had assumed.
"We have not an high priest who can not be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all
points tempted as we are, yet without sin;" " wherefore, in all things it behooved him. to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and
faithful- high. priest in things pertaining to God. For
in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is
able to succor them that are tempted." Heb. ii, iv.
Second, the incarnation was attended with circumstances of deepk humiliation. Our Savior was born in
an- insignificant town; and yet it seems to have contained no solitary dwelling mean enough to suit his
poverty and obscurity. Mary, therefore, in the hour
of her-extremity, was expelled all human habitation,
and in the rudest, vilest spot in its suburbs, gave
birth to the Prince of glory. Among all the millions
of.mankind, history records the birth of one in a
stable-that one is the Son of God. Who would
have thought that she whom the angel pronounced
"blessed among women," being driven out from. human to brute habitations, should suffer unattended,
-and in the solitude.of her strange exile and desertion,
-should mingle the notes of her first faint eucharist




THE INCARNA TION.            42 I
with the bleatings of the flock, and the lowings of the
herd? The poverty of his parents, with their unseasonable but necessary journeying and absence from
home, rendered the circumstances of the Savior's
birth extremely humiliating.  But the Holy One
elected his own states, and was willing, it would seem,
by his meek example, to. teach us lightly to esteem
the world, and to behave as pilgrims on earth. Thus
does he admonish the rich.of their nothingness, and
the poor to take contentment and heaven as their
portion.  From  the manger and the chill Winter
night of the nativity, penury, in the midst. of its sorest
deprivations,' may seek a gracious relief.
Third, this' event was attended with tokens of
heavenly gratulation.  Those holy beings who had
worshiped Christ in heaven, followed the descending
train of his glory,'that' they might also worship him
on earth. And though they found him humbled to
the fashion of a man, it but served to inflame their
seraphic ardors, and feed the:fire of their devotion.
Moreover, they had been used to approach him with
loud-swelling anthems, and they could not then pay
him a silent homage. They had been wont also to
see every member of the celestial hierarchies join to
fall prostrate in his presence; and then they would
fain behold every thing on earth that, had life join in
holy raptures to offer him praise; and scarcely did
they seem to be aware that simply to proclaim the
presence of the Son of God on earth would not secure to him  its universal homage. They burned,
therefore, with such ardors to announce his gracious
advent, and rouse the world to transports, that they




422                SERMONS.
could not. wait on the shepherds'.dreanis. Impatient
of their slumber, the joy -burst forth, and heaven and
earth were filled with halleluiahs. Dreary ages had
passed since, at sight of this creation, "the morning
stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted'for joy;" but then the sad silence was broken, and a
"multitude of the heavenly host sang, Glory to God
in the highest, on earth peace, good-will toward men."
These events, like the former, afford us instruction  and admonition. Among other things they
teach us that poverty is not always an infliction of
God's. wrath, and indicative of his displeasure; but
that it sometimes attaches. to the heavenly minded, as
a certain badge of honor, indicating that. the soul is
too celestial in its relishes and joys to find any satisfaction in earthly goods and riches. Surely, this is
not' the only instance in which heavenly ministers
have honored the meanest states of mortals- with
their attendance and commendation.. The unheralded
by earth are sometimes the heralded of heaven.  How
many who were born, and lived, and died, like Jesus
reprobated and distressed, have also like him -been
the beloved of God-have been.overshadowed by the.dove-like Spirit, and are now watched and guarded
in the sepulcher, that' they may rise and "sit down
with him on his throne!" For their comfort and joy
let the obscure worshipers of Christ come, like the
wise men, to the manger, and behold in the feeble
embraces of the virgin, the despised of mortals, but
the adored of angels-the scorn of earth, but the supreme beauty and glory of heaven. But,
III. Let us turn to the mysteries of the incarna



THE INCARNA TION.             423
tion. It contains a series, and I will begin with the
least, if -least may be applied to what is infinite and
overwhelming.
It is a great mystery that God should assume the
nature of any creature. To say nothing of the comparative dignity of that creature, or the object to
be gained in assuming its nature, it is an insolvable
mystery that Deity would assume any finite nature
for any object whatever. He could not do it for his
own sake. He was infinitely satisfied with himself,
and needed not the addition of creature attributes for
self-fruition. Indeed, it is an interesting speculation
that all unsinning intelligences are doubtless happy
in their own constitutional attributes and prerogatives. It is safe to go a step further and say that all
thinking,: holy beings are so satisfied with their own
natures that they would'elect to be what they are,
rather than any other order of intelligences. Angels
do not wish to be men; and but for their sin and
depravity, men would not wish to.be angels. For
the full contentment of his unoffending creatures,
God has doubtless imparted to every order a just
self-complacency-an innate preference of its own
nature above.that'of others; except it be the preference of adoration which flows toward the Supreme
and Divine.- The idea of a voluntary change of nature; for self-enjoyment. or aggrandizement, could not
arise among creatures. Above all it could not arise
in:relation. to God,. as though he who is infinitely
blessed could find an increase of self-fruition by assuming another, an inferior nature.
As God could not assume another nature for his




424                 SERMOATS.
own sake, so neither was he bound by'any considerations of justice'or of charity, to do it in behalf of
his creatures. Without it he always was and would
ever have remained perfectly just and infinitely benevolent. Benevolence demands no more of any
being than: that his existing powers be employed to
the utmost in promoting happiness. From eternity
all the powers of Deity had been'thus unceasingly
employed. His assumption of another nature, not
divine,'in order to enlarge the sphere or multiply
the trophies of his benevolence, is what no finite
mind could have conceived. It never occurred to
man, amidst the ruins of his fall; and when the revelation came by the Divine Word, it was most difficult to be believed; and, indeed, to this very day,
faith in so great a mystery stands not "in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God."
But there is another mystery in the incarnation,
namely: That God should have assumed our nature,
and not rather the nature of angels. So far as wIe
can learn, angels are our superiors, either in nature or
in station, or in both. They were the first-born; and
if primogeniture gave them no claim to so great a
heritage, they were also the first fallen. Why, then,
did not Mercy first find them  out?  We have no
Scripture answer, and of course have no grounds to
prejudge why theirs was not a misery as moving and
as attractive to Mercy as was the human, and as well
calculated to clothe the eternal Word in their suffering nature as in ours. It is true that some would
explain this mystery. They assure us that as angels
fell without and man with external temptations, it is




THE INCARNA TION.            425
meet. that redemption pass them  by and: come to
us.- This would be more satisfactory if it were a
reason revealed. Others tell us that man was made
in God's image, and hence the propriety of man's
redemption. But though man bears the image of his
Maker, it is not easy to prove that angels are not miniature likenesses of the.same glorious original. Had
we as minute a history of the angels as we have of
man, we could better decide whether man is more or
less like his Creator than: they are. As it is, we have
no means of ascertaining.
But there is a third mystery. Why did Deity
assume our nature in its most abject form?  For this
who can discern a necessity.? It does not harmonize
with the views of mankind.:,The Church itself has
contrary notions of what'is proper and for the glory
of God, if we may judge from: the pomp and luxury
with which she displaces all the insignia of Christ's
humiliation and, self-abasement.  But our blessed
Lord not only took on him: the seed of Abraham, but
assumed the form of a servant, and wedded himself
to the most needy, suffering state of mortals. Without wealth, without friends, without family distinction,
he was eminent principally.for his homelessness, poverty, and worldly reproach. If flesh and blood for
sufferings and atonement were necessary, why did he
not appear as a prince among men and demand the
respect and homage of the world? Why did he not
appropriate the bounties of nature to relieve his hunger, and thirst, and weariness; and not, while he was
Lord of worlds, pass from region to region of his own
broad domains " without even a place to lay his head!"
36




426                SER'MONS.
The fourth mystery is, that Jesus should retain
our nature when'it was no more needed for the uses
to which it was originally devoted. HIe became
human that he might suffer and die, and thus atone
for our sins. Having atoned, why did he not lay
aside his humanity and be as he was before the incarnation? We can not answer. That an eternal union
should be confirmed between the two natures, the
human and divine, is almost too much for thought
or utterance; and had not the Scriptures declared it,
the bare conception would seem most profane. The
human nature forever blended with the divine, in
One who shall be adored by saints and angels as
they cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus! This is
a mystery indeed. We can not wonder that the
prophet exclaims, "Great.is the mystery," nor that
the angels should ardently desire to look into these
things.
I would further observe that the incarnation is
among the greatest of all religious mysteries. That
the incarnate Word should die for us is no more difficult to be believed than that for us he should be
clothed with the attributes of humanity and appear
in fashion as a man. Credit this first assumption of
the Gospel, and all else can easily be believed. Some
who profess faith in the incarnation stumble at the
cross.' But this is most unreasonable. Whoever will
attentively consider, must perceive that the first
scene in redemption is equal to any and all that follow; and that if we skeptically demur to the doctrine of vicarious atonement, it is madness to admit
that the "Word became flesh." Grant that the Word




THE INCARNA ZZON.             427
was incarnate, and it is easy to believe that he died
for the world. Well, therefore, does the apostle commence the recital of the mysteries of godliness, by
saying, "God was manifest in.tze flesh."
Let not the mysteries of the incarnation discourage our faith, and rob us of the sure foundation of
our- hopes. Creation is full of mystery. All that
God is, and all that he does, involves countless wonders, each of which is as far beyond our comprehension as any fact revealed in the Gospel. Angels
wondered at the nativity, but they did not pause to
doubt and cavil. Transported at the scene of Christ's
humiliation, in strains of irrepressible rapture, they
published his advent to the world. Let us follow
the example, and being assured of the incarnation by
the testimony of God, who can not lie, the greater its
mystery the more fervently let us adore. Let the
wonders of redemption feed the flame of our devotion. Let the ardors of our gratitude and praise be
suited, if that were possible, to "the length, and
breadth, and height, and depth of the love of Jesus,
which passeth knowledge."
IV. Let us consider the motive of our blessed
Savior's incarnation. We have seen that its origin
was the compassion of God; but what roused that
compassion? Doubtless the misery of mankind. He
who will take the Scriptures in their natural import
may be easily convinced of this. The very titles of
the Messiah indicate it. Redeemer, Savior, Deliverer, etc., are names which carry the mind, by direct
association, to the ruined and distressed condition of
our race. In the prophecies it is testified by one




428                SERMONS.
who personifies Jesus Christ, "He hath sent me to
bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim  liberty to
the captive, and the opening of the prison to them
that are bound." Our Savior says, "I am come to
seek and to save that which was lost."
My object. in urging that the motive of Christ's
incarnation was the relief of human misery, may be
briefly set forth. It has been urged by some divines
that the great aim of redemption and its economy is
the glory of God. This I conceive to be wholly unscriptural, and calculated to diminish the power of
the Gospel on the hearts of men. The divine glory
is doubtless manifested by the humiliation and sufferings of Christ; but that is an incident, (a precious
one indeed,) and not the chief object of redemption.
The grand object was man's salvation. Compassion
for our woes, not solicitude for his own glory, brought
the Son of God to the manger and the cross. God
"so loved [pitied] the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son." If the divine glory were to have
remained the same in its manifestations we have
reason to believe that God would still have given his
Son for the world.
In devising the scheme of redemption, a method
was adopted which should not impair the Divine
glory-that should even reveal it in new and attractive
forms. The first was necessary, and the last was desirable. It was necessary that God should be just in
justifying them that believe in Jesus. And in all atoning acts and sufferings the integrity of God's character was cautiously maintained, and, indeed, more than
maintained. It was, as already said, illustrated in a




THE INCA RAA TION.              429
manner most wonderful and overwhelming'to:his.: creatures. Moreover,.the blessedness of: the redeemed and
the: glory of the Redeemer -are so blended in the salvation of man, that we can not, ought not, to separate
them in our devotions; and in. those states -.of mind
which'arise' under the sanctifying,: comforting'influences of the Spirit, we can not separate. them. In
those blessed moments we invariably feel that while
man is ineffably blest, God is ineffably glorified by the
cross.- But in stating doctrine it is profitable to distinguish them, and place them in a Scriptural relation to
the sufferings of Christ. And without controversy,
the great object of the incarnation was man's rescue
from sin and' its miseries, and his'everlasting'bl:essedness in' heaven. This was what occupied the thoughts'and the affections.of the Trinity when Father, Son, and
Spirit concerted our redemption-when the Father
gave his well-beloved Son-when the Son said,::"Lo,
I come!  I delight to do thy will, 0 God"-when
the scenes of the manger, the temptation, the garden,
and the cross were transpiring in the face of earth
and heaven.
V. The beneficence of the incarnation is a boundless field; but we can only glance at some of.its
productions.
The first is probation. This is a great and gracious
prerogative.  Survey man as fallen and divested of
this one mercy. Look at Adam after the trangression and previous to the first evangelical promise;
~look at Judas when the treason was executed, and the
-irrevocable curse of his Master was upon him; look
at the son or daughter of perdition, who, in the midst




.430               SERMONS.
of a revival, has scorned the last visit of grace, and,
forsaken of God, is bound over to a fiery retribution.
Inquire of reprobate angels sealed with the signet of
God's wrath, what is the value of probation. In the
light of such examples we may better comprehend the
magnitude of this unspeakable mercy. The doomed
murderer in the prison or on the scaffold would give
worlds for so slighted a grace. Who, then, can estimate its value, when it is the boon of an immortal
spirit, and takes hold on unending weal or woe? We
enjoy it. Each moment of life is a moment of trialeach thought inclines us to heaven or to hell-and to
this or that by our own free election.
And whence this probation? Was it an original
condition of our being? Did the charter of our creation embrace the reserved privileges of repentance
and pardon —of the recovery of purity, peace, and
heaven, forfeited and' spurned? Look and see. "In
the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
This and the expulsion, and the flaming sword of the
cherubim, were poor encouragements to the exiles
from Eden and from the presence of God. But soon
(so sudden was Mercy in her movements) a ray of
light glimmered amid this horrible darkness. "Her
seed shall bruise thy head." From that obscure dawn
what a day of hope has risen upon a forlorn world!
But while we walk in its light, let us never forget that
each moment of our probation has cost a drop of
Jesus' blood. If it is'cheap to us, it is dear to the
dying Lamb. The blessed Savior has endowed us
with no months, days, hours, or moments to be squandered in idleness or profaned by crime. He bestowed




THE INCARNA TION.            43 
on us the costly gift that we might run a race-might
make an expiring struggle for a crown of life.
Another beneficent result of the incarnation is
light to discern the uses of probation. With'out light
probation were no grace; and yet they may be separated. By the willful blindness of mortals they are
separated, but not by Divine providence.  Partially
by his Word, and universally'by his Spirit, he scatters
light throughout the nations; so that even the pagans, being a law unto themselves, are without excuse. But the full-orbed luminary is the Bible, which
minutely traces the line of our duty, and admonishes
us of every lurking danger-of every earthly and Satanic device to betray us into sin and convert our
probation into an aggravated curse. And this light
is the purchase of the cross. Every admonition of
the Bible and of the Spirit cost the blessed Jesus
groans of agony and sweat of blood.
A third beneficent result of the incarnation is the
proffer of power to every probationer, to secure the
utmost benefits of probation. Light without strength
would be unavailing; therefore, "when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." That is, he died not only to save us from
ungodliness, but from weakness,; and now, by his
death, we may have power as well as pardon. Seeking by prayer, the unpardoned may obtain the aid of
the Spirit to produce in them conviction, godly sorrow, and regeneration. By the same gracious power
the regenerated may "be strengthened with all might
in the inner man." This power of the Holy Spirit,
without which light would be no mercy, and probation




432                 SERMONS.
would be a curse, comes to us only through the incarnate and crucified Jesus. These are the principal
benefits of the incarnation. Are they' not ineffably
rich and glorious?
This is the season which, according to the usages
of the Church, is especially devoted to pious meditations on the nativity of our blessed Lord. And now,
reviewing the theme, and associating the origin, the.mode, the mystery, the motive, and the beneficence
of the incarnation, how can we refrain from yielding
our souls, bodies, and spirits a willing sacrifice unto
God?  Is not this a reasonable service? If Christ did
condescend to purchase. us at so great expense, and
God will condescend to accept us, shall we decline?
God forbid! Let us hasten to his altar, and seal our
vows. Then let us hold up before us perpetual monitors of our duty and our sacred obligations, the manger, the garden, the cross! These are never to be
thought upon but with raptures of joy, nor mentioned but in hosannas to the dying Lamb.
THE END.